Rebirth in Britain
Author: 倔强青铜圣斗士
Date: 2025-03-02T22:32:10+00:00

Chapter 1: I Am… Barron?

When Chen Kai woke up, his head felt like it was splitting apart. He swore to himself that he would never drink so much again.

Lately, the global economic situation had been far from optimistic, and as part of the overseas division of an investment bank, Chen Kai and his team were under immense pressure.

After finally closing a major deal, they naturally needed to unwind. Alcohol and beautiful women were, of course, essential elements of their celebration. But after a night of wild partying, when Chen Kai woke up again and saw the girl beside him—who had also just woken up and instinctively pulled the blanket over herself—

“Ahhh—!”

The girl let out an ear-piercing scream, making Chen Kai instinctively cover his ears.

“How did I end up here?”

She spoke in English, with a perfect British accent.

But at that moment, Chen Kai had no time to answer her. Instead, he was desperately trying to piece together his memories.

Waking up with a strange woman after a drunken night wasn’t exactly shocking to him—after all, in his profession, stress was high, and they partied hard to compensate. He and his group of drinking buddies had done this more than once.

But…

Why was it a foreign girl this time? And why was she speaking English so fluently? Not that he didn’t understand, but it just felt… strange.

He vaguely remembered meeting a pair of sisters at a bar last night, drinking with them, and then bringing them to a hotel. So… did one of his mischievous friends swap someone in while he blacked out?

Although he couldn’t remember what happened, he had to deal with the situation at hand.

Luckily, the girl—who had light brown hair, a few freckles on her face, and a strangely familiar look—seemed to have calmed down. She picked up the scattered clothes from the floor, muttered something under her breath, and then dressed herself under the blanket before grabbing her purse from the nightstand and heading into the bathroom.

As he listened to the sound of running water from the bathroom, Chen Kai guessed that she was taking a shower.

The sunlight streaming through the gaps in the curtains told him that it was already broad daylight.

Out of habit, he reached for the phone on the nightstand.

Huh?

Looking at the old-fashioned Motorola flip phone in his hand, Chen Kai was momentarily confused.

And then it hit him—this room’s decor seemed different from the Ritz-Carlton suite he had checked into last night.

What the hell?

Just as the question surfaced in his mind, a sudden surge of electricity shot through his brain. A flood of memories, like a high-speed movie reel, flashed before his eyes.

It felt as if his brain had been forcibly stuffed with too much information, to the point where even his skull was about to explode—

And then, everything went black.

“Are you okay?”

When he regained consciousness, the first thing he saw was the girl’s slightly worried face.

That face… still looked so familiar.

“I… I think I’m fine. Maybe I was just a little exhausted from last night…”

At his words, the girl’s face flushed slightly, as if recalling something. Then she shot him a glare. “Bastard! I shouldn’t have even checked on you. I’m leaving!”

By now, she had already finished getting dressed. She wore a purple sweater with a plaid skirt, black tights underneath, and knee-high boots.

As she spoke, she grabbed her coat from the sofa, slung her bag over her shoulder, and walked toward the door.

Just as she was about to step out of sight beyond the doorway, she suddenly stopped. Turning back, she gave him a deep look and said:

“What happened last night… was a mistake. I was in a bad mood and drank too much—you get it. I hope we can both just forget about it.”

The sound of the door closing echoed through the room, but Chen Kai remained lying there.

His headache had eased a little, though the lingering effects of his hangover were still there.

But the most troubling thing right now wasn’t the hangover.

It was the situation he was in.

Chen Kai… No, he shouldn’t be called Chen Kai anymore. His name was now Barron Cavendish.

Yes, at this moment, he had two sets of memories in his head. One belonged to Chen Kai, and the other came from Barron Cavendish, the young man whose body he now inhabited.

Getting up, he walked into the bathroom.

In the mirror above the sink, he saw a handsome young man with blond hair and fair skin—the face of Barron Cavendish.

This… was a reality too absurd to accept.

Who would have thought that one moment he was Chen Kai, living in the year 2023, and after one night of indulgence, he had somehow traveled back twenty years to 2002—and become a native-born Englishman?

Chen Kai—no, Barron—felt like he needed to take a moment to process everything and come to terms with this utterly bizarre reality.

After splashing some water on his face, he looked at the reflection staring back at him. The youthful face still carried a trace of boyishness.

He ran his fingers through his hair and muttered under his breath, “F**k… what kind of messed-up storyline is this?”

The phone in his hand—a Motorola flip phone that was trendy at the time—was out of battery. It must have powered off automatically last night.

Luckily, he remembered that his bag contained a charger. After rummaging through it, he plugged in the phone and finally powered it on.

The screen displayed the date and time—

May 20, 2002. 8:00 AM.

Moving toward the window, he pulled back the curtains.

Through the glass, he saw an overcast sky outside.

Chen Kai—or rather, Barron—began sorting through his newfound memories.

Who am I? Where am I? What am I supposed to do?

These were the questions he needed to figure out first.

His thoughts were interrupted by the sudden sound of MIDI ringtone music.

For a moment, he was startled—he had nearly forgotten what those old-school phone ringtones sounded like.

Looking at the caller ID, he saw the name:

Shaun, the butler.

From Barron’s memories, he quickly recalled who this was.

In fact, the original owner of this body—Barron Cavendish—was a true-born English noble.

Not just any noble, either.

He belonged to one of the twenty-something families in Britain that held ducal titles—the Cavendish family.

In 1605, Barron’s ancestor was granted the title of Barron Cavendish, later elevated to Earl of Devonshire in 1618. Over 300 years ago, the great-grandson of the first Earl was further ennobled as the Duke of Devonshire.

Over the centuries, the Cavendish family had produced generations of politicians and scientists.

They ranked among the top ten oldest and most prestigious ducal families in England.

Growing up, Barron received the most traditional aristocratic education. Before university, he lived at Pemberley House, the family’s Derbyshire estate.

And Shaun, the butler calling him now, had been with the family for over forty years. He had practically raised Barron.

Now, holding the phone, Barron took a deep breath.

This was his life now.

He had to figure out what to do next.

Chapter 2: Something Happened

Why would Steward Sean call him at this time?

Thinking this, Barron answered the phone.

“Steward Sean, this is Barron…”

“Young Master, I’ve finally reached you. I couldn’t get through to you last night. I’ve already had Ramos go to London to find you…”

Hearing Steward Sean’s words, Barron frowned slightly.

He knew that in his memory, this Steward Sean always arranged things in the manor in a calm and orderly manner. But now, just from the tone of his voice, he could hear a hint of panic. He couldn’t help but ask:

“What happened?”

“Young Master, you need to come back immediately. The Lord and the eldest young master have had an accident…”

…

In London, May and June are considered one of the best times of the year in terms of climate. In this city, where the sky is often overcast, this is one of the few times when there is relatively long sunshine, and you can see more bright sunshine.

However, Barron Cavendish at this time did not have much leisure to appreciate the street scenes of London.

Because he had more important things to face. He also didn’t expect that he had just come to this time and space, become the son of a Duke, and hadn’t had time to enjoy the life of a nobleman, when he needed to face such a complicated situation.

After hearing from the old steward that his father and elder brother, who were in this body, had been in a car accident, that his elder brother had died on the spot, and that his father had also been sent to the hospital for treatment, with the situation not looking optimistic, he had just hung up the phone when he received a call from Ramos, his personal valet, who had been sent to London.

After learning Barron’s location, the other party also drove over to pick up Barron in the shortest amount of time.

It stands to reason that as Barron’s personal valet, Ramos should have always been by his side, but the previous Barron didn’t like being followed all the time, as it would affect his rich “nightlife,” so he found an excuse to temporarily send Ramos back to Chatsworth in Derbyshire.

Moreover, entering the new century, the lifestyles of many nobles have also gradually changed. For young nobles, some traditions are not followed too rigidly, so his behavior was not too outrageous.

“Ramos, Steward Sean’s call just now was too hurried and didn’t explain things in detail. Do you have more information?”

After sitting in the well-maintained old Rolls-Royce car, Barron tried to make his expression look serious and asked Ramos in the passenger seat;

“I don’t know why my father and brother came to London together. They didn’t contact me in advance…”

“Young Master, it is said that the Lord and the eldest young master had an urgent matter to visit an important person, but they didn’t expect to encounter a car accident on the way back… As for not contacting you beforehand, it should have been because this trip was too rushed.”

Ramos tried his best to tell Barron what he knew. Of course, he was also very wise not to mention certain inconvenient things.

Like why they didn’t tell Young Master Barron in advance that they were coming to London? Uh, I’m afraid it was because they came to do very important business, and this Young Master Barron was not interested in family affairs, only indulging in pleasure…

…

As the Cavendish family, the hereditary Duke of Devonshire, their daily residence was Chatsworth House in Derbyshire.

This magnificent manor, which has more than a hundred rooms, was first built in 1552. Over the course of more than 400 years, from the 15th to the 19th centuries, Chatsworth House, carefully designed and built by many famous landscape architects, became one of the most beautiful manors in Britain and an important part of British cultural heritage.

The entire manor covers more than 1,000 acres. It was designed in the 18th century by the landscape genius Lancelot “Capability” Brown, and after the renovations by 16 generations of descendants, the interior decoration is magnificent and luxurious.

And Chatsworth is extremely famous throughout British history. Queen Mary of England was once imprisoned here; the prototype of the protagonist Darcy’s home in the world-famous novel Pride and Prejudice is Chatsworth!

“Young Master, we’ll be home soon.”

With the words of his personal valet Ramos, Barron looked through the car window and saw the magnificent manor building reflected in the river, standing among the green lawns that were like velvet carpets, coupled with the scattered trees, it was simply a scene from a movie.

When the car stopped at the door of the manor villa, Ramos got out of the car and opened the car door for Barron.

At this time, Barron was wearing a very formal tailcoat, with a waistcoat and a white shirt underneath, all custom-made by famous designers. After careful tailoring, they perfectly outlined Barron’s upright and well-proportioned figure, making everyone who saw him couldn’t help but secretly applaud.

This is the tradition of old nobles - when Barron was in the hotel, even at such a critical moment, Ramos still didn’t forget to bring this set of clothes for him to change into before starting the journey.

“Young Master Barron, it’s really great that you’re back.”

At the door of the villa at this time, the servants stood in two rows, and at the very front was Sean, the steward of the Cavendish family of this generation. At this time, he had a solemn expression and spoke to Barron in a low voice, and even though he tried to restrain his expression, he could still feel the deep sadness in his eyes.

Barron glanced at the more than twenty servants standing in two rows behind Steward Sean, and secretly matched them one by one from the memories of his former self - of course, not everyone had an impression, and there were two or three unfamiliar faces among them.

“Steward Sean…”

Nodding to the steward, Barron said:

“I’m sorry, I haven’t recovered from the shock yet. I want to go to the hospital to see my father first. I don’t know how he is now…”

“The Lord, the Lord, he…”

Steward Sean’s eyes immediately turned red when he heard Barron’s words. His lips trembled, and he took a deep breath and slowly said:

“Just as you were on your way, the hospital sent sad news…”

…

The aristocratic history of the Cavendish family can be traced back 400 years, and for more than 300 years, holding the title of Duke of Devonshire, this family can be said to have left a deep mark on British history. Their family has produced many politicians and scientists, including the British Prime Minister.

But on this day in 2002, the entire family ushered in the saddest moment…

Because of a car accident, not only the Duke of Devonshire, the 12th generation, and his eldest son died one after another, but even the Dowager Duchess of Devonshire, who was already 82 years old - that is, Barron Cavendish’s grandmother, also suffered a blow because of the unexpected death of her son and eldest grandson, and was on the verge of death. She passed away on the third day after her son’s death.

It can be said that at this time, among the direct descendants of the Duke of Devonshire family, the eighth oldest existing Duke family in Britain, only Barron Cavendish was left.

Chapter 3: Inheritance Tax and Debts

“From dust you came, and to dust you shall return. May the Lord’s grace be with you always, in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, Amen…”

It could be said that the Devonshire family’s funeral shook the entire British aristocracy. After all, within a few days, three direct members of the family had passed away in succession. In such a large duke’s family, with only a young son who had just reached adulthood remaining, such a thing had not happened in Britain for many years – the last time this memory surfaced was probably during the two World Wars…

And this time, the Cavendish family’s funeral was also quite grand. Not only did many nobles attend, but even the Prince of Wales, the Crown Prince, personally came to Derbyshire to attend the funeral.

“Lord Barron, please accept my condolences…”

This was also the first time in two lifetimes that Barron had seen a celebrity of the Prince of Wales’ level with his own eyes, but now was not the time for him to be excited. The events of the past few days had already made him indifferent to anything.

“Your Royal Highness, thank you very much for coming here…”

In fact, through his understanding during this period, he also understood that the reason why the Prince of Wales had come in person might not have been for his current father, the 12th Duke of Devonshire, but for his grandmother – the 11th Duchess of Devonshire.

Speaking of his previous self’s grandmother, she was also a very famous figure.

Her name was Deborah Cavendish, and she was once one of the most famous “Mitford Sisters” in the British upper class. She was born on March 31, 1920, and was the youngest daughter of David Freeman-Mitford, 2nd Barron Redesdale, and Sydney Freeman-Mitford.

Her family had been ennobled since the Germanic conquest (5th-6th centuries).

It could be said that during the entire Second World War, the “Mitford Sisters,” with their different personalities and political leanings, were one of the most well-known labels in the British aristocracy.

Just like the Prince of Wales, he stood in front of Deborah Cavendish’s photo for a long time, and said to Barron:

“We will miss her very much. She is not someone who will be easily forgotten. The joy she gave everyone through those books, and her contributions to Chatsworth will not be forgotten…”

…

After the funeral, the guests all left, and the entire Chatsworth House returned to its quiet state.

But things were not over. What Barron needed to face was something even more troublesome!

According to relevant British laws, as the second son of the family, it could be said that the family’s heavy burden would not fall on him – his previous self had always thought so since he was a child. His elder brother, as the eldest son, would inherit the title of Duke of Devonshire, and the other party was steady and mature, and had been trained as the heir to the family early on. In everyone’s eyes, he was also the most suitable heir.

As the second son of the family, Barron Cavendish would at most inherit another, lower-ranking title, and, at most, would receive a portion of the property…

Moreover, no matter who looked at him, this young master who was frivolous in character and loved to frequent nightclubs, although more handsome in appearance, his unrestrained personality also really didn’t resemble a “traditional aristocrat.”

But things were so dramatic. His father and elder brother died in a car accident at the same time, so as the only direct member of the Cavendish family, Barron became the first in line to inherit the title of Duke of Devonshire, as well as all the family’s property.

Normally, he could then smoothly become a proper Union Jack-waving British aristocrat, and thus live a boring, shameless aristocratic life…

But things were not that simple. After consulting with Butler Sean, especially after examining the family’s asset statements, Barron only then understood what kind of predicament he had to face.

First of all, as the heir to the family, if he wanted to inherit the title and the family’s property, he must first solve the huge inheritance tax problem!

Normally, the British inheritance tax rate was as high as 40% – it’s much less now, it used to be as high as 80%!

But fortunately, the Cavendish family had foresight and packaged most of the family’s assets in the form of a trust fund, which could exempt a large part of the inheritance tax, but the remaining fees that needed to be paid were still not small…

However, inheritance tax was probably not the most troublesome thing he had to face, because the family’s entire debt was what he needed to solve most urgently at this time!

This had to start with Barron’s grandfather.

The entire Cavendish family had passed down to Barron’s generation, which was the 18th generation, also the 13th Duke of Devonshire.

At the peak of the Duke of Devonshire family, there were eight incredibly large estates in England and Ireland, covering an area of more than 200,000 acres. The inheritance tax paid by the Duke of Devonshire family alone once exceeded one million pounds, and that was one million pounds in the early 19th century!

It could be said that ordinary people at that time might not even be able to save up a hundred pounds in their lifetime!

And during the time of the tenth Duke of Devonshire, that is, Barron’s great-grandfather, due to the previous Duke of Devonshire’s poor management, coupled with the Great Depression at the time, the economic situation of the Duke of Devonshire family was worrying.

The tenth Duke of Devonshire, feeling the burden brought to the family by the previous huge inheritance tax, tried every means to avoid the huge inheritance tax through the fund model, in order to reduce the burden on future generations.

According to the regulations at the time, the inheritance had to be packaged into a trust fund for five years before it could be exempt from inheritance tax.

The tenth Duke of Devonshire was in his prime at the time and did not consider that his health might have special circumstances, so he unhesitatingly transferred all of his property to the trust fund.

Unexpected events happen. In the fifth year after the tenth Duke of Devonshire transferred his property, three months before the five-year deadline, he suddenly died of a heart attack, and Andrew, the eleventh Duke of Devonshire, who was the successor, that is, Barron’s grandfather, faced an inheritance tax rate of as high as 80% – needing to pay 7 million pounds in inheritance tax.

There were two choices before Andrew, one was to sell the inheritance to pay off the tax and then inherit the inheritance; the other was to earn these 7 million pounds through his own efforts.

In the end, in order to preserve most of the family’s property, Barron’s father chose the latter.

He first sold a portion of the property to pay part of the inheritance tax – including nearly 60,000 acres of land, a Hardwick Hall, and a portion of the collection, including Rembrandt and Raphael paintings…

Then, he paid off the inheritance tax by working hard to earn money. Finally, through installment payments, it took him a full 24 years, and in 1974, he completely paid off the 7 million pounds of inheritance tax, thus becoming the true Duke of Devonshire.

It could be said that Barron’s grandfather preserved hope for the family…

But the problem arose with Barron’s father. After the family was finally able to start making a profit by opening the manor, accepting activities, and operating hotels and other industries, he unexpectedly suffered huge losses due to investments at this time!

After reviewing the family’s asset and debt list, and with the explanation of Butler Sean and the family’s trust fund manager, Barron was speechless to find that the entire family trust now had debts exceeding 30 million pounds!

In addition, if he wanted to smoothly inherit the duke’s title and preserve the family’s assets, then all in all, including inheritance tax, he needed to come up with at least more than 35 million pounds of funds!

At this moment, Barron even had the idea of giving up everything and starting over…

Chapter 4: Going Bankrupt?

“So, are we going bankrupt?”

In the study of Chatsworth House, Barron put down the financial report in his hand and said to the two people in front of him.

“While not exactly bankrupt, if we can’t get the money back that we invested in ‘London Star’, then we’ll likely need to sell off most of our assets to deal with the bank loans, and then…”

The person speaking to Barron was Julia Moore, the manager of the Cavendish family’s trust fund. She was a woman with a mature charm.

Although Julia had a great figure, and even wearing a ladies’ suit, it was difficult to hide her body curves, but at this moment, Barron didn’t have the slightest intention to pay attention to these things. He needed to understand the current real situation of the Cavendish family as soon as possible.

Speaking of which, the reason why the old lady in the family – Barron’s grandmother – had such prestige was mainly because she was good at managing things. Initially, after World War II, it was she who preserved most of the Cavendish family’s assets by changing the way they were managed.

Barron’s grandfather, the Eleventh Duke of Devonshire, was facing a huge inheritance tax at the time. It was with the help of the old lady that he worked hard for more than twenty years to open Chatsworth House, one of the few super mansions in all of England, to the public for visits, and to undertake various events and filming to make a profit, using it to pay off the inheritance tax.

Many people have watched the later very famous British drama - “Downton Abbey”, and are probably deeply impressed by Downton Abbey in this TV series.

But the land of Chatsworth House owned by the Duke of Devonshire family has an area of as much as 35,000 acres. What’s the concept?

It’s seven times the area of the Downton Abbey filming location, Highclere Castle, and equivalent to half of the London city area!

Therefore, it can be said that Chatsworth House is on a scale far exceeding that of the magnificent mansion in “Downton Abbey”, so after opening it up, it can also bring some revenue to the family.

Even so, the entire family only made a slight profit, barely maintaining it.

Because besides Chatsworth House, the family now also owns two estates in Northern Ireland and Scotland, as well as the adjacent land…

Entering the new era, the output of these estates and lands can no longer be easily used for such a family to squander as it used to be.

And the maintenance fees for these estates alone are astronomical…

Since the end of World War II, countless nobles have gone bankrupt and could not maintain their original luxurious lives, resulting in a difficult life. Now, the families that can continue the traditional “noble style” are becoming fewer and fewer.

Those noble families that have survived all have other industrial investments that can support their traditional industries… Not to mention that the government’s policies are inherently becoming less and less friendly to the noble class, whether it’s taxes or policies, they are intentionally or unintentionally weakening the interests of the noble class.

Therefore, on the Cavendish family’s side, they also tried to invest in some emerging industries later – but unfortunately, it seems that Barron’s grandfather and father, these two generations, didn’t have much ability in investing in emerging industries, and instead, there were quite a few losses of all sizes.

But if it was only like this, the Cavendish family probably wouldn’t have fallen to Barron’s current situation.

The problem lies with his deceased father, who, for some reason, naively believed in the temptation of “high returns” and mortgaged many of the family’s assets, investing them in an investment company called “London Star”.

Yes, he was not wrong. This so-called “London Star” was completely a Ponzi scheme.

Initially, the elder Cavendish hadn’t gotten too deep into it, and only invested a small part of the funds…

But that’s how Ponzi schemes work. Initially, they give the first users extremely high returns through the funds of later customers… These gradually strengthened the elder Cavendish’s confidence, coupled with the impact of the internet bubble two years ago, the traditional industry was also hit quite hard.

The result was that the elder Cavendish began to continuously increase his investment in “London Star”. Faced with the expectation of high returns, he even mortgaged many of the family’s assets, taking out loans from the bank and investing them in this “Ponzi scheme”…

The events that followed were predictable. A month ago, “London Star” began to stop issuing dividends, and many users’ requests for redemption were temporarily frozen.

The elder Cavendish panicked… If it was really confirmed that “London Star” was a scam, then the entire family would fall into the abyss…

Therefore, he had been running around for this during this time, but it was of limited use, and “London Star” still blew up!

This time, taking Barron’s elder brother to London was also what the elder Cavendish wanted to do, relying on the family’s previous connections, to meet with “influential people” in London, to at least try to get back some of the funds invested in “London Star”…

It seems that the result was definitely not satisfactory. At this point, besides the money that the other party had squandered and returned to early investors, in a month’s time, it had probably already been transferred almost completely.

And then, at this moment, the car accident happened!

I’m afraid that the sudden death of his grandmother was not only due to the blow of the elder Cavendish and his eldest son’s death, but also because the other party knew the inside story.

But the dead are gone, and now it’s Barron who needs to face this mess!

Don’t forget, including the Chatsworth House mansion he’s living in now, many of the family trust fund’s properties have been mortgaged to the bank. Once those loans can’t be repaid, I’m afraid Barron, the newly appointed Duke, will be kicked out of the family estate and become the laughingstock of all of England…

He doesn’t want to be the one whose story appears when others search for the term “the most miserable duke in England”… That would be too lame!

“Ms. Moore, please give me a list of the family trust fund’s properties now. I need to know which properties have already been mortgaged and cannot be used, and which ones can be sold to raise funds…”

Barron tapped on the table and said to the two people in front of him:

“And Butler Sean, I also need a list, listing the family’s assets outside the family trust fund…”

Although most of the family’s assets have been injected into the family trust fund, there are still some assets that are directly under the family’s name, and Barron needs to know these clearly.

“Yes, Your Lordship.”

Julia Moore agreed very readily to Barron’s words.

But Butler Sean hesitated, as if wanting to say something…

“What is it, Butler Sean? Do you have something to say?”

“Young Master, I know that in this situation, selling off some properties is a necessary thing, but…”

Chapter 5: He Who Wears the Crown Must Bear Its Weight

In England, it’s permissible for an heir to sell off a portion of their inherited assets to pay inheritance tax…

However, when many nobles face enormous inheritance taxes, large-scale selling of family assets to pay the tax is an extremely difficult decision.

Because the education these nobles received from childhood was different from that of ordinary commoners. In noble families, they emphasized the sense of responsibility to the entire family in their children’s education.

In other words, the title and family property you receive will belong to you, but not entirely. Because both the title and the family’s assets are accumulated through generations, when you receive these, you also need to take on the corresponding responsibilities.

He who wears the crown must bear its weight!

This is why Barron’s grandfather, when faced with an inheritance tax of 7 million pounds, only sold off a small portion of the family’s assets—mainly some farmland—to pay the inheritance tax, and was willing to spend the next twenty-four years working day after day to repay the outstanding inheritance tax, ultimately preserving the family’s assets as much as possible.

Because in such a family, the achievements of successive dukes, the brilliance that shines in English history, are all responsibilities that the heir of this family needs to bear—not to bring shame to the family, not to let the family fall apart!

These can be said to be the beliefs etched into the bones of every family member—including Butler Shaun, who has served the family for over forty years. Perhaps in his heart, he values the honor of the Devonshire Dukedom more than his own life.

Because Shaun is not only the butler of the entire family, but he also took over the position of family butler from his father. It can be said that their family has served the Devonshire Dukedom for three generations, and they have long considered themselves a part of the entire family.

This is why, at this moment, Butler Shaun would say such words to Barron.

Like Julia Moore, although she could serve as the manager of the family trust fund and also has a close relationship with the Devonshire Dukedom, in any case, her feelings for this family would not surpass those of Butler Shaun.

For Julia, she certainly hopes that the Cavendish family can revitalize, but in the final analysis, the use and management direction of the family trust fund will be decided by the family heir. Even if she disagrees with Barron’s instructions, she will still follow them.

But Barron, it can be said, grew up under Butler Shaun’s watch, and Butler Shaun understands his personality and abilities even better.

Coupled with the critical situation the family is facing at this time, he sincerely doesn’t want the majority of the family’s assets to end in Barron’s hands, so after hesitating, he still expressed his concerns.

“Butler Shaun, although you are the butler, in fact, I consider you as my elder, so I hope you believe me. Everything I do is to preserve the family’s wealth.”

Barron knew what kind of person his previous self was. He had already anticipated the resistance he would face in using those funds after taking over the family.

At this moment, he looked directly at Butler Shaun and said to him sincerely:

“Perhaps my previous behavior made you lack confidence, but that was because my brother would do very well in the position of heir, and I didn’t need to take on too much responsibility. But it’s different now. At this time, our goals are the same, so I only hope that you can give me your trust and help me through this crisis.”

To be honest, at this moment, in Butler Shaun’s eyes, Barron actually felt somewhat unfamiliar—even though he had watched him grow up, the temperament Barron displayed at this moment was completely different from the young man who could be called a playboy or a spoiled rich kid.

This discovery also surprised Butler Shaun, and at the same time, some expectations arose in his heart.

Could the young man before him really lead the Cavendish family back to glory?

Logically, Butler Shaun felt that this possibility was not high; but often at this time, people always hope more that a miracle can happen.

“I will prepare a list for you, Young Master Barron…”

Butler Shaun ultimately wanted to give it a try.

…

After arriving at the manor, Barron felt the service enjoyed by nobles for the first time.

Well, to be honest, it was a little awkward at first, but after getting used to it, it felt really good.

Just like in his previous life, he couldn’t even imagine someone helping him put on clothes, helping him fasten buttons, and finally tidying everything up.

But here, these things will be done by a personal valet.

You just need to stretch out your hand, and the other person will help you put on your clothes; stand there, and they will tidy up your clothes for you, it’s simply effortless…

Of course, unlike what many people imagine, in a proper noble family—of course, one of a certain scale, these things are done by specialized valets, and usually there are no personal maids to serve male family members.

Often, personal maids serve female members; personal valets serve male members…

However, for a family, adding one more servant is certainly not as simple as adding another mouth to feed, it requires wages, and some corresponding benefits. Therefore, unless it is a family of a certain scale, specialized full-time personal servants are still very luxurious.

“Young Master, have we lost a lot of money?”

After helping Barron tidy up his clothes, Ramos stood behind him and asked with a hint of hesitation.

“Did you hear what other people were saying?”

Barron turned around and glanced at Ramos, asking.

“Yes, some servants are discussing it, and everyone is a little worried.”

Barron had also anticipated these things. Perhaps the question Ramos asked was not just what he wanted to know, but many people hoped to confirm those rumors through him.

Since the last century, servants in noble families have had a certain degree of independence, it is not that if you are a servant in this family, you belong entirely to this family.

Rather, the relationship with the family is more like an employment relationship. If a servant makes a mistake, at most, you can fire him, or if it’s a more serious mistake, you can call the police, there is no such thing as private punishment.

Although they are called servants, in fact, it’s just their job. In the final analysis, they are earning wages to make a living, so “job-hopping” for a better opportunity is also very common.

Often in such families, there are no secrets, especially among the servants, and news often spreads very quickly.

Everyone is making a living, if this place is going to decline, then they will definitely want to find another way out as soon as possible.

“Ramos, there are some difficulties now, but I believe we can get through them. Nothing is ever smooth sailing, isn’t that right?”

Chapter 6: News Reports

In earlier times, within a noble’s manor, the master and servants lived separately in two distinct areas, upstairs and downstairs, respectively. These were the master’s living quarters and the servants’ living quarters, and the separation was very clear.

Generally speaking, without the master’s summons, kitchen servants were not allowed to appear in the living room.

And family members, often would not go to the place where the servants lived, that would be considered a very rude behavior.

If the master needed to summon a servant, it was done by ringing a bell…

Just like watching many films about the old nobility, one often sees the master pressing the bedside bell after waking up, and the servants’ bell would ring, which meant the master’s summons.

Even now, many noble families still retain this tradition.

The only slight difference is that in the old days, the transmission of the bell’s signal was through a mechanical structure; but in modern society, it has become an electric bell.

Through Ramos, Barron also generally understood the slightly apprehensive mood of the servants in his house, but he didn’t care about these things at the moment.

In fact, except for a few people like the butler Sean and the housekeeper Riley, who had served the Cavendish family for two or three generations, most of the servants in the manor were simply employed on a contractual basis.

And Barron’s idea at this time was simple: taking advantage of the current situation, it might not be a bad thing to let some of the less steadfast servants leave.

And there were also too many servants, over thirty…

“Young Master Barron, this is a list of our directly held assets, most of which are not mortgaged…”

Butler Sean acted quickly. After Barron had breakfast in the morning, he had already given him the asset list he had compiled.

Barron took the list, looked at it, and sighed, saying:

“It seems that the situation at home is indeed not good…”

Yes, including the manor’s assets, as well as the funds needed for daily operations, were mostly accounted for through the family trust fund.

Speaking of which, the truly direct assets of the family at this time, apart from a small amount of cash, were only some jewelry and clothing, which were not very easy to sell.

Of course, after hundreds of years of accumulation, especially since the Devonshire family had once had a “single nobleman” who was devoted to art, their collection could be said to be vast.

Just like the former Duke of the Eleventh, the Rembrandt and Raphael paintings sold to pay inheritance tax were only a small part of the family’s collection. There were still many Rembrandt paintings in the house, and there were also more than a dozen Raphael paintings – this also showed the Devonshire family’s heritage.

You would think that your own family was facing bankruptcy, but the value of these artworks alone was enough to keep the family going!

But Barron also knew that selling these artworks now was very unwise, because the prices of these collectibles were really too different compared to later, as much as ten or even dozens of times, he would not sell these collectibles unless there was absolutely no other way.

But now, Barron needed to “save the family,” or at least get it back to good operation, he needed at least 35 million pounds in funds. It could be said that even if all the ordinary jewelry and other items in the list were sold, it would not exceed 500,000 pounds, which was just a drop in the bucket.

Moreover, under the current circumstances, if he were to sell jewelry and other things, not only would he probably not sell them at a good price, but if it were to spread, it would also make more people realize that the Cavendish family was now in the most dire straits.

But Barron’s worries soon seemed less important, because when his personal valet Ramos brought today’s newspaper with a serious expression, Barron saw the reports on it and frowned!

Because on many newspapers today, there were reports about the Duke of Devonshire family!

Of course, because his father and elder brother were killed in a car accident, there were many reports about the Duke of Devonshire family – one of the few remaining dukedom families in all of England – during the funeral and the period before it.

But the difference was that these reports today were all focused on the economic situation of the Duke of Devonshire family!

Almost all the reports pointed out that the Duke of Devonshire family had invested a huge amount of money in the “London Star” fraud case, which had just exploded.

Some newspapers even revealed that many assets of their family trust fund had been mortgaged to the bank. Once they were unable to repay due to huge losses, most of the family’s assets would be forcibly recovered!

It could be said that these reports would probably make his family the focus of attention soon, leading to their even more difficult situation.

Just as Barron was thinking about how these reports had suddenly appeared, his phone rang, it was the manager of the family trust fund, Julia Moore.

“Lord Barron, have you seen the reports in the newspaper?”

“I just saw them, Ms. Moore.”

“The situation is not good, these sudden reports have a great impact on us.”

Hearing Julia’s words, Barron frowned again:

“What happened?”

“It’s the bank. The bank we had the mortgage loan with contacted me, hoping to clarify whether we have the ability to repay.”

At this moment, Barron glanced at Butler Sean and Ramos in the room and lowered his voice to ask:

“It shouldn’t be like this, when we took out the loan, there was a definite term, why are they in such a hurry now?”

“This is why they are only calling to inquire, but it has to be said that it is already a form of pressure.”

“Do you have any news about the reports? Why did these reports suddenly appear?”

It was indeed a bit strange, because although the Duke of Devonshire family’s title was already the highest level outside the royal family, their family was actually considered low-key. Except for the recent car accident, the last time they were reported on such a large scale was nearly half a century ago, when his grandfather faced a high inheritance tax and almost couldn’t inherit the family.

But now, after the funeral, their investment losses were suddenly reported on such a large scale, there might be unknown reasons behind it.

“I have also asked someone to investigate. The first to release this news was a small newspaper in London. They reported it yesterday, and then it caught the attention of other newspapers, so these reports appeared today…”

“If you have time, can you come over today, Ms. Moore? I want to talk to you about the family trust fund.”

“Okay, Lord Barron, I will visit in the afternoon. In addition, you need to pay attention, there may be many reporters appearing at the manor recently, and even directly interviewing.”

After hanging up the phone, Barron temporarily put the newspaper reports aside. Although these reports had an impact on him, he had more pressing matters to deal with now.

In the final analysis, as long as the financial problem was solved, then no matter what kind of conspiracy or trickery, it would ultimately be resolved by overwhelming force!

Moreover, in the final analysis, with the Devonshire family’s foundation, they were not at the end of their rope as described in the reports.

In his previous life, Barron had worked in the financial industry for many years and had also conducted in-depth research on overseas markets.

And London, as one of the world’s financial centers, was also something he could take advantage of at this time.

Yes, even if the “rebirth” thing happened, and he didn’t come to a duke’s family, he was confident that he could make a name for himself with his previous experience.

And in fact, the family’s real assets at this time were far greater than the so-called “liabilities”!

It was just that the global economy had not yet begun to recover, so the selling price of many assets was far below their actual value.

Thinking of this, Barron’s heart moved – could it be that someone was eyeing the Cavendish family’s assets?

Chapter 7: Personnel Reduction

If Barron was given enough time, he was confident that with a certain amount of initial capital, he could earn enough money in the capital market to save the family’s assets!

However, it seemed now that he still needed to speed up the process, so the amount of initial capital was relatively important.

This was also what he was doing now, trying to raise as much usable capital as possible.

At this time, there were actually quite a few financial investment opportunities.

For example, international oil prices, which had begun to rise since the end of last year.

Currently, international oil prices were around 25 US dollars per barrel. Although there would be fluctuations in between, they would generally be in an upward trend. This would last until mid-July 2008, when international oil prices reached a high point, approaching 150 US dollars per barrel.

It could be said that this was a long-term bullish opportunity, but in the short term, to solve the current funding problem, a more effective method was needed.

“Young Master Barron, there is something that needs your decision.”

At this moment, the butler, Sean, said to Barron:

“It’s about the arrangement of the servants. There are now three personal servants extra in the house. In addition, given our current situation, the previous servant configuration may also need to be adjusted, which can save a lot of expenses…”

What Butler Sean was referring to was that after Barron’s father, elder brother, and grandmother passed away, the three personal servants of the deceased became redundant.

And now, the Cavendish family only had Barron as a member, which meant that in this manor, there was only one master left, so the original scale of more than thirty servants seemed too excessive and could be streamlined.

In the final analysis, as a butler, Sean would definitely prioritize considering the master’s interests.

Speaking of these things, it’s necessary to talk about the usual servant arrangements in noble families.

Generally, in a traditional noble family, there would be a male butler, who would be the head of all the servants.

Just like in the Cavendish family, the male butler was Sean, who could usually be directly called the butler. He was responsible for coordinating and managing the affairs of the entire family, as well as safeguarding some more valuable items, such as the wine cellar and silver tableware…

In addition, there would be a female butler, mainly responsible for managing the maids in the house. Besides being the butler’s assistant, she was also responsible for directing the tidying and cleaning work in the house.

In the Cavendish family, the female butler was named Riley, and she had been the family’s female butler since her mother’s generation.

Then there was the cook, who was responsible for the affairs of the kitchen. Usually, the cook, the male butler, and the female butler were all high-level servants.

The cook enjoyed supreme power in the kitchen. For example, at some family banquets, the cook had the right to refuse requests for dishes other than those on the pre-arranged menu.

Then there were the personal maids and personal male servants. Personal maids were servants who stayed with the female members to take care of their food and daily life; personal male servants were servants who stayed with the male members to take care of their food and daily life.

As for the other male and female servants, when there were more than two of them, they would also have certain ranks, such as head male servant, first male servant, and so on.

Therefore, a scale like the Duke of Devonshire family, where each family member had their own personal servants, was also very normal – even before, Barron spent most of his time in London, and the house had arranged a personal male servant, Ramos, for him.

So now, the three redundant personal servants naturally didn’t need to be kept, which could also save on the manor’s expenses.

In addition, the original scale of more than thirty servants could also be streamlined.

“How were things usually handled before?”

Hearing Barron’s question, Butler Sean said:

“They would all be dismissed. When we didn’t need so many people, we would also decide based on their performance. And when dismissing them, for those servants who had been diligent and conscientious to the family, we could help them write a letter of recommendation for their next employer, which is often very helpful for their subsequent job applications.”

“Then let’s do it this way, Butler Sean, you can decide these things.”

Barron waved his hand and said.

“Also…”

Butler Sean hesitated slightly:

“Before, the old lady’s personal butler, Anna, she is almost sixty years old and has served the old lady for forty years… I’m afraid it will be difficult for her to find a job at her age…”

“For such a person, we cannot be heartless. You can ask for her opinion. If she still wants to work, then we can provide her with an easier job. If she hopes to enjoy her old age, then we can bear part of her living expenses afterwards.”

Initially, for servants like Anna who had served the family for most of their lives, more respectable noble families would provide them with a pension. However, with the improvement of the entire social security system, the pension was already included in their salary, so what Barron said was to give the other party an additional subsidy on top of the pension.

“You are really too kind, Young Master Barron, God will bless you.”

Originally, Butler Sean was still a little worried. Based on his previous understanding of Young Master Barron, the other party was likely to be somewhat indifferent, so after Barron said these words, he did not hesitate to express his praise, and he was still very touched in his heart.

“Then, in this asset list, if we don’t sell those jewelry and antiques, how much cash can we take out?”

Barron returned the family’s directly held asset list that Butler Sean had given him earlier and asked.

“In my opinion, at most, only 100,000 pounds of funds can be used…”

Hearing this amount, Barron sighed. Most of the family’s assets had been injected into the family trust fund, and he believed that the cash portion of the originally directly held assets would inevitably have been invested in the “London Star” scam project…

Now, this part of the assets, at most, as Butler Sean had told him, could take out 100,000 pounds of funds for Barron to invest.

But with this money, it was really very difficult, almost impossible, to get back the 35 million pounds of funds in the plan in the capital market.

Even though Barron had the experience of his previous life, he could only remember some key nodes for the capital market at this time. It was simply impossible to remember the price trends of all the investment products.

Seeing Barron’s slightly worried expression, Butler Sean said:

“Young Master, are you preparing to use it to pay the inheritance tax? Actually, you can temporarily sell or mortgage those jewelry and antiques…”

“I’m preparing to invest, otherwise, there is no way to have money to pay the inheritance tax and the bank’s loans.”

“Invest?!”

Hearing that Barron was preparing to invest, Butler Sean was startled:

“But Young Master, investments are risky, and it’s very possible that all this money will be lost…”

It could be seen that after the family’s investment loss in “London Star,” Butler Sean was especially sensitive to the word “investment.”

Moreover, in his eyes, the young master who only knew how to spend money before, how could he possibly invest… Even the old master, didn’t he lose such a large sum of money because of investment, putting the Cavendish family in such a big crisis now!

Chapter 8: Setback

“I don’t want this either, Butler Sean, but there’s no other way, is there? As the heir to the family, I need to bear my responsibilities, which means doing my best to preserve our family’s assets…”

Barron looked directly into Butler Sean’s eyes and said sincerely:

“If there was another way, I wouldn’t want to take risks, but it’s really too difficult. In the current situation, to get the best results, some risk is necessary. But I can assure you, Butler Sean, I won’t put too much money at risk. These one hundred thousand pounds, plus some from the family fund, should be enough.”

In the final analysis, Butler Sean had deep feelings for the family and didn’t want to see it fall apart; but at the same time, he didn’t have much confidence in Barron’s risky behavior.

But as Barron said, it was difficult to find another way now—selling off a part of the estate was one method, but faced with the previous huge losses, if they really did that, even Chatsworth House might be hard to keep!

So at this moment, he could only choose to believe Barron and secretly pray that God would bless the Cavendish family.

“Young Master Barron, I will also do my best to reduce the estate’s expenses. Throughout the long years, Chatsworth House has faced many critical moments, and we have ultimately resolved them all. I hope this time will be the same.”

“It certainly will, Butler Sean…”

Barron’s eyes were filled with undisguised determination. He then said to the butler:

“Right, I didn’t know much about the family’s trust fund before. Regarding the fund manager, Ms. Moore, Butler Sean, can you tell me more about her?”

…

If the matter of Barron’s plan to take out a portion of the funds for relatively aggressive investments only caused concern for Butler Sean…

Then, at the family’s trust fund manager, Ms. Julia Moore’s end, his proposal was decisively rejected.

“Lord Barron, I must be frank. If you are preparing to raise funds to pay inheritance tax; or to sell off a portion of the family’s assets to make up for the losses and deal with the bank’s loans, then I will definitely cooperate with you. But if it’s to take this money for risky investments, I’m sorry, I can’t do that!”

When Julia Moore came to the master’s study at Chatsworth House again to face Barron, and learned of his idea, she said so without hesitation.

“Oh? Are you sure? Ms. Moore, then I’d like to know, as the manager of the family fund, what was your reaction to my father’s investment in the ‘London Star’?”

Hearing Barron mention this, Julia’s expression instantly turned cold:

“Do you think I have a responsibility for this investment? Lord Barron?”

“Talking about responsibility now doesn’t make much sense. It’s just that I think, as the manager of the family fund, all you need to do is use your professional knowledge to help us manage the family’s assets, not to make decisions about them. I know the investment in ‘London Star’ was my father’s idea, so you can’t say you were cooperating with his investment intentions back then, and then so arbitrarily reject my investment opinions!”

Julia shook her head at Barron’s words:

“Your Lordship, I still regret that although I expressed my opposition to your father’s investment opinions back then, I didn’t ultimately stick to my position; therefore, I can’t make the same mistake again… In addition, in fact, although you are the sole heir of the Duke of Devonshire family, but currently, in terms of procedure, you have not yet inherited the family’s title and assets…”

“So you mean you won’t follow my instructions now? Even though I am the sole heir to the family?”

Barron stood up from his seat and walked in front of Julia, a smile still on his face, and said lightly:

“It seems, Ms. Moore, that you really don’t have much confidence in me, or rather, you have no confidence at all.”

“I’ve already said it, Your Lordship, if you are going to pay inheritance tax to inherit the title and family assets, or to stop the family’s losses, then I will fully cooperate with you, but if it’s such a risky investment…”

Julia was not weak in terms of her demeanor, she didn’t avoid Barron’s gaze:

“Then I won’t agree. Perhaps you’re right, I respect your position as heir, but as the manager of the family trust fund, I can’t take risks, even if you drive me out of this position afterwards!”

It was clear that this meeting between the two did not achieve the results that Barron was satisfied with, and it could be said that it ended on bad terms.

But as Julia said, even though Barron was the sole heir to the Cavendish family, but in the final analysis, he had not yet completed the procedures for inheriting the family title and assets, so as the manager of the family trust fund, she could choose to take the risk and cooperate with Barron’s investment, and she could also reject his request, and Barron currently had no way to deal with this.

One could tell from her appearance that Julia’s looks were still somewhat different from those of traditional English people, the reason being that she had a large portion of Slavic blood.

In the previous conversation with Butler Sean, Barron had also learned more about Julia Moore.

Julia Moore’s full name should be Julia Shakhovskoy Moore, and her mother’s family came from Russia. After the October Revolution, they fled from Tsarist Russia to Europe, and finally came to England.

It could be said that most of the exiled Russian nobles at the time did not fare well—on the one hand, they left Tsarist Russia too hastily, and on the other hand, they encountered many setbacks along the way, including deception and looting, so very few exiled nobles were able to retain a certain amount of property.

By Julia’s mother’s generation, although they were considered to have integrated into English society, their family’s life could only barely be called middle class.

Her mother married a lawyer, and this lawyer was closely related to the Cavendish family. Therefore, after Julia’s father died unexpectedly, Julia’s family received help from the Cavendish family. It could be said that Julia’s ability to complete her studies was largely due to the Cavendish family’s financial support.

It was also because of this relationship that the family chose Julia Moore, a graduate of a prestigious university, as the manager of the family trust fund—this trust originated from this.

It’s just that, at the moment, Julia’s trust in Barron seemed to be somewhat insufficient.

Thus, the idea of obtaining funds from the family fund for investment was essentially rejected.

Now, the funds Barron could use were only the one hundred thousand pounds from the assets directly held by the family.

Unless he could quickly pay the inheritance tax and complete the procedures for inheriting the family title and assets, it seemed difficult to obtain more support from Julia.

Chapter 9: Going to London

Barron had a relatively good night’s sleep last night. When he woke up, he didn’t summon his personal valet, Ramos. Instead, after washing up and getting dressed, he prepared to take a walk around the manor.

It has to be said that when it comes to enjoying life, the British aristocracy truly had a knack for it.

The saying went, “Clothes are brought to you, food is brought to your mouth.”

Up until the last century, those traditional aristocratic families, upon waking up in the morning, didn’t need to get out of bed. They only needed to press the bell button on the bedside table, and a personal servant would place breakfast on a special small table and bring it to the bedroom.

In other words, those aristocrats could start enjoying their breakfast while leaning against the headboard.

Of course, everything was changing. After the new century, not only the common people, but also the lifestyles of the aristocracy, underwent tremendous changes.

Chatsworth was built on the riverbank, and the back garden of this manor alone covered 150 acres!

Barron walked straight through the flower maze and stood in front of a waterfall in the back garden, listening to the sound of the flowing water. He couldn’t help but start thinking about what he needed to do next.

After yesterday’s conversation, he had already confirmed that the funds he could currently use were only 100,000 pounds. With these funds, trying to obtain the 35 million pounds he needed in the financial market to bring the Cavendish family’s assets into a healthy state was, to put it mildly, extremely difficult.

After all, a return ratio of 350 times was, even with his general memory of the price trends of some investment products, a very difficult task. His memories couldn’t be too precise, and often, the more liquid an investment product was, the smaller its price fluctuations would be.

And those so-called hundredfold stocks and thousandfold stocks, the premise was definitely that the market capitalization wouldn’t be too large, which would also face the difficulty of “leaving the battlefield.”

Therefore, if he used too high a leverage, a price fluctuation that wasn’t too large could potentially cause him to be liquidated.

But if he didn’t do this, how could he possibly have such a high rate of return in the short term?

Speaking of which, it was still possible that he wouldn’t achieve it all at once. He could first obtain funds, pay the inheritance tax, and then complete the control of the family trust fund. This was also an option. After all, once he controlled the power to use the family trust fund, he could correspondingly obtain more funds for his own use.

“Young Master Barron, you’re here…”

“Butler Sean, when did you get here?”

“A little while ago, but I saw you were in thought, so I didn’t disturb you.”

After Barron had a general plan in mind, he stood up and stretched his body. He heard the voice of Butler Sean behind him, and the two of them chatted casually.

Butler Sean, as usual, was wearing a formal tailcoat and a bow tie, and his entire person exuded an air of meticulousness.

“Very magnificent, isn’t it?”

Barron turned and looked at the Chatsworth villa, the morning sun shining on it, enveloping it in a faint golden color.

“Yes, Young Master Barron. The Cavendish family has been operating here for over 400 years, and now, many once famous families have already declined…”

Butler Sean sighed, speaking with considerable emotion:

“Young Master, my grandfather was the butler of the Cavendish family, and my father was also the butler of the Cavendish family. My greatest hope since childhood was to become the butler of the Cavendish family, to protect this family and keep it going. I’ve served in this manor for over forty years, and every inch of the land has been etched into my flesh and blood. You could say that this place is more important than my life… I hope that when I close my eyes and return to heaven, the Cavendish family can still shine…”

Barron could observe that although Butler Sean still had his usual expressionless face, there were some bloodshot eyes, indicating that he hadn’t rested too well last night.

“I will do my best to achieve it, Butler Sean.”

Hearing this, Butler Sean nodded without saying anything else.

Yesterday, after hearing that Barron was going to use those 100,000 pounds for investment, although Butler Sean didn’t react as intensely as Julia did at the time, he only expressed his concerns in a tactful manner.

But Barron understood that, in the final analysis, he still had great doubts about his investment behavior.

That was also why, at this moment, he was once again using this method to “admonish.”

And for this, Barron didn’t explain too much. He knew that the so-called “confidence” others had in him wasn’t spoken out, but needed to be proven through successive facts.

Therefore, no matter how he declared himself now, he couldn’t change the fact that the previous “Barron” hadn’t left a very reassuring impression on everyone. This could only be changed through his own successive successes later on.

…

It has to be said that, apart from the current major financial crisis facing the family, if there was anything that Barron found most objectionable, it was the British cuisine.

This was also easy to understand. After all, he had come from China, which had countless delicacies, to this magical country where “dark cuisine” was everywhere. Moreover, the flavors were also too different, so it was definitely difficult to adapt.

At certain moments, Barron even had the “shocking” idea of personally cooking Chinese food, which was a great breach of aristocratic etiquette.

No matter what, Barron would have to hire an extra Chinese chef in the future, but this was still a minor detail for now, not something that needed to be resolved immediately.

After having breakfast, Barron took his personal valet and driver, Ramos, and drove the Rolls-Royce, preparing to go to London.

“Butler Sean, I’ll leave the matters of the manor to you. I’ll be back as soon as possible.”

When saying goodbye to the butler, the other person’s expression was still somewhat solemn:

“Young Master, I still think it would be better to take the train to London… Or let Richard go with you.”

It was probably the car accidents of the late Duke and the eldest young master that made Butler Sean still have many anxieties about Barron’s trip to London by car this time. If it weren’t for the fact that the manor needed him, Butler Sean would probably have wanted to go with the young master himself.

“Don’t worry, Butler Sean, we’re leaving. Just call me if there’s anything.”

Finally persuading the other person, Barron quickly waved to him and sat in the back seat of the car.

Today was May 30th. It had been ten days since Barron came to this world.

On the way to London, Barron, carrying 100,000 pounds in funds, had already begun to ponder his next plan.

Everything would start from tomorrow—

Because tomorrow was May 31st, and also, the time when the World Cup would begin!

Chapter 10: The Underdog?

Actually, at first, Barron’s idea was to raise over 2 million pounds from the family. That way, he would be confident he could use the capital market to get back over 35 million pounds within six months, which he could use to save the Duke of Devonshire’s family.

But the reality was that the funds he could currently use were only a small portion of the cash from the family’s directly held assets, a mere 100,000 pounds.

With this principal, it was indeed difficult to achieve his goal in the short term—even investing in startups and doing venture capital work. Take internet companies like Google and Facebook, for example; from the initial stage to successfully exiting the venture capital with a hundredfold return often took more than a year or two.

In the end, left with no other choice, Barron only had one option—to use the World Cup betting to expand the scale of his 100,000 pounds as much as possible.

Actually, this wasn’t hard to figure out. After all, the World Cup was about to begin. This time at the Korea-Japan World Cup, only England from the British Isles had entered the final stage.

As one of the countries that passionately loves football, the recent newspapers had a lot of reports about the World Cup. Therefore, as a person reborn, it was very normal to think of using betting to make a profit.

And the Korea-Japan World Cup itself was very suitable for Barron to choose to bet on. On the one hand, in his previous life, this World Cup was still very familiar to Chinese people. Not only was it a World Cup held at home, but the starting time was also very friendly to Chinese people. In addition, because this World Cup was the only time the Chinese team entered the final stage of the World Cup, he was also more familiar with the results of the matches compared to other World Cups.

Moreover, in the final analysis, this kind of World Cup betting often yielded higher odds when there were upsets. For well-known reasons, there were particularly many upsets in this World Cup. Not to mention anything else, just betting on South Korea’s matches was enough—after all, normal countries usually wouldn’t use “home advantage” so blatantly.

……

Betting on football matches was very popular in Britain. After all, William Hill, a well-known company in the sports betting industry, was a British company.

Besides this company, many other powerful betting companies also had many betting shops in London, so betting itself was very convenient.

After arriving in London, Barron went to his apartment.

Barron’s apartment in London also belonged to the family’s property. After all, the Duke of Devonshire’s family was an old British noble family. Although the family’s overall economic strength was now a little weak, their ancestors had been wealthy. Correspondingly, it was very normal to own a residence in London.

Of course, in this respect, it was far inferior compared to the Duke of Westminster’s family, who was also a duke family and was said to own half of London.

After returning to London, Barron couldn’t help but think of the girl in the hotel room when he had just come to this space-time.

At the time, he just felt that the other person was very familiar, but because he had just “arrived” and had been quite shocked, he didn’t delve too deeply.

It wasn’t until he saw the current Prince of Wales, Prince William, at the family’s funeral that he suddenly realized—the girl who had a one-night stand with his predecessor was actually the future Princess Catherine!

This discovery made Barron feel a little surprised. After all, although he hadn’t paid much attention to the affairs of the British royal family in his previous life, the wedding of Catherine and the prince was a sensation at the time. When the internet was already very popular, he had also read many related reports.

If he remembered correctly, Catherine should have been studying at the University of St Andrews in Scotland at this time and had already met the prince. How could she have appeared in a London nightclub and, under the influence of alcohol, had that kind of “friendship” with… his predecessor?

Since he couldn’t figure it out, Barron didn’t think about it anymore. After all, if history followed its course, nine years later, that girl would marry into the royal family and become Princess Catherine.

And this matter itself was an affair of his predecessor. Well, at most, he had seen the other person with his own eyes. Now, what was most important for him was to think about how to make money next.

Britain also had many traditions regarding the passing of loved ones. Although it wasn’t as exaggerated as the three years of mourning in ancient China, as children, they would generally not attend social gatherings and entertainment activities for several months to half a year…

Of course, by now, this kind of restriction was becoming less and less, but this time Barron came to London very low-key. He had Ramos help him buy the latest reports about the World Cup, and he also searched for some information about this Korea-Japan World Cup online.

Tomorrow, May 31st, was the opening of the Korea-Japan World Cup. The opening match of the day would be the previous World Cup host, France, against Senegal.

Seeing this schedule, Barron’s eyes lit up because he knew very well that in this match, the previous World Cup host and the eventual champion—the French team, lost the match!

So Barron immediately checked the odds for this match, which made him happy.

Because in this match, the mainstream odds were: France to win, 1:1.2; Senegal to win, 1:15!

That is to say, if you bet 100 pounds on France to win, you could get 120 pounds in the end, winning… 20 pounds.

But if you bet 100 pounds on Senegal to win, you could get 1500 pounds in the end!

From these odds, it could also be seen that most people favored France to win. This was not surprising. After all, France was the winning team of the previous World Cup—although the final match against Brazil, some strange things would still be mentioned many years later, but France’s strength was beyond doubt.

And the French team participating in this Korea-Japan World Cup was mostly the players from the last World Cup. Even if it was very likely that Zinedine Zidane, the soul of the French team, might not be able to play tomorrow, what about Senegal? Mentioning this country, probably not many people would know that it was located in West Africa. In terms of popularity, it was worlds apart from France.

So it could be said that this World Cup was really extraordinary. The opening match would be a major upset, which also foreshadowed the unusualness of this World Cup.

After confirming this matter, Barron became excited.

He now had 100,000 pounds in funds. At the moment, he had an impulse to bet all 100,000 pounds on Senegal to win in tomorrow’s opening match.

However, taking a deep breath, he still tried his best to restrain this impulse.

After all, although he had a deep impression of this match from his previous life, he could even remember that it was when he was in high school that he and his roommate snuck out to watch this match…

But after all, although so far, it seemed that this space-time he knew did not seem to be different from his previous life—but just the fact that his predecessor had something with the future Princess Catherine made him a little vigilant. What if?

So in the end, he decided that he couldn’t go all in on this match. He would first verify whether the result of the match would be the same as in his memory.

Chapter 11: Golden Jubilee Celebration

With the idea of playing it safe, in the end, Barron only took out 40,000 pounds to invest in this match.

Of course, also for safety’s sake, he didn’t directly sign the check to a gambling company, but instead placed bets with four companies separately, so it wouldn’t be too conspicuous.

40,000 pounds, if calculated according to the odds of 1:15 for Senegal defeating the French team when he placed his bet, then Barron could get a pre-tax prize of 600,000 pounds.

This would directly increase his principal to over 600,000 pounds!

Therefore, Barron was very much looking forward to the opening match of the Japan-Korea World Cup.

At this time, the butler was no longer like in the old days, whose vision was limited to circles among the nobility… In fact, even earlier, those who could hold important servant positions in the homes of relatively high-ranking nobles were not really from the bottom of society. Many children from middle-class families, and even some university students, would treat this as a stepping stone to accumulate connections.

Therefore, Ramos wasn’t completely ignorant. He accompanied Barron, watching him sign check after check to place bets on this match, and his heart naturally wouldn’t be very calm.

After all, even if he wasn’t a very seasoned football fan, he would understand the gap between the French team and an unheard-of team from somewhere called Senegal. Now seeing Barron’s actions, he couldn’t help but feel a little worried, fearing that this impulsive young master would squander the family fortune even faster than he had previously anticipated.

Barron also saw Ramos’s emotional changes, but he didn’t say anything to the other person.

It was still the same principle: language could be very powerful at certain times, but most of the time, it lacked tangible achievements to be convincing.

Therefore, no matter what he said, he couldn’t change other people’s minds before the results were revealed.

Moreover, as a noble lord, he didn’t need to waste too much time talking to the other person at this time. It was enough for each of them to do their own jobs.

……

“Young Master Barron, your clothing has arrived, you can try it on now.”

In the London apartment, Ramos took out several sets of clothes and placed them in front of him.

This time coming to London, besides betting on the Japan-Korea World Cup, Barron had another important matter, which was to attend the Queen’s “Golden Jubilee Celebration.”

June 2nd of this year was the 50th anniversary of the Queen’s accession to the throne, and the entire British Isles would celebrate it with a “Golden Jubilee Celebration.”

However, starting from the beginning of May, many activities of this celebration had already begun, and golden buses prepared for the celebration began to appear on the streets of London…

As one of the only twenty-plus non-royal ducal families in the British Isles, the Duke of Devonshire family had long received an invitation from the royal family and would participate in some activities of this “Golden Jubilee Celebration.”

Originally, Barron’s father and elder brother had received the invitation, but because the two of them had met with unexpected deaths, Barron Cavendish, as the sole heir to the Duke of Devonshire family at this time, would need to represent the family to attend this celebration.

If according to the old traditions, when a family member had just passed away, Barron should avoid participating in some entertainment activities, but if there were very important activities that needed to be attended, exceptions could be made.

And by the new century, the binding force of this kind of restriction had already become very weak, and this celebration activity was also very important for Barron and even the Duke of Devonshire family.

First of all, Barron was the sole heir to the Duke of Devonshire family, but he hadn’t yet completed the procedures for inheritance and being invested with a title. Therefore, his appearance at such a celebration was a very meaningful debut for the entire Duke of Devonshire family.

Moreover, in the opinion of Julia, the family trust fund manager, and Sean, the butler, the Cavendish family was currently facing great difficulties. Barron representing the family to attend the Queen’s Golden Jubilee Celebration could also see if they could obtain help from the royal family or other noble families at that time.

After all, there were only twenty-plus non-royal ducal families in existence now, and supporting each other could be considered as a matter of course.

Because the people representing the Duke of Devonshire family to participate in the Golden Jubilee Celebration had been changed from Barron’s father and elder brother to him, this matter was decided somewhat hastily. Therefore, the clothing he would wear to attend the grand ceremony couldn’t be completely tailor-made, and he could only choose the most suitable one from high-end ready-made formal wear, and then have a tailor make some modifications to his figure.

But fortunately, Barron’s figure was very standard, and the amount of work the tailors needed to do wasn’t large.

After putting on this suit, Barron made people’s eyes light up!

His appearance was naturally the kind that was handsome but not too effeminate, making people feel very sunny. Plus, his height was close to 190 centimeters, and his figure was well-proportioned, making him a perfect clothes rack. This suit perfectly set off the noble aura on Barron.

“Young Master, you will definitely become every woman’s dream lover that day…”

Even as a personal butler, who was usually by Barron’s side and knew him extremely well, Ramos couldn’t help but praise him when he saw the other person’s appearance at this time.

“I also think these clothes are pretty good, so let’s go with this.”

Barron looked at his current body’s appearance in the mirror and felt very satisfied.

……

The Japan-Korea World Cup, held in South Korea and Japan, the match times weren’t particularly friendly to the British Isles, but they were still acceptable.

The main reason was that London time was earlier than Japan-Korea time, so the opening match of the World Cup, France vs. Senegal, held at 19:30 in the evening, was exactly noon in London.

If this was good, then the match at 14:30 in the afternoon would be at five or six o’clock in the morning in London – well, football fans would have to get up early.

The result of the match didn’t deviate from Barron’s previous life’s trajectory; it was still the French team losing to the Senegal team with a score of 0:1.

This also meant that with the odds of 15 times, Barron successfully received 600,000 pounds from his 40,000-pound bet on this match.

A good start!

Seeing such a result, especially after going to collect the winnings, it was impossible for Barron not to be happy and excited.

And for him, the greater significance lay in – history hadn’t changed, he hadn’t gone down the wrong path!

So those “futures” in his memory could all be used for reference and believed in!

This way, he had a great deal of confidence that he could achieve a great victory in this World Cup.

Of course, the betting method also needed to be strategic.

Different from the 1998 French World Cup, after four years of development, because online betting had appeared at this time, the global gambling scale for the World Cup once again created a record.

According to what he found from the internet, in the first match of the Japan-Korea World Cup, France vs. Senegal, the data from legitimate gambling companies around the world showed that the total betting scale exceeded 1.5 billion euros!

But even so, narrowing the scope to the British Isles, Barron’s betting amount still needed to be planned, and it couldn’t be too conspicuous.

Fortunately, it was 2002, and the British Isles’ “2005 Gambling Act” hadn’t been implemented yet, otherwise, the real-name system and limits on betting might have forced Barron to bet in neighboring France…

Chapter 12: The Queen’s Audience

Before the “Golden Jubilee Celebration,” Barron received an audience with Her Majesty the Queen.

This wasn’t Barron’s first time at Buckingham Palace. To be precise, in the memories of his predecessor, he had accompanied his father several times to royal celebrations. However, receiving a personal audience with the Queen was definitely a first.

In other words, if the Duke of Devonshire family hadn’t been left with only Barron as the sole heir, it would have been difficult for him to receive an audience with Her Majesty the Queen, especially since he hadn’t been formally granted the title of Duke yet.

Although he had anticipated this, Barron couldn’t help but sigh when faced with the reality.

The truth was, the Queen’s audience with him wasn’t long, it was more like a brief appearance and a few words exchanged.

The conversation was, on the one hand, to express her sympathy for the recent events the Duke of Devonshire family had suffered. The Queen mentioned that she had originally intended to attend their family’s funeral in person, but she was truly occupied and couldn’t make it. Therefore, she had sent His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales, the heir to the throne, instead.

In Barron’s opinion, the reason for this was probably because it was the Queen’s Golden Jubilee, marking 50 years on the throne. Therefore, not only the Queen herself, but also those around her certainly didn’t support her attending such a funeral – moreover, although the Queen looked energetic, she was, after all, already 76 years old…

She specifically mentioned the old lady of the Duke of Devonshire family –

“I heard her name when I was young, and I had conversations with her at several gatherings. So many years have passed, and now hearing the news of her passing is truly saddening.”

In addition, the Queen also stated that she would personally bestow honors on Barron at the ceremony where he would be invested as Duke.

As for anything else, there was nothing.

The implication was obvious: she was also aware of the situation of the Duke of Devonshire family at this time. If the family could survive this crisis, they would receive everything they deserved.

But if Barron couldn’t survive this crisis, then they probably wouldn’t be able to help.

Barron didn’t have too many illusions about this. After all, it was obvious that since World War II, the most apparent characteristic of successive British governments was the constant constraint and restriction of the aristocracy. Even in the new century, this weakening had begun to target the royal family.

Under these circumstances, the royal family, in order to maintain relations with the government, was absolutely unable to provide too obvious support to the aristocracy.

And furthermore, from World War I and World War II until now, countless British aristocratic families had been submerged in the long river of history. In view of this situation, the royal family was also unwilling to get involved.

After all, if they helped this time, would they have to help other aristocratic families next time? Although there were only twenty or so non-royal Duke families, there were so many others, including Marquesses, Earls, Viscounts, and so on. If they really got involved this time, there would probably be no peaceful days afterward.

Therefore, regarding the affairs of the Duke of Devonshire family, sympathy was one thing, but they still maintained a bystander’s position.

…

This audience with the Queen was just a formality before the official start of the “Golden Jubilee Celebration” tomorrow. Besides Barron representing the Duke of Devonshire family, many other aristocrats and celebrities, as well as political figures, had also received the Queen’s audience.

Relying on oneself is better than relying on others. Barron had long been aware of this, so after returning to his apartment, he immediately began to study the upcoming bets.

He didn’t place any bets on today’s matches. After all, the World Cup would last for a month, and he couldn’t bet on every match; that would be too obvious and high-profile.

Moreover, it wasn’t that he could remember the results of all the matches now; the ones he remembered more clearly only accounted for about one-fifth of them.

However, he still had some impression of tomorrow’s matches because those matches included Argentina and England.

The Japan-Korea World Cup was one of the few World Cups where the Argentinian team didn’t make it out of the group stage. Their Group F included Nigeria, England, Sweden, and Argentina.

Nigeria, the African Eagles, was a traditional strong team from Africa; England was also a traditional European strong team; Sweden’s strength wasn’t weak either, and with the Campas Eagles Argentina, this group could be said to be a group of death.

Ultimately, Argentina had one win, one draw, and one loss, accumulating four points, and were eliminated by England and Sweden, who both had one win and two draws…

In tomorrow’s matches, Argentina would defeat Nigeria, and England would draw with Sweden. These two matches, especially the latter one, were suitable for placing bets…

…

Although the last meeting could be said to have ended on a sour note, after Barron received the Queen’s audience, Julia visited him again.

After hearing from him about the process of the Queen’s audience today and asking for some details, Julia sighed:

“Even if they could speak to those banks, it would be helpful, but it’s just like this now. People are always overly critical of the aristocracy, so the royal family is very cautious in this regard.”

“What is the attitude of those banks now?”

Hearing Barron’s question, Julia shrugged:

“Fortunately, we still have time. The earliest loan due is only two months from now, but within this year, a total of over 15 million pounds of loans will be due. If we can’t resolve the loss problem well before then, well, at least give the other party some confidence, I’m afraid that even wanting to extend the loan won’t be so easy.”

“How much money do we need to solve in two months?”

“Two months from now, the 2 million pound loan from Barclays Bank will be due. This money was originally secured by our assets in London, so we either give up these assets or find a way, or sell some other assets to raise funds. However, at this time, many properties can’t be sold for a good price, and London real estate has even fallen in price in the past six months.”

It can be said that the large-scale burst of the internet bubble crisis last year had an impact on the global economy. After all, the American stock market suffered greatly, and the Nasdaq index fell by nearly 80% from its peak, and it is still in a continued slump.

As the most important part of the world’s finance, the crisis in America spread to the world and also started the downturn of the European economy.

“Of course, Lord, the primary thing for you now is still to find a way to pay the inheritance tax and complete the inheritance procedures for the family title and assets.”

Before leaving, Julia said:

“Also, London will be very lively during this period, but you still need to be extremely careful, especially at night. Don’t appear in nightclubs or any kind of celebratory gatherings… Once those gossip tabloids get their eyes on you and report it, the negative impact will probably be very significant…”

Thinking with a bit of dark humor, it was precisely because of the significant losses of the family trust fund that the inheritance tax required for Barron to inherit these assets had been reduced a lot…

Because of the tax-exempt nature of the trust fund, after calculation, the inheritance tax he needed to pay was even less than two million pounds.

One must know that more than half a century ago, his grandfather faced an inheritance tax as high as 7 million pounds…

This also shows the decline of the Duke of Devonshire family from one side.

Chapter 13: The Concert

June 2nd. This was the day the “Golden Jubilee” celebrating Queen Elizabeth II’s 50th year on the throne began.

Because it fell on a Sunday, more people had time to participate in this nationwide celebration. According to the latest data, approximately one-third of the British population would be involved in various celebratory activities during this jubilee.

As Barron left his apartment, he saw the Union Jack flying everywhere in the streets and alleys of London.

The usually reserved British people, contrary to their norm, were extremely unrestrained, starting various gatherings and open-air dances on the streets.

Interestingly, during this jubilee, many British shops announced that they would sell all kinds of goods at the prices from when the Queen ascended the throne in 1952, which could be considered a very successful commercial promotion.

Today, Barron would attend a thank-you event initiated by the royal family. After the event, a grand open-air classical concert would be held outside Buckingham Palace.

In fact, after yesterday’s meeting with the Queen, Barron had completely given up on the idea of seeking help for his family’s crisis in this kind of royal social event.

But no matter what, as the future Duke of England, it was still very necessary to participate in some social activities.

And at today’s open-air classical concert, it could be said that the world’s most famous classical and pop musicians and singers would all come here to celebrate the Queen, so even if it was just considered an entertainment activity, it was worth attending.

Barron’s predecessor, as the second son of the Duke, did not start learning and training in aristocratic matters from a young age like his elder brother. This was partly because of his status as the second son, which generally did not require it; of course, it was also related to his personality, which was different from his brother’s.

Therefore, in Barron’s predecessor’s memory, the impressions of other aristocratic families were mostly just about the younger generation—such as which girl was more beautiful and sexy…

It was also because of this that after arriving at Buckingham Palace and seeing many nobles and celebrities, Barron spent a lot of effort trying to remember the identities of the people he met.

He was fortunate that, since coming to this spacetime, the current Barron had gradually become accustomed to a better memory and a more agile thinking ability than his previous life and his predecessor. Therefore, he was now able to remember everything he saw, and he handled remembering names, titles, and identities with ease.

“Hello, Lord Barron. I am Ian Booth, from the Booth. family. This is my wife, Chrissy.”

Just as Barron began socializing, a middle-aged man in a well-tailored suit, accompanied by a noblewoman in a light yellow dress who looked quite elegant, walked towards him and greeted him.

It should be explained here that in Britain, there are also specific rules for addressing nobles.

In Britain, nobles are divided into hereditary nobles and life peers. The so-called hereditary nobles are titles that can be passed on to the next generation, including viscounts, earls, marquises, and dukes; while life peers can only be granted to one person and cannot be inherited, just like a baron.

Among them, people address dukes and duchesses as “Grace,” while nobles below dukes, including marquises, earls, viscounts, and barons, can all be addressed as “Lord.”

Therefore, although Barron was the sole heir to the Devonshire Dukedom, he had not yet been invested with the title, so others called him “Lord.”

Just like Ian Booth. in front of him, after the introduction, Barron knew that the other party’s father was an earl, and as the first in line to inherit the family, he also held the title of viscount.

At the same time, he also owned a real estate company that had real estate projects in many places in Britain, and the company seemed to be quite large.

“I was shocked to hear the sad news of the late Duke’s passing, and I am deeply saddened…”

Hearing Viscount Booth’s words, Barron’s gaze swept over the faces of the man and his wife:

“Lord Ian, did you know my father before?”

“Yes, I once discussed a collaboration with your late father, which was about the renovation plan for the Victoria gas holder at King’s Cross in London… The late Duke was quite interested in it at the time, but he was busy with other things, so it was temporarily delayed…”

Barron had a vague impression of the place mentioned by the other party; he should have seen it in the asset catalog of the family’s trust fund, but after all, there were too many projects in that catalog, and he wouldn’t have a very deep understanding of it. Therefore, he said to Ian:

“I’m sorry, Mr. Lord. You know, our family has too many things to deal with recently, so I need to go back and inquire about the matter you mentioned.”

“I completely understand. In fact, this time I’m prepared to offer another plan, which is for us to directly purchase the land of that gas holder, and develop it ourselves. That way, you can immediately recover a considerable amount of funds to make up for the losses…”

Viscount Booth. said sincerely to Barron:

“Of course, it’s probably not a good time to discuss the details now. This is my business card. You can contact me later to discuss the details.”

“Okay, Lord.”

…

After temporarily saying goodbye to the other party, Barron met the Prince of Wales and the two princes by his side.

The Prince of Wales seemed quite enthusiastic and introduced them to each other.

Of the two princes, the elder, William, was two years younger than Barron and was currently studying at the University of St Andrews… Barron had a very pleasant conversation with him about university courses, and it was impossible to see that there had been a story with Catherine before—he had previously looked up some related reports, and it seemed that Catherine and William had not officially confirmed their relationship at this time.

The other prince, Harry, who would become more rebellious in the future, looked a little shy at this time and was attending high school courses at Eton College, the most famous school in Britain, and also made a familiar face with Barron.

Next, everyone began to move to the square outside Buckingham Palace to attend the open-air classical concert that would be held there.

This concert included eighteen members of the royal family, as well as many nobles and social celebrities, plus other people who came, making a total audience of 12,000 people.

Before this, Barron had heard that the preparation for this concert had taken two years and cost a great deal.

It could be said that first-class superstars and artists from Britain and the United States had all come here to perform and celebrate the Queen’s 50th anniversary on the throne.

In addition to the audience on site, as many as 40,000 people gathered outside Buckingham Palace to watch this grand gala that brought together the stars through giant screens.

It had to be said that the feeling of being there in person was still very good—except for the Duke’s daughter sitting next to Barron, who repeatedly and persistently invited him to attend her gatherings, or to “go out and have some fun”…

Chapter 14: Gas Tank Reconstruction

“Barron, it’s really you, long time no see…”

“Aurora? It’s great to see you, what are you doing here?”

“I went to a celebration with friends and did some shopping, I just got back. By the way, I live nearby now…”

When Barron returned to his apartment in the afternoon, he initially wanted to walk along the road to experience the celebratory atmosphere of London. However, he unexpectedly ran into Aurora.

With her golden long hair, exquisite features, and a tall figure, there was no doubt that Aurora was a captivating presence wherever she went.

More importantly, she was once Barron’s lover… one of them.

In university, Aurora was a prominent figure on campus. She and Barron were once known as the “golden couple,” but later, unable to tolerate Barron’s fickleness, she eventually broke up with him.

Therefore, after seeing Aurora take the initiative to greet him, Barron immediately recognized her from the memories of his “former self.”

“I have to say, Aurora, you’re becoming more and more charming.”

“You’re still as good at talking, Barron.”

His impression of the girl before him all came from the memories of his former self, but seeing her reaction and expression now, she was clearly quite interested in him…

Aurora was wearing a gunmetal gray coat and a white shirt today, with black skinny pants and nude high heels, looking very sharp.

“Do you have time later, Barron, want to go to a bar and chat? Perhaps we can talk about what’s been happening in our lives lately.”

“I’m sorry, Aurora, I would really like to, but I’m not in a position to go to places like bars right now, because…”

“That’s right, I saw about your family’s situation in the newspaper, it’s really sad, sorry I shouldn’t have brought that up.”

Like many aristocratic families, Barron had not revealed his aristocratic identity when he was a student. Aurora was also unaware of this when they were in love.

However, with the recent reports about the Duke of Devonshire family, Barron, as the only remaining heir of this ancient ducal family, his photo appeared multiple times in various reports. It was not surprising that Aurora was able to learn of Barron’s identity.

“But if you don’t mind, Aurora, I’d like to invite you to my home for a few drinks…”

“Is that, convenient? Your girlfriend…”

“Of course it’s convenient, I’m alone right now.”

…

“The gas tanks near King’s Cross Station? Yes, that’s the Cavendish family’s asset. The Viscount Booth. you mentioned, he did talk to us before about jointly renovating and developing that place…”

Yesterday, Barron met Viscount and Lady Booth. at Buckingham Palace. He heard them mention the land of the Victorian gas tanks at King’s Cross. He vaguely remembered that that piece of land did appear in the asset catalog of the family trust fund, so he asked Julia Moore, the manager of the family trust fund, and received a reply.

Julia told Barron that this storage tank was located near King’s Cross Station, consisting of three huge gas tanks connected to each other. These gas tanks could be traced back to the Victorian era!

These gas tanks and a portion of the land nearby originally belonged to a gas company in London. A female member of the Cavendish family married another Marquis, thereby obtaining a portion of the shares of this gas company, and eventually received this piece of land with three huge gas tanks – at that time, these gas tanks had already been abandoned.

Because she had no descendants, in her will, she bequeathed this asset to the then Duke of Devonshire, making it one of the assets of the Devonshire family.

In the following decades, the Cavendish family had not failed to consider developing this piece of land, but due to the removal of these three huge abandoned storage tanks, the cost was considerable. In addition, the Cavendish family did not have sufficient funds at the time, and their enthusiasm for real estate development was not that great, so this place had been put on hold.

In fact, the location of these gas tanks was still very good, in a relatively central location in London.

Therefore, soon after, several real estate companies, including the company owned by Viscount Booth, had negotiated with them to jointly develop the area, with Viscount Booth. being the most active.

But the events that followed were well-known. Because of a sudden accident, the old Duke and his eldest son passed away, and the matter was put on hold.

“At first, the old Duke was very confident in the investment in ‘London Star.’ Indeed, the performance of that investment was quite good at the time – so his intention was to invest with Viscount Booth. and others to develop that place…”

In the study of the apartment, Julia sat on the sofa in front of Barron and said to him seriously:

“Indeed, although the area is not particularly large, the entire piece of land is about 6 hectares, but the location is indeed good, very close to King’s Cross Station. If it can be successfully developed, it still has a good prospect.”

Since the beginning of the century, London’s real estate had begun an upward trend. Relatively, families that had accumulated a huge amount of wealth from real estate development also emerged constantly. Therefore, Barron’s father, who was very confident in his “London Star” investment, planned to use the profits to develop his piece of land in the central location of London, which was a reasonable justification.

It was just that with the explosion of the “London Star” investment project, the entire family’s finances fell into trouble, and the development of the “gas tank land” was indefinitely postponed.

“Viscount Booth. told me that he plans to change the way they cooperate, and directly purchase our piece of land for them to develop themselves, Ms. Moore, what do you think of this proposal?”

“The location there is still very good, with development potential. But our current financial situation also prevents us from continuing to invest funds. This depends on your Lordship’s thoughts. If you sell that piece of land and use the funds to fill the investment losses, it is also one of the options that can be chosen.”

In the final analysis, Julia’s intention was also inclined to agree with this plan, but the premise was still to see Barron’s own meaning. She would not give a conclusion too explicitly.

At the same time, her implication was that even if the land was sold, it should be used to fill the previous investment losses, and not for other things… she was really guarding Barron tightly.

“In that case, let’s wait and see what kind of conditions Viscount Booth. gives us.”

…

“It’s almost ten o’clock, are you getting up to eat something?”

After seeing Julia off, Barron returned to his bedroom again and spoke to Aurora, who had a section of white jade-like arm extending out of the quilt, her long hair covering her face, as if still in a dream.

“I’m so sleepy, I want to sleep a little more…”

Aurora mumbled with sleepiness:

“It’s all you, you kept us up last night… I feel like I’m falling apart.”

Chapter 15: You’re such a bastard!

Hearing the other person’s words tinged with a hint of coquettishness, Barron asked with a smile:

“But you were enjoying it at the time, and you even wanted me to… you know, some delicacies require some effort to savor, and those efforts are all worth it compared to the unparalleled experience in the end, right?”

“F**K, I was crazy, Barron. You weren’t that strong before. I have to say, it’s an experience that’s hard to resist, but if it’s like this every time, I’ll probably break down!”

It has to be said that this kind of praise from a woman is indeed very pleasing to a man.

And the state of the two of them learning knowledge last night did indeed surprise Barron himself. It could be said that in his previous life, he didn’t have such an intense experience in learning knowledge.

At the time, he thought it was the “strength” of his current body, but the memories from his previous self, and these words from Aurora, refuted this point.

So now, he could only attribute it to some small benefit after his “rebirth.”

After all, such a magical thing as rebirth has already happened, so it’s not so difficult to accept getting an extra little benefit on top of that.

……

Finally, it was noon. Aurora got out of bed, with a touch of laziness, and ate her breakfast and lunch with Barron…

“Wow, this is all Chinese food? I don’t remember you liking these, Barron…”

“It’s never a bad thing to try more, what do you think of the taste?”

“Uh, it’s actually not bad. This spare ribs dish is great, as for the others, how should I put it… very special, not quite the same as the Chinese food I’ve eaten before.”

After coming to London, Barron could finally change his taste - well, referring to food…

So, most of the time, he would specify a takeaway from a nearby Chinese restaurant. You know, because of the taste, Chinese restaurants overseas would adjust according to the preferences of the locals.

The owner of the Chinese restaurant Barron found was from Shandong Province in China, which suited Barron’s taste. Moreover, he specifically asked for authentic Chinese food, not the modified ones. Because of this, the taste was very different from the Chinese food Aurora had eaten before.

That is, sweet and sour dishes like sweet and sour spare ribs, which are more in line with the taste of “locals” like Aurora.

“Anyway, it’s much more delicious than our British food, isn’t it?”

“That’s common knowledge, Barron, so luckily we still have French and Italian food, but I have to say, starting today, I have to eat this sweet and sour spare ribs at least once a month, no, every week…”

I don’t know if it was because of the physical exertion last night, but Aurora ate this meal with great satisfaction.

“Darling, do you have time this afternoon?”

After eating, she suddenly asked Barron gently.

“What’s up?”

“My father is also in London, I was wondering if you have time, we could see him and have a meal together…”

Aurora’s words couldn’t help but make Barron feel a little wary.

He had just learned knowledge with her, and now he was going to meet the parents? Wasn’t that a bit too fast!

And to be honest, the reason why he was with Aurora… Barron didn’t actually have any other thoughts - it was just that the other person was his “ex-girlfriend,” and the two of them had been intimate before…

Plus, her performance at the time was also relatively proactive, and he happened to be living a “vegetarian” life after his rebirth, so yesterday, he habitually flirted with her.

But flirting was flirting, he really didn’t have any ideas about a substantial development with Aurora. Although from all aspects, Aurora’s conditions were very good, but Barron was now “only” 22 years old, he wasn’t ready to confirm a relationship with any girl so early.

Moreover, Aurora, already had…

“Aurora, don’t you already have a fiancé?”

Barron said to Aurora with composure.

Last night, he and Aurora weren’t just drinking, but also reminiscing about their past relationships and their respective situations…

Of course, after a few drinks, Barron didn’t feel obviously drunk, but Aurora’s eyes became more and more blurred, and she said a lot about her current situation. Among them, she complained that her family was preparing to arrange a marriage for her for the sake of the alliance, and the other party was a wealthy family engaged in shipping trade.

“I’ve only met him a few times, we’re not engaged yet, I haven’t even agreed, Barron…”

Aurora stood up, took Barron’s arm, and said:

“Although Bob is a nice person, very gentlemanly, and well-mannered, but there’s no feeling of excitement between him and me. Since fate let me meet you again yesterday, I found that I still like you…”

“But Aurora, I still feel it’s too fast, and you should know that I’ve been busy with family matters recently. Perhaps you’ve seen the relevant reports. Indeed, as the newspapers say, our family is now facing a financial crisis and may go bankrupt. I’m working hard to prevent such a thing from happening. I’m sorry, now is really not the time to consider personal problems.”

After Barron said these words, Aurora widened her eyes:

“I thought those things in the newspapers were all nonsense. You know, those reports are often based on rumors and exaggerated…”

“I also hope so, but unfortunately, because of the changes in the family, I do have a lot of responsibility now, which makes it difficult for me to take care of other things in a short period of time.”

“Then you still with me yesterday…”

“Uh, Aurora, we’re both adults, aren’t we, and at least I’m treating you as a very good friend now…”

“You…”

Aurora could hardly believe what she had just heard. She shook off Barron’s arm, her chest heaving violently, showing the excitement of her mood at this moment:

“You’re such a bastard! No, Barron, you haven’t changed, you’ve been such a bastard from start to finish! I actually thought we, I’m such an idiot! Also, I don’t want to see you again!”

Seeing the girl walk into the bedroom, grab her coat and handbag, and walk towards the door angrily…

“Aurora, I think we should talk calmly, maybe you have some misunderstanding about me…”

But the girl didn’t respond to his words, and with a “bang,” she slammed the door and left.

“Well, I hope you can change your mind.”

As if talking to himself, Barron said so.

Chapter 16: Just in Case

“The Queen’s request to Parliament for more funding proves that her income sources have encountered problems…”

“Because the Queen signed an agreement with the government promising to pay income tax, coupled with the increasing expenses of the royal family, the Queen, as the head of the family, is facing a very embarrassing financial crisis…”

“In the past ten years, the Queen’s personal expenses have increased by 15 million pounds each year, which has added a lot of burden to the royal family… You must know that since ninety-three, the royal income has sharply decreased, and the government’s subsidies have also been reduced at the same time…”

“The Queen’s Sandringham Palace suffered heavy losses last year due to the foot-and-mouth disease crisis, resulting in a deficit for the first time in many years, and has not yet turned a profit. Her stocks have also depreciated by more than 12 million pounds due to the global economic downturn, making the Queen’s financial situation even worse…”

Putting down the newspaper in his hand, Barron couldn’t help but ponder.

Just as all of England was holding the “Golden Jubilee Celebration” to celebrate the Queen’s 50th anniversary of her coronation, the Independent suddenly published a detailed report, listing many precise figures to illustrate that the royal family was falling into a financial crisis due to the global economic impact and continuous increase in expenditures.

The royal spokesperson denied the report immediately, stating that the royal family’s financial situation was very good and that the report was completely alarmist.

However, in Barron’s opinion, even if the royal family’s situation was not as serious as described in the report at this time, they would still be affected to some extent by the global economic downturn. This was probably why the royal family had not explicitly expressed their support for their family before; after all, “even the landlord’s family doesn’t have any surplus grain”…

The date was June 5th. By this time, through the bets placed during this period, Barron’s funds had grown tremendously from the initial 100,000 pounds, exceeding 5 million pounds!

As mentioned before, this time’s FIFA World Cup could be said to have been full of “upsets,” and even could be considered the World Cup with the most upsets.

Because of this, the upsets corresponded to odds far higher than the normal results of the matches, which was what Barron liked.

Just like Argentina, they didn’t even make it out of the group stage in this World Cup…

Equally unfortunate was Portugal… well, besides Portugal being too lackluster, losing to the United States in the first match, they were also unlucky to be placed in the same group as South Korea. Heh, those who understand, understand.

And besides these upsets, the Chinese team also entered the World Cup. Their group included the champions of this World Cup – Brazil; also the third-place team of this World Cup – Turkey, and Costa Rica, which was not a weak team either.

It could be said that because of the Chinese team, Barron remembered the scores of the matches in this group very clearly, and could directly bet on the scores to get even higher odds.

……

Of course, although the funds in his hands had swelled to 5 million pounds through betting.

It also meant that from now on, if he continued to bet with such a large amount of funds, it would be very conspicuous.

To be more low-key, Barron even began to divide his funds. Part of it was still distributed to various betting points of companies in London; while another part of the funds crossed the English Channel to France on the other side for betting.

Fortunately, there was the Eurostar high-speed train at this time, and it didn’t take long to cross the English Channel to France, which was very convenient.

Also, at this stage, Barron, besides changing his strategy and not betting more frequently, but choosing more high-odds matches, also planned to take out 2 million pounds from his funds in the next few days to pay inheritance tax, complete the process of inheriting his family, and officially obtain the title of Duke, as well as control of the family trust fund.

This step was still very necessary because besides the change in status and the ability to control more assets, the various resources he could obtain accordingly would also be richer than at this time.

The reason for making such a decision was because Barron had also figured out a truth during this period, that the reports about the financial crisis of the Devonshire Duke family that appeared before, first appeared in a gossip tabloid.

This was very likely to be some forces that held various ideas about his family’s assets, similar to the Viscount Booth. he had encountered before…

But this kind of report could actually appear in many influential newspapers later, which was definitely not something ordinary dignitaries and wealthy businessmen could do…

In this regard, Barron had some guesses, that is, more powerful forces were involved!

For example, the Prime Minister of England…

The Prime Minister of England at this time was Blair, from the Labour Party. After successfully being re-elected, it was the time of his greatest power.

And the background of the Labour Party also represented his attitude towards the British aristocracy, which was to try his best to weaken them.

In 1999, he had reformed the House of Lords, which was composed of aristocrats, abolishing the membership of more than 600 hereditary nobles, and only retaining 92 hereditary members in the House of Lords, which could be said to make the House of Lords, which had almost no power, become more and more useless.

Therefore, at this time, a little influence, magnifying the voice of the Devonshire Duke family’s financial crisis, thereby causing them to encounter more resistance in solving their debts, and eventually, this Duke family might decline, was indeed a very likely thing.

After all, being able to possibly eliminate a British Duke family with a certain influence was definitely something the other party would be happy to see.

Of course, these were all Barron’s guesses, but one thing he could be sure of was that in the process of solving the family’s financial crisis, even if he wouldn’t encounter any resistance from the government, he would definitely not get any support either.

This was why he decided to pay the inheritance tax as soon as possible and complete the procedures for inheriting the family.

He didn’t want this matter to encounter any more changes in the delay.

……

“Young Master Barron, this is an invitation someone sent today.”

Receiving the elegantly designed invitation handed over by Ramos, Barron opened it and learned that it was an invitation to attend a banquet, with the signature of Viscount Booth..

Sure enough, the other party had started to take action.

It could be said that the “Golden Jubilee Celebration” that started during this period, as well as some reports about the royal family, also helped Barron attract the attention of the public.

In Britain, of course, the news of the royal family attracted readers more, so after that, reports about the Devonshire Duke family almost disappeared.

At this time, Viscount Booth. issued an invitation to him, and the location should be his residence in London.

It made Barron somewhat curious, what kind of conditions would the other party offer this time?

It seemed that the answer would be revealed then.

Chapter 17: Prank

The Viscount Booth’s residence in London was located in Chelsea.

Chelsea, officially the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, was a royal borough within Greater London.

Among London’s traditional three affluent areas, Chelsea was favored by some nobles.

This was because it possessed a large number of historical Victorian buildings and prestigious British mansions—the famous royal residence, Kensington Palace, was located there.

Of course, correspondingly, the house prices here were also very expensive, no less than Kensington, where Barron currently resided.

“Welcome, Lord Barron.”

“It’s an honor to accept your invitation, Mr. Booth..”

After shaking hands with Viscount Booth, a fair and flawless hand was extended to Barron. He took the jade-like hand and gently kissed it:

“My lady, your beauty could make the stars lose their luster.”

“Your praise is like a spring breeze, Your Lordship…”

Lady Booth, Chrissie, had a radiant smile on her face. Her beautiful eyes looked at Barron’s handsome face, and then she pulled a girl with equally exquisite features to her side, saying to him:

“This is my cousin, Bonnie. She’s an alumna of yours.”

“It’s a great honor to meet you, Miss Bonnie…”

Barron, seeing the viscountess’s cousin, had to admit that she had an excellent figure, not only tall but also exceptionally beautiful. He praised:

“Your figure is really no less than those supermodels, and you seem somewhat familiar. I feel like I’ve seen you somewhere…”

“Thank you for your praise, Your Lordship. Actually, I used to be a print model, and now I’m a host at Sky Television. That might be the reason you feel I’m familiar.”

…

The interior decoration and layout of Viscount Booth’s residence were quite modern, which was somewhat different from his noble status.

In addition, the dinner was carefully prepared by the host, and it was evident that he had put a lot of thought into this invitation.

During the meal, Viscount Booth. did not mention the land near King’s Cross Station, and the atmosphere between them was relaxed and casual.

The topics covered the recently held “Golden Jubilee,” which was the hottest topic in Britain recently. In addition, there was the World Cup and Michael Jackson’s upcoming visit to London in a week.

Bonnie was two years older than Barron and both graduated from University College London. She could be considered his senior, but because they chose different majors, Barron’s predecessor didn’t actually remember seeing her at school.

With this connection, the two had many common topics and would talk about some interesting things from school.

From her appearance, Bonnie had some similarities with Viscountess Chrissie, but compared to her, Chrissie was more plump and had a mature demeanor; while Bonnie exuded a youthful aura and was very enthusiastic.

As for their attire, Viscountess Chrissie was wearing a long dress, a formal gown style; while her cousin Bonnie was wearing a professional-style suit skirt, with a more designed shirt inside, which made the overall look not too formal, adding a touch of charm.

Especially Bonnie’s long legs, which were exposed beneath her skirt and wrapped in gray stockings, were straight and slender, very attractive to Barron’s eyes.

Of course, on the surface, he naturally couldn’t lose his composure, but his gaze would subtly sweep over there.

Bonnie was sitting on Barron’s side at the table, while Viscount Booth. and his wife were sitting opposite them.

Therefore, for Barron’s somewhat presumptuous gaze, Viscount Booth. and Chrissie opposite might not have noticed, but Bonnie, who was beside him, was surprisingly perceptive.

Just as Barron was discussing with Viscount Booth. the prospects of the England team in the World Cup, Bonnie slightly stood up and moved her chair back—this way, more of her legs were exposed outside the tablecloth.

“The first match was a draw with Sweden, and there’s also Argentina in the group, and Nigeria is not weak either. It seems that our group of death is really not optimistic. I really hope the lads can create a miracle.”

Participating in the discussion about the World Cup, while speaking, Bonnie’s upper body remained sitting upright, but she put one leg on top of the other…

This action made her long legs even more eye-catching, but this scene could only be seen by Barron, who was sitting beside her at this moment. Across the tablecloth and the table, Viscount Booth. and his wife opposite were unaware of her actions under the table.

Therefore, Barron’s gaze was immediately attracted to Bonnie’s long legs…

As he looked over, he also noticed her line of sight, looked up, and met Bonnie’s eyes, only to see her quickly blink at him.

This woman was definitely doing it on purpose!

Of course, these were just a small interlude tonight, a small “prank” from Bonnie…

This also made Barron think for a moment whether his predecessor’s reputation as a “playboy” had spread so widely.

After dinner, Viscount Booth. invited Barron to his study to enjoy tea.

He knew that the main event of the evening was about to begin.

“Lord Barron, you should remember that during our last meeting, I mentioned my intention to cooperate with your father.”

“It’s the land of the gas tanks near King’s Cross Station?”

“Yes, the location is not bad. The only obstacle is those huge abandoned storage tanks…”

Viscount Booth. picked up a cigar and handed it to Barron:

“You can try this. It’s a good thing from Cuba.”

Barron was no stranger to cigars, whether in his previous life or his predecessor’s. After taking it, he skillfully picked up a cigar cutter, cut off the cigar cap, and patiently toasted it, finally taking a light puff and savoring the rich aroma in his mouth…

At the same time, Viscount Booth. said:

“I originally hoped to cooperate with you to develop that piece of land, but now, I know that you might have some small financial difficulties. Therefore, I can offer another option, which is to buy the land and develop it independently. This way, Lord Barron, you can also recover a sum of money to solve your current difficulties.”

“It seems like a good proposal…”

Barron leaned back on the back of the sofa, looked at Viscount Booth. in front of him, and asked with interest:

“I wonder what price the Viscount can offer for that piece of land?”

“We hired a professional agency to assess the value of that piece of land, and finally determined the acquisition price…”

Meeting Barron’s gaze, Viscount Booth. said slowly:

“Eight million pounds, cash, which can be paid immediately after the contract is signed.”

Chapter 18: Declining

“Eight million pounds?”

Upon hearing Viscount Booth’ offer, Barron raised an eyebrow, his expression turning serious:

“That price lacks sincerity, Viscount.”

“I understand your perspective, Barron, if that were a normal residential plot, considering its location, it would be worth at least twenty million pounds…”

Viscount Booth. wasn’t overly surprised by Barron’s reaction; he calmly told Barron:

“But first, your land was originally intended for the construction of gas company supporting gas storage tanks, so although the gas storage tanks have been scrapped, the land is still industrial land. If you want to develop it commercially, build residential buildings or commercial properties, you need to change the land’s property…”

In Britain, similar to China, the land sold includes properties such as agricultural land, industrial land, commercial land, or residential land. It’s not that you can build whatever you want after buying the land; you must use it according to the land’s property.

If you want to change the land’s property, you must obtain approval from relevant government departments; otherwise, you will be penalized.

According to Viscount Booth, the plot owned by the Duke of Devonshire family, located near King’s Cross station, is itself industrial land. Although the location is good, its value cannot be measured according to residential land.

“The price of industrial land is definitely lower, and more importantly, there are three huge abandoned gas storage tanks on that land. To remove those things, you also need to spend extra funds, so eight million pounds is already a very reasonable price.”

Barron was somewhat noncommittal about Viscount Booth’ words.

He knew that what the other party said was very likely the truth, but at the same time, since Viscount Booth. was so eager to buy that plot, it also showed that there was definitely value in it that made him tempted.

If Barron were really facing a family financial crisis as Viscount Booth. believed, then in that situation, he would probably still choose to sell that land—even if he would contact a few more buyers beforehand to try to raise the price a little, the final selling price wouldn’t be too different.

But in fact, Barron had already found a way to solve this financial crisis, so in that case, a plot of land near the center of London would be of greater value to him—after all, he also knew that the land prices in London would continue to rise in the next few years, and the increase would not be small.

Most importantly, prime location plots are becoming increasingly difficult to obtain.

In the final analysis, the purpose of his visit to Viscount Booth. this time, besides seeing what conditions the other party would offer, was also to gain more information through direct contact with the other party—he also wanted to know if Viscount Booth. was behind those reports about the family’s financial crisis.

“I still need to ask for opinions from others about this matter…”

“I can understand that, after all, you just took over the family not long ago, I just hope you won’t make me wait too long.”

After Barron found an excuse to decline, this sentence from Viscount Booth. was very interesting…

…

“Thank you for your hospitality, I hope to have the opportunity to invite you to my place as a guest next time.”

“The pleasure is all mine, Barron…”

As Barron was saying goodbye and preparing to leave, Viscount Booth. shook his hand and said:

“Regarding the land with the gas storage tanks, you can call me anytime, I am waiting for your reply.”

“Mr. Barron…”

Just as Barron turned to leave, he heard Bonnie say to him:

“I’m also going home, if it’s on the way, can I get a ride in your car?”

“No problem, I’m very happy to serve you.”

Just like that, upon leaving Viscount Booth’ house, the beautiful Miss Bonnie got into the back seat of the Rolls-Royce with Barron.

“Miss Bonnie, where do you live?”

“I live in Bayswater, if it’s too far, you can just drop me off nearby.”

“Not far, it’s very close to where I live.”

Barron wasn’t lying; Bayswater is next to Kensington, where he lives, it’s just that Kensington is on the west side of Chelsea, and Bayswater is on the north side of Kensington…

“Does Miss Bonnie live with her family?”

The Rolls-Royce was driving on King’s Road, and after a brief silence in the car, Barron took the initiative to strike up a conversation.

“Mr. Barron, you can just call me Bonnie, I’m renting a house myself now, my parents are both in Southampton.”

“Then you can also call me Barron, Bonnie, I’m a little curious, you studied psychology in university, how did you end up becoming a host after graduation…”

“It was a coincidence, I was a model during my spare time, and later participated in a competition, and then I met people from the TV station. With the other party’s recommendation, I tried my current job… Besides, how many people can really do a job related to their major after graduation? Fortunately, I still enjoy my current job and life very much.”

“That’s true, being able to find your own interests and get good opportunities is indeed a very lucky thing.”

Barron’s words were actually a feeling about his past life. In his past life, his initial ideal was to be a cartoonist, and he did have some talent, but in the end, he was “forced by life” to enter the financial industry, until he inexplicably came to this world…

However, his words, when heard by Bonnie, were somewhat… a bit like showing off, so she said lightly:

“Of course, my life can’t compare to a big shot like you, born into a noble family, many things that we can’t achieve no matter how hard we try, are within your reach.”

In response, Barron just smiled faintly and said:

“The gifts that fate gives you have already marked the price in secret. Just like me, it seems that the title and family property are within easy reach, but before that, I need to work hard for the future of the family.”

While saying this, Barron looked at the street scene receding under the streetlights outside the car.

And the light shone through the car window onto his face. From Bonnie’s perspective, under the illumination of the light outside the window, his profile was like a sharply defined silhouette, adding a touch of melancholy. For a moment, she felt her heart beat faster.

When the Rolls-Royce slowly stopped in front of an apartment building, the two of them realized that they had arrived at Bonnie’s residence.

Time really flies.

This sentence almost appeared in the hearts of the two in the back seat at the same time.

“I’m here, thank you, Barron, I’m very happy to meet you today.”

“Me too, Bonnie.”

Seeing the girl open the car door, slightly raise her long legs wrapped in gray stockings, and prepare to get out of the car, Barron said:

“By the way, can I have your phone number? Perhaps, um, I’ll have some questions about TV programs to ask you, or maybe have a drink together sometime?”

“Actually, I’m not that proficient in TV programs, and I don’t really like drinking…”

Bonnie turned to look at Barron, and smiled:

“But I’m very willing to give you my number.”

Chapter 19: Conjoined Triplets

After the England team defeated the Argentina team with a score of 1:0, Barron could even faintly hear cheers rising from the streets outside his window.

After all, this match significantly increased the England team’s chances of advancing from the group stage of the World Cup.

At the same time, this match also allowed Barron’s funds to exceed 10 million pounds in one fell swoop!

After this match, he met with the manager of the family trust fund, Julia Moore, again in the study of his London apartment.

In fact, before accepting Viscount Booth’s invitation to attend that banquet, Barron had already spoken with Julia on the phone to discuss the matter of the land plot next to King’s Cross Station.

Ultimately, he decided to first find out what kind of acquisition price Viscount Booth. would propose.

“8 million pounds?”

After Barron told Julia about Viscount Booth’s plan and offer, she pondered for a moment and said:

“Although this price is slightly different from our assessed price, it’s not too far off.”

“Oh? How did you assess it originally?”

“Because Viscount Booth. had mentioned to the Duke about jointly renovating and developing that land plot, we hired a related agency to appraise it, and the appraisal at that time was 9 million pounds.”

Julia had long been prepared for Barron’s question. She took out a document from her briefcase and handed it to him, continuing:

“It’s just that the unexpected events that happened later caused this plan to be interrupted, and the two parties did not reach a formal agreement.”

Barron flipped through the documents Julia brought, which was indeed an appraisal report on a gas holder land plot near King’s Cross Station, covering an area of approximately six hectares.

The report was dated at the end of April this year. At that time, the appraisal agency, based on the recent successful sales and listings of land around the plot, combined with the fluctuation coefficient of land prices in London in recent years and the industrial land attribute of that land, ultimately made a comprehensive adjustment, setting the valuation at 9 million pounds.

“So even according to this valuation, Ian still lowered the price…”

Julia nodded in agreement with Barron’s statement:

“That’s for sure. Even if different agencies have different valuations, they generally won’t differ too much. However, considering the well-known financial crisis of our Devonshire Duke family, then his offer of cash payment will naturally also lower the price accordingly…”

“So even if we try to raise the price, there won’t be much room for negotiation, at most another three or four hundred thousand pounds.”

“Yes, Your Lordship, after all, since last year, affected by the global economic situation, London’s land prices have slightly declined after two years of growth, and the future outlook is not very optimistic.”

In fact, when Viscount Booth. mentioned the price of “8 million pounds” yesterday, Barron knew in his heart that this price would definitely have corresponding reasons to support it, and it wouldn’t be too outrageous compared to the real price.

Because things like land prices, even if there are disagreements, generally have their rationality and will only have a gap within an approximate range.

However, even so, Barron still suspected that Viscount Booth. definitely had other purposes that prompted him to buy the land from the Devonshire Duke family.

Otherwise, purchasing this land with cash at a price slightly lower than the market price, was he really helping to solve his family’s financial crisis?

Moreover, it was highly likely that he had launched a public opinion offensive to target his family’s financial crisis before this…

“Ms. Moore, I want to go to the gas holders near King’s Cross Station now…”

…

King’s Cross Station can be said to be located in the center of London, with the City Hall immediately adjacent.

When the Rolls-Royce stopped on the side of the station, after getting out of the car, Barron and Julia could see the three huge gas holders standing on the banks of the Regent’s Canal nearby. Those gas holders and a piece of land nearby belonged to the Devonshire Duke family!

“The history of these gas holders can be traced back to the 1860s, and they can be said to be relics of the Victorian era…”

Standing beside Barron, Julia gave him a brief introduction:

“However, these gas holders have long been abandoned. Because they are too huge, the three gas holders have the same specifications, each nearly fifty meters high… Demolition is time-consuming and labor-intensive, so they have been left until now. Of course, this is also related to some special circumstances in this area…”

In fact, many people may not have seen King’s Cross Station in person, but they are certainly not unfamiliar with it, because in the movie “Harry Potter” released last year, the filming location of Platform 9¾, where Harry Potter goes to Hogwarts, is King’s Cross Station.

It can be said that since then, many loyal fans of this film series have come here to check in, and King’s Cross Station has also become a famous landmark in London.

In 1830, a statue of King George IV, famous for his absurd behavior, was erected at the crossroads of Battle Bridge.

This statue caused public ridicule, and the location was jokingly called “King’s Cross”…

The statue was demolished in 1842, but the new name of the area, “King’s Cross,” was retained.

Between 1849 and 1852, the Great Northern Railway (GNR) developed the London terminus.

King’s Cross Station was put into use in 1852, replacing the temporary passenger station to solve the traffic problems of the main line.

By 1860, as it became an important transportation hub, the King’s Cross area rapidly developed comprehensively.

It was also during that period that gas lighting became popular, and King’s Cross Street also became the supply center for London’s piped gas, and the three huge gas holders nearby began to appear during this period.

It can be seen that these three huge gas holders are not only identical in appearance, but also have the same internal beam frames and rivet embedding methods, and are connected by a large shared ridge, so since the Victorian era, they have been called the “Conjoined Triplets.”

After World War II, the British economy began to de-industrialize, transitioning and upgrading from manufacturing to the service industry. Road transportation gradually replaced rail transportation, and more and more abandoned industrial land appeared in Britain, especially in the capital, London!

Including King’s Cross Station and the surrounding area, which were mainly focused on transportation logistics and industry, the canals and factories around King’s Cross Station gradually declined after ceasing operations.

By the eighties and nineties, the King’s Cross area had firmly secured its place on the list of “London’s Ten Poorest Electoral Districts,” becoming one of the areas with the lowest commercial office rent in the central area of London.

It was filled with drugs, prostitutes, low-end nightclubs, and strip clubs.

To this day, the situation here has not changed much, which is one of the important reasons why the Devonshire Duke family’s gas holder land plot has not been developed.

However, as Julia introduced, Barron’s gaze slowly swept across the gas holders, the Regent’s Canal, and the King’s Cross Station behind him, as well as the surrounding buildings. His brows furrowed slightly, and a thoughtful expression appeared on his face…

He seemed to have found the most crucial thread that ran through everything!

Chapter 20: Loyal to Whom?

“Let’s go back, Ms. Moore.”

Julia’s eyes flashed with confusion at Barron’s words. She didn’t quite understand. They had come here by car, and she had accompanied the family heir around this gas storage tank. Then he said nothing and wanted to go back?

At this moment, Julia’s feelings towards Barron were somewhat complicated.

Besides still being whimsical and casual—taking the family’s money to London to make so-called “investments” that he himself didn’t understand, not caring about Chatsworth Manor or other properties… either handing them over to the butler, Sean, or still managing them herself… even on the day she went to Barron’s apartment, she could still faintly smell alcohol—he had definitely been out carousing the night before.

From this perspective, this young master was still acting like a spoiled, good-for-nothing.

But at certain times, Julia couldn’t quite fathom the duke’s heir’s thoughts, like just now, seeing Barron’s expression, she suddenly felt a sense of unfathomable depth…

Julia subconsciously shook her head, as if trying to shake off this absurd thought, and followed Barron, getting into the car.

…

“Ms. Moore, I plan to pay all the inheritance tax and complete the inheritance of the family’s assets.”

After returning to the apartment in Kensington, Barron’s words caused Julia to show a surprised expression:

“Are you planning to sell that land? Your Lordship.”

“No, I will use my own money to pay the inheritance tax. I hope you can help me contact people to complete the inheritance procedures for the title and family assets.”

“Your own money?”

Barron’s words made Julia even more confused:

“Where did you get so much money? That requires two million pounds!”

You must know that even in 2002, two million pounds was still a considerable sum. At this time, the exchange rate of the pound to the US dollar was still above 1.5!

And in terms of purchasing power, it was far from comparable to twenty years later.

“You don’t need to worry about this. I can guarantee that it is all legally obtained… well, my ‘investment’ has yielded a small profit.”

F**K! Do you think I’m an idiot, or am I crazy? A small profit? What could possibly give you a return of over two million pounds in these ten days with your 100,000 pounds?

Julia almost blurted out what she was thinking, but she still had some sense, so she just said:

“As the manager of the family trust fund, Your Lordship, I think it’s necessary for me to know how you obtained this money. I don’t want there to be any dangerous consequences, or some things that would disgrace the Cavendish family in the future…”

“No, that’s not something you need to know, Ms. Moore.”

Objectively speaking, what Barron had done during this time didn’t need to be hidden from Julia, but he still didn’t intend to be honest with her.

After all, he could feel that the woman in front of him didn’t fully support him.

Or as the manager of the family fund, Julia would fulfill her obligations to help Barron within the rules, but besides that, she didn’t have enough recognition and trust in him deep down.

Barron, who had been in the cutthroat world of finance for more than a decade in his previous life, could easily see these things.

That being the case, she still couldn’t gain his full trust either.

“You can rest assured. Family honor is also something I cherish. Even if I haven’t become a true duke yet, I have always demanded of myself the standards of a nobleman.”

“But I will know these things sooner or later, won’t I?”

“Yes, you will know sooner or later…”

Seeing Julia staring at him intently, her chest rising and falling, taking deep breaths to steady her emotions, Barron smiled and walked in front of her:

“Before that, Ms. Moore, how about we talk about my brother first?”

“You mean Mr. James…”

In Barron’s eyes, what made him feel interesting was that after he mentioned his brother, Julia’s gaze, which had been directly fixed on his eyes, shifted to one side…

And the fleeting sadness on her face didn’t escape his observation.

“Yes, my dear brother, James Cavendish.”

Barron spoke, extending his finger, and tilting Julia’s chin, turning her face to face him.

It could be said that this action of his was very frivolous. A look of disgust flashed across Julia’s face, and she took a step back…

Barron was unconcerned by her reaction, naturally lowering his hand and continuing to say:

“My brother is kind, and he is hardworking, serious, and adheres to the sense of responsibility of a nobleman. You should think so too, Ms. Moore, am I right?”

“Yes, Mr. James is completely different from you. He is an upright gentleman.”

“Then what has always made me curious is, if it were my brother, if he were the family heir at this moment, would you still be so questioning?”

Julia was silent for a moment, sighed, and said:

“Your Lordship, although I am not a Cavendish by name, the Cavendish family has been kind to me. Therefore, after the Duke granted me this position, I swore that I would be loyal to the Cavendish family and do my best to protect everything of the family, including its assets… and its reputation. So everything I do is for this purpose. If you feel that there is a questioning attitude in my attitude towards you, then I hope you think about whether it is because of your own reasons?”

“Ms. Moore, your words really move me. In this era, such traditional loyalty is really rare…”

Barron spoke, almost unable to help but applaud.

“Loyalty exists in any era!”

“Then to whom are you loyal? Ms. Moore, the Cavendish family in your eyes? My father? My brother? Or including me?”

“I was formerly loyal to the Duke, loyal to Mr. James, and I will continue to be loyal to the Cavendish family… those who are worthy of allegiance, if you are too, Your Lordship.”

“See… the questioning still exists, Ms. Moore.”

Barron shook his head slightly:

“But I believe that if it were my brother, you wouldn’t have the slightest doubt, and perhaps it’s not for the reasons you said, well, perhaps it’s not entirely out of loyalty, but other, more intense emotions…”

“Your Lordship, what do you mean?!”

“You should know it in your heart, Ms. Moore. When I was tidying up my brother’s room, I found a photo of you together in his drawer, which he kept very well… The people in the photo are my brother, and also you, Ms. Moore.”

Seeing Julia’s expression change drastically, turning somewhat pale, Barron said with regret:

“The Ms. Moore in the photo is completely different from now. She smiles really… sweetly. Although I know my brother was already engaged before, seeing that photo, I couldn’t help but sigh, you two really are a perfect match…”

Chapter 21: London Star

“Don’t say anymore, Lord, you’ve misunderstood. My relationship with… Mr. James, is only as friends!”

Facing Barron’s questioning, Julia explained:

“I admit that we once had feelings for each other, but… in the end, we both chose to uphold the interests and honor of the Devonshire Duke family. For this, my conscience is clear.”

Barron shrugged indifferently, saying:

“There’s no point in talking about this now, is there? After all, the deceased is gone. But it seems my dear brother hasn’t let you go in his heart…”

“Yes, you shouldn’t say that about Mr. James, Lord. If you have doubts about my work, then I will resign as the fund manager after you take over the family fund.”

“You need to understand, Ms. Moore, the family is now facing a crisis, and I need to work hard to save the family from the crisis. This requires the cooperation of everyone, including you…”

Barron shook his head, his face pained, saying:

“But at this time, instead of putting aside your prejudices and working with me wholeheartedly, you are preparing to resign. This disappoints me so much.”

It’s not that Barron really wants to keep Julia, and can’t kick her out…

The key is that he, alone in this British world, can’t possibly take personal responsibility for all the properties – even though the Cavendish family’s assets are still far from those of the wealthy, they are still complex.

It’s easy to fire Julia; after he completes the inheritance process and gains control of the family trust fund, it’s just a matter of a word.

But what about after firing her? He still needs a family fund manager – are others more trustworthy?

At least Julia is already very familiar with those businesses, and it seems that she still has some loyalty to the Cavendish family, just some prejudice against himself.

It is precisely because Barron is a soul who has transmigrated that he can look at this matter objectively – and indeed, his previous life’s performance was too unreliable.

However, some appropriate warnings are still necessary. Barron will continue to observe the other party’s performance and will also look for reliable talent for himself. Even if he replaces Julia, he needs someone to use.

“Ms. Moore, can you tell me about the ‘London Star’ now?”

“London Star?”

Hearing this name, Julia’s expression became serious:

“What do you want to know?”

“Everything you know!”

“London Star is the name of that investment company. The company’s boss is called William Abernathy, who claims to have been born in Birmingham, later went to New York, and achieved great success there as an investor…”

Following Julia’s words, Barron learned more about the scammer who caused the Devonshire Duke family to lose more than 25 million pounds.

It turned out that two years ago, William Abernathy and his team came to London and opened an investment company called “London Star.” Afterwards, he appeared at many high-society gatherings and some business events in London, not only speaking eloquently but also spending lavishly.

Gradually, the entire circle of the wealthy and nobles began to spread the story of William’s success on Wall Street – the most crucial thing is that some of the investment cases he claimed, after being investigated by those with ulterior motives, did indeed have related rumors on Wall Street.

The investment products offered by William’s London Star company were very special. They did not provide returns based on time, but each project would have a 3-6 month cycle, after which settlement would be made, and the investor would receive a return – the most crucial thing is that he even guaranteed the investors’ investment returns. It was not just the principal that was guaranteed, but also included a 10% investment return.

In other words, the funds invested in their projects would not only not incur any losses – if there were losses, London Star would make up for them, and even if the profit return was less than 10%, he would make up the difference.

It can be said that such investment conditions are very attractive. After all, for most people, even a stable annual return of 10% on investment products is difficult to come by, not to mention that each investment cycle is only 3-6 months…

Of course, it was precisely because of such attractive conditions that there were also quite a few people who initially expressed doubts about it, but in the end, there were still people who were bold enough to try it.

Thus, all doubts were dispelled after the first project of “London Star” ended four months later.

Because everyone who invested in this project at that time received a return of more than 25%!

The second cycle project of London Star was sought after by many nobles – yes, William claimed that his ancestors were some declining nobles and hoped to revive the family’s prestige, so he mainly socialized with the noble group.

It was also because many noble families had only ancestral properties and lacked investment channels – or rather, many of their investments often ended in failure.

Therefore, this almost effortless investment project of “London Star” naturally received the welcome of this group.

Barron’s father, that is, participated in the investment of “London Star” at the beginning of the second cycle, and at first, he was also very cautious, only investing 500,000 pounds in this project – because according to the rules set by William, the minimum investment threshold to join “London Star” was 500,000 pounds.

What happened later is not difficult to imagine.

After the second cycle project of “London Star” ended, which was just over three months later, the Cavendish family’s investment of 500,000 pounds received a return of as high as 21%, turning into more than 600,000 pounds!

In the face of such encouraging returns, even the always cautious old duke began to try, constantly increasing his investment.

Although his decision at that time was repeatedly dissuaded by Julia, with the continuous high returns coming in the following two times, the old duke no longer had any doubts about “London Star.”

After all, some people have calculated that after the three cycles of “London Star” projects, just the investment returns paid by William Abernathy’s company to investors have already exceeded 20 million pounds. Which scammer would use so much money to set up a scam? It’s completely impossible!

Therefore, later on, the funds invested by the old duke in the “London Star” project had already exceeded 30 million pounds!

At the same time, other nobles who participated in this project also made large investments. Finally, after the “London Star” project exploded, William Abernathy fled England, disappeared with his team, and according to estimates, the total amount of the “London Star” scam exceeded 500 million pounds!

Most of this money flowed out of England through various channels, and what was left in the end was a mess.

“After this incident, I also specifically collected some news about ‘London Star’ and William Abernathy, but it is still difficult to distinguish between true and false. Until now, the foolish policemen still have no clue…”

Julia’s words made Barron vaguely guess…

I’m afraid it’s precisely because this case mainly involves those nobles, which happens to coincide with the government’s trend of weakening the nobles, so those policemen will not be under too much pressure from above.

Chapter 22: His Grace the Duke

“Today, you will become our most trustworthy and most respected partner. We hope that Your Grace will always remember your mission, be loyal to the royal family, and regard the glory of England as your life…”

At this moment, Barron Cavendish was wearing a deep red velvet coat and a hat trimmed with four strips of sable. The crown on his head had a gold ring decorated with eight gold leaves…

Wearing this duke’s attire, he knelt before the Queen.

The Queen held a knight’s sword and tapped his shoulders twice…

At this moment, the ceremony was complete, and Barron officially became the 13th Duke of Devonshire!

In England, the heirs of ordinary noble families usually only needed to go through the review and confirmation of a special noble management agency and then conduct the inheritance ceremony within their own families.

However, Barron’s inheritance of the title received the honor of the Queen personally conducting the ceremony when he met with her earlier.

The reason the Queen made such a decision was probably not only because the Duke’s title was the highest rank among non-royal nobles, and according to the order in which English dukes were granted their titles, the Duke of Devonshire, among the currently existing 24 non-royal dukes, ranked eighth, which was considered prominent. It was also, in a sense, support for the Duke of Devonshire family, given the current background of the English government’s intention to weaken the royal family and the nobility.

…

“Your Grace, the Queen personally performed the title inheritance ceremony for you. How are you feeling now?”

“Duke of Devonshire, we know your family is facing a financial crisis. Do you know how you will deal with it next?”

As the youngest duke in England at the moment, the 22-year-old Barron Cavendish’s title inheritance ceremony naturally attracted many media outlets and reporters. After leaving Buckingham Palace, he was faced with a barrage of cameras and questions.

It could be said that many hereditary nobles in England had lost their lineage, especially the dukes. There were now only 24 non-royal families left. The emergence of Barron Cavendish, a mere 22-year-old duke, could also attract the attention of many people—among the other dukes, the youngest was ten years older than Barron.

“I am very honored to receive the Queen’s personal appointment, and this will be my greatest honor. As for the situation of our family, it is not as exaggerated as the rumors suggest. It has just experienced some minor setbacks. I will do my best to revitalize the family, thank you.”

After giving this reply, Barron gestured to the Queen’s Guard officer responsible for guarding the palace and maintaining order. The officer then commanded the guards to stop the reporters who still wanted to ask questions. Then, under their gaze, Barron turned and left, getting into his Rolls-Royce.

…

“Your Grace, I have conveyed your meaning to Viscount Booth, stating that we will not consider selling the land of the King’s Cross Victoria Gas Holders, but we are still willing to jointly fund its development, but the cooperation method needs to be renegotiated.”

After returning to the apartment, Julia’s address to him was different from before.

After visiting the King’s Cross station in person, Barron had already decided to reject Viscount Booth’s proposal to purchase the land.

Because at that moment, Barron suddenly discovered a problem, which was that the buildings and layout around King’s Cross station at this time were very different from the scenes in his memory when he visited London more than a decade later in his previous life!

Perhaps some people would be puzzled by this. After more than a decade, isn’t it normal for a certain place in a city to undergo earth-shattering changes?

Well, this impression was often caused by the illusion of being in a rapidly developing China. In fact, in most parts of Europe, it was the norm for the city’s scenery to remain almost unchanged for more than a decade, as if frozen in time.

Even many stations and subways with a history of a hundred years that were located at transportation hubs were almost indistinguishable from a hundred years ago, which was not at all inconceivable.

But precisely at King’s Cross station, the changes were very obvious, which Barron had only suddenly discovered after visiting the site.

More than a decade later, although the general appearance of King’s Cross station remained, it had clearly been renovated and expanded—and he remembered very clearly that in his previous life, St. Pancras station, which was adjacent to King’s Cross station, was the terminal in England for the “Eurostar” high-speed train that connected continental Europe to England, but at this time it was just a functional station.

And the inspiration related to those gas holders was also activated at that time, because in his previous life, the location of those gas holders was also three huge barrel-shaped buildings, but there it was already a high-end apartment building named “King’s Court”—obviously, it was built after the gas holders were transformed.

Although the shapes were the same, the appearance was completely different. The glass curtain walls and dazzling lights of those high-end apartment buildings at that time gave Barron an impression that could not be connected to the huge and ugly gas holders he saw now.

In addition, the huge differences between the surrounding buildings of the station in his previous life and at this time made Barron realize that during this period, King’s Cross station had definitely undergone a major renovation project, thereby turning the “slum” of this area at this time into the new cultural and commercial district that was quite beautiful and unique in his previous life.

If there was really such a major area renovation project, then the three extremely conspicuous plots of land with gas holders standing in this area could very well become the future high-end apartment buildings—the fact that these residential buildings could be built in the future also indicated that the approval for the conversion of industrial land into residential land had been completed. Under the background of the major area renovation project he speculated, the difficulty of obtaining this approval would not be too great.

If that was the case, then Barron could understand why Viscount Booth. would be so interested in this plot of land. It was very likely that he had already known about the plans for the renovation of King’s Cross station and its surroundings through certain channels!

What Barron needed to do next was to find a way to confirm this. If Viscount Booth. really wanted to get his hands on the gas holder land because he had learned about certain news in advance, then, judging by his timeline of action, the implementation of this renovation plan would probably not be too far away.

Barron could confirm that there was such a renovation plan based on his memories of the area around King’s Cross station from his previous life, but he still needed to speculate about the specific time when the plan would be launched. This was also the reason why he decided to reject Viscount Booth’s proposal to purchase the land, but would still discuss the possibility of a cooperative development between the two parties.

After all, he didn’t want to waste money here too early, but in such a central area of London, the temptation to develop a real estate project was not something he could give up.

Perhaps, transforming those gas holders into “King’s Court” could be completed under his own hands.

Chapter 23: Bonnie’s Invitation

Although Barron wanted to probe into the plans for the renovation near King’s Cross Station from Viscount Booth, the land of the gas storage tank was in his hands at this moment, giving him the initiative. Therefore, there was no need to rush. After expressing his willingness to cooperate, he could just wait and see.

So, after the ceremony of receiving the title of Duke, Barron prepared to leave London and return to Chatsworth Manor.

On the one hand, it was to seek some peace and quiet. After the “Golden Jubilee,” because the youngest Duke of Devonshire was personally conferred by the Queen, Barron Cavendish’s name was once again pushed into the newspapers and media reports. Now, even near his apartment, reporters with cameras hanging around their necks could be seen from time to time.

Well, if you’ve seen the frenzy of British tabloid reporters, you’d understand Barron’s feelings at this moment.

In addition, this could also be considered a strategic retreat. Leaving London and returning to Chatsworth Manor allowed him to handle the family assets and also gauge Viscount Booth’s reaction.

As for the still-booming FIFA World Cup…

In fact, in Barron’s eyes at this time, betting on the World Cup was very similar to investing in small-cap stocks.

The characteristics of small-cap stocks are that they can experience substantial gains, even several times, dozens of times, or even higher, driven by good news or speculation.

However, because small-cap stocks have a small market capitalization and relatively lower liquidity, they are not suitable for large amounts of capital.

Just like betting on this World Cup, in the early stages, Barron could use all of his funds to bet (full position) because his capital was relatively small.

But now that his capital exceeded 10 million pounds, it was like facing a large amount of capital in a small-cap stock; he couldn’t invest all of his funds, and could only invest a very small portion.

In this way, Barron could diversify his existing funds and buy tickets for the selected matches in advance, just waiting to collect his winnings after the results appeared.

He didn’t need to stay in London or go to France all the time and could utilize this time to return to Chatsworth Manor.

However, before leaving London, Barron had one more thing to do.

“Ms. Moore, you said before that our family fund currently has a bank loan of 25 million pounds, right?”

“Yes, Duke Barron. Including other debts and loan interest, the total debt is nearly 30 million pounds.”

Julia handed a document to Barron and said:

“As you instructed, I have listed these debts in detail and provided explanations. There are also copies of relevant debt documents here.”

Barron’s eyes scanned the document, roughly looking at the debt list:

“Thank you, Ms. Moore, this is a very detailed table. I will take some time to look at it carefully, and I may need to call you later.”

After that day, Julia also felt that Barron had clearly changed. Especially compared to the frivolous and unreliable young master she remembered, perhaps after experiencing the drastic changes in the family, people would mature quickly.

She hoped he could truly change and thereby save the Cavendish family…

Thinking this, Julia’s tone became much gentler:

“This is my duty, Duke Barron. Is there anything else?”

“Indeed, there’s something else. That is, please trouble you to inform the creditors and the bank managers who lent us money, respectively. I want to talk to them together.”

“Call them all?”

Julia’s tone was filled with doubt, not knowing what idea Barron had come up with this time.

“The bank people can be scheduled to meet here tomorrow afternoon, and as for those creditors, let’s wait until we return to Chatsworth Manor and arrange a meeting there.”

…

“Mr. Barron? Oh, that’s right, congratulations, you should now be addressed as His Grace Duke Barron.”

“Bonnie, I’m very glad to receive your call. Also, I’ve said before, just call me Barron. I don’t think friends need to be so polite.”

After sending Julia away, Barron was somewhat surprised to receive Bonnie’s call.

Ever since he met this exquisitely beautiful woman at Viscount Booth’s banquet that day, he hadn’t contacted her during this time because he had rejected Viscount Booth’s proposal to purchase the land near King’s Cross Station, and he himself was also quite busy.

Hearing her pleasant voice at this moment, besides recalling the beauty’s elfin appearance and slender legs, Barron was also a little curious about why she had taken the initiative to call him this time.

“It’s like this, will you be going to Berkshire in a couple of days?”

“Berkshire?”

Barron asked in confusion.

“Yes, you’ve forgotten? The Royal Ascot is about to start, and because this year is the Queen’s Golden Jubilee, the scale is even grander than before…”

Bonnie said this, and Barron remembered that the Queen’s Golden Jubilee had just been held, and now it was time for the annual Royal Ascot.

The British Royal Ascot, also known as the “Ascot Racecourse.”

As an important event that cannot be ignored on the British social calendar, the Royal Ascot has always held the reputation of being the “most luxurious and extravagant event in the world.”

This event has a history of over 300 years and has always been one of the most valued annual events by traditional British people.

One early summer morning in 1711, Queen Anne of England rode out and, when she reached an open space not far from Windsor Castle, she found it to be an excellent place for “horses to gallop freely,” and thus she came up with the idea of holding a horse race, which began the history of the Royal Ascot.

The British Royal Ascot begins in the third week of June every year, and the venue, Berkshire, is located in southern England, west of Greater London, south of the River Thames, with beautiful and pleasant scenery, a natural horse racing paradise.

For hundreds of years, members of the British Royal Family, represented by the Queen, have always participated in this event every year.

The current Queen is a loyal fan of the Royal Ascot, and almost every year she sends her own racehorses to participate.

And the final winner will be awarded by the Queen herself.

It can be said that the British Royal Ascot is regarded as one of the classic sports that embodies the elegance of Western aristocrats.

“Are you planning to go? Bonnie, and who else?”

“I am planning to go. I missed last year’s race because of work. Also, my cousin and Viscount Booth. will also be going. When we went to their house today, we also talked about you.”

Sure enough, Viscount Booth’s shadow was also in Bonnie’s invitation this time. It was just that he didn’t know whether she was actively helping Viscount Booth. to invite him, or if she was also kept in the dark?

“That’s the case, it’s a little disappointing, Bonnie. I thought your invitation was for a private date between the two of us.”

At this moment, Barron walked to the window, looked at the lights in the night outside, and said with a faint smile.

“For a date, it should be the gentleman who proposes first, Barron.”

Listening to Bonnie’s slightly coquettish tone, Barron replied:

“I’m really sorry, Bonnie, you know I’ve had too many things to deal with recently, so I haven’t had much time. I think I should make up for it in time, but I don’t know if you can accept it…”

“Then I’ll have to hear what kind of ‘make-up’ it is first, Barron.”

“Actually, I probably can’t go to the Royal Ascot the day after tomorrow because I need to go back to the family manor for a while, there are some urgent matters that need to be dealt with…”

“That’s the case…”

“Actually, I originally wanted to invite you to Chatsworth Manor. The scenery there is pleasant, with views that are different from London… But I’m afraid you would have to miss this year’s race again.”

“It’s really a dilemma, Barron, you’ve given me a problem, I need to think about it carefully…”

The very next second after Bonnie said this, she couldn’t help but laugh:

“Okay, I’ve decided, I’ll go to your manor as a guest.”

The data during the new book period is related to the later recommendations, so the reading is very important. I implore everyone not to keep it in the backlog. If you feel it’s okay, please take a look every day and help increase the reading. Thank you very much.

Chapter 24: The Dialogue Sounds So Familiar

After agreeing with Bonnie on the time to go to Chatsworth House, Barron hung up the phone, and the image of her alluring long legs that day appeared in his mind.

Uh, he was… why did he suddenly have such a strong desire to learn?

But come to think of it, since coming to this world, he’d only done it with Aurora once…

Thinking about his current young body at the age of 22, with an overabundance of hormones, that made sense.

Aurora?

The moment this name appeared, Bonnie’s alluring long legs were quickly replaced by the passion of his ex-girlfriend…

After all, the long night…

So Barron picked up his phone and found Aurora’s number.

It wasn’t until the fourth ring that Barron thought the other party wasn’t even going to answer his call. Then, Aurora’s voice came through the receiver:

“Barron? Is that you?”

“Yes, it’s me, beautiful Aurora, are you at home?”

“Yes…”

After Aurora responded, her tone suddenly turned defensive as she asked:

“Why are you asking this? Barron.”

“Nothing, it’s just that if you’re at home, then we’re very close right now. Although, in any case, the distance of the heart can cross spatial barriers, but thinking that you’re not far from me, talking to you like this, I seem to feel that you’re right by my side…”

“Just tell me what you want, Barron. Oh, and congratulations on being personally knighted by the Queen…”

“You still care about me, Aurora.”

“It’s just a friend’s concern. Well, even if an ordinary friend had such a thing, I would congratulate them. Barron, you know I once wanted to open my heart to you, but you hurt me that day, yes, I was very hurt, so if you don’t have anything else, I’m going to sleep…”

“Wait a minute, as you said, we are still friends, aren’t we? And we once spent such wonderful times. In fact, thinking about everything that night, I especially want to see you again, tonight…”

When Barron mentioned what happened that night, he clearly heard Aurora’s voice become hurried on the phone…

But his next words were immediately interrupted by the other party:

“F**K! Barron, if you haven’t lost your memory, you should remember that I said I would never see you again.”

“I think that was just an angry outburst, dear.”

“No, at least not until I completely treat you as a goddamn stranger! Barron, but I’m afraid that when that day really comes, there will be no need for us to meet!”

“Uh, Aurora, I thought we could at least be good friends…”

Hearing that the other party’s words were still resolute, but her tone already showed a hint of softening, Barron managed his emotions slightly, then sighed and said:

“Leaving aside what happened that night, in fact, I prepared a nice bottle of red wine today. You know, I haven’t been doing well recently. Besides having to face the endless sadness that always suddenly attacks me, I also bear heavy responsibilities, Aurora. That night with you can be said to be the most relaxed and happiest moment I’ve had in a while…”

“Barron, you know I can’t see you, I can’t make a mistake again…”

“Just as friends, Aurora, or should I drink this bottle of wine alone? That would probably be a night overwhelmed by negative emotions of sadness and sorrow. That’s too depressing…”

…

Currently, the Duke of Devonshire’s family’s outstanding bank loans totaled approximately 25 million pounds, of which 15 million pounds were short-term loans, which would expire one after another before the end of this year.

The closest to the maturity date was a 2 million pound loan from Barclays Bank, which would expire at the beginning of August, only a month and a half from now.

At the same time, Barclays Bank was also the bank that had issued the most loans to the Duke of Devonshire’s family. More than half of their bank loans came from Barclays Bank, and they had also mortgaged most of their assets, including Chatsworth House, to the other party.

The remaining three banks were listed in front of Barron on the table, and the lowest of them had also issued a 2 million pound loan to the Devonshire family.

After making two phone calls to Julia, Barron basically understood the current loan situation of the family.

Next, in the afternoon, he would negotiate with the representatives of these banks on this matter.

Stretching lazily, Barron put down the materials that Julia had given him yesterday and walked out of the study.

“Your Grace, the breakfast prepared earlier has gotten cold. Should we change it?”

Ramos, the personal valet waiting in the living room, walked to Barron’s side after seeing him and asked in a low voice.

“Please prepare another one.”

“Yes, Your Grace.”

Seeing Ramos go to clear the table, Barron walked upstairs.

Just as he opened the bedroom door, a pillow flew towards him and was caught by Barron’s quick eyes and hands…

“F**K, Barron, you bastard!”

Eh? This line sounds so familiar…

“It seems you’re awake, dear Aurora, and you seem to be in good spirits. You can wash up and go downstairs for breakfast.”

Seeing Aurora, who was kneeling on the bed in the bedroom, staring at him with wide eyes and a face full of anger, Barron said unhurriedly:

“And you also have to admit that last night was wonderful, wasn’t it? You didn’t have the same expression as you do now, you were…”

“Don’t say any more, Barron, I shouldn’t have believed your nonsense, get out! I want to get dressed!”

Barron’s gaze swept over Aurora’s graceful body, raised his eyebrows, and smiled, saying:

“Alright, dear, if you can calm down and then go downstairs for breakfast…”

…

“Gentlemen, hello. Even though you already know my identity, for the sake of politeness, I also need to introduce myself for the first time. I am Barron Cavendish, and also the current Duke of Devonshire, the owner of the family trust fund.”

In the study, there were four sofas opposite Barron. The four gentlemen in suits were representatives from the four banks that had issued loans to the family.

“I should have visited each of you in turn, but because of time constraints, I can only trouble everyone to come here together to talk openly about the loans that are about to expire.”

At this moment, Barron found it very interesting that the four gentlemen opposite him all looked at him, and in their eyes… there was a varying degree of worry.

It seemed that they were already prepared for whether the young Duke would say the words “we can’t repay the loans anymore” in the next sentence…

“Alright, everyone can relax, don’t be so serious. In fact, your loans are not in any danger…”

Hearing Barron’s words, one of the gentlemen, who looked somewhat similar to Prince William after the age of thirty, couldn’t help but say:

“If it’s really as you say, that our loans are not in danger and can be repaid on time, Your Grace, then just wait until they mature and you repay them, why bother gathering us all here?”

Chapter 25: Friendship

Barron glanced at the other person, recognizing him as Boris, the representative from North Rock Bank, which had provided the family with a total of five million pounds in loans.

“Mr. Boris, if you wouldn’t interrupt me, I believe I would have already answered your question.”

“In fact, I am only concerned with whether our bank’s loans can be recovered on time, Your Grace.”

Facing the direct gaze of the other party, Barron said coldly:

“If that’s all you’re concerned about, then Mr. Boris, you can leave now. It’s very likely that you’re wasting your time…”

Boris from North Rock Bank was taken aback by Barron’s sudden order to leave. He then reacted, his face alternating between green and red as he prepared to say something. He heard Barron say calmly:

“I can answer you right now. The loans will be repaid on time, and can even be paid off early before the end of the month. However, I must remind you that if I pay them off early, I will not pay the subsequent interest.”

Mr. Boris stood up, his mouth agape, and the few strands of hair on his head seemed to be trembling. Finally, he gritted his teeth and said:

“We will be waiting for you to pay off the loans early, Your Grace!”

Then, without looking back, he left the study.

After Boris left, Barron looked at the other three gentlemen.

These representatives, who could represent their respective banks, were naturally not inexperienced. Whether they were cunning or not, they certainly possessed sufficient composure.

When Boris left earlier, these people only glanced at each other, then looked at Barron without any change in their expressions.

“Now, Your Grace, can you continue speaking to us?”

The speaker was Rolf, the representative from Barclays Bank. From the introductions at the beginning of the meeting, Barron knew that Rolf was in charge of the London area’s credit business at Barclays Bank.

“Gentlemen, you may have seen or heard some reports and rumors about our family before. Indeed, we encountered a small problem before, but these have all been resolved.”

“Your Grace, has there been any progress in the ‘London Star’ case?”

As soon as Barron finished speaking, someone asked impatiently.

“Unfortunately, those foolish London police haven’t given me any surprises, unless a low efficiency in handling the case counts as a surprise…”

Barron’s words caused a knowing laugh from the people in the room.

“But besides that, we have other sources of funds. You know, the Cavendish family has been passed down to this day, so it won’t be so easy to fall.”

After a pause, Barron said seriously:

“I have invited you here today, besides reassuring everyone that those loans are completely risk-free, the main purpose is to select a partner for my upcoming real estate project.”

“Can you elaborate? Your Grace.”

Hearing Barron’s words, Rolf asked with interest.

“Because it involves certain business secrets, I need you to show some sincerity…”

“What kind of sincerity?”

“You can choose to let us settle the loans after they mature, or even pay them off early—of course, the subsequent interest will naturally be waived; or, you can choose to extend the term of our loans and gain the opportunity for further discussions regarding the financing cooperation of this real estate project.”

Barron shrugged and said:

“And you can rest assured that during the period of extending the loan term, we will pay the interest on time.”

His words made the three gentlemen no longer calm, and they were all considering the pros and cons.

Regardless of whether the so-called “real estate project” mentioned by the Duke was reliable, it seemed more stable to get the loans back in the current situation.

But was it really that simple? Could taking a little risk also lead to greater gains?

After all, the loans they had issued were not lent out of thin air; they were all secured by real estate mortgages. Even if the loans could not be repaid in the end, they would still be able to recover those collateral assets. The most that would happen is that handling those real estate assets would be a bit more troublesome.

“Your Grace, I’m sorry, but we still need to recover the loans first. We hope to have the opportunity to cooperate in the future. Of course, you don’t need to pay them off early, just repay them on time.”

After a moment of thought, one of the bank representatives stood up and shook hands with Barron, saying this to him.

It was obvious that the other party had made a more prudent choice.

And then, another bank representative made the same decision as him.

So, after shaking hands with Barron, he also left the study.

“Mr. Rolf, if you have the same decision, I can understand.”

The last one remaining was the representative from Barclays Bank. He smiled at Barron and said:

“On the contrary, Barclays Bank cares more about our friendship with Your Grace. We can consider extending your loan term, but if we can learn more about the details of your real estate project, I believe I will be more confident in persuading the board of directors.”

It had to be said that as one of the four major private banks in England, and with the loans accounting for more than half of the debt burden of the Duke of Devonshire’s family, if Barclays Bank could extend the loan term, then Barron’s meeting today would have been a success.

“Because this real estate project is still in the planning stage, of course, we will definitely have an honest discussion before your bank’s most recent loan matures.”

“That’s absolutely no problem, Your Grace. Barclays Bank will always serve its customers wholeheartedly, especially you.”

After saying goodbye to Rolf, Barron stood in front of the study window, watching Rolf get into a car and leave downstairs. His face wore a thoughtful expression.

In fact, according to Barron’s betting calculations, by the end of this World Cup, the funds he could ultimately obtain would be completely sufficient to repay the debts currently borne by the family—considering that these loans would mature gradually, and he could even have time to take out a portion of the funds for investment.

So the reason why he had such a move today, inviting these bank representatives to the study to discuss the extension of the loans, could be said to have its purpose.

On the one hand, if the loans could really be extended, then Barron would have more abundant funds for investment, and with the memories of his past life, he would get even greater returns.

After all, both international oil prices and gold prices, from now on, would be on a long-term upward trend for the next few years. Knowing this trend, and facing these two investment products with huge trading volumes, the only thing he lacked was sufficient funds.

Not to mention the land near King’s Cross Station where he hoped to develop the Victorian-era gas holders, which would also require considerable funds—although England allows pre-sales of real estate, there are regulations on the payment time and proportion of customer payments during pre-sales, and the full amount cannot be received before the building is built or completed.

Therefore, for developers, developing commercial residential projects still requires a certain amount of their own financial strength.

On the other hand, it was actually a kind of test for Barron. He had once suspected whether Viscount Booth. was targeting his own family’s certain arrangements, and whether there were other allies involved? Were there any banks cooperating in this?

Therefore, when he revealed today that he hoped to seek financing from the four banks in a “real estate project” later, Rolf, the representative from Barclays Bank who ultimately agreed, caught his attention.

Chapter 26: Well Done

With the referee’s whistle, the match ended.

Two red cards, and the nine-man Portugal team ultimately lost 0:1 to the eleven-man South Korean team.

This also meant that this generation of Portugal’s golden era ended in the group stage of the World Cup.

At this time, Barron had already returned to Derby, to Chatsworth House, belonging to the Duke of Devonshire family. Accompanying him was Bonnie, who had come from London with him.

“It’s really beautiful. Coming here, I can always personally experience that kind of luxurious aristocratic life…”

From the moment she saw Chatsworth House, towering by the river, Bonnie couldn’t help but admire the magnificent, castle-like villa.

Now, walking with Barron in the estate, Bonnie’s eyes, which had emerald green pupils, looked at Barron and said:

“Actually, I’ve been here before…”

It could be said that Bonnie’s appearance was already stunning, and her green pupils added a touch of mystery to her beauty.

Green pupils are extremely rare. People with such eyes only account for 2% of the global population, mainly distributed among Celts, Germans, and Slavs. Bonnie’s eyes came from her Irish ancestry.

However, Barron was more interested in her words:

“You’ve been here before? I don’t remember.”

“I used to write novels when I was in university… but they were never published. I was very interested in the lives of the aristocracy at the time, so I specially came to Chatsworth House to visit…”

With this, Barron understood.

Chatsworth House was also open to the public for tours, but only in non-private public areas.

This was originally because, back in Barron’s grandfather’s time, due to the 7 million pound inheritance tax, they had to find a way to make money—this included opening up a part of Chatsworth House for tourists to pay to visit, as well as renting it out for filming and various activities.

This situation has continued until now and has become a part of the family’s income.

“So you’re also a talented woman, I really hope I can have the chance to see those novels you wrote…”

Barron’s praise made Bonnie’s face slightly red, and she said with a bit of shyness:

“It was just a passing interest. I once tried to submit them, but they were all rejected. I received a reply from the editor, saying that my writing and descriptions were good, but the storytelling was relatively weak, so I gradually gave up later…”

…

“Mr. Sean, this is…?”

While having lunch with Bonnie, Barron noticed a dish with a somewhat unique appearance among the dishes brought up by the butler—in his and his predecessor’s memory, it seemed that he had never eaten this dish in Chatsworth House, which made him a little suspicious. Did the cook in the manor change without his knowing?

Seeing that Barron had finally noticed the dish, Butler Sean elegantly walked behind Barron:

“Your Grace, this Chinese dish is called Crab Rangoon, and it tastes very good.”

Chinese food?

You said this was Chinese food?

Barron looked at the six petal-shaped, dumpling-like foods neatly arranged on the plate in front of him, and fell into deep thought…

He picked up one with a fork and put it in his mouth…

Hmm, there was indeed filling inside, cheese and crab meat?

“How is it? Your Grace.”

Watching Barron’s expression, Butler Sean said:

“Cook Olivia heard that you suddenly fell in love with Chinese food in London, so she specially went to Derby to learn this dish from a Chinese chef.”

Seeing the expression of “seeking praise” written all over Butler Sean’s face, Barron tried to manage his expression, took a deep breath, and said:

“Well done, uh… don’t make it again.”

…

After lunch, he let Bonnie go to the guest room to rest—on the way here, plus the upcoming tour of some places in the manor, some fatigue could be seen on Bonnie’s face.

Barron, on the other hand, went to the study to listen to Butler Sean report on what had happened since he left Chatsworth House. Although he had talked to Barron on the phone in between, it was not as detailed and accurate as a face-to-face conversation.

“Your Grace, a footman and two maids previously offered to resign, and I agreed to them as you instructed. In addition, the old madam’s personal maid, as we discussed on the phone, I’ve kept her in the manor to do some light chores, and after two years, I will let her retire peacefully…”

At first, Butler Sean was talking about the changes in the servants of Chatsworth House. Besides the three who had resigned voluntarily, the personal footmen of Barron’s father and brother were directly dismissed, and letters of recommendation were written for the two.

In addition, another five servants were dismissed. Now, the total number of servants in Chatsworth House was less than twenty.

Originally, Barron still wanted to dismiss some more people. After all, he did not plan to live here permanently for the time being, and did not need so many people for daily use.

However, on the one hand, he considered that dismissing too many people at once would easily cause panic among others; on the other hand, Chatsworth House was still open for tours and some activity services, so it still needed quite a few people. Therefore, he decided to leave it as it was for the time being.

Yes, Barron did not plan to live in Chatsworth House all the time for the next period.

Chatsworth House did look antique and magnificent, and the furnishings inside were extremely luxurious, but in the final analysis, Barron’s soul came from the modern society of his previous life, and he was also used to those modern lives.

It was like when you travel to many places, you would feel novel at first, but after a long time, your own home would still make you feel more comfortable.

It was the same here. When Barron first came to Chatsworth House and lived there, he still felt very novel and enjoyed the life of a British aristocrat, which was quite pleasant.

But after a long time, he felt more and more awkward with this old-fashioned layout and life.

Moreover, although there were repairs from time to time, Chatsworth House was, after all, an ancient house with a history of several hundred years. Besides the very few modern electrical appliances, after going through the baptism of time, many times, Barron felt a somewhat indescribable feeling of decadence living here.

Therefore, he planned to carry out a more thorough renovation and redecoration here in the future, and then come here to live permanently.

After all, his most important task now was to seize the time to make money and expand the scale of his industry. Relatively speaking, Chatsworth House was still far from the city, too leisurely. London was more suitable for him.

This was also good. The manor could continue to maintain its business of opening to the public for tours and those external rentals, and he could occasionally come back for a vacation, which was also not bad.

After he had more capital, he could renovate the manor as a whole, and let this manor with a history of several hundred years regain its vitality.

“By the way, Your Grace, I have already cleaned up the master bedroom upstairs for you, and you can move in. And the old Duke’s belongings were previously placed in the room next to the bedroom, and you can take a look at them and decide how to deal with them.”

Chapter 27: The Decline of the Aristocracy

The master bedroom had undergone a significant transformation compared to before. Both the bedding and many of the furniture and decorations had been rearranged according to Barron’s previous room.

To be honest, even so, it wasn’t particularly to Barron’s liking at the moment, but considering that the entire manor would eventually be completely renovated, there was no need to adjust it now.

In the room next to this bedroom, many items had nearly filled it, leaving only a circular passageway.

According to the butler, Sean, he would be the one to decide whether to keep these things.

Among these items, the most numerous were rows upon rows of boxes, and inside these boxes were all clothing, many of which looked very new and were obviously well-preserved.

In the aristocratic life of the old times, many ladies could change three outfits a day. One could imagine how much space was needed to store their clothes.

Therefore, including the clothes left by the old lady and many female members of the family, plus Barron’s father and elder brother, so many clothes, even when placed in boxes and arranged here, were extremely spectacular.

Actually, many times in this manor, Barron always had the feeling that time passed very slowly here.

The outside world changed with each passing day and developed rapidly; but in this manor, even though it had already entered the new century, it still carried a strong shadow of the Victorian era.

What suddenly flashed through Barron’s mind was the words of the American mother-in-law in the previous life’s Downton Abbey:

“You British aristocrats are not only flashy but also extremely boring. The reason I traveled thousands of miles here is to take part in this kind of activity one last time before I can’t move around anymore. I feel you’re getting worse year by year.”

And what she said to the old lady:

“My world is a future that is coming; while your world is a history that is gradually fading away.”

Barron’s soul, in his previous life, had always lived in a China that had long overthrown the imperial system and no longer had aristocrats. He didn’t feel this deeply when watching the show.

It wasn’t until he came here, was in the manor that represented the family’s former glory, and had already become the Duke of Devonshire, experiencing the life of an aristocrat, and seeing and hearing about the lives of many aristocrats at this time, that he had a deep sense of it.

Yes, the British aristocracy, even including the royal family, was becoming increasingly decadent.

This decline was particularly evident in terms of economy and power.

Traditionally, land was an important economic source for the British aristocracy. It could be said that the aristocrats once owned a huge share of the land in all of Britain!

At the end of the 18th century, 400 aristocrats owned 20% of the national real estate share.

By the end of the 19th century, this share reached 24%!

It was precisely because the aristocrats owned a large amount of land that they could live a luxurious life with servants, relying solely on land rent and not engaging in production.

Just like in Downton Abbey, the old lady once directly asked the eldest cousin:

“What is a weekend?”

Well, for the aristocrats at that time, every day was a weekend. They had no concept of weekdays. Ladies could change three outfits a day and have occasional gatherings.

From the history of Britain, the turning point in the decline of aristocratic economic strength occurred in 1894.

In this year, the Liberal Party cabinet announced that they would levy an 8% inheritance tax on those with assets of over 1 million pounds.

This was the first time Britain levied an inheritance tax on aristocrats, but it was only the beginning.

Between 1909 and 1914, the tax rate increased to 15%, and it increased year by year thereafter.

By 1939, it had reached 60%!

After World War II, the Labour government increased the inheritance tax rate on those with assets of over 1 million pounds to 80%!

This time, the aristocrats were not happy. They shouted in the House of Lords: “This is simply highway robbery!”

The result was of no avail. The tax still had to be paid, and those who delayed payment had to pay an additional 8% interest.

The Conservative government that came to power later also showed no mercy and continued to implement the policy of “robbing the rich to help the poor.”

The direct consequence of the high inheritance tax was that when inheritance matters occurred, the aristocrats had to sell their manor houses and land, and their art collections to make up for financial deficits.

After several inheritances, the inheritance tax was paid again and again, and even the most prosperous family would be severely damaged.

By 1976, the aristocrats’ real estate in England and Wales had decreased by 76%, and in Scotland, it had decreased by 69%.

As time went on, the land owned by the British aristocracy became less and less, and a luxurious life became unsustainable.

Even many British aristocrats, forced by living, had to lower their status and open their manors and private territories to the public for visits to earn a little money.

Just like the Duke of Devonshire’s family, they were once severely damaged as a result.

His grandfather, at that time, had encountered an inheritance tax of as high as 80%—facing this policy, many aristocrats began to transfer their family assets into the form of a trust fund, which could avoid most of the inheritance tax.

Barron’s grandfather, who was the Duke of Devonshire at the time, inherited the family assets when the family trust fund had been established for less than five years.

Because the family trust fund had been established for less than five years, he had to pay the inheritance tax at a rate of 80%, which meant that the Duke of Devonshire at the time needed to pay an inheritance tax of 7 million pounds…

In order to preserve the family’s property, he had to sell part of the land, open the manor to the public for visits and rentals, and also set up hotels, hold horse races, and so on. It took him 24 years to earn this 7 million pounds and the overdue interest, so that the family property could return to the family, becoming a model among the aristocrats at the time.

However, in the face of such a high inheritance tax, there were not many aristocratic families who could work diligently like the Devonshire family to preserve their family property, otherwise, they would not have become a model.

The other aristocrats either were lucky enough to complete the trust fund conversion of their family assets during that period, or they could only sell their property, and even many of them declined.

Even the highest-ranking duke families among the remaining non-royal aristocrats could not escape!

Generally speaking, the order of British dukes’ etiquette is usually arranged according to the year the titles were conferred—the earlier the year of conferment, the higher the ranking.

For example, among the 24 non-royal dukes still in existence, the family of the Duke of Manchester, who ranked 17th, had their assets squandered by successive generations. Later, the current duke moved to the United States and made a living by fraud, and was arrested many times.

Interestingly, at the beginning, he himself was also defrauded by others.

Their family was a standard declining aristocrat.

And coincidentally, the Duke of St Albans, who ranked 6th, also declined because of taxes.

They did not have the ability to spend 24 years, like the Duke of Devonshire’s family, to earn 80% of the inherited family property and preserve the family’s property.

If even the duke families were like this, what about the other aristocrats…

If you take a look at the industries that those aristocratic families who are still in good economic condition are operating, the industries that are still related to land, such as real estate, agriculture, and tourism, are still the most numerous.

For example, the Duke of Westminster’s family, which is considered wealthy among the 24 duke families, is mainly engaged in real estate. This family currently has wealth of billions of pounds, ranking among the top 15 richest people in Britain…

The reason why their family is so rich, in addition to injecting family assets into a trust fund early on, thereby avoiding the high inheritance tax, is mainly because they own a large number of plots of land in London—more than a quarter of the land in the entire London belongs to the Duke of Westminster’s family.

Relying on these plots of land, through real estate, they have obtained a large amount of wealth, and they can also use this to acquire the land of other fallen aristocratic families, and have also purchased many properties in the United States, Australia, and Canada.

As for the Duke of Devonshire’s family at this time, it is very typical. The industries held by their family trust fund, in addition to Chatsworth House, include three castle manors in Scotland, Ireland, and Scotland. The remaining industries involve agriculture, tourism, hotels, and horse racing. It can be said that except for the industries of agriculture, they were all expanded by Barron’s grandfather at the time in order to increase income and earn the 7 million pounds of inheritance tax.

In addition to the economic situation being far from what it used to be, the weakening of political power is also a major manifestation of the decline of the British aristocracy.

The British Parliament is divided into two houses, the House of Lords and the House of Commons. The House of Lords is composed of aristocratic members, so it is also called the House of Lords.

Initially, the House of Lords had the right to veto bills passed by the House of Commons, and the two houses often had a confrontational situation.

At that time, the House of Lords was still relatively powerful.

After the Parliament Act of 1911 was passed, the relationship between the two houses changed.

According to the Parliament Act of 1911, any financial bill passed by the House of Commons, after being submitted to the House of Lords for deliberation for one month, would become law as long as the King signed it, regardless of whether it was approved by the House of Lords.

All other social bills, if passed three times in a row by the House of Commons within two years, even if all three times were vetoed by the House of Lords, could be directly submitted to the King for approval and become law.

In 1949, the Labour government enacted a new Parliament Act, reducing the “delaying veto” period of the House of Lords from two years to one year.

After these reforms, the House of Lords had basically become an institution without real power, and the British aristocracy could no longer exercise political power through the legislative process.

Although the official website of the British House of Lords still clearly states that “aristocratic members play an important role in supervising government decisions,” because the House of Lords has no real power, it is the same whether they go or not. More than 60% of the aristocrats rarely attend meetings, and only one-sixth of the aristocratic members can attend half of the meetings each year.

Among those who often attend, some aristocratic members are not for the purpose of “supervising government decisions,” but simply to receive a few dozen pounds of food and transportation subsidies.

In 1999, the current Prime Minister, Blair, was even more drastic, directly removing more than 600 members of the House of Lords, leaving only 92 members. It can be said that he directly exposed the nominal nature of the House of Lords.

What’s more ironic is that this reform to streamline the House of Lords by Blair did not encounter much resistance, and even many aristocrats supported this decision…

The aristocrats who were really powerful simply looked down on the House of Lords, this “retirement home,” and for some members, the biggest impact of the personnel cuts was only the loss of the few dozen pounds of subsidies for occasional attendance.

Chapter 28: Consider It

In terms of administrative power, the British aristocracy was also greatly restricted.

In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, British Prime Ministers were often aristocrats. For example, Barron’s ancestors – the fourth Duke of Devonshire – once served as British Prime Minister.

Another more famous British Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, came from the Marlborough Duke family.

It wasn’t until 1963 that the British “Peerage Act” completely severed the path for aristocratic members to become Prime Minister.

According to the “Peerage Act,” nobles had no right to participate in voting, could not be elected as members of the House of Commons, and could not serve as Prime Minister.

If an aristocratic member intended to become Prime Minister, they had to announce the renunciation of their peerage beforehand, leave the House of Lords, and then enter the House of Commons through election.

For example, the Conservative Prime Minister Douglas-Home, who came to power in 1963, was in this situation.

Overall, the era of the British aristocracy was in the past.

British people with noble titles had neither political privileges nor necessarily substantial family assets.

In today’s British society, being a lord was just a matter of “respectability.”

Even the British royal family was constantly being weakened, becoming more and more like a “mascot.”

For example, under the government’s insistence, in order to save royal expenses and reduce subsidies to the royal family, the “Royal Reduction Plan” was implemented starting last year, removing peripheral royal family members.

And Barron knew that in eight years, in 2010, the royal family would only retain four people – the Queen, the Prince of Wales, and two princes…

In other words, from then on, the royal family would only retain direct male members – unless a female was the direct eldest daughter.

……

“Bonnie, how are you, did you get a good rest?”

“Very well, Barron, I love the environment here. The view from the window is like a painting.”

It was three o’clock in the afternoon when Bonnie came to the small balcony on the second floor to have afternoon tea with Barron.

By this time, she had changed her clothes, wearing a shirt with a touch of court style and casual pants – even these long pants couldn’t hide the lines of her long legs.

“I’m glad you like it here. Also, your outfit is very charming.”

“Thank you for the compliment, Barron. What are we doing this afternoon?”

“I’m planning to go to the manor’s farm to take a look, and also to the nearby town. There are some family businesses there. If you’re interested, you can come along. You know, since I went to high school, I haven’t been back here much, so now that I’ve taken over the family business, I need to first understand it.”

“That must be very interesting. I’m quite interested in this kind of rural life.”

As Bonnie spoke, Barron watched her. He could tell that she was excited at this moment, and there was no pretense.

The land around Chatsworth House covered as much as thirty-five thousand acres, but because it was located in Derbyshire, its value was naturally incomparable to places like London.

However, such vast land produced a considerable number of crops and livestock. The produce from the surrounding farms, apart from a small part used by the manor, would mostly be sold.

For example, in many towns in the entire Derbyshire, there were Devonshire family butcher shops. They were also the largest suppliers of agricultural products to the residents in the surrounding areas. Even with other industries like tourism and hotels, the sale of farm produce was still an important part of the family’s income.

And under the introduction of the farm manager, Barron gained a better understanding of this part of his family business this afternoon – you know, his former self was never interested in these things.

“Barron, now that you’ve taken over the family business, will you continue to manage these in the future?”

On the way back, in the car, Bonnie sat beside Barron, looking at the scenery outside the window, and suddenly asked.

“Yes, Bonnie. To be honest, I wasn’t interested in this before; I was more interested in other businesses.”

The boundless property outside the window now belonged to him, and Barron suddenly felt a strange sense of emotion:

“But since I inherited these family businesses, and they have been running well for so many years, then I also have the responsibility to keep them going, and even make them better.”

“Actually, you might not believe it…”

Bonnie glanced at Barron, the corners of her mouth slightly turned up, and she said:

“I actually quite like this kind of life. When I was young, I read some novels and watched some movies, and I used to imagine myself as a noble lady, in such a beautiful manor, sometimes chasing the wind on horseback, sometimes writing while looking at the scenery outside the window. That kind of life, I longed for it so much.”

“Actually, this is very easy. If you’re willing, you can stay here for a few more days, or whenever you have a holiday again, I will always welcome you…”

“It’s a pity that I’m not a real noble girl. I still have to work to support myself, and I only have a few days of vacation.”

When the car stopped at the villa’s door, Barron gentlemanly opened the car door for Bonnie. When she placed her hand in Barron’s, and stepped out of the car, he could smell the faint scent of jasmine on the girl – Floris perfume was quite popular in Britain, after all, the Queen was its loyal customer. Barron remembered that when he first met Bonnie, she had this scent on her.

“Bonnie, didn’t you say before that you liked writing very much and had written novels?”

What made Barron somewhat relieved was that at dinner, there was no more of that strange “British Chinese food,” uh… dear Olivia, I hope I haven’t hurt your enthusiasm for Chinese food.

“But that was a few years ago. I haven’t written for a while now. You know, the work at the television station is often quite busy.”

Bonnie’s green eyes held a few traces of doubt, not knowing why Barron suddenly brought this up.

“I have an idea, I don’t know if it’s feasible, so I want to discuss it with you…”

In fact, when Bonnie came to the manor and mentioned that she had written novels before, Barron’s heart stirred, and he vaguely had a certain idea.

And after he learned more about the operation of the manor and its affiliated farms today, this idea became even stronger. He met Bonnie’s gaze and said to her:

“Actually, I’ve been conceiving a story about the lives of former nobles, but my writing… isn’t very good, and there are too many things I need to do, and I can’t focus on this, so I’ve thought about hiring someone specifically to help me write this story into a novel through my narration…”

“So you mean you want to hire me to do this?”

At this point, Bonnie had roughly guessed Barron’s idea, so she asked.

“Yes, I wasn’t planning to finish it so quickly, but I met you, and your situation is very suitable, isn’t it? And you work at the television station, you should also roughly know the salary range of those editors. I can hire you to do this for a higher price, but there is one condition, that is, you can get a certain percentage of the publication income of this novel, but the copyright of the novel and subsequent other derivatives must belong to me.”

“Actually, I’m very interested in your story, Barron, but I’m just worried that my ability isn’t enough to complete your idea… You know, the novels I submitted before were all rejected, I really don’t have any confidence.”

Bonnie’s expression at this moment was really a little apprehensive.

Seeing this, Barron reached out, held her soft hand, and said softly:

“Didn’t you say it yourself, that the editors actually recognized your writing and descriptions, but it was just that you lost out on the story. And the story, in my novel, will be completed by me.”

Bonnie’s hand visibly contracted slightly when Barron held it, but she didn’t continue to struggle…

Her face was slightly flushed, and she said in a low voice:

“It’s a bit sudden, Barron, can I consider it?”

Chapter 29: The Novel

“You know about the invitation from Viscount Booth. to collaborate on a piece of land, don’t you, Bonnie?”

Since she said she wanted to think about it, Barron changed the subject after eating a piece of freshly cut steak.

The steak came from the manor farm, was very fresh, and tasted good.

“I’m not sure about that…”

Bonnie seemed to think of something and said:

“No wonder my cousin mentioned the invitation when we went to the horse races. Barron, are you and my cousin’s husband, Viscount Booth, on good terms?”

Seeing Bonnie’s expression was a little… strange when she said this, Barron was a little puzzled:

“Not really, actually, I only met him for the first time during the Golden Jubilee celebration. Viscount Booth. mentioned that he had talked to our family about cooperation… You know, I hadn’t been involved in family affairs before that.”

“So that’s how it is, good…”

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing, just a little curious. Actually, I rarely go to my cousin’s place. Although I have a good relationship with her, she took care of me a lot since university, but I don’t interact with Viscount Booth. much, so it feels like fate is a little strange.”

“Are you referring to our meeting?”

Just now, when the topic of Viscount Booth. was mentioned, Barron keenly felt that Bonnie’s attitude was a little strange.

But when he asked, she didn’t seem to want to talk more, so Barron didn’t press the issue and instead, followed Bonnie’s words and made a joke.

“Well, I can’t make a conclusion yet…”

Seeing Bonnie wink at him in a very playful way after saying this, Barron raised his glass and clinked with her.

Gently swirling, the crimson wine entered his mouth, leaving a faint sweetness. He put down his glass and asked:

“What I’m a little curious about, Bonnie, is what kind of person do you think I am?”

Faced with Barron’s question, Bonnie pondered for a moment and said:

“Actually, when I was in school before, whether in high school or university, I also knew classmates from noble families. I felt that some of them were like other people – I mean, a lot of things, they wouldn’t actively tell others about their noble status, and you wouldn’t realize they were noble children from daily interactions. But some of them felt a little… odd.”

“So you think I’m one of those odd people?”

“Of course not. When I first met you, I knew your identity. But it’s strange that many times, especially this time coming to your manor, during the process of getting along, it felt like we were friends – that feeling occupied most of the time. Only suddenly would I remember that the person in front of me was a Duke, that I was chatting with a Duke. This feeling often makes me feel like Cinderella.”

“Actually, you don’t have to always care about my title as a Duke, Bonnie. Like I told you before, we are already friends, aren’t we? Being a noble, in many cases, is just a label. This label adds some glamour, but it’s not necessary for me to use it when facing everyone.”

After Barron said these words, he saw in Bonnie’s eyes an emotion that made his heart race:

“Barron, I’m really happy to hear you say this, you know? Many people have said things like this, but looking into your eyes just now, I could feel that your words were sincere. I’m very happy that I can be the special one…”

Speaking of this, Bonnie seemed a little embarrassed and lowered her head slightly:

“I said before that I was afraid that my abilities would disappoint you regarding the novel. Also, I had some doubts about your purpose at the time… But now, I’ve decided. I’m going to give it a try. I hope this decision won’t make you regret it, and it won’t make me regret it either.”

“I believe neither of us will regret it, Bonnie. Come, let’s toast and celebrate…”

After drinking another sip of red wine, Barron said to the girl:

“I’ll find a lawyer tomorrow to prepare the relevant agreement, and then we can start.”

“That’s a bit of a shame. I have to wait until tomorrow to hear your story…”

“Believe me, it will all be worth it.”

…

And so, the next day, when the Cavendish family’s lawyer came to the manor and drafted the contract according to Barron and Bonnie’s agreement, they both signed it, and the contract was thus concluded.

According to this contract, the novel, which would be dictated by Barron and polished by Bonnie, would be jointly signed by both of them. Barron would pay Bonnie the corresponding remuneration, and all copyrights of the final work would belong to Barron. Bonnie would receive one-third of the revenue from the future publication of the work.

Then, after seeing off the lawyer, back in the study of the manor, Barron placed a voice recorder on the table and said to Bonnie in front of him:

“This story begins in 1912, with the sinking of the White Star Line’s cruise ship, the Titanic. At that time, in Derbyshire, England, there was a Downton Abbey, where the Earl of Grantham’s family lived…”

Yes, what Barron told Bonnie was the content of the British drama Downton Abbey that he had watched in his previous life.

Downton Abbey was a fictional noble manor in the original drama. In his previous life, there was first this TV series, and then another writer was authorized to write a novel of the same name.

And the TV series Downton Abbey was first released in 2010, and the story was created by the well-known British screenwriter Julian Fellowes.

The reason why Barron wanted to write it out in advance was not really just to gain some empty fame through a novel that was extremely particular about the life of the nobility of that era. It was entirely because the filming location of Downton Abbey in his previous life was Highclere Castle. After the drama was broadcast, its popularity increased greatly, attracting countless tourists to visit and check in.

If in the future, the TV series filmed with it as the background, the filming location became Chatsworth House, which was no less than there, it would also promote many of the family’s industries, thereby greatly increasing the family’s income.

Of course, besides this, Barron had many other considerations, which needed to be done step by step later.

The reason why he used a voice recorder throughout the process of his narration was that, on the one hand, Bonnie could use these recordings to better complete the novel Downton Abbey after he finished speaking.

In addition, these recordings could also become evidence for Barron. If in the future the work Downton Abbey became as popular as in his previous life, and he and Bonnie had any disputes because of it, this would be the most advantageous evidence for Barron to prove that he was the “creator” of the story.

No matter what, even if the other person was a charming beauty like Bonnie, who made him quite excited, Barron would not casually trust the other person on such a major matter. He needed to keep enough trump cards at all times.

In this way, he, based on his memory, told Bonnie the content of the first season of Downton Abbey as detailed as possible. After that, Bonnie could polish it and create the first part of the novel.

Also, Barron was really not good at writing in English – even in his previous life, his mother tongue was Chinese. To be honest, he didn’t have much confidence in writing novels either. And most importantly, he had too many things to do and didn’t have time to write, so finding a ghostwriter was very necessary.

Bonnie was also the most suitable choice for him so far.

“You’re not wrong, Barron. This is really a very exciting story. I can’t wait to start writing now, but what I’m even more eager for is to know the rest of the story…”

“Uh, actually, I only have some ideas about the rest of the story right now, and I need time to think about it. But it should be fine after you finish writing this first part.”

Barron spread his hands and said to Bonnie.

“Barron, you’re both adorable and annoying. It seems I need to work hard to finish these first, for the sake of the rest of the story. I can see that the prototype of Downton Abbey in your story is Chatsworth House. I need to spend these two days to learn more about the etiquette and details of noble life.”

“That’s no problem, Bonnie. Butler Sean and the housekeeper Riley are experts in this area. You can treat them as consultants for your creation and ask them questions at any time.”

Chapter 30: Daisy

“Sid, my dear friend, how have you been lately?”

After the call connected, Barron stood by the window, watching Bonnie in the backyard, who was talking with the housekeeper, Riley, while rapidly taking notes. He spoke into the phone.

“Barron, you actually called me. Our friendship is truly unbreakable…”

“Don’t blame me. You were sent to Paris. The beauties there must be very enthusiastic.”

“Wow, man, you should really come here and visit. Compared to the girls in our country, this place is a dream.”

Hearing the exaggerated tone of Sid, his predecessor’s university friend, Barron said calmly:

“Perhaps you’ve forgotten your former goddess, Daisy…”

“Uh, that’s definitely not possible. Even now, I call her every week. I feel like she’s already fallen for me… man.”

“That’s perfect then, dear Sid, I need Daisy’s phone number. I have something to discuss with her.”

Hearing Barron’s words, Sid’s tone clearly became guarded:

“Barron, what are you up to? You said you weren’t interested in her type, are you trying to take advantage of me while I’m in France?”

Hearing the other party’s words, Barron was speechless:

“I just have a job that I want to ask her if she’s interested in. You know, she was a top student in finance back in school…”

“Precisely because I know you too well, Barron.”

Sid mumbled:

“Are you sure you won’t do that?”

“Of course, Sid.”

“Alright, I’ll trust you for now. Her number is…”

Although Barron was indeed very flirtatious in university, there were also girls with whom he maintained friendships, just like Daisy, whom he had just mentioned on the phone to his roommate, Sid.

Barron’s acquaintance with Daisy, the financial genius, was also because his friend Sid was madly pursuing her at the time. As a result, Sid didn’t capture Daisy’s heart, and the three of them instead became friends.

Uh, it’s not that Daisy wasn’t pretty; her appearance was similar to the young British rose, Catherine Zeta-Jones, even her curly hair carried the shadow of that actress.

Nor was it that Barron was particularly righteous and “drew a line” with the girl his friend liked.

It was really because although Daisy was extremely beautiful, her figure… wasn’t that bad either, she could be considered a supermodel, especially her flat chest…

This, for Barron at the time, was difficult to satisfy his desire for control – this could be seen from Aurora’s voluptuous figure, which showed Barron’s predecessor’s preferences.

However, after graduation, Barron had not seen Daisy again, but he had heard from Sid that the excellent Daisy had entered a London investment bank after graduation and seemed to be doing well.

…

After getting Daisy’s phone number from Sid, Barron looked at his watch. It should be lunchtime, so he dialed the number.

“Hello, this is Daisy.”

“Hello Daisy, this is Barron, do you remember me?”

“Barron? Barron Cavendish?”

Daisy’s voice on the phone was a little surprised.

“It’s me. I’m glad you haven’t forgotten an old friend.”

“Actually, I’ve seen some reports about you in the newspapers recently, Your Grace.”

“And you probably haven’t mentioned it to Sid…”

This was obvious, after all, if Sid knew about those reports, his reaction on the phone just now probably wouldn’t have been like that.

“Yes, so you got my number from him. You know, I used to consider you two as friends, but Sid… he’s always too enthusiastic.”

“Haha, everyone probably knows about his infatuation with you.”

“But when the other party has repeatedly rejected him, this probably wouldn’t make people feel comfortable… By the way, Your Grace, did you call me today just to talk about this?”

“Alright, let’s not talk about that. Also, Daisy, I’ve always considered you a friend, so you don’t have to call me Your Grace. Just like when we were in school, just call me Barron.”

“Okay, Barron, go ahead.”

“It’s like this, I have a position here, and I need someone I can trust and who is professional to help me. Do you want to? The salary can be 50% higher than what you’re making now!”

“That’s really tempting, but Barron, how did you know I just quit my job?”

“You quit? Why?”

“Because my idiot boss always looked at my thighs with that disgusting gaze, and yesterday he even tried to put his hand on them… So I gave him a slap, and so… that’s how it went.”

“Wow, that’s great news, isn’t it a coincidence? So, will you accept my invitation?”

Barron’s voice fell, and after a brief silence, Daisy said:

“With all due respect, Barron, I saw the reports, and your current financial situation isn’t good. I’m afraid this won’t be a long-term position…”

“You’re still so direct, Daisy.”

“Otherwise, I wouldn’t have slapped that idiot, would I?”

“I admire your character, but Daisy, I believe you also understand a truth, that is, rumors are not entirely credible. How things are in the world still needs to be judged by oneself. Why don’t you give it a try?”

“A 50% increase in salary over what I was making?”

“Yes.”

“What kind of work is required?”

“Help me execute some financial investments.”

“That’s it?”

“Of course, you know, Daisy, although I was very flirtatious before, I never do those despicable things, otherwise, you wouldn’t have considered me a friend before.”

“Then when do I need to start working?”

“I’ll be back in London in a few days, and I’ll talk to you in detail then, maybe you’ll have to start working at that time. Does that mean you’ve agreed?”

“I can give it a try. I hope this salary won’t be for too short a time, well, at least I can get it, after all, I’m quite short on money recently.”

…

After confirming that the other party had accepted his job invitation, Barron was very satisfied.

After all, in his previous life, he had many years of experience in the financial industry, and he still had a good impression of the trends of those financial investment products since the new century, so in the beginning, he was prepared to make financial investment one of his main businesses in the future.

But in this regard, Barron was currently alone and needed an assistant to help him with specific investment operations.

The family trust fund mainly consisted of some traditional industries, which had no great connection with financial investment.

And Barron himself hoped to register another company with his own funds outside of this fund to serve as the investment entity, so in the memories of his predecessor, Daisy, the financial genius he knew from university, entered his field of vision.

Anyway, Daisy had some connection with him… his predecessor, and from those memories, Barron also greatly admired this woman’s decisive personality, so he made the phone call today.

Chapter 31: The Wager

At first, Barron planned to meet with the creditors of the family trust fund after returning to the manor to resolve the fund’s current debt of approximately five million pounds.

However, after meeting with the bank representatives in London, their attitude made Barron change his mind.

The creditors of the Duke of Devonshire family were mostly aristocratic enterprises that had more dealings with the family. Therefore, Barron, according to the directory provided by Julia, made phone calls one by one, stating that all debts would be settled within this year, and that the delay would be paid with interest higher than bank loans.

They all accepted his statement.

Many of these people had attended the funeral of the Duke of Devonshire family before, and Barron still had some impression of them. He said he would visit them in person and express his gratitude.

In fact, even now, he could pay off these debts, not to mention the end of the year. After the Asahi World Cup, he would have no pressure to pay off the bank loans.

However, after all, his financial investments would still need funds, so he postponed the deadline for paying off the debts, even if he was willing to pay interest higher than the bank loan rate.

After all, every penny now might even turn into one pound by the end of the year!

……

The whistle blew, and the 120-minute match ended. The South Korean team, with the help of a key player—the chief referee—finally won this most dirty and violent World Cup match in history with a score of 2:1 in extra time.

At this moment, even though he had watched this match in his previous life, after watching the live broadcast again, Barron still couldn’t help muttering:

“As expected, only those little Koreans could do this.”

He was now in his London apartment—after living in Chatsworth Manor for a few days, Barron and Bonnie returned to London together.

“What did you just say, Your Grace?”

“Nothing, it’s not important, but it seems you’re not very interested in football matches, Ms. Moore.”

Barron turned off the TV and said with a smile to Julia beside him.

“Yes, if you weren’t my boss, I probably wouldn’t have spent this hour and a half with you, and I hope there won’t be another such ordeal.”

“What I’m a little curious about is that you don’t seem to have many personal hobbies besides work. Can you really feel happy with such a life?”

“Everyone has their own way of life, Your Grace. I don’t think you can understand where my pleasure lies. Of course, there’s no need for that. Can we get back to business now?”

It was obvious that Julia was trying her best to suppress her emotions, which could be seen from her expressionless face at this moment.

Barron secretly regretted that such a beauty seemed to be wrapped in a thick iceberg.

“Alright, let’s get back to the previous topic, about those bank loans.”

“Frankly speaking, Your Grace, when I received the news from North Rock Bank, claiming that you had agreed to pay off their loan in advance by the end of the month, I was a little disbelieving. I don’t know how you talked to those bank representatives that day, but at least you should have informed me about this. The funds on the fund’s books… I really don’t know what to use to repay those loans.”

“At least we can pay less interest, right?”

After saying this, seeing Julia widen her eyes and look at herself, as if looking at a madman…

Barron then said:

“Alright, relax a little, Ms. Moore, I was just joking with you. Actually, you don’t have to worry. Before the end of the month, a company will provide our family trust fund with a loan of five million pounds to repay the principal of the North Rock Bank loan. As for the interest, I believe our family trust fund should be able to handle it.”

“Loan? Do you mean you’ve borrowed from other companies to pay off the bank loan? Your Grace, I wonder if you’ve figured out the difference in interest between the two?”

“You can rest assured that the five million pounds loan will be an interest-free loan, or I can reveal some more information to you, the lending company will also be under my name…”

If Julia was still quite skeptical and a little excited just now, then after hearing Barron drop such a bombshell, her expression was all astonishment.

“You mean you will use another company under your name to lend to the family fund?”

“I think I’ve already said it clearly enough, Ms. Moore.”

“Why?”

“If you must know the reason, Ms. Moore, I can tell you in a more appropriate way, I hope the family trust fund will continue to develop in its current industries, and conduct financial investments through another company…”

Unlike the smiling expression he had just now, Barron’s eyes became sharp for the first time after meeting with Julia this time:

“But this statement is just to maintain our mutual decency. I believe you are a smart person, Ms. Moore. If you can’t get rid of your prejudices and re-understand me now, I’m afraid our decency will be difficult to maintain.”

“Whether you believe it or not, Your Grace, since our frank conversation last time, I’ve been doing that…”

“That’s not enough, Ms. Moore, do you really think that when I left the family and was in university, I was just chasing girls and wasting time?”

Barron leaned close to Julia, smelling the faint scent of water lilies on her, and said softly:

“If just these things today make you surprised, then I’m afraid you’ll be even more surprised in the future, so my personal friendly suggestion is that you’d better realize sooner that I am an investment genius. The sooner, the better you can adapt.”

While Barron was saying these words, Julia looked at him in disbelief.

I believe that her expression was more due to the… shock of his words than his slightly intimate posture at this moment.

Because in her opinion, those who could say such extremely narcissistic words so naturally were either megalomaniacs or true geniuses.

And Barron looked more like the former.

“Your eyes tell me that you think I’m a madman, Ms. Moore.”

“Out of politeness, perhaps I shouldn’t admit this fact, Your Grace… but I think I should still be honest.”

While saying this, Julia unconsciously sat back slightly.

“Since that’s the case, do you mind making a bet with me?”

Julia shook her head and refused:

“I’m sorry, Your Grace, I never gamble.”

“It only needs a small bet, you can listen to me finish the rules, Ms. Moore, you are always so conventional, life is boring, or even if it’s not called a bet, it’s just a verification, what do you think?”

“If you insist on saying it, I don’t mind.”

“Actually, you are a very charming lady. If you weren’t always so… rigid, how about trying to go on a date with me? You can understand this as a bet, or you can understand it as an invitation with a threshold. As for the conditions to be met, well, it will be measured by the income I get from the financial market. You can say a profit target that you think is unlikely to be achieved unless I am really an investment genius. All this is up to you to decide. This game, I think, is not too difficult for you…”

“Are you so confident, Your Grace?”

“Actually, the choice is yours. If you insist on refusing, say a astronomical figure, then I can only admit defeat.”

Julia looked at the man in front of her. She also admitted that, in terms of appearance alone, Barron could be said to be the most outstanding in the Cavendish family, but his personality was really different from the old Duke and… his brother.

“Fifty million pounds, and it needs to have a time limit.”

“Yes.”

“Within a year.”

“Deal!”

Chapter 32: DS Capital

Actually, at this time, Barron had already figured it out. For those industries that were part of the family tradition, including those within the family trust, Julia’s steady personality was indeed the most suitable.

As for the financial investments he wanted to make, he could start from scratch.

In the beginning, Barron, who had been a financial investment professional for many years in his previous life, had considered abandoning those traditional industries that the family was currently involved in, which in his eyes clearly had no great development prospects, and instead focusing primarily on financial and internet sectors that had more development potential.

But after thinking about it for a while, he gradually understood that when he needed to maintain a family, especially a family in England with various historical origins and the resulting network of relationships, his vision could not be limited to just the accumulation of wealth.

Just like when the family encountered certain crises, a family that only possessed wealth and those families related to the livelihoods of countless people—even if the wealth of the former was far greater than the latter, in reality, the latter might be able to receive official assistance, while the former, the loss wouldn’t cause too much hesitation.

Pure wealth, in fact, was not that important to the government. The most important standard they measured was your significance in maintaining social stability.

Finance and the internet could certainly increase wealth rapidly, but it was still those traditional industries that could provide more jobs, especially in a voting country like England. The more people’s livelihoods you could influence, the more say you would correspondingly have.

In the end, it still came down to that sentence: the mission of the nobility was to provide more jobs.

……

“Daisy, it’s great to see you again. You’ve become much more capable than you were at school…”

“I accept your compliment, Barron. That’s better than you saying I’m more beautiful or something.”

Upon returning to London, Barron immediately arranged to meet Daisy.

They had already had preliminary communication over the phone. Time was of the essence, and Barron still hoped to build his financial investment team as soon as possible.

“Haha, your personality hasn’t changed.”

Barron smiled, looking at the woman in front of him, and connecting her with the “talented woman” from his previous life’s memories, who had a strong personality.

“Otherwise, I wouldn’t need to take over your position. Of course, I don’t mean anything bad about your place…”

Drinking a sip of the coffee in front of her, Daisy shrugged and said:

“After all, you might be my boss in the future. Perhaps this place will be more suitable compared to a place like Lloyds Bank, who knows.”

She had already known Daisy’s previous experience.

After graduation, Daisy, with excellent grades and outstanding performance, passed the Lloyds Bank interview and entered the investment department of this bank giant, which was one of the four major private banks in England, along with Barclays Bank.

And within this year, Daisy’s performance in her department was also quite good.

“You know, in this kind of investment bank, men always have more promotion opportunities, even if their performance is far behind mine… I already had to endure this obvious injustice, and then I encountered that kind of thing…”

When talking about her previous job, Daisy couldn’t help but complain.

“It doesn’t seem so appropriate to say these things in front of the new boss, dear Daisy.”

“At least you’re not yet, Barron.”

“Alright, but what I want to know is, Daisy, if I give you an investment instruction that you think is utterly stupid, what will you do?”

“Well, I still have basic professional ethics, Barron. Just like you said, if it’s really an investment strategy that I think is utterly stupid, I will give my opinion. As for whether it is adopted, that’s your business. I will still invest according to your instructions. After all, it’s your money, you have the right to decide.”

Barron was still satisfied with Daisy’s answer. To be honest, the main reason he brought in Daisy as his investment assistant was that he knew her well. Her good relationship with his previous self allowed Barron to give her a certain amount of trust.

As for how capable she was, it wasn’t a very important thing for Barron. He just needed her to be familiar with the basic operations of financial investment—being able to enter Lloyds Bank and having good performance, this requirement could be met in any case.

After all, in fact, what his investment assistant needed to do was nothing more than to execute Barron’s investment decisions.

Instead, Barron was worried that the other party was too capable—or rather, thought she was too capable, would have a relatively strong sense of self, and would often question his decisions, or even feign compliance, which would be the worst for him.

Therefore, after understanding Daisy’s personality, what Barron needed to confirm first was this point.

“Then I have no problem, as long as you can do what you said.”

“Does that mean I passed?”

“Yes, Daisy, what’s your decision?”

“At least it seems like you’ve matured a lot more than you were at school, Barron, or maybe I should call you BOSS now.”

……

Daisy had already made preparations when they spoke on the phone before, so after this meeting, she could start working immediately.

Barron’s first task for Daisy was to immediately start helping him register an investment company to serve as the main body for his upcoming financial investments.

Barron named this investment company DS Capital, the name derived from the deer (Deer) and saffron (Saffron) elements in the Duke of Devonshire family crest.

And this name coincided with the first letters of the two root words that make up Devonshire.

In the early stages, Barron would first take out 2 million pounds and have Daisy buy shares in a Nasdaq stock—the portal website Netease from China.

Fortunately, as one of the international financial centers, London itself had brokers that could directly purchase shares on the American Nasdaq, so there was no need to go to America again.

Netease, as one of China’s early internet portals, was listed on the American Nasdaq in 2000.

However, it was very unlucky that they soon encountered the global internet bubble bursting. Affected by this, Netease’s valuation plummeted last year, from 15.5 dollars to 0.48 dollars.

In addition, Netease was suspected of accounting and financial fraud, facing lawsuits from investors, and the stock was suspended from trading on Nasdaq, with the possibility of being delisted at any time.

After the stock resumed trading this year, Netease’s stock price continued to be below 1 dollar, even falling below 0.5 dollars at one point.

The reason why Barron decided to buy Netease’s stock was also because in his previous life, the founder of BBK, Duan Yongping, had a very famous deed of investing in Netease stock. He bought it at a price below 1 dollar and eventually made more than 70 times the profit on Netease stock.

He bought Netease stock around this time, so there was such an opportunity to increase more than a hundred times—you know, Netease’s stock price later exceeded 100 dollars, and Duan Yongping had already started selling when its stock price exceeded 30 dollars—Barron would naturally not miss it.

However, because the actual circulation of Netease itself was only more than 30 million shares, Barron first took out 2 million pounds to buy this stock, and then decided whether to increase his position based on the situation.

Chapter 33: Neoclassicism

“Barron, thank you for your support of the ideas of neoclassical architecture.”

“It’s my pleasure, Your Royal Highness. In these matters, you set an example for us with your personal involvement.”

At this event, Barron met the Prince of Wales and, in a private capacity, donated 100,000 pounds to his project.

In fact, the Prince of Wales, during his long tenure as heir to the throne, was extremely enthusiastic about charitable causes. He established more than ten charitable organizations, collectively known as the “Prince’s Charities,” which raised a massive amount of funds each year to provide support in many fields, including education, environmental protection, architecture, elderly care, and people with disabilities.

Interestingly, in 1998, he and his two sons, William and Harry, participated in the “International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination” memorial ceremony in Canada…

His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales perhaps did not anticipate that, many years later, his daughter-in-law, Meghan, would become the first person of color to marry into the royal family, challenging the royal family’s traditionally conservative views.

In the field of architecture, the Prince was not interested in the architectural style of modern cities dominated by glass and concrete, and he focused on promoting the architectural style of Neoclassicism.

He advocated for preserving the classical charm of several centuries ago in the core area of London. He was once appointed an “Honorary Painter” by the London Painters’ Guild in recognition of his contributions to London’s architecture.

Just like today’s charity fundraising event, it was specifically organized by his foundation for the protection of the historical landscape of Haiti.

“Your Royal Highness, I have read many of your discussions on the architectural style of Neoclassicism, and I am greatly inspired. I also agree that it is very necessary to retain the style of classical architecture.”

Hearing Barron’s words, the Prince of Wales smiled, looked at the venue, and said with satisfaction:

“This is the significance of what I do. Only by gaining the recognition of more people can there be the possibility of changing society.”

“I have received news, Your Highness, that a large-scale renovation of King’s Cross is about to take place. There are many buildings left over from the Victorian era there. I believe that using the neoclassical style to design the buildings during the renovation will become a model for this type of renovation project.”

The Prince of Wales said with a slight look of surprise on his face:

“Oh? Is that so? I know that the extension of St. Pancras International Station there is almost complete, but I didn’t know that the entire King’s Cross renovation project has been established. However, the residents and civil organizations there have hoped to update King’s Cross for more than a decade, but the plan has been shelved. If this plan can really be launched, it is indeed necessary to consider the preservation of those Victorian-era architectural styles. I will take some time to inquire about the relevant news…”

Speaking of this, he glanced at Barron:

“Why are you so interested in these things? Barron.”

“Your Highness, because our family has a piece of land there with abandoned gas storage tanks. I don’t know if you have an impression, it’s the ‘Siamese triplets’…”

“Oh, I remember. I saw it when I passed by there. It turns out it belongs to your family.”

“Yes, Your Highness, because I gained inspiration from your discussions on the architectural style of Neoclassicism, so I have also considered applying this architectural style to the renovation of those abandoned gas storage tanks. If it can be coordinated with the renovation of King’s Cross and integrated with the overall renovation style, that seems to be a good idea.”

Barron’s words made the Prince of Wales’s eyes light up:

“This is indeed a brilliant idea, Barron. I think it’s worth a try. I will call the district government later and inquire whether this matter is possible.”

He looked at Barron again, patted him on the shoulder, and said with satisfaction:

“To be honest, the way you are now reminds me of when I first met your father… In fact, I knew your grandfather a long time ago, and our friendship has lasted for a long time. When I learned that your family had suffered misfortune, I felt very sad, Barron. Now being able to see you gradually revitalize your family is truly a happy thing.”

“It’s just a pity that those damned swindlers are still at large.”

The Prince of Wales nodded:

“Not only your family, but also many people have suffered greatly, including many nobles. For this matter, I specifically called Scotland Yard to express my disappointment with their work… But here, I can reveal a little, Barron, that there has been considerable progress in the investigation of this case, and I believe that those fraudsters will be found soon and the money they stole will be recovered.”

“Thank you, Your Highness. I will also continue to pay attention to this matter. The Cavendish family will not tolerate such an offense.”

“These are all things I should do. The new century has arrived, and everything is changing, but our traditions and honor are the most precious things and need to be protected together.”

The Prince of Wales patted Barron on the shoulder again and said cordially:

“The Duke of Devonshire family has a glorious history. I hope that this glory can be continued in your hands, Barron. If there is anything I can help with in the future, don’t hesitate to call me directly. You have my number… In addition, you are about the same age as William and Harry, so you should interact with them more in the future.”

“Thank you, Your Highness. I will keep your teachings in mind. In addition, the two princes are both outstanding individuals, and I am very honored to be able to become friends with them.”

…

Regarding the “London Star” case, not only the Duke of Devonshire family, but also many nobles suffered varying degrees of losses. However, Barron’s family was one of the few that invested the most.

And the progress of the case mentioned by the Prince of Wales, he also received feedback from Scotland Yard. After cooperating with Interpol and international anti-money laundering agencies, Scotland Yard obtained more information about the “London Star” fraud gang.

First of all, the mastermind, William Abanell, is indeed a real person, and there is no other criminal record of him with Interpol, so he should be the mastermind. Judging from his performance in the “London Star” fraud case, either the other party is a criminal genius, or there is a very experienced organization behind him conducting group crimes.

Moreover, the news from the United States confirms that William Abanell did work on Wall Street. The “successful investments” he claimed to have made on Wall Street were also a mixture of truth and lies, an extremely clever packaging technique.

The main members of the “London Star” fraud case left London one after another when the investment of the last cycle was about to expire—because of the reason of “investment,” they also often went abroad to overseas countries, including the United States, Australia, and India, so this did not attract attention at the time—William and others went to Romania in Eastern Europe, and then their whereabouts could not be traced.

Scotland Yard believes that either they transferred through other means, or they changed their identities and used fake passports to leave there. After all, the review of these things in that place was extremely weak.

It was not until a week after these people left that, faced with more and more customers’ requests to redeem their investments, the peripheral members who were kept in the dark delayed according to the core members’ requirements, and then someone could not bear it and reported the case. This new century’s largest fraud case in Britain, involving 500 million pounds, was exposed.

Barron also hoped that the fraudsters would be caught sooner or later, as the Prince of Wales said; but as for the funds being recovered? I’m afraid the hope is slim. From what is now discovered, those funds that were transferred have gone through an extremely professional money laundering process. The final destination, Scotland Yard’s financial crime department is still cooperating with international anti-money laundering agencies to investigate. I’m afraid that as time goes on, hundreds of millions of pounds have long been quietly transformed in the vast international underground money laundering network.

Chapter 34: The Best Opportunity

After returning to the apartment, Barron met with Julia.

“What did you find out from the Camden Borough Council?”

“On your behalf, I met with the Mayor. After indicating that we were aware of the overall redevelopment plans for King’s Cross, he didn’t directly deny it. Instead, he mentioned that the plan hadn’t been finalized, and before that, there would be a consultation meeting involving representatives of all relevant parties…”

King’s Cross, a district within Camden, one of the 33 boroughs of Greater London, is located at its center.

Here, the head of the district is also known as the “Mayor,” similar to a district head in China.

Camden has always been a relatively underdeveloped area of London. In the list of the top 100 “deprived residential areas” in London at the end of the last century, King’s Cross accounted for 24!

Data from 2001 showed that compared to London’s average unemployment rate of 4%, Camden’s unemployment rate was as high as 7%.

In terms of the physical environment, King’s Cross, as an industrial “brownfield,” had a large number of industrial relics awaiting redevelopment, with a severe lack of public space.

Furthermore, the chaotic flow of people in front of the two train stations affected its efficiency as a transportation hub.

Therefore, from the perspective of the entire area’s development, King’s Cross, as the central area of Camden, needed large-scale comprehensive governance to develop Camden, under the backdrop of London increasingly becoming a global financial center with a growing shortage of housing and office space.

It was after searching for a lot of information and confirming this that Julia, for the first time, agreed with Barron’s judgment and actively began to assist him in the layout of the “triplet” gas holder land.

“What’s your conclusion, Ms. Moore?”

“My initial feeling is that Camden is definitely formulating plans for King’s Cross, but it hasn’t reached the final stage yet - even if a decision is made, there are still many procedures to go through before the final plan is determined. However, as for how things will turn out, besides needing to gather more information, we also need some more definite signals, but I’m afraid that by then, this news won’t be a secret in quite a few circles.”

Indeed, if Barron’s goal this time was only the development of his own land, then there would be no need for more action. He could simply wait for the final announcement.

But Barron’s ambition didn’t stop there. London is the core location of the UK, but as one of the earliest industrialized countries, it’s no longer so easy to acquire land in London.

The land owned by the Duke of Westminster’s family, for example, would make anyone drool.

But now, to enter real estate development, the most prosperous areas of London are already overcrowded - and Camden, or more precisely, King’s Cross in its central location, was not actively developed by large real estate developers because of its relatively backward development and the concentration of “slums.”

There was a saying among Londoners: everyone would only pass through King’s Cross, but they wouldn’t go to King’s Cross.

This showed how terrible the environment was at the time.

But Barron knew that when he came here in his previous life, King’s Cross had already undergone earth-shattering changes compared to the present. Especially around the CBD there, it had become a new commercial center in London. He still remembered the UK headquarters of well-known companies like Google, Facebook, Louis Vuitton, and Nike.

Therefore, for Barron at this time, if he wanted to participate in the real estate industry of London, a global financial center with continuously rising house prices in the next ten years, then getting as many land plots as possible in King’s Cross, which were much cheaper than other prosperous areas at the time, and participating in the entire King’s Cross redevelopment plan, was his best opportunity in the next few years.

“Have you found anything about the nearby land plots?”

“I checked the land information around King’s Cross Station. After investigation, there is a warehouse area of approximately 3 hectares to the west of our family’s gas holders. The ownership changed a month and a half ago. The company that currently holds this land is the Viscount Booth’s real estate company.”

Julia took out a map of the King’s Cross area, pointing at the land plots marked on it to introduce them.

That land plot was adjacent to the gas holder land, on its west side.

Her finger traced across the map again, landing on a mark on the south side of the gas holder land, and continued:

“The other land plots haven’t been changed, and should have nothing to do with Viscount Booth, but this land plot, which covers approximately 2 hectares, was just traded a month ago. The current owner is another company, but the owner of this company also belongs to the Booth. family.”

After Julia’s introduction, looking at the marks on the map, Barron already understood.

No wonder Viscount Booth. was so interested in their family’s abandoned gas holder land. It turned out that he had already acquired at least two land plots in King’s Cross, and the “triplet” was located right between these two plots.

If he bought the land owned by his family, Viscount Booth. would be able to connect the two plots he had already acquired. This would be a huge land plot of 11.5 hectares in total, which could be planned for more types of development to achieve the maximum commercial benefit.

But if he couldn’t get this land, besides the fact that his two smaller land plots would have fewer planning options, on the one hand, if the abandoned gas holder land was not developed for a long time, it would have a very negative impact on the value of his land after it was built; but if the Cavendish family developed it themselves or cooperated with others, although it would be relatively more beneficial to Viscount Booth, there was also the possibility that the other party’s construction would ultimately benefit the Cavendish family for nothing.

At this moment, Barron fell into a memory… That warehouse area, when he came to King’s Cross Station in his previous life, seemed to have a hotel, which looked quite luxurious…

And the other land plot was next to a park, and it seemed to be a shopping and entertainment complex on the Regent’s Canal, with a very unique design.

After confirming these things, Barron raised his head, looked at Julia, and said:

“Ms. Moore, please trouble you to continue investigating whether there are any land plots for sale in other areas of King’s Cross, and their approximate valuations. I want to complete these as soon as possible.”

“That’s no problem, I will complete it as soon as possible…”

Julia hesitated for a moment and said:

“But, Your Grace, the redevelopment plan for King’s Cross is just our guess at the moment. Not to mention that there may not necessarily be suitable land plots for sale there, even if there are, there are still risks. If the redevelopment plan isn’t approved within a few years, it will be difficult to withdraw the funds. And, our current funds…”

“I told you, Ms. Moore, you should give me more trust.”

At this moment, Barron’s face was full of confidence in front of Julia:

“As for the funds, have you forgotten our bet? If I wasn’t sure, I wouldn’t be humiliating myself.”

Chapter 35: The Ball

“I have some bad news and some good news. Which one do you want to hear first?”

“Let’s hear the bad news first.”

“The bad news is that we lost to Brazil and won’t be in the World Cup semi-finals.”

“That’s so sad, but I was somewhat prepared. So, what’s the good news?”

“At least we don’t have to face the barbaric and shameless South Korean team.”

“Oh, God, poor Spain.”

After waking up in the morning, Barron called Bonnie. After returning to London, she had been busy with work due to the previous vacation, and she also had to write the novel Downton Abbey, so they hadn’t had a chance to meet in the past few days. They could only take the time to call and say hello.

“Are you still that busy? Beautiful Miss Bonnie.”

“Yes, but I’ll have a break soon. But I’m happy to receive your concern, handsome Mr. Barron.”

“I’m looking forward to your vacation, Bonnie. I think we could go to a scenic place to write…”

“Like Chatsworth House?”

“Wow, that’s a brilliant idea. I believe it’s eagerly waiting for you…”

“I’ll consider it, I think.”

Seeing Ramos bring in breakfast, Barron gestured for him to put the breakfast on the table by the window. He smiled and continued speaking into the phone:

“By the way, Bonnie, I received an invitation from Viscount Booth. to attend a ball at their house tonight. Will you be going?”

“I heard about it from my cousin, but unfortunately, I have work today, you know, Barron, so… I hope you have a good time tonight.”

“I would have been happy, but now, it seems to me that it’s just a tedious social gathering.”

“If you say that, Barron, then I’ll probably have to prepare my pumpkin carriage and glass slippers next time…”

…

By now, Barron had realized the importance of obtaining information, or rather, intelligence.

If he had been able to get the news about the King’s Cross area’s planned renovation from the beginning – not to mention this, even just the transfer situation of the land around the “conjoined triplets” plot – then he would have been able to take the initiative in the negotiations with Viscount Booth. long ago.

Fortunately, Barron had been to London in his previous life, twenty years from now, so he didn’t really suffer a loss through analysis.

Otherwise, if it were someone else, they would probably have sold that plot to Viscount Booth. for cash when faced with their family’s situation.

But there was nothing he could do. After the accident in his family, Barron became the sole heir.

It could be said that many of the family’s previous relationships – whether with other families or with some politicians around the family’s fiefdom – had not been successfully continued.

You must know that before, Barron’s father was in his prime, and he also had his elder brother being trained as the heir. Plus, Barron’s previous self had no interest in family affairs at all.

It could be said that as the heir to the Devonshire family, Barron’s elder brother was the one who had always been taken by his father to experience things and to continue the family’s various relationships.

Now his elder brother had died unexpectedly, including his father and grandmother, leaving only Barron, the sole heir who had never participated in family affairs before. Then, the continuation of those relationships had a gap, and Barron would need to spend some effort to rebuild these connections…

This was also the reason why Barron still kept Julia for the time being, although Julia’s attitude towards Barron before was… somewhat distrustful.

After all, besides her being more familiar with the family’s trust fund, she had also been involved in many of the family’s previous connections as the manager of the family’s fund. Therefore, at this time, it could be said that she was the one who could help Barron rebuild the family’s relationship network the most.

A mature leader will not only look at the other person’s attitude to decide whether to keep them around, otherwise, the only ones who will be left are flatterers; instead, he needs to weigh the other person’s value. For a valuable person, some disagreements in attitude can be tolerated.

Of course, if Julia still cannot change her attitude after he takes charge of the family’s assets, then after her value is exhausted, there will be no need to keep her around.

…

The traditional aristocracy used to be fond of various social gatherings. Often, a gathering would be extremely particular and grand in scale.

Of course, the foundation for these ritualistic and luxurious gatherings to continue was in the glorious era of the aristocracy, when the land economy was the mainstream of society, and the aristocrats who occupied vast lands could therefore have the financial resources to support these.

But with the emergence of more advanced and efficient productive forces, the mainstream of social wealth distribution began to shift to emerging industries. Plus, the two world wars caused heavy losses to the aristocratic families of England. The aristocracy, as a class, was declining day by day. Therefore, the aristocratic families that could still provide gatherings as grand as before were becoming fewer and fewer.

And this time, the ball Barron was attending, which was initiated by Viscount Booth, although not grand in scale, was very luxurious. Often, such balls would require a long time of preparation in advance.

However, the Booth. family, where Viscount Booth. belonged, had the financial resources to hold such a ball.

After all, the ancestors of the Booth. family had once obtained a large amount of mineral resources in Wales. It could even be said that the development of Cardiff, the capital of Wales, was also decisive, with the Booth. family playing a role in it.

For example, Cardiff Harbour was originally built by the second Marquess of Booth. of the Booth. family to transport the coal mines produced there, and later the Booth. family also donated their properties such as Cardiff Castle and Booth. Park to the local government.

It could be said that during the time of the second Marquess of Booth, the Booth. family was one of the richest families in the world. Even now, the Booth. family’s foundation was still deep. Even Viscount Booth, as the heir to the family, was only developing in London alone, and the resources he could use were very rich.

Those attending this ball, held in Viscount Booth’s residence in Chelsea, included many aristocrats, wealthy merchants, and social celebrities in London. It could be said that Viscount Booth’s network of contacts was displayed to the fullest.

As a sign of respect, Barron was also “dressed to the nines” today. A well-fitting, hand-sewn suit, a pair of tailored trousers, plus his handsome appearance, attracted the attention of many aristocratic ladies after he arrived.

“Hello, may I have a dance with you?”

Amidst the gentle music, there were many men and women gracefully dancing in the hall. The most popular dance at this kind of ball was naturally the waltz.

Hearing someone invite him, Barron looked over and found a tall beauty in a gown standing beside him.

The other person had light golden hair, wore a light blue gown, and was about 180cm tall, which was very eye-catching.

“My name is Gabrielle, you can call me Ella.”

“Hello, my name is Barron, Barron Cavendish.”

“I know you, Your Grace.”

The girl’s posture was very elegant, and she asked again:

“Can we dance together?”

Chapter 36: Royal Family Members

“Of course, Miss Ella, you are most welcome.”

Before his transmigration, Barron had attended many balls, so dances like the waltz were no problem for him.

After the girl gently raised her hand, he performed a gentleman’s bow, half-holding her delicate hand, and the two of them walked onto the dance floor.

It must be said that Gabrielle’s dancing was indeed elegant and skillful. Under her lead, Barron’s previous body’s memories resurfaced, and he gradually moved from being a little unfamiliar to being in a good state.

“Your Grace, your movements are very standard. I am really happy to have met you today,” Gabrielle said softly to Barron after the dance.

“Just call me Barron, Miss Ella. I am also very honored to have met you. I’ve always heard that the Kent family produces beautiful women, and seeing you today…”

“Are you disappointed?”

“Of course not. I can only say that it truly lives up to its reputation. You are the most dazzling one at the ball.”

Although he knew that Barron’s words contained more flattery, Gabrielle was still very happy. She took the champagne glass that Barron handed her and revealed a sweet smile:

“So you recognized me a long time ago…”

“To be honest, I was just amazed at first. It wasn’t until you told me your name that I realized it was you.”

Of course, his words were not far from the truth, because he had already realized that his previous body’s lack of interest in aristocratic traditions and those families had become a weakness for Barron in social activities.

Therefore, before attending this ball, he had Julia find all the information she could gather about noble celebrities and their family members, including some photos.

Fortunately, Barron’s memory seemed to have been enhanced after coming to this space-time. After looking at the information several times, the effect of “cramming” was still very significant, and he could connect the faces of many people at the ball with the information.

This included the girl in front of him, Gabrielle Windsor, who came from the royal family.

She was the great-granddaughter of King George V—Gabrielle’s grandfather was the Duke of Kent, the fourth son of George V, so her father was the Queen’s cousin.

Now the Kent family lived in Kensington Palace, where many royal family members resided. Although she came from the royal family, Gabrielle’s father was Prince Michael and the Duke of Kent, but as the youngest daughter, she still had a noble status, but could no longer be called a princess.

In the final analysis, the Kent family could only be considered a peripheral member of the royal family. Someone like Gabrielle, theoretically, was still one of the heirs to the British throne, but her succession sequence was only ranked 50th…

Moreover, this year the British Parliament began to reduce royal expenses. Apart from the direct members of the royal family, those like the Kent family, who continued to live in Kensington Palace, would have to pay rent at market prices—about 12,000 pounds per month!

The reason given by Parliament was: Kensington Palace was old and dilapidated. The princes and princesses living inside paid a little rent, which was nothing compared to the 17.8 million pounds annual maintenance fee.

“Is Miss Ella currently studying?”

“Since you call me Barron, you can call me Ella…”

Gabrielle’s face flushed slightly under Barron’s deep gaze. She gently brushed her hair:

“I am currently studying at Oxford University, and it hasn’t been long since I had my holidays. I came with my sister today…”

“Wow, you are amazing, Ella. It turns out that you not only have beauty, but are also full of wisdom. It’s really enviable…”

Just like that, the two of them talked and laughed, and also exchanged contact information.

“Miss Windsor, sorry to interrupt, I’ll borrow the Duke for a moment. Don’t worry, I’ll return him soon…”

At some point, Viscount Booth. appeared beside the two of them. His words made Gabrielle blush with a smile:

“Please, Lord Booth. I’ll go see my sister. I won’t disturb your conversation.”

Watching her bid farewell to the two of them and leave with elegance, Viscount Booth. winked at Barron:

“A noble and charming girl, isn’t she? If I weren’t married, I would also be fascinated by her. Your Grace, I think we should have a good talk.”

“That’s exactly what I hope.”

Walking through the hall with Ian Booth, Barron could once again feel the other party’s popularity in this social circle. People kept greeting him.

Among them were other nobles, wealthy merchants, bankers, and politicians. It could be said that in these aspects, Barron still needed to expand his network of contacts.

“Please sit down, Your Grace.”

Finally finding a slightly quiet corner, Ian Booth. said, sitting on the sofa opposite:

“Regarding the plot of land in King’s Cross, I know your idea is to develop it in cooperation. So today, I have the opportunity to hear your views.”

“In fact, Lord Booth, my idea is to develop that plot of land. As for whether to cooperate with others or develop it on my own, there is no final decision. Moreover, whether it is necessary to start developing it immediately also needs further assessment.”

Hearing these words from Barron, Viscount Booth. frowned slightly. He looked at Barron:

“I feel that we have taken a big step backward, Your Grace.”

“My attitude at any time is that cooperation is based on sincerity, Your Lordship. After I obtained some information about King’s Cross, I became somewhat pessimistic about the prospects of our cooperation.”

Under Barron’s gaze, capturing the instant enlargement of Viscount Booth’s pupils, he still replied in a calm voice:

“I can understand that there are always some noises to disrupt our judgment. Those messages still have risks before the final decision is made…”

“I talked about the matter of King’s Cross with the Prince of Wales before. He is very interested in it. You know, the Crown Prince has always been interested in architecture… well, those neoclassical styles. He has also considered making attempts in the renovation project of the abandoned gas tanks.”

Barron turned to this topic, and Viscount Booth’s expression finally changed slightly. He sighed and said:

“Frankly, Your Grace, no matter what the initial cooperation conditions I proposed for that plot of land, but after seeing you, I think we will be a very good match…friend, I very much hope to establish a friendship with you. I can guarantee that no matter your choice of cooperation partner, among those other options, our family will be the most sincere one. Of course, these all need time to be confirmed. I hope that after this, we will be open and honest about cooperation and offer our sincerity.”

“I agree with this point. In my choice, I also tend to find a partner to jointly develop that area. After all, in the real estate industry, we are considered a newcomer. This is also the reason why I am hesitating whether to rush to develop that plot of land in the short term. You know, that plot of land will always be there. It doesn’t make much difference to me whether I start sooner or later. But if there is a suitable partner, then the balance of the final decision will definitely tilt.”

“So…”

Viscount Booth. extended his hand to Barron:

“I think we should start again, with the greatest sincerity. I can reveal a little that the surrounding area of that plot of land is not that simple, and the scope involved will be very wide.”

Looking at the hand extended by the other party, Barron looked at Ian Booth. for a while, and finally shook hands with him:

“I prefer a win-win situation, Your Lordship, rather than eating alone, especially when what is being taken away belongs to us.”

“I look forward to more frank cooperation with you, but I have already taken up too much of your time today. I see that those ladies and misses have been looking this way frequently. Have a wonderful evening, Your Grace.”

Chapter 37: Viscountess

It has to be said, Viscount Booth’s residence was indeed meticulously decorated.

The modern furnishings on the first floor blended quite well with the classical decorations, and on the second floor, the more modern elements increased, but it didn’t feel abrupt.

Barron, while looking for the restroom, was led to the second floor by a servant because the ones on the first floor happened to be occupied, which gave rise to this sentiment.

At the same time, he also discovered that on the walls of the second floor, there were quite a few landscape paintings, the landscapes of which mostly came from Wales, likely to commemorate the place where their family originated.

The ball downstairs was bustling, but upstairs, it was much quieter.

Just as Barron was thinking about whether to go downstairs and bid farewell to Viscount Booth. and leave, his footsteps suddenly stopped.

Because he faintly heard the sound of conversation coming from a certain room.

If it were someone else, they probably wouldn’t have heard it so clearly, but Barron found that since he had come to this space-time, his five senses had become even more acute. For example, his eyesight, in the memories of his previous self, although he didn’t wear glasses daily, he was slightly nearsighted—Barron couldn’t feel this at all; instead, his eyesight was better than most people, and he could see small characters from dozens of meters away, and he could also capture the subtle changes in many people’s expressions.

And his hearing was the same. This had its advantages and also its troubles, like some people’s whispers, which he could occasionally hear a general idea of; but when staying in a hotel, certain sounds of learning knowledge would also intrude into his ears.

Just like now, after Barron stopped, he faintly heard the sound coming from a room beside him—

“Madam… likes… so fascinating…”

Perhaps because of the distance, he couldn’t hear it clearly.

However, upon hearing this, Barron was about to leave because he knew that often at such balls, some socialite ladies and the like would have some stories, which wasn’t surprising. Maybe inside this room was a couple who couldn’t resist and came upstairs to find a room to study knowledge together.

For this kind of thing, he, a Duke, certainly couldn’t just stand here eavesdropping. If he were discovered, it would be too embarrassing.

Just as he was about to leave, he heard a sharp “slap”…

“Bastard, don’t you know your own status?”

Eh? This woman’s voice was extremely stern, and at the same time, Barron also felt it was somewhat familiar…

“I’m sorry, Madam, I…”

“Get out!”

Hearing this, Barron realized he should leave. He looked around, and almost ran in the direction he had come from.

Fortunately, the corridor was covered with thick carpets, and with his deliberate light footsteps, there was almost no sound.

Just as he had just returned to the previous restroom, he heard the sound of the door opening behind him…

Pretending to have just come out of the restroom, Barron saw a rather handsome young man passing in front of him.

“Good evening, Your Grace the Duke.”

The other party saw him, slightly turned his body, greeted him, and his expression was a little unnatural.

Barron nodded and watched the other party leave.

This young man, Barron had seen before, was Viscount Booth’s personal valet, although he had just tried to conceal it, Barron still saw a faint red mark on one side of his face.

Interesting…

Thinking of the woman’s voice that was a little familiar just now, Barron’s face revealed a meaningful smile.

“Your Grace the Duke?”

“What a coincidence, Madam, you are still so beautiful.”

Sure enough, it was Viscount Booth’s wife, Christa. Barron’s face wore an “unexpected” expression, and he calmly sized up the voluptuous and alluring noblewoman in front of him.

“I just came upstairs to make a phone call. I saw that Your Grace the Duke was very popular with the ladies, and I didn’t expect to meet you here…”

“You know, Madam, the restrooms downstairs are a bit crowded.”

Hearing Barron’s words, Christa’s face showed a look of realization. As she walked down the stairs with Barron, she suddenly said:

“I heard that Bonnie is writing a novel with you, Your Grace the Duke. I didn’t expect you to have such creative talent. I’m really looking forward to it…”

“Oh, she didn’t tell you the content? Madam.”

Christa glanced at Barron upon hearing this and explained:

“It was when I went to see Bonnie—you know she’s been very busy lately. I originally wanted to ask her to go shopping with me, but she didn’t have time, so I went to her place and saw that she was writing, and only then did I know about this. Moreover, she insisted on keeping the content secret, and even my curiosity couldn’t be satisfied…”

This Viscountess was indeed a very intelligent person. Her words also prevented Barron from misunderstanding Bonnie.

“Actually, it’s not that serious, Madam, it’s just a hobby of mine. I’ve always had this idea, and I happened to meet Miss Bonnie, who is quite talented, so it was a perfect match. As for this novel, to be honest, I’m not sure if it will be liked by everyone.”

“I know Bonnie has always had this hobby. I remember I read the novel she wrote before, and the language was very elegant. I do know some editors of novel columns in newspapers and magazines from the previous salon. If you need it, I can help introduce them…”

“You are truly an angel, Madam, I might really trouble you then.”

“It’s my honor, Your Grace the Duke. Bonnie has my phone number, um, right, I don’t have your phone number…”

At that moment, Barron and the Viscountess exchanged contact information.

At this time, the two had already arrived in the ballroom on the first floor. It was still lively there. After looking around, Christa revealed an elegant smile and said to Barron:

“It seems that many ladies are looking for you, Your Grace the Duke, but before that, could you dance a dance with me?”

“It’s my pleasure, Madam.”

Unlike the ladies, including Ella, who had been Barron’s dance partners before, the Viscountess’s figure had a more mature voluptuousness.

In fact, her waist didn’t appear thick, although she was more fleshy, but under the contrast of her more substantial upper body and hips, her waist could also be outlined with an astonishing curve.

Barron had thought that with Christa’s status as a noblewoman, this kind of social dance should be more skilled, but after the two danced, he realized that many of her movements still felt a bit awkward.

Especially because Barron had danced with Ella and these ladies who had more slender figures before, and after changing to the Viscountess who had more curves, during some movements, due to their figures, the two had more friction.

And after Barron discovered this situation, he didn’t particularly try to avoid it—after all, for a waltz, this degree of contact was actually quite normal, but…

I don’t know if it was these reasons, but the Viscountess’s complexion was more flushed than at the beginning.

Especially in the middle, when she didn’t stand firm once, Barron discovered it in time, reached out and embraced her waist, and brought her body that was about to fall back…

At that moment, when she was stabilized by Barron’s tall and strong body, the Viscountess couldn’t help but be pressed against him for a moment.

Under such circumstances, with her warmth in his arms, Barron’s young and hormone-filled body couldn’t help but “go astray” a little.

It was obvious that the Viscountess had also realized this. Her eyes, which had a few more meanings, and her flushed face, had already shown it.

Finally, the two finished a song. I don’t know if it was because the waltz just now was too intense, but the Viscountess’s breathing was also a few beats faster than at first.

“I’m very happy to be able to come to this grand ball tonight, Madam. Next, I’m afraid I’ll have to go and apologize to the Viscount.”

“What, are you leaving? Your Grace the Duke.”

“Yes, and there’s something important that needs to be dealt with, so…”

“That’s a pity. I’m very happy to see you today.”

Seeing that the Viscountess seemed to really want to keep him, Barron said softly:

“After Miss Bonnie writes out the corresponding content in a couple of days, I may need to make an appointment with you, Madam, to discuss the matter of publishing it in newspapers and magazines.”

“That’s no problem, I’ll contact those familiar editors in advance.”

“Then… I look forward to our next meeting, Madam.”

Chapter 38: Rolling in Dough

On June 30th, 2002, the FIFA World Cup final was held at the International Stadium Yokohama.

Ultimately, the Brazilian team defeated the German team with a score of 2:0, thereby winning the championship of this World Cup, adding another star to their jersey, becoming five-star Brazil.

This also signified that this rather “magical” World Cup had come to an end.

Before this, as each match ended, Barron had successively recovered the prize money from his previous bets. Only after the final match concluded could he begin to count his spoils.

In order to avoid appearing too high-profile because he won every bet, Barron’s final strategy was to spread his bets and deliberately include many misleading bets—these bets were purely intended to lose money.

In the end, Barron’s overall betting success rate was controlled below 50%, but even so, because his correct bets were all high-odds underdog results, and because he employed this strategy after having a principal of 10 million pounds, his final after-tax funds still reached a staggering 40 million pounds!

According to statistics, the global betting turnover for this World Cup exceeded 30 billion pounds, and this figure was only the data obtainable through official channels.

If private bets were included, the final number would be several times, or even more than ten times, this figure.

It could be said that compared to the previous French World Cup, the total betting turnover had increased significantly.

And because the Japan-Korea World Cup saw many unexpected results, it could be said that the betting companies made a killing. Against this backdrop, the prize money Barron received was even more justified.

Moreover, in the final analysis, what he earned was, in fact, other people’s betting money. Without him, these money would likely have become the betting companies’ profits.

But even if the betting companies knew about Barron’s achievements, they would probably be eager to promote him rather than anything else—after so many upsets, most bettors had suffered heavy losses. Relatively speaking, at this time, conspiracy theories about “fixed games” had a large market.

If they had a promotional figure like Barron, the betting companies would probably be very happy to use this example to encourage everyone to bet.

However, Barron carefully placed his bets with many companies separately, and the final average profit for each company was not too exaggerated. Anyway, it hadn’t been exposed until now.

Of the funds Barron received, more than 2 million pounds had already been used to pay his inheritance tax—although establishing a family trust fund could avoid most inheritance taxes, it didn’t mean that using this method would be completely tax-free.

Therefore, after the final calculation, the inheritance tax he needed to pay at the time, including the family fund and assets directly held by the family (subject to a 40% inheritance tax rate), totaled approximately 2 million pounds.

Another 5 million pounds was lent by DS Capital to the Devonshire family trust fund to prepay the loan from Northern Rock Bank (the interest for the remaining time was waived by agreement, and the remaining interest was borne by the family trust fund itself).

Thus, the remaining funds totaled 33 million pounds.

However, within a year, Barron also needed to repay a family debt of 5 million pounds plus interest (before the end of the year), and a further 7 million pounds in due loans and interest from two other banks (to be repaid gradually within a year).

However, the 13 million pounds loan from Barclays Bank was happily extended to two years after they saw the 33 million pounds deposited in DS Capital’s account. Of course, the interest during the extension period still needed to be paid on time.

Yes, with Daisy’s efforts, DS Capital had completed the registration process, and the account for this investment company was set up at Barclays Bank.

After all, regardless, as one of the four major private banks in the UK, Barclays Bank would become one of the largest banks in the world. Therefore, Barron was very keen to establish a cooperative relationship with them.

The funds that DS Capital could now use were approximately 33 million pounds.

Although more than 12 million pounds needed to be repaid within a year, and more than 13 million pounds needed to be repaid after two years, only less than 8 million pounds truly belonged to Barron. But at least he now had these funds, which provided a sufficient investment window, capable of bringing him more substantial returns.

Another reason for choosing Barclays Bank was that it could not only provide a special securities account to directly purchase US stocks, including those on the NASDAQ, but also made it more convenient to purchase UK stocks and futures products.

Because Barclays Bank was originally one of the American stock market’s partners in the UK.

And in the UK, there was no such thing as a brokerage firm; the intermediary institutions for securities trading were commercial investment banks, and Barclays Bank, as one of the four major private banks in the UK, had this business.

Following Barron’s instructions, Daisy had already begun using the funds to purchase NetEase shares in the NASDAQ market, ultimately purchasing a total of 2 million pounds worth of shares first.

And Barron had also made arrangements for the remaining funds of over 30 million pounds.

These funds would be invested in the US stock and futures markets through a financing agreement signed with Barclays Bank, in the form of a margin!

As a seasoned overseas financial investor in his previous life, Barron also understood the international financial situation at this time.

It could be said that 2002 was a year of recovery.

After the internet bubble, both US stocks and crude oil, as well as mineral products, would begin a period of strong growth.

First, starting from June, the crude oil and mineral markets began a round of increases, and now was the initial accumulation period for the rise.

This rise was caused by a variety of factors.

For example, China’s accession to the WTO, which increased the demand for energy and minerals…

After the economic recession caused by the internet bubble, global central banks unanimously implemented quantitative easing policies, which stimulated real estate and building materials demand…

The United States began to put pressure on Iraq this year, the clouds of war loomed, and this affected the price of crude oil…

Therefore, entering at this time, whether it was crude oil, gold, or mineral futures, would be a long-term bullish trend.

Among US stocks, after the bursting of the internet bubble, the NASDAQ index had reached a low point, and then technology stocks would also usher in a strong recovery.

Another sector worth investing in was real estate-related stocks. From now until 2007, it would be a real estate frenzy…

As for after 2007…

As everyone knows, bubbles burst when they get too big, such as the internet before, and real estate after that. The subprime mortgage crisis would be more destructive than the internet bubble.

Of course, the UK stock market was also worth noting…

From the beginning of 2000 to the beginning of 2003, the UK stock market experienced a long three-year decline, and the stock index fell by 47%.

During this period, Vodafone’s share price also fell from 400 pounds per share to 78 pounds, a shrinkage of 80%!

However, although the communications industry was in decline, the UK stock market had other fundamentals worth noting.

After the internet bubble burst, the commodity industry drove the UK stock market to rebound from its bottom.

From 2002, the prices of crude oil and minerals accelerated their rise, the upstream raw material companies’ profits increased, and the related stocks outperformed the market. The market capitalization weight of crude oil and mining in the UK stock market rose from 14% in 2002 to 26% at the end of 2007.

Therefore, the stocks related to crude oil and the mining industry were also worth paying attention to.

So, of the more than 30 million pounds of funds remaining in Barron’s hands at this time, 10 million pounds would be used as a margin to enter crude oil and mineral futures.

The remaining funds of over 20 million pounds would also be financed to leverage and go long on technology and real estate-related stocks in the US stock market; as well as oil and mining-related stocks in the UK stock market.

Chapter 39: The Livery Company

In the stock market layout, besides initially allocating 2 million pounds to purchase NetEase stock, Barron’s most significant investment was in Amazon stock.

This company went public on May 15, 1997. During the previous internet bubble, its stock price reached a previous high of 113 dollars in December 1999. If the stock splits are factored in, the stock price had increased approximately 100 times compared to its initial public offering!

However, the bursting of the internet bubble also severely impacted the company’s stock price. At its lowest point, Amazon’s stock price was barely above 5 dollars, a drop of nearly 95%!

But starting this year, as Amazon announced it had become profitable, the company’s stock price began to recover.

In early July, Amazon’s stock price hovered around 12 dollars, but Barron knew that by early December, the company’s stock price would rise to over 25 dollars, an increase of more than double.

Not only that, if the time horizon was extended, Barron knew that in the future, Amazon’s stock price would still increase by over a hundred times.

More importantly, the stock had a large market capitalization!

It could be said that Amazon and Apple were both super-quality potential stocks with large market capitalizations and over a hundred times the growth potential!

Therefore, Barron put up a full 10 million pounds, using a 5 times leverage for financing, and invested in this stock.

However, Apple’s stock price would only begin a magnificent rise after the iPhone was launched.

This year, its stock price would not only not increase, but would even decline, so during Barron’s current stage of accumulating funds, the time to start buying Apple stock had not yet arrived.

The remaining funds of over 10 million pounds, Barron diversified his investments in the US and British stock markets. Among the stocks he selected, there were even some that could increase by more than 5 times in the second half of this year, but those stocks were small-cap stocks, so for safety’s sake, the funds that could be invested were not much, generally no more than 1 million pounds of purchases at most.

……

“Daisy, please help me contact a headhunting company, I need an assistant.”

“BOSS, you didn’t tell me before that I would be responsible for so much work. Registering the company, confirming the office, and then buying stocks and futures. Your salary is really not easy to earn…”

Hearing Daisy’s complaints over the phone, Barron knew that she had indeed been busy recently, and he comforted her:

“Beautiful Daisy, you know, everything is just starting now, so there will definitely be more things to do. Don’t worry, when the company makes a profit, I’ll give you a bonus that you’ll be satisfied with.”

“I’m afraid that before I get the money, I’ll be exhausted. Where is the nobility’s tolerance and gentlemanly behavior? Why do I feel like you’re becoming more and more like those capitalists…”

“Haha, I’ll take that as a compliment.”

“Forget it, well, anyway, now that you have an assistant, I can get rid of those tedious daily affairs.”

As if resigned to her fate, she said so.

Daisy’s words made Barron smile:

“That’s right, I hope it can be done as soon as possible. In addition, you also need to quickly build an investment team. After all, you can’t do everything yourself. When the amount of funds increases in the future, you definitely won’t be able to handle it yourself.”

“Wow, this is the most comforting thing for me today. Also, regarding the assistant, do you have any requirements? BOSS, beautiful appearance? Big breasts? Or do they need to provide more considerate service?”

As expected, Daisy was still the same, but Barron was not afraid at all:

“If those are the only requirements, I might as well keep you and not look for another assistant… Oh, except that big breasts are too high a requirement for you.”

“F**K, Barron, you…”

“Just kidding, Daisy, but you should know what kind of abilities an assistant needs to have…”

……

Now that he had funds, Barron was more confident and once again inquired about the situation in King’s Cross.

“Dear Ms. Moore, I wonder how the investigation into the situation in King’s Cross is going?”

“The situation there is a bit complicated…”

Her words reminded Barron that Viscount Booth. had also said something similar that day, which made him somewhat curious.

Julia pointed to the map on the table and said:

“King’s Cross is located in the center of the Camden area, and it is a relatively core area in the entire Greater London. The biggest regional advantage here lies in the transportation hub - it has King’s Cross Station and St Pancras International Station. King’s Cross Station is the transportation hub connecting Britain, and St Pancras International Station is the terminal of Eurostar in Britain, the gateway station connecting Britain to the European continent.”

“I already know these situations, Ms. Moore, get to the point.”

Julia glanced at Barron, bit her lip, and continued:

“Your Grace, you should know that King’s Cross was originally an industrial area. Coupled with convenient transportation, factories, granaries, and warehouses were densely distributed. But after the era of electrification, coal transportation was gradually eliminated, and with Britain’s deindustrialization, it became a slum, filled with drugs, prostitutes, low-end nightclubs, and strip clubs, becoming synonymous with filth and disorder…”

“Even now, the land prices in King’s Cross are still much cheaper than other areas in London.”

“But the problem is that, according to the investigation, the land around that area is currently held by very few private individuals. At least one-third of the land belongs to the Livery Companies, including the coal, grain, and cloth merchants…”

Julia’s words also made Barron realize.

In some pulp fiction, the entire world is often exaggerated to be under the control of one or a few secret groups, such as the Freemasons, such as the Knights of the Papal Order. This kind of conspiracy theory is very popular among the curious common people.

Uh, just like mentioning a Duke, in some people’s minds, he might be very powerful and can freely use the power of the state, and his mercenaries or gunmen can go to any country to deal with those who offend them…

But in reality, the oldest non-royal Duke, the Duke of Norfolk, has to preside over the British King’s funeral… and then has his driver’s license revoked by a police officer for violating traffic rules.

Another Duke, the Duke of Roxburghe, a member of the London Livery Company, was also once fined for fare evasion on the subway.

Speaking of the London Livery Company, it is rumored that it controls the economic lifeline of Britain, possessing trillions of pounds of wealth…

In fact, the London Livery Company evolved from the guilds, and its history can be traced back to the Middle Ages. In some industries, craftsmen and merchants formed groups to supervise industry skills and trade activities.

Today, London has more than 100 Livery Companies of various names, some new and some old, and some Livery Companies have a history of thousands of years.

Indeed, some long-standing Livery Companies not only have prominent members, but also have accumulated a lot of wealth, especially some Livery Companies that have obtained royal charters, have a certain say in their industry.

For example, the Goldsmiths’ and Vintners’ Livery Companies not only have the qualifications to identify the quality of related products, but also have great influence in the formulation of industry standards.

Many ancient Livery Companies are even unsupervised.

And these companies own a lot of land. According to the commercial real estate data company Datscha’s investigation, the Clothworkers’ Company and the Goldsmiths’ Company are two of the largest landowners in London, ranking 55th and 73rd in London respectively.

If the land held by these two guilds is combined, they own more land in the City of London than the supermarket chain Sainsbury’s and National Grid.

As Julia mentioned, because of their deep involvement in the development of King’s Cross, some of the land there has always belonged to the relevant Livery Companies.

Chapter 40: Family Hotel

“The key is that these industry associations aren’t short on money. Most of them have already accumulated considerable wealth, and they all view land as a long-term investment. They almost never sell land casually, so it’s very difficult to buy land from them. You can only start with other private owners.”

“Contact them all, no matter what.”

“It’s just that those private plots are not large, and they are quite fragmented.”

“Try to buy whatever is available now. You can even try contacting those industry associations for their plots, and offer a premium.”

Since Barron had made his decision, Julia agreed.

It had to be said that Barron had recently noticed that Julia’s attitude towards him had changed. Now, it seemed that Julia did indeed have her strengths; that is, she was extremely serious about her work, and she would do her best to complete the tasks he assigned.

The only thing was that her personality was too cautious, or rather, she was extremely averse to risk.

He didn’t know if it was because of the disastrous losses from the family’s investment in the “London Star” project, which almost led to bankruptcy.

That was also the reason why Barron hadn’t told her about the funds he’d obtained through betting on the World Cup, or the cash he currently possessed.

Thinking about it, if Julia knew about this, she would probably be worried that Barron would become too addicted to gambling…

Unlike Daisy, perhaps because Julia’s life was too deeply intertwined with the Devonshire family, she often thought too much about the family’s interests.

Daisy, on the other hand, was employed by Barron. She only needed to be responsible for him, or to put it more bluntly, she just needed to complete Barron’s instructions, as for whether those things would cause losses to Barron…

She might, at most, offer a reminder, but she wouldn’t be too persistent about it.

For these reasons, in Barron’s opinion, Julia was more suitable for managing the family’s trust fund, a traditional industry with stable development.

As for the higher-risk financial investments, he chose to be independent of the family fund at this time.

“Is there anything else, Ms. Moore?”

After discussing the matter of the land in King’s Cross, Barron saw that Julia was still sitting there, looking as if she wanted to speak but hesitated, and couldn’t help but ask.

“There’s something I think I should mention…”

“?”

“Your father, in addition to considering collaborating with Viscount Booth. to develop the land in King’s Cross, actually gave higher priority to opening a new hotel in London. He was already looking for suitable locations at the time.”

“Then why did he put so much money into that project…”

Speaking of this, a look of sadness flashed in Julia’s eyes:

“The reason for this, the Duke didn’t tell me at the time, but he was indeed very insistent… Perhaps there were other hidden circumstances, but I guess it might also have been to raise funds for both projects simultaneously.”

Now that Barron’s father and brother had both passed away, the truth of this matter had been obscured in the fog, making it difficult to see clearly.

However, speaking of the family’s hotel business, it started with Barron’s grandfather’s generation, when they opened a hotel in the town near Chatsworth House, when they opened the manor as a tourist attraction.

The family’s earliest hotel was built in the 1960s.

After two generations of development, the hotels named “Devonshire” and “Cavendish” now numbered four, including one on Oxford Street in the Soho district of London, but none of them were very large in scale.

And according to Julia, Barron’s father, after inspecting the London hotel market, was prepared to make a big splash here, opening a large-scale four-star or higher luxury hotel, and had made quite a few preparations for this.

At the time, his idea was to demolish the old Cavendish Hotel building in London and build a new building on the original site, increasing the operating area.

But after the “London Star” incident, this plan was shelved… until his unexpected death.

It had to be said that Barron also thought this idea was indeed good. The demand for hotels here in London had always been strong, and the Cavendish Hotel had been in operation for nearly half a century, so it had a certain brand recognition.

In a British aristocratic family like this, in addition to obtaining the extremely “show-off” attribute of a duke’s title, another advantage was that after generations of development, the accumulation of professional talent in some of the family’s traditional industries was still very rich.

If Barron were to create a hotel brand from scratch, then the first thing he would need to solve was talent and the relevant personnel – after all, it was impossible for him to actually run it himself, and besides, he had no experience in running a hotel.

And traditional British aristocrats themselves didn’t need to manage and work personally; they could just leave those things to the professional talents under their command.

“I also have the idea of expanding the grade and scale of the family’s hotels, Ms. Moore, but for now, this is not the top priority, but please believe me, in the future, no, you will see it soon.”

“I hope so, Your Grace.”

…

“I feel it’s fantastic, Bonnie, it’s really so much better than I imagined, a very excellent job.”

Barron carefully read the manuscript Bonnie had brought, and said to her with excitement:

“There’s almost nothing that needs to be revised, except for a few lines of dialogue. I have an idea, you can take a look.”

In just over ten days, Bonnie had already completed about one-third of the content of the first season of Downton Abbey, which did indeed surprise Barron, especially after he had read it and felt that the quality was very high.

The manuscript in his hand was given to him by Bonnie after she had specially printed out the content.

And the few lines of dialogue Barron mentioned were those that he had been particularly impressed by when he watched the British drama Downton Abbey in his previous life, and he felt they were very wonderful.

“If you like it, Barron, to be honest, I was really a little apprehensive just now…”

Taking the manuscript from Barron’s hand, watching the content he had written down in the corresponding places, Bonnie’s eyes sparkled:

“It’s… amazing, did you just think of these while you were reading the manuscript? Barron, I’m going to be jealous of you, these are really wonderful lines!”

“Actually, I thought about these when I was thinking about this story before. Let’s not praise each other, Bonnie, you’ve really worked hard these days. You’ve been so busy with work, and you still have to use the rest of your time to write the novel manuscript. I didn’t expect you to finish it so quickly and so well. How should I reward you?”

Hearing Barron’s words, Bonnie’s long eyelashes, like windshield wipers, swept across her emerald green pupils, and she said with a smile:

“Haven’t you already paid me? Barron. And, there’s still a lot of content in this first season that hasn’t been completed… But if you really want to reward me, I can have a vacation right away, and I hope to go to Chatsworth House again.”

“That’s no problem, and I think, with your progress, we can consider publishing this work.”

“Really?”

Bonnie’s face was filled with surprise:

“I dream of being able to have a novel that I participated in published for everyone to see.”

Chapter 41: Impatient

Barron remembered that Bonnie’s cousin, Viscountess Chris, had said she knew quite a few editors and could introduce him.

He asked curiously:

“Bonnie, doesn’t Lady Chris know many editors of novel columns? Then why didn’t you ask her to introduce you before?”

“Because I hadn’t written novels for a long time then, and I once took a novel I wrote myself, saying it was from a friend, and gave it to two of the editors to read. They both… didn’t think highly of it. So if that’s the case, I don’t want to get published because of connections, that would only make readers complain about me. After all, I believe in those editors’ professional eyes.”

Bonnie’s answer didn’t surprise Barron. From the time he had been in contact with her, he could see that she was a relatively strong-willed girl, just like how she had high demands for herself when she was writing this novel.

“Actually, I’ve made an appointment with Lady Chris, and I’m going to meet those editors. Perhaps I shouldn’t tell them who the author of this novel is first…”

“I believe they will go crazy, because this is really a wonderful story.”

However, although Bonnie said so, to be honest, Barron himself didn’t have much confidence – although in his previous life, “Downton Abbey”, whether it was the TV series or the movie, was a phenomenon. But the novel was only launched after these hits.

Now “Downton Abbey” first appeared in the form of a novel, and it was in 2002. Whether it would still be successful and welcomed by everyone, Barron knew rationally that this kind of theme wouldn’t be too limited by the times. But when it was really going to be launched, he couldn’t help but feel a little apprehensive.

“That’s right, I almost forgot, Bonnie, this is for you.”

“Really?”

Bonnie was very busy with her work. She only took time to see Barron today. When she was about to leave, Barron handed her a bouquet of flowers.

Taking this large bouquet of roses, Bonnie was very surprised. She deeply smelled the fragrance of the flowers:

“So beautiful, thank you, Barron, I like it very much.”

…

Just as Barron had said to Bonnie, after seeing the manuscript she had already written, he made an appointment to meet Bonnie’s cousin, Viscountess Chris, to talk about the publication of the novel.

What was interesting was that when Barron mentioned this matter on the phone, Chris said that she had originally planned to get her hair done the next day, around the afternoon. If Barron was available, they could talk in person.

Uh, getting her hair done?

After all, the other party was a married woman, and Barron didn’t want to be misunderstood, so he agreed…

“Madam, your new hairstyle is very beautiful, you look like a young girl…”

“Oh? Your Grace, are you saying I was old before?”

“Of course not, you have always been very young, you don’t even look like a married person.”

After all, it was necessary to avoid suspicion, so Barron didn’t meet with Chris in a public place outside, but made an appointment at his home… well, just to avoid suspicion.

“Coffee or tea? Madam.”

“A cup of black tea would be fine, thank you.”

The Viscountess was wearing a black and white color-blocked long dress today, and the close-fitting tailoring made her exaggerated lines even more obvious.

Especially when she was sitting in front of Barron, through the hollow lace veil under her neckline, one could clearly see the deep gully inside…

“This is…?”

Seeing the manuscript on the table, Chris asked:

“That novel is already finished?”

“Not yet, but Miss Bonnie is very efficient, and she has already written a large part of the first part of the novel.”

Chris reached out her hand towards the manuscript, paused slightly, and looked at Barron, asking:

“Can I take a look? I’ve always been very curious about this novel.”

“Of course you can, I also want Madam to judge it.”

Gently picking up the stack of manuscripts, Chris began to flip through them with great interest…

At first, Chris’ expression was still a little perfunctory, but after she had read two pages, she couldn’t help but become focused, and the speed of reading the manuscript gradually slowed down, and her body also changed from leaning back at first to leaning forward slightly.

Even Barron’s personal valet, Ramos, came in and put the two of their black teas on the table, she didn’t notice.

The room was unusually quiet. In Barron’s sight, because of Chris’ posture, one could say he had feasted his eyes.

When the Viscountess turned to the last page, seeing the end, and realizing that the manuscript ended there, she couldn’t help but sigh, her face full of reluctance.

“Is that all?”

Chris blurted out. When she looked up, she was startled. It turned out that Barron didn’t know when, had already stood behind her. The two were very close, and when she had just looked up, she even felt that she was leaning on his shoulder.

“You are really focused, Madam.”

Barron said in Chris’ ear.

She could even feel the breath he exhaled brushing against her earlobe, and she couldn’t help but feel like an electric current had passed through her, her heart beating faster.

“This novel is so great, both the plot and the writing. I haven’t read such a captivating novel in a long time.”

Chris put the manuscript on the coffee table, saw the tea in front of her, picked it up and took a small sip, concealing her previous loss of composure, but the faint blush on her face was difficult to dissipate for a while.

“Hearing such an evaluation from Madam, then I am relieved. I heard Miss Bonnie say that Madam is a top student of the Royal Holloway College.”

Barron strolled casually, returned to sit in front of the Viscountess, and said to her:

“Of course, it is also Miss Bonnie’s excellent writing.”

“I have also read her previous novels. The advantage is that the description is delicate and beautiful, but the story is still very lacking. And this novel, what really impresses people is the captivating plot of the aristocratic era, and the detailed description of the time. These are all due to Your Grace’s great contribution.”

Speaking of this novel, Chris’ words were full of praise:

“It’s a pity that the novel hasn’t been finished yet. I can’t wait to go to my cousin’s place to see what she has written next… The novel’s name is”Downton Abbey”, right? Is it written based on the Chatsworth House in Your Grace’s home?”

“Yes, Madam, the scenes in the novel’s manor are based on our manor.”

“Now I really have the urge to go there and visit.”

“That would be my honor, Madam. You can go to our manor to stay for a while at any time. Chatsworth welcomes you.”

The Viscountess responded to Barron’s invitation with an elegant smile, and then said:

“I now believe that if this novel can appear on the market, it will definitely sweep across the entire England. It has been many years since there has been such a realistic description of aristocratic life, and it is still that fascinating era…”

“What suggestions do you have on this, Madam?”

Chris pondered for a moment and said:

“For the national newspapers, I know the editors of the”Daily Telegraph” and the “Independent”, but I suggest meeting the editor of the “Daily Telegraph” first.”

“Why?”

“As far as I know, the”Independent” has not been doing very well in recent years, and its sales have been declining. Although it is still supporting itself, some speculations about it have always existed…”

Chapter 42: Radical Strategy

Under Christa’s introduction, Barron understood the reason for her suggestion.

In the British newspaper industry, there is a distinction between broadsheets and tabloids.

A broadsheet generally has a larger page size and publishes more serious news, with examples including The Times, The Independent, The Daily Telegraph, and The Guardian.

A tabloid generally has a smaller page size and publishes news primarily focused on sensationalism, with its main representatives being The Sun, The Mirror, The Daily Star, and The Daily Express.

Well, so-called “sensational news” refers to gossip, social issues, exposed beauties, political scandals, and other things that people are particularly fond of…

The Independent is the youngest of the national newspapers. Since its founding in 1986, it has called for “independence” - not having a fixed political leaning like other newspapers.

This newspaper was once favored by intellectuals and white-collar workers, with a peak daily circulation of 400,000 copies.

However, in recent years, The Independent has been the most difficult to manage among the four major British broadsheets, with the newspaper’s sales often falling by more than 10% year-on-year!

Over the past few years, the newspaper has taken various measures, such as changing editors and raising prices, but none have been able to reverse the decline in its business.

Rumors that the newspaper was going to close, be sold, or be converted into a tabloid often surfaced.

The Independent’s parent company, the INM Group, survived a crisis last year through a financial restructuring that involved exchanging debt for equity, but the newspaper’s decline has not stopped.

Compared to others such as The Times, The Daily Telegraph, and The Guardian, The Independent’s circulation is far less, which is why Christa didn’t recommend Barron publish his novel in it.

“I can help you contact Mr. Thornton, the editor of The Daily Telegraph. I believe he will definitely be interested in this novel.”

Seeing Christa speaking, about to take out her phone to dial, Barron quickly stopped her:

“Wait a moment, Madam, I want to talk to the editor of The Independent first, is that okay?”

“The Independent?”

“Yes…”

Barron said calmly:

“I think that although The Independent’s current sales are a little lower, it can, relatively speaking, attach more importance to Downton Abbey, and be motivated to use more resources for promotion. After all, they will also hope to boost sales as a result, wouldn’t they?”

“Although I don’t think this choice is the best, but if you wish, Your Grace, I will call Mr. Whitney, the editor-in-chief of The Independent, and recommend your novel to him.”

“Thank you so much, Madam.”

Christa’s phone rang at this moment:

“Hello, Mr. Whitney? This is Christa Booth, long time no see…”

She spoke, glanced at Barron, and in her eyes, Barron seemed to feel a hint of charm.

…

The DS Capital office is located in the City of London.

The City of London, or simply the City, is one of the 33 administrative districts of Greater London, located on the east side of London’s famous St. Paul’s Cathedral, with an area of 2.6 square kilometers, also known as the “Square Mile.”

Because it is home to a large number of financial institutions such as banks, stock exchanges, and gold markets, it is also known as the City of London.

This is also the main reason why Barron placed DS Capital here. After all, DS Capital itself is Barron’s main body for financial investment, and it would be more convenient in the City.

Of course, as one of the most important financial centers in the world, and the City being the financial core of London, the rent for office buildings in this location is also considered sky-high.

But it is also because of this that being able to squeeze into this prime “Square Mile” as the company’s base can also demonstrate DS Capital’s strength.

“Currently, we are gradually using the funds in the account to build positions. We initially purchased Netease stock, which has used 2 million pounds, with an average purchase price of 0.95 dollars. We now hold approximately 3.15 million shares of Netease stock…”

As Daisy introduced to Barron the current position building and holdings of DS Capital, Barron also learned about the investment of the funds he had placed in the company’s account.

When they initially bought Netease stock, its stock price was still below 0.8 dollars, but with DS Capital’s purchases - of course, there would also be other buyers - the price of Netease stock began to gradually rise. By the time they had finished building their position, Netease’s stock price had already exceeded 1.1 dollars, a full 37.5% increase from their initial purchase price.

After all, the total circulating shares of this stock were only just over 30 million shares, and their purchase volume already exceeded 10% of the circulating shares!

In other investments, they have currently gone long on crude oil futures and gold futures with a 20% margin, and will continue to reduce the margin in due course, which means they will increase leverage, and are expected to eventually increase the leverage from around 5 times to around 10 times.

Daisy initially had some objections to this. After all, although the prices of crude oil and gold futures are relatively stable most of the time, at least more stable than the stock market, if there were any black swan events, the two would also have relatively large fluctuations.

Especially the price of crude oil, which is very susceptible to news, a ten-fold leverage means that if the prices of the two fall by less than 10%, their investment will face liquidation!

However, Barron was still deeply impressed by the prices of crude oil and gold during this period. It was a curve that was initially stable and then accelerated upwards, and there would not be a drop of nearly 10%. Therefore, under his insistence, such a risky operation was still carried out.

Finally, there were investments in the US and British stock markets, totaling 21 million pounds, of which more than 15 million pounds have already been invested, but leverage has not been used for the time being. After all, most of the stocks will have a wave of fluctuations in the third quarter of this year, and then they will gradually add leverage below five times…

The only exception here is Amazon stock. It is estimated that as much as 10 million pounds out of the 21 million pounds will be invested in this strong-rising stock of the year. Currently, more than 8 million pounds of Amazon stock has already been bought, and they will continue to buy the full 10 million pounds later, and begin to use leverage to maximize the profits of this stock.

“I still think your plan is too radical, too risky, BOSS.”

Daisy said, staring at the Nasdaq market trends and the London North Sea Brent crude oil market trends on the screen:

“But since you are so confident, I will strictly follow your plan… I’m afraid my heart will have to bear tremendous pressure during this period. After all, with leverage, we are controlling the buying and selling of assets worth hundreds of millions of pounds.”

“Believe me, Daisy, and you will need to get used to this sooner or later. Sooner is better than later, isn’t it?”

“I’d rather later. My team hasn’t been fully assembled yet.”

She saw Barron spread his hands with a relaxed expression and said:

“It’s your money anyway, BOSS. By the way, there’s also your assistant. I’ve received some resumes and selected the three most suitable ones based on certain criteria. When are you planning to meet them and make a decision?”

Chapter 43: Interview

“I’m free today. Daisy, they’re all in London, right? Arrange something, see if we can interview them this afternoon?”

“Okay, I’ll contact them.”

While Daisy went to make the calls, Barron was looking through the resumes she had given him. When he turned to the second page, he paused. It wasn’t because the photo looked particularly beautiful, but because the person’s appearance was clearly Chinese or Asian.

Barron saw the name - Laura. Wong. Laura Wang? It really did seem to be a Chinese name.

With a bit of interest, Barron looked at her resume. Indeed, she had come to England from China to study abroad. Her academic record was excellent, graduating from Cambridge University—come to think of it, Barron had almost gone to Cambridge himself.

After all, no matter his grades, the Cavendish family’s relationship with Cambridge was very deep—Barron’s ancestor, the ninth Duke of Devonshire, had once been the Chancellor of Cambridge University.

And the Cambridge Lucy Cavendish College, where this Laura. Wong had graduated, was named after the ninth Duke of Devonshire’s daughter-in-law, a family member who had been dedicated to women’s education.

Well, Lucy Cavendish College was one of the three women’s colleges at Cambridge, only admitting female students.

…

“Thank you for coming. If you pass the interview, we will notify you within three working days.”

Watching Daisy send off the second interviewee, that rather alluring woman didn’t forget to send a flirtatious glance towards Barron before leaving…

Barron stretched and couldn’t help but complain to Daisy, who had returned to his side:

“Daisy, the people you picked… aren’t you really trying to find me a mistress? ‘I can do anything for the job’…”

Hearing Barron mimicking the interviewee’s tone, Daisy rolled her eyes at him:

“Maybe that’s what those damn men like, you know, these two ladies are both senior secretaries…”

“F**K, what I want is an assistant who can handle complicated matters, not a plaything.”

Heh, if it weren’t for the fact that I’ve known you for two or three years and knew what you were like before, I would have really believed you.

Although she thought this in her heart, Daisy certainly wouldn’t say it out loud, she still needed this job.

“How about I have the last lady come over?”

“The Asian one? Tell her to come over.”

…

When Laura. Wong came in, Barron’s eyes lit up.

It wasn’t that she was more beautiful than the women he had interviewed before, but that she possessed a kind of elegant and virtuous temperament, rarely seen in English women, that was very characteristic of the East.

“Hello, Your Grace.”

Laura. Wong’s English was fluent, with a standard London accent.

“Hello, Ms. Wang, I see from your resume that you are from China, is that right?”

However, what surprised the Chinese interviewee was that the young, handsome English aristocrat sitting in front of her spoke in very fluent Mandarin.

This scene also left Daisy, who was sitting next to him, completely dumbfounded—she couldn’t understand what Barron had just said at all, but with her intelligence, she guessed from Laura. Wong’s identity and that “strange” pronunciation that it might be Mandarin.

The key was, when did Barron learn Mandarin?

“Yes, I was born in China and grew up there. I came to London after university and have been here ever since. Also, your Mandarin is very good, Your Grace.”

Laura. Wong sincerely praised Barron’s Mandarin. She felt that if she hadn’t seen with her own eyes that the words had come from the golden-haired, blue-eyed, genuine English aristocrat in front of her, she would have thought it was spoken by a native Chinese person.

“I have some Chinese artwork at home, and I’ve been fascinated by the culture behind it since I was a child. Also, I once dated a Chinese girlfriend, so I learned Mandarin at that time, perhaps I have some talent for languages.”

After all, it was impossible for the other person to know that there was a soul from China in Barron’s body. Barron also gave a relatively reasonable explanation for the fact that he could speak fluent Mandarin.

In fact, among the many girls that Barron’s previous self had dated, there were indeed Chinese people, but at that time, that guy had no intention of communicating in language other than a certain kind of exchange.

During the conversation, Barron also learned that Laura. Wong’s Chinese name was Laura, and she was born on the banks of the West Lake in China.

It was also because after coming to this time and space, Barron had met a Chinese person for the first time—Laura had already become a naturalized British citizen—so he couldn’t help but chat with her for a few sentences.

Next, it was the formal interview process, and Barron began to switch back to English to talk to Laura.

“Ms. Wang, I see on your resume that you have a double degree in Business Administration and Finance from Cambridge University, and you also worked at Deloitte after graduation. This part of your experience is very excellent, and it can be said that your career prospects are very good. What is the reason that made you apply for the position of personal assistant? You know that this job is not easy, and the salary is not as advantageous as senior positions in firms like Deloitte, one of the Big Four.”

“To be honest, I had interviewed for other positions before, including some large companies, but recent employment hasn’t been easy, and I also had three years of time off from work before… Even a job like the one at Deloitte before, at my current age, is a bit awkward, especially considering my identity.”

Laura’s answer was very frank. The unspoken meaning that she didn’t say specifically, Barron could also understand. Companies like Deloitte could have allowed Laura to start in entry-level positions when she was younger, and gradually get promoted.

But she had been out of work for three years, and at her current age of nearly thirty…

She didn’t have an advantage over younger people in entry-level positions, and she would lack experience for senior positions because of the three years she had missed during the critical period of her career.

If she were a man, it would be better, but she was a woman, and she was also of Chinese descent, so the opportunities would be even fewer—this was the reality, various discriminations, which wouldn’t be explicit, but would become obstacles subtly.

“That’s also what I wanted to ask, why did you have a three-year career gap?”

“Because I got married at that time, Your Grace. At that time, because my… ex-husband’s career prospects were better, I decided to devote myself to taking care of the family. But later… after the divorce, I needed to start working again.”

“Do you have any children? Please forgive me for needing to know this, because you know, as a personal assistant, you need to be on call at any time, and you can say that you don’t have much personal time, so if you have a family or children to take care of…”

“I understand, Your Grace. I am alone now, I have no children, and I have no family. I think I can have more time at work.”

…

It could be said that through these conversations, Barron had generally understood Laura’s situation. Although she was 28 years old, which wasn’t an advantage in terms of age compared to the other two applicants, Barron felt that age wasn’t that important—at least a difference of two or three years wasn’t decisive.

He was quite satisfied with the other aspects of her situation.

“One last question, Ms. Wang, when can you start working?”

“Ah?”

Laura was stunned for a moment before she realized what Barron meant by that sentence, that she had already passed the interview and been hired…

“I can start now, Your Grace.”

“You don’t have to be so anxious. I have an appointment tomorrow. I’ll give you the address of my apartment. Just go there to meet me in the morning, and I hope you can get into the state as soon as possible.”

Chapter 44: A Big Move

“Do we still have six million pounds in our account?”

“Because we use margin for leverage in both stocks and futures, although our current total holdings have reached twenty-seven million pounds, the margin used is not much. If we mobilize funds, we can still mobilize at least twenty million pounds…”

Afraid that Barron didn’t understand, Daisy patiently explained to him:

“But I don’t recommend doing this, because if we withdraw too much funds, if we face an emergency that requires additional margin, then our holdings will be very dangerous and there is a possibility of liquidation.”

Barron naturally knew all of this. He thought for a moment and said to Daisy:

“We probably won’t need that much. I plan to short sell US stocks in the near future. I hope to get a ten times leverage for this short selling plan from Barclays Bank.”

“For stocks, they generally can only give a maximum of five times leverage, but it’s not impossible. After all, our cooperation with them is on a larger scale than ordinary users. Boss, how much funds are you planning to use for this short selling?”

“Five million pounds is enough.”

“That’s not a big problem…”

“Then go talk to them.”

Because the investments DS Capital is currently making in the securities market, if they want to see results, it will take at least six months to a year.

And Barron, without realizing it, now needed a lot of funds for the projects he was undertaking - the family trust fund couldn’t provide any money, which forced him to constantly think about what opportunities there were for short-term profits…

After recalling the news about the securities market during this period in his previous life, he actually thought of something. A stock was about to start a sharp decline recently, which was a good opportunity to profit from short selling.

So Barron was going to use this news to earn some “extra money” in the next few days. According to his calculations, combined with the stock’s current market value, if he used ten times leverage, then five million pounds of funds would be more appropriate and wouldn’t have too much impact on the stock’s trend.

…

“This is the information about the Independent and the newspaper’s current owner, Independent News & Media PLC (INM), that I could find in a short time…”

It has to be said that Julia could indeed be called a “workaholic”. Barron even sometimes suspected that work was the only thing in her life. After informing her the day before yesterday to help investigate the Independent, she came to Barron’s apartment early this morning and handed him a thick stack of documents.

“Have you had breakfast? Ms. Moore, you can have some with me. I just baked some bread, it tastes good.”

“Thank you, Your Grace, I’ve already eaten. Please, be my guest.”

While Barron was looking through the documents in his hand and eating breakfast, Ramos came in and said to Barron:

“Your Grace, a lady named Laura said she has an appointment to see you.”

Looking at the time on his watch, it was just seven o’clock. This newly appointed personal assistant of his was still very enthusiastic about her work.

“Let her come in, Ramos. She will be my personal assistant from now on.”

“Yes, Your Grace.”

After Ramos left, Barron nodded to Julia, who had a somewhat puzzled expression.

“Ms. Moore, you should have heard just now. This Laura. Wong is my newly hired personal assistant. You may need to contact her frequently in the future.”

As Barron spoke, Julia’s gaze fell on Laura, sizing her up. She was wearing a gray professional suit today, without any outrageous decorations, which made a good impression on her. Moreover, the other party’s gentle temperament also made Julia breathe a sigh of relief. She was really afraid that Barron would find some “seductive woman” to keep by his side, which would simply become the laughingstock of the aristocratic circle.

At the same time, Laura also nodded to Julia in a friendly manner.

“Laura, this is Ms. Julia Moore, the manager of our family trust fund. You can communicate with her about matters related to the family business.”

After introducing the two and letting them get to know each other, Barron asked Laura:

“Laura, you haven’t had breakfast yet, you can come over and eat…”

“I’ve already eaten, Your Grace.”

“Well then, you can sit over there with Ms. Moore and talk about the family business to get familiar as soon as possible.”

…

The Independent was founded in 1986 by three reporters from the former Daily Telegraph.

In the first week of its founding, its circulation reached 500,000 copies, and after a month, it stabilized at 330,000 copies.

But in the late 1980s, due to disagreements among the founders and insufficient funds, the newspaper faced many difficulties.

From 1994, the Mirror Group and Independent News & Media PLC jointly held a controlling stake in the Independent. After 1998, INM became the sole owner of the Independent.

It can be said that the Independent is currently the most lackluster of the four national newspapers in Britain, not only in terms of its declining circulation, but also in terms of its financial situation, this newspaper has been struggling in a quagmire.

According to analysis, the Independent has suffered significant losses for several consecutive years. Last year, their losses exceeded 10 million pounds for the first time.

It had been previously rumored that INM intended to sell the Independent and the Sunday Independent, two loss-making newspapers, so that they could get rid of these burdens and use their funds and energy to develop other businesses.

And it’s not that no one has contacted INM, but they couldn’t agree on the price - mainly how to solve the huge debt currently borne by the Independent - and ultimately, nothing came of it.

“Your Grace, you want to know these materials about the Independent, you wouldn’t be thinking about…”

At this time, Barron had already devoured his breakfast, not being too constrained by aristocratic etiquette in front of the two ladies. He wiped his mouth and said leisurely to Julia:

“I do have such an idea, but I still need to talk to the other party before I can make a decision.”

“But the Independent’s financial situation is very bad. The debt the other party is currently burdened with may exceed 20 million pounds, and this newspaper has used many methods, but it can’t get rid of the continuous losses…”

“That’s why we need to talk to the other party. Don’t worry, Ms. Moore, I won’t act blindly. By the way, how is the investigation in King’s Cross area going?”

Barron’s method of shifting the topic to King’s Cross was still very effective, and Julia immediately replied:

“We have indeed discussed the purchase of several plots of land. Although those plots are not large, not exceeding 1 hectare - they were originally scattered hotels, clubs, and rental apartments, but these are the ones with the strongest willingness to sell, and they are not far from the site of our gas storage tank.”

“What about the price?”

“These are residential land with complete procedures, so the price is relatively high, but even with a premium, it is still at least one-third lower than the plots in other slightly prosperous areas of London!”

Barron was very satisfied with this result:

“Very good, Ms. Moore, keep following up. I hope we can buy all the possible plots in that area. I’m planning a big move there. As for the funds, don’t worry about it, I’ll solve it.”

Chapter 45: The Independent

Mr. Whitney, the editor-in-chief of The Independent, was a middle-aged man with glasses, a short stature, and a slight build.

“It’s a great honor to meet you, Your Grace, and this beautiful lady…”

“Mr. Whitney, this is my assistant, Laura. I am also a loyal reader of The Independent and am very pleased to meet you today.”

Their meeting was arranged in a coffee shop in Canary Wharf, and the headquarters of The Independent was in an office building less than 100 meters away.

After they were seated, Barron said to Whitney:

“Mr. Editor-in-Chief should know the purpose of our visit today, which is about a novel…”

“Yes, Your Grace. I am very interested in that novel depicting the life of the old British aristocracy, especially after Lady Booth. highly recommended it to me, saying it was the most captivating novel she has read in recent years…”

“I hope it won’t disappoint you too much, but I am very confident in it.”

As Barron spoke, he gave Laura a look, and she took a portion of the manuscript of Downton Abbey from her briefcase and handed it to Editor-in-Chief Whitney.

Just like the scene when the Viscountess read this part of the novel last time, in this corner of the coffee shop where they were located, only the sound of Whitney turning the manuscript pages remained.

After a while, Whitney let out a sigh of regret—he had already finished reading the last page of the manuscript…

When he looked up again, Whitney’s gaze at Barron was filled with admiration… just like looking at a peerless beauty.

Thinking of the “reputation” of the British, Barron couldn’t help but get goosebumps at the editor-in-chief’s performance.

Fortunately, the other party wasn’t really looking at Barron himself; he excitedly said:

“This is truly a masterpiece, the plot is captivating, and I believe that your noble birth, Your Grace, adds a great deal of persuasiveness to the description of this work. I believe it will cause a sensation after its publication!”

“So you also think this novel is worth publishing, Mr. Editor-in-Chief?”

“Yes, Your Grace. I will personally facilitate this matter, and with the current quality of this novel, there will be no obstacles at all.”

Barron took a sip of coffee, his expression forming a sharp contrast with Editor-in-Chief Whitney’s at this moment:

“But there is another problem, Mr. Editor-in-Chief. Besides you, several other newspapers, including The Daily Telegraph, have a great interest in this novel. In this regard, your newspaper does not have an advantage. You should also know that in recent years, your newspaper’s business has not been very good…”

As soon as he said this, Whitney’s expression turned from excitement to silence. You have to know that The Independent was originally founded by three editors who left The Daily Telegraph. Coupled with the competition over the years, the relationship between the two sides was definitely not good. The fact that The Independent was at the bottom of the sales rankings among national newspapers also made Whitney feel a little embarrassed after Barron mentioned The Daily Telegraph.

However, at this moment, he only regarded Barron’s statement as his negotiation strategy. After all, a novel is not just serialized and published; the promotion and subsequent publication, including copyright, and the distribution of these interests, always have room for discussion.

“You can rest assured, Your Grace. Even now, the influence of our The Independent is still not bad, and we can give this novel the most comprehensive promotion…”

Faced with these words, Barron remained unmoved. He gently shook his head and said to Whitney:

“Mr. Editor-in-Chief, in fact, besides the matter of the novel, I also plan to communicate with you about the future of The Independent.”

“You mean?”

After all, he was the editor-in-chief of a major British newspaper. At first, Whitney might have been excited because he saw such an excellent novel as Downton Abbey, but at this moment, he had already realized something. It seemed that the purpose of this Duke’s visit was not so simple.

“I said before that, compared to other national newspapers, The Independent does not have an advantage, but if I buy this newspaper, it will be completely different. I also heard that INM is planning to move the headquarters of The Independent from London to Dublin, Ireland, is that right? For The Independent, this is not a good thing. Once it leaves London and goes to Dublin, then The Independent will probably be permanently removed from the mainstream newspapers in Britain. As a loyal reader of The Independent, I don’t want this kind of thing to happen.”

What’s going on? At first, I met this Duke of Devonshire just because he had a novel he wanted to publish…

But now, you suddenly tell me you want to buy The Independent directly?

Can life’s circumstances be so stimulating?

“I’m sorry, Your Grace, but I’m afraid you need to talk to our boss about this matter. I really can’t play any role…”

As the editor-in-chief, Whitney knew the current situation of his newspaper very well.

But would changing the boss improve things?

Others may not, but this Duke of Devonshire…

“I did come to see you this time because of this novel, Mr. Editor-in-Chief. As for the matter of buying The Independent, it is not that I need you to do anything, but I just hope you know that as a supporter of The Independent, I hope to use my own strength to change the current situation. It has come to a time when it needs to be changed. I hope that after buying this newspaper, I can get the support of employees like you who love this newspaper, that’s all.”

At this moment, Barron gave Whitney the feeling that he was already extremely confident in buying The Independent, or perhaps, something else was happening behind the scenes that he didn’t know about?

“If that’s really the case, then I will work hard for the rebirth of the newspaper. There is only one thing, Your Grace, I hope you don’t feel offended, that is, it is said that your family’s financial situation was not very good before, and with all due respect, The Independent is burdened with a lot of debt. Besides the need to change, what we need even more is funds…”

Barron shrugged his shoulders and said indifferently:

“As a media person, Mr. Editor-in-Chief, you should know that news reports always need to be based on facts, but unfortunately, many reports are not like that now. Do you think our Devonshire family, a family that has lasted for hundreds of years, would be so bad as the reports say?”

…

At first, Barron really just needed to choose a newspaper to publish the novel Downton Abbey.

But he happened to encounter this matter of The Independent, and he began to change his mind, wanting to take this opportunity to buy this newspaper directly.

Besides being able to use the novel Downton Abbey to boost the newspaper’s sales to a certain extent—just like Jin Yong used to serialize martial arts novels on Ming Pao to save it.

In addition, being able to own a national newspaper like The Independent, even in the worst-case scenario, requiring continuous financial support, can play a huge role in expanding the family’s voice and influence.

And with the situation of The Independent, it is not difficult to buy it now; it is just a matter of negotiating the price.

In Barron’s previous life, after several years of tossing, INM finally sold The Independent and The Sunday Independent for a price of 1 pound to a Russian businessman from the Klob family…

Even someone like that could sell it, not to mention Barron, who was a British duke.

Moreover, The Independent and The Sunday Independent were not the first British newspapers to be sold to the other party for 1 pound. Before that, The London Evening Standard was also sold to that Russian businessman for 1 pound.

Some newspapers even revealed that under these 1-pound transactions, the British media newspaper group, after getting rid of the burden, besides requiring the other party to bear the responsibility and debt, also made a compensation of more than 10 million pounds privately…

Chapter 46: Methods of Cooperation

“I have some ideas regarding the Independent newspaper, Your Grace.”

“Feel free to share any ideas you have, Laura.”

After parting ways with the editor-in-chief of the Independent, and returning to the DS Capital office, Barron encouraged Laura upon hearing her words.

It’s worth mentioning that Canary Wharf is very close to the City of London. It was initially rebuilt to alleviate the crowded office conditions in the City. With many financial institutions, multinational corporations, and media outlets moving in, Canary Wharf is also known as the second City of London.

“Since Your Grace is planning to acquire the Independent, why not entrust this matter to a firm? After all, a firm of the size of the ‘Big Four’ would have a better understanding of the financial situations of many companies…”

Hearing Laura’s words, Barron understood her many unspoken implications.

Don’t be misled by the so-called professional ethics of many European and American companies. In fact, when it comes to interests, they are more “flexible” than anyone else.

The most typical example is the “largest financial fraud case in history” that was exposed last year, the Enron financial fraud involving 60 billion US dollars.

In this incident, Enron used a series of fraudulent means to inflate its revenue and profits, deceiving investors and regulatory agencies.

Enron’s financial fraud methods were very clever, not only deceiving regulatory agencies and investors but even deceiving the company’s internal executives and board members.

And the one who helped Enron with “financial fraud” was Andersen, one of the “Global Five” accounting firms.

However, after this, because the impact was too bad, Andersen’s reputation was ruined, and the “Five” became the “Four”…

And like HSBC, one of the largest banks in the UK, leaking customer’s confidential information on multiple occasions…

Therefore, Laura’s meaning was that almost all firms now have business in helping companies with mergers and acquisitions. At the same time, they are also responsible for the financial audits of many companies.

And the process of acquisition itself requires auditing the financial situation of the target company. Hiring a firm to do these jobs can be said to be a one-stop service.

Of course, the more well-known the firm, the higher the commission they charge, but from the final effect, these commissions are definitely worth it.

“Then I’ll leave this matter to you, Laura. Choose a firm and get me a consulting opinion on acquiring the Independent. If it’s suitable, we can contact them and start negotiations.”

…

“I’ve been looking forward to a frank conversation with you, Your Grace.”

“That’s why I’m here today.”

To be precise, this was Barron’s fourth meeting with Ian Booth.. After obtaining sufficient information about King’s Cross, he was also prepared to have a good talk with him.

“Perhaps you’ve also heard the news about the King’s Cross redevelopment plan, but I need to state that, in any case, I am acting in good faith to cooperate with you and your family on this matter, including the previous suggestion to purchase the gas holder site, which was also to help your family through difficulties.”

Barron wisely didn’t pursue this statement from Viscount Booth. any further. At this point, these things were no longer important.

“And frankly speaking, although the Kensington and Chelsea Borough Council has submitted an application to the City Council regarding the King’s Cross redevelopment plan, it still hasn’t been finalized. After all, it involves appropriations for public area construction, and no one knows how long it will take to pull things along. We can’t have too high expectations for their efficiency.”

Speaking of this, Ian spread his hands:

“It’s very likely that we need to be prepared for those plots of land to wait several years before construction begins.”

“But in any case, facing the increasingly tight situation of office buildings and residential properties in Greater London, the redevelopment of King’s Cross will inevitably need to be carried out, isn’t it? This is the only place in London that can face major development.”

Barron’s words were deeply agreed upon by Viscount Booth.:

“I agree with this point, which is why I’m betting on it.”

“So if it’s cooperation, how do you want to proceed?”

Facing the question Barron threw out, Viscount Booth. said:

“Your Grace, your family currently owns plots of land with an area of approximately 6 hectares of abandoned gas holders. Although it’s industrial land, the location of that land is relatively good within the entire King’s Cross redevelopment plan. According to the information I’ve received, the currently planned scope of the entire King’s Cross redevelopment plan will not exceed 30 hectares.”

“And my partners and I are expected to have more than 10 hectares of land within this scope. Therefore, by joining forces, we will hold more than half of the land within the scope of the entire King’s Cross redevelopment plan. If we remove King’s Cross Station and St. Pancras International Station, as well as the government-planned public areas… we can say that we can already dominate this redevelopment plan.”

As far as Barron knew, Viscount Booth’s total land area was only 5.5 hectares, and according to what he said, and the information Barron had obtained…

“You’ve reached a partnership with the Coal and Grain Merchants Association?”

Facing Barron’s question, Viscount Booth. revealed a meaningful smile:

“You will know these things after we reach a partnership, Your Grace.”

“Then, tell me your cooperation proposal, Lord Booth..”

“Actually, there are two ways. The first is that your gas holder land can maintain its independent redevelopment and join our alliance, advancing and retreating together; the second is that we jointly establish a joint venture real estate development company, allocating shares based on factors such as land value and invested funds. This way, this company has a great possibility of becoming the general developer of the entire King’s Cross redevelopment plan, and can also obtain orders for other areas, including the redevelopment of public areas…”

Viscount Booth. paused, looking at Barron and saying:

“Considering that the entire King’s Cross redevelopment plan will be a city renewal plan comparable to Canary Wharf, and may last for ten to twenty years in stages, I still suggest, Your Grace, that you participate in our joint venture company…”

“After all, whether it’s negotiating with the government or those surrounding resident groups, a strong whole can guarantee the interests of us land owners…”

Previously, Barron and his family didn’t have much experience in real estate development, which is also what he lacked at this time.

According to Viscount Booth’s introduction, according to business analysis, in the real estate redevelopment of King’s Cross, the greatest economic benefit can be obtained by constructing office buildings for rent or sale, followed by high-end residential apartments, and the rest are shops and other commercial facilities.

But the problem is that neither the government nor the resident groups within the area will allow them to build too many office buildings and high-end residences. They will inevitably need to control these within a certain proportion and need to provide a considerable number of affordable housing and other guaranteed housing.

Then the problem arises. If these landowners go their own way, then for economic interests, they will definitely be willing to build office buildings and high-end residences. Who would be willing to build affordable housing?

And if everyone rushes to pursue economic interests like this, the final redevelopment plan will inevitably not be approved.

So, uniting the various landowners—at least most of the landowners—and allocating the redevelopment of the land through shares is a way that is most easily accepted.

Everyone won’t argue about what buildings to build on which piece of land, but will plan uniformly, and the final interests will be distributed according to the initial share allocation, and everyone has no disagreements.

As for the landowners who are unwilling to join?

That’s easy. There’s no need to force the other party at all. After dominating the construction of this redevelopment plan, which plots of land will have greater appreciation potential because of the planning, and which plots of land will have affordable housing built nearby, thus not having the conditions for building high-end office areas and high-end residences…

These can all be adjusted by the joint venture company.

Chapter 47: Short Selling

After hearing this, Barron also admitted that what Viscount Booth. had said this time was indeed sincere.

Moreover, establishing a joint venture real estate development company and joining it seemed to be the most reasonable approach.

“There’s another question, Lord Booth, how will the company’s shares be distributed?”

“After mutual consultation, there will eventually be a result that everyone can accept, Your Grace, and we have enough time to do this. You must know that such a plan, with such a large geographical scope and time span, cannot be accomplished overnight. Mutual trust will be the foundation for all of this to be realized.”

Viscount Booth. said with a smile:

“After all, we need more landowners to join, and we also provide other options… but in any case, Your Grace, your piece of land cannot be ignored.”

“Alright, Your Lordship, I am in principle willing to join your cooperative plan, but I hope we can continue to be frank with each other.”

……

Whether it was developing the family’s traditional industries, acquiring the Independent newspaper, or the layout in King’s Cross, Barron now needed a large amount of funds.

Therefore, after this conversation with Viscount Booth, he went to the City of London, ready to focus on completing this short-term short selling.

“Boss, Barclays Bank has agreed to our short selling this time, requiring only a 10% margin, but they will monitor our account situation. Once we face a critical point of funds, we need to increase the margin in time, otherwise, they will forcibly liquidate our position.”

“Okay, I understand. Notify your team, get ready to work.”

The opening time of the NASDAQ market in the United States is 9:30 AM New York time.

London time is five hours ahead of New York time, so at 2:30 PM in London, it is 9:30 AM on the same day in New York, which is when the NASDAQ stock market begins trading.

“Daisy, notify Barclays Bank that we need to borrow 50 million pounds worth of AirGate shares!”

Yes, the company Barron was preparing to short sell this time was AirGate. This company was a subsidiary of Sprint, the third-largest operator in the United States, with a current market value of around 2 billion US dollars and a stock price of nearly 40 US dollars.

The reason for choosing to short sell this company’s shares was that Barron, while looking for short-term opportunities, finally remembered that this company was one of the stocks with the largest decline in the US stock market this year.

And the time when AirGate stock began to decline was very recent!

“Boss, Barclays Bank has approved our application to borrow AirGate shares and is already arranging the securities lending for us.”

Barron looked at the time, today was July 4th. Fortunately, although time was tight, there was still time.

As one of the largest banks in the UK, Barclays Bank itself had a close cooperative relationship with the NASDAQ stock market, so their securities lending actions were very fast.

In just under an hour, DS Capital received notification from the other party that the securities lending was completed. At this time, they had borrowed the corresponding number of AirGate shares and could start selling.

“Start selling these shares, pay attention to the rhythm, minimize the impact on the stock price, but I need to sell all of these AirGate shares within two days!”

“Okay, Boss.”

Although Daisy didn’t say much, her expression was not relaxed.

Today was Thursday, and Barron had given her only Thursday and Friday, these two days…

You must know that AirGate’s current market value was around 2 billion US dollars. Selling approximately 75 million US dollars worth of shares within two days was bound to have an impact on its price – at this time, the exchange rate between the pound and the US dollar was 1:1.5, 5 million pounds, with a 10% margin, leveraging assets of up to 75 million US dollars!

But there was no way, Barron himself had made this short selling decision somewhat on the spur of the moment, and the time window given to him was already very short.

However, he was also treating this operation as an assessment of Daisy’s team. After all, after this, he would have more and larger-scale securities investments, requiring a technically proficient trading team.

……

“Bonnie, you look really beautiful today, this is a gift for you.”

Seeing the jewelry box Barron took out, Bonnie’s face was full of surprise:

“Can I take a look?”

“Of course.”

“Wow, it’s really beautiful… Thank you, Barron.”

Opening the jewelry box, Bonnie saw a pair of diamond-studded silver earrings inside, and she said happily to Barron, her eyes filled with joy.

Speaking of which, since coming to this time and space, Barron had only had intimate contact with Aurora, but it seemed that she was really angry last time. Since leaving Barron’s apartment, she claimed that she was going to leave London and go home for a while, and she didn’t even reply to Barron’s texts and calls.

Since he temporarily didn’t have this PY (friend), Barron, after having some free time, thought of meeting Bonnie – it wasn’t that he had ignored this beauty before, it’s just that not only was Barron busy with work, but Bonnie was also the same.

Her work at the television station had been very busy recently – in order to have a vacation later, Bonnie could be said to have arranged many of her works during this period.

And in addition to work, she also had to continue writing, even her cousin, the Viscountess Chris, had complained to Barron that Bonnie often hung up the phone after just a few words.

“You look a little thin, Bonnie, you still need to pay more attention to rest.”

“I will, I’m a little sorry today, Barron, for making you wait until now before I got off work.”

“I also just got off work not long ago, our time is just right.”

On this point, Barron didn’t lie to her. The NASDAQ trading had ended, and it was already nine o’clock in the evening in London. Barron had just finished monitoring today’s sell-off after the trading was done, and then came to pick up Bonnie.

Overall, DS Capital’s results from selling AirGate shares today were not bad. About 1.83 million shares were sold today, with over 1 million shares sold. And AirGate’s stock price only fell from the initial 41 US dollars to around 38 US dollars. The buying interest in this stock was still relatively strong.

Also, in the second-quarter financial report, when most telecom stocks performed worse than expected, AirGate stated that its users were steadily increasing, which made this company one of the few telecom stocks that had not fallen at the time.

It was just that this Saturday, an announcement that would shock investors would come out…

“Dear Bonnie, I found a French restaurant over in Mayfair, the food is pretty good, we can go and try it today, I’ve already booked a table.”

“That’s really great, I have to say, I’ve had enough of the food at the television station these past few days.”

When the Rolls-Royce delivered the two of them to Mayfair, arriving at the restaurant Barron had mentioned, Bonnie realized that Barron hadn’t just booked a table, but had directly taken over the entire restaurant, providing dining service only for the two of them at this time.

“This is such a surprise, Barron, I feel like I’m dreaming.”

Seeing the tables arranged with flowers around them, Bonnie watched the waiters pour red wine into the decanter, and felt intoxicated even before starting to drink.

“I’m glad you like it, Bonnie, you’ve been busy with work and writing these past few days, it’s really hard – and the quality of those novels is so high, loved by all the readers.”

“I’m also enjoying it, I haven’t experienced this feeling of creating the lives of so many characters in a long time. Sometimes I feel like my writing is like watching the lives of those characters, even having conversations with them, this feeling is great.”

This dinner between the two of them started with Bonnie’s novel, Downton Abbey, and Barron also learned about Bonnie’s current progress in writing. She had already written most of the first part of Downton Abbey, and she estimated that she would be able to complete the remaining part after going to Chatsworth House again in the next few days…

“Starting this weekend, I’ll have a few days off, I’ve been missing the life at Chatsworth House before. In addition, I’ve accumulated some questions about the later part of the novel that I need to ask Mr. Shawn and Ms. Riley. I especially hope that I can finish writing the first part of this novel in this manor, starting from Chatsworth House.”

“That’s perfect, isn’t it? It’s just the weekend, my work can also come to an end, I can accompany you to the manor and stay for a few days.”

Chapter 48: Just the Beginning

After a romantic dinner, the two of them walked out of the restaurant as a light drizzle began to fall.

At this moment, Barron, uncharacteristically, didn’t curse London’s weather, but rather felt that the drizzle was quite fitting.

The umbrella in the Rolls-Royce came in handy. Barron held the umbrella for Bonnie, and the girl leaned towards him, the two of them standing close together.

When Barron’s hand went around Bonnie’s waist, it felt like he could hold her with just one hand.

Even though it was raining, Barron felt like he could walk with her all the way back to the apartment.

Of course, he was just thinking about it, after all, the back seat of the Rolls-Royce was more conducive to… certain activities.

The two of them were in a good mood tonight and had shared a bottle of wine.

Although Bonnie didn’t drink much, only two glasses, her face was already flushed as she sat beside Barron.

The Rolls-Royce drove through the streets of London in the rainy night. Looking out the window at the street outside, Barron suddenly felt a strange sense of time and space overlapping.

However, the girl in his arms was incredibly real.

At this moment, Bonnie was also looking at Barron with her emerald green eyes. Their eyes met, and the girl’s eyes held a hint of haziness and an overflowing affection.

No need for words, Barron understood that what he needed to do now was…

The two of them, gradually getting closer, finally kissed.

This kiss, like the rain in the London night, was continuous and long.

“I like you, Barron.”

“I like you too, dear Bonnie.”

…

“Ms. Moore, I’ve prepared breakfast for you, please eat first.”

The next morning, when Julia came to Barron’s place, she was startled by his enthusiasm. The Duke, on the other hand, was humming a tune, looking at the newspaper Ramos had brought over.

Last night, in the Rolls-Royce, Barron and Bonnie were practically on the verge of… However, when he wanted to go further, Bonnie’s reaction wasn’t as bold as her confession, but rather a little reserved.

“Barron, can we do this later? I, I want our… certain things to happen at Chatsworth House…”

Although Barron was already at a certain critical point at that time, could he refuse such a request from the girl he liked?

Even with a small regret, Barron eventually sent Bonnie back to her apartment, but he was even more looking forward to the upcoming trip to the manor with the girl.

Julia didn’t eat much, just a piece of bread and a glass of milk. She then elegantly wiped her mouth and began to tell Barron about her progress:

“Your Grace, according to the communication with Miss Laura, we have contacted the PwC firm. They will be responsible for formulating our strategy for the acquisition of the Independent and the subsequent negotiations. Before the acquisition negotiations officially begin, they will meet with you to discuss related matters.”

“I hope they can move quickly. I want to have a result within a month.”

“In fact, it depends on your target price, Your Grace. For an acquisition like this, dealing with a mess like the Independent, it’s not surprising for negotiations to last several months.”

“At least PwC should show their value, shouldn’t they?”

“I’m not optimistic about this…”

Julia didn’t continue on this topic. She turned to the matter in King’s Cross:

“We are currently negotiating for three plots of land in King’s Cross. As I mentioned before, the remaining plots in private hands there are a bit scattered, not exceeding one hectare.”

In King’s Cross, Barron had just had a conversation with Viscount Booth, and would consider whether to cooperate depending on the situation.

But regardless of the outcome, it was necessary to acquire more land. After all, it would be more difficult to buy land in other areas of London now, and the prices would also be higher.

The three plots of land that Julia was negotiating for now were all less than one hectare in size. One plot, less than 300 meters from King’s Cross Station, had an area of about 0.8 hectares. The other two plots, with areas of 0.75 and 0.5 hectares respectively, were located on the other side of the Regent’s Canal, facing the abandoned gas holder site.

Currently, the land prices in King’s Cross, such as residential land, were all below 3 million pounds per hectare. Considering that Google had spent 6.5 million pounds to buy a plot of land of about 1 hectare in this area ten years later, the land here could still achieve a relatively large appreciation.

After all, the location of Google’s plot was slightly away from the central location of King’s Cross, and as a well-known internet giant, their purchase of land to build their headquarters would have a driving effect on the surrounding plots, and would naturally receive corresponding discounts.

“The original buildings on these three plots are very old. They were either low-class dance clubs or nearly abandoned old apartments, but the asking prices of the other party are not low, and the negotiations are still ongoing…”

“Speed it up, avoid any complications. Just negotiate at 3 million pounds per hectare, with a maximum premium of 10%.”

“That’s a bit high, isn’t it…”

“Of course, I hope the price is as low as possible, but sometimes time is more important.”

…

In the afternoon, when the NASDAQ stock market opened, the opening price of AirGate stock, which had been around 38 dollars at the close of yesterday, rose slightly again, and finally opened at 38.5 dollars.

A total of approximately 1.83 million shares of AirGate stock had been borrowed. 1 million shares had been sold yesterday, and DS Capital’s task today was to sell the remaining 830,000 shares.

It was also because of the experience of selling nearly 1 million shares of AirGate stock in one trading day yesterday.

Today, the team led by Daisy was more skilled in selling stocks.

And the performance of AirGate stock was still strong. They didn’t know where the buying orders were coming from, but they were very active. 500,000 shares of stock were sold, and the price only fell by 3 dollars. When they paused selling to observe, the stock price even had a small rebound…

“The situation is a bit unfavorable. The buying orders below are decreasing, and the price support is weakening.”

After dinner, Barron suddenly heard Daisy’s slightly surprised voice.

“How many shares do we have left?”

“About 100,000 shares…”

Barron said without any hesitation:

“Don’t worry about too much, just clear out all of our shares!”

With his words, Daisy immediately issued the order, and the trend of AirGate stock on the market immediately began to fall.

Previously, selling 500,000 shares of AirGate stock had only brought its price down by 3 dollars, but now, selling 100,000 shares of AirGate stock instantly pulled its price down by 5 dollars, and the stock price fell below 30 dollars!

“All of our shares have been sold, with an average price of 37.7 dollars!”

With Daisy’s words, Barron breathed a sigh of relief.

And within two days, AirGate stock had fallen from around 40 dollars to below 30 dollars, a drop of as much as 25%, which also caused some confusion in the market…

In the time that followed, the price of AirGate stock hovered below 30 dollars for a while, and then returned above 30 dollars. However, it was weak at this point. It fluctuated around 30 dollars, and finally AirGate closed at a price of 30.22 dollars, ending the week’s trend.

After the NASDAQ stock market closed, according to the closing price, DS Capital had a floating profit of more than 10 million dollars on its holdings of AirGate stock.

Of course, Barron knew that the current floating profit was entirely based on their selling a large number of AirGate stocks in the short term – at least most of it was generated because of this.

But the borrowed stocks had to be returned eventually. If there were no other factors, when they bought the stocks, they would still raise the price. Such a result might not only make them have no profit, but even cause losses.

However, Barron was not worried at all, because he knew that the truly exciting moment had not yet arrived, and next week was the main event.

Chapter 49: Renovation Plan

July 7th, Saturday.

On this morning, a Rolls-Royce, emblazoned with the Duke of Devonshire family crest, drove along the road to Chatsworth House after picking up Bonnie.

As they approached Chatsworth House, Bonnie saw the familiar scenery and a smile appeared on her face:

“Barron, look, there’s a deer… no, a group of them, they’re in the woods, so cute!”

It was clear that Bonnie was in a great mood to be here again.

And for Laura, the Barron’s personal assistant who was sitting in the passenger seat, this was her first time in such a magnificent aristocratic manor.

She had visited this kind of English aristocratic manor before, but those manors paled in comparison to Chatsworth.

Chatsworth House, with over a hundred rooms, could be considered the second-largest manor building in all of England in terms of scale.

As for the first place, that would be Blenheim Palace, also known as Churchill Manor, owned by the Churchill family, where the famous British Prime Minister Winston Churchill was from. It is the only manor in England called “Palace.”

Queen Anne gave Churchill Manor to John Churchill (the ancestor of British Prime Minister Winston Churchill) as a royal gift to thank him for his military achievements in the Battle of Blenheim. The land of the royal hunting ground was allocated to build the manor, and it was given the name “Palace” to show sincerity.

A gift from the Queen. Sounds full of sincerity, doesn’t it?

Unfortunately, the Queen died halfway through the construction, and the financial chain broke. The first Duke had to pay out of his own pocket to continue the construction for many years, and the family almost went bankrupt.

“Your Grace, you’re finally back…”

The Rolls-Royce stopped at the gate of the mansion. The gilded iron gate of the manor was wide open, and the butler, Sean, with a group of servants, welcomed Barron at the door.

Barron gave Sean a warm hug:

“Butler Sean, you look very well today.”

Although he was slightly startled by Barron’s hug, which didn’t quite conform to traditional aristocratic etiquette, the smile in Butler Sean’s eyes couldn’t be hidden.

“Mr. Sean, hello, we meet again.”

Bonnie greeted Butler Sean and said happily.

“Welcome to Chatsworth, it’s a pleasure to see you again.”

…

Entering the mansion of Chatsworth House, both Bonnie, who had been here once before, and Laura, who was visiting for the first time, were shocked by its interior luxury.

Just entering the hall, one could see magnificent murals depicting the life of Emperor Caesar on the surrounding walls and the ceiling.

And passing through the hall, one entered the sculpture gallery filled with all sorts of treasures…

The most eye-catching of these was a sculpture of a young girl wearing a veil.

This sculpture was extremely famous, created by the 19th-century Italian sculptor Raffaelle Monti, and was called “A Veiled Vestal Virgin.”

The veil on the young girl’s head was as thin as a cicada’s wings, and the craftsmanship of the entire sculpture was amazing!

Barron called Butler Sean to the study to talk about some matters, and Bonnie, who had been here once before, took Laura to continue touring Chatsworth House.

Including the Queen Mary’s bedroom and dressing room, where the ancestors of the Devonshire family were once ordered to imprison her…

The North Wing Dining Room, where Queen Victoria, at the age of 13, still a princess, attended her first formal dinner, marking the princess’s official entry into the adult social world…

The bedroom where the first Duke of Wellington, who defeated Napoleon at Waterloo, once stayed during his visit to Chatsworth House with Queen Victoria and Prince Albert—this was carefully prepared for him by the sixth Duke of Devonshire at the time, with the walls decorated with exquisite Chinese-style wallpaper, which was very fashionable at the time…

It could be said that many well-known historical figures of England had left their mark on Chatsworth.

…

“Butler Sean, I wonder if you’ve had someone calculate how much it would cost to completely renovate Chatsworth House, including the mansion and the gardens?”

This was one of Barron’s main purposes for returning to Chatsworth this time. He had already noticed that many parts of the manor were obviously getting old since his last visit here.

And although the manor had undergone some modernization renovations, it was only in some rooms that electrical wires and networks had been installed. It was still far from the convenient modernization that Barron hoped for.

After understanding Barron’s meaning, Butler Sean said:

“Your Grace, in fact, over the years, we have only carried out some partial repairs and renovations to the manor. The entire mansion has over a hundred rooms. If, as you say, all the rooms and the interior of the halls, as well as the outer walls, plus the gardens and some roads, are to be completely renovated and redecorated, it will probably cost tens of millions of pounds, or even more… The specific number will require a professional agency to estimate.”

“Then let’s have an estimate first, Butler Sean.”

“Are you really planning to do this? Your Grace, this will probably be a very large expense…”

“Yes, but whether it will be done immediately still depends on the specific numbers. After all, Chatsworth is so old, it always needs to be completely renovated, and I hope to keep it in the best condition.”

“As you wish, Your Grace.”

Since 1894, the British government has imposed heavy taxes on the aristocracy, with inheritance tax reaching a maximum rate of 80%.

This turned the manor from a symbol of past power into a hot potato for old-fashioned aristocrats.

In addition to the high inheritance tax, the daily maintenance of the manor was also costly. Many aristocrats had to sell their manor lands and family art collections to make up for the financial deficit.

And the heirs who chose to stick to their manors often suffered greatly, guarding the mansions and treasures, but bearing huge debts, living a poor life, some even claiming to be poorer than beggars.

Since it was so difficult, why not sell the manor? Perhaps this was the promise of the British aristocrats to their ancestors and their adherence to tradition.

From 1900, 1200 manors were demolished in England alone!

In 1950, the speed of manor demolition reached its historical peak, with one manor disappearing every five days in all of England.

Some fortunate manor owners transferred their properties in full, converting them into museums, schools, hospitals, or prisons, which was considered a not-so-bad explanation to their ancestors.

And most of the manors were demolished or abandoned.

Initially, the related cultural relic protection awareness in England was not strong, and the public did not feel sorry for the demolition of the manors—perhaps there was also a kind of joy of the old landlords being overthrown.

However, in 1974, an exhibition called “Manors Destroyed” at the Victoria and Albert Museum made the British people begin to realize the historical significance of the manors.

In this atmosphere of public opinion, the National Trust for Historic Preservation, a charitable organization for protecting British cultural heritage, became a sanctuary for British manors.

However, the manors that could generate income through opening for tours or other activities were, after all, a minority. Most manors required continuous investment in funds for repairs and maintenance, thus becoming a heavy burden for these related non-profit organizations.

If someone was willing to buy, they would often sell it to the other party at a low price, only requiring them to ensure the maintenance of the manor—there was even a case of selling for 1 pound, but needing to bear tens of millions of renovation funds.

It could be said that compared to most manors, Chatsworth House was fortunate.

In addition to the Devonshire family’s unwavering commitment to this place and not abandoning their ancestral property, as the second-largest manor in England, with many shining deeds in British history, it was also easier to attract tourists to come…

Now, Barron hoped to make Chatsworth House more topical through the novel “Downton Abbey,” which was based on it, and subsequent film and television works.

At the same time, he wanted to completely renovate the place, allowing it to appear before the world in a more perfect posture.

Of course, the funds required for this kind of renovation were also considerable. It’s just that the purchasing power of the pound was still very strong now, the exchange rate was also at a high level, and the cost of raw materials and labor—including the cost of experts in this kind of ancient architecture—was not particularly exaggerated…

Otherwise, if it were twenty years later, the cost of a complete renovation and modernization of a manor of this scale could easily reach hundreds of millions—for example, the ten-year renovation project of Buckingham Palace twenty years later was estimated to cost 369 million pounds.

Of course, the scale of Buckingham Palace was far beyond the mansion of Chatsworth House, as it had nearly 800 rooms…

However, even now, if one wanted to carry out a large-scale renovation and modernization of Chatsworth House, the cost would probably be at least 15 million pounds or more.

Chapter 50: I’m a Genius

“Right, Butler Sean, I borrowed 100,000 pounds from the manor last time. I’ll transfer 500,000 pounds into the previous account. Besides finding the most professional agency to formulate a plan and estimate the cost for a thorough renovation of the manor, I also want you to find someone to take care of those clothes in that room from last time, and keep them properly. They will be useful soon.”

“I will do as you say, Your Grace.”

Right after Barron finished talking with Butler Sean, he received a call from Daisy.

Looking at Daisy’s name on the phone, Barron already had a guess about the purpose of the call, and he couldn’t help but feel a little anticipation and excitement.

After answering the phone, Barron immediately heard Daisy’s excited shouts from the receiver – which was truly rare for her, who was always calm and composed…

“F**K! Barron. How did you guess? Or did you discover something in your research on AirGate? This is unbelievable!”

“Calm down, Daisy, that’s not like you…”

At this moment, Barron, on the contrary, calmed down:

“Can you tell me what happened now?”

Barron could hear Daisy take a deep breath on the phone, and then said in a voice that had regained some composure:

“This morning, I saw the news from Bloomberg. AirGate PCS issued an announcement stating that due to statistical errors, their company’s financial report for the last quarter had a major mistake, increasing the loss by 15 million US dollars, and due to the adverse market environment, they will reduce the growth expectations for this quarter.”

“Such a major mistake? I’m afraid it’s not really a careless mistake.”

“Anyway, that’s what they said, but I’m afraid the SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) won’t let them off so easily. I’ve already sent you the relevant news via email, Barron.”

“Okay, keep an eye on it, Daisy, and let me know if there’s any news.”

Just as Barron was about to hang up the phone, he heard Daisy’s voice:

“Barron, was it really you who saw something in advance to decide to short AirGate? How did you do it? Why was your mood just now so… calm, as if you had predicted it?”

“Daisy, I’ve said it before, maybe you should believe it a little now, I’m a genius.”

……

“Laura, where is Miss Bonnie?”

When Barron walked out of the study and met Laura in the second-floor corridor, he asked in Mandarin.

Since coming to this time and space, he had always used English, but when they were communicating privately, he preferred to speak Mandarin, at least this would allow him to find a sense of his past life.

And Laura regarded Barron’s habit of occasionally speaking Mandarin with her as him looking for opportunities to practice Mandarin – but she also admitted that his Mandarin could really be said to be more standard than many Chinese people’s “Putonghua” (Standard Mandarin), without any accent at all.

“Your Grace, after Miss Bonnie toured the manor with me, she went back to her room to write.”

“Are you looking at these murals?”

When Barron came over, Laura was staring at the murals hanging on the corridor walls, so Barron asked this question.

“Yes, Your Grace, I heard Miss Bonnie say that these murals are portraits of members of the Devonshire family from all generations. I was looking at these portraits just now, and I seemed to be able to feel the historical weight of the entire manor and the family.”

At this moment, Barron and Laura were standing in the corridor, with the light shining directly down from the dome above their heads, looking at the members of the Devonshire family from all generations in front of them, as if they were experiencing the passage of time.

“Laura, what are your feelings after visiting the manor?”

“It feels very historical, luxurious and profound, especially those artworks. I never thought I could see Da Vinci’s paintings with my own eyes, hanging in a room where people live. As expected, the heritage of the nobility is not just talk.”

Hearing Laura’s full praise, Barron smiled faintly on his face. At this time, they were going down the stairs. Laura was one step behind Barron, looking at this young and handsome duke, who was even more like a prince in such a magnificent building.

“Actually, I entered Lucy Cavendish College at Cambridge. When I first came to the UK, I heard about the origin of the college and learned some things about your family, Your Grace. It can be said that I was deeply impressed by the Devonshire family at that time.”

“Then, to put it in the words of the Chinese, we are still very fated.”

“It’s just that I never would have thought that one day I would have such a face-to-face conversation with a member of the Devonshire family, and come to this legendary manor. Perhaps this is really the arrangement of fate in the dark.”

……

Everyone’s dinner was held in the dining room in the north wing of Chatsworth House. The exquisite silverware on the table, as well as the cherry-colored crystal glasses, could vaguely make people feel those grand banquets that had been held here.

This restaurant was originally built by the sixth Duke of Devonshire. The gold and brilliance here were not inferior to Buckingham Palace at the time.

When the 13-year-old Princess Victoria and her mother, the Duchess of Kent, came to visit, this future Queen of the UK held her first formal dinner in this restaurant.

It has to be said that this kind of story is very attractive to any woman, especially after Princess Victoria became Queen Victoria, when she visited here again, she was still entertained here.

Now the girls are sitting here for dinner, and they can’t help but imagine the grand and luxurious banquet at that time, with the Queen in attendance, what a scene it would be.

After dinner, Barron received another call from Daisy.

It was afternoon in New York time. Daisy told Barron that in response to the announcement issued by AirGate PCS in the morning, many investors had begun to prepare to file compensation lawsuits, and the SEC had also responded to this, and would investigate the company’s financial report for the last quarter and the corresponding financial issues.

Affected by this matter, several financial companies have downgraded their ratings of AirGate’s stock. I’m afraid that after the market opens on Monday, the trend of this stock will be very exciting.

In other words, basically by now, it can be determined that their short selling of AirGate this time has been successful, and how much the final profit will be depends on how low the price of this stock will fall.

……

“Bonnie, are you still writing?”

“I asked Mr. Sean and Ms. Riley about some noble etiquette issues today, and now I’m preparing to sort those out. Barron, you look in a very good mood.”

Bonnie also saw the smile on Barron’s face. She closed her notebook and stood up to say to him.

“Well, I just got some good news about my recent investment.”

Barron walked in front of Bonnie and took her hand:

“The night view tonight is nice, do you want to go out for a walk together? The scenery of the night garden is very different from that of the daytime.”

After Bonnie came to Chatsworth Manor last time, Barron specially asked the housekeeper Riley to redecorate Barron’s previous bedroom. This time, Bonnie lived here.

The night of Chatsworth Manor, unlike the dazzling lights in the city, only a few lamps were lit in the back garden, making it quiet and cold.

Walking on the stone path, Barron felt the breeze blowing on his face, bringing a bit of coolness.

The surrounding trees were dappled with shadows. The two walked to the center of the back garden, and the sound of gurgling water was particularly obvious in the silence.

Bonnie was wearing a long dress at this time. Her golden long hair and the gauze of her skirt were fluttering in the wind, coupled with her serene green eyes at this time, she was like an elf in a fairy tale under the moonlight.

In this situation, Barron couldn’t help himself. He held Bonnie’s hand and gently exerted force, and she was in his arms…

Chapter 51: Things Fall into Place

With a soft “ying” sound, Barron, facing the alluring, slightly dazed eyes of the beauty in his arms, lowered his head and kissed her lips.

Back in London that night, both Barron and Bonnie had already understood what was going to happen after they arrived at Chatsworth House.

Therefore, what happened next on this night was like water flowing into a canal, a natural progression…

“Barron, let’s go back…”

As if savoring the most delicious pastry, Barron reluctantly ended the kiss.

Bonnie felt as if she was suffocating, and finally gasped for air, her chest heaving violently…

Even though they were hidden in the shadows of the garden’s landscaping, she was still filled with shyness as she grabbed Barron’s increasingly restless hand…

…

Then, after Bonnie and Barron had tidied their clothes, they walked out of the garden.

Fortunately, they didn’t encounter anyone along the way, which put Bonnie at ease - except for Barron calling Ramos, telling him not to come too early to wake him up tomorrow morning…

In Barron’s room, hearing the man’s instruction to his personal valet, Bonnie was naturally embarrassed…

…

…

“Your Grace, Mr. Amber Sheen, a senior manager from PwC, has arrived at the manor…”

It had to be said, these people were really working hard. Although it was Sunday, after PwC received Barron’s acquisition consultation order, their people immediately organized the relevant materials and formulated a preliminary acquisition strategy, rushing to Chatsworth House to discuss the matter with Barron.

Initially, when Laura reported this matter to Barron, it was in the morning…

At that time, Barron was still in the embrace of his lover - since coming to this space, Barron still maintained his habits from his previous life - and unlike many nobles, it could be said that his performance was very diligent.

However, today was a bit special, not only because it was the weekend, but also because last night, he and Bonnie had a deep learning experience, and as a newlywed, coupled with Barron’s exceptional ability to learn, Bonnie didn’t get out of bed until almost ten o’clock. During this time, Barron naturally coaxed her gently.

Just as Barron and Bonnie had finished breakfast, Laura informed him that the people from PwC had arrived.

In the drawing-room on the first floor of the manor, Barron met with this senior manager from PwC.

Amber Sheen looked to be in her early thirties, wearing a well-fitting suit, with a confident expression, looking like a workplace elite.

But it was no wonder, a position like senior manager was already a high-ranking position in PwC, second only to partners. It often took at least ten years from the time of joining the company, and Amber Sheen was able to become a senior manager in her early thirties, which could be said to be an exceptionally excellent result, after all, it was PwC, one of the Big Four.

“Your Grace, it’s a great honor to meet you. I am Amber Sheen, a senior manager in charge of transaction services at PwC…”

After meeting, the other party went straight to the point:

“After learning about your needs, we have collected all the relevant information about the Independent and its parent company, the INM Group, and will formulate the optimal strategy for your acquisition as soon as possible. However, before that, we need to understand more details about your requirements and ideas for this acquisition…”

“Okay, Mr. Sheen, you can ask whatever you want to know. I hope you can help me complete this acquisition and obtain the Independent at the lowest cost and in the fastest time.”

Hearing Barron’s words, Amber said with a confident expression:

“Please rest assured, Your Grace, every penny you pay us will definitely be worth it. So, let’s begin now…”

…

Besides the visit of this PwC senior manager, Barron’s life at Chatsworth House was leisurely and sweet.

Especially Bonnie, who had just had an intimate relationship with him, was in a state of passionate love. And I don’t know if it was due to her constitution, although Bonnie seemed a bit overwhelmed when they were learning knowledge together that first night…

But her recovery and adaptability were indeed commendable. Just one day later, she was already capable of a good fight…

Even in the process of learning knowledge, she still couldn’t be a match for Barron, but at least she wouldn’t collapse at the first touch.

Well, Barron, who enjoyed being a teacher, always generously taught this promising material…

It had to be said that Bonnie, this beauty with the appearance of an elf and the figure of a succubus, did indeed make Barron addicted…

Originally, according to his plan, he was going to return to the DS Exchange in London when the NASDAQ stock market opened for trading on Monday, but because of her temptation, Barron postponed his return to London by a day.

Of course, Bonnie wasn’t any better. Having tasted the flavor, she also wanted to stick close to Barron all the time. The first part of the Downton Abbey novel, which was originally expected to be completed in these two days, was without a doubt postponed by another two days…

…

July 8th, Monday.

Affected by AirGate PCS’s announcement on Saturday and the news that the SEC was investigating it, and with several financial companies lowering their ratings of AirGate stock, AirGate’s stock price opened sharply lower after trading began on the NASDAQ stock market…

In the end, in just one day, AirGate’s stock price fell by more than two-thirds, and at one point during the trading day, it had fallen below $8.00, eventually closing at a price of $8.72.

Based on this closing price, the profit of the short position account of DS Capital on AirGate’s stock had already exceeded $50 million.

The power of this short-term short selling was so great.

However, Barron knew that opportunities like this were also extremely rare, and the trading volume of such stocks couldn’t be operated on a large scale, and only with the current amount of funds was the risk relatively low.

During the trading hours of this day, Daisy asked Barron several times if he needed to start buying stocks to close the position, but Barron refused.

Because he knew that AirGate’s plunge was only the beginning. In his memories of his previous life, this stock was ranked first in the decline of US stocks this year.

In the following period, AirGate’s stock price fell due to reasons such as the company’s insufficient working capital, changes in management personnel, and poor cash flow performance, and Standard & Poor’s downgraded the company’s debt rating. Throughout 2002, the company’s stock price fell from more than $40 to a low of $0.81, a drop of a full 98%!!

Of course, Barron wouldn’t really wait until AirGate fell to the lowest point of $0.81 before closing the position, after all, that would take too long, and now that he was involved, it was hard to say what the trend of AirGate’s stock would be later - it might fall even lower, or it might not fall so low.

His plan was to wait a while longer, at least after its subsequent negative news was further exposed, and then it would fall again before starting to close the position.

Chapter 52: That’s Absolutely Ridiculous

“I grew up in Chatsworth House. I’ve seen many estates, some gradually falling into disrepair, even being abandoned. Chatsworth House itself has faced financial difficulties in the past. Therefore, as a nobleman, I have a greater responsibility to contribute to the treasures of Britain, those beautiful estates deeply rooted in our collective memory. Protecting them is protecting our home. I also call on everyone to put more care and love into these fallen legacies of Britain…”

After Barron’s speech, warm applause erupted. He smiled, maintaining his elegant demeanor, as he faced the bombardment of flashing cameras…

Of course, the reason for such an effect was not only his generous donation of 500,000 pounds to the Royal Family’s Historic Buildings Preservation Trust, but also the fact that he had recently become a hot topic in the media…

“Barron, thank you very much for your contribution to protecting Britain’s treasures.”

“Your Royal Highness, compared to your efforts, my contribution is insignificant. Hello, Your Royal Highness, it’s a pleasure to see you again…”

Such charitable fundraising events, especially those initiated by the Royal Family, naturally couldn’t do without the “hardworking” Prince of Wales. According to statistics, at most, the Prince of Wales could appear at over 500 different events in a year.

Of course, because it was during the university summer break, the Prince also brought Prince William along today to increase their exposure.

In fact, whether it’s the Prince of Wales, the heir apparent under the shadow of the “long-reigning” Queen, or most of the British nobility at this time, they most often appear in public at charitable fundraising events.

After all, the British nobility’s political power has gradually waned. The most effective way for them to demonstrate their sense of responsibility to Britain is through their calls for and contributions to charity.

“Barron, do you really want to buy the Independent?”

It seemed that the Prince of Wales was also very concerned about this matter, which had been widely reported recently.

Yes, after the PwC firm, representing Barron, contacted the Independent’s owner, the INM Group, and proposed to acquire the newspaper, this matter began to appear in news reports and was widely discussed by the public.

The reason for this situation was, without a doubt, that this kind of news was inherently difficult to keep secret, and the INM Group, even if they intended to sell the Independent, didn’t mind using this to attract other bidders.

And although the Independent’s sales had been at the bottom among national newspapers, and its financial situation was not good, its reputation was still there. Moreover, the one preparing to acquire the newspaper was the youngest duke in Britain at the moment. The connection between the two easily aroused the public’s interest.

“Yes, Your Royal Highness, I have indeed made an offer for the Independent and am very interested in it.”

Hearing Barron’s words, the Prince of Wales said with some concern:

“But I see in the reports that this newspaper also bears a huge debt, and its current operating situation is not ideal.”

“In fact, these are not important to me, Your Highness. Don’t you think that the voices of the British media are becoming less and less diverse? Especially after certain capital has bought too much of our media… The Times, The News of the World, and The Sun… I don’t want people to say that when mentioning Britain in the future, we need to consider the opinions of three people for every major decision—the Queen, the Prime Minister, and Murdoch.”

As he said this, the Prince’s expression immediately became somewhat cautious. He nodded and said to Barron:

“You’re right, our Duke, the voice of the media cannot be controlled by a few people. On this point, I support you. If you need any help, you can come to me directly.”

“Thank you, Your Highness, that’s enough. As for the funds, I recently made a profit on securities investments, so I won’t have any financial difficulties for the time being.”

Hearing Barron mention this, Prince William, who was beside the Prince of Wales, became somewhat curious:

“Mr. Barron, the securities investment you mentioned, is it the kind of capital game on Wall Street? Could you tell me more about it?”

“Of course, no problem, but this is a long story, and it’s probably not appropriate today. You can invite me to my investment company to see how we operate when you have time…”

“That’s great, I’m on vacation recently, and I don’t have much to do…”

So Barron and William exchanged phone numbers and agreed to invite him to visit DS Capital another day.

As the future King of Britain, it was also necessary for Barron to get on good terms with Prince William in advance. The reason he said it wasn’t the time to talk about those capital investments just now was also because Barron saw the Prince of Wales give him a look.

Then, the Prince took Barron aside to a place where they could talk privately. He patted Barron on the shoulder, showing the demeanor of an elder, and said to Barron:

“I have also been following the ‘London Star’ case and have been in contact with Scotland Yard.”

“Has there been any progress in that case, Your Highness?”

“This case is a bit complicated…”

The Prince of Wales casually glanced around, lowered his voice slightly, and said to Barron:

“I think you should know these things, but it’s not appropriate to spread them before they are finally confirmed.”

“I understand, Your Highness.”

“Now this case is not only being investigated by Scotland Yard, but MI6 has also intervened…”

“MI6?”

Barron was somewhat surprised. Speaking of British intelligence agencies, the two most famous are MI5 and MI6. In short, MI5 mainly targets domestic affairs, and MI6 mainly targets foreign affairs. Now he heard the Prince of Wales say that MI6 had also intervened in this case, which was naturally very unexpected.

After all, it was just a fraud case, so how could it attract an intelligence agency like MI6?

“If the ‘London Star’ was just a simple fraud case, then with the intelligence capabilities of Britain and its allies, it would be impossible for them to escape. But during the investigation, we discovered that their funds were flowing and intersecting with the funds of certain terrorist organizations. From the intelligence we have now, including Scotland Yard, they suspect that the group that planned this fraud case may have some connection with al-Qaeda…”

“Is this Scotland Yard’s suspicion, or MI6’s suspicion?”

Seeing Barron’s expression of “that’s absolutely ridiculous,” the Prince of Wales also seemed a little embarrassed:

“MI6 believes that they have connections with certain illegal organizations, including terrorist organizations; however, Scotland Yard believes that they are peripheral members of al-Qaeda, or that they are providing funds for them…”

Hearing the Prince of Wales say this, Barron couldn’t help it either:

“F**K, those incompetent people at Scotland Yard, even if they want to shirk their incompetence, at least come up with a more credible reason. Saying that those people have connections with al-Qaeda? Your Highness, if these words are leaked, it will be our Great Britain that will lose face. You say those thugs can crash into buildings and blow up subways, I believe it. Saying that they sent people to London to engage in financial fraud? Who doesn’t know that their patrons are those oil tycoons…”

“Calm down, Barron, I know this sounds really ridiculous, so I also lean towards MI6’s conclusion. In the final analysis, those people are not simple. Believe me, we will find them sooner or later.”

Chapter 53: The Cavendish Hotel

The Crown Prince said he would do his best to find those people, and Barron believed this to some extent. If the other party really had connections with some terrorist organization, whether it was the ridiculous “al-Qaeda” that those Scotland Yard wastes were involved in, or other organizations that MI6 believed in, the British government would not easily let them go at this point.

You know, al-Qaeda didn’t just cause the “9/11” incident in the United States, threatening the United States…

Since the United States and other countries launched the “War on Terror” against Afghanistan, almost all participating countries, including Britain, have been threatened with attacks by al-Qaeda, so the relevant departments in Britain have always been very vigilant about this.

Therefore, as long as the “London Star” gang really has a relationship with some terrorist organizations, they will definitely become the focus of their investigation.

“Your Highness, I know that by now, the possibility of recovering the funds lost by the family is probably very small, but no matter who the other party is, those who offend the Devonshire family will have to pay the price. If Scotland Yard and MI6 can’t find out the results, I will still continue, and I won’t give up.”

“Barron, I share the same idea with you on this point, but I hope you have confidence in us and our allies. We have already contacted our friends in the United States, and will first investigate the matter of the members of the gang on Wall Street.”

Just as the Prince of Wales was about to leave, he finally said to Barron:

“By the way, I have already asked about the renovation of King’s Cross. St. Pancras station will be completed soon, and the renovation plan for the entire King’s Cross area will be put on the agenda. Again, Barron, if you need any help, just give me a call.”

……

After saying goodbye to the Crown Prince and the Prince, Barron walked out of the hotel’s doors used for charity fundraising. He also met a few reporters who tried to interview him. After briefly expressing his views on the matter of the “Independent” newspaper, Barron politely declined further questions about his personal life and got into the Rolls-Royce.

In the meeting just now, compared to before, the Prince of Wales showed more goodwill. Barron wouldn’t naively think that this was purely the royal family’s care for the nobility—everyone must first demonstrate their own value before they can gain the other party’s “friendship.” Now, Barron’s value has begun to be affirmed by the other party.

“Your Grace, your phone…”

As soon as he got into the car, Laura handed him the phone—before attending the charity fundraising event, his phone was always held by his personal assistant.

Looking at Aurora’s name on the phone screen, Barron hesitated for a moment and then answered the phone:

“Dear Aurora, I couldn’t reach you before, I was worried…”

Before Barron could finish speaking, Aurora’s voice came through the phone:

“Barron, you bastard! Shameless big bastard!”

Aurora’s voice was loud. Even with the speakerphone on, Barron couldn’t help but move the phone away from his ear, but he could still hear her voice…

“Dear, I’m afraid you have some misunderstanding about me…”

“Is that so? Barron, are you ready to explain to me about your new girlfriend, the TV presenter, that the newspapers reported?”

Uh, Barron glanced at the front of the car. His personal assistant was looking at the notebook, and his face showed no expression.

“I was going to tell you, Aurora, but you didn’t answer my calls, nor did you reply to my messages. I even suspected that you had blocked me…”

“You reminded me, Barron, I should indeed block you!”

“Don’t, dear Aurora, don’t be impulsive. Feelings, you know, are unpredictable, aren’t they? We are still friends, the best of friends…”

“Sh*t! Do you think of me as a friend? You just want to sleep with me, and you don’t care how I feel. Don’t let me see you again, go find that enchantress, you bastard!”

“Dear, I’ll talk to you properly another day…”

Before Barron could finish speaking, he heard the sound of the other party hanging up the phone.

When he called back, unsurprisingly, he heard the prompt that the phone was turned off.

After an unknown amount of time of silence in the Rolls-Royce…

“Your Grace, we have arrived at the Cavendish Hotel.”

Laura broke the slightly awkward silence.

What they came to this time was the Cavendish Hotel in London. This hotel was established in 1968 by the eleventh Duke and Duchess of Devonshire.

The hotel is located on Oxford Street in the Soho district of London. It is a four-story building with a total of 33 rooms.

The word Soho is not unfamiliar to everyone, and it is used by many cities to name entertainment districts.

Soho is located in the City of Westminster, a secondary administrative district in western London. In earlier times, Soho was originally the red-light district of London…

Later, this special industry gradually declined. In addition, Soho is located close to the financial district of London, Mayfair. Many office workers choose to spend time in Soho’s fashionable bars or cafes after work, gradually making Soho a young people’s entertainment area.

Now many fashionable bars and small shops, and high-end hotels are gathered here, with only a few special places still in operation.

It can be said that the location is very good for the hotel. It was also because the operating conditions of the Cavendish Hotel were satisfactory that Barron’s father had the intention of expanding the hotel’s scale in London.

Another reason is that this small building of the Cavendish Hotel was originally built in the 1950s. Later, it was bought by the family to run the hotel. It has been nearly half a century since then. Both the building and the decoration are somewhat old.

“Your Grace, the land of this hotel, including the attached parking lot, covers an area of about 2 hectares, all belonging to the Devonshire family…”

At the hotel, Barron was greeted by Julia and the hotel manager, Jose Pineda. Julia introduced the situation of the hotel to Barron.

“Originally, there was a plan to renovate and update the hotel at the beginning of this year, but eventually, due to the financial situation, this plan was temporarily put on hold…”

Barron also understood the implication of Julia’s words. At that time, his father was investing most of the funds in the “London Star.” He probably thought that after making a profit, he would then update this hotel, and even open a higher-end hotel in London. But he didn’t expect…

After visiting the Cavendish Hotel, Barron said to Julia and the hotel manager beside him:

“Indeed, as you said, although it can be seen that the hotel has tried its best to maintain, the facilities and decoration here are somewhat old, and it’s time to make a change.”

As his voice fell, Barron could see the anticipation in the eyes of the hotel manager, Jose Pineda. He smiled and continued:

“But instead of patching things up, it’s better to make the change more thorough. The land area here can fully support a taller building. That way, it can not only increase the hotel’s operating area, but also provide space for other businesses.”

“Your Grace, do you mean to demolish this place and rebuild a high-rise building on the original site?”

Hotel manager Jose tentatively asked.

“Yes.”

“Then what about the hotel? The construction time in between will be at least one year, and at most two years…”

“You can rest assured, Mr. Pineda, this plan will not be implemented immediately. There will be a plan to transition the hotel…”

Chapter 54: Hotel Brands

“Ms. Moore…”

Barron turned to Julia and asked:

“I remember you told me that my father had already selected the location for a new hotel in London, right?”

“Yes, Your Grace. At that time, your father was looking at a Victorian mansion in Chelsea. The mansion had nearly 40 rooms. Although it had been vacant for a long time, the asking price was 17 million pounds… At that time, your father hoped to convert it into a luxury hotel.”

“That price does indeed… require a certain resolve.”

Hearing Julia’s words, Barron somewhat understood why his father had taken the risk of participating in the “London Star” scam.

In the Chelsea area of London, a mansion with 40 rooms for 17 million pounds didn’t seem expensive.

But you need to know that this was 2002, and such Victorian-style mansions in London would almost certainly increase in price by more than ten times, or even twenty times, over the next 20 years.

Therefore, the price of such a mansion in 20 years might reach as high as 350 million pounds!

Speaking of which, this phenomenon exists in many areas of London, with many mansions vacant—especially those that are old…

Because the maintenance costs of these mansions are high, many owners, considering economic interests, leave them vacant and wait for the price to rise before selling.

Barron thought of his cheap old man’s idea: buying a long-vacant mansion for 17 million pounds, and then renovating it into a luxury hotel would ultimately require at least 30 million pounds in funds!

And at that time, he was facing other projects, so it was no wonder he would be momentarily blinded and invest so much money in the “London Star” with its “attractive returns.”

However, Barron also admitted that his old man’s idea of buying a mansion and converting it into a luxury hotel was indeed very feasible.

Because he knew that in the future, the entire British Isles, especially London, would always face a shortage of hotel rooms.

The entire hotel industry, especially the luxury hotel market, was still very large, and various luxury hotel brands would also enter London one after another.

If the luxury hotels within London were to be ranked, one would see that those at the forefront were all hotels located in classical British buildings, with a sense of historical weight. These hotels were also the most popular with the wealthy.

This wasn’t strange, after all, the guests who could afford luxury hotels would definitely want to experience the aristocratic style of classical Britain after coming to London. As for those modern hotels, where couldn’t they experience them?

In the final analysis, luxury brands are just telling stories.

But what story could compare to the Devonshire family’s centuries of shining aristocratic history in Britain?

Staying in their hotels would allow guests to directly enjoy the most authentic British Duke-level aristocratic experience. This kind of experience, I’m afraid, those wealthy people simply couldn’t refuse.

“Ms. Moore, please trouble you to continue negotiating the price with the owner of the residence my father was previously interested in…”

“You want to continue buying that residence for renovation? Your Grace.”

Hearing Barron’s instructions, Julia asked with a look of surprise.

Not only her, but even the hotel manager beside her had an expression of concern mixed with surprise. After all, being able to potentially manage such a top-tier luxury hotel was probably the dream of all hotel professionals.

“Yes, Ms. Moore, after all, that was once my father’s expectation. As the heir to the family, I have an obligation to complete his unfinished business.”

“As you command, Your Grace.”

After receiving Barron’s affirmative reply, Julia immediately accepted the task.

As for the funds required… After this period of time, Julia herself had to admit that the young Duke before her did indeed possess a certain magic, capable of solving some problems that she considered incredibly difficult and troublesome.

Perhaps, the revitalization of the Devonshire family was not a dream.

In Barron’s view, purchasing and renovating such a mansion for the purpose of opening a luxury hotel would indeed require a lot of funds, but these were not unsolvable. The entire process could completely be handled through capital operations, controlling the actual funds spent within an acceptable range.

After saying goodbye to the attentive hotel manager, Julia accompanied Barron into the Rolls-Royce.

“Your Grace, the three plots of land in the King’s Cross area that I mentioned to you before, we have already negotiated the price with the other party. According to what you said, we obtained those plots at a price within a 10% premium. The three plots total approximately 2.05 hectares. The prices vary slightly depending on their location. The total land purchase fee is expected to be around 6.3 million pounds. These funds need to be paid when signing the contract for the land transfer.”

Barron was very satisfied with acquiring these three plots:

“These funds will be ready within a week, and we can start finalizing the deal with the other party now.”

This kind of large-scale land transaction doesn’t really involve a single lump-sum payment. Agreeing on a payment deadline is also a very normal thing.

On Barron’s side, he would need to complete the short-term short selling of DS Capital before he could move these funds.

“In addition, Ms. Moore, you can try contacting them again to see if there is any land available for purchase in the King’s Cross area, even if it is slightly away from the station center.”

“This probably won’t be easy, but I will try my best.”

Barron nodded and then turned the topic back to the hotel:

“You said before that the family has already prepared the personnel for the new hotel, right?”

“This is not difficult for us. The original four hotels, with decades of operation, already have many employees who can take on the mid-to-senior level positions in the hotel. For the new hotel, we will recruit another group of new employees, and have the old employees teach them. The construction of one or two new hotels will not put too much pressure on us.”

This sounds like a model of experienced people mentoring new ones. Barron was somewhat fortunate of the family’s foundation, which could indeed bring him benefits in many traditional industries.

“Another thing is the name of the hotel. I know that our family’s hotels currently have names like ‘Devonshire’ and ‘Cavendish’. It will be a bit confusing after the number increases. I plan to unify the name of the hotel…”

“So, are you planning to keep one of the names?”

“I plan to establish a hotel group in the future, including the existing and subsequently opened hotels, and name it the Cavendish Hotel Group. In the future, ordinary hotels below five stars in the group will be named Cavendish, while ‘Devonshire’ will be used exclusively for our luxury hotels.”

After some thought, Julia thought this adjustment was really good. Devonshire itself was the Duke’s title, carrying the attribute of nobility, and it was very suitable as the name for a luxury hotel.

And the family’s hotel in London before was called Cavendish Hotel, which had been in operation for nearly 35 years, and was more well-known here by comparison. Keeping it as the name of the hotel group was also appropriate.

…

After dropping off Julia, Barron received a call from Bonnie.

After hanging up the phone, he said to Laura, who was in the front passenger seat:

“Laura, you don’t need to follow me today. You can take the rest of the day off, and come to DS Capital tomorrow afternoon. Prince William will also be there.”

Today, before leaving the charity fundraising hotel, he had already arranged to visit DS Capital with Prince William tomorrow.

Chapter 55: 1 Pound

“Darling, why do you look so down?”

During dinner, Barron held Bonnie’s hand and asked gently.

“Sorry, dear, it’s just some work-related things…”

“Haven’t you been doing well at work recently? You mentioned earlier that Sky Television was going to create a sports talk show specifically for you.”

When Barron Cavendish, who had just inherited the Duke of Devonshire title, was about to acquire The Independent, the news was reported by the media and became a hot topic again.

Especially his young and handsome appearance and noble background also became the talk of the reports and the public.

Just as the young Duke became the new dream lover of many young British girls, some gossip tabloids exposed the young Duke’s new romance—after having an intimate relationship with Bonnie, he never avoided being intimate with her in public. Therefore, Bonnie, as the host, became the alleged new girlfriend of the Duke.

In response, Barron did not deny it during an interview, but refused to answer on the grounds of a personal matter.

But this attitude was enough to explain something…

Bonnie’s popularity also rose accordingly and gained great attention—her employer, Sky Television, would naturally not miss such an opportunity, and Bonnie’s conditions were already outstanding, so they specially created a sports talk show for her. The viewership of this show also made them very satisfied.

After dinner, Barron held Bonnie’s hand, sat on the sofa, embraced her in his arms, and said gently:

“Darling, I hope you can tell me anything, whether it’s work-related or in life, at least I can share it with you, instead of you having to resolve those negative emotions yourself.”

Looking at the affection in Barron’s eyes, Bonnie tilted her head and kissed him, leaning in his arms:

“Actually, now that I think about it, it’s nothing, maybe I’m not used to it for a while… I heard some unpleasant voices at the TV station. They said that I am now because of you, and it’s because of those reports about us that I got the current show…”

“I can understand how you feel, and even empathize with you, darling. I’ve had moments like that too. There are always some people who don’t want to know the truth, don’t want to understand you as a person, but just attack you based on other people’s words, and maliciously send trash talk into your ears…”

“Have you had such a thing too? Darling, I thought you nobles had always lived in an atmosphere of kindness since you were young…”

Barron chuckled:

“How is that possible? It’s precisely because of my background, my family, that others won’t see the effort you’ve put in, and will only attribute everything to your preferential treatment… Just like I can see how hard you work for your job, especially after you got the new show, I’ve barely seen you these days… But those people won’t see this, and they don’t even want to understand.”

“Thank you, darling, maybe I’m still a little unaccustomed to suddenly getting so much attention.”

“You don’t have to pay attention to those people at all, darling. At first, when faced with some malice and criticism, I also thought about explaining, but then I suddenly realized, why waste time on those irrelevant people? What we need to do is just keep moving forward, instead of stopping to argue. When you keep moving forward, those people will eventually be left behind.”

“I feel much better after you said that, Barron, it’s really my luck to have you by my side…”

“So, Miss Bonnie, how should you thank me…”

Hearing Barron’s whisper in his ear, Bonnie got up, straddling his legs. She lowered her head slightly, resting her forehead against Barron’s forehead, their eyes met, and then she leaned in and gave him a long kiss full of affection…

“Is this okay? Your Grace…”

Her murmur did not satisfy Barron:

“I don’t think it’s enough…”

“Then, let’s go to the bedroom…”

…

“Your Grace, as you instructed, we have reached an agreement with the INM Group. They will sell you the independent publishing company that owns The Independent and The Sunday Independent newspapers for a price of 1 pound, but you need to ensure the continued good operation of these newspapers and bear the debts of the independent publishing company.”

Amber Shea, a senior manager at PwC, finally completed the negotiations with the INM Group, the parent company of The Independent, on behalf of Barron, which meant Barron was about to complete the acquisition of The Independent.

Amber handed the relevant agreement to Barron and said:

“After the audit, the independent publishing company currently owns The Independent and The Sunday Independent newspapers, plus its high debt, the current total assets are negative, with a deficit of up to 15 million pounds…”

Barron had already seen this from the audit report of PwC. He listened to Amber continue:

“Now we have secured the acquisition of the independent publishing company for a symbolic price of 1 pound, and we have reached an agreement with the INM Group. The other party will pay the independent publishing company a total of 5 million pounds in installments within six months after the acquisition to compensate for the losses we may suffer after taking over this company.”

Barron remembered that in his previous life, the INM Group had also sold the independent publishing company to that Russian businessman for 1 pound, and they had given the other party compensation of more than 9 million pounds at the time!

However, considering that their transaction was many years later, the situation of The Independent was even more difficult at that time, with annual losses as high as 12.4 million pounds. After several years, it had caused the INM Group to lose tens of millions of pounds. Then, it was understandable to give the other party such a high compensation to get rid of the burden of The Independent.

As for now, Barron was already very satisfied to get 5 million pounds in compensation from the other party…

After all, others did not know that although The Independent had a deficit of 15 million pounds at this time, plus the other party’s future compensation of 5 million pounds, Barron still needed to face a pure debt of 10 million pounds.

But at this time, the independent publishing company also owned a six-story office building covering an area of 1.5 hectares in the Canary Wharf area. This plot was located in the future financial core area of Canary Wharf, adjacent to the Thames River, and had great appreciation potential.

In Barron’s previous life, a Chinese tycoon bought a 16-story building with a similar area next to that location, which cost him a full 410 million pounds!

And when the Russian businessman bought the independent publishing company later, The Independent had already sold the office building in Canary Wharf due to years of losses and moved its headquarters to Dublin, Ireland…

Therefore, in any case, this transaction of buying The Independent was not a loss for Barron at all.

Especially at this time, the plot of land in Canary Wharf owned by the independent publishing company. In the future, after he had sufficient funds, he could completely rebuild a taller building on the original site to serve as the headquarters of the group.

And even without that office building, just acquiring The Independent and being able to have his own media was extremely important for enhancing the family’s influence in British society.

In countries like Europe and the United States, as the so-called “fourth estate”, controlling the media, even if Barron needed to spend money to support it, a national newspaper like The Independent could also play a key role at certain times.

Not to mention, if their family had been able to own a media with such widespread influence as The Independent earlier, then they would definitely not have been forced into such a situation before—at least Scotland Yard would not have been so perfunctory as it was now.

Chapter 56: His Royal Highness the Prince

“Of course, in addition to these acquisition terms, the INM Group also has requirements for your operation of the Independent Newspaper after the acquisition. You must ensure the continued operation of the Independent Newspaper and bear the corresponding responsibilities, otherwise the agreement will be void. Not only will you have to return the company and compensation, but you will also face a lawsuit from the other party.”

These conditions were also the premise for Barron to acquire the Independent Newspaper.

For the INM Group, being able to get rid of the Independent Newspaper, such a continuously losing burden, and thus put their funds and energy into other industries, was acceptable to them.

Moreover, compared to the doubts about the identity of the Russian businessman from Klobb who acquired the newspaper in Barron’s previous life, selling the newspaper to Barron, the Duke of England, presented no resistance whatsoever.

However, even though they hoped to get rid of the Independent Newspaper, such a continuously losing burden, and related debts, they also needed to confirm that Barron could take on the responsibility of operating the newspaper after buying it, rather than messing around with the Independent Newspaper, a national newspaper that once had many readers.

“I can completely accept these conditions, Mr. Sheen. We can sign the contract with the INM Group as soon as possible.”

“Alright, Your Grace the Duke, I will confirm with the INM Group immediately.”

After Anabelle Sheen said these words, she saw the young Duke in front of her reveal a friendly smile:

“After this matter, Mr. Sheen, there is something else I need to ask for your opinion on.”

“Do you have any other commissions to give us, Your Grace the Duke?”

“Indeed, there is another commission, but it’s not for the PwC firm, but for you, Mr. Sheen.”

“Me?”

Anabelle asked in confusion.

“Yes, for you, Mr. Sheen. Your ability in this acquisition has made me very satisfied. I have a position here, I wonder if you would consider accepting it?”

…

“Your Royal Highness, come with me, our investment company is upstairs.”

“Your Grace the Duke, you can call me William in private…”

“Alright, William, you can call me Barron too.”

As he received more and more attention, Barron’s schedule also began to get busy. At lunchtime today, he even took the time to be interviewed by a reporter from The Guardian - the topic was more focused on his acquisition of the Independent Newspaper.

According to yesterday’s agreement, Prince William visited DS Investment Company, located in the Lloyd’s building in the heart of the City today.

The Lloyd’s building is a landmark building in the City of London, and it was Richard Rogers’ first major project after Barron completed it. Because the building’s appearance resembles a mechanical monster from outer space, the building is known as the “Steel Monster.”

The interior of the Lloyd’s building is also very distinctive. The main building has an open atrium in the middle, surrounded by a gallery. All the main office spaces are arranged along the gallery.

The top of the atrium is an arched glass skylight, and the height from the ground of the hall to the top of the atrium is 72 meters. There are two escalators crossing each other in the hall, and the surroundings are all metal decorations.

Each floor can overlook the magnificent atrium, and there are escalators connecting the internal traffic in the atrium, which is also a place for communication between people on different floors, bringing vitality to the entire space.

DS Capital is located on the 10th floor of the building - the entire building has 14 floors, including 2 underground floors and 12 above-ground floors. Initially, the company only rented a few offices, but after Barron came here and took a look, he asked Daisy to rent all the remaining offices in the building that were still available.

DS Capital now rents one-third of the entire floor, but less than half of it has been put into use.

At this time, Daisy’s trading team had expanded to five people, and with the other office staff, the employees serving DS Capital had exceeded ten people.

Prince William was most interested in the securities investment part. Perhaps because he had read those articles or watched those films and TV shows that depicted financial struggles, after seeing the trading scene in reality, it was not as “intense” as he had imagined, and he even showed a little disappointment.

“Currently, our investments are divided into two main categories: futures and stocks. In terms of stocks, it’s mainly US tech stocks, primarily stocks on the NASDAQ market. There is a time difference between the United States and London, and trading has just begun.”

Listening to Barron’s introduction, William asked with some confusion:

“I heard that after the dot-com bubble burst, tech stocks all fell very badly?”

“Yes, William, you are right, but investing in stocks, following the footsteps of the masses will never make money. Whether it’s stocks or other securities, there are cyclical patterns. Only after a round of decline will the next round of increase begin… I think the increase is about to start now.”

Saying his views so directly, Barron was not afraid that the other party would follow suit. Not to mention whether others really agreed with Barron’s views, even if they followed suit and invested in tech stocks, what would it matter?

From Barron’s experience in his previous life, most tech stocks would experience another round of decline in the third quarter of this year - although the magnitude this time would not be so great, but unless he could accurately select stocks and avoid the pitfalls, like he could, blindly following the trend would likely result in losses in this wave.

For these securities investments, it was obvious that Prince William was just watching the fun. Speaking of which, since coming to DS Investment, the number of times he looked at the screen displaying the price trends was less than the number of times he looked at Daisy.

I’m afraid that if Barron wasn’t by his side, he would have already been unable to resist asking for Daisy’s phone number…

“By the way, Barron, you said last time that you made a profit from short selling. Can you tell me about it?”

“Of course, let’s go to my office and talk.”

As of today, the price of AirGate’s stock had fallen below 2 dollars - from more than forty dollars to less than two dollars, such a huge drop in such a short period of time, this company was also buried by the lawsuits of angry investors.

Not only had the company’s management changed, but due to the market’s general pessimism, the company’s cash flow also had problems, and no improvement could be seen so far.

From this moment on, DS Capital had also begun to secretly buy stocks to close out their short positions for this short selling.

During their purchase of stocks, AirGate’s stock price continued to fall, which showed the attitude of investors at this time.

Barron was not greedy either, and he already had enough profit now. There was no need to eat the head and tail of the fish. The fattest part of the fish was already enough for him to have a good meal.

Therefore, revealing the recent short selling to Prince William at this time did not affect the overall situation at all.

And so, this afternoon, Barron took out two or three hours to establish a friendship with Prince William. The two were not much different in age, and they both came from noble backgrounds, with more common topics.

Later on, William and Barron were already good friends, and he invited Barron to go to his school to play together, or to participate in those interesting parties…

From their conversation, Barron also learned that William did have a girlfriend at university at this time, but it was not Catherine - they were not very familiar with each other at the moment - William’s current girlfriend was a school beauty from their university.

No wonder, this also solved his previous doubts.

Chapter 57: Newspaper Reform

“Mr. Whitney, we meet again.”

“Yes, Your Grace, perhaps this is the best outcome.”

After the acquisition of The Independent was finalized, Barron came to Canary Wharf, to the office building where The Independent was located.

The last time he met with Mr. Whitney, the editor-in-chief of The Independent, was in a coffee shop less than 100 meters from the building — the reason being that, through the Viscountess, Whitney was interested in Barron’s novel, Downton Abbey.

It was also during that meeting that Barron first proposed the idea of acquiring The Independent to the other party.

Now, after Barron had just signed the acquisition agreement with the INM Group for the Independent News Company, he also announced that he had achieved his original goal, taking The Independent into his pocket.

Besides The Independent’s editor-in-chief, Mr. Whitney, Barron and his party, from the moment they entered the Independent News Company’s building, attracted the attention of all the company’s employees.

From various related reports before, everyone was no longer unfamiliar with this young Duke who was about to acquire The Independent.

And today, when he walked into this office building, it also meant that The Independent had changed its ownership, becoming an asset of the Devonshire family, and their future in the newspaper was therefore closely related to the other party.

Whether The Independent could regain its vitality, or would remain in decline or even fall into obscurity, was something they couldn’t determine at this moment.

At this time, Barron was not prepared to give a public, inspiring speech — promises not built on reality were, in the end, empty and unbearable.

“Mr. Whitney, I hope to have a good discussion with you and the newspaper manager about future management issues.”

“That’s what I hope for, Your Grace.”

……

Barron had given thought to how The Independent should be managed after he bought it, and what changes should be made.

In fact, the emergence of various new media, especially the internet and later smartphones, had a huge impact on traditional print newspapers.

But under such an impact, there were still some newspaper groups that ultimately survived and still maintained considerable influence.

Then, by reviewing the other party’s methods, the methods for The Independent to maintain its vitality and regain its vitality could roughly be found — after all, these methods were all verified by those later successful newspapers.

Amidst the complex gazes of The Independent’s employees, Barron, Amber Sheen, Laura, as well as The Independent’s manager, Bob Mansfield, and editor-in-chief, Whitney, successively entered the conference room.

The conference room door closed, blocking the view of all the employees outside. They knew that the meeting, which concerned the future of The Independent, was about to begin inside.

“Mr. Bob, Mr. Whitney, although it may not be necessary, I will still make a self-introduction first. I, Barron Cavendish, am the new owner of The Independent.”

He nodded to the newspaper manager and editor-in-chief sitting in the conference room chairs, and then walked to Amber Sheen’s side, continuing to introduce:

“This Mr. Amber Sheen, previously worked at PwC, is now the manager of the industrial investment department of DS Capital. Well, the Independent News Company is under the management of this department.”

“Currently, our newspaper has two newspapers, The Independent and The Sunday Independent, the latter being the Sunday edition of The Independent. Is that right, Mr. Bob?”

Bob Mansfield, the manager of the Independent News Company, nodded and said:

“Yes, Your Grace.”

“Gentlemen, first of all, I want to say that I bought The Independent, not to make money. Believe me, if I invested the same amount of money elsewhere, I would make more, rather than face the unknown risks of The Independent. Buying this newspaper is purely because of my own sense of responsibility. I can’t just watch a newspaper that was once loved by many readers just collapse like this — by the way, I have always been one of these loyal readers.”

At this time, Barron’s expression was exceptionally sincere:

“Mr. Bob, Editor-in-Chief, I believe both of you also hope that The Independent can regain its vitality and develop better, right?”

Seeing them both nod at the same time, Barron smiled and said:

“Then it shows that our goals are all the same. I hope you understand that everything I do is for this purpose, so I hope we can cooperate well.”

The implication of Barron’s words was self-evident; if they couldn’t cooperate, then they could only change people.

Speaking of this, Barron pulled the whiteboard in the corner of the conference room to everyone’s attention and wrote two words on it — Tradition, Change.

“After I take over The Independent, I will still maintain the newspaper’s philosophy — to take a neutral stance, to seek the truth of the facts, to conduct in-depth and detailed investigations and reports on events, and to expose social injustice and corruption. To reiterate, my purpose in buying The Independent is to save this newspaper, not to turn it into another The Sun for profit. But while the newspaper’s philosophy remains unchanged, the way it is run needs to be changed…”

Hearing Barron’s promise not to change the newspaper’s philosophy, both Manager Bob and Editor-in-Chief Whitney breathed a sigh of relief. The Sun that Barron mentioned was exactly what they were worried about. They had to admit that The Sun did make money, but the false and sensational reports on it made them despise it.

The changes that Barron planned for The Independent were, first of all, to add a novel column and begin publishing the Downton Abbey novel.

Then, it was to redesign the entire newspaper, adding pictures and printing in full color to attract more readers.

And then, it was to change from the original broadsheet newspaper to a broadsheet and tabloid format being published at the same time.

The difference between the so-called broadsheet and tabloid newspapers in the early British newspapers was mainly distinguished by the size of the newspaper.

However, the facts proved that the tabloid format was more convenient for readers to read, and because it required less paper, it seemed more environmentally friendly — there was no way, young people nowadays like to flaunt these things.

The transition of those traditional British broadsheet newspapers to tabloid newspapers was also the trend later on.

For example, The Times and The Guardian and other broadsheet newspapers were also later changed to tabloid newspapers.

It was also the right time for The Independent to make such a reform now.

The final change was that, with the advent of the internet, traditional print media also needed to change accordingly — Barron planned to set up an official website for The Independent, and then try to publish an electronic version of the newspaper.

Of course, as the initial stage of taking over The Independent, Barron was not prepared to make all the changes at once.

These plans would be implemented step by step.

First, add a novel column to publish Downton Abbey, and then redesign the newspaper.

During this period, begin preparing for The Independent’s official website and recruit editors for the electronic version.

Regarding these reform plans put forward by Barron, the newspaper manager Bob and editor-in-chief Whitney mostly expressed their acceptance, but also put forward their own opinions.

Like Manager Bob proposed:

“Your Grace, I agree to try publishing a tabloid newspaper, but as you said, adding pictures and printing in full color will increase the cost of the newspaper, but we originally had plans to lower the price of the newspaper, so…”

Hearing his words, Barron said without hesitation:

“Our newspaper does not need to lower the price, just keep the current price. The current price of the newspaper, even ordinary people, can easily afford it. For the current newspaper, lowering the price is not a good strategy. We only need to stick to the quality of our reporting, and the public will be happy to pay for high-quality content.”

Chapter 58: Serialized Novel

Currently, the price of the Independent is 65 pence (0.65 pounds), a price that is actually acceptable for low-income people.

The price of the Independent is the highest among all national newspapers in Britain.

In comparison, the price of The Times is only 30 pence – they lowered their price from 45 pence to the current 30 pence in 1993.

Their price reduction measure at the time was called the most successful in the British modern newspaper industry, which doubled its circulation.

Looking at it this way, it seems that lowering the price of the newspaper does have an effect.

But the measures proposed by Barron this time were not groundless, but were based on experience from the development of the newspaper industry in his previous life. Before that, he had also specifically hired a professional data investigation agency and obtained data on various measures of many British newspapers.

In 2001, which was last year, the Daily Express, the Daily Mirror, and the The Sun competed with each other, triggering the biggest price war in the British newspaper industry in recent years.

The effect of their price reduction was indeed immediate, but the duration was very short.

After the initial price reduction, each newspaper gained a large number of new readers, but only now, less than a year later, the Daily Mirror’s circulation had instead decreased by 3.4% compared to before the price reduction, and its other two competitors were also not spared, with sales falling sharply again.

Therefore, Barron believed that by now, the price war in the newspaper industry was no longer effective.

“Consumers will certainly be happy to pay for a good product. Compared to lowering the price of our newspaper, improving the quality of the newspaper, and making the Independent more quality and stylish is the best strategy. If people are willing to pay 2.5 pounds for a cup of coffee, they won’t mind spending less than a third of the price to read an excellent newspaper.”

Barron finally concluded.

In the end, he persuaded the newspaper manager, Bob, and the editor-in-chief, Whitney – or rather, the two chose to temporarily try the new boss’s measures when he was “in the mood.”

Of course, the first thing implemented was the “novel column,” which did not require too much investment or change. To do this, it was only necessary to reserve a space in the newspaper’s layout.

Moreover, Whitney had read the first novel of Downton Abbey and was fascinated by it. He naturally supported this matter with both hands and feet, if his slightly obese body could do so.

“When do we start publishing Downton Abbey? Your Grace.”

Looking at Whitney’s impatient expression, Barron said with a smile:

“Mr. Editor-in-Chief, I think anytime is fine, but before that, some publicity is a better strategy. I don’t mind you using any means to make this novel famous, including my name.”

“If that’s the case, Your Grace, I think I might already have some ideas.”

…

Just as Barron announced in the meeting room of the Independent newspaper at the beginning, Amber Sheen, who originally worked at PwC and was the senior manager who helped Barron complete the acquisition of the Independent, after some consideration, accepted Barron’s offer and became the manager of the industrial investment department of DS Capital.

His decision, in addition to Barron raising his annual salary from 150,000 pounds to 250,000 pounds, was also because Barron gave him the opportunity to independently manage a department, which was difficult to obtain in the short term at PwC.

After Amber Sheen joined, DS Capital will make more full use of their office area, dividing it into a securities investment department managed by Daisy, and an industrial investment department managed by Amber Sheen.

The Independent Newspaper Company, which was just acquired by Barron, is placed under the management of DS Capital’s industrial investment department.

Of course, professional matters are left to professionals. Currently, the daily operations of the Independent Newspaper Company are still handled by its manager, Bob, and editor-in-chief, Whitney. Amber Sheen mainly only conducts some financial control.

In addition, another recent task for Amber is to register a subsidiary called DS Asset Management Company under the industrial investment department. Later, those plots in King’s Cross and that mansion in Chelsea, these real estates will all be managed uniformly by DS Asset Management Company.

…

The news that Britain’s youngest duke at the time, the Duke of Devonshire, Barron Cavendish, who had once been rumored to have a family financial crisis, had purchased the Independent for a symbolic price of 1 pound was disclosed, and related reports also poured in.

“The new boss of the Independent, the Duke of Devonshire, said in an interview not long ago that after the acquisition, the Independent will continue to maintain its philosophy of ‘pursuing the truth with a neutral stance’ and will not deviate from the original intention of the newspaper’s establishment…”

“After obtaining the severely loss-making Independent, the 22-year-old Duke of Devonshire became the youngest newspaper boss in Britain. Where will he take this newspaper, which was once glorious but is now mired in deep trouble?”

Such reports can be said to hold various viewpoints, but most of the reports are not optimistic about the future of this newspaper after Barron takes over the Independent. This is not surprising. On the one hand, Barron is really too young, and he has no previous experience in newspaper management; and the reputation of this heir to the Duke of Devonshire family before - if his playboy nature counts as his reputation - does not seem very reliable.

These reports also made the readers of the Independent a little uncertain about whether this newspaper, which they often read, would continue to exist in the future.

However, they found that a novel column had suddenly appeared on the latest issue of the Independent. In the column, a novel called Downton Abbey began to be serialized.

The content of the novel, because it was just beginning and the plot had not yet unfolded, so it was not yet possible to tell how it was, but some busybodies had already discovered the author of this novel, and listed two names: Barron Cavendish, and Bonnie Stewart…

These two names seem a bit familiar?

So someone soon pointed out that this novel, which began to be serialized in the Independent and was called Downton Abbey, was co-authored by the newspaper’s boss, and also Britain’s youngest duke at the time - Barron Cavendish.

The other was Bonnie Stuart, a well-known beauty hostess of Sky Television at the time.

And the key is that these two were also photographed together multiple times in private, behaving intimately, and suspected of being in a relationship.

This is very interesting. Gossip about celebrities, especially public figures like Barron and Bonnie, always attracts special attention from the public.

And Downton Abbey is precisely a novel describing the life of the old-time aristocracy nearly a hundred years ago. One of the authors is a real aristocrat, and also the highest-ranking duke among non-royal aristocrats, which made many people extremely curious about this novel.

Following this series, the extremely high quality of Downton Abbey immediately attracted countless fans, who were full of praise for it.

There were even reports that even Her Majesty the Queen liked this novel very much, and would specifically take time every morning to have her maid read the newspaper for her, and the last thing she would read was the Downton Abbey serialized in the Independent.

When listening to this serialized novel, the Queen would always have someone brew a cup of black tea and savor this leisurely time very enjoyably.

Chapter 59: Still Short on Money

Yes, Downton Abbey was a hit. With the added boost of various factors, a week after the novel’s publication, the Independent newspaper’s sales increased from 150,000 copies to 170,000 copies, and they were still climbing…

Of course, the sustained effect would take more time to become apparent.

After a “long” wait, DS Capital finally completed its short selling of AirGate stock.

Initially, they put up 5 million pounds as a 10% margin for the short sale, borrowing approximately 1.83 million shares of AirGate stock through Barclays Bank.

These shares were sold by DS Capital at an average price of around 37.7 dollars. Ultimately, the cost of buying back those 1.83 million AirGate shares was only 1.54 dollars on average.

In the end, after paying capital gains tax and related stock lending fees, DS Capital made approximately 54 million dollars, equivalent to around 36 million pounds, from this short-selling operation.

The 5 million pounds used as margin returned to the original capital pool to continue executing the previously determined investment strategy.

With the funds available, Barron completed the acquisition of the three plots of land in King’s Cross. After transferring the funds to DS Capital Management Company, Annabelle was responsible for completing the land transfer process.

In addition, the Victorian mansion in the Chelsea area was also acquired by DS Capital Management Company after spending 17 million pounds.

At the same time, Julia was responsible for reorganizing the family’s four hotels into the Cavendish Hotel Group, with Rob Pike, the former head of the family’s hotel business, as the general manager of the hotel group.

The Cavendish Hotel Group would lease the mansion in the Chelsea area owned by DS Asset Management Company, and with its own assets, would take out a 12 million pound loan from the bank to renovate and redecorate this Victorian mansion, turning it into a luxury hotel – the Devonshire (Chelsea) Hotel.

The renovation and decoration of the mansion into a luxury hotel was expected to be completed within three months.

By then, the employees of the Cavendish Hotel in the Soho area would select the best and add staff, and after training, they would move here, becoming the first employees of the Devonshire brand luxury hotel.

After all, the renovated house would have around thirty rooms – including a royal suite and a duke suite, similar in scale to the original London Cavendish Hotel.

If other luxury hotels’ royal suites were somewhat undeserving of the name, then the Devonshire Hotel’s royal suite would be beyond reproach – after all, their family’s estate had not only hosted Queen Victoria, but had also been used to imprison Queen Mary for a considerable amount of time at her command.

That they didn’t directly name it the “Queen Mary Suite” was already showing considerable respect to the royal family…

After spending these funds, DS Capital’s account went from 36 million pounds to just under 13 million pounds.

And according to the information obtained from the butler, Sean, after hiring a professional agency to estimate the overall renovation and modernization project for Chatsworth House, the project was estimated to require 20 million pounds to complete…

In this plan, part of the estate’s rooms would be converted into hotels for commercial operation – Chatsworth House has over 100 rooms in total, and after renovation, about 30 of them will be opened to the public, including 10 suites that will be rented to the Devonshire Hotel Group to become guest rooms of the new Devonshire Chatsworth House Hotel.

In the near future, Barron planned to establish the Devonshire Cultural Tourism Group, and at this time, the family’s Chatsworth House, along with the other two castles and estates located in Scotland and Ireland, would all be incorporated into the Devonshire Cultural Tourism Group.

…

“Your Grace, we have already negotiated with Barclays Bank. We can use the assets held by DS Asset Management Company as collateral for a loan. They can provide us with a loan of 20 million pounds.”

In the DS Capital office, Annabelle Sheen reported the fundraising situation to Barron.

There were still many places where money was needed. After Barron spent money to buy the plots of land in King’s Cross and the mansion in Chelsea, he immediately mortgaged them again to the bank for a loan.

Considering all this, the funds spent on these real estate properties were only a little over 3 million pounds, plus some interest on the bank loan.

Don’t think it’s too exaggerated to borrow 20 million pounds against real estate purchased for over 23 million pounds at this time.

In fact, as a private bank, for the sake of profit, Barclays Bank could be a bit “flexible.” Moreover, DS Capital’s securities investment account was opened at Barclays Bank itself, so they weren’t worried that Barron wouldn’t be able to repay the loan. At critical moments, they would also “respond flexibly.”

And at this time, real estate mortgage loans, after experiencing a small decline starting in 2000, had already begun to recover. Under this background, banks would become bolder in order to obtain more profits.

It’s not considered exaggerated now. In a few years, not to mention the booming real estate loans in America, even in Britain, many banks’ mortgage ratios had already reached 125-130%.

That is to say, if you mortgage a property worth 1 million pounds to the bank, they can lend you over 1.2 million pounds. Would you take the loan or not?

Without this kind of madness, how could the subprime mortgage crisis that swept the globe have happened? For the sake of profit, capitalists are always willing to sell the rope that will hang them.

And the debt-sustaining expansion method used by DS Capital, it can be said that almost all capital is using it. This method, during periods of economic upswing, the risk is controllable.

But once the economy faces a crisis or downturn, it can easily lead to a chain collapse due to a lack of liquidity.

However, Barron’s greatest advantage was that he had experience from his previous life and could see the overall economic trend.

Ultimately, because of the pressures of life, with money needed everywhere, Barron could only continue to seek financial investment opportunities to raise funds for the reorganization of his industries.

This time, his target was the futures products of the London Metal Exchange (LME) – London copper (LME copper).

In the first half of last year, due to the global economy being affected by the bursting of the internet bubble, it fell into a slump, leading to shrinking demand, which caused the price of copper to slowly decline from 1191 pounds (per ton) in January to 1121 pounds in May.

But after June, the price of London copper began to fall rapidly, and the price of copper once fell below the 1100-pound support level since 1999.

Under the disappointment of the market, coupled with the “9/11 incident,” which completely disillusioned investors, the price of London copper plummeted to 890 pounds!

Until November, the price of copper was stimulated by large-scale production cuts around the world, rebounding sharply from its nearly 15-year low!

Subsequently, the economic recovery in America helped the rebound in copper prices continue in the first half of this year!

It can be said that at this time, the American economy had a huge impact on the global copper price because it was still the world’s largest copper consumer.

But Barron knew that by now, approaching the middle and late July, the momentum for the rise in London copper prices in the first half of the year would gradually weaken…

In the third quarter of this year, the American economy would once again show signs of weakness, and market sentiment would be increasingly hit, and the price of copper would fall sharply within a few days as a result.

Within the four weeks of the most severe decline, the price of London copper would fall from its previous high, nearly 1500 pounds, to within 1000 pounds, a drop of nearly 50%!!

This was his best opportunity in the near future!

After all, the leverage of London copper could be as high as 20 times, and the market was huge, with daily trading volume in the billions or tens of billions, which was not comparable to the American stocks he had operated before, so it could accommodate a larger scale of funds.

Chapter 60: Argent Real Estate Group

“Congratulations, Your Grace. I’m still enjoying the serialization of the first novel in the Independent every day. By the way, when are you planning to start writing the second one?”

“You know, Madam, Bonnie has been so busy lately. We plan to start the second novel later.”

After seeing Viscountess Christie, Barron lightly supported her arm, gave her a kiss, and said to her:

“Like today, we were supposed to come together, but she couldn’t make it in the end. She’s busier than I am now.”

“She’s under a lot of pressure with her new show, but what I didn’t expect was that you actually bought the Independent and are now running it so well.”

“Yes, Your Grace, a very bold and successful move.”

After Christie finished speaking, Viscount Booth, who was beside her, shook hands with Barron and praised him.

“Compared to our cooperation, that’s just a small business, isn’t it, Lord?”

“Haha, Your Grace, I also hope that our ‘big business’ will be completed smoothly.”

As he was talking with the Booth.s and walking into the house, Barron’s peripheral vision inadvertently caught his personal valet, who was walking behind the Booth.s, and a hint of… hatred flashed in his eyes?

He didn’t know if the other person had noticed Barron’s gaze, but he gave him a smile, making him almost think he had seen wrong.

Thinking about what he had overheard at the dance at Viscount Booth’s house that day…

Interesting.

The gathering Barron attended today was a gathering of the London Real Estate Association.

As the name suggests, the London Real Estate Association is an association organization composed of real estate developers. In London, there are about 110 trade associations of various types, of which the earliest have a history of nearly a thousand years, and there are also trade associations of emerging industries that have been established in the past hundred years.

The history of the Real Estate Association can be traced back to the 17th century, which is now three hundred years old. There are many powerful families in London’s real estate industry among the members of this trade association, such as the Duke of Westminster family, who owns a quarter of London’s land.

Today, Barron and the Booth.s are attending this Real Estate Association gathering as shareholders of the Argent Real Estate Group. The Booth. family is a member of this trade association, and they are also members of the management committee of the London Real Estate Association – Viscount Booth’s father is one of the committee members of this trade association. When his father dies or steps down, Ian Booth, as the family heir, will inherit this position.

Yes, the committee members and members of this kind of ancient trade association are mostly inherited – of course, in modern times, many trade associations will also regularly open up to new members, especially the trade associations of some emerging industries, which will be more open.

After a period of negotiation and discussion, Barron, Viscount Booth, and other stakeholders finally reached an agreement on the King’s Cross redevelopment project.

All real estate holders who are willing to cooperate will distribute a portion of the shares of the new company through the valuation of their real estate – in fact, the reason why the discussion took so long was mainly due to some disagreements on the final value of the real estate held by each party, such as the weight of factors such as area and location.

But in the end, an agreement was reached.

Another part of the shares of the new company will be used to incorporate a real estate development company with sufficient experience and qualifications – Argent Real Estate Company, and to reserve a portion of the shares for other partners.

Because Argent Real Estate Company was incorporated, the name of the new company was set as Argent Real Estate Group. In the shares of the new company, 60% of the shares were allocated to the real estate holders in King’s Cross who participated in this cooperation. Barron’s family trust fund, with the gas tank plot of approximately 6 hectares of land, obtained 15% of the group’s shares; DS Asset Management Company, with approximately 2 hectares of land, obtained 5% of the shares.

Therefore, he holds a total of 20% of the shares of Argent Real Estate Group.

Viscount Booth’s side, with approximately 5 hectares of land, obtained 12.5% of the shares, and the remaining shares were distributed to other real estate holders.

However, in Argent Real Estate Group, Viscount Booth. is still the controlling party, because Argent Real Estate Company, which was incorporated, holds more than 60% of the shares of the Booth. family. Relying on these shares, they also obtained another 12% of the shares, with a total shareholding of 22.5%, making them the largest single shareholder of the Argent Group.

Of course, these are all the shares on the surface. How many of the other group’s shares are closely related to them is still uncertain.

In addition, the investment banking department of Barclays Bank, with capital investment, became a shareholder holding 10% of the shares of Argent Real Estate Group, and Barclays Bank will be responsible for the financing of Argent Real Estate Group in the entire King’s Cross redevelopment plan.

Argent Real Estate Group also has another 10% of the shares, which have accepted investment from some other entities, including some influential groups in King’s Cross – it is worth mentioning that the London Real Estate Association also invested in the shares and holds 5% of the shares of Argent Real Estate Group.

Yes, by now, because they hold a large amount of real estate, many trade associations will actively invest in the equity of some projects, including real estate projects, to continue their wealth. Just like in Argent Real Estate Group, there are not only the shares of the London Real Estate Association, but also the Coal Trade Association and the Grain Merchant Trade Association, which invested through the land they hold.

After the establishment of Argent Real Estate Group, because it has the support of most of the real estate owners within the scope of King’s Cross, it has also obtained the authorization of Camden, becoming the main developer of the King’s Cross redevelopment project, and they will also be entrusted by the government for the redevelopment plan of the public area.

At this time, Argent Real Estate Group has already hired two local architectural and urban planning firms in London to conduct an overall planning for King’s Cross. After the planning is completed, it will be submitted to the Camden Council and reported to the London City Hall.

Finally, it is worth mentioning that, in order to promote the development of King’s Cross after the redevelopment, the Camden government has applied to the London City Hall to move Central Saint Martins College to King’s Cross.

Central Saint Martins College was founded in 1989, and it was merged from two schools – Central School of Art and Design and Saint Martins School of Art. This school is the largest and best art and design school in Britain, belonging to the University of the Arts London (ranked in the top three in the art and design category in the global university rankings), and it is also one of the world’s four major fashion design colleges.

It is known internationally in the fashion world as a prestigious school that produces famous fashion designers. Most of its fashion design graduates are hired by Dior, Gucci, and many other international fashion brands. The graduation fashion show of its fashion design program every year has become the focus of attention and the focus of digging out new design talents by many international fashion brands and international fashion media.

It can be said that the introduction of this university is very important for King’s Cross.

However, there are not many plots in this area that are suitable for building a campus for this school. In the end, the “triplet” plot of the abandoned gas tank, with 6 hectares, the eastern side of approximately 4 hectares of land, was requisitioned as part of the Central Saint Martins College campus.

To this end, the Camden government will allocate approximately 4 hectares of land to Argent Real Estate Group as compensation in the area adjacent to the east side of King’s Cross Station, which was originally the location of the public area owned by the government.

Barron could also accept this plan, after all, the exchanged plot is closer to the two stations, and this plot is very close to the 0.8-hectare plot he bought, so they can be planned together.

Chapter 61: Establishing a Position

The location of the London Property Developers’ Association was in the City of London. It was not a particularly tall building, but the entrance hall looked quite ancient and grand. The main door of the association was behind eight stone pillars that ran down from the third floor.

In London, most of the associations with a long history would set up their headquarters in the City of London. It was very likely that some seemingly old and unremarkable buildings here housed associations that controlled assets worth hundreds of millions or even billions of pounds.

The reason for coming here today was that Viscount Booth. was going to introduce Barron to the Property Developers’ Association. As a committee member of the London Property Developers’ Association, the Booth. family had the right to directly introduce one member every five years. As long as their proposal was not voted against by more than half of the association members, the person would directly become a member of the Property Developers’ Association.

It could be said that since the establishment of this association, there had never been a situation where a member introduced by a committee was rejected. After all, as a committee member of the Property Developers’ Association, one would not go against the tide and make too outrageous a recommendation.

“Lord Booth, you’ve done well in King’s Cross.”

As Barron was introduced to other members of the association in the hall by Viscount and Lady Booth, a burly middle-aged man walked over, a smile on his face, and said to Ian Booth..

Seeing the other person, Viscount Booth’s face showed a hint of respect:

“Your Grace, it is my honor to receive your praise, but our small endeavors are nothing in comparison to you.”

“Haha, you’ve done very well. King’s Cross is the most important urban renewal project in Britain in the next twenty years and has a very promising future.”

Hearing Viscount Booth’s address, Barron realized that the cheerful middle-aged man standing in front of him was the largest landowner in London, and it was said that a quarter of London belonged to his family. He was the Duke of Westminster, Gerald Grosvenor, who also owned countless properties around the world.

Just as Barron looked at the Duke of Westminster, the other person’s gaze also fell on Barron:

“What a handsome young man. This must be the Duke of Devonshire.”

“Hello, Mr. Grosvenor, I am Barron Cavendish.”

Facing the hand that the other party extended, Barron shook hands with him and said.

“Barron, I’ve dealt with your father a few times. I was very saddened by his unfortunate death, but you’ve been doing well recently.”

…

In fact, the purpose of coming here today was nothing more than to make more connections, and there would be no substantial cooperation.

After all, he had inherited his family’s business in a hurry, unlike other aristocratic heirs who had been trained from a young age. What he lacked now was connections, and he needed to slowly make up for this.

During this period, he had also taken the time to attend many events, including charity dinners and some aristocratic gatherings, for this very purpose.

After this gathering, Barron was also registered in the London Property Developers’ Association. At the association’s annual conference at the end of the year, if the Booth. family’s recommendation was not opposed by more than half of the members, Barron would officially become a member of the London Property Developers’ Association.

As a director of the Argent Real Estate Group, Barron was also eligible to join – because he held a total of 20% of the group’s shares, Barron had two seats on the board of directors, one representing DS Capital, Barron himself, and the other representing the family trust fund, Julia Moore.

“Your Grace, Miss Daisy just called you and asked you to call her back when you have time.”

Hearing what his assistant, Wang Yating, said to him, Barron took the phone. He had asked her to keep an eye on the price of London copper, so Barron went to a slightly quieter place and dialed Daisy’s number.

“BOSS, the price of London copper has exceeded 1480 pounds today. Can we start building a position?”

“Very good, Daisy, first establish a position of 2000 lots and observe. I’ll be over later.”

The futures contract for London copper was 25 tons per lot, so if the price was 1480 pounds per ton, the value of one lot would be 37,000 pounds.

However, DS Capital cooperated with Barclays Bank and could use a margin of 5% for short selling, which was equivalent to a leverage of 20 times. Barron knew that the highest price of London copper in this round was around 1500 pounds, so starting to build a position from 1480 pounds and gradually increasing the leverage, this price was still very safe, and there would basically be no risk of liquidation.

If they used a margin of 5%, then selling one lot of London copper at 1480 pounds would only require a margin of 1850 pounds.

They currently had 33 million pounds in funds, which was enough to borrow about 17,800 lots of London copper for selling!

Of course, when actually operating, it was definitely impossible to directly go all-in and borrow to short sell. Instead, they would first establish a certain position and then gradually build up the position based on the subsequent price trend. This way, they could have enough margin in the early stages and avoid being forced to liquidate due to insufficient margin in the event of a black swan.

Speaking of which, whether it was futures, stocks, or the margin trading business of banks, it was basically risk-free to earn transaction fees, because they usually wouldn’t really wait until the extreme situation where your margin was exhausted before starting to forcibly liquidate. Instead, they would consider price fluctuations and, when approaching liquidation, would notify the customer in advance to increase the margin. If the customer couldn’t increase the margin in time, they would decisively forcibly liquidate to avoid losses to their own funds.

Investment products with high liquidity, such as London copper, gold, and foreign exchange, were fine. If it was a stock with low liquidity, a large-scale liquidation in an instant would have a great impact on the price, and banks always needed to consider this.

To put it bluntly, even if there was a loss in the end, it would only be the customer’s margin that was lost, and their own funds needed to be absolutely safe.

In late July, it was already approaching the time when London copper began to fall, so Barron instructed Daisy to pay attention to the price of London copper. Once it approached 1500 pounds, and reached above 1480 pounds, they could start building a position. This price, even with a very low margin, could ensure safety.

After attending this gathering of the London Property Developers’ Association, Barron bid farewell to Viscount and Lady Booth. and went directly to the City of London, to the securities investment department of DS Capital.

When he arrived, Daisy had acted quickly and had already completed the short selling of 2000 lots of London copper.

“The average selling price of these 2000 lots is around 1485 pounds. After we established the position, the price of London copper has been fluctuating between 1485 and 1490 pounds. It seems to have completely absorbed our order volume. Should we continue?”

Listening to Daisy’s words, Barron sat in front of the computer and observed the trend of London copper.

Starting from July, the rise in London copper that had begun in the first half of the year had already begun to slow down.

Saying it was slowing down was only in comparison to the rapid rise before. Its price was still slowly rising, and being able to absorb their order volume meant that the current buying power was still relatively strong, but should they continue to test it?

In any case, they needed to complete the building of the position before the price reached 1500 pounds – he didn’t doubt whether the price of London copper could still reach 1500 pounds with the addition of his sell orders.

After all, the London copper market was completely different in scale from the Nasdaq market stocks he had bought before. His orders had little impact in such a market.

“Continue to increase the position, and strive to sell more than 5000 lots today.”

“Okay, BOSS.”

The data during the period of a new book is related to the subsequent recommendations, so the follow-up reading is very important. I beg everyone not to keep it, but if you feel it’s okay, please take a look every day and help increase the follow-up reading. Thank you very much.

Chapter 62: The Prime Minister’s Wife

“Your Grace, thank you for your devotion to children with cerebral palsy.”

If there’s one place where British nobles appear the most, besides social gatherings, it’s charity events.

After all, as a manifestation of social responsibility for British nobles, charity is now their most active stage.

Currently, Barron receives invitations to many of these events daily, especially after his reputation has risen. Therefore, he will choose some events to attend and raise his profile.

“This is what I should do; every child should receive society’s care.”

At this fundraising event for a charity organization related to children with cerebral palsy, after Barron made a donation, a woman walked up to him and thanked him.

At first, Barron just assumed the woman was a staff member of the charity organization, but after seeing the woman’s face, he felt that she looked somewhat familiar…

“That’s right, I seem to have seen you somewhere, madam. May I know your name?”

“I’m Samantha Cameron, Your Grace. I’m currently the Design Director at Smythson.”

“I thought you were a staff member here, I didn’t expect you to be a designer…”

“In fact, I didn’t pay attention to this group of children with cerebral palsy before, until my son, who contracted this disease after birth, I realized there were so many unfortunate children… It can be said that my family’s financial situation is enough to support this blow—but it requires more energy to be spent on the child, but in all of Britain and even the whole world, there are more families with more difficult conditions who are working hard to help their unfortunate children grow up healthily, so I need to do something to help them…”

Hearing Samantha’s words, Barron said sincerely:

“You are a strong mother, and also a great mother. Compared to you, what I’ve done is not worth mentioning. I have an impertinent request, madam, may I have the opportunity to see your child? I just hope he can feel the love of a stranger.”

“You are so kind, Your Grace. If there is an opportunity, that would be the honor of our whole family.”

…

Although she knew that Barron often attended some charity events and made donations, his… how should she put it, his particular concern for Mrs. Cameron just now, made Wang Yating, who had been by his side, slightly surprised.

That woman did look very elegant and had a good temperament, but based on Wang Yating’s understanding of her boss, he certainly wouldn’t have any other thoughts about her. After all, not to mention the age difference, and the Duke’s girlfriend, was much more beautiful than the other woman.

The Duke shouldn’t be so outrageous, Wang Yating thought, but she couldn’t say for sure…

If Barron knew what his personal assistant was thinking, he probably would want to give her a good talking-to. What was she thinking, was I Barron such a Cao Cao?

At least with Samantha, it definitely wouldn’t be for that reason.

The reason he took the opportunity just now to want to have more contact with her was entirely because of her surname…

If at first he just felt that Samantha looked somewhat familiar, then knowing her surname was Cameron… then how could Barron not know that this Samantha would become the future British Prime Minister’s wife?

The current British Prime Minister is Blair, from the Labour Party.

It can be said that since Mrs. Thatcher and her successor Major, the Conservative Party has been the opposition party for the next thirteen years, until 2010 when the Conservative Party formed a coalition cabinet and came to power again.

And in 2010, the one who represented the Conservative Party to become the British Prime Minister was Cameron, who was then known as the youngest Prime Minister in Britain in nearly two hundred years, and after him, until Barron’s rebirth, although Britain changed Prime Ministers very frequently, the Prime Ministers in office were all from the Conservative Party.

Therefore, Cameron, who is only a Member of Parliament now, is very worth Barron’s investment.

And compared to the Labour Party, which is not friendly to the aristocracy, the Conservative Party is still more “friendly,” after all, the term Conservative Party first appeared in the British magazine “The Conservative” in 1817, mainly referring to the political forces that uphold the monarchy, monarchical principles, or orthodox principles…

The most important thing is that some of the policies advocated by the Conservative Party will be more beneficial to Barron in the future, because they like “free market economy, reducing national intervention,” which is reflected in the policies, similar to Mrs. Thatcher’s opening up of many areas and privatizing state-owned assets. Even according to historical inertia, by 2010, with Barron’s strength, it would be easier to penetrate his tentacles into more areas of the country, such as water, electricity, and gas, which are public areas related to the basic needs of all citizens.

This is what capitalists like the most, unlike the Labour Party, which thinks about “welfare state” all day long, and thinks about expanding nationalization all day long, is that still a capitalist country in Britain, it’s simply a mess!

In the end, people are not engaged in production, and the country has no competitiveness. Twenty years later, the manufacturing industry collapses, leaving only a financial shell, relying on “selling diplomas” to drive the economy?

…

“Hello, Miss Ella.”

“Mr. Barron, I hope I haven’t disturbed you.”

To Barron’s surprise, when he was about to go home, he received a call from the eldest daughter of the Kent family—Gabrielle Windsor. The only time they met was at the previous ball held at Viscount Booth’s house. At that time, Miss Ella took the initiative to invite Barron to dance, and she occasionally sent text messages afterward, but Barron was very passionate with Bonnie at the time and did not take the initiative to contact her.

After all, this Miss Ella was from the royal family, and she was unmarried. Barron wouldn’t want to be too adventurous and let her make any misjudgments—at this time, he was the Duke of Britain, but marrying into the royal family was not a good choice, but it was easy to be restricted more.

But since the other party took the initiative to call, Barron naturally had to act like a gentleman:

“No, and any call from Miss Ella can’t be considered a disturbance, even when I need to save the world.”

“Haha, Your Grace, you are so humorous.”

“Uh, absolutely from the bottom of my heart. By the way, Miss Ella, do you have anything?”

“Isn’t it okay to just want to chat with Mr. Barron?”

Listening to the words on the other side with a bit of coquettishness, Barron really didn’t know how to respond for a moment.

But Gabrielle quickly continued:

“I heard that your family’s Chatsworth House has a very beautiful scenery. I’m on vacation now and want to find a place to visit. Is it convenient?”

Her words made Barron hesitate for a few seconds, mainly because it would be fine for her to go alone, but if she had to accompany him—he would definitely bring Bonnie back to the manor, which would be a bit… inappropriate.

“Of course, you are welcome. You can go anytime. I will inform them there to welcome you with the most grand etiquette.”

“Then when is Mr. Barron planning to go back? Am I honored to have you take me to enjoy the scenery there?”

Huh? Are you really enjoying the scenery?

The key is, don’t you read the newspapers? There are probably few people in all of Britain who don’t know about my relationship.

Barron couldn’t tell what the other party meant for a moment, but he still politely said:

“That would be my honor, Miss Ella, but I have a little too much going on here in London recently. I can go anytime after I’m done.”

Chapter 63: The Sale of ITV Digital

That year, my daughter went to London to study. I happened to have a friend who owned a restaurant there, so I ultimately decided to take my whole family to London. I could help out at my friend’s restaurant while taking care of my daughter.

A month after I arrived in London, my old friend told me something. A duke was hiring a chef who was skilled in making Chinese food, and the pay was very good. He asked if I was willing to give it a try.

I still remember the day I went for the interview. My friend drove me to the Kensington area of London. It was a well-known affluent area in all of England, with very expensive houses, and the residents were either rich or noble.

In the living room on the first floor of that villa, I met the duke. To my surprise, the other person was a very handsome young man.

What surprised me even more at the time was that after the young duke saw me, he actually spoke in very standard and fluent Mandarin.

I think my surprised expression at that moment was probably very funny.

Regarding this, the young duke, who was His Highness Barron Cavendish, gave me a very friendly smile and said that he liked Chinese culture very much, so he learned Mandarin.

After hearing that I was relatively skilled in making Shandong and Cantonese cuisine, he was very happy. He said to me at the time:

“I think I should have been a Chinese person in my previous life, because I still have a Chinese stomach now. So I don’t want you to make the so-called ‘Chinese food’ that has been adapted to the tastes of the English people, but rather authentic Chinese food from your China.”

After I made two dishes according to his requirements and he tasted them, he decided to hire me as his Chinese food chef.

I never expected that in my forties, after arriving in England, I would become a chef for a duke. This was probably the most amazing experience of my life so far.

—Excerpt from “I Cook for a Duke in England”

…

“Darling, I don’t know why you like this strange… porridge. I always have a hard time accepting the black things inside.”

Listening to Bonnie’s words, Barron took a sip of the preserved egg and lean pork porridge. It wasn’t easy to eat this in England.

He said softly to the girl:

“Some delicacies are not acceptable to everyone, are they? But you can try this beef soup-filled bun. The taste is really good.”

Watching Bonnie follow the method he taught her, first gently taking a bite, then sucking out the soup filled with rich fragrance, Barron couldn’t help but praise her, and a smile appeared on his face.

He casually picked up the newspaper on the table and started reading it—since buying the Independent, this newspaper had become the first thing he read every morning.

He first turned to the serialized novel section. The first part of Downton Abbey was more than halfway through. He said to Bonnie:

“Baby, I’m afraid we need to speed up a bit and write the second part of the novel as soon as possible.”

“I’ve already started, but I think there will be more inspiration if it’s in the manor.”

“That’s not a problem, baby. After I’m done with these two days, we can go back to Chatsworth together.”

After stirring the white sugar evenly in the soy milk and taking a sip, Bonnie looked at Barron and said:

“There’s something, darling. My cousin said that after reading Downton Abbey, she was very interested in the manor in the novel and hopes to visit with us next time.”

“Mrs. Booth? That’s no problem, baby. In addition, a friend of mine also said that she wants to go, we can go together.”

Barron’s gaze was still on the newspaper, he said calmly:

“You may not have met her, but Mrs. Booth knows her. She’s Miss Ella, the eldest daughter of the Kent family.”

“Oh… just friends?”

Sure enough, women are always sensitive in this regard…

“Of course, at least I consider her a friend. As for her thoughts, taking her with you is a better choice in this regard, isn’t it, baby?”

Hearing Barron say this, a smile appeared on Bonnie’s face.

But at this moment, Barron’s attention was on a report in the Independent:

“The broadcasting license of Independent Television (ITV Digital) began to be sold to the public on Wednesday. Previously, this broadcasting company had closed its pay-TV programs for its 1 million users due to business failure and began the final liquidation work.

The Independent Television Commission, which is in charge of management, is tendering for the sale of this license, which has been divided into three. The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), as a public television station, is one of the strong competitors.

ITV Digital managers have stopped broadcasting BSkyB Sports, movies, and the music channel MTV at 0600 GMT.

Only free channels, including the BBC, are still broadcasting. The television screen displays a message of apology to the audience.

This world’s first terrestrial digital television operator, due to its inability to raise funds to repay its debts and its inability to find a buyer, gave up its efforts to survive on Tuesday. Its 1,500 employees will also lose their jobs.”

Seeing this, Barron put down the newspaper, looked at Bonnie, and asked:

“Baby, have you heard about the ITV terrestrial digital television?”

“Of course, their promotion of terrestrial digital television seems to be facing difficulties. In comparison, the satellite digital television business of Sky Television is quite smooth.”

In the process of television’s transition to digitalization, there are three methods: satellite, cable, and terrestrial. England was the first country in the world to start experimenting with terrestrial digital television, and it had even made special plans for this. It was basically completed in 2010, but now it seems that this attempt, mainly led by ITV Digital, encountered great difficulties at this stage.

Thinking of this, Barron picked up his phone and dialed the number of Ms. Amber Sheen, the general manager of the DS Capital industrial investment department:

“Mr. Sheen, please help me collect information on the current British television business, including the situation of satellite, cable, and terrestrial television businesses.”

“Okay, BOSS…”

Amber hesitated for a moment and asked:

“Did you also see the report on ITV Digital? Television business… requires a lot of money.”

“I understand this. Everything needs to be investigated before a decision is made, Mr. Sheen.”

…

“You want to buy ITV’s channels? Darling.”

“It’s an opportunity, isn’t it?”

“But ITV Digital invested so much money and it all failed, and the government didn’t provide them with any funds. If it’s a private purchase, I’m afraid it’s even less likely to get government support. Even the BBC’s plan to take over the terrestrial digital television business is not optimistic by many…”

Bonnie’s meaning was very clear, that is, satellite television is still dominant in England. In this regard, her BSkyB television station is the absolute overlord. Although the British government proposed a plan to build a terrestrial satellite television system in 1998, after these years, from the current situation of ITV Digital, it can be known that it is not an easy thing to accomplish, and the risk is great.

“There are risks, but it also means opportunity, doesn’t it?”

“Even if that’s the case, you have enough money, but what about qualifications and experience? I’m afraid that even if the business of ITV Digital is to be sold, the government will only consider a mature television station like the BBC that already has experience in this area, rather than considering a newcomer with no experience.”

“That’s a problem, but this kind of thing can’t be discussed in a day or two. We’ll just take it one step at a time.”

Chapter 64: The Independent’s Redesign

“Your Grace, after serializing Downton Abbey, The Independent’s sales have rebounded somewhat. We are currently preparing to launch a tabloid-sized edition…”

After leaving his apartment, Barron first went to Canary Wharf, to The Independent’s office, where he met with the newspaper’s manager, Bob, to discuss the redesign of The Independent.

Since the young Duke took over The Independent, his “three-pronged approach” – the first being the addition of a fiction column – has indeed worked well. Currently, The Independent’s sales, which initially stood at 150,000 copies, have gradually increased and stabilized at around 185,000 copies.

It can be said that this is the largest short-term increase in The Independent’s sales in the past decade. Before this, their sales had been gradually declining.

This situation naturally gave the Independent Newspapers company, from top to bottom, a sense of hope, especially the company’s manager, Bob, and the editor-in-chief, Whitney.

According to the agreement Barron signed with the INM Group when he acquired The Independent, 1 million pounds of the 5 million pounds to be paid within six months had already been received. Barron used all of this money for the redesign of The Independent. After all, whether it was launching a tabloid-sized edition or printing the entire newspaper in color, it required funds to complete.

In the initial stages, The Independent would tentatively introduce a portion of the tabloid-sized newspapers to the market. If the response was satisfactory, then they would gradually transition The Independent’s future distribution from the broadsheet format to a complete tabloid format.

“In addition, in terms of the electronic version of the newspaper, we have already begun to recruit relevant technical and editorial personnel to start building our official website.”

“The website’s design must be outstanding, and it must consider the readers’ perspective as much as possible to make their reading experience the best…”

Barron told Bob, drawing on the experience of successful newspapers’ digitalization from his previous life:

“In addition, in the electronic version, use more pictures and everyday language to fill the articles. Our electronic version mainly targets young people, who are currently the main users of the internet. Their reading habits don’t favor long, formal text, and this needs to be considered.”

Barron wasn’t too worried about The Independent’s ability in terms of layout design because, among all the newspapers in Britain, The Independent’s front-page design could be said to be the most unique, often giving people a fresh feeling. This stemmed from their dedicated team, which focused on designing the front-page layout to achieve the effect of attracting the most user attention.

Barron knew that if the emergence of the internet was only having a certain impact on traditional print newspapers – in fact, this kind of impact wasn’t the first time it had appeared. When radio and television appeared, everyone had concerns that these new ways of disseminating information would destroy the future of print newspapers. However, although these did have some impact on the sales of print newspapers, it wasn’t as serious as initially anticipated.

But the internet was different. The current internet was still limited to the PC end, so the premise of going online was that you needed a computer at home, which in itself limited the scope of internet users. The mainstream of internet users were still young people, and relatively speaking, they weren’t the primary users of print newspapers.

However, it would be different after the emergence of smartphones. When mobile phones could conveniently access the internet, apart from mobile internet occupying more and more of everyone’s time, the internet user group also began to develop widely, and even the elderly could more easily go online. At that time, it would be the most difficult moment for print media.

But no matter what, even after the development of self-media, users still had a huge demand for authoritative and in-depth reporting and interpretation. The Independent still had enough time to complete its transformation from a traditional print media to a serious content producer in the internet era.

…

In Laura’s eyes, her boss, Barron Cavendish, didn’t resemble the “noble gentlemen” she had previously imagined, nor was he like the playboy who was rumored to frequent nightclubs.

He was energetic every day, with a full schedule, not only shuttling between London’s various industries but also taking a lot of time to attend some parties and charity events…

The former British aristocracy could be said to rarely engage directly in business – perhaps their most significant business was planning their own estates. As for investments in other fields, they hired specialized talents to help with the management.

Barron didn’t want to be like this, but the problem was that his current industries, whether it was securities investment, media, or real estate, all required him to put in a certain amount of energy to participate in management, thereby putting them on the right track – and come to think of it, with his current funds, those well-managed industries simply couldn’t be bought. He could only rely on himself to turn the situation around.

What was interesting was that the more stable industries that didn’t require him to intervene too much were the family’s traditional industries – estates, hotels, and the like. After all, these industries had been managed by the family for hundreds of years, and their operation had its own system. He only needed to keep them on the right track at certain times.

“Our country was relatively early in proposing the concept of digital television, especially terrestrial digital television, which was the first in the world. However, as you know, because of the current predicament of ITV Digital, there are currently no viable terrestrial digital television options. Rupert Murdoch’s BSkyB satellite broadcasting company, which is dedicated to satellite digitalization, is now the main operator of digital television in Britain…”

After Barron arrived at DS Capital, the manager of the industrial investment department, Amber Sheen, reported the current situation of British television to him.

Britain’s earliest development was cable television. As early as 1932, a company called Rediffusion began to provide cable television (then called Pipe TV) services to solve the problem of poor television signals.

During World War II, the development of cable television in Britain almost stopped. After World War II, Britain restarted cable television services. By the late 1970s, Britain had about 2.5 million digital television service users.

After several mergers, acquisitions, and reorganizations, by the end of the 20th century, the British cable television operators were basically controlled by NTL and Telewest.

In 1999, British NTL and Telewest (then the second-largest cable television operator in Britain) began to provide digital cable television services.

In 2000, NTL merged with CWC, becoming the largest cable television company. In the same year, Telewest merged with Flextech.

Therefore, the cable television market had basically been carved up by this time, and relatively speaking, developing cable television in Britain wasn’t a very good choice – if it hadn’t appeared earlier in history.

The main reason hindering the development of cable television was the complex and changeable terrain of the British Isles!

Britain is an island nation consisting of the island of Great Britain and northeastern Ireland and many nearby islands. England covers an area of 130,000 square kilometers, occupying most of Great Britain, and its composition is plains, highlands, basins, and hills; Wales is mountainous and rugged; Scotland and its many surrounding small islands are all mountainous areas.

Laying a cable television network itself requires high costs, and in such complex terrain, the cost of laying cables is even higher, so cable networks are generally only laid in urban areas, but this only accounts for a small part of the population of Britain.

Due to the cable television market share being only about 12%, which is far lower than the market share of satellite television and terrestrial television, once cable users move, many users can only choose satellite television or terrestrial television signals, so the development of cable television is relatively slow.

Chapter 65: The Opportunity to Get on Board

It was also because of these restrictive factors that the development of satellite television became the focus of attention in Britain later on.

As early as 1980, the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) recognized the importance of satellite television and wanted to be the first and largest satellite television operator in Britain. Therefore, it applied to use two satellite channels to broadcast its television programs.

In 1982, although the British government approved the BBC’s application and allowed the BBC to start satellite broadcasting television services in 1986, it did not provide the BBC with any financial allocations. Due to the lack of government financial support, the BBC did not want to take risks on its own, so it withdrew from the competition.

At the same time, media companies led by Pearson Publishing, the publisher of the British Financial Times, established British Satellite Broadcasting (BSB). The company planned to launch broadcasting television satellites in 1989 and monopolize the British satellite television market.

However, what they did not expect was that in 1988, Rupert Murdoch announced that his Sky Television would use the Luxembourg-based Astra satellite as the basis for launching satellite television services in Britain!

In 1989, Sky Television launched four satellite television channels in Britain. Due to its excellent technical strength, successful marketing strategies and management skills, as well as strong financial backing—in 1990, it even took the risk of an 8 million pound annual deficit to vigorously develop satellite television services!

So in 1990, Murdoch’s Sky Television merged with British Satellite Broadcasting (BSB) to form BSkyB.

Since then, British Sky Broadcasting (BSkyB) has become the only satellite television operator in Britain, owned by Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation, a media tycoon.

On October 1, 1998, BSkyB launched a paid digital television service. Now, they are already the largest satellite television station in Britain and Ireland, almost in a monopolistic position.

The reason why Britain was eager to develop terrestrial digital television was that the British government did not want its television market to be monopolized by British commercial television—Sky Television (BSkyB), which belonged to Rupert Murdoch.

Because once BSkyB monopolized the British digital television market, it would cause great harm to the development of British public culture and also to the diversity of British culture.

BSkyB began to try digital television services as early as the early 1990s. After officially launching its digital television service in 1998, it quickly attracted many British viewers.

At the same time, ITV Digital, the digital television conversion business organized by ITV in Britain, suffered a setback and ended in failure in 2002, which is this year.

It is obvious that if BSkyB, this commercial television group, monopolized the British digital television market, it would be a disaster for Britain, a country that advocates diverse culture and public broadcasting television culture. In this case, it is imperative for other broadcasting television institutions in Britain to carry out digital television conversion.

What the British government is now pinning its hopes on is the BBC, as a public television station. They intend to let the BBC take over ITV Digital’s business and continue the development plan for terrestrial digital television stations.

However, so far, although the BBC has started contact with ITV Digital, it is still in the process of bargaining. Because, just like when it started satellite television services, the BBC does not want to take too much risk without government financial support. Because if they take over ITV Digital’s business, it is estimated that they will need to invest at least 800 million to 1 billion pounds in the following years, which is extremely difficult for them to make a decision.

Faced with the situation of British television stations at this time, and in the face of an uncertain future, anyone would probably be worried about taking such a huge financial step.

Especially now that Sky Television, with the strong support of News Corporation, has already occupied the vast majority of the British television field.

But for Barron, if he wants to enter the television field, then the ITV Digital terrestrial digital television project is also his best choice. After all, in the case of Britain, the development potential of cable television is not great, and the amount of funds needed will not be less.

And in terms of satellite television, BSkyB is so strong—if he wants to make a difference in this field, he can get involved when the BBC and ITV jointly form a free satellite television alliance in the future, but that will have to wait until 2005…

Therefore, for the time being, the ITV Digital terrestrial digital television project can be said to be Barron’s best opportunity to “get on board.”

Although he does not have the conditions in terms of funds or the experience of running a television station at this time, Barron is not in a hurry. The negotiations between the BBC, the government, and ITV Digital will not be completed in a short period of time. For him, he has plenty of time to make arrangements.

…

“Barron, you’re finally here. This is my girlfriend, Sasha…”

“Sorry, William, I was delayed by something just now. Hello, Ms. Sasha, it’s a pleasure to meet such a beautiful woman.”

On Daisy’s side, the short selling of London copper was still being carried out in an orderly manner. The price of London copper had been hovering below 1,500 pounds, which gave them time to build positions.

In addition, he also paid attention to the situation on the US stock market. Until the late July, the stock of NetEase had not shown much movement, still fluctuating within the range of 1 dollar to 1.2 dollars. Seeing this, Barron had already asked Daisy to add another 1 million pounds of NetEase stock. At this time, they already held about 4.3 million shares of NetEase stock, with an average holding price of about 1.05 dollars.

On the contrary, Amazon stock, which was the first to complete a 5-fold leverage, had a certain increase in the late July, with a rise of more than 15%…

As for the international crude oil and international gold prices, although they have increased somewhat, the increase is not large, still leaving them room to build positions.

After dealing with the matters of DS Investments, Barron temporarily gave his assistant, Laura, a vacation. He himself, accompanied by his personal valet and driver, Ramos, came to a high-end club in London. Prince William had arranged to meet him here.

Since Barron had shown goodwill to Prince William before, the two had been in more contact. Especially after Prince William visited DS Capital last time, he had invited Barron to go out and play together—it was just that Barron had too many things to deal with before, and he finally had time today.

After meeting, Barron, through William’s introduction, also got to know his current girlfriend, Sasha. Her appearance and figure were pretty good, otherwise she would not have been called the school flower of the University of St Andrews.

Speaking of which, according to the traditions of the British aristocracy, Prince William was not considered to be particularly faithful in terms of women, and he had the blessing of his prince status, plus he was young at this time, had a full head of hair, and was also considered handsome, so he could be said to be very popular with girls.

Prince Harry, who was 18 years old this year, was also at today’s gathering. He was at the age of playing, and Prince Harry was also quite active.

In addition, there were the other two friends of theirs—also from aristocratic families—and several other beautiful women.

In fact, as a prince of Britain, especially since his mother was Princess Diana, William had been the focus of all of Britain since he was born, so it was impossible for him to go to those more lively nightclubs to have fun like ordinary people. What they chose today was a high-end club specifically for celebrities and the wealthy.

And Barron, in his previous life, could be said to have gone to nightclubs every time and played very wildly. Therefore, under the influence of some of his novel ways of playing, William and Harry were very happy.

“This game you call ‘Werewolf’ is very interesting, somewhat similar to the previous ‘Murder’ game, but the rules are more complete and interesting.”

Among these games, the most popular was the Werewolf game that Barron taught them, which came from his previous life. After playing a few rounds and familiarizing themselves with the rules, they were completely immersed in it. Prince William couldn’t help but praise Barron.

As expected, a game like Werewolf would be popular with everyone in any era.

Chapter 66: Werewolf?

“Darling, what did you write? Werewolves, Seers? Is this the outline for a new novel?”

“No, it’s a new game. This is a game user manual summary, which teaches everyone how to play this game.”

Hearing what Barron said, Bonnie became even more interested:

“A game? Similar to a card game?”

“It’s like the game ‘Mafia’, have you heard of it? Mine adds many identities based on that. It’s best played with at least six or seven people. Of course, a minimum of five people can also play, but that’s only suitable for the most basic gameplay, without so many roles…”

Next, Barron roughly explained the gameplay of this game to Bonnie. Of course, for this kind of game, it’s best to familiarize yourself with it through the process of playing. Simply explaining it like this isn’t as vivid and specific.

“When there’s a chance, let’s find a few more friends and play this together.”

“Sure, we can have a party at home in a couple of days. You can invite some friends to come and play.”

Since being with Bonnie, Barron hadn’t met her other friends. He also wanted to take this opportunity to get to know the other person better.

…

“Your name is Evan, right? What a little handsome boy. Auntie brought you a toy, can we play together? Barron, look, he’s smiling. Seeing this smile, my heart melts.”

Seeing Bonnie patiently talking to Samantha’s son, occasionally teasing Evan, Barron and the Camerons standing beside him both smiled.

“Thank you very much for coming today, Your Grace. Evan occasionally shows such a smile; this is our sweetest moment.”

“You are both great parents, Mr. Cameron. Medical science is becoming more and more advanced, and I believe little Evan will get better. He will also be proud to have you.”

Cameron had just been elected as a Member of Parliament last year – this was his third campaign for Member of Parliament since 1997.

After learning that the Duke of Devonshire would come to visit his child with his girlfriend today, Cameron specifically stayed at home to receive them with his wife.

“I have to say, when I learned from Mrs. Samantha that you are a Member of Parliament, I was both surprised and gratified. I believe your deeds will become an example for everyone, Mr. Cameron.”

“I hope so, but I still need to continue working hard, Your Grace. Evan’s birth made me realize my responsibility as a father. At the same time, this responsibility also gave me strength in my work…”

Of course, although Barron’s original intention was to get to know Cameron, the future British Prime Minister, he wisely did not focus too much on Cameron during this first meeting.

After all, as a politician, he was sensitive enough to detect overly purposeful approaches.

“Actually, I came today to ask Mrs. Samantha for her opinion on something.”

“Me?”

Seeing Barron talking happily with her husband, Samantha Cameron displayed the image of a qualified wife, standing quietly to the side and listening to their conversation. She didn’t expect Barron to suddenly change the topic to herself.

“Yes, Madam. I know you work at Smythson, serving as the Design Director. Your artistic and business sense are sharp enough, so…”

Barron took out the “Werewolf” user manual he had written earlier and handed it to Samantha, saying:

“This is the background and gameplay of a game I designed. I played it with Prince William and the others before, and everyone really liked this game, so I want to ask if it’s possible to commission your company to design a gift box version of this game?”

In fact, Samantha herself was of noble birth, and the Smythson company she worked for was not simple either.

This brand might not be very well-known to the general public, but it’s often called the “Hermès of stationery.”

Smythson is a classic old brand of British luxury stationery and leather goods accessories, and it is also one of the eight companies in the world that have been awarded the title of Royal Warrant Holder.

Queen Elizabeth of Britain, the Princess of Monaco, the dignitaries and diplomatic envoys of various countries, and the First Lady of the United States are all loyal supporters of Smythson.

They customize stationery for customers. In a Smythson store, an unremarkable notebook might cost hundreds of pounds.

However, Samantha had seen customers customize leather goods or stationery in her company before, but she had never seen someone like Barron who wanted to customize a game gift box from them.

After carefully reading Barron’s “User Manual” first, Samantha thought for a moment and said:

“It seems like a game that tests deduction skills. I wonder if you have any requirements, Your Grace?”

“I can trust the quality of Smythson. I just hope that the character cards of this game can be designed to be extremely exquisite because I will later give these gift boxes as gifts to some friends, including Prince William and Prince Harry.”

The last time Barron played Werewolf with William and the others, he just randomly wrote down the roles on pieces of paper. At the time, Prince William and the others thought it was a pity that it would be better if there were special cards and other props.

Barron then mentioned that he would later make special props for this game, so William and the others immediately wanted to pre-order…

Therefore, after producing the game gift box through Smythson this time, Barron would first give it to the two princes.

You must know that this kind of game, through the recommendation of Prince William and the others, combined with its own fun, can easily spread among the upper class of Britain, especially those young people who like to try new and interesting games…

And once a trend starts among the young people of the upper class, ordinary people will also follow suit, so that the purpose of promoting “Werewolf” can be achieved.

For nobles like Prince William, compared to ordinary production, a customized gift box from a brand like Smythson would naturally make them feel more dignified, and this expensive game gift box would also be very suitable as a gift from Barron.

As for ordinary people, they would certainly find it difficult to accept a luxury brand game gift box that costs hundreds or thousands of pounds. However, Barron also has a simplified version of the Werewolf game gift box for sale for those groups.

The reason why Barron can now confidently show Samantha the Werewolf user manual is also because he has arranged for his subordinates to register the copyright for many of the Werewolf gameplay variations.

Before the Werewolf game appeared, there was a similar game called “Mafia.”

In fact, this type of game can be traced back to the game “Mafia” created by university students in Moscow during the Soviet era. Later, the roles of Mafia and civilians were interpreted as the more applicable roles of killer and civilian. The later variations, including Werewolf, are all variations or improvements of this game.

It is also because the ancestor of this game, “Mafia,” and “Murder Game” have always been open source. If you want to register a copyright, you can only register the gameplay of “Werewolf.” If other people or other companies want to bypass Barron’s “Werewolf” copyright, they can only change the gameplay of this game to another background.

However, Barron doesn’t care about this because, in fact, there are many similar games with various gameplay variations. However, because the background of Werewolf, including werewolves, seers, witches, and others, originates from many European and American legends, it is the easiest for people to accept - judging from the development in his previous life, this background game is also the most popular, so Barron believes that even if games with other backgrounds appear, Werewolf can still achieve ultimate success.

To this end, Barron has established a company specifically to be responsible for the promotion of Werewolf (WhereWolf).

Chapter 67: Cosplay

Barron’s order to the Smaison Company could be considered a sizable one. Besides commissioning them to design a deluxe version of the “Werewolf” game set, he also placed an initial order for one hundred sets of the game gift boxes. The price for this order would reach 200,000 pounds, with each Smaison “Werewolf” set priced at 1,000 pounds. This would include exquisitely designed and printed user manuals, as well as game cards and related game masks—used to block the vision of players who close their eyes during the night phase.

The Camerons had originally planned to host Barron and Bonnie at their home for dinner, but because they had children to care for, Barron didn’t want to cause them any trouble. He therefore declined their invitation, saying that he would invite them to a “Werewolf” themed gathering at his home next time.

“Facing such misfortune, they can still face life so strongly and manage their lives so well. In comparison, I feel so much happier.”

On the way back, Bonnie leaned against Barron. She sighed.

“Actually, fate is relatively fair. Regardless of your status, you still have to face birth, aging, sickness, and death. This is what life is supposed to be…”

Barron said with a sense of emotion.

Hearing his words, Bonnie couldn’t help but think of the person beside her. Although he was born into a duke’s family, didn’t he also experience the loss of loved ones due to an accident? For a moment, Bonnie didn’t speak to comfort Barron. Instead, she gave him a gentle kiss on the cheek, held him tighter, and expressed her comfort.

“Darling, how’s your job going? Is it what you like?”

Listening to Barron’s question, Bonnie thought for a moment and said:

“Indeed, I’m very interested in the media, both in front of and behind the scenes. There are many things to learn, and I’ve always had a strong interest in them, you could say I enjoy it. But frankly, I don’t know if it’s my imagination, but I feel that now, the television station treats me more like a vase. I wouldn’t say I’m tired of it, but although I’m currently doing this interview program, I can’t get involved in many things. It’s very difficult to try out more ideas. I’m just following the script they give me.”

“So you’re hoping to have more autonomy, is that it?”

“Maybe I’m too greedy. I also know that, as of now, my experience is still very shallow, and there’s a lot to learn. If I were a senior executive at the television station, I probably wouldn’t trust me to make decisions on some things, but I wish I could at least have more opportunities to try things out, rather than just being a vase standing in front of the camera.”

It could be said that Bonnie was the first woman Barron had a romantic relationship with after coming to this world. As for the previous Aurora—whether it was Barron’s previous life or the previous body of this life, he wasn’t a pure person. More contact with the opposite sex, whether emotionally or physically, were all factors. It could only be said that he was just after Aurora’s body.

Of course, when he first started interacting with Bonnie, Barron was more attracted to her figure and face, which were difficult to ignore. However, after this period of contact, Bonnie, through her own charm, successfully entered Barron’s heart.

“Like you said, darling, will the gathering be held at your house in a couple of days?”

“Yes, babe, I plan to hold a ‘Werewolf’ themed party. I’ll prepare some costumes, um, something like Cosplay, and then we’ll play this new game I came up with…”

“Wow, I’m really looking forward to it. I need to think about how to dress up then. You think a female werewolf… or a witch, which one do you like better?”

Bonnie said this, and Barron got excited… He imagined Bonnie’s outfits, um…

“Babe, I think it’s hard to make a decision just by imagining. How about we try it out tonight?”

…

Speaking of which, it wasn’t strange for Barron to have such an idea. In fact, the British aristocracy had been fond of these kinds of Cosplay-like balls for a long time.

Like the most famous masquerade ball in the Victorian era, it was held by the eighth Duke of Devonshire, Spencer Cavendish, and his wife, the Duchess of Devonshire, Louisa Cavendish, on July 2, 1897, at Chatsworth House.

Over 700 guests attended the ball to celebrate Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee.

Almost all members of the royal family participated in this ball, except for Queen Victoria, and the participants included royal families and nobles from all over Europe, as well as top dignitaries from various countries.

The ball was featured as the headline news in newspapers across Europe at the time. It was extremely successful and luxurious beyond imagination, and was considered one of the most famous masquerade balls in the world.

In this ball,

In this ball, the then Prince of Wales, later King Edward VII, was dressed as a member of the Knights Hospitaller of Malta; the Duke and Duchess of York were dressed as the Earl of Cumberland and a lady-in-waiting of Queen Margaret of Valois, respectively.

The then Duchess of Devonshire was dressed as Queen Palmyra—a very famous queen of the Palmyra kingdom, which was located in present-day Syria during the Roman Empire; Lady Jennie Spencer-Churchill (the mother of the later British Prime Minister Churchill) was dressed as the Byzantine Empress Theodora.

As for the other nobles, they each Cosplayed different characters, including very famous emperors and queens in history, and even someone dressed as Cleopatra…

Therefore, this kind of masquerade ball still has a long tradition among the nobility and is extremely popular.

Barron’s hosting of a “Werewolf” themed costume party would naturally attract everyone to actively participate.

Another thing worth mentioning is that, through the “experiment” that night, Barron finally decided to have Bonnie dress up as a witch that day, because her female werewolf outfit was simply too… wild. Probably the average person couldn’t handle it, but he could…

Well, the witch version of Bonnie wasn’t to say she couldn’t be wild, it’s just that that kind of wild moment would only be left for the night, for Barron, the Knight Templar, to, with his piety towards the gods, fearlessly carry out judgment…

…

“Your Grace, I heard you’re planning to hold a costume ball?”

It seemed the news spread quite quickly. When Barron met Viscount Booth. again, he heard him mention the “Werewolf” themed gathering he was planning to hold.

However, this wasn’t surprising. After all, Bonnie had invited her cousin, the Viscountess Booth, to attend…

“Yes, Your Lordship, if you have time then, you are also welcome to come.”

“That’s great. Chrissy has already been thinking about how to dress up. As for me, I’m planning to dress up as a werewolf, that will definitely be interesting.”

Sure enough, Viscount Booth. was also quite interested in this, and had even thought about his Cosplay target by then. If Barron hadn’t just invited him… it wouldn’t be very polite.

Of course, Barron wasn’t here to talk about this specifically this time, it was just a casual topic.

He sat down in the chair opposite Viscount Booth. and said to him:

“Your Lordship, I heard that the Argent Group’s plan doesn’t seem to be progressing smoothly?”

Chapter 68: Disagreement Over the Renovation Plan

“We’ve encountered a small problem, but it’s not a big deal. We anticipated these issues.”

Viscount Booth. said with ease in response to Barron’s question.

In fact, the biggest problem for Argent Real Estate Group regarding the King’s Cross renovation project was the local opposition group KXRLG (Kings Cross Railway Lands Group).

This King’s Cross renovation project, led by Argent Real Estate Group, was the largest urban renewal plan in the core area of London in nearly 150 years. It was estimated that the London government alone would invest up to 3 billion pounds in the project.

The planning for the King’s Cross renovation project involved many stakeholders, including the Camden Borough Council, developers, landowners, community groups, and academic institutions.

Basically, the developer, Argent Real Estate Group, was also the largest landowner in the area, so the interests of the two sides were fundamentally aligned.

The other parties, including the KXCAAC organization, were representatives of academic institutions and the Camden Borough historical relic protection organization. Their request for the King’s Cross renovation project was that they believed, based on King’s Cross’s industrial background, the area had many remaining industrial and historical buildings. They wanted these buildings to be preserved in the King’s Cross renovation plan, either through repair or partial preservation of their original designs.

This was similar to the protection of historical relics in China. However, this wasn’t a big problem for Argent Real Estate Group because most of the buildings they had designated were not within their owned properties. It was equivalent to Argent Real Estate Group using funds from the Camden Borough Council to help them repair and renovate these buildings.

The only problem was that the abandoned gas storage tanks originally belonging to the Devonshire family were also required to retain their original designs as much as possible for renovation.

This problem wasn’t too big either. Argent Real Estate Group had already selected a specialized design company through bidding. This company would preserve the external frames of the three gas storage tanks without changing their original shapes. The internal spaces of these three huge gas storage tanks would be converted into high-end apartments, and the exteriors would be covered with glass curtain walls, which would also be very beautiful.

The only thing causing trouble for Argent Real Estate Group now was the KXRLG organization, which represented the interests of the local residents.

According to Argent Real Estate Group’s investigation, King’s Cross was only 2-3 kilometers away from the core area of London. It could be said that it was roughly within the “third ring” of Greater London, not far from the City of London and Canary Wharf – those two places were extremely valuable.

Therefore, the geographical location of King’s Cross was very advantageous.

Therefore, their research showed that based on London’s global city status and the geographical location of King’s Cross, office space was the type of space that could generate the most profit.

So, in Argent Real Estate Group’s initial development plan, out of the total building area of 853,195 square meters in King’s Cross, 455,510 square meters was for commercial office space. This plan was also based on their own interests, allowing them to obtain the greatest economic benefits after the renovation was completed.

However, this plan was opposed by the residents’ group KXRLG. They believed that such a high proportion of office space would mainly serve the high-income elite class from outside, and the low-income, low-skilled workers in the area would be squeezed out and lose job opportunities.

Another point of conflict was the composition of residential areas. From Argent Real Estate Group’s perspective, they definitely hoped to build more high-end residential areas in King’s Cross in the future. Not only could they sell the houses at a higher price, but they could also change the local residential structure, thus “driving away” the original low-income residents, attracting white-collar workers and wealthy people, and boosting the prices and rents of their built business districts.

But this point was also opposed by the KXELG organization.

They pointed out that according to the single development plan (UDP: Unitary Development Plan) previously issued by the City of London, it stipulated the land use of 28 “opportunity development areas,” including King’s Cross. 40% of the residential area in the area should be “affordable housing” for residents, meaning the price of this part of the housing should be affordable for the original residents.

Among the “affordable housing,” at least 70% should be social housing to meet the needs of low-income residents.

However, in Argent Real Estate Group’s initially formulated King’s Cross renovation plan, the number of “affordable housing” only reached 50% of the UDP’s regulations, making the overall price of the renovated housing far beyond the economic affordability of the local residents.

Also based on the above two points, the residents’ group KXELG organization believed that the initial renovation plan for King’s Cross had a tendency to gentrify the area.

By then, the entry of companies, the influx of the middle class, and the construction of high-end consumption places would make King’s Cross no longer suitable for the original residents with lower incomes to live in, and they would be forced to move to the urban fringe or poorer areas.

The final point of conflict was that after Argent Real Estate Group obtained the leading role in the King’s Cross renovation plan, they also obtained a certain degree of planning flexibility.

This flexibility meant that in the King’s Cross renovation plan, the official planning documents only stipulated the upper limit of the area for each land function and did not give specific values.

This allowed Argent Real Estate Group to adjust the development plan at any time based on market fluctuations.

This planning flexibility maximized the long-term profits of the developer, Argent Real Estate Group.

But the KCRLG organization believed that the definition and control of flexibility were entirely led by the developer, and the random changes in the environment and functions were more of an uncertainty factor for local residents, seriously affecting their daily lives.

So, after Argent Real Estate Group submitted the initial plan to the Camden Borough Council, that plan was opposed by the KCRLG organization and was ultimately not approved.

“During this time, the borough council has already held a hearing…”

“What was the outcome?”

Viscount Booth. looked at Barron and shook his head:

“We had a big fight with that mob organization at the hearing, and in the end, there was no result. This kind of thing definitely can’t be decided by one or two hearings. Our relationship can ensure that the borough council is inclined towards us.”

He said with disdain:

“If King’s Cross still has those poor devils after the renovation, then what’s the point of this renovation? The borough council can also see this point, so upgrading the residential structure there is imperative, but things can’t be done too excessively…”

“Wait, Your Lordship…”

Barron, recalling what he had just said, suddenly understood:

“When you first submitted the plan, you anticipated this, so the design plan at that time wasn’t the final plan, but just a smokescreen, right?”

“Bingo, Your Grace, your wisdom is amazing…”

Viscount Booth. said while applauding:

“Indeed, after all, we have experience from many previous urban renewal plans, including Canary Wharf, so when we submitted the first plan, we had already increased the area of office space and luxury residences, just to deal with those people.”

Indeed, as Viscount Booth. said, the Camden Borough Council itself had an understanding with Argent Real Estate Group in the King’s Cross renovation plan. – Besides, if we can’t represent the interests of our capital, how can you councilors get things done?

Even from the perspective of political achievements, keeping the “poor devils” who would only cause trouble, how could it compare to upgrading the residential structure and introducing more elite talents to allow Camden to develop faster?

Besides, it’s still the same vote, but the demands of the poor devils are too troublesome.

However, superficial work can’t be avoided. After holding a few hearings, an agreement will be reached with the other party on “office space should be reduced to a reasonable proportion.”

At that time, as long as this negotiation result doesn’t give out data indicators for the reduction of office space, from the initial renovation plan with an extremely high proportion of office areas and high-end residences, it will be changed to the renovation plan they originally planned to implement. The proportion of these high-end areas will be slightly reduced. At the same time, with the government’s allocation, they will improve some living facilities for local residents, and then this matter will be over.

Chapter 69: Halo Company

“Wonderful, truly wonderful.”

Facing Barron’s praise, Viscount Booth. smiled:

“So our King’s Cross District renovation plan will definitely be able to start construction this year. It’s expected that the first phase of the renovation plan will be completed in a year. Our plan is to use the Regent’s Canal as the boundary, dividing it into north and south districts, primarily for office and residential functions. A large number of commercial and service industries will be set up on the ground floor of the buildings, making them easily accessible. Eventually, these areas will have office, retail, residential, educational, theater, hotel, and comprehensive transportation functions, with each functional block interacting with and complementing each other.”

For example, the original gas storage tank area will be transformed into three high-end residences, and it will be close to the future Central Saint Martins College, forming a high-end residential area there. This includes the two plots originally held by the Kent family, which will also be built in coordination, with these areas connected by green spaces and parks.

The land exchanged from Central Saint Martins College will be located on the south bank of the Regent’s Canal, close to King’s Cross Station, and a high-end office building and commercial area will be built there.

The three plots that Barron bought later are all located in the office area and will be constructed according to the plans of Argent Property Group.

This time, Barron came to see Viscount Booth, not only because he heard that Argent Property Group had encountered a small problem with the planning for King’s Cross District and wanted to inquire about it, but also because of the Cavendish Hotel Group.

The renovation project of King’s Cross District will be able to complete the first phase of the project in a year. By then, several buildings will be built on one side of King’s Cross Station to be used as office buildings.

And Barron plans to rent one of them as the Cavendish Hotel for King’s Cross District.

Currently, the luxury hotel of the Cavendish Hotel Group in the Chelsea district has begun renovations and decoration, and it is expected to be completed in two months.

When Barron went to the Cavendish Hotel, he had told the hotel manager that there would be a hotel transition plan.

His transition plan is to first complete the decoration of the new luxury hotel—the Devonshire (Chelsea) Hotel, and then have the staff of the Cavendish Hotel in the Soho district, after training, enter this luxury hotel.

By that time, the original building in the Soho district Cavendish Hotel location will be demolished and construction of a new building will begin.

The new building in Soho will be designed to be about 30 stories, half of which will be used for the updated Cavendish (Soho) Hotel, and the other half will temporarily be used by the Independent News Corporation.

The Independent News Corporation building in Canary Wharf will be demolished at that time, and a new building will be built.

After the building is completed, the Independent News Corporation will move back.

So, when the Cavendish Hotel in King’s Cross District opens, there will be three hotels belonging to the Cavendish Hotel Group in the entire London, including one Devonshire luxury hotel and two four-star Cavendish Hotels.

……

“Welcome to join us, Mr. Nate.”

“I think this is a huge challenge, but I like it.”

As Barron shook hands with the forty-year-old man named Nate Ford, it also represented that he had completed this recruitment.

After registering the copyright of “Werewolf (WhereWolf)”, Barron also established the Halo Company to manage and promote the copyrights he owned.

Currently, he has put the copyrights of “Werewolf” and “Downton Abbey” into Halo Company. Next, he needs to find a suitable manager for this company.

To this end, Barron specifically found a headhunting company and searched throughout Europe. His requirement was that the other party needed to have relatively senior experience in copyright operation, and it would be even better if they had experience in the game or media fields.

Eventually, Nate Ford came into Barron’s sight.

Nate Ford previously worked for Endemol, a copyright giant headquartered in the Netherlands, whose program copyrights include the very well-known variety shows “Big Brother”, “Deal or No Deal”, and “Wipeout”.

If you haven’t heard of the others, then “Wipeout” is the ancestor of programs like “Happy Forward Rush” in China.

“Hello everyone, I’m the Qiang ethnic group’s Xiao Sha, Qiang Qiang Qiang Qiang Qiang Qiang…”

Uh, back to the point, Nate Ford was previously in charge of copyright promotion and acquisition at Endemol’s London branch, and what’s more interesting is that before joining Endemol, he had also worked at a long-established French board game company, which can be said to be the most suitable candidate for Barron’s requirements among the targets found by the headhunting company.

Therefore, today, Barron met with him.

After learning that Barron would hand over the Halo Company, which owns the copyrights of “Downton Abbey” and “Werewolf”, to him for management, and hoped to promote the two and the copyrights he would hold in the future globally, Nate Ford finally accepted the job.

At this time, the Halo Company, although Nate became the manager, but at this time, the entire company only had one employee…

Next, he also needs to build a team himself…

However, this is not too difficult for Nate. According to him, he is confident that he can poach some of his former subordinates… Uh, directly poaching a team from Endemol’s London branch, Barron is really a little embarrassed.

So he readily agreed and let Nate do it.

“I think the first thing to do now is to quickly find a factory to cooperate with us to launch the ‘Werewolf’ game package. Although you have already customized 100 high-end game packages from Smythson, these can only be used to open up the situation among the upper class and promote the game. If you want to have a broad mass base, you still need to provide cheaper games. Well, I suggest that the price of the ordinary version of the game should be 29.9 pounds, which is the price of most board games like ‘Werewolf’.”

As expected of someone who had worked at a long-established board game company, Nate immediately found the key point for promoting “Werewolf”:

“And Your Grace, I can see that the game ‘Werewolf’ is more suitable for 5 or more players, preferably 9 or more players, and it also needs a ‘judge’ role. Although the judge does not participate in the game, it is crucial for the game. Therefore, in addition to playing at parties, this game is also very suitable for promotion in those board game clubs, where there will be dedicated personnel who can act as judges for the players, thus avoiding the situation where players cannot have a gaming experience because they are acting as judges.”

“Actually, I’ve also considered these things, Mr. Ford. The first thing now is that you need to build the team of Halo Company first, and then, find the game’s illustrators to complete the design of the cards for each role in the ordinary version of ‘Werewolf’. The design of Smythson will only be used in high-end game packages.”

Listening to Barron’s words, Nate nodded:

“No problem, Your Grace. I originally knew board game illustrators in London—in fact, I am also a board game enthusiast, so I guarantee that I can complete the design and production of the ordinary version of the ‘Werewolf’ game in the shortest time.”

Chapter 70: Costume Party

“Wow, Lord Booth, your werewolf costume is really cool.”

Hearing Barron’s praise, Ian Booth, who had entered his apartment, grinned, revealing his specially-made false teeth; the fangs were quite realistic:

“Your Grace, you should be glad it’s not a full moon tonight…”

“But perhaps what’s more interesting than that right now is the beautiful gypsy woman beside you.”

Barron said this to Chris, who was dressed as a gypsy fortune teller beside Viscount Booth, and gave her a hand kiss:

“Madam, you seem to be a prophet today.”

“I heard from Bonnie about this new game you created, Your Grace. It sounds very interesting.”

The day finally arrived for Barron to host a “Werewolf” themed costume party in his apartment. This residence of his in London had, for the first time, so many guests.

Besides Viscount Booth. and his wife, Bonnie also brought her two friends, and Princes William and Harry, as well as William’s girlfriend, Sasha, also came here.

Of course, there were also the Camerons, whom Barron had invited before.

In addition, Prince William also brought his friend, Henry Howard, to Barron’s party.

Henry Howard had just become an Earl, because his father, like Barron, had also inherited the title of Duke this year—the Duke of Norfolk, the oldest non-royal ducal family in Britain, ranking first among the 24 non-royal dukes at this time.

It’s no wonder Henry Howard is close to Prince William, because the Duke of Norfolk family is itself a high-ranking official of the royal family. The Duke of Norfolk also holds the position of Chairman of the College of Arms, a hereditary noble.

Many major royal ceremonies are presided over by the Duke of Norfolk, including the King’s coronation, weddings, and even funerals…

Henry Howard’s great-grandfather was responsible for the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953, the state funeral of Prime Minister Winston Churchill in 1965, and the investiture of Charles III as Prince of Wales in 1969.

And Barron knew that the future Queen’s funeral and the coronation of King Charles, as well as the investiture of the Prince of Wales for Prince William in front of him, would all be presided over by Henry Howard’s father, the current Duke of Norfolk.

After Henry Howard’s grandfather passed away this year, his father inherited the title of Duke of Norfolk, and accordingly, as the eldest son, Henry Howard also inherited the title of Earl of Marshal from his father.

Many nobles will not just have one title. For example, the ancestors of the Howard family would simultaneously hold the titles of Duke of Norfolk and Earl of Marshal, so that when the Duke has not yet passed on his ducal title to his heir, he can first grant the heir another slightly lower title.

And if this nobleman holds three or more titles, he can even grant one of them to his second son.

…

At tonight’s costume party, Barron was wearing hunting attire, obviously dressed as a hunter.

Not surprisingly, Bonnie was dressed as a witch.

And Prince William was dressed as a paladin, while Prince Harry was more playful, coming directly in the clothes of a villager…

Bonnie’s two friends, Barron was seeing them for the first time, and the one dressed as a werewolf… well, the costume was very bold.

Seeing her, Barron’s gaze couldn’t help but turn to his girlfriend, Bonnie, mainly because Bonnie’s bolder outfit that night left too deep an impression on Barron.

William, Harry, and Sasha had played Werewolf once before, so they were already experienced, while the others were very curious about this game.

“Barron, have you already made the Werewolf cards?”

Hearing William’s question, Barron said with a slight regret:

“Today we can only use these hastily made cards and masks as a substitute. The official game set will take a little more time.”

The cards he took out had the names of various roles written on them, rather than the official game package with exquisite patterns. After all, time was too tight, and the Smythson company couldn’t finish it from design to production.

But these were much better than the handwritten slips of paper they had to use to draw lots that night.

“Don’t worry, Your Grace, we will be able to complete your order within a week.”

Hearing their conversation, Samantha Cameron said with a slight apology.

“That’s alright, Madam. Compared to time, I value quality more.”

In his previous life, it became popular in China around 2016, but Barron had already come into contact with this game earlier.

At that time, Werewolf was a relatively popular game at gatherings of business elites like him, so Barron was still very familiar with this game. Even if he couldn’t be called a master, he still understood many of the routines and ways to play it.

And people like William and Harry, although they had played Werewolf once, were at most slightly familiar with the rules compared to those who hadn’t been exposed to the game, and could only be considered beginners.

Because there were many people, Barron first acted as the judge, and then organized nine of them to play a game of three wolves, three gods, and three villagers. The three god roles included the seer, the witch, and the hunter.

In fact, in the beginning of Werewolf, there were only two professions: werewolves and villagers. However, as time went on and the versions changed, more and more professions appeared, such as Cupid, the thief, the guard, and the white wolf king. There was no need for them at the initial promotion stage.

After all, the more complex it is, the higher the difficulty of acceptance will be. In the beginning, Barron’s published “Player’s Manual” also only included the more basic ways to play, at most adding the three classic roles of seer, witch, and hunter.

Later, after Werewolf had a certain mass base, when everyone was already familiar with the rules and wanted to pursue something new, it was more appropriate to gradually change the versions and introduce more roles.

Because most of the people at this party were new to the game, Barron would explain it to them after each round, which made them feel like they had gained many new “secret techniques,” and they were eager to try again every time.

When playing the game, Barron specially prepared a round table, and marked each person’s number with a card, and sitting to his left was Bonnie; to his right was Viscountess Chris.

As the judge, watching these people play the game was also quite interesting, and you could also see some of their personality traits from it.

But there were also many times, especially when everyone closed their eyes at night, Barron’s gaze couldn’t help but be attracted by Chris beside him.

It was nothing else, just because the Viscountess’s figure was too… ample, especially her outfit today, Cosplaying as a gypsy fortune teller, from Barron’s side, he could see the deep… from her openwork neckline.

In addition, it seemed that this Viscountess was not particularly focused when playing the game.

For example, when everyone was speaking, the others were carefully listening and analyzing, only the Viscountess, she…

Barron always felt that from her side, under the tablecloth, there would be a fleshy long leg stretching over to his side…

Well, it must be said that the texture of those stockings was indeed very good.

Chapter 71: Madam, You Wouldn’t Want…

“Your Grace, what is this…”

“Madam, I just wanted to ask, downstairs just now, were you… seducing me?”

“Don’t do that, someone will see…”

Listening to the panic in Chris’s voice, Barron didn’t bother to distinguish whether she was truly flustered or putting on an act. He took a step forward, and they were almost pressed together.

“Don’t worry, Madam, they’re engrossed in their game, and…”

Speaking, Barron leaned close to Chris’s ear, gently blowing a breath, feeling her shiver. He continued to whisper in the woman’s ear:

“You wouldn’t want your seduction of me to be known by Viscount Booth, would you?”

“I, I didn’t, um…”

Before Chris could finish speaking, Barron had already sealed her lips…

…

In fact, not everyone is suited to play “Werewolf.” For example, some people’s logical reasoning skills are indeed questionable, making it easy for them to make some bizarre decisions… the kind that often infuriates their teammates.

So, after playing a few rounds, Sasha, William’s girlfriend, who felt she couldn’t adapt to the game, took the initiative to become the judge.

“Bonnie, did you bring that?”

Hearing her cousin’s question, Bonnie immediately replied:

“It’s in my bag, upstairs in the bedroom. Should I go get it for you?”

“You play first, I’ll go get it myself.”

What Chris was asking about was a part of Bonnie’s second novel of Downton Abbey, which she had just finished writing. She had long been a devoted fan of the novel, having already finished the first season, and now she was re-reading it with the serialized version in The Independent. It could be said that among the readers of this novel, she was the one who could directly pressure the writer for the next installment. Today, she specifically asked her cousin to bring a portion of the completed manuscript, wanting to get a sneak peek.

After Chris left, Barron played a round, and his phone vibrated. Seeing the name on the caller ID, he got up to answer the phone, letting the others play first.

The call was from Daisy. She told Barron that the price of copper on the international futures market had suddenly begun to fall.

Trading in London copper takes place during the day, with a total trading time of only 25 minutes each day – The London Metal Exchange’s morning trading session begins at 11:40, with the first trading period. Eight metals trade in turn for 5 minutes each. After all eight metals have traded in sequence at 12:20, the market closes for 10 minutes, and this repeats.

Therefore, the trading times for London copper during the day are 12:00-12:05, 12:30-12:35, 13:10-13:30, 15:30-15:35, and 16:10-16:15.

However, although the London Metal Exchange ends trading at this time, there are still other relevant exchanges around the world that will be trading during this time. For example, the price of copper, reflected in the prices of other markets, will continue to affect the trend of London copper the next day.

Therefore, for this kind of futures trading, it’s not that you can ignore it after the London Metal Exchange ends trading. You often need to pay attention to the price trends of other markets around the world.

Learning that the price of copper had started to fall at this time, and the decline was not small, Barron breathed a sigh of relief and told Daisy to continue monitoring.

It was also fortunate that their short positions in London copper were already maxed out. The drop in copper prices was exactly what Barron hoped for. It seemed that this wave of copper price declines was about to begin.

After hanging up the phone, Barron didn’t immediately return to the living room. Instead, he had a thought and went upstairs to the bedroom…

…

“Don’t tear…”

Before Chris could finish speaking, she heard a “sizzle” sound. She said angrily:

“Do you really want to be discovered later?”

“Madam, I’m very measured. Your skirt will cover it…”

“Wait, listen to me…”

Feeling a push from behind, the Viscountess steadied herself on the desk in front of her. At this moment, she no longer had the mind to look at the Downton Abbey manuscript on the desk. Feeling a pain, she instinctively cried out in surprise and quickly covered her mouth with one hand…

“You bastard! Barron!”

…

“Why does it feel like my cousin wasn’t very happy just now?”

After the party ended and the guests were sent off one by one, Bonnie said to Barron with some confusion.

“Uh, probably not…”

Barron said nonchalantly:

“Maybe she got a little too into the plot after reading your manuscript.”

“Maybe…”

Thinking about it, it wasn’t impossible. Bonnie didn’t think about it anymore and turned to Barron:

“Darling, are we going back to the manor the day after tomorrow?”

“Yes, you happen to have a holiday, and I’ve almost finished dealing with my recent matters. We can go back and stay for a couple of days.”

“Great…”

Bonnie hugged Barron and kissed him, saying:

“Is it really okay for my cousin to come with us?”

“Of course, haven’t I already said that? Baby.”

Barron picked Bonnie up in his arms and walked into the bedroom…

“Wait, darling, let me take a shower first.”

“Why don’t we do it together…”

…

In fact, Barron was somewhat relieved at this moment that he had already soaked the pants in water after changing them.

Now, it shouldn’t be possible to see the bloodstains on them…

How did he know before that Chris, the Viscountess, was actually…

…Barron was a little flustered at the time; she was the Viscountess! Actually…

It was all a bit ridiculous. Could it be that Mr. Ian Booth. really had some hidden ailment? It didn’t seem like it!

However, it had to be said that sometimes this kind of psychological… stimulation really does affect performance, but in this situation, maybe it wasn’t a good thing to last too long.

It was just that it was too rushed at the time, and the Viscountess’s expression towards him afterwards wasn’t very good, so he didn’t have time to ask at the time.

Thinking about it now, Barron only had a vague guess, but he couldn’t just ask Bonnie about the specific situation…

He could only keep it to himself for the time being.

…

The next day, after the London Metal Exchange started trading, as soon as 12 o’clock arrived, the price of London copper followed the trend of the global market, opening at a lower price with a gap. During the day’s trading, the price of London copper once fell below 1350 pounds, and finally closed at a price of 1384 pounds.

It could be said that compared to the average holding price of DS Capital in London copper, it had fallen by a full 100 pounds. This scene made Daisy very excited:

“BOSS, sure enough, London copper has also fallen!”

No wonder she seemed even more excited than when she shorted AirGate stock before, because at this time, the 100-pound drop in the price of London copper had already brought their account’s profit to over 40 million pounds!

The profit at this moment alone had already exceeded the shorting of AirGate stock.

And judging from the current trend, this 100-pound drop was just the beginning…

Barron naturally knew that later, the price of London copper would fall below 1000 pounds. Calculating this, their profit… would be a terrifying number.

But now was not the time to celebrate. The entire decline process would last for four weeks, which means they could only reap the fruits of victory after a month.

Chapter 72: The Duke’s Selection

Besides the futures market, what Barron also noticed was that in late May of this year, a stock was listed on the NASDAQ stock market. The name of this company was Netflix.

In fact, when Netflix had 120 employees in 2001, they had planned an IPO, but the dot-com bubble burst and the events of 9/11 caused this plan to fail, and they had to lay off one-third of their staff.

Fortunately, that year, DVD players became popular Christmas gifts, and the rapidly growing DVD subscription business saved Netflix.

However, even though Netflix had completed its IPO, it was still just a DVD rental service provider with less than 1 million subscribers and a market capitalization of only about 500 million US dollars…

Barron, of course, knew that Netflix’s future growth would be very impressive and would be a good long-term investment target, but in the short term, at least within a year, if it was for making quick money, Netflix was not a very good investment.

Because Netflix’s stock price was around 12.5 US dollars – a decrease from its IPO offering price of 15 US dollars…

And the current price was not the lowest price of the year. Later, its stock price would fall further. In Barron’s impression, its stock price could fall to around 5 US dollars in October!

And by that time, Barron would have much more funds on hand. Taking out a portion to buy Netflix stock as a long-term holding would be a good choice.

……

Two Rolls-Royces, one in front of the other, were driving on the road to Chatsworth House.

Although in the morning, the attitude towards Barron lacked much of the previous enthusiasm, and was more of a slightly distanced formality, Chris still went to Chatsworth House with Barron, just as she had said before.

She was now sitting in the Rolls-Royce behind, along with the eldest daughter of the Kent family, Gabrielle.

Of course, it wasn’t that Bonnie didn’t want to ride in the same car as her cousin, it was just that she couldn’t accept leaving Gabrielle in the same car as her boyfriend Barron – to eliminate all threats in the bud, she could only make such a wise choice.

The drive from London to Chatsworth House was about three hours, but the excellent performance of the Rolls-Royce mitigated some of the fatigue of the journey, and the increasingly beautiful scenery outside the window made it not too boring.

When they arrived at the manor, a hint of excitement could be seen in the eyes of both Chris and Miss Ella.

Besides the fact that it was their first time here and they felt a sense of freshness, both of them had also watched and loved the novel Downton Abbey. They were very much looking forward to Chatsworth House, which served as the prototype for the manor in the novel.

Besides Downton Abbey, the prototype of Darcy’s estate in the world-famous novel Pride and Prejudice was also taken from Chatsworth House, so Chatsworth House also gained the nickname “Darcy’s Estate.”

I’m afraid that when the popularity of Downton Abbey becomes more deeply rooted in people’s hearts, Chatsworth House will have another nickname: “Downton Abbey.”

Compared to Bonnie when she first came here, it must be said that both Chris and Ella, who were accustomed to aristocratic life, were more adaptable to the etiquette of the butler and servants in the manor, which still carried a strong traditional style.

After personally settling the two guests, Barron left Bonnie to take them on a tour of the manor, while he himself went to ask Butler Shaun about the manor’s affairs during this period.

“As you instructed, Your Grace, the institution we hired, which is recognized by the Royal Institute of British Architects, has provided a preliminary plan for the overall renovation of the manor. We will implement this plan by area to ensure that at least half of the rooms can retain their residential function at any time…”

For a building with such a long history as Chatsworth House – especially since this manor has long been rated as a Grade I listed building – carrying out repairs and renovations is not an easy task. Because, first of all, the ubiquitous carvings, sculptures, and artworks in the manor need careful protection. In addition, the materials used also need to meet the most stringent standards.

Moreover, the technical personnel carrying out this project need to have considerable professional qualifications.

Just taking the re-laying of the entire manor’s floor with underfloor heating and other pipelines and circuits, it is estimated that at least 200 tons of soil need to be excavated. It can be said that this is definitely a big project!

“I will take a look at that plan, Butler Shaun. If possible, after I confirm it, I hope we can start construction as soon as possible. I hope to be able to complete at least one-third of the area before the end of the year… Well, let’s start with the 30 rooms we are planning to open to the public.”

For Barron, starting this project immediately was the best choice to save time.

Fortunately, for a project like this, even if the total budget exceeds 20 million pounds, it doesn’t mean that the full amount needs to be paid when construction starts, but rather it is paid in stages. This would not put too much pressure on his funds.

It can be said that the reason why Barron can now use such a “small” amount of money to carry out the overall renovation and transformation of the entire Chatsworth House is also thanks to his grandmother.

Because when Barron’s grandmother was alive, she had spent more than 32 million pounds and ten years to renovate the entire manor.

This time, his thorough renovation and transformation, in addition to updating the electrification and adding modernizations like a network, the overall renovation of the manor was already much less difficult.

From this, it can also be seen that such a huge manor is indeed very magnificent and luxurious, but the cost of maintaining it is not something that ordinary people can afford.

This is why many manors in Britain are now unable to maintain themselves and can only be handed over to national funds; even those that still belong to aristocratic families need to obtain maintenance funds by opening the manor to the public and charging admission fees.

“Another thing is the management of the manor farm. I will meet with the manager of the farm next year.”

Barron had already talked to Butler Shaun about these matters over the phone before.

Including the farm of Chatsworth House, the Devonshire family still owns more than 50,000 acres of land throughout Britain – of course, this is far less than the more than 200,000 acres of land during the family’s heyday – and most of this land exists in the form of farms, for planting and animal husbandry.

The workshops attached to these farms will also process some of the agricultural products and meat produced, but most of them are still sold directly in the form of raw materials, mainly supplying the surrounding residents and production workshops.

Barron knew that later, the Prince of Wales used his own estate’s products to create his own brand of organic products, creating hundreds of products in three major categories: food, personal care products, and gardening tools, and the business was doing very well.

Therefore, he also planned to follow suit earlier, using the Devonshire family’s produce to create his own organic brand and obtain more economic benefits.

What he was planning to talk about with the farm manager tomorrow was this matter.

Barron was planning to directly integrate the entire Devonshire family’s farms into a company – Devonshire Ecological Agriculture Company.

As for the company’s brand… the Prince of Wales’s products were called Duchy Originals, and his would be called Duchy Selected.

Chapter 73: Night at the Manor

“Miss Ayla, how do you feel about this place?”

Since they had come together, Barron naturally wouldn’t neglect the young lady from the Kent family. During dinner, Barron took the initiative to ask.

“It’s a wonderful manor. When I was reading the novel Downton Abbey, I would imagine what it would look like here, but after actually coming here, I feel like I’ve really stepped into the novel.”

“To receive such praise from a lady who lives in Kensington Palace, I am truly honored.”

The Kent family and some other royal family members all resided in Kensington Palace, which was once the favorite residence of successive kings. Even before Princess Diana passed away, after her divorce from the Prince of Wales, she had been living there.

“Kensington Palace and Chatsworth have many similarities, but compared to here, Kensington Palace doesn’t have so many beautiful natural landscapes.”

Kensington Palace was located in the center of London, right on the Chelsea side, so Ayla’s words made sense.

“Honey, why aren’t you eating much?”

Of course, being polite to guests was one thing, but Barron wouldn’t neglect his girlfriend either. He saw that Bonnie had only eaten a small piece of steak and two slices of bread before stopping, so he asked softly:

“Are the dishes not to your liking?”

“The taste is very good, darling, but I feel like I’ve been influenced by you and prefer the taste of Chinese food, and you know, I’m on a diet recently.”

This time, returning to Chatsworth Manor, because they only planned to stay for two days, Barron didn’t bring the Chinese food chef from London with him. Bonnie, who often ate Chinese food with him, seemed a little unaccustomed to the manor’s meals.

“Chinese food? Mr. Barron, do you like that kind of flavor?”

“Yes, Miss Ayla, but not the kind of Chinese food that Britons usually eat. I prefer the authentic way of cooking.”

“So you have a Chinese food chef specially employed at home?”

“Well, his skills are very good, given the opportunity…”

Barron said this, and heard Bonnie cough forcefully. He glanced at her…

He saw her stand up and say:

“Sorry, you guys eat first, I want to go for a walk.”

At this moment, Ayla seemed to have noticed nothing, and said to Barron in a slightly coquettish tone:

“If there’s an opportunity, I really want to try the Chinese food you mentioned, Mr. Barron.”

“Uh, there will be an opportunity.”

…

Barron could tell that Bonnie was a little upset during the meal because of Ayla.

Of course, these were not important. When it was evening, after his patient and gentle education, Bonnie finally cried and realized her mistake…

Sometimes Barron’s troubles lay in this, just like many of the readers, too.

In the process of learning knowledge, if you only consider your own feelings, then the learning process of three to five minutes or ten minutes, in fact, the difference will not be too great. The ultimate experience of integrating everything is the most extreme.

But often when considering the other party’s feelings, hoping that they also get the ultimate experience, then this learning process will have many ways.

The key is that Barron is not limited to this. His learning ability is too strong. He can keep learning without getting tired. It is often one or two hours or even longer of persistence. This good character is a great test for his “classmates”.

Even a girl like Bonnie, who often exercises to maintain her figure and is full of vitality, most of the time cannot withstand such high-intensity learning, and almost always cries and gives up.

Sometimes Barron also feels that his current state of mind is a bit uncertain, like he was in his previous life, so wanton and unrestrained, and after the age of 35, he began to feel a little powerless, often needing the help of a “cod liver oil” to have a better learning state.

It seems that he should be full of joy now.

But people are never satisfied in everything. When they have some advantages, they often bring some small troubles along with them.

Watching the girl beside him had already fallen asleep quietly, Barron got up to take a shower, and then wearing his pajamas, walked out of the bedroom.

On the upper floor of the Chatsworth Manor mansion, there was a balcony that faced the back garden, where one could see the extremely magnificent hundred-meter-high waterfall steps of Chatsworth Manor and the mountains further away.

It was already late at night. The fountains, which could be as high as dozens or hundreds of meters, were not turned on, but one could still see the flowing water on the waterfall steps under the moonlight.

After enjoying the scenery here for a while, Barron heard footsteps behind him…

It seemed that the other person had suddenly discovered Barron standing here, and stopped.

When Barron turned around, his eyes met the other person’s.

“Madam, haven’t you slept yet?”

Seeing it was Barron, Chrissy subconsciously took a step back, but when she saw Barron’s meaningful smile as he looked at her, she raised her head slightly:

“I just heard Bonnie say that the scenery here at night is very beautiful, so I came to take a look. But you, Your Grace, why did you come here alone?”

It could be seen that Chrissy was wearing a silk dress at this moment, which had a good drape.

The moonlight was shining directly on her body, adding a touch of holiness to the Viscountess…

And because of her slightly raised head, it also highlighted her…

Seeing this scene, the… learning fire that had just been extinguished after Barron took a shower, had the tendency to flare up again.

“Isn’t Madam here to find me on purpose? After all, that day…”

“Behave yourself, Your Grace, do you want my husband, and Bonnie, to know about the good things you’ve done?”

Feeling the increasingly heavy dangerous atmosphere in the air, Chrissy said, and turned to leave.

But as soon as she took a step, she was already pulled by Barron’s arm and bumped into his arms.

The other person’s broad chest, and the scent of full-bodied male hormones, made Chrissy nervous, and her breathing couldn’t help but become a little rapid…

“Madam, will you tell them?”

Barron, soft in his arms, leaned close to Chrissy’s ear, carrying a certain fragrance:

“And I’m also very curious, why are you still…”

Hearing Barron’s words, the Viscountess struggled even more fiercely, but the next second, her lips were blocked by Barron…

Then the Duke lifted her up horizontally, and walked towards her bedroom…

…

In March 1296, in order to swallow Scotland, King Edward I of England led his army directly to Berwick, Scotland’s premier commercial city. The residents of the city rose up to resist, but were powerless and eventually fell.

After the English army occupied two peaks near Berwick, they were not satisfied and continued to advance to the plains and valleys downstream.

Scotland was plunged into the flames of war, and the people were constantly shouting.

But all this was to no avail. The brave English cannons directly entered the gorge of the valley, reaching the vital points of Scotland.

The battle was once extremely fierce!

Under the impact of the armies on such a battlefield, Scotland was finally conquered and sank, shouting the name of the battle commander…

The data during the new book period is related to the subsequent recommendations, so the follow-up reading is very important. I implore everyone not to keep it all the time. If you feel it’s okay, take a look every day to help increase the follow-up reading. Thank you very much.

Chapter 74: Traitors

“Darling, what are you writing?”

In the morning, when Bonnie woke up, she found that Barron was already gone…

This wasn’t unexpected for her, because she knew that the young duke always had a habit of getting up early to exercise.

When she finished washing up and walked to the study, she saw Barron sitting at the desk writing something. She saw the title at the top of the manuscript – The traitors!

“Traitors? Is this a new novel or a game?”

Hearing Bonnie’s question, Barron put down his pen and got up to kiss the girl on the face:

“It’s a new game similar to Werewolf, or more specifically, a reality show plan.”

“Reality show? Can I take a look? Darling.”

Hearing that it was a reality show plan, Bonnie immediately became interested. After all, she herself worked in the television industry and was a host. There were also many reality shows and variety shows on Sky Television.

“Of course, and I was actually planning to get your opinion on it…”

This reality show, called “Traitors,” wasn’t complicated. It would select about 22 contestants to enter a castle, and within this group, three would be chosen to become “Traitors,” while the others would be “Loyalists.”

The Traitors would hide among the “Loyalists” and could gather together every night to choose a “Loyalist” to kill.

All the participants would then, in a meeting after dinner each day, speak and point fingers, collectively voting to exile one player.

The purpose of these people participating in this variety show was to win the final prize of 250,000 pounds – the “Traitors” and “Loyalists” would win prizes through daily game tasks during the show, and the prizes could accumulate up to 250,000 pounds.

In the end, the remaining people in the castle would vote in the final meeting until they believed there were no more “Traitors” among them.

If, after the final vote, there were no more “Traitors” left, they would split the final prize; but if “Traitors” still remained, the prize would go to the “Traitors.”

Therefore, the most interesting part of this reality show was the examination of human nature. Does “loyalty” exist? Whether it was the “Traitor” camp or the “Loyalist” camp, perhaps “betrayal” would always appear.

“A very interesting concept, after reading this, I want to participate in this show myself. The whole feeling is a bit like Survivor, no, more like Big Brother…”

Bonnie wasn’t wrong. Just like the well-known American variety show Big Brother, it gathered many ordinary players in a closed place, and through games and voting, the ones who remained at the end would win the prize.

It’s just that the show “Traitors” added elements of “Werewolf.”

This was also what Barron thought of after “creating” Werewolf, the variety show he had watched in his previous life.

Or rather, whether it was the warm-up for Werewolf or the variety show “Traitors,” Barron’s ultimate goal was to enter the television field.

“Are you planning to film this reality show? Indeed, looking at your plan, Chatsworth House is very suitable for filming this reality show.”

It seemed that Bonnie was really quite interested in this reality show, so Barron said:

“Yes, I have this idea, but it’s not easy, is it? After all, I don’t have any experience in this area before. It’s one thing to come up with a good idea, but whether it can be presented better also requires a certain amount of ability.”

“That’s true.”

Actually, the quality of British variety shows had always been very good, and many shows were imitated by countries all over the world.

Shows like Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? and Pop Idol had been introduced in many countries with the copyright and had high popularity.

Therefore, Bonnie was not unfamiliar with these variety shows, including reality shows.

For Barron, if he wanted to enter the television industry, the financial aspect wasn’t actually a big problem. What he needed to solve more was a qualified operations team.

This couldn’t be completely accomplished through acquisition, because in this field, his biggest opponent – Sky Television – had very strong strength. Just acquiring teams in Britain might still end up like ITV Digital, being crushed out of the market.

Therefore, Barron’s idea was to first cultivate a team that could compete with Sky Television in terms of creative thinking and operational level, which was the top priority.

Achieving this wasn’t something that could be done overnight; it had to be achieved through a certain route.

Including the idea of cultivating a variety show production team through this show “Traitors” and subsequent variety shows.

Then, through the television drama production of Downton Abbey, cultivate a television drama production team, and so on…

Step by step, his team would take shape, and then participate in negotiations with the BBC and ITV, eventually getting his own channel and establishing his own television station.

All of this needed to be done slowly.

Now back to the variety show, just as Barron said, having a good idea, but whether it would succeed in the end was uncertain.

Like why it was necessary to buy the “copyright” of those famous variety shows?

This wasn’t just for respecting “copyright.” In fact, the protection of variety show copyright didn’t have a clear boundary. Even if most of the processes were borrowed, it was difficult to define infringement legally.

Just like the well-known British talent show The X Factor, which was Pop Idol. In fact, this variety show was once sued by the producer of the previously very popular British show Pop Idol for plagiarism!

Did The X Factor plagiarize? The producer of this show was indeed a celebrity guest from Pop Idol, and many of the processes of this show clearly had the shadow of Pop Idol, but whether it was plagiarism or not, the court didn’t make a final decision.

And many variety shows in China later were also like this, obviously with “borrowing,” but they weren’t afraid of being sued.

But even so, many people were still willing to spend money to buy the copyright, because what they bought wasn’t just the copyright, but also a detailed “user manual.” The copyright they bought included a detailed description of the entire variety show, including how to set the scene, how to appear, such as some reality shows, even which types of resident guests needed to be selected, certain plot settings, and so on, all had explanations…

The copyright holder would even send special personnel to help record it, doing it directly as a fool-proof teaching, it could be said that buying the copyright was equivalent to being able to completely replicate this successful show.

After all, there were many examples proving that even “borrowing” some successful variety shows could eventually flop, or even have a very high probability, and many factors in this were unknown to outsiders.

Now it was the same for Barron. If it was just a novel and ingenious idea, then whether it could succeed after it was finally formed was still unknown.

To be on the safe side, he was also prepared to completely “replicate” the extremely famous British variety show from his previous life – “Traitors.” This variety show, it could be said, won several of the most important television awards in Britain that year, and it was also bought by the United States, completely replicating their process, and also achieved great success.

“Do you want to give it a try? Baby.”

“Me?”

Hearing Barron suddenly say this, Bonnie showed a surprised expression.

“Yes, by my side, only you have experience in this area, so I need your advice on many things. I just thought, why don’t you join in directly? Didn’t you say before that you wanted more autonomy?”

It could be seen that Bonnie was still very tempted by Barron’s proposal, but this matter was really a bit sudden, and she said with some hesitation:

“But I don’t have any experience with this kind of reality show before, I’m afraid I won’t do a good job.”

“What does that matter, baby? You have connections in the television station. I can recruit or directly buy a team with experience in producing this kind of reality show.”

Barron held Bonnie’s hand and said softly:

“At the beginning, you can be the host of this show first. After the first season is filmed and you’ve accumulated experience, you can try the role of producer.”

Chapter 75: Cooperation or Buyout?

Barron still gave Bonnie time to consider joining his production team.

However, regardless of whether she ultimately agreed to join, this plan would always move forward.

Initially, Barron had thought about producing the variety show “Traitor” himself and then partnering with a television station to broadcast it.

It was similar to the later “separation of production and broadcasting” implemented in China, where television stations purchased program content from other production companies and broadcast it on their own platforms. This practice actually originated in Britain.

In 1982, the fourth channel of Britain began broadcasting. The biggest difference between this government-owned commercial television station and the BBC and ITV was that all of its television programs came from independent production companies, marking the beginning of the era of separation of production and broadcasting in British television.

In the following decade, the “catfish effect” of the fourth channel continued to heat up. The British government successively enacted the “British Broadcasting and Television Act” in 1990 and 1996, which made clear provisions on the separation of production and broadcasting from aspects such as the proportion of externally purchased programs, television station ownership, and program copyright. These laws became the institutional driving force for the prosperity of the British television industry.

For example, the “Broadcasting and Television Act” passed by Britain in 1990 made a hard and fast rule that the proportion of externally purchased programs on all television channels should not be less than 25%.

Nowadays, the proportion of externally purchased programs on the BBC and ITV has reached 50% and 60% respectively, corresponding to thousands of independent production companies and constantly innovative British television programs across the country.

Therefore, after learning about these situations, Barron initially thought of first establishing his own program production company and participating in the content providers of television stations, then accumulating experience, so that he could enter the television station field.

As for the program production team, it was not difficult. The most difficult thing was creativity.

Because after more than twenty years of development and improvement, the separation of production and broadcasting in British television has formed a complete industrial chain.

On this chain, independent production companies are responsible for creativity and production, television stations are responsible for purchasing, scheduling, broadcasting, and advertising, and model companies are responsible for program copyright sales. The three parties each perform their duties and have a clear division of labor.

Here, the situation common in China where production companies simultaneously act as agents for program advertising and marketing rights is almost impossible—most British production companies only handle creativity and programs, while advertising is entirely handled by the television station.

Doing their own work well, using a professional spirit to make creative research and development and program production to the extreme, this is their philosophy.

In the program production stage, in addition to companies that excel in creativity, there are also a large number of small and medium-sized second-tier contractors and freelancers in the British television industry who are responsible for specific production matters. They include those who specialize in filming, those who specialize in lighting, those who specialize in editing, and so on.

After the creative company receives an order, it usually subcontracts the specific matters of program production to professional companies.

Therefore, in Britain, most television programs are the result of collective collaboration of many companies and individuals, and there are few programs that are entirely handled by one company.

Barron’s future content production company can also do this, only needing core members, while other professional work can be outsourced to other second-tier contractors or temporary freelancers.

The backbone of British television production is a large number of freelancers. They include core planning personnel such as production directors, producers, directors, and screenwriters, as well as basic workers such as cameramen, sound effects technicians, lighting technicians, props technicians, makeup artists, and post-production staff.

They are neither affiliated with television stations nor are they fixed employees of production companies, but are completely free-flowing professional television people.

Usually, after an independent production company receives an order from a television station, the first thing to do is to recruit a project team. The first step is to determine the production director, producer, director, and other important positions based on the budget and program type, and then they recommend reliable and capable basic employees, such as cameramen, lighting technicians, sound effects technicians, props technicians, hosts, and artists.

All personnel work together because of the project. After the project is over, everyone will disband and become freelancers again. This is the combination model of British television people.

Freelancers are the norm in Britain. Whether it is a television station or an independent production company, the ratio of fixed employees to freelancers hired each year is usually two to eight.

Many production companies usually only have a few people, and once they receive an order, the number of employees will surge to dozens.

Each job is a circle, and freelancers can only establish a good reputation and gain a foothold in the circle by working harder.

Therefore, under normal circumstances, Barron does not have to worry about the professional quality of the hired personnel, because he can find staff who meet his expected quality by simply inquiring within the circle.

Even if he needs a relatively fixed team, he can find the most suitable members during this period of adjustment.

However, there was one thing that made Barron hesitate slightly at this time. Although the copyright of the program finally produced at this time mostly belonged to the production company—in the absence of special provisions in the contract.

But this situation is still mostly an industry convention and has not yet been legally stipulated, so there have been disputes because of this.

This situation needs to be finally determined legally in the “Communications Act” to be promulgated next year.

Furthermore, after Bonnie returned to London and finally agreed to join Barron’s program production team, after Halo Company registered the copyright of the planning details of the “Betrayal” variety show that Barron had finally written, and submitted this plan to ITV television station, the other party did show some interest, but for this reality show that had not been verified by the market before, the prospects were not particularly certain.

Therefore, the other party finally stated that they would decide whether to adopt the program after seeing the finished product.

Each television station has its own purchasing editors. It can be said that as senior professionals, these purchasing editors have great power on the one hand, and on the other hand, although these people have more experience in grasping the market, they are also bound to have their own preferences, and they often do not necessarily have an overly adventurous and radical style of conduct.

Therefore, after comprehensive consideration, Barron, after the team’s suggestion, decided to adopt another form of cooperation, which was to purchase the television station’s broadcast time and directly launch his own program content within the corresponding time.

Here, the television station chosen by Barron was still ITV.

Independent Television, abbreviated as ITV—although also named Independent, it has nothing to do with Barron’s Independent Newspaper Company.

ITV officially began broadcasting in 1955 and is the earliest commercial television station in Britain and one of the largest comprehensive television stations in Britain.

It covers the entire territory of Britain and is one of the biggest competitors of the BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation).

ITV’s operation is very interesting. Initially, it was composed of 15 operators, each with its own independent logo and identification—these subcontracted television stations independently produced programs and even filmed television dramas.

However, up to now, of these 15 operators, only 4 can maintain independent logos and identification—the other 11 operators have merged with “Independent Television Limited” and become Independent Television 1 (ITV1).

And the reason for choosing this television station is because ITV has a very interesting operating method.

The ITV network was established in 1955 and is currently composed of two companies—ITV plc and STV Group, which jointly own 15 regional franchises in 14 regions (there is one each for weekdays and weekends in the London area, and only one in other regions) and the franchise for a national morning program.

But not all companies can always get the franchise. Every so often, the Independent Television Authority will hold a tender for the 15 regional franchises. If a company successfully bids for the franchise of a certain region, it can broadcast programs in that region for the next period of time.

In 1990, Britain passed the “1990 Broadcasting Act”.

In addition to establishing the Independent Television Commission to replace the Independent Broadcasting Authority, allowing the establishment of a fifth analog television channel (i.e., Channel 5, now owned by Paramount), and stipulating that 1/4 of the programs broadcast by the BBC must be produced by independent television production companies, the Act also reformed the bidding for ITV franchise operations.

The Act stipulates that the ITV franchise will be allocated based on potential value, instead of being determined through a secret auction.

Therefore, every so often, it is possible to obtain the broadcast time slot of the ITV network through bidding.

And what is interesting is that, according to Bonnie’s information, the Night Television program, which is responsible for broadcasting from 10 pm to 11 pm on the ITV network, is being investigated by the Independent Committee for the Supervision of British Telephone Information Service Standards because the program is suspected of violating regulations—the cause is that their prize-winning quiz program, in which viewers participate through hotline calls, is suspected of cheating in the form of predetermining the grand prize winner or arbitrarily increasing fees, deceiving viewers to make hotline calls and thus making a profit.

The Independent Television station stated that if this program violates regulations, it will be suspended.

Then, Top Summit Media has the opportunity to take over the program in this time slot—of course, the premise is that their bid can satisfy the Independent Television station.

Chapter 76: A Complete Victory

So, throughout the month of August, Barron’s primary focus, aside from promoting the game “Werewolf Kill,” was on establishing a program production company.

Bonnie had, during this time, resigned from Sky Television and joined Summit Media Company, taking on the role of Planning Director. She was responsible for the preliminary preparations for the upcoming reality show, “The Traitor.”

Summit Media was formed on the foundation of a small creative studio Barron had acquired, called Summit Studio. Originally, this studio took on subcontracting work from larger independent production companies. After Bonnie’s investigation, it was found that the studio had a very good reputation, so Barron directly acquired it.

The original head of the studio, Fearghal Hayden, had relatively rich industry experience and temporarily became the manager of Summit Media.

It could be said that Summit Media was extremely busy during this period, because just the preliminary preparations for the variety show “The Traitor” required a lot of work.

The filming location for the show had been confirmed as Chatsworth House. The installation of high-definition cameras in the rooms of the manor used for filming had already begun. Those who had watched the show “Big Brother” should remember the ubiquitous cameras in the villa. The contestants’ shots in the manor would all be captured through these high-definition cameras.

After all, if the cameraman were to follow the contestants, in such a confined space, it would be a considerable test of their movement and ability to ignore the camera. Since they chose ordinary people as the show’s guests, this point had to be taken into consideration.

Furthermore, choosing Chatsworth House would allow the manor to gain some exposure if the show became popular, and at the same time, Chatsworth could also receive a certain amount of rent.

Yes, even though they both belonged to Barron, Summit Media still needed to pay rent for using Chatsworth House for filming.

Even Barron himself, when residing in Chatsworth House, would pay rent to the trust fund that owned the manor – because the trust fund itself was tax-exempt in many ways, and this process of “transferring funds from the left hand to the right” could exempt many taxes.

Compared to the selection of guests for the show “The Traitor,” things like installing cameras in Chatsworth House and making minor repairs and renovations were relatively simple.

No matter how creative a variety show was, what truly determined the final effect was always the guests involved.

And “The Traitor” was a “brain-burning” show that required acting skills, keen observation, and deduction, so the selection of guests was even more important.

Not long after Barron and the others returned to London, the Independent published a recruitment advertisement:

“Whether you hope to win a high prize of 250,000 pounds, or want to prove your abilities, this reality show is your best choice!

We need people with keen observation skills, or superb acting skills, and the ability to see through people’s hearts!

Perhaps you are in the crowd at this moment, but you possess extraordinary abilities, that’s right, it’s you, contact us, let everyone see your extraordinary!

…”

Similar recruitment advertisements were not only published in the Independent. Through the internet, Summit Media could be said to have brought the news of this show to the public’s attention – this was also considered a warm-up for the upcoming reality show.

After these announcements were released, they received responses from all over Britain. Many people contacted them via phone, email, and other means to sign up.

What Bonnie and the others needed to do was to select the final 22 contestants for the show from these massive applications.

These contestants included former police officers, actors, psychology experts, lawyers, and those who had worked for intelligence agencies… and others who possessed the qualities they needed.

Their screening not only required that these people had certain abilities, but also that their psychological resilience was strong, especially those willing to become “traitors”!

Many times, your own imagination, and your actual experience when facing that situation – being secretly scrutinized and investigated by everyone around you – the performance at that time might be very different.

Therefore, their layered screening was needed to find the people truly suitable for this show.

…

The time had reached the end of August, and after nearly a month, the price of London copper had dropped to below 1,000 pounds. This meant that the investment in shorting London copper was finally nearing its end.

Following Barron’s instructions, the securities investment department, under Daisy’s supervision, began buying to close their positions after the price of London copper fell below 1,000 pounds.

In the end, DS Capital completed the final closing with an average purchase price of 997.5 pounds.

This operation, with a 5% margin ratio, involved a total investment of 33 million pounds, and ultimately earned a profit of approximately 220 million pounds.

It could be said that this ratio was terrifying, but such a drop in the price of London copper was also extremely rare…

As for capital gains tax, that was something to consider next April. During this time, Barron could still make good use of the existing funds – and make some arrangements for “tax optimization.”

As for the original principal of 33 million pounds from this investment, Barron did not immediately repay the bank loan, but instead, he reinvested it in London copper.

Because he knew that London copper would not stay below 1,000 pounds for long. With the global economic recovery and the beginning of strong demand – especially starting from September of this year, the United States would continuously put pressure on Iraq, and under the shadow of war, the price of raw materials would also accelerate its rise.

Therefore, he reinvested these funds into London copper futures, but this time, he went long.

And he used a more conservative 8% margin ratio, to prevent his previous operations from affecting the market.

Of course, he was basically being a bit too cautious. After all, with the trading volume of London copper, his previous short positions were like dropping a drop of ink into a fish tank. It had some effect, but it was hard to see.

However, even with these memories from his past life, when making some financial investments, Barron still remembered to act cautiously, after all, it’s better to be safe than sorry.

It could be said that this shorting of London copper also had a great impact on Daisy.

In financial investment, choosing the right direction once is not too difficult. Such cases are common among those traders with some experience.

But being able to make the right choice every time is very difficult. It can be said that those who can do this are all the so-called “legendary traders.”

Of course, the current Barron was still far from “legendary,” but being able to make the right choice twice in a row was already very surprising.

Especially when Daisy later reviewed his shorting of AirGate stock, she found that whether it was the timing of Barron’s decision to build a position to short, the amount of funds used and the leverage multiple, or even the timing of the final closing, were all very precise. Therefore, she was very impressed with Barron’s foresight.

When Barron first told her that he was a genius, Daisy didn’t really believe it.

Even the first success of shorting AirGate stock only slightly changed her view of him.

People are always like this, a momentary success may be a matter of skill, or it may be luck.

But often, most people are prone to regard luck as their own skill.

Such people will often end up losing very badly, because succeeding with the wrong method is more terrible than failing with the right method – succeeding once makes you prone to path dependence on your own methods, and ultimately, continuing to increase the stakes will only lead to failure.

Daisy was also like this in the beginning, doubting Barron.

But this time, he was still successful, and DS Capital’s performance on London copper this time was simply too dazzling. Therefore, Daisy’s view of Barron had changed greatly – perhaps, her boss really did have an extraordinary keen sense for investment, and he really might be a genius.

But it was only a possibility, at least for now.

Chapter 77: Neutral and Charitable Attributes

At least for Daisy, as the direct handler, she was surprised by Barron’s profits in securities investment, let alone Julia.

Even though Julia’s opinion of Barron had greatly changed after he took over the family business, she still thought of his bet with her, that he would make over 50 million pounds in the stock market, as the arrogance of a young man who had achieved some success.

As for how likely Barron was to be an investment genius?

In fact, from the memories he obtained from his predecessor, Barron could feel that in family affairs, as the second son of the Duke, his predecessor was not as important as his elder brother, not even Julia, who was an outsider to the family, held a more core position than him – after all, a position like the manager of the family trust fund was definitely only entrusted to the most trusted person by the family head.

Because in fact, the so-called trust fund was actually a “neutral” asset.

When the family’s assets were placed in a “trust fund”, the reason why most taxes and inheritance taxes could be avoided was because of the “neutral” attribute of this asset.

Theoretically, the assets in the family trust fund no longer belonged to a certain person or a certain family, but a kind of “neutral asset”, but by setting the various attributes of the fund, as well as the fund manager and trustee, these assets could be controlled by the family.

To put it bluntly, you have the right to use these assets, but not the ownership.

But the assets are used for inheritance, the right to use is the most important, as for the ownership…

Just like those in power, the position that can use power is the most important.

This also shows the importance of the position of the manager of the family trust fund – this is also why before Barron completed the inheritance and became the trustee of the fund, unless Julia cooperated, he could not use the assets of the family trust fund.

In fact, Julia could not be considered an employee of the Devonshire family, because the “ownership” of the family fund did not belong to the Devonshire family – at least in theory, it was so.

Of course, this is only in theory, the trust fund itself was created by capital for inheritance, which has a compromise with the state, but in the final analysis, capital cannot give up its control over it, the so-called “neutrality” is just a “beautiful lie”.

Speaking of which, even Julia’s view of Barron had changed greatly for the better, because he was different from the impression she had of him before.

But to say that he could make 50 million pounds in the stock market through investment in a short period of time?

How could that be possible?

This was also the reason why Julia could agree to Barron’s “bet” at the time.

Did she really think it was so easy to make money through finance? Which of the previous Dukes of Devonshire was not more capable than ordinary people? But the eleventh Duke of Devonshire, struggled for 24 years for 7 million pounds in inheritance tax!

And the previous Duke, Barron’s father, had lost over 25 million pounds in investment!

These examples all prove the difficulty of making money through investment.

But now, the real scene was happening in front of Julia, after she had confirmed the operations of DS Capital, and the profits obtained – more than 200 million pounds, were still in the account of this investment company!

All these things confirmed – Barron had done it, and it had only been less than two months since their last bet!

He didn’t even use the six months he had said before…

“So, Ms. Moore, do you remember our bet?”

Barron’s every move was elegant, and the smile on his face looked very sunny to others.

But at this moment, in Julia’s eyes, all this was completely different.

Don’t think that the so-called “date” is just having a meal together…

In Britain, or Europe and the United States, in many situations, agreeing to have dinner sometimes means that they will naturally go to bed later…

Julia didn’t think that making 50 million pounds within six months was something she needed to consider the possibility of, so there was no need to care about the specific meaning of this “date”.

But now that the “bet” really needed to be fulfilled, she had to consider these things.

“What do you want me to do? Your Grace.”

Barron was not very familiar with Julia’s expression of mixed feelings, and he really enjoyed this moment.

“Just as we agreed at the time, we will have a romantic date…”

He specifically emphasized the word “date”:

“You will think so too, won’t you? Ms. Moore.”

“But you, you already have a girlfriend…”

Who would eat their prey immediately after catching it? Watching the prey struggle weakly, was probably the most pleasing and enjoyable thing…

Therefore, Barron still smiled at Julia’s words:

“With your understanding of the aristocracy, you shouldn’t say such things, Ms. Moore.”

“Okay, I will do what I promised, Your Grace.”

Seeing Julia bite her lip and make a decision, Barron patted her arm:

“Believe me, Ms. Moore, it will be a beautiful memory, not the expression you feel now.”

…

Now that he finally had money, since Barron came to this world, he could finally feel a little more relaxed.

Before this, he had many ideas and plans, but due to the shortage of funds, he could only find ways to make do, and was very worried.

The first thing to start was the overall renovation plan of Chatsworth House – DS Capital donated 20 million pounds to the Chatsworth House Charitable Trust for the repair and renovation of the manor.

Yes, the three castles and manors owned by the Devonshire family, including Chatsworth House, all belonged to the Chatsworth Charitable Trust held by the family trust fund.

The advantage of doing this was that the manor only needed to meet certain conditions for public opening, and it could be managed through this charitable trust, and could even accept public donations, and maintain the maintenance of these manors and castles by charging admission fees and venue rental fees.

Although even Barron and the others now needed to pay rent according to regulations when they lived in it, this could not change the fact that the manor was actually controlled by the family.

And there was another advantage, which was that the “donation” of DS Capital to the Chatsworth House Charitable Trust, even in fact, was a left-hand-right-hand action, but it could still be used to offset taxes with “charitable donations”, how awesome is that?

In this overall repair and renovation of Chatsworth House, according to Barron’s communication with Butler Sean before, they would first start with about 30 rooms that were originally open to the public, in addition to the places where Barron and the others lived, about 40 more rooms would be left for the filming of the upcoming program “Betrayal”.

After the public rooms were repaired and renovated, the reality show “Betrayal” would basically be completed, and the rooms they used would be repaired and renovated in the next step, and the last thing to be done was the repair and renovation of the areas where Barron and the servants lived.

The entire process, when completely finished, would take at least one to two years!

Chapter 78: Portal Website?

In the office of Independent Newspapers, facing Barron’s company manager Bob and editor-in-chief Whitney again, it was obvious that the smiles on their faces were more genuine this time.

After all, although they had accepted the “three-pronged approach” that Barron had initially proposed to reform The Independent, they had, in fact, shown more “respect” for the new boss.

But now it seemed that, putting aside other things, at least the first two items Barron had proposed at the time – the Downton Abbey novel and increasing the small format sections in The Independent – had boosted the newspaper’s sales.

From the initial sales of about 150,000 copies of The Independent, sales had now exceeded 200,000 copies, and the effect was very significant.

Especially from the recent sales situation, the small format sections of The Independent, which occupied an increasingly large share, showed significantly better sales.

Therefore, in the next step, they were already prepared to directly stop printing the original large-format The Independent and completely switch to the small-format newspaper – it could be said that the 2 million pounds the former owner, the INM Group, had paid them, was almost entirely used for this.

It could be said that a person’s prestige was definitely gradually strengthened from continuous success. Now Barron’s influence in the newspaper was completely different from when he first took over the newspaper.

For this reason, both manager Bob and editor-in-chief Whitney had also started to take the matter of Barron’s proposal to establish the newspaper’s official website, recruit editors for the electronic version of The Independent, and publish an electronic version of the newspaper seriously.

In the newspaper’s building, they had specially set aside half a floor to house the newspaper’s official website and the editors of the electronic version, as well as website construction and management personnel.

“Your Grace, this is our newspaper’s online edition editorial department. This is Mr. Deison Jorio, the editor of the online edition. Also, this is Khalid Rivier, our website’s technical director. He graduated from Cambridge University.”

Hearing the introduction from the newspaper’s manager, Bob, Barron’s gaze fell on Khalid. Being able to recruit a Cambridge University graduate to be the newspaper’s website’s technical director was quite a surprise to him.

The Independent Newspapers’ official website had been online for two weeks. Barron had visited it before, and it had basically met all the requirements he had initially proposed, and there were even some small surprises.

His surprise lay in the fact that the Independent Newspapers’ official website, in addition to having a very simple interface, a very user-friendly navigation bar, and content mainly consisting of pictures, had also set up a discussion area.

For some news reports on the official website, users could discuss them through comments and express their own opinions. Although this had become very common later on, at this time, it was considered a rather innovative idea.

After shaking hands with the two, Barron said:

“Gentlemen, I am very satisfied with your work. Everyone knows that the internet age has arrived. Especially for young people, the internet is very attractive. We, Independent Newspapers, cannot always stick to print newspapers and be complacent. We should embrace the internet, attract more young readers and young users. If you have any novel ideas, you must speak up. It’s okay to tell Manager Bob or me. I am willing to support any attempt that can help Independent Newspapers catch up. For example, adding comments after news reports to allow users to speak their minds is a very good attempt.”

Now, The Independent’s official website made Barron feel like it had some of the characteristics of a portal website. He said to Khalid, the website’s technical director:

“I think we can add more content to our official website, not just news, but also other content that users like, such as entertainment, cars, games, and even recipes. We can slowly open up sections to let them find content they are interested in and communicate with each other.”

“If that’s the case, I’m afraid we’ll need to add more editors, then the personnel for the official website will be too many.”

Hearing Barron’s words, the newspaper’s manager, Bob, said with some difficulty.

“Mr. Bob, I’m not saying that these things need to be implemented immediately. We can listen to the voices of the users. What content are they interested in? We can gradually add those sections. As for personnel, it’s not a problem.”

Barron would eventually enter the internet industry. Now, the Independent Newspapers’ official website could also be regarded as an attempt. Even if it meant spending a little more money, it was acceptable. He said to Bob:

“Didn’t you complain to me that the newspaper’s advertising revenue is decreasing year by year? What should be seen is that the total amount of advertising placed on print newspapers is indeed decreasing. The reason is that advertisers have found more platforms to place their ads, and this includes the internet. According to survey data, the amount of advertising placed on the internet is increasing very quickly. Then, if our official website does a good job with some content and attracts users’ attention, it can also become a profit growth point for the newspaper.”

In addition, Barron had also considered the issue of the newspaper’s personnel. After leaving the online editorial department and returning to the office, he also found editor-in-chief Whitney and discussed this issue with manager Bob:

“Mr. Bob, you should have understood my meaning just now. We need to embrace new technology. Therefore, in the future, I will not only position Independent Newspapers as a newspaper, but I also hope that through transformation, we can become a comprehensive media company.”

Seeing the confused expressions of the two, he explained:

“To put it plainly, we will be content producers, not just limited to print newspapers. We can deliver our content to users through various platforms. Newspapers, the internet, and even mobile phones in the future can all be ways for users to receive our high-quality content…”

In this regard, Barron was prepared to gradually change Independent Newspapers’ publishing process and personnel configuration and implement a strategy he called the “New Editorial Department Plan.”

The so-called New Editorial Department corresponded to Independent Newspapers’ current publishing process.

Currently, Independent Newspapers mainly valued the distribution of print newspapers, so the personnel configuration was all centered around the distribution of print newspapers.

For example, the night editors of Independent Newspapers at this time numbered as many as 60 people, just to timely finalize the layout and print the next day’s newspaper content every day.

But Barron’s New Editorial Department Plan would focus the newspaper’s focus on comprehensive content. The positioning of The Independent was “a newspaper for the elite,” deeper reporting and commentary. These only required selecting the most elite team from the newspaper to specifically serve this purpose, but it didn’t require so many people.

As for the other editors, they would undergo training to enable them to work for both the newspaper and the website, enriching the content.

And the newspaper would also increase talent in areas such as interaction, video, audio, and graphic production.

In fact, this “New Editorial Department Plan” was a strategy adopted by the Financial Times a few years later, and it was through such changes that this newspaper became one of the most successful in the global newspaper transformation.

Now, Barron was using it in the transformation of The Independent.

“In addition, there is our other newspaper, The Sunday Independent. I want to talk to you about whether it is necessary for this newspaper to continue to exist.”

If what Barron had just said, Bob and Whitney could still accept, then this sentence made the two of them a little surprised.

“You want to stop publishing The Sunday Independent? Your Grace, but this newspaper is still very popular with users.”

“This newspaper is too bloated, gentlemen, and my meaning is not to really stop publishing this newspaper, but to make some changes, such as turning it into a free newspaper, and not just publishing it once a week, but becoming an evening newspaper…”

Chapter 79: Free Evening Paper

The Sunday Independent was the Sunday edition of the Independent. It could be said that almost all national newspapers in Britain at this time had their corresponding Sunday editions.

And the Times was the first to do so.

In the 1980s, this newspaper was the first to publish a Sunday edition, and other newspapers followed suit.

But now, to cater to different reader groups, these Sunday editions published different content sections to capture the attention of everyone from children and businessmen to fashion enthusiasts. Eventually, the content of the newspapers expanded like a hot air balloon, filled with special supplements and magazines.

At first, readers would feel like they were carrying something as heavy as a newborn baby from the newspaper company, but more than half of the content would be thrown away without being read.

However, this newspaper concept did work. Soon, all weekend newspapers became more wasteful.

Last year, the weekend edition of the Guardian increased its page count by 60%, almost as thick as a monthly magazine.

Precisely distributed special supplements could indeed capture the attention of these people. The Observer Food Monthly and the Observer Sports Monthly increased the sales of the weekend newspapers by 6%.

However, some research results from the American newspaper market showed that one of the reasons young readers didn’t read newspapers was their deep concern for environmental issues—they thought such thick newspapers were too wasteful of paper…

And Barron’s idea was to suspend the increasingly large publication of the Sunday Independent and turn this newspaper into a free evening paper.

“The price of our Independent can be said to be relatively high among similar newspapers, but we need to prove that we deserve this price with quality and depth. In contrast, we also need a newspaper with sufficient circulation to ensure the scope of our readership, so another free evening paper is a good choice.”

Barron’s opinion, including Whitney, was generally agreed upon by others, but there were also difficulties.

Whitney said:

“But Your Grace, if we publish another evening paper and distribute it for free, then both the staffing and funding will be problems.”

“I understand your concerns, Editor-in-Chief, but there is a solution. In terms of staffing, as a free newspaper, we only need this newspaper to help readers pass the time on the subway or during other waiting times. Therefore, in terms of content, there is no need to be as refined as the Independent. We have the rich content of the official website, some novel reports from the online editors, and these can all be directly put into this free evening paper. Of course, in order to avoid affecting the image of the Independent in the minds of readers, we need to give this evening paper another name, such as the London Public Evening News, how about that?”

Seeing this suggestion of his, both Bob and Whitney agreed. Barron continued:

“As for the funding, you can also rest assured. In addition to the five million pounds in compensation from the INM Group, the Independent Newspapers will also receive a considerable amount of funds to improve these plans, which is enough. And once the circulation of our evening paper goes up, even if it can reach more than 500,000 copies, the subsequent advertising fees will also be enough for us to obtain huge profits.”

Barron had no doubt about whether publishing a free evening paper could be profitable.

Because more than a decade later, when the traditional newspaper market was generally declining, several free newspapers in Britain bucked the trend, doing well and becoming a highlight.

The most typical of these was the London Evening Standard. They were originally the only paid evening paper in London, and because they had no competitors, their previous operating conditions were good.

However, later, Associated Newspapers and News Corporation successively launched two evening papers, the London Lite and the London Paper, to compete for the evening paper market.

Affected by this, the circulation of the London Evening Standard continued to decline. By 2009, it was only 250,000 copies, with an annual loss of 10 million pounds, and it was on the verge of bankruptcy.

Associated Newspapers saw it as a burden and sold 75.1% of the shares of the Evening Standard for a symbolic price of one pound to Russian billionaire Alexander Lebedev, who was born in the Soviet KGB—well, that’s the same guy who later bought the Independent for one pound…

After that, the new boss of the London Evening Standard, Lebedev, turned the paper into a free newspaper and once again dominated the London evening paper market.

After the transformation, the circulation of the London Evening Standard increased from an initial 600,000 copies, later stabilizing at around 900,000 copies, and gradually turned a profit.

From January to September 2015, the London Evening Standard’s operating revenue reached 71.3 million pounds, an increase of 13% year-on-year; pre-tax profits reached 3.4 million pounds, a year-on-year increase of 3 times—the annual salary of the paper’s senior executives also increased from 200,000 pounds to 410,000 pounds.

It was precisely because of the huge potential of the free market that later, the Financial Times, the Daily Mirror, and others also launched their own free tabloids, distributed in specific markets.

Why could free newspapers succeed in Britain?

Later media experts believed that the main reasons were as follows: First, there was no mobile signal in the London Underground, and this “vacuum” also left more room for the survival of newspapers; second, free was an important factor, reading without spending money greatly reduced people’s reading costs; third, the positioning was accurate, the Metro and the London Evening Standard positioned themselves as “fast food” newspapers. Although the two newspapers were free, they were well-designed, with a fresh layout and rich content, and were a delicious “spiritual fast food” for urban white-collar workers on their way to and from work.

So the decision Barron made was also made in consideration of the later development of the British newspaper industry—he himself was prepared to vigorously develop the Independent’s official website, but you have to know that in this era, the internet was still absolutely dominated by the PC end, and among the public, perhaps only one in ten could access the internet. Therefore, putting some of their more interesting and “novel” content from their online edition directly onto the free evening paper still had a huge audience.

This could be considered making the best use of everything.

And free newspapers really do have a huge “financial future” and can guarantee a huge circulation—a slightly scaled free evening paper, with a circulation of over 500,000 copies, is very easy, after all, it’s free, so the scope of those messages is broader, and it’s also easier to guarantee Barron’s influence.

The Independent occupied the elite class, the London Public Evening News occupied the mass class, and the internet occupied the future. This was Barron’s plan for Independent Newspapers in the media industry.

As for what Barron just said, that Independent Newspapers will get a considerable amount of funds, this was what he was going to talk to the two of them about next.

This involved Barron’s real estate plan in London—in addition to the layout of the renovation in King’s Cross, Barron was also planning to build two buildings in London later.

One was the Cavendish Hotel, originally located in the Soho area. At the location of that hotel, he planned to demolish the old building and build the first building.

Later, at the location of the Independent Newspapers building in Canary Wharf, the second building would be built.

The specific plan was for DS Asset Management, a subsidiary of DS Capital, to acquire the land of the Cavendish Hotel, and then build the Cavendish Building there.

After the Cavendish Hotel Group received the funds, it could be used to accelerate development, and then after the Cavendish Building was completed, rent some of the floors and reopen the Cavendish (Soho) Hotel.

And after the Cavendish Building was completed, Independent Newspapers would temporarily move into it.

Then DS Asset Management would acquire the Independent Newspapers building and build the second building—the Devonshire Media Building—on the original site.

And Independent Newspapers could use these funds to develop itself.

All real estate would be held by DS Asset Management, and both the Cavendish Hotel Group and Independent Newspapers could obtain funds to develop themselves.

Chapter 80: The Date

“I must say, you’re stunning tonight, Ms. Moore.”

“But this ‘date’ you’ve arranged tonight is quite a surprise.”

Usually, the Julia that Barron saw was dressed in professional attire. Today, however, she was wearing a long dress, which made him feel refreshed.

Especially now, as they stood on the shore, the wind blew, lifting the strands of hair beside her temples, and a fragrance wafted over.

Yes, for this date, Barron had brought Julia to a yacht club on the River Thames. The two of them were standing on the pier, and before them was a white yacht with graceful lines.

“I’m also taking a rare moment to relax, so, Ms. Moore, don’t you think driving a yacht together and admiring the night scenery along the banks would be a rare and pleasant time?”

“If it’s really just admiring the night scenery as you say… Also, Your Grace, do you know how to drive a yacht?”

Initially, Julia thought Barron had rented the yacht to take them for a ride on the River Thames. But when she got on the yacht and found that only the two of them were there, she couldn’t help but ask.

Barron indeed didn’t know how to drive a yacht, of course, this was referring to his previous self.

But in his previous life, he had attended quite a few yacht parties, and during those times, he had also learned to drive a yacht, so it was completely unproblematic for him today.

“What? If you’re worried, it’s not too late to regret it now.”

Although Barron said that, Julia saw him sitting skillfully in front of the cockpit, starting the yacht, and knew that he really knew how to drive.

The yacht Barron had rented was only a medium-sized one. He also thought of that Russian tycoon, Abramovich , who would buy Chelsea Football Club next year, and his superyacht, the Eclipse.

That was a real sea palace. It’s just that his current wealth was still too low. Buying this kind of medium-sized yacht was affordable, but it wasn’t very interesting. One day in the future… he thought to himself, he would also buy a superyacht that was impressive enough…

“Don’t you know how to drive? Ms. Moore, driving a yacht is actually simpler than that. Do you want me to teach you?”

“No need for that. Anyway, even if I learned, I still wouldn’t be able to afford one.”

Hearing her words, Barron smiled:

“Don’t be so lacking in confidence. I can guarantee that as long as you help me manage the family fund well, you’ll definitely be able to afford one in the future. At least a yacht like this is no problem. Or, I can give you one then.”

“Are you really so confident about the future of the family fund, Your Grace?”

“Of course. Have you forgotten what I told you? I’m a genius.”

Seeing the confident expression on Barron’s face when he said this, Julia’s beautiful eyes shifted from him to the lights on the shore…

If she had thought he was too arrogant the first time she heard him say that, now, she did feel a huge difference between the heir to the Devonshire family and her previous memory of him. Being able to achieve what he had done now, she could say that she had already slightly acknowledged Barron’s words.

“I know your investment company donated 20 million pounds to Chatsworth House, and also established the Devonshire Ecological Agriculture Company, so what’s next…”

“Ms. Moore…”

Barron interrupted her:

“We’re on a date today, so let’s not talk about work matters. If you want to know about these things, you can ask tomorrow.”

Barron stopped the yacht in a wide part of the river and brought Julia to the yacht’s living room, where dinner was already laid out.

“At least it’s not cold yet, so please dine, Ms. Moore.”

Barron opened the cover over the dishes, revealing a satisfied expression. He pushed the chair on one side back and said to Julia.

“Thank you.”

“So for this beautiful evening, this bottle of red wine is specially prepared by me.”

“I don’t want you to drink and drive later, Your Grace.”

“Haha, don’t worry, there are no traffic police on the River Thames.”

…

The night in London at the end of August was considered cool, especially after they had dinner. Barron and Julia sat on the chairs at the stern of the boat, quietly admiring the night view.

“Ms. Moore, what I’m a little curious about is, as far as I know, you came to the family trust fund after graduation. Before that, did you have any romantic experiences?”

Julia had drunk half a bottle of red wine, but it seemed her capacity was quite good. She did not disappoint the blood of the fighting nation flowing in her veins.

But at this moment, under the moonlight, it could still be seen that there were a few more traces of intoxication in her eyes compared to her usual calm and composure.

“What? Are you very interested in this, Your Grace?”

“We’re on a date today, and you usually seem more like a ‘workaholic’, so it’s not too surprising that I’m curious about this.”

Perhaps because she had drunk some wine, or maybe it was just the atmosphere tonight. If it were usual, Julia would probably refuse to answer Barron’s question. But at this moment, she looked up at the night sky and said lightly:

“Of course, I’ve had a crush before, after all, I’m not as strange as you imagine…”

“So, it was during university?”

“Mm.”

Julia tucked the hair blown by the wind behind her ear and said with a hint of reminiscence:

“It may not be a complete relationship, but I was very moved at the time. You could say it was a crush. There was a senior at the time who was very talented. At least at that time, I was always looking up to him…”

“What happened later? Didn’t you confess?”

“No…”

Speaking of this, Julia’s expression was a bit strange. She hesitated for a moment and continued:

“I should say that on Valentine’s Day that year, I had already prepared to confess, bought chocolates, until… I saw him hugging another boy.”

This twist came too quickly, Barron almost couldn’t help but laugh…

Well, that’s very British.

“Just that one time?”

“Mm, if you don’t count that thing you know about.”

Barron knew that what she was talking about was the relationship with his brother that ended without a resolution… mutual affection.

“It feels a little cold, Your Grace, shall we go back now?”

Seeing her stand up, Barron also stood up. In the next second, he pulled Julia into his arms, and then…

After a long kiss that was a bit awkward at first, but gradually improved, Barron let go of Julia:

“So, this is your first kiss?”

“I can refuse to answer…”

Barron smiled and shook his head. From her initial awkwardness, he already knew the answer.

“Let’s go back, Ms. Moore.”

To be honest, his words still surprised Julia a little. Because when she agreed to his “date” tonight, she had already made certain preparations.

Just as she inexplicably felt a sense of loss and was surprised by this feeling, Barron seemed to see through her thoughts and turned to her, saying:

“I said, today is just a date, Ms. Moore. Some things, I won’t use bets to get.”

Looking at Barron’s back as he walked towards the cockpit, Julia suddenly felt that she seemed to have never truly known this Duke’s heir from beginning to end.

Chapter 81: Support from the Crown Prince

“So, Barron, Lord Blair is quite troubled by your newspaper’s recent reports. Knowing I would be meeting with you today, he expressed his hope that this matter wouldn’t be sensationalized further…”

“Your Royal Highness, aren’t those reports factual? If Lord Blair feels the reports are embarrassing, then the best thing for him to do is to quickly provide the victims with an acceptable outcome, rather than shifting the blame onto some terrorists. Wouldn’t that be a laughingstock?”

The person speaking to Barron was the Crown Prince, and the “Lord Blair” he mentioned was not the one currently residing at 10 Downing Street, but rather the current Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police – Ian Blair.

Well, this Commissioner shared the same surname as Viscount Booth, which wasn’t surprising, as European and American names only had a limited number of variations…

This was also why the monarchs of the United Kingdom always had rather “peculiar” nicknames, such as “Edward Longshanks” or “William Rufus”…

Because from the Norman dynasty in 1066 to the current Queen, there were forty-one British monarchs, including: eight Edwards, eight Henrys, six Georges, four Williams, three Richards, two Charles, two Marys, two Elizabeths, and two Jameses…

So after having nicknames, Mom doesn’t have to worry about me getting confused anymore…

Uh… back to the topic, the reason the Crown Prince brought up this matter today was because the Independent newspaper had devoted a special report in the past two days to the Metropolitan Police, detailing their recent “ineffectiveness,” lambasting them as a bunch of incompetents who couldn’t be relied upon to protect the citizens of the United Kingdom.

These reports naturally mentioned the “London Star” case – almost four months had passed, and there was still no explanation. The newspaper interviewed the victims of the fraud case, and they all criticized the Metropolitan Police’s actions in the case, which were almost non-existent.

There were also other cases, including one that had just been revealed – in February of this year, a little girl was kidnapped, and earlier this month, the girl’s body was found, confirming that she had been murdered at the time. However, the Metropolitan Police had been under the impression that the girl was still alive, wasting a lot of investigation time…

Because this case was a recent hot topic, the Independent’s report sparked a lot of outrage, and the Metropolitan Police was under immense public pressure.

“You can rest assured about this, Barron. I have been following the ‘London Star’ case, and I understand that you need to get a satisfactory answer. I will arrange for Sir Dillyf to meet with you. He is more aware of the latest developments in this case than the Metropolitan Police.”

“Thank you, Your Royal Highness.”

Barron knew that the Sir Dillyf the Crown Prince mentioned was Richard Dearlove, who was currently the head of MI6. It seemed that he would need to ask this person for more reliable information.

Of course, these matters were just a starting point for the Crown Prince’s remarks, and were not the main purpose of Barron’s meeting with the Crown Prince.

“In addition, I want to talk to you about ITVDigital.”

“Terrestrial digital television?”

Upon hearing Barron mention ITVDigital, the Prince of Wales pondered for a moment and guessed:

“Are you planning to get involved in this? Isn’t the BBC already in negotiations with them?”

“The BBC alone cannot compete with Sky Television, or rather, the News Corporation behind them. It has been like this since the very beginning of satellite television. If the BBC had been decisive back then, how could BSB have been acquired by the News Corporation? And I am worried that the BBC will make the same mistake again.”

The Prince of Wales also knew that now, it was more accurate to say that the BBC was negotiating with the government rather than ITVDigital – the BBC itself had satellite television, and they also understood that building a terrestrial digital television network covering the entire United Kingdom would require huge sums of money, which was a risk they didn’t want to take. Therefore, to take over ITVDigital, they needed the government to provide funding, and as for the digital aspect, they probably wished the government would fund everything…

“But Barron, you should know that although ITVDigital has three terrestrial digital television licenses, and the BBC only needs one, the construction plan for terrestrial digital television requires more funds than a newspaper can afford. And according to my information, the government is unwilling to provide additional subsidies in this area – at least it’s difficult to directly obtain too much funding.”

“You don’t need to worry about the funds, Your Highness. My recent investments have been very successful, and I have a sum of money prepared for this, and the subsequent funds can also be resolved.”

Facing the Crown Prince’s doubts, Barron said with great confidence:

“Of course, in this regard, you should understand that as a nobleman, I have my own sense of responsibility. Just like what the Independent has done, I will uphold the interests of the United Kingdom, rather than, like some media, resorting to any means necessary to attract attention.”

The Crown Prince naturally understood Barron’s implication; the News of the World and The Sun newspapers under News Corporation could be said to be representatives of the kind of media that Barron was referring to, with no bottom line.

“And I don’t want to achieve everything overnight, but instead, I plan to first cooperate with ITV to produce program content, and only after accumulating enough experience will I truly enter the television field.”

During the process of Barron purchasing the Independent, the Crown Prince had also offered assistance – at the time, Barron was not the only one interested in buying the newspaper. The INM Group’s decision to sell the Independent to Barron was influenced not only by Barron’s willingness to assume the newspaper’s debts, but also by the Crown Prince’s influence in mediating the deal.

Therefore, obtaining the Crown Prince’s support, and subsequently the support of the Royal Family, was also very important for his current plan to get involved in the transfer of the terrestrial satellite television licenses held by ITVDigital.

At least, in the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee of the United Kingdom, the Royal Family could still have a say with those who ultimately had the power to influence the transfer of terrestrial satellite television licenses. After all, television stations, in any country, were not just a form of entertainment for the public, but also represented the transmission of culture and values.

“As long as you meet the corresponding conditions, I will support you in this regard, Barron, after all, we are on the same side.”

“Thank you, Your Highness. You know that whether it’s newspapers or television, my purpose is not to make money, but to preserve our voice in these propaganda fields of the United Kingdom, especially now, when News Corporation is somewhat aggressive in these fields. It is even more necessary for us to maintain diversity, rather than being controlled by them.”

It has to be said that Barron’s words did indeed move the Crown Prince. After all, the newspapers and media under News Corporation had reported a lot of gossip about the Royal Family, and many reports had made the Royal Family quite annoyed.

What impressed him most was probably those reports and sensationalism about Princess Diana back then. If Barron could stand on their side, at least for the Royal Family, they could gain more allies in the public opinion arena.

Chapter 82: Miller Valley

“Barron, is your investment really that profitable?”

The previous financial situation of the Devonshire family was also known to the Prince of Wales. It could be said that, although it was much better than many fallen nobles, it was the same as many old nobles, mainly relying on land and the family’s inherent industries for income.

But Barron’s recent actions clearly showed that he had sufficient funds. Coupled with the fact that he knew Barron was investing in securities, the Crown Prince asked this question.

“It’s not bad, Your Highness. Securities investment does have risks, but it seems I have a good talent in this area.”

It seemed that the Prince of Wales was indeed very interested in these things, and unlike the previous Prince William, he wasn’t purely interested in the so-called “financial giants” after watching some movies and TV shows. The Prince was genuinely concerned about the direction of some investments.

The royal family’s assets had been seeking various investments, and they also held many stocks. For someone like the Prince of Wales, although he couldn’t be said to be extremely proficient in securities investment, he still generally understood it—even though there were professionals managing their investments, they themselves couldn’t be completely ignorant.

Seeing the Prince of Wales’s hidden meaning, Barron said directly:

“Your Highness, my company is also preparing a private equity fund recently. If you are interested, you can go to the company to learn more about it. For your investment, I can provide a principal guarantee, without taking any risk. Moreover, all the funds of this private equity fund will be fully managed by Barclays Bank, so there is no need to worry about safety.”

In terms of financial investment, Barron could see many opportunities, but from the very beginning, he had been facing a shortage of funds. Therefore, instead of using his own funds for investment, absorbing the funds of others, in the form of a managed private equity fund, could achieve the purpose of using other people’s money to help him make money.

After all, as a private equity fund, it would not only charge management fees to customers, but more importantly, the profits earned could be shared.

As for Barron guaranteeing the principal of the Prince of Wales’s funds, on the one hand, he didn’t think his investments would lose money. On the other hand, he was also taking the opportunity to deepen his connection with the other party—after all, although the royal family’s power wasn’t that great at this time, their influence was still very significant in many aspects of Britain.

Similarly, if he could bind more dignitaries to his side and form a community of interests, then Barron would be much smoother in whatever he did later—no one is stingy with offering friendship to those who can help them make money.

It could be seen that the Prince of Wales was indeed tempted by this, but he was still relatively cautious, and indicated that he would bring his financial advisor to DS Capital to learn more another day.

It seemed that this time the Crown Prince was prepared to use his own money to invest, rather than the royal assets—as the Crown Prince, the Prince of Wales had assets under his own management, mainly from the Duchy of Cornwall, which he took over when he was 21 years old, and after taking over, the Crown Prince hired a large team of professional managers to manage his wealth.

It could be said that he was one of the most astute people in the royal family in terms of financial management, and the assets managed by the Crown Prince had also seen the highest appreciation among the royal assets in recent years.

……

After a month of fermentation, especially after the Smysen Company completed the design of the high-end Werewolf game package and sent the finished product to Barron’s familiar nobles, including Prince William and Viscount Booth, the Werewolf game quickly became popular among the young people of London’s upper class.

Especially Prince William, who was not at all reserved, directly took ten sets of the Smysen version of the Werewolf game package from Barron and gave them to his friends.

Those who could become his friends were naturally also the nobles and the children of the super-rich in London’s upper class—even the super-rich were mostly from old money families.

In fact, Prince William had originally wanted to buy them from Barron, after all, there was no other place to buy the Werewolf game sets except from him, but Barron wouldn’t be so particular with the Prince about such a small amount of money, and just gave them to him directly.

The 100 sets of Werewolf game packages he had customized from the Smysen Company had less than half left by now, and Barron was even considering whether to order more?

It was at this time that he arrived at a distinctive small building located on the west side of Chelsea.

“Your Grace, the renovation here is almost complete, and the recruited personnel are also undergoing training. It is expected to open within half a month.”

Following Barron was Nathan Ford, the person in charge of the Halo Company.

The most important thing for Halo Company now was to promote the “Werewolf” game, including the small building they were in at this moment, which was one part of the entire promotion plan.

“This will be a high-end club, so there is no need to be so tight on time. The most important thing is that the quality after opening cannot disappoint the customers.”

After visiting the interior decoration of the small building, Barron was still satisfied, as everything was done according to his instructions.

When the two returned to the door of the building, they could see that a very simple nameplate was hanging on the side of the door frame, with the words “Miller Valley” written on it—in the Werewolf setting, the werewolves all came from Miller Valley, so this club named “Miller Valley” was a members-only club that Barron had specifically opened for the Werewolf game.

When everyone played Werewolf during gatherings, the only inconvenience was that they needed to choose a judge to host the game, and the game experience of the judge’s role—if watching other people’s performances from a god’s perspective could also be considered an experience… so usually no one was willing to always play the judge, and most of the time they needed to take turns.

But Barron’s club had specifically trained a group of handsome men and beautiful women as professional “judges”. When those people wanted to play Werewolf, they could choose to come to this “Miller Valley”, which was basically a club, with excellent privacy, and the experience would be very good.

The location of “Miller Valley” was right in the center of the three wealthy areas of Kensington, Chelsea, and Fulham. It was very convenient for the children of the wealthy families living in these places to come here to play games.

After learning that Barron was about to open such a “Werewolf” themed club, including the two princes and other young people who were keen on this game, they had already reserved the membership of this club, and at that time, it would be necessary to make a reservation to enter.

“There’s another thing, Your Grace, a French company contacted us, saying that they hope to obtain authorization to release the ‘Werewolf’ board game cards…”

“A French company? What’s the name?”

Hearing that there was now a board game company interested in “Werewolf”, Barron was also somewhat surprised, and asked casually.

“Let me see, um, it’s called Asmodee…”

In his previous life, Barron had also played board games many times with his friends. Hearing the name Asmodee, he became interested.

Because he knew that in the future, the Asmodee company would become a globally renowned board game giant, known as A-she.

Asmodee was founded in 1995, and its earliest success came from the board game “Jungle Speed” in 1998, which was a game of reaction and hand speed.

However, what really made the Asmodee company begin to grow was that they obtained the right to publish the French version of the Pokémon Trading Card Game TCG in 2003.

By the time Barron was reborn, the Asmodee company had grown into a giant in the board game industry, with a market value of over 3 billion euros…

Right, Barron suddenly remembered that the Werewolf game from his previous life—that is, the copyright of the game “Werewolves of Miller’s Hollow”, seemed to be in the hands of the Asmodee company.

“Do you know how they became interested in ‘Werewolf’?”

“It seems that one of their company’s founders played our game at a gathering in London, and then felt that this game had great potential, so they contacted us…”

“So the one who contacted us was also this founder?”

“Yes, Your Grace, this young man named Philippe contacted me just yesterday.”

“Laura, what time do I have available tomorrow?”

Hearing Barron’s question, his personal assistant, Laura, immediately said:

“Your Grace, you will be going to Top Summit Media tomorrow morning, and if the time is early, you won’t have any other arrangements until the afternoon.”

“Mr. Ford, then please have that Philippe from the Asmodee company meet with me tomorrow morning to discuss this matter.”

Chapter 83: Broadcast Time

In fact, the Asmodee company had three founders, and Philip, who came to London, was one of them.

The next day, when Phillips met with Barron, he had just expressed his hope that Asmodee could obtain the authorization for “Werewolf,” when he heard an “advice” from Barron that surprised him.

“Your Grace, are you saying you want to invest in our company?”

“Yes, Mr. Phillips, I can authorize ‘Werewolf’ to you, but the premise is that you allow me to invest in your company…”

Barron said calmly:

“You should have already seen the game props we produced, but that’s just a limited edition for high-end people. We’ve also considered releasing a Werewolf tabletop game for the public and have examined this market. From your quick response and actions, I can see that Asmodee is a very ambitious company, but you should see that in the tabletop game market, what all companies ultimately compete on is how many best-selling tabletop game copyrights they hold.”

Listening to Barron’s words, Phillips couldn’t help but nod. It seemed they had also given a lot of thought to the company’s future and agreed with Barron’s words.

“So the best way to develop and strengthen the company is to constantly acquire—there are now many small studios releasing quite creative tabletop games, but these require funds as a backing, and I am the one who can provide you with the funds.”

Before coming to see this young Duke, Phillips hadn’t expected that the handsome young man before him had such a deep understanding of the tabletop game market. After a conversation with Barron, he finally said:

“Personally, I very much agree with your view, Your Grace, but I still need to discuss this with others before I can give you an answer.”

“That’s no problem, Mr. Phillips, I will wait for your answer.”

…

Barron’s meeting with Phillips happened after he went to Summit Media.

In Summit Media, the 22 contestants who would participate in the first season of the reality show “Traitor” had been confirmed, and they had signed relevant agreements with each of them, just waiting for the recording of this program.

The entire recording time was expected to be completed within ten days, and with the post-production time added, it should be able to start airing within half a month—after all, according to the plan, this would be a weekly program, with one episode broadcast each week, so within half a month, they only needed to complete the post-production of the first episode, and for the following episodes, they would have a week to complete the post-production.

Because it was the first time they recorded this kind of reality show, Summit Media also specifically hired a director from Endemol, who had previously participated in the production of “Big Brother” many times, through the relationship of Nate Ford, the head of Halo, to help them produce the first season of “Traitor.”

After all, similar to “Big Brother,” in this program “Traitor,” the contestants would live in the manor and conduct a ten-day closed recording, including their game segments, which would also be completed in the manor and the nearby town. Whether it was the overall arrangement of the program or the later editing, this director, who had experience in recording “Big Brother,” could make their program production process smoother.

“But what we need to consider is the agreement signed with ITV. From half a month later until the end of the year, before they hold another auction for the next broadcast time, we can get one hour of broadcast time every night from 10 PM to 11 PM. And even when the program”Traitor” can start broadcasting, it’s only one hour on Saturday nights. How should we fill the broadcast time at other times? Do we need to purchase some programs?”

When Barron discussed the matter of the ITV channel with Summit Media’s manager, Fergall, and Bonnie, Fergall raised this question.

When Night Television faced a suspension of their evening programs due to program violations, Summit Media took the initiative to contact ITV, and finally secured this one hour of broadcast time every day for more than three months. The cost was not too high—after all, Night Television had already paid for these broadcast times, and the program violation was entirely the responsibility of the production company, so ITV now needed content to fill this one hour of broadcast time.

They were already quite interested in the program “Traitor,” but if ITV directly purchased it for broadcast, they needed to consider whether the program could be accepted by the public. Now that Summit Media could directly buy their broadcast time, the risk could be said to be much smaller, and they could also steadily get an extra amount of funds.

Therefore, Summit Media ultimately spent five million pounds to get this one hour of broadcast time every day for more than three months.

However, in this way, facing the pressure of profitability, Summit Media needed to find advertisers to place ads in the program and seek more profit points.

And as Fergall said, how to fill this time was also a problem, because currently, they only had the program “Traitor,” which could only satisfy one hour of broadcast per week.

“This is very simple. We can broadcast some of the interesting outtakes that were cut from the main program of”Traitor” at other times of the week. As for the other times, this is what I want to talk to you about. We can broadcast Werewolf.”

“Werewolf?”

Bonnie had played Werewolf, while Fergall hadn’t been exposed to it yet, but when they heard Barron say this, both of them showed puzzled expressions.

“Yes, it’s very simple, find some people to play Werewolf, and then record the process, and then broadcast it.”

“This… Your Grace, will anyone like to watch this?”

It was normal for Fergall to have this question. At this time, the British television stations really didn’t directly broadcast the process of a tabletop game like this, but Barron had this experience. In his previous life, before he graduated, he had seen a live broadcast of a game of “Gouji” on the television station in his hometown of Shandong Province, and there were quite a few people watching.

And after Werewolf became popular later, the videos of live Werewolf matches also had extremely high views.

Therefore, Barron was not at all worried about whether directly broadcasting Werewolf matches would attract viewers.

And in this way, he could also use this to promote Werewolf, and once this game became popular, the benefits he could obtain would not be comparable to the mere five million pounds of channel broadcast fees.

He didn’t intend to broadcast ordinary games of Werewolf in too frivolous a way, but would find Werewolf masters through the “Miller Mountain Valley” club. Then, there could be duels between masters, or they could invite some celebrities to play Werewolf. That would be even more attractive.

Since Barron said so, they were also prepared to try it first. If it didn’t work, they could just buy other broadcast content.

Another problem was the sponsors of the reality show “Traitor.”

“What we have found so far is the vehicle sponsor. Infiniti is willing to sponsor the vehicles for our program. Their latest SUV has just been launched, and they hope to open up the British market…”

Chapter 84: Mars Fund

In fact, apart from accumulating program production experience for Summit Media, the greatest role of the program “The Traitor” is to promote Chatsworth Manor and the Werewolf game.

Of course, like many variety shows, it also needs various sponsors to cover the cost of program production—it is estimated that there will be 12 episodes, and the prize money plus production costs will exceed 15 million pounds. This is just an estimated amount, and it is very likely that additional funds will be needed during the production process.

For this first program, Summit Media’s lowest expectation, as a way to train the entire team, is at least to not lose money.

After all, at this time, Summit Media was just a “new recruit” and didn’t have any outstanding works to show, so those sponsors often wouldn’t risk giving too high a sponsorship.

Just like their first sponsor, Infiniti, the company will currently only provide the program with the corresponding vehicles for use, requiring a close-up of their new SUV in the program.

However, according to Barron’s requirements, the sponsorship contract signed by Summit Media and Infiniti is also extremely flexible.

After the subsequent episodes are broadcast, Infiniti will pay the sponsorship fee based on the program’s ratings. If the program’s average rating can exceed 40%, then Infiniti will provide the highest sponsorship fee—25 million pounds!

This also means that nearly half of the people watching television programs at the same time are watching the “The Traitor” reality show, which is very difficult, because this rating is often the champion of the year.

However, as long as the ratings can exceed 25%, then the sponsorship fee they provide can reach 15 million pounds, and this sponsorship can almost cover the production cost of “The Traitor” program.

But accordingly, at those times, they would need to give Infiniti’s new SUV more screen time in the program…

“In addition to vehicle sponsorship, other sponsors also need to be contacted as soon as possible…”

Each episode of “The Traitor” will have game tasks, and the contestants need to accumulate prize money through the games. Each game can have a named sponsor announced by the host.

One of the details is that the sponsorship price for the game segment that may be initially broadcast will be relatively low, but as the program is broadcast and the ratings continue to rise, the subsequent sponsorship fees will increase significantly—after all, the content of the sponsor can be edited later and added to the upcoming program at any time.

Therefore, the most critical point is that “The Traitor” program needs to be excellent enough to obtain high ratings, so that its final income will be higher.

And once the first season of “The Traitor” is successful, then the subsequent promotion of this program will be very easy, and the sponsorship amount will also continue to rise. This is the powerful money-making ability of a blockbuster series of variety shows.

At this time, Summit Media didn’t have many employees. Manager Feigal was in charge of negotiating with ITV and the program’s commercial operation.

Bonnie, as the company’s planning director, in addition to being responsible for the production of the “The Traitor” reality show, will also serve as the host in this program, controlling the direction of the program.

For this kind of reality show, what the audience loves most are those “drama” plots. The more the contestants tear each other apart, the more the audience loves to watch.

When choosing the 22 contestants for the program at the beginning, this point had already been considered based on their respective personalities—although this program cannot be said to give them a “script” to act, it is still possible to grasp some trends through some game groupings and the setting of game segments, which will test Bonnie’s ability to control the situation.

Currently, Chatsworth Manor has prepared 30 rooms for Summit Media, which will be provided to the contestants for accommodation and as their daily activity area.

In addition, personnel have already been hired, and props needed for the game segments have been custom-made. This segment will also be built near Chatsworth Manor.

It can be said that from the very beginning when the script of “The Traitor” reality show was provided to Summit Media, Barron had already written the entire content of the program in the script in detail, based on the British version of “The Traitors” that he had watched in his previous life, so they can completely record the variety show according to this plan, just by controlling the direction of the contestants.

Even including which professions and personalities the contestants should choose, which contestants should play what roles, how many high-value contestants should be included, and which ones can be paired up by the audience, are all noted.

The selection of contestants is also basically carried out in accordance with his requirements.

…

During the last meeting with the Crown Prince, Barron mentioned to him that his DS Capital was preparing to establish a private equity fund.

In fact, this idea had already been in Barron’s mind when he first prepared to engage in securities investment, but at that time he didn’t have any “achievements” to show, so the plan for this private equity fund only started after he completed two impressive investment operations.

Although Barron himself did not have the qualifications required for a fund manager, Daisy did, so this private equity fund, named Mars, will take Daisy as the fund manager—in fact, Daisy mainly serves as the executor of Barron’s investment strategy, and after these investments by DS Capital, Daisy has basically recognized Barron’s “genius.”

The Mars Fund will use Barclays Bank as the fund’s custodian. All the funds of the fund will be transferred to the custodial account specially set up by Barclays Bank. DS Capital cannot arbitrarily transfer these funds, but needs to operate through the fund supervision of Barclays Bank—this is also necessary to give investors greater security.

Also because Barron had the idea of establishing a private equity fund long ago, he did not deliberately conceal some of DS Capital’s achievements in the securities market. If the short selling of AirGate stock could only be said to be a small amount of money’s risky operation, then the performance on London copper could be described as a textbook-like beautiful operation.

Therefore, after the Mars Fund completed the establishment procedures, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, after visiting DS Capital again with his investment advisor, decided to put 10 million pounds into this private equity fund—of course, according to what Barron had promised him at the beginning, the investment agreement signed by DS Capital and the Crown Prince included a clause to guarantee the principal, so the worst result of the Crown Prince’s funds can only be not making money, and will not incur any losses.

This is also the reason why he dared to put 10 million pounds into the Mars Fund for the first time.

Of course, Barron is not a fool either. The reason why he is willing to give the Crown Prince such a bottom-line clause, in addition to his confidence in his own operations, is also because the “advertising effect” of the Crown Prince joining the Mars Fund cannot be ignored.

It was also after the Prince of Wales participated in the Mars Fund, and after Barron held several cocktail parties specifically targeting London’s upper class to promote the Mars Fund, that the Mars Fund quickly raised 50 million pounds.

Among them, Viscount Booth. and other nobles or wealthy businessmen who had a cooperative relationship with Barron all participated to varying degrees, and even the Duke of Westminster invested 10 million pounds to join the Mars Fund.

Chapter 85: Royal Suite

A scale of 50 million pounds sterling isn’t considered high for a private equity fund; it could even be called a relatively small investment fund.

However, there’s nothing that can be done about it. As a “newbie” in the investment industry, everything still needs to be proven through performance. Once this fund shows good results, it can attract more capital.

Moreover, to attract investment, Barron directly stipulated in the initial investment agreement of the Mars Fund that if the fund’s annualized return is below 10%, all investors’ fund management fees will be waived; they only need to pay the custodian fee – the custodian fee is charged by the custodian bank, Barclays Bank, so DS Capital cannot waive it.

But as a private equity fund, DS Capital can collect a profit share from users. For the portion of customer profits below 20%, they will receive 20% of the profit share; for the portion of customer profits between 20% and 50%, they will receive 30% of the profit share; for the portion of customer profits between 50% and 100%, they will receive 40% of the profit share; for the portion of customer profits above 100%, they will receive 50% of the profit share.

All customers had no objections to this profit-sharing clause, because it is the normal operation of a private equity fund.

And from their perspective, they even hoped that DS Capital could get more profit sharing, which represents that their investment has obtained a high enough return.

You must know that, under normal circumstances, being able to consistently provide an investment return of more than 10% per year is enough to attract countless funds. And DS Capital guarantees that it will not charge management fees when the annualized return is below 10%, which in itself forces it to only be able to wholeheartedly manage the finances for customers, making their investment return higher than 10%; otherwise, in this private equity fund, in fact, DS Capital will lose money, because part of the originally charged management fees is needed to pay for various expenses to maintain the operation of the fund.

And some funds, because their performance is not good, make money entirely on management fees, which can be said to be making money even while lying down…

For the 50 million pounds sterling in the Mars Fund, Daisy, as Barron instructed, invested all of it in long positions on crude oil and gold, and did not use too high a leverage, only five times – compared to his own funds, the Mars Fund only needed to have a relatively eye-catching performance, and did not need to pursue the highest rate of return.

…

When Barron woke up in the morning, he saw the girl next to him still asleep.

With the light filtering in from the gaps in the floor-to-ceiling curtains, Barron reached out to grab the phone on the bedside table…

What he got wasn’t the phone, but a piece of – black cloth…

Uh, he put it aside and finally found the phone.

The phone screen lit up, and he could see clothes scattered all over the floor in the room, as well as a torn and tattered stocking hanging on the lamp – from these scenes, one could also tell how intense the battle was last night…

It seemed to be because of Barron’s movements that the woman next to him woke up and turned her head…

The woman had long, flaxen hair, and under the light in the room, he could see her face… it was none other than Prince William’s girlfriend, Sasha.

Sasha’s consciousness was still just returning, and she was a little dazed. When she subconsciously lifted the covers and sat up, she revealed her beautiful figure.

“Mr. Barron…”

She had just called out Barron’s name when Barron had already sealed her lips…

Well, the beds in the hotel are of good quality.

…

In fact, Sasha is no longer Prince William’s girlfriend now; she can be called his ex-girlfriend, because the two had just broken up.

Barron really didn’t expect that when he accidentally met Sasha again in London, he learned that they had just broken up.

The reason, well, was that Prince William had played around a bit, or perhaps he himself wasn’t too serious about this Saint Andrews University campus belle – according to Sasha, William actually proposed to her… well, a novel learning method, “When three walk together, there must be one who can be my teacher”…

Sasha was greatly shocked by this, and she naturally couldn’t accept it, so she broke up with him on the spot.

Originally, Sasha, who had regained her single status, was planning to go back to school; after all, it would be September soon, and school would be starting.

It was at this time that she met Barron. She herself had a very good impression of this young and handsome duke, so after the two had dinner together, Barron took her to experience the Royal Suite of the Devonshire Hotel…

Yes, where they are now is the highest-grade Royal Suite of the Devonshire Luxury Hotel in Chelsea, which had just been renovated.

Some of the suites in this hotel have already been renovated, but it will take at least another month before the hotel truly opens – it needs to wait until the hotel’s overall renovation is completely finished, including the hotel’s affiliated services: the SPA center, restaurants, and other facilities are complete, and the staff of the Cavendish Hotel in the former Soho area have completed their training, before it will officially open.

But as the boss, Barron naturally has the obligation to experience the results of the Royal Suite’s renovation in advance…

It seems that he is very satisfied with the room’s facilities.

This Royal Suite is over 300 square meters, with a matching guest room, study, living room, cigar room, and gym, and also has a separate rooftop garden and outdoor swimming pool… it can be said to be extremely luxurious.

After completing this experience, Barron also decided to live here temporarily and move some of his personal belongings from his original London apartment.

The reason is because Barron has always felt that his apartment in London is still a little small – because although it is called a villa, to be more precise, it is a row house.

Especially after going to Viscount Booth’s mansion in Chelsea a few times, he felt more and more that his place was a little “cramped,” just like the last makeup party, he had a deeper experience.

Therefore, Barron has already bought the neighbor of his apartment, and now the entire building belongs to Barron. He will later connect the two houses and completely renovate them according to his own preferences.

And before the renovation of that house is completed, Barron plans to temporarily live in the Royal Suite of the Devonshire Luxury Hotel when he is in London.

…

Although he has had an intimate frien(P)d(Y)ship with Prince William’s “ex-girlfriend,” Barron doesn’t worry at all that the other party will have any opinions about him after finding out.

After all, in this regard, His Royal Highness the Prince is very open-minded and won’t care too much.

After all, as far as Barron knows, in his previous life, after the Prince established a relationship with Catherine, they also broke up for a period of time before they got married.

And during that period of separation, Catherine also often went to nightclubs and had a boyfriend.

But after the two reconciled, His Royal Highness the Prince didn’t mind this, and even became good friends with her boyfriend. When they got married, he also invited the other party…

Not to mention that Barron and Sasha are only slightly beyond friendship…

Chapter 86: Appreciation?

“Ramos, does your family still live in Derbyshire?”

On the way to King’s Cross, Barron said to Ramos, who was driving.

“Yes, Your Grace. My wife and children still live in the town of Bakewell, Derbyshire, not far from the manor.”

“Then you don’t get to see them very often.”

Because Barron was now mostly in London, only occasionally returning to Chatsworth Manor. Ramos, as his personal valet and driver, had to be with him almost all the time. So it seemed that he had very little time to spend with his family.

“It’s alright, sir. After all, work is the most important thing.”

“Have you considered bringing them to London? That way you’ll have much more time together, and after all, the educational opportunities here in London are better…”

Barron said this to Ramos because he would likely be spending most of his time in London for a long time to come.

After getting to know him for so long, he found that his personal valet was very reliable and steady. As someone close to him, Barron would definitely consider things more carefully. Moreover, Ramos’s income was already up to 10,000 pounds per month because of his two jobs as a personal valet and driver. This was a relatively high income in all of Britain, even in London, and he could fully afford his family’s expenses in London.

“Thank you, Your Grace. I have actually considered that, but it’s not easy to rent a suitable house in London. I’ve been keeping an eye out.”

That was indeed the case. After all, as a personal valet, Ramos could be said to have his own time only in the evenings. And Barron had previously lived in Kensington, a wealthy area. If he wanted to respond promptly, he couldn’t live too far away. Renting a house itself was a process that required careful screening.

“I will be staying at the Devonshire Hotel for the next month. If you bring your family to London, I can have the hotel provide you with a guest room first. As you know, the hotel won’t be open for business yet, so you can stay there before then… You can look around for houses in the area during this time. As for the rent, I will have Julia give you an additional 1,000 pounds per month as a housing allowance.”

Since he wanted to help his personal valet settle his family, Barron would do it properly. He continued:

“And the new school term will be starting soon. Your son is still in elementary school, right?”

“Yes, Your Grace.”

“Well, I will help you find a good school for him to receive a better education.”

“I am truly grateful to you, Your Grace.”

Hearing that the Duke had considered so much for him, Ramos said with gratitude.

“This is what you get for your dedicated work, Ramos.”

…

It had to be said that Barron felt a little awkward upon seeing Viscount Booth. again.

This wasn’t because he had developed some “friendship” with the Viscountess, but because during that night at Chatsworth Manor, when he was studying knowledge with the Viscountess late into the night, he also learned some things—about why this alluring Viscountess was still a virgin the last time.

Uh, in fact, this matter wasn’t anything special among the British aristocracy, because Viscount Booth. had certain aristocratic preferences…

This made Barron somewhat enlightened.

And from Chrissy’s mouth, Barron also learned the news that made him a little uncomfortable today, which was that Viscount Booth. seemed to “appreciate” him very much.

“Do you really think he cares if I have other men? He actually tacitly approves of this, and even hints at wanting me and his personal valet…”

At that time, Chrissy’s face showed a look of disgust, and then she said to Barron with a sneer:

“I’m afraid if he knew I’d done these things with you, he might be even happier. After all, he’s always been…”

God, it had to be said that although Barron thought he was very “scummy” in his previous life, now being among these British aristocrats, with Viscount Booth’s… unique tastes in front of him, and Prince William’s… well, the friend who liked to study in a way that could scare Sasha away…

Barron felt that he seemed a little out of place because he was too normal.

“In his eyes, I am just a tool to continue the family line…”

Chrissy’s words at the time were filled with sadness:

“He hasn’t even touched me, can you believe it? Your Grace… But as the eldest son of the family, he must first have an heir if he wants to inherit the family business. This is his father’s requirement of him, so this is his requirement of me.”

Eh? What did I hear? Is it that kind of borrowing… a seed to plant, and harvesting the fruit??

Then wouldn’t I also become a tool…

As if she could see what Barron was thinking, Chrissy gave him a sideways glance:

“For aristocrats, the bloodline of the first child is the most important, so if I were to have your child, Your Grace, that would definitely not be the first child… You know, in Eastern Europe, such as Ukraine, it is easy to find ‘containers’ to raise children, and Ian has already sent people there to find a suitable girl, and she will soon be brought back to London to help us have our first child.”

…

“Your Grace, what we are in front of is King’s Cross Station. Over the next two years, there will be a complete renovation here, restoring it to its former appearance and updating the facilities. And St. Pancras railway station, which is further away, will be completed next year, serving as the London terminus for the Eurostar trains. By then, the King’s Cross area will become a transportation hub radiating throughout Britain and even Europe.”

After seeing Viscount Booth, Barron quickly adjusted his state of mind. After all, no matter what the other party was like, he certainly wouldn’t go against the tide. He was a proper man who liked women…

After a month of repeated negotiations, the urban renewal plan for the King’s Cross area finally obtained approval from the London Borough of Camden and the London City Government, and was officially about to begin.

Just as they had said before, after Argent Property Group made a slight concession to the KXCAAC organization, which represented the local residents, promising to reduce the proportion of office space and luxury houses, without specifically promising the numbers, and then presenting their original prepared “real” urban renewal plan, they reached an agreement.

“In fact, don’t think that the KXCAAC organization really represents those poor people. The people at the head of it just need a gesture to gain the support of the residents. We give them a little bit of sweetness, and it’s basically smooth sailing. Democracy, the voice is more important than the facts!”

Chapter 87: City Renewal Plan

Many people in Europe and America might have noticed the abundance of various “organizations,” seemingly all vying for the interests of their respective groups…

Like those animal rights, environmental, and labor unions…

But in reality, rather than saying they are fighting for certain groups or principles, it’s more accurate to say they are fighting for the interests of their organization’s members, mainly the core members.

Take Western labor unions, for example. Do you think they organize strikes all the time genuinely for the workers’ interests?

That would be a bit too simplistic. In fact, the final negotiation results might sometimes secure some benefits, but most of the time, they are useless. The ones who benefit are still those core personnel—and it’s really not just ordinary workers who can join their unions.

If you understand them as various “associations” that control some industry thresholds to convert interests, then you can understand how these Western organizations operate.

For example, environmental protection. Do those people who shout about environmental protection all day long really care about environmental protection?

But they control the right to speak, for example, when Tesla goes to Germany to build a factory, well, we can use all sorts of reasons to block you, and ultimately get some benefits from it.

Going back to the King’s Cross area’s city renewal plan, the organization KXCAAC is like that. After Argent Group paid certain “costs,” they eventually reached an agreement and had their plan approved by the government.

“Between King’s Cross Station and St. Pancras Station, this triangular area, we will build a large commercial area, including a shopping plaza and a commercial street—the entire commercial street will unfold along the municipal landscape of the Regent’s Canal, connected to the opposite bank by bridges, and part of it will be adjacent to Central Saint Martins College.”

Unfolding the King’s Cross area’s topographic map, the director in charge of the King’s Cross city renewal plan for Argent Group introduced it to Barron and Viscount Booth.

He emphasized the central area of this commercial district along the Regent’s Canal and said to Barron:

“This location will build a 33-story high-rise complex, which will be repurchased by DS Asset Management in the future. Your Cavendish New Hotel will be opened here, and the location is very advantageous.”

In the other party’s introduction to the latest King’s Cross city renewal plan, the south side of King’s Cross Station, including that 4-hectare replacement land parcel, will build a series of office buildings, becoming an important office area in this area, providing purchasing and leasing space for companies that move into King’s Cross.

The entire King’s Cross city renewal plan still follows the division along the Regent’s Canal, with the west side being the commercial and office area, and the south side being developed into a residential area.

Among them, surrounding Central Saint Martins College, including the abandoned gas tanks and the two plots of land belonging to the Booth. family, will all be built into high-end residential areas.

As for the affordable housing and low-cost housing promised to the Kent County government, they will all be built north of the gas tanks—this area will be separated from the high-end residential area by the tracks of St. Pancras Station. It appears to be a short distance, but it is a completely separated area, which can also ensure that the style of the high-end residential area is not affected.

The entire King’s Cross city renewal plan is expected to be completed within the next twenty years, which will be completed in several phases…

Barron had no objections to Argent Group’s plan—what else could he do? After all, in Britain, this construction speed is no longer worth complaining about…

You have to know that this is not China; you can’t expect their efficiency to be high. Anyway, at least his required Cavendish King’s Building can be completed within the first phase, and it can be said that the first phase of this plan is built around the core area near King’s Cross Station, and the scope will gradually expand in the future.

It would be good if the Cavendish King’s Building could be completed in two years—any earlier would be useless anyway. Only after the two stations have been renovated and upgraded will this place have greater commercial value.

When he left, Barron couldn’t help but complain in his heart—if this kind of project were in China, it would be built for you in two years; it’s really a goddamn twenty years!

If it weren’t for the fact that Barron didn’t have to pay too much money for this entire plan—he only needed to repurchase it at a preferential price after the Cavendish King’s Building was completed, and participate in such an important London city renewal plan, which was invaluable for the accumulation of experience, he wouldn’t spend so much energy on it.

…

“Hello everyone, welcome to Chatsworth House, I am the owner here—Barron Cavendish!”

When the young and handsome Duke, in a well-fitting aristocratic suit, with an elegant smile, slowly walked down the stairs and appeared in front of the 22 contestants of different images, their excited expressions were simply difficult to suppress, and many of them couldn’t help but exclaim.

After all, although many of the rights of the nobles have been greatly reduced, as the symbol of glory in British history, nobles, especially nobles of the rank of Duke, are still something ordinary people need to look up to.

Glancing over these contestants, Barron ignored the camera crew behind them and continued:

“The purpose of your being here today is to take away a fortune of up to 250,000 pounds as loyalists.”

Hearing the exclamations again from the crowd, Barron shook his head:

“Of course, the outcome of things may not be so. Because soon, three traitors will be designated among you. As loyalists, you need to find out the traitors hidden among you… Otherwise, the prize money will be stolen by them! Okay, I wish you all the best.”

After saying these lines, Barron’s appearance in this episode of the reality show “The Traitors” ended here.

Next, it was handed over to the host of this show—Bonnie Stuart.

It was also because it was the first season of the reality show “The Traitors,” so in order to increase the highlights and topic of this show, Barron did not hesitate to appear in person.

After all, as the youngest and most handsome Duke in existence, he has always been the focus of attention.

From now on, this first variety show of Summit Media has already started filming.

Barron only returned to Chatsworth House for one day to participate in this scene, and in the following ten days, Bonnie would stay here as the host and chief planner to follow up the recording of this show.

It can be said that her work is still a lot, because in addition to the production of this show, the remaining time also needs to take care of the writing of the second novel of “Downton Abbey.”

It is expected that by the middle of this month, the first novel of “Downton Abbey” on the “Independent” will be completed, and then the serialization of the second novel of this novel will begin.

And after the serialization is completed, taking advantage of the popularity of this novel, the physical book will also be immediately published separately. In addition to being listed in Britain, it will also enter other European countries and the North American market for a trial run.

According to the plan, when the sales of the novel are satisfactory, it is expected that the filming of the TV series will begin next year.

Chapter 88: London Evening Standard

When Barron returned to London again, he met Phillips, who had also returned from France.

However, this time in London, besides Phillips, another founder of the Asmodee company, Mark, also came along.

It was obvious that after deliberation, they had agreed to Barron’s investment request.

Although the Asmodee company was established in 1995, the most successful board game before that was still the game “Tokaido” released in 1998, and as time passed, the sales of this game had declined significantly.

They had always hoped to find another growth point for the company. In his previous life, they would acquire the French version distribution rights of the Pokémon Trading Card Game (TCG) next year, thereby leading the company’s development onto the fast track, and starting from 2005, they would successively accept investment from private equity funds, eventually developing into a board game giant.

And now, what they had their eyes on was the Werewolf game owned by Halo Company.

In this transaction, Asmodee Company would accept a 4 million pound investment from DS Capital at a valuation of 10 million pounds, thereby obtaining the global authorization for the Werewolf game.

They would cooperate with Halo Company to promote the Werewolf game globally—currently mainly in Europe.

And DS Capital, after paying 4 million pounds, obtained 40% of Asmodee Company’s shares, becoming one of its major shareholders.

Next, Asmodee Company would redesign and release the Werewolf game, with the regular edition priced at 29.9 euros, and the deluxe edition priced at 99.9 euros.

The deluxe edition of Werewolf would still use the entire design from Smythson Company—because Barron had paid Smythson Company to design it in the first place, the design copyright of this set of games belonged to Barron, and now belonged to Halo Company.

The deluxe edition of Werewolf would still have more accessories, be more exquisite, and be aimed at high-end users.

But now, the initial 100 sets of game gift boxes that Barron customized from Smythson Company with the Smythson brand logo had become a rare item.

The Werewolf game gift boxes released afterwards would all be produced by Asmodee Company, and Smythson Company, because it did not have the authorization for Werewolf, could not customize Werewolf game gift boxes for customers anymore, which also greatly increased the collection value of the original 100 sets of Werewolf game gift boxes customized by Smythson Company.

Twenty years later, a sealed original deluxe edition of Werewolf game gift box with the Smythson Company logo was bought for a high price of 1 million pounds at an auction at Christie’s…

…

At various London Underground entrances, a new free newspaper appeared, called the “London Evening Standard.” This newspaper was a new evening paper issued by the Independent Newspaper Company after it had cut the “Sunday Independent.”

The “Independent” was a morning newspaper, mainly targeting the well-educated elite; while the “London Evening Standard” covered topics such as news, sports, life trivia, entertainment, and so on. The newspaper also had crossword puzzles and Sudoku, which were very popular mini-games, very suitable for people to pass the time.

As a free newspaper, the “London Evening Standard” would be distributed free of charge at places with high foot traffic, such as the subway, buses, supermarkets, commercial streets, and office buildings—not only now, but even twenty years later, people in the London Underground still loved to read newspapers rather than play on their phones.

This wasn’t because of the “Reader’s Digest” that touted the British people’s love of reading books and newspapers, mainly because… well, even twenty years later, the London Underground still didn’t have a network signal, so people could only pass the time by reading newspapers like this.

The characteristics of the “London Evening Standard” were its popular and novel content—you could understand it as the headline-grabbing content of Jinri Toutiao and UC… therefore, it was very popular with the working class.

In addition, this newspaper was easy to obtain, had a large amount of information, and had many advertisements—especially job advertisements and special product advertisements…

Therefore, since its launch, it had been very popular. The first issue’s print run was still a little conservative, only 350,000 copies, but two days later, it was increased to a daily print run of 500,000 copies, which was still in short supply. Finally, after a month, the circulation of this newspaper exceeded 1 million copies for the first time!

Even among free newspapers, this circulation was very excellent.

Many newspaper people realized that a strong competitor had appeared!

In addition, after the “Independent” was revamped, its sales began to rebound, and it had now stabilized at a circulation of 400,000 copies, which was the situation before.

It could be said that the Independent Newspaper Company, when many traditional print media began to be impacted by the internet and sales declined, instead bucked the trend, which also attracted the attention of the newspaper industry. Many newspapers began to try to learn from the revamped form of the “Independent” and make changes.

However, although the “London Evening Standard” was a free newspaper and would be distributed to the public free of charge, it was eventually found that its profitability was no less than that of the “Independent,” and even later, it surpassed the “Independent” and became the largest source of profit for the Independent Newspaper Company.

The reason, of course, was the multi-page advertising information provided on it for readers.

The page count of each issue of the “London Evening Standard” was much higher than that of the “Independent,” and it could be said that half of the pages were filled with various advertising information.

Although the price of placing an advertisement here was far less than that of the “Independent,” its quantity was high, and as the circulation of the “London Evening Standard” continued to surge, the value of its advertisements also increased—merchants didn’t care too much about the price of the advertisements, but cared more about the range of people who could receive these advertisements and the effective delivery rate.

Compared to these increased advertising fees, the increased printing costs of the “London Evening Standard” were nothing at all.

Moreover, with the popularity of the “Werewolf” game, each issue of the “London Evening Standard” would have a special page that would print cards with various Werewolf professions, so that when people suddenly wanted to play this game together, they only needed to find a free copy of the “London Evening Standard” to deal with the situation—well, during the waiting time, they could read the newspaper.

If Barron’s purchase of the loss-making Independent Newspaper Company was not viewed favorably by others at first, then now, when both the “Independent” and the newly launched “London Evening Standard” had achieved success, the praise for him began to be endless.

…

“Your Grace, it’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“Hello, Sir Blair, I’m also very much looking forward to this meeting.”

Just as the Prince of Wales had said to Barron last time, not long after, the head of MI6, Sir Richard Dearlove, took the initiative to meet Barron.

MI6 is the abbreviation for the British Secret Intelligence Service (MI6), and is known as one of the world’s four major intelligence agencies, along with the KGB (Committee for State Security of the Soviet Union, now the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation), the Central Intelligence Agency of the United States, and the Israeli Mossad.

It can be said that there are many legends about MI6. The most famous, of course, is James Bond, the world’s most famous agent 007, who, in the movies, belongs to MI6.

“I know you are very concerned about the progress of the ‘London Star’ case, but with the involvement of our MI6, you should be able to guess that the matters involved are more complex…”

Chapter 89: Blog

“In the ‘London Star’ fraud case, our Devonshire family suffered greatly. Therefore, after so much time has passed, we need some answers regarding the progress, Sir Claire.”

In front of this big shot from MI6, Barron didn’t need to play coy and bring up the so-called “true reports” from the Independent.

Therefore, he directly stated his request to the other party:

“But if, as the Scottish authorities say, those people are connected to al-Qaeda, such a preposterous thing, Sir Claire, I think that’s just insulting my intelligence.”

“Well, Your Grace, that is indeed unlikely. However, although they don’t have a big connection with al-Qaeda, there are indeed signs that there is a large organization behind those people…”

Hearing Sir Claire’s words, Barron raised an eyebrow:

“Do you have any basis for this?”

“According to our investigation, the core members of that gang, after leaving London, eventually arrived in Romania, and after that, we lost track of them…”

Barron already knew these circumstances. If it were just these, then today’s meeting with the director of MI6 would probably be meaningless.

However, Barron still had enough patience. He heard the other party continue:

“And according to our reliable sources, in Romania, someone in the ‘London Star’ gang has connections with a certain radical organization…”

“Radical organization?”

“Yes, it was also through this investigation that that organization entered our sight. However, the investigation is still in its initial stages, and there hasn’t been much progress. But I can assure you, Your Grace, that we will definitely root out such an organization that may threaten us.”

Seeing Sir Claire’s confident appearance, Barron couldn’t help but ask:

“How long will that take?”

“This cannot be determined, but they were in the dark before. But since we have already captured them, then, Your Grace, you should believe in the intelligence capabilities of Great Britain, as well as our allies. It’s just that these all take time…”

……

No matter what, at least this meeting, Sir Claire, on behalf of MI6, gave Barron a… well, somewhat of an explanation.

Up to now, apart from choosing to wait for their news, there wasn’t much Barron could do—that is, he is indeed lacking in certain areas of strength at the moment, and these are also what he needs to slowly make up for in the future.

He had originally considered “borrowing” a security expert from Sir Claire, that is, MI6, but in the end, Barron gave up on this idea. After all, he couldn’t determine the other party’s stance at this moment, or rather, his connection with the other party wasn’t so close at this time, so he still needed to be more cautious.

……

“Blog?”

“Yes, Your Grace, this is a very interesting form of internet interaction, similar to… an online diary, where you can display some of your articles or photos, and you can also leave messages and comments…”

Barron naturally knew what a blog was. He just didn’t expect to hear about it today from Khalid, the technical director of the Independent’s online edition.

After thinking for a moment, Barron said to Khalid:

“Sounds like a good idea. How did you come up with it?”

Facing the praise of His Grace, Khalid was a little embarrassed:

“Actually, this was inspired by a junior colleague of mine. He mentioned when he was chatting with me that he was planning to create a campus blog website to allow the students of Cambridge University to get to know each other more conveniently through this website.”

“Oh? A very creative idea. Does your junior colleague want to come to our newspaper to participate in the development of this function?”

Since His Grace seemed very interested in this idea, Khalid was also very excited:

“Davo is still in school, a junior this year, but he has a lot of talent in technology. We often discuss some technical problems. If he were to work full-time, I’m afraid he wouldn’t be able to do it, but with his level, even part-time he could do very well.”

Under Khalid’s introduction, Barron learned that his junior colleague was named Davo Baburin. When Khalid was still at Cambridge University, because their dormitories were on the same floor and they were both very interested in the internet, their relationship was very good.

It was also under Davo’s inspiration that he had the idea of adding a blog function to the Independent newspaper’s official website. Before that, Barron had proposed that he was preparing to further enrich the content of the Independent newspaper’s official website and make it similar to a portal website.

“I think this is worth a try. Go ahead, Khalid.”

After receiving Barron’s approval, Khalid looked as if he couldn’t wait to get started right away, which made Barron couldn’t help but smile.

Indeed, young people are more energetic.

But speaking of which, Khalid just mentioned that his junior colleague named Davo was preparing to develop a blog-style social website on campus…

This made Barron couldn’t help but think of that famous company from his previous life—it also started from a campus social website and eventually became one of the giants of the internet!

The name of that company was Facebook.

However, this company would not be established until 2004.

Barron had considered including Facebook among the internet companies he would look for opportunities to invest in later.

And now, from Khalid’s words, he had some other ideas—could he advance the development of a social networking site similar to Facebook in Britain by more than a year?

It has to be said that this temptation was still very great, because Zuckerberg, anyone who knew him even slightly would know that the other party had a strong desire for control and was also very resourceful.

Even if Barron could successfully invest in Facebook in the future, or even become one of the major shareholders of this company, in the end, Zuckerberg would still firmly grasp the control of Facebook, and Barron could at most exert a certain influence on this company, but speaking of control, I’m afraid it would still be difficult to do.

But if he could take the lead in establishing a social networking site of the same type in Britain in advance and develop it, then as the initiator of the project, plus the advantageous shares he would inevitably hold, Barron’s control over this company would be the most stable.

So this idea was still very tempting.

But at the same time, Barron also knew that in terms of the internet, the entire Europe, including Britain, could be said to have a soil for its cultivation that was far inferior to Silicon Valley, which is known as the center of the internet world.

The saying “a citrus grows in the south of the Huai River and is a citrus; it grows in the north of the Huai River and is a trifoliate orange” means that the same idea, in different environments, might have completely different results.

Therefore, whether creating a “Facebook” in Britain could really be as successful as Facebook in his previous life was also uncertain.

In the end, Barron decided to first let Davo Baburin show how he performed through the “blog” function on the Independent newspaper’s official website, and then make the next decision.

Chapter 90: Creating Something Out of Nothing

Up until now, although the independent newspaper’s official website had only been online for a short time, its user base was still smaller compared to more well-known websites like Yahoo UK and the BBC website. However, it already had over 50,000 registered users, with daily visits reaching as high as 150,000.

For example, the BBC website had been established since 1994. By now, it had become a comprehensive website and was one of the websites with the highest number of visits in the UK and even Europe.

Therefore, the independent newspaper’s website, INDi.com, still needed to work hard to catch up, adding more features and providing users with richer and more attractive services. This was what they needed to do now.

“Your Grace, now, including The Times and The Guardian, many newspapers have also started to try to miniaturize the newspaper’s layout, launching small-format newspapers…”

When he met with the manager of the newspaper, Bob, he also told Barron about the recent developments of other newspaper groups.

Not only was the newspaper’s layout starting to “popularize” miniaturization, but also, as far as he knew, many other newspapers also had plans to launch free newspapers. It could be said that although the independent newspaper’s situation was good at the moment, it would soon face more competition.

To put it bluntly, the traditional paper newspaper itself was a declining industry. When the pie became smaller and smaller, the competition within it would become increasingly fierce.

This was also why Barron wanted to transform the newspaper as early as possible—just like in his previous life, The Independent finally officially ceased publishing the paper newspaper in 2016 and completely turned to online media. It was a helpless move after several unsuccessful attempts at the time.

But now, what Barron needed to do was to embrace the internet earlier, thereby taking the lead in the field of online media, allowing the independent newspaper to have its own place. This way, even if the paper newspaper business shrank in the future, it wouldn’t need to be completely shut down.

After all, the main purpose of Barron buying the independent newspaper was not to make money, but because he valued its influence on public opinion. However, even so, if he could maintain its influence on public opinion while ensuring that the entire newspaper would not lose money, and even make some profits, allowing it to develop in a healthy way, that would be the best.

……

“F**K!”

Barron threw the newspaper on the ground, and his mood immediately soured early in the morning.

And before his mood could calm down, his phone rang again. Seeing Bonnie’s name on the screen, Barron immediately adjusted his emotions:

“Honey, is your filming going well over there?”

“It’s been pretty good these past two days. I told you before, there would be some minor problems, but they’re all insignificant.”

From Bonnie’s tone, he couldn’t hear too many emotions…

“That’s great, I miss you, honey.”

“I miss you too, darling, but today’s The Sun…”

“Oh, I saw it too. You have to believe me, darling, I told you about going to the art exhibition that day, didn’t I? This kind of fake news to attract attention is The Sun’s consistent style. I’ve already prepared to have the lawyer sue them…”

“But you didn’t tell me at the time that you would be going with Miss Ella.”

“I didn’t expect to meet her before going there, it was purely a chance encounter. As for the photos in the newspaper, everyone was there at the time, and we just shared a courteous hug, but those reporters from The Sun only took and edited the shots of the two of us. I was very angry when I saw it this morning!”

……

The reason for the matter was that yesterday, Barron attended an art exhibition with Ella, the eldest daughter of the Kent family.

Speaking of which, many British nobles would be involved in the “art trading” business, and the Kent family was no exception.

But in fact, the so-called “art trading” was mostly due to economic reasons, selling some of the collections in their home.

After all, nowadays, the income of many noble families had been drastically reduced, and if they wanted to maintain their lives, they could only start with those collections accumulated by the family over generations.

And this kind of art exhibition could be said to be a warm-up for some art auctions later on.

What interested Barron was that there were many antiques from China, as well as works by some well-known painters.

For example, a painting by Titian appeared in this exhibition—Titian was a great painter of the late Renaissance, known as the father of modern oil painting, and he was still highly respected in Europe.

In addition, this painting belonged to the Duke of Sutherland family, a family that mainly dealt in real estate and art trading… well, it seemed that they had sold a lot of things from their home before.

After Barron’s explanation, Bonnie also said that she would believe him. Regarding Barron’s plan to sue The Sun, his girlfriend also advised him not to do so—after all, a media outlet like The Sun might even be hoping that Barron would take the initiative to sue them, so they could make a big deal out of it.

Themselves, in their reporting, they would use phrases like “allegedly” and “like” and other speculative tones. Even if they had to apologize in the end, it would only be a slap on the wrist. Compared to the exposure and sales they would gain, it would be a huge profit.

Before, Barron’s talk to Bonnie about suing The Sun was more of a gesture. He himself understood very well that doing so might just play right into the other party’s hands.

But this time, Barron would definitely not let it go like this—if he really had something with Ella, he wouldn’t say anything, at most he would praise the other party’s methods as superb.

The key was that he and Ella were really just normal socializing, well, at least that was the case yesterday.

Then this report in The Sun was obviously a baseless slander, extremely hateful.

For The Sun, which belonged to Murdoch, this kind of operation could be considered their basic operation. Otherwise, News Corporation wouldn’t have developed so rapidly globally. Apart from more advanced and efficient management methods, they also relied on this approach of digging for news if there was any, and trying their best to “create” news to attract attention if there was none.

Not only Barron, but before, including the royal family, had been fabricated by them quite a bit…

This was also why, a few years later, the “phone hacking scandal” would appear at News Corporation.

In fact, News Corporation’s “phone hacking scandal” had already begun now. This was also why Barron, when he met with Sir Dielhoff, the head of MI6, last time, had thought about “borrowing” an expert. He didn’t want to be eavesdropped on by the other party either.

And he didn’t lack evidence in his hands now. Since he had entered the media industry, he would definitely prepare for this early on.

For example, the Independent had previously reported the mistakes made by Scotland Yard in the kidnapping case of a London girl earlier this year. What was not mentioned was that the reason why Scotland Yard made such a major mistake, even after the girl had already been killed by the kidnapper, they still thought the girl was alive, was because News Corporation, in pursuit of the “exclusive report” of this case, privately hired private detectives to hack into the girl’s voicemail to eavesdrop.

And in order to obtain more information, they even deleted many voice messages from the voicemail after it was full, just to leave space to receive new voice messages.

It was precisely this operation by the private detective hired by News Corporation that made Scotland Yard mistakenly believe that these were done by the kidnapped girl, concluding that she was still alive, and thus did not adjust their investigation strategy in time, delaying the resolution of the case.

Chapter 91: Clouds of War

Although Barron wanted to give the News Corporation a bit of a “counterattack,” and he also had some evidence of the “phone-tapping scandal,” he didn’t intend to expose the matter right away.

Because in any matter, the goal is to maximize profit. He wouldn’t let his emotions ruin his plans and expose the other party prematurely just because of this “offense”.

Currently, for the News Corporation, this “phone-tapping” issue wasn’t considered a large-scale operation. Even if it was exposed, it would have some impact on the News Corporation, but they could completely attribute it to “isolated cases,” apologize for their lax management, and there wouldn’t be too many repercussions.

Moreover, Barron’s influence on the British government at the moment was barely more than nonexistent—it should be known that the current British Prime Minister had a very close relationship with Murdoch. The media under the News Corporation had played an indispensable role in his election. Therefore, if he were to detonate this matter at this time, the final outcome would probably only be “a slap on the wrist.”

Why did the News Corporation’s “phone-tapping scandal” begin a large-scale investigation only after the Labour Party, which was in power at the time in Britain, stepped down and the Conservative Party took office in his previous life? There was naturally a reason for this.

“Laura, help me order a bouquet of flowers to be delivered to Chatsworth House, to Miss Bonnie. Red roses, please.”

“Yes, Your Grace.”

In any case, although Barron didn’t feel guilty about this matter, he still needed to coax the woman a little.

…

“Mr. Cameron, I read your speech in the House of Commons last month regarding the Iraq issue. I think it was very insightful.”

“Do you think so too, Your Grace?”

Cameron was very young at this time, just over thirty years old. As a Member of Parliament, his performance in the House of Commons was also remarkable.

Hearing Cameron’s question, Barron said with a smile:

“Yes, I also believe that sending our soldiers to the front lines again after participating in the Afghan anti-terrorism war is a very rash thing, especially under the premise that there isn’t much substantial evidence for all the claims about Iraq’s so-called weapons of mass destruction.”

Entering September, the clouds of war were becoming increasingly dense internationally.

In fact, as early as January of this year, the American President at the time had put forward the so-called “Axis of Evil” theory. His statement was that Iraq, Iran, and North Korea were seeking to develop and spread nuclear weapons, biological weapons, and chemical weapons of mass destruction to varying degrees and had formed an “Axis of Evil.”

To prevent terrorists from obtaining weapons of mass destruction, the United States had listed these three countries as targets for its “global war on terror.”

And in May of this year, the United States again accused Libya, Syria, and Cuba of also seeking weapons of mass destruction and included them on the expanded list of countries that Bush had proposed as the “Axis of Evil.”

However, by now, many people could see that it was highly probable that the United States wanted to take military action against Iraq. After all, since they had made such a big show of it and used a lot of public opinion to support their “legitimacy” in attacking the “Axis of Evil,” then, with the American style of doing things, it was impossible for it to just be a lot of noise without any action.

Moreover, among these so-called “Axis of Evil” countries that they had listed—the latter three countries were not the focus, the focus was on Iran, Iraq, and North Korea. Among these three countries, Iraq could be said to be the softest persimmon, and it was also the most suitable for them to take action against.

As the United States’ “closest ally,” the British Prime Minister had been actively echoing the United States’ “global war on terror” from the very beginning. He had already revealed in various speeches that Britain would join the United States in attacking the “Axis of Evil”…

As the opposition party at the time, the Conservative Party would naturally “struggle” with the ruling Labour Party in all aspects. What they supported, we must oppose; what they opposed, we must support!

Therefore, on the attitude towards Iraq and other “Axis of Evil” countries, most Conservative Party members, including Cameron, opposed direct participation in the war. They had been demanding that the government provide evidence for the so-called “weapons of mass destruction.”

“I am very pleased to see that you share the same opinion, Your Grace. This time, unlike the anti-terrorism war in Afghanistan, we are not going to deal with terrorist organizations, but to attack a country. This kind of thing, no matter when, requires caution.”

In the debate in the House of Commons a few days ago on the Iraq issue, Cameron, as a Member of Parliament, had clearly opposed sending troops to participate in the war directly. In today’s conversation with Barron, he still maintained this attitude.

Their meeting today was in the yet-to-be-officially-opened Devonshire (Chelsea) Hotel. Therefore, their meeting was considered relatively private.

After all, one was a Conservative Party Member of Parliament, and the other was a Duke. Even if the two could be said to have a private friendship, once photographed by certain media, it would easily cause some discussion.

“We have a certain influence in the Middle East ourselves, and there is no need to participate in this war that the United States is obviously trying to eliminate its ‘thorn in the side’. Even if we don’t come forward directly, our interests can be ensured in the end. And war will definitely bring casualties, which is an unnecessary sacrifice for those soldiers. Therefore, in the future, my newspaper will also try to oppose the Prime Minister’s approach of dragging us into the war.”

For the news media, the so-called “strict neutrality” was completely impossible for a rational person.

British media would inevitably protect British interests; American media would inevitably protect American interests; Western media would inevitably protect Western interests—of course, except for those media that were funded by certain “foundations,” they would represent the interests of their patrons.

And within Britain, different media were also clearly divided—The Times and the Financial Times were right-wing and relatively conservative; while The Guardian was notoriously radical and left-leaning.

Generally speaking, they would choose a party to support before the election based on their political demands. Currently, The Times and The Guardian both leaned towards the Labour Party.

Among these national newspapers, the only one that claimed to have no party support and was known for its neutrality was the Independent, which had been acquired by Barron.

However, at this point, Barron rarely interfered with the Independent’s reporting under normal circumstances, but on certain matters, this newspaper would inevitably need to represent his interests.

So, Cameron’s intentional closeness with Barron at this time was naturally not just for “personal friendship.” As a member of the Conservative Party, he naturally hoped that Barron, the owner of the Independent, could stand on their side on some issues and increase their voice in public opinion.

At their level, the premise of “friendship” was to take what they needed. They were not emotional people, they were all adults, and they understood that there was no such thing as friendship for no reason.

And Barron’s willingness to invest in Cameron and the Conservative Party behind him in advance didn’t mean that he would stand on their side unequivocally.

Everything needed to be weighed and compromised. Although Blair’s government was indeed not friendly to the nobility, and many of their policies were not liked by Barron, there was no need to make too much of a fuss at this time, just to express his attitude appropriately.

A good-natured person wouldn’t receive special treatment, only those with clear likes and dislikes could.

Chapter 92: The Foundation of the Aristocracy

After Barron and Cameron met, when he returned to the hotel room, he saw that Chris had already gotten up and was sitting in front of the mirror combing her hair.

“Do you need my help, my lady?”

Barron walked over with a smile, deliberately speaking in a teasing tone.

However, what greeted him was the Viscountess’s elegant… side-eye.

“I told you, don’t be so rough every time, Barron!”

Seemingly still a little angry, Chris pushed away the hand Barron was reaching out:

“My clothes are torn, if this keeps happening, I won’t see you again.”

“Don’t be angry, darling, I’ll have someone go buy you some later…”

Barron looked at the trash can, at the pieces of fabric that the Viscountess had thrown inside… especially the fragments of the stockings, and the small purple piece of lace…

This scene was captured by Barron, and his gaze couldn’t help but fall on the Viscountess—so, she doesn’t have any…

“Then hurry up, I’m getting ready to go back and tidy up, Ian will be back tomorrow.”

The past two days, Viscount Booth. had gone back to his family in Scotland for something, Chris didn’t go with him, which gave Barron the opportunity to deepen their “friendship”.

Now, hearing the Viscountess say this, a smile appeared on Barron’s face:

“Since that’s the case, let’s cherish the time today…”

“You, why are you still… Don’t tear it!”

Amidst the Viscountess’s exclamation, only a “rip” was heard in the room, and then…

……

At this moment, less than a hundred meters from the Devonshire Luxury Hotel, a shop facing the street was being renovated.

The building of this shop also had a Victorian style, and on the bright glass door, its sign had already been hung—Duchy Selected Market.

This Duchy Selected Market will be the first high-end supermarket under the Devonshire Ecological Agriculture Company.

Duchy Selected Market (DSM for short) mainly sells natural organic foods, the most important of which comes from the Devonshire Ecological Agriculture Company’s ecological farms and its affiliated factories, which produce natural organic foods.

In addition, it will also screen products from other brands according to extremely strict standards to meet more customer needs.

DSM’s positioning is to serve high-end customers, so the first store was chosen in the wealthy Chelsea area. Next, it will open new stores in the entire London area, including Kensington, Mayfair, and other wealthy areas.

And the person in charge of DSM is Corinne Hawke, whom they specifically poached from Waitrose, who has many years of experience in operating high-end supermarkets—this chain supermarket is a well-known high-end brand in Britain and has been supplying the royal family before.

According to the latest survey data, currently, the United States has the largest and most mature organic product market in the world.

The United States’ organic market accounts for 40% of the global market, Germany accounts for 14%, France accounts for 8%, while Britain only accounts for 4%, which is similar to Switzerland’s…

And in the future, people in developed countries around the world, especially high-end customers with higher consumption ability, will pay more and more attention to natural organic foods, which will also be a market with great development potential.

Therefore, with the Devonshire Ecological Agriculture Company, Barron decided to enter the field of high-end food supermarkets, and at the same time, he can also provide a sales terminal for his ecological organic farms to obtain higher profits.

“Duchy Selected” is DSM’s own brand and will pursue the highest quality to ensure a high-end image.

At the same time, in terms of DSM’s shareholding, Devonshire Ecological Agriculture Company holds 60% of the shares, responsible for the daily operation of the supermarket and the supply of products; DS Asset Management Company invests 15 million pounds and holds 40% of its shares.

These funds will be used to open new DSM stores and will build a constant temperature logistics warehouse in London to provide storage and distribution for DSM stores in the London area.

Another thing worth mentioning is that DSM is a membership-based high-end supermarket. Currently, the first store in the Chelsea area will provide home delivery service for member customers, just a phone call away.

Of course, it mainly delivers to the Chelsea area. If you are in other areas, it’s not impossible, but the delivery fee will be very high—often, this is not a big problem for those rich people.

……

“After two weeks at most, our Devonshire Hotel will be able to start operating. By then, the Cavendish Hotel in the Soho district will be vacated, and according to your arrangements, it will be demolished, and a 35-story Cavendish Building will be built on the spot. The construction period is estimated to be 6-7 months. After completion, we will use 15 floors of it to open a new four-star Cavendish Hotel.”

Rob Pike, the general manager of Cavendish Hotel Group, reported the hotel group’s plan to Barron.

The land where the Cavendish Hotel in the Soho district is located has been purchased by DS Asset Management Company and will be used to build a new building on the original site after the hotel building is demolished.

In the next two years, in addition to the Devonshire Luxury Hotel, there will also be two new Cavendish Hotels opening in the Soho district and King’s Cross district respectively.

But besides that, Cavendish Hotel Group will continue to have other actions…

“After the Devonshire Hotel opens, our main task is to renovate the Callan Castle in the Scottish Highlands and build it into a castle hotel to open it to tourists.”

In addition to Chatsworth House, the Devonshire family also owns two other castles and manors, located in Scotland and Ireland respectively.

The castle in Scotland is Callan Castle, located on a cliff in the Scottish Highlands, with a very magnificent scenery.

However, because the Devonshire family didn’t pay much attention to it before, Callan Castle has been maintained, only occasionally used as a residence for the family to travel in Scotland.

Now Barron is preparing to develop it. Callan Castle has a scenery completely different from Chatsworth House. The most important thing is that Callan Castle is extremely close to the city. On the castle, you can overlook the nearby Callan City, so it is very suitable for developing tourism and hotel industry.

For this reason, the next step, Cavendish Hotel Group will use the funds obtained from the sale of the Soho district property to DS Capital, to rent a part of Callan Castle from the Chatsworth Charitable Trust and carry out overall renovation to develop it into a hotel with a unique style—the Devonshire Castle Hotel.

It can be said that for an aristocratic family, especially a Duke family, what is the most valuable thing?

It’s not their industries and properties, but the historical foundation that this aristocratic family possesses—with these, it will naturally become an extremely high-end brand. These aristocratic histories that have lasted for hundreds of years are themselves the stories that those customers love the most!

Of course, the premise is that you need enough funds to promote it, so that everyone can accept your stories and pay for them.

Chapter 93: Bad News

However, not everything was going so smoothly. Soon, Fergal, the manager of Summit Media, brought some not-so-good news.

“Rejected? Is it about ITV?”

Hearing what Fergal said, that Summit Media’s application to participate in the transfer of ITV Digital’s terrestrial digital television licenses had been rejected, he couldn’t help but ask.

“No, ITV doesn’t care who takes over ITV Digital. They just want to get rid of this burden. The decision was made by the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee. They believe we don’t have enough capital to operate terrestrial digital television services, and previously, we had no experience in running a television station. Therefore, we are not qualified to participate in the transfer of one of the three terrestrial digital television licenses held by ITV Digital.”

Previously, Barron had asked the Prince of Wales to help him with this matter, but it seemed the effect wasn’t very good.

If ITV wasn’t satisfied with their participation, there would still be room for negotiation, but now it was the government that had rejected their involvement, which made things more difficult.

However, even so, Barron didn’t panic too much. Instead, he calmly said to Fergal:

“The BBC is still negotiating with ITV and the government. You should first contact the BBC – they don’t need all three licenses, and they aren’t that enthusiastic about this matter. So, through the BBC, see if there’s a way.”

“Yes, Your Grace.”

“Also… never mind, I’ll handle this. You go and contact the BBC first.”

After sending Fergal away, Barron began to consider the situation.

It seemed he needed to personally investigate this matter. He needed to know the specific details of the Culture, Media and Sport Committee, who was opposing it, what the reasons were, and whether there were any other factors behind it.

…

“Your Grace, what do you think of the Prime Minister’s enthusiastic advocacy for us to continue participating in the strikes against Iraq?”

The Crown Prince was indeed very diligent. You could say that for most of the year, you could see him at events such as charity and arts gatherings.

This time, Barron met the Crown Prince at a promotional event for an environmental project. Naturally, after the Crown Prince gave a brief speech, Barron got the chance to speak to him privately.

Regarding what Barron said, the Crown Prince’s face showed some seriousness:

“There are still considerable differences of opinion on this matter. I think it’s difficult to make a final decision at the moment. We need to judge whether we need to join in based on our interests. Well, the attitude of the United States has indeed influenced many people.”

“But what you said before is very true, everything should be based on the interests of Great Britain, shouldn’t it? I don’t want the final result to be sacrificing our interests to cater to the United States. We are not their vassals, but I am disappointed to find that there are already signs of this result changing.”

Barron’s words were not without basis. Great Britain and the United States were indeed closely related. To put it jokingly, it was a relationship of “father and son.”

Historically, the United States had separated from British rule and become independent, so in the hearts of many Britons, they viewed the United States as their “son.”

But after World War II, a two-superpower confrontation formed, and Great Britain fell from its position as a global hegemon, needing the support of the United States to continue to be one of the strong countries. Later on, they became increasingly reliant on the United States. In the eyes of the United States, Great Britain was like a “son,” occasionally being reprimanded…

Well, you could say it was a chaotic relationship.

But the Great Britain of today was not yet like it would be twenty years later, or ten years later, where they would be subservient to the United States, following their every move. Instead, they paid more attention to their influence in Europe and globally.

And the important turning point was during the years of Prime Minister Blair’s rule, especially after they followed the United States into the Iraq War, when Great Britain began to become the United States’ “sidekick.”

You must know that in Barron’s previous life, the United States did not have the authorization of the United Nations to use force against Iraq, but bypassed the United Nations and forcibly launched the war.

This move was even opposed by many of its “allies” at the time, and the only one that followed the United States in sending troops was Great Britain.

It was also because of this that Blair was protested by the British public, and his approval rating plummeted.

Because, in the final analysis, unlike the military-industrial-energy complex represented by the American President at this time, Great Britain did not have such a strong need for war and could completely avoid participating in the war against Iraq.

Moreover, the main reason the United States used force against Iraq was that the latter attempted to use the Euro to settle oil transactions. Once this precedent was set, it would have a huge impact on the dollar-oil system.

But what did these things have to do with Great Britain? Neither the dollar nor the Euro had much to do with the British pound.

And this also involved the interests of the European Union. If it was simply based on national interests, Great Britain could have remained neutral.

Therefore, after Barron said these things, the Crown Prince seemed to agree very much from his expression.

Of course, Barron didn’t come here this time to talk about this. The reason he brought it up was only to introduce his topic:

“Your Royal Highness, I think that in many cases, our situation is somewhat… strange.”

“How do you mean, Barron?”

“Our government follows the United States’ every move, our media is to be controlled by American capital, and our finance…”

Speaking of this, Barron shook his head:

“In the future, I’m afraid we, Great Britain, will no longer face our allies, but will face the suzerain state as a vassal state.”

Hearing Barron’s “alarmist” words, the Crown Prince wanted to say something, but after thinking about it, he found it really hard to refute, and couldn’t help but sigh – the Great Britain of today was no longer the “empire on which the sun never sets” that he had seen.

“Also, do you know? Your Highness, the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee rejected our participation in the competition for the ITV Digital terrestrial digital television licenses, and the BBC is not so enthusiastic about this project at the moment. If this continues, the programs our people will see in the future will probably be monopolized by Sky Television.”

“Barron, I’ve also been paying attention to this matter, and the reason isn’t too complicated…”

The Crown Prince patted Barron on the shoulder and said:

“On the matter of terrestrial digital television, the government is still concerned about your company’s qualifications. If you can meet the requirements, I will help mediate.”

“I understand all this, but I’m just afraid that there will be some people’s factors involved. After all, you know, my newspaper has been criticizing the Prime Minister lately, and Ms. Jowell, you know, she has always been loyal to the Prime Minister…”

The Ms. Jowell Barron mentioned was the current Cabinet’s Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, Tessa Jowell. In many matters, she was one of the most supportive members of the Cabinet for the Prime Minister, so it was no wonder Barron would have this guess.

Chapter 94: Counterattack

“Things won’t be that bad, Barron. I’ll help you, but first, you need to meet the other side’s demands, understand?”

“Of course, Your Highness. All I need is a fair chance.”

Seeing the smile on Barron’s face, the Prince of Wales nodded.

Next, the two chatted casually about other things, including the ecological farm. Barron also had many questions to ask the Crown Prince.

And this was the Crown Prince’s hobby, and he was very happy to share.

Basically, this meeting met Barron’s expectations. No matter what, he understood that “the iron needs to be strong itself.”

His current position allowed him some conveniences that ordinary people didn’t have, but at the same time, he would be restricted in some ways. In the final analysis, it was nothing more than a conflict of interests.

The cake is only so big. If you eat more, others eat less. What you get will inevitably be lost by someone else. Competition is naturally everywhere.

……

“Your Grace, the Duke…”

On the way back, Barron, feeling a little tired, leaned back in the back seat of the Rolls-Royce and took a short nap.

When he heard the call from his personal assistant in the front row, Barron opened his eyes and realized that the car had stopped at some point.

“We’ve arrived at the hotel.”

Hearing Laura’s words, Barron nodded. Through the car window, the historically rich entrance of the Devonshire Hotel was already lit up.

When he opened the car door, Barron felt a gust of cold wind. At this time, the temperature in London was already much cooler at night.

“Do you have anything else to do later, Laura?”

Hearing Barron’s question, Laura was slightly stunned:

“No, I don’t.”

“You haven’t eaten yet, so you can just eat with me.”

Laura was alone in London. Before, she rented a place a little further away. However, as a personal assistant, she always needed to be available to Barron, so after Barron moved into the Devonshire Hotel, after consulting her opinion, a guest room was prepared for her here. She usually lived in the hotel.

Similarly, the Chinese chef Barron had hired before also came to the hotel and would prepare meals for him in the hotel kitchen when Barron needed it.

During this time, Bonnie was mostly filming the program at Chatsworth House, so Barron was usually alone when he returned here. That’s why he asked Laura to stay for dinner today, also because he realized that she had been his personal assistant for some time, but there hadn’t been much time for private chats.

“Does the food here suit your taste, Laura?”

Because it was a private conversation, Barron spoke directly in Mandarin.

“It’s very good. The Chinese food your chef makes is very authentic, Your Grace, the Duke.”

“I remember you told me that you are from Hangzhou, right?”

“Yes, I grew up in Hangzhou and then came to London to study after university.”

“The West Lake in Hangzhou is very famous. I would love to go and have a look sometime.”

“You even know about West Lake?”

Although Barron’s Mandarin was very fluent, Laura could see his typical British face when she looked up, so she asked with a slight surprise.

“Of course, I also know about the Legend of the White Snake and Xu Xian. Hmm, your Hangzhou also has a company called Alibaba, similar to Amazon in the United States.”

“You really know a lot about Chinese culture, Your Grace, the Duke, but I only knew about Hangzhou’s Alibaba when I went back to China before. This company hadn’t appeared when I was in school.”

The Alibaba company was founded by Mr. Ma in 1999, but although it had gone through two rounds of financing by this time, including the initial 20 million US dollars that SoftBank’s Masayoshi Son invested in them, its reputation was still not high in China, let alone abroad.

Even though Laura was from Hangzhou, it still made Barron feel a little surprised that she had heard of Alibaba at this time.

It could be said that as venture capital at this time, the most worthwhile companies to invest in among Chinese internet companies were the two future giants, Alibaba and Tencent.

However, Mr. Ma had already accepted SoftBank’s 20 million US dollar Series B investment in 2000; and the 20% stake in Tencent held by Li Ka-shing’s son in Hong Kong was also sold to the South African MIH Holdings Group last year…

Even the Baidu company, after receiving two rounds of financing, did not seek further financing in the short term.

In Barron’s future investments, the internet would definitely be an important direction—after all, at this time, this field was also the fastest-growing industry for creating wealth.

And the internet investment would naturally not miss these high-quality companies in China.

However, there was still a chance. These companies had not yet grown into giants, so Barron also had to go to China to get to know Mr. Ma and the others who would become regulars on the rich list in the future.

So he said to Laura with a smile:

“Perhaps in the next period of time, I will take some time to go to China to play, and you can go with me then.”

“Are you planning to go to China?”

“Yes, I’ve always been very interested in Chinese culture, but I haven’t been there yet. Isn’t there a saying in your China that ‘reading ten thousand books is not as good as traveling ten thousand miles’? So I hope to have a chance to go there myself.”

“That’s great, you’ll definitely like it there. When are you planning to go?”

“After I’m done with this busy period and don’t have too many things to do, I plan to go to China as a vacation.”

……

?Exclusive Interview with Labor MP Glenda: We Should Not Wage an Illegal War!》

Two days later, the front page of The Independent published an exclusive interview with Glenda Jackson, which clearly pointed the finger at the Prime Minister, who had been advocating for military action against Iraq, the “axis of evil country,” with the United States.

And what was very interesting was that the subject of their exclusive interview this time was a current Member of Parliament, also from the Labour Party.

Speaking of this Glenda Jackson, she was not simple at all. Before entering politics, she was an actress, and could be said to be one of the most well-known actresses in Britain.

She had won the Academy Award for Best Actress twice, in 1970 and 1973!

After retiring from acting, Glenda chose to enter politics, joined the Labour Party, and had served as the Minister of Transport. She was also a strong contender for the Mayor of London, and her prospects within the Labour Party were very promising.

However, perhaps from now on, she could only stay in the position of Member of Parliament—because since the Prime Minister began to lean towards joining the United States in striking Iraq, and this performance became increasingly strong, Glenda had differences with the leader of the Labour Party.

She was strongly opposed to military action against Iraq, and had stated on many public occasions that it was absolutely unwise to directly wage war against a country with a legitimate government.

It was also because of this that The Independent chose to conduct an exclusive interview with her this time, becoming the headline of the day.

This was also a small counterattack by Barron against the government.

Chapter 95: Bonnie Returns

The shift of any world hegemon will not avoid war.

This sentence is, to a certain extent, correct, except for a small special case, which is the process of the world hegemon shifting from the British Isles to the United States of America.

Indeed, Britain, through two world wars, and then under the tacit understanding of the United States and the Soviet Union, instigated the independence wave of colonies all over the world, making its power insufficient to maintain the vast colonies, thus becoming the current loose “Commonwealth countries,” and finally the throne of the world hegemon fell to the United States of America.

But in this process, Britain and the United States can be considered a “peaceful handover,” so it did not affect the relationship between the two.

It is also for this reason, plus the fact that both Britain and the United States are countries dominated by Anglo-Saxons, so the current global rule can be said to be led by the United States, with the alliance of the five Anglo-Saxon countries closely following it—that is, the “Five Eyes Alliance.”

This system has its common interests that need to be maintained together, including the Anglo-Saxon dominance, which is not only maintained militarily with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) as the alliance, but also continuously deepens the “white supremacy” through culture and entertainment, which is deeply rooted globally.

However, within the entire alliance, it is not an iron plate, and each country will also have its own interests, and the United States has never relaxed its control over its “allies,” infiltrating in various fields such as military, economy, and cultural media.

And specifically to each country, there will also be the existence of various interest groups, eventually engaging in struggle and compromise with each other.

Just like on the issue of Iraq, within Britain, Barron clearly stood in opposition, and these, in the eyes of the big shots, were just “internal differences.”

This stems from his own bloodline, pure Anglo-Saxon, and also the most noble “blue blood,” even if he has differences with the goals of the “alliance,” it is only caused by his own interests—aren’t camps just for trading? This is the logic of the Anglo-Saxons.

Even in the United States itself, there are still powerful anti-war forces—what does your military-industrial-energy complex profiting have to do with us doing finance, the internet, and entertainment? Unless you take out some of the profits at that time…

Therefore, after this, the increasingly sharp anti-war voice of the Independent was both Barron’s counterattack against the government and a signal to them, you want me to be quiet? Show some sincerity.

Anyway, at this time, standing on the anti-war side, there was more than just the Independent, including the Guardian, which openly opposed the war, and even ridiculed Prime Minister Blair as the United States’ pet dog, there were quite a few newspapers.

And according to a public opinion poll conducted throughout Britain last month, as many as 52% of the respondents opposed the use of force against Iraq at this time.

Even in Parliament, there would be debates on Iraq almost every day—especially lively, at this time the Labour Party was also trying its best to persuade those members of Parliament.

In any case, after September, the issue of Iraq became something that the whole society was discussing heatedly.

The public cared about this, so the newspapers and media were happy to increase the relevant reports—many of these newspapers, for the sake of sales, dared to say anything, compared to this, the Independent was already the most rational and logical.

After all, a national newspaper like the Independent, the audience it faces, is the well-educated elite class, in the aspect of “unless it’s shocking, it won’t stop,” it is definitely impossible to compare with those small newspapers that face the middle and lower classes.

Under such an atmosphere, Bonnie finally returned to London.

After half a month of filming, The Traitors finally completed filming, and now returned to London to continue the post-production of the program.

Barron went to the airport in person to welcome the production team, but everyone knew that his real purpose was probably a certain beauty among them.

They hadn’t seen each other for many days, although they would make time to call each other every day, but when they met, Bonnie still couldn’t hide her excitement, even as a relatively reserved Briton among Westerners, she couldn’t help it, and when she embraced Barron, the two shared a passionate kiss.

This scene naturally caused everyone’s friendly cheers.

And after returning home, the progress of learning knowledge that had been neglected for a long time naturally needed to be made up for overnight…

…

“The main work now is the post-production of The Traitors, and we will definitely be able to complete the first episode’s editing before the 15th.”

Bonnie now has shown the characteristics of a strong woman, even though she was somewhat exhausted, she still did not forget to talk about work with Barron while embracing him.

According to the contract with ITV, Summit Media will take over the broadcasting time slot of ITV channel from 10 pm to 11 pm on September 15, so before that, at least one episode of The Traitors needs to be completed, to be broadcast on that day—September 15th is a Sunday, and in the following week, The Traitors will be broadcast on Saturdays.

I have to say, very fortunately, Bonnie is not only outstanding in appearance, but also has excellent skin, and most importantly, she doesn’t have the body odor of many European and American women, and the perfume she uses daily is also mainly light fragrance.

After kissing the girl’s forehead, Barron said with a smile:

“Besides The Traitors, we also need other programs to fill the broadcasting time, so the recording of the Werewolf game competition also needs to be put on the agenda.”

As mentioned before, The Traitors can only guarantee one day of broadcast time per week, and the remaining six days, for the time being, need to be supplemented by the Werewolf game competition proposed by Barron.

Now “Miller Valley” has specially arranged a large enough room to record the Werewolf game competition.

And before this, this club also held a… relatively amateur level Werewolf game competition, those who performed well and were willing to appear on camera were also included in the list of the Werewolf game competition program, called The Werewolves of Miller Valley.

In addition, they also invited many public figures who were more interested in Werewolf, such as some celebrities and hosts who were still somewhat well-known, to participate in the recording of The Werewolves of Miller Valley.

Of course, these people need to be given some appearance fees for participating in the recording of the program—but these are also worth it, after all, the participation of these guests with some fame can also bring their fans to watch, and the people they choose are not first-tier or second-tier celebrities, and the appearance fees will not be too expensive.

And with the addition of these people, in the early stage of business negotiations, they can also attract some sponsorship.

The recording cost of The Werewolves of Miller Valley itself, apart from the guest’s appearance fee, because there is no outdoor scene, only needs a room, so it doesn’t cost much money.

These sponsorships can just keep the program from losing money—as for the later ones, as long as the program’s viewership can increase, then it can naturally attract more and better sponsorships.

It just so happens that the filming of The Traitors has been completed, and only the post-production is left, so the filming team that was built before can seamlessly switch to The Werewolves of Miller Valley.

Chapter 96: “The Traitors” Premiere

Speaking of which, Barron was somewhat impressed by the efficiency of those entertainment tabloids…

When he woke up the next morning, he had already seen reports about him in the newspapers – complete with a large photo of him and Bonnie embracing and kissing yesterday.

Well, it was still the The Sun. It seemed his London Evening Standard really needed to learn from them.

But besides the news about Barron, he saw something even more interesting in this issue of The Sun.

It was also gossip, but it was about Prince William.

The Sun’s reporter had taken a picture that showed that after returning to school, William had quickly moved on from his previous relationship and had a new girlfriend.

Looking at the obviously candid photo, the girl next to William, Barron’s lips curled into a meaningful smile.

He had met this girl before – it was Catherine, who had woken up beside him when he first came to this world.

It seemed the gears of fate had finally begun to turn… these two had come together.

Barron was quite looking forward to what the scene would be like when he met the other person again.

…

According to the agreement between Summit Media and ITV, before September 15th, ITV had already begun to broadcast trailers for the “The Traitors” reality show during the breaks of other programs, to build up hype for this reality show, which was similar to Werewolf.

Not only that, Summit Media had also placed advertisements in many newspapers, including The Independent –

Who is the traitor? ITV1 Channel, September 15th, will reveal it for you…

How effective these early promotions were would depend on the results today.

Yes, today was September 15th. At 10 PM that evening, “The Traitors” would premiere on the ITV channel.

One thing that needs to be said is that ITV channel was originally composed of 15 operators, distributed in 15 regions of the UK, and they all had their own independent logos and identifications.

Their operating model was that the same ITV channel, different regions, would also have different programs – some programs were national in nature, so at that time, the ITV channel would use the ITV channel logo to broadcast these programs, at which point, all the ITV channels in the UK would be synchronized.

But there were also program slots where the operators in each region would broadcast independently – such as some local news or programs. At these times, it was still the ITV channel, but the programs broadcast in different regions of the UK were also different, and would have the channel logo of the respective regional operator.

But now, of the remaining 15 operators, only a few still had their own independent program time, as well as their independent channel logos. Most of the operators had merged with “Independent Television PLC” (ITV plc.), becoming ITV1.

And “The Traitors” was broadcast on the ITV1 channel, covering all regions of the UK.

Barron would care about the effect of the premiere of “The Traitors”, but he wouldn’t care too much.

After all, “The Traitors” was only a “test run”. Whether it could be loved by the audience in the current UK needed to be seen.

Even if the show wasn’t successful, then he could try something else. He still had many popular variety shows of the future that he could try one by one.

But Bonnie was different. After all, this was the first variety show she produced after leaving Sky Television and joining Summit Media. Not only did she take on the role of host, but she also personally completed the production of this reality show, so she naturally cared very much about the effect of its broadcast.

Therefore, before ten o’clock that evening, she had already turned on the TV, tuned to the ITV1 channel, and sat on the sofa with Barron waiting for the program to begin.

“It’s still early, darling, it’s not starting for another ten minutes…”

Hearing Barron’s words, Bonnie couldn’t help but say:

“Aren’t you curious about how you’ll appear in it?”

“I haven’t seen the finished product…”

As Barron said, in fact, after the editing was completed, not only had Bonnie already seen the various versions of the first episode of the “The Traitors” reality show – after all, it would be constantly adjusted to the optimal version, even Barron, had watched the final cut of the first episode, and compared it with the version he had seen in his previous life, and felt that it was already very good, before allowing it to be broadcast.

“That’s different, after all, it’s being broadcast to the whole country now.”

As they were discussing this, the time came to ten o’clock in the evening, the picture on the TV switched, and finally began to play the opening credits of “The Traitors”.

At this moment, Bonnie stopped talking, and originally leaning in Barron’s arms, she immediately sat up straight and watched the TV attentively.

“The Traitors” began with a relatively high-cost aerial shot. In the picturesque rural scenery, a line of cars drove forward on the road…

The camera zoomed in, giving these cars a close-up, and specifically gave a shot of these new Infiniti SUVs, with the car logo clearly visible.

A total of 22 contestants would arrive at Chatsworth House in batches.

As the “promotional variety show” for the manor, some close-ups of Chatsworth House were naturally indispensable, to show the magnificence and beauty of this manor.

When the contestants got out of the SUVs one after another, gathered in front of the manor’s gate, they began to introduce themselves or talk in twos and threes, and started socializing.

As the camera showed them chatting, some self-introduction scenes of the contestants would be interspersed.

Among these people, there were retired police officers, lawyers, actors, graduate students specializing in psychology, and even people who had worked for intelligence agencies, chess players, and so on. In short, professions that could involve disguise and seeing through people’s hearts would be involved.

Of course, this also included some of the essential guests in reality shows – those with high looks, social bandits, humorous ones, introverted ones, and gays…

When the contestants had all arrived, they began to enter the hall of the manor’s mansion together.

At this time, Barron appeared.

In such a historic and magnificent manor, in a hall surrounded by gorgeous murals that had existed for hundreds of years, when a real, young and handsome Duke appeared in full dress, it could be said that the impact on these contestants from commoner backgrounds was enormous.

Not only the contestants, but the audience in front of the TV could also feel that atmosphere, as if they had suddenly returned to the Victorian era, being received by a distinguished Duke.

It could be said that this kind of scene couldn’t help but move the DNA deep within all the British people.

From the TV, Barron’s performance was also very good, especially his natural performance of the Duke, that handsome and elegant appearance and demeanor, would probably make countless women’s hearts flutter.

After giving the opening speech, Barron left directly, leaving the rest of the work to Bonnie.

Bonnie was also wearing a complex and beautiful aristocratic gown – this gown of hers was one of the exquisite aristocratic dresses in the collection of the Devonshire family. The purple gown suited her very well, and at this moment she was like a princess who had walked out of a movie.

After introducing some of the rules of “The Traitors”, Bonnie said:

“Welcome, everyone, to Chatsworth House, this magnificent manor that has been passed down for 400 years. We will spend a wonderful time together. Of course, the most important thing is, when you leave here, who can get the 250,000 pounds prize money…”

Seeing the excitement on the contestants’ faces after hearing the amount of the prize money, Bonnie smiled elegantly and continued:

“I just want you to know that the competition has begun – from the moment you step into Chatsworth House. Now, I want you to think about how far you can go in this competition? In the conversation just now, you may have figured out some people’s backgrounds, so have you ever wondered, ‘Am I the smartest person here?’ I hope you can line up now and let me see how well you can do, over there…”

She pointed to the left side of the crowd and said:

“Is the most likely to win, and on the other side, is the least likely to win. I hope you choose your position according to your current confidence in this competition.”

Chapter 97: Not Bad Performance

When Bonnie said that she wanted each contestant to rank themselves based on their confidence in making it to the end, the expressions of the 22 contestants opposite her were quite interesting.

Because since they came to this competition, everyone certainly hoped to win the 250,000 pounds prize in the end. As for confidence—since they chose to participate, how could they not have some confidence?

But the problem was, it was only the first day of the competition, just entering Chatsworth House. So, should they choose to stand in a more forward position, making themselves a huge target?

Or should they temporarily choose to keep a low profile, standing in a slightly later position to avoid being noticed?

But similarly, if you choose to stand at the end, you will inevitably be considered as having ulterior motives, hoping to survive until the end…

Therefore, for a moment, the question of what choice to make lingered in the minds of these contestants.

Although there would be some hesitation, after a while, everyone still made their choices, and the 22 contestants lined up in a row.

“Alright, you have all made your choices. On one side are those who believe they are most likely to make it to the end, and on the other side are those who believe they are least likely to make it to the end…”

After saying this, Bonnie selected a few contestants and asked them some simple questions, especially the contestants at the front and back of the line.

Finally, she said:

“Every decision you make has consequences. So, you two…”

She faced the two people at the end of the line, one of whom was a black young man in a light-colored suit, and the other was a middle-aged white man who looked very elegant… They were the two who chose to be the most “low-key.” Bonnie asked:

“Do you think you two will lose?”

Seeing a slight awkwardness on their faces, Bonnie didn’t wait for them to answer and continued:

“I choose to believe what you say, so, I’m afraid I have to say goodbye.”

Hearing her words, all the contestants had bewildered expressions, because if they hadn’t misunderstood, the beautiful host with her stunning appearance was eliminating these two people right now?

But at this moment, Bonnie’s expression was still calm:

“I want you to leave the venue immediately…”

“NO!”

“What???”

“No no no no no…”

Facing the surprise of the other contestants at this moment, Bonnie’s gaze swept over them, and she revealed a charming smile:

“I remind you again, this show is called The Traitors!”

…

Seeing this scene, Barron and Bonnie exchanged a smile.

It could be said that this scene gave the audience watching the show a huge surprise.

Before this, no show had ever eliminated contestants so “carelessly.”

Of course, in fact, they made this arrangement to increase the topic of the first episode.

Although these two contestants left the scene at the time, they didn’t go home. Instead, the production team arranged for them to stay in a town not far from Chatsworth House, and they would rejoin the competition at some point later.

The reports from the Independent and the London Evening Standard, among others, would also use this matter to promote the reality show The Traitors.

Especially the London Evening Standard, from before the broadcast of The Traitors until the later broadcast period, would dedicate a whole page every weekend to release news about what was happening in front of and behind the scenes of The Traitors.

The next morning, Barron and his team received the data for The Traitors from the previous night. This reality show received a premiere viewership rating of 26%.

Generally speaking, 7 PM to 10:30 PM is considered the prime time for viewers to watch television programs, so the 10 PM to 11 PM time slot when The Traitors was broadcast was also half within prime time. If this show was attractive enough, it would certainly be able to keep the audience watching until the end.

A 26% viewership rating meant that approximately 6.5 million people in the UK watched the show last night—currently, the total number of people watching television programs during prime time in the UK is around 25 million, and the number on weekend evenings would be slightly higher than this.

This was already considered good for a newly broadcast variety show. Of course, compared to the most popular variety shows at the moment, it was still slightly insufficient, but this was only the first episode, and further observation was needed.

For Summit Media, as long as The Traitors could maintain this number, it would already be considered a success.

Because according to the sponsorship contract at the time, if the viewership rating exceeded 25%, then the sponsorship fee from Infiniti alone had already reached 15 million pounds, which basically covered the production costs of the show.

And so far, The Traitors had signed sponsorships with three brands, with Infiniti being the most financially generous and also their main sponsor. The remaining two brands, with an average viewership rating of 25%, could bring a total of 10 million pounds in sponsorship revenue to The Traitors, which was already considered a good profit.

“Can we contact more business contracts?”

Summit Media’s manager, Feargal, asked in the phone, and from his tone, it was still possible to hear that he was in a good mood. After all, it seemed that The Traitors had already achieved success, and in addition to increasing the sponsorships in the show, they could also have at least ten minutes of commercial breaks during the one-hour broadcast time to generate revenue.

Before this, they didn’t know what the effect of their show would be, so there would be some difficulties when soliciting investment, but now, this situation gave him more confidence.

“Whether it’s product placement in the show or commercial breaks in the middle, if we can have a flexible advertising agreement based on the viewership rating, then we can confirm it, otherwise, we can wait and see the performance of the later episodes…”

“Okay, Duke, in fact, when we talk about these advertisements now, they are also more inclined to a flexible pricing based on the viewership rating, after all, the other party still doesn’t have much confidence in our show.”

They all understood that they couldn’t say they had succeeded yet, this was just the beginning, and they had just broadcast the reality show The Traitors.

In addition to this, according to Barron’s opinion, they had to broadcast the seemingly simple werewolf game show Miller Valley Werewolf every day. Everyone still didn’t have a good idea of whether this show could support the viewership ratings.

Because this show Miller Valley Werewolf was very simple, it could be said that they just needed to organize some people to play the werewolf game in a prepared game room, then film it, and finally edit it.

The selling point was the newly popular werewolf game—although the werewolf game was already extremely popular in London and had begun to spread among students and white-collar workers, it was still a question whether it could be accepted by the audience in the form of a television show.

Chapter 98: Social Network

However, the facts ultimately proved that their previous worries were somewhat unnecessary.

After the first broadcast of “Werewolves of Miller’s Valley” on Monday, it received over 20% viewership, with nearly 5 million viewers. This performance was considered a success for a weekday.

In fact, many British television programs, especially variety shows, are quite innovative.

Many program formats have been introduced by many countries later on.

But “Werewolves of Miller’s Valley” was the first to directly present a werewolf killing game in a room to the audience. On the one hand, this game was still novel and interesting, and on the other hand, it was partly due to the guests.

For example, Bonnie herself participated in the recording of this program as a celebrity guest, playing the werewolf killing game with other guests.

As a well-known beautiful host of Sky Television, Bonnie already had a certain degree of fame, and after her relationship with the Duke of Devonshire was exposed, she received even more attention.

In addition, as one of the authors, the serialization of “Downton Abbey” was a great success.

After the first part of the novel was serialized, a paperback edition was quickly released, and the results were remarkable.

Within a week of its release, the novel “Downton Abbey” topped the British novel bestseller list. After all, when it was serialized in the newspaper, many people were not readers of the “Independent,” and some people had missing parts for various reasons. Now, after the paperback edition of the novel was published, coupled with the previous popularity of the novel, the sales were excellent.

Outside of Britain, whether in continental Europe or North America, the novel’s performance was very good.

This also added the shining point of talent to Bonnie’s public image, in addition to her beauty, making her a well-known host who combined beauty and talent.

It was also with this popularity that Bonnie personally joined the filming of the program “Werewolves of Miller’s Valley,” and Bonnie herself brought a lot of viewers to the program.

Many things have a virtuous cycle. When Top Media’s viewership on ITV’s time slots was stable at a relatively ideal level, then their advertising business for these time slots became increasingly easier.

But in the final analysis, “Werewolves of Miller’s Valley” is currently able to temporarily fill the broadcast time because the difficulty of filming is not great.

But it’s okay for the short term. If it’s always broadcast so frequently, the audience will eventually get tired of it, so it is imperative to produce or introduce new programs.

So at this time, Top Media’s manager, Fearghal, proposed to start producing the first part of “Downton Abbey” into a television series.

With the current popularity of “Downton Abbey” in Britain, it is actually quite timely. Countless readers are immersed in the story of love and hate in the aristocratic manor of the early 20th century, and the television series will surely be very popular.

Barron also thought this proposal was good.

The filming of a television series is definitely much more complicated than the recording of a variety show, so if they are going to film this television series, then Top Media needs to hire professional producers and directors to form a crew and film.

Anyway, in Britain, this series of processes already has a relatively fixed model, and Fearghal Hayden is not unfamiliar with it.

So next, Barron handed it over to him to do.

…

After entering mid-September, the number of registered users on the Independent’s official website, which had added features such as blogs, increased again.

At this time, the Independent’s official website had begun to accept user subscriptions for the online version of the “Independent.” When registered users applied for a subscription, they would receive the online version of the “Independent” every day via email. However, the number of subscribers to the online version has only been maintained at a level of less than ten thousand people.

But correspondingly, because there is no need for paper printing and no need for intermediate distribution links, the online version of the “Independent” can still be maintained.

This is just the beginning, as an attempt at the Independent’s transformation.

Barron knew that when this electronic publication truly showed its power, it would have to wait for the advent of the mobile internet, when users could conveniently receive information from the internet using their mobile phones, coupled with the development of mobile payment services, that would usher in an explosion in the number of users.

Through the introduction of Khalid, the Independent’s website’s technical director, Barron met with Davo Bablin, who had come to London, on this afternoon.

It was still when Khalid suggested that Barron add a blog function to the Independent’s official website that he mentioned his junior, Davo, who was still studying at Cambridge.

But at that time, what Khalid said was that Davo was preparing to build a blog for Cambridge students himself, so that students could get to know each other and engage in social networking online.

When Barron asked Khalid about this matter again, he told Barron that after the blog website with relatively simple functions went online, the number of students who registered seemed to be not many, and his junior, Davo, was already somewhat disappointed with the project.

So at this time, Barron contacted Davo Bablin through Khalid and hoped to meet and talk with him.

Before this, Barron had also logged onto the internet and looked at Davo Bablin’s website, which was indeed relatively simple in terms of functionality.

But what impressed Barron more was that the website’s functions were updated very quickly. When he heard that it was only Davo Bablin who was maintaining the website, he was indeed somewhat surprised.

When they actually met, Davo, who was in front of Barron, was a boy who looked a little reserved.

“Your Grace, are you interested in my website? But I have to be honest, it doesn’t have many users now, and it’s limited to students, so it doesn’t have much commercial value.”

Hearing the other party’s words so straightforwardly, Barron smiled:

“Actually, Mr. Bablin, I’m more interested in you than your website…”

Seeing the other party’s rather strange expression after this sentence, Barron was a little speechless and added:

“I’m referring to your technology. I’ve seen the website, and although it’s still crude, it also has its merits.”

I don’t know what this student named Davo has experienced before…

Anyway, after hearing Barron’s later words, he obviously breathed a sigh of relief:

“So what is your purpose?”

“I have an idea now, and I’m also preparing to build a website, which is similar to yours. I hope it’s a social network, mainly for students, but also with many differences…”

“So you want to hire me?”

Davo Bablin shook his head:

“I’m sorry, I’m still in school. I mean, if I graduate next year, I’ll be interested in joining…”

“I’ll find you, mainly because your previous website made me think you’re a suitable candidate, and in the early stages, the scale of this website won’t be too large. I believe you can handle it part-time. I can pay, and then you can find a few more people to do it together.”

“In that case, it’s still possible, Your Grace.”

“So you’re willing to accept this job?”

“I am, if the pay is good. Can you tell me what kind of website it is?”

Seeing that he had already agreed, Barron gave a look to his personal assistant and took a file from her:

“This is a confidentiality agreement. We can continue talking after you sign it, Davo.”

Chapter 99: Woaw

In the end, Barron decided to try a social networking project in Britain before Facebook was established.

And he was also prepared for two possibilities. If he couldn’t succeed in the end, then he would invest when Zuckerberg founded Facebook.

After all, the temptation of having a social network controlled by himself was too great. Even if his social network could only hold the European market, it would be considered a success.

It wasn’t that he lacked confidence. It was just that in his previous life, the global internet market was dominated by the United States, and only China could maintain its own market in this regard.

This led to the fact that the United States could completely control the online public opinion - even though Britain was the “traditional ally” of the United States, when it came to interests, it also needed a platform that could be controlled in its own hands.

“The project I’m preparing will be a kind of real social interaction on a virtual internet. Each user can create their own homepage, where they can share their photos, personal interests, and snippets of life. They can also find and contact their friends and interact with them…”

“Isn’t this very similar to the website I created?”

“It seems very similar, but the most crucial point is to be real!”

To Davos’s doubts, Barron explained to him:

“Your current website’s original intention was to allow students to interact and communicate, but have you noticed that most of the users who register on your website may be students from Cambridge University, but they often don’t use their real names and information, so this will create a sense of alienation in the interaction…”

Including most websites with social functions at present, they are almost all “stranger social interaction,” that is, everyone mainly communicates with “netizens” online, but what Barron wants to do is a real social network on the virtual internet. Users need to use their own information to show themselves and communicate with others.

“Then how do we achieve this? Because people are generally unwilling to show their original real identities online.”

“This is the reason why I want to start from universities first. In the early stages, I will use an invitation system, allowing people to invite their classmates and friends to join this network. This way, our social network will have a real relationship network as a foundation. Then, through other methods, we can encourage everyone to display themselves with their real identities, and we can achieve our goal.”

At this time, methods such as facial recognition and other real-name authentication were not realistic. It was still difficult to achieve 100% real social interaction. It was only necessary to create an atmosphere of real social interaction based on the real relationship network at the beginning.

Of course, the website that Barron was about to create would be a new model called SNS (Social Networking Services), as well as the future direction of development. Barron would not tell Davos these more detailed contents now.

Although he had signed a confidentiality agreement, Barron needed to be the leader of this project, and Davos would only be his “tool” to achieve this. A tool doesn’t need to know too much, and basic precautions are still necessary.

In his previous life, Barron was in the financial industry, but because his work often involved overseas affairs, he was quite familiar with applications such as Facebook and Twitter. In addition, because of the once-popular movie “The Social Network,” he had a relatively detailed understanding of some things about Facebook’s initial entrepreneurship and its version changes. The only thing was that he himself was not a technical person.

So what he needs now is for professionals to complete this project under his leadership, instead of sharing the company’s growth with the other party. The attitude required is completely different.

In other words, Barron himself knows what functions need to be achieved and how to develop in the future. He only needs people to implement it according to his ideas.

This is somewhat similar to the founder of Alibaba, Mr. Ma, who himself is not an internet professional, but it still doesn’t affect his leadership of the company. He only needs to think about how to do it, and as for how his ideas are implemented, it is up to the employees he hires to do it.

Therefore, after an afternoon of talks, Davos already understood what kind of website Barron initially needed him to complete. Next, he just needed to go back to school and finish these things.

“What’s the name of this website?”

As for this question, Barron originally wanted to call it Facebook directly, after all, taking others’ paths and leaving them with no path to take…

But thinking that if this time was not successful, he would have to wait to invest in Zuckerberg’s Facebook, forget it, don’t do things too absolutely.

After a little thought, he said:

“Let’s call it Woaw, it’s easy to remember, and it makes everyone marvel at this website, um, that’s it.”

During the conversation, they decided on the name of the website. Before Davos left, he signed a contract with Barron, which would help him complete this website and obtain corresponding remuneration.

Next, Barron’s subordinates would also help him register the Woaw Technology Company. After that, Davos would become the first employee of this company, and some students would also join in later.

The reason why Barron specifically found Davos, who was a student, to do this was, on the one hand, because the other party had also made a similar website, and on the other hand, Woaw itself was planning to start promoting from the campus first. Therefore, Davos’s student identity was more conducive to the initial development of the website.

Anyway, there were more than two years before Facebook appeared, which was enough for Barron to develop slowly. Initially, the website was not large in scale, and the user base was limited to students, so the expenses required were not much. Taking out a few tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of pounds to try it out was nothing to him.

…

“How was today, darling?”

After Bonnie returned to London, Barron also ended his “single” life. Now the two of them were considered to be living together, so most of the time, Bonnie would come to the Devonshire Hotel to live with Barron.

After returning to the hotel, Barron waited for a while before seeing Bonnie, who was in a professional suit, return to the room. He couldn’t help but give her a hug and asked her affectionately.

“Today was quite smooth. We contacted Julian Fellowes, and he said he really likes the novel ‘Downton Abbey’ and is willing to personally adapt it into a script and serve as the producer of this TV series.”

“That’s great.”

“This was originally the person you recommended.”

Yes, Julian Fellowes was recommended to Summit Media by Barron. The reason was that this person was originally the screenwriter and producer of the TV series “Downton Abbey” in his previous life.

Of course, the reason Barron gave to Summit Media’s manager, Fearghal, and Bonnie was that he really liked the movie “Gosford Park,” which was written by Julian, and it was also about a noble manor. Julian, who was also a producer, was considered a suitable candidate.

In March of this year, Julian Fellowes had just won the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay at the 74th Academy Awards for his work “Gosford Park,” and his fame was quite good at this time.

Chapter 100: Preparing to Start Filming

“I spoke with Mr. Fellowes today about Downton Abbey. I think many of his ideas are excellent, so it’s basically confirmed that he will be the screenwriter and producer for this television series, and preparations will begin soon.”

“Actually, I have an idea: we could film both seasons at once…”

“That’s a bit risky, darling.”

Bonnie’s concern was perfectly normal for the England of that time.

This brings up the differences between American and British television. Unlike American dramas, which often have many seasons, only a few extremely popular British dramas have the potential to have many seasons, such as Downton Abbey and Sherlock from Barron’s previous life…

Not only that, but many British dramas are very short each season. According to statistics, the average number of episodes for British dramas is only six…

There are even some miniseries, with only three episodes per season… These are jokingly called “three-episode dramas,” with Sherlock being the most famous example.

In Barron’s previous life, Downton Abbey had a total of six seasons, totaling only 48 episodes, which is eight episodes per season – actually, it should be seven episodes plus a Christmas special…

This number of episodes is even less than some Chinese dramas!

This situation has led to British dramas being meticulous in their production. Often, those hit dramas are very popular with audiences, filled with details – but at the same time, they only air for a few episodes, and then you have to wait a year, which leaves people wanting more.

Now, Bonnie has finished writing the second novel of Downton Abbey, and it has already begun serialization in The Independent.

Therefore, filming both seasons at once is perfectly feasible, and this has an advantage: the production cost per episode will be lower, and the audience’s wait time will also be shorter.

However, Bonnie was worried that if the first season of the drama didn’t do well, then only filming one season would allow them to cut their losses in time; if they filmed two seasons at once, they would likely incur a loss.

Barron was very confident about this.

In addition to finding the producer and screenwriter from the previous life of Downton Abbey to ensure the quality of the drama, he also prepared a sufficient budget for the drama. He believed that with the popularity of the Downton Abbey series from his previous life – known as the number one IP in the UK – there was no need to worry about a cold reception.

In fact, the main costs for this television series were the actors’ costumes and the props used to reflect the luxurious lives of the aristocracy at that time.

In terms of props, using Chatsworth House, along with its inherent luxurious decorations and those silverware and artworks, could save a lot of money.

Moreover, at the beginning, he kept many of the aristocratic costumes that the family had preserved to this day. These were originally high-end clothing for each era in England, and they would definitely be able to authentically restore the luxurious life of the aristocracy of the old era, while also saving a lot of costs.

Of course, there were also many costumes that needed to be custom-made. In Downton Abbey, each aristocrat would change clothes two to three times a day. Just the aristocratic costumes that appeared in the first season would exceed 600 pieces, and they would definitely be meticulous in this regard.

Finally, the situation with the actors also needed to be considered.

Because, according to the plan, Downton Abbey was likely to be a series that would last for six seasons, and it might face a situation that many series or movie series would encounter – a surge in actors’ salaries.

After the first season of the series became a hit, the actors in it would definitely see their value soar, so if they continued to participate in the performance, their salaries would naturally rise.

This wasn’t just one or two people; it could be the entire cast of the series.

Therefore, as a precaution, Barron persuaded Summit Media to directly sign 6+1 contracts with the future main actors of Downton Abbey – six seasons of the television series and a possible future movie.

Of course, this didn’t mean requiring them to always maintain low salaries, but rather that the salaries for each subsequent season would increase within a reasonable range, and nothing too outrageous would happen.

“Actually, I think you would be very suitable for the role of Mary in this drama, baby.”

Since it was basically confirmed, Barron joked with Bonnie.

“Really? You also think I have a bad temper?”

In the novel, Mary, as one of the main characters, is the eldest daughter of the manor. She is also the most beautiful of the three daughters in the manor, possessing a high-and-mighty aristocratic temperament, being proud and strong, and also somewhat sharp-tongued… so Bonnie would ask this.

“Of course not, I just mean that in terms of beauty, there is probably no one more beautiful than you.”

Hearing Barron’s sweet words, Bonnie was still very happy. She smiled and said:

“This drama is too important to us, and I don’t want to mess it up. I haven’t even studied acting myself, so it should be left to the most suitable person.”

This was one of the things Barron liked about Bonnie; she always knew what was most important and wouldn’t be “confused” like some women.

…

The television series of Downton Abbey was about to start filming, and it also caused heated discussions throughout England.

After all, the novel itself was a very hot topic recently, with many loyal readers – including Her Majesty the Queen, who was a fan.

And another point was that Halo Company, which owned the copyright to Downton Abbey, and Summit Media, which was responsible for the production, both announced that the filming of the first season alone was expected to cost 50 million pounds, just to truly recreate the luxurious aristocratic life of the past…

There was no lying about this, after all, if you include the renovation of Chatsworth House, plus the cost of filming two seasons at once, well, it really rounded up to about 50 million pounds.

Anyway, almost all film and television dramas exaggerate to some extent when promoting themselves, but they weren’t really exaggerating this time.

This highly anticipated television series has now confirmed that Julian Fellowes will serve as the screenwriter and producer, and the director has also been confirmed. Next, they would begin selecting the actors.

Such a large production also attracted the attention of many actors, who hoped to join it.

Because the Downton Abbey series was launched several years earlier than Barron’s previous life in 2010, the original cast was definitely impossible.

For example, the actress who originally played the eldest daughter, Mary, Michelle, was only 21 years old at this time and was still a student, not yet in the acting profession…

Therefore, the cast would definitely be very different from Barron’s previous life.

However, he wouldn’t worry about any of this. There were plenty of actors; since Julian could find actors who were more suitable for the roles when he was leading this television series in his previous life, he certainly wouldn’t say he couldn’t find them now.

He was looking forward to what kind of work this version of Downton Abbey would be.

Chapter 101: Grosvenor’s Invitation

To Barron’s surprise, he received an invitation from the Duke of Westminster, whom he had met once before.

Barron had met the Duke of Westminster, Gerald Grosvenor, the sixth Duke of Westminster, at the previous London real estate industry conference he attended with Viscount Booth..

From this, it could be seen that the Westminster Duke family was much “younger” than the Devonshire Duke family.

As mentioned before, the ranking of non-royal duke families in Britain was generally based on the date of their ennoblement. The first-ranked Norfolk Duke family—Barron had seen the eldest son of their family, the future Duke of Norfolk, Henry Howard, at a costume party—they were the earliest non-royal nobles to be created as dukes, in 1483 when John Howard, the ancestor of the Howard family, was created the first Duke of Norfolk and Earl Marshal by Richard III.

The Westminster Duke family, in this ranking, was second to last. They were only created as dukes in 1874, nearly four hundred years later than the Norfolk family.

However, the Westminster family was most known for their wealth—they were the wealthiest family among the British nobility. In a list published in April of this year, the Duke of Westminster, with assets of 4.7 billion pounds, became the richest person in Britain.

Their wealth came almost entirely from real estate—their main business was real estate.

And the Westminster family also owned approximately one-quarter of the land in London, which alone was worth a fortune, and they also owned many properties in other parts of Britain and around the world.

The Grosvenor Company of the Westminster family was also the largest real estate company in Britain.

Although the Grosvenor family had only become a duke family for just over a hundred years, the Grosvenor family had a long history, starting from their rise in real estate in the 17th century.

The ancestor of the Grosvenor family, Barron Thomas Grosvenor, married a particularly wealthy wife, Mary, in 1677, bringing a large dowry, including 500 acres of land west of the City of London, north of the River Thames, and a manor.

Apart from the Pimlico sold in the last century from these 500 acres, the remaining 300 acres were a small part of the Grosvenor family’s tens of billions of assets today—two of the richest districts in London, Mayfair and Belgravia (located on the south side of Hyde Park, known as the most expensive residential area in the world).

In 1710, Sir Richard Grosvenor, the son of Thomas, developed Grosvenor Square in the Mayfair district of his mother’s dowry, which was the family’s first development project and also made their family’s wealth rapidly expand.

After tasting the sweetness of land development, this family bought land in various places in Britain and gradually became a large landowner in Britain, and their wealth grew like a snowball.

As the power of the Grosvenor family continued to grow, it successfully attracted the attention of the most powerful woman in Britain.

In 1874, Queen Victoria granted the Duke of Grosvenor title to Hugh Grosvenor, who was in charge of the family at the time.

It is worth mentioning that the sixth Duke of Westminster that Barron had met, his eldest son was named Hugh Grosvenor, who was eleven years old this year, sharing the same name as the first Duke of Westminster.

“Welcome, Barron, my friend.”

“Hello, Mr. Grosvenor.”

Fortunately, the Duke of Westminster did not invite Barron to his Eaton Hall in Cheshire—the area there was as large as 4,400 hectares.

If you don’t know what this concept is, well, the area of the Macao Special Administrative Region is 3,290 hectares, which is larger than the entire Macao.

In addition, the area of the Forbidden City is about 72 hectares, and Eaton Hall is about the size of 61 Forbidden Cities.

The Duke of Westminster in front of Barron had once complained:

“The roof area of Eaton Hall alone is several acres; the kitchen is 3 miles away from the dining room, and the food is always cold and hard when delivered to the table, and the dining room can accommodate 100 people, it’s too empty…”

The Duke of Westminster was of a burly build, and even wearing a suit, he had the demeanor of a soldier—in fact, besides being a duke and a real estate developer, he did indeed have the identity of a soldier.

He served in the British Army for a considerable amount of time, and in May of this year, he was just appointed as the Honorary Colonel of the Royal Mercian and Lancastrian Yeomanry.

“The last time we met was at the industry conference, I praised you at the time, do you remember?”

“Of course, Mr. Grosvenor, I am very honored.”

Hearing Barron’s words, the Duke of Westminster smiled:

“But it seems that I was a bit conservative at the time, you are indeed the most outstanding among the younger generation.”

Upon meeting, the other party did not hesitate to praise him, but Barron was not complacent, but rather cautious, not knowing what the other party wanted to do.

“Actually, I also have a deep understanding of your situation. The Grosvenor Company is developing well now, but when I took over back then, I also encountered a situation similar to yours…”

Through the other party’s introduction, Barron knew that the business situation of the Grosvenor family was not always so good.

When the Duke of Westminster participated in the company’s management in the late 1960s, the company was paying a large inheritance tax left over from the 1950s, and the financial situation at the time was not good, and the management was also very poor.

“To put it mildly, we had a bit of a problem at the time…”

The Duke of Westminster recalled that he inherited the inheritance on his 18th birthday, which was even younger than Barron’s age at this time.

Under his leadership, the Grosvenor Company survived the high inflation period of the 1970s and 1980s—that period had caused many real estate companies to go bankrupt.

The company also safely weathered the difficulties caused by the adoption of leasehold laws—this law allowed tenants to purchase the ownership of the real estate they rented, thereby weakening the single ownership and self-contained management style of aristocratic landowners, including the Grosvenor family.

Later, the Duke of Westminster also told Barron some of his experiences in managing real estate:

He believed that the reason why his company’s development was currently stable was partly because the company diversified its business, with nearly half of its assets invested outside Britain and Ireland, and increasingly managing properties for third parties.

The assets managed by the company were almost twice the size of its own property assets.

And he valued long-term success more—having a longer-term vision compared to listed real estate companies, and being willing to participate in and reach long-term cooperative projects with local governments.

“I know many people have a tradition of keeping a low profile, and other real estate developers attach great importance to anonymity, but one of the greatest assets of our Grosvenor Company is its brand. It represents stability, honesty, and excellence. These are very important components, and we attach great importance to these qualities. I want to have a respected enterprise, not only in the market, but also outside the market…”

The Duke of Westminster said so.

Chapter 102: Exchange of Interests

“Grosvenor Company is an outstanding company. I am very honored to learn some real estate experience from you, Your Grace.”

Although Barron did not believe that the Duke of Westminster had invited him here just to discuss company management matters, since the other party was obviously showing goodwill, Barron would respond according to etiquette and wait and see.

“Your independent newspaper is doing very well recently, Barron, but some of the remarks are a bit extreme…”

Sure enough, when the Duke of Westminster mentioned the Independent Newspaper, Barron sensed that it was coming…

“The Independent has always maintained a neutral stance. In many aspects, we only believe in reality, not speculation.”

“But some decisions are necessary, Barron…”

The Duke of Westminster picked up his teacup, took a light sip, and said calmly to Barron:

“I’m not criticizing you. You must know that based on our positions, whether it’s you, me, or His Royal Highness the Prince, we are all the same.”

“So, what do you mean? Or what do certain people mean? For example… the Prime Minister?”

There was no need to guess. If the Duke of Westminster could be persuaded to “talk” with him, then the royal family would not need to do so. As for the government… it was the Prime Minister.

However, the Duke of Westminster didn’t lie to Barron about one thing, which was that the overall interests of him, Barron, and even the royal family were still consistent.

The Duke of Westminster’s relationship with the royal family was extremely close. His wife was the godmother of Prince William – and in Barron’s previous life, after Prince William had children, he still chose the son of the duke in front of him as his godfather.

Moreover, the Duke of Westminster had a good relationship with the Prince of Wales and could be called a close friend.

Looking at it this way, the other party’s choice of “middleman” was extremely subtle, as he was both a nobleman and held a position in the military, and also had connections with the government.

Sure enough, as Barron had guessed, the Duke of Westminster continued:

“I heard from His Royal Highness the Prince that you are interested in ITV Digital’s terrestrial digital television license. I can help you gain some assistance in this area, but in the Independent Newspaper… you understand.”

This was an exchange of interests. A faint smile appeared on Barron’s face, and he said to the Duke of Westminster:

“What you said is indeed reasonable. I think there are many things that need to be paid attention to. We shouldn’t just focus on Iraq, right?”

If he could do as the Duke of Westminster said, then Barron could temporarily restrain his “sharpness.” As for the lives and deaths of Iraq, and those soldiers? What did they have to do with him?

Seeing Barron’s “understanding of the greater picture,” the Duke of Westminster was very satisfied. He let out a hearty laugh:

“In addition, if you need any funds during this process, you can tell me directly. I can still help a little.”

Thinking of some reports he had seen in his previous life, Barron could also guess the reason why the Duke of Westminster was willing to participate in this matter so “enthusiastically.”

The other party had always hoped to make some achievements in the military, but how should he put it? Since World War II until now, not only had the aristocracy been restricted in terms of political rights, but they were also greatly restricted in the military.

Just like the Duke of Westminster, although he held a position in the military, the positions he held now were almost honorary positions, which were just nominal positions.

He certainly hoped to be able to contribute in some matters, and then obtain a position that satisfied him – in this regard, the government’s side naturally had the most say, the Prime Minister.

As for what he said about being able to help him financially…

Barron still expressed his gratitude and said, “If there is a need…” Well, there would basically be no need. After all, a lot of money wasn’t easy to get. It seemed that this duke wasn’t uninterested in the media either.

“By the way, Mr. Grosvenor, I know that you have funded many charitable projects for veterans. You have done a lot in this regard.”

“Indeed, there are some. After all, I have always been in the military and have seen many soldiers who find it difficult to integrate into society after retiring. Therefore, I hope to help them as much as I can. Are you also interested in this?”

Hearing Barron talk about this, the Duke of Westminster asked unexpectedly.

“Actually, you and I both understand that according to the Prime Minister’s meaning, we are on the countdown to being involved in another war after the Afghan war.”

Barron directly stated this result, and the Duke of Westminster only frowned slightly, without much expression. At least on this matter, he could get more information. Everyone understood that what the government wanted to do now was just a statement that could face the public in a relatively decent way. The matter of sending troops to Iraq had, in fact, been decided when the Prime Minister secretly met with the American President in May of this year.

The specific time depended on the decision of the Americans.

“So, just like in the Afghan war, this time we are facing a more powerful Iraq. Therefore, once we participate in the war, the number of casualties will inevitably be high. Even if there are no casualties, how those soldiers who have experienced the war will integrate into normal society after the war will also be a problem. Because of this, I also hope to do something for these soldiers.”

Barron’s voice fell, and the Duke of Westminster nodded:

“I am very happy that you have such an idea, Barron. I need to thank you for those soldiers. In this regard, no matter what you need, I will not hesitate.”

…

Because this meeting with the Duke of Westminster was of a private nature, Barron did not bring his personal assistant with him.

When he left the duke’s residence and got into the Rolls-Royce, he heard Laura say to him:

“Your Grace, Mr. Sheen has left a message for you. He has reached an agreement with Barclays Bank on the financing for the construction of Cavendish House. Mr. Rolf personally facilitated this financing. According to the previous requirements, they will provide us with 30 million pounds in financing for the construction of the building. Next, we will publicly tender for this project.”

The Devonshire Luxury Hotel had already opened, and the Cavendish Hotel building in the Soho district had been officially transferred to DS Asset Management Company.

Next, they would begin to demolish the original building and build Cavendish House.

In the previous public bidding, the design plan for the building had been determined. In their determined design plan, the exterior of Cavendish House would imitate 30 Rockefeller Plaza in Manhattan, New York, and become a new landmark in the Soho district.

Cavendish House would have a total of 35 floors, with a designed height of about 125 meters. On the 17th floor of the building, a city observation deck and a sky garden would also be set up.

Now that they had obtained financing from Barclays Bank, they would then start the bidding for the construction contractor.

Chapter 103: Joining the Negotiations

It is generally believed that the morning of March 20, 2003, was when the United States and the United Kingdom launched the war against Iraq.

However, before that, in fact, they had already taken a series of military actions against Iraq.

For example, on September 5th of this year, about 100 U.S. and British fighter jets attacked a major air defense facility in western Iraq. This was the largest-scale strike by the U.S. and British forces against Iraq in nearly four years.

Many people at this time believed that this action indicated that the military actions of the U.S. and the UK against Iraq might have quietly begun.

Although the voices of the British public opposing the strike against Iraq were constantly rising, Prime Minister Blair had already made it clear before: once the “guns fired,” the UK would stand on the side of the United States.

On September 12th, the President of the United States pointed out at the United Nations General Assembly that Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction, claiming that it posed a serious threat to the United States and the world.

In this speech, he reminded the United Nations to either pay attention to the increasingly serious dangers from Iraq or to stay out of the way when the United States took action.

Then on September 24th, the British Parliament prepared to debate the Iraq crisis.

And the day before, the government had released evidence accusing Saddam’s regime of possessing weapons of mass destruction, believing that Iraq had a “military plan” to use chemical and biological weapons.

These documents also accused Iraq of attempting to obtain a “large amount” of uranium from Africa – uranium is a key material for making nuclear weapons.

In addition, Iraq “attempted to secretly obtain technology and materials used to manufacture nuclear weapons.” According to these documents, Iraq also gathered relevant experts to develop a nuclear program.

The documents revealed that Iraq possessed 20 “Hussein” missiles – these missiles had a range of 650 kilometers and could carry chemical or biological warheads. Iraq could deploy these weapons within 45 minutes.

The documents also stated that Iraq had set up mobile laboratories for military purposes, which was consistent with previous reports of mobile facilities for chemical weapons production.

These documents released by the government stated that “intelligence also indicates that Iraq is preparing to destroy evidence before the resumption of weapons inspections,” including burning relevant materials.

Before the report, Prime Minister Blair stated that these documents were compiled based on evidence collected by the government’s Joint Intelligence Committee. He believed that Iraqi President Saddam posed a serious threat and that he “had made progress in weapons of mass destruction and must be stopped.”

In any case, these so-called “evidence” were nothing new to Barron, and the so-called intelligence about “Iraq establishing mobile laboratories and factories on trucks to manufacture biochemical weapons” was also declassified years later, and it was fabricated by a defector from Germany, an opponent of Saddam, to the German intelligence agency BND…

Uh… actually, it doesn’t matter anymore, after all, the U.S. Secretary of State could use a tube of “washing powder” as evidence of Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction.

During this time, the Independent newspaper’s performance was relatively “restrained” and did not rush to the front line of the anti-war movement.

After all, Barron had just reached a tacit understanding with the Prime Minister through the Duke of Westminster – the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee had agreed to allow Summit Media to join the negotiations with ITV Digital, the BBC, and relevant departments regarding the ground digital television license.

Of course, ITV was more active in this, because from the current perspective, after Summit Media took over their broadcast time from 10 PM to 11 PM, the program’s performance was still far beyond expectations, allowing them to regain a city in the competition with the BBC and Sky Television.

The first day’s viewership for “The Traitors” was 26%, which was a good result.

But what was even more surprising was what came after. With the first episode broadcast, “The Traitors” sparked a lot of discussion, especially the novel form of the program, and the fact that two contestants were eliminated right at the beginning was really unexpected.

When the second episode was broadcast, the viewership of “The Traitors” jumped to 40% all at once, and it has been climbing ever since!

It is obvious that this reality show has a trend of exploding in popularity, or rather, it has already begun to explode.

ITV channel very much hopes that “The Traitors” can continue this good trend. A phenomenon-level variety show is too important to a television station.

Besides “The Traitors”, “The Werewolves of Miller’s Valley” performed equally well. Although the viewership was not as exaggerated as “The Traitors”, it has been able to maintain a viewership of over 20%, and occasionally it can even hit 30%, which is enough to bring great benefits to ITV and Summit Media.

And to be honest, Barron did not think he could change anything about the future Iraq War, and moreover, he was not unable to benefit from it.

The most direct point is that as the shadow of war grew thicker, the prices of crude oil, minerals, and gold all began to rise.

Before that, Barron had already participated in going long on crude oil, London copper, and gold. Not only had DS Capital already established positions in international crude oil and gold, but their private equity fund – the Mars Fund – also invested the 50 million pounds in the shortest time possible into international crude oil and gold futures.

In addition, after shorting London copper last time, the profits he obtained exceeded 200 million pounds. Except for the part that had already been used in various industries, the remaining funds did not remain in the bank account, but instead, more than 100 million pounds of the funds were again put into London copper futures, buying long.

All of the above investments have now generated considerable profits, and the main factor is the market’s expectation of war.

…

“Long time no see, Ms. Moore.”

Faced with Barron’s greeting, Julia was also a little stunned, it seemed like only a week had passed.

“Hello, Mr. Duke.”

In the end, she responded to Barron in a more formulaic way.

“How are things at the estate?”

During this time, Julia had left London and gone to Chatsworth House and Castle Carrick – both were undergoing renovation and remodeling. As the manager of the family fund, she would also conduct on-site inspections.

“Things are going quite well. I have to say, after the reality show was broadcast, it did have an effect…”

Julia’s face showed a smile as she said to Barron:

“Because the renovation and remodeling are underway, Chatsworth House is currently restricted from being open to the public… During this month’s open days, neither the number of reservations nor the number of visitors has decreased, but instead, it is slightly more than the same period before, and many people will specifically go to the filming location of the reality show to visit.”

It can be said that when the estate is undergoing large-scale renovation, it will definitely affect tourists – at least some angles of the estate cannot be used as a background for taking photos because the exterior renovation will have an impact.

But now the performance of the tourists has not decreased but increased, which is indeed a good phenomenon for the estate.

It also shows that the reality show “The Traitors” is very helpful in improving the estate’s popularity and heat.

Chapter 104: Website Launch

“As for Carlingford Castle, the repairs and renovations have also begun, but although Carlingford Castle has a good location and pleasant scenery, according to previous data, its appeal to tourists may not be very high.”

Barron wasn’t worried about Julia’s concerns:

“Actually, I’ve already decided that the next season of The Traitors will be filmed at Carlingford Castle to boost its reputation.”

Downton Abbey will still be filmed at Chatsworth House, and this series, which will continue for six years, will bring more traffic to Chatsworth House.

After that, The Traitors will no longer be so important to Chatsworth House, so Barron will start changing the filming location of The Traitors to Carlingford Castle from the next season.

And not only that, in his previous life, the British version of The Traitors would also be introduced by American television stations, and the filming location would also be in Britain—after all, in terms of “history,” America is too young and doesn’t have any suitable ancient buildings.

Therefore, if such a situation still exists, they will also suggest that the other party choose Carlingford Castle for filming.

This way, Carlingford Castle can also attract more overseas tourists…

“Ms. Moore, I highly appreciate your work, but I still want to remind you that work is not everything. If you are willing, I can give you a vacation to relax.”

Barron said this mainly because he saw Julia… how to put it, she seemed a bit of a workaholic, and sometimes he received her emails at dawn.

It felt to him like her life was only about work.

“Thank you for your affirmation, Your Grace. I like my current state.”

Since she said that, Barron didn’t say anything more.

Speaking of which, Julia is now feeling a little pressured, especially after Barron established DS Capital and this company has begun to get involved in the industries of many family trusts.

After all, the abilities Barron demonstrated after taking over the family business made Julia review the past and realize that she did initially have a lack of trust in him and did not agree with some of his risky actions.

If she had to do it again, and the situation was still the same, Julia would probably make the same choice.

But looking back now, she did underestimate Barron’s abilities, and this mistake, while not fatal, did affect their relationship.

With her personality, she can only continue to prove herself through work.

…

At Cambridge University, an invitation link began to circulate.

Upon logging onto the network and entering that link, one would enter a website called “Woaw.”

On the Woaw website, you can register your own personal homepage and upload photos and some updates.

The interesting thing is that this website requires an invitation to register.

Of course, this invitation system does give people who are interested in this website and want to register a certain sense of superiority and make them cherish their accounts.

But this is not the most attractive part of this website—the reason why many students, especially male students, are keen to join this website is because the Woaw website has a section where, after entering, you can judge the girls.

In this section, two girls’ photos will be randomly displayed, and you need to choose the one you think is more beautiful.

Next, the girl you chose will remain, and another girl will appear in place of the other photo, and so on…

And these photos that appear are all uploaded by the girls themselves.

How to promote Woaw? Barron borrowed the “beauty contest” approach of Facebook’s original prototype, Facemash.

However, at that time, Zuckerberg had hacked into the school’s academic affairs system himself and put all the photos of Harvard girls on Facemash for people to vote on.

Barron certainly couldn’t do this, because once he did this, after the Woaw website developed in the future, his actions as a nobleman would become a stain.

Therefore, in the end, he chose for the girls to upload their own photos and actively participate in this selection.

The question is, how will you attract those girls, especially the girls with high looks, to participate in this selection?

After all, not everyone is willing to have their photos appear randomly with other girls’ photos for people to vote on.

That would require certain rewards to entice them.

Barron’s approach was that in the two-month-long competition, the girl who ultimately received the most votes would be provided with a reward by him. As for what the reward would be? The girl could propose what item she wanted, and anything under fifty thousand pounds would be provided.

You have to know that at this time, fifty thousand pounds is not a small sum for students, and especially for girls who are pretty, the sense of honor of possibly winning the final victory is also very attractive.

To this end, Barron specifically registered his own personal homepage on Woaw and released a video in it, personally appearing to make this promise to ensure that everyone could believe it.

A young and handsome Duke would give a reward of fifty thousand pounds, which in itself is a great temptation for girls.

Therefore, after this website went live, many girls who were very confident in themselves quickly registered their personal homepages and uploaded photos—all of which were the photos they thought were the most beautiful.

With the addition of numerous girls, especially beautiful girls, coupled with such a unique selection method, it naturally attracted a large number of boys to join.

This is like many nightclubs where single women can enter for free, while single men need to buy tickets, which is to attract men with beautiful girls.

At the same time, the Woaw website also provided those girls who uploaded photos and participated in this competition with a way to get votes for themselves.

In addition to posting more updates and uploading more photos on their personal homepages, they could also set a certain number of private photos on the Woaw website. These private photos would be opened to all users who had voted for the girl who received the most votes in the final competition results.

And the private photos of other girls would be automatically deleted.

It is also because of this that many girls hinted on their personal homepages that the photos they set as private were quite revealing…

The effect of this is that if you really like a certain girl and want to see the photos she has set as private… then you need to try your best to get votes for her so that she can win the final victory and you can see them.

Under such a mechanism, both the girls participating in the selection and those boys have great motivation.

Of course, some people will inevitably worry whether some girls will steal photos of celebrities or others to participate in the selection.

Because the Woaw website will recommend that users use their real names and photos to register, especially the girls participating in the selection, if her personal information is incorrect, she will eventually be directly judged as violating the rules and lose the chance to receive the reward.

Because the main scope of this selection is the students of Cambridge University, there are always people who know a certain girl participating in the selection.

If it is found that someone is not using their own photo, it is very easy to report it.

After receiving the report, the staff of the Woaw website will personally verify it. If it is really a stolen photo, they will cancel the other party’s eligibility for selection and make it public.

At this time, in Cambridge University, in addition to Davos, there are also five other students working for the Woaw website, including three boys and two girls, who can easily review the reports.

Chapter 105: Tit for Tat

“Smack!”

The newspaper was thrown onto the dining table by Barron.

“What’s wrong, darling?”

Bonnie, who was eating breakfast, asked casually, seeing her boyfriend’s action.

As she spoke, she picked up the newspaper on the table and saw the red headline; sure enough, it was the The Sun again…

Next, Barron saw Bonnie looking at the newspaper with a strange smile on her face.

The report that had just angered Barron was easy to find because there, printed in bold, was his photo…

As for the content of the newspaper—

“Recently, a game has become popular at Cambridge University. It involves making comments on the photos of female students on a website called Woaw. When the reporter of this newspaper interviewed a student, it was claimed that this was a ‘beauty pageant’ initiated by the young Duke of Devonshire, Barron Cavendish. The most beautiful girl selected would receive a prize of up to 50,000 pounds, and as for why he initiated such a boring ‘beauty pageant,’ the reason is probably self-evident…”

Yes, they treated the promotion of the Woaw website as Barron’s activity of choosing beauties for himself. The wording above was already the most “elegant” in the entire report. The subsequent speculations probably made everyone who read this report regard Barron, the duke, as a lecher…

No wonder Barron was so angry!

Bonnie glanced at Barron and smiled:

“I think their speculation in this report isn’t entirely without reason, you know.”

“Heh, that’s because their hearts are too dirty to see how great a viral promotion this is.”

“So, what are you going to do? Sue them? Or have your newspaper write an article to criticize them?”

Bonnie’s words fell, and Barron touched his nose and laughed:

“I will certainly do both.”

“This isn’t your style, you know. Didn’t you tell me before to ignore those tabloid reports? Suing them would only give them more attention…”

“Analyze specific problems specifically—well, this is the inspiration I got after reading a great book recently…”

Barron calmed down at this moment and said to Bonnie lightly:

“My purpose this time was to promote the Woaw website in the first place. Of course, the more people who know about it, the better. So, making this matter a big deal can naturally make more people have an impression of the Woaw website, and naturally, many people will actively browse this website.”

“I’m a little curious, what is that ‘great book’ you mentioned?”

” Selected Works of MAO TSETUNG. It’s a great book. I’m reading it recently and am very inspired.”

“Wow, that’s cool.”

Seeing Bonnie gave him a thumbs up, Barron said seriously:

“So I will have my lawyer send them a lawyer’s letter, and then I will also humiliate that gossip tabloid in my newspaper. I hope they can go back and forth with me, that way, the effect will be best.”

Barron did as he said. That day, he had his lawyer send a lawyer’s letter to the editorial department of The Sun.

Then, in the evening’s London Evening Standard, a full page was used to list in detail some of the lowbrow and fabricated reports by The Sun in recent years, directly slapping their faces.

This was mainly because The Independent was a morning newspaper, and London Evening Standard could respond in the first instance.

But it was not urgent; when the The Independent came out the next morning, another article would be arranged to “criticize” The Sun.

Even when he was interviewed by reporters today, Barron changed his usual stance of being unavailable for comment. Regarding The Sun’s speculation that he was looking for beauties at Cambridge University through the Woaw website, he said directly:

“Their speculation is baseless. The facts will speak for themselves. What makes me angry is that they not only slandered me with such dirty thoughts but also humiliated those students. The activities of the Woaw website are only to enhance the confidence of those female students, to make them believe that beauty is diverse, and that anyone has the right to be appreciated by everyone. As for those rewards, they are purely for encouragement!”

As he expected, The Sun did not show weakness in response to Barron’s “counterattack.” The next day, they continued to report on the “beauty pageant” of the Woaw website.

Regarding Barron’s reason for “encouraging female students and enhancing their confidence” yesterday, The Sun believed that Barron was talking nonsense. If that was really the case, why was the selection based on appearance? As a top university in England and even the world, shouldn’t he pay more attention to the students’ inner qualities?

Well, since you are so cooperative, then I can’t miss this opportunity for publicity—

So, the London Evening Standard that evening continued to respond:

“You’re right, but the Woaw website is a brand-new, open, and authentic social networking website independently developed by us. The website will create personal homepages for students where they can showcase their lives and personalities, and find companions with common interests and hobbies. You will get to know more people in a virtual network with your true self, and at the same time, gradually discover more ways to play on the Woaw website…”

“As for the fact that this selection is purely based on appearance, then I want to say, beauty is diverse. Please don’t use your worldly eyes to define beauty. Everyone can find someone who resonates with their soul on the Woaw website…”

…

“That website of yours, called Woaw, right? It’s cool.”

Barron didn’t expect that while he was engaged in a war of words with The Sun, he received a call from Prince William, which was about the Woaw website…

“Many of the students around me are talking about this website, but what’s frustrating is that although we received an invitation, we can’t register successfully. Only students from Cambridge University can register, so can’t you expand the registration scope?”

Barron had already thought about this point at the beginning.

If registration was done through an invitation system, then surely students from outside Cambridge University, or adults, could also obtain invitations and register for the Woaw website.

Therefore, when registering as an individual, it was necessary to fill in the correct information about the Cambridge University college and class, as well as the address of the dormitory.

These all needed to be confirmed by the Woaw website—that is, the students who were working for the website at this time—before registration could be completed.

Or, it was acceptable if at least three people from your class or dormitory confirmed it.

This way, it was possible to prevent people from outside the school from registering—they could only browse the Woaw website as visitors for the time being.

Visitors’ permissions were limited; they could only browse, not create personal homepages or leave messages, nor could they participate in this selection vote.

Therefore, many people now knew about the Woaw website through the media, but they couldn’t register and could only browse.

The reason for doing this, rather than trying to get more registered users in the shortest possible time, was also because Barron hoped that the Woaw website could develop steadily, rather than entering users of uneven quality from the beginning, which would generate some negative impacts.

In the beginning, the more users, the better, and Barron had enough time. He hoped that after cultivating enough high-quality “seed users,” he could gradually open the Woaw website to the public.

He didn’t expect that such a strategy would instead create a kind of “hunger marketing” effect for the Woaw website at this time.

“Don’t worry, William. We will gradually open up more schools to join the Woaw website, and these all require some preparation… The University of St Andrews will be in the front of the queue.”

Chapter 106: A Task

In the back-and-forth confrontations with the The Sun, the effect wasn’t just to boost the popularity of the Woaw website. The circulation of both the The Independent and the London Evening Standard also increased. Of course, since The Sun was also so “cooperative,” it was because they also gained popularity.

It’s no wonder that after the rise of short video live streaming, many internet celebrities, who appear to be constantly fighting each other on the surface, might all secretly belong to the same MCN company…

“For the Cavendish Building project, we will use a steel structure for construction. This construction method is now relatively mature and has advantages in both efficiency and environmental protection.”

The bidding for the Cavendish Building had been completed, and construction was about to begin. Amber, who was in charge of the entire matter, also reported the specific situation to Barron.

As he said, many buildings now used steel structure construction methods, which could be considered a trend in current building construction.

The main reason, besides the fact that steel structures are more environmentally friendly than reinforced concrete structures, is that steel structure buildings are also faster to build.

For example, in Barron’s previous life, China once used steel structures and standardized modules to build a building with more than 60 floors in 19 days.

Barron was quite surprised when he first heard this news and made a special effort to learn about it.

This wasn’t an exaggeration, because the so-called 19 days was just the time to assemble those standardized modules, and the time to produce these modules in the factory was much longer than that—if you add up the production time, it would exceed a year…

However, at this time, steel structure buildings were still mainly found outside of China, and China still used reinforced concrete structures to build buildings.

The reason for this was naturally that the cost of steel structure buildings was much higher than that of reinforced concrete structures.

In the eyes of Chinese project owners, their labor costs were already much cheaper than those in foreign countries. When constructing, they could completely hire more construction workers. In this way, even reinforced concrete buildings wouldn’t take too much more time, but the cost would be much lower.

But in Europe and the United States, the labor costs of construction workers were very high, so they chose steel structure buildings, which had sufficient reasons. They could use fewer workers and save time, so steel structure buildings were a good choice.

But even so, it would still take 6-7 months for the Cavendish Building to be completed and ready for use…

“Mr. Sheen, there’s something you need to do personally next—I’m afraid you’ll need to travel for a while.”

Hearing Barron’s words, Amber knew that since he said this, it must be a very important matter, so he immediately replied:

“No problem, Your Grace, what is it?”

“I want you to go to Johannesburg, South Africa, and talk to Naspers about buying the shares of a Chinese company they hold. The name of this company is Tencent.”

Amber Sheen had previously helped Barron acquire the The Independent newspaper at PwC. Now he was also in charge of the DS Capital’s industrial investment department. Because of this, it was most appropriate to have him do it.

Last year, affected by the bursting of the internet bubble, the HK “Little Superman,” who had invested in Tencent and held 20% of its shares, intended to sell his Tencent shares.

The one who bought these shares at that time was the South African MIH Group. They currently held 46.5% of Tencent’s shares, and Naspers was the parent company of the South African MIH Group.

Initially, Little Superman’s Pacific Century CyberWorks and the venture capital firm IDG from the United States invested a total of 2.2 million US dollars in Tencent, each holding 20% of its shares.

Last year, Little Superman sold his 20% stake to the South African MIH Group for 12.6 million US dollars, realizing a return of more than 11 times the initial investment. At the same time, also because of the bursting of the internet bubble, IDG, which didn’t have much confidence in Tencent’s future development, also sold more than 13% of its 20% Tencent shares. For this, the South African MIH Group paid less than 21 million US dollars in total and obtained 33% of Tencent’s shares.

Next, in June of this year, the South African MIH Group acquired another 13.5% of the shares from other founders of Tencent. So far, their holdings of Tencent’s shares reached 46.5%, costing them about 32 million US dollars, or about 20 million pounds.

So at this time, Barron was preparing to try to buy the shares of Tencent held by Naspers—you must know that at its peak in the future, Tencent’s market value was close to a trillion US dollars. Even after taking into account the subsequent financing and the decrease in the shareholding ratio, at that time, the value of the Tencent shares held by the South African MIH Group would also exceed 300 billion US dollars!

“According to my investigation, Naspers currently holds 46.5% of Tencent’s shares, for which they paid about 32 million US dollars. I hope you can try to buy these shares. I am willing to pay a premium of up to two times. Of course, it would be best to buy these shares at the lowest possible cost.”

Hearing that Barron was willing to pay such a high premium to buy Tencent’s shares, Amber couldn’t help but be secretly surprised. You must know that the internet bubble crisis that had just passed still hadn’t shown any signs of recovery…

The Nasdaq’s technology stocks, which had already stabilized, began to decline again from September. Their DS Capital took advantage of this opportunity to complete the building of positions in all technology stocks.

Although this step showed that his boss was optimistic about the future recovery of technology stocks, at this time, being willing to buy the shares of a company called Tencent at a two-times premium still showed that he was not just generally optimistic about this company.

Therefore, Amber decided to collect information about Tencent after he returned, make sufficient preparations, go to Johannesburg, and try his best to buy the company’s shares from Naspers to complete the task given to him by his boss.

As for whether Naspers would be willing to sell Tencent’s shares at this time?

If it were later, it might not be possible to succeed, but at this point in time, it was still very possible.

Because, first of all, the investment in Tencent originated from the favorable view of the Vice President of China Business of the South African MIH Group. If they went to talk to the Chinese branch of the MIH Group, it might not be agreed to. But if they gave the other party sufficient returns, and directly talked to their parent company, Naspers, it was still possible.

You must know that from the name Naspers, it can be seen that this company was originally a company that operated newspapers—they are the largest media company in Africa, but later in 1997, after the new CEO Koos Bekker took office, they turned to expand their business scope and shifted to the technology field, such as television business and telecommunications operators.

Investing in Tencent was their first venture capital investment in the internet. Before that, they didn’t have much experience in venture capital.

It could be said that they were extremely lucky, as they hit a jackpot with their first investment—but because of this, it was also possible that they would be willing to exit the investment after receiving a return that satisfied them.

Chapter 107: Hunting

Therefore, at a time when internet technology had not yet begun to recover, it was still very possible to contact the South African newspaper industry, give them sufficient profits, and obtain an investment project for their subsidiary’s China branch.

So, after receiving Barron’s instructions, and after Amber arranged the affairs of DS Capital’s industrial investment department, he went directly from London to Johannesburg.

Barron, along with Bonnie, went to a shop in Mayfair.

The name of this shop was William & Son, and from this name, it could be seen that the shop was originally opened by a man named William and his son.

This century-old shop, located in a wealthy area, specialized in custom-making traditional hunting outfits and bespoke hunting rifles for nobles and the wealthy.

It was now autumn, the most suitable time for hunting, and Viscount Booth. and his wife had invited Barron and Bonnie to their family’s hunting ground in the Scottish Highlands for a traditional hunting activity.

Hunting had a long history in the British Isles, and as a form of entertainment for the upper class, it had flourished for hundreds of years.

Every spring and autumn, aristocratic hunters would gather in the countryside of the British Isles to enjoy the fun of hunting.

They wore red hunting outfits, black felt hats, and rode tall horses, galloping from the autumn mist of the countryside, urged on by a pack of hunting dogs; they followed in the footsteps of their ancestors in the forests of the countryside, chasing foxes, rabbits, deer, and other prey, experiencing the fun and excitement of hunting.

In 1066, the Duke of Normandy conquered England, and the Norman hunting tradition was brought to the British Isles.

At that time, hunting deer and wild boars was an exclusive privilege of the royal family and honored guests.

Later, this privilege was gradually granted to nobles and landowners, and the hunting culture of the British Isles gradually flourished.

In recent decades, people’s awareness of animal protection has become increasingly strong, and hunting has also become a controversial activity.

Except for Northern Ireland, the British Isles has now banned the traditional method of directly hunting with hunting dogs, but still allows the use of hunting rifles.

There were many classic collections of these traditional hunting rifles used for hunting at Chatsworth House.

However, since Bonnie had not participated in this kind of hunting activity before, and she was quite enthusiastic about participating this year with Barron—she had been busy with work during this period, and Barron also wanted to take this opportunity to let her relax—so he went directly to this shop in London, which was well-known for specializing in custom-making hunting supplies for nobles and the wealthy, to have a set of outfits and a hunting rifle made for the two of them.

In this slightly formal upper-class hunting activity, gentlemen often wore “British red” hunting outfits, black felt hats, white breeches, and black riding boots.

Of course, they could also choose according to their own preferences, after all, in this era, the dress code for this kind of occasion was no longer so strict.

After having the tailor in the shop take his measurements, Barron chose several styles of hunting outfits, including the more classic brown-green hunting outfit and the red hunting outfit for formal occasions.

……

Viscount Booth. was very different from Barron in terms of work—it could be said that Ian Booth. was more like a traditional aristocrat; he would not be like Barron, who, after taking over the family’s business, spent most of his time working.

Even at this time, regarding the King’s Cross area renovation plan, Viscount Booth. only regularly listened to the reports of the Argent Real Estate Group’s general manager and rarely participated in specific matters.

It could be said that he spent most of his time in various social gatherings.

Of course, the circumstances were also different; the Devonshire family that Barron took over was, at the beginning, riddled with holes and faced a crisis, requiring him to work hard to get it back on track.

The Booth. family’s businesses, on the other hand, had always been well-managed; as the heir to the family, Ian Booth. only needed to gradually take over such a well-functioning family business.

In this respect, Barron probably couldn’t help but envy him.

The Booth. family’s hunting ground was located in Sutherland, on the northern coast of Scotland.

“My father told me that my grandfather came here when he was young; there were many forests around here at that time, which were later cut down for timber sales, or to make space for farmland…”

Viscount Booth. was also in a hunting outfit, riding a horse, and pointing at the pine forest of the hunting ground in front of him, he said to Barron:

“Later, my grandfather bought this place and tried his best to restore it to its original, more natural state.”

In this hunting ground, their group could be said to be quite a large one—there weren’t too many attendants, their group included Viscount Booth. and his wife, Barron and Bonnie, the couple, as well as Viscount Booth’s sister, Jennie Booth, and her fiancé.

Barron was seeing Jennie Booth. for the first time; he didn’t expect that Viscount Booth’s sister looked quite spirited and heroic; her appearance was somewhat similar to a woman Barron had liked very much in his previous life—Sophie Marceau.

Jennie was twenty-four years old this year, two years older than Barron, and her fiancé was named John Smith, an American, which surprised Barron a bit.

However, after learning about John’s identity during their conversation, he suddenly understood.

John Smith was the fifth son of his father, and also the youngest son, and his father’s name was Julian Sinclair Smith; the company controlled by their family was the Sinclair Group.

In Barron’s previous life, he had heard of the Sinclair Group when they acquired Tribune Media Company and its 42 local television stations in 2017. After that acquisition, the number of television stations controlled by the Sinclair Group reached 223, covering 72% of American households, making it the largest television company in the United States.

The Sinclair family was very low-key; it could be said that before that acquisition, even most Americans didn’t know of its existence—the American news media called it “the company that radar can’t see.”

Besides the six of them, there were their respective attendants, and an even larger number of hunting dogs.

Both the horses they rode and the hunting dogs they brought were specially bred by the Booth. family in this hunting ground for hunting, and they could be said to be well-trained.

“The main target of hunting here is deer, and occasionally there will be foxes… You don’t need to have any burden about this, because the deer population here, it could be said, is a bit excessive…”

After all, since the new century, whether it was environmental protection or animal protection, it had increasingly become a “trend” for young people, so Viscount Booth. specifically explained to them:

“In the past five years, we have hunted more than 2,000 deer, but the deer population is still very large; they eat the seedlings, which causes us to have to keep replanting the forests here, so ladies and gentlemen, we are fighting for the ecology here.”

In the British Isles, deer hunting was an important project, because it also had another meaning, which was to maintain ecological balance—in the ecological environment of the British Isles, there were no natural predators of deer, so they could easily become overpopulated.

And deer hunting had a special term, which was called Stalking.

Just as the original meaning of this word, “tracking,” indicates, deer hunting requires hunters to track their prey for a long time, and often requires walking, so deer hunting required a much higher level of physical fitness from the hunter than shooting wildfowl.

The annual Macnab challenge, which was very famous in the Scottish Highlands, was a test of skill, physical fitness, and of course, luck, because this challenge required participants to shoot a stag, a brace of grouse, and catch a salmon in one day.

Moreover, the difficulty of deer hunting also lay in the fact that, first of all, deer hunting required as small a team as possible, because deer were extremely sensitive to their surroundings.

And because deer, although much larger in size than wildfowl, the law stipulated that deer or wild boar needed to be hit in a fatal spot with a single shot in order to minimize the prey’s suffering.

Therefore, the British Shooting and Conservation Federation had strict requirements for the timing of shooting and the qualifications of hunters.

Of course, as nobles, on their own hunting grounds, they could usually ignore this “humane” regulation, after all, no one else would know how you were hunting.

Chapter 108: Attempting Cooperation

Bonnie’s name is Bonnie Stuart. From her surname, one can roughly guess that her ancestors were once prominent.

Actually, in the earliest times, “Stuart” wasn’t a surname, but the name of a position.

The Stuart family originated in Brittany, France. In the early 12th century, the Stuart family moved to the British Isles. A member of the family was appointed as the royal steward, “Stuart,” by the King of Scotland. Afterwards, the family inherited this position for generations, gradually becoming their surname.

In the early 14th century, Walter of the Stuart family married the daughter of Robert I, the King of Scotland. Their son succeeded Robert I as King of Scotland in 1371, becoming Robert II – from this point onwards, the Stuart dynasty began to rule Scotland.

In 1503, James IV of the Stuart family married the daughter of Henry VII, the King of the British Isles. Their descendant, James VI of the Stuart family, inherited the British throne in 1603, becoming King James I, and the Stuart dynasty began to rule the entire British Isles.

After the “Glorious Revolution,” Mary of the Stuart family and her husband ruled the British Isles. After their deaths, they had no heirs, and the throne was inherited by Mary’s sister, Anne.

In 1714, Anne died without heirs. The British throne passed to the descendants of the Stuart family’s female line, to Sophia’s son, George, who had married into the House of Hanover in Germany. He became George I, and the House of Hanover began to rule Britain.

Bonnie’s ancestors held the title of viscount at their highest point, but the family later declined, so now they had lost their noble status.

From a historical perspective, the direct royal line of the Stuart family had died out. Even if their family could be linked to the Stuart dynasty in British history, they could only be considered a collateral branch.

It’s not just in China that people like to “revise family genealogies,” connecting their families to historical figures. The same is true in the British Isles. Even in the United States, because they are later immigrants with not much history, after their families become prominent, they will also try to “claim kinship” with some European nobles.

Anyway, it can be seen that Bonnie received a very comprehensive education from a young age. At least, her riding posture was very standard – it should be mentioned that initially, noblewomen needed to wear long skirts while riding, which made straddling the horse appear very ungraceful. Therefore, the traditional custom was for women to ride sidesaddle, and there were even special sidesaddles for this purpose, which was the only permitted riding posture for noblewomen at the time.

Just like in the movie Titanic, Rose once told Jack to teach her to “ride like a man,” because in that era, women still needed to ride sidesaddle, which showed Rose’s rebellious spirit.

But in modern times, such customs are rarely followed anymore. Even noblewomen often wear hunting attire and straddle the horse to participate in hunts.

Not only Bonnie, but also Chrissy was very interested in hunting, and it could be seen that she was not participating for the first time. During the process, both her movements and coordination were very skilled.

But what impressed Barron the most was Jenny Booth.. When he first saw her, Barron was under the impression that she was a rather quiet noble lady, but after changing into hunting attire and participating in the hunt, even her temperament changed. Her brisk and forthright appearance was like that of a beautiful female warrior.

On the way, she had hit several pheasants herself – British pheasants are an invasive species from China. Originally they were ornamental animals, but they reproduced too quickly, becoming targets for shooting and delicacies on the table.

Speaking of which, Barron was a “newbie” when it came to hunting. In his previous life, he had never participated in this kind of British noble game, and his previous body could only be said to be able to ride a horse and shoot a gun – he had learned these skills, but he wasn’t very interested in hunting. He rarely participated, as in his previous body’s opinion, shooting birds or deer with a gun wasn’t as interesting as dating beautiful women…

However, although Barron was a little awkward at first, his ability to learn and adapt was indeed very strong. He quickly watched how the others did it, and coupled with Lord Booth’s introductions along the way, he began to understand the fun of this kind of hunting.

It wasn’t that Lord Booth. and the others were specifically explaining things to Barron, but among their group, there was also John Smith, who came from the United States and had never participated in a hunt before.

The Booth. siblings mostly explained and introduced things to John, and Barron just happened to piggyback on the lesson.

However, during the hunt, Barron’s learning ability didn’t even let others discover that he wasn’t as familiar with hunting as he appeared, and that he was completely learning as he went.

Compared to Barron’s rapid integration, John Smith seemed more “delicate.” Just riding a horse seemed a little difficult for him.

“It’s almost time for lunch. We have some game, and there’s a hunting lodge over there. Let’s go over there to rest and have lunch.”

Lord Booth. said proactively, probably having noticed John’s discomfort.

By now, their haul, including more than a dozen pheasants and a deer, was certainly enough for these people to sample some wild game.

As for handling the game and cooking it, there was naturally no need for these nobles to do it themselves. Their accompanying servants would go to the manor to find a specialized chef to handle it.

Of course, the methods of preparing these wild games were also traditional British methods. For example, their well-known roasted pheasant was a very popular dish during the hunting season.

As for venison, it was also a high-class wild game, with tender meat, delicious flavor, lean meat, and little connective tissue, which could be used to cook various dishes – just like in Barron’s previous life, roasted venison tenderloin appeared on the state banquet where the Queen hosted the Chinese leader.

Though called a lodge, this place in the hunting grounds specifically used for resting during hunts was more like a beautiful wooden villa.

While waiting for the chef to cook, it was also their time for idle chatter.

“Your Grace, I’ve read the novel Downton Abbey that you wrote with Ms. Bonnie. This novel is also very popular in the United States. I heard that you are already preparing to make it into a television series, and I am really looking forward to it.”

John Smith spoke to Barron proactively at this moment.

“Yes, Mr. Smith, Downton Abbey is currently being filmed at Chatsworth, and it should be able to be broadcast soon.”

After the initial surprise that John would pay attention to Downton Abbey, Barron thought about it and it wasn’t strange. After all, their family in the United States was in the media business, and they owned many television and radio stations. Through the previous small talk, Barron also knew that John Smith was currently employed at the Sinclair Group, his family’s company.

Thinking of this, Barron smiled and said:

“In addition, I know that the Sinclair Group is the largest television group in the United States, and I currently have evening broadcast time on ITV. Perhaps we can cooperate and purchase some film and television content from the Sinclair Group to fill our broadcast time…”

“That’s absolutely no problem. And by the way, I’m actually in charge of this area within the group, Your Grace.”

John said with a very generous tone:

“I’m actually very interested in some of the programs you produce, such as the reality show The Traitors that is currently being broadcast. Jenny can attest to the fact that I’m a loyal viewer of this show.”

Chapter 109: The Big Fellow

“That was a show I recommended to you…”

Jenny said with some pride:

“John is coming to England this time, and he also wants to check out the shows here. He’s in charge of this area in the company, so I recommended him a few variety shows that I thought were good, including ‘The Traitors’.”

So, regarding this, Barron and John had something to talk about.

Their next meal mainly used the harvest from today’s hunt. It had to be said that this kind of “trophy” obtained by their own hands, and after being cooked, was indeed very fresh, and they could be said to have eaten heartily.

“I want to go along the tracks we just saw and look for it. We haven’t had a satisfactory harvest today…”

After the meal, Jenny took the initiative to bring up this idea.

What she was talking about was the tracks that were suspected to have been left by a wild boar, which they had discovered earlier.

Wild boars were also a traditional target for hunting by the British aristocracy. In the beginning, deer and wild boars were the main game for royal hunts.

However, because John looked a little tired earlier, Jenny didn’t insist on continuing the pursuit after Viscount Booth. suggested they eat and rest first.

Now, having eaten and drunk their fill, she was still thinking about this matter.

“Dear, you rest here first. I’ll go with my brother and the others…”

Hearing Jenny say this to John, Viscount Booth’s face flashed with hesitation—after all, John was Jenny’s fiancé, and it wouldn’t be very good to leave him here this time, while the others went hunting, especially since he also needed to fulfill his duties as the host.

At this moment, Chrissy took the initiative to say to Jenny:

“Actually, I also felt a little unsatisfied just now. How about I go with you, Jenny?”

Hearing his wife’s suggestion, Viscount Booth. was delighted. He knew that, although Chrissy always acted like a noblewoman, she was actually very experienced in hunting. Chrissy’s performance in previous family hunting activities had been very outstanding.

Jenny naturally knew her sister-in-law’s hunting skills, and immediately agreed upon hearing this.

“Okay, then I’ll stay here. I’m also a little tired, and it looks like I need to exercise more in the future.”

Viscount Booth. was very considerate of John’s feelings, and didn’t directly say that he would stay and keep him company, but also claimed that he was tired and wanted to rest.

“Dear, how about we go with sister and the others? Just the two of them, I’m still a little worried.”

Bonnie took the initiative to propose going with them, looking at Barron with a hint of coquettishness.

When she said this, Viscount Booth. and the others also thought of this point. Barron’s performance in the hunt before was obvious to all. Not only was he in good physical condition, but his marksmanship was also quite accurate, so Viscount Booth. also followed suit and said:

“Miss Bonnie is very right. What do you think, Your Grace?”

Since everyone said so, Barron agreed as well. Originally, he also wanted to stay and continue talking with John Smith about the introduction of television programs, but this kind of thing wasn’t urgent. At the moment, he accompanied Jenny, Chrissy, and Bonnie, the three ladies, along with the hunting dogs, and walked out of the wooden hut in the forest—because wild boars often appeared in the bushes, they didn’t ride horses this time. In such places, they often needed to walk.

In fact, in this hunting ground, the only dangerous animal for them was the wild boar, but they were all carrying hunting rifles, so they were all safe.

They brought the hunting dogs to rely on them to track the wild boar’s tracks.

When they returned to the place where they had previously discovered the suspected wild boar’s tracks, and then let the hunting dogs sniff around, they let them lead the way.

Sure enough, those two hunting dogs led them into a thicket.

Judging from the traces left after passing through the thicket, and estimating the size, this was very likely to be a real wild boar.

Seeing this situation, everyone was still very excited, so they continued to walk forward.

However, they didn’t expect that they would really walk quite a distance.

The scope of this hunting ground was very vast. At first, they thought they would be able to find the wild boar soon. After all, since it could leave such clear tracks and scent, it must have passed by not long ago.

But after walking nearly a kilometer, everyone was a little tired—after all, this wasn’t walking on flat ground, but often crossing forests and bushes, which would also consume a lot of physical strength.

Just as Jenny opened her mouth to say something, Barron suddenly made a gesture to silence them, and at this moment, they could see that the hunting dogs beside them also made a defensive action, their ears perked up.

Sure enough, after listening carefully in silence, there was a rustling sound coming from the bushes on their side, as if it was the sound of some animal’s body rubbing against branches…

Barron quickly raised his hunting rifle in defense, and just as their eyes all fell on the place where the sound came from, suddenly, with a “whoosh,” a huge body broke through the branches and rushed out of the bushes.

A wild boar!

At the first moment, Barron had already locked onto the target.

However, the other women weren’t as agile as him, especially Jenny, because the direction the wild boar rushed out was directly towards her.

It seemed that the wild boar was also surprised by the sudden appearance of several human figures in front of it, and its running movements could be seen to be a few points faster.

Seeing this situation, Jenny, in a panic, didn’t stand firm, and fell to the side, unable to help but exclaim.

At this critical moment, with a “bang” of a gunshot, Barron, in order to save Jenny, fired his gun at the wild boar.

Although this shot didn’t directly hit the wild boar’s vital point, it seemed to be injured quite badly, and it ran away from Jenny’s side, squealing.

At this moment, Jenny finally came back to her senses:

“Let’s go after it quickly, ouch…”

As she got up to chase the wild boar, she couldn’t help but cry out in pain.

“What’s wrong, Jenny? Did that big fellow just hit you?”

By this time, Chrissy couldn’t help but feel a little scared. In the situation just now, if that wild boar had really charged straight at Jenny and hit her, the consequences would have been extremely tragic. Fortunately, Barron reacted quickly.

“No, it’s my foot. It should have been sprained just now.”

Jenny sat down on the ground again, holding her ankle with her hands, and said this to Chrissy.

“Never mind me, quickly go after that wild boar. It’s seriously injured, and it can’t run far…”

It was unexpected that this woman was so persistent, and also had a big heart. She had just brushed past the edge of serious injury, and immediately thought of continuing to chase that wild boar.

“But you…”

“I’m fine. I’ll wait here. You guys go after it quickly~”

Chrissy heard Jenny’s urging, and thinking about the situation just now, that wild boar should indeed have escaped only with a moment of courage, but that shot, although it didn’t hit the vital point, it also entered below the wild boar’s neck. This kind of injury, of course, wouldn’t run too far…

“Cousin, how about I stay here and keep Miss Booth. company, and you guys go and see if you can find that wild boar.”

Hearing Bonnie take the initiative to say this, Chrissy also felt that this was a very good idea. Although Jenny was injured, but the problem wasn’t actually big, and both of them had hunting rifles.

So she, along with Barron, taking those two hunting dogs, followed the direction the wild boar had just escaped, and continued to pursue…

Chapter 110: The Scenery is Not Bad

Because the wild boar had been injured before, it was bleeding all the way, which made it very easy for the hunting dogs to track, and even Barron could often spot the bloodstains left on the ground.

However, perhaps at this time, animals often unleash their life potential, so it wasn’t until they felt they had chased for more than a kilometer that they finally found the wild boar’s trail in a bush.

This was an adult wild boar, weighing over 150 kilograms. When Barron and Chris arrived, the first thing they heard was the wild boar’s low grunts, but it was clear that it was already in a weak state.

After discovering it, Barron pulled Chris back and didn’t immediately go forward. Instead, he raised his gun and observed the opponent with caution.

The part of the wild boar that Barron had hit before was located slightly below its neck. Although it wasn’t a fatal shot, it was considered a vital area. The blood vessels there were concentrated and abundant, and it was evident along the way that the wild boar had lost a lot of blood.

Even though the wild boar now appeared to be on the verge of death, he still had to prevent its last desperate strike from causing any harm.

With Chris behind him, Barron raised his gun, aimed at the wild boar, and slowly walked towards it.

When he was about 5 meters away from it, he could see the wild boar trying to struggle and escape, but it couldn’t move much.

“Let’s end its suffering.”

Barron’s words at this moment carried a hint of compassion.

As his voice fell, he had already aimed at its forehead and pulled the trigger of the hunting rifle.

He didn’t know if it was the benefit of being reborn, but Barron felt he was very talented at shooting—before this, nearly half of their hunting gains, the pheasants, had died under his gun.

With a gunshot, Barron accurately hit the wild boar’s forehead slightly above its eyes, which was also the wild boar’s vital spot. Even if one used a spear or a wooden stick to strike that spot forcefully, it could kill it, let alone being shot directly.

Immediately, the wild boar shuddered and lost its life.

Seeing this scene, both Barron and Chris felt relieved. They only heard Chris slowly walk towards the wild boar, observe it, and happily say:

“Barron, that’s great! We hunted a wild boar. This is the first time I’ve personally participated in hunting a wild boar. Before, at most, it was hunting deer.”

Barron shrugged and smiled at her, saying:

“But this guy is really too big. The two of us definitely can’t move it. Let’s go call someone over.”

Although with the wild boar’s weight, Barron could drag it if he used all his strength, but in this forest, and with a distance of more than two kilometers from the wooden house, he didn’t need to do that at all.

Just as he turned around to go back and check on Bonnie and Jenny, Chris pulled him back.

Turning his head, Barron saw that the Viscountess’s eyes seemed a bit watery, and her smile carried a hint of charm:

“Your Grace, don’t you think the scenery here is not bad? Have you ever tried in a place like this…”

…

“Darling, you’re finally back. You were gone for so long, and we heard gunshots before. I was really worried…”

When Bonnie saw Barron return here, and Chris behind him, she couldn’t help but happily throw herself into his arms.

“Oh, it’s okay, darling. We found the wild boar and killed it, but it took a lot of effort later. It was still difficult to bring it back, so we left it there for now.”

It really took a lot of effort, but that was used in learning new knowledge…

“How are you, Jenny?”

“A little better, Chris, but walking still hurts a bit. It seems we need to find reinforcements.”

At this moment, Chris had regained the elegance of the Viscountess. Even some details of her clothes that were slightly messy would be regarded as caused by running and chasing the prey.

The wild boar needed to be moved back by someone, and Jenny’s ankle was sprained, making it inconvenient for her to move. In the end, Barron directly carried her on his back and went back to the wooden house first.

Hearing that Barron and the others had actually hunted a wild boar, the Viscount Booth. and John Smith, who were staying in the wooden house, were greatly surprised. At first, even though Jenny said she wanted to track the wild boar, in this hunting ground, wild boars were often captured during larger-scale hunting activities, with cooperation. Usually, more deer hunting activities were needed.

Therefore, Viscount Booth. didn’t think they could really hunt a wild boar.

However, regarding Jenny’s experience, her sprained ankle wasn’t a big problem. The main thing was that the wild boar had rushed towards her, which was too dangerous. Therefore, John couldn’t help but say with concern:

“Darling, don’t be so reckless next time. Fortunately, we were lucky today, and with the timely rescue of the Duke of Cavendish, otherwise it would have been really dangerous.”

“Don’t worry, today was just an accident.”

It seemed that Jenny didn’t care much about this.

After tasting a “wild boar feast,” Barron and Bonnie bid farewell to the others and returned to London.

Speaking of which, Barron somewhat regretted not bringing his Chinese chef along. The cooking methods in England, especially when dealing with these wild game, were really not very innovative, nothing more than roasting and stewing… And some of the added seasonings really didn’t suit Barron’s taste.

After the Devonshire Luxury Hotel opened, a series of promotions were carried out accordingly, the most prominent of which was experiencing the life of a duke—all the supplies of this hotel came from suppliers who had cooperated with the Devonshire family at Chatsworth Manor for many years. It could be said that they were exactly the same as those used daily by the Duke of Devonshire family—except for those precious silverware and artworks.

And since this hotel opened, business has been very good, and the hotel’s occupancy rate is extremely high. After all, when they come to London, those rich people want to experience this kind of thing.

“Hello, Mr. Inkster, I’m very glad to see you this year.”

“It’s my honor, Your Grace.”

The middle-aged man in his forties who appeared in Barron’s room at this time, named Nigel Inkster, looked very ordinary and unremarkable, but he was once a top spy of MI6, having been involved in intelligence work for more than twenty years. He could be said to be a senior intelligence analysis expert.

“I’m very dissatisfied with the progress of the ‘London Star’ case by Scotland Yard and MI6—I’m sorry, Mr. Inkster, I know you’ve been working at MI6 before, but in fact, that’s how I feel now.”

“This is not surprising, Your Grace. Even MI6 has its ups and downs in its work. Currently, their main work is focused on al-Qaeda and intelligence gathering against Iraq. At this point in time, they can’t pay too much attention to other things.”

Hearing Nigel’s answer, Barron said with a smile:

“So that’s the reason why I asked you to come here.”

Nigel Inkster was found by Barron through his family friend, Sir Hugh Curzon. He was a relatively reliable and capable intelligence expert. Barron would hire Nigel to establish an intelligence analysis team to independently search for the whereabouts and information of the ‘London Star’ gang, outside of MI6.

He said to Nigel:

“I will ask Sir Delroy to provide us with the information about the ‘London Star’ that can be disclosed to us. Next, I will need you to continue the subsequent work, Mr. Inkster.”

Chapter 111: Starting Negotiations

Barron was indeed quite impatient with the progress of the English court and MI6.

The “London Star” case had been going on for five months, but since his last meeting with Sir Dielov, the head of MI6, there had been no further updates on the case.

The answer was always, “Still under investigation.”

Barron also knew, as Nigel Inkster had said, that MI6’s main focus was now on al-Qaeda in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Although al-Qaeda had suffered a major blow, the old man, Laden, had still not been captured.

And Iraq was the next target for Anglo-American cooperation. It could be said that since the Prime Minister’s visit to the American President’s family farm in May of this year, and the subsequent secret talks, his primary focus had been on proving that Iraq possessed “weapons of mass destruction” that needed to be destroyed immediately, and he hoped to persuade Parliament to agree to British troops being sent to Iraq.

Under these circumstances, the main work of MI6 naturally had to revolve around this aspect, and relatively speaking, the resources invested in the “London Star” case were somewhat insignificant.

Therefore, after this meeting between Nigel Inkster and Barron, it was decided that Nigel would take the lead and hire the most professional intelligence analysis experts at a high salary to form an “Intelligence Center” funded by Barron. The first task was to collect and analyze information related to the “London Star” fraud syndicate, find those people, and thereby uphold the Devonshire family’s dignity.

To this end, Barron specifically met with the head of MI6, Sir Dielov, again. At his request, the other party agreed to hand over to Barron’s side the information related to the “London Star” case that did not involve other highly confidential matters.

“At least within Britain, I don’t want you to overstep your boundaries. Even abroad, I hope you won’t cause trouble, because these people may be involved in some ‘illegal violent organizations’. Your Grace, this is by no means alarmist.”

After agreeing to Barron’s request, Sir Dielov said to Barron with a serious expression.

In fact, nothing could be accomplished overnight. Just like the intelligence team Barron was now forming, what they could do at the moment was only analyze the relevant intelligence transferred to them by MI6, and then search for relevant information from some publicly available materials—at most, they could purchase intelligence of value to themselves from the international intelligence black market, but they did not yet have the ability to directly go to regions outside of Britain to collect intelligence.

However, in the beginning, being able to do this was already enough, which was better than always waiting for other people’s news.

Later on, Barron would gradually strengthen the capabilities of this intelligence team.

…

Two days later, news came from Johannesburg. Amber told Barron that he had contacted the South African media, and although he had not yet met with the CEO of South African Media, Koos Becker, he had met with Tony Rooks, the person in charge of the internet industry and investment at South African Media—it was through his approval that the investment of the Chinese department in Tencent was finalized.

It had to be said that as the Duke of England, Barron still had a certain amount of prestige. After all, South African Media was a listed company with a market value of tens of billions of dollars. Not to mention the CEO of the group, even those senior executives who controlled specific businesses were not always available to meet.

In comparison, DS Capital, at this time, could be said to be unknown. It was only because the boss of this company was the Duke of Devonshire of England that the other party had an interest in meeting—the Dukes of England were rarer than the world’s billionaires…

The good thing was that South African Media showed that they were very optimistic about the future development of Tencent, and were extremely optimistic about the prospects of the internet industry in developing countries, especially China. Although they verbally expressed that they were very optimistic about the future development of Tencent, they did not reject the proposal of DSIIC (DS Industrial Investment Company) to acquire 46.5% of Tencent’s shares held by South African Media’s subsidiary, South African MIH Group, at a 50% premium, or 32 million pounds, so there was still a possibility of continuing the negotiations.

Before leaving London, Barron had told Amber that he could accept a maximum of a two-fold premium for the Tencent shares held by South African Media.

But Amber naturally could not reveal his hand right away when he first made contact, so he strategically started with a 50% premium—in fact, in Amber’s opinion, such a premium was already high enough.

It should be known that South African MIH Group only started buying Tencent shares last year, and only increased its share to 46.5% in June of this year. Being able to offer a 50% premium after only three or four months was already considered a great success for this investment.

Moreover, this was still at a time when the relevant industries had not shown signs of recovery after the internet bubble crisis. Being able to make this offer at this time, it was likely that no one else would do so except for them.

Amber’s actions were not wrong, but Barron still reminded him of one point that needed to be noted: since the other party was willing to take over Tencent’s shares and expand its holdings after the internet bubble burst, then they must be very optimistic about this company—at least the vice president of its Chinese branch was strongly promoting investment in Tencent, and ultimately persuaded the key figure of South African Media—Tony Rooks, who was in charge of internet affairs.

Then, if they started from its Chinese branch, it was unlikely to have any result. They could only use sufficient returns to move the other party through direct dialogue with the headquarters of South African Media.

Amber could also see this point. South African Media was a listed company, and as the CEO of the company, he needed to stabilize and even increase its stock price—and even in many cases, this was related to their own income.

According to the data seen by Amber, the large-scale investment in Tencent at this time, when the internet technology industry was relatively sluggish, did indeed have a certain negative impact on the stock price of South African Media. So, the question now was, if they could soon obtain good returns, or even relatively high returns, from this investment, that would definitely have a positive effect on its stock price.

Amber needed to determine in the negotiations with the other party what the psychological price they could accept for selling Tencent’s shares, so that in their minds, the idea of improving the company’s stock price performance would outweigh their optimism about the future of Tencent?

If Amber’s estimated price was too low, the other party would not agree; if it was too high, then he would be a “fool”—Amber himself thought that the 200% premium mentioned by Barron was actually somewhat overestimated.

After all, no matter how capable Amber was, he could not “see the future” like Barron, so according to the predictions of the current situation, no matter what, Tencent’s shares were not worth more than 60 million pounds…

While waiting for the results of Amber’s continued negotiations, Barron still reminded him that the ultimate goal was to acquire Tencent’s shares. Although a lower price was better, it was not the primary consideration.

Chapter 112: Arriving in Guangzhou

At the same time, since they were preparing to acquire shares in Naspers from South Africa, it was also necessary to communicate with Tencent in China.

After all, Barron’s desire to buy shares in Tencent was based on its future market capitalization of nearly a trillion US dollars. To put it bluntly, it was a financial investment and wouldn’t seek to control Tencent. With Tencent’s future development, the Chinese government wouldn’t allow foreign capital to control the company. You could make money, but to exert substantial control over a company that could control a part of China’s internet industry was definitely impossible.

If that were the case, Tencent in the future probably wouldn’t grow to the extent it did in Barron’s previous life.

After Tencent went public, it would still implement an AB share equity structure, meaning shares with different voting rights, allowing its founding team to continue to hold the company’s operating rights.

Barron had planned to go to China, not just for Tencent. The future BAT (Baidu, Alibaba, Tencent) trio were all in an unlisted state at this time, which was an excellent opportunity to invest in them.

Even if these companies didn’t plan to raise funds in the short term, it was still good to “get acquainted” first.

Originally, Barron was planning to take Bonnie to China together, treating it as a trip, but Top Summit Media was very busy at the moment, including the post-production of Downton Abbey and The Traitors, as well as the filming and production of The Miller’s Valley Werewolf. He really couldn’t spare the time, as this trip to China wouldn’t be just a day or two.

Therefore, Barron could only take his entourage and board a flight to Guangzhou.

The reason for going to Guangzhou first was that before going to Tencent, they would first visit NetEase, located in Guangzhou.

Because at this time, DS Capital held 4.3 million shares of NetEase, accounting for about 14.3% of its total share capital, making it a major shareholder of NetEase. Before this, they had also contacted NetEase. Learning that the owner of DS Capital was about to come to China, NetEase’s owner, Ding Sanshi, expressed his desire to give them a good reception.

From London to Guangzhou, there were no direct flights at the moment. They needed to go to Frankfurt for a transfer, and the entire journey would take 16 hours.

If it were a direct flight, it would take about twelve or thirteen hours, but transferring would require some waiting time at Frankfurt Airport.

As for Frankfurt Airport, friends who have been there should understand that the punctuality of flights at this airport was really hard to describe.

Fortunately, Barron was lucky and didn’t encounter any flight delays here.

Ramos, Barron’s personal servant and driver in London, didn’t understand Chinese and wasn’t familiar with the local transportation routes in China. Therefore, Barron gave him a vacation this time so he could spend some quality time with his family, who had moved to London.

This time going to China, in addition to Barron and his personal assistant, Laura, Barron also brought two temporarily hired bodyguards. Although he knew that he didn’t need to worry about security in China, he also had some business to discuss this time. He had to maintain the airs of a duke, so he specially hired two tall, burly white bodyguards from G4S, the most well-known security company in the UK. They both wore black suits and sunglasses. Regardless of their strength, they were definitely intimidating enough.

In addition, after Anber Heaton reached a basic agreement with Naspers in Johannesburg regarding the acquisition of Tencent shares, she would also fly to China to meet up with Barron.

“We’re about to arrive in China. How do you feel, Laura?”

For the long flight to China, Barron certainly wouldn’t mistreat himself, so he booked a first-class cabin for himself.

As Barron’s personal assistant, Laura also received the same treatment in first class. As for the other two bodyguards, there was no way, they could only go to business class, but that was still more comfortable than economy class.

After reclining the seat and taking a nap to rest, Barron saw that Laura had woken up and was reading a book at the seat next to him, with a night light on.

Looking at the time, it should be less than an hour before they landed at Guangzhou Airport. Barron asked casually.

Hearing Barron’s question, Laura closed the book in her hand, turned her head, and gave Barron a smile:

“I’m still quite excited. After all, it’s been a long time since I came back. I don’t know what changes there will be.”

“I know that China’s development is very fast. If it were in London, there might not be any significant changes between twenty years ago and twenty years later, but in China, twenty years in a city could bring about earth-shattering changes, right?”

“Yes, Mr. Duke. Before, every time I went back to my hometown, I felt that many places had become unfamiliar, with high-rise buildings constantly being built.”

There weren’t many people in the first-class cabin of this flight. Initially, because of Barron’s young and handsome appearance, there were flight attendants who always came over to ask if he needed anything. But to be honest, the quality of the flight attendants on this flight… well, Barron was a relatively upright person, so he pretended not to understand some of the hints.

Barron and Laura’s conversation was also deliberately kept quiet, so it wouldn’t disturb others.

“This time going to China, I also have the idea of going to Hangzhou to take a look. As I told you before, it’s your hometown, Laura. You can be my guide and take me around.”

“I definitely will.”

…

When Barron got off the plane and entered the airport, he felt as if he had been transported to another world.

Although he occasionally communicated with Laura in Chinese, it had been too long since he had been surrounded by the various accents of Chinese and the faces of Chinese people…

In fact, he had only been in this time and space, in the UK, for just over four months.

But at this moment, he felt as if he had returned to that time in his previous life, filled with a sense of familiarity.

From afar, Barron and the others saw that someone in the crowd waiting to pick them up was holding a sign with his name on it - “Barron Cavendish”, knowing that the person should be from NetEase, there to pick him up.

Especially the young man next to the person holding the sign, who was wearing black-rimmed glasses and looked refined. Barron had seen that face in many media reports in his previous life; it was Ding Sanshi, the founder of NetEase. It was just that Ding Sanshi at this time looked younger… well, he wasn’t as overweight as he was later.

“Those people should be from NetEase, here to pick us up.”

Barron said this to Laura beside him.

Hearing his words, Laura quickly walked two steps forward and said to the people in front of them:

“Hello, are you from NetEase?”

“Yes, are you from DS Capital? Are you Mr. Cavendish’s translator?”

Ding Sanshi saw a tall, elegant, professionally dressed beauty walk in front of them, and behind her were three unusually tall foreigners. He guessed that the person in front of him should be from DS Capital… and tentatively asked.

“I am Laura, you can also call me by my Chinese name, Laura. I am Barron Duke’s personal assistant.”

Hearing Laura’s words, Ding Sanshi was stunned for a moment, looking as if his brain had shut down…

She was speaking Chinese, but what did she mean?

Duke??

Chapter 113: Long-Term Investment

Seeing the expression on Ding Sanshi’s face, Laura immediately guessed the reason and explained to him:

“Mr. Barron Cavendish is the owner of DS Capital. At the same time, he is also His Grace the Duke of Devonshire, a hereditary title in England, and his family has a history of over 400 years.”

In fact, before Ding Sanshi came here today, he only knew that DS Capital held 14.3% of Netease’s shares, and the owner of DS Capital was preparing to visit China. Therefore, he came to the airport today to play host. However, he never expected that the owner of DS Capital was actually a hereditary nobleman from England, and moreover, a Duke!

Even though he wasn’t very familiar with the British peerage system, Ding Sanshi knew that a Duke was a very high-ranking nobleman. In the feudal era, the lords of those so-called duchies were Dukes, which was simply astonishing.

But what he didn’t know was that this was only the beginning of the astonishing things he would encounter today.

Because next, the young, handsome Duke with blond hair and blue eyes in front of him spoke fluent and standard Mandarin:

“Hello, Mr. Ding. Thank you for coming to pick us up today. I am Barron.”

“Ba… Barron Duke, your Mandarin is really good!”

Uh, there’s a running gag. In China, as long as a foreigner’s Mandarin is very good, then after he speaks, he will inevitably encounter a situation where no matter what he says, he won’t get a corresponding answer.

Because no matter what he says, people will often just exclaim: Your Mandarin is really good!

Now, Barron was facing such a situation.

“Thank you for your praise. I really like Chinese culture, so I learned Mandarin.”

To deal with the situation today, Ding Sanshi had specially brought a translator. However, he didn’t expect that the “foreigner” in front of him seemed to be completely unnecessary.

“Then you are really amazing. You can say that you speak the most fluent and standard Mandarin I’ve ever met. If I close my eyes and listen, I would think the person speaking to me is a Chinese person.”

…

After welcoming Barron, Ding Sanshi asked them to get in the car and took them to the hotel to settle down first.

“Duke Barron, you haven’t been to China before, have you?”

This time, Ding Sanshi had brought two cars to pick them up. He was currently sitting in the front passenger seat of a Mercedes-Benz sedan. Barron and his personal assistant, Laura, were sitting in the back. As for the others, they were all in the business van behind.

Because Barron had said before that he was interested in Chinese culture and had learned Mandarin, and coupled with the fact that his personal assistant was Chinese and so beautiful, Ding Sanshi couldn’t help but misunderstand and didn’t neglect Laura.

At this time, the Mercedes-Benz sedan was speeding on the highway. Seeing Barron looking out the window with great interest at the scenery outside, Ding Sanshi asked this question.

“Yes, this is my first time in China. Also, Mr. Ding, you can just call me Barron, no need to be so polite.”

“Okay, Mr. Barron. I wonder how you feel about China now?”

“Although I’ve just arrived here, I already feel a sense of familiarity. I often tell others that maybe I was Chinese in my previous life because I like many things about China. In London, I specially hired a Chinese chef to cook authentic Chinese food for me. I believe the future of the world is in China, just as I see now, there are construction scenes everywhere. This kind of scene is hard to see in England now.”

As a Chinese person, anyone, upon hearing a “foreigner,” and moreover, a “foreigner” with a certain status, praising their own country like this, would be very happy.

At this time, after hearing Barron’s words, Ding Sanshi’s face was filled with a smile.

“Also, there’s one more thing, Mr. Barron, that I’m very curious about, which is that you know our company encountered some difficulties before, which led to our stock performance being very poor. Then why are you so optimistic about us and bought so many Netease shares?”

This question was something Ding Sanshi had always been curious about. In fact, 2001 could be said to be Netease’s most difficult year. Not only was the stock shorted and suffered a huge drop, but it was also investigated by the SEC in terms of finances, and the stock was once suspended from trading.

It could be said that Netease was facing a life-or-death situation at the time. Ding Sanshi once had the idea of selling Netease, but no one would take over.

But even in such a situation, there were still two people who bought a large amount of Netease shares. One of them was Barron’s DS Capital, and the other was Duan Yongping, the former boss of BBK.

“Because I like Chinese culture, I also pay attention to some Chinese companies, especially internet companies. Netease entered my line of sight at that time. I have studied your company and found that the plunge in your stock price at the time was not caused by problems in the company’s operations—your company’s financial situation was still very healthy at the time, and even your cash was included in the stock price, which caused an inverted relationship with the NASDAQ stock price for a period of time. So I judged that this was a very good buying opportunity.”

This was the first time Barron had told Laura why he had bought Netease’s shares, which also made her listen with great interest.

“In addition, after seeing that you entered the field of online games last year and performed well, I became even more determined to hold your shares, Mr. Ding. My investment in Netease shares will not be a short-term investment, but I am prepared to hold them for a long time. I can say that I don’t plan to sell them for at least ten years—unless your operations really have major mistakes.”

Hearing Barron’s words, Ding Sanshi was also very surprised. He didn’t expect that such an English nobleman would be so confident in his Netease company.

Netease was founded in 1997. Initially, it attracted a large number of users through China’s first all-Chinese search engine, the first to provide users with personal homepage services, and its 163 email. Later, it transformed into a portal website, and was known as China’s three major portals along with Sina and Sohu. It was also because of this that Netease completed its IPO in 2000 and was listed on NASDAQ.

It’s just that they were very unlucky. After the listing, they encountered the global internet bubble bursting. On the day of the listing, the stock price fell below the $15.82 issue price and was called a “bloody listing” by the media.

A year later, Netease was suspended from trading due to misreported revenue, and the stock price fell to a low of $0.53, the company was on the verge of delisting and faced the biggest challenge since its founding. Many people believed that Netease had reached its end. Under Ding Lei’s leadership, Netease sought its own way of survival in the cold winter.

After the suspension crisis, Ding Sanshi saw the future in the trough and began to focus on the new needs of netizens, vigorously developing SP services and online games.

His painstaking dedication and investment in SMS services made Netease the first portal in China to achieve profitability this year.

In addition to these, Netease also began to develop online game business at this time. Last year, it established an online game business unit and launched its first online game, “Westward Journey Online,” at the end of last year. However, because the game had serious bugs, coupled with the lack of follow-up development and offline plug-ins, this game was destroyed as soon as it was launched.

However, they did not give up on the Westward Journey IP. In June of this year, they launched “Westward Journey Online II” again and started public testing, becoming the first domestically produced online game to successfully operate.

This game had delicate graphics, was fun and interesting, and had a harmonious social atmosphere. After its launch, it successfully swept the streets and alleys and was loved by players.

From then on, Netease once again discovered a new profit growth point for the Chinese internet.

And Barron knew that starting from this online game, Netease’s game business was about to take off, and the game business would become its main source of profit in the future, supporting its increasingly high stock price.

Chapter 114: Acquisition Completed

Barron and his party were arranged by Ding Sanshi at the White Cloud Hotel in Yangcheng. This was one of the most well-known five-star hotels in Yangcheng, especially the Cantonese cuisine at the “White Cloud Xuan” restaurant, which was very authentic.

This arrangement also made Barron very satisfied.

On the first day, after learning that the other party was actually an English duke, Ding Sanshi was actually somewhat skeptical. After returning, he specifically asked someone to look up some information and learned that the Cavendish family was indeed a duke family with a long history in England.

And the current Duke of Devonshire was Barron Cavendish, who had just inherited his family estate and title a few months ago.

There were plenty of photos of Barron on local English website news and media. By comparing them, Ding Sanshi confirmed the authenticity of this matter.

He couldn’t be blamed for being suspicious. It was just that during the reform and opening up process, there were really quite a few foreigners who came to China under various guises. Although DS Capital held as much as 14.3% of Netease’s shares, which was undeniable, he still needed to be more cautious.

Once he confirmed this matter, Ding Sanshi’s mood improved even more.

How should he put it? Although Netease’s stock price had risen significantly compared to its previous lowest point, it still hadn’t reached Ding Sanshi’s expectations.

Therefore, in the media reports, Netease was the least favored among the three major portals.

In this era, Chinese people admired many things from the West – this also stemmed from the gap in national strength, unlike the generation twenty years later, who grew up during China’s rise and had stronger self-confidence.

In this case, an English duke, who was so optimistic about Netease and held a large number of its shares, was also a very good publicity point for Netease.

Of course, Barron’s itinerary was also quite tight this time in China. After staying in Yangcheng for a day and visiting Netease’s headquarters, he prepared to go to Tencent in Shenzhen.

Tencent was founded in 1998, one year later than Netease, and these early internet entrepreneurs had all met each other.

Therefore, upon learning that Barron’s next stop was to go to Tencent in Shenzhen, Ding Sanshi asked curiously:

“Mr. Barron, are you also interested in Tencent?”

“Yes, Mr. Ding, I have been following several Chinese internet companies, including Tencent.”

In fact, it wasn’t until last year that Tencent began to develop significantly. In the beginning, this company had always been more difficult to finance compared to Netease, Sina, and other well-known portal websites – Mr. Pony even considered selling Tencent at one point.

That was why during their last round of financing, they were able to let Richard Li and IDG take 40% of the company’s shares for 2.2 million US dollars. Offering such a high proportion of shares for financing was impossible for those highly regarded internet technology companies.

“But they don’t seem to have any plans for financing recently, and they have already given most of their shares to a South African investment company…”

Barron did not give a very definite answer to Ding Sanshi’s question, only indicating that they would first visit Tencent.

However, a few days later, with the spread of a piece of news, Ding Sanshi realized that the English duke at the time wasn’t just going to “visit” Tencent, but had been planning it all along – the South African MIH Group had sold most of their Tencent shares to an investment company called DSIC.

Yes, after Amber Sheen’s efforts, the South African media finally decided to sell 35% of Tencent’s shares at a 100% premium over their acquisition price, for 48.172 million US dollars, equivalent to 32.115 million pounds, to DS Capital’s DS Asset Management Company, which was DSIC.

And after Barron arrived in Shenzhen, he also met with Mr. Pony, the founder of Tencent. He told him that DS Capital was optimistic about the Tencent Group in the long term, and they were also willing to hand over the voting rights of their shares in the board of directors to Mr. Pony to maintain his management of Tencent.

The South African MIH Group had been extremely supportive of Mr. Pony from the beginning. When they invested in Tencent, they promised to only participate in financial investment, fully support Tencent’s development, and hand over the voting rights of their future Tencent shares to Mr. Pony. It was also because of this that the other party was finally at ease with letting the South African MIH Group hold such a high proportion of Tencent’s shares.

Now that Barron was prepared to buy Tencent’s shares from the South African MIH Group, it was best to first obtain the consent of Tencent. This would be beneficial for future cooperation, so Barron also indicated that after purchasing the shares from the South African MIH Group, their shares would still be handed over to Mr. Pony, just like the South African MIH Group.

Of course, the MIH Group’s China branch also had objections to the South African media’s plan to sell Tencent’s shares. The vice president of the China branch, who had been the main proponent of investing in Tencent, immediately flew back to Johannesburg after learning the news to persuade the parent company to abandon this idea.

But the key was – DS Capital was offering too much. Amber Sheen had increased the offer for Tencent’s shares from a 50% premium to a 100% premium. Once the Tencent shares were sold, this investment would be very successful.

However, the persuasion of the Chinese vice president was not without effect. In the end, the South African media decided not to sell all of Tencent’s shares, but only to sell 35% of the 46.5% of Tencent shares they held, retaining 11.5% of Tencent’s shares.

In this way, on the one hand, they recovered their investment in Tencent and also obtained extremely high returns; on the other hand, by retaining 11.5% of Tencent’s shares, if Tencent were to experience explosive growth in the future and eventually become successful, they would not be left with nothing.

Since the parent company had already made a decision, the vice president of the MIH Group’s China branch was also very helpless and could only accept this result.

Although this time they did not directly buy all 46.5% of the Tencent shares from the South African MIH Group, but only obtained 35% of the shares, Barron was already very satisfied with being able to do this, and paying over 32 million pounds.

And this matter was not without additional gains – after learning that DSIC had acquired Tencent’s shares from the South African MIH Group at a 100% premium, another investor in Tencent, DIG, was also tempted.

Initially, DIG had invested in Tencent together with Richard Li, each obtaining 20% of the shares.

Then, during the last time Richard Li sold his shares to the South African MIH Group, DIG Capital also sold its 12% of Tencent’s shares to the South African MIH Group.

Now they still held 8% of Tencent’s shares!

Next, they proactively contacted DS Capital, that is, Amber Sheen, who had just arrived in Shenzhen from South Africa, and expressed their willingness to sell their remaining Tencent shares at the same price.

Upon hearing this, Barron naturally agreed immediately and had Amber sign an agreement with the other party to acquire their Tencent shares for 11 million US dollars, equivalent to 7.34 million pounds.

In this way, DS Capital’s holdings of Tencent shares reached 43%, not much different from the South African MIH Group’s previous 46.5% shareholding.

In this process, they needed to pay a total of nearly 39.5 million pounds, almost 40 million pounds!

But compared to the huge market value of Tencent in the future, the payment of these funds was definitely a bargain.

It can be said that even if Barron did nothing from now on, just by virtue of the Tencent shares he held, he could be ranked as the world’s richest man in the future.

Chapter 115: Mr. Ma’s Offer

“The scenery of West Lake is truly beautiful.”

“It’s the National Day holiday right now, so there are a lot of tourists here. It would be much less crowded on a normal day.”

At this moment, Barron had already left Shenzhen with Laura and the bodyguards and arrived in Hangzhou.

As for the matter of purchasing shares in the Penguin Company, it was completely handed over to Amber Sheen. This trip to China, he was still mainly focused on sightseeing and getting to know some of the entrepreneurs here. As for the specific matters, they were naturally handled by his subordinates.

In addition, with the increase in DS Capital’s business in China, DSIIC was also preparing to set up a China office in Shenzhen, which would be more convenient for handling subsequent business related to Chinese investments.

After arriving at West Lake in Hangzhou and seeing that it was indeed crowded with people, it was also because they happened to coincide with China’s National Day Golden Week.

Since 1999, China had implemented the May Day and National Day Golden Week policies, so by now, traveling during the National Day holiday had become the choice of many people. Tourist attractions with high reputations like West Lake also had a very large number of visitors.

Also seeing so many tourists for the first time, Barron’s two white bodyguards were initially frightened. They almost suspected that the population of the entire city of London had come to West Lake…

This also brought them great trouble, because they needed to do their best to protect the Duke, as well as his personal assistant, but in such a dense crowd, this job was indeed very challenging.

Fortunately, Barron didn’t make things too difficult for them. He didn’t go into the crowd, but instead admired the beautiful scenery of West Lake from a distance.

Similarly, Barron and his party also attracted the attention of many Chinese tourists. After all, these foreigners, and with two burly men in black suits and wearing black sunglasses, who were obviously bodyguards, were protecting the handsome young man. It was easy to guess that he was definitely a big shot.

As for the young man, besides a very beautiful Chinese woman, there was another man who wasn’t very tall, with a slightly… peculiar appearance, wearing a confident smile, and was chatting and laughing. At this moment, almost all the tourists just found it interesting, and they didn’t know that the man’s appearance, after many years, only meant one thing, that is, “rich”!

Yes, the one chatting with Barron at this moment was the founder of Alibaba, Mr. Ma.

At this time, although Alibaba had already received a twenty million US dollar investment from SoftBank Group, its reputation was still not very high.

This year, Alibaba’s B2B business had just started to make a profit, and it hadn’t even started to build a personal e-commerce website, which was the future Taobao.

It could be said that Mr. Ma’s fame would be relatively high only after he completed the acquisition of Yahoo’s China business. As for letting most ordinary people recognize this face, that would also have to wait until he became the richest man in China.

As everyone knows, Mr. Ma is a very good “smooth talker”, which can be seen from the fact that many people who have contacted him gave up their high salaries and went to him.

And, he is also very good at seizing opportunities.

For example, in the eighties and nineties, as a student, Mr. Ma often went to West Lake to translate for foreigners, and at the same time, he practiced his spoken English. By chance, he met his good friend from Australia, Ken.

In 1985, Ken gave Mr. Ma two hundred yuan to invite him to Australia for a trip. Mr. Ma was able to go abroad with this money, and it was this trip abroad that changed Mr. Ma’s view of the world and opened his “window to the world”.

In 1994, Mr. Ma went to the United States as a translator. This trip to the United States allowed him to come into contact with computers and the internet, which sowed the seeds for his future internet entrepreneurship.

When Barron and his party arrived in Hangzhou, the news that a company owned by a British Duke, DSIIC, had bought the shares of the Penguin Company from South Africa’s MIH Group at a staggering one hundred percent premium, had already spread throughout the entire Chinese internet circle.

It could be said that at this time, Barron, at a time when the internet industry was struggling, was seen by others as a “big spender”, and one who had no shortage of money at that.

Therefore, as soon as they met, Mr. Ma showed great enthusiasm for the young and handsome Duke.

During the process of accompanying him to visit West Lake, he was describing Alibaba’s grand blueprint to him in his words.

In fact, at this time, although Alibaba’s B2B business had just started to make a profit, they were indeed short of funds – getting twenty million US dollars from SoftBank was already in early 2000, and it had been more than two years, nearly three years since then.

2000 was the year when the global internet bubble burst, and the stock market turmoil disrupted the booming internet industry, and many internet companies also went bankrupt.

Alibaba was no exception. By 2001, Alibaba had only seven million US dollars left in its account, which could support it for at most half a year. The worse news was that the investors said they would no longer invest money. Facing such a severe situation, Alibaba quickly transferred its overseas expansion strategy to the Chinese mainland.

“Mr. Ma, your mission, as you said, is ‘to make it easier to do business anywhere in the world’. I really appreciate this.”

Barron said to Mr. Ma with a smile:

“What I appreciate even more is that you dared to shut down all the profitable businesses before and return to serving small and medium-sized enterprises. This is something that few people dare to do in this internet winter.”

It wasn’t until Mr. Ma specially hosted Barron at Lou Wai Lou, a restaurant next to West Lake, that Barron talked to him about Alibaba’s business at the dinner table.

“Yes, Duke Barron, this decision was not easy. At that time, almost everyone didn’t understand why I did this, including the company’s investors, but in the end, I persuaded them. Now, our B2B business has also started to make a profit, and we have already earned five hundred thousand, although this number is small, it is a good start.”

“So, I wonder how much investment Mr. Ma needs now? And how many shares can you offer?”

Barron asked directly.

Hearing his question, although he didn’t show anything on the surface, his mind was racing.

“I hope to get a twenty million US dollar investment, and I can offer fifteen percent of the company’s shares.”

Soon, Mr. Ma replied to Barron.

Hearing his words, Barron smiled, and he said:

“Mr. Ma, as far as I know, SoftBank invested twenty million US dollars in Alibaba back then and got thirty percent of the shares. But now the global internet is in the winter, you’re suddenly doubling Alibaba’s valuation, which makes me feel insincere.”

However, Mr. Ma’s offer was also very interesting. Perhaps because he knew that Barron had acquired the shares of the Penguin Company at a one hundred percent premium, he also priced his offer at a one hundred percent premium over the original SoftBank investment price…

Don’t look at how many articles later said how much Masayoshi Son initially favored Alibaba, investing twenty million US dollars and then adding more, holding it until it was listed before starting to sell it.

In fact, Masayoshi Son is a very casual person when it comes to investing. It can be said that SoftBank has invested in so many companies, and only Alibaba came out. According to the success rate of investment, it is still very low – it can be said that the money he made from investing in Alibaba was almost lost in other investments later.

And the initial investment in Alibaba was actually Masayoshi Son investing in many projects in China at the same time, almost all of which were given twenty million US dollars – this amount, for him, was more of a test of the waters for Chinese internet investment.

Just like last year, when Alibaba was in urgent need of funds again, SoftBank refused Mr. Ma’s request for additional investment.

It wasn’t until 2004, when Alibaba’s B2B business had become the leader in China, and the Taobao business it had launched was also developing rapidly, that it participated in Alibaba’s financing again.

Chapter 116: Declining the Banquet Invitation

“You can’t say that, Duke Barron. I’m being very sincere. You should know that it’s been almost three years since the last financing. During this time, my company has found its position and achieved profitability in its current business. It’s rare for internet companies to do this, so the company’s valuation has doubled, which is normal.”

If calculated according to the price offered by Mr. Ma, his valuation of Alibaba, compared to Barron’s valuation corresponding to the acquisition of shares in the Tencent company, would be roughly equivalent.

For Barron, even if he invested in Alibaba according to this statement, he would still make a huge profit.

However, even if he could give others the impression that he was wealthy and didn’t care too much about the companies he was interested in, Barron didn’t need to personally “haggle” with Mr. Ma. Therefore, he just smiled and said:

“Mr. Ma, the specifics will be discussed with you by the person in charge of DSIIC. I hope we can reach a cooperation in the end. And you might know that my investments have always been financial investments. I only invest if I recognize the company’s management, and I won’t interfere with the company’s management. That’s too troublesome for me. Therefore, if we can cooperate, the voting rights of the shares I hold will also be given to you, ensuring your control over the company.”

Barron’s words made Mr. Ma very happy.

You must know that at this time, it was not like later on, when the financing of many start-up companies was very organized. For example, in the case of the later Xiaomi company, Lei Jun held a considerable portion of the company’s shares until its IPO.

In the initial stages of the internet industry, many entrepreneurs didn’t even have experience with financing, which led to the situation where, in the beginning, they gave up too many shares in the first two rounds of financing in order to seek funds – Tencent and Alibaba were both in this situation.

There was no other way. When facing life and death, the first thing was to keep the company alive.

But after the company developed well, having too few shares became a concern for the founders of these companies. They needed to use different methods to ensure their control over the company – after all, even if they chose to use dual-class shares to control the company, they would have to wait until the company went public.

Initially, Mr. Ma didn’t know much about financing either. It was after Cai Chongxin, who had been engaged in private equity investment in the Hong Kong branch of Investor AB, the main investment company of the Swedish Wallenberg family, joined Alibaba that Mr. Ma gained a better understanding of financing.

This was also why, when Alibaba had another round of financing in 2004, Mr. Ma tried to get Masayoshi Son to agree to transfer the voting rights of his shares to him for ten years.

Around 2015, when this agreement was about to expire, Mr. Ma also raised a huge amount of money in China to repurchase some of the Alibaba shares held by Yahoo, just to prevent his control over the company from being lost – because at that time, he and Masayoshi Son had already developed a rift because of the separation of Alipay from Alibaba.

Moreover, with Barron’s status at this time, it could be said that he was far superior to Mr. Ma. Therefore, even if he let Amber deal with the specifics of the investment with Mr. Ma, Mr. Ma wouldn’t care.

In the final analysis, the current Mr. Ma was not someone who valued face too much. Being able to solve the company’s funding problems and allow Alibaba to develop better was what he cared about most.

And the Duke in front of him was the most suitable “benefactor” in his opinion.

Lots of money and little trouble, wouldn’t that be pleasant?

Speaking of which, although Mr. Ma’s reputation was not yet well-known nationwide at this time, his relationship with the local government in Hangzhou was still very good.

Later, he also mentioned that the people from the local government in Hangzhou also hoped to host a banquet to welcome the Duke of Devonshire.

After all, it was rare to hear of a British duke coming to mainland China, and with the duke’s previous investment style, they also hoped to attract investment…

However, Barron politely declined this. After all, he didn’t plan to invest too heavily in too many industries in China this time – the timing was not yet right.

Moreover, after investing in Tencent and Alibaba, his funds also needed to be placed more in the UK.

Because although investing in some industries in China now, such as the hotel and real estate industries, was indeed very promising, the problem was that, due to the foreign exchange system, within a certain period, the funds invested in China would mostly remain here in the form of Chinese currency, which was not convenient for global circulation.

This was also different from the future when Tencent and Alibaba could directly reduce their holdings of shares to obtain US dollars after going public overseas.

In the future, when his assets reached a certain level, he would definitely invest heavily in China, this strong-growing emerging market, but for now, this plan needed to be postponed.

Mr. Ma also expressed his understanding of this. Anyway, at this time, being able to help make the connection was best, but his own company’s financing was more important.

“I won’t trouble you any further, Mr. Ma. Mr. Sheen from DSIIC will come to Hangzhou soon to discuss the investment with you. Tomorrow, I’ll have Laura accompany me to walk around Hangzhou. Then I’ll have to go back to London.”

“So soon? Aren’t you going to see the capital and Shanghai? After all, there’s a saying, ‘He who does not reach the Great Wall is not a hero’…”

“Haha, Mr. Ma, the grandeur of the Great Wall has indeed been on my mind for a long time, but I really have matters in London. However, I may come to China again soon. I hope that by then, we will already be close partners.”

…

However, although Barron declined the banquet invitation from the Hangzhou side, he clearly found that he received extra “care” during his outing the next day.

Because at the former residence of Hu Xueyan that he visited, it was obvious that security had been strengthened, and a few familiar security personnel had been following Barron and his party at a distance.

This was understandable. After all, there were a lot of tourists in Hangzhou at this time, and the local authorities didn’t want anything to go wrong with Barron, the British duke, which could lead to a diplomatic incident.

“This is the former residence of Hu Xueyan, Your Grace. Have you heard of this person before?”

Just as Barron had said before, Laura became his tour guide when he came to Hangzhou, and she asked him at the entrance of this garden.

“I know. This is a very famous businessman in China, isn’t he? He was once as rich as a nation.”

“Yes, Your Grace, you really have studied Chinese history.”

This garden was built in 1872, when Hu Xueyan’s career was at its peak.

The construction of the mansion took three years and was completed in 1875.

The completed former residence was a magnificent mansion with both traditional Chinese architectural features and a Western architectural style. Whether it was the architecture or the arrangement of the interior furniture, the materials used were exquisite, making it the first mansion of a Chinese merchant in the late Qing Dynasty.

At the beginning of last year, it was officially opened to the public after more than 500 workers worked day and night for 16 months – the former residence cost a total of 600 million yuan after surveying, archaeology, design, and repairs.

Therefore, walking here at this time, Barron couldn’t help but be immersed in the unique style of the garden landscape.

“By the way, I forgot to ask, are you going home to see your family this time back in Hangzhou? Laura, I can give you a day off if you need it.”

Chapter 117: Negotiation Progress

“Thank you, Your Grace, but not this time…”

Seeing Laura’s expression, Barron realized there was likely a story behind it, but since she wasn’t willing to share, he didn’t press the matter further.

Before leaving Hangzhou, Barron had also instructed Anbel that when discussing financing with the Alibaba company, he could also inquire with SoftBank about their intentions to sell their Alibaba shares. They could purchase the shares at the same price as this round of financing.

In fact, this was the most opportune time to buy Alibaba shares from Masayoshi Son. The reason was mentioned before: last year, Mr. Ma wanted to increase investment but was rejected by SoftBank. It wasn’t until 2004, after their business showed improvement, that they successfully initiated the next round of financing.

Moreover, SoftBank had invested in quite a few projects in China at that time, almost all around 20 million US dollars. It could be said that due to the internet winter, the situation of these investments was not very good. If one project could become profitable and allow them to successfully exit the investment, Masayoshi Son might be willing to agree.

In reality, Masayoshi Son’s reputation as an investment “genius” was largely built up after Alibaba’s rise – it’s worth noting that the profits from the Alibaba investment accounted for over 80% of SoftBank’s total investment profits. Alibaba’s success was extremely important not only to Mr. Ma but also to Masayoshi Son.

Otherwise, after the 2008 subprime mortgage crisis, it was uncertain whether he could secure the 50 billion US dollars of funds withdrawn from the United States by the Middle Eastern oil tycoons based on his own reputation.

Next, Barron set off back to London. He had already given instructions on the matters in China, leaving the rest to Anbel Sheen.

…

This trip to China could be said to have cost a lot of money – Mr. Ma needed 20 million US dollars in funding, plus the purchase of shares in the Tencent company, which would cost nearly 53 million pounds.

If SoftBank agreed to sell their Alibaba shares, it would be even more.

Fortunately, the profits from shorting London copper, exceeding 200 million pounds, with 100 million pounds of it, were then used to go long on copper prices.

In October, benefiting from the anticipation of war and the expansion of demand for raw materials in the Chinese market, international copper prices rose again.

The price of London copper slowly rose from below 1000 pounds per ton to around 1150 pounds.

At that time, they were using a relatively conservative 20% margin, which was about a five-fold leverage.

Adding the initial 33 million pounds margin from shorting London copper, they continued to go long with an 8% margin.

The combined profits were already enough to cover the funds for this investment in China.

Of course, he knew that the price of London copper would continue to rise in the future, so naturally, he wouldn’t completely close all of his positions in London copper, but would only close a portion enough to cover these funds.

Although, according to his memories of the previous life, Barron held shares in Alibaba and Tencent, two future giants, and even without doing anything, waiting for over a decade would be enough to become the world’s richest man.

But Barron’s goals were naturally not limited to this, and besides, the most dangerous situation was a child carrying gold through a crowded marketplace. Without corresponding strength, how could the other side allow him to occupy such high-quality assets in the future capital game?

Even for Tencent and Alibaba, it was only because their strength was still weak at this time. If Barron always maintained his current situation and couldn’t provide them with sufficient resources, they might also be replaced by new investors.

Therefore, next, Barron still needed to continue strengthening himself, which was the right way to go.

After returning to London, after a “short separation is better than a new marriage” with Bonnie, after a passionate learning session…then, Barron returned to Chatsworth House.

Because they needed to film the television series Downton Abbey, Chatsworth House, although it had already begun large-scale renovations, was currently mainly focusing on the interior of some rooms.

And the filming of this television series, apart from the overall exterior and the garden, actually only used less than a quarter of the rooms. Therefore, the renovation was starting from the rooms other than those used for filming and where Barron and his people were living.

In the manor, Barron met the manager of Summit Media, Feargal Hayden, who was discussing the filming of Downton Abbey with producer Julian.

“How long will it take to finish filming this television series?”

Hearing Barron’s question, Julian said to him:

“The current filming is going very smoothly, so we estimate that we can finish the first season within two months, but we will then film the second season, and it is estimated that it will take about three and a half months to complete the first two seasons.”

Well, it seems that Downton Abbey wouldn’t be able to be broadcast this year. Summit Media and ITV had signed a contract for the 22:00 to 23:00 time slot until the end of the year, and they would then re-tender for the broadcast time.

However, if the negotiations with ITV and OFCOM could make progress, confirming that they could obtain the terrestrial digital television license, Summit Media would then give up the bidding for this broadcast time slot and instead focus on operating its own television channel.

Therefore, after talking with Julian, Barron called Summit Media’s manager, Feargal, to his study alone:

“Mr. Hayden, how are the negotiations with ITV Digital going?”

“Currently, there hasn’t been much progress in the negotiations regarding ITV Digital’s three terrestrial digital television licenses, mainly due to the difficulty in reaching an agreement between the BBC and OFCOM…”

The so-called OFCOM, the Office of Communications, is the regulatory authority responsible for issuing television program licenses and managing and reviewing television programs.

The current negotiations were mainly focused on OFCOM’s requirements for the three terrestrial digital television licenses held by ITV Digital, including the operating methods of digital television channels and the funds that needed to be invested.

As for the BBC, they still hoped to invest as little as possible in terrestrial satellite television and hoped to receive corresponding government subsidies.

In fact, as a public broadcaster, the BBC itself receives some subsidies from the government every year, which come from direct allocations from relevant government departments and the return of some of the funds they pay.

But now, if they take over the terrestrial digital television license, they would need to spend a considerable amount of extra money on promotion and construction. Although the BBC participated in the license bidding, they still didn’t want to pay too much extra cost for this.

These things need to start from the initial terrestrial digital television plan in the UK.

Simply put, at the end of 1997, the UK issued licenses for six digital terrestrial television multiplex channels, which were named mux1, mux2, muxA, muxB, muxC, and mux D.

Three of the six multiplex channels (mux1, mux2, muxA) were allocated to the existing analog terrestrial television operators, mainly for the digital simulcast of the analog channels already owned by these television operators and the development of new digital services.

This included the BBC obtaining mux1, ITV and Channel 4 obtaining mux2, and Channel 5 and the S4C company obtaining muxA.

The licenses for the other three multiplex channels (muxB, mux C, and mux D) were issued through auction.

Granada Television, Carlton Television, and Sky Television jointly won these three licenses and established the ON Digital company – however, BSkyB withdrew before the launch.

Because the UK’s development of terrestrial digital television was intended to compete with Sky Television, which held a dominant position in satellite television, it would naturally not allow it to join the terrestrial digital television plan again.

They were also afraid that their own television stations would be too useless, and then they would not be able to compete with Sky Television, and then be dominated by them, which would be very embarrassing.

From obtaining the license to broadcasting, OFCOM gave ON Digital one year to prepare.

On November 15, 1998, ON Digital officially launched, launching 18 channels at once, which was the world’s first digital terrestrial television service.

In 2000, ON Digital and SDN launched a pay-per-view service – ONrequest.

But ON Digital’s operation had not been very successful – from the day it launched, ONdigital had been constantly burning money:

On the one hand, the competition from digital satellite television was very fierce. Sky Digital, launched by BSkyB after it withdrew from ON Digital, became a strong competitor to ON Digital.

Sky Digital’s digital satellite television provided free satellite receivers, Digibox, pre-installed with about 200 channels, but the viewing fees were the same as ON Digital’s, while ON Digital’s original viewing fee pricing was used to compete with Sky’s 20 analog satellite channels.

In this way, they were at a disadvantage in the competition for users!

Chapter 118: Enriching Content

Another problem with ON Digital was that the set-top boxes were sold in street-side shops or large supermarkets, and their price included the rental of the set-top box and the subscription fee for the first year.

Because activating the viewing card didn’t require any bank account details, many so-called rented set-top boxes actually had unverifiable addresses.

In addition, the encryption system used by ON Digital’s pay-per-view channels had already been decrypted in Europe, which meant that it was very easy for people to manufacture and sell pirated receiving cards to receive these channels.

Other problems that existed in the operation of ON Digital included: a complex pricing system and a poor subscriber management system.

While competitors like BSkyB already offered electronic program guides, they could only provide users with paper TV guides.

And they lacked customer technical support…

Finally, Carlton and Granada did not directly employ ON Digital’s management and operations personnel. Many were hired on short-term contracts, and some key figures left without notice.

Competition and poor management led to a high customer churn rate for ON Digital. Finally, to change the predicament, Granada Television Limited and Carlton Television Limited renamed ON Digital as ITV Digital on July 11, 2001.

Because the two television stations that formed ON Digital both belonged to ITV, they changed the name to ITV Digital in order to borrow ITV’s reputation.

However, ITV Digital still didn’t get out of its predicament, especially after they spent a fortune to purchase the television broadcast rights for the English Football League…

Because Sky Television owned the broadcast rights for the Premier League, its sports channel attracted fans to pay to watch.

In order to compete with it, ITV Digital decided to launch a sports channel and spent a fortune to buy the broadcast rights for the English Football League.

In fact, the cost of the English Football League became a huge burden for ITV Digital.

Due to the inability to pay the television broadcast fees in full, the Football Association sued Granada Television Limited and Carlton Television Limited in March 2002.

On June 1, 2002, most of ITV Digital’s channels stopped broadcasting.

Before the shutdown, ITV Digital had launched a total of about 100 pay digital terrestrial television channels.

After ITV Digital shut down, OFCOM reorganized the license auction for the three multiplex channels, muxB, C, and D, and currently, only the BBC and Summit Media participated in the bidding for the licenses.

Prior to this, the three terrestrial digital television licenses owned by ITV Digital were all pay channels.

In this negotiation, OFCOM also proposed to add a “free broadcast only” restriction to the licenses for the three multiplex channels, muxB, C, and D, owned by ITV Digital.

That is to say, if they obtained these licenses, the television channels they launched could only be broadcast for free and could not charge for content, which meant that they could only make a profit through additional means such as advertising, which was also a point of dissatisfaction for the BBC.

“In fact, the BBC also proposed to form a company with us to jointly operate these three licenses, but this is not the best choice for us right now, so we ultimately rejected this proposal and are prepared to compete for one of the licenses alone.”

This decision by Fergal was also authorized by Barron at the time.

It can be seen that ITV Digital, which had three terrestrial digital television licenses at the time, launched about 100 television channels in total.

In other words, not every license could only correspond to one television channel. This was determined by the technical principle of digital television itself. To put it bluntly, if you own a license, then you can own a group of television channels—as for the specific number of channels, dozens are possible.

Summit Media’s current situation is that they are different from the BBC or Sky Television, which have sufficient content to broadcast, so in the early stages, they will only temporarily launch one channel and gradually increase it later.

Whether it is forming a joint venture with the BBC or buying too many licenses on their own, it is unnecessary for them.

“Things have been delayed for several months. It’s not us who are in a hurry. OFCOM either compromises with the BBC or puts pressure on it. We just need to follow them and accept the conditions. It’s impossible for our conditions to be much worse than the BBC’s. Our most important task right now is to start buying program content. Don’t let it happen that we have a television channel but not enough content to fill the broadcast time.”

Barron instructed, after all, a proper television channel is not like their current use of ITV’s broadcast time, which is only one hour a day.

Even if there is rest time, the nearly twenty hours of broadcast time from morning to early morning still needs to be guaranteed, not to mention that Barron was preparing for 24-hour uninterrupted broadcasting—this kind of broadcasting method had long become the norm.

“We have already talked with ITV and can buy some content from their library, including some dramas and variety shows, and because they have already been broadcast, the price is also very cheap.”

Taking this opportunity, Barron also said to him:

“I have previously talked with John Smith, who is in charge of television content transactions for the American Sinclair family. We can also import some programs from their television stations, mainly variety shows and dramas. In addition, in terms of news, we can cooperate with the Independent Newspaper Group to jointly produce news programs.”

Relatively speaking, the broadcast time of a television channel, the midday and evening hours before 11 pm, are considered prime time, plus the morning news programs, these are mainly filled with programs produced by Summit Media itself.

As for other time slots with smaller viewing audiences, especially the time slots from midnight to 6 am when very few people watch, some relatively “cheap” imported content can be used to fill them, at least in the early stages, this can be done.

“In addition, we also need an experienced content procurement editor to find potential programs from those independent production companies for acquisition.”

Currently, it seems that Fergal’s performance in these matters is quite good, and Barron is also prepared to give him a chance to see if he is capable.

Otherwise, they would have to go and poach a qualified manager from other television stations.

When it was time for dinner, Barron hosted the main actors of Downton Abbey at Chatsworth House.

Although the producer and screenwriter were both Julian, because filming was earlier by a few years than in the original timeline—in his previous life, Downton Abbey was not released until 2010—many of the characters in this drama, the main actors were already different from the version Barron had seen in his previous life.

The actors who played the Duke of Crawley, the Duchess, and the Dowager Countess were still familiar faces to Barron. Their ages would not be affected by the filming being a few years earlier.

Among them, the actors who played the three daughters of the Crawley family had all changed.

And among these people, Barron saw a very familiar actress—the actress who played the female botanist in Iron Man 3, which he had watched in his previous life.

At that time, her sexy appearance left a deep impression on Barron.

Barron, the young and handsome Duke, who was also one of the authors of this novel, invited these actors, and they were all very honored.

During the conversation, Barron also learned the name of the familiar actress, Rebecca Hall. She was just 20 years old this year, and in Downton Abbey, she played Sybil, the youngest daughter of the Crawley family.

Rebecca came from a performing arts family. She acted in her first television drama at the age of 10, and her father was the producer of that drama…

At this time, Rebecca was studying English Literature at St Catharine’s College, Cambridge, but because of her father, she participated in the audition for Downton Abbey and was chosen. She temporarily applied for a leave of absence for such a rare opportunity.

“I heard from a friend that there is a website called Woaw at school, which is selecting the most beautiful female student at Cambridge, and the winner will receive your reward, Your Grace…”

During the conversation, Rebecca took the initiative to say to Barron:

“It’s a pity that I didn’t sign up because I was filming…”

Chapter 119: Being Rejected

Most of the crew of the “Downton Abbey” series lived in the town not far from the manor. However, some of the main actors also lived in the manor, which helped them better immerse themselves in their roles.

But before this, they had never been to the manor house, the area where Barron and the others usually lived. They only occasionally used the magnificent hall and dining room for filming.

It could be said that during the banquet that night, everyone was in the dining room in the north wing of the manor, the luxurious space that had once received Queen Victoria. The men were all in formal attire, and the ladies were all wearing the beautiful noble gowns from the show, as if they were attending a noble banquet in the glorious old days.

“Your Grace, can you show me around here?”

After the banquet, Rebecca said to Barron in a soft voice.

At this time, most of the people had already left, and it seemed that she had deliberately stayed behind.

In fact, when they were eating just now, Rebecca had also communicated the most with Barron. On the one hand, their ages were similar, and her personality was also relatively lively.

“Of course, if you’re not going to rest so early. I know filming is very energy-consuming.”

“That’s true, but you know, my role doesn’t have that many scenes, so compared to them, I’m actually not that busy. But it’s not often that you get the chance to live in such a magnificent manor, is it?”

Barron himself, in his previous life, was deeply impressed by Rebecca’s sexy appearance in “Iron Man 3.”

But now, when he saw her again, on the one hand, she looked a little green, although from her figure, she was already quite well-developed. But according to what she said, after participating in her father’s TV series when she was ten years old and playing a role, she hadn’t acted again, and instead focused on her studies.

On the other hand, with Barron’s current status, even those stars he liked in his previous life no longer had any extra halo in front of him.

Therefore, in terms of mentality, Barron could be more indifferent.

Rebecca had studied at a noble school since she was a child, and being able to get into Cambridge University also showed that she was not only smart but also hardworking.

At this time, although she seemed a little pure, both her temperament and demeanor could give people a great sense of goodwill.

…

“What time is it, darling?”

“Just after six…”

Hearing Barron’s words, although Rebecca still had a sleepy look on her face, she murmured:

“I have to get up, go to the set and take a look…”

“So early?”

“Although I don’t have any scenes today, I still like to learn more acting skills from others…”

Yes, Rebecca had stayed in Barron’s bedroom last night. The two had discussed some knowledge about acting and had studied many times…

This could be seen from the scattered clothes scattered around the room, and their study made full use of the various furnishings in the room.

Because of this, Rebecca, even after a night’s rest, still looked a little tired.

“It’s still early, hmm, there’s still time to…”

When Rebecca realized the meaning of Barron’s words, she was once again…

Well, morning reading is also a good habit.

…

In the end, from Amber, Barron got the final result of his and Mr. Ma’s financing with Alibaba.

DSIIC would invest 20 million US dollars in Alibaba, getting 20% of its shares. Based on this calculation, Alibaba’s post-investment valuation was 100 million US dollars.

Of course, as Barron had previously promised Mr. Ma, the voting rights of his 20% shares would all be handed over to Mr. Ma. As long as the company’s operations would not seriously harm the interests of DSIIC, Mr. Ma’s control over Alibaba could be guaranteed.

As for SoftBank, Masayoshi Son rejected their suggestion to buy the Alibaba shares he held.

Initially, Masayoshi Son held 30% of Alibaba’s shares. After this round of financing, since he did not participate, his Alibaba shares were slightly diluted, accounting for 24%.

Although he did not participate in this financing, Masayoshi Son was also a smart person. Besides, an investment of 20 million US dollars was not much for his SoftBank Group. Therefore, since someone was optimistic about Alibaba, he also planned to continue holding its shares.

Although this result made Barron a little disappointed, he had been prepared for this possibility before.

There were still opportunities. In the later rounds of financing, as long as DSIIC continued to participate and continuously increased its holdings of Alibaba’s shares, it would be fine—for example, in the next round of financing, Barron would not leave SoftBank the opportunity to lead the investment.

In addition, Barron also recommended that Amber could continue to learn about other Chinese internet companies, such as another of the BAT trio—Baidu. Baidu was still a startup at this time, and had only gone through two rounds of financing so far, with a total of 11.5 million US dollars in financing.

Although according to the situation in the original timeline, Baidu would not go through the next round of financing until 2004, this was also related to the current internet winter environment. Compared to Alibaba and Tencent, Baidu was still much weaker at this time. Their next round of financing would only be 15 million US dollars. They could contact them now and see if they needed funds.

Even if Mr. Li was not ready to finance for the time being, it would be good to build a relationship in advance. Otherwise, when they finance again, Baidu would have already developed, and DSIIC would not have such a big advantage.

While in Chatsworth, Barron also met with the person in charge of the Devonshire Ecological Agriculture Group and talked about related matters.

After the first Duke’s Select Market DSM opened in the Chelsea district of London, it was still welcomed by high-end users for its high-quality goods and ingredients.

But just one DSM could only provide a small number of high-end users for the entire Devonshire Ecological Agriculture Group. Most of the products could still only be sold through other channels.

But now it has also been proven that this direction is feasible.

Therefore, in the future, they would not only continue to open DSM stores in various affluent areas of London, but also intend to start trying to enter more mass supermarkets.

The Devonshire Ecological Agriculture Group would have a special screening of its products. The highest quality products would only be supplied to DSM in the future, while the remaining products of average quality would be sold through mass channels.

Undoubtedly, the profits of high-end stores were the highest, but they were limited by the user group; channels for the masses had a broader market.

Currently, the farms under the Devonshire Ecological Agriculture Group, the farms that carried out the entire ecological green breeding and production, still maintained a small scale, and most of the farm areas were still cultivated on a large scale.

However, with the increase of DSM stores, they would also correspondingly increase their own ecological planting area.

DSM’s goal was to open at least five stores in London within this year, basically covering the affluent areas of London and completing the first step of the layout.

Chapter 120: SDTV

As expected, just as Barron had anticipated, the negotiations regarding ITV Digital began to accelerate a week later.

Ultimately, the BBC is a public television station and needs to shoulder more social responsibility, which is determined by its own nature.

Therefore, under the pressure from OFCOM, they finally made some compromises—of course, correspondingly, OFCOM also made concessions, giving the BBC more support.

Similarly, in the negotiations before the final agreement was reached, Summit Digital TV also received corresponding support—Summit Digital TV (referred to as SDTV) is a company specifically created by Summit Media for the bidding of ITV Digital’s terrestrial digital TV license.

This included exempting SDTV from the terrestrial digital license fees, but the premise was that on its 60% owned Freeview platform, it would invest no less than 500 million pounds within five years to promote the terrestrial digital television system, and SDTV would launch no less than five television channels within five years for free public broadcasting.

In addition, OFCOM also promised to allocate funds specifically for the infrastructure of the terrestrial digital television system, including signal towers and the research and development of related technologies.

The Freeview platform is a platform jointly established by the BBC and SDTV, which hold terrestrial digital television licenses, to broadcast terrestrial digital television programs to the public for free—OFCOM still insisted that the terrestrial television licenses they obtained needed to be restricted from charging fees.

Because the majority of British households currently use analog signals for their television equipment, before these users switch to digital television, they must use a special set-top box to receive digital television programs.

Moreover, the set-top box equipment of BSkyB, which uses a satellite digital television system, and ITV Digital, which uses a terrestrial digital television system, certainly cannot be interchangeable.

Often, users purchase a set-top box and rarely purchase another one, so ITV Digital lost to Sky Television in the previous competition because of its rigid operations.

Now, since the BBC and SDTV have jointly obtained the terrestrial digital television license originally held by ITV Digital, then to enable users to receive their television signals, they naturally need to launch their own set-top boxes.

Therefore, after consultation, the BBC and SDTV decided to jointly launch the Freeview platform to promote their set-top boxes and the content broadcast within the platform to users.

It’s like you buy a set-top box, and then you can receive many television channels through it.

Because of doubts about SDTV’s strength, OFCOM’s initial opinion was that the BBC should take the lead in establishing a terrestrial digital television broadcasting platform. As for SDTV, it could participate in it, or it could pay a certain fee to the broadcasting platform launched by the BBC, thereby entering this platform, similar to a brand entering a supermarket and paying a booth fee.

This was mainly because the BBC is one of the giants in the British television broadcasting industry and already has a wealth of television channels that can be brought to this terrestrial digital television broadcasting platform.

But Barron knew the future prospects of terrestrial digital television in Britain. Simply paying a fee to the BBC’s independent platform to join was naturally the first thing he ruled out; in the future, he couldn’t be controlled by others.

Therefore, he could only choose to jointly establish a terrestrial digital television broadcasting platform with the BBC, but at this time, the BBC was not very enthusiastic about this platform because they themselves owned many television businesses, including terrestrial digital television, terrestrial analog television, and satellite television… they didn’t have much motivation to develop terrestrial digital television separately.

You must know that promoting terrestrial digital television is quite expensive; just giving away set-top boxes for free requires an investment of at least 100 million pounds every year!

Yes, because BSkyB Digital had already started a free set-top box strategy at this time, to compete with them, they couldn’t be like the previous ITV Digital and charge users to sell set-top box equipment; they could only follow the strategy of giving them away for free.

In that case, Summit Media directly proposed that they were willing to bear more of the promotional funds for the Freeview platform.

Their proposal naturally made the BBC overjoyed.

Besides having a “deep-pocketed” company willing to provide more funds, it’s worth noting that the BBC has more than ten television channels, while SDTV, at the beginning, could at most get one television channel up and running, and whether it could succeed was still unknown. Now, someone was willing to put more money into the terrestrial digital television broadcasting platform, which could be called a “great benefactor.”

As for the profitability of the Freeview platform?

Only when the terrestrial digital television system can occupy a relatively large proportion of users, and when other television channels hope to join it, can fees be charged to the other party.

ON Digital and ITV Digital had both lost to BSkyB Digital. Facing the strong opponent, what are the chances of Freeview succeeding?

Therefore, in the end, the “newcomer” in the television industry, SDTV, instead held the controlling stake in the Freeview platform, which surprised many people.

Similarly, this also means that for the more than 500 million pounds of promotional investment promised by the Freeview platform to OFCOM over five years, Summit Media needs to bear 60% of it, which is 300 million pounds—and this is only the promotional fee for the Freeview platform to users.

Shortly after this, Barron, through a headhunting company, hired Keri Dini, the former Creative and Content Director of GranadaTV, to serve as the CEO of SDTV.

After he took office, he would begin to improve the structure of Summit Digital TV and prepare for the broadcast of the SDTV channel, which would begin on New Year’s Day next year.

And Fergal Hayden continued to lead Summit Media, the parent company of SDTV, as the CEO.

When next year comes, the second season of “The Traitors” and “Downton Abbey” will be broadcast on SDTV.

Speaking of “The Traitors,” with the progress of this reality show, its twists and turns in the competition process have attracted more and more viewers and have a high level of popularity throughout Britain.

By October, the ratings of the reality show “The Traitors” had exceeded 60% at once, with tens of millions of British viewers watching each episode, making it a phenomenon-level variety show.

Even some of the contestants who participated in this reality show have become local celebrities—except that they initially signed confidentiality agreements with the program team, and they cannot reveal the subsequent plot before “The Traitors” is broadcast, otherwise, they will face huge compensation.

However, it can also be seen from this how popular this show is.

For this reason alone, the advertising sponsorship of “The Traitors” is expected to generate more than 30 million pounds in revenue, and it can be said that Summit Media has made a huge profit on this variety show.

At this time, they have already begun to prepare for the filming of the second season of “The Traitors.”

Speaking of “The Traitors,” there is another thing, which is that the Sinclair Group sent people to London to find Summit Media and prepare to negotiate the introduction of the variety show “The Traitors” to its television stations.

In addition to preparing to introduce the British version of “The Traitors” to the United States for broadcast, they also want to introduce the copyright of the entire model of “The Traitors” and produce an American version of the reality show “The Traitors.”

At the same time, SDTV also intends to purchase some of the content from the program copyright library of the Sinclair Group’s television stations for broadcast on its television channels to fill the non-prime time slots.

It can be said that the two sides are taking what they need, and with that, they began to conduct friendly discussions.

Chapter 121: Do They Need Funding?

By late October, when the Woaw website’s beauty contest for Cambridge University girls was nearing its end, the website’s registered users had already surpassed 10,000.

Over forty days, only a little over 10,000 people registered. It might seem like Woaw wasn’t developing quickly.

But it’s important to remember that, at this time, Woaw only accepted registrations from Cambridge University students. Considering the total number of full-time students at Cambridge University was less than 20,000, this was a remarkable figure. More than half of the Cambridge University students had registered for the Woaw website, and these were all real-name registered users!

Furthermore, the impact of the Woaw website could be seen from another piece of data: according to statistics, since the launch of the Woaw website, the number of users who visited the website as guests exceeded 5 million.

Well, another data point: the entire population of Britain at this time was no more than 60 million.

After the end of this beauty contest, Woaw would start to expand the registration scope and open registration channels for other British university students.

Currently, the Woaw website had already contacted the student unions of schools including Oxford University, Imperial College London, and University College London, preparing to recruit paid part-time students from each school to be responsible for reviewing the registered users of their respective schools.

Through the open registration process at Cambridge University, the Woaw website had slowly figured out a set of registration procedures for “students of this school.”

When students registered, they needed to select their department and year. Users from the same year could vote to expel “strangers” who joined their department.

Only when disputes arose would the website’s review personnel need to intervene and make a decision.

This greatly reduced the workload of the website’s review personnel and improved the efficiency of opening user registration.

Woaw Technology estimated that before New Year’s Day next year, they would basically open registration to all universities in the UK, and this would certainly usher in a period of explosive development for the website.

Similarly, in order to attract students to join, after this beauty contest for Cambridge University, there would be another round of beauty contests for all universities in the UK. Those who could get into the top ten would receive rewards of varying amounts.

……

“Daisy, I heard you really crushed Sid, and he went back to France with a broken heart, is that right?”

Back in London, Barron came to the DS Capital office in Lloyd’s Building and joked when he met Daisy.

“Sid came to see me when he returned to London some time ago, Barron, you know, he’s still the same, this time he came to propose with flowers…”

“And then you sent him away? He sounded like he was about to cry when he called me…”

Hearing Barron’s words, Daisy shook her head:

“Although what you said isn’t accurate, it’s pretty much the same. I don’t want to go on like this anymore. Sid needs to mature, he needs to understand that when a lady rejects someone, she’s not playing hard to get, but really doesn’t want to be bothered. I think this is good for both of us.”

Sid used to be Barron’s university roommate; they had a good relationship, and it was through him that Barron got in touch with Daisy.

After all, although Barron had a good relationship with Daisy in university, Daisy hadn’t started using a mobile phone when they were in school, so only Sid, who had been “following” her, knew Daisy’s later number.

It has to be said that Sid was indeed very persistent. I don’t know if he had heard the Chinese saying “a persistent man can win a woman’s heart,” that’s why he pursued Daisy so firmly.

But it seemed that Daisy had absolutely no interest in him.

This kind of thing was their own private matter, and Barron wouldn’t ask too much.

It was obvious that Daisy didn’t want to say more about it either; she changed the subject and said:

“Recently, the stock performance of NetEase is still outstanding. After my analysis, I believe it will have a more rapid rise in the future.”

Indeed, by late October, the stock price of NetEase had risen by more than 125% compared to when they bought it!

It was just a pity that the stock’s market capitalization was too small. They had already held 14.3% of the shares after buying 3 million pounds worth of stock, so they really couldn’t buy more.

“In addition, Amazon’s performance is also good. According to our holding cost, it has already risen by nearly 50%, completely unaffected by the recent decline in technology stocks.”

Yes, it was during this period that the Nasdaq stock index fell again, hitting a new low in five years.

And Barron knew that this would also be the lowest stock index for a long time to come. It was also during this time that DS Capital filled its positions with US stocks, buying those technology stocks that had been determined beforehand.

This included Netflix.

On October 9th, Netflix’s stock price fell below $5. It should be known that when they went public at the end of May, the issue price was $15!

Now its stock price had directly fallen to less than a fraction of the issue price.

It was also at this time that DS Capital began to purchase Netflix stock.

By now, they had already held 2.586 million shares of Netflix stock, with a holding cost of $5.8 per share.

Uh, it wasn’t that they didn’t want to buy more, it was mainly that their current holdings were already close to 10% of Netflix’s total shares… Compared to its current market value, their current holdings were already considered relatively high. The available shares for sale had almost been bought up. Buying any more would be equivalent to manipulating the market, purely driving up the stock price.

This had only cost 10 million pounds, Barron was really speechless.

Barron also knew that there was still a considerable amount of time before Netflix’s explosion. He was just taking advantage of the sharp drop in Netflix’s stock price to take in a portion. These stocks were also destined to be held for the long term.

“You can send someone to contact Netflix and ask Mr. Hastings if his company needs funding. We can provide him with some funding, uh, we just need him to issue us a portion of new shares through a private placement.”

Since it was difficult to buy Netflix stock from the secondary market, Barron turned his attention to directly financing Netflix and obtaining the shares they issued through a private placement.

Speaking of which, although they were both investment companies, the internal responsibilities of Daisy and Amber Sheen at DS Capital were still different.

Daisy was in charge of the securities investment department. If it involved investing in company shares, then this department mainly focused on buying stocks in the secondary market.

However, Netflix was a listed company, so if they participated directly in their financing and obtained the shares issued through a private placement, it would also be handled by Daisy’s securities investment department.

Amber Sheen was in charge of the industrial investment department, which mainly had two subsidiaries—DS Industrial Investment Company (DSIIC) and DS Asset Management Company (DSAMC).

The former focused on equity investments in start-up companies and other non-listed companies; the latter mainly focused on real estate investments and wholly-owned companies.

“Okay, I’ll contact them by phone first… We had contact with them before when we increased our holdings of their stock.”

According to the regulations of US stocks, when an institution buys circulating shares in the secondary market and reaches 5% or a multiple thereof, it needs to “file a report” to explain its intentions.

Therefore, whether it was buying NetEase stock or buying Netflix stock before, DS Capital had filed reports, indicating that they were only conducting normal financial investments and had no intention of acquiring the company or seeking control.

Through the previous investments, Barron’s judgment had also been highly recognized by Daisy—after all, the facts proved that his judgment had always been very correct.

So after he specifically mentioned the matter of Netflix—this showed that he was still quite optimistic about Netflix, Daisy kept it in mind and prepared to contact Netflix in the United States next to inquire whether they needed funds.

Chapter 122: Birthday Party

As for the Mars Fund, a private equity fund under DS Capital, the 50 million pounds it had raised previously had already been invested in going long on international crude oil and gold.

There was no other choice. As a newly established private equity fund, it had no previous track record. Neither Barron nor Daisy, who were in charge of the fund, had much investment fame before—even though DS Capital’s previous investments had yielded astonishing returns, the larger the capital, the more it focused on consistent and stable profits.

Therefore, being able to raise 50 million dollars at the beginning was more due to Barron’s own influence.

Only when the Mars Fund could conquer investors with its profitability would its scale begin to rise further.

……

“Happy birthday, darling, this is for you.”

Taking the beautifully packaged box from Bonnie, the Vacheron Constantin logo on the packaging allowed him to guess it was a watch. Indeed, it was very beautiful.

“Thank you, baby, I love it.”

Immediately, Barron gave Bonnie a kiss, then took off the watch he was wearing and replaced it with the one Bonnie had given him; it fit perfectly.

October 18th was Barron’s birthday. Coincidentally, the interior decoration of his villa in Kensington had just been completed—after all, it was only a partial renovation, mainly redoing the soft furnishings, so the speed was quite fast.

Just like that, he decided to move back from the Devonshire Hotel and hold a birthday party there.

This party wasn’t too high-profile. Barron invited only friends he was relatively familiar with, including the Booth, Julia, Daisy, and the Camerons, and so on. Well, the two princes had also returned to London specifically to attend Barron’s birthday party.

After buying the house next door, the entire villa’s area had expanded greatly, and the hall had also been extended.

The entire villa’s decoration style still chose the traditional British style, but it wasn’t as opulent as Chatsworth House; it focused more on elegance and sophistication.

“William, I saw in the reports that you have a new girlfriend…”

When he saw the two princes, Barron said to William with a smile.

“Yes, Barron, I originally wanted to bring her with me today, but something came up at her home, so the plan was changed temporarily. I’ll introduce her to you when I have the chance.”

William said very familiarly to Barron.

However, his words caused a subtle, almost imperceptible, look of amusement to flash across Barron’s eyes.

If he guessed correctly, Miss Catherine was probably just using this excuse.

After all, with Barron’s current fame in Britain, it was hard to believe that the other party wouldn’t know what he looked like after hearing Prince William mention him.

The current boyfriend wants to bring himself to a friend’s birthday party, and that friend had once had such an “encounter” with her. Such an awkward situation definitely needed to be avoided…

“Today is an important day; we should celebrate properly. I brought my best vintage red wine, I believe you’ll like it.”

Ian Booth. was still as enthusiastic as ever, but after knowing some of his special “hobbies,” Barron felt a little… when he dealt with his embrace, which was a bit too enthusiastic for the British, after all.

Catching the Viscountess Booth’s playful look, Barron, without revealing anything, broke away from Ian Booth. and said to the Viscountess:

“Madam, you’re looking more and more beautiful.”

As he spoke, he also gave her an enthusiastic hug. Well, it had to be said, the Viscountess’s figure was indeed very… “top-notch.” The “top-notch” was meant literally.

Instead of a hand-kissing, he gave such a close embrace, which made Christa, who had been watching with amusement, a little surprised.

She gave Barron a look of coquettish displeasure, where Viscount Booth’s line of sight was blocked.

Fortunately, it seemed that Viscount Booth. hadn’t noticed anything, and his expression was normal as he walked into the hall with Barron.

In any case, those attending Barron’s birthday party were all people of status and wouldn’t be as unrestrained as young people.

During the processes of making a wish, cutting the cake, and the dinner, there was more casual conversation.

Just like with the Camerons, Cameron talked with Barron about his recent cooperation with the BBC, winning the terrestrial digital television license for ITV Digital.

“Sky Television is a strong competitor, Your Grace. Murdoch’s influence in Britain is growing, and he can often influence public opinion.”

As Cameron said, this was something many people were wary of, but behind Murdoch, there was also the shadow of the United States—speaking of which, some British companies weren’t up to par. Even the BBC often needed the support of certain policies in its competition with Sky Television.

Cameron was also deeply aware of Murdoch’s influence on public opinion, just like the current Prime Minister, who, when he first won the election, also relied on the support of the News Corporation’s media. It was no wonder that he would reciprocate in some matters.

“Indeed, Mr. Cameron, BSkyB Digital is a huge opponent for our terrestrial digital television promotion, but it seems that the BBC needs to bear more pressure. Speaking of which, our Premier League, with its single qualification for television broadcasting rights, puts us in a difficult position in the competition for users. I believe that the FA should be forced to open up more Premier League broadcast slots!”

In 1992, Sky Television defeated Independent Television (ITV) and bought the domestic rights to the Premier League for five years at a high price of 305 million pounds.

At that time, the Premier League had just been born, and no one could predict what this high investment would bring.

In those days, no one in Britain paid to watch television. Everyone watched free-to-air television, and Sky Sports, with its exclusive broadcasting rights to the Premier League, made its pay-per-view channel plan successful.

A year later, Sky Television turned from a loss-making mess of over 40 million pounds a year into a television empire with a profit of 67 million pounds.

In the nearly five years that followed, the Premier League became more and more exciting, and Sky Sports added rugby, cricket, and golf to its football coverage, so people gradually changed their attitudes and began to subscribe to Sky’s services.

As Murdoch’s assistant, Holchim, once recalled: “There were so many customers subscribing to the Premier League package that the sports channel’s office received several sacks of checks every day.”

Having tasted the sweetness, Sky Television was determined to cooperate with the Premier League. In the next round of five-year rights competition in 1997, they paid the Premier League 670 million pounds…

And this time, the Premier League’s exclusive broadcasting rights would expire this year.

Barron knew that, according to his memories of the previous life, in the next round of Premier League exclusive broadcasting rights starting next year, Sky Television would offer an even higher price of 1.024 billion pounds!

Such a bid, at this time, it could be said that no one in Britain could compete with it.

If they were to compete in financial strength, Sky Television would definitely keep winning…

This was why Barron would complain to Cameron like this.

Chapter 123: Doubts

“This proposal might be difficult to pass. Firstly, the Football Association won’t agree, and the interests involved are too significant.”

Barron sighed upon hearing Cameron’s words.

Indeed, Sky Television’s bid for the exclusive broadcasting rights of the Premier League was about to exceed one billion pounds, which was a huge sum for the Football Association and the various Premier League clubs, even a major source of income for many clubs.

Therefore, this matter did involve many interests.

The Football Association would certainly worry that if broadcasting slots were opened up, and were no longer exclusive, their income would decrease.

However, Barron knew that their worry wouldn’t actually happen.

In the original timeline, by 2007, a judge ruled that the Football Association’s exclusive granting of Premier League broadcasting rights was prohibited, requiring at least two media outlets to obtain broadcasting rights for Premier League matches within the UK. After that, BSkyB’s competitor, BT Sport, shared the Premier League broadcasting rights with them. Later on, the two parties still needed to pay over five billion pounds in total, which, it could be said, didn’t decrease but rather increased significantly.

Uh, one thing to note is that the current Prime Minister stepped down in 2007, and Murdoch’s Sky Television lost its exclusive authorization also in 2007; quite interesting, isn’t it?

…

After seeing off today’s guests, it was now Barron and Bonnie’s private time.

“Darling, wait for me for a moment.”

Seeing Bonnie’s mysterious appearance, Barron asked with a puzzled expression:

“What’s going on? Are you hiding something from me?”

“Just wait and see; you’ll find out in a moment.”

After Bonnie closed the bedroom door, Barron thought about the fact that it was his birthday today, and couldn’t help but seem to have guessed something…

It seemed that besides the Vacheron Constantin watch, his girlfriend had prepared other gifts.

Sure enough, when the bedroom door opened again, Barron’s eyes widened immediately upon seeing the woman who walked in.

Although her figure wasn’t as… exaggerated as his cousin, Chris, Bonnie’s figure was more standard, tall with long legs, and also had a curvy figure, an S-shaped body.

Except that her green eyes, under the dim light of the lampshade in the bedroom, carried a hint of seduction.

As for what she was wearing… well, it’s not convenient to describe in detail; it can only be said that compared to it, Victoria’s Secret seemed conservative by a lot…

“Darling, this is another birthday present for you. Do you like it?”

What could Barron say to Bonnie’s question?

Any words at this moment would seem pale; he could only prove it with actions…

…

“The Americans want to completely replicate all the processes of our first season of The Traitors, so they want to film at Chatsworth House, just like us.”

After the room finally calmed down, Bonnie, in Barron’s arms, was talking about Sinclair Group’s acquisition of the copyright of The Traitors and filming the American version of the reality show.

“But Downton Abbey is currently being filmed there, so it might not be convenient.”

Barron frowned slightly, saying.

Initially, because he wanted to promote Calan Castle, he decided that the next season of The Traitors would be filmed at Calan Castle. And the American Sinclair Group wanted to acquire the copyright of their show and film the American version of The Traitors reality show, so he also hoped that the other party would film at Calan Castle.

Now that the other party proposed to film at Chatsworth House, just like the first season of the British version of The Traitors, then it would probably conflict with the filming of Downton Abbey.

“Either we can only let the other party wait until May of next year to film, so that even if it’s filmed at Chatsworth House, it can avoid the filming of Downton Abbey.”

“That’s one way, but will the Sinclair Group agree?”

Reality shows like The Traitors, which include some outdoor game projects, also have requirements for the filming time.

After all, the contestants can’t wear thick winter clothing to film these.

It was already the end of October, and the weather in the UK had turned cold. Although the actual filming of The Traitors would only take less than half a month, but after confirming the contract with the Sinclair Group, and then the other party selecting the contestants for recording, such a set of procedures would be very tight by the time of filming.

In this case, waiting until May of next year, when the weather in the UK warms up, to film would indeed be a better choice.

“This problem isn’t too big. I’ve put forward this suggestion, and they need to discuss and decide. And since they will also import our recorded The Traitors, which will be broadcast this year, and then broadcast their own recorded The Traitors reality show next year, it can also be regarded as a warm-up.”

What Bonnie said was indeed feasible. Barron thought about their own second season of The Traitors:

“So, our second season of The Traitors will also have to wait until next year to record?”

“It can only be this way because since it’s going to be recorded at Calan Castle, the climate in the Scottish Highlands will be colder, which is no longer suitable for filming. I plan to film it after the spring and summer next year.”

It seemed that Bonnie had already planned it out; she continued:

“But this is also good, which allows us to prepare more fully. And because of the success of the first season, our show has already attracted the attention of many brand merchants. For the next second season, the investment promotion work can also have more sufficient time to carry out. I’m afraid that this time, our income will be much higher than the first season.”

Although the agreements signed with sponsors for the first season of The Traitors were mostly based on the tiered pricing of viewership ratings, the bulk of the income still came from the brands that were temporarily added after the show’s viewership ratings increased.

Now, with the success of the first season, Top Summit Media would be able to choose the brand merchants’ naming rights with more confidence in the second season of The Traitors, and the initial price could also be set higher.

After all, those brand sponsorship advertisements weren’t concerned about the price, but about the show’s viewership ratings, so that their brands could reach more users, which was their purpose.

“Infiniti is very satisfied with our cooperation. The sales of their latest SUV model in the UK have increased significantly, so they have expressed their hope to continue cooperating with us in the second season and will be the main sponsor, with an estimated sponsorship of 50 million pounds - of course, they also hope to have more shots in the show, to their cars.”

This was the powerful money-making ability of a phenomenon-level variety show.

“However, there is one thing, that is, they have some doubts about the fact that we will broadcast The Traitors on the new television channel because, with the performance of ITV Digital, they are afraid that after the show is not broadcast on ITV1, the audience will need to use a set-top box to watch the programs on the Freeview platform, which will lead to a huge decline in the number of viewers.”

This point that Bonnie mentioned was indeed a problem, but relative to the revenue of The Traitors, the development of SDTV was the more important thing. Barron’s choice on this matter didn’t need to be thought about at all.

He said to Bonnie solemnly:

“No matter what, the second season of The Traitors will definitely be broadcast on SDTV, but the current situation is different from ITV Digital. Our Freeview will be a free platform for broadcasting. Even the set-top boxes will be installed for users free of charge, so when the second season of The Traitors is broadcast, I believe that the number of viewers won’t decrease too much.”

Chapter 124: SEM Group

As preparation for the establishment of SDTV, Summit Media merged with the Independent Newspaper to form Standard Entertainment Media Group (SEM Group).

After all, for a company that would involve public opinion, Barron would not allow his family’s name to appear in the company’s name. This could show their “fair and neutral” stance as much as possible.

Standard Entertainment Media Group is currently composed of Summit Media and the Independent Newspaper.

Summit Media is further divided into Summit Digital Television Company (SDTV) and Summit Studio. The former operates the SDTV television channel, and the latter is the content production department.

In addition, within the SEM Group, a dedicated news department is set up to provide news content for the Independent Newspaper and SDTV.

The headquarters of the SEM Group is located in Canary Wharf, in Canada Square near the original office building of the Independent Newspaper, renting a five-story office building.

Next, the Independent Newspaper will also temporarily move there to work.

The original office building of the Independent Newspaper is about to be demolished, and a 45-story SEM Tower will be built on the original site, becoming one of the new landmarks of Canary Wharf.

Originally, this building was planned to be named the Devonshire Media Tower, but now, the name of another media group was chosen, and it was correspondingly changed to SEM Tower.

This building is expected to be completed in a year, and it will then serve as the headquarters of the SEM Group.

……

“Mr. Inkster, do you have new clues regarding the investigation of the ‘London Star’ gang?”

“Yes, Your Grace.”

The intelligence group led by Nigel Inkster, a former MI6 intelligence expert hired by Barron, was working in an inconspicuous small building not far from Barron’s residence.

Facing Barron’s inquiry, Nigel said:

“Based on the personnel information of the ‘London Star’ gang obtained from MI6, we first began to trace the past traces of these people, and combined with clues obtained from rewards in some international intelligence black markets, we have made an astonishing discovery.”

“Oh?”

Barron asked with great interest:

“What is it?”

“The head of the ‘London Star’ gang, who goes by the alias William Abanell, we have confirmed his real identity, named Feis Soriano, born in Israel, later went to the United States to study at university. Most importantly, this person, under the alias William Abanell, engaged in financial investment on Wall Street for a full five years.”

“Wait, he was already using the alias William Abanell when he was on Wall Street?”

“Yes, this is not something an ordinary person can do. I suspect that before this, he had already been absorbed by a certain organization, and what’s more interesting is that during this process, he had a close relationship with the Quantum Fund.”

“Soros?”

“We don’t know if he himself has a relationship with Soros, but this person did participate in many Quantum Fund operations and, on some occasions, made very radical remarks, and may very well be an anarchist.”

Nigel explained to Barron:

“From a lot of public information, it can be known that Soros himself, besides being a financial speculator, is also very interested in politics. Some of the foundations he leads are very actively providing funding for public opinion in many countries, but there have not been any overly extreme performances yet.”

“Right, you said that Feis Soriano was born in Israel, so, he is a Jew?”

“Yes.”

“F**K, I hate Jews, they’re all a bunch of greedy and cunning people!”

Well, Nigel didn’t seem surprised by Barron’s outburst. He said:

“However, it seems that the previous claims of this Feis Soriano were not those of a traditional Jew. More precisely, he has a great hostility towards the privileged class…”

“That’s why the ‘London Star’ targets mostly nobles?”

“It’s very likely that this is the reason.”

“Very good, Mr. Inkster, I hope you will continue to investigate. I must drag this bastard out of his lair.”

Barron stood up and said lightly:

“As for whether Soros has anything to do with this…”

“At the moment, the possibility is not great. After all, with his current status, he shouldn’t be so rash as to get involved in this kind of thing, although he is indeed a bastard.”

Soros once attacked the pound and made a lot of money, so the British people don’t have a good impression of him.

“However, Your Grace, with our current strength, it will be a bit difficult to get involved in overseas investigations.”

“I know this. I will strengthen your forces later, Mr. Inkster. In addition, you can also bother Sir Dillworth more. I will fund MI6 with some funds. Presumably, under this premise, they will be very happy to share some intelligence with us.”

“That would be great, Your Grace.”

……

“Today, we present this special member, ‘Derby XV’, to the Worcestershire and Sherwood Foresters Regiment, hoping it can witness the friendship between this elite force and our William Hill family.”

Under the gaze of hundreds of soldiers in red military uniforms, wearing black steel helmets, and standing with their chests held high, a Swaledale ram from Chatsworth Estate Farm, named Private “Derby XV”, was brought over after being carefully groomed.

From today on, it will become the mascot of this unit—from the name of this mascot, it can be seen that this is already the fifteenth time the Devonshire family has provided a mascot for their army.

At the same time, Barron also announced that he would donate 1 million pounds initially to establish a charitable fund project called the “Derby Fund” to provide necessary assistance to veterans of the British Army.

This decision by the Duke of Devonshire naturally received great praise.

Thus, under the “guard” of two soldiers, the new mascot of the Worcestershire and Sherwood Foresters Regiment began its tour of the barracks.

It can be said that setting up animal “mascots” in the army is a tradition of many national armies, including the British Army.

During World War I, in order to eat fresh pork, the crew of the German cruiser “Dresden” raised a piglet and let it roam freely on the warship.

Later, in a firefight off the coast of Chile with the British Royal Navy cruisers “Kent” and “Glasgow”, the “Dresden” was sunk, and most of the personnel were captured.

Subsequently, the crew of the “Glasgow” were surprised to find a frightened pig struggling to swim for its life, and a kind sailor immediately jumped into the sea and rescued it.

This pig was adopted by the British crew and treated as a mascot. The mischievous sailors named it “Admiral Tirpitz” after the name of Alfred von Tirpitz, the Grand Admiral of the German Imperial Navy.

The sailors even made a “counterfeit” Iron Cross medal for this pig because it was the only crew member who did not abandon ship.

“Tirpitz” spent a happy year on the “Glasgow”. Later, it was retired to the Whale Island Gunnery School near Portsmouth.

Unfortunately, in 1919, “Tirpitz” was bought by the British Red Cross at a high price and made into pork chops. The head was preserved in the Imperial War Museum in London to commemorate the glory of the British Royal Navy during World War I…

Chapter 125: Digital UK

“Thank you very much, Your Grace the Duke. It’s possible that we will be deployed to the Middle East, and your donation will solve problems for many soldiers.”

After the donation ceremony, the commanding officer of the Worcestershire and Sherwood Foresters Regiment, Colonel Graf Eaton, thanked Barron.

“This is all I can do, Colonel. Although I don’t think sending soldiers to the battlefield now is the right decision, and I am trying to avoid this situation. But if it’s unavoidable, at least I can do something for them…”

“You are a noble man, Your Grace the Duke.”

After receiving the gratitude of the commanding officer of the Worcestershire and Sherwood Foresters Regiment, Barron asked:

“I didn’t know much about this before, and I’d like to ask, Colonel, after the war, can those soldiers return to normal life?”

“You know, Your Grace the Duke, war is always cruel. Soldiers need to endure extreme pressure there, so many soldiers often need psychological guidance before they can return to normal life. Of course, some people can’t even return to normal life. After they retire, they can only enter those mercenary groups and continue their military life.”

Graf Eaton sighed and said:

“Just like a comrade of mine before, after he retired, he couldn’t integrate into society and went to Africa to join a mercenary group, becoming an instructor. That mercenary group called ‘Shield of the Empire’ was founded by Mr. Maven Coy, who participated in the First Gulf War.”

“Oh? So it was a mercenary group founded by our military personnel, Colonel. I have also read some reports and articles about mercenaries, and I am very interested in them. Can you tell me about it?”

Graf Eaton was also very fond of the young Duke before him. He nodded and said:

“It’s my honor, Your Grace the Duke. In the Middle East and Africa, or rather, everywhere facing chaos, there are many mercenary groups. Of course, they often have conflicts because of interests, and the competition between them is also very fierce…”

After the introduction by the Colonel, Barron knew that he was more familiar with the “Shield of the Empire” mercenary group because he had friends there.

Speaking of which, “Shield of the Empire” has been established for more than three years, but due to lack of funds, it has not developed much. It only takes on tasks such as security for mines and construction sites, and training for some local armed forces. But in any case, being able to survive tenaciously in such a place is already quite powerful.

The main members of “Shield of the Empire” are mostly veterans from the UK. There are many such mercenary groups in Africa, and many countries, including Europe and the United States, have similar mercenary groups in Africa and the Middle East.

After hearing that “Shield of the Empire” had always lacked funds, Barron’s heart moved, and he said to Graf Eaton:

“Colonel, do you have Mr. Coy’s contact information? Maybe we will send someone to interview him.”

“If you want, Your Grace the Duke, I can get his contact information through my friend.”

“That’s really great.”

……

According to the agreement reached between the BBC and SDTV, the two companies jointly established Digital UK, which is specifically responsible for managing the UK’s terrestrial digital television strategy, policy, and service development.

The shareholding ratio of Digital UK is 60% for SDTV and 40% for the BBC. The two companies contribute capital according to their shareholding ratio to promote the terrestrial digital television platform Freeview.

Mainly from November 1st, free installation reservation services for set-top boxes will be provided to analog TV users throughout the UK. Of course, the premise of obtaining free installation of the Freeview platform set-top box is to sign an agreement with Digital UK and pay a certain deposit – when users no longer use the Freeview platform or change to digital TV, they can return the set-top box equipment and return the deposit.

In addition, Digital UK will also cooperate with television equipment manufacturers to build the Freeview platform into the latest digital TVs. This way, users who buy new digital TVs can watch programs on the free Freeview platform directly without a set-top box.

In the initial stage, the BBC and SDTV have invested 50 million pounds in Digital UK for the manufacture and promotion of its set-top box equipment, as well as the research and development of related technologies – of which, 30 million pounds were paid by SDTV.

According to the agreement between the two parties, before July 1st next year, another 50 million pounds of funds will need to be injected into Digital UK for the next stage of the promotion of the Freeview platform.

In fact, the BBC can take the lead in using the Freeview platform because from November 1st, their channels will be connected to the Freeview platform.

And SDTV needs to wait until New Year’s Day in 2003 before it can broadcast its first television channel.

In addition, it is worth mentioning that as preparation for SDTV, just to purchase related equipment, Summit Digital Television Company has already taken out a loan financing of 100 million pounds from Barclays Bank.

And the previous profits of Summit Media have also been largely invested in it.

It can be said that this time it was really a “do-or-die” situation. Even Summit Media’s CEO, Fergal Hayden, had great hesitation when he first heard Barron’s plan.

You know, just to promote the Freeview platform, Digital UK needs to invest no less than 100 million pounds every year for five consecutive years.

Such a large investment is even a bit difficult for the BBC, so it took the initiative to give up its controlling stake in Digital UK.

This total investment of 300 million pounds for promotion is a huge burden for the “young” Summit Media – Fergal Hayden couldn’t guarantee that they would always be able to produce a phenomenon-level variety show like “The Traitors”.

And next year, “The Traitors” will be broadcast on the Freeview platform, and the number of viewers will definitely be greatly reduced.

You know, even the most optimistic estimate is that after the five-year promotion plan is completed, by 2008, the number of viewers on the Freeview platform will exceed 10 million people – even now, the most powerful BSkyB, its paying users have not yet exceeded 10 million. As of now, BSkyB Digital’s paying users have just exceeded 5 million, which is only half of this number.

So even if the goal of reaching 10 million users on the Freeview platform within five years was proposed at the beginning, the internal Digital UK thought it was a bit too optimistic.

As for other media reports, they mercilessly evaluated Freeview as “the ugly duckling that will never grow into a swan”…

No matter what others say, Barron was still very confident about this because he knew that in the original timeline, the Freeview platform’s set-top boxes were not even installed for free as they are now, but were sold.

In this way, after three years, they reached 7 million users!

This situation was beyond everyone’s expectations, making the Freeview platform a strong competitor to BSkyB Digital.

And now, they are spending a lot of money for free installation, and it is probably not difficult to reach 10 million users within three years.

It’s just that at this time, because of the successive failures of ON Digital and ITV Digital, BSkyB Digital has become a stumbling block to the development of terrestrial digital television, and everyone lacks confidence in Digital UK, so he has already proposed a very conservative plan of 10 million users in five years…

Oh, this makes everyone so surprised, it really makes him not know what to say.

Chapter 126: Losing in the East

“Boss, I met with Mr. Hastings, the CEO of Netflix, today. He said Netflix could accept financing, but not right now, at least not at their current stock price…”

Following Barron’s instructions, Daisy went to the United States to meet with Netflix CEO, Mr. Hastings.

At this time, DS Capital held nearly 8.62% of Netflix’s stock, effectively becoming one of the company’s major shareholders.

From Daisy’s phone call, Barron learned that Hastings also hoped Netflix could secure financing at this time to better deal with the internet winter. However, he didn’t want to issue new shares at the current price of less than 6 dollars.

In Hastings’ view, Netflix’s stock price was completely undervalued and had been affected by the significant drop in Nasdaq tech stocks in the third quarter of this year.

Therefore, if DS Capital wanted to invest in Netflix, they would either have to wait until its stock price recovered to a level Hastings considered reasonable, or accept the newly issued shares of Netflix at a reasonable price.

Daisy’s phone call was to ask Barron what his decision was in this situation.

So, since Netflix’s stock price was currently low, why didn’t DS Capital directly buy Netflix’s outstanding shares on the stock market?

There was, of course, a reason for this.

When Netflix went public, the initial public offering price of its stock was 15 dollars, with a market capitalization of 450 million dollars.

But now, its stock price had once fallen below 5 dollars, reaching a historical low of 4.83 dollars. Even now, after DS Capital had bought a large number of Netflix shares, its stock price was only just over 6 dollars – and later slightly decreased again.

The problem was that Netflix didn’t have many outstanding shares to begin with, and those who were willing to sell their shares had already done so – most of them were acquired by DS Capital.

There weren’t many Netflix shares available on the secondary market, and in this situation, if DS Capital bought a few more, its stock price would immediately be driven up very high.

So, if they wanted to hold more shares of Netflix, they could only do so by directly investing in the company and obtaining its shares through a private placement.

Daisy also mentioned that when DS Capital had previously increased its holdings of Netflix stock, they had triggered the 5% threshold, which had already alerted Netflix.

Although they had said at the time that it was just a financial investment and they had no intention of acquiring Netflix.

But if they continued to increase their holdings of Netflix shares now, Hastings would also worry that DS Capital had more ambitious goals.

In this situation, if they wanted Hastings to agree to issue shares to DS Capital, they needed to reassure him – essentially, by giving up the voting rights of the shares, and simply being a financial investment.

In addition, they needed to consider what Hastings said, “to give him a reasonable price”!

“Agree to it, Daisy.”

Barron’s decision didn’t surprise Daisy. Before she came to the United States, they had discussed this strategy for Netflix.

“So, what price do we offer them?”

“You tell Mr. Hastings that I can accept their private placement shares at a price of 10 dollars per share. Now we need to know how much capital he wants.”

“10 dollars, that’s much higher than Netflix’s current stock price of around 6 dollars!”

Facing Daisy’s question, Barron said calmly:

“That’s not the point, Daisy. We are making a long-term investment in them. I’m optimistic about Netflix.”

Anyway, Barron knew that by the end of this month, Netflix’s stock would recover and rise above 10 dollars.

At that time, they probably still wouldn’t be able to buy many Netflix shares at that price. It would be better to obtain shares directly from their private placement.

After Barron gave the go-ahead, Daisy negotiated with Hastings again, and finally confirmed:

DS Capital would inject 21 million dollars into Netflix and obtain 2.1 million shares of Netflix through a private placement at 10 dollars per share.

After the investment, DS Capital would hold a total of 4.686 million shares of Netflix, accounting for 14.6% of the company’s total shares.

It could be said that Daisy’s main purpose for going to the United States this time had been achieved. As for the other purpose, it was rejected.

Originally, Barron had also asked her to ask Google if they needed financing, but they were rejected without hesitation, and she didn’t even get to see their founders…

Barron had anticipated this, and could only say that he was still too late.

Google was born in 1998, and initially only accepted a 100,000 dollars investment from private individuals.

In the following year, June 7, 1999, Google conducted a new round of financing. It could be said that this financing created a record – not because of the amount of financing, but because they obtained 25 million dollars in financing from KPCB and Sequoia Capital, two of the most famous venture capital firms in Silicon Valley at the time.

These two top VC firms had been fiercely competing, and had never invested in the same company before, which showed how important Google was in their eyes.

In the original timeline, this was also Google’s only round of financing before going public. With the protection of these two top VC firms, Google successfully went public in 2004, beginning its history as an internet giant.

…

Of course, even in Britain, DS Capital wasn’t particularly well-known at the time, let alone in the United States across the ocean. Being rejected by Google wasn’t that surprising.

As the saying goes, “lose in the east, gain in the west.” Although the idea of investing in Google was temporarily unfeasible, in China, Amber brought good news: Mr. Li, the boss of Baidu, had agreed to their investment.

Previously, Baidu had only conducted two rounds of financing, in February and September of 2000, with financing amounts of 1.2 million dollars and 10 million dollars, respectively.

In the September 2000 financing, DFJ and IDG, two investment firms, purchased 9.6 million shares of Series B convertible preferred stock at 1.04 dollars per share.

This time, DS Capital directly increased the price by nearly three times, deciding to purchase 5 million shares of convertible preferred stock at a price of 3 dollars per share, investing a total of 15 million dollars in Baidu.

According to the agreement, when Baidu went public, the convertible preferred stock held by DS Capital could be converted into Baidu’s common stock at a 1:1 ratio.

This was where Mr. Li differed from the other two in BAT. Before the company went public, he only used convertible preferred stock for financing, so that investors couldn’t shake his control of the company.

After going public, Baidu would definitely implement dual-class shares, with B shares having more voting rights, and Mr. Li would still be able to firmly hold the company’s control.

Barron was very satisfied with this result. He knew that when Baidu went public in the US, the initial public offering price of the stock was 27 dollars.

But on the day of the opening, Baidu’s stock opened at a high of 66 dollars, and its closing price that day was even as high as 122.54 dollars!

The preferred stock that DS Capital purchased at 3 dollars per share could be converted into common stock at a 1:1 ratio – a more than 40-fold increase, which was satisfactory enough.

However, the investment in Baidu would also be a long-term investment, because Barron knew that after Google withdrew from the Chinese market, Baidu’s stock price once soared, nearing 700 dollars per share. That would be the best time to reduce their holdings of the stock.

Chapter 127: Distant Relatives

“I have to say, this place is beautifully decorated, darling.”

Hearing Barron’s praise, Bonnie said happily:

“Although it’s not too big, I like it very much. And this location, I believe, will be very well-preserved.”

They were currently in Bonnie’s apartment. When Barron first met Bonnie, she was renting a studio apartment between Kensington and Chelsea. Not long ago, she bought this apartment and, after some decoration, moved in today.

Bonnie’s apartment is located on Old Church Street in the Chelsea district. When Bonnie helped Barron write the novel Downton Abbey, according to their agreement, she would receive one-third of the profits after the novel was published.

And the novel Downton Abbey had already been serialized in the Independent to its third part, and the first part, after being published separately, had also entered the forefront of bestsellers in the UK.

Not only in the UK, but this novel also had good sales in Europe and the United States. Therefore, Bonnie correspondingly received a considerable amount of royalties.

In fact, the price of books in Europe and the United States is still very high, and those best-selling authors also belong to a high-income group. A very typical example is the Harry Potter series of novels, whose author, J. K. Rowling, has a net worth of as high as 280 million pounds, richer than the Queen, thanks to this series of novels.

Of course, the Queen’s property mentioned here refers to her private property, not the royal property.

After receiving royalties of over a million pounds, Bonnie had also asked Barron how to manage her finances. After all, his DS Capital had already gained considerable fame within his small circle, and Bonnie trusted Barron more when it came to investment matters.

Barron’s suggestion to her was to invest in real estate, especially London real estate, which had very high appreciation potential in the future.

It was also because of this that Bonnie spent 800,000 pounds to buy this three-story apartment located in the Chelsea district.

Although Bonnie said that this place was “not too big,” she was comparing it to Barron’s residence and her cousin’s residence. But for ordinary people, this apartment could be said to be many people’s dream.

Chelsea is a well-known affluent area in London. Her apartment has a good location, an elegant environment, and great potential for future appreciation.

Just now, Barron had already toured the apartment.

Entering from the first floor via the stairs, there is a large welcoming living room, with a small and stylish marble kitchen next door.

This apartment is divided into three floors, with a total of three bedrooms, including a suite with an ensuite bathroom on the second floor, offering views of Chelsea.

There are also two more bedrooms and a family bathroom on the top floor.

It can be said that this apartment is very luxurious for personal living.

Just as Barron was talking to Bonnie, the doorbell rang.

“It must be my cousin…”

Bonnie said to Barron when she heard the doorbell, and then went downstairs to open the door.

Sure enough, when Barron also went downstairs to the living room, he saw that behind Bonnie was the Viscountess Booth..

“I shouldn’t be disturbing you, Your Grace.”

Seeing the Viscountess behind Bonnie, the ambiguous look in her eyes when she spoke, Barron touched his nose and said:

“How could that be, Madam? Bonnie told me earlier that she invited you today.”

“This place is very nice, isn’t it?”

Christie took off her coat, revealing her slightly exaggerated curves, and said casually:

“I also told my cousin that this place isn’t far from our house, and I’m waiting for when I can come over and stay with her for a night.”

Hmm? For some reason, Barron thought of the two sisters on one bed… he felt a little excited.

However, seeing the Viscountess’s half-smile look at him, Barron quickly stopped this “divergent thinking” and said:

“If that’s the case, I’m afraid Mr. Booth. would have an opinion.”

“He?”

The Viscountess’s eyes flashed with disdain, but she stopped the topic and turned to another:

“I heard my cousin say that you are planning to go to America recently, is that right? Your Grace.”

“Yes, I received an invitation from the Kennedy family.”

“Really? Jenny and the others also invited us to go to America to play before, but Ian doesn’t have time recently. If Bonnie is going, would it be convenient to take me along?”

When Barron went to China before, he had planned to take Bonnie with him, but she was busy with work at the time and couldn’t spare the time.

This time to America, he also mentioned it to Bonnie, and she agreed.

Now the Viscountess actually took the initiative to say she wanted to go with them. He wondered what she was planning?

But if he were to meet Jenny Booth. and John Smith… he could talk to him about deepening cooperation with the Sinclair Group.

Speaking of which, the relationship between the Devonshire family and the Kennedy family is quite complicated.

You must know that many families in America come from Europe… and often after some families become prosperous, they also like to get involved with European nobles.

For example, the Kennedy family, they have always claimed to be descendants of the Duke of Devonshire. Kennedy is a branch of the Cavendish family that went to America.

The Devonshire family at the time was noncommittal about this statement.

You must know that the Devonshire family has a glorious history in the UK. Barron’s ancestor, William Cavendish, was a Whig who launched the Glorious Revolution in 1688. He was also one of the “Nine Dragons” who wrote a letter of invitation to welcome William III, Prince of Orange, to the UK to take the throne.

After the Glorious Revolution succeeded, William Cavendish was therefore promoted to Duke of Devonshire.

Among the direct descendants of the Devonshire Dukes, there have been British Prime Ministers, Governors-General of Canada, scientists, and the Chancellor of Cambridge University. It can be said that the direct descendants of the Devonshire family, at least in a certain field, all have a certain ability.

The second generation of the Kennedy family, Joseph P. Kennedy Sr., once served as the American Ambassador to the UK, which was during World War II…

It was also at that time that Joseph P. Kennedy Sr.’s second daughter, that is, the sister of the later American President—Kathleen Kennedy, met William Cavendish, the eldest son of the 10th Duke of Devonshire, in the UK. The two fell in love and eventually married.

However, Barron does not have Kennedy blood, because William Cavendish, who married the Kennedy daughter, died in September 1944 on the front lines in Belgium.

And Barron’s grandfather, the eleventh Duke of Devonshire, was William Cavendish’s younger brother, who inherited the family after his brother died on the front lines of World War II.

To this day, Kathleen Kennedy is buried with William Cavendish in the Devonshire family cemetery.

So, the Kennedy family can also be regarded as distant relatives of the Devonshire family.

Chapter 128: The Cursed Family

Speaking of which, there are many legends about the Kennedy family. The most popular one is that this family seems to be cursed, with many family members dying unnatural deaths.

We all know that the Kennedy family produced a great president of the United States, that is, John F. Kennedy, the second son of Joseph P. Kennedy Sr.

But what many people don’t know is that John F. Kennedy’s elder brother, that is, Joseph P. Kennedy Sr.’s eldest son, Joseph P. Kennedy Jr., was an American pilot during World War II.

In 1944, he was ordered to bomb the Nazi German V-1 missile launch pads, but due to aircraft malfunction, the plane he was piloting exploded over England, and ultimately, not even his remains were found.

This was the first member of the Kennedy family to die an unnatural death.

Next was Kathleen Kennedy Cavendish, who was married to the eldest son of the tenth Duke of Devonshire. She died in a plane crash in 1948 while flying to France.

And John F. Kennedy’s death is very famous.

He was assassinated in 1963, during the third year of his presidency.

In the same year, John F. Kennedy’s youngest son died of a respiratory illness.

In addition, Robert F. Kennedy, who served as the U.S. Attorney General – he was the son of John F. Kennedy’s elder brother – was shot and killed in Los Angeles while running for president.

Robert F. Kennedy’s younger brother, Senator Edward Kennedy, was involved in a car accident in Massachusetts.

In the original timeline, before Barron’s rebirth, the entire Kennedy family had already experienced eleven unnatural deaths!

Such a thing, happening frequently in such a family, can be said to be very rare.

Therefore, many people call the Kennedy family the “cursed family.”

And there are also many people who believe that these frequent “accidents” are mostly man-made, the reason being that this family offended the Jewish forces in the United States – after the Cuban Missile Crisis, John F. Kennedy’s reputation soared, so he decided to promote the Silver Purchase Act, linking the dollar to silver, and at the same time, wresting the federal government’s coinage and issuance rights from the Federal Reserve, which was controlled by the financial groups.

His actions naturally harmed the Jewish groups, including the Rothschild family, and therefore, he was ultimately “liquidated.”

Of course, the truth behind this has not yet been revealed, and exists only in speculation.

And the Kennedy family has never given up on investigating this matter.

The Kennedy family’s invitation was just a pretext for Barron’s decision to go to the United States.

Whether it’s future investments in some industries in the United States, especially the internet industry, or cooperation with some companies there, he hopes to lay a foundation through this trip to the United States.

In addition, even though the Kennedy family has declined greatly compared to its former glory, their foundation in the United States still exists. Through the other party’s connections, Barron can also open up the situation in the United States more smoothly.

He also knows that any cooperation requires mutual benefit, including with the Sinclair family, and it also takes time to form an alliance of interests.

……

Although she said she was “disturbing” Barron and Bonnie, after having dinner with them at Bonnie’s new home, Chrissy left, giving the couple a private space.

The next morning, a Rolls-Royce arrived on time under the apartment building, picking up Barron to go to the Freemasons’ Hall at 60 Great Queen Street, Covent Garden, London.

In many pulp novels, the mysterious legends of the “Freemasons” and the “Illuminati,” as well as related conspiracy theories about “ruling the world,” are very popular.

This also stems from the fact that the Freemasons exist as a “secret society,” do not disclose themselves to the public, and many Freemason members are extremely powerful, or very outstanding in certain fields.

In fact, although this organization is “mysterious,” it is not as terrible as those conspiracy theories say.

Relatively speaking, the Freemasons’ organization is not too rigorous, it can be said to be a bit loose – it originally developed from a “guild,” but because it was originally a “secret society,” joining it still had relatively high barriers, so it also has relatively large energy, otherwise it wouldn’t attract so many people who want to join.

Yes, in the earliest days, to join the Freemasons, one must have a certain status.

But now, ordinary people can also join the Freemasons, and the threshold is not particularly difficult:

Over 20 years old, believes in some kind of theistic religion, and is recommended to join by two Freemason members.

The Freemasons were first founded in England, and now there are Freemason organizations all over the world – but although the Freemasons’ Hall in London is the earliest Freemason headquarters, but… it has no jurisdiction over Freemason organizations in other countries…

To put it bluntly, although they are all called Freemasons, they will have contact with each other, but the Freemasons around the world are not the relationship between a headquarters and branch offices, but are relatively independent of each other.

This time Barron came here, naturally, was to join the Freemasons.

The Freemasons’ Hall is surrounded by streets on three sides, and it looks quite imposing, but the Jewish-element decorations in it made Barron feel a little uncomfortable, especially the Star of David on the door…

“Barron, let’s go in.”

When Barron walked into the door, he saw the Prince of Wales and the Duke of Westminster – these two were the recommenders for Barron to join the Freemasons, and they could be considered very heavyweight recommendations.

“I thought I was going to join Judaism…”

Pointing at the Star of David on the door, Barron shrugged and said with a smile to the Crown Prince.

“Haha, actually I don’t like the decorations here either, so I rarely come here.”

Of course, although many of the British monarchs are Freemason members – this does not include the current Queen, because in the 300-year history of the Freemasons, the first 200 years did not accept women, so Her Majesty the Queen did not join – but they don’t necessarily treat the Jews with much favor either.

After all, the Jews in England originally helped the royal nobles with investment and financial management, but it was only later that times changed, and they had greater power.

Speaking of which, Barron joined the Freemasons, on the one hand, because His Royal Highness the Crown Prince mentioned this matter to him, and although it can’t be said that joining the Freemasons can immediately provide tremendous help, it can at least increase a lot of connections; on the other hand, he had heard rumors about how awesome the Freemasons were in his previous life, and Barron was somewhat curious about this.

“Didn’t they say there were no requirements for religious beliefs? It seems I won’t come here often either.”

The other two only smiled at Barron’s complaints.

As everyone knows, the Devonshire family has always been a supporter of the Church of England, and has no fondness for Judaism and Catholicism.

That Miss Kathleen Kennedy was disliked by the Devonshire family because she was a Catholic, and she went through many twists and turns before marrying William Cavendish.

It is said that the Freemasons will conduct a review of membership applications, and this review can take anywhere from six months to several years.

But this is for ordinary people – after all, the higher the threshold, the more mysterious it is.

But for Barron, who was recommended by two high-ranking figures, and who was himself a Duke, the Freemasons in England were very easy to talk to. After signing the papers, he became a full member of the Freemasons.

Chapter 129: Arriving in Boston

“So, you can tell me now, our ultimate goal is to rule the world, right?”

Upon hearing Barron’s words, the Crown Prince’s expression turned serious:

“Barron, you shouldn’t say these things here…”

“Yes, revealing the Freemasons’ highest secrets will bring unanimous retaliation from members worldwide.”

The Duke of Westminster patted Barron on the shoulder, saying so.

But in the next second, both of them couldn’t help but laugh:

“This conspiracy theory is really unoriginal, Barron.”

The Duke of Westminster shrugged and said:

“In fact, those legends about the Freemasons, the Freemasons themselves, anti-Freemasons, conspiracy theorists, and the mass media don’t necessarily believe them, but they reach an understanding to achieve their respective goals, and are happily hyping it up, making the public believe in the myth that a small group of conspirators is manipulating the course of world history. In short, it’s all very interesting, isn’t it?”

“Yes, there are always people who enjoy this.”

Barron stroked the exquisitely crafted Freemason emblem in his hand, and said with a smile:

“Besides, I thought I would experience those mysterious initiation rituals in the rumors, such as being blindfolded and entering a secret room to be questioned…”

“Haha, this kind of ostentatious thing may increase the sense of mystery for ordinary people, but for us, it’s a bit too childish.”

Next, the Crown Prince had other activities to attend, so they parted at the entrance of the Freemason’s hall.

“Frank, let’s go to Lloyd’s Building.”

“Yes, Your Grace.”

Now driving for Barron was no longer Ramos. Ramos, who had previously been Barron’s personal valet and driver, had been promoted.

Because Barron’s residence in London had expanded in scale, Ramos, who had always been by his side and gained his trust, was promoted to the butler of his London residence after returning to Chatsworth House and receiving “training” from the head butler, Sean.

So Barron hired Frank Water, a top security personnel who had once served in the United Kingdom’s most elite special forces—the Special Air Service (SAS), and had professional experience at the top security company G4S, as his driver and bodyguard.

Lloyd’s Building in the City of London is the location of DS Capital.

However, in addition to DS Capital, the family trust fund at this time, as well as some of its industries, had relocated their London offices here.

This was also a decision made because Barron stayed in London longer, to facilitate his management of the industries under his name.

“The Duke’s Select Supermarket has already opened three stores. In addition to preparing for new stores, we are also building a cold storage and cold chain logistics system in London.”

Here, Barron and Julia listened to the person in charge of DSM (Duke’s Select Supermarket) introducing the current development of this high-end organic supermarket chain:

“The grades of food can be divided into three types: pollution-free food, green food, and organic food. The most significant difference between organic food and pollution-free food and green food is that the former absolutely prohibits the use of pesticides, chemical fertilizers, herbicides, synthetic pigments, hormones and other synthetic substances in its production and processing; the latter allows the limited use of these substances. Therefore, the production of organic food is much more difficult than other foods, requiring the establishment of a completely new production system, and the adoption of corresponding alternative technologies. Our farm located at Chatsworth House has completely reached the organic standard, and all DSM products must have an organic label.”

“Can you guarantee at least five DSM stores opening in the London area before the end of the year?”

“No problem, Your Grace. The other two DSM stores have been confirmed and are being renovated. They can definitely open before the end of the year. By then, DSM will be able to cover all the affluent areas of London.”

…

The first stop in the United States, Barron’s flight landed in Boston, the capital of Massachusetts.

It has to be said that the two experiences of leaving the UK to go overseas gave Barron the idea of buying a private jet—whether it was going from London to China or this time to the United States, the journey was a bit long, and when Barron traveled, there was always a whole team serving him, this necessity became even more obvious.

Generally speaking, the Kennedy family can be regarded as part of the Boston financial group.

The Boston financial group is one of the oldest monopoly financial groups in the United States, which is composed of several families in the Boston area.

These families have intermarried for generations and invested the accumulated huge funds in commercial banks, insurance companies, and investment companies.

In 1859, these families in Boston founded the First National Bank of Boston, and with this as the core, formed the Boston financial group.

In 1903, after merging with the Massachusetts Bank, it was still called the First National Bank of Boston, which was the earliest multinational bank in the United States.

In addition to banks, the Boston financial group also owns four famous insurance companies, and they invest in and operate light textile industries such as textiles, food, and chemicals through these financial institutions.

Since the 1950s, they have used the scientific research results of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to shift their development direction from light textile industries to electronics, optics, and missiles. For example, Textron, which has more than seventy subsidiaries, manufactures aerospace products, various electronic components, aircraft components, and also operates industries such as furniture, clocks, and poultry.

The Bell Helicopter Company, controlled by the financial group, is one of the world’s major helicopter manufacturers, manufacturing helicopters for the Pentagon and foreign countries.

Raytheon is the third-largest arms dealer in the United States, and the world’s largest radar and missile manufacturer.

Among the families that make up the Boston financial group, the most famous are the Adams family and the Kennedy family.

The Adams family, at the beginning of the founding of the United States, the two fathers and sons of the family successively became the presidents of the United States, and they were also the first pair of father-son presidents in the history of the United States.

And the Kennedy family goes without saying. After John F. Kennedy became the 35th president of the United States, the family reached its peak.

“Welcome to Boston, Your Grace.”

Greeting Barron and his party at the airport was Caroline Kennedy. She was 45 years old this year, but still looked graceful:

“My uncle and family are waiting for you at the seaside villa.”

Caroline Kennedy can be said to be one of the most popular people in the Kennedy family by Americans. After all, she was once a “princess”—the daughter of the 35th President of the United States, John F. Kennedy, and First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy.

When she was a little girl, because of her father’s identity as president, she received national attention and was called “the nation’s darling.”

And the uncle she mentioned was John F. Kennedy’s younger brother—Edward Kennedy, the youngest of John F. Kennedy’s nine siblings, and also the “support” of the Kennedy family in politics at this time.

The seaside villa mentioned by Caroline is located on a 0.8-hectare property on Cape Cod, a main house of a collection of buildings, which is also the place where the Kennedy family used to gather most often.

Here, Barron met the current head of the Kennedy family, Edward Kennedy.

Chapter 130: Mr. Bodybuilding

To welcome the Duke of Devonshire, the Kennedy family’s reception was very grand, with almost all family members attending.

This included Kathleen Kennedy. Her father was Robert Kennedy, who once served as the United States Attorney General. She had also entered politics and previously served as the Lieutenant Governor of Maryland, the first female Lieutenant Governor of the state, and ran for Governor of Maryland this year.

Unfortunately, Kathleen Kennedy was unsuccessful in the election in the first half of this year.

It can be said that even though the family had frequent mishaps, the Kennedy family was still thriving. The reason was simple: they were very fertile.

Like the previous generation’s President Kennedy, he had nine siblings; and his younger brother, Robert Kennedy, was even more impressive—the now fifty-year-old Kathleen Kennedy had a full eleven siblings…

Moreover, the Kennedy family had a tradition of “we can still be friends after a breakup”…

This meant that all former partners of Kennedy family members, including those who had had a physical relationship, could still be around the Kennedy family members after they got married, and some “exes” were even treated as family members by the family.

This led to a truly considerable number of people attending this year’s welcome banquet. Even with Barron’s excellent memory, it took him some effort to sort out the relationships between these people.

“Hello, Terminator… Haha, Mr. Schwarzenegger, I’ve seen many of your movies…”

Here, Barron also met what should be the most well-known Kennedy family member among the public—Arnold Schwarzenegger, and his wife, Maria Shriver.

As the son-in-law of the Kennedy family, Schwarzenegger also came to this banquet. His wife Maria’s mother was President Kennedy’s sister.

“Hello, Your Grace, it’s a great honor to meet you.”

Barron chatted a bit more with Schwarzenegger. It seemed that this “Mr. Bodybuilding” was going to start running for Governor of California next year. He wondered if he already had the idea of entering politics.

You know, Hollywood is in California, and Barron’s business also involves film and entertainment, so he could get familiar with this future governor in advance.

“Thank you for today’s hospitality, Mr. Kennedy.”

“I am very pleased to meet you, Your Grace. Our family has many ties with the Devonshire family. I hope you enjoy your time in the United States this time.”

The person Barron could directly address as Mr. Kennedy was naturally the Kennedy family’s evergreen in politics, and also the Kennedy family’s biggest reliance at this time—Edward Kennedy.

Although in politics, he was not as successful as his two older brothers, one a President, the other an Attorney General…

In fact, he had once had the opportunity. In 1969, Edward Kennedy was elected as the Senate Democratic Whip, and he had the hope of becoming a hot candidate for the 1972 presidential election.

But an accident that happened in July 1969 ruined his future.

One night, he was driving with the beautiful blonde Miss Kopechne back to the hotel, and the car plunged into the river while crossing a small bridge.

Edward escaped, but the girl died in the car, and Edward’s reporting of the incident was also very untimely.

This incident damaged the Kennedy family’s reputation and forced Edward to give up running for president.

It has to be said that when it comes to being a playboy, the Kennedy family is truly of the same lineage…

At this time, Edward Kennedy held several positions in the Senate and still had extremely strong connections, which was what Barron needed for his investments in the United States.

It could be said that this time, by accepting the Kennedy family’s invitation, the other party gained some prestige—after all, three years ago, after the accidental plane crash of John F. Kennedy Jr., the family’s most politically promising young member, the younger generation of family members, including Kathleen Kennedy, who had lost in the gubernatorial election this time, were not outstanding enough in their political skills.

At this time, establishing a connection with the Duke of Devonshire would help their family’s reputation among young people.

After all, Barron was not only young and handsome, but also a duke. In addition, his involvement in the creation of Downton Abbey was also quite popular in the United States, and he had a high profile among young people, especially young women.

Through cooperation, Barron could get the Kennedy family’s support in terms of connections, and the other party could gain the popularity provided by Barron. It could be said that they each got what they needed.

When welcoming Barron this year, the Kennedy family put on a grand show, and with family members gathering in Boston, the relevant reports had already appeared on the internet and television programs.

“Mr. Kennedy, I also hope to have the opportunity to host you at Chatsworth House, with the most solemn British etiquette.”

“Then I am very much looking forward to it, Your Grace. Speaking of which, I haven’t seen my sister for a long time. Whenever I think of the deceased relatives, I always feel sad.”

He was talking about Kathleen Kennedy Cavendish, who was buried in the Devonshire family cemetery.

After staying in Boston for two days, and being entertained by the Kennedy family members, Barron took Bonnie and the two of them to tour around Boston before they went to New York to meet with Chrissy there.

After arriving in the United States, the Viscountess did not go to Boston with them, but went directly to New York to visit the Sinclair family.

The Sinclair family had a sizable estate on Long Island, New York, where Jenny Booth. and John Smith were currently living.

This was also Barron’s first time in New York in this lifetime. In his previous life, when he came to New York, he had also passed by those luxurious estates in the Long Island area. However, at that time, these were all out of his reach. Many of the estates here were priced at tens of millions of dollars, and even super mansions worth hundreds of millions.

But now, when faced with these, Barron could completely maintain a calm state of mind. After all, these mansions he saw were all within his reach if he wanted to buy them.

And compared to them, how could these so-called “mansions” compare to the luxury of Chatsworth House, which had a history of more than three hundred years and had undergone careful repairs and designs by successive owners?

“Did you have a good time in Boston?”

After meeting, Bonnie and Chrissy gave each other a warm hug. It could be seen that the two sisters indeed had a very good relationship.

“It was not bad, although I’m still a little bit unaccustomed to the style here in the United States…”

Hearing her words, Jenny Booth. said with a smile:

“I understand you, Bonnie. That’s how I was when I first came to New York. Compared to us Brits, the young people here in the United States seem a little too lively…”

But after saying this, she turned her head to look at John Smith beside her, shrugged her shoulders, and said:

“Of course, that doesn’t include John. When I first met him, I thought he was a bookworm.”

“Honey, you’re making me a little sad…”

“Don’t you know? That’s also why I like you.”

Jenny’s words fell, and Barron, Bonnie, and Chrissy looked at each other…

Well, this dog food came a little unexpectedly.

Chapter 131: Exchanging Shares?

“Look at the size of the fish I caught!”

“It’s a black sea bass, tastes good, looks like we’ll have a nice dinner tonight.”

Seeing Chrissy’s excited expression, Jenny said with a smile.

In their Long Island estate, there was a small dock where they could directly take a yacht out to sea.

John Smith’s yacht was already considered a mid-sized yacht, very spacious, so that afternoon, they took Barron and the other three out for a fishing trip.

Compared to London, the climate here on Long Island was much milder, but by November, it was impossible to wear swimsuits…

Generally speaking, fishing was also a sport highly favored by the nobility—sea fishing was also called offshore golf. In Britain, sea fishing had a history of over a hundred years, and it was listed as one of the four major aristocratic sports along with golf, equestrianism, and tennis, and was highly favored.

Of course, this was also understandable, because no matter what era, a boat that could go out to the open sea was expensive, and ordinary people found it difficult to maintain such a hobby.

The people on the boat now all had experience in sea fishing—even Barron, because after coming to this time and space, he had been “busy with making a living” and didn’t have as much leisure time as many nobles, but in his previous life, he had also participated in sea fishing a few times.

However, the most skilled in sea fishing here was still John Smith. It was said that his biggest hobby was sea fishing—Jenny Booth. had some criticism of this. He knew very well the locations near Long Island where fish were most abundant, and the distribution areas of various fish species.

“What’s wrong, darling, you don’t look well?”

“I’m fine, I don’t know if it’s seasickness, I feel a little dizzy and nauseous…”

Speaking, Bonnie “vomited” and covered her mouth.

Her performance also caught Jenny Booth’s attention:

“Bonnie, if you’re not feeling well, go to the bedroom in the cabin to rest first, we’ll be back soon, and I’ll have the doctor come and take a look.”

“It’s just a little seasick…”

Although she said so, Barron still insisted on taking her back to the cabin.

By now, their harvest was quite rich, so after Bonnie felt unwell, they started to head back.

When they returned to the estate, Jenny had already found their private doctor to examine Bonnie—she had gone to the bedroom to rest after returning to the estate.

The problem wasn’t big. According to the doctor, she was a little dizzy and nauseous, accompanied by symptoms of diarrhea, which was likely a mild case of gastroenteritis. Taking some medicine would quickly make her feel better.

This also made Barron understand that, according to the Chinese saying, Bonnie was a little “unacclimatized.” This was her first time in America, and for some people with sensitive constitutions, factors such as climate, food, and environment could affect the bacteria in their bodies, thus causing this situation.

Since that was the case, he relaxed and took care of Bonnie after she took her medicine, letting her lie down and rest well.

“How is it? Do you need to go to the hospital to have a look?”

After seeing Bonnie close her eyes and prepare to rest, Barron and Chrissy came out of her bedroom and happened to meet Jenny Booth, who asked with concern.

“It’s not a big problem, it’s just that she’s not used to the living habits here in America, she’ll be fine after a day of rest.”

“Oh, poor Bonnie, I was originally going to ask you all to go to Avalon Hollywood in Los Angeles tonight, it’s a new nightclub that just opened this year, I’ve been there once, it’s amazing.”

This was the life of rich Americans. When they felt like it, they could directly take their private plane and fly from the East Coast to the West Coast, just to go to a nightclub.

But because of Bonnie, this plan could only be postponed.

After all, they couldn’t just leave her here and then go to Los Angeles to have a good time.

“Mrs. Booth, and Miss Jenny, you can go first, I’ll stay and keep Bonnie company.”

Seeing a look of regret flash in Chrissy’s eyes, Barron spoke.

“Forget it, we’ll be here for a few more days, there will always be a chance.”

…

“In fact, Your Grace, I have an idea, which is to have Sinclair Group and your Standard Entertainment Group reach a closer cooperation, so that we can fully support your broadcast content on the television channel business. Sinclair Group has extremely rich experience in television station operations and can become SEM Group’s most ideal partner.”

In the garden at night, it was a little chilly. Barron wore a trench coat and, under the guidance of John Smith, was touring the place.

It was obvious that everything in this estate had been carefully designed and maintained, and it was not inferior to the back garden of Chatsworth.

When the two talked about the cooperation between SDTV and Sinclair Group, John Smith took the initiative to bring up his new idea.

“You mean?”

“If possible, Sinclair Group can invest in SEM Group. Of course, if it’s an exchange of shares, we are also willing to issue new shares to exchange for SEM Group’s shares…”

John Smith’s words made Barron think.

First of all, SEM Group included Summit Media and Independent Newspapers. Based on their current situation, the valuation that Sinclair Group would give wouldn’t be too high.

And Sinclair Group, although they currently operated a large number of television stations, but in terms of the group’s market value, just investing wouldn’t bring much high returns.

Currently, Sinclair Group’s total market value was around 2 billion US dollars, and ten years later, when its market value was relatively high, it would only be 2.5 billion US dollars—even though they later had the move of acquiring many local television stations for billions of dollars, it was mostly through financing, and their own debt was extremely high.

Barron believed that he could manage SEM Group into one of the giants in the British media industry, but from Sinclair Group’s perspective, SEM Group at this time was still very immature. They were probably more inclined to view this investment from the perspective of “venture capital.”

Thus, this proposal of the other party was, for Barron, both beneficial and detrimental.

The benefit was that SEM Group could obtain more resource support from Sinclair Group, which would help them develop SDTV as quickly as possible.

But the disadvantages were also obvious. In this investment, Sinclair Group would gain huge benefits, and if they exchanged shares, Barron would definitely not have too much financial gain, the only thing was to increase his influence in Sinclair Group—that also required him to hold more than 5% of the other party’s shares to have an impact.

“I need to remind you that our SEM Group holds 60% of the shares in Digital UK, and according to the agreement, we need to invest no less than 300 million pounds in it within five years for the promotion of terrestrial digital television…”

Hearing Barron’s words, John Smith looked quite surprised:

“How is SEM Group going to come up with this money? Borrow from the bank?”

“So this requires my additional capital injection, because based on SEM Group’s revenue, it’s still very difficult to come up with this money on its own.”

Barron’s implication was very clear, that is, if Sinclair Group wanted to invest in SEM Group and become its shareholder, then they also needed to bear the responsibility of investing 300 million pounds for Digital UK…

Chapter 132: Going with the Flow

Barron’s intention in saying this was to give the other party the power to choose.

Facing the uncertain future of SDTV, requiring an investment of 300 million pounds over five years from Digital UK was not an easy decision for any company.

Moreover, the Sinclair Group, as a listed company, had a market capitalization of only around 2 billion US dollars at this time.

Speaking of the SEM Group, Barron would eventually need to raise funds or accept investment from other companies. Even without the pressure of funding, he would always need to use these methods to exchange resources, or rather, to gain more allies.

As long as it was handled properly, it would not affect the Devonshire family’s control of the company.

Just like the Sinclair Group, even though it had become a listed company and its shares were very dispersed, the Sinclair family’s control over the company was still solid.

The founder of a company releases shares either to seek funds or to seek resources.

Without affecting his own control over the company, if someone was willing to share the pressure of the initial capital investment, Barron wouldn’t necessarily refuse entirely.

“As shares to maintain our cooperative relationship, we don’t need too much, 10%-20% of the shares would be enough. In exchange, we are also willing to issue no more than 8.5 million shares of the Sinclair Group to you.”

Currently, the Sinclair Group’s total share capital was around 85 million shares, meaning they could allow Barron to hold less than 10% of the group’s shares, which would still make him a major shareholder – however, whether Barron was willing to spend the money to fully purchase these newly issued shares was not within the other party’s consideration.

Barron had checked that the Sinclair Group’s current stock price was around 24 US dollars, so fully purchasing its shares would require approximately 200 million US dollars.

He believed that if he hadn’t brought up the need for a large investment in Digital UK, John Smith probably wouldn’t have wanted only 10%-20% of the SEM Group’s shares. It was this matter that made the other party “cautious” about holding shares in the SEM Group.

“I can basically agree with this approach, but I will send someone to discuss the specific operational methods with you.”

In fact, now was not the best time for the SEM Group to raise funds because the development prospects of terrestrial digital television were still unclear. In addition, the global hit drama “Downton Abbey” had not yet been broadcast. Therefore, the valuation that the SEM Group could get would definitely not satisfy Barron.

But these were all negotiable. Anyway, it was only half a month until “Downton Abbey” finished filming and was broadcast.

Their negotiations for mutual shareholding would probably take at least half a month, especially if Barron delayed things a little.

……

“Are you still awake, Barron?”

The sound of Chrissy’s voice brought Barron back from his thoughts about the Sinclair Group’s cooperation.

Turning his head to look, Barron saw the Viscountess standing at the top of the stairs, wearing a slightly loose long dress.

“I just went back and saw Bonnie was already asleep, and didn’t want to disturb her, so I came here to sit for a while.”

In the manor, there was a small villa specifically for guests to stay in, and Barron and his party were staying there.

“I was just thinking of going to see her again, but I won’t go now, lest I wake her.”

As she spoke, the Viscountess walked to Barron’s side.

When Barron looked up and met her gaze, he found that her eyes seemed to speak, and the meaning within them…

The Viscountess knelt down in front of Barron, looking up at him with a somewhat dazed expression.

When the hands she had placed on the Duke’s thighs began to move restlessly…

Barron took a deep breath and said softly:

“Do you want to do it here, Chrissy…”

“Are you scared?”

Faced with the Viscountess’s slightly provocative words, Barron smiled slightly:

“How about going to Bonnie’s place?”

“I’m actually looking forward to it. Are you really dare?”

Answering her, Barron directly lifted the Viscountess around her waist and onto his shoulder, then walked towards his and Bonnie’s bedroom.

Seeing that the young Duke really did this, as they approached the bedroom door, the Viscountess finally became a little panicked. She lowered her voice and said with some impatience:

“Go, go to my room…”

“Actually, I’d rather try the balcony…”

……

“Bonnie, how are you feeling today?”

The next morning, at breakfast, Jenny Booth. came to their villa and asked warmly when she saw Bonnie sitting at the table.

“Thank you, Jenny, I’m feeling much better.”

“That’s really great. Your complexion does look much better than yesterday. We can go shopping together this afternoon. There are a few stores on Fifth Avenue that I think are great.”

As she spoke, Jenny Booth. looked at Barron:

“Your Grace, would you like to come with us?”

Uh, for this question, as a man, one would probably subconsciously avoid accompanying women to go shopping:

“Dear Jenny, I’ve already promised John that I would visit the Sinclair Group with him, so…”

“Alright, you men are always so boring.”

This was not an excuse. Yesterday, Barron had agreed with John on today’s itinerary.

Mainly, he didn’t have too many impressions of the programs owned by the Sinclair Group, so he was still hoping that during today’s visit, he might find some inspiration from his past life memories that could help him achieve a better cooperative outcome.

In addition, after visiting the Sinclair Group, John Smith would also take Barron to meet some of his friends, who were also members of American business families.

This time, John Smith didn’t talk much about the cooperation with the SEM Group. After determining the general direction, the rest of the matter would be left to their subordinates to “haggle”. They would naturally not do this kind of thing themselves.

However, in the end, their previously mentioned trip to the Avalon Hollywood nightclub in Los Angeles did not happen.

Because there were matters in London that needed to be dealt with, and the Viscountess also received a call from Viscount Booth, it seemed there was something as well, so they only stayed in New York for two days before they took a plane back to London.

“Your Grace, this is the information on the ‘Imperial Shield’ military company, as well as relevant information on its founder, Maven Coy.”

In the intelligence team’s office, Nigel Inkster handed a relatively thick folder to Barron.

After opening it and glancing through it, Barron said:

“Give me a brief introduction.”

“‘Imperial Shield’ military company was founded three years ago and currently has about 200 employees, which is a relatively small scale among private military companies…”

Nigel said:

“Large-scale private military companies, such as the well-known Blackwater, have as many as 20,000 employees, enough to overthrow the governments of some small countries. While ‘Imperial Shield’ doesn’t have a large number of employees, its personnel are quite elite. Most importantly, according to our investigation, this company currently has no affiliated groups or forces, and was completely developed by Maven Coy and a few friends.”

Chapter 133: The Shield of the Empire

A private military company refers to a private company that specializes in providing armed forces.

It differs from the traditional concept of mercenaries. Its clients may be national departments, government agencies, and their affiliated armies, or international organizations, commercial enterprises, or other non-governmental organizations, providing them with professional military expertise, skills, and various military-related services.

Unlike mercenary organizations, private military companies employ not only combat personnel but also various technical personnel, legal personnel, expert consultants, and other non-combat personnel. The services they can provide have far exceeded the scope of traditional mercenaries.

The military services provided by private military companies are similar to the military tasks performed by national armies or military police, but they are usually carried out on a smaller scale.

Their specific tasks can be summarized into two main categories:

First is military support, such as the collection of military intelligence and the defense of military targets; second is logistics or non-combat operations, such as security, military advisors, and consulting.

Under normal circumstances, private military companies do not directly participate in attacks or defenses, because according to the “concept” in the Geneva Conventions and some explicit articles of different laws, private military personnel participating in attacks on the battlefield can be identified as illegal armed forces and will not be protected by international law.

Just like in the future Iraq War, private military companies, as military contractors, mostly appeared after the war ended. They entered the occupied areas and carried out daily security and defense.

As for “The Shield of the Empire,” according to the data, their main business in Africa is security and helping some local armed forces train their armies.

Relatively speaking, the safety of these tasks is considered to be relatively high—risk is often proportional to reward, so the income of “The Shield of the Empire” is certainly not as high as that of those companies that directly participate in conflicts or even form their own forces to seize mines and other resources.

For this reason, three years after its establishment, the scale of “The Shield of the Empire” is still not large, and its employees mainly come from retired soldiers of the British Army.

After the last conversation with Graf Eaton, the commander of the Worcestershire and Sherwood Foresters Regiment, and learning some information about the “Shield of the Empire” military company from him, Barron secretly had an idea. However, he did not rush to act, but first asked the intelligence team to start collecting information about “The Shield of the Empire” and their founder, Mervyn Coy.

Only after confirming that there were no other forces behind the other party could Barron try to invest in them. His ultimate goal was to have a force that could provide him with security and, by the way, do some things that he was not convenient to do himself.

The saying “a treasure brings its own trouble” applies here. Barron’s future wealth, based on his memories of the future development of the world, can be imagined to be very vast.

But it must also be known that the overall wealth growth of this world is very slow. Basically, if you gain extraordinary benefits, you will naturally touch the cake of some people.

As the saying goes, “stealing someone’s money is like killing their parents.” Even if Barron didn’t steal it, sometimes no one will really reason with you, and some people even feel like they’ve lost out if they earn less.

Moreover, the wealth you possess is itself an original sin, and hatred arises from it.

Even if you are very good friends, when you become successful one day, the other person may feel even more uncomfortable than your enemy.

This is human nature, and one must be on guard.

Moreover, in the future, some of Barron’s investments may even touch the interests of some powerful forces or countries.

If it’s done openly and honestly, with his status and the network of relationships he has built, he wouldn’t be too worried.

But in the dark side of this world, the higher your position, the more you need to understand that the law of the jungle truly exists—and physical destruction is the simplest and most direct means.

Barron returned to London from New York this time ahead of schedule because, after getting the contact information of “The Shield of the Empire” founder Mervyn from Graf Eaton, Barron’s subordinates contacted the other party. Mervyn also learned of Barron’s identity from Graf. He happened to be returning to the UK for business and hoped to have a face-to-face meeting with the Duke of Devonshire.

Now that the investigation results on “The Shield of the Empire” and Mervyn are out, Barron felt relieved and arranged to meet Mervyn Coy at the Devonshire Hotel.

……

“Hello, Your Grace, it’s an honor to meet you.”

“Please, sit down, Colonel Coy.”

Mervyn Coy is 45 years old. Before that, he had nearly 20 years of military experience, which can be seen from his demeanor and bearing, showing the toughness of a soldier.

“I learned from Graf that you donated one million pounds to the Worcestershire and Sherwood Foresters Regiment to help the soldiers. I once served in that unit. Please allow me to thank you on behalf of those young men, Your Grace.”

From Mervyn’s expression, Barron could see that he was not just making polite remarks, but speaking with genuine emotion.

At the same time, the conversation about the Worcestershire and Sherwood Foresters Regiment also brought the two closer at the beginning.

“In fact, I also heard some things about your ‘Shield of the Empire’ from Colonel Eaton, and I am very interested in it. And I know that your scale is not very large, and the reason is also limited by funds. Colonel Coy, can you tell me about the situation of ‘The Shield of the Empire’? I know that you were very highly regarded in the military before. Why did you decide to retire and establish this military company?”

Facing Barron’s questions, Mervyn Coy was also prepared. After all, the general content of their conversation today had been mentioned when they arranged the meeting.

Therefore, he directly said:

“Ten years ago, I participated in the Gulf War as a peacekeeping force. I cannot express in words what I experienced at that time. I can only say that war is very cruel no matter when… I led some young soldiers at the time, and they were all great young men, but after that, some people stayed there forever…”

Mervyn told Barron that at the time, he was sad for his subordinates who died in the war, but after the war ended, he found that sometimes dying in battle was not the worst thing. What was more distressing was that some people survived on the battlefield but could not return to normal life because of that experience.

He had personally seen many people who were once full of love for life but became addicted to alcohol after retiring, and some even took illegal drugs.

To help those people, Mervyn spent a lot of time and money. Some returned to life, but some people could never live like normal people, and even in some stressful situations, they would hurt innocent people.

Finally, he decided to retire and establish the “Shield of the Empire” military company, just to help those soldiers who could no longer return to normal life, to have a place to settle down.

“I also have the idea of helping those people, and that’s why I’m meeting you today, Colonel Coy. What I want to ask is, does your ‘Shield of the Empire’ accept investments?”

From the contact so far, Barron could see that Colonel Mervyn had a strong military style, and in the conversation, he was also very direct and not long-winded.

Therefore, Barron decided to directly state his purpose.

Chapter 134: Insufficient Production Capacity

“We are indeed short on funds, Duke, but I need to ask, what do we need to do after accepting your investment?”

“Business is business, Colonel Koye. I know that the current management of the Imperial Shield isn’t particularly standardized. After my investment, I hope it can be run in a standardized manner, like a large military company such as Blackwater.”

Seeing that Mavin Koye nodded in agreement after hearing these words, he continued:

“I know you want to find a place for those retired young men to show their ambitions. Since this is the case, the Imperial Shield needs to be more standardized in order to last.”

“I can accept this, Duke. In fact, I’ve had this idea for a long time. It’s just that at the beginning, I didn’t have much experience in managing this kind of… company, and I took a lot of detours at first.”

“Of course, my purpose in investing in the Imperial Shield, besides hoping to select some people to increase my security, is also…”

Barron briefly introduced the “London Star” fraud case to Mavin, saying:

“I also hope to select suitable people from the Imperial Shield as field personnel to investigate this case.”

At the beginning, Barron didn’t intend to make too much fanfare within the Imperial Shield.

After all, he would carefully examine the forces he could control.

In fact, after investing in this military company, Barron would send personnel to help Mavin manage the logistics department, and under the guise of investigating the “London Star”, he would draw personnel from the intelligence team into the Imperial Shield. All of this was to further examine this military company.

Ultimately, after discussion, both parties agreed that Barron would inject 10 million pounds into the “Imperial Shield” military company, obtaining 45% of its shares.

These funds would be used to increase the “Imperial Shield’s” equipment and personnel, and expand its business.

Currently, the “Imperial Shield’s” main business is in Africa. Barron reminded Mavin that the United States would likely take military action against Iraq, and Britain would inevitably choose to side with the United States and participate in this strike.

Their goal would definitely be to overthrow Saddam Hussein’s regime, so after this war, their regular army wouldn’t leave too many people there, and they would definitely hire many private military companies to undertake security and maintenance tasks. At that time, it would also be a very good development opportunity for the “Imperial Shield.”

With Barron’s current connections, he couldn’t say how large a share he could get, but helping a private military company the size of the “Imperial Shield” get a piece of the pie was no problem.

……

“What’s affecting the promotion speed of our Freeview platform set-top boxes now is the severe shortage of set-top box production, and we always have to wait for the manufacturers to produce them.”

Brad Price, CEO of Digital UK, complained to Barron:

“In order to install Freeview set-top boxes as quickly as possible, many users who have made appointments choose to pick up the set-top boxes themselves and install them, rather than waiting for the installation personnel to come to their homes. This saves a lot of time, but the problem is that our partners’ production is limited, so the current set-top boxes are in short supply. As of now, the number of users connected to Freeview is less than 20,000…”

Currently, the vast majority of British households use television products based on analog signals.

As a terrestrial digital television platform, if users of analog signal televisions want to watch Freeview, they must use a corresponding decoder to convert its digital signal into an analog signal, which is then received by the television. Therefore, they need the corresponding set-top box for the Freeview platform.

Currently, Digital UK’s policy is to provide set-top boxes to users for free. Users can make an appointment for installation—the technical personnel of Digital UK will come to their homes at the agreed time to install them.

Since the installation of the set-top box is actually very simple, it’s just connecting the set-top box to the signal cable, connecting it to the television, and selecting the corresponding signal source, and then you can watch the television channels on the Freeview platform.

Also, the technical personnel of Digital UK need to make appointments for home installation, so many impatient users directly go to the designated outlets of Digital UK, sign a free rental contract, pay a deposit, and then pick up the set-top box themselves for installation—as long as they follow the diagram in the instructions, basically anyone who isn’t seriously mentally deficient can do a fool-proof installation.

But the problem came again. The set-top box manufacturer for Digital UK is a British local manufacturer, and the other party’s production efficiency is really a bit hard to describe.

So the current situation is that after connecting about 20,000 users, Digital UK doesn’t have any set-top boxes for its own platform in stock!

Every day, Digital UK receives countless calls from users asking when they can get the boxes again, which seriously affects the promotion progress of the Freeview platform.

Since all channels of the BBC have been connected to the Freeview platform, and under Barron’s decision, Digital UK signed a one-year free access contract with ITV in order to give users more program choices on the Freeview platform—during this year, ITV’s channels will be connected to the Freeview platform, and Digital UK will not charge any fees.

Television stations naturally hope that more users will watch their programs, and ITV itself had already connected its own television channels to the previous ITV Digital channels. Therefore, after Digital UK provided the one-year free access to the Freeview platform, ITV’s channels also joined the Freeview platform.

In this way, of the three major television stations in Britain, besides BSkyB, the other two, BBC and ITV, can watch clearer digital television channels on the Freeview platform, so users’ enthusiasm for the Freeview platform was ignited.

Moreover, they can still rent their set-top boxes for free!

There is also a trick here, because each user, when “renting for free” a Freeview platform set-top box, although the rent is free, needs to pay a deposit of 400 pounds for the set-top box.

Don’t think that a deposit of 400 pounds for a set-top box is high. You should know that users who subscribe to Sky Sports channels need to pay 35 pounds per month, which is 420 pounds per year—and this is only the fee for one sports channel of BSkyB…

The deposit for the Freeview platform set-top box is not as high as the annual fee for Sky Sports channels, and this is only a one-time deposit that can be refunded in the end.

On the Freeview platform, you can watch free channels of BBC and ITV, and they are clearer, which makes users respond actively.

Therefore, when 20,000 households connect to the Freeview platform, the deposits collected by Digital UK are as high as 8 million pounds…

If 10 million users connect, then they can collect as much as 4 billion pounds just in deposits!

Although it’s called a deposit, in the early stage, it can already provide Digital UK with a large amount of development funds.

You must know that the pound is continuously depreciating against the US dollar. Let’s just say that if you use such a deposit to exchange for US dollars and just leave it there, it can make Digital UK a lot of money, not to mention the growth of the market value as development funds.

“Haven’t you tried to find other partners to manufacture set-top boxes?”

“We have been looking, but you know, other manufacturers not only offer higher set-top box costs, but the best manufacturers have already signed an exclusive agreement with BSkyB Digital, and we still need time.”

Hearing Brad Price’s words, Barron sighed. It seems that BSkyB’s competition is everywhere.

And compared to Digital UK, a new company, BSkyB is naturally more trusted by those manufacturers.

Chapter 135: Outsourcing

“Since that’s the case, we don’t have to limit ourselves to the UK. We can look for contract manufacturers overseas. The most important thing is speed. The current cost of the set-top box can be completely offset by the customer’s deposit, with some remaining. Therefore, speed is the most crucial factor. We need to seize the UK market in the shortest possible time.”

Barron said in a deep voice to Brad, the CEO of Digital UK.

“But if we go overseas, whether it’s Germany, France, or the United States, they don’t have an advantage in production costs compared to our domestic companies, and we’ll also have to add shipping costs.”

Hearing the other party’s response, Barron said with a smile:

“Don’t just focus on Europe and the Americas. You can look at Asia. Their manufacturing industry is booming right now, and because of their labor cost advantages, even with the addition of sea freight, the cost is much lower than producing it ourselves. I think you can send someone to China, especially the southern region, such as Shenzhen. I’ve been there before; their electronics manufacturing is already very well-established, and the industrial chain is very complete. We can completely find a factory with strong capabilities to be our contract manufacturer.”

“China?”

Brad said with a doubtful expression:

“Their product quality… I’m afraid the failure rate will be too high, which will increase the pressure on our customer service.”

It was normal for Brad to have such a question at this time.

Because during this period, in the eyes of many Europeans and Americans, products from China represented cheapness and poor quality.

Of course, including the former Japan, newly emerging countries would initially follow the route of imitation and cheapness. After accumulating experience and capital, they would then upgrade their industrial chain and eventually complete their transformation.

Just like products from China, twenty years later, they gradually changed the ingrained impressions of many Westerners through their technological content and quality.

“You don’t need to worry about this at all. I hope you’ll send someone to investigate. Don’t come with preconceived notions. As long as their pass rate is within an acceptable range, and the cost is low enough, we can completely replace the set-top box with a new one when a user’s set-top box malfunctions.”

Barron understood that China at this time could completely produce the set-top boxes they needed, and he wasn’t purely driven by his “China complex” from his past life. He was simply considering his own interests. He continued:

“As for the users, we still need to charge a deposit of 400 pounds for the set-top boxes produced domestically. For a set-top box with the same functionality produced in China, we can reduce the deposit to 300 pounds. I believe that as long as it doesn’t affect the use, users will make their own choices.”

“Okay, Your Grace, I will immediately send technicians to China to investigate the factories there, Shenzhen, is that right?”

Since his boss insisted on doing so, Brad wisely agreed.

“Yes, I invested in a company there before, and their founder, Pony, has quite a network there. I’ll give him a call later and ask him to help us introduce a factory with sufficient strength. The most important part of the set-top box, the chip, we can control the quality. After customizing those main components, the Chinese factory can assemble them. There’s absolutely no problem.”

The most important hardware systems of a set-top box are the chips, memory, and modems. Other components, such as various interfaces, power supplies, and the casing, don’t have much technological content.

Therefore, Barron’s idea was that after finding a suitable contract manufacturer, they would standardize the quality system of the other party, and the important components, especially the chips, would be customized by Digital UK from European and American manufacturers. In fact, there wouldn’t be any problems. Moreover, they needed tens of millions of units, and they could completely invest in the other party and take shares to ensure the interests of Digital UK.

The cost of set-top boxes produced in China in this way would probably be 30%-50% lower than those produced domestically, and the output would also be much higher, which was the best choice for Digital UK.

…

“You’re back so early today? No other plans?”

Seeing Bonnie’s half-smiling expression, Barron said seriously:

“I told you, darling, it was just a meal. I even said I wanted to take you with me, but you refused.”

“Isn’t it very inappropriate for me to go with you on a date with a beautiful woman?”

At this moment, Barron knew that what was needed next wasn’t further explanation, but rather using the pursuit of knowledge to prove his innocence…

The results of the Woaw website’s selection at Cambridge University were announced, and the one who received the most likes was a girl named Rena Aaron.

When the staff of the Woaw website asked her what kind of prize she wanted, Rena Aaron said that she only needed a MINI car for her daily commute. In addition, she hoped to have the opportunity to meet the Duke of Devonshire and have dinner together.

The MINI car was a relatively popular model among British girls; it was small and cute. However, even the high-end version was only 25,000 pounds, which was far less than the prize of no more than 50,000 pounds that Barron had promised at the time.

Therefore, her other request was approved by Barron.

Of course, he had also discussed this matter with Bonnie before, and she knew about it from beginning to end.

Although during the dinner, the beautiful woman named Rena Aaron hinted to Barron that she could stay out of the dormitory tonight… but Barron was still very gentlemanly and had the driver take her back to Cambridge from the Devonshire Hotel after dinner.

This was naturally not because Rena Aaron wasn’t beautiful enough. Having won the final victory in the girls’ selection at Cambridge University, Rena Aaron was not only exquisite in her features, but also her figure was very “wow”…

It’s just that although Barron liked beautiful women, he also knew who he could approach and who he needed to be cautious with.

Just like even though he had studied knowledge with the Viscountess and even those actresses, Barron knew that the identity of the other party made it impossible for them to make their affairs public, leaving him unable to save face in the end…

But a girl like Rena Aaron, that wasn’t necessarily the case.

Knowing that he had a girlfriend, she still stuck so close. Was it really just for the “admiration” she said? In terms of judging people, Barron still considered himself to have some experience, stemming from his many experiences in his previous life.

It could be seen that Rena Aaron was a girl with a lot of scheming, and Barron didn’t want to cause trouble for himself.

Moreover, the previous selection of the Woaw website had been called “the Duke’s selection of a concubine” by some gossip tabloids, including The Sun. He couldn’t really give them such a pretext.

After all, in his heart, the value of Woaw was far more important than such a woman.

By now, Woaw had begun to open up registration channels to more British university students.

After this girls’ selection at Cambridge University was over, the next one to be launched would be a girls’ selection covering the entire UK.

From this moment on, the Woaw website would also usher in an explosion in the number of users, starting from the tens of thousands, moving towards hundreds of thousands and even millions.

At the same time, the Woaw website also decided that it would continue to open registration to high school students next year. After the number of registered members on the website exceeded 1 million, it would officially open registration to the entire society.

Chapter 136: Thank You

“How are you feeling now, Ms. Moore?”

“I’m fine, thank you for coming to see me, Your Grace.”

“What I mean is, you shouldn’t have kept this from me…”

“What good would it have done? It’s not something that can be changed.”

Barron personally picked Julia up from the hospital. She had suddenly fainted while working and was found by her secretary, who promptly sent her to the hospital.

It was only at this point that Barron learned Julia suffered from a rare congenital heart disease, inherited from her family.

Normally, she was no different from a healthy person, but there was a very small chance of cardiac arrest, and if not treated in time, it could lead to death.

According to the doctor, this extremely rare condition had a 40% mortality rate before the age of twenty-five, while there was a 60% chance of living beyond forty. The longest recorded lifespan of someone with this disease was 52 years.

“I think you need the best treatment and try to eliminate the hidden dangers…”

“Don’t be so nervous, Your Grace. This is just the first time I’ve experienced such symptoms, and thankfully, I’m at least among the lucky 60%…”

Barron was at a loss for words in response to Julia’s statement.

Before coming here, he had specifically asked the doctor, who also said that, with current medical technology, there was still no effective treatment to eliminate the hidden dangers of Julia’s rare congenital heart disease.

To put it bluntly, those who actually suffered from this disease could only accept that they didn’t know when they would experience cardiac arrest and be watched by the Grim Reaper.

After being discharged from the hospital, Julia immediately returned to work. In response to Barron’s suggestion that she rest more, Julia simply said indifferently:

“I understand my condition better, Your Grace, and because of this condition, I don’t want to waste time.”

Although the various industries under the family’s trust fund each had their own person in charge, Julia still had a lot of work, especially when it came to coordinating between these industries.

For example, the ongoing renovations of Chatsworth Manor and Carling Castle were accompanied by the renovations of the manor hotels and castle hotels belonging to the Cavendish Hotel Group. There was a lot of work involved, requiring Julia to coordinate.

However, on this day, in Julia’s office, Barron “forced” her to leave work on time.

“I still have a few things to take care of, Your Grace.”

“Tomorrow will do. Today is a special day.”

Julia looked up at Barron, and after she remembered today’s date, she suddenly realized.

“You finally remembered, Ms. Moore, happy birthday… although I originally wanted to keep it a secret.”

“So that’s why you came here today, to make me leave work early?”

“It’s already half past seven, Ms. Moore…”

Barron deliberately glanced at his watch and said:

“Although as your boss, I would be very happy to have such a diligent employee, but on a day like today, if you still have to work like this, it would be too inhumane.”

So, in the following, Julia rode in Barron’s car and came with him to the Devonshire Hotel. In the most luxurious private room here, a feast and a birthday cake had been prepared.

“What, what are you thinking about?”

After having dinner together and eating the cake, Barron saw Julia staring at the cake in front of her with a dazed expression and asked aloud.

“Actually, after I turned eighteen, every year’s birthday was spent with the Duke…”

Barron knew that the Duke she was referring to was not him, but his body’s father, the twelfth Duke of Devonshire.

“Actually, in my heart, I treated him like a father. I once thought that if I reached the end of my life, perhaps he would also hold my funeral… but I never thought that he would be before me…”

“So, you didn’t get together with my brother back then, also because of your health…”

“Frankly speaking, I don’t mind having a partner, but I don’t want children because I don’t want future children to suffer from my misfortune. In this case, James was not among my choices, at least I can’t let the Devonshire family lose the next generation of heirs.”

Barron took a small sip of the red wine in his glass and said lightly:

“Sometimes I feel, Ms. Moore, that your sense of mission for the Devonshire family is much stronger than mine.”

“Perhaps at certain times, people always have to find a place to put their faith, especially when your life is more fragile than most people’s.”

Julia’s eyes were fixed on Barron, and a smile appeared on her face:

“I have to say, Your Grace, what you have done for the Devonshire family is beyond my expectations. Perhaps it can be said that even if James were in this position, he might not have done as well as you. I really believe that the Devonshire family can flourish again.”

In fact, for Barron, although he had always verbally said things like “revitalizing the family,” in his heart, he didn’t consider the Devonshire family’s revitalization to be his own ultimate goal.

After all, his own soul came more from his previous life in China, and he didn’t have such a strong sense of belonging to the Devonshire family.

To put it bluntly, it was only because his current identity as a Duke, and the foundation of the Devonshire family, could allow him to benefit more.

Although the current result was that the Devonshire family seemed to have developed greatly, this was only a “byproduct” of Barron’s pursuit of his own interests, not his own ultimate goal.

But at this moment, facing Julia, who was immersed in this kind of emotion, Barron couldn’t really say it out loud.

In this private room, there was a viewing platform with an excellent view. In front of the floor-to-ceiling windows, one could see the Victorian-style buildings illuminated by the lights outside.

Julia and Barron were talking like this, and the two stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling window, looking at the scenery outside.

“Your Grace, can I lean on you?”

When Barron opened his arms, Julia reached out and wrapped her arms around his waist, resting her head on his shoulder:

“I just want to lean like this at this moment, nothing else…”

“I know, Ms. Moore.”

Barron’s voice came from above her head, and Julia gently closed her eyes:

“Thank you so much for spending my birthday with me today, thank you.”

Chapter 137: House of Lords

“Barron, aren’t you planning to run for a seat in the House of Lords?”

“I don’t think it’s necessary, Your Highness. After all, the current House of Lords has become the world’s most luxurious retirement home. I don’t see any other use for it.”

Hearing Barron’s words, the Crown Prince frowned slightly. Although what he said was the truth, the decline of the entire aristocracy and the royal family always made people feel sad.

“Perhaps not necessarily. At least having such a title allows you to get involved in many things more easily… and at the very least, it can cause some trouble for certain people.”

During the reign of Queen Victoria, the original more than seven thousand aristocratic families owned 80% of the country’s land and occupied the House of Lords, which is now the House of Lords, with 431 hereditary seats.

But since the mid-19th century, with parliamentary reforms and adjustments to inheritance taxes, the British aristocracy gradually declined in political status and finances.

On October 26, 1999, the British House of Lords passed the House of Lords Reform Bill proposed by the Labour government, and the political privileges that the aristocracy had inherited for hundreds of years came to an end.

It can be said that the Prime Minister’s drastic reforms to the House of Lords mainly kicked out most of the hereditary aristocrats from the House of Lords—now there are no more than 100 hereditary aristocrats in the House of Lords, and the remaining 700 members of the House of Lords are life peers. It can be said that life peers occupy the vast majority of the House of Lords.

In fact, members of the House of Lords are for life, while members of the House of Commons are elected every five years.

And for a duke’s title like Barron’s, basically, if he wants to join the House of Lords, it is 100% possible, even if he is only 23 years old now.

It’s just that Barron didn’t have much interest in this before. After all, at this time in Britain, the average age of members of the House of Lords was 69 years old, far exceeding the average age of 50 years old for members of the House of Commons, so it’s no wonder Barron called it a retirement home.

This is still the situation after the reform. Before that, a large number of hereditary aristocrats occupied the House of Lords, and the purpose of most aristocrats entering the House of Lords was nothing more than a nice title and the hundreds of pounds of subsidies received at each House of Lords meeting…

As for the power of the House of Lords…

The consensus in British politics for nearly a century is that the House of Commons has supreme power—that is to say, it has the final say on all important issues, because its members are elected.

The power left to the House of Lords is very little, and it is rarely exercised.

The House of Commons initiates the agenda, and the House of Lords supervises it.

In most cases, the House of Lords can only delay legislation for a limited number of times and periods—therefore, since the 20th century, the House of Lords has actually been very passive and subordinate to the House of Commons.

As for the purpose of the current Prime Minister’s strong reform of the House of Lords, it is not just to save government finances, at least this is not the main purpose.

The deeper reason is that most hereditary aristocrats belong to the Conservative Party. Removing most of the hereditary aristocrats’ qualifications for the House of Lords means that the House of Lords is no longer controlled by the Conservative Party.

However, there was also a compromise in this, otherwise it would not have been so smooth—removing most of the hereditary aristocrats’ qualifications for the House of Lords does not mean that the House of Lords has become a parliament controlled by the Labour Party, where the Prime Minister belongs.

Indeed, life peers are often nominated and conferred by the government, but all factions have reached a consensus on this, and the life peers conferred must reflect the approximate proportion of political parties in the House of Commons.

“In fact, we are already prepared to change the current inaction of the House of Lords…”

The Crown Prince explained to Barron in a low voice, and he finally knew some details.

Some aristocrats, including the royal family, who hope to make a difference, do not want the House of Lords to become a mere display.

They believe that many members of the House of Lords have rich professional knowledge and experience, and at this time, no party can gain an advantage in the House of Lords. These are the advantages that the House of Lords can play a greater role in some issues.

You must know that although the members of the House of Commons are all elected, this also creates a problem, that is, the government itself is elected, so the House of Commons often becomes dominated by one party. For example, at this time, the Labour Party is in power, and the House of Commons also has a majority of the Labour Party. In this way, when facing the government, the House of Commons is too docile and cannot play any supervisory role at all.

Therefore, at this time, the neutral forces in Britain, including aristocrats and some scholars, hope to revive the House of Lords, improve the quality of legislation, and become a better supervisory and review body.

“I know you haven’t been interested in these things before, but Barron, economics and politics cannot exist alone, and they will influence each other.”

The Crown Prince said to him earnestly:

“You can learn some experience from Gerald about these things.”

The Duke of Westminster?

Today, what Barron attended was a cocktail party held by the Duke of Westminster at his London residence. It seems that he is also one of those who are unwilling to have the House of Lords “idle.”

But this is also normal. This Duke, who is currently serving in the military, also hopes to make a difference in politics.

And as the family with the most wealth among the British aristocracy, it itself represents the interests and demands of many aristocrats.

……

“The Crown Prince talked to you for a long time, Duke.”

“Yes, he thinks I don’t care enough about politics and hopes that I will participate in the House of Lords. What do you think about this, Viscount?”

After Barron separated from the Crown Prince, Ian Booth, holding a glass of wine, came to his side—Viscount Booth. was also among the guests invited today.

“This is not something I need to consider for the time being, because my father is a member of the House of Lords. It is estimated that I will join it after I inherit the title.”

This is the reality. Compared to those hereditary aristocrats with “hereditary” House of Lords seats, those life peers who were later conferred are probably more concerned about the House of Lords.

After all, everyone understands that it is probably too difficult for hereditary aristocrats to influence certain issues through the House of Lords now.

“So, are you planning to join the House of Lords? This is not difficult, or rather, it only depends on your thoughts.”

“I’m still considering it. You know, I’m not very interested in it.”

Just as Barron was chatting with Viscount Booth, someone took the initiative to come over and talk:

“Hello, Duke Cavendish, Viscount Booth, I am Emma Manners, from the Rutland family. I have visited Chatsworth House before, and it is really beautiful there.”

This is a lady who looks quite beautiful, with a head of golden short hair, and looks very capable.

Emma Manners pulled a jade-like little girl and said to them:

“By the way, this is my daughter, Violet, she is nine years old this year.”

“Hello, Duchess, it is an honor to meet you.”

At first, Barron felt that the Rutland family sounded a bit familiar. After Ian Booth’s words, he finally remembered. The Duke of Rutland family is also a family with quite a history in Britain, but he had not interacted with the other party before.

“I remember going to Haddon Hall to play when I was a child. That is your family’s property, isn’t it, Duchess?”

“Yes, Haddon Hall belongs to our family. It is also located in Derbyshire and is a neighbor of your Chatsworth House, but it is currently managed by my husband’s younger brother, Edward.”

Chapter 138: The Future Her

Although she was already in her thirties, Emma Manners actually looked even more charming.

She was very talkative, especially with Barron, and she spoke of their family’s manor:

“We just took over the family business last year. After my husband inherited the title, his mother gave me the keys to the manor. But you know, managing the manor isn’t a simple matter, and I’m still learning.”

“Take your time, it will be fine, Madam. Besides, your girl is lovely. I have some business to attend to, and I look forward to visiting your manor sometime.”

Compared to Barron’s amiable response, the Viscount Booth’s attitude… couldn’t be said to be bad, but his excuse for cutting off the conversation was a little awkward.

However, Emma didn’t mind at all. She was still enthusiastic and exchanged contact information with the two of them, expressing her great honor to invite them to Belvoir Castle as guests.

“Viscount, it seems you’re not so keen on that lady?”

After walking away from Ian Booth, Barron asked lightly.

“Not everyone with a title and a family history can be called a noble, Barron, at least not like the Ratland family, who have fallen so low as to marry a peasant woman.”

Barron just smiled at Viscount Booth’s words, saying nothing.

He understood that the other party’s prejudice came from Emma Manners’ background—she was born in a Welsh village and obtained the title of Marchioness when she married her husband ten years ago.

As mentioned before, most high-ranking nobles do not just have one noble title. Like Barron, his current titles are Duke of Devonshire and Marquess of Harrington.

Often in the Devonshire family, the Marquess of Harrington title is granted to the eldest son who has not yet inherited the title of Duke. Barron’s older brother was the Marquess of Harrington before he died—after the unexpected deaths of his father and brother, Barron obtained both their titles, the Duke of Devonshire and the Marquess of Harrington.

The Booth. family, like Ian Booth’s family, although their family title is Marquess, which is lower than the title of the Ratland Duke family that Emma belongs to.

But the Booth. family has always been considered prominent, and their wealth is far greater than that of most Duke families, so they don’t feel inferior when facing those Duke families.

On the contrary, the Ratland Duke family is considered to be in decline. The only thing left of the family’s assets is the manor, which can only barely be maintained. Therefore, the Duke of Booth’s attitude towards the Duchess of Ratland was not respectful.

Just as the Duchess Emma had said earlier, when the old Duchess gave her the keys to the castle, she said to her:

“Good luck!”

At that time, her expression was relaxed, and she had finally relieved herself of the burden of maintaining the family’s huge manor.

“The lifestyle of the 21st century is completely different from my previous ten Duchesses. They might spend time taking care of their robes, holding glamorous parties, and ordering the gardeners around with their hunting dogs, but me, after taking over the manor, I have to start rolling up my sleeves and starting work again, and this time the workload has increased by 50 times compared to before I became a noble, after all, the Belvoir Castle manor covers an area of 6,100 hectares…”

Barron was rather admiring of Mrs. Emma, and he didn’t have any prejudice.

Even if she was overly enthusiastic, and it was obvious that she was approaching them with a purpose, who isn’t like that in this society, just in different ways.

Viscount Booth. wouldn’t be able to empathize, but Barron knew that if he hadn’t had the experience of being reborn, the Devonshire family probably wouldn’t be much better than the Ratland Duke family, and would also need to rely on their family’s manor to conduct various businesses and strive to maintain it.

But what made him feel interesting was the little girl beside Emma Manners—Violet Manners.

Because Barron suddenly remembered that he had really seen reports about the Ratland Duke family in his previous life, but they were about their three daughters—in his previous life, the three daughters of the Ratland Duke family had all grown up, but their reputation…

It was somewhat similar to the American “Kardashian sisters,” a trio of internet celebrities, who were called “The bad Manner sisters of British” by the British media.

They were keen on all kinds of parties and had even been reported by neighbors for making too much noise at a party in their London house…

And the photos of these three sisters posted on social media were often quite revealing.

It could be said that they completely lacked the demeanor of proper noble ladies.

They were also regarded as a “cancer” among the nobility…

But now, Violet, who was only nine years old and looked very cute, who could imagine that she would become like that in the future…

…

Just as Barron was thinking about these things, a beautiful figure appeared in front of him.

“Barron, we meet again.”

“Hello, Miss Ayla.”

The girl smiling in front of Barron at this moment was Gabrielle, the eldest daughter of the Kent family.

Since the last time she visited Chatsworth Manor, Gabrielle had gone to Oxford University and hadn’t been seen since.

“I’m so glad to see you, Barron. I heard at school that the very popular Woaw website was invested by you, is that right? It’s finally open for registration, and I’ve registered an account too.”

Her smile was very cute. Seeing this scene, Viscount Booth. on the side revealed a meaningful smile:

“I’ll go over there and say hello to them first, Miss Ayla, I’ll leave the Duke of Devonshire to you…”

Gabrielle just smiled at Viscount Booth’s teasing:

“Mr. Booth. is still so witty.”

“It’s a pity, Miss Ayla, if you participated in the Woaw competition, you would definitely be the winner.”

Barron’s praise earned him a very charming look from Ayla:

“That doesn’t suit my personality, and there are too many beautiful girls at the university. I don’t have much confidence.”

Of course, this was just Barron’s joke. With the Kent family’s background, no matter what, Gabrielle couldn’t participate in this kind of competition just for a reward of one hundred thousand pounds.

Moreover, most of the children of the nobility are still very low-key. Even if there are many reports about them in the media, it’s mostly because of their status, which makes it easy for reporters to chase after their news.

“By the way, Mr. Barron, there’s another thing I almost forgot. We’re having a ball in a few days, would you be able to attend?”

“A ball?”

“Yes, some of our family friends, you know, I’ve been in school, and the school management was very strict before high school, so I didn’t have any suitable friends to invite. I think we should be friends, right?”

“Of course, Miss Ayla.”

“Also, William and Harry will be there too, and I think you should know many of them.”

“I’m very honored, I’ll be there in full dress.”

Hearing Barron agree, Ayla smiled happily:

“Actually, it’s not too grand, just a gathering in the winter.”

If you wanted to attend a gathering or a ball, you could probably find one in London every day, of course, provided you have a certain status.

And now, Barron only contacts those who are relatively close to him for this kind of gathering.

However, as Miss Ayla’s first invitation, he would of course give the other party some face.

Chapter 139: Cooperation?

“Duke Cavendish…”

As Barron was saying goodbye to Miss Ayla and preparing to leave the Duke of Westminster’s residence, he walked to the door of the villa. Frank, the bodyguard, opened the car door for him. Just as he was about to get into the Rolls-Royce, the Duchess of Rutland appeared again and called out to him.

Barron gave Frank, who was in a defensive posture, a look, and then said with a smile:

“Duchess Manners, I wonder if there’s anything else?”

“My apologies, Your Grace, I just wanted to talk to you about the management of the estate. You know, we’re just starting out, so we need some experience…”

It seemed that the Viscount Booth’s attitude at the reception had left the Duchess somewhat uncertain.

It shouldn’t be surprising for a duchess to be so forward, because the Rutland family was quite interesting. The men in their family were often not good at business, but pursued different interests. For example, the current Duke of Rutland focused more on politics—although in the end, he didn’t make any significant achievements.

When Emma Manners married into the family, the Duke of Rutland once said to her: “On the Duke’s fiefdom, it’s the woman’s responsibility to earn money, and it’s our job to spend it.”

Yes, in the Rutland family, the management of the family estate had always been the responsibility of the women, which was why the key to the castle estate was handed to Emma by the old Duchess.

“Oh? Now? Duchess, by the way, where is your daughter?”

“I had someone send her home first…”

The Duchess of Rutland smiled at Barron, and she seemed to have a touch of charm. She said:

“If you have time now, could you spare me some time?”

Emma’s words made Barron somewhat noncommittal. The key was that Barron sensed some other meaning in her behavior.

He raised his hand and looked at the time, saying:

“It’s a little late today, Duchess. How about this, you have my phone number, let’s set a time to talk tomorrow?”

Although Barron’s words made the Duchess of Rutland still slightly suspect that he was just putting her off, she couldn’t continue at this point, so she nodded and said:

“Okay, Your Grace, when are you available tomorrow?”

After arranging a time with her, Barron said goodbye to the Duchess of Rutland.

After he got into the Rolls-Royce, he said to Frank in the front:

“Investigate the Duchess of Rutland’s background, and give it to me tomorrow, Frank.”

As Barron’s personal bodyguard, Frank was actually more like his security assistant. He could directly contact the intelligence team, and he was also responsible for conveying some information gathering to Barron.

Barron wasn’t really unable to find time to talk to the Duchess of Rutland today, but he couldn’t rashly contact some people now. Instead, he first needed to know the other party’s background and make preliminary preparations.

…

The feedback from the personnel of Digital UK Company who went to Shenzhen, China, was relatively optimistic.

After all, the bottleneck in the current promotion of the Freeview platform was the production capacity of its set-top boxes, which was the most urgent issue to be resolved.

With the help of Mr. Ma, the boss of Tencent, their personnel selected three factories specializing in the production of electronic products in Shenzhen and its surrounding areas.

After the technical personnel from Digital UK Company arrived, they signed contracts with these three factories. For the first batch, they placed an order for a total of 150,000 set-top boxes, and they also made detailed specifications for the product’s technical standards.

If their final products could fully meet Digital UK’s requirements, then there would be more orders in the future.

You must know that the prices quoted by these factories surprised the personnel of Digital UK. They were as much as half the price of those produced by local factories.

The key components of the set-top boxes, including chips and storage, could be directly ordered and sent to these factories for assembly. The cost of other components that could be purchased locally would be much lower, and the quality could also meet the standards. This result also surprised Brad Plass, the CEO of Digital UK Company.

Moreover, according to the contract, the orders for 50,000 set-top boxes from each of the three factories could be completed within a month and shipped to the UK. This speed also made them very satisfied.

The only doubt now was that although the other party had promised so, whether the quality of the final products could meet their requirements.

“In less than a month, our SDTV will start broadcasting, Brad, so I hope that during this time, we can expand the number of users of our Freeview platform as much as possible. My suggestion is to take a week as the time limit, have the set-top boxes produced in China shipped here in a timely manner, and then start distributing them to users.”

After hanging up the phone with Brad Plass, the CEO of Digital UK Company, Barron was about to leave the company to keep his appointment.

Yesterday, Barron had arranged to meet with the Duchess of Rutland today, and the location was in the Devonshire Hotel.

“Duchess, how do you feel about the arrangement here?”

“Very beautiful, Your Grace, even comparable to our Belvoir Castle.”

At their meeting, Barron found that the Duchess of Rutland had been carefully made up today. Not only was her makeup exquisite, but after entering the room, she took off her coat, and the long dress inside also highlighted her figure, exuding a mature charm.

“You said that you wanted to know about the management of Chatsworth Estate, didn’t you?”

“Yes, Duke. I visited Chatsworth Estate before, and your diversified management impressed me. I also hope that Belvoir Castle can gain such experience.”

After giving a brief introduction of Chatsworth Estate’s current operating projects, including farms, tourism, hotels, and entertainment, to the Duchess of Rutland, Barron said:

“In fact, for an estate, the most important thing is its reputation.”

“Our Belvoir Castle has a history of a thousand years, and after generations of renovations, its reputation is not low.”

Hearing her words, Barron said with a smile:

“Duchess, there are too many castles and estates in the UK. In fact, tourists often don’t see all of them. Especially those overseas tourists who come to the UK for tourism often only choose two or three destinations. Therefore, there are many factors that influence their choice, including reputation, reviews, and price. Of course, the unique features are also very important.”

“Just like you use television programs and novels to let more people know about Chatsworth Estate, is that also a consideration?”

“Yes, Duchess. In this regard, we have more experience. In fact, we can cooperate.”

“Cooperate?”

“Yes, our Devonshire Cultural Tourism Group includes attractions such as Chatsworth Estate and Carlingford Castle, and we cooperate with the Cavendish Hotel Group. Then your Belvoir Castle can also join it.”

Chapter 140: Visiting

England has many manors and castles. Most of them have been abandoned. Of the remaining ones, a small portion are still privately owned – by aristocrats whose family finances are still relatively sound. However, even for these, the vast majority need to be open to the public and charge admission fees to offset their enormous maintenance costs.

As for the majority of the manors that are still in relatively good condition, they have been entrusted to various foundations that protect ancient buildings. Even so, these foundations often cannot bear all the maintenance costs of the castles and manors. Many people see the very cheap prices of those ancient castles in England, and it is because these foundations are selling them to alleviate financial pressure.

However, although these ancient castles and manors are relatively cheap, the buyers also have to bear maintenance costs that are far higher than the purchase price.

Barron’s idea was to have the Devonshire Travel and Tourism Group under his control manage some of the more well-known and most valuable castles and manors for sightseeing, not limited to the manors owned by their family.

This way, these ancient castles and manors could be packaged and promoted uniformly. In addition to charging tourists for admission, the Cavendish Hotel Group could also open various styles of castle hotels or manor hotels within them.

In addition, services such as booking castle weddings and photography could also be divided into various levels for customers to choose from.

Of course, he only had this idea for now, and whether they would be willing to join depended on the Latran family’s thoughts.

“Our Devonshire Travel and Tourism Group will launch a series of promotions for the ancient castle manors under its control. This includes music festivals and marathon events, and many reality shows will also be filmed in the ancient castle manors. If Belvoir Castle also joins, we will customize relevant activities according to the characteristics of your manor.”

It has to be said that after hearing Barron’s words, the Duchess of Latran was indeed moved. Her beautiful eyes looked at Barron and asked:

“Then, what kind of cooperation method will be used?”

“This needs to be discussed. You can still retain ownership of the ancient castle manor, just like our Chatsworth Manor and Caran Castle. It’s just that the entire manor’s operating rights will be handed over to the Travel and Tourism Group. As for whether it is to directly obtain shares in the group, or to cooperate with the group in a profit-sharing manner, it can all be negotiated.”

“I need to discuss it with my family before making a decision, Your Grace.”

This was a major matter. Although Emma Manners herself was quite moved by Barron’s cooperation proposal, she still couldn’t make a decision directly.

“That’s no problem. If you want to cooperate in the future, you can directly talk to the CEO of our Travel and Tourism Group about this matter.”

At this point, the conversation between the two this year was almost over.

At this time, the Duchess of Latran stood up and stretched, fully displaying her graceful figure.

“The arrangement here is really beautiful, Your Grace, can you take me on a tour?”

“It’s my great honor, Madam.”

……

“This bed is really soft…”

“You’d better lie on it, so you can experience it better, Madam.”

“You are so considerate, Your Grace.”

But in the end, both Barron and the Duchess of Latran were very happy.

Especially the Duchess of Latran. Through the tour of this hotel room, this would be of great help to her in managing the manor in the future.

Through the previous conversation between the Crown Prince and Barron, and the news later received from the Duke of Westminster, Barron finally decided to join the House of Lords and became a member of the House of Lords.

Of course, this wouldn’t take up too much of his time. After all, he could choose the topics he was interested in and participate in the meetings of the House of Lords.

In mid-December, the first two seasons of “Downton Abbey” finally finished filming and entered the post-production stage.

During this process, the Sinclair Group had also been negotiating with the SEM Group, but their overall valuation of the SEM Group did not satisfy Barron, and the negotiations stalled.

This kind of negotiation would eventually require one party to make more compromises. Although Barron was willing to allow the Sinclair Group to join the SEM Group and become its shareholder to utilize the Sinclair Group’s content resources to help them fill the broadcast time of SDTV, the premise was that the Sinclair Group would not make the SEM Group appear too “cheap” in this round of investment.

Therefore, the negotiations between the two sides were intermittent, but so far, there had been no substantive progress.

Everything would have to wait until “Downton Abbey” was officially broadcast. This drama series, which was produced with all the efforts of Top Media, was still very important. For the SEM Group, the success of “Downton Abbey” would not only allow them to obtain better conditions in their cooperation with the Sinclair Group.

Moreover, “Downton Abbey” also played a very important role in whether SDTV could become an overnight success.

According to the producer of “Downton Abbey”, Julian, the actors’ performances this time were all very outstanding and would present the audience with a wonderful series.

Before the broadcast, the SEM Group also started promoting and warming up for this series.

Just then, London ushered in the first snowfall of the winter.

This was also the first snow Barron had seen in this time and space.

When the snow began to fall at noon, Barron had just come out of the Lloyd’s building where DS Capital was located. When he saw the snowflakes drifting in the sky, he also received a call from Bonnie.

In the phone call, Bonnie said to him in a delighted voice:

“Darling, did you see it? It’s snowing.”

“Yes, baby, London is beautiful now.”

“I originally thought it wouldn’t start snowing until after Christmas. This year is really a surprise. By the way, I just finished watching the edited first two episodes of”Downton Abbey” and it’s amazing.”

“That’s good news.”

“Also, there’s news that our variety show”The Traitors” has been nominated for the British Academy Television Awards and will compete for the Best Variety Show Award next February.”

As one of the hottest variety shows this year, “The Traitors” could be said to be the most watched reality show in the UK. It was not too surprising that it could get this nomination.

“It’s a perfect day, baby, we should celebrate.”

“I can leave work early today. Judging from the situation, we might be able to build a snowman in the yard before dinner.”

“That’s a good idea.”

After hanging up the phone, Barron said to Frank:

“Stop at the intersection ahead, I’ll go to the flower shop over there and buy a bouquet of flowers.”

“Okay, Your Grace.”

Chapter 141: Christmas Address

“Christmas is a commemoration of the birth of Christ over two thousand years ago, but it is far more than that. It is a celebration of the birth of ideas and ideals.

From another perspective, I feel that the Golden Jubilee is more than just an anniversary.

These celebrations are delightful occasions, but they also seem to evoke something more enduring and profound – a sense of belonging and pride in one’s country, town, or community; a feeling of sharing a common heritage, a heritage enriched by the cultural, racial, and religious diversity of our 21st-century society.”

On this Christmas Day, the Queen, through television, delivered her annual address to the people of the United Kingdom.

It can be said that in this year, the Queen encountered many things, including the successive deaths of her sister and mother at the beginning of the year, followed by the Golden Jubilee celebrating the 50th anniversary of her accession to the throne in June.

Later on, because of the “theft scandal” involving the late Princess Diana’s former butler and the theft of her relics, the Queen was also implicated. Her prestige, which she had gained after the Golden Jubilee, was therefore undermined.

In addition, there were also many scandals within the royal family that appeared in the newspapers.

It was also because of this that rumors of her “abdication” spread.

Her speech this time was also considered a response to this.

……

Before Christmas, Digital UK acquired the British set-top box manufacturer PUMA PLC for 10 million pounds.

Puma PLC was not large, only owning a small factory in Birmingham, but their technical level was quite good.

After acquiring Puma PLC, Digital UK renamed it Puma Electronics and, with subsequent orders and 20 million pounds of funding, invested in Digital UK’s three original equipment manufacturer (OEM) factories in China, holding 60% of their shares.

As a result, these three factories located in Shenzhen would be merged into Puma Electronics (China), utilizing the funds invested by Digital UK to upgrade equipment and establish a larger-scale new factory to fully produce set-top boxes for the Freeview platform.

This decision was also made because, within this month, the first two batches of set-top boxes produced by the Chinese factories had arrived in the UK and been distributed to Freeview platform users. Their quality was recognized by Digital UK – although the failure rate was slightly higher than that of set-top boxes produced locally, the significantly reduced cost and faster production efficiency had already made Digital UK extremely satisfied.

After all, this kind of set-top box product, to put it bluntly, would only be a transitional product. With the popularity of digital television later on, the current set-top box products would definitely be continuously upgraded and updated. Therefore, a lifespan that allowed users to use them for two or three years was already completely sufficient.

Therefore, Digital UK also came up with a certain amount of funds and, after acquiring Puma PLC, another local set-top box manufacturer, established Puma Electronics and invested in the Chinese factories on a larger scale.

After that, Puma Electronics (China) would not only primarily produce set-top boxes for Freeview platform users but would also participate in the competition for set-top boxes in the Chinese market.

The reason for first acquiring the local Puma PLC company was, on the one hand, to obtain the technical personnel of this company, and on the other hand, to use the British brand Puma, which would make it easier for users to have a “high-end” impression, whether in overseas markets or the Chinese domestic market.

According to Digital UK’s estimates, before New Year’s Day in 2003, the number of users accessing the Freeview platform would soon exceed 200,000, and with the release of a larger set-top box production capacity, in the first quarter of 2003, the number of Freeview platform users could directly exceed 2 million!

Based on the current user reservation situation, it was very possible to increase by 1 million users each month after that.

It is worth mentioning that at this time in 2002, the local governments in China were very welcoming of projects like Puma Electronics (China), which accepted foreign investment and whose main products were “export-oriented and foreign exchange-earning.”

It was also because of this that during the process of Puma Electronics acquiring these three factories and expanding its operations, the local government was also extremely cooperative and specifically provided Puma Electronics (China) with a piece of land in the development zone at a low price to build a new factory.

As DSTV television channel was about to start broadcasting and broadcast the drama series “Downton Abbey,” there were also different opinions at Summit Media.

Especially Bonnie, who was responsible for the production of the “Downton Abbey” series, believed that the Freeview platform currently had only 200,000 users, far less than the extensive user base of the ITV1 channel when they previously broadcast “The Traitors.” In this case, broadcasting “Downton Abbey” would only be seen by the 200,000 viewers on the Freeview platform, which was really somewhat disappointing for such careful production of “Downton Abbey.”

Indeed, the Freeview platform had only been promoted for two months, and previously, due to the limited production of set-top boxes, its user numbers were still pitifully small.

But in Barron’s previous life, even in 2010, when television audiences were dwindling day by day, “Downton Abbey” was a phenomenon-level television series that caused a huge reaction not only in the UK but also around the world, with countless fans – this also allowed the first film version, with a production cost of only 30 million pounds, to earn hundreds of millions in box office revenue, relying on its huge fan base.

But if it were broadcast on the Freeview platform now, its effect would probably be greatly reduced.

In this regard, Barron still insisted on the original plan and still premiered “Downton Abbey” on New Year’s Day. The reason was that, even in the initial stages, because of the small number of Freeview platform users, the audience for this drama might be very small.

But you have to know that the Freeview platform, where the SDTV channel is located, is a digital television platform. Up to now, Digital UK has been constantly innovating its technology and can soon launch on-demand services.

At that time, the way television programs were broadcast would not be that viewers needed to wait for the time on the program schedule to watch their favorite television programs or drama series. They could watch some programs that had already been broadcast through on-demand at any time through the Freeview platform, and even download them to their set-top boxes – the set-top boxes themselves provided a certain amount of storage space. Of course, the downloaded content was encrypted and could not be transferred to other playback platforms.

Of course, this additional service would definitely require a certain fee.

But it also solved the situation of insufficient users in the early stages of the Freeview platform and the new users missing the dramas that had already been broadcast after the user base expanded later on.

This was somewhat similar to the video platforms of the future. The most important thing was not the number of views for the premiere, but the total number of clicks. Anyway, whether it was the content of the drama series or the advertisements interspersed within it, the most important thing was not the one-time delivery quantity, but the cumulative delivery range.

And as long as the “Downton Abbey” series was excellent enough, it would instead produce an effect similar to “hunger marketing” when the Freeview platform’s users were limited at this time, making more users eager to join the Freeview platform.

Chapter 142: Earth-Shattering Acquisition

The year 2003 arrived, and on New Year’s Day, SDTV officially went live on the Freeview platform.

That evening, at nine o’clock, which was the “golden time” for television broadcasts, SDTV premiered the first season of Downton Abbey.

Originally, the plan was for Downton Abbey to air one episode every Saturday, making it a weekly drama.

However, because New Year’s Day fell on a Wednesday, after the premiere on New Year’s Day, the second episode of the first season would also air on the Saturday of that week, and then it would become a weekly broadcast.

Although the number of Freeview platform users had just exceeded 200,000 households, which was a pitifully small audience compared to other television stations’ dramas, the broadcast of this drama still caused a huge reaction in Britain.

The reason was that when the second episode of Downton Abbey aired, it was a Saturday, a day off. According to the monitoring, over 90% of Freeview platform users watched this drama.

Even through interviews and online messages, many people went to their friends’ homes to watch the drama because they hadn’t yet booked a set-top box for the Freeview platform themselves.

Therefore, even with only 200,000 households using the Freeview platform, the number of viewers for the second episode of Downton Abbey’s first season exceeded 1 million!

And there were reports that the Queen herself was a loyal fan of the Downton Abbey novel. After the drama aired, she watched the entire thing and praised it, believing it perfectly recreated the details of aristocratic life back then.

This affirmation from the royal family further boosted the popularity of Downton Abbey.

It was also from this moment that Digital UK company’s happy troubles began. Their customer service received countless calls every day, urging them to provide set-top boxes, preferably to be installed within a week, so they wouldn’t miss the next season of Downton Abbey.

And they were no longer picky about the set-top boxes. Even those produced in China were being fought over—after all, from the current perspective, the quality of set-top boxes produced in China wasn’t as bad as imagined, and the deposit required was much lower.

For this reason, Digital UK company even made a decision to stop waiting for the long sea transport. They started working three shifts at the Puma Electronics (China) factory to increase production, and the set-top boxes produced would be immediately air-freighted to Britain, to be delivered to users in the shortest possible time.

The Puma factory in Britain also wasn’t idle, but began producing more high-end set-top boxes—using Digital UK’s latest technology, set-top boxes with on-demand and download functions were about to be launched.

Of course, such set-top boxes would not be included in the free rental range, but would need to be purchased, although users would also need to pay if they wanted to use the on-demand and download program content services.

……

“Currently, our Freeview platform services, in the process of technology research and development, have been found to involve broadband networks—certain services will be more convenient to provide to users through broadband networks, so we are preparing to cooperate with telecom operators to add some network functions to our terrestrial digital TV set-top boxes.”

Broadband in Britain was already relatively common at this time. Of course, the current network speed still couldn’t compare to that of a few years later, but some simple audio and video transmission functions were still available.

Even if it took users a while to download program content, they could completely set it to download and watch it when they got home from work.

Digital UK company CEO Brad Price’s words reminded Barron of the plan for the “Shengda Box” of the then richest man in China, Mr. Chen of Shanda Network, in his previous life.

But if they were to cooperate with telecom operators…

Why didn’t he become a telecom operator himself?

Just like BSkyB Digital, which relied on its network services related to set-top boxes, and later developed a considerable scale in the telecom business.

But the problem was, although the stock prices of telecom operators had fallen sharply due to the previous internet bubble burst, companies with any scale were really not something the current Barron could swallow. Those were big companies with tens of billions, or even hundreds of billions of pounds in market value!

But think about how SoftBank developed? How did Li Ka-shing make a fortune in the telecom business?

So this was really an industry with great development potential.

“Your Grace, it’s a great honor to see you again.”

“Mr. Rolf, our friendship has been proven by time, hasn’t it?”

This time, Barron met with Rolf, the head of the credit business at Barclays Bank, who had initially handled the loan for the family trust fund.

Seeing the young and handsome Duke again, Rolf was also quite emotional. The Devonshire family, which had faced a debt crisis back then, was now in a completely different situation. Not only had they repaid the loans from other banks as agreed, but their subsequent business with Barclays Bank had also been quite outstanding.

It was also because of his “friendship” with the Duke, mainly his decisiveness in handling the loan business of the Devonshire family’s trust fund, that Rolf had gone further and become one of the vice presidents of Barclays Bank.

“You said this time there was a big deal to discuss, didn’t you, Your Grace?”

“Yes, this time I’m preparing to make a big acquisition…”

Hearing Barron’s words, expectation began to appear in Rolf’s eyes.

Sure enough, what Barron said next was not only a “big acquisition,” but also greatly exceeded Rolf’s expectations:

“You mean you want to buy O2 company?”

It was no wonder Rolf was surprised. You must know that although O2 company was originally a business spun off from British Telecom (BT company) last year, this company, which mainly provides mobile communication services, currently had a market value of tens of billions of pounds. This scale, as far as Rolf knew, was not something the Duke could acquire.

This was not simply a case of a snake swallowing an elephant, it was a mouse swallowing an elephant!

British Telecom was the longest-standing giant in the British telecom industry. It was originally a British state-owned telecom public utility, managed by the British Post Office. On October 1, 1981, it was separated from the British Royal Mail and became an independent state-owned enterprise.

Under the rule of British Conservative Party Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, 50% of the public shares were sold to the market in 1984, becoming a private company—the company has always been the largest operator of telecom facilities hardware in the UK.

After the internet bubble burst in 2000, British Telecom suffered a heavy blow and had to announce a share increase of 5.9 billion pounds and a delay in dividend payments in 2001 to cope with a loss of 1 billion pounds in the 2001 fiscal year and reduce its debt of 27.9 billion pounds.

The predecessor of O2 was British Telecom’s wireless department, which was originally called BT Cellnet.

During the financial restructuring, British Telecom spun off its mobile business to form an independent company, called mmO2.

This year, mmO2 officially launched the O2 brand and became O2 company.

It can be said that currently in the mobile business in Britain, O2’s market share has been hovering between first and second place. The company that competes very fiercely with O2 is Vodafone—the future SoftBank developed into one of the largest telecom operators in Japan after acquiring Vodafone’s Japanese branch.

Chapter 143: 500 Million Pounds

After hearing Barron say he was planning to acquire O2, Rolf’s expression became cautious, mixed with surprise.

After reviewing some information about O2, he said:

“Based on O2’s current situation, although it was spun off from British Telecom, its current development is quite good. If you were to acquire it now, it’s estimated to be no less than 4.5 to 5 billion pounds. Your Grace, even using leverage for the acquisition, your free capital would need to be at least 500 million to 1 billion pounds. Only then could you persuade a financial consortium, including us, Barclays Bank, to support your acquisition. The question now is, can you come up with that kind of money?”

Why can some companies conduct leveraged buyouts, only putting up one-fifth or even one-tenth of the total acquisition amount, and still complete the acquisition?

Just like the Sinclair Group. In the original timeline, when their market value was only a little over twenty billion dollars, they formed a financial consortium and used leveraged buyouts. When Disney acquired 21st Century Fox, they offered over ten billion dollars to acquire the 21 regional sports networks under the former Fox Group.

That was done through leveraged buyouts.

For example, this time Barron intends to acquire O2. The process is that he first announces the acquisition of O2 and negotiates with the other party.

Once the final acquisition price is determined, the financing consortium collaborating with Barron can step in. Barron will use the future equity of O2 Group as collateral to take out loans from these financing consortiums.

Using these loans, plus his own funds, he completes the acquisition of O2. The other party’s mortgage loan cannot be 100% based on the acquisition price; Barron needs to contribute a portion of the funds himself.

In this case, if Barron ultimately cannot repay these loans, which have an interest rate higher than the market rate, then the O2 shares that were used as collateral will belong to these financing consortiums.

This is equivalent to these financing consortiums getting O2 at a discounted price, because Barron’s own funds at that time would be impossible to recover.

These financing consortiums can choose to sell O2 to others, or they can operate it themselves and sell it when its valuation is higher.

Now, for Rolf, it’s not a problem that Barron wants to cooperate with them and have Barclays Bank join his financing consortium to acquire O2.

But what he’s concerned about is how much free capital Barron can put up for this acquisition.

Based on Rolf’s understanding of Barron, although his DS Capital’s investment performance has been very stunning during this period, based on his valuation of O2, Barron needs to put up at least one-tenth of the acquisition price in free capital. This ratio is not considered a particularly safe ratio for the financing consortium, because it indicates that if the other party defaults, they will essentially get O2 at a 10% discount. For this kind of telecommunications company, the changes in market value are still very significant.

And even this minimum one-tenth of free capital would require nearly 500 million pounds. Rolf doesn’t think Barron can come up with that kind of money now, unless he mortgages all his assets, which would be a make-or-break gamble.

Inevitably, in this kind of leveraged buyout, the more free capital you can put up, the easier it is to persuade the bank consortium to join the financing consortium, because relatively speaking, the risk of default is also smaller, and it’s more secure.

“If I can come up with 500 million pounds in capital, then will Barclays Bank be willing to join my acquisition financing this time?”

Barron asked in return.

“If that’s the case, Your Grace, I can do my best to persuade the board of directors. Basically, it’s not a big problem, but I need to remind you that for this kind of high-leverage acquisition, we cannot provide all the funds alone. Therefore, you will also need to find one or several other financing partners to join your financing consortium.”

“Okay, then we can talk about another matter now, which is that I need to mortgage some of my assets to take out a loan.”

Barron definitely can’t come up with 500 million pounds right now. The reason he dared to propose this “snake swallowing an elephant” plan of acquiring O2 lies in his grasp of the recent international oil prices.

Starting from the first half of last year, the United States has been constantly increasing public opinion and brandishing its weapons at Iraq.

Until December of last year, their determination to take military action against Iraq could be said to no longer be questioned by many people. This made people generally worry about the supply of crude oil in the Middle East, coupled with the oil workers’ strike in Venezuela causing the interruption of oil production and supply, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and terrorist activities, which caused oil prices to soar all the way.

When Barron first started using funds to build positions and bet on the rise of international oil prices, the price of oil was around 20 dollars per barrel, but by January 3rd of this year, the price of London Brent crude oil had climbed to the “high” of 31 dollars, a full increase of 50%!

There is a question: if the United States really takes military action against Iraq, will international oil prices continue to soar?

From a feeling perspective, it seems so. After all, by 2003, Iraq’s proven oil reserves were about 15.7534 billion tons, the fourth largest in the world; its proven natural gas reserves were about 3,114.87 billion cubic meters, the 10th largest in the world.

And according to the estimates of relevant institutions, if Iraq strengthens its exploration, its oil reserves will increase by more than double, making it truly number one in the world.

Therefore, if the United States and its allies take military action against Iraq, causing it to fall into war, it will inevitably affect the supply of international crude oil, ultimately leading to a rise in oil prices. This logic seems to be without problems.

But the fact is, through the experience of the previous life, Barron knows that international oil prices, after reaching a high of 36 dollars in early February of this year, actually stabilized, and until the end of the war, the formation of the Iraqi transitional government in June, international oil prices never returned to this price of 36 dollars per barrel.

The reason for this is because although the United States’ “rule” in Iraq was not smooth later, the end of the Iraq War was really too fast. The situation that many people believed would be that the US-led coalition would be caught in the tenacious resistance of the Iraqi army did not appear. Instead, they ended Saddam’s rule in a crushing manner.

This reality, on the contrary, made international capital take a mainstream optimistic view on the rapid recovery of Iraq’s oil production. International oil prices began to stabilize after a short rise two days after the outbreak of the war, and even fell somewhat.

Although Barron knows that within these five years, the overall trend of international oil prices is still rising. From 2002 to 2008, international oil prices rose from 20 dollars to nearly 150 dollars!

Eventually, on July 14, 2008, oil prices reached a high of 147.27 dollars per barrel.

But in the short term, Barron has the opportunity to earn excess profits by relying on the fluctuations during this period.

Therefore, before early February, DS Capital will close all long positions on international oil prices, and through mortgage financing, raise funds, and instead begin a short-term shorting of international oil prices.

When this wave is over, Barron will have enough capital to acquire O2.

Chapter 144: Cooperation Reached

In the morning, from the floor-to-ceiling windows of Barron’s bedroom, one could see the snow-covered Chatsworth House, a magnificent sight.

At this moment, Duchess Emma Manners of Rutland was leaning on the window, peering down at the ground floor.

However, her face was flushed, and she was tightly biting her lip, seemingly showing signs of a fever.

Of course, the enthusiastic Duke of Devonshire was standing behind her. He had some medical knowledge and was giving the Duchess of Rutland an injection.

“Are you feeling better now, Duchess?”

“Yes, much better, thank you, Your Grace.”

Although the Duchess of Rutland’s face was still rosy, and there were beads of sweat on her forehead, her complexion looked much better…

After consideration and discussion, the Rutland Duke family finally accepted Barron’s suggestion and was prepared to cooperate with him in developing their Belvoir Castle.

Devonshire Cultural Tourism Group would be renamed Grace Cultural Tourism Group (England), which was also to save face for the Rutland Duke family, so they would not give the impression that their castle manor had been bought by the Devonshire family.

After all, Grace means “graceful,” and in the tradition of the nobility, Grace is a specific term of address for a duke.

In this way, the ownership of the Rutland Duke family’s Belvoir Castle would still belong to the Rutland Duke family, while the operating rights would be granted to Grace Cultural Tourism Group, and the Rutland Duke family would receive a share of the operating income.

Similarly, Cavendish Hotel Group would jointly open a new castle hotel within Belvoir Castle with the Rutland Duke family—the Devonshire (Belvoir) Castle Hotel, and the operating income would also be shared with the Rutland Duke family.

From then on, Belvoir Castle would enjoy the unified promotion and customer resources of Grace Cultural Tourism Group, and it was expected that the Belvoir Music Festival would be held there in the summer to expand the popularity of Belvoir Manor.

After accompanying the Duchess of Rutland to visit Chatsworth House and learning with her many… well, knowledge about manor management, Barron sent the Duchess away.

Next, he welcomed a new guest here—John Smith of the Sinclair family had come to England again from New York and came to Chatsworth House as a guest.

“I have to say, Your Grace, after coming to Chatsworth House, I seem to have entered the television series Downton Abbey. This feeling is very wonderful.”

After meeting, John Smith said proactively:

“Congratulations, Downton Abbey has achieved great success. Reports about this series can even be seen in America.”

“Very pleased to see you again, Mr. Smith, and also the beautiful Miss Booth, and Mrs. Booth.”

Accompanying John Smith were his girlfriend, Jenny Booth, the youngest daughter of the Booth. family, and Viscountess Booth.

In New York, Barron had already confirmed the cooperation with John Smith, but after that, the two sides had been in negotiations regarding the valuation of SEM Group and had not reached a final agreement.

Until the broadcast of the television series Downton Abbey, although the number of users on the Freeview platform was not high at this time, the series still had a sensational impact.

It is no exaggeration to say that even Her Majesty the Queen privately complained that the wait for this television series was too long and hoped to be able to watch it all at once…

Also affected by this television series, coupled with the explosion of production capacity in the Chinese factories, within just two weeks after New Year’s Day in 2003, the number of users on the Freeview platform increased by a full 200,000, which was almost the same as the number of users that increased in the previous two months.

And this speed was constantly being broken.

And this time, John Smith personally came to England and came to Chatsworth House as a guest. The main purpose, besides hoping to introduce the television series Downton Abbey to the television station under the Sinclair Group for broadcast, was to speed up the negotiations for the investment in SEM Group.

“We are willing to make concessions, Your Grace. We can invest in SEM Group at a valuation of 200 million pounds. We will contribute 30 million US dollars to acquire 10% of SEM Group’s shares. At the same time, you can obtain more resources from the Sinclair Group to sell program content to SEM Group at a low price, thereby enriching your broadcast channels.”

In fact, whether it was the independent newspaper industry under SEM Group or Summit Media, the funds Barron had invested in them were far less than 200 million pounds in total. But currently, the entire SEM Group was clearly in a positive development stage, especially Summit Media, whose development prospects were still very worth looking forward to, so for the overall valuation of 200 million pounds, it could only be regarded as a price he could accept on the premise of Sinclair Group’s content resources.

And this time, the Sinclair Group only wanted to take 10% of the shares, which was within Barron’s expectations.

“There is no need for me to haggle with you, John. I can agree right now, but there is one more thing, and that is that I need your additional help.”

Seeing John Smith’s questioning gaze, Barron said lightly:

“I know you often engage in leveraged buyouts before. I also have such a plan recently and need to obtain more resources in terms of financing.”

“This is no problem, Your Grace. We maintain a good relationship with Goldman Sachs. Next, we can introduce their person in charge in England to you.”

From Rolf, Barron had obtained some support from Barclays Bank, but in the subsequent acquisition of O2 Company, Barclays Bank could only bear half of the funds at most. He still needed to introduce more financing partners, and now Barron was setting his sights on America.

If he could reach a cooperation with Goldman Sachs through the Sinclair Group, then the remaining funds for the acquisition of O2 Company could be made up.

“In addition, for the additional shares of the Sinclair Group, I will fully accept your 8.5 million shares through DS Capital, but I plan to conduct this transaction two months later.”

“This is no problem, Barron. We will eventually conduct the transaction at the average price of the stock price for the 30 working days before the transaction. I am very happy to see the Sinclair Group and SEM Group form a closer alliance. This is very important for our development in each other’s markets.”

In this way, in their conversation, this cooperation of exchanging shares was reached.

It was just that Barron’s investment in the Sinclair Group was not focused on the profits that these investments could eventually obtain—to be more precise, his investment in the Sinclair Group could be regarded as a stepping stone, which could allow him to better utilize the Sinclair Group’s influence in America, thereby obtaining more opportunities and development in America in the future.

Chapter 145: Laying Out the Manchester United Plan

“So, you’ve already had that surgery?”

“Yes, don’t bring it up again, it’s not a pleasant memory.”

The Viscountess had previously mentioned to Barron that due to Viscount Booth’s particular interests, their relationship was merely a formality.

The reason Ian Booth. needed a “wife” like Chrissy was because it was a necessary prerequisite for him to obtain the family inheritance.

After all, it was impossible that Viscount Booth’s father was unaware of his son’s preferences.

However, the Booth. family had always had a shortage of offspring - for various reasons, the Booth. family had always passed down through a single lineage. Even when there were two male descendants, one of them would die young.

According to the principle of noble inheritance in England, only male heirs could inherit the family title, and in the case of the Booth. family, it was very difficult to find an heir from a collateral branch.

Therefore, Viscount Booth. had to have his own male offspring before he could obtain his father’s inheritance of the title. This was the agreement between the father and son of the Booth. family from the beginning.

And because of this, Viscount Booth. married Chrissy.

And in order to have offspring, Viscount Booth, without “doing it himself,” found a way with the help of modern technology.

England was one of the few countries that legally allowed surrogacy, but there were very stringent prerequisites for this - of course, these were not a problem for the Booth. family.

Just recently, the Viscountess had completed this process. It could be said that the biggest suspense now was like opening a blind box, hoping for a male heir.

The regulations for noble heirs in England stipulated that only descendants of a legal marriage between the parents had the right to inherit the title; illegitimate children were not included.

The girl from Ukraine, who gave birth to their child, could easily have her legal status in England sorted out by the Booth. family.

Barron had no comment on this matter. If it were him, he would definitely not choose this method, unless there was no other way.

After all, although Viscount Booth. had paid a large sum of money for this, the money was really not easy to take.

In addition to having extremely strict conditions on the other party’s identity, including health, appearance, figure, education, and even external characteristics such as skin color and hair color, this process was also very difficult to endure.

I won’t go into the details, but it’s definitely more harmful to the body than natural childbirth.

This also doesn’t include the psychological pain of having to give up the child in the future - after all, although the seed came from the Booth. couple, that girl had truly experienced the flesh-and-blood connection during the gestation process.

“So, I’m still recovering, I can’t…”

Barron, who had been quite interested, couldn’t help but lose some interest when he heard the Viscountess’s words.

He looked down at himself, then turned his gaze to the Viscountess, whose face was already quite flushed:

“My Lady, in that case, then you still…”

“Hmph, you men…”

A hint of anger flashed in the Viscountess’s eyes, and then she said with a hint of charm:

“There’s always a way, my Duke.”

As she spoke, her body lowered, kneeling in front of Barron…

A zipper sound, Barron felt a chill, and then a warmth…

“Hiss…”

…

“Boss, we have already begun to close our long positions on all international crude oil futures. Currently, the price of crude oil is relatively stable, staying above thirty-five US dollars.”

Daisy said with some hesitation:

“Although OPEC’s production increase plan has suppressed the rise in oil prices to some extent, if the war really breaks out, I’m afraid oil prices will continue to rise…”

On January 12th of this year, the OPEC organization (Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, or OPEC for short) held a special meeting in Vienna and decided to increase oil production by 1.5 million barrels per day starting February 1st, that is, from this month, to raise the maximum daily production limit of the 10 member countries (excluding Iraq) from 23 million barrels to 24.5 million barrels in order to stabilize world oil prices.

In the following month and more, although oil prices did not continue to soar, they still remained at a high level of about 33 to 34 US dollars per barrel.

“Whether oil prices will continue to rise depends on the progress of the war, so I’m not optimistic that Saddam’s government can cause much trouble for the other side.”

It can be said that the initial stages of the war were very smooth for the Anglo-American coalition, who overthrew Saddam’s regime in a short period of time. But the subsequent occupation was not so smooth, constantly being consumed by various resistances, and the domestic crude oil production in Iraq also recovered slowly. This was the main reason why oil prices began to rise after repeated fluctuations from the end of this year to the beginning of next year.

“Also, boss, we have already acquired 4.9% of Manchester United Football Club’s shares in the stock market. If we continue to acquire, we will trigger a takeover bid…”

Since the beginning of this year, Daisy had received orders from Barron to start absorbing Manchester United Football Club’s shares discreetly from the London stock market. So far, they had spent about fifteen million pounds in funds and obtained approximately 4.9% of Manchester United Football Club’s shares.

Manchester United Football Club at this time was different from other top football clubs; it was a publicly listed company, not privately held, so it could directly purchase its shares from the stock market.

Although Manchester United Football Club’s stock’s PE ratio was relatively high at this time, and the stock price seemed to be already high, the club’s current market capitalization of about 310 million pounds was too cheap compared to its valuation when it was later acquired.

Barron knew that in the original timeline, the Glazer family from the United States would begin to target Manchester United Football Club in March of this year.

They also started from the stock market at first. They used about a year to successively purchase about 14.3% of Manchester United’s shares, and then began a public acquisition of Manchester United, until the end of 2004, when they completed the acquisition of Manchester United.

In this entire acquisition process, they spent less than 800 million pounds - in comparison, Manchester United Football Club’s current market capitalization of 310 million pounds was too cheap.

Therefore, at the beginning of January, Barron had already asked DS Capital to take the lead over the Glazer family and start absorbing Manchester United Football Club’s shares in the secondary market.

Barron decided to acquire Manchester United Football Club, not only because he was a Manchester United fan in his previous life; but also because the Glazer family, known as the “vampires,” continuously bled the club after the acquisition, which filled all the fans with hatred.

More importantly, buying Manchester United Football Club would not only give him considerable influence in England and around the world, but it was also a very cost-effective deal.

You must know that Manchester United Football Club at this time was already the most successful club in the current Premier League, winning the Champions League treble in 1999, and was a regular contender for the Premier League title, with widespread influence around the world.

And unlike other top clubs, which were mostly privately held, Manchester United was a listed company with relatively transparent finances, with an annual revenue of nearly 200 million pounds and a net profit of 15 million pounds in 2002.

And Manchester United’s revenue and profits mainly came from ongoing business operations (tickets, sponsorships, television broadcasting rights), and not from buying and selling players (buying and selling players is similar to making movies; the revenue may be high, but it is extremely unstable and volatile).

Manchester United was different from many other European clubs, which were playthings of tycoons, but a club with good profitability and maintaining a high level of competition - Manchester United’s three main revenue streams (tickets, sponsorships, and television broadcasting rights) all had considerable room for growth.

And the Premier League, as a well-run league with a rising overall value, had an increasing global influence - at this time, the Premier League had become the world’s largest league, and its influence had expanded globally.

So, the global commercial value of the Premier League as a whole was still in its early stages of development, and the future market space was enormous.

And as the most well-known club in the Premier League, Manchester United Football Club had a very broad future, and could take the largest piece of the pie in the Premier League.

Chapter 146: Making Dumplings

Besides investing a portion of the funds into the process of absorbing Manchester United Football Club, DS Capital’s current primary operation was to close out the previous long positions on international crude oil and gold prices and concentrate funds on shorting crude oil.

In fact, the trend of international gold prices before and after the Iraq War was also very similar to the trend of crude oil prices.

In the first half of last year, international gold prices were still below 300 US dollars per ounce. By the beginning of 2003, international gold prices had risen to around 340 US dollars per ounce.

As the atmosphere of war intensified, by the beginning of February, international gold prices had risen to above 390 US dollars per ounce, once approaching 400 US dollars per ounce—this was the highest point for gold prices in nearly six and a half years.

It was around this price point that DS Capital, under the command of Barron, began to close out their free funds and the long positions of the Mars Fund, a private equity fund, on gold and crude oil.

Gold would also experience a decline in the future.

However, the magnitude of the decline was not as great as that of crude oil prices, so DS Capital’s main operation in the short term was to short international crude oil after closing out their positions.

This time, in addition to DS Capital’s own 200 million pounds—in order to raise funds, DS Capital closed out its long-held stocks, including the previous long positions on London copper, raising a total of 200 million pounds of funds.

In addition, the Mars Fund—the Mars Fund, with an initial starting capital of 50 million pounds, had, in less than half a year of operation, after closing out its long positions on gold and crude oil futures, seen its funds reach 120 million pounds, a scale increase of 240%!

Adding to this the 200 million pounds Barron had just obtained from Barclays Bank by mortgaging his assets…

This time, the funds DS Capital would use for shorting would reach a staggering 520 million pounds!

However, the Mars Fund would short international gold prices, while the 400 million pounds of its own funds plus loans would be used to short international crude oil prices.

The main reason was that the Mars Fund’s funds were managed by Barclays Bank. Relatively speaking, DS Capital’s own funds were more convenient for concealing their positions.

……

“Happy Chinese New Year, Laura.”

February 1st of this year was the Chinese New Year. After getting into the Rolls-Royce, Barron said this to his personal assistant, Laura.

“Happy New Year, Your Grace. I almost forgot if you hadn’t mentioned it.”

This was mainly because she now lived in Kensington, near Barron’s home. If she were in Chinatown in Soho, the atmosphere of the Chinese New Year would be quite strong.

“It’s a pity that I can’t eat dumplings for the Chinese New Year…”

Barron said with some regret.

It was also because of the Chinese New Year that he gave his Chinese chef a two-day holiday to reunite with his family. As for himself, he could make dumplings, but he could only make them. Kneading the dough, rolling out the wrappers, and preparing the filling were far beyond his capabilities.

“If you want to eat dumplings, Mr. Duke, I can make some extra and send them to you.”

Hearing Laura’s words, Barron’s eyes lit up. He smiled and said:

“Are you planning to make them for dinner? How about this, you can come to my house to make them together, the atmosphere will be better, and I’ve learned a little about making dumplings.”

“Wouldn’t that disturb you and Miss Bonnie?”

Barron shrugged and said:

“Bonnie is on a business trip, and my Chinese chef is also on holiday. I was originally planning to ask someone to go to a Chinese restaurant to buy some dumplings to eat…”

Bonnie was indeed not in London now, because she had already gone to Castle Carreg Cennen in advance—the filming of the second season of the reality show “The Traitors” was about to begin in two months. Because the filming location for this season of “The Traitors” would be changed from Chatsworth House to Castle Carreg Cennen, she needed to go to Castle Carreg Cennen in advance to plan some renovations for the filming of the show.

……

“Barron, I am very fortunate with my decision back then.”

Today, according to the prior agreement, the Crown Prince came to DS Capital. After learning about the current rate of return of the Mars Fund, the Crown Prince was very happy. He patted Barron on the shoulder and asked:

“I plan to add more investment. When can I do that?”

“We were originally planning to settle the Mars Fund after the one-year term was up, but in addition to you, many investors also hope to invest in the Mars Fund again. Among them are the previous investors, as well as new investors, so we plan to reopen the investment channel for the Mars Fund in early April.”

Barron had also considered this matter. After all, in his opinion, the current scale of the Mars Fund was still too small.

Previously, DS Capital did not have enough qualifications and achievements, and its appeal to investors was not great. But with the impressive results of the Mars Fund in less than half a year, it also attracted more investors. Someone had been asking when they could invest in the Mars Fund, so he made this decision.

“Okay, remember to notify me then, Barron. I plan to invest another 20 million pounds.”

“No problem, Your Highness.”

Barron was also happy to tie the interests of the Crown Prince to his own more closely. After all, many things in the future would also need to rely on the other party’s influence.

For example, at this time, because the timing was not yet ripe, he had not yet mentioned his plan to acquire O2.

You must know that O2 was spun off from British Telecom, and British Telecom itself was originally a state-owned enterprise, which later publicly sold 50% of its shares, thereby becoming a private company, but still 50% of the shares belonged to the state.

And from the O2 company that was spun off, state-owned shares also occupied a very large proportion. It could be said that if Barron wanted to acquire O2, the government’s attitude would be absolutely crucial.

In this regard, Barron had prepared a dual strategy. One was to use the influence of the royal family to persuade the management of O2. In addition, he planned to participate in the Iraq War in Britain, and after the domestic anti-war voices were rising, he would use his media to “not make trouble” in this area as a condition to reach a “tacit understanding” with the Prime Minister, thereby obtaining their approval for the O2 acquisition.

Of course, relying on these alone was still not enough. Barron would also have a dedicated acquisition team to communicate and negotiate with the management of O2.

After getting off work, Barron directly took Laura back to his residence.

His home was well-stocked with Chinese food ingredients, and he had also asked the butler, Ramos, to prepare some corresponding vegetables in advance.

As for dumplings, Barron’s favorite were the Chinese cabbage and pork dumplings and the chives and pork dumplings. It could be seen that Laura was indeed very experienced in making dumplings. The filling she prepared smelled very tempting.

Ramos had now become the butler of the London residence. He had never seen the esteemed Duke personally enter the kitchen, and he immediately took the maids to help.

But making dumplings was really too difficult for them. In the end, Barron still exerted the duke’s authority and drove them all out of the kitchen.

“I didn’t expect you to make dumplings that really look quite good, Your Grace.”

Seeing that Barron’s dumplings, although not skillful, at least looked quite beautiful, Laura was also very surprised and praised him.

And for Barron, this kind of scene at this time evoked his memories of similar scenes from his previous life.

Perhaps it was an imprint carved into his soul. Chinese people always have a sense of warmth for making dumplings.

Chapter 147: Family Office

It seemed something was missing, besides making dumplings…

That would be the Spring Festival Gala, which most Chinese families in China would watch on New Year’s Eve. Barron also thought about it, it seemed that SDTV could contact China’s CCTV. If the copyright fees they requested weren’t too high, then they could broadcast their Spring Festival Gala every year during the Spring Festival.

Currently, there are approximately 400,000 Chinese people in the entire UK, with 150,000 in London alone.

This group of people was not small.

“It’s getting late, Laura, you should stay here tonight.”

It was almost half past eight after they finished eating, Barron said to Laura.

“Ah?!”

“Uh, I mean, I have many guest rooms here, and we have to go to work early tomorrow, so you don’t have to go home.”

Hearing Barron’s seemingly explanatory words, the blush on Laura’s face still hadn’t faded, but there was an ambiguous emotion flashing in her eyes.

…

On February 1st, 2003, the American space shuttle “Columbia” exploded over Texas during its return, and all seven astronauts were killed.

On February 5th, the US military deployed around Iraq entered attack positions. At this time, the US troops stationed on the border between Kuwait and Iraq had reached 35,000. The United States already had three aircraft carrier battle groups in position to strike Iraq, and a fourth aircraft carrier battle group would also arrive at the designated waters.

On February 10th, France, Belgium, and Germany formally vetoed NATO’s military deployment to increase Turkish defense before the Iraq War at NATO headquarters in Brussels, further deepening the divisions within NATO on the Iraq issue.

It could be said that although the United States was the “leading大哥” (big brother) of NATO, the EU still hadn’t followed its every move, especially on the Iraq issue. Germany and France were opposed to the use of force against it—also because Iraq had a good relationship with the EU; many of their weapons were imported from France. France had always been a relatively “rebellious” member of NATO.

It was also because before, when the EU was in its heyday, it announced the launch of the Euro, and Iraq, because it was sanctioned by the United States, had its US dollar settlement channel cut off. Therefore, Saddam Hussein bet on the Euro and was eager to announce that Iraq’s oil transactions would be settled in Euros.

Thus, a series of demonstration effects were produced. Iran, Russia, Venezuela, and other countries announced that their countries’ oil settlements would also be settled in Euros. Such behavior was naturally intolerable to the United States.

Therefore, in the final analysis, the United States’ choice to use force against Iraq was probably mainly to “kill the chicken to scare the monkey,” take down an Iraq, and also let other countries that followed suit see the consequences, and to strike at the EU’s Euro plan. Iraq’s oil was just their “incidental” profit.

On February 14th, when the chairman of the UN Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission and the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency made a report on the second phase of the Iraq inspection at the meeting, they claimed that so far, the weapons inspection team had not found that Iraq possessed prohibited weapons, only found a small amount of “chemical substances that should be disclosed and destroyed.” He stated that “there is no evidence that Iraq is developing nuclear weapons.”

On February 15th, the largest anti-war demonstration since the Vietnam War broke out around the world. Nearly 10 million peace-loving people held anti-war demonstrations in approximately 600 cities around the world at the same time, opposing the United States’ attempt to launch a war against Iraq.

In London, more than 500,000 people took to the streets to protest against the UK and the US’s preparation for military strikes against Iraq.

SDTV, under Barron’s control, broadcast and reported the entire anti-war demonstration, and the Independent newspaper also conducted special reports and comments in the “Independent” and the “London Evening Standard.”

After this, a rather secret conversation was held in a house next to Barron’s residence. The two parties in the conversation were Tim Allan, a liaison advisor from the Prime Minister’s Office at 10 Downing Street, and Annabella Nolan, a public relations advisor from the Cavendish Office.

Barron had also recently established a family office—the Cavendish Family Office. This family office included talent in public relations, finance, law, investment, and intelligence, and would be an institution specifically responsible for Barron’s personal affairs.

For example, Nigel Inkster, the head of the intelligence team formed before, became the intelligence advisor of the Cavendish Family Office.

Annabella Nolan was a professional public relations expert and had a deep connection with the Devonshire family, and was hired by Barron as the public relations advisor of the Cavendish Family Office.

In late February, a team commissioned by DS Capital, with personnel from Goldman Sachs and Barclays Bank participating, officially began to contact O2, to negotiate the acquisition of the company.

Their first offer for O2 was 4.5 billion pounds, to acquire all its businesses, including mobile communications and personal broadband.

This news immediately became the most watched merger and acquisition event in the entire UK. After all, DS Capital had not been well-known before, while O2 was one of the top telecommunications companies in the UK. Many reports questioned whether DS Capital had the strength to acquire O2, and some even directly ridiculed it as “wishful thinking.”

However, when the media revealed that the owner of DS Capital was the youngest duke in the UK, the Duke of Devonshire, the name of Barron Cavendish once again appeared on the headlines of many newspapers.

This young man, who had just inherited the dukedom and family business last year, was now preparing to buy O2, one of the largest communications companies in the UK. Either point was very easy to attract attention.

“The O2 board of directors is still quite interested in our proposed all-cash acquisition method, but there is a big difference in price. They are willing to sell O2, but the price they propose is as high as 6.5 billion pounds.”

Amber Sheen was the general manager of DS Industrial Investment Company, responsible for leading the acquisition team to acquire O2.

It could be said that he was very excited about DS Capital’s large-scale acquisition. The final acquisition price would likely exceed 5 billion pounds. There weren’t many opportunities to be directly responsible for this kind of acquisition. Back a year ago, he would never have thought that he could be in charge of an acquisition of this scale.

“And our acquisition is not without resistance. After the news of our acquisition came out, Vodafone, T-Mobile, and Orange all announced that they were preparing to join the acquisition of O2, which may raise our acquisition price.”

Hearing Amber’s words, Barron thought for a moment and said:

“Don’t even think about Vodafone. It’s impossible for them to acquire O2 to pass the anti-monopoly investigation. As for T-Mobile and Orange, they won’t have a chance either, but the O2 board of directors will definitely not give up the idea of raising the price by relying on this news.”

“Indeed, although their asking price of 6.5 billion pounds can definitely be lowered, the final transaction price will probably not be less than 5.5 billion pounds!”

Barron had long anticipated Amber’s worry.

But it was still very cost-effective to acquire O2 now.

Currently, O2’s main business was still in the UK, but it already had plans to expand into the French and German markets, but many people were not optimistic about it.

But in Barron’s previous life, when Telefonica of Spain acquired O2 in 2005, they already had subnets and a large number of users in the UK, France, and Germany, and their development was very smooth. At that time, Telefonica of Spain offered a premium of 22% of its market value, and spent a full 17.7 billion euros to buy the company.

Chapter 148: Gift

“What beautiful flowers, thank you, darling.”

Today was February 14th, Valentine’s Day. Barron personally went to the SEM Group headquarters in Canary Wharf to pick up his girlfriend, Bonnie.

After receiving Barron’s call, Bonnie easily spotted Barron’s Rolls-Royce Phantom, distinctively painted with the Devonshire family crest, parked downstairs at the headquarters.

This car wasn’t the same model Barron had been using before. This Rolls-Royce Phantom was a custom-made vehicle for the esteemed Duke, specially commissioned by Rolls-Royce.

Not only did the car have the Devonshire family crest painted on the side by the factory, but the entire interior also featured the family’s traditional golden color scheme.

After getting into the car, Bonnie received the bouquet of roses Barron had brought. She gave her boyfriend a kiss, deeply inhaling the fragrance of the flowers, her face filled with sweetness.

“This is a gift for you, baby. Happy Valentine’s Day.”

Their dinner was a carefully prepared candlelight dinner at Barron’s villa.

Before the meal, Barron gave Bonnie a delicate jewelry box. When she opened it, she saw a necklace inlaid with diamonds.

“It’s so beautiful, darling, I love it.”

“Let me put it on for you.”

Entering the room, Bonnie took off her woolen coat, revealing a sky-blue professional outfit underneath. A smile graced her face as she stood up, her slender, beautiful legs encased in flesh-colored stockings, her figure almost perfect.

Barron stood behind her, his height just right. He gathered her long hair and helped her put on the necklace.

Bonnie’s heart was filled with sweetness. She leaned against her boyfriend’s embrace, turned her head, and their lips met…

Today’s menu featured French cuisine, paired with fine red wine from Chatsworth House, a treasure from the family’s wine cellar, beginning a wonderful evening.

…

“Bonnie, your necklace is beautiful. I haven’t seen you wear it before.”

“Barron just gave it to me…”

“Oh, a Valentine’s Day gift?”

Seeing the somewhat teasing expression on her cousin, the Viscountess Booth’s face, Bonnie sat beside her and looked at her ear, saying:

“Your earrings are also very beautiful, sister.”

The Viscountess heard this and glanced at Barron and Viscount Booth, who were talking on the other side, and said:

“I bought these the other day when I was shopping…”

“Christie has good taste, I think they’re beautiful too.”

Viscount Booth’s words came from the other side, and he gave the two sisters a smile.

But at this moment, Barron beside him was secretly a little relieved…

Well, luckily, on Valentine’s Day, he didn’t slack off and buy the two sisters jewelry from the same brand, otherwise, it would have been a bit obvious…

“The King’s Cross redevelopment plan seems a bit slow, Mr. Booth.”

Barron started the conversation, turning the topic to Argent Real Estate Group’s King’s Cross redevelopment project.

“There’s nothing we can do. Progress is slower in winter, and since last year, the price of raw materials has also been constantly rising, which has caused our construction costs to far exceed the budget.”

Viscount Booth didn’t seem to notice anything, and said to Barron:

“But don’t worry, before June of this year, our ‘King’s Mansion’ and the Cavendish King’s Building will be completed.”

King’s Mansion was the original abandoned gas storage tank site, which would be developed into high-end residential apartments and named “King’s Mansion.”

The Cavendish King’s Building, located between King’s Cross Station and the west bank of the Regent’s Canal, would be the Cavendish Hotel Group’s new four-star hotel in King’s Cross.

In this sense, the completion time of the Cavendish King’s Building would be later than the Cavendish Building in Soho. That building had already been topped out and was undergoing interior and exterior renovations, and it would be ready for occupancy in less than two months.

“So the entire project needs additional funds?”

Hearing Barron’s question, Viscount Booth nodded and said:

“It seems so at the moment. For some public projects, we have already asked the city government for additional project funds, but for our own projects, we need to solve it ourselves. We are currently negotiating these matters with the bank, hoping to get additional financing.”

He said easily:

“But it’s not a big problem. After all, due to the rise in building material costs, the selling prices and rents of real estate are all rising accordingly, and our future profit expectations are still very optimistic. If it really doesn’t work, we can continue to seek investment in Argent Real Estate Group.”

“Does that mean you will continue to offer shares of Argent Real Estate Group in exchange for financing?”

“Our top priority is still to negotiate with Barclays Bank to increase the loan, or to seek loans from other banks. Releasing shares is only done as a last resort. After all, the prospects of Argent Real Estate Group are bright, and anyone can see that.”

Ian Booth shrugged and said:

“If you weren’t going to acquire O2 recently, then I would be very happy to provide you with additional funds.”

It seemed that Barron’s acquisition of O2 was indeed known to everyone.

“There’s nothing I can do, Mr. Booth. You know, acquiring O2 is already a very big challenge, and I’m afraid I’ll have to operate with debt for a long time.”

“It’s worth it, isn’t it? Once the acquisition is successful, you’ll probably become one of the giants in the domestic communications industry. Controlling such a company will have a completely different impact.”

It seemed that Viscount Booth was also very optimistic about the acquisition of O2. He said to Barron cordially:

“Our family also knows some friends who hold shares in O2. If you need help, I’m also happy to help you mediate, Your Grace.”

“That’s really very grateful.”

…

“Darling, if you have something else to do, I can go to the company myself.”

As they were about to say goodbye to the Booth, Barron received a phone call. Daisy had something to tell him, so Bonnie said this considerately.

“It’s okay, it’s not urgent. I’ll go to Lloyd’s Building later. I’ll drop you off first.”

“Your Grace, are you going to the City?”

Hearing the Viscountess suddenly ask this, Barron nodded:

“Yes, Madam, my DS Capital is over there.”

“That’s great. It’s on the way. The beauty salon I often go to is not far from there. Can you take me there?”

“Very happy to.”

After the Rolls-Royce Phantom stopped downstairs at the SEM Group, Bonnie got out of the car and left. At this time, the Viscountess, who had been sitting in the front passenger seat, got up and sat in the back.

“It’s more comfortable to sit in the back of this car, Your Grace.”

It was about to be the end of February, and the temperature in London wasn’t too cold. The Viscountess was wearing a dress under her overcoat. At this moment, she brought her legs, wearing black cotton stockings and boots, together in front of her and looked at Barron sideways.

However, looking at the charm in her eyes, how could Barron not understand what the Viscountess was thinking?

“How long do you need at the beauty salon? Do you want me to pick you up on the way back?”

As he said this, the hand Barron had placed on the center armrest wasn’t idle. He reached out directly and placed it on the Viscountess’s leg.

“Actually, I’m also a little curious about your company. Do you mind if I visit it on the way? Your Grace.”

Seeing the Viscountess subtly change her posture, allowing Barron’s hand to more conveniently check the quality of her cotton stockings…

Barron said with a serious face:

“It’s an honor, Madam.”

Chapter 149: The Skyscraper for Sale?

“We started closing out our crude oil and gold futures positions at the beginning of the month. Coupled with the 200 million pounds loan you got from Barclays Bank, we have approximately 520 million pounds in total.”

In DS Capital, Daisy reported the progress of this investment to Barron:

“The Mars Fund has invested approximately 120 million pounds, with a margin of about 20%, into shorting the price of gold. We are basically fully invested now, with a cost price of around 257 pounds per ounce. The remaining 400 million pounds have also been invested in shorting crude oil futures, using a 10% margin. Our current cost price is around 35.8 dollars per barrel.”

“Has the establishment of positions gone smoothly?”

“The establishment of positions has been relatively smooth this time. According to current news, even within OPEC, there are already disagreements regarding the decision to further relax the oil production quotas of its member countries. They believe that the demands of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and other countries to relax the quotas in order to curb oil prices are completely following the United States’ lead and harming the interests of the oil-producing countries.”

Daisy said cautiously:

“Therefore, many analysts believe that oil prices may continue to rise under the current circumstances, which has led to a lot of funds going long on crude oil prices in the market. Especially oil-producing countries including Iraq and Russia have stated that if the United States takes military action against Iraq, they might even reduce production as a response to the United States’ military action. This increases the possibility of oil prices skyrocketing due to reduced production after the outbreak of war.”

“There’s no need to worry about these things; they’re just talking.”

Barron shook his head, saying completely unconcerned:

“I’m certain that many of these countries will even secretly increase production at that time; they may even have started already.”

Even within the OPEC organization, there is no unity. Previously, in order to maintain oil prices, OPEC had limited the daily crude oil extraction volume of its member countries, but many member countries secretly increased their extraction volume for economic benefits.

Now that crude oil prices are relatively high, Barron wouldn’t believe that they would really abide by the regulations, and even Russia probably wouldn’t miss the opportunity to sell more oil at this time.

“You mentioned another matter earlier?”

“Yes, BOSS. We received news that Lloyd’s of London intends to sell the Lloyd’s building we are currently in. Their asking price is 200 million pounds…”

The Lloyd’s building where DS Capital is currently located is a landmark building in the heart of the City of London. It was built by Lloyd’s of London in 1986. It includes a 12-story insurance business hall that can accommodate 10,000 people and office buildings arranged in a stepped layout on the sides.

The main user of the Lloyd’s building at this time is the London branch of Lloyd’s of London – they use more than two-thirds of the property.

Lloyd’s of London itself is the largest insurance company in the UK. According to Daisy, Lloyd’s of London plans to continue renting the building after selling it.

In other words, they hope to obtain the funds from selling the building in one go, but still rent offices in the building, and buying the building would also provide stable rental income…

Barron was also somewhat tempted by this because he knew that this building was relatively well-preserved. In his previous life, eight years later, China’s Ping An Insurance spent 260 million pounds to buy this building, but at that time, this building already belonged to a German real estate investment company. The other party initially intended to sell the Lloyd’s building for 290 million pounds.

So if Barron buys this building now, he can not only save on rent, continuously receive rent from Lloyd’s of London, but also sell it at a higher price in a few years.

The key is that he doesn’t need to pay for the purchase of this building entirely with his own funds; he can rely on financing for most of it. Even if he pays a certain amount of interest, he can still continuously obtain more profits.

Thinking of this, Barron’s heart moved, and he immediately called Amber, who was in charge of DS Asset Management, and asked him to come forward to contact Lloyd’s of London and discuss the matter of DS Asset Management buying the Lloyd’s building.

They could pay in cash, but they must negotiate the price down; after all, the other party’s asking price is 200 million pounds, and there is often a minimum psychological price.

If it’s a cash payment, they can definitely negotiate it down. Barron hopes that the final transaction amount can be lower than 180 million pounds – in addition, the rent for Lloyd’s of London to rent the property here in the future also needs to be negotiated.

…

“It seems you are very busy, Duke.”

After Barron returned to his office, he saw Viscountess Booth. sitting on the sofa, looking at a magazine. After seeing Barron come in, she said this to him.

“Laura, pour another cup of coffee for Mrs. Booth, and, um, another cup of black tea for me, thank you.”

Barron first instructed his personal assistant, Laura, at the door, then said to the Viscountess:

“I just said that I had something on today, but from now on, my time is yours, madam.”

“Oh? Is that so…”

The Viscountess leaned against Barron and said in his ear:

“Then can we continue what we didn’t finish in the car just now…”

Her words couldn’t help but remind Barron of the scene of intimacy with the Viscountess in the back of the Rolls-Royce Phantom on the way to the Lloyd’s building.

It was also because his Rolls-Royce Phantom had a partition between the front and rear seats. After he closed the partition at that time, the two of them were quite unrestrained…

Barron had even pressed the Viscountess’s head, making it difficult for her to lift it up…

It was just that at this moment, while the two were flirting, the office door was knocked.

“Thank you, Laura…”

Laura placed a cup of coffee and a cup of black tea on the side table. Her eyes swept over the Viscountess without a trace, then she gave Barron a smile and left the office.

“Your secretary is very beautiful, Duke, perhaps the relationship with you is also extraordinary…”

Chris had noticed Laura before and said this to Barron with a meaningful tone.

“She is my personal assistant, not a secretary, and we are just a superior-subordinate relationship, don’t think too much…”

“Hehe, men… Ian’s secretary is different from you, he’s a young man, but I dare say that the relationship between the two of you and your secretary is the same…”

The Viscountess suddenly showed a charming smile and said to Barron:

“Also, Duke, your explanation is also a bit pale, because just now when I was talking about that… Miss Laura, you were… a little restless here.”

Uh, was I?

But at this moment, Barron didn’t want to let the Viscountess tease him.

He put his hands on the Viscountess’s shoulders, and with his force, the Viscountess slowly lowered her body and knelt on the carpet.

And Barron sat on the office chair, facing the Viscountess’s charming face.

“My dear madam, I think what you should do now is not to speak with your mouth, but to…”

“Mmm…”

Chapter 150: The Correct Choice

“Mr. Rolf, His Grace the Duke also asked me to tell you that the friendship between Barclays Bank and you, with the Devonshire family, will always face tests. I hope you will make the correct choice.”

Looking at the public relations consultant from the Cavendish family office, the amiable smile of Annabella revealed a touch of determination. Rolf also smiled:

“Ms. Nolan, His Grace the Duke can rest assured, because I attach great importance to my friendship with him.”

The reason for this meeting was that Barron had previously received information from the Countess of Booth, namely that through something she overheard, the Countess had not been entirely honest with him regarding the Argent Real Estate Group.

Increasing loans from the bank was a good method, especially after the plan for the King’s Cross area renovation of the Argent Real Estate Company needed more funds than budgeted due to the increase in construction material costs.

But the Viscount of Booth. preferred to solve the funding problem by introducing investors who were more closely related to him – this would also increase the shares they could control, thereby maintaining control over the Argent Real Estate Group.

Of course, if it was necessary to increase capital and expand shares, Barron was not entirely passive. According to the initial investment agreement, he also had the right to increase capital to maintain his shareholding ratio.

But the problem now was that Barron had already started merger negotiations with O2 Company. This was a very large-scale acquisition. Even with the help of financial leverage, Barron was probably unable to put much extra money into the Argent Real Estate Group during this plan.

Therefore, after considering it, Barron realized that it was easiest to understand the flow and scale of his funds at this time, and that was Barclays Bank, with whom he had cooperation in many areas.

Thus, today’s meeting between Annabella Nolan and Rolf took place. Through Annabella, Barron needed to remind Rolf not to stand on his opposite side.

At this time, the merger negotiations between DS Capital and O2 Company had made some progress. Barron raised the acquisition price to 5 billion pounds, and although O2 Company had also lowered its price, it still insisted on 6 billion pounds.

Next, in order to gain the support of O2 Company’s management, Barron’s side contacted them, guaranteeing that after the acquisition, if no major problems occurred in O2 Company’s operations, there would be no major adjustments to the company’s management.

This was also because Barron knew that in the original timeline, the management of O2 Company did quite well later on, successfully opening up the French and German markets, allowing O2 Company’s communications business to enter continental Europe, which was why he made this statement.

At the same time, through the “coordination” of the royal family and the government, and more importantly, the rapid development of Digital UK Company since this year – as of early March, the number of Freeview platform users had exceeded 1 million households, and it was predicted that the number of new users would reach an explosive growth of 400,000 to 500,000 households per month.

And Digital UK Company was also about to install upgraded set-top boxes with some network functions for users through the latest technology.

In this case, if the controlling shareholder of Digital UK Company, DS Capital, could successfully acquire O2 Company, then O2 Company would obtain a cooperation order from Digital UK Company in the internet broadband business, thereby directly increasing the number of users by millions. This was also the reason why O2 Company was willing to make certain compromises to DS Capital.

As mentioned before, O2 Company was originally spun off from British Telecom. During the great development of the telecommunications industry around 2000, British Telecom’s business also expanded continuously.

But because of the impact of the internet bubble crisis later, British Telecom began to suffer large losses. It was under this background that they spun off the mobile communications business and other businesses facing individual users, while mainly retaining their own telephone business and broadband business facing corporate companies.

Therefore, at this time, O2 Company, in addition to having a mobile communications business, also had a broadband business for individual families.

It’s just that compared to its mobile communications business, its broadband business was not as competitive as other companies.

But Barron knew that 3G networks would soon arrive, and at that time, the mobile internet business and broadband business for individual families could actually be integrated together to form a very competitive package business.

Faced with the large number of potential users given by Digital UK, O2 Company was also very envious, hoping to strengthen the scale of their broadband business with this.

…

On March 10th, ministers and dignitaries from OPEC member states arrived in Vienna to attend the 124th OPEC meeting the following day.

Under the imminent situation of the United States launching a war against Iraq, what this meeting urgently needed to discuss was what measures OPEC should take to alleviate the possible shortage of crude oil supply in the international market once the war caused the interruption of Iraq’s oil exports.

At the meeting, in order to ensure the supply of oil and prevent the price of oil from soaring, countries such as Saudi Arabia and Kuwait advocated that once the United States launched a war against Iraq, they would temporarily cancel the organization’s production quotas and allow member states to open up production.

But countries such as Iran, Algeria, and Nigeria opposed the cancellation of the quotas, believing that the market supply was sufficient at the moment and there was no need to increase production.

Algerian Minister of Energy and Mines, Chakib Khelil, said that OPEC had already increased its daily production twice last year, with an increase of 2.8 million barrels. Therefore, there was no need to increase production even if war broke out.

Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zangeneh even raised the issue of oil prices to a political level, stating that Iran did not support decisions with political motives.

Industry insiders believed that the issue was not whether “the issue of temporarily canceling OPEC’s production quotas would be included in the agenda of this meeting,” but how much production capacity OPEC member states actually had.

The actual situation was that at this time, except for Venezuela, whose oil production had not yet reached its quota, other member states were mostly overproducing under the temptation of high oil prices and had no capacity to increase production.

If Venezuela could not quickly resume production, then once Iraq’s oil exports of 1.7 million barrels per day were interrupted, it would be difficult for OPEC alone to fill the gap.

In this case, the market generally believed that if the war really broke out, and Iraq’s oil production capacity was “zeroed out,” the trend of international crude oil prices rising again was inevitable.

By this time, the price of international crude oil had slowly fallen from a high of 36 dollars in mid-February to above 30 dollars.

Although DS Capital’s short oil futures account already had a considerable amount of unrealized profit, facing the current situation, even Daisy, who had always been very confident in Barron’s decisions, couldn’t help but persuade him again that he should appropriately close some positions, at least reduce the leverage multiple, so as to avoid a short-term surge in oil prices and lead to a margin call if the war really came.

Prior to this, on March 7th, the United States, Britain, and Spain submitted the latest proposal for the use of force against Iraq to the Security Council, but in the vote of the permanent members, only Britain and the United States voted in favor, while China and France abstained, and Russia vetoed it.

This resolution was also opposed by most European countries. Among the major European powers, France and Germany both held opposing attitudes, and only Portugal expressed support.

The Norwegian government announced in Oslo on the 10th that once Iraq was hit by war, the Norwegian government was prepared to provide 100 million Norwegian kroner (approximately 71.8 million US dollars) in emergency aid to the Iraqi people.

At this time, Barron knew that after realizing that authorization through the UN was hopeless and the United States could not get enough votes of support, they would not give up on the use of force against Iraq.

War, was about to come.

Chapter 151: The Disruptor

Sure enough, after a few days, Argent Real Estate Group made a move.

“Due to the rise in raw material prices, as well as other unforeseen factors during construction, we currently need to increase our funding by 300 million pounds.”

In the Argent Real Estate Group’s board of directors, their CEO said this:

“The bank can only provide an additional loan of 150 million pounds. The remaining 150 million pounds funding gap can only be filled through financing.”

Currently, Barron holds a total of 20% of Argent Real Estate Group’s shares, with the family trust holding 15% of the shares; DS Industrial Investment Company holds 5% of the shares.

Therefore, he has two seats on the Argent Real Estate Group’s board of directors, with Barron himself and Amber Sheen as board members.

However, even so, the Booth. family still holds a dominant position on the Argent Real Estate Group’s board of directors – their family can garner support for over 50% of the shares.

“This time, our existing shareholders will contribute corresponding shares, and we will also put up a portion of the shares to seek new investors to join.”

Viscount Booth, as the chairman of Argent Real Estate Group, explained to Barron:

“It’s really because the additional loans from the bank can no longer cover the funds we need. The shortfall in the middle is also not something that shareholders can increase capital to complete. The addition of new investors is also imperative.”

The entire King’s Cross district renewal plan will be a super project with a total cost of over 11 billion pounds, including the renovation of two stations, as well as the renovation and construction of public facilities and welfare facilities, with the government’s investment being around 8 billion pounds.

The investment related to Argent Real Estate Group’s own industry will also exceed 3 billion pounds, most of which will be completed through bank loans, and they also need to contribute a certain amount of their own funds.

Of course, these funds are used for the entire King’s Cross district renewal plan, not a one-time expenditure.

The entire King’s Cross district renewal plan will last for nearly 20 years, and it is not being built simultaneously in all areas, but rather divided into several stages.

Each stage will immediately undergo commercial development after completion, selling or renting the newly built buildings, and those buildings used for rent can also bring new loans to support the next stage of development.

Therefore, in the current first stage, the original plan was that 500 million pounds would be able to start, but for various reasons, the current funding demand has reached 800 million pounds, so an additional 300 million pounds of funds are needed.

This is why Argent Real Estate Group needs to continue financing this time.

“Of course, according to the original agreement, Your Grace, you can also contribute corresponding funds to ensure the proportion of shares you hold.”

Facing Viscount Booth’s words, Barron frowned slightly:

“You know, I’m recently acquiring O2 company, so I’m still a little tight on funds.”

“I can understand this, but even if the shares are slightly diluted, there is still a huge increase in assets. Our plan is to use the new 20% shares to exchange for at least 200 million pounds of funds to join. Calculating like this, the valuation of Argent Real Estate Group will reach 1 billion pounds, and even if you no longer continue to contribute funds, your shareholding will only change from 20% to 16%, with a value of 160 million pounds, which is at least a five-fold increase compared to your original corresponding assets.”

Viscount Booth’s words were not wrong. Although in fact, after this Argent Real Estate Group’s financing, if Barron no longer contributes funds, the proportion of shares held will decrease to 16%, but the corresponding assets still have several times the growth.

But the problem is that this will not be the last financing of Argent Real Estate Group. If there are a few more times like this later, then it will quickly reduce Barron’s shareholding to below 10%, and his influence on this company will be almost non-existent.

This is also a kind of conspiracy, the side with sufficient funds can “wash” other shareholders in the company into small shareholders in this way, thus firmly controlling the company.

“Or should I provide this 200 million pounds for the group?”

Hearing Barron’s words, a flash of surprise flashed across Viscount Booth’s face, but seeing the young Duke’s face with a playful expression, he asked:

“Are you serious? Your Grace.”

“Maybe, but then I would have to give up acquiring O2 company, which is very difficult.”

Barron shrugged and said:

“But the additional loans from the bank are enough to support us for a while, right.”

“But we still need more funds in the end, we can’t wait like this, because even the addition of new investors requires negotiation and investigation.”

“Let’s do it like this for now, Mr. Booth, I’ll consider it and give you an answer as soon as possible.”

Just like that, watching Barron’s departing figure, Viscount Booth’s face became somewhat uncertain.

……

While waiting for the changes in international oil prices, the things Barron encountered were not only the financing of Argent Real Estate Group, but also changes in the acquisition of Manchester United Football Club’s shares.

“We currently have increased our total shareholding in Manchester United Football Club to 8%, but in the past few days, Manchester United’s stock price has also shown some unusual movements. We have found that someone is secretly acquiring shares in the market…”

Daisy told Barron that in addition to DS Capital, there were also other funds acquiring Manchester United Football Club’s shares.

Through investigation, the other party is an investment institution called Red Football LLC, but it is not yet known whether the other party is purely optimistic about the development of Manchester United Football Club and is making a financial investment, or whether they also have the idea of acquiring this club.

Red Football?

Hearing the name of this institution, Barron’s eyebrows raised slightly. He knew that this company should be the company registered by the American Glazer family to acquire Manchester United Football Club.

It seems they have finally started to enter the arena…

“Can you know how many shares they have bought now?”

“Through the analysis of the data, they should have just started buying, certainly not yet reaching the 5% shareholding ratio that requires a disclosure. According to the trading volume and price fluctuations of the stock in the past few days, I can be sure that their shareholding is far below ours, probably less than 1%.”

Hearing this news, Barron was relieved and said to Daisy:

“Keep a close eye on them, my intuition tells me that this Red Football LLC is not friendly and is very likely to become our competitor.”

“They also want to acquire Manchester United Football Club?”

“I will have people investigate more information, but I think that is also their purpose.”

Now Barron’s funds are mostly placed on shorting crude oil futures. Whether it is Argent Real Estate Group or Manchester United Football Club, he cannot make more moves, and can only wait for the oil price to reach the psychological price before dealing with it.

After returning to his office, Barron stretched lazily. Things have all come together. The acquisition of O2 company is still under negotiation, Argent Real Estate Group here, the Booth. family has started playing tricks again, and Manchester United Football Club here, the Glazer family has also appeared as in the original timeline, ready to disrupt the situation.

Just as Barron was thinking this, a pair of hands were placed on his shoulders. Feeling Barron’s body tense, the other party said gently:

“Your Grace, let me give you a massage.”

Chapter 152: The Outbreak of War

The one speaking was Barron’s personal assistant, Laura.

As her hand pressed on Barron’s shoulder, the massage’s intensity was quite enjoyable for him.

Barron felt a wave of relaxation wash over him, and he couldn’t help but lean his head against the back of the chair.

However, because of his height, only the lower part of his head touched the top of the chair back, while the upper part of his head sank into something soft.

Perhaps because Laura was too focused, she didn’t seem to notice and continued to massage Barron’s temples.

Putting aside everything else, after her massage, Barron did feel some relief.

“Thank you, Laura, I feel much better.”

“You’re welcome, Your Grace. I used to do this for my mother when she was tired.”

……

“My fellow citizens, at this moment, the United States and its allies are in the initial stages of military action to disarm Iraq, to liberate the Iraqi people and to prevent the world from falling into danger.

Under my orders, the Allied forces have begun to destroy important military targets to reduce Saddam Hussein’s ability to wage war. This is only the beginning; a comprehensive and extensive attack will follow.

More than 35 countries have provided significant support, whether it is the use of naval and air force bases, intellectual and moral assistance, or the dispatch of troops. Every country in the coalition has chosen to undertake the responsibility of this public defense and share a common honor.

For every man and woman of the American military in the Gulf, it depends on you to give peace to this chaotic world and hope to the oppressed people.

We trust you.

…”

After failing to pressure the UN and being unable to obtain its authorization to use force against Iraq, at 4:15 AM London time on March 20th, U.S. President George W. Bush delivered a televised speech announcing the start of the war against Iraq.

Two days prior, on March 18th, the British House of Commons voted to approve the government’s motion to take military action against Iraq.

On that day, the House of Commons voted on the Prime Minister’s proposal to “use all necessary means” to disarm Iraq, with the result being 412 votes in favor and 149 votes against the British policy of military action against Iraq.

Before the vote on this proposal, the House of Commons also voted on an anti-war proposal put forward by anti-war members of the Labour Party, with the result being 396 votes against and 217 votes in favor of rejecting this proposal.

Thus, starting on March 20th, the Allied forces, led by the United States and Britain, entered Iraqi territory, and the “Second Gulf War” began.

The joint forces consisted of 120,000 American troops, 45,000 British troops, over 2,000 Australian soldiers, and 200 Polish soldiers, in addition to approximately 50,000 Iraqi rebel forces.

They launched military strikes against Iraq through the U.S. military base stationed in Kuwait and were supported by a large number of air and sea-based aviation forces in the Gulf region.

The U.S. 3rd Infantry Division advanced towards Baghdad from the desert northwest of Kuwait, accompanied by the U.S. 101st Airborne Division and several units of the 82nd Airborne Division.

In another direction, the southeastern direction of Iraq, the U.S. Marine Corps 1st Expeditionary Force and the British Expeditionary Force (including the 1st Armored Division, composed of the 4th and 7th Armored Brigades, and several Marine Corps units) launched a pincer attack to open up Iraq’s maritime channels.

But to the surprise of most people, from mid-March until March 20th, when the Iraq War broke out, the price of international crude oil began a continuous decline.

By March 21st, the international oil price even fell below 23 US dollars!

Taking advantage of this opportunity, DS Capital began to close out its short positions in crude oil futures, and finally completed the closing at an average price of 23.3 US dollars.

It can be said that this operation was the most profitable one for DS Capital, and throughout the process, just from the shorting of crude oil futures, they gained over 1.35 billion pounds.

Barron knew that from the third day after the war broke out, the international oil price would have a small rebound and could even rise above 27.5 US dollars.

However, in such a short period, he wasn’t planning to continue operating.

Besides the Mars Fund, whose total capital had already exceeded 150 million pounds, which would continue to go long on international gold prices, the funds he had on hand were prepared to wait until April, close to May, when the American army occupied Baghdad in less than a month, making the international community quite confident in Iraq’s recovery of its crude oil production, and after the price of crude oil fell again, he would enter the market to go long on crude oil prices.

After all, overthrowing Saddam’s regime was easy, but the subsequent governance of Iraq by the U.S.-backed Iraqi transitional government could be considered a complete failure. Even after the UN lifted its sanctions against Iraq, the recovery of its crude oil production still faced many difficulties.

……

“Mr. Rolf, I believe you should have more confidence in me now regarding the acquisition of O2.”

The prompt repayment of the 200 million pounds mortgage loan and interest, along with the huge funds in DS Capital’s account, indeed made the friendship between Rolf, Barclays Bank, and the Devonshire family unbreakable.

And Rolf was now also glad that he had made the right choice and had not revealed too much information about DS Capital to the Booth. family.

“Your Grace, the acquisition negotiations with O2 are actually at the final stage. I believe a price of 5.5 billion pounds is acceptable to both parties.”

At this time, Rolf was extremely eager to facilitate Barron’s completion of the acquisition of O2.

Because if the acquisition was finally completed at a price of 5.5 billion pounds, Barclays Bank would provide approximately 2.5 billion pounds in financing for this acquisition!

You must know that this kind of high-leverage financing has very high interest rates!

The basic lending rate of the bank was around 5% at this time, while this financing would have an interest rate exceeding 10%.

Barclays Bank naturally wouldn’t really bear such a large risk. Their method was to package this financing into an investment product - a securities product with an interest rate exceeding 10% was very popular with users. In this process, as long as Barclays Bank sold these products, they could earn the interest rate spread with almost no risk.

As for whether investors thought the risk of this product was too high?

Don’t worry, O2 was right there. If things really went wrong, the agreement would stipulate that this securities product would be converted into O2 shares.

In addition, the Goldman Sachs Group, which would participate in this financing, basically operated in this way as well.

As for why the interest rate on this loan was so high, if it was a 5 billion pound financing, the interest alone would be 500 million pounds per year. Could Barron’s DS Capital bear such a large debt?

There was no need to worry about this either, because the increase in O2’s market value in these three years alone was more than that.

Moreover, after the acquisition was really completed, DS Capital could completely transfer this debt to O2 - of course, this was only the last resort.

A more stable approach was for O2 to issue a certain amount of corporate bonds or new loans with a lower interest rate, first repaying the previous high-interest loan, thereby reducing the cost of debt.

In any case, as long as the company’s operations were improving, there were always more solutions than problems.

Chapter 153: Are You Serious?

At the end of March, DS Capital finally reached an agreement with O2 Company regarding the acquisition. Ultimately, their DS Industrial Investment Fund would acquire O2 Company for a price of 5.5 billion pounds, using cash to fully acquire it.

Speaking of which, O2 was just their brand name at this time; the company’s full name was still BT Cellnet. However, after being acquired by DS Capital, this company would be renamed O2 Telecom and would cooperate with Digital UK to promote low-cost home broadband packages and IPTV-related services in the UK.

In this acquisition, DS Capital put up 500 million pounds in funds, and simultaneously borrowed 2.5 billion pounds each from Barclays Bank and Goldman Sachs Group. The interest rate on this financing was as high as 12%!

That is to say, every year they would pay as much as 600 million pounds in interest for this total financing of 5 billion pounds!

This seemed like a very heavy burden, but if it was understood that after two years, Barron would have spent a total of 5.5 billion pounds plus 1.2 billion pounds in interest, a total of 6.7 billion pounds, to buy O2 Company, which in the original timeline, Spanish Telecom had to spend 17.7 billion pounds to acquire, then it was simply a huge profit…

After DS Capital completed the acquisition of O2 Company, making O2 Telecom its wholly-owned subsidiary, this news also caused a sensation throughout the UK.

Because, although facing competition from companies like Vodafone and Orange, O2 Company was still at the forefront of mobile communication services in the UK. The acquisition of such a company, and by a previously unknown company, was astonishing.

However, after learning that this acquisition was using financial leverage, many reports believed that the high amount of financing, with such a high ratio, was destined to drag down O2 Company and were not optimistic about its future development.

In response, DS Capital did not give any response. After all, from the beginning of the acquisition of the Independent newspaper, Barron’s acquisition actions had never been favored by others.

But the facts proved that the results he obtained were all successful.

After completing the acquisition of O2 Company, DS Industrial Investment Fund once again acquired 8.5 million common shares issued by Sinclair Group at a price of 24 US dollars, accounting for 9% of its total share capital. For this, it would pay a total of 136 million pounds to Sinclair Group.

This transaction was part of the in-depth cooperation plan that SEM Group had with Sinclair Group before.

Prior to this, Sinclair Group had already invested in and held 10% of SEM Group’s shares. Now, after DS Industrial Investment Fund obtained the 9% of shares issued by Sinclair Group, the two sides could be considered as holding considerable shares mutually, which was also the basis for their closer cooperation.

Currently, Sinclair Group had already introduced SEM Group’s variety show, The Traitors, into the North American television market, and would shoot the American version of the reality show The Traitors at Chatsworth House in May; and after the first season of Downton Abbey was broadcast on SDTV, it would also introduce this highly acclaimed British drama to North America.

Similarly, there was also a lot of content currently broadcast on the SDTV television channel that was introduced from Sinclair Group, which enriched the content played on SDTV – Summit Media even had plans to add another television channel, SDTV Channel 2, starting from the second half of this year.

…

“Your Grace, we have already rented an office building in Cambridge, and are preparing to move the Woaw website off campus for operation, and will later recruit about 5 full-time employees. Adding the part-time employees from the school, we will basically be able to handle the current work.”

Reporting to Barron was Khalid Rivier, the original technical director of the Independent newspaper’s website – it was he who initially introduced Davos Baburin to Barron to help him establish the Woaw website.

Originally, Barron was planning for Davos to serve as the CEO of the Woaw website, but now it seemed that Davos was more devoted to technology, and was not very interested in the daily management of the website.

Therefore, Barron finally decided to transfer Khalid Rivier from the Independent newspaper to the Woaw website to serve as its CEO; while Davos would serve as CTO (Chief Technology Officer).

Currently, after the Woaw website opened registration to universities and high schools in the UK, the number of registered users on the website had exceeded 1 million, so it was decided to move it out of Cambridge University and begin formal commercial operation.

Don’t think that 1 million registered users is not a lot. It seems that many websites later have a user base of hundreds of millions, but you must know that at this time, the global user base of blog websites was only a little over 1 million.

And at the current stage, the Woaw website placed more emphasis on the quality of its users and the good atmosphere of the website, so it was still screening user registrations.

Otherwise, if registration was fully opened, the number of users on the Woaw website would probably explode immediately, because the number of users logging into the website as guests had already exceeded 10 million.

At this time, when the Woaw website did not have a strong competitor, what Barron hoped was that this website could develop in a controllable manner to train the team and establish a good foundation.

Barron invested another 1 million pounds in the Woaw website for upgrading equipment and daily operations.

With Khalid, a CEO who performed well at the Independent newspaper, in control, he was still relatively confident about the development of the Woaw website.

…

“I didn’t know you were also interested in fashion, Mr. Booth..”

“It’s an art, isn’t it? Actually, it’s mainly because Chrissy always likes to attend these events.”

Hearing her husband’s words, the Viscountess, who was sitting next to Viscount Booth, slightly curled her lips.

Now Barron and the Booth.s were sitting together in the audience seats under the runway, and in front of them were models walking the runway like butterflies – this was the London Non-Traditional Fashion Week this year.

Different from the London Fashion Week in September, the Non-Traditional Fashion Week was specially held to showcase the unique designs of the new generation of designers in the UK.

However, Barron was not interested in those clothes that seemed rather strange to him.

“You should be congratulated, Your Grace, you have successfully acquired O2 Company, which will take your influence to the next level.”

It seemed that Viscount Booth. was indeed not paying attention to the runway in front of him. He said to Barron:

“Argent Real Estate Group is also currently in contact with several potential investors, and perhaps there will be a result soon regarding this financing.”

“Do you remember what I said, that we can actually bear the funds for this financing? Mr. Booth..”

Hearing this sentence from Barron, Viscount Booth. was slightly surprised:

“Are you serious? That would require at least 100 million pounds…”

“I am not joking, Mr. Booth.. In fact, Argent Real Estate Group can already terminate contact with other investors. My DS Capital can provide the group with 200 million pounds in funds, just as you said last time, 20% of the shares.”

At this moment, Viscount Booth. found that he could no longer see through this young Duke. Initially, he thought that Barron wanted to swallow a company the size of O2, and he was afraid that he might choke on it. Even if he managed to swallow it, it would inevitably lead to indigestion – after all, with his assets, having to bear such high financing would definitely be a disaster.

It was also because of this that Argent Real Estate Group’s financing did not even consider Barron.

But now…

How much money does he have? And what else doesn’t he know?

But no matter what, Viscount Booth. would not easily agree to let Barron get so many shares. If this financing was entirely borne by him, then the proportion of Argent Real Estate Group’s shares controlled by Barron would reach 36%, which could already threaten the Booth. family after their shares were diluted.

“I have also said, Your Grace, that we, the Booth. family, will also bear the obligations of a major shareholder and will invest a portion of the funds in this financing…”

“I have no objection to this, Mr. Booth, how much funds are you prepared to invest?”

Regarding this, Viscount Booth. had already made calculations. He pretended to consider it before speaking:

“We can put up 50 million pounds…”

This way, after the dilution of the originally controlled shares, plus these 5% of the shares, the Booth. family could still ensure that the shares they controlled would be close to 50%, which was relatively safe.

Chapter 154: Just a Social Overture

“No problem, we’ll cover the remaining one hundred and fifty million pounds. I can have Mr. Sheen sign the contract tomorrow.”

Thus, the original twenty percent stake held by Barron was diluted to a sixteen percent ratio. Coupled with the newly added fifteen percent stake, his holdings in the Argent Real Estate Group would exceed thirty percent, making him the second-largest shareholder after the Booth. family.

Although he had initially doubted whether Barron could come up with so much capital, since the other party had already stated it, it certainly wouldn’t be a lie.

This was indeed somewhat beyond Viscount Booth’s expectations. However, considering that his family’s control of the Argent Real Estate Group still held an advantage, and they could exchange one hundred and fifty million pounds for fifteen percent of the Argent Real Estate Group’s shares, their main goal was achieved—both solving the Argent Real Estate Group’s funding problem and increasing the Argent Real Estate Group’s market value to one billion pounds, which could be considered good news for all shareholders.

Furthermore, as a major shareholder of the Argent Real Estate Group, Barron also had the right to priority when investing capital—besides him and the Booth. family, the other shareholders of the Argent Real Estate Group had no intention of participating in this financing.

And so, the matter was settled.

After the fashion show, there was a reception, which had a certain social nature. Guests, designers, and models from this fashion week would all attend.

However, Barron knew that in such settings, there were often certain unspoken “deals,” and he wasn’t particularly interested in them.

Just as he was about to leave, he saw a somewhat familiar face and couldn’t help but stop.

“Do you know her too?”

Noticing Barron’s actions, Viscount Booth. followed his gaze and asked.

“She just looks a bit familiar.”

“Hehe, you men always use such lame excuses.”

The Viscountess’s words could be said to be a wide-ranging attack, and the two men beside her were both affected…

But she took a look and then identified the woman:

“She’s Carla Bruni, a very famous model. She released an album last year, and the response was quite good.”

“You know her?”

“I met her before when I was watching a fashion show, but we’re not particularly close.”

No wonder. However, after hearing the other party’s name, Barron also remembered—wasn’t this the woman who had a rich romantic history and eventually became the First Lady of France? When the former French president was in office, the First Lady’s news was the most abundant…

It must be said that Carla Bruni at this time looked younger compared to later on. Although she was already in her thirties, both her figure and appearance were extremely outstanding.

It seemed that Bruni also noticed the gazes of Barron and the others. She also looked over at them, as if she recognized Christie, the beauty in a dark green long dress, and walked towards them.

“Hello, Madame Booth, we meet again.”

Bruni was born in Italy and later lived in France, but her English was also very good. After all, as a supermodel, she often attended international events.

She affectionately linked arms with the Viscountess, a charming smile on her face, and said:

“Are these two gentlemen, is one of them your husband?”

In such a setting, the Viscountess always maintained elegance. She introduced Viscount Booth. and Barron to Bruni.

Hearing that besides the Viscountess’s husband, the other handsome young man was actually a duke, Bruni was also very surprised. She said in a beautiful voice:

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Booth, and Your Grace, the Duke of Cavendish.”

And Barron clearly felt that when shaking hands with him, the beauty in front of him seemed to have inadvertently brushed her little finger across his palm. Was this flirting with him?

As he was thinking this, Barron suddenly noticed the Viscountess’s gaze, which was specifically directed at him, carrying a certain… warning?

Was her gaze so sharp? Or was it purely a woman’s sixth sense?

“Carla, I didn’t see you just now. Are you here to walk the runway this time?”

“I don’t participate in runway shows of this scale anymore. Today, the organizing committee invited me to watch.”

Bruni was different from many models who came from ordinary families. She herself was wealthy from a young age, pampered, and her subsequent partners were also mostly of extraordinary status, so her temperament was excellent. She said enthusiastically:

“Let’s go sit over there, Madame Booth..”

“It’s really a coincidence, Carla. The Duke just said he has something to do and is about to leave. We may have to leave first. But if you have time, I sincerely invite you to visit our home.”

“Is that so?”

Hearing the Viscountess’s words, Bruni’s gaze turned to Barron—why did it feel like she was sending out electric currents… what was going on?

“Are you finding it too boring here? Your Grace?”

Uh, he had just said he was about to leave. Facing the beauty in front of him, Barron couldn’t immediately change his words. He smiled and said:

“I have something to do later, I’m really sorry, Ms. Bruni. But as Madame Booth. said, you are welcome to visit us later.”

“That’s perfect. I rarely come to England, and I hope someone can show me around if you have time later…”

And so, under the Viscountess’s meaningful gaze, Barron exchanged phone numbers with Bruni…

Mainly, Barron was quite enthusiastic and couldn’t bear to refuse others, especially beautiful women like Bruni.

“I wonder if Bonnie will be sad to see this scene.”

As she walked out of the hall, the Viscountess said this lightly.

And Viscount Booth, who was beside her, for some reason, seemed to be purely enjoying the gossip…

“Madam, please don’t misunderstand, it’s just a social overture.”

“Hehe…”

The Viscountess gave him a direct roll of her eyes.

…

“We have acquired some shares from several Manchester United club shareholders. Combined with the subsequent acquisition of stocks from the stock market, our current shareholding has reached 14.5% of the total shares of Manchester United club, making us the second-largest shareholder of Manchester United club.”

Daisy said to Barron:

“Currently, among the shareholders of Manchester United club, the Scottish man Dobson, who holds 6.45% of the shares, is the one we are currently in contact with. His asking price for these shares is far higher than their market value, so we are still in negotiations. Once we buy his shares, we will be very close to the share of the largest shareholder. Then, by continuing to buy in the secondary market, we will have a great chance of surpassing them to become the largest shareholder.”

Currently, the largest shareholder of Manchester United club is Cubic Expression, jointly owned by John Magnier and McManus. They hold nearly 28.7% of the shares, while other shares are dispersed among different people and in the secondary market for stocks that can be freely traded.

When DS Capital’s shareholding in Manchester United club exceeded 10%, they began to declare their desire to acquire Manchester United club, but the largest shareholder, Cubic Expression, rejected their acquisition request.

Therefore, they could only contact other small shareholders before, trying to acquire the Manchester United club shares held by the other party.

Of course, they have not relaxed their purchase of stocks in the secondary market.

However, because DS Capital, which had just acquired O2 company, joined the acquisition of Manchester United club again, this news also attracted public attention. The stock price of Manchester United club in the stock market has also risen a lot recently. Within just one week, its stock price has cumulatively increased by more than 15%.

But even so, the market value of Manchester United club at this time was still within the range of “cheap” for Barron. However, in order to maintain costs, they still did not use a very fast pace to acquire stocks in the stock market, and they would also release some interfering news from time to time.

At the same time, the other small shareholders of Manchester United club also began to ask for exorbitant prices when facing DS Capital’s acquisition, such as Mr. Dobson, who directly priced his 6.45% of Manchester United club shares at nearly 40 million pounds. The corresponding market value of Manchester United was almost double the original, which DS Capital certainly could not accept.

Chapter 155: An Unexpected Incident

“There’s another interesting thing…”

Daisy said to Barron:

“Someone contacted us. It’s the Glazer family. They want to buy shares of Manchester United from us.”

Hearing Daisy’s words, Barron asked with some surprise:

“Don’t they know we’re also planning to acquire Manchester United?”

“I guess it’s because of our acquisition of O2. They probably think our funds are limited, or maybe they want to test us.”

Daisy said with a smile:

“But I deliberately talked to them a bit, to see what price they would accept.”

“What happened?”

“They’re only willing to offer a maximum of a 50% premium.”

Although Daisy said that, as competitors for Manchester United, this premium might not be the Glazer family’s true bottom line.

But speaking of which, at this moment, the Glazer family probably hadn’t made up their minds whether to truly complete the acquisition of Manchester United.

Or, they initially chose to buy Manchester United’s shares from the stock market, also with a “barbarians at the gate” type of acquisition strategy.

The so-called “barbarians at the gate” comes from a book called Barbarians at the Gate, which recorded a leveraged buyout of RJR Nabisco. It refers to certain hostile takeovers using financial leverage. When they perceive that a company’s stock price is relatively low, they acquire its shares and attempt to acquire it. Even if the acquisition fails, they can ultimately sell the shares at a high price.

At this time, the Glazer family was holding this idea when they started acquiring Manchester United. In their eyes, Barron’s DS Capital might be the same, which is why they took the initiative to contact them, hoping to acquire their shares of Manchester United at a premium.

However, they are probably destined to be disappointed. For Manchester United, Barron was determined to get it.

The reason is that Manchester United is not only a well-known club in the Premier League and even throughout Europe, but its profitability is also very strong.

You know, in the original timeline, when Barron was about to be reborn, even a Qatar consortium offered 6 billion euros to acquire Manchester United…

…

In the morning, when Barron woke up in the Royal Suite of the Devonshire Hotel, the woman beside him was still asleep.

He didn’t stay at his own residence last night, but came here, also because he had an appointment with the beauty beside him—Carla Bruni.

It has to be said that Bruni, who is already 35 years old this year, although a full cycle older than Barron, has maintained herself very well and is full of charm.

After a wonderful night, Barron also witnessed the beautiful voice of this beauty… although it was a little hoarse in the end.

Through the light from the gaps in the curtains, Barron could still see the woman sleeping in his arms, with a graceful figure, which made him feel a little urge to learn…

“Can I rest for a while?”

It could be seen that after a night of continuous learning, the woman was very tired at this time.

But Barron, of course, didn’t want to waste this beautiful morning time…

So Bruni’s singing sounded again in the room.

When Barron got up again and put on his clothes, he was already full of energy.

And Bruni on the bed had fallen back asleep.

After having breakfast at the hotel, Barron got into a Rolls-Royce and went to the charity event today.

He also knew that his relationship with Bruni was just a “friendship.”

After all, she has a boyfriend now—in 2000, 33-year-old Carla Bruni fell in love with French publisher Jean-Paul Enthoven and started living together.

What’s even more absurd is that Barron remembered that in his previous life, she later had an affair with her current boyfriend’s son, Raphael, who was ten years younger than Bruni and married, and later married Raphael—their marriage only lasted four years.

After that, Bruni married again, marrying the French president…

Ugh, it’s really a bit melodramatic.

…

“Our brave soldiers are fighting in Iraq. Some of them have sacrificed themselves, and some will encounter difficulties in the process of integrating into normal society after retiring. The purpose of my founding this charity fund is to help those young men who have served in the military for the benefit of the country, so that they can have no worries…”

Before, Barron had donated 1 million pounds to the Worcestershire and Sherwood Foresters Regiment.

And this time, he even took out 10 million pounds to establish the Devonshire Soldier Fund, for the aid of those veterans.

The Duke of Westminster, who had just been promoted to Assistant Chief of Staff of the Ministry of Defence, also attended today’s charity fund establishment ceremony and gave a speech on behalf of the military, thanking the Duke of Devonshire for his contribution to the soldiers.

“You’ve done a great job, Barron. I’m very happy to see that more and more people are joining the effort to do something for those soldiers.”

“This is what I should do, Mr. Grosvenor.”

Hearing Barron’s words, the Duke of Westminster nodded:

“I heard that your Mars Fund is about to open again?”

“Yes, there are too many investors who want to add investment or join the Mars Fund, so we made this decision.”

“Very good, I will also add investment at that time. Your ability is beyond my expectations.”

Of course, the two also inevitably talked about the ongoing Iraq War.

After the war had been going on for nearly two weeks, the US military deployed the 173rd Airborne Brigade and special forces in the mountainous area of northern Iraq, and formed an alliance with the local Kurdish armed forces. The US’s planned deployment of the 4th Infantry Division in the north was unable to participate in the battle due to the opposition of the Turkish parliament.

After intense fighting during this period, the British army first controlled Basra, the oil hub in southern Iraq and the second largest city in Iraq.

It can be said that the progress of the Anglo-American coalition forces is extremely smooth at the moment, which also stems from the bribery of the Iraqi high-level officials for so long. It can be said that they are now well aware of the movements of the Iraqi army.

However, while the situation was progressing smoothly on the Iraqi battlefield, something unexpected happened to Barron in Africa.

“Is Mr. Coy alright?”

“He is currently out of life-threatening danger, but… because the explosion was too close, his legs were injured, and he may only be able to use a wheelchair to get around in the future.”

Nigel, Barron’s intelligence consultant, said with a serious expression:

“‘Imperial Shield’ has been gathered in a safer place. Mr. Coy’s assistant, Markel Paulson, has boarded a flight to London, hoping to meet with you.”

Just two hours ago, Barron had just received news that an accident had occurred to the “Imperial Shield” military company he had invested in before.

A squad of “Imperial Shield” that was training armed organizations in a certain African country was attacked at the other party’s base.

This kind of mission was originally relatively safe, but unfortunately, the other party didn’t know if the intelligence was inaccurate. The shells that were supposed to attack the armed organization fell on the base of the “Imperial Shield” squad, resulting in one death and two injuries. Coincidentally, the founder of Imperial Shield, Maven Coy, was one of the injured. The shell exploded not far from him, and his legs were injured by shrapnel, and he may be permanently disabled.

Chapter 156: DS Financial Center

“What exactly happened? Have you investigated it clearly? Was this an accidental bombing or a targeted attack against our company?”

The day after Barron received the news, Maclean’s deputy, Markel Paulson, arrived in London, weary from his journey.

Barron asked him after seeing him.

“Based on the intelligence analysis we have so far, it should be an accidental bombing. Such situations are very common in Africa. In conflicts between armed groups, they generally don’t target us, but accidents are inevitable.”

Markel seemed very capable. Although he looked tired, he still spoke clearly:

“Colonel Koy’s condition is currently stable and he’s still in the hospital, protected by our soldiers. I came here this time to report the details of this matter to you.”

“Regardless, Mr. Koy was affected, and there were also casualties among our employees. This matter must be resolved.”

Barron looked into Markel’s eyes and asked:

“What are you planning to do?”

“Currently, Colonel Koy needs to recuperate, and he has temporarily handed over the management of the company to me. Your Grace, after the investigation, we plan to assist the current armed group and launch a strike against the other side to retaliate for this bombing.”

“Is there anything you need me to do?”

“Yes, Your Grace. The armed group that has commissioned us currently needs more military supplies. They currently control an area, including several mineral deposits. They hope to exchange a portion of their military supplies and our further support for one of the gold mines…”

It has to be said that the African land is buried with numerous mineral deposits. In terms of reserves, uranium, chromium, manganese, cobalt, vanadium, gold, bauxite, platinum group metals, rubidium, diamonds, phosphorus, and other advantageous mineral reserves rank among the top in the world. The reserves of platinum group metals account for 93.04% of the world’s total, rubidium accounts for 80%, phosphorus (ore) accounts for 83.90%, titanium accounts for 80.85%, cobalt accounts for 57.22%, bauxite accounts for 33.60%, and the reserves of oil, natural gas, iron, copper, palladium, germanium, fluorite, graphite, and other minerals are also very rich.

And the most famous are the diamonds there.

But because of this, except for a few countries that can maintain a stable political situation, the great powers have been dividing and plundering here through proxies.

For “Imperial Shield,” although this time they encountered an accident, it was also an opportunity to expand their scale. Markel’s idea was also very clear, that is, he hoped to gain more support from Barron, the Duke.

After the previous meeting with Maclean Koy, Barron invested 10 million pounds in the “Imperial Shield” military company and acquired 45% of the shares of this private military company, which could be said to have become the largest shareholder besides Maclean Koy.

And after this injury, Maclean Koy has been unable to continue managing the “Imperial Shield” military company. Moreover, now that there is such an opportunity to obtain a gold mine and enhance his influence in the area, it is also a rare opportunity for “Imperial Shield.” Therefore, he entrusted his deputy, Michael, to see Barron, hoping that he could provide more funds.

Of course, everyone has ambitions. For Markel, this is also a great opportunity for him. He also hopes that he can take over Colonel Koy’s position and become the manager of “Imperial Shield.”

You must know that if you really become those extremely powerful private military companies, in Africa, it is almost equivalent to a “local emperor.”

For this opportunity to personally see the Duke and express his loyalty, Markel naturally would not let it go.

“Colonel Koy hopes to withdraw from the ‘Imperial Shield’ company after this revenge plan, sell his shares to you, and hopes to gain more of your support…”

The reason why Barron only held 45% of the shares in the “Imperial Shield” military company before was also to judge whether the other party was worth his investment over a period of time.

But if it is really as Colonel Koy said, then after he continues to invest in “Imperial Shield,” this company can only have one voice, that is, everything is in his interests first.

He could see Markel’s ambition, and he also allowed the other party to have ambition, but the premise was that it must be controlled.

He had already sent personnel into the “Imperial Shield” military company to supervise the company’s financial situation. Now Barron proposed that he could continue to give the other party more support, and could also let Markel manage the company later, but the premise was that Markel would only be responsible for the military operations of “Imperial Shield,” while including personnel, finance, and other aspects, would need to be managed by others.

Of course, the most important intelligence aspects would be under the management of the intelligence group.

Thus, on the second day, Barron’s intelligence advisor, Nigel Inkster, represented Barron and went to Africa with Markel.

His purpose on this trip was to help “Imperial Shield” complete this “revenge plan,” and later, he would evaluate the “Imperial Shield” military company, and finally determine the additional investment and complete the transfer of the company’s shares.

…

In early April, the Mars Fund once again opened the channel for accepting investments.

At this time, this private equity fund, which had an initial capital of only 50 million pounds, now controlled assets exceeding 170 million pounds, with a rate of return of over 240%!

No wonder it was sought after by many investors.

This time, the Crown Prince invested another 30 million pounds, and the original investors, including Viscount Booth, the Duke of Westminster, and others, also added investments, more or less. Coupled with a large number of new investors, the Mars Fund received over 300 million pounds in new investments.

By this point, the total assets controlled by this private equity fund, which was only established for just over half a year, had reached nearly 500 million pounds!

After this, the main investment direction of the Mars Fund was to go long!

Go long on gold prices, go long on crude oil prices, go long on raw material prices, and go long on related real estate companies!

In short, before 2007, going long was the main direction of the Mars Fund.

Also almost at the same time, on April 3rd, DS Capital finally reached an agreement with Lloyd’s of London. Their DS Asset Management Company would buy the Lloyd’s building, where the company is currently located, for 175 million pounds.

And after selling the building to DS Asset Management Company, Lloyd’s of London would still rent two-thirds of the building and continue to use it as the headquarters of its British company.

And Lloyd’s of London would rent it at a price of 16 million pounds per year, temporarily renting for five years. Only after five years would DS Asset Management Company be allowed to appropriately increase the rent based on the market price at that time.

In this way, DS Asset Management Company would actually pay Lloyd’s of London 95 million pounds (excluding the five-year rent) to complete the transfer of ownership of the building.

After buying the Lloyd’s building, this building will be renamed Devonshire Financial Center, as the headquarters of DS Capital.

And in fact, of these 95 million pounds, DS Capital only needed to pay 50 million pounds in cash, and the remaining funds were all paid with loans provided by Barclays Bank.

Chapter 157: The Rich List

After the DS Industrial Investment Fund acquired the O2 company, O2 Telecom collaborated with Digital UK and the SEM Group to launch a home broadband entertainment plan.

As the foundation of this plan, the DS Industrial Investment Fund would provide O2 Telecom with a five-year, one billion pound special investment to upgrade its broadband equipment in the United Kingdom, in order to increase its broadband access speed and coverage.

Currently, O2 Telecom’s main users were concentrated in England and Wales. Next, they would complete the network upgrade in the current areas and improve their broadband network in Northern Ireland, the Northeast region, and Scotland.

It was estimated that after the upgrade, the broadband surfing service provided by O2 Telecom to users would have a speed more than ten times faster than the mainstream dial-up internet speed at that time.

At the same time, the home broadband entertainment plan, in collaboration with Digital UK, would provide users with an upgraded fast internet service for a low price of 19.9 pounds per month, along with the installation of set-top boxes and dial-up internet equipment.

It was important to know that the current internet fees across the entire United Kingdom were relatively high. Take British Telecom, for example; they had made broadband services their main development direction last year, but even for large-volume customers, their broadband price was still above 15 pounds per month, and that was just the basic dial-up internet. The cost of broadband services was even higher, often exceeding 30 pounds per month.

Therefore, after O2 Telecom launched this preferential policy, it immediately received a warm welcome from users. Coupled with the development of the Freeview platform at this time, it already had a considerable base of users, and O2 Telecom’s user base surged.

At the same time, in addition to providing broadband internet services, O2 Telecom also provided users with richer media content in its cooperation with the SEM Group.

In addition to the IPTV business promoted in cooperation with Digital UK’s Freeview platform, O2 Telecom also collaborated with the SEM Group’s network department to launch the DailyVideo.com website, allowing its users to freely upload videos and share them with its global users.

It could be said that DailyVideo.com was similar to the later YouTube website, but it was relatively simpler and also had restrictions on the size of videos uploaded by users – after all, the internet speed at this time was not as fast as later, and when the user scale increased, storing these video contents would also require a lot of funds.

……

In April, the British “Sunday Times” published the 2002 UK Rich List.

In this list, the Duke of Westminster, whose main business was real estate, topped the list with a fortune of 4.9 billion pounds, with his assets increasing by 200 million pounds compared to last year.

J.K. Rowling, the female author of “Harry Potter”, with a fortune of 280 million pounds, became the highest-earning woman in the entertainment industry, and because her wealth was 30 million pounds more than the Queen’s, she ranked 122nd on the UK Rich List, a full 11 places higher than the Queen.

However, what was most eye-catching was that, although Rowling was currently only the 9th richest woman in Britain, since the top 8 women had all become rich through marriage or inheritance, Rowling could be considered the wealthiest “self-made” woman in Britain.

Another very eye-catching person on this list was another duke who made the list – the Duke of Devonshire, Barron Cavendish. He ranked 35th on the Rich List with a fortune of 1 billion pounds.

At the same time, this young duke, at the age of 23, became the leader of the young rich list in the UK under the age of 30.

It could be said that the publication of this list also made Barron one of the most talked-about people at the moment…

However, Barron only glanced at the estimated value of his wealth on this list. After all, just this one short sale of international crude oil had earned him over 1.35 billion pounds.

This was good. As a duke, if he were really too high-profile, it wouldn’t be a good thing. Making a fortune in silence was the safest.

Barron even had plans to hide his assets through some financial means, concealing them within layers of company structures, to make his name disappear from various wealth lists.

After all, in the final analysis, those who appeared on those wealth lists were not necessarily the ones who controlled the world economy. Those even larger families had long hidden themselves behind the scenes through various means.

Moreover, with his status, he didn’t need to, like some people, increase his fame and influence through the rankings of these lists.

However, with the arrival of April, it also meant that the UK’s tax season had come again.

But for Barron, who had already made a fortune last year, this wasn’t a problem, because except for the initial period, all his subsequent operations were carried out in the name of the company, and his huge financial advisors also demonstrated their value – like the Chatsworth Charitable Fund and those other trust funds, they could help Barron turn the profits of many companies into “charitable donations”…

And most of DS Capital’s operations were carried out in the form of funds…

As long as there was no personal redemption, the fund’s profits did not need to pay personal income tax… and the longer the holding period, the lower the final tax rate would be.

……

“William, long time no see. Are you happy at school these days?”

“Not bad, you know, apart from those paparazzi, I’m really enjoying my time now.”

After Prince William hugged Barron, he introduced the blonde beauty beside him:

“This is my friend, Holly Branson.”

“Hello, Your Grace, I’m very pleased to meet you.”

Holly Branson performed a lady’s curtsy and said to him.

The Cavendish Building in the Soho district had been completed. The ball held today was to celebrate the completion of this 35-story new landmark in Soho, as well as the opening of the Cavendish (Soho) Hotel, which occupied 15 floors of this building.

Although this was a four-star hotel, the facilities in the hotel were very rich, and as the second hotel of the Cavendish Hotel Group in London, they also attached great importance to it.

However, William didn’t bring his girlfriend today, which made Barron a little surprised.

But he didn’t show any emotional fluctuations on his face, and said to Holly in a rather gentlemanly manner:

“I’m also very happy to meet you, Princess of the Virgin family.”

Holly Branson’s father was Sir Richard Branson, the founder of the Virgin Group, which had nearly 200 member companies using the Virgin brand, spanning hundreds of sub-sectors, mainly involving tourism, aviation, and entertainment.

For example, Virgin Atlantic, which is often heard of, belongs to the Virgin Group’s industry.

Barron knew that the Virgin family’s relationship with the royal family had always been very close, or rather, this close relationship was something the Virgin family had deliberately cultivated.

Just like the Queen’s two granddaughters later, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie, the figures of Virgin family members often appeared among their future boyfriends.

And as Princess Holly Branson of the Virgin family, it was not at all surprising that she had a deep friendship with Prince William.

Even if there was some ambiguity between Miss Holly and William, Barron was not surprised at all. After all, those paparazzi had also taken photos of Holly sitting on William’s lap…

Chapter 158: Old Trafford

“Hello, Miss Stuart. I often watch your show. You look even more graceful and beautiful in person.”

It was clear that Holly was a very sociable girl. She quickly took Bonnie’s hand, and the two chatted happily.

Speaking of which, the Virgin Group was also considered a competitor of Barron’s – of course, the reason was simply because the Virgin Group was involved in too many industries, including Virgin Telecom and Virgin Media, which competed with Barron’s businesses.

Of course, this kind of competition was normal and would not affect their personal relationships at all.

During the conversation, the topic turned to the recently released rich list. It was evident that Prince William was very surprised that Barron could be ranked so high, and there was also a hint of envy in his expression.

On the rich list of those under thirty, Prince William and his younger brother Harry were also listed, but their positions were slightly lower.

Overall, the young British tycoons under thirty were significantly less wealthy compared to the overall rich list. Barron, as the top, could be said to be “reducing dimensions to attack” within it. His wealth was more than the combined wealth of the nine people from the second to the tenth positions.

“Ladies, what are you talking about?”

After Barron had greeted the other guests, he saw Bonnie and Holly Branson still chatting and went over to ask.

“This is a secret between women, Your Grace…”

Holly deliberately winked at Barron and said with a smile:

“Actually, I was talking to Bonnie about a party in a few days. I’d like to invite you both to attend.”

Although in terms of appearance, Holly was far less stunning than Bonnie, she possessed a unique affability and could always easily establish a friendly atmosphere with others.

“Oh? What kind of party?”

Seeing Barron’s gaze turn towards her, Bonnie explained softly:

“Miss Branson just said she hopes to invite us to her birthday party.”

As the princess of the Virgin Group, Holly’s birthday party would naturally be very grand, so it was no wonder she wanted to take this opportunity to invite Barron and Bonnie.

It could be imagined that those who could attend her birthday party would definitely be young people who were either rich or noble.

Although Barron didn’t particularly care, Bonnie seemed somewhat interested. Therefore, he said to Holly:

“I’m very honored to receive your invitation, Miss Branson.”

…

On April 12th, Barron appeared in the VIP box at Old Trafford Stadium with his girlfriend, Bonnie.

Today, Manchester United Football Club would be playing against Newcastle United at home.

This was also the 33rd round of the 2002-2003 season of the Premier League. When the broadcast cameras switched to Barron’s VIP box before the start of the match, and his handsome face appeared on the screen, many viewers exclaimed.

After all, it was no longer a secret that the young duke wanted to acquire Manchester United Football Club. Previously, DS Capital had proactively submitted a proposal to acquire Manchester United Football Club, but it was rejected by the current major shareholders.

Now, he appeared at Old Trafford Stadium to watch Manchester United’s match, and its implications were quite thought-provoking.

When he realized the camera was pointing at him, Barron revealed an elegant smile and proactively waved and greeted the audience.

It could be said that the fans’ attitudes towards Barron, the Duke of Devonshire’s, plan to acquire Manchester United Football Club were quite divided.

Some fans hoped that the duke, who possessed considerable strength, could become the owner of Manchester United Football Club, which might allow the club to receive greater support.

But the awkward thing was that most fans were neutral or even indifferent to this.

Also because Manchester United was one of the few top football clubs that had not yet been controlled by a wealthy consortium, Manchester United’s fans still hoped that the club could maintain a certain degree of independence.

Manchester United Football Club was founded in 1878. The team’s name at the beginning was Newton Heath LYR. LYR was the abbreviation of the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway Company. Newton Heath was the name of a railway construction site, so this team had a certain working-class background.

As Manchester United fans, many people also agreed with this, so they were naturally not very fond of Barron, this “aristocratic gentleman.”

It could only be said that before the Glazer family acquired Manchester United Football Club, although it could make this process smoother and avoid this team being exploited by the American vampires earlier…

But it was precisely because the fans had not experienced the various “shenanigans” of the Glazer family that they did not understand that Barron’s acquisition of Manchester United was, in fact, the club’s good fortune.

So even though Barron could vaguely hear whistles coming from the Red Devils fans in the stands at this moment, he turned a deaf ear to it and still looked at the field with a relaxed expression.

And as the match whistle sounded, the fans couldn’t even think about the young duke anymore and focused their attention on the match on the field.

This match, Manchester United’s performance was still very outstanding, especially the Manchester United’s god striker Van Nistelrooy, who scored goal after goal, launching an attack on this season’s league top scorer – this season, the top scorer was destined to be between Manchester United’s Van Nistelrooy and Arsenal’s Henry.

In the end, Manchester United won this match 6:2 against Newcastle United, and the victory in this match also allowed Manchester United to surpass Arsenal for the first time this season and become the leader of the Premier League.

It could be said that Manchester United’s “comeback” journey this season was impressive.

In the competition for the Premier League title this season, Arsenal once led Manchester United by as many as 8 points in the standings – almost everyone thought the championship would eventually belong to Arsenal, led by Wenger.

But the stubborn Ferguson didn’t think so, and the facts once again proved that Ferguson was right.

The long Premier League season was like a marathon, not a sprint that could decide the championship.

Arsenal’s start to the league was very good, and even their unbeaten streak extended to 30 matches, the perfect performance once made Wenger extremely proud, he claimed:

“We are getting closer and closer to the perfect record of an undefeated season.”

In the 10th round of the Premier League, Arsenal faced Everton, a strong team away from home – this away trip finally allowed Arsenal to taste the taste of defeat.

And in this match, Everton’s talented player Rooney scored in the last minute, 2:1, killing the invincible Arsenal. At this time, Rooney was only 16 years old and became the youngest goalscorer in the Premier League at the time. It was this goal that Ferguson remembered this young man and laid the groundwork for Rooney’s Red Devils career.

After Arsenal was frustrated by Everton, they lost 1:2 at home to Blackburn, but then won 2:1 away to Fulham, 1:0 at home to Newcastle, 3:0 at home to Tottenham, achieving three consecutive victories, and continued to maintain their lead over Manchester United.

But at Old Trafford, Arsenal was ambushed 0:2 by Manchester United.

Manchester United also took the opportunity to narrow the gap to 8 points, and at this time, various media outlets still unanimously favored Arsenal, believing that they would eventually win the Premier League title.

After Manchester United lost 1:3 away to Middlesbrough in the 20th round, Manchester United’s anger was completely ignited, and Manchester United’s state was completely unleashed, and they didn’t lose any match in the league afterwards.

As Manchester United swept Liverpool 4:0 at home, their points miraculously tied with Arsenal.

And in this match, Manchester United crushed Newcastle United 6:2 at home, surpassing Arsenal for the first time this season, and finally maintained this lead until the last round, eventually winning the Premier League title this season.

However, after watching this match, Barron left Old Trafford Stadium and did not meet with anyone else from Manchester United Football Club.

Because he knew that if his offer could not impress the major shareholders of Manchester United Football Club at this time, then even if he contacted the club’s personnel, including coach Ferguson, it would be of no use, and he would need to continue to wait for the right moment.

Chapter 159: Protectors

Perhaps Barron would have to wait until next year to truly and completely acquire Manchester United Football Club—just like the Glazer family did in his previous life.

In the original timeline, the Glazer family took advantage of internal conflicts within Manchester United, specifically when the club’s head coach, Sir Alex Ferguson, had a falling out with the major shareholder. They then leveraged their relationship with Sir Alex Ferguson and the club’s advisor, David Gill, to complete the acquisition of Manchester United.

However, at this moment, Sir Alex Ferguson’s relationship with Manchester United’s major shareholders—John Magnier and J.P. McManus—was still very close.

Actually, the conflict between the two sides was quite interesting; it all came down to a horse…

Besides being a major shareholder of Manchester United, John Magnier was also a well-known Irish racehorse magnate.

Previously, because of his good relationship with Sir Alex Ferguson, and to thank him for his contributions to the club, John Magnier gifted Sir Alex Ferguson half ownership of a racehorse.

This also sowed the seeds for their eventual falling out.

The reason was that this racehorse, named “Rock of Gibraltar,” was very famous. It had set a record by winning the Group 1 races seven consecutive times and had earned over one million pounds in prize money from various competitions.

This racehorse would retire at the end of this year and become a stud, and a stud could earn tens of thousands of pounds each time it… well, you know, with a mare—it was estimated that “Rock of Gibraltar” could potentially generate 50 to 100 million pounds in revenue.

Sir Alex Ferguson always believed he should share in these profits, but John Magnier thought that Sir Alex Ferguson’s ownership was limited to the racecourse and had nothing to do with the stud’s earnings.

This involved tens of millions of pounds in revenue, so in anger, Sir Alex Ferguson directly sued John Magnier.

John Magnier, as the club’s major shareholder, also publicly accused Sir Alex Ferguson of using his position as the club’s head coach to gain many extra benefits within the club—including his son’s agency making a huge profit from the club’s transfers, and also, Sir Alex Ferguson’s own contract had issues…

So, because of a horse, the two sides became enemies, which eventually led to the Glazer family, after wooing Sir Alex Ferguson, buying Manchester United Football Club, and thus beginning a history of sucking the life out of this club.

Currently, DS Capital’s shares were second only to Cubic Expression, which held 28.7% of Manchester United’s shares, and they were still acquiring shares. Therefore, at this point, it was basically impossible for the Glazer family to complete the acquisition of Manchester United Football Club as they had in the previous timeline…

However, holding over 20% of the shares was still not completely safe, because if the other party used some means to really buy the shares held by Cubic Expression, once their shareholding exceeded 75%, they could attempt to privatize the club…

Therefore, DS Capital’s current goal was to increase its holdings in Manchester United Football Club to over 25%.

Actually, this completely depended on how much Barron was willing to pay to buy Manchester United Football Club. After all, if he really spared no expense and directly bought the shares from the other small shareholders, once his holdings exceeded the 28.7% held by Cubic Expression and became the major shareholder of Manchester United, there were still many ways to dilute the other party’s shares—such as increasing capital and expanding the stock.

…

Two days after Nigel went to Africa, Barron received more detailed information about the “Shield of the Empire” military company, and after gathering intelligence, he formulated a plan to retaliate against the enemy armed organization.

In the end, Barron once again paid 15 million pounds to acquire the entire ownership of the “Shield of the Empire” military company. After they purchased a batch of weapons and equipment through arms dealers and delivered them to the armed organization they were cooperating with, they obtained the mining rights to a gold mine in the area.

In addition, the “Shield of the Empire” military company also began recruiting personnel from the British Isles again, and spent a lot of money to purchase two retired Lynx attack helicopters from the military.

The Lynx attack helicopter was a type of attack helicopter jointly developed and produced by Britain and France in the 1970s, and even now, there were still nearly a hundred Lynx helicopters in service in the British Army, but even after upgrades, they were gradually being retired…

The latest British Army attack helicopters were still mainly the “Wildcat” helicopter, which was a successor to the Lynx, and the Apache helicopters purchased from the United States.

It wasn’t that Barron didn’t want to equip the “Shield of the Empire” military company with more advanced attack helicopters like the Apache or Black Hawk; it was mainly unnecessary—after all, in Africa at this time, the armed organizations they were facing were mostly black guys wielding AK-47s, riding Toyota pickup trucks, and moving like the wind. The Lynx attack helicopters were inexpensive, and their performance was sufficient to deal with the enemy.

If they really bought Apaches or Black Hawks, and the enemy was incredibly lucky and shot one down with an RPG, causing a “Black Hawk Down” situation, it would be heartbreaking.

So, with the help of “Shield of the Empire,” the armed organization they were cooperating with, in subsequent actions, defeated the opposing organization in one fell swoop.

At this point, the founder of the “Shield of the Empire” military company, Mavin Coy, after his health improved, completed the handover of the company and returned to the British Isles.

After receiving over 10 million pounds from Barron for the purchase of the “Shield of the Empire” military company, Mavin Coy also prepared to return to his hometown of Scotland, buy a piece of land, and recuperate.

After being acquired, the “Shield of the Empire” military company was renamed “Protectors” Military Service Company. This company would be held by an offshore company registered by Barron. Markel Paulson, originally Mavin Coy’s assistant, became the military head of the Protectors company—he would be primarily responsible for the Protectors company’s African affairs.

In addition, Frank Walter, Barron’s security advisor, served as the security head of the Protectors company, and would be responsible for recruiting retired soldiers and SWAT personnel in the British Isles to form the Protectors company’s military contracting department. These people would soon be going to Iraq to undertake some of the British Army’s auxiliary work.

Yes, as early as April 9th, the US-British coalition forces had already occupied the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, which also represented the formal collapse of Saddam’s regime.

And after occupying Baghdad and forming the Iraqi transitional government, it was not the end of the Iraq War, but the beginning of another phase—this phase would last for twenty years, until before Barron’s reincarnation in his previous life, although the United States had promised many times to completely withdraw troops from Iraq, they still maintained a military presence there.

In this phase, the problems they faced were no less than the war against Saddam’s regime—after all, before, they had a visible enemy, but after that, there were countless small groups conducting continuous attacks and harassment…

At this time, it was also when the US-British coalition forces gradually reduced their regular military presence and began to rely on private military contractors to complete their personnel and urban security, as well as offensive missions.

Through the Duke of Westminster, whom Barron was familiar with and who was now serving as the Assistant Chief of Staff of the Ministry of Defence, the Protectors Military Service Company also obtained a contract from the British government. Next, they would send a security force of over 100 people to Basra to protect some British personnel.

After occupying Basra, the most important port city in southern Iraq, the main force of the British Army was stationed there. It could be said that this city would also be the main location for the British Army to be stationed in the future, and the Protectors company’s business would also start from here.

Chapter 160: Organic Certification

Since the cessation of mandatory conscription in 1960, the United Kingdom has implemented a volunteer military service system.

This means that young people are not forced to serve in the military; everything is based on their own willingness.

Compared to mandatory conscription, the length of service for soldiers in the volunteer system is determined by their personal wishes, often ranging from a minimum of three years to a maximum of twenty-two years.

Because of this, many soldiers who served for extended periods in the military, especially those who participated in wars, find it difficult to adapt to normal social life after retirement—particularly after the Afghanistan War, the number of soldiers choosing to join private military companies upon retirement has significantly increased.

The requirements for employees, particularly military security personnel, recruited by Protector Company this time in the UK were experienced veterans with over five years of military service. After undergoing interviews and physical examinations, the first batch of over 100 positions was quickly filled.

At the same time, near the Bellow Castle Manor in Northern Ireland, Barron specifically designated a plot of land to establish Protector Company’s training base in the UK, used for the training and instruction of newly recruited personnel.

As mentioned before, the Devonshire family still owns three castle manors: Chatsworth Manor near Derbyshire, Carran Castle in Scotland, and the last one, Bellow Castle Manor in Northern Ireland.

Currently, Chatsworth Manor and Carran Castle have already begun the latest renovations and modifications, while Bellow Castle, due to financial constraints, has never been redeveloped and has remained in its original state.

In the vicinity of Bellow Castle, the Devonshire family also owns over twenty thousand acres of land. Most of this land belongs to Devonshire Ecological Agricultural Company for use as farmland, and a small portion of land unsuitable for cultivation serves as Protector Company’s UK “boot camp”.

Because of the urgency, this batch of employees, who are already extremely experienced and all come from the British Army, will go to Iraq after a week of security training to become military outsourcing personnel employed by the British government.

Protector Company will continue to recruit and, after new recruits undergo over two weeks of training, will successively go to Iraq to carry out missions.

As for the equipment of these personnel, Protector Company has signed an agreement with the British Army to directly use the British Army’s standard equipment upon arriving in Iraq—of course, they need to purchase this equipment. Therefore, after buying Protector Company, Barron’s offshore company injected another 20 million pounds into it.

……

“Compared to other manors, the scenery here is more beautiful, but because it is far from the city, tourism development is not as convenient as Chatsworth Manor and Carran Castle, and requires a larger investment,” Julia said to Barron as they walked along the corridor of Bellow Castle.

Bellow Castle is built on high ground, and there is a viewing platform on the cliffside. When the two of them reached it, they could feel that the wind had picked up considerably.

Northern Ireland has a temperate oceanic climate, and the temperature changes here are not so obvious throughout the year. In the past, it served as the Devonshire family’s summer retreat. After purchasing this manor, no large-scale development was carried out.

Seeing the wind blowing Julia’s long hair, she slightly shrugged her shoulders. Barron stepped forward, took off his coat, and draped it over Julia’s shoulders.

“Money is not a problem now, and the unique scenery here is still very attractive to those middle-class and above people who are constantly in the city,” Barron’s voice sounded in Julia’s ear. She felt that after he draped the coat over her, his hand had not let go but instead, he embraced her.

Julia felt her heart beat faster. After a slight struggle, she did not continue to move but instead calmed down, deliberately looking at the distant scenery, and said:

“Isn’t it a bit too hasty? I think it would be better to start the development here after the operation of Carran Castle stabilizes and the Grace Cultural Tourism Group has more profits.”

Currently, the renovation and modification of Carran Castle has been completed and can be fully opened to the public. Coupled with the simultaneous opening of the Devonshire Carran Castle Hotel, the current situation, although there is some flow of guests, is not satisfactory, far less than Chatsworth Manor, which has the endorsement of the reality show “The Traitors” and the series “Downton Abbey”. Reservations there have already been booked until the end of the year, and the Grace Cultural Tourism Group is even considering increasing the opening hours.

Of course, this is also related to the large-scale renovation and modification of Chatsworth Manor, where many venues are restricted.

“Then let’s wait a little longer,” Barron said.

Since Julia said so, thinking that he had many other plans recently, and for the time being, after the new season of “The Traitors” reality show is filmed and broadcast at Carran Castle, it will be able to start producing a promotional effect.

Looking at it this way, it does seem as Julia said, that the Bellow Castle Manor side also needs to wait for a suitable opportunity for promotion and is not in a hurry to carry out large-scale renovations and open it up.

He looked at the farm in the distance and said:

“The ecological agricultural company can start increasing the area of organic-certified farms.”

“Well, this matter is in progress. The Duke’s Select Supermarket now has more than ten stores, largely covering the affluent areas of London. Correspondingly, sales are also increasing, so the demand for high-quality organic food is increasing, and sometimes we even need to purchase it externally…”

In Europe and America, there are professional organizations that conduct organic certification, and it is very strict, often requiring recertification every year.

The primary condition for becoming an organic-certified farm is to use ingredients that do not contain any chemically synthesized substances, such as fertilizers, pesticides, antibiotics, food additives, and genetically modified plants and animals.

This requires these farms to hire more personnel for manual pest control and weeding, and the product’s growth cycle is longer, leading to costs that are much higher than those of ordinary agricultural products.

Of course, the corresponding price of organic-certified agricultural products can also be 50% or even several times higher than that of ordinary agricultural products.

Just like the products sold in the Duke’s Select Supermarket, all of them are certified organic foods. Those wealthy people pay great attention to quality. Therefore, the Duke’s Select Supermarket is also constantly increasing its sales with its reputation, which also requires the Devonshire Ecological Agricultural Company to provide more products.

Currently, the products of the Duke’s Select Supermarket are mainly supplied by the farms belonging to Chatsworth Manor, which is closest to London. They have established a dedicated cold chain logistics transportation, to a constant-temperature storage warehouse in London, and then distributed to various stores.

However, after the Duke’s Select Supermarket in London is almost saturated, they will also go to other cities in the UK to open stores, so they also need more organic farms to supply goods.

“I plan to go to Asia in a while, and you can come with me then.”

Hearing Barron say this, Julia asked somewhat surprisingly:

“Me… too?”

“Besides being able to go sightseeing, countries like Japan, China, and South Korea have quite a few wealthy people. I also hope to promote our Grace Cultural Tourism Group so that more Asian wealthy people can come to the castles in the UK to hold gatherings, weddings, and other activities to increase our revenue.”

Chapter 161: Summit Studio

At the end of 2001, China had already joined the WTO and was about to take off, becoming the world’s factory. Barron was also preparing to start his layout there.

Just like the previous acquisition of Puma Electronics by Digital UK, establishing a production factory in Shenzhen, China, was an attempt.

The last time he went to China, because Barron’s funds were not abundant, he only invested in the most important and future-yielding BAT trio, and did not involve physical assets.

However, this time going to China, Barron had just made a large sum of money on crude oil futures – using money earned from the financial market to develop physical assets was his strategy – so this time, he would be able to make arrangements in the physical sector.

Moreover, this time his destination would not only be China, but also several Asian countries.

As Barron had said to Julia, he wanted to take her to China, not only because of her physical condition, but also because Julia usually devoted almost all her time to work, and could be called a “workaholic.” He could take this opportunity to take her on a trip.

In addition, he could also take this opportunity to promote the industries under the family trust fund in Asia.

The most important was the cultural tourism group, and the Cavendish Hotel Group could also begin to enter the Asian market.

As for the ecological agriculture company, that wasn’t urgent.

After all, even in Europe and America at this time, organic food could only be said to be just beginning to rise, and was currently only a choice for the wealthy. It would be after 2005 before ordinary people began to accept and purchase organic food.

And China’s acceptance of organic food would be even later, at least seven or eight years later.

That night, Barron and Julia both stayed at the Beaulieu Castle. Although it hadn’t undergone large-scale renovations, it had been maintained, and there were servants watching over it every day. Moreover, when the old Duke was alive, the family members would come to stay for a period of time every summer, so it was completely fine to host their group.

“Julia, you have Russian blood, so do you speak Russian?”

After dinner, seeing Julia take out a stack of documents from her briefcase, as if preparing to start working, Barron asked specifically.

Julia’s ancestors came from the Russian aristocracy, and they had been in Britain for three generations – as far as Barron knew, Julia’s great-grandmother was only a little girl under ten years old when she came to Britain.

That was why Barron asked this question.

“A little, but I haven’t spoken it for many years. When my mother was still around, we would usually communicate in Russian at home.”

As she said this, a look of reminiscence appeared on Julia’s face.

“You know, I’m also quite interested in learning languages. Teach me Russian, okay?”

Hearing Barron’s words, Julia looked at him for a moment and said:

“If you’re not afraid that after learning from me, the Russian you speak will be incomprehensible to Russians…”

“If that’s the case, I’m afraid I’ll have to suspect that you’re doing it on purpose…”

Of course, Barron was just joking.

But he really hoped to learn more languages. After all, being able to master more languages would be very convenient in many situations.

For example, when other people were present, his personal assistant, Laura, would communicate with Barron about some company secrets in Mandarin, which sounded like a code to others.

And Barron also found that after his rebirth, both his thinking ability and memory were excellent, even outstanding. He also wanted to know if he would be faster in learning languages.

It seemed that there had rarely been such a relaxed and harmonious atmosphere between Barron and Julia before.

This should also be related to the fact that Julia’s attitude towards Barron had imperceptibly changed greatly.

Before this, Barron always called Julia “Ms. Moore” in conversation, but this time, he addressed her by her name directly. These were all subtle changes under such an atmosphere.

…

As time came to the middle and late April, Bonnie Stuart became busy again.

Now Bonnie was the head of Summit Studio, under Summit Media, producing film and variety show content.

And before that, Summit Studio had just acquired an independent production company, Ealing Studios, and incorporated its personnel into Summit Studio – this company was the independent production company that produced Downton Abbey in the original timeline.

And the acquisition of Ealing Studios was just a beginning. Afterwards, Barron also planned to have Summit Studio acquire more independent production companies.

The reason was that in July of this year, the British Parliament would approve a very important bill – the “2003 Communications Act.”

This act was very important for independent production companies. It was no exaggeration to say that the future strength of British film and variety show content production owed a great deal to this act, which also paved the way for independent production companies to engage in commercial operations and global expansion.

Because the “2003 Communications Act” changed the trading position of broadcasters (television stations) and suppliers (production companies), production companies gained unprecedented rights.

Previously, once a program was sold to a television station, all the rights attached to the program belonged to the television station.

And the act authorized the production company to retain these rights, including all distribution rights (including broadcasting rights on terrestrial television, cable television, network television, and international television), and all ancillary rights – such as developing supporting books, CDs, mobile apps, online downloads, etc., through commercial operations and licensing.

Producers became the owners of the content, owning the intellectual property rights attached to television programs.

This new intellectual property system allowed small production companies that could only barely make ends meet to grow into rapidly expanding big companies, triggering a round of mergers in the independent television program production industry.

And Barron’s plan was to, before the act was officially launched, take advantage of the fact that the value of those production companies with relatively strong strength and potential was not so great, and enhance Summit Studio’s production strength through mergers and acquisitions.

After all, no matter what, the popular variety shows and film and television works that Barron himself could remember from the original timeline were only that many. It was impossible for the future Summit Studio to rely solely on his memories to produce programs.

The best path was to directly acquire those potential production companies of the future, and network those creative talents, and join them into Summit Studio.

The reason why ITV’s profits increased greatly later was also because they promptly changed their thinking, and continuously acquired independent production companies, thereby having strong strength in content production.

Now, after acquiring Ealing Studios, as the weather warmed up, Summit Studio was about to start producing new projects.

These included the second season of the reality show The Traitors, which would be recorded at Carlingford Castle, and the third season of the drama series Downton Abbey.

The first season of Downton Abbey had already finished airing on SDTV, and the second season was expected to start airing in the second half of the year – the first two seasons of this television series were filmed together.

And after Downton Abbey finished airing on SDTV, ITV purchased the second-run broadcasting rights in Britain, the Sinclair Group purchased the broadcasting rights in North America, and television stations in multiple countries, including Europe and Australia, were also in contact with Summit Media to introduce the broadcasting rights of this television series.

The increase in the scope of broadcasting also caused the number of viewers of Downton Abbey to explode globally. In addition to receiving unanimous praise, the actors who appeared in this drama series also gained a huge increase in popularity.

Their salaries… of course, were also rising rapidly.

It was also fortunate that, at Barron’s reminder, Summit Media directly signed contracts with these actors for six seasons of the television series plus one movie at one go, otherwise, the actors’ salaries for the third season of Downton Abbey alone would probably have increased by an unknown amount.

Chapter 162: Love Island

Of course, even though these package contracts were signed long ago, Summit Media wouldn’t give them the initial, relatively low salaries for the third season of Downton Abbey. The salary would increase each subsequent season, but within a “reasonable” range, not a ridiculous doubling.

After all, this actually aligned with both parties’ interests. They became famous because of Downton Abbey, and staying in the series was very necessary for consolidating their newly acquired fame.

The reason for saying Bonnie was starting to get busy was, in fact, that she was even busier than last year.

Whether it was the second season of the reality show The Traitors or the third season of Downton Abbey, they had experience from last year, so it wouldn’t be as chaotic as at the beginning.

But at the same time, Summit Studio was also preparing a new variety show, called Love Island…

Yes, you could tell from the name that this was a variety show with romance as its theme.

In the previous life, Love Island could be said to be the pioneer of all dating shows. After its launch, it was continuously popular. Until Barron’s rebirth, it was the highest-rated variety show among the 16-34 age group in the UK.

The Sun once reported that the England national football team players requested that their hotel rooms during the 2018 World Cup could receive the variety show Love Island.

Uh, even the once-every-four-years World Cup couldn’t stop the players’ gossiping hearts during the breaks between matches…

And compared to those dating shows in China later, Love Island had a larger scale.

This variety show would choose a tropical island villa with a pleasant climate, then select 10 guests to live in the villa, including 5 men and 5 women.

Beach villa, you can imagine, all the guests’ clothing would be very cool, the female guests would have beautiful faces and attractive figures, and would almost always wear bikinis 24 hours a day.

And the male guests, needless to say, besides being handsome, also needed to have very good physiques, and would only wear a pair of swim trunks or beach shorts, with hormones exploding.

These male and female guests would constantly pair up, forming couples based on their understanding and feelings for each other.

The audience had the right to make demands of the guests and could also eliminate guests they didn’t like through voting.

The couple most favored by the audience and who “survived” the longest in the show would win a prize of fifty thousand pounds!

And most importantly, the villas where these guests lived were covered with cameras, with no blind spots, filming 24 hours a day…

Therefore, besides the regular broadcast of the show’s main content, many inappropriate scenes between the male and female guests during their passionate moments would be captured by the cameras.

Of course, you couldn’t watch these scenes for free… the live broadcast required a membership subscription to watch.

When this variety show started production and broadcasting, the Freeview platform’s IPTV service would be able to support this function.

Therefore, such a large-scale variety show was very suitable for the promotion of the Freeview platform, and it was also the reason why Barron suggested producing such a show at this time.

It was believed that after Love Island became popular, the application users of the Freeview platform would once again usher in a peak.

Currently, the variety show Love Island was in preparation. First of all, a suitable tropical island needed to be selected, and the 10 handsome men and beautiful women guests also needed to be recruited and interviewed.

It was expected that after filming the third season of The Traitors, they could start filming the first season of Love Island.

……

Considering that every time Barron went abroad before, it was very inconvenient to take commercial flights because of too many accompanying people, so after having the funds, he directly ordered a private business jet – a Gulfstream G450.

This aircraft was a replacement upgrade model developed based on the earlier long-range business jet G400 produced by the American Gulfstream company, and it was first test-flown in April 2001.

And this month, the first batch of delivered Gulfstream G450s completed their maiden flight.

It could be said that this aircraft was currently the most advanced intercontinental long-haul business jet. The G450’s power plant was two Rolls-Royce Tay611-8C turbofan engines. After taking off for 23 minutes, the cruising altitude could reach 41,000 feet. Currently, the G450’s maximum cruising speed was Mach 0.88, and its non-stop flight distance reached 4,350 nautical miles, which could directly fly from London to America.

And the G450’s requirements for airport runways were not too high, and medium-sized airports could meet its take-off and landing conditions.

After undergoing personalized customization, the total price of this G450 was around 40 million US dollars, but it would take several months before he could use this aircraft…

Therefore, this time going to Asia, Barron directly chartered a business jet from the airline. It wasn’t a G450, but a G400.

This time going to Asia, Barron’s entourage included, besides his personal assistant Laura, the head of the family trust fund, Julia Moore, and the CEO of DS Industrial Investment Company, Amber Sheen, some personnel from his family office…

Including public relations consultant Annabelle Nolan, legal counsel, and so on.

Also, his new security consultant, Danny Burton, and four tall and burly bodyguards.

Danny Burton also came from the G4S security company and was a colleague of Barron’s previous security consultant, Frank. After Frank was transferred to the “Protector” military service company to be in charge of military contracting affairs, he recommended Danny Burton to be Barron’s security consultant.

And before taking this position, Danny Burton also went through a background check by Barron’s intelligence consultant, Nigel Inkster, to ensure there were no loopholes.

The Gulfstream G400 business jet chartered by Barron had a smaller space than the G450, and could accommodate 11 passengers, providing a comfortable space.

This just accommodated Barron’s party, and Barron himself had a separate small rest room.

Compared to taking commercial flights before, this trip was very comfortable.

It was a pity that Bonnie couldn’t come with Barron because of work issues, otherwise, she could have experienced… well, the feeling of a thousand miles a day in the business jet’s rest room.

Now, his relationship with Julia wasn’t at that stage yet. As for personal assistant Laura? What was he thinking, they had a pure superior-subordinate relationship.

After more than ten hours of flight, the Gulfstream G400 landed at Shenzhen Airport.

This time, Barron’s trip to Asia still started from Shenzhen, China.

After all, here was his most important investment in China – DS Industrial Investment Company currently held 43% of the shares of Tencent, and was the largest shareholder of Tencent.

Of course, these investments were entirely in the form of financial investments, because when purchasing these shares, DSIIC signed a supplementary agreement with Mr. Ma, the boss. DSIIC would become a person acting in concert with Mr. Ma, which meant that, without harming the interests of DS Capital, they granted the voting rights of the 43% of Tencent’s shares they held to Mr. Ma, who would therefore firmly control the company’s management rights.

Barron’s investment in Tencent was purely for making money. You say control this company?

Are you kidding? If he ran it, whether Tencent could achieve such a high market value as in the original timeline was still unknown. In addition, did you really think that a company whose management rights were controlled by foreign capital could become one of the three giants of the Chinese internet?

Just like South Korea, which was like America’s grandson, the management rights of their chaebols were still in the hands of their own people. Wall Street only controlled the vast majority of the shares and obtained the economic benefits of those chaebols…

Chapter 163: The Choice of Listing

After arriving in Shenzhen, Barron first met with Mr. Ma, the boss of the Penguin Company.

After all, upon learning that this young Duke was coming to China again, Mr. Ma had specifically come to the airport to greet him.

At this time, DS Capital had already replaced the South African MIH Group and become the most important partner of the Penguin Company.

Barron had also long expressed his full support for the development of the Penguin Company. This time, accompanying him to China, DS Industrial Investment Company’s CEO, Amber, had an important task: to accomplish this.

Because the Penguin Company wanted to expand into new businesses, including the idea of entering the gaming industry—their first step was to launch a game platform, targeting the dominant Chinese online battle platform, Lianzhong Games.

In this case, Mr. Ma indicated that the Penguin Company still needed some funds, but at this time, DSIIC’s shareholding in the Penguin Company had reached 43%, and they didn’t want to raise funds through equity financing.

Regarding this matter, Barron very readily stated that he could provide the Penguin Company with a low-interest loan of 10 million pounds to help with the company’s development.

This move of his also greatly moved Mr. Ma. After this meeting, the relationship between the two parties was very harmonious.

Another matter was that the Penguin Company had already begun preparing for an IPO listing.

However, internally, there were still slight disagreements regarding this IPO, the main one being where to list.

The domestic A-share market was out of the question, because at this time, the A-share market was not “friendly” to internet companies. Because there were strict requirements for the profitability of listed companies, and internet companies were often in a phase of burning money in the early stages, it was difficult to meet the A-share listing standards.

So, the other choices were only the Hong Kong stock market and the NASDAQ market in the United States.

At this time, the internet companies that had already been listed domestically, including the three major portal websites, Sina, Netease, and Sohu, were all listed on NASDAQ. At this time, the NASDAQ market was considered the “global internet cradle,” which should have been the first choice for the Penguin Company’s listing.

But Mr. Ma still had some doubts about this…

“You’re leaning towards listing in Hong Kong, aren’t you, Pony?”

“How did you know?”

“Because I also think listing there is the most appropriate.”

In fact, the main reason why most internet companies went to NASDAQ to list at this time was because the major investors of companies like Sina, Netease, and Sohu were all American capital. Therefore, listing on NASDAQ made it easier for them to sell their shares after the company went public, directly obtaining US dollars and completing the investment exit.

If it were other stock markets, such as Hong Kong stocks, then converting Hong Kong dollars into US dollars would ultimately involve an extra step.

Therefore, Mr. Ma was a little surprised by Barron’s words:

“Can you tell me the reason?”

“First and foremost, the most important thing for listing is to have a good story. For Chinese internet companies listed on the US stock market, investors will benchmark them against similar American companies, and use this to value them. The Penguin Company’s current main business is instant messaging software. This business model doesn’t have a corresponding benchmark company in Silicon Valley, even companies like ICQ, Yahoo Messenger, and MSN are all dependent on large companies and don’t have corresponding profit models…”

Barron said with a smile:

“In fact, American investors, or rather, Americans, are very arrogant. They believe that all internet innovations should first appear in Silicon Valley, and the internet models in other parts of the world are all imitations of their innovations. Only business models that have succeeded in America can succeed elsewhere. If the Penguin Company chooses to list on NASDAQ now and tells American investors a story they haven’t heard of, I’m afraid no one will be willing to pay for a Chinese story…”

Mr. Ma agreed deeply with Barron’s words—of course, this was what Barron had read in the book Tencent Biography in his previous life. He sighed and said:

“Another reason is that our business is all in China, and the company is also in Shenzhen. Comparatively speaking, Hong Kong is the closest to us. Hong Kong analysts and shareholders definitely understand our company better than Americans…”

This was another consideration. Theoretically, for a company that is based on serving the general public, the closer its listing location is to its home market, the more realistic the company’s market value will reflect.

Although listing in Hong Kong would definitely not be as high as NASDAQ for the valuation of internet emerging companies like the Penguin Company, similarly, because stock investors understand the Penguin Company’s situation better, its stock price fluctuations will be less severe than if it were listed in the United States.

Just like the previous incident where Netease was investigated and even suspended from trading on the US stock market, if it had been listed in Hong Kong, then its stock price probably wouldn’t have fallen below $1…

Mr. Ma hoped that the Penguin Company would pursue sustained growth and didn’t overly value the short-term market value. Therefore, with these reasons, it was only natural that he was more inclined to list in Hong Kong.

At this moment, Barron realized that perhaps Mr. Ma had brought up this matter with him today, not without the reason of explaining it to himself.

After all, as the largest shareholder of the Penguin Company, DS Capital’s opinions on matters like IPO listing were also very important to the Penguin Company.

Mr. Ma was probably also worried that DS Capital’s investment in the Penguin Company, hoping for short-term profits, would allow the Penguin Company’s listing to achieve a higher valuation, so they were unwilling to list in Hong Kong, which would ultimately lead to differences between the two parties.

Regarding this, Barron just smiled inwardly and didn’t specifically ask.

His words just now had already clearly expressed his attitude.

He himself was making a long-term investment in the Penguin Company, and he didn’t plan to reduce his holdings for at least fifteen years.

Not only that, after the Penguin Company went to Hong Kong to list, he also planned to continue to acquire some of the Penguin Company’s shares on the Hong Kong stock market.

After all, he remembered that when the Penguin Company was first listed on the Hong Kong stock market, the company’s valuation was 600 million US dollars. Adding the 200 million US dollars raised from the public offering of shares, the final total market value was about 800 million US dollars. Compared to its market value of nearly one trillion later, there was still a 100-fold increase, which was completely worth continuing to invest in!

After meeting with Mr. Ma, the specific matters of DS Capital’s loan to the Penguin Company were handed over to Amber Sheen to handle.

The next day, Barron first went to the new factory of Puma Electronics (China) Company, located in the Longgang Industrial Park in Shenzhen.

Accustomed to the construction speed of the British Isles, Barron finally felt comfortable after coming to China.

It was no wonder that China’s future development would be so rapid. By now, the factories here had already begun production, and the three factories that Puma (China) Electronics had originally acquired had also been moved to the new factory. The scale of this factory could be said to be one of the largest in the Longgang Industrial Park.

The person in charge of the factory was from British Puma Electronics. After seeing Barron, he also spoke highly of the progress here.

You must know that this factory had made the greatest contribution to the current surge in the number of users on the Freeview platform to 2 million households.

And the significantly reduced set-top box costs had also greatly eased the financial pressure on Digital UK.

Puma Electronics was even preparing to transfer some of the latest high-end set-top box production capacity to this factory.

Chapter 164: Want to Borrow Money Too?

“Julia, how do you feel after coming to China?”

In the hotel room, Barron asked Julia, who was sitting in front of him.

“It’s surprising. Shenzhen seems very prosperous, completely comparable to cities in Britain. It’s so different from my previous impression of China.”

Hearing her words, Barron said with a smile:

“Because the modern side of China doesn’t appear in our media, you have to see it with your own eyes to know.”

When Barron said he was going to promote the Grace Cultural Tourism Group’s castle attractions in Asia, including China, Julia had some doubts. She knew that Japan and South Korea were developing rapidly, especially Japan. In the 1980s, Japan was once a symbol of “wealth.” Those Asian faces who spent a lot of money in Europe and America were almost all Japanese.

As for China, she was a little skeptical whether a certain number of tourists could really go to Britain.

Barron was not surprised by her astonished expression after seeing Shenzhen, which was arguably the fastest-developing city in China. Many Westerners who came to China for the first time would have this expression.

After all, not only in Britain, but in the media reports of the entire West, these prosperous cities of China rarely appeared.

What left a deep impression on the public were the dilapidated rural scenes in Chinese films that had won international awards and were relatively well-known.

This is also why, in the future, when the public’s information source shifted from newspapers and media to self-media, everyone could publish their own observations and experiences on the internet, and after the followers saw them, those foreigners on video platforms like YouTube and TikTok saw the spectacular skyline and clean streets, orderly traffic, and pedestrians in Chinese cities, they felt unbelievable…

Of course, on the “freedom of speech” Western platforms, these videos showcasing China’s modernization would often be throttled…

“Are you coming to the banquet tonight?”

“No…”

Julia said:

“I don’t know much about internet companies. Let Laura accompany me to go shopping.”

The banquet Barron mentioned was tonight. Ding Sanshi of Netease Company, after learning that he had come to Shenzhen, rushed over from Guangzhou to specially host a banquet for him.

Since Julia didn’t want to go—after all, Netease Company didn’t belong to the family trust’s business, and Julia hadn’t had any contact with Ding Sanshi before—Barron arranged for his personal assistant to follow her, along with two bodyguards, to wander around.

Laura could also act as Julia’s translator. Barron didn’t need a translator; he could communicate directly with Ding Sanshi in Mandarin.

Speaking of which, the investment in Netease’s stock could be said to be one of DS Capital’s most successful investments in the stock market.

Last year, DS Capital started when Netease’s stock price was below 1 US dollar, and in two installments, a total of 3 million pounds were used. Currently, they hold approximately 4.3 million shares of Netease stock, accounting for 14.3% of Netease’s total share capital.

The average cost of these shares is around 1.05 US dollars…

And now, as of mid-April, Netease’s stock price has risen to over 16 US dollars…

It can be said that in the entire last year, Netease’s stock was the stock with the highest increase on the NASDAQ market, without exception.

DS Capital invested 3 million pounds to purchase approximately 4.3 million shares of Netease stock, which is currently worth nearly 46 million pounds, an increase of more than 15 times!

“Mr. Duke Cavendish, you should come to our Guangzhou this time, I will treat you well…”

“Actually, I won’t be staying in China for too long this time. I will go to other countries in Asia later, so I didn’t inform you, Mr. Ding.”

“You are too polite…”

Ding Sanshi was very enthusiastic when they met. It could be said that he valued this British duke very much…

It wasn’t mainly because Barron held their shares. After all, a 14.3% stake, and all purchased on the stock market, wasn’t that significant for Netease.

What Ding Sanshi was more concerned about was Barron’s aristocratic identity, and he was also a duke second only to the royal family!

You must know that in this era, many people in China still have a “graceful, noble, and gentlemanly” filter for British aristocrats. Having Barron, a duke, as one of their major shareholders was also a very important selling point for Netease…

Although they wouldn’t actively promote it, the media’s cooperation… you know, many messages that look like “insider information” are often released by the person involved themselves.

In China, there is often a habit of discussing matters at the dinner table.

Although because of his past life experiences, in this life, Barron, while not completely abstaining from alcohol, definitely wouldn’t drink strong liquor, and he would only take a small sip.

Of course, with his status, and being a “foreigner,” Ding Sanshi naturally wouldn’t try to pressure him to drink.

However, during the meal, he still mentioned the purpose of coming to see Barron so proactively today:

“We are now preparing to develop a new online game, which will be even more grand than the current Westward Journey II, but we need some financial support…”

Barron knew that in the future, the current three major portal websites had all undergone transformations. Netease found the profit point in games, Sina was mainly focused on Weibo, and Sohu, well, they were strong in video, but they missed the opportunity, allowing Tencent Video, Youku, and iQiyi to rise, but Sohu Video still had some room to survive.

Currently, the online game Westward Journey, which Netease initially developed and launched, was initially good, but due to the game’s settings, it stopped operating and launched Westward Journey II, which did quite well.

Now, it sounded like what Ding Sanshi was talking about was Fantasy Westward Journey, which would allow Netease to completely establish a firm foothold in the online game industry and make a lot of money.

“Is that so? I also think that Netease has a lot of potential in online games, Mr. Ding, are you planning to raise funds?”

Hearing Barron’s question, Ding Sanshi’s expression was a little awkward:

“Uh, Duke, I heard that you are going to lend Tencent a sum of money to help them develop. I don’t know if we at Netease can also… We only need 5 million US dollars.”

“5 million US dollars is no problem, Mr. Ding, but how did you know I was going to lend Tencent money?”

Seeing Barron’s expression, Ding Sanshi secretly regretted it and quickly explained:

“Please don’t misunderstand, it wasn’t Pony who told me. You know, Netease and Tencent are very close, and like these internet companies in China, there is actually a lot of employee turnover, and many employees are classmates or friends, so this kind of news is very easy to spread.”

“But you need to know, Mr. Ding, that Tencent’s situation is still different from Netease’s. Besides my shareholding ratio, Tencent is also not yet listed… The loan I give them, Pony has agreed to treat it as convertible preferred shares, and after they IPO, it can be converted into publicly issued common shares…”

DS Capital’s stake in Tencent is as high as 43%, which is higher than the total holdings of their management team. As the largest shareholder, it is appropriate to assume certain obligations for the company’s development.

And they only hold 14.3% of Netease’s shares, and there is absolutely no need to make such a low-interest loan.

Barron said:

“And Netease is a listed company, and you can raise funds by issuing additional shares.”

“Mainly, issuing additional shares in the stock market also requires going through some procedures, and the use of funds and other things must be made public. We don’t want any more problems in the middle…”

It seemed that the last time Netease was suspended from trading by the SEC due to financial problems really left Ding Sanshi with some unresolved issues.

“In that case, I can accept a private placement of shares at Netease’s current stock price to provide you with the funds you need.”

This point Barron said, made Ding Sanshi’s heart move, it seemed like a good idea.

Chapter 165: Dara Goy

It’s important to know that the current stock price of Netease Company is already above 16 US dollars, exceeding the initial public offering price of 15.5 US dollars when it went public in 2000. With this price for the issuance of additional shares, he could still accept it.

However, Barron knew that by the end of September this year, Netease’s stock price would continue to rise to its highest price in nearly a decade, 55.86 US dollars.

And after 2020, its stock price could still rise to over 400 US dollars.

Of course, for a private placement like theirs to a single shareholder, there would be a lock-up period of at least six months in the US stock market. During this period, the issued shares could not be traded in the secondary market.

This was also completely fine. After all, the previously purchased Netease shares could be sold at the peak price within these ten years, and then the newly issued shares could be held for the long term.

Hmm, the plan was perfect.

When this matter was settled, both Ding Sanshi and Barron were in a good mood.

“Mr. Duke, I’ll arrange a program later…”

Ding Sanshi gave Barron a look that every man understands…

Uh, Barron was very familiar with this kind of atmosphere. After all, the financial industry he worked in his previous life was also very high-spirited…

You have to know that in Guangdong Province, especially in a certain place, in terms of entertainment, it once became a national benchmark.

Although Barron, before his rebirth, had declined in entertainment due to setbacks, the various financial industry parties still often used the characteristics of that place as their theme.

Compared to that, things like the Crazy Horse show were nothing. It was only in China; otherwise, if it were Europe and America, with some packaging, they could also invite a top South Korean star to make a cameo…

But now, Barron was no longer interested in such occasions. After all, his identity was here, and it was impossible for him to participate in such low-class things.

Even the so-called “Crazy Horse Show” wouldn’t presumptuously invite him. No matter how it was packaged, that kind of occasion, like high-society ladies and top-tier nobles like him, wouldn’t get involved. It was only those playthings of capital, disguised as stars, who would be driven and used.

After politely declining Ding Sanshi’s “warm invitation,” Barron returned to the hotel.

As for the specific matters of Netease Company’s stock issuance, Daisy could directly liaise with them.

…

“How can I teach you like this…”

After returning to the hotel suite, although he had only drunk a little red wine at today’s banquet, he still washed up a bit, got rid of the smell of alcohol, and then called for Julia, preparing to study Russian today.

However, seeing Julia in a long dress, which was rare for her in private, and the faint fragrance on her, coupled with the change in their relationship, made Barron feel a little moved.

After asking them where they were going to go tonight, Barron put his arm around her and directly pulled her onto his lap…

Sigh, it’s all because I drank tonight; I won’t do it again…

Thinking this way, he heard Julia say something a little reproachfully, but her voice was still slightly lowered because Barron’s place was a presidential suite, and the bedroom alone had a presidential bedroom, as well as two guest bedrooms…

Previously, Julia and Laura had been staying in the two guest bedrooms, so at this moment, Julia was still a little worried that Laura, who was in one of the bedrooms, would hear her voice.

Although Julia’s figure was slightly more voluptuous than Bonnie’s, appearing more mature, and her body’s curves were even more exaggerated—similar to Mrs. Booth, Chris, but slightly taller than her.

But with Barron’s strength, it was still very easy to pick her up…

At this moment, seeing Julia’s face flushed, with a few hints of panic in her expression, but not daring to speak too loudly, this usually dignified and capable “workaholic” looked a little cute at this moment…

And her lips, at this moment, also looked quite delicious, making Barron want to taste them.

So before Julia could react, Barron had already kissed her.

Now he was completely convinced that Julia had never been in love before because when they first kissed, she was even a little at a loss… her whole body was visibly nervous.

But with Barron’s patient “guidance,” things quickly went smoothly…

“Teacher Julia, how do you say ‘darling’ in Russian?”

After the kiss, hearing Barron’s words, Julia’s face became even more flushed, and she wanted to break free again…

But she heard Barron say:

“Is the student’s request not sincere enough?”

With that, he kissed her again…

“Dara Goy…”

When this kiss ended, Barron heard Julia say such a word, and he couldn’t help but ask:

“What?”

“Didn’t you ask how to say darling?”

“I know, Dara Goy…”

Hearing Barron’s words, Julia couldn’t help but giggle:

“Dara Goy is what a woman calls a man; you should say Dara Gaya…”

“Oh, Dara Gaya… From now on, you can call me Dara Goy, and I’ll call you Dara Gaya.”

Seeing Barron speaking and wanting to lean over again, Julia quickly pushed him away and got off him:

“I, I’ll go back and rest first…”

Seeing her look a bit like she was fleeing in panic, Barron’s face had a smile, and he didn’t chase after her.

In fact, when Julia got up just now, if Barron had wanted to, with his reaction speed, she would have been completely unable to break free.

But Barron knew that, as a “newbie,” it was enough to have advanced their relationship to this degree today.

After all, Julia was different from other women outside, and Barron still had patience; it was a gradual process.

…

The next morning, after calling room service to bring breakfast.

At the dining table, while Julia was pretending to eat calmly, Barron’s gaze at Laura was quite playful.

This made Laura feel a little guilty.

Last night, she suddenly remembered that there was something to report to Barron, and when she came out of the guest bedroom she was staying in, she saw that in the living room of the suite, the Duke was with the woman, the Ms. Moore…

Laura was stunned at that moment, and after secretly glancing at them a couple more times, she quietly went back to her room.

And at this moment, the Duke’s gaze…

Did he discover it yesterday?

With Barron’s keen sense, even though he was immersed in the intimacy with Julia at the time, Laura, although she didn’t make too much noise, how could she have escaped his notice?

However, at this moment, he didn’t say anything special…

Today, their group, besides leaving Amber Sheen and Barron’s legal advisor in Shenzhen to be responsible for the follow-up loan process with Tencent, the others would leave here and go to their next destination—Shanghai.

Chapter 166: Number 2, The Bund

“I feel that compared to Shenzhen, I prefer the scenery of Magic City. The combination of classical and modern is impressive.”

“Of course, Julia, if we’re talking about history and culture, Magic City is naturally more profound. Thirty years ago, Shenzhen was just a small fishing village. It’s a miracle that it developed into its current prosperity in just thirty years. There’s a saying in China called ‘Shenzhen Speed’.”

It was late April in Magic City, and the temperature was already quite warm by noon.

Barron and his party were walking on the Bund, and he introduced to Julia beside him:

“And Magic City, as early as the beginning of the last century, was already known as the Paris of the East. Look at the buildings on that street; they were all built here during the Republic of China era by many foreign institutions, with a strong European style.”

“The scenery on this street is indeed very suitable for the luxurious positioning of our Devonshire Hotel. Are you planning to open our first hotel in China here?”

Hearing Julia’s words, Barron smiled slightly:

“It’s an excellent choice, isn’t it? I don’t know where could be better than here.”

He pointed to the side, to the central location of those classical buildings adjacent to the Bund, and said:

“I’ve already set my sights there. I hope that the future Devonshire Bund Hotel can join this extraordinary streetscape of the Bund.”

Barron’s party, excluding Laura, included many fair-haired, blue-eyed “foreigners,” especially with Barron, the young and handsome duke, and Julia Moore, the graceful beauty, with seven or eight people surrounding them.

Danny Burton’s four bodyguards in black suits and sunglasses were even more eye-catching.

Therefore, it attracted the attention of other tourists on the Bund, and many people stopped to look at them from afar.

“I have to say, there are really a lot of people in China…”

Julia couldn’t help but say this.

“Haha, Julia, the current scene is nothing compared to when we went to West Lake last time. Well, the Chinese May Day Golden Week is coming soon. By then, I’m afraid you’ll be able to enjoy the scene of seeing people everywhere.”

The last time Barron came to China, it coincided with China’s National Day holiday, and it could be said that many of the scenic spots he visited were packed with tourists.

Now it was late April, and the May Day holiday was about to arrive. I’m afraid the Bund in Magic City would be flooded with people again by then.

“Mr. Cavendish, our leader has already arranged the lunch banquet. It’s almost time, can we go over now?”

At this moment, a young man in a suit walked to Barron’s side and said to him politely.

This person was a representative sent by the local government of the HP District of Magic City to accompany them on their tour. After hearing the other party speak to him in fluent English, Barron nodded and said to Julia:

“Chinese people have a tradition of discussing business at the dinner table. Next, we’ll first discuss the hotel investment with their officials.”

Yes, this time Barron came to Magic City, the main purpose was to prepare to establish the Cavendish Hotel Group’s Devonshire luxury hotel in Magic City, China.

It could be said that in mainland China, Magic City was probably the most suitable city to be the location for the first luxury hotel. After all, if we’re talking about politics, Beijing is the center of China, but in terms of economics, Magic City is second to none. It’s also their window to the outside world, gathering the most foreign-funded enterprise headquarters in the country. For foreign-funded enterprises like the Cavendish Hotel Group, it’s naturally the best investment location.

It could be said that this investment in Magic City would be Barron’s largest investment in China so far.

And for this investment by Barron Cavendish, the Duke of England, the hotel group, Magic City also attached great importance to it. After all, this investment could not only attract a large amount of foreign exchange, but also the completion of such a luxury hotel would be of great significance to the image of the entire Magic City and the improvement of local hardware facilities.

During this banquet, the district mayor of HP District personally received Barron and his party, and the two sides discussed the location of the Devonshire Magic City Hotel.

What Barron had his eyes on was the building at Number 2, The Bund. It was the former site of the Shanghai Club, and is currently a municipal cultural relic protection building.

The Shanghai Club was a club for the British expatriates in Magic City and was an important social venue at the time, established in 1867.

The current building was a new building after the Shanghai Club demolished and rebuilt the original building at the beginning of the twentieth century. The new building was completed in early 1910, covering an area of 1,811 square meters and a construction area of 9,280 square meters. The facade of the building is treated in three sections, with six Ionic columns in the middle of the 2nd to 3rd floors, and Baroque-style wind pavilions are set at the top, with delicate and beautiful details of the carvings.

It can be said that this building witnessed many histories of Magic City’s former “Paris of the East”, and the Devonshire Hotel’s choice of this place also has a certain special significance.

For this Devonshire Bund Hotel, the Cavendish Hotel Group will invest 100 million pounds and invite world-class designers to design it.

It is worth mentioning that in the original timeline, this building later became part of the Hilton Hotel Group’s first Waldorf Astoria Hotel in China, but this hotel opened in 2011.

Therefore, eight years in advance, the Cavendish Hotel Group had the opportunity to intercept and open its own Devonshire Hotel here.

In this era, an investment of 100 million pounds also made Magic City pay attention to it.

After the Devonshire Bund Hotel project was reported upwards, it was quickly approved in principle by the local authorities. Next, they would have to conduct a detailed plan.

Barron was also preparing, like the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in the original timeline, to build a new building next to the old building at Number 2, The Bund, in the same style, and then connect the two buildings to become the theme of the Devonshire Bund Hotel.

The completed hotel will have more than 20 luxury suites, as well as a total of more than 300 rooms of various types, and will also include a luxury club in the old building – a top-level club that provides comprehensive services such as dining, fitness, and SPA.

And the Magic City side also attached great importance to this project. Although the Cavendish Hotel Group’s reputation was not very high internationally, in the UK, this hotel group currently has the largest number of castle luxury hotels. The “Devonshire” brand has also become the representative of elegance, nobility, and the top British aristocratic style.

Therefore, in addition to the Cavendish Hotel Group’s 100 million pounds investment, their local banks will also provide a loan of 500 million Chinese Yuan to build the Devonshire Bund Hotel into the most top-level luxury hotel.

In the final analysis, it was Barron’s very bold 100 million pounds of solid investment that moved the local government of Magic City. After learning the detailed information of Barron Cavendish, the young Duke of England, the other party’s strength also made them very relieved.

The Cavendish Hotel Group was only a small part of his industry. In addition, the media group, communications company, investment company, and other companies all have a very high reputation in the UK.

In addition, this young duke also has many investments in China, mainly concentrated in the Internet industry. He holds shares in influential companies such as Tencent, NetEase, Alibaba, and Baidu.

It can be said that they are still very much looking forward to the subsequent investments of this British aristocrat.

Chapter 167: Argos

At the same time, during the discussion with the other party, the Shanghai side also brought up a matter, which was that the local Dragon TV hoped to conduct an interview with Duke Devonshire.

In fact, after Barron came to China the last time and successively invested in Tencent and Alibaba, Dragon TV was among the media that wanted to interview him, but he declined all the interview requests at the time.

And this time, Cavendish Hotel Group under Barron’s name will once again spend a huge sum of money to build a luxurious hotel in Shanghai. Dragon TV also hopes to take this opportunity to conduct an exclusive interview with this young duke from England.

Thinking that he himself intended to promote the castle manor tourism project under the Grace Cultural Tourism Group in China, Barron agreed.

However, he also proposed to change the method, that is, after he returned to England, he would invite Dragon TV’s filming team to go to his manors for filming, accept the other party’s interview in the manors, and they could also visit his manors.

Moreover, all the expenses for this team to travel to England could be provided by Barron.

Dragon TV was also very interested in his suggestion. After all, it was a good idea to be able to visit a top British aristocrat’s manor and interview the duke there. The audience would probably be very interested in this.

Therefore, this matter was settled. After Barron’s Asian tour was completed and he returned to England, the team here would set off.

……

“Your image is very good, and you have also learned some Mandarin from Laura. This is something that can greatly increase your favorability with the Chinese people, so there will be some interviews during this period. Before Rob Pike arrives, besides continuing to discuss the specific matters of the Devonshire Bund Hotel with Shanghai, it is to help Grace Cultural Tourism Group with preheating publicity.”

Next, Barron and his party will go to Japan, so before Rob Pike, the CEO of Cavendish Hotel Group, arrives in Shanghai to accept the specific matters regarding the Devonshire Hotel’s establishment in Shanghai, Julia will temporarily stay here.

By now, they had already stayed in China for more than ten days, and next, they were going to leave China and head to Japan.

However, before leaving China, Barron still took Laura to Hangzhou and met with Mr. Ma from Alibaba.

Mr. Ma told Barron that in addition to Alibaba’s B2B business at this time, they were also preparing a new business for domestic individual consumers, which was Taobao.

Barron knew that this would be a major move for Alibaba, and it was after the launch of Taobao that Alibaba began its journey to become a domestic e-commerce giant in China.

In addition, accompanied by Mr. Ma, Barron also visited Yiwu and spoke highly of the trading scale here.

“I originally wanted to help the merchants here sell their goods abroad, but I have also recently discovered that the domestic market is also very promising, which is why I came up with the idea of creating Taobao.”

Mr. Ma introduced to Barron with high spirits.

However, Barron had another idea in mind by proposing to visit here.

Through the operation of the Duke’s Select supermarket, Barron had already opened up the market in the high-end market, but after all, the concept of organic food was just starting to take off in Europe and the United States at this time, so the overall scale could not be as large as retail giants such as Walmart, Carrefour, and Tesco.

But now in the British market, there are retail giants such as Tesco, Sainsbury’s, and Kingfisher. If he entered these businesses, how could he open up the market and compete with these giants that already had a scale advantage?

Taking advantage of the power of China’s “world factory,” providing high-quality and inexpensive goods to British consumers on the basis of good quality control was a direction that Barron was currently thinking about.

Previously, Barron was still a little doubtful about the quality of Chinese goods at this time. After all, at this time, Chinese goods were indeed taking the strategy of using low prices to impact the market. However, after coming to Yiwu this time and carefully looking at some goods, Barron had a lot more confidence.

So, just as Barron and his party left China and took a chartered plane to Japan, in England, DS Industrial Investment Company, after acquiring O2 Telecom, once again made an offer to Home Retail Group, the owner of Argos, a well-known department store chain retailer in England. They hoped to acquire this department store chain retailer, which has a total of more than 400 stores in England and Ireland, for a price of 600 million pounds.

Argos is a leading commodity retailer in England. Besides not selling food, it deals in almost everything, with a total of 17,000 varieties and specifications.

Especially in the sales of toys, small appliances, and household electronic products, as well as furniture, gold and silver jewelry, and sports and leisure products, Argos’s sales performance is considered to be unmatched by other retailers.

Argos now has more than 400 branches, located in England and Ireland, employing nearly 20,000 employees and having more than 15 million regular customers.

The reason that made Barron most interested in buying this retailer was because Argos adopted a different business model from traditional retailers when it was first established.

It grasped the essence of life in modern British society: more and more people are affluent but have limited leisure time, especially those who know how to use modern network technology and are easily receptive to new ideas, who are its loyal customers.

Therefore, in its operation, Argos focuses its core capabilities on meeting customers’ most convenient shopping methods, providing a variety of choices and high-quality and inexpensive goods.

This can be seen from its business philosophy - we provide the most convenient shopping method and offer customers the most affordable and best quality goods and services.

Argos provides customers with multiple communication platforms, making it convenient for them to shop anytime, anywhere.

Customers can choose to go to Argos stores, or send text messages, or call the 24-hour free service hotline, etc.

Multiple shopping channels meet the needs of different consumption methods and provide customers with the greatest convenience.

The operation of Argos stores is also completely different from the operation of traditional stores.

Walking into any Argos store, you will not see shelves, nor will you see goods - the goods are stored in the warehouse behind the store or upstairs.

If customers want to shop, they can browse the shopping guide books or posters displayed in the store. These materials are readily available in all stores, and customers can also take them home to choose slowly.

All the products sold have descriptions in these written materials, and are accompanied by product codes and color pictures.

Warehouse-style chain stores have multiple advantages: it can minimize costs, does not require a large store, and does not need many employees to be responsible for sales, greatly reducing the cost of house rental and human resources - the goods do not need to be placed on the shelves, and it also avoids the damage that may occur during the circulation of goods.

Argos is a listed company, and Home Retail Group holds most of the shares of this company. According to the closing price of the previous trading day, the market value of Argos is around 550 million pounds. Therefore, DS Industrial Investment Company has increased a certain premium and offered 600 million pounds, hoping to acquire Argos from Home Retail Group.

Chapter 168: Hot Springs

When the Gulfstream G400 landed at Tokyo Airport, Barron received the news that Home Retail Group had rejected their first offer of 600 million pounds for Argos.

Therefore, under Barron’s instructions, DS Industrial Investment Company made a second offer to Home Retail Group for Argos—700 million pounds!

This time, Home Retail Group did not immediately reject the offer, but instead indicated that they needed to hold a board meeting to vote on whether to agree to DS Capital’s acquisition.

After Barron and his party got off the plane, they were greeted by the NTV staff who had come to meet them.

The NTV staff were very enthusiastic towards the young Duke of England, bowing deeply upon meeting him, which made Barron feel somewhat unaccustomed.

Japan has six major television stations: NHK, NTV, Fuji, TBS, Asahi, and TV Tokyo. NHK is the largest among them and is a public television station funded by the state.

The other five television stations are all privately owned.

The reason why NTV took the initiative to welcome Barron and his party this time was because this television station was negotiating with Summit Media to introduce “Downton Abbey” into the Japanese market. After learning that Barron’s Asian itinerary would include a visit to Japan, they proactively offered to host him.

In fact, in the beginning, when choosing the first hotel in Asia for the Devonshire Hotel, both Tokyo and Hong Kong were among the cities considered.

However, ultimately, considering future growth potential and the scope of influence, they chose Shanghai, China.

However, Barron would naturally not interfere with NTV’s introduction of “Downton Abbey” from Summit Media. Coming to Japan was not the same as being in China, so they had specially hired a translator to accompany them.

“This is Miss Ayumi Hamasaki, a very famous singer in Japan. She is here to participate in a program on our television station…”

First, NTV invited Barron to visit their television station. Outside a studio, Barron happened to meet a girl who looked quite familiar.

The senior NTV executive accompanying Barron took the initiative to introduce her:

“Miss Ayumi, this is Mr. Barron Cavendish, His Grace the Duke from England…”

Barron naturally knew Ayumi Hamasaki, who was known as one of the nine songstresses of Avex Trax.

At this time, she and another singer, Utada Hikaru, were at the peak of their popularity in Japan.

Because of her very avant-garde and ever-changing styles, Ayumi Hamasaki was called the “Queen of Transformation.” At this time, she was only 25 years old and looked very energetic.

Upon learning that the young man with blond hair and blue eyes, who was handsome in appearance, was actually a Duke from England, Ayumi Hamasaki was also very surprised.

“Hello, Mr. Cavendish, it’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“The pleasure is all mine, Miss Ayumi.”

……

Originally, he thought that meeting Ayumi Hamasaki at NTV this time was just a coincidence, but he didn’t expect that in the evening, when NTV hosted a banquet for Barron, Ayumi Hamasaki, whom he had met today, was among those who were accompanying him.

She had dyed her hair blonde and was wearing a pink dress, looking as delicate as a Barbie doll.

In his previous life, when Barron saw Ayumi Hamasaki’s photos and her performances in the media, the Japanese diva was already in her thirties. Although she had taken good care of herself, she still lacked some youthful energy compared to now. But her appearance did leave a deep impression on Barron.

One has to say, in this regard, the senior executives of NTV were really very perceptive. During the day, Barron had seen quite a few Japanese celebrities at the NTV studio, but they were able to tell from certain details which one Barron was most interested in.

They were now in what should be a relatively high-end private club in Tokyo. Although Barron couldn’t speak Japanese, Ayumi Hamasaki’s English was quite good, so there were not too many obstacles to their communication.

“Your Grace, since you’ve come to Tokyo, you definitely can’t miss the most distinctive hot springs. The hot springs in this club are all made with the most natural spring water specially transported here, and they will definitely satisfy you.”

After dinner, Mr. Maeda from NTV said very enthusiastically to Barron.

He had long heard that Japanese hot springs were quite famous, and taking this opportunity, Barron was also prepared to experience them.

However, seeing that Ayumi Hamasaki had not left at this time, but was instead by his side, leading him towards the rooms in the back, Barron couldn’t help but have a few guesses…

No, is NTV spending so much money?

This “Queen of Transformation” should already be considered a diva in the music world, right…

“Mr. Cavendish, you can go to that room to change your clothes.”

Listening to Ayumi Hamasaki’s introduction, Barron walked into a rather exquisite room, which had bathrobes, all new.

After changing into a bathrobe, before entering the bath surrounded by wooden boards in the courtyard, Barron’s security advisor, Danny, went in to check first, and then signaled to Barron that he could enter. He would wait outside.

Barron entered the hot spring water and felt that the water temperature was a bit hot, but after getting used to it, it was very comfortable. In the mist, his whole body felt relaxed.

When he heard someone walking in, Barron turned his head and saw Ayumi Hamasaki, whom he had just separated from, wearing a bathrobe, walking in and standing to the side of the hot spring.

Uh, because it had been specifically introduced earlier that in their hot springs, one usually only wore a bathrobe and nothing else underneath. Therefore, Barron was, at this moment, naked in the hot spring.

In this kind of scene, seeing Ayumi Hamasaki beside him, he couldn’t help but feel a little awkward…

But the next scene made him unable to think about these things anymore.

“Mr. Cavendish, do you like it here?”

With Ayumi Hamasaki’s words, her bathrobe slipped to the ground, and she, at this moment, was the same as Barron…

……

“Laura, you don’t look very well. Didn’t you get enough rest?”

The next day at breakfast, Barron saw Laura and couldn’t help but ask.

“Uh, I guess I’m not used to it here.”

Saying this, Laura couldn’t help but complain in her heart, you made so much noise last night, and it was almost the end of the night, how could I possibly get a good night’s sleep?

But she couldn’t say such words.

Thinking of that… sound last night, Laura’s face flushed a little.

“We will be visiting some scenic spots in Tokyo today. You can take a nap after you finish eating…”

This time, coming to Japan didn’t really have many arrangements; it was mainly for sightseeing.

In fact, at this time, there was really nothing suitable to invest in in Japan. Even if they were to invest, it would probably be a more suitable time several years later.

Originally, according to the plan, Barron’s Asian trip would go to more countries, but there were changes on the London side. The acquisitions of Manchester United Football Club and Argos had unexpected progress, so Barron decided to shorten his trip, stay in Tokyo for two days, and wait for Julia to finish her work in Shanghai before coming over to join them, and then return to England together.

The CEO of Cavendish Hotel Group would be able to arrive in China today, and after a simple handover, Julia could arrive in Tokyo tomorrow.

Chapter 169: Taking Over Manchester United

As mentioned before, Barron could choose to wait until the end of the year, after the Manchester United coach, Sir Alex Ferguson, had a conflict with the club’s major shareholder over horse racing, and then further acquire Manchester United.

Alternatively, he could increase his offer now, thereby making his shareholding exceed Cubic Expression, which held 28.7% of Manchester United’s shares.

When they returned to London, DS Capital had already met this condition.

After purchasing the 6.45% of Manchester United shares held by the Scot, Dobson, and adding to this the Manchester United shares they had been buying from the secondary market, and then buying another portion of shares from other small shareholders at the same price, DS Capital officially announced that their holding of Manchester United shares exceeded 30%, which was more than Cubic Expression’s 28.7%!

Initially, when purchasing the 6.45% of shares from the Scot, Dobson, the asking price for these shares corresponded to a Manchester United club valuation of as high as 650 million pounds, more than double the valuation corresponding to Manchester United’s stock at the time.

After continuous negotiations, the other party finally agreed to sell their shares for 38.5 million pounds, with a corresponding Manchester United club valuation of around 600 million pounds. With this acquisition, DS Capital then acquired the shares of several other small shareholders at the same price, surpassing Cubic Expression’s shareholding.

At this point, the overall situation of DS Capital’s acquisition of Manchester United was basically determined—at this time, with DS Capital and the American Glazer family acquiring Manchester United’s stock in the secondary market, its stock price had increased by more than 60% compared to the beginning, and its market value had reached 500 million pounds!

And it seemed that at the current stock price level, Cubic Expression already considered the price too high and was unwilling to buy Manchester United’s stock from the secondary market, thereby maintaining its position as Manchester United’s largest shareholder.

At this point, DS Capital once again issued an offer to Cubic Expression to acquire their Manchester United shares, expressing their desire to acquire their 28.7% of Manchester United’s shares for 175 million pounds.

Their offer still corresponded to a Manchester United club valuation of over 600 million pounds.

If the other party refused again, then DS Capital could also request to convene a Manchester United shareholders meeting to re-elect its board of directors, thereby gaining control of Manchester United.

Then, through issuing new shares, injecting capital into Manchester United, they could still dilute the shares of other shareholders.

As for whether the other party would also be willing to contribute funds proportionally?

This was of course possible; it was just a matter of who had more money. Even if they contributed funds proportionally, the shareholding structure was already set. Unless the Glazer family was willing to stand with Cubic Expression and invest more money into Manchester United.

With the Glazer family’s “vampiric” nature, they originally needed to use leveraged buyouts to acquire Manchester United, and after eventually completing privatization, shift their debts onto Manchester United. How could they choose this thankless method?

Moreover, if Cubic Expression stood with the Glazer family, then in terms of public opinion, Barron also had ways to make the two of them bear negative pressure.

Therefore, under such circumstances, Cubic Expression finally agreed to DS Capital’s acquisition request, selling their 28.7% of Manchester United’s shares for 175 million pounds.

After this, DS Capital’s holding of Manchester United shares exceeded 60%, completing the controlling stake in the club.

It could be said that at this time, Manchester United officially changed its ownership and became the team of the Duke of Devonshire.

As things developed to this point, the Glazer family, seeing no hope of acquiring Manchester United, ultimately sold their 10% of Manchester United shares to DS Capital for 60 million pounds, allowing DS Capital’s shareholding to exceed 70%!

Next, DS Capital would continue to absorb Manchester United shares from the secondary market. After holding over 75%, they would start the privatization process of Manchester United, thereby buying out all the club’s shares, making this team their 100% private property.

In fact, in the original timeline, the Glazer family took nearly two years to complete the full acquisition of Manchester United, with a total cost of 1.47 billion US dollars.

This price, at the time, could be said to be a premium of over 200%! Many people believed that they paid a high price and were destined to suffer heavy losses at Manchester United.

But the truth was that this transaction made them a fortune.

Why? Because the development of the Premier League afterwards, especially the commercialization process, greatly exceeded everyone’s expectations. Manchester United, with its number one commercial value in the Premier League, saw its revenue increase year by year. Even though they didn’t spend much money on player replacements and even sold Cristiano Ronaldo, who later shone brightly, they still maintained top-level income among Premier League and even global clubs, thanks to Ferguson’s excellent planning for the team.

However, because they acquired the club earlier than the Glazer family, taking the first-mover advantage, and Barron had already tied the Goldman Sachs Group to his chariot in the acquisition of O2—in the original timeline, Goldman Sachs Group was the main consultant and fund provider for the Glazer family’s acquisition of Manchester United.

But now, Goldman Sachs Group had become the main partner of DS Capital in the acquisition of Manchester United. Therefore, these factors combined, it was estimated that DS Capital would complete the 100% acquisition of Manchester United at a cost far less than the 1.47 billion US dollars (equivalent to 980 million pounds) the Glazer family spent in the original timeline, needing only less than 600 million pounds, which could be said to be very cost-effective.

This was also because not only Cubic Expression couldn’t imagine that Manchester United’s commercial value would grow so fast and make more and more money—in their view at this time, a market value of 600 million pounds was really somewhat high for Manchester United, whose price-to-earnings ratio was already far higher than other companies when its market value was 310 million pounds. Even the Glazer family, although they were also optimistic about Manchester United at this time, were not as certain as Barron and ultimately made a profit and left after the acquisition failed.

Yes, compared to the funds the Glazer family spent to acquire 10% of Manchester United’s shares, selling them to DS Capital for 60 million pounds had already earned them over 20 million pounds. Even without completing the acquisition of Manchester United, this profit also gave them some comfort.

For this acquisition plan, DS Capital took out approximately 200 million pounds of funds, and the remaining funds mainly came from Goldman Sachs Group’s financing. After finally completing this acquisition, they still had a large amount of funds in their account that could be used for investment.

Of course, this time, Barron would not sell Cristiano Ronaldo to Real Madrid again.

Uh, it’s worth mentioning that, currently, Cristiano Ronaldo had not yet joined Manchester United. He was still playing for Sporting Lisbon in Portugal and would only be bought by Manchester United in August of this year for a fee of 12.8 million pounds, joining the Red Devils.

On May 3rd, with the penultimate round of the 2002-2003 Premier League season, Leeds United’s away 3:2 victory over Arsenal ensured Manchester United’s advantage over Arsene Wenger’s Arsenal, allowing Manchester United to secure the title of this season’s Premier League champion in advance.

And at this time, Barron, who had already been confirmed to take over Manchester United and become its new boss, also met with the club’s management.

In his conversation with Ferguson, Barron still assured the Manchester United club’s meritorious coach of his position in the team, stating that he would receive his full support.

At the same time, Barron also met with David Gill, the future vice-chairman of the Football Association and vice-president of FIFA, stating that he would serve as the CEO of Manchester United in the next season.

After stabilizing these two people, Barron had basically stabilized Manchester United. What he needed to do next was, in terms of commercial operation, to make Manchester United do better than in the original timeline, thereby surpassing Real Madrid and becoming the most globally recognized football club.

By doing so, Barron’s influence could also be doubled.

Chapter 170: Manchester United Superstar

“Happy birthday, Miss Holly, beautiful.”

“Thank you, Your Grace, and Miss Bonnie, is this a gift for me? It’s wonderful.”

At the invitation of Holly Branson, the princess of the Virgin family, Barron and Bonnie, a couple, attended the birthday party Holly held at her New York villa.

As she said, almost everyone present was young. After being introduced by Prince William, who had heard the news, almost every one of them came from the noble and wealthy families of Britain or Europe.

Another thing worth mentioning is that William also brought his girlfriend, Catherine, today—it has to be said that, many times, their concepts are really special, just like William once had a rumored relationship with Holly Branson… but now it seems that Catherine and Holly Branson’s relationship is like that of close friends, and there are no signs of discord at all.

Of course, William also introduced Catherine to Barron. I don’t know if the future British princess didn’t recognize Barron, or if she hid it very well, but her performance was very normal, as if they were meeting for the first time…

“Wow, Your Grace, Duke Cavendish, you are even more handsome in person than in the photos. I’m very glad to meet you. I’m Tamara Ecclestone.”

“Nice to meet you, Miss Ecclestone.”

Barron said to the beautiful woman who seemed very enthusiastic and had a hot body.

“I’m studying at Cambridge now, and I also participated in the selection of your Woaw website before, but I only got second place.”

Tamara said with some regret.

However, being able to get second place in that selection was already a very good result.

Hearing the other party’s name, as well as her appearance, Barron remembered who the girl in front of him was.

In his previous life, he had watched a reality documentary called “Tamara’s World,” and the protagonist was this girl.

It’s just that compared to the time when the documentary was filmed, Tamara was already married, married to a wealthy man, and had children.

Tamara at this time was younger, had a better figure, and exuded a youthful aura compared to that “Tamara’s World” documentary.

And Tamara’s background was also very extraordinary. Her father, Bernie Ecclestone, was the founder of F1 and the president of the F1 racing management association, with a net worth of over 3 billion US dollars.

Among these wealthy heiresses, Tamara was already considered to be quite outstanding in appearance, because her mother was a supermodel, and she could be considered to have inherited her mother’s beauty.

But I don’t know if it was Tamara’s personality or if she was particularly enthusiastic towards Barron, but she not only took the initiative to exchange phone numbers with Barron, but also kept inviting him to visit her home when he had time.

This made the expression on Bonnie’s face, who was beside Barron, subtly become cold.

Fortunately, at this moment, someone came over to say hello to Barron, separating him from Tamara.

The person who came to greet him was none other than the Beckhams.

“Hello, Your Grace, I’m very glad to meet you here.”

Both Beckham and his wife Victoria were relatively respectful to the young duke in front of them.

After all, after buying the Manchester United club, Barron could be said to have temporarily become Beckham’s boss.

“David, I’m also very glad to see you. Actually, I’ve also talked to Ferguson, and I want to confirm your thoughts again…”

Yes, the reason why Barron is now “temporarily” Beckham’s boss is because, according to the course of history, this most famous British star at this time will leave the Manchester United club in less than two months and go to Real Madrid.

In the rumors back then, there were many reasons for Beckham’s departure from Manchester United, such as the support of his wife, Victoria…

But the main reason was his conflict with Ferguson.

That was on February 15th of this year, during the fifth round of the FA Cup, when Manchester United played against Arsenal at home.

Arsenal, playing away, scored one goal each in the 37th and 52nd minutes by Edu and Wiltord, thus eliminating Manchester United 2:0.

After the game, Manchester United coach Ferguson was furious in the locker room and severely criticized the Manchester United players.

Ferguson and Beckham had an argument over the second goal conceded. At that time, Ferguson, in a fit of rage, kicked a football boot on the ground, and the boot happened to hit Beckham’s left eyebrow, causing blood to flow profusely. This was known as the “Flying Booth. Incident.”

In addition to causing Beckham to bleed and almost disfigurement, this injury also marked the end of his close relationship with Ferguson.

And before that, Ferguson was already very dissatisfied with Beckham’s excessive focus on his commercial promotion and putting too much energy into commercial activities outside of the game.

It can be said that this “Flying Booth. Incident” was also an outburst of Ferguson’s accumulated dissatisfaction with him.

Barron naturally understood the commercial value of Beckham. After buying Manchester United, he also tried to communicate with Ferguson. After all, what Real Madrid was most proud of was their “Galacticos” composed of superstars.

At this time, Manchester United had Beckham, plus Cristiano Ronaldo, who was about to join. Both of them, whether in appearance, skills, or the number of fans, were enough to be comparable to those superstars of Real Madrid.

Beckham represented the present, and Ronaldo represented the future. They could both serve as a crucial part of the Manchester United club.

It was also for this reason that Barron also had the idea of mediating the conflict between Beckham and Ferguson.

However, the result of the last meeting made Barron a little disappointed. Ferguson was still extremely disappointed with Beckham and did not want him to stay at the Manchester United club in the next season.

If he had to choose between Beckham and Ferguson, Barron would definitely choose Ferguson without hesitation, because Beckham, as Manchester United’s “superstar” sign, was not irreplaceable, but for the Manchester United club, Ferguson was the irreplaceable one.

Today, he happened to meet the Beckhams here, and Barron was still prepared to have a good talk with him.

As early as the end of last month, Zinedine Zidane, the French star with the highest net worth at this time and the core player at Real Madrid, said in an interview with the Sunday Mirror:

“Every season, Real Madrid will be looking for a world-class superstar, and it is obvious that they are currently looking at Beckham. Whether Manchester United is willing to let him leave is another question. But I am skeptical about this. In a transfer, the most important thing is to see how much a player really wants to facilitate this transfer.”

And before Zidane, several other superstars of Real Madrid—Ronaldo, Raul, and Carlos—had expressed their goodwill to Beckham in interviews before the match between Real Madrid and Manchester United, welcoming him to join Real Madrid in the future.

After all, at that time, Beckham’s conflict with Ferguson was already known to everyone—in that match between Real Madrid and Manchester United, Beckham, as Manchester United’s number one star, spent most of the time on the bench…

So if Beckham leaves the Manchester United club, the most likely choice would be Real Madrid.

Moreover, Real Madrid was also very interested in this British number one superstar, hoping to strengthen their “Galacticos” by bringing in Beckham…

Chapter 171: Independent Information Network

Although the Beckhams were always respectful and polite towards Barron, the conversation with Beckham…

wasn’t even as quick as Victoria and Bonnie’s relationship grew closer—the two of them, one a pop icon from the Spice Girls, the other a popular host and producer, had a lot to talk about.

And when Barron tried to persuade Beckham to reconcile with Ferguson and stay at Manchester United, Beckham was noncommittal.

It was clear that he was already thinking of leaving.

After all, the conflict between the two had been public for a long time and couldn’t be resolved in the short term, requiring time to fade.

Just as Beckham said:

“He has always been too strong in the team, Your Grace. This isn’t something I can decide. It’s even very difficult for me to get on the field now. Staying at Manchester United doesn’t make much sense anymore. I have a lot of affection for this place, but people need to face reality, don’t they?”

Barron also knew that this kind of thing couldn’t be resolved successfully in the short term. He wasn’t prepared to make the two reconcile immediately. Today was just an attempt after an accidental meeting with Beckham. Since Beckham’s attitude was still relatively pessimistic for now, Barron stopped there, and the two talked about other things.

He also knew that at this time, Real Madrid’s “Galacticos” had gathered a group of the most influential football superstars. For Beckham, it was something he hadn’t tried before and was definitely a new experience.

And Real Madrid, being “rich and powerful”, was indeed willing to give these stars high returns. Manchester United also needed to improve its competitiveness slowly, starting with improving the treatment of the head coach and players…

Of course, the premise of improving their treatment was that Manchester United needed to further increase its commercial operations to increase the club’s revenue, so that it would have money to do these things.

It wasn’t just improving the treatment of personnel. Manchester United’s home stadium, Old Trafford, also needed to be renovated and expanded—after all, besides the broadcasting fee sharing from the Premier League, the revenue from match tickets was also one of the club’s main sources of income, especially the VIP boxes, which were the most profitable. Expanding the number of VIP boxes could greatly increase its revenue.

……

“Our Independent Information Network is currently developing very rapidly. It has become the second largest information website in the UK, second only to the BBC website, and the gap between us and the BBC website is constantly shrinking.”

After Khalid Rivier went to Woaw website as CEO, Kyle Bolton, the new head of the Independent Newspaper website, introduced to Barron:

“The main user growth still comes from the blog function we launched, as well as the more abundant and different types of forum functions than the BBC website. We have also hired more people to maintain them, but the problem now is that relying solely on advertising cannot achieve the website’s breakeven. Therefore, the more users we have, the more our losses are increasing. There are already some voices in the company saying that the website doesn’t need to provide so many services…”

Barron was completely unconcerned about Kyle’s worries. He said lightly:

“You don’t need to take these words to heart. Just continue to develop according to the plan.”

The Independent Newspaper’s website had already gained some independence and was renamed the Independent Information Network.

For projects similar to portal websites, it was very normal not to be profitable in the early stages, and even to have some losses.

Although advertisers’ investment in internet platforms was increasing year by year, the current online advertising was still monotonous and the effect was unpredictable. Moreover, the total number of internet users was still relatively small, concentrated among students and young people who had just graduated, and the advertising value was relatively not very high.

But as long as it developed like this and became one of the top comprehensive information websites in the UK, the Independent Information Network would be able to achieve profitability sooner or later, and even start to make a large profit.

Anyway, the development of the free newspaper “London Public Evening News” under the Independent Newspaper was very good. The current daily circulation had approached 1 million copies, and its profits were enough to support the development of the Independent Information Network.

After Kyle left his office, Barron walked to the window and looked at the building not far from here, which had already been built on a considerable scale.

The location of the building was the original Independent Newspaper office building. That building was naturally the SEM Building, which was under construction.

This building, with a total of 45 floors, was expected to be completed in about three months. After the decoration was completed, it would be used as the headquarters building of the SEM Group.

“Your Grace, you can start moving.”

The office door opened, and his personal assistant, Laura, said to him:

“The team from China’s Dragon TV has also arrived at Chatsworth House. They will first do some background shooting there. After you arrive, you can start the interview. This is the interview process and some questions they sent. If you have no objections, then it’s confirmed.”

“Okay…”

Barron took the several printed A4 papers handed over by Laura and casually asked:

“Is Ms. Nolan here too?”

“She’s already in the car, waiting for you to go down.”

Annabella Nolan was Barron’s public relations consultant. For interviews like this that were facing the public, she naturally needed to accompany him to oversee the process.

……

“Yes, I haven’t lived here much recently. Why? On the one hand, many of my businesses need to be handled in London. As you can see, I’m still very young and far from the time to enjoy a leisurely life in this kind of manor. I need to be closer to the forefront of the times’ development, rather than this kind of quiet enjoyment…”

Facing the host and the camera, Barron shrugged his shoulders, a graceful smile on his face, and said:

“Although I am an aristocrat, the times are different now. We also need to create value in our work. In addition, I also believe that Chatsworth House has witnessed too many important moments in British history, so it no longer belongs only to our Devonshire family, but to the wealth of all of Britain. Therefore, we have decided to open it to everyone, so that everyone can more directly experience that period of British history by visiting here. I think this is more meaningful than the family alone enjoying this territory.”

“Your Grace, you said it so well. I can feel the unique sense of responsibility that you aristocrats have from this.”

The person interviewing Barron was a beautiful woman named Chen Chen. It could be seen that after the young and handsome British Duke had taken her around the interior of Chatsworth House and he said these words, the host, who was very intellectual and beautiful, already had a lot of admiration in her eyes.

After signaling to the filming crew, Chen Chen said softly to Barron:

“This part of the filming is temporarily over. We can take a break first, and then shoot in another scene.”

“Okay, I have prepared some snacks and drinks in the North Dining Room. We can go over there together and taste our manor’s afternoon tea first.”

“That’s really very kind of you, Your Grace.”

Chapter 172: Interview

The purpose of Barron’s interview this time was to promote their castle manor to China through a program featuring the scenery of the Grace Cultural Tourism Group’s manor and castle.

The most important thing was to establish the style of the British aristocracy and leave an impression of being high-end, elegant, and classy.

From the longing and admiration on the face of this beautiful hostess, Barron felt that his goal had almost been achieved.

It has to be said that in this era, China had just joined the WTO, and most of the Chinese people, even those with a certain economic strength, had not yet experienced going abroad.

Their impression of foreign countries, especially Western Europe and America, mostly came from the media.

As everyone knew, many newspapers and magazines at this time, including magazines like Readers and Yilin, were exaggerating the West to an even sensational degree - such as the toilet water of Japan, summer camps, and Germany’s sewers, all of which were products of this era.

Most people yearned for the “civilized world” of the West. It wasn’t until many people had traveled and lived abroad that many filters on the “developed countries” began to be broken. By that time, those who still blindly praised the West were just some old fossils destined to be eliminated by the times.

And Barron was also taking advantage of the mentality of China during this period, plus the promotion of the media, to promote the tourism resources of the Grace Cultural Tourism Group.

Their castle manors, which had a strong sense of history, were very attractive even to “nouveau riche” like the United States, which had “slightly” insufficient historical background - otherwise, the American version of the reality show The Traitors would not have had to be filmed in a British castle manor. For wealthy Chinese people, it would definitely be a worthwhile trip.

And it could also satisfy their need for a certain kind of “showing off.”

“Miss Chen, what do you think of Chatsworth House?”

Barron asked with a smile while enjoying afternoon tea together.

Because he needed to show style, Barron’s explanations and speeches during the program recording were all in English.

But at this time, when talking to this beautiful hostess privately, he spoke in Mandarin, which made it easier for both parties to communicate smoothly.

Even though she knew that this handsome duke could speak fluent Mandarin, Chen Chen couldn’t help but sigh again after hearing it, it was really too standard.

“It’s very, very gorgeous, it’s simply beyond my imagination, Your Grace. Especially now, being in this luxurious restaurant, with the butler and servants helping to pour tea and serve, I feel like I’m living in those TV dramas I’ve watched.”

While speaking, the beautiful hostess kept staring at Barron, she still felt a little dreamy.

“I am also very honored to invite such a beautiful lady to visit our Chatsworth House. In addition, there are two other castle manors, you can also go to film some material later.”

“Definitely, I feel so lucky to come to Britain this time, to be able to visit these beautiful manors. But what impressed me the most was what you just said, that you are willing to open these manors to the public for visits, it’s very selfless and great.”

Of course, this filming wouldn’t all be done by Barron. He only personally introduced some of the unique historical places of the manor at the beginning. The rest of the introductions were all done by the butler, Sean, who knew more about the manor than Barron.

And Sean the butler’s expressionless face, coupled with his wearing a tailcoat, was really like a British butler. The filming team from Dragon TV was also very satisfied with his professional performance.

“I wonder if Miss Chen is still used to British food?”

After treating their team to dinner, Barron invited the beautiful hostess to take a walk in the manor’s garden, he asked.

“Very distinctive, the taste is still very good.”

“Haha, in fact, even we British people like to complain about British food, so whether it’s the aristocracy or the royal family, they eat more French food.”

In 1066, King Edward of England died, and Duke William of Normandy took the opportunity to lead the French nobles and knights across the English Channel, and then occupied London, becoming the King of England.

In other words, the current British royal family is a descendant of the former French Norman royal family, so until now, the British royal family’s banquet menus are still written in French.

And liking French food is not surprising.

Barron introduced these things to Chen Chen briefly and said:

“But I’m different, I prefer to eat Chinese food. I have a Chinese chef specially hired at my residence in London.”

“It seems that you are very destined to be with us Chinese.”

Hearing Chen Chen’s words, Barron revealed a smile…

That’s right, in my previous life, I was Chinese.

The weather in Britain, for example, often made Barron complain. Almost every year, the hottest time was only around ten degrees, rarely exceeding twenty degrees.

And although it was already May, the temperature at night was still quite low. Seeing that Chen Chen was only wearing a skirt, he couldn’t help but put his arms around himself, and he said considerately:

“It’s a bit cold outside, let’s go back.”

“Okay, but the scenery here is beautiful. I was shocked when I saw this back garden during the day. At night, it has a different feeling.”

Just as she was speaking, there was a “fluttering” sound from the branches above her head, which startled her.

Seeing her dodging towards him, Barron reached out and held her in his arms.

“It’s okay, it’s a bird that just flew away…”

As he was saying this, Barron saw her look up, and her eyes were filled with burning emotions…

At this point, he could naturally feel the other person’s feelings.

So Barron didn’t let go of the hand holding her, lowered his head, and kissed her lips…

…

The filming of these castle manors would take some time, and Barron certainly couldn’t stay with them all the time.

He only took a day to finish the interview that required him to be in the shot. The next day, he would leave here and return to London.

The beautiful hostess left Barron’s bedroom in the early morning and secretly returned to her room.

But after a night of learning, she probably needed to rest well.

In the morning of the next day, Barron bid farewell to the Chinese filming team and prepared to return to London.

I don’t know if it was because of makeup, but Chen Chen didn’t look too tired. She behaved very normally in front of everyone, but when their eyes met, Barron could feel the affection in her eyes.

“I have something to go back to London first, wait until you have time to come to London, and I’ll treat you.”

Taking the opportunity of being alone with her, Barron said to her in a low voice.

“Okay, I’ll miss you.”

Seeing that no one was around, the beautiful hostess stood on tiptoe and imprinted a kiss on Barron’s lips.

Chapter 173: Shadow Cabinet

“Congratulations, David, on joining the Shadow Cabinet. This is truly something to celebrate.”

“Thank you for your congratulations, Your Grace,”

Almost every month, Barron would meet with Cameron once or twice. This meeting was primarily to congratulate him on joining the Shadow Cabinet and becoming the Principal Private Secretary of the Shadow Cabinet Office.

The so-called “Shadow Cabinet” was first proposed in 1907 by the then Conservative Party leader, Austen Chamberlain, and later implemented in many Commonwealth countries.

It refers to the leader of the largest opposition party forming a “reserve cabinet” based on the structure of the cabinet, to prepare them for taking office and forming a cabinet after overthrowing the current ruling party.

Precisely because of this purpose, members of the Shadow Cabinet often fiercely confront the current cabinet to achieve the goal of “replacing” them.

And often when the opposition party comes to power, the members of its cabinet are basically members of the “Shadow Cabinet,” with only minor adjustments at most, and no significant changes.

Therefore, joining the “Shadow Cabinet” was a significant advancement in Cameron’s career.

It’s worth mentioning that Mr. and Mrs. Cameron also invested in the Mars Fund, of course, in Mrs. Cameron’s name.

As a private equity fund, the Mars Fund had a relatively high threshold, with the minimum investment amount set at 1 million pounds from the very beginning.

There was no need to worry that the Camerons couldn’t come up with the money. After all, both Cameron and his wife came from aristocratic backgrounds. Cameron’s great-grandfather, Sir Ewen Cameron, was once the chief executive of the HSBC London branch; his grandfather had made a fortune doing grain trading in Chicago, America, and left America in 1880 to return to Scotland.

And Cameron, when he was young, hadn’t been without his wild days…

With their financial strength, investing 1 million pounds wasn’t difficult.

Moreover, they were among the earliest investors in the Mars Fund. By now, their 1 million pound investment was worth over 5 million pounds.

Barron naturally knew that the most solid alliance must have common interests, and the Mars Fund was itself the bond that maintained his relationship with certain partners.

By now, Barron had been in this world for over a year.

His influence at this time, compared to a year ago, was naturally incomparable.

His status, coupled with the resources he controlled, was no longer an existence that could be ignored in Britain.

It was also because of this that Cameron, who had considerable political ambitions, was paying more and more attention to his “friendship.”

“I also want to congratulate you, Your Grace. I often shop at Argos, and I didn’t expect it to belong to you now.”

Cameron said with a hint of admiration.

Yes, after DS Capital raised its bid to acquire Argos to 700 million pounds, in early June, the owner of the retail chain, Home Retail Group, held a shareholders meeting. In the vote, the proposal to sell Argos was passed by an overwhelming majority.

Just like that, Barron took this retail chain, which had over 400 stores in Britain and Ireland, into his pocket.

The main reason he decided to acquire Argos was that he admired Argos’s unique sales method.

Argos’s stores operated completely differently from traditional stores. There were no displayed goods in the store lobby; all goods were stored in the warehouse behind the store or upstairs.

Consumers could browse the shopping catalogs displayed in the store to select goods. These materials were readily available in all stores, and customers could also take them home to browse at their leisure.

All products sold had detailed descriptions in these written materials, along with product codes and color pictures for easy searching and comparison, ensuring that consumers were provided with the most authentic and complete information.

According to statistics, about two-thirds of households in Britain currently owned Argos catalogs, targeting family consumption as the unit. The product categories had a clustering effect. Every spring and autumn, Argos would launch new shopping-oriented catalogs based on the situation, and occasionally launch promotional product catalogs.

Another important reason Argos could attract customers was its wide variety of goods, covering high, medium, and low price points. Regardless of age or gender, everyone could find satisfactory products here. Apart from not selling food, it carried almost everything, with a total of 17,000 varieties and specifications.

Especially in the sales of toys, small appliances, and household electronic products, as well as furniture, gold and silver jewelry, and sports and leisure products, Argos’s sales performance was considered unmatched by other retailers.

And the ways to place an order at Argos were also diverse. You could buy in-store, or you could place an order via text message and 24-hour phone calls.

Seeing this sales method, does it seem a bit familiar?

Yes, this sales method is already very similar to the B2C and O2O local services of those later e-commerce platforms.

Therefore, after purchasing Argos, the first change Barron made was to develop and launch Argos’s online website, allowing consumers to view goods in real-time and place orders on the Argos website in addition to phone orders. They could also get the latest discount information from Argos stores near their homes.

Another thing Barron was more concerned about was Argos’s logistics and warehousing system.

Argos had 1 DC (Distribution Center) and 4 RDCs (Regional Distribution Centers), mainly responsible for the distribution of Argos stores within England and Wales.

There were also 2 transfer points, one in the Republic of Ireland and the other in Scotland, responsible for the distribution of Argos stores in the Republic of Ireland and Scotland, respectively.

This “three-dimensional” logistics network structure was an essential resource for Argos to develop O2O services in the future.

Next, Argos would continue to improve its logistics and warehousing system and, like the Duke’s Select Supermarket, would provide home delivery services for busy customers who didn’t have time, of course, this extra service would require a certain fee.

And the biggest move after acquiring Argos was the massive construction of its own brand.

Argos focused on the operation of its own brand products to prevent price wars of similar products from different merchants.

By adopting a strict supplier evaluation system, they selected agents or product manufacturers for goods, requiring them to produce and package goods according to market demand, and the evaluation indicators included specifications, styles, colors, shapes, packaging, etc., and used the Argos trademark.

In this way, many of the goods sold by Argos couldn’t be bought anywhere else, and customers found it difficult to make direct price comparisons.

This method achieved three goals at the same time.

First, because suppliers could produce and design products according to Argos’s requirements, they could provide a variety of styles to meet market demand, and the set prices could also satisfy customers.

Second, because Argos set this long-term development strategy with suppliers, their cooperative relationship became closer, and while Argos became the largest retailer, it also increased the market share of these suppliers’ goods.

Third, it was precisely this strategic relationship that suppliers could fully guarantee that the goods supplied were price-competitive, and also fully guarantee Argos’s product gross profit.

Argos’s 2002 annual report showed that 59.3% of Argos’s value was created by these private label products.

And after that, Barron would form a full-category inspection team in the Argos company to go to China for OEM inspections, select suitable partners who could manufacture products that met their quality requirements, and thus begin to shift their supply chain to China.

The advantage of doing this was that it could significantly reduce product costs, lower prices overall, and make Argos’s products more competitive, and even increase their profits…

Chapter 174: The Multilateralist Faction

“I heard the British Army needs more security personnel in Iraq, Mr. Grosvenor. I believe the professionalism of the ‘Protector’ company is self-evident.”

“Yes, Barron. Since we destroyed Saddam’s regime, the sporadic attacks in Iraq haven’t stopped. The Prime Minister has already hinted that we need more forces there.”

In June, it was the Queen’s birthday celebration again. On this day, Barron met with the Duke of Westminster in Buckingham Palace and happened to talk to him about the current situation in Iraq.

Speaking of which, the Queen has two birthdays every year. April is her private birthday, and June is her official birthday, which requires a celebration.

Currently, the Protector Military Services Company has dispatched more than 200 people in two batches to Iraq.

It can be said that the personnel of their company, except for the badges on their military uniforms, which are different from the regular British Army, the rest, including clothing styles, equipment, and even temperament, are exactly the same as the British Army. People who don’t know the details can hardly tell the difference between the two.

This is not surprising. After all, most of the personnel of the Protector company were still serving in the British Army not long ago…

And Barron would not miss the opportunity to increase the Protector company’s presence in Iraq, so he mentioned this when chatting with the Duke of Westminster.

The Duke of Westminster didn’t have any objections to this. After all, relatively speaking, the personnel of the Protector company were still very good, at least they didn’t cause them any trouble.

At the beginning, Barron emphasized the “discipline” of the Protector company after going to Iraq.

Although it is certainly impossible to achieve the relationship between the army and the people as close as fish and water, at least when it is not necessary, avoid them arbitrarily attacking civilians - then again, among the Allied forces and the private military contractors they hired, those who can do this can be called a “benevolent army”.

The main reason is not that Barron is so “righteous”, but that he doesn’t want the Protector company to be like Blackwater later, because they caused too much trouble and were directly driven out of there.

“William, you’re really energetic today.”

Barron said with a smile to Prince William.

Today, the Royal Guard will hold a grand parade and drill in the Knights’ Guard Square, and Prince William had just arrived here by carriage.

“Haha, Barron, haven’t I always been handsome?”

Prince William said with a smile:

“By the way, how did I hear that Beckham is really going to leave Manchester United?”

Hearing William’s words, Barron sighed and said:

“I’ve talked to him several times, but he is determined to leave, so he probably won’t appear at Old Trafford next season.”

“That’s a pity.”

Barron looked at William with a strange expression:

“As far as I know, you don’t seem to be a fan of our Manchester United…”

Although he hasn’t publicly stated it yet, Barron knew that the Prince of Wales supported Burnley; and Her Majesty the Queen had once said that she supported West Ham United…

As for William…

“You know, I’m an Aston Villa fan, but Catherine said she really likes Beckham, so…”

William said these words, shrugged his shoulders, and gave Barron a “you know” expression.

It’s also interesting to say that the Queen, the Crown Prince, and this Prince William, the colors of the jerseys of the teams they support are all claret, and these three teams are all founding members of the English football league…

It seems that they really value “bloodline” exceptionally.

Unlike the topics with Prince William, which were relatively relaxed, when he met the Crown Prince, he said to Barron with a rather meaningful tone:

“Barron, I have to admit that your talent in business is astonishing, but I find that you seem to be investing a bit too much in China…”

“Your Highness, in fact, it doesn’t matter where I invest, but where I can get the most profit.”

Barron remained unmoved and said lightly:

“China is a vast market with 1.3 billion people, and it is full of vitality. It will be the most promising region in the world at this time. If I see these and don’t invest, then I won’t forgive myself.”

“But after all, their system…”

“The Cold War ended long ago, Your Highness.”

Barron shook his head and said:

“Frankly speaking, I really can’t stand our current policies. In my heart, the interests of Great Britain should always be placed first, instead of following the United States step by step, just to protect their interests, and even many times we suffer losses.”

“Barron, sometimes you can’t just look at economic interests. Many things are not that simple.”

“Although that’s what you say, since World War II, we have already lost too much strategic wisdom. The Great Britain that once sought to maintain balance, I haven’t seen it from any Prime Minister. Instead, they are all more and more like the British governors of the United States…”

Perhaps Barron’s words were a little too strong, the Crown Prince frowned slightly, and after a long time, he sighed helplessly.

Barron knew that according to the development of the original timeline, the future pattern, but he would not worry that his increasing investment in China would cause dissatisfaction from others.

After all, in his public attitude, Barron himself is a very clear “multilateralist”. Just like what he said to the Crown Prince just now, the former Britain could be called a “master of balance”. All foreign policies were to avoid one side dominating. When France was strong, he would contact other countries to fight France; when Germany was strong, he would woo the Soviet Union to fight Germany…

It was only after World War II, after Churchill, the biggest “prodigal son” in British history, that Britain completely lost the confidence of this strategy.

You must know that even two countries that are enemies of each other will still retain a group of people who are relatively friendly to the other side, because they always need to convert the relationship between the two sides through them at certain times.

Even in the United States, figures like Kissinger, who are slightly more inclined to cooperate with China, have always had a certain influence.

And within Britain, Barron would not be too obviously a “pro-China faction”, but would exist as a “multilateralist” image - his principle is that the interests of Great Britain come first, and whoever cooperates with him can bring benefits, that is what he should do.

Well, at least on the surface.

Anyway, in his heart, his own interests are the interests of Great Britain.

In fact, the Crown Prince’s relationship with the government, especially the Labour Party, has never been particularly good.

Therefore, for Barron’s undisguised complaints about the Prime Minister in front of him, he only felt that it was a little too strong, and he didn’t take it too seriously.

After all, the British, the ones who complain about the British the most are the British.

They have long been used to this.

Chapter 175: Special Operation

“Your Grace, I didn’t expect your tennis to be so good.”

Tamara Ecclestone, in a cool tennis outfit, stood beside Barron, wiping her sweat with a towel and smiling like a flower.

It had to be said, her figure was indeed excellent, especially when they were playing just now, Barron’s eyes couldn’t help but be drawn to the places where she moved.

They were currently at the Hurlingham Club in West London.

The Hurlingham Club was established in 1829 and is currently the largest club in the British Isles, and also one of the most difficult clubs in the world to join.

Because the Hurlingham Club currently has about 13,000 members, it is a hereditary system. New members can only join when an old member withdraws or passes away, and it must be proposed and seconded by two current members. Currently, there is a 30-year waiting period.

However, because Barron himself comes from the Devonshire family, which is one of the members of this club, he automatically obtained the qualification.

Choosing to come here was also because the privacy of this kind of club is very good, especially for this top-tier club, outsiders cannot enter, and Barron doesn’t need to worry about being secretly photographed by those tabloid reporters.

Speaking of which, London can be said to be the world’s capital of private clubs, after all, the earliest private clubs originated in London.

That is White’s Club. This private club is considered to be the earliest private club established in the world, founded in 1693, very low-key, focused on privacy, and extremely distinctive.

During its heyday, it once gathered nearly half of the male aristocrats in Britain.

Barron is also a member of this club with the longest history. The place where he met with Cameron, besides the Devonshire Hotel, was this club - Cameron is also a member of White’s Club, and his father once served as the chairman of this club.

In addition, the Prince of Wales and Prince William are also members of this club - in 1981, the Crown Prince’s bachelor party before marrying Princess Diana was held here.

And Prince William, like Barron, just joined White’s Club this year. This club, until now, is still one of the few clubs that adheres to tradition and refuses female members to join. In its history of more than 300 years, the only female guest who appeared in White’s Club was Her Majesty the Queen.

……

“Finally, Netease Company issued approximately 310,000 new shares to us at a price of 16.12 US dollars, with a total value of 5 million US dollars.”

Amber Sheen had returned to London from China, having dealt with the matters related to Tencent and Netease, he said:

“This portion of the shares needs a 12-month lock-up period, and cannot be traded on the secondary market before that.”

Although by the end of September, the stock price of Netease will reach its highest price in recent years, 55.86 US dollars, the shares issued this time cannot be traded at that time.

However, the Netease shares that DS Capital bought earlier can be cleared at that time, and these 310,000 shares issued now can be held for the long term.

With Barron’s completion of the acquisition of Argos, his current large-scale acquisitions have temporarily come to an end.

In the next period of time, his energy will mainly be focused on the operation of existing businesses.

After all, the acquisitions, including O2 Telecom, Manchester United, and Argos, all used leveraged buyouts. So far, he has shouldered debts of more than 6 billion pounds.

Even because of these acquisitions, many media reports have described Barron’s actions as “crazy”, and predicted that once a business encounters difficulties, it will fall into overall collapse due to the domino effect of financial problems.

But now it seems that they may be destined to be disappointed.

Take his largest acquisition - O2 Telecom - for example, three months after Barron completed the acquisition, the reorganized O2 Telecom, because of its cooperation with Digital UK, launched a “Super Package” for British family users. In these three months, the number of new users in Britain alone has exceeded 1.5 million, which has allowed O2 Telecom’s turnover to increase by more than 30%.

The so-called “Super Package” includes a comprehensive monthly package for family users’ mobile phones and broadband, and also provides some service packages from the Freeview platform.

It can even obtain more favorable tariff packages for family members.

This kind of deep binding easily allows those users and their families to become users of O2 Telecom.

And with the investment in O2 Telecom’s local broadband business, its broadband speed has also greatly improved after the upgrade. Lower tariffs and higher internet speeds caught other telecom companies off guard.

In addition, O2 Telecom has also entered the French and German markets. Although it does not have the advantage it has in the British Isles in these two newly entered markets, every user it gains there is extra…

……

“What’s the current progress?”

“Your Grace, we have already discovered the whereabouts of one of the members, appearing in Latvia. The special operations team has already set off to rush there…”

Barron had never given up on tracking down the “London Star” gang, but previously, because the power he could mobilize was limited, and the other party was extremely cautious, even with some intelligence support from MI6, there was still not much progress.

However, by now, this case has already been going on for more than a year. It was also because the other party had become a little careless that their whereabouts were caught by the intelligence team.

This time, the one discovered was a not-so-conspicuous member of the original “London Star” gang. Intelligence showed that the other party had recently appeared in Latvia.

Latvia, one of the three Baltic states, has not had a strong presence since the collapse of the former Soviet Union.

Generally speaking, one word can be used to describe it - chaos.

After Barron fully controlled the Protector Military Services Company, his intelligence team gained more support. His intelligence advisor, Nigel Inkster, specifically selected the five most elite members from the Protector Company who had served in special forces and had experience in military intelligence gathering to form a special operations team, specifically for this operation against the “London Star” gang.

Currently, this special operations team has already set off for Latvia. Once they capture that gang member, Barron is not worried about not being able to pry open their mouth.

However, this operation is not that easy either. After all, this special operations team is, in fact, only a personal armed force, and they also have to go deep into other countries. The “enemies” they face are not only the gang members of the “London Star”, but also the local law enforcement forces…

Chapter 176: Pregnant?

“What does this mean, my dear?”

Barron picked up the examination report, looking at the girl in front of him with some confusion.

“Barron, can you see it? It says positive here, which means… I’m pregnant.”

“You’re pregnant?”

Looking at Rebecca in front of him, Barron asked:

“The father of the child is…”

“I’ve only been with you… so it must be yours.”

Currently, the third season of Downton Abbey was being filmed. Rebecca, as the actress playing the third Miss Crawley, had returned to London under the pretense of not feeling well to have a checkup, and then came to see Barron.

However, the news she brought was something that really couldn’t make Barron feel relaxed…

Besides the one time Barron and Rebecca had been together during the filming of Downton Abbey last time, they had also found opportunities to learn together a few times afterwards…

Especially more than a month ago, before the filming of the third season of Downton Abbey, they had also…

And with Barron’s habits, he certainly wouldn’t take any precautions…

So if she wasn’t lying to him, then this child really could be his—besides, there wasn’t much point in such a lie, after all, it would be easy to do a paternity test after the child was born.

But what Barron needed to know now was the other person’s thoughts…

“You know, my dear, I have a girlfriend, and our relationship is very stable…”

“Can’t we really… get married?”

Barron shook his head and said to Rebecca:

“First of all, no matter what decision you make, whether to keep the child or… I will take responsibility for it, but you must know, darling, I’m still too young to get married so early.”

You must know that according to British law, only legitimate offspring have the right to inherit the title.

Even though he knew logically that it was unlikely, Rebecca couldn’t help but have some wishful thinking, hoping to secure the title of the Duke of Devonshire family for her child.

But hearing Barron’s words, she knew this was already impossible—in fact, she had expected this result long ago.

Besides the reason Barron gave, the most crucial reason he didn’t say, was probably the so-called “status” inequality.

There were indeed many nobles who married the descendants of commoners, like the Duchess of Rutland, who was the daughter of a farmer.

But this certainly didn’t include families like the Devonshire family at this time, which already had a great influence. Even considering the stability of the family’s inheritance, the future heir to the Duke of Devonshire would inevitably have more support from the maternal side, so from this perspective, even Bonnie might be a little difficult to achieve, not to mention Rebecca, who was an actress.

“I still want to give birth to ta…”

Rebecca’s choice was also the most sensible. After all, such a child could be said to be her guarantee for the rest of her life. Even if she became a famous actress in the future, how could that compare to having an heir from a powerful family who could guarantee her a life of food and clothing, and a wealthy life?

And Barron had also said that he would take responsibility for it, so her choice was obvious.

“Then rest assured, darling, I will arrange everything for you.”

When Rebecca said she wanted to give birth to the child, it meant that she would accept the arrangements afterward.

First, the child couldn’t be made public, which meant that the child could only be Barron’s illegitimate child, but the child would still have the right to inherit his property, and including Rebecca, as long as she was loyal to Barron, then her life of luxury for the rest of her life was nothing to worry about.

For a period of time from now on, Rebecca’s figure wouldn’t be too obvious, so she could still complete the filming of the third season of Downton Abbey.

After the filming was over, Barron would arrange for her to go overseas to give birth.

After comforting Rebecca well and having someone send her back to Chatsworth House first, Barron sighed. At this moment, his heart was still quite complex.

After all, this was the first time in his two lifetimes that he was about to have his own child…

And what troubled him the most was that he still had to keep it a secret from Bonnie, otherwise, if she knew about this, who knew what the outcome would be…

…

The first building was finally completed in the commercial district northwest of King’s Cross Station. This building was also the location of the land Barron had purchased.

This building, with more than thirty floors, would be repurchased by DS Asset Management from Argent Property Group for 95 million pounds and named Cavendish King’s Cross Building, becoming the location of the second four-star Cavendish Hotel in London.

However, it would still take one or two months before the hotel officially opened.

Currently, Barron held 31% of the shares of Argent Property Group and was the second-largest shareholder after the Booth. family.

However, Barron really felt that the progress of this property group’s renewal plan project in the King’s Cross area of London was a bit slow.

Of course, the entire British property project was on this kind of rhythm, and he couldn’t complain about anything, but this was also the reason why he decided to increase his investment in China later.

“By the end of this year, our first residential project, King’s Cross Manor, will be completed. By then, Argent Property Group will be able to make a huge profit.”

Viscount Booth. said to Barron very happily:

“The pre-sale of King’s Cross Manor has already exceeded 30%. After the project is completed, we will receive the full final payment, which can already cover the cost of this project and make a profit.”

“I hope so, Mr. Booth, I don’t want the biggest profit of Argent Property Group to still come from the building I purchased a year later.”

Barron shrugged his shoulders and said indifferently.

“Don’t worry, Your Grace, that definitely won’t happen. You see, the surrounding buildings are already nearing completion, and they will be able to start selling and renting soon…”

Viscount Booth. said optimistically:

“The King’s Cross area renewal plan is a big project. For the next thirty years, or even fifty years, we will be able to continuously benefit from this project. This is a project with inheritance.”

His words were also good. Besides the slightly slow progress of the project, if one thought that this was the largest urban renewal project in London in nearly a century, and Argent Property Group was in a leading position in it, in the future, besides a few projects for sale, most of the office areas were in the form of long-term leases, then in twenty years, the scale of Argent Property Group might become one of the top few in Britain…

Well, thinking like this, Barron felt he had more patience.

Chapter 177: Transfer Saga

“Honey, you’re finally back.”

Seeing Bonnie return from Castle Caron, Barron picked her up directly, gave her a sweet kiss, and said.

After getting down from Barron, Bonnie took off her high heels, took his hand, and walked into the living room.

“Is the show finished filming?”

“Yes, the post-production is next, but we’ll be starting the filming of Love Island soon. The guests have all been found.”

For this kind of reality show series, finding guests always takes some effort in the first season.

Just like the reality show The Traitors, at the beginning, they needed to specifically find people who were at least good at recognizing people and seeing through people’s hearts. And because there were no related shows to refer to before, many people didn’t know if they were suitable for this show.

But it was much better in the second season of The Traitors. Many people had already watched the first season of the show, so they had some understanding of whether they had the ability to go to the end in such a show.

Therefore, in the second season of The Traitors, there was no need to specifically search for guests, but only to screen those who signed up.

And Love Island was the same. At the beginning of this first season, Bonnie and the others needed to actively search for guests. The main direction was to find handsome men and beautiful women in the fashion-related fields, such as those models, actors, and fitness enthusiasts, looking for men and women with great figures and good looks.

But just appearance wasn’t necessarily suitable, so they also needed to look at the other person’s character, emotional intelligence, and whether they had a sense of variety.

“Don’t you have anything planned for this afternoon?”

Holding this golden-haired beauty in his arms, Barron’s words naturally had a deeper meaning. After all, the two of them could be considered to be “absence makes the heart grow fonder.”

“My sister has an appointment with me this afternoon… How about tonight?”

Huh? His girlfriend had just returned, and the Viscountess had taken her away. What did she want to do?

But how could this excuse interfere with Barron’s interest…

And he could feel that Bonnie wasn’t that resolute either…

“There’s still some time before the afternoon, hmm, enough…”

As he spoke, Barron had already picked her up and walked towards the bedroom.

By now, Barron had calmed down from the initial shock of learning that Rebecca was pregnant with his child.

And no wonder Barron, after all, he was only 23 years old now, far from the time when he psychologically “married and had children.”

And even if he added his previous life, he had never had the experience of having his own child…

But then he thought about it, it was also good, after all, with his current status, he should have an heir—of course, Rebecca’s child would not be his legitimate heir, but at least it was his own child, wasn’t it? He always needed to be prepared for a rainy day, in case of any accidents, he would be prepared.

And with his current status, it would be good even if he had more children in the future.

Considering from various dimensions, overall, the middle class often had the lowest willingness to have too many children, because with children, they needed to consider the cost of education—when they reached the middle class or slightly lower, they always pursued their children’s education, so having too many children not only required a straight increase in education costs, but also in time, it also needed to consume too much time that the parents could have used to enjoy life.

But what kind of people were most willing to have more children?

That was the two extremes, the bottom of society and the top of society.

For the top of society, such as Barron, he already had too much wealth and resources, so no matter how many children, it wouldn’t put any pressure on his resources, and he could provide the best resources for these children.

Instead, at his status, he needed to have one or several of the most outstanding heirs.

Then from a probability perspective, the more children, the greater the chance of producing excellent descendants.

For the same reason, people at the bottom of society, their lives were already not of good quality, so they could raise one or five or six, as long as they didn’t starve to death.

And the more children, the greater the possibility of one of them having talent and being able to start from scratch and leap across the class.

As long as one child was “promising,” it was very likely that the entire family would cross the class.

……

In the eyes of many media, it seemed to be a foregone conclusion that Beckham would leave Manchester United in the next season. He was almost certainly going to Real Madrid.

It’s just that Manchester United hasn’t reached an agreement with the other party on his transfer price…

Because in this transfer, Real Madrid could be said to be Beckham’s most ideal next destination, and only there could his commercial value be reflected.

And Beckham’s commercial value and his popularity were also what Real Madrid was pursuing.

Only for Manchester United, since Beckham’s departure was inevitable, they at least needed to sell at a good price…

In this negotiation, Real Madrid used their method of acquiring Zidane and Ronnie again—first contacting the player, and then discussing with the club.

But Manchester United was not Juventus or Inter Milan. To deal with Florentino’s “underhanded tactics,” Barron directly warned Beckham through Ferguson that if he didn’t cooperate in this transfer, then Manchester United would rather terminate the transfer negotiations and freeze Beckham for two years.

You must know that in 2002, that is, last May, Manchester United signed a three-year contract with Beckham, which meant that his contract with Manchester United would not expire until 2005.

If they really angered Manchester United, they would rather pay him a salary all the time, and keep his two-year golden age as a professional player on the bench, that would probably be a huge blow to Beckham’s commercial value at this time.

If it was before, Beckham could not care too much about this, thinking that Manchester United couldn’t do this kind of thing, but now the owner of Manchester United was the Duke of Devonshire, who had even greater power in Britain, he had to consider the consequences of offending this powerful figure.

Especially in an interview about Beckham’s transfer, the Duke of Devonshire said indifferently:

“We will not set any obstacles for any player who wants to leave Manchester United, oh? You mean Real Madrid? I don’t think that’s a good choice, we’d rather talk to Laporta, after all, Barcelona is more humane in comparison.”

Laporta was the president of Barcelona, and Barcelona was also one of the competitors for Beckham’s transfer, and also Real Madrid’s mortal enemy. They were very happy to use Barcelona to compete with Real Madrid, and if possible, Barron would rather Beckham go to Barcelona, so that at the club level, it wouldn’t be “aiding the enemy” in the competition of commercial value.

You must know that in the original timeline, Beckham went from Manchester United to Real Madrid, and the transfer fee was only a mere 35 million euros. Compared with his current commercial value of 300 million euros and his many endorsements, it was still too low.

Therefore, if Real Madrid still wanted to offer this price, then Barron wouldn’t even be interested in talking, it would be better to let Beckham stay in Manchester United all the time, even if he always sat on the bench.

Chapter 178: Manchester United Business

As for replacing Beckham’s role at Manchester United in the future, how could Barron, a Red Devils fan in his previous life, not know about it?

In fact, at this time, Manchester United’s head coach, Sir Alex Ferguson, had already started to pay attention to Cristiano Ronaldo.

However, at this moment, he still had some doubts about signing him. After all, before Ronaldo, Manchester United had never signed a Portuguese player. Furthermore, the young Ronaldo was still a bit thin, and almost no fans outside of Portugal knew his name at this time—this was less than a season away from his debut in the first team of Sporting Lisbon in Portugal.

Therefore, although there had been contact with Ronaldo and his club before, Ferguson initially only wanted to loan him to Manchester United for the 2003-2004 season.

However, after Barron learned of this matter, he persuaded Ferguson to sign Ronaldo directly.

The advantage of doing this was that later in the original timeline, Premier League teams including Liverpool and Arsenal noticed Ronaldo. Also, his performance in the friendly match between his team and Manchester United was very outstanding. Therefore, after other teams also started to make offers for him, Ferguson eventually offered a transfer fee of 12.24 million pounds to sign Ronaldo.

But at this time, making up his mind to sign Ronaldo would cost no more than 10 million pounds, because at this time, the highest offer for him was only 4 million pounds.

And both Ronaldo himself and his agent were extremely looking forward to him being able to wear the Manchester United jersey and appear at Old Trafford next season. After all, entering such a powerhouse was probably the dream of any young player, and it could also significantly increase Ronaldo’s commercial value.

When he first bought the Manchester United club, Barron had given Ferguson a promise that he would respect the other party’s opinions on matters at the club’s competitive level.

If he had any ideas, Barron would only bring them up and try to persuade the other party, but whether to accept them or not, Ferguson himself could make the final decision.

Including the eventual departure of Beckham, this was also a reflection of this promise.

But apart from this, he needed to make some changes in the commercial operation of the club.

Because compared to Real Madrid, even though Manchester United wasn’t inferior in terms of strength, and in fact, Manchester United’s results in various international competitions were even better, Real Madrid did a better job in terms of commercial operations.

But even Real Madrid, in this respect, was still far behind the sports operations in the United States.

Although football was known as the number one sport in the world, before the Premier League, the NFL (National Football League), MLB (Major League Baseball), and NBA (National Basketball Association) in the United States were always the three major events.

And at the club level, among the most profitable clubs in the world, currently, only Manchester United and Real Madrid were football clubs in the top ten…

Unlike the profits of Manchester United, which mainly relied on its ticket revenue and match broadcast revenue, the revenue from these two items for other American sports clubs was not even half of their total revenue. The remaining large part of the revenue came from sports merchandise revenue and sports sponsorship revenue.

Therefore, in this regard, all European football clubs, including Manchester United, needed to learn from their American counterparts.

It was also for this reason that Barron directly hired Barr Peda, who had served as the Director of Brand Marketing at IMG, the most well-known sports brand operating company in the United States, through a headhunting company. He joined the Manchester United Commercial Management Company, which he had specially established for the commercial operation of the Manchester United club, and served as the CEO, in order to use the United States’ experience in sports commercial operation to improve the commercial revenue of the Manchester United club.

One of these points was that Manchester United would implement a superstar strategy similar to Real Madrid’s “Galácticos,” regardless of whether they were cultivated by themselves—such as Cristiano Ronaldo, who was about to join Manchester United, whose skills and image were very suitable to become a new football superstar; or through transfers—the Manchester United club would participate in the competition for the most popular players in the transfer market in the future, and through these, to enhance the club’s reputation and attention.

In addition, Manchester United would also increase its efforts in the marketing of its own brand. While expanding the club’s fan base, it needed a dedicated fan organization to bring together fans from all over the world and allow them to conveniently buy more abundant peripheral products related to the Manchester United club.

This meant that they needed to have more cooperation on sports merchandise and launch more abundant products.

Of course, to make these changes, Barron first needed the cooperation of the club’s CEO David Gill and head coach Ferguson.

You must know that before, the conflict between Ferguson and Beckham intensified, one of the reasons being that Ferguson was dissatisfied with the fact that the other party spent too much energy on commercial aspects, thereby neglecting daily training. Therefore, he valued the competitive aspect the most, and was still relatively resistant to excessive commercial activities that would affect the team’s competitive state.

Therefore, Barron had a conversation with David Gill and Ferguson. He first stated that the funds from the sale of Beckham in this transfer market could all be used for the team’s signings. In addition, he would also provide the club with 50 million pounds in funds to renovate and transform Old Trafford stadium and the youth training base, not only expanding the seating area of the stadium, increasing the number of VIP boxes, but also updating their training equipment, renovating the turf, and newly establishing a physiotherapy center and medical team to provide a guarantee for the players’ physical condition.

At the same time, although the Manchester United club and the Manchester United Commercial Management Company were two companies that complemented and belonged to each other, the management team of the Manchester United club and the head coach would receive corresponding profit sharing in the Manchester United Commercial Management Company.

In other words, the higher the commercial revenue of the Manchester United club, the higher the income of David Gill and Ferguson. Perhaps they didn’t have any concept of this part of the income now, but when the commercial management company really developed, facing the income of millions of pounds at every turn, Ferguson’s attitude towards this would probably change.

After all, before, even if those star players like Beckham had commercial activities, even if the club had a certain income, the money was still not related to Ferguson. But it would be different in the future. On the premise of not affecting the team’s competitive state as much as possible, they would probably also get the support of Ferguson.

From then on, the competitive aspects of the Manchester United club would be the responsibility of David Gill and Ferguson.

And the brand marketing aspect would be the responsibility of the Manchester United Commercial Management Company led by Barr Peda. The two sides would each perform their duties, but they would also cooperate with each other.

Chapter 179: Success

“What? Your cousin has a bit of depression?”

Upon hearing Bonnie mention her cousin’s recent situation when she returned, Barron couldn’t help but ask.

“It’s not exactly depression, just something similar, maybe because of the child…”

After Bonnie said this, Barron still held back his urge to retort, but he couldn’t help but mutter in his heart. He hadn’t sensed any “melancholy” in the Viscountess when he was with her the other day.

As for the child, come on, it’s not like she’s the one giving birth, can that really affect her mentally?

Seemingly able to read some of Barron’s thoughts, Bonnie said:

“Even though she’s not carrying the child herself, it’s still a part of her, you know? And they’ve already brought that girl to London, she occasionally visits her. As that girl’s belly grows bigger, she can’t help but be affected.”

Well, what else could Barron say? He couldn’t very well offer to comfort her, even though he often did that…

“Then you should spend more time with Mrs. Booth..”

“Yeah, that’s what I was thinking. Poor sister.”

Bonnie leaned in Barron’s arms, then suddenly looked up at him, hesitatingly saying:

“Darling, do you think having a child really has such a big impact? We haven’t been using any… precautions. If I were to have…”

Because of what had happened before, Barron’s heart skipped a beat when he heard Bonnie bring up this topic…

“It’s alright, darling. If you do, then we’ll have it. Don’t you like children?”

“I do like them, it’s just this process, it seems a little scary right now…”

Huh? If you could just magically get a child, wouldn’t that be great?

Heh, that was just Barron’s thought. If he actually said it out loud, the beauty in his arms would probably turn on him immediately.

…

Latvia, bordering the Baltic Sea, is located between Estonia and Lithuania. The country’s overall economy is considered relatively good among the Baltic Three… uh, the three Baltic states.

Daugavpils is a city located on the border between Latvia and Lithuania. On this day, five members of the Special Operations Team of the Protector Military Service Company arrived in this city. According to the information they received, the “London Star” gang member named Ilze had recently appeared here.

After they arrived in Daugavpils, they met with a “spy” from the intelligence team. It was this agent who obtained the news of Ilze’s appearance in Latvia and had already confirmed it.

After obtaining more specific intelligence from the other party, the Special Operations Team began to formulate a “capture” plan.

After all, they were acting in a foreign country in a private capacity, so they not only needed to ensure the “capture” was successful, but also needed to complete the withdrawal after the “capture.”

If this were in some countries with good law and order, they might need to rack their brains a bit more, but in a country like Latvia…

You see, after the collapse of the Soviet Union, the gangs in the Baltic states, including Latvia, were very rampant. For these gangs, who often engaged in smuggling, as long as they were given some money to help transport some “goods” to a neighboring country, it was just a matter of convenience.

Especially now, when Latvia hadn’t joined the European Union and the country was still somewhat chaotic.

In order to ensure the smooth operation, their team itself had people who could speak Russian—although the official language of Latvia is Latvian, as a former Soviet republic, over 95% of the people can communicate in Russian.

However, during the night’s operation, things went unexpectedly smoothly, so they didn’t even need to use their Russian.

When they split into two groups, one group arrived at the front door of the apartment, picked the lock, and entered. They were already discovered by the vigilant target. However, when the target tried to escape through the back door, what awaited him was a fist.

The team leader walked in front of the person lying unconscious on the ground, shined a flashlight on him, and confirmed that he matched the photo, that it was indeed Ilze. The rest of the team quickly taped his mouth shut, tied his hands and feet, then took him into the car and drove away.

…

“Have they been captured?”

“Yes, Your Grace. They are currently on the ship we rented, entering international waters. After we get more information, they will continue the follow-up pursuit.”

Barron, who was in London, also received the news of the Special Operations Team’s success from his intelligence consultant, Nigel Inkster, at the first opportunity.

As for whether they could get more information from the person after they captured him?

Barron had no doubt about it. You see, there were those with rich experience in this area among the members of the action team. Could someone really keep their mouth shut under such people? Why are you doing fraud, just go be 007 directly…

For the members of the “London Star” gang, no matter where they fled, and no matter who was behind them, Barron would investigate to the end.

Although the money the other party had swindled from his family was nothing to Barron at the moment, and the funds he spent on the entire investigation might even exceed that amount.

But because this incident indirectly led to the accidental deaths of his father and elder brother, and also became a stain on the Devonshire family, Barron had to use the other party’s certain price to wash away and retaliate.

Of course, the ultimate result of this revenge would not be known to everyone, but it would definitely spread in a certain top-level circle. This would let those people understand the consequences of offending the Devonshire family, that not everyone could bear.

…

In June, “The Traitors” had already begun to promote the new season of the show.

This season of the show would begin to air in July, and at this time, “The Traitors” had already registered an account on the Woaw website and was certified as the program’s official account, which would occasionally release some preview clips in advance on this account.

Now, the variety shows of Summit Studio would cooperate with the Woaw website. For example, the contestants of the second season of “The Traitors” would be required to register a Woaw account, and the show would display their Woaw account during the contestant introductions in the main show.

And these contestants would also be allowed to release some behind-the-scenes recordings on the Woaw website that did not involve spoilers after the show began to air.

Not only “The Traitors,” but also “Love Island,” which was about to start filming, would continue this kind of cooperation.

It can be said that with the Woaw website completely lifting the registration restrictions, its user numbers had begun to grow exponentially. The number of registered users had exceeded 5 million, becoming the real social website with the most users in the UK.

And it wasn’t just the UK, but also users from other European countries, and even North America, had registered on the Woaw website.

Because “Love Island” would have an interactive voting segment with the audience, this show was not filmed and then aired like “The Traitors,” but was filmed and aired simultaneously.

And the methods of audience voting included SMS voting and online voting. The so-called online voting was conducted on the Woaw website—only registered users could vote, so it could be imagined that if “Love Island” was as popular as it was in the original timeline, it would definitely drive a further explosion in the number of registered Woaw website users.

Chapter 180: Raphael

Generally speaking, the more intelligent a person is, the less likely they are to keep secrets for too long when they are “captured” and interrogated.

Because precisely because they are smart, they understand how to weigh the pros and cons. When it’s already determined that they cannot escape without revealing the truth, especially when facing those “professionals” of torture, they are more likely to “recognize the times and be a hero.”

And someone who can commit a fraud of 500 million pounds certainly wouldn’t be a fool.

If they are both highly intelligent and possess an incredibly strong will… then why wouldn’t you make such a person a 007?

However, what surprised Barron was that this person called “Ilse” was really a tough nut to crack. Even after the special operations team’s repeated “display of skills,” they ultimately relied on some drug methods to finally pry open his mouth…

In the words of the head of the special operations team as relayed by Nigel:

“This person is more difficult to deal with than most of the professional spies they’ve encountered.”

But it’s understandable. The more professional a spy is, the more they understand the richness of methods used by professionals in interrogation and torture. Almost no one can truly keep secrets in the end. Therefore, they either choose to end their own lives decisively at the beginning, or, missing such an opportunity, they often propose conditions in exchange for their information and won’t really grit their teeth to resist.

And after obtaining the other party’s information, they also understood why this Ilse was so stubborn.

It turned out that the group Barron and the others had been calling the “London Star Gang” actually belonged to an extremist organization. This organization was very interesting; they were all fervent believers in the so-called “Wealth Reset” creed.

The meaning of the so-called “Wealth Reset” was that these people had a theory that all the wealth in the world was bestowed by God and did not belong to individuals. All people’s wealth was to help God manage it.

Therefore, this wealth should not have inheritance. Those wealthy people should donate all their wealth after they die, returning it to society and “resetting” the wealth.

But the reality was that many wealthy people did not do this, but instead passed on the wealth they were “helping God manage” to their descendants. This behavior disrupted the “redistribution” of wealth, and this behavior was the main reason for the existence of many injustices in the world.

What they wanted to do was to help God complete the “Wealth Reset.”

In their theory, all people who possessed wealth and passed it on to their descendants were “sinners,” and the “sins” these sinners possessed were distinguished by degree.

Among them, the wealth of the nobility came from earlier “power grants,” so they were the highest level of “sinners.”

And those capitalists, because they obtained wealth through their business operations, were therefore lower in the degree of sin than the nobility.

This was also why in their first “Wealth Reset” “London Star” fraud case, the targets they chose were mostly nobles.

They did not consider themselves to be a so-called “criminal gang,” but rather “saviors” who were carrying out the salvation of wealth distribution. Their “organization” currently had more than ten core members, all of whom were fervent believers in this creed. They were all able to join only after layers of screening, and they must wholeheartedly and completely adhere to this creed. These people called themselves “Raphael.”

Raphael is the Hebrew word for healer, physician. In the Bible, he is the angel of healing among the seven archangels beside God. He heals not only people’s bodies, but also their faith.

Hearing this, although it was slightly different from Barron’s initial expectations, he wasn’t too surprised.

After all, all kinds of strange so-called “sects” exist in the world, most of which belong to the category of cults. And it’s not uncommon for people like “Raphael” who claim to be messengers of justice but use criminal means to achieve their goals.

If he were an ordinary person, perhaps he would have some appreciation for the “Raphael’s” principles, but now his identity was precisely that of a nobleman, and the other party had also harmed his family. So, let alone the archangel, even if Jesus came, he’d have to send him to drink the Meng Po soup (soup of forgetfulness).

“Have you gotten any news about the others?”

“Since fleeing London, these people have temporarily separated in Romania. According to Ilse, before the next operation, the ‘Raphael’ will be notified in a specific way…”

Speaking of which, Ilse wasn’t even the most core figure in Raphael. He was now on his way to Africa – the Protector Military Services company had begun building a base near the gold mine there, and Ilse would be “visiting” there temporarily.

However, although they didn’t get the specific locations of the other members from Ilse for the time being, at least Barron had already grasped more information about Raphael, as well as information on some members. They wouldn’t just wait passively; they would continue to investigate and search for Raphael.

…

In mid-June, after seeing the rapid development of the Freeview platform, ITV finally chose not to continue watching from the sidelines, but instead began to negotiate with SEM Group and BBC, the two major shareholders of Digital UK, hoping to invest in and join this company.

Up to now, the number of users accessing the Freeview platform has reached nearly 3 million households, a number that far exceeds the initial expectations.

Of course, compared to BSkyB’s more than 6 million users at this time, the Freeview platform still has a long way to go; its number of users is less than half of BSkyB’s.

It’s important to know that BSkyB’s users are all paying users, which are of higher value than Freeview’s free users!

However, at this time, ITV also simultaneously promised that if they could join the ranks of Digital UK’s shareholders, they would work with SEM Group and BBC to lobby OFCOM, changing their decision that Digital UK’s terrestrial digital TV channels could only be broadcast for free, and adding a paid option.

This could encourage BBC and ITV’s paid channels to join the Freeview platform, increasing the number of programs on this platform.

“ITV still believes that Digital UK’s valuation of 1 billion pounds is too high and completely lacks sincerity. They are determined to offer a valuation of 500 million pounds at most…”

Hearing Digital UK company CEO Brad Price’s words, Barron shook his head:

“Then continue talking. Anyway, the Freeview platform is developing rapidly, and they will soon realize this.”

In ITV’s view, the Digital UK company had only been established for a little over half a year, less than a year, and a valuation of 1 billion pounds was really unacceptable.

Although the number of Freeview platform users was about to break through 3 million households, while BSkyB had only a little over 6 million households, the valuation of Sky Television exceeded 10 billion pounds…

But in the final analysis, Freeview was just a platform, and its users were all free users, and as of now, it was still far from generating profits for the company.

However, both Barron and Brad Price understood that Digital UK at this time was far from the company whose future was uncertain when it was first established.

Not to mention anything else, their Puma Electronics and related technology departments had already developed rapidly and had already planned for the next generation of digital set-top boxes.

And with the increase in the number of users, once they could successfully launch some paid channels, then Digital UK, as a platform intermediary, making a profit would be a matter of moments…

Therefore, they were still very firm about the valuation of 1 billion pounds at this time.

Just as Barron said, let’s talk first; as the company’s scale increases, ITV was destined to fall into a passive position.

Chapter 181: Music Festival

Anyone knows that digital television is definitely the future trend.

But the question is, whether the initial investment in the terrestrial digital television path can generate sufficient returns?

Or, of the three current digital television technologies—cable digital television, satellite digital television, and terrestrial digital television—due to the terrain of the British Isles, the development of cable digital television is restricted. So, can terrestrial digital television truly persevere from the early investment stage until it succeeds?

Even if terrestrial digital television eventually succeeds, but if it’s a matter of twenty or even thirty years down the line, and your funds can’t support you until then, and you die on the beach early, then what’s the point?

ITV had previously tried the terrestrial digital television path—the result was that ITV Digital ultimately went bankrupt and was sold off.

In the face of strong competition from BSkyB in the satellite digital television field, ITV had once considered abandoning the development of terrestrial digital television and continuing their satellite digital television plan.

But now it seems that Digital UK, the “successor” of ITV Digital, actually seems to be successful?

At least at this moment, the user growth of the Freeview platform, which is a collaboration between the BBC and the SEM Group, is very encouraging.

Therefore, at this time, ITV had the idea of investing in Digital UK.

After all, they could also see that the number of users was the most fundamental thing. Although Digital UK is not yet profitable, as long as the user base is large enough, whether it’s charging channel fees for the television channels on the platform, or the subsequent opening of pay-per-view channels, and the revenue sharing from them, as long as enough television stations join the Freeview platform, then making a substantial profit is inevitable.

At this time, the senior executives of ITV couldn’t help but secretly curse the management team of the former ITV Digital, who were simply useless. Why did their management of ITV Digital end up in bankruptcy, but after being acquired by the BBC and the SEM Group and becoming Digital UK, it was a great success?

In fact, the failure of ITV Digital was also a result of a combination of multiple reasons, the most important of which was its rigid operating methods.

First of all, under the circumstances at the time, users needed to purchase a separate set-top box to use ITV Digital’s services. The price of ITV Digital’s set-top boxes was not cheap at the time, exceeding 200 pounds—the most crucial thing was that ITV Digital’s technology still had some flaws at the time. Users often experienced program stuttering or failure to receive signals after using the set-top box.

And in response to this, ITV Digital’s response was very slow, often unable to help users solve the problem for ten days or half a month, which caused many users to give up ITV Digital’s services.

In this regard, Digital UK learned a lesson. They first upgraded their technology, reducing many malfunctions, and because they “freely” distributed set-top boxes, users only paid a deposit. Therefore, as long as the set-top box had a malfunction, there was no need to wait for repairs; they could immediately replace it with a new set-top box. This service also made users rarely feel dissatisfied.

Of course, the most important thing was that Digital UK decisively cooperated with Chinese manufacturers, and even eventually acquired those suppliers, becoming its subsidiary Puma Electronics (China), ensuring their set-top box production, and thus, within more than half a year, allowing the Freeview platform to reach 3 million users, which was a very good start.

Although Digital UK gave ITV a one-year free viewing experience before to increase the number of channels on the Freeview platform, once the deadline arrived, then channel fees would need to be paid.

Not only ITV, but also other television stations, and even the BBC and SDTV, would need to pay a certain fee to Digital UK after one year. These are the sources of profit for this company.

If it were other smaller television stations, wouldn’t they just pay channel fees to gain more viewers? Anyway, the more viewers they have, the more their benefits are guaranteed, and paying money is also appropriate.

But for a large broadcasting company like ITV, they will inevitably need to participate in the future digital television platform. As for developing it themselves? Thinking of the lessons of ITV Digital before, they ultimately believed that investing in Digital UK was a safer option.

Therefore, after continuous negotiations, as the users of the Freeview platform increased more rapidly, ITV agreed to Digital UK’s valuation of 1 billion pounds. They used their own resources, plus a capital injection of 150 million pounds, to obtain 15% of Digital UK’s shares.

Thus, after ITV joined, the Digital UK company, the owner of the terrestrial digital television platform Freeview, its shareholding ratio became: SEM Group holding 51%; BBC holding 34%; ITV holding 15%…

The SEM Group still holds more than half of the shares of Digital UK, and has the greatest decision-making power in this company.

And the funds that ITV invested in Digital UK will continue to be used for the signal coverage of the Freeview platform, to build signal networks in more places in the British Isles, and to further promote its technology updates.

……

“We have invited bands and singers from EMI Records and many other labels to participate in this music festival, and even Radiohead will perform on stage…”

Summer is approaching. According to what Barron promised when he joined the tourist destination catalog of the Grace Culture and Tourism Group at Belvoir Castle of the Rutland family, they will hold the first “Belvoir Music Festival” at Belvoir Castle.

Just as Julia said, for this music festival, they invited many bands and singers, including the red-hot Radiohead at this time. Perhaps just their participation alone could attract countless music fans to Belvoir Castle to attend this music festival.

“The arrangement here is good. I heard that during the previous program filming, those contestants all lived in this hotel, is that right?”

Although they were talking with Julia about the Belvoir Castle Music Festival, the two of them were currently in the Carling Castle, not long after finishing filming the second season of the reality show “The Traitors”.

The Devonshire Carling Castle Hotel here had also started operating long ago.

“Yes, but those contestants all lived in ordinary guest rooms. This Duke Suite was not open to them.”

The entire Carling Castle has two suites with the best views. Through their viewing balconies, you can not only overlook Carling City, but also, in another direction, located above the cliffs, you have a commanding view, and even more spectacular natural scenery can be enjoyed.

These two rooms are one, the master bedroom prepared for Barron, the owner of the castle; the other is the Duke Suite of the Devonshire Carling Castle Hotel.

This is also the first time Barron has stood in this position and seen the scenery outside.

“Don’t, Your Grace…”

As Julia was saying this, Barron was hugging the woman from behind, feeling her soft waist, and lowering his head, kissed her lips.

Chapter 182: Invitation

Everything went smoothly.

Although Julia initially said “no,” this kind of reserve didn’t last long with Barron, the “old hand” at learning knowledge. Just like him, she became engrossed in learning…

In exploring knowledge, Barron couldn’t help but marvel at God’s ingenious creation…

The next day, after Julia woke up and thought about last night’s… learning, she still couldn’t help but feel embarrassed. She said she still had work to do and fled from Caron Castle.

In July, the team Argos sent to China brought back feedback from their inspection of some manufacturing factories there. They unanimously agreed that some of the factories there fully met the standards of Argos’ quality system for commodity manufacturing. Therefore, they approved Barron’s suggestion at the time and selected some commodities for the first batch. These Chinese factories, selected by them, would become Argos’ first batch of cooperative suppliers. Under the supervision of their quality control personnel, they would produce Argos-branded products and sell them in Argos stores.

If this batch of products was satisfactory enough, then they would carry out larger-scale authorized production in China.

After all, the cost of these products produced in China, even with shipping costs added, would be forty to sixty percent lower than the cost of Argos’ similar products!

Friends who have shopped at Tesco in China will find that Tesco’s own-brand products occupy a large proportion in their supermarket, and these Tesco’s own-brand products are of good quality and are also cheaper than similar well-known brands. This is a similar model of authorized production cooperation for Argos’ own brands.

This method has many advantages, including the fact that their own brands, because they are deeply involved and meet the quality system, are more assured in terms of quality.

At the same time, because the products of their own brands will not be sold elsewhere, consumers will not compare prices, so relatively speaking, because they are directly involved in production, the profit left to the retailer is higher.

Barron’s positioning for Argos was to become the most cost-effective retail chain enterprise in England. After Puma Electronics’ attempt to manufacture set-top boxes in China, he had basically determined to use China’s current “world factory” scale and cost advantages to occupy the market in England and even the entire Europe.

Of course, in this process, strict control must be exercised over the product quality of the Chinese cooperative factories.

At this time, many Chinese products still have the ingrained impression of being “inferior” among consumers.

But as their products are used by consumers, in this process, as long as their quality is not much different from the quality of products originally produced in England or Europe, then consumers will slowly accept Argos’ “Made in China.”

It should be noted that they accept the “Made in China” authorized by the Argos brand, which is enough. After all, Barron is not obligated to completely reverse others’ impression of Chinese products. These are all natural changes that require improvement in their overall quality and technical content.

Just like the products of Japan at the beginning, they also had the same “inferior” impression as Chinese products at this time in Europe and America. It was only after their industrial upgrading, especially after the quality of electronic products and automobile products improved, that they began to become “high-quality products.”

In addition, after Barron acquired Argos, although the Duke’s Select Supermarket and Argos were both retail chain enterprises, the positioning of the two was different. The target customers of the Duke’s Select Supermarket were high-end wealthy people, while Argos was aimed at ordinary people’s affordable retail stores, so the two companies were not merged into one group.

But the two would not merge in the retail business, but they would both need logistics warehousing and delivery services for users.

Therefore, another change after acquiring Argos was that they separated the logistics warehousing and delivery business of Argos and the Duke’s Select Supermarket and independently established the “Speedy Delivery” logistics and distribution company.

From then on, the relevant businesses of Argos and the Duke’s Select Supermarket would be outsourced to “Speedy Delivery,” allowing this company to focus all its energy on the logistics and distribution layout of the entire England.

……

“This fellow is really quick…”

Taking the exquisitely printed invitation from Laura’s hand, Barron couldn’t help but murmur to himself.

The initiator of this invitation was beyond Barron’s expectations, but also within reason.

In early July, a Russian became a hot topic in the English newspapers. Yes, Abramovich acquired Chelsea Football Club.

In this acquisition, Abramovich spent a total of 140 million pounds, of which 60 million pounds were used to acquire the team, and 80 million pounds were used to repay Chelsea Football Club’s previous debts.

Of course, Barron knew that this wealthy man from Russia, who was currently ranked 15th in the Forbes rankings worldwide, would invest more than that in Chelsea Football Club. It could be said that from Abramovich , the spending spree would be brought to the Premier League.

Barron was holding a corner of the invitation in one hand, and gently flicking it with the other, making a crisp sound.

Not long after Abramovich acquired Chelsea, Barron received this invitation. The inviter was naturally Abramovich , inviting Barron to Abramovich ’s mansion in London, where he would hold a banquet.

And what Barron was thinking about at this time was whether he needed to accept this invitation.

In fact, not only at the moment when Abramovich completed the acquisition of Chelsea, but even after he invested a lot of money in this originally mediocre club, making it achieve outstanding results in the Premier League, most English people, especially the upper class of England, did not accept this “Russian oligarch.”

Otherwise, there would not have been a situation where, after a certain war broke out, Abramovich ’s assets, including Chelsea Football Club, were frozen, and he was forced to sell this club.

In the eyes of the “gentlemen” of England, including Abramovich ’s purchase of many properties in London and his investment in Chelsea, his purpose was nothing more than to seek protection, so as to avoid certain measures being taken against him by the strongman in Russia—just like what was done to other oligarchs before.

Therefore, even though Abramovich held a passport from the European Union, and had made many investments here, purchased many assets, and brought Chelsea to a position close to a “big club,” he was still not regarded as “one of their own” by English society.

It can be imagined that Abramovich ’s invitation would probably not be able to invite many influential people in England.

As for Barron, he didn’t have any prejudice against Abramovich , but he wouldn’t let him gain his “friendship” too easily.

Of course, as a “multi-faceted” figure in England, and he also owns a Premier League club, Barron still decided to go and observe.

Chapter 183: 200 Million Pounds

July 5th, Saturday, was the day the second season of “The Traitors” premiered on SDTV.

Thanks to the rapid development of the Freeview platform, although the viewership for the first episode of the second season of “The Traitors” was far from the over 6 million viewers of last year, it still managed to achieve a viewership rate of over 95% on the Freeview platform, which had a total of over 3 million connected users.

Although the total sponsorship money for this season of “The Traitors” was lower than last year’s, compared to the development of the Freeview platform, which helped Digital UK’s market value skyrocket, it was still very cost-effective for Barron’s earnings.

Moreover, under the copyright operation of Halo Company, referring to the sales of the UK version of the first season of “The Traitors” to overseas countries last year, as well as the profits from other countries remaking this variety show, “The Traitors” could still bring considerable income to Summit Studio.

“It’s a great honor to meet you, Your Grace, and Ms. Bonnie. I often watch your show, and you are even more beautiful in person…”

When they arrived at Abramovich ’s residence, Barron realized that this banquet was actually a private invitation from the other party, with no other guests present.

At this time, Abramovich still lived in a top-floor luxury mansion on the banks of the Thames, worth tens of millions of pounds. He had not yet spent 150 million pounds to buy several apartments and build a huge palace-style mansion.

Only Abramovich welcomed Barron and Bonnie, the couple.

At this time, he had not yet divorced and gotten together with the later Zhu Ke’er – the daughter of a Russian arms dealer – whom he met in London. His current wife was his second wife, Irina, a flight attendant who had given birth to several children for him, and she was not in London at this time.

“In fact, Your Grace, the idea of buying a team was ignited at Old Trafford. Two months ago, I watched the Champions League match between Real Madrid and Manchester United there. That exciting match made me decide at the time that I wanted to own a team!”

Barron knew that the match Abramovich was referring to was the Champions League quarter-final match between Manchester United and Real Madrid on April 25th, where Real Madrid’s “Alien” Ronaldo scored a hat-trick, and Beckham, who came on as a substitute (at that time, the “flying shoe incident” between him and Ferguson had already happened), scored two goals.

It could be said that it was that match that made Real Madrid more optimistic about taking him to the Bernabéu.

According to Abramovich ’s introduction, after he had the idea of acquiring a team, the UBS Group and Bruce Buck, a senior lawyer from the American law firm Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy, were invited to help realize this goal.

Kritzman and others in his circle prepared some potentially promising teams for Abramovich to choose from, but in the end, Abramovich narrowed down the list (which included Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur).

They flew from Moscow to England at the end of June and arranged a series of meetings – the first of which was a meeting with Chelsea.

“My first choice was Manchester United Football Club. Well, it’s a great club that everyone dreams of owning, but unfortunately, Your Grace, you were earlier, so after evaluation, we gave up on this choice.”

“You are very welcome to join the Premier League, Mr. Abramovich . I believe that with your capital injection, Chelsea will soon become a prominent team in the Premier League.”

“I will, Your Grace. Whether others believe it or not, I really hope to turn this club into a great club like Manchester United.”

At this moment, anyone who heard Abramovich say this would probably scoff.

But this did not include Barron. After all, he knew that fifteen years later, Abramovich almost really did it – if it weren’t for the outbreak of war, which caused his identity to be targeted in Britain, at that time, he had already become the most successful chairman in Chelsea’s history, and Chelsea Football Club had also become a first-class team in Europe.

In these 15 years, his total investment in Chelsea was close to 1.7 billion pounds. When he finally had to sell Chelsea, he did not entangle himself with the 1.5 billion pounds of debt he held in Chelsea Football Club, and he donated the entire 2.5 billion pounds from the sale of Chelsea, without taking away a single penny.

At least in this matter, Abramovich really had nothing to say.

“I heard you have a private equity fund called the Mars Fund, is that right, Your Grace?”

When Abramovich brought up this topic, Barron knew that the main event was coming.

Why did Barron finally decide to meet Abramovich and not refuse his invitation?

It was not because he had any sympathy for Abramovich ’s later experiences, or because he had any affection for the wealthy man’s investment in Chelsea.

The main reason was that Barron had his eye on the large amount of cash he had.

Having left Russia, Abramovich had sold off many assets, so he had a large amount of cash on hand at this time, and Barron wanted as much investment as possible.

It seemed that Abramovich was indeed a smart person, and his success today was not just luck, but he was also very capable.

“Yes, Mr. Abramovich , the returns of this fund are not bad.”

“As far as I know, it’s probably more than just not bad. The returns of the Mars Fund are very considerable, so when it opened for investment in the first half of the year, it received 300 million pounds in investment, am I right, Your Grace?”

“Haha…”

Hearing Abramovich ’s words, Barron laughed:

“You are very well informed. The assets currently held by the Mars Fund have already exceeded 500 million pounds.”

“That’s a very good result, but what I want to know is…”

Abramovich looked at Barron and asked seriously:

“Does your Mars Fund still accept investments?”

“Mr. Abramovich , are you also interested in investing in our fund?”

Barron’s expression remained unchanged, and he said to Abramovich lightly:

“The Mars Fund just opened for investment in April, and now…”

“If possible, I would like to invest 200 million pounds in the Mars Fund first…”

Uh… Wow, he really has money…

Barron said with a smile:

“You are so optimistic about our fund? Mr. Abramovich , but if you really want to invest, I suggest you join next month, because the first round of investment will be due in a year, and we will calculate and divide the profits of those funds.”

Barron didn’t expect Abramovich to just throw out 200 million pounds, which was really extravagant…

If he really invested this 200 million pounds, then he would become the largest single investor in the Mars Fund.

“No problem, Your Grace, just remember to notify me then.”

Abramovich ’s willingness to invest in the Mars Fund was, on the one hand, to hope to have a good relationship with this young duke, who had considerable influence in Britain – the fact that the other party could accept the invitation and appear here today showed that at least he did not have a great barrier towards him.

Of course, after investigation, the Mars Fund’s performance was bright enough, which was also one of the main reasons why he was willing to invest. After all, getting closer was one thing, he wouldn’t just throw 200 million pounds down the drain.

On the other hand, Abramovich also needed to find a direction for the large amount of funds he brought from Russia, so investing in Britain, where he planned to live permanently, was also something he valued, and a private equity fund was also a good choice.

Therefore, he didn’t mind waiting a little while for Barron’s statement that the Mars Fund would only open for investment again next month, when he could put the funds in.

Chapter 184: This is charity work!

“In the rich list published by the Sunday Times at the beginning of this year, the Duke of Devonshire, Barron Cavendish, who was only 23 years old, was assessed to have a fortune of 1 billion pounds, ranking 35th on the British rich list, and also becoming the richest person under 30 in Britain.”

“Young and handsome, with the title of Duke, and astonishing wealth. You must know that less than a year ago, the Devonshire family was once reported to be in a financial crisis and on the verge of bankruptcy because of investment failures and the previous Duke’s accidental death, when Barron Cavendish took over the family business…”

“It seems that this young Duke’s business acumen is admirable, but perhaps many people have not noticed that after acquiring O2 Telecom for a huge sum of 6 billion pounds, and then successively acquiring Manchester United Football Club and Argos, Barron Cavendish has burdened himself with a high debt of over 6 billion pounds. According to our investigation, the interest rates on these debts are far higher than normal levels—their annual interest rates are generally above 12%!”

“This means that just in interest, Barron Cavendish needs to pay more than 720 million pounds to those banks every year! And his entire fortune is only 1 billion pounds, which is only enough to support him for less than one and a half years… Every day when he wakes up, Barron Cavendish needs to face an additional 2 million pounds of interest, so the question is, under such a huge debt, how long can he hold on?”

Barron put down the newspaper in his hand, hmm, it’s the Sun again…

It was rare for them to list so much data this time, which really made Barron a little unaccustomed.

Although these data were not too wrong, if he didn’t know about the investment returns of DS Capital, as an outsider, Barron would probably think his financial situation was very dangerous after seeing such reports…

But the truth is, with O2 Telecom’s current operating situation, plus future plans, it is believed that in a year or two, even if an IPO is carried out, Barron would only need to sell a small portion of his shares to clear most of the debt.

Even without considering other measures, just operating according to the original timeline, in a little over a year, the value of O2 Telecom could be between 15 billion and 20 billion pounds.

Although he didn’t care too much about this report in the Sun, Barron agreed with one point, which was that he should also find a way to reduce his debt interest.

First of all, O2 Telecom issued 1 billion pounds of corporate bonds with an annual interest rate of 3.5%. These funds would be used to repay his debts when purchasing O2 Telecom, which meant reducing his debts at Barclays Bank and Goldman Sachs by 500 million pounds each.

And in the UK, O2 Telecom launched a pre-paid discount activity for users.

Users who pre-paid their fees to O2 Telecom would receive great discounts. Users who made a one-time payment of 1000 pounds or more could even get the same amount of call credit in return.

For this activity of O2 Telecom, the ones impacted were naturally other operators including Vodafone and BT. Some media even pointed out that this activity of O2 Telecom was like drinking poison to quench thirst. After all, although it could gain huge funds at one time, it was actually pre-paying the company’s future profits, and it also indirectly lowered the price. It might easily collapse once the operation went wrong.

Barron didn’t care about this at all.

It seemed that this statement made sense, but was it really so?

If the mobile call needs of users were always met, then it seemed that the higher the fees, the higher the profits of the telecom operators.

But it was not at all the case. Based on Vodafone’s current charging standards, their monthly plan of 15 pounds included only 20 minutes of free calls per month. After that, they would need to be charged extra per minute—at this time, British mobile operators were not yet single-charge, which meant both incoming and outgoing calls were counted within these 20 minutes of free calls.

And the call charges were also different. Calls to landlines and Vodafone users were about 0.5 pounds per minute, while calls to users of other operators were as high as 0.8 pounds per minute!

Higher plans, including a 30-pound monthly plan, had 200 minutes of free calls; a 99-pound monthly plan had 1100 minutes of free calls…

You must know that at this time, the average monthly income in Britain was still less than 2000 pounds. Such fees, especially with double-charging, were still a burden for ordinary people.

And if you joined O2 Telecom’s family plan, the call charges would be lower than Vodafone’s—the most important thing was that calls between O2 Telecom’s family plan members were free!

This attracted many British families to join O2 Telecom’s family plan, and their home broadband and the mobile communications of their family members could all be included in the plan.

And also, calls between O2 Telecom users were very cheap during off-peak hours every day, and only returned to normal charging during peak hours, which was only 0.3 pounds per minute.

If you participated in this pre-paid discount, it was even equivalent to only 1/3-1/4 of the communication fees of Vodafone!

This was a great boon for the British people, whose call charges were relatively high at this time.

And according to O2 Telecom’s later data statistics, it also proved Barron’s point—that is, the reduction in fees would greatly stimulate users’ enthusiasm for using mobile communications, rather than pre-paying O2 Telecom’s revenue later.

After O2 Telecom launched this pre-paid activity, their users’ average mobile call time increased by more than 100%!

This was normal. The British people didn’t have the habit of saving money. They would double their consumption when they had a lower-priced option…

As expected, Barron was not disappointed.

And through this pre-paid activity, in less than a month, O2 Telecom had gained over 1 billion pounds in pre-paid fees…

Don’t feel that this amount is too exaggerated. You must know that at this time, O2 Telecom’s mobile communication users were second only to Vodafone, ranking second in Britain.

And the number of mobile phone users in Britain at this time had exceeded 50 million. Among O2 Telecom’s more than 15 million users, as long as one-tenth pre-paid 1000 pounds, that would be 1.5 billion pounds…

This 1 billion pounds of pre-paid funds, O2 Telecom would carry out large-scale equipment upgrades in the UK, and also increase the deployment of mobile communication equipment in France and Germany, the two new markets that O2 Telecom had entered, to provide users in these two countries with better mobile communication services.

Speaking of O2 Telecom’s business in France and Germany, if O2 Telecom’s user share in the UK was not low, their “price war” was still somewhat “restrained.”

Then in the French and German markets, which were “newbies” themselves, O2 Telecom was not polite at all.

After all, no matter what, in these two markets, O2 Telecom was snatching users from the original “local tyrants” and didn’t need to worry too much.

And the mobile fees in France and Germany were even higher compared to Britain…

Taking D1, the main operator in Germany, as an example, the monthly fee was 14.9 euros. This seemed not as high as the monthly fee in Britain, but you must know that their monthly fee was just the monthly fee, and didn’t give free call time…

Their call charges to landlines were 0.59 euros per minute, and calls to users of other networks were 0.89 to 0.99 euros per minute.

These fees were all higher than in Britain…

Therefore, after O2 Telecom entered the German market, it immediately launched their signature “family plan.” The monthly fee for the entire family plan was only 19.99 euros, with a total of 100 minutes of free call time for members, and calls between members were free!

And each family plan could have a maximum of 4 members!

So the average monthly fee for each member was less than 5 euros!

What kind of behavior was this? This was simply doing charity work!

Chapter 185: Investigation?

For a time, the mobile telecommunications industries in France and Germany began to experience a “bloodbath”.

O2 Telecom not only launched family plans, but also offered a variety of options including couple plans and individual plans. Within just one week of their launch, their user numbers in France and Germany increased by 1 million, and this was just the beginning…

They had at least half of the 1 billion pounds in prepaid user funds they had received in the UK to invest in the French and German markets, putting immense pressure on the telecommunications companies in these two countries.

It is no exaggeration to say that in the shortest amount of time, O2 Telecom’s logos and advertisements could be seen everywhere in the major cities of both countries…

……

“Due to increased investor confidence in the prospects of the American economy and pessimistic expectations for the European economy, the US dollar exchange rate has now risen to a new high in several months…”

In the office of the Devonshire Financial Center, Barron heard Daisy say to him:

“Since May, the US dollar exchange rate has climbed nearly 10%. In May, the dollar exchange rate had fallen to a low of 1 euro to 1.1933 US dollars. Now, 1 euro can only be exchanged for 1.09 US dollars, and the US dollar is still appreciating relative to the euro…”

“So, this is also your opinion?”

“Economic changes are always cyclical. From the end of July 2001, the euro-to-dollar exchange rate was only 0.8764. By May of this year, it reached a high of 1.1933, an increase of a full 36%. I believe this has already reached the cyclical high point. Next, the US dollar may strengthen, and the euro will depreciate relative to the US dollar, with the exchange rate falling below 1…”

After hearing Daisy’s analysis, Barron shook his head:

“The Federal Reserve won’t watch the exchange rate of the euro continue to rise. They will definitely take action to devalue the dollar…”

“Why?”

“To avoid inflation, the Federal Reserve raised interest rates six times in a row before. However, they started lowering interest rates last year. According to my prediction, by the end of this year, the federal funds rate can be lowered to 1%…”

“1%? That would be the lowest in 45 years!”

“Yes, if that’s the case, the interest rate in the European Union will be higher than in the United States. Then, the euro will appreciate, and the dollar will depreciate, which is highly probable…”

That’s the advantage of Daisy. After thinking, she said to Barron:

“If you insist that this situation will happen, then I will agree with your view.”

“So, according to my estimate, the euro-to-dollar exchange rate will reach above 1.25 by the end of the year, an appreciation of nearly 15% compared to now, and the appreciation of the euro against the dollar will still be the mainstream in the next few years.”

The reason for reaching this conclusion was, of course, because Barron knew that in the original timeline, at the end of 2003, the euro-to-dollar exchange rate did indeed exceed 1.25, and by the end of next year, it was close to 1.4. By June 15, 2008, it reached a peak of 1.599.

Of course, during this period, it was not a one-way rise; there would always be fluctuations, but the appreciation of the euro against the dollar was the mainstream.

Therefore, now was also a very good opportunity to go long on the euro in the foreign exchange market. In just over four months, the euro could rise 15% against the dollar, and with the massive trading volume of the foreign exchange market, they could completely use tens of billions or even hundreds of billions of funds to operate!

They only needed to use leverage, borrow US dollars at this time, and exchange them for euros.

After the euro appreciated against the dollar, they would then exchange the euros for US dollars, and finally, they could profit.

This time, DS Capital was prepared to use 1 billion pounds, with a maximum leverage of 20 times, to make a big move!

On the one hand, they still had a considerable amount of funds in their own accounts. In addition, the user prepaid fees of O2 Telecom, although the 1 billion pounds would be invested in the upgrade and deployment of facilities in the UK, France, and Germany, but these funds didn’t need to be spent immediately, using a portion of them temporarily was also no problem.

Although Barron had always made the right judgments before, this time was different. The principal for operating in the foreign exchange market alone amounted to 1 billion pounds, and through leverage, the operating value was a full 20 billion pounds!

When Barron made the decision, Daisy even felt a shudder throughout her body – there was nothing that could compare to this kind of excitement.

……

“We can see that because of the high fees, many people have to shorten the time they use their mobile phones for calls as much as possible. On the other hand, the iterative upgrades of mobile communications require telecommunications companies to invest huge amounts of funds in the deployment of facilities, and for their economic interests, many telecommunications companies will only set up signal base stations in densely populated areas, which leads to the waste of social resources.”

“And it is precisely at this time that O2 Company took the lead in significantly lowering fees and upgrading its signal base stations to increase coverage, but it has attracted an investigation by the regulatory authorities. This inevitably makes people wonder if the people of the UK should not get relatively cheap but also more area-covering mobile communication services?”

This was a special report in the latest issue of The Independent. The reporter investigated the current mobile communication fees in the UK and interviewed many ordinary users, ultimately questioning why the regulatory authorities were investigating O2 Company, which had taken the initiative to lower mobile communication fees…

Yes, the background of this report was that after O2 Telecom implemented a series of measures and took the initiative to launch a “price war” in the fields of mobile communications and personal broadband, telecommunications giants including Vodafone and BT Company quickly responded – the UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) had just indicated that it was investigating whether O2 Telecom was suspected of unfair competition.

Therefore, newspapers under the Independent directly threw out this series of reports, which caused a huge reaction in British society. Many people who knew the inside story of this matter cursed the “evil deeds” of the CMA and other telecommunications companies, which also put great pressure on the CMA.

“Yes, Your Grace, the officials of the CMA came to see us today. Their attitude has changed somewhat. They politely stated that it was just a routine investigation, and there was no definitive conclusion, nor would it have a negative impact on the company…”

O2 Telecom’s CEO, Barry Trelease, said to Barron on the phone.

In Barron’s view, the CMA wouldn’t really do anything to O2 in this matter. Although BT Telecom and Vodafone were very powerful, O2 Telecom was not a pushover either.

At most, the CMA would give them a warning.

But how could he possibly accept this? O2 Telecom already held the moral high ground in this matter, and instead, they would make things difficult for the CMA first.

As for whether the CMA would be unhappy and cause some trouble for O2?

What was he thinking? Barron actually hoped they would make a big fuss, as this would be a good opportunity for publicity and advertising for O2 Telecom.

Chapter 186: What About the Child?

“I’m glad to see you have such a positive attitude, Colonel Coy.”

Barron met with Mervyn Coy again, the founder of “Shield of the Empire,” the predecessor of the Protector Military Service Company.

After experiencing the conflict with the local armed forces in Africa, which resulted in the loss of his legs, Mervyn Coy sold the entire Shield of the Empire military company to Barron and returned to Scotland to recuperate.

By now, except for still needing a wheelchair, Colonel Coy’s body had mostly recovered, and he met with Barron again in London.

“Although I can’t be the same as before, I still hope to do something, Your Grace.”

Initially, when Barron learned that Mervyn wasn’t accustomed to the pastoral life and wanted to do something else, he extended an invitation, hoping that the other party would go to Northern Ireland to be an instructor at the Protector Military Company’s training base there.

However, Mervyn clearly had other ambitions at this time. He told Barron that he hoped to participate in the election for a Scottish Member of Parliament.

As a brave soldier in the past, and later helping veterans find new opportunities, coupled with his image of being disabled but still determined, Barron supported him.

The British Parliament belongs to the national parliament, but in addition, including Scotland, Wales, and other places, they all have their own local parliaments. Therefore, the world where only Scottish politicians get hurt is achieved, because other regions can run for the British Parliament, and they can also run for the local parliament. Only politicians from England can only run for the British Parliament.

And Barron knew that later, the Scottish Parliament’s influence in Britain was also quite significant. After all, the later Scottish referendum was also a compromise made by the government to win over the Scottish Parliament.

Therefore, if Mervyn wanted to switch to politics, then Barron would definitely not hesitate to support him.

Besides his media outlets, which could create momentum for Mervyn, it should be known that Carron Castle was also located in Scotland, and the de Vere family still had a certain influence there. This kind of help was also very important for Mervyn Coy.

…

“Your Grace, the Viscountess Booth. is waiting for you upstairs.”

When Barron returned to his residence in London, he heard the butler, Ramos, say this to him.

A trace of doubt couldn’t help but appear on his face, wondering why Chrissy had come over without calling him in advance.

And now, Bonnie had gone to the island of Mallorca in the Mediterranean Sea, which belonged to Spain, to film the first season of “Love Island,” so the Viscountess must have come to see him.

When Barron went upstairs to the second floor, he saw the Viscountess sitting in front of a floor-to-ceiling window in a lounge, seemingly lost in thought.

“Madam, why are you here?”

Hearing Barron’s words, the Viscountess came back to her senses, looked at him, and said with a somewhat reproachful tone:

“What? Can’t I come?”

“Uh… I didn’t mean that, it’s just why didn’t you call me in advance, then I wouldn’t have to wait so long…”

“I came to ask you…”

The Viscountess stared intently at Barron and said:

“What are you going to do about your child?”

Hearing her suddenly say such a sentence, Barron’s heart skipped a beat, and he instinctively said:

“Are you kidding?”

“What? You did it yourself, and now you don’t want to admit it?”

“This… that’s not true, how could that be?”

Just as Barron was thinking about how Chrissy could know about Rebecca having his child, he saw a mocking expression on the Viscountess’s face, and she said to him:

“Hehe, men…”

When she took out a test report and threw it to Barron, Barron’s face changed. He picked up the test report and said:

“How did this get to you…”

Speaking of which, Barron suddenly saw Chrissy’s name on the test report… and finally realized he had made a mistake.

“You… are you pregnant?”

The Viscountess looked at him with a half-smile, and asked with a profound meaning:

“Is it you? Or is there someone else? Who do you think this child belongs to?”

Knowing her situation, even when “carrying on the family line” for Ian Booth, they used that kind of method. Barron naturally couldn’t say anything joking.

Moreover, there was no need to pretend in this matter. After all, there would be a paternity test sooner or later…

“This matter… does he know?”

“Do you think I should tell him first?”

The Viscountess naturally understood that the “he” in Barron’s mouth referred to Ian Booth, her husband.

She said contemptuously:

“What you need to consider is not his side of things, but Bonnie. What do you think will happen if she finds out about this…”

Chrissy made a lot of sense. Not to mention anything else, at least in the matter of “carrying on the family line” for the Booth. Viscount family, she had already given the other party an explanation—if everything was normal with that Ukrainian girl, then a pure-blooded heir to the Booth. family would already be settled.

According to her, as long as this matter could be achieved, the Viscount Booth. wouldn’t care whose child Chrissy had after that because of his “special” attribute—even if it was Barron’s, that wouldn’t be a problem.

And that Ukrainian girl had already undergone an ultrasound examination, and among the children she was carrying, there was a male fetus.

In fact, this is also where this kind of thing is criticized, often causing great harm to the girl who serves as the “vessel.”

Because of the complexity and trouble of the process, in order to ensure the final “success rate,” multiple “seeds” are often placed inside the other party’s body to avoid any accidents.

Therefore, in this case, it is very normal to have multiple births.

This time it was, that the Ukrainian girl was carrying “twins,” and one of them was confirmed to be a male fetus, which made this matter of the Viscountess’s pregnancy not too bad on the Viscount Booth’s side.

But just as the Viscountess said, in fact, Bonnie was very aware of her marriage situation—and it was precisely because the two sisters had always been very close that these things were no secret to Bonnie.

Therefore, as Barron’s girlfriend, Bonnie Stuart knew that her cousin would only use another method to “give birth” to descendants for the Booth. family.

Now that she herself was pregnant, it would inevitably arouse Bonnie’s curiosity…

If she knew this child was her boyfriend’s…

The consequences would definitely be wonderful.

“Are you really planning to have this child?”

Thinking of the consequences of this matter being exposed to Bonnie, Barron had a headache. He asked the Viscountess.

And after he asked this question, the Viscountess didn’t speak, but from the firm gaze she looked at him, Barron already understood what the other party meant.

“In a few months, the Booth. family’s legitimate heir will be born, and by then, everything will be decided by me.”

Barron took a deep breath and said to the Viscountess:

“Okay, I understand. Since that’s the case, I will also take responsibility. I will find time to talk to Bonnie.”

“Are you going to tell her the truth?”

“There’s no way to hide it from her forever, is there? If that’s the case, then being honest is better than dragging it out.”

“In that case…”

The Viscountess’s face finally showed a smile for the first time today:

“You don’t have much time left, after all, my belly will soon be easy to see…”

Chapter 187: The Death of a Weapons Expert

It has to be said that the news brought by Chrissy completely disrupted Barron’s rhythm.

Barron wasn’t prepared for the Viscountess to be pregnant. After all, things were getting a bit messy…

But as he said, this kind of thing could be hidden for a while, but it was destined to be difficult to conceal for too long.

If Chrissy insisted on giving birth to the child… then how to explain this to Bonnie was really something to think about.

Fortunately, Bonnie was still in Spain producing the first season of “Love Island,” giving Barron time to prepare.

…

Just as Barron was caught in the trouble brought by Chrissy’s pregnancy, an incident also caused trouble for the current Prime Minister.

On July 18th, a man’s body was discovered in a small wood in Oxfordshire. The body was identified as David Kelly, a weapons expert from the British Ministry of Defence.

The small wood where the body was found was only five miles from David Kelly’s home.

The final autopsy showed that the Ministry of Defence’s weapons expert had died by suicide. Well, it wasn’t the kind of suicide where someone is shot eight times in the back, but he did indeed slit his wrists…

However, his suicide also brought widespread condemnation to the BBC and the British Prime Minister.

The reason was that David Kelly had previously been in contact with a BBC journalist.

As a weapons expert from the British Ministry of Defence, David Kelly had participated in the weapons inspection of Iraq.

As early as February of this year, Kelly had discussed the upcoming war to topple Saddam with BBC journalist Andrew.

On May 22nd, the two met again in a hotel in London. They discussed the recently concluded war and the relevant situation of Saddam’s weapons.

Then, on May 29th, BBC journalist Andrew said in a report on its Channel 4 that a “senior intelligence official” had told him that the intelligence on the war to topple Saddam was fabricated.

And in a June interview with BBC journalist Andrew by The Independent, he also said that the Prime Minister Blair’s chief of staff, Campbell, should be responsible for the false intelligence that Saddam could launch weapons of mass destruction within 45 minutes.

Later, both the Prime Minister’s office and Campbell denied this statement and demanded an apology from the BBC.

This matter, with the participation of many media outlets, continued to ferment. Plus, as of now, the Saddam regime had already collapsed, and the US and the UK still hadn’t found the so-called “weapons of mass destruction” in Iraq, which reignited anti-war sentiment within Britain.

Up until July 9th, Defence Secretary Hoon wrote a letter to the BBC Chairman asking who had leaked the information to the BBC journalist. Afterwards, someone claimed that Kelly was the one who leaked the information to the BBC.

On July 15th, Kelly claimed that he was not the one who leaked the main information to the BBC.

On July 16th, when Blair was in the United States and was asked about this matter in an interview, he claimed that the British Parliament and the BBC should reveal the person who leaked the information.

So, on July 17th, Kelly, seemingly unable to bear the pressure, committed suicide.

According to The Sunday Times published on July 20th, the newspaper had conducted an exclusive interview with Kelly before his suicide and obtained several emails from him before his death.

Kelly had told the reporter that after he was forced to get involved in the scandal of fabricating illegal weapons in Iraq, he felt as if he was “put into a meat grinder” and was under immense and unbearable pressure every day.

On May 29th of this year, BBC journalist Andrew reported that a “senior intelligence official” from the British government had told him that the intelligence on the Iraq War was “fabricated” by the government.

This immediately triggered a fierce dispute between the British government and the BBC over whether the Iraq intelligence was exaggerated.

Not long after, the Ministry of Defence suddenly pointed out that the government senior official who provided the source to the BBC was the weapons expert David Kelly, who had participated in the weapons inspection of Iraq.

Thus, Kelly suddenly became the core figure of the entire incident.

On July 15th, he was forced to be questioned in the House of Commons, but he firmly denied that he had provided information to the BBC.

In the emails, Kelly stated that he had thought the Ministry of Defence would take the blame for him, but what he got was the Ministry of Defence informing him that they would disclose his identity.

He expressed “great shock” at this because he had always thought this would be a “confidential secret that would not be disclosed.”

After British Defence Secretary Hoon made Kelly’s identity public, his name immediately filled the major newspapers and magazines across Britain, which made him feel the pain of “betrayal and disappointment.”

Kelly also revealed in an email his desire to leave the “suffocating environment” of Britain.

It was obvious that this time, apart from the BBC’s report being slightly inaccurate and criticized – the BBC confirmed on the 20th that David Kelly was the “main source” who provided them with information about the British government tampering with Iraq’s intelligence information, while before that, both the BBC and Kelly himself had vehemently denied it.

In addition, the most questioned was the British government and the Prime Minister.

When Kelly committed suicide, Prime Minister Blair was on his way from the United States to Japan to begin his Asian tour.

He appeared very anxious when he suddenly learned of Kelly’s death on the special plane.

The Prime Minister’s spokesperson said that the Prime Minister himself expressed deep sorrow over Kelly’s death and hoped that the British media could exercise restraint.

Although the Prime Minister had always appeared calm and composed in public about Kelly’s suicide, there was no doubt that he was facing tremendous pressure from the domestic opposition party and the entire British society.

Currently, British public opinion almost unanimously believed that Kelly was a scapegoat for Blair’s government.

Labour MP Glenda Jackson even bluntly said that Blair, Campbell, and Hoon should resign and take responsibility. Because if Blair remained in office, with the investigation getting closer to the truth, the British government might face even greater embarrassment.

However, Barron knew that although this incident was a significant blow to the current Labour government, it was impossible to bring them down.

Even when he discussed this with Cameron, Cameron himself was relatively clear-headed, believing that this time could only damage the Labour Party’s support rate at most.

And that was indeed the case. According to the latest opinion poll results released by The Guardian on the 22nd, only 39% of the British public still trusted Blair, a drop of 12 percentage points from a month ago.

Blair’s personal rating had fallen to minus 17 points – while at the beginning of the Iraq War, when the US-UK coalition won, Blair’s score had once risen to plus 7 points.

At the same time, the ruling Labour Party’s current public support rate was only 36%, only two percentage points ahead of the opposition Conservative Party, while two months ago, the Labour Party still enjoyed a 12 percentage point advantage. The Conservative Party’s support rate was 34%.

Although analysts pointed out that Kelly’s death was the most serious crisis Blair’s government had encountered in its six years of governance, and the government’s credibility had been severely damaged.

But even now, the Labour Party’s support rate was still higher than the Conservative Party’s, and it was far from the time to bring them down.

Therefore, in this vortex of public opinion, the media that Barron controlled, although had many reports related to this, were still very cautious in their wording.

They didn’t become the “vanguard” of opposing Blair’s policies as clearly as they did before the Iraq War.

Since it was fundamentally impossible to defeat the other side with this, it would be better to seek some benefits for himself.

For example, when the Prime Minister finished his visits to Japan and South Korea and arrived in China, the CEO of the Cavendish Hotel Group, Robert Parker, and the CEO of Argos, Nathan Ellington, were added to his delegation.

Chapter 188: Exploded

In this public opinion event, Barron once again reached a certain tacit understanding with the Prime Minister’s side. Ultimately, besides the CMA ending its investigation of O2 Telecom and stating that O2 Telecom’s promotional activities did not constitute “malicious competition,” and thus the matter was concluded, his companies were also included in the business delegation during this visit to China.

This visit was primarily focused on business cooperation, which would include the signing of some cooperation agreements, including Barron’s investments in China.

On July 22nd, the Cavendish Hotel Group held a groundbreaking ceremony for the Devonshire Bund Hotel in Shanghai, with an investment of 100 million pounds.

A new building with a similar style would be constructed next to the original Bund No. 2, connected to the old building.

The new building was expected to be completed within a year, and the Devonshire Bund Hotel would be able to officially open and operate by 2005.

The Prime Minister attended the ceremony and delivered a speech, expressing his hope to deepen the commercial and trade cooperation between the UK and Shanghai, thereby achieving a win-win situation.

In addition to the Cavendish Hotel Group’s investment, Argos CEO Nathan Ellington also signed a procurement order worth 100 million pounds with Zhejiang Province, which would involve cooperation with local manufacturers to authorize the production of numerous products under the Argos brand.

Originally, Argos only hoped to conduct a small-scale cooperative trial at first. Although they had acknowledged the production capabilities of many factories in Zhejiang Province during previous inspections, they still wanted to be cautious with the initial cooperation.

However, it just happened to coincide with this visit, and Barron also believed that within Argos’s quality system, using “Made in China” to replace their own-brand products was the “trump card” for Argos’s next step of expansion and development. Therefore, this directly led to the signing of this 100 million pound deal.

……

Unlike the previous production of “The Traitors” by Summit Studio, the new dating reality show “Love Island” was filmed and broadcast almost simultaneously because of the mechanism of public voting to eliminate the guests.

Of course, this production method would also greatly test Summit Studio’s production capabilities.

Fortunately, they seemed to be doing quite well so far.

The show has already broadcast two episodes on SDTV and has been a great success!

Its ratings were no less than “The Traitors,” and it generated even more buzz.

It could be said that after only two weeks of broadcasting, “Love Island” had become the hottest topic among young people in all of the UK.

You could find that no matter where you were, young people would always discuss the opinions of various guests on “Love Island,” and the guests each had their own supporters, forming different camps.

The reason why this reality show was so talked about was also because the scale of “Love Island” was indeed beyond that of previous dating shows.

An example would make it clear.

The male and female guests participating in “Love Island” would be paired up again in each episode, choosing their “bed partner”…

Yes, this “bed partner” meant exactly that.

After mutual selection and choosing a “bed partner,” before the next re-selection, the couple would live in the same room on the same bed!

And these young people, full of hormones and extremely bold, had many very intimate actions under the omnipresent cameras in the villa, and even behaviors after they felt… something.

Of course, in the main program broadcast on SDTV, because it was a channel broadcast to the public, their editing was still very careful about the scale.

But on the Freeview platform, they also provided a “longer version” of paid on-demand, which contained more content, and the footage there was very rich.

Combining sunshine, swimming pools, handsome men, beautiful women, bikinis, and other popular viewing points, plus the dramatic plots that often occurred due to the elimination mechanism of the competition, naturally, “Love Island” became the biggest winner of this year’s UK reality shows - well, even though only two episodes have been broadcast, that much was already certain.

The most direct data was that in the month after “Love Island” was broadcast, Digital UK received over 2 million applications for the installation or replacement of upgraded set-top boxes with on-demand functions, which was three times the number of the previous month!

You must know that the upgraded set-top boxes were not free to install, and the price was as high as 199 pounds!

This was not like ordinary set-top boxes. Because of the expansion of production capacity and the reduction of costs, the latest ordinary version of set-top boxes made in China had a deposit that had been reduced to 200 pounds - this deposit was ultimately refundable.

Digital UK’s goal was to expand the base of ordinary users as quickly as possible, allowing more viewers to watch the TV channels on the Freeview platform.

Therefore, before that, they had focused on producing ordinary versions of set-top boxes.

After “Love Island” was broadcast, it greatly promoted the users’ demand for digital program on-demand services. It was also from this time that PUMA Electronics adjusted its production and increased the proportion of producing upgraded set-top boxes in its Chinese factories.

As for the original PUMA Electronics production factory in the UK, it had now mainly become their technology research and development center.

And maintaining a certain production capacity, or rather, the number of employees, in the local area was also very necessary.

Therefore, PUMA Electronics’ UK factory was now producing their most advanced, most technologically advanced, and also the highest-profit new-generation products.

……

The filming of “Love Island” would take a full two months, and their “islanders” would undergo closed-off filming during this period.

However, during this period, she did not need to stay on that island all the time; she could still return to London to be with Barron in the middle.

After all, the distance from Spain to the UK was not too far.

“Darling, coming back to London from Mallorca feels like going from summer to autumn… Why, aren’t you happy to see me back?”

“Of course, I’m just so happy, baby.”

Seeing Bonnie again, Barron did not give too many explanations, and first had a good time with her.

“Ugh, don’t mess up my clothes, I need to go to the SEM building first later, I need to finish the editing for the next episode today.”

“No need to rush so much, baby, I’ll pick you up tonight?”

“Maybe a bit late, I’ll just come back myself, I want to go see my cousin after work first. I felt her condition wasn’t too good when I called her the other day, I’m a little worried…”

Hearing Bonnie’s words, Barron felt a twitch in his eyelids. He pretended to be calm and said:

“It might be your illusion. I saw the Booth.s a couple of days ago, and she looked quite well. By the way, darling, I have something to tell you…”

“What is it?”

Looking at Bonnie looking over, her eyes were almost overflowing with tenderness…

“I love you, baby.”

Suddenly hearing the other person’s confession, Bonnie’s smile bloomed:

“I love you too, darling.”

She gave Barron a kiss:

“Is that all you wanted to tell me?”

“Uh, I’ll tell you when I come back tonight.”

“Why so mysterious? Then I’ll go to the company first, darling.”

Chapter 189: Breakup?

The next day, Bonnie moved out of Barron’s residence and left London for Spain.

Yes, when she returned to Barron’s place that evening, Barron talked to her about Mrs. Booth.fu.

“Are you going to tell me about my cousin?”

In fact, Bonnie’s reaction at the time was unexpectedly calm for Barron.

“Let’s take some time apart, Barron. I need time to think this through…”

After hearing Barron confess his “intimate relationship” with his cousin, and that the Viscountess was pregnant with his child, Bonnie’s eyes were a little red, but she still spoke calmly.

“Baby…”

Seeing that Barron wanted to say something, Bonnie continued:

“Actually, I knew about you two before, but I didn’t expect her to have your child…”

Bonnie’s words surprised Barron, and he blurted out, “You knew before? When?”

“When we were in New York, I wasn’t feeling well that day, but when I woke up later, I saw you and her…”

“Then why didn’t you…”

“Didn’t make things difficult for you both on the spot? Barron, what do you think I should do? I’m with you, not because of your status, but because I really like you…”

Bonnie took a deep breath and murmured:

“It’s also because I know the truth of my cousin’s marriage. She’s the closest person to me, and I’ve been avoiding these things, but now that things have developed to this point, I can’t continue to avoid them anymore. But do you want me to accept this kind of relationship with her and with you? I can’t do it, Barron, at least not now, so give me some time so I can think things through, okay?”

Although Barron knew he could continue to sweet-talk the girl, it was like Bonnie said, whether to accept this kind of relationship was something that couldn’t be avoided forever; she needed to think it through herself.

“Did you tell her?”

After the Viscountess knew about this, she said on the phone:

“I understand her, Barron. She will make a rational choice.”

“The way you talk is really cold, Chris!”

“Really? Perhaps if you knew I was preparing to go to Spain for a vacation and to have a heart-to-heart talk with my cousin, you wouldn’t say that.”

“Dear Chris, you are really an angel!”

…

Barron’s security personnel increased again; a five-person team would provide 24-hour protection at his London residence.

The reason was that Barron saw a report about him in The Sun the next day.

The other party had taken photos of Bonnie dragging her luggage as she left his residence, and they were widely reporting that he was “suspected” of breaking up with the well-known beauty host and producer Bonnie Stuart.

The other party’s paparazzi were so timely that Barron suspected that there were reporters stationed around his residence 24 hours a day.

These were just gossip tabloid paparazzi; if they were malicious criminals, it would be unimaginable.

Therefore, Barron directly increased the security force at his residence, and indeed found a few “familiar faces” nearby. These people were either politely “asked to leave” or were included in the security personnel’s surveillance.

Bonnie went to the island of Mallorca in Spain to shoot the closed set of Love Island, which avoided the harassment of reporters.

But Barron couldn’t avoid it. When he attended a charity event, a reporter asked him if he had broken up with Ms. Stuart.

In response, Barron said that he did not want his private life to be disturbed.

Even so, it was difficult to avoid many speculations and doubts.

What made Barron laugh and cry was that after the relevant reports appeared, Miss Ella of the Kent family, and Tamara Ecclestone, began to be very enthusiastic about dating him…

Especially Tamara, she was truly worthy of being a girl born in Italy; she could be said to be passionate as fire…

It was just that it would have been fine at other times, but at this time, he really didn’t want to let his entanglement with other girls appear in the gossip reports of the tabloids again.

After all, although Bonnie said “take some time apart,” Barron didn’t think this meant the two were breaking up. At this time, he didn’t want to provoke the other party again.

…

In early August, Woaw Company changed its office location again. They moved from the previous Cambridge Town to the Cavendish King Building in King’s Cross, London.

And after this move, the Woaw website no longer had part-time employees from students, and was entirely composed of full-time, formal employees—at the same time, the total number of employees on the Woaw website also exceeded 20 for the first time.

These people occupied an entire floor of the Cavendish King Building, and half of the space was the Woaw Company’s data center.

The reason for this was because after Woaw website opened up registration restrictions, their number of registered users had exceeded 10 million, which could be said to be developing rapidly.

Serving so many users also forced Woaw Company to equip higher-performance equipment and bandwidth, which was also one of the main reasons they decided to move the company headquarters from Cambridge Town to London.

The explosion of Woaw website’s user numbers was, in addition to the fact that a month ago, they officially launched multi-language options including French, German, and Spanish, which allowed users from other European countries to use the Woaw website’s services more conveniently, and also because of their newly launched Woaw Photos feature.

Unlike the early Facebook, Woaw, because of Barron’s “wealth,” had already launched a relatively rich photo album service at an earlier time (only during the period when registration was open to specific universities).

But the recent Woaw Photos service allowed users to tag the photos they posted.

Just the addition of this one feature caused Woaw’s user numbers to begin their first large-scale viral growth.

The reason was that when a user posted a photo with a friend and “tagged” someone in it, that person would immediately receive an email.

Through the email, the Woaw website would notify the person: Someone has uploaded your photo to Woaw.

Out of curiosity, almost everyone would click on the link to go to the Woaw website to view the photo.

Therefore, many people found the Woaw website very interesting and registered there, becoming new users of the website.

Initially, the Woaw website only had a relatively large reputation in the British Isles. In other areas outside the British Isles, such as Europe, North America, and Australia, only a small number of users registered on this website through introductions from friends.

But when their photo tagging feature went online, because of this viral spread, more and more users from areas outside the British Isles joined the Woaw website.

Especially in English-speaking areas, such as North America and Australia, the increase in users was particularly eye-catching.

Up to now, Woaw’s overseas users have reached one-third of its total user ratio.

And as Woaw website’s reputation in North America grew higher and higher, it also attracted the attention of certain capital.

Not long after, the Woaw Company headquarters in the Cavendish King Building welcomed a guest from the United States of America.

“Hello, my name is Michael Moritz, from Sequoia Capital.”

This slightly balding middle-aged man introduced himself to Woaw Company’s CEO, Khalid.

Chapter 190: The Reason for the Choice

Speaking of the name Michael Morris, many people who follow the development of the American internet probably couldn’t have failed to hear it.

As one of the partners at Sequoia Capital, since joining this globally renowned venture capital firm in 1986, Morris had led many successful investment cases, including investments in Yahoo and Google.

This time, returning to Britain—Morris was born in Wales—was also because he had become interested in the website Woaw after discovering it in America.

Upon hearing Morris’s name and the reputation of Sequoia Capital, Khalid immediately became attentive.

Facing the CEO of Woaw, Morris cut straight to the chase, directly stating his intention: he hoped to represent Sequoia Capital in investing in Woaw.

“If that’s the case, Mr. Morris, you’ll need to speak with my boss…”

“You mean Mr. Barron Cavendish?”

“Yes, Mr. Morris, but in Britain, you’d best address him as His Grace the Duke of Cavendish.”

…

In fact, since he was interested in Woaw, Morris had naturally investigated information about the company before coming to London.

Morris knew that Woaw was very different from the internet companies he had invested in before—not only because it was a company born in Britain, but also because this company was different from other internet startups. It wasn’t founded by ordinary entrepreneurs who needed funds from venture capital firms like Sequoia Capital, as well as some operational guidance.

The owner of Woaw was Barron Cavendish. Not only was he a British nobleman, but he also appeared to be a very successful business operator. Therefore, he didn’t lack funds—in the British rich list released this year, the Duke, who was said to have a fortune of 1 billion pounds, ranked 35th among British millionaires.

And he also didn’t lack experience in running a successful company, as could be seen from the well-developed companies under his name, which were among the top in Britain in terms of scale.

“So what I want to know is, Mr. Morris, what help can you bring to Woaw?”

When he met this young and handsome British Duke, who was also quite well-known even in America, the Duke asked this question with a calm expression. Morris had also asked himself this question before deciding to come to London.

“I know you don’t lack funds, nor do you lack experience in running a business, Your Grace, but what we at Sequoia Capital can bring you is the vast market of North America and even the world.”

Hearing Morris’s words, Barron laughed.

They were currently in Barron’s office in the DS Financial Center on the financial street.

Choosing to meet here with Morris was also to subtly remind him of his own financial strength.

At this moment, Barron stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling window, looking at the vehicles and crowds moving like ants on the streets of the financial district below, and said softly:

“As far as I know, Woaw is doing well in North America, and it’s about to become our second-largest market outside of Britain, and even in the near future, the number of users will surpass Britain.”

“That’s the reason I came here, Your Grace, but you must know that the center of the internet is always Silicon Valley, where many great companies are born, like Yahoo and Google, and perhaps there will also be the future king of social networking. And the fact is, even now, there are websites similar to Woaw there, such as MySpace, which just appeared last month. This website seems very dynamic, although the number of users is far less than Woaw, but in the future, who knows, perhaps if we can’t invest in Woaw, we will choose MySpace…”

“Oh?”

Barron knew about MySpace. In the original timeline, this social networking site had been a strong competitor to Facebook, and was acquired by Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation in 2005 for a high price of 580 million US dollars, but its subsequent development was not satisfactory…

He turned to look at Morris and said with a meaningful tone:

“Are you threatening me, Mr. Morris?”

“You misunderstand, I’m just telling you our sincerity, Your Grace.”

Morris said sincerely:

“I can predict with great certainty that perhaps without the help of Sequoia Capital, Woaw could become a popular social networking website in Europe, but that’s all. Because the North American market is not that easy to enter, especially for a European company. Perhaps when there are no strong competitors now, Woaw can occupy a certain market, but when everyone realizes the potential of this field, competitors, especially local competitors supported by strong capital, will quickly occupy the market. This is not my groundless speculation, but something that has been verified many times.”

“What I’m curious about is, Mr. Morris, why would you choose Woaw instead of that MySpace you mentioned? As far as I know, that’s a startup company, and it’s easier for you to control more shares. And according to your words, MySpace, this American local company, has an advantage over us in the North American market.”

Faced with Barron’s question, a hint of joy flashed in Morris’s eyes. He said:

“I did have such a consideration, but after I researched both Woaw and MySpace, I think that if we had our support, MySpace might be able to surpass Woaw in terms of user numbers for a period of time, but in the end, it would likely still fail.”

“Why?”

“I greatly appreciate Woaw’s restraint in user registration from the beginning, which has successfully created a good social atmosphere and the foundation for real social interaction. Therefore, the vast majority of Woaw users participate in social networking with their real identities. In comparison, MySpace is more virtual in terms of the internet, which has allowed MySpace’s user numbers to grow quickly, but it has also brought many problems, including the spread of certain undesirable information. The later it gets, the more effort they need to spend on reviewing this aspect, while Woaw is much more relaxed in this regard.”

It has to be said that Morris was worthy of being one of the most well-known investors at Sequoia Capital. His vision was indeed very sharp.

“In addition, there are those more distinctive features launched by Woaw, such as tagging photos. Although this kind of innovation is easily imitated, I can also see your creativity from here, which is also something I greatly appreciate. Therefore, I would say that with the help of Sequoia Capital, Woaw can achieve success, and may even become the next Google, of course, the premise is that you can gain a firm foothold in the American market, because the English-speaking market is the most important and largest market in the world, and in this market, North America is the key market that plays a decisive role. Only by succeeding in America can you possibly become a global giant. We can help you achieve this, which stems from our success and layout in the internet field over the years.”

“You’ve almost convinced me, Mr. Morris.”

Hearing Barron’s words, Morris didn’t rush to show his joy, but remained calm and looked at him, hearing the young Duke continue:

“However, there are many companies with the same strength as Sequoia Capital in America. Why should I choose you?”

“You mean?”

“I need you to prove your strength.”

Chapter 191: Taking a Bite of the Apple

Barron himself didn’t believe that he could operate a global internet company like Google or Facebook just based on his own financial investment, even though he possessed the memories of his previous life.

After all, a good idea or possessing better technology was not a necessary condition for a company to become a giant.

Just like Google, during its development, acquired dozens of various startup companies. Weren’t these companies also possessing good ideas or better technology?

But they ultimately became the nourishment of the giants.

“What do you want us to do?”

Facing Morris’s question, Barron smiled and said:

“I know that Sequoia Capital has a very large influence in Silicon Valley. I hope you can help me contact the shareholders of a company, and if possible, acquire their shares.”

Hearing Barron say this, Morris couldn’t help but become curious:

“Which company?”

“Apple!”

“You want to buy Apple’s stock?”

Morris, upon hearing Barron’s words, was momentarily unsure whether the other party was too smart or too foolish.

In short, he was filled with surprise. He initially thought that Barron had taken a liking to a Silicon Valley startup, but he didn’t expect it to be Apple, a company that had been developing for many years.

You must know that this year, Apple’s stock performance was not good, even extremely bad.

Their stock price had fallen from 36 dollars at the beginning of the year to 12 dollars, a drop of over 66%, in half a year.

By the second half of this year, Apple’s stock was still continuing to decline, and as of now, it was close to falling below 7 dollars.

And at this time, Apple’s market capitalization was about to drop below 5 billion dollars!

It could be said that, by now, even Apple’s founder, Steve Jobs, was not optimistic about the future of Apple’s stock…

Morris didn’t know why Barron would choose to buy Apple stock at this time. Indeed, compared to before, Apple’s stock was currently at its bottom, but the key was whether investing in Apple now could it return to its previous market capitalization?

The fact was that most people now believed that Apple was finished, and like those companies that had once been glorious, it was destined to decline.

At this time, Apple’s most important product was the iPod, but only those who owned Apple’s MAC computers could use this MP3 player. Therefore, the iPod had only about 3% of the computer user market.

It didn’t seem to have any competitiveness at all.

Therefore, regarding Barron’s statement of wanting to buy part of the shares of Apple’s shareholders, Morris felt it was difficult to evaluate, but this wasn’t too difficult a matter…

“That’s no problem, Your Grace, I can immediately help you contact some funds that hold Apple’s stock. Presumably, under the current circumstances, some people are also willing to sell their shares through direct sales…”

After all, a large-scale stock transaction like this, conducted directly without going through the secondary market, had a very low impact on the stock price. If the stocks were to be sold through the stock exchange, then it would probably immediately cause a sharp drop in the stock price.

And the reason why Barron hoped to buy stocks directly from Apple’s shareholders in this way was also to maintain this atmosphere of “being bearish” on Apple’s stock.

If he bought directly from the secondary market, then it would also be easy to push up the price of Apple stock after buying a certain amount.

“I think you can also contact Mr. Jobs, perhaps he is also willing to sell his Apple stock…”

The reason why he said this was also because he remembered reading related reports in his previous life.

It was this year, after Apple’s stock price fell below 7 dollars, that Apple’s founder, Steve Jobs, in a state of panic, sold his 55 million shares of Apple stock, ultimately only retaining 4.5 million shares.

It could be said that, compared to Apple’s market capitalization later, this sale caused him heavy losses.

In the era when Barron was reborn, even many people who didn’t have much understanding of technology companies knew that Apple was the company with the highest market capitalization in the world at that time.

Therefore, now that he encountered such an opportunity, Barron naturally didn’t need to consider anything. The only thing he needed to do was to buy as many shares of this company as possible…

It just so happened that the Mars Fund would soon receive an additional 200 million pounds investment from Abu, and combined with other funds, they could all be used to purchase these Apple shares.

According to the initial profit-sharing rules of the Mars Fund, for the portion of client profits below 20%, DS Capital would receive 20% of the profit share; for the portion of client profits between 20% and 50%, they would receive 30% of the profit share; for the portion of client profits between 50% and 100%, they would receive 40% of the profit share; and for the portion of client profits above 100%, they would receive 50% of the profit share.

According to this profit-sharing ratio, when the initial 50 million pounds investment matured after one year, these funds were already worth over 200 million pounds, a return rate of over 300%.

Therefore, after the final profit withdrawal, DS Capital received a total of approximately 66.5 million pounds in profit sharing!

And after the profit withdrawal, almost all of the earliest investors chose to continue investing their profits into the Mars Fund.

In addition, because of the Mars Fund’s super high returns, it once again attracted enthusiastic investment from investors. Therefore, this time, in addition to the 200 million pounds from Abu, another over 350 million pounds of funds poured into the Mars Fund like a tide.

At this point, the funds controlled by the Mars Fund had exceeded 1 billion pounds!

These increased funds would be used to invest in technology stocks, including Apple. The signs of recovery in the NASDAQ stock market from the previous crisis were already becoming increasingly obvious.

According to Barron’s memory, he knew that after a year, Apple’s stock price would increase by more than double compared to now.

Because by then, the latest version of Apple’s iPod would be compatible with ordinary computers, thus gaining 97% of the new market. Also, because of the iPod’s outstanding design and sound quality, it began to become popular among MP3 users from that time.

Morris acted quickly. In order to be able to participate in the investment in Woaw, he, through his connections in Silicon Valley and the financial industry, indeed contacted Steve Jobs himself for Barron, as well as another three fund companies that held Apple’s shares.

Just as Barron had predicted, Steve Jobs was also no longer confident in continuing to hold the company’s stock because of the crash in Apple’s stock price, and was preparing to sell most of his shares.

Now that someone was willing to take over at the current price of 7 dollars per share, without having to sell on the secondary market, thereby causing the price to fall, this made Steve Jobs very happy to agree to this deal.

He would sell his 55 million shares of Apple stock to DS Capital for a total price of 385 million dollars, retaining only 4.5 million shares of Apple stock.

And the other three fund companies would also sell a total of approximately 107 million shares of Apple stock, for a total price of approximately 750 million dollars.

In this way, DS Capital and its private equity fund, the Mars Fund, would purchase a total of approximately 162 million shares of Apple stock, costing approximately 760 million pounds!

In this way, the Apple stock they held at this time accounted for approximately 22.5% of Apple’s total shares outstanding, becoming its single largest shareholder.

Chapter 192: Beach Villa

It could be said that the new investment from the Mars Fund this time was almost entirely used for the purchase of Apple Inc. shares.

In addition, DS Capital had also raised over 250 million pounds through financing to join in.

When Barron’s other investments yielded returns and he had more available funds, he would use a “left hand to right hand” approach to make the allocation of the Mars Fund on the US stock market more balanced, transferring more Apple Inc. shares to DS Capital.

This was also the advantage of having his own sizable private equity fund, allowing for more flexibility and composure in their asset allocation.

Of course, in addition to these large-scale purchases of Apple Inc. shares, the sporadic acquisition of its circulating shares in the secondary market had also never stopped.

It was worth mentioning that when reaching an agreement with Jobs to acquire his 55 million shares of Apple Inc., Barron personally spoke with him, expressing his support and confidence in Jobs.

He stated that his purchase of Apple Inc. shares was entirely based on his confidence in this great company and in Apple Inc. led by Jobs, and therefore they would always stand by him to support his leadership of the company.

Furthermore, DS Capital had no intention of acquiring Apple Inc.; they were purely making a financial investment.

This conversation also, to a certain extent, dispelled some of Jobs’ doubts about DS Capital.

After all, Barron wasn’t confident that if he were to acquire Apple Inc., the company could still successfully develop the future iPhone, such a groundbreaking smartphone.

Therefore, he could only trust Jobs and support him in leading Apple Inc.

Considering these reasons, DS Capital’s final holding in Apple Inc. would not exceed 30%.

After being forced to leave Apple Inc., which he had founded, in 1985, Jobs later founded NeXT, a company focused on developing high-end workstations and operating systems, as well as the animation film company Pixar.

Finally, in 1996, Jobs returned to Apple Inc. – Apple Inc. was already in trouble and crisis at the time, and Jobs could be said to have been entrusted with a critical mission.

After a series of reforms and innovations, he introduced new products such as the iMac and iPod.

Barron knew this was just the beginning, and it was only after the iPhone and iPad appeared that Apple Inc. would begin its journey to dominate the mobile smart device market.

…

It was also because of this contribution to the acquisition of Apple Inc. that the relationship between Sequoia Capital and Barron became closer.

The two parties agreed that Sequoia Capital would invest 10 million US dollars in Woaw Company, holding 10% of the company’s shares.

In other words, they assessed Woaw Company’s post-investment valuation at 100 million US dollars.

This sum of money would be used by Woaw Company to establish a new branch and a medium-sized data center in the United States to develop the North American market.

In fact, the thing that Barron was most satisfied with about Sequoia Capital, besides the company’s influence in Silicon Valley, was that as a venture capital firm, they were more focused on “making money,” so they were more inclined towards financial investment and wouldn’t have much interest in the future control of Woaw.

Of course, in their previous investments, Sequoia Capital had indeed “removed” many founders and “reformed” companies, but Woaw was not a startup founded by novices; with him, Sequoia Capital would not be able to do these things.

…

In mid-August, Barron once again arrived in the United States aboard a Gulfstream G400, with the plane first landing in the West Coast city of Los Angeles.

Because his relationship with Bonnie was currently in a cooling-off period, and Tamara was also a bit too enthusiastic, Barron took this opportunity to relax.

In addition, Rebecca had finished filming the third season of “Downton Abbey.” Although her belly wasn’t that obvious yet, she had started wearing looser clothes, and Barron took this opportunity to bring her to the United States as well.

After discussing with the girl, she decided to stay in Los Angeles to await the birth of their child. On the one hand, the climate here was quite good, and on the other hand, it was close to Hollywood. As a person born into an acting family, Rebecca also planned to take this opportunity to learn more things and not be limited to the profession of acting.

Therefore, after arriving in Los Angeles, Barron purchased a seaside villa on Malibu Beach to settle Rebecca.

“Darling, will you come to see me often?”

“Don’t worry, baby, I’ll have a lot of business here in the future, so I’ll come often.”

This villa was very satisfactory to Rebecca, and Malibu Beach was also a place where many wealthy people and celebrities gathered. It was said that not far from them, next door, was a villa owned by Angelina Jolie and her boyfriend.

Not only did he prepare a villa for her, but Barron also hired a maid and comprehensive private medical services locally. Until Rebecca gave birth, a team of more than ten people would take care of her.

At this time, Rebecca was just 20 years old and would turn 21 in two months. She had not kept her pregnancy a secret from her family.

Her parents had already separated, and soon, Rebecca’s mother would come to Los Angeles to stay with her.

…

Of course, Barron wasn’t entirely in the United States for a vacation this time. After learning that he had arrived in Los Angeles, Netflix CEO Hastings specifically held a banquet for him.

Netflix’s headquarters was in California. After the previous investment of 21 million US dollars in Netflix, DS Capital currently held 14.6% of Netflix’s shares, making it a relatively important investor in the company.

Compared to the last time Daisy came here to meet with Hastings, the latter’s attitude towards DS Capital and Barron Cavendish had changed a lot by now. After seeing Barron, he was very enthusiastic.

The reason for this was that, over this period, DS Capital, as one of Netflix’s major shareholders, had not interfered with their company’s operations, and could even be said to have been almost completely unobtrusive, which greatly reassured Hastings and no longer worried that the other party would threaten his control of the company.

It could be said that he was very satisfied with the cooperation with DS Capital.

In addition, DS Capital was also a shareholder of the Sinclair Group, a top television broadcasting company in the United States. This identity also greatly increased Barron’s value in Hastings’ eyes.

This made it understandable that he was so enthusiastic at this time. After welcoming Barron at the villa door, he personally led him to introduce the guests of the day to the young Duke.

Because it was a banquet in Los Angeles, and Netflix itself was involved in film-related business, those who came here included some senior executives from film companies and many well-known actors.

“This one probably doesn’t need an introduction, Your Grace.”

Hastings said to Barron with a smile when he led Barron to a beautiful, blonde woman with a lot of charm.

“Of course, I’ve seen many of Ms. Kidman’s works.”

Barron said with a smile.

Nicole Kidman, who had just won the Oscar for Best Actress in March of this year, still looked radiant, although she was already 36 years old.

Chapter 193: Netflix’s Challenge

The United States now was no longer like the first half of the last century, when it still had such a strong filter of adoration for the nobility of the United Kingdom.

At that time, the North American “bumpkins” really were like fans following idols, imitating the lives of the British aristocracy.

Newspapers were also happy to report extensively on the gossip and details of the British aristocracy’s gatherings.

There were even dedicated “cheering squads” that followed the Queen’s daily attire, diet, and even her pets, happily imitating them.

But today, as the United States has surpassed the United Kingdom and even the whole of Europe in terms of economy and culture, the so-called “British aristocracy” is not so popular in the United States, at most serving as a finishing touch.

The only exception was the British royal family, or perhaps it’s “distance makes the heart grow fonder,” as the United States’ attention and enthusiasm for the British royal family still existed.

The wedding of the Prince of Wales and Princess Diana was broadcast most wildly in North America, becoming one of the highest-rated television programs in the United States in the 1980s. At the time, their union satisfied many people’s fantasies of a prince and a princess in a fairy tale.

It was like the enthusiasm that Barron felt at this moment. Besides his identity as a duke, more importantly, was the wealth and influence he possessed at this time.

At this time, Nicole Kidman had divorced Tom Cruise two years ago and was focusing on her own career.

“I’ve also been a producer before. That was a horror film, and it should be released in two months…”

It could be seen that Nicole Kidman was still very enthusiastic about this young and handsome British duke. At first, the two talked about some interesting things in Hollywood in a corner of the hall, but both Barron and Nicole were too eye-catching, and people occasionally came over to greet them.

So later, at Nicole’s invitation, Barron went with her to the balcony on the second floor, where they could chat freely without being disturbed.

It has to be said that Nicole was a very good speaker, making Barron feel like a spring breeze, very pleased. In the end, he also poured out some enthusiasm for Nicole…

…

Almost a year had passed since DS Capital invested in Netflix.

Now, Netflix’s stock price had risen to over 25 dollars per share.

Compared to last October when Netflix’s stock price was about to fall below 5 dollars, the current stock price had risen by more than 400%.

Even if calculated based on the price of 10 dollars per share when DS Capital invested in Netflix and obtained its newly issued shares, Netflix’s current stock price had risen by more than 150%!

The main reason for this was that Netflix’s subscriber base had now exceeded 1 million people, and they had successfully started to make a profit after the dot-com bubble.

Although the current Netflix was called an internet company, in fact, they had not yet been involved in the streaming media service that would later make its market value take off directly, but was only a company that rented out DVDs—what made them different from Blockbuster, the giant of the DVD rental business at the time, was only that they put this business online.

But recently, Hastings was not so relaxed either, because their biggest competitor at this time had also begun to get involved in online rental services.

Blockbuster, which entered the DVD rental industry in 1985, made a bold move, starting with a large chain of stores to enter the market—it spent 6 million dollars to build warehouses, and with richer film resources, it expanded wildly.

In 1989, a new Blockbuster store opened every 17 hours, and they were all opened in high-traffic areas.

At its peak, Blockbuster claimed that “70% of Americans could find a Blockbuster store within a 10-minute drive.”

However, what many users complained about was that Blockbuster would charge customers “late fees” for not returning DVDs on time.

This revenue alone accounted for more than 10% of Blockbuster’s total revenue. At most, Blockbuster collected 800 million dollars in late fees, accounting for 16% of its total revenue.

More and more customers felt unhappy about late fees, and this also became the entry point for Netflix’s establishment in 1997.

Later, in an interview, Netflix founder Hastings claimed that he initially started his business because he forgot to return a movie and was forced to pay 40 dollars by Blockbuster.

As for whether this was true, it was difficult to investigate further.

Netflix’s model put the rental business online, and there were no late fees—order DVDs online, and they would be mailed offline.

In 2000, Netflix lost 57.4 million dollars and was on the verge of collapse…

At that time, Hastings found Blockbuster and suggested that Blockbuster acquire them for 50 million dollars, and Netflix could help Blockbuster manage its online business.

In response, Blockbuster directly refused. They didn’t look down on Netflix at all, and they felt that with their own resources, they could easily develop a similar business.

This was a bit like when Mr. Pony wanted to sell OICQ to Sina for 1.5 million dollars, but was rejected by Sina. The reason was that Sina’s technicians felt that OICQ was too simple, they could make it in a month, and it wasn’t worth that much money…

But Blockbuster at the time did have such confidence. As long as they were willing, even if Netflix had a first-mover advantage, they would inevitably lose.

At the beginning of this year, Netflix announced that it had reached one million subscribers, which also caught the attention of Blockbuster CEO John Antioco, who began to pay attention to online rentals.

Next, Blockbuster spent 1 million dollars to acquire a small online DVD rental company, and Antioco gave a sum of money to one of his subordinates named Evangelis, allowing him to operate independently.

This Evangelis spent six months directly copying Netflix.

So now Netflix was facing direct competition from Blockbuster’s online business.

When Hastings chatted with Barron, he also talked about this matter. It could be said that he was still facing a formidable enemy at this time.

But Barron didn’t care too much about this, because he knew that although Blockbuster’s online business had put a lot of pressure on Netflix, they were destined to fail.

The main reason was that it seemed that Blockbuster’s biggest enemy in its online business was Netflix, but in fact, their biggest enemy was Blockbuster itself, or rather, their overly powerful offline store business.

Many of Blockbuster’s offline stores were franchise stores, and those store managers, out of their own interests, would resist the company’s promotion of online business—if everyone rented DVDs online, the stores’ revenue would naturally be greatly affected…

This was like Kodak, which invented digital cameras, freezing them for its own film industry, and eventually being eliminated by digital cameras.

So, in his words, Barron expressed his support for Hastings and said that if needed, DS Capital was willing to continue investing in Netflix.

This move of his once again gained Hastings’ favor…

It was just that Netflix was not short of funds now. After all, they had already achieved profitability, and they had not yet been involved in the streaming media business that required burning money.

But speaking of streaming media business, Barron naturally knew that it was also a very promising track in the future.

It was like in the future, this place would gather giants such as Netflix, Amazon, Disney, and YouTube.

But it was too early to consider this now, after all, the current broadband speed had not yet reached the conditions to allow it to explode.

Even DailyVideo.com, jointly launched by O2 Telecom and the SEM Group, also limited the size of videos that users could upload because of the broadband transmission speed.

Otherwise, why would the original timeline YouTube appear in 2005, and Netflix’s streaming media business also start to develop after that?

Chapter 194: Rushing Over Overnight

“Are you leaving here soon?”

“Yes, I’m going to Silicon Valley today.”

“Oh… I’ll miss you.”

It was obvious that Nicole was very satisfied with Barron’s performance last night. In her eyes, not to mention Barron’s identity and wealth, just his handsome appearance and young, powerful body were enough to fascinate her.

“If that’s the case, we shouldn’t waste time. We should exercise again this beautiful morning…”

Thus, while Barron was sweating profusely, Nicole could only be heard exclaiming:

“You’re so amazing, baby…”

…

Just like Barron had said to Nicole Kidman, after staying in Los Angeles for three days and settling Rebecca, Barron took his entourage to Silicon Valley, which wasn’t far from Los Angeles.

To be honest, being with Nicole gave Barron more of a sense of psychological satisfaction. After all, in his previous life, he had seen some of her movies, and Nicole Kidman’s beautiful image on the screen was deeply imprinted in Barron’s heart.

And at this moment, even though she still took good care of herself, she was still in her thirties, and there was still some difference compared to those tender girls around twenty years old.

After arriving in Silicon Valley, Barron first accepted Steve Jobs’ invitation to visit Apple - at this time, Apple’s name was still “Apple Computer Company,” and it wasn’t until 2007 in the original timeline that it was renamed “Apple Inc.”

“Is this your latest iPod? It looks very special.”

Accompanied by Steve Jobs, Barron saw a beautiful gadget in Apple’s R&D department.

“Yes, we plan to name it the iPod mini. This will be a very cool MP3, with simplified operation, very lightweight, and easy to carry for exercise.”

“When will it be available?”

“It will take some time, because our current production lines mostly need to be allocated to the second generation iPod…”

Seeing that Barron liked this MP3 named “iPod mini,” Steve Jobs said to him:

“But you don’t need to wait, Your Grace. This iPod mini in your hand is a gift we prepared for you.”

“That’s great, Steve. I think I’ll wear it to listen to music when I run in the future.”

After walking into Steve Jobs’ office together, leaving the other members of the entourage outside, Steve Jobs said to Barron:

“Thank you for your support, Your Grace. I believe that as our iPod supports more systems, the sales of the next generation iPod will break through, after all, it is so exquisite.”

Although Steve Jobs said so, he was probably more focused on stabilizing Barron, the major shareholder of Apple. After all, if he were really so confident, he wouldn’t have directly sold most of his Apple shares.

But he probably didn’t expect that the facts would be exactly as he said. From the next generation iPod, Apple established its position in the MP3 market, and the sales of each subsequent generation of iPod kept breaking records.

It can be said that before the iPhone appeared, a large part of Apple’s market value was supported by the iPod…

Even the unique design of the iPhone could be said to have been carried over from the iPod.

“I’m also very sure of this, Steve, otherwise I wouldn’t keep increasing my holdings in Apple.”

Barron said with a smile:

“Of course, the premise is that you continue to lead Apple forward, because my confidence in Apple is largely derived from you.”

“I’m very honored to hear you say that.”

The thing that Steve Jobs was most satisfied with about Barron was his statement about his position in Apple.

After all, having experienced being forced to leave Apple, which he founded, Steve Jobs was still very sensitive to such things.

And a major shareholder who could give him great trust and support was also what he hoped to see.

…

“Your Grace, Ms. Kidman has arrived.”

“Please get my bathrobe, Laura.”

Hearing Barron’s words, Laura went to his bedroom and found the bathrobe specially prepared for Barron.

The bathroom door was opened, and in the steam-filled room, she saw Barron lying in the huge bathtub.

Feeling her breathing quicken a bit, Laura steadied herself and said softly:

“I’ve got it, Your Grace.”

“Put it over there, I’ll be down in a moment.”

Although most of Barron’s body was in the bathtub, through the mist, Laura could still see his upper body’s muscle lines, like ancient Greek sculptures.

Hearing his words, Laura responded and turned to leave.

While she felt relieved, it seemed that deep inside, a vague sense of loss arose…

…

In Mountain View, Silicon Valley, Barron stayed at the best hotel here and directly booked the top two floors of the hotel. Bodyguards brought by him guarded the elevators and passages, and outsiders were not allowed to enter.

As Barron’s personal assistant, Laura lived in the presidential suite on the top floor with Barron.

And tonight, the guest who arrived here was Nicole Kidman, who had just rushed over from Los Angeles.

It could be seen that she really had a taste for it. She was originally planning to attend an event these two days, but as luck would have it, for some reason, that event was postponed.

Therefore, thinking of the handsome duke, she decisively rushed to Silicon Valley overnight from Los Angeles to meet this “little lover.”

“Ms. Kidman, His Grace will be down soon. Please wait a moment.”

“Thank you, I’ll just wait for him here.”

Laura’s gaze swept over the Hollywood actress who was obviously well-dressed. Although she had a smile on her face when she left, she still couldn’t help but complain in her heart: old woman~

After all, as far as she knew, Ms. Kidman’s age was more than a full cycle older than His Grace. She really didn’t know how His Grace could take a liking to her, was it just because of her fame?

…

When Laura woke up the next day, she didn’t feel too good, mainly because of the embarrassing scenes in her dreams last night, which made her feel very tired, somehow.

She couldn’t be blamed for thinking too much, mainly because of those sounds that reached the room…

It directly made her unable to fall asleep until very late, and even before, listening to those sounds, she couldn’t help but imagine some… pictures.

The soundproofing of the hotel was still quite good. If it was in Barron’s master bedroom, then Laura wouldn’t hear too much noise, no matter how loud the “recitation” over there was.

But the problem was that the sounds she heard weren’t in Barron’s bedroom, but right outside her living room…

Well, that’s not quite accurate, it should be that the living room, balcony, and other places all had…

It really caused a great deal of interference with Laura’s sleep.

Of course, she wouldn’t admit that she couldn’t help but press her ear against the door to listen later…

Anyway, the end result was that before she went to bed last night, she had to change her underwear again.

She looked at the time, Laura quickly got out of bed and started to wash up…

“Your Grace…”

“Are you up, Laura? Then call and have the hotel send up breakfast for two.”

Seeing Barron, Laura couldn’t help but think of last night’s… her face flushed a bit, but after hearing what he said, she still curiously asked:

“Ms. Kidman, she…”

“She just left, she has an event to attend today, just the two of us can eat.”

Hearing that Nicole Kidman had already left, Laura breathed a sigh of relief, and couldn’t help but admire the other party. After such an intense and prolonged… last night, she could still leave early in the morning to attend an event…

You know, last night, there were several times when Laura thought that the Hollywood actress’s voice was going to be ruined…

Chapter 195: Google Stock

In fact, in the current Silicon Valley, there was another company that greatly interested Barron, and that was Google.

However, it was a pity that since 1999, after Sequoia Capital and KPCB, two of the most well-known venture capital firms in America, jointly invested a record-breaking 25 million US dollars in Google, the company hadn’t received any further financing until its IPO.

It was worth mentioning that after participating in this round of Google’s financing, KPCB’s John Doerr had once complained:

“I have never invested so much money in a startup and received so few shares.”

However, Google’s performance after its IPO later dispelled all his previous dissatisfaction.

Barron had also inquired through Sequoia Capital whether Google might still consider financing, and he also hoped to participate…

However, Morris still indicated that the possibility was not high, because Sequoia Capital was also very concerned about this, but from the information received from Google’s two founders, it was estimated that the next time Google would seek financing would be its IPO.

And this time would likely be next year.

Therefore, theoretically speaking, if Barron wanted to invest in Google, he could only participate in subscribing for their publicly issued shares at that time…

Even so, Barron still hadn’t given up, and he set his sights on the investors who currently held shares in Google.

Of course, Sequoia Capital and KPCB were out of the question, but there were still other early investors who held shares in Google.

For example, Andy Bechtolsheim, who was the first to invest 100,000 US dollars in Google, was the teacher of Google’s two investors and also the co-founder of Sun Microsystems.

In addition, there was Amazon’s founder, Jeff Bezos, who also participated in Google’s early investment.

However, without exception, these people refused to sell their shares in Google at this time, even though the price Barron offered seemed very attractive at the moment.

You had to know that last year, Yahoo, which was still in its prime, wanted to acquire Google, and they offered 3 billion US dollars, while Google countered with 5 billion US dollars, and then, Yahoo gave up on the acquisition…

And now, Barron offered a company valuation of 6 billion US dollars for the acquisition of Google’s shares, which was twice the price Yahoo had offered last year.

However, DS Capital had gained something from Yahoo.

From 2000, Yahoo had been cooperating with Google, with Google providing search services for Yahoo.

In this process, Yahoo had invested 10 million US dollars in Google, holding approximately 5% of its shares.

After failing to acquire Google last year, the competition between Yahoo and Google became increasingly apparent. Therefore, when DS Capital proposed to acquire their shares in Google, Yahoo showed some interest.

Barron wasn’t surprised that Yahoo would respond to his proposal to acquire their shares in Google; after all, Yahoo had made quite a few questionable moves in this area.

They gave up on acquiring Google for 5 billion, and later acquired Facebook for 1 billion, but before signing the contract, they lowered the price to 850 million, and Zuckerberg angrily refused this kind of thing, not to mention.

Even the Google shares they held now would be sold off before their IPO…

Well, the most absurd thing was that during Google’s IPO, they sold their Google shares at a price of 82 US dollars per share, which was lower than Google’s IPO price of 85 US dollars…

Since that was the case, Barron had no psychological burden to buy their Google shares in advance now.

However, for Yahoo’s approximately 5% stake in Google, DS Capital’s offer was 300 million US dollars, and Yahoo thought the price was a bit low, so they countered with 350 million US dollars…

Then DS Capital agreed.

Of course, the team sent to negotiate with the other party put on a show of going back and forth, making a gesture of “making friends,” and finally reluctantly agreed.

So the two parties reached an agreement, with DS Capital acquiring 12.6 million shares of Google held by Yahoo for 350 million US dollars, accounting for about 5% of its current total share capital.

In addition to Yahoo, DS Capital had also reached an agreement with AOL.

Last year, when Google was cooperating with America Online (AOL), they had an agreement that they granted AOL the right to purchase its shares at a price of 3 US dollars per share, and AOL could purchase up to 7.4 million shares of Google at this price.

In the original timeline, when Google went public, the Time Warner Group, where AOL was located, exercised this authorization. At that time, Google’s IPO price was 85 US dollars, meaning this agreement earned AOL at least 600 million US dollars in additional revenue.

However, this wouldn’t happen now, because after the merger of Time Warner and AOL, their operating conditions were not ideal. Therefore, after DS Capital proposed to buy out their agreement for 185 million US dollars, AOL readily agreed.

After all, AOL’s revenue from cooperating with Google last year was only 35 million US dollars.

DS Capital’s offer meant that they could only profit if Google’s stock price exceeded 28 US dollars per share, and this price corresponded to a Google company valuation of over 7 billion US dollars.

And in AOL’s view, Google’s future market value might indeed exceed 7 billion US dollars, but how long would that take? Compared to waiting for that, taking the money now and making a significant profit for the company, the future was too uncertain.

After all, the CEOs of these listed companies had a term of office, and it was most important to achieve more profits for the company within this term, thereby obtaining more bonuses and shares.

The equity transfer agreement signed by DS Capital and AOL stipulated that the right to purchase Google shares held by AOL would be owned by DS Capital.

Thus, just the Google shares from Yahoo and AOL would cost DS Capital 535 million US dollars to purchase. Including the purchase cost of 3 US dollars per share for exercising the options held by AOL, the total amount would reach 557 million US dollars.

So, after DS Capital exercised AOL’s agreement to purchase Google shares, they would hold approximately 20 million shares of Google, accounting for 7.7% of Google’s total share capital at that time!

Of course, Barron’s primary problem now was the need to solve the funding issue.

By late August, benefiting from the significant increase in revenue from NetEase’s SMS and gaming businesses, NetEase’s stock price also continued to rise, reaching a high of 50 US dollars.

Barron knew that NetEase’s stock price would reach a record high of 55.85 US dollars, and later even exceeded 70 US dollars—of course, this didn’t last long.

However, in addition to the NetEase shares obtained through the previous public offering, DS Capital had previously held 4.3 million shares of NetEase, accounting for about 14% of their total share capital, so it was impossible to sell them all at the highest stock price.

At this time, Daisy had begun to sell NetEase shares in the secondary market.

It was worth mentioning that when Barron’s DS Capital first purchased NetEase shares, the founder of BBK, Duan Yongping, had already started to acquire NetEase shares.

At that time, he bought about 2 million US dollars worth of NetEase shares at a low price of less than 1 US dollar per share, but he didn’t keep these shares until now; he had gradually sold them off after NetEase’s stock price exceeded 30 US dollars…

Chapter 196: Big Shots

As planned, if the sale of NetEase’s shares went smoothly, they would be able to recover over 200 million US dollars from their 4.3 million shares of NetEase stock.

The remaining funds had already been agreed upon with Goldman Sachs by Barron. This would be resolved by mortgaging his shares in Sinclair Group and some of his shares in Apple.

During his time in Silicon Valley, Barron, in addition to completing the acquisition of Google shares, also established the North American branch of Woaw Company with the help of Sequoia Capital.

The main work of Woaw’s North American branch was to be responsible for the operation of the Woaw website in North America. To this end, they would also build a data center here—because of the policies of the United States, the data of North American users must be kept locally, so this data center was essential for developing the North American market.

This was also a suggestion from Sequoia Capital, which had rich internet experience, to Woaw Company, as a precaution. After all, when their scale developed to a certain extent, even if Woaw was a British company and a “close ally” of the United States, it would still inevitably be “watched” by relevant departments in the United States.

It was the same reason why companies like Google and Microsoft would also face various restrictions in Europe.

At the same time, Woaw’s North American branch would also establish an R&D center in Silicon Valley to research some new technologies for the future development of the internet.

……

“This is Mr. Larry Fink of BlackRock, one of the fastest-growing wealth management companies in the past twenty years.”

“Hello, Mr. Fink, it’s a pleasure to meet you.”

Under the introduction of Goldman Sachs President Paulson, Barron had a pleasant conversation with the founder and CEO of BlackRock.

BlackRock was a household name to Barron in his previous life. It was originally a fund management department that spun off from Blackstone. After more than thirty years of development by Larry Fink, by the time Barron was reborn, it had become a top wealth management company managing over ten trillion US dollars in assets.

However, at this time, before the 2008 subprime mortgage crisis, Goldman Sachs’ “invincible reputation” had not been broken, and BlackRock had not yet developed to its later scale. Therefore, in front of Paulson, Larry Fink still behaved with enough respect.

It was only a gathering hosted by Goldman Sachs that could invite so many “big shots” today. So far, Barron had met the presidents of Bridgewater Associates, Las Vegas Sands, and the second generation of the Amway family, these powerful figures.

Up to now, the scale of cooperation between Barron and Goldman Sachs had reached billions of dollars, making him a “big client” that Goldman Sachs could not ignore. It was also because of this that Goldman Sachs President Paulson specifically took some time tonight to accompany Barron and introduce these people to him.

It was only recently that Barron had continuously purchased large quantities of Apple and Google shares that he had gained some recognition in front of these people. His previous investments in the United States were, in their eyes, just small-scale ventures.

Even so, the asset scale currently managed by DS Capital still couldn’t be ranked among those fund companies.

After all, the fund management scale of Mars Fund had just exceeded 1 billion pounds, while the fund management scale of the fund management department that originally spun off from Blackstone when BlackRock was first established had already reached 1 billion US dollars…

“Hello, Mr. Blankfein, it’s a pleasure to see you here.”

Seeing Barron take the initiative to greet him, Lloyd Blankfein was a little surprised. After all, at this time, he was only the head of Goldman Sachs’ Fixed Income, Currency and Commodities (FICC) department. He was able to attend this gathering because FICC had achieved brilliant results in recent years, and it could be said that it had gradually become an important part of Goldman Sachs’ revenue.

“Hello, Duke of Cavendish, it’s an honor to meet you. Your recent investments are very bold.”

“No need to be so polite, Mr. Blankfein, just call me Barron. I’ve heard about you before, they all say you are the most capable person at Goldman Sachs.”

Barron’s praise made Lloyd very pleased, but his words were not wrong. Otherwise, Lloyd Blankfein would not have become the first, and only, employee to join the board of directors after Goldman Sachs went public this year.

The reason for being especially close to Lloyd was also because Barron knew that the current Goldman Sachs President Paulson would retire soon. Before that, Paulson had two recognized successors, but Lloyd Blankfein was not among them.

But because of the outstanding performance of the Fixed Income department he was in charge of—this department led by Lloyd saw its revenue increase from 2.86 billion US dollars in 1999 to 5.59 billion US dollars in 2003, becoming the pillar department of Goldman Sachs—eventually, in December of this year, after Paulson retired, Lloyd Blankfein succeeded as the President and CEO of Goldman Sachs, becoming the most powerful person in this financial empire.

Taking advantage of the fact that Lloyd had not yet ascended to that position, Barron was also happy to get closer to him.

Not only did Barron have this idea, but Lloyd was also very proactive in responding to Barron’s initiative to show goodwill.

After all, one of the main achievements of John Thornton, who was one of his competitors for “climbing to the top” of Goldman Sachs, was successfully bringing Goldman Sachs’ business into the European and Asian markets.

And within Goldman Sachs’ European market, the cooperation with Barron in Britain was also a very important project.

Then Lloyd naturally hoped to deepen the friendship with Barron, a key partner in Goldman Sachs’ European business.

In addition to these, during this gathering, Barron also met some people who were quite interested in his Mars Fund. These included Las Vegas Sands’ boss Sheldon Adelson and Steve Van Andel from the Amway family.

Although the fund size was vastly different compared to behemoths like Blackstone, Bridgewater, and even BlackRock, Mars Fund’s returns in the past year were very impressive—after all, the larger the fund, the harder it was to maintain a high rate of return. Those fixed income funds were the ones with the largest fund volume, and the annual rate of return of these funds would not even exceed 10%!

But similarly, for Adelson and Steve, putting a portion of their funds in a “small” fund like Mars Fund with a high rate of return was also part of their asset allocation.

Especially for Adelson, who had abundant funds…

Of course, at this time, they were just getting to know each other at the beginning, and it was far from the time to finally finalize the cooperation.

But this gathering did indeed bring Barron a lot of gains. At the very least, the many connections he had made would be very useful for his future development here in the United States.

Chapter 197: Amanda

Compared to the reception with the Goldman Sachs Group, the party that John Smith and Jennie Booth. of the Sinclair family held for him after Barron went to New York was much more relaxed.

After all, this party was mainly for young people, and there wasn’t much commercial scheming between them. Most of their friends were the second generation of the wealthy and powerful families, and they generally had the attitude of enjoying life.

When Barron first met John Smith, he used the Booth. family as a link, and after both sides held shares, his relationship with the Sinclair family could be considered close.

Uh, perhaps Jennie Booth. didn’t know that her sister-in-law was already pregnant with Barron’s child, otherwise, the atmosphere between them would probably be a little awkward…

“Actually, I’ve always been curious, what is life like for you British nobles? Is it really like on TV? For example, Downton Abbey, I know that novel is your creation.”

The blonde beauty sitting next to Barron now, chatting with him, was also someone he had just been introduced to.

Amanda Hearst, just nineteen years old this year, was still a student at Boston University.

However, this girl with a graceful figure and exquisite face also had another identity, which was the great-granddaughter of William Randolph Hearst, the founder of the Hearst Corporation, a media empire. At the same time, she was also the heir to the Hearst family.

“Actually, the life of the nobility now is very different from the traditional noble life in Downton Abbey. After all, we don’t live in history, and we also need to step into modern society. I’m afraid Miss Hearst should be able to see this in Jennie.”

What was interesting was that among these “second generation” individuals, the identity that made Barron more approachable was not his wealth—at least that wasn’t the main factor—but his noble identity and his identity as the author of Downton Abbey…

Barron himself was extremely handsome, and compared to the “second generation” from these American wealthy families, the unique posture and temperament that Barron had cultivated in a British aristocratic family since childhood also had a great attraction for the girls present.

However, among these wealthy young ladies, Amanda could be said to be the most outstanding in appearance, so Barron was happy to have more contact with her.

“But the Chatsworth House I saw in Downton Abbey really has a very charming temperament. If I have the chance, I hope I can also go to Britain to visit there.”

“You are very welcome, Amanda, and I can personally introduce it to you then…”

Under Amanda’s “protest”, Barron no longer called her “Miss Hearst”, but directly called her by her name, and Amanda was the same:

“Then I’ll remember it, I’m already preparing to make Chatsworth House my next destination in Britain.”

“I’m just afraid that you’ll be disappointed then, after all, I’ve also heard of your family’s Hearst Castle, which is a miracle of architecture.”

If God had money, he would probably build such a residence for himself.

This was what the musician George Bernard Shaw said after visiting Hearst Castle.

At the most glorious time of the Hearst family, one out of every four newspapers in the United States belonged to their family.

Hearst Castle was a luxurious castle built by its founder, William Randolph Hearst, for himself on the top of the Santa Lucia Mountains near San Simeon Bay in central California, during the most glorious period of the Hearst Corporation.

This castle was designed by the female architect Julia Morgan starting in 1919, and it took 28 years and cost 165 million US dollars. The entire building has a European Mediterranean style, and the gardens are Italian and Spanish style, integrating natural beauty, architectural beauty, and artistic beauty.

You must know that that was 165 million US dollars in the early twentieth century! In 1919, the average annual income of American workers was only 600 US dollars…

“Actually, I haven’t lived there either, and I feel that Chatsworth House has more historical depth compared to Hearst Castle…”

Amanda’s words were also true. Hearst Castle was donated to the California government by the Hearst family in 1957, and it has been open to the public ever since—it was initially free to the public, but later, in order to maintain the castle, each visiting tourist would be charged a fee of 25 US dollars.

But Barron remembered that in the original timeline, more than ten years later, the heir to the Hearst family in front of him held her wedding at Hearst Castle…

As for this world now, it was unknown whether there would be any changes…

…

John Smith was also very satisfied with the cooperation between the Barclays Group and the SEM Group. Besides the fact that Downton Abbey had also achieved a considerable viewership rating in the United States, their filmed American version of the reality show The Traitors had also become a hugely popular variety show.

It could be said that although it was almost the same process—the American version of The Traitors almost copied the British original in terms of the filming of the show, whether it was the filming location, the rules, or the game—but from the final effect, the American version of The Traitors was more interesting.

Because the original British version, the contestants invited, were still slightly lacking in terms of variety show effects due to it being the first season.

The American version of The Traitors invited many American reality show stars, including popular contestants who had participated in reality shows such as Survivor, Big Brother, and The Amazing Race, such as Rob, Amanda, Dan, and Ozzy, and the show effects of these people were naturally better than pure ordinary people.

The results of this series of cooperation also elevated John Smith’s status in the family, so this time, he valued the SEM Group’s new variety show Love Island, which was extremely popular in Britain, and hoped to introduce this show to the United States again.

Barron himself was also happy to see this happen, as long as the other party could offer a price that satisfied them.

In the beginning, SDTV did indeed rely more on importing some film and television variety content from the Sinclair Group to fill their broadcast time.

But with the development of the SEM Group, especially after a series of acquisitions and the enrichment of the personnel of Top Summit Studio, their program production capabilities have also been strengthened, and the proportion of imported and purchased programs in the content broadcast on SDTV has greatly decreased.

Therefore, when selling their variety show production rights to the outside world, especially to the Sinclair Group, they would also be more confident.

And with the success of the American version of The Traitors, this variety show has also been purchased for production rights by television stations in many countries including the Netherlands, Germany, and Australia. These successes have made the competition for some of their subsequent variety shows even more fierce, so I’m afraid that the competitors for Love Island in the United States alone are not just the Sinclair Group, and it will also be easier for them to obtain licensing fees far exceeding the previous ones.

Anyway, these matters would be left to the people below to negotiate, and Barron would just express his attitude at most.

Chapter 198: Purchasing Time

Normally, if it were gossip about the British royal family, like Prince William breaking up or getting a new girlfriend, it would still get widespread coverage in American newspapers.

However, someone with the status of a duke, like Barron, probably only gets the attention of a third-tier celebrity.

But because he and his girlfriend were both the authors of Downton Abbey, the Sinclair Group had also hyped him up to a certain extent when they introduced the television series and the reality show Traitor. Plus, Barron’s looks were indeed off the charts, so his popularity in America was still relatively high. You could say he was approaching the level of a celebrity at this stage.

Especially after he recently purchased a large number of shares in Apple and Google, the reports about his breakup with his girlfriend in the British tabloids also crossed the ocean and were reprinted in the American gossip magazines.

It was also because of this that the socialites in Jenny Booth’s “circle of friends” clearly showed their enthusiasm when they learned that Barron was currently single.

Like Amanda Hearst, who was only nineteen years old and still in school, she had just entered this circle of socialites and didn’t have any scandalous news, making her one of the rare ones who kept a clean image…

…

“I am very sorry, Your Grace. This was a mistake on the part of our hotel. We are expediting the process, and as an apology, our hotel will waive your room fee for today. We hope you can understand.”

Barron was staying at the Waldorf Hotel on Fifth Avenue in New York.

The hotel manager’s forehead was practically dripping with sweat. After finishing his apology, he respectfully bowed to Barron, awaiting his reply.

“I understand that it was a careless mistake, but I don’t want it to happen again.”

Barron said with a smile, his tone gentle.

Hearing his words, the hotel manager was relieved, and said gratefully:

“Thank you for your generosity, Your Grace. We will send your shirt over immediately.”

After the other party left, Barron put away his smile and looked at Laura, who was a little apprehensive in front of him.

The cause of this incident was that when Barron was about to go out today and was changing clothes, he found that the hotel staff had not delivered his washed and dried clothes on time.

After inquiries, he learned that one of his shirts had gotten stained, and the hotel was handling it.

It was also because of this that the manager of the Waldorf Hotel came to apologize in person.

You see, almost all of Barron’s clothing was custom-made at a specialized clothing store in London. For example, his suits and shirts would have the Devonshire family’s exclusive embroidery patterns.

This kind of mistake would delay his time, which was a serious fault.

Although it was mainly the hotel’s mistake, as Barron’s personal assistant, Laura’s failure to confirm it in a timely manner was also a dereliction of duty.

“Laura, I understand that your job now requires you to handle more and more complex things…”

Barron looked at Laura and said lightly:

“I will also increase the number of people assisting you, but I don’t want this kind of mistake to happen again.”

“Yes, Your Grace, I will not let such a thing happen again.”

When Laura first became Barron’s personal assistant, there weren’t too many things she needed to be responsible for.

On the one hand, it was because Barron’s businesses weren’t so complex at the time, and there weren’t so many things she needed to communicate and convey on the business side.

On the other hand, in Britain at the time, Barron’s life affairs were all handled by the butler and servants.

But as Barron’s assets increased, the things Laura needed to pay attention to increased exponentially.

Especially when she went overseas with the Duke, many of his life affairs also needed her to handle.

Although Barron would stay in the presidential suites of top hotels, and the hotels would often provide him with a dedicated butler and housekeeping staff, Laura also needed to confirm things in a timely manner, including clothing, travel, and diet.

Laura’s current annual salary was 150,000 pounds, which was higher than some company executives, and even higher than the Prime Minister’s salary. However, this money was not so easy to earn, because her job often required her to meet certain demands made by her employer…

For example, when Barron mentioned that he wanted to watch a certain ball game, but the tickets were sold out.

Then Laura would also need to contact the other party immediately and find a way to get VIP box seats for the game.

She had to be able to find a way to fulfill requests of this nature, no matter how spontaneous they were.

She even needed to be involved in luxury goods, art, and various wines, to make suitable choices for Barron’s daily life needs.

In short, the requirements for this position were very high. If Laura needed to adapt at the beginning, then she had to meet these requirements if she wanted to keep her current position.

It was from this incident that Barron had already realized that he needed to increase the number of people on his team to serve him.

These people included Laura’s assistants in various aspects, as well as some professionals.

For example, a personal maid, or a lifestyle secretary, who was specifically responsible for his outings and daily life.

For example, an image assistant who was specifically responsible for his clothing coordination and image design.

For example, a private nutritionist who was specifically responsible for his diet menu.

And so on…

So, people’s adaptability is very strong. When Barron first came to this world and became the heir to a British duke family, he was not used to living like many other nobles, with everything provided for him and having a group of people around him to serve him.

But now, he was very used to it.

Because the reason was very simple: the current Barron had more companies and enterprises under his name, and the lives of countless people depended on his decisions…

Every minute of his was precious.

Therefore, it was impossible for him to waste time like in his previous life, considering how to dress for outings, or personally handling some trivial matters in his life.

Yes, whether they were commoners or the wealthy, they were equal in terms of time; the time they had was the same.

But the difference was that the time of the wealthy and powerful was more valuable!

The value of every minute of their time was far higher than that of ordinary people.

Therefore, in order to save time, or not to waste their energy on trivial matters, they were more willing to spend money to buy “other people’s time,” that is, to hire a huge team to serve them.

After the hotel delivered the processed clothes to Barron, they left the hotel and went to Park Place in Manhattan.

By this time, they were already half an hour behind schedule.

Woolworth Building, located on the side of Park Place in Manhattan, New York.

“Your Grace, the Duke of Cavendish, I am your real estate consultant, Iluna Kostin from XYZ Real Estate. As agreed, I will first take you to see the penthouse apartment in this building. This is also the highest-floor apartment currently for sale, and it has the best location, which is very suitable for your noble status…”

When Barron arrived there, although he had been waiting for more than half an hour, the beautiful female consultant, who was wearing a professional suit and a short skirt with stockings, and was stepping on high heels, did not show the slightest dissatisfaction. She said to Barron with a warm smile.

Chapter 199: Top-Floor Luxury Residence

Even without today’s events, Barron didn’t particularly enjoy staying in hotels.

Of course, for ordinary people, being able to stay in a top-tier hotel’s presidential suite and enjoy impeccable service was a privilege.

But even hotels like the Waldorf, their service was still just average for Barron.

And most importantly, when traveling overseas, like staying in a hotel now, just the luggage for his everyday clothes and necessities required more than a dozen suitcases, especially for longer stays.

And it wasn’t as convenient as his own residence.

Therefore, thinking that he would often come to New York in the future, Barron simply decided to purchase a property for his own use.

“As you can see, Your Grace, the Woolworth Building is an iconic skyscraper located in the heart of Manhattan. This building is 241 meters tall and has a total of 58 floors…”

After leading Barron and his entourage into the building’s elevator, the beautiful real estate consultant named Iluna, with a sweet smile, said to Barron:

“The top-floor apartment we’re going to see is located 221 meters above New York City, occupying floors 50 to 58 of the building, with an area of 1,100 square meters. This top-floor luxury residence also has a nearly 40-square-meter private viewing terrace, which can be called a castle in the sky.”

Before coming here, Barron had already seen the relevant introductions and pictures of this luxury residence, otherwise, he wouldn’t have come here specifically for an on-site visit today.

When the elevator reached the 50th floor, after stepping out of the elevator, the beautiful real estate consultant pointed to the grand entrance door opposite and said to Barron:

“Only the owner of this luxury residence or those with permission can directly access this floor via the elevator. Please come inside and take a look…”

When Iluna opened the door to the luxury residence and entered, even Laura, who had seen all sorts of luxurious decorations, couldn’t help but widen her eyes, looking at the exquisite interior design, feeling as if her eyes weren’t enough to take it all in.

Just as the beautiful real estate consultant had introduced before, this top-floor luxury residence spanned eight floors!

Therefore, inside this residence, there was a dedicated elevator connecting all eight floors.

In fact, it could be seen from the exterior of the building that the architectural facade adopted classic elements of Gothic architecture, including pointed arch windows, stone carvings, spires, and copper crowns, giving the building an ancient and solemn charm.

Therefore, although there were eight floors in total, only the bottom three floors were rectangular spaces with the same area. The five floors from the fourth floor upwards were trapezoidal in cross-section, wider at the bottom and narrower at the top.

This was also why the total area of the eight floors was “only” 1,100 square meters…

This eight-story residence had a total of 125 windows, ensuring sufficient natural light inside.

In the decoration design of this apartment, full use was made of the windows, ensuring that all rooms in the apartment could enjoy ample natural light while also providing magnificent city views.

In addition, the design of the central staircase allowed the owner to look down from the main level to the lower levels, not only providing practicality but also adding to the visual appeal of the space.

These design elements together created a bright, spacious, and visually appealing living space.

It was worth mentioning that on the third floor of the residence, there was a 7.3-meter-high ceiling, and the entire floor was designed as a grand living room and entertainment area, fully capable of accommodating a grand party for more than twenty people!

The entire residence had seven bedroom suites and nine bathrooms, especially the master bedroom suite located on the entire seventh floor, which had a huge space, a large bed over 3.5 meters wide, and an oversized bathtub located in front of the floor-to-ceiling window…

Seeing this room, Barron could already imagine the vast amount of knowledge he could learn in this room with the beauties…

In addition, this luxury residence also had a dining table that could accommodate 12 people at the same time, and the large windows on one side allowed one to enjoy the beautiful scenery of Manhattan while dining.

It could be said that everything you could imagine, this luxury residence had it all, including a 15-meter-long swimming pool, a sauna, a gym, a wine cellar, and a tasting room.

Through the introduction of this beautiful real estate consultant, Barron also learned that this building was once the headquarters of Woolworth Five & Dime, and the upper floors of the building were later converted into 33 residential units.

And this luxury residence, which occupied the top eight floors, was the most valuable one!

“Your Grace, the initial asking price for this top-floor luxury residence was 50 million US dollars, but because a suitable buyer had not been found, the price has now been reduced to 30 million US dollars, a full reduction of 20 million US dollars, which is very reasonable…”

Iluna’s figure was considered tall, mainly her curves, which were the peach-shaped type that Europeans loved very much. She wore black stockings, and standing in front of the floor-to-ceiling window, a glimmer of light reflected off them.

She looked at the young and handsome Duke in front of her with a hopeful expression and said:

“Our residence was designed by the most renowned designers, and it is fully equipped and ready to move in. And if you buy it now, we will also give you two years of house cleaning service.”

A price of 30 million US dollars was indeed not cheap at this time, so it was no wonder that the initial asking price of 50 million US dollars had not been sold for a long time, and the price had to be reduced in the end.

But to be honest, Barron was relatively satisfied with this top-floor luxury residence, mainly because the space was large enough. After he equipped it with some butlers and servants later, the owner’s area on the upper floors would also have enough private space.

“Although this place is not particularly satisfactory, it is still acceptable for occasional living.”

Barron looked at the street scene of Manhattan outside the window from the floor-to-ceiling window and said lightly:

“But if there could be a discount, then I might be able to decide to buy it.”

After hearing Barron’s words, the beautiful real estate consultant looked around with her beautiful eyes, glanced at Barron’s personal assistant Laura and the bodyguards beside him, then bit her lip, approached Barron, and whispered:

“Your Grace, can I talk to you privately… about the discount?”

Barron looked at her with a slightly strange expression when he heard her say that:

“Then let’s go upstairs and talk.”

They were currently in the dining room on the sixth floor of this top-floor luxury residence, and upstairs was the master bedroom suite on the seventh floor that they had just seen.

Iluna, upon hearing this, led Barron upstairs.

It had to be said that when going upstairs from behind, looking at the back of this beautiful real estate consultant, especially the view of her short skirt and her slender legs in black stockings, one could indeed feel the exaggerated curves…

Barron had felt before that the most unique design in this master bedroom was the oversized bathtub in front of the floor-to-ceiling window that could accommodate four or five people at the same time. Standing beside the bathtub at this moment, Barron felt the warm sunlight shining through the window onto his body and said to Iluna beside him:

“Tell me, how much more of a discount can you give?”

“To be honest, Your Grace, the current price of this top-floor luxury residence is already very low. At most, we can only reduce it by another 1.5 million US dollars, but…”

As she spoke, Iluna’s eyes were filled with emotion, looking at Barron’s handsome face, and then, she squatted down in front of him…

“As for myself, I can give you some other… discounts.”

It had to be said that as a real estate consultant, the beauty in front of him was indeed amazing with her eloquence, and not only that, she also had many other talents.

For example, her ball skills were also very impressive…

After a very strategic exchange with Barron, she also felt the young Duke’s unique skills and his overflowing creativity…

Well, 28.5 million US dollars, was not unacceptable.

When Barron transformed into a sage, such a thought flashed through his mind.

Chapter 200: The Hearst Sisters

After the beautiful real estate consultant’s “special offer,” Barron bought the top-floor luxury apartment in the Woolworth Building that very day.

After the other party sent people to thoroughly clean the apartment, Barron and his companions could move in.

“Your Grace, the New York branch of DS Capital called. They’ve arranged meetings with the people you wanted them to find, and you’ll meet them tomorrow.”

Of course, Barron wasn’t just here in New York for fun; he had important plans.

With DS Capital’s increasing investments in the US stock market and the American market, they had already established a branch in New York when Daisy came here last time. Many of their operations in the US stock market were also conducted through this branch.

After all, the time difference between London and New York still caused some difficulties for their trading, so it would be better to have a local team handle it directly.

The manager of the DS Capital New York branch was named Devon Stevens. He was previously the head of a small fund company. The fund he managed wasn’t large, and as for performance, it could only be described as mediocre…

However, Devon Stevens was relatively calm and had relatively rich experience in the industry. Therefore, after DS Capital acquired the fund company he managed and used it as the New York branch, Devon Stevens became the manager of the New York branch.

Anyway, he didn’t need to plan investment strategies; he just needed to follow the headquarters’ instructions to operate. In this regard, Devon Stevens’ performance was still quite good.

…

“Barron, when I called you earlier, your assistant said you were busy…”

Seeing Amanda again, she said to Barron with a hint of coquettishness.

Her words reminded Barron that at the time, the beautiful real estate saleswoman was, with eloquent words… giving Barron a private “special offer,” and Barron’s phone was with Laura.

Later, because he had other things to do, he only sent Amanda a message. It seemed that this little girl was a little unhappy.

“I’m sorry, Amanda, I was talking about buying a house at the time.”

“Are you planning to buy a house in New York?”

Hearing Barron’s words, the blonde beauty immediately lost her coquettishness, and surprise flashed in her eyes as she asked Barron.

“Actually, I’ve already bought one.”

“So fast? Where is it?”

“It’s the penthouse apartment in the Woolworth Building. I’ll move in tomorrow. Can I invite you to be a guest then?”

Amanda said happily:

“Of course, I’ve heard of that building. It was priced at 50 million before, but because it was too expensive, it never sold. I didn’t expect you to buy it…”

It seemed that the penthouse apartment did have some fame.

“It just so happened that the price dropped now, to less than 30 million. I thought it was suitable, so I bought it.”

“Well, that’s not bad. It’s just a pity that I don’t have that much money. I heard that the building was designed by Thierry Despont. I’ve always liked that style.”

Speaking of which, Amanda was the heir to the Hearst family, and she would be able to inherit the family’s assets of up to 9 billion dollars in the future. However, she was still just a student now, and even as the daughter of such a wealthy family, the funds she could truly control wouldn’t be too much—of course, it was still many times stronger than ordinary people…

“By the way, Barron, you bought a house in New York. Are you going to live here permanently?”

As she said this, Amanda looked at Barron with anticipation, and it was obvious that she hoped to get a positive answer.

“Because I also have a lot of business here, I may come over frequently in the future. It’s not very convenient to always stay in a hotel…”

Although from Barron’s words, there was still a slight gap from Amanda’s expectations, but thinking that he would also come to New York frequently in the future, Amanda wouldn’t be too disappointed…

“By the way, Amanda, didn’t you say there would be a party today?”

“Ah, I almost forgot. I wanted to take you to meet some of my friends today…”

Reminded by Barron, Amanda looked at the time and took his hand, saying:

“It’s almost time. Let’s go.”

Barron was still staying at the Waldorf Hotel, and it wasn’t too far from the location of the party Amanda mentioned…

“I’ll be there soon, and I’m bringing a friend…”

Hanging up the phone, Amanda met Barron’s gaze, smiled, and said to him:

“It’s my cousin. She’s there today too, and she just asked me when I would arrive…”

Amanda’s cousin? Barron remembered who the other person was, Lydia Hearst. In his previous life, she was also a well-known socialite in America. However, unlike Amanda, Lydia didn’t inherit the family business. She was a model with a sweet appearance.

Sure enough, when Barron and Amanda entered a villa on the Upper East Side, they saw a blonde beauty in a short skirt at the door.

The beauty greeted Amanda and said:

“Sister, you’re late, ah, you…”

Her figure was tall, especially wearing high heels, making her look nearly 175 centimeters tall, slightly taller than Amanda beside Barron.

Looking at Barron, the blonde beauty said:

“I know you. You are Barron Cavendish, the author of Downton Abbey!”

Barron nodded slightly and said very gentlemanly:

“Yes, I am Barron. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“Me too. My name is Lydia Hearst. I really like watching Downton Abbey. Unfortunately, I didn’t bring the book. Can I ask you to sign it for me…”

Earlier on the phone, Lydia heard her cousin say that she was going to bring a friend over, so she was very curious and went to the door in advance to find out.

But she never expected that the person her cousin brought was actually the author of Downton Abbey!

What she said to Barron wasn’t just polite words. Lydia was really a fan of Downton Abbey. She loved both the novel and the subsequent TV series, and when she read in the newspaper that one of the authors, Barron Cavendish, was actually a genuine British duke, and he was so young and handsome, she had a fan’s mentality towards him.

Today, she actually met the person, and Lydia was naturally very excited—although as a model, some of Lydia’s public appearances were quite bold, but in fact, she herself was quite different from those appearances, even a little conservative, and preferred to stay at home rather than noisy parties.

But today, she was very glad she came here, otherwise, she probably wouldn’t have met her “idol.”

Speaking of which, although they were cousins, Amanda and Lydia were both born in 1984, but Amanda was only a few months older than Lydia, so the relationship between the two sisters was still relatively close.

This time, seeing her cousin bring Barron over, Lydia had many questions she wanted to ask her cousin, but in front of Barron, she was still a little shy and could only keep these many questions in her stomach for now.

After the three of them walked into the villa together, they immediately felt they had entered a noisy atmosphere.

In the living room of the villa, there was loud music playing, and some young men and women were sitting on the sofa chatting, while outside in the backyard by the pool, there were also sounds of laughter.

Chapter 201: Who is William?

Barron looked around and saw some familiar faces among the young men and women in the villa.

When Barron and his two companions walked in, they were immediately noticed by the young people. Several gazes turned towards them.

“Dearest Amanda, you’re finally here. And this is…? He looks so familiar!”

The person who came up to Amanda was a blonde girl in a pink dress…

Well, this girl would probably be highly recognizable even in Barron’s previous life in China. The Waldorf Hotel where Barron was currently staying was her family’s property - Paris Hilton, the heiress of the Hilton family, and also the most famous socialite in America at the time.

However, her fame at this time, besides her background in the Hilton family, was probably more due to the video of her that was leaked by her ex-boyfriend when she was eighteen years old…

Unfortunately, Barron had also seen that video in his previous life…

Therefore, when facing this young lady from the Hilton family, especially when her dress was quite daring, Barron couldn’t help but make some associations…

“You are Duke Barron Cavendish?”

The tall girl behind Paris spoke out Barron’s identity.

This girl, whose looks were even sweeter than Paris’, could truly be called “tall,” standing over 180cm…

She was the future American “princess,” Ivanka.

Hearing Ivanka’s words, Paris revealed a suddenly enlightened expression:

“Wow, a real Duke, welcome!”

It was obvious that in the New York “socialite” circle at this time, Paris was still the “center,” the most active one in this kind of gathering.

After taking a seat, Barron found that in New York, gatherings of young people like theirs were nothing more than gossiping or playing games for entertainment…

However, after Barron arrived, Paris showed great enthusiasm towards him.

She sat beside Barron and asked him many questions, occasionally giggling, her gaze always focused on Barron’s face…

Although Paris was a year younger than Barron, being 22 years old this year, she had a rich romantic history.

Judging from her current behavior, she was clearly interested in Barron…

However, Paris’s behavior also made the expressions of the Hearst sisters next to them look not very happy.

They were very dissatisfied with Paris’s behavior of “occupying the magpie’s nest.”

However, dissatisfaction was dissatisfaction. After all, Barron and Amanda were only friends at this time, and there was no further development. Therefore, Amanda wouldn’t have a falling out with Paris on the spot for her very obvious display of intimacy towards Barron.

“Barron, let’s have another drink.”

“I’m sorry, Miss Hilton, I’m not good with alcohol, so I rarely drink…”

Barron himself, in his previous life, had come to this world because of being drunk, so even if he sometimes drank now, he mostly just tasted it and wouldn’t drink too much.

Paris was different. In gatherings like this, she would often start drinking right away. After she had tried to persuade Barron several times and saw that he kept refusing, she felt quite bored. She then joined the others and started dancing to the music.

Perhaps because of the alcohol, Paris gradually became a bit unrestrained. She saw that Barron was still sitting there chatting with the Hearst sisters and Ivanka, so she swayed over, took Barron’s hand, and said to him:

“William, let’s go dance… Oh, no, Barron, but you look like William, just the hair color is different…”

Just as Barron stood up, he felt Paris leaning closely against him.

Barron could smell the mixed scent of perfume and alcohol on the girl. He frowned slightly and said to Paris:

“You’re drunk, Paris, you should rest.”

“No, I’m not drunk, William, let’s go to Booth.r later…”

As she spoke, she stood on her tiptoes and leaned close to Barron, actually pressing a lipstick mark onto his face.

Seeing this scene, Amanda’s face turned a little pale.

And the others, including Ivanka, seemed to have long been accustomed to Paris’s behavior after getting drunk. They just felt a little awkward facing her current situation…

After all, this was Barron’s first time attending their gathering, and he was a British Duke, always behaving politely and being very gentlemanly. The girls, including Ivanka, couldn’t help but have many good feelings towards him.

Well, it’s still the same saying, looks are justice.

“Paris, you’ve gone too far!”

At this moment, Amanda couldn’t help but stand between Paris and Barron, and said to her with a cold face.

“Don’t stop me…”

Paris reached out to push Amanda away, but she was already a bit unsteady. With a sway, her feet slipped, and she fell sideways onto the sofa…

But even so, she was still muttering:

“William, let’s go to Booth.r…”

Booth.r was a very well-known nightclub in New York, and Paris and the others were regulars there…

However, seeing Paris’s appearance at this moment, Ivanka, who had been watching coldly, also came over and called the other two girls to help Paris up, saying to her:

“You go upstairs and rest for a while, Paris.”

“No, I want to go to Booth.r…”

Although she struggled like this, Paris was still taken away by everyone…

“I’m sorry, Barron, for making you encounter such a thing…”

Amanda stood beside Barron, and said to him with an apologetic expression.

“It’s nothing, Amanda, she’s just drunk.”

Barron comforted the girl very gentlemanly, and said:

“It’s just that I’m a little curious, who is William that Paris mentioned?”

Before Amanda could answer Barron’s question, they heard a girl’s voice from their other side:

“We don’t know who William is either…”

Barron looked over and saw Ivanka walking over:

“You know that Paris was traumatized by certain things before…”

Barron thought that what Ivanka was referring to was the matter of Paris being “backstabbed” by her ex-boyfriend at the age of 18, who leaked her video tape.

“Since then, she has told me that she often has a dream, in which her lover is called William. Especially recently, she will occasionally mention this name after getting drunk…”

Ivanka sighed and said:

“I have advised her to see a psychologist, Duke Cavendish, I hope you don’t mind Paris being like this today…”

Thinking of what Paris had said before, Barron also felt a little puzzled. He gave Ivanka an elegant smile:

“Don’t worry, Miss Trump, I won’t take it to heart. I’m very happy to meet you all today. I’ll go back first, I have things to deal with tomorrow.”

“I was just about to leave too, let’s go together.”

As Ivanka’s voice fell, Barron felt the gaze of the Hearst sisters looking over…

“We’re going back too.”

“You’re leaving now too?”

Ivanka’s gaze subtly swept over from the Hearst sisters, and finally landed on Barron’s sculpted profile, and said with a charming smile:

“I’m afraid Paris and the others will go to the nightclub later, I don’t like that kind of place, so it’s better to leave now.”

Chapter 202: Quantitative Trading

Ivankara’s residence wasn’t far from here, in the Trump Tower on Fifth Avenue – the penthouse of that building belonged to their family.

Since that was the case, Barron didn’t mind giving her a ride. At this moment, Ivankara also noticed that following the extended Lincoln limousine they were in, there was a whole carload of bodyguards.

This scene also made her secretly admire the pomp and circumstance of this duke from England.

“Duke Cavendish, I wonder how much longer you’ll be staying in New York?”

Looking out the window, realizing they were about to arrive at the building where her home was located, Ivankara asked softly.

“Two or three days at most. I’ll be returning to London after handling things here. Why do you ask, Miss Trump?”

Hearing his words, Ivankara winked at Barron and said:

“I’m so sorry about what happened today. If you have time, I’d like to invite you to my house as a guest to make up for it.”

“There’s no need to be so polite, Miss Trump…”

“Just call me Ivankara…”

“Alright, Ivankara, we’re already friends, aren’t we? This time might not work out, but I can invite you to a party at my new home next time I’m in New York…”

Speaking of which, Barron noticed Amanda’s gaze toward him:

“I’ve also invited Amanda and Lydia. You’re all welcome to come then. Also, if you have the chance to visit England, be sure to let me know. I’d be very honored to host you.”

At this moment, the extended Lincoln had already stopped in front of the Trump Tower. Ivankara’s beautiful eyes watched Barron:

“Then I’ll need to know your contact information first.”

Barron saw Ivankara holding her phone, playfully gesturing to him, and took it, entering his number on it…

Facing this scene of Ivankara proactively asking for Barron’s contact information, Amanda glanced at the other person and couldn’t help but pout.

Her subconscious action was also captured by Ivankara’s gaze. She smiled, said goodbye to everyone, and then got out of the car.

Afterward, Barron also sent the Hearst sisters back to their residence, and finally returned to the Waldorf Hotel.

It’s worth mentioning that when Amanda was about to leave, Barron got out of the car to see her off, and she told her cousin that she wanted to speak to the duke alone…

Lydia thought to herself, then looked back at Barron and slowly walked into the villa’s gate.

“Amanda…”

Barron was just about to ask her if there was anything else when he unexpectedly was “attacked” again. Amanda grabbed Barron’s arm and then kissed him…

But this time she kissed Barron on the mouth, a touch and then gone.

“Goodbye, dear Barron.”

Taking advantage of Barron’s moment of surprise, Amanda, with a red face, turned and wanted to leave.

Having lived two lives, how could Barron let this girl escape after being ambushed?

Immediately, he grabbed Amanda’s hand and pulled her into his arms…

Then, he lowered his head and accurately hit the target…

A long and immersive deep kiss, when Amanda almost suspected she would suffocate…

The lips parted.

“Good night, Amanda.”

He kissed the girl’s flushed face again, and Barron turned and left.

Leaving only the girl standing at the villa’s door, staring at Barron waving to her in the car, until the taillights of the car disappeared from sight.

“Sister, what did you say to the Duke just now? Why is your face so red?”

When Amanda returned to the villa, Lydia began asking questions like a machine gun.

“I… might be in love.”

…

“Li Qing, right? Welcome to join DS Capital.”

In the office of DS Capital’s New York branch, Barron specifically spoke to the Chinese man in front of him in Mandarin.

“Duke Cavendish, your Mandarin is really good…”

Li Qing, once a “child prodigy,” after graduating from Peking University, came to the United States to pursue a master’s and doctoral degree at Duke University. After only one semester of enrollment, he passed the master’s qualification exam of this university, which ranked eighth in the United States.

The future Li Qing would be known as the “King of High-Frequency Quantitative Trading” on Wall Street, and was also one of the earliest fund managers to do high-frequency quantitative trading.

But at this time, Li Qing was still a researcher in a proprietary trading department at Lehman Brothers, researching quantitative trading. Although he had already been exposed to and had a relatively deep understanding of quantitative trading, he didn’t have the experience of standing alone. However, Barron was very optimistic about his future potential.

Of course, it wasn’t just Li Qing who met with Barron that day, but also included Wall Street elites, mathematicians, physicists, and even experts in many fields such as astronomy, and biology.

Just as the reason Barron hired Li Qing with a high salary, was that DS Capital would soon be involved in the field of quantitative trading.

In the Wall Street quantitative investment circle, Renaissance Technologies, D.E. Shaw & Co., Two Sigma Investments, Millennium Management, Bridgewater Associates, Citadel Investment Group, and SAC Capital are the top players.

For example, Renaissance Technologies’ founder, James Simons, was a genius. He had already obtained a doctorate in mathematics at the age of twenty-three, and later entered the financial field.

His method of financial investment was completely different from the previous Wall Street model. He used mathematical models and technological power to conduct financial investment.

Renaissance Technologies’ mathematical models were compiled by a team of hundreds of people, including experts in various fields such as string theory physics, astronomy, quantum mechanics, biology, and mathematics.

As a pure quantitative fund, all the transactions of this fund were also automatically executed by more than ten million lines of computer code, with very little human intervention.

In his previous life, as a financial professional, Barron had followed this company. From 1998 to 2018, the Renaissance Technologies fund’s compound annual return before fees was 66%, nearly 70%!

After deducting management fees and performance fees, the fund’s annual return rate still reached 39%!

The tech stock crash of 2000 and the financial crisis of 2008 were all successfully avoided by this fund, and in those years, it achieved returns of 98.5% and 82% respectively!

Another well-known quantitative trading company – D.E. Shaw & Co.’s founder, David Shaw, obtained a doctorate in computer science from Stanford University at the age of 29. After teaching at a university for a few years, he entered the financial industry and became the vice president of Morgan Stanley’s automated analysis trading technology department.

Two years later, in 1988, he left Morgan Stanley and started his own business.

By finding hidden market trends or pricing anomalies through complex mathematical models, and then combining high-tech computer technology for trading, this was D.E. Shaw & Co.’s winning formula. At its peak, this fund’s trading volume accounted for 5% of the entire New York Stock Exchange.

Barron possessed a lot of experience from his previous life in the financial industry, but from this moment on, he had already been prepared for the future, believing that he couldn’t rely solely on his memories in financial investment.

After all, on the one hand, at most, he could only have a clear memory of some of the more critical price points of financial investment products, but it was impossible to completely remember all the price trends.

In addition, as the funds operated by DS Capital continued to increase, his influence on market trends would also become greater after he entered these financial markets.

Therefore, there would always be a day when the financial operating curve of the world would deviate greatly from his memories of his previous life.

It’s just that he didn’t know yet how long it would take for this day to come.

After all, although there was a butterfly effect, the gears of history also had great inertia.

But he also had to prepare for this early.

Entering the field of quantitative trading was one of the preparations he was making for this day.

In addition, when conditions were suitable in the future, he would also enter the field of high-frequency trading.

The people he met today were those he could remember from his previous life who would have relatively good achievements in quantitative trading and high-frequency trading in the future, invited by the New York branch manager of DS Capital, Devon Stevens.

This included people from the financial industry, as well as some experts from other fields who played a very critical role in the creation of the mathematical models for trading.

Of course, these people were also those who were willing to join DS Capital under the high-paying invitation…

Chapter 203: Athena Fund

Quantitative trading refers to using advanced mathematical models to replace subjective human judgment, utilizing computer technology to screen a variety of “high probability” events from vast historical data that can generate excess returns to formulate strategies. This greatly reduces the impact of investor emotional fluctuations, avoiding irrational investment decisions in extremely frenzied or pessimistic market conditions.

Therefore, generally speaking, the two most important factors for conducting quantitative trading are mathematical models and computer processing power.

The purpose of the experts Barron found, who were also well-known in the field of quantitative trading in his previous life, was to establish a quantitative trading mathematical model belonging to DS Capital, thereby completing profitability through model arbitrage.

And for these people, Barron hired them with salaries far exceeding those in Wall Street currently – correspondingly, all of them needed to sign strict confidentiality agreements with DS Capital on the day they joined, and once they violated the agreement, they would face high compensation.

In fact, with Barron’s current abilities, those who betrayed him might have to bear more than just monetary compensation…

After all, for a quantitative trading fund company, the mathematical models they use will always be the company’s top secret, their “bread and butter,” and the results of their greatest investment in manpower and capital.

In the initial period, these people will go to London to conduct research and application of mathematical models.

There was no other way; after all, in his previous life, Barron could only remember the quantitative trading funds on Wall Street. As for the outstanding funds of this type in the British Isles, their fame was still somewhat lacking compared to their Wall Street counterparts. The deepest impression he had was Cantab Capital, but this company had not yet been established…

This time, entering the field of quantitative trading, DS Capital will establish a new private equity fund in addition to the Mars Fund, named the Athena Fund.

Athena is the Greek goddess of wisdom. The Athena Fund also represents that DS Capital will use the crystallization of human wisdom to apply to the arbitrage of quantitative trading.

As for the source of funds for the Athena Fund…

During the Goldman Sachs cocktail party before, the owners of the Sands Group, Anderson, and the chairman of Amway Group, Steve Van Andel, were very interested in DS Capital’s private equity fund, the Mars Fund.

However, the Mars Fund had closed its investment channel for this year. The next time it opens, it will definitely have to wait until next year.

At that time, Barron gave the two of them another option, which was DS Capital’s new fixed-income product.

After Barron’s introduction, both of them became interested in it.

Because the fixed-income product Barron mentioned, although its annualized return was only 10%-15%, it was far less than the over 300% return rate that the Mars Fund had achieved within this year.

But the most important thing was that this fixed-income fund product could guarantee the principal!

As everyone knows, high returns inevitably correspond to high risks.

Therefore, those investments with extremely large amounts of capital often care the most about not extremely high returns, but the ability to generate stable and continuous profits. As for the return rate, being able to outperform inflation would already make them very satisfied.

And according to different capital lock-up periods, from one year to ten years, the Athena Fund can provide annualized returns from 10% to 15%, and also guarantee that the principal will not suffer losses, which is very attractive to large-capital investments.

What Barron introduced to them at the time was this Athena Fund that was about to be established.

You must know that the most crucial point in conducting quantitative trading is to accurately judge the general market trend of the financial products invested in through analysis.

And this point, perhaps the most confident person in the world is Barron, who possesses memories of his previous life.

Therefore, with his help, coupled with increasingly improved mathematical models, it would be considered a failure if the Athena Fund’s average annualized return was below 50%…

He was fully confident in making a principal guarantee to investors in the beginning.

As for later…

With the success of the Athena Fund, coupled with the possible expansion of capital in the future, the principal guarantee would definitely not continue, but this would not affect the enthusiasm of investors.

Just like Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway, when it can maintain a stable return of more than 15% for many years, investors will break down the company’s door.

So, under the guarantee of the principal protection agreement, Anderson and the Amway Group became the first two investors in the Athena Fund, and they will each invest 50 million US dollars into the Athena Fund.

It should be noted that the minimum investment threshold for the Athena Fund is 50 million US dollars; after all, this type of fixed-income fund product is born for large capital.

Because it was the first time investing in DS Capital’s fund products, Anderson and the Amway Group were still a little cautious, only choosing the minimum threshold of 50 million US dollars for investment, which also brought 100 million US dollars in initial capital to the Athena Fund.

In addition, the Kennedy family also brought another sum of money to the Athena Fund – the Boston Retirement System (BostonPERS) will contribute 100 million US dollars to this fund.

Whether it was Anderson, the Amway Group, or the Boston Retirement System, they all cautiously chose a one-year lock-up period fund product and will receive a fixed income of 10%.

You must know that in the United States, general pension funds are required to earn an average of 6.5%-7.5% return each year, but because their investment portfolios often experience certain losses, so overall, being able to achieve this rate of return is already very difficult.

Therefore, if the Boston Retirement System’s investment could obtain a guaranteed 10% annualized return, as guaranteed by the Athena Fund, then in the future, they would definitely be able to obtain more investments from similar mutual funds.

In addition, the Kennedy family also invested their own 50 million US dollars into the Athena Fund, still with a one-year lock-up period.

In this way, at the beginning of the establishment of the Athena Fund, it obtained 250 million US dollars in capital.

Of course, this was just a beginning, because the Athena Fund had already obtained 250 million US dollars in capital in the United States, so in the British Isles…

You must know that the domestic common funds, similar to pension funds, in the British Isles are also massive in scale.

If a private equity fund like the Mars Fund, because of its relatively high risk, would be avoided by those common funds that pursue stable returns, then a fund type like the Athena Fund that provides fixed income and can guarantee the principal has always been welcomed by these large-scale common funds.

That is, the Athena Fund has just been established and does not yet have any remarkable achievements, so those common funds will not blindly take risks.

But even so, with Barron’s network of connections in the British Isles, obtaining investment from a portion of the common funds would not be too difficult.

When his Athena Fund can stably generate profits and get on the right track, then a huge amount of capital will probably come pouring in.

According to Barron’s arrangements, the current Athena Fund, after its mathematical model is completed, will be led by five fund analysts, including Li Qing, who will each be responsible for 50 million US dollars in capital, and conduct quantitative trading on different financial investment products.

The returns of these five groups will be ranked regularly, and the groups that rank at the top will be able to obtain a larger share of the subsequently added capital.

And among the five groups, in addition to the five analysts, members with outstanding performance will also have the right to form their own groups, thereby obtaining exclusive capital shares and participating in the competition…

The bonuses of these groups will naturally also be linked to their final rate of return, and the groups that have been at the bottom all the time also have the risk of being eliminated in the end.

It can be said that this competition is very cruel, but the financial industry itself is such a place; the income, which is far higher than other industries, is not so easily obtained.

Under such internal competition, they will continuously improve their mathematical models, and finally make the Athena Fund obtain stable and high profits.

Chapter 204: Important Target

A conversation was also taking place on the island of Mallorca, Spain.

Viscountess Chrissy put the newspaper in her hand on the table and said to Bonnie beside her:

“Have you seen the reports in this paper?”

Bonnie nodded after hearing her cousin’s words.

At this moment, it could be seen that on this newspaper, a prominent photo showed Barron and the Hearst sisters walking out of a restaurant…

Even from the not-so-clear newspaper photo, it could be seen that Amanda, next to Barron, had a very sweet expression as she looked at him.

“What do you think?”

Facing Chrissy’s questioning, Bonnie was silent for a moment and said:

“You know our current situation… And those newspaper reports are just rumors.”

“Are you just going to continue like this?”

Seeing that after she asked this question, Bonnie looked out the window, silent…

Chrissy sighed and said to her cousin:

“I told you before, no matter how beautiful a woman is, her beauty is fleeting, and for someone like Barron, beautiful women are not scarce, but rather the easiest to obtain. I know, with him…”

Speaking of this, the Viscountess’s gaze swept over her stomach, and then she looked at Bonnie’s face again:

“This is my fault, I’m sorry to you…”

“I understand.”

“You don’t understand, Bonnie. Do you know Barron? Even without me, can you be sure he won’t have others? Although our family is not as it once was, you should also know about those things in the nobility. At least my situation cannot threaten your position, and I can also help you eliminate those other threats…”

Chrissy looked at her cousin and spoke her mind to her.

With her current status and position, she had naturally seen many beautiful women, but among so many beautiful women, her cousin was also the most outstanding.

This was also why she was confident in introducing her to Barron in the first place.

And the development of things was indeed as she had expected. Her cousin did indeed fascinate the young Duke and became his girlfriend.

What surprised Chrissy the most was that the young Duke, after inheriting the family business, showed extraordinary ability and had become a figure of great importance in Britain.

And when her cousin was with him, although his situation was much better than ordinary people, the Devonshire family was not outstanding among the Duke’s families, which was like heaven and earth compared to the current situation.

Therefore, Bonnie’s relationship with Barron was more solid than those women who appeared around Barron now.

But now, her cousin, who was already in such an advantageous position, had a crisis in her relationship with Barron because of her own affairs, and Chrissy naturally didn’t want this situation to continue.

“Bonnie, I know your feelings for Barron, but you need to think it through, recognize reality, and don’t do things that you will regret because of a momentary fit of pique…”

…

Similarly, in New York, Barron had also seen the reports about himself published in the American tabloids before – it was taken when Barron and the Hearst sisters were dining out at a Michelin restaurant in New York.

From the daily content of some New York tabloids, it could be seen that gossip about socialites like Paris even received more attention than some celebrities.

Although Amanda was not as well-known as Paris and Ivanka at the moment – especially Paris, who had often been on the news in tabloids since she was fourteen or fifteen years old.

And Amanda had always been well-behaved and didn’t have as much material as Paris. Although she was still studying at university, she had already begun to enter the circle of New York socialites, and coupled with her Hearst family background, she had also attracted the attention of many people.

Such photos actually didn’t have any substantive content. At most, those tabloids would speculate about the relationship between Barron, the young British Duke, and the Hearst sisters.

Barron didn’t care too much about this.

He could also see Amanda’s good feelings towards him, and she didn’t hide it in this regard.

But at this time, even though there was a temporary crisis between him and Bonnie, he was not prepared to have a situation so quickly.

If the other party was a celebrity or someone with whom he could maintain a relatively simple relationship without having to take too much responsibility, Barron would be very willing to deepen their relationship.

But Amanda was different. As the heir to the Hearst family, she was not the kind of person you could just play around with…

Therefore, although Barron knew that as long as he spent a little effort, he and Amanda could probably test the waters, he still maintained restraint.

…

“You don’t have to see me off, Amanda. The happiest thing about coming to New York this time was meeting you. I look forward to our next meeting.”

“Me too, Barron…”

Amanda winked at Barron, and a smile bloomed on her face:

“Maybe we’ll see each other again soon.”

It was already approaching September, and Barron had been in America for more than half a month.

The personnel of the Athena Fund, including Li Qing, had already gone to London before him. They would start building mathematical models for the quantitative trading of the Athena Fund at the DS Capital headquarters in the Devonshire Financial Center.

Now, Barron also needed to go back to London. At this private airport very close to New York, under Amanda’s gaze, Barron waved to her and then boarded the Gulfstream G400.

“Your Grace, Mr. Inkster is on the phone for you.”

Before the plane took off, Laura handed the encrypted satellite phone to Barron and said to him.

…

Time went back four hours, which was exactly the early morning in Albania.

“I really never want to come to this godforsaken place again.”

After hearing a team member’s complaint, the captain of the special operations team belonging to the intelligence group glared at him.

However, he also agreed with this sentence.

At present, according to the intelligence, they had captured three members of “Rafael” and finally, after interrogation, obtained the news of the important member of the “London Star” gang – the main culprit who went by the alias William Abagnale.

What was unexpected was that, after investigation, the main culprit of the “London Star” gang, whose real name was Soslan Tigiyev – in fact, they couldn’t be sure if this was his real name, but he used this name in the “Rafael” organization – had been hiding in Albania.

Speaking of Albania, perhaps the first thing that comes to many people’s minds is the infamous “Albanian Mafia.”

After the Eastern European upheaval, Albania, because of a large number of so-called “financial companies” Ponzi schemes, had scraped the people’s property clean.

Coupled with political instability, serious corruption, and Albania, which had once offended both America and the former Soviet Union and stockpiled a large amount of weapons, those former armed forces lost their faith and, for survival, fell into the later “Albanian Mafia,” which also made it and the surrounding areas a disaster area for drug and human trafficking.

Even now, in the capital of Albania, Tirana, the order is chaotic, and power and water outages are common, which is not surprising that the special operations team member just complained.

Chapter 205: Athena Number One

If this were some African city, perhaps there wouldn’t be so much criticism, but as a capital city in Europe, it was visibly more chaotic than some African cities…

However, they didn’t have time to think too much. As the appointed time arrived, they received news from the surveillance personnel near the target’s residence – confirming that Soslan Tigiyev was still there.

“Go!”

With the special operations team leader’s order, the capture operation began.

…

“Your Grace, we have captured Soslan Tigiyev, also known as William Abagnale, the mastermind of the ‘London Star’. He has been taken out of Albania and is being transported to the Munger base in Kolo.”

The Munger base, mentioned by Nigel Inkster, was a military base belonging to the Protector Military Company, newly built near the gold mine they acquired in Africa.

Kolo is a country in West Africa. Since its independence in 1960, it has experienced several coups. Currently, their government forces only control the southern region of Kolo, occupying approximately three-fifths of the total area of Kolo.

The northern part of Kolo is home to various opposition armed groups. Munger, where the Protector Military Company is located, is currently within the sphere of influence of one of these opposition groups, the Kolo Liberation Front. They are one of the three largest opposition armed groups in the north.

The three “Rafael” members captured earlier by the special operations team had all been sent to the Munger base for interrogation and detention.

This time, capturing Soslan Tigiyev would naturally mean sending him there as well.

After all, as a base of the Protector Military Company, with Barron’s investment and the gold mine starting to produce, it was constantly being improved. It currently had over 200 elite armed forces and over 100 soldiers recruited and trained locally, making it heavily guarded and very safe.

Barron was very much looking forward to the capture of Soslan. After all, the three “Rafael” members they had captured before were not considered core members of the organization.

As the mastermind of the “London Star,” Soslan had been confirmed as one of the three core members of “Rafael.” As long as they could pry open his mouth, they would gain more information about “Rafael.”

“However, Your Grace, while our special operations team captured Soslan, they also captured another woman at his residence. She should also be an important figure, but her identity hasn’t been confirmed yet…”

“A woman?”

Barron was very surprised to hear Nigel’s words. According to their current knowledge, “Rafael” did not have any female members, so what was the identity of this female “important figure” who was captured along with him?

“Yes, she was also taken and brought to the Munger base…”

“Determine her identity as soon as possible!”

“We will, Your Grace.”

As for the other people in the Albanian residence besides Soslan and the woman, it went without saying that for the sake of secrecy, they needed to remain silent forever.

…

“Currently, the valuation of Netease has exceeded 60 dollars. At this rate, if we sell all 4.3 million shares of Netease stock, the funds we receive will far exceed the previous estimates…”

After returning to London and resting for a while, Barron went to DS Capital in the Devonshire Financial Center.

According to Daisy’s introduction, they had initially sold over 3 million shares of Netease stock out of the 4.3 million shares they held.

As Netease’s revenue from gaming and SMS services was further disclosed, especially their profit calculation method for SMS services, which differed from the other two Chinese portal websites, Sohu and Sina, it led to a further increase in Netease’s stock price…

Starting in 2002, the three major Chinese portal websites successively announced profits, and they maintained double-digit growth every quarter. Even under the premise that the Nasdaq had generally rebounded by 30% to 40%, the growth of the three portals was still rare.

Each growth triggered a re-evaluation of the commercial value and future prospects of the three major portals by the market, and this growth had a geometric effect on stimulating market confidence.

The stock performance of Netease far exceeded the other two portal websites, especially recently, mainly because—

Currently, SMS is the most important profit-making business among the three portals, with its revenue accounting for almost 60% or more.

According to the calculation methods of Sina and Sohu, if an SMS message costs 0.5 yuan, Sina and Sohu both record it as revenue, while the split given to the mobile carriers is recorded as a cost.

However, according to Netease’s accounting method, they only record the actual amount received, which is a little over 0.3 yuan, as revenue.

With the current scale of SMS revenue, the cost of SMS can account for 20% to 30% of the total cost of Sina and Sohu, which is not a small number.

Therefore, from the financial statements, Netease’s revenue scale is smaller than Sina and Sohu, but its profit scale is not low.

In addition, Netease also has lower cost control than Sina and Sohu – although Netease has always been inferior to the former two in content construction, Netease also invests less in costs. Judging from the number of employees alone, Netease may have 100 fewer employees than Sina and Sohu.

Overall, Netease, with its good cost control and strong profitability, naturally outperformed Sina and Sohu in terms of stock price.

Therefore, even though DS Capital had successively sold over 3 million shares of Netease stock in the secondary market during this period, because the market’s enthusiasm had been ignited at this time, the buying was very active, which caused Netease’s valuation not only to not fall back, but to continue to rise.

Next, it was expected that they would be able to complete the sale of all Netease stock within a week – of course, the earliest ones they had purchased in the secondary market. The approximately 310,000 new shares that Netease had issued to DS Capital at a price of 16.12 dollars through a private placement had a 12-month lock-up period.

DS Capital would hold these shares as a long-term investment.

And later, when they had sufficient funds, they would also consider increasing their holdings after Netease’s stock price fell.

According to Daisy’s estimate, after they completely sold the 4.3 million shares of Netease stock, they would be able to recover nearly 250 million dollars in funds.

In this way, they only needed to borrow about 300 million dollars from Goldman Sachs Group to complete the acquisition of Google stock and exercise the option to purchase the 7.4 million shares of Google stock held by AOL, ultimately holding about 7.7% of Google’s stock.

And this portion of Google’s stock, just less than a year later, on the day of Google’s IPO, would be worth 2 billion dollars!

Because in the original timeline, Google’s IPO stock issuance price was 85 dollars, and the closing price on the day of listing exceeded 100 dollars – after completing the acquisition and exercising the option to purchase Google stock, they would own about 20 million shares of Google’s common stock.

In addition, Barron also went to the newly established Athena Fund department to inquire about the preparation progress of this quantitative trading fund.

The various experts and talents from the Athena Fund, whom he had hired from New York with high salaries, had arrived in London earlier than him and had begun the establishment of the fund on another floor of the Devonshire Financial Center.

Currently, Eamon Frankfurt, who had previously worked in the quantitative fund department of Bridgewater Associates, served as the head of the Athena Fund, and he organized all members to build their quantitative trading digital models.

At the same time, the floor where they were located would also have half a floor of space, with DS Capital investing 20 million pounds and collaborating with Cambridge University to set up a supercomputer specifically for quantitative trading, which was named Athena Number One.

Chapter 206: Super Big Order

“How is Bonnie doing now?”

“You only care now? Your Grace, I don’t even see you calling her proactively…”

Hearing the Viscountess’s words, Barron was a little embarrassed, saying:

“I called before, but Bonnie said she wanted to calm down, and then she stopped answering the phone…”

“Is that the reason why you always have beautiful women around you in New York?”

Although Chris said that, she was hearing about her cousin not answering Barron’s calls for the first time. Bonnie had never told her about this before, and she couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed – of course, this was directed at Bonnie.

And Barron had just learned that those gossip reports about him in New York could actually spread to Europe – this meant he had somewhat underestimated how much attention he received.

He hugged the Viscountess from behind, placing his hand on her belly:

“It doesn’t feel that big yet…”

“Hmph, it’s only been three months.”

But now Chris was already wearing loose clothes; if you didn’t look closely, you would only feel that she had gained a little weight, and her belly wasn’t particularly obvious.

After all, she hadn’t been with Barron for a long time, especially after knowing she was pregnant, she could only pay more attention. Therefore, at this moment, feeling Barron’s presence beside her, the Viscountess’s breathing couldn’t help but become a little rapid.

She grabbed Barron’s hand and slowly moved it down…

The weather in London was like this, often making people feel damp…

Just as the Viscountess was a little unsteady, she sat on the sofa, looking up at Barron standing in front of her.

Well, this height difference was just right, just needed to lower her head slightly…

“Hiss…”

…

“Currently, Huawei is hoping to cooperate with British Telecom (BT), and has been accepting BT’s certification since last year. If they pass their certification, they will be able to undertake BT’s telecommunications equipment orders.”

Hearing the report from O2 Telecom CEO Barry Trelease, Barron looked at him and asked:

“So, what’s our assessment of this Chinese company?”

“Currently, Huawei has completed some mobile communication equipment projects in Asia and Russia, but there are no related projects in Britain…”

Barry Trelease picked up a document and said:

“Our technical team has, with Huawei’s cooperation, examined their projects in Russia and believes that they fully meet our requirements. Moreover, in terms of pricing, it is at least 40% lower than other manufacturers, which is indeed very tempting.”

Currently, O2 Telecom in Britain mostly uses 2G networks, with some areas upgraded to 2.5G networks, while starting this year, Vodafone and Orange have begun deploying 3G networks in Britain.

In order to compete with them, O2 Telecom naturally needs to follow suit and start deploying 3G networks.

At the same time, in the French and German markets, through the previous price reduction strategy, O2 Telecom’s user numbers have now exceeded 4 million, which allows O2 Telecom’s total number of users in Britain, France, and Germany to exceed 20 million.

In France and Germany, O2 Telecom will directly deploy 3G networks later, thereby directly capturing their high-end market at a relatively lower price!

And in the broadband business, Huawei’s price is even 50% lower than that of their local telecommunications equipment giant, Marconi!

Whether in Britain or in France and Germany, O2 Telecom’s broadband equipment also needs to be upgraded or newly deployed.

Therefore, in the future, O2 Telecom will invest heavily in the deployment of telecommunications equipment.

So, assuming Huawei’s quality can meet the demand, and their price is far lower than other manufacturers, it is the most suitable choice for O2 Telecom.

In fact, O2 Telecom’s CEO Barry Trelease also had some concerns about cooperating with Huawei.

According to the report of O2 Telecom’s technical personnel who went to Huawei’s Shenzhen headquarters for inspection, they would give this Chinese company’s hardware a high score, but they still had some doubts about the overall delivery capability of the business, and even to put it bluntly, they might give it a low score.

Taking an example, right under the noses of O2 Telecom’s experts, a Huawei employee, without using any electrostatic protection measures, pulled out a circuit board from a rack that was being debugged, tucked it under his arm, and walked away…

Therefore, they believe that Huawei still needs to make large-scale improvements in the standardization of personnel operations.

“These are problems, but we can give them a chance. Let’s first talk to the people from Huawei and tell them that we can give them part of the entire project first, but the premise is that they meet our standard requirements.”

In fact, Barron knew that for Huawei, as long as they were willing to give them a chance, it would not be difficult for them to meet their requirements.

Anyone who has used equipment imported from Europe and America will have a deep understanding of one thing, that is, when the equipment malfunctions and requires experts from the other side to come and solve it, it is truly a torment. Not only do you need to provide the best conditions, but you also need to wait patiently enough.

In fact, even in Europe, the situation wouldn’t be much different.

Many people envy the high wages and high welfare of European workers.

But you must know that corresponding to this, when you enjoy the other party’s service, you also need to provide a higher cost and more waiting.

And a Chinese company like Huawei can do this: when the equipment malfunctions, their engineers will arrive and solve the problem in the shortest time.

This is very important for O2 Telecom’s user experience, and this is an important reason why Barron would choose to cooperate with Huawei – saving money and having excellent after-sales service, you deserve to occupy the market.

When Huawei’s British company general manager, Chen Zhaohui, received a call from O2 Telecom, learning that they wanted to talk to Huawei about cooperation, he was directly a little disbelieving.

At this time, Huawei was still working hard to pass BT’s certification and enter their supplier’s shortlist, but they didn’t expect that O2 Telecom, ranked in the top three in Britain, would take the initiative to talk to them about cooperation at this time.

This cooperation negotiation immediately attracted the attention of the entire Huawei company, because after they first came into contact with O2 Telecom, they learned that what they needed to negotiate next might be a large project with a total investment of over 1 billion pounds, including the British, French, and German markets!

If this project could be won and satisfy O2 Telecom, it could be said that Huawei might open up the entire European market from then on.

Therefore, Huawei’s president, Ren, personally came to Britain, leading his elite troops to participate in this negotiation with O2 Telecom.

O2 Telecom’s requirement was that Huawei would quote for the upgrade and new deployment of their mobile communication equipment and broadband equipment in Britain, France, and Germany. If both parties reached an agreement, O2 Telecom would first hand over the 3G and 2G networks and broadband deployment projects in France to Huawei.

After they completed the French project, and after O2 Telecom’s acceptance, they could continue to hand over the remaining projects in the British and German markets to Huawei.

At the same time, Huawei will become O2 Telecom’s preferred cooperative supplier.

Chapter 207: Through the Wall

“Your Grace, I believe you’re not paying enough attention to the Argent Real Estate Group…”

Upon receiving an invitation from Viscount Booth, Barron came to his Chelsea district mansion again, and surprisingly, that was the first thing he said.

“After all, I’m just a shareholder in the Argent Real Estate Group, and you’re running the group very well, so there’s no need for me to interfere.”

Barron glanced at the Viscountess, who was sitting to the side and looking at a fashion magazine, and said:

“And the last time I invested, I felt like Viscount, you didn’t seem to want me to get too involved in the real estate group’s affairs…”

“How could that be? There must be a misunderstanding. Your Grace, I hope we are close partners…”

Logically speaking, Viscount Booth. knew about his relationship with the Viscountess, and now the Viscountess’s belly… although not particularly obvious, it would be absurd to say that Viscount Booth. couldn’t see it.

So, what does this attitude mean today?

Earlier, when Barron asked Chris about this, she didn’t say much, just spoke mysteriously about some things, summing it up, the meaning was that there was nothing to worry about.

Seeing that Viscount Booth, at the end, hoped to maintain a “close partnership”, his gaze was directed at the Viscountess, or rather, the Viscountess’s belly…

His expression, slightly excited and with a flushed face, couldn’t help but give Barron a strange feeling.

“Since we are partners, we need to trust each other. I don’t want any concealment, just like the previous incidents, I don’t want them to happen again. I have no thoughts about the Argent Group, it’s just a financial investment.”

“I believe we will definitely become the closest partners, Your Grace. Also, there’s something else I’d like to ask for your help…”

Seeing Barron’s questioning gaze, Viscount Booth. said:

“It’s the employee pension fund of our Stuart Mining Group. Some funds need to find new investment channels. I heard that your DS Capital has launched a new principal-protected fixed-income product. I wonder if it can be offered to this fund?”

Eh? This is not a request, it’s clearly sending money to me!

“What’s the amount of the funds?”

“One hundred million pounds…”

After Viscount Booth’s brief introduction, Barron learned that the employee pension fund of the Stuart Mining Group had incurred losses due to previous investment errors, which had lowered their average annualized investment return rate to below 3% in the past five years…

No wonder he was interested in the fixed-income product of the Athena Fund. Principal-protected and with a return rate of 10%-15%, it was much better than the investment performance of their employee pension fund.

Here, we need to introduce the pension system of England. Currently, it is a three-pillar pension system composed of the state pension, occupational pension, and personal pension.

The state pension is a public pension, providing basic retirement income security; the private pensions, consisting of occupational pensions and personal pensions, are responsible for raising the pension replacement rate and further improving the quality of life in retirement.

The so-called occupational pension is provided by employers for employees, with joint contributions and tax benefits, implementing an “automatic enrollment” mechanism.

Personal pensions adopt a trust structure, voluntarily joining, usually directly signing contracts between individuals and pension institutions.

In simple terms, employees with proper jobs will have a portion of their income deducted and put into the state pension; then the company deducts another portion, plus the portion the company helps to pay, and puts it into the occupational pension.

These two are what employees with proper jobs must join.

If they hope to have more retirement funds after retirement, individuals can also choose to join some personal pension products of pension institutions.

The employee pension fund of the Stuart Mining Group mentioned by Viscount Booth. belongs to the occupational pension.

As mentioned before, the Booth. family initially rose to prominence because they discovered a large amount of coal in Wales, which made the Booth. family one of the richest families in the world at the time.

The company that mined Welsh coal at that time was the predecessor of the Stuart Mining Group.

Later, after the coal mining in Wales was exhausted, the Stuart Mining Group began to seek development elsewhere. Currently, their mining resources involve coal, copper, iron ore, and many other types, with their mines in England, Australia, and Africa.

Although the scale of the Stuart Mining Group is far inferior to giants ranked at the top in England, such as Glencore Mining Group and Anglo American Group, its scale is still considerable and is one of the pillar industries of the Booth. family.

The original surname of the Booth. family was Stuart, and later, after being conferred the Marquis of Booth, they began to use Booth. as their surname.

This is why the name of their mining group is Stuart…

Another thing worth mentioning is that the surname of Viscountess Chris is also Stuart.

In fact, the Viscountess can also be related to the Booth. family, but that was many generations ago.

Of course, this kind of thing is not a big deal among the nobility. Not to mention such distant relatives who have been separated for many generations, even close relatives were very common among the nobility before.

The total scale of the Stuart Mining Group’s employee pension fund exceeds five hundred million pounds, but a company with such a long history is not like the “young” Argent Real Estate Group - they need to keep enough cash at any time to withdraw for retired employees.

Plus, there are other investment allocations underway, so the funds the Stuart Mining Group’s employee pension fund is preparing to invest this time are around one hundred million pounds.

“Viscount, what needs to be explained to you is that our fixed-income product cannot always be principal-protected. This is just a way to reassure investors in the early stages of the fund…”

That’s how it is. The so-called “principal-protected” promise itself requires DS Capital to have assets sufficient to back it.

When the Athena Fund is below a certain scale, DS Capital is fully capable of supporting such a guarantee, but if the scale of the Athena Fund reaches billions, or even tens of billions of pounds, which far exceeds the scope of DS Capital’s own assets, even if they claim “principal-protected”, there will not be enough assets to back it.

“I understand, at least it can be principal-protected for now, right.”

After Barron introduced the fixed-income product of the Athena Fund to Viscount Booth, Viscount Booth. chose a five-year closed period for the Stuart Mining Group’s employee pension fund, with an average annual return rate of 12.5%.

This way, the fund size of the Athena Fund will increase from 250 million US dollars to about 400 million US dollars.

Just as Barron and Viscount Booth. confirmed this matter, a young man with a rather handsome appearance walked to Viscount Booth’s side and whispered something in his ear.

Barron’s hearing was originally very sharp, and he vaguely heard the general content.

“Your Grace, I need to go and deal with something…”

“Then I’ll go back first. When the time comes for the Athena Fund, let the fund manager contact you.”

Barron heard this and was about to leave, but he heard Viscount Booth. say:

“I have specially prepared a dinner to entertain Your Grace…”

He specifically looked at his watch:

“I’ll be back in about an hour. Chris, you can chat with Your Grace first…”

Hearing Viscount Booth’s words, Barron and Chris looked at each other, and he only felt that the emotions revealed in her eyes were very intriguing.

“What’s going on?”

After Viscount Booth. left the meeting room with the young man and closed the door, Barron looked at the Viscountess not far away and asked softly.

“Don’t you think you can guess?”

The Viscountess put down the magazine in her hand, her beautiful eyes filled with water:

“Do I still need to remind you?”

Thinking of what the Viscountess had told him before about Viscount Booth, plus the other party’s performance today, Barron had a vague guess, but he still couldn’t be sure…

After all, he had heard of perverted things, but he really hadn’t thought that he would actually encounter them…

At least he hadn’t thought it would be this kind of scene…

And just as Barron was thinking this way, the Viscountess had already taken action…

She said in Barron’s ear:

“The child in my belly is yours. You want him to help you raise the child, don’t you want to give a little sweetness?”

“Is this his purpose today?”

The Viscountess smiled slightly, then lowered her head and began to use her eloquence to persuade Barron…

At the same time, Barron vaguely heard, behind the wall in a certain part of the room, a heavy breath.

Chapter 208: Building the Old Nest

September 3rd, the members of the new Iraqi government elected by the Iraqi Interim Governing Council were sworn in in Baghdad.

In fact, as early as the beginning of May, the President of the United States had already announced the end of the main war in Iraq.

However, in reality, that was not an end, but rather the beginning of more attacks against the coalition forces, only the war shifted from a direct confrontation on the front lines to sporadic armed conflicts.

Currently, the personnel of the Protector Military Company in Iraq have exceeded 500 people. Through accepting military contracting commissions from both the United Kingdom and the United States, they can be said to be making a killing.

You have to know that, in the original timeline, according to the Associated Press, in the 10 years after the start of the Iraq War, the United States spent 60 billion US dollars on the post-war reconstruction of Iraq, spending an average of over 15 million US dollars per day.

And according to the calculations of the US Congressional Budget Office, the total expenditure over 10 years—including military expenses, embassy expenses, and reconstruction and aid, has reached a staggering 767 billion US dollars.

With the investment of so much capital, the energy and military industrial groups of the United States naturally profited greatly; the related dignitaries and institutions also took this opportunity to amass wealth; private military contractors similar to Blackwater and Protector Military Company could also get a lot of gravy…

What Barron cared about most was not the income that the Protector Military Company obtained from the orders of the US and UK governments because of this, but rather, that the Protector Military Company was rapidly developing thanks to this opportunity.

In addition to the fact that personnel could be trained in such an environment, the weapons and equipment of the Protector Military Company were also updated and stockpiled.

Of course, these were not obtained through open and legitimate means—at least, most of them were not.

The mainstream equipment of the Protector Military Company at this time had already been replaced with the standard equipment of the British Army.

These equipment were, in part, purchased through agreements with the military from official channels—to put it bluntly, they were “siphoned” from the supplies of the British troops stationed in Iraq.

And more of the equipment came from the “losses” of the Anglo-American coalition forces during the war…

Well, in the reports sent back to the country, these equipment, including individual equipment, artillery, military vehicles, and even armored vehicles and helicopters, etc… have all been consumed in the war.

But in fact, most of them have been transported to the Mungar base of the Protector Military Company.

Anyway, even if they don’t buy them, these equipment are still difficult to avoid falling into the underground arms black market. Not going through middlemen is more pleasant for certain high-ranking military officials and the Protector Military Company.

The arms inventory in the Mungar base at this time was enough to equip a brigade…

It can be said without exaggeration that, with the quality of their military personnel, a regiment would be enough to sweep through many small African countries.

As everyone knows, with the excellent matching mechanism of the African region, if the military skills are relatively good, it is not surprising to be able to fight ten here.

These 100 local soldiers, who were hired from the Mungar base of the Protector Military Company after careful selection, were trained to barely meet the minimum standards of the Protector Military Company’s military personnel, which drove many instructors almost crazy, and that alone is enough to see it.

…

At first, Barron was also planning to renovate and transform the Billough Castle in Northern Ireland, and also use it as a tourist development site for the Grace Cultural Tourism Group, but later, he changed his mind.

Now, Billough Castle has still undergone renovation and transformation, but unlike the renovations of Chatsworth Manor and Carran Castle before, the renovation of Billough Castle has been to reinforce it, and the use of some rooms has been re-planned…

Billough Castle had defensive functions from the very beginning. The entire castle has three floors above ground and two floors below ground, with a total of nearly 60 rooms.

Now, the two underground floors of the castle, in addition to a part used as a warehouse, most of the area has been transformed into a sturdy dungeon.

This had already been done before the start of the capture of the members of the “London Star” gang.

After all, Barron considered that he would need to interrogate these people sooner or later, and even go to see those people himself.

For safety reasons, he would not go to the turbulent Africa in a short period of time, so it was necessary to choose a safe and inconspicuous place in the British Isles. After consideration, Billough Castle was the most suitable.

You have to know that the location of Billough Castle can be said to be sparsely populated, and the nearest town is more than ten kilometers away from the castle!

And near the castle is a training base of the Protector Military Company. At that time, a team of military personnel could even be stationed inside the castle for protection, which can be said to be extremely safe and convenient for confidentiality.

Barron planned to expand the scale of the training base after the Protector Military Company started its domestic security business in the British Isles, and use it as his “old nest”.

A few days ago, in the capture of the core members of the “Raphael” organization, also the leader of the “London Star” gang, Soslan Tigiev, a female “important person” was unexpectedly captured.

I don’t know if Soslan was really tough, or if he really didn’t know too much information about that woman. Anyway, after a series of interrogations, he only revealed more information about the “Raphael” organization, but regarding the woman, he only said that she came to cooperate with “Raphael”. As a result, the two were captured by the special operations team on the day they met.

Originally, the most direct approach would be to interrogate the woman.

However, facing the interrogation prepared by the special operations team, the woman directly stated that she could reveal her secret, but she must first see the boss behind them, because this secret was too important.

Upon learning of this matter, Barron ordered the special operations team to bring the woman from the Mungar base to the British Isles and send her to Billough Castle.

They are now on a ship coming from West Africa to Northern Ireland.

As for how to bring such a “prisoner” into the country, think about how those gangs send those women who are sold to Europe, the Protector Military Company will have a better way.

…

“Your Grace, we have proposed to Huawei Company that we hope to invest and take shares in them, but we were rejected by Mr. Ren of Huawei Company.”

Barron was not at all surprised by the reply from O2 Telecom CEO Barry Treleise.

After all, Huawei is a very special company. Before Barron’s rebirth in 2022, Huawei ranked 111th in the Fortune Global 500, with revenue of 639.6 billion yuan and net profit of 214.5 billion yuan. Both revenue and profit were twice that of the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, and five times that of Moutai. There were no comparable companies among the A-share listed companies. Until that time, Huawei had not been listed, nor had it issued corporate bonds.

At this time, Huawei Company was 100% controlled by Huawei Investment & Holding Co., Ltd., and Huawei Investment & Holding Co., Ltd. was composed of two shareholders: Mr. Ren held 1.01% of the shares, and the Trade Union Committee of Huawei Investment & Holding Co., Ltd. held 98.99% of the shares, which continued until 2023.

Since in the previous life, Huawei Company had never accepted shares from other companies, let alone foreign capital, then now that Huawei Company has been on the right track, it is probably also unwilling to accept the investment and shareholding of O2 Telecom. This is also the reason why this company will be able to receive great support from China in certain matters in the future.

Chapter 209: Inviting Boss Ren

Having O2 Telecom propose an investment in Huawei was just a trial balloon on Barron’s part. Even if the other party refused, it wouldn’t affect their cooperation.

However, facing O2 Telecom, which was potentially the largest order Huawei had ever received in Europe, Huawei’s management attached great importance to it.

After all, this involved the construction of mobile communication and broadband networks in the markets of the UK, France, and Germany.

In Boss Ren’s words, this time they were approaching the order with a learning attitude. They were willing to take a loss to establish Huawei’s brand in Europe and, through this, familiarize themselves with and master European standards.

Therefore, Huawei’s final quotation also surprised O2 Telecom. Fifteen billion pounds to complete the mobile communication and broadband network construction in the UK, France, and Germany – this included the construction of 3G networks in major cities in the UK, full coverage of 2G networks, and broadband network upgrades; the laying of 3G networks in major cities in France and Germany, full coverage of 2G networks, and broadband network coverage.

You have to know that their quotation was a full 50% lower than the quotations of other European and American companies!

Therefore, both parties reached an agreement and signed a cooperation agreement between O2 Telecom and Huawei. The agreement stipulated that Huawei would first complete the deployment of 3G networks in major cities in the French market and full coverage of 2G networks, as well as broadband network coverage.

When the French project passed O2 Telecom’s review and met its standards, Huawei would receive subsequent orders to continue network construction projects in the UK and German markets.

The total value of the entire project was fifteen billion pounds, which would be paid in stages. These payment stages and requirements were detailed in the contract signed by both parties.

Previously, O2 Telecom’s prepaid promotions in the UK had raised over ten billion pounds. Although some of this money was diverted by DS Capital to short the euro against the US dollar, the remaining funds were still sufficient to pay for the first installment of this contract.

And the entire contract project would last for nearly two years, Barron had no doubts about the payment of the total fifteen billion pounds by then.

…

The car stopped in front of a Victorian-style villa on Kensington High Street. Boss Ren got out of the car and saw a middle-aged man in a tailcoat, with a strong British butler style, standing straight in front of the villa door. He bowed slightly to him and said in a pure London accent:

“Welcome, Mr. Ren. Our Duke is already waiting for your arrival.”

Yes, after the signing of the fifteen billion pound deal between O2 Telecom and Huawei, Boss Ren, who was still in the UK, received an exquisite invitation. Mr. Barron Cavendish, the Duke of Devonshire, the owner of O2 Telecom, invited him to a banquet.

This was also the reason why he came to this mansion in the Kensington area today.

“Hello, Mr. Ren, it’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m Barron Cavendish, you can just call me Barron.”

Because he had invested in and become a major shareholder of Penguin Company, and Boss Ren’s company headquarters was also in Shenzhen, he had heard a lot about this young British Duke before. Especially after receiving the cooperation invitation from O2 Telecom, knowing that this British telecommunications company, ranked in the top three, had just been acquired by this Cavendish Duke this year, he had also contacted Pony from Penguin Company specifically to inquire about some things related to this British Duke.

Therefore, at this moment, hearing that the handsome young man in front of him was actually greeting him in pure Mandarin Chinese, Boss Ren was already mentally prepared, but he inevitably felt a little novelty.

After all, the standard of “speaking Mandarin very well” was different for Chinese people and foreigners.

He had also met people who could speak Mandarin and even made him feel “this foreigner speaks Mandarin really well,” but he had only met one person so far who could speak like this young Duke, as if he had grown up in China.

“Your Grace, you speak Mandarin very well.”

Well, as expected, every Chinese person Barron met would say this to him the first time they talked.

The purpose of Barron inviting Boss Ren today was to have lunch together. The time he had arranged in the invitation was just before lunch, so after the two exchanged pleasantries, it was almost time for the meal.

Under the guidance of the butler, Ramos, Barron and Boss Ren came to the villa’s dining room.

“Mr. Ren, I know you’ve lived in Shenzhen for a long time, so I specifically asked my Chinese chef to prepare this Cantonese cuisine. I hope you’ll be satisfied.”

Boss Ren didn’t expect that he would be able to eat such a table of Cantonese cuisine in the home of this British Duke in London. And after tasting it, the taste was surprisingly authentic, and he couldn’t help but praise it.

“Thank you, Your Grace, for giving such a large order to our company. We will also do our best to complete it to a high standard and quality.”

After the meal began, Boss Ren raised his glass and said to Barron.

“You’re welcome, Mr. Ren. Your company’s ability to cooperate with us is entirely based on your strength. Of course, I also hope that Huawei can quickly adapt to our British standards and finally achieve a mutually satisfactory result.”

The two talked about the matter of this cooperation. Barron took the initiative to say:

“Actually, I specifically went to learn about your company’s development process. I admire your ability to go from initial import trade to independent research and development and production, and to continuously invest funds in technology research, reaching the current technological level. If this cooperation can be completed, O2 Telecom is also willing to deepen cooperation with Huawei in the future, and even both parties can jointly cooperate in research and development. After all, the iteration of mobile communication technology is very rapid. 3G networks have already begun to be implemented and will gradually become popular in the next two years. Many companies are also investing in the development of the subsequent 4G technology. In the future of mobile communication technology, O2 Telecom also hopes to have closer cooperation with Huawei.”

Regarding the subsequent cooperation between the two parties, Barron knew the future technological strength and development speed of Huawei, so he was certainly willing to have more cooperation with the other party.

However, he only mentioned this slightly and didn’t say too much.

Because at this time, O2 Telecom and Huawei had just started cooperating, and there was no need to say too much.

Moreover, O2 Telecom was just a telecommunications operator now. In terms of communication technology, Boss Ren would not think that the cooperation between the two parties would be very deep. At most, O2 Telecom would be involved.

But Barron’s ambition in mobile communication was not limited to being an operator; he also had aspirations in technology.

However, the time was not yet ripe. He would wait until he made his move in this field later. Now, he was just laying the groundwork.

Inviting Boss Ren today, Barron just wanted to get to know the other party, gradually deepen mutual trust and understanding. Becoming a partner also required taking it one step at a time.

It wasn’t that Barron had to cooperate with a Chinese enterprise, but in this field, the only ones who also mastered the core technology were those American companies. Even as allies of the United States, they might not be willing to share with British companies.

Look at the fate of France’s Alstom, and you would probably understand this.

And as a “follower” of technology, Huawei was more open in this regard. At least they also needed some allies.

Chapter 210: Excuse Me

The filming of “Love Island” Season One was finally finished. After more than two months of closed filming on the island of Mallorca, Spain, this dating reality show, which had sparked a frenzy of discussion in Britain, was about to conclude.

Just how popular was this variety show, “Love Island”?

There’s a saying now: when two Britons are chatting, if they’re older, they’ll start with the weather; but if they’re young, they’ll start by discussing “Love Island”…

During the two-plus months that the reality show “Love Island” aired, the number of Freeview platform users doubled from just over 3 million households at the beginning of July, reaching a staggering 6 million households. On average, the platform gained 1.5 million users per month, which meant that the number of Freeview users was not far behind the total number of BSkyB users. This was an astonishing achievement!

Although BSkyB users were higher-quality paying customers, the current user numbers—over 6 million in less than a year—were something Digital UK had not dared to dream of initially.

Of course, this achievement couldn’t be attributed solely to “Love Island.” Shows like “The Traitors” also had many loyal viewers, and the increasingly rich programming on SDTV, along with the growing number of channels on the Freeview platform, were also reasons why many users chose to join.

However, one piece of data showed the role “Love Island” played.

Of the current 6 million Freeview users, more than 2 million had upgraded or newly installed set-top boxes with online on-demand functionality.

And of these 2 million users, a staggering 86% had made purchases related to the pay-per-view content of “Love Island”!

Initially, Digital UK’s free set-top box installation promotion required users to pay a deposit of 400 pounds. However, as set-top boxes manufactured in China began to replace those made locally, the deposit was eventually reduced to 200 pounds.

When these users upgraded to the upgraded set-top boxes, they didn’t need to pay extra, as the price was 199 pounds, and they could simply deduct it from their original deposit.

As for the remaining deposit, they could choose to top up their Freeview accounts or opt for a cash refund.

However, the vast majority of users chose to top up.

This also turned Digital UK’s previous massive deposits directly into their revenue.

This alone allowed Digital UK to achieve profitability.

And the popularity of “Love Island” also benefited the Woaw website because the voting channels for this reality show included text messages and the Woaw website, and text message voting was a paid service, so many people chose to vote on the Woaw website.

This also led to an increase of over 3 million registered users on the Woaw website in Britain within these two months.

As of now, the Woaw website has over 20 million registered users worldwide, making it the social networking site with the highest number of users globally.

…

The end of filming for “Love Island” also meant that Bonnie Stuart would be returning to London.

Ever since she learned that her cousin, Lady Booth, was pregnant with Barron’s child, Bonnie had gone to Mallorca to oversee the filming of the “Love Island” reality show. She had returned to London once, but at that time, Barron was already in the United States.

A Rolls-Royce Phantom stopped in front of the SEM Building, and Barron sat in the back seat, looking at the building’s entrance through the car window.

With the existence of Chris as an “inside source,” Barron naturally knew Bonnie’s whereabouts like the back of his hand.

He knew that Bonnie was about to finish work and walk out of the building.

Sure enough, a few minutes later, Barron saw her figure in front of the SEM Building…

Today, Bonnie Stuart was wearing a wine-red long-sleeved, bodycon dress, black stockings, and crystal high heels. She was already tall, and as she looked, although there weren’t many expressions on her face, she was elegant and charming.

Just as Barron was about to open the door and get out of the car, he saw a man get out of a car on the side of the building and walk towards Bonnie.

Seeing the man holding a bouquet of flowers and walking up to Bonnie, Barron’s gaze couldn’t help but narrow.

“You look really beautiful today, Miss Stuart. These are for you.”

The man looked to be about twenty-five or twenty-six years old, dressed in a suit, with slicked-back hair and a powdered face—well, that was Barron’s impression.

When the other party spoke these words and handed the bouquet of flowers to Bonnie, Barron also got out of the car, straightened his clothes, and slowly walked towards Bonnie.

In fact, Barron couldn’t clearly define what kind of relationship he had with Bonnie. If it were love—in his previous life, he no longer believed that there was such a thing as truly pure love.

If he had to say, perhaps he could be with Bonnie because they were more suitable, although she wasn’t from a wealthy family, Barron didn’t think he really needed to find a daughter from a wealthy family—relying on the other party’s family’s power, or a “family alliance”?

Heh, when a real crisis hit, could this marital bond guarantee that the other party would help him?

If he really thought that way, then he would be a bit naive. In his previous life, Barron had seen plenty of instances of “every man for himself in times of trouble.”

Like the marriage between the South Korean Samsung heir and the Daesang Group princess. When the Daesang Group encountered a crisis, Samsung not only didn’t help but also took advantage of the situation, intending to acquire the Daesang Group…

So Barron didn’t care about the other party’s background. Anyway, he believed that even if it seemed like a “good match” now, in the near future, the other party would become a “drag,” and his fate would only depend on himself.

However, Barron also knew himself. Reborn in this life, saying that he should remain faithful in love, like a tree, abandoning the entire forest, was absolutely impossible.

Therefore, when Bonnie had asked for a “temporary separation” because of the Viscountess Booth, Barron had already been somewhat disappointed, but he was still willing to give Bonnie a chance because he understood that, unlike what many people thought, in fact, girls from wealthy families were more likely to accept the other party’s philandering because they had been exposed to it since childhood and found it easier to accept.

It was girls from ordinary backgrounds who were more likely to be filled with fantasies about love and expect a one-minded relationship.

Barron could completely understand if Bonnie needed to gradually accept this kind of thing, and besides, there was the Viscountess Chris to help him comfort and “educate” the other party.

If Bonnie still couldn’t accept it in the end, then it could only mean that she wasn’t suitable for him.

However, the fact that he had such thoughts didn’t mean that he could tolerate others coveting his woman.

Therefore, when he heard from Lady Booth. that someone had been trying to pursue Bonnie since her last return to London, Barron would naturally show up to see who dared to pursue his woman—he and Bonnie hadn’t broken up yet.

Just as Barron was walking over here, Bonnie had already seen him.

If one observed carefully, they could see a light in her eyes, but at this moment, there was another man blocking her from Barron.

“Thank you, Mr. Weston, but I can’t accept…”

“Why not? Miss Stuart, I just hope to be friends with you…”

“Because she already belongs to someone!”

Barron smiled at Bonnie, slowly walking towards her… well, he regarded the man holding the flowers as if he didn’t exist:

“Excuse me, please move aside, you’re in my way.”

Chapter 211: Who Are You?

“You!…”

Although the other person was quite tall, Barron’s slight bump sent him stumbling…

You see, Barron’s strength at this moment was not something ordinary people could withstand. Coupled with his height of over 190 centimeters, even though his build was only average, he possessed abundant energy.

His “wild charge” was not just difficult for women to handle…

However, Barron only used a little force. In Bonnie’s eyes, it was just a light touch from Barron on that “Mr. Weston,” and the other person stumbled as if he were weak, which made her feel a bit strange.

“That’s not gentlemanly behavior, Duke Cavendish!”

Oh, so the other person still knew his identity…

Barron said with a smile:

“Is it gentlemanly behavior for you to harass my woman? Also, who are you?”

His words directly choked the other person. After all that, he’d announced his identity as the Duke of Devonshire, and the other person didn’t even know who he was…

“I am Galen Weston. Also, as far as I know, Miss Stuart is now single…”

Seeing the behavior the other person displayed, and knowing his identity yet still acting like this, he was probably either an idiot or someone with a strong background…

However, Barron really hadn’t heard of the other person’s name, but his last name… Weston?

“Who told you she’s single? Herself?”

As he said this, Barron’s gaze was fixed on Bonnie, directly treating Galen Weston as if he didn’t exist, which made him clench his fists involuntarily…

“Miss Stuart, you…”

When he looked at Bonnie, he found that the beautiful presenter known as the English Rose was also looking at Barron. The two of them were staring at each other right in front of him, which made Galen Weston feel like he was superfluous, which was really too F**K…

Barron looked at Bonnie, and Bonnie looked back at him without showing any weakness. From her eyes, Barron could feel a stubborn emotion, as well as a hint of grievance.

“Alright, darling, let’s not make a scene, okay?”

Barron said in a soft voice as he walked in front of Bonnie.

“Is it because of me?”

Bonnie bit her lip and said.

This action, in Barron’s eyes, was quite alluring…

After all, the two of them had been “cold warring” for more than a month, and as the saying goes, absence makes the heart grow fonder…

“Let’s talk about it when we get back, okay? Darling.”

From Barron’s words, Bonnie could hear that he had already shown some weakness. And as a smart woman, she would always give the other person face in front of outsiders at this time, so she nodded…

At this moment, Galen Weston felt like he had another F**K that he had to get off his chest…

Were the two of them ignoring him? Were they putting on a romantic drama in front of him?

“Miss Stuart…”

“Mr. Weston, I’m sorry, I’m afraid you misunderstood. We just had a small misunderstanding before, so…”

“But…”

Seeing that this Galen Weston wasn’t willing to give up, Barron frowned. He didn’t bother to deal with this person, he took Bonnie’s hand and turned to leave, leaving behind these words:

“Don’t let me see you next to my girlfriend in the future, no matter who you are!”

Seeing this, Galen Weston wanted to stop the two of them, but the bodyguards behind Barron blocked his way.

And thinking about the strength he had felt from the other person just now…

These things made Galen’s reason triumph over impulse. But seeing the goddess he considered a beauty, being taken away in the car by the damned Duke of Devonshire, a look of unwillingness and resentment flashed in his eyes.

…

“Who is he?”

Barron could privately investigate the other person’s identity, but he still chose to speak directly with Bonnie, so that neither of them would harbor any grudges.

“Galen? He gave me a business card; he’s the CEO of Loblaws.”

After Bonnie said this, she glanced at Barron and said:

“I rejected him before, but I didn’t expect him to come again today…”

The Rolls-Royce Phantom arrived on Oxford Street, at the apartment building Bonnie had bought before – she had previously taken some of her belongings from Barron’s residence, so she was going back to her own home today.

No need for words, actions were the best expression.

When they got into the room, Barron immediately embraced the beauty beside him, pressing her against the door, and a passionate kiss…

“Baby, I miss you so much…”

Bonnie tilted her head up, feeling the other person’s passion, gradually igniting herself.

“Me too, darling…”

“Ssshh.”

Bonnie knew that the silk stockings she was wearing were destined to be unable to escape.

…

The next day, Barron received more information about Galen Weston, the person he had met yesterday.

Actually, it was last night, after receiving his text message, his intelligence advisor, Nigel, had already sent over more information.

It was just that Barron was at the time engaged in the long-accumulated knowledge learning with Bonnie, so he couldn’t take care of these things at all.

Specifically, Galen Weston should be called Galen G. Weston. Because his father – the grandson of George Weston, the founder of the Weston family, was also called Galen Weston.

This situation was very common in Europe and America, because they often used names as a kind of honor to be passed down. It was not surprising for a family to have the same name for several generations.

For example, Galen G. Weston’s cousin, had the same name as the founder of the Weston family, and was also called George Weston.

The Weston family had a lot of businesses in Canada, Ireland, and England, mainly involving the sales field, such as supermarkets, clothing sales chains, and food chains.

Previously, Galen G. Weston held a position in Loblaws, a well-known chain supermarket in Canada, but in July of this year, he came to London on behalf of the family to negotiate with the Selfridges Group, a well-known luxury department store in England, hoping to acquire shares from its founding family and privatize it.

According to the information Nigel had obtained, the market value of the Selfridges Group was around 500 million pounds at this time. They offered 300 million pounds, hoping to buy about 51% of the shares of the Selfridges Group from the Selfridge family, and planned to privatize this group later.

Speaking of Selfridges, this department store could be said to be extremely well-known in England.

Founded in 1909, Selfridges had received countless accolades. Some called it the best department store in the world, and others called it the compass of the retail industry.

The originator of the slogan “The customer is always right” was Harry Gordon Selfridge, the founder of Selfridges.

Ten years later, ITV even specially filmed a TV series called “Mr. Selfridge”, which told the story of Harry Gordon Selfridge, the founder of Selfridges. From this, one could see the status of this department store in England.

The Weston family?

They were also frequent visitors to the future English rich list, so it was no wonder that this Galen G. Weston dared to face him directly and pursue Bonnie.

As the most beautiful presenter in England, known as the English Rose, Bonnie Stuart’s fame at this time was extremely high throughout England, and even Europe.

Barron certainly knew that such a beauty would not lack people coveting her, but as his girlfriend, Galen G. Weston was the first to jump out and try to take advantage of her…

Yesterday, he had already given him a good lesson, and it depended on whether he knew what was good for him. If he dared to appear next to Bonnie like a fly, then even if it was the Weston family, Barron would give him a lesson.

Chapter 212: 5 Billion US Dollars!

“Currently, since August, the United States’ federal funds rate has been maintained at 1%, which is the lowest point since 1958. Correspondingly, the euro-dollar exchange rate has also risen from 1.0516 when we started shorting the dollar to 1.1927 today, a full increase of over 13%!”

Daisy was clearly still somewhat excited as she spoke these figures to Barron.

Back in early July of this year, Barron had told Daisy that he predicted the euro-dollar exchange rate was about to enter an upward trend.

At that time, the euro-dollar exchange rate had just fallen from its highest point of the year (at the time) of 1.1933 dollars per euro in May, to 1.09…

The background was that from the end of July 2001, the euro-dollar exchange rate was only 0.8764, and by May of this year, it had reached a high of 1.1933, a full increase of 36%.

When DS Capital raised funds, using 1 billion pounds as margin, and borrowed heavily in US dollars to exchange for euros, the euro-dollar exchange rate once fell to close to 1.05…

At the time, Daisy thought that after 1.09, the euro-dollar exchange rate would continue to fall below 1…

However, the facts ultimately proved that the euro was still strong and did not fall below 1 against the dollar. Instead, after DS Capital started shorting the dollar against the euro in July, the euro-dollar exchange rate only reached a low of around 1.05. Then, after the United States continued to cut interest rates, and the federal funds rate was lowered to 1%, the lowest point since 1958, the euro-dollar exchange rate began to rebound.

Today, the euro-dollar exchange rate has reached 1.1927, and is about to exceed the high of 1.1933 in May of this year.

DS Capital used a leverage of 20 times this time. With a margin of 1 billion pounds, if they close their positions now, they would have a profit of over 5 billion US dollars!

If, according to Barron’s prediction, the euro-dollar exchange rate can reach 1.25 by the end of the year, then their profit will exceed 7 billion US dollars!

This is also the reason why Daisy is so excited now; this is the highest profit DS Capital has made in its investments.

It is worth mentioning that in early July, the pound-dollar exchange rate had already reached over 1.6, and it is still rising, which is also constantly improving their ability to mitigate risk by using 1 billion pounds as margin to borrow US dollars.

Barron knew that by the end of this year, the pound-dollar exchange rate would reach a high of 1.7946. Therefore, in addition to their bullish view on the euro-dollar exchange rate this time, that is, their bearish view on the dollar, some funds, including the Mars Fund, were also taking a bullish position on the pound-dollar pair… However, neither the leverage nor the scale was large.

All of this, including the depreciation of the dollar against the euro and the pound, is mainly due to the fact that the current US government has begun to abandon its “strong dollar” policy.

The “strong dollar” policy was first proposed by Rubin, the first Secretary of the Treasury under the Clinton administration, in mid-1995.

This policy played an important role in the sustained high-speed growth of the US economy in the late 1990s.

However, since then, although the Texas president and Treasury Secretary Snow still paid lip service to the “strong dollar,” they repeatedly stated that the dollar’s exchange rate should be determined by the “market.”

After all, abandoning the “strong dollar” policy at this time and allowing the dollar to depreciate still had many benefits—

First, dollar depreciation could stimulate US exports and boost the acceleration of economic recovery; second, it was hoped that dollar depreciation would reduce the pressure of deflation; third, it was hoped to create an international trade and financial structure that was beneficial to the United States.

But in the final analysis, the dollar “had to depreciate” was also the result of defects in the US economy, and the deep-seated reason was the trade deficit of 500 billion US dollars per year.

In addition, the strong-weak exchange between the dollar and the euro was also inevitably linked to the “acquiescence” of the European Union.

EU Commission officials have repeatedly stated this year that the rise in the euro exchange rate is generally beneficial to the economic development of the Eurozone.

The European Central Bank also believes that the euro-dollar exchange rate is returning to a level “commensurate with the strength” of the two major economies.

This attitude has led to Europe’s “inaction” in regulating exchange rates, thereby playing a role in fueling the strong-weak exchange between the dollar and the euro.

The most direct result of dollar depreciation is that the price of US products has become lower, and their competitiveness in the international market has greatly increased, which is conducive to stimulating exports and driving overall economic recovery.

The appreciation of other major currencies, on the other hand, relatively weakens the competitiveness of products from other countries, reducing US imports, which is obviously conducive to narrowing the trade deficit and current account deficit.

According to the results of DS Capital’s analysis of many already published data, the US current account deficit in the third quarter of this year is likely to fall from 139.39 billion US dollars in the second quarter to within 135 billion US dollars, a decrease of about 3.1%.

Secondly, since the US inflation rate is still at its lowest point in nearly 40 years, the inflationary pressure caused by dollar depreciation is extremely small, but it can eliminate the threat of deflation, which is more conducive to “healthy” economic growth.

“Merrill Lynch’s latest research report estimates that the depreciation of the dollar to its current level may contribute as much as 2 percentage points to the US economic growth rate.”

Daisy said to Barron:

“However, it can also be seen that abandoning the strong dollar policy will bring many risks to the US economy. The biggest risk is that an excessive decline in the dollar exchange rate will lead to a slowdown or even a reversal in the inflow of foreign capital into the United States. Then, one of the driving forces that supported the rapid growth of the US economy in the mid-to-late 1990s will be lost, which will be extremely unfavorable to the long-term growth of the US economy. From the current point of view, there are already signs of capital moving more towards Europe, which is probably also the reason why the EU allows the euro to appreciate relative to the dollar.”

“Hehe, can’t those fools in the EU see that euro appreciation is not a good thing for Europe? Even if there is more capital flowing into Europe in the short term, the question is, can they keep it?”

Barron shook his head and said:

“The Eurozone economy has always been heavily dependent on the driving effect of exports, and the export volume in recent years can account for more than 20% of the total economy. Euro appreciation has raised the prices of export products, reduced international competitiveness, and greatly reduced the contribution of exports to economic growth; and the strong euro has caused cheaper foreign products to flood the market within the zone, increasing the pressure on trade balance; finally, the earnings of many large European companies in the United States and other regions have shrunk significantly after being converted into euros, affecting their future investments. In the final analysis, these are all losses that outweigh the gains, but now Europe is relatively weaker than the United States, and they still have to accept their demand for euro appreciation…”

In the final analysis, this is somewhat similar to the “Plaza Accord” of Japan back then, except that the final magnitude is not as large as the yen back then.

Just like the companies under Barron, they had already started to try to convert their dollar assets into pounds in July to avoid too much loss in this round of dollar depreciation.

Other European companies probably would not have the foresight of DS Capital, especially those European companies that invested in the US market, which would definitely suffer losses due to dollar depreciation.

Unless they are willing to hold their dollars for a few more years, waiting for the euro to depreciate against the dollar.

“Have you seen this information?”

Barron handed a piece of information to Daisy and said:

“According to the estimates of the French Economic Situation Observation Association, every 10% drop in the dollar-euro exchange rate will cause the Eurozone’s gross domestic product to fall by 0.8% in the first year and by 0.16% in the second and third years. Also, in the previous research report by Merrill Lynch, it was also believed that euro appreciation had offset the effect of the European Central Bank’s interest rate cut and was expected to cause a loss of 1 percentage point in economic growth.”

Now, those European companies with dollar income have already begun to engage in hedging futures trading to prevent further dollar depreciation from affecting their euro income, and these behaviors of theirs have, to a certain extent, also put new depreciation pressure on the dollar.

However, for Barron, because he had anticipated this in advance, the impact would not be too great, and he could “eat his fill” once through this investment, so he spoke with ease.

“By the way, Daisy, help me collect information on the Selfridges Group, especially the shareholding ratios of the other shareholders, as well as information on the Selfridge family.”

“Selfridges? It seems that their stock has risen recently because the Weston family intends to acquire them. This rumor started circulating in July. Now, the Weston family seems to have acquired a portion of Selfridges Group’s shares in the secondary market, but the specific share needs to be investigated.”

Chapter 213: Sudden Attack

Barron had asked Daisy to collect information related to the Selfridges Group, not entirely to vent his anger. Unless that Galen G. Weston was truly ignorant, he wouldn’t need to use billions in funds for something with no return just because of such a small matter.

The main reason was that the Selfridges Group was indeed a good acquisition target. Barron already had high-end brands like the Duke’s Select Supermarket and budget department store chains like Argos under his name in the retail industry. Adding a high-end department store like Selfridges wouldn’t be out of place.

Moreover, Barron remembered that in the original timeline, in 2022, after the passing of W. Galen Weston, the head of the Weston family and father of Galen G. Weston, the Weston family sold the Selfridges Group for four billion pounds. The buyer was the Central Group, a retail group founded by the Thai-Chinese family, the Chirathivat family.

At that time, Selfridges department store was already known as the most profitable shopping mall in London.

Of course, the Selfridges retail group that Central Group purchased for four billion pounds didn’t just include the stores of the Selfridges Group that the Weston family was preparing to acquire at the time.

At that time, the Weston family combined some of their other retail brands with Selfridges department store to form the Selfridges retail group, including the Canadian Holt Renfrew, the Dutch de Bijenkorf, and the Irish Brown Thomas and Arnotts, making up five department stores.

What Central Group purchased included four Selfridges department store locations (two of which were owned properties) plus the Brown Thomas and Arnotts locations in Dublin, Ireland, which were also owned properties.

But regardless, the profitability of the Selfridges department store group was beyond doubt. From now until 2019, its revenue had maintained a relatively high growth rate, and it was no wonder that it became one of the most profitable department stores in London and even the entire United Kingdom.

Just as someone said at the time: “An asset as unique as the Selfridges department store, once sold, is a once-in-a-lifetime transaction opportunity.”

However, for Barron, if it was a high-end department store, besides the Selfridges department store group, there were other choices, such as Harrods.

This was also one of the most prestigious department stores in the world, located on Knightsbridge in London.

Before being surpassed by SKP from Beijing, China, in 2020, Harrods had always been the shopping mall with the highest sales in the world. In 2010, this “King of Department Stores” was acquired by the Qatar Investment Authority for 1.5 billion pounds.

Of course, now that the Weston family was preparing to acquire the Selfridges department store group, participating in it would not only allow him to give that Galen G. Weston a warning, but even if he couldn’t ultimately snatch Selfridges from their hands, he could still profit quite a bit.

Just like how Barron had snatched Manchester United Football Club from the Glazer family, but the Glazer family had also gained a lot of profit from it.

And department stores like Harrods and Selfridges couldn’t be bought at any time. One also needed to wait for an opportunity when the holder was willing to sell. Since the Weston family in the original timeline could buy the Selfridges department store group this year, it showed that the opportunity to buy Selfridges would be better relatively. Therefore, Barron would also take Selfridges as his main focus.

Besides the matter of Selfridges department store, Barron also took a look at the situation of the Athena Fund.

Regarding the Athena Fund, in the current month, the main task was to use a supercomputer to improve their quantitative trading mathematical model. First, they would conduct testing through virtual trading, and after it could be verified that the model “could be used,” they would begin the automatic buying and selling arbitrage program.

Of course, these processes definitely needed to be done cautiously, step by step. Barron didn’t want to suffer significant losses because of program errors, or even cause a huge impact like the stock market flash crash event in the original timeline in 2010.

This was also the reason why he hadn’t rushed to expand the fund size of the Athena Fund. The current fund size of 400 million US dollars, even if there were some losses, he could completely afford it. The key was to improve their mathematical model in the early stages, so that their “core competitiveness” could perform arbitrage stably and efficiently.

“Honey, where are you?”

“Oh, I’m with Mrs. Beckham right now. She invited me to go shopping today.”

After more than two months of work, Bonnie now had a relatively abundant vacation.

On the phone, she told Barron that she would be with Victoria Beckham today—Beckham had already gone to Madrid, Spain, and joined Real Madrid Football Club, while Victoria would spend most of her time in London with their two children.

In 1999 and 2002, Victoria gave birth to two sons for Beckham. Because the children were still young, they naturally needed to stay at home in London to be taken care of.

It had to be said that Victoria was really considerate. Because Beckham left Manchester United Football Club and joined Real Madrid, they would also worry about offending the current owner of Manchester United Football Club—Duke Devonshire, Barron Cavendish.

After meeting Barron and Bonnie at the birthday party of Holly, the daughter of the Virgin Group, Victoria had been keeping in touch with Bonnie, seemingly hoping to take the “wife route” and use Bonnie to ease the relationship with Barron.

It seemed that no matter what their status was, shopping was always a great hobby for women, especially for “workaholics” like Bonnie, shopping was a way to relieve stress.

Since someone could accompany her to go shopping, Barron was naturally happy to be free.

However, this phone call also reminded Barron that last month, Manchester United Football Club had signed Cristiano Ronaldo from Sporting Clube de Portugal for 10 million pounds.

At that time, Barron had already gone to the United States, and until now, he hadn’t met this future football superstar.

In his previous life, what Barron admired about Cristiano Ronaldo was his self-discipline, being able to maintain his competitive state until nearly forty years old was indeed not an easy thing.

Many people knew that in the next nearly twenty years, the world football scene would be a competition between the twin stars of Cristiano Ronaldo and Messi.

And relatively speaking, Cristiano Ronaldo was more handsome, and if he could avoid some negative news later, then his commercial value would have more potential.

In the next stage, regarding the commercial operation of Manchester United Football Club, in Barron’s plan, Cristiano Ronaldo would also be a crucial part.

Besides the need to let Ferguson train this very promising young man well on the competitive level, Barron would also let the Manchester United brand management company customize a package for this future football superstar on the personal commercial value level.

However, to avoid the situation of Beckham being poached by Real Madrid Football Club from happening again, Barron also prepared to get closer to Cristiano Ronaldo, who was still a fledgling rookie.

Just as he was preparing to go to Old Trafford Stadium to take a look, Barron’s private phone received a call, and seeing the caller ID… it was Amanda Hearst!

So his plan changed, and the Rolls-Royce Phantom went directly to the Devonshire Hotel in Chelsea.

The reason was that the Hearst sisters had launched a surprise attack on him, and had already taken a flight to London and checked into the Devonshire Hotel.

Chapter 214: Solving the Problem

When he was in the United States, Barron had invited Amanda and her sister to visit England, offering to show them around his family’s estates, including Chatsworth House. Amanda and her sister had agreed at the time.

However, what Barron hadn’t expected was that the sisters would come over so quickly. Didn’t Amanda have to go to Boston University?

Barron recalled the words Amanda had said to him at the New York airport, “Maybe we’ll see each other soon.” It was possible she had already decided to come to England then…

He had just managed to placate Bonnie, and he certainly couldn’t upset her again at this juncture.

Therefore, on the way to the Devonshire Hotel, Barron had already decided to get the two sisters from the Hearst family out of London as soon as possible, to prevent them from meeting Bonnie.

Moreover, being with them in London would increase the likelihood of being photographed by the tabloid reporters.

“Barron, you’re here…”

“Amanda, and Lydia, welcome to London. You should have told me in advance; I would have picked you up from the airport myself.”

In the luxurious suite of the Devonshire Hotel, Barron met the Hearst sisters.

“We know you’re busy, we didn’t want to cause you too much trouble.”

Amanda wore a floral shirt and slim-fit jeans, her casual attire highlighting her beautiful figure.

After seeing Barron, her eyes didn’t leave him, and she said with a look of affection.

Compared to Amanda, Lydia’s attire was even bolder. It was September, and the temperature in London was only about fifteen or sixteen degrees Celsius, but she was wearing a short skirt, her slender legs in crystal sandals. Looking at Barron, she said in a sweet voice:

“And we wanted to give you a surprise…”

Well, there was a surprise, but it almost became a shock.

“Are you hungry? Let’s go have lunch first. The restaurant here should be able to satisfy you. Would you like French, Italian, or Chinese?”

If they were at the Devonshire Hotel, it was Barron’s territory, and he could arrange for them to dine without being disturbed.

“Chinese, please…”

Amanda was very considerate; she still remembered Barron’s preferences.

“Then you should try it. Our Tang Banquet Pavilion here is the first Michelin-starred Chinese restaurant in London.”

After the Devonshire Hotel was built, its catering department offered many types of cuisine, including French and Italian restaurants. Especially the Chinese restaurant, where Barron had specially invited the best Chinese chef in London to open a high-end Chinese restaurant called “Tang Banquet Pavilion” inside the Devonshire Hotel.

And this year, it passed the Michelin star rating, becoming the first Chinese restaurant to achieve this before Hakkasan Restaurant, earning the title of the first Michelin-starred Chinese restaurant in London.

Speaking of which, being Barron’s Chinese chef was actually very easy because not only was the salary very good, but he also didn’t eat Chinese food every day. Especially when Barron was away, leaving London, he could get corresponding holidays.

Therefore, many times, Barron’s Chinese chef would also come to Tang Banquet Pavilion to help out.

Besides having an extra income, he also hoped to keep improving himself. After all, as the Duke of Devonshire’s exclusive Chinese chef, he also hoped to secure his current position.

“Would you like to spend some time in London first, or go to Chatsworth House?”

Being able to pass the Michelin star rating, the taste and cooking methods of Tang Banquet Pavilion also better suited the preferences of Europeans and Americans. Therefore, after finishing the meal, the two sisters from the Hearst family also spoke highly of it. Barron tentatively asked.

“Let’s just walk around today, see what’s different between London and New York. You can accompany us when you have time…”

“I have something to do this afternoon. I’ll have someone accompany you to go shopping. I’ll take you to Chatsworth House first thing tomorrow morning.”

So Barron’s personal assistant, Laura, was temporarily assigned to accompany the Hearst sisters to shop in London’s luxury malls. Of course, two bodyguards would also follow.

After all, their safety was also very important.

Barron did have an arrangement for the afternoon; he had an important gathering at White’s Club to attend.

“Hello, Mr. Cassley, it’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“Your Grace, the Ministry of Defence is also very grateful for your contribution to the resettlement of retired soldiers…”

Talking cordially with Barron was the current Chief of the Defence Staff, Charles Cassley.

And the important figures participating in today’s gathering could almost decide many policies of the British Army.

These included His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales, important figures from the Ministry of Defence, including the Deputy Chief of the Defence Staff, the Duke of Westminster, the Secretary of the Cabinet, Lord Robin Bartlett, as well as personnel from the Prime Minister’s and Deputy Prime Minister’s offices.

The main topics of this gathering were the resettlement of retired British soldiers and the situation in Iraq.

According to statistics, in the United Kingdom, one in every four homeless people is a retired soldier.

The London authorities had conducted a survey of the current situation of retired soldiers and found that a considerable number of British soldiers were unable to find work after retirement, let alone buy a house or land.

Of the retired soldiers, at least 100,000 were living with relatives and friends, 20,000 were staying in cheap hotels, and some couldn’t even afford cheap hotels and had to sleep on park benches.

In this situation, many veterans began to seek help from social welfare agencies, hoping to get a place to live.

However, this idea was also difficult to become a reality.

On the list of beneficiaries of welfare agencies, the names of veterans were far behind those of released prisoners and refugees—because many welfare agency workers believed that veterans should be more likely to find work than released prisoners and refugees.

In fact, many veterans were not accustomed to the current society because they had lived in the collective life of the military, so it was difficult for them to find jobs that suited them.

Moreover, having experienced war, the psychological pressure they faced was also much higher than that of ordinary people.

According to a recent survey in the United Kingdom, 264 veterans who had participated in the Falklands War had committed suicide, which was nine more than the number of British soldiers who died on the Falklands battlefield that year.

Due to the unfavorable resolution of the veterans’ problem, the British Ministry of Defence and other government departments had been criticized by public opinion many times, but no one had come forward to solve it.

What to do after retirement had become a shadow in the hearts of many active-duty soldiers.

Facing these problems, His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales “came forward” and prepared to take the lead in establishing a special welfare organization to help veterans solve housing and employment problems.

This was also one of the issues to be discussed at this gathering. Barron responded positively to the Prince’s proposal, expressing his willingness to donate five million pounds to support the Prince’s welfare organization to help veterans.

In addition, Protector Military Company would also increase the scale of hiring veterans to solve this problem for the military.

But at the same time, he pointed out that Protector Military Company also had its difficulties. As a firm ally of the United States, Protector Military Company needed to receive the same treatment as American private military companies, to compete fairly for their military contracting orders.

Only by obtaining more military contracting projects could they solve more job positions for veterans.

In this regard, both the Ministry of Defence and the Prime Minister’s Office expressed their support to a certain extent.

Although before the Iraq War, because of his firm opposition to the war, Barron’s relationship with the Prime Minister was not very pleasant, but after that, the two sides had several tacit understandings. Moreover, the problem of veterans did affect the other side’s support rate. Being able to solve this problem was also welcomed by the Prime Minister, so in this regard, he could still get the Prime Minister’s support.

Looking at the development of private military companies, there were two very good opportunities. One was in the 1980s when the United Kingdom and the United States initiated a “small government” and began to outsource many security and police services to private companies.

At that time, the largest security company, G4S, began to grow stronger.

The other time was the current Afghanistan and Iraq wars. The demand for military contractors, in the original timeline, made Blackwater a giant.

However, now, Protector Military Company was also preparing to seize this rare opportunity to develop and grow.

You Americans have to drag us Brits to sell our lives, then the military contracting contracts can’t all go to Blackwater.

As long as they got on this fast train, taking advantage of this opportunity, Protector Military Company could not only solve the problem of some British veterans, but also get the support of the military. Whether it was orders or equipment, they could use the investments of the United Kingdom and the United States in Iraq to strengthen themselves.

Chapter 215: Tipsy

After this gathering, the Protector Military Company received more support from the British military and government. As long as they could solve the employment issues of enough retired soldiers, avoiding chaos in British society, they would not only be able to compete for more military contracting orders in Iraq.

Furthermore, within Britain, the Protector Security Department could also bid for some police outsourcing contracts, and they would be given a certain priority.

At the same time, some personnel from the Ministry of Defence, the military, and the Prime Minister also learned about some of the achievements of the Mars Fund and, under various guises, participated in investments in this private equity fund.

Well, it was just a normal investment.

In the future, facing the increasing demand for employment within Iraq, the Protector Military Company would also increase its personnel recruitment.

It was estimated that by the end of this year, the number of their personnel sent to Iraq would exceed 1,500 people.

It should be noted that at the beginning of the war, the British army alone deployed up to 45,000 troops to Iraq at its peak.

According to the information revealed to him by the Duke of Westminster, it was estimated that by next year, the British troops stationed in Iraq would be reduced to below 20,000.

This gap would require the addition of at least 5,000 armed personnel from private military companies.

The advantages of using private military company personnel, besides reducing maintenance costs, were that in terms of public opinion, they were not considered the country’s armed forces, which could quell some anti-war voices.

Of course, these additions would definitely not be monopolized entirely by the Protector Military Company.

But besides that, just like what Barron proposed at this gathering, as allies who had fought together and put in effort for them, the Americans also had to give their private companies some orders, or else they couldn’t blame them for quitting.

And he knew that with the exposure of some Blackwater scandals targeting civilians, after the coalition forces handed over Iraq to their transitional government, Blackwater would be quickly kicked out of Iraq.

Then the Protector Military Company, which had always had requirements for military discipline, could naturally obtain a lot of orders from it.

However, these alone, for the scale of more than a hundred thousand retired British soldiers, couldn’t be called a drop in the bucket, but it was still quite a difference.

The Protector Military Company was also planning to increase its security business within Britain. Today, in this regard, he had also received a commitment from the Prime Minister’s Office, which could help them obtain some local police outsourcing contracts.

As for still not being able to completely solve the problems of those retired soldiers?

That was enough, they couldn’t expect to do everything themselves. Being able to solve a part of it was already enough to deal with those public opinion criticisms.

…

“How was your day, darling?”

In the evening, Barron naturally returned to his residence to be with Bonnie.

Before returning, he specifically went to the Devonshire Hotel to see the Hearst sisters. They had spent the afternoon shopping in London, including Harrods, Selfridges, and York Square, and seemed to have made a lot of purchases.

“It was great. Victoria also invited me to her house and I met her two little babies, they were so cute…”

Hearing Bonnie mention “little babies,” Barron subtly changed the subject:

“By the way, darling, you have a vacation right now. I want to go on vacation with you. Where do you want to go? France? Italy? Or somewhere else…”

“Let me think…”

Bonnie leaned in Barron’s arms, thought for a moment, and said:

“Italy, maybe. The temperature in Sicily is nice right now, much warmer than London. But I might have to wait a week, I want to finish editing Love Island during this time.”

She hesitated for a moment and asked:

“Should we bring my cousin along?”

“Just the two of us, darling. I want to spend a rare time alone with you.”

Hearing Barron’s words, Bonnie smiled sweetly and took the initiative to give him a kiss.

…

Since she had confirmed with Barron that they would be going to Italy for a vacation, Bonnie started working on the final editing of Love Island the next day.

And Barron went to the Devonshire Hotel, picked up the Hearst sisters, and the convoy drove towards Chatsworth House.

At this time, Chatsworth House had completed most of the repair and renovation work, and the entire manor looked more refreshed than when Barron first came here.

When the convoy entered the area of Chatsworth House, they could already admire the beauty of the manor through the car windows.

“This is a unique experience. Coming here is like entering the TV series Downton Abbey…”

It could be seen that, compared to Amanda, Lydia was more fascinated by Downton Abbey. When she could see the manor house from afar, she had already started to cheer.

She said to Barron:

“This feeling is like I’m about to visit the Grantham family and be a guest there.”

“In a certain sense, that’s not wrong, but this time you’re visiting the Devonshire family, and you will be our distinguished guests.”

Barron said to her with a smile.

“I’m so happy, my dream has come true, especially with the Duke of Devonshire accompanying me.”

When the group got out of the car, they saw the manor servants lined up in two rows at the entrance of the house to greet them.

Barron noticed that many faces were slightly unfamiliar—after all, when the family’s financial situation was not very good, some servants had resigned, and recently, the number of times he had returned here was also very few, and most of the time he had only stayed for a day or two before leaving.

“Your Grace, welcome home, and to the two beautiful ladies, it is an honor to welcome you.”

Standing at the front of the line was still the butler, Sean. He and the female housekeeper, Riley, could be said to be the two people Barron was most familiar with at this time.

At this moment, the Hearst sisters also performed a noble bow to the butler, just like in Downton Abbey, which was quite proper.

The ancestors of many wealthy American families came from Europe, like the Hearst family, whose ancestors were Dutch descendants.

This kind of life of British nobility was somewhat different from the life the Hearst sisters had received since childhood. The sense of ceremony that came with history was fascinating.

Especially in the gilded North Wing Dining Room, being served by many servants, if they imagined that nearly 170 years ago, Queen Victoria, who was still a young girl, had sat in their current position and participated in her first formal social banquet…

And in the nearly 400 years of Chatsworth House’s history, there were countless famous figures in British history who had dined here…

That feeling was like they had already merged into history.

…

While the Hearst sisters were guests at Chatsworth House, Barron also received news that the cargo ship transporting the special operations team and the female “important person” had already been approaching the waters near Northern Ireland. It was estimated that they would arrive at Bilbo Castle tomorrow.

And Bilbo Castle had also made preparations, preparing a “cozy bedroom” located underground for the “distinguished” guest.

“Barron, what do you think?”

After hanging up the phone, hearing Amanda’s question, Barron looked over…

“Very beautiful, Amanda, this dress suits you very well.”

At this time, Amanda was wearing a long dress. Its complex design was exactly like the gorgeous gowns that the family’s female relatives had worn before, which were collected at Chatsworth House.

After cleaning and restoration, Chatsworth House currently had nearly a thousand sets of dresses and long gowns of various styles, some of which had also appeared in the filming of Downton Abbey.

After seeing these collections, Amanda and Lydia, as women, were immediately fascinated by these dresses of various styles and gorgeousness.

It was said that fashion was a circle. Fashion trends that were once popular a long time ago would become popular again after an unknown amount of time.

And these collections of Chatsworth House seemed to be completely unaffected by the changes of the times. Even now, they still looked so noble and beautiful.

Therefore, the sisters couldn’t help but want to try on these gowns and experience the grand attire of those nobles.

Of course, these complex gowns were not always easy to put on. Generally speaking, someone needed to assist them. Both Amanda and Lydia were able to get dressed properly with the help of the manor’s maids.

For women, putting on these gorgeous gowns was not just an experience. Of course, they also needed to take some beautiful photos to be satisfied.

For this reason, Barron specially found a female photographer from a nearby town for the Hearst sisters to help them capture gorgeous and beautiful moments in Chatsworth House.

“Last night, your sister confessed to you, didn’t she? Barron Duke.”

While Amanda was taking photos in the next room, Lydia sat down beside Barron and said to him softly.

“Uh, Lydia…”

Indeed, as Lydia said, last night, when Barron was alone with Amanda, the girl had boldly embraced him and expressed her love to him.

But Barron would naturally not and was not convenient to tell Lydia the details. Although he didn’t know how the girl knew, whether Amanda had told her, or if she had guessed it herself?

“You know, I had a girlfriend before, although we had some arguments before, which made us calm down for a while, but now…”

“I know all of this, it’s that Ms. Stuart, the author who wrote Downton Abbey with you, but my sister just wants a chance to compete, that’s not too much, is it?”

“Uh…”

It seemed that Lydia knew more than he thought…

“I just don’t want to hurt Amanda, after all, she is so pure and kind.”

“But I think, Barron, that rejecting her is what will hurt her.”

Lydia glanced in Amanda’s direction, then looked at Barron with her beautiful eyes, her face slightly flushed, and said softly:

“Actually, I also hope to have such a chance…”

In fact, in Barron’s opinion, purely from the perspective of appearance and figure, Lydia was even slightly better than Amanda.

And he could also feel the other person’s closeness to him.

However, before this, Barron had mostly regarded the other person as a fan’s little worship of an idol, but he didn’t expect that, at this moment, the girl would also boldly confess to him.

“Lydia, this… I don’t want you to be so impulsive and reckless.”

For the confession of such a beautiful girl, to say that he wasn’t moved, was definitely Barron lying to himself.

Uh, the sister flowers were indeed tempting, but from Bonnie and the Viscountess, Barron also knew that this was not so easy, and one wrong move could lead to nothing…

And the Hearst sisters and the Stuart sisters were still somewhat different. After all, the families behind Amanda and Lydia were not that simple…

No matter where it was, a family with a scale of nearly a hundred billion dollars, its energy, especially its local energy, was not to be underestimated.

Barron was lustful, but he also had reason, so he had such advice for Lydia.

“I’m not being impulsive, Barron, I know what I’m doing, and unlike Amanda, I don’t care that you have a girlfriend, I just want to…”

Lydia leaned towards Barron, raised her head slightly, got closer to him, and closed her eyes…

It had to be said that in such a scene, with her sister Amanda taking photos in the next room, and himself here, facing her sister Lydia’s initiative to kiss him…

It was really very stimulating…

But stimulation was stimulation, this kind of thing had consequences!

So Barron watched as Lydia slowly approached him, had already closed her eyes, and he could see her eyelashes trembling slightly…

At this moment, he took a deep breath…

And kissed her…

But he only tasted it lightly, and Barron stopped.

It wasn’t because of Lydia’s awkwardness, but because after the light kiss, her face was flushed, and her eyes were dazed, feeling like she was drunk…

Such an obvious thing… Amanda was just taking photos, and would come out soon, wouldn’t it be immediately seen?

“Barron…”

Sure enough, speak of the devil, and he appears. At this moment, with Amanda’s voice, she entered the room where they were:

“I’m done taking photos, let Lydia go over, what are you two…”

Amanda stared at them with wide eyes, only to see that a bottle of red wine had already been placed on the table, and Lydia was holding a wine glass, her face flushed.

“Uh, Lydia thinks that the effect is better if she gets slightly tipsy.”

“Is that so?”

Amanda looked at Lydia, and saw her cousin nod her head. Her appearance looked very cute.

She smiled:

“Then I’ll try it later… But Lydia is like this, her face turns red after drinking a little wine.”

“Then I’ll go take photos first…”

Lydia put the wine glass on the table, stood up, and when she walked behind Amanda, she turned around and winked at Barron…

“Amanda, I’m going to Northern Ireland next, where we have Bilbo Castle, and I’ll go take a look. Are you coming with me?”

“Okay, I heard that the scenery there is especially beautiful, I’ll go with you…”

Amanda grabbed the hem of her long dress with her hand, walked to Barron’s side, sat down, and looked at Barron with her eyes, full of tenderness.

“Barron…”

She also glanced at the room where Lydia was, and leaned towards the Duke, tilted her head, got closer, and closed her eyes…

Chapter 216: Aliya

Bilbo Castle is located in Northern Ireland, and it’s noticeably a few degrees colder here compared to England and Scotland.

The several hours of travel weren’t easy. After arriving at Bilbo Castle, the Hearst sisters were taken to their bedrooms to rest under Barron’s arrangements.

“She’s in the basement cell right now, Your Grace.”

At this moment, Nigel, Barron’s intelligence advisor, had arrived here ahead of them.

“How has she behaved during the trip?”

“She’s been cooperative, and she’s been quiet, without any extreme actions. However, she still hasn’t revealed any information.”

“Let’s go see her.”

Speaking of which, this mysterious woman who had been brought here was also the first “guest” of Bilbo Castle’s dungeon.

Although it was called a dungeon, it wasn’t particularly gloomy, and it looked like an ordinary prison cell.

Moreover, the furnishings inside the cells here were quite comfortable—after all, those who Barron would risk imprisoning here were inevitably some important people.

Because she was a woman, the cell where she was held was also one of the more “high-class” ones in the cells.

Currently, the dungeon was guarded by the Special Operations Team. Under Nigel’s guidance, Barron arrived outside the cell where the “mysterious woman” was held.

Through the observation port of the cell, Barron could see that a woman in camouflage military uniform was sitting in the room. She looked very young, in her twenties, with long brown hair tied into a ponytail. She was very beautiful, with exquisite and three-dimensional features, and a hint of mixed-race appearance.

“After she was captured, she was given a Munger base uniform because she needed to be searched,” Nigel explained behind Barron.

“Open the door, I’ll go in and meet her.”

Hearing Barron’s words, at Nigel’s signal, a special operations team member took out a key and opened the cell door.

Hearing the sound of the door opening, the woman’s gaze turned towards the door.

Only to see, as the door opened, two soldiers holding weapons walked into the cell, one on the left and one on the right, pointing their guns at the woman, on alert.

Behind them, two people walked in, one of whom was a handsome young man in a black trench coat, and behind him, followed a middle-aged man wearing glasses, who was slightly balding.

Both of them were typical Anglo-Saxon white people.

Judging from their positions, the handsome young man’s status was obviously the highest.

After confirming the safety, Barron walked into the cell. He quietly sized up the woman opposite him, and said with a rather playful expression:

“From your reaction when you saw me, I can tell that you recognize me, right?”

Hearing Barron’s first sentence, the woman’s expression changed slightly.

In the end, she nodded and said in fluent English:

“Yes, if I’m not mistaken, you should be the Duke of Devonshire. So, am I in the UK now?”

Since this woman was captured, whether on the way to the Munger base or on the way here, her head had been completely covered with a hood, in order to prevent her from knowing her destination.

Therefore, before this, she didn’t know where she was.

This feeling was also the most frightening.

“Where you are is not important. Since you recognize me, then there is only one choice in front of you now, and that is to answer my questions truthfully.”

“I…”

When the woman was about to say something, Barron interrupted her and said:

“You don’t need to rush to speak to me. I can tell you that no matter who you are or what you want to do, these are actually not important to me. I will only give you one chance, and I will verify your answers. If any point is proven to be a lie, then all your words will no longer have any meaning to me, including yourself, do you understand?”

Hearing these words from Barron, a thoughtful expression appeared on the woman’s face.

Finally, after Barron finished speaking and watched her, a determined look appeared in the woman’s eyes. She nodded at him and said:

“I will tell the truth, and I am willing to cooperate with you. I need you to guarantee my safety.”

“That depends on whether you are worth me doing so.”

“Alright, ask away.”

“Then come with me, I hope this isn’t a waste of time.”

After speaking, at Barron’s signal, two soldiers escorted the woman out of the cell.

Barron and Nigel followed behind them.

Since they were going to interrogate her, they would naturally be moved to a specially arranged interrogation room here.

In the interrogation room, the woman was locked in a chair, and on either side of her, there were still two soldiers guarding her.

Barron and Nigel sat on chairs opposite her, with a wide long table between them.

“First, your name.”

“My name is Aliya.”

Aliya? This is a name often used by Arabs. Barron asked:

“Are you an Arab?”

“I have half Arab blood. My father was an Arab.”

No wonder she looks a bit like a mixed-race person…

Barron looked at her and continued to ask:

“How did you get to know me?”

“Before preparing to cooperate with Raphael and the others, I investigated their previous activities in London, so… there were materials about you and your family in there.”

The Devonshire family suffered the greatest losses in the “London Star” fraud case, so her words sounded reasonable, but…

“We only knew about Raphael’s existence a long time later. How did you know about their connection to London Star case?”

“Because… it could be said that they took the initiative to ask us to cooperate. In order to show their strength, the Raphael member who contacted us told us about this case they had done…”

“What is your cooperation about?”

“Do you know the Sahara Company in India? That’s our target…”

…

“Go verify these messages of hers…”

“Yes, Your Grace, what about this woman?”

Hearing Nigel’s words, Barron turned his head and glanced at the cell where the woman was, and said:

“Keep her here for now. At least she can help us find the others in Raphael’s group, but first, we need to confirm whether her words are true.”

After thinking for a moment, Barron continued:

“Find two female bodyguards from the security department of a military company to watch her 24 hours a day, without interruption, and take good security measures.”

After two hours of interrogation, the information Barron obtained was still very rich.

First, the woman’s identity. Her name was Aliya Benti Hussein. According to her, her parents had passed away when she was very young, and she was raised by a Frenchman named Louis Lafayette, specifically of French descent. Because the other party’s nationality changed frequently, Aliya herself couldn’t even figure out what country Louis was from.

So, what was interesting was that although Aliya had half Arab blood, she was very secular and didn’t have a very strong belief.

This time, she was preparing to cooperate with Raphael, and their target was the Sahara Company of India. It’s just that Aliya was relatively “unlucky,” and was just about to meet and contact Soslan Tigiev, who led the “London Eye” fraud case, when she was captured by the Special Operations Team…

Speaking of the Sahara Company of India, even in Barron’s previous life, he had heard of it. It could be said to be the largest Ponzi scheme in Indian history.

But what was even more bizarre was that everyone knew that this was a Ponzi scheme, and the Indian government had also investigated and punished this company, but in the end, until Barron was reborn, this company still existed…

Chapter 217: Sahara Company

Subrata, the boss of India’s Sahara Company, was born in the poorest state in northern India. Although his family was considered small landowners, they were not particularly wealthy.

From a young age, Subrata was very interested in doing business, but his previous ventures, such as selling food and electric fans, all ended in failure.

It wasn’t until 1978 that he finally had a breakthrough and began a great undertaking – helping the poor make money.

Well, his method was to sell a financial product to those poor people, claiming it could provide a return of over 300%!

The lives of the lower class in India were truly miserable. As long as there was even a glimmer of hope to escape their current situation, they would unhesitatingly stake everything.

Moreover, at that time, Indian banks mostly conducted business only in cities. The poor people in slums and remote towns, even if they had meager savings, had nowhere to deposit their money.

And the literacy rate in India was extremely low, especially among the poor, with very few having attended school…

It was precisely because Subrata saw this point that he could confidently sell his business model to the poor people of India.

In the eyes of the poor in India, this was not a scam at all, but a chance to change their fate.

Initially, to expand his business, Subrata rode his small motorcycle every day, traversing the streets and alleys. The villagers were naturally very curious about this new form of investment. Under his persuasion, they all took out their savings. In this way, you gave 10 rupees, I gave 20, and Subrata raised a large amount of capital.

To achieve rapid business development, Subrata began to recruit a team of agents, selling his “fund plan” to more low-income people through these agents.

With referrals from acquaintances and attractive investment returns, the agents could easily attract investments, and a portion of these investments became the agents’ salaries and commissions.

In addition, Subrata would often organize collective activities for investors.

Sometimes, Subrata would also come among these Indian people, care about their lives, and solve some of their practical difficulties.

In 1992, Subrata invested in a primary school for a village in Gorakhpur.

At Subrata’s request, many media reporters were present that day to record the moment.

Soon, Subrata’s image in the hearts of the poor in India became increasingly positive.

Some poor Indians, in their excitement, even shouted the slogan “Long live Subrata.”

In addition, Subrata had once held a grand mass wedding for dozens of Indian men and women who could not get married due to poverty.

As with the previous investment and donation event, Subrata invited a large number of media reporters to the wedding.

After receiving Subrata’s banquet, these reporters wrote a large number of news articles praising Subrata.

In a short time, Subrata became a sought-after business figure in India.

Although Subrata’s wealth was not as great as that of Ambani, who was India’s richest man at the time, his reputation was already considerable.

Subrata’s series of actions directly made him one of “their own” in the hearts of the poor people of India.

Many Indian people felt that by following Subrata and working on projects together, he and his company would definitely not treat them poorly.

It was precisely because Subrata grasped this mentality of the Indian lower class that he was able to make his investment business flourish.

To gain everyone’s trust, Subrata managed the company in a family-style manner. All the agents and investors were affectionately called family members by him, and through charitable activities, he built his perfect persona among the poor. He himself was like the head of this family, and wherever he went, he would be pursued and worshiped by everyone.

Under this model, Subrata’s business scale grew day by day. In 1997, the Sahara Group’s capital scale reached 1 billion US dollars, and the number of employees reached an astonishing hundreds of thousands.

It is obvious that what Subrata was doing was a large-scale “Ponzi scheme,” and the operation of calling his “suckers” “family” – doesn’t that sound familiar?

Later, the pyramid schemes and micro-businesses in China were all things that this Subrata had already played with…

By 2000, he directly established the Sahara Group.

Subrata used the money raised to invest heavily in India’s real estate and electronics industries, which allowed him to accumulate astonishing wealth in a short period of time.

Because Subrata had an extraordinary talent for interpersonal communication, he quickly became a leader in the Indian business world.

No matter when, Subrata always had a few sure-fire deals in his hands.

He founded “Sahara Television” and also acquired many newspapers, controlling the tools of propaganda and public opinion to promote the Sahara Group.

Now it’s 2003. Although the Sahara Group already has a great reputation in India, it is not so well-known globally. Later, this creator of “India’s largest Ponzi scheme” will also make a large purchase of the Grosvenor House Hotel in London – this hotel previously belonged to Barron’s old acquaintance, the Duke of Westminster, and is one of London’s landmarks.

Not only that, but he also spent a huge sum of money to acquire the Dream Downtown Hotel in New York.

At that time, these actions of his began to make him show off in front of the people of the world.

Hearing the plan that Aliya mentioned, they initially hoped to cooperate with the “Rafael” organization and target the “scam” at India’s Sahara Company, which made him feel a little amused.

To scam India’s largest “Ponzi scheme” company?

For a moment, he really wanted to let the other party go and see if they would succeed in the end…

Of course, this was also impossible. After all, as an “Rafael” organization that had harmed the Devonshire family, Barron certainly needed to eliminate it to maintain the family’s dignity.

As for the Sahara Company?

To be honest, Barron didn’t care about them. After all, although the wealth that Subrata had “earned” now amounted to billions of dollars, on the one hand, he was doing it in India, which wouldn’t affect him; on the other hand, Barron’s own wealth was not lower than the other party’s, and there was no need to get involved in the affairs of the Sahara Company. After all, this company would later be targeted by the Indian government…

Now, Barron’s side will still keep Aliya in custody and first investigate all the details of what she said to determine whether the other party is lying.

Her greatest value later on, I’m afraid, will be helping him find all the “Rafael” members.

After all, according to her, she had the most contact with another more core member of “Rafael,” and this time she had just gone to see Sothland, preparing to discuss the follow-up plan, but she didn’t expect to be “taken advantage of” by the special operations team.

Barron admitted that this Aliya was extremely beautiful, and as a beauty from the Middle East with Arab blood, she was more in line with Barron’s aesthetic than many European and American women.

But in the final analysis, he could vaguely feel that there were still many secrets hidden in this Aliya. He would naturally not take risks, and even if she was tempting, he would not easily keep the other party by his side.

Only after confirming the authenticity of what Aliya said would he decide her fate.

Currently, “Rafael” has not been completely captured, and Aliya’s background, as well as her “foster father,” Louis Lafayette, are estimated not to be ordinary people, so Barron will be even more careful.

Although he is not afraid of those shadowy forces now, it doesn’t mean he is willing to be harassed by them all day long.

Chapter 218: Security Company

After accompanying the Hearst sisters at the Bilough Castle for another two days, Barron sent them back to the United States first.

Although during this time, Barron could feel that both sisters had the intention of taking their relationship further.

But Barron had too many things to deal with recently, and he didn’t have the mood to have multiple women around him for the time being. He could only privately express to them, well, that he had good feelings for them, but due to the constraints of morality, he needed to restrain himself.

In this regard, Barron self-evaluated as a “green tea man”…

As for Aaliyah, after Nigel flew to Asia to personally confirm whether the information she provided was accurate, Barron sent two female security personnel to keep watch over her twenty-four hours a day, and after strengthening the security forces of Bilough Castle, he temporarily left here to go to London to handle matters.

Before leaving Northern Ireland, Barron also took the time to meet with some members of the local parliament.

The British base of the Protector Military Company was located in Bilough Castle, and its scale would be expanded in the future, with the entire base almost doubling in area around Bilough Castle.

Because in addition to continuously providing training for personnel going to Iraq, they would also increase domestic security services in the UK.

For this purpose, they specifically registered the Protector Security Company in the UK. The person in charge of the company was Kenan Merton, the former Senior Vice President who was poached from the G4S company.

Barron planned to first obtain some security and police outsourcing orders from Northern Ireland.

You must know that in the entire UK, even after the year 2000, Northern Ireland was still occasionally threatened by attacks.

Presumably, many people have heard of the Irish Republican Army. Even now, this organization still poses a threat to the British rule, especially in the Northern Ireland region.

When mentioning the Irish Republican Army, different groups of people would have two completely opposite viewpoints.

In the Irish public, people usually regard the Irish Republican Army as a national hero who resisted British colonial rule, promoted national independence and the reunification of the North and South.

But on the other side, including the UK region of Northern Ireland, the Irish Republican Army was notorious for committing numerous blood debts.

From 1968 to July 2002, a total of 3,600 people died in violent conflicts in the Northern Ireland region of the UK and the Republic of Ireland. The Irish Republican Army and other organizations were at least responsible for the deaths of 2,000 people.

In Northern Ireland, many people seemed to be accustomed to cultural differences, political conflicts, and the sounds of gunfire.

The British Admiral Lord Mountbatten, who proposed the famous “Mountbatten Plan” in history, died from an assassination by the Irish Republican Army.

And they had also planned an assassination against Mrs. Thatcher.

Therefore, the government has always listed the Irish Republican Army as a terrorist organization.

The history of the Irish Republican Army can be traced back to the early part of the last century. In April 1916, the famous “Easter Rising” broke out in Dublin.

Due to the disparity in strength, the uprising ultimately ended in failure.

The Irish Volunteers at the time suffered heavy losses, and most of the leaders of the Irish independence movement were arrested and executed by the British government. The armed struggle to fight for Irish independence was forced to go underground.

In order to adapt to the new situation of struggle, in 1919, the remaining Irish Volunteers were reorganized into a more tightly organized Irish Republican Army. This was the first time the Irish Republican Army appeared on the historical stage with documented evidence.

After the establishment of the Irish Republican Army, they organized many assassinations and sneak attacks against British police and troops. Thousands of British people lost their lives, making the situation in Ireland difficult to control for a time.

The British government had to compromise and finally agreed in 1921 to the independence of the 26 counties in southern Ireland as the “Irish Free State,” which was the predecessor of the Republic of Ireland.

But at this time, the British still occupied the northern six counties and remained in the UK in the form of Northern Ireland.

In 1937, after Ireland formally became independent, the Irish Republican Army still refused to give up the route of armed struggle, declared that they would continue to fight for the reunification of the North and South, and carried out violent activities.

The activities of the Irish Republican Army covered the entire island of Ireland, becoming a source of instability for both the newly established Republic of Ireland and the UK.

In 1939, the Irish Republican Army was jointly banned by the governments of both countries.

After World War II, with people’s yearning for peace after the war, the Irish Republican Army gradually lost its soil for survival and inevitably declined. By the mid-1960s, the organization had basically disintegrated.

But with the rise of the Northern Ireland civil rights movement and the intensification of national conflicts in the late 1960s, the Irish Republican Army came back to life, rose again, and declared that they would continue to fight for the reunification of the North and South.

But due to differences in the route of struggle, the newly risen Irish Republican Army split, splitting into the Official Irish Republican Army and the Provisional Irish Republican Army. The Official Irish Republican Army gradually abandoned the route of armed struggle and instead supported political action to seek the unification of Ireland.

Subsequently, the Provisional faction became the main Irish Republican Army. They were extremely left-wing in their ideology, continued to insist on armed struggle, and carried out a series of assassination attempts.

The most famous of these were the assassination of Mountbatten and the assassination of Mrs. Thatcher.

On August 27, 1979, 79-year-old Lord Mountbatten, who had already retired, was targeted by the Irish Republican Army while on vacation in Ireland. As a figure of considerable prestige in the British upper class and internationally at the time, a 50-pound bomb was planted on the yacht he was riding.

After the bomb was detonated, Mountbatten’s legs were blown off, and he eventually died of his injuries, at the age of 79.

Subsequently, the Irish Republican Army announced that they were responsible for the incident.

On the same day that Mountbatten was assassinated, the Irish Republican Army also launched a surprise attack on British troops marching in Warrenpoint, County Down, Northern Ireland. Eighteen British soldiers died in the conflict, including sixteen paratroopers and one British Lieutenant Colonel.

This attack was called the Warrenpoint ambush and was the deadliest conflict in the Northern Ireland conflict.

The assassination of Mountbatten and the Warrenpoint ambush made the Irish Republican Army famous.

At the time, the UK was in the midst of Conservative Party leader Mrs. Thatcher taking office as the British Prime Minister. Known as the Iron Lady, Mrs. Thatcher advocated taking a tough stance against the Irish Republican Army.

The UK began to strictly control the border of Northern Ireland. For a time, the activities of the Irish Republican Army were greatly restricted.

In 1984, the Irish Republican Army, which had become addicted to violence and could not extricate itself, decided to cause greater trouble for the British.

They planted a bomb at the Conservative Party conference in Brighton, England, attempting to kill Mrs. Thatcher.

The terrorist attack killed five people on the spot, but Mrs. Thatcher survived.

Although the Irish Republican Army was fiercely counterattacked by the British government afterwards, the British government still could not fundamentally solve this troublemaker.

In 1993, for the sake of regional peace, the UK and Ireland jointly initiated the Northern Ireland peace process, but it had been stalled due to the Irish Republican Army’s refusal to disarm.

Just when the Northern Ireland peace process was on the verge of breaking down, Sinn Féin, the political organization of the Irish Republican Army, stepped forward.

In October 2001, Sinn Féin called on all factions of the Irish Republican Army to lay down their weapons, but only a few factions responded.

It was not until 2005, two years from now, that the Irish Republican Army officially ordered a halt to armed struggle and joined the peace process, under the mediation and conciliation of the international community.

As early as December 1999, the UK and Ireland, as well as all relevant parties in Northern Ireland, finally reached the “Good Friday Agreement.”

This agreement was the biggest breakthrough in the Northern Ireland peace process since its inception.

The agreement stipulated that the Irish government would no longer make territorial claims on Northern Ireland, but still retained the possibility for the people of Northern Ireland to decide for themselves to join the South, which was considered to save face for the Irish Republican Army and Sinn Féin.

According to this treaty, the Irish government amended the constitution and formally abolished the clauses regarding the claim of territorial sovereignty over Northern Ireland.

In the original timeline, on May 8, 2007, the Democratic Unionist Party and Sinn Féin, who had been fighting for decades, finally stood together and formed the new Northern Ireland local autonomous government.

Permanent peace seemed to have arrived in full.

But what was worrying was that two years later, in 2009, a terrorist attack suspected to have been launched by the Irish Republican Army occurred again in the UK, which could not help but cast another shadow over the peace process in Northern Ireland.

Therefore, at this point in time, if there is any place in the entire UK where the Protector Security Company can play a greater role, then Northern Ireland must be the first choice.

In the current year of 2003, the Northern Ireland peace process still has not made a decisive breakthrough. Although the Irish Republican Army’s strength is far less than before, it still threatens the Northern Ireland region and the entire UK.

You must know that during the more than three hundred years that the UK ruled Ireland, the ethnic composition and religious beliefs of Northern Ireland gradually changed.

The UK has a large number of Protestant immigrants in Northern Ireland, and the proportion of new residents even exceeds that of the local Irish.

The new residents belong to the Anglo-Saxons. As descendants of the British, they have a natural aristocratic nature and originally looked down on the Irish, who were originally farmers.

And the Irish people belong to the Celts and believe in Catholicism.

It is indeed very difficult to merge Northern Ireland, which is predominantly Protestant and of British descent, with the Republic of Ireland, not to mention that centuries of conflict have already made the two sides deeply conflicted.

Therefore, in fact, the Irish Republican Army is also unwelcome in Northern Ireland and is also regarded as a terrorist organization.

It is against this background that the Protector Security Company will receive many security projects in the Northern Ireland region, and even in the negotiations with the local government, the other party is also considering outsourcing a part of the police work to the Protector Security Company.

Of course, in response to this, the Protector Security Company needs to keep the company headquarters in Northern Ireland and accept a portion of the police personnel who have been laid off, thereby creating employment rates for the local area.

Next, Barron plans to continue investing 20 million pounds in the Protector Security Company. In addition to expanding the scale of its Bilough Castle base, it will also improve the personnel and equipment of the security company, and even purchase large-scale equipment, including coastal patrol boats and helicopters, for security needs.

Chapter 219: Skype

“Do you know a Mrs. Emma?”

In the morning, Barron returned to the bedroom and saw Julia Moore had just woken up. He sat by the bed, kissed her forehead, and asked about the name he had just heard.

Initially, when the Devonshire family participated in the investment in the “London Star,” besides the other reasons related to the family’s need for funds, he had always been puzzled. The known reasons were not enough to make the always cautious previous Duke decide to invest so much money in the “London Star.”

And just this morning, from a briefing from the Munger base on the further interrogation of Soslan Digiyev and others, Barron received new information.

That is, the initial investment in the “London Star” by the former Duke of the Devonshire family was facilitated by a woman named Mrs. Emma.

“Mrs. Emma?”

Hearing this name, Julia sat up, recalling, momentarily forgetting her beautiful morning glory.

When she noticed Barron’s gaze lingering, she belatedly pulled up the blanket, her face flushed:

“I saw her twice when I was in London, both times with the old Duke. She was a lady of elegant and noble temperament, but…”

She glanced at Barron and said:

“It seems she should be an old acquaintance of the old Duke. Why are you suddenly asking about her?”

“It’s nothing, I just heard a friend mention this name.”

Barron made an excuse to Julia. Unable to get more information from her, Barron still planned to find someone to investigate this lead later.

“Let’s go eat breakfast together, I’ll have the kitchen prepare it now.”

Julia arrived in London yesterday. Today, the Cavendish King Hotel in King’s Cross was about to open. As the manager of the family trust fund belonging to the Cavendish Hotel Group, she would also be present.

After breakfast, Barron received a call from Amber Sheen, the CEO of DS Industrial Investment Company.

He told Barron that in Estonia, he had found the Skype team and finalized this investment.

They would invest 10 million pounds in the Skype team, acquiring 60% of the shares of this startup company.

Of course, being able to persuade the other party to give up so many shares was also due to Amber Sheen representing Barron and assuring them that they could help them resolve the lawsuit from the United States regarding the infringement of their previous software, Kaaza.

Skype is an internet phone, which was officially launched at the end of August this year. However, before that, when the test version of this internet phone was launched, it had already caught Barron’s attention. He immediately sent Amber to Estonia to discuss the investment and acquisition with the other party’s team.

Because of the promise to resolve their big trouble of being sued by the United States, plus the fact that it had just been launched, DS Capital gave such a high valuation. In the end, the Skype team, including Zennstrm and Friis, agreed to DS Capital’s investment request.

This goes back to their previous startup.

As early as 2000, when the internet craze swept the United States, Everyday.com, a European entertainment and news portal, was preparing to launch.

The initiator of this website was the CEO of the Swedish telecommunications company Tele2.

When recruiting related technical personnel, the marketing director of Tele2’s Estonian office suggested looking for Estonians.

Thus, Tele2 published a recruitment advertisement in the newspaper, offering a salary of 5,000 Estonian kroons per day (approximately equivalent to 300 US dollars), which was equivalent to an ordinary person’s monthly salary.

The three people who successfully applied for the positions were Jaan Tallinn, Ahti Heinla, and Priit Kasesalu.

The three of them were all passionate about technology and were alumni.

They mastered the PHP language in a very short time and completed the tasks assigned by Tele2.

In addition to the above three people, the personnel responsible for the website also included Tele2’s old employees Niklas Zennstrm and Janus Friis, and a new employee, Tovio Annus.

The two old employees worked in Luxembourg and Amsterdam respectively, while the new employee Tovio Annus and Jaan Tallinn worked in Tallinn.

It is worth mentioning that these six people later became the founders of Skype.

Everyday.com ultimately failed.

Two employees of the company, Niklas Zennstrm and Janus Friis, left the company and began to think about new ways out.

When Napster in the United States was under siege by the music and film industries, the two of them wanted to do the same thing, but they hoped to cooperate with the entertainment industry.

They went to Tallinn to find the Jaan Tallinn technical trio.

Then Kaaza was born.

Kaaza is a peer-to-peer file-sharing software that does not require an intermediate server, thus solving the problem of Napster.

It quickly became the most downloaded software on the internet.

But in terms of business, Zennstrm and Friis did not reach an agreement with the film and music companies in the United States.

Kaaza was sued for encouraging piracy and spreading pornography, and this entrepreneurial team also became the target of pursuit by American lawyers.

This caused all the members of the team to need to constantly avoid court summons for a long time afterwards, even after they sold Kaaza.

For example, on one occasion, when Zennstrm went to the theater to watch a play, a stranger handed his wife a bouquet of flowers and then pulled out a subpoena…

Zennstrm immediately got up and ran.

Another time, he was chased by a motorcycle in London, but he escaped again.

When Zennstrm went to Tallinn to meet with the team, he was always very nervous.

Sometimes strangers would come in, and he would hide under the table.

In his previous life, due to fear of being arrested, Zennstrm and Friis did not go to the United States for many years.

Eventually, they paid 100 million US dollars in compensation to the American music and film industries to get rid of this lawsuit.

But that was after they later sold Skype for a sky-high price and had become super-rich.

But now, this matter is not so troublesome for Barron. After all, the Kaaza software has been sold. With his connections in the United States, resolving this matter is not just a piece of cake, but also does not require so much money.

The reason why Barron went to such great lengths to get so many shares of Skype is because he knows that two years later, eBay will acquire this company for a sky-high price of 26 billion US dollars.

And this is not the end, because after eBay acquired Skype, it did not integrate well with it. By 2011, Microsoft acquired Skype again for a sky-high price of 8.5 billion US dollars.

After DS Industrial Investment Company acquired Skype for 10 million pounds this time, besides Estonia, the company will also establish a branch in the Cavendish King Building in London—becoming neighbors with the Woaw company.

And the Skype entrepreneurial team will still have the main operating rights of the company in the future.

In addition, being able to obtain cooperation with O2 Telecom is also the main reason why the Skype team is willing to accept DS Capital’s investment.

In many articles introducing Skype later, it will be mentioned that this company, which provides internet phone services, was once suppressed by many telecommunications companies because internet phones infringed on the interests of telecommunications companies.

In fact, on the whole, the growth of internet phone users will indeed reduce some of the revenue of telecommunications companies.

But this part of the business is mainly concentrated in international communication business. After all, before smartphones, the reason why Skype users used this software and sat in front of the computer to make calls was mainly because this method could save expensive international phone fees.

And the impact on mobile communications is not significant.

And unlike the fixed impression of many people, in fact, after this, many telecommunications companies even took the initiative to launch their own internet phone services in order to promote their broadband business.

Within this year, American Telephone and Telegraph Company (AT&T), Time Warner and other companies will launch their internet phone services, and British Telecom (BT Company) will also launch similar services.

O2 Telecom itself has mobile communication services and broadband services, so after cooperating with Skype, it will not affect its own revenue, but will expand its user base.

And in terms of the future development of Skype, in terms of technology, this company does have a better user experience than the internet phone services launched by those telecommunications companies.

Chapter 220: Deeply Worried

“I saw the report in the newspaper, you’re planning to acquire Selfridges again, hmm, easy does it…”

Sunlight streamed through the white gauze, shining on the Viscountess, enveloping her as if in golden light.

She was already more than three months pregnant, and her belly was noticeably rounded.

The Viscountess leaned against the floor-to-ceiling window, tilting her head slightly. The Barron behind her, it could be said, was affecting everything…

“Not necessarily. I’m just buying some shares for now. You know, that young master from the Weston family harassed Bonnie a few times before. Just giving him a lesson.”

Speaking of this, Barron had a mischievous smile on his face:

“My dear Mrs. Booth, why do I feel you were a little…tense just now when you heard Bonnie’s name?”

Up to now, DS Capital had not only bought nearly 5% of Selfridges’ shares in the secondary market, but also participated in the bidding for the 51% stake in Selfridges held by the Selfridge family…

Before DS Capital, the highest bid for the Selfridge family’s 51% stake in Selfridges was 300 million pounds from the Weston family.

But DS Capital directly offered 350 million pounds, directly raising the highest bid in this auction by 50 million pounds.

This made the Weston family a little embarrassed.

Because their original goal was to acquire the Selfridge family’s shares and then privatize the entire Selfridges department store, making the entire Selfridges a wholly-owned subsidiary.

DS Capital’s price increase not only meant they had to spend at least 50 million pounds more to acquire the Selfridge family’s shares, but also had a chain reaction, meaning they would have to pay a higher price to buy the remaining shares…

Taking everything into account, to complete the privatization of Selfridges, the Weston family would have to spend over 100 million pounds more than originally planned!

According to the information Barron had received, the Weston family’s holdings in Selfridges shares bought in the secondary market were only about 8% of the total shares, slightly more than DS Capital’s.

Therefore, they only had a slight advantage in the acquisition of Selfridges.

As Barron said to the Viscountess, he was just giving the Weston family a small lesson for the time being, but even so, if the Weston family chose to continue the acquisition of Selfridges, DS Capital would not lose.

If they gave up the acquisition, DS Capital would not mind taking over Selfridges, using it to break into the high-end department store market in Britain.

……

“British Pension Fund Investment Survey”…

Seeing the title of this report in The Independent, Barron raised an eyebrow.

In today’s report, the reporter from The Independent investigated and compared the current three main pillars of British pension funds – the state pension, occupational pensions, and personal pensions – their respective fund sizes, investment strategies, and investment returns in recent years.

After reading the article, Barron frowned slightly…

The rate of return of British pension funds was far lower than he had imagined.

For example, the first pillar pension, the state pension, was operated by the National Insurance Fund (NIF), and the Committee for the Reduction of National Debt (CRND) managed its investments.

Its investment strategy was very conservative, mainly consisting of bank deposits and British government bonds, and, at most, the Treasury issued a portion of non-marketable government bonds, NILO, specifically for it. Benefiting from the fact that the British market benchmark interest rate had reached over 5% in recent years, the state pension’s rate of return could maintain an average of over 3% in the past two years…

But he knew that this “good time” would not last long. After 2008, the British market benchmark interest rate would drop sharply from 6% to 0.5%, and the rate of return of the state pension fund would also plummet!

Regarding this, Barron was deeply worried.

As for the second and third pillars of private pensions (including occupational pensions and personal pensions), the total size of British private pension funds had already exceeded 2 trillion pounds, managed by different pension funds, with the largest being the Pension Protection Fund (PPF), with a size exceeding 30 billion pounds.

However, the investment strategies of these pension funds could only be described as conservative with a bit of blindness, with an average rate of return between 4% and 7%, and this was still the result of the recent good performance of the British stock market…

Alas, Barron was deeply worried.

The pensions of British citizens were only getting such low investment returns, unable to enjoy products with higher returns and stable value preservation. Barron believed that this was the dereliction of duty of those pension fund managers, and also that his work had not been done well.

But in this way, if Athena Fund provided capital preservation and guaranteed fixed income, the annualized rate of return could be slightly lowered…

8%-12% should be enough.

Currently, Athena Fund’s quantitative trading mathematical model was undergoing simulated trading verification. Next month, they would be able to officially enter the securities market for automatic quantitative trading.

Although the entire quantitative trading of Athena Fund would be completely based on its mathematical model for automatic trading, it would be divided into 5 groups to formulate trading strategies and face the securities market, which could be considered to greatly reduce risks in the initial stage.

The current fund size of 400 million dollars could completely meet the initial trading of Athena Fund, but as their quantitative trading mathematical model improved, they could gradually increase the amount of funds invested.

As for the state pension fund, Barron was not planning to absorb it now. After all, on the one hand, this type of pension fund involved the government, and it would definitely try to be stable.

He planned to start with those private pension funds first, thereby increasing the scale of Athena Fund.

……

“Hello, His Grace the Duke of Cavendish, can I talk to you for a moment?”

Barron had just walked out of the SEM building with Bonnie when a blonde woman said this to him.

However, the woman was stopped by Barron’s bodyguards.

Feeling the questioning gaze of Bonnie beside him, Barron immediately understood her suspicion. He couldn’t help but feel a little speechless. Although this woman could be considered a “beauty,” she looked almost thirty years old. His taste…wasn’t that bad, was it?

“I’m from the Weston family, can I have a few minutes to talk?”

Hearing the woman’s words, Barron signaled to his bodyguards, then walked up to the woman and said:

“I’m sorry, I’m off work now. You should have made an appointment directly.”

“I made an appointment, but your office kept saying you didn’t have time…”

Uh, Barron thought for a moment. It seemed that Laura had indeed mentioned this to him, but he wasn’t interested in talking to the Weston family at any time, so he had let her find an excuse to dismiss them.

“You are?”

“I’m Alanna Weston. I want to talk about the matter of Selfridges…”

Alanna Weston? Barron sized up the other party again. He didn’t expect the heir of the Weston family to come in person…

That’s right, Alanna Weston was the older sister of Galen G. Weston, whom Barron had also seen at the entrance of this SEM building before, and was also the family heir who would inherit the management rights of the Weston family’s holding company in the future.

“I’m going to have dinner with my girlfriend, but before that, I can give you some time, Ms. Weston.”

Of course, not right here, but Barron could invite Alanna Weston into the car and give her time to talk on the way to the restaurant.

Alanna didn’t think too much and agreed. After giving a few instructions to her bodyguards and driver, she got into Barron’s Rolls-Royce Phantom, and her original car followed behind Barron’s convoy.

Chapter 221: A Persistent Woman

“Your Grace, I don’t think it’s necessary for us to continue competing for Selfridges. It will only benefit the other shareholders of Selfridges…”

After the Rolls-Royce Phantom started, Barron deliberately asked after hearing Alana say this to him:

“So, the Weston family is willing to give up on the acquisition of Selfridges?”

“…”

Barron’s words directly left Alana speechless…

She took a deep breath and said to Barron:

“You misunderstand me, Your Grace. I hope you can withdraw from artificially inflating the price of Selfridges.”

“I think, Ms. Weston, perhaps you misunderstand us. Although I noticed that your Weston family’s acquisition of Selfridges was indeed because your brother harassed my girlfriend…”

At this moment, Barron and Bonnie were sitting in the back seat of the Rolls-Royce Phantom, while Alana was in the front passenger seat. Barron could clearly see that her expression wasn’t very good…

He continued:

“But our bid for Selfridges is not artificially inflated. We genuinely believe it’s a good acquisition target and is worth the price we’re currently offering. Of course, if your family is willing to offer a higher price, perhaps we’ll take the initiative to withdraw…”

After saying these words, Barron felt that he was a truly honest person, very real…

Because the decision to bid on the shares of Selfridges held by the Selfridge family was 5,000 pounds higher than the Weston family’s 300 million pounds. It wasn’t just a random price increase, but Barron believed that it was acceptable to complete the controlling stake in Selfridges at this price, or to complete the privatization of Selfridges at approximately 700 million pounds – 100 million pounds higher than the Weston family’s price in the original timeline.

So Barron really didn’t deceive Alana. If their family continued to bid, then DS Capital would give up on the acquisition of Selfridges and sell its Selfridges shares to the other party at a certain premium, and leave with tears, earning four or five million pounds…

However, judging from Alana’s expression at this moment, she didn’t seem to believe Barron’s words, but rather regarded them as a provocation to her family…

“I apologize for my brother’s behavior, Your Grace…”

She looked back at Barron and Bonnie beside him, and said:

“I can guarantee that he will not appear before you again. We will immediately transfer him back to Canada, and we can acquire your Selfridges shares at a 20% premium.”

Currently, DS Capital holds approximately 5% of Selfridges’ shares. They bought these shares for about 28 million pounds, which means they could make more than 5 million pounds just by reselling them.

After all, although the Weston family often appears at the top of the British rich list, in the final analysis, they originally started in North America, and it wasn’t until Alana’s grandfather’s generation that they began to expand their business to Britain, and their main industries were still concentrated in Ireland.

Therefore, if possible, they didn’t want to antagonize the Devonshire family, which had a relatively large influence and connections in Britain.

And Alana’s father had a “collecting obsession” with the department store retail industry – the later decision of their family to sell some of the Selfridges Group’s stores was made only after W. Galen Weston, that is, Alana Weston’s father, passed away.

Buying Selfridges was very important to their family’s strategy. They planned to use Selfridges as a foundation after privatizing it, establish the Selfridges Retail Group, and continue to acquire some European retail companies, thereby injecting them into the Selfridges Retail Group…

This first step couldn’t be lost.

“I already know your proposal, Ms. Weston.”

At this moment, the Rolls-Royce Phantom had stopped at the entrance of a well-known London restaurant. Barron opened the car door and said to Alana:

“I will consider what you said today. You can wait for my reply, but now I’m going to have dinner with my girlfriend.”

After saying these words, he got out of the car and walked into the restaurant with Bonnie.

“I’m sorry, madam, we’re not open to the public today.”

Just as Alana also got out of the car and wanted to go in to continue persuading Barron, she was stopped by the restaurant staff.

Having dinner with his girlfriend, Barron naturally didn’t want to be disturbed by others, so he directly booked the entire restaurant.

Hearing the restaurant staff’s polite but unquestionable words, and watching Barron and the others disappear at the door, Alana couldn’t help but look cold.

…

“Darling, if you still have things to deal with, we can leave later…”

Now, the final episode of the first season of “Love Island” had been edited and was going to be broadcast this weekend. This super popular dating variety show, which had earned Summit Media and Halo Copyright Company over 30 million pounds in revenue, was also coming to an end.

Similarly, according to what Barron and Bonnie had said before, after she finished the post-production of “Love Island,” the two of them would go on a vacation together. The current chosen destination was Sicily, Italy.

After meeting Alana Weston today, and hearing her talk about Selfridges, Bonnie was also very understanding and considerate of Barron.

Speaking of which, it made Bonnie feel quite good that a man could retaliate against others in anger because she was harassed.

Of course, the premise was that she herself liked Barron. If someone else did this, then she would feel somewhat absurd.

“It’s okay, baby, it’s all small things, it won’t bother us.”

Under such tender affection, and with the preparations that Barron had specifically put his heart into, the two of them naturally had a very enjoyable dinner…

“Duke of Cavendish…”

When Barron and Bonnie came out of the restaurant, they unexpectedly saw Alana again getting out of the Bentley parked at the door and greeting him.

This woman was really persistent. Barron felt somewhat emotional about her attitude.

“Ms. Weston, I told you that I will consider what you said. You may get an answer soon.”

He let Bonnie go back to the car first, and then said to Alana Weston:

“Are you not afraid that you’re making me certain of the importance of Selfridges to you, and thus I’ll ask for an exorbitant price?”

“I don’t deny the importance of this acquisition of Selfridges this time, but I have also learned about your industries, Your Grace. I don’t think acquiring Selfridges is your first choice, and besides that, I hope our family can establish a friendship with you, so we can cooperate with each other.”

“So, let’s be frank. Besides giving me some premium to acquire the Selfridges shares in my hands, what other benefits can I get from our friendship? You know, those premiums alone are not enough to support me in giving up the acquisition of a London symbol as representative as Selfridges.”

“Of course, we can have more win-win cooperation. For example, if we can complete the acquisition of Selfridges, then I will serve as the future CEO of the Selfridges Group. I know that your DS Capital has outstanding achievements in wealth management. Our joint pension fund also needs a stable investment direction…”

It has to be said that Alana’s approach was very accurate and indeed moved Barron.

In fact, just as she said, from the very beginning, Barron understood that Selfridges was not the most suitable acquisition target for him. Although this high-end department store had a high reputation, its operating methods didn’t suit Barron.

Speaking of Selfridges, or going to Selfridges, what is the most profound impression it gives people?

It’s their endless creative window displays – the world’s first window display illuminated at night originated from Selfridges.

Also, it’s their unique style of displaying fashion and art integrated into every corner of the department store, always having a unique style.

To put it bluntly, what Selfridges needs is refined management and constant investment of a lot of energy.

Therefore, although Selfridges has a relatively high turnover and a high reputation, it is still more suitable for professionals with generations of experience in the retail industry, such as the Weston family, to manage.

In comparison, Barron prefers retail chains with a fixed model that can be quickly replicated, such as Argos.

Like Selfridges, even if they open branches in other cities, they cannot completely replicate the previous model. Each store needs to have its unique personality, which is what the high-end department store’s customer base – those wealthy people – like.

Currently, rather than spending 700 million pounds to buy Selfridges and find professionals to invest energy in management, it would be better to use these funds to expand the number of Argos stores.

Chapter 222: Sicily

Speaking of Argos, just last month, the first batch of Argos-branded products from China had already arrived in Britain.

At the same time, all Argos stores launched a wave of sales promotions.

While it was called a sales promotion, in fact, most of the participating products were Argos’s own brands.

But this time, the sales promotion was very strong. Compared to the previous prices, the promotional price was only as low as 50% off!

And after the promotion ended, the restored price was only 80-90% of the original price…

In fact, those goods produced in China could still maintain sufficient profits under such prices, and even the profits of some products were higher than before.

In less than a month, Argos’s turnover increased by more than 70% compared to the same period last year!

Under such circumstances, the management of Argos was even more supportive of Barron’s strategy of transferring the supply chain to China, and they would continue to expand the cooperative supplier system in China.

Currently, Argos had approximately 450 stores throughout Britain and Ireland. They would be implementing an ambitious store expansion plan.

The plan was to increase the number of their stores in Britain and Ireland to 500 within the next year, and by 2006, their stores in Britain and Ireland would reach 600, thereby covering the entire Britain and Ireland.

And at the same time, Argos would begin to enter continental Europe, starting with France, which was adjacent to Britain…

It was estimated that within this year, Argos would start from Paris, building more than 5 warehouse stores, 10 drive-in stores, and 15 pick-up points, as well as a large warehouse logistics center.

The so-called warehouse stores were similar to most Argos stores in Britain at this time, with warehouses, providing supplies of almost all Argos product categories.

Drive-in stores were located near warehouse stores, stocking only the most popular products, but were able to conveniently distribute goods from the warehouse stores and warehouse logistics centers.

Pick-up points were generally small in area, only providing pick-up locations for customers who ordered goods by phone or online.

At this time, Argos had begun to transform the way users purchased goods from the previous paper product catalogs to its shopping website.

Users could conveniently purchase goods on the Argos website and, after leaving their addresses, choose to have Argos provide home delivery service—of course, this service required an additional fee.

They could also choose the nearest store or pick-up point to pick up the goods themselves within the agreed time.

Argos estimated that within two years, its stores and pick-up points would roughly cover the entire urban areas of France and begin to expand to more countries in Europe.

……

Sicily could be said to be one of the most favorite vacation destinations for Britons in the summer, because compared to Britain’s bad climate, in Sicily, one could enjoy the sun, beaches, and the beauty of the Mediterranean.

And here, it was also reminiscent of the movie “Malena”.

Indeed, after coming to Italy, especially Sicily, Barron saw many tall and beautiful women, and they had a more passionate enthusiasm than British girls.

But all of this couldn’t compare to the “English rose” by his side…

This wasn’t Barron’s flattering words to Bonnie. In fact, whether it was appearance or figure, he really hadn’t seen anyone more outstanding than Bonnie along the way.

Bonnie, who came to Sicily as agreed with her boyfriend to enjoy a vacation for two, was also in a very good mood, which also allowed Barron to enjoy a lot of her previously somewhat shy “passion.”

Through the impressions from some movies before, such as “The Godfather,” many people easily associated Sicily with the Mafia, so they couldn’t help but worry about encountering those thugs who would resort to violence at any moment.

But after really coming here, Barron and Bonnie still felt that the public order here was quite good, and it was also very peaceful and leisurely, especially under the company of a group of bodyguards and attendants…

“Are you Ms. Stuart?”

The hotel where Barron and Bonnie stayed was naturally the most high-end one here.

When they walked out of the hotel today, a girl took the initiative to say to Bonnie.

“Yes, I’m Bonnie Stuart…”

This situation wasn’t the first time after coming to Italy, so Bonnie behaved very appropriately.

Speaking of which, probably now in all of Europe, Bonnie’s recognition was higher than Barron’s, because many countries, including Italy, had introduced the British version of the reality show “The Traitors,” and the ratings in those countries were not low.

So as the host of “The Traitors,” Bonnie was also recognized by the public in these countries along with the show.

It was estimated that after the even more popular “Love Island” began to be broadcast in other countries, her popularity would be further improved…

“Then are you the Duke of Cavendish?”

Unexpectedly, besides Bonnie, this girl also recognized him. Barron met the other’s gaze and nodded, saying:

“You know me too?”

“Because I saw you have so many attendants, plus she is Bonnie Stuart, then you, the handsome gentleman, must be the Duke of Devonshire.”

Just after the girl said these words to him, a bodyguard-like man walked to the girl’s side, glanced at Barron and them, and said something to the girl in Italian.

The languages Barron currently mastered included English, Chinese, and Russian. As for Italian, he could only understand a very small part—that is, some exclamations she said when she was excited while learning knowledge with Bruni…

Things like “hard,” “damn,” “oh my god,” “daddy” and so on…

He really couldn’t understand what the bodyguard said.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you today, I have to go first, by the way, my name is Barbara Berlusconi.”

After the girl finished speaking, she waved to them and left with the bodyguard, getting into a Maserati Quattroporte at the door.

Berlusconi?

Hearing this surname, Barron immediately thought of the identity of this young girl, the daughter of the current Italian Prime Minister…

In fact, in his previous life, Barron had also seen photos of this Barbara in some reports.

Mainly about some scandals after she managed AC Milan…

It’s just that she was only 19 years old now, very immature compared to later, so Barron didn’t recognize her at first.

It was no wonder that at first, when recognizing Bonnie and Barron, Barbara didn’t seem as excited as others, but rather calm. After all, the family she was born into could be said to be one of the richest and most powerful families in Italy…

But this was only a small interlude for Barron’s arrival in Sicily.

After that, Barron continued to spend a rare and leisurely vacation in Sicily with Bonnie.

It has to be said that in terms of women, old Berlusconi was also a model. In the year before his death, at the age of 85, he married his fourth wife, a post-90s beauty who was 53 years younger than him.

You must know that at that time, his eldest daughter was already almost 60…

As for his lovers, they were countless…

And then there were the people around him, searching for those beauties for him in Italy, and the * parties he held, which were even more worthy of Barron’s… criticism.

Chapter 223: Primark

“We found the name of Lady Emma in the list of investors in London Star, but she didn’t appear on the list of those who reported the incident…”

After Barron finished his vacation and returned to London, he received some information about Lady Emma from Nigel Inkster.

Lady Emma’s full name was Emma Evans. She was forty-three years old this year. She married Barron Eden Evans twenty years ago, but Barron Evans died of illness six years after their marriage. Since they had no children, Emma Evans inherited her husband’s property and had not remarried since.

As for the relationship between Lady Emma and the Devonshire family, or rather, the previous Duke…

Her late husband, Barron Eden Evans, had a good relationship with Barron’s father, so the Evans family had had many contacts with the Cavendish family before. However, since Barron Evans’ death, Lady Emma had rarely appeared in the Cavendish family.

“Can we find her now? I want to meet this Lady Emma and talk to her.”

“Lady Emma has always kept a low profile, but we can definitely find her. She has several residences in England.”

Hearing this reply, Barron nodded and then said:

“Regarding Alia, can we now confirm the authenticity of the information she provided?”

Since Nigel Inkster had returned to London, it meant that he had basically confirmed the authenticity of the information provided by the woman named Alia Benti Hussein.

According to what Nigel said, based on the channels they currently had, they could prove that most of the details Alia had said were true, but some of the content was difficult to confirm in a short period of time because of the long time that had passed and the relatively turbulent situation in the Middle East at that time.

“That’s enough…”

Barron said:

“I will go to the Château de Bellegarde again in two days to meet this woman.”

……

“Ms. Weston, we can give up the acquisition of Selfridges department store and sell you the shares we hold…”

Barron looked at the blonde woman in front of him and said:

“But I have a suggestion, that is, to use our shares in Selfridges department store as a partial payment for the purchase of your Primark.”

“Primark? Your Grace, if I heard correctly, you want to buy Primark?”

Alannah Weston, who had a smile on her face, immediately became a little restless after hearing that Barron wanted to acquire Primark.

Primark is a cheap clothing brand and a subsidiary of Associated British Foods (ABF).

The Weston family holds a controlling stake in Associated British Foods.

Currently, Primark mainly operates in the British and Irish markets. After acquiring some stores from Woolworth, BHS, Co-Op, and C&A, Primark has a total of about 110 stores.

“Primark is an important brand for us, Your Grace, do you mean that selling Primark is a prerequisite for you to give up the acquisition of Selfridges department store?”

“No, you misunderstood, Ms. Weston. Affected by brands like ZARA and H&M, Primark’s current development is not ideal, and considering the acquisition of Selfridges department store, plus your subsequent acquisition plans, it will occupy too much capital, so I hope to help you solve some pressure…”

Barron said to Alannah with a smile:

“You know, most of the brands you currently operate, including Loblaws, Brown Thomas, and Fortnum & Mason, are high-end retail companies that cater to high-quality customers. Only Primark is a cheap clothing chain that caters to ordinary people. Comparatively speaking, Primark, which has caused more controversy, is an obstacle to your family’s overall positioning. Although my Argos also sells some clothing, Primark’s style is more compatible with Argos’ style.”

Alannah also admitted that Barron had a point, but the key was that their family had been operating Primark for 34 years—since 1969, when the first Primark store, then called Penneys, opened.

Moreover, selling Primark was not something she could decide.

“I need to report this matter, Your Grace. Although I also believe that cheap clothing is not suitable for our brand image, I am afraid that selling Primark, which is currently developing well, will also be difficult to approve.”

“I can understand this, Ms. Weston. Even so, I will keep my promise, but I need to remind you that in addition to the impact of overseas brands including ZARA and H&M, and the competition from other cheap clothing brands that have already appeared domestically, if you cannot acquire Primark, then I am afraid that you will also have to face the competition from the cheap clothing of other brands under our Argos…”

According to what he had agreed with Alannah before, after the Weston family also bid more than 350 million pounds for the 51% stake in Selfridges department store held by the Selfridge family, DS Capital would withdraw from the competition for this department store.

In return, in addition to the Weston family acquiring their 5% stake in Selfridges department store for 35 million pounds, the employee pension fund of Associated British Foods, which is controlled by their family and has a market value of over 15 billion pounds, will also purchase a 100 million pound Athena fund with a 5-year fixed annual yield of 12.5%.

Speaking of which, like professional pension funds, the largest ones in England are concentrated in industries such as retail, mining, and telecommunications, which is also easy to understand, after all, these industries have the largest number of employees.

Of course, it also has something to do with the operating time of the company.

Just like the employee pension funds of the retail enterprises under the Weston family, the scale is over 500 million pounds.

As for Barron’s proposed acquisition of Primark, even if the Weston family ultimately refused, he was prepared to enter this market by acquiring other brands.

From Zara to H&M, fast fashion and affordable clothing have been leading the trend and developing rapidly since the first ten years of the 21st century.

Especially the rapid development of Zara has directly pushed its owner, the Spaniard Amancio Ortega, to the position of the richest man in the world.

Currently, Primark’s development is not very noticeable, and it is only concentrated in the British market, but Barron knew that after 2006, with the addition of a new CEO, Primark began a ten-year period of crazy expansion, and in the future, it would become one of the most profitable clothing brands.

So taking advantage of the current opportunity to acquire this brand and develop it, and directly compete with Zara and H&M, is also a very good opportunity.

……

“Tamara, we meet again.”

“Yes, Barron, what a coincidence, I just came back from Cambridge…”

Tamara’s face bloomed with a sweet smile when she saw Barron, but her words couldn’t help but carry a hint of resentment:

“You went to America without saying hello last month, and my vacation was so boring.”

“Uh, I had some business to take care of, so…”

Today, Barron was attending a promotional reception held by F1 in London. He didn’t expect to meet Tamara here, but it made sense when he thought that her father was the F1 president.

“Hello, Duke of Cavendish, I’m very glad to see you here. In addition, my daughter has often mentioned you before.”

A small, silver-haired old man walked to Barron’s side at this time and said to him cheerfully.

“Dad, you, that’s not true…”

But his words made Tamara blush.

Barron naturally knew that this old man was the creator of the F1 sport, and also the president of the F1 management company, Tamara’s father, Bernie Ecclestone.

Chapter 224: Target: F1

Speaking of Bernie Ecclestone, the most profound impression Barron had from his previous life was of this F1 commercialization master, who, at nearly 90 years old, still had a young model wife, 46 years his junior, give birth to a son…

That was also his eldest son.

When he had a precious son at nearly 90, his three daughters, the eldest was already 65 years old…

In other words, his eldest daughter could have a grandson the same age as his son, and the eldest son’s age was completely comparable to his great-grandson.

Tamara was Bernie Ecclestone’s second daughter; she had a younger sister who was five years her junior.

Bernie was born in 1930 and was already 73 years old this year, while Tamara was only 19, almost thirty years younger than her half-sister.

Yes, it was obvious that Tamara and her sister were both born to Bernie’s second wife.

Tamara’s mother, Slavica Radic, was a supermodel from Yugoslavia. She fell in love with Bernie at the age of 24. At that time, the old man was already 51, and the two were 27 years apart…

Another point worth mentioning was that Bernie was only 159 centimeters tall, and he also had a height difference of 23 centimeters with his second wife…

It seemed the old man was well-versed in the art of eugenics, as his last two wives were both tall models, which allowed Tamara and her sister to inherit their mother’s height.

Barron felt that he and Bernie would definitely have a lot to talk about in this regard, after all, the old man was a tough guy who could still make babies at 90…

However, this time Barron came to attend this F1 promotional cocktail party, naturally not to ask the old man for advice on this, nor was it because of his daughter Tamara…

“I heard you’re interested in SLEC’s shares?”

After finding an excuse to send Tamara away, Bernie Ecclestone said to Barron.

SLEC, the full name is Slavica Ecclestone Corp., this company controls the commercial operating rights of F1.

This company founded by Bernie, at this time, he only owned 25% of SLEC’s shares through his family company, Bambino, while the other 75% fell into the hands of SPEED Investment Company, which was jointly established by Bayerische Bank, JP Morgan Investment Bank, and Lehman Brothers Bank.

At the same time, Bernie also faced challenges to the commercial operation rights of F1, because SPEED, which reportedly held the vast majority of the shares, was preparing to seize this right from Bernie.

Barron was also taking this opportunity to get involved and see if there was a chance to get SLEC, thereby controlling the operation of F1, which was known as the “third largest sport in the world.”

Bernie’s relationship with F1 was very complicated, and it had to start from earlier times…

The F1 race was founded in 1950. Initially, it was entirely an amateur race without any source of income. The conditions of the race were very simple; the track might only be a rural road, the team’s repair station was a temporary shed built on the roadside, and the drivers had to double as car mechanics, and many people didn’t even get paid.

They either had a lot of money at home, or they had to take another job to support their families.

The situation of the teams was not any better. The bosses put their own private property into it. For example, Enzo Ferrari decided to produce and sell Ferrari sports cars to raise money for the F1 team.

When Bernie bought the Brabham team, F1 had been running for 20 years. Although the conditions in all aspects had improved, both the race management and commercial operation were still very chaotic. There were no restrictions on whether the teams participated and whether the sponsors paid money, and the races often fell into unpredictable embarrassing situations.

Bernie keenly sensed the huge business opportunities hidden in F1.

In 1978, after he was elected chairman of the Formula One Constructors Association (FOCA), he began to polish this piece of jade.

FOCA was an organization established by the F1 teams themselves, and its mission was to coordinate the positions of the teams and take joint action to gain more benefits.

Bernie had to implement his plan. First, he had to obtain the F1 commercial operating rights from the Fédération Internationale du Sport Automobile (FISA), the management of F1.

Bernie made an important ally──Max Mosley, FOCA’s legal advisor. The two joined forces to challenge FISA President Balestre, threatening to break away from FISA’s jurisdiction and establish a new race. At that time, the manufacturer teams stood on the side of FISA, and the private teams all supported FOCA. F1 faced a major crisis of division.

Bernie knew Ferrari’s weight in F1. He went to Italy many times to lobby, and finally got Enzo Ferrari’s support. The manufacturer teams also turned to FOCA under Ferrari’s leadership. Balestre, under pressure, could only hand over the F1 commercial operating rights to FOCA.

Bernie invested enough initial funds at his own risk to ensure that the teams that won in the F1 race could get the prize money they deserved. At the same time, it was stipulated that any team that wanted to participate in an F1 race must sign a contract with FOCA to participate in all races.

In this way, he could provide sponsors with races with guaranteed participating teams.

Subsequently, Bernie began to promote the television broadcasting rights—in an era when live television broadcasts of sports competitions were not yet widespread, he had already foreseen that this would be the most important source of income.

He persuaded various television stations to buy the entire season’s copyright of F1 in a package, rather than buying it one race at a time.

In this way, the F1 race not only had a more stable income guarantee but also greatly increased its exposure.

Bernie kept 60% of the income from the television broadcasting rights himself, and only distributed 40% to the teams, but no one objected at the time, because a small percentage of income was better than having nothing at all.

What the team owners did not expect was that in the following years, they became rich men by relying on this small percentage, and they became increasingly dissatisfied with the portion Bernie took—although according to the current agreement, the teams’ share had increased from the original 40% to 63%.

Bernie knew very well that to firmly control F1 in his own hands, he needed not only money but also power.

He fully supported Mosley in taking the positions of chairman of the Fédération Internationale du Sport Automobile, the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile, and the Association Internationale de Tourisme Automobile in 1991, 1993, and 1997 respectively, and merged these three organizations into the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA).

In this way, Mosley had unprecedented power, and Bernie, his biggest supporter behind him, bought the F1 commercial operating rights from FIA for 110 years, from 2000 to 2110.

Yes, it was SLEC, the company founded by Bernie, which took over the F1 operating rights for the next 110 years in 2000 for 360 million US dollars…

However, in 2000, Bernie’s assets were not as much as later. In order to come up with the 360 million US dollars to purchase the F1 operating rights, while ensuring that he dominated the commercial operation of F1, he sold 75% of SLEC’s shares to the German Kirch Group in 2000.

However, the good times didn’t last long. In 2002, the Kirch Group announced bankruptcy, becoming the largest bankruptcy case in Germany after World War II.

And in this process, the 75% of SLEC’s shares held by the Kirch Group belonged to three creditor banks.

These three banks were Bayerische Bank, Lehman Brothers Bank, and JP Morgan Chase Bank.

And these three banks wanted Bernie to hand over the F1 operating rights.

At this time, the greatest source of wealth and power for Bernie Ecclestone was the control of F1’s operating rights, and naturally, he would not sit and wait for death.

In the original timeline, he contacted the private equity firm CVC Capital Partners, and then, through certain means, secretly took the lead in buying the shares of Bayerische Bank, which held the most SLEC shares—they held 50% of SLEC’s shares.

In this way, plus Bernie’s own 25% shares, they controlled as much as 75% of SLEC’s shares.

The tables were turned, and in the end, Lehman Brothers and JP Morgan Chase, two American banks, could only hold their noses and sell all their shares to CVC Capital Partners, thereby withdrawing from the F1 operating rights competition.

And Barron, he hoped to replace the role of CVC Capital Partners, cooperate with Bernie Ecclestone, and buy the shares of SLEC.

Chapter 225: Responsibility is Important

As for why Barron, knowing Bernie Ecclestone was so shrewd, still chose to cooperate with him instead of directly buying the shares of the SLEC company from those three banks, there was naturally a reason for this. First of all, later on, it wasn’t just CVC Capital Partners, who were cooperating with Bernie, that contacted the three banks, including Bayerische Landesbank, hoping to purchase their shares in SLEC. Others didn’t offer a low price either, but in the end, only CVC Capital Partners succeeded. Why?

In 2013, Bernie Ecclestone was indicted by a German court on charges of bribing banker Gerhard Gribkowsky, who handled the F1 equity transactions, with 44 million US dollars between 2004 and 2005, to assist CVC in buying the shares at an extremely low price, causing huge losses to Bayerische Landesbank.

Gribkowsky was responsible for the sale of Bayerische Landesbank’s shares in SLEC at the time.

Bernie did this because among the several potential buyers, only CVC promised to let Bernie maintain control of the F1 management company.

However, the court ultimately ruled the bribery charges unfounded, and Bernie paid 100 million US dollars to settle the case. The outside world widely accused the court of being bought off by Bernie’s money, but Bernie just said with disdain, “This idiotic thing is finally over.”

Therefore, in order to continue to maintain the operating rights of F1, Bernie dared to use any method.

And by cooperating with him, Barron could, like CVC Capital Partners, buy the shares of SLEC from Bayerische Landesbank at a lower price, and let Bernie do all the dirty work. Why not?

And Barron himself didn’t intend to actually run the commercial operations of F1 racing; he only needed to maintain his influence on the event.

Because, in the final analysis, the development of F1 still couldn’t be separated from Bernie Ecclestone.

Because F1’s normal operation was inseparable from the cooperation of the 12 F1 teams and the support of the FIA, and Bernie was the best mediator among them.

If they still hoped for the continued stable development of F1, there was currently no one in the F1 world and the entire racing circle more suitable as a successor than Bernie.

And in the end, given Bernie’s current age, it was impossible for him to hold onto F1 for too long. It would be perfect to let him leave a better event for himself.

“I have many choices, how do you want to convince me?”

Facing this young man who was a full half-century younger than himself, Bernie asked directly when the two were talking privately.

Understanding that this cunning old man was still bluffing, Barron was naturally not at all flustered:

“You know, Mr. Ecclestone, I not only own a media group in Britain but also hold shares in the Sinclair Group, which is one of the top television and broadcasting groups in America. Therefore, cooperating with me is of great benefit to the promotion of F1, and…”

He looked at Bernie and said lightly:

“You said you have many choices, but I’m probably the only one who can guarantee that you will still lead the commercial operation of F1 after buying SLEC.”

It was obvious now that Bernie hadn’t reached a cooperation with CVC Capital Partners, otherwise, Barron wouldn’t have a chance, so he was confident in saying this.

“How do you guarantee it?”

“After the acquisition is completed, you will still be the president of this company, and we will not interfere with the company’s operations without harming our interests. These can all be written into the agreement.”

Hearing Barron’s words, Bernie Ecclestone was silent for a moment and asked without expression:

“What I’m also concerned about is, can you come up with so much money now? I know you’ve had several sky-high acquisitions, but those were all leveraged buyouts, which also put you in a lot of debt. You know, SLEC is a company worth 1 billion pounds…”

“Regarding this point, Mr. Ecclestone, you can rest assured. Since I came to see you today, it won’t be without a purpose. However, in terms of the acquisition price, as the future head of F1, you also need to show your value…”

Barron knew that in his previous life, CVC ultimately completed the acquisition of 100% of SLEC’s shares, spending over 700 million pounds. Even adding some “other” expenses, it didn’t reach 800 million pounds.

And through this sale of his 25% stake in SLEC, Bernie Ecclestone also received 200 million pounds in revenue…

These funds, after the final acquisition was confirmed next year, it wouldn’t be difficult for Barron to come up with.

What he was concerned about was whether he could, like in his previous life, take down the SLEC company with the help of Bernie Ecclestone.

You know, when the American Liberty Media Group acquired this company in 2017, it cost a full 8 billion US dollars!

Between this in and out, there was a huge profit.

“Then, a pleasant cooperation.”

Facing Bernie Ecclestone, who showed a smile and reached out his hand to him, Barron also smiled and shook hands with him.

After reaching these tacit agreements, Barron’s conversation with Bernie Ecclestone became more casual.

Of course, this inevitably involved Bernie’s daughter, Tamara.

With the old man’s sensitivity, how could he not see his daughter’s fondness for the young and handsome Duke…

This couldn’t even be called fondness anymore. Bernie didn’t even doubt that, given his daughter’s behavior, if he wasn’t careful, she might even give him a grandson.

If his daughter could marry Barron, Bernie Ecclestone would certainly not object to their relationship.

Not only would he not object, but he would also encourage it to happen.

But the key was that everyone in Britain knew that Barron had a girlfriend…

Therefore, during the conversation, Bernie Ecclestone couldn’t help but say:

“I understand that when you’re young, you’ll enjoy yourself to the fullest, but when you reach a certain age, you’ll understand that responsibility is the most important thing…”

He looked at Barron and said with a hidden meaning:

“Tamara is still young, and I hope she can gradually understand this principle.”

Uh, hearing the old man lecturing him with these principles, how should he put it, Barron just felt a little… strange.

But although the old man had been “eating the tender grass” (dating younger women), and was still young at heart at ninety years old…

But he really only had one wife younger than the last, and there weren’t too many other shenanigans outside of marriage…

“I understand, Mr. Ecclestone. I’m just friends with Tamara, and I’ve always respected her very much…”

As for what she would do, that was what troubled Barron. Too outstanding, so attractive, and Tamara was so proactive, what could he do?

“Have you finished talking? Dad, I still want to chat with Barron…”

Speak of the devil, and he shall appear. It was possible that seeing the two weren’t talking about business, or simply because she was tired of waiting, Tamara walked over to them and acted coquettishly towards the old man.

“Okay, then I’ll go talk to someone else. You two chat.”

Before leaving, Bernie Ecclestone didn’t forget to take a special look at Barron, probably to remind him.

“My dad didn’t say… say anything about me, right?”

After Bernie Ecclestone left, Tamara’s big eyes stared at Barron and asked carefully.

“No, Mr. Ecclestone was praising you, but most of the time, we were talking about business.”

“F1 racing? He’s full of it, I don’t even think it’s that interesting.”

Chapter 226: Descendants of the Holy Lineage

“Hello, Aliya, we meet again.”

“This proves you’ve confirmed what I said.”

Aliya looked much better this time than the last. She wasn’t wearing a military uniform anymore. The Bilo Castle could now provide her with daily attire.

Besides being monitored by female bodyguards, her living conditions were good. She could shower and bathe, and also read books to pass the time.

“You’ll be free soon, after we capture all the Rafael members. Of course, if you want to be free sooner, then you need to help us achieve this goal.”

The reason for controlling her was because she appeared at the scene where the special operations team was capturing the most critical Rafael member, Rafael Digiev.

However, after ruling out her connection with the Rafael organization, the only threat she posed to Barron was the possibility of leaking his capture of Rafael to the other side.

Therefore, after the Rafael organization was eliminated, Aliya no longer posed a threat to Barron, and he could completely release her.

Although Barron didn’t take organizations like Rafael seriously, without their own armed forces, they weren’t a significant threat.

However, he should despise his enemies strategically, but take them seriously tactically.

How should he put it, their “London Star” fraud case had a total value of 500 million pounds. After deducting various losses, the amount successfully laundered overseas was, at the very least, 100 million pounds.

If the news were to leak, and the remaining Rafael members were to become desperate, they could use these funds to hire hitmen in the black market, which would still cause him some trouble.

Therefore, before he eliminated Rafael, Aliya couldn’t leave, and he couldn’t even give her the chance to transmit information.

Of course, the simplest method, physical elimination, was the best way to keep the secret. However, if she could provide more information and help him complete the task of eliminating the Rafael organization as soon as possible, she would still have some value.

And Barron’s intuition told him that the woman before him should have more value to exploit.

“If that’s the case, I’m afraid the moment you let me go is when I’ll need to run for my life.”

Aliya’s face wore a helpless expression as she said this.

Her delicate features looked quite pitiful at the moment.

“Why?”

Aliya sighed and said:

“I’ve been missing for so long. Even if I don’t tell you anything, I’m probably already suspected of leaking our plan. With my adoptive father’s cautious nature, I’m afraid that when I appear again, I’ll be facing another interrogation.”

As she said this, a flash of fear passed through her eyes, which didn’t seem fake at all.

“The Louis Lafayette you mentioned? Isn’t he your adoptive father?”

When Nigel went to the Middle East, he naturally investigated this French-born adoptive father of Aliya. However, the information currently available wasn’t much. His public identity was a businessman who was kind and generous, donating to many charitable projects.

In response to Barron’s question, Aliya showed a meaningful smile:

“He has more than just me as adopted children. If my identity wasn’t a bit special, I would have probably become a tool for him to achieve certain goals long ago…”

Seemingly thinking of the fate of those people, Aliya’s gaze shifted from Barron to the wall beside her:

“But even I, I’m afraid I can’t escape that fate sooner or later, it’s just that the people worth his efforts now need greater power than these.”

“What special identity do you have?”

“Now, I don’t need to hide it from you anymore. I’m a descendant of the Holy Lineage. My ancestors were the royal family of the Kingdom of Hejaz…”

The so-called Holy Lineage refers to the Hashemite family. Their family is considered to be the direct descendants of the Prophet Muhammad, and thus they are called “Holy Lineage.” In the Middle East at this time, the only royal family that could be called the Holy Lineage was the Jordanian royal family, and they belonged to the Hashemite family.

The Hashemite family can be traced back to the 5th century AD…

Of course, it’s a long story, so I’ll just give a brief introduction.

Amr, the ancestor of the Hashemite family, was the ruler of Mecca at the end of the 5th century AD. At that time, Mecca suffered a rare drought. Amr bought food from surrounding areas and distributed it to his people.

Amr was therefore called “Hashim” by his people, which means “the one who breaks open the bread.”

Amr was the founder of the Hashemite family, but it was the Prophet Muhammad who truly clothed this family with a sacred aura.

Muhammad was born in 570 AD. He lost his parents at a young age and was raised by his uncle, who accompanied him to trade in Palestine, Syria, and other places.

Muhammad married Khadija, a wealthy merchant widow from Mecca, but they didn’t have sons after their marriage, only four daughters (the eldest daughter was Khadija’s child from her previous marriage).

Later, Muhammad married his daughter Fatima to his uncle’s son, his cousin Ali—the current Hashemite family are all descendants of Ali and Fatima.

Although the Hashemite family couldn’t achieve hereditary control of the highest power of the Arab Empire, because of Muhammad’s religious influence, the Hashemite family held a very high religious status in the Islamic world and were known as the “Holy Lineage.”

In the 10th century AD, the Abbasid Caliphate and the Fatimid Caliphate, which ruled Egypt, competed for supremacy. Both sides courted the Hashemite family of Mecca to enhance their own status in the Islamic world.

Members of the Hashemite family began to formally hold the position of Emir of Mecca, becoming the religious leaders and secular rulers of Mecca, and later expanded their influence to the entire Hejaz region (western Arabian Peninsula).

During the Ottoman Empire, the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire recognized the Hashemite family’s position as “Sharif of Mecca” (religious leader of Mecca) and allowed them to have considerable autonomy.

The Hashemite family pledged allegiance to the Sultan of the Empire, and the Sultan recognized the Hashemite family’s control over Mecca and other places, as well as their high religious status.

After the 18th century, the Ottoman Empire’s national strength began to decline, gradually becoming the target of bullying by European powers.

There were some forces within the Arabian Peninsula that opposed the Ottoman Empire (such as the Saud family) who took the opportunity to cause trouble. The Ottoman Empire twice allied with pro-Turkish Arabs to eliminate the regime established by the Saud family.

By the beginning of the 20th century, the Ottoman Empire had further declined, and the territories in North Africa and the Balkans were almost completely lost. The Arab-inhabited areas under its rule also became unstable under the influence of nationalist ideas.

Under the invasion of the great powers, the Ottoman Empire’s territories in the Arab region were gradually stripped away. For example, Kuwait, Bahrain, and Qatar were controlled by the British. The Sabah family, the Al Khalifa family, and the Al Thani family were successively supported to take power. The Saud family also rose again in the eastern Arabian Peninsula.

Because the Ottoman Empire lost a large amount of territory, it was preparing to strengthen its actual control over the Arabian Peninsula, which harmed the interests of Arab nobles, including the Hashemite family.

At this time, the leader of the Hashemite family was the Sharif and Emir of Mecca, Hussein bin Ali.

Let me talk about the names of Arabs. Their most common names are often composed of three or four parts. The names of men often include “bin,” which means “son of”; the names of women often include “binti,” which means “daughter of.”

Just like Aliya’s name is Aliya binti Hussein, which means her name is Aliya, and she is the daughter of Hussein.

Hussein bin Ali means that Hussein’s father’s name is Ali. Arabs also use the same names repeatedly. For example, names like Hussein, Ali, and Muhammad are used very often.

If the name has four parts, then the family name will be added at the end, for example, the name of the King of Saudi Arabia must end with “Saud”…

…

After the outbreak of World War I, the Hashemite family’s opportunity came. Hussein bin Ali received support from the British.

Because the Ottoman Empire joined the Central Powers led by Germany and Austria, it opposed Britain, France, Russia, and other countries.

To weaken the Ottoman Empire, Britain, France, and other countries supported the Arabs in resisting the rule of the Ottoman Empire.

Under the influence of nationalism, Britain verbally promised to support the Hashemite family, allowing them to establish a “unified Arab state” in the Arab-inhabited areas of the Ottoman Empire in the future.

In June 1916, the Hashemite family launched a rebellion in Hejaz, setting off a wave of Arab national uprisings. Although the Turkish troops stationed there were well-equipped, they were constrained by logistics and couldn’t launch effective attacks on the rebel army.

Hussein bin Ali established the Kingdom of Hejaz and proclaimed himself the “Sultan of the Arabs.”

His several sons also actively cooperated with Britain, France, and other countries. The second son, Abdullah, received support from Muslims in Iraq and other places, while the third son, Faisal, led his troops to occupy Syria and other places.

After the end of World War I in 1918, the Ottoman Empire was defeated and disintegrated, only retaining the Anatolian Plateau inhabited by Turks.

Britain and France quickly entered the territories of the former Ottoman Empire. France drove the Hashemite family out of Syria and Lebanon and controlled the area, while Britain gained the Tigris-Euphrates region and Palestine, Transjordan (now Jordan), and other places.

The Hashemite family was unable to resist Britain and France and could only obtain a few scraps under the geopolitical arrangements of the great powers.

France didn’t allow the Hashemite family to enter its sphere of influence. Only Britain agreed to the Hashemite family establishing a subordinate regime in its colonies.

Hussein bin Ali’s second son, Abdullah, became the Emir of Transjordan, founding the current Hashemite family of Jordan, and the third son, Faisal, became the King of Iraq.

There were more than just the Hashemites who attempted to dominate the Arab world. The Saud family also received weapons and funds from Britain during the Great Revolt and established the Kingdom of Nejd in the eastern Arabian Peninsula after World War I.

In 1923, Turkey established a secular republic, and the Caliphate was abolished.

In 1924, Hussein bin Ali, the head of the Hashemite family and the King of Hejaz, took the opportunity to proclaim himself Caliph.

The expansion of the Hashemite family’s influence clearly didn’t align with the interests of other Arab nobles, and the Saud family and others didn’t recognize old Hussein’s position as Caliph.

During World War I, Britain, to gain the support of Jewish bankers, issued the Balfour Declaration, promising to help Jews return to their ancestral lands in West Asia to rebuild their country after the war.

This promise infringed upon the interests of the local Arabs, and the Hashemite family refused to recognize it, causing Britain to stop its support.

In 1924, due to the constant harassment of the Saud family, Hejaz announced a ban on Nejd residents going to Mecca for pilgrimage, which caused great dissatisfaction among the Saud family.

In August of that year, the Saudi army suddenly attacked and occupied the holy city of Mecca, officially launching the war to unify the Arabian Peninsula.

The Saud family convened an Islamic conference and gained the allegiance of the surrounding tribes.

The Saud family’s control over Mecca was recognized, and their influence increased as a result.

The Hashemite family lost control of their ancestral land, which they had controlled for thousands of years, and the morale of their army was hit.

Because they lost the support of the British, the Hejaz army was unable to resist, while the Saud family continued to win over the surrounding tribes. Under the policy of carrot and stick, they occupied all of Hejaz by the end of 1925.

This is today’s Saudi Arabia.

The Saud family didn’t exterminate the Hashemite royal family of Hejaz. Hussein bin Ali fled to Cyprus, which was ruled by the British, and then to Jordan. He died in 1931 and was buried in Jerusalem.

His eldest son, Ali bin Hussein, went into exile in Iraq and joined his third brother—King Faisal of Iraq—after the fall of Hejaz.

Ali died in Iraq in 1935. Later, a revolution broke out in Iraq, and the entire Faisal family was killed. However, Ali’s son was studying abroad at the time and survived. He stayed in America until his descendants, Aliya’s grandfather’s generation, returned to the Middle East.

Aliya’s parents died of illness when she was very young. She was adopted by her adoptive father and has been with him ever since.

Of course, this is just what she says. Whether it is true or not still needs further investigation to confirm.

“Since you are also a descendant of the Hashemite family, why didn’t you go to the Jordanian royal family to seek protection at that time?”

“In my grandfather’s generation, the Jordanian royal family gave us help, but in my parents’ generation, this kind of help was very little. After all, you know, the royal family itself has many princes and princesses, not to mention outsiders like us…”

That’s true. Like the Arab royal families, the king’s lineage alone often has four wives, and each generation has many princes and princesses. Accumulating over generations, many former princes and princesses are actually not much different from ordinary people, not to mention “outsiders” like Aliya.

However, even if Aliya is a descendant of the so-called “Holy Lineage,” it doesn’t mean anything to Barron. Not to mention that those Arab royal families in the Middle East are already very difficult to overthrow, even if they were to be overthrown, it’s impossible for another royal family to replace them. It’s more likely that the monarchy would be replaced by an electoral system.

Moreover, Aliya is a woman, which makes it even more impossible.

The only thing is that her identity is a little more noble.

“You know, I’m not interested in the plan you mentioned against Sahara Company.”

First of all, although Sahara Company started as a “Ponzi scheme,” its boss, Subrata, isn’t stupid. On the contrary, his investments are quite wise. It’s probably not so easy to try to swindle his money.

And Barron himself doesn’t find it that difficult to make money from the financial market. With the same amount of time and effort, he can earn hundreds of millions of funds himself, so why bother with fraud?

“The key is that we… my adoptive father already has arrangements around Subrata. Now, even if you let me leave and don’t participate in this matter, he will still suspect that I revealed these things to you, especially about his arrangements…”

Chapter 227: Amazing Treasure

“What does that have to do with me?”

Barron said indifferently.

Speaking of which, the only interaction he had with the woman in front of him was the Raphael organization. If it wasn’t for the fact that she happened to be at the scene when they were capturing Soslan Tigiyev, and was captured along with him, Barron wouldn’t care about her life or death at all.

Objectively speaking, Alia was indeed very beautiful, and her Western features were different from those he had seen most often since coming to this world. She was also different from those Chinese beauties he had seen in his previous life, possessing a unique Arabian charm.

But if it was just her looks, it still wasn’t enough for Barron to take a risk on her.

The so-called risk didn’t mean that he was afraid of Alia’s so-called adoptive father, Lafayette, but rather Alia herself. Although she had told him a lot of things up until now, including her claim that she came from a holy lineage.

But because Barron’s intelligence group wasn’t that powerful in the Middle East yet, only a part of the information could be verified, and most of it still needed to be labeled as doubtful.

Especially the information she said about Louis Lafayette, which needed further investigation before a conclusion could be drawn.

So, for Barron, Alia’s level of trustworthiness still hadn’t reached a safe level.

Not to mention Julia, Bonnie, and Daisy, even compared to ordinary British people, she was still inferior.

After all, Barron could still investigate the backgrounds and interpersonal relationships of those ordinary British people through his own intelligence system.

Speaking of his capture of Raphael, during Nigel’s trip to Asia the last time, the special operations team that sent Alia to Northern Ireland also set off at the same time and continued the capture operation.

Through the intelligence about Raphael obtained from Alia, coupled with the interrogation of the three people captured earlier, they had now captured two more Raphael members, including one of the core members of Raphael who had had contact with Alia before.

So, up to now, they had captured two of the three core members of Raphael, and they had also captured half of the ten known Raphael members.

Basically, by now, the so-called Raphael organization had already reached the brink of collapse.

And after failing to capture this core member, the other side had also proposed to use the funds they had to exchange for Barron letting the Raphael organization go.

In response, he could only smile it off. Although the capture of the Raphael organization originated from their “London Star” fraud case, which caused economic losses to the Devonshire family, the continuous consequences of that matter were not just economic losses.

Barron’s cheap father and elder brother in this world had both died unexpectedly because of this, and ultimately, the Raphael organization had offended the dignity of the Devonshire family.

Therefore, what Barron wanted the Raphael organization to pay was not just money, but rather to use them as a “model” to let everyone else know what the price of offending the Devonshire family was.

That way, when someone was about to do this, they would need to consider first whether they could withstand the revenge of the Devonshire family afterwards.

In order to capture the Raphael organization, Barron had established an intelligence group and continuously absorbed more intelligence experts to join.

He had also bought the Protector Military Company and continuously invested in it, and selected an elite special operations team from it, with the highest treatment for each team member.

It could be said that the time, effort, and money spent in capturing them had already exceeded the funds that were initially defrauded by the “London Star” gang.

Why did he do this?

Barron’s goal was to raise the threshold for offending the Devonshire family. Anyone who wanted to do this should first see if they were up to the task.

Back in the dungeon of the Beilugu Castle…

“Your Grace!”

As Barron was about to leave, he heard Alia shout:

“I need your protection!”

Barron turned around, his gaze sweeping over Alia, and said faintly:

“What can I get?”

“My loyalty, and my… everything!”

Alia’s gaze met Barron’s scrutinizing eyes, and she felt that he seemed to be able to see straight into her heart.

“Sorry, I can’t trust you with what you said right now.”

Seeing him turn around again, about to leave…

“Wait…”

Alia took a deep breath and said:

“I have another secret, a secret about a world-shattering treasure…”

Her words did successfully pique Barron’s interest:

“Speak, I can give you another chance.”

Alia glanced at the guards on both sides and said:

“It’s a very important matter, I can only tell you alone.”

Seeing her acting so mysterious, Barron had a female bodyguard search Alia again, and then told the others to leave temporarily.

“You can speak now.”

Alia was silent for a moment, then spoke:

“That treasure is in India, a treasure worth ten billion or even tens of billions of pounds…”

Hearing her words, Barron raised his eyebrows and asked:

“Where is the specific location?”

“I don’t know, it should be in a temple, I accidentally heard this news from my adoptive father…”

“How did he know about the existence of this treasure? Also, since there is news of a treasure of such scale, why didn’t you dig it up, but instead went to defraud that Subrata? I want you to tell me everything you know…”

“This involves Lafayette’s plan against Subrata. He has people planted around Subrata, and they have already gained Subrata’s trust…”

Alia said to Barron:

“Because I have a relatively high status among the children adopted by Lafayette, I can access more information. Later, I found out that it was the person he planted around Subrata who intercepted this information.”

In Alia’s narration, Barron learned about the process she mentioned.

Subrata was very popular among the poor people in the lower classes of India. There was once a person from a certain southwestern state who took the initiative to tell him a piece of news, hoping to get a reward from him.

This news was that the man’s father was a devout Hindu believer, and he knew from his father that there were a large number of treasures in a certain temple in the area, including gold, gems, and works of art.

Because he was a devout believer, his father would spend several hours in the temple every day to guard those treasures.

But this person was not very devout. He believed that Subrata was the savior of their people at the bottom, and of course, this news also meant that he wanted to get a reward from Subrata.

The person who received the man at the time was the “chess piece” Lafayette had planted around Subrata.

The other party obtained this important news, but did not report it to Subrata. Instead, they intercepted this information and “dealt with” the person who brought the news.

Then, after reporting it, Lafayette attached great importance to this news. However, if there was really a treasure, he was also worried that the people sent to investigate would take it privately, so he was going to investigate it after completing the plan against Subrata and Sahara Company.

After all, the plan against Sahara Company had been in the works for a long time, and he didn’t want it to be affected.

“So, in fact, you know the general location of the treasure.”

Barron said meaningfully to Alia.

“Yes.”

Alia gritted her teeth and said:

“As long as you can guarantee my safety, I can help you find the treasure.”

“If I’m not mistaken, the treasure you’re talking about is in Kerala, right?”

Barron’s words fell into Alia’s ears like a thunderclap. She widened her eyes and asked incredulously:

“You… how did you know?!”

Chapter 228: Observing the Sample

The matter of this treasure had always been the biggest secret in Arlia’s heart. That was why she hadn’t revealed it until now, hoping to use this secret to trade for her safety.

But at this moment, it was spoken casually by the young British Duke in front of her…

At this moment, Arlia directly felt like she was questioning her life.

“Impossible…”

Watching her still unsettled appearance, Barron said calmly:

“I know a lot more than you imagine, so I hope you are sensible and don’t try to challenge me at any time, because the consequences are something you can’t bear.”

When it was time to act cool, he would act cool. Although Barron had guessed the location of the treasure in Arlia’s words through his memories of his previous life, it didn’t stop him from taking the opportunity to appear unfathomable.

After saying this, he left Arlia, who was still questioning her life, and didn’t forget to have the female bodyguard at the door keep an eye on her.

The treasure in Arlia’s words had also caused a sensation in Barron’s previous life. It was opened in 2011, and inside, people found tons of gold coins, gold, diamonds, jewelry, etc. It was estimated that the total value exceeded 1 trillion rupees, equivalent to about 21 billion US dollars.

Through the reports at the time, Barron knew that this treasure of the Padmanabhaswamy Temple, located in Kerala, southwestern India, was brought to light, and a man named Sundararajan was indispensable.

Sundararajan was an intelligence officer during the Indira Gandhi government and settled near the temple after retirement.

As a devout Hindu, Sundararajan, though in his seventies, insisted on going to the temple to pray at around 2 AM every day, for a duration of 8 hours.

In 2009, Sundararajan found that the temple’s security maintenance was not good enough, so he complained to the Kerala High Court, requesting that the government should take back the management rights of the temple and be responsible for the disposal of the property inside the temple and anti-theft measures.

In January 2011, the Kerala High Court ruled that the temple would be taken over by the state government.

Before the official takeover, a committee of seven people was responsible for taking inventory of the temple’s total assets and listing them for filing.

Before the inventory work began, the staff had already explored the temple’s six underground secret chambers, numbered A to F with English letters, of which secret chambers A and B had not been opened for nearly 140 years.

So after opening these secret chambers, they found the treasure inside.

……

Although Barron knew about the existence of this treasure long ago, he had never thought of going to excavate it privately.

Because from a realistic point of view, wanting to enter India, a country where he had no power to deploy, without being noticed, and excavate the treasure in a temple that was worshipped, the difficulty was probably higher than earning 21 billion US dollars through the financial market himself.

Don’t look at this country having all sorts of strange actions, in military matters, they could even turn an invasion war into a capital defense war…

But it was, after all, a major regional power whose future GDP would surpass that of Britain.

Not to mention, if he could really get those treasures, how could he secretly, without being noticed by the other party, sell those treasures with a strong Hindu style…

First of all, the excavation of those treasures was extremely troublesome, even with the Indian government’s involvement, using a lot of manpower and material resources…

Therefore, in a temple where believers pray every day, it was almost impossible to successfully take away the treasure without alarming the locals.

And Barron certainly couldn’t risk his own life and go to carry out this action himself. Then, facing such a huge amount of wealth, how many loyal subordinates would he need who wouldn’t have evil thoughts and transport those finances to a safe place?

Anyway, he didn’t think he had an elite force with such a high degree of loyalty.

If Barron didn’t have his current identity and status, was just an ordinary person, and hadn’t accumulated so much wealth by relying on his “abilities,” he might also risk his life and try to “seek wealth in danger.”

But he was now the Duke of Britain, had tens of billions of pounds in wealth, and, relying on his memories of his previous life, had a high probability of gaining far more wealth in the future than the value of this treasure…

Then why would he risk offending a major country, at least a regional major country, to do such an underhanded thing?

As long as he had a little reason, the choice was obvious.

The only thing that puzzled Barron at this moment was that since Arlia’s “foster father” Louis Lafayette had already obtained the news of the temple treasure so early, why in his previous life, the temple treasure was still successfully excavated by the Indian government in 2011?

Did they also face so many difficulties, and felt that it was difficult to retreat unscathed after obtaining the treasure, so they gave up the adventure?

Or were there other circumstances?

But no matter what, since Barron had now, by a stroke of luck, captured Arlia, then it was not impossible to change the direction of certain related events.

How these things would develop later was a very interesting observation sample.

……

“Are you leaving? Your Grace.”

The next day, when Arlia saw Barron again, she had been brought to the third floor of the Bilu Castle.

At this time, Barron was sitting on one side of the dining table, and on the dining table was a sumptuous meal.

Facing Arlia, who was a little restrained compared to last night, Barron pointed to the seat opposite him and said:

“Sit down and eat first.”

It could be seen that Arlia had received a good education, and both her manners and her behavior while eating showed an elegant temperament.

“Indeed, I’m going back to London today, and you won’t be here for too long either. After I solve Rafael’s problem, you will be free.”

While Barron was speaking, Arlia stopped eating and looked at him.

Originally, she had hoped to exchange the news of the temple treasure for Barron’s protection of her, but she hadn’t expected that, in this regard, the other party’s intelligence was more accurate than hers.

Therefore, Arlia was a little confused for a while, feeling that everything was no longer under control.

Although Arlia hadn’t eaten such a rich meal since being caught by the Special Operations Team, she looked rather preoccupied at this moment, and after eating a few mouthfuls in a hurry, she stopped.

Barron formed a huge contrast with her. After eating breakfast unhurriedly, he wiped his mouth and said to Arlia:

“Are you full?”

The woman across from him glanced at him, turned her gaze to the table in front of her, and nodded silently.

“If you are worried about their revenge, then I can help you obtain a legal identity in Britain. In fact, with your looks, it’s not difficult to find someone to protect you…”

On the one hand, Arlia’s looks could be called exquisite, and because she had been adopted by her foster father since childhood, she didn’t have too deep religious imprints, so in Barron’s view, it was still very easy for her to integrate into British society.

And he didn’t think that her foster father, Louis Lafayette, could really extend his tentacles all over Britain. If he was really that powerful, how could he still be doing fraud?

Even if the target he wanted to defraud was a super-rich man with a fortune of over a billion dollars.

“What you said might be right, but from my position, if possible, I don’t want to risk my future. Now in front of me, there is someone with such strong strength as you. Even if others could protect me because of my… looks, but how can I ensure that the other party is worthy of my trust? Besides, I may not be able to gain trust either. Just relying on looks, men always pursue novelty.”

It seemed that her words did have some reason, but…

Barron looked directly at Arlia and asked softly:

“And why do you think I am worthy of your trust?”

Chapter 229: O2’s New Headquarters

“Because of myself.”

“What do you mean?”

“I’ve seen the fate of those… sisters who fell into the hands of our opponents, and I’ve seen the fate of those they captured. And you, Duke Devonshire, are willing to let me go. Comparing the two, I’ve made my choice.”

“Aren’t you worried that my actions are just a ploy, a way to capture you?”

Aaliyah said calmly:

“If that’s the case, then I can only accept my fate. And my intuition tells me that’s not the case.”

Even though she said that, as Aaliyah mentioned, it was possible that she could gain protection from others after leaving here, but how they would treat her was still unknown.

At least now, regarding the Duke Devonshire before her, she already had some understanding of his strength and his way of doing things.

Aaliyah was not unaware of how much attention her appearance would attract. She had a deep understanding of this, from the time she was adopted by Louis Lafayette as a child, through those around her, and through other men’s views and treatment of her.

Previously, if it weren’t for her special status and the protection of Louis Lafayette, she would probably have fallen into the hands of others long ago, becoming a plaything like many other “sisters.”

However, Lafayette’s protection of her was not out of any “affection,” but merely a way to wait for a better price to “sell” her.

Aaliyah knew this better than anyone.

Now, by a twist of fate, she was captured by Barron’s special operations team while carrying out a mission to contact Raphael. Besides putting her in a dangerous situation where Lafayette would suspect her, it was also an opportunity to escape from him.

After all, those “powerful figures” she had seen before were mostly potbellied or old men. Compared to them, the young and handsome Duke Devonshire before her was probably easier for her to accept.

“I can keep you by my side, but I also need your cooperation. First, you need to tell me everything you know about your adoptive father, Lafayette. I will send people to monitor his every move. I believe this will also ensure your own safety…”

“Okay, I’m willing.”

…

Although Barron temporarily agreed to keep Aaliyah by his side, he wouldn’t immediately trust her.

Aaliyah still needed to live at Bilu Castle, but unlike before, she no longer lived in the previous dungeon, but was able to live on the third floor of Bilu Castle.

Of course, during normal times, she still needed two female bodyguards to provide her with close “protection.”

However, compared to before, Aaliyah’s freedom had already increased a lot.

Before leaving, Barron specifically instructed the bodyguards “protecting” Aaliyah that they could superficially relax their surveillance of Aaliyah, but secretly, they would still firmly track her movements, in this way, to test whether she was really not up to any tricks.

Until the special operations team captured all the members of Raphael and completely destroyed the organization, for safety’s sake - including Aaliyah’s safety, and also Barron’s own safety - Aaliyah would remain in Bilu Castle.

After all, it was close to the training bases of the Protector Military Company and the Security Company, which could be said to be the most heavily guarded and safest place in Barron’s “territory.”

…

“Congratulations, Arnold, this is exciting news.”

“Thank you, Barron, thank you for your support. I hope we can have another drink together when you come to California next time.”

On October 7th, the results of the California gubernatorial election were announced. Schwarzenegger received 48.6% of the votes and became the new Governor of California.

He would be sworn in more than a month later and officially become the 38th Governor of California.

On the day the election results were finalized, Barron immediately called him to offer his congratulations.

Of course, during the call, Schwarzenegger also expressed his gratitude for Barron’s support - during his campaign, Barron also provided some funds for Schwarzenegger’s campaign through certain channels.

In addition, as a shareholder of the Sinclair Group, Barron also used his influence to have the Sinclair Group’s television stations create momentum for Schwarzenegger in public opinion during his campaign.

Barron’s help was naturally remembered by Schwarzenegger, and when he took office as Governor of California, it would naturally be the time for him to give back.

Coincidentally, when investing in Skype, Nigel had once promised on behalf of Barron to help their team deal with the American patent infringement lawsuit against them.

Coincidentally, in the United States, the court handling their lawsuit was the California court.

This was also one of the main reasons why Barron dared to make such a promise…

After leaving his villa on Kensington High Street, Barron went directly to the new headquarters of O2 Telecom - the O2 Tower in the CBD area next to King’s Cross Station.

Before DS Capital acquired O2 Telecom, this well-known British mobile communications operator was headquartered in Slough.

Although Slough was not far from London, it was considered a satellite city of London - it took about 45 minutes to get to central London from Slough, and it was only a 20-minute drive to Heathrow Airport.

However, for the convenience of management, after the King’s Cross area renewal plan carried out by the Argent Property Group, after some buildings in the CBD area near King’s Cross Station were completed, Barron decided to establish the new headquarters of O2 Telecom there.

DS Asset Management Company bought a 35-story building in the CBD area near King’s Cross Station for 75 million pounds and leased half of the building’s floors to O2 Telecom, and named the building O2 Tower.

This would become the international headquarters of O2 Telecom.

In the future, O2 Telecom would be managed in the form of dual headquarters. The original O2 Telecom headquarters in Slough would be its British headquarters, responsible for all business of O2 Telecom in the UK.

While the O2 Telecom headquarters located in O2 Tower would become its international headquarters, responsible for managing all the business of O2 Telecom, including the UK, Ireland, France, and Germany, as well as more countries to enter in the future.

At this point, just in London, DS Asset Management Company already owned five buildings, including the DS Financial Centre in the City, the Cavendish House in Soho, the SEM Building in Canary Wharf, the Cavendish King’s Tower in King’s Cross, and the O2 Tower.

It also had the property of the Devonshire Luxury Hotel in the Chelsea area, as well as many other properties.

This time, he came to O2 Telecom because after further studying the current development of global mobile communication technology, Barron adjusted the previous development strategy of O2 Telecom, and based on the latest adjustments, made certain changes to their previous contract with Huawei.

In the revised contract, O2 Telecom significantly reduced its investment in 3G network upgrades and increased its investment in broadband business upgrades.

Specifically, in the newly entered French and German markets, they would currently only complete the coverage of the 2G network, only in a few key cities, carry out the trial operation of 3G networks, and the construction of broadband networks in these two markets would all use the latest technology and the highest speed as the goal.

The same was true in the British and Irish markets. They would carry out a wider coverage of 2G networks and upgrade some cities to 2.5G networks, only in a few cities like London and Dublin, carry out the trial operation of 3G networks.

In terms of broadband networks, they would carry out large-scale upgrades of broadband facilities in the UK and Ireland to improve access speeds.

The reason for this change was also because Barron, through his understanding of the current deployment of global mobile networks, suddenly realized that although Europe had started issuing 3G licenses as early as two years ago, many operators, including Vodafone and Orange, British telecom operators, had already begun to deploy 3G networks, but it was not until many years later, in 2007, that 3G networks began to gradually become popular worldwide.

The reason for this was that although the speed of 3G networks was much higher than that of 2G networks, the biggest factor limiting the popularity of 3G networks was that, with feature phones dominating the market, users simply did not have much motivation to switch to a 3G network with faster internet speeds.

And in 2007, with the launch of the iPhone, the era of smartphones was announced, and the emergence of various APPs gave users an urgent need to use faster 3G networks.

Chapter 230: How Strong Bonnie Is

Since before 2007, the equipment prices for 3G networks were high, and due to the high fees, the willingness to use them was insufficient, resulting in slow user growth, O2 Telecom had absolutely no need to rush to deploy a 3G network.

The main funds of O2 Telecom would now be used for the upgrade of broadband networks and the expansion of the 2G network coverage, to occupy the market through the relatively cheap 2G network.

After 2006, on the eve of the launch of smartphones, it would be the most suitable time to start developing and deploying 3G networks, whether it was the price of 3G network-related facilities or the acceptance level of users.

It should be known that even the first-generation iPhone released in 2007 only supported 2G networks, and it wasn’t until the iPhone 3G released the following year that it started supporting 3G networks.

Of course, it was also fortunate that although they had previously signed a cooperation agreement with Huawei, at this time, Huawei’s network deployment in France was only just beginning to promote 2G networks and broadband networks.

And in the communication with Huawei, the other party was also willing to cooperate and adjust—after all, although it would reduce a large part of the deployment of 3G mobile network equipment, at the same time, O2 Telecom would ensure that the total amount of the contract would not be reduced, increasing investment in broadband networks, and expanding the scope of 2G network deployment.

It should be known that at this time, Huawei’s business in broadband equipment was stronger. Their previous pursuit of BT’s business was related to broadband network equipment, and these changes could better reflect Huawei’s advantages at this time.

But no matter what, this matter also made O2 Telecom’s impression of Huawei greatly improved. After all, in this kind of thing, no matter which European or American company it was, once the contract was signed, it would be according to the contract, and they would definitely not give you room for adjustment. This could be considered a huge concession from Huawei to O2 Telecom.

For this, Barron even specially called Huawei’s President Ren to express his gratitude.

……

“Darling, Victoria told me something yesterday…”

The Victoria in Bonnie’s mouth was naturally Beckham’s wife. They had become very close recently. In the second season of “Miller’s Valley Werewolf,” which was recently produced by Summit Studio, Victoria was specially invited as a guest to participate in the recording of two episodes.

Seeing Barron’s questioning gaze, Bonnie held his arm, making him sink into tenderness, and said:

“She wants to create a fashion brand, like clothes, sunglasses, perfumes, and the like, and asked me if I wanted to do it together…”

Smelling the faint fragrance on Bonnie’s body, Barron kissed her forehead:

“What do you think?”

“I feel that in terms of fashion, doing a personal brand like this, I’m not very confident, but Victoria seems very interested. You know, she has persuaded me, and I’m still a little hesitant.”

Although she came from a girl group, and coupled with her marriage to Beckham, Victoria’s popularity had expanded to a global scope.

But if it was in North America and Europe, as one of the most well-known female hosts, Bonnie’s popularity was no less than Victoria’s.

And because of her relationship with Barron, Bonnie’s image among the upper-class society was better than Victoria’s.

It was estimated that this was also the reason why Victoria hoped to pull her to create a fashion brand together.

But speaking of Victoria’s personal brand, Barron couldn’t help but frown slightly.

Because he knew that in his previous life, Victoria was not successful in business. Her personal brand, although always quite a hot topic, was later revealed to have been in a state of loss.

It had always been relying on Beckham to fill the losses of her personal brand. Initially, the loss was only a few million pounds a year. With Beckham’s income, it was still possible to easily fill these losses, just as supporting his wife’s career.

But later, the annual losses continued to increase, even exceeding 15 million pounds at one point, which made Beckham overwhelmed. He finally decided not to inject funds into her brand and let her find investors herself…

It could be said that in this respect, Victoria, not to mention comparing herself with Paris Hilton, who could make her personal brand’s value flourish, even Victoria was far inferior to Ivanka, who was not so successful in this respect.

Therefore, for Bonnie’s mention of Victoria’s invitation to her, hoping to create a fashion brand together, Barron still felt that it was not going to work.

Just as Bonnie said:

“I think it’s better to focus on professional things. My current interest lies in the production of the show…”

It seemed that his girlfriend was still very calm and had a lot of ideas in this regard.

However, next, Bonnie proposed another idea, that is, she also had some savings now—including the royalties from the “Downton Abbey” novel and the bonuses from those shows she participated in producing.

After buying the apartment on Oxford Street before, she still had nearly 5 million pounds in funds.

Therefore, she also had the idea of starting a business, but not in the fashion brand aspect that Victoria mentioned, but rather, she wanted to make a difference in program production and marketing promotion.

“Baby, you have to think it through. If you continue like this, you will get stock options from SEM Group…”

Currently, Bonnie was the head of Summit Studio of Summit Media, which was under the SEM Group. The SEM Group would definitely go public later, and before that, management personnel like Bonnie would also receive corresponding stock option rewards.

Of course, the premise of getting these stock option rewards was definitely the requirement of the number of years worked in the group.

If she left SEM Group now and started a business, as one of the founding veterans of Summit Media, Bonnie’s original stock option rewards would definitely not be available.

Then the cost of her starting a business would be a bit high, after all, the development of SEM Group had already entered the right track.

“I still want to try it while I’m young…”

There was a sentence she didn’t say to Barron, but Barron could also guess it to some extent.

That is, after Bonnie and Barron’s relationship was made public, plus Bonnie was in charge of Summit Studio, many people would think that her career was entirely dependent on Barron.

Well, although to a certain extent, this was also the case, but Bonnie herself was a more assertive woman—otherwise, she wouldn’t have given up her career at Sky Television and started a business with Barron.

Especially after the argument between Bonnie and Barron because of her cousin, Christine, she realized that she had unknowingly become dependent on the other party.

If one party relied more on the other party in a relationship, then even if there was a deep affection between them, they would gradually become somewhat disadvantaged.

Therefore, this time, Bonnie’s decision to start a business again was not a momentary impulse, but a choice made after many considerations.

“Do you have any good ideas now, darling?”

Since Bonnie made such a choice, Barron would definitely give his support. On the other hand, this could also bind their interests together.

“I heard a head of an independent production company talking about their current idea during a cocktail party, but the company lacks funds and the corresponding connections…”

Under Bonnie’s introduction, Barron knew the ins and outs of the matter.

It turned out that there was a production company that was planning a variety show, but they finally found that the investment scale required to achieve the effect they wanted far exceeded what they could afford.

And they needed to invite some heavyweight guests, which was not something they could accomplish.

However, they really didn’t want to give up this idea, so they started seeking cooperation with other more powerful companies.

As the head of Summit Studio, Bonnie also came into their sight.

After all, since last year, the two phenomenon-level variety shows, “The Traitors” and “Love Island,” plus “Miller’s Valley Werewolf,” had good ratings.

These achievements also established Summit Studio’s position in the industry.

Plus, backed by SEM Group and having the Freeview platform, they were their first choice for cooperation.

In addition, according to the other party, they had also contacted the major stations including BBC and ITV, but these two had not yet responded.

Chapter 231: Giant Studio

“However, we can’t be impulsive. After all, before a show airs, almost every company thinks the variety show they produce will be a hit, but the final results often fall short of expectations.”

Barron was worried that Bonnie was too optimistic, so he gave her a dose of cold water beforehand.

“Yes, that’s true, so I’m planning to learn about their show’s planning…”

This way, she could understand the show during the planning stage, which was also permissible, but required the relevant personnel to sign a confidentiality agreement.

“I can go with you, baby, and help you keep an eye on things.”

Bonnie actually understood that, up to now, the variety shows produced by Summit Studio were all Barron’s creative ideas, and even many times, he provided detailed program outlines.

Therefore, in terms of variety show production, she still admired his vision very much. With his support, Bonnie felt much more at ease.

The independent production company Bonnie mentioned was called Giant Studio. After accompanying Bonnie to the company located in the Soho district and signing the confidentiality agreement, they learned about the content of the variety show they were planning to produce, under the introduction of the company’s planning staff.

According to their introduction, the show planned to invite some well-known stars from the UK, including show hosts, sports and entertainment stars, and then pair them with professional dancers to perform various dances.

In this show, they would invite four dance experts to score on the spot, along with audience phone votes, and eliminate one pair of contestants each week based on the scores. Finally, three pairs of contestants would compete for the championship.

“We’ve also been in contact with some other companies before, including big companies like the BBC and ITV. Currently, the BBC production department has expressed a willingness to send people to talk…”

Jason Terry, the head of Giant Studio, said to Barron and Bonnie.

“What do you think? I think this kind of show is quite attractive.”

After leaving the company, Bonnie asked with concern.

“Well, I agree with your point of view…”

Barron nodded and said:

“You can go and talk to them. I suggest you can directly acquire this company. SEM Group or I personally can provide funds to help you complete the acquisition. Of course, it’s best if SEM Group’s shares are not less than 30%, so that you can use SEM Group’s resources to produce this show later…”

In fact, when he heard the other party’s introduction just now, Barron had almost already determined that the TV show planned by this company was the one that would be launched next year and become a great success in his previous life, and later became the BBC’s nearly 20-year flagship program - “Strictly Come Dancing”, translated into Chinese as “Dancing Miracle”.

Later, Chinese television stations also imported its program copyright and launched a program with the same process.

Yes, in the original timeline, “Dancing Miracle” was launched by the BBC in 2004.

Based on the information he currently understood, it was very likely that Giant Studio would eventually be acquired by the BBC and become part of its production department, BBC Studio, and finally, after the program was produced, it would belong to the BBC.

“But I’m still a little unsure. After all, the shows I’ve been involved in producing before are mostly reality shows. I don’t have much experience with this kind of stage show that requires live performances…”

Just as she said, whether it was “The Traitors” or “Love Island” before, they were all reality shows, so facing a show like “Dancing Miracle” that was completely different from what she had been involved in before, Bonnie would also feel a lack of confidence.

“Since you’re planning to start a business, baby, you have to start adapting to the change of roles. You used to be the person in charge of the show, but now you have to take on the role of a leader. You don’t need to have a lot of experience in producing such a show, you just need to find such a person, and then let him be in charge…”

Barron didn’t expect that Bonnie was quite lucky. When she wanted to start a business, she encountered Giant Studio and a show like “Dancing Miracle” before the BBC.

Bonnie felt very recognized of Barron’s suggestion. After all, on the one hand, from the current perspective, judging from Giant Studio’s planning for “Dancing Miracle”, producing this show, apart from the fact that the financial investment would not be too low, it would also require inviting many stars to participate, and there would need to be heavyweight judges, so getting the support of SEM Group and obtaining its resources was also very important.

And in this case, on the one hand, after “Dancing Miracle” was produced, it could naturally be broadcast on television channels of Freeview platforms like SDTV.

On the other hand, maintaining contact with SEM Group, shows like “The Traitors” and “Love Island” that Bonnie was previously in charge of hosting could still be hosted by her.

Of course, after she left Summit Studio, the producers of these shows would definitely be changed.

So, after getting Barron’s affirmation and support, Bonnie quickly, before the BBC, negotiated with Giant Studio about the investment.

In the end, Giant Studio still bowed to “capital”…

Bonnie Capital, registered by Bonnie, would invest 10 million pounds and acquire 51% of Giant Studio’s shares; SEM Group would invest 5 million pounds, as well as corresponding resources, and acquire 30% of Giant Studio’s shares.

The original head of Giant Studio and their founding team still retained 19% of the shares.

Thus, Bonnie would resign from SEM Group and serve as the CEO of Giant Studio, while the company’s original head, Jason Terry, would serve as the company’s production director.

After receiving 15 million pounds in funding, plus the support of SEM Group, they finally rolled up their sleeves and prepared to start the preparations for the “Dancing Miracle” show.

As for the BBC, which had originally agreed to contact Giant Studio, at this time, they could only say sorry.

Although Barron was in a cooperative relationship with the BBC at Digital UK, he personally wasn’t very fond of the BBC…

As for “accidentally” stealing their flagship show, Barron could only say… it felt great.

Another thing worth mentioning is that Bonnie Capital, which was registered by Bonnie and held 51% of Giant Studio’s shares, had two shareholders. Bonnie held 60% of the shares of this company, and Barron, in his personal name, held 40% of the shares of this company, which was also the reason why she could come up with 10 million pounds to invest in Giant Studio.

After Bonnie took control, Giant Studio would move into a new office location - they would become tenants of the SEM Building, and Giant Studio would be located on the floor below Summit Studio.

Thus, as an independent production company within the SEM Group system, they could make good use of SEM Group’s resources - including the multiple studios with different areas in the SEM Building, to record the show.

…

“Secret sources used to contribute 90% of valuable intelligence. With the emergence of the internet, especially social media, there is more and more intelligence that can be obtained from some private public information. I believe that in the near future, the acquisition of intelligence may be exactly the opposite of the old era. By then, 90% of the valuable intelligence will come from public sources, which are available to everyone.”

In the office of the intelligence team, Barron was sitting under the stage, quietly listening to a report by an intelligence expert named Martin Wolfram.

“In fact, long ago, many intelligence agencies had already started to obtain intelligence through public information from newspapers, radio, and television reports. Now, intelligence agencies including the CIA and MI6 have specialized departments that obtain intelligence from the internet through hackers and search technology…”

“Regarding this new type of intelligence acquisition method, I noticed that as early as 1980, the famous American futurist Alvin Toffler proposed the concept of Big Data in his book ‘The Third Wave’. Up to now, there have been many achievements in the research of Big Data. In the future, data is wealth. Having a sufficiently large amount of data and analyzing it can also obtain a lot of extremely useful intelligence…”

This report was mainly based on the possibility of obtaining intelligence through public information and information on the internet, which was proposed by someone in the intelligence team.

Therefore, it also reminded Barron of a private, civilian intelligence organization that later became very well-known in the original timeline - Bellingcat.

Chapter 232: Middle Eastern Tycoons?

Bellingcat, translated, is “Bell-Ringing Cat”.

The founder of “Bell-Ringing Cat”, Eliot Higgins, was originally a journalist. Later, he investigated the Syrian chemical weapons attacks by analyzing online videos, simultaneously using new technological methods like Google Earth and Street View. He meticulously analyzed scattered information from social media using the open-source intelligence tools he possessed, reaching the same investigative conclusions as intelligence agencies of various countries in advance. He published the investigation methods and approaches on his blog, which brought him great fame.

Subsequently, many followers and imitators of Higgins appeared online. They learned from each other and provided open-source investigation tools, while Higgins used this opportunity to recruit some excellent open-source intelligence workers, attempting to build an online investigation center.

In July 2014, Higgins founded “Bell-Ringing Cat” in the United Kingdom. He publicly declared that the organization would become an “intelligence agency serving the people.”

“Bell-Ringing Cat” mainly utilizes open-source information such as satellite imagery, social media, and online databases to conduct intelligence investigations.

They primarily analyze data from videos, images, and photos on social media, using corresponding open-source intelligence analysis tools to obtain geographical location information, accurate time information, as well as information on relevant personnel and weaponry, thereby investigating and verifying the truth of events.

Of course, the reason “Bell-Ringing Cat” was able to gain subsequent fame and analyze relatively accurate intelligence was also because, later on, Google Earth and other related software allowed ordinary people to easily analyze public information.

And Barron is now preparing to invest funds to establish a similar organization that can conduct intelligence analysis based on public information, including internet information.

Since the beginning of the capture of the “Rafael” organization, Barron has deeply felt the importance of having an exclusive intelligence organization.

However, his intelligence team is also different from those intelligence agencies affiliated with various countries. It is impossible to develop spies and intelligence personnel on a large scale. Therefore, the method of intelligence analysis from various public information, like the previous life’s “Bell-Ringing Cat”, is very suitable for his intelligence team.

And his current financial strength can also support maintaining a certain scale of this kind of intelligence organization.

And with his identity, he can also allow his intelligence team to “exchange information” with the intelligence agencies of the United Kingdom…

…

“In fact, Your Grace the Duke of Grosvenor, our Athena Fund has lowered the fixed yield of the principal-protected fund products, but for you, of course, we will still maintain the previous yield…”

“I trust you, Barron, you’re doing a good job in this regard.”

The Duke of Westminster took a puff of his cigar, with a warm smile, and said to Barron:

“In fact, in many ways, your talents are admirable, but it should be noted that the Protector Company, that is, the Iraq issue, someone seems to have noticed it recently. I heard that several members of parliament have mentioned in the parliament their hope to publish more information about the troops stationed in Iraq and the private military companies employed.”

“There are always people who express dissatisfaction with various policies, aren’t there? Your Grace, after all, it only takes a word to criticize, which is easier than doing things practically…”

Barron didn’t care about this, and said lightly:

“Besides, they are not targeting my company, but the Prime Minister. The one who needs to worry is that one.”

“That’s true, but don’t be careless. After all, it’s already the second half of the Prime Minister’s term…”

Barron also understood the meaning of the Duke of Westminster. Indeed, he knew that because the media had previously exposed some unsavory things about the American military and Blackwater Company in Iraq, this also allowed some opposition members of parliament in the United Kingdom to take the opportunity to demand that the government investigate the presence of the British army and private armed forces employed by the British government, including the Protector Military Company, in Iraq.

Barron had also discussed these matters with Cameron before.

Although Cameron is currently a member of the opposition party, as a politician, he also understands that at this time, “anti-war” is more targeted at the current government’s weapons, and the existence of the Protector Military Company in Iraq is actually unavoidable. Without the Protector Company, there will be other private military companies accepting government orders.

Therefore, he also stated that these topics are mainly aimed at the Prime Minister, not the Protector Military Company.

“How do you feel about this place? Barron.”

After the Duke of Westminster asked this question, Barron looked at the luxurious decorations in the room, shook his head, and said:

“I still prefer the layout of White’s, and this place feels like an expensive disco…”

“Haha, Barron, an interesting analogy, but compared to White’s, this place is more relaxed, isn’t it? You can feel free to have some fun.”

Barron and the Duke of Westminster are now in Annable’s Club, located in the Mayfair district of London. It can be traced back to 1963 and is one of London’s well-known celebrity clubs.

Compared to the seriousness of White’s, Annable’s decoration is luxurious and exquisite, especially the bright colors, which are more artistic.

Moreover, the security measures here are also very strict. All personnel are required to hand in their mobile phones after entering, and are not allowed to bring them inside. Therefore, the Duke of Westminster would say that this is a place where one can “feel free to have some fun.”

“By the way, a few friends from Saudi Arabia will come to London in a while, and I’ll introduce them to you, Barron, they’re all very rich…”

Hearing the Duke of Westminster say that he would introduce him to the Saudi “tycoons”, Barron couldn’t help but feel a little expectant.

Although the tycoons of the Middle East, after being severely harmed by Wall Street after the subprime mortgage crisis, began to transfer investments to Europe and Asia on a large scale, because the United Kingdom was the Western power that had “interests” in the Middle East earlier, and had relatively close relationships with many oil tycoon countries, including Saudi Arabia, their investments in the United Kingdom are still very large.

Every year from June, you can often see Middle Eastern tycoons driving luxury cars in London…

Why is it June? Besides the fact that the Middle East starts to get hot at that time, it’s a good time to come to London to escape the heat…

It’s also because June 6th every year is the beginning of their Ramadan, during which they must abstain from food and sex…

Will many tycoons honestly abide by it?

Well, as long as they go to a place where they don’t have to fast, wouldn’t that be fine? They are so clever.

After all, if they really stay in their own country, being too outrageous will definitely cause public dissatisfaction. For the sake of the feelings of ordinary people, they have to be very understanding… and not let them see it.

Therefore, before June 6th, many Middle Eastern tycoons will go to Europe and the United States in groups, mainly London, driving sports cars to cruise the streets, shopping in various high-end shopping malls, and then having fun with beautiful women in top hotels.

So if you see luxury cars with Arabic license plates parked on the side of the road in London, don’t be surprised – these are tycoons directly air-freighted from the Middle East, and they often appear in a whole fleet of luxury cars…

Before, Barron’s fund was limited in scale, and he hadn’t had time to make money with his Middle Eastern tycoon brothers. Now that he has the opportunity, he must arrange it.

After all, at least he will really help the other party make money, instead of being like those vultures on Wall Street, who turn their backs on you after they’ve cleaned you out…

Chapter 233: Long Time No See

After chatting with Barron, the Duke of Westminster bid farewell and walked away. Barron vaguely saw him going upstairs with a beautiful woman…

That beautiful woman was obviously not the Duchess of Westminster.

Barron knew that in 2007, this Duke of Westminster was exposed for soliciting prostitutes. The matter caused quite a stir at the time. Grosvenor’s residence was surrounded by reporters for several days. It was said that he suffered from depression as a result, and his death in 2016 was also closely related to his depression.

It seemed that he was already quite the playboy at that time.

“Barron, you’re here?”

When he walked to the second floor, he happened to meet an acquaintance, Prince William. It seemed that he was also a member here.

Although it was mid-October, and as a student he should have been in school, how could the children of the wealthy and powerful, like Prince William, possibly need to be so disciplined…

After meeting him, William enthusiastically brought Barron to their private room:

“You should come and sit for a while, Barron, they’re all familiar faces.”

Sure enough, as he said, in this super large room were Holly Branson, the eldest daughter of the Virgin family, Henry Howard, the eldest son of the Duke of Norfolk, and William’s younger brother, Harry, his current girlfriend, Catherine, as well as Tamara Ecclestone, who was looking at him with sparkling eyes…

These were only the faces that Barron was relatively familiar with; there were many others, either from aristocratic families or the second generation of wealthy families.

“What are you all doing?”

“It’s Henry’s birthday today, we’re celebrating…”

As William finished speaking, Henry Howard, who heard him, said somewhat dejectedly:

“It’s tomorrow…”

“It doesn’t matter, it’s an early celebration. We have other programs tomorrow.”

Well, these carefree young masters and ladies, in comparison, Barron was really a bit too diligent…

In front of the public and the media, Prince William always gave off a somewhat aloof and composed feeling, but privately, among friends, he was very open.

Especially seeing his face was a little red, he should have already drunk a lot before this, so he was very active.

“I didn’t expect you to come today, Barron.”

When Barron sat down, Tamara Ecclestone was right beside him. Hearing her question, he casually replied:

“I was here earlier to see Mr. Grosvenor, and happened to run into William…”

As he looked, the cocktail in front of Tamara’s glass was a cocktail, her cheeks were a little flushed, as if she was slightly tipsy.

However, as she spoke, her breath was like orchids, and there was no smell of alcohol.

Seeming to notice Barron’s gaze, she whispered:

“These are mostly drinks, with a low alcohol content.”

During the conversation, Barron’s gaze swept over William’s girlfriend, Catherine. She was discussing something with Holly Branson. Their eyes met, and she immediately turned her head to avoid his gaze, looking at William, who was chatting and laughing with Henry Howard, with exaggerated expressions.

Seeing her reaction, Barron, who hadn’t thought much about it, suddenly found it very interesting.

It was obvious that from her performance, Ms. Catherine had already remembered the story of the night she had spent with Barron—she was also the first girl Barron had met after coming to this world, although there was a bit too much content at the time—it wasn’t like how she had acted at Holly Branson’s previous birthday party, as if she didn’t recognize Barron.

After sitting there for a while, Barron made an excuse to say goodbye to William and the others, and prepared to leave.

“Wait, I’ll go with you, Barron…”

Seeing that Barron was about to leave, Tamara also put on her coat, picked up her handbag, and walked out of the room with him.

She was wearing high heels, and the “ticking” sound of her heels on the carpet as she walked to Barron’s side, and took his arm…

Hmm, a soft squeezing sensation.

“You don’t really like that kind of atmosphere just now, do you?”

Tamara asked him this question in his ear, and Barron was a little surprised… Uh, was it that obvious?

“Actually, it’s not that. Maybe it’s because I’ve been under too much pressure since I took over the family business, and I’ve been busy with work, so I’m not used to this kind of leisurely life.”

The previous matters of the Devonshire family, it could be said that as long as you inquired a little, you would be able to know something.

And for a girl like Tamara, who already had a good impression of Barron, how could she not specifically find out about him.

Therefore, after hearing Barron say so, the scene that she couldn’t help but think of was:

A young man who had just graduated not long ago, when facing a family crisis, turned the tide, and through his commercial talent and diligence that far surpassed ordinary people, finally turned the family business onto the right track, and its development far surpassed before.

At this point, the Devonshire family already had a pivotal influence throughout England.

Thinking like this, her gaze at Barron was even more full of tenderness.

At this time, the two had already come downstairs. Just as Barron and Tamara were about to walk out the door, the elevator door opened, and several other people walked out of it.

Barron’s gaze looked over, and he was slightly stunned.

At this moment, several people approached…

Barron and Tamara were originally both outstanding in stature, and whether it was Barron’s handsome elegance or Tamara’s beauty, they were extremely eye-catching existences.

Especially when the two of them stood together like this, Tamara was holding his arm, in a small-bird-like manner, it was even more impossible to be ignored.

Therefore, after seeing the two of them, one of the young men in a suit—he was called a young man, but the other party should be three or four years older than Barron—stopped in his tracks and looked at Barron:

“Are you Barron? Barron Cavendish?”

Generally, except for those who were more familiar with him, who would occasionally directly call Barron’s name, those who were not so familiar would call him Grace, that is, His Grace the Duke.

Therefore, hearing the other party’s words, Barron couldn’t remember that he had seen the other party before, and couldn’t help but furrow his brow slightly, and asked faintly:

“May I ask who you are?”

The other party heard Barron’s words, his pupils contracted slightly, and then he revealed a smile, and said:

“Don’t you remember? We met once, but it’s been more than a year. I’m Colin Hall.”

With that, he pulled the woman beside him:

“This is my wife, Catherine… Oh, right, you should have already known each other.”

Barron looked deeply at Colin Hall, then looked at the woman beside him. When her eyes met Barron’s gaze, she dodged slightly, squeezed out a smile, and said softly:

“Barron, long time no see.”

“Yes, I didn’t expect you to be married, Ms. Neville, oh, right, you should be called Mrs. Hall now.”

“We got married last June. I just thought that the Duke of Cavendish might not be convenient at the time, so I didn’t invite you. I was also very sad about the unfortunate experiences of your father and… brother…”

“Is that so? It is indeed a pity.”

At this time, Tamara could also feel the atmosphere between the other party and Barron, which was very subtle. She looked at Barron and said coquettishly:

“Darling, we’re going to be late…”

“Sorry, we have something else to do, we have to go first.”

Barron nodded to Colin Hall and Catherine beside him, and then turned to leave with Tamara.

After watching the two of them walk out of the club, several bodyguards walked out of an SUV nearby, guarding him. After the two got in the car, they left one after another. Colin Hall revealed a smile with a hidden meaning.

Chapter 234: The Most Expensive Mansion

“That Mr. Hall… do you know him?”

After the Rolls-Royce Phantom started moving, Tamaran, who was sitting beside Barron, asked softly.

“I’ve only met him once, but his wife… Catherine, I knew her earlier.”

Facing Tamaran’s concerned gaze, Barron said:

“She was once my brother’s fiancée.”

“Ah! So that’s how it is, I thought just now…”

Tamaran patted her chest, saying.

Her action couldn’t help but remind Barron of a word, um, precarious.

“You thought she was my ex-girlfriend or something?”

Facing Barron’s somewhat playful expression at this moment, the redness on Tamaran’s face increased a bit, and she said embarrassedly:

“Well, that’s why I said that just now…”

Barron knew that she was referring to the intimate way she had called him “darling” at the end. Her intention was to regain some face for herself in front of his “ex-girlfriend who was now someone else’s wife”…

Seeing Tamaran’s shy appearance at this moment, Barron patted her hand and said:

“Anyway, I want to thank you…”

At this point, through his good elder brother’s former fiancée, Catherine, Barron had already remembered that meeting with Colin Hall.

It was no wonder he didn’t have much of an impression of the other person. Mainly, that meeting happened before Barron’s current soul came to this world, belonging to the memories of his previous body.

And the process at the time was truly a literal “meeting”…

That was in early May of last year. Barron’s brother brought his fiancée, Catherine, to London, seemingly specifically to see an opera performance.

At the time, Barron had been staying in London after graduating.

After watching the performance, his brother invited Barron to join his fiancée Catherine at a party.

Colin Hall was also present at the time. His brother had introduced him to Barron once, so the two had indeed “met” before.

Because Barron’s previous body didn’t really like such social occasions, he left the party after a little bit of socializing and went to a more tempting nightclub party…

This was why he didn’t have a deep impression of that meeting.

As for Barron’s brother’s former fiancée, Catherine Neville, who was now Mrs. Hall… Barron was relatively more familiar with her.

After all, although his previous body rarely went back to Chatsworth Manor at the time, he had met Catherine several times.

What Barron didn’t expect was that after his brother died, he hadn’t cared about Catherine’s news – after all, all contact with the other party was the experience of his previous body, and at the time, things had come one after another, and he simply didn’t have the energy to care about anything else.

What he didn’t expect was that when he saw Catherine again, it was also the first time he had seen his good elder brother’s former fiancée since coming to this world; she had already married and become Mrs. Hall.

Recalling Colin Hall’s behavior after seeing him just now, Barron could feel the other person’s hidden hostility towards him, and… provocation.

Connecting this to the last time his previous body had seen Colin Hall, which was not long before his cheap father and good elder brother died in a car accident, at that time, Colin Hall’s identity was still a “friend” of his good elder brother and his fiancée Catherine, which couldn’t help but make Barron suspicious. Were Colin and Catherine really just ordinary friends at that time?

You must know that Catherine, as his good elder brother’s fiancée, didn’t appear at the funerals of his cheap father and good elder brother; their family only sent an insignificant person to attend – Barron clearly remembered that he was a little surprised at the time.

And according to what Colin Hall just said, their wedding was held in June of last year…

The car accident happened on May 19th, and the funeral was held at the end of the month.

And then, after his good elder brother died, his fiancée married his previous “friend” the following month?

This didn’t make sense from any angle.

Connecting this to Colin Hall’s attitude towards him today…

Barron picked up his phone and sent a text message to Nigel Inkoster. He wanted information about Colin Hall and his family.

…

The car fleet, led by the Rolls-Royce Phantom, drove into Regent’s Park in the West End of London.

This area belonged to the center of London and was once a royal hunting forest, which was opened to the public in 1838.

At first, Barron wanted to send Tamaran home first, but this girl was drunk and leaning against his side, saying she didn’t want her family to see her like this.

Therefore, Barron had to come here – to a mansion he had recently purchased, besides his villa in Kensington.

This mansion was located in the central part of Regent’s Park, named The Holme. It was originally built in 1818 and was later sold in the 1980s after being rebuilt and reinforced by a well-known developer.

Barron spent 35 million pounds to buy this mansion, which was located in the center of Regent’s Park and covered an area of 4 acres, from the previous owner.

The main building area of the mansion was 29,000 square feet (about 2,700 square meters), consisting of two floors above ground and a basement.

The villa was in a classic Regency style, with 40 bedrooms, 8 garages, a tennis court, a sauna, a library, and a huge dining room, as well as 4 acres of private green space.

It could be said that it was adjacent to the lake and had outstanding surrounding garden scenery.

When he chose to buy this mansion and saw the villa, Barron remembered seeing photos of this villa in his previous life.

This mansion was also very famous at the time because, twenty years later, it was once called the most expensive mansion in London – this mansion, which belonged to a Saudi prince at the time, was sold for 250 million pounds, exceeding the previous record set by a certain Mr. Xu, who had spent 210 million pounds on a mansion in Hyde Park, which was the most expensive mansion in London at the time.

Of course, after buying this place, Barron usually lived in the villa in Kensington before, and he would only come here occasionally at certain times. After all, Bonnie didn’t know that he had bought a mansion here, and this mansion was also purchased in the name of an offshore company. If you checked the information, you wouldn’t be able to find it under his name…

Since this was Barron’s relatively private residence, Barron could be relatively “relaxed” about everything at The Holme.

In this mansion, Barron had a 30-year-old female housekeeper with mature charm and professional training.

The female housekeeper’s name was Sharan Fioria, and under her, she managed five maids.

You must know that in a city like London, which is full of nobles and billionaires, there are naturally various companies that specialize in serving these top-tier classes. Money can solve all needs, whether it’s food, clothing, housing, or transportation, or various service personnel.

Both Barron’s female housekeeper and his maids were specially “customized” through this kind of company.

For example, the five maids in his mansion were all selected according to Barron’s needs, regardless of their height, figure, appearance, or even some personal circumstances…

These companies would hold various beauty pageants every year in Eastern Europe, Asia, and South America, and the outstanding ones would get the opportunity to serve those super-rich and nobles…

Yes, in those countries where ordinary people struggle to survive, getting this kind of opportunity requires fierce competition to fight for.

Therefore, in their huge database, you can choose the maids you want according to your preferences, such as appearance, figure, skin color, or even hair color or eye color.

Of course, the better the quality, the higher the price.

If you are not satisfied, they can even hold beauty pageants in certain countries specifically according to your tastes to screen for you. Anyway, they can do anything that can be solved with money.

Of course, the contracts signed are also different. For safety reasons, Barron directly signed contracts with these maids after his intelligence team conducted background checks. From then on, they would become Barron’s exclusive maids within the contract period…

Even the employer’s various needs can be reflected in the contract, as long as you can afford the corresponding salary.

As for these five maids, there were beauties from Eastern Europe, as well as beauties from Asia, and also from South America…

Uh, Barron’s taste was still relatively normal; he wouldn’t like black pearls like some rich people…

“Your Grace, do you need to have dinner here?”

After Barron entered this villa, the female housekeeper, Sharan Fioria, who was slender and graceful, asked respectfully.

“I’ve already eaten. First, have someone take this lady upstairs to rest.”

Chapter 235: The Hall Family

“No, I want you to stay with me… Barron.”

A maid next to Barron had just taken Tamara, when she saw her grab Barron’s coat and say in a weak voice, her expression resolute.

“I’ll take her upstairs.”

After signaling to the maid, Barron directly picked Tamara up around her waist and walked upstairs.

Although Tamara was tall, Barron looked very relaxed carrying her like this.

Tamara was wearing a knee-length dress, black stockings, and high heels… Holding her like this, Barron’s hand, against her stockings, could feel… the quality was very good.

After he picked her up, the girl put her arms around Barron’s neck and leaned on his shoulder.

Until Barron walked into the bedroom and was about to put the girl on the bed…

“You rest here for a while, um…”

Unexpectedly, Tamara leaned in and kissed Barron’s lips.

When Barron instinctively unleashed all his skills, he realized that although this girl looked very… voluptuous, in actual practice, she was quite inexperienced…

Just before, starting from encountering Colin Hall and Catherine, Barron had begun to feel a little angry. Now, under the girl’s active provocation, Barron was no longer prepared to endure.

Especially after she said in Barron’s ear:

“I want you, darling…”

After this sentence, Barron was prepared to learn some knowledge with her…

…

A series of text message tones, Barron got up from the bed and put on his pajamas.

Looking at Tamara, who was still immersed in her dreams, with tears in the corners of her eyes, he picked up his phone and walked out of the bedroom.

The text message was from Nigel Inkster, with some simple information about Colin Hall.

More detailed information would be sent to Barron’s email.

However, after seeing the contents of the text message, Barron had a general understanding of Colin Hall’s background.

Colin Hall, born in 1977, was twenty-seven years old this year, and was a direct descendant of the Hall family, as well as the heir of their generation.

The Hall family could be considered a relatively well-established banking family. The Hall Bank, which they managed, was also one of the oldest private banks in England.

Like some other families, the Hall family had once been glorious and had also experienced decline. Currently, in addition to managing the Hall Bank located at 37 Fleet Street, London, the Hall family also held approximately 18% of the shares of Northern Rock Bank, making them the largest shareholder of this bank.

Barron was not unfamiliar with Northern Rock Bank. A portion of the initial twenty-five million pounds loan from the Devonshire family was issued by Northern Rock Bank.

In order to resolve the urgent need for these loans, Barron had negotiated with the representatives of those banks, and the first to jump out and make trouble was Boris, the representative of Northern Rock Bank.

Later, this bank was willing to lose some interest and also demanded that Barron repay the loan early.

He didn’t expect that the Hall family, where Colin Hall belonged, was actually the largest shareholder of Northern Rock Bank.

Northern Rock Bank was established in 1965. Its predecessor was the Northern Rock Building Society, which developed in northern England. Later, it developed into Northern Rock Bank and was listed on the London Stock Exchange in 1997. Currently, it is one of the five largest mortgage banks in England, with a market value of nearly five billion pounds.

And at this time, the chairman of Northern Rock Bank was Richard Hall, Colin Hall’s father.

Colin Hall had previously worked at the Manchester branch of Northern Rock Bank and had recently been transferred to its London headquarters, serving as the head of the Proprietary Trading Department of Northern Rock Bank.

Seeing this, Barron was a little surprised. Previously, this Colin Hall had always been in Manchester—it seemed that he shouldn’t be a fan of the Manchester United team, judging by his attitude towards him yesterday…

However, Barron still had a few questions at this time. The first was when exactly did Colin Hall and Catherine get together? You must know that Catherine was previously engaged to his deceased good elder brother. If they had already… then, his good elder brother had been given a green hat for no reason.

Also, regarding the previous matters targeting the Devonshire family, did Colin Hall, or rather the Hall family, participate?

For example, Northern Rock Bank, which had been so determined to have the Devonshire family repay the loan early, was it afraid of suffering losses, or was it the Hall family’s intention?

If they participated, were they the main force, or were they just adding fuel to the fire?

In any case, the Hall family now seemed to have no goodwill towards him. As for the inside story, Barron would investigate slowly. If the Hall family really participated, then…

I’m sorry, the Devonshire family is no longer what it used to be. Those who have designs on them, one by one, will have to pay the price.

…

Although because of recently taking over Giant Studio, Bonnie had been very busy, which gave Barron an opportunity to steal… a moment of leisure.

But as he said to Tamara before, he was indeed a little unaccustomed to the leisurely life of young people from aristocratic and wealthy families. The increasingly large industry also required him to handle many affairs every day.

After having the housekeeper take good care of Tamara, Barron left The Holme and went to the DS Financial Center by car.

Here, Barron met Alanna Weston of the Weston family.

After confirming the cooperation with her last time, DS Capital withdrew from the acquisition of Selfridges department store. According to the agreement, the Weston family acquired DS Capital’s 5% stake in Selfridges department store for thirty-five million pounds. With this alone, they earned a profit of over six million pounds.

Today, Alanna Weston came to DS Capital. In addition to completing the agreement for the transfer of DS Capital’s shares, she also brought the head of the pension fund of the United Kingdom Food Group to sign an investment agreement with Athena Fund to purchase one hundred million pounds of five-year fixed-income 12.5% fund products.

Thus, along with the one hundred million pounds investment from the Grosvenor Estate Company employee pension fund on the Westminster Duke’s side, the total funds of Athena Fund had reached over seven hundred million US dollars—because of the continuous rise of the exchange rate between the pound and the US dollar, after converting to US dollars, it was almost close to seven hundred and fifty million US dollars.

Currently, Athena Fund had begun quantitative trading with real money. Through their supercomputer, the gradually improving mathematical model would automatically carry out arbitrage transactions through the program.

However, in the current initial stage, they still needed to conduct manual monitoring to prevent unexpected situations.

Currently, the main investment direction of Athena Fund was stocks in the technology and real estate industries of the NASDAQ market. Starting from the fourth quarter of this year, the NASDAQ market had begun to recover and entered the rebound after the bottom of the dot-com bubble crisis.

In addition, Athena Fund also had funds invested in the foreign exchange, crude oil, and gold futures markets.

Friends with experience in quantitative trading all know that when doing quantitative trading, the most difficult thing is to judge the trend of the market in the future period. Only by guessing the trend correctly can you obtain greater returns.

And in this regard, Barron had an unparalleled advantage. With his understanding of the general trend, he could help Athena Fund’s quantitative trading mathematical model to pass the early improvement process more smoothly and obtain higher returns.

“Ms. Weston, I wonder how you are considering the matter of acquiring Primark?”

After completing these matters, Barron invited Alanna Weston to his office and asked.

Chapter 236: This Isn’t a Threat

“Selling Primark is also within our consideration, but I wonder what the Duke’s offer is?”

Apparently prepared for this question, Alanna said calmly.

“According to our investigation, Primark currently has 110 stores, with a turnover of approximately 250 million pounds in the past year and a profit margin of around 11%. Therefore, considering these data, we believe that 300 million pounds is a very reasonable price.”

There are relatively common valuation standards for this kind of clothing retail chain, and such retail stores rarely own their own properties, or rather, they would only consider owning their own properties in very important locations, so the valuation calculation won’t be too far off.

“Too low, Your Grace. You’ve only considered the valuation of Primark’s 110 stores, and it needs to be seen that Primark’s sales have been trending upward recently…”

Alanna shook her head and said:

“And most importantly, Primark is a well-known brand with a 34-year history, and the brand itself has immense value…”

“I want to correct something, Ms. Weston, it’s not 34 years, it’s 30 years…”

Barron was referring to the history of the Primark brand. In 1969, the Weston family behind Associated British Foods (ABF) hired Dubliner Arthur Ryan to develop a retail business for the group.

Arthur Ryan started a budget clothing store in Dublin with a 50,000-pound seed fund, and named it “Penneys,” which sounded similar to “penny.”

When the business expanded to England in 1973, because the American department store Penney’s had already registered the trademark there, “Penneys” was renamed “Primark” and has been used in all regions except Ireland ever since.

Therefore, the 110 Primark stores at this time included 38 stores in Ireland that used the Penneys brand, and the rest of the stores in the British Isles used the Primark brand.

Barron continued:

“If you think Primark has such a high value, then we can only purchase the stores and leave the Primark brand to ABF…”

Upon hearing Barron’s statement, Alanna’s expression became very unfavorable:

“If that’s the case, I don’t think there’s any need for us to continue talking.”

“Haha, Ms. Weston, just kidding, don’t be angry.”

Barron comforted her:

“Since we both believe that 300 million pounds is a suitable price just for the stores…”

“Your Grace…”

“Please let me finish, Madam. Adding the value of the brand, we can offer a price of 350 million pounds.”

“At least 400 million pounds. I think a price of 350 million pounds will be difficult to get the approval of the ABF board of directors.”

Barron didn’t want to haggle with Alanna like this at this moment. He said:

“In fact, I don’t think the value of the Primark brand is as high as 100 million pounds. You know, over the years, Primark has always faced many accusations, including copying styles and employing child labor. I believe you also know that these accusations have had a significant impact on ABF’s overall image, but ABF’s main sugar products are growing weakly and need Primark’s cash flow as a supplement.”

“But since fast-fashion brands like ZARA and H&M entered the British market, Primark has also been significantly impacted. Currently, Primark’s sales growth can only rely on increasing its sales area, that is, opening new stores or acquiring existing stores to achieve growth. So, overall, I think my offer is very reasonable, and it’s also the best opportunity for ABF to get rid of the Primark brand.”

After Barron finished speaking, Alanna was silent for a moment and said:

“I will bring your offer to ABF’s board of directors, Your Grace, and I can’t guarantee whether this offer will be approved.”

“Okay, I hope we can cooperate happily, Ms. Weston. Otherwise, I can only acquire other brands… such as TOPSHOP and Littlewoods, which have been developing well recently. Actually, I have many choices. Then, I’m afraid you’ll find that next to every Primark store, our stores will appear. This is not a threat, but an impending reality.”

…

When Barron returned to The Holme in Regent’s Park, Tamarind had already woken up and was curled up in front of the floor-to-ceiling window in the living room on the third floor, looking at a magazine in her hands.

When she saw Barron walking into the room, a smile immediately bloomed on her face.

However, when she got up to greet Barron, her eyebrows furrowed slightly. Obviously, the movement of getting up pulled at the place where she had just been injured.

Barron sat down beside her, held her in his arms, and asked softly:

“What did you do this afternoon?”

“Nothing, I asked Ms. Fiora to buy me a few magazines to read, just to pass the time.”

Tamarind said obediently.

“Are you hungry? Let’s go out and eat something.”

Because Barron didn’t live here often, simple breakfasts could be made at The Holme, but for slightly more complex lunches and dinners, it was better to eat out.

However, the cook he requested would soon be in place, and then The Holme would be more fully equipped.

“Hmm, I’m a little hungry…”

However, when Tamarind got up, she still needed Barron’s slight support, which made her lightly punch Barron’s arm with her fist:

“You bad guy, it’s all because of you…”

Uh, Barron was a little speechless at this. Originally, when he first studied knowledge with her, Barron still wanted to be patient and guide her step by step, but he didn’t expect…

Who told you to be so bold and insist that I speed up… the progress of that study.

…

Because he didn’t want to be disturbed, and mainly to prevent being photographed, Barron took Tamarind to the Tang Yan Pavilion at the Devonshire Hotel for dinner.

After dinner, Barron sent the girl back home.

Of course, the Rolls-Royce Phantom stopped at the door of Tamarind’s villa, and in the car, the two inevitably had another bout of lingering affection.

But judging by Tamarind’s current state, she definitely needed to rest well for two days.

After cooperating with Barron, Tamarind’s father, Bernie Ecclestone, had already begun to help him contact the German Bayerische Landesbank, which currently held 50% of the shares of SLEC, hoping to quietly negotiate with them first to buy their shares.

As long as they could secure Bayerische Landesbank and obtain their 50% stake in SLEC, then, combined with Bernie Ecclestone’s 25%, they could control 75% of the SLEC shares.

Under such circumstances, those two American banks, unable to turn the tide, could only be forced to sell their shares.

As for what method Bernie Ecclestone would use to “persuade” Bayerische Landesbank…

From the memories of his previous life, Barron had already understood.

It felt a little embarrassing, Bernie helped Barron do the “dirty work,” and he slept with his daughter today…

However, Barron thought that, in the final analysis, Bernie was also for his own ability to continue to control the commercial operation of F1 and profit from it.

And he wouldn’t mistreat Tamarind either, so Barron reconciled with his small sense of guilt…

For this acquisition plan of SLEC, Barron had specifically registered a company called Pioneer Sports Group. In the future, he would use this company to purchase SLEC shares.

Pioneer Sports Group will be wholly owned by Rich23 Capital, an offshore company registered in the British Virgin Islands.

It is worth mentioning that, from the surface information, Rich23 Capital has no relationship with Barron, because although the registered person of the company actually exists, he may not even know that such a company exists.

But the control of Rich23 Capital is in Barron’s hands.

The reason for giving it such a strange-sounding name was just that Barron wanted to commemorate the wealth created by the memories brought by that time.

Chapter 237: Two Choices

“Congratulations, starting today, you are free.”

When Barron said these words to Alia Benti Hussein, it meant that the Rafael organization had completely lost its threat.

After capturing half of the “Rafael” members, especially two of the three “core members,” more relevant information could be obtained. The subsequent capture operations by the special task force became more efficient.

By now, except for the three “Rafael” members who were killed during the capture process, the remaining seven Rafael members had all been detained in the Mungar base or were on their way there.

Hearing Barron’s words, Alia gave a wry smile and said:

“A person without a home is the freest.”

“Perhaps you couldn’t choose your previous life, but you still have a choice for your future.”

Alia’s gaze passed through the balcony window, looking at the lake and the sky outside. She heard Barron say to her:

“You can stay here temporarily until you make a choice. Of course, to protect you, bodyguards will still be by your side, just like I told you before. You can choose to go to a place where your adoptive father can’t find you, or work for me.”

Now, they were in The Holme, a mansion in Regent’s Park.

This mansion had forty bedrooms, and the space was large. Also, Barron didn’t usually live here, so it was no problem for Alia to stay here temporarily after she was brought to London.

And there was a corresponding security system here, which could also protect her safety.

Before this, Barron had given Alia two choices after she helped “eliminate” the entire Rafael organization.

After Barron granted her freedom, he could help Alia obtain a new identity, allowing her to stay away from the sight of those people.

He could also offer Alia a job, allowing her to work for him. In that case, Barron would also provide Alia with corresponding protection.

After hearing Alia mention her adoptive father, Louis Lafayette, and the Indian “temple treasure,” Barron was somewhat interested in the organization… or group, and Lafayette himself.

Therefore, he needed Alia to provide all the information she knew about Lafayette and their group. He would then send people to secretly investigate and monitor the other party.

“I am willing to work for you and provide all the information about Lafayette, but I have one condition…”

“You know, you don’t have the right to bargain now. I don’t necessarily have to provoke them.”

Hearing Alia’s words, Barron frowned slightly and said lightly.

“Yes, I don’t have many conditions I can trade now, but if you can do it, then what I can give you is my loyalty and everything I have.”

At this moment, there was a sense of desperation and a willingness to die in Alia’s expression, which made Barron feel somewhat interesting.

Yes, Alia was beautiful. Among the women Barron had seen in his two lives, in terms of overall appearance and figure, she could be considered one of the best.

He could only think of Bonnie Stuart as a comparison.

If Barron wanted to get her, it wouldn’t be difficult, it could even be said to be effortless.

But he was not a reckless person, and compared to pure lust, he preferred this game of gradually controlling people’s hearts.

“You can speak, but I won’t promise to do it.”

“I want Louis Lafayette to die!”

“Oh?”

Barron looked at Alia and asked with some probing:

“It stands to reason that he adopted you. Even if it was for other purposes, you might be dissatisfied, and even have feelings of hatred. But seeing your reaction just now, and the price you are willing to pay, I am very curious about the reason.”

“Because he deceived all of us, and what he did was simply a devil.”

Alia clenched her fists, gritting her teeth and saying:

“One of my sisters was adopted with me. She was the best person to me. But she died in the end, very tragically, the kind of tragedy that’s hard to imagine… Lafayette told me that she was killed by someone, and promised me to help me avenge her. Because of this, I helped him do things, it’s really ridiculous.”

“So you found out that the person who killed her was Lafayette?”

“Yes, it was a confidant of Lafayette. That man wanted to take me out of their control and also told me these inside stories. At first, I didn’t believe it, and then he died…”

“Lafayette didn’t suspect you?”

“I don’t know, but as far as I know, that man didn’t say anything about me, and the more truth, I discovered it slowly later.”

Alia looked at Barron, asking with anticipation:

“Now, the only way I can think of to get revenge is to rely on you, Your Grace, can you promise me?”

“I said, I won’t give you any promises for now. If you really want revenge, the first thing is to cooperate with me and tell me everything.”

…

“Have you heard of the Hall family, Mr. Booth.”

In Chelsea, in the Victorian-style mansion of Viscount Booth, Barron said to Viscount Booth.

“The Hall family? Yes, they are one of the important members of the Bankers’ Association. They used to conduct financial investments for the nobles, they are experts in this field, so they were prominent for a time, and they are one of the few banking families that have been able to continue.”

If one didn’t know Viscount Booth’s certain “hobbies,” his appearance could indeed be described as imposing.

At this moment, he was sipping the black tea in his cup, and said lightly:

“You know, including the Rothschild family, the Sassoon family… among the bankers in London, Jews account for the majority, but the Hall family is one of the few orthodox Anglo-Saxon banking families. Why? Are you interested in the Hall family, Your Grace?”

“Not really, it’s just that I accidentally met Colin Hall of the Hall family the other day. The interesting thing is, his wife was once my brother’s fiancée.”

This kind of thing, like Viscount Booth, had heard a lot about it, so he didn’t show too much surprise:

“I seem to have seen this Colin Hall you mentioned, but the impression is not very deep.”

“By the way, you said today that you wanted to talk about the matter of several newspapers, didn’t you?”

The matter of the Hall family, Barron had only mentioned it casually, and didn’t want to talk too much about this topic, so he mentioned another matter.

“Yes, you know, the operating conditions of many newspapers are not good now. Our family has several newspapers, and the current situation is not very satisfactory, so my father also mentioned that he wants to sell several newspapers that haven’t made much progress.”

Viscount Booth. seemed to have remembered today’s theme at this moment, and said to Barron:

“I know, Your Grace, that your independent newspaper business is developing very well, especially after you acquired this newspaper, so I want to ask you, are you interested in those newspapers?”

After Viscount Booth’s words fell, Barron had already recalled the newspapers under the Booth. family in his mind, and asked casually:

“Which newspapers are you planning to sell?”

Chapter 238: Inheritance?

At this point, competition among local newspapers in Britain was becoming increasingly fierce.

Because besides competing with those national newspapers, the four “United Kingdoms” of the British Isles—England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland—each had their own regional newspapers, and under them, the counties, and even the smaller areas, had many local newspapers with even smaller distribution areas.

The competition between these newspapers was already very intense, and with the rise of the internet, news websites had also impacted them. It could be said that some local newspapers could only survive by relying on news with local characteristics.

By 2008, after the subprime mortgage crisis, over 70% of local newspapers in Britain would close down.

According to Barron’s understanding, the Booth. family, because their family was currently mainly in Scotland, and they also had a mining company in Wales before, therefore the local newspapers they owned were mostly from these two places.

And besides these local newspapers, in which they owned the majority of the shares, the Booth. family also held over 20% of the shares in the very influential Scottish newspaper, The Scotsman. Therefore, under the continuous losses of those small newspapers, it was very normal for them to want to get rid of some burdens.

The newspapers that Viscount Booth. wanted to sell this time included The Courier and The Daily Record in Scotland, and The Welsh Echo in Wales.

These three newspapers were all local newspapers, and their profits had been declining in recent years. Especially since the year before last, they had already started to lose money. Last year alone, the three newspapers together caused a loss of over 3.5 million pounds.

Under such circumstances, especially since the Booth. family still held a very high proportion of shares in a national newspaper like The Scotsman, even if they sold these three newspapers, they could still influence The Scotsman, as well as the other two Scottish local newspapers that were doing relatively well.

As for the selling price, it was not high either. The three newspapers together only required 2 million pounds, but they also needed to bear the attached debt of approximately 3.5 million pounds.

Barron directly agreed—although when he bought Independent Newspapers, he only paid a symbolic price of 1 pound, but at that time, Independent Newspapers also carried a debt of over 15 million pounds, and based on their operating conditions at the time, they would probably lose several million pounds every year.

Therefore, in comparison, being able to acquire these three local newspapers at the current cost was considered appropriate.

What Barron valued more was the influence of these newspapers in the local area; they already had a certain number of regular readers.

Especially the newspapers in the Scottish region—by next May, the election of the Scottish Parliament would begin. At that time, the founder of the former “Shield of the Empire” military company, Mavin Coy, would run for a member of the Scottish Parliament. Barron would give him his support, and at that time, the two Scottish newspapers out of the three local newspapers he had just bought would be able to play a role.

As for the current losses of these three newspapers?

Barron planned to, after buying these newspapers, convert one of the Scottish newspapers and the Welsh newspaper into free newspapers.

With free newspapers, he could greatly increase the space for advertising content, and in terms of news sources, he could directly obtain them from Independent Newspapers, only needing to retain a few reporters and editors to maintain the local news columns.

Moreover, the circulation of free newspapers would also increase greatly compared to paid newspapers.

With this two-pronged approach, it would not be difficult to turn these three newspapers around and make a profit. Even in the worst case scenario, if there were still some losses, compared to the influence these newspapers could bring in the two regions of Scotland and Wales, it was also something Barron could afford.

And with these “tools of public opinion” in hand, it would also be more convenient for Barron to win over those Scottish and Welsh politicians.

…

“You say there’s news about that Mrs. Emma?”

After returning to the Kensington villa, Barron met Nigel Inkster, who had rushed over.

Hearing Barron’s words, Nigel’s expression was a little strange. He said:

“Yes, Your Grace, but that Mrs. Emma… she has already passed away.”

“Passed away?”

Barron was truly surprised:

“When did this happen?”

“Just a week ago…”

Nigel handed a document to Barron, then pointed to a hospital record and death certificate, and said:

“Ms. Emma Evans had already been diagnosed with cancer a year ago, and it was in its late stages. She spent most of her time after that in a manor in the south of France. In addition, when we were investigating Mrs. Emma, we happened to contact her lawyer. According to her will, the sole heir to Mrs. Emma’s estate that she designated was you, Your Grace.”

“Me?”

If Barron was surprised by Mrs. Emma’s sudden death just now, then now, after hearing Nigel’s words, he even doubted that he was hallucinating…

“Yes, according to the information sent by Mrs. Emma’s lawyer, which is this document below, Mrs. Emma’s estate includes 1.5% of the shares of Northern Gas Company, a manor and two properties in Britain, one of which is in London, and a manor in France, with a total value of over 60 million pounds!”

Listening to Nigel’s words, Barron flipped through the document.

Nigel had also confirmed some of the information above and made annotations, so he could be said to have been fully prepared.

Mrs. Emma had married Barron Eden Evans twenty years ago, and that Barron, passed away from illness six years after their marriage. They had no children.

After that, Mrs. Emma did not remarry, so until her death a week ago, she could be said to have been alone.

But Barron could not have imagined why the other party would leave these assets to him?

If he didn’t clearly know that his predecessor was clearly the Duke and his wife’s biological child, Barron would not have been able to help but suspect that he was the child of his cheap father and this Mrs. Emma.

Because after hearing the name Mrs. Emma, Barron had also gone back to Chatsworth House and found some letters left by the Duke to examine them. He really found many letters signed Emma, and the elegant handwriting was obviously from a woman’s hand…

Although there were no explicit words in the letters, the content of many of them gave the impression that the relationship between the two was not ordinary.

This was understandable, after all, the Duke had been widowed for many years, and the Cavendish family’s genes were also considered excellent—this could also be seen from Barron’s handsome appearance, so the old Earl could really be said to have a certain attraction to women, with the general habits of British nobles… uh, character, having a mistress of some kind was considered normal.

Probably not having one wasn’t normal…

In the final analysis, in Barron’s heart, the Duke, his cheap father, didn’t have a very deep bond with him, so he could look at these things very calmly, without any embarrassment.

From the annotations on this document, it could be seen that Mrs. Emma’s estate mostly came from her late husband.

Chapter 239: The God of Stocks in the Middle East

Although the late Iden Evans was only a Barron in terms of title, the Evans family did have some talent in business, and thus accumulated quite a bit of wealth…

Just from Lady Emma’s inheritance, 1.5% of the shares in Northern Gas Company are currently worth about 30 million pounds.

Currently, the two largest natural gas pipeline companies in the UK are Cadent and Northern Gas Company. This company’s current market value is around 2 billion pounds—that Barron Evans bought the shares of Northern Gas Company after Mrs. Thatcher carried out privatization reforms.

Another thing worth mentioning is that, in the original timeline, two years later, HK’s Li Ka-shing used 2.4 billion pounds to purchase 88% of the shares of Northern Gas Company. By this calculation, the market value of Northern Gas Company at that time had already approached 2.8 billion pounds.

The other two estates located in England and France, as well as two properties, are also worth 30 million pounds.

“Has Lady Emma been buried?”

“Yes, Your Grace. Since she had no descendants, according to her will, she has been buried in the Evans family cemetery. Her lawyer will also come to London soon to go through the inheritance transfer procedures with you.”

For Lady Emma’s inheritance, if Barron accepts it, he will also need to bear the corresponding inheritance tax.

However, these inheritance taxes are not a problem for Barron at this time.

Among these inheritances, what Barron values most is the 1.5% shares of Northern Gas Company.

Although the proportion of these shares seems small, it can be considered that Barron has already entered the company internally. If he has the opportunity in the future, he can control this large British natural gas company before Li Ka-shing.

Although this kind of business often doesn’t have such high growth anymore, the advantage is its stability. After all, with the British weather, using natural gas for heating is indispensable, it is a necessity for people’s livelihood, and its profits are stable.

This is also why, since the last century, Li Ka-shing has been buying up European, especially British, water, electricity, and natural gas companies.

Now Barron has captured all the members of the “Raphael” organization, except for the three who “died unexpectedly.”

From the results of their interrogation, Lady Emma had no previous connection with them.

As for why Lady Emma would have actively introduced the old Duke of Devonshire to invest in the “London Star” project, now that both of them have passed away, the inside story is probably unknown to anyone.

Perhaps Lady Emma really thought that “London Star” was a good investment project back then. After all, from the investment records of “London Star,” it can also be found that Lady Emma invested 5 million pounds in it—perhaps this is also the reason why Lady Emma did not leave much cash after her death.

Moreover, now she has left all her property to herself, and in this regard, Barron also believes that there is no need to pursue it further.

“Tell me the location of her burial, I think I should go and take a look.”

Barron said lightly to Nigel.

…

The Duke of Westminster did not go back on his word. A week after their last meeting, he took Barron with him to attend a banquet he hosted at his home.

During this banquet, he also introduced Barron to the protagonist of this banquet, a wealthy man from Saudi Arabia.

Barron did not expect that the wealthy man introduced to him by the Duke of Westminster was actually Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal, known as the “Arabian Buffett” and the “God of Stocks in the Middle East.”

Although Al-Waleed’s identity is a prince of Saudi Arabia, in fact, he had long lost the opportunity to enter the upper echelons of Saudi politics.

The reason is that Al-Waleed’s father was the 21st son of the founder of Saudi Arabia, Abdulaziz Ibn Saud…

Uh, this founding king had 38 wives alone, not including his mistresses…

And these wives of his gave birth to a total of 127 children for him, including 58 sons…

Now, these sons of his continue to multiply, so the Saudi royal family now has more than 5,000 princes!

Prince Al-Waleed’s father was once the Saudi ambassador to France. When Al-Waleed was 5 years old, his father sympathized with Nasser, who later became the President of Egypt, and fell out with the Saudi king and other members of the royal family, and was exiled to Egypt.

There, he and his father and family struggled through life. Although Al-Waleed and his father were later allowed to return to Saudi Arabia, from then on, his father and descendants forever lost the opportunity to enter the upper echelons of Saudi Arabian politics.

This may also be the reason why Prince Al-Waleed focused on making money and became the richest man in the Middle East.

In Barron’s previous life, the reason he heard of this prince was because in 2011, Forbes ranked him 26th in the world’s richest people with a net worth of 20 billion US dollars.

And Prince Al-Waleed believed that the other party underestimated his wealth and undercounted his wealth by 9.6 billion US dollars. In a fit of rage, he even sued Forbes magazine…

But speaking of it, Al-Waleed does have a unique insight into investment. His initial start-up capital was only 15,000 US dollars, and through investment, he acquired his later wealth.

His most famous move was investing in Citibank.

He began to continuously buy Citibank’s stock from the 1980s. In the autumn of 1990, this then-largest bank in the United States fell into trouble. It suffered heavy losses in a series of real estate loans and was in urgent need of funds. The Federal Reserve Board urged it to increase its capital reserves, but Citibank’s efforts to find more than a billion US dollars in investment yielded no results.

As people feared Citibank’s bankruptcy, they sold off its stock, causing the stock price to plummet.

After Prince Al-Waleed learned of Citibank’s predicament, at the end of that year, Al-Waleed bought 4.9% of Citibank’s common stock for 207 million US dollars (12.46 US dollars per share)—this was the maximum limit that did not require him to disclose his shares according to the law.

In February 1991, when the US military entered Saudi Arabia to prepare for war with Iraq, Al-Waleed, taking advantage of his special relationship with the government, bought Citibank’s new preferred stock for 590 million US dollars, which allowed him to convert it into common stock at a price of 16 US dollars per share.

This part of the stock accounted for 10% of Citibank’s total shares, so Al-Waleed’s total shares in Citibank also rose to 14.9%.

Through continuous purchases, the value of Al-Waleed’s Citibank stock was 10 times that of the purchase price, and he also owned about 8 billion US dollars of Citibank’s assets.

And compared to Al-Waleed, what interested Barron more was the youngest of the princes who came to London with him this time. In the introduction, Barron learned that his name was Mohammed bin Salman.

Chapter 240: Always Leading the Pack

Mohammed bin Salman was the youngest of the three Saudi princes attending the Duke of Westminster’s gathering. He was only nineteen years old at the time and had come to play with his two older brothers.

Barron paid particular attention to him because this young man would later become the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia. Unlike other crown princes, he also held the reins of power in Saudi Arabia, earning the moniker “Arabian Tyrant” due to his aggressive policies after seizing control.

In Barron’s previous life, Mohammed bin Salman’s ascension to Crown Prince had caused quite a stir.

Why?

As mentioned before, the founding monarch of Saudi Arabia, Abdulaziz ibn Abdul Rahman Al Saud, had fifty-eight sons. However, before Mohammed bin Salman became Crown Prince, the succession to the Saudi throne had always followed the principle of “brother succeeding brother.”

The current King of Saudi Arabia was Fahd bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, the sixth son of the founding monarch Abdulaziz, and the fifth Saudi monarch. The four kings before him, excluding the founding monarch Abdulaziz, were all Fahd’s older brothers, specifically Abdulaziz’s second, fourth, and fifth sons.

From Mohammed bin Salman’s name, it was apparent that his father’s name was Salman. Yes, Salman was the twenty-fifth son of the founding monarch Abdulaziz. In the original timeline, he succeeded his brother Abdullah (who shared the same name as the founding monarch, a common practice in Arab countries) – the tenth son of the founding monarch Abdulaziz – in 2015, becoming the seventh King of Saudi Arabia.

The situation of “brother succeeding brother,” where a brother inherits the throne, was not unique to Saudi Arabia. This type of succession was very common among nomadic peoples – Saudi Arabia was originally composed of various tribes and was initially a nomadic people. For example, ancient tribes like the Huns and Mongols also often followed this succession pattern.

The reason for this was that agricultural feudal dynasties often had stable ruling structures, so they placed greater emphasis on the inheritance of bloodlines, from father to son. Even if a new ruler was young, there were often loyal ministers to assist.

Nomadic peoples, however, were different. Their populations moved more frequently, and they often revered the strong. A leader needed to have extensive ruling experience. If a young ruler emerged, they could easily be overthrown, hence the common practice of brother succeeding brother.

However, modern Saudi Arabia was no longer composed of nomadic peoples and had become a wealthy nation. While it had previously followed “brother succeeding brother,” it was inevitable that at some point, a king would want to pass the throne to his own son – especially after more than ninety years of the kingdom’s establishment, when the sons of the founding monarch were already quite old. If a king believed it was more appropriate to pass the throne to his son, changing the rules was only a matter of time.

“I didn’t expect you to speak Arabic as well, Your Grace the Duke of Cavendish.”

During his conversations with the Saudi princes, Barron showed off his Arabic, which surprised the three princes. Although Barron could only use Arabic for simple conversations, his pronunciation was very authentic.

“Because my assistant is an Arab. I enjoy learning languages, so I learned some Arabic from her.”

While in New York, Barron had already planned to expand the size of his team to reduce some of the workload for Laura. One of these positions was his personal assistant, but he hadn’t found a suitable candidate – after all, someone close to him needed to be quite reliable.

Now, Barron had given Alia bint Hussein the job of his personal assistant – although her trustworthiness was still somewhat lacking, he had enough control over her.

Before giving her the job, Barron had made it clear that once she chose this job, it was unlikely she could leave his control for a short time.

But this was also what Alia wanted. She had always wanted protection, and where could she be safer than by Barron’s side?

Barron had also learned Arabic from Alia during this time – knowing that there would soon be an opportunity to obtain funds from the wealthy Saudis, Barron had made special preparations for this.

Although the Saudi princes who came to London could all communicate in fluent English – many of them had studied abroad – communication was one thing, being able to communicate directly in their native language would certainly help to build a closer relationship more quickly.

Sure enough, after Barron communicated with them in Arabic, it was obvious that their attitude towards him had become much friendlier.

During this gathering, Barron simply introduced the businesses under his name and did not discuss investment matters with the Saudi princes, including Alwaleed bin Talal. After all, they needed time to digest this information and conduct some investigations into Barron’s businesses; it was impossible to talk about cooperation right away.

However, later on, Barron invited these people to a banquet at his home, which was scheduled for two days later, giving them enough time to understand.

…

During this time, Barron once again met with Philips and Mark, the two founders of Asmodee, who had come to London.

Last year, to promote “Werewolf,” Barron invested in this French board game company – also because Barron knew that in his previous life, Asmodee would grow into a board game giant twenty years later, with a company valuation exceeding 3 billion euros.

So, Barron invested 4 million pounds at the time, acquiring 40% of the company’s shares.

This time, the founders of Asmodee, Philips and Mark, had come to London for the company’s financing.

This year, Asmodee obtained the French version publishing rights for the Pokémon Trading Card Game TCG, in addition to the global publishing rights for the “Werewolf” board game they had obtained before. Within a year, Asmodee had developed rapidly.

At this point, the Asmodee team was preparing to acquire other board game teams to increase the variety of board games Asmodee owned and expand the company’s scale.

However, it was also at this point that the 4 million pounds they received last year had been spent, and in the “Werewolf” and “Pokémon” games, they had conducted large-scale early marketing. The revenue they had earned so far would barely offset these expenses.

Therefore, Asmodee was also preparing to raise funds again. And because Asmodee already had a high reputation in the board game field, the French private equity fund Naxicap had also contacted them, hoping to invest in Asmodee.

However, when the initial investment agreement was signed with DS Capital, there were related clauses that gave DS Capital the right of first refusal under the same conditions in Asmodee’s subsequent financing. Therefore, the two company founders came to London this time to determine whether DS Capital was willing to continue participating in their company’s financing.

The French private equity fund Naxicap was willing to invest 7.2 million euros in exchange for 18% of Asmodee’s shares.

This meant that their post-money valuation of Asmodee was 40 million euros, and the pre-money valuation was 32.8 million euros, equivalent to 22.4 million pounds.

This price had increased by more than 120% compared to the valuation when Barron invested last year.

If Barron was willing to participate in the financing at this valuation, then DS Capital had the right of first refusal, so the Naxicap fund would have to withdraw, otherwise, Asmodee would choose the other party for financing.

“How much capital do you need?”

“We need at least 7 million euros, so we can complete the acquisition of two board game development teams and maintain the company’s operations.”

Mark replied after hearing Barron’s question:

“However, if we had more capital, we could acquire all the teams we are currently interested in and not need to raise funds again for a relatively long time.”

At this time, the Asmodee team had already realized that the future board game market would be more of a game of capital, expanding the company’s scale through continuous mergers and acquisitions to maintain its lead.

After all, no team could guarantee that they would have continuous creativity and be welcomed by the market.

Therefore, they would rather be the leader in this field than be the one eliminated, even if they needed to give up most of the company’s shares. But as long as they maintained their lead, their remaining shares, although their proportion decreased, would continue to increase in value.

Moreover, in the board game field, as long as they could succeed, investors would still maintain their trust in them and would not interfere with the company’s operations and management.

Chapter 241: Public Investment Fund

“So, will thirty million pounds be enough?”

Hearing Barron’s calm words, both Phillips and Mark were astonished. They exchanged glances, and finally, Mark spoke:

“Your Grace, are you going to invest thirty million pounds in our company?”

“Yes, based on the valuation of your company by the Naxicap fund, which is twenty-two point four million pounds, I will invest.”

“This… is a bit too much.”

According to their team’s plan, if they could get ten million pounds, which would be equivalent to over fourteen point five million euros, that would have been enough. Thirty million pounds… With such a huge investment, they wouldn’t have much of their shares left.

“For the current board game market, becoming a giant as quickly as possible is the most important thing. This way, you can buy out all the teams with potential and creativity by throwing money at them…”

Barron said lightly:

“And I also believe in your team’s management capabilities. I am only making a financial investment. As long as you don’t make mistakes, Asmodee will still be managed by you. Perhaps the next time Asmodee needs financing will be when it goes public with an IPO.”

Mark and Phillips also admitted that Barron’s words made sense. Moreover, what they valued more was control of the company… If this could be guaranteed, with so much funding, they were fully confident that they could develop Asmodee into the world’s largest board game company within the next two years. Thinking of such a prospect…

Finally, after discussions, the Asmodee team accepted Barron’s proposal. They would accept DS Capital’s thirty million pound investment based on Asmodee’s valuation of twenty-two point four million pounds.

Thus, after completing this round of financing, DS Capital’s thirty million pound investment would obtain fifty-seven point two five percent of Asmodee’s shares. Adding the forty percent of shares they held previously, which would be diluted to seventeen point one percent after this financing, DS Capital would hold a total of seventy-four point three five percent of Asmodee’s shares.

The Asmodee founding team, including Mark and Phillips, would see their company shares reduced to twenty-five point six five percent.

However, as Barron said, he had no interest in running Asmodee, and Mark and his team had been doing well in the past, developing Asmodee into one of the world’s largest board game companies.

Therefore, he was willing to invest in Asmodee. On the one hand, it was to promote “Werewolf”, maximizing the value of this IP; on the other hand, it was truly a financial investment.

When, like in his previous life, a company was willing to acquire Asmodee for over three billion euros, or after Asmodee went public with an IPO and its market value was increased, that would be the time for his investment to be realized.

…

“Your Grace, do you have any plans to relist O2 Telecom? After all, according to our investigation, you took on high-interest debt of up to five billion pounds when you acquired this telecom company.”

The day Barron invited these Saudi princes had arrived. The three Saudi princes he had met at the Duke of Westminster’s home, including Waleed, visited Barron’s villa in Kensington.

In addition to these three princes, there was another guest – a senior executive from the Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF).

Barron then realized that the backgrounds of these three princes were not simple. Besides Waleed, the “God of the Middle East Stock Market”, and Mohammed bin Salman, the future Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, another prince named Faisal bin Abdulaziz had a father who was currently the Saudi Minister of Investment, responsible for managing Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth funds, which included the early-established Saudi Public Investment Fund.

The senior executive from the Saudi Public Investment Fund who came today, named Falih bin Jubair, had come to the UK to prepare for investments.

The Saudi Public Investment Fund was established in the 1970s. Initially, it was mainly funded by Saudi Aramco, so the president of Saudi Aramco would often serve as the head of the Saudi Public Investment Fund.

To date, the total scale of the Saudi Public Investment Fund had exceeded twenty-five billion US dollars, with many overseas investment projects.

This time, Falih bin Jubair asked this question. It was obvious that they were interested in O2 Telecom.

“Mr. Falih, although the number of O2 Telecom’s users has increased by over one hundred percent compared to when I acquired this company at the beginning of the year, we are currently upgrading our mobile communications and broadband networks, especially in the newly opened French and German markets. Although the number of users is increasing rapidly, the investment is also huge, so in terms of performance, it is not conducive to an IPO…”

As Barron’s personal assistant and also an Arab, Aliya bint Hussein also attended the cocktail party held at Barron’s home.

When she was first introduced to these Saudis, they also marveled at the beauty of Barron’s female assistant, praising her highly.

And this was the first time Aliya had seen Barron discussing his business with others. Seeing him speaking eloquently, she couldn’t help but focus her gaze on him.

Barron continued:

“However, you can rest assured that when O2 Telecom’s equipment upgrades are completed next year, and the financial situation looks better, we will prepare for listing.”

“In fact, after our PIF conducted an investigation of the UK market, we are very optimistic about your O2 Telecom and also have investment ideas…”

Hearing Falih bin Jubair say this, Barron’s heart moved, and he said:

“If we invest in O2 Telecom now, I’m afraid it will be difficult for us to reach an agreement on the valuation of this company. Because although O2 Telecom cannot be considered a startup, after I bought this company, I formulated a super expansion plan for it. Although I only spent five point five billion pounds when I acquired this company at the beginning of this year, based on the current turnover and the number of users, the company is worth at most ten billion pounds…”

Barron was observing everyone’s expressions as he said these words, especially Falih bin Jubair, who was in charge of the Saudi Public Investment Fund’s investment in the UK this time. Judging from his reaction, he should have a similar valuation of O2 Telecom, around ten billion pounds.

He smiled and continued:

“But frankly, I think O2 Telecom is worth over fifteen billion pounds now, and when it goes public with an IPO, its market value will exceed twenty billion pounds!”

“That’s probably a bit too high, Your Grace.”

“That’s why I said it will be difficult for us to reach an agreement now, but this is not a problem. We can use another method…”

Hearing Barron say this, Falih became interested:

“What method?”

“O2 Telecom can first issue corporate bonds to you, with an annual interest rate of around three point five percent, slightly higher than the bank loan interest rate. Then, at the end of next year, or the beginning of 2005, when O2 Telecom goes public with an IPO, you can choose to convert these corporate bonds into common stock at the stock issuance price of O2 Telecom…”

Hearing Barron’s proposal, although they couldn’t invest in O2 Telecom immediately, it could be said that for a sovereign fund like the Saudi Public Investment Fund, their investments were not as focused on the rate of return as those of venture capitalists, but rather preferred more stable investments – after all, these funds had a scale of hundreds of billions of dollars, and investments of this scale could not take too much risk.

Therefore, Barron’s proposal was also more secure. Although the annual interest rate of three point five percent was not high, it could at least be considered as entering the game early. They could then observe the situation of O2 Telecom’s IPO and decide whether to convert the bonds into shares. Otherwise, even if they wanted to participate in O2 Telecom’s IPO issuance, they might not be able to get enough shares.

“I will report this to the CEO and get back to you as soon as possible, Your Grace.”

“I look forward to your reply, Mr. Falih.”

Barron didn’t really think that this meeting would determine such an investment, so he said very calmly.

Chapter 242: Two Children

The interest of the Saudi Public Investment Fund in O2 Telecom was not unexpected.

Barron had also heard of this fund in his previous life. They were initially more interested in investments in facilities like airports and ports, but telecommunications companies were also on their investment list, especially those in developed countries like the United Kingdom.

Later, after Mohammed bin Salman came to power, the investments of the Saudi Public Fund under his control became much bolder. The most well-known example was its later acquisition of the Premier League team Newcastle United, and the head of the PIF also became the chairman of Newcastle United.

Besides discussions with the Saudi Public Fund, what Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal was interested in was Barron’s DS Capital investment company.

Initially, he was interested in the Mars Fund, as the fund’s profit rate was impressive.

However, the Mars Fund had already closed its investment window and would not reopen until April or May of next year.

After Barron introduced another fund, Athena Fund’s fixed-income products, Prince Al-Waleed also expressed his intention to invest in this fund.

Speaking of which, this meeting with several Saudi guests was quite fruitful. Besides having more contact with the future Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman—he was only nineteen years old at the time, still a student, and Barron was not in a hurry to establish a very close relationship with him; everything needed to be taken slowly—there were results from both the Saudi Public Investment Fund and Prince Al-Waleed.

A few days later, the Saudi Public Investment Fund sent a team to negotiate with O2 Telecom. Ultimately, they would invest one billion pounds to purchase O2 Telecom’s convertible corporate bonds, with an annual interest rate of 3.5%.

According to the contract, the Saudi Public Investment Fund had the right to convert these corporate bonds into O2 Telecom’s common stock at the offering price of its shares when O2 Telecom went public.

The one billion pounds of funds received would continue to repay the debt Barron had incurred when purchasing O2 Telecom.

Up to now, he had repaid two billion pounds, and still had high-interest debts of one and a half billion pounds each at Barclays Bank and Goldman Sachs Group. At the same time, O2 Telecom also bore two billion pounds of corporate bonds with an annual interest rate of 3.5%.

As the United Kingdom and the European Union continued to cut interest rates, their bank loan interest rates had dropped from the previous 5% to around 3%.

Therefore, by now, Barron would also start using various methods to repay the high-interest debt incurred from the leveraged buyout when acquiring O2 Telecom through lower-interest loans or financing methods—it should be known that the interest on these debts was as high as 12%, and the interest was a significant burden.

Taking advantage of the global interest rate cuts, Barron could also cover the previous high-interest debt through new, low-interest financing, thereby reducing interest costs.

In addition, Prince Al-Waleed was also very generous. He directly purchased five hundred million dollars of Athena Fund’s fixed-income products with a one-year lock-in period and a fixed annual yield of 8%—Barron had already begun to lower the fixed income of the Athena Fund. Just as he had told the Duke of Westminster, the one hundred million pounds of 10% annual yield for his Grosvenor Estate Company’s employee pension fund was already an exception for him.

After Athena Fund received Prince Al-Waleed’s investment, the scale of funds it controlled successfully exceeded one billion dollars, reaching over one and a quarter billion dollars.

…

At this time, it was already November 10th. The exchange rate of the euro against the US dollar had exceeded 1.2. As of now, DS Capital’s profit from shorting the US dollar exchange rate with one billion pounds as margin and twenty times leverage had already exceeded six billion dollars.

However, Barron knew that this was just the beginning, because not only would the euro-to-dollar exchange rate reach a high of 1.25 by the end of this year, but until April 2008, this exchange rate would reach a high of nearly 1.6…

From then on, the euro-to-dollar exchange rate would continue to decline, even to a level of 1:1.

But this process was not a one-way rise or fall; there would always be fluctuations.

Therefore, Barron planned to close this investment after the end of the year, and then wait for an opportunity to enter the operation again next year.

“Why are you going to America again?”

After Bonnie returned home in the evening, she knew that Barron was going to America in a couple of days and couldn’t help but ask.

“I have some investments there that I need to take a look at. Also, I ordered a business jet before, and Gulfstream notified me that it can be delivered, and I plan to fly it back directly.”

These were all reasons to go to America, but the other more important reason was that Rebecca was pregnant with Barron’s child, and he couldn’t always let her stay in California to give birth; he needed to visit from time to time.

Of course, he would definitely not say this reason. He embraced Bonnie and asked:

“Do you want to come with me?”

“You know, there’s too much going on at Giant Studio recently; I probably can’t get away.”

In fact, Bonnie was also quite depressed. After all, the last time Barron went to America, it was during a period when they had a conflict. After he went to New York, she saw reports of him and a “New York socialite” in the newspapers.

Although Bonnie didn’t show anything in front of her cousin at the time, she would still feel uncomfortable.

This time, she really wanted to go to America with Barron, but unfortunately, she had just taken over Giant Studio, and she was too busy recently, so she really couldn’t get away.

After all, she had proposed starting her own business, and she couldn’t just be a hands-off boss.

“How’s Giant Studio doing lately?”

“It’s the dance competition variety show we talked about last time, tentatively named ‘Dancing Miracle’. We’ve been preparing for it, needing to negotiate with suitable judges and guest contestants, arrange their schedules, and plan to start filming in April or May of next year.”

“That’s almost half a year away, no need to be so anxious.”

Hearing Barron say this, Bonnie sighed and said:

“It’s not that simple. After all, many of the contestants we’re inviting, including some very well-known stars, all need to book their time in advance. And since it’s a dance show, they can’t really say they haven’t prepared at all; they always need to do some practice in advance, and we need to oversee these things.”

Since that was the case, there was no way. Barron suddenly thought of something:

“Have you seen your cousin recently? I remember that her child, uh, I mean the Ukrainian girl’s baby, if I remember correctly, it should be about to be born, right?”

When it came to this matter, Bonnie’s expression was very interesting.

Although by now, she had accepted the fact that her cousin was pregnant with her boyfriend’s child, she wouldn’t be very happy when she thought about it.

“Yes, the due date is next month. Oh, God bless my cousin, she’s about to take care of two children together…”

“Uh…”

Barron already regretted bringing this up. Thinking that he would have two children one after another after next spring, his mood…

It was still a mixture of anticipation and trepidation.

“I think, baby, we should also work hard…”

How should one coax a woman? Besides talking, some practical actions were still needed.

Chapter 243: A Trip to California

This time, when going to the United States, Barron still chose a private jet, but this time, Gulfstream specifically provided him with a G450, allowing him to experience the ride on this business jet in advance.

When he returned from the United States, he would be able to sit on his own G450.

The G450 first landed in New York. Here, a portion of the personnel, including Alia Bint Hussein, would disembark early. Because during his last visit to New York, Barron had purchased a penthouse in the Woolworth Building in Manhattan, they would go there in advance.

On the one hand, Alia, as Barron’s personal assistant, needed to place some of Barron’s luggage that he had brought to New York there, and also contact the relevant local companies to find a suitable maid for Barron – when Barron was in New York, the maid here would be managed by Alia.

And Alia would also purchase the relevant household items for the penthouse in advance, according to Barron’s requirements.

On the other hand, and most importantly, although Alia Bint Hussein had become Barron’s personal assistant, the time was still short, and Barron couldn’t completely trust her. Therefore, the matter of him having a secret lover in Los Angeles, especially the fact that this lover was pregnant and waiting to give birth there, would not be revealed to her for the time being.

Next, the G450 continued to take off, heading for Los Angeles.

When he arrived here, Barron only brought his personal assistant, Laura, and his bodyguards. First, he went to the villa on Malibu Beach, where Rebecca and her mother lived.

“Darling, I miss you so much.”

After knowing that Barron would come here, Rebecca had been looking forward to it.

When he appeared in the villa, Rebecca ran over and gave him a hug.

And Barron seemed a little cautious:

“You have to be careful, baby, you’re pregnant now…”

Seeing Barron’s concerned expression, Rebecca was very happy, and the small grievances she had accumulated for so long immediately vanished.

By now, Rebecca’s belly was already very obvious, after all, she had been pregnant for over five months.

“Have you been feeling well lately?”

Barron, after exchanging greetings with Rebecca’s mother, asked, holding her hand.

“Fine, I told you on the phone before, I’ve been going for checkups on time, and the doctor said everything is normal.”

“But she always talks about you, Your Grace.”

Rebecca’s mother looked to be under forty years old, and she had been an actress before, but her fame wasn’t very high.

After she knew that her daughter was pregnant with Barron’s child, although she felt that Rebecca was still too young, since it was her choice, she could only accept it, especially since the other party was the Duke of Devonshire…

Although Rebecca’s father was also somewhat famous in the British entertainment industry, his family was already considered well-off compared to ordinary people.

But compared to the Devonshire family, especially Barron, who was famous on the British rich list at this time, the difference was too great.

And Rebecca’s parents had long been divorced. Relatively speaking, she had a better relationship with her mother, and she had only told her, so not long after Barron left Los Angeles last time, her mother came here to accompany her daughter during her pregnancy.

However, accepting the situation was one thing, but from the tone of Rebecca’s mother’s words, she still hoped that Barron could spend more time with his daughter.

This was also very normal, even if there was no official title, but at least it was a child for him.

Apart from this, the other conditions that Barron had prepared for Rebecca were, in her mother’s eyes, nothing to be picky about.

Not only was this beach villa very luxurious, but the meticulous care Rebecca received, including maids and a nursing team, could be said to be the treatment of a super-rich person.

“Darling, Mom cares about me, so she said that just now…”

At this moment, Barron held Rebecca’s hand, and the two were on the second floor of the villa, looking at the scenery of the beach not far outside through the floor-to-ceiling windows, Rebecca explained softly.

“Doesn’t it mean that what she said about you always thinking about me… isn’t true?”

“No, what I mean is…”

Barron smiled, held Rebecca’s hand, and said:

“Don’t worry, baby, I understand. I’ve had a lot of things to do recently, so I need to stay in London most of the time, but this time when I come here, my private plane will be delivered, and I can come and see you for two days every month from now on.”

“Really?”

Looking at Rebecca’s surprised expression, Barron tapped her nose and said affectionately:

“Of course, your main priority now is to have the baby safely, and I will arrange everything else for you. Right, have you been feeling bored lately?”

“Not really, I have Mom with me. And I’ve also enrolled in some courses, related to film and television production, and they come directly to teach, except for missing you a little, most of the time it’s quite fulfilling.”

It has to be said that after becoming pregnant, Rebecca’s figure had become much more voluptuous, especially her baby storage, I don’t know if she had already started preparing for the little baby…

In the beginning, Rebecca could only be considered a C-cup woman, but now Barron felt that she was even showing signs of developing towards an E-cup…

While he was studying these things, Rebecca’s face was already flushed, and she leaned in Barron’s arms, whispering:

“Darling, I asked the doctor, and they said that after three months, actually, you can…”

Uh, in fact, this knowledge, Barron had already learned and practiced with the Viscountess before…

Now…

“Baby, come, I’ll hold you, be careful…”

…

During his three-day stay in California, Barron, besides spending time with Rebecca, also specifically visited the new governor - the Terminator… uh, Mr. Schwarzenegger.

Last month, he won the election for governor, and he would officially take office in a few days.

Schwarzenegger was very enthusiastic about Barron’s visit, after all, the other party was not only one of the “financial backers” of his successful campaign, but he also hoped to get more support after he took office, so that he could have achievements.

After all, Barron had many investments in California, including Netflix and some of his investments in Silicon Valley, and his company, Woaw, also had a branch and R&D center in Silicon Valley.

In their conversation, Barron also mentioned the previous infringement lawsuit of the founding team of Skype.

If he simply wanted him to suppress this matter, Schwarzenegger might feel it was a bit difficult, after all, it involved many film and television companies, and he was also newly in office.

But if he just mediated and Barron was willing to pay a certain amount of compensation to settle this lawsuit, then it would be no problem.

And in this regard, it was not only necessary for Schwarzenegger to exert his own efforts, but also for Goldman Sachs Group, which had many collaborations with Barron, to help him mediate this matter.

Chapter 244: The Zeuss Fund

A beautiful, sleek white business jet was parked at the Los Angeles airport.

This was the Gulfstream G450 that Barron had ordered a few months ago, and it was being delivered today.

The G450 was already the most spacious business jet of its kind, but even with a comfortable configuration, it could only accommodate sixteen passengers besides the crew.

Considering this, Barron hadn’t customized a separate bedroom in this private jet; otherwise, the passenger capacity would have been significantly reduced.

You see, when he used a private jet, it was definitely for overseas travel, and usually, it would be just him, with a service staff including bodyguards, that would not be less than ten people…

Therefore, for now, the G450 only met his basic travel needs, and the advantage of this business jet was that it didn’t have high requirements for the landing airport.

If he wanted to focus on comfort, then he might as well directly buy a large passenger aircraft, such as the Middle Eastern tycoons, who used Boeing 747 or Airbus A380 large passenger aircraft to transform them into aerial palaces…

A private jet modified from such a large passenger aircraft could even accommodate a motorcade. When arriving at the destination, they could directly drive the motorcade out, which was indeed very impressive…

However, the price of these large passenger aircraft was often several hundred million US dollars, and the requirements for the airport were also relatively high, which was not something Barron needed to consider at the moment. Having this G450 was already enough.

The overall decoration of Barron’s Gulfstream G450 didn’t change much from the original layout. After all, he also hoped to get it as soon as possible when he ordered it.

However, the interior decorations were all top-of-the-line, with a small kitchen, including an office area, entertainment area, and rest area. It could accommodate up to sixteen passengers, or the chairs could be combined into six fully reclining seats for better rest.

The maiden voyage of his first private jet was from Los Angeles on the East Coast to New York City on the West Coast.

The crew for the G450’s maiden voyage, including two flight attendants, were temporarily provided by Gulfstream. Barron could continue to hire them, or he could hire suitable personnel himself.

Through this maiden voyage, Barron was still relatively satisfied with these crew members and was prepared to continue to hire them.

After all, as a newly launched G450, experienced crew members were mostly in the Gulfstream company.

This time, arriving in New York, Barron didn’t need to stay in a hotel as he did the last time.

The motorcade directly sent them to the Woolworth Building near Central Park in Manhattan. The top eight floors here were now Barron’s penthouse.

Barron had already seen the interior decoration of the penthouse when he came to New York last time.

After Aliya and the others arrived here ahead of him, they had already cleaned the interior of this penthouse again, and besides the many pieces of luggage Barron brought, which had been placed in an orderly manner, the electrical appliances and daily necessities needed inside the penthouse were also all prepared.

In this penthouse, Barron would still hire five maids.

The relevant service company that Aliya contacted after arriving here had already sent the maids’ list from their database to Barron. After he made his selection, these five maids had also “taken up their posts” in this penthouse.

“Laura, I’m planning to hold a party here tomorrow. You’re in charge of making the arrangements. I’ll give you the invitation list.”

“Yes, Your Grace.”

Before in New York, Barron had already told people including the Hearst sisters and Ivanka that he had purchased a residence here.

It was also because of that hurried trip that he didn’t have time to invite them – not to mention them, even Barron himself hadn’t had time to move in before.

Therefore, this time, after arriving in New York and moving into this penthouse, he was planning to hold a party and invite these friends he had met in New York to be guests.

This would certainly include the couple of Jenny Booth. and John Smith, as well as the Hearst sisters, and Ivanka and others.

In places like Europe and America, there were many professional companies specifically in charge of such private parties. You only needed to make a request to the other party, and they would achieve the effect you wanted, which was very simple – of course, provided you had enough money.

As for Laura, she only needed to connect with the relevant companies here and ensure that the other party’s work could be carried out according to the requirements. She didn’t even need to supervise it herself; she could assign it to others in the team to be specifically responsible.

After a short rest in this penthouse, Barron went to the DS Capital New York branch on Wall Street by car.

“Your Grace, we have rented an office space specifically located closest to the New York Stock Exchange, and we have customized a supercomputer from IBM specifically for high-frequency trading. It will be able to be put into use at the beginning of next year.”

Devin Stevenson, the manager of the New York branch, reported to Barron on the preparation progress of the new project.

After establishing the quantitative trading fund, the Athena Fund, the next step for DS Capital was to launch a high-frequency trading project.

This project, in the initial stage, would mainly use its own funds. It was a project that DS Capital collaborated with Goldman Sachs Group, called the Zeuss Fund, mainly targeting the New York Stock Exchange, the world’s largest stock trading market.

Because high-frequency trading was different from other trading, it required extremely fast response speeds.

So-called high-frequency trading, simply put, refers to the use of computer technology to quickly conduct multiple buy-and-sell transactions within a short period of time. It generally refers to formulating strategies using microsecond time units. High-frequency trading companies use powerful computer programs to conduct rapid transactions, and the transaction time is often less than ten milliseconds.

Compared with investors who are relatively backward in technology, such companies use the time advantage gained by technological advantages to place orders first.

It was precisely because of this characteristic that even the slightest difference in network transmission would affect the effect of high-frequency trading.

Therefore, the high-frequency trading project Zeuss Fund that DS Capital was preparing to carry out needed to choose a location very close to the New York Stock Exchange, set up dedicated high-speed network optical cables, and use their supercomputers to gain an advantage in high-frequency trading.

The reason why this fund would cooperate with Goldman Sachs Group was because Goldman Sachs Group promised to help them make the Zeuss Investment Company, established for the Zeuss Fund, become a clearing member of several exchanges, including CME, which could greatly reduce the transaction fees that the Zeuss Fund needed to pay when conducting high-frequency trading.

According to the agreement between DS Capital and Goldman Sachs Group, in Zeuss Investment Company, DS Capital would hold 60% of the shares, and Goldman Sachs Group would hold 40% of the shares.

The Zeuss Fund would use the company’s own funds for investment, with an initial capital contribution of 1 billion US dollars, which would be contributed by DS Capital and Goldman Sachs Group according to their respective shareholding ratios.

This also meant that DS Capital would inject 600 million US dollars into the Zeuss Fund next.

However, what was currently being carried out was only the preparation work for the Zeuss Fund. It would have to wait until next year before this high-frequency trading fund officially started operating.

It could be said that the profits of high-frequency trading were still very rich, but correspondingly, the “arms race” between high-frequency trading companies was also very fierce.

This was reflected in the continuous improvement of the performance of supercomputers and the continuous shortening of the reaction speed of trading programs.

Just like in his previous life, Barron knew that Jump Trading, which was very well-known in the high-frequency trading field, didn’t have too much capital, but could still have profits of more than 300 million US dollars every year.

In terms of using fiber optic lines, Jump only cared about speed and didn’t hesitate to spend money. Even if it had already signed a lease for a fiber optic network, it would also rent a faster fiber optic network if there was a faster one.

At times, Jump could even use four different fiber optic lines.

In 2013, Jump spent a lot of money to buy a microwave tower in the UK that was originally used by NATO to save milliseconds of time in transmitting trading instructions between the United States and Europe.

You must know that other high-frequency trading companies usually only rent microwave towers.

In 2017, a subsidiary of Jump spent 14 million US dollars to buy a 120,000-square-meter vacant lot opposite the CME data center to build a microwave communication base station, just to be able to transmit trading requests to CME at the first opportunity.

In 2018, Jump and six other high-frequency traders, including Citadel, jointly built an undersea fiber optic cable “Go West” connecting Chicago and Tokyo in order to obtain futures quotes from different markets faster. Later, this fiber optic cable was also connected to the Jinqiao Data Center in Shanghai.

In addition to the fiber optic cables, microwave towers, and undersea fiber optic cables mentioned above, high-frequency traders who couldn’t stop in the speed war were also constantly researching new secrets to speed up, including super novel experimental fiber optic cables (hollow core fiber), and even satellite links, and so on.

Chapter 245: Are You Alright?

“Barron, it’s great to see you again.”

“Amanda, you look beautiful today…”

Although it was already late November in New York and quite cold, the heating in Barron’s penthouse still maintained a comfortable temperature.

Amanda came here today wearing a sparkling dress, and she certainly brightened up the room.

After hugging her, Barron said to Lydia, who was behind her:

“You too, Lydia, you’re charming today.”

Another hug, and Barron led the two sisters to the party hall upstairs.

Here, everything had been arranged, with cold dishes and drinks of all kinds.

“It’s a pity I couldn’t celebrate your birthday last month, Barron.”

Amanda said with some regret.

Yes, a month ago, Barron had his twenty-fourth birthday, but he didn’t make a big deal of it, just celebrated simply with Bonnie.

“Didn’t you call me specifically, Amanda? Actually, I don’t really care about that.”

This was also the first time the Hearst sisters had come to Barron’s penthouse, and after touring it, they were full of praise for its splendor.

Especially the viewing balcony on the top floor. Although they didn’t stay there too long because of the temperature, the Manhattan night view seen from above still left a deep impression on them.

As guests arrived one after another, the party officially began.

Barron had also specifically hired a band to perform live. In the hall on the third floor, it was just like being in a bar. The lighting and sound system were also specially set up by the service company. It had to be said that in terms of party organization, New York was indeed very professional.

“Congratulations, Mr. Cavendish, your Woaw website is very popular. I often hear my classmates talking about this website at school.”

Ivanka was also a student now, studying at the Wharton School of Business. In her spare time, she was also a model and host, and had already gained considerable fame.

Of course, this was also related to her father, who was currently the president of several beauty pageants such as Miss America and Miss Teen USA. When she was seventeen years old, she became the host of the Miss Teen USA pageant.

“Do you also pay attention to these internet things, Miss Ivanka?”

“Of course, I’m also a Woaw user, and this website is indeed very interesting.”

In the original timeline, because of Ivanka’s identity transformation, many of her situations were known to the public. Barron also began to learn more about this future “princess” from that time.

At that time, she started her own business and created her own personal brand several years later.

But now it seemed that Ivanka, who was studying at the Wharton School of Business and had a businessman father, was already interested in these things.

It had to be said that Ivanka at this time was really full of youthful energy. Although she was slightly lacking in charm compared to later, whether it was her figure or her face full of collagen, she was indeed more radiant.

Today, she was wearing a pink dress under her coat, with the hem of the dress just above her knees, paired with flesh-colored stockings and high heels. She was already over 180cm tall, and this made her look even taller.

“What are you two talking about?”

Not knowing if she saw Ivanka chatting and laughing with Barron, Amanda walked over with a smile, sat next to Barron, and asked.

Her eyes showed a bit of wariness towards Ivanka.

After all, last time, she had taken the initiative to exchange contact information with Barron, which made Amanda a little jealous at the time.

“We’re talking about the Woaw website. This website is very popular in our school.”

Ivanka’s face didn’t show any particular emotion, she said to Amanda.

“That website is indeed very interesting. I also registered, but in comparison, I like the scenery of Chatsworth more. After we came back last time, my sister and I often talked about it.”

Hearing Amanda’s words, which were not without a hint of showing off, Ivanka looked at Barron and said:

“Really? I’ve only seen the scenery there in Downton Abbey. If I have the chance, I also hope to personally appreciate the beauty there…”

Barron could sense the subtle goodwill that Ivanka had just shown towards him, but now, in front of him, it had turned into a scene of two girls being slightly jealous of each other, which caught him a little off guard.

“I welcome you to visit Chatsworth again. When spring comes, the scenery there will be even more pleasant.”

Barron raised the wine glass in front of him, clinked glasses with the two of them, and took a sip, saying:

“You two have fun first, I’ll go talk to Mr. Smith.”

Well, he really took the opportunity to slip away.

As for him sitting down with John Smith, it was just a matter of talking about the urgent need to cooperate with the Sinclair Group.

It was almost eleven o’clock before this party gradually came to an end.

Barron sent the guests away one after another, and even arranged vehicles to send the Hearst sisters and Ivanka and the other girls.

When he returned to his room, he saw the slightly messy scene in the hall on the third floor and prepared to go upstairs to rest.

Anyway, these things, when tomorrow came, a special company would send people to clean up.

“Your Grace, Miss Trump is here, saying that she seems to have left something behind.”

“Oh? Let her in.”

After Barron took a shower and heard Aliyah tell him about this matter, he instructed her to let Ivanka in.

He himself also put on his pajamas and went downstairs.

“Ivanka? Did you forget something?”

“Just when I was about to go home, I realized that I had forgotten my handbag, oh, it’s here…”

As she spoke, Ivanka found her handbag from the side of the sofa where she had been sitting before.

“I should have known you could have just called me, and I would have had someone send it to you.”

“It’s okay, I don’t live far from here anyway…”

“Then I’ll have someone send you back.”

As Barron was speaking, he saw that Ivanka’s foot was unsteady and she almost fell. He took a step forward and supported her:

“Are you alright?”

“Maybe I drank a little too much before…”

Supported by Barron, Ivanka, perhaps because her legs were a little weak, leaned into Barron’s arms.

When she looked up at Barron and spoke, the two of them were very close…

At this moment, they looked at each other, and it could be seen that Ivanka’s eyes were slightly dazed.

At the same time, Barron couldn’t help but admire that this girl’s figure… was really amazing.

Looking at the girl in his arms, like a gentle lamb, slowly closing her eyes…

At this moment, how could Barron not know what she meant?

It was just that, after all, her identity… her future identity would be somewhat special, and Barron couldn’t help but feel uncertain about the entanglement of their relationship.

But without him thinking so much, whether it was because she noticed that Barron hadn’t taken action yet, the girl had already tiptoed and kissed him…

This time, the situation was a little out of control.

The main thing was that Barron was a little soft-hearted and couldn’t bear to see the girl too embarrassed…

So, he directly picked Ivanka up in his arms, and then turned and went upstairs…

Chapter 246: Binding Interests

Barron, returning from twenty years in the future, knew that with the changing global situation and the United States gradually entering its “imperial twilight,” the infighting between the two parties became increasingly fierce.

If at this time, their struggles still wore a mask of “gentle affection,” then later on, especially after the founding president took office, it had already reached the point where they almost wanted to send the other party to prison…

In addition, it’s important to know that beneath this struggle, even the seemingly gentle surface already concealed hidden dangers.

Just taking some of the leaked information, the “virtuous wife” of the zipper-loving president had people under her command with casualties in the hundreds.

Not to mention those who were currently close to Barron, including the Kennedy family, who either supported or were themselves members of the Democratic Party.

And Ivanka’s family were members of the Republican Party.

Of course, for Barron, this didn’t mean he needed to take sides. He could completely bet on both sides to gain benefits.

But if his relationship with Ivanka became too close, then from the perspective of future developments, he would inevitably be considered a strong supporter of the Republican Party. Especially since he controlled a considerable amount of internet and media resources, being targeted by the other side was inevitable.

Just like Ivanka herself, she almost got involved in a case later on.

Therefore, although she was still very attractive, and with the added bonus of her future status, her appeal to Barron was considerable, he still had some concerns at first.

But thinking about her age now, and if it was just a friend(P)ship(Y), it wouldn’t be too much, so Barron last night still had an all-night study session with her…

It’s just that Ivanka’s performance at the time was quite misleading, and didn’t make Barron feel anything unusual.

Even when she was moved to tears at the end, he just thought it was a normal reaction after studying too much knowledge…

Until… the next morning, when Barron saw the… on the sheets.

Uh, he remembered seeing reports about Ivanka in his previous life, and it seemed her first relationship was during her university years.

Plus, she had already started her modeling career at 16 – how the private lives of models in Europe and America were, well, let’s just say, those who know, know.

So when he discovered this, Barron was really quite surprised.

But it seemed Ivanka didn’t have any special reaction to this, at least not like some Chinese girls at this time, who would attach so much importance to this.

It’s just that her expression wasn’t too good either…

“I feel a sharp pain with every movement, I’d better lie down for a while longer.”

She said this to Barron with such a plaintive tone, looking really quite weak.

Well, this wasn’t surprising, after all, last night… their study session had lasted until three or four in the morning. It could be said that this was a relatively “satisfying” time for Barron. Based on his previous experience, what Ivanka endured was probably at least two to three times the study load of other women, especially since this was her first time…

Since that was the case, after Barron comforted her gently, he left Ivanka in the bedroom to rest and instructed the maid to deliver the meals directly there.

He himself, of course, had to take the opportunity while in the United States to handle some matters.

…

“Your Grace, this is information about Soros. From the current perspective, he has temporarily suspended his financial investment business and is focusing his main energy on charitable work.”

After receiving the document from Laura, Barron began to read it.

The reason he was interested in Soros was because of the “Rafael” organization.

This organization, including Soslan Tigiev and two other members, had previously had contact with Soros.

Speaking of Soros, everyone would think of his famous “Quantum Fund” and several financial investments that shocked the world.

Including the shorting of the British pound, the attack on the Mexican peso, and the most famous – the 1997 Asian financial crisis.

Although in these actions, there were large numbers of international hot money following him to short the market together, but being able to have such influence was enough to prove the Jewish old man’s strength.

However, although Soros made a big splash in the 1997 Asian financial crisis, his fame at the time even surpassed that of the stock god Warren Buffett.

But afterwards, because the Quantum Fund began to suffer successive setbacks, such as misjudging the Russian debt crisis and the trend of the Japanese yen exchange rate, and suffering from the stock price crash of the internet bubble, Soros lost about 5 billion US dollars.

In 2000, Soros announced the closure of his two major funds, the “Quantum Fund” and the “Quota Fund,” and he himself announced his retirement again…

But Barron knew that Soros had announced his retirement more than once. After the subprime mortgage crisis in 2007, he would still be unable to resist and take action again.

To be honest, Barron didn’t want to be enemies with him at the moment, although he didn’t like this Jewish old man.

But if Soros was really behind Rafael, then Barron wouldn’t let him go either.

From the current perspective, the connection between the two wasn’t too big. The only connection was that the three Rafael members, including Soslan Tigiev, had all worked at the Quantum Fund, and they had also participated in the “Open Society Institute” founded by Soros.

Soros once told the media that in the past nearly 30 years, he had donated more than 5 billion US dollars to promote democracy, freedom of speech, improve education, and eliminate poverty worldwide.

And in these so-called “charitable” donations, the “Open Society Institute” he founded received a portion of the funds.

This so-called institute later played an important role in the “color revolutions” in the CIS countries, becoming the source of revolutionary activity funds for the opposition parties in these countries.

According to Soslan and the others, many of their “Rafael” ideas were thought about in the “Open Society Institute,” but compared to the mainstream practices there, they belonged to the “radical faction,” so they eventually felt out of place, and finally formed the Rafael organization with some “like-minded” friends.

From this perspective, Soros, at most, only gave these people “enlightenment,” or, in other words, provided them with enough financial professional experience for their subsequent behavior, but it had no direct relationship with the Rafael organization.

However, these are all the Rafael side’s claims for now. What the truth is, they still need to conduct more investigations.

…

“How are you, darling?”

When Barron returned to his top-floor mansion, he saw Ivanka had already gotten up and was sitting on the sofa in the bedroom, flipping through a magazine.

“Hmm, I’m fine, Barron.”

He didn’t expect that what Ivanka was holding wasn’t a fashion magazine, but a copy of Business Week.

“Do you like reading this magazine?”

Taking the magazine from Ivanka’s hand, Barron flipped through it and said to her.

After all, he knew that his home shouldn’t have had this magazine before. It was obvious that Ivanka had someone go and buy it.

“It’s okay, I just read it occasionally, after all, it’s related to my major.”

Although later on, in terms of personal brand management, Ivanka was slightly inferior to Paris. However, whether as the vice president of the Trump Group or some of her later political measures, especially in terms of employing people, she could demonstrate a certain ability.

For example, the very famous beautiful secretary of her father, the founding president, was initially discovered and employed by Ivanka herself, and later recommended to the founding president.

In short, although Barron didn’t plan to make their relationship too public, with Ivanka’s beauty and her family’s future… development, he would also be willing to bind some interests with her…

Chapter 247: IvanCa Capital

Of course, Barron’s conditions were still very attractive to girls; young, handsome, rich, and possessing the title of a British Duke.

But considering Ivanka’s background, it was unlikely she would be like an ordinary girl, simply hoping for a purely friendly relationship with him, and thus taking the initiative to get close to him…

Not to mention that she had been in this world for over a year and a half, and Barron had always been in the top tier, already accustomed to his current life.

Even from his previous life’s experience, he wouldn’t have such a naive thought.

“Are you interested in investing?”

Hearing Barron’s question, Ivanka hesitated slightly, saying:

“I am, a little bit, but I’m still in school…”

“Practice is the best teacher, and in the beginning, you don’t need to make any decisions, just invest in the projects I tell you to.”

“I… can I?”

Although Ivanka’s words still held some uncertainty, one could see from her eyes that she was quite expectant of this.

“You can try it, and if you don’t understand something, just ask me. Besides, those specific things can be left to professionals…”

“Then I can give it a try, you’re so good, darling.”

Ivanka hugged Barron’s neck and kissed him, saying happily.

Next, Barron told her his plan.

He would register a company called IvanCa Capital. This would be an offshore investment company, and the registered owner would also not be Barron himself, but the control of the company would be in Barron’s hands.

Ivanka would serve as the CEO of IvanCa Capital.

The reason for choosing this name was that it differed from Ivanka’s name by only one letter, but the pronunciation was the same, making it easy for people to mistakenly believe that the company belonged to Ivanka’s family—it was estimated that Ivanka and her family would also be happy to be misunderstood in this way, especially if the company could have some successful investment projects.

After all, at this time, although her family’s reputation in the United States was high on the surface, they actually had quite a bit of debt—next year, the company under Comrade Jian Guo’s name would once again face bankruptcy…

And if the name IvanCa Capital sounded the same as Ivanka’s, then the “Ca” could also represent Barron’s surname, Cavendish.

Perhaps even with certain utilitarian purposes, but in any case, Ivanka still had a good impression of Barron, and now, after the two had a real relationship, she couldn’t help but act a little like a woman in love.

Therefore, upon hearing that the investment company, which she would manage in the future, was a combination of their names, she revealed a sweet smile.

The first project Barron planned for Ivanka to represent IvanCa Capital in investing in was MySpace!

That’s right, the biggest competitor of Woaw Company in the United States at the time.

Barron himself, naturally, would not directly make this investment, because MySpace was not an ordinary startup company; it had the support of its parent company.

MySpace’s parent company was Intermix Media, an internet company with some strength—if we were to make a comparison, Intermix Media was somewhat similar to China’s 3721 company, the one that used rogue software for marketing.

At the time, Intermix Media did mostly similar things, which was to send spam emails to countless email addresses for advertising and marketing, and to make profits.

And MySpace was also a project they followed up on; initially, it was also to collect more user information, and at this time, Intermix didn’t pay too much attention to MySpace, making it impossible to invest more. If someone was willing to invest, they would probably support it with both hands.

So why did Barron want to invest in his “competitor” in this way?

Because in fact, with the development of social networking sites, Woaw Company could not possibly dominate the world; competitors would always exist.

And when a track was hot, capital would also flow here. If you couldn’t invest in Woaw, couldn’t you invest in others? For example, MySpace.

Therefore, even if Barron didn’t invest, other venture capital firms would invest in MySpace, especially when the two had different styles, and the popularity of MySpace to a certain extent would be unstoppable.

Why say so? Because the interface of the Woaw website was more similar to the later Facebook, relatively simple and smooth, which made the Woaw website favored by many college students and netizens with higher education, and these netizens were also the main body of the internet at that time.

And MySpace, because initially, its technical strength was not high, and the founder of this website had previously been involved in those less-than-healthy websites…

The result was that the interface of MySpace, because of the simplicity of their website program, users could even change the size and color of the displayed font through some simple code.

This, in turn, attracted some more individualistic, younger groups—such as high school students and some college students.

There were even dedicated open-source software to help them “decorate” their MySpace homepages…

In this respect, some of MySpace’s user groups were destined to be difficult for Woaw to attract at the time, so to some extent, the two also had some differentiation.

Barron also had no need to suppress MySpace at all; without this website, other competitors were destined to appear, just like Facebook, which was unknown whether it would be launched in this world.

And he also knew that in 2005, Murdoch’s News Corporation would acquire MySpace for the sky-high price of 580 million US dollars. If so, then now, through IvanCa Capital, in Ivanka’s name, to invest in this company, in a little over a year, he could still make a big profit, why not?

What was even more wonderful was that the person who persuaded Murdoch to acquire MySpace at the time was his Chinese wife, Wendi Deng. It was said that Wendi Deng also had a relationship with the founder of MySpace…

And Ivanka later had a very good relationship with Wendi Deng; the two could be said to be best friends.

In this way, with Ivanka investing in MySpace, it would be easier to ensure News Corporation completed the acquisition of MySpace.

Of course, Barron didn’t need to tell Ivanka all these things.

“Invest in MySpace? Isn’t that a competitor of your Woaw website?”

Sure enough, Ivanka had this question, but this also showed that she did have some understanding of Woaw and other social networking sites before.

“Yes, darling, you know that although Woaw has the support of Sequoia Capital, it is not a social networking site native to the United States after all. Moreover, in this field, it is impossible to completely kill competitors, so judging from the current situation, the development of MySpace is still very promising.”

Barron embraced the girl in his arms and explained to her:

“However, it is not convenient for me to come forward to invest in MySpace, so I will use IvanCa Capital to invest. This investment company will be entirely in your name, and at the appropriate time, you will also receive equity rewards from the management, becoming a shareholder of the company.”

Of course, at this time, Barron also didn’t forget to paint a picture for the girl… It couldn’t be considered completely painting a picture, in fact, Barron also had this intention; after all, just being a nominal manager couldn’t guarantee that the interests of the two would be firmly bound, and Ivanka herself was also one of the heirs to the family group. When she reached a certain age, she could also completely return to work in the family company.

Then, becoming a shareholder of IvanCa Capital, owning a certain amount of equity, that would be different. She also wanted to have her own career outside the family, especially in the high-profile field of internet technology, becoming a successful investor, which could also add a certain amount of value to her identity.

Sure enough, after Barron’s explanation, Ivanka was very interested in this and had already begun to discuss with him how to invest in MySpace.

The preparation of the company would also be very fast. After the funds were in place, she actually only needed a simple office location, and let Ivanka hire a few employees, after all, she was still a student at the moment, and the only project that needed investment was MySpace.

Chapter 248: The Civil War Begins

“Duke Cavendish, the President also asked me to extend his regards to you, and he hopes to invite you to this year’s White House New Year’s Eve Gala.”

“Thank you very much for the President’s invitation, Mr. Meese, but I’m afraid I won’t be able to make it during the New Year. I need to attend the Queen’s banquet. It’s truly a pity.”

This conversation took place at a banquet held by the Republican Party in New York, and the person speaking with Barron was Mr. Meese, the Chief of Staff of the President’s Office.

Next year would be an election year, so from now on, both parties had already begun pre-election warm-up activities, and also started fundraising.

Although the official election would only begin in the second half of next year, by February of next year, both parties would begin their internal primaries.

On the Republican Party’s side, the current President had already confirmed that he would continue to run, so there was no one competing with him, and thus this step was unnecessary.

As for the Democratic Party, according to current media reports, the competition would be fierce. Currently, more than ten people had declared that they would participate in this internal party candidate competition.

However, even so, the Republican Party had started building momentum from now on—after all, due to the setbacks of the Iraq War, the current President’s approval rating had fallen quite a bit compared to before.

As everyone knew, Hollywood had always supported the Democratic Party, so during this period, the upcoming awards season would definitely see a large number of celebrities publicly criticizing the current President’s various shortcomings in the war, which would also affect the President’s approval rating.

Barron knew that when the real election came, there was also a documentary called “Fahrenheit 9/11” that was preparing to make a big move.

But no matter what, he knew that the final result would still be the current President’s re-election, so this time Barron would naturally bet on the Republican Party.

Although American law had strict regulations on election donations.

For example, any individual could not donate more than $1,000 to the same candidate in the same year, could not donate more than $25,000 to all candidates, could not donate more than $5,000 to the same political action committee, and could not donate more than $20,000 to the national committee of the same political party.

This seemed fair, right? It prevented situations where whoever had more money could advertise more aggressively and thus be more likely to be elected.

But in fact, whether or not one could be elected was indeed greatly related to how much money one had…

Because, for example, Barron, as a “foreigner,” had no need to directly donate to the Republican Party’s candidates. He could just donate to a group of so-called “foundations” that supported them.

In the future, these foundations would definitely influence media reports through the transfer of interests, which would be equivalent to indirectly helping the other party get elected.

Therefore, don’t just look at how much each candidate received in donations each year; the funds flowing behind the scenes were much more than what was on the surface.

And these investments would definitely need to be rewarded after the other party was elected…

The interests of the people? Who cares?

We are a “democratic” two-party system, so there’s no need to compete on who is more for the people; it’s enough to compete on who is more corrupt.

What we in the Republican Party dare not do, I don’t believe you in the Democratic Party dare to do, are you not afraid of riding in an open-top car?

If we promise the people something we can’t deliver, the worst that can happen is we get voted out after four years. Anyway, as long as we can keep our promises to the money men, we can still get their support in the next term.

Anyway, we can just change the candidate then and draw a bigger, better pie.

And after these four years, the President in office has also offended the people for the sake of the money men, so it’s our turn to take the blame.

But if you promise the money men something you can’t deliver, believe it or not, you’ll be ousted before your four years are up?

However, even though he would provide support to the Republican Party—Barron had already donated $1 million to the Republican Party-related foundations through a foundation he registered in the United States, and there would be more donations later—he didn’t want to stand too high-profile on the Republican Party’s side, which was why he declined the other party’s invitation to attend the White House New Year’s Eve Gala.

As long as the other party understood that he had given them a head start, that was enough. Anyway, the money was out, and generally, they wouldn’t break the rules in this kind of situation.

……

It seems that sometimes one can’t be too indulgent of oneself.

Just like now, Barron had begun to reflect, because by the third day, although Ivanka’s actions were no longer a problem, she still couldn’t study knowledge with him.

However, because of the IvanCa Capital matter, Ivanka still cared very much about Barron’s feelings, so she also started to learn some Chinese idioms based on his interests.

For example, to insinuate, to nitpick…

Just as she was immersed in her studies, Laura knocked on the door and entered the study, handing the encrypted satellite phone to Barron, and then, at his gesture, turned and left, closing the door.

Well, this was the advantage of the space under the desk being large enough; Ivanka could completely study there without being discovered by others.

“Your Grace, there have been some developments regarding the Munger base…”

“Oh?”

Hearing Nigel Inkster’s voice on the phone, Barron glanced at the diligently studying Ivanka and said:

“What exactly happened?”

“Kolo has erupted into a civil war…”

Hearing that it wasn’t the people from the Rafael organization who had caused any trouble, Barron was relieved.

But come to think of it, if something else were to happen in such a heavily guarded base, then his Protector Military Company would be too useless…

“Tell me the details now…”

After Ivanka’s eloquent explanation, Barron finally calmed down…

After letting the girl go to rest, Barron said to Nigel on the phone.

“It’s like this…”

Kolo was a small country in West Africa, with a land area of only less than 60,000 square kilometers.

After World War II, Kolo also gained independence from the French colony, but like many African countries, military coups there were as natural as drinking water…

From its independence in 1960 to the present, in just over forty years, Kolo had experienced 5 coups, averaging one every 8 years, which was very frequent.

The current President of Kolo was named Nassin Dema. Not only did he dissolve the parliament this year, but he also directly designated his son as the heir to the head of state, which was definitely challenging the people’s bottom line.

As mentioned before, currently in Kolo, the area controlled by the government forces only accounted for about three-fifths.

Kolo was geographically divided into five major regions, namely the Coastal Region, the Highland Region, the Central Region, the Kara Region, and the Grassland Region.

The Coastal Region, the Highland Region, and the Central Region were controlled by the government forces.

The remaining Kara Region and Grassland Region were controlled by three anti-government armed groups, namely the Kolo Resistance Army, the Free Kolo Alliance, and the Kolo Liberation Front.

The Kolo Liberation Front was the local organization that had cooperated with the previous Protector Military Company, and the Munger base was also located within their controlled area.

Before, the government forces led by Nassin Dema were better equipped than these three armed groups, so the three groups were unable to attack the government forces, and instead began to fight among themselves.

The territories of the Kolo Resistance Army and the Free Kolo Alliance bordered the Central Region controlled by the government forces, while the Kolo Liberation Front was located after the other two, mostly in the relatively good environment of the Grassland Region, so although the three groups had disputes with each other, the Kolo Liberation Front was attacked more often.

But under Nassin Dema’s “perverse actions,” a lot of opposition arose within Kolo. Seeing this situation, the Kolo Resistance Army and the Free Kolo Alliance took the initiative to reach a ceasefire and reconciliation agreement with the Kolo Liberation Front. With the support of some people in the government-controlled area, the two groups began to rush into the Central Region and fight with the government forces.

Not only that, the two groups also agreed to let the Kolo Liberation Front “borrow a path” to go to the government forces to seize territory…

Chapter 249: West African Mining

In fact, although they were cooperating with Protector Military Company, the Kolo Liberation Front also had some ulterior motives at the beginning.

At that time, the gold mine that Protector Military Company had obtained in exchange for the weapons they provided was close to the area controlled by the Kolo Liberation Front and the other two anti-government armed groups.

It was after the attack that injured Mervin Koy’s legs, and after they had been dealt with, that the neighboring Free Kolo Alliance knew that Protector Military Company’s equipment was very sophisticated. Therefore, they were well-behaved for a while, and even if they had conflicts with the Kolo Liberation Alliance, they would avoid Munger Base, which was where the gold mine was located.

Although after the start of the Kolo civil war, because of their “gentlemen’s agreement”, the Kolo Liberation Front would temporarily not harass the controlled areas of the other two anti-government armed groups, but for their proposal to borrow a path to let the Kolo Liberation Front go to the government army’s area to seize territory, the head of the Kolo Liberation Front, Sheikh Hassan, was very smart and did not immediately agree, but first waited and watched.

It has to be said that those who could survive in the continuous battles were not too reckless.

Because the reckless ones had long been eliminated.

But black people, everyone would understand them to some extent, their patience was only a tiny bit.

But after seeing that the Free Kolo Alliance and the Kolo Resistance Army, the two anti-government armed groups, entered the central area controlled by the government army, they were “like a hot knife through butter”, and immediately occupied most of the central area, and had already begun to clamor to “break into the capital and capture Naxin Dema alive”. Sheikh Hassan couldn’t sit still either, and was also preparing to raise troops to join the “Anti-Naxin Alliance”.

Otherwise, he was really afraid that if the two of them really broke into the capital, occupied the moral high ground, and most importantly, obtained the government army’s sophisticated equipment, then his own Kolo Liberation Front would not even get a sip of soup.

After all, this idea was not too outrageous, after all, before this, Kolo had a history of two or three hundred soldiers successfully staging a coup…

Those two, combined, also had two or three thousand soldiers. What if they really “picked up a bargain” successfully?

Although because of “righteousness”, Sheikh Hassan couldn’t do the act of “stealing their home” against the other two anti-government armed groups for the time being, but if he really led troops to borrow a path to the government army to seize territory, Sheikh Hassan was also afraid that he would be stopped by the other two and then be “stolen home”.

Therefore, after much deliberation, seeing the great situation of the anti-government armed groups at this time, Sheikh Hassan still made a decision. He sent someone to find Markel Paulson, the person in charge of Munger Base. On the one hand, he wanted to buy another batch of weapons from Protector Military Company. After all, black people also knew that “sharpening the knife does not delay the woodcutter’s work”, and the government army’s equipment was better than theirs. Although it seemed that the other two anti-government armed groups were not currently receiving too strong resistance, he was not confident in going out like this.

In addition, he hoped that Protector Military Company would help him relax the boundary with the controlled areas of the other two anti-government armed groups to prevent being “stolen home” by the other party.

Of course, they didn’t have much money, but Kolo still had a lot of resources.

Speaking of which, Kolo currently has more than ten kinds of proven mineral resources, including gold, phosphate, limestone, barite, dolomite, kyanite, garnet, silica sand, uranium, manganese, bauxite, etc.

Among them, phosphate and iron ore have large reserves.

After all, Kolo is the third largest phosphate producer in sub-Saharan Africa.

The proven reserves of high-quality phosphate ore are 260 million tons, and the recoverable reserves are 82 million tons, containing a small amount of carbonate ore of about 1 billion tons!

However, most of these phosphate mines are distributed in the coastal areas of southern Kolo, which are within the control of the government army.

As for the Kolo Liberation Front, most of it is grassland, and in terms of minerals, in addition to the gold mine they gave to Protector Military Company last time, they also have a few mines in their hands, including two diamond mines and another gold mine. These mines are also the main economic source of the Kolo Liberation Front.

This time, Sheikh Hassan gritted his teeth and stamped his foot, and prepared to transfer one of his diamond mines to Protector Military Company’s West African Mining Company - this was a company registered by Barron to mine that gold mine.

Anyway, in his opinion, you can’t catch a wolf without letting the cub go, there are still a lot of mines in Kolo, maybe in the territory he occupies this time, there will be even more mines.

After all, although they have a few mines now, the reserves are not high, and it feels like they can’t be mined for many years.

The real profit is still in the southern phosphate mines near the sea. Those mines are larger in scale and more suitable for large-scale development.

This time, Markel Paulson contacted him through Barron’s intelligence consultant, Nigel Inkster, to ask for the boss’s opinion.

In this regard, Barron naturally suggested that they agree, so that on the one hand, they could expand their interests in Kolo, and on the other hand, they could take the opportunity to recruit more local armed personnel.

Although Africa’s excellent large area matching mechanism makes the armies here not very capable.

But it’s not to say that there are no available military personnel. The 100 local armed personnel that Protector Military Company had screened before, although in terms of the quality of the personnel, were a little worse than the retired soldiers from the British mainland - mainly in terms of discipline, black people were really a little lazy.

But after so much training, plus the treatment provided by Protector Military Company, it was far stronger than those local armed organizations, so they could select the best.

Overall, the performance was still good.

In this way, after obtaining that diamond mine, according to their plan, they would recruit about 100 retired soldiers from the mainland, and recruit another 200 local black people, strictly train them, and they should be enough to guard these two mines, and also “guard home” for the Kolo Liberation Front.

Currently in Iraq, the British army is also sporadically withdrawing some troops back to the mainland, and the scale of the withdrawal will be even greater next year.

Therefore, recruiting retired soldiers on the mainland is not difficult, on the contrary, the British government will also be grateful to them for helping to solve the problem.

And in terms of weapons, like the black people, they certainly don’t need the British army’s standard equipment, just buy them AKs and enough ammunition, plus some RPGs and cheap artillery is enough…

Speaking of which, the arms business is really promising.

It’s just that with the current people in Kolo facing Protector Military Company, the scale is still not large, and they really can’t compare with those big arms dealers.

“In addition, we need to pay attention to the situation of the Kolo civil war. I’m afraid that at the beginning, the anti-government armed groups only caught the government army off guard. When they react, that’s the beginning of the real war.”

“Yes, this is consistent with our analysis. Currently, the total size of the Kolo government army exceeds 5,000 people, and it also has a certain air force and navy strength. Overall, it is stronger than these three anti-government armed groups combined.”

This is also a very normal thing, otherwise the government army would not have been able to occupy the most精华 (jinghua - essence) part of Kolo for so many years, suppressing the anti-government armed groups in the remote north.

“At that time, if the anti-government armed groups lose too badly, we can contact the other two, and we can also provide them with weapons and equipment.”

This is why those arms dealers like to fight. If there is no war, how can they sell arms?

Chapter 250: Charity

“I didn’t expect there to be so many homeless people here in New York…”

Amanda looked at the long line of people waiting to receive food, and said with some disbelief.

“In fact, New York has the highest number of homeless people in the entire United States. According to the latest data, there are over 80,000 homeless people here, and New York’s total population is about 8 million, which means one in every 100 people is homeless…”

Ivanka said softly beside her.

It seemed that she also came from a wealthy family, but compared to Amanda, Ivanka had more and earlier exposure to society.

Therefore, in this respect, compared to the better-protected Amanda, Ivanka understood these things more.

“But I see a lot of young people among these people, even some in their twenties or thirties, and they don’t seem to have any illnesses. Why don’t they try to support themselves?”

“There are many reasons, such as bankruptcy. Perhaps some of these people were previously middle-class or even wealthy, but due to investment failures and other reasons, they eventually went bankrupt. Even if they work hard to earn money, it’s difficult to pay off their debts. The most important thing is that their spirits have been crushed, and as a result, they are down and out… Some also have mental problems, or are addicted to certain drugs.”

Barron was also seeing this scene with his own eyes for the first time, and he sighed:

“Of course, many of them are also because even if they don’t work, they won’t starve to death with these shelters and food, so they just give up.”

They were currently next to a shelter near Chinatown in New York.

And Barron’s Devonshire Charitable Foundation was distributing food and winter clothing to the homeless here today.

“You are so kind, Barron. You can do so much for these homeless people; you are truly an angel.”

Amanda’s eyes were full of admiration as she looked at Barron.

However, compared to Amanda, after listening to Barron’s explanation, Ivanka also had a better understanding of the situation, so the look she gave Amanda was subtly… mocking.

Of course, Amanda wouldn’t notice any of this.

“Your Grace, let’s leave first. The remaining work will be completed by our staff and volunteers.”

Ms. Marty Kemp, the head of the Devonshire Charitable Foundation in the United States, came over to say to Barron. When she said these things, she was looking at the girls, including Amanda and Ivanka, because their attire was too… elegant, and it was somewhat out of place with the environment here. Some of the homeless people had even whistled at them.

Although there were many bodyguards guarding them, safety was still the priority.

Amanda and the others had just participated in the distribution of food and taken photos, so Barron didn’t plan to stay here any longer, and he nodded in agreement.

“Oh, there are so many homeless people, why doesn’t the government do more for them? At least build more shelters. I see many people sleeping directly on the streets. It’s so cold in winter, what will they do?”

Hearing Amanda’s words, Barron could only shake his head inwardly.

This sheltered young lady, who was protected so well, still had no understanding of the cold operation of society.

In these “developed” capitalist countries in Europe and America, everything has its meaning.

Just like if there weren’t these homeless people, how could they do “charity”?

If they don’t do charity, how can they get tax exemptions?

Of course, before this, Barron in his previous life, although he had seen many homeless people when he went to Europe and America, as well as those scenes where the entire street was covered in feces, and the smell could make people pass out on the spot…

But at that time, he was indeed a little puzzled by these things. Like the United States, with their capabilities, couldn’t they solve these homeless people?

At that time, the most common thing he heard was the so-called respect for their “freedom”.

In fact, haha…

Just like Ms. Marty Kemp, who was in charge of the Devonshire Charitable Foundation’s American affairs, she had more than ten years of experience in charitable operations, and Barron learned a lot from her.

At first, Barron found that although the food distributed by their foundation was of many varieties, including fruits, rice or pasta, meat, bread, and drinks.

But the quality was, to put it mildly, difficult to describe. The vegetables tasted almost like nothing, and didn’t even have much salt, making them even more unpalatable than fitness meals. And the fruits and vegetable salads were not fresh, but frozen. As for the bread, it was the kind that was about to expire and mold…

Barron was a little suspicious at the time that there was embezzlement, after all, the funds for this charitable activity were still very abundant.

And Marty Kemp said to him at the time:

“Your Grace, do you know? During World War II, the rations of the US Army were all equipped with chocolate, but because it tasted very good, it was often used by soldiers as snacks, so the consumption was extremely high. Later, the Department of Defense adjusted the chocolate’s formula to make it unpalatable, but still have enough calories, so that it could be used when it was most needed.”

Seeing Barron thoughtful, she smiled and said:

“So we are helping the homeless. If we made the food taste too good, I’m afraid that not only those homeless people, but even ordinary people, would come over to line up to receive it. The result is that these foods are very likely not to reach the people who need them the most. But now, the taste is very bad, but it is enough to fill the stomach, which will only allow those homeless people who are hungry to come and receive it.”

“In addition, our ultimate goal is still to be able to deduct taxes through this method. Then, through our own registered company, we can buy large quantities of those frozen vegetables and fruits, and expired frozen meat, regardless of what materials they have added, and then sell them to our foundation at a ‘suitable’ price, so that our funds donated to the foundation can not only be deducted from taxes, but also have a portion of them flow back. This is the meaning of doing charity in our civilized society.”

Oh, it really is a developed country, everything can be used to do business.

Barron looked at the people receding into the distance, as if looking at another world.

…

At the end of November, Barron left the United States.

Before leaving, he also took Ivanka to Silicon Valley.

In addition to taking a look at the North American branch of the Woaw company, he would also set up the framework for IvanCa Capital in Silicon Valley, including relevant legal, negotiation, and financial personnel, which were basically confirmed.

Next, after Barron left here, Ivanka would start contacting MySpace as the CEO of IvanCa Capital, preparing to invest in them.

After reuniting with Rebecca in Los Angeles for two days, their party boarded the Gulfstream G450.

Barron’s first transatlantic flight on his private jet, the destination, London.

Chapter 251: Twins

“Your Grace, I’m sorry, I’m just so excited to meet you…”

“You’ve been doing well recently, Cristiano. Also, congratulations on your first goal. I couldn’t be there, but I watched the match on television.”

After Barron returned to London, he went to Manchester and arranged a meal for the entire Manchester United team.

During this, it was also the first time he had met the young man since Ronaldo joined Manchester United.

At this time, Ronaldo was still a little green, after all, he had just turned 18 this year. Before that, he had only played in Portuguese clubs. Coming to Manchester United was also his first time entering a global football league platform.

Compared to when he had just arrived at Manchester United, Ronaldo’s English was already more fluent. In the beginning, he was shy and rarely spoke during post-match interviews.

On November 1st, in the match between Manchester United and Portsmouth at home, Ronaldo scored his first goal since joining the prestigious club.

This was also a cause for celebration for him.

Of course, although he would give the young man some encouragement, Barron wouldn’t overly praise a single player. He specifically chatted with all the Manchester United players.

The young Duke’s approachable actions also made the players of the entire Manchester United club very happy and proud.

Compared to the previous season, the 2003-2004 season saw a significant increase in the attention given to Manchester United.

The main reason was that Barron, as the new British Duke owner, would always try to find time to go to Old Trafford to watch Manchester United’s home games, and therefore, many media outlets would specifically report on this.

However, as far as the Manchester United brand management company was concerned, they hadn’t been able to do too much in the short time since its establishment. They were currently mainly focused on building Manchester United’s official website to make it more interactive with fans worldwide.

At the same time, an official account for Manchester United had also been set up on the Woaw website, which would occasionally release behind-the-scenes footage of the players’ training.

When the season had its mid-season break, which would be in August-September of next year, they would organize Manchester United’s first overseas trip. This time, they were preparing for Manchester United’s Asian tour, and they had already started contacting companies there.

It was estimated that Manchester United’s Asian tour would include East Asian countries with relatively strong economic strength, such as China, Japan, and South Korea.

Of course, the Manchester United brand management company would also correspondingly package and promote players with good images, such as Ronaldo, from the Manchester United club.

In fact, the bottom line was to develop the commercial operations of female fans and sell more jerseys and other merchandise.

In the previous renovation of Old Trafford, in addition to expanding the stand area and increasing the number of VIP boxes, the commercial area outside the stadium was also renovated, making it look more fashionable and modern, and increasing the operating area.

And the Manchester United club had taken back the operating rights of all commercial areas of the stadium. These operating areas would be directly operated by the Manchester United brand management company, increasing the club’s revenue.

…

After a period of consideration, the Weston family finally accepted Barron’s offer and agreed to sell Primark, their cheap clothing chain under the Inlian Food Group, for 350 million pounds.

Perhaps one of the factors that ultimately led them to agree to this condition was that the exchange rate of the pound against the US dollar had also increased significantly during this period. Within a short year, the exchange rate of the pound against the US dollar had risen from around 1.5 to 1.72 in early December, a cumulative increase of 14.6%.

And a month ago, in early November, the exchange rate of the pound against the US dollar was only 1.6566 at its lowest point. In a month, it had increased by nearly 4%, which was rare in the foreign exchange market.

Of course, Barron certainly couldn’t come up with this money right now. After all, he hadn’t finished his operations on the EUR/USD trading pair, and in addition, he had almost mortgaged all his assets because of buying shares in Google and Apple.

But this wasn’t a big problem. After all, the investment in the EUR/USD trading pair wouldn’t end for long.

And this kind of acquisition transaction wasn’t something that could be completed overnight; he didn’t have to pay the funds immediately.

“They are such beautiful little babies, so cute.”

Barron and Bonnie came to Viscount Booth’s mansion, and in front of them were two babies who had just been born…

From the obvious characteristics, it could be seen that it was a pair of twins, a boy and a girl.

Well, when Barron was still in the United States, Viscount Booth. and his wife had successfully given birth to their children through technology.

Just as the previous examination results had shown, it was a pair of twins, a boy and a girl. Bonnie had already come to visit before. This time, when he returned to London, Barron also came to celebrate immediately.

Viscount Booth’s gaze towards the two babies was also very loving, but it had to be said that this scene made Barron feel a little strange.

After all, Viscount Booth. and his wife, Chrissy, were the biological parents of the babies, but at this moment, the Viscountess was still pregnant, and the child in her belly… was Barron’s.

This kind of scene, how to put it, was just a little chaotic.

No wonder Bonnie’s smile was somewhat forced…

“How much longer, I mean, the due date…”

Seeing that Chrissy’s expression was slightly displeased, Barron immediately said:

“I remember it’s around May of next year?”

Only then did the Viscountess have a slight smile when she heard him say that:

“It’s rare that you still remember, my Duke.”

At this moment, Bonnie had already left. She still had a lot to do at Giant Studio, but Barron felt that she didn’t quite like the atmosphere just now. He could understand that.

And Viscount Booth. was also very understanding and found a reason to leave temporarily, leaving space for Barron and the Viscountess to talk.

“Come, let me listen to our daughter’s heartbeat…”

Chrissy was carrying a girl, which had already been checked at the hospital.

Seeing Barron lower his head, he leaned close to her belly and listened carefully.

This scene also brought a motherly smile to the Viscountess’s face.

Often, the fetal heartbeat could be heard at four or five months, and Barron’s hearing was originally sharp. Under his listening, he could faintly hear the sound of hooves.

Rebecca was pregnant with a daughter, and Chrissy was also carrying a daughter. Barron even suspected that he had his father-in-law’s look? These first two children were both girls, although he also liked girls very much, but this probability was also a little…

“If it’s in May of next year, then I can still go to attend Jenny and John’s wedding.”

This time when he went to New York, Barron had already learned that the wedding of Jenny Booth. and John Smith was set for June of next year.

In this case, after the Viscountess gave birth and recovered a little, going to the United States to attend their wedding wouldn’t be affected.

“Weren’t you also invited? I heard you just bought a private jet, I’ll take that plane over then.”

“Of course, no problem, darling, uh, if Mr. Booth. doesn’t object.”

Chapter 252: Broadcasting Rights Competition

“I’ve already contacted Bavaria Bank in Germany, Barron, and have been working on them. The results look pretty good so far…”

Barron visited Bernie Ecclestone’s home again. Holding a wine glass, Bernie enthusiastically introduced to Barron his efforts to purchase shares in the SLEC company:

“Gribkovsky is my biggest gain this time. He’s the person in charge of handling the SLEC shares at Bavaria Bank. You have to believe, Barron, that sometimes, we have to use a bit more wisdom…”

“Mr. Ecclestone, I believe you’ve always been very good at this.”

Barron subtly flattered him, which made Bernie’s face light up even more.

“Yes, you just need to know that we are determined to get the shares of Bavaria Bank, and the price will also be very suitable. Of course, I need to remind you first, that besides this, we also need to pay a little extra price, but it’s definitely worth it.”

“I understand, Mr. Ecclestone, you can just go ahead and do it. Pioneer Sports will be responsible for paying the bill.”

Sure enough, Bernie was still following the original timeline’s plan.

Barron was happy to see this, after all, he only needed to pay at the end. Even if someone were to investigate this matter, they wouldn’t be able to find him…

This wasn’t to say Bernie was some kind of internationalist fighter, he was also for his own benefit.

It was a little unfortunate that Barron didn’t see Tamara today; she had gone to school. During their phone call earlier, the girl said she would return to London before Christmas to meet with Barron.

“By the way, Barron, I know you also have a television station, are you interested in the broadcasting rights for F1 races in Britain?”

“Of course, but our sports channel is under construction. If possible, I will take the broadcasting rights.”

The broadcasting rights for F1 races were originally held by the BBC. Later, at the end of the last century, Bernie was dissatisfied with the BBC’s way of broadcasting F1 races—they would not broadcast the entire race, but would choose to broadcast only a few events, which went against Bernie’s idea of letting the public see as much of F1 as possible.

And the BBC’s bid for F1 broadcasting rights also made him dissatisfied.

Therefore, in the end, he found ITV, another British television broadcasting giant. In early 1996, they sold the broadcasting rights for F1 races to ITV. The price at the time was much higher than the “pitiful” income of less than 1 million pounds per year.

It just so happened that the contract with ITV would expire at the beginning of next year, and the British broadcasting rights for F1 races would be renegotiated.

Currently, Sky Television holds the broadcasting rights for the Premier League and other events, and the possibility of them bidding too high for the F1 race broadcasting rights is extremely low.

And the BBC might be ITV’s competitor, but compared to ITV, the BBC also has a lot of event broadcasting rights, so they wouldn’t be willing to bid too high either.

For Bernie, he naturally hoped that the price of the F1 race broadcasting rights would be as high as possible.

Now that Barron has SDTV, and at the same time, he will also purchase the commercial operating company of F1 races, SLEC, so Bernie naturally hopes that he can come forward and compete with ITV for the British broadcasting rights of the F1 races.

Barron remembered that in the original timeline, ITV would still get the British broadcasting rights for F1 races next year, and their bid was 25 million pounds for 5 years.

That’s only 5 million pounds a year, which is about the same as the price of race broadcasting in other regions, such as China.

But compared to the Premier League, a price of 5 million pounds a year is really too low.

You have to know that as early as 2000, the total price Sky Television paid to obtain the broadcasting rights for the Premier League matches for the next three years had already reached 1.1 billion pounds, which is nearly 350 million pounds a year. The price of F1 race broadcasting rights was only a fraction of theirs.

And next year, the price of Premier League match broadcasting rights will be even more expensive!

Of course, the reason why they are willing to pay such a high price to obtain the broadcasting rights for the Premier League is also because the numerous fans can bring Sky Television paying users.

The influence of F1 races in Britain is naturally not as great as that of the Premier League, but Bernie also hopes to raise the price a bit. With competition, it is possible to achieve this effect.

Currently, OFCOM has allowed the Freeview platform to launch paid services and paid channels. Currently, including the BBC and ITV, their paid channels have also been connected to the Freeview platform.

Summit Media is also unwilling to be left behind and is preparing to start trying to launch its own paid channels. The current plan is to launch a paid SDTV sports channel, but if they want to attract paying users, they naturally need to have popular live broadcasts of events. Although they are not yet capable of intervening in the Premier League broadcasting rights, they can also consider some other events, including F1 races.

If it’s priced at 25 million pounds for 5 years, which is 5 million pounds a year, it’s also relatively cost-effective, so Barron doesn’t mind joining the competition.

…

“Your Grace, the partner plan we’re implementing in China is going very successfully. Currently, more than 30 cooperative manufacturers have entered our supply catalog, and they are connected to our quality control system to produce products under our own brand…”

Argos CEO Nathan Ellington reported to Barron:

“We have invested in most of these manufacturers, helping them improve their production processes and manufacturing processes, and hold different proportions of their shares. There are now more than ten manufacturers on the inspection list, and we will gradually increase the number of our partners later.”

Currently, Argos is not only constantly increasing the number of stores in Britain and Ireland, but after entering the French market this year, they have also been conquering cities and expanding their territory. Using their products with extremely high cost-effectiveness, they have already gained a firm foothold in the Paris area and will continue to open new stores of various sizes.

The most gratifying thing is that online ordering on Argos’s official website has become an important sales channel for Argos. Currently, the turnover through online ordering has accounted for more than 20% of Argos’s total sales, and this proportion is still increasing.

The reason for paying attention to Argos’s production situation in China is also because Barron is preparing to acquire Primark with Argos as the main body.

After all, both of them focus on “affordable prices,” and their product images are relatively similar.

In addition, the Chinese OEM production model that Argos has developed can also be used to promote it in Primark.

In fact, this OEM production model, when there are requirements for quality, is really not just a matter of finding a factory to produce something.

This involves a whole set of complex management under the quality system, and Argos used this cooperative model in its home market. Transplanting this model to China also took a lot of time and effort, and only now has it been initially successful.

But the number of product categories sold by Argos, and the number of manufacturers needed for this partner plan’s supply catalog, is probably in the hundreds or thousands. Currently, it’s just the beginning of building a foundation, and there are still many areas that need to be improved.

But once this foundation is laid, Primark can replicate it in the field of clothing production, and that will be more efficient.

Like the Yangtze River Delta region, there are also many clothing production factories. After Primark is acquired, it can use this system to complete OEM cooperation in China.

Chapter 253: Christmas Is Approaching

When Barron returned to The Holme after a run around Regent’s Park, he found Tamaran still asleep in her dreams.

Leaving the bedroom, Aliyah had already prepared hot water for him.

“Your Grace, Mr. Inkster has arrived and is waiting for you downstairs.”

After Barron finished his bath, Aliyah personally came in to help him dress and said to him—through her time as Barron’s personal assistant, Aliyah had completely embraced her role. Facing Barron’s impactful physique, although her face was still flushed, she was no longer as shy as she was at first, when even her hands would tremble.

“Your Grace…”

When Barron went downstairs, he saw Nigel Inkster, dressed in a suit, waiting for him on the sofa in the hall.

“Mr. Inkster, have you had breakfast? Let’s eat together.”

He was also a little hungry at the moment, so Barron invited Nigel to join him for breakfast.

“Currently, the situation in Kolo is that the government forces have been driven out of the central region, but their resistance in the highland region is very strong. They are taking advantage of the terrain to halt the attacks of the anti-government armed forces…”

After breakfast, Nigel briefed Barron on the situation of the Kolo civil war:

“Currently, in the central region, the capital, Sokode, has been occupied by the Free Kolo Alliance. They, along with the Kolo Resistance Army, have divided the central region west of the Mono River. The Kolo Liberation Front, led by Sheikh Hassan, occupies the area east of the Mono River in the central region. This area is also the smallest territory among the three anti-government armed forces, and its resources are relatively scarce compared to the west bank of the Mono. Therefore, the Kolo Liberation Front, which joined the war the latest, is currently the most active in attacking the government forces in the highlands.”

“What’s their personnel loss situation?”

Hearing Barron’s question, Nigel said:

“The anti-government armed forces haven’t suffered much loss. Based on a rough estimate, among their more than 3,000 armed fighters on the front lines, the total number of casualties is less than a quarter. On the contrary, the government forces have suffered greater losses due to their low morale, and the anti-government armed forces have also obtained some captured weapons and equipment, starting to expand their personnel numbers locally. However, the most elite unit of the Kolo government forces, the Naxin Brigade, which is stationed in the capital, Loti, with a strength of more than 1,000 people, has not yet been deployed to the front lines. This is an elite unit named after Kolo’s head of state, Naxin Dema, and was originally led by Naxin himself. Their equipment is all French ordnance.”

Barron also knew that, in armies like those in Africa, morale was often the most important factor. When the momentum was strong, the offensive could be maintained, but once they encountered setbacks, those black guys would often scatter like birds and beasts, making it difficult to maintain their overall formation.

Therefore, although the anti-government armed forces currently seemed to be attacking fiercely, once this offensive was blocked, and the opponent’s elite troops entered the field, they would likely face defeat.

It was now the late part of December, and the 200 newly recruited local armed personnel that the Protector Military Company had added to the Munger base had arrived there. Coupled with the 200 new recruits recently recruited and trained in Kolo, the Protector Military Company now had a total of over 400 British soldiers and 300 Kolo soldiers at the Munger base and in the barracks near the newly acquired diamond mine, with a total armed force of 700 people.

In addition to the standard equipment they possessed, which could rival the British army—these were all previously transported from Iraq to the Munger base through various means and stored there—not to mention anything else, defending their two mine sites was not a problem.

Markel Paulson had even guaranteed to him that these troops would be able to defeat any single armed force in Kolo, including the government forces.

After all, in addition to individual light weapons, the Munger base also had armed helicopters and artillery. They had even considered bringing back two tanks that the Allied forces had “lost” on the Iraqi battlefield…

Well, with so many resistance organizations in Iraq, it was reasonable to destroy a few tanks, right?

There were reports last month that more than half of the Challenger 2 tanks that the British army had participated in the Iraq War with had “broken down,” and many of them were completely destroyed and could not be repaired…

…

Before Christmas, when the exchange rate of the Euro to the US dollar was approaching 1.25, DS Capital’s operation to close out its positions had already begun.

However, because their position was relatively high, they estimated that they would complete this closing operation before January of next year.

Since Christmas was just around the corner, the entire United Kingdom was starting to have a festive atmosphere.

Christmas trees had already been delivered to Barron’s two residences and were decorated in the halls.

At the same time, O2 Telecom also began another promotional campaign.

Currently, in the French market, the 2G network that Huawei had built for them was able to cover their major cities, and it was expected that the entire French 2G coverage would be completed before February of next year.

At the same time, they would launch 3G network coverage and broadband network coverage in major cities.

In fact, the 3G networks in these markets of O2 Telecom would only be opened in the two or three most developed cities in each country, and they would start full 3G network coverage when Apple was about to launch the iPhone in 2007.

And these European markets would have enough 3G network usage for over ten years…

Well, you didn’t read that wrong.

Because until after 2020, countries like Germany and France still had the majority of their citizens using 3G networks. The so-called 4G and 5G networks were probably only available in some large cities…

So you know why many people are boasting about how European electric vehicles have WIFI, and public places have a lot of WIFI coverage, right?

It’s because without WIFI, you can only use the slow-as-hell 3G network to watch videos, which is such a terrible experience.

In China at that time, many people had hundreds of gigabytes of 4G and 5G data, and they couldn’t use it all. They simply couldn’t use it all, so who would need to connect to the so-called public WIFI? So many people connected to WIFI, how fast could the network speed be?

It was also because of the increase in the deployment of mobile networks in France, coupled with O2 Telecom’s low-tariff policy, that their number of users in the French market had increased very rapidly during this period, making it the main source of new O2 users.

Up to now, the total number of O2 Telecom’s users had approached 20 million. In the UK’s mobile communications market, it had surpassed Vodafone and become the mobile communications company with the largest number of users; and in the global market, it was second only to Vodafone, the UK’s telecom company.

Of course, if you included fixed-line and broadband services, O2 Telecom was still below BT Company, but the gap between the two had also been reduced a lot due to O2 Telecom’s development in broadband services.

After all, because of the cooperation with Digital UK Company, providing them with preferential home broadband packages, the users brought by the Freeview platform alone had exceeded 7 million.

This time, O2 Telecom’s promotion was to add half the amount for pre-paid top-ups. For example, if you top up 1,000 pounds, you could get a total of 1,500 pounds.

Of course, the intensity of this promotion was definitely not as good as the previous one where you got the same amount as you topped up, but that’s how things were. The previous promotion was to compete for users and obtain liquid funds, but the situation was different now.

And because many users who participated in the previous promotion had not used up their topped-up fees, most of the participants in this promotion were new users.

Even so, from December 20th until the New Year’s Day, a half-month-long promotional campaign still brought in as much as 500 million pounds of pre-paid funds for O2 Telecom.

Under such circumstances, coupled with the quality of the equipment laid by Huawei in the French market, which was recognized by O2 Telecom, they did not wait for the French market to be completed, but directly signed a follow-up agreement with them in advance, and launched the 2G network deployment in the German market.

Of course, it also started from the major cities first.

Chapter 254: Handover

Before Christmas arrived, Ivanka, who was in the United States, also completed the investment in MySpace.

Regardless of Ivanka’s abilities, you have to admit that her skills in public relations were indeed remarkable.

As the number of Woaw website users worldwide exceeded 20 million, and its valuation in the media approached 1 billion US dollars, MySpace, which was in the same field, had just surpassed 1 million users at this time, but it also attracted the interest of many venture capitalists.

Therefore, in the beginning, the investment company she led faced quite fierce competition.

However, in the end, MySpace chose IC Capital as the winner of their Series A funding.

Besides IC Capital’s offer being more satisfactory to them, another reason was that Ivanka was better at utilizing her resources.

This included Ivanka hinting to the other party that if IC Capital could become a shareholder of MySpace, then she and her family could help the company gain more media exposure.

You must know that her father was closely related to many beauty pageants and was very good at hype. This aspect was also highly valued by MySpace and its parent company.

Moreover, in terms of attracting media attention, as a “small website” with only one-twentieth the number of users as the Woaw website, which would attract more attention: a traditional venture capital company becoming their investor, or a just 22-year-old college student, a well-known model, and a beautiful woman from a wealthy family becoming their investor?

Of course, under Barron’s instructions, Ivanka gave MySpace a valuation that was not low. She was willing to invest 10 million US dollars at a pre-money valuation of 15 million US dollars, allowing IC Capital to hold 40% of MySpace’s shares.

You must know that it was 2003, when the internet industry had just emerged from the bubble crisis, and social networking websites were an emerging field with no mature profit model – venture capital companies in Silicon Valley paid the most attention to this aspect.

Those internet companies with higher valuations, including Amazon’s e-commerce and Google’s search, already had their profit models.

Therefore, at this time, venture capital companies were still very cautious about the valuation of social networking websites.

In his previous life, when Facebook had the vast majority of its users from various universities, and the number of users exceeded 12 million, Yahoo could consider acquiring it for 1 billion US dollars, and finally lowered the price to 800 million US dollars… that was in 2006, when the internet had recovered again, and companies like Google had successfully IPOed, giving venture capitalists great confidence.

Now, the Woaw website had over 20 million users, and many media outlets gave a valuation of less than 1 billion US dollars, because, on the one hand, it was 2003, and on the other hand, Woaw website’s American users were less than 10 million, with the rest being users from Europe and Australia – in the eyes of Silicon Valley, American users were the “most valuable.”

In addition to MySpace, Woaw was also facing Series B funding.

In fact, with the strength of DS Capital and Sequoia Capital, Woaw didn’t need to rush to raise funds again.

But the problem was that the current scale of Woaw made capital that wanted to get on board have this demand. After Sequoia Capital’s Michael Moritz personally called to persuade him, Barron still decided to start Woaw’s second round of funding.

This time, those who wanted to invest in Woaw included traditional investment funds like Goldman Sachs, Blackstone, and Bridgewater, as well as Silicon Valley venture capital giants like KPCB…

Of course, Moritz also told Barron that Sequoia Capital would continue to follow the investment.

In this regard, Barron was only prepared to accept one or two new investors and would choose from among these investment companies.

……

Similarly, as Christmas approached, it was also a time when various parties began to increase.

It could be said that during this period, almost every day, there would be a dozen parties happening simultaneously throughout London.

Of course, Barron at this time couldn’t really attend so many parties, and would only choose to attend some of the more important ones.

This period was also a time for the wealthy to show their kindness, with various fundraising gatherings and “warmth-giving” activities for the homeless and the poor being everywhere.

Including the Devonshire Charitable Foundation under Barron’s name, it also frequently organized various activities during this period.

It just so happened that after Primark was acquired by him, it would dispose of some of its previous clothing.

Besides having big Christmas sales in its various stores, many styles that were difficult to sell would also be sold to the Devonshire Charitable Foundation at a “suitable” price, for clothing donations to the homeless.

After all, the winters in Britain were still cold, and these homeless people also needed enough clothing to keep warm.

It was worth mentioning that after Primark was acquired by Argos, the two would form the Argos Retail Group, with the previous Argos CEO, Nathan Ellington, serving as the CEO of the Argos Retail Group.

The original Argos CFO, Giles Toledo, took over the position of CEO of Argos Department Store.

At Primark, Barron, through a headhunting company, brought in Donia Miranda, who had previously served as the Operations Director of Zara’s French branch, to serve as the CEO of Primark clothing chain.

This woman, who was not yet 40 years old, had rich experience in the industry and could help Barron transform Primark in terms of brand operations.

After acquiring Primark, besides transferring its main manufacturing center from the Irish region to China, another thing was to enhance Primark’s responsiveness to fast fashion.

Primark would specifically hire more young designers – those with sufficient professional skills but not big-name designers, “design workers” with low fees. Their task was to “draw inspiration” from various fashion weeks each year, and at the fastest speed, pour this “inspiration” into Primark’s products.

Uh, to put it in a more down-to-earth way, it was to directly “reference” those most popular fashion styles this year, or directly copy the patterns for manufacturing, allowing the general public to enjoy various novel clothing styles at the lowest price, which were at the forefront of fashion.

This was also the secret of why Zara and other fast fashion clothing brands could develop rapidly.

Of course, if they did this, Primark would inevitably face accusations, and even direct infringement lawsuits in the future.

Therefore, they would also hire a rich legal team to help them avoid being held substantively accountable.

Thus, Primark’s headquarters in the future would also move from the original Dublin, Ireland, to King’s Cross in London, utilizing the high-quality talent resources of the Central Saint Martins College there to establish Primark’s design center.

“I hope to launch our new clothing in the shortest possible time, and preliminarily complete the OEM system in China before March of next year.”

The task Barron set for Donia Miranda at the time was still quite arduous.

But this lady’s confidence was still quite high:

“No problem, Your Grace, as long as we can get enough support, I will use all methods to achieve these goals.”

After spending Christmas with Bonnie Stuart in London, Barron took Julia Moore and others to Chatsworth House.

After all, during the Christmas period, Bonnie was busier than ever and didn’t have time to go back with him.

And the reason for returning to Chatsworth House this time was also because Barron hoped to welcome the new year there – Butler Sean’s health had recently been poor, so after discussing with Barron, he was prepared to give up the position of butler of Chatsworth House, while he would still remain in the manor as a consultant to the manor, which would be more leisurely.

Ramos, who had been serving as the butler in the London villa, would take over Butler Sean’s position and become the new butler of Chatsworth House.

Chapter 255: 7 Billion US Dollars!

There are always moments that make you feel emotional, like when things you’ve grown accustomed to start to change.

After returning to Chatsworth House this time, Barron belatedly realized that Sean, the butler, looked significantly older than before, even compared to a year ago.

You could sense that he was trying his best to maintain his elegant demeanor, but his back was already slightly stooped.

Mainly because he had been ill some time ago. Although he received careful treatment, Sean the butler’s physical condition had not been as good since then.

Eventually, he proposed the idea of resigning to Barron, but Barron knew that Sean the butler had never married and had dedicated most of his life to Chatsworth House, so he couldn’t just let him leave like that.

Therefore, after Ramos took over Sean the butler’s duties, Sean the butler would still hold the title of Estate Advisor. In fact, he would only need to occasionally offer some of his experience, which was Barron’s kind way of providing for his retirement.

“Your Grace, you’ve done very well, better than anyone imagined, and I am proud of you.”

After dinner, when Barron was alone with Sean the butler, the two stood in the long gallery of Chatsworth House, lined with portraits of numerous estate owners. Sean the butler looked at Barron with the look of pride one has for their child’s achievements.

“When I realized I’ve been thinking about those past times, the best things about the estate, I realized I’m indeed old. Times have changed, but Chatsworth is still thriving, and the Devonshire family can continue to shine. This is what makes me happiest. I truly wish I could always protect this honor.”

“You will, Sean the butler. You are an indispensable part of our family, so I hope you can always stay here, with us, with the family.”

It could be said that Chatsworth House’s popularity had reached a wider range following the reality show “The Traitors,” and the television series “Downton Abbey,” especially with the popularity of “Downton Abbey.” Since this year, the proportion of overseas tourists among the visitors here has also been increasing.

According to current statistics, this is the highest-earning year since Chatsworth House opened to the public, and Chatsworth House is also exploring more profit models, not only in terms of visitor admission fees, but also including experiences of aristocratic culture, which have brought it more revenue.

It can be said that this revenue is already completely sufficient for better maintenance and repairs, and there is also remaining capital that can be invested in related cultural tourism projects.

Of course, even now, only less than one-third of the manor house is open to the public, which also includes the Devonshire Estate Hotel, a collaboration with the Cavendish Hotel Group.

The remaining large part of the area still belongs to the Devonshire family’s private territory and does not accept visitors.

Currently, within the entire British Isles, Chatsworth House can be said to be a model of commercialization for aristocratic estates.

…

By the end of December, DS Capital finally completed the closing operation on the EUR/USD trading pair in the foreign exchange market.

After the closing was completed, they ultimately obtained approximately 7 billion US dollars in profit.

Originally, DS Capital’s average exchange rate for establishing a position was at 1.05. When the price of EUR/USD reached 1.25, the profit should have been around 6 billion US dollars.

But the key was that the British pound, as a margin, was also continuously appreciating against the US dollar, so during this process, the US dollars that DS Capital could borrow were also relatively increasing.

This factor also led to their final profit being higher than the expected 6 billion US dollars, reaching 7 billion US dollars.

At this point, after settling the profits, DS Capital first took out 350 million US dollars to repay the loan from Goldman Sachs Group.

Earlier, Barron had purchased Google company shares and stock options from Yahoo and AOL respectively, and after exercising the options, it would cost a total of 535 million US dollars.

More than 200 million US dollars of this came from the sale of NetEase company shares at a high price, and the remaining funds came from the mortgage loan at Goldman Sachs Group. Now, after the US dollar “depreciated,” it was very appropriate to repay these loans in US dollars.

In addition, there was the purchase of Apple company shares held by the Mars Fund.

At the time, when purchasing a total of 162 million shares of Apple company from Jobs and three other fund companies, it cost a total of 760 million British pounds, of which the Mars Fund contributed 200 million British pounds, holding 42.63 million shares of Apple company.

Subsequently, the Mars Fund purchased approximately 54 million more shares of Apple company in the secondary market.

This brought the total shares of Apple company held by DS Capital and the Mars Fund to 216 million shares, accounting for 30% of Apple company’s total share capital!

By now, Apple company’s stock price had risen from a low of around 7 US dollars to 8.86 US dollars. The Mars Fund’s holdings of a total of 96.63 million shares of Apple company were already worth 856 million US dollars.

However, purchasing these Apple company shares was naturally not convenient to do directly in the name of DS Capital.

At this time, the offshore company Rich23 Capital that Barron had previously registered came in handy.

They would purchase the 96.63 million shares of Apple company held by the Mars Fund in the name of Rich23 Capital, holding 13.42% of Apple company’s shares.

DS Capital, on the other hand, would directly hold 16.58% of Apple company’s shares.

There was another advantage to doing this, which was that Barron began to hide his wealth. After all, Rich23 Capital was not registered in his name, and it was also an offshore company.

With this type of company, especially when the registered place was the British Virgin Islands, with his influence in the British Isles, he could still ensure that ordinary people could not find out the specific relationship between this company and himself.

Otherwise, when those rich lists started to be published in 2004, Barron’s ranking would probably be a bit eye-catching, especially at his age of just 24 years old, he would definitely become the focus of media reports.

Similarly, after completing these, DS Capital had approximately 5.8 billion US dollars in remaining profits.

These funds were also transferred to Rich23 Capital’s account, and after the exchange rate of the British pound against the US dollar dropped from a high of 1.78 to 1.75, they converted the profitable US dollars into British pounds, approximately 3.314 billion British pounds.

Because Barron knew that by the end of 2004, this exchange rate would be as high as 1.9 or more…

Of course, these funds wouldn’t stay in his hands for too long either.

Rich23 Capital invested 414 million British pounds in Argos Retail Group, holding 25% of its shares.

Argos Retail Group would use 350 million British pounds of this to pay for the purchase of the Primark clothing chain, and the remaining 64 million British pounds would be invested in the construction of its two brands.

After this, the shareholding of Argos Retail Group would be DS Industrial Investment Company holding 75% of the shares, and Rich23 Capital holding 25%.

When DS Capital purchased Argos, it cost 700 million British pounds, but after this capital injection by Rich23 Capital, the corresponding valuation of Argos Retail Group was 1.656 billion British pounds.

This meant that the 700 million British pounds that DS Capital initially spent to purchase Argos, after this time, its value had already increased to 1.242 billion British pounds.

Of course, to put it bluntly, this was just Barron’s left-hand-to-right-hand operation, and this valuation was still very virtual. It would only be recognized by the market when there were other investors or when Argos Retail Group went IPO and listed.

At this time, Bernie Ecclestone had also returned to London, and his negotiations with the German Bavaria Bank had reached a final result. Next, Barron needed to come forward to acquire the SLEC company.

Chapter 256: Series B Funding

According to Bernie Ecclestone, he had negotiated the price of the 50% stake in SLEC held by the German Bayerische Landesbank to 350 million pounds.

This price could already be considered as low as it could get, because although the other bidders’ offers were not higher than this price at the moment, the problem was that this was only the first round of bidding. Those people’s bottom prices would definitely be much higher than this price. According to estimates, at the normal market price, the price of 50% of SLEC’s shares would definitely be higher than 400 million pounds.

You must know that the remaining two shareholders of SLEC, those two American banks, would definitely not be willing to sell their shares at such a low price, and they had also been contacting Bayerische Landesbank, hoping to take back the commercial operation rights of the F1 race from Bernie and operate it themselves.

This was also the reason why Bernie had to find a partner to launch a sneak attack. After all, he couldn’t bear to hand over this race, which he had developed with his own hands, to others, not to mention the benefits that controlling the operation of the F1 race could bring to him.

Of course, just like in the original timeline, the reason why Bernie could take over the SLEC shares in the hands of Bayerische Landesbank was still because he had bribed the person in charge of handling SLEC’s shares at Bayerische Landesbank – Gerhard Gribkowsky.

To buy the shares in the hands of Bayerische Landesbank, they also needed to give the other party certain benefits privately – Bernie gave Gribkowsky a quote of 35 million US dollars.

This quote was indeed a little less than the amount when Bernie was prosecuted by the German court in the original timeline.

Of course, this could be understood. After all, the time had just passed 2004, while in the original timeline, Bernie started this plan later, between 2004 and 2005.

At that time, there were more bidders, and the risks involved in such private transactions were greater for the other party, so it was understandable that the asking price was higher.

Even if these additional funds were needed, it was also very suitable for Barron. After all, even with this money, it was still far less than the actual value of these shares.

Bernie was willing to sell his 25% stake to Barron as well, but his asking price was as high as 200 million pounds, and he also wanted to ensure that he continued to run the company. In comparison, it was very suitable for Barron to acquire 50% of SLEC’s shares for a total cost of 370 million pounds.

Therefore, the plan continued to be implemented, and the Pioneer Sports Company, controlled by Rich23 Capital, would acquire 75% of SLEC’s shares for a total price of 570 million pounds, becoming the absolute controlling shareholder of the company.

After this, Lehman Brothers and JP Morgan Chase, these two banks, were a little uncomfortable, because they only had 25% of SLEC’s shares left, not only could they not control the company, but if they continued to hold the shares, they would have to watch Bernie, whom they originally wanted to drive away, continue to run SLEC, and afterwards he would definitely give them a lot of “sweeteners” to eat.

And the shares of SLEC itself were obtained after the bankruptcy of the German Kirch Group because of their bonds. In this way, selling the shares of this company to Pioneer Sports Company and cashing out and leaving was their best choice.

……

The time came to 2004. Shortly after New Year’s Day, Woaw Technology announced the news that they had completed Series B funding.

In this round of financing, the Blackstone Group would invest 100 million US dollars and hold 8.33% of Woaw Technology’s shares; Sequoia Capital would invest 50 million US dollars, and together with the shares they held before, they currently held a total of 13.17% of Woaw Technology’s shares.

And DS Capital still held 78.5% of its shares, firmly controlling Woaw Technology.

This showed that Woaw Technology’s pre-money valuation for this round of financing had reached 1.05 billion US dollars, becoming an emerging internet technology company.

It was also because the competition for the previous round of financing was relatively fierce, so in the end, the Blackstone Group and Sequoia Capital gained the qualification for financing by giving it a higher valuation.

Investment companies like Goldman Sachs, which were relatively conservative about internet technology, missed out on this opportunity.

After obtaining these 150 million US dollars in funds, Woaw Technology would continue to expand the scale of its two companies in London and Silicon Valley, and then build two data centers in Continental Europe and Singapore, respectively, to provide better services for global users.

And their research and development center in Silicon Valley would also continue to increase investment and conduct more research and development in algorithms and streaming media.

It was worth mentioning that before this round of financing was completed, Yahoo had approached Woaw Technology, hoping to acquire the company for 1 billion US dollars.

This reminded Barron of the other party’s past life, when they initially acquired Facebook for 1 billion US dollars in 2006, and Zuckerberg had already agreed, but when it came to signing the contract, Yahoo lowered the price to 850 million US dollars. Zuckerberg felt insulted and refused.

Barron was not Zuckerberg. He naturally knew the potential of social networks in the future, so he unhesitatingly had Woaw Technology reject Yahoo’s offer.

From now on, Yahoo had begun to decline day by day, and Google would gradually erode its share in the search and online advertising fields, and eventually rise.

Speaking of Google, since last December, there had been endless reports in the media of the technology sector about Google, this internet upstart, possibly going public with an IPO.

In response, Google had not responded in any way.

However, Barron knew that Google would go public in August of this year, and this would also be a major event this year, and the company’s market value would exceed 23 billion US dollars by then.

Currently, DS Capital held 20 million shares of Google, accounting for about 7.7% of its total share capital. This was still the result of Barron doing everything he could to dig them out from Yahoo and America Online.

Before the IPO, Google would not raise any more funds, so even if Barron wanted to get more of its shares, there was nothing he could do…

Unless he was willing to let Google acquire Woaw Technology in exchange for shares, which could increase his holdings of Google shares.

But this was absolutely impossible. Compared to holding more shares of Google, Barron hoped to have an internet public opinion platform under his control, which was more important to him.

In addition to Google, Tencent would also go public this year. They would be earlier than Google and would start the IPO process in April of this year, and officially go public on the HK Stock Exchange in June.

These things, as the largest shareholder of Tencent, Mr. Ma had also communicated with Barron.

In choosing to list in HK, he also received Barron’s support.

Although listing in HK could not use the AB share method, Barron entrusted all the voting rights of the shares he held to Mr. Ma, which also made him not have too many concerns in this regard.

After all, the shares they held, plus those held by DS Capital, could completely ensure Mr. Ma’s control of the company even after the listing.

“I’m glad you could come today, Barron.”

For some reason, Barron always felt that when Colin Hall smiled, although he looked amiable, he somehow had the feeling that his face was stretched out…

Speaking of which, his face seemed to be slightly longer than ordinary people’s…

“Mr. Hall, I wonder what you want to talk to me about today?”

Chapter 257: Low-Interest Loan

“I come bearing goodwill today, Barron.”

Colin Hall said:

“It’s to solve some of your problems.”

“Problems?”

Barron looked at the other person, a hint of doubt in his expression, and asked.

“Yes, I know the banks you cooperate with the most are Barclays Bank, and you also have some cooperation with the Goldman Sachs Group.”

“Originally, your North Rock Bank also had a chance. I once extended an olive branch, Colin, but unfortunately, you rejected me.”

Hearing Barron’s words, Colin Hall shrugged and said:

“I know about this matter as well. That was a problem with Boris, the credit officer of the former North Rock Bank. He made a terrible decision…”

“Sometimes it’s like that, Colin. I believe more in those who offer help in times of need, rather than those who add icing to the cake.”

“That’s because I wasn’t in London at the time. Now, I’m here to mend our relationship.”

Seeing Barron looking at him, signaling him to continue, Colin Hall said sincerely:

“I’ve studied your DS Capital’s current liabilities and found a large number of bank loans, mainly from Barclays Bank and Goldman Sachs Group. The interest rates on these loans are very high, above 12%. I know these loans come from some of the leveraged acquisitions you made. At the time, the EU’s bank loan benchmark interest rate was at a high of 5%. Such financing interest was normal for leveraged acquisitions…”

“But now the EU’s bank loan benchmark interest rate is already below 3%, and even in the United States, this data has been consistently at 1% for several months… In this situation, the interest rates on your loans seem too high…”

Barron admitted that Colin Hall was right. Initially, due to the acquisitions of O2, Manchester United Football Club, and Argos, Barron used leveraged acquisitions. He paid a portion of his own funds, and the rest of the funds were financed from Barclays Bank and Goldman Sachs Group. The interest rates on these financings were very high, many exceeding 12%…

Of course, compared to the future value growth of these acquisition targets, thinking that he could get them in his hands when their prices were lower, or at a more appropriate time, these slightly high financing costs were something Barron could bear.

However, after that, he was also trying to find ways to reduce the cost of these financings.

For example, O2 Telecom raised 2 billion pounds through two issues of corporate bonds and had already repaid a portion of the debt in advance.

And Manchester United Football Club and Argos had also each issued 500 million pounds of corporate bonds and had already repaid the financing they had undertaken when they acquired them.

But now, on the debt of O2 Telecom, Barron still bears a high-cost financing of 3 billion pounds with an interest rate above 12%.

This means that these debts require an annual interest payment of as much as 360 million pounds. Adding other corporate bond interest, the annual interest still exceeds 460 million pounds, which is still a very heavy burden.

It’s like, although Barron had already made a lot of profit from this foreign exchange transaction on EUR/USD, even after completing the acquisition of 100% of SLEC’s shares, his account still had over 2.15 billion pounds in funds, but about 400 million pounds of the funds needed to pay interest for the financing of his previous leveraged transactions…

Before meeting Colin Hall today, Barron was also prepared to cover the current 3 billion pounds of high-cost financing through new, lower-interest loans or corporate bonds.

After all, the current EU bank loan benchmark interest rate was already below 3%, and for a period of time, it had reached a low of 2.5%, which was already half of the 5% figure when he was financing…

This also meant that the current bank loan interest rate was far lower than it was then. Covering high-cost loans with new, low-interest loans was, in itself, a measure often used to reduce the loan burden after a leveraged acquisition.

Therefore, after hearing Colin Hall’s words, Barron had already roughly guessed the other party’s intention. He said:

“So? Colin, what’s your plan?”

“I said, I hope to re-establish our friendship, Barron. You know that our North Rock Bank’s strength is also not to be underestimated. We can provide you with a loan, with the interest rate limited by the current bank loan benchmark interest rate. Of course, this is definitely a mortgage loan. You need to use your holdings of O2 Telecom shares as collateral, but this process is very relaxed. We can first help you repay the remaining loans, and then mortgage the shares to us.”

If it was as Colin Hall said, then with the current bank loan benchmark interest rate of slightly above 2.5%, the loan cost they offered was even lower than his corporate bond interest rate of 3.5%, which was quite suitable, but the problem was…

Barron asked:

“This is an option that can be considered, Colin, but what I’m concerned about is, how much of a loan can you provide? Also, what proportion of O2 Telecom shares do I need to mortgage? And the term of your loan, after all, you know, you have a precedent of reclaiming loans early, I have to be cautious.”

Colin Hall knew that Barron’s so-called early loan repayment was referring to the time when North Rock Bank had urged the Devonshire family to repay the loan before it was due when they were experiencing a financial crisis.

He explained:

“I also had an understanding of the previous matter. To be honest, North Rock Bank did indeed worry about the repayment of the loan before it was due and made some disturbances in advance. This needs to be apologized for, but at that time, you also proposed that you could repay the loan early, and we also waived the interest for the period less than the term. Of course, I can guarantee that this will not happen again.”

“We can provide you with a loan of 3 billion pounds to allow you to repay the high-interest financing that still exists from Barclays Bank and Goldman Sachs Group. The term can be up to 5 years. The interest rate, as I told you, because it is a mortgage loan, the interest rate will be within 3%. Well, I can give you an interest rate of 2.8%…”

“As for the proportion of O2 Telecom shares that need to be mortgaged, I know that you originally financed a total of 5 billion pounds, mortgaging all of O2 Telecom’s shares to Barclays Bank and Goldman Sachs Group. Calculated this way, the proportion of O2 Telecom shares we need to mortgage should be 60%, which also corresponds to the mortgage share of this 3 billion pounds of financing in Barclays Bank and Goldman Sachs Group.”

Hearing Colin Hall’s words, Barron couldn’t help but sigh. In this era of low interest rates, the interest on loans is really tempting. You know, before his rebirth, Barron had also been involved in a lot of related business. At the time, because the UK’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) increase was higher than expected, it led to a rise in bond yields, causing the market to bet on a peak benchmark interest rate from the previous 5% to 6.5%, which in turn pushed up fixed mortgage interest rates to 6.7%.

Compared to now, it’s like heaven and earth.

“I can consider these things, the only thing is, the current situation is different from then, because you can see that O2 Telecom’s development momentum is good. Currently, the number of users of this company has more than doubled since I bought it, and it has been very successful in developing the markets of Germany and France. Therefore, the current valuation of O2 Telecom is at least more than double the original, so for the mortgage of this 3 billion pound loan, 60% of the shares is definitely unacceptable to me.”

Hearing Barron’s questioning about the proportion of mortgaged shares, Colin Hall smiled and said:

“But don’t forget, Barron, the interest rate on the loan we are giving you is already very low, so we need some security in terms of collateral, and if it is a long-term loan, then we need to be even more cautious, because we cannot predict the future operating situation, we can only make relatively pessimistic preparations.”

Chapter 258: Evans Manor

Although the loan proposal provided by Colin Hall was indeed quite good in terms of interest, Baron certainly couldn’t accept a loan of three billion pounds secured by a 60% stake in O2 Telecom.

It wasn’t that he couldn’t repay it; the main issue was that it would affect his future financing.

Additionally, he suspected that the other party had ulterior motives in offering him such “kindness” in providing the loan.

If it required the collateral of a staggering 60% of O2 Telecom’s shares, then the other party would probably be fully motivated to take actions against him, creating financial strain, and thus gaining control of O2 Telecom.

Regardless of whether the other party truly had such thoughts, Baron would not allow such a possibility to exist.

If that was the case, it would be better to continue trying to issue corporate bonds; even if the interest rate was slightly higher, at least there wouldn’t be too much risk.

“In this case, we can invite a third party to evaluate our O2 Telecom, and then decide on the proportion of shares to be pledged based on the results. Otherwise, I will absolutely not accept a 60% ratio.”

In the end, Baron still made such a request.

“I can agree to this, but it needs to be pointed out that our minimum requirement is that the pledged shares cannot be less than 45%, otherwise such a large amount of loan cannot be approved by the board of directors.”

Hearing Colin’s words, Baron raised an eyebrow slightly:

“Alright, we can discuss this in detail.”

If the share pledge was below 50%, Baron could still agree.

After all, this could be considered a one-time solution to his current high-interest financing problem; otherwise, if he had to continue issuing corporate bonds, not to mention the trouble, it would also cause some obstacles to O2 Telecom’s future financing.

Of course, the main reason for this was that Baron knew that after four years, when the subprime mortgage crisis arrived, North Rock Bank would be affected by this crisis and go bankrupt due to a bank run, having to accept the British government’s bailout, and the process of eventually finding a buyer would not be smooth—because by then they would be bearing government debt of up to 25 billion pounds, and the government required the buyer to promise to repay this debt within three years and pay a certain amount of interest…

Therefore, he would set the loan term for this loan at five years.

Even if Colin Hall had any other thoughts during this loan, as long as Baron lived longer than North Rock Bank, he could completely overcome everything with one stroke.

…

Snowflakes fell lightly in Scotland, and Baron raised his umbrella, adjusting his overcoat.

Turning his head, he took a final look at the noble and elegant face in the photo on the tombstone, placed a bouquet of flowers in front of the tomb, and then turned to leave.

“Everyone will have that day, when everything no longer has meaning.”

Beside him, Julia Moore said softly.

“But at least before that day comes, we can realize our own meaning.”

Baron gave her a smile, held the woman’s hand, and said softly.

Today, he brought Julia with him to visit Lady Emma’s tomb. In any case, this lady had left him her own inheritance, and she was also a woman who had a history with his cheap old man. He had had the idea of visiting her for a while.

Julia also learned about Lady Emma from Baron. Unlike Baron, she had met Lady Emma several times before, so when only the black and white photo on the tombstone remained, her feelings became even more profound.

The inheritance Lady Emma left to Baron included 1.5% of the shares of Northern Natural Gas Company, as well as two manors and two properties.

One of the manors was located in Scotland.

They came here this time and also went to that manor.

Although the manor had always been maintained, some places also looked a little desolate.

In terms of scale, this manor was slightly inferior to Carling Castle Manor, and even less than Chatsworth House, but it also looked unique, more refined and delicate.

Baron had already handed over this manor and another French manor to the family trust fund managed by Julia, to be managed together with his other manors.

Like many British manors, in this mansion called Evans Manor, originally belonging to the Evans family and later inherited by Lady Emma, Baron saw many portraits of people hanging in the corridor of the staircase. Judging from their attire, they should all be members of the Evans family.

In one of the paintings, Baron also saw Lady Emma’s figure; beside her was a slightly frail man, who should be her ex-husband—Baron Eden Evans.

“It seems that there was once glory here, but everything has been covered by the years.”

In such an atmosphere, the luxurious decorations around them were slightly old, and the light falling from above converged within, Julia was also particularly moved.

“Every manor buries the loves and hates of the past, mostly similar, yet each is different. If we always remain in the reminiscence of the past, we are bound to be filled with a sense of decline. We are still far from that time, Julia.”

“I was just a little emotional for a moment.”

“Then let’s stay here today, but we need to solve the problem of eating first, but fortunately, it’s not too far from the town.”

According to the information they received from the manor’s remaining butler, in the last few years, Lady Emma rarely returned to this manor. Most of the time, it was the butler and two maids who stayed here, so it was no wonder that many places were somewhat desolate.

Because of this, many of the manor’s servants, including the cook, had already left and gone elsewhere.

“Are you also planning to renovate this place and then open it to tourism?”

“It’s not too big here. Opening it for visits won’t have much meaning. I plan to renovate it slightly and then rent it out as a whole or in part, in the form of short-term rentals. Perhaps many people, especially foreigners, will be interested in experiencing the lives of British aristocrats firsthand.”

Baron thought for a moment and said to Julia:

“Or, we could convert the whole thing into a manor hotel… For these things, we should still ask professionals to evaluate and then decide.”

They have the Grace Cultural Tourism Group, and those professionals will make appropriate plans in this regard.

…

“Miss Moore, I think you should give me enough respect, shouldn’t you?”

In the manor’s room, the fireplace was blazing.

The lights here were turned off, and in the glow of the firelight, it could be vaguely seen that Baron was wearing a traditional aristocratic costume, holding a… riding crop, and coldly sizing up Julia.

And at this moment, Julia was wearing a maid’s outfit, prostrate on the ground, looking up at the Duke.

A “crack” sounded…

Julia sighed, saying:

“Your Grace, don’t do this…”

“Then what should you do? Miss Moore!”

The woman’s face gradually flushed, and she supported herself with her hands, slowly moving forward…

“I said, you have to pay the price for your offense.”

“I, I was wrong…”

Her breathing gradually became rapid, and in front of Baron, she lowered her head…

Chapter 259: The Choice

Just as Baron and Nigel Inkster had predicted.

After entering January of 2004, the situation in Kolo took a turn for the worse…

Because the anti-government forces were blocked between the plateau area and the central area, under the sudden increase in artillery bombardment by the government forces, the Kolo government army’s air force also joined in this counterattack. Their only three helicopters and one bomber also launched airstrikes against the anti-government forces.

And Togo’s most elite Nassin Brigade, equipped with armored vehicles and light tanks, became the main force of this counterattack.

Because the previous advance had been smooth, the anti-government forces were completely unprepared for this, and were directly disrupted by this obvious premeditated counterattack.

This counterattack also became the largest loss for the anti-government forces since the Kolo civil war. According to rough statistics, the anti-government forces suffered more than 1,000 casualties.

Everyone should understand the fighting strength of the black guys. The anti-government forces, plus the additional armed personnel, totaled less than 4,000 people. With 1,000 casualties, a quarter of the total, it directly caused a large-scale rout.

And the opposing side was in high spirits, and under the continuous pursuit, the personnel of the Free Kolo Alliance who could retreat to their controlled area in the Kara region were actually less than 500 people… The rest were either captured or disappeared.

The Kolo Resistance Army was not doing any better either. The armed forces they participated in this civil war had only less than 1,000 people left.

That is, the Kolo Liberation Front located on the east bank of the Mono River. They did not encounter the main force of the government army. The approximately 1,500 armed personnel led by Sheikh Hassan, after occupying the territory on the east bank of the Mono River in the central area, and after replenishing personnel, also had nearly 1,400 people. This time they only lost more than 300 people. The remaining forces instead became the largest among the anti-government forces.

But in Sheikh Hassan’s opinion, he probably didn’t think so, because in their “strategic transfer” process, they unluckily encountered two air force fighter jets…

Although the models were old, they were still the few air forces of Kolo. One of the ground-to-air missiles hit the military vehicle Sheikh Hassan was riding in… well, not a Toyota pickup, but an armored vehicle captured by them in the central area—but this armored vehicle was indeed conspicuous among a row of Toyota pickups—Sheikh Hassan kicked the bucket on the spot.

Also, this kind of missile was indeed expensive for the government army, so they were reluctant to waste it, so after a round of attacks, the air force withdrew.

But this also caused great deterrence to the black guys of the Kolo Liberation Front, causing them to lose more than 200 people when they returned to the grasslands…

According to the analysis of the information from the Munger base, these people may have been scattered when they couldn’t help but want to help the local area “preserve” their property after passing through the Free Kolo Alliance’s controlled area…

It was also fortunate that the Free Kolo Alliance had few remaining armed personnel, otherwise the losses would have been even greater.

In the current situation, the number of armed personnel of the Kolo Liberation Front was less than 1,500, and it could be said to be uneven.

The nearly 1,000 personnel of the Protector Military Company, including 700 elite soldiers—even those local black soldiers, compared to the armed personnel of the Kolo Liberation Front, could be called elite, and had become a vital force in the Kolo Liberation Front’s territory in this grassland area.

Now the situation in Kolo was that the government army, after achieving the previous victory, had driven the anti-government forces out of the central area, but they did not stop there, but instead pushed the battlefield forward again, and began to launch a counterattack towards the “traditional sphere of influence” of the anti-government forces.

On the anti-government forces’ side, as mentioned before, the territories of the Free Kolo Alliance and the Kolo Resistance Army were adjacent to the central area, but the Kolo Liberation Front was after the two, which was equivalent to having two “meat shields.”

With the current situation of the Free Kolo Alliance and the Kolo Resistance Army, they alone did not have the confidence to withstand the government army’s attack. At this time, they had sent envoys, hoping that the Kolo Liberation Front could send troops to help them resist together, otherwise once they retreated, then the remaining Kolo Liberation Front would definitely be wiped out by the government army.

Now, there were two choices for the Protector Military Company. The first was to remain neutral.

Although it was said that the Protector Military Company’s cooperation with the Kolo Liberation Front, helping them train soldiers, had caused dissatisfaction with the government army. But after all, the Protector Military Company was a British private military company. In this conflict, it was not difficult for them to withdraw completely.

But the problem was that the two mines they currently had in hand were obtained from the Kolo Liberation Front by selling arms.

When the government army comes over and occupies these places, whether they will recognize the ownership of the West African Mining Company to these two mines, that is estimated to be not too optimistic.

Another choice was to continue to help the Kolo Liberation Front withstand the government army’s attack, and even go further, to…

You must know that in Africa, there had been cases of Western private military companies launching coups and thus controlling a country.

And with the strength of the Protector Military Company, not to mention defeating the Kolo government army on the frontal battlefield, through some strategies, or even launching a surprise attack, and thus overthrowing the current Kolo ruled by Nassin Dema, it was not impossible.

After all, if you have some understanding of the history of some African countries, then you can know that, not to mention a small country like Kolo, many large countries that were several times or even dozens or hundreds of times larger, some of the coups that they had experienced felt like playing around.

It was very likely that a coup launched by a few people, or dozens, or at most one or two hundred people, was actually successful!

For example, Libya, this “African power” whose territory was much larger than Egypt, had rich oil resources, and could be said to be fully qualified to become an African “tycoon country.”

How was the process of Gaddafi’s coup back then?

The time Gaddafi originally set for the coup was 1969. At that time, Gaddafi and his people felt that the organization had been developing for a while, and it was time to show the king a little color.

They hoped to rebel on March 21, but this plan was quickly abandoned because the Egyptian female singer Umm Kulthum came to Benghazi, Libya, to give a concert.

Uh, postponing the original planned coup time because of a concert sounds a bit like a joke, but if you see the process of his coup later, then you will feel that this is not too outrageous.

I won’t go into the details. To put it simply, Gaddafi later postponed the time of “taking action” twice for various reasons.

Finally, it was September, and the coup began.

And the process of the coup, simply put, was that the two groups of people he had arranged to support him had all gone wrong and did not act in time.

The people he led himself also got separated on the way to occupy the Benghazi radio station…

In the end, only he himself was left. Without any obstruction from the guards, he entered the radio station and announced his rebellion through the broadcast…

Such a ridiculous coup, the most outrageous thing was that it was successful. When the capital was in chaos, his subordinates actually controlled the place, and finally Gaddafi successfully took the stage.

And such a ridiculous “coup” process was not unique in Africa, it could be said to be very common.

Therefore, if the Protector Military Company wanted to do the same thing, even under a less optimistic estimate, the success rate was not low.

Of course, for the sake of “international appearance,” it was definitely impossible for them to come forward and do this kind of thing themselves. They definitely had to “help” the people of Kolo to achieve liberation.

After all, although Kolo was small in size and not conspicuous in the whole of Africa, it was still a proper UN member state, and it was also a traditional “ally” of France. Things could not be made too ugly.

Chapter 260: Digital Standards Group

Initially, Baron only planned to use the Munger base on the Kolo side as a base for his Protector Military Company.

After all, Africa had always been like this, one could say it was a “paradise for adventurers,” where many things that were inconvenient to do elsewhere could be carried out.

For example, his detention and interrogation of the “Rafael” organization; if it were in other places, there would be some concerns, but in the Munger base, he could be very at ease.

But now, with such an option appearing before him, being able to control a country to a certain extent behind the scenes, it had to be said that it was indeed very tempting for Baron.

However, temptation was one thing; even if he could achieve his desired goals, he also needed to consider more aspects of the problem.

For example, the UN, would it recognize the new government? And the French side—at this time in Kolo, it could be said that the government forces still had some cooperation with them in military terms, as could be seen from the fact that Kolo’s most elite Naxing Brigade was equipped entirely with French equipment.

Moreover, many of the mines in Kolo’s richest phosphate resources belonged to French mining companies.

Although the current France was no longer the same as before, when it didn’t pay much attention to the United States, its influence in Africa was also much weaker than before, one could say it was the “twilight of the empire.”

But it hadn’t reached the point where nearly twenty years later, Niger would stand up to France, and the other side would be helpless.

At least now, the Protector Military Company couldn’t ignore France.

Therefore, even if choosing that path, some assessments were needed to see if any unexpected situations would arise.

However, one thing that was advantageous to them was that Kolo’s capital, Loti, was located in the southernmost coastal city of the country; if they wanted to launch a surprise attack on it, it would be very convenient—this was also why Baron’s Protector Military Company had armed forces not only in Kolo but also in other places and could reach there by sea.

Otherwise, wouldn’t other anti-government armed forces have thought of directly attacking the capital? Was it because they didn’t want to?

Moreover, most of the government forces in Kolo now, especially the most elite Naxing Brigade, had been sent to the northern battlefield, and the capital was relatively empty, which provided conditions for their actions.

Of course, before that, the Protector Military Company still needed to solve the problem of being in a leading position among the anti-government armed forces—otherwise, even if the coup succeeded, they would still need to replace the government forces to eliminate other anti-government armed forces, which would be too laborious.

Another thing was to find a suitable “proxy.”

Currently, among the remaining Kolo Liberation Front, there were three candidates to choose from.

After Baron and his team’s research, they finally selected a Kolo man named Jame Bongo.

Jame Bongo could be considered one of the few highly educated talents in the Kolo Liberation Front. He had studied in Egypt and should have devoted himself to the construction of Kolo.

But because his father participated in activities against the then military government twenty years ago and was killed, he joined the Kolo Liberation Front after returning to his country. Before that, he was responsible for the civil affairs work of this anti-government armed forces’ base, and could be considered a member who had had relatively more contact with the Protector Military Company.

If things followed the normal process, then the one who would take over the leadership position of the Kolo Liberation Front should be Sheikh Hassan’s military adjutant, Sasu Bia; after all, in this kind of military organization, the military’s power was even greater.

However, Baron didn’t want a dictator to appear in Kolo in the future; he wanted to bring the dawn of “democracy” to this country—of course, this dawn needed to be under his “protection.”

Therefore, if the plan could be completed, then Kolo would hold elections, and in that case, Jame Bongo’s situation would be the easiest for the people to accept.

As for whether the other party was willing to “cooperate,” that would require examining his thoughts.

After the plan was formulated, the Munger base became busy for it.

…

After a series of negotiations, finally, the Northrock Bank, represented by Colin Hall, accepted Baron’s conditions.

The third-party institution they invited valued O2 Telecom at 11 billion pounds, exactly twice what Baron had paid to acquire the company.

Even so, according to Baron’s previous words, he needed to borrow 3 billion pounds and also needed to mortgage at least 45% of O2 Telecom’s shares…

Seeing this, Baron’s heart moved, and he proposed to mortgage 55% of O2 Telecom’s shares, but the condition was that he needed to borrow 4 billion pounds this time.

After Baron stated this condition, he keenly sensed that a look of joy flashed across Colin Hall’s eyes.

However, he still, after a moment of hesitation, agreed to Baron’s request.

This guy, indeed, had some ideas…

In the end, Baron would mortgage 55% of the O2 Telecom shares held by DS Capital to Northrock Bank, obtaining a mortgage loan of 4 billion pounds from the other party, with a term of five years and an interest rate of 3%.

Because, at Baron’s request, the repayment period of the loan was set to five years, so the original interest rate increased slightly, reaching 3%.

Regarding this… Baron was very satisfied.

The current exchange rate of the pound to the US dollar was around 1.75; before the end of this year, it would reach over 1.9, and later, at its highest, it could even exceed 2, at around 2.11.

But Baron knew that after five years, in 2009, the exchange rate of the pound to the US dollar would drop to 1.35…

No matter what tricks Colin Hall had up his sleeve to target him, at least within these five years, he wouldn’t have any problems.

As for after five years…

I’m afraid he couldn’t have imagined that he would encounter something like the subprime mortgage crisis, and Northrock Bank would be directly affected by this and be driven to bankruptcy by a run.

…

After that, Baron reorganized DS Capital.

He established the Digital Standards Group, with Baron as the president of the DS Group.

The DS Group consisted of three subsidiaries: DS Investment, DS Holdings, and DS Asset Management Company.

The CEO of DS Investment was Daisy. This was a wealth management company, divided into a proprietary trading department and a private equity department, mainly investing in the securities market.

Its private equity department included the Mars Fund, the Athena Fund, and the Zeuss Fund, which was used for high-frequency investment in cooperation with Goldman Sachs.

The CEO of DS Holdings was Amber Sheen. It was the holding company of the DS Group for its subsidiaries. The companies held by this company included the Standard Entertainment Media Group (SEM Group), holding 90% of its shares; O2 Telecom, holding 100% of its shares; Argos Retail Group, holding 75% of its shares; Manchester United Football Club, holding 100% of its shares; Woaw Technology, holding 78.5% of its shares; Skype Company, holding 60% of its shares; Asmodee Company, holding 74.35% of its shares; Sinclair Group, holding 9% of its shares; Argent Real Estate Group, holding 31% of its shares.

In addition, there were the other Chinese and American internet companies in which it had invested, including Tencent, Alibaba, Baidu, NetEase, as well as Netflix, Google, and Apple.

The CEO of DS Asset Management Company was Fino Hamilton. He was promoted from the original DS Asset Management Company after Amber Sheen took office as the CEO of DS Holdings.

DS Asset Management Company currently mainly managed real estate and the properties under Baron’s name, including the DS Financial Centre in the City of London, the Cavendish Building in the Soho district of London, the SEM Building in Canary Wharf, the Cavendish King’s Building in King’s Cross, London, and the O2 Building, and also the properties of the Devonshire Chelsea Hotel.

Also, there were Baron’s residences in London, including the villa in Kensington, the villa in Regent’s Park, The Holme, and the two residences inherited from Lady Emma, located in London and Scotland respectively, and the penthouse mansion in the Woolworth Building in New York.

It was worth mentioning that the Protector Military Service Company, which was originally wholly owned by DS Capital, had been transferred to the control of an offshore company, and from a superficial perspective, it no longer had any relationship with the DS Group.

Chapter 261: F1 Group

As for the industries in Kolo, Baron specifically registered an offshore company called West Africa Industrial Holding Co., Ltd., which held the shares of Protector Military Services Company and West Africa Mining.

In Northern Ireland, Protector Security Company was held 60% by DS Holdings and 40% by Protector Military Services Company, which appeared to be a collaborative company between the two parties.

Speaking of Protector Military Services Company, they had already contacted Jame Bongou at the Munger Base. Under the temptation of wielding power, although he knew that he would only be a puppet of Protector Military Services Company, Jame Bongou readily agreed to cooperate with them.

After all, the struggle for power had always been ruthless. After the death of Sheikh Hassan, the only figures of considerable prestige within the Kolo Liberation Front were Sheikh Hassan’s adjutant, Sasu Biya, and himself. However, the problem was that Sasu Biya had always been in the military, giving him a greater advantage compared to him.

But the problem was that Jame knew Sasu Biya very well. He wasn’t very broad-minded, and they had had conflicts over some financial issues before. So, it was easy to imagine that if he came to power, he himself would definitely not have a good ending.

So, cooperating with Protector Military Services Company, on the one hand, at least on the surface, he could have power, and according to their words, it was also very likely that he would become the president of Kolo after the coup.

On the other hand, it was also for Jame’s self-preservation. He now had a family, had children, and couldn’t help but consider these things.

So, the next steps were logical. Under the arrangements of Protector Military Services Company, Sasu Biya died from a “stray bullet” in a conflict with the Free Kolo Alliance. Jame, with their support, quickly seized control of the army and became the new leader of the Kolo Liberation Front.

As mentioned before, when the soldiers of the Kolo Liberation Front retreated from the front lines in the Central District to the Grassland District, they clashed with two other anti-government armed forces over the spoils of war. This caused the original number of over 1,200 soldiers of the Kolo Liberation Front to dwindle to just over 1,000 after returning to the Grassland District.

Sasu Biya was among these soldiers at the time. He was already somewhat resentful. His unit was ambushed in that conflict, and he fled in a rather sorry state.

And now that the leader of the Kolo Liberation Front, Sheikh Hassan, was dead, he, in order to compete for the leadership position, definitely hoped to control the military power.

Therefore, taking advantage of this matter, he led his subordinates to first fight a battle with the Free Kolo Alliance – in his opinion, the Free Kolo Alliance needed to deal with the government forces in the south, and the remaining forces were not many. He seized this opportunity, under the name of “revenge,” to first achieve a victory. This would consolidate his prestige within the Kolo Liberation Front, thereby controlling the military power and taking the position of leader.

He had planned everything very well, but he did not anticipate the “stray bullet”…

After Sasu Biya’s death, the Kolo Liberation Front, with a superior force but without any command, retreated.

Their total force once again fell below 1,000.

At this time, Jame Bongou, who had the support of the Munger Base, smoothly took control of the Kolo Liberation Front’s power and became the leader of this armed force.

After becoming the leader of the Kolo Liberation Front, Jame appointed Markel Paulson, the person in charge of the Munger Base, as the military advisor of the Kolo Liberation Front, taking over the military power of this armed force.

Next, Markel Paulson quickly reorganized the remaining soldiers of the Kolo Liberation Front, removing the old, weak, sick, and disabled, leaving behind more than 800 strong and healthy men.

Then, the 300 local black soldiers originally employed by the Munger Base were also added to the Kolo Liberation Front, and most of them took up the positions of junior officers in this military force.

Among these 300 black soldiers, the best performer with certain military qualities, Haftar, was appointed as the brigade commander of this troop – well, according to Markel Paulson’s plan, these soldiers of the Kolo Liberation Front could only form a brigade, no more.

Of course, such actions would definitely touch the interests of certain officers of the original Kolo Liberation Front, especially some who were once confidants of Sheikh Hassan and Sasu Biya.

However, these black guys didn’t have much cunning, and there was no such thing as enduring hardships to achieve a goal; they immediately started making trouble.

So, after a “friendly negotiation,” these troublemakers were quickly cleared out.

At this point, Protector Military Services Company completely controlled the armed forces of the Kolo Liberation Front, while Jame Bongou became the nominal leader of the Kolo Liberation Front.

Next, according to the plan, they began to split into two groups.

Markel Paulson’s side helped Haftar begin to reorganize and train the soldiers.

On the other side, 100 elite soldiers selected from the Munger Base and the 300 black soldiers they had previously employed, plus 10 special operations team members – by now, the most elite special operations team members of Protector Military Services Company had expanded to 10 people – began to rehearse the “coup.”

They started to conduct targeted exercises based on the information they obtained, including the map of the capital, Loti, and the floor plan of the Presidential Palace.

…

After Pioneer Sports Company acquired 75% of the shares of SLEC Company, Lehman Brothers Bank and JP Morgan Chase Bank, which held the remaining 25% of the shares, could finally no longer sit still.

After they condemned Bernie and Pioneer Sports Company for their “unethical” sneak attack, they finally recognized the reality and began to sit down to negotiate the handling of these 25% of SLEC Company’s shares…

Lehman Brothers Bank and JP Morgan Chase Bank claimed that in 2000, Bernie had sold 75% of SLEC Company’s shares to the German Kirch Group for 1.6 billion US dollars. Therefore, if they wanted to buy their 25% shares, according to the price of over 1 billion pounds at the time, they should at least offer 350 million pounds to purchase them.

But Bernie simply ignored their claims. They wanted to make a profit from him through the exchange rate, right? At the time, the exchange rate of the pound to the US dollar was 1.5, and now it was almost 1.8.

Furthermore, he himself had only asked for 200 million pounds for selling 25% of the shares, so how could he give the Americans more?

In any case, at most 200 million to buy your shares, of course, you don’t have to sell them, just keep them, and we’ll see if you can make money from it…

You must know that Pioneer Sports Company now controlled 75% of SLEC Company’s shares. They controlled the company and had countless ways to transfer the profits that should have belonged to SLEC Company.

If it were someone else, they might be bound by their reputation and wouldn’t make it too ugly, but if it was Bernie Ecclestone, it was really hard to say.

Moreover, the two American banks, as creditors after the bankruptcy of the Kirch Group, had obtained these shares at a very low price. Therefore, after some entanglement, they finally had to agree to sell their SLEC Company shares for 200 million pounds.

In this way, Pioneer Sports Company finally completely acquired SLEC Company, which held the 100-year operating rights of the F1 race.

After completing this transaction, they changed the name of SLEC Company to Formula One Group, or F1 Group for short.

After all, the original name of SLEC was Slavica Ecclestone Corp., where Slavica was the name of Bernie Ecclestone’s wife. After being acquired by Pioneer Sports, this company name was no longer suitable.

Of course, those who have contributed should be rewarded. According to the private agreement between Baron and Bernie Ecclestone, after he helped Pioneer Sports Company complete the acquisition of SLEC Company, in addition to receiving 200 million pounds for purchasing his 25% shares, he would also receive 10% of the shares of the acquired company.

Therefore, in addition to serving as the CEO of F1 Group, Bernie would also receive 10% of the shares of this company, otherwise he would not have been able to sell his shares to Pioneer Sports for the “low price” of 200 million US dollars so decisively in the first place.

Chapter 262: Hock Tan

“I’ve been in contact with the management of Marconi Corporation, but it seems that their board of directors isn’t showing much enthusiasm for selling the company, even though we’ve increased the acquisition price to 750 million pounds.”

Amber Sheen, who was already the CEO of DS Holdings, said to Baron:

“Although Marconi’s performance hasn’t been great in recent years, especially compared to other telecommunications equipment manufacturers, more than half of their revenue still comes from the UK, but they are still the largest telecommunications equipment manufacturer in the UK and can secure some orders.”

After mortgaging 4 billion pounds to Northern Rock Bank, besides using 3 billion pounds to repay the high-interest financing from Barclays Bank and Goldman Sachs Group, there was still 1 billion pounds remaining. Next, Baron was preparing to make another acquisition, and this time the target was Marconi Corporation.

Marconi Corporation was originally formed by the merger of Marconi Wireless Telegraph Company, English Electric Company, and General Electric Company.

Marconi Wireless Telegraph Company was founded in 1897, originally named Marconi Wireless Telegraph and Signal Company, and was the first company in the UK specializing in the manufacture of wireless equipment. In 1922, it created the famous British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) – of course, the BBC later became independent and became a public institution.

Currently, Marconi Corporation mainly operates communication and IT businesses, with three divisions: the Communications Division, which mainly focuses on communication networks and mobile communication businesses, with branches in Italy and the United States in addition to its UK headquarters.

Marconi Corporation currently has 56,000 employees. In 2001, their sales revenue reached 6.942 billion pounds, with research and development expenditure of 669 million pounds and a profit of 807 million pounds. Sales and profits increased by 21% and 7.6% respectively compared to 2000.

However, since 2001, with the overall downturn in the telecommunications industry and the intensification of competition, Marconi Corporation, which did not have a large-scale effect, saw its business decline, and its total assets were severely reduced.

Even after cutting expenses, Marconi Corporation was also considering large-scale layoffs.

However, it seems that even now, they still don’t want to be acquired.

The reason why he wanted to acquire this company was mainly because Baron hoped to expand the business of O2 Telecom, increase the research and development of communication technology and equipment, and be able to cooperate with companies such as Huawei to develop the next generation of 4G networks.

It’s just that it seems now, compared to the situation when Marconi Corporation was acquired in his previous life, Marconi Corporation still has more hope.

In his previous life, in 2005, Marconi Corporation was put up for sale. Huawei offered 682 million pounds to acquire the company, but it was eventually snatched by Ericsson with 1.3 billion pounds, almost double that price…

By that time, Marconi Corporation was already in dire straits, and selling was inevitable.

Although as a long-established British telecommunications equipment manufacturer, it was once glorious, under the influence of increasingly fierce competition in the global telecommunications market, Marconi Corporation, which lacked economies of scale, could no longer adapt to the laws of market competition, and has been in a state of poor management in recent years, relying on the local market to eke out a living.

And when in early 2005, British Telecom (BT) announced the list of its “21st Century Network Preferred Suppliers” plan and the tender contract with a total value of 146.6 billion US dollars, Marconi Corporation was greatly disappointed, because they could be said to have been completely frustrated in this tender!

This not only caused Marconi Corporation to lose nearly half of its revenue sources, but more importantly, Marconi lost the meaning of continuing to exist as an independent telecommunications equipment supplier.

Under the influence of the double collapse of the global market and the local market, Marconi’s financial situation deteriorated sharply. Subsequently, Marconi’s financial report showed their continuous losses, and they finally had to sell to seek survival.

So it seems that now is not the right opportunity to acquire Marconi Corporation, unless Baron gives them a price they can’t refuse.

But the value of this company to Baron wasn’t worth him paying too much of a premium to acquire it.

Acquiring a company also requires looking at the timing. Often when many companies conduct mergers and acquisitions, it’s when the other party’s market value is at a low point, and it’s a good complement to their own business, or the other party has a synergistic effect with their own business.

When a company is doing well, few people are willing to be acquired. Those acquisitions require paying a very high premium.

However, Baron wasn’t in a hurry. He said to Amber:

“Raise the offer to 800 million pounds. If they still can’t accept it, then forget it.”

Because he knew that there was another good opportunity coming soon.

……

It was already approaching February, and Baron once again took the Gulfstream G450 to the United States.

“Hello, Mr. Chen, I’m very happy to meet you today.”

“Your Grace, the Duke of Cavendish, to be honest, I’m still very curious about today’s meeting. In addition, I must say, your Mandarin is excellent.”

“Haha, you’re not the first person to praise me like that, but I’m still very happy. As for the purpose of inviting you here today, it’s because I have a position that I think is very suitable for you…”

In front of Baron was a Chinese man with some graying hair. His name was Hock Tan, and his Chinese name was Chen Fuyang.

From his English name, one can tell that Chen Fuyang is from Fujian, because Tan is often the English spelling of “Chen” in the Hokkien dialect.

In fact, in the West, not only foreigners, but also many Chinese people are easily confused by different translations of the same surname.

Take the simple surname “Chen” for example. If you speak Mandarin, you would generally use Chen as your English surname; if it’s the Cantonese habit of Guangdong Province, it’s often written as Chan, such as the kung fu superstar Jackie Chan; if it’s a Hokkien translation, it’s Tan; if it’s Hakka, it’s often Gin…

Chen Fuyang, is 51 years old this year, born in Penang, Malaysia, which is a gathering place for Chinese people. Later, at the age of 18, he went to the United States to study and holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in mechanical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, as well as an MBA from Harvard Business School.

After graduation, he joined traditional American giants such as General Motors and PepsiCo, and held senior management positions.

Then Chen Fuyang served as Managing Director at Hume Industries and Pacven Investment, a Singaporean venture capital fund.

After leaving Pacven Investment, he also joined Commodore International, a home computer manufacturer, where Chen Fuyang served as Vice President of the company, mainly responsible for financial business.

In August 1994, Chen Fuyang joined Integrated Circuit Systems Inc. (ICS), a semiconductor solutions company, and successively held the positions of Senior Vice President, CFO, COO, President, and CEO of the company.

Yes, he was the President and CEO of ICS at this time.

If one knew that ICS would be acquired by Silicon Valley semiconductor company IDT for 1.7 billion US dollars in just over a year, then one would know that ICS was not small in scale.

It can be said that 51-year-old Chen Fuyang was already successful. He was curious, what was the purpose of this young British Duke’s meeting with him this time?

After all, from the current point of view, this young Duke also has a great reputation in the United States, and has numerous industries under his umbrella, but they have nothing to do with the work he is currently engaged in.

Chapter 263: Bulldog

If you just looked at Chen Fuyang’s appearance, he was quite distinctive. In his previous life, he had a nickname, which was “Bulldog”. To be honest, he did resemble one in terms of looks.

However, when he was mentioned, the impression in the industry was that of a ruthless “capital predator”.

You could tell from Chen Fuyang’s resume that he had experience as a senior executive in an investment company, and he was also the Vice President in charge of financial affairs at Commodore International.

Just like how he later led that semiconductor company to a successful IPO in the United States, and then, through repeated, steady, and ruthless acquisitions, he became the world’s fifth-largest semiconductor company after Intel, Samsung, TSMC, and Qualcomm, with its business spanning various fields such as smartphones, set-top boxes, and wireless WiFi-related chips.

In short, companies he set his sights on would eventually be acquired by him.

It was precisely this point that made Barron value this Chinese executive, who was already over 50 years old.

“Mr. Chen, there’s an investment company, and I hope you can become the person in charge…”

Before meeting Barron, Chen Fuyang had also considered the possibility he mentioned, which was headhunting. After all, with his current qualifications, there were quite a few companies that contacted him directly or through headhunting firms every year.

However, when he heard Barron mention the name of that company, he was still a little puzzled…

Rich23 Capital?

From the information Barron gave him, Chen Fuyang learned that this investment company had only made one move so far, which was that its subsidiary, Pioneer Sports, had acquired the F1 racing company, the original SLEC company, which was now renamed F1 Group.

This acquisition was arguably one of the biggest news stories of the year, after all, the F1 racing event itself had considerable influence worldwide, and its acquisition by such an unknown company still surprised many people.

But…

He had absolutely no experience in the sports industry!

Seeing the look of confusion on the other person’s face, Barron said with a smile:

“Actually, Rich23 Capital’s other businesses won’t take up too much of your energy. The most important thing is that I hope you can help me complete the next acquisition. I plan to acquire Agilent Technologies’ semiconductor business.”

Agilent Technologies?

Chen Fuyang, who was in the semiconductor industry, couldn’t have not heard of this company. It was originally spun off from Hewlett-Packard in 1999. This company’s semiconductor business was much larger than the ICS he was currently in.

“Semiconductor business? With all due respect, Mr. Cavendish, your previous business didn’t involve this industry. Why do you suddenly want to acquire it?”

“It’s simple. I believe that the next two or three decades will be the era of mobile communications and related network technologies, so I bought O2 Telecom, invested in companies like Apple and Google, and the related hardware, the semiconductor business is an important part of it.”

Barron was very satisfied with Chen Fuyang’s surprised expression. He said calmly:

“Mr. Chen, I will not only give you a better salary and benefits than you have now, but I will also give you the greatest power. In the semiconductor business, I hope you can help me build a semiconductor empire.”

“But buying Agilent’s semiconductor business won’t be easy. Even if I make a simple estimate, it will require more than 2 billion US dollars…”

Barron had anticipated this. In his previous life, the private equity firms KKR and Silver Lake Partners acquired Agilent Technologies’ semiconductor business, which was renamed Avago Technologies, for 2.66 billion US dollars in 2005.

At that time, they hired Chen Fuyang as the CEO of the company. The latter, with his outstanding business management abilities, successfully led Avago to list on NASDAQ in 2009.

The semiconductor industry is very interesting, with a very obvious cyclical nature, often with a cycle of three to four years. At the peak, the market value of a company can increase several times, and at the trough, it will also fall by more than 50% compared to before.

And now, in 2004, it was exactly after the last trough, when the semiconductor market had fallen to the bottom. Therefore, if they were to acquire Agilent Technologies’ semiconductor business now, it would be far less than the price of 2.66 billion US dollars in the original timeline of 2005, about 2 billion US dollars would be enough.

“That’s not a problem, Mr. Chen, I forgot to tell you, Rich23 Capital’s account currently has 2 billion pounds in funds.”

“I need to think about it…”

“No problem, Mr. Chen, I await your reply.”

As for revealing this to him, what if he didn’t agree?

Besides Barron’s confidence that Chen Fuyang wouldn’t refuse the opportunity to control a more powerful semiconductor company, before they had this conversation, the other party had also signed a confidentiality agreement.

The most important thing was that, having reached Chen Fuyang’s current position, he should understand what things should be kept secret.

…

“Are you done talking, darling?”

“Yes, baby, let’s go for a walk.”

The climate in Los Angeles is mild, with sunshine all year round, and it’s much warmer than London.

However, February here is the wettest time of the year, with more rain.

It was a rare good day this year, and after Barron put Rebecca’s coat on, he took her hand and walked onto the beach outside.

Rebecca’s due date was in April, just over two months from now.

Therefore, along the way, they not only didn’t walk fast, but Barron also kept an eye on Rebecca’s condition.

This also made her chuckle:

“You don’t have to be so nervous, darling, my mom usually takes me out for a walk when the weather is good.”

But seeing Barron’s current appearance, she still felt very sweet.

Although they often only saw each other every two or three months, Rebecca usually paid close attention to Barron’s news, knowing that his business was getting bigger and bigger, and that he would be busy, which she could understand.

Even many times, she would explain a lot for Barron in front of her mother.

And all of this, after seeing him, was just happiness.

It has to be said that, although in their situation, Rebecca would not be the woman standing in the sunshine.

But when she first met Barron, it could really be called love at first sight, and now he could guarantee that she would live the best life.

Rebecca’s parents divorced when she was very young, which made her not so yearning for marriage herself. Now, she felt that this was actually not bad.

After staying in Los Angeles for another two or three days, Barron also met with Schwarzenegger during this time.

Now, this “Terminator” had already taken office as the governor of California, and the matter he had asked him to take care of before, which was the lawsuit involving the Skype team, had also been resolved. In the end, Barron offered 15 million US dollars to reach a settlement with those copyright holders. They would no longer pursue the Skype team’s responsibility in this matter, but would instead sue the current owner of the Kaaza software.

Before Barron left Los Angeles, Chen Fuyang also gave his reply.

He did not disappoint Barron, he agreed to join Rich23 Capital and become the CEO of this investment company.

And after he took office, the first thing he would do was to go to Agilent Technologies and represent Rich23 Capital to acquire their semiconductor business.

Such a business was not unfamiliar to him, especially after knowing that Rich23 Capital had sufficient funds, Chen Fuyang seemed to be very confident.

Chapter 264: A Delight to See

“What are you thinking about?”

Ivanka embraced Baron from behind, resting her head on his broad back, and asked.

“You’re up? Just looking down from here, the world feels so small.”

Pennsylvania was right next to New York State. Ivanka, who was studying in Philadelphia, could easily come to New York to meet with Baron.

Last night, the girl was so excited that she told Baron about her experience representing IC Capital in investing in MySpace.

Although her actions were still a bit green, it could be seen that Ivanka was indeed very talented in these areas.

Of course, to reward her for this achievement, Baron had spent a very good time with her last night…

“What should we do next?”

Baron knew that what Ivanka was talking about was the matter of IC Capital.

“We don’t need to do anything for now, just wait.”

“Wait?”

“Yes, with the current prospects of social network development, giants will soon become interested in this field. Currently, the more representative Woaw Technology is definitely impossible to be acquired, so MySpace has become their most suitable target.”

“However, the gap between MySpace and Woaw is still too big. Although they have broken through 3 million users through recent marketing after getting funding, the volume is still too small compared to Woaw’s users.”

Faced with Ivanka’s questions, Baron patiently explained to her that Woaw and MySpace had different positioning, and finally said:

“Woaw will not easily change its concise interface style, so it focuses more on the personalized youth group, and most of them will choose the MySpace platform. Moreover, after Woaw has ignited the demand for social networks, the development of MySpace will also enter the fast lane. With the recovery of the entire internet industry, many traditional media giants will start to focus here, so MySpace has a great opportunity.”

…

The location of Zeuss Investment Company was less than 100 meters in a straight line from the New York Stock Exchange.

For the speed of high-frequency trading, they had specially connected a high-speed fiber optic cable to the New York Stock Exchange.

Being able to do this was also a manifestation of the energy of Goldman Sachs Group, another shareholder of this company. It had to be said that before the subprime mortgage crisis, Goldman Sachs Group was still very powerful.

By February, Zeuss Fund had officially started high-frequency trading. Their starting capital was 1 billion US dollars, and according to the shareholding ratio, DS Investment Company invested 600 million US dollars in it.

The current operating effect was still good. Zeuss Fund’s technical team had been closely monitoring the operation of the high-frequency trading program during this initial period, always ready to deal with problems as soon as they occurred.

“Congratulations, Mr. Blankfein, Goldman Sachs has made the right choice.”

“Thank you, Your Grace, I believe our cooperation will become closer and closer.”

After going to Zeuss Investment Company, Baron met Lloyd Blankfein, the new CEO of Goldman Sachs Group. He became the new leader of Goldman Sachs Group in December of last year, after the retirement of the former CEO of Goldman Sachs Group.

The last time he saw him was at a banquet held by Goldman Sachs Group. At that time, Lloyd was not at an advantage in the competition for the successor of Goldman Sachs Group.

With Baron’s initiative to show goodwill, his relationship with Lloyd had always been good, although they rarely met, they often had phone calls.

After Lloyd Blankfein took over the position of CEO of Goldman Sachs Group, Baron also called him immediately to congratulate him.

So far, Baron had become one of the most important partners of Goldman Sachs Group, so anyone sitting in the CEO position, including Lloyd Blankfein, would not ignore him.

Of course, both of them could be said to be extremely busy, so this meeting would not be just casual chatting.

“What I want to know is, Your Grace, do you want to simply invest in Standard Chartered Bank, or are you planning to control this bank?”

“If possible, of course, I hope to be able to control it, but at least I have to get enough shares. After all, I am very patient with this bank.”

What they were talking about was Standard Chartered Bank, which was often called Standard Chartered Bank in China, one of the three major note-issuing banks in Hong Kong, with its headquarters in London.

Overseas, it is generally called Standard Chartered Bank because it was formed in 1969 by the merger of two British overseas banks, the Standard Bank of British South Africa and the Chartered Bank of India, Australia and China.

Today, Standard Chartered Bank is a world-leading commercial bank with strong strength in Asia, the Middle East, and Africa.

It has 30,000 employees and over 500 branches in more than 50 countries and regions, with its main business in the Asia-Pacific region, South Asia, the Middle East, and the Americas, these emerging markets, while it does not have many customers in Britain.

In addition, Standard Chartered Bank has the right to issue banknotes in Hong Kong, South Africa, Malaysia, and other places.

Since 1999, Standard Chartered Bank has successively completed the acquisition of shares in Nakornthorn Bank of Thailand and Grindlays Bank.

The most recent acquisition by Standard Chartered Bank was on January 10 of this year, when it reached an agreement with Newbridge Holdings Private Limited, an American investment group, to acquire all the shares of South Korea’s First Bank.

“If that’s the case, then now is a very good opportunity, Your Grace, but there are also many competitors.”

“That’s why I need your help, Mr. Blankfein.”

“As an old friend, we will do our best to help you get the shares in Mr. Quek’s hands. After all, we don’t want it to fall into the hands of competitors.”

Lloyd raised the wine glass in his hand, clinked glasses with Baron, and said with a smile.

The Mr. Quek they were talking about referred to Quek Leng Chan, the largest individual shareholder of Standard Chartered Bank and the richest man in Singapore.

In 2003, Quek Leng Chan was named the richest man in Singapore by Forbes magazine, with an estimated total wealth of US$2.6 billion.

As early as 1986, Lloyds Bank of Britain launched a hostile takeover of Standard Chartered Bank. Quek Leng Chan, a businessman from Singapore, and Sir Y.K. Pao, the “Shipping King” from Hong Kong, and Robert Holmes, an Australian businessman, became the “white knights” of Standard Chartered Bank. They defeated Lloyds Bank with a bid of 1.3 billion pounds at the time, and acquired a total of 37% of Standard Chartered Bank’s shares, successfully preventing Lloyds Bank from acquiring Standard Chartered Bank.

Quek Leng Chan thus became the largest shareholder, and because of his meritorious defense, he was awarded the title of knight by the British government.

Now, Quek Leng Chan still holds 13.5% of Standard Chartered Bank’s shares, making him the largest individual shareholder of the bank.

Due to health reasons, Quek Leng Chan had been in seclusion for several years, but he had always received offers for his shares in Standard Chartered Bank.

In the eyes of many consortia hoping to acquire Standard Chartered Bank, Quek Leng Chan was the “biggest obstacle to acquiring this bank.”

However, recently, there were reports that Quek Leng Chan’s health was not good, which also made many acquirers eager to try.

This was why Lloyd said that now was the “best opportunity,” and that “there are also many competitors.”

Because the current public reports list the names of those interested in Quek Leng Chan’s shares in Standard Chartered Bank, including Barclays Bank, Citigroup, JP Morgan Chase, and DBS Bank of Singapore.

It was also for this reason that Baron bypassed Barclays Bank this time and directly prepared to acquire Standard Chartered Bank’s shares with Goldman Sachs Group.

Those consortia hoping to acquire Standard Chartered Bank’s shares all valued its business in emerging regions such as Asia, Africa, and South America. Acquiring Standard Chartered Bank could supplement their own business.

And for Goldman Sachs Group, many of Standard Chartered Bank’s businesses overlapped with theirs, so Goldman Sachs Group did not need to acquire Standard Chartered Bank.

This was why Baron would cooperate with Goldman Sachs Group and let them help him with the acquisition.

At the same time, Goldman Sachs Group was also happy to do so. Besides making commissions in this process, avoiding Standard Chartered Bank falling into the hands of competitors including Citigroup and JP Morgan Chase was also a delight to see.

Chapter 265: Beginning the Operation

Compared to Goldman Sachs Group, Barron had more information about this.

Because he knew that in the original timeline, on February 22nd of this year, Quek Leng Chan would unexpectedly pass away due to a sudden heart attack. After his death, his children were not as keen on continuing to hold shares in Standard Chartered Bank as Quek Leng Chan was, which made the sale of these shares possible.

It really caused a wave of speculation at the time.

And indeed, in 2006, these shares were acquired by Temasek Holdings, a Singaporean sovereign wealth fund.

Currently, Standard Chartered Bank is listed on both the London and Hong Kong stock exchanges, with a total market capitalization of approximately 6.6 billion US dollars. Based on this calculation, Quek Leng Chan’s 13.5% stake in Standard Chartered Bank was worth about 900 million US dollars.

By 2006, when Temasek acquired these shares, their market value had already reached 4 billion US dollars.

From this, one could also see the future potential of Standard Chartered Bank.

The 4 billion pound loan DS Capital had obtained from Northern Rock Bank, after repaying the 3 billion financing from Barclays Bank and Goldman Sachs Group, still had 1 billion pounds remaining, equivalent to approximately 1.75 billion US dollars. Apart from investing 600 million US dollars into the Zeuss Fund, they currently had over 1.15 billion US dollars in funds.

Originally, DS Capital was planning to acquire Marconi Corporation, the largest communications manufacturer in the United Kingdom, but unfortunately, the company once again rejected their offer of 800 million pounds.

Therefore, Barron had already taken out a portion of these funds and started buying Standard Chartered Bank’s outstanding shares on the London Stock Exchange.

In the next two years, because of the successful management of the bank by David, who was the Chief Executive Officer of Standard Chartered Bank at the time, Standard Chartered Bank developed rapidly.

Its market capitalization would soar from the current approximately 6.6 billion US dollars to nearly 30 billion US dollars – of course, because Standard Chartered Bank was primarily listed on the London Stock Exchange, its market capitalization also benefited greatly from the rise in the exchange rate of the pound against the US dollar, when priced in US dollars.

But it had to be admitted that even if they couldn’t ultimately complete the acquisition of Standard Chartered Bank, even as a financial investment, the increase in its market value would be completely satisfactory.

As of now, Barron’s DS Capital had already used 150 million US dollars, at an average price of 5.84 US dollars, to purchase approximately 25.685 million shares of Standard Chartered Bank, accounting for 2.27% of its total share capital.

Next, his goal was to acquire the 13.5% stake in Standard Chartered Bank held by Quek Leng Chan, the richest man in Singapore.

In this regard, Barron also had a contingency plan: even if this acquisition failed, he would continue to acquire Standard Chartered Bank’s shares from other shareholders, and he might even try to become the largest shareholder of Standard Chartered Bank by financing from Goldman Sachs Group, thereby bringing this bank under his control.

In fact, as an investment group, DS Group had always lacked its own financing channels, and Barron also hoped to make up for this shortcoming by acquiring Standard Chartered Bank.

Just like Barclays Bank, Goldman Sachs Group, and Northern Rock Bank, the reason they could provide DS Capital with so many loans and financing was because these banks themselves could absorb a large amount of funds through deposits and other means.

And the interest they needed to pay on these funds was much lower than the interest on loans and financing.

This was equivalent to them obtaining “financial leverage” through deposits, and by lending, they could obtain the interest rate spread and easily make money.

This was also why, later on, including China, the global internet giants couldn’t help but get involved in financial businesses; making money this way was really too easy.

Goldman Sachs Group was also very enthusiastic about Barron’s “major business” of acquiring Standard Chartered Bank.

The Quek Leng Chan family was involved in banking business, and had many dealings with Goldman Sachs Group, so he said that he would personally come forward to create an opportunity for Barron to meet with Mr. Quek Leng Chan.

…

Just as Barron was meeting with Lloyd Blankfein, the CEO of Goldman Sachs Group, the atmosphere on a small island far away in West Africa was extremely solemn.

This was an uninhabited small island less than 10 nautical miles from the capital of Kolo, Loti.

One day earlier, a passing cargo ship had delivered more than a hundred people to this island.

Yes, these were the soldiers of the Kolo Liberation Front and the special operations team members who were about to participate in the coup in the capital of Kolo.

Among them, there was also a special member, the leader of the Kolo Liberation Front, Jame Bongou. He would also participate in this coup under the protection of the soldiers and give a public speech after its success.

It could be said that Jame Bongou was also going all out this time.

In fact, he wouldn’t be in too much danger this time, because for this operation, Barron had specifically purchased two CH-47 Chinook heavy-lift transport helicopters from the US military in Iraq.

The CH-47 Chinook heavy-lift transport helicopter was a very well-known military helicopter in the US military, which had been in service in the US military since 1962, and by now, it had been in service for over 40 years.

However, starting this year, all US military CH-47 Chinook helicopters would begin to be decommissioned. This was also the reason why Barron could purchase this heavy-lift transport helicopter in the name of Protector Military Services Company.

The reason they waited until now to start the operation was not only because they needed to continuously weaken the strength of the other two anti-government armed forces in the grassland area of the Kolo Liberation Front, but also to wait for these two transport helicopters to arrive in West Africa.

Under normal circumstances, a CH-47 Chinook helicopter could easily accommodate 30 fully armed US soldiers.

However, in Africa, they didn’t need to be so particular. By squeezing a bit, two CH-47 Chinook helicopters could transport more than 100 people at once, which was still no problem.

And after confirming that the soldiers had controlled the situation in the capital, the CH-47 Chinook helicopters would pick up Jame Bongou and his “security personnel” to go to Loti City together. Therefore, overall, although there was a slight risk, Jame’s safety was basically guaranteed.

After getting enough rest, at five o’clock in the morning, the soldiers of the Kolo Liberation Front and the special operations team members, carrying weapons and equipment, began to board the two CH-47 Chinook helicopters.

The helicopters took off and began to fly towards the coastline of the capital, which was several nautical miles away.

Before this, relevant intelligence personnel had already entered Loti City and grasped some basic intelligence.

According to their information, the President of Kolo, Nasing Dema, and his family were in the Presidential Palace that night.

This “coup” could be considered smooth, although there were a few minor issues, there were no major omissions.

After all, a small African country like Kolo, whether it was the capital or the security forces of the Presidential Palace, couldn’t be said to be very strict, especially when the elite troops had already gone to the northern front.

Nasing Dema couldn’t have predicted that the anti-government armed forces in the north would cross the entire border and come to the southernmost capital to cause trouble.

The truth was also like this; without the resources of Protector Military Services Company, those anti-government armed forces would find it difficult to get the facilities and equipment to attack the capital from the sea…

Chapter 266: Transition

“I now declare on behalf of the Kolo Liberation Front that we have overthrown the nearly 40-year dictatorship of Nassin Dema in Kolo. Kolo will usher in true democracy and freedom, and power will return to the people. However, to prevent a backlash from reactionary forces, we will dissolve the government, suspend the constitution, and close the borders. The Kolo Liberation Front will organize a transitional government, and a national election will be held in two months, where the people will elect our government. During this period, any unauthorized entry into Kolo will be considered a hostile act.”

On February 5th, all television programs across Kolo began broadcasting the coup declaration personally read by Jame Bongo.

The day before, 100 elite soldiers of the Kolo Liberation Front and members of the special operations team, transported by two CH47 Chinook helicopters, entered Kolo’s capital, Lotti.

There, they were met by intelligence personnel who had been secretly stationed in the capital. The soldiers of the Kolo Liberation Front, under the leadership of the special operations team, directly attacked the Presidential Palace.

Because the operation began in the early morning hours, the capital’s defense forces were mostly still asleep and were unable to organize an effective defense.

In addition, they brought abundant and comprehensive weapons and equipment, so the soldiers advanced straight in, and in less than an hour, they had already occupied the Presidential Palace.

Nassin Dema died from stray bullets during this process, and his family was also largely affected by the conflict.

After occupying the Presidential Palace, some soldiers went to the military camp, controlled most of the guard officers, and took over control of the capital’s army, sealing off the entire capital and declaring martial law, prohibiting anyone from leaving their homes.

Currently, Kolo has a total population of around 7 million people, and the capital, Lotti, is its largest city, with over 2 million people residing there.

Therefore, controlling Lotti essentially meant taking control of the entire country.

At this time, the CH47 Chinook helicopter also brought Jame Bongo to Lotti, where he announced the success of the coup and the government’s policies for the future on Kolo Television, representing the Kolo Liberation Front.

Almost all the families of the government army officers were in Lotti, so after Lotti was occupied by the Kolo Liberation Front, they also easily took over control of the government army.

After all, in Africa, coups were nothing new. No matter who was in power, someone still needed to be in the army. These soldiers and officers only needed to pledge their allegiance, and they didn’t worry about their future, it was just a matter of changing who they served.

Then, under the combined attack of the Kolo Liberation Front and the government army, a large-scale offensive was launched, directly clearing out the Free Kolo Alliance and the Kolo Resistance Army, the two anti-government armed groups, and within a week, they controlled the entire territory of Kolo.

Based on the Kolo Liberation Front, absorbing some former government personnel, Jame Bongo formed the Kolo People’s Party and used it to establish the Kolo transitional government, announcing that they would participate in the Kolo national election in two months, so that the people could elect a new Kolo government.

All previous armed forces, including the Kolo Liberation Front and the government army, were reorganized by military advisor Markel Paulson.

Speaking of which, Kolo is just a small West African country, and its land area is not even half that of China’s Zhejiang Province. The countries bordering it are all much larger. Overall, Kolo’s presence is not very strong, even in Africa.

Therefore, the coup that occurred in Kolo was not even mentioned in the news of many Western countries.

The first to react to their country’s coup was the Economic Community of West African States, an economic alliance composed of 15 West African countries, of which Kolo was a founding member. Currently, within this economic community, including Kolo, they use a unified currency: the West African Franc.

Therefore, the Economic Community of West African States was the first to react to Kolo’s coup.

In addition, there was the African Union, which, along with the Economic Community of West African States, sent special envoys to contact Jame Bongo.

During this call, Jame reiterated that their previous goal was to end Nassin Dema’s dictatorship over Kolo, that a national election would be held in Kolo to decide Kolo’s future, and that he welcomed these two African organizations to send people to witness it.

The African Union and the Economic Community of West African States were relatively satisfied with his statement and indicated that they would immediately send delegations to Kolo, hoping that a humanitarian disaster would not occur there.

Besides them, the other party that was very concerned about Kolo’s coup was France.

After all, before independence, Kolo was a French colony, and even now, France still has many interests there, mainly the exploitation of some phosphate mines.

This can be seen from the name of the currency used by the Economic Community of West African States, the West African Franc, because the West African Franc was originally the currency used by the French government in its African colonies.

However, with the wave of African independence, the currency policy of the Economic Community of West African States is now basically controlled by its West African member states. Their respective central banks participate in formulating the various policies of the West African Franc, and France only has the right to participate.

But at the beginning, the West African Franc was still pegged to the French Franc. Now, it is pegged to the Euro – after the member states of the European Union unified their currency and jointly used the Euro, the exchange rate between the Euro and the West African Franc remains fixed, that is, one Euro is equivalent to 656 West African Francs.

At this time, Kolo is still one of the least developed countries in the world, and because of this, the interests of various European and American countries in Kolo are not large. Even France is only concerned about some of their mines.

After Jame Bongo stated that the transitional government would respect the legal rights of French companies in Kolo and would complete the transition to an elected government as soon as possible, France did not pay too much attention to it.

Of course, there are still two months until the national election, and during this period, the transitional government has many things to do.

Including after implementing martial law in the capital, they established temporary courts and procuratorates and began investigating Nassin Dema’s actions during his administration, using his power to illegally seize state-owned assets.

First, it should be stated that after Jame Bongo formed the Kolo People’s Party, with the support of West African Industrial Holdings, former government official Thomas Kabore also formed the Kolo Socialist Party and recruited some people to join, and also prepared to participate in the election two months later.

And the rest of the former high-ranking officials and influential people who were unwilling to join the People’s Party or the Socialist Party were all “found” to have colluded with Nassin Dema and illegally profited, during this investigation, and were tried.

Therefore, the two candidates in this election will be Jame Bongo, the leader of the People’s Party, and Thomas Kabore, the leader of the Socialist Party.

And the two of them, to put it bluntly, are a case of Baron supporting the left hand to hit the right hand behind the scenes.

It’s just that this time Jame Bongo will win the election, and Thomas Kabore is the “backup plan,” it just depends on whether Jame can always be obedient.

Chapter 267: Declined

In fact, Singapore is a city disguised as a country because it is too small, with a land area of only a little over 700 square kilometers, which is only one twenty-fifth the size of Hangzhou, China.

At the same time, it is also the country with the highest percentage of Chinese people outside of China, with Chinese people accounting for nearly 75%.

You must know that the land area of the Republic of the Congo is nearly 57,000 square kilometers, and the total population is still less than 7 million people.

And Singapore’s total population has exceeded 4 million, so it is also one of the countries with the highest population density in the world.

After Baron arrived here, he stayed at the Goodwood Park Hotel. This hotel is the property of the family of Singapore’s richest man, Khoo Teck Puat, and he also often likes to dine at this hotel.

Another thing worth mentioning is that Khoo Teck Puat currently holds a total of 13.5% of the shares of Standard Chartered Bank, which are held by three of his companies, including the Goodwood Park Hotel.

Khoo Teck Puat has a total of 14 children, and these three companies are now operated by his three children. These three children are also members of the board of directors of Standard Chartered Bank.

The Goodwood Park Hotel is now run by Khoo Teck Puat’s daughter, Elizabeth Khoo, who ranks tenth among Khoo Teck Puat’s children.

“Your Grace, my father is waiting for you in the restaurant downstairs, I’ll take you there.”

Elizabeth Khoo came to Baron’s room in person and said to him.

Baron knew that with Khoo Teck Puat’s current physical condition, it was impossible for him to come and greet him in person. Elizabeth Khoo came on behalf of her father, which was not impolite.

“Thank you, Ms. Khoo, I am looking forward to meeting Sir Khoo.”

Because he helped Standard Chartered Bank resist the acquisition by Lloyds Bank, Khoo Teck Puat was knighted by the Queen of England and became a knight.

When Baron met Khoo Teck Puat, the richest man in Singapore at the time, he saw that his complexion was not bad. Although he couldn’t hide his old age, he couldn’t see any signs of his death in half a month.

“Your Grace, I know you came to see me this time for the shares of Standard Chartered Bank.”

After a few words of greeting, Khoo Teck Puat was also quite surprised by Baron’s fluency in Mandarin. In Nanyang, he had also seen many Westerners who were fluent in Mandarin, but he had never seen someone like Baron, who had no accent and spoke very standard Mandarin.

He also went straight to the point:

“But you may be disappointed. To be honest, in recent years, too many people have wanted to buy the shares of Standard Chartered Bank from me, but I have never agreed. It is also because Standard Chartered Bank has been my partner for many years, and I don’t want its business to change.”

The three people who helped Standard Chartered Bank resist the acquisition by Lloyds Bank as “white knights” had different reasons.

Khoo Teck Puat and Australian businessman Robert Holmes were both long-term customers of Standard Chartered Bank. Khoo Teck Puat had a history of cooperation with Standard Chartered Bank for more than 20 years, while Robert Holmes had received financing from Standard Chartered Bank during his entrepreneurial process, which was like “helping someone in need,” so he helped Standard Chartered Bank resist the acquisition by Lloyds Bank.

As for Mr. Pao, the “Shipping King” of Hong Kong, he was not a customer of Standard Chartered Bank before, and there was no connection between the two parties. The reason why he bought a large number of shares of this bank when Standard Chartered Bank’s stock price rose due to the acquisition, many people speculated, was because he received financial assistance from HSBC Bank. Because HSBC Bank did not want the powerful Lloyds Bank to intervene in the regions of Asia, Africa, and Latin America because of the acquisition of Standard Chartered Bank, which would lead to intensified competition with it.

Nearly twenty years later, only Khoo Teck Puat has kept those shares of Standard Chartered Bank in his hands, becoming the largest individual shareholder of this bank.

If it weren’t for the scandal that Khoo Teck Puat’s eldest son was accused of transferring funds to himself through the bank acquired in the acquisition of the Brunei National Bank, he would have also intervened in the management of Standard Chartered Bank.

“You can rest assured about this, Sir Khoo. Even if I can control Standard Chartered Bank, I will not excessively intervene in its management. This bank will still focus on emerging markets. Instead, I will help it to open up a larger market.”

Baron understood that as a businessman, what Khoo Teck Puat valued would still be profit. The so-called feelings were just a posture for more profit.

Just like the banks he opened at the time, didn’t they also take advantage of the lax supervision to absorb deposits for his own investment?

The only difference is that the result of Khoo Teck Puat’s investment was successful, which made him earn a lot of wealth and become the richest man in Singapore.

“My current physical condition is no longer very concerned with the affairs of the company, and I have already handed them over to the children.”

Khoo Teck Puat said lightly:

“I also know that they may not have as deep feelings for Standard Chartered Bank as I do. We can’t always hold those shares, and there will always be a day to sell them, but it shouldn’t be now, so Your Grace, I’m afraid you will be disappointed.”

Seeing that Khoo Teck Puat had never loosened his grip on selling the shares, even though Baron offered a certain premium and was willing to buy the shares of Standard Chartered Bank, which were worth about 900 million US dollars at the time, for 1 billion US dollars, Baron did not force it anymore, but said:

“Anyway, I am very happy to have this conversation with you this year. There is a saying in China called ‘a teacher to the accomplished,’ and there is also ‘an old person in the family is like a treasure.’ Even if there is no opportunity to cooperate this time, it is fortunate to be able to ask you for some experience, whether it is life experience or experience in the business world.”

……

“Your Grace, according to the news from Mr. Sheen of DS Holdings and Goldman Sachs Group, in addition to the shares of Standard Chartered Bank that we have already bought in the secondary market, they have already reached an agreement with three institutions to sell the shares of Standard Chartered Bank they hold at a 20% premium, with a total amount of about 11% of the total capital of Standard Chartered Bank’s headquarters.”

Although there was no result here with Khoo Teck Puat today, it was still considered good news.

Currently, Khoo Teck Puat is the largest individual shareholder of Standard Chartered Bank, while Standard Chartered Group holds about 10% of the shares of Standard Chartered Bank, and the remaining shares are mostly scattered among some investment institutions.

This time, Goldman Sachs Group will also help them contact some investment institutions such as “retirement funds” that hold shares of Standard Chartered Bank to acquire the shares in their hands at a corresponding premium.

Now it seems that it is a case of one door closing and another opening, which made Baron’s mood a little better.

“In addition, Mr. Ma of Alibaba has also inquired about the specific time you will go to Hangzhou…”

“Tell him that we will fly directly to Hangzhou from Singapore tomorrow.”

Last year, Baron invested 20 million US dollars in Alibaba, acquiring 20% of its shares. At that time, Baron and Mr. Ma had an agreement that he would have the priority to the subsequent financing of Alibaba.

Now, nearly a year has passed, and Alibaba is also preparing for the next round of financing.

Originally, this kind of thing only needed Amber to negotiate, but Baron happened to be in Singapore this time, and he was also preparing to go to China next, so he happened to meet with Mr. Ma.

Chapter 268: Alibaba’s Further Financing

This time, Alibaba’s financing was considered their Series D financing.

During the first round of financing, led by Goldman Sachs Group, they only received 5 million US dollars in funding.

In the second round, the one that was extremely famous, Masayoshi Son invested 20 million US dollars into Mr. Ma, acquiring 30% of Alibaba’s shares.

Based on this calculation, Alibaba’s post-investment valuation at the time was approximately 66.66 million US dollars.

The Series C financing was the one before, after Baron met with Mr. Ma, where he acquired 20% of Alibaba’s shares for 20 million US dollars. This time, Alibaba’s valuation had already reached 100 million US dollars.

The reason why the valuation of Alibaba did not increase significantly this time compared to the Series B financing was mainly because, after the internet bubble crisis, the overall financing situation of the entire internet industry was not optimistic. At the beginning, Mr. Ma had hoped that Masayoshi Son’s SoftBank Group could invest in Alibaba again, but because they couldn’t see the prospects of Alibaba at the time, Masayoshi Son refused him. In the end, DS Capital made the investment.

But this time, Alibaba’s Series D financing was when the global internet industry was beginning to recover from the previous crisis, and there were constantly high amounts of financing appearing.

And Alibaba launched the C2C business Taobao last May, and it currently looks like it’s developing well.

Its counterpart, the American company Amazon, saw its market value increase by more than double last year, and its current market value exceeds 15 billion US dollars.

Therefore, similarly, Alibaba’s market value will also increase, and this round of financing will also be the largest financing in China to date.

“After launching Taobao, we need to compete with C2C websites including EachNet and Joyo. Besides these, this year I also plan to develop our own payment system to help users shop more confidently without encountering fraud.”

After meeting with Baron, Mr. Ma was still full of enthusiasm, envisioning the development of Alibaba for him.

“I have to say, Taobao’s competitors are very strong. eBay has already become an e-commerce giant overseas, but I still have confidence in Alibaba and will continue to support you.”

In many cases, a good relationship between investors and the founders of a company is still very important. Therefore, Baron has always maintained a very friendly attitude towards these Chinese internet companies, the future giants, which is also a satisfying aspect for internet entrepreneurs including Mr. Ma and Little Mr. Ma.

However, looking at the young British Duke in front of him, one couldn’t help but feel some emotion.

As one of the most important investors in Alibaba at the moment, not only Mr. Ma, but also many Chinese entrepreneurs who have received investment from DS Capital, pay attention to some things about Baron Cavendish.

Including his large-scale acquisitions in Britain last year, acquiring television stations, telecommunications companies, retail companies, and football clubs…

According to the statistics of the British Rich List last year, Baron, who ranked 35th on the list, had a personal fortune of 1 billion pounds.

It is obvious that his wealth at this time was far more than this, and might even be ten times or more than this figure.

After all, it is said that O2 Telecom alone currently has a valuation exceeding 11 billion pounds. After deducting over 5 billion pounds in debt, just this company alone can contribute nearly 6 billion pounds to the personal wealth of this young Duke.

You must know that when he acquired this company, Baron only took out his own 500 million pounds, and the rest of the funds came from financing.

This rate of wealth growth is simply astonishing.

Under the agreement between Baron and Mr. Ma, it was decided that 100 million US dollars would be invested in Alibaba this time, acquiring 20% of its shares. In this way, plus the 20% of Alibaba shares held previously (diluted to 16% after the Series D financing), his shareholding in Alibaba would be 36%.

And SoftBank Group’s previous 30% shareholding will also be diluted to 24%, which is already lower than Baron’s shareholding ratio in Alibaba.

However, this time, the investment will not be made in the name of DS Capital, but by the offshore company Rich23 Capital to participate in Alibaba’s Series D financing.

It is now February, and by March and April, the various 2003 rich lists will be released one after another. By that time, Baron’s terrifying wealth growth last year will definitely attract the attention of many people.

This is also what he wants to avoid. In the future, he is more suitable for hiding behind the scenes, rather than becoming a “wealth idol” like the current Bill Gates, Warren Buffett, and the future Little Z and Musk.

Therefore, from the beginning, he has gradually used various offshore companies and the layering of holding companies to hide his directly held shares and wealth in a fog.

“Also, Mr. Cavendish, someone wants to meet you…”

As he said this, Mr. Ma pointed his finger upwards.

Seeing this, Baron asked:

“Oh? Can you be more specific?”

“It’s people from the province…”

In fact, as Baron’s investment scale in China expanded, coupled with his title of British Duke, he gradually attracted the attention of the higher authorities.

However, the actual contact is definitely passed on layer by layer, so this time, because his investment scale in Zhejiang Province is particularly large, he will also receive a meeting within the province.

In addition to Alibaba, which he invested in Hangzhou, the larger-scale investment from Baron’s holdings comes from the Argos Retail Group.

Last year, after buying No. 2 Bund, preparing to build the Devonshire Bund Hotel there, the predecessor of the Argos Retail Group, Argos, had already signed an investment agreement with Zhejiang Province for a total value of 100 million pounds, conducting a partner program in the local area, cooperating with manufacturers that meet its quality system to customize products, and investing in some of these companies.

And later, this investment scale gradually expanded, not only Argos, but also Primark clothing chain joined in.

At this time, there were already more than 100 processing factories cooperating with the Argos Retail Group, and the entire Argos Retail Group’s investment in Zhejiang Province exceeded 350 million pounds.

Such cooperation is also of extremely positive significance for Zhejiang Province’s investment promotion work, and it can also expand its exports.

Among these processing factories, at least half of them have entered the “priority cooperation directory” of the Argos Retail Group. These factories have all received investment from the Argos Retail Group to help them improve product quality and output. The group holds 10%-30% of the shares in these processing factories, making the cooperation between them closer.

For certain reasons, Baron would naturally not refuse this meeting, after all, it can be considered as laying a foundation for the future.

And he himself is very satisfied with the current production capacity of Zhejiang Province. After this, the Argos Retail Group will continue to expand its investment in Zhejiang Province, and increase investment in regions with outstanding production capacity such as Guangdong Province, making the cost-effectiveness of Argos and Primark products their advantage in continuous expansion.

It was also for this reason that Baron, who had originally planned to stay in Hangzhou for a day or two before going to Shanghai, stayed here for two more days. After meeting with the provincial leaders, he left here.

Chapter 269: Shanghai Mansion

After meeting with the big shots from Zhejiang Province, Baron went to Shanghai.

At this time, Julia Moore, who was in charge of the family trust fund, also came here to meet him.

Currently, the most important investment in Shanghai was the Cavendish Hotel Group’s Devonshire Bund Hotel, located at Number 2, The Bund.

The new building of this hotel was expected to be completed in the second half of this year, and after decoration and staff training, it would officially open in 2005.

This speed of construction also greatly amazed Julia Moore from England.

As she accompanied Baron to visit the site, she saw that next to the old building at Number 2, The Bund, the framework of the new building was already quite substantial.

“This place is indeed very different from England and other European countries. There is a feeling of vigorous development. Every time I come here, I can see that in Pudong, high-rise buildings are constantly being built. It’s hard to imagine what this place will look like in a few years.”

Julia’s tone was full of surprise and admiration.

“That’s why, only when you really come to China can you feel how rapid the development is here. These are things you can hardly see in the media. Without these experiences, just from preconceived notions, I’m afraid your view of this country will be very one-sided and even distorted.”

When Baron’s investment in China started to increase, Julia was also very puzzled. She even linked it to his fondness for “Chinese culture,” believing it was very irrational.

But after coming to China twice, Julia’s thoughts changed gradually as she learned more about the place.

Yes, China is very different from the West, including some social situations and cultural customs, but if you look at it from the perspective of “Western supremacy,” or to put it more directly, “white supremacy,” I’m afraid this is a place that is out of sync with the “civilized world.”

But Julia herself is a Slav. Compared to most Anglo-Saxons, because of her family’s past, she is relatively easier to look at everything in China from other angles, which makes her confidence in the future development of this place grow stronger.

Besides the Devonshire Bund Hotel, Baron also met with the new CEO of Pioneer Sports Group, Kebe Harbour, in Shanghai. He was recruited by Baron through a headhunting company from the well-known American sports and entertainment group IMG, and had served as the group’s vice president in charge of investment and acquisitions.

After Pioneer Sports Company acquired the F1 Group, holding 90% of the shares of this F1 racing event operating company, Baron also incorporated DS Capital’s holdings in Manchester United Football Club and the related Manchester United brand operating company into Pioneer Sports Company, forming the Pioneer Sports Group, and invited Kebe Harbour to join the group as the CEO.

Thus, because of the increase in the market value of the entire club after Baron acquired Manchester United Football Club, DS Holdings would hold 55% of the shares of Pioneer Sports Group, while Rich23 Capital would hold 45% of the shares of this sports group.

Pioneer Sports Group became a sports group encompassing the most valuable football club—Manchester United Football Club, and the highly influential sports event F1 racing.

This time, Kebe Harbour came to Shanghai, in addition to reporting to Baron about the group’s merger, also because Shanghai would host the 2004-2010 Chinese Grand Prix of the F1 World Championship.

Construction of the Shanghai International Circuit had already begun in 2002, and it was expected to be completed in June of this year and put into use in September, starting to host the Chinese Grand Prix of the F1 event.

After inspecting the Shanghai International Circuit, the relevant personnel of the F1 Group led by him were also quite satisfied with the construction of the Shanghai International Circuit.

Baron also knew that the entry of the F1 event into China, such a market with great development potential, was also very significant for expanding the influence of the F1 event.

And looking back from his previous life, Shanghai’s F1 event had been held continuously, and the operation had become more and more mature, and overall, it was quite successful.

……

“This place looks so dilapidated, the house is already very old, it should have been uninhabited for a long time.”

Standing in what vaguely looked like a “garden,” Julia said, looking at the three-story brick-and-wood English-style mansion in front of her.

“Yes, but the previous owner here was also very famous in Shanghai, and in a place like Shanghai, it’s not easy to find a private residence with a 5,000-square-meter garden like this anymore.”

Hearing Baron’s words, Julia nodded in agreement.

They were now at a garden villa located at No. 699, Yuyuan Road, Shanghai.

This villa also had a name, called the Yan Family Garden.

It was originally bought by the famous Yan father and son in Shanghai, becoming their family’s residence, hence the name Yan Family Garden.

However, what made this place attract the attention of the world was in 2009 in the original timeline, when the richest man at the time, Chen Tianqiao, the chairman of Shanda Group, spent 280 million to buy it, and then renovated it, making it his residence. Later, it was listed for 1 billion and became the most expensive mansion in Shanghai.

Of course, at this time, Chen Tianqiao, who would become China’s richest man this year, had not yet taken a liking to this place.

After all, he had obtained this property through a court auction—most of the descendants of the Yan family had already immigrated overseas, and this place had been abandoned for a long time due to lack of management and disrepair. And the 16 heirs of the Yan family had never reached a consensus on how to deal with this house, and eventually, they went to court, and the house was publicly auctioned by the court.

But now, after Baron took a liking to this place, he also received assistance from the local authorities, contacted the descendants of the Yan family, and after Baron offered 20 million US dollars to purchase this villa, the other party quickly reached an agreement—sell the house and divide the money.

Thus, the Yan Family Garden here became Baron’s property.

Of course, in its current state, it was definitely not ready for immediate occupancy. For this reason, Baron specifically found the most professional design institute, preparing to completely restore the most perfect state of the place through renovation, and to reinforce and modernize the interior, with a total cost of up to 5 million US dollars!

It would take about a year before this place could be renovated and ready for occupancy.

After staying in Shanghai for a few more days, Baron made a short stop in Hong Kong and then went directly to Singapore.

On February 22nd, Baron met with Quek Leng Chan again, and had lunch with him at the Goodwood Park Hotel’s coffee shop.

At this time, after once again purchasing some shares of Standard Chartered Bank from two wealthy individuals in Hong Kong, Baron’s holdings in Standard Chartered Bank had reached 15%, exceeding Quek Leng Chan’s 13.5% shareholding, and becoming the largest individual shareholder of Standard Chartered Bank.

During the meal, Baron proposed again that he was willing to pay a premium of 20%, at a price of 1.08 billion US dollars, to acquire the shares held by the other party.

This was already an increase of 80 million US dollars from his previous offer of 1 billion US dollars.

In response, Quek Leng Chan was noncommittal, saying that he needed to consider it.

“Your Grace, I hope you understand that I have held these shares for nearly 20 years and have some feelings for Standard Chartered Bank, and I won’t make a decision so quickly.”

Hearing these words from the other party, Baron nodded and said very gracefully:

“I understand your thoughts, Mr. Quek, I will wait until you are willing to sell, but I hope it won’t be too long.”

“Thank you for your understanding, ah, I’m getting old, I’m a little sleepy, I’ll go back and rest first…”

When he said this, Quek Leng Chan was just about to get up, but his expression suddenly changed, and he showed a look of pain, clutching his chest…

Seeing this, Elizabeth Quek, who had been by his side, hurriedly went over to support him:

“Daddy, are you alright? Did you have a heart attack? Quick, send him to the hospital…”

Just as they were about to help him up and send him to the hospital, Baron said immediately:

“I have a doctor here, let him take care of it first…”

Chapter 270: Avago

Because Julia suffered from congenital heart disease, Baron specifically arranged for her to have a checkup at the Elizabeth Hospital in Singapore, and today he specifically brought the doctor over to inquire about the situation.

Of course, this was the surface reason for having a relevant doctor there, but in reality, Baron already knew that in the original timeline, Qiu De Ba would die from a sudden heart attack near lunchtime today. Therefore, he made such arrangements, and specifically met with the other party this year.

Therefore, after Qiu De Ba’s condition appeared, Baron not only followed the doctor’s instructions and performed first aid on him, but also summoned the doctor immediately. After some emergency treatment, he successfully sent him to the hospital.

“Your Grace, I am truly grateful to you.”

Later, several of Qiu De Ba’s children specifically came to the Goodwood Park Hotel, to Baron’s presidential suite to express their gratitude.

It could be said that their gratitude at this moment was heartfelt, because according to the doctors at Elizabeth Hospital, because Qiu De Ba was elderly and in poor health, yesterday’s situation was very dangerous. If it weren’t for the emergency treatment on the spot and the timely transfer to the hospital, the consequences would have been unimaginable.

Even if he had been sent to the hospital under normal circumstances, it would have been difficult to save him.

Therefore, in their eyes, it was precisely because the young Duke happened to have a professional doctor at the hotel and performed emergency first aid that their father was able to turn the crisis into safety, and it was not an exaggeration to say that he had saved his life.

“It’s only right, and Mr. Qiu is blessed by the heavens. I wonder how he is doing now?”

Hearing Baron’s question, Elizabeth Qiu said:

“Our father is currently out of danger, but still needs to rest in the hospital. Father once said that he hopes to personally thank you when his body recovers a bit.”

“There’s no need for that. I’m also very happy to be able to help, especially that Mr. Qiu is out of danger.”

……

“We have basically reached an agreement with Agilent Technologies. They have accepted our offer of 2 billion US dollars to acquire their semiconductor division, and this transaction will be completed soon.”

Compared to 2005, Agilent Technologies’ operating performance last year was not good, so this time the price for acquiring their semiconductor division could be slightly lower, which also made Baron very satisfied.

Baron remained in Singapore and met with Chen Fuyang, who had completed the acquisition negotiations with Agilent Technologies. The reason why the other party came here was also because he hoped to establish the headquarters of the new company in Singapore after the acquisition.

Originally spun off from Hewlett-Packard, Agilent Technologies was headquartered in California, USA, but Chen Fuyang believed that establishing the new company’s headquarters in Singapore would have many advantages. First, Singapore’s tax burden was lower than that of the United States, with a comprehensive tax rate of around 10%, which would be beneficial to the future market competitiveness of the new company.

In addition, having the headquarters in Singapore would also allow them to enjoy many preferential policies from Singapore for such semiconductor companies.

In this regard, after some thought, Baron agreed.

For the naming of the new company, they still used the name Avago Technologies.

The reason why Baron had some slight doubts about Chen Fuyang’s proposal was that although having Avago’s headquarters in Singapore did have many advantages, in the previous life, when Avago later acquired the well-known American chip manufacturer Broadcom, because the headquarters was located in Singapore, although Avago originally originated from Hewlett-Packard, it was still regarded as a Singaporean company, and this transaction was subject to a lot of scrutiny from the United States, and it was not so smooth.

But Baron thought that since in the original timeline, Avago was able to develop after moving its headquarters to Singapore, and after going public in the US IPO, it was able to “swallow the elephant” and acquire Broadcom, then he should believe in Chen Fuyang’s personal ability, so he finally agreed to this proposal.

Moreover, in Avago’s semiconductor business, the Asian market would be a market with extremely rapid growth in the future, especially for the Chinese market. The chip-related businesses of Avago’s subsidiaries in the fields of communications, industrial, automotive, consumer electronics, and storage and computers would be the main battleground for future performance growth. Setting up the headquarters in Singapore could also be closer to this market.

……

“After this incident, I have seen through many things. After this, I am also prepared to retire completely, and the shares of Standard Chartered Bank will not have much meaning in my hands. I am willing to sell them to you, and I hope that you will not change the business of Standard Chartered Bank in the future.”

After his health improved slightly, Baron went to the hospital again to visit Qiu De Ba, and in this meeting, the other party finally agreed to transfer the 13.5% of Standard Chartered Bank shares he held to Baron.

In this, Baron could be said to have saved his life in time, which was also the main reason.

However, the reason why he initially helped Standard Chartered Bank resist the acquisition by Lloyds Bank was also because as a long-time customer of Standard Chartered Bank, many people, including Qiu De Ba, did not want the bank’s strategy of focusing on emerging markets to be shifted to the European market, including the UK, because of that acquisition.

Now, after agreeing to sell the shares, Qiu De Ba still did not forget to give such instructions.

“Don’t worry, Mr. Qiu. In the future, even if I control Standard Chartered Bank, their current business in the emerging markets of Asia, Africa, and Latin America will not only not decrease, but will further develop.”

Thus, as time entered March, an explosive piece of news came out—

Mr. Qiu De Ba, the richest man in Singapore, after being seriously ill, sold the 13.5% of Standard Chartered Bank shares held by his family to DS Capital, which is controlled by the Duke of England, Baron Cavendish.

And according to the information disclosed by DS Capital, after adding the Standard Chartered Bank shares recently acquired from the Qiu De Ba family, the shares they currently hold in this bank have already exceeded 30%!

This also includes some floating shares purchased from the London Stock Exchange and the HK Stock Exchange during this process.

At the same time, DS Capital also began to formally contact the current management of Standard Chartered Bank and put forward their idea of acquiring this bank, which has a great influence in the emerging markets.

Affected by this news, the share price of Standard Chartered Bank, which was around 5.85 US dollars before, has cumulatively increased by 20%, reaching over 7 US dollars.

At this price, the total market value of Standard Chartered Bank has already reached 7.9 billion US dollars!

And because Standard Chartered Bank is one of the note-issuing banks in HK, after DS Capital proposed a takeover bid of 8 billion US dollars to Standard Chartered Bank, HK also issued a statement, stating that it would review this acquisition.

This is where Baron’s DS Capital has an advantage over the original timeline’s Temasek Holdings in the acquisition of Standard Chartered Bank.

In addition to the fact that Standard Chartered Bank originally belonged to the Bank of England, with its headquarters in London, so DS Capital’s acquisition of Standard Chartered Bank would not be subject to too much scrutiny from the UK.

As one of the three note-issuing banks in HK, the relevant laws of HK also have specific provisions for it.

That is, the three note-issuing banks in HK are not allowed to have their shares held by foreign entities or entities mainly controlled by foreigners exceeding 20%. If this regulation is violated, then this bank will automatically lose its qualification as a note-issuing bank in HK.

Because Temasek Holdings is a state-owned investment company belonging to Singapore, it is therefore a “foreign-controlled entity”.

In the original timeline, Temasek Holdings’ holdings of Standard Chartered Bank shares once reached 19.03%, which was close to the 20% red line, but it had never continued to increase its holdings, precisely because of this reason.

And although DS Capital is a foreign company, it is not an “entity controlled by a foreign government”, but a private company, so it is not bound by this restriction in increasing its holdings of Standard Chartered Bank shares.

Therefore, Baron was not too worried about the review by HK.

Chapter 271: Tender Offer

“Your Grace, I hope you understand that Standard Chartered Bank once thwarted Lloyds Bank’s hostile takeover of us. We can do that again.”

After Baron returned to London, he met with the current manager of Standard Chartered Bank, Mr. Davies.

Mr. Davies was 51 years old. He had been the Chief Executive of Standard Chartered Bank since 2001, and recently, he had taken over the position of Chairman of Standard Chartered Bank from the retiring Mr. Sanderson.

“Mr. Davies, my acquisition of Standard Chartered Bank shares is not a hostile takeover. Furthermore, compared to the previous acquisition of Standard Chartered Bank by Lloyds Bank that you mentioned, if I can successfully acquire the bank, it will not change Standard Chartered Bank’s business strategy. On the contrary, I will provide your management team with more support and ensure your development in emerging markets.”

Acquiring a bank as influential as Standard Chartered Bank is not a simple matter. At the beginning of the acquisition, Baron’s DS Group had already teamed up with the Goldman Sachs Group to form a team related to the acquisition. In addition to acquiring its shares, there were also personnel specifically responsible for public relations, beginning to persuade the governments of relevant regions such as Britain and Hong Kong.

After all, they needed to ensure that after acquiring this company, they would not make too many changes to Standard Chartered Bank’s operations, so as not to affect the economy of the relevant regions.

As for Standard Chartered Bank, Baron personally returned to London to meet with their management team, also hoping that the other party would support his acquisition of Standard Chartered Bank.

At this time, DS Group’s holdings of Standard Chartered Bank shares had already exceeded 30%.

At the same time, after completing the acquisition of Avago, Rich23 Capital still had a full 857 million pounds of funds remaining, equivalent to approximately 1.5 billion US dollars.

After deciding to locate a semiconductor company with such weight, Avago Technologies, in Singapore, they also conducted a series of negotiations with the Singaporean side. One of them was to hope that Temasek Holdings would sell their holdings of Standard Chartered Bank shares to Rich23 Capital.

Before this, Temasek Holdings had also absorbed some shares of Standard Chartered Bank, especially after DS Group’s holdings of Standard Chartered Bank shares exceeded the 5% threshold for shareholding. They also quickly purchased its shares.

Currently, Temasek Holdings held approximately 5% of Standard Chartered Bank’s shares. Ultimately, they agreed to sell to Rich23 Capital at a price of 7 US dollars per share.

Thus, after Rich23 Capital paid a cost of nearly 400 million US dollars, it obtained this 5% of Standard Chartered Bank’s shares.

The remaining funds in their hands continued to absorb Standard Chartered Bank’s shares in the capital market.

Therefore, up to now, DS Group and its related parties have held a total of more than 35% of Standard Chartered Bank’s shares. They only need to buy another 16% of the shares, and their total shareholding ratio will exceed 51%, thereby completing the relative control of Standard Chartered Bank.

For listed companies, holding more than 30% of the shares has already reached the tender offer line and can make a tender offer for this company.

Currently, DS Capital is doing just that. Their tender offer has been submitted to the London Stock Exchange and the Hong Kong Stock Exchange for review. If there are no problems, then the shareholders will vote on their tender offer. If it passes, then DS Group will be able to complete the acquisition of Standard Chartered Bank.

In this process, whether it is the British side, the Hong Kong side of China, or the company’s management, Baron hopes to gain support for his acquisition.

“I highly appreciate your management of Standard Chartered Bank in recent years. I can promise that after completing the acquisition of Standard Chartered Bank, Mr. Davies, you will continue to serve as the chairman of this bank, and the current management team will also remain in office. Furthermore, I will increase support for Standard Chartered Bank and continue to cultivate the business in emerging markets.”

This conversation between Baron and Davies was still very effective. At the very least, after this, Davies’ attitude improved a lot, and he also said that he would continue to solicit the opinions of the bank’s management team and ultimately decide whether to accept Baron’s acquisition of Standard Chartered Bank.

…

It has to be said that DS Group’s acquisition of Standard Chartered Bank, whether in the banking industry or globally, is a news item that attracts much attention.

After all, one side is Standard Chartered Bank, which has a very high reputation in regions such as Asia, Africa, and Latin America, and the other side is the youngest duke in Britain, also a well-known wealthy man in Britain.

The superposition of the two also makes this news particularly eye-catching.

And after he returned to London, he immediately started to keep a low profile, rarely appearing in public. He spent most of his time in his residence.

“Your Grace, we have already established the Kolo Legion in Kolo. The soldiers who have undergone training will all join the Kolo Legion…”

Nigel Inkster, who had just returned to London from Kolo, reported the current situation in Kolo to Baron.

In their plan, the original Protector Military Company would only serve as the protection of the Munger base and nearby mines, retaining a total of approximately 500 personnel.

And most of the armed forces originally in Kolo, the soldiers of the former government army after screening, would all join the Kolo Legion under the Protector Military Company.

In the future, Kolo will not retain a standing armed force, and their national defense will be outsourced to the Kolo Legion, which will be responsible for guarding the country’s territory.

Anyway, Kolo is a small country, and it is extremely underdeveloped. Retaining a large-scale standing armed force is not wise. It would be better to use more funds to develop the domestic economy.

In London, Baron registered an organization called the Anglo-African Foundation, and this organization has hired many experts in economics, diplomacy, finance, and other fields, establishing the Anglo-African Research Institute. Currently, these people are analyzing and researching the economy, society, and other aspects of this country based on the actual situation of Kolo, in order to formulate future relevant policies.

It can be said that on the surface, many policies will be formulated by the future democratically elected government of Kolo, but in fact, these policies originally came from the Anglo-African Research Institute.

“Kolo is a traditional agricultural country located in West Africa. Its general situation is similar to that of its neighbors, Benin and Burkina Faso. They are all very poor and backward African countries, with weak industrial foundations, backward economic development, food cannot be self-sufficient, and agriculture is the mainstay of the national economy.”

“In addition, agriculture contributes 60% of the employment positions to Kolo and accounts for more than 40% of its GDP. The country’s main crops are corn, sorghum, cassava, and rice, with their output value accounting for 67% of the agricultural output value, and cash crops accounting for about 20%, mainly cotton, coffee, and cocoa, etc. 42.2% of the population of the country is engaged in agricultural production activities. In addition to agriculture, Kolo’s pillar industries also include mining—mainly phosphate, and entrepot trade…”

In the Anglo-African Research Institute, Baron listened to the experts in front of him explaining to him:

“Through our research, we believe that the future development of Kolo first needs to consolidate the existing three pillar industries. Agriculture needs to be further improved. It can start by improving its domestic water conservancy infrastructure, because Kolo’s climate is relatively special. Because of its long and narrow land area, the central part of Kolo has abundant rainfall, while the southern coastal areas will have severe droughts every year. Improving the water conservancy system and allowing its water resources to be evenly distributed domestically is very important…”

“In addition, there is mining…”

Speaking of mining, currently, Kolo has proven phosphate reserves of up to 1.26 billion tons, making it the third-largest phosphate producer in sub-Saharan Africa, with iron ore reserves of about 500 million tons. In addition, the reserves of limestone, barite, dolomite, kyanite, garnet, quartz sand, uranium, manganese, bauxite, and other minerals are also quite considerable.

However, the currently mined phosphate mines are mostly held by French companies, and even the shares held by Kolo’s companies were previously mostly “intercepted” by the ruling class headed by former head of state Nassim Demba, leading to the wealth transformed from these natural resources failing to contribute to the country’s development…

Therefore, according to the institute’s opinion, the subsequent government should negotiate with those French companies to recover a portion of the mining equity, thereby retaining more of the wealth transformed from these resources in Kolo.

Baron also supports this. Don’t think that this will offend the French side—you must know that up to now, they have a lot of evidence of those French companies colluding with Nassim Demba and his people. As long as they are not too harsh, such as directly nationalizing everything without saying a word like in Iraq or Libya, but rather recovering a portion of the shares through negotiation, it is still not a big problem.

After all, like Gaddafi, he met a good time. The Soviet Union and the United States were in a two-power struggle. He recovered the shares of Western oil companies at that time, with the Soviet Union backing him, and the other party didn’t dare to do anything to him out of consideration…

But now it’s different, and it’s still necessary to pay attention to methods.

In this way, even if they consider international public opinion and have a way out, France will not be too harsh. At worst, French capital will withdraw from Kolo… If that’s really the case, Baron will be even happier.

Chapter 272: A Good Port

Speaking of Kolo’s entrepôt trade, it mainly came from its capital, Lodi.

Lodi, with an area of 90 square kilometers and a population of nearly 2 million, is located at the southwest end of Kolo, bordering the Gulf of Guinea.

It is the political, economic, and cultural center of Kolo, with textile, oil refining, cement, fertilizer, metal processing, palm oil extraction, and food and agricultural product processing industries. It is the best natural deep-water port in West Africa, capable of accommodating 25,000-ton ocean-going vessels.

In 1990, Lodi opened a free trade zone, which marked the beginning of Lodi Port’s role as a “transit hub for West Africa.”

In fact, both Kolo and Lodi itself have small markets, and the domestic consumption space and purchasing power are relatively limited. Therefore, most merchants who conduct economic and trade activities in Kolo mainly wholesale products to neighboring countries, with small-scale wholesale and retail in the local area as a supplement.

Therefore, to a certain extent, Lodi Port helped Kolo, a small West African country, shoulder the responsibility of West African trade.

Similarly, experts from the Anglo-African Institute suggested that Kolo should take advantage of Lodi Port’s strengths, expand the port, and implement a policy of liberalization and low tariffs to make it the “HK” of West Africa.

……

“This winter is finally almost over, and the construction progress of King’s Cross District will be able to speed up by then.”

Viscount Booth.’s tone was somewhat relaxed as he spoke to Baron.

Although it was already March, the fireplace in their home was still burning brightly, which made the living room feel exceptionally warm.

It could be said that the indoor environment at this time was like two different seasons compared to the outside.

For example, the Viscountess, who was heavily pregnant, was only wearing a thin dress.

Her due date was in two months, which reminded Baron of Rebecca in Los Angeles. He would need to go there in April to accompany the girl during her pregnancy.

However, Baron’s purpose in coming today wasn’t to discuss matters related to the Argent Real Estate Group with Viscount Booth, but rather he had another agenda.

But before that, in addition to matters related to the Argent Real Estate Group, Viscount Booth. couldn’t help but talk about the recent hot topic, which was Baron’s acquisition of Standard Chartered Bank:

“I heard that the merger review committee has approved DS Capital’s acquisition of Standard Chartered Bank?”

“Yes, there’s nothing to it, is there? This isn’t a merger between banks, and there’s no issue of monopoly involved.”

Baron received the Viscountess’s meaningful glance and said to Viscount Booth. as if nothing was happening:

“The key now is to see to what extent this acquisition can be achieved, whether it’s just completing a controlling stake, or exceeding 67% absolute control, or directly acquiring them outright.”

In corporate control, holding more than 50% of the shares already achieves the purpose of control, and it can be said that one can exercise most of the management power of this company.

But in most countries, for some voting matters, such as those involving the company’s capital increase, capital reduction, merger, division, dissolution, amendment of the articles of association, etc., a larger proportion of votes is required for approval. This proportion is stipulated by some countries to be over 2/3, and by others to be over 3/4. Therefore, the corresponding control of over 67% and 75% is called absolute control.

In other words, when the controlling stake reaches 67% (75% is required in some countries and regions), the controlling party can almost exercise any management power of the company.

For Baron, naturally, he hoped to control as many shares as possible, and even further delist Standard Chartered Bank from the stock exchange and complete its privatization would make him even happier.

“Mr. Booth, I know your family’s Stuart Mining Group also has some businesses in Africa. I wonder if you are interested in Kolo’s iron ore?”

“Kolo? We need to do some assessments on this.”

To be honest, if he were only interested in Kolo’s mineral resources, then Baron would not have needed to go to such great lengths to participate in their domestic coup. Anyway, with the existence of the Protector Military Company, even if he were to mine minerals there, Baron would not have to worry about being attacked.

But his ambition did not stop there. What he valued even more was Kolo’s geographical location, because with the best port in West Africa, Kolo’s conditions would allow it to become the sea transport transit center for the entire West Africa, which made its future development very promising.

Therefore, after controlling Kolo, he didn’t intend to develop it solely by his own power. At this point in time, investing a large amount of funds to develop Kolo, and putting them elsewhere, would yield greater returns.

It was also for this reason that Baron didn’t mind sharing some of Kolo’s interests with his “allies,” thereby guiding them to invest there together. In the end, as long as he could firmly control the place from political, economic, and military aspects, it would be enough.

Among the currently proven mineral resources in Kolo, the first is naturally phosphate ore, but most of the mines of this type that are currently being mined have already been occupied by French companies. Next, Kolo only needs to obtain a portion of the shares through the power of the state.

And the second is iron ore, with proven reserves exceeding 500 million tons. He could completely cooperate with the Booth. family’s Stuart Mining Group to develop it—after all, mining iron ore still requires a certain amount of technical expertise. Cooperating with the Stuart Mining Group, which has rich experience in this area, is still a good choice.

In this way, if they felt that Kolo had development potential at that time, would they be willing to invest in more basic construction projects such as roads and real estate?

In itself, for a country like Kolo, which is developing in the direction of trade transit, attracting foreign investment is also very important.

After Baron generally introduced Kolo and its iron ore reserves, Viscount Booth. also showed some interest. He prepared to have the Stuart Mining Group send people there for a field investigation.

As far as Baron knew, Viscount Booth. had already accepted almost all of their family’s industries. The reason, besides the fact that he had an heir, which made the old Earl quite pleased, was also that the old Earl’s health was also getting worse day by day, and he was already prepared to pass on the title and family industries to Viscount Booth. at the appropriate time.

Therefore, in the near future, Ian Booth. would become the Earl of Booth, and Chris would become the Countess.

The core of the Booth. family’s industries is mining and real estate, and it also involves shipping and warehousing.

If they could join the development of Kolo, that could also provide considerable assistance.

In just over two months, the Viscountess’s due date would arrive, and this was the time when she needed the most attention.

So although Viscount Booth. later left on purpose to create an opportunity for Baron and the Viscountess to be alone, Baron was also very restrained and did not conduct any premature physical intimacy.

“What name do you think we should give the child?”

Under the sunlight, the Viscountess seemed to be radiating light, with a touch more of maternal radiance.

“Has he not said anything about this?”

“He said he would respect my opinion…”

When saying this, the meaning in the Viscountess’s eyes was clearly telling Baron that this was giving him the chance to name the child.

“Uh, if it’s a girl… then Ethel.”

“Ethel Booth, or Ethel Cavendish?”

Hearing the Viscountess’s meaningful question, Baron smiled and said:

“It doesn’t make any difference to me, I just need to know she’s my daughter.”

Chapter 273: Completion of the Acquisition

Initially, when DS Capital made a tender offer for Standard Chartered Bank, their most likely competitors, who might issue competing offers during their tender period, included Barclays Bank, Citigroup, and JP Morgan Chase.

However, during this period, both Citigroup and JP Morgan Chase had just completed acquisitions. For example, JP Morgan Chase needed time to digest their recent acquisition of First Bank of America. Therefore, in reality, Barclays Bank was the most likely competitor.

Previously, Baron had numerous collaborations with Barclays Bank, and the relationship between the two sides could be considered close. Therefore, as early as when he held 30% of Standard Chartered Bank’s shares, he had already contacted Barclays Bank to probe their intentions.

It was impossible to say that Barclays Bank had no interest in Standard Chartered Bank. After all, at this time, Barclays Bank’s business covered Europe, the Americas, and Africa, but they did not have many networks in the Pan-Asia region. Merging with Standard Chartered Bank would help them with their layout in this area.

However, after DS Capital already held over 30% of Standard Chartered Bank’s shares, after analysis, they also believed that it was no longer a good time to get involved in the competition for the acquisition of Standard Chartered Bank.

This wasn’t mainly due to concerns about “friendship” with Baron. After all, in the eyes of bankers, such things had their price. If the benefits were sufficient, they would not hesitate to abandon it.

The main reason was that Standard Chartered Bank’s shares were too dispersed. Even the former parent company of Standard Chartered Bank, Standard Chartered Group, only held about 10% of its shares. Moreover, compared to Baron, Standard Chartered Bank’s management at this time would be more resistant to Barclays Bank’s involvement.

The logic was easy to understand. Baron’s DS Group currently had no banking business. After acquiring Standard Chartered Bank, according to his promise, the current management would still be in charge of operations.

Barclays Bank was different. Compared to Standard Chartered Bank, their scale was larger. Therefore, after merging with Standard Chartered Bank, adjusting the management team was definitely a necessary step.

Ultimately, in the shareholder vote for this tender offer, shareholders holding over 65% of the shares agreed to DS Group’s tender offer for Standard Chartered Bank.

This meant that DS Capital’s offer to acquire Standard Chartered Bank at a total price of $7 per share took effect.

After the statistics were conducted, shareholders holding over 35% of the shares were willing to sell their Standard Chartered Bank shares to DS Group. Thus, after paying nearly $2.77 billion, DS Group held 65% of Standard Chartered Bank!

And the original 10% of Standard Chartered Bank shares held by Standard Chartered Group were sold to Rich23 Capital for $790 million, bringing Rich23 Capital’s holdings in Standard Chartered Bank to 15%.

Thus, DS Group, plus its acting-in-concert party Rich23 Capital, together held as much as 80% of Standard Chartered Bank’s shares!

This also meant that Standard Chartered Bank officially became one of DS Group’s subsidiaries.

It wasn’t that Baron didn’t want to directly complete the privatization of Standard Chartered Bank, but at this time, Standard Chartered Bank had the right to issue currency in Hong Kong, South Africa, and Malaysia. If it was privatized instead of being a listed company, it might affect the continuation of these regions’ currency issuance rights. Therefore, after consideration, Baron ultimately kept Standard Chartered Bank listed on the London and Hong Kong stock exchanges.

In the process of acquiring Standard Chartered Bank this time, DS Group cooperated with Goldman Sachs Group. After they currently held 65% of Standard Chartered Bank’s shares, they had already accumulated approximately $3 billion in financing from Goldman Sachs Group.

Also because of this acquisition, DS Group used a relatively low level of leverage. Therefore, the interest rate on this $3 billion in financing was also relatively lower—coupled with the fact that the benchmark lending rate in the United States at this time had been maintained at around 1%, so the interest on these financings was only less than 5%, which Baron could completely accept.

After completing the acquisition of Standard Chartered Bank, they held a board meeting. Baron served as the chairman of the board of directors of Standard Chartered Bank, and Chen Fuyang, the CEO of Rich23 Investment, served as a director of Standard Chartered Bank.

The original Chief Executive of Standard Chartered Bank, Davies, served as its President and CEO, and he would be responsible for the operation of Standard Chartered Bank, reporting to Chairman Baron.

In addition, a new appointment was made in Standard Chartered Bank’s Asia region. Tsang Ching-hsuen, born in Hong Kong, China, was appointed as the Chief Executive of Standard Chartered Bank’s Greater China region. Her first task after taking office was to assist Tencent in its Hong Kong IPO—under the direction of DS Group, the major shareholder of Tencent, Standard Chartered Bank would serve as its sponsor for its listing in Hong Kong.

Prior to this, Tsang Ching-hsuen served as the Regional Head of Human Resources for Standard Chartered Bank’s Asia Pacific region.

After joining Standard Chartered Bank in 1992, she laid a good foundation for Standard Chartered Bank’s famous employee training program and made it one of the reasons for attracting talent in the industry.

Another thing worth mentioning is that Tsang Ching-hsuen’s elder brother is currently the Chief Secretary for Administration of Hong Kong, China, and will become the Chief Executive in a year.

……

“Your Grace, news has come from Louis Lafayette…”

As Baron was eating breakfast, Aliyah said in a low voice beside him:

“The personnel responsible for monitoring their actions have discovered that the people lurking around Subrata have withdrawn, and at the same time, a wanted notice for them has been issued in India…”

After Aliyah mentioned the matter of her foster father, Louis Lafayette, although Baron had no interest in the Indian temple treasure and in swindling Subrata, the founder of Sahara Company, there were still reasons for him to pay attention to Louis Lafayette’s organization.

Therefore, the intelligence center dispatched a team of personnel to begin collecting and monitoring information about the other party.

Now, these matters were all handled by Aliyah, who was responsible for contacting the intelligence center and following up on subsequent news.

It seemed that because of Aliyah’s disappearance and the elimination of the Raphael organization by Baron, Louis Lafayette’s original plan was not only greatly delayed, but ultimately did not succeed.

According to the intelligence received, the people Louis Lafayette had lurking around Subrata fled the scene and also took away some funds.

As shown on the wanted notice released by India, Mr. Subrata of Sahara Company had been robbed of property worth $100 million…

As for what exactly happened, further confirmation was still needed.

It had to be said that although Sahara Company was later targeted by the Indian government, at the moment, Subrata still had great influence in India.

“They didn’t take action on the treasure in that temple?”

Baron was very curious. Why did these people know the location of the treasure in advance, but in his previous life, it was ultimately the Indian government that excavated it?

“Not yet. Louis Lafayette is very cautious. At this time, the entire India is probably searching for his people, so even if Louis himself hasn’t been exposed, he certainly won’t go to the temple treasure in the short term.”

That’s it?

Baron, who had originally wanted to watch a grand show, couldn’t help but feel a sense of disappointment:

“Then continue to pay attention to their subsequent news.”

Chapter 274: West African Group

Before the general election in Caulo, the interim parliament of the transitional government first abolished the original Caulo Constitution and formulated the “Provisional Constitution of the Republic of Caulo”.

The formulation of the provisional constitution also referred to the opinions of the Caulo Socialist Party led by Thomas Kabore.

The more important points of this “Provisional Constitution” are—

First, the “Provisional Constitution” stipulates that the country name of Caulo is the Republic of Caulo, implementing a presidential system, with the president elected, serving a term of four years, with a maximum of two consecutive terms.

After the election of the president, the president will nominate and form the government.

At the same time, in order to prevent future elections in Caulo from being influenced by certain countries, the provisional constitution also stipulates that candidates participating in the election may not accept funding from foreign companies or groups. Once discovered, they will lose their eligibility to be candidates.

In addition to stipulating the relevant matters of the election, the provisional constitution mainly establishes the following points—

First, Caulo will use English and French as official languages.

Before this, because Caulo was once a French colony, for historical reasons, their official language was French. Now English is also added to the official languages of Caulo, but in the future, the schools in Caulo will mainly use English for teaching, so after a few years, only English will be left as the official language.

Now, the official language still retains French, on the one hand, because the people need time to transition, and on the other hand, it is also to temporarily appease the French side.

Second, Caulo implements a policy of national reconciliation, and all ethnic groups have equal status.

Currently, there are nearly 7 million people in Caulo, divided into 41 tribes. Before this, the constant internal conflicts in Caulo, and the antagonism between ethnic groups were also one of the reasons. The development of Caulo requires a stable internal environment to avoid the re-emergence of armed anti-government forces against the government army, so national reconciliation is also necessary.

Third, Caulo implements a ban on guns, and will begin to confiscate private weapons from the people within a specified time, after which possessing firearms and ammunition will be illegal.

Because of the many years of civil war before, a large number of weapons and ammunition flowed into the hands of the people. Barron did not have the NC concept of “everyone with a gun, he won’t be chaotic”, and did not want to learn from the so-called “advanced experience” of Europe and the United States. Referring to the experience of later China in terms of public security, banning guns is naturally also necessary.

Fourth, the administrative division of Caulo is divided into 5 provinces and 1 municipality, which are Coastal Province, Highland Province, Central Province, Kara Province, and Grassland Province, and the capital, Loti, is a municipality directly under the central government.

Before, the administrative division of Caulo was five major regions, with 21 provinces under the regions…

In such a small place, the area is less than half of China’s Zhejiang Province. In Barron’s view, there is no need to make it so complicated. Just turn the 5 major regions into provinces, and divide them into cities below.

Fifth, Caulo implements defense outsourcing in the military and does not establish a standing army.

This is also the most crucial point for Barron to control Caulo, that is, to master its military. The defense of Caulo will be outsourced to the Caulo Legion, and the Caulo Legion will fund the purchase of all the facilities and equipment of the former Caulo government army.

On the one hand, this can enable the new government to obtain certain funds for national construction, and on the other hand, it can also ensure his control over Caulo.

Sixth, Caulo respects the freedom of belief of citizens, and religious affairs are managed by a special national institution, severely cracking down on cults.

Currently, among the residents of Caulo, about 70% believe in animism, 20% believe in Christianity, and 10% believe in Islam. For normal beliefs, Caulo will maintain an open attitude and respect the freedom of belief of the people.

These are the main contents of the constitution. Other provisions regarding the rights and obligations of citizens will refer to the relevant provisions of British law, which are not too different from what they had before.

In itself, this kind of system of a country does not mean that it can develop just by copying the so-called “developed countries”. Instead, the “democracy” system of Europe and the United States is more convenient for them to support “dissidents” to interfere in its internal affairs.

For example, according to the standards of Europe and the United States, the countries with the most “advanced” systems are probably Haiti and Liberia. Their constitutions, to put it bluntly, are just replacing the name of the United States’ constitution, but what is the result…

Instead, they have become two of the least developed countries in the world…

……

Also during this period, West Africa Industrial Holding registered a company in Caulo—West African Group.

Well, this is a genuine Caulo local company.

After the establishment of the West African Group, it took over Caulo’s only television station and several of the largest newspapers and radio stations in the country.

These industries originally did not belong to the state, but were held by the family business of former head of state Nassin Derma, and are now fully taken over by the West African Group for a price of 20 million US dollars.

At the same time, they also took over a 30-story building located in the center of the capital, Loti.

This building originally belonged to the family business of Nassin Derma, and is now renamed West Africa Building, becoming the headquarters of the West African Group.

At the same time, West African Mining, which is under the West African Group, also took over the shares that the Nassin Derma family held in several banks before.

Including 60% of the shares of Caulo United Bank; 75% of the shares of Caulo Industrial and Commercial Bank; and 100% of the shares of Caulo Development Bank.

Caulo United Bank (UCB Union Caulo de Banque), founded in 1964, with 40% state-owned shares, has 200 employees and 12 branches in Caulo.

Caulo Industrial and Commercial Bank (BCCI Banque Caulo pour le Commerce et l`Industrie), with 25% state-owned shares. The number of employees is 250.

Caulo Development Bank (BCD Banque Caulo de Développement), with 200 employees.

After obtaining these shares, the West African Group merged these three banks into the United Bank for West Africa (UBWA United Bank for West Africa), with the West African Group holding 80% and the state holding 20%. This bank became the largest bank in Caulo.

In addition to the United Bank for West Africa, Caulo also has foreign-funded banks including the African International Bank and the West African International Bank, as well as small banks with less than 50 employees, such as Caulo Financial Bank. Their scale in Caulo is far behind the United Bank for West Africa.

The industries taken over by the West African Group also include the Nassin Derma family’s 60% stake in Loti Port, and Caulo Telecom, Caulo’s largest telecommunications operator.

From this, it can also be seen that the previous autocratic rule of Nassin Derma in Caulo could be said to have completely fattened their family, and they transferred many key industries of Caulo to their own companies.

Now, it can be considered that the West African Group has benefited.

Of course, they didn’t take over for free. The rules still had to be followed, otherwise the appearance would be too ugly…

For these industries, the West African Group paid a huge sum of 200 million US dollars to the Caulo government.

The CEO of the West African Group, Barron, hired a black-and-white mixed-race person with African ancestry, named Noé Duran. He has 3/4 black ancestry and 1/4 white ancestry.

Noé Duran, 45 years old this year, graduated from the University of London, and is considered a fellow alumnus of Barron.

His father was once the Minister of Finance in the previous government of Nassin Derma, but during the coup of Nassin Derma, his father was also arrested and imprisoned for as long as 5 years before being released.

Later, after he graduated and returned to his country, he worked at Caulo Industrial and Commercial Bank, until he became the president of this bank. His management ability is good. Under his leadership, the Caulo Industrial and Commercial Bank, which ranked third in Caulo at the time, became the largest bank in Caulo.

Barron also valued this point. After talking with him, he directly hired him as the CEO of the West African Group.

After all, as a “local” enterprise in Caulo, and possessing many key industries of Caulo, if the CEO of the group has a white face, then it is a bit… inappropriate.

Just as the preliminary integration of the West African Group was completed, the important moment for Caulo arrived, and the general election began to be held.

Chapter 275: The Result

March 20th was the date for the nationwide election held in Kolo.

After the success of the “coup” led by Jame Banggo, it had been announced that a nationwide election would be held within two months, allowing the people to elect a new government.

Now, this time had been slightly advanced.

Through the various media outlets’ publicity of the two Kolo presidential candidates during this period, the public had come to understand their respective governing philosophies.

And according to the latest opinion polls, the support rate for Jame Banggo, the candidate of the Kolo People’s Party, was far ahead of Thomas Kabore, the candidate of the Kolo Socialist Party.

After all, it was Jame Banggo who led the Kolo Liberation Front to overthrow the dictatorship of Naxin Dema in Kolo.

At the same time, the main media outlets, including television stations, radio stations, and newspapers, which were primarily controlled by the West African Group, also gave more powerful publicity to Jame Banggo.

It was also based on these reasons that the provisional government ultimately decided to set the date for the nationwide election on March 20th.

After the end of the Kolo civil war, before this election, the Kolo provisional government had invited international organizations including the UN, the African Union, the Economic Community of West African States, and the European Union, as well as observers from countries including Britain, France, the United States, China, Russia, and Iran, totaling 5 international organizations and 15 friendly countries, to participate in this nationwide election.

Their move was also welcomed by the international community, which anticipated Kolo’s commencement of a democratic process.

For this election, the election committee, composed of people with considerable prestige within Kolo, set up a total of 50 polling stations across the 5 provinces and 1 municipality. The Kolo Legion would be responsible for maintaining security and order at the polling stations.

Every citizen of the Republic of Kolo who was 18 years old or older had the right to go to the polling stations to vote.

In this election, as the candidate of the Kolo People’s Party, which was currently the largest party in the Republic of Kolo, Jame Banggo’s election slogan was “Peace, Openness, Ethnic Equality, and Building a New Kolo Together.”

His main campaign platform included the following points:

First, to stabilize the domestic environment, confiscate civilian arms, and guarantee the freedom and safety of the people.

Second, to strongly support and develop agriculture, reduce the tax burden on the people, and support the deep processing of agricultural products.

Third, to implement open and liberalized economic policies, encourage foreign investment, and continuously reduce tariffs.

Fourth, to advocate self-reliance, encourage the development of domestic capital, and introduce relevant preferential policies to carry out economic transformation, and to strive for diversified development.

Fifth, to vigorously develop education, the government will establish basic compulsory education while conducting nationwide literacy programs, and enforce compulsory enrollment for children of appropriate age.

Jame Banggo himself was already considered a “top student” in Kolo, and his personal image was more refined and approachable, which was vastly different from the “strongman politics” of Naxin Dema before. This also gained the support of many Kolo people.

And his proposed governing philosophy, especially the welcome of foreign investment and the implementation of more open and liberal economic policies, was also praised by international public opinion.

According to the provisions of the Kolo provisional constitution, in the election, if a candidate’s vote exceeds 50%, they win directly; if no candidate’s vote exceeds 50%, then the top two candidates in terms of votes will conduct a second round of elections, until someone’s vote rate exceeds 50%.

However, because only Jame Banggo and Thomas Kabore were candidates in this election, the election would normally only require one round.

In the end, after the election, which lasted for three days, and after the votes were counted, approximately 3.6 million registered voters participated in this round of voting, with over 3 million people participating in this election.

After confirmation by the election committee, Jame Banggo, the candidate of the Kolo People’s Party, received 67% of the votes, leading the other candidate, Thomas Kabore of the Kolo Socialist Party, by more than double the votes, and won this nationwide election.

This result would be immediately submitted to the Kolo Provisional Constitutional Court, which would confirm it before ultimately determining the outcome of the election.

The next day, March 28th, the Kolo Provisional Constitutional Court announced that the voting of this Kolo nationwide election was valid, and ultimately, Jame Banggo from the Kolo People’s Party would serve as the first president of the Republic of Kolo, with a term of 4 years. He would then nominate and form the new Kolo government.

On March 30th, Jame Banggo officially took the oath of office as the president of the Republic of Kolo during a nationwide live broadcast on Kolo Television, and nominated the ministers for each department, forming the new government.

From then on, a new page in Kolo’s history was turned.

……

“Since January of this year, after international oil prices rose again to the highest price in nearly 10 months, reaching 36 dollars, crude oil prices have been continuously rising, with no sign of a decline.”

On the computer beside Daisy, the trend of international oil prices over the past year was displayed. She said to Barron:

“After closing the investment in the international crude oil price increase last time, when oil prices fell later, a portion of the funds in our Mars Fund re-entered crude oil futures and began to go long. By now, the returns are very considerable.”

After so much experience, Daisy was now quite the general, and as the CEO of DS Investment Company, her reputation in the financial city was growing day by day.

In DS Investment Company, in addition to the Mars Fund, their proprietary trading department had also made full preparations for this oil price increase, preparing as much as 1 billion pounds, and invested it in this investment.

It could be said that this round of oil price increases had multiple reasons.

First, the oil supply of OPEC could not meet the increasing oil demand due to the global economic recovery.

After the Iraq War, the Middle East was still not peaceful.

In addition to the fact that there were still occasional attacks by rebel armed forces on oil facilities in Iraq, which prevented its crude oil production from returning to pre-war levels, starting this year, there were also occasional terrorist attacks targeting oil facilities within Saudi Arabia.

In addition, in Barron’s previous life, in the second half of this year, Yukos Oil Company, the largest oil producer in Russia, fell into a tax case. Since July, news of this company possibly being forced to shut down or stop exporting had spread, and international market oil prices rose all the way in July, August, and September. The market’s concern about Yukos’s oil supply was a very important factor supporting the price increase.

Because 75% of Yukos’s production was for export, nearly 1.7 million barrels per day.

And with these factors, the funds of investment companies and hedge funds that continuously poured into the crude oil futures market were undoubtedly one of the driving forces behind the rise in oil prices.

Under the influence of these various events, the price of international crude oil would break through 40 dollars in May, and by September, it would even break through 50 dollars, reaching a peak of nearly 55 dollars!

Currently, the average holding price of their proprietary trading department’s crude oil futures long position was around 33 dollars.

This also meant that by September, the price of crude oil would increase by more than two-thirds compared to their holding price.

If the leverage used was also taken into account…

The returns at that time would undoubtedly be terrifying.

Chapter 276: Britain’s Richest Man

In March, Forbes released its 2004 list of global billionaires.

This list included the top 1,000 richest people in the world.

The world’s richest person on this list was still Bill Gates, with a net worth of 46.6 billion US dollars, placing him at the top of the list.

Following closely behind was the “Oracle of Omaha,” Warren Buffett, with a net worth of 42.9 billion US dollars.

However, the most eye-catching person on this list was Baron Cavendish, Duke of Britain.

Even though Baron had begun to conceal his wealth through various means, his assets were still assessed by Forbes at 20 billion US dollars.

This put him in a tie for sixth place on the list with five members of the Walton family, who held the same shares in Walmart, just behind Paul Allen, another shareholder of Microsoft.

Besides being the only British person in the top ten of this list, the even more striking factor was Baron’s age – a super-rich man who was only 24 years old.

You must know that even if the list was expanded to the top 100, the vast majority of the members were over 50 years old.

There was only one person under the age of thirty: Baron.

The person closest in age to Baron in the top 100 was the 37-year-old Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich , who ranked 26th on the list, and is the new owner of Chelsea Football Club, “Abramovich”.

Therefore, Baron still held the position of the world’s richest person under 30, and the combined assets of the other top ten did not equal his net worth, making him the undisputed number one.

Coincidentally, in the 2004 list of British billionaires released later by The Sunday Times, Baron Cavendish became the new richest person in Britain with a net worth of 11 billion pounds, replacing the Duke of Westminster from the previous year.

Interestingly, this time the British billionaires’ list also included Abramovich , who ranked second with a net worth of 10 billion pounds.

In the original timeline, Abramovich became the richest person in Britain on this list…

It could be said that Baron’s appearance saved Britain a lot of face, otherwise, if a Russian became the richest person in Britain, the British people would probably have mixed feelings.

However, looking at the long term, this seemed acceptable, after all, after this, the top spot on the British billionaires list rarely featured a purely British person, with Indians and Russians taking turns in the top spot…

“To our richest man…”

Baron clinked glasses with the Duke of Westminster and said to him with a smile:

“Don’t make fun of me, Mr. Grosvenor, you also know how much water there is in this list. My debts are much higher than their so-called net worth.”

The Duke of Westminster just smiled at Baron’s words. He understood that even if there was some water in those billionaires’ lists, especially for the rich whose companies were not listed, only a rough valuation could be made. However, as for the young Duke in front of him, the numbers on the list would only be lower, not higher.

“I heard the Banking Association sent you an invitation?”

“Yes, I’m considering whether to join.”

“Why not?”

Hearing Baron’s answer, the Duke of Westminster couldn’t help but feel a little puzzled. Obviously, joining the Banking Association would be very beneficial to Baron, especially after he had control of Standard Chartered Bank. Although Standard Chartered Bank didn’t have much business in Britain, it was important to know that the entire City of London was, to a certain extent, controlled by the Banking Association.

Baron could guess what the Duke of Westminster was thinking, but he really wasn’t interested in being in cahoots with those bankers, and he had too many titles now, such as the member of the House of Lords – in the past year, he could count on one hand the number of times he had attended the House of Lords meetings.

Joining the Banking Association would indeed have some benefits, such as the case in 2012 of the manipulation of the London Interbank Offered Rate (Libor) and the Sterling repurchase (Repo) rate by the Bank of England, which involved heavyweight banks including Lloyds Bank, Barclays Bank, and the Royal Bank of Scotland.

As one of the most important benchmark interest rates in the world, Libor affects a large number of swaps and futures contracts, commodities, derivatives, personal consumer loans, home mortgage loans, and other transactions. It is the foundation of a financial trading market with a scale of trillions of US dollars, and even affects the central bank’s judgment on monetary and economic policies, playing a pivotal role in the global market.

Therefore, once the manipulation was exposed, the financial market was shocked. When people discovered that such a mature and conventional pricing mechanism had been influenced by interests for a considerable period of time, filled with backroom operations, the feeling of being deceived and manipulated instantly turned into collective anger.

This investigation was led by the US Department of Justice and the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), with the participation of regulatory authorities from three continents, including Britain, Japan, and the European Union. It was a grand affair. According to the investigation, these manipulative behaviors had already appeared since 2005.

In the end, the banks involved were eventually fined hundreds of millions of US dollars, and as a result, a large number of senior executives resigned.

And their manipulation of Libor and Repo was accomplished by designating these British bankers’ associations…

Since he knew that this matter would be exposed sooner or later, Baron was not very interested in participating in it. After all, the main business of Standard Chartered Bank, which he currently owned, was in emerging markets outside of Britain.

Otherwise, even if he didn’t participate in the manipulation at that time, those supervisory agencies would definitely investigate the banks he controlled, causing unnecessary trouble.

“Baron, I want to talk to you alone…”

The Prince of Wales took Baron to a room on the upper floor of the banquet hall. After they were seated, his expression became a little serious:

“Is the matter of Corlo related to you?”

Hearing the Prince of Wales’s question, Baron didn’t feel much emotional fluctuation. He didn’t think that his presence in Corlo could really be hidden from everyone.

His expression was relaxed, and he said calmly:

“Your Highness, I am a businessman and only interested in making money. And being able to let Corlo break away from French control and move closer to us in Britain is in itself beneficial to Britain, isn’t it?”

“Although that’s what you say, the French have already expressed their dissatisfaction with us, and it’s not just the French who are paying attention to Corlo, but also the Americans…”

“The Americans?”

Baron smiled sarcastically:

“Corlo doesn’t have any oil, they won’t be interested.”

“No matter what, I hope you can act cautiously and not play with fire.”

Although Baron was casually agreeing with the Prince of Wales’s words on the surface, he still didn’t take it to heart.

Britain was, after all, in decline. Where was the vigor of the once-unrivaled empire? Such a small Corlo was worth so much fuss from the Crown Prince?

However, thinking about how the Falklands War almost went wrong starting with Mrs. Thatcher, the current performance was also reasonable.

So, without the rise of a great power, how can there be the dignity of the people? Now the glorious British Empire had to follow the Americans’ lead, making its actions less convenient.

Chapter 277: IPO Listing

“Why are you up so early today, darling?”

Even though he was already a duke, Barron’s routine was always very healthy, and he still insisted on morning exercises.

However, after he came out of the gym today, he saw Bonnie, who was usually still asleep, had already put on her clothes, tidied herself up, and was ready to eat breakfast. He couldn’t help but ask.

“The company has a lot of things going on recently, and I also need to find time to help Summit Studio with the preparation for the new season of the variety show.”

Although she already had her own career, Giant Studio also held shares in the SEM Group and had its office in the SEM Building. Their new variety show, “Dancing Miracles,” would also rent the SEM Group’s venues and equipment for recording. Therefore, Bonnie was still acting as a consultant for Summit Studio, helping them with the transition.

After all, before, both “The Traitors” and “Love Island” were spearheaded by Bonnie. Now that she had left Summit Studio, after the change of personnel for these two popular variety shows, she also needed to help the newcomers adapt.

《The Valiant Henry, Will Soon Lead Arsenal to Win the Championship!》

While eating breakfast, Barron casually picked up the newspaper and saw this headline in the sports section, and couldn’t help but shake his head.

Indeed, Arsenal this season was unstoppable. Under Wenger’s coaching, the Gunners would become the only team in Premier League history to win the championship with an undefeated record this season.

And Manchester United, although their performance was also acceptable, but after all, the core player Cristiano Ronaldo had just joined, and it would take time for him to adapt to the pace of the Premier League and grow.

……

“Your Grace, this is the summary report of the various companies for today.”

At eight o’clock, Laura came to Barron and reported to him the situation of the various companies after sorting them out.

Barron flipped through the materials and casually asked:

“How is the progress of the Marconi Company’s stock acquisition?”

“We have currently purchased approximately 150 million US dollars worth of stock, which is being purchased through several offshore companies, and secrecy is required, so the speed is not very fast.”

Although Marconi Company had rejected Barron’s previous offer, he had not given up on acquiring this company. Currently, he was absorbing their shares in the secondary market through offshore companies.

Since 2001, the operating conditions of Marconi Company had begun to gradually deteriorate, and there were often news of them “struggling” in difficulties.

For example, in 2002, their negotiations with the bank regarding loans had once broken down, which once led to a sharp decline in their stock price. After that, Marconi Company also implemented measures such as layoffs to reduce expenses.

Currently, Marconi Company’s market capitalization was around 650 million pounds, and after the last acquisition of the Standard Chartered Bank shares held by Standard Chartered Group, Rich23 Capital still had more than 300 million US dollars in its account.

In order not to alert the enemy, they were absorbing Marconi Company’s shares through the offshore companies under Rich23 Capital.

According to Laura, they had currently bought 150 million US dollars worth of Marconi Company stock, accounting for a little over 13% of its total share capital…

Because they were using multiple offshore companies to absorb the stock, each company would not exceed the 5% shareholding limit, so it had not yet attracted the attention of Marconi Company.

However, acquiring their shares through the secondary market was always limited. Currently, the shares of Marconi Company circulating in the secondary market only accounted for about 40% of the total share capital. It was estimated that after absorbing more than 20%-25% of the shares, as the market circulation decreased, continuing to absorb shares would easily cause a sharp fluctuation in the stock price.

Next, they would also try to contact some of Marconi Company’s small shareholders and institutional shareholders. After all, the performance of this company at this time had already disappointed many people, and there were probably many shareholders and institutions willing to sell their shares.

If they wanted to completely buy out Marconi Company, they probably had to wait until they failed in BT Company’s “Twenty-first Century Network Plan,” after losing their local market, which they relied on for survival, and faced a desperate situation, they would face reality and prepare to “sell themselves to survive.”

And the reason why they took a certain percentage of Marconi Company’s shares in advance at this time was also for the purpose of taking the advantage in the competition of acquiring Marconi Company in the future.

He didn’t want to be like Huawei Company in his previous life, being intercepted and robbed by Ericsson Company after making an offer.

Finally, the London Stock Exchange accepted Summit Media’s IPO application and would allow this company to be listed on the AIM market.

Yes, Summit Media, a subsidiary of SEM Group, was preparing to go public.

Summit Media owned two major businesses, SDTV and Summit Studio. Among them, SDTV was currently the fourth largest television station in the UK, with the number of users second only to Sky Television, BBC, and ITV.

You must know that the other three television stations either had a huge background—such as Sky Television; or had a long history, such as BBC and ITV…

And the predecessor of Sky Television, BSB Television, was established in 1989, and satellite broadcasting television was even earlier…

But SDTV had only been established for a year!

As for Summit Studio, it was also remarkable. They held the three major IPs of “Downton Abbey,” “The Traitors,” and “Love Island,” which were all the hottest TV series and variety shows in the UK.

As for this IPO listing, the purpose was that Summit Media hoped to raise funds to launch its own pay channel—SD Sports.

The AIM market of the London Stock Exchange was established in 1995, specifically for the financing of fast-growing small and medium-sized enterprises, equivalent to the Growth Enterprise Market of Hong Kong, only with a different name.

The reason why Summit Media chose to list on the AIM market instead of the main board of the London Stock Exchange was mainly because it could not yet meet the conditions for listing on the main board.

The main thing was that they required listed companies to have at least three years of profit records to support them. Although they could reduce the requirements for some companies, Summit Media had only been established for a year and a half, which was still too far off.

In fact, even the two-year profit record required by the AIM market did not meet the requirements of Summit Media, but similarly, they could also allow companies that had been established for less than two years to list, but the condition was that the directors and employees holding 10% of the shares must agree not to sell any of their holdings of the company’s securities for at least one year from the date of listing on the AIM market.

Currently, the shareholders of Summit Media included DS Holdings and Sinclair Group—because Sinclair Group held 10% of the SEM Group’s shares, they also held an equivalent proportion of shares when its wholly-owned subsidiary, Summit Media, was listed.

The two of them both met the minimum standard of holding 10% of the shares, so according to the regulations, after Summit Media was listed, they could not sell their shares within a year.

Therefore, from now on, Summit Media entered the IPO listing process. They chose Barclays Bank as their sponsor and would carry out the listing action with the help of the other party.

Currently, the total share capital of Summit Media was 100 million shares, of which DS Holdings held 90 million shares and Sinclair Group held 10 million shares.

They were preparing to issue 25 million new shares for listing, accounting for 20% of the total share capital after the issuance.

After evaluation, Barclays Bank currently set the initial roadshow stock guidance issuance price for Summit Media at 12 pounds. At this price, after listing, Summit Media’s market capitalization would reach 1.5 billion pounds.

The 90 million shares of Summit Media held by DS Holdings would be worth 1.08 billion pounds; and the shares held by Sinclair Group would also be worth 120 million pounds.

You must know that when they initially invested in SEM Group, they only took out 20 million pounds and obtained 10% of the SEM Group’s shares. Now, just relying on the listing of Summit Media, their investment had soared sixfold.

Of course, this must be based on the premise that Summit Media can successfully IPO at this price, and within a year, neither DS Holdings nor Sinclair Group could sell their shares.

Chapter 278: Awaiting Childbirth

Just as Summit Media began its IPO roadshow, Barron had arrived in the United States.

Rebecca’s due date was in early April, and there were only a few days left until then.

This was Barron’s first child in two lifetimes, and naturally, he couldn’t hide his excitement.

“Darling, I feel like you’re even more nervous than my mother. Actually, according to the doctor, there’s no need to be so careful…”

Seeing Barron come to Los Angeles to accompany her, Rebecca was naturally very happy. However, when she found that her lover seemed overly nervous about her impending delivery, she couldn’t help but feel a little helpless.

Now, at Barron’s insistence, there were at least two professional medical staff on standby by Rebecca’s side almost twenty-four hours a day.

This also made her feel like she didn’t have any personal space.

“Just bear with it a little longer, baby, there are only two days left. I don’t want anything unexpected to happen.”

Barron had even moved Rebecca’s bedroom from upstairs to downstairs to prevent her from having any accidents going up and down the stairs.

And Barron had also hired the best obstetrics and gynecology hospital in Los Angeles at great expense. Their staff would also be on standby at any time, just waiting for Rebecca to show signs of labor before sending her over.

After all, in many cases, the delivery wouldn’t necessarily be right on the due date, or rather, those who actually delivered on the due date were in the minority.

…

“Barron, when did you get here?”

“I arrived two days ago. I just got your call, so I told you.”

“That’s such a coincidence. I happen to be in Los Angeles for an event these past two days.”

The person meeting with Barron was Lydia Hearst, Amanda Hearst’s cousin.

Although Lydia’s job was a model, as a member of the Hearst family, one of the heirs to this media empire, she didn’t need to work hard. Modeling was more like a part-time job for her, in addition to being a “socialite.”

“Congratulations, Lydia. I saw the review in People magazine. It’s well-deserved.”

What Barron was referring to was that this year, the American People magazine had selected the 50 most beautiful professional women in the world. And Lydia Hearst was one of them.

Hearing Barron’s praise, Lydia looked a little shy, but the smile on her face proved that the girl was in a very good mood at this moment.

“I’m honored to receive this evaluation, Barron, but what’s even more amazing is you. Congratulations on becoming one of the richest people in the world. Of course, I don’t want to just evaluate you based on wealth, because in my opinion, you are unique and the best in every aspect.”

As she said this, Lydia’s gaze was fixed on Barron’s handsome face. Her face flushed slightly, and she leaned closer to Barron, gently tiptoeing on her high heels, hooking her arms around Barron’s neck, and offering her kiss…

This wasn’t the first time Barron had kissed Lydia. At the previous Chatsworth House, he had embraced this girl, but this time, Lydia had taken the initiative.

This kiss was very sweet, and at the same time, Barron couldn’t help but compare Lydia with other girls…

For example, her cousin Amanda.

It had to be said that compared to Amanda, Lydia’s appearance was more refined, and her figure was also better…

As for how Barron knew the subtle differences…

His hand was the ruler.

When Lydia’s face was flushed, and her eyes were filled with a seductive allure…

A phone ring interrupted the two’s intimacy.

“It’s my sister…”

Seeing the caller ID on her phone, Lydia said with a light breath, and a few traces of guilt flashed in her eyes, as if… she had stolen her sister’s delicious snacks.

“Hello, sister… Yes, I’m in Los Angeles.”

Picking up the phone, Lydia looked at Barron, winked at him playfully, and said:

“Barron? I know he’s here too, but I haven’t had a chance to see him yet. I’m a little busy with work here, maybe tomorrow… Okay, I’ll wait for you.”

After she finished talking to Amanda and hung up the phone, she said to Barron with a little guilty conscience:

“My sister said she’s coming over tomorrow, and she’ll come with me to find you, so you definitely can’t…”

“Well, I understand. I haven’t met an angel named Lydia alone before.”

Barron rubbed her high nose bridge, saying with a bit of playfulness.

…

“Darling, you’re back…”

Although the two of them had been on the verge of a passionate spark with Lydia…

But after Amanda’s phone call interrupted them, the two quickly regained their composure. In addition, it could be clearly seen that Lydia was somewhat guilty after receiving her sister’s call – she was a little introverted and shy in her daily life.

Therefore, the two temporarily separated, and Barron returned to the Malibu Beach villa, just seeing Rebecca sitting on the sofa reading a magazine.

“Yes, baby, how are you feeling today?”

“I’m fine. I felt the little baby moving inside a few times, it seems like a mischievous little fellow.”

Barron sat down beside Rebecca, held her hand, and said to her:

“After the baby is born, after you rest for a while, if you want to go back to London, I’ve prepared a house for you there. You can go and see if you like it, or you can redecorate it.”

“Really? Darling, you’re so good to me.”

Hearing Rebecca’s joyful words, Barron felt a little better in his heart.

Although he and Rebecca weren’t in a typical relationship, after being intimate with Delia and returning here, seeing the girl in front of him with a big belly and about to give birth, Barron still inevitably felt a little guilty.

So he would give Rebecca some compensation in certain aspects to neutralize his guilt.

Now, this Malibu Beach villa was already bought by Barron specifically for Rebecca, in her name. And the other residence in London, Barron had already taken care of everything, just waiting for Rebecca to complete the transfer procedures.

In addition, Rebecca’s role as the third daughter of the Earl’s family in the drama Downton Abbey had died in the third season of the series, so she didn’t have to participate in the subsequent filming.

It had to be said that participating in Downton Abbey had gained Rebecca some fame in Europe and the United States, including Britain.

Now she was considered a well-known actress, and she was only twenty years old, so it could be said that if she continued her acting career, her future would be promising.

However, when asked about Rebecca’s wishes before, although she was still very interested in the film and television industry, after all, she came from a performing arts family.

However, she hoped to try more related work in the future, not limited to being an actress.

She studied at St. Catharine’s College, Cambridge University, majoring in English Literature.

Later, for her acting career, she dropped out after studying for two years…

Therefore, she hoped to take advantage of the time to recover after childbirth to return to her alma mater to continue her studies, and then try more behind-the-scenes work.

In this regard, Barron would also give his support, after all, he didn’t want his woman to continue being an actress, especially if there were some kissing scenes or the like, that was even more unacceptable.

Chapter 279: Jennifer

“Baron, I’ve arrived in Los Angeles. Do you have time to see me?”

In the evening, Baron received a call from Amanda.

She was currently studying at Boston University, which wasn’t close to Los Angeles. The fact that she had already arrived in Los Angeles meant she must have taken a flight…

A flight from Boston to Los Angeles takes five to six hours. Based on this time, she should have been about to board her flight when she called Lydia.

However…

Didn’t she tell Lydia on the phone that they would both come to see Baron tomorrow?

Women.

But a beauty traveled a long distance to deliver… uh, no, to see him, Baron certainly wouldn’t have the heart to refuse.

In April, the temperature in Los Angeles was no longer cold. The daytime high could sometimes reach 25 degrees Celsius, and even at night, it was above 15 degrees.

When Baron saw Amanda, she was only wearing a long dress.

“Baron, I miss you so much…”

Compared to Lydia, Amanda could be described as fiery. After seeing Baron, she ran over and threw herself into his arms.

Fortunately, this was at Amanda’s own villa, or Baron would have been worried about being photographed by paparazzi…

If that happened, he’d have to consider how to explain it to Bonnie.

After a passionate kiss, Amanda’s face was slightly flushed. She rested her head on Baron’s chest, looked to the side, and asked softly:

“Are you… going back tonight?”

…

The rather troublesome thing was that when he returned to the Malibu Beach villa the next day, Baron first found his tie and put it on…

After all, he needed to button up his shirt to cover the “medal” near his collarbone.

It had to be said, Amanda was really passionate.

On April 10th, two days after her due date, Rebecca gave birth to a baby girl.

Baron named her Jennifer, his first child, Jennifer Cavendish.

Carefully taking the baby from the nurse’s hands, Baron was like holding a treasure – even a treasure, at this moment in his eyes, was not as precious as the little baby in his arms.

“Why does she look a little ugly? Her skin is all wrinkled…”

When Baron showed Rebecca their daughter, Rebecca said with a slight disappointment.

And her mother, who was by her side, explained to her:

“Babies are all like this when they’re first born. You were like this too. It’ll be fine after a while. She’s not ugly; you can see her eyebrows and eyes are very pretty. Our Jennifer will definitely be a great beauty in the future.”

To be honest, when he first saw his daughter Jennifer, seeing her appearance, Baron had the same feeling as Rebecca, after all, he hadn’t experienced this kind of thing before.

Fortunately, after hearing Rebecca’s mother’s words, he relaxed a little, hoping it was really as she said.

Besides looking a little wrinkled at the moment, according to the doctor, little Jennifer was very healthy, and she weighed over nine pounds at birth.

At this moment, after her initial cry, her big eyes looked at Baron, and she suddenly smiled, which made Baron feel like his heart was melting…

At this moment, holding Jennifer, he vaguely had a feeling of being connected by blood.

This feeling was very strange.

…

After entering 2004, starting from March, the British troops stationed in Iraq had already begun their withdrawal plan.

The British troops that initially entered the Iraqi battlefield numbered up to 45,000.

After Saddam Hussein’s regime was overthrown and a transitional government was established, the British troops began to gradually withdraw. Currently, the British troops remaining in Iraq were less than 30,000.

According to the British government’s plan, they would continue to withdraw British troops this year, ensuring that the British troops remaining in Iraq would be within 20,000.

But even though Iraq had completed a “regime change,” their new government still couldn’t completely control the situation. Instead, because of the actions of the Anglo-American coalition forces and military contractors like Blackwater, who wantonly killed civilians in Iraq, more resistance forces were incited, constantly launching attacks on the coalition forces and targets of the United States and Britain.

Therefore, under pressure from within the country, when the British government began to promote the troop withdrawal plan, because British military personnel were pulled out, the security tasks that needed to be undertaken by private military companies became increasingly numerous.

As early as this year, the Protector Military Company’s personnel in Iraq had already increased to over 1,000.

But these personnel still couldn’t meet the local security needs, so since this year, they had been continuously increasing personnel. Currently, their personnel in Iraq had exceeded 1,500.

In fact, if needed, they could provide even more personnel. After all, after the Iraq War, many soldiers who had withdrawn back to the British mainland had begun to retire, and a considerable portion of them could be absorbed into the Protector Military Company.

But Baron didn’t want the Protector Military Company to lose control because of its eagerness to expand its scale, ultimately leading to a situation like the former Blackwater company, so he had been controlling the scale and requirements of the Protector Military Company’s absorption of retired British soldiers.

However, there was another problem: the personnel of the Protector Military Company performing security tasks in Iraq could be said to need to maintain a state of alert for most of the time. After a long time, the psychological pressure would also gradually accumulate, and it needed to be properly guided, otherwise, these personnel wielding weapons would inevitably lose control.

Therefore, the personnel of the Protector Military Company deployed to Iraq would receive a “vacation” to return home for recuperation or go to other places for rest after a period of time.

Because of this reason, since April, a large number of African Protector Military Company armed personnel began to appear in Iraq.

Most of these personnel were local soldiers from the Kolo Legion, rotated to the Protector Military Company’s Iraqi bases for overseas missions.

This kind of rotation method could, on the one hand, strengthen the “practical training” of the Kolo Legion’s local armed personnel, and on the other hand, it could also ensure that the deployed personnel in Iraq could complete their rotation.

Because being dispatched to Iraq could get higher subsidies, greatly increasing their income, this was also an opportunity that many local soldiers of the Kolo Legion competed for, and it was often the most outstanding soldiers who could receive the “reward.”

And the retired British soldiers from the Protector Military Company who temporarily returned to Kolo from the Iraqi base for rest could also be responsible for training the Kolo’s local soldiers in the more secure and stable Kolo, although their income at this time was not as high as in Iraq, it was also necessary for them to balance their psychology.

The Kolo Legion took over some of the equipment of the former Kolo government army, and the main part of this equipment was originally French equipment purchased from France.

But after the Kolo Legion was established, they would naturally not continue the previous government army’s reliance on France in terms of military equipment.

Their equipment would gradually shift towards the standard equipment of the British army.

The arrival of these former British soldiers was also conducive to helping the Kolo Legion’s soldiers familiarize themselves with some British-style equipment.

This also included the CH-47 Chinook transport helicopter, which had also served in the British army.

These helicopters were currently under the Kolo Legion, and before that, they were operated by retired British army members. In the future, they would also gradually begin to train relevant local talents in Kolo.

Chapter 280: Laying Out the Future

“Barron, it’s great that the Mars Fund is opening its investment window again.”

“Actually, I’m considering changing the Mars Fund’s investment window from twice a year to once a year.”

The person facing Barron at this moment was Robert F. Kennedy Jr., of the Kennedy family.

The Kennedy family had invested a portion of their funds in the Mars Fund previously, and they were very satisfied with the returns.

Therefore, after the Mars Fund reopened its investment window in April, they decided to invest more.

Furthermore, not only was their family investing, but other members of the Boston financial group were also joining in the investment in the Mars Fund.

After Barron said the above, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. asked with some confusion:

“Why reduce the frequency of the fund’s open investment windows?”

“Because many of our investments require a long-term perspective. Especially now that the trend of economic recovery has emerged, if we open up for new investments or provide funds for redemptions too frequently, it will inevitably affect the returns of other investors.”

After considering Barron’s explanation, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. also expressed his agreement.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., born in 1954, was exactly 50 years old this year. His father was the older brother of President Kennedy, who had served as the Attorney General of the United States and was later assassinated during his campaign for the presidency after his brother’s death.

Before Barron’s previous life’s rebirth, this member of the Kennedy family had just announced his participation in the United States presidential election, but in Barron’s view, the prospects were not great, after all, many of his views… how to put it, in fact, he hoped that people with such views could become the President of the United States.

Now, Barron had come to Boston.

As mentioned before, Amanda Hearst was studying here. After their relationship became close, their feelings deepened, and Barron had accompanied her from Los Angeles back here, and also met with some members of the Kennedy family.

This year was the United States presidential election year, and as important members of the Democratic Party, the Kennedy family was naturally very active.

Because it was mentioned before, the United States presidential election process was long and complicated, if calculated from the official launch of the process, it would take about 10 months, roughly divided into four stages.

The first stage was the primaries, mainly the supporters of the Democratic and Republican parties separately electing their party’s candidates to run for the presidency, the time was approximately from January to June.

The second stage was the Democratic and Republican parties respectively holding their national conventions, officially launching their respective presidential and vice-presidential candidates, and proposing comprehensive election platforms, the time was roughly in July and August.

The third stage was the final sprint, from the United States Labor Day (the first Monday in September) to the first Tuesday in November for the official vote.

The fourth stage was the Electoral College vote.

The primaries were essentially elections within the political parties, and were separately stipulated by the election laws of each state.

Because the United States states had different regulations on the timing of the primaries, the entire primary was dragged out for a long time, taking up nearly half of the election time.

Whether a political party participates in the state’s presidential primary was decided by the party itself.

Generally speaking, the primary process officially ended in June, but as long as the election results of more than half of the states, including the major states, were released, the basic outcome was roughly known.

And the “Super Tuesday” on the 2nd of last month had such a symbolic meaning, on this day, 10 states held primaries simultaneously, and at the same time, because of the participation of these 10 states, 28 states completed the primaries, each candidate within the parties was already clear about whether they could represent their party in the presidential race.

With Kerry’s comprehensive victory on “Super Tuesday” and Edwards’s announcement of withdrawing from the race, the primaries were essentially entering the final stage.

Barron knew that it was the same in the original timeline, and in the end, Kerry won and became the Democratic candidate.

Because the current president in the Republican Party was in a position where no one challenged him, this made the Republican Party not have to hold primaries in this year’s election, so the primaries became a one-man show for the Democratic Party.

This situation was rare in the primaries of the United States presidential elections in the past.

In this year’s primaries, it could be said that the Democratic Party was a gathering of heroes, with 8 contenders taking the stage to compete for the party’s presidential nomination, among whom the heavyweight figures were—

Massachusetts Senator Kerry, North Carolina Senator Edwards, former Vermont Governor Dean, retired four-star general Clark, 2000 Gore’s running mate Connecticut Senator Lieberman, House Democratic Leader Gephardt.

The appearance of several heavyweight figures made the Democratic Party’s supporters’ morale soar, rekindling their ambition to regain the White House from the Republican Party after Clinton.

As one Democratic candidate said: “Bush and the Republican Party are extreme, we are the mainstream force, we will stand up and fight them!”

The Democratic Party’s primary activities were also carried out with great enthusiasm and excitement.

In this year’s primaries, the most dramatic scene was that Kerry, who had previously ranked low in the Democratic Party’s support rate, defeated Dean, who had the highest call for the nomination, at the beginning of the election, and took the lead in the subsequent election.

From January 19th to February 17th, Kerry won 15 victories in the primaries of 17 states, forcing other Democratic candidates, including Dean, to withdraw from the race, leaving only Edwards as a competitive opponent.

In fact, at this time, Kerry had basically laid the foundation for victory, and the reason why Edwards continued to stay and compete with Kerry was mainly from the perspective of the Democratic Party’s election strategy…

Because, since the beginning of the primaries, the ups and downs of the victories and defeats of the Democratic Party’s candidates had occupied the main positions of the United States’ domestic television, newspapers, and the internet, becoming the news that Americans paid the most attention to, which objectively played the role of “free advertising for the Democratic Party”.

The Democratic Party did not want to end this suspense too early, but hoped that this “free advertising” would play the greatest election effect for the Democratic Party, which had always been short of funds.

In fact, although Barron knew the final election results, he still contributed a portion of funds to the Democratic Party, but in terms of the amount, it would be lower than what he paid to the Republican Party.

Because this year’s presidential primary became a one-man show for the Democratic Party, the voters who supported the Democratic Party were mobilized in advance, and the media also focused the main focus of the election on the Democratic Party, thus creating a relatively favorable social environment for the Democratic Party in the primary stage, which was very obvious in some recent opinion polls.

For example, from February 16th to 17th, a joint opinion poll conducted by CNN, USA Today, and the Gallup polling agency showed that if the presidential election was held now, Kerry would win over Bush by 55% to 47%, and Edwards would win over Bush by 54% to 44%.

At the same time, it should be pointed out that the Democratic Party also faces considerable difficulties in maintaining this state after the primaries, because Bush, whose financial strength far exceeds Kerry’s, is basically in a wait-and-see state and has not really entered the battle.

At the same time, the Republican Party’s election machine has not yet been activated, and in terms of election organization capabilities, the Republican Party has always been stronger than the Democratic Party.

Kerry, who is obviously in the leading position in the Democratic Party, is the senator from Massachusetts, and this is the home base of the Boston financial group.

Kerry has a very close relationship with the Kennedy family, in fact, when there were no outstanding members of the Kennedy family in politics at this time, Kerry was already equivalent to the representative of the Kennedy family, inheriting most of their resources.

Barron knew that although Kerry was not successful in this election, he later led the Democratic Party to two victories and served as Secretary of State, and was an indispensable force in the United States political arena.

So for him, Barron would not hesitate to support him.

Chapter 281: Beginning Development

After Jame Banga assumed the presidency of the Republic of Kolo, he began to fulfill his previous promises.

The Kolo government initiated negotiations with the three French mining companies operating phosphate mines within the country regarding the distribution of profits from the mines.

During this process, they passed a resolution to suspend the export of phosphate ore from the mines these companies owned in Kolo.

Initially, these French companies were naturally unwilling to relinquish their profits.

They even pressured the Kolo government through the French embassy in Kolo.

However, at this point, the Kolo government already possessed evidence of the former head of state, Naxin Dema, colluding with the other side, and they adopted a relatively firm stance in the face of pressure from France.

Moreover, in this matter of safeguarding the interests of their country’s mineral resources, Kolo also gained support from international organizations including the African Union and the Economic Community of West African States.

Furthermore, phosphate is an important raw material, widely used in fertilizers, food processing, detergents, metallurgy, water treatment, building materials, pharmaceuticals, animal feed, and petrochemicals.

As the fourth-largest phosphate ore exporter in Africa, Kolo’s suspension of exports to these French mining companies also affected global phosphate ore prices.

At this time, a visiting team composed of some British companies arrived in Kolo. This included British companies such as the Argos Retail Group, the Stuart Mining Group, and the Devonshire Eco-Agriculture Company.

This visit ultimately led to positive results for these British companies and the Kolo government.

Among them, the Primark clothing chain under the Argos Retail Group will invest in setting up a factory in Kolo for clothing production.

Kolo itself is a cotton-producing country, and their domestic cotton exports account for a considerable portion of their total exports, giving them a certain foundation in the textile industry.

In fact, not only Kolo, but many countries in Africa have been exporting large quantities of cotton, but they often need to import a large number of finished garments after exporting the raw materials, so the price of clothing in Africa can be considered relatively expensive.

Primark clothing chain’s investment in Kolo is, on the one hand, to support the development of Kolo’s textile industry, utilizing Africa’s abundant raw material resources to improve Kolo’s textile industry chain.

At the same time, using Kolo’s low labor costs and the geographical advantage of being close to raw material production areas will help the Primark clothing chain further reduce the cost of finished clothing products and increase its competitiveness.

The Primark clothing chain plans to start building a factory in Kolo before the end of the year.

This factory aims to increase the output of finished garments, including dresses, shirts, and children’s clothing, for export to international markets.

The total investment for the project is estimated to be 25 million euros, and the West African United Bank (UBWA) will provide a loan of 9.84 billion West African francs (equivalent to 15 million euros).

According to the plan, this factory will cover 3.7 hectares and create approximately 2,000 jobs for the local Kolo population.

This factory will be primarily invested in by the Primark clothing chain and operated and managed by their largest original equipment manufacturer (OEM) factory in China, with Primark holding an 80% stake in the factory.

Once built, this factory will become the largest clothing production enterprise in Kolo.

……

The Stuart Mining Group obtained the mining rights to an iron ore deposit located in the plateau area. They will establish a joint venture with Kolo’s state-owned National Development Investment Company to mine this high-quality iron ore.

This joint venture, named Kolo Stuart Mining Company, will be 60% owned by the Stuart Mining Group and 40% by the Kolo National Development Investment Company.

Simply put, this joint venture will be mainly operated by the Stuart Mining Group.

They will utilize their experience and advanced technology to mine the local iron ore.

The Kolo National Development Investment Company, which is owned by Kolo, will purely convert the original authorization fees for mining iron ore into shares to obtain profits.

It must be said that this method is more sustainable.

In addition to the Stuart Mining Group, the Devonshire Eco-Agriculture Company will also invest in Kolo.

They will invest in building a factory in Kolo for the deep processing of economic crops.

Kolo’s main economic crops include coffee and cocoa beans. The factory invested in here by the Devonshire Eco-Agriculture Company will deep-process these products and transport them to the European market for sale.

It was also because of Kolo’s friendly attitude towards British-funded enterprises that they received support from Britain. The two sides agreed that Kolo President Jame Banga would lead a delegation to visit Britain next month to finalize a series of cooperation and aid agreements.

……

Under the combined effect of these factors, after half a month of negotiations, the Kolo government finally reached an agreement with the three French mining companies.

Adding in the shares of the Naxin Dema family in the three French mining companies that were confiscated, the three companies will collectively give up 40% of the shares of their respective local Kolo companies, to be held by the Kolo National Development Investment Company.

This means they will relinquish 40% of the profits generated by these phosphate mines—in fact, before this, they had already given the Naxin Dema family 25% of the shares each, so, when calculated, they were only giving up an additional 15%…

This was already easier for them to accept compared to the Kolo government’s initial proposal to recover more than 60% of the shares through additional penalties and buybacks.

The Kolo National Development Investment Company will serve as the main company holding state-owned assets in certain industries in Kolo and will be directly managed by the Kolo Ministry of Finance.

In addition, they also established the Kolo Industry Investment Fund (CIIF) to invest in and increase the value of state-owned assets, as well as to support the development of some local enterprises.

The funding sources for the Kolo Industry Investment Fund are part of the profits of the National Development Investment Company, as well as some funds allocated from the national treasury.

It can also be considered a sovereign wealth fund of Kolo.

……

Almost simultaneously, the West African Group acquired the remaining 40% of the shares of the capital city, Lodi Port, thereby gaining full control of this best port in West Africa.

And they used this as a foundation to establish the West African Port Group.

The West African Port Group obtained a loan of 500 million pounds from Standard Chartered Bank for the expansion and renovation project of Lodi Port.

Lodi Port currently has two docks, and the originally built dock only had a designed annual throughput of 400,000 tons.

Even in 1984, after the second dock was put into use, the annual throughput of Lodi Port did not exceed 1 million tons.

And now, the equipment of the Lodi Port docks is aging and obsolete, and the carrying capacity is low, which has become a factor restricting the development of the port.

It should be known that Lodi Port is currently the most prosperous port in West Africa, and its development speed has surpassed the ports of several countries in the region.

The current Lodi Port covers an area of 900 hectares (of which the water area is 81 hectares) and can simultaneously dock 8-10 freighters. The port has 9 warehouses, with a total area of 110,000 square meters.

It is located in the heart of the Gulf of Benin, with very convenient transportation. It can radiate to all countries in the Gulf of Guinea outwards and can penetrate deep into the hinterland of West Africa inwards.

Therefore, it is both an important commodity distribution center for coastal West Africa and a cargo transshipment point for foreign trade of landlocked countries in West Africa.

This time, the 500 million pounds loan obtained by the West African Port Group will be used to build two new deep-water docks at Lodi Port and to expand the original two docks.

And the port equipment will be updated, and large trucks for transportation will be added.

According to their plan, it is expected that within two years, the annual cargo throughput of Lodi Port will increase from the current 1 million tons to 5 million tons.

And after the new construction and renovation of Lodi Port are finally completed, it will even be able to reach an annual throughput of 10 million tons, becoming the first port in West Africa and the third-largest port in Africa!

Chapter 282: Ambitious Aspirations?

“Mr. President, I apologize for the interruption.”

In Loti, the capital of the Republic of Kolo, a soldier from the guard, after inspecting the vehicle carrying Jame Gado, saluted and addressed him.

“What’s your name, soldier?”

“Reporting to the President, I am Sergeant Sani Dissa!”

Hearing the soldier’s loud reply, Jame Gado nodded and said:

“Sani, you’ve done well, and I should thank you for your diligence.”

Having received the President’s praise, Sani Dissa saluted again, standing straight.

After getting out of the car and returning to the Presidential residence, he greeted his family and went alone to the study. He picked up the documents he had brought back today, and his gaze fell on one of them.

The name of that document was—“Feasibility Analysis of Withdrawing from the West African CFA Franc Zone and Issuing a New Currency.”

Of course, this document had not yet been brought up for discussion in the government, but was sent directly from the British-African Institute in London.

Thinking of this, the image of the young British Duke could not help but appear in Jame Gado’s mind.

Although Jame Gado had not personally met Baron Cavendish, the Duke who secretly controlled Kolo, up to this point.

But information and materials about him were not difficult to find, even in a small West African country like Kolo.

After all, the other party was a super-rich man, truly wealthier than a nation.

Jame Bongo, from a small leader of an anti-government armed group entrenched in a corner of the grassland area, had become the president of the entire country within these few months, a change of identity that was not insignificant.

Even in the early days, facing the admiring gazes of the public, he would often feel as if he were in a dream.

But the rational Jame understood where the power that brought him to this position came from. That power could make him the president he was now, and it could also destroy him.

Even a powerful nation like the United States, looking at the former Kennedy, could understand the consequences of angering capital, let alone a so-called “president” of a small West African country like him?

Frankly speaking, after leading the negotiations to reallocate the phosphate mine interests of the French mining company, Jame had gained tremendous prestige domestically.

Under the propaganda of the West African Media Group—a media group composed of television stations, radio stations, and newspapers taken over by the West African Group—this was seen as a great victory for national sovereignty since Kolo’s independence.

At such a moment, Jame Bongo was not without more thoughts, such as… obtaining power that matched his current status.

Even whether it was possible to… become a national hero like Mandela?

Of course, this was just a fleeting thought, because rationality took over in the next second. He understood that of all the people he chose to be around, even the guard he had just seen at the door, Jame could not guarantee that their loyalty belonged to him or to the Duke.

Therefore, the greater possibility… no, it was almost absolute, that if he really harbored ambition and made a slight mistake, then what awaited him was destruction.

After all, if someone could support him to the position of president, then they could also let someone else sit in this position, such as Thomas Kabore of the Kolo Socialist Party.

Jame couldn’t help but think of the few conversations he had had with Baron Cavendish, during which the other party had once said to him:

“Mr. Bongo, not just Kolo, but all of Africa is in chaos and poverty. Why is this? Is it because the resources here are not abundant enough, or because the people are not diligent enough? Of course, it’s neither of those things; many reasons have created the current reality.”

“No matter how you view the presence of the West African Group in Kolo, Mr. Bongo, I hope you can think clearly: do you want to be like South Africa, appearing independent but losing the opportunity for development, or do you want the people’s lives to be genuinely improved…”

“The reality is that, given Kolo’s situation, it is destined not to be able to participate in the games of the great powers; being able to stay out of trouble is already the best outcome… but this is only a rare opportunity in Africa. If you cooperate with us, I can guarantee that the people of Kolo will be able to escape their current poverty, children will be able to study without worry, and adults will be able to live with dignity through hard work, no longer experiencing hunger and despair…”

“And you, Mr. Bongo, will become the ‘Father of Democracy’ of Kolo, a national hero, as long as you don’t try to use unrealistic ‘ambitious aspirations’ to destroy this fragile country.”

Jame Bongo had studied in Britain and was considered one of the “people who opened their eyes to the world” among the Kolo people.

He had also learned about the history of many countries in the world, and he greatly admired great powers like the United States, Russia, and China, because their size gave them the opportunity to make mistakes, and even if they were once weak, they could still stand back on the center stage.

And for small countries like Kolo, and especially those located in Africa, their upper limit was nothing more than a slightly more prosperous country.

This was already what they dreamed of for Kolo.

You must know that Kolo’s total GDP in 2003 was only 980 billion West African CFA francs, equivalent to less than 1.5 billion euros, with a per capita GDP of less than 215 euros…

As the most prosperous capital of the entire country, Loti, the average monthly salary was about 15,000 West African CFA francs… well, that’s about 21.5 euros.

No wonder they were one of the least developed countries in the world.

It could be said that if they relied solely on themselves, they would not be able to carry out any basic construction…

After all, a country’s total GDP in a year was only 1.5 billion euros, and there was not much money that could be squeezed out for development and construction.

Just as Baron said to Jame, as long as he could feed the people and solve their poverty, then Jame Bongo would be enough to become a national hero of Kolo!

Thinking of this, Jame Bongo sighed, no longer having any thoughts of confronting the Duke.

The entire country’s GDP for a year was only 1.5 billion euros, and how much money did the Duke have?

In the recently released Forbes Rich List, Baron Cavendish’s assets were 20 billion US dollars, exceeding 15 billion euros…

This was equivalent to Kolo’s entire country’s GDP for ten years…

Facing such a person, what courage did he have to fight against?

At this moment, Jame Bongo’s gaze fell on the document in front of him again.

He opened the document and looked at it again.

The currency currently used by Kolo was not the one they issued themselves, but a currency called the West African CFA franc.

The full name of the West African CFA franc is “African Financial Community Franc” (franc de la Communauté Financière Africaine), which is the common currency of the West African Economic and Monetary Union (including eight countries: Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Niger, Senegal, and Togo).

The operation of the West African CFA franc mainly follows these four principles:

First, it maintains a fixed exchange rate with the euro (1 euro = 695 West African CFA francs before the euro was born).

Second, it can be exchanged with the euro without restriction.

Third, as an exchange for France’s guarantee for the West African CFA franc, countries in the West African CFA franc zone must remit 65% of their foreign exchange reserves to the French treasury.

Fourth, capital can circulate freely within the West African CFA franc zone.

The West African CFA franc originated from a currency designed by France for its African colonies in 1945. After gaining independence, the countries in the West African CFA franc zone have been working to gain monetary sovereignty, but France has always had a strong influence on the West African CFA franc, and major changes in the West African CFA franc have been completed under the leadership of France.

It needs to be acknowledged that using the West African CFA franc as the national currency also has its advantages, that is, the West African CFA franc maintains a fixed parity with the French currency (currently the euro), which greatly improves the stability and credibility of the West African CFA franc.

Just like the currency devaluation that occurs in most underdeveloped countries, it will not happen in the West African CFA franc zone…

Chapter 283: Withdrawing from the West African CFA Franc Zone

However, using the West African CFA franc as the country’s currency also has relatively more drawbacks.

This point has already been explained very comprehensively in the document in front of Jammeh Bongou.

For example, the fixed exchange rate mechanism of the West African CFA franc, which is pegged to the Euro, itself harbors hidden dangers. The main impact is that the countries in the West African CFA franc zone cannot use the exchange rate lever to make external adjustments to their economies.

Because it is pegged to the Euro, the West African CFA franc often fluctuates with the Euro’s exchange rate. Whether or not the exchange rate is adjusted, and when it is adjusted, depends entirely on the latter.

In addition, France can directly exert influence and even interfere with the monetary policy of the West African CFA franc zone through its representatives stationed in the monetary institutions of the zone.

For example, in 1994, France, disregarding the strong opposition of the West African CFA franc zone countries, insisted that they accept the structural adjustment plan of the International Monetary Fund, which ultimately led to the CFA franc being forced to devalue by 50%.

Burkina Faso’s most well-known president, Thomas Sankara, once said:

“The West African CFA franc, which is linked to the French currency, is one of the weapons of French rule. Through this link, this monetary monopoly, the French economy and French commercial capitalists accumulate wealth from our people. This is why Burkina Faso is striving to build an independent, self-sufficient economy through the struggle of our people, thereby ending this situation.”

For Kolo, the strong position of the West African CFA franc restricts export competitiveness and the development of local industries.

The Euro is a strong currency, and the West African CFA franc has a strong currency status because it is pegged to it.

A strong currency is a tax on exports because it makes export goods more expensive, and it is a subsidy for imports because it makes import goods cheaper.

For example, Kolo’s product exports are mostly denominated in US dollars, while their currency, the West African CFA franc, is pegged to the Euro in terms of exchange rate—the Euro has generally been stronger than the US dollar since its inception.

This makes the price of goods from Kolo more expensive for buyers importing products.

Conversely, their import costs are relatively low, which leads to West African CFA franc zone countries often importing a large amount of foreign goods, which to a certain extent hinders the development of local industries.

In addition, the European Union, based on its own situation, implements a long-term tight monetary policy, which is seriously inconsistent with Kolo’s economic situation.

Because the West African CFA franc is pegged to the Euro, the monetary policy of the West African CFA franc zone has to be consistent with the monetary policy of the Eurozone, but the differences between the current situations of the Eurozone and the West African CFA franc zone cause the Eurozone’s monetary policy not to be applicable to the West African CFA franc zone.

The ultimate result is that the West African CFA franc greatly restricts Kolo’s development.

This is because the primary goal of the European Central Bank is to fight inflation, and the West African Central Bank has to follow the same policy.

It is precisely based on this primary goal that the West African Bank and Kolo’s banks have to reduce lending to local enterprises and African countries.

The credit of the West African CFA franc zone countries accounts for only 23% of the gross domestic product, while this ratio in the Eurozone exceeds 100%. Local enterprises need funds to develop, and a long-term tight monetary policy increases the difficulty of enterprise financing, which is not conducive to the development of local enterprises.

In addition, the West African CFA franc zone also exacerbates the debt crisis because it cannot fully utilize its foreign exchange reserves.

Senegalese economist Dembele believes that handing over foreign exchange reserves “means that this money, which should have met our investment needs to support our development, has left our country.”

Thus, a contradictory situation arises: a large amount of foreign exchange reserves of the African franc zone countries themselves are placed in the French treasury and cannot be used, and the rate of return is extremely low, while at the same time, they lack development funds and often have to seek help from international financial institutions or aid and commercial loans, being forced to bear high loan interest rates, and sometimes even having to accept certain political and economic conditions.

In recent years, the debt crisis in African countries has been continuously intensifying. The proportion of public debt of the West African CFA franc zone countries to the gross national product has increased significantly from 34.4% in 2014 to 48.7% in 2018. This contradiction has to a certain extent exacerbated the debt crisis in the West African CFA franc zone countries.

For example, Kolo’s current external debt has accumulated to 1.4 billion Euros, which is basically equivalent to their entire GDP of last year…

However, the good news is that Kolo currently meets the requirements of the “Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Debt Initiative” and is currently undergoing a qualification review by international organizations, including the International Monetary Fund. Once approved, it will receive a debt reduction of more than 500 million Euros.

The so-called “Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Debt Initiative” refers to the “Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Debt Initiative” jointly launched by the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank in the autumn of 1996.

The basic goal of the “Heavily Indebted Poor Countries” plan is to use the government resources saved by debt reduction for the poorest countries to reduce poverty. These resources will be used to increase government payments in public services.

Kolo obtaining the qualification to meet the conditions for receiving debt reduction, that is, reaching the “decision point” for participating in debt reduction, can obtain a temporary partial debt reduction from the creditor countries.

On November 18, the International Monetary Fund announced in a statement: Kolo became the 34th country to meet the qualifications of the “Heavily Indebted Poor Countries Debt Reduction Initiative.”

According to World Bank statistics, in 2003, Kolo’s per capita national income was only less than 200 US dollars, and more than 65% of the residents lived below the poverty line (less than 2 US dollars per day).

By the end of 2003, Kolo’s total external debt reached 1.8 billion US dollars, and the ratio of external debt to fiscal revenue was 396%.

This time, the International Monetary Fund’s requirements for debt reduction also include a social reform plan.

Because the national election was completed, the process was transparent and fair, and it was praised by most relevant international organizations, including the UN, the EU, and the AU. The requirements of the International Monetary Fund have also been met.

Returning to the topic of Kolo’s currency reform, after withdrawing from the West African CFA franc zone, Kolo can also get back their foreign exchange reserves that they handed over to France.

Handing over foreign exchange reserves to the West African Central Bank is one of the conditions for France to provide unlimited exchange guarantee for its West African CFA franc. The initial proportion of foreign exchange handover was 100%, and it was reduced to 65% in 1973.

For this part of the funds, France not only provides an interest rate of 0.75%, but also provides a devaluation guarantee, that is, when the Euro devalues relative to the International Monetary Fund’s Special Drawing Rights, France will provide compensation.

Currently, Kolo’s foreign exchange reserves in France amount to 800 million Euros. Getting back this part of the funds will also help their future development.

Finally, there are currently two African franc zones, namely the West African CFA franc zone and the Central African CFA franc zone.

However, these two African francs cannot be circulated with each other, so the consequence is that there is very little economic exchange between the West African CFA franc zone and the Central African CFA franc zone, which also limits the transit trade of Lomé Port as an important port in Africa.

However, although withdrawing from the West African CFA franc zone has so many benefits, Jammeh Bongou still has some concerns about carrying out currency reform and launching Kolo’s own currency.

First of all, according to the recommendation of this document, the Kolo government will authorize the West African Bank to issue currency.

And in the Kolo Monetary and Financial Committee, which is responsible for specifying the country’s currency-related policies, there are a total of five committee members. The West African Bank will occupy two seats, the Ministry of Finance one seat, the Ministry of Interior one seat, and the last seat will be held by a national economic policy advisor.

From this arrangement, it can be said that the West African Group can easily control this committee.

Of course, Jammeh Bongou had already anticipated this result.

And he also knows that Kolo’s plan to withdraw from the West African CFA franc zone and issue its own currency is unstoppable.

But in addition, he also needs to consider France’s attitude towards this matter.

You must know that before this, the attempts of Mali, Burkina Faso, and Côte d’Ivoire, members of ECOWAS, to issue their own currencies all ended in failure due to France’s obstruction.

The most classic example is that in the 1960s, in order to punish Guinea for withdrawing from the African franc, France organized sabotage activities, printed counterfeit money to flood the Guinean market, and even prepared to overthrow the then-President of Guinea, Sékou Touré.

In 1962, the then-French Prime Minister Pompidou warned African countries considering leaving the franc zone: look at Sékou Touré’s experience.

Although things are different now, France should not be too arbitrary, but on the other hand, in the process of Kolo reducing its debt, it also needs a certain degree of support from France, so even if this plan needs to be implemented in the end, it also needs to be strategic.

Of course, the Institute of Anglo-African Studies is not blind to this, and in their assessment, France will be dissatisfied with Kolo’s withdrawal from the West African CFA franc zone, but the possibility of excessive behavior targeting this matter is extremely low.

And they also suggest that this plan should be launched after Jammeh Godo completes his visit to the UK and obtains more support from the British government.

Chapter 284: Mikhail

“Ah!”

The woman suddenly cried out, instantly sitting up in bed.

When she opened her eyes, in her rapid breaths, and realized the scene in the bedroom before her, Aliyah finally relaxed slightly.

At this moment, she realized that she was covered in sweat, and her pajamas were already soaked.

The scenes from the dream just now still appeared in her mind from time to time…

Feeling that she couldn’t fall asleep again for a while, Aliyah got up, showing off her beautiful figure, and slowly walked into the adjacent washroom.

Then, the sound of running water faintly came from the bathroom.

Just as Aliyah changed into a nightgown and walked out of the washroom, she heard a knock on the door.

She cautiously walked to the door:

“Who is it?”

“It’s me, Aliyah.”

Baron’s voice came through the door:

“I just heard you scream, so…”

After hesitating for a moment, Aliyah opened the door and saw Baron outside, tall and imposing.

“You haven’t slept yet? Your Grace, the Duke.”

“I was just about to sleep, when I passed your door and heard your voice, so I wanted to see what was going on. I knocked just now and you didn’t answer, I thought I had misheard… but I was still a little worried.”

Thinking that she had just taken a shower, but she knew that the soundproofing in the rooms here was very good, just like when Baron and other women… Aliyah only heard those sounds once when she needed to ask him something and went to his bedroom door…

So, Aliyah was still a little surprised that Baron could hear her waking up from the nightmare just now… Could it be that her voice was really that loud at the time?

“I’m sorry for disturbing you, Your Grace, the Duke. I just had a nightmare.”

“That’s good…”

Aliyah’s face was already delicate, and she looked a little pitiful, perhaps because she had just woken up from a nightmare.

Baron looked at her and asked softly:

“Is it about… the past?”

Seeing the girl silently nod, Baron comforted her:

“It’s all in the past, Aliyah, you’re safe now, no one will hurt you. Okay, you should rest early, if anything happens, just tell me.”

Today’s Baron made Aliyah feel a rare… tenderness.

Seeing him turn around and prepare to leave, Aliyah bit her lip slightly and said:

“Wait a moment, Your Grace, the Duke, I, I have something I want to tell you…”

…

When Baron returned to the bedroom again, Ivanka was still asleep…

Baron hadn’t expected that, after just “coaxing” her to sleep, he went downstairs to drink water because she had sweated so much, and happened to hear Aliyah wake up from a nightmare, and then got this news from her.

According to Aliyah, the day after she and Baron returned to New York from Boston, when they went out with them, she accidentally saw a person on the street…

At first, she thought she had mistaken the person, but when the other person gave her a smile—a smile that was so familiar to her—Aliyah confirmed that the person was Mikhail Ritter.

As mentioned before, besides Aliyah, her foster father, Louis Lafayette, had also adopted many children.

Most of them, after they grew up, were used by him and joined his criminal organization.

And Mikhail Ritter was one of them.

Mikhail had Slavic blood, and he had a great talent for fighting since he was a child. Coupled with Louis Lafayette’s special training, Mikhail began to participate in some underground fighting competitions from the age of 16—that is, the kind where people bet on life and death in a cage.

And Mikhail’s record was very fierce, and he was once called Cerberus—that was the three-headed dog guarding hell.

“Why didn’t you tell me about this before?”

At that time, Baron looked at Aliyah and asked indifferently.

“Because… because I didn’t think he was really still alive.”

“What do you mean?”

At that time, Aliyah was sitting in front of the floor-to-ceiling window, looking at the moonlight outside, and said with a hint of reminiscence:

“The last time I saw Mikhail was two years ago, and after that, I never saw him again…”

She looked at Baron, took a deep breath, and said:

“Do you remember me telling you that I had a sister who was tortured to death? At that time, Mikhail told me about this, and I only then knew that Mileva, my sister, was Mikhail’s lover…”

When she said this, Baron remembered that Aliyah had indeed told him about this at the time.

“Mikhail also told me at the time that he was going to take me away from there and then avenge Mileva… But the next day, news came out that Mikhail had been killed by bodyguards because he intended to attack Louis… I really didn’t expect that he wasn’t dead, and I really don’t know whether his appearance was a coincidence or for some other purpose, why did he come to New York?”

No matter what Mikhail’s purpose was, or whether he still had something to do with Aliyah’s foster father, Louis Lafayette, since the other party had also seen Aliyah, Baron certainly had to be on guard against it.

Especially since he knew from Aliyah that Mikhail was quite skilled.

The next day, Baron and his party left New York and returned to London by Gulfstream G450.

It wasn’t that they were scared away by this Mikhail, but that it was already late April, and the Viscountess Christie’s due date was also very close…

Although it was Ethel Booth. that was about to be born, she was still Baron’s own daughter, and he certainly wouldn’t favor one over the other.

And he had also agreed with Rebecca that, after she had recovered a little, he would send his own plane to Los Angeles to pick up their mother and daughter back to London to recuperate, and Rebecca could also return to her alma mater to continue her studies…

In that case, they would be able to reunite in just over half a month.

The most dissatisfied with Baron’s hasty departure was naturally Ivanka, who had just been with him for two days.

After all, no matter what the original purpose of being with him was, as they spent more time together, she had discovered more and more of the handsome Duke’s strengths… Compared to the men she had known before, it could be said that Baron completely won K.O. in every aspect, so Ivanka’s infatuation with him grew day by day.

In Ivanka’s opinion, perhaps Baron’s only shortcoming was that he was too flirtatious.

But in this regard, she was not particularly difficult to accept because of her family…

After all, her father, after experiencing two marriages, had recently become very passionate with a model who was 24 years younger than him…

And over the years, the women who had appeared around her father, I’m afraid Ivanka herself couldn’t even count them.

Therefore, regarding feelings, Ivanka understood more what she needed, and reason allowed her to take the initiative to ignore those trivial matters.

“Baby, I need to deal with some things, you know, one of my companies is preparing to go public. But I promise you, next time I go to China, I’ll take you with me…”

Hearing Baron’s promise before leaving, Ivanka finally smiled and gave him a sweet kiss.

Chapter 285: Increasing the Issuance Price

When Barron returned to London, Summit Media was in the midst of its second round of roadshows for their IPO.

Back in March, Summit Media had received approval from the UK Listing Authority (UKLA) and the London Stock Exchange (LSE), officially commencing the Initial Public Offering (IPO) process.

For this Summit Media listing, they had chosen Barclays Bank as their sponsor and underwriter.

During the first round of roadshows, Barclays Bank had set the initial offering price for Summit Media within a range of 12 to 13 pounds per share.

However, because investors were overly enthusiastic, the offering was oversubscribed after just the first round of roadshows. Consequently, in this round of roadshows, they raised the offering price, setting it within a range of 13.5 to 15 pounds per share.

Calculating at a price of 13.5 pounds per share, this IPO would raise 337.5 million pounds, with a market capitalization of 1.6875 billion pounds.

Because Summit Media’s current shareholders, DS Holdings and Sinclair Group, both needed to lock up their shares for a year, the 25 million shares issued by Summit Media this time were all newly issued shares, with no reduction in holdings by the original shareholders.

During the roadshow, Summit Media CEO, Fearghal Headden, announced that the funds they raised this time would be used to purchase more program content, increase the company’s production capabilities, and launch their pay channel, SD Sports, on the Freeview platform this year.

Because of the high-quality program content previously represented by Downton Abbey, The Traitors, and Love Island, coupled with the fact that the Freeview platform covered over 12 million users, the number of viewers for SDTV was increasingly approaching that of ITV, the third-largest television station in the UK.

With the upcoming launch of the SD Sports channel, a pay channel, investors were extremely optimistic about SDTV’s prospects.

Especially on Saturday, May 1st, the broadcast of Strictly Come Dancing, produced by Giant Studio, the production company owned by Bonnie Stuart, the UK’s hottest producer and currently the most “top-tier” host, on SDTV, received a very positive response from the audience.

When this program first aired, only a little over 3 million viewers watched it, but during the program’s progression, the viewing curve consistently trended upwards, ultimately peaking at nearly 7 million!

At this point, industry insiders had already confirmed that another phenomenon-level variety show had emerged.

The success of Strictly Come Dancing propelled Giant Studio to become a well-known program production company, and Bonnie succeeded once again, almost guaranteeing her the awards for variety shows this year.

At the same time, the success of this program also made investors even more optimistic about Summit Media’s IPO, after all, their SDTV was the broadcast platform for this show.

Even after raising Summit Media’s offering price in this roadshow, investors’ enthusiasm for pursuing it did not diminish.

…

Because of what happened when Aliyah “ran into” Mikhail in New York, after returning to London, Barron did not let her return to The Holme, the mansion in Regent’s Park, as she had previously.

Instead, she stayed with him, moving into Barron’s villa in Kensington.

And here, he also increased security—the number of guards stationed near his residence and the bodyguards accompanying him had both been doubled.

At the same time, after obtaining as much information as possible about Mikhail from the intelligence team, they were also keeping an eye on him through certain official channels—if Mikhail entered the UK under his own name, they would be notified immediately.

Of course, for someone like Mikhail, the possibility of entering the country under a false identity was extremely high, so even with this layer of protection, Barron still did not relax his efforts to ensure his own safety and the safety of those around him.

“When we have food and clothing, and the elderly are cared for, and the young are educated, please do not forget that in many places on Earth, there are still many people who are homeless, some of the children there have become orphans, most are tormented by hunger, not to mention having the opportunity to receive an education…”

“Our Devonshire Charitable Foundation is dedicated to working with like-minded individuals to help those poor children, so they can receive food, water, health, and knowledge. Thanks to the support and help of His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales, His Grace the Duke of Westminster, Viscount Booth, and many more friends…”

Barron’s words were drowned out by applause in the hall.

The Devonshire Charitable Foundation’s fundraising event here today aimed to provide humanitarian aid to children in Africa and Iraq.

“I’m very glad you’re standing up and doing these things, Barron.”

As he often did, the Prince of Wales was very enthusiastic about attending these charitable events. He patted Barron’s arm affectionately and said to him.

“Compared to what you do, my insignificant contributions are not worth mentioning, Your Highness.”

“There’s also something, Barron, Her Majesty will personally meet with the guests from Kolo…”

Hearing this seemingly casual remark from the Prince of Wales, Barron smiled:

“Congratulations to Your Highness, and to Her Majesty the Queen, we have another member in the Commonwealth.”

“You’ve brought us a problem… Barron, we all know what’s going on.”

“Cheers, Your Highness…”

Barron picked up a wine glass and clinked it with the Prince’s, then took a sip:

“At least this won’t cause us any losses, will it? The French will be restrained, hmm, perhaps they’d be happy to get rid of the burden of Kolo…”

Yesterday, a delegation from the Republic of Kolo, headed by Jame Bongo, arrived in London by plane.

This time coming to the UK, in addition to showing goodwill, Jame Bongo also hoped to receive some aid from the UK, so the delegation was very “practical” and came directly by commercial flight.

Even Jame Bongo, who was the president, purchased an economy class ticket. This gesture also received some praise from the media—including The Independent.

On the day he arrived in London, Jame Bongo was received by the Prime Minister…

During the meeting, Jame mentioned his desire to join the “Commonwealth,” which made the Prime Minister quite interested, after all, expanding the UK’s influence was also one of his achievements.

As for their hope of obtaining UK support in the EU’s “debt reduction,” as Barron said, this would not cause them any losses.

After all, Kolo, as a member of the West African CFA franc zone, did not have much debt owed to the UK. Relatively speaking, the countries of the Paris Club held the most of Kolo’s debt…

This is why Jame would only mention joining the Commonwealth in meetings with the UK Prime Minister and the Queen, but would not mention it in public.

The UK and France… are not always so close.

To have the opportunity to undermine France and pull the rug out from under them, uh, the British probably wouldn’t miss it.

Furthermore, the low-interest loans that Jame hoped to obtain did not encounter too much resistance, but the amount would definitely be decided after thorough deliberation.

However, no matter what, Jame Bongo would certainly gain something in the UK this time.

Not to mention the Queen’s personal reception.

Chapter 286: Low-Interest Loan

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Bongo.”

“Your Grace, I am truly honored to be received by you…”

Before Her Majesty the Queen received Jammeh Bongo, Baron had met with him in advance.

The meeting took place at Baron’s villa near Richmond Park in London.

This villa was the London property left to Baron in the estate of Lady Emma.

Richmond is located in the southwest of London, in Zone 4. It is known for its beautiful environment, and many members of the royal family are fond of this place.

And this villa, located near Richmond Park, overlooks the river, making it one of the best residences in the area.

Baron didn’t want the meeting with Jammeh Bongo to be widely known, so choosing this property, which was already held by an offshore company, as the meeting place was more appropriate.

This was also Baron’s first meeting with Jammeh Bongo, but after the meeting, they didn’t feel too unfamiliar with each other.

Because someone like Baron often appeared in media reports, and Jammeh Bongo, who was attentive, would naturally be aware of his appearance and other circumstances.

As for Baron, before cooperating with Jammeh Bongo, his relevant information, extremely detailed, had already been presented to Baron.

Facing the young Duke of Devonshire, Jammeh Bongo was not relaxed. It could be said that this was much more nerve-wracking than when he met with the British Prime Minister this year.

After all, in front of the British Prime Minister, even a small breach of etiquette would generally not be a big problem. At most, it would leave the other party with the impression of being “uncivilized and backward,” leading to disdain.

But this Duke of Devonshire was different. It could be said that everything about Jammeh Bongo was in the other party’s hands.

In the end, Baron’s conversation with Jammeh Bongo was more like casual chatting, talking about his time studying in England, the customs of Kolo, and Jammeh’s views on countries other than England, including the United States, France, Russia, and China, these major powers.

In the final analysis, Baron didn’t need to discuss anything particularly important with Jammeh Bongo through this chat. He wanted to have this face-to-face talk to get a direct impression of the other party’s various aspects, including personality and concepts.

After all, it was very likely that the other party would become his important “partner” in the next eight years.

As for the important matters concerning the future development of Kolo, they didn’t need to be discussed in such a meeting, or to put it more bluntly, Jammeh Bongo’s opinions weren’t that important.

Perhaps because of his experience of studying in England, or because he was facing an English duke, and he was in England at the time, it could be felt from his words that Jammeh Bongo was relatively close to England overall…

Of course, the fact that he chose Jammeh Bongo as a cooperative partner from among the members of the Kolo Liberation Front was also due to his experience of studying in England.

The conversation with Jammeh Bongo lasted for less than an hour and a half, and then Baron sent someone to take him back to the hotel where the Kolo delegation was staying.

Basically, he was quite satisfied with this meeting.

“Your Grace, are you staying here today?”

At this moment, Aliya walked slowly behind Baron, placed her hands on his shoulders, pressed with moderate force, and asked softly.

“Don’t you like staying in Kensington?”

“No… Wherever Your Grace stays, I will go with you.”

Baron raised his arm and placed his hand on the back of Aliya’s hand.

This action of his caused the movement of Aliya’s hand to stop, and Baron could feel her boneless hand tremble slightly.

Baron patted the sofa on one side of him, signaling her to sit down.

Aliya, however, knelt directly on the carpet beside him…

Looking down at Aliya’s exquisite face, Baron raised his eyebrows slightly and said in Arabic:

“I want you to tell me what you really think, Aliya.”

“I just…”

Aliya’s gaze turned to the patterns on the carpet, and she also said in Arabic:

“I just feel that Miss Bonnie doesn’t seem to like me…”

“Bonnie? She just hasn’t gotten used to your presence yet, there’s no malice.”

Of course, what Baron didn’t say was that probably any woman would not readily accept a beautiful woman like Aliya, with her exotic charm, accompanying her boyfriend intimately.

Baron could understand this, but since she was his woman, this was something Bonnie needed to adapt to.

“Stay here tonight, and go back tomorrow.”

Hearing Baron’s words, a look of excitement immediately appeared in Aliya’s eyes:

“Really? Your Grace.”

Seeing her somewhat cute little expression, Baron couldn’t help but reach out and touch her hair, and said with a smile:

“Why would I lie to you…”

It could be seen that Aliya’s mood was indeed very good. She rested her head on Baron’s legs, and from Baron’s perspective, she looked like a docile Persian cat…

…

The visit of the Kolo delegation led by Jammeh Bongo to England did indeed yield good results.

After being received by Her Majesty the Queen, the Kolo delegation reached relevant agreements with the British government.

The Republic of Kolo welcomes British companies to invest and will implement tax reduction policies for investment in some industries.

The British government, in turn, provided the Republic of Kolo with a low-interest loan of 100 million pounds. This loan had an annual interest rate of only 0.5%, a repayment period of ten years, and repayments would begin in installments five years after the loan was issued.

Of course, these were the parts that could be made public.

In fact, the British government also welcomed Kolo’s accession to the Commonwealth. They would propose inviting the Republic of Kolo to become an observer country of the Commonwealth at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting to be held in Malta next year, and then begin negotiations for Kolo’s accession to the Commonwealth.

At the same time, the British government would also provide assistance in the implementation of a new currency plan in Kolo, including providing them with relevant technology. Under the liaison of the British government and Baron, De La Rue, the company that prints banknotes for the British government, and also the world’s largest banknote printing company, would open a new printing plant in Kolo to help the Kolo government print new banknotes, as well as citizen identification cards and passports, and other printed materials that require extremely high anti-counterfeiting technology.

Because of Kolo’s climate, there would be a very humid period every year, and they needed paper that could withstand the local environment and avoid mold and deterioration to make banknotes.

It is worth mentioning that one of the reasons Kolo abandoned the West African CFA franc was that the paper of the West African CFA franc was very “unacclimated” in Kolo, and it was very prone to mold and deterioration during long-term storage, causing losses to the people and the country.

The new printing plant of De La Rue in Kolo would be established jointly with the West African Group, with De La Rue holding the controlling stake.

This printing company could also print banknotes for some of De La Rue’s customers in Africa, thereby reducing its transportation costs.

Yes, De La Rue, as the world’s largest banknote printing company, does not only print banknotes for the British government – perhaps in the eyes of many people, banknotes, as an important resource, should be printed by the country itself, but the truth is just the opposite.

In today’s world, with the exception of a few countries such as China, the United States, and the United Kingdom, it is not uncommon for most countries to entrust the printing of their currency to foreign printing plants.

De La Rue also printed Hong Kong dollars for Standard Chartered Bank and HSBC until 1996, when the local government acquired De La Rue’s printing plant in Hong Kong and completely took over the banknote printing business.

De La Rue’s customers are now all over the world, and many African countries’ banknotes are printed by De La Rue.

After completing the visit to England, Jammeh Bongo and his delegation still left here by civil aviation. They would continue to visit other countries. The next stop was France.

Speaking of which, Jammeh Bongo was probably the African president who didn’t have to worry about being “raided” and overthrown by a coup while he was on a foreign visit…

Chapter 287: Aether

“Darling, it’s been so long since Chrissy went in… I hope everything’s alright.”

“Honey, don’t worry. This is the best maternity hospital in London. Everything will be fine.”

Baron comforted Bonnie. After all, he had some experience with childbirth.

Today was May 10th. It was one day before Mrs. Booth’s due date, but she went into labor unexpectedly and was rushed to the hospital.

Baron and Bonnie rushed over as soon as they received the news.

At this moment, the atmosphere outside the hospital’s delivery room… was a little peculiar.

Specifically, waiting outside were Chrissy’s husband, Ian Booth.; her cousin, Bonnie; and her cousin’s boyfriend, Baron—who was also the biological father of the child Chrissy was about to give birth to…

It could be said that besides the other attendants, the psychological states of these three people were probably quite complex…

Especially during this waiting period, besides being concerned about the Viscountess in the delivery room, constantly finding topics and filling the conversation became the three people’s most important mission…

After all, every moment of silence in the air was deafening.

Fortunately, this process was finally ended by the sound of the door opening. After hearing the news that mother and daughter were safe, the three of them simultaneously exhaled, and smiled.

For the Viscountess’s successful delivery, and for the fact that this scene could finally end…

“Congratulations, Viscount, a very beautiful little beauty…”

After the nurse handed the baby in the swaddling clothes to Viscount Booth, he glanced at her quickly and handed her to Bonnie beside him…

“I’ll go see Chrissy…”

Saying this, he pushed the door and entered the ward.

Bonnie, after looking at the baby in her arms, shifted her gaze to Baron’s face, her expression very complex…

Then, she handed the baby girl to Baron:

“She really looks like you…”

When their daughter was already in his arms, Bonnie had followed Viscount Booth. into the ward to visit her cousin.

And Baron looked at his daughter…

She still looked wrinkled, how could she look like him?

But she would definitely be a great beauty in the future, after all, she inherited his excellent genes…

Well, Baron was very sure this time.

…

Although, at first, Bonnie wasn’t that enthusiastic about Aether Booth…. that is, the daughter of her cousin Chrissy, who had just given birth.

However, it was obvious that this was mainly because her boyfriend was the biological father of this baby girl, so she couldn’t help but feel some emotions…

But later, when the Viscountess could take the child back home to recuperate, Bonnie would still visit them from time to time.

And at this time, she was already full of love for Aether, this increasingly adorable little baby.

At the same time, although Bonnie had been relatively busy during this period because she needed to produce the variety show “Dancing Miracle”—after all, this was the first show produced by her startup company, Giant Studio…

And because it had a competition and advancement nature, and required judges and audience votes to jointly determine the couples who could advance, this variety show was filmed and broadcast simultaneously, requiring a lot more energy.

But at this time, Bonnie was also trying to find more time to be more proactive in certain matters…

When Baron was working his heart out, he couldn’t help but guess that her unusual excessive enthusiasm was perhaps because of Aether’s birth, so she had a certain sense of urgency?

…

A few days after Aether was born, Rebecca, accompanied by Baron’s other daughter, Jennifer, arrived in London on a Gulfstream G450.

In Westminster, Baron had purchased a property for them, a Victorian-style villa with a private garden.

Before they arrived, besides renovating and remodeling the villa to a certain extent, Baron had also hired several servants specifically for them, who could take good care of Rebecca and her daughter, especially their daughter, Jennifer Cavendish.

Upon receiving Rebecca and her daughter at this villa, as soon as they entered the door, Rebecca was amazed by the environment and the layout of the decoration.

She happily toured the entire villa, and it was obvious that this young mother really liked it.

Of course, as Baron’s first child, Jennifer would also be under Baron’s close protection.

And considering Rebecca’s fame in the UK at this time, which had become quite well-known because of the hit show “Downton Abbey”, even if it couldn’t be said that everyone knew her, she still had considerable popularity. Therefore, not only would Rebecca have at least two female bodyguards accompanying her when she went out, but there were also two teams of security personnel around the villa, who provided protection day and night.

It could be said that by now, just in London, the security personnel responsible for protecting Baron and the people and residences related to him had already exceeded 100 people!

Along with Rebecca back to London, besides her daughter Jennifer, was her mother.

After returning to London, Rebecca would spend part of her time studying.

She would return to Cambridge University to continue her university courses, which she had stopped to pursue her acting career.

And her mother, along with three full-time nannies who took care of Jennifer, would stay in this Westminster villa to accompany the little princess, who had just turned one month old.

…

Currently, the fastest-growing service in O2 Telecom was broadband.

Although earlier, British Telecom had already occupied the majority of corporate users and more individual users—as early as the end of 2002, British Telecom’s individual broadband users had exceeded 1.5 million, far ahead of other telecom companies in this business.

However, after O2 Telecom was acquired by Baron and partnered with Digital UK to launch preferential family packages, their speed of catching up was astonishing, and they even surpassed them in the individual business sector in a very short period of time.

In the UK market, broadband was now the fastest-growing consumer product, with a growth rate exceeding that of television, CD players, and VCRs, as well as the growth rate of mobile phones.

Faced with O2’s aggressive competitive situation, starting from January 1, 2004, British Telecom announced that it would lower its broadband network access fees, with a maximum reduction of up to 25%.

All new and existing broadband customers would benefit from this price adjustment.

The specific reduction plan included lowering the price of 512K broadband service from 27 pounds per month to 24.99 pounds per month.

Almost at the same time, other telecom companies also successively lowered their prices in order not to fall behind in the competition.

For example, Yahoo’s broadband service, the price of 512K was lowered from 29.99 pounds to 26.99 pounds; the price of 1M Yahoo service was lowered from 40.99 pounds to 29.99 pounds…

Moreover, in response to O2 Telecom’s activity last year, which offered free modems when opening broadband services, which had achieved great success, other telecom companies had also followed up on this measure.

Now, O2 Telecom’s broadband service, although not the cheapest in the UK and the French market, where broadband networks had been completed—their 512K network price was 22.99 pounds per month; the price of 1M broadband was 25.99 pounds per month.

In the 512K broadband, some telecom companies’ prices were already as low as 20 pounds per month, while in the 1M broadband, O2 Telecom was currently the lowest price.

But O2 Telecom’s broadband service was the most cost-effective in the UK and French markets, because their broadband equipment was only installed in the past two years. Because they were the latest models, they provided a higher actual speed of broadband service.

To date, O2 Telecom had invested more than 1 billion pounds in the construction of broadband networks.

If they also completed the broadband network installation in the German market, then according to the forecast, their new cables would exceed 5,500 kilometers!

Currently, just in the broadband business, O2 Telecom had already exceeded 12 million users in the UK and French markets, and their user share was the first in the individual broadband business of the two countries’ telecom companies!

Chapter 288: Time for Another Meal

“As various telecommunications companies gradually recover from the previous crisis, those powerful giants have also begun to cast their eyes on relatively weaker companies. According to our analysis, mergers and acquisitions between telecommunications companies may become frequent again…”

O2 Telecom’s CEO, Barry Trelaise, wasn’t wrong.

Just like the example he gave earlier—Czech Telecom seemed to have become a new target. Recently, companies like Belgacom and Swisscom both seemed interested in acquiring this telecom company, which had the most users in the Czech Republic.

In addition, Deutsche Telekom had similar acquisition intentions in Slovenia, and France Telecom in Poland.

Baron understood that Barry Trelaise wouldn’t worry that O2 Telecom would become a target for other telecom giants.

Because all the shares of this company were in Baron’s hands. As long as he didn’t agree, no one could acquire O2 Telecom.

But at the same time, integrating businesses through acquisitions was also the fastest and most effective way for telecom companies to expand, and this was also the case for O2 Telecom.

“Next, O2 Telecom will also go public with an IPO, but we need to choose the right time…”

Although O2 Telecom wouldn’t be acquired for now, the fact remained that O2 Telecom was originally spun off from British Telecom’s mobile business, and its other businesses hadn’t been developed for long. Moreover, in order to compete for the market, a large amount of funds had been used for the deployment of mobile communications and broadband networks, leaving not much money for acquisitions.

Under such circumstances, going public with an IPO was also the best way to obtain funds.

As long as Baron maintained a sufficient shareholding ratio, he could still firmly control it.

And there was another advantage to O2 Telecom’s IPO, which was that when they acquired other companies, they could use the method of issuing new shares for the acquisition, not just cash. When O2 Telecom’s prospects were promising, the shareholders of the acquired company would be more willing to exchange their shares for O2 Telecom’s shares.

Being listed on the securities exchange market would give O2 Telecom’s market capitalization and stock price more credibility, making it easier to determine the proportion of new shares issued when acquiring other companies through share swaps.

O2 Telecom’s IPO was already in Baron’s plan, and Top Media’s IPO was only a test run.

After all, listing the companies he held could make it easier to use capital operation methods to profit.

But with O2 Telecom’s size, it was definitely incomparable to the current Top Media.

Unlike Top Media, which was listed on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange, which was equivalent to a growth enterprise market, O2 Telecom’s listing target was definitely the main board of the London Stock Exchange.

However, on the one hand, O2 Telecom had only been acquired by Baron for just over a year, and it still fell short of the listing requirements for the main board of the London Stock Exchange.

On the other hand, O2 Telecom was currently fully developing the markets of Germany and France, and the number of users was still rapidly increasing.

It could be said that this company was still in a stage of rapid expansion. Listing at this stage, its financial indicators wouldn’t be able to give a satisfactory performance, so its corresponding stock price and market capitalization might also be underestimated.

Therefore, the best choice was to conduct an IPO after O2 Telecom had gone through rapid expansion and its business had become relatively stable.

O2 Telecom’s CEO, Barry Trelaise, also agreed with this point raised by Baron.

Another point worth mentioning was that while telecommunications companies were competing for broadband services for individual users, it wasn’t just the quality and price of the network. Providing users with richer services through broadband services was also something they were all trying to do.

For example, British Telecom was now providing broadband users with Yahoo Messenger’s phone.

This product was used to integrate BT VoIP components with Yahoo’s PC instant messaging software.

This software could be downloaded for free from the British Telecom website, or it could be installed via CD.

However, this service still had many shortcomings compared to Skype, which was cooperating with O2 Telecom.

For example, when British Telecom users used this service, which was named BT Phone there, it could only be used for existing BT PSTN users, and most call charges were the same as British Telecom’s current rates.

At the same time, this service didn’t allow incoming calls. Incoming calls would be connected to the user’s standard phone (1.75 pounds/month) without call waiting function, and could notify narrowband users of incoming calls when they were online.

Compared to Skype, which had most of its services free or at very low cost, this was indeed less attractive to users.

That was why Skype developed rapidly, especially in the markets of Britain and France, which were occupied by O2 Telecom, and its user numbers also grew rapidly.

In addition to Skype, O2 Telecom also cooperated with SEM Group and Digital UK’s Freeview platform to provide users with video services from the DailyVideo website.

The DailyVideo website was a video-sharing website similar to YouTube, except that YouTube hadn’t appeared yet.

Users could access the DailyVideo website through the Freeview platform and the internet, upload their own videos, or watch videos from other users.

However, because the current broadband network speed wasn’t fast, the DailyVideo website only provided low-definition, short-duration video functions.

…

After leaving Britain, the next stop for the Kolo delegation was France.

However, Jame Bongo didn’t gain much in France. This was probably related to the pressure they had exerted earlier, forcing the three French mining companies to give up their shares.

After all, Kolo was an underdeveloped country, and its land area wasn’t large. It ranked fourth from the bottom among the 16 countries and 1 region in West Africa.

It could be said that, apart from phosphate ore, there was nothing that France could look up to at this time.

But even just these were taken away by their former colony, who pressured them to take 40% of the shares of the French mining company, which naturally displeased the French authorities.

But in the final analysis, Jame Bongo’s trip to France wasn’t completely fruitless. At least because the Republic of Kolo had passed the “Heavily Indebted Poor Countries Debt Reduction Initiative” of the International Monetary Fund, the Paris Club, led by France, agreed to waive its 150 million euros of debt—in fact, most of this “debt” was interest they had previously borrowed from members of the Paris Club…

Having some debt reduced was already good. As for wanting to continue to obtain aid or low-interest loans from France, that might be a bit difficult…

In fact, Jame Bongo and his team had anticipated this result before coming to France. At least it was better than the worst result they had expected, and it could be considered that they had an explanation.

Next, Jame Bongo would continue his visit. The next stop was the EU headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, where he would discuss debt reduction for Kolo and try to obtain some aid.

There was no way. The national strength was such that if they wanted to have more development, they could only ask for help from those “big brothers.”

After the EU, Jame Bongo’s itinerary would also include the United States, China, and Russia, which were influential countries in Africa.

Chapter 289: Needs to Learn

“Congratulations, Mr. Coy, no, the Honorable Member of Parliament Coy.”

“Haha, thank you for your congratulations, Your Grace, I am very grateful for your help.”

Just yesterday, the founder of the “Shield of the Empire” military company, who had sold the company to Barron and returned to his hometown, Mevin Coy, successfully won the election as a Member of Parliament in Scotland.

Therefore, Barron sent him a congratulatory telegram.

From the phone call, Barron also discovered a very interesting thing, which was that Mevin Coy’s Highland accent became increasingly… authentic.

This time, when elected as a Member of Parliament, Mevin Coy participated in the by-election of the Scottish Parliament and was successful.

The Scottish Parliament elections are generally held every four years, and one was just held last year.

Normally, if he wanted to be elected as a Member of the Scottish Parliament, he would have to wait until 2007…

However, because there would be Members of Parliament who would resign for various reasons during this period, by-elections would be held for these Member of Parliament positions.

Mevin Coy’s by-election was because, before May of this year, three of the 129 Members of the Scottish Parliament had resigned, so this by-election was held.

He became the Member of Parliament representing the Lothian region.

In this by-election, Barron also provided great help to Mevin Coy.

For example, the Independent newspaper in the Scottish region had been cheering for Mevin Coy, promoting his inspiring deeds.

Mevin Coy participated in this by-election as a representative of the Scottish Liberal Democrats, who are the third-largest party after the Labour Party and the Scottish National Party (SNP).

What many people know is that in the later Scottish independence referendum, the SNP was the main force supporting Scottish independence in the Scottish Parliament.

The Labour Party and the Liberal Democrats both support the unification of the United Kingdom.

From Mevin Coy’s active participation in overseas military operations after joining the Scottish army, and later creating the “Shield of the Empire” to resettle veterans, his stance could be seen.

…

“Welcome to Saudi Arabia, my dear friend.”

“It’s an honor to receive your invitation, Mr. Waleed.”

The first stop after leaving the UK, Barron’s private jet landed at Riyadh Airport, the capital of Saudi Arabia.

The reason for coming here was because he had received an invitation from Prince Waleed, the richest man in the Middle East, who had been cooperating with him since the beginning of this year. Therefore, he set the first stop of his Asian tour in Saudi Arabia.

It could be seen that Prince Waleed also attached great importance to Barron’s visit this time.

After personally welcoming him at the airport, what Barron saw was the convoy that the other party had sent to welcome him…

It was a huge convoy consisting of more than 20 Rolls-Royce cars. Yes, you read that right, this endless convoy was all kinds of Rolls-Royce cars.

Barron was naturally no stranger to Rolls-Royce cars, he owned several himself, and often traveled overseas in them.

But it was the first time he had seen so many Rolls-Royces form a convoy to welcome him.

Half of these Rolls-Royces were extended versions, which were more than enough to take all of Barron and Prince Waleed’s entourage at once.

And the car that Prince Waleed had prepared for Barron, the body was entirely gold – this was not gold plating, but the entire car body was covered with thin sheets of pure gold using a special process…

This scene couldn’t help but remind Barron that in his previous life, he had seen media reports that Prince Waleed had a Mercedes-Benz SL600 encrusted with diamonds, with a total of 300,000 diamonds embedded in it. When he held his private car show, just touching this car would cost 1,000 US dollars.

Of course, this car would appear a few years later.

But even now, Prince Waleed owned countless sports cars of all kinds, including those supercars with various shapes.

However, on the occasion of welcoming Barron, the Duke of the UK, it was certainly inappropriate to use those dazzling supercars to form a convoy to welcome him.

Even so, today’s welcoming convoy, which was entirely composed of various models of Rolls-Royces, was shocking enough.

The convoy took Barron and his party directly into a tent…

Yes, you read that right, it was indeed a “tent”.

As everyone knows, all the tribes in Saudi Arabia were once nomadic peoples, and tents were their traditional dwellings.

And in the desert near Riyadh, the capital and largest city in Saudi Arabia, Prince Waleed owned a modern super tent…

Of course, it’s more accurate to say it’s a modern palace.

This building was built in 2000. At that time, Prince Waleed spent 130 million US dollars and used the most advanced high-tech to build this palace.

It has more than 300 luxurious rooms, equipped with 520 of the most advanced televisions, 400 high-tech communication devices, 8 super elevators, and several swimming pools.

The top floor of the palace is an airplane runway, and there are as many as 180 servants used in the palace. It can be said that this place is extremely luxurious as his residence.

It has to be said that, speaking of wealth, Prince Waleed and Barron were actually not that far apart.

In the Forbes Global Billionaires List, which was just released this year, the 47-year-old Prince Waleed ranked fourth in the world with a personal asset of 21.5 billion US dollars.

And Barron’s personal assets were valued at 20 billion US dollars, ranking sixth with five family members who owned the same shares in the Walmart Group.

Although in fact Barron’s personal wealth was definitely underestimated, the wealth figures on Prince Waleed’s list were not necessarily accurate either… Generally speaking, the wealth possessed by the two of them was of the same level.

But compared to enjoyment, Barron was really far behind this Saudi prince.

For example, the super mansion he was currently in, called the “tent”, could cost 130 million US dollars – Barron had not yet purchased a mansion with such a high unit price…

In addition, Barron’s private jet was a Gulfstream G450, a mid-sized business jet.

And Prince Waleed’s private jets were not just one, and they were all behemoths like the Boeing 747 and Airbus 321 that were modified.

For example, his luxurious Boeing 747 private jet, the interior decoration was even more luxurious than a five-star hotel.

The interior of this plane has a master suite with a king-size bed and shower, a full-size dining room and kitchen, and a prayer area that always points to Mecca.

But the most famous of Prince Waleed’s private jets was the A380 large airliner he ordered from Airbus for more than 500 million US dollars five years later as his airborne palace.

This was also the largest private jet in the world since then.

Because, as of the discontinuation of the A380 model airliner, only Prince Waleed’s plane was used as a private jet.

In addition to private jets, Prince Waleed also owns a super yacht – the 282-foot-long luxury yacht Kingdom 5KR.

This was a classic yacht from 1980 that he bought from Ivantha’s father – named after his investment company, his lucky number, and the names of his two children.

Kingdom 5KR can accommodate 22 guests and 31 crew members.

Its walls and bathrooms are decorated with precious materials, and there are also salons, offices, saunas, elevators, helipads, and cinemas.

There is also a hospital and six refrigerators on it, which can ensure that the prince and his companions are safe and comfortable in any situation.

So far, Prince Waleed has nearly 300 cars, including a blue Rolls-Royce and a rare Lamborghini Veneno Roadster.

In addition, Prince Waleed has a 26-person entourage to accompany him at all times.

They will not only travel with him on yachts, attend events, and go on vacation, but also have dinner with him.

Their responsibilities include medical care, palace management, personal affairs, concierge, travel, telecommunications, beauty, fitness, security, and audio-visual aspects.

It can be said that in every aspect, Prince Waleed’s luxurious enjoyment surpassed Barron… It seems that he still has a lot to learn.

Chapter 290: Frenzied Party

Putting aside everything else, that A380 really made Baron’s heart flutter.

“Your Highness, this is my wife, Amina.”

Walid introduced the young and beautiful woman beside him.

“Hello, beautiful princess, it’s an honor to meet you.”

Because he knew that Arabs had certain taboos, especially towards women, Baron only politely complimented the princess. Seeing her reach out first, he lightly shook her hand, and then immediately let go.

It could be said that compared to other Saudi women, Amina was indeed quite individualistic, and Walid was relatively open-minded, or rather, doted on her…

This time, Amina didn’t wear a veil, but instead showed her true face. This was a rare occurrence in Saudi Arabia.

Amina Al-Waleed was twenty-one years old this year, twenty-eight years younger than Walid.

Amina was Prince Walid’s third wife—although Saudi Arabia allowed polygamy, Prince Walid’s thoughts were rather unique in this regard. He believed that those who no longer loved each other should separate, so he would divorce and remarry after paying his ex-wives a considerable “separation fee” each time.

However, although Amina was known as the most beautiful princess in Saudi Arabia, in Baron’s opinion, purely from the perspective of appearance and figure, his own Aliya was even better than the princess in front of him.

In order to get closer to them, Baron used Arabic when talking to Walid and his wife.

From her husband’s mouth, she heard that when they first met in London, the Arabic spoken by the young British Duke in front of them was limited to only the simplest two or three sentences…

Compared to now, Baron could already chat with them in fluent Arabic—at first, Amina thought he had studied Arabic for many years, so she was greatly surprised.

“Perhaps I have a slight talent for languages, I also want to thank my Arabic teacher, Miss Aliya.”

As Baron said this, both Walid and Amina looked at Aliya beside Baron.

Ivanka would only meet up with Baron at the next stop, so at today’s dinner, Baron didn’t have any other female companions and brought Aliya along.

“Miss Aliya, are you also an Arab?”

Perhaps because she saw that Aliya beside Baron was also not wearing a headscarf, Amina looked at her with admiration and asked in a gentle tone.

“Yes, Princess, I have three-quarters Arab blood.”

Aliya didn’t mention that her ancestors were from a noble family, after all, the grandfather of Prince Walid in front of her had driven the Hashemite family out and established Saudi Arabia.

In Saudi Arabia, Walid was considered relatively tolerant towards women, which could be seen from Princess Amina. Therefore, he didn’t mind that Aliya, a beauty with Arab blood, didn’t wear a headscarf and didn’t even believe in Islam.

Speaking of which, Walid and Princess Amina met when she was eighteen years old…

Amina, who was still in university at the time, was chosen by the school to interview Walid. Initially, Walid only gave her ten minutes, but during the interview, Walid was deeply attracted by the beautiful girl who didn’t wear a veil. The original ten-minute interview was dragged out to two hours.

Soon after, they fell in love. Amina originally requested to marry Walid after graduation. Walid agreed to this and even attended her graduation ceremony.

Perhaps the reason why Walid doted on Amina so much was not only because she was a beautiful vase, but also because Amina, who was raised by her mother after her parents divorced, had a more independent soul—in an environment like Saudi Arabia, for a woman to choose to divorce was indeed a courageous act.

For example, after marrying Walid, Amina didn’t stay out of the public eye like other female members of the Middle Eastern royal family—like Sheikha Hind, the first wife of the Dubai ruler, she hadn’t left the Dubai royal palace for twenty-five years since marrying Sheikh in 1979.

But Amina, who was rebellious and bold, never wanted to be his canary after marrying Prince Walid. Instead, she always followed him, hoping to have her own career and grow with her husband.

Amina devoted a lot of time to charity work, establishing the “Al-Waleed Foundation” in her husband’s name, which earned Walid a good reputation.

Perhaps it was also because Aliya had more Westernized thoughts, which were different from most Arab women, so she and Aliya got along well when Baron was discussing business with Walid, and they seemed to be very compatible.

What Walid talked to Baron about was investment and finance.

Prince Walid’s investment company was called Kingdom Holding Company. Although he had invested in many industries, what he valued most was banking.

Besides Saudi United Commercial Bank, Walid was also the largest individual shareholder of Citigroup. These assets accounted for more than half of his total assets.

In addition, he also actively acquired shares in many other banks…

At the same time, Kingdom Holding also invested in industries including real estate, chain supermarkets, telecommunications companies, television stations, and hotels.

What was interesting was that Baron was almost involved in all these industries as well.

What was even more interesting was that Kingdom Holding also owned shares in Amazon and Apple…

So, in terms of business, Walid had a lot to talk about with Baron.

Prince Walid said that he would hold a grand welcome banquet for Baron’s arrival in the Kingdom Palace in the center of Riyadh two days later.

Regarding the content of this banquet, Prince Walid seemed rather mysterious and didn’t reveal it to Baron in advance.

But judging from his expression, he seemed to be looking forward to surprising everyone…

…

Sure enough, as the richest man in the Middle East, Walid’s extravagance was indeed something Baron had not anticipated.

Two days later, when he brought his entourage to attend the welcome banquet Walid held in the Kingdom Palace, although the banquet was decorated with extreme luxury, beauty, and magnificence, and the food was also very exquisite…

But these were not enough to make Baron feel surprised…

What really made Baron couldn’t help but exclaim “Holy crap” in his heart… was the performance segment after the welcome banquet began.

Because appearing on stage were Janet Jackson, the Backstreet Boys, Britney Spears, Eminem, Linkin Park, Beyoncé, Avril Lavigne, the Black Eyed Peas…

If this list were fully listed, it would probably be questioned for padding the word count…

But the truth was, of the currently most globally famous singers, Prince Walid had invited more than thirty!

You know, these were the hottest singers right now!

And later Baron found out that Walid only spent three days to contact them, then sent his private jet to directly bring these singers to Riyadh, and then gave Baron a big “surprise”!

These people each performed one or two of their representative works on the spot, which made this welcome banquet almost a small concert!

Even Baron, who had experienced two lifetimes and was well-informed, was shocked by Prince Walid’s generosity, not to mention the other people who attended this banquet…

Anyway, from the beginning, the cheers in the venue never stopped. Over a hundred guests directly turned the place into a large-scale frenzied party.

Chapter 291: Baidu’s Further Financing

The next day, when Barron woke up, he found that two blonde beauties were lying on either side of him, their bodies warm and fragrant…

At this moment, he gradually recalled the craziness of the previous night.

Well, it could indeed be described as crazy…

He gently pulled his arm away, escaping from the embrace of the beauties.

Perhaps because he was too tired, the two blonde beauties only turned over during this process and continued to be immersed in their dreams, without waking up.

When Barron stood up by the bed and looked at the scene, he couldn’t help but sigh…

Sweetheart, who is beautiful and has a sweet voice, would also have a hoarse, broken voice at certain moments…

Avril, who had a cold appearance and gave people the impression of an ice-cold beauty, also had times of passion and even craziness…

……

This time Barron was invited to Saudi Arabia, and deliberately tried to get along well with Prince Alwaleed, naturally, he also had his own purposes.

Of course, at last night’s welcome banquet, Barron didn’t just find two bed partners – that was just a side benefit.

Besides seeing Salman again at yesterday’s banquet and deepening his relationship with the future crown prince, Barron also got to know more Middle Eastern tycoons…

“Your Grace, Mr. Sheen has already arrived in Beijing and has met with Mr. Li, the boss of Baidu…”

After Barron had breakfast, Aliya reported to him.

The business matters were originally handled by Barron’s personal assistant, Laura, but the current Saudi Arabia still has many rules for women. Even foreign women entering the country need to wear robes and headscarves when going out.

Therefore, this time when he came here, Barron only brought Aliya, who was more familiar with the local customs, among the female attendants. The other female staff would meet in the next stop – Beijing.

So, at this time, Aliya needed to take on some extra work that was originally handled by Laura, in addition to her duties as a personal assistant.

In fact, even earlier, Amber Sheen, the CEO of DS Holdings, had already gone to China to negotiate with the other party about Tencent’s IPO listing in Hong Kong.

Apart from the fact that choosing Hong Kong as the location for Tencent’s IPO listing was decided by DS Holdings, the largest shareholder of Tencent, together with Pony, having Standard Chartered Bank as the sponsor and underwriter for Tencent’s listing was also mainly proposed by Barron.

It was seven o’clock in the morning Saudi time, and Beijing time was five hours ahead, so it was already noon in Beijing.

Barron directly picked up his phone and dialed Amber’s number.

“Your Grace, I’m with Hock now. Yes, regarding Baidu’s financing, we’ve already reached an agreement with Robin and secured the largest share…”

In the phone call, Amber Sheen told Barron that he had arrived in Beijing with Chen Fuyang, the head of Rich23 Capital, and had reached an agreement with Robin Li, the founder of Baidu, on their third round of financing.

In Baidu’s previous Series B financing, DS Holdings purchased 5 million shares of Baidu’s preferred stock at a price of 3 US dollars per share – these preferred shares would be converted into common shares at a 1:1 ratio when Baidu went public.

By the beginning of June 2004, Baidu announced that it had become the world’s largest Chinese-language search engine with over 300 million Chinese-language web page links and over 60 million daily traffic.

It eventually established its leading position in the industry in China.

And then, at this time, Baidu began to prepare for its third round of financing, which would also be their final round of financing before going public.

Because Robin Li had decided to lead Baidu to list in the United States next year.

According to their agreement, Baidu would still raise 15 million US dollars this time, and would sell approximately 2.25 million shares of C-series convertible preferred stock (convertible preferred stock for Series C financing) to eight investors at a price of 6.67 US dollars per share.

Among them, Google would invest 5 million US dollars to subscribe for approximately 745,000 shares; Rich23 Capital would also invest 5 million US dollars to subscribe for approximately 745,000 shares.

The remaining shares would be divided among early investors including Integrity Partners, Peninsula Fund, and new shareholders.

In this financing of Baidu, the most eye-catching thing was that Google, which was also dedicated to the field of internet search, participated in their financing.

In addition, DS Holdings did not participate in the financing, but instead secured one-third of the Baidu Series C financing for Barron’s offshore investment company, Rich23 Capital.

In fact, by now, Baidu did not lack funds – their search business already had stable profits.

The reason for this Series C financing, which was also their final round of financing before going public, was mainly for their future development and their listing in the United States next year.

It is worth mentioning that Google’s participation in Baidu’s financing was the result of DS Holdings’ mediation.

These two major competitors “joined hands,” which was not so much Google’s attempt to strengthen its competitive strength in the Chinese market, but rather Baidu’s attempt to improve its international market awareness, which was more conducive to listing.

You must know that Google, as the world’s most well-known search engine, had already started the IPO listing process and was expected to land on NASDAQ in the second half of the year.

And when Chinese internet companies go public in the United States now, if they want to obtain a satisfactory valuation, they first need to have a “model company” with similar business in Silicon Valley for comparison, so that they can gain the attention and trust of American investors.

Then Google, which was about to land on the NASDAQ market, was Baidu’s model on NASDAQ. Now with Google’s investment, Baidu’s chances of success in listing would increase.

And DS Holdings, which currently held shares in both Baidu and Google, was very suitable as the intermediary for these two “rivals” in the Chinese search market.

As DS Holdings, which held shares in many internet companies, naturally, Baidu also valued them very much.

The reason why Rich23 Capital participated in Baidu’s financing this time instead of DS Holdings was also because after the release of various rich lists at the beginning of this year, Barron hoped to accelerate the process of hiding his wealth, otherwise, after the companies he invested in went public one after another, he might become the world’s richest man on the rich list…

Next year, after Baidu went public, the 5 million shares of Baidu’s convertible preferred stock held by DS Capital at this time would be converted into common shares, which would generate a return of over 40 times.

Therefore, he arranged for Rich23 Capital to participate in Baidu’s financing. After all, the price of Baidu’s preferred stock in this financing was 6.67 US dollars, and there was still a more than 18-fold increase from the closing price of 122.54 US dollars on the day Baidu went public, which was also considerable.

In addition to Baidu’s financing, Rich23 Capital would also participate in the subscription of the public offering of Tencent’s IPO, and would continue to buy their shares after they went public.

The South African MIH Group would not sell the remaining shares of Tencent that they held.

And after Tencent went public, their stock price would experience a short-term decline, which was also a great opportunity to buy the then “cheap” shares of Tencent.

Chapter 292: Industrial Investment

After sending off the two big stars, Baron also tidied up and prepared to go out.

It’s worth mentioning that, besides sending his private jet to bring those thirty-odd singers from all over the world, Prince Walid would also continue to send his private jet to send those people away in the next few days.

And every star who came here would receive a Mercedes-Benz luxury car as a gift from him.

It was indeed a grand gesture.

In the afternoon of today, Baron had an appointment to meet with several wealthy Middle Eastern individuals…

In fact, these wealthy people usually wouldn’t get up as early as Baron—relatively speaking, in this region, nighttime was the main time for most people to go out, especially in the summer.

Because it was only just June, the highest temperature here could already reach 40 degrees Celsius, and by July and August, it would even exceed 50 degrees Celsius, so unless necessary, going out during the day was indeed a test of endurance.

It was said to be afternoon, but by the time everyone arrived, it was already starting to get dark…

Baron also attached great importance to this meeting, after all, these wealthy individuals could all become his “benefactors.”

Just like when he was chatting with Walid before, this Middle Eastern tycoon was quite interested in the soon-to-be-listed Summit Media under Baron’s name, and also intended to participate in the next round of financing for the Woaw website.

As for Summit Media, it was anyway preparing for a public listing, and it didn’t matter who subscribed to its shares, so if Prince Walid was willing to participate in the IPO subscription, Baron would also be very welcome.

As for Woaw—the prospects of this social networking site had been recognized by more and more people, but the problem was that Woaw’s development didn’t lack funds, Baron himself could completely provide the funds for it before the listing, and its financing was entirely to obtain other resources to ensure it wouldn’t be targeted by certain means in future competition…

Therefore, regarding Walid’s slight intention to invest in Woaw, Baron could only say he was sorry and politely declined.

If the man known as the “Middle Eastern Buffett,” Walid, could see the potential of many companies under Baron’s name, then some other wealthy individuals were more interested in financial investment, after all, their main purpose of investing was to preserve and even increase the value of their wealth obtained from oil resources.

Before this, Prince Walid had already invested 500 million US dollars in DS Investment’s quantitative fund, the Athena Fund. This investment was a fixed-income investment product, and such investment returns were already very rare for large amounts of capital.

As long as the stability of this investment product could be proven in the end, then many Middle Eastern wealthy individuals would be interested in purchasing these products.

In terms of fixed-income products, there was the Athena Fund, and for those investors who liked a little risk and might have higher returns, there was also the Mars Fund for them to choose from.

Even, for these big moneybags, Baron could specially customize a fund for them, in short, it was all about “meeting the needs of the customers.”

Besides these private funds, at this meeting, Baron also met Bader Mohammed Al-Sa’ad, the President of the Kuwait Investment Authority (KIA).

Previously, Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund—the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia, had invested 1 billion pounds in purchasing O2 Telecom’s convertible bonds, which could earn an annual interest of 3.5%… Of course, what they cared about was not this little bit of interest, but rather these corporate bonds, which could allow them to convert these corporate bonds into O2 Telecom’s common stock at the stock issuance price when O2 Telecom went public for an IPO.

This was the reason why the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia was willing to make this investment. After all, even if O2 Telecom were to publicly issue shares in the future IPO, they might not be able to subscribe to enough shares, but through this form of convertible corporate bonds, they could lock in the stock shares of this telecom company they were optimistic about in advance.

Like the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia, the Kuwait Investment Authority also hoped to invest in this way, but Baron was also quite interested in the new cooperation plan that Baron proposed to them.

This plan was that Baron would establish an industrial investment fund, mainly to invest in and acquire some companies, and after restructuring them, improve their overall value.

Because of the long-term growth attribute of this industrial investment fund, the investment capital lock-up period was at least 3 years.

For this fund, Baron himself would provide an initial capital allocation of no less than 30%, and guarantee an average annual return of at least 15%. Below this return, as the fund manager, Baron and his team would not charge any management fees, and within each investor’s first investment lock-up period, Baron would use his own assets as collateral to guarantee the safety of the principal for the other party.

Of course, corresponding to this strong guarantee, Baron would share a percentage of the profits according to the return ratio of the investment amount within each investment lock-up period of the other party.

When the rate of return was between 15% and 50%, he would collect 30% of the other party’s profit share.

When the rate of return was between 50% and 100%, he would collect 40% of the other party’s profit share.

When the rate of return was above 100%, he would collect 50% of the other party’s profit share.

The rules of the industrial investment fund he proposed could be said to have exactly scratched the itch of the Kuwait Investment Authority…

First of all, this fund was a large-scale investment fund with a very high threshold, with a minimum investment of 500 million US dollars, basically excluding most private funds.

In addition, Baron used his own assets as collateral for loss compensation, which could guarantee that their investment would not incur losses, at least within the first lock-up period.

And only within this lock-up period, if the average annual return was above 15%, could management fees be charged, which meant that if this couldn’t be achieved, then in the worst case, they could eventually get their principal back after a lock-up period, and wouldn’t even be deducted management fees—in fact, a considerable portion of all funds in the world relied solely on management fees to maintain operations…

As for the profit sharing of this fund… the Kuwait Investment Authority would be even happier if Baron and his team could get a higher share, which meant that the rate of return they earned for themselves would be even higher.

It could be seen that after Baron proposed the idea of this industrial investment fund, Bader was still very moved. He said he would use the fastest speed to discuss with the board of directors of the Kuwait Investment Authority, and finally reply to Baron whether to participate in this industrial investment fund.

The results of this meeting were still very satisfactory to Baron.

Many Middle Eastern wealthy individuals and some investment institutions had shown interest in the product funds of DS Investment Company. As for how much capital could be attracted in the end, that would have to be determined after the specific negotiations in the next few days.

Next, Daisy, the CEO of DS Investment Company, would personally lead the team to Riyadh to negotiate with these wealthy individuals and investment institutions, and there was no need for Baron to come forward himself.

“Your Highness the Princess, what are you two talking about?”

When this meeting ended, Baron returned to the “tent” he was staying in with Prince Walid, and saw Princess Alena was chatting with Alia, and the two of them seemed to have a very close relationship with each other.

“Just talking about some things between women, and also, I’m a little curious about the charitable foundation of your Grace’s family.”

After Princess Alena’s voice fell, Alia beside her continued:

“Her Highness the Princess is also in charge of the Walid Foundation, and has done a lot of charity work in various places, but she asked about the affairs of the Devonshire Charitable Foundation, and I don’t know much about these things…”

“Your Highness, as you said, the Princess is a career woman, and you are both worthy of respect for being so dedicated to charity. Our Devonshire Charitable Foundation has also had some activities in this regard, and if you are interested, I can give you a general overview…”

“That’s great…”

After Prince Walid sat down beside him, Princess Alena gave him a sweet smile, and then said to Baron:

“Maybe we can cooperate with your foundation to hold a charity event later.”

Chapter 293: Bank Cooperation

After a few days in Saudi Arabia, Baron thanked Mr. and Mrs. Waleed for their hospitality and invited them to return the favor when they visited England.

Then, Baron, along with Alia and the rest of his entourage, took a Gulfstream G450 from Riyadh Airport, heading for Hong Kong, China.

Although Tencent was about to be listed in Hong Kong, Baron’s primary reason for coming here this time wasn’t mainly because of that.

During the previous acquisition of Standard Chartered Bank, Baron had already been to Hong Kong. He met with local tycoons, including Li Ka-shing, and purchased a portion of Standard Chartered Bank’s shares from them.

This time upon arriving in Hong Kong, Baron also received invitations from several tycoons, who were going to hold cocktail parties to welcome him.

After all, besides Baron’s identity as a British nobleman, he was also ranked among the top of the Forbes rich list, and his assets were currently even higher than Hong Kong’s richest man, Li Ka-shing.

Moreover, after acquiring Standard Chartered Bank, his business became increasingly close with these local families.

But before that, Baron first went to the Standard Chartered Bank Hong Kong headquarters located in Central – the Standard Chartered Bank Building.

Currently, Standard Chartered Bank’s headquarters was located in London, its Asia-Pacific headquarters was in Singapore, and the Hong Kong headquarters was mainly responsible for the Greater China region’s business.

Here, the newly appointed Chief Executive Officer of Greater China, Tsang Ching-suen, reported to Baron, who was the Chairman of Standard Chartered Bank, about some of the situations regarding the bank’s business in China:

“We are negotiating the specific terms for this in-depth cooperation with Bank of Communications. According to your requirements, we will demonstrate the utmost sincerity while considering our own interests…”

Forty-seven-year-old Tsang Ching-suen had been with Standard Chartered Bank since 1992, serving the bank for twelve years and possessing rich financial experience.

The reason Baron chose her to be the Chief Executive Officer of Greater China after acquiring Standard Chartered Bank was, of course, not just because of her elder brother, but because she indeed had the corresponding abilities.

“I am very optimistic about China’s future development. Previously, there were many restrictions on foreign capital entering the financial industry in China. Now, they are undergoing commercialization reforms of banks, and they need our international experience. This is a very good opportunity.”

Tsang Ching-suen also agreed with Baron’s words.

Starting this year, China began to initiate the shareholding reform of state-owned commercial banks, promoting the establishment of a modern financial enterprise system - from Baron’s previous life experience, this was a very important reform.

In fact, since the new governor of the central bank took office last year, he had already begun to lead the shareholding reform of state-owned commercial banks, deciding to adopt the foreign exchange reserves to inject capital.

For this reason, the Central Huijin Investment Company was established at the end of 2003, injecting 22.5 billion US dollars into China Construction Bank and Bank of China, respectively, starting the process of shareholding reform of the four major banks.

In 1999, the four major banks spun off 1.4 trillion yuan of non-performing assets to the four major asset management companies. By the end of 2002, as measured by the five-level classification standard, the non-performing loan ratio of the four major banks was 26.1% - except for China Construction Bank, which had a non-performing loan ratio of about 15%, the others were all above twenty percent, and the non-performing loan ratio of Agricultural Bank of China reached 36.6%, meaning more than one-third of the loans were non-performing loans.

At the time, many foreigners believed that China’s banking industry had already gone “technically bankrupt”.

But Baron knew that after this reform, the scale and profitability of China’s banking industry would soon rank first in the world.

For example, in his previous life in 2018, the top four of the world’s top ten institutions announced by the British magazine “The Banker” were the four major banks of China, which was very remarkable.

Bank of Communications was China’s fifth-largest bank, only behind the four state-owned commercial banks: Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, Agricultural Bank of China, Bank of China, and China Construction Bank. It currently had 2,700 branches and outlets. For Baron, what was even more tempting was that most of these branches were located in China’s wealthiest cities.

As early as this year, the news that Bank of Communications was going to introduce strategic investment immediately caused a huge response both at home and abroad. They immediately attracted many investment intentions, and the place was bustling with activity.

At the time, banks including Citibank, HSBC, Standard Chartered, and other investors all visited to understand the situation and express their sincerity in investing.

After Baron became the major shareholder of Standard Chartered Bank, he immediately asked them to start negotiations with Bank of Communications with all their strength.

Their biggest competitor at the time was HSBC, and Baron also knew that in his previous life, the one who ultimately emerged victorious from the many competitors was HSBC.

But Baron, who knew the importance of this cooperation, naturally was unwilling to give up this opportunity to participate in China’s banking commercialization reform. He not only relaxed the initial cooperation conditions of Standard Chartered Bank, but also used his previous connections in China - especially the official channels in Zhejiang Province and Shanghai, where Bank of Communications’ headquarters was located.

Ultimately, with the approval of the China Banking Regulatory Commission, in early April, Bank of Communications began exclusive negotiations with Standard Chartered Bank, representing that Standard Chartered Bank temporarily won in this competition.

After Tsang Ching-suen took office as the Chief Executive Officer of Greater China for Standard Chartered Bank, she was in charge of the negotiation of this cooperation.

“In December of last year, the China Banking Regulatory Commission decided to raise the shareholding ratio of a single foreign institution in state-owned commercial banks from the originally stipulated 15% to 20%. Before and after the decision was issued, the Chairman of the China Banking Regulatory Commission also expressed welcome to foreign institutions to participate in the shares of Chinese banks on several different occasions…”

Tsang Ching-suen took out the relevant documents and said to Baron:

“According to your opinion, we have, from the very beginning, been willing to set the shareholding ratio at 19.9% in this cooperation, which is close to the upper limit of foreign banks’ shareholding. Among all the competitors, only we and HSBC were willing to cooperate with this shareholding ratio, so they were our biggest competitors before.”

As early as 2001, HSBC had successfully acquired 8% of the shares of Bank of Shanghai.

Compared to them, Standard Chartered Bank had already fallen behind somewhat in its cooperation with Chinese banks.

However, in this competition, Standard Chartered Bank and HSBC could be said to be evenly matched.

Standard Chartered Bank was a foreign bank with the longest history in China - in 1858, Standard Chartered Bank came to Shanghai from England.

In the past one and a half centuries, Standard Chartered Bank had never left Shanghai - after the founding of New China, the then Chinese government only retained HSBC, Bank of East Asia, Overseas Chinese Bank, and Standard Chartered Bank as the four foreign banks to continue operating in Shanghai.

Later, Standard Chartered Bank also became a “designated bank” of the People’s Bank of China to operate foreign exchange business and, at the government’s request, helped to open up the financial situation at the time.

Therefore, this cooperation with Bank of Communications, whether for Standard Chartered Bank or HSBC, was not unexpected, and the two could be said to be equally matched.

Ultimately, it was still through more relaxed conditions and Baron’s own efforts - he was not only a British Duke but also a world-renowned wealthy man, and he had many investments in China before, so his efforts would naturally be valued.

“Other conditions can be relaxed appropriately, but the clause to prevent share dilution must be adhered to.”

“This point has also been agreed upon by the other party; they also seem to hope that we can maintain a 19.9% shareholding ratio.”

Baron was not surprised by what Tsang Ching-suen said.

Bank of Communications’ main purpose in cooperating with foreign capital this time was the two aspects of capital and experience.

Standard Chartered Bank’s willingness to hold a relatively high shareholding ratio was also what they welcomed - this way, Bank of Communications could obtain more capital, and it was also conducive for Standard Chartered Bank to deeply participate in the management and reform of Bank of Communications, thus benefiting Bank of Communications in learning the other party’s advanced management and operating experience.

At the same time, Standard Chartered Bank was very familiar with the Chinese market and culture, which was conducive to future cooperation success.

In addition, Standard Chartered Bank was also willing to provide cooperation plans in the field of bank cards, which was very practical and urgently needed for Bank of Communications.

It was also because of these factors that became the basis for the cooperation between Standard Chartered Bank and Bank of Communications.

Chapter 294: Tencent’s IPO

At this time, the basic approach for China’s transformation of commercial banks was the “three-step process” of “financial restructuring—introduction of foreign capital—public listing.”

The first step focused on “infusion of capital,” while the latter two focused on “generating capital,” with the expectation of establishing a standardized corporate governance structure under the premise of introducing foreign capital.

The restructuring and introduction of capital by the Bank of Communications was a complete embodiment of this approach.

As early as 2001, the People’s Bank of China approved the Bank of Communications to carry out the introduction of overseas strategic investors through the “Reply of the General Office of the People’s Bank of China on the Participation of Foreign Capital in the Bank of Communications.”

Starting in 2001, the Bank of Communications first hired Tianjian Xingye Appraisal Company in Beijing to assess its assets. It could be said that this was the most thorough asset verification since the Bank of Communications was reorganized.

After that, PricewaterhouseCoopers was hired to audit Tianjian’s assessment. Almost simultaneously, the Bank of Communications also hired Goldman Sachs as an investment advisor to design a comprehensive reform plan for the bank.

On June 14th, the State Council formally approved the overall plan for the Bank of Communications’ in-depth shareholding system reform, agreeing to the bank’s implementation of financial restructuring and other reform measures.

According to the plan approved by the State Council, with the support of relevant departments in China, the Bank of Communications would first concentrate on disposing of non-performing assets and supplementing its capital, successfully completing the various tasks of financial restructuring.

It was estimated that after the financial restructuring was completed, the Bank of Communications’ non-performing loan balance would be 19.8 billion yuan, with non-performing loans accounting for 3.43%; according to regulatory standards, the provisions would be fully provided, with a provision coverage ratio of 72.77%; according to international accounting standards, the core capital adequacy ratio would be 5.89%, and the capital adequacy ratio would be 8.82%.

However, at this time, Baron’s primary concern was Tencent’s listing.

On June 16th, 2004, Tencent was listed on the Main Board of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

Before the IPO, the shareholding structure of Tencent was: DS Holdings held 43% of the shares; South African MIH Group held 11.5% of the shares; the remaining 45.5% was held by the entrepreneurial team, with Pony Ma personally holding 19.24%.

In this IPO, Tencent would issue a total of 420 million public shares. Calculated at an issue price of 3.7 Hong Kong dollars (approximately 0.475 US dollars), they expected to raise 1.554 billion (approximately 200 million US dollars), and Tencent’s market capitalization would reach 62.16 billion Hong Kong dollars (approximately 800 million US dollars).

In this Tencent IPO, neither DS Holdings, the South African MIH Group, nor the founding team sold any shares. The 420 million public shares issued were all newly issued shares.

After this listing, Tencent’s total share capital was 1.68 billion shares. After dilution, DS Holdings held 541.8 million ordinary shares, with its shareholding diluted to 32.25%; the South African MIH Group held 144.9 million ordinary shares, with its shares diluted to 8.6%; the Tencent entrepreneurial team held 573.3 million ordinary shares, with its shareholding diluted to 34.12%—among which Pony Ma personally held 242 million ordinary shares, with a shareholding of 14.4%.

On the day of the listing, the opening price of Tencent’s stock was 4.37 Hong Kong dollars per share, and it once reached a high of 4.625 Hong Kong dollars in the morning.

However, in the afternoon, there was a large-scale sell-off, which suppressed the stock price, and Tencent’s stock closed below the issue price.

In this Tencent IPO, Rich23 Capital subscribed for 120 million shares out of the 420 million newly issued public shares.

And on the afternoon of the listing day, after Tencent’s stock price fell below the issue price, they successively bought about 30 million more shares.

The total cost was about 70 million US dollars, and they currently held 150 million ordinary shares of Tencent, accounting for 8.93% of the total circulation.

However, just one day before Tencent’s listing, the Ministry of Information Industry began to rectify the chaotic value-added telecom services.

It should be known that it was this business that allowed Tencent to dig up its “first pot of gold,” with value-added telecom services accounting for 70% of Tencent’s revenue.

Therefore, affected by this matter, Tencent’s stock price began to decline for a period of time. In addition, in October, China Mobile began to renegotiate the profit-sharing ratio of value-added telecom services with Tencent, and it was eventually changed from Tencent getting 85% to both parties splitting it equally, each getting 50%…

And QQ’s dominant position in domestic communication software in China was also threatened.

Just two weeks after Tencent’s listing, Bill Gates of Microsoft came to China, and then established MSN China’s market and two research and development centers in Beijing and Shanghai, respectively, officially challenging QQ.

And Yahoo China was also promoting the interoperability of Yahoo Messenger and MSN to break Tencent’s monopoly.

This series of news led to Tencent’s stock price being in a low valley throughout 2004.

This would also be a good opportunity for Rich23 Capital to continue buying Tencent’s stock in the secondary market, because not only the remaining circulating shares, but in this case, many Tencent employees’ shares would also be sold…

In fact, not only Tencent, but many internet companies in China at this time, including Netease, Sohu, and Sina, had value-added telecom services as their main source of income.

Therefore, this rectification of value-added telecom services would also affect these companies.

After Netease took the lead in issuing a revenue warning, claiming that their revenue from SMS would decline by 50%…

This directly triggered a collective decline in the stock prices of the 12 Chinese technology companies listed on Nasdaq.

This was also a good opportunity for Rich23 Capital and Mars Fund to start bottom-fishing for Chinese internet company stocks.

……

The accompanying female members, including Laura, except for Aliya, had already arrived in Hong Kong in advance.

In addition, Ivantta also flew directly from New York to Hong Kong to meet with Baron here.

On the second day after Tencent’s listing, June 17th, Baron left Hong Kong, and the group directly took a Gulfstream G450 to Beijing, the capital of China.

“Darling, is this the house you’re planning to buy?”

“How do you feel, baby?”

On the second day after arriving in Beijing, Baron and Ivantta… after a “brief separation is better than a new marriage,” came to this courtyard with the guidance of a local friend.

The last time he went to Shanghai, Baron bought the Yanjia Garden. Later, he asked Chen Fuyang to help him find a nice courtyard when he came to Beijing.

After Robin Li of Baidu knew about this matter, he took the initiative to contact a friend who had some research in this area, and selected a few courtyards with good locations for Baron. Today, under the guidance of this friend, Baron and Ivantta came to “view the house” together.

“The first one I found for you is here. Although it’s not the largest in area, it’s also one of the best-preserved ones. The most important thing is that the location is good, right next to the Imperial City, not far from the East Gate of the Forbidden City. Across the river from the courtyard, it’s the Forbidden City. Those who can live here are either rich or noble, which is very suitable for your status.”

The other party had previously learned about Baron’s identity from Robin Li. This young man, who was accompanied by a beautiful girl who looked like a movie star from Hollywood, was actually a real British nobleman, and a duke…

Moreover, not only was the other party’s identity noble, but he was also as rich as a country, and was a figure at the forefront of the Forbes rich list. Just looking at the posture of him being surrounded by a group of bodyguards, even in this capital, it was usually not seen.

Chapter 295: Siheyuan (Courtyard House)

The Mandarin spoken by the Chinese man beside him, whose name was Yan Hegui, was incomprehensible to Ivanka.

However, after Baron asked her, she surveyed the interior of the courtyard, her brow slightly furrowed, and said:

“It looks very Chinese from the outside, but the interior decoration here is a bit too old, it needs some renovation to be suitable for living…”

“You’re right, darling, believe me, this place will amaze you after some renovations.”

At first, Baron hadn’t connected the dots, but after Yan Hegui’s words, he finally remembered that the location of this siheyuan was exactly the same as the very famous one in his previous life, the one that Murdoch bought and gave to Wendi Deng after their divorce.

It’s just that in the photos he saw in his previous life, the siheyuan had already been renovated and decorated, so he hadn’t connected the two at first.

If he remembered correctly, it seemed that Murdoch in the original timeline had also bought this siheyuan around this time.

Thinking of this, Baron said to Yan Hegui:

“Mr. Yan, how much will it cost to buy this one?”

“Your Excellency the Duke, you can just call me A’gui. Your Mandarin is really good…”

After exclaiming at the young Duke’s fluent Mandarin, Yan Hegui respectfully said:

“As for the price of this house, to be honest, I’m just a middleman, and I don’t specialize in this. I can arrange for you to discuss it with the owner, but the prices of siheyuan these days vary greatly, and it also has a lot to do with the location and condition. This siheyuan has the best location right now, it should be between thirty-five thousand and forty thousand per square meter…”

Current siheyuan transactions were still priced by the building area, unlike later on, when they began to be priced by the land area.

You have to know that siheyuan are all single-story buildings. If priced by the building area, it’s equivalent to not including the courtyard in the price. Often, the building area of a siheyuan only accounts for about forty percent of the total land area…

His quoted price was similar to what Murdoch had paid to buy this place in his previous life, so Baron said:

“Please contact the owner for me, I’m planning to buy this place.”

“Okay, then those other places of ours…”

As expected of a wealthy man, although Yan Hegui had seen rich people before, he was still taken aback that someone would decide to buy a house worth tens of millions of yuan with just a few words—they hadn’t even been here for fifteen minutes, and he couldn’t help but marvel to himself.

But what surprised Yan Hegui even more was Baron’s next words:

“Let’s go see them too, if they’re suitable, I plan to buy a few more.”

In Baron’s view, the siheyuan that Murdoch bought in the original timeline had increased in value tenfold after ten years, and after twenty years, siheyuan in this kind of location were even more scarce.

Siheyuan in the capital were not like those modern residential areas, the total number would not increase, and might even decrease, making them a scarce resource.

Baron had worked in the financial industry in his previous life and had also come into contact with some wealthy people, and he understood some things about the siheyuan in Beijing…

He had seen a set of data that said there were 26,000 courtyards in Beijing during the Qianlong era, which slightly increased to about 30,000 during the Republic of China period.

But by the 1980s, only about 6,000 remained, of which about 3,000 were relatively well-preserved…

Then, in 2012, the Beijing Siheyuan Chronicles was published, and only 923 siheyuan were included.

And among these 900-plus siheyuan, the number that could be traded was very small, estimated to be within 300.

Of course, this did not include those mixed courtyards, such as those with three or five rooms or those without a proper layout, which could not be considered siheyuan.

That is to say, those wealthy people hadn’t started buying them on a large scale yet—because starting this year, Beijing had just begun to lift the household registration restrictions on buying siheyuan.

Instead, because in the previous two years, Beijing had dealt with the historical legacy of “standard rent,” which meant the government funded the construction of resettlement houses and evicted tenants who had moved into private houses for various reasons…

Simply put, in the past, for various reasons, some people who did not have ownership of the siheyuan were arranged to live in these siheyuan.

After a period of time, even if the owners of the siheyuan wanted to sell these houses, they were unable to do so because the tenants were unwilling to move out, which led to many disputes and ultimately a mess.

After Beijing had dealt with this matter, the siheyuan were finally returned to the owners, giving them complete control over the disposal of the houses.

So, during that period, the owners of the siheyuan who had been unable to sell their houses for these reasons could finally sell their properties.

A large number of privately owned siheyuan available for transactions appeared on the market, which also led to a drop of about 20% in the transaction price of siheyuan in Beijing for a period of time last year.

Therefore, buying a siheyuan now, although the price is much more expensive than an apartment—the average price of the entire Beijing housing market is about 4,000 yuan at this time, while the average price of a siheyuan is between 20,000 and 40,000 yuan, but for Baron, as his short-term residence, a siheyuan would naturally be more indicative of his status.

After all, possessing the soul of a previous-life Chinese person, his love for siheyuan was ingrained in his bones.

So Baron also planned to look at other siheyuan. This one, for example, was only a single-courtyard siheyuan, the area was not large, the building area was only about 250 square meters, and the land area including the courtyard was less than 700 square meters.

If there were larger ones later, especially three-courtyard or four-courtyard siheyuan, even if the location was a little further away than this one, Baron would buy them all.

“Are you really going to buy this place? Darling.”

Baron and Yan Hegui were speaking in Mandarin. Although Ivanka couldn’t understand their conversation, she had Laura beside her as a translator, so she also knew that Baron actually wanted to buy this place.

“Yes, darling. You know, this house is only separated from the Forbidden City by a river. If we later convert part of the house into high-rise buildings, imagine, you can see the scenery inside the Forbidden City from the floor-to-ceiling windows in the bedroom, isn’t that cool? And don’t look at it being a bit run-down now, but believe me, after the renovation, it will definitely be more charming than those Upper East Side villas.”

After saying this to Ivanka, Baron turned and asked Yan Hegui:

“By the way, Mr. Yan, I know you are an expert in siheyuan. Do you know if you can recommend some design and construction teams that have more experience in the renovation and modification of ancient buildings like siheyuan? You can rest assured, the price is not a problem, I just want the final effect!”

“You’ve hit the nail on the head, Your Excellency the Duke. If you want to decorate this kind of siheyuan and preserve the original style, then you really need to put in some effort… I know a decoration company, they have hired some experts in ancient architecture, and they have done similar projects before, I can ask for you.”

To be honest, although the decoration effect of the siheyuan of Wendi Deng that he had seen in his previous life looked very beautiful, it still lacked a bit of antique charm, and Baron’s requirements were even higher.

If possible, he also wanted to buy some Ming and Qing dynasty mahogany furniture to put in his siheyuan.

Chapter 296: Incredibly Noble?

“No need to see you off, Your Grace. My friend will be here to pick me up soon, and it’s not on the way for you anyway…”

Hearing Yan Heguì insist on this, Baron shook hands with him and said:

“Then we’ll go back first, Mr. Yan. We’ll have to trouble you with the renovation team later.”

“Don’t worry, Your Grace. I’ll contact them for you right away when I get back, and I guarantee you’ll be satisfied.”

Just now, Yan Heguì had taken Baron to see the three siheyuan (courtyard houses) he had previously selected. As a result, after taking a look, the other party waved his hand and bought all three houses directly.

And he directly had Yan Heguì find the owners of these three houses, negotiated the prices with those people, and signed the agreements directly…

To be honest, Yan Heguì had never seen anyone buy a house as casually as going to the market to buy vegetables – no, even ordinary people would compare prices when buying vegetables.

And in less than a day, this British Duke spent 3.5 million US dollars, nearly 30 million Chinese yuan, to buy three siheyuan. This really made Yan Heguì feel like a small knife stabbing his butt – his eyes had been opened…

What made Yan Heguì happy was that at first, he was only helping out of friendship because of his friend Robin Li’s commission, and he didn’t intend to make any money from this British Duke.

But after completing these three transactions, the other party still waved his hand and directly signed him a check for 1 million yuan…

When Yan Heguì declined, Baron said to him seriously:

“Mr. Yan, this is a rule we need to abide by. Everyone’s work needs to be compensated accordingly. Your work today far exceeds this value. If you don’t accept it, I will feel uneasy, after all, I still need to trouble you with things later.”

At this moment, after the young and handsome British Duke’s words, there was only one word in Yan Heguì’s mind: meticulous!

It could be said that this was the easiest time Yan Heguì had ever made money in his life. In less than a day, 1 million yuan was credited to his account. It was probably faster than robbery, which made him secretly decide that he would definitely handle things beautifully for the other party later.

In fact, it was indeed as Baron said, even if he gave Yan Heguì this 1 million yuan “tip”, it was indeed worth it…

Just like the three siheyuan he bought this time, the first one was located not far from the east gate of the Forbidden City, the one that Murdoch had bought in his previous life. The construction area was about 250 square meters, and the owner’s asking price was 40,000 yuan per square meter, with a total price of 10 million yuan.

However, after Yan Heguì helped Baron negotiate the price, and Baron was willing to pay in US dollars, the final transaction price was 1.1 million US dollars. Calculated at the current exchange rate of 8.27 yuan to the US dollar, it was less than 9.1 million yuan, which was a full 900,000 yuan cheaper.

In his previous life, Murdoch had bought this siheyuan for 10 million yuan. In comparison, Baron had saved 900,000 yuan just on this one.

The other two siheyuan, one of which was located a little further away than the first one, but still within the Third Ring Road, had a much larger area. It was a rare four-courtyard house with an area of about 1,200 square meters, and the construction area was also nearly 500 square meters, twice the size of the first siheyuan.

However, because the location was “a little further away”, it was only 30,000 yuan per square meter, with a total of 15 million yuan… With the help of Yan Heguì, Baron got a price of 1.7 million US dollars, equivalent to 14.05 million yuan, also saving nearly 1 million yuan.

The last siheyuan was not very large, with an area of about 750 square meters, a construction area of less than 300 square meters, and the location was also between the Fourth and Fifth Ring Roads…

The reason Baron spent 700,000 US dollars to buy it was because this three-courtyard house came with a parking space next to it that could accommodate three cars. It was located next to the Summer Palace, with an elegant environment, and the house was well-maintained overall.

Therefore, with the help of Yan Heguì, Baron saved more than 2 million yuan in funds, and it was normal to give him some “hard work fee”.

Of course, Baron knew that even now, foreign exchange was still very scarce in China, especially for some wealthy people who needed to go abroad. The exchange rate of US dollars in the underground black market would be higher than the official price.

Therefore, he could get a certain discount by buying these siheyuan with US dollars.

But the problem was that although he had bought three siheyuan now, it was also very important to go through the purchase and transfer procedures later, as well as to renovate and transform these siheyuan. Having Yan Heguì, a “Beijing master” with connections, help him handle some things would also save Baron a lot of trouble.

……

“Hey, Lei, where are you?… Okay, I’ll walk a few steps ahead to wait for you, so you can park…”

After hanging up the phone, Yan Heguì walked to the side.

“Sir, your fortune is weak, and your luck is flowing. If you see wealth again, you will definitely become rich and wealthy…”

Yan Heguì looked in the direction of the voice and saw an old man in a Taoist robe, who looked quite like a celestial being.

However, he was not a fool or a brute. Usually, when he encountered this kind of person, he would treat them as liars and ignore them.

But he was in a good mood today, and the other party’s words happened to describe his current situation, so he casually asked:

“What does the old Taoist mean?”

“Incredibly noble, incredibly noble…”

The old Taoist sized up Yan Heguì and said:

“Sir, have you met a noble person?”

Noticing his expression, the old Taoist continued:

“Is the other party incredibly noble?”

If the British Duke was incredibly noble, there was definitely nothing wrong with it. After all, there were probably not many people in the world who were more noble and had more assets than him… Yan Heguì had just seen Baron’s generosity with his own eyes.

Thinking of this, Yan Heguì took out his wallet and took out a 50-yuan bill and handed it to the old Taoist:

“Can the master elaborate?”

With a wave of his hand, the bill disappeared into the old Taoist’s sleeve, and his face still wore an unfathomable expression:

“I can only tell you, sir, that you will meet such a noble person… and it will be even more incredibly noble.”

Hearing the other party’s words, Yan Heguì was a little puzzled. He could still meet such a noble person? And it would be even more incredibly noble?

This was a bit impossible, wasn’t it? Could there be someone whose background and wealth could compare to, or even surpass, that British Duke?

At this moment, the sound of a car horn sounded in the distance. Yan Heguì saw the familiar Audi car and knew that his friend had arrived. Also, because of the other party’s words, he had already regarded the other party as the kind who flattered people to swindle money, so he ignored him and walked towards the Audi car.

“How’s it going, Lao Yan? I heard you met a big shot this year?”

“That’s right, incredibly noble…”

Yan Heguì said casually after sitting in the car.

“Really?”

Seeing the other party’s doubtful expression, Yan Heguì opened his mouth, but finally said:

“It’s true, didn’t I prepare three sets of siheyuan? They bought them all this afternoon, and the contracts have been signed.”

“Ah? You sold those siheyuan?”

“What’s wrong?”

The middle-aged man scratched his head and said:

“A friend of mine just told me that a wealthy American wants to buy a siheyuan…”

“A wealthy American?”

Yan Heguì was surprised. He met a British nobleman today, and now there was another wealthy American?

Were those foreigners suddenly obsessed with those siheyuan in Beijing?

Chapter 297: Supor’s IPO

Ivantha still found it a bit hard to understand Baron’s “obsession” with Chinese Siheyuan courtyards, although she knew that the British Duke had shown interest in Chinese culture on many occasions…

It was rare to have time to spend with Baron, and especially in China, unlike in the United States or Britain, where their fame was extremely high. Being with Baron allowed them to avoid the paparazzi’s cameras, so Ivantha was in a very good mood.

Over the next few days, Baron accompanied Ivantha on a tour of Beijing, visiting many attractions, including the Forbidden City and the Great Wall.

Ivantha also took many photos in these places…

Many years later, Ivantha, who was known to the Chinese people in another capacity, had some photos taken alone in the Forbidden City and on the Great Wall made public. Many Chinese people saw Ivantha’s youthful appearance in the photos and realized that she had come to China so early…

After all, she wasn’t like a certain British Duke who could be called an “old friend of the Chinese people.” Before that, it seemed that Ivantha had no interaction with China…

After being filled with enthusiasm by Baron, Ivantha left Beijing contentedly, taking the first-class flight that Baron had booked for her, and returned to New York.

Baron and his party, on the other hand, finalized the renovation and remodeling plan for the three Siheyuan courtyards with the decoration team introduced by Yan Hegui.

According to the plan, the renovation and remodeling costs for these three Siheyuan courtyards alone were expected to exceed 10 million yuan. Baron also entrusted Yan Hegui to help him look for some antique red sandalwood furniture from the Ming and Qing dynasties… After receiving so many benefits from the British Duke, Yan Hegui naturally patted his chest and made a guarantee.

From Yan Hegui, Baron also received another piece of news, that is, Rupert Murdoch, the media tycoon from the United States and owner of News Corporation, had also arrived in Beijing with his wife, Wendi Deng. He was also planning to buy a Siheyuan courtyard here, reportedly at the suggestion of his wife, Wendi Deng.

However, the Siheyuan courtyard they were originally going to buy had already been taken by Baron in advance, so it was unknown which one they would choose to buy later… These were no longer matters that Baron wanted to care about.

Speaking of Rupert Murdoch, he had been patiently laying out his plans to enter the Chinese media market, and it seemed that he had achieved good results.

In 1990, Li Zekai, the “Little Superman,” founded STAR TV, and after three consecutive years of losses, he sold the equity to News Corporation in 1993 for 525 million US dollars.

At the time, the investment world was full of admiration for Li’s capital maneuvers, and it seemed that Murdoch had made a losing deal, but only a few people understood Murdoch’s good intentions.

Although STAR TV did not start making a profit until 2002, the significance of the acquisition was that it brought Murdoch to the doorstep of China.

Murdoch also built the Star Group Media based on STAR TV, and currently holds 37.56% of the shares of Phoenix Satellite Television, making it the largest shareholder.

Moreover, the programs of STAR TV and Phoenix Satellite Television had already entered the mainland, Guangdong Province, and other places.

As early as three years ago, China Netcom held a private placement for the broadband project, and the “CNC Foundation” formed by News Corporation and Goldman Sachs and other investment institutions invested 325 million US dollars to acquire 30.97 million shares of China Netcom at a price of 10.495 US dollars per share.

In Murdoch’s view, due to the progress of digital technology, including decompression technology, the programs that could originally be broadcast on satellite television could almost be realized on broadband. Therefore, investing in broadband was equivalent to indirectly investing in the satellite television transmission network—the latter was still an area where foreign investment was strictly restricted in the mainland.

After that, Murdoch sent his son James Murdoch, who was also the Chief Vice President of News Corporation in charge of Chinese business, to the board of directors of China Netcom.

In addition, James was also the CEO of British Sky Broadcasting.

Last year, China Netcom carried out a series of reorganizations, acquiring Jietong Corporation and the equity of China Netcom. The foreign capital in these companies was not withdrawn.

Baron knew that within this year, China Netcom would be listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange through an IPO. Murdoch’s original investment in China Netcom would be converted into shares, and News Corporation would hold approximately 8% of the listed company’s shares.

At that time, there was no doubt that, according to the common practice in the market, News Corporation would use related-party transactions to better sell its programs to the mainland.

In fact, over the past decade, all of Murdoch’s actions in Hong Kong were aimed at entering the mainland.

So far, among the major media giants that have entered the mainland, only Murdoch’s News Corporation has made achievements in broadband and content.

At this time, it could be said that Murdoch was valued more highly than Baron in terms of the attention of the high-level officials…

After all, News Corporation’s global reach in public opinion was extremely powerful.

Currently, News Corporation owns 109 daily newspapers, bi-weekly magazines, and 15 weekly newspapers worldwide, with a total circulation of about 60 million copies per week.

Australia’s “The Sydney Daily,” the United States’ “New York Post,” and Britain’s “The Times” were all Murdoch’s properties.

In terms of television media, in addition to Hong Kong’s STAR TV and Phoenix Satellite Television, he also owned Britain’s Sky Television and the United States’ Fox Television Network.

His satellite television market included the United States, Britain, South America, Central Asia, India, China, and Southeast Asia.

Last October, at the invitation of the State Council Information Office, Murdoch visited China.

At the time, News Corporation was trying to expand its business in China, while China’s media regulatory authorities were attempting a comprehensive market reform.

The top official in charge of propaganda even met with Murdoch and hoped that News Corporation would make greater efforts in promoting “letting the world understand China and letting China understand the world.”

However, Baron understood that, looking back, Murdoch’s many “efforts” in China would ultimately not have much success, at least not as much as he had in other countries, where he had obtained powerful public opinion influence.

After all, the small schemes contained in his constant calls for “openness” were obvious to anyone with eyes. In the United States and Europe, he was already accustomed to using the power of public opinion to incite the masses and control the situation.

Even many people suspected that even his marriage to Wendi Deng had a very important factor in opening up the Chinese market.

Similarly, after setbacks in China, he also became the main force in smearing China in the future.

…

After Ivantha left Beijing, Baron and his party went to Shanghai.

Here, Baron met Mark Bloom, the CEO of Argos Holdings.

Argos Holdings was established by Argos Retail Group to invest in and acquire shares in the contract manufacturing enterprises of its Argos department stores and Primark chain clothing stores.

“Supor Company is currently in the process of IPO listing and is expected to complete its listing on the GEM board of the Chinese A-share market in August. This is also the first company among our partners to be listed.”

As Mark said, Argos Holdings currently holds shares in nearly a hundred Chinese companies, with shareholding ratios ranging from 10% to 30%, but more than 80% of these companies are not large in scale.

Of course, this was compared to Supor Company, which was already the largest among the Chinese companies in which Argos Holdings held shares.

Supor Company initially started by producing pressure cookers, and in 2002, it entered the small kitchen appliance industry.

In the process of Argos Retail Group promoting its partner program in Zhejiang Province, Supor Company also applied to join it.

At the time, Argos Holdings invested 10 million pounds and held 15% of its shares, and Supor Company also received OEM orders from Argos Retail Group to help it produce “Argos” own-brand cookware and small kitchen appliances.

Currently, before the listing, the shareholding structure of Supor Company was: the Su Zengfu family held 55%, Argos Holdings held 15%, and other shareholders held 30%.

Argos Holdings was the single largest shareholder in this company after the Su Zengfu family.

This time, Supor Company’s IPO was expected to issue 34 million ordinary shares, accounting for approximately 25% of the total share capital after the listing.

Chapter 298: One Bright, One Dark

At this moment, the restrictions on foreign capital in China appeared. Although Argos Holdings wanted to subscribe to the public shares issued by Supor Company through its listing, they were unable to do so because foreign companies were restricted from purchasing A-share stocks.

However, the advantage of Barron’s previous acquisition of Standard Chartered Bank became apparent. As one of the first batch of twelve Qualified Foreign Institutional Investors (QFIIs) announced last July, Standard Chartered Bank could directly purchase listed A-share stocks.

In this IPO, Supor Company would publicly issue thirty-four million shares. Standard Chartered Bank subscribed for thirteen million four hundred thousand shares, which would account for 9.9% of Supor Company’s total share capital after its listing…

Because according to the regulations in China at this time, a single QFII institution could not hold more than 10% of the total share capital of an A-share listed company.

Thus, with Supor Company’s issue price of 12.21 yuan per share, after taking out another 164 million Chinese yuan, after Supor Company’s listing, Argos Holdings and Standard Chartered Bank’s holdings through proxy would hold a total of 21.15% of the company’s shares.

At this time, the Su Zengfu family, which controlled Supor Company, would see their shareholding diluted to 41.25% after the listing.

Although Argos Holdings and its affiliated companies further increased their holdings through Supor Company’s listing, Barron did not intend to complete the control of Supor Company through a hostile takeover.

After all, Supor Company was one of the partners of the Argos Retail Group. If they used a hostile takeover to drive away its original founder, it would inevitably have a negative impact on other companies that cooperated with them.

In fact, Barron knew through his memories of his previous life that the Su Zengfu family also had no intention of holding a long-term controlling stake in Supor Company. In the original timeline, by 2006—only two years after Supor Company’s listing—they sold most of the company’s shares to the French SEB Group, thus relinquishing the controlling stake in the company.

And after that, their family continuously reduced their holdings in Supor Company, and finally, their shareholding was less than 0.01%, almost completely withdrawing from the company.

Since this was the case, Barron could also, at an appropriate time, acquire the shares of Supor Company held by the Su Zengfu family.

And their current purpose of increasing their holdings in Supor Company was to have more say in the company, to prevent it from being acquired by the French SEB Group as in his previous life.

……

In February, when Barron came to Shanghai, he purchased a mansion here, which was the Yan Family Garden located at No. 699 Yuyuan Road.

Before leaving Shanghai last time, he had completed the transaction and hired a professional decoration company to carry out a comprehensive renovation of the Yan Family Garden.

Now, four months had passed. When Barron and his party went to the construction site of the Yan Family Garden to visit, they could see that the renovation work was proceeding in full swing.

“It’s really rare to have such a Western-style house in Shanghai. You can imagine how magnificent it will be after the renovation is completed.”

“I will definitely invite you to be a guest after it is completed.”

Barron smiled and said to the man beside him, who looked to be in his early thirties, wearing glasses, and was rather unremarkable.

“Then I’ll remember that, Your Grace the Duke.”

“I warmly welcome everyone with ability, and they can gain my respect, Martin.”

Barron extended his hand to the other party and said cordially:

“In addition, welcome to join us, Martin. You know, because of this matter, Mr. Blankfein called me specifically and complained. He said that you are the most promising employee of Goldman Sachs Asia, and I shouldn’t snatch you away…”

He raised his eyebrows, showing a happy expression, and continued:

“I told him, I’m very sorry, I think so too…”

The man who won Barron’s praise was named Liu Chiping.

Liu Chiping, 31 years old this year, is a Chinese from Hong Kong, and holds a Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Michigan, and Master’s degrees from Stanford University and Northwestern University.

After graduation, Liu Chiping served as a management consultant at McKinsey, and later became the Chief Operating Officer of the Telecommunications, Media, and Technology Group of Goldman Sachs Asia’s Investment Banking Department.

Now he was appointed as the Vice President of Rich23 Capital, responsible for the equity investment affairs of this investment company, including the Chinese internet companies in which Rich23 Capital currently held shares, such as Tencent, as well as the liaison with Pioneer Sports Group, Standard Chartered Bank, Apple, and Argos Retail Group.

Chen Fuyang, who was previously appointed as the CEO of Rich23 Capital, told Barron that he hoped to focus more energy on the management of Anhuagao, rather than having to take care of Rich23 Capital’s investment in Chinese companies as before. Therefore, Barron made adjustments to Rich Capital.

Chen Fuyang still served as the President of Rich23 Capital, but mainly responsible for the management of Anhuagao. As for other equity investment matters, they were specifically handled by Vice President Liu Chiping, who reported directly to Barron’s office.

In fact, in the original timeline, Liu Chiping had another identity, that of the future President of Tencent.

It’s just that things are different now because the underwriters and underwriters for Tencent’s listing have become Standard Chartered Bank, not Goldman Sachs Asia from his previous life.

Originally, Liu Chiping was in contact with the project during Goldman Sachs Asia’s operation of Tencent’s listing project. His talent was greatly appreciated by Pony Ma, and Liu Chiping also felt the excellence of Tencent in this process. Therefore, in 2005, he accepted Pony Ma’s invitation and became the Chief Strategic Investment Officer of Tencent, responsible for strategy, investment, mergers and acquisitions, and investor relations.

Before this, Tencent rarely used external investment methods in its development. It relied on investing in internal R&D departments to incubate projects. It could be said that it did whatever was popular, and there was no clear planning for the overall strategy.

Although Tencent was still the largest internet company in China at this time, based on user scale, products, and profitability, its growth had clearly slowed down—it couldn’t compete with NetEase in games, Baidu in advertising, and even the most important telecom value-added services in revenue had become the last supper.

In Pony Ma’s view, how Tencent could continue to maintain high growth in the next step became a problem.

So in the 2005 of the original timeline, Pony turned his attention to Liu Chiping—who worked at Goldman Sachs and had previously worked at McKinsey. Both his ability and experience were the talents that Pony needed.

In the end, under Pony’s appeal, Liu Chiping was willing to give up a salary of tens of millions of yuan and joined Tencent, taking over the work of capital operation and strategy, and later gradually took over from Pony, taking full responsibility for the company’s business management.

As for whether Tencent could still develop smoothly in the future after Liu Chiping joined Rich23 Capital? Barron was prepared to wait and see for the time being and then adapt to the situation.

After Liu Chiping joined Rich23 Capital, they would establish the Asia-Pacific headquarters of Rich23 Capital in Hong Kong, China, to fully radiate the investment business in this region.

This would be Barron’s other investment empire, besides DS Capital.

……

On June 25th, Liu Chiping first went to Hangzhou to visit Mr. Ma—in the last round of financing, Rich23 Capital held 20% of Alibaba’s shares, and taking advantage of the fact that Taobao.com was struggling in the face of the competition from eBay’s backed by eBay, they invested another 50 million US dollars, accumulating 50% of Taobao.com’s shares.

Yes, at this time, Taobao.com did not belong to Alibaba, or rather, was not yet a wholly-owned subsidiary of Alibaba…

Chapter 299: Global Industrial Investment

This goes back to when Boss Ma was preparing to enter the C2C field.

Back in late 2002, Boss Ma, who had already achieved considerable success in the B2B field, decided to lead Alibaba, which was then primarily a B2B business, into C2C.

However, China’s earliest C2C company, Eachnet, had already been developing in the market for over four years and had just received a 30 million US dollar investment from eBay.

Facing such an opponent, and an unknown market prospect, Boss Ma’s attempt in this new field was very risky, requiring a large amount of capital investment. Otherwise, if he wasn’t careful, he could even drag down Alibaba’s B2B business, which had just gained a foothold.

At that time, to avoid risks, it happened that he received a 20 million US dollar investment from DS Capital – discovering that Baron, this duke from England, was a very good “big investor,” with plenty of money and few demands. Therefore, Alibaba and DS Capital jointly invested and established Taobao. DS Capital contributed 5 million US dollars separately for this, holding 25% of Taobao’s shares, with the remaining shares held by Alibaba.

Last May, Taobao went online.

In October, Alipay went online.

In order to attract buyers and sellers, Boss Ma made Taobao’s “three-year free” promise.

With cash only going out and not coming in, if Taobao didn’t have continued backup resources to support it, the initial funds simply couldn’t last against the wealthy Eachnet.

Although Alibaba had also received financing before, the development of the B2B business itself still required investment. At this time, this part of the business was the foundation of Alibaba.

Although Taobao quickly made progress in market share, this success was built on the premise that Taobao was free while eBay-backed Eachnet charged fees, and Alibaba had been under financial pressure.

Lacking money, whether it was advertising like an ant army or waiving transaction fees, Taobao would be difficult to sustain.

So in the last round of financing, in addition to Rich23 Capital putting in 100 million US dollars into Alibaba, they also additionally put in 50 million US dollars to separately invest in Taobao and Alipay, which was a subsidiary of Taobao at the time.

Currently, Rich23 Capital holds approximately 33.3% of Taobao’s shares, and DS Holdings holds approximately 16.7% of Taobao’s shares. The two combined hold exactly 50% of Taobao’s shares, with the remaining shares belonging to Alibaba.

Similarly, Boss Ma accepted Baron’s investment, allowing him to hold such a proportion of shares, on the premise that he handed over the corresponding voting rights of Taobao’s shares to Boss Ma, just like in Alibaba, only as a financial investment, not participating in the company’s management decisions.

This is also why after Liu Chiping became the Vice President of Rich23 Capital, he would first go to Hangzhou, not far from Shanghai, to visit Boss Ma.

After all, maintaining the relationship with Alibaba and Taobao, which they had invested in, would mainly require Liu Chiping to do.

After visiting Boss Ma, Liu Chiping’s next stop would be Shenzhen, to meet with Pony from Tencent.

After this meeting, he would then go to Hong Kong to set up Rich Capital’s Asia-Pacific headquarters.

……

Baron’s private jet had already left Shanghai and flown back to London.

There, the Gulfstream G450 would pick up Bonnie and the Booth. and other members of the Booth. family, first sending them to the Caribbean – the wedding of Viscount Booth’s sister, Jenny Booth, and John Smith of the Sinclair family, was chosen to be held on a small island in the Caribbean.

These people departed first, and then the Gulfstream G450 would return to Shanghai to pick up Baron.

The reason for this arrangement was because during this time, Baron had another guest in Shanghai who needed to be met.

The other party was Bader Mohammed Al-Sa’ad, the President of the Kuwait Investment Authority.

From the news sent by Daisy, who stayed in Riyadh to negotiate investments with those Middle Eastern tycoons, Athena Fund had received over 700 million US dollars in investment, which brought the total scale of Athena Fund to over 2 billion US dollars.

There were also many tycoons who were quite interested in Mars Fund, but this fund had not yet opened its investment window and would not be able to accept investments again until September, more than two months later – in the future, Mars Fund would only open for buying and redeeming funds once a year, in September.

This time, Bader didn’t come to Shanghai specifically to see Baron. In the initial small talk, Baron learned that the Prime Minister of Kuwait would visit China at the beginning of next month.

Therefore, as Kuwait’s sovereign fund, the Kuwait Investment Authority would conduct preliminary negotiations and preparations with China on some economic cooperation and investments in advance.

This included the application for a joint venture investment company registered in China – the Kuwait China Investment Company.

After being approved by the board of directors, the Kuwait Investment Authority agreed to participate in the project of the new industrial investment fund that Baron was about to establish.

This meeting between the two parties was to further determine some key content of this fund.

And in addition to the Kuwait Investment Authority, the Saudi Public Investment Fund, which had received the news, also expressed great interest in this fund and hoped to participate.

Baron’s original purpose in proposing this industrial fund plan was to use the funds of Middle Eastern tycoons to carry out industrial investments, thereby making up for the fact that his current amount of funds was not enough to invest in all the industries he planned for the future, allowing him to gain a certain influence in many important industries.

Therefore, he would not oppose the addition of more funds at all.

Anyway, this fund would eventually be controlled by him. The other contributors, including the sovereign funds of Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, could share the fund’s earnings with them. As for the control of these industries, it still belonged to Baron himself.

In addition, this industrial investment fund had a very important role, which was that it could use a portion of the funds to make a portion of the investment in Kolo, including some of its industries and infrastructure, thereby accelerating the development of the area.

Anyway, as long as the final return of this fund was enough to satisfy those contributors, they would not have too many opinions about where the specific investment was.

In the final analysis, making money for them was the most important thing.

Finally, before Baron left Shanghai, the Saudi Public Investment Fund, which had arrived in Shanghai later, and Baron’s investment team participated, and the establishment of this new investment fund, which was named Global Industrial Investment Fund, was finally confirmed.

Global Industrial Investment Fund (GII Fund), with an initial fund size of 6 billion US dollars, DS Capital used its own funds to bear 1.8 billion US dollars, the Kuwait Investment Authority and the Saudi Public Investment Fund each invested 2.1 billion US dollars to complete the fundraising.

These funds would be transferred to the dedicated account of its custodian bank, Standard Chartered Bank, within one month.

The investment of the Kuwait Investment Authority and the Saudi Public Investment Fund had an initial lock-in period of 5 years, which meant that they could only withdraw their investment earliest after 5 years, otherwise, an appropriate percentage of fees would be deducted for early withdrawal.

This was also because Baron provided a guarantee of the principal for the first investment lock-in period for the investors of GII Fund, which gave these two sovereign funds the confidence to choose a 5-year lock-in period.

Well, 5 years later is 2009, and it will not affect the bottom-fishing in the subprime mortgage crisis.

As for the fund’s fees and the management’s profit sharing, it was roughly as previously mentioned, with a management fee waived for an average annual return of 15% or less, and a higher profit sharing mechanism for higher returns…

Chapter 300: The Night Before the Wedding

The location for the wedding of Jenny Booth. and John Smith was one of the islands in the Bahamas, not too far from Florida in the United States.

This time, they didn’t invite many guests, and the resort on the island could comfortably accommodate everyone. They had rented the entire island for the duration of the wedding, ensuring no outsiders would disturb them.

When Baron arrived from Magic City, Bonnie and the others had already checked into the island.

“Welcome to my wedding, Your Grace. I’m so happy to have you as a witness to this very important moment in my life.”

John Smith was already waiting to greet Baron when the helicopter landed on the island.

“We’re friends, aren’t we, John? It’s my great honor to witness this moment.”

Baron warmly embraced John, smiling as he spoke.

“Ms. Stuart and the others are staying in the villa over there. I’ll take you there.”

It was clear that the resort near them had been specially decorated with balloons and flowers for the wedding. There were many villas there usually prepared for tourists.

When Baron followed John Smith to the villa where Bonnie and the Viscountess were staying, he saw Bonnie and the Viscountess walking hand-in-hand from the beach.

The highest temperature in the Caribbean in June was only around thirty degrees Celsius during the day, not too hot, and the climate was quite pleasant.

Bonnie and the Viscountess were both wearing swimsuits, not the overly revealing bikini type, but one-piece dresses.

Even so, they were still able to perfectly highlight their impressive figures, each possessing their own unique charm.

Bonnie’s figure was slightly taller compared to the Viscountess.

But it was also clear that the Viscountess had almost recovered from the slightly plump figure she had after giving birth…

Compared to Bonnie beside her, although she appeared slightly more voluptuous, her breathtaking curves and slight undulations exuded an incredibly alluring mature charm.

“Darling, you’re here so soon. We thought it would take a while…”

At the same time, Bonnie and the Viscountess saw Baron standing on the side of the villa. Bonnie immediately released the Viscountess’s hand, ran quickly towards Baron, leaving a trail of footprints on the sand, and finally threw herself into her boyfriend’s arms.

At this moment, John Smith, the “light bulb,” was standing nearby. The Viscountess, seeing him, didn’t react as excitedly as Bonnie, but instead walked towards them slowly. However, the meaning in her eyes as they met Baron’s gaze made him understand the implication immediately.

Although John and Jenny hadn’t invited many people to the wedding, that was only relative. Families like theirs naturally had many relatives and friends.

Therefore, the villas in the resort on this small island couldn’t provide them with the luxurious space they were used to in their daily lives.

According to the previous suggestions of the Viscount Booth. and his wife, Baron and Bonnie were to stay in a villa with them.

This was the treatment they received only because some friends would be brought to the island by helicopter and yacht before the wedding tomorrow.

Baron and the others naturally understood this, as these villas all had at least four or five bedrooms, which was already quite good.

John Smith personally escorting Baron here could be considered a demonstration of his importance.

However, as the groom, he had many guests to take care of and matters to attend to, so after a brief exchange of pleasantries with everyone, he left.

“Where’s Mr. Booth.?”

Returning to the villa with the two women, although the interior wasn’t overly luxurious, it was quite unique, mostly made of wood, possessing a kind of primitive beauty.

So Baron asked casually.

“He should have gone to the old Earl and Jenny, in the largest villa not far from ours…”

Following the Viscountess’s finger, Baron saw a villa twenty or thirty meters away from theirs, slightly larger than the one they were staying in.

Bonnie also said to him:

“In American customs, the bride and groom can’t see each other before the wedding, so Jenny and John need to stay separately.”

“That’s interesting.”

No wonder John Smith was the only one who came to greet him earlier.

“Actually, in many places in Scotland, the customs before marriage are even stranger, and can even be described as terrifying…”

“Oh?”

Hearing Bonnie’s words, Baron was a little curious; he really didn’t know about these things before…

“Before the wedding, the bride is smeared with black, using disgusting things like spoiled milk and rotten eggs…”

Baron had never heard of this custom before, and couldn’t help but look at the Viscountess, after all, the Booth. family was in Scotland…

Meeting Baron’s gaze, the Viscountess immediately understood his thoughts, couldn’t help but roll her eyes at him, and said:

“I held my wedding in London, and not all places in Scotland do this. Some places, on the day of the wedding, the bride and groom’s friends and family have to throw wine, honey, ashes, feathers, and flour at them, which is meant to drive away evil things and bring good luck to the newlyweds.”

Hearing her say this, Baron shrugged, looking innocent.

“As for smearing the bride black in Scotland, one explanation is to let the girl experience the worst things before the wedding, so she can enjoy the sweetness afterwards…”

The Viscountess explained to Baron:

“But there’s another explanation: to protect the bride’s safety, smearing her black and making her smell bad, so the devil won’t come and steal the bride when they get married.”

Devil? Hearing the Viscountess’s explanation, Baron couldn’t help but think of the movie “Braveheart,” in which the English King Edward, the “invader” of Scotland, enacted a rule – that the local lords had the “right of the first night” with all brides.

In the movie, the protagonist William Wallace was enraged by this and rose up in rebellion…

This was really interesting.

When John Smith was still here, Baron wouldn’t have been too unrestrained, but now that he was alone with the two women in the villa, Baron had to admit that the two of them, wearing swimsuits, were still very alluring.

Moreover, during his time in China, although he and Ivanka had been diligently studying knowledge in Beijing…

But after she left, when he went to Magic City, Baron had been very chaste.

Now he couldn’t help but miss those study times…

When he looked at Bonnie with a meaningful gaze, Bonnie’s reaction, after receiving his hint, made him a little puzzled…

He only saw Bonnie’s face flush slightly, but then she turned serious, her eyes wandering, looking elsewhere.

It was also at this moment that Baron’s hand was held by the Viscountess, her face full of smiles, she leaned close to Baron, and whispered in his ear:

“Now you belong to me… Your Grace.”

“Huh?”

“Because she lost a bet with me just now, so…”

This made Baron very speechless, he had actually become the bet of two women?

He touched his nose, looking at Bonnie, who was a bit angry:

“Baby, I don’t mind doing it together…”

Chapter 301: What if He Comes Back…

“Hmph…”

Bonnie’s face was slightly flushed. She glared at Baron and said:

“I’ll go upstairs and change my clothes, then go see Jenny…”

She quickly left the hall and hurried upstairs.

At this moment, the Viscountess’s eyes were sparkling, her face was flushed, and she already showed signs of a slight fever. It seemed she needed an injection to bring it down…

However, they were currently in the villa’s hall, and someone could come in at any moment. Besides, Viscount Booth. was still…

Although… but it wouldn’t be good to be caught by him like this.

“Madam, I think we should change places…”

Hearing Baron’s words, the Viscountess’s eyes flickered. She took his hand and walked towards the bedroom on the first floor.

However, after entering that bedroom, Baron saw the arrangement inside and the obvious male items…

“This is?”

“You guessed it, it’s his room…”

As she spoke, the Viscountess had already knelt down on the carpet…

“Hiss! Are you crazy? What if he comes back and catches us…”

“Mmm…”

The Viscountess stopped, looked up at him, and a bewitching smile appeared on her face:

“Does it matter?”

Doesn’t matter? She wasn’t this crazy before…

But I have to say, it’s very… stimulating.

…

Dinner was held in the resort’s restaurant, in a buffet style, which was very rich. This was normal, as both the Booth. family and the Sinclair family were considered old money, and they were very particular about these things.

During dinner, Baron also got to know other members of the two families, including Julian Sinclair Smith, the founder of the Sinclair family, and John Smith’s other three older brothers—the eldest, David Smith, is currently the CEO of the Sinclair Group; also present were the old Earl of the Booth. family and the Countess…

In the end, Baron was still sitting with Bonnie and the Viscountess Booth, but at this time, Ian Booth. was also sitting with them.

“To you, Your Grace the Duke, thank you for using your private jet to bring us here…”

“You’re welcome, Mr. Booth, it’s my honor.”

After clinking glasses with Viscount Booth, Baron took a sip of the wine…

But from the expression of the Viscountess beside Viscount Booth, it seemed that she should thank him… for more.

If one observed carefully, they could find that the Viscountess’s complexion was better than before—this was naturally due to Baron’s efforts; after all, from more than three months before her delivery until now, she hadn’t been able to fully… experience.

“Uh, thank you, darling.”

Just as his thoughts drifted slightly, Bonnie, who was sitting beside him, placed a large oyster in front of Baron.

Unlike the garlic and vermicelli oysters that Baron liked in his previous life, this oyster was even bigger, topped with a layer of caviar, and it was a truly “raw” oyster…

It was obvious that Bonnie had a hidden meaning, especially as this scene fell into the Viscountess’s eyes, and the smile that flashed within could be seen.

In fact, the idea of eating oysters to boost virility was not unique to China.

It could be said that it had become popular in France long ago…

For example, Napoleon had a record of eating 100 oysters every day for 100 consecutive days. He once said:

“Oysters help me conquer women and enemies!”

It’s just…

Just kidding, do I still need to rely on eating this to replenish myself? You two women, which one hasn’t been defeated by a storm…

Don’t get me wrong, it really does taste fishy…

Baron quickly chewed a few times and quickly swallowed it.

This taste, how should I put it, Baron glanced at Bonnie and also placed an oyster on her plate…

Meeting Bonnie’s gaze, he gave a graceful smile.

My dear, you can get used to this taste in advance before tonight…

…

“Thank you for the gift, Your Grace the Duke, I like it very much, it’s simply a work of art.”

During dinner, John Smith also came over to express his gratitude to Baron.

When they were in China, Baron had specifically prepared the wedding gifts for them.

It was a set of thin-bodied famille rose porcelain tableware, titled “Dragon and Phoenix Auspiciousness,” personally made by a master from Jingdezhen.

Thin-bodied porcelain is known as “thin as cicada wings, light as paper,” because of its thin body, it is also called “eggshell porcelain.” The technical difficulty of thin-bodied porcelain is high, and the production process is complex. After firing at a high temperature of 1300 degrees Celsius, it is prone to deformation, and the yield rate is low in the porcelain category.

This set of heavy-duty famille rose thin-bodied tableware includes bowls and plates, with the main picture being a hundred birds paying homage to the phoenix. The painted birds and flowers include phoenixes, peacocks, cranes, mandarin ducks, magpies, swallows, mandarin ducks, phoenix trees, peonies, roses, hibiscus, lotuses, and more than 100 other kinds of birds and flowers. The inner wall features a three-dimensional pattern of nine dragons offering auspiciousness, with the dragons in various forms, including ascending dragons, descending dragons, and turning freely. The nine dragons are flying, with different expressions.

The entire set of tableware looks like jade, and when placed inside the bowl, its light can shine through the bowl wall, making it beautiful and magnificent.

When Baron saw this set of tableware, he liked it very much. Although its price was something ordinary people could not afford, it was commonplace for him. He directly ordered many more, which would be used in his mansions in Shanghai and Beijing.

It could be seen that John Smith also loved this set of tableware very much and asked many questions about it.

Because Jenny and John could not meet before the wedding, Jenny Booth. did not attend today’s dinner.

After dinner, Baron said to Bonnie:

“Darling, didn’t you go see Jenny this afternoon? Come with me to see her.”

Although it seemed that Bonnie still had a bit of a mood because of what happened in the afternoon, she didn’t refuse…

It was also interesting to say that while the Viscountess was learning knowledge with a hidden agenda, Baron also asked her about the bet she had made with Bonnie before.

He was also a bit curious about this…

Unexpectedly, the final answer was—

The Viscountess told Bonnie that Jenny was still a virgin.

And Bonnie knew that Jenny had been living with John Smith for a long time, and the intimate feeling they had when they were together, saying that they hadn’t done anything more… how could she believe it.

So the two of them made a bet on who Baron would… learn knowledge with first.

If it were other things, Bonnie probably wouldn’t have agreed to such a bet…

But on this matter, it was too unbelievable for Bonnie—after all, the feeling between Jenny and John Smith didn’t seem like the one between her cousin and Viscount Booth.…

The result was…

The Viscountess won.

At this point, Baron became curious again…

“Then how did you determine that Jenny… is a virgin?”

Chapter 302: WTF?!

In truth, even though Western countries are perceived as more casual regarding matters of the sexes, with many people having experience in high school or even earlier…

However, there are still a large number of people, especially among many Christians, who are against premarital sex, particularly Catholics.

Of course, the influence of the “sexual liberation” movement is far-reaching, but there is also a certain difference between ideas and actions.

In a survey of Americans, 60% of the public opposed premarital sex…

Even removing those whose words and deeds didn’t match… the remaining number was still considerable.

For example, Baron learned from the Viscountess that John Smith was a Catholic, a denomination that strictly prohibits premarital sex.

But the problem was, even if John Smith insisted that nothing would happen before marriage… then how could they guarantee that Jenny was a virgin?

In response, the Viscountess only said that they had verified it, and in the end, Bonnie admitted defeat…

As for how the verification was done…

The only answer Baron received was—that was a woman’s secret.

“What’s wrong? Darling, you don’t look so good…”

Seeing Bonnie’s slightly furrowed brow, Baron couldn’t help but ask.

“I… it’s not you, my stomach feels a little uncomfortable, it should be that oyster just now.”

“But I’m fine?”

Seeing Bonnie couldn’t help but clutch her stomach, Baron looked innocent:

“How about I take you to see a doctor first?”

He knew that the island was well-prepared for this wedding, and there were doctors available.

“No need, I’ll go back… just go to the restroom, you go ahead first, darling.”

“Really don’t need me to accompany you? Darling.”

“No need, it’s very close…”

Before she could finish speaking, Bonnie, with a slightly… strange posture, quickly walked towards the villa where they were staying.

It seemed she was indeed in a hurry…

Baron shook his head, since that was the case, he walked towards the villa where Jenny Booth. was staying—before this, the Viscountess had pointed out the location to him, and Jenny had just told him again.

“Hello, Jenny, you look really beautiful today…”

After entering the villa, Baron, after being announced, met Jenny Booth. upstairs.

“Nice to see you, Your Grace, um, you can come up…”

Jenny stood upstairs, waving at Baron…

“You’re not sick, are you, Jenny? You look a little flushed.”

Standing in front of the woman, Baron asked with a concerned tone.

“Is, is there?”

Hearing Baron say that, Jenny subconsciously touched her face and immediately said:

“It might be because of the exercise just now… Right, where’s Bonnie? Didn’t she come with you?”

“We were originally coming together, but she felt a little uncomfortable just now, so she went back to the villa first.”

Seeing Jenny’s gaze turn downstairs, seemingly looking for Bonnie’s figure, Baron replied.

“Ah?! Is she alright?”

“No big problem, just a little stomach upset, you know, it’s always inevitable to eat raw and cold seafood…”

Somehow, Baron always felt that Jenny Booth. was a little strange today, especially when she looked at him, he could catch a certain special meaning in it…

Therefore, he said at the moment:

“I’m looking forward to your wedding tomorrow, Jenny, I’ll go back first…”

“Wait… Baron.”

Just as Baron was about to leave, he felt his sleeve being pulled, he turned around in confusion…

Jenny let go of his hand and said to him:

“There’s something I need to talk to you about.”

“What is it?”

“Let’s go inside and talk.”

When Baron followed Jenny into the room behind her… he found that it should be her bedroom here.

Just as he hesitated whether to stay here, Jenny had already closed the door.

“Jenny, what is it you want to say?”

“Do you think lovers need to be faithful? Baron.”

Hearing her suddenly ask this question, after the initial bewilderment, Baron suddenly had some doubts…

“Uh… Jenny, of course, faithfulness is necessary…”

“Is it? Then…”

At this moment, a knock sounded on the door… for some reason, Baron thought of the situation at this moment, with Jenny Booth, um, alone with her in her bedroom before her wedding, and locked the door, although they really didn’t have anything, there was still a little feeling of being “caught in the act”…

“Miss Booth, Mr. Smith is here to see you…”

Outside the door was a woman’s voice, it should be Jenny’s maid or something here, hearing the other party’s words, Jenny glanced at Baron and made a shushing gesture.

Then she walked two steps towards the door:

“John? Tell him we can’t meet right now…”

“Yes, Miss Booth, but Mr. Smith said he has something important to see you…”

Just as the woman outside the door said this, a man’s voice sounded outside the door again:

“Jenny, are you in the room?”

Even Baron could hear that this voice came from John Smith.

And Jenny Booth, at the first moment, locked the door!

Yes, she locked the bedroom door!

This left Baron speechless, originally, he and Jenny Booth. had nothing going on, but her locking the door, he himself really couldn’t just go out like that, after all, it was a compromising situation…

So Baron looked at Jenny and gave her a WTF expression…

And Jenny pointed to the bathroom on the side, it was obvious that she wanted Baron to hide in there first.

Baron felt like he was fucked, how did things develop like this for no reason, this had nothing to do with him, okay?

John Smith’s voice outside the door was still continuing, he seemed to be telling the maid to leave first, and then spoke to Jenny Booth. outside the door:

“Darling, I just want to explain to you about that day, I really didn’t have anything with Kelly, the only one I love is you, no one will surpass you…”

Ugh, do I have to hear this kind of clichéd drama?

This was Baron’s thought at the moment.

Obviously, Jenny also felt a little embarrassed at this moment, she glanced at Baron, and then said to the outside:

“I know, John, otherwise I wouldn’t continue our engagement, I just hope you understand, I’d rather your next ambiguous object be a girl…”

Wait…

Jenny’s words, again, gave Baron a black person question mark face…

What is “I’d rather your next ambiguous object be a girl??”

You know, the name Kelly, can be used by both men and women, in Chinese, generally men use this name and translate it as Kelly; women, then translate it as Kelly…

So, what John Smith just said, was Kelly, not Kelly…

It seems that John Smith, this devout Catholic, is actually suspected of being bisexual?

“I want to see you, only then can I feel at ease, Jenny, you are my most precious sweetheart, I feel lost without you for a day…”

At this moment, Baron already felt… indifferent to John’s kind of cheesy love words.

It’s just, he definitely couldn’t let him in, he could explain it if he went out at first, if he did now, and let the other party see that Baron was actually alone with Jenny in a locked bedroom, then it would be a bit unclear… if it were anyone else, it would be hard to convince themselves that the two of them were just watching a drama… uh, chatting… right.

Chapter 303: Grand Wedding

Many times, the imagined scenario and reality are vastly different.

Like right now, when Baron was in a cramped space—relative to his size—holding his breath as much as possible and trying not to move, avoiding any sound, he grasped relativity.

That is, every second now seemed perceptually longer than when he was outside the closet.

Yes, he was currently inside the closet, listening to the conversation between Jenny and John in the room.

As for how all this happened?

Just a few minutes ago, when Jenny said to John Smith:

“We can’t meet right now, John.”

Baron was still quite relaxed…

But later, when John brought up wanting to see her again, and Jenny pointed Baron towards the washroom and made a gesture of opening the door…

Baron still didn’t choose to enter the washroom, but after surveying the room, chose to open the closet door, which seemed to have quite a bit of space, and then sat inside…

Because at that moment, with his brain working, he thought that if John came in and suddenly wanted to use the toilet… then after he opened the washroom door, the scene would probably be very awkward.

And relatively speaking, the closet was safer.

Uh, if he had to choose again now, he would go into the washroom without hesitation.

He finally understood that those scenes of hiding in the closet during affairs were really a great torment for the people involved…

Wait, why connect this matter of his with an affair?

Finally, from the conversation, Baron waited until John Smith left.

As the door closed, he finally relaxed a little, at least… the amplitude of his breathing increased a lot.

The closet door was opened…

“You can come out, Baron.”

Hearing Jenny’s words, Baron cautiously moved out of the closet…

First, he put his foot outside, then his body…

But when he grabbed something casually, he felt a dampness…

This is?

Baron looked at the black “fabric” in his hand, and it was obvious that there was a large wet mark on it…

Before he could take a good look, this fabric was quickly snatched away by Jenny, who had discovered the situation… She was holding the “fabric” in her hand, hiding it behind her, and her face became even more flushed…

Huh?

Baron raised his other hand, opened his palm, and what he was holding was a… pink “small sausage” with an electrical wire.

Okay, in a flash, this pink “small sausage” was snatched away by Jenny again…

At this moment, Baron naturally already understood what these were…

So the scene became awkward.

“Right, what were you going to say to me just now?”

It was still Baron who broke this awkward atmosphere and brought up another topic…

And after hearing his words, Jenny took a deep breath, her crystal eyes looked at Baron:

“Your Grace, when did the relationship between you and my sister-in-law, that is, Chrissy, begin?”

It has to be said that Baron already regretted changing the topic a bit; it would have been better to continue talking about that pink “small sausage”…

“Viscountess? What relationship between us?”

Seeing Baron’s innocent look, Jenny said coldly:

“This afternoon, when I went to your villa, I accidentally saw a good show… Do I need to describe the scene at that time?”

Although Jenny’s words almost made Baron F**K out loud…

With his keen hearing, when he was learning knowledge with the Viscountess, he naturally knew that someone was eavesdropping outside the door…

It was just that at the time, he thought it was Viscount Booth, after all, it wasn’t the first time…

He never expected that the person outside the door at that time was actually Jenny?

“Actually, when I returned to London last month, I was already very strange…”

Jenny looked at Baron and said rather proudly:

“I already knew about my brother’s situation, so I wasn’t surprised that they used that method to have a child… What made me strange was that Chrissy herself was also pregnant… and gave birth. If it was my brother’s, there was no need to go to such lengths, so the only possibility was that she had another man, and this person could be recognized by my brother.”

Looking at Baron, her eyes also couldn’t hide her admiration:

“At the time, I didn’t know who that person was, and my brother and Chrissy wouldn’t enlighten me. I didn’t expect that I would run into it today—so, Your Grace, if I’m not mistaken, Ethel is your daughter, right? That makes sense…”

Baron shrugged his shoulders and said frankly:

“Since you’ve guessed it, Jenny, are you telling me this now just to make me praise you for being smart?”

Jenny threw the things in her hands to the ground, took a look, and her face was flushed…

She whispered to Baron:

“Of course, it’s not just that, it’s just that you happened to come over to see me, and…”

She took a step forward, closing the distance between herself and Baron, supported his arm with one hand, stood on her tiptoes, and whispered in his ear:

“You know? I haven’t tried it yet… you got me today… you have to take responsibility.”

“Responsibility?”

“Yes…”

It seemed that her lips were a little dry, Jenny moistened them with her tongue, and her breathing gradually became rapid:

“I want to be like Chrissy…”

Saying these words, she had already knelt on the carpet…

This was exactly like the afternoon’s version, Baron was a little unsure of Jenny’s thoughts…

To be honest, Jenny Booth’s appearance was very similar to Sophie Marceau’s. When they first met at their family’s Scottish hunting ground, Baron was also slightly amazed by her…

But according to the Viscountess, wasn’t she… a virgin?

How could…

“Hiss…”

Uh, now Baron somewhat believed the Viscountess’s words, because it was obvious that Jenny was not as eloquent as the Viscountess and needed more guidance…

It’s just, why?

…

Under the witness of a crowd of relatives and friends, Jenny Booth. and John Smith completed this grand wedding.

Baron was also among them, watching the beautiful Jenny Booth, wearing a uniquely designed and complex wedding dress, exchange rings with John Smith in front of the priest and become husband and wife.

This wedding was perfect, just as all women imagined…

The only thing that was easily overlooked was that the bride’s steps were a little less relaxed and natural… Well, it could also seem to be because of nervousness, or, a little discomfort.

Of course, these people did not include Baron, who naturally knew the reason.

After all, yesterday, he personally confirmed that Jenny Booth. was indeed, as the Viscountess said, still…

If he thought about it, after that, after returning to the villa, Baron would have to face Bonnie’s “retaliatory learning” without knowing anything…

It was possible to imagine how hard he worked yesterday.

After the wedding, Jenny and John accepted everyone’s blessings, and the bride’s eyes did not meet Baron’s again, just as… what happened yesterday had not happened at all.

“This is really an impressive wedding…”

It has to be said, Bonnie’s comment beside Baron resonated with him…

“Darling, I believe your wedding with Baron in the future will be even grander.”

When she said this, the Viscountess’s eyes looked at Baron.

What else could he do?

“I’ll give you the best, baby.”

Holding Bonnie, Baron gave her a passionate kiss.

Chapter 304: Google’s IPO

The wedding was over, and Bonnie and the others took the Gulfstream G450 back to London, while Barron temporarily stayed in America.

At this time, Google had already started the IPO process.

According to their currently disclosed prospectus, Google will publicly sell 25.7 million shares of stock, of which the company’s existing shareholders (shareholders before the initial public offering) will sell 11.6 million shares; Google will issue 14.1 million new shares for financing.

Currently, Google has set the stock’s issue price within the range of 108 to 135 US dollars.

If calculated at the highest issue price of 135 US dollars, Google’s financing scale this time will be close to 3.5 billion US dollars, and its market value will reach as high as 36.5 billion US dollars, exceeding General Motors’ market value of 23.7 billion US dollars.

In fact, this Google IPO was a very “unconventional” process…

It could even be said that it broke the Wall Street’s century-old rules of the game.

In the traditional IPO process, the investment banks responsible for underwriting the issuance are undoubtedly the protagonists, because they possess the most systematic professional knowledge and the most extensive connections.

The Morgan financial group was the largest investment bank at this time. Among the top 100 companies in America in the 20th century, 96 were clients of the Morgan financial group, and among the other 4, 2 were considered by the old Morgan to be unqualified to be service objects.

Therefore, such century-old investment banks have a very high standard, and ordinary companies have to visit investment banks one by one to find them.

But Google didn’t do this…

At the very beginning of preparing for the listing, it completely went against tradition and chose investment banks in the manner of an “emperor selecting concubines.”

Initially, Google summoned more than a dozen investment banks at once, requiring them to sign non-disclosure agreements and also fill out a detailed questionnaire.

On this questionnaire, Google asked these investment banks like an examiner about their underwriting history, for example, how the stocks they underwrote performed, how they underwrote the stocks, what opinions they had on the timing and pricing of Google’s IPO, and so on…

In this entire process, investment banks were completely reduced to supporting roles. There were even many arrogant Wall Street people who thought that such a questionnaire was simply a humiliation.

But in the end, they still tolerated this behavior…

The reason was simple—

First, Google paid a high fee for this underwriting—a high financing service fee of 100 million US dollars.

Second, and more importantly, no one wanted to miss out on a company like Google at the time.

So, although the investment banks were full of complaints, they still obediently filled out the questionnaires, hoping to get Google’s favor.

Ultimately, Google screened out a series of major investment banks, including Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, and Citigroup, for interviews.

Google’s Chief Financial Officer and General Counsel carefully questioned them, and finally selected Credit Suisse First Boston and Morgan Stanley as its lead underwriters.

And when it came to the roadshow, Google was very different again.

Normally, when a company goes public, the company’s executives, as well as the investment banks, will spend a lot of time, usually about two weeks, going from one city to another to promote the stock to institutional investors, answering investors’ inquiries very carefully, seriously, and warmly.

However, Google’s founders were very different. During the roadshow, they kept telling jokes and often refused to answer investors’ questions.

More importantly, in traditional underwriting, investment banks are generally responsible for making inquiries and then pricing the IPO.

But Google was the exact opposite, it firmly held the pricing power in its own hands!

For example, in the listing application, Google claimed that it hoped to raise 2.718281828 billion US dollars…

Many people would find this number funny, but in fact, it is the first ten digits of the irrational number e, and this kind of “cute” technological momentum was very obvious throughout Google’s listing process.

In response, Google insisted on not changing it. Even though it was complex, they were being willful, and they wanted to raise that much money.

Then, it was in early July that Google revised its IPO stock issue price expectation range to 108 US dollars to 135 US dollars.

This immediately caused a huge uproar!

Why?

Because this meant that Google’s issue price was seven times that of other comparable companies in the market at this time!

Next, such a high price and such a strong attitude immediately aroused the huge disgust of Wall Street and mainstream media.

The most extreme was Merrill Lynch—one of the pillars of the investment banking world. They publicly announced their withdrawal from Google’s IPO project and also advised their clients to be cautious about this stock.

Other investment banks also began to smear Google at this time and then warned their clients to stay away from Google, because it was a big mess.

After that, the New York Times also joined the battle, criticizing Google’s listing plan as a return to the false prosperity of the 1990s, containing too much internet company bubble, and so on…

Rich23 Capital would definitely participate in this Google IPO…

After all, Barron knew that although Google’s pricing of its issued shares was criticized by many media and investment banks, considering it too outrageous and far higher than other “comparable companies”—after all, this was only a company that was founded just six years ago, and its market value was about to exceed General Motors…

But even with their current issue price range of 108 to 135 US dollars, it could be considered extremely cheap relative to Google’s future market value.

And he knew that within just three months of Google’s listing, its stock price had once risen to 201 US dollars.

Moreover, in the original timeline, because of the overwhelming public opinion against it, Google also moderately lowered the issue price range.

…

There was also one thing worth mentioning, which was that until now, Barron had not seen the appearance of Facebook in America, especially at Harvard University.

In the original timeline, Facebook went online in February of this year.

Therefore, as early as February, Barron had already sent people to start paying attention to this matter, and even found Zuckerberg himself at Harvard University to monitor his every move.

It was mainly because in his previous life, the development process of Facebook was too impressive, especially after the description of the movie The Social Network, most people probably had some understanding of this process.

And it was also the winner of the global SNS type social website.

So although the Woaw website already held the top spot in this type of website, and competitors including MySpace were constantly emerging, and also had a certain user scale, it was still far from being able to shake Woaw’s leading position…

But Barron still needed to pay attention to Zuckerberg and Facebook’s situation.

At present, it seemed that perhaps because there was already Woaw Technology, a “giant” with a global user base of more than 20 million people in this field, and the North American market already had several similar websites including MySpace, Zuckerberg had given up the idea of starting a business in this field…

Anyway, from the results of investigating Zuckerberg, he was not currently starting a business and seemed to be just an ordinary college student.

As for what it seemed at this time, Woaw Technology’s biggest competitor in North America, MySpace, invested by Evantha’s IC Capital, had nearly 3 million users as of early July, and was expected to reach 5 million before the end of the year…

This was still a huge gap compared to Woaw Technology’s user base of more than 10 million in the North American market.

But this was already ranked second in the social network market in North America.

After receiving investment from IC Capital, MySpace carried out a series of publicity and marketing campaigns.

This included using the marketing promotion methods that its parent company, eUniverse, was best at—spam email bombing…

It had to be said that although this method was disgusting, it was indeed effective.

Just like the “rogue software” and similar plugins of companies like China’s 3721…

A considerable part of MySpace’s users came from this.

Another part of MySpace’s users came from music lovers. Starting from the beginning of this year, musicians were allowed to create their own profile pages on MySpace and upload their mp3 songs to build a larger fan base.

So this attracted many independent musicians, and some bands even allowed their songs to be downloaded, and this concept also attracted their fan base.

In terms of differentiation from Woaw, including allowing users to customize their homepage to be more “fancy,” and in areas including music interest groups, MySpace gained personalized users.

But Woaw’s simple and convenient interface was relatively more popular with mainstream users.

Chapter 305: Summit Media Listed

After several months of the IPO process, on July 5th, Summit Media officially listed on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange.

As the chairman of Summit Media, Barron had also returned to London to attend the bell-ringing ceremony that day.

Ultimately, Summit Media decided to set the offering price at the upper limit of the adjusted offering price range of 13.5 pounds to 15 pounds – 15 pounds.

It is worth mentioning that the recent hit on SDTV, “Dancing Miracles,” the variety show with the highest viewership in the first half of the year in the UK, made investors very optimistic about Summit Media’s prospects. Subscription for its shares was extremely active, and this played a significant role in the final offering price of the stock being set at 15 pounds.

Summit Media’s stock code is SMC, and it will publicly issue 25 million shares, all of which are newly issued shares, with no sales from original shareholders.

Based on this calculation, Summit Media’s listing this time will raise 375 million pounds in funds, and its market capitalization has also reached 1.875 billion pounds.

On the first day of listing on the London Stock Exchange’s AIM market, after the auction, Summit Media opened at a price of 16.35 pounds. During the entire morning’s trading, its stock price once reached a high of 25.78 pounds.

Finally, by the time the market closed in the afternoon, the price settled at 23.25 pounds, an increase of 55% compared to the offering price!

Based on this offering price, Summit Media’s market capitalization now stood at 2.9 billion pounds, already approaching ITV’s market capitalization.

And DS Holdings’ 72% shareholding of 90 million shares was worth nearly 2.1 billion pounds!

At this point, through the IPO listing, Summit Media had raised 375 million pounds in funds.

Soon, they issued an announcement, buying the broadcasting rights for the F1 race in the UK for 5 years from the F1 Group for a price of 35 million pounds, an average of 7 million pounds per year.

Initially, ITV’s bid for the F1 race broadcasting rights was 25 million pounds for 5 years, but later, Summit Media raised its bid, offering 30 million pounds for 5 years.

Facing the suddenly emerging competitor, Summit Media, ITV also raised its bid again, preparing to purchase the F1 broadcasting rights for 6.5 million pounds per year, or 32.5 million pounds for 5 years…

In the end, it was Summit Media that sealed the deal, securing the F1 race broadcasting rights for 5 years with 35 million pounds.

Next, SDTV will be launching the SD Sports pay-per-view channel. In addition to broadcasting the F1 races, they are now also in talks with the Football Association to secure all the lower-level football leagues in the UK, excluding the Premier League. The estimated price for a three-year term will exceed 100 million pounds…

This is also one of the reasons why they are conducting this IPO for fundraising.

According to the survey and analysis of relevant institutions, in the UK, the number of paying users that the lower-level leagues below the Premier League can attract is even higher than the broadcasting of La Liga. Therefore, Summit Media ultimately gave up on competing for the broadcasting rights of La Liga and mainly competed for the broadcasting rights of the lower-level leagues in the UK.

Most of the remaining funds from this fundraising will also be used to purchase other content for the SD Sports channel.

Currently, SD Sports cannot compete with Sky Television for the broadcasting rights of the Premier League – this is the big weapon for pay-per-view sports channels, but by slowly accumulating funds, they will eventually participate in the competition for broadcasting rights at this level.

……

Earlier, the Kolo delegation had completed visits to the European Union, the United States of America, Russia, and China, and returned to the capital, Lotti.

It can be said that these visits had some results, more or less.

For example, during the visit to the European Union, the Kolo delegation, with the support of the UK, obtained a partial debt reduction from the EU.

To date, Kolo has received a total debt reduction of 550 million euros from countries and organizations including the member states of the Paris Club, the European Union, the World Bank, and the African Development Bank.

And received a loan assistance of 200 million pounds from the UK government and the International Monetary Fund, with an annual interest rate of only 0.5% and a repayment period of ten years.

During the visit to China, representatives of the West African Port Group, who accompanied the delegation, signed a Lotti Port expansion project with the China Construction Group, a port construction and equipment supplier, with a total value of 500 million pounds. China Construction Group will build two new docks for Lotti Port and expand the existing two docks within the next five years, enabling it to reach an annual throughput of 5 million tons.

At the same time, they purchased corresponding port equipment and transportation vehicles from China, as well as related personnel training.

And China will provide Kolo with an interest-free loan of 2 billion Chinese currency. These funds will be used by Kolo to purchase equipment and materials from China.

These purchases will include the equipment and construction of a large cement plant with a daily output of 5,000 tons, the purchase of medical equipment and vaccines, and other related purchases. In short, although these loans are interest-free, they all need to be used for purchases from China, and all loans have a term of 10 years for repayment.

The cement plant mentioned above will be jointly invested by the West African Group and the Kolo Development Investment Company. The West African Holding Company will be the main investor, holding 60% of the shares of this company, which is named Kolo Tablibo Cement Plant. The Kolo Development Investment Company will invest with resources, land, and equipment purchased from China, holding 40% of the shares.

The Tablibo Cement Plant will be located in the Coastal Province, about 90 kilometers from Lotti. After its completion, it will become the largest cement plant in West Africa. The cement products it produces can not only supply construction within Kolo but also be exported to other African countries.

In addition, Kolo has reached multiple collaborations with China, including Kolo welcoming Chinese companies to invest and will provide tax incentives.

China will aid in the construction of a hospital and a nursing school in Kolo and provide some training personnel.

In fact, in the planning for Kolo, the key to ensuring Kolo’s development is to transform Kolo’s social environment.

The most fundamental of these also needs to start with education, medical and health, and public security.

Education is definitely a must, and it can be said that education is the most basic. Without a certain scale of educated people, it is impossible to have qualified industrial workers, and it can only engage in the lowest-end “manual labor” industries. It is simply a pipe dream to want to get out of poverty.

If you don’t have qualified workers, foreign capital won’t even invest in manufacturing with a certain level of technology.

In the future, only China will become the world’s factory. This is also the result of their consistent emphasis on education and their ability to have the world’s largest scale of high-quality industrial workers. Try India? Why can India equally trick all “foreign capital”? It’s because they know that they have no hope of developing with these foreign capitals…

In fact, in terms of education, Kolo can be considered to be quite good, at least much better than China in the early days of its founding…

Kolo currently has a population of about 7 million, with a literacy rate of 63.7%, of which young people account for 84.3%, and young women account for 78.4%.

Due to the French colonial rule, Kolo’s previous education system adopted the French model.

In the late 19th century and early 20th century, the first batch of schools were created to meet colonial rule and economic exploitation.

The education system includes primary schools, secondary schools, and higher levels. Children under the age of six have the right to free education.

The enrollment rate for primary education increased to 72% in 1980, then decreased to 52% in 1985, and then slowly rose, currently at around 75%.

After that, the Kolo government will allocate special educational funds each year to promote free basic education, from primary school to junior high school.

And during their visit to the UK, they also received a commitment from the UK government to help Kolo’s education transition from French education to English education. To this end, the UK will provide Kolo with a certain number of student places in teacher training programs and will send volunteers to help them improve English education.

Next, children of school age in Kolo need to receive compulsory basic education. These will be written into the “Education Act” that Kolo is formulating.

Previously, both the low-interest loans that Kolo received from the UK and the International Monetary Fund had promised to allocate a portion of them to universal education. These are also the implementation of this promise.

Chapter 306: Going Long Again

Besides education, the most important thing was to improve the national medical and health system.

Compared to other regions of the world, the healthcare system in Africa was already very concerning.

Friends who have been to Africa might know that before going, one needs to get many vaccinations, because many diseases that have been eradicated in China are still rampant in Africa.

According to the World Health Organization, few countries in sub-Saharan Africa can spend 34 to 40 US dollars per person per year on basic healthcare, and this includes Kolo.

According to “African Development and Cooperation” (2002), due to Kolo’s persistent high morbidity and mortality rates, they are considered to have one of the worst health systems in West Africa.

As of 2003, in Kolo, malaria was the main cause of illness for all age groups (46%), as well as the main cause of death (12.26%).

As of last year, the HIV infection rate was as high as 5%, and the mother-to-child transmission rate was 35%!

In addition, tuberculosis was also one of the major threats facing the public in Kolo…

Under such circumstances, if they wanted to attract more foreign investment and develop local tourism resources, they first needed to create a good environment.

It could be said that the biggest achievement of this visit to China was the close cooperation with China on the improvement of the medical and health system.

The 2 billion Chinese Yuan interest-free loan that Kolo received from China would be mostly used to purchase medical equipment and medicine locally, and to hire Chinese companies to improve the construction facilities of medical and health clinics in rural areas of Kolo.

And the Chinese side also promised to assist in the training of medical personnel and related healthcare professionals in Kolo – for example, in the Central Province, there would be a Sino-Kolo Friendship Nursing School built with Chinese aid.

As for the remaining aspects of public security, Kolo had already begun to use funds to recruit police and related personnel, and started to implement measures to ban robbery and drugs nationwide.

……

After reaching an agreement on the Global Industrial Investment Fund (GII Fund) with the Kuwait Investment Authority and the Saudi Public Investment Fund, the process of establishing this fund had already begun.

Now, the most important thing for Barron was to find suitable investors for this industrial investment fund, with an initial investment of up to 6 billion US dollars, and the other party needed to have rich experience in mergers and acquisitions and restructuring.

Finally, Barron found Fien Hudson, who had once served as the executive president of the well-known British investment company 3i Group. This professional, who had experience working in an industrial investment fund under the British government, would serve as the CEO of the Global Industrial Investment Fund.

The Global Industrial Investment Fund had already set up a dedicated account at Standard Chartered Bank, using the shares of Top Media held by DS Holdings, currently valued at over 2.1 billion pounds, as collateral, and borrowed a loan of 1.55 billion pounds from the bank.

Currently, the exchange rate of the pound to the US dollar had reached 1.83, and this 1.55 billion pounds of funds was equivalent to over 2.8 billion US dollars.

1. 8 billion US dollars of this was directly deposited into the GII Fund’s dedicated account at Standard Chartered Bank, and proof was issued to the two Middle Eastern sovereign funds, including the Kuwait Investment Authority, stating that DS Capital had completed the required injection of its own funds, after which the other party’s funds began to be transferred into this account.

The remaining 1 billion US dollars entered DS Investment’s proprietary business department, and all of it was used to go long on international crude oil with a 10-fold leverage.

Since the price of crude oil rose to 40 US dollars per barrel in April, it had slightly fallen back by now, with the price in early July being around 36 US dollars.

But the next round of increase was about to begin, and by September the price of crude oil would break through 50 US dollars per barrel, and on October 22nd, the price of crude oil would reach its highest price this year – nearly 56 US dollars per barrel.

Therefore, since there were these funds, in just over three months, it was better to add another sum of funds to go long on crude oil.

……

“I just came back from Shanghai. The construction of the race track there is going very smoothly and will be completed soon. I am very much looking forward to the Shanghai race in more than two months.”

Bernie Ecclestone was now in high spirits. After all, not only did he retain control of the F1 race, but after selling his shares, he also obtained 10% of the shares of the F1 Group. He said to Barron:

“Barron, you don’t seem to have watched an F1 race. Believe me, it’s an activity that can make people’s blood boil; it’s a sport for men…”

“Daddy, who said F1 is only a sport for men? Can’t we women be spectators?”

For Bernie’s words, Tamara, who was sitting next to him, was the first to be dissatisfied…

Faced with his daughter’s protest, Bernie could only smile helplessly.

“I will also go to China at the end of September, and I will definitely go to the Shanghai race to watch it.”

Hearing Barron say this, Tamara also chimed in:

“I want to go too. I haven’t been to Shanghai yet. I heard it’s developing very rapidly?”

“Yes, very rapidly. Every time I go, I can see many new skyscrapers. It’s worth a visit.”

As for the relationship between his daughter and the Duke, it was impossible for Bernie to completely ignore it.

Bernie also had a bit of a headache about this. If Barron were single, then even if he didn’t say he encouraged his daughter, he would be happy to see it happen.

But the key was that this young Duke was known to have a girlfriend, and he had talked to his daughter about this…

But his daughter insisted on being with him, and Bernie didn’t have a better solution, so he could only let nature take its course.

It had to be said that Tamara’s figure did indeed fascinate Barron. After the two of them left Bernie’s place, they went to The Holme villa in Regent’s Park.

That could also be considered their “love nest,” and almost every time they met in secret, it was done there.

And after getting used to learning knowledge with Barron, Tamara also showed a certain talent in learning, and it could be said that in terms of learning knowledge, she could compete with Barron…

Of course, the final result was still that Barron persisted longer in his studies, while Tamara fell asleep after a burst of crazy “recitation.”

……

During this time, Barron would also take time to go to Rebecca’s place to visit his daughter, Jennifer.

But compared to Barron, Julia Moore went there more often to accompany Jennifer.

Because she managed the Devonshire family’s trust fund and helped Barron manage the family’s traditional industries, it could be said that by now, Julia was one of Barron’s most trusted people.

Including the villa where Rebecca was currently living, it was Julia who helped find it and carried out some renovations.

Therefore, Barron did not hide the existence of Rebecca and Jennifer from Julia.

Also because of her health condition, Julia herself had given up the idea of having children – she didn’t want to pass on her genetic heart defect to her children.

But she herself liked children very much, so when Barron was not in London, it was she who came to this Westminster district villa most often to visit Rebecca and little baby Jennifer.

It could be said that, besides her mother and grandmother, the person Jennifer was closest to at this time, was not even Barron, but Julia…

Because Rebecca would often go to Cambridge University to study the courses she had missed, and even then, Julia would come over to accompany the little girl…

Chapter 307: Tesla

Recently, Bonnie has been quite busy. Besides the hit Giant Studio variety show, “Dancing Miracle,” nearing its final competition and requiring her attention, her friend has also run into trouble.

Well, I’m talking about Victoria Beckham…

She’s recently been besieged by the media, and her mood is very poor.

The reason is that, well, Beckham, who signed with Real Madrid, was exposed by the “World News” as having an improper relationship with his female assistant in Spain. This relationship may have been going on for several months…

This news immediately caused a sensation worldwide…

It’s easy to imagine that learning about her husband’s affair, especially from a tabloid, and being subjected to relentless interviews by paparazzi…

The Spice Girl’s mood has also plummeted. As a friend, Bonnie has also been taking time recently to accompany her.

Sometimes, the friendship between women is something Barron doesn’t quite understand. It seems that two people who didn’t have much interaction before can quickly become very close…

“Ugh, poor Victoria. She’s in a bad mood right now. Beckham will be back from Spain in a few days. Hopefully, they can resolve this issue…”

Regarding Bonnie’s complaint…

Barron wisely didn’t respond, as this could easily backfire.

He flipped through the emails on his laptop, thinking…

In February of this year, Musk invested 6.3 million dollars in Tesla, but the condition was that he would become the company’s chairman and have the final say in all matters. From that moment on, he gained control of this electric vehicle research and development company.

In many later materials, Musk is referred to as the founder of Tesla. In fact, this statement is not entirely accurate. The company was founded in July of last year by two engineers, Martin Eberhard and his partner Marc Tarpenning, and Musk joined as an investor in February of this year…

However, in a sense, it can be considered as such. After all, the name “Tesla” was only decided this year – it was purchased for 75,000 dollars by a co-founder.

The name “Tesla” comes from the famous scientist and electrical engineer Nikola Tesla. Their alternative names at the time were Faraday, which came from the scientist and discoverer of electromagnetic induction, Michael Faraday.

Moreover, Musk played a very important role in the research and development of Tesla electric vehicles.

Musk was initially the chairman of Tesla. After kicking out the two founders, he became the company’s CEO and product architect in 2008.

In fact, before that, Barron had also considered investing in Tesla electric vehicles before Musk, thereby intercepting him and taking control of this future, most famous electric vehicle manufacturer.

This was indeed a very big temptation for Barron. After all, this American boss, in his previous life, became the richest man in the world by relying on this company.

However, the reality is that Barron, in his previous life, had always been in the financial industry and has no experience or talent in car manufacturing.

Objectively speaking, Musk did play a very crucial role in the entire development of Tesla.

If Barron were to replace Musk as the leader of Tesla, then whether this company could truly be as successful as it was in the original timeline is unknown.

However, from the perspective of future development trends, electric vehicles are indeed the general trend.

China is also relying on overtaking in the electric vehicle sector to gain an advantage in car exports.

Therefore, Barron will still invest in the electric vehicle industry in the future, including Tesla. After all, even Tesla is not without opportunities. When the development of the Model 3 later encountered great setbacks, Musk had also considered selling Tesla to Apple.

……

With the funds on the Global Industry Investment Fund’s account arriving one after another, the CEO of this investment fund, Finn Hudson, also, as per Barron’s instructions, assembled their acquisition team.

Currently, Barron has two acquisition targets for Finn Hudson: Uniqlo and Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts.

It can be said that these two companies are both related to Barron’s current industries. Uniqlo corresponds to the Primark clothing chain, and Four Seasons Hotels corresponds to the Cavendish Hotel Group.

Speaking of the Primark clothing chain, last month, the Argos Retail Group acquired 120 stores of the British high-street retailer Littlewoods for 350 million pounds. According to the distribution of its stores, they incorporated the 80 stores that did not overlap with the Primark clothing chain into the Primark system, and the remaining 40 stores were converted into Argos department stores.

Thus, the current number of Primark stores has expanded from the 110 stores Barron initially acquired to nearly 300 stores, and they have begun to enter the French market.

The reason for first setting these two acquisition targets for the GII fund is not only because they can supplement Barron’s current industries, but also because these two companies have great potential for future development, and even investing in them can yield good returns.

Moreover, these two companies are also currently open to being sold…

First, let’s talk about Uniqlo. Many people have heard of this brand. It belongs to the Japanese Fast Retailing Group and was founded in 1984. It is a well-known fast-fashion clothing brand in the future.

Uniqlo went public in Japan in 1997. The current Uniqlo has just recovered from the previous crisis – two years ago, Uniqlo’s stock price once fell to 60% due to the impact of the internet bubble crisis.

Even so, their main stores are still concentrated in Japan, and the number of overseas stores is less than 50.

This is a huge gap compared to their later stores, which spread all over the world, with more than 2,000 stores, and more than 1,000 in China alone.

Uniqlo’s current market value is around 300 billion Japanese yen, equivalent to about 2.7 billion dollars.

Later, as a core asset, its parent company’s market value surpassed that of Zara’s parent company, becoming the world’s number one clothing group, and their founder became the richest man in Asia.

For now, the biggest difficulty in acquiring Uniqlo is whether the Fast Retailing Group is willing to let go.

The other, Four Seasons Hotels, is also a well-known hotel group.

It is an international luxury hotel management group, headquartered in Toronto, Canada, and was founded in 1961 by Isadore Sharp.

Four Seasons Hotels went public on the New York Stock Exchange in 1997, and its current market value is around 2 billion dollars.

Barron knows that in his previous life, in 2007, Prince Alwaleed bin Talal’s Saudi Kingdom Holding Company and Bill Gates’ family foundation, Cascade Investment, jointly acquired Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts for 3.8 billion dollars.

This acquisition price was 47 times Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts’ earnings!

After that transaction, Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts went private and delisted. Prince Alwaleed and Bill Gates each held 47.5% of the shares, and Isadore Sharp, the founder of Four Seasons Hotels, held 5%.

From that time, it seemed they bought at the peak, as the subprime mortgage crisis was just around the corner…

However, they kept their shares and, until 2021, Bill Gates’ Cascade Investment bought Alwaleed’s 23.75% stake in Four Seasons Hotels for 2.21 billion dollars.

Not only did Bill Gates become the largest shareholder of Four Seasons Hotels, but he also pushed its market value to 10 billion dollars…

Chapter 308: Mrs. Hall

Compared to Uniqlo, it seemed more likely that the Four Seasons Hotel could be acquired.

Because currently, Prince Alwaleed is also a shareholder of this hotel. The Global Industry Investment Fund could try to cooperate with the other party three years in advance to privatize the Four Seasons Hotel, and even try to obtain more shares…

Baron handed these two goals to the CEO of GII Fund, Fynn Hudson, which could be considered the first test after the latter took office.

“Your Grace, it’s a bit of a pity that your recent loan could also consider our North Rock Bank… We had a very pleasant cooperation last time.”

“Haha, next time for sure, as long as North Rock Bank can give me the corresponding loan ratio…”

“We will definitely give you the best conditions.”

Once again encountering Colin Hall, in the conversation with Baron, he also mentioned the loan DS Capital was making.

It seemed that this “old friend” was indeed quite concerned about him.

It has to be said that when a person’s position is higher, all they see looking down are smiles.

Just like at this banquet, everyone who saw Baron had a warm, even flattering smile.

Like Colin Hall, Baron didn’t care at all what the expression on the other person’s face would be after he turned around.

“Hello, Your Grace, I heard my daughter talking about you, and I’m very happy to meet you today.”

“I am also very happy to see you here, Sir Branson.”

This man with a bright smile and gray-white hair was Richard Branson, the founder of Virgin Group, and also the father of Holly Branson, whom Baron had seen before.

It can be said that in Britain, you can almost find the shadow of Virgin Group wherever you look—in Britain, the brand recognition of Virgin is as high as 96%, and 95% of people can say that Branson is the founder of Virgin.

This is also because Richard Branson has almost become the spokesperson for the entire Virgin Group. Many of his actions have made this brand full of topics and deeply rooted in people’s hearts.

For example, every time the Virgin brand extends, Branson will personally conduct a unique show.

He once only wore a Speedo and filmed an advertisement for Virgin Active drinks with Pamela Anderson, the female lead of the American soap opera “Baywatch”…

He once promoted Virgin Mobile on the streets of London with 20 almost completely naked models with the slogan “What you see is what you get”…

He drove a tank into Times Square in New York to promote Virgin Records’ chain stores entering the United States…

He flew to New Delhi and rode a white elephant to give a speech at the Indian Parliament…

He once ran naked along the beach of the English Channel…

It was his outrageous actions that made his red and white Virgin brand rank first in the “Most Famous British Brands for Men” and third in the “Most Famous British Brands for Women”.

And he himself, in a BBC poll conducted in 2001, was ranked second as the most inspiring figure, higher than Jesus.

Although Baron greatly admired Richard Branson’s passion in starting a business, with his identity, he certainly couldn’t learn from the latter’s approach.

But in the communication between the two, Baron could still feel that this was a very interesting person.

“I will have a party in a few days and have invited many friends. If I can invite you, I would be very honored, Your Grace.”

It seems that Holly Branson’s love for parties is really inherited from her family.

“Of course, why not?”

“Haha, then I will wait for your visit. The ball will start soon. If this old man keeps taking up your time, I’m afraid those girls can kill me with their eyes alone…”

After his joke, sure enough, the lights in the hall dimmed slightly, and the music started…

Sure enough, as Branson said, after seeing him leave, there were already bold girls starting to walk towards Baron.

Today was a gathering of London entrepreneurs, and the ladies present were mostly their female relatives. From the appearance of the women here, it could also be seen that, like wealth, beautiful resources also gathered where they were.

But Baron didn’t want to be entangled by those girls. These daughters of wealthy families, how should he put it, although a considerable part of them also had good looks, Baron didn’t want to provoke them. He didn’t have so much time and energy to spend on this kind of thing now.

So when Baron’s gaze swept across and saw a figure, he smiled and walked towards the other party…

“Catherine… oh, Mrs. Hall, may I have the honor of dancing with you?”

Colin Hall’s wife, and also Baron’s brother’s former fiancée—Catherine, she never expected that Baron would walk in front of her and extend an invitation.

When she saw Baron walking in her direction, she subconsciously wanted to escape.

But although Baron’s steps looked very leisurely, his speed was very fast. This made her only slightly turn her body when Baron had already arrived in front of her and extended an invitation.

“Bar… Duke Cavendish…”

As Baron walked over, the eyes of many girls also turned to Catherine’s side. This made her words of refusal stuck in her throat, and she finally said:

“Okay.”

Very gentlemanly taking the hand Catherine extended, Baron led her into the dance floor…

“Sometimes fate’s arrangements are very strange, aren’t they? The me of the past, I probably couldn’t have imagined that one day I would call you Mrs. Hall…”

“Baron, I…”

Catherine was almost half a head shorter than Baron. From Baron’s perspective, after her gaze met his, she quickly moved away, but her voice entered his ears:

“I’m very sorry…”

“Actually, it doesn’t matter. Everyone has their own choices, I can understand, Mrs. Hall.”

Baron’s face still had an elegant smile. As for what he was thinking in his heart, he wouldn’t show it.

In fact, when Baron came over at first, he really wanted to take this opportunity to ask the woman in front of him why she married Colin Hall when her “former fiancé” had just passed away.

But suddenly, he no longer had the mood to find this answer. After all, no matter what, the facts were the facts, and this could not be changed.

Everyone can find all sorts of reasons for their actions, even if those actions hurt others.

Besides, he wasn’t some kind of moral police, and he didn’t have much deep feelings for his predecessor’s good brother.

If it weren’t for Colin Hall’s various actions, which really made Baron feel wary, he wouldn’t have wanted to waste time on this kind of melodramatic thing at all.

“Mr. Hall, return your wife to you intact…”

When Baron and Catherine finished dancing a song, Baron saw Colin Hall standing on the side of the dance floor.

“I believe you two should have a lot of catching up to do.”

“Haha, indeed, but I am even more grateful that Mrs. Hall blocked some dance partners for me…”

Baron didn’t want to waste his time here anymore, when he noticed some “predatory” gazes.

Chapter 309: A Shining Life

“Victoria and her husband have really been having a lot of trouble lately…”

Hearing Bonnie’s complaints, Baron glanced at the newspaper in her hand. Sure enough, it was the World News…

“That’s normal. After all, whether it’s the matter with the female assistant or the recent European Championship, Beckham’s affairs will drive the media crazy for sales…”

From Bonnie, Baron knew that since the end of the European Championship, Beckham and Victoria had been staying at home and rarely going out.

This was also because, apart from the affair with the female assistant that was exposed in Spain, Beckham’s performance in the European Championship in Portugal was also poor.

Not to mention the penalty kick he missed in the crucial match against Turkey in the European Championship qualifiers.

The two missed penalty kicks in the European Championship had made Beckham a target of criticism from English fans.

Especially in the match against Portugal, during the penalty shootout, Beckham’s first penalty kick soared high above the goal, which was also considered the main reason why England was eliminated by Portugal.

Speaking of which, this European Championship was quite dramatic. The opening match was between the host Portugal and Greece, and the final was still between the host Portugal and Greece…

Greece, which had never advanced to the final stage of an international competition, miraculously became the champion with a winning goal scored by Charisteas from a corner kick in the 57th minute, staging a “Greek myth.”

The host team, Portugal, became the first host team in European Championship history to lose in the final.

“By the way, darling, aren’t you going to be less busy from now on?”

The first season of “Dance Miracle” produced by Giant Studio had ended. This variety show, which had created the highest viewership this year, had also become Giant Studio’s signature IP after its great success.

However, Bonnie would no longer need to participate in the production of the variety shows from the former Summit Studio, so Baron asked this question.

“I’ll be a bit more relaxed for the time being, but I have an idea, and I was just about to ask for your opinion…”

Bonnie told Baron her idea for a new show:

“I want to produce a show in the form of a documentary, filming the daily lives of people that the public would be more interested in, such as entrepreneurs, sports stars, the second generation of the wealthy, and nobles, etc…”

Baron was not at all surprised by Bonnie’s idea. After all, in his previous life, he had also watched many similar documentary programs, including those produced by television stations such as the BBC.

Just like Tamara Ecclestone had appeared in the documentary “The World of the Rich.”

“These contents, which are considered exotic to ordinary people, are quite likely to arouse their interest. However, in the production of the show, some effort is still needed, otherwise, it won’t be any different from other similar shows.”

In fact, Baron also understood that ordinary people would definitely want to see the real life scenes of those seemingly glamorous people who are usually far away from them.

But if it was just based on filming the truth, the final ratings might not necessarily be very good.

This was a very interesting thing. Everyone wants to see the truth, but often, more exaggerated and dramatic content will attract attention.

Many times, the public wants to see the luxurious life of the rich that they imagine, rather than a real, simple life.

Just like Baron, as a British nobleman, and also one of the richest people in the world, his daily life might not be as exaggerated as ordinary people imagine.

Although there were times when he enjoyed a luxurious life, most of the time Baron needed to handle his various industries and live the busy life of those entrepreneurs.

If he compared his real life to the life of someone with more internet celebrity qualities, such as Paris Hilton, the public might be more interested in the latter’s life.

After expressing his views, Baron noticed Bonnie’s expression and suddenly realized:

“Baby, you don’t want to start with me first, do you?”

“You’re so smart, darling, there’s probably no one who would attract the audience more than you…”

Frankly speaking, Baron didn’t like putting his life under the spotlight for the public to watch.

Even though he knew that he could make some modifications in this process, but in his identity, it was better for him to be behind the scenes, reduce his presence, or use other identities to face the public—such as a philanthropist.

He wasn’t the kind of person like Ivanka’s father—although he would let Ivanka call him that sometimes—nor was he Richard Branson of the Virgin Group…

Baron didn’t need to “promote” his companies by being a spokesperson, and instead, he didn’t want too many people to pay attention to his wealth.

“But no matter what, your fame is already there, isn’t it? Darling, you don’t need to show off your wealth, just show your daily life… For example, how you make business decisions would be great.”

Bonnie said this after hearing Baron’s thoughts.

From this perspective, her words were not wrong. There were many kinds of personas, and he didn’t have to be a “tyrant” who squandered money, showing his intelligent and charming side was also good.

“I’ll go to America and China in September, and you can follow me to film, but darling, you know, all the final filming content and editing results need to be reviewed by my team first.”

“Okay, I’ll start preparing for it now…”

Bonnie said happily, giving Baron a kiss.

As for what Baron said, that all the filming content needed to be reviewed by his team, Bonnie naturally understood very well, because.

Baron had his own image consultants and public relations consultants, and all the images he presented to the outside world would be formulated and reviewed by these teams.

After all, his public image was related to the interests of a huge business empire with a scale of several tens of billions of dollars.

The good thing was that through this work, Bonnie could finally be by Baron’s side and go on overseas visits with him for a relatively long period of time.

Yes, this program, which was similar to a documentary, Bonnie planned to name “A Shining Life,” and she would act as the host, interviewing celebrities who lived enviable lives.

“By the way, darling, didn’t you say you were going to buy a bigger plane?”

“Yes, I’ve also considered buying a second-hand one directly, or purchasing an order that has already been built but not yet delivered. After all, it takes too long to start customizing again…”

“Then maybe before you leave, we can use this as the opening for the show. I think a huge private jet will immediately attract the audience’s interest!”

Yes, Baron was indeed preparing to buy another private jet.

Because with the increasing number of people accompanying him on each trip, the current Gulfstream G450, with a passenger capacity of only a dozen people, was already becoming increasingly difficult to accommodate so many people.

Next, Baron planned to replace it with a larger private jet—for example, to modify a large airliner from Boeing or Airbus.

Just like he told Bonnie, if he were to order directly from companies like Boeing and Airbus, it would probably take two to three years to get delivery.

Therefore, his team was currently looking for suitable second-hand or soon-to-be-delivered orders that could be sold.

Although those large airliners had requirements for airports for takeoff and landing, Baron didn’t need to consider these for the time being—at worst, the Gulfstream G450 would be used in conjunction with it to complete the journey.

“Maybe if we’re lucky, we’ll be able to ride the new private jet on our next trip.”

Baron said to Bonnie with a smile, which was also what he hoped for.

Chapter 310: Duke of Devonshire

According to the plan after the acquisition of Argos last year, they would strengthen their online sales.

Starting last year, they launched the domain name Argos.com as the official website of the Argos online store.

In the past year or so, online ordering had become the largest proportion of Argos’s sales, while the proportion of traditional telephone, text message, and in-store orders was constantly decreasing.

Since the acquisition of the Primark clothing chain, this strategy had also been applied to this budget clothing brand.

Not only did Primark have its own separate online store, but there would also be a dedicated clothing section on Argos.com for display.

Although the Argos Retail Group was still constantly increasing the number of their stores, after evaluation, they believed that the e-commerce model could greatly reduce the company’s operating costs, and could allow them to change some of the full-category display warehouse stores previously required in each city into more, wider-reaching drive stores and pick-up points.

For example, when expanding into the French market, Argos used this method—opening full-category display warehouse stores in important commercial areas of each city, and then in other areas, using a combination of drive stores and pick-up points, which could complete the coverage of a city in the shortest time.

And compared to the full-category warehouse stores that required a larger area, both drive stores and pick-up points required significantly less land area. Often, full-category warehouse stores needed a display area of more than 500 square meters, while drive stores only needed a store of less than 100 square meters, and pick-up points could even operate in small stores of 20-50 square meters.

This allowed for more choices in the distribution of stores and greatly reduced rental costs.

The flexible application of this method was the main reason why Argos was able to complete the coverage of all cities above a certain scale in France in such a short period of time.

Therefore, in order to encourage users to use the Argos website to purchase goods, starting from the New Year’s Day of this year, the Argos Retail Group launched a free delivery promotion for users who spent over 99 euros…

Well, in Britain and France, users needed to pay a portion of the packaging fee for self-pickup, and if it was delivered to their home, they had to pay a delivery fee—currently, the Argos website only supported delivery and self-pickup in cities with its own outlets, and did not yet support domestic postal services in other regions.

Like in Britain, Argos had covered all cities and most towns, but for relatively remote areas, they could only apologize.

As for France, delivery was currently only provided within city limits.

However, as the Argos Retail Group began to enter the German market, DS Holdings also injected 50 million pounds into “Speedy Delivery”, a logistics and warehousing company mainly spun off from Argos, to further increase its scale and open a personal express delivery service covering Britain and Ireland.

At this time, the largest express logistics giant in Britain was Royal Mail, a state-owned company that had monopolized the British postal industry for 350 years, enjoying various privileges in Britain, including exemption from value-added tax and the company’s postal vehicles not being subject to parking restrictions.

The business of Royal Mail currently accounted for 97% of the British postal service market, handling an average of 80 million mail deliveries both in and outside of Britain per day—it should be noted that twenty years later, the global business scale of the largest express company, ZTO Express, would only have an average of 60 million mail pieces per day.

However, Barron knew that the current situation would soon change, with a major turning point on January 1, 2006.

At that time, the British postal regulatory agency would begin to implement new rules, allowing various postal companies to openly compete and “share” the British postal service market.

Before that, the British postal regulatory agency would issue long-term operating licenses to 13 postal companies, a move that would clear the way for them to compete fairly with “Royal Mail”.

Therefore, “Speedy Delivery” needed to prepare in advance for “grabbing the cake” by then.

On July 25th, the Argos website launched a membership program.

After users registered as members on Argos.com, they could accumulate points through online shopping, which could be used to offset service fees including packaging fees and delivery fees.

After the launch of this program, the registered members of the Argos website began to increase rapidly, with over 5 million new users added in just one week…

…

Barron’s team made significant progress in finding a large airliner to be converted into a private jet.

This progress came from Boeing, which responded that an airline had reduced its order for Boeing 747-430s, likely preparing to purchase the upcoming Airbus A380. Therefore, a Boeing 747-430 aircraft that had completed its main construction could be delivered to Barron in advance, and he could customize the interior space and decoration.

If this was the case, it was expected to be completed within three months, meaning it could be delivered before September 20th.

The total funds required, including the interior decoration costs, were estimated to be around 250-270 million US dollars.

If he wanted to get the plane in the shortest amount of time, besides buying someone else’s used plane, this was probably the only opportunity.

Therefore, Barron immediately made the decision to take this Boeing 747.

Barron also knew from Abramovich that he had just ordered a private jet, but it was a Boeing 767.

Although the Boeing 767 appeared to be a later model than the 747, in fact, the Boeing 767 was much smaller than the 747.

Before the advent of the Airbus A380, the Boeing 747 had always held the record for the world’s largest airliner.

Like Prince Alwaleed’s Boeing 747 private jet, it was a 747-400, and the 747-430 that Barron was about to buy was a newer model than his.

The final version of the Boeing 747, the 747-8, would not be announced for research and development until the end of next year, and would not be available until after 2011—that was a project Boeing had launched to counter the Airbus A380.

For Barron’s order, Boeing sent a special team to London to assist Barron in finally determining the modification plan for his Boeing 747.

A large master bedroom inside was a must, and it needed to be as luxurious as possible…

In addition, it was necessary to leave the bottom of the aircraft with a garage capable of parking a fleet of cars, so that Barron’s entourage could directly leave by car wherever they went.

This aircraft would be named “Duke of Devonshire”, with the Devonshire family crest and the name of the aircraft painted on the fuselage.

The aircraft was purchased and held by DS Asset Management, and the daily maintenance costs were shared by his subsidiaries—these could be counted as company expenses to reduce taxes.

Barron had operated his previous Gulfstream G450 in the same way.

…

According to the plan of Manchester United Football Club, starting from mid-July, after the end of the European Championship, they led the team to Asia and began their first Asian tour.

The first stop of the Asian tour was to China, where they would hold three friendly matches in Shanghai, Qingdao, and Hong Kong, respectively, against Shanghai Shenhua, Shandong Luneng Taishan, and the Hong Kong regional team…

In addition, a series of activities to interact with Manchester United fans would also be held in these three cities.

At the same time, Manchester United Football Club would also cooperate with Alibaba, setting up an official Manchester United Football Club store on Taobao.com to sell genuine Manchester United club merchandise to Chinese fans.

It could be said that this trip to China was a commercial activity completely organized by the Manchester United brand management company to establish a brand image for fans in the Chinese region. After the Manchester United management, including head coach Ferguson, could obtain a portion of Manchester United’s commercial operating income, head coach Ferguson also changed his attitude and no longer opposed the players participating in these activities so much, provided it did not affect the normal competitive state of the team.

After all, in addition to this, during this trip to China, many players from Manchester United Football Club, as well as Manchester United Football Club, obtained sponsorships from many Chinese companies and conducted advertising cooperation with them, earning a lot of money.

Uh, during this process, they would also pay attention to the commercial image of the players, and they would not let Ronaldo endorse the kind of Jinsangzi Throat Lozenge…

Chapter 311: Investment or Power Grab?

August 6th, the Bank of Communications officially signed a strategic cooperation agreement with Standard Chartered Bank.

According to the agreement, Standard Chartered Bank invested 14.461 billion Chinese Yuan, equivalent to approximately 1.747 billion US dollars, to acquire shares in the Bank of Communications, holding 7.775 billion shares, with an equity stake of 19.9%.

This equity ratio was close to the upper limit of 20% for a single foreign institution’s investment in a Chinese commercial bank, making Standard Chartered Bank the second-largest shareholder in the Bank of Communications, second only to the Ministry of Finance.

Standard Chartered Bank’s investment was partly injected in the form of foreign exchange, while the other part was exchanged for resources they provided to the Bank of Communications.

This time, the strategic cooperation signing ceremony between Standard Chartered Bank and the Bank of Communications was personally attended by the Greater China Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Standard Chartered Bank, Ms.曾 Jingxuan. She said during an interview:

“This is an exciting opportunity that allows us to develop dual-brand credit cards. The names of the Bank of Communications and Standard Chartered Bank will both be printed on the cards. We definitely have huge development potential in this area.”

She was referring to one of the collaborations between the two large banks, which was that the Bank of Communications would establish a separately operated credit card center with Standard Chartered Bank. With the help of Standard Chartered Bank, the Bank of Communications could achieve international advanced levels in this area and take over Standard Chartered Bank’s international credit card customers in China.

After Standard Chartered Bank’s investment in the Bank of Communications, the Bank of Communications’ core capital adequacy ratio, calculated according to international accounting standards, will reach 8.43%, and the capital adequacy ratio will reach 11.62%.

According to the agreement, Standard Chartered Bank will send two directors and provide technical support and services in areas such as risk management, corporate governance and internal control, financial management, asset and liability management, and human resource management.

The Bank of Communications’ modernization reform this time will follow the three-step process of “financial restructuring - introduction of foreign capital - public listing.” The first two steps have already been completed, and the next step will be the process of public listing.

According to senior executives from the Bank of Communications, the in-depth cooperation with Standard Chartered Bank will help the Bank of Communications standardize its management and become an “accelerator” for their eventual listing.

The Bank of Communications has already started its listing work, formulated an overall listing plan, and is expected to complete the work of listing in Hong Kong in the first half of next year.

……

“We have purchased a total of 14.9% of Fast Retailing’s shares through several cooperating institutions at the stock exchanges in Hiroshima and Tokyo…”

On the phone, the CEO of the Global Industrial Investment Fund (GII Fund), Finn Hudson, reported to Barron on their progress in acquiring Uniqlo.

Uniqlo’s parent company is Fast Retailing, a company from Japan. This company is currently listed on the Hiroshima Stock Exchange in 1994 and on the Tokyo Stock Exchange in 1997.

According to investigations, the founder of Fast Retailing, Tadashi Yanai, and his family currently hold approximately 31% of Fast Retailing’s shares; the Japanese Trust Bank holds 20.58% of the shares; the Japanese Custody Bank holds 13.78% of the shares; the other shares are held by other shareholders and are in circulation in the secondary market.

Because the GII Fund has not yet publicly announced its intention to acquire Fast Retailing, the parent company of Uniqlo, the shares they have acquired from the secondary market are all held by other institutions, including their collaborators Standard Chartered Bank and Goldman Sachs Group, and they have not yet made a tender offer for acquisition.

Therefore, at present, on the one hand, they will still try to acquire as many shares of Fast Retailing as possible in the Hiroshima and Tokyo stock markets.

In addition, they will also contact the small shareholders of Fast Retailing, as well as the two Japanese banks that hold a larger share of their shares, and try to acquire the shares in their hands.

Currently, Fast Retailing’s total market value is around 2.7 billion US dollars, which is not too high, but within Japan, completing this acquisition will require some strategy.

As the founder of Uniqlo, as early as 2003, in his book “One Victory and Nine Defeats,” Tadashi Yanai revealed his retirement plan.

At that time, only 54 years old, he stated in the book that compared with his peak period, his physical strength and energy began to decline. He hoped to withdraw from the front line of management and focus on investment, and live out his later years in peace.

In fact, in his early years, Tadashi Yanai was deeply influenced by the management philosophy of American retail companies. In his management, he neither advocated the “one-man rule” of the operator, nor did he intend to let his business be constrained by family relationships. This was already very advanced in the management of Japanese companies at that time.

Later, he successively found two “successors,” namely Takashi Sawada and Genichi Tamatsuka, who had worked at IBM. However, before that, Takashi Sawada had rejected Tadashi Yanai’s invitation to become the president of Uniqlo and left Fast Retailing.

The current president of Fast Retailing is Genichi Tamatsuka, another successor that Tadashi Yanai was optimistic about, but he will also resign next year due to the decline in Fast Retailing’s performance.

Although Tadashi Yanai has now “retired to the second line,” he still has a huge influence on Fast Retailing. In the original timeline, he will take control of Fast Retailing again next year and will continue for nearly 20 years.

Therefore, there is also the saying of “Tadashi Yanai is the constant, the successors are the flowing water.”

From this, it can also be seen that although Fast Retailing has gradually recovered from the crisis of two or three years ago, the group’s sales performance this year will still not be satisfactory, which will lead to the resignation of the current president, Genichi Tamatsuka, next year.

At this time, if the GII Fund can offer a suitable price and buy the shares of this company from other shareholders, it is not impossible.

After all, others will not predict that Tadashi Yanai will return to the position of power in the group next year. At this time, Genichi Tamatsuka, in the position of president of Fast Retailing, does not seem to be doing well.

Fast Retailing has also not grown rapidly because of its success in overseas markets, especially the Chinese market.

At this time, they are also facing many competitors in Japan, and the prospects are not optimistic.

Now, the only thing Barron needs to consider is whether, if they can obtain other shares, they need to “go to war” with the Tadashi Yanai family to争夺, or compete for control of Uniqlo and its parent company?

After all, from the experience of the previous life, after 2005, Uniqlo, or Fast Retailing, has always been under the leadership of Tadashi Yanai, thereby expanding on a large scale, and eventually surpassing the Zara’s parent company, Inditex Group, to become the world’s largest clothing sales company.

You must know that Tadashi Yanai is already 55 years old, even if he leads Fast Retailing again, he will need to retire after at most 20 years…

Therefore, Barron finally decided to first obtain as many shares as possible… preferably more than 50%, and then confront the Tadashi Yanai family, to see whether to be their controlling investor or directly seize power.

Chapter 312: Negotiating Terms

“The schools we’re donating in Kolo are already under construction, and we expect that part of them will be ready for use by the end of the year…”

Mrs. Biche Stowe, the head of the Devonshire Charitable Foundation, said to Baron:

“As for the teachers for that school, the recruitment process has been relatively smooth because we pay much higher salaries than the local ones.”

Mrs. Biche Stowe was a widow nearing fifty, and she had a deep connection with the Devonshire family. She had previously helped the Devonshire family with charitable affairs, so Baron brought her in to be the head of the Devonshire Charitable Foundation.

In addition, her son also worked in the management of the Devonshire Ecological Agriculture Company.

The school built in Kolo in the name of the Devonshire Charitable Foundation was located near the Munger base in the Prairie Province.

It would be named the Devonshire International School. The teachers selected would mostly be hired from the British Isles, and background checks would be conducted on these teachers. Only those without any suspicious past experiences would be hired there with high salaries.

Devonshire International School would provide students with board and lodging, and the students there would be orphans Baron adopted from various places, mainly from war-torn areas.

The Devonshire Charitable Foundation itself, when conducting charitable activities around the world, easily came into contact with these orphans. Especially in the war-torn areas of the Middle East, including Iraq and Palestine, there were many such “age-appropriate” orphans under the age of ten, and they could selectively accept them.

The younger these orphans were, the more like blank slates they were. Educated by the Devonshire International School, they would be more likely to be of use to Baron.

After all, in this school, they would be told from a young age that it was the kind Duke of Devonshire who saved them from the brink of starvation.

Baron did this, of course, not just to do charity. The purpose was to have a force loyal to the Devonshire family, especially loyal to him, through this early education. Therefore, in the Devonshire International School, they would never relax the “gratitude education” for those orphans from all over the world.

However, even so, compared to those compatriots who died unexpectedly in the flames of war or starvation, those children who could be brought to this school by him would be fortunate.

……

“You have a lot of guts to come here to see me…”

Baron looked at the Slavic man in front of him, whose face bore a noticeable scar, and said.

“But you seem to lack a little bit of courage, Your Grace.”

The other party looked at the bodyguards with guns protecting Baron’s side, speaking in a calm tone.

Now in front of Baron was Mikhail Ritt, whom Aliyah had mentioned before, whom she had seen in New York.

Baron had been wary of him before, but he hadn’t expected that at this point, he would actually come to London.

It was also because after so long, he had slightly relaxed, giving Mikhail Ritt the opportunity to get close to Aliyah.

Fortunately, Mikhail had no ill intentions towards Aliyah. After learning from Aliyah that she was not coerced, but rather chose to stay by Baron, the British Duke’s side, Mikhail proposed to meet with Baron.

Thus, today’s meeting came about…

Of course, just as Mikhail had said earlier, Baron’s current important status meant that, as the saying went, “A thousand pieces of gold for a son, he doesn’t sit under a crumbling eaves.” Without knowing the other party’s true intentions, Baron certainly couldn’t just go to see him like that. If he met a madman who suddenly attacked and injured him, it wouldn’t be worth it.

And he also knew that this Mikhail was once the top hitman under Aliyah’s foster father, Louis Lafayette, and was quite skilled.

Therefore, when meeting Mikhail, Baron had a whole team of bodyguards protecting him with live ammunition—Baron didn’t feel ashamed of this. It was shameful to be knocked out by some small fry due to carelessness…

“You said you have something to talk about, you can say it now.”

Hearing Baron’s words, Mikhail sized up the bodyguards around Baron:

“I want to make a deal with you.”

“A deal?”

A smile appeared on Baron’s face:

“With all due respect, I don’t know what you have to trade with me.”

“I certainly can’t compare to a big shot like you, but I have my own value…”

“Oh? You might as well tell me.”

Seeing Baron’s expression, Mikhail didn’t seem to mind at all. He looked at the British Duke in front of him and said:

“I want you to help me kill Louis Lafayette.”

Hearing Mikhail’s words, Baron couldn’t help but glance at Aliyah beside him. He had to admit that the two of them were asking for the same thing.

It seemed that their foster father was truly “deserted by all.”

“My time is precious, and I don’t want to waste it on this kind of conversation. You don’t think that just a few words can make me do things for you, do you? If there’s no better reason, then I’m not going to play along.”

Up until now, Baron’s surveillance of Louis Lafayette had been ongoing. In his own opinion, if it was said that completely eliminating his organization might be a bit difficult, but just physically eliminating Louis Lafayette himself wasn’t very difficult.

But the key was, what was the reason?

Even when Aliyah asked him back then, he hadn’t said that he would do something that would bring him no benefit at all and would also have some hidden troubles.

So, why could this Mikhail in front of him make this request?

“I can sell my life for you…”

Uh, hearing this, Baron couldn’t help but look at Aliyah again. He saw that she felt his gaze, and as their eyes met, she looked down at the ground again.

“If that’s the case, then you can leave. Maybe your skills are good, but they don’t mean much to me. You can say I’m an aristocrat, or you can say I’m a businessman, but these have nothing to do with your so-called ‘selling your life’.”

“In addition, I also have some information that you might be interested in… And, to reveal a little, Lafayette doesn’t know that Aliyah is with you. I came to London last month. The interesting thing is that in the past week, I’ve seen at least three of Lafayette’s men near your residence…”

“Are you sure?”

Mikhail’s words did arouse Baron’s interest. He looked at the other party calmly and asked.

If it was really as he said, that Lafayette’s men had come near him, then it made Baron feel a little dissatisfied with his current security system.

“Yes, although they haven’t made any obvious moves against you, because I used to be with Lafayette, I’m very familiar with those people. It’s not surprising that I can spot them hidden in the shadows… So, Your Grace, you may have already been targeted by Lafayette.”

After a little thought, Baron said:

“I don’t believe that Mr. Lafayette has the guts to do anything to me in London. If he’s not a madman, he should at least understand that this is simply unrealistic.”

“Perhaps that’s the case, but what about outside of Britain? Your Grace, no one can guarantee that they’re always invulnerable, right?”

Chapter 313: Preparing to Take Action

“As for why they appeared near your place, I can help you catch them, and I believe you’ll know then…”

Mikhail finally said:

“Also, I’ve actually discovered that there are more than just a couple of groups interested in your place, quite a few, in fact. And I’ve had some unexpected gains while tailing them, which can also be part of the deal.”

Baron wasn’t particularly surprised to hear Mikhail’s words. After all, his security was primarily focused on ensuring safety, and he couldn’t possibly investigate every instance of surveillance for other purposes.

For example, Baron knew beforehand about the “wiretapping scandal” that later broke out involving reporters from the News Corporation, who would tap the phones of important figures. Baron, with his interests at stake, could make early arrangements and gather evidence.

And his home and office would be regularly inspected by relevant experts to prevent the presence of listening devices.

He also hardly used landlines for calls—Baron had separate mobile phones for official and personal matters, both using O2 Telecom services. All his calls were encrypted by O2 Telecom, and the most secretive matters, such as communications with Corlo, were conducted through encrypted satellite phones.

He was always very careful in these aspects.

But for other individuals or organizations spying on his residence, Baron’s security could only ensure that they didn’t enter a certain area; it was impossible to completely seal off the entire area.

Therefore, Baron was somewhat interested in Mikhail’s so-called “gains.”

“I need to obtain some information, otherwise, how can I determine whether the intelligence from your so-called ‘gains’ is useful to me?”

“You should trust my sincerity, Your Grace, but I can offer a little hint. Some of the conversations involve a person named Colin Hall…”

Colin Hall?

Baron’s pupils narrowed slightly. When the other party had previously contacted him, offering to provide a high-interest loan secured by O2 Telecom shares through North Rock Bank, Baron had been suspicious. It seemed there was indeed some conspiracy behind it.

“I can agree. You can go to the Billoo Castle in Northern Ireland and find this person. He will help you complete this matter…”

Baron wrote a name and contact phone number on a piece of paper and handed it to Mikhail.

“I hope we can cooperate with each other sincerely, Your Grace.”

Mikhail took the note, gave Baron a deep look, and said.

……

Global Industrial Investment Fund’s acquisition of Uniqlo’s parent company, Fast Retailing, was continuing and had made a breakthrough.

After contacting Japan’s Trust Bank and Japan’s Custodian Bank, which held a total of 34.36% of Fast Retailing’s shares, through Goldman Sachs Group, GII Fund negotiated with them to acquire their Fast Retailing shares.

Finally, after a week, an agreement was successfully reached with the two banks to acquire their total 34.35% stake in Fast Retailing at a 20% premium… After paying the two banks 1.115 billion US dollars, and adding the shares of Fast Retailing acquired in the secondary market during this period, GII Fund’s holding of Fast Retailing shares had exceeded 50%, reaching 50.5%.

At this point, GII Fund officially announced the proportion of shares they held and began to contact Tadashi Yanai, who currently controlled Fast Retailing’s management rights, to propose further acquisition of Fast Retailing shares.

GII Fund stated that their acquisition of Fast Retailing shares was purely based on financial investment and did not seek to control Fast Retailing’s management, which also dispelled Tadashi Yanai’s slight hostility towards GII Fund.

After negotiating with Tadashi Yanai, GII Fund agreed to limit the acquisition of Fast Retailing shares to 65% at this time. After reaching this proportion, they would stop acquiring Fast Retailing shares.

GII Fund still supported Tadashi Yanai’s management of Fast Retailing and still allowed Tadashi Yanai to serve as the chairman of Fast Retailing, with Genichi Tamatsuka serving as the president of Fast Retailing.

However, they requested to send three board members to Fast Retailing to ensure GII Fund’s interests.

At this time, due to GII Fund’s acquisition, Fast Retailing’s stock price had risen by more than 20%. After GII Fund reached an agreement with Fast Retailing’s management, including Tadashi Yanai, its stock price began to slowly decline.

After that, GII Fund began to successively acquire Fast Retailing’s shares from the secondary market and new shareholders. Finally, after spending approximately 2 billion US dollars, GII Fund fixed its holding of Fast Retailing at 65%, which also became the first investment since the establishment of this fund.

In fact, it was Baron’s opinion to hold only part of the Fast Retailing shares while retaining the shares held by the Tadashi Yanai family and letting them manage the company.

The Global Industrial Investment Fund’s strategy was primarily investment-oriented. Although they would merge and integrate some industries, they would not interfere too much with the company’s operations.

Therefore, when they were not confident that the results of their own management would be better than those of the original founders, they would rather make financial investments and leave the company’s management to professionals.

This investment in Fast Retailing was a reflection of this concept.

After completing the investment in Fast Retailing, Finn Hudson, the CEO of Global Industrial Investment Fund, left the team to handle the follow-up matters, while he himself went to Saudi Arabia to discuss the matter of the Four Seasons Hotel with Prince Alwaleed bin Talal…

……

With Mikhail’s help, Baron indeed controlled three suspicious individuals who frequently appeared near his London residence.

After interrogation, especially the “friendly talk” led by Mikhail, the other party confessed that they were under the orders of Louis Lafayette.

It wasn’t that Louis Lafayette’s tentacles had reached the UK, but that when Baron took Alia to Riyadh for a visit, Alia, who was with him, was recognized by Louis’s men…

After all, he had been operating in the Middle East and South Asia for quite some time and had dealings with many prominent figures.

After that, Louis Lafayette began to send his men to investigate Baron, the Duke of the UK, mainly to find out his relationship with Alia.

After all, although it was unclear why Alia had suddenly disappeared, whether she had run away on her own or been taken hostage; it was also unclear how much she knew about him, but in any case, her falling into the hands of others, especially a powerful figure, posed a great threat to Louis Lafayette, who had too many secrets.

Baron had anticipated this outcome before, but although in the eyes of Alia and Mikhail, Louis Lafayette’s power was immense, in Baron’s eyes, the other party was somewhat insignificant and not taken seriously.

It was no exaggeration to say that, not to mention him, could those Middle Eastern dignitaries do anything to Baron?

Previously, Baron was only quite interested in some of Louis Lafayette’s actions as an “observation sample.”

But now that the other party had set his sights on him, there was no need to keep him around any longer…

Did he really think that the more than 2,000 armed personnel of the Protector Military Company in Iraq were just eating and doing nothing? The elite special operations force, which had expanded in size, was enough to give him a hard time.

Baron contacted Mikhail, who was directly coordinating the action planning team of the special operations force. Next, Louis Lafayette’s side would be left to them to solve.

They would take Mikhail to the Protector Military Company’s base in Iraq and then depart from there to carry out this action.

Chapter 314: Google Goes Public

On August 18th, Google lowered the price range for its initial public offering (IPO) to between $85 and $95 per share, while also reducing the number of shares offered from the original 25.7 million to 19.6 million.

Initially, Google’s IPO plan was to set the offering price between $108 and $135 per share, issuing 25.7 million shares.

However, after ultimately lowering the offering price, the number of public shares was also reduced—Google’s existing shareholders (those before the IPO) would sell 5.5 million shares, which was less than half of the originally planned 11.6 million shares, while selling 14.1 million new shares, the same as originally planned.

In fact, Google’s IPO also made it the first company to list on NASDAQ with a dual-class share structure.

Everyone is very familiar with the dual-class share structure, and many subsequent tech companies used this equity structure for their IPOs.

But before Google, no company had ever listed in this form on the American stock market.

Before Google, the general practice in the American stock market was one share, one vote, equal rights—each share had one voting right.

But Google adopted an A and B share model, with A shares sold to the public and B shares held by “insiders,” with B shares having 10 times the voting power of A shares.

This structure allowed Google’s founders, who held nearly 33% of the B shares, to firmly control the company’s destiny.

In an interview, founder Larry admitted:

“The impact of new investors on the company’s strategic decisions will be much smaller than the impact they have in other publicly traded companies.”

The subtext of this sentence was—buy my shares, and don’t worry about anything else.

“Giving a small group of investors super-voting rights is fundamentally unfair…”

Ann Yaeger, an executive at the American Council of Institutional Investors, publicly stated to the media:

“That’s almost un-American!”

Ultimately, Google’s performance and actions during the IPO process angered institutional investors.

Even most of the media sided with criticizing Google.

A series of eye-catching articles with titles like “Think Twice Before Buying Google Stock,” “Google IPO? No, Thanks,” “Google IPO: Not Feeling Lucky,” and “Google Stock: Investors Beware” were published in various American newspapers and spread nationwide.

Ultimately, in order to boost confidence in Google’s stock listing, at the suggestion of Sequoia Capital CEO Michael Moritz, Google lowered the IPO price range to $85-$95 per share, which could be seen as a certain degree of compromise to Wall Street’s capital forces.

This meant that people might see a significant rise in the stock price on the first day of trading, and investors would also be very satisfied with Google.

At the same time, Moritz also stated that Sequoia Capital would continue to hold the Google shares they had originally planned to sell, which also boosted people’s confidence—the portion of shares that Google ultimately reduced in its offering was the portion that Sequoia Capital had originally planned to reduce.

The subscription method for Google’s stock offering was also very special, using a Dutch auction method, where the price was auctioned from high to low.

The general method was that institutions participating in the stock subscription would first open a special subscription account with their underwriters.

When the auction started, all institutions would use their accounts to submit secret bids—including the price they would buy the shares at and the number of shares they would buy.

This bidding range was naturally the $85-$95 per share price range set by Google.

Ultimately, the bids would be tallied, and trading would start with the highest bid; the remaining shares would then be traded with the next highest bid…

This would continue until all the shares offered were subscribed.

In the original timeline, this Dutch auction for Google’s stock was not very successful.

Because although they eventually completed the stock subscription, all the transactions were made at the lowest price of $85.

But this time it was different. Rich23 Capital subscribed to 10 million shares out of the total 19.6 million Google public shares at a price of $85.5 per share and successfully completed the subscription.

Therefore, although the offering price of Google’s stock was still $85, Rich23 Capital, relying on this bidding strategy, bought 10 million Class A common shares of Google for a total of $855 million.

Thus, along with the 20 million shares of Google stock previously held by DS Capital, Barron owned a total of 30 million shares, accounting for 11% of Google’s total share capital at this time!

On August 19th, Google’s stock officially began trading.

After completing the call auction, Google’s stock opened at a high of $15, opening at $100.01.

Within minutes of the opening, the stock price had fallen to $97.48, but soon the price began to rebound and consistently remained above $100…

It finally closed at $100.3, which was $15.3 higher than the offering price of $85, an increase of 18.04%.

At this price, Google’s market capitalization reached $27.253 billion, surpassing General Motors.

The value of the 20 million shares of Google stock held by DS Holdings also exceeded $2 billion.

According to Barron’s previous life’s historical trends, from now until September, Google’s stock price would fluctuate above $100, but by November, it would start to approach $200, effectively doubling.

Of course, both DS Holdings and Rich23 Capital would not be short-term investors in Google; they would hold it long-term.

The advantage of this was that they could both hold Google’s stock, enjoying the dividends of its long-term growth, and also obtain funds by mortgaging these shares when they needed to use money—because of its long-term excellent growth, they could even continuously increase the loan amount.

…

“Honey, you look beautiful today.”

Barron, sitting at the dining table, complimented his girlfriend, Bonnie, who was wearing a professional outfit and high heels as she came downstairs.

“Only today?”

“Oh, you’re charming every day, but today you’re especially radiant. I suspect it’s because of last night…”

Hearing Barron’s words, Bonnie gave him a coquettish look.

After eating, Bonnie left the villa first to go to work.

Barron gave a gesture to Aliyah, then entered his study.

“Your Grace…”

“Aliyah, do you have something to say to me?”

“I…”

Seeing Aliyah’s hesitant expression, Barron sat on the sofa, patted the space beside him, and motioned for her to sit down.

After the girl sat down beside him, Barron looked at her delicate profile and said softly:

“Are you worried about the matter with Mikhail?”

Aliyah glanced at Barron and asked softly:

“Your Grace, will you really cooperate with him to deal with Lafayette?”

“This matter?”

Barron reached out and stroked Aliyah’s brown hair, pulling her closer to him, and said:

“What you’re thinking is, why didn’t I agree to deal with Lafayette before, but I agreed to help Mikhail now… right?”

Seeing the girl nod slightly, Barron chuckled:

“Everything needs the right timing. It wasn’t convenient to do it then, doesn’t mean we can’t do it now. Moreover, isn’t it also your idea to make Lafayette disappear forever? Perhaps you should understand that my agreement with Mikhail this time is not entirely because of his conditions, and a large part of the reason is because of you…”

Chapter 315: Gentleman’s Agreement

“Welcome, Mr. Brown. It’s a pleasure to have you here for dinner.”

“The pleasure is all mine, Your Grace.”

In a villa in Richmond Park, Baron invited Gordon Brown to dine.

This villa was part of the estate that Lady Emma left to Baron. It was located beside the tranquil Richmond Park and had been renovated by him as a secret meeting place – the last visitor here was President Omar Bongo of Gabon.

Gordon Brown was an important figure in the Labour Party, reforming the Labour Party alongside the current Prime Minister, becoming the New Labour.

In June of this year, the then 53-year-old Brown broke the record for consecutive years in office set nearly a century ago by David Lloyd George.

George served as Chancellor of the Exchequer for seven years and forty-three days between 1908 and 1915.

At the same time, Brown was also widely considered the frontrunner to be the next Prime Minister in the upcoming British general election next year.

However, Baron knew that the reserved and elegant Mr. Brown before him would hold the position of Chancellor of the Exchequer for a full ten years – from the Labour Party’s rise to power in 1997 until the current Prime Minister’s resignation in 2007, when he would take over.

Yes, Blair would still participate in the election next year and win a second term…

Speaking of the relationship between Brown and the current Prime Minister, it was also very delicate. The two had once been “rising stars” of the Labour Party, even sharing an office, and were close collaborators, but now, their relationship had begun to become complicated.

This was why Brown would come to Baron’s villa today to meet with him.

Last year, Britain filmed a television drama called The Gentleman’s Agreement, which told the story of Blair’s rise to Prime Minister, and it mentioned the “gentleman’s agreement” between Blair and Brown.

To put it simply, in early May 1994, John Smith, then leader of the Labour Party, died suddenly of a heart attack, so the Labour Party needed to elect a new leader.

At that time, Britain was governed by the Conservative Party, and the Labour Party had been out of power for 18 years.

In the competition for the Labour Party leadership, the most competitive were Blair, who was serving as the Shadow Home Secretary, and Brown, the Chancellor of the Exchequer.

They reached a gentleman’s agreement in a London restaurant. Brown was willing to give up participating in the leadership race so that Blair would have a greater chance of winning.

In return, Brown would have great power in the cabinet led by Blair in the future, and if Blair could become Prime Minister, he promised to support Brown to become the next Labour Party leader after two terms in office.

This was the so-called Blair-Brown deal, although the two parties involved never admitted to it, but the subsequent developments were roughly in accordance with this.

In the subsequent Labour Party leadership election, because Brown, the biggest competitor, gave up, Blair indeed won.

As soon as he took office, he promoted the abolition of the nationalization policy that the Labour Party had adhered to for many years, implementing a centrist policy that could lean both left and right.

He called the Labour Party the New Labour to emphasize this, and his approach caused strong dissatisfaction among internal traditionalists, but he gained the support of many people.

In the 1997 British general election, Blair led the Labour Party to win a majority of seats by an overwhelming advantage, ending the Conservative Party’s 18-year rule. At this time, Blair was five days away from his 44th birthday, making him the youngest Prime Minister in Britain in nearly 200 years.

After he took office, he immediately appointed Gordon Brown as the second-in-command of the cabinet, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, and he has remained in that position until now.

“Actually, we have a lot in common, Mr. Brown. For example, we both like Chinese food. At the same time, I also believe that China is a force that cannot be ignored in the future. Maintaining a good relationship with them is a reflection of British interests.”

Baron smiled at Brown and said:

“Yes, British interests should be the guiding principle for our actions, not those fancy things. Even with our allies in the United States and Europe, we need to use this as a benchmark. Following them step by step is not what I hope for.”

Brown’s fondness for Chinese food was no secret. For more than a decade, the restaurant he frequented most often was a Cantonese restaurant called “New Ma Xing” in London, which catered to the working class.

Every time he would order “Pineapple Chicken” and steamed rice, and he was also very adept with chopsticks. Influenced by him, his wife Sarah and children also became regular customers of this restaurant.

For this reason, Baron specifically had a Cantonese chef prepare a table of dishes for Brown at this dinner, including “Pineapple Chicken.”

From the current scene, it was quite interesting to see the two Britons skillfully using chopsticks to taste a table of Chinese food.

In addition, Brown was also a relatively friendly British Prime Minister towards China. This was very different from Blair. After he became Prime Minister, he attached great importance to the relationship between the two countries, and after he stepped down, he also had a high opinion of the “Belt and Road” initiative.

And in Baron’s words to Brown at this moment, there was a disagreement with the current Prime Minister’s excessive following of the United States, and even to a certain extent, not making decisions based on the British stance.

This was also a hint that Baron gave to the other party, at a time when the discord between the Prime Minister and Brown was becoming increasingly clear.

Since this year, media reports have continuously reported rumors of discord between the two.

Some media even described that the infighting between the Prime Minister and Brown had approached “out of control,” and the relationship between the two had reached the point of “mutual hatred and contempt.”

According to the “gentleman’s agreement” between the two, the Prime Minister took office in 1997, and this was already his second term.

He should have resigned from the position of Labour Party leader before next year’s election and handed over the qualification to run for election to Brown – the British election was different from the American-style election. The United States directly elected the President, while Britain was a party competition for a majority in Parliament. The party that obtained the majority of seats had its leader become Prime Minister and form a cabinet.

But Blair had been misleading Brown on the question of whether to resign since last year…

He first promised to resign as Prime Minister this autumn and hand over power to Brown when his situation was not good.

But Brown did not expect that, after a while, when Blair found that his approval rating had rebounded and his prospects for re-election were bright, he immediately betrayed this promise…

Baron received more detailed information than those media, and during this meeting with Brown, Brown also mentioned some details…

For example, last November, the Prime Minister said during a dinner with Brown that he had painfully realized that he had lost the trust of British voters due to the Iraq War issue, so he decided to resign before the general election and hand over power to Brown.

At that time, he emphasized that he needed Brown’s help to get through the difficulties of the coming year.

Then, in the following weeks, the two had a series of discussions on the issue of power transfer, including strategy and timing.

Next, in March of this year, the Prime Minister promised Brown that he would officially announce his resignation in the autumn after Parliament adjourned in mid-April.

However, after expressing this idea, many supporters of the Prime Minister in the cabinet strongly opposed his resignation and helped him through a difficult period.

From this moment on, the other party never mentioned resigning to Brown again.

Brown gradually realized that what the Prime Minister had said might not count.

Especially after the results of the local elections on June 12 of this year were announced, the Prime Minister found that the Conservative Party led by Michael Howard was not as strong as he had imagined, so he gained confidence and believed that he might win the general election.

After that, his attitude towards Brown changed significantly. How could Brown not feel these things…

Baron knew that, according to the development of the original timeline, Blair would participate in next year’s general election and win.

However, he would be forced to resign in 2007 and give the position to Brown.

And Brown was also quite tragic. After a three-year term, he became one of the most “short-lived” Prime Ministers.

However, this did not affect Baron’s investment in him to a certain extent, especially now that his hope of “taking over” the Prime Minister seemed to be increasingly slim.

Chapter 316: Athens

In August, the world’s gaze converged on Athens, Greece.

This year was the Olympic year, and the Twenty-eighth Olympic Games began in Athens on August 13th.

For this Olympic Games, Baron’s deepest impression from his previous life was that the Chinese flying athlete Liu Xiang would, at this Olympics, break the Olympic record for the 110-meter hurdles with a time of 12.91 seconds and win the gold medal.

This was not only a moment of glory for China, but also for all of Asia, and for the yellow-skinned people, a record-breaking moment.

Athens wasn’t too far from London, a three-hour flight away. Baron, Bonnie, and the Viscountess also flew to Athens during this time to watch some of the competitions.

In fact, Britain’s performance in the Olympic arena had not been good in the past decade.

At the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, the British were slapped in the face…

If it weren’t for Redgrave and Matthew Pinsent’s victory in the coxless pair rowing event, they would have achieved a zero breakthrough in Olympic gold medals – a breakthrough to zero, not a breakthrough from zero.

What was even more embarrassing for all Britons was that a Times reporter witnessed two British divers, Morgan and Ailey, selling their Olympic team uniforms on the streets of Atlanta to raise funds…

In 1997, Britain made an important decision: to spend money on Olympic medals!

The first step for the British to “spend money” was to establish the UK Sport.

This was a wealthy organization. The Major government at the time decided to “fill” the UK Sport’s account with government fiscal appropriations and the National Lottery Fund.

The task of UK Sport was to invest in athletes’ sports careers.

With the investment, the performance of the British delegation began to improve –

In the 2000 Sydney Olympics, Britain won 11 gold medals, and in the original timeline, this year’s Athens Olympics, Britain would win 9 gold…

It could only be said that there was “improvement,” because this result only ranked Britain 10th in the medal table, which did not match the status of Great Britain.

Before this Olympics, the Devonshire Charitable Foundation donated 5 million pounds to UK Sport for the improvement of athlete training and medical care for the British Olympic team during the Athens Olympics. After this matter was reported by the media, it also won Baron widespread praise.

Another thing worth mentioning was that the Bank of Communications credit card department, which was a collaboration between Standard Chartered Bank and the Bank of Communications in China, signed an endorsement contract with Liu Xiang before this Olympic Games. They invited the flying athlete Liu to become their credit card brand’s spokesperson for five years at a price of 10 million Chinese Yuan.

You must know that his endorsement contract with Coca-Cola last year was only 350,000…

Therefore, this 10 million for a five-year endorsement contract at this time was already a very high price for Liu Xiang.

Even after winning the gold medal at the Olympics, Liu Xiang’s advertising income this year in the original timeline was only 23 million Yuan. His highest value would have to wait until before the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

After arriving in Athens, Baron also met Prince Al-Waleed, who had also come to watch the Olympics, and he was also accompanied by his wife, Amira.

When meeting with Al-Waleed, Baron discussed with him the matter of the Global Industrial Investment Fund’s cooperation with him on the Four Seasons Hotel.

At this time, the CEO of the GII Fund, Finn Hudson, had already met with Al-Waleed in Riyadh to discuss this matter.

There had always been two areas that Prince Al-Waleed was very fond of investing in: one was the banking and financial industry, and the other was the hotel industry.

Since acquiring a stake in the Fairmont Hotels and Resorts in 1994, Al-Waleed’s steps into the hotel industry had never stopped.

In April 1994, Al-Waleed received accurate intelligence that the president of Four Seasons Hotels, Isadore Sharp, was seeking some investors to help the hotel with cash financing, and the people he was actively looking for were those with power and influence in politics and business.

Although Al-Waleed had become famous for his stake in Citibank, many people still doubted the true source of his funds, believing that he represented a certain group of Middle Eastern countries, and some even believed that Al-Waleed was selling arms.

However, this did not affect Al-Waleed’s investment plan. He took the initiative to contact Sharp and proposed the idea of investing in Four Seasons Hotels.

However, Isadore Sharp, who was suspicious of Al-Waleed’s source of funds at the time, delayed giving him a definite answer until Al-Waleed agreed to buy Four Seasons Hotels’ shares at a price 50% higher than the market price, at which point Isadore Sharp began to be moved.

In fact, Al-Waleed’s offer of such a high price was not without conditions. He hoped to become a substantive shareholder and participate in the management of the hotel.

Eventually, Al-Waleed bought 22% of Four Seasons Hotels’ shares for 120 million US dollars. These shares he held were diluted to a 16.5% stake after Four Seasons Hotels went public in 1997. This was the share of Four Seasons Hotels’ stock that Al-Waleed held at this time – over the years, he had never sold his shares in Four Seasons Hotels.

And the GII Fund was preparing to join hands with Prince Al-Waleed to take Four Seasons Hotels private and delist it, thus making this hotel their “private property.”

Of course, to do this, they first needed to obtain the consent of Four Seasons Hotels’ founder, Isadore Sharp.

Isadore Sharp currently holds approximately 25% of the Four Seasons Hotels group through Triples Holdings Limited, Prince Al-Waleed holds approximately 16.5% of the shares, and over this period, through purchases in the secondary market, the GII Fund’s holdings of Four Seasons Hotels’ shares had reached around 20%…

Under the purchase of the GII Fund, the stock price of Four Seasons Hotels had risen by about 10% during this period, and its market value had reached 2.2 billion US dollars.

After the GII Fund promised that it was only acting as a financial investment and would not affect Isadore Sharp’s management of Four Seasons Hotels under the premise that its interests were not harmed, Isadore Sharp, through the persuasion of Prince Al-Waleed, had also agreed in principle to the plan for the privatization of Four Seasons Hotels by Al-Waleed’s Kingdom Investment and the GII Fund.

In this plan, the GII Fund and Prince Al-Waleed would privatize the Four Seasons Hotels group at a valuation of 28.6 billion US dollars – this valuation was a full 30% premium over the current market value of 2.2 billion US dollars of the Four Seasons Hotels group!

After the privatization, Kingdom Investment and the GII Fund would each hold 47.5% of the Four Seasons Hotels group’s shares, and the Isadore Sharp family would retain 5% of the Four Seasons Hotels group’s shares.

This share ratio was also the reason why Isadore Sharp agreed to the plan for Kingdom Investment and the GII Fund to privatize the Four Seasons Hotels group.

Because although Kingdom Investment and the GII Fund each held a share ratio far higher than Isadore Sharp, because their share ratios were the same, then in some major decisions, especially decisions that would cause disagreements between Kingdom Investment and the GII Fund, Isadore Sharp’s 5% stake would have a decisive significance.

What if the opinions of the two sides were always the same?

The Isadore Sharp family’s holdings were already far less than the sum of Kingdom Investment and the GII Fund – Isadore Sharp had always focused on Four Seasons Hotels and did not have any other industries or the ability to expand his own holdings, so if the opinions of Kingdom Investment and the GII Fund were the same, Isadore Sharp himself would have no way to deal with it…

After the privatization of the Four Seasons Hotels group was completed, the then 73-year-old Isadore Sharp would continue to serve as the chairman and chief executive officer of Four Seasons Hotels, continuing to lead all aspects of the company’s daily operations and strategic direction, and the headquarters of the Four Seasons Hotels group would still be located in Toronto, Canada.

Four Seasons Hotels was founded by the Sharp family in 1960 and currently has more than 60 hotels around the world, located in the United States, Canada, Australia, and Japan. They entered the Chinese market in 2002, and the Four Seasons Hotel in Shanghai was the group’s first hotel to open in China. However, the development of Four Seasons Hotels in China had not been fast, and next year, there would also be a new Four Seasons Hotel opening in Hong Kong, China.

Currently, this privatization plan proposed by Kingdom Investment and the GII Fund had been submitted to the board of directors of the Four Seasons Hotels group. At the same time, the board of directors of Four Seasons Hotels had established a special committee composed of independent directors, which would consider this proposed transaction and provide recommendations to the board of directors, and would be responsible for supervising the preparatory work related to the formal valuation of the transaction.

After this news was announced, the stock price of the Four Seasons Hotels group immediately rose by more than 30%!

Isadore Sharp said in an interview with reporters that the change of ownership was ultimately inevitable, “because my children will also sell it one day.”

Chapter 317: Solana Island

After completing the privatization of the Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, the Global Industrial Investment Fund is expected to spend $1.2 billion throughout this entire process, ultimately acquiring a 47.5% stake in the Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts.

Thus, after completing the investments in Fast Retailing (the parent company of Uniqlo) and Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, they would still have around $2.8 billion left from their total of $6 billion in funds.

These funds naturally still need to be invested, but even the future growth of just Fast Retailing is enough to support the high rate of return for the entire GII fund in the future.

Therefore, a portion of the funds can be invested in places that are “more in need.”

……

“Why do you look so happy, darling?”

This time, when they arrived in Athens, Baron and the others had rented a villa of considerable size to live in – after all, because of the Olympics, all the hotels in Athens were already fully booked.

At this moment, with the sea breeze blowing and the window curtains billowing, Baron held Bonnie in his arms and asked with a smile.

“I talked a lot with Princess Amena today, and she is also very interested in the program I want to produce… She agreed to bring it up to Prince Waleed and have him be a guest on our second episode.”

So that was it, it seemed Bonnie also had good gains.

In itself, as his girlfriend, Bonnie would have easier access to resources that many ordinary people couldn’t reach, which was also very beneficial for the program she was preparing, “Shining Life.”

If Prince Waleed could accept this invitation, then the first episode of the program would focus on Baron, the British Duke, while the second episode would invite Waleed, the Saudi Prince and the Middle Eastern Buffett, to showcase his luxurious life…

Then, for this new program with a documentary style, it was indeed a very good start, able to attract more attention from the audience from the very beginning.

Bonnie had planned to take advantage of this opportunity to select global sports stars with high profiles as guests for the program while accompanying Baron to the Athens Olympics.

But she didn’t expect this unexpected joy. Compared to the lives of those stars, the luxurious life of a Middle Eastern tycoon would probably be more able to attract everyone’s attention.

Meanwhile, Baron turned his gaze to the sea outside the window.

He wondered if today’s operation would go smoothly not far across the sea.

……

Cyprus, less than 300 kilometers from Greece, is the third largest island in the Mediterranean.

Geographically, Cyprus belongs to Asia, located in the northeastern Mediterranean, and it is a strategic point for sea traffic between Asia, Africa, and Europe.

The country has a land area of 9,251 square kilometers, and there are mainly two ethnic groups within the country, the Greek Cypriots and the Turkish Cypriots. Because of this, Cyprus is divided into Southern Cyprus and Northern Cyprus. Southern Cyprus is the government-controlled area. After Turkey invaded Cyprus in 1974, they moved all the Turkish Cypriots on the island to the north and established the so-called “Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus”…

Until now, only Turkey recognizes Northern Cyprus.

However, although the two sides have conducted many talks with the help of NATO and the international community, they have not reached an agreement for twenty years.

This wave of Turkish shenanigans really put NATO in a difficult position. What could they do about the conflict between their two members? They could only try to smooth things over…

This year, as an Asian country, Cyprus joined the European Union in May…

Also, the football team of Cyprus, an Asian country, participates in the European Championship…

The location of Cyprus is 40 kilometers from Turkey to the north, 96.55 kilometers from Syria to the east, and 402.3 kilometers from the Nile Delta of Egypt to the south.

And it has always been in a state of civil war, but its economy is quite good. Because of its rich oil and gas resources, as well as its excellent geographical location, it is also among the developed countries. It’s no wonder that Louis Lafayette chose an island nearby as his old lair.

Yes, just over ten nautical miles from the southern coast of Cyprus, there is an island called “Solana.” The island’s area is only 1.5 square kilometers. It was uninhabited before, and later, after being bought by Louis Lafayette, it became his “old lair” after more than twenty years of construction.

According to Aliya, only Louis Lafayette’s most trusted subordinates would be on that island.

And Aliya herself, initially, grew up in a “school” on the main island of Cyprus owned by Louis Lafayette. After becoming an adult, she had only entered Solana Island, and only on the outer areas of that island.

According to Mikhail Ritter, who was closer to the core members of Louis Lafayette, in the core area of Solana Island, there was a villa with a large underground space, which was a place for the “big shots” Louis Lafayette had wooed to have fun.

The bits and pieces that Mikhail described to Baron that he had heard made Baron think of the later, well-known American – Epstein.

I’m afraid that if it weren’t for Aliya’s identity, which Louis Lafayette believed to be of great use, or if he hadn’t yet wooed a “big shot” of sufficient status to use Aliya, she probably wouldn’t have survived.

Similarly, this was also the reason why the other party dared to risk sending people to London to investigate, even though they knew Baron’s identity. I’m afraid he also deeply regretted losing Aliya.

Speaking of which, Lafayette, who was keen on adopting so many children, would have a place similar to “Lolita Island,” and Baron was not at all surprised. After all, as far as he knew, in the upper class of Europe and America, there were all sorts of strange hobbies, and there were simply too many…

Not to mention the far off things, the Queen’s youngest son had caused her to do a lot of damage control.

Moreover, the location of Solana Island, which belongs to Cyprus, is closer to the largest “source” of human trafficking, whether targeting the Middle East or Eastern Europe, compared to the United States.

But today, such an “evil” place will be purified by Baron on behalf of God, so that one day His Holiness the Pope will not be tainted by evil…

Speaking of which, how many divisions does God have?

Cyprus itself has a British military base – after all, as a former empire on which the sun never set, although it has declined, it is normal to have a presence in important geographical locations like Cyprus all over the world.

However, this time, Baron did not plan to use the British military base in Cyprus, even though it would not be difficult for him to do so now.

But who knows if the person in charge of that military base is also among the “big shots” who have visited Solana Island?

Therefore, the safest way is to go directly to Solana Island by sea, from the direction of Syria.

Chapter 318: The Caulo Shilling

At nine-thirty in the evening on August 27th, in the final of the men’s 110-meter hurdles at the Athens Olympics, the Chinese flying athlete Liu Xiang won the gold medal with a time of 12.91 seconds.

This time equaled the world record of 12.91 seconds set by British athlete Colin Jackson in 1993 and broke the Olympic record of 12.95 seconds.

At this time, not many people around the world noticed what was happening on a small island near the island nation of Cyprus.

Even in Cyprus itself, it was only mentioned in news reports that on the island called Solana, the residence of the entrepreneur and philanthropist, Louis Lafayette, was suspected to have been attacked by unidentified armed forces. Several people, including Lafayette, were missing. The police found some remains on the island, but it was difficult to obtain more information because the entire island’s buildings were engulfed in flames…

Don’t look at it twenty years later, when you search for information about Cyprus online, it’s all about the lowest crime rate, being friendly to Chinese people, suitable for immigration, and so on…

If you pay a little more attention, you’ll find that those writing these things are all those “immigration agents.”

These people, in order to make money, dare to blow up India as a paradise on earth…

At least in Cyprus at this time, because of the ongoing conflicts between South Cyprus and North Cyprus, the security situation was not good.

In the end, the Solana Island incident was left unresolved, and even this result was largely due to the influence of certain “big shots.”

After all, although it was a pity that there was one less place to “seek pleasure,” Lafayette’s disappearance also made many people breathe a sigh of relief—it’s not a good feeling to have your weaknesses in the hands of others, just like how that Epstein was “suicided” in prison later…

……

Louis Lafayette was dead.

He was killed by Mikhail himself.

Mikhail himself was very familiar with the situation on Solana Island. With his help, Lafayette’s subordinates had no ability to resist against the fully armed elite troops.

After finding Louis Lafayette and killing him with his own hands, Mikhail and his people took some men and women rescued from Solana Island and left.

Before leaving, they very carefully set fire to all the buildings on the entire island.

According to the previous arrangements, after they transported everyone onto a merchant ship, they would go directly to their destination—the Munger base in the Caulo Grassland Province.

Speaking of Caulo, after Jame Bongo completed his visits to various countries and returned to Caulo, he instructed the Caulo Minister of Finance to submit a proposal to the Caulo Parliament regarding Caulo’s withdrawal from the West African CFA franc zone and the issuance of its own currency.

There was no doubt that this proposal was passed.

According to this proposal, the Caulo side announced a timetable for withdrawing from the West African CFA franc zone and issuing its own currency.

Caulo’s new currency will be named the Caulo shilling. The Caulo shilling will be issued by the Caulo Monetary Policy Committee (CMPC), which will determine the amount and exchange rate, and it will be issued by the West African Union Bank.

The Caulo Monetary Committee consists of seven members, three of whom are from the Ministry of Finance, two from the West African Union Bank, and the other two are monetary policy consultants hired by the Caulo government—usually from the Caulo Development and Reform Research Center.

The British-African Institute originally established by Barron has been renamed the Caulo Development and Reform Research Center, and its headquarters has been established in the capital, Loti. London only retains a liaison office responsible for Barron.

The issuance amount of the Caulo shilling will be calculated by the Caulo Monetary Policy Committee (CMPC) based on the gross domestic product, through a certain weighting. The initial value of the Caulo shilling was set at 1 Caulo shilling to 0.1 euros, and then the exchange rate of the Caulo shilling will be adjusted according to policy changes…

Since the exchange rate of the West African CFA franc is roughly fixed at 1 euro to 656 West African CFA francs, 1 Caulo shilling can be exchanged for 65.6 West African CFA francs.

According to the timetable released by Caulo, the Caulo shilling will officially begin to be issued on October 1st of this year, and all Caulo citizens or foreigners within Caulo who hold West African CFA francs can go to any branch of the West African Union Bank to exchange them.

Within one year from October 1st of this year, that is, until September 30th of next year, is the transition period for the Caulo shilling and the West African CFA franc within Caulo.

From October 1st of next year, the Caulo shilling will be the only legal currency within Caulo, the West African CFA franc will withdraw from circulation and enter the foreign exchange control restrictions within Caulo, and domestic merchants also have the right to refuse to accept West African CFA francs.

At the same time, Caulo also released a sample of the first edition of the Caulo shilling.

The Caulo shilling will be divided into a 1 penny coin and six denominations of banknotes: 1 shilling, 5 shillings, 10 shillings, 20 shillings, 50 shillings, and 100 shillings.

These banknotes will use special paper to adapt to the local climate of Caulo and avoid the situation where the previous West African CFA franc was prone to dampness and mold in Caulo.

……

“Monopoly, this is naked monopoly, and the Football Association and the Premier League are accomplices in this monopoly. The consequence of this monopoly is that our citizens need to spend more money on watching the broadcast of the games. The wool comes from the sheep, and the final price increase is all paid by the users…”

In the House of Lords meeting, Barron, as a member of Parliament, rarely attended today and heard another member of Parliament’s criticism of Sky Television’s monopoly of the Premier League in Britain for the past 13 years.

“As everyone knows, Sky Television belongs to News Corporation, or at least they control most of the shares. Then if we continue the current method of determining the sole broadcasting rights based on the highest bid, I am afraid that our domestic television stations will not be able to compete with Sky Television, which has a strong background. The result is that our media will be increasingly acquired by foreign capital, including News Corporation. They can easily decide what people can see and what they cannot see. The diversity of our Great Britain is about to end…”

After this member of Parliament finished speaking, Barron took the lead in applauding, and then, the applause thundered in the House of Lords meeting.

Of course, many members of Parliament did not applaud along, they silently looked around the room, their eyes flashing.

Although the power of the House of Lords has been greatly restricted, after they have formed a unified opinion, the documents submitted to the British government are not something that can be easily ignored.

After Summit Media purchased the three-year broadcasting rights for all lower-level football matches in Britain, except for the Premier League, for 120 million pounds, this time, it also launched a small challenge to Sky Television’s “monopoly” on the Premier League’s local broadcasting rights.

After all, as early as a year ago, Sky Television had purchased the exclusive local broadcasting rights for the Premier League for the next two years for more than 1 billion pounds.

Even if SD Sports currently has sports content, including some exciting matches of the recently concluded Athens Olympics, which also has some appeal to users, and the fees for SD Sports channels are much lower than those for Sky Sports channels, the Premier League is still Sky Sports Channel’s big killer.

With Murdoch’s “good relationship” with the current Prime Minister, Barron would not think that just by this motion of the House of Lords, he could change the situation of Sky Television’s monopoly on the Premier League.

But everything needs to be done step by step. Dealing with News Corporation also needs to be done step by step…

Chapter 319: What Plan?

Before September, Manchester United Football Club had already completed this “Asian Tour”.

This “Asian Tour,” it could be said, received a warm welcome from the fans. In addition, Manchester United Football Club and its players reached a series of business contracts with many Asian companies…

According to preliminary estimates, the revenue from this Asian tour for Manchester United Football Club would exceed 20 million Euros. A considerable portion of this revenue would be distributed as dividends by the Manchester United brand management company to the club’s management, including Ferguson.

This was also the reason why Ferguson, contrary to his previous rejection of excessive commercial activities by the club, supported such activities without affecting the team’s performance.

Now, the club’s players had also begun to return to the team, preparing for the upcoming 2004-2005 season of the English Premier League.

In the previous season, Manchester United Football Club’s performance was inferior to Arsenal, led by Wenger, and ultimately lost the Premier League title to them.

This season, Manchester United Football Club would make a comeback, vowing to defeat Arsenal in their competition.

…

“Congratulations, Lord Booth..”

“Haha, Your Grace, I haven’t completed the ceremony yet. Strictly speaking, I’m still a Viscount.”

Because of the health of Viscount Booth’ father, it was decided to pass the Earl title to Ian Booth. in advance, so Baron offered his congratulations.

Although he refused verbally, the smile on Viscount Booth’ face was very radiant.

Next, he would take his wife, Chrissy, to the family estate in Scotland to perform the ceremony of inheriting the earldom.

After that, the Booth. family’s assets would also be handed over to Viscount Booth.… uh, Earl Booth..

Chrissy would also be upgraded from Viscountess to Countess.

“So, will you attend the investiture ceremony? Your Grace.”

The one who said this was Jenny Booth, who had just gotten married not long ago and had returned from the United States specifically for this matter.

However, she didn’t bring her husband, John Smith, with her; she came back alone.

According to her, John Smith had accidentally fallen off a horse and needed to rest for a while, so he could only miss this ceremony regretfully.

However, when saying this, the look in Jenny Booth’ eyes when she looked at Baron made him a little worried whether the woman’s “passion” would be directly seen by others.

Before Jenny Booth’ wedding, the night before, Baron and Jenny had a small “accident”…

After that, Baron didn’t have any further opportunities for private contact with Jenny after attending the wedding. And at this moment, the look in Jenny Booth’ eyes, even the most slow-witted person could understand the meaning of the heat within.

If Baron also went to Scotland to attend Viscount Booth’ investiture ceremony…

It was obvious that Jenny Booth. would take the opportunity at that time to have more communication with him…

“Uh, of course, after all, that’s a very important moment for Mr. Booth….”

Baron said so, but after giving Jenny Booth. a glance, he didn’t look at her again.

“I’ll go see the children. I have to say, they are really cute… especially Ethel, you can tell at a glance she’s a beauty.”

Her words, so obviously directed at Baron, made him start to feel that this woman seemed a bit troublesome…

…

“Congratulations to you too, Countess.”

“Hehe, I don’t feel your congratulations are that sincere, Your Grace.”

Chrissy didn’t have a very good expression towards Baron. Her next words revealed the reason:

“Why did I feel that Jenny’s attitude towards you was a little strange just now?”

“Uh, did you? Maybe you’re too sensitive.”

Baron certainly didn’t want to see the expression on the Viscountess’ face after she found out that he also had a relationship with her sister-in-law.

Well, this kind of thing definitely requires eliminating any suspicion at the source…

“Baby, in Athens before, you said we would try it together…”

Held in Baron’s arms, the Viscountess glanced at the door and said with a hint of panic:

“Be careful, in case Jenny comes in…”

Baron wasn’t worried about this, after all, he knew Jenny Booth. already knew…

And he had also handled the other party…

But now, the Viscountess’ reaction made Baron feel very interesting, because beyond her slightly apprehensive expression, Baron also sensed some excitement in her…

“It’s okay, baby, she’s already upstairs… And, before in Athens, didn’t we say we would try it?”

“Next time…”

Baron wasn’t prepared to listen to the Viscountess’ persuasion, but instead, he directly started the process of learning knowledge from her…

With Baron’s sharp hearing, he could naturally sense that there were now not just one place looking into the room, there were sounds of heavy breathing. One of them, probably, was Jenny Booth..

…

Originally, for the action on the Sorlana Island, Baron only planned to let Louis Lafayette be “physically eliminated.”

But what he didn’t expect was that with Mikhail’s assistance, the operation went exceptionally smoothly, and they were even able to rescue a portion of the men and women controlled by Louis Lafayette…

Yes, there were both men and women. Although most of them were women with good looks, there were also a few boys who looked like those South Korean pretty-boy stars…

The only difference was that those South Korean stars were all surgically enhanced, while these boys were naturally handsome.

It had to be said that certain “big shots’” hobbies were truly very inclusive.

In the final analysis, these people were victims, but Baron didn’t give them complete trust either.

Therefore, he ultimately decided to send these people to the Munger base in the Kolo Prairie Province, and the final decision on their future would be made by these people themselves.

Mikhail was currently following those people on their way to the Munger base…

As for the information he mentioned earlier, Baron had also received an audio clip sent to him…

It seemed that he hadn’t lied before. Being able to independently discover others “paying attention” to Baron’s residence, and then following the clues to record such an audio clip, Baron had a new level of respect for Mikhail’s skills and sensitivity.

As for the content of this audio clip…

Baron could hear one person’s voice, and it was Colin Hall.

What he was discussing with another person was also related to Baron… It could also be said to be very related. Besides some meaningless words similar to complaints, the clearest content was that the other person, whom Baron didn’t know, thought that Colin Hall’s progress here with Baron was too slow and would delay the progress of the plan…

Plan? What plan?

Chapter 320: Dream Island

“I have to say, this place is well-arranged, Baron.”

“It’s still far from finished, Your Grace. This will be a massive project. I hope it will become a wonderland in everyone’s dreams.”

Baron said to the Duke of Westminster beside him.

“Is this why you named this place Dream Island?”

This question was asked by the Crown Prince.

In response, Baron nodded in agreement.

They were located on a small island in the River Thames near Twickenham, a district of Richmond, in the southwest suburbs of London.

This small island was previously called Eel Pie Island, with an area of nine acres, equivalent to about thirty-six thousand five hundred square meters. The entire island was only connected to the town of Twickenham on the north bank of the Thames by a narrow bridge.

Now, it was bought by Baron in the name of an offshore company and renamed Dream Island, instead of the previous bizarre name—Eel Pie Island.

The strange name “Eel Pie Island” was said to be derived from the fact that the islanders once rowed along the Thames and sold their delicious eel pies.

Another famous legend about the origin of the island’s name was that it once became a place where the famous “stud” king—Henry VIII—placed his many mistresses in the 16th century.

At that time, the upper class admired French, and the king and his secret harem called it le de Paix—that is, island of peace in English.

The local residents, through word of mouth, pronounced it as Eel Pie Island according to the English pronunciation…

For a long time, Eel Pie Island was just a hidden place on the outskirts of London, until after the 1950s, the legendary “Eel Pie Island Hotel” made it a famous artistic resort in Britain and even the world.

But later, in 1967, the hotel was ordered by the authorities to be completely renovated because the building was old and dilapidated. However, the hotel owner was unable to bear the huge sum of two hundred thousand pounds required for the renovation.

After failing to raise the funds through crowdfunding, this grand hotel, which once had nightly revelry, could only close down helplessly.

After the hotel closed, the building became ownerless and was occupied by the hippies on the island…

By 1970, Eel Pie Island completely shed its business and operational aspects and became the largest hippie community in all of Britain.

However, in the same year, a fire of unknown origin completely destroyed this building, which had witnessed countless legends, and the hippie community was also severely hit.

Later, after the hippie trend faded, a small group of art enthusiasts slowly gathered on Eel Pie Island.

They built shacks on the ruins of the hotel and the rock and roll stage, and transformed them into art studios…

But it seemed that fires were particularly prone to occur here—in 1996, a fire broke out on Eel Pie Island again, burning down sixty art studios.

Then this small island gradually began to fall into disrepair, until the beginning of this year, a company contacted the local government and directly acquired the entire small island, renaming it “Dream Island” and starting new construction.

Undoubtedly, this was Baron’s doing.

He had always wanted to find a suitable location near London to build a place where “his own people” could hold talks and gatherings to avoid the public and the media’s attention.

And Eel Pie Island, which is now Dream Island, was his most satisfactory place—it was located in the suburbs of London, but not too far; it was in the Thames, with only one bridge connecting it to the land, which ensured good confidentiality.

Moreover, it was convenient to arrive here by car, yacht, or helicopter.

As early as half a year ago, the construction of Dream Island had already begun. Currently, the small bridge leading to the shore had been rebuilt, allowing large vehicles to enter, and guard posts had been added on the Dream Island side.

Based on the theme building of the abandoned former Eel Pie Island Hotel, the three-story building, after being reinforced and renovated, would become the Dream Island Resort Hotel, providing accommodation, dining, and recreational activities such as chess and cards…

The construction here was now completed and was undergoing the final decoration.

Also completed were the helipad and the small pier on the island.

In addition, other facilities including five vacation villas, sports fields, a SPA center, and indoor and outdoor swimming pools were still under construction.

In addition, it was worth mentioning that the security work of Dream Island was directly handled by the Protector Security Company, and all the daily staff here were maids recruited through the previous “service company,” beautiful women from all over the world—only in terms of quality, second only to those in Baron’s Regent’s Park The Holme mansion…

These women had all undergone rigorous training in all aspects and signed long-term contracts with Dream Island with confidentiality clauses attached.

Although the construction of Dream Island was not yet completely finished, the resort hotel already had some personnel for management.

Baron invited the Duke of Westminster and the Crown Prince to come here for a private gathering.

After entering a private room in the resort hotel, and after the female waitresses brought in the drinks, the Duke of Westminster and the Crown Prince also began to relax.

“The quality of your waitresses here is very good, Baron.”

Hearing the Duke of Westminster’s words, Baron said with a smile:

“These are specially customized from outside of Britain, absolutely reliable, but Mr. Grosvenor, these are just appetizers, and there will be even more delicious delicacies later…”

“Oh? Then I’m very much looking forward to it…”

These waitresses were not inferior to those stars even outside, since Baron said so, the Duke of Westminster and the Crown Prince’s anticipation was successfully aroused.

“Your Grace, it’s ready.”

When a woman dressed in a somewhat “queen” style, with a captivating mask on her face and a mature figure, walked to Baron’s side and whispered this in his ear, Baron nodded.

Then, after this lady clapped her hands, the curtains in front of the three of them were pulled open by the female waitresses…

At this moment, the Duke of Westminster and the Crown Prince turned their gaze from the “queen”-dressed, mysterious masked mature woman to the curtains that had been pulled open…

“The wall opposite us is a one-way mirror, which means we can see the other side, but they can’t see us…”

Under Baron’s explanation, the expressions of the two guests immediately relaxed, and they began to look at the scenery on the other side with impunity.

Only to see on the other side of the “glass wall,” under the illumination of the lights, there were now a row of more than a dozen girls standing there.

These girls ranged from young to mature, the youngest should be only eighteen or nineteen years old, while the slightly more mature ones looked nearly thirty.

They had different figures, some with very S-curves, some tall and slender, and some slightly young.

It could be said that all kinds of styles existed, and the only common point was that the girls’ appearances were all very beautiful, each with their own charm, but if you scored them, they would all be above 85 points out of a full 100 points…

These girls were all professional models, so they knew how to maximize their advantages, and under this display of beauty, the Duke of Westminster and the Crown Prince even felt overwhelmed by the choices.

“These people have all signed confidentiality agreements, and the consequences of violating this agreement are also unbearable for them, so… you can choose as you please, uh, a few…”

Chapter 321: A Certificate of Initiation

As Baron’s words fell, the Duke of Westminster looked at the Crown Prince and said:

“Your Highness, you go first.”

Being able to say “I refuse to be the only Prince of Wales in English history without a mistress” back then, the Crown Prince was naturally not too “stuffy.”

After hearing the Duke of Westminster’s words, he didn’t decline. After sizing them up, he gave two numbers—each model had a number plate to distinguish them.

The two models selected by the Crown Prince were both of a more mature type. Well, in that sense, compared to his younger brother, the Crown Prince’s preferences were already unusually “normal.”

Next, the Duke of Westminster also chose two numbers, not choosing more…

This former richest man in Britain obviously liked a slightly more voluptuous figure, which could be considered a “normal” taste.

When it was Baron’s turn, he casually said:

“My girlfriend has been keeping a close eye on me lately, so I don’t have as much energy as you guys… I’ll choose number 5.”

After they finished their selections, the remaining models, under the guidance of the waiters, began to leave the stage.

The advantage of this was that the “unselected” models would never know what the “clients” looked like from start to finish, and they wouldn’t have come for nothing. After this experience, each person could get 5,000 pounds in “transportation fees,” which was already a huge sum for these models whose fame wasn’t too high.

The models who were selected could not only get higher fees, but also, if they satisfied the big shots, they could get more resources and opportunities, which was the reason that made them flock to it.

After all, it’s better to teach a man to fish than to give him a fish.

Yes, what was different from the later “Lolita Island” was that at Dream Island, there would be no coercion whatsoever, and it was impossible for there to be anything like Lolita, adrenaline red, or any other such nonsense…

All participants here would not only be bound by a confidentiality agreement—Baron could guarantee that anyone who violated the confidentiality agreement would not be able to bear the consequences—but it was also completely voluntary and a matter of resource exchange.

After the selections were made, they each received their room cards. The ones they had chosen would be waiting for them in their rooms.

Before that, as Baron’s closest allies at this time, Baron allowed the two of them to send people to inspect everything in the hotel to ensure that there were no hidden cameras.

After all, the initial purpose of engaging in this “activity” was not to get a hold of the other party’s weakness, but to create a closer alliance relationship through this process.

It’s like there’s a saying in China, “The four unbreakable bonds in life are: sharing a classroom, sharing a battlefield, sharing stolen goods, and sharing prostitution”…

The same principle applies in Europe and America, where the fraternity culture is very popular. Almost every university has its own fraternity, sorority, and so on…

What is the essence of this?

That’s a certificate of initiation!

Speaking of which, developed to the present, Europe and America have very sound business environments and various business mechanisms.

For example, if you want someone to do a small favor for you, just pay; if you want someone to do a big favor for you, it’s not enough to just pay, you also need to draw up a business contract; if you want someone to take risks to do a very important thing for you, or even partner to run a company, then you not only have to pay and sign a contract, but you may also have to divide up equity and options, and even include a gambling clause.

But sometimes, the favors you need from others go far beyond the scope of commercial services…

For example, to value a company that was originally worth 2 billion at 5 billion, or to change the votes originally cast for the Golden Haired one into those for the Diarrhea one…

The significance of these behaviors far surpasses the commercial scope, and the risks also greatly exceed the commercial interests. It is impossible to stabilize them with the commercial contract of interest binding.

So what to do?

The answer is—increase the intensity!

They need to ensure mutual trust and not betray each other through things that go far beyond monetary interests.

For example—doing a dirty deed together…

Understanding this, you can understand the logic behind all the absurd behaviors in European and American society, from campus fraternities to the politicians’ Lolita Island…

Fraternities are often mentioned in many European and American campus films. The general impression is that it is a mysterious organization, and there are certain requirements for joining, and there will be various absurd initiation rituals.

Such as drinking a bottle of strong liquor in one go, having to carry a chicken with you for a week, lying in front of the school statue at night, and so on…

Because of its mystery and various magical initiation rituals, many people think it’s cool and can make many friends, but these are just superficial. The core purpose behind the various absurd behaviors of fraternities is only one—to establish a connection that goes beyond interests!

The absurd initiation rituals are essentially obedience tests. Are you willing to throw away your past moral bottom line for this organization?

Yesterday night, we ran naked around the campus together, so today we can naturally talk about cheating on the next exam.

Last week, we stole books from the library together, so this week we can talk about the scholarship list…

In the past, we shared the money from the club in the campus, and now that we’ve graduated, we can talk about doing fake accounts together…

So, why are many big businessmen and lawyers in Europe and America members of fraternities? Can’t they cooperate through equity cooperation and start a company together? Why do they have to participate in these so-called fraternities?

The answer must be no. Their interest connections go far beyond the commercial scope and can no longer be constrained by a single commercial contract. They must have a stronger and more primitive contract.

So, when the interests involved are much bigger and much more serious than any exam cheating or company fake accounts, what should be done?

I believe you won’t expose my cheating, because we ran naked together…

I also believe you won’t expose my fake accounts, because we embezzled together back then…

But now, what’s involved are big things like presidential elections and starting wars. How can I guarantee that you won’t betray me?

The answer must be to continue to increase the intensity, to do some more unspeakable things together, such as Lolita Island.

You might be surprised to find that this is just the same old trick of bandits killing and setting fires to obtain a certificate of initiation, isn’t it?

When people cannot use commercial contracts and other aboveboard things to guarantee mutual trust, they will inevitably look for other things. In the East, it’s called a certificate of initiation; in the West, it’s called a fraternity.

In the past life, Baron would see some overseas Chinese claiming that they don’t need to deal with human relationships and social niceties abroad…

In fact, the truth is that you simply can’t get into the European and American circles; they won’t play with you!

You think the Chinese drinking culture is the dregs, and Europeans and Americans don’t play this game. In fact, they play the same game, just in a different form.

Therefore, at Dream Island, the significance of Baron’s gathering with the Duke of Westminster and the Crown Prince was not about women—with their status, what kind of beauties couldn’t they get in touch with?

The main significance was that they did these things together, and they would have such a “secret base” in the future, so they would have a deeper connection with each other, a connection that went far beyond the current interests…

And in terms of status, the three of them were relatively equal…

So besides them, for Baron, those politicians, why should I take out resources to support you? Just verbal promises?

Of course not, come to Dream Island, and you’re one of us from now on. As for the consequences of betraying them? Ruined reputation, can you bear it?

Chapter 322: Eliminating Possibilities

“What’s your name?”

“Your Grace, I’m Rosie Huntington…”

“You know me?”

“Yes, Your Grace. I, I didn’t expect it to be you…”

Just now, Baron only felt that the girl with the number five was a good figure, looked relatively pure, and was somewhat familiar, so he casually chose her, without considering too much.

But after hearing her name, Baron knew why the girl in front of him, who seemed a little green, felt familiar…

Wasn’t this the supermodel who later starred in “Transformers 3” and became Jason Statham’s girlfriend?

After asking, Baron learned that Rosie Huntington was born in Devon, and grew up on a farm in the countryside.

Her mother was a fitness coach, and her father ran a farm.

From the age of fifteen, Rosie came to London to intern at a model agency, officially embarking on the path of a model.

At that time, she rarely walked the runway, and was more often a print model for magazines and advertisements…

Now she is still a student, studying at Tavistock College in England, and at the same time, she found an internship at a model agency.

Not long before coming here, because of a chance encounter, she was spotted by a model agency and took a set of model photos for Levi’s.

Then she also received the attention and cultivation of the other party…

It could be felt that the girl was a little nervous when facing Baron’s questions.

Baron walked in front of the girl, raised her chin with his hand, looked into Rosie’s eyes, and asked:

“Do you know what will happen today?”

The girl’s gaze shifted downwards, avoiding Baron’s gaze:

“Yes, Your Grace…”

“Are you doing this voluntarily? If a company or someone else is forcing you, I can let you leave, and no one will bother you.”

“No, I’m willing, I’m doing it voluntarily…”

Rosie Huntington bit her lip and said:

“My agent told me that if… I could get resources, I want these, and, if it’s Your Grace… I’m willing.”

Baron didn’t ask what would happen if it wasn’t him. After all, according to what she said, since she knew the consequences and had come here, it meant that the other party had made a choice after weighing the options.

Rosie Huntington was very tall, at 175cm, and in addition, her figure was also very seductive…

In the future, the British “FHM” and the American “Maxim” both unanimously chose her as the number one sexiest beauty of 2011, and today, Baron was going to be the first to pick this beautiful and slightly green English rose.

He pulled the girl into his arms, and then kissed her…

…

“Can I see you again in the future, Your Grace…”

At this time, Baron had already put his clothes back on. Hearing the girl’s words, he sat back on the edge of the bed, looked at her slightly tired face, yet with a hint of anticipation, and said softly:

“Yes, you just wait for my call.”

“Mm…”

Rosie Huntington’s face showed a smile, she got up and kissed Baron, and said sweetly:

“Anytime, Your Grace, and I won’t give others a chance…”

This was a smart girl. After all, she knew that for someone like Baron, affection was the most precious thing… even if she could only get a little bit.

After all, Baron would still face this situation today in the future, needing to “play along” at times, and Rosie Huntington could be considered to have been “the first to be taken,” and relatively speaking, she was much cleaner—the modeling circle, or rather, as long as it was a circle closer to fame, fortune, and power, one shouldn’t expect anyone to be a pure lotus flower. Baron wouldn’t mind having Rosie come over at such times.

When Baron found the Duke of Westminster and the Crown Prince, they were chatting in the smoking room.

“He’s still young…”

The Crown Prince’s voice fell, and the Duke of Westminster followed:

“I was just as energetic when I was young…”

Well, it seemed they had been waiting for a while, but such a conversation also showed that the relationship between the three was more intimate and casual.

After seeing off his two friends, Baron returned to the hotel on Dream Island and saw Mikhail waiting for him in the room with a brown-haired woman.

“I’m going to work now, Mikhail.”

The brown-haired woman saw Baron walk in, bowed to him, said goodbye to Mikhail, and gracefully walked out of the room.

“Next, I want you to keep an eye on the movements of the people on that list, see if they have any connections… And this Duke of Westminster, what needs to be noted is that he holds a position in the Ministry of Defence, so there will definitely be agents secretly protecting him, don’t show any traces.”

“Understood, Your Grace, I will do my best.”

Noticing that Mikhail’s gaze had been following the brown-haired woman’s figure as she left, Baron said:

“Ms. Ozdemir will be very safe here, you can also come and see her when you have time, but I hope you keep your promise to me.”

“I will, Your Grace…”

Mikhail looked at Baron deeply and said:

“I said, as long as Lafayette is eliminated, my life is yours, not to mention that I didn’t expect to be able to save her…”

Baron patted his shoulder:

“Don’t think too much, she still needs time to adapt, it’s good that she’s alive, there’s still plenty of time…”

Dilan Ozdemir was the brown-haired woman who had just left. When she put on a suit uniform, her figure was also mostly covered up, and it was impossible to see the seductive charm of her previous “queen” attire…

Dilan was the “sister” that Aliya once thought had died at the hands of Louis Lafayette, and also the woman Mikhail loved…

On the island of Solana, Mikhail found her, but at this time, Dilan Ozdemir had become someone he felt a little unfamiliar with.

During the time she was “missing,” what exactly happened, the detailed inside story, I’m afraid it would be difficult to know unless Dilan Ozdemir herself spoke up.

Compared to Mikhail’s skills, Baron valued his ability to obtain information more, just like he had previously tracked down Colin Hall and secretly recorded their conversation…

Therefore, Baron specially equipped him with manpower, and Mikhail was in charge of an intelligence team to monitor those on Baron’s suspicion list.

In order to control him, Baron specifically placed Dilan Ozdemir, the woman Mikhail cared about most, on Dream Island—with her current state, it was also suitable for such a place.

Like the Duke of Westminster and the Crown Prince, these two could be said to be Baron’s closest “comrades-in-arms” at this time. Both came from royal and aristocratic backgrounds, and their interests were basically consistent, naturally making them allies.

And the more this was the case, the less Baron wanted them to appear on Colin Hall’s side. If they had also been members targeting himself and the Devonshire family, then their backstabbing here would also be fatal.

Therefore, on the list that Mikhail needed to pay special attention to, the Duke of Westminster was also included, in order to eliminate this possibility.

Besides him, including Viscount Booth, Rolf of Barclays Bank, and others, were also the people he needed to confirm and eliminate…

Chapter 323: Target: LSE?

In September, the Mars Fund began distributing the fund’s profit sharing, after which the investment window would be reopened.

Starting next year, the Mars Fund will only open an investment window once a year, at the beginning of September.

The total scale of the Mars Fund has now exceeded 3 billion US dollars. The funds invested last September have, to date, yielded a return of nearly 150%, which is terrifying!

According to the Mars Fund’s profit sharing rules, DS Investments will be able to receive nearly 600 million US dollars from these funds this time!

This is also based on the Mars Fund’s terrifying rate of return.

Since Barron went to Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia, to establish the Global Industrial Investment Fund, many of the Middle Eastern tycoons had expressed their intention to invest in the Mars Fund, but the Mars Fund had not yet opened its investment window.

After the Mars Fund opened its investment window this time, the funds from them and other enthusiastic investors not only filled the gap after the Mars Fund’s profit sharing, but also increased the total fund scale again, exceeding 3.5 billion US dollars.

After all, the next time this fund’s investment window opens will be a year later.

In fact, if the Mars Fund did not set a threshold of a minimum investment of 10 million pounds, the total amount of funds flowing into this fund would be even more terrifying.

After more than two years of operation, this fund, which is capable of stable high-multiple growth, has already accumulated a certain reputation.

This is why these Middle Eastern tycoons are so confident in investing their huge sums of money in this fund.

Most importantly, it is Barron’s own demonstration effect. He has entered the top ranks of the Forbes Global Rich List this year through one investment after another, and has surpassed the Duke of Westminster to become the new richest man in England.

His investment acumen and achievements are naturally more convincing than those of other so-called “star fund managers.”

……

After completing the privatization acquisition of the Four Seasons Hotels Group, the CEO of the Global Industrial Investment Fund, Fien Hudson, returned to London.

Currently, the GII Fund holds 65% of the shares of Fast Retailing Group and 47.5% of the shares of the Four Seasons Hotels Group. In addition, there is approximately 2.8 billion US dollars in funds remaining.

This time, Barron has found the next target for the GII Fund in London.

“Recently, the share price of the London Stock Exchange (LSE) has been between 3.9 and 4 pounds per share. We have started to absorb its shares and now hold approximately 11.46 million shares of LSE stock, accounting for about 4.5% of their total share capital…”

Fien Hudson introduced to Barron:

“The circulation ratio of London Stock Exchange shares is relatively high, but in addition to absorbing their shares in the secondary market, we are also trying to contact investment companies that hold shares in the London Stock Exchange, including Threadneedle Investments and Scottish Widows, to acquire their shares.”

Yes, the target of the GII Fund this time is the London Stock Exchange.

The LSE is one of the world’s four major stock exchanges and the largest stock exchange in Europe, handling over two-thirds of international stock underwriting business.

Like a “lady,” the London Stock Exchange’s history can be traced back to the London coffee trading houses of the 17th century.

In 1760, 150 stockbrokers in London spontaneously formed a club to trade stocks, and in 1773, it was renamed the Stock Exchange.

In 1973, after the merger of 11 English and Irish stock exchanges, the London Stock Exchange in the modern sense was truly formed.

The total market capitalization of the companies listed on it has now reached 2.56 trillion US dollars, which also allows the LSE to firmly hold the position of the world’s third-largest stock exchange.

It is the “lady-like” temperament of the London Stock Exchange that has attracted “olive branches” from almost all global stock exchanges.

In fact, as early as 1998, the London Stock Exchange had become the object of mergers and “marriages.”

Among them, the earliest and most persistent was the German Stock and Derivatives Exchange. In 1998, the CEO of the German Stock Exchange, Werner Seifert, first proposed an alliance to the London Stock Exchange, but it was unsuccessful.

And Barron knows that at the end of this year and the beginning of next year, the German Stock Exchange will also launch two takeover bids for the LSE, but they will eventually be rejected by the British side.

In addition, in October 2000, the Swedish OMX Exchange had also intended to acquire the LSE for 1.06 billion pounds, which was also rejected at the time.

It can be said that these intentions to merge with the LSE, in addition to the review of the British regulators, also include the fact that the LSE was not satisfied with their offer, believing that it did not reflect the value of the LSE…

At this time, the LSE’s share price was between 3.9 and 4 pounds, and its market capitalization was around 1 billion pounds.

But it is definitely impossible to acquire the LSE for 1 billion pounds.

You must know that four years ago, in 2000, the Swedish OMX Exchange offered 1.06 billion pounds for the LSE. This price was about 21% higher than the LSE’s market capitalization at the time, but it was also rejected.

According to Fien Anderson’s prediction, to impress the LSE, the premium may need to exceed 30%, or even reach 50%.

Therefore, it is likely that the acquisition of the LSE will require funds between 1.3 billion and 1.5 billion pounds.

Barron was relatively in agreement with this estimated price because he remembered that at the end of this year in the original timeline, the German Stock Exchange offered 1.35 billion pounds for the LSE, which was a premium of more than 20% over the LSE’s share price at the time, but it was still rejected…

The two investment companies that the GII Fund has contacted are both in Barron’s original timeline, and they later sold their LSE shares to the Nasdaq Group.

Among them, Threadneedle Investments is the largest single shareholder of the LSE, holding approximately 14.5% of the LSE’s shares; another one, Scottish Widows, holds approximately 5.8% of the LSE’s shares.

Currently, the GII Fund has proposed to them an offer of 4.6 pounds per share, which is a premium of about 15% over the current market price, to acquire the LSE shares held by the two companies. Their response is only to indicate that they need to discuss this offer and have not made a clear reply.

Therefore, in the next step, in addition to continuing to absorb LSE shares in the secondary market, the GII Fund will also continue to contact other institutions holding LSE shares to make acquisition offers.

“The actions to buy stocks on the exchange must be fast. Even if it slightly causes fluctuations in the stock price, it can be tolerated. After all, as we contact more LSE shareholders, the intention to acquire the LSE will also be known to more people faster. Then, in addition to the reaction of the LSE management, their share price will certainly rise accordingly…”

Barron’s concern is also recognized by Fien Anderson, the CEO of the GII Fund. He nodded and said:

“We will speed up the absorption of LSE shares, but their management is always what we need to communicate with. We only hope that before that, we can get as many chips as possible.”

Barron is also very much looking forward to this. After all, acquiring the LSE is not only very important for his future financial layout, but also a very cost-effective investment.

The current market capitalization of the LSE is only 1 billion pounds. Even with a 50% premium, acquiring this global third-ranked exchange only requires 1.5 billion pounds.

What he also remembers is that when the Hong Kong Stock Exchange was preparing to merge with the LSE in 2019 in his previous life, the offer it proposed was close to 30 billion pounds, which is a difference of as much as 20 times.

Chapter 324: Big Business

After entering September, the GBP (British Pound) to USD (US Dollar) exchange rate was still fluctuating between 1.77 and 1.8. This was already the exchange rate trough since July of this year. It should be known that since July 1st, the price of GBP/USD had already exceeded 1.8, and by the end of the year, this price would exceed 1.95…

At the same time, the EUR (Euro) to USD (US Dollar) exchange rate would also rise from nearly 1.20 at the beginning of September to 1.367 by the end of the year, an increase of more than 11%!

Therefore, after the Mars Fund received a profit split of nearly 600 million USD, this sum of money was once again increased and invested in the bullish trend of the Euro against the US Dollar exchange rate…

……

Baron still took the time to go to Scotland to attend the ceremony where Viscount Booth. inherited his father’s Earl title.

This ceremony was not particularly grand, only members of the Booth. family and relatives and friends attended, considered as a passing on of tradition.

For inheritance ceremonies of noble titles like this in general, it often only required the review of the Noble Association. As long as the heir had a legitimate inheritance identity, they could hold the ceremony themselves—like when Baron inherited the Duke of Devonshire title, being able to receive a personal knighthood from the Queen was a special honor.

Another thing worth mentioning was that the president of the Noble Association, also the chairman of the College of Arms, was the Duke of Norfolk, with the longest history. They represented the royal family in handling general affairs of the nobility, including the inheritance of titles.

When participating in such ceremonies, both men and women would often wear traditional noble attire.

However, in modern times, this form no longer had such strict regulations. Except for the main characters of the ceremony—the old Earl of Booth, and Ian Booth, who inherited the Earl of Booth. title, still wearing traditional Earl attire—wearing a dark red velvet coat with white fur trim, a soft hat sewn with three sable furs to indicate the title level, a gilded silver ring on the crown, and eight silver balls along the top—men like Baron only needed to wear formal attire, and the ladies also wore court-style gowns.

The Booth. family’s foundation was indeed profound. Even without the treatment of a personal knighthood from the Queen like Baron, as the chairman of the Noble Association, the Duke of Norfolk also came in person to preside over this inheritance ceremony. This was already a rare honor among ordinary nobles.

Having received Baron’s warning last time, because Bonnie was by his side, this time, Jennie Booth. did not act too presumptuously.

However, before the banquet, she still found an opportunity to pull Baron aside into her room. Although due to time constraints, she couldn’t possibly conduct a full set of “learning,” she still, with her eloquent tongue, made Baron impart some knowledge energy to her…

Seeing her behavior like this, Baron couldn’t help but feel puzzled. Although John Smith looked a little weak, it shouldn’t be to the point where this daughter of the Earl’s family was like a widow…

……

“Have you found anything lately?”

After returning to London, Baron met Mikhail on Dream Island.

Knowing that someone would definitely be paying attention to his every move, Baron had always been very cautious in his communication with Mikhail.

Besides the two of them communicating through a dedicated satellite phone, when they met, Mikhail would always come to Dream Island in advance to wait.

After all, now in the whole of London, besides Baron’s home, Dream Island was the safest place for him.

“The Duke of Westminster hasn’t shown any abnormalities. Besides work, he doesn’t even socialize much, and spends most of his time at home… except for occasionally meeting different young girls at one of his villas. Those girls are all high-end professional escorts.”

Baron was considering whether to give the Duke of Westminster a reminder, after all, in the original timeline, his “prostitute scandal” caused quite a stir.

Not only the Duke of Westminster, but also the “Emperor’s Club” that was later exposed, involved many high-ranking officials and MPs in Britain. Some MPs even wore masks when meeting with the “waiters” to avoid revealing their identities…

“What about Rolf?”

Rolf was the credit officer from Barclays Bank who was responsible for handling the Devonshire family’s loans in the beginning. Now, because of the “friendship” established with Baron, Barclays Bank had more business cooperation with him, and Rolf had also been promoted to Vice President of Barclays Bank, and was also a strong contender for the next president.

“Currently, there is no sign of him being involved with Colin Hall. He is more like a workaholic, spending most of his time in the bank…”

It seemed that Rolf was really an ambitious person. No wonder, after all, his performance largely determined whether he could “reach the top” in Barclays Bank.

And in Baron’s view, Rolf, who probably cooperated with him more, was also one of the people who knew Baron’s true strength best—DS Capital’s current cooperating banks in Britain still mostly relied on Barclays Bank.

Therefore, if he was smart enough, he probably wouldn’t have the idea of being an enemy to himself. Even if he had more or less been involved in matters targeting himself and the Devonshire family before, he probably now wanted to draw a clear line with those matters…

“However, Colin Hall, he does have relatively frequent contact with some people, but it’s not yet certain whether it’s business cooperation or something else…”

“Give me a more detailed process.”

……

“Welcome to Paris, Your Grace.”

“It’s a pleasure to see you, Mr. Arnault…”

After Baron shook hands with the “old fox” in front of him, he said:

“This beautiful lady must be your daughter, Miss Delphine…”

They were now in a mansion in France, and Baron came here for this meeting.

The owner of the mansion was this silver-haired Bernard Arnault, who still looked handsome in his youth. His other identity was the boss of LVMH, the world’s largest luxury goods group.

The beautiful woman in her late twenties beside him was Delphine Arnault, Bernard’s eldest daughter. This year, she had just joined the board of directors of LVMH and was seen as Bernard’s successor in training.

“I wonder what this is about, Your Grace, that you’re meeting with me?”

Facing this “tyrant” of the luxury goods industry, Baron seemed very relaxed. He said unhurriedly:

“I certainly won’t waste your time. The reason I asked you to take the time to see me is also for a big deal.”

“Big deal?”

Bernard looked at Baron with some surprise and asked:

“As far as I know, although Your Grace has many industries, it doesn’t seem to have anything to do with us…”

That was also true. Although Baron had the Primark clothing chain brand, it was only cheap clothing and did not involve luxury goods business. If the only thing that could be counted, it would be the Devonshire Luxury Hotel that could be related to LVMH, but that was too far-fetched.

“I heard that you are planning to sell Gucci’s shares to the PPR Group?”

Chapter 325: The Gucci Battle

Upon hearing the name Gucci from Baron, Bernard’s brow couldn’t help but furrow slightly.

The reason for this was also very simple. Starting from the acquisition of Dior’s parent company, Boussac, in 1984, and in the twenty years since, Bernard Arnault had successfully brought many luxury brands under his control.

These included Louis Vuitton, Givenchy, Berluti, Kenzo, Guerlain, and dozens of other luxury brands. It could be said that in this series of acquisitions, Bernard had been unstoppable, with no mistakes…

And the only failure was the failed LVMH acquisition of Gucci…

“What? Does the Duke also have an interest in Gucci? But now it…”

“I know, the PPR Group has already obtained 42% of Gucci’s shares, and compared to LVMH, they probably favor the other side more.”

Baron’s words were like adding salt to Bernard’s wounds. Although he tried his best to control himself, it was clear that his expression wasn’t very good…

“However…”

Baron continued, “I’m here this time to help you, Mr. Arnault.”

“Help me?”

“Yes, the PPR Group’s offer for your Gucci shares is two billion US dollars, right? I am also willing to use two billion US dollars to purchase the Gucci shares you hold.”

“This is what you call helping me?”

Hearing Baron’s words, Bernard couldn’t help but laugh, and said to Baron.

“Yes, since you are already prepared to sell your Gucci shares, then selling these shares to me is the best choice…”

Baron remained unmoved, saying calmly, “You also said before that my industry doesn’t involve luxury goods, so compared to your competitor, the PPR Group, selling the Gucci shares to me not only allows you to recover funds, but also allows you to make a profit of six hundred million US dollars compared to when you bought Gucci shares five years ago, and it also prevents Gucci from completely falling into the hands of the PPR Group. Otherwise, relying on Gucci’s current good development trend, the PPR Group will pose a greater threat to the LVMH Group’s business, so am I wrong to say that I’m helping you?”

When Baron said this, Bernard couldn’t help but be stunned. As an old fox, he naturally understood that what the other party said was indeed very reasonable.

Since he no longer had any hope of completing the acquisition of Gucci, then since he had to sell the Gucci shares to recoup funds in order to acquire other brands, then of course, at the same price, it was better to sell the shares to someone else than to sell them to the PPR Group and strengthen his enemy…

For example, the British Duke in front of him?

Gucci was founded in Florence in 1921.

After nearly 70 years of development, it fell into difficulties in the 1990s due to poor management.

In 1992, its losses reached more than 40 million US dollars, almost bankrupting the company.

In 1989, Investcorp acquired 50% of Gucci’s shares held by Aldo Gucci (son of the Gucci founder) and his descendants, while Maurizio Gucci (grandson of the founder) continued to own the remaining 50% of the shares and continued to manage the company’s operations.

In 1993, Maurizio Gucci decided to sell the remaining 50% of the shares to Investcorp and officially left the company.

After that, Tom Ford was appointed as creative director and, in five years, increased Gucci’s net profit from a loss of 22 million US dollars in 1993 to a profit of 195 million US dollars in 1998.

Due to Gucci’s strong revenue growth during this period, Investcorp decided to list Gucci in the Netherlands and the United States of America.

In October 1995, 49% of the shares were listed on the Amsterdam Stock Exchange; in 1996, the remaining 51% of the shares were listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

Since 100% of Gucci’s shares were already listed and traded, this well-developing luxury brand was naturally coveted by those who were looking to acquire companies… uh, by Bernard Arnault, who was acquiring companies everywhere.

In January 1999, LVMH first bought 100,000 shares of the Gucci Group at 55.84 US dollars per share, holding more than 5% of the shares, meeting the filing requirements of the US and Dutch Securities and Exchange Commissions.

Seven days later, it bought 631,000 shares of the Gucci Group at a price of 68.87 US dollars per share, with a shareholding ratio of 9.6%.

LVMH’s hunting operation was still continuing.

Four days later, with the same operation, LVMH’s shareholding ratio reached 26.6%.

By January 25th, its shareholding ratio had risen to 34.4%.

In just 20 days, LVMH spent a total of 1.4 billion US dollars to buy 34.4% of the Gucci Group’s shares. This move alarmed Gucci’s management, but at that time, Gucci’s CEO, De Sole, was very experienced in law. Long before Gucci went public, he had already formulated a defense plan against hostile takeovers.

So after LVMH held 34.4% of Gucci’s shares, he did not hesitate to launch the “poison pill” plan, issuing 20,154,900 new shares to the management, which diluted LVMH’s 34.4% of the shares to 25%, and its voting rights were completely neutralized.

Under the protection of Dutch law, Gucci launched protective measures, issuing protective preferred shares, also known as the “white knight.”

The “white knight” they found was the PPR Group - in March 1999, Gucci and the PPR Group quickly formed an alliance.

Gucci issued new shares to the PPR Group, the number of which was almost twice the number of shares held by LVMH, and LVMH’s equity was further diluted to 20%; the PPR Group was allowed to increase its shareholding to 42%, but was not allowed to continue to acquire Gucci Group shares within five years.

Therefore, five years from 1999, which was the current year of 2004, after the ban expired, the PPR Group was also preparing to continue to increase its holdings of Gucci’s shares to complete the full acquisition of Gucci…

The first thing they looked at was the 20% of Gucci’s shares held by the LVMH Group - after all, under such circumstances, the LVMH Group could not complete the acquisition of Gucci. Holding these shares was no longer of much use.

And for the LVMH Group, selling Gucci’s shares would allow them to recover 2 billion US dollars in funds - the PPR Group’s offer for these 20% of Gucci’s shares was 2 billion US dollars, which was a profit of 600 million US dollars compared to the 1.4 billion US dollars they spent to acquire these shares five years ago - using these funds to acquire other luxury brands would also make the LVMH Group’s brand army even larger.

But now, Baron’s appearance gave Bernard a better choice.

Just as he said, instead of selling these 20% of the shares to the PPR Group and allowing them to completely control Gucci, thus adding a strong opponent to himself, it was better to sell the shares to another party. He could still recover funds and watch Gucci continue to fall into the struggle for control, wouldn’t that be a pleasant thing?

And for Baron, he knew that the reason why Kering Group (PPR Group) was able to become one of the three major luxury groups was actually mostly because of Gucci…

Now was the only opportunity to snatch Gucci from the PPR Group, thereby gaining a foothold in the luxury goods industry. Otherwise, if the PPR Group really bought the 20% of Gucci’s shares from LVMH, which would increase their shareholding to 62%, then the outcome would be decided, and he would have no chance with Gucci.

Of course, in addition to coming to see Bernard Arnault and obtaining the Gucci shares in his hands, Baron had already had his affiliated fund fully acquire Gucci’s shares from the secondary market, creating the greatest difficulty for the PPR Group to complete the control of Gucci.

Even in the worst-case scenario, he still wouldn’t be able to snatch Gucci from the PPR Group, but at least he could hold a certain amount of shares and enjoy the dividends of the development of this luxury brand with great potential.

This time, Baron successfully persuaded Bernard Arnault. He agreed to sell 20% of Gucci’s shares to Baron for 2 billion US dollars.

Chapter 326: Pledging Again

This time, the acquisition of Gucci Group shares was carried out by Baron in the name of DS Holdings. DS Holdings pledged its 75% stake in Argos Retail Group, 78.5% stake in Woaw Technology, 31% stake in Argent Real Estate Group, and 20 million shares of Google, for a total of 2.5 billion pounds in loans from North Rock Bank.

Among them, Argos Retail Group was valued at 1 billion pounds, with the 75% stake in Argos Retail Group valued at 750 million pounds; Woaw Technology was valued at 1 billion pounds, with the 78.5% stake in Woaw Technology valued at 785 million pounds; Argent Real Estate Group was valued at 1 billion pounds, with the 31% stake in Argent Real Estate Group valued at 310 million pounds; the 20 million shares of Google, at this time, were worth approximately 1.15 billion pounds…

With these assets, totaling 3 billion pounds, as collateral, Colin Hall of North Rock Bank approved a loan of 2.5 billion pounds for DS Holdings, with an interest rate of only 5%…

It can be said that the terms of this loan were already the best available at the moment.

It is worth mentioning that, even though Baron’s industry has been expanding, the debt borne by his DS Capital is also increasing like a snowball.

The larger debts alone included a 4 billion pound loan from North Rock Bank, using O2 Telecom’s shares as collateral—this did not include the 2 billion pounds of corporate bonds issued by O2 Telecom in two installments.

In addition, when acquiring Manchester United Football Club, there was a 400 million pound financing from Goldman Sachs Group, which was later replaced with an equivalent loan with a lower interest rate, using a 60% stake in Pioneer Sports Group as collateral…

Then there was the 3 billion US dollars financing from Goldman Sachs Group when acquiring shares in Standard Chartered Bank; and a 1.55 billion pound loan from Standard Chartered Bank, using the shares of Top Summit Media, a publicly listed company held by DS Holdings.

In other words, before this pledge loan from North Rock Bank, including the shares of O2 Telecom, Pioneer Sports Group, Standard Chartered Bank, and Top Summit Media held by DS Holdings, were all under pledge.

Adding these shares pledged to North Rock Bank this time, just from the surface, the relatively high-value company shares held by Baron’s DS Holdings had all entered a state of pledge.

Frankly speaking, this situation was still very dangerous for an investment company.

It was also fortunate that the companies pledged by DS Holdings were themselves developing well, and most of them were not yet listed; otherwise, an economic crisis, or a short selling of the stock, would lead to a decrease in the “value” of the pledged assets, which would then bring pressure from the banks to demand payment.

A 2.5 billion pound loan, calculated at an exchange rate of 1.8 pounds to the US dollar, was equivalent to approximately 4.5 billion US dollars.

After signing an agreement with Bernard Arnault’s LVMH Group to acquire its 20% stake in Gucci Group for 2 billion US dollars, Baron also sent people to contact the management of Gucci Group.

The current Gucci Group owns multiple brands, including Gucci, Yves Saint Laurent (YSL), and Sergio Rossi. Since April of this year, Gucci Group’s CEO, Domenico De Sole, who once led Gucci Group to resist LVMH Group’s acquisition, had conflicts with Gucci Group’s largest shareholder, PPR Group, due to Gucci’s declining performance in the past two years.

PPR Group once considered replacing Gucci Group’s CEO, and once they controlled more shares, De Sole’s departure would be a foregone conclusion.

The creative director Frida Giannini, who made great contributions to Gucci Group, was in a relationship with De Sole, and they could be said to be in the same boat—in the original timeline, the two left Gucci Group together.

Therefore, at this time, it was very important for DS Holdings, under Baron’s name, to gain the support of Gucci Group’s CEO, Domenico De Sole, by purchasing LVMH Group’s 20% stake and acquiring 15% of the shares from the secondary market, bringing its stake in Gucci Group to 35%, which was not far from PPR Group’s 42% stake.

In fact, back in 1999, when LVMH Group acquired 34% of Gucci Group’s shares in one fell swoop, becoming Gucci’s major shareholder, Gucci Group’s CEO, Domenico De Sole, had requested Bernard Arnault to have LVMH fully acquire Gucci Group.

However, Arnault rejected this proposal at the time, mainly because after several acquisitions, LVMH’s remaining funds were not enough to fully acquire Gucci Group. In this case, Arnault hoped to achieve a dual purpose by controlling Gucci Group—

On the one hand, control Gucci Group at a lower cost, thereby suppressing the strong competition from the other party in the luxury goods field; on the other hand, obtain considerable returns from this investment.

Arnault’s idea was certainly unacceptable to Gucci Group, just like the United States towards Mexico, not wanting you to fully join the United States, but also wanting to take away your most prosperous territory; if there was no ability to resist, that would be it, but if they could resist, Gucci Group certainly could not comply.

At that time, they sought out PPR Group. Before this, PPR Group had not entered the luxury goods field, so if PPR Group became the “white knight,” it would not be bad for Gucci Group.

But the problem now was that after obtaining 42% of Gucci Group’s shares, PPR Group also saw the “prospects” in the luxury goods field. Although PPR Group could not increase its stake in Gucci Group during these five years, they then turned to support Gucci Group in acquiring a series of luxury brands, including Bottega Veneta and Barronciaga—when they obtained the newly issued shares, PPR Group had invested a lot of money in Gucci Group, which also became the ammunition for Gucci Group to acquire these brands.

And with the five-year period approaching, PPR Group would inevitably significantly increase its stake in Gucci Group.

If no one else appeared, even if there were differences in management philosophy with PPR Group, Gucci Group could only accept being fully acquired by PPR Group. This was already a better result for this group compared to being acquired by LVMH Group.

But now, with the appearance of DS Holdings, it gave Domenico De Sole another choice—you must know that the management of Gucci still held about 10% of Gucci Group’s shares, and their shares, combined with DS Holdings’ current 35% stake, already exceeded PPR Group’s stake.

If DS Holdings could work harder and increase its stake in Gucci Group to over 40%, then cooperation with Gucci Group’s management would put them in an invincible position…

Therefore, in the competition for Gucci Group, the most important thing, besides continuing to absorb Gucci Group shares, was to persuade Domenico De Sole to cooperate with them, thereby driving out PPR Group.

The 4.5 billion US dollars currently held by DS Capital was also fully capable of supporting them to achieve this goal.

What Baron did not expect was that in the face of DS Holdings’ representative, Domenico De Sole’s request was to meet Baron directly.

So the Gulfstream G450 took off from France and flew to Italy.

After seeing Baron, De Sole asked directly:

“Your Grace, I just want to know if you have the strength to fully acquire Gucci Group.”

The same question was asked by Domenico De Sole to Bernard Arnault five years ago, but unlike Arnault, Baron gave a definite answer without hesitation.

“I can help you complete the acquisition of Gucci Group, but there are two conditions: first, you must fully acquire Gucci; second, in the future, even if you acquire other luxury brands, it must be Gucci Group as the core for acquisition.”

Chapter 327: Privatization

The reason De Sole put forward this request was obviously because he didn’t want the Gucci Group to be a stepping stone for others, like LVMH before.

Baron readily agreed to this, saying:

“If the acquisition is completed, the Gucci Group will become the parent company of our luxury goods strategy in the future. This is a brand with a long history, and I believe that under our leadership, it will continue to create brilliance.”

Of course, such an important matter couldn’t be completed just with a few words.

Before this, De Sole had also investigated Baron, the British Duke. On the one hand, Baron’s aristocratic identity was indeed more in line with the positioning of the Gucci Group; on the other hand, there was indeed no record of the companies acquired by Baron’s DS Holdings being split up or sacrificed. They were all managed by the original teams, and in this regard, his reputation was also very good. These factors supported De Sole in making his final choice.

After DS Holdings’ control of Gucci Group shares reached a 35% share was disclosed, the PPR Group also felt threatened and had contacted De Sole.

However, although the cooperation with the PPR Group was indeed quite good at the beginning, with the decline in the Gucci Group’s performance in the past two years, the contradictions between the PPR Group and De Sole had also become increasingly large. Even though the PPR Group was eager to show him goodwill at this time, De Sole wasn’t a fool. He had to consider whether, even if he supported the PPR Group this time, the other party would remember this and maintain his management of the Gucci Group.

Having seen too many similar things, De Sole naturally wouldn’t be so naive.

It could be said that during this period, the competition between DS Holdings, owned by Baron Cavendish, the British Duke ranked sixth on the global rich list, and the PPR Group for the Gucci Group was the hottest news, covering multiple channels such as finance and fashion.

And the final ownership of the Gucci Group was also what the public was concerned about.

After completing multiple “snake swallowing elephant” acquisitions, could DS Capital succeed this time with the Gucci Group?

After all, the PPR Group was also quite strong, and previously held as much as 42% of the Gucci Group’s shares!

After reaching a consensus agreement with the Gucci Group’s management team led by De Sole, after spending 4 billion US dollars, DS Holdings announced that their holdings of Gucci Group shares had reached a 40% share.

Their holdings, combined with those of the Gucci Group’s management, had already exceeded 50%, so with the cooperation of both parties, the PPR Group simply had no chance.

Moreover, the Gucci Group still had a major weapon, the targeted issuance of shares, that hadn’t been used – the PPR Group had also benefited from this “major weapon” before, and they naturally understood that even if their current holdings were higher than the former LVMH Group, the alliance could still dilute their current shareholding ratio by issuing new shares after controlling more than 50% of the Gucci Group’s shares.

Of course, this kind of thing was a tactic that would hurt the enemy a thousand and oneself eight hundred, so the Gucci Group wouldn’t use it lightly unless absolutely necessary.

In disappointment, they offered a price of 4.5 billion US dollars for their 42% stake in Gucci, indicating that they could sell the shares to DS Holdings at this price.

At this time, the 4.5 billion US dollar loan that DS Holdings had obtained from Northern Rock Bank by mortgaging shares of several companies only had 500 million US dollars remaining…

According to the PPR Group’s offer, plus the subsequent acquisition of shares from the Gucci Group’s management, and a privatization offer for the remaining shares, then it would probably require about 6 billion US dollars…

At this time, including Northern Rock Bank, Barclays Bank, and Goldman Sachs Group, all expressed that they could provide financing services for his acquisition…

After all, compared to the 4.5 billion US dollars that Baron had already put up, mortgaging the remaining part to finance the acquisition of all the future Gucci Group shares wasn’t too risky.

Although Baron’s mortgage loan from Northern Rock Bank this time wasn’t without the intention of feigning weakness, it didn’t mean that he really wanted to put his lifeline in the hands of others, so in the end, he chose to use Standard Chartered Bank for this financing.

After agreeing to mortgage the future Gucci Group shares, DS Capital obtained a financing loan of 3 billion pounds from Standard Chartered Bank, with an interest rate of 6%, which was slightly higher than ordinary mortgage loans, but acceptable.

Next, DS Holdings would complete the acquisition of the PPR Group’s 42% stake in the Gucci Group, and subsequently complete the privatization offer for the Gucci Group, including the management’s holdings and other shares in circulation in the secondary market.

Thus, this dramatic acquisition battle concerning the Gucci Group came to an end, and DS Holdings became the new owner of the Gucci Group.

Of course, all of this was a story for later…

…

Returning to London from Italy was already in the second half of September. At this time, Baron received news from Boeing that the Boeing 747 he had ordered – the Devonshire – had been completed. According to his requirements, the other party would directly fly the aircraft to London Airport and complete the handover with him.

While waiting for the aircraft, Baron also met with Clara Furse, the CEO of the London Stock Exchange.

Clara Furse was 46 years old this year. She had been the Chief Executive Officer of the London Stock Exchange since January 2001. In this male-dominated field, Clara was also the first female CEO of the London Stock Exchange.

During the period when DS Holdings was acquiring the Gucci Group, the Global Industrial Investment Fund was also not idle. They not only increased their holdings in the London Stock Exchange to around 10% through purchases in the secondary market, but also reached an agreement with Trinity Investment and Scottish Widows to acquire their shares in the London Stock Exchange at a price of 5 pounds per share, a premium of 25%.

At the beginning, GII Fund’s offer to the two investment institutions was 4.6 pounds per share, a premium of 15% compared to the London Stock Exchange’s previous share price of below 4 pounds.

However, the two investment institutions thought this wasn’t “sincere” enough. Later, after the GII Fund offered 5 pounds per share again, this premium of 25% finally moved them.

Thus, spending more than 250 million pounds, the GII Fund obtained their combined 20.3% share of the London Stock Exchange.

So, as of now, the GII Fund’s holdings in the London Stock Exchange reached a proportion of 30.3%, becoming the largest shareholder of the London Stock Exchange.

After reaching this shareholding ratio of over 30%, the GII Fund issued its first comprehensive takeover offer to the London Stock Exchange, offering their acquisition price at the London Stock Exchange’s total market value of 1.25 billion pounds.

This time, when meeting with Clara Furse, she also mentioned the GII Fund’s acquisition of the London Stock Exchange:

“Your Grace, the GII Fund is just an investment institution, not a financial institution with rich experience. Therefore, if you become an investor in the London Stock Exchange, we would be very welcome, but to completely acquire the London Stock Exchange, this is not a feasible option for us, and it is not of great benefit to the future development of the London Stock Exchange…”

“What if, Ms. Furse, we could promise to acquire more exchanges in the future, such as… Euronext, or the Singapore Exchange, or even Nasdaq, and merge them with the London Stock Exchange?”

Chapter 328: Boeing 747

Hearing what Barron said, Clara raised her eyebrows and said:

“That’s a good idea, Your Grace, I don’t think such a proposal will be approved by an antitrust investigation…”

Clara Firth’s view was not wrong. The merger of several exchanges with similar sizes to the London Stock Exchange would inevitably trigger antitrust investigations by relevant parties.

But what she couldn’t foresee was that in the subprime mortgage crisis more than three years later, in order to save the financial industry, the United States and the European Union would also appropriately relax their restrictions on such mergers.

However, Barron was not in a position to explain this to her in detail.

“In addition, your offer does not reflect the true value of the London Stock Exchange.”

Clara’s words also meant that Barron’s 25% premium acquisition was not a price that could impress the London Stock Exchange…

“What if I offer a 50% premium?”

Barron looked at Clara and said.

After hearing Barron’s latest offer, Clara Firth’s expression finally changed slightly.

She pondered for a moment and finally said to Barron:

“This requires our board of directors to make a final decision, Your Grace.”

In addition, the matters discussed between Clara Firth and Barron this time were not limited to the GII Fund’s acquisition of the London Stock Exchange.

“Top Media’s listing on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange was very successful, Your Grace. We also look forward to more of your industries coming here to list, such as O2 Telecom and Argos Retail Group. Although these companies may fall below our listing standards in certain conditions, such as the number of years they have been in operation after being acquired by you, the London Stock Exchange can provide special channels for these companies with excellent operating conditions.”

“Just like Top Media back then?”

“Yes.”

When Clara mentioned encouraging O2 Telecom and Argos Retail Group to list on the London Stock Exchange, Barron’s heart moved, but he didn’t dwell on this topic too much:

“These companies will have IPOs, and my first choice will be the London Stock Exchange, but it will have to wait for the right time.”

Yes, the right time.

Currently, both O2 Telecom and Argos Retail Group are still in the stage of expanding their markets and developing rapidly…

Especially O2 Telecom, which has completed the construction of mobile communication and broadband networks in France, and has also deployed some networks in major cities in Germany, with the number of users continuously increasing. Listing now is indeed not a good time, and it is also difficult to obtain a valuation that satisfies Barron.

After all, at this stage, both O2 Telecom and Argos Retail Group are in the stage of “burning money” to seize the market, and their financial data doesn’t look very good. It will be only after the users stabilize, the infrastructure is completed, and they enter the profit stage that the data will look better, and the valuation obtained after listing will be higher.

Therefore, as for O2 Telecom, Barron’s plan is to wait until next year or 2006 before starting the IPO listing process.

……

On the airport runway, a huge aircraft was parked. The white fuselage and blue paint, along with the “Devonshire” and the Devonshire family crest, represented that this was Barron’s new “big toy”—a private jet modified from a Boeing 747-430 airliner.

Compared to Barron’s previous Gulfstream G450, this aircraft was simply a behemoth.

This can be clearly compared from the data of the two.

The Gulfstream G450 is 27.23 meters long, 7.67 meters high, and has a rated passenger capacity of 12-16 people.

The Boeing 747-430 is 70.6 meters long, 19.4 meters high, and has a rated passenger capacity of 416 people…

The most crucial thing is that the Boeing 747 has a three-class cabin layout. In addition to the lowest level, which can be used to load cargo and as a garage, there are two levels of space that can be modified.

Barron’s private jet, the Devonshire, has a super-large luxury bedroom. The bed in the bedroom is more than three meters wide, and it also has a separate washroom; in addition, there are a kitchen, an office area, an entertainment area, and a rest area, and a conference room that can accommodate more than 15 people at the same time…

In short, all the arrangements were incomparable to his previous Gulfstream G450.

With this Devonshire, when Barron travels, in addition to bodyguards and a service team of more than 20 people, he can also bring a large business team to depart together.

And the fleet in the garage can also ensure that he can drive directly to his destination after landing.

The only disadvantage is that the runway for this aircraft to take off and land needs to be more than 3,000 meters long, which is often only available at the highest level 4 airports.

The Gulfstream G450’s maximum takeoff and landing distance only requires more than 1,600 meters, and general level 3 and above airports can meet the requirements.

Therefore, the Devonshire aircraft can only choose relatively large airports to arrive.

After completing the handover of this aircraft, Barron will also begin his journey.

For this aircraft, Barron specially hired a crew including three flight attendants, who will be responsible for the operation of the Devonshire private jet.

The next day, the Devonshire’s maiden voyage officially began. The first stop was from London to the magic city of China.

Accompanying him, in addition to the accompanying team, was the recording team of the program “Shining Life” led by Bonnie Stuart.

They will follow Barron’s journey for filming, as the material for the first episode of the new program “Shining Life.”

The recording of the program began from their departure from the villa located in Kensington, London.

Under the camera, Barron’s accompanying team, under the command of personal assistant Laura Wong and life assistant Aliya, took more than 100 suitcases from the villa…

Just these suitcases would require a large truck to transport…

“Your Grace, is today the maiden voyage of your new private jet?”

In Barron’s car, there was also a camera facing Barron and Bonnie, recording material at any time.

At this time, Bonnie entered the working state, becoming the host of the “Shining Life” program, and was interviewing Barron.

“Yes, Bonnie.”

“Why did you think of buying such a large airliner to be modified into a private jet?”

“I have previously experienced the private jet of my friend, Prince Alwaleed of Saudi Arabia, which was modified from a Boeing 747. It was indeed very comfortable and convenient. This also helped me find a problem that has been bothering me, that is, my previous private jet could accommodate too few passengers. Usually, when traveling, I had to reduce the number of accompanying personnel, or let them take commercial flights separately, which was very inconvenient…”

Barron said lightly:

“It can’t be said to be entirely for enjoyment, of course, this is also an undeniable reason, but for me, time is the most important thing. Being able to get a good rest during intercontinental flights, or being able to respond to and adjust some commercial information in a timely manner during this process, compared to the additional benefits brought by these conveniences, the cost of buying the aircraft is completely worth it.”

“To be honest, I was completely shocked when I first saw that aircraft. I believe that if the audience sees it, they will have the same feeling…”

Chapter 329: Moving In

Next, after arriving at the airport, the camera showed the audience the magnificent Devonshire, a private jet converted from a Boeing 747-340 airliner.

The motorcade then drove directly into the aircraft’s lowest-level garage.

Women like Bonnie, Laura, and Alia had previously come with Baron to tour this brand-new aircraft. Many others were seeing such a luxurious private jet for the first time, and judging by their expressions, they were completely stunned by its grandeur.

Before, Baron had always wanted to experience the feeling of “a thousand miles in a day.”

And on this Devonshire, he finally had the experience with Bonnie in his luxurious bedroom.

Well, the bed was big, and the study of knowledge was also very comfortable and thorough…

It has to be said that in terms of comfort, a large airliner like the Boeing 747 was obviously more stable during flight than his previous Gulfstream G450 business jet.

After the Devonshire landed in Shanghai, the motorcade drove directly out of the aircraft’s garage and delivered Baron and his entourage to the Yan Family Garden at No. 699 Yuyuan Road…

In February of this year, Baron had bought this place as his residence in Shanghai, China. It was also one of the few garden villas in downtown Shanghai with a large area.

However, the Yan Family Garden at that time looked quite dilapidated because it had been uninhabited for too long.

Baron spent a fortune on it, finding a professional design company and construction team to carry out a relatively thorough renovation.

While retaining the original style of the Yan Family Garden, it was reinforced and modernized.

After more than seven months of construction, it was finally completed, allowing him to move in.

“I’ve seen the photos you showed me before, but now I can’t see the dilapidated appearance of that time at all. It’s just like the Shanghai garden villas I’ve seen in those movies. I feel like I’m in that era…”

After getting out of the car and admiring the newly renovated mansion, Bonnie couldn’t help but exclaim.

Her exclamations were completely from the heart. In addition to her, similar surprised expressions could be seen on the faces of others.

In fact, Baron, in his previous life, had also visited the Yan Family Garden in Shanghai. However, as a private residence, he could only see a rough outline from the outside. The rest of the information came from some photos on the internet.

Now, he saw the current appearance of the Yan Family Garden with his own eyes and was also very satisfied, feeling that the decoration effect was even more beautiful than in the original timeline.

Baron and his entourage had rested very well on the plane, so after entering here, Baron accompanied Bonnie to tour the place, leaving the film crew to shoot some footage of the mansion—they were only allowed to film certain areas of the mansion, also out of safety considerations.

As for Laura and Alia, they still needed to direct the accompanying personnel to sort and place the items from the 100-plus suitcases in the villa.

The reason they brought so much luggage this time was because the Yan Family Garden had just been tidied up. As Baron’s temporary residence in Shanghai, China, it also needed to house some specially customized clothing and utensils from England. These items accounted for a considerable portion of the 100-plus suitcases.

After a short rest, Baron welcomed the first guests to the Yan Family Garden.

These guests included Bernie Ecclestone, the president of the F1 Group, and his daughter Tamara, as well as Prince Andrew…

One of the most important parts of Baron’s trip to Shanghai this time was to attend the Shanghai race of F1, which was being held in Shanghai for the first time this year. Because he was traveling with Bonnie this time, Tamara had arrived in Shanghai earlier with her father.

Originally, this meeting between Tamara and Bonnie seemed like it would become a battlefield.

However, what relieved Baron was that Bonnie, with the filming crew, only took some shots and conducted a brief interview with Bernie and Prince Andrew before leaving…

Well, at least Baron couldn’t see any special expressions from her…

As for Tamara, she seemed to be a little bit emotional. After Bonnie left, she pouted but didn’t say anything.

At this time, Baron still mainly brought the topic to Bernie and Prince Andrew—as for Tamara, he would coax her properly when the time was right.

Prince Andrew was also a guest of the F1 Shanghai race. He happened to be visiting Asia recently and was in China, so he was invited by Bernie Ecclestone to support the F1 event…

As mentioned before, as the Queen’s youngest son, Prince Andrew could be said to be her most beloved child, but this prince had caused quite a few incidents, and the Queen had helped him clean up the mess many times.

Although the other party was a prince, in terms of title, he was a duke, just like Baron—Prince Andrew was created Duke of York by the Queen.

Therefore, facing him, Baron was not at a disadvantage in terms of momentum.

Even though he somewhat looked down on this English prince who had ruined a good hand, Baron still behaved quite warmly on the surface.

However, he certainly wouldn’t take the initiative to invite him to stay as a guest in his garden villa.

As for Bernie Ecclestone, he didn’t seem to care too much about the appearance of Baron’s “official girlfriend” Bonnie just now. The things he talked about with Baron were all about the upcoming F1 race in Shanghai. He was still very optimistic about the prospect of developing more F1 racing enthusiasts in China and the surrounding areas through the Shanghai race.

“When I took my daughter to visit the Bund before, I saw your hotel there, and it looked very good. It’s a pity that it hasn’t opened yet, otherwise, I would definitely stay there to experience it.”

What Bernie Ecclestone mentioned was the Devonshire (Bund) Hotel located at No. 2 Bund.

As early as last year, Baron had already finalized this hotel with Shanghai. Now, more than a year had passed, and the construction of the new hotel building and the interior decoration had been completed—this was two months earlier than the originally estimated completion time, which also made Baron very satisfied.

The hotel was currently undergoing the final personnel training and was originally scheduled to open at the beginning of next year. Now, it could be opened in October, which was next month, becoming Shanghai’s first luxury foreign-owned hotel. Baron was still very much looking forward to it.

“That place itself had a connection with England a century ago. Now being able to reconnect commercial cooperation between England and China in this way is indeed something to be celebrated.”

Uh, was Prince Andrew starting to add value to the Devonshire (Bund) Hotel?

Chapter 330: Standard Chartered’s Proactive Move

“Your Grace, according to current statistics, the F1 Shanghai Grand Prix has attracted a cumulative audience of 260,000 people over the three days. What are your thoughts on this?”

In the program “Shining Life,” many interviews were interspersed. After filming some footage of the F1 Shanghai Grand Prix with Baron, Bonnie and Baron had this conversation in the Yan Family Garden, facing the camera.

“Yes, we are very pleased to see that the F1 Shanghai Grand Prix has attracted a cumulative audience of over 260,000 people over the three days. This shows that China is not a country without a racing atmosphere. This news is encouraging for both the F1 Group and the Pioneer Sports Group…”

Baron said with a smile:

“In addition, as you may know, earlier this year, Manchester United Football Club also took advantage of the break between seasons to conduct a tour of Asia, with China being the most important destination. They also received the enthusiasm of countless fans here, and the activities in China were very successful. For the Pioneer Sports Group, the development of the Asian market has always been something we value. I personally believe that sports, which can ignite passion, can generate similar resonance among people worldwide, allowing for increased communication and understanding.”

After the F1 Group merged with Manchester United Football Club to form the Pioneer Sports Group, DS Capital still holds 60% of the shares of this sports group. Therefore, both Baron’s enthusiasm for F1 racing and his attention to Manchester United Football Club are understandable.

Regarding this F1 Shanghai Grand Prix, according to previous surveys, Schumacher was the most well-known F1 driver in China at the time, and even in the minds of many people, Schumacher represented F1…

It can be said that of the more than 260,000 spectators who came to the F1 Shanghai Grand Prix, the majority came specifically to see Schumacher!

However, the final winner of the F1 Shanghai Grand Prix was not Schumacher, but Barrichello, who stood on the highest podium. This disappointed many people, but it also gave more people a new understanding of F1 racing and new idols.

In any case, this Shanghai Grand Prix will be a good start for the formation and development of “F1 culture” in China.

“In addition to the F1 Shanghai Grand Prix, what other arrangements do you have during your visit to China?”

Last night, they were still intimately “studying knowledge.” Now, Baron saw Bonnie in front of him, speaking seriously as a host, interviewing him. He found it quite interesting.

“I also have some investments in China, including several internet companies, as well as hotels and manufacturing factories. I will take this opportunity to inspect these industries… In addition, Standard Chartered Bank will also continue to cooperate with Chinese banks.”

“Speaking of the Chinese banking industry, several years ago, many experts believed that their non-performing loan ratio was too high and that they might collapse systematically at some point, ultimately affecting the entire Chinese economy. This view was once the mainstream opinion. What do you think of this? Why are you actively cooperating with them?”

Regarding Bonnie’s question, Baron shook his head and said disapprovingly:

“In fact, most of the time, I don’t take the so-called experts’ alarmist remarks as a reference for my investments. I also disagree most with the ‘collapse theory’ of China. If you understand history, you will see that for most of the thousands of years of human history, China has been at the forefront. It was only in the last one or two hundred years that it fell behind the West. This will not be a constant, but a coincidence… Especially if you really come to China and see their diligence and their emphasis on education, you are even less likely to have a dismissive attitude. I believe that China is an indispensable part of the future world economy and will bring strong impetus to the growth of the global economy. Any entrepreneur who ignores China has no future.”

Yes, Standard Chartered Bank will also have many actions in Asia recently.

After participating in the commercialization reform of Bank of Communications and holding 19.9% of Bank of Communications’ shares, Standard Chartered Bank will immediately participate in the establishment of another Chinese bank…

Their cooperation partner is Bohai Bank, which was just about to be established.

Bohai Bank’s headquarters is located in Tianjin. It is the first entirely new national joint-stock commercial bank since the 2003 revision of the “Commercial Bank Law of the People’s Republic of China.” It is also the only national joint-stock commercial bank approved by the State Council for new establishment since 1996. It is the first Chinese commercial bank to introduce foreign strategic investors at the initiation stage.

Standard Chartered Bank was invited to become a foreign initiator of Bohai Bank.

Not long ago, Zeng Jingxuan, the Greater China President of Standard Chartered Bank, went to Beijing and signed the “Initiator Agreement” with other shareholders of Bohai Bank.

According to this agreement, Standard Chartered Bank will invest 123 million US dollars and hold 19.99% of the shares of Bohai Bank, which is lower than the upper limit of 20% for foreign direct holdings of Chinese bank shares.

Other initiators of Bohai Bank include Tianjin TEDA Investment Holding Co., Ltd. (holding 25%), China Ocean Shipping (Group) Company (holding 13.67%), Shanghai Baosteel Group and China Development Investment Corporation (holding 11.67% respectively), among which, Standard Chartered is the second-largest shareholder of Bohai Bank.

When interviewed, Zeng Jingxuan, the Greater China President of Standard Chartered Bank, said: The reason for cooperating with Bohai Bank is that it was established not long ago, does not have bad debts, and has a newer management model. Standard Chartered Bank will be able to invest in new information technology fields more quickly.

At the same time, this investment can also bring good returns to Standard Chartered Bank – in the original timeline, Bohai Bank will go public in Hong Kong 15 years later, and the bank’s market value at the beginning of the listing will be over 80 billion Hong Kong dollars, equivalent to over 10 billion US dollars…

In addition, cooperation with Bohai Bank is also conducive to Standard Chartered Bank’s deep participation in China’s financial industry and is also conducive to their other investments in mainland China.

In addition to acquiring shares in Bohai Bank, Standard Chartered Bank is also preparing to acquire an Indonesian bank.

This bank is called PT Bank Permata. Standard Chartered Bank is preparing to invest 305 million US dollars to acquire 51% of the shares of this bank.

PT Bank Permata has 310 branches and approximately 1 million customers, ranking seventh in the Indonesian banking industry.

The timing of this acquisition is after the Indonesian general election. Standard Chartered Bank is optimistic about the future development of this largest Southeast Asian economy, so it will acquire this medium-sized bank in the country to get more involved in the Indonesian economy.

In the past five years, Standard Chartered Bank has twice attempted to acquire Indonesian banks, but both ended in failure.

This time, for the acquisition of PT Bank Permata, Astra International, the largest automobile manufacturer and distributor in Indonesia, is Standard Chartered Bank’s acquisition partner. After this, they will have deeper cooperation in automotive finance.

After all, although headquartered in London, Standard Chartered Bank mainly develops in emerging markets, and more than two-thirds of their revenue comes from Asia, which is also the region Standard Chartered Bank values most.

Chapter 331: The Situation Improves

Although Barron himself had left London for China, the Global Industry Investment Fund’s takeover bid for the London Stock Exchange was still attracting significant attention in Britain.

At this point, with further acquisitions, the GII Fund’s holdings of London Stock Exchange shares had already exceeded 35%, and they were still contacting and negotiating with more London Stock Exchange shareholders.

Meanwhile, after the London Stock Exchange rejected their initial offer of a 25% premium, the GII Fund raised its offer again, preparing to acquire the London Stock Exchange for 1.5 billion pounds.

And when interviewed by reporters, GII Fund CEO Fynn Hudson declared that this acquisition bid for the London Stock Exchange, with a 50% premium, was “unprecedented” and would be their final offer for this acquisition.

Just as the acquisition battle of the GII Fund against the London Stock Exchange was in full swing, the British political circles also made different reactions to the acquisition.

London Mayor Ken Livingstone stated in an interview that the merger of the GII Fund with the London Stock Exchange was “unusual.” The British authorities should assess the adverse effects on companies listed in London after the London Stock Exchange was completely acquired by such an investment institution, and whether it would damage London’s status as a major overseas listing location and international financial center.

However, a key aide to the British Chancellor of the Exchequer, Gordon Brown, known as “Brown’s Adjutant,” Ed Balls, hinted to the media in early October that he did not oppose the GII Fund’s acquisition of the London Stock Exchange.

Balls said, “I believe the prosperity of the London financial market stems from internationalization. We allow foreign capital to take over our banks, our brokerage firms, and our trading markets. I don’t see any exception for the London Stock Exchange.”

Regarding these statements, GII Fund CEO Fynn Hudson said in a subsequent interview:

“Even if the GII Fund successfully merges with the London Stock Exchange, it will not interfere with the operation of the London Stock Exchange. The London Stock Exchange will still be independently regulated by the British Financial Services Authority (FSA).”

As the GII Fund once again issued an offer to acquire the London Stock Exchange with a 50% premium, the London Stock Exchange’s stock price also rose in response. Compared to before the GII Fund’s acquisition, it had already increased by more than 45%…

In response, the London Stock Exchange had also been taking action. Their management and shareholders stated that they would decide whether to accept the GII Fund’s acquisition offer before October 20th.

At the same time, the London Stock Exchange did not give up on finding more buyers in an effort to compete with the GII Fund. According to media reports, the London Stock Exchange had once contacted the British ICAP financial market brokerage company, and the two sides had negotiated the merger issue several times.

However, due to ICAP’s constant concern about the “excessive bubble” in the London Stock Exchange’s stock price, they did not reach an agreement.

Relevant personnel from ICAP told the media that the merger between the two sides could only take place “when the London Stock Exchange’s stock price is lower.”

Besides ICAP, the German Stock Exchange, which had always had ideas about the London Stock Exchange, was also involved in the GII Fund’s acquisition of the London Stock Exchange. There were media reports that the German Stock Exchange had sent personnel to London to meet with the London Stock Exchange’s management to discuss the acquisition of the London Stock Exchange.

However, after this report was transmitted to Germany, the German Stock Exchange, although not denying it, stated that at the current price, the German Stock Exchange needed to convince its board of directors to accept such a high premium…

Local newspapers claimed that sources from the German Stock Exchange had revealed that its board of directors “could not accept the London Stock Exchange’s 1.5 billion pound price,” and even some people on the board of directors directly said, “This is robbery”…

Next, British Treasury Undersecretary Balls stated in a public speech on the 11th of this month that the British government would maintain a neutral position in this merger case and would not obstruct the GII Fund’s acquisition of the London Stock Exchange, provided that the acquisition should not affect the London Stock Exchange’s regulatory framework and ensure that the FSA has veto power over any changes to the rules of the domestic stock exchange.

At this point, the GII Fund was increasingly in an advantageous position in the acquisition of the London Stock Exchange…

……

After filming enough material, Bonnie took the film crew and the Devonshire back to London ahead of schedule. She would complete the post-production of the first episode of “Shining Life” as quickly as possible.

And Barron was also very busy…

After seeing off Bonnie Stuart, he could finally bring Tamaran Ecclestone, who was still in Shanghai, to the Yan Family Garden to properly “compensate” this young lady who had been neglected before.

It was just that the National Day Golden Week in China was really not a good time to travel, so it wasn’t until after October 8th that he took Tamaran to Hangzhou for a trip, and by the way, he met with Mr. Ma, the boss of Alibaba.

In June of this year, Taobao launched “Taobao Wangwang,” linking instant messaging tools with online shopping.

Taobao Wangwang, as a specialized instant messaging tool, integrates communication, transaction management, and other functions. Its predecessor was Alibaba’s TradeManager.

It can be said that, by now, the development of Taobao was still quite satisfactory to Mr. Ma.

In fact, the most difficult time for Taobao was at the end of last year.

At that time, eBay’s Yihui.com, backed by a major financial backer, was the leading C2C e-commerce platform in China and was extremely wary of the rapidly developing Taobao.

Not only in business, they blocked Taobao—in advertising and some marketing activities, Yihui.com signed exclusive advertising contracts with major portal websites, so that Taobao Wang could not advertise even if they had money.

What was even more interesting was that when searching for Taobao on Google, ads for Yihui would appear…

In addition, in December of last year, Taobao was investigated by the Hangzhou Municipal Administration for Industry and Commerce for suspected unfair competition, and Alibaba, Taobao’s parent company, was also implicated.

This was called the “Jackpot Incident.” The cause was Taobao’s promotion of an event called “Alipay” between November 14th and December 14th, with the top prize being a POLO 1.4 car, and the draw time was 9 pm on December 15th.

The Hangzhou Municipal Administration for Industry and Commerce received a report from a “senior netizen,” claiming that the single-prize prizes provided by the two commercial websites of Alibaba had exceeded the limit of 5,000 yuan and had adopted unfair competition methods during the sales process.

At that time, Taobao suspected that this “report” was planned by its competitor, Yihui.com…

However, with DS Capital’s separate investment of 50 million US dollars in Taobao in the previous round of financing, after obtaining a large sum of money, Taobao also had more confidence, and Yihui.com could no longer maintain its “blockade” of Taobao in terms of advertising.

After that, with the increase in publicity efforts, Taobao’s development also entered the fast lane.

In this regard, Mr. Ma was very grateful to Barron, this “big financial backer.” After all, at the beginning, Yihui.com was a strong opponent in the C2C field. He himself lacked confidence in whether Taobao could succeed in this field, which was why Taobao was independently founded outside the Alibaba system…

And exchanging 33.3% of the shares for DS Capital’s 50 million US dollars was equivalent to their valuation of Taobao at 150 million US dollars at that time. This valuation was really not low, and even somewhat higher than Mr. Ma’s expectations.

This sum of money, in Mr. Ma’s opinion, could be said to be a key factor in Taobao’s current situation.

Chapter 332: Secret Meeting

“Rosie, where’s Colin?”

“Madam, Mr. Hall is meeting with a guest in the study. He said not to disturb them…”

Hearing the maid’s words, Catherine frowned slightly.

She walked upstairs, hesitated for a moment, and didn’t go towards the study. Instead, she returned to her own bedroom.

…

“I told you, we can’t rush things. I’ve already tied the rope around his neck, but now is not the best time. We need to strike a fatal blow when he is at his weakest, otherwise all our efforts will be in vain.”

Colin Hall, at this moment, was pacing back and forth in the study, his words filled with resentment.

“But we don’t have much time, Mr. Hall. You know, he has already started to target the London Stock Exchange. If he succeeds, do you understand what that means? That’s where the data of most British companies is!”

The one speaking to him had a slightly hoarse voice, but the person was sitting in the shadow of the lamp, making it impossible to see their face.

However, after hearing his words, Colin Hall’s emotions became even more agitated:

“That’s when you should show your influence, F**K! Guess what I saw, even the Treasury Department declared ‘neutrality’. This so-called neutrality is helping that kid!”

“Don’t get excited, Mr. Hall. You have to understand that it’s not that we’re doing nothing. It’s just that we don’t know when he and Gordon Brown reached some kind of understanding, but that’s not the problem. The Prime Minister still hasn’t loosened his grip. We will try our best to stall for time, but you need to speed up on your end. After all, DS Capital already owes you 6.5 billion pounds in debt. Besides that, their other debts are piling up, and they are only one small push away from toppling the first domino…”

When the other person said this, Colin Hall’s expression became somewhat impatient. He said angrily:

“I said, we need time! You know, those assets he mortgaged are not listed companies yet. We can’t use financial means to exert a ‘push’. That kid is very careful. The only listed company’s mortgage is given to Standard Chartered Bank, and that bank originally belongs to him! Can we compete with Wall Street and short Google? But that can only cause him a small problem, not a fatal one.”

“You bankers rely too much on the power of finance, Mr. Hall. You know that bad news for a company doesn’t have to come only from the stock market. If the company’s boss has an accident…”

“Are you crazy? You want me to directly take action against him?”

Facing Colin Hall’s gaze, the other person’s tone was still calm:

“Back then, his father and brother…”

“I’ve said it many times, I didn’t do that. It’s impossible for me to do such a thing to a Duke, and it’s also impossible for me to do it to the point where Scotland Yard can’t find out…”

“Scotland Yard?”

The other person smiled contemptuously:

“Don’t forget, many times, suspicion doesn’t need evidence, Mr. Hall.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, Barclays Bank can now stay out of it, and even we can stay out of it, but you can’t. Either you die, or he dies. Have you heard of the fate of those people in the ‘London Star’? If you don’t do anything, you might be the next one, Mr. Hall, don’t think that the other party is really a good person.”

…

At this time, Baron was already on a plane back…

Originally, he had planned to go to the United States, but the election there was in full swing…

It could be said that this month, almost the entire world’s attention was focused on the US election. The current President and the Democratic Party candidate Kerry were neck and neck, and Baron naturally didn’t want to go there to join the fun at this time.

After all, this time, he had given more “donations” to the side of the Republican Party’s current leader, and Kerry of the Democratic Party had a close relationship with the Kennedy family. If Baron went to the United States, he couldn’t easily get involved with either side, but he would inevitably meet with the Kennedy family. Therefore, he finally decided to avoid this period and wait until the beginning of next month, after the election results were settled, before going.

By the time he returned to London, it was already October 12th.

Since the end of last month, September 28th, when international oil prices broke through 50 US dollars for the first time this year, after some fluctuations, they had stabilized above 50 US dollars in October…

On October 12th, the highest price of international oil that day reached 54.46 US dollars.

According to the trend of the original timeline, ten days later, international oil prices would exceed 55 US dollars in one fell swoop, reaching the peak of oil prices this year.

That being the case, from now on, DS Capital had already begun to close out their long positions in crude oil futures…

After all, DS Capital’s proprietary trading division had a relatively high position in crude oil futures, and it was impossible to wait until the oil price reached its highest point before starting to close out positions. The result would probably be disastrous.

In July of this year, DS Capital had mortgaged the shares of Top Media, which had just been listed not long ago, to Standard Chartered Bank, and borrowed 1.55 billion pounds from there, equivalent to more than 2.8 billion US dollars. Of this, 1.8 billion US dollars entered the account of the Global Industrial Investment Fund, as DS Capital’s 30% own funds…

The other 1 billion US dollars, when the oil price was at 36 US dollars, was leveraged 10 times to go long.

In addition, earlier, the Mars Fund and some of DS Investment Company’s proprietary funds had also long positions in crude oil futures…

By this calculation, even excluding the Mars Fund, the portion of DS Capital’s own funds, if they close out positions successfully at the current price, then their profit this time will exceed 6.5 billion US dollars!

Therefore, don’t look at Baron’s current debt, the accumulated debt of DS Holdings, has exceeded 13.2 billion pounds – this includes the 2.5 billion pounds in new loans from Northern Rock Bank due to the acquisition of the Gucci Group and the completion of privatization, and the 3 billion pounds in financing from Standard Chartered Bank by mortgaging the shares of the Gucci Group – but Baron doesn’t feel too much tension.

After all, in addition to these upcoming profits in the crude oil futures market, by the end of the year, the profits in the EUR/USD foreign exchange futures will be even higher than this time…

This is also why Baron was so sure at the beginning that others might not know, but Rolf of Barclays Bank, as someone who, although didn’t have a comprehensive understanding of DS Capital’s position operations, had some general concepts of securities investment assets, as long as he wasn’t out of his mind, wouldn’t participate in actions against him.

Not only that, but he would even try his best to stand on his side and not reveal these inside stories.

Chapter 333: Happy Birthday

“Your Grace, it’s a great honor to see you. Happy birthday.”

“Thank you, Mrs. Beckham, please make yourself comfortable.”

October 18th, it was Baron’s birthday again.

He felt that time seemed to pass so quickly; this was already the third birthday he’d celebrated since coming to this world.

After this, he would officially turn 25.

Just like before, every year on his birthday, Baron wouldn’t make a big fuss. He would only have a small gathering with his girlfriend and a few friends.

However, Victoria was considered Bonnie’s best friend, and Beckham had already gone to Spain again to play football. Therefore, Bonnie, after getting Baron’s permission, had also invited her.

Although she was already a mother of two children, Victoria still seemed to be in good shape. She was wearing a low-cut dress today, well, it looked very full.

However, if Baron remembered correctly, Victoria and Beckham’s third child should have been born in February of next year, but it was already almost the end of October. Victoria’s figure… didn’t look like she was pregnant at all, and Baron hadn’t heard this news from the media or Bonnie…

Considering that during that period, it seemed that Beckham was “having fun” in Spain, there seemed to be a slight deviation from the original timeline.

“Hi, Holly, you’re as young and beautiful as ever…”

This time, it was Virgin Group’s princess, Holly Branson, who had arrived. She gave Baron a hug and said:

“Your Grace, you always make people so happy, but my father is a little disappointed. He was waiting for you at his party before…”

Uh, the last time he saw Holly’s father, Richard Branson, the owner of the Virgin Group, he had invited him to a party, but…

“I’m sorry, dear Holly, I should apologize to your father in person next time. I happened to be abroad on some business that time…”

“I was just kidding, Your Grace. Of course, we understand, so I brought you an invitation to the next party.”

“Oh, that’s great, I definitely will this time…”

In addition to them, the two princes also came to Baron’s villa.

“William, you’re graduating next year, aren’t you?”

Catherine had also come with William, but after greeting Baron, she went over to sit with Holly Branson and chatted with Bonnie and the other ladies.

As for Prince William, this was his final year at the University of St Andrews. Next year, he would graduate.

“Yes, Baron, from next year onwards, it will be mostly time for internships.”

“Do you have any arrangements?”

“Her Majesty the Queen and Father both hope that I will gain more experience. I will go to HSBC for a three-week internship, but before that, I can make a personal choice…”

Prince William looked at Baron, his eyes lighting up, and said:

“By the way, Baron, how about I do an internship with you?”

“With me? Which company are you thinking of going to?”

Hearing that Baron’s understanding was a bit off, Prince William explained:

“Not those companies. I want to go to your Chatsworth Estate. Actually, I really like that kind of rural life. Right, don’t you have Devonshire Ecological Agriculture Company there? I can go to the ranch or the butcher shop there for an internship. That would be more down-to-earth…”

Hearing William’s words, Baron suddenly thought that it seemed that in the original timeline, William had also made the same choice…

Well, thinking like that, Baron agreed:

“That’s not bad either. The public will surely praise you for this choice. We have a few butcher shops in the town near the estate. If you go there, you can live in the manor.”

William seemed very satisfied with Baron’s arrangements and couldn’t wait to share this decision with his girlfriend Catherine and Holly…

Those who came to Baron’s birthday party were mostly young people.

And it was held in his private villa, so everyone was relatively relaxed.

Although since his rebirth, Baron had been relatively strict about controlling his drinking, the others had drunk a lot.

Especially William and Harry, who were even more lively under the influence of alcohol. After the meal, everyone couldn’t help but dance around.

“We’re having so much fun today, let’s go find a club and play, Baron.”

Baron knew that although they had drunk alcohol, they weren’t people who would act without thinking. The club they were talking about was a private club that wasn’t open to the public, so they wouldn’t be photographed by reporters, which would affect their public image.

He had wanted to refuse, but it was his birthday today, and as the main character, it wouldn’t be good for him to be absent.

Baron glanced at his girlfriend Bonnie, who said very understandingly:

“Darling, you guys go and have fun. I’m a little tired, so I won’t go. Let Victoria stay here with me.”

Knowing that Bonnie had been very busy recently because of the post-production of the show “Shining Life,” he didn’t ask her to go with them. He took William and the others, got into the car of the convoy, and left the villa to go to a private club they often went to.

Actually, they wouldn’t go too crazy, just drinking, playing games, and dancing in the club’s large private room.

After spending more than an hour with these people, seeing that William and the others were still full of energy and didn’t want to leave, Baron said goodbye to them first, put the bill under his name, and left to go home first.

“Baron, it seems you still care about your girlfriend…”

Baron shrugged at William’s teasing and didn’t say much.

“Where’s Bonnie?”

“Miss Stuart has gone upstairs to rest, Your Grace.”

Hearing the maid’s reply, Baron casually asked:

“Where’s Mrs. Beckham?”

“Miss left her here to stay, in the guest room upstairs.”

“Okay, you can go rest first.”

As he spoke, Baron walked up the stairs.

When he returned to the master bedroom, Baron saw that the bedside lamp was still on, and Bonnie was already asleep on the bed.

She probably hadn’t expected him to come back so soon. After all, at times like this, it was often possible for everyone to party all night, and it looked like she was indeed tired.

Smelling the alcohol on himself, Baron didn’t want to disturb her either, so he took his bathrobe, gently closed the bedroom door, and went to the room next door to take a shower…

After filling the water, Baron lay in the bathtub, feeling his body enveloped by warmth, which was very comfortable, so he closed his eyes…

“Your, Your Grace?”

Chapter 334: Let’s Talk About the Market, Shall We?

Because of Little Bei’s matter, Victoria hadn’t been sleeping well recently. However, because she had also drunk a lot of alcohol tonight, she had just drifted into a state between sleep and wakefulness when she felt someone enter the room…

At that moment, she couldn’t quite remember whether she had locked the door.

Under the tension, she immediately woke up from her half-asleep state.

When she perked up her ears and heard the other person go into the bathroom, coupled with the sound of water running with the door half-open, Victoria had some guesses…

Originally, she wanted to pretend not to know and wait for the other person to finish their shower and leave, but after waiting for a long time, there was no further movement from the bathroom.

This made Victoria a little worried, so she carefully got up to check…

When she walked into the bathroom, she saw that the heat inside had gradually dissipated, and she could see that the man lying in the water in the bathtub seemed to be asleep.

“Your, Your Grace?”

Victoria called out to the other person softly. Her gaze fell upon him, and she couldn’t help but feel her heart race a little, because just from the muscle lines exposed above the water, she could tell that the young Duke’s physique was even more perfect than her husband, who was a football player.

“Baron?…”

Seeing that the previous call didn’t get a response, Victoria hesitated for a moment, took a deep breath, and took a few more steps closer…

At this moment, she could already see more through the water in the bathtub… Some of the scenes in it even shocked her and made her feel parched.

Victoria’s heart was a little conflicted now. According to reason, she was a married woman, and she should leave here at this moment, but judging from the temperature in the bathroom, the water temperature in the bathtub should have dropped a lot. If she just left, the other person could easily get sick…

But what if she called someone else to help?

How could the Duke be in her room, naked, soaking in the bathtub?

How was she supposed to explain this? Especially if her best friend Bonnie found out… Victoria valued her relationship with Bonnie very much, not just the friendship between them, but also because of her identity, which could bring her many benefits.

Victoria’s thoughts flashed through her mind in an instant, and she made a decision. Her hand slowly reached out, wanting to wake Baron…

“Baron?”

Just as her hand touched Baron’s shoulder, the other person’s hand had already grabbed her wrist extremely quickly…

“Darling…”

Seemingly still not fully awake, he said so intimately, and directly pulled the woman into the bathtub…

With a “plop,” Victoria only had time to exclaim “Ah,” and was immediately held in the man’s arms, and then, her lips were sealed…

Such a situation was also unexpected by Victoria, so she subconsciously wanted to struggle, but it was also at this moment that she personally felt that the young Duke’s muscles were not for show. It could be said that her weak struggle didn’t cause any obstruction to the other person at all. She only felt as if she was bound by an entire mountain…

Of course, such a struggle only lasted for a very short time. Soon, after her lips were sealed by the other person, Victoria felt the strength in her body quickly dissipate…

“Victoria…?!”

After a deep kiss of an unknown duration, Baron opened his eyes and looked at the woman in front of him, his face full of surprise…

And Victoria at this moment…

Because she had prepared to go to sleep earlier, and her habit was… so in the initial rush, she was only wearing a silk bathrobe, but now the bathrobe was soaked, and because of the recent… she could be said to have opened her heart…

After all, she was already a married woman, and Little Bei had been away from London for more than two months. After this impact, Victoria was already flushed, her eyes sparkling, and she had some symptoms of a fever…

“Your Grace…”

As she said this, Victoria’s heart had already made a decision…

Her watery, big eyes looked at Baron, her body lowered, and she worked hard to… perform oral sex…

…

“Darling, when did you come back last night?”

In the morning, when Bonnie woke up, she saw Baron, who had woken up beside her, and asked coquettishly.

“I came back not long ago, but seeing that you were already asleep, I didn’t wake you up…”

According to his usual routine, Baron should have gotten up to exercise much earlier.

It was just that he had already exercised with Victoria last night, and had also expended a lot of physical strength, so this year, it was rare for him to wake up with Bonnie.

In this regard, Bonnie only thought that he had drunk alcohol last night and had gone to bed later than usual, and didn’t pay too much attention.

“Right, I forgot to tell you, I saw that Victoria drank a lot yesterday, and she was going back alone, so I let her stay at home for the night…”

As she spoke, Bonnie got up, revealing her beautiful figure, and Baron feasted his eyes…

Although they were already considered “an old married couple,” Bonnie’s top-notch figure felt like he could never get tired of looking at it.

“I have to go see if she’s up yet…”

As she spoke, Bonnie put on her nightgown, got out of bed, opened the door, and walked out.

Baron slowly got up and put on his clothes. With the intensity of his workout with Victoria last night, he didn’t believe that woman could get out of bed so early…

But it had to be said that Victoria was indeed a “veteran” in this field. Compared to other girls, her knowledge was richer, and her experience was also greater…

Sure enough, as Baron was washing up, Bonnie had already returned, stretched, and said:

“She’s still sleeping. I’ve told the housekeeper to make her breakfast after she gets up.”

“Then let’s eat first, baby. I’ll take you to the SEM building later, and then I’ll go to the City…”

…

In the office of DS Financial Center in the City, Daisy, wearing a well-fitting business suit, walked in.

“Daisy, I suddenly realized that you’ve become more feminine recently. Could it be that you’re in love…”

Although Baron was the boss, he and Daisy had known each other since university, so he could speak to her more casually and didn’t deliberately put on the airs of a boss.

And Baron knew that Daisy could also handle the situation well in this regard, and their personal relationship wouldn’t affect their work.

Sure enough, after hearing his words, Daisy couldn’t help but give him a sideways glance, which seemed to have a unique charm:

“My dear Boss, I would like to try falling in love, but where is the time? I’m almost in this building all day long…”

“If you need it, I can keep an eye out for those young talents for you. You should trust my eye…”

To be honest, except for the possibility of a shortage of food for future children, Daisy could be considered a rare beauty in other aspects, whether it was her looks or her tall figure, especially when she was wearing this well-fitting suit, her slender legs in silk stockings, hmm, playable for years…

“I think we should still talk about the recent market situation, Boss.”

Daisy unceremoniously interrupted Baron’s matchmaker enthusiasm…

Chapter 335: Curtain Pulled?

“As you can see, after a full six months of consolidation, international oil prices have recently entered a clear upward channel with the influx of funds.”

Daisy brought up the international oil price trend chart on the computer and said to Barron:

“We’ve mobilized the trading seats we control to close positions in multiple crude oil futures markets. However, the main markets are still the London International Petroleum Exchange and the New York Mercantile Exchange. The good news is that we can complete the closing of positions before the 22nd…”

Seeing Daisy’s expression, Barron said with a smile:

“Do you have any other thoughts on the trend of crude oil prices?”

“I think that in the long term, crude oil prices will definitely continue to rise. We actually don’t need to do this kind of short-term trading every time. Even if we do wave trading, we don’t need to completely close our positions. Keeping a portion of the base position will allow us to be more flexible…”

The logic is sound. After all, the amount of funds currently controlled by DS Investment Company is no longer at the same level as when they first started investing. Both establishing positions and closing positions require more time…

But the key is that Barron now needs to consider another factor, which is to keep funds to await a possible attack—after all, he has very obviously shown his weakness to certain people, so when the other party launches an attack, he will definitely need funds to deal with it.

If it weren’t for this, what Daisy said was indeed the most suitable way for them to operate in the futures market with such a massive amount of funds, especially when they could foresee that crude oil prices would continue to rise over the next few years.

However, Barron was not in a position to explain this to Daisy—even though he trusted Daisy, keeping the number of people who knew about certain things to a minimum was always the safest.

“So, this time, the crude oil futures portion of the Mars Fund, we will still hold it long-term, and our funds will have other uses in the future…”

Since Barron said so, Daisy didn’t express any further opinions.

After all, although she initially had doubts about Barron’s judgment as a “rich playboy,” with the continuous success of DS Capital over the past two years, even Barron himself might not be as confident in his own judgment as Daisy was.

…

The helicopter landed on Fantasy Island, and the air currents lifted Barron’s trench coat, making him look even more extraordinary.

“Welcome, my friends…”

Barron gave Cameron, who had gotten off the helicopter, a hug, and then said to the man behind him:

“Mr. Johnson, it’s a pleasure to meet you. Today is indeed a good day.”

“Hello, Your Grace. I have to say, the scenery here is amazing.”

Yes, the people who came to Fantasy Island today were Barron’s “old friend,” Cameron, and the new friend he brought, Member of Parliament Mr. Johnson.

Speaking of which, Johnson was two years older than Cameron, and they both became Members of Parliament in the same year.

However, compared to Cameron at this time, Johnson’s position in the Conservative Party was slightly inferior.

After all, at the end of last year, Cameron had already become the Vice Chairman of the Conservative Party, and now he also serves as the head of policy affairs in the Shadow Cabinet. At his current age of 38, he could be said to be in high spirits.

Even so, Barron would not neglect Johnson. After all, this person also had a promising future.

In addition to the well-known fact that Johnson would succeed Cameron in the future and become the British Prime Minister, in 2008, he would also defeat the current Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, and become the Mayor of London.

Speaking of which, the current Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, although from a Labour Party background, did not get along well with the Prime Minister.

The reason is that Ken Livingstone has been in the Labour Party for over 30 years. He has won the love of the Labour Party’s grassroots members, but he is not tolerated by the Labour Party’s high-level officials.

He is willing to talk to Sinn Féin and the Irish Republican Army, supports the rainbow, supports the European single currency policy, and also calls for the abolition of the monarchy, which is incompatible with the mainstream of British politics.

Due to his left-wing stance, he is known as “Red Ken.”

Former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher did not like him, considering him a “troublemaker,” and the current Prime Minister once called him a “disaster for London.”

As everyone knows, London has two mayors. One is the “Lord Mayor of London,” who is responsible for the City of London. Within London, the Lord Mayor of London has the highest priority and considerable traditional privileges, power, and rights.

The term of office for the Lord Mayor of London is one year. Traditionally, each year, representatives from the 25 wards of the City of London are chosen from the councilors on Michaelmas Day (September 29th). The City of London is primarily the financial center of Britain, so the Lord Mayor of London is considered the spokesperson for the entire British financial industry.

The other mayor is the Mayor of London, who is the mayor of Greater London.

The old city of London, with a population of over 7 million, had never had its own mayor. In 1999, the ruling Labour Party government decided to allow a bill to elect the mayor of London democratically. Livingstone immediately announced his intention to run for Mayor of London.

The Labour Party was worried that Livingstone’s election would go against the Labour Party’s existing line, and hoped that he would show “loyalty to the Labour Party” and withdraw from the election, but Livingstone was unmoved.

Livingstone’s various signs of independence angered the Labour Party government, and the Labour Party eventually nominated Health Secretary Frank Dobson to run for Mayor of London.

This move angered Livingstone, and he decided to bypass the Labour Party and announce his candidacy as an independent candidate.

After Livingstone announced his candidacy as an independent candidate, the current Prime Minister simply expelled Livingstone from the Labour Party.

In the end, as an independent candidate, Livingstone actually won the election and served as Mayor of London for eight years, eventually being defeated by Conservative Party candidate Johnson in 2008…

Although Livingstone was not fond of the current Prime Minister and often criticized the American President’s war in Iraq, it seemed that he and Barron had some common ground…

However, this person is actually very difficult to deal with. From his clear and consistent claim to abolish the monarchy, it can be seen that he certainly has no good feelings towards the aristocracy, and his left-leaning ideology also opposes the Labour Party’s “privatization” policy of many industries, so he naturally would not stand on Barron’s side.

Just as not long ago, in an interview, he openly opposed the Global Industry Investment Fund’s acquisition of the London Stock Exchange, demanding that the government directly stop this acquisition…

Although in the original timeline, Livingstone did not step down from the position of Mayor of London until 2008, if possible, Barron naturally hoped to have him “retire early.”

Today, since Johnson could come to Fantasy Island with Cameron, he naturally also intended to get on Barron’s boat and make their relationship closer.

Of course, this was also what Barron was happy to see. Therefore, he was very obvious in his efforts to win over the two, especially Johnson.

To take the relationship a step further, of course, the first thing is to “be worthy of trust.” Therefore, also in the resort hotel, after sitting down with Cameron and Johnson, Barron signaled to Dylan Ozdermir, who was dressed in a seductive leather outfit as the “Queen,” and the curtain slowly opened…

Chapter 336: The London Stock Exchange Changes Hands

“Your Grace, Mr. Cameron and Mr. Johnson have already arrived in the cigar room…”

Hearing the cool voice of Dylan Özdemir coming from the door after a knock, Baron replied:

“Alright, I understand.”

“Are you leaving already? Your Grace…”

It has to be said, Rosie Huntington truly deserved to be a future supermodel. Her proud figure, at this moment, without a stitch of clothing, was captivating.

“Yes, I’ll have someone send you back later.”

After Baron chose Rosie Huntington during his previous visit here with the Duke of Westminster and the Crown Prince, she also received corresponding resources. As a newly emerging model, she appeared in fashion magazines like Teen Vogue and ELLE Girl.

After Baron acquired the Gucci Group, his resources in the fashion world also began to grow richer…

This time, he still called this woman over.

“I’ll be waiting for you…”

After giving the young Duke a kiss, Rosie Huntington said with tender affection.

…

On November 3rd, at three o’clock in the afternoon, American time, George W. Bush, accompanied by his wife Laura, delivered a speech at the Reagan Center in Washington, announcing his victory in the re-election campaign.

And two days later, Baron received a message that George W. Bush had once again invited him to attend the New Year’s Eve banquet to be held at the White House.

Last year, Baron had received such an invitation, but at the time, he had declined it.

Now, it was obvious that after George W. Bush won re-election, he first needed to give his “financial backers” a shot in the arm, and he would definitely meet and communicate with Baron at that time.

So he replied to the other party, saying that he was honored to receive this invitation and would attend as scheduled.

At the same time, Baron also gave instructions to Protector Military Services, to continue expanding their armed personnel… uh, the scale of their security personnel, striving to increase the number of employees in Iraq to over 4,000 by the end of the year.

“How is the Athena Fund doing?”

“Currently, we have completed the distribution of funds and interest for the matured fund products, including funds from the Stuart Mining Group and the employee pension funds of Associated British Foods (ABF), all of which have chosen to continue purchasing, and have set the term to two years or more…”

The Athena Fund was a quantitative investment fund that began operating last year. This fund, based on Baron’s grasp of the overall trend of the securities market, used data models and computer-automated orders to conduct quantitative trading.

In the beginning, although Baron attracted a lot of funds for the Athena Fund’s investment, because this was still a relatively cutting-edge investment method, and DS Capital did not have any relevant performance before, therefore even at the beginning, Baron offered a guarantee of principal, and initially, most of the returns were higher than current financial products, but these funds mostly chose a more conservative one-year lock-in investment, which have now successively matured.

With the operation of this year, the Athena Fund’s data model has also been continuously improved, and its stability and accuracy have improved significantly compared to the beginning.

Coupled with Baron’s own grasp of the overall cycle trend, the average return on investment for the first year reached over 55%.

This initial fund of over $1 billion, after delivering fixed returns to users, also brought DS Investment Company over $400 million in revenue. Of course, after deducting various operating costs, the net profit was also over $350 million.

After the great success of the first investment cycle, those investors also successively increased the amount of funds they purchased for this product, and many no longer chose only a one-year term, but rather longer terms. After all, the longer the lock-in period, the higher the fixed income that could be obtained…

Currently, the total amount of funds in the Athena Fund has exceeded $3 billion, and the expected return for next year will be much higher than this year. This is a very good expectation for DS Investment Company. After all, the risk of the Athena Fund is lower and more stable compared to the Mars Fund, which is determined by the characteristics of quantitative trading itself.

…

As of the end of October, the London Stock Exchange had not found another buyer willing to accept the acquisition price of 1.5 billion pounds. Ultimately, without further review by the British government of the Global Industrial Investment Fund’s acquisition offer, the London Stock Exchange agreed to GII Fund’s acquisition price, which was a 50% premium.

Thus, after holding a share ratio of over 35% of the London Stock Exchange, the GII Fund will acquire the remaining less than 65% of the London Stock Exchange’s shares at a total valuation of 1.5 billion pounds, thereby privatizing this British and even the world’s oldest securities exchange, thus completing its 100% acquisition.

“We will continue to keep the London Stock Exchange under the supervision of relevant institutions in Britain, and invest more funds to upgrade its various technologies, so that this oldest securities exchange will gain a more leading position in future competition.”

After the acquisition was completed, GII Fund’s CEO, Fien Hudson, said this to the media.

And the completion of GII Fund’s acquisition of the London Stock Exchange, besides Baron, the Saudi Public Investment Fund and the Kuwait Investment Authority were even more excited.

After all, the London Stock Exchange has the most and largest oil and energy companies listed globally, including energy giants like British Petroleum (BP) and Royal Dutch Shell, which are all listed on the London Stock Exchange, so it can be said that the London Stock Exchange holds a great deal of relevant data, which is of great significance to these Middle Eastern oil-exporting countries.

This is also why the Qatar Investment Authority later invested a huge sum of money in the London Stock Exchange. However, although as the main investor of the GII Fund, according to the original agreement, the Saudi Public Investment Fund and the Kuwait Investment Authority only have the right to final profit dividends and do not have the right to interfere with the companies acquired by the GII Fund…

Otherwise, the British side would not have said that they were “neutral” and did not interfere too much with the GII Fund’s acquisition of the London Stock Exchange.

After completing the acquisition of the London Stock Exchange, the GII Fund did not immediately make too many adjustments to the management of the London Stock Exchange. Clara Furse still served as the CEO of the London Stock Exchange, only replacing two members of the management team.

The reason for this was, of course, that Clara Furse, after seeing that it was difficult to stop the GII Fund’s acquisition of the London Stock Exchange, promptly “jumped ship” and pledged her loyalty to Baron.

The management team they replaced were also the two who expressed the most strong attitudes towards the GII Fund’s acquisition at the time…

Anyway, for Baron, controlling the London Stock Exchange did not need to be too urgent; it was better to proceed step by step. This could also avoid the turmoil of the London Stock Exchange, so as not to arouse dissatisfaction from the government.

Chapter 337: Fanning the Flames

“Your Grace, there’s something you need to know…”

Upon hearing the report on the phone, Baron’s expression turned cold, and he said calmly:

“I understand. Have Annabella respond to the media. No one else should speak out of turn.”

The call was from Nigel Inkster, Baron’s intelligence advisor. He learned that today, a Liberal Democrat MP had accepted an interview with the World News. In this interview, this MP named John Coren had been attacking Baron and his DS Capital, stating that he would submit a motion to Parliament demanding a thorough investigation into whether the funds in the Global Industries Investment Fund, which involved sovereign wealth funds from Middle Eastern countries, would threaten the financial security of Britain. In addition, he questioned whether the GII Fund’s acquisition of the London Stock Exchange would lead to data leaks due to the presence of Middle Eastern funds.

According to Nigel, this report would soon appear in the latest issue of the newspaper, so Baron instructed his public relations advisor, Annabella Nolan, to handle the matter.

They both keenly felt that this matter was unusual. After all, with Baron’s current status, for an MP to suddenly attack him with such sharp questions, either the MP had a problem with his brain, or it signaled that a storm was about to arrive.

And as a British Member of Parliament, well, the probability of having a problem with his brain, though possible, wouldn’t be that high.

Sure enough, things were not that simple. The day after this matter was reported, another MP spoke out, believing that many of DS Capital’s investments were very aggressive, and that a considerable amount of public pension funds had entered into them. The relevant departments should be vigilant about this and investigate the details.

In addition to this, in the large-scale financing that DS Capital had undertaken with Standard Chartered Bank, which it controlled, the collateral ratio was very high. Whether this involved violations also needed to be investigated by the relevant departments.

These sudden events also attracted public and media attention to DS Capital and Baron himself. Following the World News, media outlets including The Times and The Guardian, as well as some programs on Sky Television, made relevant reports.

“Currently, there are indeed some MPs in Parliament who have proposed relevant motions, and they are under discussion. I also think this matter is unusual…”

In the evening, Baron met with Cameron in his villa in Richmond Park. He brought up the latest developments in Parliament to Baron:

“The key is that the media is constantly following up on the reports, and after all, you are the richest man in Britain. Such matters are also very likely to attract public attention. I think the possibility of an investigation is extremely high…”

“I’m not afraid of any investigation at all, but since they’re making a move now, I’m afraid there will definitely be further actions later. It won’t be that simple.”

Baron’s words somewhat reassured Cameron. After all, given their personal relationship, if something happened to Baron, it would definitely involve himself…

“As for public opinion, this time the News Corporation is taking the lead, and those other newspapers are mostly just following suit…”

Not only on the Conservative Party side, but on the Labour Party side as well, Baron contacted Brown. Although the Prime Minister was still the leader of the Labour Party, Brown still had a great influence within the Labour Party and was the second-in-command of the Labour Party.

The MP who attacked Baron this time, one came from the Liberal Democrats, and the other came from the Labour Party…

“I want you to investigate these two people in detail. Do they have any scandals? Also, who is behind them? Everything needs to be clarified.”

At this time, Baron’s intelligence system also had to start operating at full speed.

……

“The stock price of Apex Media has fallen for two consecutive trading days due to the recent news. By the close today, it has cumulatively fallen by 15%, from the previous 25 pounds to the current 21.26 pounds…”

Upon hearing this news from Daisy, Baron did not have much emotional fluctuation. It was just that his company, Apex Media, was the only listed company he currently had. Regardless of whether the market was really reacting to the recent events, or if someone was taking the opportunity to dump shares, the impact wouldn’t be too great. After all, he had pledged Apex Media’s shares to Standard Chartered Bank, not North Rock Bank…

However, it wasn’t completely without impact. If the government really investigated Standard Chartered Bank’s loan financing matters, and Apex Media’s stock price fell too low, and Standard Chartered Bank didn’t have corresponding measures – the decline in the market value of the collateral would definitely have a chain effect on the mortgage loan – then when investigating this matter, they could use this as a pretext.

“Continue to wait. If it continues to fall, then hold the stock price at 20 pounds, use an offshore account to do it, and don’t have any direct contact with DS Capital…”

I’m afraid that at this time, the other party was also certain that Baron didn’t have much money after acquiring the Gucci Group…

But for Baron, it wasn’t a problem at all. Apex Group itself had only issued 25 million shares of floating stock, accounting for only 20% of the total share capital. At a price of 20 pounds, it would only cost 500 million pounds to take them over…

What’s more, the other party probably couldn’t get that many shares of floating stock at all. Getting 10% would be the limit.

What made Baron most unhappy was the investigation into DS Capital, because DS Capital itself was not a listed company, and he didn’t need to disclose its operating content, including the source and attribution of funds, as well as the direction of investment.

But if the government investigated this, he would have to face all sorts of possibilities.

His current confidence lay in the profits and principal from DS Capital’s previous investment in international crude oil futures, totaling more than 8 billion US dollars, which were in offshore accounts. These generally didn’t need to be disclosed to Britain, so he could deal with the subsequent matters.

Baron was more curious about how the other party would make their move next?

“Don’t worry about those reports, darling. As for those reporters, just ignore them. I’ll have more bodyguards for you soon. You just focus on your work.”

As Baron’s girlfriend, Bonnie had also encountered many interviews from reporters recently, but she hadn’t responded to any of them.

At this time, Baron would also strengthen his protection of her.

Not only her, but also in Rebecca’s place, security personnel were increased. After all, his daughter also needed to be well protected.

“Are you really okay? Darling.”

Seeing Bonnie’s undisguised concern, Baron shook his head, held her, and said with ease:

“They’re just clowns. It will be resolved soon.”

“Then I’m relieved, darling.”

Chapter 338: Enemy?

“Your Grace, we’ve received a notice from the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) of the UK, requesting that we answer questions regarding the source of funds for the Global Industry Investment Fund and the purpose of this acquisition of the London Stock Exchange in three days.”

GII Fund CEO, Finn Hudson, said on the phone:

“We have already prepared the relevant agreements and documents, and we will explain them to the CMA at that time.”

“Alright, in fact, we have already explained the acquisition of the London Stock Exchange to these institutions before. This time, it’s just going through the process again, and the problem shouldn’t be too big.”

From the information received from various sources, it seemed that the regulatory side wouldn’t intervene too much in the GII Fund and the acquisition of the London Stock Exchange. The main focus was still on the review of DS Capital, so Barron reassured Finn Hudson.

Of course, they still needed to respond seriously, but Barron wouldn’t let the other party manipulate him at will.

“How’s it going over there?”

Barron continued to call Mikhail, asking.

“He seems normal recently, but occasionally different cars come to his house at night, leaving after about two or three hours…”

“What are the results of the investigation?”

“The other party is very cautious, not only is the return route extremely difficult to track, but they also change cars in certain places. It will take time to avoid exposing their tracks…”

“I understand.”

After hanging up the phone, Barron picked up an invitation on his desk, a playful smile on his face.

……

“Your Grace, we’ve arrived.”

After the Rolls-Royce stopped, the car door opened, and Barron got out of the car.

Before him was a mansion with an ancient, simple gate.

Barron straightened his clothes, and seeing the bodyguards in the motorcade had all gotten out of their cars and were on alert around him, he showed a faint smile on his face and walked through the gate.

“Welcome, Your Grace.”

After he walked through the gate, the person who came to meet him was Colin Hall. After the two shook hands, under the other’s guidance, Barron entered the mansion.

Entering the door, after passing a long corridor, was a brightly lit hall. The lively atmosphere inside was completely different from the cold outside.

There were already many guests in the hall, but with Barron’s appearance, countless eyes turned to the young and handsome Duke, dressed in a suit.

“Is that the Duke of Devonshire? He is even more handsome in person than in the photos…”

Among the female guests, a girl in formal attire couldn’t help but exclaim to her friend beside her.

“Indeed, very handsome, but it’s a pity he already has a girlfriend.”

“That host? Never mind, he’s not married yet, and besides, I heard that he rarely brings that ‘Cinderella’ to such occasions, doesn’t that say something?”

The girl spoke, her gaze towards Barron becoming more and more fervent.

……

The ball held by Colin Hall was attended not only by people from the financial industry but also by many wealthy people who had various business dealings with their family.

Therefore, along the way, Barron met quite a few people he knew or had only met. He responded politely to the enthusiasm of these people.

“Mrs. Hall, you are truly beautiful today, which makes the gentlemen present extremely envious of Mr. Hall…”

Looking at Barron, who spoke with words of praise, Catherine Hall’s inner emotions were complex.

The young man before her was very different from the rebellious youth she had seen a few years ago.

He was already tall and wore a well-fitting suit, making him even more extraordinary; and at this time, Barron had more of a mature and calm temperament, as well as the intangible momentum cultivated by being in a high position for a long time, but it didn’t feel aggressive… If Catherine spoke Mandarin, she might understand that using “gentle and refined as jade” could more appropriately describe the feeling Barron gave her.

“It’s a pleasure to see you, Your Grace.”

Catherine’s face had a charming smile, but Barron could feel that there was a hint of distance in it.

“You invited me here today, you have something to talk about, Mr. Hall, you can speak now.”

When Colin Hall brought Barron to the study upstairs, Barron sat on the sofa, found a comfortable position, and said to him.

“Yes, Your Grace, it’s about the loan from our North Rock Bank…”

Barron smiled slightly and said:

“Those loans have a long time before they mature, and some of them were only recently agreed upon.”

“But the problem is the recent situation…”

As Colin Hall’s voice fell, Barron looked at him and said calmly:

“Nothing will happen, but Mr. Hall, just say what you have to say directly.”

“First, I need to explain that this is not my personal opinion, of course I cherish your friendship, but the board of directors is also putting pressure on me, requiring a re-examination of whether the collateral qualifications are sufficient for the loans that North Rock Bank has issued to DS Capital…”

With a somewhat regretful expression, Colin Hall said:

“You know, this is not just a matter for North Rock Bank. We know that the shares of Top Summit Media you hold are all mortgaged to Standard Chartered Bank, but the price of this company’s stock has been falling recently. Of course, as the largest shareholder of Standard Chartered Bank, you don’t need to worry about the bank’s loan matters, but if this continues, the regulatory authorities will inevitably conduct a review, and this will involve not only Standard Chartered Bank, but also our North Rock Bank, or Barclays Bank, will be involved.”

“I reiterate, Mr. Hall, the current situation is just a small problem. All my companies have no problems. If North Rock Bank continues according to the agreement, then we are still close partners, and if you also want to conduct a so-called ‘review’…”

Barron shrugged and said:

“That’s fine too. You can find a third party that we both recognize to re-evaluate my mortgaged companies at any time, but I still don’t think it’s necessary to be so anxious.”

“I will try my best to persuade the board of directors, Your Grace, you must know that I am very willing to be your ‘close partner’, this is a rare friendship.”

Colin Hall picked up the wine bottle, poured the liquor into two glasses, and handed one of the glasses to Barron…

“To friendship.”

Barron clinked glasses with him, took a light sip, the taste of this whiskey was good…

“My friends will all be fine, Mr. Hall.”

“What about your enemies? Your Grace.”

Putting the wine glass on the table, Colin Hall looked at Barron and asked.

“Enemies?”

Barron met his gaze and said faintly:

“They will regret it, if they still have the chance…”

Chapter 339: Which Cup?

“Hello, Your Grace, I am Benjamin Rothschild…”

After Baron had that conversation with Colin Hall, he met this middle-aged man.

When the other party stated his name and handed Baron his business card, Baron’s pupils contracted.

Benjamin Rothschild, Executive Vice President of Rothschild & Co.

Whether from the other party’s surname or his position, he was from the Rothschild family.

In his previous life, Baron had, of course, read that book that was once a bestseller in China… Currency Wars when he was young.

From that time on, the claims that the Rothschild family controlled the Federal Reserve, controlled the world, and that the family was the world’s wealthiest and most mysterious family had spread widely in China…

In fact, there were many fallacies in this. The real Rothschild family did have its glory before World War II, once controlling the financial lifeline of many European countries, including Britain, but in the United States, it had long been squeezed out by local capital. Coupled with several misjudgments later, the Rothschild family, although its energy was still not to be underestimated, was now mostly limited to Europe… and did not rank very high globally.

Last year, in global mergers and acquisitions, LCF Rothschild Group ranked only around 15th.

And it should be known that the Rothschild family also had many branches. It could be said that many members of the Rothschild family had been marginalized and were not much different from ordinary people.

But the Rothschild Group still possessed considerable strength. For example, LCF Rothschild Group’s main business was in Europe, and its managed assets were around 80 to 90 billion euros.

The Rothschild family still controlled about 49% of the shares of LCF Rothschild Group, and Rothschild & Co belonged to LCF Rothschild Group, also known as NM Rothschild Bank. This bank mainly engaged in investment banking business and was managed by Benjamin and his father.

In this moment, Baron had already recalled the information about Benjamin Rothschild in front of him.

After all, at this time, he certainly needed to understand the basic information of the few financial giants in Europe.

“Hello, Mr. Rothschild, I wonder if you are seeing me this year for…?”

“For friendship, Your Grace.”

Benjamin Rothschild revealed a confident smile and said to Baron.

…

The motorcade drove on the road in London, and the neon lights of the night outside the car window flowed.

Baron, sitting in the back seat of the Rolls-Royce, was recalling the meeting with Benjamin Rothschild just now…

“Friendship? Mr. Rothschild, friendship always requires some basis.”

“Your business is developing well, and we have funds. This is the basis of our friendship, Your Grace.”

Benjamin walked to the table, picked up Baron’s glass, and said:

“This is your glass, Your Grace…”

With his other hand, he opened the bottle of whiskey and poured it into the glass…

“And our funds, like this liquor, the ice in the glass has no value, but when the liquor soaks the ice, it becomes delicious.”

He handed the glass to Baron:

“What do you think, Your Grace.”

“I have many glasses, I don’t know which one you want to make delicious?”

Meeting Baron’s gaze, Benjamin Rothschild said:

“We Rothschild family are only interested in the biggest one.”

“Oh? You mean O2 Telecom?”

“No, it’s DS Capital.”

…

“Mr. Rothschild, it seems he is not prepared to accept your friendship.”

After Baron left, Colin Hall said to Benjamin.

Benjamin Rothschild sat in Baron’s previous position, his gaze fixed on the glass of whiskey that the other party had placed there and hadn’t touched.

He picked up the glass, carefully observed the liquor soaking the ice in the glass, and said lightly to Colin Hall:

“What a beautiful color, good wine cannot be wasted, Mr. Hall.”

“So what are you going to do?”

“There will always be a way, and besides, don’t we have you?”

He looked at Colin Hall and drank the wine in the glass:

“I must drink this glass of wine.”

…

November 10th, Wednesday.

Finn Hudson, CEO of Global Industrial Investment Fund, went to the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) in Britain for questioning.

At the same time, the Financial Services Authority (FSA) announced that it would investigate Standard Chartered Bank for DS Capital’s loan financing.

After the London Stock Exchange opened that day, the stock price of Summit Media continued to fall, but when its stock price fell to 20 pounds, it was as if an invisible hand was firmly holding it at this price…

No matter how many sell orders followed, they would be swept away at this price.

In the end, a huge buy order of 2 million shares appeared on the buy side, which made many investment institutions understand that there was a large amount of capital protecting the stock price of Summit Media, and 20 pounds was its bottom line.

“Mr. Rothschild, this huge buy order now prevents us from continuing to short Summit Media in a fragmented way…”

“Digest it in one fell swoop!”

Hearing the Boss’s instructions, a massive sell order immediately smashed the buy order of 2 million shares.

However, immediately after, another buy order of 2.5 million shares, priced at 20 pounds, appeared…

“Boss, this…”

“Check it out, whose funds are buying Summit Media’s shares!”

Benjamin Rothschild frowned and said.

He picked up the phone, dialed it, and asked:

“Mr. Hall, are you sure DS Capital doesn’t have more funds now?”

“DS Capital has just completed the acquisition of the Gucci Group. According to our calculations, they don’t have any surplus funds, and most of their company shares have been mortgaged, even the shares of the Gucci Group have been mortgaged to Standard Chartered Bank…”

On the phone, it was Colin Hall’s voice. He was naturally also paying attention to the stock price of Summit Media today. This was the key point for them to leverage DS Capital… or rather, to push down the dominoes.

“In this situation, if Standard Chartered Bank dares to add more loans against the wind, then the FSA will definitely pursue the responsibility. If he uses the funds of the Mars Fund…”

“The Mars Fund is also under our attention. He won’t do that if he doesn’t want to cause trouble!”

…

“Your Grace…”

Baron looked at Nigel Inkster, who walked into the office, and casually asked:

“What is it, any news?”

“Yes, those two MPs are not clean themselves… especially that Liberal Democrat MP, it can be said to be wonderful.”

Nigel handed a document to Baron, watching him flip through the contents and asked:

“Do we need to give him a taste of his own medicine?”

“Not yet, he’s just a small fry. Making a fuss now will easily make others think we are retaliating.”

Chapter 340: It’s Your Turn, Mr. Hall

“Mr. Rothschild, we’ve only been able to trace the purchases of Summit Media shares to an overseas offshore company. As you know, it’s not easy to investigate the details of such companies…”

Upon hearing the report from his subordinate, Benjamin Rothschild didn’t immediately say anything, but instead tapped his fingers on the table in a certain rhythm.

Although he had anticipated this to some extent from the beginning, he was still not in a good mood with this result.

Summit Media’s stock price had stabilized at a price of 20 pounds for two consecutive trading days, supported by that “invisible hand”…

This situation had also attracted the attention of many institutions.

They needed to know that they were buying these Summit Media shares at a high price compared to the current price, and selling them at a low price…

If they ultimately couldn’t achieve their goal, then NM Rothschild Bank would suffer significant losses.

Even though Benjamin and his father controlled the operation and management of this investment bank, such matters could still cause dissatisfaction among other shareholders…

Compared to Goldman Sachs, Citigroup, and JP Morgan, the shares of these Wall Street investment banks were relatively dispersed, and they implemented a management system. The Rothschild Group was still managed in a family style.

But even so, the entire Rothschild family “only” held 49% of the shares of LCF Rothschild Group, and there were many other shareholders. It wasn’t like they could act arbitrarily.

This was different from DS Capital, which was 100% controlled by Barron. It could be said that the Rothschild family was too old-fashioned and conservative compared to Wall Street capital… but compared to the Rothschild family, this Duke of Devonshire was simply traditionally conservative!

Did you think that if he didn’t achieve his goal, the only loss would be the difference between buying high and selling low in Summit Media?

Of course, it wasn’t just that. Besides the time and connections spent on this, the original NM Rothschild Bank had also planned to profit from shorting Summit Media’s stock price during this process.

But the problem was that the premise of shorting was to borrow shares in advance and sell them, then, through this method and the cooperation of news coverage, to make other shareholders lose confidence in the target stock, thus triggering a sell-off, so that they could secretly buy back the shares at a low price and return them.

But now, Summit Media’s stock price had fallen from above 25 pounds to the current 20 pounds.

However, it was being propped up by funds from an unknown source with large orders. Under such circumstances, the “confidence” of other shareholders was being kept alive, and as time went on, as long as Benjamin’s side couldn’t push the price below the “threshold” of 20 pounds, then “confidence” would continue to recover.

In this situation, NM Rothschild Bank couldn’t buy Summit Media shares at a low price, but instead needed more shares to sell to suppress the stock price.

This was also why Benjamin Rothschild had been so concerned about how much capital DS Capital had.

Now, he needed to make a decision, whether to continue, throw out more shares, or cut his losses.

The sound of tapping on the table continued, and his subordinates were still waiting for Benjamin’s next instruction.

Today was Friday, and also the last trading day of the week…

“How many shares do we have left?”

When the tapping on the table stopped, Benjamin Rothschild asked.

“We currently have about 7.5 million shares. If we short, we can borrow some more… adding up to about 12 million shares. Because Summit Media’s outstanding shares are only 25 million shares in total, our shorting space is limited.”

“Have we figured out how many shares the other party has bought?”

Benjamin’s subordinate, of course, knew he was referring to the offshore company that was propping up Summit Media’s stock price at 20 pounds. He immediately replied:

“It should be around 5 million shares. Currently, there are buy orders for 2.5 million shares at 20 pounds…”

“Then immediately release 3 million shares for me!”

A stern look appeared in Benjamin Rothschild’s eyes, and he said:

“Let’s see if they will reveal their tracks…”

“Boss, you mean… if they hold more than 5% of the shares, they need to declare their intentions? But it’s also possible that the other party has prepared more than one offshore company.”

According to the regulations of the London Stock Exchange, when buying shares in the secondary market exceeds 5% of a company’s total share capital, it is necessary to declare their intentions, whether they have the intention of acquiring…

Based on the current total share capital of Summit Media, which is 125 million shares, a 5% shareholding ratio corresponds to 6.25 million shares…

Therefore, if they bought the next 2.5 million shares, the other party’s shareholding ratio would inevitably exceed 5%, and they would need to declare their intentions.

Of course, as Benjamin’s subordinate said, there are countermeasures for every policy. In many acquisitions, they would initially distribute their holdings through different companies or institutions to make each one below 5%…

So if the other party prepared more than one company to buy Summit Media’s shares, even if the total shareholding exceeded 6.25 million shares, the shareholding of a single company would still be below 5%, which could avoid the declaration of intentions.

“So we need to try it out. This can also show us their capital.”

“But DS Capital hasn’t personally entered the arena yet…”

After saying this, seeing Benjamin Rothschild’s cold expression, his subordinate wisely shut his mouth.

…

Soon, on Friday afternoon, a sell order of 2.5 million shares immediately opened the price at 20 pounds, but then, before the price could continue to fall, another buy order of 3 million shares at 20 pounds appeared!

And as Benjamin and his team had anticipated, no company declared that their holdings of Summit Media shares exceeded 5%. What this meant didn’t need to be said.

Looking at the time on his watch, it was two-thirty in the afternoon, and the market would close in half an hour.

“I want to see how much capital they have prepared…”

With his order, before the stock market closed, NM Rothschild Bank gradually sold off the remaining 5 million shares of Summit Media…

But Summit Media’s stock price was still firmly pinned at the price of 20 pounds, until the close of the day…

No company declared that its shareholding exceeded 5%!

This indicated that the other party had prepared more offshore companies, not just two!

“Alright, I understand, I’ll leave it to you.”

Hanging up the phone, Benjamin Rothschild looked at the closing price of Summit Media on the monitor, picked up the phone again, and dialed a number.

“Mr. Hall, the investigation of Standard Chartered Bank has not progressed. You know, because of the current performance of Summit Media’s stock price…”

“As long as we can bring the price down next week…”

Hearing Colin Hall’s words on the phone, Benjamin said lightly:

“But the FSA is also under great pressure, from the government and other members of parliament… Their investigation of Standard Chartered Bank cannot continue indefinitely… Moreover, I don’t think DS Capital really doesn’t have enough capital to deal with it, at least they should have other allies…”

“You mean…?”

“Now it’s your turn to do something, Mr. Hall. Frankly, we can withdraw at any time, with at most some losses, but you only have this one chance. Once the Duke has recovered, I’m afraid he won’t let you go, think about ‘London Star’…”

Chapter 341: Misunderstanding?

“It’s been a while, Miss Ayla.”

“Yes, Your Grace, the Duke.”

What Baron didn’t expect was to see Gabrielle, the daughter of the Duke of Kent, at this gathering of the Virgin family. It had been quite some time since they last met, especially after Baron started dating Bonnie. The last time she had shown him some interest, Baron hadn’t responded much. It wasn’t that Baron was heartless or particularly devoted, it was just that Gabrielle’s royal background wasn’t suitable for Baron to have too “deep” a relationship with her.

Considering that the Virgin family always maintained a special relationship with the royal family, it wasn’t too surprising to encounter her here.

“You seem to be getting more beautiful, Miss Ayla. Have you graduated now?”

“Yes, I just graduated this year. I’m currently working on some design-related projects.”

Of course, the encounter with Gabrielle was just a small interlude. Although Baron could still feel some special meaning in her eyes, just like his initial choice – although compared to Bonnie, Gabrielle’s background was more “noble,” whether it was her looks or figure, Gabrielle was considered a beauty among ordinary people, but Bonnie was far more outstanding.

In fact, Baron’s own identity didn’t place much importance on the so-called “noble background.” He didn’t need this to add any embellishment, and it would even become an obstacle for him in some aspects. Comparatively, Bonnie was more suitable for him.

“I’m very glad you could come here, Your Grace.”

“I missed the last time, this opportunity definitely can’t be missed again…”

After Baron excused himself from Gabrielle, he met the organizer of the gathering, Richard Branson, the founder of the Virgin Group. The other party also seemed very enthusiastic.

“I know you’ve had a little trouble recently, but it’s definitely not a big deal for you. But if I can help you, you can ask for anything…”

Lighting a cigar, Branson said with his signature smile, very sincerely.

As the youngest Duke in England, people of Branson’s caliber naturally knew some of the inside story of the recent troubles Baron had encountered.

After the stock price of Summit Media was “held up” by an “invisible hand” and stabilized at 20 pounds, it could be said that the current situation had undergone a subtle change.

Even though the investigation into DS Capital and Standard Chartered Bank was still ongoing, it was obvious that compared to before, Baron felt more and more “friendliness.”

You know, the Virgin Group also has Virgin Bank. Branson’s words also spoke volumes.

Whether he was sincere or just being polite, Baron couldn’t really ask for any help:

“Thank you very much, Sir Branson, but as you said, these are all small problems.”

“Haha, I knew it. Then enjoy today’s gathering, Your Grace. There are quite a few beauties here today.”

Branson winked at Baron and said.

Indeed, as he said, Branson’s gathering this time wasn’t just limited to the upper class and celebrities. He also invited many stars to attend, and there were indeed many beauties.

However, the beauty Baron noticed later wasn’t a star…

“Lady Hall, I didn’t expect to see you here…”

Seeing Catherine sitting with some of the noble ladies and socialites, including Gabrielle, Baron looked around and said to her:

“Why haven’t I seen Mr. Hall?”

“He has a cold recently, so he didn’t come today.”

To be honest, if it weren’t for his predecessor’s brother and his entanglements with Catherine, she did indeed look like an elegant, gentle, and very graceful noblewoman.

But the existence of those entanglements made Baron now unable to help but wonder what unknown things were hidden behind her gentle appearance.

“Your Grace…”

Just as Baron turned to leave, Catherine softly called out to him.

“What is it, Lady Hall?”

“Let’s go over there. Actually, I’ve always wanted to say something to you.”

Seeing Catherine gesture towards a relatively quiet corner on the second floor, Baron followed her upstairs after she got up.

It had to be said that although the style of Catherine’s dress today looked quite “conservative,” the tailoring of the dress was very fitting.

Like now, when she was going upstairs, Baron was walking behind her. Looking up, he could see the breathtaking curves, which were very eye-catching.

“I wonder what you want to say, Lady Hall.”

When Catherine stood still in front of a floor-to-ceiling window, Baron also stopped beside her, hands in his pockets, looking at her profile, and asked faintly.

“It’s about me and James. Yes, I broke off our engagement back then, and later…”

Catherine glanced at Baron, then reached out and pulled open a gap in the curtains, looking out the window, and said:

“Later, I married Colin, but it wasn’t what you think. There were other hidden reasons…”

James Cavendish, Baron’s good elder brother. Hearing Catherine mention him again, Baron casually asked:

“What do you think I think?”

“You would think that I…”

Taking a deep breath, Catherine was silent for a moment and said:

“Perhaps you think I’m sorry to James, but even if he were in front of me, I could say that what happened between us before, I… may have been lacking in affection for him, but before that, I definitely didn’t do anything to hurt him.”

“It’s meaningless to say these things now, isn’t it?”

Hearing Baron’s words, Catherine met his gaze and said softly:

“But I don’t want you to misunderstand.”

“In fact, Lady Hall, I’m not interested in the story between you and my brother, and I don’t have the childish idea of wanting to avenge him, just like with the Devonshire family, my eyes will only be on the future…”

Baron took a step forward, approaching Catherine’s face, and said softly:

“If you’re not standing on the opposite side of me in the future, there’s no need to worry so much.”

“Baron… you…”

Seeing her step back, leaning against the wall behind her.

Baron smiled and turned to leave:

“Also, Lady Hall, I like the violet scent of your Dior perfume.”

…

“Baron, are you leaving?”

When Baron returned downstairs, he met Gabrielle again. Hearing her question, Baron nodded and said:

“Yes, Miss Ayla, I have something else…”

“Oh…”

“Right…”

Gabrielle was looking at Baron’s back, her face lost in thought. When she heard him say this, a gleam flashed in her eyes:

“What is it, Baron?”

“I saw you and Catherine Hall seemed to be chatting quite warmly.”

“Lady Hall? We’ve known each other for a while, and we’re quite good friends. She also has some unique views on design…”

Gabrielle replied, but she didn’t know what she was thinking, and a smile appeared on the corner of her mouth.

“Oh, so it’s after you graduated and returned to London that things heated up.”

“We’ve met quite a few times in the past month. What’s wrong?”

“Nothing, I have a lot of business dealings with her husband, Mr. Hall, so I just asked casually. I’ll go first, Miss Ayla.”

Chapter 342: Meeting

“The current inquiry results regarding the Global Industry Investment Fund are in…”

GII Fund CEO, Finn Hudson, reported to Baron in person:

“We have resubmitted the GII Fund’s investment agreement to the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), stating that the Middle Eastern sovereign wealth fund is only a partial investor and will not be involved in the management of the companies we acquire, nor will it have access to any private data. They have also acknowledged this statement…”

The review of the GII Fund was also the simplest, because from the very formation of the GII Fund, its related agreements had already distinguished the rights and obligations of investors and managers, and in actual operation, no personnel from any investor would participate in the GII Fund; they would only have supervisory power over the entire fund’s finances.

“I will arrange a special interview for you this afternoon, and these reports will appear in tomorrow’s newspaper and tomorrow morning’s SDTV news program.”

Tomorrow was Monday, and a new week of the stock market would begin operating, so releasing such reports before the market opened would also boost the share price of Summit Media.

It was just that he didn’t know what choices those Jewish people would make then?

In addition, pressure also needed to be applied to the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). Baron did not want them to keep delaying the review of Standard Chartered Bank and DS Capital.

…

On Monday, with the news that the CMA officials announced the end of their review of the GII Fund and found no violations in its acquisition of the London Stock Exchange, market confidence was greatly boosted.

Although the GII Fund and Summit Media had no direct relationship, they both belonged to DS Capital’s industry, which also boosted Summit Media’s share price.

After the market opened, the heavy selling pressure of the previous week did not reappear. Summit Media’s stock price jumped up, opening at 21.45 pounds, from the closing price of 20 pounds last week!

“Mr. Rothschild, Summit Media’s stock price is continuously rising. What should we do next…”

Last week, NM Rothschild Bank had already sold all of its Summit Media shares at 20 pounds. Now, if they wanted to continue to suppress the stock price, they could only short sell borrowed shares…

Benjamin Rothschild’s expression was blank, and he said lightly:

“Don’t rush today, let’s see how things go.”

As soon as the biggest selling pressure disappeared, Summit Media’s stock price slowly rose, reaching a high of 22.36 pounds during the trading session, and finally closed at 21.97 pounds, an increase of nearly 10% compared to the closing price last Friday!

What satisfied Baron the most was that during this day, they almost didn’t use their own funds to boost the stock price…

After all, at this time, he didn’t want to be targeted by the FCA for manipulating the stock price again.

“Have you checked Miss Ella’s situation?”

“Yes, Your Grace, she was picked up by Mrs. Hall today…”

Taking the in-ear headphones handed over by Mikhail, Baron looked at him and said:

“I hope everything goes smoothly today…”

“It will go smoothly, Your Grace.”

Baron didn’t say that he hoped so, but Mikhail also understood that if anything went wrong today, it was not just him, but Dylan Ozdemir on Dream Island would not see the sun tomorrow.

…

“Where is Mr. Hall? Mrs.”

“He is not convenient to come, so I need to tell you… the whole process of the matter.”

Baron met Catherine Hall, not at their home, but at a villa on the outskirts of London.

Catherine had personally called him and wanted to meet with him to talk about the matter between the Rothschild family and Colin Hall.

Of course, at such a time, Baron could choose not to take any risks. After all, he knew that when it was difficult to defeat him using financial means, the other party had a more direct choice, which was to eliminate him physically.

As for Colin Hall, or rather the Rothschild family behind him, what method were they going to use, and how would they remove each of them?

It could be said that if it weren’t for the intelligence team led by Mikhail, which had given Baron confidence, then he would only choose to be cautious today until the Rothschild family gave up.

But now, he had another choice.

“Oh? I’d be glad to hear it.”

The windows of the villa were all drawn with curtains, the firelight in the fireplace, and the lights in the room were all warm tones, which made it easy for people to let down their guard.

And Catherine Hall, who was sitting across from Baron today, was different from the conservative-style dress she had worn before. Today’s dress was slightly “thin,” and it did not prevent her from showing off her deep “cleavage”…

“This bottle of red wine comes from Château Lafite, it has been decanting for an hour, it is the perfect time to taste it…”

Catherine Hall did not speak immediately. She poured the crimson wine from the decanter on the table into two wine glasses.

Looking at Baron, the woman said:

“Would you like to have a drink with me first?”

Baron looked at the wine glass she handed over, but did not reach out to take it. Instead, he said:

“What I’m curious about is, is it you who wants to see me today, or your husband, Colin Hall?”

“What if it’s me?”

“Then this atmosphere is very dangerous…”

“Are you afraid?”

Hearing Catherine’s words, Baron shook his head:

“Aren’t you afraid?”

“Not afraid!”

With a meaningful smile, Baron patted the sofa beside him and said provocatively:

“Then why are you sitting across from me, looking like my… opponent.”

“But are you going to let me keep holding the wine glass like this?”

Baron looked at Catherine again and took the wine glass from her hand…

But at the same time, his other hand had already grabbed her wrist…

While putting the wine glass on the table, Baron exerted a little force and had already pulled Catherine into his arms.

“You…”

Before she could finish her sentence, she was kissed by Baron, but Catherine tightly closed her mouth and did not let him succeed…

“Colin didn’t show up today, but let you come to see me, are you trying to feed you, this piece of meat, to my mouth?”

“Baron, you…”

“Are you trying to say that you were once my brother’s fiancée? I’m sorry, that will only make me more excited, after all, you are now Mrs. Hall…”

After Catherine broke free from him, Baron cupped her chin with his hand, looked at her slightly disheveled appearance, and said lightly:

“Perhaps I should be a little more patient, Mrs. Hall, and watch you perform for a while longer, but I’m sorry, I really don’t have such good taste.”

Saying that, he got up and picked up the wine glass on the table that Mrs. Hall had originally left for him, then drank a sip of red wine, staring at Catherine:

“You want to drink with me? Then you drink this glass…”

Seeing Baron’s actions, a look of surprise and doubt flashed in Catherine’s eyes…

“Why aren’t you drinking, Mrs. Hall?”

Under Baron’s gaze, Catherine reached out and picked up the wine glass that she had originally handed to Baron, her hand trembling slightly, but she almost spilled the wine…

Baron clinked glasses with her, and just looked at her, like a hunter watching his prey.

“If that’s all there is to it, then today is too boring, I’m going back…”

Just as Baron was about to get up and leave…

“I’ll drink…”

Catherine slowly brought the wine glass close to her lips…

Chapter 343: Just Interest

“Stop, Catherine!”

At that moment, Colin Hall’s voice rang out…

Baron looked over and saw Colin Hall holding a handgun, emerging from a side door. The gun was pointed directly at Baron.

“Wow, Mr. Hall, you finally showed up. Things are getting interesting tonight. It’s just that you don’t seem to be treating a guest with hospitality…”

“Colin! What are you doing?”

To Baron’s surprise, Catherine was also shocked to see Colin Hall holding a gun. She looked at him and asked.

“Catherine, make him drink that wine!”

Colin’s gun remained pointed at Baron. After he said this to the now bewildered Catherine, the woman instinctively handed the wine glass to Baron.

Taking the glass, Baron gently swirled the wine inside, looking at Colin without the slightest hint of fear. Instead, he said with a mocking tone:

“Mr. Hall, as a gentleman, you shouldn’t resort to weapons. Do you know the consequences of doing this? This is definitely not something your Hall family can bear. The sound of a gunshot, and the entire manor will be surrounded. Have things really reached the point where you need to take such a desperate gamble?”

“I didn’t want to do this either, Baron. Originally, I just needed to slowly set up the situation, but who told you to be so bold and put everything on the line to acquire the Gucci Group? This gave them an opportunity, and they thought it was the most opportune time…”

“You’re talking about the Rothschild family? I didn’t expect them to make you work so hard…”

“This is also an opportunity for me. You may have had doubts, but Baron, I can tell you that I had nothing to do with the deaths of your father and brother. At the same time, I admit that I also hoped to see it. Now, it’s your turn.”

Catherine looked at Colin Hall, who was holding the gun, with a nervous expression. She couldn’t help but say:

“Are you crazy?! Colin, there’s no way you can hide this. You didn’t tell me that…”

“Shut up, everything is already arranged, Catherine, there will be no consequences!”

He pointed the gun at Baron and said:

“Drink that wine, if you don’t want to die right now…”

“This wine looks good, but Mr. Hall, you’d better look behind yourself first.”

Seeing that Baron was not afraid at all, and even had a mocking expression, Colin Hall’s first reaction after he said this was that the other party was trying to distract him. But then he saw his wife’s face… she looked behind him, and couldn’t help but open her mouth in surprise…

Colin Hall had just turned his head less than 90 degrees when he felt a cold, hard object pressed against the back of his head. It was clearly the barrel of a gun.

“Mr. Hall, please put down your gun. Be careful, don’t make any big movements, or I’m afraid I won’t be able to resist pulling the trigger…”

A slightly gentle voice came from behind Colin Hall. When Colin Hall turned his head to look at Baron again, he saw that he had already dodged away from the gun’s muzzle and had also pulled his wife, Catherine, in front of him…

“If you hesitate any longer, then I will have to shoot, Mr. Hall…”

Appearing behind Colin Hall was Mikhail. He said softly:

“According to the current situation, it is you who are threatening the Duke, and then I am shooting in self-defense. This is probably not a good thing for you…”

With a “clang,” the gun in Colin Hall’s hand fell to the ground…

“Your Grace, I’ll tell you…”

Before Colin Hall could finish speaking, Mikhail had already covered his mouth and nose with a handkerchief. Then, he lost consciousness and collapsed to the ground…

“Baron, you… what do you want to do?”

Hearing Catherine’s anxious voice, Baron let her go and sat on the sofa at his leisure, saying:

“The interesting thing is, Catherine, you should have realized that the development of the situation is very different from what you thought before…”

“But…”

“Aren’t you curious about what the outcome would be according to your husband, Colin Hall’s plan?”

“You, how did you know?”

From Catherine’s perspective, it seemed that Baron had foreseen what they were going to do. No, even what she didn’t know, Colin Hall’s plan, was all within the other party’s expectations…

This made Catherine feel a sense of fear…

“Also, I’d like to know, where is Miss Ella?”

Hearing Baron’s words, Catherine’s eyes widened, and she felt as if all her strength had been drained in an instant…

…

Under Catherine’s guidance, Baron found Gabrielle in the bedroom on the second floor of the villa, lying quietly on the bed. She should have taken some kind of sleeping or calming medication.

“According to Colin’s original plan with you, you probably wanted me to do something with this Miss Ella after I was unconscious…”

Baron looked at Catherine beside him and said:

“Well, being unconscious won’t do anything, so there would probably also be a drug like a hallucinogen, right? Then kill me. As long as it’s a different scene, and it involves members of the royal family, then the Queen will inevitably intervene. In order to maintain the image of the royal family, Scotland Yard will definitely not investigate carefully. As long as it’s acceptable, they’ll hastily conclude the case. Even if there are some doubts, the royal family will help cover it up. At most, they’ll privately figure out the reason…”

“No, we didn’t want to… kill you at all. Colin said he wanted to get leverage over you and Ella, so you wouldn’t retaliate against him…”

“You believe that too?”

Under Baron’s gaze, Catherine turned her head and said:

“I really didn’t expect him to want to harm you. If that’s the case, I absolutely wouldn’t…”

“There are many things you don’t expect…”

Baron said with a mocking tone:

“He even instructed you to help me… do some things to Miss Ella at certain times, right?”

“You, how did you know?”

Catherine blurted out, and then her face turned pale, looking at Baron in terror.

“I told you, I don’t want you to stand on the opposite side of me, Catherine.”

Baron gently patted Catherine’s shoulder and said:

“But now I’m disappointed.”

His hand rested on the woman’s shoulder, then brushed through the hair beside her ear, gently pinching her earlobe…

“Baron, don’t…”

Seeing the woman’s face turn rosy, Baron pressed his hands on her shoulders, causing her to involuntarily lower her body and kneel on the carpet…

“You were going to do this too, weren’t you? Help me… you know…”

Catherine looked up, looking at the person in front of her…

“You don’t want Miss Ella to know about these things either, do you, madam, and your husband…”

Hearing Baron’s words, Catherine finally resigned herself to her fate and closed her eyes…

…

When Baron, looking energetic, walked downstairs with Catherine, he saw Mikhail “taking care” of Colin Hall, and the man couldn’t help but whistle at him.

This made Catherine feel even more ashamed.

“I know there’s a car in the backyard, and a driver is arranged. This was originally for you to send me ‘home’, Catherine…”

Catherine, now, was no longer so surprised that Baron knew their plans. She heard Baron saying:

“Now let him go with you to send Mr. Hall to that car…”

“What do you want to do? Baron, just now wasn’t…”

Before Catherine could finish speaking, Baron had already grabbed her hair and said coldly to her:

“Just now? Just interest, Catherine, you have no idea what Colin was planning to do to you… I’ll just tell you, you can either just send him to that car, or you can go with him to leave in the car, but no matter which choice you make, you’ll know how Colin originally arranged for you. It’s just that one of the choices might make you regret it…”

Chapter 344: Karma

“Very well, Catherine, you’ve made your choice.”

Half an hour later, besides Mikhail, Catherine, with a complex expression, returned to the villa room.

Baron had her sit beside him, and he stroked her face, speaking softly.

“What exactly is going on?”

Catherine still clearly remembered that just before the man took her husband away, Baron picked up the phone from Colin Hall’s body on the table.

It was a Vertu phone, the most luxurious at the time, the first model of the Ascent series released this year, and its design still looked very eye-catching now.

However, current phones didn’t have features like fingerprint or facial recognition unlocking like smartphones did more than a decade later, but after Baron picked up the Vertu phone, he handed it to Mikhail. He skillfully entered the password to unlock it, and then used the phone to send a text message…

Next, Mikhail picked up a napkin from the table, put on gloves, and carefully wiped the Vertu phone, returning it to Colin Hall’s pocket.

It was their actions that made Catherine realize something, but now, she still couldn’t believe it and hoped to get confirmation from Baron.

“Actually, haven’t you already guessed?”

Baron stood up, didn’t say more, but said to Mikhail:

“You can clean up here now…”

When Catherine saw Mikhail take out three cameras from an inconspicuous place in the room… not just this room, but other locations as well…

She finally understood what Baron meant by “clean up” and why he knew so much about Colin Hall’s plan…

“Mrs. Hall, am I asleep? Baron, you’re here too?”

When Baron and Catherine arrived at Gabriel’s bedroom upstairs, after some “waking up,” Miss Ella finally slowly opened her eyes.

“Yes, you’ve been asleep for three hours, I thought I should wake you…”

…

Colin Hall was dead.

The news reached the villa last night, and the surprised and sad expression on Catherine’s face was difficult to fake.

And Baron knew that her reactions, besides Colin’s death, were probably more due to the fact that this outcome could very likely happen to her… and Baron.

One couldn’t help but marvel at the ruthlessness of the Rothschild family.

The other side had directly used a tanker truck to hit the car Colin Hall was in, an explosion destroyed everything, and even Colin Hall’s remains were gone.

This made their previous cautious measures seem somewhat redundant.

In such an “accident,” there was also the heir to a prominent banking family, so Scotland Yard naturally wouldn’t sit idly by and conducted an investigation.

Including the villa where Colin Hall had left, Mrs. Hall, Baron, and Gabriel who were present at the time, Scotland Yard questioned them.

But these people were not ordinary individuals, and even “questioning” required methods and techniques, not to mention the lawyers watching with covetous eyes. The final result was predictable.

In the end, Benjamin Rothschild naturally also knew that their “plan” had deviated, and the one they had arranged to be physically eliminated had ultimately become Colin Hall.

But no matter what, at this point, they could only grit their teeth, mobilize their forces, and work with Baron to suppress this matter, turning it into an “accident”…

As for the Hall family?

Perhaps in the face of pressure from the Rothschild family and the Devonshire family, they would choose to “swallow their humiliation”…

But a few years later, would Baron still care about them?

…

“How exactly can you let me go?”

“Madam, your performance just now wasn’t like that…”

Hearing Baron’s teasing tone, Catherine was mortified…

After Colin Hall’s “accidental” death, Baron, as his “close partner,” naturally had to comfort Catherine Hall, the young widow.

After a series of extremely domineering “comforts,” Catherine now felt that she had no strength left in her body.

She had to admit that at many moments just now, she had indeed felt a soul-shattering impact… but now, she was indeed somewhat at a loss.

“Colin’s father contacted me, he’s prepared to buy the shares of Northrock Bank that I can get…”

As mentioned before, the Hall family held a total of 18% of the shares in Northrock Bank, and these shares were held by three holding companies controlled by the Hall family.

As the heir to the Hall family, Colin Hall’s holding company held 8% of the shares in this bank, and he also held shares in a private bank – Hall Bank.

No matter what, Colin Hall probably wouldn’t have expected this kind of ending, and before, his plan, Catherine might even have given up for it, so in his will, Catherine was his sole heir…

Now, in order to maintain control of Northrock Bank and the foundation of the family – the safety of Hall Bank, the Hall family could only buy back these shares from Catherine.

“I won’t ask you to make any choices, Catherine, but you need to think clearly, whether the Hall family will still treat you as ‘one of their own’…”

“Heh, you can tell from the fact that they’re about to buy back the shares, can’t you?”

“Many times, their methods are not just financial… Think about Colin, so do you think that even if you ‘return’ the shares to the Hall family as they request, you’ll be safe?”

What Baron said was precisely what made Catherine feel terrified – before this, she was just a noblewoman, and the events of that night directly overturned her perception, the darkness was uncovered, and she saw the cruelty within.

This wasn’t the warm and fuzzy upper class in a TV drama, but a life-and-death struggle…

“Wouldn’t you do the same?”

Catherine looked deeply at Baron and said:

“It was you who… that day, you…”

“You’re wrong, Catherine.”

Baron interrupted her, speaking without mercy:

“It wasn’t me, it was you who did it. And, at most, we were just following Colin’s script, but the script was designed by himself, so this is very ironic. If what he initially wanted was just to stop at a certain point, then the result would be to stop at a certain point; if he didn’t leave any room, then the result was his own choice.”

Catherine had to admit that Baron was right.

She saw Baron look directly at her, his voice undeniable:

“I can guarantee you, Catherine, how others treat me, I will repay them in kind, but as long as you remain loyal, I will also be worthy of your trust, just like now, you are on my side, then I will ensure your safety!”

“What if I sell you these shares? Not only of Northrock Bank, but also of Hall Bank…”

Chapter 345: Benjamin’s Frustration

Baron wasn’t particularly interested in family businesses like Hall Bank, or private banks.

As for the shares of North Rock Bank…

Buying shares in this bank right now wasn’t a good time, and once Baron bought shares in North Rock Bank, it would reveal his intentions too obviously.

But controlling a suitable amount of shares in this bank was also very necessary.

Therefore, in the end, Baron’s advice to Catherine was to sell the shares of Hall Bank to the Hall family. As for the shares of North Rock Bank, he would keep them for the time being… and promised the Hall family that she would only serve as a director of North Rock Bank; the voting rights of these shares would become those of a person acting in concert with the Hall family…

The advantage of this was that it wouldn’t exacerbate Catherine’s relationship with the Hall family, and she could also get a good price for the shares of Hall Bank she was selling.

Catherine was relieved by Baron’s suggestion. This way, at least her relationship with the Hall family wouldn’t be too tense, and there would be room for reconciliation.

…

Colin Hall’s death was ultimately classified as an “accident.”

This could be said to be a joint effort by three parties: Baron, the Rothschild family, and the royal family.

Of course, the degree of “intent” involved was also different.

What was more dramatic was that the Rothschild family was actually the most active one in this matter; after all, it was their people who arranged and carried out this affair—although they thought Baron was in the car at the time…

And Baron was mainly just going with the flow.

As for the royal family, it was only because Gabriel was involved in this matter, but Gabriel was at most a bystander—she hadn’t even seen Colin Hall that day. Therefore, the royal family only wanted to keep this matter from involving her, and they relaxed their scrutiny in other investigations.

But in the final analysis, besides the Hall family, the most frustrated was still the Rothschild family…

Subsequently, the Financial Services Authority (FSA) of the United Kingdom successively concluded its investigations into Standard Chartered Bank and DS Capital, and the results showed that neither had any violations.

Then, after the broadcast of the new program on SDTV, “Shining Life,” the first episode of which was about the Duke of Devonshire, Baron Cavendish, coupled with the fact that recent events concerning him had attracted considerable attention in the UK, the ratings were extremely high…

This also indirectly affected the stock price of Pinnacle Media, and its stock price rose again to over 25 pounds, even reaching nearly 28 pounds at its highest point!

At this time, attempts to short Pinnacle Media’s stock price, whether through financial means or “physical attacks,” had already failed. NM Rothschild Bank wisely did not borrow more shares of Pinnacle Media to increase the short selling.

They could only buy shares of Pinnacle Media during the stock price’s rise to return the shares they had previously borrowed for short selling.

Roughly calculated, in this action alone, the Rothschild Bank’s loss from shorting Pinnacle Media was nearly 100 million pounds.

What made Benjamin de Rothschild even more depressed was that most of the stocks eventually released for him to buy at a high price were very likely from the offshore companies of his opponents…

Moreover, the Rothschild family’s losses in this UK operation were not limited to these overt financial losses.

In addition, there were the networks they had mobilized, and the “allies” they had lost…

For example, the Hall family, their relationship with them was probably already “turned from friend to foe,” and their other collaborators probably needed to consider their future relationship.

…

And after this battle, Baron, through offshore companies, had already absorbed nearly 14 million shares of Pinnacle Media at a price of 20 pounds per share—you must know that Pinnacle Media only had 25 million shares in circulation on the secondary market.

Of course, later, during the rise of Pinnacle Media’s stock price from 25 pounds to 28 pounds, they sold about 4 million shares, most of which were bought by NM Rothschild family to cover their short positions, which allowed him to “earn a fortune” of nearly 30 million pounds…

He wouldn’t continue to hold the remaining 10 million shares of Pinnacle Media, and he would continue to release them in conjunction with the stock price…

Anyway, just these alone would make it very easy to earn a profit of over 100 million pounds.

Besides driving away the Rothschild family—after all, their strength was there, and even if Baron temporarily remembered the other party’s “kindness,” it would still be difficult to “finish them off” at this time—but killing a chicken to scare the monkeys was necessary.

After this matter began to subside, several newspapers, including The Independent and the London Evening Standard, suddenly exposed the scandal of John Corren, a Liberal Democrat MP!

It was reported that as early as the summer of 2002, John had met a 23-year-old male journalist in a club.

According to the male journalist: “When we first contacted each other, I told him on the phone that I charged 80 pounds per hour. It was already late when we met that day. I guessed afterwards that he must have just finished a meeting at the House of Commons and rushed over. My apartment was a mile away from the Parliament. When he arrived, although he was wearing a suit and tie, he looked a little flustered.”

In the following six months or so, John Corren often made appointments with the male journalist by phone.

Because John Corren loved football, he repeatedly asked the other party to wear various football jerseys when they met.

…

As soon as this report came out, it immediately caused an uproar in the UK political arena, and under the pressure of public opinion, John Corren could only issue a statement announcing his resignation as a Member of Parliament.

It could be said that this matter had basically ended his political career.

This result, he probably should have expected it when the review of the companies under the Duke of Devonshire’s name ended hastily with no violations.

At the same time, another Labour MP who had come forward to demand an investigation into Baron’s companies didn’t have to wait too long.

The matter of his affair with his female assistant, and the fact that the other party had given birth to an illegitimate child for him, also soon appeared in the newspapers…

As a result, of course, he could only resign in disgrace and end his political career.

Baron certainly wanted them to end their political careers, and he would keep an eye on them afterwards; after all, only in this way could others know that if they acted as pawns to attack him, they must be prepared to be utterly disgraced in the end.

Chapter 346: Caesar Fund

On December 5th, Bonnie Stuart, dressed in a gunmetal gray lady’s suit, exuding a noble aura, arrived at Buckingham Palace to receive her knighthood from the Queen.

This time, the Queen personally awarded her the title of Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE), in recognition of her contributions to promoting British culture in the fields of publishing and television production.

It can be said that this time, besides Barron’s maneuvering, Bonnie’s achievements were also substantial.

Since she became a producer, she has successively launched variety shows and television series such as “The Traitors”, “Downton Abbey”, “Love Island”, “Strictly Come Dancing”, and “Shining Life”. It can be said that each of them has already become a well-known British IP, and, at the same time, she is also one of the authors of the highly influential novel “Downton Abbey” in Europe and America…

With such achievements, being knighted by the Queen was indeed beyond reproach.

From then on, in front of Bonnie Stuart’s official title, “Lady” needed to be added to indicate her status as a female knight.

To this end, Barron specifically held a dinner party at his Kensington villa to celebrate Bonnie Stuart’s knighthood.

During the banquet, Bonnie kept smiling, and her achievements and status at this time were indeed enviable.

“Prince Walid, and the beautiful Princess, welcome to your arrival…”

This time, Prince Walid and Princess Amina also came to London, because he happened to have something to deal with, and the second season of “Shining Life” produced by Bonnie’s Giant Studio had interviewed the Walid couple, so she also had a good relationship with Princess Amina.

“I heard you’re preparing to launch a new fund, is that right?”

“Yes, it can also be seen as a fixed-income product…”

The fixed-income products under DS Capital previously mainly launched the Athena Fund, and the funds were used for quantitative trading in the securities market.

Therefore, the Athena Fund is under the responsibility of Daisy’s DS Investment Company.

The equity investment of DS Capital is mainly carried out by DS Holdings, managed by Annabelle Sheen, and the funds used are all DS Capital’s own funds.

Now, the Caesar Fund, newly launched by DS Capital, is also a fixed-income fund with a return of 10-12%, and the funds are used for the company’s equity investment, similar to the Global Industrial Investment Fund.

The Caesar Fund is also managed by DS Investment Company, but it has relative independence.

In fact, the reason for establishing such a fund, in addition to the same purpose as the GII Fund, which is to use investors’ funds for industrial layout, is also to hide funds.

Yes, Barron’s profits from crude oil futures, as well as the initial principal, totaled 8 billion US dollars (after successively selling off the shares of Top Media, which he had taken over at the 20 pound price point, the total funds were close to 8.2 billion US dollars), and Barron did not intend to invest these funds in the name of DS Capital, in order to hide a portion of the assets.

However, this kind of offshore company has a disadvantage when making investments. In the acquisition of companies in many important industries, the government always has to conduct a series of reviews, so this kind of funds with unclear sources will be restricted.

So Barron’s way of solving this situation was to establish this Caesar Fund in the name of DS Capital to carry out industrial layout…

These funds are invested in the Caesar Fund under the name of investment, and then the Caesar Fund can use this to invest and acquire.

Since this is the case, in addition to the funds in these offshore companies, the Caesar Fund must also absorb some funds from other investors, which are incidental…

“Our Caesar Fund, because the main investment is for equity investment, is different from the Athena Fund in that it needs a relatively long lock-up period, usually 3-5 years.”

This is easy to understand, the average fixed income for a 3-year term is 10%, the average fixed income for a 4-year term is 11%, and the average fixed income for a 5-year term is 12%…

“To be honest, Your Grace, I’m not very interested in this kind of fixed-income investment. If it were something like the Mars Fund… I would be more willing to participate, but I will help you tell others, and I believe many people will be interested in this.”

After all, the current Barron is in a different position than when he first established DS Capital and launched the product.

With his investment record over the years, it can be said that he can already have considerable persuasiveness in the eyes of investors.

Therefore, he does not need to attract funds with too high a rate of return, nor does he need to take measures to guarantee the principal to reassure investors as he did before…

“Okay, Mr. Walid, but the total fundraising amount of our Caesar Fund is only 10 billion US dollars, and there is less than 2 billion US dollars of remaining amount now.”

“So fast?”

Hearing Barron’s words, Prince Walid looked surprised. After all, the news of the establishment of this new fund had just come out, and it had already raised more than 8 billion US dollars, which was indeed very amazing.

But thinking of Barron’s extraordinary success rate in investment in the past, he could be relieved.

…

Speaking of which, the current DS Investment Company, even with the newly launched Caesar Fund, the total assets under management of their current fund company, plus their own funds, is only just reaching a little over 10 billion euros. Compared to the Rothschild family’s total assets under management of 90 billion euros, it is still far behind.

Not to mention that in Barron’s previous life, the later BlackRock Group, the total assets under management had already exceeded 10 trillion US dollars…

So it’s still far from these top players in the capital market.

For the CEO of the Caesar Fund, Barron hired Pete Friedman. He was previously the Vice President of CVC Capital, a top European private equity fund, and had also worked at the Government of Norway Global Pension Fund.

Well, it’s worth mentioning that CVC Capital was the fund that, in Barron’s previous life, collaborated with Bernie Ecclestone to buy the F1 Group…

After Pete Friedman took office, the Caesar Fund began its first acquisition—purchasing shares of the British logistics giant Exel from the secondary market.

Exel is the largest logistics company in Britain besides the state-owned Royal Mail. It was mainly formed in 2000 by the merger of Ocean Group and NFC.

Exel is a global logistics company with 1,300 global locations and more than 50,000 employees.

Exel’s current market value is around 2.5 billion pounds. It mainly has three operating companies, namely Exel (the old NFC), Msas Global Logistics Company, and Cory Environmental.

Among them, Msas is one of the world’s largest freight forwarders, providing multimodal transport, regional distribution, inventory control, value-added logistics, information technology, and supply chain solutions worldwide.

Cory Environmental is one of the largest waste treatment companies in Britain.

Exel holds a strong market position in ground transportation supply chain services, providing services including warehousing and distribution, transportation management services, customer-centric services, JIT services, and global after-sales market logistics services.

In addition to purchasing shares of Exel from the secondary market, the Caesar Fund also began to contact the shareholders of this company, preparing to acquire their shares at a premium.

Chapter 347: Turning to E-commerce

The reason for deciding to acquire Yinyun Logistics was not only because Barron knew that in his original timeline, EXEL would be acquired by Deutsche Post for 3.6 billion pounds in September of the following year.

There was also the fact, mentioned earlier, that on January 1, 2006, the British postal regulatory body would begin implementing new rules, allowing various postal companies to openly compete and “share” the pie of the British postal service market.

Prior to this, as a state-owned company that had monopolized the British postal business for 350 years, Royal Mail enjoyed many privileges, making it difficult for other logistics companies to compete.

But next year, the British postal regulatory body would issue long-term operating licenses to 13 postal companies, a move that would clear the way for them to fairly compete with “Royal Mail.”

No one knew about this move yet, so the market value of Yinyun Logistics was only around 2.5 billion pounds.

Once the new policy was announced next year, as the largest logistics company in Britain besides Royal Mail, the market value of Yinyun Logistics would rise to 3.3 billion pounds, and it would eventually be acquired by Deutsche Post at a premium of 3.6 billion pounds.

Of course, if Barron’s acquisition of Yinyun Logistics was solely for this small premium, that would definitely be impossible.

The main reason was that the “Super Speed” logistics company currently owned by DS Capital was developing a bit slowly, and it was currently limited to deliveries in London and the surrounding areas.

According to the plan, starting from New Year’s Day in 2005, the Argos retail group’s official website, Argos.com, would no longer be limited to deliveries only within the vicinity of its stores, but would open up express delivery services throughout Britain, Ireland, France, and Germany.

In this case, they would need a logistics company to cooperate that could match their scale, and the most suitable partner was Yinyun Logistics, which had global logistics and delivery capabilities.

In Barron’s plan, the Argos retail group would begin to transform from a “mail order” sales network to a combination of e-commerce and offline sales models next year.

According to later statistics, in Europe, the main e-commerce market was in Western Europe.

Therefore, the Argos retail group would first occupy the Western European online sales market to compete with the future Amazon.

There was not much time left for the Argos retail group. Next, they would occupy Germany, Italy, Spain, and other Western European countries at a rate of one country per year, starting with warehousing and logistics, and then gradually improving the form of pick-up points, first taking the Western European market.

Therefore, in terms of logistics, this was a very important link in the strategy, and it was also the reason why the Caesar Foundation first wanted to acquire Yinyun Logistics.

…

Christmas was approaching, and at this time, snowflakes fell in London, adding a festive atmosphere to Christmas.

Barron and Rebecca’s daughter, Jennifer, was already over seven months old, and the little girl was chubby and very cute.

This made Barron unable to help but pick up his daughter and kiss her on her plump cheeks.

The fireplace in the room was burning brightly, and the whole room was extremely warm, which created a huge contrast with the falling snowflakes outside the window.

Rebecca was wearing silk pajamas and was lazily leaning against Barron’s side.

By now, her figure had completely recovered, and she looked like a girl, completely not looking like she had already become a mother.

“You’re going to the United States in a while, aren’t you, darling?”

“Yes, I’ve already promised the President of the United States that I’ll attend the New Year’s Eve banquet at the White House…”

Rebecca had already heard about this matter before, and she leaned her head on Barron’s shoulder, her big eyes twinkling:

“Is she going with you?”

“Well…”

Barron naturally understood what she meant, turned his head, kissed her on the face, and asked:

“Are you feeling bored in London again?”

“Going to school during this time is quite peaceful, but compared to London, I prefer the climate in Los Angeles, where it’s not so cold…”

“How about this, after two months, I’ll take you to Los Angeles, and then you can bring your mother and daughter together, and you can go live there for a while.”

Hearing Barron’s words, a smile appeared on Rebecca’s face:

“Really? That’s great, darling.”

…

Just as Barron said, after Christmas, he and Bonnie, boarded the Devonshire and arrived in the United States.

They first went to New York and stayed in the top-floor mansion of the Woolworth Building.

“Where’s Bonnie?”

Upon hearing the news that Barron and Bonnie had come to New York, Jenny Booth. also came here immediately.

“She’s resting in the bedroom, well, she needs to adjust to the time difference…”

In fact, it was possible to rest well in the bedroom on the plane, but Bonnie, who originally wanted to rest for a while, was tired because Barron wanted to experience the feeling of “covering a thousand miles in a day” again.

After arriving at this top-floor mansion, she continued to “catch up on sleep.”

It’s just that Jenny’s eyes brightened considerably after hearing Barron’s words…

“I was originally going to go shopping with her, but now I can use other ways of exercising…”

As for what kind of exercise, Jenny had already taken Barron’s hand and entered a guest room…

Then, she began to “denounce” Barron with her eloquent tongue…

…

It has to be said that the acting skills of women are indeed amazing.

When Bonnie woke up, Jenny Booth, who was in excellent spirits, was like a good sister, holding Bonnie’s hand, and wanted to go shopping on Fifth Avenue together.

Barron, on the other hand, left these two women and went to the New York branch of DS Capital on Wall Street.

Since it began operating in February of this year, ten months later, the return on the Zeuss Fund exceeded 35%!

In other words, the Zeuss Fund, with an initial capital of 1 billion dollars, with Goldman Sachs Group and DS Capital each investing 500 million dollars, had already earned more than 350 million dollars.

This result also made the Goldman Sachs Group very satisfied.

After the high-frequency trading of the Zeuss Fund became more stable, the Goldman Sachs Group also intended to continue to increase its investment, and in February of next year, they would add another 500 million dollars to the Zeuss Fund. Barron would also add an equal amount of funds through DS Capital at that time, and the total scale of the Zeuss Fund would also approach 2.5 billion dollars.

In addition, the Global Industrial Investment Fund had now completed the acquisition of the London Stock Exchange, and Barron was also preparing to replicate a high-frequency trading fund specifically for operating the stocks of the London Stock Exchange from London next year. This fund would not need to cooperate with the Goldman Sachs Group, and could be entirely funded by DS Capital itself.

Chapter 348: New Year’s Eve Banquet

On December 31st, 2004, the last day of the year, Baron and Bonnie, along with friends like Mr. and Mrs. John Smith, came to Times Square to experience the New Year’s Eve festivities.

It must be admitted that at this point in time, the United States was still the most powerful country in the world. Its citizens had not yet experienced the later troubles. From the expressions and demeanor of everyone, one could see the optimistic appearance of the citizens of the most powerful country on earth, full of confidence.

In the cheers of the entire crowd in the square counting down together, 2004 passed and 2005 arrived, and the square was filled with a joyful atmosphere.

Baron also posted their group photo on his personal homepage on the Woaw website, and instantly received countless comments.

From these comments, it was also clear that the majority were women. Not to mention Baron’s current identity and wealth, just based on his outstanding appearance, he had countless “appearance fans”…

Speaking of Woaw, the total number of users on this website had already exceeded 100 million, which was 10 times that of MySpace, which was second in the social network rankings!

Of course, if viewed solely from the North American market, the gap between the two was not that large. Even so, Woaw’s unique visits were almost 5 times that of MySpace, firmly holding the top spot in the social network.

According to the assessment of relevant institutions, Woaw’s valuation had already approached 3 billion US dollars, but compared to Google, Woaw’s advertising revenue was still much inferior.

However, while achieving such results, troubles also emerged.

Earlier, the relevant agencies in the United States had already set their sights on Woaw. If it weren’t for investors like Sequoia Capital and Blackstone Group, the troubles Woaw encountered would probably have been even greater.

Even so, the United States had also proposed, for “national security,” to require Woaw to hand over the data of its global users…

This point, Baron would definitely not agree to, because Woaw’s users at this time included users from Europe, Asia, and other places in addition to North American users. If he really provided all the user data to the United States, to say nothing of anything else, the EU side would definitely give him a sky-high fine…

In the end, with the efforts of the American本土 investors behind him and the lobbying groups they hired, a compromise was finally reached with the United States.

Woaw Technology would establish a dedicated data center in North America, and the data of all American users would be placed within this data center and would not be transmitted to the headquarters in London…

In addition, Woaw Technology would conduct a new round of financing to further reduce DS Capital’s shareholding.

This second point, in addition to the opinions of the United States, was also a requirement of many other capitals coveting Woaw Technology.

After all, it was obvious now that Woaw Technology’s prospects were highly regarded, and it was likely to become another internet “new favorite” after Google. Many investment institutions, especially those with considerable influence in the United States, hoped to get on this “wealth train.”

It was worth mentioning that during this period, both Microsoft and Google had extended olive branches to Woaw, and the two tech giants both intended to acquire Woaw Technology. Their offers had reached 3 billion US dollars, but they were all rejected by Woaw Technology, or rather, by Baron.

In the upcoming new round of financing of Woaw Technology, those actively participating included American capital such as Microsoft, Google, and Goldman Sachs Group, as well as European and Asian capital such as the European Founders Fund and Li Ka-shing. There were indeed quite a few pursuing Woaw Technology, and even though its valuation this time was bound to exceed 3 billion US dollars, it did not dampen the enthusiasm of these capitals at all.

…

On January 1st, 2005, New Year’s Day, Baron was wearing a tailored Gucci suit, while Bonnie was wearing an evening gown that had been prepared long ago – custom-made for her by Frida Giannini, the creative director of Gucci. After Baron acquired the Gucci Group, the “boss’s wife’s” appearance this time naturally attracted the attention of the Gucci Group – the two of them took a car in advance and arrived at WDC, ready to attend the New Year’s Eve banquet held at the White House tonight.

Often, such White House banquet events also have a red carpet segment. Unlike the red carpet of the entertainment industry, those surrounding it were not entertainment reporters, but mostly political reporters – of course, there were also entertainment reporters, after all, the White House’s New Year’s Eve banquet would often invite some entertainment stars as embellishments.

However, in this year’s American general election, the current president had a very unpleasant relationship with Hollywood, because as the stronghold of the “white left,” many Hollywood stars had opposed the Iraq War, and most stars claimed to support his opponent Kerry during the election. When participating in the other party’s fundraising activities, they also did not forget to denounce Bush…

Therefore, this year’s White House New Year’s Eve banquet, there were almost no Hollywood stars in sight…

When Baron and Bonnie, this couple, got out of the Rolls-Royce Phantom and walked onto the red carpet, it immediately caused a sensation at the scene.

It was only because Baron had strong control, and Bonnie was also used to this kind of scene, that they were not blinded by the flashing lights…

After all, besides the two of them, the man was handsome and the woman was beautiful, extremely pleasing to the eye, and very eye-catching…

In terms of identity, Baron was the most famous, youngest, and most handsome duke in Britain, and also the one with the most wealth. Now attending today’s White House New Year’s Eve banquet, the implications behind this could conjure up many “stories”…

After walking the red carpet and entering the banquet hall of the White House, Baron and Bonnie found their seats, which were also relatively close to the front, under the guidance of the waiter.

At the same time, Baron also noticed that not far away, an “old acquaintance” made eye contact with him and waved to him.

The reason why he said “old acquaintance” was because, whether in Baron’s previous life or in this space, he had seen the other party’s appearance countless times in newspapers and on television…

Well, he was the current American President, George W. Bush.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mr. President, and to your wife, and your two beautiful daughters, Happy New Year.”

Baron and Bonnie walked to that table and said to Bush.

Of course, the so-called “beautiful daughters” was just Baron’s polite way of putting it…

“Welcome, Your Grace, and also, I have a small request…”

Seeing Baron’s slightly puzzled expression, the President said very affably:

“My daughters, Barbara and Jenna, they are both your fans, and they just said they wanted to take a photo with you…”

Well, his two daughters were twins, and they both looked a little shy. One of them summoned up her courage and said:

“Hello, Your Grace, I’m Jenna, I’ve been following you on Woaw, and I’ve left you a message… Is it okay?”

“Of course, it’s my honor.”

Chapter 349: Snatching the Deal

In fact, the White House New Year’s Eve gala was essentially the same as the parties Baron had attended in London before.

The only difference was that the entire process was more “American,” with set pieces like stand-up comedy and performances by singers. After the banquet began, it was time for everyone to exchange “feelings.”

The only difference was that the White House banquet invited not only the most prominent figures from all walks of life, but also those capital tycoons who held even greater influence.

For example, the supporters behind the Republican Party, such as the Koch family, the Amway family, and Bridgewater Associates, all appeared at this year’s banquet, and Baron had exchanged pleasantries with them.

These capitals mostly didn’t have any conflicts with Baron’s businesses. Moreover, the Amway family had once invested in DS Capital’s Mars Fund, so the atmosphere between them was quite good.

……

“I thought you’d forgotten about me…”

After attending the White House New Year’s Eve banquet, Baron took some time to meet with Ivanka. However, it seemed that she still held some resentment towards Baron.

But when Baron saw the newspaper in the room, which printed photos of Baron and Bonnie—it was the report of the two attending the White House New Year’s Eve banquet that day, he understood why.

When a woman is jealous, no amount of sweet talk is as effective as something tangible…

Therefore, Baron didn’t say anything, and just pulled the young lady to brush up on all sorts of knowledge…

The effect was, as expected, immediate. After absorbing a wealth of knowledge during the “studies,” Ivanka’s little emotions finally subsided.

But she still said with some dissatisfaction:

“Is our company just going to invest in a MySpace, and not do anything else?”

“Of course not, baby, be patient. Didn’t I ask you to do some research before?”

This year… well, it was last year, 2004, when Ivanka finally graduated from the Wharton School of Business with a bachelor’s degree in management. So now she had more free time.

After her graduation, she had called Baron several times to inquire about IC Capital’s next investment direction, and it seemed that she had already exhausted her patience for waiting—ever since the initial ten million dollar investment, which secured a forty percent stake in MySpace, Baron hadn’t asked her about it, so it was no wonder she was a little anxious.

However, Baron was busy with a series of acquisitions at the time and didn’t rush to use IC Capital for investment. He let Ivanka use this time to investigate American internet companies. On the one hand, this was to familiarize herself with the situation—to make good investments, one must first have a relatively in-depth understanding of the industry being invested in. Even though Ivanka was mainly an executor for Baron in IC Capital, she still had to have some understanding of the internet industry in order to give people a sense of trust when communicating with the founders of those companies.

On the other hand, it was also because Baron had worked in the financial investment industry in his previous life. Although he also knew something about the mergers and acquisitions of some internet companies, he didn’t have a very clear understanding of the situation at this time. Therefore, he also hoped that through Ivanka’s investigation, he could stimulate his “inspiration” and be able to recognize some of the start-up companies at that time, so as to invest in them.

Hearing Baron’s words, Ivanka didn’t care about her “exposed spring” anymore. She got up from the bed and took out some documents from her handbag and handed them to Baron. It seemed that she was well prepared for this visit:

“I’ve already emailed you the results of the previous investigation. These are some of the projects I’ve screened recently, along with some information.”

Baron flipped through the documents Ivanka handed over. It had to be said that he really found a company worth investing in from them…

However, it wasn’t a start-up company, but a relatively “old” company.

In fact, Baron’s original plan was to wait until after February this year to see if YouTube would be created, just like in the original timeline, and then he could let IC Capital invest…

But since Ivanka was already a little impatient, this company was also more suitable.

Turning his head to look at Ivanka’s expectant gaze, Baron’s face showed a smile, and he said to Ivanka:

“Next, you help me collect the information about this company, including the changes in their stock price in recent years, the holdings of each shareholder, and what percentage of the outstanding shares can be bought on the secondary market…”

Listening to Baron’s words, Ivanka’s gaze fell on his finger, and she saw the company he mentioned—DoubleClick.

The reason she had an impression of this company was because Baron remembered that in the original timeline, in 2007, Google would acquire DoubleClick for 32.4 billion US dollars.

Before that, DoubleClick would be acquired by Hellman & Friedman and JMI Equity and Management, two investment companies, at a premium of nearly 50%, for 1.1 billion US dollars in April of this year.

Of course, at the time of their acquisition, the price of 1.1 billion US dollars was a premium of more than 10% compared to the company’s average price over the past 30 trading days.

Therefore, by this calculation, these two companies should have started the acquisition of DoubleClick in March, so if they wanted to acquire this company, they would have to start preparing to take action now.

The reason Baron wanted to acquire DoubleClick wasn’t just to sell it to Google at a high price later, at least that wasn’t the main reason.

It was also because this company would be helpful to the future development of Woaw Technology.

DoubleClick was founded in 1996 and was a network advertising service provider, mainly engaged in the development of network advertising management software and advertising services, and centrally planned, executed, monitored, and tracked network advertising activities.

They currently had more than 500 corporate clients and could be said to be a very strong company in the American internet advertising industry at this time. The reason why Google would spend a sky-high price of 32.4 billion US dollars to acquire this company in the future was also because they valued their contribution to Google’s internet advertising revenue—at the time, their acquisition was also protested by companies such as Microsoft and Yahoo, and it was only after passing the anti-monopoly investigations of the United States and the European Union that the acquisition was completed.

Speaking of Yahoo, it has to be said that this company was indeed a negative example in terms of company acquisitions. In the original timeline, it was well known that it missed out on the acquisitions of Google and Facebook, not to mention that DoubleClick was also one of Yahoo’s victims…

In 1996, DoubleClick had negotiated with Yahoo, hoping to sell the company to the other party for 1 million US dollars…

But Yahoo, which was in its heyday at the time, was only willing to offer 950,000 US dollars, and was tough in its attitude, unwilling to make concessions.

So this “sale” ended in failure…

Then, DoubleClick went public successfully in 1998. In 2000, at the peak of the internet bubble, the company’s market value once exceeded 10 billion US dollars!

Wow, all one can do is give Yahoo a “666”…

However, although DoubleClick had been so glorious, after the crash of internet stocks in March 2000, in August 2002, DoubleClick’s market value fell by more than 95%, and at its lowest point, it was only about 350 million US dollars.

According to the information provided by Ivanka, DoubleClick’s market value was about 700 million US dollars at this time. However, overall, the company’s current advertising revenue was also recovering after the internet bubble.

This was also why, at the beginning, when the acquisition team led by Hellman & Friedman wanted to acquire DoubleClick, the company’s founder would lobby the board of directors, hoping to reject the other party’s acquisition. It was because they saw that their market value was underestimated compared to the prospects of internet advertising.

It was only when the other party’s offer increased to 1.1 billion US dollars that they finally persuaded DoubleClick’s board of directors to agree to the acquisition…

Now, what Baron was going to do was to use IC Capital to preemptively complete the acquisition of DoubleClick.

His several offshore companies had nearly 8.2 billion US dollars in funds. Of this, 8 billion US dollars was invested in the Caesar Fund, and the remaining 200 million US dollars would be invested in IC Capital to absorb the company’s shares in the secondary market in the early stage, and to seek opportunities to acquire the shares of other shareholders.

Chapter 350: Series C Financing

After receiving Barron’s guidance, Ivanka enthusiastically threw herself into the acquisition of DoubleClick.

By now, Barron had a relatively deep understanding of some of the women around him…

Well, this wasn’t just referring to the physical level, but also their psychological situations.

Take Ivanka, for example. Perhaps it was related to her upbringing, but compared to emotions, she focused more on her career and was relatively more rational.

Simply put, she knew what she wanted and how to get it.

Didn’t she want to be Barron’s “official girlfriend”? Of course, she did, but when the situation couldn’t be achieved for the time being, she could also be rational enough to know what she should do now and what she should get.

After all, Ivanka was still young enough, and she wasn’t too anxious about some matters of status.

Of course, this was also premised on Barron’s identity and wealth being worthy of her making such a choice.

This time, Barron had come to the United States with his girlfriend, Bonnie, so it was already difficult for him to find time to meet with Ivanka. Therefore, he didn’t have the chance to meet with the Hearst sisters. However, he also took the time to comfort the two sisters on the phone, promising to spend some quality time with them when he came again in two months.

Next, before Barron left the United States, he mainly dealt with the Series C financing for Woaw Technology.

As mentioned before, although Woaw Technology’s user numbers were growing rapidly, at this time, because smartphones were not yet widespread, even the iPhone would take another two or three years, and users still relied on the PC side to access the internet, so the growth rate of users would slow down after reaching a certain upper limit.

And in terms of revenue, Woaw Technology’s advertising revenue was still far behind Yahoo and Google. Also because of the huge investment, the company was still a long way from profitability.

Now, Barron had already started to let Woaw Technology’s London headquarters and Silicon Valley R&D center secretly develop targeted information stream advertising. When this “sharp weapon” could be applied, coupled with the completion of the acquisition of DoubleClick and its integration into Woaw Technology, that would be the moment when Woaw Technology could “dominate the world.”

When Barron returned to New York, he met with many “guests,” including personnel sent by Google.

Now, DS Capital was also a major shareholder of Google, holding 20 million shares of its common stock, accounting for about 7.3% of Google’s total outstanding shares at this time.

In addition, Rich23 Capital had also bought 10 million shares of common stock during Google’s IPO.

Adding these together, Barron directly controlled 11% of Google’s shares. This didn’t include the portion of Google shares held by the Mars Fund.

Of course, the Google shares held by Rich23 Capital were not publicly under Barron’s name, but with the Google shares held by DS Capital, Google could still hope to communicate with him and join this round of Woaw Technology’s Series C financing.

In addition to Google, other investment institutions, including Microsoft and Goldman Sachs Group, were also very interested in Woaw Technology.

This time, Barron didn’t want to release too many shares, at most taking out 15% of the shares for financing. This would include one or two investment institutions as the main investors, while Sequoia Capital and Blackstone Fund would also invest a portion of the funds…

In addition, Barron also knew that although it seemed that Google’s search advantages on the PC-side internet would be of great help to Woaw Technology, after it launched Google+, it would still compete with Woaw Technology…

Therefore, he also needed to consider whether to let Google join.

…

Over in London, the Caesar Fund’s acquisition of Yunn Logistics had also entered a new stage.

Initially, they started acquiring the company’s shares from the secondary market. It should be known that Yunn Logistics was originally formed by the merger of Ocean Group and NFC, and during its development, it had also undergone multiple acquisitions, so the company’s shares were now very dispersed.

Through acquisitions in the secondary market and successive contact with the small shareholders of Yunn Logistics, the Caesar Fund quickly increased its shareholding to over 35%!

Currently, the UK had not yet opened up public competition in the postal industry, and even the relevant proposals had not yet begun to be discussed.

Therefore, in Yunn Logistics, the UK’s domestic market had always been blocked by the “Royal Mail” mountain, and its development was limited, only able to avoid the other party’s postal projects and seek other ways—their main focus was on developing the global market.

And at this time, after the internet bubble crisis of 2000 to 2001, the global logistics industry was also just beginning to improve, but in the global market, Yunn Logistics still had many competitors, and their strength was quite strong.

Therefore, at this time, the Caesar Fund’s acquisition of some of the small shareholders’ shares in Yunn Logistics at a certain premium would easily make the other party tempted.

Overall, the Caesar Fund’s acquisition of Yunn Logistics this time could also be described as smooth—if Yunn Logistics’ major shareholders were really strong enough, then it would not have been acquired by Deutsche Post in the original timeline next year.

After holding 35% of Yunn Logistics’ shares, the Caesar Fund had in fact become the largest shareholder of this British logistics giant. Next, they announced that they would make a tender offer for Yunn Logistics, acquiring it at a 10% premium based on the corresponding market capitalization of Yunn Logistics!

In itself, for physical businesses like logistics, the premium would not be too high during the acquisition because, relatively speaking, the revenue and profits of this type of business were relatively stable, and its market capitalization could better reflect the actual value of the enterprise, and there was no such thing as undervaluation, at least not too much.

Therefore, the Caesar Fund’s acquisition price with a 10% premium was, at present, relatively well-received by the holders of Yunn Logistics shares, and the possibility of success was extremely high.

And at this time, Caesar Fund’s CEO, Peter Friedman, had also stabilized Yunn Logistics’ management team. After the acquisition, not only could Yunn Logistics achieve deeper cooperation with the Argos retail group, becoming its strategic partner and obtaining a relatively stable business, but the Caesar Fund would not make too many adjustments to Yunn Logistics’ management team. It would only obtain a certain number of seats on the board of directors after Barron became chairman, so the management team was still welcoming of their acquisition.

So, from the current perspective, the tender offer a month later would likely achieve the results they hoped for.

In the current situation, unless another company appeared and announced an acquisition price higher than the Caesar Fund’s…

However, even if the Caesar Fund completed the acquisition of Yunn Logistics, they planned to merge the “Speedy Express” logistics company into Yunn Logistics, they would also need to pass the regulatory agency, the UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA)…

This problem would not be too big either. After all, the “Speedy Express” logistics company itself was very small, and with the existence of Royal Mail, a domestic behemoth, the merger of Yunn Logistics and Speedy Express itself would not involve any monopoly issues.

Chapter 351: Financing Completed

At the beginning of January, the EUR/USD exchange rate had already fallen below 1.35…

Previously, at the beginning of September, DS Capital had obtained over 600 million US dollars from the Mars Fund. After adding to it, they went long on EUR/USD at an average price below 1.20.

Since then, the total amount of funds DS Capital had invested in going long on the euro against the dollar had reached 1 billion US dollars!

At the end of last year, after the EUR/USD exchange rate exceeded 1.36, they successively closed out these long futures positions.

In the end, 1 billion US dollars of funds turned into 2.5 billion US dollars.

Of this 2.5 billion US dollars, 1.5 billion US dollars passed through layers of transfers, with 1 billion US dollars entering IC Capital, managed by Ivantha, for the acquisition of DoubleClick; another 500 million US dollars entered Zeuss Investment Company, and together with Goldman Sachs Group, increased the total assets of this investment company to 2.5 billion US dollars!

The remaining 1 billion US dollars, at a price above 1.36, began to short the euro.

Because in this year, 2005, the EUR/USD exchange rate would fall from a high of 1.36 to a low of 1.16 by November, a drop of nearly 15%!

……

Even in the United States, Bonnie wasn’t idle while Baron was busy with work.

She summoned the filming crew of “Shining Life” from London to the United States, and during this time, she went to Sacramento, California…

Unlike what many people imagine, the capitals of many states in the United States are not the more developed or well-known cities of those states.

For example, California’s capital is not Los Angeles or San Francisco, but Sacramento, a city with a lower profile.

This time, the guest invited to “Shining Life” was Arnold Schwarzenegger, who had just become the Governor of California a year ago.

Because he was a well-known Hollywood movie star, and could be said to be the representative of the Hollywood “tough guy,” Schwarzenegger was also extremely well-known in the United Kingdom.

Now that he had entered politics and become the Governor of California, unlike the previous identities of Baron and Prince Walid as “wealthy people,” Schwarzenegger’s current daily life would likely be something the audience would want to know.

Of course, being able to invite Schwarzenegger as a filming guest for “Shining Life,” besides his own promotional needs, was more due to Baron’s connections—after all, “Shining Life” was still only broadcast in the United Kingdom and had not yet been introduced to the United States.

But it was only a matter of time. The Sinclair Group was also quite interested in the program “Shining Life” and was negotiating with Summit Entertainment about its introduction. If things went smoothly, the program would probably appear on American television this year.

Baron also came to California, but he went to Silicon Valley.

Ultimately, between Microsoft and Google, Baron chose Google.

In Woaw Technology’s Series C financing, Google would invest 353 million US dollars, holding 10% of Woaw Technology’s shares; Goldman Sachs Group would invest 176.5 million US dollars, holding 5% of Woaw Technology’s shares.

After coordination, to obtain as many shares as possible, Sequoia Capital and Blackstone Fund did not participate in Woaw Technology’s Series C financing.

Thus, Woaw Technology completed this Series C financing with a pre-money valuation of 3 billion US dollars, a post-money valuation of approximately 3.53 billion US dollars, and a financing of 530 million US dollars.

After the Series C financing, the original shareholders, Blackstone Fund’s shareholding ratio was diluted to less than 7.1%; Sequoia Capital’s shareholding ratio was diluted to less than 11.2%; DS Capital’s shareholding ratio was reduced to 66.725%, still controlling the vast majority of Woaw Technology’s shares.

After obtaining this financing of 530 million US dollars, Woaw Technology would not only increase its investment in hardware and research and development centers but would also begin to try to acquire some complementary start-up companies to strengthen itself.

“Your Grace, the investment amount we received is still a bit small…”

At the celebration banquet after the successful financing, Lloyd Blankfein, CEO of Goldman Sachs Group, holding a glass of wine, walked to Baron’s side and said to him.

“There’s nothing we can do about it, Mr. Blankfein. After all, we still need Google to direct traffic to our search portal.”

Baron said to Lloyd with a rather regretful expression.

What he said was the truth, which was why he ultimately chose Google to participate in Woaw Technology’s Series C financing, even though he knew in his previous life that Google launched Google+ and competed fiercely with Facebook later on.

However, to prevent Google’s Google+ from posing a threat to Woaw in the future, at Baron’s insistence, an additional agreement was also required to be signed with Google. That is, if Google’s future business formed a competitive relationship with Woaw Technology, then Google would either spin off the relevant business from the parent company or withdraw from Woaw Technology’s shareholders, and Woaw Technology would repurchase its shares.

“I can understand this, but I think with Woaw’s current development, it will probably be ready to prepare for an IPO soon. By then… our Goldman Sachs Group has strong strength in the listing aspect.”

Lloyd Blankfein’s implication was obvious. He had his eye on the future underwriting business of Woaw Technology’s IPO.

“We will definitely give you priority…”

Now, Baron would not make any promises in advance, only giving the other party such a statement at most.

“So, do you have any plans for Woaw’s IPO? Your Grace…”

Hearing Lloyd mention this, Baron just smiled faintly:

“We will definitely push it forward at the right time, but it’s still too early to say. After all, Woaw Technology is still a long way from the financial scale of Google’s IPO last year…”

Although for a technology company like Woaw Technology, it is not necessary to generate profits when conducting an IPO, but if it can generate profits, it will definitely be more beneficial to the overall valuation.

Therefore, for Woaw, it still needs to continue to strengthen its advertising revenue.

Baron continued to say to Lloyd:

“But it won’t be too far off. I personally hope that Woaw Technology can go public within two to three years…”

What he said was indeed his true thoughts.

Because three years later, in 2008, the subprime mortgage crisis would erupt, and the impact on the global economy would be very far-reaching.

If Woaw Technology waited to go public after the subprime mortgage crisis, then even two years after the crisis, it would still be in a recovery period, and the effect of the IPO would definitely not be good.

So the best result was to be able to go public within two years, before the subprime mortgage crisis, and then, influenced by the rapidly expanding economic situation, Woaw’s market value performance would also be satisfactory.

Just like Facebook in the original timeline, in the financing before the subprime mortgage crisis, its market value had reached 15 billion US dollars, but after the subprime mortgage crisis broke out, that is, only encountering DST Capital, such a “sucker,” it was given a valuation of 10 billion US dollars, and even this was considered to be greatly overvalued…

Chapter 352: A Small Problem

“Did you just arrive? Baby.”

“Yes, the plane was a bit late today…”

Entering the room was the younger sister of the Hearst sisters, Lydia Hearst. She happened to be in Los Angeles for an event, and after learning that Baron had come to Silicon Valley, she immediately rushed over from Los Angeles.

As a model, Lydia certainly knew how to dress. Although it was still winter, after taking off her coat, her black and white color-blocked bodycon skirt, paired with over-the-knee boots, perfectly showcased her figure.

It was unclear if it was because they hadn’t seen each other for a while, but upon seeing Baron again, Lydia seemed a bit shy. However, after Baron pulled her into his arms and gave her a passionate kiss, her enthusiasm was ignited.

Although her height of 170 centimeters was considered tall for a woman, she still felt a bit like a small bird leaning against him when she was with Baron.

“I, I didn’t tell my sister because I really missed you so much, darling…”

Lydia was completely lifted up by Baron. Her breathing was a little rapid as she whispered in Baron’s ear.

“I know, baby…”

At this moment, the two of them didn’t need to say much. Baron held the girl and walked directly into the bedroom…

…

“Darling, the next time I see you will be two months from now…”

“It’ll be quick, baby. Call me anytime you miss me.”

Lydia’s eyes were clearly filled with reluctance, but Baron couldn’t stay any longer. After spending a few wonderful days with her in Silicon Valley, it was time for him to leave.

Mainly, he was about to meet up with Bonnie, who had already finished filming the show, so he could only say goodbye to Lydia first.

At this time, Bonnie had already finished filming the new episode of “Shining Life” and was traveling from Sacramento to Los Angeles, where she would join Baron to board the Devonshire and return to London.

“Was the filming smooth, baby?”

After seeing Bonnie, Baron naturally gave her a hug, and after they got on the plane, Baron asked softly.

“It was pretty good, quite smooth, but Mr. Schwarzenegger has encountered a bit of a problem recently…”

“Oh, I saw it in the newspapers, but it’s not a big deal.”

What they were talking about was the recent controversy caused by Schwarzenegger’s decision.

Just two days ago, California executed its first death sentence in three years.

Before that, California Governor Schwarzenegger had rejected the death row inmate’s request for clemency.

According to newspaper reports, 61-year-old Donald Beardslee was convicted of three counts of murder. Despite pleas from local residents and the prison, Schwarzenegger refused to pardon him on January 18th. On the 19th, Beardslee was executed by lethal injection at San Quentin State Prison in San Francisco.

Then, on the day Beardslee was executed, six protesters gathered in front of the US Embassy in Vienna. They held up banners that read “Schwarzenegger ends life” and “Say no to the death penalty” to protest Schwarzenegger’s “killing spree.”

Well, this kind of thing, in Baron’s previous life, was indeed very abstract…

But now, after he had a better understanding of some situations in Europe and America, he wasn’t so surprised.

What was interesting was that Peter Pilz, a high-ranking official of the Austrian Green Party, even sent a letter to the Austrian Ministry of the Interior, demanding that Schwarzenegger’s Austrian citizenship be revoked. He stated: “The death penalty is unacceptable in Austria and Europe, and Austrian citizens cannot participate in or order the execution of the death penalty… Schwarzenegger is the most prominent Austrian abroad, and his actions shape the image of Austrians overseas.”

Well, Schwarzenegger still holds dual citizenship to this day. In addition to his American citizenship, he also holds citizenship of Austria, his birthplace.

Before this, Schwarzenegger was hailed as Austria’s pride due to his success in the film industry and politics. Last year, his image was even printed on Austrian stamps…

However, since entering politics, Schwarzenegger has shown the iron-faced nature of a “Terminator” when it comes to the death penalty. Last year, he rejected the clemency request of Kevin Cooper, who had been sentenced to death for murdering four people.

It should be known that the death penalty is considered illegal in Austria, so this seriously affected his approval rating in Austria.

In October 2004, some protesters even hung a banner that read “Murderer” on the sign of the Schwarzenegger Stadium in his hometown. A poll conducted in Austria showed that less than 25% of people thought Schwarzenegger could be a good governor.

However, although Schwarzenegger caused some disputes over this matter, as Baron said, the problem wasn’t too big and wouldn’t affect his political career. After all, the Green Parties in European countries are still not very strong.

Speaking of which, the Green Party is also very interesting. It was originally a political party that developed from non-governmental organizations that proposed protecting the environment. They put forward political propositions such as “ecology first,” non-violence, grassroots democracy, and anti-nuclear principles. However, later on, they gradually mixed in more “like-minded people,” well, environmentalists, feminists, animal rights activists…

Familiar, right? Yes, in the future, European countries, including Germany, will have increasingly “abstract” Green Parties. After becoming increasingly “left-leaning,” they have actually become appendages of American interests. Anyway, from the perspective of American interests, Europe is its “ally” and also its threat. With America’s position, only chaotic and abstract allies are good allies…

When the Devonshire landed in London, Baron first went to the headquarters of O2 Telecom.

Here, he met with Mr. Ren, the chairman of Huawei.

Mr. Ren’s visit to Britain this time was mainly because Huawei was participating in the supplier candidate competition for British Telecom’s “21st Century Network Plan.”

Since last year, British Telecom had proposed a renovation and upgrade plan for their network infrastructure, which was named the “21st Century Network Plan.”

It can be said that as the current “leader” of the British domestic telecom network, BT’s “21st Century Network Plan” was very ambitious, with an estimated investment of 10 billion pounds to complete the renovation and upgrade of their network, in order to use more advanced technology to improve network speed.

This plan naturally attracted the participation of almost all the global telecom equipment giants, including Cisco, Alcatel, Siemens, Ericsson, and the British local telecom equipment giant Marconi.

Huawei was also among them.

It was expected that by the end of March this year, BT would announce the list of selected suppliers. Mr. Ren came to Britain to try his best to strive to be included in the supplier list.

But before that, O2 Telecom and Huawei had already conducted extensive cooperation, including the markets in Britain, Ireland, France, and Germany, which were all being deployed by Huawei for O2 Telecom’s mobile communication and broadband networks.

It can be said that this cooperation with O2 Telecom was also Huawei’s biggest reliance in competing for the “21st Century Network Plan” supplier, and it was also their largest-scale telecom equipment supply and construction in Europe.

Currently, in the cooperation with O2 Telecom, after one year of cooperation between the two parties, the deployment of mobile communication and broadband networks in France and Germany had already been largely completed, and the upgrades in Ireland and Britain were also underway.

This cooperation was indeed the most cost-effective for O2 Telecom to choose Huawei, and its efficiency also allowed O2 Telecom to gain a large number of users in France and Germany in the shortest amount of time.

Chapter 353: Oil Field?

In fact, at this time, the “21st Century Network Plan” launched by BT Company, because it was very bold and radical, many analysts and equipment suppliers were skeptical of it.

For example, Godell, an analyst at Forrester Research, said that he didn’t believe that operators would completely switch their networks to all-IP networks by 2012. He predicted that most operators would complete this goal before 2020. This path was obviously not smooth, just like the development path of 3G.

Some people even said that British Telecom was committing suicide, “Compared to their plan, the moon landing plan seems easier.”

However, a BT Company spokesperson responded, “We have never thought that this plan would be easy to complete. There will definitely be many challenges, and we are already prepared.”

And Barron naturally knew that BT Company’s plan was still very forward-looking. Therefore, after British Telecom proposed the “21st Century Network Plan,” O2 Telecom also made a decision to invest heavily and begin to make “expected adjustments” to their broadband network, starting with the laying of fiber optic networks in the British Isles.

Currently, the mainstream of most telecom companies is still ADSL broadband, and there are even quite a few dial-up internet connections…

But Barron knew that the improvement of network speeds in the future would become faster and faster. Existing telecom companies would have cost considerations for laying fiber optic networks—after all, their ADSL networks hadn’t been laid for too long, and the recovery of costs was also something they needed to consider.

However, O2 Telecom was different. Originally, O2 Telecom itself was a mobile communication business spun off from BT Company. Broadband business was their new business, so in this regard, O2 Telecom had less resistance and was also suitable for taking bigger steps.

Of course, the process also needed to be gradual. After all, O2 Telecom’s market still needed to be further consolidated.

And Boss Ren was also very interested in these new businesses of O2 Telecom, hoping to continue to obtain contracts from O2 Telecom.

On this matter, Barron still played a bit of “tai chi” with Boss Ren for the time being, and did not give a commitment too early.

He had other plans that needed to be carried out slowly…

……

“I still have some doubts about building a hotel over in Kolo…”

Today, Barron stayed at Julia Moore’s place. When he was talking to her about some of the family trust fund’s assets, Julia hesitated for a moment and still expressed her doubts.

Last year, the Cavendish Hotel Group’s Devonshire Luxury Hotel, the Devonshire (Bund) Hotel invested in Shanghai by the Cavendish Hotel Group, was able to open. Currently, it seems that the operation of that hotel is still relatively successful, and the occupancy rate is even higher than the Devonshire (Chelsea) Hotel in London!

And next, Barron was preparing to open a Cavendish Hotel in Loti, the capital of Kolo. In the city center of Loti, he would invest in the construction of a Cavendish Loti Tower and open a four-star hotel there.

It could be seen that Julia was still doubtful about opening a Cavendish Hotel in Kolo, a less developed country’s capital.

“Don’t worry, Julia. Although Kolo’s economy is still underdeveloped, its location is very important. Next, with the transformation of Loti Port, it will become the busiest freight terminal in all of West Africa. Relatively, Loti will also become the most important cargo transshipment center in West Africa. Opening a hotel there will have good returns.”

The key is that the Cavendish Tower in Loti, in its construction, does not require the Cavendish Hotel Group to invest too much capital. Most of the construction funds for the entire tower will be borrowed from the West African United Bank. Then, it will only be necessary to use the profits there to slowly repay the loan.

In fact, apart from the Cavendish Hotel Group, the family trust fund’s industry that invested the most in Kolo was actually the Devonshire Ecological Agriculture Company.

They bought large tracts of land near the Prairie Province, which is more suitable for agricultural planting in Kolo, and used it for the planting of ecological farms.

After all, the labor costs in Kolo are much lower than in the British Isles. Under the guidance of agricultural experts, using local people for ecological planting, and finally transporting the products back to the British Isles for sale in the Duke’s Select Supermarket, can obtain higher profits.

Moreover, the Ecological Agriculture Company has also invested in many related factories locally. Coffee, cocoa beans, and other local specialties, after processing, will also bring them good profits.

Speaking of Kolo, Barron had even more important things to do.

A week after he returned to London, before the Caesar Fund completed the acquisition of British Transport Logistics, they first announced the acquisition of U.K. Oil & Gas Investments (UKOG) for a price of 10 million pounds.

UKOG is a small oil and natural gas exploration company that previously only had some exploration projects in the Scottish region.

However, although the scale of this company was not large, its exploration experience and strength were still good, and it had also cooperated with British Petroleum (BP) as a third-party contractor.

After the Caesar Fund contacted U.K. Oil & Gas Investments (UKOG), it offered a price of 10 million pounds and quickly acquired the company.

After completing the acquisition of UKOG, this company will be employed by the West African Mining Group to go to the Gulf of Guinea, near Kolo, to explore the oil and gas resources there.

The reason for this action is that after the establishment of the new regime in Kolo, they hired some exploration companies to re-explore the mineral resources within their country.

And the latest news is that they detected oil and gas shows in the sea near Kolo, and it seems that the reserves are quite large. Therefore, under such news, Barron immediately decided to acquire a British oil company to conduct more detailed exploration of that sea area.

Of course, he definitely couldn’t touch behemoths like BP or Royal Dutch Shell, so he could only choose to acquire smaller oil companies. U.K. Oil & Gas Investments was the choice they made after screening.

At the same time, after the discovery of oil and gas shows in the Kolo sea area, the West African Mining Company immediately bought the exploration and exploitation rights to that sea area.

Therefore, now UKOG needs to be employed by the West African Mining Company to go to the coast of Kolo to explore that area.

Barron was still very excited about this news. Not only could this bring him huge profits, but also, if a considerable amount of offshore oil reserves could be discovered, it would also be a great boost to the economic development of the entire Kolo.

Chapter 354: Compensation

Currently, what can be said in layman’s terms is that after ending years of internal strife, Kolo has entered a phase of “economic construction as the central focus.”

The Kolo government’s low-interest loans from the United Kingdom, the World Bank, and China were almost entirely invested in domestic livelihood construction, including education, healthcare, and some basic infrastructure.

Among these basic infrastructures, their greatest emphasis was on the construction of water conservancy and highways.

Due to Kolo’s special climate, its north and south ends are plains, while the central region is a plateau. In fact, both rainfall and transportation have had a certain impact on Togo’s development.

In terms of agriculture, Kolo uses the central plateau region as a boundary. The southern region has a tropical rainforest climate, with an average annual temperature of about 27 degrees Celsius; the northern region has a tropical savanna climate, with an average annual temperature of 30 degrees Celsius…

The southern region experiences a severe dry season from mid-November to March of the following year; March to mid-July is the rainy season, August to September is a minor dry season, and late September to mid-November is a minor rainy season; the central plateau region only has one rainy season from April to October; the northern region experiences a short rainy season from May to September, and a dry season from October to April of the following year.

From this climatic characteristic, it can be understood how important it is for them to plan reasonable water conservancy projects for agricultural production.

If they can store water during the rainy season for use during the dry season, and open up north-south waterways, balancing water resources during the overlapping rainy and dry seasons of both sides, that would be a huge boost to Kolo’s agricultural production.

However, limited by their current economic strength, they can only proceed gradually after overall planning, temporarily carrying out part of the water conservancy construction to meet the needs of their most important agricultural production areas.

Another aspect is transportation. It can be clearly seen from the geography that the north and south ends of Kolo are both plains, but they are blocked by the central plateau region.

In addition, because the government forces previously controlled the coastal areas for a long time, their focus was on developing the coastal province where the capital, Loti, is located. Currently, Kolo has an area of 57,000 square kilometers and a total population of nearly 7 million people, but nearly 2 million of them are concentrated in the capital, Loti, which covers an area of only 90 square kilometers. This shows the imbalance in its economic development.

The reasons for this are, on the one hand, the long-term internal conflicts, and on the other hand, its geographical characteristics, coupled with insufficient investment in transportation infrastructure, which has resulted in a relatively isolated north and south, making it difficult to transfer the benefits of coastal sea transport to the northern region.

However, with Kolo’s location in West Africa, especially with the regional advantage of having Loti Port, the best port in West Africa, developing it into a cargo transshipment center for the entire West Africa is very promising. But how to quickly transport goods from Loti Port to other neighboring countries is also a problem they need to solve.

The Kolo government intends to build a north-south highway and railway trunk line—Kolo’s territory is long and narrow, about 600 kilometers long from north to south, 150 kilometers wide at its widest point, and only 50 kilometers wide at its narrowest point. Therefore, this trunk line is of great significance to Togo.

But because of the central mountains and plateau region, the estimated total investment for this single railway trunk line would be around 2 to 3 billion US dollars. If the highway is added, calculated with a six-lane dual carriageway, the total investment for the nearly 600-kilometer highway would also be around 2 to 2.5 billion US dollars…

Kolo certainly does not have so much money to invest in these infrastructure projects at this time, so currently they can only strengthen the construction of some highways from the capital, Loti, to the surrounding areas.

But if the oil field discovered this time in the Kolo sea area has a relatively large reserve, then the development of this offshore oil field will definitely be able to solve many of Kolo’s financial problems. And currently, international oil prices are still in an upward trend; now is indeed an excellent opportunity to extract oil.

…

In the dimly lit room, there was only the faint “humming” sound—it sounded like a mobile phone’s vibration alert, and another strange sound that appeared from time to time…

It was like savoring the deliciousness of an Alpine lollipop…

At this moment, if Mrs. Hall, Catherine, were seen by others, they probably wouldn’t believe that the elegant and graceful beauty usually seen was dressed in a different way.

Eight-centimeter-heeled red-soled black high heels, with black stockings on them, and above that, a corset-style bodysuit with a fishbone structure, appearing and disappearing…

Especially at the overlap of the bodysuit and the stockings, in this dimly lit room, a small red indicator light was clearly visible.

Sitting comfortably on the sofa, Baron placed a document he had just finished reading on the side table. He looked at Mrs. Hall kneeling on the ground in front of him…

While the woman was busy, her beautiful eyebrows were slightly furrowed, as if she was in some pain, yet she seemed to be enduring something…

This scene made Baron unable to help but grab her hair…

“Ugh…”

Catherine took a deep breath, and her eyes looked at Baron with an expression of dissatisfaction.

And at this moment, Baron’s gaze fell on a spot on the carpet that reflected a faint light, and her complexion became even more flushed…

…

“I don’t want the money I got to just sit in the bank. Are there any good investments?”

When the noise in the room quieted down, Mrs. Hall’s flushed complexion gradually faded, but her hair was covered with beads of sweat. Leaning in Baron’s arms, she asked this question in a tone of weakness and exhaustion…

“If you want something relatively safe, then buy some properties here in London. The appreciation rate will still be good in the future.”

“What about your Mars Fund? I heard that fund’s returns are quite considerable…”

Hearing the other person’s words, Baron looked at her with a half-smile:

“Do you trust me so much?”

“Do I have a choice now? I can only choose to trust you…”

After selling the shares of Hall Bank to the Hall family, Catherine received 50 million pounds in cash from them.

However, for her shares in North Rock Bank, although the Hall family also hoped to buy them, in the end, Catherine listened to Baron’s words and did not sell these shares, but continued to hold them herself.

What she was asking about now was how to use this 50 million pounds of funds.

“Putting this money into the Mars Fund will definitely have good returns, and it will be more substantial compared to other investment methods…”

Baron thought for a moment and said to Catherine:

“However, the Mars Fund’s fund size has already exceeded 3 billion US dollars. After the funds become more and more massive, future investments will certainly not be like the beginning, being able to have returns that double or even several times a year.”

“Even if it can make a stable profit, that’s not bad…”

Catherine was quite open-minded about this.

“If you want to invest in the Mars Fund, although the investment window for this year is not yet open, I can also make an exception for you… Or if you trust me, then wait a while, and I’ll tell you what to buy…”

“Okay…”

Catherine took a deep look at Baron and said:

“I’ll wait for your news.”

Because Baron knew that he had Catherine keep the shares of North Rock Bank, and when the subprime mortgage crisis came, the value of these shares would definitely shrink drastically…

But controlling a portion of North Rock Bank’s shares was very important for his future plans.

Baron’s principle was that as long as someone gave him their trust and stood on his side, then he would not treat the other person badly. Therefore, on the other hand, he would definitely give Catherine enough compensation.

As long as she was obedient enough, then what she would gain would definitely be more than what she had now.

Chapter 355: Digital Future

“Mr. Aaser, I believe this cooperation will be the beginning of our friendship.”

“I hope so too, Your Grace. This is our first purchase of financial products from a British private investment company, and we are also impressed by your strength in the investment field.”

This time in London, Baron met with Sven Aaser, the CEO of Norges Bank.

After signing the investment agreement, Baron shook hands with Sven Aaser and said with a smile:

“I will not disappoint you.”

The investment management arm of Norges Bank (Norges Bank Investment Management, or NBIM) has been responsible for the international asset investment affairs of one of the world’s largest sovereign wealth funds, the Government Pension Fund Global (GPFG).

And this time, the investment agreement they signed was NBIM, representing the Government Pension Fund Global, purchasing fixed-income products from the Caesar Fund for as much as 1 billion US dollars.

Currently, the Government Pension Fund Global has a fund size of nearly 1 trillion US dollars. Compared to this fund size, purchasing 1 billion US dollars of Caesar Fund products doesn’t seem like a lot.

But the significance lies in, as Sven Aaser said, this is their first investment in financial products from a British private investment company. Therefore, the 1 billion US dollars can be seen as their “stepping stone.” If future cooperation between the two parties can satisfy them, they are very likely to continue to increase their investment.

Péter Friedmann, the CEO of the Caesar Fund, had previously worked at NBIM. This time, the Government Pension Fund Global’s investment in the Caesar Fund was also mainly facilitated by him.

The 1 billion US dollars in fixed-rate financial products purchased by the Government Pension Fund Global have a term of three years, with an average annual return of 10%…

According to statistics, government bonds currently account for over 50% of the Government Pension Fund Global’s investments, with the remainder including investments in stocks, corporate bonds, and real estate…

Since the Government Pension Fund Global began investing in stocks in 1998, until the end of last year, its average annualized return was around 6%, with an annualized net profit of around 4%.

Therefore, for this investment in the Caesar Fund, if the returns they ultimately receive can reach an average annualized 10%, as promised, this would already far exceed their average returns within this sovereign wealth fund’s investments.

Currently, in addition to the 8 billion US dollars invested by Baron’s offshore company, the Caesar Fund’s total capital, including investments from British local capital, Middle Eastern capital, and European funds similar to the Government Pension Fund Global, has already reached 12 billion US dollars.

At the end of January, after completing the acquisition of British Transport Logistics, they still had 7.5 billion US dollars in funds to use.

Of course, these funds will not be idle, and they will proceed with the acquisition of another company next.

However, before that, the Caesar Fund established a subsidiary—Digital Future Investment (DFI).

On February 1st, Digital Future made its first investment, investing 20 million US dollars in DailyVedio.com, holding 40% of the shares in this video-sharing website.

DailyVedio.com was originally a website created by O2 Telecom in collaboration with Digital UK to add entertainment services to its broadband business.

At the time, O2 Telecom collaborated with Digital UK to provide home broadband packages to Freeview users, and in order to expand the entertainment service categories for its broadband users, the two parties jointly launched a website that allowed their users to upload their own videos for public sharing for free, which was DailyVedio.

Prior to this, DailyVedio was jointly held by O2 Telecom and Digital UK, each holding 50% of the shares.

However, due to the previous issues with broadband transmission speeds, DailyVedio could only allow users to upload videos of a certain size and duration to avoid slow internet speeds affecting the viewing experience. Therefore, until now, although there are many users of DailyVedio.com, its total number of users has exceeded 2 million, but its usage frequency is not high, and the number of active users is not very large.

Because of this, O2 Telecom and Digital UK did not pay much attention to DailyVedio. After all, it is obvious that the current broadband speeds greatly limit the development of this type of video website, and DailyVedio itself is just a “free service” they provide to users. Even if some advertisements are added, its revenue is only slightly better than nothing.

You must know that for this type of video website, the more users it has, the more bandwidth and storage space it needs, and the higher the investment required.

Under the current circumstances, the two shareholders of DailyVedio have no motivation to develop this website at all, and it is enough to just have this service exist.

Although Baron knew the future development potential of video websites, at this stage, the real conditions were not yet ripe for the development of this type of business. Therefore, he had not been forcefully demanding it.

However, it is now 2005, including BT’s upcoming “21st Century Network Plan,” and O2 Telecom will also begin their fiber optic plan, and the broadband speeds will begin to increase significantly.

And it’s also about time for YouTube to start appearing, so DailyVedio has also reached a time window where it can begin to develop.

So at this time, Digital Future Investment, a subsidiary of the Caesar Fund, began to exert its strength. After investing 20 million US dollars in the DailyVedio.com website, it will begin to open up this website to the public, based on DailyVedio, and not just to the previous users of O2 Telecom and Digital UK.

And it will organize some technical talents to develop related streaming media technologies to allow DailyVedio to provide users with a better experience.

After completing this investment, Digital Future will hold 40% of the shares in the DailyVedio website, O2 Telecom and Digital UK each holding 30% of the shares, making Digital Future the largest shareholder of this company.

As can be seen from the name of Digital Future Investment, this investment company under the Caesar Fund will mainly be involved in investments in computer technology and internet companies.

In addition to investing in DailyVedio.com, Digital Future also invested in purchasing an old warehouse in Shoreditch, East London, an area that was still quite dilapidated at the time. They plan to demolish it and build a 15-story building—the Digital Future Building. Once completed, it will be used for DailyVedio and Digital Future’s technology incubation projects.

Currently, this area of Shoreditch in East London doesn’t show much, but it will have a name in the future, called Tech City London.

East London is an area in eastern London, near the docks. It used to be a crowded slum—with narrow streets and dense houses, mostly built in the mid-nineteenth century.

During World War II, most of it suffered bombing damage and was later rebuilt, with traditional industries such as clothing, shoemaking, furniture, printing, cigarettes, and food.

East London has historically been regarded as a slum. In the writings of Conan Doyle, the most dangerous place in foggy London was East London.

It is close to the docks, and most of the residents are poor people and immigrants who make a living by manual labor. The famous “Jack the Ripper” once operated here.

In the 1980s, with the transformation of London’s industries, many abandoned industrial buildings were created. These old buildings with an industrial style and low rents attracted many artists with limited funds to work and live here, gradually becoming an important art district in London.

Starting in 2000, the strong atmosphere of innovation here, as well as the significantly lower rents compared to the old City of London, attracted the first batch of programmers to move in.

They rented offices in the Old Street roundabout area. This roundabout is the origin of Tech City London, the world’s third-largest science and technology industry cluster after Silicon Valley in the United States and New York, gathering tens of thousands of high-tech companies and hundreds of thousands of technology elites from all over the world, also known as Silicon Roundabout.

Baron’s goal is to at least have a global social platform like “Facebook”—Woaw, and for other internet projects, such as e-commerce, mobile payments, and local life, he wants to at least hold the European market.

But relatively speaking, it can be seen from the development of his previous life that the internet development in Europe lagged behind that of the United States and Greater China, and there was not such a strong atmosphere.

In this field, he certainly cannot fight alone. He needs the entire internet industry to incubate more new European internet stars.

Now, he is preparing to invest in this incubation, and Digital Future is the “nutrient” for him to incubate these internet companies.

And through this incubation process, conducting targeted venture capital, Digital Future can also obtain sufficiently rich returns.

Chapter 356: Model Agency

“He once hinted to me that he would withdraw from the Prime Minister’s race this year, but not long after, he declared that he would continue to fight for the Labour Party… as if he had never said those words before.”

In a villa on Dream Island, Brown placed his wine glass on the table, shrugged his shoulders, and said with a hint of dissatisfaction in his tone.

“It seems that our Prime Minister is still prepared to seek re-election, but Mr. Brown, you are not without opportunity. I believe that even if he is elected, under increasing pressure, he will make a wise choice…”

“Who knows…”

It was already February 2005, and this year was the election year in Britain.

As mentioned before, the British elections are very different from those in the United States, as the leader of the party that holds the majority of seats in Parliament becomes the Prime Minister.

Until now, Blair still firmly held the position of Labour Party leader. It was obvious that he hoped to continue as Prime Minister.

No wonder Brown was a little unhappy. After all, Brown was two years older than Blair, and if Blair had already completed two terms as Prime Minister, if he were to continue for another term, by the time Brown took over as Labour Party leader, whether the Labour Party could win the next general election in 2010, facing the increasingly popular Conservative Party, was uncertain. Even if they did win, with Brown’s age, he might only be able to hold the position for one term.

You must know that the term of a British Prime Minister is five years. In other words, Brown had waited for Blair to hand over power to him for ten years. Now it seemed that he would have to wait another five years. If there was no “agreement,” it wouldn’t be a big deal, but now it seemed that the other party had unilaterally forgotten the agreement…

Up to now, Blair still hadn’t announced the date of this year’s general election.

According to British law, the Prime Minister can set the date of the general election on any day within five years of the last general election and needs to announce the date of the general election one month in advance.

Therefore, the Labour government could hold the general election before June 2006, but in recent years, the British government has tended to shorten the government’s term from five years to four years. If that were the case, it would be normal to hold the general election a little earlier.

But even so, earlier on, both the Labour Party and the Conservative Party had already prepared for the general election. They had engaged in many confrontations in various situations, in parliamentary debates, and in the media. The changes in the support rates of both sides had also become a hot topic of discussion in various newspapers.

“According to my guess, perhaps because of policies on issues including the Iraq War, the Prime Minister was worried about his support rate, which is why he had the idea of ‘stepping down,’ but after his support rate improved, he regained his confidence and cast such thoughts aside…”

Baron said to Brown:

“In addition, there is another aspect, that is, some of the policies he has implemented are at a relatively critical time. Perhaps he is worried about whether you will be able to continue them after you take office… after all, there are many people who don’t buy into his approach.”

Brown also agreed with Baron’s words.

From the previous life, according to the description in the memoirs of Mrs. Blair, indeed, from the end of last year to the beginning of this year, Blair, who had encountered a “crisis of confidence” due to the Iraq War, worried about becoming a burden to the Labour Party in the general election and had the idea of handing over power to Brown.

However, he ultimately worried that his domestic reform plan would not be implemented, so he decided to stay.

Of course, these were only the words in the other party’s memoirs, and such things could only be used as a reference.

The fact was that after Blair was elected later, there was a secret plan to remove Brown from the position of Chancellor of the Exchequer, which was also revealed later, but he ultimately failed.

It was also true that Brown’s stance on many policies was not consistent with Blair’s. In the original timeline, after Brown took over the position of Prime Minister in 2007, he declared that he would “draw a line” with the Blair government…

“Mr. Brown, rest assured, I will always support you… Now, Miss Ross, whom you met last time, is waiting for you in the room…”

After Dylan Ozdemir, dressed as a wealthy woman, knocked on the door and said something to Baron’s ear, Baron said to Brown with ease.

As Baron had analyzed to Brown, Blair’s main reason for seeking re-election was that his support rate had increased.

Among them, the “help” from the News Corporation’s media, including The Times and the News of the World, was also an important factor.

And Baron could also, without offending Brown, let his media cheer for the Conservative Party to a certain extent.

Of course, he certainly wouldn’t go overboard.

After all, although he personally didn’t like many of Blair’s policies, he didn’t really want to change history this time and get rid of Blair—and the difficulty of doing so wasn’t small.

Because although he had a very good relationship with Cameron and Johnson on the Conservative Party side, the current leader of the Conservative Party was Howard…

If the Conservative Party really won this general election, then the new Prime Minister would inevitably be the current leader Howard, and his relationship with Baron was not as “close” as Brown’s.

And in the original timeline, after the Conservative Party lost the general election, Cameron was able to become the new leader of the Conservative Party in December of this year.

In this way, it was still in Baron’s best interest for the Labour Party to win this time. Not only could Cameron become the leader of the Conservative Party at the end of the year, but also two years later, Brown could also take over the position of Prime Minister—if everything went smoothly, putting some pressure on Blair, it might even be possible to advance the schedule…

…

“Is it arranged?”

“Yes, Your Grace.”

After Brown left, Baron didn’t immediately go to see Rosie Huntington, but continued to wait here until Dylan Ozdemir returned.

“How about the model agency?”

“We have acquired shares in three large model companies, including Storm Model, through offshore funds, but Your Grace…”

Dylan Ozdemir stood behind Baron, reached out and massaged his shoulders, and said softly:

“Even if we have signed confidentiality agreements with them, these models are not without hidden dangers. After all, over time, it’s hard to guarantee that someone won’t talk nonsense…”

What she said was indeed true. Just like constantly hearing “private” revelations about certain big figures from the interviews of some stars or models, even if they could eventually make the other party physically… shut up, but once this matter became the focus at that time, it would be difficult to resolve it in a short time. After all, those who could do this were either stupid or had other forces behind them.

If they were to physically solve the problem immediately, it would instead give others a handle.

“You mean?”

“How about we directly buy some high-quality girls and cultivate them ourselves? This way, the control will be stronger…”

Sometimes Baron couldn’t help but sigh at the changes in people’s hearts. For example, Dylan Ozdemir, she herself was a victim of this kind of thing, but after experiencing those things, she showed a certain kind of coldness in these areas.

“I don’t want to force others to do something, Dylan, you should understand. Even if such coercion can be very safe for a period of time, there will always be omissions.”

When Baron said these words, he could feel the movement of Dylan Ozdemir’s hands pause.

He patted the other party’s fair hand and said softly:

“Your method is not impossible, but what I mean is, we can choose high-quality girls, but first let them take on general service positions, so they can make their own choices. Those who are willing will be subject to restrictions, but at the same time, they can receive compensation…”

“I understand, Your Grace.”

“Has Rosie arrived?”

“She’s waiting for you in the villa next door…”

Chapter 357: Valentine’s Day

“I’ve noticed the Argos Retail Group has started a mail-order business. To be honest, I’ve tried it, and it feels a lot like America’s Amazon?”

“Yes, Mr. Brown, this is definitely a trend. Just look at Amazon’s market capitalization, which has already reached 20 billion dollars!”

After finishing their respective studies, Barron met with Brown again.

However, this time, the two of them wouldn’t be discussing sensitive topics like internal disagreements within the Labour Party. Because there weren’t just the two of them in the room. In Brown’s arms was Miss Ross, the model he had just been chatting with; and beside Barron, Rosie Huntington was also leaning on him like a little bird.

It has to be said that this kind of atmosphere did indeed make the two of them seem more intimate.

“But I’ve noticed that the Argos Retail Group has moved a large amount of its product manufacturing to China. This isn’t a good thing for employment in the UK.”

As the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Brown naturally cared about the economic situation in the UK. The transfer of employment and productivity was naturally something he was concerned about.

“There’s nothing we can do about it. It’s all determined by labor costs. Because the Argos Retail Group is not only in the UK, but also entering Ireland, France, Germany, and more European markets, we must rely on lower costs to compete with local businesses in those countries.”

Barron shrugged and said:

“But this isn’t a bad thing, Mr. Brown. First of all, our high-end manufacturing will still remain in the UK. In addition, with the development of our Argos Retail Group’s e-commerce, it will provide more job opportunities for the UK. Just like with our cooperation with Yunn Logistics, they need to recruit more delivery personnel to handle the distribution of packages…”

Since the Caesar Foundation began its acquisition of Yunn Logistics in January, the Argos Retail Group began cooperation with them. Currently, they primarily use Yunn Logistics for express delivery in the markets they are involved in.

You have to know that at this time in Europe, there was no concept of “free shipping” like in China in the future, and the cost of express delivery wasn’t cheap.

Therefore, just this one item, with the development of the Argos Retail Group’s e-commerce business, could bring considerable revenue to Yunn Logistics.

Even now, the e-commerce business of the Argos Retail Group is developing quite well, and Yunn Logistics needs to increase the number of delivery personnel to ensure the smooth operation of these businesses.

After completing the acquisition of Yunn Logistics, the Caesar Foundation then began the acquisition of Northern Gas Company. Similarly, it was acquiring Northern Gas Company, one of the largest natural gas network suppliers in the UK, from the secondary market.

In Barron’s previous life, Li Ka-shing’s Cheung Kong Infrastructure in HK bought Northern Gas Company, the natural gas energy supplier in northern England, twice, in June of this year and 2009, for a total of 2.4 billion pounds.

Before that, Barron already held 1.5% of Northern Gas Company’s shares. This was part of the inheritance that Lady Emma left to Barron. He had always kept these shares, preparing to buy this energy supplier with a large number of users in advance at the right time.

In fact, for many old money families, what they like to invest in most isn’t high-tech and internet companies, but rather those that are essential to people’s livelihood and can generate stable profits, such as Coca-Cola, pharmaceuticals, real estate, and infrastructure energy projects like Northern Gas Company.

Don’t look at these kinds of companies, their market value growth won’t be too fast, but energy, electricity, and water services are things that everyone needs to buy, and they won’t change much no matter when.

Like Northern Gas Company, it has fixed users in the north of England. Energy suppliers like this have basically fixed their user base in the UK. Although there won’t be much development, the advantage is stability. They can make a fixed profit every year, and this is what those old money families value most.

Similarly, if Barron wants to consolidate his control in the UK, then in addition to making arrangements in the more profitable fields of the internet and finance, projects related to people’s livelihood are also very important.

And this time, Barron had another intention for acquiring Northern Gas Company.

……

“Darling, you look so beautiful today. By the way, this is for you…”

“So beautiful.”

Tamara opened the exquisite gift box that Barron handed her and couldn’t help but exclaim when she saw the diamond-studded necklace inside.

“Do you like it, darling?”

“Yeah, put it on for me…”

The girl had lunch with Barron today, and she was wearing a low-cut dress. This dazzling necklace on her neck, the pendant close to her deep cleavage, inevitably made people imagine things.

Today is February 14th, which is the annual Valentine’s Day in the West.

Speaking of which, this day is really a bit… busy for Barron.

Just like he was in London, he had to spend lunch with Tamara today, and in the afternoon he would go to the villa in Westminster to spend time with Rebecca and his daughter Jennifer. When evening came, he would go home for a sweet dinner with his official girlfriend, Bonnie.

In addition, he had to make phone calls and sweet talk with his other women, including the Hearst sisters and Ivanka, who were far away in America, and also prepare gifts to send over…

So, you only see some successful men enjoying the ease of having many women, but who knows about the sacrifices behind him…

In addition, Barron also got a piece of news from Ivanka, that is, a website called YouTube went online today.

Sure enough, history hasn’t changed, but the initial YouTube wasn’t a website focused on videos, but a dating website…

Well, you can tell from the fact that it went online today that at this time, YouTube was just a website for men and women to get to know each other and go on dates.

But because this website didn’t get the favor of women when it first went online, it wasn’t until April that they added the function of uploading videos, and then gradually transformed into a video-sharing website, and began to open it to the public for free.

And Ivanka, under Barron’s reminder, had been paying attention to several former Paypal employees. She discovered this website at the first opportunity and was preparing to contact them to provide them with angel investment in the name of IC Capital.

At this time, IC Capital was no longer the start-up investment company that it was when it initially invested in MySpace – at the time, IC Capital could only rely on the family behind Ivanka to attract them to allow them to invest.

And after the investment in MySpace, and more importantly, the recent acquisition of the well-known internet advertising company DoubleClick by IC Capital, IC Capital’s reputation in Silicon Valley has greatly increased.

Recently, after DoubleClick finally held a certain percentage of its shares in IC Capital and launched a takeover bid, its board of directors agreed to their offer of 1.1 billion dollars, a 50% premium over its previous market value, and completed the acquisition of this internet advertising company.

It was also through this acquisition that IC Capital demonstrated its strength, and Ivanka’s identity as the daughter of America’s most talked-about real estate tycoon also provided IC Capital with extremely high popularity.

It can be said that although only two investments have been made so far, IC Capital’s reputation is no less than that of some well-established venture capital firms.

Chapter 358: Joining the Acquisition

During Baron’s previous meeting with Brown, they also discussed another issue: joining the Eurozone.

In fact, until the eventual Brexit in the original timeline, they never joined the Eurozone, maintaining their independent currency, the pound sterling…

Brown played a crucial role in this.

From 1999, the British government under Prime Minister Blair promised to eventually join the Eurozone, but this was consistently rejected by Brown, then Chancellor of the Exchequer, who kept delaying the matter.

Don’t think that as Prime Minister, Blair could decide everything, especially since Brown, who was the second-in-command within the Labour Party, had gradually built up the Treasury and other related departments into an impenetrable block after becoming Chancellor of the Exchequer. For economic matters like joining the Eurozone, Blair had to have Brown’s support.

There were even rumors that in 2003, Blair, in order for Britain to join the Eurozone, promised Brown that he would be willing to step down as Prime Minister to gain Brown’s agreement, but this was also rejected by Brown.

Brown’s cautious attitude toward joining the Eurozone had multiple reasons.

First, as everyone knew, each country’s monetary system had the function of regulating its own imports and exports. If Britain abandoned the pound and joined the Eurozone, it would lose this independent monetary policy, and the consequences needed to be evaluated. Although, as a “major power” in the EU, Britain would have the same right as France and Germany to issue Euros, the exchange rate policy of the Euro still needed to be discussed and decided, and it might not necessarily suit Britain’s own economic development. In the end, it would still be subject to certain limitations.

In addition, many people believed that the major powers would benefit from joining the Eurozone, mainly because within the Eurozone, Germany and France, the strong economic exporters, benefited from various tax-free and free advantages within the Eurozone, maintaining rapid economic development. However, the weaker economies with a higher proportion of agriculture, due to the increase in trade deficits and the loss of their own currency barriers, gradually fell into fiscal crisis…

But in fact, what worried Brown and the people who opposed joining the Eurozone even more was that after European economic integration, the strong countries would often have to pay for the economic downturn of the weak countries…

Take Greece, for example. Their government bond yields were once above 10% before entering the Eurozone, but after joining the Eurozone, they plummeted to the level of 4% of German government bonds, greatly reducing borrowing costs, and actually alleviating their fiscal burden.

However, because these European governments pursued high-welfare systems, they not only failed to actively reduce their fiscal deficits after obtaining fiscal dividends, but instead, from 2001 until now, they have been reducing taxes while increasing spending.

The “Stability and Growth Pact” used by the EU to control the fiscal deficits of each country became a dead letter because major powers like France and Germany took the lead in violating it.

Again, take Greece as an example. In order to meet the various conditions of the Eurozone, they hired Goldman Sachs to manipulate their balance sheet.

When the new Greek government came to power and exposed the off-balance-sheet risks and increased its debt ratio calculation, it led to a sharp rise in government bond yields, and the crisis began to emerge.

Therefore, the Eurozone itself did not exacerbate the fiscal burden of the poor countries; it was short-term political interests that dictated long-term economic interests, and ultimately brought about the crisis.

But these crises would ultimately have to be overcome with the help of the relatively strong countries within the Eurozone… If Britain joined the Eurozone, they would definitely need to take on this responsibility as well.

Finally, since 1940, Britain had already established an alliance with the United States in its foreign policy. Given this, there would inevitably be hesitation about joining the Eurozone.

After all, at this time, the EU was not as easily manipulated by the United States as later on; they still had considerable ambitions for the Euro, just as Saddam Hussein was taken down by the United States, not simply for “anti-terrorism.” His proposal to use the Euro instead of the US dollar for oil settlements was also a very important reason—the United States would not tolerate its dollar hegemony being broken.

And in the Iraq War, most of the EU countries, including the leaders France and Germany, criticized the United States’ military action.

These, to put it bluntly, were all choices based on interests.

And Britain’s position was very awkward; between Europe and the United States, they inevitably needed to make a choice, and as everyone knew, they ultimately chose the United States.

Therefore, after the Iraq War, Blair was not as eager as before to join the Eurozone…

Understanding these points, Baron and Brown shared the same view on joining the Eurozone: maintaining Britain’s independent and autonomous monetary policy was essential.

“However, although we are allies with the United States, we also need to guard against our important industries, including the media and the people’s livelihood industries, being eroded by American capital…”

This point was also what Baron emphasized to Brown.

Brown heard this, looked at Baron, and nodded.

…

Based on the experience of one year with the Zeuss Fund, which cooperated with the Goldman Sachs Group, DS Investment Company established a similar high-frequency trading fund in London, named the Hera Fund.

This was also a measure taken after the Global Industrial Investment Fund acquired the London Stock Exchange and gained certain conveniences.

The main trading market for the Hera Fund was the London Stock Exchange, but initially, 1 billion US dollars in funds was also invested for trading.

Of this 1 billion US dollar fund, the Global Industrial Investment (GII) Fund and the Caesar Fund each contributed 500 million US dollars.

In addition, the Caesar Fund was also targeting the acquisition of Northern Natural Gas Company; they issued a partial offer to acquire the company, preparing to acquire 88% of the shares of Northern Natural Gas Company for 2 billion pounds.

In the original timeline, Li Ka-shing’s Cheung Kong Infrastructure acquired 88% of the shares of this company for 2.4 billion pounds, but this acquisition was completed in two phases, in 2004 and 2009, so the total amount would be higher.

The current total market value of Northern Natural Gas Company is around 2 billion pounds. Acquiring 88% of its shares for 2 billion pounds is equivalent to offering a premium of over 13.6%. This premium is still relatively satisfactory for a company with relatively stable operations.

Therefore, this acquisition is also proceeding smoothly.

In addition, the Caesar Fund also announced with O2 Telecom that they would form a consortium to participate in the acquisition of Czech Telecom.

As mentioned before, with the economic recovery, global telecom companies also emerged from the impact of the previous internet bubble crisis.

So during this period, mergers and acquisitions among telecom companies became active, just in Europe.

For example, this month, British Telecom (BT Company) completed the acquisition of Albacom, Italy’s second-largest enterprise-level fixed service provider.

At the same time, Vodafone Group, a British mobile communications giant, was also seeking to acquire control of two companies in Romania and the Czech Republic…

In this regard, as one of the top three telecom companies in Britain, O2 Telecom, in addition to consolidating the French and German markets, CEO Barry Diller also proposed to Baron the idea of expanding through acquisitions.

His target was Czech Telecom, which was undergoing telecom privatization.

Czech Telecom is the largest fixed and mobile phone operator in the Czech Republic. Before this, this telecom company was 51% owned by the government and was a state-owned enterprise.

As early as last year, a spokesperson for the Czech IT department announced that the Czech government intended to sell its 51% stake in Czech Telecom, the country’s largest operator, before March 2005, at which time the company would be completely privatized.

This was a great opportunity for many telecom giants to enter the Czech market.

Telecom companies currently interested in Czech Telecom include Swisscom and Telefónica, and now O2 Telecom is also preparing to enter the market.

However, it is obvious that acquiring Czech Telecom requires a huge amount of funds—currently, the bids of Swisscom and Telefónica for the Czech government’s 51% stake in Czech Telecom are both around 3 billion US dollars.

And O2 Telecom, due to its continuous huge investments in mobile communications and broadband network deployment, even though its revenue has been quite good this year, it certainly cannot come up with so much money all at once.

Therefore, in the end, the Caesar Fund, which still had a large amount of capital, formed a consortium with O2 Telecom to carry out this acquisition, and they would provide financial support to O2 Telecom.

Chapter 359: Kolo Petroleum Company

A recent article in the American Business Week pointed out that after four years of adjustment, European telecom companies were now capable of mergers and acquisitions.

The overall debt level of the European telecom industry had now fallen to 1.4 times its earnings, the lowest level in history.

Merrill Lynch predicted that over the next three years, the top 20 European telecom companies would set aside 207 billion US dollars as “war funds” for acquisitions.

Of course, abundant funds were only one of the reasons for the increase in mergers and acquisitions; chasing profits was the biggest driving force behind them.

Due to the gradual saturation of domestic markets, some major communication giants in Europe were gradually turning their attention to foreign markets, with nearby markets being their first choice.

Analysts pointed out that after these telecom giants had finished eating the “grass at their doorstep,” they would shift their focus to more distant places.

The Yankee Group, a US telecom industry research institution, predicted that from 2005 to 2008, the total revenue of mobile communication services in Western Europe would increase at an annual rate of 3.9%, while the growth rate of similar services in Africa, the Middle East, and Eastern Europe would reach 12.6%.

It was precisely because they saw this that the telecom giants of Western and Northern Europe began to seize the opportunity to acquire telecom companies in Eastern Europe and other regions…

Naturally, O2 Telecom didn’t want to miss such an opportunity either.

According to O2 Telecom’s analysis, acquiring Czech Telecom would allow O2 Telecom to expand its business from the current markets of the UK, France, and Germany to the Eastern European market.

The UK, France, and Germany markets were, relatively speaking, more competitive, while the Eastern European market, due to economic development – in recent years, more and more Eastern European countries had joined the European Union, accelerating the economic development of these countries – coupled with the fact that the telecom companies in these countries were mainly government-controlled and relatively underdeveloped, therefore had greater development potential.

If the acquisition of Czech Telecom could be completed, then O2 Telecom would have a foothold in Eastern Europe, which could be used to expand to more countries.

Immediately, after forming a merger and acquisition consortium with the Caesar Foundation, O2 Telecom sent people to the Czech Republic to participate in the acquisition of Czech Telecom.

…

“After seeing those pictures just now, everyone probably, like me, felt deeply moved. We are accustomed to living in a modern, civilized world, which can only be said to be our good fortune, but let’s not forget that there are still many people whose living conditions are very poor, unable to meet basic medical and health needs, and a large number of women and children die as a result. This is also what our Devonshire Charitable Foundation hopes to change and save. Since our charitable foundation was established, we have invested more than 50 million pounds to improve the medical conditions in underdeveloped areas around the world, including Africa, the Middle East, and many regions of Asia, where we have ongoing projects…”

Baron, with a compassionate expression, sincerely said to the people on the stage:

“Of course, the power of the Devonshire Charitable Foundation alone is still insignificant, but thank God, there are many like-minded friends working with us to make efforts for this, which makes us believe that the future of mankind will inevitably be bright. Now, please welcome our partner, Her Royal Highness Princess Ameena from the Walid Foundation, to the stage to speak…”

Seeing Ameena, wearing a brightly colored long dress, walk onto the stage, Baron, with his gentlemanly demeanor, handed her the microphone.

Since the last trip to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, the Walid Foundation and the Devonshire Charitable Foundation had jointly invested in improving the medical and health conditions in West Africa, mainly in Kolo. So far, they had achieved some results.

After Baron returned to the stage, accepted the praise from many people around him, and responded modestly, he watched Princess Ameena on stage begin her speech with grace. His personal assistant, Laura, walked to Baron’s side and whispered to him in Mandarin:

“Your Grace, there’s news from Kolo, about the results of the offshore oil and gas exploration…”

Hearing this news, Baron’s eyebrows slightly raised, and he said:

“I’ll contact them later. You receive the general information first, and pay attention to confidentiality.”

Kolo’s coastline is nearly 80 kilometers long.

The Inner Sea Bay is part of the Atlantic Ocean, the largest bay in the region, and the more than ten countries and adjacent areas along the coast have rich oil resources, with an estimated oil geological reserve of over 80 billion barrels. About 80% of the oil reserves are distributed in the waters under the jurisdiction of Nigeria and Angola…

Experts from energy institutions analyzed that the oil production in the West Sea would exceed that of the North Sea oil in the future, even exceeding the sum of oil production in Venezuela and Mexico. Due to its late start and the relatively weak economic and technical strength of the surrounding countries, the oil resources in this sea area have not yet been exploited on a large scale, and the prospects are huge.

However, if the results of the offshore oil and gas exploration in Kolo were announced, it could change this previous conclusion.

After acquiring the British Oil and Natural Gas Investment Company, the Caesar Foundation required them to send personnel to the coastal area of Kolo for oil and gas exploration as quickly as possible.

Now, finally, there was a preliminary conclusion. It could be said that the result was very surprising. Just in that area, oil and gas indications had already been discovered. The estimated oil reserves in the currently explored area would exceed 550 million tons. What’s the concept?

You must know that the total oil reserves of the entire North Sea oil field are nearly 5.7 billion tons, which means that the currently discovered reserves are close to one-tenth of the entire North Sea oil field!

And this was still a preliminary exploration result!

And this offshore oil field was mostly located in shallow sea areas with a water depth of less than 50 meters, and 80% of the area had a water depth of even less than 20 meters. It could be said that the difficulty and cost of extraction would be relatively low.

Before this, the area being explored had already been determined, and the Kolo government, the West African Mining Group, and the British Oil and Natural Gas Investment Company had signed an agreement.

They would jointly establish the Kolo Petroleum Company, in which the Kolo National Development Investment Company, representing the Kolo government, would use the exploration and extraction rights of this offshore oil field area as its investment, holding 40% of the shares of Kolo Petroleum Company. The West African Mining Group and the British Oil and Natural Gas Investment Company would provide funding for development, each holding 30% of the shares.

From Kolo’s perspective, this share ratio meant that their government’s shares, plus the shares of local Kolo enterprises, held 70% of the shares in Kolo Petroleum Company, with only 30% of the shares held by the “foreign capital” of the British Oil and Natural Gas Investment Company, completely leaving most of the benefits in Kolo, only using foreign capital’s technology for extraction.

In terms of actual control, the West African Mining Group and the British Oil and Natural Gas Investment Company were both controlled by Baron, holding 60% of the shares. As for the state-owned shares of Kolo…

The existence of the Kolo Legion would not give certain people in Kolo the possibility of escaping his control.

After the establishment of Kolo Petroleum Company, it would first extract the already roughly determined Block 1, which was located just over ten kilometers from the Kolo coast. This was a block with the lowest extraction difficulty and relatively rich reserves that had been discovered so far.

Of course, it would still take some time from preparation to formal extraction. After all, neither the West African Mining Group nor the British Oil and Natural Gas Investment Company had the ability to drill and extract offshore oil, and they needed to conduct bidding…

Chapter 360: Good Luck to Them

On February 15th, Caesar Fund received another round of capital injection, this time from several government-managed pension funds in Britain, totaling 1 billion pounds.

This included the largest British pension fund, the National Employment Savings Trust (NEST). These pension funds collectively managed over 20 billion pounds.

Prior to this, the investment strategies of British government pension funds were very conservative, primarily consisting of bank deposits and British government bonds. At most, the Treasury Department would issue some non-marketable government bonds, called NILO, specifically for them. Benefiting from the fact that the British market benchmark interest rate had reached over 5% in recent years, the annual returns of the national pension funds could maintain an average of over 3%…

After all, in terms of investment, returns always match the risks. Although this investment strategy was very low-risk, an average return of over 3% was indeed hard to be satisfied with.

Some media outlets, including The Independent, recently compared the relevant data of pension funds from many countries. Among the pension funds of major countries in Europe and America, the returns of British government pension funds were at the bottom. Not to mention comparing them with the relatively successful and high-yielding Norwegian Government Pension Fund Global (GPFG), even compared with government pension funds in countries like the United States and France, the returns of British government pension funds were far inferior.

Therefore, these British media outlets criticized the “inaction” of the government pension funds, preferring to keep the funds in government accounts with such low returns rather than using a portion to invest in and support the development of domestic companies…

Take the Norwegian Government Pension Fund Global as an example. They, like the British government pension funds, invested half of their funds in low-risk government bonds and bank bonds. However, they still allocated a large proportion to invest in stocks, real estate, and other assets, achieving satisfactory returns. Their overall returns were more than double that of the British government pension funds!

Amidst such criticism, the British government’s Treasury Department also decided to make some changes and would take a portion of the funds managed by the government pension funds to invest in some relatively stable but higher-yielding products.

This time, several government pension funds together allocated approximately 3 billion pounds, selecting three high-yielding financial products for investment. This included Caesar Fund’s fixed-income financial product, which had a closed period of five years and an average annual return of 12%.

The other two were fixed-income wealth management products designed for these pension funds by Barclays Bank and the Royal Bank of Scotland, respectively.

In fact, during the previous meeting with Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown, Barron had already reached a tacit understanding with him…

In the end, Brown agreed to provide a certain degree of financial support to Caesar Fund. However, correspondingly, these funds would mainly be used to invest in domestic companies and enhance the competitiveness of British enterprises.

As for Barclays Bank and the Royal Bank of Scotland, Brown would naturally reach a consensus with them in certain aspects—these so-called “consensuses” were, of course, still largely aimed at seeking benefits for British local enterprises, but they would not be completely unrelated to Brown himself—there would definitely be no direct transfer of benefits, but it would also have some effect on Brown’s ability to gain support from these capitals at certain times.

After all, if this policy of opening up government pension fund investments only benefited Caesar Fund, then other financial institutions would definitely be dissatisfied. But now, with three powerful institutions benefiting, it seemed much more aboveboard.

“It’s said that the reason the Royal Bank of Scotland obtained funds is partly because their fixed income for government pension funds is slightly higher than ours…”

Daisy also got some inside information and said to Barron:

“The Royal Bank of Scotland previously invested a portion of its funds in the very famous Madoff Fund in the United States. Therefore, they established a good cooperative relationship with the fund, allowing them to invest funds into this high-profit fund with extremely high entry barriers. As everyone knows, this investment fund has extremely high returns. This has a lot to do with Madoff’s position in the American securities industry. In the best years of this fund, from 1982 to 1992, its investment returns could reach 13.5%-20%. Even now, it’s often between 10%-15%. Therefore, if the Royal Bank of Scotland can invest this portion of the funds into the Madoff Fund, they can completely eat up one or two percentage points of the profit difference without doing anything. The average annual return they can offer can be slightly higher than ours…”

“Sounds good…”

Barron didn’t react much to Daisy’s words. After all, he couldn’t possibly not know what the so-called “Madoff Fund” was about. He could only say, good luck to them.

However, Barron didn’t intend to talk more about this matter and casually said to Daisy:

“We need to quickly build up our positions again in the long futures of international crude oil prices.”

“We have already started building positions before. Since the beginning of January, international crude oil prices have fallen back below 40 dollars. During this period, we have been carefully controlling the pace of building positions to avoid too much fluctuation in oil prices. It is estimated that in another week, our position building will be completed, keeping our average holding price below 42 dollars.”

Seeing Barron stretch, Daisy hesitated slightly, then, just like what Laura had done before, she got up and walked behind him, placing her hands on Barron’s shoulders and giving him a massage, while saying:

“This time, we are specifically using US dollars, with WTI New York crude oil futures as our main battlefield, to build positions in the long international oil price…”

The DS Investment Company, managed by Daisy, specifically established a fund to invest in crude oil futures this time. Caesar Fund invested 1 billion dollars to operate on the long side of international oil prices—also because this operation was a relatively long-term one, unlike before, which would last three or four years, so they specifically used this form to operate.

The reason for using US dollars to operate was also because in the following time, the pound against the dollar would face a long-term exchange rate decline. Using US dollars, in a few years, besides being able to profit from crude oil futures, they could also earn a large sum of money in terms of foreign exchange rates.

This was also why the vast majority of DS Capital’s and other affiliated companies’ loans and debts were settled in pounds.

And this kind of debt, expressed in pounds, had another advantage for Barron, which was that before the end of last year, the pound’s exchange rate against the dollar had been continuously rising.

Directly using the properties under Barron’s name to take on debt in pounds, compared to calculating his wealth in US dollars, the appreciation of the pound increased his debt when expressed in US dollars, and also offset a part of the appreciation of his assets. In the various rich lists that would be published soon, the valuation of Barron’s assets, which could be found through public information, would also be greatly underestimated, which was exactly what Barron wanted.

Chapter 361: Seizing the Opportunity

“Nvidia?”

Catherine looked up, her beautiful eyes fixed on Baron, and asked:

“Should all my money be used to buy this company’s stock?”

Baron grabbed her hair, pressed her down… took a deep breath, and said to her:

“Yes, you can entrust a professional institution, or go to DS Investment Company and find someone to help you buy up all the shares of this company, and then just hold them. Wait until I tell you when to sell.”

Secretly memorizing the name, Catherine didn’t delay any further and began to serve Baron attentively…

In fact, at this time, Rich23 Capital had already invested, and through several offshore companies, had quietly purchased approximately 80 million shares of Nvidia, accounting for about 12% of its total shares, with a value exceeding 500 million US dollars.

And the shares of Nvidia had also risen from 5.86 US dollars per share at the beginning of the year to nearly 6.5 US dollars.

The reason why Baron still let Catherine use her 50 million pounds to buy Nvidia shares was also because, even at the current price, it was still more than four times the increase compared to its highest price before the subprime mortgage crisis broke out in October 2007…

And secondly, the current situation of Nvidia was that after launching the GeForce series graphics cards, it had become a rising star in the graphics card field. After outlasting 100 graphics accelerator card companies, its business was relatively stable, but it was still developing its own universal compiler tools, even before Nvidia launched its own compiler tool CUDA in 2007, when its revenue was still declining.

Secondly, the shares of Nvidia were very dispersed at this time—before Nvidia went public in 1999, the shareholding ratio of its main founder, Huang Piyi, was already below 3.6%. Their shares were dispersed among many investment institutions, partners, and employees. Correspondingly, the circulation volume in the secondary market was also extremely large.

These two reasons were why, after Rich23 Capital acquired a certain share of Nvidia’s shares, Catherine could still buy 50 million pounds of Nvidia shares, and through covert and long-term buying, the impact on the company’s stock price wouldn’t be too great.

As for why Rich23 Capital didn’t continue to buy a larger proportion of Nvidia’s shares now?

You must know that this company’s future market value could reach over 1.5 trillion US dollars…

The reason was that it wasn’t the right time to get too deeply involved in Nvidia, because Nvidia’s market value was less than 4.2 billion US dollars at the moment, but after the subprime mortgage crisis, its market value reached over 24.5 billion US dollars, the highest point before the crisis, and then once fell to nearly 3.5 billion US dollars…

That time was the best time to get deeply involved in Nvidia and “save” the company, just like the later BlackRock Group, becoming Nvidia’s main investor…

Speaking of which, Nvidia was still very important. Besides its strength in graphics cards, Nvidia’s GPU later became “strategic materials” for accumulating computing power, and because of this company’s layout in artificial intelligence, it also became a major force influencing the market landscape.

This was also the main reason why Nvidia’s market value could exceed 1.5 trillion US dollars later.

After leaving Catherine’s place, Baron went to O2 Telecom.

Although Baron had learned knowledge with Catherine many times during this period, he was still relatively cautious…

After all, she had just become a widow not long ago, but if she had Baron’s child in a short time, at least for her, the public opinion wouldn’t be too good, and Baron also needed to consider for her.

Therefore, in this case, he could only let this Mrs. Hall supplement her nutrition more.

Maybe she couldn’t adapt at first, but she would get used to it slowly…

…

Currently, the representatives of O2 Telecom and the Caesar Fund consortium had already gone to the Czech Republic to participate in the bidding for the Czech government’s 51% stake in Czech Telecom.

Not only was O2 Telecom interested in this part of the shares, but also Swisscom, Telefónica, and other consortia were coveting the controlling stake in Czech Telecom.

In this case, the final bid price that could secure this part of the shares was very important.

The previous bids from Swisscom and Telefónica were around 3 billion US dollars, and the Czech government decided to conduct a final secret bidding in the near future, which would determine the highest bidder to obtain 51% of Czech Telecom’s shares.

“According to the assessment, we believe that 3.3 to 3.4 billion US dollars is the most suitable bid. After all, this is only 51% of Czech Telecom’s shares. After obtaining these shares, we can also choose to bid to other shareholders to complete the overall acquisition. At that time, more funds will be needed, so we also need to consider that if the current bid is too high, it will greatly increase the acquisition cost in the later stage of the overall acquisition.”

Hearing the words of O2 Telecom CEO Barry Trelease, Baron was silent for a moment, picked up a pen, and wrote a number on the paper in front of him:

“We bid this price!”

“3.55 billion US dollars?!”

Barry Trelease said with some hesitation:

“This price is a bit high, isn’t it…”

“It’s worth it, otherwise, if we miss this opportunity, the cost of the subsequent acquisition may not be low.”

Barry Trelease quickly understood the meaning of Baron’s words, and he nodded with a somewhat serious expression:

“I understand, Your Grace.”

The reason for setting the price at 3.55 billion US dollars was because Baron remembered that in the original timeline, Telefónica had won the bid for 51% of Czech Telecom’s shares, defeating Swisscom and other competitors, with a price of 3.5 billion US dollars. Now he was bidding 50 million US dollars higher than them…

If this still couldn’t secure the controlling stake in Czech Telecom, it could only mean that there were other factors behind this bidding, and even if the bid was higher, O2 Telecom would still have no chance.

As for the fact that the price of 3.55 billion US dollars was slightly higher than the actual value of Czech Telecom they had assessed…

It was normal for such an acquisition to have a certain premium, and being able to take over the Czech telecom market and expand O2 Telecom’s user base to the entire Eastern Europe, the bid was worth it.

In addition, there was what Baron had just hinted to Barry Trelease. According to their analysis, and the predictions of many institutions, and most importantly, Baron’s experience from his previous life, the merger and acquisition battles in the European telecom market would begin to unfold from this year, and the Eastern European market would definitely be the focus.

Currently, other telecom giants had more or less obtained or locked in acquisition targets, so if they missed Czech Telecom, and chose other telecom companies, they would still face increasingly fierce competition—as the prey decreased by one, the competition intensity of the remaining prey would continue to increase.

Then the remaining acquisition targets, the funds needed in the end might even be higher than now, and the importance of the other party would also be lower and lower…

In this case, it would be better to strike in one fell swoop and directly take what could be obtained now.

And in terms of funds, the Caesar Fund still had enough “ammunition” to provide to O2 Telecom.

Chapter 362: What Should We Do Now?

“What’s the matter? So mysterious… Could it be the NVIDIA stock? Or something about the Hall family again?”

Baron had originally planned to go to Italy today to meet with Gucci Group’s CEO, De Sole, and take Rebecca and their daughter out for a relaxing trip. However, he didn’t expect a call from Catherine, saying she had something very important to discuss with him. When he asked what it was, she was evasive, only saying she needed to see him immediately…

Helpless, Baron could only postpone his trip and went to Catherine’s home to meet her.

Baron wasn’t in a good mood at the moment, but Catherine’s expression was also grave. She got up from the study and handed a form to Baron…

“You… are pregnant?”

It was a hospital examination report, accompanied by an ultrasound image…

Speaking of which, Baron was also familiar with this…

Although he didn’t understand these things in his previous life, he had already seen them twice in this life.

His gaze fell on the conclusion, the gestational age was about 70 days…

Calculating it, it should have been in early December…

Hmm, at that time, Catherine’s… former husband, Colin Hall, had already been reincarnated. So, this child was definitely his.

Although recently, when Baron was learning knowledge with Catherine, he had been very careful, but at the beginning, it was really… quite unrestrained.

No wonder this woman was so hesitant on the phone, and insisted on seeing him…

“What should we do now?”

Catherine stared intently at Baron, and the nervousness in her eyes was not difficult to see.

Baron knew that for a woman, her behavior at this time was very important, so he held Catherine’s hand and said softly:

“This is our child, of course we have to have it…”

“But…”

Seeing her expression, as if a heavy weight had been lifted from her heart, Baron embraced her and asked softly:

“What are you worried about?”

“After all, he… left not long ago, and now I am like this…”

Baron immediately understood Catherine’s worries and smiled, saying:

“You don’t need to worry about the Hall family at all. You weren’t planning to inherit their family’s property anyway, so there’s no need to let them know. And even if they did know, what would it matter? After all, it was only a few days after he died…”

“I’m just worried about this, if they think this is his child…”

“Don’t worry…”

Although he had to admit that there was indeed such a possibility, Baron still comforted her, saying:

“Colin wasn’t the Hall family’s only son. Now the Hall family’s inheritance rights have fallen to his younger brother, Alexander Hall, and old Hall is also plagued by illness. I’m afraid even Alexander won’t be too enthusiastic about this kind of thing, but rather will try to conceal this matter from the family. As long as you don’t bring up this matter, the problem won’t be too big.”

Baron absolutely did not have the idea of letting the child in Catherine’s belly impersonate a descendant of the Hall family and compete for the Hall family’s inheritance. After all, these kinds of families weren’t stupid, and they would definitely use scientific methods to verify before accepting an heir. In this era, it was basically impossible to impersonate in this way.

And to be honest, Baron at this moment didn’t even care about the so-called inheritance rights of the Hall family, and there was absolutely no need to let his own flesh and blood take risks.

“I’ll arrange for you to go abroad for a while, and then come back after you give birth. Where do you want to go? How about the United States? Or France? I have an estate in France, the climate there is nice, and it’s also suitable for pregnancy…”

In any case, Baron finally calmed Catherine down, and planned to take Catherine with him on this trip to Italy, let her relax, and then send her to France.

…

When going to Florence, the limitations of the Boeing 747, which the Devonshire belonged to, became apparent.

Because Florence’s local Peretola Airport was only a regional airport, with a runway of less than 1800 meters, it did not meet the take-off and landing conditions of the Devonshire. Ultimately, they could only choose to land at the nearby Galileo Galilei International Airport in Pisa, and then travel by car for an hour to reach Florence.

Although Florence was quite well-known, when you got there, you would find that Florence was really not a big city, with a population of only just over 300,000…

The scenery here was quite nice, full of artistic atmosphere, just like Italy, elegant and relaxed…

To be honest, if Baron had chosen, he definitely wouldn’t have chosen a place like Florence as the headquarters of a group.

But the Gucci Group belonged to the luxury goods industry, perhaps they needed this kind of atmosphere to create works with an artistic atmosphere.

Generally speaking, Baron would respect professionals on professional matters, as the saying goes, “a layman in one field is an expert in another.” Therefore, he still respected the setting of the Gucci Group headquarters here.

This time, he met with Gucci Group’s CEO, De Sole, mainly to discuss their operational issues.

Admittedly, after De Sole took office, by hiring Frida Giannini as Gucci’s design director, he had indeed saved the Gucci Group to a certain extent.

However, in the past two years, the development of the Gucci Group had not been satisfactory, and it had fallen behind brands like LV and Chanel in the luxury goods industry.

Baron still recognized Frida Giannini’s ability, but he also pointed out that Gucci needed more fresh blood to provide more elements for their designs.

In addition, the most important thing was to start vigorously expanding the Chinese market—in terms of luxury goods, China’s purchasing power in the future was beyond doubt. If Japan was the region with the greatest purchasing power for luxury goods in Asia at this time, then in the future, not only in Asia, but globally, the region with the greatest purchasing power would definitely be China.

Some people even claimed that half of the world’s luxury goods were bought by Chinese people…

Although it would still be some time before this time, they needed to start making arrangements now.

Speaking of the development of luxury fashion in China, it all started in 1979.

On March 19, 1979, Pierre Cardin came to China.

As the first European clothing designer to come to China, he held the first fashion show in New China at the Beijing National Culture Palace, and at that time, China did not have the concept of fashion, so his arrival was a risky attempt.

Also in this year, Remy Martin entered the Chinese market and later became the luxury brand with the most influence on China.

The 1980s was the initial stage of the Chinese luxury goods market, and people were not very interested in it at the time.

In 1990, the jewelry emperor Cartier entered the Chinese luxury goods market, leading a large number of international luxury goods to enter China.

The 1990s was the period when the most international luxury goods entered China, and one brand stood out, that was the international luxury goods giant Louis Vuitton (LV), which also opened its first directly-operated store in the Wangfujing Hotel in Beijing this year.

When LV came to China, even in Shanghai, which was relatively developed at the time, the average monthly salary was less than 200 yuan.

The following year, these expensive things triggered a debate—the Economic Daily criticized the foreign brand-selling Sete Department Store, “Sete, you are too outrageous”.

But soon, “Open Remy Martin, good things will come naturally” became the most famous luxury goods advertising slogan in China, and this sentence influenced three generations of Chinese rich people, and its advertising power has not been surpassed by any luxury goods to this day.

1993 was the year when many luxury brands entered China, including Lancôme, Estée Lauder, Clinique, and Chanel.

In 1993, Chanel became a fashion item that Chinese female consumers competed for.

In 1994, the famous menswear brand Hugo Boss entered China.

In the late 1990s, brands like Armani and Hermès also did not want to fall behind and came to China to open stores.

Compared to other brands, Gucci entered the Chinese market a little later, starting in 1996, but they had never valued the Chinese market, and they had not yet opened a flagship store in China. It was also because of this that Baron urged De Sole to accelerate their development in China.

Chapter 363: Luxury Brands

In 2003, the per capita GDP of China reached 1,000 US dollars, and the consumption structure began to change. From that time on, China truly ushered in the prelude to luxury goods consumption, and luxury goods began to enter a phase of rapid growth.

In 2004, which was last year, China promulgated the “Administrative Measures on Foreign Investment in the Commercial Sector” to open up the commercial market to foreign companies. This was a landmark document that promoted luxury goods, actively promoting large-scale investments in China by international luxury brands, and international wholly-owned luxury boutiques sprang up like bamboo shoots after a spring rain.

And now, Gucci Group’s layout in China has fallen far behind its competitors, which is something Barron does not want to see.

“We are already in negotiations with the Shanghai Mall, and we will open our first Gucci flagship store in China in Shanghai this year…”

Hearing this, De Sol shook his head:

“This is not enough. We need to open flagship stores not only in Shanghai, but also in the most developed cities, including Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen…”

He said seriously:

“The luxury goods market in China has huge potential, and even now, their development has produced a large number of wealthy people. You know, there are too many Chinese people. Even a small percentage, under this huge base, will still be numerous, and many of these wealthy people are concentrated in those core cities.”

“We will conduct research for this, Your Grace, and after obtaining accurate data, we will formulate a plan for opening stores in China.”

Regarding De Sol’s answer, Barron said:

“And we need to look to the future. This first requires raising the brand awareness of Gucci in China. As a top luxury brand, we cannot lag behind brands like LV, Chanel, and Hermès. I need Chinese people to think of Gucci first when they talk about luxury goods, not other brands. Gucci must represent the most top-tier and luxurious choice!”

To achieve this goal, it is naturally necessary to strengthen the marketing of the Gucci brand in China…

Barron’s requirement is that Gucci Group increase its investment in China, not just in print and television media. In those most popular urban dramas, the products appearing as top luxury goods for the wealthy families must be the Gucci brand.

Why are the prices of luxury goods so high? Quality and design are certainly important, but they are not the most important factors. In fact, the quality of shoes, clothing, and bags of many luxury brands may even be inferior to some counterfeit goods…

And the main thing that wealthy people are willing to pay a high price for when buying luxury goods is the emotional value that luxury goods can bring.

When most people know that this brand is super expensive, something only the very rich can afford, then when you buy this brand, you can have the greatest sense of satisfaction when showing it to others. That satisfaction comes from the envious gazes of others.

If almost no one knows this brand, no matter how expensive it is, you won’t get that envious gaze after showing off…

To put it bluntly, brands like Gucci, Chanel, and Hermès mainly target people with a “showing off wealth” mentality.

Top wealthy people like Barron, Bill Gates, and Warren Buffett, on the other hand, don’t need to rely on these things to demonstrate their status at all…

When have you ever seen Bill Gates or Warren Buffett wearing luxury brand clothing? They are already on another level.

If Barron were not the owner of the Gucci Group, he wouldn’t wear these luxury brand clothes at all. His previous clothes were mostly custom-made, and there would be no brand logos on them.

Therefore, if you want to become the favorite of those groups who want to “show off their wealth,” then first of all, Gucci must have sufficient brand awareness. When most Chinese people have the concept that Gucci is the top luxury brand, then no matter how expensive it sells, people will scramble to buy it.

……

In addition to talking about the Gucci Group, Barron also spent a few days in Florence accompanying Rebecca and her daughter, and Catherine Hall—uh, she should be called Catherine Neville now. Before coming to Italy, Catherine had changed back to her maiden name. They went sightseeing everywhere here.

It has to be said that although there isn’t much of a modern urban feel here, it’s also very suitable for tourism—after all, tourism is about experiencing a different living environment than your usual one.

Speaking of which, Barron was originally only going to bring Rebecca and her daughter this time. Catherine’s addition was an accident.

To Rebecca and them, Barron introduced Catherine as a friend of many years, and, well, that wasn’t wrong.

However, Catherine was surprised when she saw Rebecca, especially when she saw the little girl she was holding.

Barron had kept this very secret, and Catherine only then knew that this guy had already had a child…

But thinking about the child in her own belly, and her current situation, she could only convince herself to accept these things.

It was probably because she was also going to be a mother soon, that Catherine was very fond of little Jennifer.

Jennifer is almost one year old now, with golden hair and blue eyes, like a little angel, and is very lovable.

Seeing Jennifer’s appearance, Catherine would sometimes忍不住 (couldn’t help but) imagine whether her own child would be a boy or a girl…

But generally speaking, you can only tell the gender of the fetus through an ultrasound scan after more than five months, so Catherine can only stay in the stage of speculation now.

After finishing their trip in Italy, Barron and his party first went to France.

Among the inheritance that Madame Emma left to Barron, there was a French manor. This manor is located in the south of France, and the climate is pleasant.

After coming here, Catherine fell in love with the environment here.

In addition to the servants who took care of her daily life, and the relevant medical team, Barron also hired bodyguards for her to protect her safety. Everything was arranged properly.

And it is not far from London. With a private jet, Barron can also come to visit very conveniently.

In fact, Catherine is only more than two months pregnant now, and it is not very obvious. In this season, she is wrapped in layers of clothing, and it is almost impossible to tell that she is pregnant.

Therefore, in the past two or three months, she didn’t have to live here all the time, and could still often go back to London. It’s just that after her belly gets bigger later, she will need to pay more attention.

This time, the main purpose was to let Catherine experience the living environment here and see if she could adapt.

According to her, after a while, when she must live here permanently, her family will also come to take care of her from time to time.

After leaving Catherine in the manor in the south of France, Barron took Rebecca and her daughter, and boarded the Devonshire, and went to the next stop, Los Angeles.

Chapter 364: YouTube’s Angel Round

This time in Los Angeles, Barron brought Rebecca to their new home, a mansion in addition to the Malibu beach villa, another luxury property Barron purchased for Rebecca and her daughter.

This “mansion” could already be called an estate, located high in Beverly Hills, within a gated, high-end community.

The estate covered over 15,000 square feet (approximately 1,400 square meters), boasting eight bedrooms, including a nursery and entertainment room, and ten bathrooms…

Besides a gym and swimming pool, it was also equipped with a bar, library, home office, spa, and screening room, all with the most advanced security and smart systems.

There was also a wine cellar and tasting room that housed over 3,000 bottles of wine.

The entire estate, including the subsequent renovations, cost 20 million US dollars, making it one of the most luxurious and complete estates in the community.

As a “surprise gift” for Rebecca, it truly pleased her, and she happily showed her daughter around their new home.

In addition, for Rebecca, who would be frequently staying in Los Angeles, Barron also arranged a maid and two female bodyguards who would protect her 24 hours a day, serving as her driver and assistant.

Next, Rebecca would be taking film-related courses at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).

At the same time, Barron gave Rebecca a task, which was to collect a list of newly published novels each week and give it to Barron.

Because he knew that the first novel of the Twilight series, Twilight, was released in 2005, but now it was almost March, and he hadn’t found this novel on the market yet.

Although in his previous life, Barron knew that the Twilight film series did very well at the box office, he was in the financial industry, so he hadn’t paid much attention to the novel’s author or the specific publication date.

But he couldn’t just tell Rebecca about a novel like Twilight that hadn’t even come out yet; that would be too deliberate.

He could only use this method to keep an eye on the novel’s publication, so he could obtain the film and television rights to the novel as soon as possible.

…

“I’ve already discussed the investment in YouTube with Steve and the others, but it doesn’t seem like this website is anything special right now. Do you really think it has potential?”

After settling Rebecca and her daughter in the Beverly Hills estate, Barron went to San Francisco to meet with Ivanka.

However, she still had some doubts about YouTube at this time.

The YouTube website had launched on Valentine’s Day of this year, and it wasn’t very popular yet. Compared to many other dating websites, it could even be considered deserted, which was why Ivanka felt this way.

The Steve she mentioned was Steve Chen, one of the three Chinese-American founders of YouTube. The other two founders of this website were Chad Hurley and Jawed Karim, all former employees of PAYPAL.

Steve Chen’s situation at this time was not good. Before this, he had been unemployed and in debt. It could be said that their startup on YouTube had used up the last of the three’s savings, so they already had the idea of raising funds from their former PayPal colleagues.

The appearance of Ivanka with IC Capital could be said to have taken them by surprise. After communicating with them, Ivanka had obtained the angel round financing terms, investing 1 million US dollars for 30% of YouTube’s shares.

The YouTube team was now in San Bruno, just over ten kilometers away from San Francisco. Recently, because of IC Capital’s investment in YouTube, Ivanka was here, which was why Barron had come to San Francisco to meet with her.

“Don’t worry, honey, YouTube has a future.”

Barron comforted Ivanka, then asked:

“Is everything going smoothly with DoubleClick?”

“It’s not bad. Although our acquisition offered a relatively high premium, and the founding team of DoubleClick also raised objections, after communicating with them, we still obtained the approval of the board of directors and completed the acquisition of DoubleClick.”

In Barron’s previous life in 2007, Google began the acquisition of DoubleClick, initially offering 3.1 billion US dollars.

At that time, after several years of recovery, DoubleClick had regained a considerable share in the internet advertising field, possessing what could be said to be the most and highest quality corporate users.

However, this acquisition was opposed by companies such as Microsoft and Yahoo. After continuous efforts, Google’s acquisition finally passed the antitrust review by the United States and the European Union.

Their acquisition price was also raised to 3.24 billion US dollars.

However, just as IC Capital had promised the founding team of DoubleClick when it acquired the company, after including DoubleClick under its umbrella, it would still be managed by them, and they would not interfere within a certain period.

Of course, this also required the other party to be able to provide revenue that satisfied IC Capital as a prerequisite.

If IC Capital was still unknown when it initially invested in MySpace, and the most well-known aspect was Ivanka’s own influence, coming from a well-known real estate family, then after completing the acquisition of DoubleClick for nearly 1.1 billion US dollars, IC Capital’s strength began to be taken seriously.

Some people speculated that IC Capital’s funds came from Ivanka’s TP family, but this speculation was denied by Ivanka and her father.

Ivanka’s father, who had recently married his third wife, stated frankly in an interview:

“No, I can say with certainty that the only connection between IC Capital and the TP Group is that its manager is my daughter… Yes, Ivanka is doing very well. I believe in her abilities. If possible, I will give her the greatest support, but you should see how excellent she is. This makes me proud. I have taught her all the secrets of the business world, and she is the best!”

In another interview, he said:

“Yes, her achievements are entirely due to her own efforts. I still remember that before she considered managing IC Capital, she had consulted me for my opinion…”

“I told her, go for it, my dear, I believe in you. Now, it can be proven that she is doing very well. Of course, it cannot be denied that she is luckier than other people her age in that I will teach her everything in the business world. I can only say that she fully understands those…”

Back to the main point, completing the acquisition of DoubleClick did indeed increase IC Capital’s persuasiveness. This was not only reflected in the acquisition of YouTube but also had an impact on MySpace, which they had previously invested in.

It should be known that after Woaw Technology completed its Series C funding, its valuation had exceeded 3.5 billion US dollars. Many investment companies that saw the future of social networks but had not had the opportunity to get on the Woaw Technology bandwagon turned their attention to other similar companies.

This included MySpace, which was developing well. After the last round of financing, IC Capital had taken a 40% stake in MySpace for an investment of 10 million US dollars. Now, they were preparing for the next round of financing.

Many venture capital companies were very active in this regard. If it was before, IC Capital would not have an advantage.

At most, they could only maintain their 40% stake in MySpace based on the anti-dilution clause from their initial investment.

With such a high shareholding ratio, Intermix Media, MySpace’s parent company, was also somewhat wary of them and was more willing to let other venture capital companies join in.

But after completing the acquisition of DoubleClick, IC Capital had abundant resources in the internet advertising business, which was very attractive to MySpace.

Not only MySpace, but even its parent company, Intermix Media, had a great need for these resources.

Under such circumstances, IC Capital used this as a condition and successfully continued to participate in MySpace’s new round of financing. As the lead investor, IC Capital invested 30 million US dollars and obtained a 15% stake in MySpace.

Adding the previous 40% stake in MySpace, which was diluted, IC Capital’s stake in MySpace reached 49%!

Thus, they became the single largest shareholder of MySpace.

However, it was still less than the total shareholding of Intermix Media and MySpace’s founding team.

Chapter 365: Android Company

“How’s the Android company doing?”

“That company? When we found them, the Android company was very happy to hear that we were interested in investing…”

Ivanka’s face showed a smile as he said:

“Before that, they had already actively sought out quite a few venture capital firms, but they were all rejected. This included Google. Although they said they would support them, there were no substantive results. According to Michael Faden, who is one of the founders of the Android company, they were even preparing to go to Asia to seek investment from hardware manufacturers like Samsung and HTC. Yes, when I met with them, they had already booked their plane tickets for two days later…”

The Android company was established in October 2003. Initially, the early direction of developing this system was to create an operating system for digital cameras, but later they switched to a mobile phone system.

In January of this year, the Android company fell into a financial crisis and urgently needed funds to continue researching and developing their mobile phone system, but their search for venture capital everywhere ended in failure.

In 2004, the global shipments of personal computers were 178 million units, while the shipments of mobile phones in the same period were 675 million units, almost four times that of personal computers. However, the processors and memory of mobile phones were only equivalent to those of personal computers in 1998.

Therefore, when they claimed to be developing an intelligent operating system for mobile phones at this time, many companies, after seeing the size of their team, considered it to be a pipe dream.

After all, at Samsung, there were more than 300 people developing their own operating system, while the Android company’s team only had a few people…

Prior to this, in order to seek investment, the Android team had targeted several venture capital firms, most of which were located on the East Coast, far from Silicon Valley.

In the original timeline, a book about the Android company later described this period of history—

“Michael Faden once shuttled back and forth on a main road in the western part of Silicon Valley. At that time, he introduced the Android system as a camera operating system to these investors, but was always rejected…”

After that, they targeted venture capital firms that they hadn’t introduced to yet. While contacting these venture capitalists, the Android team also met with Google.

In early January 2005, Google co-founder Larry Page invited Michael Faden to meet at Google.

Page was a fan of the T-Mobile Sidekick phone produced by the company Michael Faden used to work for, so he wanted to talk to Michael Faden about trends in the mobile industry.

This was a small-scale meeting, with only Michael Faden and Sears from the Android side, and Page, co-founder Sergey Brin, and George Harik, an early Google employee, from the Google side.

That meeting was very casual, but Google was clearly interested in what Michael Faden and Android were doing.

At the end of the meeting, the founders of Google said:

“We are willing to help you.”

It has to be said that the meeting with Google was encouraging, but in fact, this meeting did not achieve any substantive results for the Android team.

Therefore, they hoped to find more potential investors, including mobile phone manufacturers Samsung and HTC.

However, at this time, Ivanka, along with the IC Capital team, found them.

At this time, because of the acquisition of the former internet advertising giant DoubleClick for a price of 1.1 billion US dollars, IC Capital’s reputation in Silicon Valley was growing day by day.

Therefore, facing the goodwill released by IC Capital, this round of financing was quickly completed, and the process was very smooth.

IC Capital would invest 20 million US dollars and obtain 45% of the shares of the Android company.

At the same time, in the investment agreement they signed with the Android company, they obtained an additional clause, which was that IC Capital would have the anti-dilution right of holding share ratio in subsequent financings, and would have the right of first refusal under the same conditions.

Moreover, when the Android company faced an acquisition, they had the right of veto, on the condition that they would acquire the remaining shares at the same price as the other party.

In the original timeline, the Android company was acquired by Google for 50 million US dollars on July 11th of this year, after three meetings with Google.

However, before the second meeting between the Android company’s founders and Google in March, IC Capital had already entered the game in advance and completed the investment in the Android company.

Barron naturally understood the future importance of the Android company. As for why he didn’t directly acquire the Android company completely like Google in the original timeline?

Because the internet resources Barron possessed now were still far inferior to Google, he couldn’t be sure if he would still be successful if he completely acquired this company—after all, in the original timeline, it was after Google acquired the Android company and after a period of development that they launched the Android mobile phone system.

Moreover, in terms of the enthusiasm of the founding team, Google’s complete acquisition of the Android company could be used to incentivize them with Google’s stock.

But what about IC Capital? Completely acquiring the Android company, causing the founding team to lose their shares, would they still replicate the success of the original timeline in the process of developing the Android system?

No one could guarantee that.

In fact, Barron’s positioning for IC Capital was to use this investment company, managed by Ivanka and seemingly not having any direct connection with him, to invest in projects that were relatively promising or could be sold for a good price, but which conflicted with some of his current industries.

Just like MySpace before, it could be sold to News Corporation at a high price in the future, but it was in a competitive relationship with Woaw Technology…

YouTube, which would also compete with DailyVedio in the future…

The Android company was also like this. DS Capital was a major shareholder of Apple. After DS Capital and Rich23 Capital together held more than 30% of the shares of Apple, the private equity funds under DS Capital, including the Mars Fund, had also been increasing their holdings of Apple’s stock.

As everyone knows, in the future, Apple and the Android company will be each other’s biggest competitors in mobile phone operating systems.

Therefore, companies related to DS Capital were not convenient to directly invest heavily in and support the development of the Android company.

This could easily worsen the relationship between Apple and them in the future.

Therefore, Barron invested in the Android company through IC Capital, and did not choose to completely acquire it like Google, which was also to leave room for Google’s investment in the future.

Yes, in this timeline, it was naturally impossible for Google to complete the acquisition of the Android company again.

But if they wanted to invest in this company, IC Capital would still allow it, but the premise was that they would retain enough benefits for them in the future Android company.

Whether it was investing in the Android company in advance, or the additional clauses required in the agreement, they were all preparations made by IC Capital for this.

A 45% shareholding ratio also allowed IC Capital to advance and retreat with ease on the battlefield of the Android company in the future.

Chapter 366: Interactive Entertainment

Since he had arrived in San Francisco, Baron also went to Silicon Valley.

After completing the Series C financing, Woaw Technology obtained more than 500 million US dollars in funding.

In addition to being used for the construction of the North American data center, they also invested a large amount of funds in technology research and development.

One of the main research directions was the development of information stream advertising.

Currently, although the Woaw website had over 100 million global users, their advertising revenue was not high. Not to mention compared to giants like Google and Yahoo, even compared to some portal websites, such as America Online, their advertising revenue was far inferior.

This was mainly because social networks like the Woaw website were different from search portals. For a good user experience, the placement of advertisements also needed to be very restrained. If users were greeted with a screen full of colorful advertisements during use, it would inevitably cause many users to abandon them.

And the facts of the original timeline proved that information stream advertising was very suitable for the advertising format of social networks like Woaw. Speaking of the way information stream advertising was placed, many people were probably not unfamiliar with it. Compared to the current floating, window, or banner advertisements, the emergence of information stream advertising could give users a more natural feeling.

Moreover, the placement of information stream advertisements also targeted the user’s preferences, using a certain algorithm to integrate the information that users usually talked about or searched for online, creating a “profile” of the user, and thus, according to their needs, placing corresponding advertisements…

In fact, later, many short video platforms, including Douyin, used this principle to push user preferences.

The advantage of this type of advertisement was that it was not easy to make users feel disgusted, and the advertising placement efficiency was extremely high.

In the original timeline, Facebook launched its first information stream advertisement in 2006.

Before the launch of information stream advertising, Facebook was facing the test of commercialization. They had a large number of users, but they had not been able to find a good commercialization model.

Due to the popularity of mobile phones, web advertisements were also greatly squeezed, and growth began to gradually slow down, so Facebook had a bold idea: to move advertisements to mobile phones.

When this idea was put forward, it faced a huge problem, which was that the mobile phone screen was too small, and the advertising space was also limited. In addition, the principle of the internet at that time was “user experience first.” If everything was made into advertising space, where would the user experience come from?

So Facebook decided to put the advertisements in the normal display of information, which was information stream advertising.

Facts proved that this was a genius decision, and from then on, Facebook’s revenue took off.

And now, the launch of information stream advertising was also a powerful tool for the Woaw website to increase advertising revenue. At the same time, research on this would also be able to accumulate talent in algorithms for Woaw in the future and conduct technology accumulation.

It was estimated that by the second half of this year, Woaw Technology’s research and development center would be able to apply the preliminary information stream advertising, and after that, it would be a process of continuously optimizing its algorithm.

“Your Grace, regarding the patent for the ‘Farm Game’ you mentioned, we have already started applying in major countries around the world, but there is one problem, which is that it is best to have a finished game to express it more clearly.”

“I believe it will be completed soon. I need to get those patent copyrights as soon as possible.”

Here, Baron also saw the arrival of Halo Company’s CEO, Nate Ford.

It could be said that Halo, a copyright management company that Baron founded very early on, was also the least conspicuous among Baron’s current companies.

However, this company also held a very important position in his industrial layout.

Including the copyrights of the original shows like Downton Abbey, The Traitors, and Love Island, as well as the ownership of best-selling IPs like Werewolf Kill, were all placed under Halo Company, while companies like Top Summit Studio and Asmodee only had the authorization of these IPs.

Now, what Baron instructed Halo Company to apply for was a patent copyright for a game.

This game was called Happy Farm, well, many people should have played it, it was the “vegetable-stealing” game that was once popular on Facebook, Renren.com, and QQ Space.

Baron had already bought a small game studio in London, named Interactive Entertainment, and this studio was currently producing this game, which he had planned based on the “vegetable-stealing” game he played in his previous life, and it would be completed soon.

After completing this game, it would be launched on the Woaw website to help Woaw website users with entertainment interaction between friends, and through the real-life friend relationships of users, attract those who had not yet joined Woaw.

Baron had witnessed the power of “everyone stealing vegetables” in his previous life. Those who had never played games before, in order to “steal vegetables”, did not hesitate to set alarms to wake up in the middle of the night, just for this game, it was not that it had not happened.

At the same time, Woaw Technology was also developing an open game platform based on their social network users. After all, relying on themselves alone, their creativity was also limited. Only by opening up the entire platform and utilizing the user base of the Woaw website, allowing some third-party game developers to make money on this platform, could they achieve each other and allow Woaw to develop in a healthy way.

At that time, using Happy Farm as a demonstration would naturally attract many game developers to participate in their open game platform, and also attract more users to the Woaw website.

Happy Farm was expected to be launched in a month, while Woaw’s open game platform would be launched in June, a little later.

…

In early March, Baron arrived in New York and moved into the top-floor mansion of the Woolworth Building.

And Amanda Hearst had been waiting impatiently, probably if it wasn’t for the slight reserve of a young lady from a wealthy family, she would have already set off to Silicon Valley to “search for her lover from afar.”

Therefore, at the first opportunity, she appeared in Baron’s New York residence.

Accompanying her was her cousin, Lydia Hearst.

“Dear Amanda, your dress is really beautiful today, it’s the most beautiful scenery in New York…”

Amanda was wearing a red dress underneath, this bright color suited her very well.

Hearing Baron’s praise, the corners of Amanda’s mouth lifted, and she was obviously in a good mood.

But then she put on a stern face and said with a hidden meaning:

“I thought you preferred the scenery of California, Your Grace.”

Understanding that she was still a little resentful, after all, under the premise that Baron had a legitimate girlfriend, she was still with him. As a young lady from a wealthy family like the Hearst family, this was originally a very “compromising” thing.

But now, the time Baron could spend with her in a year was really not much. For Amanda Hearst’s status, being able to do this was also a sign of how much she loved Baron, the young Duke.

It’s just that this time Amanda finally waited for Baron to come to America, but he was in California and didn’t come to New York for a long time, which would naturally accumulate a lot of emotions.

What could Baron do? He could only hug the girl into his arms and coax her well.

At the same time, he also saw Lydia behind Amanda, holding back a smile, making a face at him…

Baron immediately glared at her, deciding to “educate” her well that night.

Chapter 367: The Power of Unity

It was said that he was going to “educate” Lydia, but he needed to appease his sister first.

It was clear that Amanda was brimming with enthusiasm. The moment she entered the bedroom, she couldn’t wait to hug Baron and give him a kiss…

It was a pity that, despite her enthusiasm, Amanda’s ability to learn was still lacking, or rather, she still didn’t have the perseverance to continue learning, and was “easily bored”.

Yes, she quickly fell behind Baron’s learning progress and finally fell asleep in a daze…

Alas, good students always need to study secretly while others are resting…

So Baron could only go to Lydia and continue tutoring her…

…

In the following two days, the Hirst sisters’ complexions finally improved a lot.

And Baron, in the afternoon of this day, took a car to Long Island, near New York.

The convoy entered an estate. At the gate of the estate, the bodyguards and vehicles of Baron’s party were searched. He had prepared for this long ago, and had his security captain temporarily store their weapons here.

After the vehicles continued to move forward for nearly ten minutes, the view suddenly opened up, and an antique wooden villa appeared before their eyes.

“Welcome, Your Grace.”

In front of the villa, a young man in his thirties, dressed in a suit and looking impeccable, was waiting there. After Baron got out of the car, he politely said to him:

“I am Mr. Bogel’s assistant, Mark Rossi. Mr. Bogel is waiting for you inside.”

Under the guidance of Mark Rossi, Baron came to the reception room of the villa, where he met an old man with silver hair and a vigorous spirit. He was also introduced by Goldman Sachs Group CEO Lloyd, and had come to visit today, a financial tycoon—John Bogel.

As everyone knows, ruling America from behind are the two-headed eagles—the Anglo-Saxon Group and the Jewish financial group.

And often, Goldman Sachs Group is classified as a member of the Jewish financial group, because the founder of Goldman Sachs Group, Marcus Goldman, was a Jew.

Marcus Goldman’s daughter married the Jew Samuel Sachs, who also became a partner of the predecessor company of Goldman Sachs Group. That company began to be renamed Goldman and Sachs.

The relationship between the two families has always been very good, and Sachs’ eldest son, Julius, later married Goldman’s daughter, Rosa, further strengthening the bond. In 1888, the company was renamed Goldman, that is, the Goldman Sachs Group (Goldman, Saches & Co.) that we know today.

In the following 50 years, almost all of the company’s partners were marriages between the two families, and moreover, all of Goldman Sachs’ business was carried out only after the unanimous consent of the two partners.

However, after several crises and a hundred years of development, the Goldman and Sachs families held very few shares in the Goldman Sachs Group, and they had long since ceased to participate in the group’s management.

Currently, the top three shareholders of Goldman Sachs Group are Vanguard Group, BlackRock Group, and State Street Group.

And Vanguard Group itself is the major shareholder of BlackRock Group and State Street Group…

Therefore, it can be said that behind the Goldman Sachs Group is the Vanguard Group.

At this time, the old man, John Bogel, whom Baron was currently meeting, was the founder of the Vanguard Group.

And what is the background of the Vanguard Group?

John Bogel, the founder of the Vanguard Group, is known as the father of index funds, and is Warren Buffett’s idol.

The Vanguard Group was founded in 1974, and its predecessor, the Wellington Fund, was founded in 1929—the initial founder of the Wellington Fund, Walter Morgan, well, this surname is very familiar.

The two major families of the Anglo-Saxon Group in America are the Rockefeller financial group and the Morgan financial group.

So, the Goldman Sachs Group now has the strong shadow of the Morgan financial group behind it.

This is also the reason why, this time in New York, Goldman Sachs Group CEO Lloyd introduced to him the big figure, John Bogel, the founder of the Vanguard Group.

“Although I have seen many brilliant young people in these decades, I have to admit that you are one of the most impressive.”

After the greetings, Bogel did not hesitate to praise Baron.

Baron had heard such praise countless times before, but the person saying it now was more important.

He smiled and said:

“Thank you for your praise, Mr. Bogel. Although I seem to be doing well now, I still have a lot of life experience to learn from you.”

“If there is any advice for life, Your Grace, please forgive me for speaking frankly, it’s still that sentence…”

Bogel looked directly at Baron’s gaze, his eyes flashed with brilliance, and he said lightly:

“Just like what I said just now, I have seen countless people who, at a young age, showed super-strong investment talent, Your Grace, you are one of the most outstanding, but there are also those whose performance is even more amazing than yours… Frankly speaking, most of them didn’t have your noble background, but do you know?”

Sighing, Bogel continued:

“But often, the more talented young people are, the shorter the time they can survive in the market. On the contrary, those who ultimately achieve long-term success are those who are far less talented, but have great perseverance…”

“I will take these words as your encouragement to me, Mr. Bogel.”

Regarding what the other party said, Baron still looked as usual, with a smile on his face.

Looking at the young Duke in front of him, John Bogel revealed an expression of appreciation at this moment:

“What I want to say is that a person’s ability and talent are indeed very enviable, but how many families, even those that were once brilliant, can still exist and continue their brilliance? Just like the Goldman Sachs Group, if it had always been controlled by those two families, it wouldn’t have the scale it has today, and it would probably have vanished in 1929, or even earlier.”

“The only thing that can keep everyone’s wealth, and even allow it to continue to develop, is unity, because you can’t guarantee that you will always make the right judgment, or that your descendants can do the same, but you can believe in the collective wisdom of gathering countless elites, and the enormous energy after gathering more capital…”

Unsurprisingly, Baron knew that when John Bogel talked about this, the main point of today’s meeting was about to begin.

“I agree with what you said, Mr. Bogel, but first of all, I want to know, what kind of… ‘power of unity’ are you describing?”

“It’s too early to say that, Your Grace. In fact, what I want to talk to you about today is cooperation. The Vanguard Group with your DS Capital, and… including Rich23 Capital, the West African Group, and other companies. In short, it’s about you and your family, having more cooperation, more mutual understanding, or rather, deepening it through continuous cooperation, which is easier to accept, isn’t it?”

As Bogel’s voice fell, Baron’s pupils slightly contracted, but quickly returned to normal…

It was very clear from Bogel’s words that even though Baron had used many offshore companies to conceal himself, even though companies like Rich23 Capital and the West African Group had no apparent connection with Baron, these situations had all been known by Bogel, or rather, they had analyzed and guessed it to be about eighty or ninety percent accurate.

After all, even with these disguises, the flow of funds between each other, even if there were dazzling repeated transfers, but as long as there was enough patience and enough resources, it was still possible to clear away a part of the fog—not to mention that many of these methods were probably used to the point of being worn out by the Goldman Sachs Group, the Vanguard Group, and even the Morgan financial group…

At the same time, Baron also understood that Bogel’s choice to reveal Baron’s “disguise” at this time was not only a bit of a warning, but also, more importantly, to show him their strength.

“So, what does the cooperation you mentioned include?”

Baron’s smile was very genuine, and also very approachable. He asked frankly.

Chapter 368: Acquisition of Czech Telecom

“Darling, what are you thinking about?”

“Nothing, honey. Have you two finished shopping?”

Looking at Amanda sitting beside him, and Lydia across from them, Baron smiled and asked.

“Yes, many brands have launched new spring collections recently. We bought some. Try them on and see what you think?”

As Amanda spoke, the maids had already brought up their bags and packages, the “results” of their shopping trip today.

“Alright.”

In fact, what Baron was thinking about just now was the meeting he had yesterday with John Bogle, the founder of the Vanguard Group.

Speaking of which, the Vanguard Group is the largest shareholder of investment companies like BlackRock and State Street Corporation. At the same time, BlackRock and State Street Corporation also hold shares in the other two groups…

This is how many financial giants in the United States “unite,” holding each other’s shares to form a chain of interests.

It’s not that the Vanguard Group also hopes to be like this with Baron’s companies—according to Bogle’s meaning, that would be after they have formed a relationship of trust.

After all, currently, with DS Capital, or even adding his other industries, combined, they still cannot compare with these giants at the top of American and even global capital. In this way, holding each other’s shares is meaningless and will instead result in Baron being “swallowed” by the other party.

For now, Bogle’s meeting with Baron this time, on the one hand, showed an attitude of “goodwill,” and on the other hand, it also hoped to “cooperate” in Baron’s many projects. As for how to understand the words goodwill and cooperation, it probably still depends on strength.

But one thing is certain, that is, joining them, many areas that he originally found difficult to enter, some restrictions will also be broken.

Like a double-edged sword, some of his industries naturally also need to allow the other party to enter.

At least for now, what they are showing is still mostly “goodwill” on the surface. After all, Baron himself has many collaborations with Goldman Sachs Group at this time, but how long this “goodwill” can last, or how long their patience to intervene can continue, that is not certain.

Therefore, now, Baron has a greater sense of urgency—no matter what, strengthening his own strength is the most important thing.

…

“We succeeded, Your Grace. The Czech side just announced that our O2 Telecom, with a bid of 3.55 billion US dollars, successfully acquired 51% of the shares of Czech Telecom…”

Even through the phone, Baron could still feel the excitement of O2 Telecom CEO Barry Trelease:

“According to my private understanding, this time our bid was only 50 million US dollars higher than Telefónica. They offered a high price of 3.5 billion US dollars, second only to ours. It was really a bit of a close call…”

Okay, Czechs, you have earned my respect. It seems that this time there were indeed no “off-the-field factors” in their bidding for the privatization of Czech Telecom, they simply wanted to sell for more money…

This means that O2 Telecom has become the controlling shareholder of Czech Telecom, and after paying 3.55 billion US dollars, it has obtained 51% of the shares of Czech Telecom.

Then, within the next six months, they can make an offer to the other shareholders of Czech Telecom, choosing to acquire 100% of this largest fixed-line and mobile communication operator in the Czech Republic.

This is indeed good news, but the problem is, how to raise the funds next?

In this acquisition of 51% of Czech Telecom’s shares held by the Czech government, O2 Telecom chose Caesar Fund as their partner.

Their bid, that is, the 3.55 billion US dollars that will be paid to the Czech government, Caesar Fund will provide 3.5 billion US dollars for it.

These funds will be used as convertible bonds issued by O2 Telecom to Caesar Fund, with low interest, but O2 Telecom needs to complete an IPO within two years, and the 3.5 billion US dollars of bonds will be converted into O2 Telecom’s common stock at its public offering price.

So, the funds needed to purchase the 51% of Czech Telecom’s shares now have a solution.

But if they want to complete the 100% acquisition of the entire Czech Telecom next, based on the current acquisition price, it will also require approximately 3.41 billion US dollars…

However, this is not a problem either. After all, with O2 Telecom’s current debt-to-asset ratio—they currently only bear 2 billion pounds plus 3.5 billion US dollars in debt, and among them, 1 billion pounds of convertible corporate bonds from the Saudi Public Investment Fund, and these 3.5 billion convertible corporate bonds from Caesar Fund, after their IPO, can be converted into company shares, thereby getting rid of these debts.

Then, what is really borne is only the original 1 billion pounds of corporate bonds…

With O2 Telecom’s current operating situation, it can completely continue to raise funds to complete the acquisition of the remaining shares of Czech Telecom—it seems that the Royal Bank of Scotland is still preparing to continue investing in the Madoff Fund…

They use their own money to invest in the Madoff Fund, Baron can’t control it, but if they use users’ savings to throw money down the drain…

The kind-hearted Baron still doesn’t want to see such a situation happen, so this business should be left to them. O2 Telecom can use the acquired Czech Telecom shares as collateral to obtain financing from the Royal Bank of Scotland—of course, they must borrow pound sterling funds.

Next, at Baron’s behest, O2 Telecom’s CEO, Barry Trelease, began to contact the Royal Bank of Scotland to discuss financing matters.

In fact, at a financial cocktail party in London before, when he met a senior executive of the Royal Bank of Scotland, the other party had jokingly complained that DS Capital’s previous financing was mostly in cooperation with Barclays Bank, and they also hoped to cooperate with DS Capital.

Now, Baron can be said to be responsive to every request…

As for O2 Telecom’s IPO plan, Baron has also communicated with O2 Telecom’s management. They plan to consolidate the current markets they occupy in Britain, Ireland, France, and Germany, plus digesting the Czech market where the newly acquired Czech Telecom is located. In a year, around this time next year, they can start the listing process for O2 Telecom.

By then, it will be exactly 3 years since Baron acquired O2 Telecom, and O2 Telecom fully meets the conditions for listing on the main board of the London Stock Exchange, without any exceptions…

And I’m afraid that with O2 Telecom’s financial data at that time, its valuation will also be satisfactory—that will be a huge IPO project.

After reaching a financing agreement with the Royal Bank of Scotland for a total of 2 billion pounds, with an annual interest rate of 4.5%, O2 Telecom then, as the controlling shareholder with a 51% stake in Czech Telecom, issued a full acquisition offer to the other shareholders, to buy the shares of other shareholders at the same price as they previously purchased the shares held by the Czech government.

As mentioned earlier, during the previous bidding, O2 Telecom’s bid of 3.55 billion US dollars was already much higher than their valuation of Czech Telecom, so at this price, the acquisition offer to other shareholders also has a considerable premium…

From their investigation, the attitude of many other shareholders holding Czech Telecom is that most people are still positive about this offer.

And when the voting results are announced half a month later, it will be possible to determine whether O2 Telecom can complete this acquisition offer.

Chapter 369: Baidu IPO

In mid-March, Barron and his party boarded the Devonshire and departed from New York, with their destination being Yanjing.

Accompanying him on this trip to China were the Hearst sisters. Upon learning that Barron was taking them to China and would accompany them on their travels during his business affairs, their excitement was palpable.

This would also be the Hearst sisters’ first trip to China. Before this, their impressions of China were limited to the Great Wall, the Forbidden City, and Chinese cuisine.

They were very much looking forward to this trip to China, especially being able to spend more time with Barron.

Their first stop was Yanjing, but Barron didn’t stay in the siheyuan he had purchased before. Instead, he booked the presidential suite on the top floor of the Grand Hyatt Beijing.

He had purchased those three siheyuan in late September of the previous year, and half a year had passed since then.

However, these siheyuan were still not renovated and completed…

Especially the one near the East Gate of the Forbidden City, which was purchased by Murdoch in his previous life and ultimately went to Deng Wendi after their divorce. Because it required structural modifications and needed to maintain the overall Chinese style on the exterior, the workload was not small, and they wouldn’t be able to move in until the second half of this year.

The regulations for renovating siheyuan weren’t as strict now. The one near the East Gate of the Forbidden City, although in a prime location, only had a land area of about 250 square meters.

According to the design plan, this siheyuan would have two floors of underground space added, and some of the single-story buildings would be reinforced and expanded to two stories, allowing for a better view from the second-floor terrace.

After the renovation, this siheyuan, which Barron jokingly referred to as the “Little Duke’s Manor,” would have an underground garage that could accommodate five cars, as well as an underground swimming pool and a spa room.

Additionally, the above-ground portion would have fifteen rooms, including five bedroom suites, a gym, a study, an entertainment room, and other modern facilities.

Furthermore, this “Little Duke’s Manor” would also have a viewing terrace suitable for barbecues and gatherings, and its courtyard would be redesigned, with half of it being able to be converted into a temperature-controlled enclosed area via remote control…

Since there was a “Little Duke’s Manor,” there would naturally also be a “Grand Duke’s Manor.”

That was the four-courtyard residence he had bought before, which covered an area of 1200 square meters…

The “Little Duke’s Manor” near the East Gate of the Forbidden City, although its exterior would still maintain the traditional Chinese style, its interior design could be considered a fusion of Chinese and Western styles.

Many rooms in the Little Duke’s Manor would be decorated in a Western modern style, but they would be perfectly integrated with the overall “New Chinese style” interior.

The other “Grand Duke’s Manor” would be completely restored in the traditional Chinese style.

Besides the modernization of living facilities, the overall layout, decoration style, and courtyard construction of the Grand Duke’s Manor would be entirely Chinese.

Therefore, the renovation period for the Grand Duke’s Manor would be even longer, and it would probably not be ready for occupancy until 2006.

Another reason for the long time required was that Barron needed Yan Hegui, the Yanjing native he knew before, to help him collect and purchase some rosewood furniture from the Ming and Qing dynasties to match the style of his Grand Duke’s Manor.

…

After arriving in Yanjing, Barron met with Liu Chiping, the Vice President of Rich23 Capital.

At Rich23 Capital, Liu Chiping was in charge of investment matters, while President Chen Fuyang, in addition to overseeing the overall work, was currently focusing his energy on the operation of Anhua High-Tech.

“Currently, Baidu has begun the process of going public in the US, with Goldman Sachs Asia and Credit Suisse First Boston acting as their lead underwriters…”

Liu Chiping himself came from Goldman Sachs Asia. This time, for Baidu’s IPO, as a representative of Rich23 Capital, which had participated in Baidu’s previous financing, he was also providing assistance during the IPO process.

Currently, DS Holdings held 5 million shares of Baidu’s convertible preferred stock, with a corresponding price of 3 US dollars per share; Rich23 Capital held 745,000 shares of Baidu’s convertible preferred stock, with a corresponding price of 6.67 US dollars.

After Baidu went public, these convertible preferred shares issued during Baidu’s previous financing would be converted into Baidu’s Class A common stock at a 1:1 ratio.

Yes, Baidu’s IPO would use an AB share structure, with the Class B shares held by Baidu’s founding team having higher voting rights to ensure their control of the company.

And this time, for Baidu’s IPO, Rich23 Capital would also participate in the IPO, subscribing to a portion of the newly issued shares.

According to Baidu’s prospectus, for this IPO, they planned to issue 4.04 million American Depositary Receipts (new Nasdaq shares), and Rich23 Capital was prepared to subscribe to at least a quarter of the shares…

According to Liu Chiping, currently, the lead underwriters for Baidu, Goldman Sachs Asia and Credit Suisse First Boston, were internally pricing their shares with a recommended price range of 17-19 US dollars.

However, Robin Li believed that this pricing was a bit low and was trying to persuade the other party to raise the issue price.

For underwriters of companies preparing to go public, they would definitely hope to set the issue price of the shares lower, because based on their own interests, if the price was set too high, the subscription numbers might be insufficient—after all, as underwriters, they needed to underwrite the shares.

In addition, underwriters would often receive a portion of the new shares as compensation. A lower pricing would also allow them to benefit more from the subsequent rise in the stock price.

But in the end, the main purpose of a company going public through an IPO was to raise funds, and the higher the issue price, the more funds they could raise.

Therefore, the pricing process of the stock would also be a game of negotiation between the listed company, the underwriters, and the investors.

Barron knew that in the original timeline, after multiple discussions, the final issue price of Baidu’s IPO was set at 27 US dollars.

Compared to the initial price range of 17-19 US dollars proposed by the underwriters, the issue price of 27 US dollars could be said to be a significant increase…

But the facts proved that the issue price of 27 US dollars was still set a bit low, even very low.

After all, on the first day of Baidu’s stock listing, it opened with a gap up, opening at 66 US dollars, and the stock price once reached as high as 150 US dollars!

It eventually closed at 122.54 US dollars, an increase of a full 353.85% compared to its issue price of 27 US dollars!

Not to mention the Baidu stock held by DS Holdings and Rich23 Capital before, even participating in the subscription of Baidu’s stock now would allow them to obtain good returns after it went public…

Of course, they wouldn’t sell their shares at the beginning of the listing and would continue to hold them.

After all, Baidu’s stock price had a lot of room to rise in the future.

“By the way, Your Grace, there’s another matter, and that’s about Alibaba…”

“What is it?”

“Mr. Ma intends to acquire Yahoo China, and Yahoo also has the idea of investing in Alibaba…”

Hearing Liu Chiping mention this, Barron couldn’t help but think of the previous life when, around this time, Yahoo acquired a 40% stake in Alibaba for 1 billion US dollars in cash and Yahoo China, becoming Alibaba’s largest shareholder…

However, the current situation was already very different from Alibaba in the previous life, so why would this matter still happen?

Chapter 370: Trapped in a Predicament

“Alright, Old Ma, I’ll go to Modu soon, and we can talk in detail then.”

After hearing the news from Liu Chiping, Barron called Mr. Ma to inquire about the matter.

However, Mr. Ma didn’t say too much on the phone, and wanted Barron to meet him in Modu before discussing it further.

The information Mr. Ma provided in the recent call was that, on the one hand, Alibaba, including the development of Taobao.com, needed more funds; on the other hand, Mr. Ma hoped to obtain more technical talent through Yahoo China.

But there was one point that Mr. Ma didn’t mention, but Barron had his own guess.

That was, in the original timeline, Alibaba’s acceptance of Yahoo’s investment might have had these reasons, but in this timeline, last year, Rich23 Capital had already provided them with 100 million US dollars in the previous round of financing for Alibaba, and had also invested 50 million US dollars in Taobao.com…

It could be said that compared to the previous life, Alibaba at this time was not so severely lacking in funds…

The most important thing was that in the previous life, this cooperation between Alibaba and Yahoo was facilitated by Masayoshi Son of SoftBank Group…

At that time, on the one hand, Alibaba needed funds, and on the other hand, they didn’t want SoftBank Group to continue to hold too many of their shares—this would put Mr. Ma’s control over Alibaba at risk.

Therefore, at the introduction of Masayoshi Son, Yahoo was found as a new investor for Mr. Ma.

As for the relationship between Masayoshi Son and Yahoo, it could also be said to be relatively close; after all, Yahoo Japan was operated by Masayoshi Son’s SoftBank Group…

So, now that Alibaba had found Yahoo to discuss cooperation even when they were not so short of funds, if there was no shadow of Masayoshi Son behind this… I’m afraid Barron himself wouldn’t believe it.

Because of Barron’s intervention, in this timeline, because of Masayoshi Son’s doubts about Alibaba’s operation after the internet bubble, DS Holdings seized the opportunity, and with Rich23 Capital’s participation in the D-round financing, the largest shareholder of Alibaba now, apart from Mr. Ma’s entrepreneurial team, was not SoftBank, but Barron behind DS Holdings and Rich23 Capital. Relying on these two investment companies, Barron held a total of 36% of Alibaba’s shares.

And SoftBank Group’s holdings in Alibaba had been diluted to 24%…

And unlike the original timeline, where SoftBank Group invested in Taobao.com alone, holding 50% of its shares, it had become that Rich23 Capital held 50% of Taobao.com’s shares.

Now that the internet in China was starting to recover, and Alibaba’s performance was gradually improving, Masayoshi Son, I’m afraid, would not be reconciled to this.

But in the final analysis, what SoftBank Group could give, Barron could also give, so at this time, it was very likely that Masayoshi Son would bring in Yahoo to shake up the situation.

And for Mr. Ma, although before this, both DS Capital and Rich23 Capital’s holdings in Alibaba were entrusted to Mr. Ma to exercise voting rights, but after all, the share of Alibaba’s shares held by these two investment companies was similar to the share held by his entrepreneurial team. In this case, in the upcoming new round of financing, introducing new investors to make the shareholding ratio of each investor more balanced, he would probably be happy to see it…

These thoughts, of course, would not be said in this call with Barron, but with a little analysis, Barron could also see something.

It seemed that after he went to Modu, he still needed to have a good talk with Mr. Ma…

…

“How was your day, darling?”

“It was great! I didn’t expect the Forbidden City to be so big, it’s so magnificent, it’s just that there were a lot of people. Oh my, I’ve never seen so many people in one place at the same time…”

When they came to Beijing, the Hearst sisters naturally wanted to visit the sights here, but Barron had already visited the Forbidden City, the Great Wall, the Summer Palace, and other attractions in his previous life. Moreover, the last time he came to Beijing, he had also accompanied Ivanka to play…

He didn’t want to accompany other women here every time, and have to accompany them to visit these places, so he took advantage of his business to be handled, and let his personal assistant, Laura, accompany the Hearst sisters to visit these attractions.

Coincidentally, as a Chinese-born Chinese, she could also act as a translator…

“When are we going to Modu?”

Hearing what Lydia Hearst asked, Barron said with a smile:

“The day after tomorrow, you can play here for another day tomorrow, there are many other attractions in Beijing that are worth visiting.”

“Aren’t you coming with us?”

“Sorry, darling, I have some important things to deal with tomorrow.”

…

Just as Barron was still in China, in mid-March, British Telecom announced the preferred supplier list for its “21st Century Network Plan”.

Huawei, a telecommunications equipment manufacturer from China, was successfully shortlisted, while Marconi, the largest telecommunications equipment supplier in Britain, did not appear on this list…

After the news was announced, the stock price of Marconi plummeted, with the stock price falling by as much as 40% that day!

And by the next day, just in the morning, its stock price had fallen by 17%!

In an instant, Marconi was plunged into a predicament.

“Your Grace, with the fall in stock price over the past two days, the market value of Marconi has fallen to less than 400 million pounds, and we are also taking the opportunity to acquire shares in this company. Soon our shareholding ratio will be able to increase to over 30%…”

Since last year, Rich23 Capital had been quietly acquiring Marconi’s shares. Before this, they held nearly 20% of Marconi’s shares.

However, because they were holding shares through multiple companies, they were very careful not to touch the 5% threshold for a public bid, so this behavior was not discovered by them.

And with Marconi’s failure to be selected for the British Telecom “21st Century Network Plan”, which had a total investment of 10 billion pounds, Marconi was plunged into a difficult predicament—you must know that before, Marconi had been barely surviving mainly on the domestic market in Britain, and this company had always been a partner of British Telecom. As a result, even this most “stable” source of revenue was about to be cut off, which was simply disastrous for Marconi.

And there were also many rumors in the market, such as Huawei and Ericsson being rumored to be interested in acquiring Marconi, which was in trouble.

Quietly, Rich23 Capital was about to hold more than 30% of Marconi’s shares. As the company’s major shareholder, they would at least have a greater say in the sale of the company.

However, this time, Barron’s goal was to completely acquire Marconi. Relatively speaking, the price they would pay for the acquisition at this time would be smaller.

He knew that Huawei and Ericsson had both entered the preferred supplier list for British Telecom’s “21st Century Network Plan”. What they wanted to acquire Marconi for was that Marconi had always had extensive cooperation with British Telecom before, and was more familiar with British Telecom’s network construction. This point was very important for those two companies to win more projects from British Telecom.

But Barron also had his own “bait”, which was O2 Telecom’s upcoming network plan orders…

Chapter 371: Huayi Brothers

Although O2 Telecom’s scale was still smaller than that of British Telecom, it was still in third place in the UK in terms of overall strength. Especially after completing the acquisition of Český Telecom, with its market expansion, subsequent equipment orders would be enough to “fill” Marconi.

Therefore, he could use this point to negotiate with Marconi, plus he already held more than 30% of the company’s shares and was still absorbing more. Barron was not afraid that this company would not submit.

Because now, for Marconi, being acquired was already their best outcome.

So, who to choose to be acquired by?

Barron believed that, considering everything, the other party would make a wise choice.

……

Just as Barron and Liu Chiping had finished discussing the matter of Marconi, his phone vibrated.

“You take the call first.”

Liu Chiping glanced at the caller ID on the phone screen and said to Barron:

“It’s Mr. Wang from Huayi Brothers…”

Seeing Barron’s understanding expression, he picked up the phone and walked out of the room.

Only a few minutes later, Liu Chiping returned to the room. He said to Barron:

“Tonight, Mr. Wang is preparing to hold a celebration banquet for this cooperation. They know you are in Beijing now, so they want to invite you…”

Before, at the Gucci Group headquarters in Italy, Barron had mentioned to de Sol that he wanted to strengthen the promotion and marketing of the Gucci brand in the Chinese market, including brand placement in films and television dramas, to instill in the public the concept that the Gucci brand was the top luxury brand.

At this time, Huayi Brothers was considered a relatively well-developed private film and television production company in China. Therefore, Liu Chiping, representing Rich23 Capital, contacted the other party to discuss the matter of investing and acquiring shares.

Speaking of Huayi Brothers, everyone probably knows that its fame in the future will be great…

In 1994, Wang Zhongjun returned to China after graduating from the United States to start his own business and, together with his brother Wang Zhonglei, established Huayi Brothers Advertising Company.

Yes, Huayi Brothers started out as an advertising company…

At that time, domestic banks did not have unified logos, while in the United States, companies of a certain scale all had unified logo designs.

Wang Zhongjun saw this and began to persuade major banks to design unified logos, and soon gained the recognition of the banks.

Thus, Huayi Brothers, which had been established for less than a year, received a standardized enterprise image order for 15,000 branches of the Bank of China nationwide.

Soon after, Wang Zhongjun also secured orders from the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, China National Petroleum Corporation, State Grid Corporation of China, and China Unicom.

After that, Huayi Brothers Advertising Company rose rapidly, with annual sales reaching 600 million, and it entered the ranks of the top ten advertising companies in China in just three years.

In 1997, Wang Zhongjun, by chance, participated in the investment of Yingda’s TV series “Psychiatric Clinic”.

“Psychiatric Clinic”, which only invested 5 million yuan, earned Huayi Brothers a net profit of more than 4 million yuan, with a return rate of over 90%, which also made them realize the wealth and opportunities that the film and television industry could bring.

In 1998, Feng Xiaogang’s film “Sorry, Baby” had a total investment of 6 million yuan. In addition to the Forbidden City Film Company, it also needed to attract some social capital.

At a gathering, Wang Zhongjun met Feng Xiaogang and quickly put in 300,000 yuan—later, “Sorry, Baby” grossed over 30 million yuan, becoming the box office champion of that year.

This investment made Wang Zhongjun and Feng Xiaogang like-minded.

After that, almost all of Feng Xiaogang’s films were funded by Huayi Brothers—with the success of more than ten films such as “Big Shot”, “Cell Phone”, Feng Xiaogang became a popular first-tier director in the industry, and Huayi Brothers also jumped from an advertising company to a leading enterprise in China’s film and television industry.

However, Huayi Brothers at this time had not yet developed to its later scale. Although it already had a certain reputation in China, the film and television industry had not yet ushered in the later golden development period, so the scale of their company was not large.

When they learned that Rich23 Capital wanted to invest in their company, the Wang brothers were initially somewhat puzzled, but after inquiring about this investment company through friends, they immediately became enthusiastic…

Because although Rich23 was indeed not well-known outside the investment circle, those who understood China’s internet investment knew that this investment company had successively participated in the financing of Tencent, Alibaba, and Baidu. Especially for Alibaba, in their previous round of financing, Rich23 Capital had invested as much as 150 million US dollars, holding a considerable number of shares in Alibaba and Taobao.

These companies invested in by Rich23 Capital were all well-known companies in China’s internet industry at this time. Tencent had already been listed in HK last year, and Baidu was about to be listed in the United States.

Most importantly, there were rumors that Rich23 had a close relationship with the British Duke Barron Cavendish, who was quite famous in China at this time and ranked sixth on the Forbes Global Rich List last year. After all, in Alibaba’s investment, the relationship between Rich23 Capital and DS Capital would also make people speculate…

After a series of contacts and negotiations, Rich23 Capital finally invested 2 million US dollars (about 15 million Chinese yuan) to acquire a 15% stake in Huayi Brothers.

Before this, Huayi Brothers had two shareholders, namely the Wang brothers and Taihe Holdings.

This has to start from when Huayi Brothers entered the film and television industry…

Because films belong to a high-investment, high-return industry, a large amount of capital is needed as leverage in the early stage.

But at that time, due to the constraints of domestic policies and the economic environment in China, Huayi Brothers basically had no chance to obtain bank loans or venture capital.

And relying solely on its own accumulation could no longer satisfy the Wang brothers’ appetite.

So Wang Zhongjun used his familiar relationships with some entrepreneurs to introduce capital.

In June 2000, Huayi Brothers Taihe Film and Television Investment Company was established—at that time, Taihe Holdings’ business was mainly in real estate and finance, with sufficient funds and was looking for new investment points.

Thus, in March 2000, Huayi Brothers and Taihe each invested 25 million yuan to form Huayi Brothers Taihe Film and Television Investment Co., Ltd., with the Wang brothers holding 50% of the shares.

In 2001, the Wang brothers repurchased 5% of the shares from Taihe Holdings, with a 55% stake, holding absolute control. After that, Huayi Brothers Taihe was renamed Huayi Brothers.

It was the 25 million yuan invested by Taihe that enabled Huayi Brothers to quickly complete its initial expansion in the production field.

Through this investment, Huayi Brothers invested in a large number of films that were both critically acclaimed and commercially successful by the end of 2004, and, together with Feng Xiaogang, pioneered the Chinese “New Year’s film” model.

A series of “New Year’s films” brought Huayi Brothers considerable profit income and an increasingly high reputation.

On November 10th of last year, the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television and the Ministry of Commerce of China announced the “Interim Provisions on the Access of Film Enterprises to Business Qualifications”, allowing foreign companies to be involved in film production, distribution, and screening in mainland China.

By the end of November, the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television and the Ministry of Commerce jointly issued the “Interim Provisions on the Management of Sino-Foreign Joint Ventures and Cooperative Radio and Television Program Production and Operation Enterprises”, clearly allowing foreign companies to be involved in the production and distribution of radio and television programs in mainland China, provided that the Chinese side holds no less than 51% of the shares.

These two provisions were the first to propose that social capital could establish film production companies and film technology companies, and also the first to propose that foreign capital could establish film production, film technology, and radio and television program production companies through joint ventures and cooperation.

The purpose was to vigorously promote the development of China’s radio, film, and television industry by lowering the entry threshold and expanding the scope of cooperation, absorbing and learning from foreign funds, technology, and experience.

It was also because of this that Rich23 Capital was able to complete the investment in Huayi Brothers. This time, Rich23 Capital purchased some shares from Taihe Holdings; another part of the funds was invested in the form of shares.

In the end, the shareholding of Huayi Brothers became: Wang brothers holding 50%, Rich23 Capital holding 15%, and Taihe Holdings holding 35%.

Chapter 372: Just Right

Speaking of which, this investment by Rich23 Capital in Huayi Brothers was only 2 million US dollars. Forget about Barron; for Liu Chiping, the vice president of Rich23 Capital, it was the smallest investment he had ever handled…

Therefore, when he heard Liu Chiping on the other end of the line mentioning this so-called “celebration banquet” hosted by Wang Zhongjun, and that he was also invited, Barron saw no need to spend his time at such an event…

Just as he was about to tell Liu Chiping to go himself, he heard the other party continue:

“Mr. Wang also said that he will bring some of the company’s more outstanding artists, so that you can have a better understanding of Huayi Brothers…”

Eh? What does this mean? More outstanding artists?

“I’ll be leaving for Shanghai tomorrow, so I’ll leave Beijing to you. However, you can also experience the atmosphere here in China… but only for a maximum of half an hour.”

“Okay, I’ll pass it on to Mr. Wang, Your Grace.”

In 2000, Huayi Brothers began to diversify its development, starting with artist management.

At that time, Huayi chose to cooperate with Wang Jinghua, known as the “Number One Agent in Mainland China,” and established Huayi Brokerage. Within five years, Huayi Brokerage became a top-tier brokerage company in China.

At its peak, it had nearly 300 signed artists. It could be said that Huayi Brothers had almost signed all of China’s first-tier actors.

However, this year, Wang Jinghua’s contract with Huayi Brothers was about to expire. What happened later was also a huge sensation in Barron’s previous life. Because of Wang Jinghua’s departure, she took away more than a dozen first-tier stars from Huayi Brothers, including Chen Daoming, Carina Lau, Xia Yu, and Rosamund Kwan…

And at that time, Huayi Brothers only had a little over forty first-tier stars. It could be said that this event had a relatively large impact on Huayi Brothers.

The reason Barron suddenly decided to attend tonight’s “celebration banquet,” well, it wasn’t for anything else, it was purely out of curiosity about which “outstanding artists” would appear…

…

It’s easy to imagine how excited the Wang brothers were when they learned that the Duke of Devonshire was willing to come to the celebration banquet they were hosting, even though the other party had stated beforehand that His Grace would only stay for half an hour… that was enough to make them overjoyed.

After all, at this time, China was still somewhat behind Europe and America in terms of development—it had only recently joined the WTO and was in the process of catching up with Western trends in many aspects.

And even within China, the scale of the film and television industry was too small compared to other industries.

Although Huayi Brothers could be considered well-known in the film and television industry, the company’s scale was far behind those giants in other traditional industries.

It’s conceivable that in such a situation, if they could invite Barron, a super-rich man ranked globally, to the celebration banquet today, and also establish a relationship with him, how much benefit would that bring to the future development of Huayi Brothers?

Once this matter was spread, then whether it was in terms of bank loans or cooperation with other companies, it would be equivalent to Huayi Brothers having a “backer”…

Therefore, Wang Zhongjun repeatedly urged his younger brother, Wang Zhonglei, to make sure to bring the most beautiful and well-known female artists in the company… well, considering the age of the Duke, they also had to be young, and bring them all to the celebration banquet…

In addition, he contacted the hotel hosting the celebration banquet again, and everything had to be arranged perfectly, with absolutely no mistakes!

…

“Mr. Liu, when will His Grace the Duke arrive?”

When it was past nine o’clock in the evening, and the celebration banquet had been going on for almost twenty minutes according to the scheduled time, the Duke from England had not yet arrived. Wang Zhongjun went to Liu Chiping’s side and asked tentatively.

It wasn’t that he didn’t want to wait until the Duke arrived before starting the celebration banquet, but on the one hand, the guests today had all received invitations in advance, so it was naturally not good to postpone the time; on the other hand, at the beginning, the vice president of Rich23 Capital next to him had said…

“Mr. Wang, I said before that although His Grace the Duke will attend this celebration banquet, he doesn’t want to be too high-profile, and he rarely comes to China, so his schedule is very tight, and he will try to avoid unnecessary social engagements…”

Anyway, Wang Zhongjun would be considered a partner of Rich23 Capital in the future. Liu Chiping, as an elite who had worked at Goldman Sachs Asia for many years, also knew what attitude could express his opinions just right. His tone was still very polite:

“As for when His Grace the Duke will arrive here, it shouldn’t be too long. He just sent word that he has set off…”

Sure enough, after a few more minutes, around half past nine, Liu Chiping received a phone call and said to Wang Zhongjun:

“His Grace the Duke has arrived. I’ll go out and meet him…”

“Let’s go together, Mr. Liu. I can’t wait to see Mr. Cavendish.”

At the entrance of the hotel, a convoy of cars with British license plates slowly stopped.

These luxury cars naturally arrived from England with the Devonshire.

This was the scene Wang Zhongjun saw when he hurried to the hotel entrance.

Four burly “foreign” bodyguards got out of the front and rear Mercedes SUVs, protecting the Rolls-Royce Phantom in the middle, which was painted with a coat of arms. Next, the car door opened, and a handsome young man with blond hair and blue eyes in a suit got out of the car and walked towards the entrance, surrounded by a crowd.

Wang Zhongjun knew that the young man who looked even more handsome than the stars in Hollywood movies was the person he was waiting for—the hereditary Duke of Devonshire of England, and also the sixth richest person in the world…

Before this, he had also done his homework, not only finding the other party’s photos to look at, but also reading some related reports, and even watching the first episode of “Shining Life” about Barron, which was only broadcast in England at the time.

“Your Grace, hello, I am Wang Zhongjun, the chairman of Huayi Brothers…”

Wang Zhongjun had studied in the United States, so his English was very good, and there were no communication barriers.

“Hello, Mr. Wang, it’s a pleasure to meet you. I apologize for being a little late…”

“Not late, not late, just right. Let’s go inside and talk, Your Grace.”

At this moment, Wang Zhongjun was completely different from his anxious appearance just now, and said to Barron with a smile.

Chapter 373: Not Needed for Now

“Your Grace, this is Mr. Wang Wei, Chairman of Taihe Holdings, another major shareholder of our Huayi Brothers.”

Once in the banquet hall, there was naturally no need for Baron to be surrounded by bodyguards anymore. That would have been too ostentatious, and the bodyguards were naturally arranged by Huayi.

According to Baron’s intention, he was just making a brief appearance in the celebration banquet hall. Although Wang Zhongjun wished he could drag this real big shot to tour the entire Beijing City…

However, he was also quite sensible, understanding that many things couldn’t be rushed. As long as this gentleman showed his face at today’s event, he believed that those who needed to know this matter would soon get the news.

Therefore, Wang Zhongjun only brought Baron to the main table in the hall, where the most important guests of the day were seated, and gave Baron a simple introduction.

He had also heard of the Chairman of Taihe Holdings, Wang Wei, in Baron’s previous life. The other party was mainly involved in real estate investments before, but its chairman, Wang Wei, was very good at capital operations, and he built the later “Taihe System.”

In addition to the initial investment in Huayi Brothers, Taihe Holdings later also invested in the “Taihe System” music group, including Taihe Maitian Music, which was quite well-known in the Mandarin music scene.

Faced with Wang Wei’s extremely enthusiastic attitude, Baron only exchanged a simple greeting with him. After all, he knew that it was precisely because he was good at “capital operations” that he later received a lot of criticism for a series of operations on many listed companies, including acquisitions, backdoor listings, and cashing out.

Apart from being a shareholder of Huayi Brothers, Baron and the others probably wouldn’t have any further cooperation with the other party, so there was no need for too much interaction.

Next, Wang Zhongjun, with his keen eye for opportunities, led Baron to a private room and gave his brother Wang Zhonglei a look. Then, he said to Baron:

“Your Grace, please rest for a while. I will introduce you to our company’s outstanding artists later…”

However, the first to arrive in this room were several male artists…

“Mr. Ge, I know you. I watched the movies you acted in when I was learning Mandarin.”

Hearing this, the rumored British Duke, who was at the top in terms of both background and wealth, suddenly spoke these words to him in fluent Mandarin, and Mr. Ge’s face showed a look of surprise.

“Really? That’s truly an honor, Mr. Cavendish.”

Besides Mr. Ge, the remaining few, including Xia Yu, Huang Xiaoming, and others, were also first-tier male stars in mainland China at this time.

However, Baron only politely nodded to them…

Seeing this scene, the Wang brothers exchanged glances, understanding that the Duke from Britain didn’t seem to have any of those traditional special interests…

Especially Wang Zhongjun, who couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief. In that case… the subsequent arrangements would be much easier.

After these male artists left, the next to enter were several female stars who had received the most resources and were the most well-known in Huayi Brothers.

“This is Ms. Zhou, a very spiritual actress who won the Best Actress award at the Paris International Film Festival in 2000…”

Wang Zhongjun first introduced the most valued Zhou Xun of Huayi Brothers at this time.

Speaking of which, Ms. Zhou was indeed an actress with great spiritual energy, and Baron liked her very much in his previous life—but what he liked was Zhou Xun as an actress. As for her personally, not to mention her rich romantic history, at least in terms of appearance and figure, she wasn’t his type.

Therefore, Baron also behaved very “gentlemanly” towards her…

“This is Li Bingbing…”

While Wang Zhongjun was introducing these female stars with their own unique charms to Baron one by one, he and Wang Zhonglei, who was present, were quietly observing Baron’s reactions to these people, trying to discern his “preferences” from them.

It was precisely when introducing Li Bingbing, the future Huayi’s number one, that they keenly discovered that the young Duke’s gaze had turned to another female star several times…

Noticing this scene, Wang Zhongjun was delighted. After briefly introducing Li Bingbing, he said to Baron:

“Your Grace, this is Fan Bingbing, the one we are promoting. She just won the Hundred Flowers Award for Best Actress, and her future is limitless.”

Yes, Baron had indeed taken a few extra glances at Fan Bingbing just now. On the one hand, one had to admit that Fan Bingbing’s appearance was indeed an existence that was hard to ignore, even among a group of first-tier female stars.

In addition, in his previous life, for reasons known to all, this person could be said to be one of the first generation of top-tier female stars, who had rarely appeared in the public eye in China, and now seeing her looking significantly younger, with a sense of spirit on her face, and her face also richer in collagen, Baron couldn’t help but take a few extra glances.

“Hello, Your Grace. I was just worried that you wouldn’t understand because my English isn’t good, but it turns out that you speak Mandarin so well…”

Although Fan Bingbing was not yet the later “Fan Ye” (Fan the Queen), it was also possible that it was because she was a girl from the north. Facing Baron, the real big shot, she behaved generously.

“Thank you for your compliment, Miss Fan. Actually, I have seen you before… well, on television. When I was learning Mandarin, one of my teachers was a Chinese student. The drama she liked very much at the time was My Fair Princess, and I thought you were the most beautiful actress in it.”

Of course, Baron’s words were purely made up, but no one could expose it.

It was obvious that Baron’s attitude among these female stars tonight spoke volumes, which also made the Wang brothers exchange glances with each other, understanding each other tacitly.

After introducing these female stars, it was almost time—Baron had only planned to stay with them for half an hour. When he was sent to the hotel door and was about to leave, Wang Zhongjun came over and said to Baron:

“I wonder how long Your Grace will be staying in China?”

“I will leave Beijing tomorrow and go to Shanghai.”

Hearing Baron’s words, Wang Zhongjun’s face showed a look of regret, and he said:

“Oh, is that so? Actually, Beijing’s nightlife is also quite rich. You may not be very familiar with these things. You can let Miss Fan Bingbing take you to experience it, how does that sound?”

That’s what he said, but Baron naturally understood what it meant.

He said lightly:

“Thank you, Mr. Wang, not needed for now, because I have friends who came with me.”

Hearing Baron say this, Wang Zhongjun was a little puzzled. Could it be that this Duke was really impervious to persuasion?

“However, I heard that Miss Fan grew up in Qingdao. I have been to China several times, but I haven’t had the chance to go there yet. If there is a chance, I can trouble her to take me on a tour there.”

Chapter 374: Cavendish Garden

The next day, Barron took the Hearst sisters and flew from Yanjing to Modu.

It was precisely because he was staying with the Hearst sisters this time in China that he declined Wang Zhongjun’s “kindness” last night.

The reason he arrived in Modu today, besides having basically dealt with the matters in Yanjing, was that Barron hoped to talk to Mr. Ma as soon as possible about the Alibaba company.

“Your Grace, this is a report from Ms. Zeng of Standard Chartered Bank regarding the Bank of Communications’ listing.”

“Alright.”

After receiving the folder handed over by Laura, Barron began to read it.

Since Standard Chartered Bank completed its investment in the Bank of Communications of China last year, the bank had initiated the IPO listing process.

Initially, the Bank of Communications planned to conduct an IPO listing simultaneously on the HK Stock Exchange and the Shanghai Stock Exchange.

However, due to the sluggishness of the mainland A-share market during this period, after consideration, they ultimately abandoned the A+H share issuance plan and changed to an H-share listing solely in Hong Kong.

This would become the first mainland bank to be listed in HK and could be said to be attracting a great deal of attention.

In this IPO of the Bank of Communications, because a total of 5.856 billion H shares would be issued in HK, accounting for 13% of the total share capital after issuance, Standard Chartered Bank would also participate in the subscription of new shares – according to the previous investment agreement, after Standard Chartered Bank invested in the Bank of Communications, it had anti-dilution rights and could subscribe for corresponding shares during the issuance of new shares to maintain its shareholding ratio within 19.9%.

It could be said that Barron attached great importance to Standard Chartered Bank’s development in Asia, especially in the Greater China region.

Therefore, after coming to China, he specifically requested Zeng Jingxuan, the Greater China CEO of Standard Chartered Bank, to send him these materials.

In addition to investing in the Bank of Communications, Standard Chartered Bank also invested in the newly established Bohai Bank last year, holding 19.99% of its shares.

However, at the same time, Barron also rejected Standard Chartered Bank’s proposal to acquire South Korea First Bank, attempting to enter the South Korean market.

The reason for this was that, in Barron’s previous life, Standard Chartered Bank did indeed complete this acquisition…

In Barron’s previous life, at the beginning of 2005, Standard Chartered Bank reached an agreement to acquire all the shares of South Korea First Bank, paying approximately 3.4 trillion Korean won in cash (equivalent to 3.3 billion US dollars) to complete the acquisition of this bank.

South Korea First Bank was once one of the five major commercial banks in South Korea, with its headquarters in Seoul.

At the time of the acquisition, South Korea First Bank had total assets of approximately 44 billion US dollars and a total of 394 branches in various locations.

In fact, Standard Chartered Bank acquired this bank from American capital.

South Korea First Bank fell into difficulties after the Asian financial crisis, and American NewBridge Capital acquired 48.56% of the bank’s equity in 1999.

Over the next 5 years, NewBridge Capital helped South Korea First Bank turn losses into profits, doubling its total assets to over 40 billion US dollars, and finally successfully sold it to Standard Chartered Bank for 3.3 billion US dollars.

It can be said that this merger was a miracle in the history of capital mergers, but this was for NewBridge Capital. For Standard Chartered Bank, the price of 3.3 billion US dollars to acquire South Korea First Bank was relatively high… This price was equivalent to 1.87 times the book value of South Korea First Bank last September!

Especially after Standard Chartered Bank acquired South Korea First Bank and renamed it Standard Chartered South Korea First Bank, its development was not smooth.

Initially, their idea was also very good. After all, the scale of South Korea’s banking industry was twice that of HK at the time. This acquisition would help accelerate Standard Chartered Bank’s development in the local area, which could bring value appreciation opportunities to shareholders.

They believed that after the acquisition was completed, the assets of South Korea First Bank would account for 22% of the group’s total assets, and would increase Standard Chartered Bank’s revenue by 16%. South Korea would become Standard Chartered’s second-largest market, second only to HK.

But the fact was that after completing this acquisition, their progress in South Korea was not smooth, especially in attracting borrowers, they encountered difficulties, and their development was not as expected.

Moreover, in order to optimize the incentive system of South Korea First Bank, they encountered strong opposition from local employees when they implemented a performance-based salary system reform, and it triggered a strike that lasted for more than a month…

Ultimately, in 2005, the total assets managed by South Korea First Bank had already reached 44 billion US dollars, but fifteen years later, the total assets they managed were just over 60 billion US dollars, with little increase. It could be said that the effect of this acquisition would not be satisfactory.

Especially in Barron’s view, spending these 3.3 billion US dollars to acquire South Korea First Bank now was really not a good deal. It would be better to invest these funds in the reform of Chinese banks and use them to invest in holding shares of those banks…

Moreover, the current Standard Chartered Bank did not have an easy time coming up with such a sum of money. In the original timeline, Standard Chartered Bank had raised funds through a share placement to complete the acquisition. Since he knew the future situation of this acquisition, Barron unhesitatingly rejected the Standard Chartered Bank management’s acquisition proposal for South Korea First Bank, and instead asked them to use more funds to participate in the reform of Chinese banks.

You must know, taking their previous investment in the Bank of Communications as an example, nominally, they invested 1.747 billion US dollars and obtained 7.775 billion shares, with a shareholding ratio of 19.9%.

And this time, the Bank of Communications’ IPO in Hong Kong, just calculated at its issue price of 2.5 HKD, the shares of the Bank of Communications held by Standard Chartered Bank at this time were worth nearly 19.5 billion HKD, equivalent to 2.5 billion US dollars, and had already yielded considerable returns…

Moreover, in this investment itself, Standard Chartered Bank did not invest so much. The actual cash investment was far less than 1.747 billion US dollars. Many of the investments were offset by their resources and services…

And with the development of the Chinese economy, the value of these Bank of Communications shares would also give them substantial returns in the future, which was far more cost-effective than spending so much money to buy South Korea First Bank, which was ranked seventh in South Korea at the time.

Even if they really needed to enter the South Korean market, waiting for the future subprime mortgage crisis would be an even better opportunity…

So after Standard Chartered Bank gave up the competition for South Korea First Bank, this bank eventually fell into the hands of their competitor – HSBC.

Regarding this, Barron could only silently praise, well done.

“Your Grace, Mr. Ma has arrived.”

Hangzhou was not far from Modu, so soon after Barron arrived here, Mr. Ma from Alibaba had already received the news and came to the Yan Family Garden at 699 Yuyuan Road… uh, it has now been renamed Cavendish Garden.

Chapter 375: Attacking the Heart

“We meet again, Old Ma.”

Baron was already quite familiar with Boss Ma. After greeting him, he gave him a warm hug and led him into the living room of the mansion.

After both sides were seated, Old Ma’s gaze turned towards the staircase.

Amanda Hearst was walking down from there. She said to Baron, “Darling, do you have something on this afternoon?”

“Yes, Amanda. This is Jack Ma, a friend of mine. We need to discuss some things…”

Speaking of this, Baron also introduced Ma Yun: “Amanda Hearst, my friend…”

“Hello, Mr. Ma. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“Likewise, Miss Hearst.”

After Amanda shook hands with Boss Ma in a graceful manner, she said to Baron, “Then I won’t disturb you. Darling, I’ll have Laura accompany me and my sister to go shopping.”

“Alright, let the bodyguards go with you.”

It seemed that every time he saw this young duke, he was always accompanied by beautiful women. Boss Ma was already used to this…

This time, the two met to discuss Yahoo’s investment in Alibaba.

Boss Ma’s reason was also sufficient. Although they had just completed financing last year, Alibaba’s main business was currently operating on a free strategy, which was very costly.

Especially in the C2C field, facing the various strategies of the powerful eBay before, the current situation of Taobao was already much better, but he repeatedly stated that Taobao would implement a “three-year free” strategy. During this period, not only would there be no revenue, but a large amount of funds would need to be invested in marketing and competing with eBay for the domestic market.

And in addition to funds, Yahoo China’s technical strength was also what Boss Ma valued.

Speaking of which, Boss Ma himself was an amateur in technology, and the entire Alibaba company was indeed the most lacking in technology among the BAT trio.

But with the continuous increase of users, especially in the e-commerce industry, which requires a very stable user experience, by obtaining Yahoo China, to say the least, in terms of the search of products within the site, it could solve many problems for Alibaba and Taobao. Moreover, as an internet giant, Yahoo China also had a wealth of technical talents in other areas.

Coincidentally, Yahoo at this time was also looking for a “taker” for Yahoo China – because at this time, Yahoo China’s president, Zhou Hongyi, had very serious disagreements with Yahoo’s founder, who was also the current Yahoo CEO, Jerry Yang, regarding the development direction of Yahoo China, which had caused Yahoo China to fall into internal strife.

So Jerry Yang didn’t want to run Yahoo China anymore, and was prepared to entrust it to a powerful Chinese company to operate. With the mediation of SoftBank Group’s Masayoshi Son, Jerry Yang also believed that Alibaba was a good choice, and at the same time, it could also allow them to get rid of the “burden” of Yahoo China, and invest in the seemingly promising Alibaba…

It could be said that the two sides hit it off.

In the original timeline, Alibaba’s situation at this time was not good, facing many difficulties, mainly –

Firstly, the Tencent Company, which had always been intimidating in the Chinese internet world, surprisingly joined the C2C battle with Paipai.com, and also used the banner of free, which meant that Taobao had to face two strong enemies at the same time.

Secondly, Taobao was already very short of funds, and the previous rounds of venture capitalists of Alibaba were unable to wait for Alibaba’s IPO, and were already impatient to cash out. After all, they had held Alibaba’s shares since 1999, for four or five years. Jack Ma had to find a way to find buyers for the shares of the previous round of investors.

Thirdly, eBay was making new plans. The so-called “kill a thousand enemies, and lose eight hundred of your own,” it was unwilling to continue fighting a fierce battle with Taobao, and therefore extended an olive branch to Masayoshi Son, seeking to acquire Taobao and thus achieve dominance in the Chinese C2C market. And eBay’s asking price was an irresistible 1 billion US dollars, and Masayoshi Son was tempted by this price.

Therefore, Yahoo’s investment this time just solved his problems.

At that time, their cooperation agreement was that Alibaba would acquire all the assets of Yahoo China, and at the same time receive a 1 billion US dollar investment from Yahoo, while Yahoo would obtain 40% of Alibaba’s shares.

And the entire transaction between the two parties was composed of four transactions, which were:

Transaction one: Yahoo acquired 50% of Taobao’s shares held by SoftBank Group for a price of 360 million US dollars.

Transaction two: SoftBank Group used half of the 360 million US dollars from cashing out Taobao’s shares to take over 27.7 million shares of Alibaba stock transferred by the first three rounds of Alibaba investors.

Transaction three: Yahoo acquired the remaining 60 million shares of Alibaba stock held by Alibaba’s first three rounds of investors (excluding SoftBank) for a price of 390 million US dollars.

Transaction four: Yahoo exchanged “250 million US dollars in cash + Taobao’s shares purchased from SoftBank + all the assets of Yahoo China” for Alibaba to issue 201.6 million shares of stock to Yahoo.

Therefore, in fact, this cooperation ultimately completed Taobao’s complete ownership by Alibaba, and all the previous investors had cashed out (SoftBank Group cashed out 180 million US dollars, and increased its holdings, and the other early investors completely cashed out), leaving only Boss Ma’s team, SoftBank Group and Yahoo holding shares.

Finally, what Alibaba actually obtained, in addition to 100% of Taobao’s shares, was 250 million US dollars in cash and all the assets of Yahoo China.

And at this time, Alibaba’s situation was somewhat different from the time of this transaction in the previous life.

Firstly, the proportion of shares was different. In this life, with the participation of DS Capital and Rich23 Capital, it could be said that the shareholding structure of Alibaba was that Boss Ma’s team held 40% of the shares; DS Capital and Rich23 Capital held a total of 36% of the shares; SoftBank Group held 24% of the shares.

The previous early investors had all been cleared out of Alibaba’s shareholding…

In addition, the 50% of Taobao’s shares were also held by Rich23 Capital instead of SoftBank Group.

“Old Ma, I can understand your desire to bring in new investors. Even if the funds you need can be provided entirely by us, no matter what, I will respect your choice. At the same time, I also hope you understand that my shares will always stand with you. I can even promise that before we reduce our holdings after Alibaba goes public in the future, the voting rights of all the shares we hold will be handed over to you, without harming our own interests. I believe that such conditions are something that others cannot do…”

Hearing Baron’s words after he had stated those “high-sounding” reasons for cooperating with Yahoo, he naturally knew that his unsaid thoughts could not be hidden from the young man in front of him.

Therefore, Boss Ma’s expression couldn’t help but be a little embarrassed. He said:

“Your Grace, of course I don’t distrust you, and we’ve cooperated for so long, and I won’t forget the support you’ve given me, but sometimes, many things are not something I can decide myself…”

Chapter 376: Marconi Company

“Alright, there’s no need to be so formal, Lao Ma. I can do as you say and have Yahoo as the primary investor in this round of financing, but we also need to ensure our shareholding ratio…”

In fact, Barron also understood that even knowing Alibaba’s future market value would break the sky, considering everything, he couldn’t hold too high a percentage of the shares.

Mr. Ma’s feelings were one aspect. Another was that if he held too high a percentage of Alibaba’s shares, even to the point of controlling the company, the company’s future development would be subject to many limitations, and it was even possible that it wouldn’t reach its later heights.

Therefore, this time, Barron didn’t mind taking a step back, but at least a 40% shareholding ratio, reaching the same proportion as Yahoo in his previous life, still needed to be fought for.

At the same time, to reassure Mr. Ma, Barron would also hand over the voting rights corresponding to his shares to Mr. Ma to control, until he decided to reduce his holdings in the future…

In his previous life, when Yahoo invested, Mr. Ma had similar concerns.

To ensure his own control of the company, Mr. Ma and Yahoo had reached a special agreement at the time—

Yahoo held 40% of the equity, but entrusted 5% of the voting rights to Mr. Ma until October 2010.

Alibaba’s board of directors had two seats for Mr. Ma Yun’s management team, and Yahoo and SoftBank each had one seat, also until October 2010.

And before October 2010, the board of directors could not remove Mr. Ma Yun from the CEO position under any circumstances.

This was also why, in the original timeline, after changes in Yahoo’s high-level management in 2008, Jerry Yang resigned as CEO and the strong woman Carol Bartz took over, Mr. Ma began raising funds to repurchase Yahoo’s shares in Alibaba.

It was because Jerry Yang, during his tenure as Yahoo’s CEO, maintained a good personal relationship with Mr. Ma, and Yahoo and Alibaba generally got along well…

But the IT strong woman Bartz was a different story. When Bartz led a team to Silicon Valley to visit Mr. Ma, she publicly criticized Alibaba for not running Yahoo China well, and Bartz also showed a strong ambition for control of Alibaba. Therefore, Yahoo’s changes brought a series of actions that made Mr. Ma very worried about the changes after October 2010, so he tried his best to repurchase Yahoo’s shares in Alibaba before then.

In the subsequent conversation between Barron and Mr. Ma, they set the tone for Alibaba’s next round of financing.

Barron agreed to inject the 50% stake in Taobao.com held by Rich23 Capital into Alibaba, making it a wholly-owned subsidiary of Alibaba. However, the valuation needed to be further negotiated, and Rich23 Capital also needed to exchange its shares for Alibaba’s shares at the same price as Yahoo.

Of course, the upper limit of exchanging shares was to lock the shares of Alibaba held by DS Capital and Rich23 Capital at 40% after the financing.

As for how many shares of Alibaba Yahoo could obtain by investing its Yahoo China assets and cash, that would depend on how much Mr. Ma was willing to give up…

But no matter what, Alibaba would at least be able to get more funds than in the original timeline.

…

On March 15th, the board of directors of Marconi Company announced that they had accepted Rich23 Capital’s offer to acquire the remaining shares of Marconi Company at a price of 3.5 pounds per share.

This price was more than 80% higher than the lowest price of Marconi Company’s stock before, even compared to the extreme price of the previous big drop, it was nearly 40% higher than Marconi Company’s average stock price in the previous 30 trading days!

At this price, Marconi Company’s corresponding market value would reach 800 million pounds!

And when Rich23 Capital had determined to complete the acquisition of Marconi Company, Barron also met with Huawei’s Chairman, Mr. Ren, in Shanghai.

“Mr. Ren, have you just returned from London?”

In the living room of Cavendish Garden, Mr. Ren didn’t see the Hearst sisters this time, because just yesterday, the sisters had returned to the United States with satisfaction.

“It’s a coincidence, after I returned to China, you happened to be here…”

After Alia personally served tea to the two, Barron gently stirred his current coffee and said to Mr. Ren:

“I haven’t congratulated you yet. Huawei has entered the list of preferred suppliers for British Telecom, which will be a big order.”

“This matter, the person we should thank the most is you, Your Grace the Duke. O2 Telecom was the first to give our company an opportunity, and is also our most valued partner.”

“Our O2 Telecom also attaches great importance to cooperation with your company. At the same time, I personally admire your professional attitude in the cooperation. Now there is another opportunity for cooperation. I wonder what Mr. Ren thinks?”

“You mean?”

Barron’s face showed a faint smile, and he said to Mr. Ren:

“Marconi Company…”

In fact, at the beginning, Huawei was indeed quite interested in Marconi Company and also hoped to acquire it.

Even in the original timeline, they did so, but at that time they were blocked by Ericsson.

Of course, things weren’t much better now. Suddenly, Rich23 Capital, which had already held 30% of the shares, became a mountain in front of all companies that wanted to acquire Marconi.

This included Huawei, as well as Ericsson and other companies.

After all, with Marconi Company’s shareholding distribution, a 30% stake was already its major shareholder. Even if they forcibly joined in, and could outbid to prevent the other party’s first tender offer, they would inevitably be at a disadvantage later because of the shareholding issue.

Moreover, Rich23 Capital’s offer was itself higher than Huawei’s estimate.

As for why Ericsson didn’t raise its bid to compete?

In fact, in the previous life, Ericsson’s participation in the acquisition of Marconi Company was mainly aimed at Huawei, which was the most likely to acquire the company at the time.

You must know that at the time, Ericsson and Huawei were both on the list of preferred suppliers for British Telecom’s “21st Century Network Plan”.

Therefore, the two sides were in a competitive relationship, and both hoped to obtain more projects from this plan.

Originally, when Huawei was going to acquire Marconi Company, then Ericsson, as a competitor, would naturally spare no effort to compete, and wanted to snatch Marconi Company, which was more experienced in the network and equipment of British Telecom, from its hands.

But when the acquisition of Marconi Company became Rich23 Capital, an investment company that was not on the list of excellent suppliers for the “21st Century Network Plan”, although obtaining Marconi Company was equally beneficial to Ericsson, the other party was not Huawei, so their willingness to offer a price far exceeding Marconi Company’s actual value was greatly reduced.

It was also because of these subtle mentalities that Rich23 Capital ultimately succeeded in completing the acquisition of Marconi Company.

“I know that you were also very interested in Marconi Company before. After all, as a long-term supplier to many British telecom companies, including British Telecom, Marconi Company is experienced in this area and also understands its network better.”

Barron said leisurely:

“But with all due respect, even without Rich23 Capital, the possibility of you successfully acquiring Marconi is also very slim…”

Now, since he held Marconi Company in his hands, coupled with its cooperation with O2 Telecom, Barron could also discuss deeper cooperation with Mr. Ren.

Chapter 377: Merger

“Are you planning to have Marconi Corporation cooperate with us?”

Although Baron’s mention of this topic surprised Mr. Ren, he immediately realized its feasibility, his eyes lighting up as he spoke.

Baron then presented Mr. Ren with two options: either Marconi Corporation and Huawei jointly establish an overseas branch to conduct overseas business, or Huawei directly issues new shares to acquire Marconi Corporation.

“Actually, I can see that Huawei is a very ambitious company, so I personally recommend that you choose the latter option. This way, both Marconi Corporation’s patented technology and the company’s brand can be fully utilized by you.”

Baron said to Mr. Ren in this way at the end.

“But there’s one thing you need to understand, Your Grace, that is, we are different from other companies. For a considerable period of time, most of our profits will be invested in research and development…”

Mr. Ren said sincerely to Baron:

“So, if Marconi Corporation is converted into our shares, I’m afraid there won’t be much profit and dividends in the short term. Moreover, we currently have no plans to list the company…”

His meaning was very clear, that is, even if you become our shareholder, I’m afraid it would be difficult to obtain short-term returns if it’s a financial investment.

This was also the case. In his previous life, Huawei had not been listed until Baron was reborn.

Moreover, their investment amount and proportion in research and development were rare in China, even globally.

“This is also what I admire about your company, and I have enough patience, believing that it can bring me sufficient returns.”

Baron also knew that in the future, Huawei would encounter some restrictions from the United States, but the acquisition of Marconi Corporation was by Rich23 Capital. From the projects invested by this investment company, which seemingly had no direct relationship with Baron, it could be seen that the companies related to China accounted for the majority, and it was also the most suitable to hold Huawei’s shares in the future…

Just like that, Baron and Mr. Ren reached a preliminary agreement. The specific matters regarding the merger of Marconi Corporation and Huawei, or rather, Huawei’s acquisition of Marconi Corporation by issuing new shares, were then left to Huawei to negotiate with Rich23 Capital…

……

“Your Grace, there was a phone call just now, the other party was a lady named Fan Bingbing…”

After seeing Mr. Ren off, Laura came to Baron and said to him.

Fan Bingbing?

“Give me her number.”

Baron remembered that at the Huayi Brothers celebration banquet in Yan’an, the number Baron had given to Wang Zhongjun was his official phone number. This phone was usually held by his personal assistant, and it was estimated that Fan Bingbing had obtained this number from him.

“Hello, this is Baron.”

“Mr. Cavendish, I am Fan Bingbing…”

After dialing the other party’s number, Baron heard Fan Bingbing’s voice. He asked with a hint of surprise:

“Hello, Miss Fan, I wonder if there’s anything I can help you with?”

“Uh, it’s like this. Didn’t you say last time that you might want to go to Qingdao for a few days? I grew up there, and I can be your tour guide. There are still many interesting places there…”

“That’s really kind of you, Miss Fan. I’m in Magic City now, and I may need a few more days to finish things here.”

After Baron’s words fell, he heard Fan Bingbing say on the phone:

“That’s such a coincidence, I’m in Magic City right now. A TV series I acted in is about to be broadcast, and I’m here in Magic City to promote it…”

That really was a coincidence, although the other party had specially explained it, a smile still appeared on Baron’s face:

“So, Miss Fan, are you not busy now?”

“Well, all the work is temporarily finished…”

“In that case, I will have a meeting with people from Magic City later, and there shouldn’t be anything else after that. Is it convenient to have dinner together?”

“That would be my great honor…”

……

The people Baron met next were the leaders of Magic City.

With Baron’s current status, coming to China would also attract the attention of some departments. As early as in Yan’an, he had already met with some big shots, and the topics discussed were mostly about investment cooperation in China, including finance, the internet, and hotel and real estate investment.

Just like Standard Chartered Bank will launch its personal banking business in China in the first half of this year, this will also be one of the first foreign banks allowed to conduct such business in China. Baron had also mentioned these things when he met with relevant big shots in Yan’an.

Also, O2 Telecom also hoped to cooperate with Chinese domestic telecommunications companies to seek to conduct business in China…

And Magic City naturally hoped to attract more investment from this super-rich man in the world.

Currently, Baron’s businesses in Magic City, in addition to hotels, banks, F1 events, and other businesses, the first flagship store of the Gucci Group in China will also open soon. Subsequently, they will open more stores in China, especially in the super first-tier cities like Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen.

And the Gucci Group also intends to cooperate with local companies in Magic City to hold a fashion show here first, which will also be the first time in recent years that a top luxury brand has held a similar event in China…

After that, Baron directly sent someone to pick up Fan Bingbing from the hotel and bring her to his home.

“It’s so beautiful here…”

After entering Cavendish Garden and seeing Baron, Fan Bingbing exclaimed.

Entering mid-March, the climate in Magic City had warmed up, and Fan Bingbing was wearing a short beige woolen coat and boots, looking quite charming.

That’s right, at this time she was only 23 years old, two years younger than Baron.

“When I was studying here, I used to pass by here. At that time, it looked quite… old. I didn’t expect it to be renovated so beautifully now…”

Hearing her words, Baron remembered that Fan Bingbing had previously attended an art school in Magic City, and said:

“Then I’ll take you on a tour, Miss Fan.”

“Don’t call me Miss Fan, just call me Bingbing.”

“Haha, okay, then you don’t have to call me Your Grace either, my friends all call me Baron directly…”

At this time, Fan Bingbing already had quite a reputation in China, so Baron did not invite her to dine out, but directly invited the chef from the Devonshire (Bund) Hotel to his home to prepare a dinner for them.

Chapter 378: You Trust Me That Much?

During dinner, the two of them mostly talked about things related to China. Overall, Baron acted as though he was interested in Chinese culture, but didn’t know much about many places in China, including Shanghai and Qingdao…

After all, although Baron had lived in places like Qingdao and Shanghai for quite a while in his previous life, the city layouts and development later on left a deeper impression.

In China, almost all cities changed dramatically in the following twenty years. He wanted to avoid any slip-ups in conversation that might “reveal the secrets of the future.”

Fan Bingbing had the personality of a Northern girl, straightforward and direct. And at just twenty-three years old, Baron could sense that she was somewhat different from the image she later presented in some shows and media.

Simply put, she hadn’t experienced too many “ups and downs” yet, and still possessed some innocence and frankness.

Originally, Baron had arranged with Fan Bingbing that after he finished his business here, she would be his guide to visit Qingdao for two days. But after their dinner, things took a turn…

“Bingbing, I’m sorry, please wait a moment. I need to take a call.”

“Okay, I’ll just enjoy the night view here.”

After seeing the Duke’s female assistant walk over in a hurry and whisper something to him, Baron finished speaking, and Fan Bingbing said considerately.

Nodding, Baron took Laura back to the study upstairs, where he used the satellite phone to call back. On the other end was Kolo…

It turned out that yesterday, a secretary of the Kolo government was arrested because he was caught by Kolo security personnel while secretly taking out detailed exploration results of the Kolo offshore oil field.

After interrogation, the secretary confessed that someone had contacted him, offering a high price to purchase the relevant information. However, he didn’t know where the person was from.

When the security personnel tried to use him to capture the person, it was unknown whether the news had leaked or if the person sensed danger, but they ultimately failed to find the contact…

Therefore, they reported it to Baron immediately.

In fact, the news that an oil field had been discovered off the coast of Kolo wasn’t a secret, because when Kolo initially conducted a large-scale mineral survey, they didn’t implement very strict confidentiality measures.

But later, when the British Oil and Gas Company sent a team and equipment to Kolo to conduct more detailed and precise exploration of the offshore area, the confidentiality level of this matter was upgraded.

Not only was the number of people in Kolo and the West African Mining Group who could access the final exploration data reduced to a minimum, but the employees of British Oil and Gas Company participating in this exploration also signed stringent confidentiality agreements and were supervised by Kolo security personnel.

The main reason was that before finally confirming the exploration results and making full preparations, Baron naturally couldn’t allow an offshore oil field with such rich oil and gas reserves to enter the sight of certain capital.

Now, after this incident, although according to the confession of the Kolo secretary during the interrogation, he hadn’t had time to hand over the specific data to his “superior,” the Kolo side also needed to make the safest contingency plan—who knew if the other party had only found this secretary to obtain the exploration data?

Therefore, from now on, the Kolo side had implemented the strictest monitoring of this matter. In addition to the security personnel monitoring the government and the relevant personnel of West African Mining, the main force of the Kolo Legion also advanced to the vicinity of the capital, Loti, to defend it.

In addition, Baron’s security advisor, and also the head of his intelligence center, Nigel Inkoster, had already rushed to Loti to take charge of the overall situation there.

“Currently, we have 1,000 new recruits at the Munger base undergoing adaptation training, with Kolo local soldiers and British army veterans each accounting for half. They have been undergoing two weeks of security training in conflict zones here. Originally, we planned to replace the armed personnel who had been in Iraq for more than three months in a week…”

In the phone, Baron heard Nigel say:

“Now we are preparing to advance the rotation. We will transport these people to Iraq tomorrow, thereby replacing the ‘veterans’ with rich defense experience, and transferring them to Loti to be stationed. These people will bring the complete set of equipment purchased from the Anglo-American coalition forces back to Loti to strengthen the defense forces there.”

This was also a defensive measure taken by the Kolo side, and Baron immediately agreed with the other party’s opinion.

“Did something happen, Baron?”

When Baron finished talking about this matter, walked out of the study, and returned to the living room, Fan Bingbing asked when she saw him.

“Yes, something came up. I’m sorry, Bingbing, I’m afraid I have to leave here immediately to handle something…”

Seeing a few traces of disappointment on the girl’s face, Baron suddenly asked:

“I wonder if you have time in the next period? Do you have any work that needs to be done?”

“You mean?”

“If possible, I hope to invite you to come with me this time, um, to travel to West Africa for a few days, and we’ll be back soon.”

“Go to Africa?”

At this time, in many people’s impressions, Africa was still very backward—of course, that wasn’t wrong. Fifteen or twenty years ago, the overall economy of some African countries was even better than that of China, but now, compared to China, it was indeed much more backward.

And Kolo, where Baron was about to go, was one of the least developed countries in West Africa.

“Yes, but you can rest assured that we will have strict security throughout the trip, um, you can consider it…”

“When do we leave?”

“I’m planning to leave tonight. My plane has a place to rest…”

Hearing Baron’s words, Fan Bingbing hesitated for a moment and then made a decision:

“Okay, I’ll go with you!”

“You trust me that much?”

Baron looked at Fan Bingbing with a smile and asked.

“I just thought, you are a big shot. Even you are not afraid, what am I afraid of? And I haven’t been to Africa yet, so I can just broaden my horizons.”

“Then you’re not afraid that I’ll sell you.”

“If you say that, then I have to think about it again…”

However, it was obvious that she was joking.

In fact, although Fan Bingbing’s popularity in China now was still somewhat different from the “Fan Ye” of later, she was already a relatively popular star. She didn’t really have nothing to do later, and her schedule was rather full.

But she also understood that this was the best opportunity to deepen her relationship with the world-class super-rich man in front of her. If she missed this opportunity, she probably wouldn’t guarantee that she wouldn’t regret it later. It could also be said that she decided to take a small gamble, using the cancelled itinerary to exchange for an opportunity that could allow her to enter a higher level and field…

Chapter 379: Airborne Palace

There were no direct flights from Magic City to Lotti, the capital of Kolo. Fortunately, Baron had a private jet, which was one of its conveniences.

The Lotti Airport in Kolo’s capital could accommodate Boeing 747 aircrafts. The flight from Magic City to Lotti would take about ten hours.

Fan Bingbing was decisive. While Baron’s staff were packing, she went to the hotel to get some personal belongings and clothes, then went directly back to Cavendish Garden to meet up with Baron and his party. She only had time to call her agent and have them find excuses to cancel her recent schedule.

“This is the first time I’ve been on a private jet, and it’s such a luxurious one…”

After arriving at the airport, Fan Bingbing’s eyes widened as she watched the motorcade that had brought them drive directly into the lowest level garage of the Devonshire. She exclaimed to Baron.

“Let’s go. We have more than ten hours, so we can take our time to tour the inside.”

Baron gave her a smile, took her hand, and led her towards the elevator door.

Fan Bingbing’s hand subconsciously recoiled, then relaxed, allowing Baron to hold her hand in his palm.

As Fan Bingbing said, she had never experienced a massive private jet like the Devonshire, which resembled an airborne palace. She found that the interior of the plane actually had an elevator that could go directly from the bottom garage to the second and third levels.

Baron first took Fan Bingbing to the entertainment area on the second level, showing her around the entire second level, including the kitchen, entertainment room, lounge, and living room.

Along the way, Fan Bingbing was dazzled. The life of a super-rich person was indeed beyond her imagination.

You know, at this time, the wealthy people in mainland China who owned private jets could be counted on one hand. Even Boss Ma and Wang Jianlin, who later became the richest people, hadn’t bought private jets yet. Even the Gulfstream series of private jets they later bought were considered quite good…

But the private jet in front of Fan Bingbing was modified from a Boeing 747, which was currently the largest private jet model in the world—although in January of this year, Airbus had launched their epoch-making A380 airliner, the first test flight of this model would have to wait until April or May, and as for Prince Walid using this model to transform into a private jet… that would take even longer.

Therefore, it could be imagined that at the age of twenty-three, Fan Bingbing was experiencing such a shock, facing a flying palace that was even more enormous than the villas of ordinary rich people.

This was only the second level. When they reached the third level, most of it belonged to Baron’s private space, including a large bedroom with a bathroom, a fully equipped office area, and facilities like a spa room. This kind of luxurious enjoyment directly stunned Fan Bingbing. She never imagined that she could enjoy such luxurious conditions on an intercontinental flight…

During the flight of the Devonshire, information about the situation in Kolo would also be constantly transmitted.

Currently, one thousand new recruits had been chartered by Protector Military Company to be sent to Iraq. After their arrival, the transport aircraft of the Anglo-American coalition they had hired would, at the first opportunity, transport the soldiers on rotation to Lotti, where they would set up defenses in the surrounding area.

At the same time, some bidding work for the offshore oil field Block 1, which was being developed by the Kolo Oil Company, was also underway.

This first part of the bidding work included the initial number of exploratory wells and supporting services. Participating in this bidding were some oil service companies affiliated with large oil companies, some local joint ventures in Africa, and the China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) from China…

Ultimately, after comprehensively considering the strength of these companies and their bids, CNOOC became the contractor for the first phase of the bidding project for Kolo Oil Company’s Block 1.

It was expected that the personnel and platforms of CNOOC would be in place at the earliest in a month—of course, it would be too late to tow the drilling platform from China. However, CNOOC itself had a project in Africa that was about to expire, and they could directly tow the drilling platform there to Block 1 for drilling operations.

In this way, there would be two drilling platforms belonging to CNOOC arriving at Block 1 for operations. And if, after the completion of several exploratory wells, the data collected could confirm the oil and gas storage situation in the vicinity, then more offshore oil wells would enter the drilling and extraction plan…

At that time, Kolo Oil Company would conduct the next phase of bidding to begin the exploitation of this area.

“Are you not asleep?”

Just as Baron finished handling some matters related to Kolo, he stretched and saw Fan Bingbing, wearing a coat, walking out of the bedroom…

“I just slept for a while, just woke up, and wanted to drink some water…”

“Then you can just use the call button to have the flight attendants bring it over.”

Baron’s Devonshire aircraft, the crew members, and the two flight attendants, were all directly employed by him.

“I just wanted to come out and take a look, are you done?”

“Almost…”

Baron looked at his watch and said:

“We just took off over three hours ago, there are still several hours to go, you can go back to sleep.”

“Or…”

Fan Bingbing’s face was slightly flushed, and she looked at Baron and said:

“You go rest for a while, aren’t you going to handle things over there, or, we can rest together, what I mean is, I think the bed is quite big…”

In fact, from the moment she directly agreed to accompany Baron on this trip, in a certain sense, it was equivalent to Fan Bingbing having already determined what would happen between her and this British Duke…

She believed that the handsome young Duke in front of her also understood these things…

However, what surprised Fan Bingbing was that after the plane took off, Baron didn’t rush to… her, but instead, on the grounds that he needed to handle some matters immediately, he gave his luxurious bedroom to Fan Bingbing, allowing her to rest first.

Originally, Fan Bingbing thought he might come over soon, so after taking a shower, she went to bed to wait.

But after taking a nap, she found that she was still fine in that bedroom, which was why she had just taken the initiative to come out.

It wasn’t that she couldn’t pour water in the bedroom, but with a certain different emotion, Fan Bingbing wanted to appear in front of Baron to confirm this matter.

The inner transformation of a person is often very strange. If Baron had directly entered that bedroom at first and done something with her, even though, in Fan Bingbing’s view, the appearance of this young Duke was indeed charming, her relationship with him might have been seen as a kind of exchange.

But when the other party, from beginning to end, well, until now, had behaved very gentlemanly and appropriately, she herself felt a little uneasy.

And also, without realizing it, she had more emotions for the other party…

Chapter 380: A Gentle, Dependent Woman

“I’ll take a shower first.”

“Mm…”

After Baron walked into the bathroom, Fan Bingbing couldn’t help but cover her face with her hands. She could already imagine what would happen next. She felt her cheeks were hot, as if she had a fever…

Especially in this enclosed bedroom, faintly hearing the sound of water flowing from the bathroom…

She just stood there, suddenly at a loss, not knowing what to do next.

When Baron, wearing a bathrobe, walked into the bedroom from the bathroom, he saw that the lights in the bedroom were already turned off. He could only vaguely see, from the faint light of the starry sky ceiling, that the duvet on the side of the three-meter-wide bed had a bulge the size of a person…

Seeing this scene, a smile appeared on his face.

He took off his bathrobe, revealing Baron’s well-defined muscle lines. Then, he walked to the side of the bed, lay down, and pulled back the covers…

At first, Fan Bingbing, like an ostrich, buried her head in the covers. But at this moment, feeling Baron’s movements, her closed eyes suddenly opened, looking at Baron.

Fan Bingbing’s skin was very white. In this dimness, the light from the starry sky ceiling shone on her, like holy light.

Her eyes were also very bright.

Her eyes met Baron’s gaze, and they seemed to contain thousands of emotions…

“Bingbing, do you know? You… are truly beautiful.”

As his voice fell, a hint of a smile appeared in Fan Bingbing’s eyes.

But just as Baron’s head gradually lowered, and their lips began to touch, Fan Bingbing closed her eyes again…

…

When the Devonshire landed at Loti Airport, Baron and Fan Bingbing were already tidied up.

However, what was different from before was that Fan Bingbing was now clinging closely to Baron’s side, like a gentle, dependent woman. They looked like a couple.

Although she could still feel the exhaustion in her body at this moment, her complexion looked exceptionally good.

Baron and his entourage left the airport directly by the motorcade that came with the Devonshire.

In the back seat of the Rolls-Royce Phantom, Fan Bingbing could see, through the car window, that along the way, the airport was guarded by fully armed soldiers with complete equipment.

And in front and behind the motorcade, several military vehicles had also joined, escorting them along the way.

She had never seen such a display before, and she couldn’t help but gasp in amazement.

Yes, to ensure Baron’s safety, before the plane landed, this airport had been taken over by the Kolo Legion for all security, with nearly a thousand soldiers on alert here.

The motorcade finally arrived at a villa in Loti City. This place originally belonged to the family of Kolo’s former head of state, Naxin Demar. After the military government was overthrown, this villa was bought by the West African Group. After being reinforced and renovated, it served as Baron’s residence when he came to Kolo.

This villa looked magnificent, but what was different from Baron’s villa in London was that the villa’s courtyard was surrounded by high walls.

And now, on top of those walls, surveillance cameras could be seen every few steps, so it could be said that the security was very strict.

At the same time as Baron moved into this villa, a guard of more than 50 people would begin to patrol and defend the area around the villa 24 hours a day, without interruption.

“Don’t be nervous, it’s very safe here. Those people are making a mountain out of a molehill.”

After entering the villa, Baron saw the look of nervousness on Fan Bingbing’s face and comforted her.

It was no wonder. All along the way, there were fully armed soldiers and military vehicles following. Before, in China, Fan Bingbing had never seen such a display!

And in her impression, Africa seemed to have always been relatively chaotic, and she often heard about coups in some countries. She had never been here before, so it was not surprising that Fan Bingbing would appear a little nervous.

“Mm, with you by my side, I’m not afraid of anything.”

Hearing Fan Bingbing’s words, Baron smiled, kissed her, and said to her:

“You’re tired from the journey. Let them take you upstairs to rest first. I’ll see a few people here later.”

“Mm.”

At this moment, Fan Bingbing was very obedient, reluctant to take her eyes off Baron, and went upstairs with Alia.

“Your Grace, Mr. Inkster has arrived.”

Laura walked to Baron’s side and said to him softly.

“Let him come to the study.”

…

Baron’s intelligence advisor, Angel Inkster, had arrived in Kolo earlier than him, and had previously been responsible for communicating with Markel Paulson at the Mungar base, as well as the Kolo government, to control the situation here.

Therefore, after arriving in Loti, Baron first needed to obtain the latest progress of the matter from him.

“According to our guess, the most likely party behind this matter is the French…”

Inkster’s guess did not surprise Baron. He asked:

“Do you have any basis for that?”

“We haven’t obtained direct evidence yet, but relatively speaking, as Kolo’s former suzerain state, France has the most deployments here. There are still many French companies in Loti, especially mining companies, so they are the most likely to be involved in this matter.”

This could also be understood. After all, Baron had previously supported the Kolo Liberation Front in overthrowing the military government, and after the establishment of the new Kolo government, it was clear that they had begun to “leave France and enter Britain” - since last year, when Kolo President Jame Bongol led a delegation to visit Britain, Kolo had already started negotiations to join the Commonwealth.

By now, Kolo had successfully become an observer state of the Commonwealth, and after the Commonwealth meeting in May this year, the timetable for Kolo to join the Commonwealth would also be determined.

While most countries in West Africa still maintained more or less French influence, these actions by Kolo were indeed likely to cause dissatisfaction in France.

It was also because Kolo itself had a small territory and a backward economy that, before this, it could not actually bring much benefit to France – the only one with rich phosphate ore, in fact, the proportion of the French mining companies’ revenue in the whole of Africa was also relatively low.

Even Kolo’s previous government finances still needed to constantly borrow from the Paris Club, mainly led by France, to maintain itself, which made France see it more as a burden.

In this case, for Kolo’s departure from the “French Africa” camp, although France had shown an unhappy attitude before, the government officials in their hearts would probably feel more or less like they had gotten rid of a burden.

However, now it was different. There were actually rumors that an offshore oil field had been discovered in Kolo?

If this news was true, France’s attitude would probably turn to unwillingness – after all, according to the previous situation, France’s oil companies would inevitably be able to obtain a considerable part of the rights in Kolo’s offshore oil field, but now, they also knew that it would be difficult to participate in it.

Therefore, it could be imagined that the one most concerned about this matter would definitely be France, and it would not be surprising that they would use the method of stealing intelligence to determine the specific data of Kolo’s offshore oil field.

Chapter 381: Respect

Of course, although it was highly probable, the view that the French were behind this espionage incident was still just a guess.

Regardless of who was ultimately responsible, the most important thing for Corot was to find a way to prevent those countries from intervening while taking precautions.

Although present-day France was unlikely to directly use an excuse to “invade” Corot like the United States.

But it must also be understood that since Baron could support the Corot Liberation Front from behind the scenes to carry out a coup and overthrow the government of Nassin Demah, the French could do the same.

This was why they had transferred most of the Corot Legion’s strength to Loti during this period.

At the same time, Corot’s security department was also monitoring government officials and some pro-French individuals…

This was to guard against the possibility of another “coup” occurring.

In addition, they were seeking support for Corot, and of course, this support would mainly come from Britain.

The relatively optimistic point at the moment was that Baron’s identity was that of a British duke, so the French would be somewhat wary of what they did to Corot because of this.

Furthermore, Corot’s joining the Commonwealth would also play a certain role.

Finally, and most importantly, was the binding of interests!

After finishing the conversation with Incoast, Baron did not rest because Jame Bongoh arrived.

As the President of Corot, after Baron arrived in Loti, Jame Bongoh still needed to come and see him in person.

After all, this Duke was his “benefactor.” Not only that, Jame Bongoh also understood how he had come to his current position. If he could sit there, someone else could too. Therefore, respecting Baron was necessary for him to smoothly get through his term as president and even be re-elected.

“Hello, Mr. Bongoh, I apologize for making you come so late…”

“This is only right, Your Grace. After all, this is your first time in Corot, and I also benefited greatly from our last meeting.”

Seeing that Jame Bongoh had not become arrogant because of his high position and could still maintain his position—at least it seemed so for now, Baron’s attitude towards him was also very polite.

“I’ve also learned about the recent events. Corot’s mineral resources belong to all the people of Corot. If certain people want to get their hands on them, we will not sit idly by. Today, I hope to reach a consensus with you…”

“Yes, Your Grace. Corot is now desperately hoping to develop, but is facing a lack of funds. This time, with God’s blessing, we have found the treasure buried at the bottom of the sea. This is a gift from God to all the people of Corot. I swear I will protect these treasures for you and the people of Corot.”

……

In a friendly atmosphere, Baron and Jame finally reached a consensus.

Overall, Jame Bongoh was still a very pragmatic president, and he had indeed put his heart and soul into the implementation of Corot’s various policies.

Of course, at the beginning, Baron had also made some promises to Jame Bongoh. As long as he could successfully complete his term, then, besides being hired as a consultant by the West African Group at a high salary after his term expired, his family would also receive a certain percentage of the West African Group’s shares.

These shares would be enough for Jame Bongoh’s family to become an influential family in Corot, or rather, similar to the Bush family and the Kennedy family in the United States…

Based in Corot, the West African Group needed to win over or create some local forces. This method of control could be said to be almost the same as the British during the colonial period, which was to control the colonies through the local “chiefs”…

It’s just that it can no longer be called a “colony” now, but a democratic country…

……

After seeing off Jame Bongoh, Baron stretched and said to Laura beside him:

“Have you chosen a bedroom?”

“Yes, Your Grace.”

“I’m going to rest. You should rest early too. You’ve been busy all day, and you must be tired. There are many things to do tomorrow…”

After returning to the master bedroom of the villa, Baron saw that there was only the dim light of a bedside lamp, and Fan Bingbing seemed to have already fallen into a deep sleep.

Baron gently got into bed, but heard the woman beside him mumbling:

“Are you back?”

“Haven’t slept yet?”

Baron put Fan Bingbing in his arms. She found a comfortable position on the man’s shoulder, looked at him sleepily, and said softly:

“I slept for a while, but I can’t sleep soundly. I wake up every once in a while…”

Baron knew that she should be in an unfamiliar environment, and her inner defenses were still up.

He kissed her on the forehead:

“Come on, let’s sleep together.”

“Mm.”

In Baron’s arms, the woman soon fell asleep.

……

On the third day after Baron arrived in Loti, the capital of Corot, 1,000 fully armed personnel from the Protector Military Company, who had performed missions in Iraq for more than three months, arrived at Loti Airport at the first opportunity on board a transport aircraft of the US-British coalition forces.

This strengthened the armed forces in the capital, Loti.

And before Baron arrived, the Corot Oil Company had already announced some information about the 1st block of the offshore oil field, which was estimated to have reserves of more than 500 million tons, and completed the external bidding for the first phase of development of this block.

Now, a continuous stream of workers and related equipment began to arrive at Loti Port, and from there, they began to head to the 1st block to prepare to drill the first exploratory well.

It could be imagined that with the development of the 1st block, more and more related personnel would pour into Loti. Just like the CNOOC Service Company, Corot would designate a special area for them to build their logistics support center—a lot of prefabricated houses had already been transported there, and they would be completed soon.

“How do you feel about this place?”

Baron said to Fan Bingbing beside him.

After having breakfast today, she accompanied Baron to tour some areas of Loti, the capital of Corot. Now, standing on a high ground at Loti Port, looking around, Fan Bingbing said:

“It’s okay. Many places are different from… well, China. But it’s also quite interesting.”

In fact, no matter how backward a country is, a place like the capital must have an area that is still presentable…

This was also the case in Corot. Just like the “rich area” that Baron had taken Fan Bingbing to visit before, which was mostly inhabited by government officials and businessmen in Loti, both the buildings and the cleanliness of the streets were relatively good.

But most of the areas in Loti now, not to mention compared to London where Baron had lived before, were far inferior to some remote towns in China…

Chapter 382: Huge Loan

“We have successively purchased a considerable amount of real estate within Lottie City, especially this area near the port, which was originally a very dirty and chaotic slum… We have already bought the land there and are preparing for real estate development…”

Prior to this, the West African Group had already acquired a local construction company in Lottie, renaming it Golden African Real Estate Company.

Standing beside Baron, introducing the project to him was the general manager of Golden African Real Estate Company. In addition, the CEO of the West African Group, Enno Duran, was also present.

It’s conceivable that with the development of Lottie, particularly the transportation of goods, trade, and oil exploitation, a relatively affluent population of a certain scale will inevitably emerge.

These people will inevitably have a need to improve their living conditions, including their housing.

The project that Golden African Real Estate Company is about to undertake is designed to provide for this need. They plan to build a high-end residential area in Lottie, including all the necessary supporting facilities…

Of course, the term “high-end” here is relative to the other slum areas of Lottie.

After this, Baron returned to his villa and met with the representatives of the Bank of England who had arrived in Lottie.

The Bank of England is the central bank of the United Kingdom, and it also possesses the function of external financial liaison for the United Kingdom.

Baron knew Mervyn King, who was in charge of this visit from the Bank of England. He also knew that this deputy governor, currently responsible for the Bank of England’s monetary policy, would take over as the Governor of the Bank of England on July 1st of this year.

Perhaps this is also why he was in charge of leading the team to Kolo this time.

“We have reviewed the data from the Kolo offshore oil field, and we have to say that the reserves of the blocks awaiting development are astonishing…”

“Therefore, for the benefit of the United Kingdom, we should complete this agreement…”

Hearing Baron’s words, Mervyn King looked at him with a profound expression and said:

“To be precise, this is more in everyone’s interest. Although there will be risks involved, it is still worthwhile…”

Mervyn King shrugged:

“If it can provide benefits for more British people, it is completely worthwhile. If the British Oil and Gas Investment Company were a public company instead of a private one, that would be even more perfect…”

“Believe me, it will be soon…”

A few days later, Mervyn King, representing the Bank of Scotland, signed a low-interest loan agreement with the Kolo government for a total amount of 4 billion pounds.

The Kolo government will use part of their revenue from the Kolo Oil Company as collateral and a repayment channel to borrow 4 billion pounds from the Bank of England for domestic infrastructure construction.

These loans have a term of 10 years, with repayments starting in installments from the sixth year, and an annual interest rate of around 3.5%.

At this time, the exchange rate of the pound against the US dollar had returned to 1.92, and the 4 billion pounds of funds were equivalent to approximately 7.64 billion US dollars.

The Kolo government plans to use these funds to build the Lodda Railway and Lodda Expressway, which will run through the entire territory of Kolo from north to south.

The route will extend from Lottie, the southernmost city of Kolo, to Dasso, the northernmost city, with a total length of nearly 600 kilometers.

It can be said that this will be the largest-scale transportation construction project in Kolo’s history. Next, the Kolo government will conduct global bidding to seek contractors for these two “super projects.”

The significance of obtaining a 4 billion pound loan from the Bank of England this time is not only that the Kolo government has obtained construction funds, but more importantly, the process of the Bank of England issuing the loan also, to some extent, adds “insurance” from the United Kingdom to the exploitation of the Kolo offshore oil field.

After all, this loan is secured by the Kolo government using part of its future revenue from the Kolo Oil Company…

…

The personal experience of Baron and his entourage on their way to the Munger base also made them realize the necessity of building the Lodda Expressway.

Because the Munger base is located in the Prairie Province, the northernmost province of Kolo, although it is not as close to the northern border as Dasso City, the northernmost city on the Lodda Expressway under construction—the Munger base is close to the border between the Prairie Province and the Kara Province—the direct distance from Lottie to the Munger base is still nearly 500 kilometers.

This is just the direct distance. If they rely on Kolo’s original road network to get there, after many detours, the actual distance traveled by the convoy will increase by at least two-thirds.

And saying “road network” is already a rather euphemistic way of putting it.

In fact, many of the roads in between are very rugged and can only be considered dirt roads, not even basic cement roads.

This is the current transportation situation in Kolo, so the Chinese saying, “If you want to get rich, build roads first,” is very true.

Finally, Baron and his entourage traveled from Lottie to the intersection of the Coastal Province and the Prairie Province, and then took two Chinook helicopters from the Kolo Legion to the Munger base.

The reason for this was because the Chinook helicopter’s range was less than 500 kilometers, and departing from the intersection of the Coastal Province and the Prairie Province, it could reach the Munger base with a full tank of fuel.

Of course, the experience of riding a military helicopter like the Chinook is definitely not as comfortable as Baron’s luxury helicopter purchased in London.

The most obvious point is that they could still hear a lot of noise in the passenger cabin—they needed to wear earplugs throughout the journey.

And during this process, Baron and his entourage could clearly see the current road and infrastructure conditions of Kolo from the windows of the Chinook helicopter, and that more development was still needed.

The helicopter landed directly in the Munger base. After so much development, the Munger base had already become quite large.

“Your Grace, welcome to the Munger base.”

After Baron and Fan Bingbing got off the helicopter, the person in charge of the Munger base, Markel Paulson, gave Baron a standard British military salute and said.

With Markel’s introduction, Baron also learned more about the current situation of the Munger base.

Unlike the initial period when this was the headquarters of the Protector Military Company in Africa, where most of the personnel were stationed here, after the establishment of the new Kolo government, more than half of the original Protector Military Company personnel here joined the Kolo Legion, and the personnel of the Munger base were not as numerous as before.

Well, this mainly refers to the armed personnel of the formal Protector Military Company, but now, more black faces can be seen in the Munger base.

Similar to the use of the Birr Castle in Northern Ireland, which is mainly used for the adaptation training of newly recruited British army veterans before they go to Iraq, in addition to guarding two mines controlled by the Protector Military Company (a diamond mine and a gold mine), another main task of the Munger base is to train black recruits who are hired in Kolo.

As mentioned before, Kolo was a less developed country before, and the income of ordinary civilians was extremely low. Compared with this, joining the Kolo Legion and becoming a hired soldier became a “high-income profession.”

Therefore, the enthusiasm of local young people to “join the army” was very high, because a person’s salary could very likely be enough to support a family…

In this way, the Kolo Legion could have more soldiers to choose from.

As everyone knows, the physical fitness of Africans is very good, but their discipline and comprehension skills are relatively lacking.

The Kolo Legion’s headache is the training of these new recruits…

Chapter 383: Blue Blood Brands

The Munger Base was responsible for training these new recruits. It had some retired soldiers who were injured and could no longer serve on the front lines, and they were mainly in charge of training these local recruits.

After the training was completed, those soldiers were often allowed to exchange positions with the armed personnel of the Protector Military Company in Iraq after six months of joining the Kolo Legion.

It was worth mentioning that this kind of “exchange of positions” opportunity was very popular with local soldiers. Although Iraq was relatively more dangerous than Kolo, the salary for going abroad for the exchange, including overseas subsidies, was usually more than three times that of ordinary soldiers in the Kolo Legion, which was very tempting…

Upon arriving at the Munger Base, Barron did not take Fan Bingbing into the military camp. Instead, he sent the accompanying female members, including Fan Bingbing, to a manor near the military camp.

The manor was originally seized by the Kolo Liberation Front from officials of the previous government army. Later, it was bought by the Protector Military Company, and after renovation, it became a manor, which happened to be used to accommodate Barron’s party this time.

After all, places like military camps were not convenient for women to enter and exit. Even during normal times, female employees of the Munger Base had separate offices.

At the Munger Base, Barron watched a small “parade,” reviewing the training results of those local soldiers.

How should I put it, it looked quite impressive, at least they had the spirit, under the unique matching mechanism in Africa, these soldiers were considered quite good…

Of course, bringing Fan Bingbing here couldn’t be said to be all business for Barron, especially since the main matters had already been resolved.

The Munger Base was located in the Grassland Province of Kolo. As the name suggests, it had vast grasslands and also many prey that could be hunted.

After the new Kolo government was established, it issued a decree to confiscate weapons and ammunition nationwide, with a deadline of May 1st of this year. After that, anyone possessing illegal weapons would be punished.

However, this did not impose any restrictions on the Protector Military Company and the Kolo Legion.

The next day, Barron, who had changed into military attire, took Fan Bingbing and other accompanying personnel in a convoy of military vehicles from the Munger Base to go hunting on the grasslands…

In fact, training soldiers at the Munger Base was indeed quite monotonous, so when they had time, those instructors would often go hunting on the grasslands, sometimes even taking the soldiers with them, as if it were a training exercise…

Therefore, they were very familiar with this process. This time, they sent a total of 10 Humvees. Barron and Fan Bingbing got into one of the vehicles, while Aliya, who looked excited, and the other accompanying personnel got into the other vehicles…

Besides Barron, who had found a set of Munger Base’s British Army standard camouflage uniform to wear, Fan Bingbing was also in a camouflage uniform today, which made her look particularly heroic.

However, when she got to the grasslands and really held a firearm, she was still very nervous.

Seeing this, Barron really didn’t feel comfortable letting her fire the gun, so he let her shoot at the targets that had been set up at the end, but when it came to real hunting, he let the personnel with shooting experience do it.

Barron himself had experience hunting with a shotgun before, and yesterday at the Munger Base, he had also indulged in shooting, spending an afternoon at the shooting range using some of their standard weapons.

The prey on the grasslands mainly included zebras, antelopes, and rhinoceroses. Of course, if they were unlucky, encountering cheetahs was also possible—but those mainly appeared in larger grasslands. In Kolo, the most common prey was antelopes.

In Scotland, Barron had hunted wild boars, and now that he had come to the West African grasslands, he was also full of enthusiasm.

Especially when they spotted a herd of antelopes, they drove the Humvee while chasing and trying to shoot, which felt incredibly exhilarating.

Originally, the instructors from the Munger Base who accompanied them wanted to step in when Barron and his party couldn’t hunt any large prey, so they wouldn’t return empty-handed.

However, they didn’t expect Barron’s skills to exceed their expectations. In the end, Barron himself shot three antelopes, and they could be said to have returned fully loaded.

Tonight…

Wait, Barron realized that he hadn’t brought a chef this time, and he really didn’t have much hope for the cooking skills of these British retired soldiers at the Munger Base…

However, after asking, fortunately, they had a chef at the base who was very good at handling these “game meats,” which finally put Barron at ease.

…

“How have you been feeling these days, Bingbing?”

Barron’s party stayed at the Munger Base for two days, and he took the opportunity to relax and play there for two days. When they were about to leave, Barron turned to Fan Bingbing beside him and asked.

“It feels very interesting. I definitely wouldn’t have been able to experience these things in China.”

Of course, during this time, not only did they go sightseeing and hunting together, but since they had just been together, they were also in a passionate period, and it could be said that they had spent every night in bliss…

“By the way, the Gucci Group’s flagship store in Magic City will be opening in a while. They will be holding some events then. How about you help promote it?”

“Really? Of course I can…”

Originally, thinking that the two of them would be separating soon, Barron had almost finished dealing with the matters in Kolo. Next, he would be heading back to London, and Fan Bingbing would also be returning to China to continue some of the work she had turned down before. She was still a little reluctant, but after hearing Barron’s words, she asked with some surprise.

“Yes, I will have the Gucci Group send you an invitation then. I will also give Wang Zhongjun a call at Huayi Brothers… You know, the Gucci Group currently doesn’t have a spokesperson in mainland China. They are very cautious about this selection, but after that, they will start with brand ambassadors…”

After hearing Barron’s words, Fan Bingbing kissed him on the face:

“You’re so good to me…”

Don’t think that it’s an exaggeration for Fan Bingbing to smile just because of Gucci’s opening invitation.

That was also because at this stage, luxury brands like Gucci, Chanel, LV, and Hermes were very cautious in their choice of spokespersons. Not to mention spokespersons, even stars at the level of brand ambassadors were not available in mainland China.

In the luxury goods industry, there is a saying of six blue blood and eight red blood brands.

Blue blood often refers to the European and American term for pure nobility, so generally speaking, the six blue blood brands are of a higher level than the eight red blood brands.

For example, the six blue blood brands include: Chanel, Dior, Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Prada, and CK (Calvin Klein).

However, it is said that no ready-to-wear brand is not blue blood, here the CK, only its highest-end ready-to-wear product line Calvin Klein collection belongs to blue blood, but before Barron’s rebirth in the previous life, CK eventually abandoned its high-end ready-to-wear product line, and eventually withdrew from the blue blood brands.

The eight red blood brands are: Hermes, YSL, Givenchy, Giorgio Armani, Lanvin, Valentino, Versace, and Burberry.

However, although blue blood brands are generally higher than red blood brands, with development, some red blood brands, such as Hermes, have already surpassed some blue blood brands.

And Gucci is one of the blue blood brands, and it is also an unquestionable top luxury brand.

Chapter 384: High-End Luxury System

The endorsement system for these luxury goods is also very complex…

Of course, there’s no need to mention Hermès; this brand has always adhered to the principle of not establishing brand ambassadors.

As for other brands, generally speaking, the endorsement system includes brand ambassadors, image ambassadors, and brand friends…

Among them, a brand ambassador has the closest relationship with the brand. The ambassador’s image, style, market, and target audience are all closely related to the brand.

In most cases, the brand ambassador’s image will appear in brand advertisements and major events.

Brand ambassadors are divided by region and product category. Generally speaking, taking China as an example, global ambassador > Asia-Pacific ambassador > China region ambassador; and all-line product ambassador > designated product line ambassador > designated series product ambassador > product ambassador.

Brand ambassadors and brand image ambassadors are, in most cases, responsible for their own duties. They use their own social influence and personal charm to promote the brand in different regions.

Brand ambassadors also include titles like brand promotion ambassador, brand image ambassador, etc., and this needs to be distinguished by the content of the cooperation between the brand and the celebrity.

Overall, the brand ambassador’s status in the brand is definitely higher than that of the brand image ambassador.

As for brand friends, it’s the simplest stage of cooperation between celebrities and brands, belonging to the entry level.

In most cases, celebrities with the title of brand friend will carry the brand’s products to attend various promotional activities. The brand achieves brand exposure through the celebrity’s influence, and the celebrity also uses the brand’s halo to increase popularity. It’s a mutually beneficial cooperative approach.

Among these, only the brand ambassador needs the brand to pay endorsement fees, and the brand will produce hard advertisements and customize products for them.

As for brand image ambassadors, although there are no endorsement fees, the brand will also customize products for them and attend the brand’s events to increase their visibility.

As for brand friends, they can carry the brand’s products to attend promotional activities. Well, you can tell from the name that the two parties are just “friends.”

At this time, including the six major blue blood and eight major red blood top luxury brands in mainland China, there were no brand ambassadors.

At this time, Hong Kong and Taiwan celebrities still held an advantage over mainland celebrities. Top luxury brands would only choose Hong Kong and Taiwan celebrities as brand ambassadors in the Chinese region.

For example, the earliest was Takeshi Kaneshiro, who endorsed Prada menswear in 1998…

Then, in 2000, was Coco’s Chanel Asia-Pacific ambassador… However, because of her “Spice Girl” image on stage, she was disliked by some Hong Kong socialites, and after strong protests, she was replaced after only 5 months.

In 2001, Dior signed two Hong Kong divas as brand ambassadors, namely Anita Mui and Kelly Chen.

These are all the brand ambassadors in the Chinese region that all the blue blood and red blood top luxury brands had chosen before. They were all Hong Kong and Taiwan celebrities, and the number was very small, because the brand would be very cautious in choosing these brand ambassadors. The fact that Coco, who was extremely popular at the time, was later replaced, also illustrates the problem.

As for mainland celebrities, at this time, not to mention brand ambassadors and brand image ambassadors, there wasn’t even a brand friend. Therefore, if Fan Bingbing could cooperate with a top blue blood luxury brand like Gucci, even as a brand friend, it would be a unique case in mainland China at this time…

This is also a very important thing for confirming her position in the fashion field among mainland celebrities.

Speaking of which, Fan Bingbing herself also had this potential. In Barron’s previous life, she was later favored by those international big names, and she was later known as the “Red Carpet Queen,” and her various red carpet looks were also extremely classic.

Here, Barron also took Fan Bingbing to visit the Devonshire International School, built near the Munger base in the Prairie Province.

This school currently has more than 200 students, and you could say that these students are of all races.

Most of the students are orphans from countries including Asia, the Middle East, and Eastern Europe—they were adopted by the Devonshire Charitable Foundation after investigations in these places.

And the school’s teachers are also mostly hired from Britain at high salaries.

The students of this school will all receive relevant “gratitude education”—His Grace the Duke of Devonshire saved and raised them, and they must know how to be grateful…

Therefore, when the students were organized to see with their own eyes the “benefactor,” the Duke of Devonshire, whom they had seen many times before in photos and video materials, bringing a lot of snacks, books, and learning supplies to visit them, all the children were extremely excited…

The Duke in front of them was not only very kind, but also young and handsome, and the lady who came with him was also so beautiful…

Facing these children, Barron also encouraged them to study hard, and he also made a promise: every year, he would select a certain number of children who performed excellently in their studies and take them to Britain or other countries to travel, and he would also take particularly outstanding children to Britain to continue their studies, and he would be responsible for all the expenses.

After hearing this promise, a look of anticipation appeared in the eyes of all the children, and their eyes became even more determined.

After returning to Loti, Barron met with Eno Duran, the CEO of the West African Group, again, and then prepared to leave here and return to London.

The meeting with Eno Duran mainly discussed the development of the Golden Africa Real Estate Company. Not only in the capital, Loti, but also in other cities with potential, they should start stockpiling land.

In addition, there was the exploitation of the Kolo offshore oil field. Barron hoped to obtain rich profits through oil exploitation, not only for the Kolo government, the West African Group, and the British Oil and Gas Investment Company, but also to develop the oil-related industries within Kolo—oil workers are often considered to be in the middle to high income bracket in most countries, and in Kolo, they would definitely belong to the high income bracket among the general public.

Through the development of oil-related industries, he hoped to bring more “oil workers” to Kolo.

In fact, the Kolo side is also doing this now. In the contractor contract for oil exploitation and related projects signed with CNOOC Service, there are requirements regarding the proportion of local workers to be employed.

In this way, through cooperation with the other party, they can also train a considerable number of local oil technology workers, thereby laying the foundation for Kolo Oil Company to build its own drilling platform.

This can also be considered the Kolo version of “market for technology.”

In addition, Barron also suggested that Kolo Oil Company could sign some smart and ambitious young people from the country and cooperate with universities like China University of Petroleum for targeted commissioned training. When these people return home after completing their studies, they will become the backbone of the Kolo oil industry.

After this talk, the next day, Barron and his party boarded the Devonshire, preparing to return home.

Before returning to London, the Devonshire first landed at Dubai Airport. Here, a reluctant Fan Bingbing, accompanied by the accompanying staff arranged by Barron, would say goodbye to him and transfer to a commercial flight to China.

Next, the Devonshire took off again—destination, London.

Chapter 385: Exchange

When Barron returned to London, it was already late March.

At this time, O2 Telecom had already completed its takeover bid for Czech Telecom.

In the previous takeover bid vote, the proportion of those who agreed to O2 Telecom’s acquisition of Czech Telecom for a total price of 6.95 billion US dollars exceeded 85%. Therefore, O2 Telecom could, in accordance with relevant regulations, complete the acquisition of the remaining 49% of Czech Telecom’s shares with 3.41 billion US dollars.

Prior to this, O2 Telecom had already used Czech Telecom’s shares as collateral to obtain a 2 billion pound loan from the Royal Bank of Scotland for this acquisition.

The current exchange rate between the pound and the US dollar is around 1.92, which means that the 2 billion pounds is equivalent to 3.84 billion US dollars.

After completing the acquisition of Czech Telecom’s remaining shares, there would still be more than 400 million US dollars to be used for the upgrade of Czech Telecom’s equipment within the Czech Republic.

Of course, it can no longer be called Czech Telecom. After being acquired by O2 Telecom, Czech Telecom will be renamed O2 Telecom Czech Branch.

Currently, O2 Telecom has signed an agreement with Huawei. After completing the laying of mobile communication and broadband networks in the current markets including Ireland, the UK, France, and Germany, Huawei will be responsible for upgrading the Czech network.

The reason for handing this order to Huawei so readily was also because, at this time, Huawei had already obtained permission from the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) and completed the acquisition of Marconi.

This time, Huawei completed the acquisition of Marconi through the issuance of new shares. After completing this acquisition, Rich23 Capital, which originally owned Marconi, would obtain 12% of Huawei’s shares.

Through the acquisition of Marconi, Huawei also gained its presence in the UK and the United States markets—although Marconi’s market share in these two markets was no longer high, it was still better than Huawei starting from scratch. Moreover, with the Marconi brand, they would also find it easier to develop in these markets.

Not to mention, after acquiring Marconi, Huawei also obtained a series of technology patents related to communication equipment and technology.

Therefore, this acquisition could be said to be a win-win situation for both parties.

Moreover, through this acquisition, Huawei also strengthened its cooperative relationship with O2 Telecom. If you add to that its entry into the “21st Century Network Plan” of British Telecom’s preferred supplier list, and its ability to obtain a large number of orders, Huawei’s development in the UK was smooth, and it could also use this to enter the European mainland market.

……

“So, I don’t need to worry about these shares for now?”

“Yes, you can hold them for another two or three years. You can sell them when I tell you to.”

The woman in front of Barron was Catherine… no longer Catherine Hall, but had changed back to Catherine Neville.

What they were talking about was NVIDIA stock.

After Barron told her last time that she could use all of her 50 million pounds to buy NVIDIA stock, she entrusted Daisy to help her buy about 15 million shares of NVIDIA stock, and now, it was all purchased.

At this time, Catherine’s slightly protruding abdomen was visible. Barron gently stroked her belly and said to her:

“Didn’t I tell you before? Your figure is becoming more and more obvious, and it will slowly become inconvenient to move around. You should go and live in France for a while.”

Catherine’s beautiful eyebrows furrowed slightly, and her beautiful eyes looked at Barron and said:

“It was too boring there before, but next month, my father and Aunt Vanina will come here and go to France with me…”

Since Catherine said so, Barron didn’t mention the matter again.

Of course, at this time, he naturally couldn’t easily resort to corporal punishment. He came today because he learned that Catherine had returned to London from the manor in the south of France before he returned to London, so he came to see her specifically.

Next, Barron had to complete another closing task for the Kolo offshore oil field…

He met with a vice president from Vanguard Group who had come to London and then signed an agreement with him.

The funds under Vanguard Group would purchase 10% of the shares of British Oil and Gas Investment Company held by Caesar Fund for a price of 600 million US dollars.

According to this acquisition price, the market value of British Oil and Gas Investment Company was set at a price of 6 billion US dollars…

If you consider that Caesar Fund had bought this company for only 10 million pounds at the time, it could be said that Caesar Fund had made a huge profit.

But you must know that the current British Oil and Gas Investment Company owns 30% of the shares of Kolo Oil Company!

Simply calculate based on the proven oil reserves of more than 500 million tons in Block 1 of the Kolo offshore oil field that they are currently developing…

Assuming that all of this oil is extracted, it is equivalent to about 3.5 billion barrels. Calculating with the current crude oil price of 50 US dollars per barrel, even if the offshore oil extraction cost is relatively high, around 25 US dollars per barrel…

Then, after a simple calculation, the oil reserves of Block 1 are also worth 87.5 billion US dollars!

The 30% equity held by British Oil and Gas Investment Company, after deducting the 20% energy extraction tax for Kolo, is also worth more than 20 billion US dollars…

Of course, the reserves of an oil field often cannot be said to be completely extracted, and it often needs to go through multiple rounds of extraction, and finally, many difficult-to-extract parts will be left behind…

To put it simply, in an unexploited oil field, the first round of extraction is to drill to the oil layer and rely on the force inside the formation to directly extract the oil—for example, some oil fields in the Middle East with relatively shallow oil layers may be able to directly gush oil after drilling down a hundred meters…

And when the force inside the formation is exhausted, the second round is needed, often by injecting gas or water into it to force the crude oil out…

Then, in the third round of extraction, more technologically advanced methods must be used, such as polymers, chemicals, or thermal, microbial methods to extract the crude oil from the oil layer…

Currently, these three oil extraction methods are often used, but in this process, a portion of the crude oil will definitely be lost.

So, it seems acceptable that Vanguard Group valued British Oil and Gas Investment Company at 6 billion US dollars…

But you must know that, besides Block 1, more blocks will be successively developed later. Judging from this, this investment is purely “giving profit” to Vanguard Group…

Of course, Vanguard Group is also very clear about this point. After all, in addition to this superficial “investment,” through this cooperation, it also allows American capital to participate in the development of the Kolo offshore oil field, which is considered to have added another layer of protection for their offshore oil field outside of the UK.

And in fact, for Barron, or rather for Caesar Fund, it may not necessarily be a real loss.

Because this investment by Caesar Fund was not in the form of cash, but rather an exchange with their shares worth 600 million US dollars—it can also be understood as them using 600 million US dollars to buy 10% of the shares of British Oil and Gas Investment Company from Caesar Fund, and Caesar Fund in turn used these 600 million US dollars to buy their shares.

What shares?

Vanguard Group itself is a major shareholder of NVIDIA. They hold more than 20% of NVIDIA’s shares. This time, they took out 12% of NVIDIA’s shares to exchange with Caesar Fund.

Therefore, by now, Barron already controlled more than 24% of NVIDIA’s shares, with Rich23 Capital and Caesar Fund each holding 12%…

If we consider the future growth of NVIDIA’s market value, then it seems that Vanguard Group has taken a big advantage in this transaction, but in the future, it may not be certain.

Chapter 386: United Energy Group

Things didn’t end there…

Next, Northern Natural Gas Company announced a trading halt and released a material event disclosure, announcing that it would issue 665 million new shares to complete the full acquisition of British Oil and Gas Investment Company.

This acquisition would await approval from relevant British regulatory authorities.

Before the trading halt, Northern Natural Gas Company’s stock price was around 4.75 pounds, with a total share capital of approximately 478.5 million shares, and a market capitalization of around 2.273 billion pounds.

Based on this stock price, the British Oil and Gas Investment Company they were merging with had a corresponding market capitalization of around 3.16 billion pounds, equivalent to 6 billion US dollars, which was the same as the price at which Vanguard Group acquired a 10% stake in this company.

The largest asset held by British Oil and Gas Investment Company at this time was a 30% stake in Kolo Oil Company. This oil company was preparing to develop the Kolo offshore oil field Block 1, which had proven reserves of over 500 million tons.

It could be said that the price at which Northern Natural Gas Company acquired British Oil and Gas Investment Company was not high, and was even very favorable. Therefore, this acquisition quickly obtained approval from relevant departments.

After that, Northern Natural Gas Company applied to change its name to United Energy Group (UEG), with businesses including oil development and natural gas pipelines.

After this restructuring, United Energy Group’s total share capital was approximately 1.1435 billion shares.

Of these, Caesar Fund held approximately 421 million shares, accounting for 88% of the original Northern Natural Gas Company, plus 598.5 million shares, accounting for 90% of the original British Oil and Gas Investment Company, for a total of 1.0195 billion shares, accounting for approximately 89.15% of United Energy Group’s total share capital.

American Vanguard Group held 66.5 million shares, accounting for 10% of the original British Oil and Gas Investment Company, accounting for approximately 5.8% of United Energy Group’s total share capital.

After the restructuring was completed and the name change to United Energy Group (UEG) was approved, and trading resumed, influenced by this positive news, especially the extremely promising revenue expectations of Kolo Oil Company, in which United Energy Group held a 30% stake, in its offshore oil field business, its stock price rose directly from 4.75 pounds before the trading halt to over 7 pounds, an increase of over 55% in one day!

And United Energy Group’s market capitalization also exceeded 8 billion pounds.

After that, as Kolo Oil Company’s first exploratory well in Kolo offshore oil field Block 1 successfully produced oil at a depth of only about 800 meters.

And after testing, the crude oil extracted from this block belonged to light sweet crude oil. This crude oil had a lower density and a lower sulfur content, and had a higher oil yield, belonging to high-quality oil.

Similar to this crude oil was North Sea Brent crude oil, which was also light sweet crude oil, and became the pricing standard for the London crude oil trading market.

According to estimates, this first well in Block 1 could have an initial daily production of over 10,000 tons, definitely a high-yield well!

Influenced by this news, plus the test oil situation of the second exploratory well was also very excellent, United Energy Group’s stock price rose again by over 50% in the following week, approaching 11 pounds, and its market capitalization also exceeded 12 billion pounds.

Of course, that’s another story.

…

“Baby, you seem a little tired recently, you should rest more…”

Hearing Barron’s words, Bonnie leaned her head on his shoulder and said softly:

“Darling, you know I was a little busy a while ago, after all, it was also the first time I handled an acquisition of a company of this scale, but it’s fine now, I can give myself two days off.”

What Bonnie was talking about was the acquisition of the well-known British independent production company TalkbackTHAMES by her Giant Studio in early March.

This independent production company had produced many popular variety shows and television programs.

However, with the rise of many programs on SDTV, including Summit Studio and Giant Studio, they had seized a lot of user viewing share in the variety show field, and some other independent production companies were also facing considerable pressure.

And now, with the development of Giant Studio, the programs Bonnie and her team produced, such as “Dancing Wonders” and “Shining Life,” were very successful. Next, while continuing these two programs, Bonnie had other ideas and hoped to produce a new variety show. Thus, the current staff of Giant Studio were already somewhat insufficient.

In this case, acquiring other production companies became Bonnie’s choice, and what she had her eyes on was TalkbackTHAMES.

After more than a month of continuous negotiations, Giant Studio finally successfully acquired TalkbackTHAMES for 65 million pounds.

It could be said that during this period, without Barron watching over her in London, Bonnie had indeed worked very hard, managing Giant Studio, planning new programs, and also busy with the acquisition of TalkbackTHAMES, she was almost becoming a workaholic.

In the past two years, the British program production field had indeed begun to change. Not only Bonnie’s Giant Studio, but also Summit Studio, under Summit Media, was also carrying out a series of acquisitions, incorporating some creative small and medium-sized independent production institutions.

It wasn’t even limited to Britain. Within Summit Media, plans were being formulated to go overseas and acquire production companies in Northern Europe, Australia, and the United States, among other places.

“You’re really beautiful today, baby.”

When they were ready to go out together, Bonnie came down after changing her clothes. Barron looked at her, his eyes filled with deep appreciation, and praised her.

Hearing his words, Bonnie’s face naturally showed a sweet smile, but she coquettishly said:

“Am I not always beautiful?”

The light green satin long dress she was wearing could indeed reveal Bonnie’s beautiful figure, and her every move was also extremely elegant.

In April in London, the weather was still experiencing a late cold snap, but wearing a fur coat outside could block out a lot of the cold.

Today was a banquet held by the royal family, on a considerable scale, and Barron would attend with Bonnie.

“You will be the most dazzling presence tonight, baby.”

As they got out of the car, Barron kissed his girlfriend on the lips and said to her affectionately.

When they arrived, the hall in Buckingham Palace used for the banquet was already very lively.

And without a doubt, when the young and handsome Duke of Devonshire entered the hall with his beautiful girlfriend, he also attracted the attention of countless people.

Along the way, Barron also met many acquaintances.

“Barron, this is probably the first time you’ve met my son, Hugh, he’s been attending boarding school.”

The Duke of Westminster walked to Barron’s side with a boy.

“Hello, Hugh, you’re such a handsome young man…”

Barron shook hands with the boy across from him and said to him with a smile.

Well, the Hugh Grosvenor in front of him, in more than ten years, after the current Duke of Westminster died unexpectedly, at the age of 25, inherited the Westminster family. In his previous life, Barron also saw in many Chinese reports, the overwhelming reports of “25-year-old inherits a fortune of tens of billions, owns half of London…blah blah blah.”

However, the Hugh Grosvenor in front of Barron was only 14 years old, and facing Barron, the youngest and richest duke in Britain at the time, the young man still seemed very shy.

Speaking of which, after April, the various wealth rankings for this year were also announced one after another.

Thanks to Barron investing and holding many industries in the form of funds and offshore companies, such as Rich23 Capital, Global Industrial Investment Fund (GII Fund), and Caesar Fund, in the statistics of those media and institutions, Barron’s wealth did not increase significantly compared to last year…

Of course, it definitely increased, after all, companies including Google and Summit Media, which were either invested in or held by him, were listed one after another.

In the British rich list published by British media such as The Times and The Guardian, Barron, without any surprise, continued to top the list of Britain’s richest people, continuing to surpass Abramovich .

And on the Forbes Global Rich List, thanks to the appreciation of the pound, Barron’s wealth, valued in US dollars, also increased relatively, ranking fourth in the global rich list, after Bill Gates, Warren Buffett, and Indian steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal.

Chapter 387: Interested?

Besides that, Baron and the others also saw Prince William, but interestingly, he didn’t appear with his girlfriend, Kate, today.

Different girls were always appearing beside Prince William, but all things considered, Kate was already a relatively stable girlfriend of his.

But there were always various reports, both true and false, about their relationship in the media. When Baron asked, William just said that Kate was still in school and hadn’t come this year.

They had also mentioned before that Prince William would be graduating from school soon, and was about to start his internship.

Before he went to HSBC Bank for his internship, he planned to choose a place himself to “experience” things.

At that time, he also told Baron that he hoped to intern at Chatsworth House. Well, Baron gave him a choice, and he ultimately decided to go to the butcher shop in the town near the manor, which belonged to the manor’s farm, to “work”…

They also talked about this matter, and by the end of this month, William would be heading to Derbyshire.

“Your Grace…”

Just then, Countess Booth. came over, taking her cousin, Bonnie, to the ladies. Baron was left alone, chatting briefly with a few nobles before the banquet began.

It was nothing more than art auctions and charity events…

Besides that, it was the upcoming British general election…

Just on April 5th, the Prime Minister went to Buckingham Palace in the morning to request Queen Elizabeth II to dissolve Parliament and officially announce that the parliamentary election would be held on May 5th.

In fact, the Prime Minister originally planned to visit the Queen on April 4th, but due to the death of Pope John Paul II, the original plan was postponed by a day.

According to British law, the Prime Minister can set the election date on any day within five years after the last election, but he needs to announce the election date one month in advance.

According to the recently released opinion poll results, the Conservative Party is gradually narrowing the gap with the Labour Party led by the current Prime Minister.

For example, the headline of the Times this morning was - “Conservative Party’s rise in poll support worries Labour Party,” and the editorial also pointed out, “The Prime Minister should be worried about the upcoming election.”

And according to polls published by the Financial Times and the Independent, the Conservative Party’s support rate was 39%, while the Labour Party’s support rate was only 34%.

In the polls of the other three newspapers, although the Labour Party was still in the lead, the gap between the Conservative Party and the Labour Party narrowed, only 2 to 3 percentage points apart.

Because British constituencies are mostly concentrated in cities, and cities are the Labour Party’s base, many people believe that if the Conservative Party wants to win, it must lead the Labour Party by more than 10 percentage points in the polls.

People were talking more about whether, if the Labour Party won again in this election, Blair would become the first Labour Prime Minister in history to be re-elected for a third time.

…

When Baron walked to the door of the hall, he met Miss Ella.

Subconsciously looking in Bonnie’s direction, she didn’t notice him.

So Baron went to the second-floor balcony with Miss Ella, which was a relatively quiet place.

“You look like you’ve lost a lot of weight, Miss Ella.”

The current Ella, compared to when Baron saw her a few months ago, did indeed look a little thin.

“I’m fine, it’s just that because of the previous events, I need time to calm down.”

Speaking of which, Gabrielle Windsor was originally from the royal family, and although she was now considered a collateral branch, because of this, her understanding of many things would be deeper than ordinary people.

Just like what happened in the suburban villa of the Hall family before, even though Gabrielle had just “woken up” at the time and didn’t know what had happened…

But after that, everyone present at the time, including her, went through relevant investigations and interrogations.

If at that time, Gabrielle still didn’t know what exactly had happened… I’m afraid she would be too foolish.

Even if she couldn’t be sure, she would still have some guesses.

This was why she would say such things to Baron at this time.

“That has nothing to do with you at all, you’re innocent, Ella, don’t think too much.”

Facing Baron’s gentle voice, Gabrielle moved closer to Baron, leaned her head on his shoulder, and said softly:

“Baron, hug me, okay?”

Her voice sounded very weak, and at this moment Baron could smell the faint fragrance from the girl’s ear…

Finally, he reached out and embraced Gabrielle’s slender waist, holding her in his arms.

What happened next was very natural…

Miss Ella raised her head slightly and closed her eyes.

Her eyelashes trembled slightly, also showing the girl’s nervousness at this moment.

Baron lowered his head and kissed her…

…

In fact, Baron and Gabrielle Windsor didn’t spend too much time on the balcony, and he soon returned to the hall.

After all, this was a royal banquet. Well, hiding away to be intimate with Miss Ella was indeed exciting, but if he was accidentally seen by others, it would be a little awkward.

Besides, Bonnie was still here, and Baron naturally couldn’t do anything too risky.

When he walked down the stairs to the hall, he ran into Countess Booth, Chrissy.

“Where’s Bonnie?”

Baron asked casually when he saw her.

“She’s looking for you…”

“?”

Seeing Baron’s puzzled expression, the Countess rolled her eyes at him and said:

“Don’t you wipe the lipstick off your mouth after you sneak a bite?”

Baron heard this and subconsciously wanted to reach out and wipe his mouth, but suddenly realized that he had tidied himself up properly just before coming down…

Seeing this scene, the Countess had an expression of “I knew it”…

“Wait until I give you a good scolding.”

Baron’s words, on the contrary, made the Countess’s eyes have a few hints of anticipation…

…

“Your Grace, I have to say that your operation on the Northern Natural Gas Company was indeed brilliant. By the way, it should be called the United Energy Group now.”

“Thank you for your praise, Mr. Blankfein, but these are just a show of skill in front of Goldman Sachs…”

Baron glanced at the time. It was two o’clock in the afternoon, and it should be nine o’clock in the morning in New York time. It seemed that the other party had called him as soon as they started work…

As the CEO of Goldman Sachs Group, Lloyd Blankfein’s call was certainly not just for this utterly unnutritious flattery.

It seemed to be so, Lloyd continued:

“However, Your Grace, I think that whether it’s the United Energy Group or the Kolo Oil Company, although the prospects are excellent, they are currently only just a framework. To develop stably, they still need more supplements…”

“You mean…?”

Hearing Lloyd Blankfein’s words, and thinking of the recent news, Baron also thought of something…

“I wonder if you are interested in Unocal Corporation?”

Sure enough!

Unocal Corporation of America was founded in 1890 and is a long-established oil company with over a hundred years of history.

Currently, based on reserves, it ranks ninth among the oil and natural gas giants in America; based on revenue, Unocal is the seventh-largest oil company in America.

Unocal Corporation has oil and natural gas exploration assets and projects in Asia, such as Indonesia, Thailand, and Bangladesh.

However, since the beginning of this year, news has already spread that due to poor management and other reasons leading to consecutive losses, Unocal Corporation has already filed for bankruptcy and is up for sale.

Chapter 388: Goldman Sachs’ Friendship

On April 4th, Chevron Texaco, the second-largest oil company in the United States, had already offered Unocal Corporation a bid of 16 billion US dollars, hoping to acquire the company.

Currently, their acquisition offer has begun to undergo an antitrust review by the US Federal Trade Commission.

At the same time, Barron also knew that in two months, China’s CNOOC would also join the acquisition of Unocal…

In fact, as early as February of this year, Unocal had sent some company information to CNOOC, inviting them to participate in this acquisition.

And Chevron and CNOOC, in Barron’s previous life, were the two main acquirers of Unocal, and Barron already knew the outcome – after all, the process of this acquisition case could be said to have been quite a sensation, occupying many media headlines at the time.

After Lloyd brought up this matter, Barron also began to consider the feasibility of joining the acquisition of Unocal.

First, is acquiring Unocal necessary for the United Energy Group?

In Barron’s opinion, Unocal’s most valuable assets were in two parts. The first was the company’s oil and gas block resources in Asia, including Thailand, Indonesia, and Bangladesh.

The other was the oil and gas-related technical reserves and rich talent resources accumulated by the company after a hundred years of development.

For CNOOC, the first point was probably the most important, while for the United Energy Group, the latter was more attractive.

Just as Lloyd said on the phone, currently, both the United Energy Group and the Kolo Petroleum Company had great development prospects, which was based on the rich reserves of the Kolo offshore oil field.

But for an oil company, the United Energy Group could only be said to have just built a framework and needed to fill in more content.

This included a series of technologies, equipment, and talents for oil and gas extraction, refining, and transportation.

If Unocal could be acquired and incorporated into the United Energy Group, it would be like the protagonist in a martial arts novel being infused with a lifetime of internal energy by a senior master, immediately enabling the United Energy Group to rank among the world’s leading energy groups. The temptation here was not small.

However, if the United Energy Group wanted to join the acquisition of Unocal, it was not so easy…

First of all, there was the issue of funds. Although by the end of 2004, Unocal’s market value was about 11 billion US dollars, and it had a net debt of 2.68 billion US dollars.

But Barron knew that to complete the acquisition of this company, in addition to bearing the 2.68 billion US dollars of debt, the bid needed to be at least 17.5-18.5 billion US dollars.

Because Chevron, which had already made the first bid, had already offered 16 billion US dollars, and CNOOC’s bid would be even higher.

“Mr. Blankfein, there’s something that makes me a little puzzled. I know that China’s CNOOC has already received an invitation from Unocal, hoping they will join their acquisition…”

Barron held the phone and said lightly:

“If I’m not mistaken, you’ve also contacted CNOOC and will try to help them with the acquisition and provide financing. Then why are you giving me this call? Reminding me to join in?”

It seemed that Lloyd hadn’t anticipated Barron suddenly mentioning this. He was silent for two seconds after Barron’s words fell, and then said:

“Your Grace, I don’t deny that we will help CNOOC with financing if they can achieve the final acquisition success. But this is just if, one thing at a time. The suggestion I’m giving you is also because I see that in the process of acquiring Unocal, it can make your United Energy Group fill in its shortcomings and become stronger. I want you to believe that I’m doing this entirely out of the friendship between us, and it’s entirely in your best interest.”

Regarding this phone call from Lloyd Blankfein, the CEO of Goldman Sachs Group, Barron could only chuckle.

As everyone knows, Wall Street investment banks are all profit-driven, and among all the Wall Street investment banks, Goldman Sachs Group must be the most cunning one.

Barron had studied countless financial cases related to Wall Street in his previous life. In most of these cases, he could see the shadow of Goldman Sachs Group, and almost every time Goldman Sachs Group could escape unscathed from crises, or at least be the fastest to run away…

If you really believed that Goldman Sachs Group could have so-called friendship, then you would probably be the next one to be tricked by Goldman Sachs.

“Thank you for this call, Mr. Blankfein, but I need to conduct more assessments on whether to join the acquisition of Unocal. If there are any results, I will notify you first, and I hope we can continue to cooperate.”

After giving this reply, he hung up the phone and dialed another number:

“Help me check the shareholder structure of Unocal, and the capital situation behind these shareholders.”

…

“Our family has a very deep connection with Cambridge University, and this connection has continued to this day. We cherish the wonderful bond that has given us the history of this relationship, and we also hope that today’s cooperation can continue this bond…”

Barron’s speech at Cambridge University, where he donated 50 million pounds in the name of the Devonshire Family Trust to establish the Devonshire Scholarship, also caused thunderous applause in the auditorium.

Indeed, as Barron said, the Cavendish family had a very deep connection with Cambridge University.

Barron’s ancestor, William Cavendish, the ninth Duke of Devonshire, had once served as the Chancellor of Cambridge University.

And Lucy Cavendish College at Cambridge University was named after Lucy Devonshire, the daughter-in-law of the ninth Duke of Devonshire, who was dedicated to women’s education.

And from then on, the Devonshire family had always provided funding for academics, including the Cavendish Laboratory.

In addition to the generous donation to Cambridge University, the quantitative funds of Barron’s DS Capital, as well as Woaw Technology, had many cooperative projects with Cambridge University.

Therefore, under comprehensive consideration, it was still very easy for the descendants of the Cavendish family to enter Cambridge University.

If Barron’s previous self hadn’t been too rebellious and didn’t like the environment here at Cambridge, but yearned for the prosperity of London, he would probably have been one of the famous alumni of Cambridge University…

“You were amazing just now, dear, those girls under the stage were all starstruck…”

Before Barron left Cambridge, Tamara Ecclestone also quietly got into Barron’s Rolls-Royce Phantom. As soon as she got in the car, she said to Barron in a charming way.

“So does that include you? Baby.”

Being held by the girl’s arm, feeling the soft pressure, Barron couldn’t help but sigh, this girl’s nutrition was too good…

“You’re annoying. Right, are we going to the manor now?”

“Yes, I’m planning to go stay there for a few days, what do you think?”

“That’s great, I miss it too.”

Next, they were going to Chatsworth House. It was now spring, and the colors there had brightened up, which was the most beautiful time of the year.

Speaking of which, Barron hadn’t been back there for a while. Bonnie was temporarily unable to leave, and Barron just took the opportunity of coming to Cambridge University to take Tamara with him.

Chapter 389: Returning to the Manor Again

Returning to Chatsworth House again, this time the butler who greeted them at the door with the servants was no longer the original Butler Sean, but Ramos.

The passage of time always manifested in these subtle changes.

It was obvious that Ramos had received guidance from Butler Sean; his gestures and movements, compared to when he was in London, were more mature and reserved, bearing some of Butler Sean’s shadow.

“How has Mr. Sean been lately, Ramos?”

Baron asked as Ramos accompanied him into the mansion.

“Mr. Sean is doing well recently. You know, the weather has warmed up a bit, and he has arranged to go to the Peak District with friends for a trip, he should be back in the next couple of days…”

The Peak District in Ramos’s words referred to the Peak District National Park, which was not too far from Chatsworth House. It was the first and largest national park in Britain, with a rich and diverse geographical environment and beautiful scenery, making it very popular with the British.

After asking some questions about the recent situation at Chatsworth House, Baron, along with Tamara, returned to the master bedroom on the third floor.

“This place has changed a bit since I was here last time, it’s more suitable for living now.”

Tamara exclaimed as she walked along.

Since Chatsworth House had completed a thorough renovation and remodeling, many modern facilities had been added to the daily living spaces. Compared to before, it was certainly more suitable for young people who were accustomed to modern life.

Baron was also very satisfied with this.

Speaking of which, just in terms of the living environment, Chatsworth House was more pleasant and leisurely than his villas in London.

But at Baron’s age, he needed to be ambitious and make progress. Only in a city like London, which was closer to the forefront of world development, could he keep up with the times. While this kind of manor life was comfortable, it was also easy to fall into this leisurely life and become out of touch with the development of the times.

However, it was also very good as an occasional way to relax.

And after the trip to China, being able to have another period of alone time with Baron again made Tamara very happy.

After changing into a more casual outfit in the bedroom, she pulled Baron along with her to enjoy the scenery outside the manor.

“Isn’t Downton Abbey about to start filming soon?”

Holding Baron’s hand, Tamara turned back to look at the magnificent manor house behind her and asked him.

“Yes, it seems that they will continue filming in May.”

Currently, Downton Abbey had already aired three seasons, and the fourth season of Downton Abbey was about to begin filming.

As for the novels, Bonnie had already finished writing all six seasons, but the last three seasons had not yet been published.

The current situation was that the television series was more popular than the novels, so publishing the novels after the television series aired would allow for the greatest sales volume.

And it could also avoid the occurrence of spoilers.

For Chatsworth House, the Downton Abbey series was also its greatest publicity.

Currently, Chatsworth House was only open to the public for less than a quarter of the year, and the number of rooms open was only about one-fifth of the total number.

Even so, due to the significant increase in the popularity of Chatsworth House—it was not only the filming location for many well-known films and television series, including Downton Abbey, but also the manor owned by the most famous and wealthiest Duke in Britain, the Duke of Devonshire—this attracted countless tourists.

It could be said that almost every year, as soon as the manor’s open days were announced, they would soon be fully booked—in order to protect the buildings and the interior decoration of the manor, the number of visitors they allowed each day was limited.

Julia Moore had once told Baron that currently, Chatsworth House accounted for the largest part of the entire Grace Cultural Tourism Group’s revenue. In addition to being able to meet the manor’s daily maintenance costs, it could also generate substantial profits, which was something that many manors found difficult to achieve.

After all, in the field of manor tourism, there was a clustering effect. Most overseas tourists who came to Britain would only choose one or two manors to visit and tour. Therefore, the more well-known and the more successful the marketing of a manor, the more tourists it would attract.

Often, it was only after these manors stopped being open that other, less well-known manors would have more opportunities to receive those tourists…

…

In the bedroom at night, Tamara, who had just fallen asleep not long ago, felt someone touching her.

When her consciousness gradually recovered, the first thing she heard was a strange sound that was very familiar to her.

When she wanted to turn over and look, she only felt that her whole body was limp and she couldn’t muster much strength.

At this moment, she remembered that earlier, she had had a passionate… study session with Baron.

As always, Tamara was always enthusiastic about studying, and her even more rich and dazzling “stationery” also made Baron extremely infatuated.

But the problem was that although her enthusiasm and passion for studying could be called high, Tamara often couldn’t persevere in her studies…

Well, she always fell behind in terms of stamina for studying knowledge.

So it was often the case that when Baron was just warming up, the girl was already exhausted and drowsy…

Although she had slept for a while now, Tamara’s ability to study had not yet recovered. She opened her eyes and, through the dim light in the room, saw Baron’s figure standing like a sculpture…

And beside Tamara, close to her, she could feel that the other person was sweating a little during the study session.

The other person’s eyes were hazy, and they grabbed Tamara’s arm, feeling the grip tighten.

After that, her face appeared in Tamara’s eyes, it was Baron’s personal assistant, the one with Middle Eastern features, Aliya…

Although Aliya was also studying, she didn’t seem to want to disturb Tamara’s sleep, and she was trying to lower the… recitation voice.

And just as the two girls’ eyes met, they couldn’t help but feel a little shy, and their faces became even more flushed…

And the scene of the hot study session in front of them also made Tamara’s breathing become rapid.

Although she had occasionally, in the past, studied with Baron and other girls in turn, it was often after she was tired of studying and had fallen asleep…

This was the first time she had witnessed this scene with her own eyes, and she couldn’t help but have some inexplicable feelings.

And Baron also noticed that Tamara had woken up, and a smile appeared on his face, and he began to increase the intensity of studying knowledge…

Chapter 390: BBC’s Proposal

When Tamara woke up, sunlight streamed in through the gaps in the curtains, and she was alone in the room.

At this moment, her mind couldn’t help but conjure up those… numerous images from last night, as if it were a dream.

She got up, found a piece of clothing to wear, and after washing up, Tamara walked out of the bedroom and saw the housekeeper, Riley, coming over.

“Good morning, Miss Eckleston.”

“Ms. Riley, may I ask where Baron is?”

Hearing Tamara’s words, Riley smiled and said:

“His Grace is currently meeting with a guest in the second-floor drawing room. He instructed that if you woke up, you could eat something first. Shall I have the kitchen prepare breakfast now?”

Hearing Riley say this, Tamara suddenly felt hungry. She nodded and said:

“Okay, thank you, Ms. Riley.”

“It is my pleasure.”

…

At this moment, in the second-floor drawing room, Baron was sitting across from the BBC’s CEO, Dyke, who had come specifically from London.

The other party’s intention was only one, and that was to increase their investment in Digital UK, in order to correspondingly increase the BBC’s shareholding in this digital television network, which had the most users in all of Britain.

“What you need to know is that initially we relinquished the majority of Digital UK’s shares. However, the BBC wasn’t enthusiastic about bearing the huge upfront costs, so our SEM Group had to take over the control of this company and persist in making high investments when we were already short on funds. And now…”

Baron’s words couldn’t help but make Dyke feel a little awkward, because what he said was the truth.

As early as the second half of 2002, SEM Group had reached an agreement with the BBC. The two companies jointly invested in the establishment of Digital UK, which was specifically responsible for managing the British terrestrial digital television strategy, policies, and service development.

The shareholding ratio of Digital UK was that SEM Group held 60% of the shares, while the BBC held 40% of the shares. The two companies invested according to their shareholding ratios to promote the terrestrial digital television platform, Freeview.

Later, ITV also joined Digital UK. Currently, the shareholding ratio of Digital UK is that SEM Group holds 51%, the BBC holds 34%, and ITV holds 15%.

The reason why SEM Group was able to hold so many shares of Digital UK at the beginning was also because the BBC itself had given up the majority of the controlling stake in this company.

The reason was that in the beginning, ITV Digital’s path on terrestrial digital television failed to compete with SBSky, leading to bankruptcy. Although the BBC took over a portion of ITV Digital’s terrestrial digital channels at the request of the British government, they didn’t have much confidence in the development of terrestrial digital television technology and didn’t want to invest too much energy in it.

Moreover, according to the commitments made by the BBC and SDTV to the government when they respectively took over three channels of ITV Digital, Digital UK needed to invest at least 100 million pounds each year for the next five years, with a total amount of no less than 500 million pounds, for the development of terrestrial digital television.

This figure was also difficult for the BBC to accept, or rather, they simply didn’t have much willingness to invest so much money in the development of terrestrial digital television.

Therefore, when the two companies eventually jointly established Digital UK, a company used to promote terrestrial digital television and launch the Freeview platform, the BBC proactively gave up most of its shares and only held 40% of the shares.

At that time, Baron, who was behind the SEM Group, didn’t have as much wealth as he does now. It could be said that investing so much money in Digital UK, in the eyes of others, was also a desperate move.

Another thing worth mentioning is that later, when ITV decided to join Digital UK, its development had already made great achievements, and its prospects began to be viewed favorably.

It was also because of this that when ITV joined, the BBC also restricted the shareholding ratio that ITV could obtain. In the end, ITV invested 150 million pounds and obtained 15% of Digital UK’s shares, rather than their initial expectation of investing more money and obtaining a shareholding ratio of over 25%.

Now, the number of users of the Freeview platform has exceeded 12 million, making it the largest digital television platform in Britain, far exceeding Sky Television – although Sky Television’s channels are mainly pay-per-view, and the two are different.

Under such circumstances, the BBC was somewhat dissatisfied with its 34% shareholding in Digital UK. Today, the BBC CEO came from London specifically to discuss this matter with Baron.

“If the BBC is willing to increase its investment in this company according to Digital UK’s valuation, and issue you a portion of shares, that’s not impossible.”

Baron looked at the man in front of him and said lightly:

“However, as shareholders of Digital UK, SEM Group and ITV also have the right to equal allocation of shares.”

Dyke, who had originally shown a slight look of joy, frowned again after hearing Baron’s subsequent words:

“Your Grace, such a result, for our shareholding ratio, I’m afraid there won’t be much change.”

“So everyone knows that Digital UK has excellent prospects, so what is the BBC prepared to use to convince me? You should understand that the biggest obstacle to increasing the BBC’s shareholding is not us, but ITV.”

“But you have the controlling power, if we can reach an agreement, ITV’s opposition will also be invalid.”

Hearing Dyke’s words, Baron laughed:

“Then how can I be motivated to do so?”

“Perhaps, Your Grace, we can promote Digital UK to go public with an IPO…”

Seeing Baron’s questioning gaze, Dyke continued:

“This is a good thing, both for Digital UK’s financing and for determining the company’s value.”

“But in fact, Digital UK has not yet achieved profitability.”

“This is very simple, in terms of profitability, you only need to increase the fees on the Freeview platform.”

Hearing the other party’s words, Baron slowly came to his senses…

After all this time, it seemed that the BBC was really targeting ITV?

Although according to media reports, the BBC’s financial situation hasn’t been good recently, ITV’s financial situation is even worse than the BBC’s…

Speaking of which, SDTV would still be at a loss if it didn’t have Top Summit Media supporting it…

Originally, Baron was a little puzzled as to why the BBC would suddenly be so wealthy at this time and want to increase its stake in Digital UK…

After all this time, their purpose is here, to increase the fees that the Freeview platform charges the television stations that broadcast on it, then for ITV, it can also increase their financial pressure.

But this is a double-edged sword, it will also have an impact on the BBC, but the BBC can always hold on, but ITV is not necessarily…

These two, is it necessary to be so at loggerheads?

Baron didn’t expect that the reason why the competition between the BBC and ITV intensified was that his SEM Group’s SDTV was also a catfish that stirred up the situation.

After all, SDTV has seized a large piece of the pie in many areas, especially in the area of variety shows, then the competition for the remaining pie will naturally be more intense.

“I still need to think about it, I believe there will be a result soon.”

In the end, Baron politely sent off BBC’s CEO, Dyke.

As for the BBC’s proposal…

It didn’t seem to be impossible.

Chapter 391: Temporarily Observing

After Barron returned to London, he replied to the CEO of Goldman Sachs. Regarding the acquisition of Unocal Corporation, they believed that, at the moment, the United Energy Group was not yet prepared for an acquisition of this scale and needed to temporarily observe and conduct further evaluation.

It wasn’t that Barron was truly uninterested in the United Energy Group’s acquisition of the American Unocal Corporation. After all, if the acquisition could be completed, the benefits to the United Energy Group were also obvious. The combination of the United Energy Group and Unocal Corporation would definitely be a sum greater than its parts.

It was just that the investigation into Unocal Corporation’s shareholders and the capital behind them had indeed confirmed some of Barron’s suspicions…

On the surface, Unocal Corporation didn’t seem to have a significant relationship with capital groups like Vanguard Group and BlackRock Group. However, in reality, many of Unocal Corporation’s shareholders had Vanguard Group’s influence behind them.

According to estimates, Vanguard Group and its “allies” controlled at least 20% of Unocal Corporation’s shares.

This made it understandable why Goldman Sachs was so active in this matter. They were probably not only trying to earn profits, including service fees and financing interest, by assisting the United Energy Group in acquiring Unocal Corporation, but also because Vanguard Group was not satisfied with its current 5.8% stake in the United Energy Group and wanted to gain more shares in the United Energy Group through this acquisition of Unocal Corporation.

After all, an acquisition of nearly 20 billion US dollars could definitely not be entirely paid for with cash; stock swaps were also a necessary method…

Exchanging their Unocal Corporation shares for shares in the United Energy Group was even more tempting for Vanguard Capital!

Because with a little analysis, it could be seen that the complementarity between Chevron and Unocal was relatively less than that between CNOOC and the United Energy Group. Merging the two would inevitably lead to overlapping business departments.

In these cases, making a choice was like when you went back to Google when it had just gone public. You could take the same amount of money to choose to buy Microsoft or Google stock. Everyone would probably know how to choose.

Since that was the case, Barron was in no hurry to have the United Energy Group join this acquisition too quickly.

After all, compared to Chevron, both the United Energy Group and CNOOC had a major disadvantage: they were foreign-owned enterprises.

In the process of acquiring Unocal Corporation, both the United Energy Group and CNOOC would inevitably cause the American authorities to scrutinize their acquisition, questioning whether it would affect “national security.”

In the original timeline, the claim that CNOOC’s acquisition of Unocal Corporation would threaten American “national security” was actually very ridiculous…

Because, first of all, Unocal’s oil production in the United States was less than one-third of its total production, accounting for less than 1/100 of the total sales in the United States.

In addition, the international portion of Unocal’s oil and gas was not sold to the United States.

Secondly, the United States had strategic resource reserves but implemented a bidding system, and Unocal had never participated in the bidding. Furthermore, Unocal had no downstream refining and chemical businesses and did not provide chemicals, fuels, and aviation oil to the American government or the military.

The petroleum industry technology used by Unocal could not be used for military purposes, and Unocal also had no agreements to provide services to the American government and the military.

Therefore, this acquisition posed no problem from the perspective of American national security.

But in the end, they still, for various reasons, were willing to amend their energy laws to block CNOOC’s acquisition.

Although in these aspects, the United Energy Group, as a British company - and Britain and the United States were still the closest allies at this time, the American government would probably not have such a strong reaction to the “threat to American national security” that CNOOC faced.

But in the end, Chevron still had a great advantage in these aspects - after all, it was an American company.

The United Energy Group’s acquisition of Unocal Corporation needed to face an additional American review, while Chevron only needed to deal with antitrust review.

Although in terms of size, both Unocal Corporation and Chevron could rank among the top American oil companies, Unocal Corporation’s own business volume in the United States was not high, so passing the antitrust review in this acquisition was not a difficult task.

Another point was that a certain proportion of stock swaps would also be required in the acquisition, but the swap plan could still be discussed within a wide range.

Since these things existed, Barron didn’t need to make the United Energy Group appear too proactive in this acquisition.

But at the same time, he wouldn’t explicitly refuse.

Just maintaining an attitude of being neither too close nor too distant, and joining the acquisition after Vanguard Group and Goldman Sachs showed some sincerity, allowing them to use their resources in the United States to help the United Energy Group solve all kinds of problems, was the best choice.

However, before that, the United Energy Group also needed to solve a portion of its financial problems and prepare for the subsequent acquisition in advance - acquiring Unocal Corporation would require 17.5 to 18.5 billion US dollars. Even if there could be a certain proportion of stock payments, and even if there was financing from investment banks like Goldman Sachs, the more funds they could come up with themselves, the better.

…

The Earl of Booth’s home was still very lively. After all, there were now three children. The two sets of twins were already over a year old, and Barron’s “seed,” his daughter Ethel, who was born to Christa through her own pregnancy, was also about to turn one…

Of course, even though the Countess’s figure was very… generous…

But she definitely couldn’t provide enough food for these three children. In fact, the Earl’s home had “nannies” specifically for this, and there was more than one, so the Countess didn’t have to bear any of the burden.

After hiding in the bedroom, Barron and the Countess, after a series of sweaty knowledge lessons, washed up and tidied themselves, and returned to the living room refreshed, chatting casually.

And the Earl of Booth. also “appropriately” appeared at this time, discussing business matters with Barron.

“Just as you said, Argent Real Estate Group does indeed have the conditions to go public, but is it really necessary?”

Hearing the Duke of Booth. mention Argent Real Estate Group’s intention to conduct an IPO, Barron asked in surprise.

Chapter 392: Listing Plan

“Our update project in King’s Cross is currently progressing quite well, with over a third of the construction already underway…”

Earl Booth.r lit a cigar, enjoying the taste, and said to Barron:

“And we also think your previous suggestion was reasonable. The London property market is indeed going to continue to improve. We can use those properties for rent, which will provide stable and continuous income.”

“But the problem is that a considerable portion of the project’s funds comes from bank financing, which has financing costs. If we can’t use the rolling of funds to carry out the King’s Cross update project, then as the number of projects starting increases, it will be easy to run into problems with cash flow.”

What Earl Booth.r said wasn’t without reason.

Before this, Barron had indeed mentioned that in the King’s Cross urban renewal plan led by the Argent Real Estate Group, the residential areas and office buildings they built, especially the office buildings, could be held by the Argent Real Estate Group itself, mainly in the form of renting.

The reason for this was the optimism about the future of the British property market, especially the current shortage of office buildings in the London area. Once completed, there would be no worry about renting them out. This was a very stable source of income, and at the same time, they could wait for the appreciation of the real estate they held.

After investigation and research, the Argent Real Estate Group also agreed with Barron’s suggestion.

Therefore, up to now, apart from the high-end apartment King’s Court, which was transformed from the previous “Triplets” gas tanks, only two office buildings in the buildings already built by the Argent Real Estate Group in King’s Cross have been sold – all to DS Asset Management Company, namely Cavendish King’s Tower and O2 Tower.

“So you hope to raise funds through the company’s listing?”

In response to Barron’s question, Earl Booth.r gently shook his head and said:

“Not just that. In addition to issuing a portion of new shares to raise funds, some of our previous shareholders also have the idea of selling stocks to cash out…”

The main reason why the King’s Cross urban renewal project could be handed over to the Argent Real Estate Group to lead was that the Argent Real Estate Group had obtained the support of the vast majority of landholders in this renewal area.

This included the real estate held by the Booth.r family itself and their “allies,” as well as the real estate held by Barron, and also organizations such as the Coal and Grain Merchants’ Guild and the Goldsmiths’ Guild, who invested with their land. In addition, Barclays Bank and the Real Estate Merchants’ Guild also invested, holding a considerable share.

If the Argent Real Estate Group chose to carry out the King’s Cross renewal plan in stages, selling properties after each phase of construction was completed to recover funds and then continue the next round of construction… then these shareholders would also receive considerable pink dividends.

But if most of the office buildings were held by themselves and rented out to the outside world, then the occupation of funds would also be relatively large in the short term. Some shareholders might not be willing to hold shares that were difficult to generate income for such a long time. Therefore, if the Argent Real Estate Group were to go public, they would have more choices. In addition to selling shares in the secondary market, the company’s market value after listing would be more certain, and the value of these shares would also be easier to be recognized by banks, thereby obtaining loans through mortgages.

This was also what Earl Booth.r was going to say next:

“After the Argent Real Estate Group goes public, we can also not be limited to issuing new shares for financing, and there will be more choices. At that time, whether it is to borrow from banks or issue corporate bonds, listed companies will have more advantages than private companies.”

“That’s not bad, I agree with that too.”

Although Barron didn’t mind continuing to inject capital into the Argent Real Estate Group, or to buy shares from other shareholders, he needed to consider whether doing so would give the Booth.r family, who currently held a controlling stake, unnecessary thoughts.

If he intended to make the real estate industry one of his main businesses, he wouldn’t mind doing so, slowly taking control of the Argent Real Estate Group into his own hands, but in fact, he didn’t have much interest in this. He only needed to invest in these real estate companies and hold shares in them. There was no need to divert his energy to run them. Therefore, for the Argent Real Estate Group, it was understandable to optimize its financial situation through listing.

Currently, DS Capital holds 31% of the Argent Real Estate Group’s shares, and is also one of the major shareholders, second only to the Booth.r family’s holdings. Therefore, things like an IPO listing must be communicated with him.

Anyway, Barron himself had no ambition for the Argent Real Estate Group, and listing would actually be beneficial to him.

At least, there would be a better valuation in terms of obtaining loans by mortgaging the Argent Real Estate Group.

“Also, currently, the projects we have in the King’s Cross urban renewal plan have also reached a stable stage of progress, and we only need to proceed according to the plan. And the Argent Real Estate Group also hopes to seek other projects…”

Earl Booth.r suddenly thought of something and said to Barron:

“I noticed that the Caesar Foundation seems to be making some moves in Shoreditch in the East End. It’s similar to the situation in King’s Cross before. Now, it seems that many art studios are concentrated in Shoreditch. Do you have any thoughts about that place?”

Barron knew that what Ian Booth.r was talking about was the Digital Future Building built by the Digital Future Company under the Caesar Foundation in Shoreditch. This project also found the construction company under the Argent Real Estate Group to carry it out.

“I just think that the artistic atmosphere there is somewhat similar to the innovation of the internet industry, and the key is that it is very close to the city center, and the land price is also low… well, it can be said to be a first attempt. The subsequent progress also needs to be based on the development of London in terms of internet technology. For the time being, there is no time to actively promote it on a large scale.”

Earl Booth.r nodded when he heard this. He had indeed paid attention to the East End of London before, and had also analyzed the feasibility of what Barron said. He also did not think that there was currently a possibility of developing a large-scale urban renewal plan like King’s Cross there.

You must know that the King’s Cross urban renewal plan not only received support from the Kent area, but the London city government also gave great financial support, and it was hailed as the largest urban renewal plan in the core area of London in nearly 150 years. From this, it can also be seen that this kind of project does not just appear casually.

And no matter in which country, as a real estate developer, the relationship with the government is very important. The Argent Real Estate Group does not need to develop real estate in the name of technological development for short-term interests – just like a certain so-called “Little Superman” in HK doing PCCW…

Doing this kind of thing once might get good benefits, but the final mess, even if it is thrown away, then there will be no good opportunities in the future.

Therefore, after hearing Barron say that it was not a good time to promote the East End renewal plan at the moment, Earl Booth.r also took the opportunity to let go of this topic and said:

“Currently, I am also considering opening up new markets. Australia, India, or the Greater China region are all under evaluation.”

Chapter 393: Stock or Bond?

“This is mainly because there aren’t any particularly good plots of land suitable for development in Britain, especially London, anymore. Those areas are also undergoing rapid development, and there are more opportunities…”

It would also be a relatively good choice for Argent Real Estate Group to develop in emerging markets. Speaking of which, the areas he mentioned are all quite promising in terms of real estate, so Baron didn’t get too involved.

After discussing the matter of Argent Real Estate Group, Earl Booth. also spoke with Baron about the matter of United Energy Group.

Earlier last year, their family’s Stuart Mining Group had also invested in a number of mines in Kolo, including copper mines, iron mines, and in a newly developed phosphate mine, Stuart Mining Group also had relatively deep cooperation with West African Mining.

Therefore, Earl Booth. would also pay attention to the discovery of the offshore oil field with abundant reserves in Kolo, and he seemed very interested.

During this period, the two exploratory wells of the Kolo offshore oil field were put into production one after another, and the output was very impressive.

In addition, the quality of the crude oil produced there was excellent, so under the stimulus of these news, the stock price of United Energy Group, which holds a 30% stake in Kolo Oil Company, also rose a lot.

“To be honest, our family has also bought some shares of United Energy Group, but the stock price has risen sharply, and the company has too few shares in circulation, so…”

Earl Booth. spread his hands and asked:

“Does United Energy Group still accept investment?”

Regarding the problem of too few shares in circulation of United Energy Group, in fact, in this regard, their company has also received a warning from the regulatory authorities of the London Stock Exchange, regarding the recent abnormal fluctuations in the stock price of United Energy Group.

Normally, the proportion of shares in circulation of many listed companies is between 15-30%, and some companies have even achieved full circulation of shares…

Before Northern Natural Gas Company was acquired by Caesar Fund, only 12% of the shares were in circulation, and after the merger with British Oil and Natural Gas Investment Company, excluding the 5.8% of the shares held by Vanguard Group that were in the lock-up period, the proportion of shares in circulation of United Energy Group has now decreased to 5.05%…

This also includes the 1.5% inheritance of Northern Natural Gas Company that Baron originally received from Mrs. Emma, which has now become 7,177,500 shares of United Energy Group, accounting for less than 0.63%.

Although the rise in the stock price of United Energy Group this time was entirely triggered by the positive news, the smaller the proportion of shares in circulation, the easier it is for the stock price to be manipulated artificially.

Even though the investigation into the rise in the stock price of United Energy Group this time did not find any traces of artificial manipulation, the regulatory authorities still issued a “friendly” reminder regarding the fact that their shares in circulation accounted for too little.

“We are considering issuing new shares or convertible bonds in the near future, but the specific measures are still under discussion.”

Baron didn’t mind revealing some information to Earl Booth. in advance. After all, he estimated that even if he wanted to invest in United Energy Group, the Booth. family would only treat it as part of their investment portfolio—after all, energy companies like this are also the objects of investment that old money likes, and it is difficult to encounter new and promising energy companies like United Energy Group when the global oil and gas landscape is generally fixed.

Even if they invest, they would only take out three to five hundred million pounds at most, and would not risk betting too much money on one company.

Families as radical as this have long been educated by the market and will not last for hundreds of years.

“The issue price of the new shares?”

It seemed that Earl Booth. was indeed quite concerned about this, he said:

“The current stock price of United Energy Group is already quite high.”

“If it is a new share issuance, the price will definitely be no lower than the current stock price…”

Baron smiled and said:

“However, if you think that the current stock price of United Energy Group is relatively too high, you can also have another choice…”

“You mean…?”

“Convertible bonds. You can choose to buy this kind of convertible bonds issued by United Energy Group. The buyer can not only obtain a certain annual interest, but also choose to convert the bonds into ordinary shares at the average price of the day at any time within two years.”

Hearing Baron’s words, Earl Booth’ eyes lit up, and he began to think.

The current stock price of United Energy Group has exceeded 11 pounds, an increase of over 130% compared to the price of about 4.75 pounds of Northern Natural Gas Company before the merger!

Just as Baron said, the choice between the current issuance of new shares and the purchase of convertible bonds by United Energy Group is nothing more than whether or not to be optimistic about the future trend of United Energy Group’s stock.

If you think that the current stock price of United Energy Group is still undervalued, then you can directly subscribe for new shares.

But if you think that its stock price is temporarily relatively high, and there is a high probability that a lower price will appear within the next two years, then you can buy convertible bonds, and then convert them into ordinary shares after the stock price of United Energy Group falls.

And Baron naturally knew that the current stock price of United Energy Group, when the total reserves of the entire Kolo offshore oil field have not yet been announced, has not yet fully reflected its value.

Therefore, he hoped that the other party would buy convertible bonds, and in the future, when participating in the acquisition of Unico Company, he would also try to reduce the proportion of acquisitions in the form of shares.

…

Of course, with the scale of Baron’s current industries, if he had to care about everything, it would be almost impossible for him to have any free time…

“Your Grace, British Transport Logistics has completed the merger with ‘Speedy Express’ Logistics Company, and after the merger, DS Holdings obtained a 5% stake in the new company…”

“Okay, I understand, what else?”

British Transport Logistics was acquired by Caesar Fund, and after acquiring British Transport Logistics, they cooperated with Argos Retail Group to deliver to their e-commerce business.

Currently, London is the city with the highest proportion of Argos Retail Group’s e-commerce business, so they also facilitated the merger of “Speedy Express”, which was developed on the basis of DS Capital’s initial separation of part of the logistics business from Argos Department Store, and British Transport Logistics.

In the end, after the merger, Caesar Fund held 95% of the shares of British Transport Logistics, while DS Holdings exchanged “Speedy Express” for a 5% stake in British Transport Logistics.

This kind of thing only needs to be resolved by DS Holdings and Caesar Fund themselves, Baron only needs to know the result.

“The Independent Newspaper’s revenue in the first quarter was basically the same as in the fourth quarter of last year. They proposed to acquire two local newspapers in Northern Ireland and also develop the local market…”

Although the reports of these industries under his name were reported to him by Baron’s personal assistant, Laura, with the current scale of these industries, she herself, or even the previous “Secretary’s Office” could no longer cope at all.

The office that Laura now leads to handle Baron’s commercial information has more than 5 departments!

Including DS Capital, Caesar Fund, Global Industrial Investment Fund, Rich23 Capital and other large investment companies or funds, there are corresponding departments to be responsible for screening and organizing information for Baron…

This can also allow Baron to focus his energy on more important matters and not be wasted on trivial details.

Chapter 394: An Important Position

After Laura reported on the day’s affairs, she, as usual, gracefully walked behind Baron and began to massage him, her slender, slightly cool hands starting from Baron’s temples…

It had to be said, Baron’s personal assistant’s massage technique was getting better and better, and because they had been together for a long time, she already understood Baron’s tolerance and preferences extremely well.

Baron leaned back in his chair, feeling his entire body relax.

When Laura stood to his side, Baron’s hand also touched her leg.

As Baron’s personal assistant, she would definitely accompany him to attend those business activities. Every month, she would receive a considerable clothing allowance. After all, her daily attire couldn’t be too casual; it needed to reflect Baron’s status.

Therefore, her professional outfits were always luxury brands like Chanel and Gucci, and even her stockings were top-tier brands like Wolford, GERBE, and Cervin.

Just like today, under Laura’s tight skirt, she was wearing a pair of GERBE’s 5D black stockings.

GERBE stockings offered various complex customizations, and their price could even exceed 1000 euros a pair. It’s worth mentioning that the stockings of brands like Chanel and Dior were usually made by GERBE.

However, as a “consumable,” Laura naturally didn’t need to wear such expensive custom-made products. What she was wearing was GERBE’s classic black stockings.

Stockings often used the unit “D” to distinguish thickness. D is the abbreviation of denier, which is a unit that indicates the fabric’s textile density.

Generally speaking, stockings below 10D are extremely transparent, 10-30D are very transparent, 30-40D are not particularly transparent, 40-80D are semi-transparent to slightly transparent, and above 80D are almost opaque. There are also several hundred D, which is as thick as wearing a pair of pants when it’s cold.

Although the climate in England wasn’t considered too hot, the heating was still turned up quite high in the office building. What Laura was wearing at this time were the thinnest 5D stockings, and it was precisely because of her own beautiful skin and straight legs that she had the confidence to wear them like this.

And Baron, at this moment, also ran his hand along his female assistant’s thigh, beginning to “enthusiastically” help her check the quality of these high-end GERBE stockings…

When she felt the Duke’s “helpfulness,” the movement of her hands paused slightly for a second, and then continued to massage…

It had to be said, GERBE stockings were really top-notch in quality, whether it was the silk’s smoothness, the fit, or the temperature…

Unknowingly, the female assistant’s face began to flush, and one could hear that she was trying her best to control her increasingly rapid breathing. As Baron’s arm felt it, the rise and fall of Laura’s chest also became more and more obvious.

“Mmm…”

Her voice abruptly stopped…

Baron’s hand was tightly squeezed…

He gently patted the female assistant who was weakly leaning on him, a smile on his face, his voice gentle yet giving an irresistible feeling:

“Go under the desk…”

Laura’s eyes seemed to melt, and she crouched down and crawled under the desk—the space there was quite large, and her movements were already very skilled.

Next, she looked up at Baron with a charming gaze, and gently unfastened his belt…

…

In fact, at a position like Baron’s, he could already be considered “virtuous.”

Some people might scoff at this, but that’s because they haven’t seen how decadent the so-called upper class is.

Let’s put it this way, with his young and handsome appearance, noble background, and immense wealth, almost all the women who could come into contact with him would hope to have some “interaction” with him, even if it was just a night of passion, they would all flock to it.

Beautiful women, perhaps to ordinary people, are extremely scarce.

But at his level, it could be said to be dazzling.

However, the more it was like this, the less Baron would easily accept.

Like Laura at this moment, it wasn’t that Baron necessarily wanted to take advantage of the “home field.”

But as Baron’s personal assistant, Laura could be said to spend almost all of her time, except for sleeping, accompanying the young Duke. After being together like this day and night, how could those ordinary men catch her eye?

And unless she could give up her current job, as a personal assistant, she was one of Baron’s most important assistants, and she would come into contact with too many core secrets—similarly, the other people in Baron’s secretary’s office would also come into contact with some very confidential commercial information, but each department would only know one aspect of the information, only Laura, as the person in charge, could obtain the most confidential information from all departments.

Such an important position, it’s no exaggeration to say, could even threaten Baron’s personal safety—his itinerary would also be managed by Laura.

Therefore, not to mention that she usually didn’t have time to come into contact with other men, even if she had time and opportunity, if they became lovers, the other party would inevitably be investigated in detail to prevent the other party’s identity from threatening Baron—this was not impossible, but rather extremely likely.

It was very possible that if she had a partner, Laura would have to be transferred out or leave her current sensitive position immediately, and this was something she herself was unwilling to let happen.

In such a situation, it was only natural that there would be a closer, deeper relationship with Baron…

“Your Grace…”

Laura supported Baron’s leg with one hand, and picked up a tissue with the other, wiping her mouth, her eyes shifting, her beautiful eyes looking at Baron, and said:

“In an hour, you need to see Mr. Brown…”

Baron pulled her up from the carpet, and then had her turn around, supporting herself on the desk with her hands.

“There’s enough time…”

As he spoke, he grabbed Laura’s skirt hem and pulled it up…

“Did you bring spare stockings?”

“Mmm.”

With a “sizzle,” the atmosphere in the room began to heat up…

…

When Baron walked out of the office again, behind him, Laura, who had already tidied up, even smoothed out the wrinkles in her clothes, and reapplied her makeup, wearing high heels, with a “tack tack” sound, followed him into the elevator.

On the top floor of the DS Financial Center, the helicopter was already prepared. After Baron and his female assistant entered, the helicopter began to ascend, flying towards Dream Island on the outskirts of the city…

When arriving at Dream Island, looking down from above, one could see that Dream Island at this time was already very different from before.

The buildings, including the vacation villas, sports fields, and swimming pools, had all been completed.

Amidst the lush greenery, one could see those buildings, each with its own unique characteristics, which were extremely beautiful.

Looking at the time, Chancellor of the Exchequer Mr. Brown, should have already arrived.

Chapter 395: Smoke Screen

Brown had been feeling a bit down lately, and the reason was obvious.

Originally, Blair should have handed over the leadership of the Labour Party to him, and in fact, he had mentioned this matter more than once from last year to the beginning of this year.

But in the end, after the date of the general election was announced, it was still Blair who would be the Labour Party leader vying for the position of Prime Minister.

It could be said that his mood at this moment was also somewhat complex. He neither wanted to see Blair win on behalf of the Labour Party and become the first Labour Party leader to achieve a third consecutive term as Prime Minister, nor did he want the Labour Party to lose to the surging Conservative Party—after all, if the Labour Party won, he still had the possibility of succeeding Blair as Prime Minister, just in case…

Therefore, although it was now a critical period for campaigning and publicity for the general election, he still didn’t put too much energy into it. Today, he was invited to Dream Island, hoping to relax a bit after work.

“The Prime Minister may think his approval ratings are recovering with the end of the war, but whether that’s really the case is hard to say.”

After entering the room that Baron had specially reserved for them, he picked up a glass of whiskey, poured some for the Labour Party’s second-in-command, clinked glasses with him, and said casually.

“It is indeed hard to say. This time the Conservative Party is coming on strong, and their approval ratings have surpassed ours in many places…”

Although Brown said so, he didn’t have too much pessimism. Perhaps he himself couldn’t say clearly whether he preferred to see Blair defeated or the Labour Party win.

He took a sip of wine, looked at Baron, and said:

“And Duke, your media has been very obviously supporting the Conservative Party during this period…”

“Haha…”

Baron didn’t show any embarrassment at Brown’s words. He said with a normal expression:

“That’s because it’s someone else representing the Labour Party. If it were you, believe me, Mr. Brown, you would get unwavering support.”

Finishing the whiskey in his glass in one gulp, Baron said with a bit of a teasing tone:

“And I don’t think the Conservative Party will pose too much of a threat to you this time, because everyone knows that their party leader graduated from Cambridge University…”

Hearing his words, Brown couldn’t help but laugh.

A classic British political textbook once summarized the characteristics of a Prime Minister: white, male, over forty years old, Eton College plus Oxford University—this stereotype has not been completely broken to this day. The only exception, Margaret Thatcher, was a woman, but she also graduated from Oxford University…

This also fits with Britain’s insular temperament, which has never advocated the “British Dream.” Here, there are only very realistic classes and backgrounds.

It can be said that especially after World War II, this common rule almost became an iron law.

So, as another British prestigious university often mentioned alongside Oxford, does Cambridge University have no presence at all?

In fact, there is also a “Cambridge Mafia” in British politics, but they are mostly retired in the House of Lords now…

The Cambridge Mafia was active in the 1980s and 1990s, and played a huge role during the Thatcher and Major eras, but unfortunately, these two Conservative Prime Ministers also graduated from Oxford.

And the current Conservative Party leader, Howard, who is now competing with Blair for the position of Prime Minister, graduated from Cambridge University—he was also the last Conservative Party leader to graduate from Cambridge University in Baron’s previous life until the time he was reborn.

Baron graduated from the University of London, and Brown graduated from the University of Edinburgh… well, the original Edinburgh, so the two of them joked about this matter without any burden.

In fact, although on the surface, the newspapers, television stations, and other media that Baron owned were leaning towards the Conservative Party in this general election, he was also controlling the degree of support.

The final result was still the Labour Party winning as in the original timeline, and Blair being re-elected as Prime Minister, which was the most appropriate.

In this way, the current Conservative Party leader Howard would lose the election, feel disheartened, and hand over the leadership position to Cameron at the end of the year.

And two years later, Blair would hand over the position of Prime Minister to Brown…

Well, everyone would be happy.

“My friend, the position of Prime Minister will be yours sooner or later, believe me, you should relax and enjoy the present now.”

Baron patted Brown on the shoulder and said casually.

……

The financing of United Energy Group was underway. At this stage, they would conduct surveys among their target investment clients and choose between issuing new shares, convertible bonds, and a mixed plan of both.

And this time, their target clients would be mainly capital from Britain.

Of course, at this time, Baron would not reveal that the target of United Energy Group’s financing was the American company Unocal, otherwise, including the Vanguard Group and Goldman Sachs, they would also wait for the highest price.

Therefore, this time, the financing of United Energy Group also carried a smoke screen—United Energy Group began to contact the British National Grid company, trying to make an offer to acquire their natural gas network business.

It was estimated that once United Energy Group could successfully acquire the natural gas business of the British National Grid, and merge it with their existing natural gas network of the former Northern Natural Gas Company, they would become the largest natural gas transmission network in Britain.

Therefore, this acquisition also seemed very likely.

Because United Energy Group owned 30% of the equity of the Kolo Oil Company.

And currently, Kolo Oil Company not only discovered oil reserves in Block 1 of the Kolo offshore oil field, but also the natural gas resources contained there were extremely rich.

After extracting these natural gas, it could be directly transported to Britain and enter their natural gas network, to transmit it to British users.

These businesses were originally related to each other, so United Energy Group’s acquisition of the natural gas business under the British National Grid did not arouse any suspicion.

In fact, this time, the acquisition of the British National Grid’s natural gas business was not entirely just a smoke screen.

In the original timeline, 10 years later, Li Ka-shing’s Cheung Kong Infrastructure acquired 51% of the equity of this business for 11 billion pounds.

And this time, United Energy Group’s offer for the British National Grid’s natural gas business was 5 billion pounds, and although both sides would continue to negotiate, their offer would not be increased again this time.

If they could really acquire the British National Grid’s natural gas business at this price, it would be a pleasant surprise for United Energy Group.

And if the other party insisted on not selling, then United Energy Group could turn around and participate in the acquisition of Unocal.

Chapter 396: Second Marriage

In fact, in 2016, when Cheung Kong Infrastructure Holdings purchased 51% of the equity of the UK National Grid’s natural gas business, the 11 billion pounds paid also included the debts it assumed, so the actual investment wasn’t that high.

Currently, the asset-liability ratio of the UK National Grid is around 88%. Therefore, when purchasing its natural gas business, United Energy Group would also have to bear an additional debt of approximately 4.5 billion pounds. Adding this to the 5 billion pounds purchase price, they would need to pay a total of 9.5 billion pounds.

If we also consider the current high exchange rate of the pound, which was still around 1.9 against the US dollar, but had fallen below 1.4 by 2016…

Then the price calculated in US dollars wouldn’t be that different.

However, besides needing the agreement of the other party to acquire the UK National Grid’s natural gas business, another obstacle was the anti-monopoly review within the UK.

UK gas users initially used coal gas, and the gas market was mainly decentralized in the regions, operated by small companies.

According to the Gas Act of 1948, in May 1949, the UK nationalized the gas industry. Over 1,000 private gas companies and municipal gas companies were merged into 12 regional gas companies (area gas boards). These companies were later collectively known as British Gas (BG).

The UK gas industry thus began a market pattern of state-owned enterprises monopolizing downstream supply.

Starting in 1986, the UK successively privatized BG, opened up the large user market, separated the pipeline transportation business from the supply business, and finally achieved market competition in the natural gas supply and sales环节 in 1998, becoming the first country in Europe to restructure the integrated supply and transportation natural gas market into a competitive market.

Of course, it’s worth mentioning that the privatization of British Gas began during the reign of the “Iron Lady” Margaret Thatcher. She privatized most state-owned enterprises at the time, including British Petroleum (BP), British Telecom, Aerospace Corporation, Gas Company, Steel Company, Water Company, and other monopoly giants. Their stocks were sold to the public or split up. Her slogan at the time was “Privatization Has No Forbidden Zone”…

Previously, United Energy Group’s Northern Natural Gas Pipeline had approximately 6 million users, accounting for about 10% of the total UK natural gas pipeline transportation market. If they acquired the UK National Grid’s natural gas business, it would add 12 million users, accounting for 30% of the UK natural gas pipeline transportation market. This would inevitably attract the attention of regulatory agencies including the Office of Fair Trading and the Monopolies and Mergers Commission.

However, since in his previous life, Li Ka-shing’s Cheung Kong Infrastructure Holdings was able to complete the acquisition of these two companies, Barron wasn’t worried that these regulatory agencies would hinder his acquisition now.

Of course, whether it was really necessary to pass the review of these regulatory agencies… there was room for manipulation in this.

If the acquisition really needed to fail this time, it was not impossible to have the acquisition stalled during the review.

…

On April 15th, Barron attended the Prince’s wedding with his girlfriend, Bonnie.

This time, it was the Prince’s second marriage…

At the same time, because the Queen didn’t want the Prince to marry Ms. Camilla, their wedding was very low-key and couldn’t compare to the grand scale of the Prince’s wedding to Princess Diana in 1981.

In fact, in Barron’s previous life, this wedding took place on April 9th, and in this world, the Prince initially mentioned April 9th when talking to Barron, but Barron found a reason to change the date, and it became today, April 15th.

“I didn’t expect you to have such a… habit, Barron.”

When Barron explained that he saw that in ancient China, from the royal family to the common people, they needed to exchange each other’s birth dates when getting married, and find a wise person who studied the ancient book I Ching to determine the wedding date, so that the couple could have a happy marriage, the Prince said to Barron in surprise.

“That’s a country with a history of several thousand years. There are always some mysterious and unpredictable things that are difficult to explain, aren’t there? Besides, it won’t do any harm. I knew a Chinese friend who had a deep understanding of these things before. If you’d like, I can introduce you.”

It seemed that the Prince still cared very much about the wedding ceremony with Ms. Camilla, so he finally accepted this suggestion and, after “calculation,” set the wedding for April 15th.

However, Barron couldn’t tell him the real reason directly…

Sixteen years after the original timeline, the Prince’s father, the Queen’s husband, Prince Philip, passed away on April 9th.

The anniversary of his father’s death was the same day as his wedding anniversary, which would probably make the Prince feel embarrassed afterward…

Although Barron hadn’t personally seen Princess Diana, nor had he witnessed the century wedding of 1981, he had seen the images that were left behind.

To be honest, although the scene was indeed grand, and even the live broadcast was watched by people around the world, the Prince’s performance in that wedding, even if you couldn’t say he was a puppet, he rarely smiled.

And today’s low-key wedding, held in a civil ceremony, although not grand, Barron could clearly see that the Prince, who was already gray-haired, was indeed different from before. He stood beside Ms. Camilla and kept smiling throughout, and it was obvious that he was happy from the bottom of his heart.

On the contrary, in this wedding, the Prince’s two sons didn’t show any smiles throughout…

After all, no matter what, as the sons of Princess Diana, from their perspective, the two new couples who were showing sweetness at this time, one was their father, and the other was the “third party” who deeply affected their parents’ relationship and even broke up their family…

Even though the Prince and Ms. Camilla met before Princess Diana.

Prince Charles and Camilla met in the 1970s at a polo match in Windsor Great Park. During their conversations, they found that they had many common interests, such as a love for polo and outdoor sports, and they both had a sense of humor.

Camilla joked at the time that her great-grandmother was the mistress of Prince Charles’ great-great-grandfather, Edward VII, so what would happen between them.

And so, after several interactions, they got together.

But the royal family didn’t agree to the Prince marrying Camilla, so during the Prince’s military service, Camilla married Andrew, who was seven years older than her, and gave birth to two children.

But the Prince could never forget Camilla. He often went to see Camilla, and he was also the godfather of Camilla’s children. Over time, the two rekindled their old feelings.

And Camilla’s first husband had dated Princess Anne - the Prince’s sister - before their marriage, and they broke up because of Camilla’s involvement, which is why Princess Anne didn’t like Camilla.

It has to be said that Princess Diana, whether in terms of her background or other aspects, could be considered the best match for the Prince chosen by the royal family, and she was also welcomed by the public…

The only thing was, she wasn’t the Prince’s first choice.

Barron didn’t want to make too many comments about all of this. What happened later was well known, that is, the Prince and Princess eventually chose to divorce, and the Princess unfortunately had a car accident after the divorce because of the pursuit of reporters - she was already pregnant at the time, and the father of the child was a wealthy man’s son.

As for His Royal Highness the Prince, after years of secret love, he officially announced his relationship with Ms. Camilla in 2000.

It was only because the late Queen Mother didn’t allow Camilla to enter the royal family that it wasn’t until this year, after the Queen Mother had passed away and the Prince had observed three years of mourning, that the two finally got married.

Even though Her Majesty the Queen obviously didn’t support this marriage.

Chapter 397: Back to Square One

“It looks like the Prince and Ms. Camilla are both happy.”

Bonnie whispered to Baron as the Prince and Ms. Camilla finished their marriage registration and walked out.

Although they didn’t attend the Prince’s “second” wedding ceremony, the Queen and Prince Philip did attend when the two went to St. George’s Chapel to take their vows.

Another point worth mentioning is that the late Princess Diana’s title was Princess of Wales, because the Prince’s title is Prince of Wales.

And after Camilla married the Prince, her title was not Princess, but Duchess of Cornwall.

Just as some nobles have more than one noble title, His Royal Highness the Prince also holds many titles, including the Prince of Wales and the Duke of Cornwall.

Ultimately, Camilla did not receive the title of Princess. On the one hand, the Royal Family was somewhat dissatisfied with her, and on the other hand, Princess Diana’s image was too deeply ingrained. When people think of Princess of Wales, they first think of Diana. Avoiding this would prevent her from always being in her shadow.

Anyway, in the Royal Family’s publicity, Ms. Camilla respected the late Princess Diana and chose not to use the title “Princess of Wales”.

Because the Prince’s wedding this time was not celebrated with too much fanfare, after attending the ceremony and personally congratulating the other party, Baron and Bonnie returned to their residence.

Hearing the woman sigh, Baron put his arm around her and asked softly:

“What’s wrong, darling?”

“Just, some feelings.”

Bonnie said softly:

“Back then, the Prince and Princess Diana, in the eyes of others, were such a perfect match, but apparently, he seems happier with Ms. Camilla. Marriage sometimes obtained through coercion may not necessarily lead to lasting happiness, and how could Princess Diana have known it would be like this…”

“So just enjoy the present. No one can know for sure what the future holds, but as long as you don’t let the present down, many things will be understood.”

After hearing Baron’s words, Bonnie thought for a moment and said nothing more.

Sometimes she wanted a promise, but then she thought, are promises really important?

…

After a period of negotiations, the BBC finally got its wish. They will invest 200 million pounds in Digital UK, acquiring 10% of the newly issued shares of this digital television platform operator.

In this way, SEM Group’s shareholding ratio in Digital UK was diluted from 51% to 45.9%, the BBC’s shareholding ratio increased from 34% to 40.6%, and ITV’s shareholding ratio decreased to 13.5%.

Although Independent Television (ITV) had been strongly opposed during this negotiation process, the BBC used the reason that Digital UK’s Freeview platform needed to compete with other cable and satellite television networks and must increase investment.

And they claimed that if ITV was willing, they could also participate in this investment…

But ITV’s operating conditions have deteriorated in recent years, and it’s hard to persuade the board of directors to agree to invest funds in Digital UK – because of the decline in advertising revenue, their funds are also extremely tight.

Therefore, the BBC ultimately obtained the opportunity to invest.

And to allow SEM Group to agree to the BBC’s increase in its shares this time, they also got some concessions from the other party.

Before this investment, Digital Future Investments, a subsidiary of the Caesar Foundation, bought 30% of the shares of the DailyVedio website held by Digital UK for 20 million US dollars.

In this way, Digital Future Investments’ shareholding in DailyVedio increased from 40% to 70%, and this website only had 30% of the remaining shares held by O2 Telecom.

In addition, DailyVedio.com also reached a three-year agreement with the BBC. The BBC’s website will, during this period, be provided with video technology and streaming media services by DailyVedio, and DailyVedio.com will receive priority recommendations on its website.

On the surface, it seems that DS Capital, behind the SEM Group, has given up a part of its interests in Digital UK and instead increased its investment in the Internet, but in fact…

“We have communicated with ITV and proposed the suggestion of merging Summit Media with ITV…”

Fergus Hayden, who has been promoted to CEO of SEM Group, said to Baron:

“We are willing to acquire ITV as a whole in the form of cash plus shares. The other party said they will consider this proposal and need to obtain the approval of the board of directors.”

He also said:

“However, judging from Michael Grade’s reaction, he is still very interested in this merger.”

Yes, in the face of ITV’s current difficult operating situation, SEM Group has the idea of acquiring this company, which was previously one of the three giants of British television.

Before the emergence of Summit Media, the pattern of British television was roughly a three-way split between the BBC, ITV, and Sky Television.

It was the emergence of Summit Media’s SDTV that broke this pattern. The BBC, because it received national support, and its entertainment content was not the main focus, was not greatly affected; Sky Television had News Corporation behind it, and they were indeed more flexible and efficient in their operations, so although they were affected, they still developed.

Only ITV, as the largest commercial television station in the UK, and its content had a relatively high degree of overlap with Summit Media, especially in variety shows, was the most affected.

This has also caused ITV’s revenue to continue to decline in the past two years, and its current market value is now similar to that of Summit Media…

Michael Grade is the newly appointed CEO of ITV. The interesting thing is that before this, his identity was Chairman of the BBC.

In fact, Michael Grade himself comes from a media family, and his uncle is the founder of ITV…

It can be said that his choice to jump from the position of BBC Chairman to ITV is also not without the idea of saving this declining commercial television station.

However, it seems that after a more in-depth understanding of ITV’s situation, he is not completely confident in this – or he believes that the option of merging ITV with Summit Media is more feasible than turning the tide.

Of course, the most important thing is that SEM Group promised Michael Grade that if this acquisition is completed, Michael Grade will be able to take charge of the merged Summit Media and become the CEO of this new company.

Currently, their contact with ITV is only with the other party’s CEO, Michael Grade, and they have not yet begun more negotiations.

Everything is still in the secret stage, otherwise if the BBC knew, they might not be comfortable.

After all, they just invested and increased their shareholding in Digital UK, reaching 40.6%, which is very close to SEM Group’s 45.9% shareholding.

But if SEM Group completes the acquisition of ITV, plus the 13.5% stake in Digital UK originally held by ITV, then SEM Group’s shareholding will once again approach 60%…

Isn’t this back to the original point of a four-six split?

Chapter 398: The Pinnacle of Luxury

May 5th, the results of the British general election were released.

The Labour Party, led by the current Prime Minister Tony Blair, defeated the Conservative Party and won a majority of seats in the new parliament.

Queen Elizabeth II received Labour leader Tony Blair and authorized him to form a government.

This also made Blair the second Prime Minister in British history, after Margaret Thatcher, to have served three consecutive terms, and the first Labour leader to achieve this.

However, analysts predicted that the Labour Party’s majority in the House of Commons had significantly decreased, only about half of what it was after the 2001 general election. This weakening of the Labour Party’s majority would make it more difficult for Blair to smoothly pass various policies and legislation in parliament this year.

As mentioned before, the British general election is not like the American one, where people directly vote for the presidential candidate. Instead, it determines which party will form the government based on the seats each party wins in the parliamentary election (House of Commons), and the leader of that party naturally becomes the elected Prime Minister.

Usually, when a certain party secures more than half of the seats in the House of Commons, it can be determined that they have won the election; otherwise, they need to form a coalition government.

Of course, although the Conservative Party lost to the Labour Party this time, it wasn’t without achievements…

The total number of seats in the British Parliament is currently 646. Howard, the leader of the Conservative Party, expanded their total number of MPs from 165 seats to 198 seats, compressing the advantage of the New Labour Party in parliament from 238 seats to 157 seats. This was undoubtedly a heavy blow to Blair’s New Labour Party.

In addition, the Liberal Democrats’ performance in this general election was also very eye-catching. They won 62 seats in the parliamentary election, 11 more than the previous general election.

This also means that compared to 2001, the Labour Party’s overwhelming advantage in parliament no longer exists. If they cannot regain their prestige, they will be in a very dangerous situation in the next general election.

In fact, Baron was not really joking when he and Brown confirmed that the Labour Party could win this election, because the leader of the Conservative Party graduated from Cambridge University.

This was because the current economic situation in Britain was still relatively satisfactory to the public, so holding the general election at this time was also beneficial to the ruling party.

There were also precedents of choosing to hold elections early when the economic situation was excellent in order to win the general election.

Yes, although the interval between British elections is five years, the ruling party is also allowed to announce an early election within five years.

For example, in the 1980s, Thatcher held two House of Commons elections within her term early.

After Thatcher came to power in 1979, in order to address the long-term sluggish British economy, she ambitiously formulated a set of “Thatcherism” economic reform plans, gritting her teeth through the difficult first three years.

By 1983, Thatcher’s reforms had produced results. The British economy began to emerge from the trough, with a record international trade surplus of 5.3 billion pounds. The long-suppressed inflation rate fell to 4% in March 1983, the lowest point in 15 years.

Thatcher seized this opportunity and announced that the House of Commons’ term, originally scheduled for May 1984, would be brought forward to June 1983 for the general election, and the Conservative Party’s election platform was determined to continue to implement the policies and strategies pursued by the Thatcher government over the past four years.

Most Britons, who had just tasted the sweetness of reform, naturally cast their votes for the Conservative Party.

As a result of the election, Thatcher not only retained her position as Prime Minister, but the Conservative Party also obtained 61.7% of the seats in the House of Commons, achieving a rare overwhelming majority of seats in history.

It can be said that Baron was very satisfied with the results of this election.

Although the Labour Party ultimately won, and Blair would be re-elected as Prime Minister, the Labour Party’s seats in parliament were not an overwhelming advantage. Therefore, the policies Blair wants to promote in the future may be difficult to implement smoothly under the pressure of the Conservative Party and the Liberal Democrats.

And because the ruling party is the Labour Party, if the British economy declines, they will be the ones to take the blame.

Accordingly, public support for them will also decline, and both the opposition Conservative Party and the Liberal Democrats will probably be happy to see such a situation.

In the next general election, it will probably be the time for the Conservative Party, with Cameron as its leader, to come to power.

……

“Hello, Your Grace, I am very honored to receive this challenging job. Although, to be honest, I have never completed such a significant task on my own before, I will do my best…”

“Mr. Michele, I believe you will succeed.”

The man in front of Baron at this moment, with long curly hair, was Alexander Michele, a designer from the Gucci Group’s London design department.

Alexander Michele was born in Rome in 1972 and graduated from the world’s top university, the Rome Fashion Academy.

His early career began at Fendi, where he served as a senior accessories designer.

As a designer with great potential, in 2002, Alexander was recruited by Tom Ford and began working in the Gucci Group’s London design department.

In the original timeline, in 2006, Alexander Michele was appointed as the creative director of the leather goods department, and in May 2011, he was promoted to the deputy of Frida Giannini, the Gucci Group’s design director.

And he received this “important task” as a result of Baron’s choice.

The reason for choosing him was because Baron still had a strong impression of this name from his previous life. It was precisely when Frida Giannini suddenly resigned that he was urgently appointed from the position of her deputy to the position of Gucci Group’s design director. He quickly created a brand new series for Gucci in five days and broke the brand’s already boring impression, thereby saving Gucci…

Well, at that time, Baron had heard about this from a friend (PY) who was a model and designer…

He also learned that since Alexander Michele took office in 2015, Gucci, under his leadership, had achieved rapid growth in performance and even became a “phenomenal” brand, deeply influencing the fashion industry from design to visual style.

He created a new image for Gucci that was retro, artistic, and gender-ambiguous, which was once very popular in the market. It was also because of this that he was called the undisputed “dream maker” of haute couture, giving Gucci a unique visual language.

Therefore, after putting forward his ideas to the Gucci Group, he saw Alexander Michele’s name on the list of their London design department and “designated” him to complete this task.

What Alexander Michele needed to do was to create a new series for Gucci Group’s haute couture: the “Devonshire” series of fashion.

Baron hoped to make Gucci’s “Devonshire” series a pinnacle of luxury, similar to Hermès’ “Himalayan Birkin”!

To this end, Alexander Michele will go to Chatsworth House to draw inspiration. He will live there for a period of time, and the manor will open almost all of its collections and the clothing and accessories retained by the Devonshire family to him, allowing Alexander to reflect the entire Devonshire family’s long history and aristocratic style in Gucci’s “Devonshire” series.

The ultimate goal is to try to make Gucci’s “Devonshire” series appear at Paris Fashion Week in September to October of this year, of course, this requires everything to go smoothly…

Chapter 399: 5 Billion Pounds Financing

Negotiations for the United Energy Group’s acquisition of National Grid’s natural gas business in the UK were still ongoing.

However, their financing plan had already made progress.

This backdrop was that two additional production wells in the Coro offshore oil field’s Block 1 had begun producing oil. Currently, their four oil wells had reached a production capacity of 50,000 barrels of crude oil per day, and more wells were being drilled.

Currently, there was no oil refining industry in Coro itself, so they needed to export the crude oil directly. The current international oil price was around 50 US dollars per barrel, which meant that Coro Oil Company’s daily revenue was close to 2.5 million US dollars…

It should be known that as the number of completed and operational wells in Block 1 increased—currently, China Offshore Oil Engineering Corporation had brought in three drilling platforms to conduct oil drilling simultaneously, and they had also contacted to rent two nearby platforms…

Once their domestic personnel arrived and became familiar with the equipment, there would be a total of five drilling platforms operating simultaneously within the entire Block 1.

According to Coro Oil Company’s plan, they were prepared to reach a daily crude oil production of over 1 million barrels within the year. At that time, their daily income would exceed 50 million US dollars…

A byproduct of their cooperation with China Offshore Oil Engineering Corporation was that, in order to fulfill the agreement’s requirement for employing a certain percentage of local Coro oil workers, in addition to assisting Coro Oil Company in recruiting a new batch of oil workers, they also collaborated with Coro Oil Company’s human resources department to build a training base on the outskirts of Lotti City.

After all, offshore oil operations were different from those on land, requiring more technical training, including various aspects of offshore escape, protection, as well as well control, hydrogen sulfide prevention, oil and gas fire fighting, and so on…

For basic drilling workers, their working skills could be learned gradually on the job, as China had also initially used the “master-apprentice” method. However, in terms of safety, systematic training was truly necessary.

Also because of this series of positive developments for Coro Oil Company, the United Energy Group, which held a 30% stake, saw its stock price rise slightly again, reaching around 12.5 pounds.

Correspondingly, their financing this time also proceeded more smoothly.

This time, for the acquisition of National Grid’s natural gas business in the UK, the United Energy Group’s offer was 5 billion pounds.

Therefore, their corresponding total financing scale was set at 5 billion pounds.

Among them, 2 billion pounds were subscribed by the investment departments of various banks, including Barclays Bank, as well as some investment institutions.

Another 1 billion pounds were divided among some UK companies and families.

This included the 200 million pounds of funds invested by the Booth. family.

The above 3 billion pounds of funds were all used to purchase United Energy Group’s convertible bonds. According to the regulations, they could choose at any time within two years to convert their convertible bonds into ordinary shares of United Energy Group at the average stock price of United Energy Group on that day.

In addition, another 2 billion pounds of funds were provided by the West African Group. They directly borrowed from Standard Chartered Bank and subscribed to new shares of United Energy Group at a price of 12.5 pounds.

United Energy Group would issue 160 million new shares to the West African Group at a price of 12.5 pounds.

In this way, United Energy Group had already raised 5 billion pounds of funds.

Of course, it would also take some time for the funds to be received, but these funds themselves were not necessarily intended for the acquisition of National Grid’s natural gas business.

The so-called reality and illusion, whether this would be used as a smokescreen for the acquisition of Unico Company, would also require adjustment based on subsequent developments.

And at Unico Company’s side, Barron had already learned from Goldman Sachs Group that they had begun to contact China National Offshore Oil Corporation to discuss providing financing for their acquisition of Unico Company.

This time, China National Offshore Oil Corporation’s acquisition of Unico Company would have Goldman Sachs Group and JP Morgan Chase as their financing parties in the United States.

In the near future, they would likely make their first offer for Unico Company.

“The West African Group chose to directly subscribe to the new shares of United Energy Group?”

It could be said that in this financing of United Energy Group, only the West African Group chose to subscribe to their new shares at a price of 12.5 pounds. The other UK-based capital chose to purchase United Energy Group’s convertible bonds.

This also showed that they still believed that after the rise of nearly a month, United Energy Group’s current stock price was still at a high level.

But this did not mean that they were not optimistic about the future development of United Energy Group, otherwise, they would not have been willing to participate in this financing.

It could only be said that they believed that after the market cooled down, there might be some fluctuations in the short term, and the stock price might fall.

At that time, they could complete the debt-to-equity swap at a lower price.

After all, no one’s money was easy to come by, and if they could gain more benefits, they wouldn’t mind waiting a while.

This time, the convertible bonds had a two-year term for debt-to-equity conversion.

In their view, no matter what, there would always be a time when the stock price was at its low point within these two years.

However, the Earl of Booth. knew that the West African Group had a close relationship with Barron, and now seeing that they had chosen to directly subscribe to the new shares of United Energy Group at a price of 12.5 pounds, he would have some questions.

“After all, it’s necessary to give other investors confidence, so subscribing to new shares at this price also shows that the other party recognizes the current stock price.”

Barron’s explanation made sense, but whether it was really the case, the Earl of Booth. couldn’t tell for the time being.

And the Argent Real Estate Group had also decided to prepare to initiate the IPO listing process.

However, before that, they were also preparing to further “optimize” the financial performance of this company in order to obtain a better stock price performance in the future listing.

In terms of their residential areas, although the government-promised affordable housing and their own land’s luxury apartments were built almost simultaneously, it was obvious that the construction progress of those luxury apartments was far faster than that of the affordable housing.

By now, the luxury residential areas, including “King’s Mansion,” had been on sale for some time.

The sales situation was also considered good, but also because the overall renewal plan of King’s Cross district was still in the second phase, some supporting facilities were not yet particularly complete, so if they wanted to sell everything, they still needed to wait for some time.

But they also had a way, also because of their confidence in the future development of this area, DS Asset Management Company and a fund owned by the Booth. family jointly established a real estate brokerage company, paid a certain percentage of the purchase price to Argent Real Estate Group, and then took the remaining majority of the properties in the form of pre-sales.

Then, displayed on Argent Real Estate Group’s accounts, was that the first phase of high-end residential units had been largely sold out, and the sales situation was excellent.

Chapter 400: That Girl

In terms of commercial real estate, the Argent Property Group has already completed the construction of over five office buildings and a commercial complex including shopping and entertainment in the first phase of the King’s Cross urban renewal project.

Apart from the two office buildings that were sold to companies under Baron’s name, becoming the Cavendish King Building and the O2 Building respectively, the occupancy rate of the remaining commercial buildings has now exceeded 70%.

It can be said that this ratio is already very good, and it can bring stable and continuous profits to the Argent Property Group.

After all, there has always been a great shortage of office space in London, and after they opened up these office and commercial spaces in King’s Cross, they received a positive response from those companies and merchants.

After hiring a professional team to complete the “cosmetic” of the Argent Property Group’s finances, they will then hire Barclays Bank as their sponsor and underwriter, thereby submitting an application to the London Stock Exchange, preparing for an IPO.

You must know that the King’s Cross urban renewal project is the largest urban transformation and construction in London in nearly 150 years.

And as the main driver of this huge plan, the IPO of the Argent Property Group will inevitably attract great attention from the market.

At present, the process of Argent Property Group preparing for the IPO can be considered relatively smooth, and the Earl of Booth. also appeared to be quite spirited when talking about this topic with Baron.

……

Currently, Giant Studio has completed its integration after acquiring the independent production company TalkbackTHAMES.

The new company name is Stuart Media, which currently includes the previous Giant Studio and the newly added TT Studio departments.

It’s already May, and Giant Studio has started the production of the second season of “Dancing Miracles,” while TT Studio is also planning a new variety show.

Fortunately, since Baron advised Bonnie last time, she has gradually begun to delegate many of the execution aspects, and she is mainly responsible for management and creative aspects.

However, this transformation also needs to be adapted to gradually.

Today is Bonnie’s birthday, and Baron came to the SEM Media Building early to pick her up. Knowing that she still needed some time to finish, he went to the SEM Group first—Stuart Media and the SEM Group have always been in the same building.

“Regarding the acquisition, we have had several rounds of negotiations with ITV, and the current progress is quite good…”

Knowing that Baron was coming, the CEO of the SEM Group, Feargal Hayden, waited for him specifically:

“We have now reconfirmed the acquisition plan, and it seems that both ITV’s management and their board of directors are quite receptive to this plan.”

For the acquisition of ITV, the SEM Group proposed to use a combination of cash and stock. ITV shareholders can choose to sell their shares in pure cash, or they can choose a combination of cash and stock—that is, they receive a certain amount of cash, and the remaining portion is converted into Summit Media’s stock at a certain ratio.

However, during the sale by ITV shareholders, a maximum of one-third of ITV’s shares can be exchanged for Summit Media’s stock.

Because ITV’s market value is similar to Summit Media’s market value, choosing this method of acquisition is also to prevent the SEM Group’s shareholding in Summit Media from being too diluted and maintaining control.

However, now that Summit Media’s acquisition of ITV has reached this point, it is naturally impossible to keep it completely confidential anymore, and many media outlets have obtained relevant news from “sources.”

Regarding these reports and related interviews, neither Summit Media nor ITV has disclosed too much, only stating that the two parties had some contact, but had not reached an agreement.

Of course, after this news came out, it also attracted the attention of the BBC and Sky Television.

Currently, in the British television broadcasting industry, since the emergence of Summit Media, the previous three-way situation of BBC, ITV, and Sky Television has gradually developed into the existence of four giants.

Among them, the BBC and Sky Television belong to the first tier.

They far surpass other television stations in terms of revenue and scale, while ITV and Summit Media are slightly inferior to these two television stations, belonging to the second tier.

But if the two merge, then the scale of the new television station that is ultimately formed will be able to completely threaten the BBC and Sky Television.

James Murdoch, the eldest son of Murdoch and also the chairman of Sky Television, said in an interview that Summit Media’s acquisition of ITV would change the current situation of the British television broadcasting industry and would pose a threat to cultural diversity, and relevant regulatory agencies should review this acquisition.

The chairman of the BBC has also made similar remarks recently.

Although Summit Media has refuted their statements, no matter what, it is very certain that if their transaction is finally finalized, then it will inevitably face antitrust review by the regulators.

By that time, neither the BBC nor Sky Television will miss any attempts to obstruct the completion of this transaction.

“By the way, that girl, Jo Harriman, right? How is she performing?”

Hearing Baron’s casual question, Feargal Hayden revealed a smile:

“Jo is performing very well, very hardworking, and very smart, and has also contributed to the acquisition of ITV.”

This Jo Harriman, mentioned by Baron, was recommended by Cameron.

During their last meeting, Cameron made a small request, that is, a friend of his needed to arrange a job in a large company for a junior.

Baron naturally agreed readily, which was nothing to him at all, and he could also befriend Cameron.

If you’re going to do something, do it well. After obtaining the other party’s, that is, Jo Harriman’s information, he learned that she graduated from Oxford University with degrees in politics and economics, and provided several positions for the other party to choose from.

And this Jo Harriman eventually chose the SEM Group, quickly joined, and became a member of the group’s strategic mergers and acquisitions department.

At the same time, Baron also obtained a background check on Jo Harriman through his intelligence department.

Jo Harriman, born in Glasgow, Scotland in 1980, is 25 years old this year.

After graduating from Oxford University, she entered Ernst & Young, where she worked for four years, from a certified public accountant to the mergers and acquisitions consulting department.

This is also the reason why Jo Harriman was assigned to the ITV mergers and acquisitions team after joining the SEM Group.

It can be said that Jo Harriman is not only a top student, but also her appearance is also very outstanding.

Baron had seen her photos in the information. If you just look at these photos, most people would not think that this is a top student who graduated from Oxford University with dual degrees in political science and economics, but would think that she is a supermodel.

Her appearance is bright and elegant, and she has a model-like tall figure and a curvy figure, she is an extraordinary beauty.

When Cameron recommended Jo Harriman to Baron, he also speculated at the time that she had some intimate relationship with Cameron.

But after seeing Jo Harriman’s detailed background check, he understood the reason.

Rather than saying that Cameron recommended Jo Harriman, it’s better to say that he was deepening his relationship with the current Conservative Party leader Howard.

Jo Harriman’s grandmother is a very close friend of the Conservative Party leader Howard’s wife, and their relationship has been established since they were models many years ago.

Chapter 401: The Crown

Howard’s wife, Sandra Howard, was a former model for Vogue magazine and was considered the “most charming star figure” within the Conservative Party.

She was one of the leading fashion models of the 1960s, gracing the cover of American Vogue for two consecutive months.

At the same time, she was also the dazzling jewel held in the hands of major jewelry and haute couture brands, one of the first beautiful girls to shine brightly in fashion magazines.

It could be said that the relationship between Joe Harriman’s family and the Howard family was very close. Joe’s grandmother, who was also a model, was as close as sisters with Sandra. After her death from illness, Joe Harriman’s father spent almost half of his time being raised by the Howards, and could be considered their adopted son.

And Sandra Howard also doted on Joe very much. Her entry into Oxford University was due not only to her own innate intelligence, but also to the important role played by the Howard family.

Baron knew that after losing the general election to Blair and failing to become Prime Minister, Howard would soon resign as leader of the Conservative Party…

And among the candidates to succeed this position, the one who could gain Howard’s support would definitely have a very high chance of winning. No wonder Cameron would be the first to make such a request to Baron…

……

“Happy birthday, darling.”

After picking up Bonnie, a romantic candlelight dinner had been prepared when they got home.

After the maid brought up the birthday cake and Bonnie made a wish and blew out the candles, Baron presented the birthday gift he had prepared for his girlfriend.

“A sapphire and diamond tiara? This…”

Opening the simple and elegant box, Bonnie couldn’t help but exclaim when she saw the dazzling and dreamy tiara inside.

Then she wiped her hands and carefully picked up the gem-studded tiara, examining it closely, and couldn’t help but ask:

“Is this Queen Victoria’s? But didn’t that tiara disappear?”

“Yes, that’s the one. I found it, and now, it’s yours, darling.”

What they were talking about, and what was in Bonnie’s hands at this moment, was one of Queen Victoria’s most cherished tiaras – the sapphire and diamond tiara.

Compared to other exquisite and luxurious tiaras, this tiara looked a little simple, but it was a testament to the love between Queen Victoria and Prince Albert.

The love story between Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, many people have heard of it, so there is no need to say more.

In 1836, 17-year-old Victoria met Prince Albert for the first time.

Due to being strictly disciplined for a long time, Victoria, who only longed for freedom, was not interested in this kind of arranged marriage at all, and neither of them liked the other.

But when they met again in 1837, for some reason, Queen Victoria fell in love with this tall, handsome, and well-mannered man at first sight.

And Prince Albert also felt a great fondness for this outstanding and clever little girl.

After they were together, they were inseparable all day long, and their affection was the envy of others. Prince Albert also personally designed and commissioned a series of jewelry for Queen Victoria to express his love.

The special thing about this sapphire and diamond tiara was that it was Albert’s wedding gift to Queen Victoria, which was of extraordinary significance.

This tiara, made of diamonds and sapphires, was designed by Prince Albert and completed by the jeweler Joseph Kitching.

The inspiration for the tiara came from Prince Albert’s coat of arms of the Duchy of Saxony, and the leaf shape of the “Rautenkranz” totem could be clearly seen at the top of the tiara.

A total of 12 cushion-cut and kite-cut sapphires were inlaid in the middle of the tiara, and diamonds were used for embellishment.

Most of the gems on this tiara were gifts from Victoria’s uncle, William IV, and Queen Adelaide.

In 1842, in the portrait painted by the court painter Franz Xaver Winterhalter for Queen Victoria, the Queen was wearing an off-the-shoulder gown, with a simple necklace on her chest. This tiara was not worn on her head as usual, but as a headdress, worn on her bun.

The sapphire tiara and the sapphire brooch on her chest complemented each other, making Victoria noble and charming.

And because of this, it was still very well-known in Britain.

In 1861, Prince Albert died at the young age of 42, and the second half of Queen Victoria’s life fell into darkness.

She changed into mourning clothes, no longer participated in state affairs meetings, and demanded that the whole country only wear mourning jewelry.

This tiara was naturally treasured as well.

It wasn’t until 1870 that Queen Victoria gradually came out of her grief, reappeared in the public eye, and wore this sapphire and diamond tiara on many public occasions to commemorate her late husband, Prince Albert.

After Queen Victoria’s death, this meaningful sapphire and diamond tiara was successively inherited by Edward VII and George V.

In 1922, George V gave this tiara to his daughter, Princess Mary, as a dowry.

Princess Mary loved this tiara very much, and later, she passed this tiara on to her daughter-in-law.

But for some reason, as it was passed down, this tiara disappeared.

Baron also learned about the appearance of this tiara by chance from a nobleman, and then bought it for 2.25 million pounds as a birthday gift for his girlfriend.

It was obvious that Bonnie loved this gift very much, and she could not put it down.

“I hope you can put it on for me yourself one day, darling.”

Bonnie said to Baron with a look of affection in her eyes.

“I can do it now…”

Seeing Baron get up to do so, Bonnie shook her head and said gently but firmly:

“Although I also want to wear it now, I still have to keep it, and leave that opportunity for a more important moment…”

Baron understood what she meant. After all, in Britain, these women’s tiaras were often prepared for the weddings of the family’s female relatives.

“Darling, you will have a unique tiara one day, that belongs only to you.”

Hearing Baron’s words, a sweet and happy smile appeared on Bonnie’s face.

……

At the end of May, Baron received the final plan for Alibaba’s E-round financing from Liu Chiping, the Vice President of Rich23 Capital.

Yahoo would invest 255 million US dollars in Alibaba, plus all their Yahoo China assets, and obtain 50 million newly issued shares of Alibaba – here, all of Yahoo China’s assets were valued at 70 million US dollars.

Rich23 Capital would sell its 50% stake in Taobao.com to Alibaba for 360 million US dollars, and receive 55.4 million newly issued shares.

In this way, Alibaba would own 100% of Taobao.com and turn it into a wholly-owned subsidiary.

After this round of financing, Yahoo would hold 50 million shares of Alibaba, accounting for 9.9%; Mr. Ma’s team would hold 31.66%; and SoftBank would hold 18.99%.

And DS Holdings and Rich23 Capital, under Baron’s name, would hold 12.66% and 26.79% respectively, with a total holding of 39.45%, just below the 40% threshold.

On the surface, Mr. Ma’s team was still the largest shareholder of Alibaba. After all, nominally, DS Holdings and Rich Capital were not related…

But in reality, Mr. Ma could still firmly control Alibaba, because he could continue to increase his holdings in Alibaba. The premise was that Baron and Mr. Ma had reached an additional agreement. Of the 39.45% of the shares held by DS Holdings and Rich23 Capital, half of the voting rights would always be authorized to Mr. Ma.

In this way, the voting rights controlled by Mr. Ma’s team would exceed 51%, firmly controlling Alibaba.

Chapter 402: Google’s Request

In this time-space, Alibaba’s financing was equivalent to receiving $255 million in funds, coming from Yahoo’s investment.

In Barron’s previous life, although Yahoo had put up a total of $1 billion in cash during this financing, the actual funds received by Alibaba were only $250 million. The remaining funds were used to purchase shares of Taobao.com held by SoftBank at the time and to buy out the shares of early investors.

Therefore, compared to that, after Barron got involved, Alibaba could get an additional $5 million in funds before the next economic crisis, which was not bad.

It was just that Yahoo’s stake in Alibaba had changed from 40% in Barron’s previous life to nearly 10% now… He didn’t know whether, without the huge gains from investing in Alibaba—at least their current investment profits would be greatly reduced—Yahoo would decline earlier in the future.

But Barron didn’t care about this, after all, in a certain sense, his investment company had obtained nearly 40% of Alibaba’s shares, which was equivalent to replacing Yahoo’s position…

……

“CNOOC and Chevron have both made bids for Unocal. Frankly, Your Grace, if you don’t act, you’ll lose this opportunity.”

Barron received a second inquiry from Goldman Sachs Group CEO Lloyd.

He collected the smile on his face, held the phone, and said to the other party:

“You know, Mr. Blankfein, I’ve also carefully considered the acquisition of Unocal. However, our current target is the UK. The National Grid’s natural gas business…”

“If we want to acquire Unocal, it’s not a simple matter. We are not afraid of commercial competition, but we will definitely face some difficulties in other aspects. You know we are not the United States, and Chevron will have many underhanded tricks.”

Barron heard Lloyd’s voice over the phone:

“You don’t need to worry about this. The United States is an open commercial country, and we will give you enough support in this regard…”

Uh, no need for self-aggrandizement, the slap in the face will come quickly, but their promise…

“That’s it, I will go to the United States immediately to handle some matters, and I can take some time to talk about this matter then.”

“Then I await your visit, Your Grace, but I hope you can act a little faster.”

Hanging the American capital was one thing, but Barron still took the acquisition of Unocal very seriously.

Therefore, almost the next day, he took the Devonshire to North America.

However, although this time his accompanying team was larger than before, including his mergers and acquisitions and business negotiation teams, he did not bring the senior executives of United Energy Group, after all, he couldn’t let the other party see his active initiative.

After landing in New York, Barron first met with Ivanka in his top-floor mansion.

The two first went through a period of knowledge learning that had been accumulated for a long time…

They left traces of their learning in various places in the bedroom—especially the floor-to-ceiling windows on the top floor, where they could enjoy the night view of Manhattan. Countless girls’ palm prints were left on the glass of the windows.

“Google has contacted me…”

It wasn’t until Ivanka was somewhat weakly leaning in Barron’s arms that she spoke.

“They are also planning to invest in Android?”

Currently, among the companies invested by IC Capital, which was managed by Ivanka, those that could be favored by Google, or in Barron’s previous life, had been acquired by Google, were DoubleClick, YouTube, and Android…

Uh, thinking about it, IC Capital had invested in a total of four companies, and three of them would be “in the future” acquired by Google. It seemed that he was really just targeting Google and taking advantage of it.

But there was no way around it. Who told Google to be so famous? Most of the potential startup companies that Barron could remember were because they were acquired by Google that he had an impression of them.

Among these three companies, YouTube was still a startup, and DoubleClick would not enter Google’s vision until next year, so according to the time nodes of the original time-space, the most likely one was Android.

Sure enough, Ivanka said:

“Yes, it’s Android, but they want to acquire it.”

“Oh?”

Although he knew that in his previous life, Google had directly bought Android, but that was in the absence of other competitors.

Now knowing that Google still hoped to completely buy out this company, Barron was still a little surprised.

“Yes, Google wants to offer $60 million to buy all the shares of Android.”

“Didn’t you tell them that we are only financial investors for Android and will not be involved in the future development and operation of the company?”

Hearing Barron’s words, Ivanka pursed her lips and said:

“I did, but Google is very resistant to our anti-dilution clause. They claim that they either buy all the shares of Android or give up this acquisition.”

Barron understood that perhaps Google thought that IC Capital had invested $20 million to get 45% of Android’s shares, and now they offered $60 million to acquire all of Android’s shares, and IC Capital’s investment would be able to get a return of nearly 50% in less than two months, which should have been enough.

But no matter what reason Google decided to acquire Android, Barron understood the company’s great future prospects.

That would be an existence that could compete with Apple’s OS system in the era of smartphones.

The operating system of the computer era created the giant status of Microsoft.

That era, Barron could only miss.

But in the future era of mobile smart devices, there was an opportunity to get Android, one of the two major systems, and Barron would naturally not give up easily.

At first, he only planned to hitch a ride on Google’s bandwagon, so even if there was an opportunity to acquire Android, he still only let IC Capital invest and get 45% of the shares.

To put it bluntly, the remaining controlling stake in Android was left for Google.

But now that Google did not tolerate IC Capital’s existence in Android…

“Since that’s the case, then we’ll continue to invest in Android. There’s no need to necessarily cooperate with Google.”

Hearing this sentence that Ivanka blurted out, Barron looked at her with a somewhat strange look:

“You are so confident in Android?”

“I’ve also discussed with their team and have been looking at related materials recently. I feel that mobile phone operating systems really have a lot of potential. There are so many talented people in Silicon Valley. What’s so great about Google? If we increase investment, can’t we succeed without them?”

It seemed that IC Capital’s successes had also caused Ivanka at this time to undergo a complete transformation from the beginning, and she became more confident.

And what was different from Barron was that Barron himself carried the memories of his previous life, so in his eyes, Google was a very powerful internet giant.

But Ivanka did not have this understanding. She did not have the impression of the “giant Google” of the future.

In her opinion, although Google was now a rising star in the internet industry, it had not yet reached the point of being feared.

Thinking of this, Barron was relieved. Many people praised Google as a giant with extreme innovation, but in fact, most of their “innovations” came from the companies they acquired.

Therefore, it could be said that Google was very insightful.

But insight… In twenty years, who could compare to Barron, this “person of the future”?

After figuring this out, Barron made up his mind. He would develop Android himself. Even in the worst-case scenario, it would only be a missed opportunity…

Anyway, what he lacked the least was opportunities.

Chapter 403: Selling at the Right Price

“In that case, let’s just buy out Android, directly…”

Barron instructed Ivanka.

Because DS Capital and Rich23 Capital held a large number of shares in Apple, it wasn’t suitable to invest too deeply in Android.

For now, acquiring Android under the name of IC Capital would be the most appropriate.

Later, when Android needed further development or mergers and acquisitions to enrich its content, other investment companies could join in the financing and provide more funds.

“By the way, that new friend you mentioned last time, is she Rupert Murdoch’s wife…?”

“Yes, her name is Wendi. We met at a party in New York, and I met with her yesterday…”

As Rupert Murdoch’s wife, Wendi quickly entered New York’s socialite circle. In Barron’s previous life, she had a close relationship with Ivanka, practically being best friends.

Currently, News Corporation also had its sights set on the booming internet economy, hoping to enter this field through acquisitions.

In the original timeline, they ultimately chose MySpace, announcing its acquisition in July 2005 for 580 million US dollars.

Now, News Corporation had begun to contact MySpace, which was not surprising.

Barron knew that although she didn’t hold any formal position within News Corporation, Rupert Murdoch’s wife, Wendi Deng, acted as Murdoch’s advisor on matters including China and the internet, and had some influence on him.

Just like News Corporation’s acquisition of MySpace, Wendi Deng was also involved, especially in MySpace’s development in China in the original timeline, where Wendi Deng could be said to have participated throughout the entire process.

Ivanka told Barron that as the manager of IC Capital, the largest shareholder of MySpace, Wendi Deng herself had mentioned several times her desire to acquire MySpace.

Through two rounds of financing, IC Capital invested a total of 30 million US dollars, acquiring 49% of MySpace’s shares, holding more shares than MySpace’s parent company, Intermix Media. Although they were primarily making a financial investment, they still had a decisive influence on the sale of MySpace.

Although News Corporation’s current offer made Ivanka very tempted, she also had the idea of continuing to operate MySpace.

When Barron initially invested in MySpace, he told Ivanka that he would sell the company for a profit at an appropriate time. But now, social networking had become a new trend, especially with the development of Woaw Technology driving it. MySpace, as Woaw.com’s biggest competitor in North America, had very considerable user growth itself—otherwise, with Murdoch’s shrewdness, how could he be willing to offer 650 million US dollars to acquire MySpace?

Yes, this time News Corporation’s offer for MySpace.com was even higher than the 580 million US dollars in the original timeline—the main reason was that, due to the driving force of Woaw Technology, MySpace’s performance was even better than in the same period of the original timeline, in terms of both user numbers and completeness.

After all, with Woaw.com as a “reference” object, and the previous financing of Woaw Technology, the valuation of websites in the social networking field had also increased.

It was the same principle as many Chinese internet companies going public in America always needing to benchmark against a similar American internet company to increase their own valuation.

But now, the technology companies invested in by IC Capital had MySpace in the social networking field; DoubleClick in internet advertising; YouTube in video sharing websites; and Android in smartphone operating systems.

Therefore, under such circumstances, Ivanka couldn’t help but think, perhaps at the current stage of MySpace’s good development, instead of choosing to sell it, they could develop it themselves. Even if they couldn’t become a giant like Yahoo or Google, even if they became a second-tier company, the profits would be higher than selling it for 650 million US dollars now…

“You don’t have to be too eager to reach an agreement with News Corporation. Drag it out a little, and MySpace’s valuation will be even higher, but selling is still very necessary, because if they are rejected by News Corporation, they will inevitably choose other, less desirable websites. In this way, under the premise that News Corporation is determined to enter social networking, it is equivalent to having another strong competitor besides Woaw, and I’m afraid that users will be taken away later.”

Barron understood that MySpace’s development was limited. In his previous life, after News Corporation acquired MySpace, it did have two years of glory, once posing a great threat to Facebook.

But this didn’t mean that MySpace could really challenge Woaw’s position now. His purpose in delaying was to see if he could continue to increase the price of News Corporation’s acquisition, but he also couldn’t really make News Corporation feel that the acquisition was hopeless, or that the cost was too high, so that they would choose other websites, which would be unfavorable.

In terms of business acumen, especially on the internet, Ivanka still trusted Barron very much. After all, she herself understood that IC Capital’s current success was largely the result of her implementing Barron’s decisions.

Therefore, since he had made the decision, Ivanka had already begun to consider how to better reflect the value of MySpace.

…

“Baby, you’re even hotter than the weather outside today.”

Although the two had exercised and studied again the next morning, when Ivanka came downstairs after changing her clothes, Barron saw her in a beige dress, revealing her beautiful figure, and couldn’t help but praise her.

Ivanka seemed to be in a good mood. After coming over and kissing Barron, the two sat at the dining table. She looked at her lover with beautiful eyes and asked:

“Do you have any plans later?”

“Yes, I’m going to meet with the CEO of Goldman Sachs…”

Barron had a smile on his face, putting down the newspaper in his hand. It was a copy of The Wall Street Journal, with the front page reporting that China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) had again made an offer for Unocal Corporation, intervening in the competition with Chevron.

Knowing that her lover was meeting with the CEO of Goldman Sachs, it definitely wouldn’t be about simple matters, but Ivanka wouldn’t casually ask about these things. She nodded and said:

“I’ve arranged to go to the gym with Wendi, and we might talk about MySpace again.”

…

“Did you read the newspaper today, Your Grace?”

In the president’s office at Goldman Sachs, Barron met with Lloyd, who asked with a serious expression.

“Yes, the entire United States is talking about this matter now, so of course I know.”

“Actually, as early as the end of last year, Unocal Corporation had already secretly contacted CNOOC, and the two sides had exchanged ideas. They took the initiative to hope that CNOOC would join the acquisition, because Unocal Corporation’s management was too familiar with other American companies that might acquire them, and they knew that if they wanted to obtain better conditions, they could only look for buyers outside of America…”

Lloyd elaborated on some of the inside stories of this acquisition, some of which Barron already knew, and some of which he had heard for the first time.

After all, as the CEO of Goldman Sachs, he not only understood American oil companies including Unocal Corporation, but also, because Goldman Sachs Group participated in CNOOC’s acquisition of Unocal Corporation, he also had more information about CNOOC.

In fact, originally, CNOOC’s acquisition of Unocal Corporation could be said to be a match made in heaven. If there hadn’t been any setbacks, they might have already completed the acquisition of Unocal Corporation by now.

In fact, earlier on, CNOOC had already been preparing for cross-border mergers and acquisitions.

In the past few years, although CNOOC had achieved rapid growth, it was difficult to achieve their established medium- and long-term goals by relying solely on internal sustained growth, especially in terms of achieving overseas production targets.

So, in the middle of 2004, when CNOOC studied the acquisition of 12 Asian oil and gas companies in the past few years, they found that relying on acquiring block assets was not effective in achieving sustained growth.

Generally speaking, more successful oil and gas asset acquisitions occur in times of low oil prices. As oil prices enter a high period, the difficulty and cost of asset acquisitions will increase.

And since around the time of the Iraq War, international oil prices had begun to rise, gradually leading the world into an era of high oil prices.

In response to this, Fu Chengyu, the chairman of CNOOC, decided that they would shift from asset acquisitions to company acquisitions.

When screening acquisition targets, among dozens of companies in North America, West Africa, and the Caspian Sea, according to various indicators such as “asset value less than 20 billion US dollars; potential for reserve and production growth; CNOOC’s affordability, China’s LNG business, and availability,” CNOOC, after three rounds of screening, ultimately locked in Unocal as the acquisition target.

Headquartered in California, United States, Unocal is a long-established oil company with a history of more than one hundred years, ranking ninth among American oil companies.

In the past two years, its operations have not been very good, and its market value is about 30% lower than that of similar companies, so the board of directors has been considering finding a buyer.

CNOOC chose to merge with Unocal, mainly because of Unocal’s oil and gas resources in Asia.

Of Unocal’s already proven 1.75 billion barrels of oil and gas reserves, 70% are located outside of the United States, including the Asian countries of Indonesia, Thailand, Myanmar, Bangladesh, and the Central Asian countries of Azerbaijan and the Caspian Sea region.

Unocal’s asset distribution is a “match made in heaven” with CNOOC’s implementation of a natural gas strategy along the southeastern coast of China—Southeast Asia, where Unocal’s gas assets are most widely distributed and geographically closest to China, is the most ideal gas source for CNOOC’s coastal natural gas market.

Chapter 404: Don’t Be Anxious

On Christmas Day of last year, the chairman of CNOOC went alone to a restaurant in Los Angeles and held a secret meeting with Unocal. The topic of discussion was the matter of CNOOC’s acquisition of Unocal.

And only ten days after Fu Chengyu and Unocal’s chairman, Williams, met, the well-informed British “Financial Times” first disclosed the “secret” of CNOOC’s acquisition of Unocal.

Now it seems, with Barron’s experience, that such a secret meeting could still be disclosed by the media at the time, probably because Unocal deliberately released the news to introduce competitors and drive up the price.

On February 27th of this year, Unocal began to provide CNOOC with preliminary information, inviting them as one of the candidates for a “friendly acquisition.”

The next day, February 28th, when CNOOC launched the project to acquire Unocal, they began to hire world-renowned consultants in various fields to assist.

The investment banks were Goldman Sachs Group and JPMorgan Chase; the legal advisors were DPW and Herbert Smith; the tax advisor was Deloitte; the technical advisor was Mller Lents; the public relations and media advisors were Brunswi ck and PSI; the policy advisor was Akin Gum…

Then, in March, CNOOC decided to offer Unocal a price range of 59 to 62 US dollars per share.

This time, the offer was an expression of interest and was not binding. Its purpose was to demonstrate CNOOC’s sincerity in the acquisition, to secure a ticket to enter the ranks of Unocal’s acquirers, and to open the door to the due diligence phase.

After that, Unocal’s board of directors accepted CNOOC’s non-binding offer and allowed CNOOC to conduct “confirmatory” due diligence.

Soon, a special team consisting of thirteen Unocal executives, including Chairman Williams, arrived in Beijing.

The purpose of their trip was to make an on-site presentation on issues such as Unocal’s core oil and gas assets and reserves that CNOOC was concerned about, and to answer various questions from the acquisition team’s leadership group.

At that time, the main reasons why Unocal’s senior management took the initiative to extend an olive branch to CNOOC and went to Beijing for negotiations were three:

First, CNOOC controlled a huge natural gas market, and its acquisition would increase the value of Unocal’s shares;

Second, CNOOC had stated that Unocal’s senior management would basically remain after the acquisition, which was a reassuring pill for Unocal’s management;

Third, since most of CNOOC’s shares could not be fully circulated, the acquisition would have to be done entirely in cash, which was very tempting for Unocal’s shareholders.

After the due diligence, CNOOC’s acquisition project team finally determined the valuation range of Unocal—51.9 to 67.7 US dollars per share.

At this point, it could be said that both parties’ intentions were relatively strong, and the acquisition could almost be confirmed…

However, on March 30th, the deadline for CNOOC to submit an accurate offer to Unocal as agreed. But due to the hesitation of CNOOC’s foreign independent directors—four foreign independent directors refused to express their position on the acquisition plan. Some independent directors stated that due to the short time and their lack of a deep understanding of the acquisition plan, they were worried that the company’s management would blindly pursue scale and carry out irrational mergers.

The board meeting held that day to decide on the offer ended on a sour note, and their acquisition plan could not be passed, thus delaying CNOOC’s acquisition plan.

Then, on April 4th, Chevron, the second-largest oil company in the United States, made a surprise move, announcing the acquisition of Unocal with 25% cash (6.5 billion US dollars) and 75% stock (1.03 shares of Chevron stock for 1 share of Unocal stock).

According to Chevron’s closing price of 59.31 US dollars on April 1st, the acquisition price was about 62.07 US dollars per share, and the total acquisition price was about 16.4 billion US dollars.

Unocal’s management preliminarily accepted the offer.

It is worth mentioning that on April 8th, one of CNOOC’s foreign independent directors, Shu Aiwen, announced his resignation due to health reasons.

The reason why Barron did not join the acquisition of Unocal earlier was also because he saw that in CNOOC’s acquisition, Chevron, as the second-largest oil company in the United States, had carried out a comprehensive obstruction.

Therefore, he needed to get certain promises from Goldman Sachs Group and the Leading Group behind it before launching the acquisition of Unocal. Otherwise, the methods CNOOC encountered would also be encountered by United Energy Group…

After all, this was Chevron’s home field, and who knew how many politicians had taken their “donations.”

Although Chevron had taken the lead in making an offer for Unocal, and their board of directors had preliminarily accepted this offer and entered the acquisition process.

However, according to the laws of the United States, before the US Securities and Exchange Commission approves the transaction between Chevron and Unocal, other companies still have the opportunity to bid for the acquisition.

Therefore, both CNOOC and United Energy Group still had opportunities.

Now CNOOC has made another offer—67 US dollars per share (a total of 18.5 billion US dollars), all cash acquisition.

At the current stock price, it exceeds Chevron’s offer by 9.4%.

“Your Grace, CNOOC has made its move. If you still want to get involved in this acquisition, then you need to act now, otherwise, once the dust settles, Unocal will be acquired by Chevron.”

Lloyd said to Barron.

“In fact, now is the exciting time, isn’t it? I think some people, faced with CNOOC’s intervention, will use their usual tricks to prevent it again…”

Barron seemed unhurried, and said calmly to Lloyd:

“I’m looking forward to your wonderful performance here… I said before, if United Energy Group joins this acquisition, it first needs to ensure that I will not be affected by underhanded tactics. You know, Mr. Blankfein, we are still fighting a local battle, trying to acquire the natural gas business of the British National Grid Company, and we don’t have much energy to deal with those fly-like politicians outside the acquisition negotiations.”

“I think all of this can be discussed, Your Grace. If you want to use United Energy Group to acquire Unocal, what kind of plan will you adopt?”

Hearing Lloyd’s question, Barron pondered for a moment and said:

“Frankly speaking, CNOOC’s offer is already very high, and I don’t plan to offer a higher price, but I can use a combination of cash and stock for the acquisition—although I would prefer to use an all-cash acquisition like CNOOC.”

That’s how it is. Compared to Chevron’s cash-and-stock acquisition plan, Unocal’s shareholders clearly prefer CNOOC’s all-cash acquisition plan.

But when it came to United Energy Group, the Leading Group, which held a considerable number of Unocal’s shares, and their allies, hoped that the stock ratio in their acquisition plan would be higher.

After all, although Chevron is the second-largest oil company in the United States, it also means that their current scale has long entered a stable period. Compared to cash, Unocal’s shareholders want the latter more.

But United Energy Group is different. This company has more potential, so exchanging Unocal’s shares for United Energy Group’s shares is also something they are happy to do.

“With all due respect, Your Grace, if United Energy Group’s offer is lower than CNOOC’s, then you probably won’t have any advantage in this acquisition.”

“Shall we make a bet? I think it only needs to be higher than Chevron’s offer. As for CNOOC, I don’t think they have any chance…”

Barron tasted the coffee from Goldman Sachs and said casually:

“Unless they go all-in and significantly raise the acquisition price, but the possibility of this happening is probably lower than the possibility that those congressmen supported by Chevron won’t use the pretext of ‘national security’ to attack CNOOC.”

Before leaving Lloyd’s office, Barron said:

“Tomorrow, we will be able to see the trend of this result.”

Chapter 405: Blue Valley Capital

Just as Barron had anticipated…

On June 24th, the first day after CNOOC’s bid, Chairman of the U.S. House Committee on Energy and Commerce, Joe Barton, and Ralph Hall wrote a letter to President Bush expressing their concerns about CNOOC’s acquisition of Unocal…

They claimed it posed a “clear threat” to American energy and security, and demanded that the government ensure American energy assets were not sold to China.

That day, a total of 41 congressmen submitted an open letter to the U.S. President, requesting the government to strictly review CNOOC’s merger plan.

As time went on, the number of congressmen writing to the White House to “reflect on the issue” continued to increase. According to statistics, a total of 64 congressmen participated in this lobbying campaign against CNOOC’s acquisition of Unocal.

So many congressmen expressing “opposition” to CNOOC’s merger in such a concentrated manner didn’t seem to be entirely explained by “concern for national security.”

According to publicly available information later collected by British media such as the Financial Times and the Independent, some American congressmen who opposed CNOOC’s acquisition of Unocal had received over $100,000 in political donations from Chevron, CNOOC’s competitor in this acquisition, since 2002.

The Financial Times and the Independent claimed this also raised suspicions that Chevron was involved in manipulating political forces to obstruct CNOOC’s acquisition.

Of course, as a direct competitor, Chevron also seized the opportunity to join the chorus of doubts surrounding CNOOC’s acquisition attempt.

On June 24th, Chevron Vice Chairman Peter Robertson gave a speech in the New York Times, saying, “What Chevron is doing with CNOOC is not simply commercial competition, but rather competition with the Chinese government, and that’s not fair.”

On June 27th, 52 representatives jointly wrote a letter to President Bush and Treasury Secretary Snow, requesting the Treasury Department’s Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) to strictly review the role of the Chinese government in this acquisition based on the Exon-Florio Amendment law.

At this time, Barron had once again met with John Bogle, the founder of The Vanguard Group, and Lloyd Blankfein, the CEO of Goldman Sachs, and after discussion, finally reached an agreement on some plans for United Energy Group to acquire Unocal.

However, until this moment, he still hadn’t had any contact with anyone from Unocal, nor had he announced that United Energy Group would get involved in the acquisition of Unocal and make a bid.

All communication with Unocal would be conducted privately by The Vanguard Group.

At this time, in terms of CNOOC and Chevron’s acquisitions of Unocal, the CNOOC delegation began to negotiate with Unocal at a breakneck pace.

However, Unocal, which had previously taken the initiative to show goodwill to CNOOC, now seemed hesitant.

Unocal stated that although CNOOC’s bid was higher than Chevron’s, there was great uncertainty.

The biggest uncertainty came from the attitude of the Chinese government and the American Exon-Florio Amendment law.

The amendment measures foreign investment based on whether it endangers national security. If the answer is yes, the regulatory agency has the right to suspend all investment activities.

The Chinese company Lenovo Group had once struggled to cross this threshold when acquiring IBM’s PC business.

As a Chinese energy company, CNOOC faced a situation that was obviously more complex than Lenovo’s.

…

In order to distance himself from his relationship with IC Capital, Barron had always appeared very rarely with Ivanka in public, and would not show an overly intimate attitude.

However, during his time in New York, Ivanka would spend the night in his penthouse almost every night.

And Ivanka also told Barron that Ivanka Trump had mentioned to her several times about the acquisition of MySpace, and that News Corporation had also had a lot of contact with MySpace’s founding team, and had conducted multiple communications regarding the acquisition so far.

Ivanka didn’t relax on this either. After discussions on behalf of IC Capital with MySpace, she set the price of MySpace at the price of 700 million US dollars. Below this bid, they wouldn’t give much consideration.

In addition, in the case of Android, IC Capital once again put up 30 million US dollars and acquired 100% of the equity of this company in one fell swoop.

But this money was not a one-time payment, but an initial payment of 10 million US dollars, and the subsequent funds would be paid according to the research and development of the company’s smartphone operating system.

Moreover, all the members of the Android company’s team, under Barron’s reminder, were required by Ivanka to sign non-compete agreements. If they leave their jobs within five years, they will be prohibited from taking positions in or participating in the establishment of related projects in companies that have a conflict of interest with Android within five years after leaving their jobs.

In addition, their team will also receive corresponding shares of Android as a reward after the Android system is successfully launched.

These measures are also to continue to incentivize their team’s operating system development after IC Capital controls all the shares of Android.

Another piece of news during this time was that Bank of Communications successfully listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on June 23rd.

The final closing price of Bank of Communications’ stock that day was 2.825 Hong Kong dollars, an increase of 13% compared to their issue price of 2.5 Hong Kong dollars.

Correspondingly, the value of Standard Chartered Bank’s previously held shares in Bank of Communications has now exceeded 2.8 billion US dollars. It can be said that this investment not only allowed Standard Chartered Bank’s business to successfully enter more areas of mainland China, but also yielded rich returns.

And according to the anti-dilution clause that Standard Chartered Bank signed with Bank of Communications during the investment, they continued to subscribe for corresponding shares in this IPO of Bank of Communications to maintain their shareholding in Bank of Communications, maintaining the proportion of 19.9%.

After that, Barron temporarily left New York and went to Los Angeles on the West Coast. Rebecca and their daughter, Jennifer, had recently been living in the Beverly Hills estate here.

Coming here, in addition to visiting Rebecca and his daughter, Barron also registered a company in Delaware under Rebecca’s name, called Blue Valley Capital.

As for why he chose to register in Delaware, it was simply because the tax and other policies here were very friendly to companies, and Delaware was also the preferred place of registration for American companies.

After that, Blue Valley Capital acquired a small film company in Hollywood, called Summit Entertainment, for 50 million US dollars.

Yes, Summit Entertainment was the company that, in Barron’s previous life, obtained the film rights to Twilight, but after launching this series, it was acquired by Lionsgate in 2012 for more than 400 million US dollars.

Chapter 406: Summit Entertainment

Summit Entertainment was established in 1993 and located in Santa Monica, California.

The company’s founders, like Patrick Wachsberger, Bob Hayward, and David Garrett, were all ambitious individuals.

From the start, they positioned the new company as a top-tier Hollywood player that could stand shoulder to shoulder with the major studios, rather than a small-scale production company.

However, to date, this positioning was more like a joke. Like other challengers to the major Hollywood studios, Summit Entertainment was hampered by a lack of financial resources. They couldn’t attract Hollywood’s top directors and stars, and their box office performance was consistently near the bottom among the major distributors.

From another perspective, Summit Entertainment had a good eye, having produced excellent independent films like Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels.

Speaking of which, Summit Entertainment had rich film production experience, and their team also had a good eye—but just having a good eye, to come across those low-budget but high-grossing films, also required luck.

As for high-budget, large-scale films, without sufficient funds, it was impossible to play the game.

But there were countless “ambitious” small and medium-sized film companies in Hollywood like Summit Entertainment, so how could investors be confident in giving them money to make big productions?

Baron happened to be flush with funds, so he immediately hit it off with Summit Entertainment, investing in the purchase of this film company.

However, from beginning to end, Baron never showed his face, and he didn’t even reveal to the other party the relationship between his Blue Valley Capital and his acquisition of Summit Entertainment.

This Blue Valley Capital was established by Baron through the New York branch manager of DS Capital, recruiting a few relatively experienced personnel through a headhunting company.

It was only after coming to Los Angeles that Baron personally met with Annika Dawson, the CEO of Blue Valley Capital.

Annika Dawson, 32 years old this year, had experience in investment banking and consulting firms before becoming the CEO of Blue Valley Capital. Although she didn’t have any particularly outstanding achievements, she was relatively steady and had sufficient experience.

Annika Dawson was originally recruited by Devon Stevens, the manager of the DS Capital New York branch, and as the CEO of Blue Valley Capital, she also knew that the investment company’s funds came from a fund associated with DS Capital, so she had some guesses about the person behind Blue Valley Capital.

But even so, after seeing this young British Duke in person and confirming that he was indeed the big shot behind Blue Valley Capital, her mood was still very excited.

After all, by now, the commercial investment and management abilities of this British richest man in front of her were no longer in question. She had even studied some of the acquisition cases he had decided on before.

“Ms. Dawson, your performance in the acquisition of Summit Entertainment made me very satisfied. The most important task for Blue Valley Capital next is to assist and supervise this company’s subsequent film projects.”

After hearing Baron say this, Annika Dawson hesitated for a moment and asked:

“Your Grace, can you tell me, with so many film companies in Hollywood, and with your strength, even acquiring the six major studios might not be difficult, why did you choose Summit Entertainment?”

This was also something Annika had always been puzzled about. If Blue Valley Capital had limited strength, then it would be understandable to acquire a decent small or medium-sized film company.

But since it was a big shot like Baron Cavendish, why did he only take a liking to Summit Entertainment?

“You should know, Ms. Dawson, that I have a media group in Britain, and I personally also want to test the waters in Hollywood. The reason I chose Summit Entertainment, besides the company’s size being relatively suitable, and their eye being quite good, um, is also because of its name. I have a listed company called Summit Media…”

“…”

Baron’s reason left Annika Dawson somewhat speechless. Were all the big shots this willful?

Or perhaps, it was just a joke.

As mentioned before, Blue Valley Capital was registered in Rebecca’s name, but with her current abilities, before being proven, Baron certainly wouldn’t let her manage the company.

After Blue Valley Capital acquired Summit Entertainment, Rebecca was only a director of Summit Entertainment, and would be involved in their film-related business, but now it was mostly for learning.

Rebecca accepted this with pleasure, and during this period, she had been continuing to study film and television production, and also hoped to gain some experience in such work.

As for the task Baron had given her before, it was to pay attention to the American bestseller lists and news of newly emerging serialized novels, and the results finally came.

Half a month ago, Baron finally saw the name of Twilight on that list.

However, this novel had just been published and hadn’t yet entered the bestseller list.

So he immediately made the decision, and had Rebecca take people to contact the author, and paid a high price to buy the film and television rights to this novel and its subsequent series.

At this time, the author of Twilight was still a “newcomer”, and Twilight was also her first published novel.

Someone was already offering millions to buy the rights to her novel shortly after it was published, which made her extremely happy.

If Twilight had already reached the top of the novel bestseller list, perhaps such a price wouldn’t have made her so happy.

But at this moment, it was different.

Therefore, after confirming the authenticity of the matter, Rebecca didn’t spend too much effort and successfully signed a contract with the other party, acquiring the film and television rights to the Twilight series.

Afterwards, Summit Entertainment would wait until this novel had a certain degree of fame in North America, and then start the film production project of this novel.

In addition to Twilight, Summit Entertainment, after Blue Valley Capital’s investment, would also choose other films to distribute.

However, in terms of film selection, it would be screened by Summit Entertainment’s management team, and finally needed to be approved by the board of directors, that is, Blue Valley Capital, before proceeding.

It was also because of Baron’s trust in their team’s eye that he gave them a special privilege.

That is, if a film, the board of directors didn’t think was suitable to take on, but they were very optimistic about, then every year they could have an opportunity to independently decide to distribute the film they were optimistic about.

Of course, such an opportunity was also for small and medium-sized productions with a budget of less than 50 million US dollars.

If it was a big production, with Summit Entertainment’s current situation, they really weren’t confident enough to let them be willful…

Chapter 407: A Bolt from the Blue

In addition, regarding the Unocal Corporation acquisition, according to information obtained from the Goldman Sachs Group, China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) had been conducting a new round of negotiations with Unocal.

Ultimately, CNOOC made certain compromises in this acquisition. These included depositing 2 billion US dollars into a special account at a bank in the United States to prevent CNOOC from defaulting after the acquisition. Furthermore, if Unocal was ultimately acquired by CNOOC, they would need to pay Chevron 500 million US dollars as a “breakup fee” if the negotiations failed…

During their negotiations, the American congressmen were also continuing to be active…

On June 30th, the United States House of Representatives voted to pass a financial appropriation amendment, which stipulated that—“The Treasury Department is prohibited from using appropriations to approve CNOOC’s merger with Unocal Corporation.”

On July 11th, two senators wrote a letter to the United States Department of Commerce, requesting a review of whether CNOOC’s loans violated WTO rules.

On July 13th, the United States Congress held a hearing, and the content of the meeting also mainly revolved around the content of the conflict of interests between the two countries.

In fact, the obstruction from many American congressmen surrounding CNOOC’s acquisition of Unocal was not only due to Chevron’s funding, but also the conflict between the two factions in the United States regarding their attitude towards the East…

In this event of CNOOC’s acquisition of Unocal, the United States government, including the President’s side, had a relatively “neutral” attitude. Those who jumped out to obstruct were almost entirely the “congressmen” from Congress.

The underlying reason was that after the “9/11” incident, the main focus of the United States’ Bush administration was on “global counter-terrorism.” On this issue, they needed the support of the East. Therefore, at this time, the United States government’s policy towards it was mainly “contact plus prevention,” with a relatively stronger atmosphere of cooperation, hoping to maintain stable relations.

However, there was also a new conservative faction in the United States that advocated “containing the other party.” This faction was the main force that took the stage in this event.

On July 14th, Unocal Corporation held a board meeting, demanding that CNOOC and Chevron increase their bids, and declared that if neither party raised their bid, they were prepared to find another buyer.

It was also at this time that the acquisition team of United Energy Group arrived in the United States.

This time, the United Energy Group’s acquisition team included its CEO, Aperi Singleton, who had previously served as an executive at British Petroleum (BP), as well as legal, accounting, and public relations teams, all of whom were the top in the United States.

After arriving in California, Aperi Singleton held a secret meeting with Unocal Corporation’s chairman, Williams.

On July 15th, Unocal Chairman Williams called CNOOC Chairman Fu Chengyu, and for the second time, asked CNOOC to increase its bid.

On July 16th, Fu Chengyu replied to the other party, saying that the acquisition price could be increased to 69 US dollars per share, but with three conditions—

First, Unocal Corporation was to pay Chevron a 500 million US dollar breakup fee; second, Unocal Corporation had to lobby the government and Congress on CNOOC’s behalf; third, a commitment to exclude Chevron.

However, Unocal Corporation insisted that the price increase should be unconditional, and the two sides were deadlocked.

By July 17th, United Energy Group CEO Aperi Singleton, who had already had contact with various parties, publicly announced that United Energy Group would intervene in the acquisition of Unocal Corporation.

And they announced their offer for Unocal Corporation—United Energy Group would acquire Unocal Corporation at a price of 65.2 US dollars per share. In this acquisition, they would use 60% cash and 30% stock to complete the acquisition. If cash was chosen, it would be a 5% premium over their current stock price.

This was equivalent to United Energy Group’s acquisition price for Unocal Corporation being around 18 billion US dollars.

As soon as this news was announced, it made the already turbulent Unocal acquisition case even more eye-catching.

After United Energy Group entered the scene with a high profile, on July 19th, Chevron was forced to increase its bid, changing the offer to 40% cash and 60% stock, which calculated to 63.1 US dollars per share, with a total offer of around 17.5 billion US dollars.

At this time, in fact, CNOOC’s price advantage had basically been lost—although CNOOC’s offer of 67 US dollars had a higher price difference compared to the offers of United Energy Group and Chevron, this price difference was not enough to compensate for “political risk” and “time cost.”

CNOOC, having lost its price advantage, did not rush to raise its bid again, but instead adopted a wait-and-see approach.

Later, when CNOOC Chairman Fu Chengyu was interviewed and talked about this matter, he said:

“At this time, the acquisition was no longer a matter of price, but had become a political issue… Under the political environment at that time, we could not judge how much money it would take to complete the acquisition, 70 US dollars, 80 US dollars, or 90 US dollars? As long as you weren’t afraid to spend money, you could definitely do it. But the success or failure of this matter was already beyond the price factor.”

At this moment, on the battlefield of acquiring Unocal Corporation, the main competition was between the newly emerged United Energy Group and Chevron, the second-largest oil company in the United States.

And facing United Energy Group, it was unlikely for Chevron to use the tactic of targeting CNOOC and talking about “national security.”

On the one hand, United Energy Group was a British company, and Britain and the United States were close allies, and there was no factor of “threatening national security” or “forming a challenge to the West” between them.

More importantly, many British companies themselves had too much American capital, and the two countries were open to each other. If Chevron really used the tricks it used against CNOOC to deal with United Energy Group, then American capital in Britain would probably be subject to equivalent sanctions—maybe one or two congressmen would be willing to bring this matter up under the “funding” of money, but it would not gather as many people as it did against CNOOC.

And at this time, some American capital that had already reached an understanding with Barron would also exert their strength to protect their acquisition.

After all, on the surface, it seemed that the British-owned United Energy Group was acquiring an American oil company, but in fact, it was also an opportunity for some American capital to enter United Energy Group.

Under this circumstance, the political factors outside the field were almost non-existent, and it was up to Chevron and United Energy Group to compete purely on price.

But the value of Unocal Corporation itself was different for the two acquirers.

For Chevron, not all of Unocal Corporation’s assets were what they needed, and even after the acquisition, they considered the issue of layoffs… To put it bluntly, they valued Unocal’s market share and the oil and gas resources it possessed more.

But for United Energy Group, an energy company that had just been established not long ago, all of Unocal Corporation’s components could strengthen their strength.

Not to mention, in terms of the management of Unocal Corporation, the promises that Chevron could give were far inferior to those of United Energy Group—United Energy Group could guarantee that all of these managers would remain in their positions.

Chapter 408: Dust Settles

On July 21st, CNOOC issued a statement, expressing three points of view:

One, they regretted that Unocal had not changed its recommendation; two, they believed that CNOOC’s all-cash acquisition of 67 US dollars per share was still very competitive; three, considering the need to protect the greatest interests of its shareholders, they had no intention of changing the price and would continue to monitor market developments.

Basically, CNOOC’s statement this time essentially indicated that they had given up on continuing their efforts and would not increase their stake.

It was obvious that the final ownership of Unocal would definitely be a choice between Chevron and the United Energy Group; this was something anyone with a clear eye could see.

On July 30th, the United States House of Representatives and Senate passed an amendment to the Energy Act, requiring the government to conduct a study of China’s energy situation within 120 days. The acquisition of Unocal by CNOOC could only be approved 21 days after the study report was released.

The passage of this law basically eliminated the possibility of CNOOC successfully bidding.

On August 2nd, CNOOC announced the withdrawal of its acquisition offer for Unocal.

At this time, there were still eight days left until August 10th, when the Unocal board of directors would hold its final vote to decide “who the winner is.”

Although CNOOC was ultimately the “loser” in the bidding for Unocal, they were not without gains.

On the day CNOOC announced its withdrawal, their stock price rose by 5.6%, which indicated that investors also believed their withdrawal from this acquisition was a wise move.

In fact, from June 23rd to August 10th, in just over a month, CNOOC’s market capitalization increased by more than 30%, from 22 billion to 30 billion US dollars.

Moreover, through this acquisition event, CNOOC’s international reputation was greatly enhanced.

However, what was dramatic was that the day before the Unocal board of directors voted to decide which of the two companies, Chevron and United Energy Group, would acquire them…

On August 7th, Chevron publicly announced its withdrawal from the acquisition of Unocal.

Thus, Unocal’s final choice was without suspense. As expected, on August 8th, Unocal’s Chairman, Williams, and United Energy Group’s CEO, Eperry Singleton, jointly attended a press conference and announced that Unocal had accepted United Energy Group’s acquisition plan.

Now, this acquisition plan only needed to be approved by relevant American institutions, and then the United Energy Group would complete the acquisition of Unocal.

The reason Chevron withdrew from this acquisition, besides their unwillingness to raise their bid and feeling that the acquisition was hopeless, was also due to the promotion of the Vanguard Group and its allies.

And they had also held a secret meeting with United Energy Group’s CEO, Eperry Singleton, and reached an agreement—

That is, after the United Energy Group completed the acquisition of Unocal, Chevron would waive their requested 500 million US dollars “break-up fee.”

But at the same time, the United Energy Group would sell Unocal’s oil and gas resources located in the United States, with reserves of approximately 500 million barrels, to Chevron for 4 billion US dollars…

This was the main reason for Chevron’s early withdrawal; after all, this was the real benefit they gained.

This time, the efficiency of the United States was extremely high. On August 10th, relevant institutions, including the US Securities and Exchange Commission, announced that they had approved this acquisition.

The United Energy Group officially began the merger process with Unocal.

In this acquisition, they would use a total of 12.6 billion US dollars, as well as 5.4 billion US dollars worth of shares, to complete the acquisition.

Among the cash, the United Energy Group itself had already raised 5 billion pounds, equivalent to 9.5 billion US dollars; and Goldman Sachs Group and JP Morgan Chase would each provide them with a 1.5 billion US dollar financing to complete this acquisition.

In addition, the United Energy Group would issue 223 million shares at a price of 12.74 pounds per share to some shareholders of the United Energy Group who chose to receive shares (in fact, more than half of these shares were obtained by the Vanguard Group and related institutions) as part of the payment.

After this transaction was settled, the price of United Energy Group’s shares rose by nearly 10% on the same day, exceeding 14 pounds per share.

Thus, after completing the acquisition of Unocal, the total share capital of the United Energy Group reached 1.5265 billion shares, with a market value of nearly 21.4 billion pounds.

At this time, the Caesar Foundation held 1.0195 billion shares of United Energy Group, accounting for 66.79%; the West African Group had previously invested 2 billion pounds in the United Energy Group at a price of 12.5 pounds per share, obtaining 160 million shares, accounting for 10.48%; and the Vanguard Group’s shareholding in the United Energy Group also increased from the previous 5.8% to around 10%…

The remaining nearly 13% of United Energy Group’s shares were distributed in the secondary market and in the hands of Unocal’s remaining shareholders.

After completing this transaction, the largest shareholder of the United Energy Group, the Caesar Foundation, had reduced its shareholding to 66.79%, so the distribution of United Energy Group’s shares would no longer attract the attention of the London Stock Exchange and relevant regulatory agencies.

And in fact, together with the West African Group, the companies under Barron still firmly controlled this company.

At this time, Barron had already left the United States and returned to the UK.

Time went back to early July, July 6th. London successfully won the right to host the 2012 Olympic Games. For a time, the entire UK was in a frenzy. All the newspapers, radio stations, and television stations were discussing how to hold the most successful Olympic Games in London in 2012.

And on that day, the Prime Minister was receiving the leaders of the G8 countries in Eagle Valley, Scotland, with a beaming face.

But a few hours later…

8:51 AM, the computer screen of the London public transport control center showed: the Circle Line to the subway was experiencing an anomaly!

8:56 AM, the Piccadilly Line south-bound subway was experiencing an anomaly, and the entire system lost power!

8:59 AM, the Circle Line west-bound subway was experiencing an anomaly, and ground personnel reported hearing a huge explosion, simultaneously calling for ambulances to the scene. For a time, the entire city was in chaos!

On July 7th, the London Underground bombings happened!

It should be known that the time of this explosion was exactly during the morning rush hour, when nearly 2 million people were traveling on the London Underground. Therefore, the consequences of this accident were serious. According to the investigation afterwards, 52 people died and more than 700 were injured.

More importantly, panic spread throughout the skies of London, and even beyond London, all the cities in the UK were facing panic.

At the first moment Barron returned to London, to be precise, when he was still on the plane, he had already transferred the 500 retired soldiers from the Protector Military Company who were undergoing training at Bilo Castle, and temporarily employed them by Protector Security Company in the UK, and sent them to London to strengthen the security measures of the company’s various subsidiaries.

Next, he knew that the government would immediately increase its investment in domestic counter-terrorism and security funds, and this would also be the best opportunity for Protector Security Company to get involved in more domestic business.

Chapter 409: Acquisition of ITV

Regarding the London Underground bombings on July 7th, Barron did indeed know about it in advance. After all, in his previous life, the media had reported on this matter extensively.

However, as for the specific time of the event, because he was in China at the time, he didn’t remember it very clearly, only that something like this had happened recently.

Therefore, before that, he really didn’t have many ways to prevent it – or rather, forcibly preventing it would have been too far-fetched.

First of all, he didn’t remember the exact time. Secondly, this matter was mainly planned and carried out by religious elements in England, and there were multiple bombs detonated that day – including suicide bombers.

So, if he wanted to prevent it in advance, first, Barron would need to cooperate with the relevant departments in England, including intelligence and police departments. But where would the information come from?

Also, because these participants were immigrants who held British identities, if he didn’t know who was specifically involved, and didn’t know the specific time of the actions, then even if he strengthened security to avoid it happening on that day, the other side would always find an opportunity to do it later – there’s no way to guard against thieves for a thousand days.

In this case, Barron could only try to ensure the safety of the people around him, and the people around him usually didn’t need to take the subway, or at least didn’t need to take it during the weekday rush hour.

In addition, he could use this event to gain benefits for himself.

For example, the Protector Security Company could obtain more government security orders because of it.

…

“Regarding ITV, their board of directors has already agreed to our acquisition plan. Now, the only thing that needs to be considered is whether the regulators will approve this acquisition…”

In the SEM Group’s conference room, the person making the presentation to Barron about the SEM Group’s acquisition of ITV was a tall, attractive woman in a white professional suit.

Her features were exquisite, her smile was very infectious, and her tone was full of confidence:

“Although the BBC and Sky Television have been launching various public opinion attacks against our acquisition, according to the working style of the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) of England, our acquisition this time will not face too many obstacles.”

“How did you come to this conclusion?”

Hearing Barron’s question, this beautiful woman, who was also the Joe Harriman that Barron had mentioned to SEM Group CEO Fergal Hayden before, took out a folder and handed it to Barron, saying:

“This is the data related to acquisitions between British companies reviewed by the CMA in the past 5 years. Among these acquisitions, the CMA has not rejected a single case of a company acquiring another company outside the top two in the industry, and unless the acquisition would occupy more than 40% of the British market after the acquisition, even the acquisition of the second-ranked company in the industry has not been rejected… In fact, over 80% of the rejections of anti-monopoly investigations have occurred when the acquiring company was foreign-owned. Therefore, the merger between our SEM Group and ITV will not have an overwhelming advantage over the market share of the top two in the industry, namely the BBC and Sky Television, and can even be said to be basically on par with them, and is not within the scope of the CMA’s strict review.”

It has to be said that, judging from today’s performance, Fergal Hayden’s previous assessment of Joe Harriman was not an exaggeration.

The SEM Group’s acquisition of ITV this time will be carried out in the form of cash plus shares. Currently, ITV’s market value is around 3.3 billion pounds, while the share price of Top Media has recently stabilized at around 30 pounds, with a market value exceeding 3.75 billion pounds, which is already higher than ITV.

After a partial premium, the SEM Group will acquire ITV for 3.6 billion pounds.

Of which, 2.4 billion pounds will be paid in cash and 1.2 billion pounds in shares.

For the cash portion, in addition to SEM using its profits from recent years, it also issued 2 billion pounds of corporate bonds to the public to complete this acquisition – because of the good performance of a series of variety shows launched, Top Media’s profitability is still very good, so their corporate bonds are also relatively popular in the market.

In addition, Top Media will also issue 40 million new shares to ITV’s shareholders to complete this acquisition.

After this acquisition, SDTV, which is under Top Media, will merge with ITV’s 4 channels, uniformly using the name ITV, as well as a new logo.

And the original ITV’s production department will be incorporated into Top Studio.

By then, DS Holdings’ shareholding in Top Media will be reduced to 54.55%, with more than 24% of the shares entering the hands of the original ITV shareholders.

Indeed, as Joe Harriman said, during the SEM Group’s acquisition of ITV, the BBC and Sky Television launched various obstructions, but at best, it only caused a little interference to their acquisition.

Even without considering Barron’s own influence, even according to normal circumstances, the case of Top Media acquiring ITV would not be made difficult by the British Competition and Markets Authority. After all, with the existence of the BBC and Sky Television, this acquisition could not be said to have the possibility of a monopoly.

After all, the SEM Group itself is a British company, and it is not acquiring the BBC or Sky Television.

…

“I heard that this bombing was orchestrated by al-Qaeda, it was an act of revenge…”

“It’s so terrifying, maybe we should leave here first and come back after the matter is investigated, otherwise, I always feel uneasy.”

At the home of the Earl of Booth, Barron also met with Jenny Booth, who had come to London from the United States.

Listening to the women talking about the matter of the subway bombings – one week after the bombings, the police finally publicly admitted that the series of bombings in London were suicide attacks.

They also announced that they had confirmed the identities of two of the four suspects.

Peter Clark, the head of the London Metropolitan Police’s Counter-Terrorism Command, said at a press conference that a 22-year-old man detonated the bomb on the subway train between Aldgate station and Liverpool Street station; an 18-year-old man detonated the bomb on the double-decker bus, both of whom were Pakistani-British citizens.

And Barron and Ian Booth. were talking about the listing of the Argent Real Estate Group.

Just two days ago, Argent Real Estate Group submitted an application for an IPO to the London Stock Exchange. After approval, the listing process would begin. If all goes smoothly, it is expected to be listed and traded on the main board of the London Stock Exchange in October.

This time, including the cashing out of some shareholders, Argent Real Estate Group plans to publicly sell 171 million shares, accounting for 15% of the total share capital after listing.

“Are you planning to subscribe to a portion of the issued shares? Your Grace.”

“I will consider this matter, after all, I am still very optimistic about the future prospects of London real estate. Maybe Mars Fund or other funds will subscribe to a portion as a purely financial investment.”

Just as Barron was saying these words, he suddenly felt that, under the table, in a hidden place out of everyone’s sight, a foot seemed to be touching his calf…

Barron remained calm on the surface, continuing to talk to the Earl of Booth, but according to the position where the foot was reaching, he glanced at the three women who were whispering.

First, eliminate Bonnie. As for the Countess, or… Jenny?

From their expressions, he couldn’t see any clues. Both of them looked engrossed in their conversation, and from their positions, both of them could stretch their legs to tease him…

Feeling the touch, gradually moving up along his calf…

“Have you considered setting the issue price of the shares at what level?”

Barron said to the Earl of Booth, and very naturally leaned forward slightly, and then, within the tablecloth, he grabbed the “troublesome” foot in his hand…

It felt smooth, it was a section of a calf wrapped in stockings…

After realizing this, Barron’s eyebrows raised slightly, it really was her…

Chapter 410: Selling Primark

Jenny Booth. had just come out of the restroom when she saw Baron smiling at her from outside.

“What, waiting for me here?”

Speaking to Baron, Jenny leaned out from the wall, looking to see that the others were still sitting in the living room chatting.

“Can’t I?”

Baron raised his hand, and it fell…

With a “smack,” Jenny almost cried out, quickly covering her mouth and glaring at Baron.

“Aren’t you afraid they’ll find out?”

“Weren’t you pretty bold when you were flirting with me just now?”

As he said this, Jenny’s gaze couldn’t help but sweep down to his pants, and a smile appeared on her face…

But it was obvious that Baron didn’t intend to let her off so easily. He took Jenny’s hand and led her to the bar.

The room’s decorations blocked the view along the way, so the three people who were chatting didn’t see them.

“What are you going to do?”

Although Jenny was very bold in private, she was really afraid of being discovered by the others at this moment, so she lowered her voice, almost just mouthing the words.

“Of course, I want you to take responsibility for what happened just now…”

As he spoke, Baron pressed Jenny’s shoulders with both hands, making her kneel on the carpet, and then pulled down his zipper…

“Mmm…”

…

Although the sound of high heels on the carpet was very light, Baron still heard it sensitively.

He picked up the wine bottle on the table…

“Darling, what are you doing here?”

It was Bonnie. Seeing Baron standing behind the bar, she walked two steps closer and asked.

“Come and have a drink. I found the Count’s collection…”

Seeing Bonnie’s slightly puzzled expression, Baron changed his words:

“Actually, I’m considering something else, business-related…”

As he spoke, he could clearly feel Jenny Booth’s nervousness under the bar… she almost stopped.

“It’s okay, baby, I’ll be right there.”

“Okay, darling, I’ll go to the restroom first… I don’t know if Jenny is still inside.”

Watching his girlfriend turn and walk towards the restroom, Baron leaned forward, completely disregarding Jenny’s struggle…

“Ugh… you want to suffocate me?”

Jenny took a deep breath and said coquettishly.

Just now, her back was pressed tightly against the bar, and the injection of positive energy almost choked her.

“Alright, baby, I have to go over first, you tidy up…”

Watching Baron return to his place and turn to leave, Jenny couldn’t help but curse fiercely:

“You bastard!”

…

“What did Yanai Zheng say?”

“Mr. Yanai Zheng is also quite interested in acquiring the Primark clothing chain. After all, the core brand of Fast Retailing Group, Uniqlo, is mainly focused on promoting overseas markets. They have already opened two stores in the UK. If they can merge with Primark, it will greatly promote the development of Fast Retailing Group in Europe…”

On the other end of the phone, the person talking to Baron was Finn Hudson, the CEO of the Global Industrial Investment (GII) Fund.

He was currently in Japan, trying to persuade Fast Retailing Group to acquire Primark, the budget clothing brand under the Argos Retail Group.

Originally, GII Fund’s investment was quite targeted. For example, their investment in Uniqlo’s parent company, Fast Retailing Group of Japan, was not only because of the company’s future growth, but also because Baron’s own Argos Retail Group owned clothing brands.

However, at first, Baron wanted to use Primark to merge with Uniqlo, but after consideration, he didn’t fully acquire Fast Retailing Group. Instead, he made GII Fund a controlling shareholder with a 65% stake, and continued to leave the management of the group to the Yanai Zheng family.

Now, Argos Retail Group is focusing its main energy on increasing its outlets in Europe and vigorously developing online sales; plus DS Capital also has a luxury brand like the Gucci Group.

Then, it is no longer appropriate to continue holding Primark, a budget clothing brand, and they are preparing to promote Fast Retailing Group to acquire the Primark clothing chain.

Objectively speaking, acquiring Primark is indeed beneficial to Fast Retailing Group.

Currently, Primark has opened more than 400 stores throughout Europe. In addition to the UK and Ireland, the European continent has already entered countries such as France and Germany, and even opened stores in Spain, the “home base” of the fast-fashion giant, Inditex, the parent company of ZARA.

Then, after acquiring Primark, Fast Retailing Group will have a relatively complete sales network in Europe, which will also help the Uniqlo brand enter this market. In that case, in the fast-fashion category, there is Uniqlo, and in budget clothing, there is Primark, so Fast Retailing Group’s product line will be more complete.

Moreover, in terms of online sales, Argos Retail Group will become a shareholder of Fast Retailing Group, and they can also use the Argos.com channel to sell their products to a wider market.

According to surveys, the top three products purchased online by European users are clothing and footwear, electronic products and small appliances, and books and groceries.

Among these products, except for books, Argos Retail Group’s own brands are involved, and their partner brands have already covered almost all online shopping categories.

The addition of Fast Retailing Group will also become a powerful supplement to the product categories on Argos.com.

Next, Fast Retailing Group will negotiate with Argos Retail Group to assess the valuation of the Primark clothing chain, and then acquire it through the issuance of new shares.

In this way, the shares of Fast Retailing Group held by the Yanai Zheng family will inevitably be diluted, while the total shares of Fast Retailing Group held by Baron’s controlled GII Fund and Argos Retail Group will increase their shareholding ratio.

But this is not unacceptable for the Yanai Zheng family, because GII Fund’s current shareholding in Fast Retailing Group has already reached 65%, far exceeding their family’s shareholding ratio. Even if their shareholding continues to be diluted, the situation they face will not be too different from the present.

The key lies in whether the other party can guarantee their management of the group. In this regard, Finn Hudson, on behalf of GII Fund, has also made assurances to Yanai Zheng.

…

“I heard that Manchester United will still be doing an Asian tour this year?”

“Yes, they will be going to China soon, as the start of their Asian tour…”

The sun was good today. Baron wasn’t wearing formal attire as usual, but rather casual beach shorts, sitting on a recliner and sunbathing.

The person chatting with him was the owner of Chelsea Football Club, the Russian tycoon, Abramovich .

At this moment, they were on Abramovich ’s superyacht called “Ethereal Ocean.” In the swimming pool on the deck below them, Abramovich ’s current girlfriend, Dasha Zhukova, and Baron’s girlfriend, Bonnie, were also chatting happily.

Unfortunately, Manchester United Football Club once again missed out on the Premier League title this year, and the Premier League title went to Chelsea Football Club, owned by Abramovich beside him – this was also the first Premier League title Abramovich had won after buying Chelsea.

As everyone knows, Abramovich owns many superyachts. The most well-known “Eclipse” has not yet appeared and will not be completed until 2010.

To celebrate Chelsea’s victory, Abramovich generously lent his Compass superyacht, which he bought last year for 270 million pounds from a Saudi businessman, to the two heroes who helped the team win the championship – Terry and Lampard, for them to enjoy to their heart’s content for two weeks.

Chapter 411: She’s More Reliable

“What are you two chatting about?”

Dasha Zhukova and Bonnie, wrapped in towels, came onto the deck and asked Abramovich.

“I was talking to the Duke about the club.”

Although he said that, besides this, Abramovich had also proactively discussed the matter of Baron and the others acquiring Unico Company – at this time, United Energy Group had already publicly announced its participation in the acquisition of Unico Company.

It seemed that Abramovich also knew something about this matter, after all, he himself had made his fortune by reselling crude oil. Later, after hooking up with Old Ye, he and another Russian oligarch, Boris Berezovsky, had only spent 200 million US dollars to buy the Siberian Petroleum Company, which was worth more than 10 billion US dollars.

At the same time, Abramovich was also good at judging the situation and very skillful.

This could be seen from the fact that after the current strongman of Russia came to power, those oligarchs were exiled or fled, only Abramovich could remain standing.

Speaking of which, Abramovich’s identity was also very interesting. His father was Jewish, and his mother was Ukrainian. He became an orphan at the age of three, was raised by his uncle, and was now regarded as a Russian oligarch – this complex identity, in the eyes of Baron, who had the memories of 19 years ago… was very interesting. After all, in his original timeline, he had also become a citizen of Israel, which was simply full of hot topics.

“Bonnie and I also have a lot to talk about, especially in fashion. I’m surprised to find that our tastes are so consistent…”

Sasha Zhukova said to Baron and the others with a smile.

Speaking of which, the background of Abramovich’s new girlfriend was also not simple.

Zhukova’s father was a well-known Russian arms dealer and oil tycoon, who later immigrated to England…

And she grew up in America with her divorced mother, speaking fluent American English.

Another thing worth mentioning was that Zhukova’s ex-boyfriend was the Russian tennis emperor Marat Safin, and the two had just broken up this year.

However, even so, Zhukova and Abramovich had appeared together as a couple, but Abramovich had not yet divorced his current wife – the two would start a divorce battle next year, and in the end, Abramovich gained his freedom for a price of 1 billion pounds.

Of course, as far as Baron knew, Abramovich and the socialite in front of him, their eventual marriage did not last.

That was in his previous life, the events that happened later.

…

“Are you interested in fashion again, darling?”

On the way back, Baron, in the car, held Bonnie’s hand and casually asked.

“Have you forgotten that I almost started a fashion brand with Victoria?”

Uh, Baron sincerely believed that in terms of fashion, if Bonnie was interested, cooperating with Dasha Zhukova would be more promising than cooperating with Mrs. Beckham. At least as far as he knew, Zhukova’s fashion brand launched with her Chinese friend was developing well, and she later took over the British fashion magazine “POP” and did a good job.

This meeting with Abramovich also brought Baron another gain.

Abramovich once again invested 500 million pounds in his Caesar Fund – although he was abroad and had obtained a British visa, Abramovich was still secretly controlling his assets in Russia, but he gradually transferred the substantial profits he obtained overseas.

After investing in the Mars Fund before, Abramovich felt the difference of this fund in the operation of United Energy Group in the Caesar Fund, so he also regarded it as a part of his asset allocation.

…

The Digital Future Tower located in the East End of London was completed. Baron did not attend the unveiling ceremony, but he was still very concerned about this project.

In January, Caesar Fund established the Digital Future Investment Company to invest in British local internet technology companies. They successively bought 60% of the shares of DailyVedio.com website, thereby investing funds to develop this video sharing website.

At the same time, they also bought an old warehouse in the old city of the East End of London, the future location of London’s Tech City, and built the Digital Future Tower on the original site. This would serve as the incubation park of Digital Future Investment Company, providing assistance to British internet startups.

Now that the Digital Future Tower was finally completed, DailyVedio would also move its headquarters here, becoming the first internet company to move into the Digital Future Tower.

“Silicon Valley in America is the driving center of their internet industry, and because of the continuous and healthy development of Silicon Valley, a large number of internet giants have emerged…”

At this time, in the villa on Dream Island, Baron discussed this matter with the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Gordon Brown:

“Compared with the United States, or even Chinese companies, the development of the internet in Europe can be said to be disappointing. Many domestic talents have ultimately chosen to go to Silicon Valley to develop. I also hope to change this situation. At least in the field of the internet, we in Britain should do something, and this also needs to be supported by the government.”

“It’s just starting there, and it hasn’t formed a scale, so the government is also suitable to intervene…”

Brown frowned slightly and said:

“But I also agree with your view. We also need to try our best to promote the internet technology, but we need an opportunity.”

In fact, in 1997, after Blair was elected Prime Minister, he hoped to change the image of the old industrial empire of Britain and proposed the “New Britain” concept.

As part of the New Britain plan, London was positioned to become a “City of Creativity”, and the East End of London, located between the West End of London and the City of London, became one of the preferred locations for the City of Creativity.

However, it was not until Cameron took office in 2010 that the slogan of developing the technology industry was officially put forward.

The plan at the time was that the government would create a series of technology innovation centers in the next four years to promote the development of Britain’s high-tech industry.

In November of the same year, the government invested 400 million pounds, with Silicon Roundabout as the core, and prepared to build – East London Tech City.

East London Tech City was defined as a technology cluster dominated by technology, digital, and creative companies, and was the “Silicon Valley” of Europe.

However, in Baron’s view, it was still a bit late to start proposing the concept of London Tech City in 2010, just like in the original timeline. By that time, the so-called London Tech City would probably only rely too much on American giants like Google and Facebook.

Therefore, he discussed this matter with Brown this time, still hoping that at least after he built the Digital Future incubation park to a certain scale, and after Brown took over the reins of power two years later, he could provide financial and policy support there in advance.

Chapter 412: Baidu Goes Public

Time quickly arrived on August 5th. This day was also the day Baidu went public on NASDAQ.

Prior to this, after converting the convertible preferred shares held, DS Capital held 5,000,000 shares of Baidu, and Rich23 Capital held 745,000 shares of Baidu.

And at the last moment before the listing, Baidu increased its stock’s initial public offering price from the original range of 17 to 19 US dollars per share to 27 US dollars per share.

Rich23 Capital participated in the subscription, spending 27,000,000 US dollars to subscribe for 1,000,000 new shares.

At 10:00 AM New York time, August 5, 2005, the personnel involved in Baidu’s IPO, led by Baidu CEO Mr. Li, entered the Goldman Sachs Group’s office to jointly witness the historic moment of Baidu’s first transaction. Around 11:35 AM, the first transaction was completed, and the stock price rose to 72 US dollars, an increase of 200%. Everyone applauded thunderously!

Baidu created history for NASDAQ, and Wall Street began to boil!

It can be said that Baidu’s first day of listing this time was record-breaking.

The initial public offering price of their stock was 27 US dollars, and the opening price was 66 US dollars, 39 US dollars higher than the offering price!

On this day, Baidu’s stock price once reached a high of 151.21 US dollars, and finally closed at a price of 122.54 US dollars, an increase of 354% compared to the offering price. This figure was the highest first-day increase for a new company listed on the American stock market this century.

Based on this offering price, Baidu’s current market capitalization is close to 4,000,000,000 US dollars.

And the 5,000,000 shares of Baidu held by DS Capital are worth over 600,000,000 US dollars—they initially invested only 15,000,000 US dollars, a full 40 times increase!

Rich23 Capital’s total holding of 1,745,000 shares of Baidu stock is also worth 214,000,000 US dollars.

Although many media analyses believe that Baidu’s current high stock price has a bubble—because Baidu’s current market capitalization is 279 times its 2004 revenue (14,200,000 US dollars), while Google’s market capitalization is only 26 times its 2004 revenue (3,200,000,000 US dollars)—Baron knew that Baidu’s stock price still had considerable room for growth in the future, so the Baidu shares they currently held would continue to be retained.

Yes, Google’s market capitalization surpassed 80,000,000,000 US dollars in June and is currently at over 83,000,000,000 US dollars.

At this time, the 20,000,000 shares of Google held by DS Capital were worth over 6,000,000,000 US dollars, and the 10,000,000 shares of Google held by Rich23 Capital were also worth more than 3,000,000,000 US dollars.

It can be said that they both had substantial returns from this investment.

Before, when DS Capital acquired the Gucci Group, they had used the shares of many companies they held as collateral for loans, including Google’s shares.

And with Google’s current stock price, if they wanted to, they could continue to take out additional loans…

……

A few days after Baidu’s successful listing, United Energy Group also completed the acquisition of Unocal.

However, at the same time as acquiring Unocal, they also made progress in their acquisition negotiations with the British National Grid Company regarding their natural gas business.

The board of directors of British National Grid basically agreed to United Energy Group’s offer of 5,000,000,000 British pounds for their natural gas pipeline business.

However, the acquisition method still needs further negotiation.

Due to the fact that United Energy Group’s stock price rose again by more than 10% after completing the acquisition of Unocal…

British National Grid believes that United Energy Group’s stock price is too high at this time, and at the current price, they cannot accept an acquisition in the form of stock—originally, United Energy Group had proposed to use a combination of cash and stock for this acquisition. At the beginning of the negotiations, United Energy Group’s stock price was around 12.5 British pounds, but now, their stock price has risen to over 14 British pounds.

Therefore, British National Grid is more inclined to have United Energy Group conduct this acquisition entirely in cash.

You must know that after the recently completed acquisition of Unocal, United Energy Group will pay 12,600,000,000 US dollars in cash for this, and the 5,000,000,000 British pounds they obtained from previous financing were all used to pay for this acquisition. They also need to obtain financing from Goldman Sachs Group and JP Morgan Chase.

The acquisition of the British National Grid’s natural gas business requires 5,000,000,000 US dollars…

Well, United Energy Group had previously reached an agreement with Chevron to sell Unocal’s oil and gas resources in the United States for 4,000,000,000 US dollars.

In addition, they are also secretly contacting CNOOC, which was unsuccessful in the acquisition of Unocal, and are preparing to sell them a certain oil and gas block in Asia.

It is expected that CNOOC will be very interested in this because, compared to other oil and gas resources, the oil and gas resources in the Asian region are closer to China and are also more convenient for CNOOC to transport back to China after extraction, thereby filling their energy demand gap.

To be honest, Baron would be very happy with a complete cash acquisition, but the key is to solve the funding problem.

Then, after selling a certain amount of oil and gas resources to CNOOC, it is estimated that they, plus Chevron’s purchase funds, will be able to solve over 3,500,000,000 British pounds of funds.

The remaining 1,500,000,000 British pounds of funds are relatively not too difficult.

Not to mention issuing bonds again, even if the current United Energy Group borrows from banks, it can completely solve the funding gap.

After completing the acquisition of the British National Grid’s natural gas business and merging it with the natural gas pipeline of the original Northern Natural Gas Company, United Energy Group’s natural gas pipeline business will be able to account for more than 30% of the British market, becoming one of the largest natural gas pipelines in Britain.

But the market share in the British natural gas pipeline market is almost at this level. If they continue to acquire and expand United Energy Group’s share in the natural gas pipeline business, I am afraid that the British market regulatory agencies will not let go of their anti-monopoly investigation.

……

Originally, in Baron’s previous life, News Corporation would have reached an acquisition of MySpace in July.

However, after Baron talked with Evanta last time, and after IC Capital communicated with MySpace’s founding team, they rejected News Corporation’s acquisition price of 650,000,000 US dollars and claimed that they would not consider a price below 700,000,000 US dollars.

In this way, after delaying this matter until August, News Corporation finally made up its mind and accepted the price proposed by MySpace. They agreed to acquire MySpace for 700,000,000 US dollars!

IC Capital holds 49% of MySpace’s shares, so at this price, they will receive nearly 350,000,000 US dollars in funds…

Chapter 413: Before the Wedding

Indeed, at this time, without the appearance of Facebook, and with Woaw Technology being a British company, MySpace really had the potential to develop, at least better than it did in the original timeline.

But Barron still decided to sell MySpace to News Corporation instead of letting IC Capital continue to develop it, thereby essentially monopolizing the entire social networking track behind the scenes.

After all, doing so was like having two barbershops at the entrance of a residential area, seemingly competing with each other, but actually having the same owner…

This kind of thing might be difficult for ordinary people to understand, but the Administration for Industry and Commerce would know the situation with a single investigation.

Although IC Capital appeared to have no relationship with Barron, could it really hide it from everyone? Barron, now, didn’t need to play this kind of “spy game” at all, because once it was discovered, not only would MySpace and Woaw both receive a huge fine for creating a monopoly, but it would even affect all of Barron’s assets in the United States and even globally.

This was simply not worth it.

Since he was going to sell MySpace, the best buyer was still News Corporation.

After all, News Corporation’s operation of MySpace in the previous life showed that handing MySpace over to them wouldn’t pose too much of a threat to Woaw.

In the traditional media field, News Corporation was a powerful opponent, but in the internet industry, their management style was really somewhat “eager for quick success and instant benefits,” and didn’t suit the development of this industry.

It was precisely this that allowed MySpace to be a suitable opponent for Woaw.

……

After SEM Group completed the acquisition of ITV, the British television industry once again formed a “three giants” pattern, namely BBC, Sky Television, and ITV.

However, the current ITV was already the ITV after being acquired by SEM Group, merged with SDTV, and had a new unified station logo.

After the acquisition, the original ITV CEO, Michael Grade, was also appointed as the CEO of Summit Media after this acquisition.

And the original strategic mergers and acquisitions department also became the strategic development department, and Joe Harriman, due to his outstanding performance in the acquisition of ITV, was appointed as a director of the strategic development department.

The next task for the strategic development department was to evaluate SEM Group’s other businesses and inject them into the listed company, Summit Media.

Because after Summit Media went public, they felt more and more that the change in equity due to Summit Media becoming a listed company had created a split in its coordination with SEM Group’s other businesses.

After all, SEM Group’s shareholders only consisted of DS Capital, which held 90% of the shares, and the Sinclair Group, which held 10%.

And Summit Media previously had 20% of the shares in circulation, and after completing the acquisition of ITV, a considerable proportion of the shares also fell into the hands of ITV’s shareholders.

Therefore, the first thing now was to solve this problem, so that SEM Group could return to being a whole.

SEM Group’s main assets outside of Summit Media were three parts: the Independent newspaper, a 45.9% stake in Digital UK, and an initial 30% stake in Giant Studio, now named Stuart Media.

After valuing these businesses and injecting them into Summit Media, this stock would be renamed SEM Group. Apart from the change in the name of the listed company and the change in the shareholding ratio, in fact, there wouldn’t be much change in the company’s operations.

Well, there was also one thing, which was that when the time came, SEM Group’s shares in Digital UK would be merged with the Digital UK shares previously held by ITV, which were now held by Peak Entertainment after the acquisition. They would hold a total of 59.4% of Digital UK’s shares, close to the original four-to-six ratio between them and the BBC in Digital UK.

But at this time, Barron was no longer too concerned about these things.

Because… Bonnie was pregnant.

The news had just been confirmed, and Bonnie had specifically gone to the best obstetrics and gynecology hospital in London for a checkup.

This wasn’t the first time Barron was going to be a father. Before this, he already had two daughters, Jennifer Cavendish and Ethel Booth, and now there was another child in Catherine Neville’s belly, who was due in about two months. It had already been confirmed by ultrasound that it was a daughter…

But the difference was that this time, Bonnie Stuart, who was pregnant, was his official girlfriend.

And at Barron’s current age, he was about to celebrate his 26th birthday, and it was also time to consider the issue of an heir.

Although by now, the inheritance of noble titles didn’t necessarily have to be a legitimate male heir, only a male descendant with a blood relationship was needed, but relatively speaking, illegitimate children were not considered decent for a high-ranking noble like a duke.

So faced with this situation, Barron ultimately decided to hold a wedding with Bonnie Stuart in the near future.

However, both of them already had an understanding about this. Bonnie wasn’t unaware that Barron had other women outside, and in fact, this matter had been accepted by her after their previous brief “breakup” and reunion.

Even though the two of them did have deep feelings for each other, it was impossible for Barron to sever his relationship with other women after the wedding.

Among those women were also heiresses from wealthy families like Tamara Ecclestone, the Hearst sisters, and Ivanka Trump, and it was impossible to let them always remain in the role of “lovers.”

Therefore, this marriage between Barron and Bonnie Stuart was destined from the very beginning not to last until the end.

This was often an unspoken rule in high society, and even after a divorce, that “ex-wife” was very likely to continue living a de facto married life as before.

But before this wedding, there were still more than one thing that needed to be resolved…

At least Barron’s financial advisors would have to start getting busy.

Including his holdings in DS Capital and many companies, some disposal would be needed.

Soon, they would transfer some shares to the Devonshire family trust fund, and other shares, including those in DS Capital, would be held by a new trust fund registered in the British Virgin Islands.

The so-called trust fund was a way for many wealthy people to handle family assets, to avoid high inheritance taxes, and to prevent assets from being divided among future generations.

There are three key parties in a trust fund: the settlor, the trustee, and the beneficiary.

For example, Barron would package the shares of a company into a certain trust fund, then Barron would be the settlor of this trust fund. This portion of the shares would be managed by a professional organization after entering the trust fund, which is the trustee; and if Barron leaves the property of this trust fund to his children, then his children would be the beneficiaries.

The reason why he chose to register this trust fund in the British Virgin Islands this time was because it was the only place that allowed a trust fund where the settlor, the trustee, and the beneficiary were the same person.

That is, in trust funds registered elsewhere, the trustee needs to find another person or institution to manage it, but a trust fund registered in the British Virgin Islands can have Barron himself as the settlor, the trustee, and the beneficiary.

What was the function of this?

It was to inject assets into such a trust fund before the wedding, so that the ownership and control of the assets still belonged to Barron himself, but this part of the assets was already a trust fund with a “public attribute,” and its assets and subsequent income were no longer related to the couple’s joint property…

Just like in the original timeline, before JD.com’s CEO, Liu Qiangdong, married his wife, “Milk Tea Sister,” he put all of his JD.com shares into a trust fund registered in the British Virgin Islands, and later his annual salary was set at one yuan.

Why did “Milk Tea Sister” still need to do her best to maintain their marriage after the incident of Liu Qiangdong being set up by a beautiful woman?

The reason was here. Was she supposed to get a divorce and divide Liu Qiangdong’s one-yuan salary every year?

Chapter 414: Preparation

Baron and Bonnie set their wedding date for a month from now—after all, even though his wedding this time would be relatively low-key, this low-key was still low-key in the face of the public. The wedding process would refuse media entry and limit guest photography, but the wedding would still be incredibly luxurious, giving the participants an unforgettable memory.

For such a wedding, a month of preparation time was already considered quite tight, and preparations needed to begin now.

And in a month, Bonnie’s figure wouldn’t change too much, and wearing a wedding dress wouldn’t be a problem.

As for the wedding guests, let’s just say that with Baron’s current status, if he openly invited everyone, no matter how large the venue, it would still feel crowded.

Therefore, he would only invite friends and partners who were relatively close to him to attend—it had already been confirmed that as the most dazzling Duke of the English dukedoms, the Duke of Devonshire’s wedding would see the attendance of Her Majesty the Queen and almost all members of the royal family.

A month seemed like a long time, but in fact, wanting to be thorough in every aspect was still not that easy.

It could be said that from now on, countless people would be busy for Baron’s wedding.

“Darling, you’re getting married soon, which is a happy thing, so why don’t you look so happy?”

Countess Chris sat beside Bonnie and said to her cousin.

“No, I’m very happy…”

Bonnie showed a smile and said:

“It’s just, Chris, you know, our marriage this time… although this is what I’ve always hoped for, but when I really face this, thinking that one day, in the end…”

“I understand, Bonnie.”

Chris held her hand and said:

“But you should understand that even for ordinary people, marriage is never that pure, not to mention him… the marriages of people like us involve even more complex matters.”

“I understand this, but I still feel a bit… emotionally complicated. Perhaps I shouldn’t have placed my expectations so perfectly.”

The Countess smiled and said:

“It’s normal for you to have many thoughts now. Perhaps it’s because you’re pregnant, and Baron needs an heir… but you should also think, Bonnie, that there are countless women in all of England, and even the whole world, who would be vying to give him an heir and be willing to obtain the title of Duchess. But why is it you, and not someone else? This still shows Baron’s feelings for you. With this feeling, and the identity of your future child, then no matter what, you’re already in an invincible position. As for future matters, thinking too much about them now is just asking for trouble.”

Indeed, as the Countess said, there were many women who wanted to sit in the position of the Duchess of Devonshire.

And after Baron’s wedding date was confirmed, he also needed to deal with the soothing of some women.

Not to mention the Hearst sisters far away in America, right here in England, Baron had to face the little emotions of Miss Tamara Ecclestone.

In The Holme mansion in Regent’s Park, Baron, in addition to dealing with many things, also took the time to spend a few days with Tamara, and finally coaxed her into a good mood, but she still indicated that she would temporarily leave London and go on a trip to relax during this period…

Well, this was already a good result.

“Your Grace, we have met with Mr. Fu Chengyu, the chairman of CNOOC. Regarding the sale of the oil and gas block near Thailand owned by Unocal, we have basically finalized the deal, and Mr. Fu is very interested in it.”

What CEO of United Energy Group, Eperly Singleton, mentioned on the phone was an oil and gas resource block located in the waters of Thailand with reserves of about 300 million barrels. They were prepared to sell it to CNOOC for 2.5 billion dollars.

CNOOC was also very interested in this, after all, the location of this block was, among all of Unocal’s oil and gas resources, the closest to China, making it very convenient for CNOOC to extract the oil and gas resources and transport them back to China.

They themselves had already cooperated with CNOOC’s listed subsidiary, CNOOC Services, in the past, and this cooperative relationship was also deepening.

Although United Energy Group ultimately “defeated” CNOOC and Chevron in the acquisition of Unocal and achieved the final victory.

But from the previous process of participating in the merger, CNOOC also understood that even without the appearance of United Energy Group, it would be difficult for them to take Unocal from Chevron.

And now being able to purchase an oil and gas block from Unocal that was most convenient for them to extract could also be said to be better than nothing.

In this way, just by selling a portion of Unocal’s oil and gas resources, United Energy Group had obtained a total of 6.5 billion dollars from Chevron and CNOOC respectively.

According to the current exchange rate of about 1.75 pounds to the dollar, United Energy Group had already solved more than 3.7 billion pounds of funds.

By continuing to raise another 1.3 billion pounds or so, they would be able to complete the acquisition of their natural gas business from the National Grid company of England.

This wasn’t difficult, because United Energy Group’s debt-to-asset ratio wasn’t too high at the moment, and it was very simple to either issue corporate bonds or seek loans from banks.

“In addition, there’s the refining project. We have already begun to dismantle the equipment of a refining plant located in Santa Paula, preparing to transport it to Kolo and restart the refining plant there…”

What Eperly Singleton was talking about was a medium-sized petrochemical refining plant jointly invested by United Energy Group and Kolo Petroleum Company, located more than thirty kilometers away from Loti, the capital of Kolo. This would also be Kolo’s first refining project, used to refine part of the crude oil extracted from the Kolo offshore oil field to supply domestic needs and export overseas.

After all, exporting crude oil directly not only yielded less profit relatively, but also wouldn’t play such a big role in driving Kolo’s domestic economy.

And the equipment of this refining plant would be dismantled and transported directly from Unocal’s oil base in California, USA, and they would also be able to solve the placement of some personnel—with most of the technical personnel sent by the original Unocal company for guidance, thereby ensuring the start-up of the Kolo refining plant.

Unocal’s refining plant in California had high labor costs—after all, the wages of blue-collar workers in America were definitely not comparable to those in Asia and Africa, which was why the petrochemical projects currently under construction were all located in Asia.

After transferring the equipment to Kolo, not only would the labor costs be greatly reduced, but it would also have a driving effect on Kolo’s economic development.

As for whether the local workers in Kolo could handle the work in these factories?

In the early stages, it was definitely necessary to conduct the necessary training, which could be done during the period of equipment dismantling and transportation.

And the technical personnel of this oil refining plant would still be mainly those sent by Unocal, and then gradually cultivate local technical personnel with a certain level of education.

As for the grassroots workers, it could only be said that they would try to reduce accidents, especially fatal accidents, which was also unavoidable. Wanting to start development from scratch was also a necessary cost.

Chapter 415: GII Fund Phase Two

By the end of August, Fast Retailing, the parent company of Uniqlo, had also completed the acquisition of the Primark clothing chain.

At this time, the market capitalization of Fast Retailing had reached around 4 billion US dollars, a significant increase compared to the less than 3 billion US dollars market capitalization when Global Industrial Investment Fund acquired them.

In this acquisition, the Primark clothing chain, which had over 300 stores, was valued at 2.5 billion US dollars (approximately 1.43 billion pounds).

Therefore, after the acquisition of the Primark clothing chain through the issuance of new shares, Primark became one of the sub-brands under Fast Retailing.

Thus, the shareholding structure of Fast Retailing became: Global Industrial Investment Fund held 40% of the shares; Argos Retail Group held 38.46% of the shares; and the shareholding of the Yanai Tadashi family had decreased to below 15%…

Fast Retailing also entered the European market through this acquisition of the Primark clothing chain. Subsequently, they would utilize Primark’s sales data to promote Uniqlo’s store opening plans in Europe.

However, Uniqlo’s future development focus was still the Chinese market. In Barron’s previous life, the Chinese market was Uniqlo’s second-largest market in terms of the number of stores, second only to the Japanese market, and it contributed the most profit. This demonstrated the importance of this market to Uniqlo.

At the same time, Primark would also leverage Fast Retailing’s channels to begin expanding into the Asian market, particularly the Japanese and Chinese markets.

This acquisition also had another benefit for Fast Retailing: after merging the manufacturing departments of both sides, they gained economies of scale. The entire Fast Retailing’s cost control would also be better than before, making them more competitive.

Following this, Fast Retailing also established a partnership with Argos Retail Group. Their brands, including Uniqlo and Primark, would be launched on Argos Retail Group’s online store, Argos.com, and they would build a central freight warehouse in France to serve the entire European market, providing goods for the sales of Argos.com and their various branches.

As Argos Retail Group targeted the e-commerce sector, they also began investing in establishing a European-wide network, entering each country, starting from central freight warehouses and pick-up networks, coupled with their cooperation with YINGYUN Logistics. They could currently cover the most prime areas of Western Europe.

The share of sales through their Argos.com website also grew from less than 10% initially to over 25% currently. It could be said that this contributed greatly to the growth of Argos Retail Group’s turnover.

……

“The profits from shorting in the foreign exchange market are only so-so, not yet reaching our ideal situation, but the situation is relatively more satisfactory in terms of crude oil futures.”

As she said this to Barron, Daisy also brought up the exchange rate of the Euro against the US dollar and the trends in international crude oil prices.

Regarding international crude oil, the price had already reached 60 US dollars in early August. By the end of August, it had continued to rise and was about to enter the 70 US dollars price range.

It could be said that the price of international crude oil had been steadily increasing throughout this month, and DS Investment Company, which had been long on crude oil futures, had also made a fortune.

“In addition, there’s the Mars Fund. According to our calculations, we will be able to obtain over 1 billion US dollars in income from this profit sharing.”

Speaking of this, a smile couldn’t help but appear on Daisy’s face. This was not surprising; such high returns also meant that her bonus would not be too low.

September was approaching, which also meant that the Mars Fund would once again open its investment window.

Last year, the Mars Fund had obtained over 600 million US dollars in profit sharing, and this year, that number had increased to over 1 billion US dollars.

Of course, this also meant that the Mars Fund had brought even richer returns to its users. The total size of this fund had already exceeded 7 billion US dollars, and it was estimated that soon, after this investment window closed, it would be able to exceed 10 billion US dollars.

Barron planned to put the profit sharing from the Mars Fund into the Global Industrial Investment Fund.

To be precise, it would be the second phase of the GII Fund.

The previous first phase of the GII Fund had obtained a total of 6 billion US dollars in funds for investment, including 1.8 billion US dollars in funds from DS Capital itself.

These funds had almost all been invested, including investments in Fast Retailing, the Four Seasons Hotels Group, and the acquisition of the London Stock Exchange, among other projects.

However, Barron also found that in terms of attracting funds, the GII Fund was still relatively inferior compared to the later Caesar Fund, mainly due to the participation of funds from the Saudi Public Investment Fund and the Kuwait Investment Authority. The main reason was that the GII Fund was not a fixed-income product like the Caesar Fund, but rather more similar to the Mars Fund, where DS Capital collected investment profit sharing.

In addition, the asset appreciation of the projects that the GII Fund had previously invested in during this year was not as obvious as that of the Caesar Fund—mainly because the performance of the United Energy Group, in which the Caesar Fund invested, was too outstanding, while the GII Fund lacked such “star projects.”

Although Barron knew that in terms of final returns, the GII Fund would definitely be higher than the Caesar Fund, it would take a longer time to manifest, and often in investments, people subconsciously focused on short-term results.

Although the Saudi Public Investment Fund and the Kuwait Investment Authority had not expressed anything in the GII Fund’s investments, it could be seen from the subsequent fund injections that, from the current perspective, the Caesar Fund’s form was more popular with investors.

Therefore, Barron decided to end the first phase of the GII Fund for now and would not seek further investment in the short term, but instead establish a second phase of the GII Fund.

The second phase of the GII Fund would imitate the form of the Caesar Fund, primarily providing clients with fixed-income products with a term of 3-5 years, and the profit sharing from the Mars Fund this time would mainly serve as DS Capital’s own funds, invested into the second phase of the GII Fund.

However, Barron now had the confidence to obtain investments at a lower yield. Therefore, in the future, whether it was the Caesar Fund or the second phase of the GII Fund, the yield of their fixed-income investment products would not be as high as before, and it would be set at an annualized fixed income of 8%-10%.

Even at this yield, it was very attractive among relatively formal and large-scale investment products—of course, it couldn’t compare to the Madoff Fund’s “Ponzi scheme.”

But if he really wanted to pursue high returns and invest in Madoff, Barron could only chuckle.

However, speaking of which, Madoff would indeed not absorb just any funds. After all, he was an experienced financial professional. The fact that the Madoff Fund could last so long, if it hadn’t encountered the subprime mortgage crisis, it might not have exploded so early, and it wasn’t without reason.

As everyone knows, the so-called Ponzi scheme is to use the principal of later investors to pay the interest of earlier investors…

Therefore, to sustain this scheme, it is very important to control the rhythm of fund absorption.

It’s not that the more funds “swindled” at once, the better. Instead, the amount of funds needed to be absorbed needs to increase at a certain rhythm, like an inverted pyramid, so that the later increase in funds can maintain the payment of interest to the former, and not collapse due to the insufficient increase to maintain this high-interest game.

Madoff did a good job in this regard. He had been controlling the amount of funds absorbed, even to the point where outsiders felt that only certain qualified people could enter the Madoff Fund, and they regarded being “swindled” by Madoff as a symbol of their own status and position…

Therefore, in this respect, the number of funds absorbed by the Madoff Fund was quite measured. Most people, even if they knew there was such a high-income fund, found it difficult to get in.

This, in turn, prevented them from getting involved in a yield war with other investment funds.

Chapter 416: A Difficult Task

On September 1st, the listed company Apex Media announced that they would issue new shares to acquire other businesses of SEM Group, including its holdings of Digital UK shares, Independent Newspapers, and a 30% stake in Stuart Media.

After completing this acquisition, Apex Media would change its stock name to SEM Group, and the stock code would be SEMC.

This was essentially injecting the entire SEM Group’s assets into Apex Media, a listed company, thereby completing a “backdoor listing”.

The remaining assets of SEM Group were valued at 1.5 billion British pounds—in fact, just their 45.9% stake in Digital UK was worth nearly 1 billion British pounds.

This time, Apex Media would issue 45 million new shares to complete this asset injection.

Of these 45 million shares, allocated to the previous shareholders of SEM Group, DS Capital received 40.5 million shares, and Sinclair Group received 4.5 million shares.

Thus, after completing this injection, DS Capital’s holdings in SEM Group (the listed company) were 130.5 million shares, accounting for 62.14%; Sinclair Group held 14.5 million shares, accounting for 6.9%.

The issuance of these new shares, in exchange for the injected SEM Group assets, was conducted at a price of over 33 British pounds per share, which was an increase of over 10% compared to when they acquired ITV…

Therefore, regarding this asset injection, the other shareholders, including the original ITV shareholders, had no objections.

And after this asset injection and the change of the stock name and code, the opening price of SEM Group’s stock rose again by more than 5%, and the market also held an optimistic attitude towards this operation.

Currently, SEM Group’s stock price is around 34.75 British pounds, with a total share capital of approximately 210 million shares, and a market value of 7.3 billion British pounds, which is comparable to the market value of BBC and Sky Television.

In the current British television media industry, BBC, Sky Television, and SEM Group are the three giants in name and reality.

…

In addition, Argent Real Estate Group also began the roadshow for its IPO listing. This time, they would be listed on the main board of the London Stock Exchange.

According to the plan, Argent Real Estate Group would publicly issue 171 million shares, accounting for 15% of the total share capital after the issuance.

Currently, they have set the stock’s issue price at 4.5-5.5 British pounds. Calculated at the highest price of 5.5 British pounds, Argent Real Estate Group will raise approximately 940 million British pounds through this IPO listing, and by this calculation, Argent Real Estate Group’s market value will also reach 6.27 billion British pounds.

Well, it should be known that before their last financing, DS Capital invested 150 million British pounds and obtained 15% of the shares. At that time, Argent Real Estate Group’s valuation was still 1 billion British pounds.

Now, DS Capital and the Devonshire Family Trust Fund together hold 31% of the shares before the listing, which is approximately 300 million shares. At the issue price of 5.5 British pounds, these shares are already worth 1.65 billion British pounds.

Because they spearheaded the urban renewal plan for King’s Cross—this is the largest urban renewal plan in London in nearly 150 years—Argent Real Estate Group’s prospects are still very highly regarded.

However, what is interesting is that Argent Real Estate Group’s issue price can be set at this level, and the roadshow’s effect is also very satisfactory. One very big factor is that DS Capital is also one of the major shareholders of this real estate group.

It has to be admitted that “believing in the successful” is the most common psychology of people.

And DS Capital, because of its development over these years, has been continuously successful, and it itself has a strong brand effect. The projects they participate in and invest in have also begun to be trusted by investors.

This sense of trust cannot be established overnight. It is only after repeated successes, investments with almost no failures, that it is finally accepted by people and forms a consensus.

Just like in Wall Street, there are countless talents who shine like comets, but those big institutions really trust and invest huge amounts of funds in them are still old players like Berkshire Hathaway, Blackstone, and Vanguard, who have been thriving for a long time.

DS Capital has also begun to move towards the ranks of such “old players”.

For example, the second phase fund of Baron’s Global Industrial Investment Fund, after sending the fund’s relevant policies to those well-known sovereign funds and public funds around the world, received a warm response. Even this time, the second phase fund adopted an annualized fixed-income product, with a yield set at 8-10%, which was lower than the previous Caesar Fund and Athena Fund products (at this time, the annualized yield of these fund products was already the same as the GII second phase fund), which also did not affect the enthusiasm of these investors.

Before the Mars Fund opened this year’s investment window, after taking 1.2 billion US dollars in investment income, DS Capital invested this 1.2 billion US dollars as its own funds into the GII second phase fund.

The investors who came to London this time to participate in the GII second phase fund not only included “Middle Eastern tycoons” such as the Qatar Investment Authority, the Kuwait Investment Authority, and the Saudi Public Investment Fund, but also included public investment funds from the British Isles, such as the pension public investment fund, the Norwegian Government Pension Fund Global, the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, and the Japanese Government Pension Fund, and other Western camp.

Compared to the GII Fund’s first phase fund, with a total fund size of 60 billion US dollars, the second phase fund reached a record-breaking scale of 120 billion US dollars.

This fundraising intensity and speed were unimaginable two years ago when DS Capital had just established the Mars Fund.

And it is often like this, when the scale of this kind of fund is larger, it can give people more trust, making those investors more confident in waving their banknotes to join…

In fact, this was still the result of the GII Fund intentionally limiting the fundraising scale to 120 billion US dollars after refusing a number of investors whose sources were not so “clear”—after all, they didn’t want to cause trouble, and certain funds from military governments in relatively chaotic regions or from Eastern Europe and South America, suspected of being connected to criminal groups, he didn’t want to get involved in.

And often those groups’ actions are more generous and lavish, but Baron’s current position has no need to do this kind of “money laundering” thing at all, even if he can pretend to be ignorant, the relevant international organizations will definitely keep an eye on his GII Fund.

After the establishment of the second phase of the GII Fund, the CEO of the GII Fund, Fynn Hudson, came to London to meet with Baron.

After an afternoon of talks, Fynn Hudson let out a long sigh and said to Baron:

“This is a difficult task, Your Grace.”

“But I believe that if it can be completed, it will change the pattern of this industry.”

Hearing Baron’s confident words, Fynn Hudson’s expression was solemn:

“I hope so, I will do my best to complete it.”

After this talk, Fynn Hudson did not wait for the GII second phase funds to be fully in place and had already taken a flight from London, destination: the Netherlands.

Chapter 417: FingerWorks

“F**k, what are you doing here…”

After receiving the call, Baron sent a car to pick up the two girls and bring them to The Holme mansion, saying to the Hearst sisters with a bit of frustration.

“You’re getting married, can’t I come?”

Amanda raised her head, clenching her teeth and saying, her eyes filled with resentment.

Baron felt even more awkward when he heard her words, and looked at her sister Lydia behind her. The girl didn’t avoid his gaze at this moment, but the gloating look in her eyes didn’t escape Baron’s notice.

“Didn’t you anticipate this before? Baby…”

Uh, take that back. If he said that, he would probably enrage this girl even more.

“Baby, although… well, you know what’s going to happen soon, but I promise, my love for you… for you all, won’t change at all. Moreover, I can guarantee that one day I will let you wear a wedding dress and become my bride…”

After Baron embraced Amanda and spoke a string of sweet nothings, the girl’s expression finally showed signs of thawing from the cold…

“Then… what about me?”

Lydia’s voice rang out, and Baron braced himself and gave her a gentle look:

“You too…”

“S**t, you’re such a bastard, a scumbag, Baron!”

Amanda had originally shown a smile, but after hearing this conversation between her sister and Baron, she struggled a bit and cursed.

However, there was obviously no initial anger in these words.

“Alright, baby, I’ll spend a few days with you, and then go back to New York and wait for me, okay? I’ll be there soon…”

“No, I want to attend your wedding!”

Baron thought that this “interlude” was over, but he didn’t expect Amanda… and Lydia, the two of them actually insisted on this.

What are they trying to do?

Are they going to have a wife-before-marriage situation…

Messing around!

But thinking about it, it feels a bit exciting…

Well, Baron himself suppressed such thoughts. He definitely couldn’t leave these two unstable factors until the wedding day. Who knows what these two Hearst family heiresses could do.

There was nothing he could do. A true man could only do his best and die only after he was exhausted…

Speaking of which, this was the first time Baron had… that is, learned knowledge with the two sisters.

It was indeed different from when he was alone. Anyway, the atmosphere was full, plus his super strong learning ability, and he finally managed to get the two of them filled with positive energy.

…

“The Fingerworks company you asked me to acquire, Apple contacted us again recently and hopes to acquire them from IC Capital. This time they offered a price of 50 million US dollars.”

After the Hearst sisters’ “surprise attack,” Baron called Ivanka with lingering fear. Well, at least he could probe indirectly whether this one would also take a “spontaneous trip” before his wedding…

But fortunately, the more rational Ivanka, her mind was still more focused on her career, but because of this, Baron got this news.

In 1998, two technicians from the University of Delaware invented multi-touch technology. Soon after, they registered a small company to start their business. This unknown company was called FingerWorks.

However, FingerWorks’ development in the first few years was not smooth.

In the late 90s, the popular touch screen products were mainly liquid crystal single-touch technology. The invention of multi-touch technology was difficult to produce truly mature and inexpensive products under the hardware conditions at the time.

In 2000, FingerWorks, like many start-up companies, was still worried about what products the company should produce and how to make a profit.

By chance, they met a business-savvy investor, Jeff White, at an investor conference. The latter offered to join after seeing their technology demonstration and patent situation, and promised to help them make a profit, on the condition that he was responsible for the company’s management and operation.

Under Jeff White’s management, FingerWorks began to contact companies such as IBM, Microsoft, and NEC.

However, these companies were not very interested in this patent, which, with the technology at the time, was difficult to make with “forward-thinking” ideas for ordinary consumers, so FingerWorks’ promotion was not smooth.

And in the catalog of technology companies that Ivanka had provided to Baron before, he unexpectedly saw the name of FingerWorks, and in its introduction, the keyword of multi-touch triggered Baron’s memory.

Immediately, he asked IC Capital to buy this company directly for 20 million US dollars.

Sure enough, not long after, in April of this year, Apple contacted Ivanka, hoping to buy FingerWorks from IC Capital.

At that time, IC Capital, because it had acquired DoubleClick, already had a relatively high reputation in the industry. Apple offered a price of 35 million US dollars, but it was rejected by Ivanka.

Then three or four months passed, and Apple seemed to be aware that it was difficult to bypass FingerWorks’ patents in terms of multi-touch technology, so it raised the acquisition price again, to 50 million US dollars. This was already a high price for a patent that seemed to have little practical use at the moment…

Of course, this was for others.

But Baron understood that this multi-touch technology was so important for the future operation of smartphones.

“Should we continue to reject them?”

Hearing Ivanka’s question, Baron said with a smile:

“Yes, baby, but we can propose another plan to them, that is, FingerWorks can permanently license the multi-touch patent technology to Apple and jointly conduct subsequent research and development with them, but there is one condition, that is, both parties jointly own the patent rights of the subsequent technology.”

The multi-touch technology currently owned by FingerWorks still needs to be improved, and it is not very likely to use this to hold back Apple. At most, it would create some obstacles for them and delay the development of their smartphones.

But on the one hand, Baron himself holds a considerable amount of shares in Apple, and the launch of the iPhone is also extremely important for the arrival of the subsequent smartphone era.

The only thing is that it is impossible to sell FingerWorks to Apple. IC Capital owns Android, and the future Android camp also needs the existence of this technology.

“Is this technology important?”

After being together for so long, Ivanka already understood Baron very well. The technology that could be held in his hands like this would definitely not be that simple…

“Yes, baby, it can be said that this is one of the keys to opening an era.”

“Okay, also, I heard that Amanda went to London…”

Uh…

Chapter 418: Skype Takes Off

If refusing Apple’s acquisition of FingerWorks was a decision Baron could make without hesitation, then rejecting another acquisition required a certain amount of courage.

This was eBay’s offer for Skype!

In the early days, DS Capital invested 10 million US dollars and helped its founders resolve the lawsuit against them in the California court, obtaining 60% of the shares. In fact, 10 million US dollars wasn’t a high price, but resolving the lawsuit against Skype’s founders in the California court was relatively more difficult.

To this end, Baron not only used personal connections, having Mr. “Terminator” who was the Governor of California, act as a bridge, but also paid 15 million US dollars to the copyright holders who filed the lawsuit to reach a settlement.

Because of this, Skype’s founding team was very grateful to Baron.

Later, through continuous capital injections, DS Capital’s holdings in Skype had reached 75%; another 10% of the shares were held by O2 Telecom – O2 Telecom later also invested in Skype and engaged in strategic cooperation with it to counter Yahoo! Messenger, which was a collaboration between other telecom companies including BT.

Ultimately, Skype’s founding team still held 15% of the company’s shares and was responsible for the company’s innovation and management.

Recently, the American e-commerce giant eBay took a liking to Skype and offered a price that was hard to refuse, hoping to acquire the internet phone company.

This price was as high as 2.5 billion US dollars in cash plus eBay stock, as well as corresponding stock options – if Skype’s team could achieve the performance growth required by eBay in the coming years, then including these options, the total transaction price would reach 4.1 billion US dollars!

One had to say, this price was really tempting.

As for why eBay wanted to acquire Skype?

One was e-commerce, the other was internet telephony, which seemed to have no significant relationship.

Mainly because, Skype’s current development was indeed very smooth. As of now, Skype had 55 million free phone users and approximately 3 million paying phone registered users in 225 countries and regions worldwide.

Moreover, its free users were increasing at a rate of 150,000 people per day…

When users used Skype, calls between Skype users were free; but if Skype users needed to call other landline or mobile phone users, then a certain fee was required, among which, the fee for calling O2 Telecom users was the lowest – this was of course because O2 Telecom was its shareholder and the two parties had strategic cooperation.

In terms of revenue, Skype’s revenue in 2004 was only 7 million US dollars, but by 2005, its revenue had already reached 35 million US dollars, and it was estimated that Skype’s total revenue for the entire year of 2005 would exceed 60 million US dollars!

By next year, Skype’s revenue would exceed 200 million US dollars!

Therefore, for eBay, Skype’s nearly 60 million users were quite attractive.

In addition, eBay believed that integrating Skype into eBay could improve its users’ communication efficiency, thereby providing momentum for eBay’s business growth.

And at this time, eBay had already acquired the payment system Paypal, and Skype’s paying members had a relatively large overlap with Paypal’s users. Combining eBay, Paypal, and Skype would produce more chemical reactions, thereby increasing eBay’s overall revenue.

In fact, Baron knew that in his previous life, after eBay acquired Skype, the integration wasn’t done well, and this acquisition was even repeatedly rated as one of the top ten most far-fetched acquisitions in the technology industry.

However, this acquisition wasn’t a loss for eBay, because in 2011, Microsoft became the “savior,” acquiring Skype for 8.5 billion US dollars…

eBay handled it, buying and selling, and made a profit of over 2 billion US dollars (it wasn’t that eBay directly sold Skype to Microsoft, but that it first sold 65% of Skype’s shares to a consortium led by Silver Lake Capital in 2009 for 2.75 billion US dollars).

Since that was the case, why would Baron let eBay be this “middleman”…

Moreover, currently, Skype wasn’t without its uses for his industry.

Therefore, although there was some deliberation, they ultimately decisively rejected eBay’s acquisition proposal.

Of course, eBay’s request to buy this time still had its uses…

Some media “accidentally” obtained this news and began to report it extensively.

eBay was still very strong now, a well-known e-commerce giant, and they were willing to pay a high price of 4.1 billion US dollars to acquire Skype, an internet phone company that seemed “ordinary.”

This topic unexpectedly ignited the internet, which also greatly increased Skype’s popularity, making it a hot topic in media reports during this period, and also brought super strong traffic to Skype, causing its recent user growth curve to take off directly…

Looking at it this way, continuing to develop, not following the path of the original timeline, and at the right time, letting Skype directly go public with an IPO, wasn’t impossible.

Speaking of which, according to the intelligence Baron received regarding eBay’s high-priced acquisition, Skype’s founding team wasn’t unmoved.

After all, they still held 15% of Skype’s shares, and according to eBay’s offer of 4.1 billion US dollars including equity incentives, they could get more than 600 million US dollars!

It could be said that with this, these “poor souls” who were originally running around because of the court lawsuit could immediately achieve financial freedom.

But the key was whether to sell Skype now, DS Capital had the most say.

However, they still needed their founding team to manage Skype, so to appease them, Baron also had DS Holdings’ CEO, Amber Sheen, paint them a picture.

“Young people shouldn’t be blinded by short-term interests, just hold on a little longer, manage Skype well, and when the time is right, go public with an IPO. At that time, Skype’s market value, not to mention tens of billions of US dollars, sixty or seventy billion US dollars would be a sure thing, wouldn’t you be better off than selling yourselves to the nouveau riche? Blah blah blah…”

Anyway, the final effect was still good, and the members of Skype’s founding team were like they had been injected with adrenaline, starting to research how to optimize the software and strive for more paying users…

Of course, this couldn’t be said to be simply painting a picture, but it was really possible to achieve.

Could it be that eBay was just stupid and rich? Then wouldn’t Microsoft also be just stupid and rich?

They would be willing to offer this price, which could only mean that Skype had such value.

Prices are all shouted out, uh, not just shouted out, they’re bought out.

If someone is willing to offer this price, then everyone will really think it’s worth this price, so saying that Skype just needs to develop steadily, and when it goes public with an IPO, as long as the data is much improved compared to now, then the market value at that time will inevitably be much higher than eBay’s offer at this time.

It’s just a game of capital, that’s how it is.

Chapter 419: Gift

Since entering September, with Baron’s wedding date approaching, the entire Chatsworth House was no longer open to the public. Instead, various preparations were underway to welcome the young Duke of Devonshire’s wedding.

Even the chapel within the manor underwent emergency repairs—it would serve as an important venue for the wedding ceremony and needed to welcome guests in the most perfect condition possible.

Therefore, the location for Baron’s wedding was chosen within the family’s traditional residence, Chatsworth House. There was probably no place more suitable.

Even though the preparations for his wedding were extremely low-key, all the guests received invitations delivered by special personnel—decorated with gold thread, bearing the Devonshire family crest, and written in the most standard script with ink containing gold powder, making them suitable for collection.

Even guests far overseas, even those across the Pacific Ocean in America, would be personally delivered invitations by special personnel traveling by plane.

However, the news of his wedding was still disclosed by some tabloids like The Sun.

But these had little impact. Baron vividly demonstrated that it wasn’t only weddings on small islands that could be kept completely secret. Even though he chose Chatsworth House as the wedding location, neither tabloid reporters nor curious members of the public could pry into the inner workings and scenes.

Therefore, he mobilized a “force” of 1,500 people from the security company, Protector Security, to surround Chatsworth House, not allowing any outsiders to enter.

Even a week before the wedding, two helicopters patrolled the area within a five-kilometer radius of the manor house around the clock. This level of security eliminated any possibility of sneaking in to observe.

When Her Majesty the Queen arrived at Chatsworth House the day before the wedding, she couldn’t help but complain that there was no need for the Royal Guard to stand guard anymore; the security here was even tighter than at her major events…

Yes, Her Majesty the Queen arrived at Chatsworth House the day before the wedding. Accompanying her were almost all members of the Royal Family.

Her Majesty the Queen stayed in the bedroom where Queen Victoria had stayed when she visited Chatsworth House, which could be considered a historical tradition.

Besides all the members of the Royal Family who came to the wedding, the distinguished guests who arrived later included Jeb Bush, the younger brother of the American President, currently serving as the Governor of Florida—since the President was unable to attend, he and his wife represented the Bush family at the wedding; Joey Hastert, the Speaker of the American House of Representatives, and the longest-serving Speaker in American history—the son of Dennis Hastert, he came to the wedding on behalf of his father; and several members of the Kennedy family… It’s worth mentioning that there wasn’t any special scene when the Bush family and the Kennedy family met; they were all at peace.

From the Middle East, there was Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia—the future “strongest Crown Prince,” along with Prince Alwaleed bin Talal and his wife; the Crown Prince of Kuwait, Sheikh Saad Al-Abdullah Al-Salim Al-Sabah, and the Director-General of the Kuwait Investment Authority, Bader Mohammad Al-Saad; the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, and others…

From China, Li Ka-shing brought his two sons, along with Jack Ma, Pony Ma, and other entrepreneurs who were also invited to Chatsworth House.

In addition, others included the Duke of Westminster and his family, the Earl of Booth. and his family, the Prime Minister, Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown, the Leader of the Conservative Party, Howard, as well as Cameron, Johnson, and others…

…

The rest included the managers of Baron’s companies, Julia Moore, Daisy, Amber Sheen, and others.

Although media access was prohibited at the wedding, and the guests had also been communicated with, even if they took photos, they were not to be released to the public. However, there would be a professional photography team; as a media tycoon, Baron certainly had the most reliable and professional team.

And the images from this process were never made public, and it was only decades later that the scene images of this wedding were seen by the public.

Besides the “heavyweight” guests attending this wedding, people were surprised to find that, at the Duke of Devonshire’s wedding, the British politicians in attendance, besides the current British Prime Minister, “coincidentally” included several subsequent British Prime Ministers, including Brown, Cameron, and Johnson… A total of five British Prime Ministers attended this wedding!

Although there were many guests, Chatsworth House had over 300 rooms, enough for these guests to rest temporarily. However, to take care of these people, the Grace Culture and Tourism Group specially dispatched over 500 staff members to serve the guests—all of these people had undergone security checks and signed strict confidentiality agreements.

Before the wedding, Baron also met with John Bogle, the founder of the Vanguard Group, who had come from America.

“I’m very pleased that you could personally attend my wedding, Mr. Bogle.”

Although he was already 76 years old, John Bogle still looked in good spirits. He sat in front of Baron and said with a smile:

“For an old man of my age, traveling across states is indeed challenging, but being able to attend your wedding is still worthwhile. Also, Your Grace, I also brought you a gift…”

“Your presence is already the best gift.”

When meeting with John Bogle, Baron had already vaguely anticipated something.

Sure enough, he said:

“My gift is very valuable, I believe you will understand, Your Grace, that is 5% of the shares of the Vanguard Group, and you can become a member of the Vanguard Group’s board of directors…”

John Bogle looked at Baron with a meaningful gaze:

“This is also the friendship… and the entrance ticket to our big family.”

“A very tempting gift, Mr. Bogle, but… I wonder what I need to give in return?”

Seeing that Baron’s expression was still calm, with a hint of amusement in his tone, Bogle laughed:

“It’s very simple, 15% of the shares of DS Capital, and two seats on the board of directors.”

Baron stood up and walked to the window, looking at the outdoor scenery that was being busily arranged—for this wedding, they had air-freighted 10 tons of fresh flowers from the Netherlands to decorate the scene.

He was silent.

In terms of the scale of assets under management, DS Capital was only at the hundreds of billions of US dollars level, while the Vanguard Group managed trillions of US dollars in assets…

Looking at it this way, getting 5% of the Vanguard Group and having a seat on the board of directors in exchange for 15% of the shares of DS Capital didn’t seem like a loss, and even seemed like a bargain.

But leaving aside the fact that two board seats gave Baron some concerns, he also knew the future prospects of DS Capital. It wasn’t an exaggeration to say that it was not impossible for it to surpass the Vanguard Group in the future.

Because although the Vanguard Group managed a large amount of assets, in fact, the characteristic of the Vanguard Group was its extremely low fees, and the Vanguard Group belonged to its contributors—that is to say, the assets completely belonged to the Vanguard Group itself, and the proportion of these assets in the trillions of dollars scale was not large.

DS Capital, on the other hand, was different. A large proportion of its assets also came from contributors, but the assets it owned itself were much more than outsiders imagined.

Chapter 420: Wedding

“This is what I’ve always hoped for, Mr. Bogel.”

Upon hearing Baron’s words, John Bogel’s face broke into a smile, but then, his smile froze.

“But not now…”

“You mean?”

“Now isn’t the best time. DS Capital has only been around for less than three years, it’s still a toddler. I don’t want to force growth, but rather have a more solid foundation…”

John Bogel’s fingers tapped on the table, with a peculiar rhythm.

After a full minute, he spoke:

“Your Grace, you believe DS Capital still has great development potential, so you don’t want to exchange shares with Leading Group right now… Am I right?”

Without necessarily waiting for Baron to give an answer, Bogel continued on his own:

“But I hope you understand that only by standing with us will there be enough room for development.”

Facing the old man’s veiled threat, Baron replied calmly:

“I never refuse any goodwill, Mr. Bogel. I will only proceed with my plans at my own pace.”

“What if, in addition to the proposal I made, we add a clause similar to a bet? If your DS Capital can reach a corresponding scale in the next five years, then you can get more shares of Leading Group…”

John Bogel’s proposal seemed more reasonable.

But Baron still shook his head and said to him:

“I respect our friendship, so I don’t want anyone to have the idea of shorting DS Capital, so…”

His meaning was very clear. If he really accepted this “bet” plan, then Leading Group would have the opportunity to target DS Capital, thereby shorting them. After all, if DS Capital really reached that so-called “scale”, Leading Group would inevitably lose shares. Seeking profit and avoiding harm, this in itself was the temptation that Leading Group would inevitably have in that situation.

“You’re an ambitious beast, Baron.”

Bogel’s words made Baron laugh:

“If not, then what qualifications would I have to stand with you giants? Mr. Bogel, either sit at the table or be on the menu. I hope we are diners gathered around the table, and there is no need to doubt our ‘friendship’.”

“I admire you, Your Grace, but I hope you understand that our patience is not much.”

“I don’t need much time either…”

……

Although John Bogel had been dealt with for the time being, Baron felt an increasing sense of urgency.

However, at this moment, he needed to deal with more than just John Bogel.

He needed to take time to visit all the guests who came to Chatsworth House, especially Her Majesty the Queen and the Crown Prince.

“Uncle Sean, I’m really happy to see you, especially on this day…”

In the corridor, Baron met Sean, the butler… He had now stepped down from his duties as butler and served as a consultant in the manor, which was also a form of retirement.

Baron gave Sean a hug and, seeing that he was in good spirits, he felt relieved.

“I’m grateful to have lived to see this day, Your Grace, especially you and Ms. Stuart. I can still remember the first time you came to the manor together. Perhaps it was God’s will, but I felt at the time that she would become the most suitable mistress of the Devonshire family.”

Sean looked at the young Duke, feeling deeply moved:

“God bless, glory to the Devonshire family.”

……

The next day, September 15th, the wedding ceremony officially began.

A full 10 tons of various flowers, air-freighted from the Netherlands, decorated the entire Chatsworth House, creating a rich atmosphere.

Under the witness of many guests, Baron, dressed in traditional Duke attire, and Bonnie Stuart, in a wedding dress and wearing a tiara adorned with diamonds and gemstones, exchanged rings and read their vows in the chapel within the manor, under the witness of the Archbishop. Finally, with a sweet kiss, they declared themselves husband and wife.

It is worth mentioning that the wedding dress worn by Bonnie Stuart was personally supervised in design and production by Gucci’s creative director, entirely handmade, taking a whole month to complete before the wedding.

And the tiara she wore was also specially commissioned by Baron from Cartier. The diamonds and various gemstones on it were also collected at a high price, and even a portion of the family’s collection was used. The total cost was as high as 10 million pounds!

Moreover, Baron and Bonnie’s other clothing today were also specially tailored for them by the Gucci Group.

When everyone left the church and went to the manor house, it meant that the banquet was about to begin.

Well, Prince William, who had just finished his internship at Chatsworth House, also put on a suit, and he and his brother Harry appeared today as members of Baron’s groomsmen.

And Bonnie’s bridesmaids’ lineup was also quite impressive. Besides Holly Branson, the daughter of the Virgin Group, the others were all daughters of nobles.

Upon returning to the manor house, Her Majesty the Queen sent her blessings to the two newlyweds. At this moment, Bonnie’s title was already the Duchess of Devonshire.

Among the royal family members who came today, Baron saw the Duke of Kent, but Miss Ella did not come. As for the reason, Allen knew it in his heart.

The guests who came to Chatsworth House to attend this wedding also felt the luxury of the old British noble family. Not only was this banquet entirely from the most famous French cuisine chef team in Britain, specially hired by Baron, but the tableware used by the guests were also silver tableware that could be considered works of art or even antiques.

It can be said that in Britain today, among the remaining nobles, besides the royal family, only a handful could still hold such a lavish wedding.

Even the royal wedding, though grand, could not match Baron’s wedding in terms of financial expenditure.

This could be seen from every detail of the wedding, that the Devonshire family still possessed a solid foundation.

Of course, in the final analysis, all of this was supported by Baron’s financial strength. As the richest man in Britain, it was not surprising that he could put on such a show.

“Where are you planning to go for your honeymoon, Bonnie? Oh, right, it’s Duchess…”

Holly Branson asked softly next to Bonnie.

“Baron rented a small island in Spain, and we plan to go there for a week…”

“Only a week? That’s a bit short, isn’t it?”

Hearing Holly’s words, Bonnie shook her head and said:

“After all, we both have a lot of work to deal with. It’s already very difficult to be free for a week.”

Chapter 421: Emily Neville

“I do, for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death do us part.”

These were the vows that Barron and Bonnie exchanged in the church just now.

Even though Bonnie already understood the reality of this marriage, it must be admitted that at that moment, she did feel an unprecedented happiness—what British girl hadn’t fantasized about hearing a handsome nobleman say these words to her at a moment of utmost splendor?

Although it was like a dream, what was happening now was indeed the real reality.

Perhaps, this was already enough…

Just as Bonnie had told Holly Branson, Barron and her honeymoon location was chosen on a small island in the Balearic Islands of Spain. It was located in the western Mediterranean, and the current season was perfect for sunbathing.

After previously going out to sea with Abramovich on his superyacht “Oceanic Glamour,” Barron had also commissioned a superyacht from the German shipyard Abeking & Rasmussen—the “Devonshire Poseidon,” which was over 500 feet long, and the construction period would take more than two years…

Therefore, while his superyacht was still unfinished, Abramovich readily lent him his “Oceanic Glamour” for this honeymoon trip.

In September, London could already feel the autumn chill, and it was a bit colder in the mornings and evenings, with temperatures below 20 degrees Celsius.

However, after arriving in the Mediterranean, the temperature immediately rose due to the unique climate there. It wasn’t exactly hot, but rather the most comfortable summer climate.

Speaking of which, Barron rarely had such a vacation this year. Although he needed to bring bodyguards and staff, at least for most of the time, he could accompany Bonnie and relax properly.

…

After this honeymoon was over, Barron returned to London and then flew to France.

On September 25th, the former Mrs. Hall, now Catherine Neville, gave birth to a baby girl in a small town in the south of France.

This third daughter of Barron, who was named Emily, did not temporarily bear the Cavendish surname, but instead took her mother Catherine’s surname, with her full name being Emily Neville.

Before this, Catherine’s father and stepmother had both come to see her. Her father had only just learned about Catherine’s pregnancy, but at the time, Catherine only said that the child was not from the Hall family, but did not reveal the identity of the child’s father…

In Catherine’s father’s view, since Colin Hall had already passed away, it was perfectly acceptable for Catherine to find a man after inheriting such a large sum of inheritance, but he still advised her not to be deceived.

Finally, because her father had business to handle, he left his stepmother, Ivana, to help take care of Catherine.

Catherine’s biological mother had passed away when she was very young. This woman named Ivana was her father’s new wife, whom he had married when Catherine was in university. She was only four or five years older than Catherine, but their relationship was quite good.

However, now, on the day Catherine went into labor, her father and stepmother were also present, and they finally learned that the biological father of their daughter’s newborn baby girl was actually the current Duke of Devonshire, also the richest man in Britain.

Barron Cavendish. Catherine’s father was certainly not unfamiliar with him. After all, Catherine’s engagement to Barron’s good elder brother had been decided by her father and the previous Duke.

Therefore, his mood could be described as very complex, not only because of Catherine’s past entanglement with the Devonshire family—it was obvious that their actions at the time, no matter the reason, had already damaged the relationship with the Devonshire family.

And also, Catherine had been Barron’s “fiancée’s sister-in-law”…

And now Catherine had a child with Barron, her “nephew”…

This combination made Catherine’s father feel somewhat awkward at first when he met Barron.

However, the current Barron Cavendish was no longer the “good-for-nothing” young man in the other party’s memory. The air of authority that he inadvertently exuded after being tempered, as well as his calm and measured way of dealing with people, made Catherine’s father feel slightly unfamiliar.

However, having been in the business world, Catherine’s father could also be said to be adept at assessing the situation. Thinking about Barron’s current status and position, it was not a bad thing for his daughter to be with him; on the contrary, it was far better for his family than the Hall family.

Therefore, the atmosphere between the two parties quickly became harmonious…

Once they accepted this setting, the Neville family could adapt—Catherine’s identity was that of a widow, and the Duke of Devonshire had just completed his wedding. In the end, in terms of status, even when he was unmarried, the possibility of Catherine becoming a duchess was almost non-existent.

It’s not to say that a widow cannot remarry a duke and become a duchess—such things were not uncommon in British history, but Catherine’s previous identity as Barron’s elder brother’s fiancée was not very suitable.

But similarly, being able to attach herself to Barron’s “big tree” was beneficial to both Catherine and the Neville family.

The Neville family was involved in real estate and art trading. Well, from this, it could also be seen that they had once been wealthy. Their ancestors had once held the title of Earl, but their branch had later declined.

In the conversation, when Barron talked to Catherine’s father about art trading, he also entrusted him with a matter.

He mentioned that he was very interested in Chinese culture, and now, in Europe, especially in Britain and France, there were many Chinese antiques that had been lost.

With Barron’s identity, he was not interested in the common goods. He hoped that the other party could collect some high-quality antiques for him.

Being able to use this to get closer to the Duke of Devonshire and also earn a commission from it, Catherine’s father would certainly not refuse such a “good job.” He indicated that with his professional ability, he would definitely find the best Chinese antiques for His Grace the Duke at the lowest price—even through certain means, some of the collections in official museums such as the British Museum and the Louvre were not impossible to obtain.

After all, they had too many collections in this area, and many of them were even stored in the basement, without any display stands for many years. If the price was right, they wouldn’t mind selling some…

After settling this matter, Barron stayed at the manor in the south of France for a few days with Catherine before leaving.

Catherine would stay here with her daughter for a while to recuperate before returning to London.

It was already very difficult for Barron to be able to spare a few days to accompany her now, but it would be much more convenient to meet after returning to London.

And Barron did not return to London immediately, but took his entourage and the Devonshire, to the next destination, China.

Chapter 422: Hongda Electronics

While the Devonshire was still en route to China, Baron had already received a message from Finn Hudson, the CEO of Global Industrial Investment Fund (GII).

At this moment, Finn Hudson was in Taiwan Province, China.

After hanging up the phone, a smile appeared on Baron’s face.

He stopped caressing Aliyah’s soft hair and patted her shoulder.

When the girl with the delicate features and Arabian characteristics looked up at him, Baron could see that the girl kneeling in front of him was wearing a maid outfit.

Compared to Aliyah’s tall figure, the size of this maid outfit was slightly small; not only did the skirt only reach above her knees, but the chest was also tightly stretched.

“Your Grace, we… can’t do this.”

When Baron had Aliyah supporting the railing of the large bed’s headboard, and he was admiring her amazing waist-to-hip ratio from behind the Arabian girl, the girl had already sensed what was about to happen and couldn’t help but speak.

Well, judging by the look of it, she was quite into the role…

“My loyal maid, I just want to check…”

As he said this, Baron lifted the cover of the “book” and began to immerse himself in the ocean of knowledge…

“No, don’t… stop!”

…

The Devonshire landed at the capital’s airport. The convoy accompanying the large aircraft took them directly to the siheyuan (courtyard house) located near the East Gate of the Forbidden City.

The renovation and remodeling here had also been completed two months ago. This “Little Duke’s Mansion,” unlike the other four-courtyard “Duke’s Mansion,” although the interior decoration referenced the new Chinese style, the home furnishings were still more inclined towards a modern style.

That “Duke’s Mansion,” except for a few modern appliances, mostly restored the style of ancient China. The furniture also mainly used red sandalwood, and some of it was collected by Baron through a local named Yan Hegu, who helped him search for red sandalwood furniture from the Ming and Qing dynasties.

It’s worth mentioning that in the decoration of these siheyuan, the use of modern appliances was naturally indispensable. After all, living here, Baron at least couldn’t be like the previous residents, having to go outside to use the toilet, or have the servants empty the chamber pots…

The next day, Baron met with the GII Fund CEO who had rushed to Beijing.

“Although the process wasn’t easy, we finally completed the acquisition of High Tech Computer Corporation, and I had already had preliminary intentions with Philips in the Netherlands. Next, we need to discuss this matter with China Electronics Corporation.”

During this meeting, Finn Hudson reported his work to Baron in more detail.

In the second phase of the GII Fund, they raised as much as 12 billion US dollars, so what they needed to do next was to spend this money…

Of course, although Finn Hudson was the CEO of the GII Fund, he was also very clear about his position, which was to execute Baron’s will.

In the first place, when Baron chose the CEOs of these funds under his control, he looked for those experienced people who were good at execution, rather than “captains” with their own unique personalities and ideas.

It was almost 2006, and Baron knew that although there were many models of so-called “smartphones” on the market, these “strange” models in later generations were definitely not the right way to open the era of smartphones. After all, almost all smartphones at the moment had not abandoned physical keyboards, and their operating methods were not accepted by the public on such a small mobile terminal.

Now IC Capital had acquired Android, and next, what he needed to do was to prepare for the upcoming true smartphone era.

After all, coming from his previous life, he understood how turbulent this era was—Apple Inc. took this opportunity to become the world’s highest-valued company. Even after the death of Steve Jobs, they kept “eating their old capital,” but it didn’t affect their substantial profits and continuously rising market value.

In the smartphone era, the existing mobile phone brands also underwent a major reshuffle. The once popular brands Nokia, Motorola, Ericsson (now Sony Ericsson), Philips, Siemens, and others…

More than ten years later, except for Samsung, which was doing quite well, the rest had either disappeared from the market or were like Sony, barely surviving…

Of course, Sony was a little different; after all, it was the “belief” of certain people. Even if the phones they released later were as awful as excrement, there would still be people shouting “it’s delicious”…

Back to the main topic, after Finn Hudson’s trip to the Netherlands yielded results, he went to Taiwan Province, China. There, he encountered a bit of a challenge, but in the end, he used his “superpower” to complete the acquisition of High Tech Computer Corporation.

The Chinese name of High Tech Computer Corporation is Hongda International Electronics Co., Ltd. You might be unfamiliar with this name, but two years later, they would change the company’s name from High Tech Computer Corporation to HTC Corporation…

Yes, this company was the “sausage,” HTC, that launched the first Android smartphone in Baron’s previous life and achieved great success.

However, the current HTC was still a company that mainly did OEM manufacturing. It was only two years later that they started to create their own brand, HTC.

Hongda International Electronics was founded in May 1997 by Wang Xuehong and two other investors, along with nine engineers in Taoyuan, Taiwan Province.

Wang Xuehong served as the chairman of this company—it should be noted that Wang Xuehong had another identity; she was the daughter of Wang Yongqing, the founder of the Formosa Plastics Group, who was known as the “God of Business” in Taiwan Province…

This was also the main difficulty in GII Fund’s acquisition of HTC before. After all, although HTC’s development was still very ordinary at this time, its market value was not high, but the chairman was the princess of the Formosa Plastics Group, and she was not short of money…

Of course, saying that the current HTC was very ordinary was also in comparison to other major mobile phone manufacturers with their own brands. In a specific field—smartphones, HTC still had some reputation.

Hongda Electronics didn’t have very successful products at its inception and didn’t have a high profile. It wasn’t until they collaborated with Compaq to develop the iPAQ, which was once listed in the Guinness World Records as the most powerful PDA, that the product became popular, truly establishing its leading position in the PDA market, and gradually becoming the world’s largest PDA OEM manufacturer.

At this time, as an OEM manufacturer, their biggest customers were big brands like HP, Dell, and Palm.

In addition, in 2002, Microsoft announced the Pocket PC Phone Edition operating system, and HTC immediately developed the world’s first PDA Phone equipped with its system…

Although this product was not purchased by major companies like HP and Dell, it was favored by most European telecom operators, who signed large orders with HTC and launched it in Europe, achieving good sales and gradually increasing Hongda Electronics’ industry reputation.

Taking this opportunity, HTC gradually became the world’s largest Win Mobile smartphone OEM manufacturer, monopolizing 80% of the market share, providing OEM smartphone services to major European and American telecom operators, including a full range of services from design to production. Only the operator’s logo would be printed on the final product. From then on, HTC officially became a global OEM manufacturer.

Chapter 423: In the Name of Glory

Even so, because in 2005, smartphones were only in their infancy. Taking the Chinese market as an example, as of this year, smartphones occupied less than 5% of the entire mobile phone market…

Even in Europe and America, the use of smartphones was slightly higher, but because their overall mobile phone user base was large, the smartphone penetration rate was not high either.

It should be noted that the smartphones currently manufactured by HTC were still mainly based on the Windows Mobile system.

At this time, the main operating systems in the smartphone market included Symbian, Windows Mobile, Palm, and Linux. Among them, the Symbian system had the largest market share. Although the Windows Mobile system had been gradually increasing its market share due to Microsoft’s technology and financial resources, it was still far behind the Symbian system.

Therefore, even in the entire smartphone field, HTC’s market share was not high. Ultimately, they still needed to enter the mainstream mobile phone brand ranks by launching the first Android system phone after the launch of the iPhone, which led the era of touchscreen smartphones.

Now, HTC was listed on the securities market in Taiwan Province, with a market value of less than 800 million US dollars. It could be said that under such circumstances, the biggest obstacle to the GII Fund’s acquisition of this company was Wang Xuehong, the chairman of HTC.

If they waited for HTC to launch an Android phone before acquiring it, it might be really difficult to take over. After all, when they saw the brand’s prospects, with the support of the family, Wang Xuehong would definitely not let go.

But now…

After the GII Fund raised the acquisition price to 1 billion US dollars, offering a 20% premium for a company that was mainly an original equipment manufacturer, it first persuaded HTC’s other two investors. Ultimately, Wang Xuehong also softened her stance under these circumstances. HTC’s board of directors approved the GII Fund’s acquisition offer and would delist after being fully acquired by the GII Fund…

In fact, at this time, HTC also had its own brand. Some people might have heard of this brand, which was “Dopod.”

On July 1, 2002, HTC and VIA Technologies jointly invested in the establishment of Dopod International Corporation, headquartered in Taiwan Province, with its factory located in Hsinchu.

The company’s main business was the product design, marketing, and customer service of mobile phones and handheld devices, with operations covering Taiwan Province, mainland China, Hong Kong, and Southeast Asia.

Later, in order to cooperate with HTC’s brand layout in mainland China, Wang Xuehong personally invested in the establishment of Dopod Communications Co., Ltd., headquartered in Shanghai, with a production base in Jiangcheng, and products specifically targeted at the mainland Chinese market for sales.

Subsequently, Dopod obtained a mobile phone license in mainland China and officially sold Dopod’s own brand of smartphone products.

After acquiring HTC, the GII Fund repurchased all the shares of Dopod Taiwan Province and Dopod mainland China companies, as well as sales channel assets, for 50 million US dollars, and integrated them into the HTC company.

After the acquisition, the GII Fund renamed HTC as Honor Electronics, and the Dopod company would continue to operate as their subsidiary.

Uh, sorry, Huawei, you’ll have to think of another name for your phone sub-brand in the future…

At this time, the investors of Honor Electronics, including Wang Xuehong, had already left the company. The original company’s CEO, Zhou Yongming, continued to serve as the CEO of Honor Electronics. The GII Fund also poached executive Dick Clayton from Motorola to serve as the COO of Honor Electronics…

Currently, Honor Electronics was undergoing post-acquisition company integration, and the GII Fund’s CEO, Finn Hudson, came to Beijing for another task.

“I’ve already made an appointment with the chairman of China Electronics Corporation (CEC) to discuss the joint acquisition of Philips…”

Finn Hudson said:

“China Electronics is indeed very interested in this proposal, and facing the increasingly low market share in the mobile phone market, Philips is also willing to sell its mobile phone business…”

Yes, the next plan for the GII Fund was to acquire the mobile phone business of Philips.

However, it was not to be acquired solely by them. Although Philips’ mobile phone market share was getting lower and lower, the only thing worth boasting about now was their concept of “ultra-long standby”…

But even so, acquiring the entire mobile phone business of Philips would require at least 2.5 to 3 billion US dollars in funds…

In fact, Baron, who knew the future development of Philips’ mobile phones, was not very interested in Philips’ mobile phone business, whether it was their “Philips” brand or their research and development production department.

The only thing that prompted him to make this acquisition was the nearly twenty thousand patents related to mobile phones owned by Philips.

You must know, in Baron’s previous life, why HTC, which was the first to launch Android phones and became popular, later declined?

The reasons for this were complex, but one of the main reasons was that HTC, which entered the market later, was involved in multiple lengthy patent infringement lawsuits.

This included a patent infringement lawsuit filed against it by Apple in 2010. This lawsuit could be said to have greatly damaged HTC’s vitality!

It is worth mentioning that at the time, HTC, which was the “vanguard” of the Android camp, had also sought help from Google, the owner of the original Android system, when facing Apple’s patent war.

After all, when facing this kind of patent war, in addition to directly facing the lawsuit, there was another method, which was to find the other party’s “pain points” from their own patent library, and then reach an out-of-court settlement by exchanging patents—many old mobile phone manufacturers used this method to obtain relevant patent licenses from Apple when they entered the later touchscreen smartphone field.

Because Apple was also a “new player” in the mobile phone market at that time, they might have enough patents for smartphones, but they could not bypass some patents for traditional mobile phones, and they often exchanged the right to use patents with those manufacturers.

At that time, HTC thought that Google had very rich patents, but they did not expect that Google, as a “new player,” only had more than 200 US patents…

It was also for this reason that later, Google Group, for the expansion of the Android camp, began to buy patents everywhere, just like they acquired Motorola in 2011 in their previous life, which was focused on the more than 18,000 patent assets owned by the other party.

HTC had originally started as an original equipment manufacturer, and did not have many relevant patents. This acquisition of Philips’ mobile phone business was to prepare ammunition for the future Honor Electronics by using the massive mobile phone-related patents owned by Philips, an “old player.”

The reason for cooperating with China Electronics was because China Electronics was an important partner of Philips’ mobile phone business.

Chapter 424: Picking and Choosing

In fact, as early as 2001, Philips’ net loss reached 2.6 billion euros, setting a record high for losses, and it was also the company’s first annual loss since 1996.

This situation has not improved much up to now…

Philips believed that the severe downturn in the information technology and telecommunications markets was the main reason for the company’s serious losses.

And for the fiercely competitive and difficult-to-reverse loss-making mobile phone business, many company executives also believed that they should abandon this department.

Currently, Philips’ mobile phone market share is only 4%, a far cry from the industry leader Nokia’s 37%.

Moreover, consumers often complain that Philips’ mobile phones have fewer varieties, and they simply cannot lead the industry trend. The only unique point left is the battery’s durability…

Under such circumstances, Philips had already restructured its mobile phone department earlier. They completely outsourced the design and manufacturing of mobile phones and formulated a new strategy focused on brand marketing accordingly.

Here, it involves the cooperation between Philips and China Electronics Corporation (CEC).

Shenzhen Sangda, a wholly-owned subsidiary of China Electronics Corporation, and Philips established a joint venture company, Philips Sangda, several years ago to manufacture mobile phones. They are also Philips’ closest partners in the Chinese market for mobile phone business.

After Philips closed several mobile phone factories worldwide, they transferred all of their production capacity to this joint venture company, and Philips’ stake in it had been reduced to 25%, which is equivalent to Philips outsourcing mobile phone manufacturing to China Electronics Corporation.

Unlike European giants like Ericsson and Alcatel, who also outsourced mobile phone production, Philips went even further and completely outsourced the mobile phone research and development and design departments to China Electronics Corporation!

Therefore, in the case that Barron was not interested in Philips’ other mobile phone businesses, including the Philips brand, the best strategy was to jointly acquire Philips’ mobile phone business with China Electronics Corporation, and then “each take what they need”.

Of course, besides Philips’ mobile phone business, Barron was also very interested in another asset of Philips.

That is their holdings in TSMC…

In the early days of TSMC’s establishment, the Taiwan Province Development Fund held 48.3% of the shares, making it the largest shareholder; the Dutch Philips held 27.5%; and seven Taiwanese companies, including Formosa Plastics, held 24.2%.

Later, after TSMC went public, the Taiwan Province Development Fund gradually withdrew, and by 2001, it held 12.1% of the shares, becoming the second-largest shareholder.

Currently, Philips holds approximately 18.7% of TSMC’s shares, making it TSMC’s largest shareholder, but later, after they withdrew from the mobile phone business and sold it to China Electronics Corporation – yes, in the original timeline, Philips did sell its mobile phone business to China Electronics Corporation, but it was next year – they also successively cleared their TSMC shares.

And Barron knew TSMC very well. This company not only had excellent development prospects, but more importantly, it had very significant strategic value in the future for the chips in smartphones.

Therefore, now that there was an opportunity, he naturally wanted to “take over” Philips’ TSMC shares.

Coincidentally, due to the continuous losses, Philips also had the idea of selling a portion of its TSMC shares to cash out and maintain the company’s operations, which made both sides a perfect match.

The only thing that needed to be agreed upon was the proportion of TSMC shares that Philips would transfer – after all, it seemed that Philips only wanted to sell a portion of its holdings in TSMC and did not want to sell all of them.

Moreover, as TSMC’s largest shareholder, if Philips transferred a high proportion of shares, it would first need to obtain “understanding” from TSMC.

This time, GII Fund’s CEO, Fien Hudson, had another task to go to Taiwan Province, which was to communicate with the management team headed by TSMC’s founder, Morris Chang, and also to get their support for their acquisition of a portion of the shares held by Philips.

It was easy to understand that, as a management team, they would hope that the company’s shares would be as dispersed as possible, so that their control over the company would be more stable. Then, GII Fund’s acquisition of a portion of Philips’ TSMC shares could disperse the shareholding ratio of Philips, the largest shareholder, which was easy for TSMC’s management to accept.

In addition, since Philips was destined to reduce its holdings in TSMC, it would be better to do so through such a large-scale transfer rather than letting them reduce their holdings in the secondary market, which would not affect TSMC’s stock price.

Therefore, most of the matters had been decided, and they were just waiting for GII Fund to reach an agreement with China Electronics Corporation to jointly acquire Philips’ mobile phone business.

Speaking of which, Philips had a very high reputation, but its later development…

They successively sold their display business, mobile phone business, lighting business, and home appliance business… and finally completely withdrew from the consumer electronics market. Before Barron’s rebirth, it could be said that those “Philips” products in China no longer belonged to Philips headquarters, and could be regarded as OEM…

The former giant had fallen to this point, which was quite disheartening.

For this reason, Barron had no interest at all in the Philips brand, because after spending a lot of money to buy it now, he didn’t know how many companies would “share” this brand with him in the future. No matter how well he managed this brand, it would only benefit others. It was better to develop his own brand slowly.

…

After Fien Hudson finished talking with Barron, he immediately went to negotiate with China Electronics Corporation.

When the lights came on, a beautiful figure came to the Little Duke’s mansion.

That stunningly beautiful face belonged to Fan Bingbing.

After accompanying Barron to Cologne, they had not seen each other for several months since they separated in Dubai.

Although she didn’t have the super high popularity of the later “Fan Ye” (Sister Fan) at this time, Fan Bingbing’s popularity in China was already very high, so she had to disguise herself to come here.

After seeing her, Barron pulled her into his arms.

It had to be admitted that you could dislike Fan Bingbing because of some things, but no one could deny that her appearance was indeed at the ceiling level among Chinese actresses until Barron’s rebirth.

“What have you been busy with lately, baby?”

“I recently took a movie, a costume drama called A Battle of Wits, and it’s going to start filming at the end of September…”

“Oh? There won’t be any kissing scenes, will there?”

Hearing Barron’s words, Fan Bingbing hesitated for a moment and said:

“There will be some slightly more intimate scenes, but I will use angles or a body double…”

“I’ll give President Wang a call, and if it’s difficult at that time, I’ll let him come forward.”

“Okay.”

After hearing Barron’s words, Fan Bingbing finally felt a little relieved. It was also because A Battle of Wits was a big production with investments of hundreds of millions, including big-name actors like Andy Lau and Wang Zhiwen. At this time, Fan Bingbing really couldn’t make demands in the filming of such a movie… If the boss of Huayi Brothers, Mr. Wang, spoke, then there would be no problem.

In addition, she also silently remembered that it seemed that after following this Duke, she would have to pay attention to the roles she took… But with him as her backing, she was also more confident.

When Fan Bingbing talked about the movie A Battle of Wits, Barron had some impression. He remembered that the movie was a box office failure, so he didn’t care. If Fan Bingbing hadn’t already taken this movie, and it was about to start filming, it would be difficult to withdraw now, even with Huayi Brothers as her backing, if the reputation spread, it wouldn’t be good. Barron would have directly stopped her from filming.

But in this way, it was definitely impossible for her to personally film any intimate scenes – Barron was so overbearing at this time.

And the reason why he deliberately said that just now was not mainly because of the movie A Battle of Wits, but because he suddenly remembered that after this movie, Fan Bingbing would film another movie with a very large scale…

He was giving her a vaccination now, just to see if she was smart enough.

After all, although Barron had invested in Apple, he didn’t want those people to look for Apple’s resources to watch his woman’s performance…

Chapter 425: Making It Possible for Others

Baron, the young British Duke, also had quite a reputation in China.

Therefore, the matter of his recent wedding occupied a considerable amount of media space in China at the time.

After all, in the later years of his previous life, the young Duke from the Westminster family, who was no longer the richest in Britain, whether he had inherited a fortune of billions of pounds or his later marriage, were all topics that many self-media in China eagerly reported.

Especially since Baron was a young Duke who was the richest in Britain, and the fifth richest person in the world, having invested in many companies in China…

It was mainly because his identity, wealth, and appearance all fulfilled girls’ fantasies of a Prince Charming, not just in China, but also among his fans worldwide, there were countless of them…

However, although Fan Bingbing mentioned this matter during their meeting this time, she was very smart and didn’t dwell on it too much.

After all, when the two of them met, Baron already had Bonnie Stuart as his official girlfriend.

Fan Bingbing had also been invited to the opening of the Gucci flagship store in Shanghai before.

Subsequently, the Gucci Group would increase its promotion in China and invited Fan Bingbing to become a Gucci brand ambassador.

Although a brand ambassador was the lowest level of Gucci’s endorsement, there was no endorsement fee. However, she could borrow seasonal fashion from Gucci to attend some events afterward.

This was also why Fan Bingbing, although she had a good reputation in China and already had the saying “Four Dan and Double Bing”, top luxury brands like Gucci were still cautious in choosing spokespersons in mainland China. Fan Bingbing’s current title of Gucci brand ambassador was still rare in mainland China.

Therefore, she was quite satisfied with this.

What made her even happier was that Baron promised to establish a company in her name, and if Fan Bingbing liked any scripts in the future, she could invest in them through this company.

Although capital had not yet entered the film and television industry on a large scale at this time, in the final analysis, with the backing of capital, Fan Bingbing would have more freedom in choosing roles.

This could also be considered as Baron’s compensation for the fact that Fan Bingbing could no longer personally accept “intimate scenes” during filming after being with him.

In addition, it could also be considered as Baron being able to use Fan Bingbing’s identity to make this company obtain the identity of “domestic capital,” thereby making preparations for the future in advance.

……

Baron came to China this time for other matters as well.

If it were just the acquisition of HTC and the integration of Honor Electronics by the Global Industrial Fund, it would not require him to come in person.

Later, he met with Liu Chiping, the Vice President of Rich23 Capital, in Beijing.

Sometimes, Baron couldn’t help but feel that the course of history often had inertia.

“I am very grateful for your trust in me, Your Grace. I will continue to work at Rich23 Capital and leave after completing the handover.”

Hearing Liu Chiping’s apologetic words, Baron smiled and said:

“I respect your choice, Martin. Tencent is also a company that I value very much. We are also a major shareholder of Tencent, so I hope you can help Tencent solve its current difficulties after joining there.”

Yes, just as in the original timeline, Liu Chiping eventually decided to leave Rich23 Capital and join Tencent.

Rich23 Capital was also a shareholder of Tencent. Liu Chiping’s previous work included contacting the companies invested in by Rich23 Capital.

In this process, he unexpectedly “caught the eye” of Pony Ma, which didn’t surprise Baron. In addition, Tencent was also facing some problems after its IPO, so at Pony Ma’s invitation, Liu Chiping thought it over and decided to join Tencent.

For this reason, Pony Ma specifically called Baron to communicate about this matter.

In fact, Baron himself was also aware of the problems Tencent encountered later in his previous life – the previous Tencent rarely used external investment methods and relied on investing in internal research and development departments, doing whatever was popular, which also enabled Tencent to develop rapidly in the fields of games, portals, and internet value-added services, achieving Tencent’s golden five years before its listing.

This endogenous growth also made Pony Ma see hidden worries.

Although Tencent was still the largest internet company in China at this time, based on user scale, products, and profitability, its growth had clearly slowed down…

It couldn’t compete with NetEase in games, couldn’t compete with Baidu in advertising, and SP was also the last supper.

Therefore, how Tencent would continue to maintain high growth at this time became a problem.

This concern was also reflected in Tencent’s stock price. During the period when the telecommunications industry rectified value-added services last year, Tencent’s stock price even fell below the issue price, and only slowly rose later.

In the original timeline, it was Liu Chiping who had a lot of contact with Pony Ma when he was at Goldman Sachs Asia, handling Tencent’s IPO. The two formed a friendship, and Liu Chiping eventually gave up his annual salary of tens of millions at Goldman Sachs Asia and “went over” to Pony Ma.

But now, it was because Liu Chiping, as the Vice President of Rich23 Capital, had a lot of communication with Tencent during the past year or so. Out of a responsible attitude towards the companies he invested in, he put forward many very professional opinions to Pony Ma – Liu Chiping himself had worked at McKinsey before working at Rich23 Capital, and had more than ten years of experience in IPOs, mergers and acquisitions, and management consulting.

Later, he worked at Goldman Sachs Asia. He was still very professional and experienced in mergers and acquisitions and corporate management. This was why Baron had recruited him to Rich23 Capital in the first place.

His opinions also benefited Pony Ma a lot, and he was very impressed. Finally, he proposed to Liu Chiping that he hoped he would join Tencent, and his attitude was very sincere.

This was also slightly different from the original timeline. In the original timeline, after Pony Ma “poached” Liu Chiping, he first asked him to serve as Chief Strategy and Investment Officer, responsible for company strategy, investment, mergers and acquisitions, and investor relations.

A year later, he was promoted to President of Tencent, assisting the Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer, Pony Ma, in the company’s daily management and operations.

Because at that time, before Liu Chiping joined Tencent, he was an Executive Director in the Investment Banking Department of Goldman Sachs Asia, but now, he was the Vice President of Rich23 Capital, managing funds with a scale of tens of billions of dollars!

Therefore, Pony Ma also showed his sincerity and directly invited Liu Chiping to serve as the President of Tencent. In addition to assisting Pony Ma in the company’s daily management and operations, he was also directly responsible for the company’s strategic mergers and acquisitions and investment business, which could be said to be a heavy responsibility.

Just as Baron said to Liu Chiping, among the Chinese companies he had invested in, Tencent and Alibaba were the two companies he valued the most, and even Tencent’s position in his heart was more important than Alibaba’s.

Because Alibaba’s main business was e-commerce, while Tencent was involved in more industries that Baron hoped to lay out in the future, and could have a greater connection with his other businesses.

Therefore, although he was reluctant to see Liu Chiping leave Rich23 Capital – after that, he would need to find another leader for Rich23 Capital – Baron also knew that Liu Chiping was also crucial to Tencent.

In fact, he had the same idea when he first recruited Liu Chiping to Rich23 Capital…

That was because his appearance had made him a major shareholder of Tencent, so the sponsor for Tencent’s listing in Hong Kong had been changed from Goldman Sachs Asia to Standard Chartered Bank.

As a result, Pony Ma and Liu Chiping had no interaction…

At the time, he was also thinking that if Tencent really reached the point in his previous life where it needed Liu Chiping to sort out its business, and Pony Ma had no one to use, he would recommend Liu Chiping to the other party.

Now that they had “naturally attracted” each other, Baron would make it possible for others.

Chapter 426: Relief

When he had just met Fan Bingbing, Baron had suggested that she act as a guide and accompany him to Qingdao, a city in China, for a tour.

Fan Bingbing was born in Yantai but grew up in Qingdao.

Baron’s suggestion wasn’t just a pretext; before university in his previous life, he had lived in Qingdao, so he really did have the idea of going back to see it again.

So, before Fan Bingbing joined the film crew to shoot her scenes, Baron temporarily left Beijing and went to Qingdao with Fan Bingbing.

“That’s Wusi Square over there; this area is a relatively bustling part of Qingdao…”

As a “big star,” when accompanying Baron on his tour, Fan Bingbing naturally had to disguise herself. Today, she was wearing casual clothes, a baseball cap, and sunglasses…

It was only at this time that wearing a mask would seem even stranger. If it were before Baron’s rebirth, that would have been considered a normal outfit.

Therefore, the formation of a person’s cognition is closely related to their growing environment.

For example, why were there not many ordinary people buying stocks during the “golden decade” of the American stock market in the 1960s?

It was because, in the thirty years after the Great Depression of the 1920s and 1930s, the American stock market had been lukewarm, taking a full thirty years to recover to the stock index before the Great Depression.

Therefore, the entire one or two generations of Americans who grew up during this period had been watching the desolate appearance of the American stock market since they could remember.

The concept of “the stock market is too risky, and you can’t make money” was deeply ingrained in their minds, so how could ordinary people buy stocks and invest in the stock market?

Similarly, people who have experienced that period in the future are already accustomed to seeing people wearing masks around them.

Unlike now, if you wear a mask and walk on the street, you will get a lot of strange looks.

“Before I went to Shanghai to study, I often came here to play, but later, I rarely had the chance to come back…”

Baron listened to Fan Bingbing saying this beside him. He looked at the square in front of him, and many memories from his previous life couldn’t help but flood into his mind.

At that time, his home was not far from here. This Wusi Square was also a place he often ran to play as a child…

“Let’s just wander around here.”

Baron said this, and Fan Bingbing didn’t object, so she walked beside him.

It was a weekday afternoon, and there weren’t too many people in Wusi Square.

And without realizing it, when Baron stopped, he found that he had arrived at the entrance of an apartment complex—this apartment complex was where he had lived in his previous life…

“What’s wrong?”

Seeing Baron’s expression, it was somewhat special…

Fan Bingbing asked curiously.

“Nothing, let’s go back. We can go to that Zhan Bridge you mentioned tonight to take a look…”

In fact, after coming to this world, Baron would always think at certain moments whether his previous self, and his parents and relatives, still existed.

This was also one of the reasons Baron wanted to come to Qingdao to take a look.

But when he really got here, he gave up the idea of exploring the truth.

No matter what, he couldn’t go back anymore. He was now an English duke, no longer a Chinese person.

Even if those people really still existed, what could he do?

After so many thoughts flashed through his mind, he suddenly felt a sense of relief…

Just, let it be.

…

After several rounds of negotiations, the Global Industrial Investment Fund reached an agreement with China Electronics Corporation to jointly acquire Philips’ mobile phone business.

The total funds involved in this acquisition agreement amounted to as high as 6.5 billion US dollars!

Among them, the GII Fund will work with China Electronics Corporation to acquire all of Philips’ mobile phone business.

According to the agreement, the acquisition of Philips’ mobile phone business cost 2.5 billion US dollars, of which China Electronics Corporation (CEC) will contribute 2 billion US dollars.

They will obtain the exclusive license of the Philips brand for the next five years and can sell Philips-branded mobile phones in domestic and foreign markets.

In addition, Philips transferred its marketing system in the main countries where its mobile phone business was carried out and its 25% stake in Shenzhen Sangfei Consumer Communications Co., Ltd. to China Electronics Corporation.

After China Electronics Corporation took over Philips’ global mobile phone business, it handed over the operation of the business to its subsidiary, Sangfei Company (at this time, they held 100% of the shares of this company)—previously, Sangfei was Philips’ global OEM partner.

The GII Fund contributed 500 million US dollars to obtain the transfer and license of Philips’ mobile phone-related patents together with China Electronics Corporation, including the unique patent technology for ultra-long standby time.

In addition, the Philips ultra-long standby sub-brand Xenium belonged to China Electronics Corporation.

The GII Fund and China Electronics Corporation also took over approximately 240 employees in Philips’ mobile phone business in the Asia-Pacific and Eastern European regions, of which 180 employees were taken over by China Electronics Corporation, and the remaining 60 related technical personnel were received by the GII Fund.

The Glory Electronics acquired by the GII Fund will establish a mobile phone-related research and development laboratory in Europe, and these 60 technical personnel will enter this laboratory.

Finally, the GII Fund will also acquire 2.514 billion shares of TSMC held by Philips for 4 billion US dollars, accounting for 10%.

After Philips transferred this part of the shares, they still held 8.7% of TSMC’s shares.

In this way, the GII Fund became TSMC’s second-largest shareholder, second only to the current largest shareholder, the Taiwan Provincial Development Fund, which holds 12.1% of the shares.

And the original largest shareholder of TSMC, Philips, became TSMC’s third-largest shareholder, second only to the GII Fund.

It is worth mentioning that TSMC now, in addition to being listed in Taiwan Province, is also listed in the United States.

Their American depositary shares in the US stock market are equivalent to 5 shares of TSMC stock.

After reaching the acquisition agreement with Philips, the GII Fund injected the mobile phone-related patents and technologies originally belonging to Philips into Glory Electronics, which greatly increased the patent pool depth of this company.

In addition, Baron also had the legal department of Glory Electronics begin to apply for a series of patents globally, including some appearance patents for future smartphones and patents for operation methods such as sliding to unlock.

Generally speaking, it often takes a long time for such patents to be registered from the beginning to successful registration.

Just like in his previous life, Apple Inc. launched the first generation of iPhone mobile phones in 2007, but it was not until 2012 that some of their appearance patents and operational patents were approved and granted.

In these areas, Glory Electronics must apply for some related patents in advance to avoid being sued by Apple Inc. with related patents after their mobile phones are developed.

Chapter 427: Astounding

“We’ve reached an agreement with Apple, and they will collaborate with FingerWorks to develop touch screen-related technologies, with both parties sharing all patents generated based on this.”

Listening to Ivanka’s words, Baron wasn’t overly surprised by the outcome.

After all, although Apple knew that IC Capital, the owner of FingerWorks, had already acquired Android, the company developing a smartphone operating system, even if Apple itself had the idea of developing a similar system, according to Apple’s tradition, that system would only be exclusive to their products and wouldn’t be licensed to other companies.

Moreover, at this time, the Android company was insignificant compared to Apple in terms of both recognition and the number of employees. They wouldn’t have imagined that this company would become the biggest competitor to the iOS system in the future.

Compared to Android, the Symbian, Windows Mobile, and even Palm, which had already been launched in smart handheld devices, were more threatening to Apple.

After leaving China, Baron came to New York.

After all, after the wedding, the women here still needed to be appeased.

Like Ivanka beside him, who, in the process of learning knowledge, initially inevitably showed some slight emotions, but under Baron’s diligent efforts, he had completely dispelled them, and even generously injected her with a lot of positive energy…

Although Baron’s investment company was a major shareholder of Apple, he didn’t inquire too much about the development progress of Apple’s products, and he hadn’t even asked whether they had started developing the iPhone.

After all, although the Android company was owned by IC Investment, when they launched phones based on the Android system in the future, his relationship with this company wouldn’t be kept secret forever.

So, to avoid suspicion, Baron wouldn’t care too much about Apple’s business.

Just like in the original timeline, Steve Jobs once said this later:

“If necessary, I will use my last breath, spend the 40 billion US dollars Apple has in the bank, and I will destroy Android because it is a stolen product.”

Why did he say that?

Google’s CEO, Eric Schmidt, was also a director of Apple from 2006 to 2009.

At that time, Apple and Google were in a “honeymoon period,” known as “AppleGoo.” As one of Apple’s directors, Jobs not only often discussed their phone plans with Schmidt but also allowed Schmidt to attend some meetings related to the iPhone’s design—of course, although Jobs knew that Google was making phones, he subconsciously thought that Google was making phones with a sliding design, and the competitor should be Microsoft.

But it wasn’t until HTC launched the first Android phone that Jobs discovered that the phone was so similar to the iPhone, thinking that Google had copied them… Therefore, he was very angry, and because of this, Apple later launched a series of patent lawsuits against the Android camp…

It was precisely because Baron knew this, and in fact, the future smartphones of other manufacturers did, to a certain extent, “borrow” the layout and operating model of the iPhone—of course, this was in the initial period, and later, Apple and other phone manufacturers would also “borrow” from each other—but the Android smartphones that Glory Electronics would launch in the future would inevitably have many similarities with the iPhone, so to avoid suspicion, he certainly wouldn’t do anything that would easily make Jobs suspicious in the future.

In the following days, besides dealing with some affairs in the United States, Baron spent more time, through Ivanka, offering many opinions on the development of the Android operating system.

It should be noted here that when IC Capital acquired the Android company, the operating system they were developing wasn’t based on the later form of control mainly with a touch screen, similar to the iPhone, but was designed based on a side-sliding keyboard—this was because the current “smartphones” were mainly controlled by this type of keyboard, and the Android company also hoped to develop this type of operating system as soon as possible, so that their products could be put into the market as soon as possible.

But through Ivanka’s words, Baron completely rejected this technological route, and later, IC company acquired FingerWorks, which had accumulated technology in touch screen control, also showed its determination to directly develop a smartphone operating system based on touch screens.

It was very obvious that if it was an operating system based on a side-sliding keyboard, the market already had operating systems including Symbian, Windows Mobile, and Palm, and the basic operating forms had also been “borrowed,” which would make it easier to develop finished products.

But if they took another path, a smartphone operating system based on touch screens, then there would be too many technical problems to solve, and they would also need to start from “0” to develop, increasing the difficulty exponentially.

But no matter how difficult it was, it needed to be done, because when the iPhone appeared in 2007, what they were doing now would become useless.

If they only wanted that kind of keyboard-based operating system, Baron wouldn’t have needed to acquire the Android company in the first place, he could have directly acquired Symbian—at this time, this company hadn’t been acquired by Nokia, and the difficulty of acquisition wasn’t too high, it was just that the price would be much higher than that of the Android company.

Besides hoping to quickly launch finished products, in fact, the Android company also had another route at the beginning, which was a smartphone operating system based on touch screens, but this was too difficult, and coupled with their difficulties at the time, they still made a “quick success” choice.

But now, money wasn’t a problem, and as for personnel, they could expand recruitment.

IC Capital would provide the Android company with enough funds to complete the development of a touch screen-based operating system—after all, after the sale of MySpace, IC Capital’s books still had nearly 350 million US dollars in funds.

And because Baron had used both Apple’s iOS system and the Android system in his previous life, he was familiar enough with them.

Through Ivanka, he described as many aspects of the operating system in his memory as possible and handed them over to the Android company.

Next, it was up to the Android team to implement them—this also greatly reduced the difficulty of their developing such an operating system.

It was worth mentioning that, according to Baron’s wishes, the provider of these materials was hidden—apart from Baron’s existence, Ivanka said these were her own ideas, which, after the Android team’s initial indifference, after carefully looking at these “conjectures,” immediately found them astounding and also looked at Ivanka with new eyes.

Later, their attitude towards some of the opinions relayed by Ivanka was completely different, and they began to carefully discuss them.

Thus, after adding more funds to the Android company, the team’s progress in the development of the new mobile phone operating system began to accelerate.

During this period, in addition to participating in the development of the Android system, Baron also gave Ivanka another task—to acquire another company.

Chapter 428: AuthenTic

“AuthenTic?”

“Yes, have you forgotten? On that list of companies I had you gather regarding fingerprint recognition, AuthenTec was near the top.”

Seeing Ivanka’s surprised expression, Barron said calmly.

“I remember… but I was a little puzzled at the time. Could it be… you’re planning to incorporate fingerprint recognition into mobile phones? But the current technology isn’t up to par!”

The company they were discussing, AuthenTec, was founded in 1998. Their primary product was fingerprint scanners.

AuthenTec held numerous patents covering fingerprint identification chips, chip packaging, software, and end-use applications.

As Ivanka said, current fingerprint recognition was indeed a long way from being applicable on mobile phones. Otherwise, it wouldn’t be that no phones had used this function until now.

In fact, as early as 1998, Siemens had showcased its own fingerprint recognition mobile phone.

The fingerprint technology of this phone came from Bromba. Although it was only a prototype and not mass-produced, it proved to the world the possibility of mobile phones incorporating fingerprint recognition.

Even in Barron’s previous life, the Motorola Atrix 4G [ME860], which was launched in April 2011, was the earliest smartphone to feature fingerprint recognition, but until then, these fingerprint recognitions were all sliding type (also called swipe type) for identification.

Then, in 2012, after Apple acquired the fingerprint sensor manufacturer AuthenTec for 356 million US dollars, the iPhone 5S they launched the following year could be called the world’s first phone equipped with a touch-based fingerprint recognition.

“Yes, the current technology is still far from incorporating fingerprint recognition into mobile phones, but I hope to start laying out plans now and conduct targeted research, and AuthenTec is a related company I am optimistic about.”

Sorry, Steve Jobs, who told you to pave some of the way for me ahead of time…

So I can only intercept once more.

It’s worth mentioning that AuthenTec’s current scale can only be described as decent. They will not IPO until 2007, and when Apple acquired the company, the price of 356 million US dollars was a 60% premium relative to its market capitalization.

According to relevant assessments, the current acquisition price of this company will not exceed 50 million US dollars.

Ivanka was still very convinced of Barron’s decision. Her previous questions were just because she wanted to understand more content.

After the two of them decided, she left New York and began the acquisition of AuthenTec.

…

After Barron went to Los Angeles to accompany the Hearst sisters, as well as Rebecca and her daughter for a few days, and also paid attention to the tech companies in Silicon Valley, he left the United States and returned to London.

When he returned to London, it was already October.

He happened to catch the listing of the Argent Real Estate Group – starting a few months ago, Argent Real Estate Group had started the IPO process. This time, Argent Real Estate Group would publicly issue 171 million shares, accounting for 15% of the total capital after issuance.

And October 3rd was the day Argent Real Estate Group officially listed on the London Stock Exchange’s main board.

The sponsoring bank for Argent Real Estate Group’s listing this time was Barclays Bank. They finally determined the issue price of their shares to be 5.5 pounds. Based on this calculation, after Argent Real Estate Group’s listing, its market capitalization would exceed 6.27 billion pounds.

On the day of the listing, Argent Real Estate Group’s stock price also performed well. The opening price exceeded 6 pounds, and the highest price during trading exceeded 6.5 pounds. Ultimately, it closed at 6.37 pounds that day, an increase of 15.8% compared to the issue price.

Thus, the market capitalization of Argent Real Estate Group reached 7.26 billion pounds.

And Barron’s DS Holding Company and the Devonshire Family Trust Fund held nearly 300 million shares of Argent Real Estate Group in total. At this time, their value had reached 1.911 billion pounds, which could be said to be a huge profit.

At the same time, because of the issuance of shares, the proportion of shares held by DS Holding Company and the Devonshire Family Trust Fund had been diluted from the previous 31% to 26.35%.

It can be said that the entire IPO process of Argent Real Estate Group was relatively successful. Therefore, the group’s shareholders, including the Earl of Booth, were also very satisfied with this result.

Because the 171 million shares of Argent Real Estate Group they issued publicly this time were all new shares, none of the original shareholders sold their shares.

The current stock price being higher than the stock issue price also allowed the other shareholders to choose the opportunity to reduce their holdings at a better price – of course, this was for those shareholders who themselves hoped to cash out the shares of Argent Real Estate Group.

Neither the Booth. family nor Barron had prepared to reduce their holdings of Argent Real Estate Group’s shares in the short term, but for them, the increase in the value of their holdings was also conducive to using these shares to obtain financing loans.

“My dear wife, don’t work too hard, after all, you are not just one person now…”

When Barron returned home, he saw that his newlywed wife, Bonnie Stuart, had already returned early, but when he saw her, she was handling official business in the study, so he couldn’t help but remind her.

“I know, darling, I just have a little something to do, sending them an email.”

Bonnie saw Barron walk in, a sweet smile appeared on her face, and she said so.

After she finished sending the email and closed the computer, she saw Barron come over to help her up and couldn’t help but laugh:

“I’m not so inconvenienced, don’t worry, darling, I’ve already started arranging to hand over most of the work to my subordinates, and I’ve recently hired another assistant. After the company operates normally, there won’t be too many things.”

By now, Stuart Media could be considered to be on the right track.

In addition to their previous programs “Dancing Miracle” and “Shining Life,” new programs had also been arranged.

The second season of “Dancing Miracle” had ended, and Bonnie could no longer serve as the host of the second season of “Shining Life,” but the performance of the new host could also satisfy her.

As for the new program, a grassroots talent show named “Britain’s Got Talent,” both the judging guests and the host had also been confirmed.

Yes, this program was the one that Barron in his previous life first launched in Britain in 2007. After the response was overwhelming, many countries, including the United States and China, bought the copyright to produce the “Got Talent” show.

It was still Barron who provided the creative idea to Bonnie, and even the judging guests and hosts of this program were found by Stuart Media according to Barron’s ideas (the original timeline lineup).

At that time, Bonnie had not yet discovered that she was pregnant, so she personally took care of the planning and invitation of the program.

It’s just that after she discovered she was pregnant, she couldn’t bear too much work and gradually handed over the main work of this new program to her subordinates.

TalkbackTHAMES, which Stuart Media had previously acquired, would produce “Britain’s Got Talent,” and Bonnie would also pay attention to the progress of this program, trying to make it a success.

“Honey, you also need to get used to having bodyguards with you in the future. You know, that incident on the London Underground, safety is the most important thing now.”

Hearing Barron mention this topic, Bonnie looked at him with some helplessness:

“Okay, I will, just don’t make too much of a fuss.”

Although Bonnie was now mostly doing behind-the-scenes work, she was still a public figure.

Especially after marrying Barron, the most popular Duke in Britain, it could be said that every move of hers attracted much attention.

Correspondingly, the slight changes in her figure recently were also captured by reporters, so the news about the Duchess, who was called the “English Rose,” being pregnant also appeared in many media reports.

Bonnie herself was Barron’s legitimate wife, and there was no need to hide such a thing.

But the issue of her safety was, of course, worth noting. Barron had carefully selected two female bodyguards to protect her, and every time she went out, there would be a team of security personnel following to provide protection.

Chapter 429: OMX Group

“Speaking of which, ITV’s new host is doing quite well recently…”

Hearing Bonnie mention this, Barron asked:

“You mean Jo Hariman?”

After getting confirmation from Bonnie, Barron shook his head and said:

“This… can be considered a pleasant surprise.”

Speaking of which, after failing to stop the SEM Group’s acquisition of ITV, the competition among the top three television stations in Britain is still quite fierce.

Not long ago, the host of an ITV financial talk show was poached by Sky Television, which caused a certain impact at the time—it was a rather popular financial talk show, and Jo Hariman eventually temporarily filled the role of the show’s host.

After the SEM Group completed its acquisition of ITV, SDTV integrated with ITV, using the name ITV and a new logo.

Jo Hariman was responsible for completing the integration at that time, and because of this, after the role of the host was vacant, the person in charge of SDTV set their sights on Jo Hariman.

She is a top student who graduated from Oxford University with degrees in political science and economics, and before that, she had worked at Ernst & Young, responsible for merger and acquisition consulting.

Most importantly, Jo Hariman has an outstanding appearance, with a bright and elegant look, so she is really a good candidate.

The only thing is that Jo Hariman had no experience as a host or in front of the camera, but since things had come to this, they had to give it a try.

As a result, after recording a trial episode, Jo Hariman’s performance was surprisingly excellent, with her own unique style.

Then after this episode was launched, Jo Hariman’s performance received wide acclaim, and she became the host of the show.

Because this program is only once a week, it is not a heavy workload, and Jo Hariman can take care of her previous work as well, so she accepted this new job.

“Actually, she even attended our wedding, you probably don’t remember.”

“Really? I really didn’t notice at the time, she…”

After hearing Barron mention this, Bonnie had a thoughtful expression on her face.

After all, although there were many executives from Barron’s companies attending their wedding, those people were all top-level managers. Speaking of which, Jo Hariman actually attended the wedding, and Bonnie couldn’t help but think more about it.

“She came with the Conservative Party leader, Howard, and his family. Jo Hariman has a very close relationship with the Howard family. She came to the SEM Group at the recommendation of Cameron…”

Hearing what Barron said, Bonnie immediately understood, and she then asked:

“Darling, what do you think of inviting her to be the host of Britain’s Got Talent?”

“Don’t you already have a candidate for the host? And as far as I know, she probably won’t accept this invitation.”

Barron explained to Bonnie:

“Speaking of which, even the position in the SEM Group will only be a stepping stone for her. With her resume, it is obvious that her ultimate goal is to enter politics…”

When Barron said this, Bonnie understood.

In fact, from the very beginning when Jo Hariman joined the SEM Group, Barron, after investigating her, had already understood that the path of her resume was a very standard accumulation of experience, and the template for ultimately entering politics.

Jo Hariman herself has the background of the Conservative Party’s bigwig, the Howard family, so it’s only natural for her to make such a choice.

Just like the ITV financial program she is currently working on, because it fits her expertise, while also increasing exposure and enhancing her popularity, giving the public the impression of being professional in economics, she is very willing to do it.

But a variety show like Britain’s Got Talent, which is entertainment-oriented, is not attractive to Jo Hariman, because it does not help much with her future planning path.

Barron believes that Jo Hariman’s choice to join the SEM Group probably also has Howard’s guidance behind it—this kind of media group is very suitable for accumulating prestige and building connections in the early stages. At the same time, entering the SEM Group can establish a relationship with Barron, a figure who cannot be ignored, but it will not appear too intimate, and in the future, it will not be attacked by competitors. This can be said to be a very clever move.

…

“I fully agree with the acquisition of Sweden’s OMX Group. They have a dominant position in the Nordic securities market. After merging with the London Stock Exchange, it can increase the synergistic effect of the two, and effectively explore the application of new technologies…”

Clara Furse, CEO of the London Stock Exchange, said this when meeting with Barron.

A year after acquiring the London Stock Exchange, Barron had a new plan, which was to acquire the OMX Group, headquartered in Sweden, and merge it with the London Stock Exchange. After forming the London-OMX Group, it would become the largest securities exchange in Europe.

The OMX Group owns and operates the largest joint securities trading market in the Nordic region, has several stock exchanges in the Nordic and Baltic regions, and also develops and provides technology and services for companies in the global securities industry.

At this time, the OMX Group owns many exchanges, including the Helsinki Stock Exchange, the Copenhagen Stock Exchange, the Stockholm Stock Exchange, the Iceland Stock Exchange, the Tallinn Stock Exchange, the Riga Stock Exchange, and the Vilnius Stock Exchange.

In addition, the OMX Group provides technical solutions for more than 60 stock exchanges and serves customers in more than 50 countries.

Therefore, acquiring the OMX Group can not only bring the Nordic and Baltic securities markets to the London Stock Exchange, but also in terms of technology, the OMX Group is more advanced than the London Stock Exchange at this time. Introducing these technologies will help the London Stock Exchange increase its profits.

It is worth mentioning that in 2004, the OMX Group’s profits were even higher than those of the London Stock Exchange. In addition to some of the profits from the technology services they provided, their technology could also increase the income of the exchange to a certain extent.

In Barron’s previous life, two years later, the OMX Group was bid for by the Nasdaq Group and the Dubai Exchange. After a period of confrontation between the two bidders, an agreement was reached—the Dubai Exchange acquired the OMX Group for $4 billion in cash, and then resold the OMX Group to the Nasdaq Group.

In exchange, the Dubai Exchange received 20% of the Nasdaq Group’s shares and 28% of the London Stock Exchange’s shares held by the Nasdaq Group.

Yes, at that time, the Nasdaq Group had previously acquired the London Stock Exchange, but it did not succeed in the end, but it still obtained a considerable portion of the London Stock Exchange’s shares.

But now, Barron will not leave these acquisition opportunities to the Nasdaq Group. He will take the lead in acquiring the OMX Group.

Currently, the OMX Group is listed in Sweden, and its market value is similar to that of the London Stock Exchange, both around $3 billion.

The London Stock Exchange is now wholly owned by the Global Industrial Investment Fund (GII). After GII Fund CEO Finn Hudson completed the acquisition in China, he has returned to London. He will immediately use the funds from the second phase of the GII Fund to support the London Stock Exchange’s acquisition of the OMX Group.

After all, the London Stock Exchange’s profits at this time are completely incomparable to those of a few years later. In 2004, the London Stock Exchange’s gross profit was only 50 million pounds. There has been a certain increase this year, and it is estimated to be only more than 60 million pounds… After 2010, the London Stock Exchange’s annual profit will exceed 400 million pounds.

Chapter 430: Devonshire Series

“It seems the newspapers are quite critical of this Miss Catherine…”

The Countess of Booth. looked quite well, her face still flushed, which fully demonstrated that the effects of the recent knowledge acquisition were still quite obvious.

Seeing her holding a newspaper and saying this, before Baron could say anything, the Earl of Booth. on the side chuckled and said lightly:

“They all say she wants to be a princess too much. She hasn’t found a job since graduating, but instead came to London to rent a house. Wherever Prince William goes, she follows, the intention is too obvious.”

Listening to their discussion, Baron didn’t say much, after all, he had some interaction with the future Princess Catherine.

When he saw the Countess getting up, the Earl of Booth. couldn’t help but ask:

“Are you going out again?”

“Yes, I’ve arranged to go shopping with Mrs. Campbell…”

She stopped, turned her head, and smiled charmingly:

“By the way, it seems that Gucci’s newly launched Devonshire series is quite successful, it’s become the current hot topic of discussion.”

“That’s exactly what I hoped for, Madam.”

As the Countess said, as early as May, Baron had selected Alexander Michele, who was the designer for Gucci Group’s London design department at the time, to be responsible for opening up a new series for Gucci’s haute couture—the Devonshire series of fashion.

This series was designed to target the top-tier luxury effect of Hermès’ “Himalaya Birkin” series in leather goods.

After staying at Chatsworth House for a period of time, Alexander Michele lived up to expectations and finally drew inspiration, designing a series of fashions with strong British classical aristocratic elements. These fashions received high praise during the Paris Fashion Week starting in September.

Because of this, after the Devonshire series of fashion was launched in Gucci Group’s flagship stores around the world, it caused a rush among socialites and wealthy ladies to buy them.

But similarly, the Devonshire series of fashion was not something you could buy if you wanted to. Similar to the “matching” form of later high-end luxury brands like Hermès, to purchase the Devonshire series of fashion, customers must be Gucci’s senior VIP members, and their spending amount at Gucci that year must be sufficient, accumulating enough points to be eligible to purchase…

After all, the Devonshire series itself was not launched to increase sales volume, but to establish Gucci’s position in the high-end luxury field.

This high threshold for purchasing eligibility, on the contrary, made socialites and wealthy ladies who were able to buy the Devonshire series of fashion make it their capital to show off.

On social networks like Woaw.com, one can often see socialites and wealthy ladies wearing the Devonshire series taking selfies, and their comments always receive many envious replies.

As a high-end luxury brand, Gucci also launched a promotional campaign in China. They directly obtained local approval and released the new season’s models, including the Devonshire series, on the Bund in Shanghai. The theme was “Inheritance and Modernity”. On one side was the European style of the Republic of China, and on the other side, across the river, one could see the modern skyscrapers of the Bund. Holding such a fashion release directly in China, which was rare for a high-end luxury brand, was indeed very fitting for the theme.

This of course also sparked a topic in China’s fashion circle for a period of time, greatly increasing the brand’s awareness in China.

On the Bund, not far from the Devonshire (Bund) Hotel, the final release used the Devonshire series clothing as the finale, which also made “Devonshire” become synonymous with nobility and luxury in the minds of many people.

……

After the Countess left, Baron and the Earl of Booth. talked about the topic of the Argent Real Estate Group.

The Argent Real Estate Group successfully conducted an IPO listing, which made the Earl of Booth. full of spirit. After all, not only did they raise more than 900 million pounds in funds, but the Argent Real Estate Group’s market value of over 7.2 billion pounds also increased the Booth. family’s wealth to a certain extent.

Next, according to the plan, the Argent Real Estate Group would not only be satisfied with the projects in the urban renewal plan in the King’s Cross area of London, they were preparing to go to Australia and enter the Melbourne real estate market.

“We have already studied the Australian real estate market. The local real estate developers there are not very strong, and cities like Melbourne, with more and more high-net-worth new immigrants pouring in, the demand for housing is also rising rapidly. There, we have already acquired a piece of land not far from the city center and are preparing to develop it commercially.”

It seemed that the Earl of Booth. was quite interested in discussing these things, and Baron also knew that developing Australian real estate now was a good choice.

“In addition to Australia, the real estate development in the emerging markets of Asia is also very promising…”

“Yes, but these also need to comprehensively consider all other factors. Generally speaking, we are optimistic about the real estate in India, Southeast Asia, and China. After gaining a firm foothold in Australia, we will try to enter these markets.”

The Earl of Booth. said with a slight regret:

“In fact, we have conducted some detailed investigations of the Chinese market. In the real estate industry, they still have many restrictions on foreign capital. Relatively speaking, the capital from Hong Kong and Taiwan is more competitive there.”

“There is no need to worry too much about this. China has joined the WTO and will become more and more open in the future. Moreover, we can also cooperate with local real estate companies for development, which will also be a good way to avoid some risks.”

The Earl of Booth. also expressed that he could consider Baron’s proposal.

After leaving there, Baron went to Catherine.

At this time, she had already returned to London with her daughter Emily. When Baron went there, Catherine had just coaxed her daughter to sleep.

“Shh, be quiet, she just fell asleep. After crying for a while, she can finally sleep peacefully…”

Catherine whispered in his ear, carefully walking into her daughter’s bedroom with Baron.

Looking at her daughter’s cute little face in her sleep, Baron couldn’t help but smile.

Speaking of which, looking at little Emily like this, one could see the traces of Baron’s inheritance in her facial features. He believed that she would definitely be a great beauty when she grew up.

After walking out of her daughter’s bedroom, leaving a maid to look after the child, Baron embraced Catherine in his arms.

It had to be said that she had recovered really well after giving birth, and in Baron’s feeling, Catherine, who already had a “full” bust, had increased in size even more after giving birth…

Well, after his precise manual measurement, his estimation was really not wrong.

“You…”

Catherine at this time was already flushed, and gradually, most of her body weight was also borne by Baron.

“Madam, I think it’s time for you to study…”

Saying this in her ear, Baron almost completely supported her with his own strength and carried the woman to the bedroom upstairs…

Chapter 431: Klarna Pay

The acquisition of the Swedish OMX Group by the London Stock Exchange was not that simple.

Although GII Fund and the London Stock Exchange had already communicated with the OMX Group regarding the acquisition, the London Stock Exchange offered a full cash acquisition plan of 3.3 billion US dollars, a 10% premium. The other party’s board of directors was also discussing the London Stock Exchange’s offer.

However, even if the other party agreed to this acquisition, the London Stock Exchange and the OMX Group, two of the largest European exchanges, which would become the number one exchange in Europe after the merger, would inevitably be subject to relevant investigations by the European Union and Sweden.

At the same time, this acquisition had definitely become big news and attracted widespread attention.

After receiving the London Stock Exchange’s offer, the OMX Group didn’t seem to be in a hurry. After all, with this news, other exchanges, such as the Deutsche Börse or the Nasdaq Group, would be affected and might join the bidding.

Putting aside whether they were willing to sell the OMX Group, even if they were willing to sell, they would have to see if there was a higher bid, wouldn’t they?

In this regard, GII Fund and the London Stock Exchange could only wait for further developments.

However, they were not worried, because a pure cash acquisition was always more attractive…

And now, even if the Nasdaq Group or the German exchange joined the bidding, the possibility of them completing the acquisition with cash was not high. They would likely use stock, or at most, cash plus stock for the acquisition. From the perspective of the OMX Group’s shareholders, they would still need to consider the future trend of the exchanged stock.

After all, not all mergers and acquisitions would be successful. It could even be said that a considerable portion of large-scale mergers and acquisitions ultimately did not achieve ideal results.

And the second phase of GII Fund had raised 12 billion US dollars in funds. After completing the previous acquisitions, they still had nearly 6.5 billion US dollars, which was fully capable of supporting this acquisition.

…

“We have basically reached an agreement with China’s Supor Company. We will increase our stake in this company to over 65% by purchasing shares from its founding family and through the issuance of new shares, to initially complete the control of this company…”

Argos Retail Group CEO Nathan Ellington reported to Barron in the company’s headquarters conference room:

“This process will be mainly completed by Argos Holding. What we are investing is not only funds to help them with standardization and transformation, but we will also merge part of our factory capacity invested in China into Supor Company. After completing the integration, not only will the company’s technical strength be improved, but their production capacity will also expand. The products will mainly involve small kitchen appliances…”

“What about the technology?”

“We have already obtained a portion of Siemens’ technology authorization and technical personnel…”

Nathan pushed up his glasses and smiled at Barron:

“It is said that Bosch is already negotiating with Siemens to acquire their 50% stake in the Bosch-Siemens joint venture, from which Siemens will withdraw from the home appliance industry. The Siemens brand in this industry will be owned by Bosch-Siemens, which is wholly owned by Bosch.”

As early as the 1960s, Bosch had formed a joint venture with Siemens to establish Bosch-Siemens, which was used to produce home appliance products.

At that time, both parties had certain strength in the home appliance field, but relatively speaking, Bosch had a longer history of development in this field, which was also the reason why the two parties chose to join forces.

Later, Bosch entered the Chinese market, also relying on Siemens’ accumulation in China, and gradually gained popularity.

Now Siemens was preparing to withdraw from the home appliance field, so Bosch had to purchase all the shares of the joint venture Bosch-Siemens. From then on, the global Siemens home appliances were actually produced by Bosch—in fact, there was no difference, it was still the original team of Bosch-Siemens that was producing and operating.

However, although the two parties had established a joint venture, for a long period of time before, the Bosch and Siemens brands were still competing with each other.

Now that Siemens was going to withdraw from the home appliance field, it naturally hoped to maximize its interests, so Argos Holding took the opportunity to obtain a series of patent technology authorizations from Siemens in the small appliance field, and hired some technical personnel from Siemens to complete the task of helping Supor Company complete the technology upgrade.

And obtaining the relevant technology from Siemens, which could upgrade Supor Company’s technology, was also the main reason why Supor Company’s founder, Su Zengfu, agreed to relinquish control of Supor Company.

According to the agreement with the founder of Supor Company, Su Zengfu’s family, after obtaining the controlling stake in Supor Company in the first phase, if Supor Company achieved the set goals, then one year later, they would need to sell the remaining shares to Argos Holding again, so that Argos Holding could complete the privatization of Supor Company.

Next, Supor Company would still sell under its original brand in China, but in the European and American markets, it would initially sell under the Argos self-operated brand.

Small appliances themselves were one of the most popular categories for European users to purchase online, and by controlling the production of its own brands in this way, it could improve Argos.com’s competitiveness and profit margin in the small appliance category.

“And then there’s our payment system. We have currently partnered with Klarna Pay to provide services for our online payments. From the current feedback, users are still relatively welcoming of this new and faster method.”

Just like Alibaba’s Alipay and eBay’s Paypal in the future, Barron knew that having a reliable online payment platform was a very important thing for e-commerce.

Therefore, before, Digital Future Investment Company, under the Caesar Fund, came forward to acquire Klarna, a Swedish startup that had just been founded this year.

Klarna allowed users to register with their email addresses and provide their credit card and other information. They would conduct a comprehensive credit analysis of the users. When users used it for shopping, if Klarna’s analysis results showed that the amount of their shopping was within the credit limit, then the user would receive this credit, complete the shopping, and later receive a bill sent by Klarna via email.

Obviously, unlike China’s Alipay, which was based on bank transfers for online payments, Klarna was more suitable for the shopping habits of Europe and America, which used credit cards as the main payment method.

However, in fact, not all European and American users liked this “credit card swipe” way of purchasing.

During Klarna’s cooperation with Argos.com to promote its services, they received feedback that consumers in the Netherlands, Germany, and other countries might be trying to avoid credit card debt, or simply preferred to pay with the cash in their existing bank accounts, and they were the main users of bank transfer payments for electronic shopping.

Therefore, after being renamed Klarna Pay, Klarna added support for bank transfer payments.

After continuous improvements through cooperation with Argos.com, Klarna Pay would provide online payment services for users in Woaw, DailyVedio, and O2 Telecom’s online payments in the future.

Chapter 432: Virgin Mobile

Speaking of which, developing e-commerce was indeed very expensive in the early stages.

Especially for a model like Argos, which combined physical stores with e-commerce, they needed to build a large number of goods transfer warehouses and provide pick-up points for users in the markets they entered.

Even though almost all of the Argos Retail Group’s previous profits were invested in this “infrastructure,” and coupled with Argos Holdings’ acquisition of Supor and other upstream investments, there was still a lack of funds.

At this time, it naturally needed Barron to provide financial support.

So recently, the Global Industrial Investment Fund invested 1 billion US dollars in the Argos Retail Group, acquiring 10% of the shares of the Argos Retail Group. Based on this calculation, the valuation of the Argos Retail Group reached 10 billion US dollars.

However, this valuation was not at all inflated. After all, the Argos Retail Group at this time had nearly 1,000 stores in Britain, Ireland, and France, and its e-commerce business and some warehouses and pick-up points had also entered the entire Western European market, and was currently advancing into the Nordic market…

Moreover, the Argos Retail Group also held 38.46% of the shares of Fast Retailing Group.

Currently, the shares held by the Argos Retail Group are: DS Capital holding 67.5% of the shares; Rich23 Capital holding 22.5% of the shares; and the GII Fund holding 10% of the shares.

In addition, it is worth mentioning that since the GII Fund is divided into Phase 1 and Phase 2, the company shares held by these two phases of the fund are held by the two holding companies, GII-1 and GII-2, respectively.

GII-1 holds shares including 47.5% of the Four Seasons Hotels, 40% of the shares of Fast Retailing Group (after merging with the Primark clothing chain), and 100% of the shares of the London Stock Exchange, as well as the initial 500 million US dollars invested in the high-frequency trading fund Hera located in London.

And the 10% of the shares of the Argos Retail Group are held by GII-2 Holdings.

In addition, GII-2 also holds 100% of the shares of Glory Electronics and 10% of the shares of TSMC.

Just like this acquisition of the OMX Group, it was GII-2 that cooperated with the London Stock Exchange to carry it out.

After obtaining 1 billion US dollars in funding, the Argos Retail Group will continue to strengthen its presence in the European market, so as to seize as much market share as possible and consolidate the market before Amazon enters Europe.

…

When Barron, led by a well-figured female attendant, opened the private room of this high-end private club, a burst of clamor and liveliness came over him.

“Barron! My dear Barron, you’re finally here!”

The one who shouted this voice at him, even drowning out the music in the private room, was Prince William.

However, from his flushed face, it could be seen that this guy had already drunk a lot of alcohol.

Although Barron’s age was not that old at this time, he would soon celebrate his 26th birthday, not much different from William and the others, but in fact, he was no longer used to this kind of night revelry.

Giving William a hand gesture, indicating that they should continue to play, Barron looked around the private room and found a place to sit down.

“Your Grace, we’re about to leave, and you’re just arriving…”

Sitting next to Barron was Princess Holly Branson of the Virgin Group. Because the music in the room was a little loud, she leaned into Barron’s ear and said this.

“It looks like you’ve had a lot to drink… Holly.”

Although Barron could smell alcohol from Holly when she spoke just now, it seemed that she was not really drunk. She poured ice cubes into the glass, then added whiskey, and handed it to Barron, saying:

“You know, William is about to leave London…”

She shrugged and smiled:

“So, this is excusable.”

Barron knew that William had just finished his internship at HSBC, and then at the beginning of next year, he would be sent to the army for “training.” By then, as a prince, being watched by countless eyes, he would no longer be able to relax like he is now…

But since Holly happened to be by his side, Barron wouldn’t miss the opportunity. He casually said:

“I heard that NTL is contacting your family, hoping to acquire Virgin Mobile?”

Holly smiled when she heard this, blinked at Barron, and said:

“I don’t really care about business matters at home, Barron.”

“Oh?”

“Why, are you also interested in Virgin Mobile? By the way, O2 Telecom is your business…”

“If there’s an opportunity, I still hope to give it a try… Maybe I’ll give a better price, Holly.”

“Haha…”

Hearing Barron’s words, Holly laughed:

“It’s not very likely, Barron, as a friend, I have to be frank, even if you can offer a higher price, it’s just used by my father as a bargaining chip in negotiations with NTL.”

“Because of the name ‘Virgin’?”

“See, you know it, Barron.”

The trend in Britain now is that the telecommunications industry and television channels and other businesses have begun to integrate.

Just two days ago, Sky Television bought the broadband service provider Easynet for 375 million US dollars, thereby completing the key step of “triple service” of broadband access, pay TV, and internet telephony.

Now, the only thing they haven’t been involved in is the mobile phone business.

And NTL is currently the largest cable television operator in Britain. Barron also got the news that they are contacting Virgin Mobile, which is owned by the Virgin Group, hoping to complete a merger with it.

Virgin Mobile is the fifth-largest mobile operator in Britain. Of course, its scale is far inferior to O2 Telecom – according to the information Barron received, NTL’s offer for Virgin Mobile was less than 1.5 billion US dollars, which is in line with the value of Virgin Mobile.

Just as Holly said, I’m afraid that even if Barron could offer a higher price, her father, Richard Branson, would still not choose to sell Virgin Mobile to Barron.

It’s because of the word “Virgin”…

In Barron’s previous life, after NTL merged with Virgin Mobile, all its businesses were placed under the “Virgin” brand, and it was renamed Virgin Telecom…

And Richard Branson owns 72% of the shares in Virgin Mobile. It is very likely that in the merger, the shares of the new company he obtains will become the largest shareholder of “Virgin Telecom.” This also expands the scope of the Virgin brand, which is what Richard Branson values most.

And once this acquisition is completed, then after the merger, the new company will have 2.5 million broadband users, 4.3 million fixed-line users, and more than 5 million mobile phone users, thereby becoming the first telecommunications giant in Britain that can simultaneously provide “quadruple service” of mobile phones, landlines, pay TV, and high-speed network access.

It is very likely that by then, the new company will also launch the currently popular mobile TV business.

Even a strong company like O2 Telecom only has the two businesses of broadband and mobile communications…

Chapter 433: Advantage

In terms of online television programs, Baron had the Freeview platform and on-demand programs under Digital UK, providing services to users through broadband access provided by O2 Telecom.

The current situation was that companies that originally provided television content services were adding broadband networks, thus embracing the internet, and shifting their content from television to the internet, like Sky Television.

And companies that were originally engaged in telecommunications businesses were preparing to start trying to launch online video platforms, such as the supposedly largest telecom company in the UK, British Telecom (BT), which would launch its video platform next year…

Baron also remembered that in his previous life, in 2007, the European Union required that the broadcasting rights of the Premier League could no longer be exclusively authorized, so the broadcasting rights of the Premier League in the UK at that time were jointly obtained by Sky Television and BT.

It could be seen that after entering the online video platform, BT had invested a lot in this area.

The area of this private room was extremely large. Besides Prince William, there were also noble children, including the eldest son of the Duke of Norfolk, Henry Howard, and the Lennox sisters from the Duke of Richmond’s family. Of course, there were also many members of commercial families closely related to the royal family, such as Holly Branson.

Baron had arrived relatively late, and as the evening progressed, it was obvious that William’s condition had entered a state of intoxication.

Generally speaking, although there were occasional moments of such “carnival,” most of the time, because of his education and his responsibilities as a member of the royal family, William rarely had such times. However, today, on the one hand, he was with friends in a private place like a club.

On the other hand, it was also the change of roles—after his graduation, he would have to take on more and more responsibilities, and the work of royal family members was not like most people’s, who worked from nine to five and always had private life after work, while royal family members needed to work around the clock, and at any moment, they represented the image of the royal family and the image of the UK.

It was indeed a process to adapt to this situation.

At William’s age, at this time, it was understandable to occasionally indulge and enjoy the relaxation after being drunk.

“Shall we find a hotel and send them over? Kather, are you okay?”

William, who had been very active, suddenly passed out and was somewhat unconscious, so Holly was a little hesitant in the face of this situation.

After all, with William in this state, it was definitely not appropriate to send him home. It seemed better to send him to a hotel to rest temporarily, but the security measures of the hotel also needed to be considered. If the newspapers tomorrow reported about the prince drinking and passing out, that would definitely be a big trouble for the royal family.

“I… I’m fine.”

At this time, Kather’s face was also flushed. As she said this, her feet were slightly unsteady. Well, it was really hard to believe that she was really okay.

“I have a villa nearby. It’s no problem for them to stay there for one night first.”

At this time, Baron spoke.

“That’s great.”

Holly immediately breathed a sigh of relief that Baron had come forward to deal with the situation.

Like the others, although their families were all wealthy and noble, they were still “younger generation” after all, not to mention the situation of the others, many of whom were not much better. If Holly handled it, the best choice could only be to book a room at a hotel for William and Kather, which was still somewhat inappropriate.

Baron’s bodyguards were already waiting in the cars outside. Baron made a phone call, and they came in here and helped William out of the club.

As for Kather, she had a look of hesitation on her face when Baron said he would take William and her to his villa, and she opened her mouth to speak, but in the end, she said nothing.

However, at this moment, although she said that her condition was fine, she still walked to the door of the club with the support of Baron’s personal assistant, Alia.

Because of their identities, the motorcade had stopped at the door of the club, and there were bodyguards keeping an eye out to prevent anyone from taking photos.

After they got in the car, the motorcade started, and Baron took William and Kather to his mansion, The Holme, in Regent’s Park.

“Miss Kather, this is Ms. Saran Fioria. She is the housekeeper of this villa. Just ask her if you have any questions.”

After settling the “unconscious” Prince William in a bedroom suite, Baron introduced Kather to a mature woman with a beautiful face.

“Okay, thank you, Your Grace.”

Speaking of which, although Baron had previously suggested taking William and her to stay in his villa, although she had not objected, Kather was still filled with nervousness and trepidation.

After all, she had once had an “unexpected” encounter with the young Duke in front of her, but at that time, she could not have imagined that the young man who had had a one-night stand with her was actually of such an identity…

But it was so strange that after Baron arranged things for the two of them very properly and without any other expression, and left with his entourage, Kather felt relieved, but also had a few inexplicable…

For Baron, if judged purely from appearance, Kather was considered beautiful, and her temperament was also good, but she was not considered particularly outstanding among his women…

The only thing that could be tempting was probably her future “princess” identity, but at the moment, it did not have…

Therefore, Baron also had no need to have anything special to her… Even if his former self had a brief encounter with her, so what?

…

As expected, not long after the London Stock Exchange proposed to acquire the Swedish OMX Group, their competitors appeared.

The German Exchange, which had lower listing fees and transaction fees, and was also second only to the London Stock Exchange in terms of trading volume, issued their offer to the Swedish OMX Group. The German Exchange was willing to acquire the Swedish OMX Group with a combination of cash and stock. According to the current stock price, their offer was around 3.45 billion US dollars, which was slightly higher than the London Stock Exchange’s offer.

And in addition to the German Exchange, the Nasdaq Group also showed interest in the Swedish OMX Group. It was said that they had sent a team to Switzerland to contact the management of the OMX Group, and it was very likely that they were also preparing to make an offer for the OMX Group.

In this situation, the London Stock Exchange would naturally not relax.

“We will continue to track the situation of the German Exchange and the Nasdaq Group, Your Grace. In any case, we will outbid them.”

Finn Hudson, CEO of Global Industrial Fund, said to Baron:

“As far as we know, both the Nasdaq Group and the German Exchange have experienced more or less acquisition activities recently. At this time, they do not have an advantage in terms of funds.”

Chapter 434: We Are Friends

In the matter of acquiring the OMX Group, they primarily needed to handle three aspects.

Firstly, they needed to persuade the OMX Group’s board of directors and management to accept the London Stock Exchange’s acquisition proposal.

Secondly, they needed to compete with the German Exchange, the Nasdaq Group, and other potential rivals.

In fact, the first two items were a combined issue. After all, since the OMX Group was willing to talk, it meant they had the idea of selling; otherwise, they wouldn’t even give the London Stock Exchange the opportunity to negotiate.

Since that was the case, all the London Stock Exchange needed to do was offer a suitable price. As competitors, the German Exchange and the Nasdaq Group wouldn’t excessively raise the price either; they also needed to participate in the competition within the limits allowed by their boards of directors.

Just like when the German Exchange initially acquired the London Stock Exchange, it was because of the final bid that their own board of directors did not support it, and therefore, they were unsuccessful.

Then, the last and most important issue was that the relevant review agencies of the United Kingdom and the European Union would approve the London Stock Exchange’s acquisition.

This itself was the London Stock Exchange expanding its securities market business in Northern Europe and the Baltic states. The relevant agencies in the United Kingdom would certainly not obstruct it.

The main thing was to obtain permission from the European Union.

In this kind of anti-monopoly review, the stock trading industry, which the OMX Group and the London Stock Exchange were engaged in, was different from other products.

Therefore, the London Stock Exchange emphasized to the relevant EU agencies that after acquiring the OMX Group, it would not affect its provision of technical services to other exchanges.

Another point was that after their merger, their market share in Europe would not be monopolistic. Even in Northern Europe, there were still other exchanges. Moreover, the proportion of local companies listed on exchanges in Germany, France, and even the United States was not low.

In the final analysis, the United Kingdom was also a member state of the European Union at this time. Within the European Union, the strictness of the review they faced was much more lenient than the review of non-EU countries acquiring EU companies.

……

October 18th was Barron’s twenty-sixth birthday.

This was also his first birthday after marriage. Unlike before, because Bonnie was already pregnant, he did not celebrate his birthday lavishly, but instead mainly stayed at home with Bonnie and celebrated it in a low-key manner.

As October arrived, the weather in London also became colder.

Originally, Barron suggested going to a place with better weather, such as the Mediterranean coast or California, so they could go out more, which would be beneficial for Bonnie’s pregnancy.

Even Hong Kong had very good weather, and moreover, Bonnie had lived in Hong Kong for a few months when she was a child—her father had worked in Hong Kong for several years before returning to the United Kingdom.

However, because she was worried about the affairs of Stuart Media, she chose to stay in London.

It was worth mentioning that their new program, “Britain’s Got Talent,” had already aired its first episode on ITV, and the response was very good.

Barron had also watched it. Although he hadn’t watched the first episode of Britain’s Got Talent in his previous life, he had watched some episodes of later seasons, and he had also watched the “Got Talent” shows in China and the United States.

His evaluation was that this episode of “Britain’s Got Talent,” although not the most exciting of them all, was still satisfactory as a new variety show that had just been launched.

Bonnie’s plan was that after the first season of “Britain’s Got Talent” was completed, the company wouldn’t have too much work this year, so she could leave London with peace of mind.

After his birthday, Barron met John Smith, the husband of Jennie Booth, and also the youngest son of the Sinclair family’s founder, who had come to London.

“I need your help, Barron.”

John Smith looked at Barron and said to him:

“Of course, this is also related to your interests.”

“Please, John, we can be open and honest.”

Although he hadn’t paid too much attention to the Sinclair family, Barron had heard something about their recent affairs:

“Also, I am very sorry about your father’s situation… I hope he can get better soon.”

“Thank you, the matter I’m talking about is also related to this.”

John Smith paused and said:

“You currently own more than 10% of our Sinclair Group’s shares, right?”

“Yes, to be precise, it’s a 12.5% shareholding ratio.”

Initially, the SEM Group had carried out strategic cooperation with the Sinclair Group. Through investing in the SEM Group, the Sinclair Group had obtained 10% of its shares. This investment had also brought them considerable profits.

At the same time, DS Capital had also obtained 9% of the newly issued shares of the Sinclair Group by investing in it.

After that, DS Capital had also continued to purchase some shares of the Sinclair Group in the secondary market, and its current shareholding ratio was around 12.5%.

Although the future market value growth of the Sinclair Group would certainly be far inferior to that of the SEM Group, as the second-largest television broadcasting company in the United States, holding a certain proportion of shares in the Sinclair Group was still very useful to Barron in many aspects.

Just like before, in the process of the United Energy Group acquiring Unocal Corporation, the Sinclair Group’s public opinion reports had also played a role in their acquisition.

“So you currently have a seat on the Sinclair Group’s board of directors, right? Represented by Mr. Amber Sheen.”

“Yes, John, it seems you’ve run into trouble. Feel free to speak, we are friends.”

Barron spread his hands and said directly.

“We need your support regarding the removal of David from all his positions…”

Hearing John Smith’s words, Barron’s eyes narrowed slightly:

“You mean…”

“Yes, we are preparing to resist him, my elder brother!”

The David that John Smith was talking about was David Smith, he was the eldest son of the Sinclair family, and also the CEO of the Sinclair Group.

“This is not an easy matter, John. Although I don’t know what happened, David has been the CEO for over ten years, and he is probably not so easy to deal with…”

Barron sighed and said:

“And if there is no more convincing reason, even if I support you, it won’t be advantageous. By the way, who do you mean by ‘we’?”

“Since I brought up this matter, Barron, it won’t be groundless. I have already gained the support of some family members. In addition, some members of the board of directors have also sided with me…”

John Smith’s expression was rather calm. He said sincerely to Barron:

“I just hope to stop David’s radical actions, in order to save the Sinclair Group.”

Chapter 435: Heirs

In 1971, John Smith’s father, Julian Sinclair Smith, acquired the Baltimore, Maryland television station WBFF-TV. After continuous development, the Smith family established the Sinclair Broadcast Group in 1986.

However, Julian’s health declined later. In the 1990s, Julian’s eldest son, David Smith, became the group’s CEO and began rapid expansion.

In 1995, the Sinclair Group already owned 13 television stations. To rapidly expand its scale, David Smith decided to take the company public.

In the same year, the group acquired another five television stations at once.

Up to now, the Sinclair Group has owned over 100 local television stations across the United States, becoming one of the largest television operators in America.

From this process, it can be seen that David Smith was very important in the development of the Sinclair Group. Therefore, Barron said to John Smith that it would be very difficult to overthrow David Smith’s “rule” over the Sinclair Group.

Although the Sinclair family, including David Smith, is usually very low-key, he is very aggressive in the company’s operations.

In the past 10 years, from owning a dozen television stations to the current scale of over a hundred, the Sinclair Group has always completed its expansion through acquisitions and mergers.

The consequence of this is, naturally, that the company has taken on a large amount of debt.

John also told Barron that in the early days of the Sinclair Group, especially after going public, such an aggressive strategy did bring development to the company, but after accumulating so much debt, he hoped to stabilize things, adjust the company’s financial structure, and then proceed with the next step of expansion.

In addition, John Smith also had differences with his elder brother regarding the future development direction of the company.

John Smith believed that with the current trend, the time young people spend on television was becoming less and less. He believed that the internet was about to change the traditional media industry, and that the Sinclair Group should increase its efforts in the internet industry in the future.

Therefore, he once proposed acquiring some promising media websites, but David Smith disagreed with this, directly vetoing John’s proposal and instead preparing to spend a lot of money to continue acquiring television stations…

Of course, this kind of thing had happened before. What led John Smith to decide to launch a “rebellion” was still last week, when their father, Julian Sinclair Smith, suddenly suffered a stroke and was hospitalized. Even after emergency treatment, he never regained consciousness…

It should be known that Julian had a total of six children, five sons, and one daughter.

The first three children were born to Julian’s former wife, while John Smith, his fourth brother, and his sister were all born to Julian’s current wife…

Relatively speaking, these six children are prone to forming two camps in terms of their feelings.

If it were before, although their father Julian had always held the position of chairman of the group, David Smith had served as CEO for more than a decade, and his control over the company was completely incomparable to that of John Smith and his siblings, the “current three siblings”.

Even in the internal affairs of the group, David Smith and his “ex-wife’s three brothers” had been deliberately or unintentionally denying and suppressing the “current three siblings,” and they could only endure it.

But the current situation no longer allowed them to hesitate. With their father Julian’s condition, they didn’t know when he would pass away—David Smith was now acting as chairman—if that situation occurred, the other party’s “ex-wife’s three brothers” would inevitably slowly squeeze John Smith and his siblings out of the Sinclair Group.

Moreover, John Smith also had supporters on the board of directors and among the major shareholders.

After all, the SEM Group could be said to be the most successful investment of the Sinclair Group in recent years, and this investment brought the Sinclair Group substantial profits.

This investment was initially proposed and led by John Smith.

Therefore, based on this achievement, his ability was also affirmed by some people.

Moreover, John Smith’s idea of expanding and investing in the internet industry also had supporters on the board of directors and among the shareholders.

In addition, although the Sinclair Group had been constantly acquiring and expanding under David Smith’s leadership, it had also accumulated a lot of debt and had not had much time to digest it…

This also led to the fact that the Sinclair Group’s stock price had not risen much in recent years.

Under this continuous expansion strategy, some shareholders couldn’t help but have doubts about it.

Here, it is necessary to explain the current shareholding situation of the Sinclair Group. It can be said that since going public, because of continuous acquisitions, the Sinclair Group has also been constantly introducing investors, but their family has also not relaxed their repurchase of shares.

Therefore, as of now, the Sinclair family’s shareholding in the group still exceeds 43%, which can be said to be very solid in terms of controlling the shares.

Among them, the Sinclair Family Trust owns approximately 25% of the shares of the Sinclair Group, and each of the remaining six children holds approximately 3% of the shares of the Sinclair Group.

In terms of shareholding ratio, the “ex-wife’s three brothers” and the “current three siblings” are basically equal.

The key lies in the 25% of the shares held by the family trust…

According to the regulations, the trust fund holds the voting rights of the shares, with a total of 7 votes. If their father Julian passes away, then his current wife, that is, John Smith’s mother, will only have the right to benefit from the family trust and will not have voting rights. The six siblings each have one vote, and the key is that their father Julian’s voting right will go to the eldest son, David Smith…

That is to say, David Smith will have two votes, and the “ex-wife’s three brothers” will control the shares of the family trust with a voting ratio of 4:3 relative to the “current three siblings”.

This decision is also understandable. After all, no matter what, David Smith, as the head of the Sinclair family, had served as CEO before the group went public, and naturally, he was more trusted by his father Julian.

Therefore, with the other party leading the 25% of the Sinclair Group’s shares held by the family trust, if John Smith wants to “rebel” against his elder brother, then he only has two methods to achieve it.

The first is to obtain the support of shareholders holding more than 50% of the shares.

Or to obtain the support of more than half of the votes in the board of directors.

In either of these methods, obtaining the support of Barron, who holds 12.5% of the Sinclair Group’s shares and has a seat on the board of directors, is crucial.

The board of directors of the Sinclair Group has 11 members. In addition to the six siblings of the family, the attitudes of the other 5 board members are particularly important.

If John Smith wants to remove David Smith from the board of directors, then he needs the support of six votes.

According to the information John Smith revealed to Barron, he has already obtained another vote on the board of directors. Adding the three votes of the “current three siblings,” as long as Barron supports his proposal, then he can get another vote and convene a board meeting to complete the “feat” of removing his elder brother David Smith.

“We are friends, John. As long as it is something beneficial to the Sinclair Group, I will support you.”

Barron said with a smile:

“But before that, I still want to know, where are you planning to make a breakthrough next?”

Chapter 436: Standing on the Side of the Victor

“Besides that, the most likely option is the Vanguard Group. They also hold a vote on the board. If we can get their support, then this proposal will succeed…”

From this, one can see the Vanguard Group’s penetration into American companies. Currently, the Vanguard Group’s shareholding in the Sinclair Group is around 7.5%.

Of course, it’s not just the Sinclair Group. In the top ten shareholders of many listed companies, one can see the Vanguard Group’s presence.

And by entering the boards of directors of these companies, they can also maintain a certain influence over these companies.

Besides DS Capital and the Vanguard Group, the institutions holding shares in Sinclair also include Bank of New York Mellon, HG Vora Capital Management, and Fidelity Investments (FMR). These three institutions all have representatives on the Sinclair Group’s board of directors. Their combined holdings in the Sinclair Group are between 5% and 10%…

Among them, HG Vora Capital Management holds 10% of the Sinclair Group’s shares, making them the second-largest shareholder after the Sinclair family.

Now it seems that the board members besides the Sinclair family include DS Capital, the Vanguard Group, Bank of New York Mellon, HG Vora Capital, and Fidelity Investments.

John Smith needs to obtain DS Capital’s support and believes that the Vanguard Group is the most likely to be persuaded…

Then, of the remaining three, Bank of New York Mellon, HG Vora Capital, and Fidelity Investments, one of them must have already expressed support for John, and at least one is a staunch supporter of David Smith, with the rest leaning towards their side as well.

“You can rest assured about me, John. I will stand on the side of the victor.”

Baron patted John Smith on the shoulder and said to him with a smile.

Hearing his words, the other party relaxed and left satisfied.

As for the Vanguard Group, even though Baron and them currently have a relatively close relationship, he wouldn’t actively use his personal connections to persuade them for John Smith’s ambitions.

After all, there’s a price for everything, and profit is the driving force behind his actions.

In fact, he doesn’t care about the Sinclair family’s succession battle, or who ultimately wins, because he is a “neutral” investor.

Just as he said, he will only stand on the side of the “victor.”

…

“Dr. Quinn, your statement just now indicates that if the London Stock Exchange can complete the acquisition of the OMX Group, after the merger, it will be able to create a globally leading financial infrastructure in a broader European market, which would be a significant strategic opportunity…”

“In addition, I believe that although the London Stock Exchange has a long history and is the earliest exchange in the world, it has been relatively conservative in the application of new technologies in recent years, and it is also challenged in Europe by the German Stock Exchange – their fees are lower, and they have gradually caught up in trading volume. Worldwide, the New York Stock Exchange and the NASDAQ Group are also developing more rapidly. The OMX Group itself is at the forefront of the application of new technologies, and the merger of the two can also bring more changes to the London Stock Exchange…”

On the TV screen, the host, Joe Harriman, from ITV’s program “Economic Hotspot,” was facing the camera and speaking eloquently.

It could be seen that Joe Harriman was performing very well.

However, what was shown on television was just a superficial appearance, or rather, it wasn’t her true performance. After all, even though Joe Harriman had a good education and resume, which certainly made her a professional compared to ordinary people, her statements on this program had a whole team providing her with intellectual support behind the scenes.

This is somewhat similar to many internet celebrities in later generations, who also need the support of a team to appear exceptionally outstanding in front of the camera… Joe Harriman’s main job wasn’t to output her own wisdom, but to perfectly present the “wisdom of the team,” the viewpoints targeted at each issue.

This experience would also be good training for Joe Harriman’s future political plans – after all, under the “democratic” system of the West, this type of performance-oriented politician is the easiest to gain support.

“Darling, how do I look?”

Tamara’s voice came from the stairs. Baron turned his head and casually said:

“Very beautiful, baby…”

But as soon as he said that, noticing her slightly changing expression, Baron immediately added:

“Especially this dress, it suits you very well, even better than the model wearing it.”

Sure enough, the girl’s face immediately brightened, and with a sweet smile, she sat next to Baron and gave him a kiss.

Next, Tamara’s attention shifted to the TV screen:

“Is this Joe Harriman? Darling, what do you think about me trying to be a host too?”

“Are you serious?”

“Well, I still want to try it. After all, having a job, at least I won’t be so bored…”

Baron remembered that, in his previous life, Tamara, this F1 princess, had been a model after graduation, and later worked as a host for a long time…

So, letting her try being a host wouldn’t be too absurd. Well, in Baron’s opinion, it was at least much more reliable than being a model.

After all, in his previous life, this socialite had even taken some very revealing photos for Playboy magazine when she was a model… If he had been willing to feast his eyes on them back then, then in his current identity, he definitely couldn’t accept it.

And it was indeed the case that Tamara hadn’t worked after graduation, and was idle all day – of course, with her family background, even without working, her time could be filled with various activities, but if she liked that kind of life, Baron would just let her do it. Now that she wanted to try working, it was a good idea.

“You’ve thought it through, baby. If you really want to try being a host… I can arrange it for you, but in the workplace, you have to be professional, and don’t always act like a spoiled princess…”

But before that, Baron always had to give her a heads-up. He certainly couldn’t let the girl affect the normal operation of his company. If that were the case, he would just catch her back and let her continue her “boring” socialite life.

“I know, darling, I will definitely take it seriously.”

Just as Tamara was acting coquettishly with Baron, a message flashed on his phone. Baron took a closer look:

“Plan completed, agreement reached.”

A smile appeared on Baron’s face:

“Baby, I think you can start with being the host of a reality show. Well, you can experience it first…”

Chapter 437: Board of Directors Meeting

“My dear brother, what are you up to today? Holding a board meeting? Right after Father passed away?”

The Sinclair Group’s headquarters was in Baltimore, Maryland, United States, where their family initially established the company by acquiring a television station.

In the conference room of the headquarters, David Smith, the current CEO and acting chairman of the Sinclair Group, looked at his youngest brother, John Smith, and asked coldly as he watched the board members walk in one after another.

“I’m sorry, my brother, requesting a board meeting today is because it’s really necessary to raise some questions…”

Although John Smith was habitually a bit… afraid when facing his elder brother’s angry words, at this moment, he still endured this discomfort, faced his eyes directly, and said:

“As for the specific proposal, I will state it after everyone arrives.”

“Haha, very good, my brother, you’ve really become something…”

David Smith surveyed everyone in the conference room, and finally his gaze fell on his two other brothers—also members of the family’s “ex-wife trio,” Duncan Smith, who was second in line, and Robert Smith, who was third. Seeing what he wanted to see in their eyes, David Smith felt reassured.

Before long, ten people were seated in the conference room, including six members of the Sinclair family, as well as three board representatives from the Leading Group, New York Mellon Bank, and Fidelity Investments…

In addition, there was Ms. Debbie Hogan, the Chief Legal Officer of the Sinclair Group. Although she was not a board member, as an important member of the group’s management, she could attend the board meeting as a witness but had no voting rights.

“When can we start?”

David Smith looked at John Smith with disdain:

“Let me see what you’re capable of, my crybaby brother…”

John Smith clenched his teeth upon hearing this, and he looked at Debbie Hogan…

Ms. Hogan cleared her throat softly, looked at the watch on her wrist, and said:

“We have contacted the board members in advance, and Mr. Amber Sheen, the representative of DS Capital, has indicated that he will participate in this board meeting via remote phone. Another board member…”

When Debbie Hogan said this, the corners of John Smith’s mouth curled slightly. Although he hadn’t convinced HG Vora Capital Management to support this proposal, he had received confirmation that they would not send someone to attend this board meeting…

It was obvious that they hadn’t sent anyone to the meeting by now, in which case, he could completely say that he had the upper hand!

Just then, the door of the conference room was pushed open, and a blonde beauty in a white suit walked in…

“Sorry, I hope I’m not late.”

She nodded slightly at the surprised gazes of everyone and sat in the remaining empty seat.

And Debbie Hogan continued to introduce to everyone:

“Another board member was sent by HG Vora Capital Management, but they transferred their 10% stake in the Sinclair Group to IC Capital before yesterday, so Ms. Ivanka will now replace them as a member of the board. All of these have been completed through formal procedures.”

“Hello everyone, I am very glad to become a member of the Sinclair Group’s board of directors. I hope to be able to work with everyone in the future to contribute to this long-standing and prestigious media group.”

Ivanka stood up gracefully, her beautiful face, which was familiar to the American public, smiled as she said this.

And as she said these words, some board members couldn’t help but look at each other, and many people’s eyes were filled with surprise and astonishment.

“Why wasn’t this announced earlier?”

John Smith couldn’t help but question.

“We have sent the relevant information to your mailbox, and there is a record of this. If you haven’t seen it…”

Debbie Hogan shrugged and didn’t continue, but instead said:

“Now everyone is here, and Mr. Amber Sheen, the representative of DS Capital, has also connected via remote phone…

She pushed up her glasses and turned to John, asking:

“Mr. John Smith, can you state what proposal you have to announce by calling everyone here?”

Thinking of the number of votes he held, even with the uncertainty of IC Capital suddenly appearing, there was nothing to be afraid of. John Smith immediately composed himself and said:

“I propose to remove David Smith from all positions, including acting chairman and CEO, and re-elect the chairman…”

As John’s words fell, everyone in the conference room had different expressions, some expectant, some calm, some surprised, and some angry…

“Clap clap clap…”

David Smith actually started clapping, but the look in his eyes towards his brother John was almost icy:

“Well done, you traitor of the family, let me see what else you can do…”

“Please don’t interrupt me, I haven’t finished yet…”

At this moment, John Smith was like a drawn bow, with no turning back, he could only choose to fight on.

“The reason is because of you, David, your reckless and aggressive approach, constantly borrowing money to acquire. Although the scale of the Sinclair Group seems to have expanded, the accumulation of debt is also dragging this company into the abyss, and it is obvious that times have changed, televisions are increasingly becoming decorations in young people’s homes… I’m not saying we need to abandon this business, but rather, we should start investing in the internet while maintaining the business, instead of continuing your massive and dangerous acquisitions…”

Finally, facing David Smith’s gaze, which was almost as if he wanted to kill him, he forced himself to calm down and said:

“This proposal of mine is entirely for the future of the Sinclair Group. Although the company’s scale has expanded in the past two years, the profit level has not increased accordingly, and it also carries a huge debt. For the shareholders, David’s management style is no longer suitable…”

“You bastard! I’ve done so much for the company, for the family, and you? You stab me in the back, what else can you do besides doing such despicable things? I’d like to see how long you can last without the company, relying on you, a weakling?!”

While David was roaring at John Smith, Chief Legal Officer Debbie Hogan coughed again and said lightly:

“Mr. David Smith, Mr. John Smith has put forward his proposal, and according to the process, we need to vote on it.”

David Smith took a deep breath, looked at everyone coldly, and took the lead in raising his hand, saying:

“I object!”

“I object too!”

“I also object to this proposal!”

Next, Duncan Smith and Robert Smith, the other two family members and also members of the “ex-wife trio,” followed suit and expressed their attitudes.

Three votes against, 3:0.

Seeing this, John Smith immediately said:

“I agree, David must leave the company for there to be hope!”

After he finished speaking, he looked at his allies.

“I agree.”

“I also agree.”

Unsurprisingly, the “current siblings” also launched a counterattack.

3:3, a tie.

It was obvious that infighting had broken out within the Sinclair family, and the six people’s initial statements also hoped to influence the other board members.

“We object to this proposal, and believe that what the Sinclair Group needs most at the moment is stability, so as to give investors confidence, rather than rashly changing the management.”

This statement came from the representative of New York Mellon Bank, who seemed to support David Smith more.

At this moment, John Smith’s gaze wandered, and finally landed on the representative of Fidelity Investments.

“We support this proposal, not based on you personally, Mr. David Smith, we just hope that the Sinclair Group can change.”

4:4, another tie!

Chapter 438: The Revelation

The board meeting had reached a fever pitch, and everyone knew the results were about to be revealed…

Would John Smith, the youngest son of the Sinclair family, succeed in his “rebellion,” or would David Smith, the eldest son of the family, hold onto his throne?

Sinclair Group’s Chief Legal Officer, Debbie Hogan, was still presiding over the meeting’s proceedings. Her gaze fell upon Ivanka, the representative from IC Capital, who had arrived last.

However, before she could speak, Ivanka said, “As a new member of the board, I’d like to hear others’ opinions first, as a reference. This way, I can be more impartial in making a decision that concerns the company’s future. What do you think, Ms. Hogan?”

The representative from the Leading Group, who was on Ivanka’s side, was about to say something when Debbie Hogan spoke, “I understand. So, what is the Leading Group’s choice?”

The Leading Group’s board member frowned, looked around, and met John Smith’s gaze, sensing the anticipation within…

He pondered for a moment and said, “We agree with Mr. John Smith’s view…”

As soon as he finished speaking, he suddenly paused. His phone had received a text message…

After silently confirming the contents of the text message, he continued, “Although we also believe that the operation of the Sinclair Group needs some changes to show investors a better development prospect, we have no intention of interfering in your family’s internal conflicts, and we hope that any decision will not affect the company’s development… Therefore, we choose to abstain.”

When the Leading Group’s representative finally announced their abstention, the expressions of the others varied.

John Smith looked at the other party in disbelief, but the other party did not meet his gaze, but instead, was like an old monk in meditation, looking at his nose and contemplating his heart.

David Smith, on the other hand, revealed a smile, raising his head again like a victorious lion king.

“May I ask Mr. Anber Sheen of DS Capital, what is your opinion?”

Now, DS Capital was John Smith’s last hope. As long as they still supported him, the worst-case scenario would be a tie with the other side, and he would still have a chance…

But the voice that came through the remote phone call made John Smith feel as if he had fallen into an ice cave.

“We choose to abstain.”

Just such a simple sentence, and then there was no sound.

This also indicated that John Smith’s two “allies” had chosen to betray him.

As his face turned ashen, the final decision rested with Ivanka, representing IC Capital.

“As shareholders of the Sinclair Group, we hope that this company can remain stable, especially at such a difficult time. Therefore, we choose to oppose today’s proposal.”

Ivanka’s statement represented that the victor had been decided.

“A total of eleven board members voted on Mr. John Smith’s proposal—to remove Mr. David Smith from all positions in the company—with five votes against, four votes in favor, and two abstentions. Ultimately, Mr. John Smith’s proposal… does not pass!”

Although this summary by Sinclair Group’s Chief Legal Officer, Debbie Hogan, represented that the board meeting today had reached a final conclusion.

John Smith was like he had been drained of his strength, and he slumped in his chair…

“John, it’s okay, we still have opportunities…”

A woman with a beautiful face, a tall and curvaceous figure, and a mature charm, turned her head to say softly to John Smith.

She was John Smith’s sister, ranked fifth in the family, and the only girl, Barbara Smith.

Although today’s failure, Barbara Smith and another brother who shared the same mother with them, inevitably felt low…

However, John Smith seemed to have not heard this at all, just muttering, “Liars, they’re all liars…”

Besides them, another board member who had stood on John Smith’s side just now, the black female representative from Fidelity Investments, also looked very dejected.

Just as they were about to leave…

“Bangbang”

David Smith patted the table and said, “It’s a pity, my dear brother, your rebellion has failed. But since everyone is here today, I’d also like to take this opportunity to have the board vote on another matter.”

In the previous vote, he had received more votes of support, and David Smith looked in a good mood:

“Everyone must be aware that my father passed away not long ago, and I am also immersed in grief. But as the CEO of the Sinclair Group, I see bad signs, especially after what happened today. What happened in this room may be reported in the newspapers tomorrow, or even tonight.”

“We have lost the great founder of the group, and now we are facing infighting. If this is widely reported, it will be a devastating blow to our company and the company’s stock price. The only thing that can give the public confidence in us now is to quickly elect a new chairman, to let everyone understand that the Sinclair Group will still not fall, and will continue to expand under the leadership of the new chairman…”

“This is what I want to say. I hope that since the members of the board are all here today… uh, Mr. Anber Sheen of DS Capital is also online via remote phone, so the most urgent thing now is to elect a new chairman.”

It seemed that David Smith was very astute and seized the opportunity when he was at an advantage to propose the election of a new chairman—who in the room now would be more suitable to take this position?

“I object!”

It seemed that at this moment, John Smith realized David Smith’s intention, and he shouted loudly.

“Shut up! You loser, my cowardly and stupid brother, you should hide in a corner and cry your heart out, instead of making a fool of yourself here. You have lost enough votes, and I can tell you that everyone who continues to stand with you will be kicked out of the company!”

“You…”

“Ms. Hogan, I think some people are trying to cause trouble and should have security escort him out of here…”

Hearing David Smith say this to him, Debbie Hogan looked hesitant—after all, although John Smith had failed in the “power grab” just now, he was still a member of the board…

“Mr. David Smith, I think your proposal just now was too urgent. We don’t have enough time to discuss it, and we may not be able to make a rational enough decision. In addition, if you really want to vote on your proposal in accordance with the procedures, then Mr. John Smith should not be kicked out…”

This sentence was said by the representative of the Leading Group.

And what was interesting was that after he said this, Ivanka, the IC Capital representative who had cast the crucial vote just now and stood on David Smith’s side, also said:

“I agree with what was just said. Although Mr. David Smith, you make a lot of sense, we need to give the public confidence by appointing a new chairman, but this should not be a hasty decision…”

If possible, David Smith, of course, hoped to be able to make a quick decision, to take advantage of the “momentum” he had just won in the vote, and take the position of chairman of the Sinclair Group in one fell swoop, so that he could legitimately grasp the power of the company, and even start to eliminate John Smith and these family traitors.

But now, the representatives of the Leading Group and IC Capital had joined forces to oppose the immediate continuation of the chairman election, and after that, the representatives of Fidelity Investments and Bank of New York Mellon also echoed this point…

David Smith was not too surprised by this, including Ivanka’s “defection,” because he understood that it was time for an exchange of interests…

“It’s eleven o’clock now. We’ll take a three-hour break. At two o’clock in the afternoon, we’ll hold another board meeting to vote for the chairman. You have no objections, right? In addition, for the benefit of the company, rest rooms and food will be provided during this period, but please do not leave this building.”

Chapter 439: Candid

“Your Grace, here are the planning maps for the new capital, Brita, from the Kolo side, and the design drawings for the Jupiter Tower that the Golden African Real Estate Group is preparing to build for you…”

After Laura handed the documents to Baron, he leaned back in his chair, creating enough space under the desk.

Seeing this, the elegant and graceful female assistant’s face flushed slightly. She walked slowly to the side of the desk in her high heels and knelt on the carpet… The space under the desk was enough to maneuver.

The afternoon sun was nice today. Baron flipped through the planning maps and design drawings, and from the corner of his eye, he could see the sunlight shining on the female assistant’s black chignon, highlighting a touch of gold…

At this moment, Baron’s phone received a text message. After reading it, a smile appeared on his face.

He put the phone back on the desk, and within a few minutes, Baron’s phone rang again…

“Your Grace, your phone…”

Seeing that Baron didn’t pay any attention to the ringing phone, the female assistant stopped her “work” and looked up, asking curiously.

Baron pulled her up, making her support the desk, and then…

A “sizzling” sound rang out…

Now, Laura wouldn’t be able to help but exclaim like she did at first.

She clenched her teeth, trying her best to support her body…

And Baron’s phone, after a moment of silence, rang again.

While exercising, he calmly reached out and picked up the phone, answering it:

“Hello, this is Baron.”

After saying this, he pulled the phone away…

Sure enough, even at this distance, he could still hear the almost screaming volume of John Smith on the phone:

“F**K, Baron, you traitor! Didn’t you promise to stand by me? Why did DS Capital choose to abstain? Don’t tell me that’s Amber Sheen’s own decision!”

“Don’t be so excited, dear John…”

Baron said, pulling the office chair under him. After he sat down, he patted his female assistant, signaling her to be “proactive.”

Then, he leisurely said:

“First of all, John, you might have remembered wrong. I didn’t promise to support your proposal. What I said at the time was that I would stand on the side of the victor – if you could be considered the victor, that is. Unfortunately, you messed it up.”

“Are you playing me?!”

“No, John. Impulsiveness can’t solve any problem. I’ve already told you, it’s you who messed it up!”

Baron was quite impressed with his own self-control. It seemed that his female assistant needed to strengthen her stamina…

He continued:

“I can have Mr. Sheen vote in favor, abstain, or even support your elder brother. You can’t just blame others. You should first reflect on why this happened, or do you need me to remind you? You said you’ve pulled the representatives of the Navigator Group to your side, but did you forget to tell me how you won them over? What did you promise them?”

After Baron said this, John Smith, who had been looking like he was going to interrogate him, immediately fell silent.

“Baron, I, I was just using a strategy.”

Baron smiled, not letting him off the hook, and continued:

“A strategy? John, we’re not children anymore. Don’t say things like that. If it really was a strategy, then you wouldn’t have deliberately kept it from me, would you?”

At this moment, Baron had already stood up, and the female assistant knelt on the chair… It was because she was already exhausted.

Baron looked at the scenery outside the floor-to-ceiling window and said:

“But do you know? You promised to sell them the shares of SEM Group held by the Sinclair Group, letting the Navigator Group support you. At the same time, this is also the reason for your failure this time. Because the Navigator Group didn’t just get a promise from you to buy the shares of SEM Group; they also made the same request to your elder brother.”

“So, not only will I stand on the side of the victor, the Navigator Group will as well. No matter who wins, they will get what they want, of course, provided they don’t encounter me.”

John Smith, who used to be so full of spirit, was now so utterly defeated.

He wasn’t unaware that the promise he made to the Navigator Group would cause Baron’s dissatisfaction.

It was just that at that time, he intentionally or unintentionally ignored this point, or rather, he thought that after he gained control of the company, all of this wouldn’t be a problem.

But now, he was like a gambler who had lost all his chips at the table, and the only thing he hoped for was to turn the tables.

“The board of directors will meet again this afternoon. When David wins this position, he will drive us all out of the company. That won’t be good news for you either, Baron…”

“You’re wrong, John. No matter who sits in the chairman’s seat, it won’t affect SEM Group’s cooperation with you. I believe David can see this and understand that cooperation with us is a win-win situation.”

“But Baron…”

Baron didn’t listen to the rest of the other person’s words at this moment. Instead, he put the phone on the desk and focused on learning knowledge…

Laura was also immersed in learning, unaware of where she was, only able to tightly cover her mouth…

Finally…

Baron, while the female assistant was helping him clean up, picked up the phone:

“John, as a friend, I can give you one last chance, but you need to show your sincerity…”

…

After the female assistant left the office, Baron dialed Ivanka’s number.

“Have you taken care of him?”

“Yes, darling. How’s David Smith doing?”

“He agreed to almost all the conditions I proposed… It’s estimated that the promises he made this noon are more than he made in the past year.”

Ivanka’s clear voice came from the receiver:

“It’s just a pity that this is destined to be a smokescreen, isn’t it? By the way, dear, what I’m curious about is, why did you guess that the Navigator Group would cast an abstention vote?”

“It’s very simple, because I also gave them a smokescreen…”

Three hours earlier…

“Hello, Mr. Bogel, I’m very glad to receive your call…”

Not many people were able to have Baron’s private number, and John Bogel, the founder of the Navigator Group, was one of them.

“Your Grace, I’ll get straight to the point. The board of directors of the Sinclair Group will be held soon, and I believe you are also paying attention to this matter…”

“Haha, sir, I think there are more things worth paying attention to, and no matter what, it won’t affect our interests there, right?”

Obviously, Bogel didn’t think that what Baron said was his true thought:

“This doesn’t match the information we received from John Smith, Your Grace.”

“Perhaps you received the wrong information, or John misunderstood. These are all possible.”

Seemingly not wanting to beat around the bush anymore, Bogel said lightly:

“We just received accurate news that there have been changes in the shareholders of the Sinclair Group. IC Capital bought the shares of HG Vora Capital and replaced them on the board of directors… What do you think about this?”

Chapter 440: Brita

“I didn’t know about this any earlier than you did, but it’s certain that this matter will likely have a significant impact on the outcome of the meeting…”

“Your Grace, as far as I know, your relationship with Miss TP’s eldest daughter, well, the ‘young genius investor,’ Miss Ivanka, is quite good.”

Baron’s relationship with Ivanka was kept secret from the public, but it didn’t surprise John Bogle that he knew about it, though he wouldn’t explicitly admit it:

“I do have some business collaborations with Miss TP, which are not fundamentally different from my collaborations with Vanguard Group. It’s just like I can’t influence your decisions either, wouldn’t you say, Mr. Bogle?”

“But we know that two days ago, Miss Ivanka met with David Smith. At that time, the news that IC Capital would enter the Sinclair Group’s board of directors hadn’t been made public. Now, her intentions seem a bit intriguing.”

“Mr. Bogle, in any case, Vanguard Group’s interests in the Sinclair Group won’t be harmed. It’s just a matter of whether we can gain more benefits. I told John Smith that I would stand on the side of the victor. I believe you think the same, but who will be the victor?”

Baron no longer wanted to play this guessing game with the old fox, Bogle:

“I can only say that no matter what, we still have our friendship. Under this premise, I wouldn’t object to your desire to acquire SEM Group’s shares… As for the outcome of the Sinclair Group’s board meeting, I wish us good luck.”

……

This was the information Baron had given Vanguard Group before.

As for Ivanka’s question…

It was also easy to understand. As Baron said, regardless of the outcome of the board meeting, Vanguard Group’s interests wouldn’t be greatly harmed, unless they chose to stand on the side of the loser.

Because of this, after noticing the emergence of the variable, IC Capital, coupled with Ivanka’s request to cast a vote at the end, as instructed by Baron, Vanguard Group was uncertain whether John Smith’s proposal could get a majority vote at that moment—the choices of IC Capital and DS Capital were no longer under their control—so the safest choice was to abstain.

Although they wouldn’t be on the side of the victor, they wouldn’t be on the side of the loser either, which was the most prudent approach.

Once Vanguard Group made its choice, the choices made by Annabelle Sheen, representing DS Capital, and Ivanka were already determined.

This result was also good for Baron. DS Capital could choose to abstain, temporarily abandoning John Smith, but also not completely siding with David Smith, making them neutral.

It also allowed John Smith to retain the hope of a comeback—provided he was willing to show enough sincerity.

“Darling, so are we still proceeding according to plan?”

“Yes.”

……

After hanging up the phone, Baron continued to read the planning for the new capital of Kolo, which he hadn’t finished before…

Yes, the Kolo government had previously announced their new capital plan. They would transfer the country’s main administrative departments from Loti to the central city of Brita within the next three years.

In fact, Kolo had long considered moving its capital, but it was difficult to implement before due to historical reasons.

First of all, Loti’s location was not suitable to be the capital of a country.

Because, besides being a coastal city, Loti was almost right on the border between Kolo and its neighbor, Ghana…

There’s a saying that if a missile was launched from within Ghana, it could directly land in Kolo’s Presidential Palace—it was only one kilometer from the border, and their National Assembly was only two kilometers away.

The reason Baron helped the Kolo Liberation Front successfully launch a coup was also due to the geographical location of the capital, Loti…

The formation of this situation had its historical reasons. In the earliest days, the entire Kolo region was a German colony.

They landed from the sea and chose Loti to build a port and develop it.

After Germany’s defeat in World War I, the Kolo region was divided between Britain and France.

Among them, the relatively rich western Kolo region belonged to Britain and was incorporated into the Ghana colony.

Loti and the relatively impoverished eastern Kolo region belonged to France and became French Kolo.

Because Loti had been managed by the Germans for many years and was the largest city there, it was designated as the capital of French Kolo by the French.

After World War II, the African independence movement began, and both sides gained independence from Britain and France, becoming the present-day Ghana and Kolo.

Another reason was that after years of development, Loti, as the original capital of Kolo, had gathered a large population.

The entire Kolo population was less than 7,000,000, with 2,000,000 people in Loti.

Currently, the economy within Kolo was strong in the south and weak in the north. To be precise, it was concentrated in the coastal area centered on Loti.

Other areas, especially the north of the central province, which had long been occupied by “rebel forces,” were mainly agricultural and very poor.

On the one hand, although Loti had a large population, its layout was chaotic, which was not conducive to short-term replanning.

On the other hand, the Kolo government also hoped to increase the development of areas outside the coastal province.

Thus, moving the capital and transferring the government’s administrative functions to inland Kolo was a good measure.

Of course, the main reason for the actual implementation of this measure was that the Kolo government had money…

After the offshore oil fields were increasingly fully developed, coupled with the current rising oil prices, the Kolo government obtained a generous special tax on oil extraction and high profit sharing from the Kolo Oil Company, which also enabled the Kolo government to implement this capital relocation policy and build a new city.

Their new capital was chosen in Brita, located in the central province, which was originally just a small town. Next, large-scale construction would begin there, and within three years, most of Loti’s capital functions would be transferred there.

Before that, Golden Africa Real Estate Group had taken the lead in buying more than 40% of Brita’s land and would be the real estate company that benefited the most from the construction of the new capital.

Another Jupiter Building, built by Golden Africa Real Estate Group, was a 25-story “residential building” that would become Baron’s residence in Kolo.

In addition, they would also start building commercial districts, office buildings, and high-end residential areas in Brita.

It was worth mentioning that after the announcement of the construction plan for the new capital, Brita, the main arteries running through the north and south of Kolo—the Loda Expressway and the Loda Railway—would also first build the section from Loti to Brita to accelerate the connection between the new capital and the largest city.

Chapter 441: Startling Similarity

In the conference room of the Sinclair Group headquarters in Baltimore, Maryland, United States.

At two o’clock in the afternoon, the members of the board of directors gathered again to elect the chairman of the Sinclair Group, according to David Smith’s proposal.

As Ivanka had said, during the previous break, David Smith had made a lot of effort for this afternoon’s board meeting—when he proposed the election of a new chairman in the morning’s board meeting, he was opposed by shareholders including the Vanguard Group and IC Capital. He had already understood that he needed to make some exchanges of interests before he could truly gain the support of the other party.

And he did indeed do so, so now, David Smith’s face carried a composed smile; the situation was under his control.

And not just him, almost all the other members of the board of directors had completed a lot of networking during that break…

“Gentlemen, ladies, everyone is now present at the agreed time, and Mr. Anber Sheen, the representative of DS Capital, is also online via remote phone. We will begin the afternoon’s board meeting…”

It was still Ms. Debbie Hogan, the chief legal officer of the Sinclair Group, who presided. Seeing that everyone had no objections, she continued:

“According to the proposal of the acting chairman, Mr. David Smith, we are going to elect the chairman. So, who will start first?”

As soon as her words fell, David Smith directly said:

“I recommend myself to be the chairman of the Sinclair Group. I believe that the current company needs a credible person to lead the Sinclair Group to continue moving forward and to be recognized by investors. I have always served as the CEO of the group—since before the Sinclair Group went public, what kind of person I am, I believe everyone knows. Therefore, I believe that if there is one person who can make the Sinclair Group the largest radio and television group in the United States and even the world, it can only be me!”

In the United States, there is no such habit of “modesty” as in China. David Smith directly nominated himself to be the chairman.

After he finished speaking, Debbie Hogan, according to the procedure, continued to ask:

“Mr. David Smith is the first candidate for chairman. Are there any other candidates participating?”

After she asked this question, almost everyone in the conference room looked at John Smith, the Sinclair family member who had challenged his elder brother before.

Sure enough, John Smith did not disappoint everyone.

Compared to the dejection of the last moment in the morning, John Smith seemed to have regrouped at this time, but it was unknown whether his current state was truly reliable or just bluffing?

“I hope to become the chairman of the Sinclair Group. Although in terms of qualifications, as my dear brother, David Smith, said, he has richer experience, but the current situation of the Sinclair Group, everyone should know. Although the scale has been expanding, at the same time, it has also accumulated high debts and shouldered heavy pressure, but in terms of revenue, it has not been correspondingly improved. I believe everyone understands that the company has reached a time when it needs to change. The traditional television business is constantly withering, and we need to increase profit points in emerging businesses, such as the currently booming internet industry… So-called experience often also means the limitations of old ideas!”

“You’re talking nonsense, put away those damn ideas…”

Just as David Smith couldn’t help but speak out, Debbie Hogan coughed twice, interrupting the impending war of words between the two, and she said:

“Now there are already two chairman candidates, are there any other nominations?”

After waiting for two minutes, Debbie Hogan said:

“Then the purpose of this board meeting today is to elect the chairman. The candidates are David Smith and John Smith. Now, please write the name of the candidate you want to vote for, as well as your own name, on this piece of paper that has been given to you. As for Mr. Anber Sheen, who participates in the board meeting through a remote phone call, he needs to first state the name of the candidate he wants to vote for after I get back these ballots. If there are no problems, then we will start voting now.”

Next, Debbie Hogan distributed the prepared white paper and pens to the 10 members of the board of directors present, and Anber Sheen, representing DS Capital, would first state on the phone who he was voting for after everyone finished writing their ballots and they were collected…

For a moment, the conference room fell into an indescribable silence. Some people were writing on the paper with pens, and others were looking at everyone’s actions or expressions.

Finally, after a few minutes, all the folded “ballots” were collected into the hands of Ms. Debbie Hogan.

“Now I have received ten ‘ballots’, and the members of the board of directors on site have all made their choices. So, Mr. Anber Sheen, please announce now who you will vote for? Mr. David Smith, or Mr. John Smith?”

“I am very honored to be able to participate in the meeting that decides the future of the Sinclair Group. On behalf of DS Capital, we cast our vote for…”

On the phone, Anber Sheen paused briefly before saying the name:

“Mr. John Smith.”

At the moment his vote was revealed, John Smith’s face showed an undisguised smile, while David Smith frowned slightly, then relaxed, sizing up the others.

“Congratulations to Mr. John Smith, you have received one vote. Now, I will read your ballots…”

Debbie Hogan picked up a “ballot”, unfolded it, and said:

“Vote for David Smith, from David Smith.”

Well, this was not surprising at all, just like the next ballot.

“Vote for John Smith, from John Smith.”

Continue, pick up the “ballot”, unfold, and read.

“Vote for David Smith, from Duncan Smith.”

“Vote for John Smith, from Barbara Smith.”

…

When Debbie Hogan finished reading the ballots of all the members of the Sinclair family, it could be said that their preferences were still the same as in the morning, unchanged.

At this time, the votes were John Smith leading David Smith 4:3, and the leading vote came from the initial vote cast by Anber Sheen representing DS Capital.

“Vote for David Smith, from Collis Bowman.”

Another tie, 4:4, David Smith received a vote from the representative of the Bank of New York Mellon.

“Vote for John Smith, from Julie Berry.”

The young black female representative of Fidelity Investments was still on John Smith’s side…

“Vote for David Smith, from Joyce Ryan.”

But this time, the Vanguard Group chose David Smith…

It seemed that they had obtained promises from David Smith that were satisfactory to them.

History was strikingly similar; of the 10 votes currently revealed, John Smith and David Smith had reached a tie.

5:5!

Now only Ivanka’s vote was left, and it was still the deciding vote for the outcome of the two sides.

Chapter 442: The Final Bid

At this moment, a smile had already appeared on David Smith’s face, because at the morning’s board meeting, Ivanka, representing IC Capital, had been on his side.

And what many people didn’t know was that he had met with the other party earlier and had made an agreement.

It seemed that being able to pull the Vanguard Group to his side was indeed a decisive move. Although he had sacrificed some interests for it, at least he had kept his position and his family’s position in the Sinclair Group, hadn’t he?

But often, history isn’t entirely the same.

“Vote for John Smith, from Ivanka TP.”

When Debbie Hogan said this, not only David Smith, but also others, including John Smith, looked at the blonde beauty with surprise.

“No, impossible!”

David Smith even shouted. His gaze was fixed on Ivanka, hoping that she would say that the vote Debbie Morgan announced wasn’t true…

But at this moment, Ivanka had no expression on her face, even when facing the gazes of everyone filled with various emotions.

“Ms. Ivanka, and everyone present, do you all confirm the votes I just announced?”

“Yes.”

Including Ivanka, everyone confirmed that the votes read out were their own choices…

This also meant that in the morning’s board meeting, after John Smith’s challenge to his older brother, David Smith, had ended in a miserable defeat…

A dramatic scene occurred. In the afternoon’s chairman election, it was still John Smith who was elected chairman of the Sinclair Group with a majority of 6:5 votes!

Although he had imagined before that he would drive his older brother out of office and take control of the Sinclair Group, after the failure in the morning, John Smith still felt a bit like a dream at this moment.

“This time the chairman’s election is complete. Today’s meeting procedures will be filed. Congratulations to Mr. John Smith for being appointed as the chairman of the Sinclair Group, with the power to act and under the supervision of the board of directors.”

After Debbie Hogan announced the result, John Smith accepted everyone’s congratulations.

Just then, there was a “thump”…

“David!”

It turned out that David Smith suddenly fainted to the ground when he stood up!

Then everyone was in a flurry, starting to call for doctors and ambulances…

…

After the board meeting ended, Barron received the news from Ivanka.

According to the announcement released by the Sinclair Group, Mr. John Smith will serve as chairman, and the group’s former CEO, David Smith, due to health reasons, will have John Smith concurrently hold the position of CEO…

It can be said that from now on, the Sinclair Group has entered the era of John Smith.

This was also what Barron was happy to see. After all, in terms of personality, John Smith was not as strong as David Smith before. For Barron, it was also easier to “cooperate” with.

However, before this, it was necessary to make John Smith recognize reality, rather than remaining in his illusion of “success.”

In this “tug-of-war,” Ivanka’s performance was very good. Well, not just this time, since the establishment of IC Capital, Ivanka’s growth has been very rapid.

This also justified her gains. Ivanka now holds 1% of the shares of IC Capital, and in the next nine years, she can cumulatively receive 9% of the IC Capital share incentive, ultimately setting her shareholding ratio in this company at 10%.

Because when she first served as the CEO of IC Capital, she received an incentive plan of 10% of the shares to be realized annually over ten years.

According to the current scale of IC Capital, these shares are worth more than 100 million US dollars, but both Barron and Ivanka understand that with the future development of the companies they invest in, this number will reach an astonishing scale.

In addition, it is worth mentioning that as an investment company, not all of IC Capital’s investments are their assets. A considerable part of them comes from the funds of offshore companies controlled by Barron. For example, most of the funds for the acquisition of DoubleClick came from this.

Now, Barron still needs to pay attention to other more important things, such as the London Stock Exchange’s acquisition of the Swedish OMX Group.

After the Deutsche Börse and the Nasdaq Group joined the bidding for the Swedish OMX Group, in response to the London Stock Exchange’s proposed 3.3 billion US dollars in cash acquisition, the Deutsche Börse raised the acquisition price to 3.45 billion US dollars…

However, their acquisition plan was to use cash plus shares. In comparison, the shareholders of the OMX Group preferred a pure cash acquisition.

After all, although the Deutsche Börse’s trading volume is second only to the London Stock Exchange in the European exchange group, their fees and listing costs are lower, which means their revenue is much lower than the London Stock Exchange, and the corresponding stock price is not so attractive.

As for the Nasdaq Group, they also used cash plus shares to make the acquisition, with a bid of 3.5 billion US dollars, slightly higher than the Deutsche Börse.

Recently, there was news that the board of directors of the Deutsche Börse vetoed their management’s proposal to raise the price again – it was familiar, as in the previous acquisition of the London Stock Exchange, the Deutsche Börse’s board of directors also controlled the acquisition cost in this way.

So in this bidding, the Deutsche Börse has basically declared its withdrawal from the competition.

The London Stock Exchange side, naturally, can see that the OMX Group’s board of directors intends to sell the company, using the idea of competitors raising prices.

But under the reality, raising the price was also inevitable, but Barron would not let the other party continue like this endlessly.

Recently, the London Stock Exchange submitted its latest bid to the OMX Group, preparing to acquire the OMX Group for 3.5 billion US dollars in cash.

And they stated that this would be the London Stock Exchange’s final bid.

And in order to put pressure on the OMX Group, the London Stock Exchange also began to contact another exchange – the Italian Stock Exchange.

Of course, this contact was not purely a smoke screen. If the acquisition of the OMX Group fails, then the Italian Stock Exchange will be the London Stock Exchange’s alternative target.

The Borsa Italiana, is Italy’s main stock exchange, located in Milan, and its history can be traced back to the 19th century.

They not only have stock trading business covering Italy, but also the Italian Stock Exchange has the MTS bond platform, which can radiate throughout Europe.

Just in Italy, the MTS bond platform is responsible for handling the trading of Italian government bonds worth trillions of euros.

If the acquisition of the Italian Stock Exchange is completed, it can allow the London Stock Exchange to directly gain a large amount of European business.

Therefore, even if it is impossible to acquire the OMX Group, being able to merge with the Italian Stock Exchange can also greatly expand the scale of the London Stock Exchange.

It is estimated that the acquisition of the Italian Stock Exchange will cost within 1.5 billion euros, which is nearly half the price of the OMX Group.

Chapter 443: A Trip to France

On November 20th, Barron arrived in Paris. The opening ceremony for the new hotel of the Devonshire Hotel Group, a luxury hotel brand under the Cavendish Hotel Group, was being held there.

This was the first Devonshire Hotel in France, and the first Devonshire Hotel to open overseas in the UK after the one in Magic City, Shanghai.

The hotel’s opening time was shortly after France had just ended a large-scale riot that lasted more than twenty days. This riot started from the suburbs of Paris, then spread to the whole of France, and even affected parts of Germany and Austria, which also impacted the opening of the Devonshire (Paris) Hotel.

The original plan was to open on November 10th, but it was postponed for a full ten days.

On the day of the opening of the Devonshire (Paris) Hotel, Barron met Carra Bruni, whom he hadn’t seen in a long time. He then reviewed… well, French and Italian lessons with her in the hotel’s Duke Suite.

Speaking of which, at this time, Bruni hadn’t yet gotten together with her later husband in her original timeline—the old Sarkozy…

The one who is currently the French Minister of the Interior. It must be said that at the beginning of the previous riots, Sarkozy’s attitude towards the minority ethnic immigrants was very tough, which was also one of the reasons that triggered the escalation of the riots…

Speaking of which, Barron was still very satisfied with the environment of this hotel.

The Devonshire (Paris) Hotel building was originally built in 1896 and was the residence of Prince Roland Bonaparte, a grandnephew of Napoleon.

It is located in the elegant and quiet 16th arrondissement of Paris, adjacent to the Trocadéro Square and the Champs-Élysées.

In Barron’s previous life, this building was listed as a French historical monument in 2009 and was later bought by the Shangri-La Hotel Group and built into the Shangri-La Hotel, Paris. However, this time, the Devonshire Hotel got there first.

The hotel sits on the Chaillot Hill on the banks of the Seine River, facing the Eiffel Tower across the river. According to people from the past, Prince Roland Bonaparte chose his residence here precisely because he could see the Eiffel Tower.

In order to open this hotel, the Cavendish Hotel Group specially invited French interior design master Pierre Yves Rochon to design this historical monument. He ultimately combined 19th-century imperialism and 20th-century minimalism to recreate the grandeur of this building.

It can be seen that the former palace has been reborn under their renovation. Here, one can feel the unique leisurely atmosphere of Paris, as well as the intoxicating classical temperament.

The entire Devonshire (Paris) Hotel has 100 guest rooms and suites. The interior design is mainly in Rococo tones, with exquisite fabrics and oil paintings everywhere, filling the interior with Versailles style.

For example, the Duke Suite where Barron is currently staying. In the sunlight that penetrates through the gauze curtains, the classical-style furniture exudes a soft luster and elegance, highlighting the aristocratic temperament that seems to be sealed in time.

…

This time in France, Barron had other matters as well. The board game company Asmodee, in which he had previously invested, was going to conduct another round of financing.

DS Capital had already obtained 74.35% of Asmodee’s shares through two investments.

They used these funds to acquire some small board game companies, which not only increased the variety of games of Asmodee, but also expanded its scale.

Now Asmodee is one of the most well-known board game companies in Europe.

Through this process, Asmodee’s founding team also tasted the sweetness of expansion through capital acquisition. This time, the fund under DS Capital will invest 40 million euros to increase their total holdings in Asmodee to more than 90%.

Next, Asmodee is preparing to purchase more than 60% of the shares of Esdevium Games, the largest board game distributor in the UK, and gain control of this company.

In general, in Barron’s previous life, Asmodee’s expansion was somewhat similar to the LVMH Group in the luxury goods industry, continuously acquiring companies with development prospects and bringing them under its umbrella.

However, in the final analysis, the current scale of the board game industry is still limited. For example, Asmodee’s revenue last year was no more than 30 million euros. Even with a large-scale growth this year, it is still within 50 million euros.

Therefore, Barron didn’t need to come forward personally for this round of financing by Asmodee.

Another goal of his trip to France this time was Hermès, or more precisely, part of their shares.

“Your Grace, we have entrusted two banks to purchase some of the shares held by members of the Hermès family. These shares will be held by offshore companies, maintaining that the shareholding ratio of each company does not exceed 5%.”

They were very cautious about the purchase of Hermès shares and would proceed in a low-key manner. After all, there was a lesson to be learned.

Barron knew that the LVMH Group should have already held 4.9% of Hermès’ shares, which they secretly purchased between 2001 and 2002.

The purpose was to stay below the 5% threshold to avoid public disclosure and thus be noticed by the Hermès family.

This was Bernard Arnault’s usual strategy: first secretly lie in wait for the prey, then seize the opportunity and start acquiring shares on a large scale…

The entire LVMH Group encompasses many luxury brands, but in the field of leather goods and women’s bags, Hermès is an undisputed top luxury brand, a brand that can support the entire group’s style.

In the luxury goods industry, there has always been a certain kind of chain of contempt.

Just like “LV” in the LVMH Group, Louis Vuitton, is often called an entry-level brand for luxury goods…

In the world of luxury bags, only Hermès can be called the highest level of the chain of contempt.

Therefore, it can be said that Bernard Arnault had coveted Hermès for a long time.

Later, the LVMH Group joined forces with French banks and, through a financial product called “equity swap,” absorbed another 17.1% of Hermès’ shares in 2010, increasing its stake in Hermès to over 22%, becoming its largest shareholder.

Speaking of which, we need to briefly mention the shareholding structure of Hermès. Although it is a family business that has always been managed by the Hermès family, with the family holding 70% of the shares, these shares are scattered among more than 200 members of the family, and no one person holds more than 10%.

The reason is that the number of family members has increased over time in the Hermès family’s inheritance—it is worth mentioning that the current members of the Hermès family do not have the surname “Hermès” because in the early 1950s, the “head” of the Hermès family, Émile Hermès, passed away, and the family business was inherited by his three daughters and their husbands. The current members of the Hermès family are their descendants.

The LVMH Group took advantage of this and planned to gain control of Hermès through a “sneak attack.”

However, what they didn’t expect was that just as LVMH announced that it had become the major shareholder of Hermès and was preparing to break through the small shareholders of Hermès one by one, gradually acquiring more shares, and making Hermès a possession of LVMH…

In order to preserve the Hermès family’s control over the company, on a day in December 2010, 52 major members of the Hermès family held a secret meeting in Paris.

It is said that the room where the meeting was held was pre-treated to prevent eavesdropping, no minutes were kept at the meeting, and even the members attending the meeting were required to hand over their mobile phones before entering the room.

After multiple rounds of communication, the members of the Hermès family decided to abandon their personal interests and unite to protect Hermès.

They put a total of 50.2% of the shares into strict custodianship and could not be sold within 20 years.

At the same time, Hermès also began to use regulatory authorities and the law to defend its control. In July 2012, they filed a lawsuit with the Paris Prosecutor’s Office, accusing the LVMH Group of holding 22.02% of Hermès’ shares through unconventional means such as “insider trading” and “collusion.”

In 2013, the French Financial Markets Authority determined that the LVMH Group’s transactions to increase its stake in Hermès were not transparent and could be regarded as “fraud,” which was a serious misconduct.

On July 7th, the French market regulatory authority AMF announced that LVMH would be fined 8 million euros for failing to make proper disclosures when increasing its stake in its competitor Hermès.

At the time, this was the highest fine ever imposed by the AMF.

In the end, the LVMH Group could only give up the acquisition of Hermès, distribute the shares of Hermès it held to the company’s shareholders, and promise not to increase its stake again…

Chapter 444: LOMX Group

Therefore, with the “precedent” of the LVMH Group, Barron would be even more cautious this time.

He would keep a low profile, contact people through “agents,” and use offshore companies to hold shares to avoid reaching the 5% reporting threshold.

Moreover, he didn’t need to gain control of Hermès in the short term; he just needed to achieve his goal within five years, before the LVMH Group made a move.

The reason Barron needed to be extremely careful was not only to prevent Hermès from noticing his actions but also to avoid being discovered by the LVMH Group.

After all, France was the LVMH Group’s home base, and in the original timeline, during the LVMH Group’s acquisition of Hermès shares, the bank that cooperated with them was led by Edmond de Rothschild Banque.

The founder of this bank was Benjamin de Rothschild’s father—he was currently the chairman of the bank.

France was also the Rothschild family’s main base…

So, it was very necessary for him to act cautiously.

……

Before Barron arrived in France, the board of directors of the Swedish OMX Group had already made a decision to accept the London Stock Exchange’s $3.5 billion cash acquisition offer, which also meant that the bidding for the OMX Group had come to an end.

Of course, this transaction still needed to be approved by the relevant EU authorities, but from the current perspective, the problem would not be significant—behind the scenes, Barron had also done a lot of work within the EU through the British government.

After the merger, they would form the LOMX Group (London-OMX Group), and all of the OMX Group’s business would be integrated into this group.

The merged LOMX Group would become the largest exchange group in Europe, surpassing competitors like Deutsche Börse and Euronext.

It should be noted that the London Stock Exchange was able to complete this acquisition of the OMX Group, another reason was that the Nasdaq Group gave up competing with the London Stock Exchange and did not continue to raise its bid.

However, this was not without reason.

On the one hand, the acquisition price of $3.5 billion had reached the bottom line of the Nasdaq Group’s valuation of the OMX Group.

After all, before this bidding, the market value of the OMX Group was about $3 billion, and the acquisition price of $3.5 billion already had a considerable premium.

In addition, the London Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq Group had also reached an agreement to cross-hold shares and deepen cooperation.

Therefore, the Nasdaq Group was not without gains this time.

According to the agreement, the merged LOMX Group was valued at $7.2 billion, and they would issue $800 million worth of shares to the Nasdaq Group in exchange for the Nasdaq Group’s equivalent share issuance…

The current market value of the Nasdaq Group was about $5 billion, so after the share swap, the Nasdaq Group held 10% of the shares of the LOMX Group.

The LOMX Group held 13.79% of the shares of the Nasdaq Group.

And the Nasdaq Group and the LOMX Group would also list each other on their respective exchanges.

It was expected that the two parties would respectively list on the corresponding Nasdaq exchange and the London Stock Exchange in the first half of next year.

So, after completing these agreements, the shareholding ratio of the LOMX Group was: Global Industrial Investment Fund held 90% of the shares of the LOMX Group; the Nasdaq Group held 10% of the shares.

And in the shareholding of the GII Fund, GII-1 held 46.25% of the shares, and GII-2 invested $3.5 billion in this acquisition of the OMX Group, holding 43.75% of the shares.

However, after completing the acquisition of the OMX Group, if the LOMX Group wanted to continue to acquire the Italian Stock Exchange, they would face stricter scrutiny from the EU and Italy…

In fact, during the period when they were waiting for the OMX Group’s board of directors to make a final decision, the London Stock Exchange’s negotiations with the Italian Stock Exchange regarding the acquisition had been ongoing.

The differences between the two sides regarding the price were also getting smaller and smaller… After the London Stock Exchange’s second offer, the Italian Stock Exchange had almost agreed to their offer of 1.5 billion euros, equivalent to $1.8 billion.

Unfortunately, even if the funds involved this time were “only” $1.8 billion, far lower than the acquisition of the OMX Group, but because the merged LOMX Group was now the largest exchange group in Europe in terms of scale, the antitrust review for this acquisition would be exceptionally strict.

Usually, this kind of review could take as little as three months, or as long as 18 months…

Therefore, the LOMX Group would first quickly digest the acquired OMX Group and upgrade the technology of the London Stock Exchange and other exchanges under its control.

And the acquisition of the Italian Stock Exchange would require them to be prepared to deal with the relevant review agencies of the EU and Italy for a long time…

To this end, the LOMX Group specifically formed a team to follow up on this series of reviews.

……

By the time Barron returned to London, it was already December, and soon, 2005 would be over, and the new year was about to arrive.

Here, he was waiting for a group of young guests.

They were the outstanding students from the Devonshire International School of the Kolo Grasslands Province.

When he went to this school, he had personally promised to reward those excellent children with the opportunity to come to London for a study tour. The ten children who came now were the students who were selected as the best performing.

These students had different skin colors, and for the first time coming to a developed city like London, their eyes were also filled with surprise and expectation.

Barron hosted these children at a banquet in his home.

“Your name is Rami, right?”

After dinner, Barron had a boy and a girl brought before him. The two of them looked very delicate, and they both clearly had Arab ancestry. He asked the slightly older boy.

“Yes, Your Grace…”

The boy bowed respectfully to Barron and said:

“My name is Rami, and she is my sister, Lavi.”

Barron reached out and affectionately ruffled the boy’s brown curly hair, and said with a smile:

“I heard that you are very smart. You are only thirteen years old now, and you have already started studying high school courses, and your grades have always been the first, is that right?”

Rami raised his head very childishly and spoke fluent English in a clear voice:

“I just think that what the teachers teach is not difficult, Your Grace.”

“Very good, Rami, study hard. I told you all during dinner that every year I will give the school a certain number of places, based on grades, and those outstanding students can be sent to the best schools in London to study. I promise you, if you are the first, I will allow you to bring your sister to London, and I will always support you.”

Hearing Barron’s words, a look of surprise flashed in Rami’s eyes:

“Really? Your Grace!”

“Yes, I never lie. Do you have confidence? Rami.”

“I will definitely be the first, Your Grace.”

“Go for it…”

After encouraging the boy, Barron sent them back to the Cavendish Hotel.

The boy Rami and his sister Lavi, who had just talked to him, were adopted from Lebanon by the Devonshire Charitable Foundation. Barron had looked at their information. The two siblings were born in Palestine. Their family was originally relatively wealthy there, but for well-known reasons, their family declined later. Their father took the two siblings to Lebanon, and as a result, he fell ill and died…

The two siblings became orphans and almost starved to death, fortunately, they were met by the Devonshire Charitable Foundation.

After entering the Devonshire International School, Rami showed his learning talent. In just over a year, he had already completed the courses from elementary school to middle school—he did have some elementary school course foundations before, but such performance was really amazing, and it was also the reason why the school’s teachers would specifically tell Barron about Rami’s situation.

Rami’s sister, Lavi, was three years younger than him and was just ten years old this year. She was also considered excellent in her studies. Although she was not as exaggerated as her brother, one was that she was cute, and the other was that she was very well-behaved, so she also received the love of the school teachers.

Originally, only Rami had obtained a place this time to come to London, but he did not want to be separated from his sister, so he wanted to refuse at first… After the school principal specifically reported this matter to Barron, he gave him special treatment and allowed him to bring his sister along.

Barron still appreciated this child very much, but how he would develop in the future still depended on his own efforts.

Chapter 445: Kololo United Petrochemical

“Congratulations, David, my friend. I believe this is just the beginning, isn’t it?”

“Thank you, Baron. I hope so too, and I’ll do my best.”

This was on Fantasy Island, a suburb of London. Baron had come here with Cameron to celebrate his election as leader of the Conservative Party.

Yes, in early December, 64-year-old Michael Howard had resigned as leader of the Conservative Party. Actually, for a politician of the Conservative Party leader’s level, 64 wasn’t considered too old. After all, nearly twenty years later, before Baron’s rebirth, the American President who was still in office was two years older than Howard… At that time, he was already over eighty!

The main reason was this election. Howard led the Conservative Party to defeat by the Labour Party. Disheartened, Howard didn’t wait another five years to fight again, but instead prepared to leave those five years to the next party leader to prepare for the 2010 general election.

Cameron was 39 this year. In this election for the Conservative Party leader, he wasn’t initially the most favored candidate. However, after receiving support from the previous leader, Howard, Cameron was eventually elected with a high number of votes, becoming a “dark horse.”

However, this could be understood because the current Prime Minister, in 1997, became the leader of the Labour Party and led the “New Labour” to win the general election, taking office as Prime Minister for the first time at the age of only 44.

His youth at the time attracted worldwide attention, and his youth, vitality, and enterprising spirit also earned the New Labour a lot of praise.

So now, as the opposition Conservative Party, they would also be willing to show that they still have vitality and are eager for reform by electing 39-year-old Cameron.

When Cameron was elected leader of the Conservative Party and delivered his inaugural speech, he expressed his intention to reform the Conservative Party and hoped to lead the Conservative Party to compete with Blair’s Labour Party in the next general election.

It’s worth mentioning that in Cameron’s “shadow cabinet” nominations after becoming leader of the Conservative Party, Johnson, who served as Education Secretary, and Theresa, who served as Transport Secretary, would both become Prime Ministers later.

At the same time, in his conversation with Baron, Cameron also proposed to accelerate the process of “new and old transition” within the Conservatives and begin to focus on cultivating promising young people.

Hearing this, Baron raised an eyebrow. It seemed that the other female Prime Minister would also enter the Conservative Party’s cultivation list. After all, at this time, there was already a trend of political correctness in the elections in England.

Young + minority + female, hmm, no matter how you look at it, they are all promising seedlings worth cultivating.

…

Before Christmas, the CEO of United Energy Group, Epeli Singleton, returned to London.

After completing the acquisition of the natural gas business of the British National Grid Company, he handed over the British affairs to his deputy – mainly to integrate the newly acquired natural gas pipelines with the pipelines of the former Northern Natural Gas Company. Then, he went to California to personally oversee the integration after the acquisition of Unocal Corporation.

According to the terms of the acquisition of Unocal Corporation, United Energy Group needed to retain most of Unocal Corporation’s employees. Later, United Energy Group sold Unocal Corporation’s oil and gas resources in the United States to Chevron, and they also took over a portion of the employees, accounting for a quarter of Unocal’s employees at the time.

For the remaining Unocal employees, in addition to keeping about two-thirds of them in North America to continue supporting its business, United Energy Group would need to send one-third of the employees to overseas markets.

This included dismantling Unocal Corporation’s refinery in California and relocating it to Kololo, where a refinery was built.

At this time, this refinery no longer belonged solely to United Energy Group. They had partnered with the West Africa Group and had already initiated a project to invest 1.5 billion US dollars to build a large refinery near that refinery that could process over 200,000 barrels of crude oil per day.

And later, the original refinery would also be incorporated into this petrochemical company called Kololo United Petrochemical, and they would continue to dismantle the refining and chemical plant equipment of the original Unocal Corporation from the United States and transport it here to increase its scale.

This was mainly to take advantage of the local labor costs and geographical advantages of Kololo.

On the one hand, it could cultivate industrial workers for Kololo, increase the income of the local people, and the labor costs spent, plus the training fees, would also be lower than in the United States.

In addition, it could refine the crude oil produced by the Kololo offshore oil field nearby – United Energy Group had already given up Unocal Corporation’s oil and gas resources in the United States.

And in terms of the sale of refined oil, the competition in North America was already fierce enough, and they didn’t need to participate in it.

In the future, United Energy Group’s crude oil and refined oil sales will mainly be directed towards the African market, as well as the Asian and European markets.

Just like the Kololo United Petrochemical project, United Energy Group holds 60% of its shares, and West Africa Holdings holds 40% of the shares. They will cooperate with China’s Sinopec, which will provide the corresponding equipment and construction of the new factory. This part of the cost will be delivered with future products.

In the current situation where China’s energy gap is getting bigger and bigger, such cooperation is beneficial to both parties.

The new project of Kololo United Petrochemical is expected to start construction at the beginning of next year and be completed before 2008, which will coincide with the time when oil prices are at their highest.

In addition, according to what Epeli Singleton told Baron, Kololo United Petrochemical also intends to continue cooperating with Sinopec to invest in a large-scale refining and chemical project in China to supply the Asian market nearby.

According to an analysis report issued by a team led by Will Rathbone, the head of global project finance at Standard Chartered Bank, with the rise in oil prices, most oil-producing countries around the world have plans to expand their extraction scale, but the current global refining capacity is insufficient, which has a bottleneck effect on oil prices.

In the energy-hungry Asian region, the operation of refineries has reached 95% of their operating capacity limit; in North America and Europe, this ratio has also reached 90%.

In this report, it was directly stated: “This tense operating level has raised oil prices.”

Due to the opposition of many communities to building refining facilities nearby, the vast majority of newly built refineries are located outside the United States and Europe…

Just like the Kololo United Petrochemical project, it’s difficult to consider landing in Europe. Besides labor costs, various environmental protection reviews and protests from relevant organizations are enough to be a headache.

Currently, about 60% of the known newly built refining facilities are located in Asia and the Middle East, mainly distributed in China, India, Saudi Arabia, Vietnam, Indonesia, Kuwait, and Japan.

And the expansion of China’s domestic refining scale will also be unprecedented, but even so, it is still somewhat insufficient for its own needs.

“I will go to Kololo next. The new project there will start construction, and the recruitment and training of personnel will begin at the same time, but before the new refinery is completed and put into operation, all personnel can only take turns to conduct practical training in the relocated plant area.”

Epeli Singleton said to Baron:

“There are nearly two years before the planned completion of the new factory. Some people have proposed that before that, these workers can go overseas for labor export, which can both generate revenue and train workers…”

“This is a good idea. I will promote this matter.”

Currently, the oil-producing countries in the Middle East, including Saudi Arabia and Qatar, have more than 80% of their local labor force as foreign workers.

They mainly come from India, Pakistan, and Southeast Asian countries. If so, why can’t they accept some Kololo laborers?

Baron was prepared to mention this matter casually to those influential figures in the Middle East he knew. Anyway, it was only a short-term labor export, and in terms of wages, they were more competitive.

Hmm, no problem.

Chapter 446: Woaw’s IPO Begins

“Baron…”

“I’m here, darling.”

Baron, wiping his hair, walked out of the bathroom and said softly:

“You’re beautiful!”

“Thank you, I thought you… had already left.”

Hearing Baron’s praise, Miss Ella’s expression, which had been slightly flustered a moment ago, immediately turned into a sweet smile.

“No, I went to the gym and worked out, then took a shower.”

Baron walked to the bed and leaned down to kiss the woman on her forehead.

In his previous life, although Baron’s income was not bad, he was addicted to alcohol and sex for many years, and the financial industry was often under extreme pressure, so by middle age, his figure had become bloated, and his energy was also much worse than before.

Now he has the chance to start over, and he was born into a duke’s family. Now he is richer than a country, but he cherishes his life even more. He has been maintaining a regular routine and insists on exercising every day.

It has to be said that the young Miss Ella at this time was indeed beautiful, and her figure was well-maintained. More importantly, her royal background added a lot to her charm.

“I have to get up too…”

Although everything that should have happened between her and Baron had already happened last night, Miss Ella still subconsciously covered the cup when she found his gaze resting on her, her face becoming even more flushed, and she said softly.

“Okay, darling, I’ll have them make breakfast, and I’ll deal with the emails later.”

Where they are now is a villa located between Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens, which Baron had purchased not long ago.

It is not far from Kensington Palace where Miss Ella lives, making it convenient for the two to rendezvous.

……

“Darling, breakfast is ready, are you done with your work?”

“Sorry, I forgot the time just now, I’ll be there right away…”

After reading the emails, Baron closed the computer and went to the dining room.

He had just seen the email about the IPO listing of Woaw Technology, and he had focused his attention on it for a while, forgetting to eat breakfast.

Yes, Woaw Technology is ready to go public, with the Nasdaq market as its target.

Yesterday, December 22nd, they had already submitted a listing application to the SEC and Nasdaq. Once approved, the IPO process would begin.

Since this year, Woaw.com has developed rapidly, and currently has 150 million global users.

And since the launch of the information feed in the second half of the year, Woaw has also started to exert its strength in advertising revenue, and it is estimated that the total revenue for this year can exceed 150 million US dollars. This is still under the circumstances that the advertising revenue in the fourth quarter has just begun to increase significantly. If this development momentum continues, they estimate that next year’s revenue will exceed 250 million US dollars.

In fact, even so, Woaw’s development momentum is still very strong, and there is still a lot of room to tap in terms of revenue, so it is not the best time to go public.

However, Woaw Technology’s investors, including Sequoia Capital and Goldman Sachs, all hope that it can go public as soon as possible, so that their investments can achieve profitability.

And Baron also considered that the subprime mortgage crisis would arrive in not too long, and the financial market would enter a cold winter by then. Even if Woaw Technology could bring better data at that time, the final effect it could achieve in such a listing environment would probably be even worse.

And after the subprime mortgage crisis, it would probably take at least two years, that is, until 2010, for the market environment to begin to improve, which would be too late.

Therefore, he finally decided to start the IPO listing process of Woaw Technology at the beginning of 2006.

Woaw Technology is now arguably the most watched unicorn project in the internet industry. In its Series C financing, its valuation had already exceeded 3.5 billion US dollars, and its user numbers and profitability at this time were incomparable to those at that time. According to the estimates of relevant institutions, the valuation of Woaw Technology has definitely exceeded 10 billion US dollars.

However, different institutions also have different specific data regarding its current specific valuation, ranging from 10 billion US dollars to the most optimistic 15 billion US dollars.

Currently, the total share capital of Woaw Technology is 3.53 billion shares, of which DS Capital holds 2.355 billion shares, accounting for 66.72%; Sequoia Capital holds 395 million shares, accounting for 11.2%; Google holds 353 million shares, accounting for 10%; Goldman Sachs Group holds 176.5 million shares, accounting for 5%; Blackstone Fund holds 250 million shares, accounting for 7.08%…

In this IPO, Woaw Technology plans to publicly sell 588 million shares of common stock, accounting for 15% of the total share capital after listing, of which 392 million shares are newly issued shares, and the rest are shares sold by the original shareholders.

Among these, Sequoia Capital, Goldman Sachs Group, and Blackstone Fund will mainly sell a portion of their shares to recover some funds.

It is worth mentioning that Woaw Technology’s IPO this time will also draw on the dual-class share structure of Google’s listing before. DS Capital will take out 155 million shares of Woaw stock from its total of 2.355 billion shares of Woaw stock, and allocate them to the employee stock ownership company as an option incentive for the company’s management and employees.

At the same time, the other shareholders unanimously agreed that out of the remaining 2.2 billion shares of Woaw stock held by Woaw Technology, 200 million shares will be B shares, and all other shares will be A shares.

After Woaw Technology goes public, it will have a dual-class share structure, that is, an AB share structure. B shares will have 10 votes per share, while A shares will only have 1 vote.

In this way, after Woaw Technology goes public, although the proportion of the 2.2 billion shares held by DS Capital has been diluted to 56%, its voting rights account for as much as 69.9%!

In other words, even if DS Capital sells 2 billion common shares out of its 2.2 billion shares, leaving only 200 million B shares, its shareholding ratio drops to 5%… but the voting rights they hold are still as high as nearly 35%!

This is the power of the dual-class share structure, and it is also the reason why so many internet technology companies, including Alibaba and Tencent, may have founders whose shareholding ratio is only less than 10%, but they can still firmly control the company’s management rights.

Of course, implementing such a share structure will definitely cause some investors to “devalue” the value of common shares because the voting rights of the shares they purchase are significantly different from those of the management—for example, in Google’s IPO, if it didn’t insist on the dual-class share structure, its stock issue price would definitely be higher, but considering the long-term control over the company, this “small” loss is within an acceptable limit.

As a “rising star” in the internet industry as eye-catching as Woaw Technology, Nasdaq naturally welcomes its listing very much, so it can be said that its IPO has been given a green light all the way.

And the SEC also responded relatively quickly—in principle, it agreed to Woaw’s listing request, but some details in its prospectus still need to be further communicated…

The underwriting team for Woaw’s IPO this time is also very luxurious. The lead underwriters are Goldman Sachs Group and Morgan Stanley. The other underwriters also include JPMorgan Chase, Barclays Bank, Standard Chartered Bank, and Merrill Lynch… all of whom are “big shots” from Wall Street.

Well, except for Barclays Bank and Standard Chartered Bank, the two of them are showing their presence in this listing because of their good relationship with DS Capital.

Chapter 447: The Value of a Gift

Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley suggested Woaw set the initial public offering (IPO) price of its shares between 2.75 and 3 US dollars. Calculated at the highest price of 3 US dollars per share, Woaw Technology’s market capitalization would reach 12 billion US dollars.

Based on this market capitalization, even Goldman Sachs, which participated in the financing the latest, had a profit of more than double on its Woaw shares.

It was no wonder they were willing to sell a portion of their shares in this IPO to recover funds… It had to be said, Goldman Sachs was very cautious; they sold about one-third of their shares, preparing to get their initial investment back first.

Woaw Technology would be listed on the NASDAQ in early March. The reason for choosing NASDAQ instead of the London Stock Exchange was not only because more than half of their users came from the North American market, but also because listing on NASDAQ would result in a higher valuation for internet technology companies.

…

As Christmas approached, the festive atmosphere on the streets grew thicker, and many businesses had already added Christmas-themed decorations.

The Argos.com page also changed to a Christmas background and began its annual big promotion, using this time to increase sales.

This year, Amazon launched its Prime membership service in North America – members only needed to pay a fixed annual fee of 79 US dollars to enjoy unlimited free two-day delivery service, with no minimum spending requirement.

In response to this service, the Argos Retail Group also announced an upgrade to their membership system before this year’s Christmas.

Prior to this, Argos.com members could earn corresponding points for their online shopping, and these points could be used to offset some fees, including packaging and delivery fees.

Now, in response to Amazon’s Prime membership service launched in North America, Argos.com also introduced a VIP membership in its membership system…

Argos.com members could become VIP members by paying 59 euros per year, and during this period, they would enjoy the same unlimited two-day delivery service in the countries where Argos.com operated.

It should be noted that, unlike e-commerce in China, neither Amazon nor Argos.com had a default free shipping concept.

This service was only a guarantee of two-day delivery, and the postage still needed to be paid by the user…

Before the holidays, Barron specifically took time to accompany Julia Moore to the Royal Brompton Hospital for a physical examination again – this was one of the best hospitals for heart disease in England.

The results of the examination were very satisfactory to Barron, indicating that Julia’s physical condition was very good, and the hereditary disease in her family had not manifested.

“Darling, we can have a child in another way…”

After accompanying her back home, Barron held Julia’s hand and said gently:

“I know you love children very much.”

Indeed, when Rebecca and her daughter Jennifer were still living in London, Julia often went to visit them.

It could be seen that Julia was very fond of Jennifer and even became her godmother.

Julia herself was someone who devoted most of her time to her work, but at that time, she spent most of her time outside of work with Jennifer.

At that time, Rebecca was continuing her studies at Cambridge University, which had been interrupted.

It could be said that Julia spent no less time with Jennifer than Rebecca did.

Besides Rebecca, Julia also had a good relationship with Countess Chris and Lady Catherine Hall.

Or rather, besides Barron’s female assistant, because she managed the family trust, Julia was the woman who knew the most about Barron’s “private life” – many of the expenses for Barron’s women and his children were provided from the family trust channels.

She bore the responsibility of managing Barron’s “harem” at certain times.

After hearing Barron’s words, Julia had a look of slight interest, but then she sighed:

“Forget it, it’s actually not bad like this, don’t worry about me, I’ve already figured it out.”

She naturally knew how Countess Chris and the Earl of Booth’s two children were obtained.

Indeed, using this method could avoid her own physical condition – endangering her life during pregnancy.

But the reason why Julia didn’t want children was not only her own physical condition; she also didn’t want her own hereditary condition to be passed on to her children.

For Barron, having someone like Julia as his “harem manager” was naturally the best for him if she didn’t want children, because people are always prone to selfishness, and without children, she could also be more impartial.

But Julia was, after all, his woman, and Barron would also have thoughts for her. Now that Julia was still so persistent, he didn’t continue to discuss this topic.

“What’s this?”

Seeing Barron handing her the box he had just brought in from the car, Julia couldn’t help but ask.

“A Christmas gift for you in advance.”

“I’m not a child…”

Although she said that, Julia’s smile showed that she was still very happy.

“What a beautiful necklace.”

Although Julia could be called a workaholic on weekdays, she was still a woman after all. After opening the exquisite gift box, she saw a jewelry box that looked antique and elegant.

Even this jewelry box was considered a work of art.

And the necklace in the jewelry box didn’t look complicated; it was a platinum necklace inlaid with dozens of crystal-clear diamonds.

However, among these diamonds, the most eye-catching was the red diamond in the middle.

That red diamond was not large, only 0.95 carats, but this diamond had a name, called the Hancock Red Diamond, also known as a “natural wonder”…

This red diamond originally belonged to the collection of Mr. Hancock, a farmer from Montana, USA. It was said that he purchased this diamond in 1956 for 13,500 US dollars.

Later, the Hancock Red Diamond appeared at a Christie’s auction in April 1987, and its estimated value was 100,000-150,000 US dollars. The final selling price was 880,000 US dollars, or 926,000 US dollars per carat, which broke all the transaction records for diamonds at the time.

You must know that that was 880,000 US dollars in the 1980s!

The reason why the Hancock Red Diamond, with a weight of 0.95 carats, could become one of the top diamonds was because of its unique color – Fancy Purple-Red.

You should know that only one in 100,000 diamonds can be rated as “Fancy,” and red diamonds are even rarer. If a person can handle more than three red diamonds in their lifetime, even experienced diamond merchants would consider themselves very lucky.

Barron, through a dealer, had previously purchased this Hancock Red Diamond for 4.5 million US dollars and entrusted a well-known jeweler to make it into this necklace.

For people like Barron, the value of the gift was naturally important, but what was more important was the thought that went into the gift.

After all, money was just a number to him.

No matter how valuable the gift was, as long as he wanted to give it, all he needed to do was sign on the bill.

But to spend time and effort on it to give a gift could show the position of the other person in his heart.

Therefore, after learning about the ins and outs of the making of this necklace, Julia’s eyes towards Barron were already full of affection.

It seemed that the atmosphere had been set here, and what would happen next was self-evident.

Chapter 448: Mining Acquisition

After Christmas, the first season of Britain’s Got Talent, which aired on ITV, also completed its final.

This new program produced by Stuart Media was still a success. By this time, Bonnie finally felt relieved and didn’t need to put too much energy into the company anymore.

After Christmas, Barron and his group went to Australia.

This time, besides Barron and his wife, there was also the entire family of the Earl of But.

Unlike the wet and cold weather in London at this time, Australia was in the Southern Hemisphere, and it was summer, the opposite of London. The daily temperature was between 20 and 30 degrees Celsius, which was quite comfortable.

A day before, they were still stepping out of their villa in the cold wind of London, and now, they were already on a white sandy beach, sunbathing.

Barron and his group first arrived at Whitehaven Beach in the Whitsunday Islands, Queensland.

The beach here was made of high-purity silica sand, soft and cool to walk on.

Bonnie was almost six months pregnant, and even when she was lying on the beach, there would be a dedicated team of nurses taking care of her.

Barron would occasionally hold the three young children and stroll along the beach…

This naturally included his daughter, Ethel.

Although she was his biological daughter in fact, Barron was nominally Ethel’s godfather, well, it could also be considered a father-daughter relationship.

“Argent Real Estate Group’s progress in Australia is very smooth. We have already established connections here. After acquiring a local real estate company, we took over their projects, and the land we acquired in Melbourne has already begun construction…”

When Barron sat on a beach chair, picked up a glass of iced juice, and took a sip, the Earl of But said to him.

Well, speaking of which, the Earl of But’s figure was also well-maintained. Although he didn’t have the sculpted muscle lines like Barron, at least one could still tell he had abs – except for the pink beach shorts he was wearing, which Barron found a bit unacceptable in terms of taste…

“Indeed, Australia’s economy has good prospects. As a resource export country, it is also very attractive to investors, and there have been some good attempts in the field of technology recently.”

“But in the eyes of Europeans, this is still a wild land, isn’t it?”

The But family’s Stuart Mining Group also had business in Australia, but in terms of scale, it was definitely incomparable to the giants here, BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto…

But what he said was also true. If America hadn’t become the “leading big brother” now, probably even the people there, Europeans would still look down on it.

If the original Americans were mainly Puritans from England, then Australia was purely the descendants of exiles. In their chain of contempt, Australia was far behind America.

“I will go to our Argent Real Estate Group’s branch in Melbourne later. Are you coming with me?”

“Oh, no, Ian, my main job this time is to accompany Bonnie on vacation…”

Barron shook his head and said.

“The water temperature is nice now, why don’t you go for a swim?”

The one who came over and said this to them was Countess Chris, who had already changed into a swimsuit. Although what she was wearing wasn’t a too revealing bikini, but a one-piece swimsuit, the style was still very seductive, and it showed off her alluring figure very well.

“What about the children?”

Although Chris’s words were inviting the two to swim, her gaze was always fixed on Barron… Well, it had to be said that just wearing beach shorts, Barron’s figure and muscle contours were indeed eye-catching…

When she heard her husband ask about the children, she glanced at him and said:

“The servants are watching them, do you want to lie down for a while longer?”

“Uh… yes, this sunshine is very comfortable, isn’t it.”

So, Barron “had to” go swimming in the sea with the Countess…

There was no danger on the beach here, it had all been artificially modified, and in terms of swimming skills, Barron was truly not afraid of anyone – even his beautiful coach back then had exclaimed that his swimming speed was not inferior to professional athletes, and his ability to move in the water was extremely strong.

Well, it was genuine athletic ability.

However, after entering the sea, Barron understood that the Countess might not really be so serious about wanting him to swim with her.

When the two gradually moved away from the shore and approached a reef in the sea, behind the reef, blocking the view of the people on the shore…

Barron supported the Countess from behind, and she placed her hands on a smooth stone surface.

As he paddled with force, the waves around the two of them grew larger…

At this time, the Earl of But, who was lying on a beach chair on the shore, was tracking the two’s movements with his eyes. When he saw them hidden behind the reef, he felt a sense of loss.

…

Of course, they were not limited to Australia. After the Earl of But went to Melbourne, Barron took the others to New Zealand.

Compared to the Australian coast, New Zealand was slightly cooler, after all, many places here were not low in altitude.

Because they needed to take care of Bonnie, who needed to be more careful in her movements, their itinerary was considered slow.

When they returned to Australia from New Zealand again, it was already the middle of January 2006.

After arriving in Melbourne, while everyone was resting, Barron also met with Andrew Cole, the CEO of West African Mining Company.

“Your Grace, after two months of negotiations, our acquisition has finally been approved by the board of directors and the shareholders’ meeting of OZ Minerals. However, in the next step, the details of the acquisition still need to be reviewed by the Australian side.”

Before serving as the CEO of West African Mining Company, Andrew Cole had held a management position at Rio Tinto, so he was very familiar with many situations of Australian mining companies. It was a very correct choice to have him in charge of this acquisition.

OZ Minerals Ltd’s headquarters was in Melbourne, and it was a medium-sized mining company with a market capitalization of 1.6 billion Australian dollars (equivalent to about 1.2 billion US dollars at the current exchange rate).

In October of last year, Andrew Cole was sent to be in charge of West African Mining Company’s acquisition of OZ Minerals – the main reason was that OZ Minerals had suffered serious losses due to the operational errors of their futures investment department, which led to a debt of 1.2 billion Australian dollars that was due to be repaid, and they were unable to repay it on time, which triggered a series of chain reactions, causing OZ Minerals to fall into crisis.

Under such circumstances, West African Mining’s offer to acquire the company as a whole was naturally timely.

However, the negotiation process this time was not so smooth, because for mining companies like this, especially those involving a lot of debt, just conducting a thorough due diligence was not something that could be done in a few days.

Moreover, OZ Minerals also owned the mining rights to many mines, including Sepon, Golden Grove, Century, Rosebery, Avebury, Dugald River, Prominent Hill, Martabe, and they also had mines in Cambodia and Thailand.

The authenticity of the reserves of these mines, as well as their valuation, was also not an easy task – market capitalization was market capitalization, if they really wanted to acquire the other party, they certainly couldn’t just use the market capitalization corresponding to the stock price, the two sides conducted multiple rounds of negotiations on these prices, and finally had a definite result.

According to the contract reached now, West African Group’s acquisition of OZ Minerals will cost a total of 1.8 billion US dollars (including bearing the 1.2 billion Australian dollars that OZ Minerals needed to immediately repay, which is equivalent to a debt of 900 million US dollars), which was a full 50% premium over OZ Minerals’ previous market capitalization!

However, although West African Group had reached an acquisition agreement with OZ Minerals at this time, the contract still needed to wait for the approval of the Australian government before it could take effect and start the process of privatizing OZ Minerals and completing its delisting.

Chapter 449: A Pleasant Surprise

According to Andrew Cole, the acquisition review of OZ Minerals by West Africa Mining Company is currently stuck on one issue.

That is, among the mineral resources owned by OZ Minerals, there is a copper-gold mine called Prominent Hill, which is located within the military test area of South Australia. Therefore, the Australian side is reviewing this asset acquisition particularly strictly.

After all, West Africa Mining Company is not a “ally” enterprise of the UK, but is registered in the West African country of Korlo, and its headquarters is also there…

Although Korlo has become an observer of the Commonwealth and is in negotiations with the Commonwealth to join, in this not-so-close relationship, when it involves Australia’s military sensitive issues, they still need to be reviewed.

In this regard, Andrew Cole’s suggestion is to remove the Prominent Hill copper-gold mine, which involves sensitive issues, from the acquisition list of OZ Minerals by West Africa Mining Company—sell it to other companies. However, the problem is that in this case, the acquisition price offered by the other party may not be very “fair.”

In addition, they could continue to consult with the Australian side to resolve this issue…

The key is that Barron is not yet in a position to directly get too involved in this matter. If he could directly state that this is his own company, then the problem wouldn’t exist—after all, the nominal monarch of Australia is still Her Majesty the Queen, and it’s a direct “father-son” relationship with the UK. This matter involving the military test area is not a problem at all.

The problem now is that, although the negotiations between Korlo and the Commonwealth will soon reach a conclusion, and a partnership with Australia will be established afterwards, they hope to complete this acquisition in the shortest possible time.

The emergence of many problems is often not without reason.

It can be imagined that this time, the strict review of the Prominent Hill copper-gold mine by the Australian side also doesn’t rule out the involvement of mining giants like BHP Billiton or Rio Tinto—they certainly don’t want new large-scale mining companies to appear in Australia. If OZ Minerals’ situation deteriorates, being able to acquire its assets at a low price is also what they hope for.

“I will talk to Earl Ian Butbert about the Prominent Hill copper-gold mine, and I believe it can be resolved soon.”

Barron is prepared to use another method to bypass this review.

The Butbert family owns Stuart Mining Group. This company not only has close cooperation with Korlo and West Africa Mining, but has also been operating in Australia for many years—although it cannot compare with BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto in scale, with the UK, Australia’s “birth father,” backing them, they will definitely have no problem taking over the Prominent Hill copper-gold mine.

Barron can give up a small amount of profit, allowing Stuart Mining Group to take over the Prominent Hill copper-gold mine first, and even allow them to mine for a period of time. Later, when conditions permit, West Africa Mining can repurchase this mine.

This way, they can successfully bypass this time’s review by the Australian side regarding the Prominent Hill copper-gold mine.

The main reason why West Africa Mining Company hopes to complete this acquisition as soon as possible is because they possess the mining rights to the Carrapateena mine.

The Carrapateena mine is 130 kilometers away from Port Augusta, South Australia. Last year, the possible existence of copper-gold associated minerals was discovered here, so it was bought by OZ Minerals.

However, it was only treated as their reserve mine for the time being, and no more detailed exploration was carried out.

It was not until several years later in the original timeline that OZ Minerals sold all assets except the Prominent Hill copper-gold mine and the Carrapateena mine, and then began further exploration of the Carrapateena mine.

By then, a pleasant surprise was finally discovered.

According to their exploration results, the mineral combination of the Carrapateena mine is copper-gold-iron ore-uranium type, belonging to the IOCG type deposit. The controlled ore reserves at that time were 1 billion tons, of which copper metal was 6.4 million tons, and gold was 210 tons. It was the largest undeveloped copper mine in Australia at the time.

Just this one mine, even if they pay a mere 50% premium to acquire OZ Minerals, is an extremely rich harvest for West Africa Mining Company.

Moreover, before this, the scale of West Africa Mining Company… was almost the same as those private mining companies in China.

In the Korlo project, they mainly rely on cooperation with Stuart Mining Group.

After acquiring OZ Minerals, they will be able to obtain a professional and sizable ore mining team, and use this as a foundation to enrich the structure of West Africa Mining Company.

Speaking of which, OZ Minerals’ luck was also very good. In the original timeline, after their futures investment department made a big blunder and suffered heavy losses, they encountered an economic crisis and were forced to sell most of their assets, leaving only the Prominent Hill copper-gold mine and the Carrapateena mine. Later, they became the third-largest mining giant in Australia by virtue of the rich mineral deposits discovered in the Carrapateena mine.

Some people might be curious why a mining company would also have a futures investment department.

In fact, many mining companies will be involved in futures investment—what they do is futures hedging.

Simply put, if a mining company produces iron ore, then they buy a certain amount of short-selling iron ore futures to counter the fluctuations in iron ore prices.

This way, if the price of iron ore falls, although the revenue from the spot iron ore they sell will be affected and reduced, they can get compensation on the short futures; conversely, if the price of iron ore rises, their losses on the short futures will be compensated in the spot iron ore.

It’s just that OZ Minerals’ futures investment department made a major mistake. They did not strictly hedge their own production with reverse futures, and they went too far, causing huge losses.

Barron knows that for a considerable period of time in the future, the prices of raw materials such as iron ore will continue to rise. After acquiring OZ Minerals, there is also no need to keep their futures investment department, and he can directly entrust this business to DS Capital.

With the involvement of Stuart Mining Group, the acquisition problem of West Africa Mining Company for OZ Minerals was immediately solved.

The entire acquisition process is that West Africa Mining Company acquires OZ Minerals at a cost of 1.8 billion US dollars; then Stuart Mining Group issues $600 million worth of shares to West Africa Mining Company at the average price of nearly 30 trading days to acquire the Prominent Hill copper-gold mine project.

After this, West Africa Mining Company obtains all assets of OZ Minerals except for the Prominent Hill copper-gold mine project; and Stuart Mining Group obtains the Prominent Hill copper-gold mine project.

Currently, the market value of Stuart Mining Group is around 5.25 billion US dollars. After issuing $600 million worth of shares to West Africa Mining Company, West Africa Mining Company will hold approximately 10.26% of the shares of Stuart Mining Group, becoming the second-largest shareholder after the Butbert family—the Butbert family controls more than 36% of the shares in Stuart Mining Group through multiple companies.

In addition, it is worth mentioning that in the original timeline, after OZ Minerals sold most of its assets, the reason why it was able to take off again and become the third-largest mining giant in Australia, besides the pleasant surprise discovery in the Carrapateena mine, was also due to the reforms carried out by their later CEO on the entire OZ Minerals.

Chapter 450: A Steady Decline

The CEO who led OZ Minerals to take off once again was named Andrew Cole.

Yes, it was the current CEO of West African Mining Company, Mr. Cole.

After Andrew Cole took over as CEO of OZ Minerals, he first conducted a three-month business review and proposed a new company development strategy.

After clarifying the new strategy, OZ Minerals took three main actions: first, cost review; second, expansion of the Prominent Hill copper-gold mine project; and third, the launch of the construction of the replacement resource Carrpateena project.

After that, OZ Minerals significantly increased its revenue and successfully got back on track.

Now, Barron hired Andrew Cole to West African Mining Company in advance, as CEO. After acquiring OZ Minerals, he would first integrate it into West African Mining Company.

However, although it was known that the Carrpateena mining area had extremely high reserves, West African Mining Group was not planning to develop it in the short term.

Mining ore is actually not as simple as many people imagine, where after discovering the ore reserves, you can quickly start working and then reap the rewards.

The development of a mine project, from its inception to its eventual production, requires a long cycle, and the larger the mine, the longer it usually takes.

According to statistics on the world’s largest 35 mines, the average time from discovery to production is 16.9 years, with the shortest being 6 years and the longest being 32 years.

The most time-consuming part of this cycle is the exploration and research of the mine, with an average time of 12.5 years, almost three-quarters of the total investment time.

However, it is worth mentioning that the mines that have spent the longest time in this phase have usually undergone multiple ownership changes and research revisions.

Generally speaking, those top mines enter the mine construction phase 1.8 years after the completion of the feasibility study.

Ideally, construction can begin shortly after the feasibility study is completed; but for some mines, it takes another 3 to 5 years before construction, partly because they hope to continue to increase reserves before construction, or because they face issues such as mining permits, licenses, funding, and community protests.

The more developed the region, the longer the time required for environmental approval before mining—Australia is already relatively lenient in this regard among developed regions, but it still sometimes takes as long as a year or even several years.

Just like in the original timeline, after the Carrpateena mining area project was established, it took several years to obtain environmental approval from Australia, and then production began in 2020.

Of course, this also had to do with their limited funds at the time, which affected the development progress, but it also shows that in a place like Australia, there are still many places that need to be coordinated and approved for mining.

Moreover, the Carrpateena mining area is not the easiest open-pit mine to mine, but requires underground mining, so a lot of preparation work is needed for mining here.

Just like the basic facilities of the mining area, it needs a camp that can accommodate hundreds of people, construction of roads, and even a simple airport, and so on.

The supporting infrastructure for ground production is also very extensive, including concentrators, tailings ponds, underground material transportation systems, access roads, and external power transmission lines.

Generally, for large mines, the initial investment alone can exceed 100 million US dollars, or even billions of US dollars.

After all, by now, those easy-to-mine open-pit mines are simply gone. The new mines that have just been discovered now almost all require underground mining.

And often the locations of these mines are also far from cities, very desolate. Before using mechanical equipment for mining, it is necessary to build the necessary facilities there first.

……

“What do you think of Australia? Darling.”

This time, Barron and the others came to Australia not just for fun, but because the climate in London was winter. After Bonnie was able to temporarily take a break from company affairs, Barron wanted to choose a place with a suitable climate so that she could comfortably wait for her delivery.

“It’s not bad. I came to Melbourne with my family when I was a child. I didn’t expect it to have developed so well now. It’s okay to live here for two months, but if it’s too long, I’m afraid I still won’t be used to it.”

Since that was the case, Barron bought a villa here. They would live in Melbourne for these two months. After that, it wouldn’t be impossible to change to another place. Anyway, they had a whole team of medical staff taking care of Bonnie, so they wouldn’t have to worry about any discomfort during the trip.

Bonnie’s cousin, Countess Chris, would also stay in Australia with Bonnie during this time. That way, even if Barron needed to occasionally go elsewhere to handle affairs, he wouldn’t have to worry about Bonnie feeling bored.

Coincidentally, the Earl of Booth. would also be in Australia recently to handle the matters after Stuart Mining Group acquired the Prominent Hill copper-gold mine project, so he also needed to stay for a while.

However, what Barron didn’t expect was that a few days later, the Earl of Booth.s sister, Jenny Booth, also arrived in Melbourne…

“Smoking is not a good habit, Jenny…”

Jenny Booth. didn’t stay at the Earl of Booth.s villa here, but booked a suite in a hotel.

As for why… when Barron asked, she looked at Barron with a half-smile and said, “It’s more convenient for rendezvous…”

At this moment, after a period of intense knowledge learning, Jenny Booth. picked up a lighter, and with a “click,” lit the cigarette she was holding in her mouth.

Barron waved his hand in front of the smoke she exhaled, frowned, and said.

“Sometimes I feel like you are too self-disciplined, Barron, like a Puritan, but sometimes, you are so…”

Jenny revealed a seductive smile:

“But when I can’t help but explore your complex inner world, I unconsciously fall into it…”

Uh, in the final analysis, isn’t it that you are after my body?

“How is John doing lately? I heard that the situation of Sinclair Group is not very good?”

“I don’t really care about his business matters, but he is indeed coming home later and later, and he is starting to get used to drinking. If I didn’t know it was impossible, I would have thought he was having an affair.”

Jenny Booth.s tone was somewhat indifferent, which made Barron a little confused about her relationship with John Smith… why would she marry him? With Jenny Booth.s background, there was no need to choose this marriage because of the Sinclair family.

But in the end, for Barron, Jenny Booth. was more like his purely friend (P) (Y), so he didn’t have much interest in getting too deep into understanding her, and didn’t ask.

After Sinclair Group changed its new chairman, and coupled with their family’s elder brother, David Smith, who had been in poor condition since his coma and hospitalization last time, these events caused the stock price of Sinclair Group to fall a lot in the following period.

It wasn’t until before Christmas that their stock price stabilized slightly, but it had already fallen by more than 25%…

In this process, IC Capital took the opportunity to absorb a portion of the shares from the secondary market, and now their shareholding ratio of Sinclair Group had exceeded 12%…

Chapter 451: Strategic Preparations

Two days later, Baron left Bonnie, Countess Booth.rs, and… Jenny Booth.rs, to go to China.

He had originally wanted to spend more time with Bonnie, but Jenny Booth.rs was simply too bold. Baron didn’t want to cause any trouble at this time and upset Bonnie. It was better to avoid this woman for a while.

After Global Industrial Investment Fund acquired HTC and renamed it Honor Electronics, besides continuing to expand its production base in mainland China, there were also plans to gradually transfer the R&D center in Taiwan Province to Shanghai.

Previously, HTC had two production bases in mainland China. The production base in Jiangcheng mainly produced mobile phones under the Dopod brand, while the production base built last year in Dongguan, Guangdong Province, with an area of 225,000 square meters, was mainly used to produce customized smartphones and PDAs for overseas markets.

Next, they also planned to build a new production base in Shanghai to expand its production capacity.

Although the main purpose of acquiring HTC was for Baron to prepare for future Android smartphones—after all, even if the Android system was launched, to occupy the smartphone system market outside of Apple’s iOS, it was also necessary to first have an Android-based smartphone to “set an example”…

Only when other phone brands understood that the trend of using touchscreen “new era” smartphones was unstoppable, while the iOS system was not open, and self-research was not in time, would these other brands join the “Android Alliance.”

However, while the Android system was still in the research and development stage, Honor Electronics also needed to accumulate experience in mobile phone manufacturing and improve its supply chain system by launching “Dopod” brand phones and customizing smartphones for these overseas telecom operators.

For example, O2 Telecom directly placed a large order with Honor Electronics to customize a batch of phones.

In European and American countries, the sale of mobile phones is different from that in China. In particular, users first sign a network agreement with the operator and then choose to purchase contract mobile phone devices through the operator.

In 1996, Nokia achieved the world’s number one in global shipments and became the true global mobile phone leader.

Around 2004, Nokia had always been the number one in the Chinese mobile phone market share.

But in 2004, the output of mobile phones in Beijing and Tianjin grew rapidly, surpassing Guangdong Province to rank first and seventh respectively, with Beijing’s mobile phone output reaching nearly 90 million units.

China’s mobile phone manufacturing industry, at this time, already had a very complete industrial chain, which was also the main reason why Android moved Honor Electronics’ R&D and production base to mainland China.

And Motorola also jointly launched China’s first “operator-customized phone” with the Zhongshan branch of Guangdong Mobile, further weakening channel control and marketing promotion.

It was also in 2000 that China’s national mobile phone output reached a scale of 80 million units. Beijing still maintained the first place, but Guangdong Province caught up quickly, with a rapid increase in output.

In the mid-1990s of the next century, the global mobile phone market was still dominated by old mobile phone giants like Nokia and Motorola. Therefore, in mainland China, Beijing and Tianjin, which undertook the mobile phone factories of the two, became the main contributors to China’s mobile phone output during that period.

In the future, they will continue to expand the scale of their production base in Guangdong Province—of course, this was before the launch of smartphones, but it’s only been a year since now.

From 1996 to the end of 1997, in just one year, China’s mobile phone output soared from more than 4 million units to 50 million units, an increase of nearly 13 times. Provinces represented by Beijing, Tianjin, Guangdong Province, Shanghai, Zhejiang Province, and Suzhou even had dozens of times the increase in output.

During that period, the rise of operator-customized phones also drove the development of Guangdong Province’s mobile phone manufacturing industry—of course, Motorola’s main mobile phone production base was still in Tianjin.

Despite this, in the face of the rise of domestic mobile phone brands, foreign companies adopted the usual strategy: price cuts and suppression, with a price cut of “halving” at one point.

The earliest Chinese brands, including HTC, started by processing for overseas brands.

By the new century in 2000, Bird became the best-selling Chinese domestic mobile phone brand, with a mobile phone output of 920,000 units. In the following two years, Bird further consolidated its position as the domestic leader, with total sales following Motorola and Nokia.

As for Shanghai, it would mainly become Honor Electronics’ R&D base.

Of course, in order to minimize the benefits, Honor Electronics started to make adjustments in the supply chain from now on, increasing the inventory of feature phone components to ensure that the production line could be converted to Baron phones in the shortest possible time.

Therefore, in that year, it was very important for Honor Electronics. It needed to follow Android’s plan, continue production, absorb the technology and patents obtained from Philips, and specifically build a supply chain for Baron system-based smartphones to make full preparations for the launch of the first smartphone equipped with the Baron system.

However, Android knew that in the future, Guangdong Province would become the largest mobile phone manufacturing base in all of China and even the world, just as HTC built its new Chinese production base in Dongguan, Guangdong Province, last year, because of the rapidly developing mobile phone industry chain there.

At that time, Dongxin’s largest business was to do mobile phone processing production for Motorola. Dongxin alone had a production scale of more than 1.5 million units, once accounting for one-eighth of the market share.

In 1996, Tianjin was far ahead of other provinces, with a mobile phone output of more than 2 million units—that year, Motorola’s mobile phone factory in Tianjin was still operating at full capacity.

Beijing was also Nokia’s most important mobile phone production base in China at this time. In 2005, Nokia’s Chinese factory “merged into one.” Nokia’s first letter communication company in Beijing Economic-Technological Development Area became the newly reorganized Nokia China production headquarters.

China’s mobile phone manufacturing industry also accumulated original technology and experience in that process—in 1997, Eastern Communications established China’s first mobile phone production line and also established its own mobile phone R&D base in Silicon Valley, USA.

At the same time, Nokia also ushered in its own peak—in 1995, Nokia’s mobile phone business fully exploded, with a surge in orders, creating a new low of $1 billion in profits that year.

It was still Apple that would fire the first shot of the smartphone revolution. Baron Company and Honor Electronics would follow closely behind.

In 2002-2003, Guangdong Province continued to expand its mobile phone output, leading the advantage. In 2003, China’s national mobile phone output reached nearly 240 million units.

By the beginning of next year, Apple’s iPhone 1 would be launched for the first time, and Baron Company would, after that, complete the first official version of the Baron system and, following the launch of Apple’s iPhone, launch the first smartphone equipped with the Liuhao system.

Many phones even erased their own brand and instead used the operator’s brand for identification. O2 Telecom customized that kind this time.

In 2001, the mobile phone output of Guangdong Province and Tianjin surpassed Beijing. Also in that year, China’s mobile phone output officially broke through the 100 million unit mark.

During that period, Tianjin became the first mobile phone manufacturing center in China, and the Beijing-Tianjin area also became the leading force in China’s mobile phone production.

However, at that time, even the leading domestic brand mobile phones were not on the same level as giants like Nokia and Motorola in terms of shipment scale. Foreign brands still occupied an absolute dominant position in the market.

Chapter 452: Tianhe Capital

“Come, try my cooking. According to our Chinese tradition, we should eat dumplings today.”

Today is the Little New Year on the lunar calendar. Barron is spending it with Fan Bingbing at her home in Shanghai.

She’s a northern girl, so the dumplings she made look more presentable than the ones Laura made in London before.

At this time, Fan Bingbing had finished filming on the set of A Battle of Wits and came to reunite with Barron.

“Wait a moment, they’re still a bit hot. I’ll go get you a plate of vinegar.”

Speaking of which, Barron hadn’t experienced this kind of atmosphere for a long time. In a daze, it seemed like he had returned to his previous life, when he was still a Chinese person.

“Delicious, I like the pork and Chinese cabbage filling.”

Hearing Barron’s praise, Fan Bingbing’s big eyes immediately curved into crescents. She said happily:

“Actually, I think my mom’s mackerel dumplings are even more delicious. Will you still be here on New Year’s Eve? You can come to my house then and experience the atmosphere of our Spring Festival, and you can eat lots of delicious food my mom makes. Some of them I can’t even make…”

“It probably won’t work this year. I’ll go back to Melbourne in a couple of days, and then I’ll go to the United States…”

Seeing the slightly disappointed look on Fan Bingbing’s face, Barron patted her hand and said softly:

“I’ll come over often in the next two months. Right, how’s that movie we invested in before?”

“You mean Crazy Stone? It’s already finished filming. This movie was filmed very quickly, it was finished in just over forty days, and it can be released this year…”

Previously, Barron had invested, in Fan Bingbing’s name, in a company registered in China, called Tianhe Capital.

Speaking of which, in Barron’s previous life, Fan Bingbing also had quite a few companies under her name later on, but the names she came up with were a bit hard to describe…

It was either “Meitao” or “Meishen” or something… This might also be because Fan’s mother, who often held shares for her, had the character “Mei” (beauty) in her name.

Barron and Fan Bingbing were both very satisfied with the name “Tianhe” (Heaven and Harmony). After all, there is “Heaven and Man in Unity” in Chinese culture, and for women, “Match Made in Heaven” would be more touching.

After Tianhe Capital was established, it invested in the new director Ning Hao’s Crazy Stone.

At that time, the film had already been approved, and it had received a 3 million RMB investment from Andy Lau’s “Asian New Director Program”.

Although this funding was enough for Ning Hao’s film to start filming, it was still a bit tight - the script for Crazy Stone was actually completed by Ning Hao in 2000, and was originally called Big Diamond. Later, the jade in the movie was originally set to be a diamond.

However, because the cost of using diamonds was too high, it was later changed to Crazy Stone…

In the original timeline, Andy Lau later added more funds to complete the production of the film. After its release, it earned more than 20 million RMB at the box office, which was already considered a blockbuster for a low-budget film at the time.

The Crazy Stone crew arrived in Mountain City to prepare for filming in October. Before Fan Bingbing went to film A Battle of Wits, she went to Mountain City to meet Ning Hao. After listening to the ideas of the film and reading the script, Tianhe Capital invested 2 million RMB in Crazy Stone - in fact, the final production of the film in the original timeline cost about that much.

One was Andy Lau, and the other was Fan Bingbing, one of the most famous actresses in mainland China at the time - in fact, as a northern girl, Fan Bingbing was privately very forthright, the kind of person who valued loyalty. She had no airs at all when interacting with the director Ning Hao, who didn’t have as much fame as later, and the other actors in the crew, and she also gained everyone’s favor - the two invested in this work of their new director, which made Ning Hao feel very lucky, and he also secretly decided that he must make this film well.

“I went to see a rough cut version that Director Ning Hao made before. It’s really a very good movie, with a bit of that European and American cult film feel, a very special comedy. It seems that our investment this time has really struck gold…”

In fact, at the very beginning, Fan Bingbing had also asked Barron how he knew about this movie and why he wanted to invest in it.

Barron’s answer to her at the time was that he had heard about this movie from someone else, and he felt it was quite interesting, and it required less investment, which was more suitable as Tianhe Capital’s first attempt.

Well, the real reason, of course, couldn’t be told to her. He couldn’t say that this was a movie Barron liked quite a bit in his previous life, and that after this movie became a hit, not only did Ning Hao become a mainstay of Chinese cinema, but three film emperors later appeared in the crew. To put it bluntly, Tianhe Capital’s investment this time was also an investment in a part of the new forces of China’s film future.

“Next, you can see if there are any movies you like to act in, and you can also participate in the investment. There aren’t any projects in Hollywood that are very suitable for you this year. When next year comes, there will be more opportunities to enter the international market.”

“Okay, I’ll listen to you…”

Fan Bingbing was still very happy that Barron could consider her so much.

Speaking of which, there was an opportunity this year that was quite suitable for Fan Bingbing, which was Mission: Impossible III, produced by Paramount and starring Tom Cruise. There was a role in it, which was the role played by the Chinese-American mixed-race actress Maggie Q in the original timeline…

However, during the filming of this movie, Fan Bingbing had already accepted A Battle of Wits, which conflicted with its filming, and Tianhe Capital couldn’t catch up to participate in the investment, so she could only give it up.

As for Rush Hour 3, which would be filmed this year by Jackie Chan, although there were roles suitable for Fan Bingbing, the production cost of that movie was as high as 140 million US dollars, and the final box office was only a little over 200 million US dollars, which could be said to be a bloodbath, and the film’s reputation was also average, so there was no need to participate.

This year, let Fan Bingbing participate in the big productions in China. When next year comes, after Barron has laid out his plans in Hollywood, it will be no problem to get her some good roles.

…

Just as Barron said to Fan Bingbing, after spending three days with her in Shanghai, he left China and boarded the Devonshire to go to Melbourne.

And on the plane, when Barron saw a report that had been sent over, he couldn’t help but look at the sea of clouds outside the window, and fell into silence.

This report was from a Chinese group belonging to Barron’s intelligence center, who had been to Qingdao, China.

The content was simple, that is, through their visits, all the people in Qingdao who could be found with the name “Chen Kai” did not match the information Barron had provided, including Barron’s university in his previous life, which did not have any students who matched the conditions.

And the address he gave, the homeowner was not surnamed Chen either - the other party had lived there for more than ten years.

There were no residents in the entire community who matched the situation.

Through these, Barron had basically determined that it seemed that he, and even his family, did not exist in this world… In fact, before this, he had also vaguely had such a guess, but after truly confirming this fact, it would still take some time emotionally to accept it.

Chapter 453: Debt Crisis

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

After Barron returned to Melbourne from China, he found that Jenny Booth. was still “accompanying” Bonnie. Moreover, she and Countess Booth, Christie, had moved into the luxurious villa where Barron and Bonnie lived.

Therefore, at this time, the Earl of Booth. had business to handle and had returned to London. Plus, Barron was also temporarily away, so the three women naturally lived together.

In Jenny Booth’s words, it was perfect that Barron could take the private jet back with them when he went to the United States in a while.

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

It wasn’t until the plane landed that Jenny got herself together and straightened her clothes.

And from her movements, it was obvious that the previous “exercise” still had a significant impact on her walking.

In fact, Barron’s visit this time was also at the invitation of John Smith—in addition, he had important matters to discuss with Barron.

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

“Darling, what’s wrong?”

Although Jenny was trying her best to endure it, the subtle abnormality in her gait was still noticed by John Smith. She heard her husband ask this, and couldn’t help but resent Barron, wondering why he was so… intense on the plane, leaving her with aftereffects now.

She forgot who had initiated the flirting in the first place…

“Nothing, John, I might have eaten some bad seafood in Melbourne yesterday, and I haven’t been feeling very well.”

“Really?!”

John Smith said anxiously:

“Why don’t we go to the hospital first, honey?”

Hearing that they were going to the hospital, Jenny Booth. immediately said:

“It’s not that serious, I’ve already taken medicine, I’m much better now, let’s go home first.”

Since Jenny said so, John Smith temporarily put the matter aside. He said to Barron:

“I’m very glad you could come, Barron.”

“I’m also very happy to see you again, John. Let’s go to your place first, let Jenny rest for a while. Don’t you have something to talk to me about?”

The Devonshire had brought Barron’s convoy, so after following John Smith’s vehicle, they arrived at John’s home.

“An unexpected situation has occurred, Barron, I only found out about it not long ago…”

After leaving only Barron and John Smith in the study, he frowned and said to Barron:

“I received a call from the bank, and only then did I know that our family trust also had a large loan…”

It turned out that before, when the Sinclair Group’s stock price was about to fall below 20 US dollars, John Smith received a notification from the bank…

The other party informed him that there was a mortgage loan of 450 million US dollars, which was secured by the 23.38 million shares of Sinclair Group stock held by the Sinclair family trust.

Because the Sinclair Group’s stock price is currently falling continuously, the other party is now asking the Sinclair family to increase the collateral or repay part of the loan. Otherwise, if the Sinclair Group’s stock price falls below 19.5 US dollars, the bank will consider selling these shares to recoup the losses.

After hearing this news, John Smith was very shocked because he didn’t know about this matter before.

Originally, the one with the most say in the family trust now was John’s elder brother, David Smith. However, he was stimulated in the last board meeting and suffered a stroke and fainted. He is still not fully conscious. Therefore, as a member of the Sinclair family, John Smith, who is now the chairman, needs to deal with this matter.

“John, you told me about this, aren’t you worried that I might have ideas about the Sinclair Group?”

“You mean our shares mortgaged at the bank? Impossible, Barron, you should understand that you cannot control the Sinclair Group.”

This was also the reason why John Smith chose to cooperate with Barron, because Barron knew that his words were, in a sense, also the truth.

Just like in some key industries, managers prefer to cooperate with foreign capital, because under certain restrictions, the other party will find it difficult to gain control of the company, at most exerting a certain influence. Therefore, cooperating with those foreign capitals is easier to divide other shareholders to ensure control of the company.

The “certain restrictions” mentioned here will not be written in any articles, but they are implicit rules.

Just like some media and energy companies in the United States, on the surface, they have always advocated themselves as a fair and open market, but in these industries, when foreign capital is involved in controlling the company through equity, then under the name of national or public security, these foreign capital acquisitions will be subject to extremely strict investigations and reviews.

It is no exaggeration to say that in the “open and free” United States, if you buy shares of certain energy companies, you will be investigated by the CIA…

Therefore, John Smith was very certain that even if Barron knew that the Sinclair family trust held 25% of the 23.38 million shares of Sinclair Group stock, there would be a risk of being forcibly sold by the bank, but even if they were to be sold, the bank would not sell them to Barron, this “foreigner.” There are more Wall Street capitals to choose from.

It’s not that these banks are so “patriotic,” but selling to foreign capital will encounter strict and lengthy reviews, while selling to Wall Street capital does not require so much trouble. The choice is obvious.

It is worth mentioning that the bank that provided the stock-backed loan to the Sinclair family trust was none other than Bank of New York Mellon.

This could also explain why they had been firmly on David Smith’s side before.

After all, their goal was not the shares of the Sinclair Group, but to hope to earn interest income through this loan.

In their view, maintaining David Smith’s management of the company would make the company’s situation more stable and also mean that their loan was safer.

“In fact, you don’t just have one choice now, John…”

Barron’s voice fell, and John Smith’s eyes widened:

“I drove David out of office, not because of personal grudges, and even more so, not to destroy the family’s efforts in the Sinclair Group, Barron, if I didn’t see that David would lead the company into the abyss, I wouldn’t do this…”

John Smith also understood what Barron meant. Although his elder brother, David Smith, was still in the hospital now and not fully conscious, the shares held by the family trust, as long as he was alive, were still under his control, which was always a threat to John Smith.

So now, when the mortgage loan of these shares was in crisis, he could make a choice…

John Smith could even deliberately let these shares be forcibly sold by Bank of New York Mellon, so that he would no longer have the threat from David Smith—the other party could not use the Sinclair Group shares in the family trust to oppose him.

But it should also be known that the current total shareholding of the Sinclair family in the Sinclair Group is only 43%.

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

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

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

The current stock price of the Sinclair Group is hovering around 20 US dollars. If it falls slightly and touches 19.5 US dollars, it will be very dangerous.

The source of all this was earlier last year, when John Smith’s father, Julian, had not yet passed away. Julian and David Smith jointly decided to obtain 450 million US dollars in funds by mortgaging the 23.38 million shares of stock held by the family trust to Bank of New York Mellon.

Chapter 454: A Failed Investment

At that time, the stock price of the Sinclair Group was around 25 US dollars. The 23.38 million shares they had pledged were worth approximately 585 million US dollars.

It’s important to know that the Sinclair Group’s stock price had been very stable in recent years. Using these stocks, valued at 585 million US dollars, as collateral to borrow 450 million US dollars was naturally very appealing and relatively safe for the bank.

At that time, no one knew that the Sinclair Group would subsequently experience the death of its founder and internal family conflicts, which would lead to a sharp decline in the stock price.

Simple calculations would show that if the Sinclair Group’s stock price fell below 19.25 US dollars, the book value of the 23.38 million shares pledged to the bank would be less than 450 million US dollars.

However, as far as the bank’s risk control was concerned, they certainly wouldn’t wait until the value of their collateral fell below the amount of the loan before taking action.

When the price got close, they would have already started to demand that the other party increase the collateral or repay the loan.

Therefore, when the Sinclair Group’s stock price approached 20 US dollars, the bank had already issued a warning to their family.

“What did they use that money for? It couldn’t have just vanished, could it?”

This was also what made Barron curious. After all, if the money had been used for the company’s operations, there would have been no need to pledge the shares held by their family.

At the time, raising these funds definitely meant their family had something they needed the money for.

Facing Barron’s doubts, John Smith sighed and said:

“That’s what makes me angry. Now it seems that their investment that time was a complete and utter failure…”

After John Smith’s explanation, Barron realized that the Sinclair family had actually participated in the acquisition of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, once one of Hollywood’s eight major film studios!

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, or MGM, was an old Hollywood film company that was first established in 1924.

In the early days of Hollywood, there were “eight major studios,” which were MGM, United Artists (UA), Warner Bros., Universal, 20th Century Fox, Paramount, Columbia (Sony), and Disney.

It could be said that during MGM’s most glorious period, it almost single-handedly created the golden age of Hollywood cinema, achieving both commercial and artistic success.

Those well-known Hollywood masterpieces, including Gone with the Wind (accounting for inflation, this is the highest-grossing movie in film history), The Wizard of Oz, Waterloo Bridge, The Philadelphia Story, Ben-Hur, and so on, were all produced by MGM…

MGM once boasted a star-studded roster, with Clark Gable, Vivien Leigh, Ingrid Bergman, Spencer Tracy, Robert Donat, and Norma Shearer, among others, all winning Oscars for their performances in MGM films.

According to incomplete statistics, films produced by MGM had won 170 Academy Awards.

This company integrated production, distribution, and movie theaters, and owned vast studio lots, so at one point, MGM was the symbol of Hollywood.

There was once a phrase used to describe MGM, “a miracle in the history of world cinema,” and the founder, Louis B. Mayer, was known as the “King of Hollywood”!

However, this prosperity didn’t last long. After World War II, the American anti-trust laws were enacted, stipulating that film production companies could no longer interfere with distribution and theaters. Coupled with the rise of the television industry and the departure of founder Mayer, the tables turned, and MGM was no longer as glorious as before.

In 1970, MGM was bought by Kirk Kerkorian, an American gambling tycoon, and they began to stray from their core business.

This shrewd casino businessman was attracted by MGM’s brand value and began to venture into the real estate field. When he put the MGM MGM and the lion logo on grand hotels, airplanes, and the theme park in Las Vegas, it was destined that MGM would drift further away from movies and that the roaring lion of the past would become a global touring circus.

It’s worth mentioning that in 1981, MGM also acquired United Artists, which was founded by the comedy master Charlie Chaplin, but the market share of these two old companies combined was only 6% at the time – the 007 copyright that originally belonged to United Artists also became MGM’s IP at this time.

The reason MGM would sell itself this time, in addition to the fact that the company’s development in recent years was not as good as before, was that the last straw that broke the camel’s back was Windtalkers by John Woo – a single film lost 100 million US dollars, causing MGM’s accumulated debt at the time to reach 2 billion US dollars. MGM, which could no longer hold on, announced a decision in 2003 that shocked Hollywood: to sell itself!

So last year, led by Sony, and in conjunction with some Wall Street capital, a consortium was formed to establish “MGM Holdings” to acquire MGM.

This acquisition was not undertaken by Sony Pictures Entertainment – in 1989, Sony spent 3.4 billion US dollars to buy Columbia Pictures, one of Hollywood’s “eight majors,” and entered Hollywood, later changing its name to Sony Pictures Entertainment – but was directly carried out by Sony’s headquarters.

“MGM Holdings” included five financial groups: Sony Corporation, Providence Equity Partners, Texas Pacific Group, DLJ Merchant Banking Partners, and the Sinclair family trust.

Different from the original timeline, the one participating in the acquisition of MGM this time was the Sinclair family, not Comcast – the parent company of Universal Pictures, and the largest cable television company in the United States – in the original timeline.

Their bid for the acquisition of MGM this time was 4.8 billion US dollars, which included assuming MGM’s 2 billion US dollars in debt, and then the five parties each contributed 540 million US dollars – Sony Corporation needed to use MGM’s film library and distribute future MGM films, so it contributed an extra 100 million US dollars.

These five parties held equal shares in “MGM Holdings,” each owning 20% of the shares.

The Sinclair family’s previous loan, secured by pledging their company shares, was used to participate in this project – their goal was also very simple, to obtain a portion of MGM’s film library resources, so that they could handle them and then broadcast them on their television stations.

You have to know that at the time, MGM’s film library had 4,100 films and 10,600 television series!

Therefore, in this year’s release of Casino Royale, Sony not only took charge of the film’s distribution, but also the production company, Sony Columbia, participated in the production of the 007 series films for the first time. The famous Statue of Liberty logo appeared in the opening credits of a 007 film for the first time, alongside the MGM logo…

In fact, Sony Corporation was the biggest winner in this acquisition because, in addition to participating in the production of the major IP 007 series, the most important thing was that now, it was time for the next generation of disc formats to determine the winner, namely the Blu-ray DVD supported by Sony, and the HD-DVD supported by Toshiba and Microsoft!

Ultimately, Sony had MGM’s film library of 4,100 films, plus Sony Pictures Entertainment’s own 3,500 films, surpassing Time Warner, which had 6,500 films, and becoming the world’s number one.

Moreover, with these film resources, Sony could use them as ammunition in the disc format war, so the first thing Sony did after acquiring MGM was to select 1,400 films from both parties’ film libraries and output them in the exclusive Blu-ray format to gain an advantage in the format war with Toshiba.

Therefore, after Sony acquired MGM at the time, Hollywood generally believed that Sony’s acquisition plan was not intended to produce films.

As expected, after Sony took over MGM, it planned to close almost all of MGM’s sound stages except for the 007 series films and the Pink Panther series films, which meant large-scale layoffs.

Therefore, it was no wonder that John Smith could see from the present that although the family’s investment this time could not be called a complete failure – at least they had obtained the broadcasting rights to many films in MGM’s film library – it was still difficult to “revive” the company just from investing in MGM. Those 20% of the shares were now not worth the initial investment of 540 million US dollars, and even 450 million US dollars was probably hard to say…

And Barron knew even more clearly that he remembered in the original timeline, when a consortium led by Sony acquired MGM in 2005, the company’s losses were as high as 2 billion US dollars…

But four years after the acquisition, in 2009, MGM’s losses almost doubled, reaching 3.7 billion US dollars!

Chapter 455: Treating the Symptoms and the Root Cause

“I don’t know your father and elder brother’s motivations for participating in the acquisition of MGM back then, but it’s very likely they were misled by Sony…”

Baron said lightly:

“This company can now only rely on the 007 series to survive. Its financial situation is extremely poor. To save it, a considerable amount of capital is needed, but when Sony took the lead in the acquisition, most of the money went to the original shareholders, with not much left for MGM.”

“I heard that a new ‘007’ movie is currently being filmed and should be released this year, but just like you said, relying solely on the 007 movies, MGM can only barely survive…”

John Smith shrugged and said:

“At least we can still get the broadcasting rights to the movies in MGM’s film library.”

“This is also the only advantage you have over other Wall Street capital. Sony won’t invest in MGM, but instead is streamlining their expenses. I believe it’s only a matter of time before MGM announces bankruptcy again.”

“But these aren’t things that can be solved immediately, are they? The first thing to face is still the bank’s debt problem.”

Baron said unconcernedly:

“The debt problem is very easy to solve. If we only want the company’s stock price not to fall below 19.5 dollars, then we can completely increase our holdings of the stock, but in the words of the Chinese, this is just a ‘treating the symptoms, not the root cause’ approach, because in the end, even if you protect these shares, their control will still not be in your hands for the time being, and it may even be harmful to you…”

“I know, but…”

John Smith understood Baron’s meaning; the crux of the problem lay here—

If they manipulated the stock price for profit, they would definitely be investigated by the SEC, but it was perfectly acceptable for major shareholders to increase their holdings to boost the confidence of investors. Many companies would do this.

Therefore, if they agreed to the shareholders, including DS Capital, increasing their holdings in the secondary market, then Sinclair Group’s stock price could completely rise in a short period of time and at least not fall below 19.5 dollars.

What truly made John Smith hesitate was that he could use this method to protect the Sinclair Group shares held by the family trust, but the problem was that even after these shares were protected, they still couldn’t be used by him…

Because as long as his elder brother, David Smith, “regained consciousness” in the hospital, then with his double voting rights, he would still control the family trust’s shares and would instead use them as a tool to oppose John.

If that were the outcome, it would be very ironic.

As for the method of “treating the root cause”…

Some thoughts, once they appear in the mind, will become deeply ingrained and constantly come out to tempt you.

Just as Baron hinted to John Smith—according to their father’s will, only the family trust’s double voting rights were given to David Smith, but this double voting right could not be inherited by his descendants, instead, one of the votes would be given to Julian Sinclair Smith’s widow, who was John Smith’s birth mother.

In other words, if David Smith were to pass away, then his children could only have the beneficiary rights of the family trust, and one of them could obtain one voting right.

Under such circumstances, John Smith would then have an advantage in the family trust’s voting.

Although Baron didn’t hint too explicitly, it was enough.

Accidents happen every day—hospital nurses may be negligent, and critical equipment may suddenly lose power; these are all very normal, aren’t they?

“You can consider it, John; I’m waiting for your message.”

…

After having this conversation with John Smith, Baron left Maryland and went to Los Angeles, a city on the West Coast of the United States.

In just over two months, Baron and Rebecca’s daughter, and his first child, Jennifer, would be two years old.

The little girl was now very cute. After Baron returned to the mansion in Beverly Hills, when she saw him, Jennifer was initially a little shy, but soon, she wobbled towards Baron and wanted a hug.

At that moment, when Baron held his daughter, he could feel that nothing else in the world mattered, and only the little sprite in his arms was worth cherishing.

Rebecca watched Baron, who in the eyes of others was the noble Duke, the super-rich man with wealth that could rival a country, and who controlled the fate of countless people, playing with his daughter with a doting expression. Her eyes were also filled with love.

“How have things been lately, darling?”

After Jennifer was tired from playing and started to doze off, Baron handed her to a servant to look after and sat with Rebecca in front of the floor-to-ceiling window. The two of them basked in the California sunshine, and Baron asked.

“Summit Entertainment has already started preparing for the filming of the ‘Twilight’ movie, and I’m also learning along… I feel like there’s still a lot to learn, from in front of the camera to behind the scenes. It’s very fulfilling.”

In the original timeline, the first film of “Twilight,” “Twilight,” started filming in February of 2008.

However, before that, they had already started preparing for the film and casting in 2007.

This was mainly because the film rights to “Twilight” were initially obtained by a large company and later handed over to Summit Entertainment for this project.

And now starting the filming of the first “Twilight” movie was also quite timely because after a year, the popularity of this novel was already extremely high.

In 2005, the first “Twilight” novel’s sales skyrocketed within just a few weeks of its release. Afterwards, the book topped the New York Times bestseller list for 56 weeks, becoming the most talked-about bestseller of 2005.

After Summit Entertainment invested 40 million dollars and launched this project, they also received a lot of attention.

The original timeline’s investment in this film was around 37 million dollars, which was a small-budget youth film. It eventually earned 390 million dollars at the global box office, which could be said to be a classic case of a small investment yielding big returns.

Moreover, in the later “Twilight” film series, the first film, although the least invested, was the most popular and considered the most classic. Therefore, for this “Twilight” project, they still hired female director Catherine Hardwicke to direct.

Currently, they are adapting the original novel into a screenplay, and then they will start casting.

After talking about this topic, Baron only roughly understood the current situation of Summit Entertainment. Projects like “Twilight,” for a film company the size of Summit Entertainment, were naturally very critical.

But in Baron’s eyes, it was just a test of the current Summit Entertainment, if they could succeed in this project, that would mean that the current team of Summit Entertainment was still able to satisfy him, and they could invest more resources later.

Otherwise, since Blue Valley Capital’s investment in Summit Entertainment was not very large at the moment, they could just give up and choose another film company to try.

In addition, in the film industry, Baron also had backup plans—the CEO of Blue Valley Capital had already gone to New York at the end of last year to negotiate with Marvel.

Chapter 456: Target: Marvel

Like Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Marvel also had its glorious moments, otherwise, it wouldn’t have become one of the symbols of American culture.

Marvel Comics was founded in 1939. In October of that year, the first comic book was launched, and at the same time, it created its first superhero, Namor the Sub-Mariner.

The release of Captain America in March 1941 caused another sensation. In his first appearance, the comic book sold one million copies.

After that, Marvel successively launched superheroes such as the Hulk, Spider-Man, Thor, and Iron Man.

Marvel’s fate, like that of its heroes, was full of ups and downs. After experiencing World War II and a series of incidents, Marvel was transferred multiple times.

In 1986, Marvel was sold by its parent company, Cadence Industries, to New World Pictures; three years later, it was sold to MacAndrews & Forbes Holdings…

In 1994, Andrews Group and ME reorganized Marvel into Marvel Holding Company; in 1996, Marvel was embroiled in a power struggle between Carl Icahn and Perelman.

On December 27th of that year, Marvel officially declared bankruptcy, and later, with the help of many parties, it escaped the predicament of bankruptcy.

At that time, the comic book industry was generally in decline, and Marvel fell into a financial crisis.

In order to overcome the difficulties, Marvel decided to sell the film rights of its superheroes.

For example, Fox obtained the authorization for X-Men and released the movie X-Men in 2000; Sony obtained the authorization for Spider-Man and released the movie Spider-Man in 2002.

Back in 1999, Marvel sold the film rights of Spider-Man to Sony for 7 million US dollars, and the latter made a huge profit of 1.6 billion US dollars through the first two Spider-Man movies, but the share given to Marvel was only 75 million US dollars.

In 2005, Marvel’s licensing business had become its largest source of revenue, with licensing revenue of 230 million US dollars in 2005, accounting for nearly 60% of its total revenue that year.

Seeing that those major film studios had made a lot of money through their own IPs, Marvel, which owned a massive amount of IPs, was naturally unwilling to be left behind.

Last year, Marvel established a film company, and then used the copyrights of some characters as collateral to borrow 225 million US dollars from Merrill Lynch Bank, preparing to film superhero movies themselves. The first movie they chose was Iron Man.

Marvel’s decision could be said to be a gamble with everything they had.

Baron naturally knew that Marvel’s gamble was ultimately successful. In his previous life, the movie Iron Man, released in 2008, grossed 585 million US dollars worldwide, helping Marvel get out of its predicament.

Marvel filmed a total of three Iron Man movies, with a global box office of 2.38 billion US dollars. The three movies sold a total of more than 17 million DVDs, earning 300 million US dollars, becoming one of the most profitable film series in the world.

By 2009, Disney acquired Marvel Entertainment for 4.24 billion US dollars in cash and stock. Then, under Disney’s leadership, Marvel gradually began to take back the superhero movie copyrights scattered everywhere. Marvel became a money-making machine for Disney: movies, animation, toys, games, and theme parks were constantly developing in an industrial chain.

If you wanted to invest in Marvel, you naturally couldn’t add icing on the cake and join them after they succeeded; the conditions would then naturally be high.

It was still necessary to provide timely help, just like now, when Marvel needed to mortgage the copyrights of its characters to borrow money to make movies. If someone was willing to provide them with funds, it would definitely be a welcome thing.

This time, Blue Valley Capital CEO Annika Dawson proposed a full acquisition agreement to Marvel. Therefore, the negotiations had lasted for nearly two months, mainly discussing some specific terms regarding the acquisition price and support for Marvel after the acquisition with Marvel’s management and shareholders.

Initially, Blue Valley Capital proposed to Marvel a full cash acquisition of Marvel for 1.5 billion US dollars. After all, Marvel was not in a good situation at this time. The company almost relied entirely on selling superhero licenses to survive. As for comics… how many people were still reading comics in this era?

Moreover, this time, the mortgage of the copyrights of many characters to obtain a large loan to film movies also brought great pressure to Marvel, especially its management and shareholders.

In fact, what they borrowed from Merrill Lynch Bank was a full 525 million US dollars – with ten characters including Thor, Captain America, Nick Fury, and Hawkeye as collateral. If they failed to repay the loan on time, Merrill Lynch Bank would immediately own these characters.

In this battle to the death, the reason why Marvel Studios borrowed so much money was to film multiple movies, including Iron Man and the Hulk.

There were also many dissenting opinions among Marvel’s shareholders regarding this decision. After all, although Marvel could now only rely on licensing to maintain the company’s operations, at least it was still somewhat stable. But if they placed such a large bet and ultimately failed, then perhaps what awaited Marvel would be another bankruptcy.

After all, before this, many superhero movies had suffered disastrous failures, and the popularity of both Iron Man and the Hulk was far less than that of Spider-Man and X-Men.

Therefore, there were still quite a few shareholders who were willing to avoid risks and sell their shares to the “white knight” Blue Valley Capital; what they needed was a reasonable price.

However, for Marvel’s management at this time, since they could make the decision to mortgage character copyrights and borrow more than 500 million to independently film superhero movies, they still hoped to take a gamble.

To persuade them to sell Marvel to Blue Valley Capital, they needed to work hard on the support for Marvel after the acquisition.

Therefore, for most of the time, Annika Dawson needed to persuade them.

She was sure that she could set the support they would be given after Blue Valley Capital acquired Marvel, including the provision of funds and other resources, in the form of an agreement.

In addition, it should be mentioned that Annika Dawson also found Avi Arad, an important figure in Marvel at this time, and Kevin Feige, the current CEO of Marvel Studios, who was discovered by him. She promised that Blue Valley Capital would strongly support their “Marvel Cinematic Universe” concept and help them realize this grand vision.

In fact, these two people were the main promoters of Marvel Studios’ film plan. Therefore, after rounds of negotiations, Blue Valley Capital finally made some concessions, agreeing to acquire Marvel Entertainment (which includes Marvel Studios, Marvel Games, Marvel Television, etc.) for 1.7 billion US dollars in full cash, and would invest an additional 300 million US dollars in Marvel Entertainment to support their subsequent development.

In addition, there were many more detailed provisions for the future development of Marvel in this acquisition agreement. In a word, they would give money if money was needed, and find ways to provide resources if resources were needed.

With such a promise, finally, everyone was happy, and the acquisition of Marvel Entertainment was officially announced to the public.

Chapter 457: Key Project

Generally speaking, at this time, Blue Valley Capital was still unknown in America.

This company acquired Summit Entertainment, but coincidentally, Summit Entertainment’s reputation wasn’t very high at the time either. Although they released some decent movies, there were too many similar small companies in Hollywood. Outside of Hollywood, Summit Entertainment was also not well-known.

Although Marvel Entertainment wasn’t a particularly remarkable company at the time, at least it had some recognition—who didn’t know Spider-Man and X-Men?

Therefore, the sudden news that Marvel Entertainment was acquired by Blue Valley Capital also attracted some attention, but most people’s thoughts were—oh, someone is trying to experiment (tinker) with Marvel again, that’s all.

Some people would also investigate the situation and information about Blue Valley Capital, but most of them were companies that had dealings with Marvel, such as Sony and 20th Century Fox, which owned the film and television rights to its characters…

After the agreement to acquire Marvel Entertainment was reached, it also meant that Blue Valley Capital needed to come up with 2 billion US dollars in cash within a short period of time. 1.7 billion US dollars would be paid to the original shareholders of Marvel Entertainment, and another 300 million US dollars would be injected into Marvel Entertainment to guarantee their business operations—especially the most important superhero movie project.

Blue Valley Capital first obtained a loan of up to 2 billion US dollars from Rich23 Capital—these loans were secured by Rich23 Capital using its shares in some companies as collateral, and were obtained from Standard Chartered Bank.

Blue Valley Capital would then need to bear the interest on this part of the loan, and then use these 2 billion US dollars to complete the acquisition and capital injection of Marvel Entertainment.

After Marvel Entertainment was acquired, Avi Arad served as the CEO of Marvel Entertainment, and Kevin Feige served as the Vice President of Marvel Entertainment, concurrently as the CEO of Marvel Studios.

Their main task was to promote the grand plan of the “Marvel Cinematic Universe,” but whether this plan could be carried out depended on the performance of their first self-produced film, Iron Man.

Here, we need to talk about the Iron Man project.

As early as 1990, Universal Pictures obtained the film and television rights to the Iron Man character from Marvel, but Universal Pictures’ Iron Man project was delayed for a long time without being finalized.

The main reason was that Universal Pictures was willing to acquire the rights to Iron Man at the time, simply to ride on the coattails of superheroes, and didn’t plan to invest too much money in filming—Iron Man’s fame at that time was really too low. Non-comic fans didn’t know many people.

The heroes familiar to the public were Superman, Batman, and Spider-Man, these were the top-tier “superheroes.”

So to put it bluntly, Universal Pictures just wanted to make a low-budget superhero movie to ride the wave of superheroes.

But everyone knew that the selling point of the Iron Man hero was various armors. Not to mention whether the technology of the 90s could produce such cool effects, but purely from a production point of view, the cost could not be too low.

After discovering this, Universal Pictures’ Iron Man project was always shelved—you must know that when Marvel sold the rights to its heroes, there would be a clause that the other party must film a film or television work of the hero within a specified number of years, otherwise the rights would automatically revert back to Marvel.

Universal Pictures’ Iron Man rights only had 15 years, so in 1996, they transferred the Iron Man rights to 20th Century Fox.

At the time, Fox could be said to be Marvel’s favorite customer, because it spent a lot of money to buy the rights to heroes such as X-Men, Fantastic Four, and Daredevil from Marvel.

You must know that in that era, the most popular hero team under Marvel was not the Avengers, but the X-Men. In addition, the Fantastic Four was also very popular.

Initially, Fox was still very concerned about the Iron Man project. After the project was established, it attracted the interest of heavyweight actors such as Tom Cruise and Nicolas Cage, who expressed their willingness to play the role of Tony Stark.

Fox also planned to have Quentin Tarantino direct this film, however, it was still not officially established.

There were several reasons. First, in 1997, Warner Bros.’ Batman & Robin suffered an unprecedented defeat, resulting in serious losses, making superhero movies a disaster area at the time.

Even a movie with a high-profile character like Batman flopped, what about other characters? Who would dare to film?

Second, in Fox’s project schedule at the time, X-Men had the highest priority, and Iron Man was at the bottom. And the Iron Man movie was too expensive. With the market affected by Batman & Robin, Fox was unwilling to invest so much money in a character with low popularity.

After all, even for X-Men, Fox only gave a budget of 75 million US dollars. If you want to film Iron Man, it would cost at least 100 million US dollars. In their view, with Iron Man’s fame, they would definitely not be able to get back such a high investment.

In fact, the production of X-Men alone was also full of twists and turns at the time, and it was almost impossible to complete smoothly. Iron Man, which had the lowest priority, naturally couldn’t see the light of day.

In the blink of an eye, the rights were about to expire again, so Fox transferred the rights to New Line Cinema.

After obtaining the Iron Man rights, New Line Cinema began the production of the project very attentively not long after.

Including hiring George Whedon (later the director of Avengers) to direct, and also inviting several screenwriters who had written superhero movie scripts, to ensure they could make a good story.

The reason why New Line Cinema was so concerned about Iron Man, besides the fact that the high-level executives were indeed very insightful (New Line’s high-level executives had accurately seen that the Lord of the Rings series would be a big hit, and spared no effort to support the filming), there were also some external factors.

At the time, Fox’s X-Men had already been released, and both the box office and the reputation were successful, proving that the superhero market affected by Batman & Robin had begun to return to normal.

Of course, more importantly, it proved that superhero movies didn’t necessarily have to be Superman or Batman to be successful.

In 2002, Sony’s Spider-Man caused a sensation, breaking the record for superhero origin movies in North America.

In this situation, it’s no wonder that New Line Cinema would value Iron Man so much.

Unfortunately, in the end, this project was still abandoned.

Why?

It’s also interesting to say that because the time for the Iron Man rights had expired.

However, New Line Cinema still hoped to continue the renewal with Marvel, but at this time, two things happened.

First, New Line Cinema had been acquired by Time Warner in the 90s, and Marvel’s opponent, DC, was exactly Warner’s.

Warner wouldn’t be so stupid as to let its subsidiary cause trouble for itself.

Second, Kevin Feige, this genius, had already gained a certain amount of power within Marvel at the time. Marvel was already planning to film movies themselves, that is, the “Marvel Cinematic Universe” plan was already in the early stages of planning, so they didn’t have the idea of continuing the renewal.

Moreover, since 1990, they had been tinkering for more than ten years, and the Iron Man movie had never been filmed. Who knew what would happen if they renewed the contract later.

In the end, Iron Man was developed by Marvel itself.

For Marvel, it was also a risky move, because Marvel, which had no funds, had already mortgaged some heroes to the bank and relied on borrowed money to develop movies.

Succeed or die.

But now, with a new boss and “sugar daddy,” the core force within Marvel Entertainment that was inclined to create the “Marvel Cinematic Universe” on its own also gained control of the company.

From this moment on, Marvel Entertainment would put all its energy into the production of Iron Man, a movie that was crucial to Marvel’s film strategy.

Currently, Marvel Entertainment and Summit Entertainment were both acquired by Blue Valley Capital, but there was not much relationship between them.

Chapter 458: Plan A

The last time Baron came to the United States, he also participated in Android’s development of a mobile phone operating system, the Android system, through Evanta.

With his experience as a senior Android user from his previous life, he provided a lot of inspiration for the then-unformed mobile phone system.

After that, with the ideas he provided, as well as the help with some specific function implementations and control methods, the development speed of the Android system accelerated dramatically.

Moreover, during this period, Baron had never stopped paying attention to the system development of Android – after all, the Android system was too important for his future industrial layout in the era of smartphones.

Although through various investment companies, Baron currently held more than 30% of Apple’s stock – initially, he held a total of 30% of Apple’s shares under the names of DS Capital and Rich23 Capital respectively.

After that, the private equity funds of DS Capital, including the Mars Fund, also increased their holdings of Apple’s stock, and now their total holdings were close to 40% of the shares.

But in the final analysis, he could only disperse these shares and could not really control Apple’s control, at most, he could exert a part of his influence.

To be precise, if it was the Apple company before the iPhone appeared, Baron could still try to hold a controlling stake, or even acquire it, but the Apple company that would be in an advantageous position in the smartphone field through the iPhone in the future, and almost became the synonym for smartphones for a considerable period of time, was hard for Baron to get involved in, otherwise, the hat of “threatening national security” would be put on, and he would be in trouble.

Moreover, even the current Android company was acquired by Baron through the “American company” IC Capital, registered in Evanta’s name. Don’t look at the close alliance between Britain and the United States, but in this key field, the other party still wouldn’t allow too much control.

At present, the Android system research and development in Silicon Valley not only included the employees of Android, but also the technical personnel from Glory Electronics who were carrying out “Plan A”.

After the Global Industrial Investment Fund acquired HTC and reorganized it into Glory Electronics, Glory Electronics became the first member of the Android Alliance and would deeply participate in the research and development of the Android system, in order to complete the finalization and production of the first smartphone equipped with the Android system in the shortest possible time.

The so-called “Plan A” was a research and development plan for the Android system and smartphones equipped with the Android system. In the research and development of the Android system, the employees of Android needed to determine what kind of phone could realize their ideas, and control the Android system, and then the personnel of Glory Electronics would implement this control method.

Including touch screen control, whether a Home button was needed, gravity sensing and other functions, all needed to be tested.

However, in this process, the personnel of Glory Electronics would not come into contact with too much of the Android system content, at most, they could know how this system was operated – it was obvious that this was a full-touch screen phone that was operated through a virtual keyboard without a physical keyboard, which was epoch-making at the time.

According to the plan, Android needed to complete the first usable version of the Android system before July 1st of this year, and then, based on this, produce the first smartphone prototype equipped with the Android system, and begin to prepare the supply chain and start production.

Next year, Apple would launch the IPhone1, and after that, Android would also launch their Android system and the first smartphone equipped with the Android system.

Baron had prepared more than that. The Digital Future Investment Company under the Caesar Fund acquired the Australian game studio Halfbrick Studio not long ago.

Many people may not have heard of this game studio. Halfbrick Studio was established in 2001, and before that, they were engaged in outsourcing mobile game production.

However, in the original timeline of 2010, this company fell into difficulties, and unless the game sales exceeded 300,000, they would face the crisis of bankruptcy…

At that time, the company’s senior designer Luke Muscat led his small team of three people and spent six weeks creating a game that was not initially favored.

When this game was launched on the Apple App Store in April 2010, the entire company was shocked by its performance.

This game, suitable for all ages, easy to operate and fun, broke through 1 million downloads within 3 months, and exceeded 200 million after two years of release.

Many people should have played that game, called “Fruit Ninja”.

It could be said that “Fruit Ninja” was completely born for touch screens. It perfectly combined the most important difference between smartphones and the current feature phones – touch screens, with its game content, and even in international e-sports competitions like the WCG, “Fruit Ninja” was once a participating project, which showed how great its influence was at that time.

Anyway, in his previous life, this game was the first game Baron played after using a smartphone, so he was deeply impressed.

The most important thing was that the rare thing about this game was its creativity, and the difficulty of game production was not high.

Therefore, it was very suitable to be installed in the Android system’s smartphones to attract users and let them experience the difference between smartphones and feature phones in terms of operation.

Because it was just a small game studio that mainly did outsourcing business, the acquisition price of Halfbrick Studio was not high. Digital Future Investment Company only spent less than 1 million US dollars to acquire this company.

This could be regarded as his first layout in the mobile device game industry. The future game industry would be of a huge scale, which would exceed the scale of entertainment industries such as sports and film and television, so the layout in this field could also be launched.

……

During this time in Silicon Valley, Evanta also took the time to come and meet with Baron.

It could be said that with her as the CEO of IC Capital, after carrying out a series of acquisitions, this young lady from the TP family could be said to be increasingly well-known in the United States.

If the previous fame was mainly because of her background and beauty, then now her “talent” shown in commercial investment was also increasingly recognized by people, especially in the investment of these Internet technology companies with high exposure, which also made her one of the most eye-catching second-generation wealthy.

During this period, Evanta, on behalf of IC Capital, had just completed the B-round investment in YouTube.

In YouTube’s angel round financing, IC Capital invested 1 million US dollars and obtained 30% of the shares of this start-up company.

And after April of last year, YouTube finally began to transform, from the original dating website, it began to transform into a website that provided video sharing for users.

Although this transformation seemed to be relatively successful, similarly, because it needed to provide a large amount of storage space for users, the operating expenses required by YouTube increased dramatically, and even if they were used sparingly, the initial funds were quickly exhausted.

In this case, YouTube conducted two rounds of financing in October of last year and at the beginning of this year respectively.

Because the cooperation with IC Capital had always been very pleasant, Evanta listened to Baron’s opinions, respected the ideas of YouTube’s founding team very much, and had never interfered with their development plans for the website, so these two financings were all carried out by IC Capital.

Up to now, IC Capital had invested a total of 8 million US dollars in two installments and held 49.6% of the shares of YouTube.

Chapter 459: Listed One After Another

On February 15th, while on the plane from California back to Melbourne, Baron received some news.

The night before, David Smith, who had been cared for in the hospital, had passed away due to the negligence of a nurse and the failure of the emergency equipment.

According to the investigation by the American police, the nurse who was caring for him that day was a drug addict. When the police found him, he had already died from an overdose.

Ultimately, this accident was determined to be manslaughter, with no other suspicious points.

Regarding this, David Smith’s wife and children, as well as his other siblings, were not without questions, but the police’s conclusion had already been reached, and there was nothing more to investigate. They could only let it go.

After David Smith’s death, because his two children were under 18 years old, the voting rights in the family trust were temporarily inherited by his widow, Sally Smith, while the other vote belonged to the widow of Julian Sinclair Smith, who was John Smith’s biological mother.

Thus, John Smith and his side’s “current three siblings” alliance obtained four votes from the family trust, gaining control of the shares of Sinclair Group they held.

Under such circumstances, the Sinclair family trust signed an agreement with Blue Valley Capital, selling their 20% stake in MGM Holdings for 450 million US dollars. Although last year, they participated in the acquisition of MGM, they spent 540 million US dollars to obtain these shares and the partial film playback rights of MGM’s film library, but now they would rather lose some money to resolve the crisis of these mortgaged shares.

After receiving 450 million US dollars, the Sinclair family trust could repay the Bank of New York Mellon, thereby reclaiming their mortgaged Sinclair Group shares.

At the same time, shareholders of the Sinclair Group, such as DS Capital and IC Capital, stated that they would collectively purchase 250 million US dollars worth of Sinclair Group convertible bonds. The funds obtained by the company would be used to integrate the company’s business and make corresponding investments. Currently, it was disclosed that the Sinclair Group would acquire a network company with exclusive technology in the big data field to improve their advertising revenue.

After this news was revealed, the stock price of the Sinclair Group finally rose for the first time after a decline of more than two months. A few days later, the stock price reached 22.5 US dollars and gradually stabilized.

As for Blue Valley Capital, after buying 20% of MGM’s shares from the Sinclair family trust, they did not take further action.

Their main work at the moment was still assisting in the film production of Summit Entertainment and Marvel Studios.

At this time in America, besides Woaw Technology conducting its roadshow before IPO listing, according to the agreement with the Nasdaq Group, LOMX Group had also started the process of listing on Nasdaq.

At the same time, the Nasdaq Group would also be listed on the London Stock Exchange.

This time, LOMX Group would issue 15% of the total share capital after the issuance of new shares for public offering. The funds obtained would mainly be used to acquire the Italian Stock Exchange.

Of course, although LOMX Group had reached an agreement on the price for the acquisition of the Italian Stock Exchange, it still needed to wait for the antitrust review by the European Union and Italy to pass.

LOMX Group had been actively communicating with the other party and promised that after the acquisition was completed, the business of the Italian Stock Exchange would still comply with the relevant regulations of the local area and the European Union and be supervised by regulatory agencies.

It was expected that around May this year, after LOMX Group completed its listing on Nasdaq, they should have a result for the acquisition of the Italian Stock Exchange.

This time, the IPO listing, the initial offering price of LOMX Group was temporarily set in the range of 4.75-5 US dollars. The total share capital of LOMX Group at this time was 1.7 billion shares. Adding the 300 million new shares to be publicly offered, the total share capital after the IPO listing would be 2 billion shares.

Calculated at the offering price of 5 US dollars, the market value of LOMX Group after listing would reach 10 billion US dollars.

It could be said that this year, many of Baron’s companies would successively begin listing. In the following April, companies including O2 Telecom and Argos Retail Group would also successively begin the listing process. These two companies would choose the London Stock Exchange for listing.

…

When Baron and the others returned to London, it was already March.

After this period of recuperation in Australia, it was obvious to see that Bonnie’s complexion had improved a lot.

In less than two months, it would be her due date, so next, she would need to be extremely careful and start to stay in London for childbirth.

And Baron went to the O2 building in King’s Cross.

O2 Telecom was going to start the IPO listing process next month, and there were still many things that needed to be done before they could get a satisfactory stock price.

After acquiring Czech Telecom, O2 Telecom began to enter the Eastern European market and developed rapidly there.

So far, O2 Telecom had become one of the largest mobile operators in Europe, with a total of more than 40 million European users—of which the British market had about 17 million users, the Irish, French, and German markets combined had more than 15 million users, and the Eastern European market, mainly in the Czech Republic, had about 8 million users…

Especially in the French and German markets, O2 Telecom used their increasingly perfect mobile and broadband networks there, through low-cost family package strategies, to defeat their local mobile operators, directly reducing their average fees by a large margin.

For this, there were even operators accusing O2 Telecom of “dumping at low prices,” but under O2 Telecom’s moral high ground of “everything for consumers,” it instead enhanced O2 Telecom’s image in the public’s mind.

Using the current huge user base, O2 Telecom not only earned income from communication fees, but also through Glory Electronics and other mobile phone manufacturers from China—for example, the Chinese electronics company that obtained the Philips brand—to customize mobile phones and sell them to consumers, thereby earning considerable revenue.

At the earliest, O2 Telecom had once issued company bonds to the public with a total value of 1 billion pounds, with an annual interest rate of 3.5%. As of now, through their profit income, these company bonds had been fully repaid after more than two years…

Compared to the first two years after being acquired by DS Capital, in the previous year, the financial data of O2 Telecom had greatly improved.

And at this time, they also had a trump card, which was the exclusive sales rights of Apple’s iPhone mobile phone.

The research and development project of the first-generation iPhone began in 2004. At that time, Apple gathered more than 1,000 internal employees to form a highly confidential team, code-named “Project Purple.”

This team was composed of experts from various fields such as hardware, software, and design. They were separated in different office areas, and even the company’s senior executives did not know what they were doing.

At that time, Apple’s CEO, Jobs, initially wanted to develop a tablet computer similar to the iPad, but later he changed his mind and decided to enter the smart phone field.

In order to develop a product that could subvert the traditional mobile phone market, Apple secretly cooperated with the American operator AT&T.

AT&T invested funds in the iPhone project and gave Apple a great deal of freedom to develop the iPhone’s hardware and software.

In exchange, Apple guaranteed that within 4 years, the iPhone in the American market would be exclusively sold by AT&T.

As mentioned before, in European and American countries, the sale of mobile phones was different from that in China. Generally, users first signed a network access agreement with the operator, and then chose to purchase the contract phone device through the operator.

In Baron’s previous life, AT&T’s cooperation with Apple this time received a great return.

In the first few years after the iPhone was launched, through the exclusive sales contract in hand, AT&T once gained the upper hand in the competition with its opponent, Verizon, one of the largest mobile operators in America.

And O2 Telecom did not miss this opportunity either. Last year, O2 Telecom’s CEO, Barry Trelease, personally went to America to meet Jobs.

They provided Apple with funds of 100 million US dollars over two years for the development plan of the iPhone mobile phone, code-named “Purple 2,” thereby obtaining the exclusive sales agreement for the iPhone mobile phone in markets including Britain, France, Germany, and the Czech Republic.

Through this agreement, in the future, after Apple’s iPhone mobile phones are launched, O2 Telecom would be able to obtain the exclusive sales rights of the iPhone mobile phones and related mobile devices in these markets.

It could be imagined that with this exclusive sales right, O2 Telecom would usher in even faster development in these markets.

Of course, the manifestation of these effects would have to wait until a year later. Currently, the upcoming IPO listing of O2 Telecom was also attracting much attention.

Chapter 460: Filling the Boxes

“What are you two talking about, darling?”

When Barron returned home, he saw Bonnie sitting on the sofa, chatting with Victoria Beckham, and asked casually.

“We were just talking about last month’s bank vault robbery. It was really exciting…”

After he sat down beside Bonnie, she leaned against Barron and talked about the matter with great interest.

Barron knew that Bonnie was referring to the bank vault robbery that occurred on the evening of February 21st in Kent, not far from London.

Speaking of which, this case also broke the record in the UK, becoming the largest bank robbery in British history to date.

After Barron returned to the UK, he also learned about this matter immediately. The reason why this robbery was so fascinating was because, unlike the previous rough methods of robbing banks, this robbery unfolded like a scene from a movie.

The bank vault that was robbed was the Bank of Scotland’s vault in Kent. The robbers, disguised as police officers, kidnapped the bank vault manager, Dickson, on his way home from work.

Another group of three robbers, also disguised as police officers, went to Dickson’s house and kidnapped his wife and children in front of him, threatening him with their lives to cooperate.

Dickson finally agreed to cooperate and then led the robbers into the bank vault. After the robbers, armed with guns, controlled the inside of the bank, they opened the bank’s vault…

At that time, the bank’s vault held a staggering 150 million pounds in cash, most of which were new banknotes just delivered from the printing factory.

However, the robbers only stole 53 million pounds of it.

It wasn’t that they had a “code of honor,” but because the white van they drove could only hold 53 million pounds of banknotes…

After filling the van with the money, the robbers locked 14 bank employees, the vault manager Dickson, and his wife and children into the cage that originally held the cash, and then drove away.

Early in the morning of February 22nd, the entire UK knew about this explosive news.

The Kent Police Department launched a special investigation into the robbery, with 300 police officers working around the clock on the case—but there was no clue at all, and the police were extremely troubled.

Therefore, the Kent Police Department eventually issued a reward notice, offering a maximum reward of 2 million pounds for anyone who could provide clues about the robbery.

The issuance of such a high reward mobilized the enthusiasm of the public, and clues poured in. Also, the robbers were too careless, and they didn’t even try to escape for so long. They were successively arrested within the next 48 hours, which provided the people of the entire UK with a topic for discussion over tea for a long time.

In addition, it is worth mentioning that Victoria Beckham, who is now with Barron, gave birth to another child last year, her third child…

But what made Barron feel fortunate was that this child had nothing to do with him, so he didn’t have to take any responsibility.

However, it must be admitted that Victoria’s figure was indeed well-maintained. It had only been a little over three months since she gave birth, and she had completely regained her curves.

During their lunch together, Bonnie also asked Victoria many questions about how to regain her figure after childbirth.

Bonnie was already more than eight months pregnant and easily tired. Soon after lunch, she went back to her room to lie down and rest.

And at this time, Victoria entered Barron’s study…

Unlike the elegance and poise she had shown before, Victoria now displayed a different kind of charm.

For some reason, although it wasn’t long after eating, Barron still felt a little hungry, so Victoria very considerately offered…

“I’ll drink less, in case your child doesn’t get enough…”

“No need, Your Grace, please enjoy yourself.”

Victoria’s breathing became more and more rapid. Her hand rested on Barron’s abdominal muscles and started to move down…

“What are you doing, madam?”

“I… want to see the English cannon, Your Grace.”

Victoria’s tongue traced her lips, and she said expectantly.

…

“Regarding Hermès, we are currently in the process of packing it up. We have already filled two boxes, and are now packing the third one…”

During his last trip to Paris, Barron had already started to lay out the acquisition of Hermès’s shares.

However, with the “precedent” of LVMH’s failure to acquire Hermès in his previous life, Barron was very careful in proceeding.

As the person in charge in front of Barron, who was wearing a professional suit and had a good figure, said.

Ashley Webber, 29 years old this year, has been working at DS Holdings for more than two years and is currently in the strategic mergers and acquisitions department. Her previous work was also praised by DS Holdings CEO Amber Sheen, so she was in charge of this acquisition of Hermès.

In her words, the acquisition of Hermès was like moving house. To avoid being discovered by the Hermès family and the LVMH Group, DS Group cooperated with local French banks, which set up offshore companies one after another…

In this process, they also made full use of intelligence. For example, after carefully investigating all the shareholders who held shares in Hermès, they classified these shareholders according to their willingness to sell their shares in Hermès.

They also did the same with the Hermès family members who held shares—currently, there are 200 Hermès family members holding shares, and the shares are very dispersed. The family members here have different attitudes towards Hermès. Some hope that Hermès will remain under family control, while others don’t care about it.

Therefore, they first targeted those members and shareholders who didn’t care about the Hermès family and began to acquire Hermès shares using offshore companies that appeared to have no connection.

These offshore companies were called “boxes” by Ashley because in France, if you hold 5% of the shares of a listed company, you need to make a declaration to explain your intention to acquire those shares.

So, according to their rules, when an offshore company holds 4.9% of Hermès shares, it means that “this box is full,” and they move on to the next box to start loading…

It is worth mentioning that the total number of outstanding shares of Hermès is currently around 74.85 million shares, so about 3.66 million shares of Hermès can “fill a box”…

Their goal is naturally to fill more than 10 boxes, and eventually be able to control more than 50% of Hermès’s shares, to prevent the Hermès family members from concentrating some of their shares into a trust company named H51 to counter the acquisition by the LVMH Group, making it impossible for the latter to control the company, as happened in the original timeline…

Of course, this was also because Bernard Arnault, the boss of the LVMH Group, was too careless in the original timeline. He thought that after holding more than 22% of Hermès’s shares and becoming the largest shareholder, he could defeat the members of the Hermès family one by one, without realizing that many members of the Hermès family valued the family’s honor so much that they directly gathered their shares…

Chapter 461: Applying a Patch

“We are observing a member of the Hermès family named Nicolas Puech…”

Ashley Weber said to Baron:

“He currently holds 5 million shares of Hermès, a relatively large holding among family members. Moreover, Nicolas has his own business and hasn’t been heavily involved in Hermès’ affairs for a long time. There’s a good chance we can buy his shares, but we’ll be as careful as possible when making contact.”

Nicolas Puech?

Baron felt the name was somewhat familiar, but after seeing the photo of the person, he finally remembered…

Speaking of which, just before he was reborn in his previous life, he saw a news report that a Hermès family member with assets of 9 billion euros was preparing to leave his fortune to his gardener…

This person was Nicolas Puech.

According to the reports Baron remembered, Nicolas Puech was indeed one of the few independent shareholders in the Hermès family. It seemed that his relationship with other family members wasn’t very good; he neither joined the holding entity H51 established by the Hermès family members nor the other holding entity H2 controlled by a small number of family members.

He had always held his Hermès shares himself, and there were even reports that he had negotiated with the LVMH Group about selling his shares when they were acquiring Hermès…

From this perspective, this Nicolas Puech was indeed a member worth trying to acquire shares from.

Baron knew that the “big move” of LVMH Group’s share acquisition of Hermès only began after 2008; they still had enough time to slowly “box things up”.

But before that, his more important task was to prepare for the upcoming subprime mortgage crisis.

…

“The profits from our last crude oil futures were mainly invested in further bullish positions on the British pound and the euro exchange rates. It is estimated that both the crude oil futures and foreign exchange will be able to complete their phased liquidation within a few months.”

In February of last year, the Caesar Fund invested 1 billion US dollars, with Daisy in charge of managing these funds, and established positions at a price below 42 US dollars (see Chapter 360).

Before that, DS Capital’s proprietary funds, that is, Baron’s own funds, had also completed the establishment of positions in crude oil futures.

DS Capital’s proprietary funds were slightly higher than the Caesar Fund’s investment, reaching 1.5 billion US dollars. And in terms of leverage, compared to the “conservative” scale of ten times leverage used by the Caesar Fund, DS Capital’s own funds had leverage of over fifteen times!

The Caesar Fund’s positions were established around 42 US dollars, while DS Capital, because it established positions earlier, had a lower average holding price, around 40.5 US dollars.

In September of last year, international oil prices broke through 70 US dollars for the first time. At that time, both DS Capital and the Caesar Fund began to liquidate their holdings in crude oil futures.

In that operation, the Caesar Fund’s profits exceeded 6.5 billion US dollars!

Of this, 2.5 billion US dollars went to DS Capital as profit sharing for this operation, and the remaining 4 billion US dollars were invested in bullish futures on the British pound and the euro – during this period, the US dollar would still depreciate relative to the British pound and the euro.

And DS Capital’s own funds made a profit of 16 billion US dollars, and with the profit sharing received from the Caesar Fund, DS Capital had 18.5 billion US dollars in funds!

Another point worth mentioning is that the Caesar Fund’s principal of 1 billion US dollars and DS Capital’s own funds of 1.5 billion US dollars, after international oil prices fell below 50 US dollars, again established bullish futures positions.

And since the beginning of this year, international oil prices have once again reached above 60 US dollars. In a few months, they will “harvest” again.

It’s not that they didn’t want to immediately go short after liquidating their bullish futures positions in September of last year.

But it is necessary to know that in the previous phase, their profits needed to be invested in other markets, rather than staying in the crude oil futures market.

This shows that in international crude oil futures, if they want to have a higher utilization rate of their funds, then they need to use leverage, but under the condition of using leverage, the amount of funds invested in it must not be too high, otherwise the impact on the market will be extremely large.

Therefore. The funds invested in the crude oil futures market, whether by the Caesar Fund or DS Capital’s own funds, were all below 2 billion US dollars.

This was to ensure that their investment behavior would not become a “whale in the pool”, causing too much turmoil in the market.

Daisy, now, just by relying on the capital operations she has been in charge of over the years, has already received a bonus of more than 100 million British pounds, and after investing in her own wealth, she is now estimated to be a hidden wealthy person…

It’s not just her; the myth of wealth creation of DS Capital has influenced many people.

“Next, I plan to make some adjustments to DS Capital’s financial situation…”

Hearing Baron say this, Daisy said puzzledly:

“Although our entire DS Group looks very high on the balance sheet now, we also have enough repayment ability and are not afraid of others attacking us…”

“I’m not afraid of this, but we have used too much leverage before, resulting in many companies’ shares being mortgaged. Now, after these companies have developed, the market value they possess is completely different from the beginning. Continuing to be in a mortgaged state is too wasteful…”

When Baron said this, Daisy already understood:

“So the 18.5 billion US dollars we earned before was not invested in other investments, but only used for short-term, low-leverage bullish operations on the British pound, is that for this reason?”

“Yes, I will have Brandon McCain produce a detailed balance sheet for the DS Group and then optimize some of the debts.”

Brandon McCain is the Chief Financial Officer of the DS Group. From the initial leveraged acquisition of O2 Telecom to the recent acquisitions, the DS Group’s debts have indeed accumulated a lot.

Baron even used this as bait to target the combined attack of the Hall family and the Rothschild family, but there was something Baron was not convenient to say directly to Daisy.

That is, the subprime mortgage crisis is about to arrive. Although the DS Group has sufficient funds to cope with it, Baron doesn’t want the debts obtained from his previous share mortgages to cause him any trouble during this global economic recession.

And O2 Telecom is also about to go public. He plans to solve these debts first and “apply a patch” for himself.

Chapter 462: Debts and Listing

“Currently, the DS Group’s debts, primarily denominated in British pounds, exceed 11.05 billion pounds; additionally, there’s a 3 billion US dollar loan. These are the principal amounts, and we are making timely interest payments…”

Soon, Brandon McCain, the Chief Financial Officer of DS Group, provided a detailed account of the DS Group’s current liabilities, stemming from their previous acquisitions, financing, and loans.

These included:

A 3 billion US dollar loan from Goldman Sachs, with an annual interest rate of 5%, using shares of Standard Chartered Bank as collateral after the acquisition of Standard Chartered Bank.

A 4 billion pound loan from Northern Rock Bank, with a five-year term and an annual interest rate of 3%, using 55% of O2 Telecom’s shares as collateral.

A 1.55 billion pound loan from Standard Chartered Bank, secured by the shares of Summit Media after Summit Media’s IPO.

A 2.5 billion pound loan from Northern Rock Bank, using shares of Argos Retail Group, Woaw Technology, Argent Real Estate Group, and 20 million shares of Google as collateral during the acquisition of the Gucci Group.

Another financing loan of 3 billion pounds from Standard Chartered Bank, with an annual interest rate of 6%, using shares of the Gucci Group as collateral, also during the acquisition of the Gucci Group.

These were the debts that DS Group itself was responsible for, with debts of other companies as separate entities.

From these, it can be seen that the DS Group’s debts were still substantial. The current exchange rate between the pound and the US dollar was around 1.75. Therefore, the 18.5 billion US dollars that DS Investment Company earned last year, even with some surplus by now, when converted to pounds, could barely cover these debts of the DS Group.

In September of last year, the exchange rate between the pound and the US dollar peaked at around 1.85, while the lowest rate during this period was only around 1.70…

Because the attitudes of forces like the Rothschild family and America’s Vanguard Group towards them were still unclear, Baron’s strategy was to superficially keep DS Group burdened with considerable debt, while his funds were shorting the pound against the US dollar with very low leverage – less than three times leverage.

By now, the initial 18.5 billion US dollars had become approximately 22 billion US dollars, equivalent to about 12.57 billion pounds. This was indeed almost exactly the sum of all their debts, with a slight shortfall…

However, it was not necessary to repay all of these debts. For example, the 4 billion pounds borrowed from Northern Rock Bank, with 55% of O2 Telecom’s shares as collateral, not only had a very low annual interest rate of only 3%, but also had a full term of 5 years. It should be known that in recent years, the exchange rate between the pound and the US dollar had consistently remained above 1.7, but starting from 2009, this exchange rate would often drop below 1.4. With such a low exchange rate, and while retaining dollar assets, repaying the pounds later would still be very profitable.

Furthermore, in the subprime mortgage crisis, Northern Rock Bank might even go bankrupt, and then their portion of the debt… would be extremely advantageous in certain negotiations.

In addition, those loans from Standard Chartered Bank, although the annual interest rate was often above 5%, were still considered inexpensive financing compared to the returns provided to clients by the Caesar Fund and the Global Industrial Investment Fund…

Moreover, Standard Chartered Bank itself was controlled by the DS Group, and these loans did not affect long-term holdings at all. The exchange rate between the pound and the US dollar, in the original timeline, even reached an exchange rate of 1.03 in 2022. Compared to now, if calculated in US dollars, they could repay a large sum of pound debt…

Therefore, Baron decided to first repay the 3 billion US dollar financing that DS Group had from Goldman Sachs during the acquisition of Standard Chartered Bank.

After this money was repaid, their shares of Standard Chartered Bank would be very secure, and it would also ensure that other loans from Standard Chartered Bank could continue.

Otherwise, if someone started with Standard Chartered Bank, after they invested funds elsewhere, and the other party controlled Standard Chartered Bank, demanding repayment of those loans, although it wouldn’t be a fatal blow, it would be quite troublesome and would also face some related investigations.

Then, there was the repayment of the 2.5 billion pound loan from Northern Rock Bank, which was secured by the shares of Argos Retail Group, Woaw Technology, Argent Real Estate Group, and 20 million shares of Google during the acquisition of the Gucci Group.

The main reason was that the assets pledged for this loan at the time, including Argos Retail Group and Woaw Technology, were not worth too much at the time, but they were now preparing for an IPO listing. Even those 20 million shares of Google were already worth nearly 8.1 billion US dollars – currently, Google’s market capitalization had already exceeded 112 billion US dollars.

Therefore, repaying this portion of the loan would allow them to use these pledged shares, thereby increasing the amount of collateralizable assets for the DS Group.

As for the remaining debts, they could be temporarily kept, and the remaining funds could be invested in other areas.

After repaying these loans, they would still have over 14.6 billion US dollars remaining.

Next, after O2 Telecom submitted its IPO listing application, they also prepared to sort out O2 Telecom’s financial situation.

In the earliest days, when DS Capital fully controlled O2 Telecom, they had issued 1 billion pounds of corporate bonds to repay a portion of the 5 billion pounds of high-interest financing they had obtained from Barclays Bank and Goldman Sachs during the acquisition of O2 Telecom.

This portion of corporate bonds had been cleared by O2 Telecom to date.

In addition, before this, the Saudi Public Investment Fund had also purchased 1 billion pounds of O2 Telecom convertible bonds. These bonds could be converted into O2 Telecom shares at the issue price when O2 Telecom went public.

Similarly, when O2 Telecom acquired the 51% stake in Czech Telecom held by the government, the Caesar Fund provided them with 3.5 billion US dollars, which was also in the form of convertible bonds. These bonds would be converted into company shares when O2 Telecom went public.

Finally, when O2 Telecom acquired the remaining shares of Czech Telecom, they borrowed a 2 billion pound loan from the Royal Bank of Scotland – this portion, as O2 Telecom’s debt, was insignificant compared to its current assets.

In the past year, O2 Telecom had already gained over 40 million users, with an annual revenue exceeding 30 billion euros and a gross profit exceeding 3.5 billion euros – and this was still while developing new markets, with O2 Telecom investing a large amount of infrastructure funds!

At this time, DS Group held 100% of O2 Telecom’s shares, and they set the total share capital at 5 billion shares, with an IPO issue price of 5 pounds per share, resulting in a market capitalization of 25 billion pounds. This was in line with O2 Telecom’s current size, as well as its profitability and expectations – this was not arbitrarily decided. For example, France Telecom, with over 60 million users worldwide (some of whom were users from French-speaking countries, and their quality was not as good as O2 Telecom’s all-European users), had an annual revenue of around 45 billion euros, and a gross profit of around 5 billion euros, with a market capitalization of nearly 60 billion US dollars, equivalent to approximately 34 billion pounds!

According to O2 Telecom’s current development, in 2006, because their investment in infrastructure would be reduced compared to before, while the number of users would increase and profits would grow, these values would begin to approach the level of France Telecom. Therefore, a market capitalization of 25 billion pounds was already considered very “restrained.”

Therefore, according to the previous agreement, the Saudi Public Investment Fund’s 1 billion pounds of convertible bonds would be converted into 200 million shares of O2 Telecom common stock at a price of 5 pounds per share.

The Caesar Fund’s 3.5 billion US dollars of convertible bonds would also be converted into 400 million shares of O2 Telecom common stock at a price of 5 pounds per share.

Adding to this the 1 billion shares of stock that O2 Telecom was about to publicly sell, including 500 million new shares…

After the IPO listing, O2 Telecom’s total share capital would be 6.1 billion shares, of which DS Group would still hold 4.5 billion shares, accounting for approximately 73.77%; the Saudi Public Investment Fund would hold 200 million shares, accounting for 3.28%; the Caesar Fund would hold 400 million shares, accounting for 6.56%…

In this public offering of 1 billion shares of O2 Telecom, the portion sold by DS Group would be 500 million shares, and there would be another 500 million new shares.

If the IPO was successful, DS Group would sell these 500 million shares of O2 Telecom stock, obtaining 2.5 billion pounds in funds; in addition, O2 Telecom would also raise 2.5 billion pounds in funds by issuing new shares.

Chapter 463: Exchange

“Hello, Miss Harriman.”

In the office of the SEM Building, Barron’s personal assistant, Laura, brought in the recently rising star, the female host, Jo Harriman, to Barron’s office.

Jo Harriman was wearing a white professional suit today, flesh-colored stockings, and nude high heels, looking very elegant.

“Your Grace, it’s an honor to meet you.”

After Laura closed the office door, leaving only Barron and Jo Harriman in the room, she sat gracefully on the sofa opposite Barron and said respectfully.

“You’ve been doing well recently, and have become one of ITV’s most well-known hosts, Miss Harriman.”

In the face of Barron’s praise, Jo Harriman smiled:

“I should thank Your Grace for giving me the opportunity…”

Her gaze fell on Barron’s handsome face, her eyes burning with a certain intensity, and she said:

“I’m planning to participate in the borough council elections next, and I hope to receive Your Grace’s support.”

Barron had heard about this matter from Cameron and the others before. The local council elections for Greater London would begin in May. It seemed that Jo Harriman was preparing to enter politics from now on.

This was not difficult to understand. After all, she was almost twenty-six years old. Often, when starting to participate in such local council elections, it was difficult to succeed the first time. Even someone like Cameron had failed twice before succeeding in being elected as a Member of Parliament on his third attempt.

And generally speaking, every time an election was lost, one had to wait five years, missing an opportunity, which might put one behind others by many steps.

“Then congratulations, Miss Harriman.”

Since she was preparing to participate in the local council elections, then, given Jo Harriman’s background, she would certainly run on behalf of the Conservative Party. Barron casually asked:

“I wonder which borough you’re planning to run in?”

“I’m planning to participate in the councilor election for the Islington borough this time…”

Islington, Barron wasn’t unfamiliar with it, because the King’s Cross area, which he was involved in the King’s Cross urban renewal plan, was located between Camden and Islington.

“Don’t worry, Miss Harriman, you are a member of our SEM Group. Now that you are running for election, we will definitely give you our support.”

As Barron’s words fell, he heard Jo Harriman softly say:

“Your Grace, what I hope to get is your full support. After all, this opportunity of mine is very rare…”

“Full support?”

“Yes, I very much hope to win a seat on the borough council this time…”

Hearing the beautiful girl across from him say this, Barron looked at her, a smile still on his face.

Although as the host of ITV’s economic interview program, Jo Harriman’s popularity was already very high, and some even compared her to the original British rose, Bonnie Stuart, participating in the election for a councilor was not something that could be achieved simply by having popularity. Even the borough council elections under Greater London were not that easy.

Of course, with Jo Harriman’s background, she could get some support from the Conservative Party, but the problem was that the councilor seats in the Greater London area were taken very seriously by all parties. If one could obtain the qualification of a borough councilor, then one could directly run for a Member of Parliament, which basically meant that one had a certain status within the party.

“Full support, that word is a bit presumptuous, Miss Harriman.”

“I know, Your Grace, but…”

Jo Harriman stood up and walked to Barron, placing her hands on the desk.

From Barron’s position, he could see the deep cleavage of her suit jacket…

“I always need to make a choice, don’t I? You help me, and I will give you a return.”

In the face of such a scene, Barron’s expression did not change at all. He said calmly:

“Just a borough councilor, with all due respect, you are not qualified to talk about any return with me.”

“I believe that with your help, Your Grace, my future will not be just a borough councilor…”

Jo Harriman said these words, and Barron didn’t waste any more words, just watching her quietly.

In this kind of situation, the other party didn’t seem to feel any embarrassment:

“I will offer you my loyalty, Your Grace, any…”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes.”

……

“The criticism of the Prime Minister has increased recently. I heard that even within the Labour Party, dissatisfaction with him is also intensifying, Mr. Brown.”

“There are many factors, but the most important one is his stance on the Iraq War. As some lies are exposed, the public’s dissatisfaction is beginning to erupt…”

On Dream Island, Barron met with the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Brown, again, and they were discussing the criticism of the Prime Minister by public opinion.

“Perhaps, we can give it a little push. After all, if we wait four years, with the current situation, it will be difficult to contain the Conservative Party’s momentum if they pass the general election.”

Barron’s words could be said to have hit Brown right on the mark.

Originally, according to his “agreement” with Blair, the other party should have already given way to him, but until now, the other party was still firmly seated on the throne of Prime Minister…

In fact, within the Labour Party, a split had gradually begun to form—this situation had even appeared earlier.

Through these years of management, Brown had formed a stable faction composed of his supporters. It could be said that many of the dissatisfaction and criticism of the Prime Minister within the Labour Party originated from Brown’s side.

“You know, Your Grace, according to the previous peace process plan, Northern Ireland will elect a self-governing government next year. He has hinted that he will resign after that…”

Barron knew what Brown said was true.

Because in the original timeline, Blair resigned officially at the end of June 2007, after the swearing-in ceremony of the Northern Ireland self-governing government.

This could be considered as him indicating that he was “succeeding in his endeavors” in the long-term promotion of the Northern Ireland peace process and other undertakings, drawing a perfect conclusion to his political career.

However, Barron did not want it to be so. That would be too late for him—and for Brown as well.

“Do you believe things will proceed like this? Mr. Brown, before this, he had not been without similar promises, but what was the result?”

As Barron spoke, Brown’s face began to darken.

“I have always supported you, Mr. Brown.”

After this conversation, Brown should vent his negative emotions in some way.

And when Barron returned to his own room…

There was a knock on the door, and Dylan Ozdemir, dressed in leather, and dressed as a queen, wearing leather boots, walked in.

“Your Grace, I’ve brought your pet…”

As the whip in her hand cracked with a crisp “snap,” as she walked forward, the “pet,” dressed very exquisitely, that was tied to the chain in her hand, slowly crawled in.

With the “pet’s” movements, the “jingle jingle” of bells rang in the room…

At this moment, a flush appeared on Dylan Ozdemir’s face. She led the “pet” to Barron’s side and used the handle of the whip to support the “pet’s” chin, making her raise her head…

Dylan Ozdemir’s red lips, whispered in Barron’s ear:

“Your Grace, her name is… Jo.”

Chapter 464: Woaw Goes Public

《“Iraq ‘Could Develop Atom Bomb in 45 Days’ Proved to Be Blair’s Clumsy Lie”》

《What Did Getting Involved in a Wrong War Bring to the People of the United Kingdom?!》

“The facts prove that the Iraq War was a wrong war. The so-called intelligence about ‘weapons of mass destruction’ has not been substantiated to this day…”

“Reports indicate that during Bush’s final meeting with Blair before the war, the latter strongly advocated for war, prompting Bush to make the final decision to launch the attack…”

“The Iraq War cost the United Kingdom a heavy price. In addition to causing significant casualties and property losses, it also made the United Kingdom a key target for international terrorist attacks. The ‘7/7’ London Underground bombings are an example…”

Immediately, various accusations against the Prime Minister regarding the initiation and participation in the Iraq War filled the newspapers and television programs in the United Kingdom.

This included the newspapers and television stations under the SEM Group. It could be said that they were one of the main forces behind this round of public opinion reporting.

“Before the war began, our Prime Minister solemnly declared that there were weapons of mass destruction in Iraq and that they could develop nuclear weapons within 45 days, threatening the civilized world. But until now, the Saddam regime has fallen, a large number of Iraqi civilians have been injured or killed, and the entire country has fallen into chaos. This chaos has even spread to the United Kingdom’s homeland, but we still cannot see those so-called weapons of mass destruction, where are the so-called nuclear weapons? It’s like some kind of magic has been cast, all the vehicles that claimed to be transporting weapons of mass destruction, those ‘weapons’ have turned into gold and wealth…”

On the ITV program, the beautiful host, Jo Harriman, was also constantly denouncing the current Prime Minister.

In Barron’s eyes, the female host, who was full of a sense of justice at this moment, had a private and contrasting beauty compared to how she was in front of him that day…

According to investigations by relevant agencies, in recent times, the Labour Party’s support rate among the public has begun to decline significantly, which will definitely affect the upcoming local council elections…

Even many Labour Party candidates participating in the local council elections have begun to stand on the side of reflecting on the war and criticizing the current Prime Minister in order to gain more public support.

It can be said that Blair’s situation has taken a sharp turn for the worse. He not only needs to face attacks from the opposition party, but also more and more voices of criticism have emerged within the Labour Party.

Even by the beginning of April, in various places in the United Kingdom, including London, opponents of Blair took to the streets to hold rallies, holding up slogans and demanding the Prime Minister’s resignation. Some even burned photos of Blair at the scene…

Although the tense scenes were controlled by the police, once this momentum started, the voices of protest came one after another.

The leader of the largest opposition party, the Conservative Party, Cameron, publicly demanded during a speech that the government investigate those responsible for fabricating intelligence to get involved in the Iraq War, and claimed that the Prime Minister should bear the main responsibility for the current outcome.

It can be said that the Prime Minister, who created the longest period of prosperity in the United Kingdom since World War II, and who could have gracefully “wrapped up” his term after his third term and left his name in history with outstanding achievements, was now facing the biggest crisis of his life.

……

It is worth mentioning that before Barron’s wedding, he had already completed the procedures for placing his assets, other than the family trust fund, into the Cavendish Trust Fund established in the British Virgin Islands.

The shares of companies including SEM Group, O2 Telecom, and Argos Retail Group, which were previously held by DS Holdings, a subsidiary of DS Group, have all been transferred to the holding company directly held by the Cavendish Trust Fund.

Now these shares are only being managed by DS Group…

And the proprietary business of DS Capital, which was originally under DS Group, that is, the business invested with DS Capital’s own funds (Barron’s funds), has also been changed to a model where the funds belong to the Cavendish Trust Fund and are entrusted to DS Investment Company for investment.

In fact, to put it bluntly, the current DS Group is just a “wealth management company,” helping other funds with management and investment, just like the Vanguard Group.

And the shares and wealth originally directly held by DS Group, the ownership has all entered the Cavendish Trust Fund.

This is just a change in ownership.

But in the company’s operations, there is not much difference from before, it’s just that the transfer of funds between each other requires more procedures and tax optimization management.

After all, after the asset ownership belongs to the trust fund, there are many preferential policies that can be utilized in terms of taxation.

On April 5th, Woaw Technology officially went public on the NASDAQ market.

This IPO will see Woaw Technology publicly sell 588 million common shares, of which 392 million shares are newly issued shares.

The final issue price of Woaw shares was set at $3 per share. According to information Barron received, Vanguard Capital subscribed for 80 million shares of the 588 million common shares issued…

On the day of the listing, Woaw shares opened at $3.55. Soon after the opening, its share price rose above $4, and during the trading day, it once reached a high of $4.35. It finally closed at $4.11, a 37% increase from its issue price.

Based on this closing price, the market value of Woaw Technology at this time reached $16.12 billion. Through this IPO, Woaw Technology will receive $1.176 billion in funds.

After Woaw Technology went public, according to its shareholding structure, DS Group (Cavendish Trust Fund) holds 2.2 billion shares, including 200 million Class A shares, with a shareholding ratio of 56.1% and 69.9% of the voting rights.

After the listing, Woaw Technology’s CEO, Khaled Rivel, stated that Woaw.com has become the world’s largest social network. After successfully launching the information stream and interactive game “Happy Farm,” Woaw’s user numbers are still in a rapid growth phase.

Next, Woaw will be more open, allowing users to experience more social fun.

And after receiving the funds, they will also conduct relevant acquisitions to help the company achieve development in technology and revenue.

Well-informed sources revealed that Woaw has launched an offensive against DoubleClick, the largest internet advertising company in the United States at this time, and has proposed an acquisition plan of $2 billion in cash plus stock to IC Capital, the owner of this company.

Regarding this news, neither Khaled Rivel, the CEO of Woaw Technology, nor Ivanka TP, the president of IC Capital, gave too much response, only stating that the two parties were in negotiations.

But at this moment, Google also couldn’t hold back and joined the bidding for DoubleClick… Not only Google, but also Microsoft and Yahoo have also expressed their interest in DoubleClick.

Then, whether DoubleClick, the largest internet advertising provider in the United States, will eventually be sold, and who it will choose to sell to, has become a huge suspense.

Chapter 465: The Duke’s Heir

Even with Woaw Technology’s market capitalization continuing to rise after its IPO, currently exceeding 18 billion US dollars, Baron still wasn’t happy about something else…

On April 25th, to everyone’s anticipation, Bonnie Stuart gave birth to a baby boy.

Although the gender of the baby Bonnie was carrying had been known earlier through ultrasound, her smooth delivery was still something to be happy about.

And this also meant that Baron’s first son was born. This boy, named George Cavendish, would become the heir to the Duke of Devonshire title in the future.

Interestingly, George inherited his mother Bonnie Stuart’s pair of emerald green eyes. Besides that, his facial features were almost exactly the same as Baron’s, as if they were made from the same mold. After the slightly wrinkled skin smoothed out, he looked exceptionally adorable, just like a little angel.

As mentioned before, Baron currently held the title of Duke of Devonshire as well as the title of Marquess of Harrington. After George Cavendish was born, he first inherited Baron’s marquess title, becoming the new Marquess of Harrington.

It has to be said that, being born into such a family, George Cavendish could be called a “chosen one.”

From the moment George was born, over ten maids were responsible for his every need. It could be said that even when he was sleeping, more than two maids would be waiting nearby, ready to serve at any time.

Countess Christa of Booth. also brought her daughter, two-year-old Ethel, to see little George. Ethel stared at her newborn brother with wide eyes, filled with curiosity.

“This is your younger brother, darling. When he’s a little older, he can play with you…”

Baron held Ethel, placed her next to George, and said softly to her.

“Ba…”

Ethel made a short sound, stretched out her chubby little hand, and seemed to want to touch George, but she was picked up by the Countess:

“Children don’t know their own strength. George is still so young. Let them play together when he’s older.”

…

On May 6th, the election results for the London Borough Council were released. Jo Harriman, with her clear anti-war stance and calls for protecting vulnerable groups during this period, successfully won the election as a member of the Islington Borough Council in Greater London. Being elected as a borough councilor at the age of less than 26 was already extremely outstanding.

It was also because of this that Jo Harriman, with her label of young + female + minority, was included in the A-list training list.

Another thing worth mentioning is that, also this year, another young female from the Conservative Party was elected as a member of the Greater London Borough Council – but she was a member of the Greenwich Borough Council.

Her name was Truss, five years older than Jo Harriman.

Although she had already become a borough councilor, it didn’t affect Jo Harriman’s continued work at SEM Group, but she still resigned from her position in the Strategic Mergers and Acquisitions Department of SEM Group, only retaining her job as a host.

Because the extra income of a borough councilor needs to be made public, she did this to reduce issues that could easily cause criticism. Continuing to serve as a host could also ensure her public profile and use her appearances on the show to express her views on many things, which would help her “political star” path.

…

“Google has raised the acquisition price to 2.5 billion US dollars, which is very attractive.”

This was a call from Ivanka. After Woaw Technology successfully went public, they launched an acquisition of DoubleClick, which was owned by IC Capital, offering an acquisition price of 2 billion US dollars.

DoubleClick was acquired by IC Capital, which was managed by Ivanka, at a price of 1.1 billion US dollars at the beginning of last year.

This company was once the largest internet advertising company in the United States. During the internet bubble of 2000, its market capitalization had exceeded 10 billion US dollars.

However, with the bursting of the internet bubble, DoubleClick’s market capitalization fell by more than 95%, reaching a low of only 350 million US dollars.

DoubleClick indeed went through difficult times, but after being acquired by IC Capital, with its financial support, they had worked hard and had now restored their position in the internet advertising field, and now they had nearly a thousand high-quality corporate clients.

Now Woaw Technology hoped to strengthen its profitability in advertising business after merging with DoubleClick. According to their estimates, after merging with DoubleClick, both Woaw and DoubleClick’s businesses could be strengthened.

Woaw Technology planned to use DoubleClick as a foundation to build an open advertising platform, so that not only the large corporate clients currently owned by DoubleClick, but also small advertisers could obtain Woaw’s flexible advertising package options.

The current form of internet advertising was still mainly text-based advertising. Now, whether it was Google, Yahoo, or Woaw, the majority of their advertising revenue came from this.

But everyone could see that in the future, with the development of the internet, image and video advertising would become the most popular advertising forms for users.

Next, Woaw also hoped to cooperate with DoubleClick to conduct research and experimentation in this area.

But not only Woaw, companies like Google and Yahoo could also see this trend, as well as the importance of DoubleClick.

However, the demands of these two companies were also different.

As for Yahoo, their advertising business had already been developed relatively deeply. They just didn’t want competitors in internet advertising, especially Google, to be strengthened.

And Google, in the original timeline, began to contact DoubleClick about the acquisition in the second half of this year. Now that Woaw had taken the lead, they were naturally unwilling to fall behind and offered a higher price, hoping to intercept the deal.

It could be said that the current market capitalization of Google was close to 1200 billion US dollars, while Woaw was not even a fraction of it. In terms of strength, Google was still much stronger.

But in the final analysis, IC Capital itself was backed by Baron, and it could be said that the script had already been written…

Next, in the competition between several companies, the acquisition offer for DoubleClick was constantly being refreshed, eventually reaching the figure of 3 billion US dollars…

The acquisition price of 3 billion US dollars was proposed by Google. They hoped to carry out this acquisition in a combination of cash and stock.

But in the end, Woaw Technology had the last laugh. They signed an agreement with IC Capital to issue 660 million new shares to IC Capital to acquire DoubleClick.

On the day the acquisition agreement was reached and made public, Woaw’s stock price rose by 5%, reaching 4.75 US dollars.

At this price, Woaw Technology’s acquisition of DoubleClick this time reached 3.135 billion US dollars.

Thus, after this issuance of new shares to acquire DoubleClick, Woaw’s total share capital reached 4.582 billion shares.

DS Group (Cavendish Trust Fund) held 2.2 billion shares of Woaw stock, accounting for 48% (with 62.7% of the voting rights).

IC Capital held 660 million shares, accounting for 14.4% (with 10.34% of the voting rights).

After completing this acquisition, DoubleClick would be merged into Woaw and combined with its original advertising department to establish Woaw’s open advertising platform.

When IC Capital acquired DoubleClick, the premium compared to its market capitalization reached 50%, and a total of 1.1 billion US dollars was spent.

But after only a little over a year, it was sold for a price of over 3.1 billion US dollars, becoming one of Woaw’s major shareholders.

Of course, there was also the factor of the entire internet industry accelerating its recovery after the last internet bubble burst – just like Google, compared to its market capitalization of 23 billion US dollars when it went public in 2004, its current market capitalization has expanded fivefold!

But in any case, the public and the media once again praised IC Capital’s CEO, Ivanka, for this successful investment.

Chapter 466: LOMX Group Goes Public

“Your Grace, Mr. Ferren O’Neill has arrived.”

Baron’s personal assistant, Laura, opened the door to Baron’s office and announced.

Behind her stood a man in his thirties, wearing a well-tailored suit and black-framed glasses.

“Hello, Your Grace.”

“Please, have a seat, Mr. O’Neill.”

Looking at the man sitting respectfully in front of him, Baron said with a smile:

“Can I call you Ferren? You’ve been working at DS Group for over two years, so you joined our company relatively early.”

“Yes, Your Grace.”

“I won’t beat around the bush. I’ll tell you what you need to do next. First, acquire a suitable and fully qualified fund company on Wall Street…”

Ferren O’Neill listened carefully to Baron’s words and firmly committed them to memory.

It could be said that getting such an opportunity was something he had always dreamed of.

Ferren had been working at DS Investment Company for nearly three years. He was also one of the initial operational team members recruited by Daisy. It could be said that as DS Group became one of the giants in the British financial investment industry, Ferren also benefited greatly. The bonuses he received alone were enough to provide his family with a comfortable life in London.

But at the same time, Ferren also saw how Daisy, like Amber Sheen, the CEO of DS Holding Company, had become super managers with annual salaries of several million and annual incomes of tens of millions. Besides them, there were many management personnel in DS Group who could receive an annual salary of over a million pounds…

Now Ferren also had such an opportunity, and he absolutely had to seize it tightly – he understood what the young and handsome Duke in front of him meant in Britain. If he could gain the other party’s trust, his destiny would change from then on.

All he needed to contribute was his loyalty and talent. There were so many capable people, but not everyone could have such an opportunity.

…

After several months of review, the relevant institutions of the European Union and Italy finally successively approved the LOMX Group’s acquisition plan for the Italian Stock Exchange.

When they first contacted the Italian Stock Exchange, the London Stock Exchange had not yet completed the acquisition of the OMX Group. However, it was precisely this acquisition that made the subsequent acquisition of the Italian Stock Exchange easier to be subject to anti-monopoly investigations.

In the final analysis, even if LOMX Group acquired the Italian Stock Exchange and became the largest exchange group in Europe, there were still two competitors of comparable size in the European market: the Deutsche Börse and the Euronext Group.

However, this news appeared before the LOMX Group went public on Nasdaq, which was considered positive for their stock price.

On May 8th, the LOMX Group’s stock began trading on the Nasdaq.

This IPO on the Nasdaq market would publicly issue 300 million shares of public stock, all of which were newly issued shares.

The LOMX Group’s stock offering price was $5, and at this price, they would raise $1.5 billion, with a group market capitalization of $10 billion.

On the day of the listing, the LOMX Group’s stock opened at $5.5, and the highest price of the day reached $6.45. It finally closed at $6.14.

Based on this closing price, the market capitalization of the LOMX Group reached $12.28 billion.

After the listing, the shareholding ratio of LOMX Group was as follows: GII-1 Holding Company (Global Industrial Investment Fund Phase One) held 786 million shares, accounting for 39.31%; GII-2 (Global Industrial Investment Fund Phase Two) held 744 million shares, accounting for 37.19%; Nasdaq Group held 170 million shares, accounting for 8.5%.

It is worth mentioning that when the GII Fund Phase One was established, the overall acquisition was based on the valuation of the London Stock Exchange at 1.5 billion pounds. In fact, because a considerable portion of the shares were purchased in the secondary market in the early stage, the overall cost of the GII Fund’s acquisition of the London Stock Exchange was even lower than 1.5 billion pounds.

And now, the LOMX Group’s stock held by GII-1 Holding Company was already worth over $4.8 billion, equivalent to 2.75 billion pounds. It could be said that their investment value had almost doubled by now.

In addition, because it held 170 million shares of LOMX Group’s stock, the Nasdaq Group’s stock price also rose by 5% on the day LOMX Group went public…

On the day the listing was completed, the LOMX Group announced that they would use the $1.5 billion in funds obtained from the Nasdaq market IPO, plus their own funds, to complete the acquisition of the Italian Stock Exchange. After that, the Italian Stock Exchange and its affiliated securities trading platform would be merged into the LOMX Group.

In this way, the LOMX Group would become an exchange group that owns multiple exchanges in Britain, Italy, and the Nordic and Baltic regions, catering to global investors. It would also be the largest exchange group in Europe. They would then introduce more new technologies into trading to provide investors with a more advanced and convenient financing and investment platform.

After expanding the scale of the LOMX Group’s exchanges, at least quantitative and high-frequency trading funds such as the Athena Fund and the Hera Fund under DS Investment Company would be able to obtain more information support, allowing their mathematical models to run more accurately.

The Athena Fund is DS Group’s quantitative trading fund, and its current scale is close to $5 billion. In the past year, the Athena Fund’s rate of return was over 50%, which was terrifying.

Of course, this was also due to their predictions of the overall economic trend. Within such a generally upward economic cycle, determining the correct trend allowed for a bolder investment strategy.

Even the Hera Fund, a high-frequency trading fund that was just established last year and mainly targeted the stock trading of the London Stock Exchange – this was a high-frequency trading fund operated by DS Investment Company based on the experience of the Zeuss Fund previously established in the United States, with $500 million invested by the Caesar Fund and the Global Industrial Investment Fund Phase One respectively – by now, its holdings had grown from the initial $1 billion to over $1.4 billion.

After the establishment of the LOMX Group, DS Investment Company began to increase its investment in the stocks of the former OMX Group’s exchanges. Now that the Italian Stock Exchange had joined the LOMX Group, the investment scope of the funds under DS Investment Company was expanded again.

The funds of the Cavendish Trust Fund, after repaying a $3 billion loan from Goldman Sachs (financing for the acquisition of Standard Chartered Bank shares) and a 2.5 billion pound loan from Northern Rock Bank (loans obtained by mortgaging a series of holdings when acquiring Gucci Group shares), still had over $14.6 billion.

They took out $1.6 billion of these funds again and invested them in the Hera Fund, making the fund, which focuses on high-frequency trading of LOMX Group’s exchange stocks, have a fund scale of over $3 billion.

This kind of high-frequency trading seems to be highly profitable, but in order to maintain competitiveness, the investment would also be huge, including the computing power of their computers and the maintenance and upgrading of mathematical models, which are very costly – otherwise, without such a moat, why would you be able to pick up such money?

Moreover, most of the funds or companies involved in high-frequency trading would not disclose their profits too much. Making a fortune in silence is the best, otherwise, it is also easy to attract more funds into this field.

Therefore, DS Group’s two high-frequency trading funds, the Zeuss Fund, are cooperating with Goldman Sachs, while the Hera Fund is entirely funded by their own funds (Cavendish Trust Fund) and the funds of their affiliated funds, and has not opened up to accept funds from other investors.

As for the scale of the Athena Fund, because it provides relatively stable fixed-income products, and has been running smoothly so far, its fund scale is still constantly increasing, and because this fund is not like the Mars Fund, which only has one investment window open each year, the growth rate of investors and funds has even surpassed the Mars Fund.

Chapter 467: Resignation

“I’m all sweaty, let me go shower first…”

When Baron returned home, Bonnie had just finished her recovery training.

After giving birth, her figure recovered very quickly. This was also thanks to a whole team of professionals, including nutritionists, physical trainers, and beauticians, who had formulated a detailed recovery plan specifically for her and helped her complete it. The results were very good.

Now, even when eating, Bonnie had her own separate meal plan to ensure she had sufficient nutritional intake without affecting her figure recovery.

Baron had also tasted Bonnie’s meal plan. He could only say that he still admired his wife’s perseverance…

For him, occasionally eating a meal or two of such bland “healthy food” was still bearable, but if he had to eat it for several days in a row, it would be truly painful.

“Honey, don’t forget to take half a day tomorrow to accompany me to Buckingham Palace.”

“I will. My assistant will remind me, and Gucci has already prepared my clothes and sent them over.”

Bonnie had already started working, as it was now May, the weather was suitable, and the new seasons of many variety shows had already begun filming. For example, Stuart Media’s “Dancing Miracle” had started filming at the beginning of the month.

The next day, Baron and Bonnie, dressed in formal attire, went to Buckingham Palace to meet Her Majesty the Queen.

Tonight, Buckingham Palace would host a banquet, but due to her health, the Queen would only make a brief appearance at that time. The meeting this afternoon was a special time the Queen had set aside to meet with them.

Thinking back to when Baron had been received by the Queen before inheriting the Duke of Devonshire title, it had only been a few words. One could say that the present was completely different from the past.

The Queen was wearing a light blue suit, which, when paired with the Gucci Devonshire series women’s formal wear that Bonnie was wearing today, looked very coordinated.

During most of this meeting, the Queen mainly engaged in casual conversation with Baron and Bonnie, discussing everyday family matters. She also congratulated Baron and Bonnie on the birth of their first child and personally gave George Cavendish a gift from the royal family.

Her demeanor was just like that of a kind elder. However, at the end of the meeting, the Queen said to Baron:

“Tony is the tenth Prime Minister since I took the throne. Baron, it seems the eleventh one is about to appear…”

Baron had no intention of speculating about the Queen’s feelings when she said these words, or what she was implying…

However, as the Queen said, Blair had indeed been having a difficult time during this period.

It wasn’t just the public criticism of his previous instigation and participation in the Iraq War, and other policies.

Even not long ago, there were many demonstrations and protests against him throughout the UK.

Especially the voices of opposition within the Labour Party grew louder and louder, which also put the Labour Party at risk of splitting.

It could be said that in the face of such a situation, if Blair announced his resignation, it would not be surprising.

The only suspense was how long he could hold on.

And this suspense was about to be revealed.

In May 2005, Blair once again led the Labour Party to win the House of Commons election, obtaining 324 seats out of the reduced 646 seats, but the Labour Party’s lead had dropped from 167 seats to 66 seats. It could be said that the situation was already very dangerous.

Then, on July 7th of last year, four terrorist attacks and explosions occurred in London, and fifty-two people were killed, excluding the terrorists.

This also caused Blair’s foreign policy to once again be questioned.

This influence began to manifest in November of last year, when Blair suffered his first defeat in the House of Commons. His proposed anti-terrorism law was not passed – if it had been passed, these laws would have allowed the police to detain suspected terrorists for up to ninety days without filing charges.

Just on May 4th, the Labour Party suffered a heavy blow in the local elections in England, losing 317 seats and control of 18 city councils.

After this, the Labour Party’s Defence Secretary, Tom Watson, resigned, and seven Labour MPs resigned from their positions as private assistants to cabinet ministers.

They all signed a “palace coup” letter demanding Blair’s resignation.

It seemed that the Queen’s words to Baron that day were not without foundation, and the Prime Minister should have discussed this matter with her beforehand.

Two days after Baron’s meeting with the Queen, on May 15th, Prime Minister Blair gave a speech outside his residence at 10 Downing Street, announcing that he would submit his resignation to the Queen on June 27th, ending his nine years as Prime Minister.

He also announced his resignation as leader of the Labour Party. Before his resignation, the Labour Party would elect a new leader to take over his position as Prime Minister.

That morning, the members of the British government cabinet first gathered at the Prime Minister’s residence to attend a cabinet meeting.

The cabinet meeting lasted only about 15 minutes.

Blair’s spokesperson said that Blair had informed the cabinet members that he would issue a statement on his future plans that day, and that his intention to resign had not changed.

Brown, who had long been considered Blair’s successor, praised Blair at the meeting for his “unique contribution” to the Labour Party, Britain, and the world.

Immediately, after Blair announced his “abdication,” Brown began holding rallies in constituencies across the country.

The Daily Telegraph had relevant reports, stating that after Blair’s “approval,” and the strong contenders within the party had announced that they had no intention of running, and had ensured the support of more than 200 Labour MPs, Brown’s succession was almost a foregone conclusion, but he had to make a gesture in front of Labour voters.

The report cited sources from the Labour Party’s National Executive Committee, saying that the 2.5 million members of the Labour Party and its related organizations hoped that “even if they don’t need to vote to elect a new party leader, they also want to hear the message conveyed by Brown.”

The Labour Party’s National Executive Committee was expected to complete the election schedule and details for the party leader on the 18th or 19th. They would also arrange three party meetings in London and other places, where Brown would answer questions from voters about the prospects and plans for the new government.

If only Brown participated in the election in the end, he would be elected as the new party leader without a vote.

If a vote was required, the voting would start on June 11th and end on the 18th.

On June 25th or 26th, the Labour Party would hold a special meeting in London to announce the new party leader and deputy party leader.

“Congratulations, Mr. Brown…”

“It’s still too early, Your Grace.”

Although Brown had been very busy during this time, he still took time to meet with Baron.

However, the location of their meeting this time was no longer Neverland, but the relatively more secluded villa near Richmond Park.

“It’s a done deal, don’t worry, no one will be so ignorant as to come out and compete with you.”

Compared to Baron’s previous life, Blair resigned a full year earlier, which also meant that Brown’s term as Prime Minister was one year longer.

With the close relationship between Brown and Baron, this was naturally more beneficial to him.

Of course, being able to achieve the current result was also the result of their joint efforts, which on the other hand also showed that Brown’s energy within the Labour Party was actually not inferior to Blair’s.

“You will face a busier job next, Mr. Brown. I wish you enjoy the present.”

Finally about to achieve his long-cherished wish, it could be seen that Brown’s happiness was from the heart:

“I should also thank you, Your Grace…”

“For Britain, Mr. Brown.”

“Yes, for Britain…”

Chapter 468: O2 Telecom’s IPO

Just as Claire announced her impending resignation, there was another important matter for Barron: O2 Telecom’s listing on the London Stock Exchange.

This year, many of the companies Barron had previously acquired would be listed one after another. One reason was that these companies had been acquired by him for more than three years, and it was time to launch a round of capital operations through listing.

Another reason was that it was now 2006, less than two years away from the outbreak of the subprime mortgage crisis. It was necessary to seize the opportunity to list before the crisis erupted, because it was now near the peak of the economic cycle before the crisis, and capital was hot. Listing now could achieve a better stock price performance.

After O2 Telecom’s listing, the Argos Retail Group would also land on the London Stock Exchange – they had already submitted their listing application at the end of February, and it had been approved.

As the largest IPO listing in the UK since the internet bubble crisis of 2001, O2 Telecom’s listing could be said to be attracting a lot of attention.

This time, O2 Telecom’s listing would publicly sell 1 billion ordinary shares, of which 500 million shares were newly issued shares, and 500 million shares were part of the sale by DS Holding Company (Cavendish Trust Fund).

In addition, during the IPO issuance process, the Saudi Public Investment Fund and the Kaiser Foundation had converted their O2 Telecom convertible bonds into ordinary shares at the O2 Telecom’s stock issuance price of 5 pounds per share.

Thus, the Saudi Public Investment Fund would hold 200 million shares of O2 Telecom’s ordinary shares, and the Kaiser Foundation would hold 400 million shares of O2 Telecom’s ordinary shares.

According to O2 Telecom’s issuance price of 5 pounds per share, after the IPO listing, its total share capital would be 6.1 billion shares, and its market value would reach 30.5 billion pounds!

Judging from the subscription situation of O2 Telecom’s IPO, investors were still very enthusiastic. Many institutions participated in the subscription of new shares. The Saudi Public Investment Fund once again subscribed for 10,000 shares of O2 Telecom – it wasn’t that they didn’t want to buy more, but during the roadshow, O2 Telecom’s shares had been oversubscribed, and they could only get this much of the subscription.

Because there were also sovereign wealth funds from the Middle East such as the Qatar Investment Authority and the Kuwait Investment Authority participating in the subscription, and investment institutions from the United States, Europe, and East Asia were also actively subscribing, including the Vanguard Group and the Blackstone Group, among other financial giants.

Amidst everyone’s anticipation, on May 15th, Monday, O2 Telecom’s CEO Barry Trelaise rang the bell of the London Stock Exchange, and its stock began trading on the main board of the London Stock Exchange.

At 8:00 AM, the collective auction was completed, and O2 Telecom opened at 5.45 pounds, 9% higher than the issuance price. The highest price during the trading session reached 5.89 pounds…

It eventually closed at 5.74 pounds, an increase of 14.8% from the issuance price.

At this price, O2 Telecom’s market value exceeded 35 billion pounds, just surpassing France Telecom, becoming the third-largest telecom company in Europe after Deutsche Telekom and Vodafone.

At this time, DS Holding Company (Cavendish Trust Fund) held 4.5 billion shares of O2 Telecom, accounting for 73.77%; the Kaiser Foundation held 400 million shares of O2 Telecom, accounting for 6.56%; and the Saudi Public Investment Fund held 300 million shares of O2 Telecom, accounting for 4.92%.

Another point worth mentioning is that during this IPO listing process, DS Holding Company sold 500 million shares of their O2 Telecom stock, obtaining 2.5 billion pounds in funds.

Originally, Barron planned to return these funds to Northern Rock Bank – they had previously pledged some of O2 Telecom’s shares and borrowed a loan of 4 billion pounds from this bank.

But after comprehensive consideration, Barron abandoned this idea…

It should be known that the 4.5 billion shares of O2 Telecom currently held by DS Holding Company, calculated at the closing price on the first day of listing, were worth 25.83 billion pounds.

Even if calculated based on the 55% of O2 Telecom shares they held at the time of the loan, which was 2.75 billion shares of O2 Telecom, their value was as high as 15.785 billion pounds.

Therefore, O2 Telecom’s stock price would have to fall by more than 75% to fall to the level of the 4 billion pound loan obtained by pledging these shares.

Taking the UK’s largest telecom company, Vodafone Group, as an example, during the previous internet bubble crisis, its stock price fell by more than 80% compared to the high value before the bubble crisis.

But in the original timeline, during the subsequent subprime mortgage crisis, the lowest value of Vodafone Group’s stock price “only” fell by less than 50% compared to the high value before the crisis…

It can be said that in the previous internet bubble crisis, telecom companies were also collectively hit hard, and it was even called the “telecom crisis”…

But in the subprime mortgage crisis, compared to other industries, especially the real estate and financial industries, the telecom industry, as a technology industry, did not suffer too exaggerated losses.

The only thing that made them uncomfortable was that affected by the subprime mortgage crisis, loans and financing in the telecom industry became much more difficult. Therefore, after that, the willingness of many telecom operators to upgrade and build new networks decreased significantly, and they adjusted existing investment plans, cut investment expenditures, and held a large amount of cash and cash equivalents to hedge against risks.

Therefore, in the case of O2 Telecom, at least in the subprime mortgage crisis, it was unlikely that the stock price would fall by more than 50%, and the Cavendish Trust Fund’s holdings of O2 Telecom shares would not be threatened because of the loan from Northern Rock Bank.

Moreover, even if such an extreme situation occurred, Barron would have enough funds to deal with it at that time.

Therefore, he finally chose to invest the 2.5 billion pounds in futures that bet on the rise of international gold prices.

After investigation, Barron knew that the current gold price was around 660 US dollars per ounce, and by mid-March 2008, the international gold price would exceed 1000 US dollars per ounce.

This was a very good investment opportunity.

And the investment scale of the entire gold market was as high as tens of trillions of US dollars, which could completely accommodate their current scale of funds and would not be too greatly affected.

They began to build positions in the gold futures markets around the world, such as the London Gold Exchange and the New York Mercantile Exchange.

And the international gold price also fell from around 660 US dollars per ounce to below 550 US dollars per ounce in mid-June. By the end of June, they finally completed the construction of gold futures positions…

DS Investment Company’s holding cost this time was around 600 US dollars per ounce, and nearly two years later, it would be another large sum of profit.

This was also the reason why they still had the confidence to bear those high loans, including those from Northern Rock Bank. After all, in an emergency, they could completely close a part of the gold futures positions first to cope with it.

…

“Your Grace, we have been in contact with Ford Motor Company. Although they said they currently have no intention to sell, they have not firmly rejected it…”

While Barron finally found time to vacation in Italy with Tamara Ecclestone, he received a call from Peter Friedman, the CEO of the Kaiser Foundation, who was traveling to the United States.

Chapter 469: British Brands

Entering the new century, the Ford Motor Company had already begun to decline.

In 1999, Jacques Nasser was appointed CEO of Ford. In the same year, Bill Ford—the great-grandson of Henry Ford, the fourth-generation heir of the Ford family—became Chairman of the Board.

Then, under Nasser’s leadership, the Ford Motor Company quickly fell into a pit.

Nasser spent billions of dollars investing in luxury brands, such as Volvo and Land Rover.

Other investments included some auto repair companies and internet companies—this was a financial gamble.

Some media criticized Nasser for deviating from the business focus—automobile manufacturing and sales—and putting too much energy into e-commerce, recycling waste materials, and the operation of Ford’s Quick Lane Tire & Auto Center.

By the fall of 2001, Ford’s losses had reached as high as 54 billion dollars, and Nasser had to leave in disgrace.

Subsequently, Bill Ford took on the role of CEO in a time of crisis.

Bill said: “There have been many difficult and dangerous situations in Ford’s history, and we have overcome them one by one. This time, we will also overcome the difficulties.”

After taking office, Bill put forward a detailed Ford revitalization plan.

However, the drastic reforms he implemented left a deep impression, mainly in two aspects: closing factories and massive layoffs.

Compared to his great-grandfather and uncle, Bill Ford’s reform plan was really lacking in imagination.

In 2003, Ford’s centenary was celebrated. At a press conference in Beijing, China, on October 17th, Bill Ford said: “Ford not only wants to celebrate history, but also to create history.”

Ford was indeed creating history at that time.

In the American market, Ford’s market share had fallen to 15.6%, the lowest market share since 1920.

Its position as the world’s second-largest automaker was also handed over to Toyota this year.

In addition, due to the impact of Asian automakers, Ford began to sink into a quagmire in Europe and other emerging markets such as Asia, which made the overall losses of the Ford Motor Company unavoidable.

Especially last year, Ford Motor Company created a loss record in its 103-year history, with global business losses reaching 12.7 billion dollars, and an average loss of 1925 dollars for each car sold.

“I heard that there are rumors that Bill Ford intends to resign from the position of CEO of the company and is looking for a new CEO… It is very likely that the decision to sell these brands, including Aston Martin, will have to wait until the new CEO takes office…”

Statistics showed that during Bill Ford’s tenure, Ford Motor Company laid off 73,000 employees, and the stock market value fell by 18 billion dollars.

In Barron’s previous life, this September, Bill Ford brought in Alan Mulally from Boeing to replace himself as CEO of Ford Motor Company to make adjustments to the Ford Motor Company.

Barron said to Pete Friedman:

“You can talk to them first, and I estimate there will be a response soon.”

In order to get out of the predicament, in the original timeline, Ford Motor Company successively sold off some brands and finally only retained the Ford brand, hoping to turn losses into profits with focus.

They sold the luxury car brand Aston Martin in 2007, and in 2008, they sold Jaguar and Land Rover to the Indian Tata Group.

In fact, even if they didn’t ask proactively now, in August of this year, Ford would start putting Aston Martin up for sale…

At the beginning, they actually planned to sell the two brands of Jaguar and Aston Martin. Jaguar had suffered heavy losses last year, while Aston Martin was at least still profitable.

But later, they decided to sell Aston Martin first, because Jaguar could share a chassis with Ford’s car series, which could reduce development costs.

Moreover, some of Jaguar’s components came from Ford’s other brand, Land Rover, so the costs between them could be further reduced.

So, although Aston Martin was profitable in 2005 and Jaguar was losing money, Ford still decided to only sell Aston Martin because the Aston Martin car series was single and too high-end, so in the long run, it was not conducive to Ford’s global strategy.

However, this time, what Barron asked the CEO of the Caesar Foundation to discuss with Ford Motor Company was not just the Aston Martin brand, but to package the acquisition of Aston Martin, Jaguar, and Land Rover, the three original British car brands.

In Barron’s previous life, Ford Motor Company sold Aston Martin, retaining about 15% of the shares, and sold 85% of its shares for 475 million pounds (equivalent to 848 million dollars at the time) to a consortium led by David Richards, the chairman of Prodrive—the group included American investment banker John Sinders and two Kuwaiti companies.

Then, they sold the two car brands of Jaguar and Land Rover to the Indian Tata Group for 2.3 billion dollars.

Now, Barron hoped to directly buy back these three car brands originating from Britain from the Ford Motor Company.

But even though Ford Motor Company already had the idea of selling these brands, this time the negotiations between the two parties would not be completed in the short term.

Because, just like the price of less than 1 billion dollars when Ford sold Aston Martin in early 2007 in the original timeline, it was a full half less than when they first announced their intention to sell Aston Martin in August 2006…

At that time, after the news that Ford Motor Company intended to sell Aston Martin at a price was released, there were actually 30 companies around the world that expressed their willingness to buy, including the famous fashion group LVMH.

…

“Your Grace, the Argos Retail Group will be listed on the London Stock Exchange on June 15th…”

After getting off the plane, Barron received the latest progress on the IPO listing of the Argos Retail Group from his personal assistant, Laura.

The Argos Retail Group’s IPO listing this time will publicly sell 300 million new shares, which will bring its total share capital to 3.3 billion shares after listing.

The issue price of the stock was finally set at 3 pounds per share—because it had the most “fashionable” e-commerce concept, and it had more than 1,000 stores throughout Western Europe, and its online shopping range had already covered parts of Western and Northern European cities, so the stock price expectations of the Argos Retail Group were still very optimistic.

And currently in the European market, Argos.com is also a dominant player in the e-commerce field. Although Amazon has news that it will open a European site, the first-mover advantage of Argos.com cannot be ignored.

“In addition, Your Grace, Miss Fan Bingbing is already waiting for you at the shipyard.”

“Okay, I understand.”

Barron arrived in Germany this time. After the Derwent landed, they went directly to a nearby town by car.

There, there was a century-old shipyard named Abeking & Rasmussen.

The Abeking & Rasmussen shipyard was founded in 1907 by Georg Abeking and Henry Rasmussen. The shipyard has built a variety of boats, including various commercial ships, military ships, sailboats, motorboats, and so on, with rich experience in shipbuilding.

Currently, the orders on hand at the Abeking & Rasmussen shipyard include both commercial multipurpose ships and naval minehunters, as well as fully customized yachts.

Well, that includes the superyacht that Barron customized last year.

Chapter 470: Super Yacht

In fact, this time Baron was just coming over to take a look. After all, the super yacht he had ordered had a construction period of over two years, and it wouldn’t be completed until 2007.

The World Cup was about to be held in Germany. Baron came here this time also to experience the atmosphere of the World Cup—not to mention that he himself was a big fan of watching the games in his previous life, and his “first pot of gold” in this world also came from the previous Japan-Korea World Cup.

Another thing worth mentioning was that in this World Cup, the Kolo national team achieved a historic breakthrough, qualifying for the World Cup for the first time and also coming to Germany.

Speaking of the Kolo national team, they weren’t a very eye-catching team, but they showed strong fighting power in the qualifiers, with a record of seven wins, two draws, and one loss, which was also the best in the African qualifiers, and there were strong teams like Senegal in the group.

The Kolo national team’s defense, which only conceded eight goals in ten matches in the African qualifiers, was also called the “African Italian defense”…

This was also the first time Kolo had entered the World Cup finals since joining FIFA in 1962. Previously, the best result for the team in international matches was only advancing from the group stage of the 1998 African Cup of Nations.

However, in Baron’s previous life, because the Kolo Football Association had been owing player bonuses since February 2006, the amount was about 50,000 euros per player. The furious players decided to strike in protest, missed the flight to Dortmund, and if it weren’t for FIFA’s intervention, the first incident of players collectively boycotting a match in the history of the World Cup finals would have occurred.

However, because of this matter of owing qualification bonuses, the Kolo team’s players were not in high spirits in the subsequent World Cup matches, and therefore performed poorly.

In the end, their performance in the German World Cup was only slightly better than the performance of the Chinese men’s football team in the Japan-Korea World Cup—three losses, but they scored one goal…

But now, unlike Baron’s previous life, although Kolo was still not a very developed country at the moment, at least they had now discovered offshore oil fields and started exploitation, and the government’s revenue began to show. After the Kolo national team entered the World Cup finals, it was even less likely that they would owe the players’ bonuses.

Even Baron, in the name of the West African Group, increased the rewards for the players and provided funding to the Kolo national team, allowing them to come to Germany early for adaptation training.

You must know that the group that the Kolo team was in this time also included South Korea, Switzerland, and France, and their first match in the group stage was against the South Korean team, which had performed poorly in the previous World Cup.

Therefore, after arriving in Germany, the Kolo team also received some preferential treatment during the adaptation training—this was only because they would face South Korea in their first match, or was it also because of the presence of the French team in their group… well, it was “difficult to guess” the Germans’ thoughts.

The Kolo national team also received sponsorship from the newly listed O2 Telecom and the soon-to-be-listed Argos.com, and would receive generous winning bonuses and goal bonuses…

It could be said that their morale was high and their momentum was like a rainbow.

…

On the day Baron arrived in Germany, Fan Bingbing also took a flight from China to Germany to meet up with Baron.

Another reason for them to come to the shipyards in Germany this time was that someone had previously commissioned a luxury yacht here and was planning to resell it—the yacht was almost built, with only the interior decoration remaining, so Baron was prepared to take a look. If it was suitable, he could take it directly, then he could temporarily have a yacht to use before his own super yacht was completed.

After picking up Fan Bingbing, Baron and his party arrived at the A&R shipyard, where they were personally accompanied by the sales director of the shipyard, and the two toured the super yacht that was being resold.

“Your Grace, Ms. Fan, the streamlined yacht you see now was designed by a famous French designer, including a complete set of interior decorations—of course, you can only see the exterior of the yacht and the internal partitions now, but the advantage is that there is still an opportunity to make some adjustments according to your requirements…”

The first impression the yacht gave Fan Bingbing was that it was big, and also, the appearance was very beautiful and very futuristic.

When she first heard Baron say he was taking her to see the yacht, in Fan Bingbing’s impression, it was the kind of small yacht she had seen before docked at the yacht marinas in China.

But when she saw the super huge one in front of her, which was over 100 meters long and could be as high as seven or eight stories, she directly felt that her cognition was greatly impacted…

Under the introduction of the sales director of the shipyard, they learned that the yacht was 330 feet long and over 80 feet high. According to the design, there would be a huge master suite that occupied the entire floor, as well as the other 11 suites, accommodating 22 guests and 36 yacht staff.

“We can take a look at the specific design renderings over here…”

Through a large screen, the sales director showed them the interior decoration renderings of the yacht designed by the French designer.

As mentioned before, this super yacht was designed by a famous French yacht designer, and the interior decoration, whether it was the style or the materials used, was extremely luxurious. The only thing was that there was too much “nouveau riche” style with gold, which Baron found a bit difficult to accept…

But this was not surprising, because the previous owner of this yacht was a Middle Eastern tycoon, but the other party was suddenly a little dissatisfied with the size of the yacht—a length of 330 feet was already an unimaginable size for most people, but it was said that the other party had a comparison with another prince and decided to order a longer yacht, so he was prepared to sell this one…

Even if he would lose a considerable portion of the deposit, he didn’t care at all.

You must know that the overall cost of this yacht was around 175 million euros. Now, if Baron took it, it would only cost about 130 million euros. It could be said that the other party would lose more than a quarter of the construction cost with this resale…

However, Baron was still quite satisfied with the designed supporting facilities and space of this yacht, such as the private viewing platform on the first floor of the master bedroom, and the yacht was also equipped with two 12-meter-long auxiliary boats, including a cinema, a bar, and a 25-meter-long closable swimming pool.

In addition, there was a luxurious restaurant and a conference room that could accommodate more than twenty people to dine at the same time…

It could be said that this was completely a sea palace, even more luxurious than the “Charming Ocean” that Baron had experienced before.

“How is it, do you like this yacht?”

Hearing Baron’s question, Fan Bingbing was stunned for a moment and said:

“Of course I like it, who wouldn’t like it? I never imagined a yacht could be like this before.”

In front of Baron, Fan Bingbing would never be too pretentious, and this was one of the things he liked.

“I’ll take this boat…”

Baron turned his head and said casually to the sales director:

“But I don’t like some parts of its decoration, and I need to make adjustments.”

“No problem, Your Grace…”

Hearing that the young British duke next to him was going to buy this super yacht casually, the sales consultant of the shipyard was overjoyed and said respectfully:

“You can make any requests, Your Grace. We can have the designer of this yacht make any feasible modifications for you.”

After all, this was not a car, or even a house, but a super yacht worth hundreds of millions of euros. The people who could buy this kind of “super toy” were few and far between in every country.

And often these people would have their own personalized needs for such “toys”. It was not so easy to find a new owner for a yacht that had already had its framework determined.

If it could really be sold, it would also be considered as solving a big problem for them. The bonus that this sales consultant could get would definitely be considerable, so it was no wonder he was so enthusiastic.

It could be said that, not to mention that this duke only asked to modify the design, even if… the other party had some common British hobbies, he would also meet the challenge without hesitation…

“That’s not necessary. All I need is to modify some of the decoration style. The designers from the Gucci Group will take over the renovation.”

“That’s absolutely no problem.”

Although the “golden and resplendent” decoration style of this yacht’s interior was largely due to the original owner’s preferences, it had nothing to do with the designer…

But Baron was not without his own “favorite” designer, such as Alexander Michel, who designed the “Devonshire Series” for the Gucci Group. He quite liked the design inspirations he had obtained from Chatsworth House before, and the interior decoration design of this super yacht could also be completely handed over to him.

Chapter 471: Luxury Car Brands

Fan Bingbing did not take on the film “Apple,” as she did in Barron’s previous life.

However, the film’s director still found Fan Bingbing. Although she didn’t agree to star, she still invested in the film and helped the film’s female director, Li Yu, contact other actresses.

This year’s German World Cup opening ceremony and first match would be held on June 9th at the Allianz Arena in Munich.

The Allianz Arena, many fans were very familiar with it, was the home stadium of Bayern Munich, the Bundesliga powerhouse.

In fact, the Allianz Arena was initially built with joint funding from Bayern Munich and their city rivals, TSV 1860 Munich, with both sides holding 50% of the shares. It had just opened a year ago, at the end of May last year.

However, more than a decade later, Bayern Munich bought the entire stadium, making it their exclusive home ground.

The A&R shipyard was near Bremerhaven in Germany, located in the northwest of Germany, while Munich was located in the southeast of Germany. Therefore, going from Bremerhaven to Munich was almost a journey across the entire country.

After deciding to purchase the superyacht that was being transferred, there were still a few days until the World Cup opening, so Barron also took this opportunity to visit many places in Germany with Fan Bingbing…

It was rare to have such an opportunity, and Fan Bingbing was also very happy to spend more time with Barron. The two even entered the Netherlands from Germany and spent a day in Amsterdam.

Before the World Cup began, Barron had already arrived in Munich.

Munich was the capital of Bavaria, Germany. After arriving here, Barron was invited to visit BMW’s headquarters.

After all, as everyone knows, BMW’s abbreviation is “Don’t Touch Me”… BMW, and its full name is Bavarian Tractor… uh, no, it’s Bayerische Motoren Werke AG (Bavarian Motor Works).

“Hello, Your Grace, and this beautiful lady…”

The person receiving Barron was not Dr. Panke, the chairman and CEO of BMW, who was already 60 years old at this time, but Reiser, who was the director in charge of its production department at the time.

He would take over as chairman and CEO of BMW on September 1st of this year.

In fact, Barron had always been an important customer of BMW – he had purchased quite a few Rolls-Royce cars by now, and most of them were custom-made.

Speaking of which, with his current status, if he were to choose “British brands,” he would have chosen between Rolls-Royce and Bentley.

However, these two brands, one belonged to BMW and the other to Volkswagen, had both been bought by German companies.

In the beginning, Rolls-Royce and Bentley belonged to the same company – Rolls-Royce-Bentley.

Simply put, from 1931, Rolls-Royce and Bentley merged into one company.

In 1998, Rolls-Royce-Bentley fell into a financial crisis and was on the verge of bankruptcy.

So at that time, BMW and Volkswagen both made offers to acquire the company.

The main reason was that they both hoped to acquire the luxury car brands Rolls-Royce and Bentley to fill their product lines.

In the end, Volkswagen offered a higher price and acquired Rolls-Royce-Bentley.

But things didn’t end there. Although the acquisition of Rolls-Royce-Bentley was completed, Volkswagen found that they had no right to produce Rolls-Royce cars.

Why?

Because many key components of Rolls-Royce-Bentley came from BMW – including the source of their engines, Rolls-Royce Aircraft Engines, in which BMW also held shares.

BMW threatened Volkswagen, preparing to stop supplying engines, air conditioning, and other key components to the Rolls-Royce Silver Seraph and Bentley Arnage.

Volkswagen knew very well that without these parts from BMW, they couldn’t assemble Rolls-Royce and Bentley cars.

Volkswagen would also need four to five years to develop new models.

In the end, BMW agreed to continue supplying components to Rolls-Royce, and Volkswagen could only produce Rolls-Royce until 2002. After that, BMW would build a new base to produce Rolls-Royce.

BMW offered 40 million pounds to acquire the Rolls-Royce brand, while Volkswagen offered 640 million pounds to acquire the Bentley brand, the Rolls-Royce-Bentley factory in Crewe, England, and the Cosworth engine factory.

Barron had already sent the CEO of the Caesar Foundation to the United States to negotiate with Ford to acquire their British car brands, including Aston Martin, Jaguar, and Land Rover, which had been acquired.

If he had the opportunity, he naturally hoped to buy the two top British luxury car brands, Rolls-Royce and Bentley, from BMW and Volkswagen.

However, it seemed that this possibility was very low.

Because unlike Ford, which was already declining and suffering heavy losses, BMW and Volkswagen would not easily give up the two top luxury car brands they each owned, and the development of these two brands was still quite good.

Not to mention Rolls-Royce and Bentley, it would probably not be easy to acquire MINI from BMW.

Therefore, after visiting and touring BMW’s headquarters, Barron did not raise any acquisition topics and left with Fan Bingbing.

Next, Barron and Fan Bingbing went to watch the opening ceremony of the World Cup and the subsequent matches.

As early as before the World Cup, the second Devonshire Hotel in continental Europe had opened in Munich.

This time, Barron and Fan Bingbing stayed in the Duke Suite of the Devonshire (Munich) Hotel – also because of the World Cup, even luxury hotels like the Devonshire Hotel were almost fully booked.

It could be said that the focus of the world was on the German World Cup during this time.

However, neither Barron nor Fan Bingbing were suitable to be photographed by cameras.

Otherwise, they would definitely become the headlines of various newspapers…

Therefore, whether it was the opening ceremony, the opening match, or the subsequent matches, they watched them in a special VIP box.

The opening match was between the host team, Germany, and Costa Rica, who were in the same group as the Chinese national team in the previous World Cup.

The final result of the match also showed that there were no weak teams in the group that had been in the same group as the Chinese national team.

Although the German team won the match 4-2, facing this relatively strong German team (which eventually finished third), the Costa Rican team still fought hard and scored two goals.

…

“Your Grace, Mr. Feron O’Neill has sent the information of the fund company he has chosen to your email, as well as the information of some traders you asked him to investigate…”

“Okay, I understand.”

After Laura left, Barron walked into the study of the suite and opened the computer.

Chapter 472: First Victory

Before this, Baron sent DS Investment Company’s senior manager, Feron O’Neill, to New York.

Upon arriving there, Feron had two tasks. The first was to investigate the Wall Street fund companies and select a suitable company for acquisition.

There were countless fund companies on Wall Street, both large and small, but it would still take some effort to filter out the ones that met their requirements.

However, it seemed that Feron O’Neill was quite efficient. Only half a month passed before Baron received his preliminary screening results.

After reviewing the relevant documents sent by Feron, Baron could see that Feron O’Neill had understood his requirements.

Through the information in these documents, Baron selected three fund companies. These fund companies all had assets under management of less than fifty million US dollars, possessed complete qualifications, and had simple and clean backgrounds, which would not leave any hidden dangers after the acquisition.

Next, Feron could have further contact with these companies and eventually acquire one of them.

The other matter was that Baron gave Feron O’Neill a list, which included the managers and traders of some fund companies, and Feron O’Neill needed to conduct background checks on these people.

In fact, this list included some people who, in Baron’s previous life, had profited handsomely from shorting during the subprime mortgage crisis. As a financial industry professional in his previous life, Baron had naturally studied the subprime mortgage crisis particularly closely.

And among these people, the one that Baron was most concerned about was naturally John Paulson, who had become famous in a single battle.

However, Baron couldn’t make the list too obvious. Even if Feron O’Neill couldn’t see anything now, after the subprime mortgage crisis, he would eventually notice something strange about it. Therefore, Baron directly mixed these people into a list of more than twenty people.

In fact, in Baron’s opinion, Paulson’s strength lay in his keen ability to spot the signs of an economic crisis, thereby profiting from shorting. In his previous life, after becoming famous in a single battle during the subprime mortgage crisis, the performance of the fund he managed was very average afterwards.

Currently, John Paulson had already established his own hedge fund ten years ago – Paulson & Co. Moreover, in the 2001 internet bubble crisis, he tested the waters, selling short heavily at the time, which caused his fund to buck the trend and attract many investors.

By now, the total assets managed by Paulson & Co. had already exceeded four billion US dollars, which was considered a fund company of decent size among the many investment funds on Wall Street.

However, Paulson was very low-key, and now, outside of the hedge fund industry, he wasn’t very well-known.

In the information that Feron O’Neill submitted to Baron, that was all the information about Paulson. However, Baron, who had seen relevant interviews in his previous life, knew that next month, Paulson would start raising funds to build a position for the first fund used to short the real estate subprime mortgage-related bonds CDO – the initial size of this fund was only one hundred and fifty million US dollars.

…

On June 13th, in Frankfurt, the financial center of Germany, the Kolo national football team, participating in the World Cup finals for the first time, played against the South Korean team.

Because they had O2 Telecom and Argos Retail Group as the team’s sponsors, and also received sponsorship from the West African Group, the Kolo national football team received very good treatment this time, with generous rewards for goals scored and wins.

You must know that Group G, where the Kolo team belonged, included Kolo, South Korea, Switzerland, and France. The teams they had the greatest chance of winning and scoring against were the South Korean team. Therefore, in this match, the young men on the team could be said to have performed very actively, hoping to seize this “getting rich” opportunity.

Based on Kolo’s per capita income at this time, they had previously received a bonus of 100,000 Kolo shillings per person, equivalent to 10,000 Euros, for qualifying from the group stage. If they could really win a match, it could be called “getting rich” entirely.

After the match started, the Kolo team’s players fully utilized their advantage in physical strength and scored the first goal in less than ten minutes of the first half.

In addition, it was worth mentioning that, up to now in the German World Cup, the teams from Africa and Asia had not yet won a match. Therefore, as long as Kolo and South Korea didn’t draw, they could create a record for this World Cup and become the first team from that continent to win…

And given South Korea’s actions in the previous World Cup, there was no doubt that the Kolo national football team enjoyed a home-like treatment at the Frankfurt stadium. After they scored, they received enthusiastic cheers and celebrations from the European fans present…

However, the problem of African teams being prone to being lax after taking the lead was inevitable for the Kolo national football team. In the second half, also less than ten minutes after the start of the half, the South Korean team took advantage of a tactical foul caused by a lapse in concentration by a Kolo defender and, through teamwork, scored a goal to equalize the score.

Finally, as the match was nearing its end and entering stoppage time, the Kolo players seemed to suddenly remember that the bonus for winning the match was much more than the bonus for scoring a goal. Therefore, they began to attack fiercely and finally scored the decisive goal in the final moments of stoppage time.

The Kolo team, in their first match in the World Cup, defeated the South Korean team with a score of 2:1, winning a precious victory.

The only pity was that they couldn’t, as in the original timeline, be on par with, or slightly better than, the performance of the Chinese national football team in the World Cup.

After winning this match, the members of the Kolo national football team received a piece of news that surprised them, which was that they had scored two goals in this match and ultimately won the game. Therefore, all members of the national team would share a bonus of up to 15 million Kolo shillings, equivalent to 1.5 million Euros!

This made them extremely excited. It could be said that after receiving this bonus, it could change everyone’s lives.

However, the South Korean team, which lost in this match, was not so happy…

Because of their actions in the previous World Cup, they now lost their first match in the World Cup to a small African country they had never even heard of before, and it was a weak team participating in the World Cup for the first time. I’m afraid that the European and global media would not be polite to them next, and sarcastic remarks would be the least of it…

However, Baron didn’t mind this at all.

After watching this match at the scene, he temporarily separated from Fan Bingbing and returned to London.

Fan Bingbing would return to China with her accompanying assistants and bodyguards, while Baron would wait until the final stages before returning to watch the matches.

Because there were still some things in London that he needed to handle, and also, Argos Retail Group would soon be listed on the London Stock Exchange and begin trading.

Chapter 473: Argos Goes Public

June 15, 2006, Thursday.

The group stage of the German World Cup was still in full swing. In yesterday’s matches, the defending champion Brazil defeated Croatia 1-0; France and Switzerland had no goals in 90 minutes and ultimately drew; and Spain crushed Ukraine with a 4-0 victory…

Then came today, the day Argos Retail Group went public on the London Stock Exchange, listed on its main board.

This IPO saw Argos Retail Group publicly sell 300 million new shares, accounting for 9.1% of the total share capital after listing. Based on an issue price of 3 pounds per share, Argos Retail Group was able to raise 900 million pounds. This funding would be used to further consolidate the European market, improve warehousing and logistics, and develop and apply new technologies.

At 8:00 AM London time, after the closing auction, Argos shares opened directly at a price of 4.15 pounds. After opening, the stock price continued to climb, reaching a high of 4.95 pounds that day. It was only when it neared 5 pounds that it slowly retreated…

Ultimately, Argos shares closed at a price of 4.68 pounds, a 56% increase compared to the issue price of 3 pounds.

At this price, Argos Retail Group’s market capitalization reached 15.444 billion pounds. Based on the exchange rate of 1.85 pounds to 1 US dollar at this time, Argos Retail Group’s market capitalization exceeded 28.5 billion US dollars, nearly tripling the 10 billion US dollar valuation at the time of the Global Industry Investment Fund’s investment.

After listing, Argos Retail Group’s total share capital was 3.3 billion shares, of which DS Holding Company (Cavendish Trust Fund) held 2.025 billion shares, accounting for 61.36%; Rich23 Capital held 675 million shares, accounting for 20.45%; and Global Industry Investment Fund (GII-2 Holding Company) held 300 million shares, accounting for 9.1%.

The reason why Argos Retail Group’s stock price was able to achieve such a high increase after listing was mainly due to the added value provided by Argos.com’s e-commerce business, coupled with their over 1,000 physical stores. The added sales from e-commerce made Argos Retail Group’s market capitalization very promising.

It is worth mentioning that Argos Retail Group’s market capitalization at this time had already surpassed that of Amazon.com. In fact, in 2004, Amazon.com’s market capitalization had exceeded 30 billion US dollars, but this year, Bezos intended to develop the cloud business, which seemed to have nothing to do with e-commerce, the AWS business. This made the outside world not optimistic about Amazon.com, and therefore its stock price was under pressure.

However, Barron knew that the cloud business would be a phenomenal business, and it was also very important for e-commerce, serving as the “infrastructure” for e-commerce development to a certain stage – just like how Alibaba later continuously invested and created Ali Cloud.

But if this business were to be started now, it would require a long period of continuous cultivation and would definitely be easily rejected by the outside world.

Now, after Argos Retail Group received 1 billion US dollars from the GII fund the last time, it had already begun to expand throughout Europe, focusing on Western and Northern Europe. After this IPO, they raised another 900 million pounds, and they would continue to improve service quality and scope.

And they would also make a big move…

In the second week after listing, Argos Retail Group announced that it was preparing to fully acquire the largest logistics company in Britain, excluding Royal Mail, – Yuen Logistics – for 4 billion pounds.

This acquisition would help Argos Retail Group integrate its e-commerce business more closely with Yuen Logistics’ logistics delivery, thereby providing users with higher quality and more comprehensive services.

They announced that they had reached an agreement with the board of directors of Yuen Logistics. This acquisition, valued at 4 billion pounds, would be carried out in the form of a stock swap. Argos Group would issue 800 million shares at a price of 5 pounds per share to the holders of Yuen Logistics shares, Caesar Fund and DS Holding Company (Cavendish Trust Fund), to complete the full acquisition of Yuen Logistics.

Thus, Caesar Fund, which originally held 95% of Yuen Logistics’ shares, would receive 760 million Argos shares; DS Holding Company (Cavendish Trust Fund) had previously merged “Speed Express” logistics into Yuen Logistics, obtaining 5% of its shares, and would now receive 40 million Argos shares.

After the merger, Argos Retail Group’s total share capital would increase to 4.1 billion shares. Adding the 40 million Argos shares obtained after merging Yuen Logistics, DS Holding Company would hold a total of 2.065 billion Argos shares, with its shareholding ratio changing to 50.37%, and Caesar Fund would hold 18.5% of Argos Retail Group’s shares.

Yuen Logistics would become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Argos Retail Group. In addition to continuing its existing business, it would also further improve the delivery speed of express mail for Argos.com users.

It is worth mentioning that when Caesar Fund acquired Yuen Logistics, it acquired this British logistics giant for approximately 2.5 billion pounds.

However, after the New Year’s Day of this year, the entire British postal industry landscape underwent a huge change – the British postal regulatory agency would begin to implement new rules, allowing various postal companies to openly compete and “share” the pie of the British postal service market.

Before this, Yuen Logistics had already obtained one of the 13 long-term operating licenses issued by the British postal regulatory agency. With their scale, and after merging “Speed Express” logistics, they had seized the largest piece of the pie taken out from Royal Mail.

In addition, through the cooperation with Argos.com during this period, Yuen Logistics actively expanded its business in many European countries. Therefore, it was normal for the “selling” price to increase to 4 billion pounds.

After all, when Deutsche Post acquired Yuen Logistics in September 2005 in the original timeline, the price had already reached 3.5 billion pounds.

…

The room fell silent again.

Bonnie still had a slight blush on her face. She rested her head on Barron’s strong shoulder, her fingers tracing the lines of his muscles.

“By the way, dear, Dasha called me a couple of days ago. She is also in Germany watching the World Cup, but I still needed to handle company matters at that time…”

Hearing Bonnie’s words, Barron kissed her forehead and said with a smile:

“Let’s go to Germany together in a couple of days, so you two can be together as well.”

Dasha, mentioned by Bonnie, is Dasha Zhukova, the current wife of Abramovich . Bonnie usually goes shopping with her.

As the owner of Chelsea, it was not at all surprising to Barron that Abramovich and his group would go to the World Cup.

It was just that he hadn’t met the other party when he was in Germany before – of course, it was also because he was with Fan Bingbing at the time, and Dasha and Bonnie were considered best friends, so Barron didn’t take the initiative to contact Abramovich .

However, before Argos Retail Group went public and merged with Yuen Logistics, Barron needed to attend an important ceremony before he could leave London.

Speaking of which, after Argos Retail Group merged with Yuen Logistics, Argos’s stock price rose again. Nearly ten days after its listing, Argos’s stock price had already exceeded 5 pounds. At this time, Argos Retail Group’s market capitalization had already exceeded 20 billion pounds!

Chapter 474: The New Prime Minister Assumes Office

On June 24, 2006, the Labour Party held a special conference in Manchester, and the current Chancellor of the Exchequer, Gordon Brown, was appointed as the new leader.

This also meant that he would officially take over from Blair and assume the position of Prime Minister three days later.

On June 27th, after Prime Minister Blair’s final visit to Parliament to answer questions from Members of Parliament, he formally submitted his resignation to Queen Elizabeth II, thus ending his nine-year tenure as Prime Minister.

It can be said that Blair was destined to be a figure that cannot be ignored in British history.

He became the leader of the Labour Party in 1994, led the Labour Party to win the general election with an overwhelming majority of votes in 1997, and won re-election in the following two general elections, becoming the first Labour Prime Minister in British history to be elected three times.

During his tenure as Prime Minister, the British economy developed, and society underwent comprehensive reforms.

His policies adopted a major power diplomacy externally and advocated a diversified society internally.

Blair won widespread praise for promoting the Northern Ireland peace process, responding to the “7/7” London bombings, and London winning the right to host the Olympic Games.

However, due to his support for the Iraq War and sending troops to fight, Blair and his government were also under pressure and criticism.

In addition, the Labour Party was also suspected of providing peerages to donors to the party, and Blair also became the first Prime Minister to be questioned twice by the police as a witness during his term.

Under various factors, Blair was ultimately forced to resign as leader of the Labour Party on the 15th of last month due to internal and external pressure.

On the same day, June 27th, after Blair submitted his resignation to the Queen, Brown and his wife arrived at 10 Downing Street in London.

Brown went to Buckingham Palace that afternoon at the invitation of Queen Elizabeth II, received the Queen’s authorization to form a new cabinet, and received the Privy Seal from the Queen, officially assuming the position of British Prime Minister.

He then delivered a speech at the Prime Minister’s Office, saying:

“I will do my utmost to listen to the voices of the British public, reform the housing, education, and health service systems, strive to serve the British people, give full play to the potential of the British public, and make Britain a global success model of the 21st century.”

Brown was preparing to carry out the largest cabinet reshuffle in nine years after taking office, to prepare the Labour Party for “responding to the threat from the Conservative Party” in the next general election.

Analysts believe that this means that some of Blair’s confidants will leave the government with Blair’s departure, organizationally announcing the end of the Blair era, and Brown can then freely lead the Labour Party to begin a new journey.

To win the support of all parties, Brown promised to form a new government without regard to party affiliation, absorbing experienced and specialized talents to make the Labour government more adaptable to the demands of the times.

Baron and Bonnie, also after attending Brown’s inauguration ceremony, left London and went to Germany to continue watching the remaining World Cup matches.

June 30th, the Olympic Stadium in Berlin, today is the first match of the quarter-finals, Germany versus Argentina.

The German team performed very well in the group stage, winning all three matches.

And Argentina’s lineup is also very strong, so today’s match is still quite suspenseful—of course, except for Baron.

Of course, he can’t say that he is one hundred percent certain now, because with his appearance, the direction of some things has already changed, even though the main veins of the world’s operation still maintain inertia, but in some places that he can influence, some changes have occurred.

For example, the Kolo national team, because of the changes Baron made, their performance in this World Cup is still commendable.

Although they still failed to advance from the group stage, they defeated South Korea and also scored a goal in the match against Switzerland.

In addition, because he acquired Manchester United Football Club, it also affected the resumes of some players, but at the level of the World Cup, the impact is not too great.

Up to now, the results of the matches of this World Cup that Baron has seen are still roughly the same as in his previous life. The biggest difference in the outcome is the G group where the Kolo team is located.

Of course, in fact, Baron could not remember all the results of the matches of this World Cup in his previous life. The previous life’s Japan-Korea World Cup, because it was held at his doorstep, and the match times were also relatively friendly to Chinese fans, and there was also the Chinese team participating, so Baron paid special attention to that World Cup at the time.

And during this World Cup, he did not have much free time at the time, and because of the time difference, he did not watch many matches.

This time, Baron and Bonnie, were invited by Abramovich to come to his VIP box to watch the match.

The World Cup matches that Baron had watched before, because of Fan Bingbing being by his side, he chose those mostly enclosed boxes.

And the box that they arrived at now, where Abramovich was located, was mostly open, so Baron and Abramovich , these two couples sitting together, also attracted the attention of the photographers, and the big screen in the stadium before the match had once switched the camera to them.

All the fans in the stadium could see the young and handsome British Duke, and his beautiful Duchess, together with Abramovich and his wife, chatting and laughing on the big screen.

I’m afraid the photos of the two families watching the match together will undoubtedly appear in many newspapers and media.

After all, Baron and Abramovich , one is the owner of the Premier League powerhouse Manchester United Football Club, and the other is the owner of the Premier League’s newly emerging strong team Chelsea, and seeing their good relationship in private, it should be a very hot topic.

The range of topics Baron and Abramovich chatted about was quite wide, including some interesting things about this World Cup, Baron’s newly ordered yacht, and Abramovich exchanged some experiences with him on this matter, even the news of Blair’s resignation and the new Prime Minister taking office, the two also talked about.

On the other side, Bonnie and Abramovich ’s wife, Zhukova, initially mainly talked about fashion topics, and after the match started, because Bonnie had once served as a sports host on Sky Television, she knew the rules of football relatively well, Zhukova, who grew up in the United States, came to watch the World Cup completely to accompany Abramovich , so Bonnie would also occasionally help Zhukova explain some rules.

In the first half of the match, Germany had few chances, while Argentina was more at ease, and they had 60% possession in the first half.

After a goalless first half, Argentina got their chance soon after the start of the second half.

Maxi broke through on the right to win a corner, Riquelme took the corner kick, Crespo inserted into the front post in the middle to pull away the opponent’s defense, Ayala outjumped Klose, headed the ball into the right side of the goal from 8 meters in front of the goal, Argentina broke the deadlock 1-0.

This was the first time the German team had fallen behind in this World Cup.

Next, the German team began to speed up the pace of the match, constantly using their strong bodies to attack Argentina’s defense, and repeatedly tried to use their signature move - aerial bombardment, to try to turn the situation around.

“It looks like the Argentinians just want to hold onto this one-goal advantage…”

Abramovich said to Baron:

“But the Germans are not so lucky.”

“But if this goes on, Argentina will be a little dangerous, the Germans just need a little luck…”

After 75 minutes of the match, although the German team created some threats, they did not convert them into goals.

And Argentina began to strengthen their defense by making substitutions, obviously wanting to keep the 1-0 score until the end of the match.

But reality did not go as they hoped…

In the 80th minute, Ballack threw the ball in from the left side, and then received a back pass from Lahm, and crossed with his right foot, Borowski flicked his head to the back post, Klose beat Sorin to the ball, and headed the ball into the bottom left corner from 7 meters in front of the goal, Germany 1-1 tied!

This was Klose’s first header goal in this World Cup, and also his 10th World Cup goal.

Chapter 475: Bentley?

In the end, the German team won 4-2 in the penalty shootout, advancing to the semi-finals with a total score of 5-3.

After watching this match, Baron received an invitation from Wolfsburg – the headquarters of Volkswagen, is located in Wolfsburg, also known as Wolfsburg.

In fact, Wolfsburg is roughly between Bremerhaven and Berlin, but after leaving the A&R shipyard in Bremerhaven last time, Baron and Fan Bingbing went west to the Netherlands for a trip, so they didn’t pass through Wolfsburg.

Currently, the Volkswagen Group is behind General Motors, Toyota, and Ford, ranking fourth in global car sales.

However, in five years, the Volkswagen Group will surpass the previous three and become the world’s largest car company.

During a visit to the Volkswagen Group headquarters, Baron tentatively asked the current Volkswagen Group CEO, Dr. Bernd Pischetsrieder, if he was interested in selling the Bentley brand under Volkswagen. He could offer 2 billion pounds in cash to purchase it.

It’s worth noting that in 1998, the Volkswagen Group only spent 640 million pounds to purchase the Bentley brand. Eight years later, Baron increased its price to more than three times that amount.

“I’m sorry, Your Grace, the Bentley brand has been integrated into the Volkswagen Group and is an important part of our strategy. We have never considered selling it.”

Hearing Dr. Pischetsrieder’s words, Baron glanced at the other party and said:

“However, I heard that the Volkswagen Group’s investors strongly demand that you reduce costs, but your restructuring plan has been resisted by the unions… With all due respect, Bentley’s profitability is not high in itself, and now, I’m afraid its importance to your Volkswagen Group is declining. Selling Bentley could give Volkswagen more capital to make adjustments.”

In fact, Volkswagen’s profits have been declining in recent years – their 2004 profits had fallen from 2.9 billion pounds in 2001 to 697 million pounds, so investors’ calls for cutting costs at their main German factories were growing louder.

Most of Volkswagen’s workers are in Germany, and their hourly wages are at the highest level in the automotive manufacturing industry.

And Pischetsrieder’s restructuring plan to implement cost reductions was met with resistance from the employees.

Baron noticed that after he said these words, there was a hint of interest in Pischetsrieder’s eyes, but in the end, he still said:

“I need to discuss this with the board of directors, Your Grace.”

“I will await your reply.”

Baron knew that Pischetsrieder’s hesitation was due to the fact that this year was the last year of his term as CEO, and whether he would renew his contract with the Volkswagen Group had not been finally decided – because as the current CEO, Pischetsrieder’s relationship with the Chairman of the Volkswagen Group Supervisory Board, who was also the former CEO of the group, Ferdinand Piëch, was relatively tense.

It was during Piëch’s tenure as CEO of the Volkswagen Group that he led the acquisition of Rolls-Royce-Bentley, but Rolls-Royce was only held for five years before being taken by BMW. However, Piëch advocated the Volkswagen Group’s high-end brand strategy at the time.

However, because of the decline in the Volkswagen Group’s profits, Pischetsrieder was more inclined to increase the group’s profits. Brands like high-end brands that couldn’t increase sales and couldn’t contribute much profit to the group, Pischetsrieder didn’t actually pay much attention to, and it was this point that made Piëch dissatisfied with Pischetsrieder abandoning the high-end brand strategy he advocated during his term.

Before, Baron was not reconciled, and he still sent people to bid for BMW, preparing to take back the Rolls-Royce brand from them for a price of 500 million pounds, which was more than ten times the price that BMW paid to acquire the Rolls-Royce brand.

But unsurprisingly, his intention to acquire was rejected by BMW without hesitation.

So now Baron could only set his sights on the Bentley, a British luxury car brand, and it seemed that he could only succeed in acquiring Bentley from the Volkswagen Group when Pischetsrieder was in charge.

If according to the original timeline, Martin Winterkorn, the CEO of Audi, would replace Pischetsrieder as the CEO of the Volkswagen Group next year, after that, I’m afraid the Volkswagen Group would not have the idea of selling the Bentley brand…

…

On July 9th at 8 p.m., the final of this World Cup was held at the Olympiastadion in Berlin, and Baron and his companions were still watching this match in the box where they had watched Germany vs. Argentina before.

The final was between France and Italy – before this World Cup, the Italian football world had been exposed to the “Calciopoli” scandal, in which several clubs led by Juventus were suspected of illegal contact with referees.

For a time, many old accounts related to refereeing errors and misjudgments were brought to light, and the Italian judicial authorities quickly launched an investigation. For a time, whether the Italian team could participate in the German World Cup became a question.

Of course, the Italian team was eventually able to participate in this World Cup, and their performance was also very… good.

And this World Cup final was also very famous…

“Zidane was too impulsive…”

Seeing the Italian player Marco Materazzi successfully use trash talk to provoke the “brain” of the French team, Zinedine Zidane, Zidane headbutted Materazzi, and then was shown a red card by the referee and sent off. Abromovich shook his head and said to Baron.

“I’m afraid we have to congratulate the Italian team, the World Cup trophy is theirs.”

Zidane, who was sent off with a red card, also “flew away” the French team’s World Cup championship.

Sure enough, the Italian team, which was not good at penalty shootouts, finally let out a sigh of relief and defeated France 5:3. Italy stood on the winner’s podium of the world championship for the fourth time.

And after the World Cup ended, Baron also received a piece of news he had hoped for. Volkswagen Group CEO Pischetsrieder called Baron and said that the Volkswagen Group was willing to negotiate with them on the sale of the Bentley brand.

It seemed that Baron’s offer of 2 billion pounds had finally moved the other party. After all, with these funds, the profits that the Volkswagen Group could obtain by investing in other brands would definitely be higher than at present.

And as for luxury cars, Volkswagen also has Bugatti and Lamborghini, although they are all sports car brands, they are also well-known brands – at this time, the Volkswagen Group had not yet acquired Porsche.

To be honest, buying Bentley, the offer of 2 billion pounds was really not low, because since being acquired by Volkswagen, or rather, all along, Bentley’s profitability was not strong, it was only the brand image of luxury cars that made the Volkswagen Group reluctant to let go, otherwise it would have been sold long ago.

But Baron’s planned automotive industry in the future did indeed need luxury car brands like Rolls-Royce and Bentley – and they both originated from British bloodlines, and being acquired by Baron, a British Duke, was also more symbolic and easier to gain support from the British people…

After Rolls-Royce was difficult to obtain, he could only use an attractive price to make a move on the Volkswagen Group at this time.

That being said, if it wasn’t Pischetsrieder in the CEO position at Volkswagen Group right now, I’m afraid Baron wouldn’t be able to buy Bentley even if he offered 3 billion pounds.

Chapter 476: Black Swan Fund

When Barron sent people to negotiate with Volkswagen Group regarding the acquisition of Bentley, he finally understood what Bi Ruide was thinking…

It turned out that the other party proposed to Barron’s side that they would also sell their Dresden factory in Germany as part of Bentley.

Well, this is quite interesting. It seems he really regarded this purchase as a good opportunity to “dump the burden,” selling Bentley to him while also letting him solve part of Volkswagen Group’s employees in Germany.

Moreover, the Dresden factory, although relatively “young,” was a factory that Bi Ruide’s predecessor, Piech, had specifically built for Volkswagen’s high-end model, the “Phaeton.”

The “Phaeton,” a luxury car that didn’t look like one, had a decent reputation, but its sales had been consistently poor since its launch. It seemed Bi Ruide was also planning to use the “Phaeton” to his advantage. According to the original timeline, the Phaeton could last for a few more years before production stopped.

However, they weren’t entirely wrong; the Dresden factory did indeed handle part of the Bentley model’s manufacturing. This was probably why they could confidently request that Barron buy the Dresden factory as part of Bentley.

Up to now, Bentley had three production factories: the Cricklewood factory, the Crewe factory, and the Dresden factory.

When Bentley was first established, their car factory was located at the Cricklewood factory in England. However, after Bentley was acquired by Rolls-Royce, their car production was transferred to the Crewe factory, and the Cricklewood factory was sold.

Then, the Rolls-Royce-Bentley, including the Crewe factory, was acquired by Volkswagen Group. They reluctantly gave Rolls-Royce to BMW in 2003, leaving Bentley and the Crewe factory with the Volkswagen Group.

Although the salaries of German auto workers could be said to be the highest in the world, buying the Dresden factory wouldn’t be a big deal. After all, as a luxury car brand, Bentley wasn’t too sensitive to costs.

But helping Bi Ruide solve the problem was fine, but other conditions needed to be discussed properly, including the supply of key components such as engines after the acquisition.

The original Rolls-Royce-Bentley used Rolls-Royce car engines – in fact, Rolls-Royce and Rolls-Royce are the same word in English, just with different translations. Rolls-Royce originally manufactured engines and later split into Rolls-Royce car engines and Rolls-Royce aerospace engines.

After Volkswagen acquired Bentley, Bentley had been using engines provided by Volkswagen and Audi. Therefore, if Barron acquired Bentley, the engine supply would also need to be agreed upon with Volkswagen Group.

He didn’t want to be “choked” on the supply of engines and other components like Volkswagen was when they acquired Rolls-Royce.

…

Over in the United States, Feron O’Neill finally completed the acquisition of the fund company. He acquired two fund companies, and the assets managed by these two fund companies were both less than 30 million US dollars.

One of them, a small fund company called Black Swan Fund (Cornwall Capital), which had only three members and was established last year, was specifically requested by Barron to be acquired. This was because this fund company served as a prototype and appeared in the later movie “The Big Short,” which was set against the backdrop of the subprime mortgage crisis.

In the original timeline, the Black Swan Fund had only 110,000 US dollars in funds when it was established in 2005. By 2007, it had increased to 30 million US dollars, and after the 2008 subprime mortgage crisis, it had soared to 130 million US dollars, making it one of the beneficiaries of the subprime mortgage crisis.

After merging the personnel of these two small fund companies, they would still be named Black Swan Fund, and they would then prepare for the subprime mortgage crisis.

In fact, if they were to short sell, they still had a lot of time. Because, just like John Paulson, he had already started shorting CDO bonds not long after, but he suffered heavy losses in the early stages. This was because CDOs were constantly rising until the end of 2006. It could be said that if the subprime mortgage crisis had come a little later, John Paulson would definitely have gone bankrupt.

But before that, the Black Swan Fund could still follow the trend and first invest in some US real estate-related companies and subprime mortgage bonds. In the whole of 2006, the rise of these assets could be described as “adding fuel to the fire.”

As is often said, the landmark event of the subprime mortgage crisis was the bankruptcy of New Century Financial Corporation, the second-largest subprime lender in the United States, in 2007. However, before this company went bankrupt, from now on, its stock price still had considerable gains. Investing in it could also yield substantial profits.

And if they were bolder and directly used leverage to speculate on subprime mortgage bonds, CDO bonds, the profits they could obtain would be even more astonishing – of course, they would definitely need to be careful and start shorting before the subprime mortgage crisis.

Of course, currently, after Black Swan Fund acquired the two funds and merged them, the main work in the short term would still be to complete the integration under the leadership of Feron O’Neill and start raising funds – the scale of the funds they managed before was not large, and after the acquisition, a considerable part had already been liquidated.

The funds currently managed by Black Swan Fund mainly came from two “American investment companies,” namely IC Capital and Blue Valley Capital. These two investment companies each invested 50 million US dollars in Black Swan Fund and began the initial build-up of positions.

…

“The scenery here is indeed beautiful, darling.”

“Yes, having an island here is indeed a nice place to vacation.”

After watching the World Cup and leaving Germany, Barron brought Bonnie to Italy again.

They were now at Lake Maggiore, the second-largest lake in Italy.

There were several small islands on Lake Maggiore, known as the Borromean Islands – these islands all belonged to the Borromeo family, an Italian aristocratic family with a history of six hundred years.

Because of their respective work, Barron and his wife, Bonnie, didn’t have many opportunities to travel together. Even their honeymoon trip after they got married last year only lasted less than ten days. After that, Bonnie was pregnant, and they only went to Australia together for two months.

Now that their son was at home with the nannies, Barron, having a rare opportunity, also planned to spend more time with Bonnie before going back.

And their trip to Italy this time was also at the invitation of the Borromeo family. During the World Cup in Germany, through Abu’s introduction, Barron had met some European notables, including members of the Borromeo family. When the other party learned that Barron and Bonnie were planning to travel to Italy next, they invited the couple to Lake Maggiore, the location of the Borromeo family.

Chapter 477: The Most Beautiful Princess

Accompanying Baron and Bonnie on their tour of the Borromean Islands was Isabella. She was the eldest of the four Borromeo sisters and had just married Ugo, the Italian oil tycoon, the previous year. Their family’s assets came from Ugo’s mother’s family, and Ugo’s mother was the National Inspector of the Italian Red Cross. She was the only woman in Italy with the rank of general, which demonstrated the family’s influence in Italy.

The Borromeo family’s businesses involved finance, real estate, and hotels. They had also invested over 100 million euros in the DS Group’s Athena Fund, which meant they had a cooperative relationship with Baron.

“Your Grace, Madam, this is my sister, Beatrice. She’s currently attending university.”

“Hello, Miss Beatrice Borromeo.”

When inviting Baron and Bonnie to dinner, Isabella also introduced her sister, Beatrice Borromeo.

Baron had heard of this youngest daughter of the Borromeo family in his previous life. Among the four Borromeo daughters, she and her three older sisters had different fathers. The story of their father bouncing between two women was actually quite dramatic, but he wouldn’t elaborate on it here.

However, setting aside the previous generation’s affairs, the relationships between the younger generation were quite good.

For instance, Beatrice’s mother came from an Italian textile family. Her uncle was currently the president and chief designer of the luxury brand Valentino, and when Isabella, the eldest sister, appeared in front of the cameras, she often wore Valentino clothing.

Additionally, in his original timeline, Beatrice later married the Prince of Monaco and was known as the most beautiful princess…

Beatrice was currently only 21 years old and was studying at Bocconi University in Italy. She should not have met the prince yet.

“I wonder what major Miss Beatrice is studying?”

Bonnie very kindly sought out a topic with Beatrice.

And Beatrice responded:

“I’m currently studying law and economics, preparing to obtain both degrees…”

She glanced at Baron with her beautiful eyes, then smiled at Bonnie:

“Duchess, I studied in London before university, and I really liked the programs you hosted back then. In fact, I’m also very interested in news, and I plan to continue studying in this field if I have the opportunity in the future.”

“Thank you. If you come to London again, be sure to visit my home. I think we’ll have a lot to talk about.”

It seemed that Bonnie got along well with the ladies, but that was also normal. After all, besides her stunning beauty, she was also very approachable.

Furthermore, Baron knew that what Beatrice had just said was not a lie. In his previous life, after obtaining a degree from Bocconi University, this youngest daughter of the Borromeo family went to Columbia University in the United States and earned a master’s degree in journalism…

…

“Mr. Brown, I know you’ve just taken office recently and are very busy, but you also need to balance work and rest…”

After visiting the Borromean Islands, Baron was invited to a banquet by the current Prime Minister of Italy, Berlusconi, who had heard of his arrival in Italy. Afterwards, he returned to London.

It was worth mentioning that at Berlusconi’s banquet, Baron met an old acquaintance, Barbara Berlusconi, Berlusconi’s daughter. Baron and Bonnie had met her on Sicily when they first went to Italy, and Barbara was only 19 years old at the time.

In addition, as the longest-serving Prime Minister of Italy, Berlusconi… was said to be quite fond of certain parties. Fortunately, Baron came with his wife, Bonnie, this time, so he didn’t witness the old man’s unrestrained side…

But besides being the Prime Minister of Italy, the old man was also the richest man in Italy, owned the AC Milan club, ran television stations, and so on, so there was no shortage of topics between him and Baron.

Now, after returning to London, Baron met with Brown, who had been in office for almost a month, at Neverland. Brown was different from before; after all, he had just taken office and had a lot of things to be busy with. The opportunities to meet with Baron at Neverland were far fewer than before.

However, as Baron said, even if you’re busy with work, you need to “balance work and rest.”

“I read in the newspapers that your Caesar Fund is planning to acquire Aston Martin, Jaguar, and Land Rover?”

“That’s the idea…”

After receiving the intention of the Caesar Fund to acquire the companies, it was no surprise that Ford did not waste this opportunity. This matter soon appeared in the media reports and became a hot topic.

After all, since last year, the Caesar Fund had been constantly buying and buying, and had already acquired many companies. Now, they were setting their sights on Ford, a car giant that still ranked third in global sales, which would naturally arouse everyone’s curiosity.

Although Ford also had the idea of selling Aston Martin, what the Caesar Fund wanted to acquire also included Jaguar and Land Rover. Although they were still hesitating about this, it did not prevent them from using this news to attract more buyers for Aston Martin and drive up the price.

In response, Baron said to Brown calmly:

“However, the prospects don’t seem clear at the moment. Ford hasn’t given a straightforward answer, and even if it’s just Aston Martin, their asking price is far higher than our expectations.”

Before becoming Prime Minister, Brown had always served as the Chancellor of the Exchequer. Now that he had just taken office, he also hoped to achieve some results.

No wonder he was concerned about this matter. After all, the car brands that Baron was preparing to acquire from Ford were once British car brands. If he could really bring these brands back to Britain, at least to some extent, it could boost the morale of the people.

“If the acquisition can really be completed, our government will also support you, Baron.”

Baron had been waiting for Brown’s words. He nodded and said:

“If we can get the government’s support, then it will also be a good thing for the development of the British automotive industry. After all, our automotive industry once led the world, but now, it has almost all been acquired by foreign companies. This is a very fatal blow to our manufacturing industry, and we will lose too many jobs as a result.”

When he said this, Brown’s face also showed a bit of embarrassment…

There were many British car brands, such as Bentley, acquired by Volkswagen, Rolls-Royce and MINI, acquired by BMW, and Aston Martin, Jaguar, and Land Rover, acquired by Ford…

Even the two brands that originally belonged to Rover, Roewe and MG, were respectively bought by SAIC and Nanjing Automobile, two Chinese car companies that were not very strong in the automotive industry at the time…

It could be said that there were hardly any car brands left in Britain, which was a matter of great shame for the British.

If Baron could really buy back the three British brands from Ford, it would definitely be something worth supporting. Brown also hoped to revitalize Britain’s manufacturing industry, otherwise those former industrial cities could only take selling diplomas as their pillar industry.

Chapter 478: Gold Mine

On July 25th, the President of Kolo, Jame Bongo, visited the neighboring country of Burkina Faso. In its capital, Ouagadougou, he held talks with the President of Burkina Faso’s military government, Blaise Compaoré, and the two sides finalized a series of economic cooperation agreements.

These included the West African Mining Group investing in Burkina Faso, purchasing a large area in Kiaka, and conducting exploration and development there.

Yes, at this time, the President of Burkina Faso was still Compaoré, who came to power through a coup after assassinating Thomas Sankara, the “African Guevara” of Burkina Faso, the “Country of Upright Men,” in 1987.

After Compaoré came to power, he corrected Sankara’s “overly radical” economic policies. His policies were relatively “moderate and pragmatic,” with a greater emphasis on relations with various countries, especially neighboring ones.

Therefore, this visit by the Kolo President was warmly welcomed by Compaoré.

Among the series of cooperation agreements between Kolo and Burkina Faso, the West African United Bank was authorized to conduct business in Burkina Faso, and the West African United Bank would provide Burkina Faso with a low-interest loan of 50 million US dollars. This portion of the funds would be repaid with Burkina Faso’s related mining revenue.

At the same time, the West African Mining Group obtained the exploration and mining rights to the Kiaka area, located about 50 kilometers southwest of Ouagadougou, the capital of Burkina Faso, and less than 200 kilometers from the northern border of Kolo.

The reason the West African Mining Group wanted to secure the mining rights to this area was because it contained a yet-to-be-discovered gold mine with extremely high reserves.

Burkina Faso is a landlocked country in West Africa, with an area of 274,000 square kilometers. It is also the fourth-largest gold producer in West Africa.

The Kiaka gold mine was later estimated to have reserves of nearly 200 tons, and the gold here is buried very shallowly, basically being able to be regarded as an open-pit gold mine, and the difficulty of mining is not high.

At this time, the West African Mining Group had basically completed the integration of the Australian OZ Mining Company. Next, after conducting mineral surveys, they will form a mining team composed of technical personnel transferred from the Australian company and miners recruited locally in Kolo to enter the Kiaka area of Burkina Faso for gold mining.

Another point worth mentioning is that currently in Kolo, the most popular occupations among ordinary people include oil workers, miners, mercenaries, and drivers.

Because the production of the Kolo Oil Company is constantly increasing, their demand for oil workers is also increasing. The income of those Kolo oil workers who pass the training and can go to the drilling platforms to work can even reach 10-15 times the average local wage in Loti, which can be said to be the highest-income class among ordinary people.

Secondly, there are miners—initially mainly referring to miners in the mines under the West African Mining Group and Stuart Mining Group, which cooperates with it, but under competition, the wages of miners from the original French mining companies also had to be increased. Their average wages can also reach more than 5 times the average local wage in Loti, similar to the wages of mercenaries in the Kolo Legion (personnel dispatched to Iraq are paid double, reaching 10 times).

Finally, there are drivers. Because of the expansion of the Loti port, coupled with Kolo’s efforts to strengthen the construction of transportation infrastructure and vigorously develop entrepôt trade, the demand for transportation drivers has increased greatly. Not only have related driving schools begun to increase, but the West African United Bank also provides special loans to eligible young people in Kolo, which can help them pay for driving license training fees, and then repay them in installments after working. This has also helped many people improve their income by learning to drive trucks.

……

“Your Grace, through negotiations, we have reached an agreement with Sony Corporation, and they will transfer their shares in MGM Holdings.”

This news was conveyed to Baron by a phone call from Annika Dawson, CEO of Blue Valley Capital.

After acquiring 20% of MGM Holdings’ shares from the Sinclair family trust, they also planned to completely acquire MGM, one of the former eight major Hollywood film studios.

However, although the shareholding ratio of the five companies that participated in the acquisition of MGM Holdings, which controls MGM, was equal at 20%, to take this step, it was still necessary to get the support of Sony Corporation, after all, they played a leading role in the acquisition before.

And Baron also fully understood Sony Corporation’s concerns. What they cared about was not the future development of MGM, but the 4,100 films and 10,600 television series owned by MGM’s film library.

Therefore, Annika, the CEO of Blue Valley Capital, went directly to Sony Corporation’s headquarters and held negotiations with them.

Blue Valley Capital promised that if Sony Corporation could sell its shares in MGM Holdings to them and support them in completing the acquisition of MGM Studios, then MGM Studios would continue to stand by Sony Corporation in the competition for the next-generation hard drive format and support their Blu-ray DVD format.

Compared to the acquisition of MGM last year, the situation of MGM Studios has been deteriorating, and their losses have continued to expand.

As for the latest 007 film, “Casino Royale,” which is regarded as MGM Studios’ “lifesaver,” Sony Corporation has already obtained the distribution rights to this film, and this film itself was co-produced by Sony and MGM.

Besides, even if this film can get a good box office, so what? You can’t release a 007 film every year, and even so, such a film company can’t just rely on one IP to survive. Moreover, Sony Corporation has temporarily suspended all other projects of MGM Studios except for the 007 and Pink Panther series, which in itself reflects a lack of optimism about the company’s future—they are afraid that the more they film, the more they will lose—it’s still better to shrink the business, at least it can reduce losses…

Therefore, the final agreement was that Blue Valley Capital would acquire Sony Corporation’s 20% stake in MGM Holdings for 500 million US dollars—this price, compared to Sony Corporation’s investment in the acquisition of MGM Studios last year, Sony Corporation lost 140 million US dollars, but so what? What they care about is the strategic advantage. If they can win the competition for the next-generation disc format, then this loss is insignificant compared to the benefits Sony Corporation can get.

After completing this acquisition, Blue Valley Capital will hold 40% of the shares in MGM Holdings, breaking the original balance and becoming the largest shareholder of this holding company.

Then, they will continue to negotiate with the other three shareholding companies to acquire the remaining 60% of the shares.

Now Blue Valley Capital has gained the upper hand, and they believe that the other three will eventually give in, otherwise, let MGM continue to lose money like this. By then, not only will the initial investment be lost, but MGM Studios also has more than 2 billion US dollars in debt, just ask if you are afraid.

Of course, being able to conduct friendly negotiations without offending those institutions is, of course, the best strategy.

In itself, for investment, making profits and losing money is normal, and they believe that they can definitely be very pragmatic.

Chapter 479: Private Talks

In early August, the new British Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, arrived at Camp David, the presidential retreat in Maryland, United States, to hold talks with George W. Bush.

This was Brown’s first visit to the United States since becoming Prime Minister. There had been much speculation about the future direction of relations between the two countries, making this meeting between the two heads of state particularly noteworthy.

According to reports in the American media, the United States had expressed concerns and dissatisfaction with the possibility of Britain withdrawing troops from Iraq ahead of schedule before Brown’s visit.

During the talks with Bush, Brown reiterated that Britain’s policy in Iraq would not change and that no withdrawal plan would be announced.

Afterward, Brown left Camp David and went to New York to give a speech at the UN on global development issues.

At this time, Barron also arrived in New York, although Brown did not come with him. This time, during his visit to the United States, Brown displayed a frugal style. He flew from Britain on a commercial flight rather than a government charter, and he did not use Barron’s private jet to travel to the United States.

Then, he also took a train to New York. After giving his speech at the UN, Brown and Barron met with New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

Brown, Barron, and Bloomberg ate hot dogs together on the streets of New York…

A British Prime Minister, a Duke, and the world’s fourth richest man, along with a New York City Mayor and a billionaire, were just like ordinary people, unreserved, standing on the street eating cheap fast food like hot dogs. This approachable act was captured by reporters and immediately made the front pages of many newspapers.

According to reports, the hot dog vendor on the streets of New York, Abdus Salam, told them that Brown and the Duke of Devonshire ate plain hot dogs without any condiments, while Bloomberg added some mustard.

Although there were many reporters around when they were eating hot dogs, they did not answer any questions.

When asked how the hot dogs tasted, Brown gave a thumbs up.

This hot dog “feast” was paid for by Bloomberg, costing only three dollars, and of course, a small tip was given, but this was negligible for Bloomberg, who had billions of dollars.

At this point, Barron could only silently say sorry to Cameron in his heart—when he visited the United States after taking office, he could only find another way to “put on a show”…

In addition, it is worth mentioning that Bloomberg was the boss of the well-known “Bloomberg” news agency. In 2001, he began to run for the position of New York City Mayor and was successful, taking office in 2002.

In Barron’s previous life, Bloomberg served three consecutive terms and stepped down at the end of 2013, serving as the Mayor of New York for a full twelve years.

And his annual salary as Mayor of New York was only a symbolic one dollar—that is to say, the hamburger Bloomberg treated them to today cost him three years’ worth of salary… If you include consumption, it would be even more.

Interestingly, according to Forbes, Bloomberg’s net worth in 2001 was 4.5 billion dollars, and by 2014, his assets had soared to 33 billion dollars.

As for whether the surge in his assets during his tenure as Mayor of New York was related to his position… that is a matter of opinion.

After all, if you compare him to other wealthy people, such as Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, his net worth in 2001 was 2 billion dollars, and by 2014, it had become 32 billion dollars. The growth of his assets in these ten years was even more exaggerated than Bloomberg’s.

Of course, if you don’t dwell on the fact that Jeff Bezos’s Amazon was an e-commerce website, which happened to ride the wave; and Bloomberg, mainly relied on selling financial information—Bloomberg was his company.

As for why no one could compete with him in this area, well… maybe their service was particularly good.

Anyway, they were not in it for the money, but just to serve the people of New York for free, which was also possible…

In addition to treating Brown and Barron to hot dogs on the street, Bloomberg also specially invited them to a banquet he held that evening, and singers were also invited to perform.

Guests that day also included media mogul Rupert Murdoch, former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, and Ford Motor Company Chairman Bill Ford.

It was obvious that the special invitation of Bill Ford was Bloomberg showing goodwill to Barron. This time, when Brown visited the United States, he also specifically discussed with Bush the acquisition of the three British car brands held by Ford by Caesar Fund, and through previous media reports, it was no secret that the British Duke wanted to take back their car brands through Caesar Fund.

In this way, Bloomberg could be considered to have acted as a “middleman” and provided an opportunity for the “leaders” of the two companies to meet privately.

“You should know, Mr. Ford, that the price you are asking for, I’m afraid no one would be willing to bear, and continuing to hold these brands in your hands will only cause Ford Motor Company to continue to bleed…”

You could tell from Bill Ford’s surname his relationship with Ford Motor Company. Barron clinked glasses with him and said:

“With all due respect, of all the people who claim to be interested in these brands, only our offer is the most sincere.”

“Everything needs to be discussed slowly, doesn’t it? Your Grace. In addition, although we do have the idea of selling one or several brands, the final decision still needs to be made after the new CEO takes office next month. I hope he can decide these based on his plans for Ford Motor Company, rather than me deciding in advance…”

It seemed that Mr. Ford was not moved by Barron’s words. He said slowly:

“And what I’m curious about is, why do you want to buy these brands? If, as you say, they will only continue to lose money… is it just to bring these brands back to Britain?”

“Believe it or not, that’s exactly the case. It’s time for those British brands to return to Britain.”

Barron shrugged and said:

“Of course, it doesn’t necessarily have to be these brands from Ford Motor Company, it could also be other brands, such as Rolls-Royce, or Bentley, it depends on the final price—and I have enough patience to wait.”

…

“Mr. Murdoch, it’s a pleasure to meet you. By the way, congratulations, MySpace has been developing well recently.”

The conversation with Bill Ford regarding the acquisition of those three British car brands had not made any substantial progress—of course, Barron would not simply think that he could convince the other party through this one conversation. This was business, and when the price was agreed upon, it always required one party to make concessions. He could make concessions, but not too many.

Next, Barron saw Rupert Murdoch, the chairman of News Corporation, walking towards him, and he started chatting with him.

Indeed, as he said, after News Corporation bought MySpace for 700 million dollars, which was higher than Barron’s previous life’s acquisition price, MySpace had been developing very well. Not only had it consistently maintained its second position in social networking, second only to Woaw.com, but its key indicators such as the number of users and active users had also increased significantly, and its advertising revenue had also achieved a breakthrough—this year, Google had also reached an agreement with MySpace, as long as MySpace’s click-through rate increased significantly for three consecutive years, Google would become MySpace’s exclusive search engine provider for three consecutive years, paying 300 million dollars annually.

In addition, MySpace had also successfully entered the Chinese market under the name of Juyou.com—behind this was the help of Murdoch’s wife, Wendi Deng.

In Barron’s previous life, in the social networking track, MySpace was the first mover, and Facebook was the challenger, and Facebook eventually won; and now, Woaw was the first mover, and MySpace became the challenger, but I’m afraid MySpace still could not win.

“Thank you for your praise, Your Grace, but in the field of the Internet, I still need to learn more from you young people. This is not my area of expertise, just like Woaw, it is indeed a powerful opponent.”

As expected of an old fox, Murdoch did not seem to want to talk too much about MySpace, but instead turned the topic to another aspect:

“By the way, you also invested in the Sinclair Group, but it seems they have encountered some trouble recently…”

“I haven’t paid too much attention to these things. After all, the investment in the Sinclair Group was purely for mutual cooperation. But I believe that Mr. John Smith is fully capable of handling these small troubles.”

Fox Television Network, under News Corporation, was also one of the few television broadcasting companies in the United States. Their current scale was not much different from the Sinclair Group—in his previous life, the Sinclair Group later spent a lot of money to acquire a portion of the local television stations under the Fox Television Network. In terms of media, News Corporation’s strength was still very strong.

Chapter 480: Code Name A1

After completing his visit, the Prime Minister returned to his country first. In addition, he also decided on the second foreign visit after taking office; next month, he would arrive in China.

This also shows his emphasis on China. In fact, he is also the most pro-China British Prime Minister since the new century.

Baron, on the other hand, went to Silicon Valley. Officially, it was his first visit to the North American branch after Woaw’s IPO; in fact, Ivanka also “happened” to be there.

Android Company had already completed the first version of the Android system and had conducted intensive testing.

It was now August. Counting from Baron’s previous life, when Apple’s iPhone 1 was released, there were only five months left. The iPhone 1 was released on January 9, 2007, and then launched for sale on June 29, less than half a year later.

At that time, the first phone equipped with the Android system—the HTC G1—was not released until September 2008. Furthermore, the HTC G1 used a full keyboard design, a clamshell phone with a sliding cover that was not very easy to use, and it was also equipped with a trackball.

At that time, Apple had already released the second-generation phone, the iPhone 3G…

In summary, compared to the iPhone, the HTC G1 was a bulky, ugly design.

It wasn’t until 2010 that HTC and Google jointly launched the Nexus One, which featured a touchscreen mode and abandoned the physical keyboard.

This was also the first phone to be independently sold under the Google brand.

However, shortly after the Nexus One was released, Apple launched the iPhone 4…

It can be said that in the original timeline, the development of Android phones lagged far behind Apple in the early stages, and in terms of design, they “borrowed” many of the iPhone’s operating modes.

Now, the first phone from Glory Electronics, internally code-named A1, was directly required by Baron to have a full touchscreen. It used the capacitive screen of the original Apple iPhone, and the screen size was also set to 3.5 inches, so they had specially customized it from Sharp Corporation.

There were touch screen phones before, especially on some brands of PDAs. However, the touch screens at that time were mainly resistive screens, not the capacitive screens that Apple later used on the iPhone.

A resistive screen is a touch screen based on the principle of resistance. It consists of multiple layers of resistive film. When the user touches the screen, the contact between the finger and the resistive film causes a change in resistance, thereby identifying the position of the touch point.

A capacitive screen, on the other hand, is a touch screen based on the principle of capacitance. It consists of a conductive layer and a sensing layer. When the user touches the screen, the finger carries an electric charge, which changes the capacitance value in the capacitive screen, thereby identifying the position of the touch point.

In simple terms, a resistive screen can be controlled by almost any object because it identifies touch through changes in resistance caused by pressure. Its precision is not as sensitive as a capacitive screen, it cannot support multi-touch, and it is easily damaged.

However, at present, the cost of capacitive screens is much higher than that of resistive screens, and the choice of suppliers is also far less extensive than that of resistive screens. Currently, capacitive screens are mainly controlled by Japanese manufacturers.

South Korea also vigorously supported local touch panel companies after the release of the “Touch Panel Industry Development Strategy” in 2011. Downstream manufacturers such as Samsung and LG Electronics also increased their purchases from local Korean companies, after which their touch panel companies grew rapidly.

It wasn’t until after 2012 that Chinese companies began to enter the market and gradually grow.

Whether it is now or for a considerable period of time in the future, the biggest cost in a smartphone is still the display screen.

When Baron and Ivanka entered the Android Company’s research and development center together, he received the latest A1 phone prototype. The phone’s appearance was a classic 3.5-inch large screen with a slender home button that was between an oval and a rectangle.

It is worth mentioning that when it comes to Apple phones, many people seem to have the impression that they had already patented the round Home button. In fact, what Apple had applied for were a series of design patents, such as a design combination of a rectangular rounded corner symmetrical up and down plus a round Home button…

Otherwise, if it were just a patent application for the shape of a certain function key, it would likely not be approved.

After all, later on, smartphones were just full touch screens plus a Home button, or full touch screens without a Home button. If this could be patented, then other manufacturers would not produce phones.

It’s impossible for a company to patent the four circular wheels that a car needs…

Android Company and Glory Electronics had also applied for many patents worldwide for the characteristics of their phone’s appearance, and the application time for some of the design patents was even earlier than that of Apple.

Therefore, in this regard, they did not need to worry about Apple using patent weapons to target them.

It has to be said that after using feature phones for so many years, using such a full-touch screen phone again, Baron really regained some of the feeling from his previous life. However, inevitably, the A1 phone he was using now, whether in terms of operability or the convenience of the Android system, certainly could not compare to the smartphones of more than a decade later.

But compared to the feature phones before, it was already a completely earth-shattering change.

Like Baron, who had the experience of his previous life, and Ivanka, even though it wasn’t the first time she had tried this kind of smartphone, was still filled with curiosity and surprise.

As for the shortcomings of this phone relative to later models, many of them were also limited by the current technological development of the time, and it also needed to be slowly evolved.

In terms of the system, the effect of the Android system at this time was already much improved compared to when it was first launched in the original timeline. The opinions Baron put forward only needed to be iterated on in subsequent versions.

As for the phone itself, they still needed to make a lot of changes, but there was still time. Originally, Baron planned to launch Glory Electronics’ smartphone after Apple’s iPhone 1 was launched in January of next year.

Now, he couldn’t help but have the thought of whether he could release his own smartphone ahead of Apple.

However, he immediately threw away this idea. No matter what, he was also a major shareholder of Apple. Moreover, the honor of the first epoch-making smartphone was what Jobs deserved, and there was no need to snatch even this.

He only needed to do better than the Android Company and HTC in the original timeline, and launch his own phone closely behind Apple, without being left too far behind. That would be enough.

Speaking of which, the current A1 phone still looked a bit crude, and it was also very necessary to have more time to improve it later.

And in terms of appearance design, he also hoped it would have a different aesthetic from the iPhone.

Chapter 481: Capital Injection

Because he managed the investments of IC Capital for a considerable amount of time, he needed to come to Silicon Valley often. Therefore, Barron specially bought a villa here and gave it to Ivanka. She would usually live here when she was in Silicon Valley.

Barron stayed in Silicon Valley during this time and lived here as well.

Among Barron’s women, Ivanka was relatively fond of exercise, and because of this, her figure was very fit.

However, Barron and Ivanka’s current identities made it inconvenient for them to go out for a morning run together. After getting up, the two of them would work out together in the villa’s gym, using the treadmill.

Of course, after exercising, when they took a bath together, they inevitably burned some more calories.

“Are you leaving after you eat, baby?”

“Yeah, there’s a board meeting at the Sinclair Group that I need to attend. I originally wanted to spend a few more days with you…”

Ivanka held Barron, saying reluctantly.

“It’s okay, baby. I’m going to Los Angeles soon too, and then I need to go to China first.”

Since David Smith’s “accidental” death, John Smith had obtained control of the family trust, which also solidified his position as the Chairman and CEO of the Sinclair Group.

However, what lay before him was how to get the Sinclair Group back on track.

This time, he convened the board meeting, hoping to formulate a future plan for the Sinclair Group, just as he had hoped before, to focus a portion of it on the internet industry—this matter had already been started by News Corporation, they acquired IC Capital’s MySpace, which currently seemed to be developing well.

Therefore, as the CEO of IC Capital, who entered the internet industry earlier and had a lot of experience, John Smith also valued Ivanka’s opinion.

According to Ivanka, John Smith currently hoped to acquire a company specializing in big data research to provide more professional advice for the production of their group’s television programs.

Barron knew that the direction John Smith chose was still good. In any case, it was much better than News Corporation’s choice to enter the social network track through MySpace—it wasn’t that it couldn’t be done, but based on the experience of the previous life, News Corporation was still somewhat eager for quick success.

…

“The other three shareholders are currently haggling over the price, but as you said, we haven’t budged.”

After Barron arrived in Los Angeles, he met Annika Dawson, the CEO of Blue Valley Capital.

Hearing her report, Barron nodded and said:

“We’re not in a hurry, after all, they also want to see if MGM’s situation will improve after the release of the new 007 movie…”

“That’s right, we’re also following Sony’s previous practice, temporarily suspending other projects of MGM Studios, and trying to reduce spending as much as possible, at least to avoid expanding the losses.”

Since that was the case, Blue Valley Capital could just stall with the other three shareholders. Anyway, currently, what Barron cared about most in MGM Studios was their rich film library, the scale of which was the largest among these Hollywood film companies.

It might not be apparent now, but when streaming media developed in the future, the importance of content would be very obvious. With the content of these film libraries, not to mention Barron also had DailyVedio.com and YouTube, even Netflix would need them very much, which could allow him to take the initiative in future investments in Netflix.

As for MGM Studios’ future film production…

Barron wasn’t in a hurry, anyway, even if it still maintained its current state within these two years, there wouldn’t be a big problem. When the subprime mortgage crisis occurred, those shareholders who held controlling stakes in MGM would probably cry and beg to sell their shares at a lower price.

For now, Blue Valley Capital could put more energy into the development of Summit Entertainment and Marvel Entertainment. After the success of Summit Entertainment’s “Twilight” series and Marvel Entertainment’s “Iron Man” series, their vision in film production would be recognized by others.

As for another superhero movie “The Hulk” that Marvel Studios originally planned to film… it wasn’t impossible, although the movies in this series in the original timeline weren’t considered successful, but if they changed the director, it shouldn’t lose too much at least.

These movies themselves were still very necessary for the future launch of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and it was these movies that led to the later cash cow-like “Avengers” series.

“Also, Annika, I will inject capital into Blue Valley Capital later, but it is not intended to continue acquisitions, but rather to use these funds in financial investments…”

“Then the loan we got from Rich23 Capital…”

When acquiring Marvel Entertainment, the funds mainly came from the loan Blue Valley Capital obtained from Rich23 Capital. That was a loan that Rich23 Capital mortgaged some of its shares and obtained from Standard Chartered Bank. The interest on these loans would naturally also be borne by Blue Valley Capital.

Barron said with a smile:

“You don’t need to worry about these, especially after this investment…”

Another benefit that came with controlling Chloe was that he had access to more abundant channels for fund flow, just like he could transfer funds from DS Group to IC Capital, Blue Valley Capital, and other companies, using more abundant channels and more offshore companies to do it discreetly.

In the investment targeting the subprime mortgage crisis, in Europe, he could directly use the funds under DS Group. In Asia, he had Rich23 Capital and the local Chinese company, Tianhe Capital.

As for the United States, he would mainly use the newly acquired Black Swan Fund.

Not long ago, IC Capital and Blue Valley Capital had each invested 50 million US dollars into the Black Swan Fund, these were just for the initial establishment of positions.

Soon, these two investment companies would also inject more funds into the Black Swan Fund.

IC Capital had already begun the mortgage procedures, and would borrow 2 billion US dollars from Citibank with IC Capital’s current 14.4% stake in Woaw.

And Blue Valley Capital would also receive 2 billion US dollars in funds injected by the Cavendish Trust Fund.

These 4 billion US dollars in total would be successively invested into the Black Swan Fund, primarily for investment in US real estate-related stocks and bonds.

Then, at the appropriate time, they would short the market, in order to profit from the subprime mortgage crisis.

Just as Barron said, after this investment, not to mention Blue Valley Capital’s previous loans, they wouldn’t lack funds for various acquisitions in the future.

Chapter 482: Meeting an Old Acquaintance Again

“When night falls, if you don’t turn on the electric lights, but light candles instead, it will transport you back to eighteenth-century France, Your Grace. That’s why it’s known as the Little Versailles on the Pacific Coast…”

The real estate agent accompanying Baron looked proud, and said to him respectfully:

“The luxurious and elegant interior style comes from Mr. Sabastian, who hired the world’s best art history experts and buyers to take care of everything for him.”

Looking at the luxurious decorations inside this palace-like building, and the beauty of the garden outside through the floor-to-ceiling windows, Baron also agreed with what the other party said. With Baron’s current knowledge, he was also very fond of this place.

What they were in now was the most luxurious mansion in Beverly Hills, and it could even rank among the most expensive mansions in the world at this time. This was the Fleur-de-Lis.

The hallway in front of Baron now looked like an art exhibition hall. Eighteenth-century gold-edged mirrors and classic master oil paintings hung on both sides of the wall, and the occasional armchairs were all fine products of the eighteenth century, made of exquisite Lyon silk.

The previous owner of Fleur-de-Lis was David Sabastian, an American media tycoon. He built such an epic mansion in 2002, covering an area of more than 5 hectares. The entire mansion cost 70 million US dollars at the time, and the purchase of furniture and interior decorations alone cost 55 million US dollars!

But now, Fleur-de-Lis belongs to Susan Sabastian—she is David Sabastian’s… ex-wife. They divorced in 2004, and after the division of property, Susan obtained this mansion, but now she has decided to sell it.

You must know that such a mansion, currently priced at 100 million US dollars, is not something that ordinary people can afford.

Of course, this does not include Baron.

Although he had previously purchased a manor for Rebecca and her mother here, that residence simply could not compare to this one.

For Baron now, things that could move him didn’t need too much consideration, he could just buy them directly.

After deciding on this house, Baron left Los Angeles and took the Devonshire, heading directly to the magic city of China.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, I had another confirmation at a private hospital in Hong Kong.”

Taking the examination report handed over by Fan Bingbing, Baron looked at her and asked:

“So, what do you think?”

“I…”

Fan Bingbing met Baron’s gaze, and then said firmly:

“I want to give birth to him.”

Yes, Fan Bingbing was pregnant with Baron’s child. After receiving this news, Baron came to the magic city to see her.

“If you’ve made up your mind, then leave the rest to me.”

As for Fan Bingbing’s current situation, as one of the most famous actresses in China, it was indeed a difficult choice for her to give birth to this child while avoiding public attention for a period of time.

But the child was Baron’s…

Fan Bingbing naturally understood what it meant to be able to give birth to a child for him.

With her understanding of Baron after being with him for so long, with this child, at least she wouldn’t have to strive for anything in her life.

Moreover, she only needed to avoid the public’s attention and give birth to the child, without having to give up her career—although at her current stage, “disappearing” for nearly a year would definitely be affected, but with capital as her backing, this was not a problem.

But what Baron was thinking about now was not just this child, but whether he could have more arrangements in China if he had a child as a bond…

“Are you so devoted to me?”

Baron’s tone was a bit joking, but Fan Bingbing’s answer was serious and firm:

“Yes, I’ve thought so since I was with you. If you don’t want me in the future, then I can only think that I’ve met the wrong person.”

“Don’t worry…”

Baron put his arms around her, and said softly:

“I will arrange everything for you… and the child. I just bought a house in Los Angeles. You can arrange the domestic affairs and go there to wait for the child to be born. You can tell people that you’re going to Hollywood for further studies. After the child is born next year, if you want to come back, then I will arrange a few movies for you in Hollywood, and you can also open up your overseas market.”

“I’ll listen to you…”

After comforting Fan Bingbing, Baron still had one thing to do, which was to find a suitable manager for Tianhe Capital, which was registered in Fan Bingbing’s name before.

As for Fan Bingbing, if it was in terms of film and television investment, she could still participate, but other investments—especially when Baron was preparing to use Tianhe Capital as a platform to make a bigger layout for some investments in China, she was now beyond her capabilities.

Therefore, Baron needed to find a more suitable executor.

Of course, he didn’t need to do this kind of thing himself. After putting forward his requirements, headhunting companies would naturally do their best to screen suitable candidates for him.

“Is this Ms. Li Lu not in the country now?”

While looking through the CEO candidates for Tianhe Capital that the headhunting company had found for him, Baron raised his eyebrows and saw a familiar name.

And from the photo, Baron confirmed that this was indeed the person he knew in his previous life—it was just that the gentle woman in the photo looked younger than the image of the “Iron Lady” he remembered from his previous life.

“Yes, Your Grace, Ms. Li worked at Credit Suisse’s investment bank before, but due to personal reasons, she needs to return to China for development, so we can get her information…”

The headhunting company that Baron used was originally a foreign-funded enterprise, so the person in contact with him was also a “foreigner.” This blonde beauty said to him:

“We contacted Ms. Li before. She has just completed the handover of her work and will be able to return to China to meet you next week.”

“So, she is in New York now?”

After getting confirmation, Baron said:

“No need for such trouble. I’m planning to go to New York later, so let her wait for me in New York. We can meet and talk then.”

“Then… what about the others?”

“I’ve read Ms. Li Lu’s information and think she should be my first choice. I’ll talk after I meet her.”

This was completely Baron’s excuse. The main reason was that Baron knew Li Lu in his previous life. At that time, Li Lu was already a very successful investor, leading a very powerful investment company in China, and her abilities were extremely strong.

It could be said that Baron in his previous life could only look up to the other party.

But he didn’t expect that in this time and space, Baron happened to meet the other party when she had just resigned from Wall Street and was preparing to return to China. With his understanding of the other party, she was indeed the best candidate for the CEO of Tianhe Capital.

Chapter 483: China’s Automobile Industry

Fan Bingbing had now finished filming a television series. She spent two days arranging her work in China and declined a film that was about to start shooting. With Huayi Brothers as her backing, although this kind of thing would be troublesome for others, it was just a word for her.

Afterward, with Fan Bingbing, Baron returned to the United States again, but this time he landed directly in New York. He wanted to meet with his “old acquaintance,” Li Lu, here first.

At this time, Li Lu was just 32 years old. She had obtained a master’s degree in economics from Columbia University and then started working at Credit Suisse Investment Bank. She was now a senior manager at this investment bank. However, due to a family change, she had just divorced at the beginning of the year, and her mother’s health was not good, so she decided to return to China for development.

“I have a few questions, Your Grace, I wonder if you can answer them for me?”

In the New York branch office of DS Investment Company, Baron met Li Lu, who was wearing a professional suit and looked quite capable.

At this time, Li Lu looked much younger than when Baron knew her later. At first glance, her temperament was very gentle, but Baron could also feel a certain decisiveness and sharpness beneath her gentle appearance.

“Please, Luna.”

“First of all, as far as I know, Tianhe Capital has only invested in two films before, and they were both low-budget films. And I don’t seem to have any experience in the film and television industry, and frankly, I’m not very interested in it either.”

“Yes, Tianhe Capital has only invested in film and television before, but that was only a trial run in the Chinese market. If you join, you will be responsible for the management and operation of the entire Tianhe Capital. There will be dedicated people in charge of film and television investment.”

Hearing Baron’s answer, Li Lu nodded and continued to ask:

“Then, Your Grace, what I want to know more is, is Tianhe Capital a Chinese investment company or a British capital?”

This question was straight to the point. After all, the difference in nature would also determine the future operation methods and style of Tianhe Capital in China.

“Just like you, Luna, you have worked in the United States for many years, but do you think you are an American or a Chinese?”

“Although I have a US green card, I am still a Chinese citizen and have not prepared to join the US citizenship, so I am a Chinese.”

Baron smiled and said:

“Similarly, although there will be my investment in Tianhe Capital, the controlling shareholder of this investment company is mainly Chinese people and Chinese companies, and Tianhe Capital will also be based in China in the future, so it is a pure Chinese company.”

“This will be a challenge, but I also think this is a good opportunity. I don’t know what I should do next?”

Li Lu’s words indicated that she had already accepted the position of CEO of Tianhe Capital. Baron was very satisfied with this result. He said:

“As I said just now, Luna, Tianhe Capital’s investment will not be limited to the film and television industry. Next, I hope that after you return to China, you can conduct a detailed investigation of the current situation of China’s local automobile manufacturers, and then choose a suitable company to acquire.”

“Are you planning to enter China’s automobile industry?”

From her previous understanding, Li Lu knew that the young British duke in front of her had invested in many industries in China, but most of them were internet companies. Plus, he himself owned Woaw, a rising internet star. Therefore, she had previously speculated that apart from the film and television industry, the most likely thing for Tianhe Capital to invest in was China’s internet companies. Film and television and the internet could be linked, which Li Lu had previously inferred.

But what she didn’t expect was that, according to Baron, the next target of Tianhe Capital was actually Chinese automobile manufacturers, which was indeed beyond her expectations.

“It’s not me, it’s Tianhe Capital that will make certain investments in China’s automobile industry. I am very optimistic about China’s automobile industry. Both the vast market here and the foundation of manufacturing can nurture future automobile giants.”

Li Lu also didn’t expect Baron to be so optimistic about China’s automobile industry, but what she liked most was challenges, so she agreed without hesitation.

Prior to this, Tianhe Capital had, through Fan Bingbing’s recommendation, found Fu Yujing, who had previously worked at Huayi Brothers, to be in charge of investing in some film and television projects.

The films including Crazy Stone and Apple were all contacted and invested by her.

After Li Lu took office, she would serve as the CEO of Tianhe Capital. The previous film and television investment projects would establish Tianhe Film and Television Investment Company, with Fu Yujing as the general manager, and this subsidiary of Tianhe Capital would make the investments.

After this meeting, Li Lu was also very efficient. She immediately took a flight to Shanghai to take over the position of CEO of Tianhe Capital. Next, she would begin to investigate China’s current automobile industry and provide a basis for Tianhe Capital’s subsequent acquisitions.

……

Just as Ford was still wavering on the acquisition of its Aston Martin, Jaguar, and Land Rover brands by the Kaiser Fund, another piece of news came from Europe.

A German media outlet quoted sources within the Volkswagen Group, indicating that its board of directors was fiercely debating whether to sell the Bentley brand.

It was said that the current CEO of the Volkswagen Group, Herbert Diess, and a considerable number of Volkswagen Group shareholders, favored selling the Bentley brand.

On the other hand, the faction led by the former CEO of the Volkswagen Group, Ferdinand Piëch, favored retaining the Bentley brand and not selling it.

At present, it was not clear which side had the upper hand, because although Piëch was no longer the CEO of the Volkswagen Group, he still had great prestige within the Volkswagen Group. Before this, he led the Volkswagen Group to continuously expand, and he had many fanatical supporters within the company.

In addition, in Baron’s previous life, one of Piëch’s most “glorious” moments was the acquisition of the Porsche brand in 2012.

Piëch was also the grandson of Ferdinand Porsche, the founder of the Porsche family. At that time, Porsche originally intended to completely complete the acquisition of Volkswagen, but Piëch, in collaboration with other investors on the supervisory board, “turned the tables”—Porsche, which originally held 50% of Volkswagen Group’s shares, instead became a possession and was acquired by it.

However, similarly, due to Piëch’s obsession with cars and his desire to make the best cars possible, regardless of the price, Volkswagen also lost a lot of money.

When he took office as the CEO of the Volkswagen Group, he strongly advocated the “luxury car strategy” of the Volkswagen Group. In addition, the Phaeton, Bugatti Veyron, and Audi A2 launched by the Volkswagen Group under his support were among the 10 most loss-making cars in modern automotive history…

These also made some investors of the Volkswagen Group quite dissatisfied. This time, Diess had the support of these shareholders behind him.

Moreover, according to the news revealed by the German media, the Kaiser Fund, which had previously bid to acquire Ford’s three British automotive brands, was also interested in acquiring the Bentley brand.

This news was very intriguing.

Seeing this news, Bill Ford couldn’t help but think of what the other party had said during the last meeting with the British duke.

At that time, Baron told him that he did intend to bring British automotive brands back to Britain, but it didn’t necessarily have to be Ford’s brands, it could also be other brands, such as Rolls-Royce, or Bentley…

Chapter 484: Capital Operations

“This… is too magnificent.”

The Rolls-Royce Phantom drove into the estate from the open wrought-iron gate. When the car stopped in front of the all-white, palace-like building, Fan Bingbing got out of the car. Her eyes were met with a beautiful garden and a palace that was a miniature version of the Louvre. She couldn’t help but exclaim in amazement.

The last time she had only taken a cursory look before buying this estate—well, Barron’s decisions were occasionally this “hasty”…

It was mainly because in his previous life, he had heard of this mansion. After all, it was a manor that could be listed as one of the world’s top ten most expensive mansions. Therefore, when Barron happened to encounter it being put up for sale, he made a decisive move and bought it.

The estate’s facilities were still very complete, because the space was large enough—the three huge gas storage tanks that the Barron family had in King’s Cross covered a total area of only six hectares, while this estate covered more than five hectares, which, to put it more simply, was an area larger than seven standard soccer fields.

If he were here, Barron could just run around the estate in the morning…

“You can live here. The environment is nice, suitable for pregnancy. I’ll arrange some servants and bodyguards for you.”

“Really?”

Not to mention that before this, although Fan Bingbing had already become one of the most well-known female stars in China, the Chinese film and television industry had not yet begun large-scale capital investment, and the actors’ salaries were not as high as they were later. Compared to ordinary people, her income was quite high, but it couldn’t compare to those wealthy people at all.

Even the wealthy people in China were mostly very low-key, and it was completely impossible for them to enjoy such open and lavish luxury abroad.

Therefore, not to mention living in such a luxurious estate, she had a hard time imagining such a luxurious mansion and a life with a large number of servants.

So when she heard Barron say that she would live in this luxurious estate in Los Angeles during this time, she couldn’t help but feel a little unbelievable.

“Yes, I know it’s not convenient for your mother to come and take care of you, but don’t worry, I’ll arrange everything for you.”

Different from Barron’s other women, on the one hand, Barron really liked Fan Bingbing’s appearance in his previous life; on the other hand, Fan Bingbing’s identity, and the Tianhe Capital she founded with her identity, played a very important role in Barron’s future layout. Therefore, Barron would use various methods to firmly tie her to his side and form a close relationship through interests.

Fan Bingbing had also told her family about her pregnancy, but her younger brother was just six years old and was about to start elementary school in Beijing. Her parents would need to stay in Beijing to take care of the child. Her mother could only spare some time to accompany her for a while, and for most of the time, Fan Bingbing would need to stay here by herself.

Therefore, Barron would also arrange maids and bodyguards for her—she said she was going to Hollywood to study, which wasn’t completely an excuse. Just like Rebecca before, she really wanted to take this time in Los Angeles to systematically deepen her studies and learn some advanced experience from Hollywood.

Soon, there would be a dedicated English teacher to stay by her side to help her overcome the language barrier first.

After Fan Bingbing gave birth to the child and her body recovered, Barron would be able to arrange some roles in Hollywood movies for her. On the one hand, it could help her open up the international market and increase her popularity overseas, and she could take over the title of Gucci brand ambassador; on the other hand, it also made up for her previous excuse of “studying in Hollywood”, and her disappearance from the Chinese film and television circle during this time was also a matter of course.

“Wouldn’t it be too big here? After you leave, I’ll be living here by myself, it feels strange…”

Fan Bingbing was right. The Fleur de Lis estate, including the main house and the attached buildings, had more than 100 rooms in total, including 12 bedroom suites, 15 bathrooms, a staff dormitory that could accommodate 10 people, two kitchens, a screening room that could accommodate 50 people, three guard bedrooms, a garage with 9 parking spaces, etc…

Such a large estate might not be a big deal for Barron, the British Duke who was used to Chatsworth House with more than 300 rooms.

But Fan Bingbing wasn’t used to living like this. Ordinary people in China felt that living in a villa was big enough, but it was only three to five hundred square meters…

“It’s okay, baby, you’ll get used to it slowly.”

…

Before Barron left Los Angeles, he also met with Chen Fuyang, who had rushed over.

More than two and a half years had passed since Rich23 Capital acquired Agilent’s semiconductor business and renamed it Avago. During this time, under Chen Fuyang’s leadership, Avago’s business performance had become increasingly good.

In Barron’s previous life, Avago completed the handover of the acquisition of Avago at the end of 2005, and then in 2009, Chen Fuyang led Avago to be listed in the United States.

And now, Chen Fuyang said that he hoped Avago could try to go public with an IPO in the near future, because Avago’s performance had completely met the requirements for listing.

The difference came from Rich23 Capital’s completely different acquisition and management methods from those of the private equity funds KKR and Silver Lake Capital in his previous life.

Rich23 Capital’s acquisition of Avago was a full cash acquisition and did not involve financing—at that time, Rich23 Capital had sufficient funds and did not need to use leveraged acquisitions. Therefore, after the acquisition, Avago, that is, Agilent’s semiconductor business, was completely preserved, which also allowed them to get on the right track faster in their subsequent business development.

In the original timeline, the private equity funds KKR and Silver Lake Capital’s acquisition of Avago was, to put it bluntly, a “barbarians at the gate” style of acquisition. They acquired the company through leveraged financing, then restructured the assets, sold off unimportant businesses, and then tried their best to complete the relisting, and finally sold the stocks or sold the whole company again to obtain profits.

In Barron’s previous life in 2005, KKR joined hands with Silver Lake Capital to lead the acquisition of Agilent’s semiconductor business unit. The total cost of the transaction at that time was 2.715 billion US dollars, and the transaction price was 2.66 billion US dollars.

They were a consortium led by KKR and Silver Lake Capital, plus some other institutions, and directly invested 1.3 billion US dollars in the acquisition principal—of which 1.05 billion US dollars were common stock and 250 million US dollars were convertible preferred stock.

In addition to direct investment, the remaining funds came from debt financing, including the issuance of 1 billion US dollars in bonds in the American market, with a term of 8-10 years, and the interest rate was also very high, with a floating interest rate of 5.5 percentage points above the then Libor (London Interbank Offered Rate).

The Libor US dollar interest rate in the second half of 2005 was between 4-4.8%, so the interest rate on the bonds issued by KKR and Silver Lake Capital to acquire Avago was as high as about 10%, and the financing cost was not cheap.

In addition, they also obtained a 7.5 billion US dollar 7-year long-term loan and a 250 million US dollar 6-year revolving loan credit from the bank—these were only used for 475 million US dollars in long-term loans during the acquisition process.

Then, during and after the acquisition, the board of directors controlled by KKR and Silver Lake Capital quickly restructured and stripped off assets of Avago, selling off assets that were not closely related to its next development positioning, and quickly recovered funds.

For example, in October 2005, before the acquisition of Avago was completed (handover on December 1), an agreement was reached to sell the storage business to PMC, and the transaction was completed at the end of February 2006, earning 420 million US dollars after deducting costs.

In February 2006, they sold the printer-specific chip business to Marvell, and the transaction was completed in May 2006, earning 245 million US dollars after deducting costs—the transaction also included an excess profit sharing clause. If the sold business segment reached the set revenue target, the transferee Marvell would pay an additional transfer fee of no more than 35 million US dollars.

In November 2006, they sold the image sensor business to Micron for 53 million US dollars, and stipulated that if the performance indicators reached the expected target, Micron would pay an additional performance bonus of no more than 17 million US dollars.

In addition, Avago also packaged and sold the intellectual property rights related to the image sensor business to another company for 12 million US dollars.

Then in October 2007, they sold the infrared light business, earning 20 million US dollars.

Then during this period, Avago also used skillful capital operation techniques to continuously reduce financial costs and reduce the interest on bonds and loans that needed to be borne.

Through rapid asset stripping and debt restructuring, the financial cost expenditure pressure of Avago continued to improve, and the interest/debt interest expenditure decreased from 143 million US dollars in 2006 to 34 million US dollars in 2010, a very significant decrease.

Such an operation showed the superb capital operation skills of the management team and the acquirer.

Of course, Avago also needed to “pay for knowledge” for these capital operations—that is, pay high service fees to KKR and Silver Lake Capital. From the implementation of the merger to the public listing of Avago, the two funds collected about 120 million US dollars in various consulting fees and advisory fees from Avago.

Finally, it was Avago’s IPO listing, and the two funds began to “profit and exit”. The acquisition was completed in December 2005, and it took less than 4 years to complete the restructuring and listing. The two funds expected a return of more than 12 times. By 2012, the two funds had basically exited Avago.

Unlike them who “made a quick buck and left”, Barron bought Avago because he was more concerned about the synergistic effect of this semiconductor company, which would be in the top five in the future, on some of the industries he was laying out. Therefore, not only did he not cut its business after the acquisition, but he also carried out targeted acquisitions and strengthening of the related businesses of mobile phones, automotive sensors, and so on.

As for Chen Fuyang’s mention of the hope that Avago would IPO in the near future…

In fact, Barron didn’t really want Avago to go public so early in his heart, because the subprime mortgage crisis was about to come. In a little over a year, the subprime mortgage crisis would break out, and then Avago would definitely be affected.

However, he himself did not have much experience in the semiconductor business, and in the original timeline, Chen Fuyang also led Avago to acquire the semiconductor giant Broadcom through step-by-step capital operations after the listing…

Therefore, he still decided to trust Chen Fuyang’s judgment in this regard.

Chapter 485: Beginning to Reduce Holdings

Barron’s trust in Chen Fuyang also came from the outstanding achievements Chen Fuyang had made in managing Anhua Gao over the past two and a half years.

When Anhua Gao was first acquired, the company was actually in a state of loss—which was also the reason why Agilent agreed to sell their semiconductor business back then—Anhua Gao was losing over 250 million US dollars annually.

However, now, in the past 12 months, Anhua Gao’s net profit has exceeded 500 million US dollars!

If in his previous life, Anhua Gao had achieved profitability by selling off some businesses that didn’t align with their development direction at the time or weren’t very profitable, through financial restructuring, then now, while maintaining some businesses that don’t seem very promising at the moment, but are important for future layout, Chen Fuyang was able to transform Anhua Gao from an annual loss of over 250 million US dollars to an annual profit of over 500 million US dollars, which also demonstrates this person’s abilities.

If viewed solely from the financial data, Anhua Gao indeed meets the conditions for going public.

Moreover, according to Chen Fuyang, he was also eyeing another semiconductor company—LSI, a memory chip company in San Jose, Silicon Valley. However, this company’s market capitalization and annual revenue were both higher than Anhua Gao’s. Chen Fuyang also hoped to increase Anhua Gao’s market capitalization through an IPO, and then attempt to acquire this company.

Speaking of which, in Barron’s previous life, Chen Fuyang was most adept at conducting acquisitions through such capital operations, using the strategy of a snake swallowing an elephant, whether it was for LSI or for the future Broadcom.

In that case, Barron decided to support his idea.

……

“As you requested, we have been reducing our holdings in listed company shares, but because we need to consider market sentiment, the proportion of the reduction will not be too high.”

After returning to London, Barron went to the DS Financial Centre in the City, and Daisy reported to him on the share reduction of the DS Group.

Currently, they were mainly reducing the shares held by DS Holdings, Caesar Fund, and Global Industrial Investment Fund in listed companies including the London Stock Exchange, O2 Telecom, SEM Group, and Argos Retail Group.

Barron knew that the subprime mortgage crisis was about to arrive. Affected by this financial crisis, global stock markets would experience a significant decline, and their listed companies were no exception. Therefore, before that, their holding companies and funds would gradually begin to reduce their holdings.

However, because both Nasdaq and the London Stock Exchange stipulated that major shareholders of listed companies needed to make announcements when reducing their holdings, the proportion of each reduction would not be too high, otherwise, it would affect the sentiment of other investors and trigger a decline in stock prices.

Moreover, their reductions also needed to provide sufficient reasons. For example, when reducing shares in companies like O2 Telecom and the London Stock Exchange, the reasons they gave were to meet the exchange’s requirements for the proportion of circulating shares, or the need to raise funds for other investment projects, and so on…

This was also the reason why they had already started reducing their holdings more than a year before the outbreak of the subprime mortgage crisis.

After all, at this rate, it was impossible to complete the reduction in a short period of time when the economic crisis was about to erupt; that would be too deliberate.

And they would not reduce their holdings to the point where the remaining shareholding ratio was too low, as that would make it easy for other institutions to take advantage and seize the opportunity—except for Woaw Technology, which held Class A shares with ten times the voting rights, they would maintain a relatively safe proportion of shares in other companies.

In this way, the funds they obtained through the reduction could also be invested in corresponding short selling of global assets. After the subprime mortgage crisis broke out, they would not only have substantial profits, but also be able to increase their holdings back to the original share ratio when stock prices were at their lowest.

In fact, not only DS Holdings and those industrial investment funds, but also mutual funds such as the Mars Fund had already formulated plans to begin reducing some stocks. These were all done to cope with the upcoming subprime mortgage crisis.

However, because the Mars Fund held a wide variety of stocks, and each stock would not account for too large a proportion, there was no need to be as cautious as industrial investment funds; they could completely start reducing their holdings in the second half of next year.

……

“I heard you’re planning to buy Bentley?”

Barron met with the Prince of Wales at a private club on the outskirts of the city. After swinging the golf club in his hand, the Crown Prince casually asked.

“Yes, Your Highness, it shouldn’t be long before this matter is confirmed.”

After taking a look, Barron hit the ball…

“Beautiful. I support you in doing this, Barron. Our automotive industry once had its glory, but now, unfortunately, it has fallen into foreign hands. If we can bring back some brands and develop them, it will be the glory of the entire British Isles.”

“It won’t be easy to achieve this…”

Barron smiled and said to the Crown Prince:

“Sometimes, I also need the help of the royal family.”

“Oh? If it’s within our power, Barron, we will help.”

In the negotiations with Volkswagen Group—although the two sides had not yet formally negotiated the acquisition agreement, in fact, this process had been ongoing, but currently, the one they were dealing with was mainly Volkswagen Group’s CEO, Bernd Pischetsrieder.

Pischetsrieder said that Caesar Fund needed to raise its offer and agree to add the German Dresden factory, or another German factory, to the acquisition list to help him gain an advantage in the board’s discussion on the sale of the Bentley brand.

What Barron knew was that Pischetsrieder was likely to reach a certain compromise with the Piëch side, that is, to retain the Dresden factory—because the glass-walled factory there was mainly used to produce the Phaeton, which was a project that Piëch had strongly advocated for, and although it had been losing money, when facing different opinions, it was like this, requiring mutual compromise.

But Pischetsrieder still needed to reduce a portion of Volkswagen Group’s burden on German factories through this sale of the Bentley brand, so he hoped to add at least one German car factory to this acquisition agreement. He mainly hoped to reduce Volkswagen Group’s German car workers and lower wage expenses through the sale of German factories…

You must know that the wages of German car workers are arguably the highest in the global automotive industry—currently, the average wage of Chinese car workers is often only 1/25th of German workers’!

Using the money from selling the factory, and spending lower labor costs, to build new car factories in China, wouldn’t that be great?

Chapter 486: Nanjing Automobile Group

However, Baron didn’t need to make such a huge concession for nothing. Because acquiring the next factory wasn’t as simple as taking over the employees of those factories, it also involved the retirement pensions of employees who were approaching retirement age. Furthermore, if he wanted to increase the price, there was still room for negotiation, and they would definitely need the Volkswagen Group to compensate in other areas.

Currently, the Caesar Foundation was negotiating with both the Volkswagen Group and Ford Motor Company, and it depended on which side could reach an agreement first.

At the same time, Li Lu, who had returned to China, was also making good progress. She quickly sent over a list of domestic automobile manufacturers in China, including a list of car brands that were potential acquisition targets.

Among them were those with automobile production licenses and those who were producing cars without a license – in fact, in the early days, it was difficult for private car brands to obtain this qualification. Including the later well-known Chinese domestic car brands Chery and Geely, at the beginning, they manufactured cars and “secretly” sold them without obtaining this qualification.

Of course, if Tianhe Capital wanted to acquire a company, it would definitely choose a company with an automobile production license.

In this list, there were the already acquired Hongxing Automobile, Tianma Automobile, which wasn’t very profitable, and Songliao Automobile, a listed company, and other small-scale car companies…

However, Baron didn’t pay much attention to all of this, but instead set his sights on…

“What? You want to acquire Nanjing Automobile?”

“Yes, in terms of both scale and technical strength, Nanjing Automobile Group is the most suitable one.”

Hearing Baron’s affirmative words, Li Lu hesitated for a moment on the phone and said:

“But that probably won’t be easy, because Nanjing Automobile is currently in conflict with SAIC Motor Corporation, which is the number one automobile group in China. Moreover, this company is now a state-owned enterprise under the jurisdiction of Jiangsu Province. With their scale, it probably won’t be so easy to be acquired…”

“We have to try. Nanjing Automobile’s situation is very bad right now, and in the conflict with SAIC, they don’t have the upper hand, so it’s still possible for them to accept the acquisition…”

There was still one thing Baron didn’t say directly. After all, with Nanjing Automobile’s glorious history, being acquired by Tianhe Capital, an “outsider,” would be slightly easier to accept than being ultimately acquired by SAIC at a low price.

Nanjing Automobile once manufactured China’s first light truck, and was known as SAIC’s “elder brother” – when SAIC was still manufacturing tractors, Nanjing Automobile’s trucks were already selling well across the country.

In the field of buses, Nanjing Automobile also had a joint venture, Nanjing Iveco, which was very famous in China.

However, after entering the field of cars, Nanjing Automobile failed miserably in developing small cars. The sales of its various car models never reached expectations and all ended in failure.

The conflict between Nanjing Automobile and SAIC was because last year, Nanjing Automobile, due to its failure in the car field, staked everything and acquired the bankrupt British traditional car brand Rover for 53 million pounds, inheriting all its assets and technology, including the MG brand.

Before Nanjing Automobile acquired Rover, SAIC had already spent 67 million pounds to acquire the complete intellectual property rights and technical platform of Rover 75, 25 and other models. SAIC used this authorization to establish the Roewe brand.

In other words, Rover sold itself to two buyers, selling itself twice, which led to unclear intellectual property rights, and the conflict between Nanjing Automobile and SAIC arose.

However, although Nanjing Automobile was SAIC’s “elder brother” in terms of seniority, things were different now.

First of all, this acquisition of Rover had hurt Nanjing Automobile. Because it spent 53 million pounds to acquire Rover on the surface, but in reality, it invested 3 billion Chinese yuan in operating this acquisition, and it would still need tens of billions of Chinese yuan to digest it in the later stage…

But the market sales of Nanjing Automobile’s successively launched Ingall, Xinyatu, Fiat (the products of Nanjing Automobile’s joint venture Nanjing Fiat), and even the MG launched after the acquisition of Rover were not satisfactory.

This led to Nanjing Automobile falling into a financial predicament at this time, and it was already overstretched in the research and development of cars.

And SAIC had become the leading car manufacturer in China, and it was in an advantageous position in the competition between the two companies.

Baron knew that the conflict between the two sides would eventually end with SAIC’s merger of Nanjing Automobile at the end of 2007 in the original timeline, but now, he was ready to join the battle and preemptively acquire Nanjing Automobile from SAIC.

Of course, he also knew that this operation wouldn’t be easy. After all, both SAIC and Nanjing Automobile belonged to state-owned enterprises in China. When the upper levels didn’t want the two sides to fight and consume each other, a little push would easily achieve the merger and reorganization.

But he also knew that as early as during the Spring Festival in 2003, the National Development and Reform Commission of China had brought the leaders of SAIC and Nanjing Automobile together, hoping that the two sides would achieve a reorganization, but it ultimately came to nothing.

This showed that Nanjing Automobile itself didn’t want to be swallowed up by SAIC. Later, in 2007, they were still merged into SAIC, also because they had really staked everything and acquired the Rover company. After launching the MG3, MG7 and other car products, the sales in the first year after the products were put on the market were only a pitiful three thousand units. This failure also led to Nanjing Automobile’s lack of strength, and finally they could only obey the arrangement.

In addition, the main reason for the upper levels to promote the merger of SAIC and Nanjing Automobile, or for SAIC to actively merge Nanjing Automobile, was still the conflict over the intellectual property rights of the Rover company between the two sides.

At the beginning, SAIC bought the intellectual property rights of Rover 25, 75 models and engines for 67 million pounds, and Nanjing Automobile acquired Rover, MG, and its engine supplier Powertrain for 50 million pounds.

In the following two years, SAIC and Nanjing Automobile respectively launched two independent brand products, SAIC Roewe and Nanjing MG, on the Rover platform.

These two cars came from the same source, and the two companies also emphasized their British style in marketing. It could be said that they were constantly at odds with each other, and the trend of internal consumption was obvious.

But if Baron’s acquisition of the British car brands of Ford Motor Company and the Volkswagen Group could be completed, then he would no longer need those brands and technologies of Rover cars, and he could completely reach an agreement with SAIC to transfer the “legacy” of the Rover company owned by Nanjing Automobile to the other party, and only need to acquire Nanjing Automobile Group.

Therefore, in this case, the acquisition of Nanjing Automobile Group was not out of the question.

After he had instructed Li Lu in this way, the CEO of Tianhe Capital began to contact Nanjing Automobile to start the acquisition of Nanjing Automobile Group.

Of course, if he wanted to really come up with a condition that could move the Jiangsu provincial government, which was the controlling shareholder of Nanjing Automobile Group, Baron would still need to provide assistance – for example, after Tianhe Capital acquired Nanjing Automobile Group, in addition to keeping the production base in Jiangsu Province and expanding its scale, it could also complete a localized joint venture project with a certain British luxury car brand.

Chapter 487: Premier League Broadcasting Rights

Last year, Barron had met with some outstanding students from the Devonshire International School in the Kolo Prairie Province during their study trip to London.

In August, as he had promised before, five outstanding students would receive his funding to continue their studies in London.

To be precise, it was actually six students, because Rami, the older sibling of the Palestinian brother and sister, still maintained the top spot among all the students in terms of academic performance. According to Barron’s agreement with him, his younger sister, Lavi, would also come to London with him.

These individuals would first undergo a month-long adaptation period here before going to their respective schools to continue their studies after the start of the term.

During this time, Barron once again met with them, had dinner with these children, and encouraged them.

It could be said that these children, who were raised with Barron’s funding and had always received “gratitude” education, had the most unwavering loyalty to the Devonshire family.

“Currently, we have completed the broadband equipment upgrade for regions including Ireland and the British Isles, but to date, BT still leads us in terms of user market share…”

In the conference room of O2 Telecom’s London headquarters, CEO Barry Trelease presented their development plan to Barron.

After O2 Telecom went public and obtained ample funds, they still invested these funds in infrastructure upgrades.

However, starting from the beginning of this year, BT launched their video platform and began to provide network video services to users. It was said that they would also launch IPTV services in the future.

To counter these services from BT, O2 Telecom decided to increase its investment in DailyVedio.com, using this video website as a foundation to provide video-on-demand services to users in the British Isles and the European market.

Initially, DailyVedio.com only existed as a video service provided by O2 Telecom to its broadband users. At that time, O2 Telecom and Digital UK each held 50% of its shares.

Later, after the Digital Future Investment Company joined, they injected capital into DailyVedio.com and acquired the shares held by Digital UK.

Currently, Digital Future holds 70% of the shares in DailyVedio.com, while O2 Telecom still maintains a 30% shareholding.

In the future, O2 Telecom will increase its investment in DailyVedio.com to increase its shareholding to 40%, and DailyVedio.com will not only be a video-sharing website for users, but will also use it as a foundation to provide video-on-demand services to users.

This also means that they will start purchasing a lot of film and television content to make it easier for users to watch—SEM Group has also reached an agreement with DailyVedio.com to provide content and share the revenue.

“The next season’s Premier League broadcasting rights, Sky Television will not be able to enjoy exclusively. At that time, O2 Telecom can support DailyVedio.com to compete for a portion of the broadcasting rights.”

Hearing Barron’s words, Barry Trelease frowned slightly and said:

“I’m afraid the price won’t be too low at that time, and we will also face fierce competition…”

“But if DailyVedio doesn’t participate in the competition, then BT Sport probably won’t miss this opportunity.”

BT Sport was the sports channel of the video platform launched by BT. Barron said this, and Barry Trelease immediately agreed. After all, the two sides were fighting fiercely in the broadband business, and O2 Telecom naturally couldn’t give BT Sport such an opportunity, allowing BT to gain more users through Premier League broadcasting.

It was estimated that the high-level executives of BT were probably feeling very subtle right now—after all, who would have thought that O2 Telecom, which had developed from the mobile communications business department that had been spun off from their company, had now become one of their biggest competitors.

The requirements of the European Commission for Competition, after the 2006-2007 season, the Premier League would no longer be allowed to sell the league’s live broadcast rights to only one television broadcaster.

This also meant that in the upcoming Premier League broadcasting rights tender next year, the Premier League would sell the broadcasting rights of the Premier League matches to at least two broadcasters.

This was because the relevant committee of the European Union believed that Sky Television’s exclusive control over the live broadcasting rights of the Premier League matches violated fair competition.

In fact, as early as the end of 2003, the European Commission for Competition had already issued a warning on this matter. At the time, under pressure, the Premier League reformed its sales methods when tendering for the 2004-2007 league broadcasting rights, increasing the number of live matches and dividing them into three levels for tendering.

However, Sky Television, with its deep pockets, still won the broadcasting rights for all levels for £1.024 billion, with only the BBC, as a public television station, obtaining the broadcasting rights for match highlights.

The European Union was very dissatisfied with this at the time and demanded that the Premier League break Sky Television’s monopoly—if the Premier League did not make concessions, the European Union would require the Premier League clubs to negotiate their television broadcasting rights themselves.

You must know that currently, the Premier League broadcasting rights are sold in a bundled manner, with the Premier League representing the 20 clubs to negotiate with the broadcasters.

Because if the clubs negotiated themselves, then apart from big-name teams such as Manchester United, Chelsea, and Arsenal, which were favored by the broadcasters, the television broadcasting revenue of other mid- and lower-level teams would be greatly affected.

But the problem came, if the Premier League made concessions and increased the number of broadcasters, then Sky Television would not be able to bid over £1 billion to purchase the broadcasting rights, and the revenue of each club would be greatly reduced, some even facing the predicament of bankruptcy.

At least the Premier League and those clubs thought so, so some clubs said at the time that if the European Union insisted on breaking Sky Television’s monopoly, they would take it to court.

The European Union did not want this matter to drag on for too long or even go to court. In Barron’s previous life, the final solution was that the European Union took the initiative to demand that Sky Television give up the live broadcasting rights of at least eight matches, and then the representatives of the Premier League clubs, after discussion, accepted the European Union’s compromise plan.

But now Barron certainly couldn’t see such a thing happen again, otherwise, although Sky Television wouldn’t be able to get the complete Premier League match broadcasting rights, it would still retain the exclusive broadcasting rights of most matches and still occupy the most users in the sports channel field.

Therefore, not only the SEM Group, but he also contacted BBC and other television stations to negotiate with the Premier League, putting forward two plans: either to split the Premier League matches in half, with at least two broadcasters each obtaining the exclusive broadcasting rights of one half; or to have all the match broadcasts obtained jointly by at least two broadcasters.

And they promised that no matter which plan, they would compete with a price no lower than Sky Television’s previous bid…

The last time, Sky Television’s bid for the four-year Premier League broadcasting rights was £1.024 billion, which meant that according to the plans of SEM Group and BBC, if two parties participated, the Premier League would receive at least £2.048 billion in revenue…

This point did indeed dispel the Premier League’s concerns, and the European Union was also very supportive of this plan, so even if Sky Television obtained one of the two broadcasters’ spots in the future, it was destined not to be able to monopolize the Premier League broadcasts.

The current situation was that everyone except Sky Television supported these plans, only Sky Television, it was estimated that they felt like they had been screwed…

Chapter 488: British Automotive Group

In early September, Barron once again arrived in Germany.

After more than three months, the interior decoration of the 330-foot superyacht he had purchased before the World Cup was finally completed. The interior design, refined by Alexander Michael, who had designed the “Devonshire Collection” for the Gucci Group, left Barron extremely satisfied.

Barron would then take this superyacht, which he had named “Emperor Caesar,” on its maiden voyage, entering the English Channel from the North Sea, first stopping at Le Havre, France, and then turning back towards the mouth of the Thames River, docking in London.

However, before Barron left Germany, he went to Wolfsburg to meet with the CEO of Volkswagen Group, Bernd Pischetsrieder.

As of now, the acquisition of the Bentley brand by the Caesar Foundation finally had a result. The board of directors of the Volkswagen Group, after reaching a new acquisition agreement, finally approved the deal.

In the final agreement, the Caesar Foundation would pay 2.5 billion pounds to acquire the Bentley brand, as well as the British Crewe factory and a car factory in Wolfsburg, Germany.

However, of the 2.5 billion pounds that the Caesar Foundation needed to pay to the Volkswagen Group, 350 million pounds would be a prepayment for the purchase of W12 engines from the Volkswagen Group after the acquisition of the Bentley brand.

Currently, the highest-end car engines include the V12 engines of Mercedes-Benz and BMW brands, and the W12 engine of the Volkswagen Group.

Before this, the Bentley brand used the W12 engine provided by the Volkswagen Group. Therefore, to ensure the smooth production of the Bentley brand in the future, they still needed to purchase W12 engines from the Volkswagen Group. This time, the agreement included the confirmation of these engine purchase orders.

Of course, the Volkswagen Group could also gain stable revenue from this and get rid of the burden of a German car factory. These were all reasons that Pischetsrieder could use to convince the board of directors, especially Ferdinand Piëch.

Initially, Pischetsrieder had prepared to sell the Dresden factory, which was used to produce the Phaeton model, to the Caesar Foundation. In this relatively new factory, in which the Volkswagen Group had invested nearly 200 million euros, more than 800 employees could produce a maximum of 150 Phaeton models per day.

However, Piëch held a firm opposing opinion on selling the Dresden factory. To appease him, Pischetsrieder changed the factory for sale to another car factory in Wolfsburg, which was also a complete vehicle assembly factory.

Although the labor costs of this German factory would be a burden, the same number of car workers were also needed to reorganize the Bentley brand. Therefore, they ultimately decided to “take over” from the Volkswagen Group.

Considering that these personnel could provide technology transfer to some newly established car production factories in China and other places, this was not so difficult to accept.

After the agreement was signed, it meant that the Bentley brand officially began the process of separating from the Volkswagen Group and belonging to the Caesar Foundation.

After this news began to spread, it not only became a hot topic in Britain, but also put some pressure on the Ford Motor Company.

After entering September, the new CEO of Ford Motor Company, Alan Mulally, had taken office. His primary task after taking office was to plan for the future development of Ford Motor Company.

What he put forward was the “One Ford” strategy, preparing to reorganize the company, optimize production capacity, and achieve profitability, adjust the product structure and accelerate the development of new models, and accelerate the concentration of resources on the core Ford brand building.

Alan Mulally’s goal was to enable Ford Motor Company to manufacture more models suitable for the global market from a few core platforms, thereby further reducing costs and improving the commonality of parts and systems.

The implication was that some other brands besides the Ford brand were within the scope of being cut.

Alan Mulally’s plan was also supported by Bill Ford. Therefore, the sale of Aston Martin, and even more brands, was already within expectations, it was just a matter of time.

Thus, the Caesar Foundation’s negotiations with them on the acquisition of those three British car brands were left with the final price issue.

The initial offer of the Caesar Foundation for the three car brands, including Aston Martin, Jaguar, and Land Rover, was 4 billion US dollars, but Ford Motor Company believed that it could not be lower than 5 billion US dollars.

On this point, the two sides had never reached an agreement, and neither side made any concessions.

Even after the Caesar Foundation reached an agreement with the Volkswagen Group on the acquisition of the Bentley brand, the Caesar Foundation even reduced its contact with Ford Motor Company, and began to be less active in the acquisition of those three brands.

You must know that although after the news of Ford Motor Company’s intention to sell Aston Martin was released, including the Caesar Foundation’s offer for it, nearly 30 companies or institutions had shown interest in this, and had contacted Ford Motor Company, and even included the luxury brand group LVMH Group.

But the offers of these companies and institutions could not satisfy Ford Motor Company, and even as Barron had said to Bill Ford, the Caesar Foundation was already the most sincere among them.

Therefore, after such a situation appeared, Ford Motor Company was also a little apprehensive. They took the initiative compared to before, indicating that they could package Aston Martin, Jaguar, and Land Rover for sale, but the price of 4 billion US dollars was unacceptable.

But the Caesar Foundation did not raise the price as they wished, but began to talk to Ford Motor Company about the pension fund issues of the employees of these three brands.

You must know that, like the Caesar Foundation’s acquisition of the German factory of the Volkswagen Group, they would at most bear the funding of the pension funds of the employees in the process after their acquisition. Those who had already retired belonged to the Volkswagen Group, and the employees’ pension fund of the Volkswagen Group needed to bear part of the pension.

And the acquisition of Ford Motor Company’s Aston Martin, Jaguar, and Land Rover brands was different, because these brands all belonged to Ford Motor Company’s subsidiaries, and the pensions of those who had already retired were borne by the employees’ pension funds of these three companies. If the Caesar Foundation completed the acquisition, then the Caesar Foundation would need to be responsible.

The meaning of the Caesar Foundation was very simple: I can raise the price, but you need to inject capital into the pension funds of the retired employees of these companies. After all, the people retired before.

After going back and forth like this, the two sides finally reached an agreement – the Caesar Foundation would raise the acquisition offer to 4.5 billion US dollars. At the same time, Ford Motor Company needed to inject a total of 350 million US dollars into the employees’ pension funds of the three companies to provide pension guarantees for the employees who retired during their ownership of these three brands.

At this point, the Caesar Foundation, after paying a total of nearly 9 billion US dollars (2.5 billion pounds + 4.5 billion US dollars), finally completed the acquisition of the four car brands originating from Britain: Bentley, Aston Martin, Jaguar, and Land Rover.

This news also made the entire Britain boil.

Correspondingly, the Caesar Foundation’s acquisition this time brought the four British car brands back to Britain, and also gained the support of the government and local areas, and in their negotiations, obtained a series of preferential policies including tax cuts and subsidies.

After acquiring these brands, the Caesar Foundation merged them and formed the British Automotive Group, with the four brands under its jurisdiction being Bentley, Aston Martin, Jaguar, and Land Rover.

Chapter 489: Flagship Model

Although the four British brands, Bentley, Aston Martin, Jaguar, and Land Rover, were combined into the British Automotive Group, how to truly integrate these brands was the biggest problem facing the British Automotive Group at this time.

To this end, Baron brought in Fandal Hawke, who had rich experience in the automotive field, to serve as the CEO of the British Automotive Group.

The first challenge Fandal needed to face was to reshape the development positioning of each brand under the British Automotive Group, and to complete the production and supply chain system of these brands, so as to reduce resource waste in these processes.

First of all, Bentley. There was no doubt that the brands owned by the British Group at this time could all be called luxury car brands, but among these brands, Bentley was a top luxury car brand.

Why did the Volkswagen Group have to buy Rolls-Royce-Bentley back then? It was because these two brands could be said to be the ceiling of global luxury car brands…

In the original timeline, Volkswagen got Bentley, BMW got Rolls-Royce, and Daimler (Mercedes-Benz), the last of the three major German automakers, had no choice but to revive the Maybach brand to compete with Bentley and Rolls-Royce.

Therefore, Bentley’s positioning in the British Automotive Group was that of a luxury car among luxury cars, and it would continue to benchmark Rolls-Royce.

It was worth mentioning that, speaking of Rolls-Royce, it seemed to give people the feeling that this was the royal brand of the British royal family—this was not bad. Previously, the British royal family’s cars had always been produced at the Crewe factory of Rolls-Royce.

But after Rolls-Royce and Bentley were acquired by BMW and Volkswagen respectively, BMW got the Rolls-Royce brand, while the original production factory of Rolls-Royce-Bentley—the Crewe factory, belonged to the Bentley brand.

Therefore, starting from 2002, Bentley had replaced Rolls-Royce as the only designated car brand of the British royal family, and became the car for the Queen’s 50th anniversary celebration.

This was also something that Bentley could use in the future competition with Rolls-Royce for top luxury car brands.

What Baron required was that Bentley needed to launch a new flagship model in the shortest possible time to replace their current flagship model, the Bentley Arnage.

The reason for this was not complicated. The Bentley Arnage was the flagship model of Bentley’s four-door luxury sedan, launched on April 26, 1998, in Le Mans, and its name came from the famous “Arnage” corner of the Le Mans circuit.

At the same time, the Bentley Arnage was a derivative model of the Rolls-Royce Silver Seraph, with the same platform and exterior design.

This had to start from when Bentley was acquired by Rolls-Royce.

In fact, at the beginning, the establishment of the Bentley brand was the result of its founder’s pursuit of performance and speed. The first Bentley cars once broke many speed records, but after the launch of its mass-produced cars, because the price was too high, the sales were not ideal, coupled with the economic crisis at the time, which caused huge losses and debts, and it was unfortunately acquired by Rolls-Royce.

After Rolls-Royce acquired Bentley, almost all the models launched by Bentley were copies of a certain Rolls-Royce model. It could be said that except for the car logo and the hood, everything else was exactly the same, but the price of the same Bentley model would be lower than that of the same Rolls-Royce model…

This gave people the feeling that Bentley was not as high-end as Rolls-Royce.

Bentley needed to make changes in order to compete with Rolls-Royce in the future. First of all, it needed to abandon the almost identical exterior style with Rolls-Royce and return to Bentley’s excellent tradition and its eager pursuit of power and speed.

In this way, the new flagship model of Bentley, which would have been launched in 2010, was also named after the legendary corner of the French Le Mans circuit—the Bentley Mulsanne—which would be launched ahead of schedule.

According to Baron’s requirements, the new flagship Bentley Mulsanne must be magnificent and have the most powerful engine.

He required that the luxury extended version of the Mulsanne must be more than 6 meters long, and use a W12 engine, and the luxury version would be purely handmade, and it would become the car of the royal family and himself.

In addition, in terms of coupes and SUVs, Bentley would also continue to launch their main models, such as the Continental and the Bentayga…

Baron would no longer allow Bentley to lower its price again, as he said to Fandal:

“As long as Bentley still belongs to me, then no model with a price lower than 500,000 pounds is allowed to appear!”

If the brand luxury of the British Automotive Group were to be ranked, it would definitely be Bentley, Aston Martin, and Jaguar/Land Rover.

Aston Martin would still focus on supercars, but it would also launch an SUV model that would benchmark the Porsche Cayenne—unlike young people who like supercars, many middle-aged wealthy people are more inclined to SUVs, and Aston Martin should also get involved in this market.

Especially in the Chinese market, looking at how well the Cayenne sells, one can know how big this market is.

As for Jaguar and Land Rover, they would also benchmark brands like Mercedes-Benz, BMW, and Audi. The difference was that Jaguar would mainly launch sedan models in the future, while Land Rover would mainly launch SUVs.

After the new models of these brands of the British Automotive Group were launched, Baron’s own fleet would also be completely replaced with the brands under his control, personally “advertising” for these brands.

At that time, his own car would definitely be the luxury extended version of the Bentley Mulsanne, and the bodyguards in front and behind would be a row of Land Rover Defenders.

……

“Your Grace, we’re about to dock.”

This time, accompanying Baron on the maiden voyage of the “Caesar the Great” was Rosie Huntington, the small model he had chosen on Dream Island at the beginning.

However, the current Rosie Huntington, with Baron, the Duke, as her backer, was no longer the timid little model she used to be. After getting many resources, she had already made a name for herself in the modeling industry.

She had the opportunity to participate in the annual Victoria’s Secret show, but she was also very sensible in rejecting that opportunity—she knew very well that her Duke had no strange hobbies in terms of women, and he would not like his woman to show up too much, let alone show more of other places…

Anyway, she now holds shares in some of the largest model agencies in Britain, and there was no need to care about this kind of opportunity from Victoria’s Secret like those models. Her life now was better and more comfortable than those supermodels.

Sure enough, after hearing Rosie’s words, Baron could already see the port in the distance from the window of the room.

This time, he was also going to meet with Ashley Webber in France to learn about the acquisition of shares in Hermès.

Chapter 490: Congratulations

“Everything needs to be handled with extreme care, Your Grace, we need to plan meticulously…”

That’s right, just as Ashley Webber said, their acquisition of Hermès this time wasn’t about funds or personnel, but solely about caution.

Even if they didn’t need to hold over 50% of the shares, the more the better…

Therefore, as far as Baron knew, much earlier, the LVMH Group had already secured nearly 5% of Hermès’s shares as a base…

This meant that even if they only held 46% of the shares, the Hermès family wouldn’t be able to gather over 50% of the shares to prevent the acquisition.

But while LVMH wouldn’t become an ally of the Hermès family, they also wouldn’t do Baron any favors. In fact, they were more likely to help the Hermès family fend off a takeover from the Gucci Group. Therefore, for Baron and his team, of course, the more shares they could own in Hermès, the better—before the Hermès family and the LVMH Group discovered everything.

According to Ashley Webber, they had already filled seven boxes and were currently filling the eighth box with candy…

In other words, the offshore companies connected to them already held over 35% of Hermès’s shares. This progress was already beyond reproach.

After all, everything needed to be done in secret. Even those who sold them shares, including some former Hermès shareholders who were members of the Hermès family, the people they contacted were completely different—especially those belonging to the Hermès family, who were contacted and transacted with by different institutions under various pretexts.

In the eyes of these people, it looked more like normal investment behavior by financial institutions.

If it weren’t like this, their acquisition of Hermès would not have had any chance of success.

Ashley Webber quietly came aboard the “Emperor Caesar,” and eventually left quietly.

Before the superyacht left France, Baron specially held a grand reception on the “Emperor Caesar.”

For this reception, he invited many prominent figures from the French political and business circles, including Bernard Arnault of the LVMH Group and his daughter Delphine Arnault, who graced the occasion with their presence.

“Congratulations, Your Grace, you have successfully acquired those British automotive brands.”

Bernard Arnault congratulated Baron.

“I also want to thank you for not putting too much effort into Aston Martin, Mr. Arnault.”

“Of course, Aston Martin is a very attractive brand, but what surprised me even more was that those Germans were actually willing to sell Bentley…”

Bernard’s words also indicated that when they participated in the competition for Aston Martin, LVMH hadn’t actually gone all out. After all, the LVMH Group’s main business was luxury goods, and the automotive industry wasn’t that easy to enter.

“That’s probably because I offered a price that was sincere. You know, Mr. Arnault, generally, people always believe that the brands of their own country are more valuable, just like me.”

“I’m different, Your Grace, I respect valuable brands from all countries. If one day you want to sell Gucci, then I will definitely offer you a price that you’ll be satisfied with.”

Hearing the other person’s words, Baron laughed:

“If there is such a day…”

…

“You did it, Baron, this is an exciting achievement.”

After returning to London, Baron also received congratulations from the Prince of Wales and the Duke of Westminster.

It’s no exaggeration to say that if Baron didn’t possess the title of Duke, just the achievement of bringing these British automotive brands back to Britain would be worthy of the Queen’s knighthood for him.

“Yes, Your Highness, I will definitely do it, for Great Britain…”

After Baron raised his glass, everyone drank together. Baron said: “But buying these brands is only the first step. The next step is to make them shine again, and that is a huge challenge.”

“We will spare no effort to help, Baron, as long as we can.”

The Crown Prince promised very generously.

Of course, the premise was that he could do it, and he also understood that Baron wouldn’t make things difficult for him…

“Thank you for your support, Your Highness. Bentley is about to launch a brand new flagship model, which will be the most luxurious sedan in the world. I hope that you can give us your valuable opinions after you’ve ridden it.”

“No problem, I believe that will be an excellent experience.”

Besides the Prince of Wales, the Duke of Westminster also expressed his support for Baron:

“If this car can be launched, Baron, I will order one immediately.”

“Thank you, Mr. Grosvenor, you will definitely be among our most prioritized guests.”

Their meeting this time, besides discussing the affairs of the British Automotive Group, also touched upon the new Prime Minister’s upcoming visit.

Last month, Brown visited the United States. Although Baron didn’t accompany him on that trip, he participated in some of the activities.

After the visit to the United States, Brown also confirmed the next destination during his stay in New York. This time, Baron would still go along.

“You will also go with the Prime Minister, right, Baron.”

“Yes, Your Highness, China is a very important market, and its importance is growing, especially after the British Automotive Group was established. The market there is one that no brand can ignore. I need to rely on the Chinese market to revitalize the British automotive industry.”

This time, in addition to Brown and Baron, Prince Andrew would also go on behalf of the Royal Family.

And it wasn’t just Baron. He would be bringing the management of the Caesar Foundation, SEM Group, O2 Telecom, United Energy Group, and the British Automotive Group, as members of the British business delegation, to China.

The two sides were destined to reach a series of economic collaborations, and these companies would also collaborate with relevant Chinese enterprises.

It can be said that the scale of this visit was very large. As an important member, Baron was also destined to meet with some big shots.

…

“Do you need to bring George along? Darling.”

Bonnie had now returned to the company, but this time Baron went to China, and she, as the Duchess, would accompany him—after all, there would be many important occasions, and it would be more appropriate to bring the wife along.

“That’s not necessary. It’s mainly the few days in Beijing, a maximum of one week. After that, you can take a plane back first. It won’t be a big problem for someone else to take care of our son during this time.”

George was only four or five months old now, so Bonnie herself didn’t want her son to be too troubled. After hearing Baron’s arrangements, she immediately agreed.

Chapter 491: Cavendish Art Museum

On September 15th, 2006, a special plane from England landed at the Capital International Airport.

Brown began his visit on this day.

A few minutes later, the Devonshire, carrying Baron, also landed here. He didn’t travel on the same plane as Brown—in fact, this visit included not only the British Minister for Trade, Investment and Reform, the Minister of State for Trade, Investment and Reform, and the Chief Executive of the Trade and Investment Agency, but also over thirty representatives from British enterprises.

Well, and Prince Andrew, representing the royal family, but this royal family member also didn’t squeeze onto Brown’s special plane, instead traveling on the Devonshire with the management of the Kaiser Foundation, United Energy Group, and British Automobile Group.

Baron also didn’t attend the welcome ceremony for Brown at the airport. Instead, he kept a low profile, and after the Devonshire landed, he went directly to the motorcade. Under the escort of police cars, they drove towards the state guesthouse.

Different from before, the motorcade departing from the Devonshire now consisted of two Land Rover Defenders in the front and back, plus two extended Bentley Arnage painted with the Devonshire family crest in the middle—after the establishment of the British Automobile Group, Baron had immediately changed his car to a Bentley.

Before this, Bonnie had never been to Beijing—although Baron had been here more than once, he was always accompanied by Ivant or the Hearst sisters when he came here before, and Bonnie had been with him to Shanghai—so now, sitting in the car, looking at the scenery of Beijing through the car window, Bonnie’s eyes couldn’t hide her curiosity.

“Does this place seem very different from your previous impression?”

Seeing her reaction, Baron asked with a smile.

“Yes, darling. I’ve only seen pictures of Beijing in some reports and documentaries before. How should I put it? Maybe it’s because of the filter, or maybe Beijing has developed rapidly. It feels familiar yet strange…”

Bonnie’s words also expressed her feelings. Just like when the motorcade passed Tiananmen Square, the iconic scenery here was familiar to many people who had never been to China. But familiar was familiar, it was one thing in the “death filter” of the BBC and other media, and it was another feeling to see it with her own eyes.

And often, those media outlets wouldn’t broadcast the shots of the modern buildings in Beijing when reporting on it.

This is also why, starting from the Beijing Olympics, more people saw the modern side of China and re-recognized China’s development—those who have the economic ability to visit in person are a minority, no matter where in the world. When media reports are controlled by the West, it can really create an information cocoon for ordinary people.

Every place has its good side and its bad side. Taking out any one side alone is not objective enough.

It can be said that Brown’s itinerary this time was quite tight. He would visit here for three days, two days in Beijing, and the last day in Shanghai. After that, he would leave China and go to his next destination, India.

According to the itinerary, Baron and Prince Andrew would also accompany Brown to India three days later.

However, most of his management would stay in China to follow up on subsequent cooperation matters.

Baron didn’t participate in much of Brown’s itinerary in Beijing, only attending the ceremony where the two sides would sign a series of economic contracts at the end.

But during this period, he and his wife, Bonnie, were also received separately by a Chinese leader.

After all, his identity in this visiting delegation was special. Not only was he a British Duke, but he also had a large amount of investment in China—the contract amount related to him in this economic cooperation accounted for more than 60% of the total amount, making him a very important figure.

Among them, Baron and Bonnie also attended a ceremony where he, on behalf of the Devonshire Family Trust, would donate a batch of cultural relics to the Palace Museum free of charge. These cultural relics, totaling more than 2,000 pieces, included some priceless treasures.

These cultural relics, some came from the Devonshire family’s collection, and the other part was purchased by Baron’s commission to Catherine Neville’s father from various places in Europe—some of them were even antiques purchased from the British Museum and the Louvre.

During this ceremony, Baron gave a short speech. He stated that this was not a one-time action. In the future, the Devonshire Family Trust would continue to be committed to building friendly relations between the two countries. As part of this donation activity, the Devonshire Family Trust would also contribute 20 million pounds to build a Cavendish Art Museum in Beijing. Most of these cultural relics would be exhibited to the public in this art museum.

In addition, the Devonshire Family Trust would also cooperate with the Palace Museum. In the future, some precious artworks, cultural relics, and books treasured in Chatsworth House would be exhibited in the Cavendish Art Museum.

It can be said that, at this time, Baron’s actions on behalf of the Devonshire family earned them a lot of goodwill in China.

Later, when the economic and trade cooperation agreement was signed by both sides, the CEOs under Baron reached a series of collaborations with relevant Chinese enterprises.

Including the United Energy Group and China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) would cooperate to jointly invest in the construction of a super-large refining and chemical project in Guangxi Province, on the coast of China.

This refining and chemical project would include ten sets of refining units, such as ten million tons of distillation and two million tons of hydrocracking, eleven sets of chemical units, such as one million tons of ethylene, nine hundred thousand tons of polyethylene, and five hundred and fifty thousand tons of polypropylene, as well as public utilities. The refining and chemical units of this project would be centrally controlled and of world-class scale, adopting the world’s most advanced technology. The refined oil products would all meet the Euro IV standard, and most of the chemical products would be high-performance products.

The total investment of this refining and chemical project would reach 30 billion Chinese Yuan, which would be jointly funded by the United Energy Group and CNPC. CNPC would hold 51% of its shares, and the United Energy Group would hold 49% of its shares.

And the two sides would also cooperate in the oil and gas production area of the United Energy Group in Indonesia. The United Energy Group would hire CNPC’s drilling platform to drill and exploit oil and gas resources. The crude oil produced would mainly be transported to this oil refining and chemical base in Guangxi Province for further refining and chemical processing.

This cooperation project is the highlight of this economic and trade cooperation between the two sides, and it has attracted the attention of the senior levels of both sides, representing a cooperation between China and England in the field of energy.

Chapter 492: 250% Return

In addition, the British Automotive Group will jointly invest with Tianhe Capital to establish Tianhe Yingqi Sales and Service Company, with both parties holding 50% of the shares.

Tianhe Yingqi will obtain the distribution rights in China for Bentley, Aston Martin, Jaguar, and Land Rover, which are under the Yingqi Group. Tianhe Yingqi will invest to acquire the previous dealers of these brands in China, and will build new Tianhe Yingqi 4S stores in more cities in the future to expand the sales scope of these car brands in China.

At the same time, Tianhe Yingqi will also be responsible for the promotion and marketing of the above-mentioned brands in China.

Currently, Tianhe Capital is still negotiating with Jiangsu Province regarding the acquisition of Nanjing Automobile. This matter is naturally inconvenient for Baron to come forward, because Tianhe Capital is a Chinese company…

However, through this cooperation between Tianhe Capital and British Automotive, it can also demonstrate the unusual relationship between Tianhe Capital and the British Automotive Group, which can provide some assistance for its acquisition.

In addition to these, the agreements signed this time also include O2 Telecom cooperating with Mobile Company in its global business, providing mobile communication services for its Chinese users’ overseas communications, as well as overseas personnel in China.

SEM Group will also reach a series of cooperation agreements with CCTV, Dragon TV, and other television stations on program introduction and copyright purchase.

Finally, Argos Holdings will complete the acquisition of the remaining shares held by the family of Su Zengfu, the founder of Supor Company, and will privatize and delist Supor Company, and invest in building a new production factory in China. In addition to continuing to use the Supor trademark in China, in the European market, the kitchen appliances sold through the Argos retail group will be sold under the Argos brand.

Next, Baron, along with Brown, arrived in India.

Compared to when he was in China, Baron was very low-key in India, only attending some reception parties and did not conduct too much business negotiation.

Except for a part of the cooperation with related enterprises in India regarding the export of oil and gas products by the United Energy Group, he did not have much interest in other investments in India.

After all, the business environment in India… you know.

Even many American companies have suffered setbacks here, and the investment in India eventually became India’s assets…

Baron did not think his luck was that good.

His attitude towards India was that financial cooperation was possible, and the Indian stock market performance was also not bad for a period of time; doing business was also possible, but the other party needed to pay first and then deliver the goods; as for industrial investment, forget about it.

…

When Baron left America at that time, Avago had already submitted an application for listing to the SEC and Nasdaq, officially starting the IPO listing process.

It seems that this process is relatively smooth. When Baron went directly to America from India, Avago had already started the pre-listing roadshow.

For this IPO listing, Avago will publicly issue 37.5 million shares of public stock, all of which are newly issued shares, accounting for 15% of the total capital after listing.

According to the agreement between Baron and Chen Fuyang at that time, if Avago Group could successfully IPO and list, Chen Fuyang could receive a reward of 4.25 million shares. These shares accounted for 2% of Avago’s shares before the IPO.

And after that, on the premise of being qualified to perform his duties, he will also receive an annual share reward of 2.25 million shares.

Therefore, after Avago’s listing, Rich23 Capital holds 208.25 million shares, accounting for 83.3%; Chen Fuyang holds 4.25 million shares, accounting for 1.7%.

The issue price of Avago’s stock is tentatively set between 32.5 and 34 US dollars. Currently, it seems that investors’ investment enthusiasm is relatively high. If calculated at 34 US dollars per share, Avago, which Rich23 Capital acquired for approximately 2 billion US dollars at the time, will have a market value of 8.5 billion US dollars. Rich23 Capital’s holdings will be worth 7.08 billion US dollars, and the return on investment will exceed 250%!

Of course, Rich23 Capital itself was a wholly-owned acquisition at the time, without using leverage, nor did it specifically “slim down” Avago…

Looking at it this way, compared to the original time and space, the private equity funds KKR and Silver Lake Capital, through capital operations, had a 12-fold return after they sold off their shares until Avago was listed, it was nothing.

“How do you feel, Dick.”

In New York, Baron met Chen Fuyang, the president of Rich23 Capital, and also the president and CEO of Avago. He seemed to be in good spirits.

“Great, Your Grace, Wall Street investors are very enthusiastic. I can feel that the current market sentiment is completely different from five years ago, or even three years ago. Coming to Wall Street, you can clearly smell the atmosphere of a bull market everywhere.”

Chen Fuyang shrugged and said to Baron:

“But I don’t know if it’s my illusion, I also feel a subtle sense of crisis. Perhaps deciding to let Avago go public now is the right choice. I believe the stock price after listing will be very optimistic.”

It has to be said that Chen Fuyang’s success in capital operations in his previous life did not seem to be without reason. Just through these words of his, the keen sense of smell for the financial situation, Baron secretly praised.

“I also think that now is the best time, but not only for Avago, it is also the same for other companies. Therefore, although it is a good opportunity for listing, it is not a good opportunity for expansion. I think we should first strengthen our own business.”

At their last meeting, Chen Fuyang had talked about his interest in LSI, a memory chip company in San Jose, Silicon Valley.

But as Baron said, the bull market atmosphere that is now pervading the market is not only effective for Avago, which is about to go public, but also for other companies - the market value of those companies will be estimated with the most optimistic attitude.

Therefore, relatively speaking, now is not a good time for acquisitions - often when a crisis comes, many companies are in financial crisis, which is the best opportunity for acquisitions.

Baron was a little worried that after obtaining the funds raised from the listing, Chen Fuyang would not be able to restrain himself and immediately launch an acquisition of LSI. Whether it would be successful is another matter, at least the acquisition price would be much higher.

The companies Baron acquired were somewhat different, because most of them were companies that he would not have a good opportunity to acquire later if he didn’t take the opportunity to acquire them now.

But as for LSI, Baron had some understanding, and there was no major capital supporting it behind the scenes, so it was the best opportunity to acquire it after the subprime mortgage crisis came, when the other party’s finances fell into difficulties.

Because the subprime mortgage crisis would have a huge impact on the entire American financial system, many banks were preoccupied with their own affairs, not to mention lending money to others during this period. Then, for the semiconductor industry, which has a great need for financing, if there is no strong capital support, it is inevitable that they will fall into difficulties.

“I understand, Your Grace, don’t worry.”

Hearing Baron’s words, Chen Fuyang nodded and said so.

Chapter 493: Paulson’s Loss

“According to our investigation, John Paulson’s Paulson & Co. hedge fund has raised some capital, initially as much as 150 million US dollars, and began shorting CDOs back in July…”

Ferron O’Neill, CEO of Black Swan Fund, said to Barron:

“This also means he shares the same view as us, except that he entered the market earlier. Currently, the American real estate market is still booming, and there are no signs of a downturn on the surface, so up until now, the Paulson & Co. hedge fund has been losing money on this.”

The size of the Black Swan Fund, which initially had a total of 100 million US dollars from IC Capital and Blue Valley Capital, each contributing 50 million US dollars, has now exceeded 4 billion US dollars after the two added an additional 2 billion US dollars each…

In fact, by now, the assets they control have exceeded 5 billion US dollars, because the initial funds were invested in real estate-related debt and stocks, as well as related financial loan industries, and they have made nearly 1 billion US dollars in paper profits during this period.

Just like Paulson & Co.’s hedge fund strategy, it is through a complex set of fund operation models, shorting subprime loan-related debt CDOs while acquiring the very cheap subprime loan insurance debt CDS…

Before this, the Black Swan Fund was long on CDOs, so unlike the continuous losses of Paulson & Co.’s hedge fund, they made profits on the opposite side.

The CDOs and CDS they mentioned are two types of bonds related to subprime loans, and this is also the main reason for the formation of the subprime mortgage crisis.

It would be very troublesome to explain these things. To put it in simpler terms, in the United States, home loans are divided into several tiers based on the borrower’s qualifications, and some borrowers have poor qualifications, so they can only use subprime loans with higher interest rates – and because of this, subprime loan borrowers have lower credit ratings, and the corresponding risks are higher.

But at the same time, banks and those lending institutions are not willing to bear too much risk, so what do they do? Of course, they use Wall Street’s core technology – various types of debt to offset the risk, or rather, to transfer the risk.

Just like when DS Capital acquired O2 Telecom, they made a high-interest financing of 5 billion British pounds from Barclays Bank and Goldman Sachs Group. At that time, these two banks sold most of the loans by issuing benchmarked debt. Under their joint operation, this type of bond could even be rated as a high-buy grade and had an interest rate far exceeding the market, so it was very popular.

The same is true in the subprime loan market. Wall Street financial institutions, including Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, and other investment banks, used those high-interest subprime loans as collateral to issue a bond called a CDO. They even used financial innovation to combine the originally high-risk subprime loan debt with some low-risk, high-credit bonds and, through certain means, improved the rating of this CDO debt.

So, in the eyes of some unsuspecting investors, CDOs are the highest-quality investment products, with high credit ratings and high interest rates. What are you waiting for? Buy them quickly.

As for CDS debt, it can be understood as a risk hedge for CDO debt, which is insurance purchased for those subprime loans, just like if you live in a place where earthquakes often occur, then you are more willing to buy insurance for your house and property. If you live in a place where earthquakes have never occurred, then almost everyone probably wouldn’t think of spending money to buy earthquake-related insurance.

Therefore, if the real estate market continues to boom, then house prices will continue to rise, and the price of CDOs will continue to rise, while the price of CDS will fall.

Conversely, the price of CDOs will fall, and the price of CDS will rise – because if house prices fall, those homebuyers who took out high-interest subprime loans may not be able to repay their loans and thus default.

Why is this the case?

Because the real estate market is so hot now, too many people are buying houses, and not just one – because house prices are constantly rising, and it’s too easy to get a loan. At the hottest moment of the real estate market, even in the UK, the loan-to-value ratio could reach 120%, which means if you buy a house for 1 million British pounds, the bank dares to lend you 1.2 million British pounds!

Not to mention in the United States, so many people are taking out loans in this crazy atmosphere, buying a house, then taking out more loans from the bank, and then buying a house, and then taking out loans…

As long as house prices continue to rise, this method is equivalent to applying leverage, which can generate several times, or even dozens of times, the return.

It’s like Ferron O’Neill told Barron about something, that is, after he came to the United States, he went to a showgirl club – well, the kind you’re thinking of, but don’t think too much, Ferron O’Neill was there to do research…

In the conversation, he found that even a showgirl in this club said she had already bought five houses… all using loans!

This shows how hot, or rather, how dangerous the US housing market is right now.

Although Barron knew that the subprime mortgage crisis wouldn’t begin to show its signs until nearly the end of this year, he was, after all, deeply involved in it, so in order to prevent any changes, the Black Swan Fund will begin to gradually withdraw from its long positions in the real estate and financial markets next month, and instead begin to do what Paulson & Co.’s hedge fund is doing now – short CDO debt and start buying CDS debt.

By then, it will be inevitable to bet against those big investment banks…

…

“How are you feeling lately, baby?”

Barron didn’t stay in New York for long and soon went to Los Angeles. At the Lis de Fleur Manor, he saw Fan Bingbing, who was still there.

“I’m fine. Although I’m showing a little bit now, I feel okay. I don’t have any major morning sickness. I wasn’t used to eating Western food before, but it’s much better after I changed to a Chinese chef.”

Fan Bingbing is now more than three months pregnant, and her belly is slightly protruding, but it’s not too obvious wearing a slightly loose dress.

During the time Barron was away, Fan Bingbing’s mother came over to stay with Fan Bingbing for two weeks.

Fan Bingbing also told her parents about her relationship with Barron. Although at first, her parents couldn’t accept that their daughter was preparing to give birth to a child for a “foreigner” without a proper title, Fan Bingbing has always been very independent. Seeing her daughter’s persistence, they could only accept it in the end.

Before this, Fan Bingbing’s mother also checked Barron’s information and knew that he was a British duke and very wealthy, ranking fourth on the global rich list.

But ultimately, they didn’t have much feeling about these things. After all, Fan Bingbing’s family has always been relatively wealthy – there’s no doubt about this. After all, in that era, being able to support her to study at an art school, even if they weren’t extremely rich, they were definitely much richer than the average person.

It wasn’t until Fan Bingbing’s mother came to Los Angeles and entered the Lis de Fleur Manor, looking at the vast and luxurious manor she had never seen before, and Fan Bingbing’s life at the time – the manor had more than 15 people serving her daily, including maids, chefs, a medical team, and bodyguards and drivers, all taking care of Fan Bingbing, who could be said to be receiving all-around care.

And these were all casually bought and arranged by the Duke.

At this time, Fan Bingbing’s mother had a deeper understanding of Barron’s status.

Now seeing her daughter being taken care of so well, and Barron giving her solid security, she was finally able to slowly accept Fan Bingbing’s choice.

Chapter 494: Joint Venture

Just as Barron was in Los Angeles with Fan Bingbing and Rebecca, he finally received news that after several rounds of negotiations, Tianhe Capital had finally completed the acquisition of Nanjing Automobile Group.

In fact, this acquisition involved three parties: Tianhe Capital, Yuejin Group, and SAIC Motor.

Among them, Yuejin Group was the parent company of Nanjing Automobile, and the controlling shareholder of Yuejin Group was the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of Jiangsu Province.

According to their final agreement, first, SAIC Motor would acquire the assets of the original British Rover Company, including the MG brand, from Yuejin Group with shares valued at 500 million Chinese yuan.

Then, Tianhe Capital would acquire Nanjing Automobile Group under Yuejin Group for 1.2 billion US dollars (equivalent to approximately 9.54 billion Chinese yuan), thereby owning Nanjing Automobile Group’s production base and related sales channels.

In this transaction, SAIC Motor resolved its conflicts with Nanjing Automobile Group regarding the brands and technology of the Rover Company, and in addition to Roewe, it also obtained the MG car brand.

And Tianhe Capital completed the largest automaker acquisition in China to date, bringing Nanjing Automobile Group under its control.

At the same time, in the relevant agreements, Tianhe Capital also promised to invest no less than 1 billion US dollars in the future within Jiangsu Province to expand Nanjing Automobile Group’s production base.

After Tianhe Capital acquired Nanjing Automobile Group, its related joint venture, Nanjing Iveco, would continue to exist and produce and sell small passenger vehicles.

And Nanjing Fiat would be completely shut down—anyway, the sales of this brand were very low, and there was no great need for its existence.

After that, Nanjing Automobile Group would negotiate a joint venture with British Automobile Group. They would establish Nanjing British Automobile Company, with Nanjing Automobile Group and British Automobile Group each holding 50% of the joint venture’s shares, introducing British Automobile Group’s production technology, and producing some Jaguar and Land Rover models at Nanjing Automobile Group’s production base.

And the previously established Tianhe British Automobile Sales and Service Company would become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Nanjing British Automobile Company, responsible for the sales and after-sales service of its models and imported vehicles from British Automobile Group. It would merge some of the previous Nanjing Automobile 4S stores and then establish Tianhe British Automobile 4S stores across the country, selling Nanjing Automobile’s related car models and imported models from British Automobile Group.

It can be said that both Tianhe Capital’s acquisition of Nanjing Automobile Group and British Automobile Group’s cooperation with Nanjing Automobile Group have attracted great attention in China.

After all, this represents some changes in the current pattern of China’s domestic automobile industry. At the same time, this cooperation with British Automobile Group will also be the first time that the two luxury car brands, Jaguar and Land Rover, will have domestically produced models. This is very attractive to some users who like these two brands.

Of course, the localization of the Jaguar and Land Rover brands cannot be completed in the short term. In the initial stage of localization, the main components, including the engine, will inevitably be imported from Britain, while other components with relatively low technological content will first be localized, and finally, the entire vehicle will be assembled.

But even so, the expansion of Nanjing Automobile Group’s production base is also what Jiangsu Province hopes to see.

…

“Darling, based on the idea you proposed last time, we have organized the screenwriters to write a part of the script…”

Barron took the script that Rebecca handed over, put it down casually, and said to her:

“What do you think of this idea?”

“Very… bold. I think the intrigues within this kind of top-tier wealthy family, perhaps many viewers are very interested in, but the key is whether the plot can be attractive.”

“So the script is one aspect, and we also need a producer with enough ability to control all of this.”

“I know a person named Jesse Armstrong. He used to be a screenwriter and just tried to be a producer today. His style is quite in line with this script.”

Hearing Rebecca’s words, Barron nodded and said:

“You can ask him to try it out, and first polish the script.”

His gaze fell on the script on the table, and on the cover of the script, it was written “Succession”.

The television series “Succession” was in Barron’s previous life, the first season was released in 2018, but in fact, the original script for this television series had already appeared in 2010.

At the end of 2010, a script received praise from many filmmakers in Hollywood, but this script could never find an investor, only because the name of this script was “Murdoch,” which told the story of the Murdoch family, who controlled 20th Century Fox and dominated Hollywood.

At the time, the Murdoch family was under investigation because of the “phone hacking” incident. Murdoch, entangled in scandals, would naturally use all means to prevent this script from being filmed.

Later, the beginning of “Succession” was almost exactly the same as the beginning of that script that was circulated in 2010—

On the 80th birthday party of the media tycoon, he asked his children to agree to add his stepmother from a foreign country’s voting rights to the family trust fund (the 2010 script added the two daughters of his stepmother, Wendi Deng).

This was strongly opposed by the children. The children formed alliances with each other, and then calculated against each other, which led to them still being manipulated by the scheming media tycoon.

It’s just that this time, the surnames of the protagonists were changed from Murdoch to the fictional Roy.

The reason for choosing to prepare to film this television series in America, in addition to the fact that in his previous life, the several seasons of “Succession” were well-received after being launched, not only had high ratings, but also swept many awards, was that the various luxury cars driven by those wealthy people in this television series were also impressive.

After the establishment of British Automobile Group, it was very necessary to use various methods to market its luxury car brands, so that Bentley, Aston Martin, Jaguar, and Land Rover, these luxury cars, would appear in such a popular television series, and the effect would be immediate.

Of course, Barron would not admit that he would use such a television series to allude to the Murdoch family.

After all, although he would restore some of the plots of the original script in the script, the content would definitely not completely copy the situation of the Murdoch family, and it would also have the shadow of some other wealthy families, such as the previous power struggle of the Sinclair family, which could also provide them with some inspiration, and also, other wealthy families, anyway, these plots are all more or less the same.

And Barron was not prepared to start filming immediately either. He would have to wait until the new models of the brands under British Automobile Group were launched before allowing them to appear in the television series.

Well, maybe Fan Bingbing would also have the opportunity to make a cameo appearance in this television series.

Chapter 495: Car Engine

“Currently, our engine production, after the re-merger of Cosworth, has one production factory each in England and the United States. If the sales of our joint venture brand in China are satisfactory, we will consider setting up a new production factory in China.”

Baron had come to Cosworth’s North American headquarters in Michigan this time. As part of their acquisition agreement with Ford and the Volkswagen Group, the British Automotive Group acquired the Cosworth engine company, which had been split in two. This would be the main platform for the British Automotive Group’s future car engines.

In fact, Cosworth was also a British car engine manufacturing brand. Initially, this company was an internal combustion engine manufacturer for British racing cars, founded in 1958 by Mike Costin and Keith Duckworth. In the early days of the company’s establishment, the personnel were all former employees of Lotus Engine Co., Ltd.

However, this company changed hands many times later. In 1998, as an accessory to the Volkswagen Group’s acquisition of Rolls-Royce, Cosworth also came under Volkswagen’s umbrella.

But in just a few months, Volkswagen split Cosworth in two. The racing engine department was sold to Ford Motor Company – Ford used it as a research and development department for high-performance engines and provided engines for the Jaguar F1 team.

Five years later, at the end of 2004, Ford announced that Jaguar would withdraw from F1. Cosworth once again faced the fate of being resold. As a result, the F1 team was sold to Red Bull, and the Cosworth racing engine company was also resold to Kevin Kalkhoven and Gerald Forsythe, owners of the Champ Car series.

But the Red Bull team later announced that they would no longer use Cosworth engines in the 2006 season. Subsequently, many teams also changed engine manufacturers, mostly switching to Ferrari and Toyota’s engine platforms, so the Cosworth racing engine production company faced a crisis.

At this time, after the Caesar Foundation successfully acquired Ford’s three British automotive brands, it also bought the Cosworth racing engine company from Kevin Kalkhoven and Gerald Forsythe for less than 100 million US dollars.

After acquiring the Cosworth engine company, Audi, a subsidiary of the Volkswagen Group, split Cosworth in two. Its passenger car engine production and manufacturing department was renamed Cosworth Technology, and the racing engine department that Ford bought back was called Cosworth Racing.

But both retained the name “Cosworth,” which had great historical significance.

It is worth mentioning that Audi only needed the factory’s rich engine R&D technology at the time, so in the agreement with Ford, the Cosworth Technology company, with an annual turnover of 250 million US dollars, did not have the right to license the “Cosworth” trademark for commercial use.

The Cosworth Technology engine team’s contribution to Audi was quite significant. The most obvious example was the 4.2-liter V8 engine used in the Audi S4, Audi S6, and Audi A8. When used in the S6, it only had 340 horsepower. Once the Cosworth team took over, after replacing it with two KKK low-boost (0.8 bar) turbochargers, the power immediately surged to 450 horsepower (used in the RS6 model), and the maximum torque (413 lbft) was reached at only 1950 rpm, lasting all the way to 5600 rpm.

Cosworth’s skill can also be seen in the variable intake manifold – the S6’s V8 engine still uses a two-stage variable intake manifold, while the RS6 does not need it at all.

Although the strength of the Cosworth Technology engine factory was impeccable, Audi had to consider the reality and decided to give it up. Another reason was that Cosworth Technology, which employed more than 1,000 employees, was located far away in Northamptonshire, England (and also had a production center in North America), far from Audi’s German headquarters.

Therefore, Cosworth Technology was also acquired from the Volkswagen Group by the Caesar Foundation as part of the acquisition of Bentley.

Thus, after the establishment of the British Automotive Group, they once again merged Cosworth Technology and Cosworth Racing to become the wholly-owned subsidiary Cosworth Engine Company, providing power systems for their future products.

Moreover, Aston Martin, under the British Automotive Group, also had plans to return to the F1 racing track – the last time the Aston Martin team appeared on the F1 racing track was in the middle of the last century.

In 1959, after winning the overall championship of the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the annual manufacturers’ championship of the World GT Sports Car Championship, the Aston Martin team withdrew from the formula racing track.

The main reason was that participating in F1 events was too expensive. With Aston Martin’s strength, without the support of a wealthy group, it was impossible to survive on the F1 racing track.

But now the British Automotive Group needed to rebuild the image and popularity of its brands. Brands like Aston Martin, which mainly made supercars, appearing in top events like F1 was very important for the brand image – if you haven’t achieved good results in F1, or even appeared, how can you make people have confidence in buying your high-performance sports cars?

Also, F1 events themselves were in Baron’s hands. His Pioneer Sports Group held 90% of the shares of the F1 Group – it should be known that the timing for a new team to enter the F1 competition was very important. The ideal situation was to enter during the major F1 rule changes that occur every 5-6 years, especially when the power unit rules undergo major changes.

Otherwise, even if the new team entered the track, they might only be left in the dust.

Because under normal circumstances, the experience of using a power unit for one year can bring an increase of about 40-60 horsepower in the second year. These horsepower advantages are enough to offset the difference of one level in aerodynamics!

If a brand spent a lot of money on F1 and was lapped in every race, how could they sell their passenger cars?

Now, Aston Martin’s opportunity was very good. They would have an annual R&D investment budget of over 100 million pounds from the British Automotive Group, and there would also be rule changes in F1 events scheduled for next year. Therefore, in 2007, the Aston Martin team would appear on the F1 racing track to promote their upcoming new supercar models and SUV models.

In addition, Bentley currently uses the W12 engine from the Volkswagen Group, but the British Automotive Group could not always allow the engines of its top luxury car brands to be in the hands of others.

Therefore, in addition to continuing to improve their V8 engines, the Cosworth company would also continue to promote the development of their V12 engines.

As for production, the British Automotive Group currently has six factories for vehicle production, five of which are in England, namely Bentley’s two factories (Crewe factory and the Wolfsburg factory in Germany); Aston Martin’s one factory, located in the Warwick factory in England; Land Rover has two factories, the Solihull factory and the Halewood factory; and Jaguar has a factory in Birmingham.

The next plan of the British Automotive Group is to build new factories overseas, including Austria, Poland, and Brazil, which are all on the list of candidates, as well as a joint venture factory in China.

The production capacity in Britain will be gradually merged, and mainly retain the production of the two ultra-luxury car brands, Bentley and Aston Martin. As for Jaguar and Land Rover, the production capacity will be gradually moved abroad, which is also to control the production costs of the whole vehicle.

In terms of joint venture factories, in addition to the original production base of SAIC, the Nanjing British Automotive Group has also signed an agreement with the Jiangsu Province to build a new joint venture production base in Kunshan, which will be used for the production of Jaguar, Land Rover brands, and some Cosworth engines in the future.

Chapter 496: Good Deeds

“Uh, actually, Annabelle, we don’t need to spend money on these public relations…”

Looking through the Chinese newspapers that Annabelle Nolan, the public relations consultant for the Barron family office, had brought him, Barron said lightly.

The newspapers in his hand included at least ten different Chinese newspapers. Barron was familiar with the names of most of the newspapers and magazines, and if he remembered correctly, they should all belong to the “Southern Media” group.

These media outlets had reported on some of Barron’s activities during his previous visit to China. Well, to be honest, after reading some of the content, even Barron was a little embarrassed, because they praised him as if he were a saint – some reporters even reported on him and Brown eating hamburgers together on the streets of New York, showering him with praise…

Overall, if others saw these reports, they would probably consider him a person of “internationalist spirit” who had “transcended base interests.”

“Your Grace, actually, we haven’t used any public relations expenses, and even before this, our company had almost no business dealings with these newspapers…”

Ms. Nolan shrugged and said, “Forgive me for being blunt, but that’s always been their… style with regard to our ‘civilized world’.”

Well, if Barron were in his previous life and encountered such a situation, such reporters, he would probably just scoff…

But now that his identity had changed, when he enjoyed such attentive praise, he could only say that it was indeed very useful.

“Let’s do this, many of their readers are the audience for our brands. Some of our brands, such as the British Automobile Group and Gucci, can give them some advertising business.”

In any case, since they were promoting him with their own resources, he should give them some bones… uh, benefits, right?

…

“We’ve noticed that DS Group is reducing its holdings in many companies, Your Grace, are you planning a major move?”

After visiting the Cosworth engine factory in Michigan, Barron returned to New York, where he met with Lloyd Blankfein, the CEO of Goldman Sachs.

After some pleasantries, Lloyd directly brought up the question he was concerned about.

“Indeed, there are a series of plans at the moment, but they still need to be perfected.”

Barron naturally couldn’t reveal the real reason, but in fact, after integrating the British Automobile Group, he did have other acquisition plans, which wasn’t just empty talk.

“I believe that must be a huge plan, because with your strength, if it were a normal acquisition, you wouldn’t need to make such thorough preparations.”

“Haha, Mr. Blankfein, I understand what you mean. If we need a partner, believe me, Goldman Sachs will definitely be the first choice.”

The cooperation between DS Group and Goldman Sachs was now relatively close, especially in financial investment. Their joint venture, the Zeuss Fund, had been developing well, with an average annual return of over 35%, which made Goldman Sachs very satisfied.

In some commercial activities and acquisitions in the United States, Barron would also often use Goldman Sachs’ connections and resources. Of course, Goldman Sachs also gained considerable fees as a result, so it could be said that each took what they needed.

When Barron returned to his penthouse mansion on top of the Woolworth Building, a pair of sisters were already waiting there, the Hearst sisters.

The Hearst sisters were quite resentful of Barron’s neglect during this period, but all their grievances vanished after they studied knowledge together.

It could be said that from the initial discomfort, they were now very natural. The ancient sage’s philosophy of “when three walk together, there must be one who can be my teacher” also elevated the sisters’ sentiments.

Speaking of which, when Barron was in Los Angeles before, at some cocktail parties, he really met many popular stars. Many top Hollywood actresses had given him many hints, either openly or subtly, but Barron mostly remained unmoved.

It wasn’t that his character had become so noble, it was just that with his current position, those stars didn’t have the halo in the eyes of ordinary people at all. Instead, after getting to know them more, he knew some of the circles’ … in this case, it couldn’t even be called unspoken rules, it was simply open and aboveboard rules. This made him uninterested in those so-called stars.

After all, the tree-lined path you long for is often covered with dew every night and morning…

…

“Thank you for your support, Barron.”

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. also came to New York at this time.

After Barron signed a check for a donation to their related foundation, Robert was satisfied.

“This is only right. The friendship between our two families is unbreakable, and I also believe that you will be unstoppable in the upcoming election…”

Yes, the midterm elections in the United States were approaching – according to American law, their general election is held every four years, while the congressional elections are held every two years.

Therefore, one of the congressional elections is held at the same time as the general election, and there is also a congressional election that is held during the term of the incumbent. This congressional election is called the midterm election.

The midterm elections are often regarded as a bellwether for the next general election because, in essence, the congressional elections are about the two parties vying for control of Congress. Now the Republican Party is in power, so if the midterm elections still see the Republican Party holding the majority in Congress, then the bills designated by George W. Bush will be unimpeded in Congress, which is conducive to the implementation of his policies.

But if the Democratic Party holds the majority in Congress, in the following two years, many of George W. Bush’s policies will likely be obstructed in Congress, and it will be difficult to have a performance that satisfies the public. They will also be at a relative disadvantage in the next general election.

Therefore, the midterm elections are very important.

And Barron knew that in this year’s midterm elections, the final result was that the Democratic Party defeated the Republican Party, and won the majority of seats in Congress.

And in the next general election, the Democratic Party’s Obama also won. So Barron would naturally start increasing his support for the Democratic Party from now on.

Then his friendship with the Kennedy family would once again be unbreakable…

In addition to the matter of the midterm elections, the Kennedy family also gave Barron a return this time. They once again brought in more than 500 million US dollars from some mutual funds in Massachusetts and the Boston financial group, which would be invested in the funds under the DS Group.

Speaking of which, this was not only good for Barron, but also a fortunate thing for the source of these funds. After all, these funds in his hands could at least avoid a crazy shrinkage in a year or two.

Chapter 497: Watching the Sea

“Hello, Watching the Sea…”

“It’s an honor to meet you, Your Grace.”

After shaking hands, Barron sat down with Watching the Sea and chatted casually.

Seeing the familiar, yet younger face of the other person, Barron knew that America’s first black president would be taking office in two years.

To be precise, Watching the Sea only had black ancestry. His father was an immigrant from Kenya. But fortunately, Watching the Sea was born in Hawaii—according to American law, the president must be born in the United States. Therefore, even though the “son-in-law” Terminator of the Kennedy family had already reached the position of California governor, he could not be a candidate for the election because he was born in Austria.

Moreover, Watching the Sea’s background was relatively complex, which to a certain extent, was in line with the correct path. His father came from Kenya, Africa, and his mother was of mixed English, German, and Irish descent from Kansas. When he was two years old, his parents’ relationship broke down and they divorced. His stepfather was an Indonesian… It could be said that he had relatively close ties with the black, white, and yellow races.

Watching the Sea was introduced to Barron by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Obviously, the Kennedy family had chosen Watching the Sea as their family’s “political heir” this time, with the goal of the election two years later.

In fact, Watching the Sea was initially discovered and recommended by the former assistant of Edward Kennedy and another close friend during a speech. Later, after investigation, they recognized Watching the Sea’s prospects and began to support him.

After all, among the young generation of the Kennedy family, there were no members who were particularly talented in politics. They could only influence things by choosing someone outside the family.

In the last election, they chose Kerry, and the next election would be Watching the Sea…

In fact, for politicians like Watching the Sea, those ambitions, ideals, and all that flashy stuff, Barron didn’t care about any of it. What he cared about was whether he could get a return.

Of course, in this regard, American politicians have always done a good job.

After the conversation, Barron was also very satisfied with Watching the Sea’s surface. Next, he would also sign a check to contribute to the American people’s election cause.

In addition to this meeting, including Robert F. Kennedy Jr., they also contacted each other to cultivate their relationship.

The location was a manor near Long Island, New York. This manor was purchased by an offshore company of Barron’s. He himself had hardly been there, and only came here when he needed to hold some meetings that required confidentiality.

Undoubtedly, they certainly wouldn’t choose to go to Little St. James Island—the later infamous Lolita Island.

Because on the one hand, Barron’s own preferences were very normal, and he wouldn’t get involved in that kind of excitement; on the other hand, Epstein’s current situation wasn’t very good, and Barron didn’t want himself to appear on the list that would be made public in the future.

Epstein purchased Little St. James Island in 1996 and later transformed it into a secret “social” venue for many celebrities.

Of course, the methods he used on the girls on the island were often not so honorable, and they also involved kidnapping and threats.

However, last year, some victims began to accuse Epstein, and the American police also conducted an 11-month undercover investigation of him, obtaining some evidence. Of course, after operating for so long, Epstein still had a lot of connections. Although the evidence was conclusive, he only received 13 months of imprisonment—in fact, he could go out for 12 hours a day, almost treating the private prison as a hotel.

Although it seemed that this matter didn’t have much impact on him, many of the accusations were also “settled” by Epstein—he reached an out-of-court settlement; to put it bluntly, the money was in place.

But because of this, Epstein’s reputation was not very good, and the “big shots” who had been in contact with him before began to distance themselves from him.

This, of course, included certain members of the Kennedy family, and also Clinton. He had been to Lolita Island 27 times in 2004, but after the accusations against Epstein in 2005, he never went again.

Yes, Epstein recorded the time and number of times these “big shots” went to the island, and also set up a large number of hidden cameras on the island. These would be his trump cards for “saving his life” and conducting business.

Facts proved that these were useless. Although he was protected in this lawsuit, when he faced another lawsuit later, not many people were willing to get involved. He eventually “committed suicide” in a “closely” guarded prison.

As for the photos and videos he treasured… of course, they disappeared.

Could it be that someone still wanted to make them public, and then “commit suicide” with eight shots in the back?

Back to this “social gathering,” the environment of this manor was still very quiet.

It could be seen that Watching the Sea was not the first time he had participated in such an event, and he behaved very naturally.

“These beauties were specially found by me, especially prepared for Your Grace, um, I believe you will be satisfied.”

As Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said, in this regard, he was indeed “widely acquainted.” In fact, he had also had a setback because of this, but with the Kennedy family’s care, the problem wasn’t big.

And after that, he was also much more cautious, and didn’t play anything thrilling or exciting, otherwise, Barron would never have been able to trust him to do things.

Although he didn’t come to this manor often—in fact, Barron only came once when he first purchased the manor, and later the manor was all handled by his team, including the security and cleaning—but in this manor, there was still a sizable wine cellar, and many of the fine wines were left by the previous owner and sold to him together.

So, as the three of them were tasting wine and chatting, not long after, several tall, beautiful women were brought into the villa.

One of them, a girl with blonde hair and blue eyes, and a delicate face, caught Barron’s attention.

Observing his gaze, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. smiled and introduced to Barron:

“Your Grace, the one in the middle is the one I specially prepared for you. Her name is Ruslana Korshunova, a very well-known model, and…”

He leaned close to Barron’s ear and whispered:

“You can rest assured, she is very clean. In fact, since I met her last year, I have already protected her.”

Chapter 498: Lirna Korchunova

It seemed that Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was quite clear on Barron’s preferences.

This was evident from the girl he prepared for Barron, a girl named Lirna Korchunova, compared to the other… genuine “girls.” Compared to the other two, Barron was already incredibly normal.

“Your name is Lirna, right? Russian?”

After entering the room, Barron didn’t rush into anything. Instead, he sized up the girl and asked.

“Yes, sir. I was born in Kazakhstan, but my parents are both Russian…”

Through Lirna’s account, Barron also learned some things about her. The girl was born in Kazakhstan during the Soviet era, but her parents were both Russian. In 2003, when All Asia magazine reported on a German community in Almaty, Lirna’s photo was published.

At that time, Debbie Jones of Models 1 modeling agency happened to be flipping through the magazine on a plane and noticed her. After some effort, she found the girl, whom she described as “beautiful as a figure from a myth,” and signed her. That year, Lirna was only fifteen years old.

In fact, at this time, many young Russian girls like Lirna went overseas to become models, but they were controlled by the Russian mafia behind the scenes. Even many modeling agencies themselves were connected to these mafias to control their models.

When Barron first saw Lirna, he felt that she looked familiar, and now he finally remembered. After the Lolita Island incident was widely reported in his previous life, articles related to Lirna also appeared in many media outlets…

According to the reports at the time, the girl in front of him committed suicide by jumping from a high-rise apartment in Manhattan in 2008. She had just turned twenty years old and was already quite well-known in the modeling world.

It was said that two years before, at the age of eighteen, she had appeared on Epstein’s private jet and was suspected of being involved in Lolita Island, related to the so-called “suicide”.

According to Barron’s inquiries, she hadn’t met Epstein until now. She had heard that other girls in her agency had been arranged for “part-time jobs” by the company, but because Lirna received care from Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the agency didn’t arrange these things for her.

So, by a strange twist of fate, because Robert F. Kennedy Jr. prepared this girl for Barron to please him, it inadvertently allowed this girl to avoid being caught up in Epstein’s messy affairs.

“So you are all willing?”

Facing Barron’s gaze and this direct question, Lirna lowered her head slightly and said:

“Since I came here, I’ve seen and heard too much… of that kind of thing. I also know that sooner or later it would be my turn. Now I am luckier than others. I, I just hope you can protect me…”

In fact, many people only see the glamorous surface of those famous supermodels, but in reality, their journey has been full of dangers. Not to mention those models who ultimately can’t make a name for themselves, even the famous supermodels, what they have paid behind the scenes is probably unimaginable.

Barron had also heard a lot about the chaos of the modeling world from Rosie Huntington. In addition, in his previous life, after Lirna’s suicide, the relevant media also disclosed the dark side of the modeling world…

At the time, in the report, Noel Ashman, who had worked in the modeling industry for many years, stated that many young female models were surrounded by dangers, like lambs entering a pack of wolves. Neighbors, public relations personnel, studio staff, managers, could all be beasts waiting to prey on the lambs. “Some people even attempt to rape them.”

In April 2007, New York’s top designer Jon was arrested on 32 counts of rape – the victimized female models ranged from 14 to 23 years old.

A writer who wrote a modeling column online under the pseudonym Tatiana said that three teenage models from Mexico were renting her one-bedroom apartment, with a rent of only 325 pounds per person per month, but their agent only gave them less than 20 pounds to pay the rent. Helplessly, these three models, aged 16 to 19, had to work part-time to support themselves in addition to their work.

Just as Lirna said to Barron:

“Models seem glamorous, but in fact, it’s very hard work. You often have to get up early and work late, and you need to be active, friendly, and approachable in social circles, otherwise, no one wants to work with you. Everyone treats you as a commodity, so you become a person without a soul.”

She didn’t resent Robert F. Kennedy Jr., but rather had a few traces of gratitude.

At least during this time, because of the Kennedy family, she was also specially protected by the agency, and had not been harassed. Moreover, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. promised that if she could satisfy Barron, he could even bring her family from Russia, so they could be free from the mafia’s extortion.

It had to be said that Lirna was indeed worthy of the assessment of the agent who discovered her back then – beautiful as if she had walked out of a fairy tale.

Her figure was tall, her measurements were also in perfect proportion, and her face was exquisite, just like a Barbie doll.

Barron used his fingers to lift her chin, examining her as if examining a work of art.

He said faintly:

“You don’t need the Kennedy family. If you are obedient, then I can arrange everything for you.”

At first, when Robert F. Kennedy Jr. found her, Lirna thought that those who could be so valued by the other party should be those powerful old men. In order to get rid of the control of the mafia, and for the safety of her family, she had already prepared to sacrifice herself for this.

But now, what could be said to make her delighted was that the other party was such a young and handsome Duke. This also made Lirna feel like a dream.

After seeing the cold darkness in reality, she already knew that the beauty she possessed could indeed make her more easily obtain money, but at the same time, it was also a shackle coveted by evil wolves.

If she could have such a big figure as her backer, then she would no longer be afraid of those darknesses…

Moreover, the other party was still such a handsome nobleman who could make all women’s hearts flutter.

Next, Lirna also understood what she should do. She also behaved exceptionally well-behaved…

Choosing to hold the “gathering” here was also because this was Barron’s own place, so there was no need to worry about leaving any handle.

Therefore, in the time that followed, Barron could carefully savor everything in front of him…

Chapter 499: NBA Team

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. “gave” Lulana to Barron on behalf of the Kennedy family, and Barron happily accepted. This would also deepen his friendship with the Kennedy family.

The surface impression might not be deep, because currently, the Kennedy family doesn’t seem to have many members in American politics, nor do they have any particularly powerful figures—except for Edward Kennedy, who can still hold up the family banner, the younger generations haven’t achieved much.

But in reality, the Kennedy family’s influence within the Democratic Party is still very significant. This can be seen from the fact that Kerry, who competed with George W. Bush last time, was the Kennedy family’s candidate, and the next president, Barack Obama, also received strong support from the Kennedy family during his rise to power.

Therefore, maintaining Barron’s influence in America and being on good terms with the Kennedy family is also a very important link—it can be said that the Kennedy family is an important member of the American Anglo-Saxon group.

However, regarding the subsequent arrangements for Lulana, Barron wouldn’t need to rely too much on the Kennedy family. In this kind of matter, he could also demonstrate his own strength.

Lulana’s most critical problem was that her family in Russia was threatened by the local mafia.

In this regard, although Barron’s influence hasn’t reached Russia yet, his close friend, Abramovich , is one of Russia’s oligarchs, and these matters are just a matter of his word.

And for Barron, it’s just a matter of his word to Abramovich . Abramovich , who hopes to integrate into European high society, would be eager to have an opportunity to deepen his friendship with Barron.

……

“Although Bruce Ratner didn’t object to selling the team, he’s asking for 500 million US dollars, which is too high a price for the team right now.”

At this time, the CEO of Vanguard Sports Group, Casey Haber, also came to New York, and said this after seeing Barron.

“Indeed, but Bruce Ratner is just a businessman. He doesn’t care about the team at all; he just wants to make money through the team…”

Barron shook his head and said:

“In that case, you can talk to him about the new arena and the Atlantic Yards project…”

What they were discussing was also the main reason why Casey Haber came to New York this time. Vanguard Sports Group’s acquisition target was an NBA team, and the Bruce Ratner they were talking about was the current owner of the Nets.

As Barron said, the reason why Bruce Ratner bought the Nets in the first place was not really about the team itself. He mainly hoped to move this team from New Jersey back to Brooklyn, New York, because he himself had a piece of land in Brooklyn and planned to build a real estate project called Atlantic Yards.

If he could get the league to agree to move the Nets back to Brooklyn, then he could use the name of building a new arena to persuade the government to build a subway, and then make his Atlantic Yards project sell for a high price.

So from beginning to end, Ratner’s mind was never on team building.

In fact, when he took over, the Nets’ strength wasn’t weak. They had three star players: Carter, Kidd, and Jefferson, and they had even reached the NBA Finals before.

After he took over, he only thought about saving money and sold off the star players one by one.

But things went against his wishes. The Nets’ attendance plummeted, and television broadcast revenue also declined. As a result, the team suffered losses year after year.

In the future, in the 2008-09 season alone, the team’s losses exceeded 30 million US dollars.

Now the league has agreed to move the Nets back to Brooklyn, and the local government has also approved the plan to build a subway to the new arena. In this way, the team is no longer that important to Ratner; instead, it requires continuous investment and is a burden.

But Ratner himself is a shrewd businessman. Since Vanguard Sports Group is actively trying to acquire the Nets, he naturally has to start by asking for an exorbitant price.

However, Barron isn’t a pushover either. He knew that in his previous life, in 2009, Ratner sold 80% of the Nets’ shares to Russian billionaire Prokhorov for 220 million US dollars—in fact, the price of these shares was only a symbolic 1 US dollar, and at the same time, he assumed a total of 220 million US dollars in debt and the operating expenses after Ratner bought the Nets. He also spent 223 million US dollars to buy 45% of the shares of the Nets’ new arena, and at the same time contributed 120 million US dollars to become one of the shareholders of the Atlantic Yards project.

The reason for selling the Nets so cheaply was because after the subprime mortgage crisis, Ratner’s financial situation had become very urgent. Without these investments, the real estate he had mortgaged to build the new arena and carry out the Atlantic Yards project would be repossessed by the bank, forcing him to give up the Nets and retain his real estate project.

In fact, even now, he hasn’t fully raised the funds to build the new arena.

The Nets’ new arena in the future will be called the Barclays Center.

Does this name sound familiar? That’s because Ratner’s funds to build the arena were insufficient, and the construction of the arena was once hindered. Therefore, he could only sell the naming rights of the arena to Barclays Bank, and the name of the new arena became the Barclays Center.

Therefore, Barron’s meaning is very clear, that is, the price for acquiring the Nets can be negotiated, but 500 million US dollars is absolutely impossible.

However, Ratner himself values the new arena and the team far less than his real estate project, Atlantic Yards. Therefore, Vanguard Sports Group can change its strategy and make Ratner lower the selling price of the team. They can fully bear the construction costs of the arena and fully own the arena in the future, and even be able to invest in a portion of the Atlantic Yards project to solve Ratner’s financial problems.

They can afford 500 million US dollars, but no one’s money comes easily. Even though he knows that the value of the Nets will exceed 3 billion US dollars in the future, and by Barron’s memories of his previous life, he can take the lead in bringing in some potential players—instead of, like that Russian billionaire, taking over the Nets and, although investing a huge sum of money to buy many heavyweight star players, those star players were past their prime, and the team’s performance still couldn’t improve—after Barron’s operation, the Nets’ performance will definitely be greatly improved, and they will be even more valuable in the future.

But if he can save money, why would he be willing to be a sucker?

At worst, he can wait another two or three years. After the subprime mortgage crisis, Ratner will probably be crying and begging him to buy the Nets.

By the way, another thing worth mentioning is that the new owner of the Nets after the Russian billionaire Prokhorov, the first foreign owner in the NBA, many Chinese people will also be very familiar with, that is, Joseph Tsai, the third-generation chairman of the board of directors of Alibaba Group, he is also the first Chinese owner of the NBA.

Chapter 500: Tense Situation

By the time Baron returned to London, it was already October.

While in America, he had already received news that the situation in Iraq had become tense again. This was after the Anglo-American coalition had overthrown Saddam Hussein’s regime, helped establish a temporary transitional government, and then formed a new government through elections at the beginning of this year.

The reasons for this situation were multifaceted, mainly due to the hatred and retaliation by Iraqi resistance forces for the repeated revelations of the US military’s prisoner abuse. In addition, there were also sectarian conflicts within Iraq.

As everyone knows, the majority of Iraqis are Muslims, but they are mainly divided into two sects: Shia and Sunni.

Not only in Iraq, but the entire Muslim world is largely composed of these two sects.

Sunni Muslims, fully known as “Ahl al-Sunnah wa al-Jama’ah,” are the largest sect of Muslims, accounting for more than 85% of Muslims worldwide. “Sunni” is a transliteration of the Arabic word, originally meaning “those who follow the Sunnah,” that is, “those who follow tradition.”

Sunnis recognize that the four Caliphs (religious leaders) are legitimate successors, and therefore have been supported and widely spread by successive Caliphate states, claiming to be the orthodox sect.

Sunnis insist that the Caliph must be elected through consultation and must meet five conditions:

1. Be of the Quraysh tribe, but not necessarily from the Hashim family, nor necessarily descendants of Ali; (2) Be an adult male Muslim; (3) Be a physically and mentally healthy free person; (4) Have the courage, determination, and other personality traits necessary to defend Islamic territory; (5) Be supported by the public and hold a ceremony of submission.

Shia Muslims are the second largest sect of Islam. “Shia” is a transliteration of the Arabic word, meaning “party members” or “faction,” and is also translated as “Shi’a.”

This sect only recognizes Ali of the Hashim family and his descendants as legitimate successors, and venerates Ali and his descendants as “Imams,” believing them to be “protected by Allah and never making mistakes,” and that the last Imam has disappeared and will reappear as the savior (Mahdi).

Among the countries in the Middle East, Sunni-dominated countries are more numerous, while the countries dominated by Shia are, more representatively, Iran, Syria… In addition, Hezbollah in Lebanon is also Shia.

Speaking of Iraq, Shia Muslims account for 54.5% of the population, and Sunni Muslims account for 40.5%. The Shia are the majority, but the previous Saddam Hussein regime was Sunni, ruling over the Shia majority, and thus the two sects often clashed.

This situation did not change much after the Anglo-American coalition overthrew the Saddam Hussein regime. The difference was that the Shia became the main force in the new government, which gradually intensified the conflicts between the two sects.

Especially since the second half of this year, the number of firefights and conflicts in Iraq has increased significantly, and their civilian arms trade has also become more active.

Because of the continuous deterioration of the security situation in Iraq, the demand for firearms within Iraq has become increasingly strong, and under the situation where black market gun prices are constantly hitting new highs, Iraqi military and police have also begun to sell firearms on the black market.

In fact, weapons including grenade launchers and Kalashnikov (AK-47) automatic rifles have been circulating on the Iraqi black market for decades, but three new types of guns have recently appeared on the black market: Glock pistols, 9mm Walther pistols, and Kalashnikov rifles from Eastern European countries.

After the main battles in Iraq ended, the United States funded the equipping of approximately 370,000 guns to the Iraqi military and police, with the mainstream models being the aforementioned three types.

And now, gun dealers put these guns in places like tea shops and grocery stores on the streets of Iraq.

When buyers come, they will display gun samples. If the buyer intends to buy, they will provide 10 guns within 2 hours; even if the order is over 100 guns, they can guarantee delivery the next day.

“Any model of weapon issued by the Americans will appear on the black market,”

In a related interview, Hassan Nuri, an official from the Sulaymaniyah region, said:

“They eventually flow from the US military into the hands of gun dealers.”

A report released in early September by the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction in the United States stated that approximately 14,000 weapons provided by the US military to the Iraqi side were lost, most of which were pistols.

When some military and police officers resign, the police authorities or the military will not confiscate the guns issued to them. In this way, these people will resell the guns and earn several times their monthly salary.

Or, if something happens to a police officer’s family and he needs money, he will go to the office the next day and say:

“Hey, my pistol was stolen…”

According to data investigated by relevant agencies, the price of guns on the Iraqi black market was, at the beginning of 2003, that the market price of the Kalashnikov rifle (AK-47) ranged from $75 to $150 per gun, depending on the origin and model; after the Iraq War broke out, the market price slightly decreased due to a large increase in supply as guns from the national arsenal flowed into the market; now, the same type of gun sells for $210 to $650 each, and even reaches $800 in some dangerous areas.

The above prices only involve ordinary models, and the market price of special model rifles has reached the “collection” level.

The New York Times said that if you want to buy the model of the Kalashnikov rifle (AK-47) in the photo of al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden on the current Iraqi black market, you may have to spend $2,000.

Since the second half of this year, the sectarian conflicts that have broken out in Iraq have caused gun prices to rise sharply again—armed personnel need weapons to launch attacks, and ordinary people also need weapons to defend themselves. This dual demand ultimately led to the price reaching its highest point this autumn.

“Now, Sunnis need weapons because they fear the Shia; and the Shia also need weapons because they fear the Sunnis. This is how the price of guns has gone up…”

However, the occurrence of this situation has also delayed the “withdrawal plan” of the United States and Britain, because, in the words of many relevant agencies, if the US military hastily withdraws before the situation in Iraq stabilizes, it will not only turn the limited “achievements” of the United States in the Iraq War into nothing, but will also plunge Iraq into even greater chaos.

Such a “complete defeat” ending would be an outcome that the Bush administration could not afford at all, and this is the fundamental reason why the White House and the Pentagon refused to withdraw troops on a large scale in the short term.

Similarly, this situation now has also increased the demand for private security companies in the Iraqi region again—many British and American companies need these security forces to ensure that their interests are not attacked by some resistance forces.

Therefore, the personnel of Protector Military Services in Iraq have been continuously increasing… This month, more than 500 armed security personnel will be dispatched from the British mainland and the Channel Islands to Iraq, which will bring the total personnel of Protector Military Services in Iraq to nearly 8,000 people!

That being said, the current tense situation in Iraq, saying that it has nothing to do with some “operations” of the US and British military, may not be true.

Although it can’t be said to be “the livelihood of millions of boatmen,” it’s practically the same.

Because it is conceivable that if the United States and Britain really withdraw troops on a large scale, the corresponding military spending invested in Iraq will also be greatly reduced, which is not good news for either some military industrial enterprises or the military.

Baron remembered that in his previous life, there was a related report that, in addition to some clearly accounted for huge expenses, a large part of the US military’s military spending each year was diverted and exploited by various levels of the US military, flowing into the pockets of certain people in the US military.

According to relevant statistics, from 1998 to 2015, a full $21 trillion of funds from the US military were unaccounted for.

The New York Times revealed that the United States had allocated more than $100 billion for the reconstruction of infrastructure after the Iraq War, but $50 billion of it had disappeared into thin air.

And in some accounts of the US military stationed in Afghanistan and Iraq, coffee cups costing thousands of dollars each, disposable plates costing tens of dollars each, $299 outlets, $6 million Italian imported goats… Such jaw-dropping bills can be seen everywhere.

So, do you think the military will be willing to just end their “good life” like this?

Not only the US military, but the British military also has such a situation, but Baron is definitely not going to ask about it. Not only him, but even a military high-ranking officer like the Duke of Westminster, would not be able to conduct a thorough investigation—compared to these, hiring Protector Military Services to replace part of the military’s responsibilities can be said to be too conscientious and too cost-saving.

In addition, the tense situation in Iraq has also had a considerable impact on international oil prices. At the beginning of this year, international oil prices were still below $60, but in September, the price of international crude oil increased by 25% relative to that time, reaching a price of $75.

DS Capital once again reaped a wave of profits on crude oil futures, and will continue to build positions after the oil price falls. This time, they will hold it for a long time, waiting for the oil price to reach an unprecedented high.

Chapter 501: Harrods Department Store

“Your Grace, Mr. Al-Fayed indicates that he can consider selling Harrods, but he hopes to meet with you before the deal is finalized.”

Upon hearing Julia Moore’s words, Baron frowned slightly and said:

“What do you think he means by this?”

“It’s hard to say, but… the relationship between Al-Fayed and the royal family isn’t exactly harmonious.”

Julia’s words were also a concern for Baron.

This time, he hoped to acquire London’s most famous department store, Harrods, in the name of the Devonshire Family Foundation.

As early as three years ago, Baron had the opportunity to acquire another well-known London department store, Selfridges. However, he later gave it to the Weston family. Besides acquiring the Primark clothing chain from them, it was also because such high-end department stores were not in his industrial development plan at the time, and using those funds had better investment directions.

But now, after Baron had obtained the Gucci Group and started acquiring Hermès, coupled with the fact that he was now flush with funds, it was time to enter this field.

And as the most prestigious luxury department store in Britain and even the world, Harrods entered Baron’s sights.

In 1834, the founder, Charles Henry Harrod, began operating a grocery and tea business on Cable Street in the East End of London.

In 1849, he foresaw the business opportunities that the 1851 World Exposition might bring, and moved the shop to Knightsbridge, adjacent to the Hyde Park venue. The surrounding eight kilometers were known as the “Crown Triangle” by the locals, and Harrods was born from then on.

As London’s economy flourished, Harrods’ business empire also began to expand.

As a legend in the department store industry, Harrods created many “firsts.”

In 1898, Harrods built the world’s first escalator; the world’s first winter sale started here; the first television set was sold from here…

Former U.S. President Ronald Reagan received an elephant as a gift during his tenure as Governor of California, and this transaction was handled by Harrods. Here, you could even spend 250,000 pounds to commission a personal wax figure, made by Madame Tussauds…

To this day, Harrods, with a history of 172 years, is no longer simply a fashion department store in the hearts of the British people; it is already a classic representative of British shopping culture.

Harrods is a symbol. When you carry a Harrods shopping bag with the golden logo and dark green background walking on the streets of London, you would feel more confident than others.

However, the reason why Baron was hesitant about the owner of Harrods at this time, the Egyptian businessman Al-Fayed, requesting to meet with him, was mainly because of the latter’s entanglement with the British royal family…

As everyone knows, in the early hours of August 31, 1997, Princess Diana died in a terrible car accident in the Alma Bridge tunnel in Paris.

Her new boyfriend was also killed in the car with her.

And at this time, Al-Fayed, the owner of Harrods, was the father of Diana’s boyfriend at the time.

How should one evaluate this person, Al-Fayed?

It can be said that he is similar to Abramovich in some ways, but not entirely similar.

Al-Fayed was born in Egypt and had a business mind from a young age. From a young age, Al-Fayed desperately wanted to enter the British upper class and become one of them – Egypt was once a British colony, and his mentality was a kind of colonial convert’s fanaticism, hoping to be an upper-class British person and never wanting to return to Egypt.

Al-Fayed’s original name was Mohamed Fayed. Later, he added the prefix “Al” to his surname, similar to the “de” of French nobles or the “von” of German nobles, intending to appear noble, but was ridiculed as a “fake pharaoh.”

After obtaining huge wealth, he bought London’s most famous department store, Harrods, in 1985, hoping to enter the British upper class. Even after the death of the Duke of Windsor – that is, the Queen’s uncle, the one who “loved beauty more than the country,” Edward VIII, who abdicated the throne for the divorced American woman Wallis Simpson – he bought his former residence in France, redecorated it, and prepared to give it to the British royal family to win their favor.

However, this move of his was a bit counterproductive – because the media was frantically hyping the Duke of Windsor’s private dealings with Nazi Germany during World War II, the royal family did not accept this “gift,” but only took away some items and documents related to the royal family.

And at the most grand social season of the year, the Royal Ascot, to avoid suspicion, the Queen did not sit next to Al-Fayed, but let the then Princess Diana represent the royal family to sit there. It was also because of this that Al-Fayed and Diana got to know each other, and their relationship was not bad.

Therefore, after Diana divorced the Prince of Wales, in order to continue entering the British upper class with the royal family as the core, Al-Fayed racked his brains to make his son and Diana lovers…

Think about it, the mother of the future King of England is his daughter-in-law; his grandson and the future King are siblings, wouldn’t that be wonderful.

“Now, I have finally found true love. After getting married, I will live a truly ordinary person’s normal life.”

This was what Diana said during an interview in Paris, but six hours after this interview, she and her boyfriend Dodi died in a car accident.

Having lost his beloved son, Al-Fayed would accuse the British royal family from time to time, claiming that the royal family murdered the two, even saying that the assassination was ordered by Prince Philip, planned by Charles, and Prime Minister Blair also participated, because this vampire family couldn’t stand Diana pursuing happiness.

Later, he also invested money to make a documentary about the car accident, “Unlawful Killing,” but it was not released to the public.

Well, another thing worth mentioning is that after Diana and Dodi’s unfortunate deaths, to commemorate them, Al-Fayed set up two memorial bronze statues in the lobby of Harrods –

The statue of Dodi and Diana smiling at each other, holding aloft a soaring albatross, still gleaming with gold, symbolizing “love to eternity,” with photos and candles placed beside them for people to express their sorrow and remembrance.

These two memorial bronze statues became a scenic spot in Harrods, and many people would come here to take a look…

A little ironic is that Al-Fayed so desperately wanted to become an upper-class British person, but until now, he has not obtained British citizenship.

“Inform Al-Fayed that I can meet him, but I hope it will be a private meeting, well, invite him to The Holme.”

The Holme was Baron’s mansion in Regent’s Park, usually used as a place for his trysts with Tamara Ecclestone. Tamara also often lived there, but recently she went to Japan with her father to watch the F1 Japanese Grand Prix at the Suzuka Circuit there.

Chapter 502: A Request

Al-Fayed was already seventy-three years old, but judging by his attire, he still maintained the meticulous, old-money style.

It was said that when he first arrived in Europe, in order to integrate into high society, Al-Fayed specifically hired a black personal valet who had served the Duke of Windsor for nearly thirty years to teach him about aristocratic life, including etiquette and details of his various hobbies.

It was obvious that by now he had integrated all of this into his every word and action.

“Your Grace, in fact, before this, it was not for sale. The lofty status of Harrods simply cannot be compared to Marks & Spencer or Sainsbury’s.”

Al-Fayed said this when talking about Harrods.

“In my opinion, there is no such thing as something that is not for sale in this world, it’s just a matter of price…”

Baron said to him with a smile:

“The difference is that I believe after more than twenty years of operation, you have developed some feelings for Harrods and hope that it can obtain a better owner, thus continuing its glory.”

His meaning was self-evident. If Harrods needed a better operator, then in terms of wealth, status, and even resources, throughout the entire British Isles, or even globally, there were very few people more suitable than Baron.

Just as mentioned before, Al-Fayed was already seventy-three years old, and he probably already had the idea of retiring – in Baron’s previous life, Harrods was sold in 2010 for over 1.5 billion British pounds to Qatar Holding, which was owned by the Qatar royal family, because he had already decided to retire and hoped to have more time to enjoy family life with his children and grandchildren.

Baron’s offer for this department store was two billion US dollars – at the time, Al-Fayed spent 600 million US dollars to purchase Harrods. If he chose to sell it now, he would not only be able to obtain a profit of nearly 2.5 times, but also the profits that Harrods had brought him over the years would be even more considerable.

Perhaps Baron had hit upon his thoughts, Al-Fayed said:

“Before that, I need Your Grace to agree to a request of mine…”

“Please, speak.”

“I hope that if you acquire it, you can ensure that the traditions I have established there can be continued.”

Hearing the other party’s request, Baron nodded and said:

“I am a person who highly respects tradition, but trends are constantly changing, sir, you should understand that some outdated… traditions sometimes need to be changed.”

Baron’s implication, Al-Fayed believed, would be understood.

Everyone who walked into Harrods would definitely be astonished by the luxurious furnishings inside the department store.

Dark marble, gilded walls, hieroglyphic reliefs, copper spiral staircases, and even a sphinx… This was the luxurious ancient Egyptian palace style, all originating from Al-Fayed, the current owner of Harrods – after he bought Harrods in 1985, he spent a fortune renovating the entire building, and the original elegant British style was diluted by the Middle Eastern luxury style.

If the current style of Harrods could be preserved by Baron for a period of time, then the statue of Diana and Al-Fayed’s son Dodi, which made the royal family feel very displeased, Baron probably could not keep it after the acquisition. Well, returning it to its original owner was the best choice.

Doing so could also win the favor of the royal family.

Of course, Baron’s reason for deciding to acquire Harrods was not because of this, but because this department store was still very successful. Even during the subsequent subprime mortgage crisis, Harrods performed well and was not greatly affected.

And as the world’s most profitable department store – Harrods, it has only had one store in London, which also shows its strong ability to attract money.

Al-Fayed’s statement also indicated that he had basically agreed to this sale. Next, it was Julia Moore’s turn to complete the acquisition process.

…

October 18th, Baron’s birthday came again, and Baron once again celebrated his second twenty-seventh birthday.

Before Baron’s birthday, British Automotive Group formulated a new model plan for its brands.

Including Bentley, which still used the Volkswagen Group’s W12 engine for its new flagship model, the Mulsanne; Aston Martin’s Vantage sports car, which used the Cosworth V8 engine; and the first SUV model, the DBX.

In fact, except for the Aston Martin’s SUV model DBX, which needed to start from the design stage, the remaining Bentley Mulsanne and Aston Martin Vantage sports cars already had ready-made design plans.

Because usually for many car brands, from the day the design director first wrote his idea on paper to the day the first customer car was produced, it generally takes five to ten years.

And in fact, there has almost never been a new model project that was carried out according to the scheduled time plan.

Regardless of how many cars were ultimately produced, whether it was just 1,000 Aston Martins or 30,000 Land Rovers, none of them were carried out according to plan, they were always delayed.

Therefore, designers are often designing a car for the future ten years from now – because today’s design will be produced and purchased by people about ten years later.

This also means that currently in the various brands under the British Automotive Group, there are many models that were designed several years ago, or even more than ten years ago, and may even have concept model or concept car versions.

It’s just that before this, these models were advanced to different degrees and ultimately not mass-produced due to many factors, either because the technology at the time was difficult to achieve, or because they did not conform to market trends, or for other reasons.

And often the initial concept car of a design looks futuristic, but when it is released, they look more realistic, that is to say, there will be many changes in the details of the appearance.

Therefore, in fact, Bentley, Aston Martin, and even Jaguar and Land Rover, need to choose the one that best fits their subsequent positioning from these designs, and then complete its mass production.

Among them, what Baron was most concerned about was naturally the new flagship model of Bentley, the Mulsanne.

He personally went to the Bentley design center, and from those models, he saw a very familiar one – that should be the design concept drawing of the new Mulsanne that was released in 2009 in his previous life.

From this design drawing, Baron recalled the strong and unique front-end design of the Mulsanne in his previous life, which retained the two major Bentley iconic designs of the grille dome and round headlights.

The long hood plus the short front overhang and long rear overhang, the upward-sloping muscular design of the rear waistline and clear lines, elegantly extending from front to back, this series of exterior designs all demonstrated a strong British classical charm.

In fact, the name Mulsanne had been used by Bentley as early as 1980, but the Mulsanne at that time was a replica of the Rolls-Royce Silver Spirit, and adopted the same interior and exterior design, only retaining Bentley’s unique grille.

“The Mulsanne I want to see is the peak of British luxury automotive manufacturing, it should be the best Bentley car ever that Bentley can be proud of!”

After selecting this car design, Baron said this to the management of Bentley.

Chapter 503: New Job

“I heard you’re buying Harrods, Barron.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

Barron’s birthday party was held on his newly built superyacht, “Caesar the Great.” Prince William, who had just returned to London after studying at the military academy and completing two months of training on a naval vessel, also attended the party.

Barron naturally knew what William was concerned about when he mentioned Harrods. He patted William on the shoulder and smiled, “After I complete the acquisition of Harrods, I will make some adjustments to certain areas, including the arrangement of the main hall…”

“Thank you, Barron.”

“It’s nothing. We’re friends, and I’m on the side of the royal family, William.”

Earlier, Harrods was also a department store frequently visited by members of the British royal family. However, after Al-Fayed placed statues of Diana and his son Dodi in the department store’s main hall, the royal family members never visited again.

Not only that, but such an arrangement in such a well-known place also became a famous check-in spot, which was a great offense to the royal family’s face. Because everyone who saw the statue couldn’t help but think of Princess Diana’s death and related conspiracy theories.

For William, he didn’t like Diana’s new boyfriend, Dodi, when he was young. Furthermore, as the saying goes, “where you stand determines your perspective.” In other words, with age and education, although he always remembered and cherished his mother, he also understood the responsibilities that came with being a member of the royal family.

In terms of personality, William was generally more composed than his younger brother, Harry.

Speaking of William’s younger brother, Harry, he caused a considerable scandal at the beginning of last year. During a costume party, Harry wore a military uniform with a Nazi symbol. This image was photographed by reporters and published on the front page of The Sun, causing a strong reaction and many criticisms.

Because of this, after Harry issued an apology letter, the Prince of Wales ordered him to work on their farm—cleaning the pigsty—to recognize his mistakes.

Later, Harry was also sent to military school for training, earlier than William.

Now that Barron saw Harry again, he felt that he seemed more composed than before, no longer so boisterous.

Having a party on the superyacht “Caesar the Great,” watching the scenery along the Thames, and sailing towards the North Sea was indeed very pleasant.

The only imperfection was that it was already mid-October, so they couldn’t wear swimsuits to sunbathe.

In addition, William also talked to Barron about something concerning his girlfriend, Catherine.

“That’s no problem. You can ask her what kind of work she’s interested in, and I’ll have my personal assistant arrange it for her.”

“That’s really great, thank you, Barron.”

Initially, what William said was a complaint to Barron. The media was now paying too much attention to Catherine, which had greatly affected her previous work.

After graduating, Catherine first worked in her family’s business, which sold party supplies. However, because of Catherine’s relationship with William, she received a great deal of attention after William went to military school, which also affected her work.

Although Prince William had had quite a few relationships before, Catherine seemed to be the most stable one he was with at the moment. Therefore, many people speculated that she was the most likely candidate to be the future princess, and it was inevitable that many reporters would follow her, hoping to get some news…

Moreover, for many tabloids, news could often be created with ambiguous words and phrases to make headlines.

In fact, Catherine was with William for the sake of becoming a princess, so she was also very careful in this regard. She would definitely be cautious about jobs that would “put her in the spotlight”—this was also normal, as the royal family didn’t want its future members to be the type who liked to show off.

You know, even Bonnie, who was once the most famous female host in Britain, never appeared on the show’s camera again after marrying Barron and becoming the Duchess. Instead, she only did behind-the-scenes work for Stuart Media Company.

Barron could of course understand the meaning of William’s words. This wasn’t a problem for him, so he directly agreed. He would let Catherine find a job she liked in his company, and as for her abilities, he could just let her be responsible for some easier work, treating it as simply having an extra employee.

Others were just guessing that it was possible, but Barron knew that the girl who had once had a relationship with him would really become a princess in his previous life.

…

Julia Moore, representing the Devonshire Family Fund, quickly reached an agreement with Al-Fayed on the acquisition of Harrods.

The Devonshire Family Fund would acquire Harrods for 2 billion US dollars. From then on, this department store, which ranked among the top luxury department stores in Britain and even the world, became the property of the Devonshire family.

After the agreement was reached, Al-Fayed’s family trust fund announced to the public that the sale of Harrods was because the buyer, the Devonshire Family Fund, possessed “extraordinary vision and financial strength” that could support the long-term expansion of Harrods.

Both parties would complete the handover of the entire Harrods within half a month. The Devonshire Family Fund also basically retained Harrods’ management team. Over the past few years, their management team had been quite effective in managing Harrods. This would also ensure the smooth handover of this department store, which was one of the most prestigious in the world.

And not long after that, the media discovered that Prince William’s girlfriend, Catherine, very discreetly took a job at Harrods. It was reported that she worked in the purchasing department of the department store.

An employee who wished to remain anonymous said that Catherine held the position of an ordinary purchaser. She was very polite and friendly, and she would eat lunch in the tea room and chat with everyone. She didn’t put on airs because of her relationship with the prince.

Of course, at this time, Harrods was also undergoing the handover. After it officially belonged to the Devonshire family, they removed the statues of Diana and Dodi from the first-floor hall and returned them to Al-Fayed.

This also gave Catherine’s employment at Harrods less reason for the media to hype it up.

Chapter 504: British Automotive Industry

The day after Barron’s birthday, October 20th.

The SEC and the NASDAQ Stock Market approved Skype’s IPO application, meaning that the company, which had once rejected an astronomical acquisition offer from the e-commerce giant eBay, would soon be listed on NASDAQ.

Last year, eBay had offered to acquire Skype for $2.5 billion in cash and stock, along with corresponding options—Barron knew that if Skype’s team could achieve the performance growth eBay required in the coming years, then including these options, the total transaction price would reach $4.1 billion!

However, at the time, Barron had rejected this acquisition of Skype. He soothed Skype’s founding team, planning to have Skype conduct an IPO at an opportune moment, at which point their gains would certainly be higher than through eBay’s acquisition.

Now, Skype’s global free users had exceeded 100 million, and the number of paying users had also doubled compared to last year, reaching 6 million, so it was the right time to go public.

At this time, the shareholding structure of Skype was as follows: DS Holding Company held 75% of its shares, O2 Telecom held 10% of its shares, and the remaining 15% of the shares were held by its founding team.

According to their listing plan, Skype would sell 30 million shares to the public, accounting for 15% of its total share capital.

Among them, 20 million shares were newly issued shares, and the remaining 10 million shares belonged to original shareholders, including DS Holding Company and a portion of the Skype founding team’s holdings (DS Holding Company and the Skype founding team each sold 5 million shares).

Thus, after the IPO, Skype’s total share capital would be 200 million shares, DS Holding Company would hold 122.5 million shares, accounting for 61.25%; O2 Telecom would hold 17 million shares, accounting for 8.5%; the founding team would hold 20.5 million shares, accounting for 10.25%, and the remainder would be publicly traded shares.

Currently, Skype’s share issue price was set in the range of $21-$23. If calculated at $23, Skype’s market capitalization would reach a staggering $4.6 billion, a full $2.1 billion higher than the acquisition offer from eBay last year.

However, considering that, with the support of DS Group and O2 Telecom, the number of Skype’s free and paying users had almost doubled compared to eBay’s offer last year, coupled with the very optimistic state of the stock market, this market capitalization was still very reasonable.

In this way, through this IPO, Skype would raise $460 million, and by selling shares during the IPO process, DS Holding Company and Skype’s founding team could both receive $115 million in revenue.

It could be said that those young people on Skype’s founding team, through this IPO, had all achieved financial freedom, going from being penniless youths who had been brought to their knees by the lawsuits in the California court.

This also made them very excited.

And DS Holding Company’s investment also yielded rich returns.

Another point worth mentioning was that after Skype initiated the IPO process and received a warm response from investors in the first roadshow, because it held 10% of Skype’s shares, O2 Telecom’s stock price also saw a small increase, causing its stock price to exceed 6.5 pounds. At this point, O2 Telecom’s market capitalization officially exceeded 40 billion pounds, firmly securing the third position among European telecom companies, behind Deutsche Telekom and Vodafone.

…

“Your Grace, I hope British Automotive Group can provide more jobs in Britain…”

After Brown took office, Barron met with him far less frequently than before—this was normal, after all, he needed to handle a great many things.

However, among these, Brown still took time to meet with Barron. During this meeting, he expressed the hope that the British Automotive Group could provide more jobs for the country…

“This, Prime Minister, it’s not that I don’t want to do this, but realistically speaking, unless I’m prepared for the British Automotive Group to go bankrupt or be acquired in a few years, or even in one or two years, it will be difficult to do as you say…”

Barron frowned slightly and said to Brown:

“Frankly speaking, the plan for the British Automotive Group is to only retain production of the Bentley and Aston Martin brands in Britain. As for Jaguar and Land Rover, production capacity will gradually be transferred to countries with lower costs.”

Obviously, Barron’s words would not satisfy Brown.

Because Bentley and Aston Martin, as luxury car brands that emphasize handcrafted production, have inherently weak production capacity.

To put it this way, by 2003, Bentley’s cumulative production had only just exceeded 44,000 vehicles…

You must know that by that time, Bentley had been established for 84 years, with an average annual production of only 523.8 units.

It was only in 2003, after Bentley launched its best-selling model, the Continental GT, that production increased somewhat, but even until Bentley’s 102nd year of establishment, which was 2021, its cumulative production had only just exceeded 200,000 units. This number was not even one-tenth of the annual production of FAW-Volkswagen at that time…

And Aston Martin was not much better. Their annual production in 2000 had only just exceeded 1,000 units.

That is to say, the combined annual production of these two brands was only in the four-digit range, which was completely negligible in terms of boosting British industry.

But what Barron said also made sense; why had Britain’s automotive industry declined? Because there was simply no competitiveness.

Initially, the British automotive industry did have its glory. Before World War II, Britain, as the initiator of the first industrial revolution, had already accumulated strong automotive industrial technology and a deep automotive cultural foundation.

The cultural foundation gave rise to ultra-luxury brands like Bentley and Rolls-Royce, and even now, they are still representatives of the world’s top wealthy individuals, the entry ticket to the high-end class.

It can be said that—British cars are born with a noble temperament.

After World War II, the British automotive industry ushered in a golden age of rapid development. In 1955, car production reached 1.2 million vehicles, becoming the first country in Europe to break the million-car production mark, and the scale of the automotive industry was second only to the United States.

At that time, the German and Japanese automotive industries that later dominated the world hadn’t even come into play.

The turning point was the advent of the Ford Model T—it changed the automotive production pattern. The assembly line production transformed cars from aristocratic toys into transportation tools for the common people.

But British cars stubbornly adhered to the “noble” way, using handcrafted production and unparalleled materials to create cars that existed like works of art.

But the adherence to the “noble” way was finally proven to be devastating to the British automotive industry—failing to catch up with the trend of assembly line production and commercialization, serving only a small number of aristocratic classes, allowing the British automotive industry to miss a wave of great opportunities, and quickly being overtaken by countries represented by Germany and Japan.

So, it can be said that the British automotive industry succeeded because of “nobility” and failed because of “nobility.”

Just like now, the automotive industry is not just like before, where a single factory can complete all the work; it requires the existence of the entire industrial chain.

But Britain has gradually lost its competitiveness in this regard. Many parts for the manufacturing of the brands under the British Automotive Group need to be imported.

If production capacity is still mainly placed in Britain, not to mention the high labor costs, the current exchange rate of the pound is also very unfavorable to them.

Because according to investigations, more than 80% of the complete vehicles manufactured in Britain need to be exported and sold overseas.

But the exchange rate of the pound has been at a high level, which is very unfavorable for their exports. Placing manufacturing capacity in the local area means that purchases are definitely made through the pound, and the final car pricing will also be in pounds, then converted into the currency of other countries, and they are completely uncompetitive in terms of price.

For luxury brand cars like Bentley and Aston Martin, it’s still okay; their production capacity is low, but their profits are high.

But for Jaguar and Land Rover, which face competition from brands like Audi, Mercedes-Benz, and BMW, there is simply no advantage. In this case, insisting on expanding production locally, in addition to continuously transfusing blood to the British Automotive Group, can only lead to bankruptcy or being acquired again.

This is still under the premise that Britain has not left the EU. If Britain leaves the EU and there are tariff barriers with Europe, then the British Automotive Group’s import of parts and export will both increase disadvantages…

“We will try our best to maintain production capacity in Britain, but the premise is that we need to get government support. Without corresponding support policies, then in order to survive, we can only move the production of mass-produced cars overseas…”

Barron said this to Brown.

To put it bluntly, Barron’s current position and core interests are in Britain, or derived from relying on Britain. He naturally does not want to see Britain become hollowed out in its industries like in the previous life, and eventually decline—such a result can only be that Britain follows the United States even more closely.

Therefore, if he can do things to change these things, he will try his best to do so.

Of course, the premise is that it cannot excessively damage his own interests.

Chapter 505: Refugee Resettlement

Of course, during this meeting, the most that happened was Baron and Brown exchanging some ideas on the revitalization of the automotive industry.

As for actual support for industrial policies and specific measures, those would still need to wait until Brown sent people to investigate and then conduct research with the British Automotive Group.

In addition, Baron mentioned to Brown the issue of the pound’s exchange rate. The exchange rate of the pound against the US dollar had risen from around 1.72 at the beginning of the year to 1.9, and it would continue to rise slowly.

In fact, it wasn’t just the pound against the US dollar; the pound’s exchange rate against many other currencies was also rising. For example, the pound against the Japanese yen had risen from around 203 at the beginning of the year to around 224 now, and by the end of the year, it might even approach 234!

This was an increase of over 15% compared to the beginning of the year, which was already a very large increase in the exchange rate.

However, for the British government, adjusting the exchange rate couldn’t just consider the issue of exports; it also needed to make a comprehensive judgment before formulating relevant policies.

Brown himself had previously been the Chancellor of the Exchequer of Britain, and he had held this position for nine years, which could be said to be rich in experience.

Moreover, before that, he had also made significant achievements in this position – Blair’s ability to win three consecutive general elections was also very important, and Brown’s role in the economy was also very important.

For Baron, whether the pound’s exchange rate rose or fell, some industries would benefit, and some industries would be negatively affected as a result.

It’s just that there would be some measures to reduce the negative impact. For example, his Argos retail group had already transferred most of its product production to China.

“In addition, there’s the issue of refugees…”

Speaking of the refugee issue, Brown was also very troubled.

Just last week, the Port of Dover in Britain had experienced a “refugee surge.”

In the four days of the previous week, over 500 illegal immigrants had flooded in by sea, and on Saturday, another 163 people “landed.” Most of them were traveling in overloaded rubber dinghies, and there were even children who couldn’t walk.

These refugees who came to the Port of Dover were almost all illegal immigrants from France. After being driven away by France, they crossed the English Channel and came to Britain…

In fact, in Baron’s previous life, the refugee issue was also a major factor in why Brexit was passed by public referendum.

After all, on the surface, for “humanitarian reasons,” European countries couldn’t openly refuse these refugees, but in fact, no one wanted to accept more of these people. Just like France, which was only separated from Britain by a channel, it often drove immigrants to Britain…

These thousands of refugees each year would not only occupy Britain’s welfare allocations but also squeeze out jobs for the native population, naturally causing public opinion to boil over.

The key was that the British government couldn’t ignore it in the face of these issues; otherwise, if they were starving, these people could do anything. The crime rate in Britain had already increased significantly because of this, and many of the crimes were committed by these immigrants.

Baron of course also knew this, and he didn’t want the British representative team to participate in the World Cup in the future to look like a certain African national team, like France…

“So, what do you plan to do?”

“I hope you can take on more responsibility, Your Grace…”

According to Brown’s meaning, he hoped to hire a coast guard force to drive away and repatriate immigrants from across the English Channel.

However, it wasn’t convenient to deploy the regular army for this – Britain had also considered using the navy to do this before, but France strongly opposed it.

A French MP stated:

“What do you British want to do? If a small boat full of immigrants enters British waters, do you want to shoot them?”

The implication was that Britain’s action of deploying the navy to drive away immigrants was very irresponsible to the immigrants’ lives; what if their dinghies capsized?

And the mayor of Calais, France, also angrily said:

“Britain sending the navy to monitor the channel is an act of war!”

In addition to the French side, the opposition Conservative Party at home didn’t miss this opportunity to add fuel to the fire for the Labour Party; they accused the government of disregarding the lives of immigrants and opposed the use of military force.

So, since using the navy wouldn’t work, Brown hoped to utilize “civilian” armed forces, well, security forces.

Therefore, what he proposed was to hope that Baron’s Protector Security Company could be hired by the government to organize a coast guard to drive away and repatriate illegal immigrants from France.

If they could be driven away, they would be; if there was no other way, the government would fund their repatriation or overseas resettlement; in any case, they couldn’t be allowed to enter Britain.

This wasn’t a big problem; after all, it was a business and could expand the Protector Security Company’s business.

However, the next topic was probably the main reason Brown brought up this matter.

That was the resettlement of illegal immigrants. In any case, these people definitely couldn’t be allowed to stay in Britain; this unstable factor had to be sent away.

But it couldn’t be done by the British government, so the best way was for Baron to come forward privately.

As for where to resettle them…

As it happened, France also had an immigration problem. Brown had already sent people to coordinate with the French side on this matter. According to Brown’s meaning, they should go back to where they came from.

The current illegal immigrants were mostly from Africa and some war-torn areas in the Middle East.

After their research, they hoped to find a place in Africa to resettle these refugees – even if it would cost some money, Britain and France were very willing to do so; after all, compared to the harm they would cause if they stayed in the homeland, it was very good to be able to solve the problem with some money.

As for the choice of refugee resettlement area, they finally believed that choosing an area between Kolo and the neighboring country of Benin to resettle the refugees was acceptable to both sides…

To this end, Britain and France could pay the other party a “resettlement fee” per person.

As for why they chose between Kolo and Benin…

The primary condition was that it was best to be near the sea, so they could be transported directly by ship. Then, from Britain and France, going north along the ocean, were Northern Europe and Russia, which was definitely impossible…

Going south, the closest to Europe was Morocco, which was originally the best choice – but France didn’t agree. Morocco itself was once a French colony, and it still had a close relationship with France. It could be said, without exaggeration, that it was very much like France’s overseas territory, so France would definitely not accept sending these refugees to Morocco.

Then there was Western Sahara; they still had disputes with Morocco, and Western Sahara’s independence hadn’t been widely recognized by the international community, so this would also be ruled out.

The ones behind them were all former British colonies, and now they were Commonwealth countries – why couldn’t Morocco, which had a close relationship with France, work, but the Commonwealth countries had to send them there?

Finally, the opinions of both sides became choosing an area between Kolo and Benin for the resettlement of illegal immigrants…

Although Kolo had previously belonged to a French colony and was a member of the Economic Community of West African States, it had just joined the Commonwealth; while Benin was a member of the Economic Community of West African States, and France had considerable influence there. Well, this was equivalent to the border area of the two countries’ “overseas territories.”

However, Brown knew that Kolo could be said to have a close relationship with the Duke beside him. To get this matter done, besides needing to persuade the governments of Kolo and Benin, he also needed to obtain the Duke of Devonshire’s consent…

Of course, they were quite confident in persuading Kolo and Benin, after all, both sides had influence there, and these two countries were both underdeveloped countries. If they could get some funds to help resettle illegal immigrants, it shouldn’t be too difficult for them to accept.

“This matter needs more consideration…”

Chapter 506: Warning

Interestingly, the refugees arriving in Europe mostly came via the Mediterranean Sea, with their first stops often being countries like Greece, Italy, France, and Spain.

France, through the English Channel, dragged Britain into this, and also “exported” illegal immigrants to Britain.

Now, Britain, in its helplessness, needed to cooperate with France to transport these illegal immigrants across the Atlantic Ocean to the more distant West African region…

It is believed that these immigrants probably never imagined that after painstakingly traveling from North Africa and the Middle East via the Mediterranean Sea to Britain and France, they would instead be “settled” in the even worse conditions of Kolo and Benin…

But Baron didn’t want Kolo to have to allocate a portion of its territory to receive refugees. After all, judging from Kolo’s map, their coastline wasn’t long, and having to set aside an area to accommodate illegal immigrants naturally wouldn’t be a pleasant thing.

If Kolo were still like before, an underdeveloped and very poor country, then perhaps they would be willing to do so for the “settlement” fees paid by Britain and France.

But now, with oil revenue, Kolo had begun to change.

The final result was that Benin would designate an area near the port of Cotonou to serve as a refugee settlement for Britain and France.

This area was adjacent to Kolo and would be jointly managed by Kolo and Benin – Benin would receive a higher percentage of the refugee settlement fees as their “land rent.”

As for those refugees, that is, the illegal immigrants, both Kolo and Benin would allow them to apply for long-term residency or even citizenship in the two countries, but they would screen these applications to make selections.

Of course, the refugees’ personal freedom would not be restricted; they could freely leave this settlement area, but illegal immigrants who did not obtain residency or citizenship in the two countries would not be allowed to stay within the two countries after leaving the settlement area.

In other words, if they had enough perseverance, they could completely return to North Africa or the Middle East from West Africa, or even continue to sneak into Europe…

As for the refugee settlement, their lives in the settlement area would be somewhat guaranteed – Britain and France would fund the provision of water, food, and basic medical conditions for the settlement.

Of course, after receiving the money, the extent to which they could achieve this would depend on the two countries, Kolo and Benin – in fact, it would mainly depend on Benin.

Because the settlement area was within Benin, it would be primarily managed by Benin, while Kolo would mainly conduct defense at its borders, and also accept and screen residency and citizenship applications from the refugees.

In addition, in the management of the settlement area, Britain, France, and Kolo would all send observers to monitor the situation to avoid humanitarian disasters.

The assessment of the management of the settlement area would also be a reference for the funding amount of Britain and France for the following year.

The reason Baron was willing to promote this matter was that he had his eye on some of the refugees.

In fact, contrary to what some people might imagine, not all of these refugees arriving in Europe were impoverished, or rather, the proportion of those in extreme poverty was not high.

After all, when it came to things like human smuggling, one couldn’t do it oneself; one needed to pay a “snakehead” to arrange the smuggling.

Therefore, those who were completely impoverished would hardly have any capital to pay for these smuggling fees. Many refugees came from the middle-income groups of war-torn countries. They all had their own skills, or were able to endure hardship, and many had received relatively good education.

And what Baron had his eye on were these people – incorporating these people into Kolo would also be beneficial in filling some of the technical and high-quality talent gaps caused by Kolo’s development.

In fact, because the level of education in Kolo was previously too low, many of these refugees were already considered high-quality talents compared to the local people of Kolo.

Although Kolo had been insisting on universal compulsory education since the establishment of the new government, the growth of these people, to the age where they could participate in national construction, would still require several years of waiting.

As for the issue of the excessively high proportion of Islamic believers among the refugees, which many European countries were concerned about, the people of Kolo themselves had multiple faiths, including indigenous religions as well as Christianity and Islam; as long as it was properly controlled, they would not be overly worried about this.

Next, the Protector Security Company established a coastal security team – the White Whale Group. They would be employed by the British government to drive away and settle illegal immigrants.

The White Whale Group purchased some decommissioned speedboats and other equipment from the British Navy at a relatively low price. In terms of intelligence, they would also receive support from the British Navy, and began to crack down on illegal immigration.

…

Walter Issard opened his eyes. He could already see the sunlight filtering through the curtains in his bedroom, and he secretly estimated the time; it should be around seven o’clock in the morning…

“I should hurry up, or I’ll be late.”

Thinking this, Walter Issard got up, picked up the phone on his bedside table, and looked at the time. It was indeed 7:05.

But the next moment, Walter Issard froze. His eyes were fixed on the bedside table, where there was a slightly bulging brown envelope.

He felt goosebumps all over his body, and cold sweat broke out.

Although he had a small drink before bed last night, Walter Issard remembered very clearly that before he went to sleep, this envelope was not on his bedside table.

What did this mean?!

Thinking of this, Walter Issard was filled with terror.

He opened the envelope and poured out its contents. It was a white piece of paper, a photo, and a bundle of banknotes that looked new and old.

First, he picked up the white piece of paper, which had only one printed sentence:

“Put away your curiosity.”

And when he saw the other photo, Walter Issard’s heart skipped a beat. He quickly picked up his phone and dialed a number:

“Is Nina at home?”

“Walter, why are you asking this? It’s not yet time for you to visit your daughter, and today is Nina’s school day. I’m getting ready to take her to school…”

Walter had divorced his wife – the woman on the phone – three years ago. After hearing the other party’s answer, he breathed a sigh of relief.

The stack of banknotes was a full 5,000 pounds, equivalent to his two months’ salary.

Suddenly thinking of something, Walter went to the living room and found his camera. Sure enough, the film inside the camera, and even some of the film he had taken before, were all gone.

And he couldn’t see any signs of anyone breaking into his house. The other party was definitely a master at this.

Walter understood that this was a warning!

Yes, Walter Issard was a journalist. He had recently been secretly following Joe Harriman – the well-known ITV beauty host, and also the female member of parliament for Islington, a rising political star.

Because, based on his intuition, Walter Issard believed that behind this woman, there must be valuable news material. A beautiful woman, a beauty host, and also a potential political newcomer; perhaps it would allow him to get some big news and become famous overnight.

But what happened today made Walter Issard have to consider whether he should continue doing this. Not only had all the negatives he had taken of the other party been taken away, but also the ability to enter his house so silently and place the envelope on his bedside table… these things were too terrifying.

It was obvious that the contents of the envelope were a warning to him.

Either take the money and choose to shut up, and no longer follow Joe Harriman, or he, and even his daughter, would face danger…

…

“Your Grace, the matter has been resolved, and I will continue to keep an eye on him…”

After hanging up the phone, Mikhail’s face revealed a relaxed smile.

Well, I hope he’s a smart man.

Chapter 507: Public Acquisition

When Barron opened the window, he could smell the damp air.

Today’s London was shrouded in drizzle, and the sky was a bit gloomy.

But it had to be said, this kind of London was the most classic.

“Are you leaving?”

Julia Moore leaned against the headboard, her shoulders and below covered by the quilt, she asked Barron softly.

“Yes, I have another meeting later…”

Barron sat on the edge of the bed beside Julia, kissed her, and said gently:

“You can sleep a little longer. By the way, I asked Laura to buy a doll, and she will send it here later. It’s a birthday present for Ravi.”

Ravi was the younger sister of the Palestinian siblings, and her birthday was in a few days.

Possibly because of her own circumstances, Julia really liked children. After those children from the Kolo International School came to London to study, she often took the initiative to arrange for them.

Especially little Ravi, Julia liked her very much and often took the siblings to eat together.

This was Julia’s residence in London. When Barron walked downstairs, the car that came to pick him up had already arrived.

Laura held an umbrella for Barron, greeting him at the door.

After getting into the extended Bentley Arnage, the convoy left.

And at the window upstairs, Julia, wearing her pajamas, gazed in the direction of Barron’s departing convoy, her eyes full of tenderness.

…

On November 5th, the Gucci Group announced that it had acquired more than 5% of the shares of Hermès, and that they would continue to acquire its shares to complete the controlling stake in this top luxury brand.

This meant that the Gucci Group officially announced its acquisition of Hermès.

After this news came out, it caused a major earthquake in the fashion industry.

After all, after the Gucci Group was acquired by the DS Group, apart from launching its top ready-to-wear series—the Devonshire series—it hadn’t made any other acquisitions and had been very quiet. But this time, they publicly acquired Hermès, a top fashion brand, naturally attracting everyone’s attention.

However, after the Gucci Group’s announcement of the acquisition of Hermès, Hermès CEO Patrick Thomas said in an interview that the Hermès family currently had no intention of selling the company, and they would respond to the Gucci Group’s acquisition later.

Earlier this year, Jean-Louis Dumas, who had turned around Hermès’s decline since the 1970s and brought the company back to its glory, resigned as CEO of Hermès due to his deteriorating health, and Patrick Thomas succeeded him.

Patrick Thomas was also Hermès’s first non-family CEO.

Ten days later, the Gucci Group announced again that they had acquired “decisive” shares from some institutions. Their current holdings of Hermès shares had exceeded 25%, becoming the largest shareholder of Hermès.

In fact, Barron had learned from the lessons of the LVMH Group’s acquisition of Hermès in his previous life. They had already filled more than 10 “boxes,” which meant that the offshore companies they controlled had secretly bought more than 50% of Hermès’s shares.

However, to avoid being sued by the Hermès Group for “violating market rules,” and later being ruled by the French Financial Markets Authority that their acquisition of Hermès was in violation of regulations, resulting in a failed acquisition, Barron would patiently “merge” the Hermès shares held by those offshore companies, thereby ultimately controlling the company.

At the same time, during this process, Gucci Group CEO Domenico De Sole also arrived in France to contact the Hermès family and the company’s management regarding the acquisition.

He would promise that after the acquisition, Hermès would maintain a relatively independent position within the group and would still be managed by the Hermès family, while the Gucci Group would provide more funds and resources for its future operations.

“It’s obvious that you were able to complete the acquisition of more than 25% of Hermès shares in such a short time, and you had already made arrangements beforehand. These will involve violations of our country’s relevant regulations, and we can file a complaint with the regulatory authorities.”

Hearing Patrick Thomas’s words, De Sole still had an elegant smile, and said lightly:

“In any country, whether they are small shareholders or major shareholders, regardless of how many shares they hold, they have the right to freely sell their shares. Mr. Thomas, as for your doubts, it can only be said that we offered a good price.”

“I’m afraid that’s not the case, Mr. De Sole…”

The speaker was a man with silver hair, it was Bertrand Puech, the representative of the Hermès family, and also the current chairman of Hermès.

Although he was nearly 70 years old, Bertrand’s eyes were still sharp, he said to De Sole:

“According to our investigation, as early as a few months ago, some people contacted members of our family and purchased a considerable portion of the shares…”

His meaning was very clear, that is, questioning the Gucci Group’s acquisition, which had been secretly underway for several months. If this was true, it could indeed cause some trouble for the Gucci Group’s acquisition.

After all, not only the Gucci Group, but their related companies’ total holdings must be announced if they exceed 5%.

In fact, after learning that the Gucci Group announced that it would acquire Hermès and that its holdings had exceeded 25%, after the initial panic, some members of the Hermès family secretly held a meeting, but what surprised them was that after counting the family members who supported the Hermès family in maintaining the management and control of Hermès, their holdings of the company’s shares could no longer reach the safe proportion of over 50%.

What made them even more uneasy was that the shares they could gather would be less than 40%!

This made their sense of crisis very strong.

But De Sole was not at all flustered by Bertrand Puech’s doubts—he was sure that the entire acquisition process had been carried out very secretly, and their cautious methods made it impossible for the other party to catch any substantial evidence.

Therefore, he said:

“Any matter requires evidence, Mr. Puech, and I hope you understand that although we want to acquire Hermès, we will not be like the LVMH Group and snatch this company from your family. In fact, the Gucci Group also faced such an acquisition in the beginning, we can fully understand your thoughts, why not listen to our thoughts?”

Chapter 508: Gucci-Hermes Group

“So, you were prepared to acquire the Hermes company all along?”

“Yes, when I discovered that the LVMH Group had already begun quietly purchasing a portion of Hermes’ shares much earlier, I knew that if I didn’t act quickly, they would make Hermes their prey, or rather, they had already formulated a related plan…”

Baron held his phone and said with a smile:

“But all of this requires careful handling; after all, the Hermes family still has very tight control over the company.”

“To be honest, I was really surprised when I saw this report, but at that moment, I also knew that since you publicly announced the acquisition, you must have been fully prepared…”

“So you have so much confidence in me, darling. By the way, how is the Android company progressing?”

Upon hearing Baron’s question, Ivanka’s voice came through the phone:

“The latest prototype has been completed and is undergoing testing to ensure that the Android system can run smoothly… Actually, I think we can completely launch the Android system and the new phone before Christmas; that will definitely be a sensation around the world…”

It could be heard that Ivanka had great confidence in the Android system and their smartphones—which wasn’t surprising, after all, anyone who was used to using the current feature phones would be deeply impressed when they tried using a real smartphone.

To be honest, Baron also had such an impulse initially…

But…

“This isn’t foolproof, darling. We must admit that in many aspects, we are still slightly inferior to Apple. According to my information, Apple’s similar project will be released early next year. Whether it is Android or Glory Electronics, we still lack something in terms of brand and appeal. Therefore, the best strategy is for us to closely follow Apple and let them clear the obstacles for us.”

Although Baron’s words were indeed well-founded, he couldn’t tell Ivanka the other reason.

That is, in terms of the era-defining smartphone, Baron was still prepared to maintain a certain respect for Steve Jobs and let him have this honor—he didn’t need this empty fame, and this was originally what the pioneer deserved.

After hanging up Ivanka’s phone, Baron lowered his head and looked at his assistant, Laura, who was busy at the desk…

The sun was good today, so he pulled the female assistant up, let her lean against the floor-to-ceiling window, and then, behind her, he happily admired the view outside the window.

…

Gucci Group CEO, De Sole’s trip to France was still very effective.

It was also possible that seeing the situation was irretrievable, and the Hermes family was finally persuaded by him and handed over the majority of the company’s shares.

In addition to the more than 50% of Hermes’ shares that they had already purchased through those offshore companies, after losing the possibility of a holding company, many members of the Hermes family sold their shares to them—after all, the current Hermes family has more than 200 members, and only a very few people still hold positions in the Hermes company; most of the other members still have their own businesses.

In this way, the Gucci Group’s holdings of Hermes’ shares exceeded 65%, completing the acquisition of the Hermes company.

However, according to De Sole’s promise to the Hermes family, after acquiring the Hermes company, they would still have a certain degree of independence, and the company’s operations would not change too much—this was also the premise for the Hermes family to agree to give up a portion of their shares and merge into the Gucci Group.

After completing this acquisition, the Gucci Group will be renamed the Gucci-Hermes Group, abbreviated as the GH Group, which also demonstrates their respect for the Hermes brand.

After being outmaneuvered by the Gucci Group and seeing no hope of acquiring the Hermes company, after negotiations, the LVMH Group also reluctantly sold their nearly 5% of Hermes’ shares to the Gucci-Hermes Group, making a small profit with tears.

In this way, the GH Group’s holdings of Hermes’ shares also reached 70%, giving it absolute control over the company.

Although the GH Group will not interfere with the specific operations of the Hermes company, after being incorporated into this group, both sides will also conduct comprehensive considerations in terms of brand promotion and strategy. Just as the Hermes company also saw the Gucci Group’s role in boosting overall revenue after entering the Chinese market, in the future, they will also use the GH Group’s channels to increase investment in the Chinese market.

De Sole will serve as the CEO of the Gucci-Hermes Group, and the previous CEO of the Hermes company, Patrick Thomas, will continue to hold this position and also serve as the Vice President of the Gucci-Hermes Group.

After acquiring the Hermes company, Baron knew that in the original timeline, next year, another luxury brand would be put on the sales counter, which was the Italian brand Valentino.

Well, Beatrice Borromeo, whom Baron had met once before, her uncle was the president of Valentino.

However, acquiring Valentino now is probably not a good business.

Because the current Valentino can be said to be at the peak of the brand, in Baron’s previous life, Permira Funds acquired a majority stake in the Valentino brand in 2007 for 2.6 billion euros.

But Valentino suffered a financial crisis in 2009 due to the subprime mortgage crisis.

Then, when the brand was acquired by the Qatari royal family in 2012, they only spent 700 million euros…

Speaking of which, Baron’s investment in luxury brands is more based on the future development of these brands in the original timeline.

Companies like Gucci and Hermes, which he acquired, both have good growth potential in the future, which shows that the management of these companies is still reliable.

After all, Baron himself didn’t have much experience in operating luxury brands in his previous life. He would still leave such professional matters to professionals…

Why are traditional European private investors or private funds not enthusiastic about investing in the fashion industry?

In addition to the difficulty of grasping the market conditions, the more important thing is that operating a luxury brand requires considering too many irrational factors.

Among them, finding a successful designer for the brand is particularly difficult, even for experienced fashion industry entrepreneurs.

Just like Gucci, it was after finding the right designer that it regained its glory—this kind of situation where one designer saves the entire brand’s stock market is not uncommon in the luxury goods industry.

At least Baron, because he had had many “close female friends,” had some understanding of the famous designers of certain brands.

But designers still have their own characteristics, and a designer suitable for this brand may not be able to save another brand—because a brand also has its own personality and heritage.

Take the Valentino brand as an example. In Baron’s previous life, since Valentino Garavani retired in 2007, Permira Funds had been worried about finding a suitable designer for the brand. Although it was still a popular choice for celebrities walking the red carpet, it could no longer reproduce the glory it had once achieved internationally.

Therefore, Baron still maintains a wait-and-see attitude towards Valentino.

Chapter 509: Media City

“Why did you suddenly have such an idea?”

“Actually, after George was born, I’ve been thinking about it…”

Today, Baron and Bonnie had dinner at the Earl of Booth’s house. On the way back, Bonnie suddenly said to Baron that she was planning to start cultivating her deputy, gradually delegating power to Stuart Media, and she would be more involved in overseeing the overall situation as the chairperson.

This was the first time she had expressed such an idea to him, so Baron was a little surprised.

He heard Bonnie say:

“I’m planning for two or three years from now, because George will be a little older by then, and I can have more time to take care of him. Also, didn’t you talk to Ian about the media city today? Stuart Media will also go to the media city then, and it will be difficult for me to balance family and career.”

Indeed, during dinner earlier, the Earl of Booth. had discussed with Baron the upcoming media city construction plan.

In fact, this plan had only been announced recently.

The so-called media city plan was a joint project by the BBC and the SEM Group, actively promoted by the government, and was the first comprehensive media city project in the UK.

The site for this media city plan had already been determined, which was the old site of the Salford Docks in Manchester, located on the canal between Salford and Trafford, west of Manchester. It covered an area of 810,000 square meters, and it would also be the first media-focused cluster in Europe.

Of course, this media city would be developed in multiple phases, with the first phase covering an area of 150,000 square meters, and the Argent Group would also participate in it.

After the first phase of the media city project was completed, the BBC planned to move the headquarters of its five television stations there.

And the SEM Group would move the headquarters of ITV and its related media production departments to the Manchester Media City, and would build a European-largest media content production center there, which could be used for future television drama filming and variety show production.

In order to support this project and help Manchester complete its industrial transformation, the government would also provide the most favorable policies for the media city project.

It was believed that many small and medium-sized related media companies would move into the media city.

Stuart Media, which had a close partnership with the SEM Group, would naturally be no exception. This was what Bonnie had just mentioned. After Stuart Media moved into the Manchester Media City, it would be difficult for her to take care of her son, Little George, who was in London. Moreover, because of Baron’s numerous businesses, they were often separated, and she naturally did not want to make their time together even less, so she made her choice, which was to delegate more of the company’s affairs.

Of course, these things were not urgent, because the construction efficiency in the UK…

The first phase of the media city was scheduled to start next year, 2007, and be completed in 2011, a full four years.

In other words, Stuart Media wouldn’t have to consider moving for three or four years.

Bonnie brought up this matter to Baron now, more to discuss it with him.

Baron naturally also fully supported her idea.

Although, in modern times, the aristocracy did not have overly strict requirements for women, as a duchess, Bonnie could put a large part of her energy into her family and children, which he also welcomed.

He wasn’t saying that he necessarily required his wife to live a life like other ladies, spending their days leisurely, going to beauty salons, shopping, or enjoying afternoon tea with their female companions. He would support Bonnie if she wanted to have her own career, but at least, she still needed to take care of the family matters.

But then again, even if she needed to take care of the children, this “care” was still very different from the care of ordinary people, and it wasn’t nearly as hard.

The only thing needed was for Bonnie to spend more time with them. After all, now, it was only their son, George Cavendish, who was not even a year old, but he had more than five maids taking turns to take care of him, so Bonnie didn’t need to spend too much energy on this.

…

“I’m sorry, Your Grace, although Bruce Ratner has made some concessions, it hasn’t reached our expectations…”

Next, Baron received a call from the CEO of Vanguard Sports Group, Keby Haber. In the call, he told Baron that the negotiations with Bruce Ratner, the current owner of the Nets, regarding the acquisition of the Nets were not going well.

Initially, Bruce Ratner was asking for 500 million US dollars, but after negotiations, although the other party had lowered the price, they were stuck at 400 million US dollars.

In addition, regarding the stadium construction and his Atlantic Yards real estate project, the other party also made some demands…

In the final analysis, the other party was a greedy businessman, and he had another characteristic: he wouldn’t give up until he saw the results.

Therefore, before the subprime mortgage crisis broke out, he hadn’t faced any risks by mortgaging his real estate for loans, so he wouldn’t make any concessions on the price of selling the Nets.

“Then what about the other teams?”

Hearing Baron’s words, Keby Haber breathed a sigh of relief. He was really afraid that the Duke had only set his sights on the Nets - speaking of which, the Nets’ performance in the last two seasons could be said to be terrible, and he didn’t understand why the Duke wanted to buy this team, was it just because it was going to move to New York?

“Another team that might be acquired is the Golden State Warriors, located in Oakland. Although, currently, this team’s performance is not considered good, I have had some contact with their owner, Chris Cohan. Their asking price is lower than the Nets, and they are also more proactive…”

Golden State Warriors? Baron did have some impression of this team, and their performance in the following years was quite good, wait, what year was Curry a rookie?

It seemed to be 2009, hmm…

Baron pondered for a moment and said to Keby Haber:

“Go talk to Cohan, what’s his asking price?”

“The other party’s asking price is 400 million US dollars, but based on the current situation of the Golden State Warriors, they are only worth less than 300 million US dollars, I believe we can still lower the price.”

Keby Haber was still very happy, which also showed that the Duke didn’t necessarily want a New York team, otherwise, compared to the New York Knicks at this time, it would be easier to acquire the Nets…

Actually, the Golden State Warriors were not bad either, Golden State was another name for California, and the Warriors’ market in California was still good.

Although the Warriors’ owner, Chris Cohan, was asking for 400 million US dollars at this time, Keby Haber believed that, according to the situation of this team at this time, he could lower the price to no more than 350 million US dollars - at least compared to the Nets, the Warriors didn’t involve so many messy things.

Chapter 510: Marvel-MGM Group

On November 15th, before the latest 007 film, Casino Royale, premiered in North America, Blue Valley Capital finally reached an agreement with the remaining shareholders of MGM Holdings, including Providence Equity Partners, Texas Pacific Group, and DLJ Merchant Banking Partners.

Blue Valley Capital would acquire the remaining 60% of MGM Holdings held by these three investment institutions for 1.5 billion US dollars, thereby bringing MGM Studios into its possession.

The reason for being able to complete the acquisition of MGM Studios at this time wasn’t that simple.

In addition to the acquisition negotiations with these three investment institutions, during this period, American Express Bank also acquired 1 billion US dollars of MGM Studios’ debt.

Yes, last month, Standard Chartered Bank had just acquired American Express Bank for 850 million US dollars to expand its private banking business.

Speaking of American Express, many people have heard of it, such as the most famous American Express Centurion Black Card, which is a standard for many wealthy people.

But in fact, what Standard Chartered Bank acquired this time was only the American Express Bank business under the American Express Company, not including its card and travel businesses.

American Express Company was founded in 1850 and is a diversified global travel, financial, and online services company, as well as the world’s largest travel management company.

American Express has more than 84,000 employees worldwide, over 1,700 travel offices, and provides charge cards and credit cards, traveler’s checks, travel, financial planning, investment products, insurance, and international banking services.

American Express has three major branches:

They are American Express Travel Related Services, American Express Financial Advisors, and American Express Bank.

Among the banks based in America, American Express Bank has one of the largest international branch networks, opening agency banking businesses in 47 countries, including providing services and private banking services to banks that do not operate locally.

This acquisition of American Express Bank by Standard Chartered Bank will double the scale of its US dollar settlement business and will also give the entire Standard Chartered Bank direct euro and yen settlement operations.

At the same time, this transaction will provide strong momentum for the development of Standard Chartered Bank’s private banking business – this acquisition will shorten Standard Chartered Bank’s private banking business development plan by two to three years.

As mentioned before, when the consortium led by Sony Corporation acquired MGM Studios in 2005, MGM Studios already had 2 billion US dollars in debt.

And now, its debt has reached 2.2 billion US dollars. These debts have nearly a hundred creditors for MGM Studios…

After acquiring 1 billion US dollars of the debt, American Express Bank, under Standard Chartered Bank, became MGM Studios’ largest creditor. Holding these debts in American Express Bank and threatening MGM Studios with bankruptcy was also one of the main reasons why the other three investment institutions ultimately decided to sell their shares to Blue Valley Capital.

After all, the box office performance of the movie Casino Royale was still unknown, but the huge debt of MGM Studios was now a real threat – under the circumstances where MGM Studios began to “play dead,” almost abandoning the production of all other films except the 007 series and the Pink Panther series, this once one of the eight major studios also couldn’t see any signs of improvement.

Moreover, even if Casino Royale could perform well, it was, after all, just one movie. It couldn’t be said that the entire film company could continue just based on this movie. Could they release a 007 movie every year?

However, Barron knew that the box office of Casino Royale, which would premiere in North America on November 17th, was really good – it would be the highest-grossing 007 film to date.

However, the production of this film also involved Glenn Graduate Pictures, a subsidiary of Sony, and the distribution was also attributed to Sony Pictures…

The box office share MGM Studios could get from this film would not be too high.

But this at least opened a good start for MGM Studios’ new era.

After completing the acquisition of MGM Studios, Blue Valley Capital announced that they would merge the three companies they had acquired, including MGM Studios, Marvel Entertainment, and Summit Entertainment, to form the Marvel-MGM Group.

Thus, under the Marvel-MGM Group, there would be three film production companies: MGM Studios, Marvel Studios, and Summit Entertainment.

The Marvel-MGM Group also obtained a 500 million US dollars loan financing from Standard Chartered Bank. In addition to Iron Man and the first film of Twilight, Twilight, it would also launch new projects for MGM Studios: Rocky and The Hobbit.

Rocky was a well-known series of films that MGM had produced, starring Sylvester Stallone, but after the release of Rocky V in 1990, because the reviews were not good, and the box office was a failure, this series was frozen.

But this series was still very well-known in America, and Barron knew that the box office performance of the later-released Rocky VI was also good, so he decided to restart the Rocky series and release the sixth film in this series in the next one or two years.

As for The Hobbit, it was originally jointly produced by MGM and Warner Bros. Pictures in the original timeline. MGM owned half of the copyright of this prequel story to The Lord of the Rings, and it would become a very successful series in the future and would be able to obtain extremely high returns.

In Barron’s previous life, because MGM Studios was facing bankruptcy at the time, although The Hobbit was still jointly produced by them and Warner Bros. Pictures in the end, the film’s distribution was replaced by Warner Bros. instead of MGM.

Now they certainly wouldn’t let this happen again, and not only that, the Marvel-MGM Group would also try to acquire New Line Cinema from Warner Bros. Pictures, thereby obtaining the complete copyright of The Hobbit.

As everyone knows, New Line Cinema achieved great success because of the successful release of The Lord of the Rings trilogy.

But it was precisely because of the success of The Lord of the Rings series that New Line Cinema developed a path dependence, still believing that fantasy films similar to The Lord of the Rings would continue to be successful.

Therefore, three years ago, after the release of The Lord of the Rings trilogy, New Line Cinema continued to invest heavily in the production of a series of fantasy films, but the facts proved that these films did not achieve the same results as The Lord of the Rings trilogy, but instead caused New Line Cinema to continue to lose money.

Although New Line Cinema nominally belonged to Warner Bros., it had great independence and had independent production and distribution rights.

But because of these continuous losses, Warner Bros. eventually decided to merge New Line Cinema, laying off a large number of employees, and even the two founders of New Line Cinema left as a result. It can be said that New Line Cinema withdrew from the stage of history.

And the production of the film The Hobbit was also quite tortuous. Initially, New Line Cinema obtained the film and television rights to The Lord of the Rings trilogy and The Hobbit, but after the success of The Lord of the Rings trilogy, the release of The Hobbit was constantly delayed.

The reason was that the script and director of this film could not be determined. Peter Jackson, the director of The Lord of the Rings trilogy, refused to continue directing The Hobbit, and the market did not have a good outlook for the prospects of The Hobbit at this time.

Even in the original novel, The Hobbit was not like The Lord of the Rings, which only had one part, but New Line Cinema had the idea of expanding a single Hobbit into a trilogy. These all made this film full of variables.

Chapter 511: The Order of the Garter

A heavy snowfall brought the Christmas spirit to London.

However, this winter was not easy for many British families.

Due to the rise in oil prices, the cost of winter heating for residents increased significantly, and prices rose accordingly, causing a sharp increase in the pressure on people’s lives.

This was also clearly evident from some surveys conducted by the Devonshire Charitable Foundation on the homeless.

Before the Christmas holiday, after several rounds of roadshows, Anhua Gao finally began trading on the NASDAQ market.

December 20th was the first day of trading for Anhua Gao Technology. Ultimately, the initial public offering price of Anhua Gao was set at 34 US dollars.

This IPO raised 1.275 billion US dollars for Anhua Gao through the issuance of 37.5 million shares.

The stock market opened, and Anhua Gao’s stock opened at 38.5 US dollars, an increase of over 13% compared to its issue price!

Its stock price once reached a high of 42.45 US dollars during the session, and finally closed at 40.18 US dollars.

Based on this closing price, the market capitalization of Anhua Gao Technology exceeded 10 billion US dollars, and it could be said that this listing was very successful.

Of course, Anhua Gao’s stock price could have its current performance also benefited from the company’s very outstanding profitability in the past two years. Because of the rapid development of the technology industry in the Asian region, Anhua Gao Technology, which provided semiconductor chip products, also saw its revenue grow rapidly.

And they also received strong support from the Singapore side. It could be said that Chen Fuyang chose to establish Anhua Gao’s headquarters in Singapore because of this.

If Anhua Gao’s successful listing made Chen Fuyang very happy—his current holdings of Anhua Gao shares were already worth 170 million US dollars, and if the company continued to perform well, he could obtain more shares—but in London, there were also people who were not so happy.

Well, to be precise, they were quite depressed…

Because Chrissy, that is, the Countess of Booth, was pregnant again.

After all, she had already experienced a pregnancy once, so at the beginning of this month, when her “period” did not arrive as scheduled, the Countess of Booth. had some ominous premonitions.

So, after going to the hospital for a checkup, sure enough…

There was no doubt that this child was also Barron’s.

The Countess had not yet told Bonnie this “good news,” but she had called the Duke of Devonshire, that is, Barron, to her place and complained…

“This is something to be happy about, isn’t it, my lady?”

“F**K, you’re having fun, and then you can happily become a father again, but what about me? Not only do I have to worry about my figure changing, but I also have ten months of painful and boring time. Do you think I’ll be happy?”

“It’s not that scary, you have experience, dear.”

Seeing Chrissy’s near-frantic appearance, Barron quickly comforted her:

“How about this, after Christmas, I’ll take you and the others to Australia for a while, while it’s still relatively convenient to move around, and relax properly.”

“I’ll consider it. Also, you go and tell Bonnie about this…”

The Countess’s words, of course, were not about going to Australia for a trip, but about the fact that she was pregnant with Barron’s child again…

Ugh, it was all his doing, what else could Barron say?

He could only think carefully about how to resolve this matter.

……

However, in the end, their trip to Australia was slightly delayed for a few days.

Because on December 31st, the Royal Family issued an announcement:

“Her Majesty the Queen is very pleased to appoint His Grace the Duke of Devonshire, Barron Cavendish, as a member of the Order of the Garter.”

The Order of the Garter, the full name should be The Most Noble Order of the Garter, is a knighthood awarded to British knights. It originated in the Middle Ages and is the oldest order of chivalry in the world today and the highest level of the British honors system.

Well, this is how it is described in many introductions. In fact, the Order of the Garter ranks third in the prestigious honors of all the orders and honors in Britain, after the Victoria Cross and the George Cross.

Obtaining the Order of the Garter means that Barron has become a member of the Order of the Garter, well, this order is also known as the Order of the Garter.

Because Garter is the transliteration of Garter, which means “garter.”

There are various explanations for the origin of Edward III’s founding of the Order of the Garter.

Legend has it that in the 12th century, during a battle in the Crusades, Saint George used garters to tie his knights together and ultimately won the war. In this explanation, the “garter” is closely related to Saint George, the “patron saint” of England.

There is also a saying that medieval knights often used this kind of thing to tightly bind weapons to their bodies, so it is a symbol of bravery and good fighting.

And the widely circulated story among the people is a more sensual one—

At a court ball, the Countess of Salisbury’s garter suddenly fell off while dancing with Edward III. The dignitaries present laughed at her for showing off her charm. Edward picked up the garter, put it back on her leg, and rebuked these dignitaries in French—“Honi soit qui mal y pense,” which means “Shame on those who think evil.”

And the main symbol of the Order of the Garter is a garter with the gold inscription “Honi soit qui mal y pense” (Shame on those who think evil)—in formal occasions, the recipients of the order must wear this garter, and its pattern is printed on some other symbols.

The members of the Order of the Garter are fixed at 25, which means that only 25 living Britons will receive the Order of the Garter.

Of course, the number of people who receive the Order of the Garter is not only 25, but also some “supernumerary members.” These supernumerary members include members of the British Royal Family and foreign royal members.

For example, in 1813, Alexander I of Russia became the first foreign ruler to be awarded the Order of the Garter.

And the royal families of Japan, Belgium, Denmark, and other countries have been awarded the Order of the Garter.

In addition, the Order of the Garter is one of the few honors that can only be awarded by the British monarch, and the British Prime Minister has no right to recommend or nominate recipients.

Now, the Royal Family has only announced that Barron has been awarded the Order of the Garter. The formal investiture will take place next year.

Every June, the Royal Family will hold the “Garter Day” event. On that day, all members of the Order of the Garter will wear the Garter Knight’s attire, hold public events, and parade.

And the Queen will also confer the Order to the newly awarded members of the Order of the Garter on that day.

Before receiving the Order of the Garter, Barron had also received the news from the Prince of Wales, so he slightly delayed his departure from London.

In addition, he was able to receive this order because he previously established the British Automobile Group, brought back British brands such as Bentley and Aston Martin, and his contributions to spreading British culture and influence to the world.

Barron also suspected that he bought Harrods, removed the statues of Diana and her lover, and preserved the Royal Family’s reputation, which was probably one of the main reasons for receiving the order this time…

“I am very grateful to Her Majesty the Queen for awarding me this honor. It is my great honor to receive this order. I will continue to work hard for the well-being of the British people, and I will also keep in mind my oath and commitment to the country.”

After the Royal Family announced the awarding of the Order of the Garter to Barron, his spokesperson recounted this to the media.

Chapter 512: Dream Farm

In fact, it wasn’t only Baron who was awarded the Order of the Garter this time; Prince William was also granted the same honor.

Of course, there was a slight difference: Baron was one of the 25 Knights of the Garter, while Prince William belonged to the royal family’s exclusive “extra wearer” category.

Generally speaking, former prime ministers would usually be awarded the Order of the Garter—if they weren’t too outrageous. For example, Margaret Thatcher and John Major were both “Knights of the Garter” who were not members of the royal family. In the original timeline, Tony Blair, who was quite controversial due to the Iraq War, was not awarded the Order of the Garter until 2022.

That means, by next June, Baron would be going to receive his knighthood with William.

To be precise, it should be this June, because the time had already entered 2007.

After spending the New Year in London, Baron, along with Bonnie and the Earl and Countess of Booth, began their journey to Australia.

They had originally planned to travel from England to Australia on the “Caesar the Great” superyacht, but unexpectedly, the Countess of Booth, who hadn’t had much morning sickness during her previous pregnancy, couldn’t travel by boat this time. She reacted quite strongly after a little bit of rocking, so they ultimately chose to fly to Australia.

Just like the last time, it was already winter in London, while here in Australia, the opposite was true, with the climate still very pleasant.

It’s worth mentioning that, nearly a year later, the Argent Real Estate Group’s development in Australia was still very good. They had already completed some real estate projects in Melbourne, which meant they had established a firm foothold here—this was also related to the fact that the local Australian real estate companies weren’t very strong.

“There will be a banquet tomorrow, attended by some of Melbourne’s local dignitaries and business people. They are very much looking forward to seeing the Duke and Duchess.”

“Is this considered a platform for the Argent Real Estate Group?”

Hearing the Earl of Booth’s words, Baron joked with him.

“Haha, that’s all our business, but besides that, the profits from other businesses are also very considerable, aren’t they? For example, the iron and copper mines here.”

“That’s true. Speaking of which, these Aussies are really lucky; they can get rich just by selling minerals.”

“Who says otherwise?”

The last time they came here, Baron and the others had already bought a villa here and had been having a related domestic service company clean it regularly. Now, they moved directly into it.

As everyone knows, the capital of Australia is Canberra, but their most famous city is Sydney. Sydney is also the largest and most populous city in Australia. Melbourne is second, a coastal city in southern Australia, and the environment is very good.

The banquet the next day, in Baron’s view, was a bit boring.

Of course, it was mainly held to deepen relationships with some local politicians and wealthy businessmen. After all, whether it was the Argent Real Estate Group, Standard Chartered Bank, or the Booth. family’s Stuart Mining Company, there would be many businesses in Australia in the future.

Moreover, as a member of the Commonwealth and also a traditional “younger brother” of England—the Queen of England is the nominal monarch of Australia—the local Australian people still love the culture of England very much. Many of SEM Group’s programs were actively purchased by local Australian television stations, including many variety shows, such as “The Traitors” and “Love Island,” for which they purchased the rights and filmed Australian versions of the shows.

Therefore, the SEM Group also had a relatively large influence here—Australia also had the largest user group of DailyVedio.com outside of Europe.

Princess Diana’s visit to Australia and the future Prince William’s arrival here were both warmly welcomed by the public.

As the Duke of England, Baron, along with his wife Bonnie, came to Melbourne and naturally felt the enthusiasm of the local dignitaries and businessmen.

“More than twenty years ago, when I was still in university, I saw the visiting Princess, beautiful and elegant, with my own eyes. I will never forget that scene…”

At the banquet, a Melbourne councilor said this to Baron.

He was talking about the scene when Princess Diana and the Prince of Wales visited Australia together in 1983. To be precise, it was also William’s first visit to Australia—Princess Diana was only 21 years old at the time, and William was only 9 months old.

If the Prince and Princess’s visit to Australia at that time had drawn almost everyone’s attention to Diana, then this time, Baron and Bonnie could be said to be a perfect match.

Especially Baron, who deeply felt the enthusiasm of the Australian ladies…

But in front of Bonnie, he was very restrained—after all, he had just coaxed his wife. Bonnie hadn’t been without her emotions before because of the Countess of Booth, who was her cousin, becoming pregnant again… so at this time, Baron was still very careful.

…

“Wow, this place is really beautiful!”

“How is it, do you like it here?”

Hearing Baron’s question, Bonnie nodded without hesitation. Even the Countess beside her, looking at the endless sea of flowers in front of them, had an expression of admiration on her face.

“This place will belong to us in the future. We can come here for vacation during the winter in London.”

What they were currently at was located in the southeastern part of the Australian continent, between the Pacific and Indian Oceans, across the sea to the south, facing Antarctica—Tasmania Island.

This island is about 240 kilometers from the Australian mainland to the north, with the east-west Bass Strait in between.

The purple lavender flower sea that they saw in front of them belonged to the largest lavender farm in the southern hemisphere—Bridestowe Lavender Estate.

After visiting Australia the last time, Baron had bought this beautiful farm with a pleasant climate.

To be precise, it was purchased by the Grace Cultural Tourism Group, which belonged to the Devonshire family trust, and they would develop it to a certain extent for the tourism industry.

And in the middle of the farm, a newly built castle-like building was Baron’s manor villa, and this area would not be open to the public for the time being.

The main island area of Tasmania Island is 65,022 square kilometers. From above, Tasmania Island is a heart-shaped island.

It is only an hour’s flight from Melbourne. Forty percent of the island is designated as national parks and nature reserves.

Such an ancient and beautiful place makes it one of the most fascinating destinations in the world.

Tasmania’s climate is mild and pleasant. “Conde Nast Traveler” calls it “the world’s best temperate island climate.”

The area where the Bridestowe Lavender Estate is located has a temperate oceanic climate, which is mild and humid all year round. Around November to April each year, the flowers here bloom into a sea, colorful and brilliant. Walking through the lavender fields, with the breeze blowing, the whole body is filled with the fragrance of lavender.

It can be said that this place is full of dreamlike colors, which captivated Bonnie and Chris.

Because of this, Baron decided to stay here with them for a while.

In addition, it is worth mentioning that although the “Caesar the Great” did not sail to Australia, Baron also bought a speedboat and a helicopter for transportation from the farm to Melbourne.

Chapter 513: Jinling Cloud Brocade

“Currently, we are relocating the production base of Nanjing Automobile. About two-thirds of the work has been completed, and we expect to finish the relocation by February. At the new production base in Kunshan, we will spend three to four months modifying the production lines for the complete vehicle assembly of the Jaguar and Land Rover brands, and then we can start production.”

Tianhe Capital’s CEO, Li Lu, briefed Barron on the production preparations of Nanjing Jaguar Land Rover, a joint venture between Nanjing Automobile and the British Automobile Group. Based on this estimate, it will be necessary to wait until the second half of this year to officially launch the Jaguar and Land Rover models manufactured in China.

The original production base of Nanjing Automobile Group was located on Zhongyang Road in Jinling. However, after being acquired by Tianhe Capital, the relocation began, moving the production base to Kunshan.

The land in Jinling was then acquired by a local real estate company that was bought by Tianhe Capital for commercial development.

This company, renamed Tianhe Real Estate, will plan and build a commercial center and high-end residential community on the original production base land of Nanjing Automobile Group, which is located in the main urban area of Jinling.

In addition to the relocation of Nanjing Automobile Group’s production base to Kunshan, they also plan to build a larger automobile production base within five years, depending on production and sales. This will be a project with an investment of over ten billion Chinese currency.

As for the models produced by Nanjing Jaguar Land Rover in China, besides the current main models of Jaguar and Land Rover (primarily imported parts, with over 60% of the output used for export to overseas markets), both brands will also launch a China-exclusive model.

This method is not unique. Currently, many joint ventures in China operate in this way – selecting a model from their lineup and modifying it to cater to the preferences of Chinese market users, launching a new model specifically for the Chinese market.

Currently, according to Jaguar Land Rover’s positioning, Jaguar will mainly launch sedans and sports cars, while Land Rover will focus on SUVs…

Therefore, in the Chinese market, Jaguar will first launch a modified sedan, and Land Rover will launch an SUV to compete with brands like Mercedes-Benz, BMW, and Audi.

Another point worth mentioning is that over 100 technical personnel from Jaguar Land Rover in Germany and the UK have been sent to China to help Nanjing Jaguar Land Rover modify the old complete vehicle assembly production lines.

It’s a good use of personnel.

After the establishment of Nanjing Jaguar Land Rover, the company’s movements have attracted the attention of other joint ventures and also Chinese domestic car users, especially high-end customers. What they are now curious about is what kind of products this new luxury brand entering the Chinese market will launch in the future.

However, the models Nanjing Jaguar Land Rover plans to launch are kept strictly confidential, and they plan to make their debut at the auto show in the second half of this year.

…

This time, Barron came to Jinling directly from Australia, and Bonnie accompanied him.

Although Barron’s visit to Jinling was low-key, and he didn’t bring many bodyguards, the Jinling authorities still attached great importance to his arrival, with both overt and covert protection being extensive.

“These silk embroideries are so beautiful, darling.”

“It has a special name in China, called Yun Brocade, which means it’s as beautiful as the colorful clouds in the sky.”

Hearing Barron’s explanation, Bonnie responded with a smile:

“That name is really fitting. It’s said to have an ancient history, isn’t it?”

Besides visiting some historical sites in Jinling, Barron and Bonnie are now at the very famous Cloud Brocade Museum in Jinling.

Inside this museum, there are four floors, displaying cloud brocade looms and exhibiting many exquisite products made with cloud brocade craftsmanship.

Seeing these, Barron couldn’t help but think of his previous life, when Fan Bingbing wore the “dragon robe” at the Cannes Film Festival.

Her outfit at the time caused a lot of discussion, and the “dragon robe” she wore was made using cloud brocade craftsmanship.

Although many people called her a “carpet star” at the time, no matter what, she did, to some extent, promote the traditional silk weaving craft of cloud brocade.

“Since you like it so much, let’s have a dress made here using this fabric.”

Barron’s suggestion made Bonnie’s eyes light up, and she immediately asked the accompanying staff about the process of making cloud brocade.

As early as the 1950s, the Cloud Brocade Research Institute was established in Jinling, the only professional research institution for cloud brocade in the country, bearing the historical responsibility of inheriting and protecting cloud brocade.

In fact, even now, this unique weaving technique of cloud brocade cannot be replaced by modern machines. Its daily output is only a few centimeters, so it is very expensive.

In the earliest times, cloud brocade was exclusively for the imperial court, and during the manufacturing process, materials like gold thread and peacock feathers were even used. Its patterns are not embroidered, but are completed with various materials and colored silk threads during the weaving process.

Barron plans to have Gucci’s designers design a set of noble attire with traditional British styles for himself and Bonnie, made entirely using cloud brocade craftsmanship – it is estimated that each of their two sets of clothes will cost over $100,000!

It truly is “an inch of brocade, an inch of gold.”

Besides the high price, the output of cloud brocade is very low, so it will take a long time for their custom-made clothing to be completed.

…

In Jinling, Barron also met with Mr. Ma, the owner of Alibaba.

Mr. Ma discussed with Barron the plan to go public in Hong Kong this year.

For this IPO, Alibaba plans to list its B2B business, mainly Alibaba, excluding businesses like Taobao and Alipay.

Although in his previous life, Alibaba went through the process of listing in Hong Kong in 2007, then delisting in 2012, and then listing in the United States.

But Barron did not object to Alibaba’s Hong Kong listing this time and expressed his support.

Because he knew that in the original timeline, Alibaba delisted from Hong Kong in 2012 mainly because they wanted to expand the scale of the listing and planned to list businesses like Taobao as well, but Hong Kong could not accept the “weighted voting rights” structure. Under duress, they chose to delist and then went public in the United States two years later.

Although he knew this was the outcome, when Alibaba listed in Hong Kong in 2007, they raised $1.5 billion, but by 2012, when they decided to delist, Alibaba’s stock price was almost back to the level when they first listed – this was equivalent to Alibaba raising $1.5 billion through the IPO in 2007, and then spending almost the same amount to complete the company’s delisting in 2012. Well, they used this money for five years for free…

This can also be considered very cost-effective.

Chapter 514: The iPhone Arrives

“Just now, Apple announced their iPhone, which is very similar to our phone…”

A few days earlier than in Barron’s previous life, on January 5th, Apple CEO Steve Jobs unveiled their latest mobile phone product, the iPhone, at the Macworld Conference held at the Moscone Center in San Francisco, United States.

Ivanka, who had been closely following Apple’s movements, informed Barron of the news immediately.

According to her description of the scene, Jobs personally unlocked the iPhone’s lock screen with his finger during the press conference and demonstrated the operation of this touchscreen smartphone, as well as the built-in iOS system.

At the same time, the specifications and parameters of the phone were also announced. Apple’s first iPhone featured a 3.5-inch LCD screen on the front, was equipped with a Samsung S5L8900 chip and the iOS operating system, and had a rear camera with 2 megapixels. It also had a non-removable 1030 mAh battery.

This phone would be officially launched at the end of June this year. The first iPhone came in only one color: the upper half of the back was silver-gray, made of aluminum alloy, and the lower half was black, made of plastic…

It could be said that the launch of the iPhone, with its simple design, revolutionary interface, and multi-touch operation, immediately shocked the industry.

But at this time, the mobile phone market was still dominated by feature phones. Although some phones equipped with “smart operating systems” had already been launched, such as Nokia and Motorola, which both had smartphone models with their own smart operating systems, the touchscreens were not yet very sensitive. Even the iPhone 1 faced this situation. For many people accustomed to using physical keyboards to send text messages and emails, accepting this new product would also take time.

Moreover, before this, Apple’s image in most people’s minds was still “that company that makes MP3s.”

When they entered the mobile phone industry, they were not optimistic about by many people.

“Typing text messages and emails on a virtual keyboard is like using a rotary dial phone. If someone regrets choosing the iPhone and abandoning the BlackBerry, don’t be too surprised, because they will spend an extra hour a day typing on the road.”

This was a comment from a well-known technology media outlet in the United States after Apple released the iPhone.

“Are we ready?”

“Yes, our Android system and the Glory Mate 1 phone are ready. We’ve undergone countless tests and optimizations, and we’ll continue to improve them through user feedback.”

Hearing Ivanka’s words on the phone, Barron nodded and said:

“Then we’ll hold a press conference in a week.”

In fact, even though he had experienced it once in his previous life, experiencing it again in this slightly different era, knowing that a groundbreaking new product was about to be launched, Barron was still somewhat excited.

After the two-day trip to China, Bonnie and the Earl and Countess of Booth. returned to London by plane.

Barron, on the other hand, went directly to Los Angeles.

On January 10th, the Warriors announced the completion of the transaction. Pioneer Sports Group purchased the NBA team located in Oakland, California, from the original owner, Chris Cohan, for 350 million US dollars.

As everyone knows, Pioneer Sports Group owns the English Premier League’s Manchester United club and the F1 Group. Now, this sports company would add an NBA team.

And DS Holdings (Cavendish Trust) owns 60% of Pioneer Sports Group’s shares. Therefore, Barron, the British Duke, is the owner of Pioneer Sports Group, which means he will become the first foreign team owner in the NBA.

Although Barron did not attend the press conference for the acquisition of the Warriors – it was the CEO of Pioneer Sports Group, Kaby Huber, who appeared.

But after that, Barron went to the team, met with the team’s coaches and players, and presented them with gifts – a brand new Land Rover Range Rover for each of them!

This generous move immediately made the news the next day… This also served as an advertisement for Land Rover.

Barron stated that after acquiring the Warriors, he would not make any changes for the time being – perhaps the only change would be that if they won, there would be more bonuses.

This relieved the Warriors’ coaches and players.

And Barron also watched the Warriors’ game against the Magic. Although the game ended with the Warriors losing 76-91, Barron still smiled throughout the game and encouraged the players after the game.

It could be said that during this game, not only during the breaks, but even during the game, many cameras were focused on the young British Duke in the audience. His handsome and elegant demeanor, appearing on the big screen at the arena, would also elicit cheers.

Barron didn’t plan to be so high-profile here, but what he was doing now was actually to gain some attention for the upcoming Android operating system and the Glory phone.

As he appeared, the reporters’ cameras captured images of Barron operating his phone several times. Under the observation of those with a keen eye, it was discovered that it was a model different from all the phones on the market now – most importantly, Barron’s process of operating the phone was clearly achieved by touching the screen, which made people think of Apple’s new iPhone, which had just been released a week ago and attracted a lot of attention.

However, after enlarging the photos, it was obvious that the phone in his hand was different from the iPhone released by Apple.

This question was soon answered.

On January 12th, Android, owned by IC Capital, held a press conference in Los Angeles.

Many reporters attended this press conference – not entirely because of the invitations from IC Capital and Android. In fact, most of these reporters were coming for Barron.

It could be said that their initial reason for coming to this press conference was more out of a sense of “gossip.”

Because as a highly valued press conference by IC Capital, Ivanka also sat in the audience – initially, Ivanka was known for being born into the TP family and having a father who was very good at hype.

But now, because of the outstanding achievements of IC Capital managed by Ivanka, this girl with a beautiful appearance and extraordinary business talent has been considered one of the most outstanding representatives of the “rich second generation” in the United States. Such a topic-worthy beauty often attracts special attention.

What excited those reporters was that sitting next to Ivanka was the Duke of Devonshire, who had frequently appeared in the news because of the acquisition of the NBA team Warriors. Before the press conference began, the two of them, a handsome man and a beautiful woman, would occasionally talk in low voices, looking very well-matched.

Even though they knew that the young Duke had already married and had children, facing this situation, many reporters inevitably started shipping them as a couple.

Of course, those cameras aimed at the two of them were also constantly consuming film.

Time passed like this, and soon, the lights in the hall dimmed. Everyone understood that this meant the press conference was about to begin…

Chapter 515: Glory Mate 1

Unlike the launch events of many tech companies at this time, which were all hosted by men, this time the Android company’s launch event was hosted by Ivanka herself.

It had to be said that her youthful and beautiful image immediately added a lot of color to this launch event.

This time, the Android company’s launch event was also divided into several parts. The first part, of course, was the highlight of the launch event, which was the debut of the Android system.

The Android system was operated by Ivanka, and it was displayed to the public for the first time.

At this moment, the attention of the reporters began to shift from Baron and Ivanka to this “novel” smartphone operating system.

“Yes, do you see this beautiful phone in my hand? This is the first smartphone equipped with the Android system. I will use this phone to demonstrate our newly launched Android mobile phone operating system…”

It could be said that before this, Ivanka had followed the entire Android system and phone project. During this period, she had also tested countless phones and systems, and was very familiar with these contents.

Therefore, her subsequent demonstration of the Android system was very smooth and skillful, leaving a deep impression on people.

Among the audience at the scene, many had also attended the launch event where Apple had launched the IPhone a week ago. During the viewing process, they couldn’t help but secretly compare the Android system with Apple’s iOS system. In terms of operating methods, the two had similarities, but obviously had many details that were very different.

As for more differences, they still needed to be determined after a comparison of actual operations.

But no matter what, as the second smartphone operating system after Apple launched iOS that fully supported full touch screen, the Android system also successfully piqued the interest of many people.

After demonstrating the Android system, Ivanka also announced that the Android company would open the Android system and establish the Android Alliance. Companies that joined the Android Alliance would be authorized to release smartphones based on the Android system.

And the Android Alliance would also be committed to supporting third-party software companies to launch various APPs based on the Android system to enrich the user experience.

Currently, the Android Alliance had two members. Besides the Android company, Glory Electronics, headquartered in the province of Taiwan, China, would be the first mobile phone manufacturer to join the Android Alliance.

Next, it was the demonstration of the first Android system-based smartphone, the Mate 1, released by Glory Electronics.

Before this, the naming of various mobile phone models was mostly in the form of numbers or letters plus numbers. For example, Nokia’s 5110, 7650, or in the form of one or two letters plus numbers, such as Nokia’s N70, Motorola’s V3, and so on.

After this, many brands of mobile phones would choose an English word as the naming of the entire series. The naming would often choose a four-letter, two-syllable, easy-to-remember word, such as note, nova, and Samsung’s Galaxy series.

Glory Electronics’ first Android system-based smartphone chose the name Mate (Partner) as its name. The model they launched this time was the Mate 1.

The Mate 1, like the IPhone 1, used a 3.5-inch touch screen, and would offer two memory options: 128M and 256M. The body was made of aerospace-grade aluminum-magnesium alloy frame and engineering plastics, and had black and silver colors to choose from.

One point that was different from the IPhone 1 was that its screen did not have a circular Home button, but had two rectangular rounded-corner buttons, which were the Home button and the Back button.

However, overall, the Mate 1 still had a simple design, with excellent proportions, and compared to those feature phones that were popular at the time, it had a very high sense of technology.

Ivanka said that the Glory Mate 1 would also be officially launched at the end of June. Glory Electronics would first set up Glory Experience Stores in eight cities: New York, Los Angeles, Wanbei, Modu, Tokyo, London, Paris, and Berlin. Users could start from June 1st to experience the extraordinary charm of the Mate 1 in these Glory Experience Stores and pre-order this phone.

And they would also work with global mobile operator partners to launch this epoch-making phone.

“I was very excited to watch Apple’s launch event a week ago. At that moment, I already knew that the era of smartphones was about to arrive. Therefore, with excitement, I introduce our Android system and the Mate 1 phone from our partner, Glory Electronics, these two excellent products to everyone today. I hope everyone can join us to witness the arrival of this new era…”

From the display screen, watching Ivanka say the above words, Steve Jobs’ face was uncertain.

“How did they move so fast, and that Android system, and the Mate 1 phone… why are there so many similarities with our phone system and IPhone?”

Hearing Steve Jobs murmur this…

His assistant didn’t know whether to answer or not.

“Hurry up, I want to know more information about the Android company and Glory Electronics.”

Steve Jobs turned his head and said to his assistant:

“If they used any despicable means, I won’t let them go.”

…

And on Ivanka’s side, after the Android company’s launch event, she accepted some reporters’ interviews.

It seemed that she had forgotten the original intention of shipping the CP, and what the reporters asked about was almost all about the Android system and Glory Electronics’ new phone, as well as their views on Apple’s previously released IPhone.

“Just as I said in the launch event, we were excited to see Apple launch an epoch-making product. I think that in terms of the update and iteration of smartphones, we are in the same camp as Apple, that is, we hope that the phone with a brand-new operating method can become a new trend…”

Ivanka’s face carried a charming smile, and she said calmly:

“Similarly, we also have absolute confidence in the Android system and the Glory Mate 1 phone. We believe that our products, no matter from which aspect, will be the top!”

“Ms. TP, we found that the phone used by the Duke of Devonshire before seemed to be the Glory Mate 1 phone that was just released. Does this mean that this phone can already be mass-produced?”

Ivanka was not surprised by this question. After all, the fact that Baron was “photographed” using the Mate phone was itself a part of their promotion plan.

She answered:

“His Royal Highness the Duke is himself an investor in Glory Electronics, so he will try out this phone in advance to allow it to be improved and have a better user experience, which is understandable. As for production, as far as I know, Glory Electronics has already prepared for the mass production of the Mate 1 phone, but for many reasons, and in order to ensure quality, the early production will definitely be insufficient. This is also why we need to accumulate production capacity and officially launch this phone at the end of June.”

Although in this launch event, Ivanka announced that the Android Alliance would be established to authorize other mobile phone manufacturers.

But for a period of time after the launch event, almost all other manufacturers were still watching.

After all, before the real product was launched, they couldn’t be sure whether this Android system would be successful - even if they contacted the other party, they would need to wait until the Android system was open and they had made a judgment about it.

Chapter 516: Skype Goes Public

The convoy drove into the Lis de Fleur Manor. When Barron entered the room, he saw Fan Bingbing already waiting for him at the door.

“How have you been feeling lately, darling?”

Taking her hand, he led her to the sofa and asked softly.

“I’m doing pretty well, thankfully the kids aren’t too restless…”

Speaking of which, Fan Bingbing was already over seven months pregnant, with a due date in just over two months. Her belly was already quite large.

Months ago, they had already found out that she was carrying twins—when Fan Bingbing was more than three months pregnant, her belly seemed larger than other women at that stage, so after a hospital check-up, they learned the news.

Compared to other pregnant women, Fan Bingbing would have a relatively more difficult time, which also meant that in just over two months, Barron would have a son and a daughter.

Barron’s gaze landed on the coffee table in front of the French window, where he saw a book with a bookmark peeking out.

He got up and walked over, seeing it was a book on business management.

“You’ve been reading this lately? Don’t overwork yourself, darling.”

“I just want to learn more. I’m bored most of the time, so it’s a way to pass the time…”

Speaking of which, Fan Bingbing really had a drive to work hard, and she was also very smart. After coming to Los Angeles, she quickly became fluent in English and communicated well with others, and she spent most of her time reading and recharging.

It could be said that no one’s success comes easily.

That night, Barron slept very peacefully beside Fan Bingbing.

In fact, the night before, he had a good time learning knowledge with Ivanka, so coming to see the pregnant Fan Bingbing allowed him to rest for a day.

…

January 15th, Monday.

On this day, Skype officially listed on NASDAQ and began trading.

In this IPO, Skype would issue 30 million American Depositary Receipts (NASDAQ stocks), equivalent to Skype’s Class B common stock.

Another point worth mentioning is that, like many internet technology companies, this stock offering was also in the form of AB shares, meaning different voting rights for the same class of shares.

Out of a total of 200 million shares after the listing, there would be 20 million Class A shares with higher voting rights, with each share having 10 times the voting power of a Class B common share.

Among them, DS Holdings (the Cavendish Trust Fund) owned 16 million Class A shares, while the Skype founding team and O2 Telecom each held 2 million Class A shares.

Due to the enthusiastic subscription atmosphere of investors, the final issue price of Skype shares was $24, higher than the previous pricing range of $21-$23.

On the day of the listing, Skype’s stock opened at $28.5, an immediate increase of 18.75% compared to the issue price…

It could be seen that the NASDAQ stock market was indeed somewhat frenzied at this time. By the morning, Skype’s stock price had risen above $30, and in the afternoon it reached $32.43, the highest price of the first day. Ultimately, Skype’s stock price closed at $30.16.

Compared to the issue price, its closing price had risen by a full 25.67%!

This performance was already very satisfactory.

If calculated at the closing price of $30.16 on that day, Skype’s market value exceeded $6 billion, and DS Holdings’ holdings of 122.5 million Skype shares were worth nearly $3.7 billion!

At this time, DS Holdings held 61.25% of Skype’s shares, with 70.13% of the voting rights.

And in this listing, of the 30 million shares that Skype publicly sold, accounting for 15%, 20 million shares were newly issued shares, and Skype obtained $480 million in financing.

Another 10 million shares came from the sale of shares by DS Holdings and the Skype founding team, and they each obtained $120 million in cash.

After the listing, Skype planned to establish a North American branch in Silicon Valley and build a data center there to provide higher-quality services to users in this region.

Skype’s North American branch was located near the North American headquarters of Woaw Technology.

In fact, the good performance of Skype’s stock price this time was also due to the rapid increase in North American users in the past six months, and the proportion of its paying users was also slightly higher than that in other regions.

And their revenue growth curve was also very attractive. In 2005, Skype’s annual revenue was only about $60 million, with most of the revenue coming from the second half of 2005.

But last year, 2006, Skype’s annual revenue exceeded the initial forecast of $200 million, reaching $220 million, which greatly improved Skype’s valuation.

And this year, a more conservative estimate is that Skype’s annual revenue could exceed $300 million!

However, at this time, Barron’s focus had already shifted from Skype’s listing to the Black Swan Fund.

Since October of last year, the Black Swan Fund had gradually stopped investing in long positions on subprime mortgage-related securities and stocks, and instead began to aggressively purchase credit default swap products for subprime mortgages, or CDS (Credit Default Swap), starting to prepare for the arrival of the subprime mortgage crisis.

In fact, at the end of last year, the signs of the subprime mortgage crisis had already begun to appear, but all of this was covered up by the euphoria of the financial market.

And what Barron and the others were waiting for was for the current spark to gradually turn into a prairie fire and then obtain the most substantial returns.

If one were to look back at this event after the outbreak of the subprime mortgage crisis, then the outbreak of the subprime mortgage crisis would have been predictable.

In fact, even if it was because of the overheating of the real estate industry and the eventual explosion, the damage would only have been to this one industry. The result would have been a decline in housing prices, and real estate developers and some real estate investors would have suffered losses, but at least there would not have been such a huge destructive power as the subprime mortgage crisis, which could even affect the global economy.

And the reason for such great destructive power could only be blamed on the United States’ “financial innovation” capabilities, which were too strong, and capital’s excessive greed.

They not only packaged loans into various bonds (CDOs) and sold them to investors, but also lowered the lending conditions in the end, providing home mortgage loans (subprime mortgages) to some people with poor repayment ability. They also packaged these subprime mortgages into bonds, rated them as excellent, and then sold them.

It could be said that almost all banks and investment banks in the United States were involved, and even many European and Asian banks were taking over these businesses from American financial institutions.

The investors in these bonds naturally spread across the globe.

Real estate - banks - investors…

Not only that, insurance companies were also involved, namely CDS, which was equivalent to investment institutions purchasing insurance for these subprime mortgage bonds—they paid a certain amount of money (insurance premiums) to the insurance company. If the homebuyer could not make regular payments, resulting in losses, the insurance company would compensate.

Because housing prices were constantly rising, even if someone could not repay the loan, their mortgaged property could be sold again, and the bank would not lose money. Therefore, insurance companies, seeing this opportunity to earn insurance premiums with “extremely low risk,” also actively joined in.

In this way, the amount of funds involved in real estate mortgage loans was amplified a hundredfold or a thousandfold through financial tools, eventually forming a huge balloon that enveloped the entire world.

Chapter 517: CDO and CDS

Up to this point, Barron’s entire layout targeting the subprime mortgage crisis included three parts: North America, Europe, and Asia.

The North American part directly targeted the subprime mortgage-backed securities market, which was the source of the crisis, as well as related real estate and financial industries, primarily through the Wall Street fund he acquired, the Black Swan Fund.

Starting in the second half of last year, the Black Swan Fund had successively received $4.1 billion in funds from IC Capital and Blue Valley Capital. Through early investments in subprime mortgage companies and related debt products, they had successfully increased these funds to over $5 billion.

After that, they began to short these related products.

The most profitable part of this was shorting subprime mortgage-backed securities CDOs and purchasing subprime mortgage credit default swaps, CDS.

Shorting CDOs meant the Black Swan Fund would directly sign betting agreements with the issuers of those debts, that is, the big investment banks on Wall Street. They would “borrow” CDO bonds from them to sell, and then buy them back after these bonds fell to worthless prices…

At that time, when the real estate market was still booming and house prices were still rising, this shorting behavior looked completely like “courting death,” so those institutions were very happy to have someone give them money for nothing.

Now, the Black Swan Fund had signed CDO betting agreements of varying amounts with a long list of “giants,” including Merrill Lynch, Citigroup, Lehman Brothers, UBS, Deutsche Bank, and Goldman Sachs Group. The funds involved ranged from nearly ten billion to one billion dollars—because these investment banks were inherently competitive and would keep their customer information and investment trends confidential, they actually only thought that there was a “crazy” fund company going against the trend to bet against them and give them money…

They never imagined that this fund company wasn’t just “crazy,” but was outright insane, betting against almost all the investment banks in the market involved in CDO business.

It has to be said that, although Goldman Sachs Group was known for its greed, it was also the most cautious one. The betting agreement they signed with the Black Swan Fund involved the least amount of funds, only $1 billion.

As for the subprime mortgage credit default swap product, CDS, not only was the price very low at that time, but because of its form, it could apply great leverage. Therefore, the scale of funds involved in the CDS held by the Black Swan Fund was even more massive.

Speaking of subprime mortgage CDS products, in fact, it was a kind of insurance product, generally with premiums paid every six months, with fixed terms.

To give an example, the Black Swan Fund could purchase a ten-year credit default swap product for a $100 million subprime mortgage for an annual price of $500,000.

So, the total premium the Black Swan Fund should pay was $5 million over ten years—if these subprime mortgages were all repaid on time within ten years, without any defaults, then their $5 million would be equivalent to paying the premium, and the insurance company would earn it for nothing.

But if a default occurred on the subprime mortgages during these ten years, then the Black Swan Fund would receive $100 million in compensation from the insurance company.

Therefore, you can simply see this as a bet, with one party believing that these loans would not cause a default, and you putting up $5 million over ten years to participate in the bet. If the other party succeeds, you pay them $5 million. If the other party fails, you get $100 million.

Of course, these numbers are just examples. In reality, the premiums and compensation are priced according to the credit ratings of those subprime mortgages. The premium for a 3A-rated CDO bond’s corresponding CDS bond would definitely be very different from that of a 3B-rated one.

Because 3A-rated CDO bonds are “considered” to be high-quality bonds, the possibility of the other party defaulting is extremely low, so the corresponding premium is low.

But in fact, many of these 3A-rated CDO bonds were just packaged, appearing to be low-risk—Wall Street had many ways to do this packaging, making it difficult to see the difference.

The Black Swan Fund specifically hired some people to deeply research these related bonds, thereby finding the types with the highest probability of default among the more profitable 3A-rated CDS bonds, to increase the final returns.

And you have to know that these premiums are paid in installments. If a ten-year CDS bond defaulted in the first year, then you would only need to pay one year’s premium to receive the final compensation. According to the previous example, they should have paid a total premium of $5 million over ten years for a $100 million mortgage. But if the subprime mortgage crisis broke out within a year, then they would actually have only paid a one-year premium of $500,000.

This was equivalent to adding an additional leverage on top of the original leverage. As long as the time of the subprime mortgage crisis didn’t change, this was a ten-fold leverage with no additional risk!

The most interesting thing was also because of Wall Street’s greed. In order to increase the supply of the CDS bond market, they didn’t have one CDO product for one mortgage corresponding to one CDS product. Often, one CDO product corresponded to three, or even more, CDS products.

Simply put, for a $1 million house, if the loan couldn’t be recovered, the insurance company would normally pay $1 million.

But they insured the mortgage on this house with three insurance policies. So if the loan couldn’t be recovered, then these insurance companies would have to pay a total of $3 million!

Now you know why the United States had to use government funds to bail out the market when the subprime mortgage crisis occurred. With this kind of play, if the government didn’t step in, the entire financial system, including banks, insurance, and stocks, would all be finished.

It has to be said that Wall Street indeed concentrated the smartest people in America. They used carefully designed financial products to make profits, playing all sorts of tricks with financial derivatives.

But at the same time, because they were too smart, those complex financial products quietly gathered a large amount of funds and also accumulated huge risks, tying the global financial industry to this ship sailing towards an iceberg.

In addition to investments targeting CDOs and CDS, the Black Swan Fund also made a layout in the stock market—there was no way, with their amount of funds, they definitely couldn’t put it all into CDOs and CDS, because when the subprime mortgage crisis came, the funds that those investment banks and insurance companies could actually pay out were limited. Even with the amount of funds they were involved in now, a considerable portion of the compensation funds would need to be negotiated with the other party.

In that case, even if you made more in these areas…

You would probably only be able to get back this portion of the funds, so there was no need to waste the investment of the principal.

So, they invested all the remaining funds into shorting the stocks of related companies and banks.

Once the subprime mortgage crisis broke out, it was normal for the stocks of companies issuing subprime mortgages and many related banks to plummet by 90%, and many even went bankrupt directly.

Therefore, shorting these stocks would also bring huge profits to the Black Swan Fund.

In fact, the Black Swan Fund only accounted for a part of the shorting in the American stock market.

The main force in shorting the stock market was still being carried out by the New York branch of the DS Group, and they invested a full $5 billion in this shorting!

Chapter 518: The Dollar Tide

In addition, the Mars Fund under DS Capital will also participate in shorting some US stocks.

As for the European market, the shorting will mainly be carried out by the funds under DS Group. It should be known that after the outbreak of the subprime mortgage crisis, the European market was among the most affected globally.

After all, many European banks and investors were also involved in the related debt of subprime mortgage.

The funds under DS Group have also begun large-scale shorting of the entire European stock market and related bond market.

The funds they invested in this exceeded 10 billion US dollars.

In addition, the stocks of some listed companies held by DS Group and related funds had been gradually reduced in a planned manner as those companies went public, and they had recovered a large amount of funds, which were invested in this shorting.

Another point worth mentioning is that Catherine Neville, the former Mrs. Hall, still holds 8% of the shares of Northern Rock Bank. These shares are still relatively useful for the future Baron.

But he also knew that Northern Rock Bank would be deeply affected by the subprime mortgage crisis, eventually leading to bankruptcy…

Therefore, these shares will naturally depreciate significantly.

In order to compensate Catherine, Baron instructed her to use the 50 million US dollars she received from selling Hall Bank to the Hall family to buy shares of NVIDIA.

In addition, recently, under his instructions, Catherine used her NVIDIA shares as collateral to obtain a loan from Standard Chartered Bank, and used this to short the shares of Northern Rock Bank…

This can be regarded as her risk hedging strategy for her shares in Northern Rock Bank.

Finally, the Asian market, mainly shorting the Japanese and South Korean markets, is dominated by Rich23 Capital. These two markets are also the most affected by the subprime mortgage crisis.

In fact, the subprime mortgage crisis will have disastrous consequences for the global economy.

But for Baron, it is not only possible to make money through this economic crisis, but more importantly, after the subprime mortgage crisis, the global economy entered a recovery period after hitting rock bottom. Many companies faced bankruptcy, and the prices of some high-quality assets were also very low, which was the best time for him to acquire and expand.

Baron did not feel any guilt about profiting and expanding through this subprime mortgage crisis, because in essence, the United States and its capital have always been accustomed to using the “Dollar Tide” to harvest the world time and again.

It’s just that this time the subprime mortgage crisis was a mess they made themselves.

What is the “Dollar Tide”?

It is the United States that uses “interest rate hikes and interest rate cuts” to control the flow of the dollar, just like the ebb and flow of the sea, to harvest wealth globally.

The so-called “rising tide” is the United States’ expansion of its balance sheet, de facto easing of monetary policy and quantitative easing (QE), to increase liquidity in the domestic market, reduce interest rates while injecting strong liquidity into the market, and massively increase the money supply to alleviate the rapid decline of its own economy and stabilize the financial market.

However, the monetary expansion and the low federal funds rate at this time have led to the depreciation of the dollar, causing the currency to flow out of the United States.

At this time, many American capitals carry US dollars and enter other countries for investment.

These investments are mainly directed to the capital market and the real estate market, leading to rising stock and real estate prices, forming asset bubbles.

When those asset bubbles are formed, it’s time for the “falling tide”…

The United States begins to tighten its monetary policy, implementing measures such as interest rate hikes and balance sheet reduction, leading to the appreciation of the dollar and the return of capital.

Then, the dollar capital invested in other countries, after its asset bubbles are inflated, begins to sell off on a large scale, carrying the huge funds obtained, and flowing back to the United States.

And those countries that have been invested in, because of the withdrawal of foreign capital, their asset bubbles burst, triggering an economic crisis, and then falling into social chaos.

After completing this cycle of “Dollar Tide” and going through a round of harvesting, the next round of “Dollar Tide” can continue…

Global wealth will be harvested by American capital in this way, round after round…

The economies of South America, Europe and Asia are all unable to escape this cyclical acquisition by the United States, but occasionally, when things go wrong, it will also damage the economy of the United States itself.

But for the capital as a whole, even if the United States is affected, capital will not have too many problems—just like in the subprime mortgage crisis, some investment banks went bankrupt, but those were the ones who went too far. Most of the banks received government bailouts and eventually survived the crisis.

As for the ordinary people…

They can only pray for their own good fortune. Anyway, under the control of the media, they can only complain at most, and will not cause too much of a crisis.

In the final analysis, the reason why the “Dollar Tide” can be used to plunder the world round after round is, in the final analysis, after World War II, the international monetary system based on the dollar standard was formed, and the relevant institutions of banks and currency settlement were all controlled by the United States. Therefore, the dollar is the de facto global currency, which allows it to complete the harvest through this tool.

This entire system is, in fact, completed through the United States’ global military deployment.

Of course, this has also led to the gradual shrinking of the United States’ basic industrial capabilities, while military industry and finance have become their pillars.

After all, if you can easily make money through finance, who would be willing to work hard to develop manufacturing? Isn’t it better to buy other people’s “fruits of labor” by printing money?

And as long as the control of the United States continues, even if there is an economic crisis in the country, it can also transfer its losses to other countries through some tough measures. They are very familiar with this kind of thing.

……

In January 2007, Clive Goodman, the editor in charge of royal reporting at the News of the World, and private investigator Glenn Mulcaire were arrested by the British police and questioned about their wiretapping and obstruction of royal telephone communications.

In fact, as early as 2005, the News of the World revealed in its reports that Prince William had injured his knee.

At that time, the royal family found that many of their phone calls had strange noises, so they protested that their telephone communications were being wiretapped and obstructed.

The British police began to investigate this.

When Baron returned to London, he learned through some information that during the interrogation, both Clive Goodman, the editor of News of the World, and Glenn Mulcaire, the private investigator he hired, denied that anyone else was involved, and only claimed that they did so in order to obtain a “big news”…

It is obvious that they are prepared to take this matter on themselves. After all, if more people are involved, it will have a huge impact on the News of the World and their parent company, News Corporation. In this case, if they are “wise” enough, they will know what to do.

And during the police investigation, News Corporation also did a lot of work on this. According to Baron’s legal counsel, in the most optimistic case, the two people involved will only get a few months in prison.

Chapter 519: The Incident Escalates

In February, Murdoch publicly stated:

“Every newspaper is rigorously examining its own operations. Using private detectives to obtain illegal information is absolutely not the norm in this industry, at least not in the United Kingdom.”

Following this, Andy Coulson, the editor-in-chief of News of the World, resigned, taking responsibility.

Baron knew this was clearly a case of sacrificing a pawn to protect the chariot. In the subsequent series of related lawsuits, they would definitely spend money to reach settlements to avoid litigation.

But obviously, he couldn’t allow such a thing to happen—after all, if that were the case, this series of events would likely be exposed years later, just like in his previous life, which was not in Baron’s interests.

Even if it was just to cause trouble for Sky Television during this year’s purchase of the Premier League broadcasting rights, Baron would fuel this situation.

However, he wasn’t ready to step into the limelight immediately. Although, starting several years ago, he had already instructed his intelligence department to gather evidence of the News Corporation’s media outlets hiring private detectives to eavesdrop on and track public figures, including members of the royal family.

Soon, various media outlets, including The Guardian, The Daily Telegraph, and some entertainment tabloids, began to publish more reports about the News Corporation’s “phone hacking” scandal. These reports not only targeted News of the World but also involved other newspapers under News Corporation, and even similar incidents in their American homeland.

The examples they cited included the royal family, social celebrities, political figures, victims of murder cases, and even the families of those who died in the 2005 London “7/7” bombings, all of whom became targets of those newspapers’ eavesdropping.

Some newspapers even pointed out that the families of victims of the American 9/11 attacks had also been eavesdropped on by newspapers under News Corporation.

The emergence of these reports immediately ignited the News Corporation’s “phone hacking” scandal, creating an increasingly large impact.

After this, newspapers under the Independent News & Media also joined this “exposing crimes” feast—many of the materials for the previous reports, of course, came from Baron’s instructions. His subordinates delivered the irrefutable evidence to the relevant personnel of many newspapers.

The Independent announced on its front page that they had irrefutable evidence that private detectives hired by News Corporation’s newspapers had eavesdropped on and modified the voicemail of the missing girl, Milly Dowler, in 2002, which misled the police investigation at the time, leading to Milly’s eventual death.

This report immediately sparked public outrage, and many people even took to the streets, demanding that the government thoroughly investigate the News Corporation’s “phone hacking” scandal and deal with their violations of citizens’ privacy.

All of News Corporation’s newspapers and television stations in the UK were affected, with many people gathering at the doors of these newsrooms and television stations to protest.

Under such overwhelming public opinion, Gordon Brown gave a speech, announcing that an independent investigation team would be formed to investigate the News Corporation’s “phone hacking” scandal. All of their personnel would be restricted from leaving the country before the investigation was completed.

At this moment, Murdoch realized that they were in big trouble…

…

“Has the Prince of Wales left?”

“Yes, he seems to be in a good mood… Ella.”

Baron met the Prince of Wales at a villa in Westminster. They were discussing the News Corporation’s “phone hacking” scandal.

As early as more than three years ago, Baron had spoken to the Prince of Wales about the News Corporation’s excessive control of the media in the UK, and the royal family was also very dissatisfied with the tabloids’ excessive enthusiasm for royal news—especially after the police found that a reporter from News of the World was involved in eavesdropping on the royal family’s phone calls, they had no good feelings towards it.

Of course, at that time, Baron was very discreet and did not tell the Prince of Wales about their enthusiasm for eavesdropping on phone calls in advance.

It was obvious that after the “phone hacking” scandal escalated this time, the Prince of Wales supported Baron, and he also hoped to use this to warn other media outlets, so that they would not continue to focus on the royal family’s life using excessive means.

Baron didn’t say much about the content of their conversation, but pulled Miss Ella into his arms, kissed her lips, and said softly:

“Have you been waiting too long?”

“Not really, I don’t have to go back to Kensington Palace today.”

This villa was originally bought by Baron for rendezvous with Gabrielle, and he would stay here tonight.

Speaking of which, compared to the initial apprehension about their relationship, Miss Ella had become quite accustomed to this “private meeting” feeling, and was increasingly immersed in it.

The usually elegant and dignified Lady Ella Windsor, when alone with him, could be described as passionate as fire.

Speaking of which, although they lived in Kensington Palace, because their family was no longer a direct member of the royal family, they still needed to pay rent—of course, the rent they paid, compared to the huge maintenance costs of Kensington Palace, was more of a symbolic rent.

There were many royal family members living in Kensington Palace, both collateral and direct—in the original timeline, William and Kate also lived there after their marriage.

It could also be seen from the fact that Ella’s father, the Duke of Kent, owned an art trading business that, at times, their family still needed to rely on selling large amounts of inherited jewelry and artwork to “improve their lives.” Of course, compared to ordinary people, their wealth was naturally far superior to theirs, but they were far inferior to Baron, or the Duke of Westminster, who were wealthy.

After graduating, Ella initially worked in design for a company. Later, Baron opened a design studio for her, and her own income was already quite substantial, but she still spent most of her time living in Kensington Palace with her parents and siblings, only occasionally coming to this villa for the night.

The next day, Baron went to the Devonshire Financial Centre.

Currently, DS Group had the Athena Fund, a quantitative trading fund, and the Hera Fund, a high-frequency trading fund, in London.

Although he knew that after the subprime mortgage crisis broke out this year, the London and European stock markets would experience a certain degree of decline due to its impact, these two funds were not long-term holdings, but through computer-based high-frequency trading, and after conforming to the correct trend prediction, their profits would not be greatly affected.

But the Mars Fund was different. In addition to futures trading such as crude oil and foreign exchange, the stocks they held would be held for a relatively long time, so the holdings of the Mars Fund would also be adjusted later, and they would participate in shorting the stock market.

“According to your requirements, we have checked the holdings and trading situations of all traders, and it looks like things are not bad…”

“But there are still unexpected losses, right?”

Baron took the documents that Daisy handed over and asked casually.

“Yes, but this check also took a lot of extra effort.”

The scale of trading funds involved by DS Group was far from what it used to be, and it was precisely at this time, especially with the imminent subprime mortgage crisis, that Baron needed to conduct a detailed investigation of the trading situations of the traders under the group.

After all, stories of huge losses caused to a large-scale investment bank or investment company due to some traders’ private trading negligence, coupled with deliberate concealment, had always been happening. Baron certainly didn’t want DS Group to become one of the typical examples.

Especially at the moment when the subprime mortgage crisis was about to break out, if any trader privately invested a large amount of funds into subprime loan-related debt products, and recklessly added high leverage, then before they were ready to profit from the subprime mortgage crisis, they would likely be the first to be affected, causing huge losses.

Chapter 520: The First Signs

It’s not uncommon for a trader’s mistake to cause a company to suffer massive losses.

Some of these losses are caused by operational errors, while others are due to traders concealing losses from headquarters and then using various methods to secretly divert funds for increasingly large-scale speculation to make up for the losses.

For example, the massive loss case of Société Générale, which will be discovered in January of next year, is one of the largest fraud cases to date. It caused the bank a loss of 4.9 billion euros (equivalent to 7.1 billion US dollars), and the reason was only because of a trader’s misconduct.

Well, this is very likely happening right now.

Starting in 2007, 31-year-old futures trader Jérôme Kerviel predicted that European stock markets would rise and invested a huge amount of money, exceeding his personal authorization limit, in trading.

Of course, everyone knows what will happen to him next… Therefore, naturally, his actions caused huge losses.

After the losses occurred, he covered them up by modifying the data in the bank’s computer system.

Ultimately, Société Générale discovered this fraud in January 2008.

In the end, these operations caused Société Générale to suffer huge losses.

This incident clearly revealed huge loopholes in Société Générale’s internal management, and Barron certainly didn’t want this kind of thing to happen in his own company.

In fact, compared to most investment banks, the proportion of “client investment” business of DS Group’s funds is extremely small, and most of the funds are based on the investment direction authorized by Barron.

Of course, some traders also have a certain amount of funds that they can invest according to their own analysis results, but the proportion in the overall fund scale is not high.

Even so, as the scale of DS Group’s funds increases, there will be hidden dangers, and DS Group hasn’t been established for long, so the corresponding risk management also needs to be improved.

…

On February 13, 2007, New Century Financial Corporation issued a fourth-quarter profit warning.

New Century Financial Corporation is the second-largest subprime lender in the United States. Starting at the end of 2006, a large number of New Century Financial Corporation’s customers began to default on their loans…

After discovering this, their mortgage loan source – Wall Street capital – forced New Century Financial Corporation to recover the subprime loans corresponding to the relevant subprime bonds.

New Century Financial Corporation is different from commercial banks such as Citigroup and Goldman Sachs; it does not have the ability to absorb deposits. The money it gives to customers for home loans is all obtained from Wall Street financing.

As mentioned before, they used to issue subprime mortgage loans, then sell the subprime loans to Wall Street investment banks, which were “made” into subprime bonds by those investment banks. After recovering the funds, they continued to lend… and so on.

Now, on New Century Financial Corporation’s side, the subprime loans can’t be sold, and there are defaults. They have no income and still have to repay debts, so they suffered a huge loss in the fourth quarter of 2006, almost eating up the entire year’s profit for 2006.

The next day, New Century Financial Corporation’s stock fell 36%, and at the same time, the subprime loan index ABX fell 5 points.

The market felt the chill of subprime loans for the first time.

You have to know that the Black Swan Fund’s current holdings of CDS and short positions on CDO and ABX indexes have a scale of over 150 billion US dollars!

A 5% drop in the subprime loan index ABX means that the Black Swan Fund made over 7.5 billion US dollars in one morning!

Terrifying!

As mentioned before, subprime mortgage bonds CDOs are often packaged as A-grade high-quality “investment products” by Wall Street investment banks.

Initially, during the sale of mortgage bonds, there were always some high-risk bonds with the lowest ratings that could not be sold. Investment banks did not want to hold these high-risk bonds, so they repackaged these high-risk bonds with a small portion of safe bonds to form a new investment product. This is a collateralized debt obligation (CDO) – it packages a large number of B-rated junk bonds into 3A-rated gold.

The first packaging of CDOs also has a rating from 3A to B, so investment banks conducted a second packaging, repackaging the 3A and B-rated bonds of CDOs into CDO squared for sale. After such a cycle, there are not only CDOs in circulation in the market but also CDOs to the power of N.

A large number of B-rated bonds are packaged again and again and packaged as gold for sale to the outside world, but their essence is actually garbage.

In 2006, Merrill Lynch sold CDOs to the whole world, charging a 1%–1.5% handling fee for each CDO, collecting a total of 700 million US dollars in commissions, and other investment banks followed suit.

At the end of 2006, there were 1.2 trillion US dollars of subprime loans, and on top of that, 5 trillion US dollars of CDOs were created!

Soon, subprime loans were not enough for CDOs, so investment banks created synthetic CDOs. They turned the cash flow from CDS sold to the Black Swan Fund and Paulson & Co. and other hedge funds into CDOs and became the mainstream of CDOs at the end of 2006.

Therefore, in fact, the strong participation of the Black Swan Fund has instead increased the continuous “prosperity” of CDOs.

Rating agencies falsified bond ratings, research institutions falsified real estate data, and the investment frenzy of CDOs, the three together covered up the decline of the real estate market, and the already rising default rate did not attract much attention.

This is good news for short sellers like the Black Swan Fund – the market is stubbornly holding up the remaining warmth of real estate, making CDS very cheap.

This is also conducive to the Black Swan Fund increasing its short selling of all financial products that can be shorted, such as subprime mortgage bonds, ABX index, CDOs, and synthetic CDOs.

They successfully set up all the short-selling chips when real estate reached its peak.

…

“Thank you very much, Barron, I owe you a favor.”

“Your Grace, we are friends, this is what I should do.”

After spending a Valentine’s Day with his wife, Bonnie, Barron met with the Duke of Westminster.

As soon as they met, he expressed his gratitude to Barron.

The origin of the matter was that a reporter dug up a bombshell about the Duke of Westminster – discovering that he had solicited prostitutes four times in six months, starting on December 28th of last year.

Moreover, the specific times he engaged in these acts, as well as photos of the girls entering and leaving the Duke of Westminster’s home, were all in the hands of the other party…

They even interviewed two of the girls – according to them, the Duke of Westminster also revealed his name and position to the girls.

After discovering this, Barron “reconciled” with the reporter privately, spent money to obtain the photos and materials in the other party’s hands, and obtained the other party’s promise not to publicize the matter.

It can be imagined that after knowing these things, the Duke of Westminster was full of fear. Once this matter was made public, with his position as Deputy Chief of Staff, in the context of the controversial Iraq War, it would definitely bring him great trouble.

Indeed, in Barron’s previous life, this matter caused a great uproar. Under the reports and public opinion, the Duke of Westminster at that time also suffered from psychological problems, which to a certain extent led to his later death from illness.

In addition, it is worth mentioning that the reporter who tracked this scandal this time came from the News of the World.

It was also a “pleasant surprise” when Barron sent people to “pay attention” to the other party’s movements.

Of course, because Barron had previously triggered the expansion of the News Corporation’s “phone hacking” incident, it is not ruled out that the other party might try to use the Duke of Westminster for public relations, but all of this has now been stifled by Barron.

Chapter 521: Broadcasting Rights Competition

“A News of the World reporter claims that eavesdropping is very common there…”

“Everyone does it…”

Hall said:

“Those in power have lost their self-control, and no one is investigating us.”

This was an article published in The Guardian, from an interview by Guardian reporter Nick Davies with Sean Hall, who previously worked as a reporter at the News of the World.

In this interview, Sean Hall also hinted that the former editor-in-chief of the News of the World, Andy Coulson, was aware of the newspaper’s employees eavesdropping on voicemail messages.

Andy Coulson had just resigned as editor-in-chief of the News of the World due to the “phone hacking” scandal, and he had previously claimed to know nothing about the eavesdropping incidents by his employees.

At the same time, according to the exposé, Sean Hall and Andy Coulson had previously worked together on a column in the British The Sun.

In 2003, after Coulson became editor-in-chief of the News of the World, he recruited Hall to work under the News of the World.

In fact, in Barron’s previous life, Sean Hall was the protagonist who again exposed the “phone hacking” scandal in 2010, and a year later, he was found dead in his home.

The police at the time claimed that the cause of death was unknown, but ruled out homicide…

So at this time, through Barron’s arrangements, his subordinates “helped” The Guardian reporter Nick Davies find Sean Hall and obtained this detailed exposé from him.

Sean Hall claimed that the actual situation of the “phone hacking” scandal at the News of the World was much more serious than the results of the police investigation.

The News Corporation’s “phone hacking” scandal was not only escalating in Britain, but also attracting attention across the Atlantic in the United States.

On February 20, as related reports emerged one after another, and more and more people accused the News Corporation’s magazines of phone hacking, James Murdoch, Rupert Murdoch’s son, was busy negotiating with those people to reach a settlement…

On this day, Senator Jay Rockefeller, Chairman of the United States Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, issued a strongly worded statement.

He warned News Corporation, headquartered in New York, that if it was found to be conducting similar eavesdropping activities in the United States as it had in Britain, especially if it involved victims of the 9/11 attacks or other Americans, it would face serious consequences.

He also encouraged relevant agencies to conduct investigations to ensure that the privacy of Americans was not violated.

And at this moment, the Premier League Committee and the Premier League company were negotiating with various platforms for the broadcasting rights of the 2007-2010 seasons in the UK.

Prior to this, according to the decision of the European Union, no single television station could continue to monopolize the broadcasting rights of the Premier League. Therefore, all 138 matches of the Premier League this time would be divided into six broadcasting packages, and it was stipulated that no media outlet could monopolize more than five broadcasting packages.

Those participating in the competition this time included BSkyB (Sky Television), ITV (SEM Group), BBC, BT Sport (a video platform under British Telecom), DailyVedio.com (a video platform under O2 Telecom and Digital Future), and television stations including Ireland’s Setanta.

In fact, as a free public television station, the BBC was often only interested in Premier League highlights, and its participation in the broadcasting rights competition was more symbolic.

But ITV, which had already merged with SDTV and had the financial strength of the SEM Group, or more precisely, the financial strength of the DS Group, was quite aggressive.

And BT Sport, DailyVedio.com, and Setanta TV, their goals were more to obtain one or two of the six broadcasting packages in total.

As BSkyB, which had been cooperating with the Premier League company since 1992, certainly had a certain advantage in the competition. After all, relying on the Premier League broadcasting rights, they had already made a lot of money on their pay sports channels…

At the same time, there was also a great entanglement between ITV and BSkyB regarding the Premier League broadcasting rights - in fact, in 1992, BSkyB had snatched the Premier League broadcasting rights from ITV, and it had even used not-so-honorable means.

At the very beginning, the Premier League had not been officially established, and ITV played the leading role in the league’s copyright, with a contract amount of 44 million pounds for four years.

Greg Dyke, who held the power to negotiate the copyright at ITV, had keenly realized that the live broadcasting rights of this top league in the future would be the biggest piece of fat in the British sports media and even the entire television media market.

In order to get this piece of fat, Dyke, on the one hand, closely negotiated with the six core clubs that were planning to establish the Premier League, and on the other hand, the price offered by ITV also soared all the way.

But the initial price of 80 million pounds for four years was nearly twice as high as before, and the final offer of over 260 million pounds for five years was, in the eyes of people at the time, an astronomical figure that was simply impossible to recoup the cost.

But even after doing his homework to this extent, ITV still lost to Murdoch.

Alan Sugar, the then-chairman of Tottenham Hotspur, changed everything with a leaked phone call.

BSkyB, who learned the news, decisively threw out a bid worth more than 300 million pounds, and ITV, which had once thought it had already won, was thus eliminated.

As for why the Tottenham Hotspur chairman provided information to Murdoch?

Because a year earlier, he learned that his newspaper competitor Maxwell was going to buy Tottenham Hotspur, so he helped his business partner Alan Sugar participate in the bidding and eventually succeeded.

This foreshadowing, laid in advance, ultimately played a decisive role in the copyright war.

As the loser, Dyke was naturally very unwilling, and ITV filed a lawsuit against BSkyB at the time, but in the face of Murdoch, who was extremely proficient in the power game of offensive and defensive alliances, this action was naturally in vain.

It was not until 1998 that Dyke finally found an opportunity to retaliate against Murdoch.

At that time, Murdoch, who was in his prime, offered 1 billion dollars to acquire Manchester United, but this transaction, which shocked the world, eventually fell through under pressure from all parties.

Dyke at the time was one of the members of the Manchester United board of directors.

Back to the present, ITV and BSkyB were once again standing on the stage of competing for the Premier League broadcasting rights, but this time…

Why did Barron trigger the News Corporation’s “phone hacking” scandal in advance behind the scenes?

One of the purposes was the Premier League broadcasting rights.

“The Labour government is always too soft on Murdoch, and I hope their so-called investigation will not eventually become a mere formality. As far as I know, the scope of the News Corporation’s eavesdropping targets is extremely wide. They not only want to obtain news, but also obtain commercial intelligence. In 1992, they obtained the Premier League broadcasting rights by obtaining intelligence…”

As a member of the opposition party, Joe Harriman, taking advantage of the “phone hacking” scandal, went all out on the television program - not only targeting the current ruling Labour Party, but also News Corporation…

She said:

“Everyone knows that the Premier League broadcasting rights for 2007-2010 are currently in competition, but I suspect that BSkyB has already obtained enough inside information. After all, the internal calls of the Premier League Committee are no secret to them, and maybe they have heard even more explosive gossip…”

Yes, pulling BSkyB into the negative impact of the “phone hacking” scandal was also one of Barron’s plans.

Not only Joe Harriman - in fact, her words were still relatively restrained, the “secret transactions” between the Premier League Committee, the Premier League company, and Murdoch were also hyped up by many tabloids…

Of course, News Corporation could not fail to fight back, but under the current circumstances, their newspapers could hardly have much persuasive power.

Chapter 522: Selling YouTube

On February 25, 2007, Woaw Technology announced an acquisition agreement with YouTube. They would acquire the video-sharing website for a price of 1.75 billion US dollars.

It can be said that with the financial support of IC Capital, YouTube developed very rapidly. At the same time, after several rounds of financing from IC Capital, they already held 70% of YouTube’s shares.

Last year, in the second half of 2006, YouTube already had 50 million videos, with over 7 million people watching every day…

YouTube also became the number one in the American video field, with a market share of 45% – this was nearly twice that of the second-place MySpace at 23.5%, and it even surpassed the combined video share of America’s four major portal websites, Yahoo, Microsoft MSN, Google Video, and America Online AOL!

It can be said that the rise of YouTube allowed many people to see the prospects of the video industry. Starting from the second half of last year, companies such as SoftBank, Yahoo, News Corporation, and Google extended their olive branches, preparing to acquire YouTube.

However, under the matchmaking of IC Capital – although IC Capital held as much as 70% of YouTube’s shares, their ability to continuously invest in YouTube was largely because Ivan Tarta respected YouTube’s founding team’s way of managing the company and rarely interfered with their management – YouTube ultimately chose Woaw Technology and reached an agreement with them.

The acquisition price of 1.75 billion US dollars was astonishing, and it was also the second-largest acquisition in Woaw Technology’s history – second only to their acquisition of DoubleClick, which was priced at 3.15 billion US dollars.

This acquisition would be conducted through a combination of cash and stock. Woaw Technology would pay 500 million US dollars in cash and issue 217.4 million Class B common shares to YouTube’s shareholders to complete the acquisition.

Among them, IC Capital would receive 350 million US dollars in cash and 152 million shares of Woaw stock; the YouTube founding team would receive 150 million US dollars in cash and 65.22 million shares of Woaw Technology stock.

Woaw itself had the function of providing users with video sharing and uploading, but those were just ancillary functions.

After completing this acquisition, YouTube would become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Woaw Technology, and its videos could also be interconnected with Woaw.com. Users could directly share the videos they posted on YouTube to their personal Woaw pages, and they could also conveniently watch the videos posted by their Woaw friends.

The YouTube founding team would still be responsible for the operation of the company and would receive more resource support from Woaw Technology.

At this point, Woaw Technology’s total share capital increased to nearly 4.8 billion shares, of which DS Holding Company (Cavendish Trust Fund) held approximately 2 billion shares of Woaw stock (originally 2.2 billion shares, which were gradually reduced), accounting for 41.67%, while its voting rights held a proportion of 57.6%.

IC Capital held approximately 812 million shares of Woaw stock (the 660 million shares obtained from the sale of DoubleClick were mortgaged), accounting for 16.92%, and its voting rights held a proportion of 12.3%.

At this time, Barron still controlled nearly 70% of Woaw’s voting rights.

After announcing the completion of the acquisition of YouTube, Woaw’s stock price rose slightly by 2.5%, reaching 5.89 US dollars. At this point, its market value exceeded 28 billion US dollars.

After acquiring YouTube, Woaw Technology announced that they would successively launch multi-language versions of YouTube services and would launch a “Creator Incentive Program” of up to 1 billion US dollars. Original content from YouTubers could receive generous advertising revenue sharing based on the number of views they received, as well as user likes and coin data.

The release of this “Creator Incentive Program” made many YouTubers rejoice, and even more young people began to try to create video content on YouTube.

In addition, YouTube would also cooperate with Woaw Technology’s research and development center to continue optimizing their streaming media technology.

In fact, the reason why IC Capital chose to sell YouTube to Woaw Technology instead of developing it on their own was not only because YouTube could develop synergistically with Woaw.

In Barron’s previous life, even nearly ten years after Google acquired YouTube, although YouTube had already become a cultural phenomenon, with over a billion users watching YouTube videos every month, YouTube was still unable to make a profit.

For example, in the original timeline in 2014, YouTube’s revenue was approximately 4 billion US dollars, higher than the 3 billion US dollars in 2013, but even though YouTube contributed about 6% of Google’s revenue at that time, YouTube had no achievements in terms of profitability.

YouTube paid fees to content creators and purchased network equipment. After deducting these expenses, YouTube could basically only maintain a balance between income and expenditure.

With IC Capital’s financial strength, it was not impossible to “nurture” YouTube all along, but this would not bring any obvious benefits except for making YouTube’s valuation higher and higher – unless they ultimately had to sell YouTube.

Woaw was different. They combined with YouTube, which had a synergistic effect. Not only could social networking + video improve their business model and increase the width of their moat, but YouTube could also utilize Woaw’s powerful advertising placement to increase its revenue.

In addition, IC Capital could also convert their investment in YouTube into Woaw’s stock, and after gradually reducing their holdings, the cash they obtained could be used to buy the bottom after the subprime mortgage crisis.

……

“It’s an honor to meet you again, Your Grace.”

“I really didn’t expect to see you here, Miss Borromeo. By the way, it’s during the holidays now, isn’t it?”

In Italy, Barron unexpectedly met Beatrice Borromeo, the youngest daughter of the Borromeo family.

This was in Bologna, a city in northern Italy, after the Gucci-Hermès Group had just acquired Bruno Magli, a famous top luxury shoe brand in Italy.

Speaking of Bruno Magli, it is a long-standing brand founded in 1936. Bruno Magli has always believed that shoes are a walking work of art, and its design is also based on natural art, emphasizing the coexistence of comfort and elegance. Each pair of shoes is made of high-end materials and handcrafted by professional artisans.

With its excellent design, elegant styles, superb shoe-making craftsmanship, and luxurious and superior comfort, Bruno Magli quickly became one of the main competitors in the Italian shoe-making industry and was loved by European and American celebrities and nobles.

In 1968, the second generation of the Magli family successfully promoted the brand to become a leading Italian luxury brand.

After long-term development, the Bruno Magli brand is now all over the world. It stands out among the shoe brands of international high-end department stores such as Takashimaya, Macy’s, Saks Fifth Avenue, and Lord & Taylor, and is respected by the world as “the best shoes in the world.”

Bruno Magli has always been a typical Italian family-owned enterprise. Until December 2001, Opera, a fund company specializing in investing in the Italian lifestyle, signed a contract with the Magli family and officially took over the company.

Currently, in Asia, Bruno Magli also has a branch in Tokyo, Japan.

After the Gucci-Hermès Group acquired all the shares of Bruno Magli from the Opera fund and the Magli family, some members of the Magli family would still remain in the company, continuing the classic Italian handmade shoe standards at Bruno Magli.

“Yes, I came here to travel. In fact, the University of Bologna here was also a school I hoped to attend…”

“You…came here to travel on your own?”

Hearing Beatrice’s answer, Barron asked curiously.

“Uh, actually, I came with a few friends. I just saw a nice snack shop, and I saw you as soon as I came out…”

Chapter 523: Love at First Sight

The last time Baron had seen Beatrice was when he was with Bonnie in Germany, watching the World Cup. He had then accepted an invitation from her elder sister, Isabella, to visit the Borromean Islands, where he met her during dinner.

He hadn’t expected that they would meet again in this northern Italian city.

“Are you here for sightseeing as well?”

To Beatrice’s question, Baron smiled and said:

“Sort of. I’m planning to visit the Bruno Magli Museum. Would you like to join me?”

Beatrice had heard of the Bruno Magli Museum. It was a brand museum founded by Bruno Magli in 2005. Inside, they had restored and displayed over 300 shoe designs from the founding of the Bruno Magli company to the present day.

Beatrice was also very fond of Bruno Magli shoes. In fact, one of her destinations on this trip was the Bruno Magli Museum.

However, a hint of hesitation appeared on her face in response to Baron’s invitation:

“But my friend, I have to wait for her. Otherwise, she might call the police if she can’t find me…”

“Oh? Are you talking about that young lady?”

Beatrice looked in Baron’s direction and saw a tall, beautiful girl standing outside the perimeter of Baron’s bodyguards…

“Beatrice, let me come over…”

The other person saw Beatrice looking over and waved at her, saying:

“Yes, Your Grace, she’s my friend, Blanche, and also my classmate.”

The security around Baron had always been very tight, especially in Italy, a foreign country with not-so-good public order. There were more than ten bodyguards around him, protecting Baron, and they naturally wouldn’t allow anyone to get close.

Only after receiving a signal from Baron did the bodyguards allow the girl named Blanche to pass.

Although she was slightly less refined than Beatrice’s delicate face, Blanche could still be considered a beauty, rated above eight out of ten, especially her figure, which was quite voluptuous.

As she walked closer, Blanche curiously sized up Baron, feeling that he looked very familiar. Moreover, judging from the presence of so many bodyguards around him, he was definitely not an ordinary person.

“Beatrice, who is this handsome guy?”

Seeing her girlfriend’s curious expression, Beatrice glanced at Baron and, seeing that he didn’t object, introduced:

“This is His Grace, the Duke of Devonshire…”

“Hello, Miss Blanche, I’m Baron, a friend of Beatrice.”

Baron’s demeanor was very gentlemanly, but Blanche couldn’t help exclaiming:

“Ah! You’re Mr. Cavendish? I felt like I recognized you earlier. You’re even more handsome in person than on TV…”

Blanche’s face had turned red at this point, looking particularly shy.

Baron thought that Beatrice’s best friend was very interesting, a charming person.

However, because the three of them were talking on the street, surrounded by many bodyguards, and some people had stopped to watch, Baron said to the two girls:

“I didn’t expect to meet Beatrice and Miss Blanche here today. I was just about to visit the Bruno Magli Museum. Would the two beautiful ladies like to come along?”

“Ah? Of course, we’d love to. Actually, we were planning to go there as well, but we heard that it’s closed today and not accepting visitors…”

“Is that so? Let’s go and take a look, maybe it’s open now.”

Feeling her best friend secretly tugging at her sleeve and constantly signaling to her…

Beatrice was very speechless. She still smiled and said to Baron:

“Alright, Your Grace, it’s our honor.”

…

“Beatrice, I’m really envious of you. While I was chasing after handsome guys, you met His Grace the Duke there… Speaking of which, he’s really too handsome. Compared to him, all the handsome guys I’ve known before seem ordinary…”

When it was evening, Blanche and Beatrice returned to the hotel where they were staying. When the two were in their room, Blanche couldn’t help but say to Beatrice:

“And I can feel that His Grace the Duke seems to have a good impression of you, otherwise he wouldn’t have invited us to join him for the rest of the trip.”

“You’re overthinking it, Blanche. That’s just Mr. Cavendish’s gentlemanly behavior. And you know, he’s already married and has children.”

“So what? If it’s him, then everything doesn’t matter. And I know that he’s not only of noble status but also possesses vast wealth. He’s probably the richest person in Europe.”

Blanche couldn’t help but sigh at this point.

Like today, they initially learned that the Bruno Magli Museum would be closed for a day and would reopen tomorrow…

But when they went to the museum with His Grace the Duke, what they saw were the enthusiastic staff—Blanche and Beatrice naturally knew that the museum’s so-called closure was just that it was not open to the public today, but was specifically to receive the Duke of Devonshire.

Beatrice herself came from the Borromeo family, and her mother’s side was not ordinary either. Therefore, she was quite accustomed to this kind of thing.

But for Blanche, it was a novel experience in her life, and the impact on her was not small.

“By the way, there’s still that Prince of Morocco at school pursuing you, Beatrice. Actually, he’s quite handsome too, and he’s a real prince, although I think the Duke of Cavendish is even more handsome…”

Blanche and Beatrice were both students at Bocconi University, and their relationship was very good—although Blanche’s family background was slightly inferior to Beatrice’s, she also came from a business family and could be considered a wealthy heiress.

As she said, there was a Prince of Morocco at Bocconi University who had been pursuing Beatrice recently.

The other person’s name was Pierre, the second prince of Morocco, and Pierre’s brother was the prince known as the most handsome in the world—Prince Andrea.

And Pierre’s grandmother was the legendary Princess of Morocco, the former Oscar-winning actress Grace Kelly.

In the original timeline, Beatrice had fallen in love with Prince Pierre during her university years, and they eventually married, making her the “most beautiful princess” at the time.

However, now, hearing her best friend’s words, Beatrice couldn’t help but sigh.

Prince Pierre was handsome and had a distinguished family background, which could be said to be an object that would inevitably make all girls’ hearts flutter. Who didn’t have a fantasy of falling in love with a prince?

Although, compared to him, Beatrice’s background couldn’t be considered a climb, but they could be considered a good match.

If she hadn’t met the Duke of Devonshire.

As she said to Blanche, indeed, the Duke of Devonshire was not only married but also had children, and the two of them were impossible.

But many things often couldn’t be reasoned with.

The last time they met, his handsomeness and elegant demeanor had already deeply attracted Beatrice.

Of course, that was just a moment of infatuation, and the two of them hadn’t had too much in-depth contact. This infatuation might fade away with the passage of time.

But it just so happened that they met in this northern Italian city today.

Beatrice’s heart was very complicated now—she had grown up in this kind of old aristocratic family, and her parents’ experiences had influenced her, so she didn’t have much resistance to a married man like Baron.

Or rather, it was hard for a woman to resist a man like him.

Chapter 524: The Bridge Effect

“Your Grace, if I hadn’t seen you start learning just now, I would have thought you were a seasoned skier.”

Trebis couldn’t help but give Baron a thumbs up, praising him.

“Haha, thank you for your praise, Trebis, but I told you, just call me Baron. Also, you ski very well too.”

“I also really enjoy this sport. Every winter my family and I go skiing…”

They were currently at the Abetone ski resort, about 100 kilometers from Florence. This was a very famous ski resort in Italy and also the hometown of the legendary skier Zeno Colò.

Beatrice’s best friend, very wisely, left early because of “something at home,” leaving the opportunity for Baron and Beatrice to be alone.

Although Baron hadn’t skied in this time and space before, in his previous life, he had experience skiing with his girlfriends… both in China and abroad.

Beatrice was different; it was clear she was a skiing enthusiast, her movements were quite skilled.

After learning that Baron hadn’t skied often before, Beatrice volunteered to help him practice.

Benefiting from Baron’s previous life experience and his “reborn benefits,” his physical fitness, including coordination, was excellent, so he was quickly able to advance from the beginner’s track to the advanced track.

This scene also surprised Beatrice, because later on, Baron was able to start trying some difficult moves that even she wouldn’t attempt.

It has to be said that gliding down the track from the top of the mountain was indeed addictive, and skiing had another advantage: although Abetone was a popular ski resort, after putting on their gear, it was difficult for others to recognize their identities, allowing them to interact as “ordinary people” without any worries.

And in such an environment, Baron and Beatrice tried skiing together holding hands, which created a strange feeling.

After all, skiing itself was a very exciting sport, and there was a term in psychology called the “bridge effect.”

It refers to the fact that in dangerous or exciting situations, people are prone to increased heart rate and rapid breathing, forming corresponding feelings of fear or tension. This physiological excitement makes people seek a reasonable explanation for their physiological performance.

When encountering the opposite sex in this situation, people may mistakenly attribute this physiological reaction to the other person’s charm, thus creating the illusion of love.

In addition, some people have proposed the “ski resort magic effect” – that it’s easier to fall in love at a ski resort, referring to the unique effect where love at first sight occurs at a very high probability at a ski resort.

Ski resorts always give people a comfortable feeling of joy, and people in this world of white snow always have a feeling of wanting to be in love. The opposite sex wearing thick down jackets always makes people have a wonderful fantasy.

Some women may fall because of poor skiing skills, and then men will have the opportunity to “rescue the damsel in distress.”

Women will find a sense of security and dependence in men, while men will also have a desire to protect them in the women’s delicate posture.

In any case, after their skiing trip, they spent a romantic night in a warm wooden villa on the snow mountain.

And during this night, Baron transformed into a mentor, teaching Beatrice and trying out many of life’s knowledge…

…

In Britain, the “phone hacking” incident was ongoing.

On March 5th, British police announced the arrest of four staff members and one police officer from Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation’s The Sun newspaper – these four staff members were suspected of bribing police officers to obtain sensitive information.

According to reports, the arrested The Sun staff members included Deputy Editor Fergus Shanahan, Executive Editor Graham Dudman, Legal Affairs Editor Mike Sullivan, and Head of News Chris Farrow.

Another police officer was arrested while on duty.

In addition, the police also searched The Sun’s headquarters office in London.

The London police said that the investigation was related to the phone hacking scandal of News of the World.

After the “phone hacking” incident broke out, a considerable number of newspapers and media outlets criticized the police for their inefficient investigation of the matter.

And the Conservative Party MPs became even more active, which also led to the public gathering to protest at the News Corporation’s newspaper offices.

Last month, Brown announced the formation of an investigation team led by Court of Appeal judge Brian Leveson to investigate the phone hacking case.

So far, more than 10 people have been arrested in the “phone hacking” investigation, including employees of News Corporation’s News of the World, The Sun, and The Daily Mirror, as well as two current police officers.

Before leaving London this time, Baron also met with Sir Stephen Stephenson, the Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, at Dream Island.

In fact, since the media collectively ignited the News Corporation’s “phone hacking” incident, many celebrities and the families of the victims of the subway bombings have successively denounced and sued the newspapers under News Corporation.

And the way James Murdoch, the Executive Chairman of News International, which is responsible for News Corporation’s British affairs, and also Murdoch’s second son, dealt with these lawsuits was to spend money to resolve them.

They tried to reach a settlement with those victims to avoid taking the matter to court.

And in this process, inevitably, they would have transactions with certain police officers involved.

Prior to this, Scotland Yard had not pursued this too strictly, and even had a laissez-faire attitude.

This also led to the later denunciation by the media.

After Baron and Sir Stephenson’s meeting, Scotland Yard began to cooperate closely with the special investigation team to investigate the “phone hacking” related personnel, as well as some “internal transactions.”

…

“Your Grace, this is the minutes sent by the Gucci-Hermès Group regarding the brand positioning and development plan after the acquisition of Bruno Magli.”

Taking the documents from his personal assistant, Laura, Baron took a simple look.

In fact, as a high-end luxury brand, the Gucci-Hermès Group did not spend too much money to acquire Bruno Magli, mainly because Bruno Magli was at the top in the shoe-making field, but because the products were all handmade, although the profit of a single item was considerable, the output was limited, and the whole company could not be said to make much money.

It was precisely for this reason that the development plan Opera Fund had formulated for Bruno Magli included opening product lines of other categories besides shoe-making, using the Bruno Magli brand to earn more profits.

But after the Gucci-Hermès Group acquired Bruno Magli, they made adjustments to this.

Baron remembered that in his previous life, the first time he learned about the Bruno Magli brand was not from its shoe products, but from a watch that a girlfriend had given him, which was from Bruno Magli…

Yes, the fields that Bruno Magli later got involved in were not limited to shoe-making, but also included perfumes, watches, and other products.

But to be honest, the other products of Bruno Magli were not successful, the watches completely became a “niche brand,” and the perfume sales were acceptable, but the perfume brands under it were too affordable, which instead damaged its brand tone.

In the final analysis, the Gucci-Hermès Group did not need Bruno Magli to get involved in other product lines, they only needed them to maintain the high-end luxury attributes in the shoe category.

Chapter 525: Kings Meet Kings

“Are you awake, darling?”

“Just woke up…”

Beatrice stretched languidly, looking at Barron with a soft gaze that could melt steel.

Kissing the girl on the forehead, Barron said tenderly:

“Get up and have breakfast with me, darling.”

“I want you to carry me up…”

So, Barron swept her up in his arms, effortlessly carrying the girl, who wrapped her arms around the man’s neck and giggled.

The two of them were now in Milan. Beatrice’s university, Bocconi University, was located in Milan—although she was extremely reluctant, she would soon have to go to school to start her courses.

Speaking of Bocconi University, it was also very famous in Europe. It was a private university and one of the world’s most renowned business schools, repeatedly ranked as the “Number One Business School in Europe.”

However, before returning to school, Beatrice also participated in this year’s Milan Fashion Week as a model.

February and March of each year are the time for the Milan Spring Fashion Week. As one of the world’s four major fashion weeks (New York, London, Paris, and Milan), Milan Fashion Week naturally attracted the attention of fashion-loving people from all over the world.

Fashion brands under the Gucci-Hermès Group participated in this fashion week; after all, the headquarters of this group was located in Italy.

And among the four major fashion weeks, although Milan Fashion Week rose the latest, it now stood at the forefront, gathering top figures in the fashion industry.

Milan Fashion Week often brings together thousands of professional buyers, as well as professional media and style trends from all over the world. The world-class dissemination brought about by these essential elements was far beyond what other commercial models could compare with—Milan Fashion Week has always been considered the “barometer” of world fashion design and consumption.

Although Beatrice was very enthusiastic about Milan Fashion Week, Barron wasn’t very interested in it. After spending some intimate time with the girl, it was time for him to return to London.

“I’ll miss you, darling…”

It seemed that Beatrice was indeed very reluctant to leave, which was normal. A girl who had just fallen in love was in the throes of passion, wanting to be with her beloved every moment, which was all normal.

Therefore, Barron could only patiently comfort her:

“Don’t worry, darling, you can see me anytime you want. Just give me a call, and I’ll send a plane to pick you up.”

“Really? Promise?”

“Yes, promise.”

……

One reason Barron decided to return to London at this time was that Murdoch had also arrived in London.

And he contacted Barron, hoping to meet with him.

Barron knew that Murdoch couldn’t sit still anymore.

As the British police arrested more and more employees of the newspapers under News Corporation, the government’s attitude towards News Corporation became increasingly severe. This also affected Sky Television—they were also affected in the competition for the Premier League broadcasting rights.

What was even more troublesome was that it seemed that Murdoch’s son, James Murdoch’s response to the situation, was not satisfactory. His desire for a low-profile, money-for-settlement approach was instead called “arrogantly trampling justice with money” by many other media…

In addition, as the investigation into News Corporation’s “phone hacking scandal” in Britain yielded more and more revelations and evidence, its influence spread globally, causing the FBI in the United States to also begin an investigation into News Corporation.

Since the outbreak of the “phone hacking scandal,” News Corporation’s stock price had been negatively affected, falling by nearly 40%. How could this not make Murdoch feel a sense of crisis?

Therefore, he finally decided to come to London in person to try to resolve the matter.

In fact, Murdoch was not without help in Britain. For example, former British Prime Minister Blair had known Murdoch for many years and could even be called an old friend…

Born in 1953, Blair was 22 years younger than Murdoch, which was almost the age difference between a son and a father—when Blair entered politics, Murdoch had already been dominating the media industry.

In the beginning, the two actually had little to do with each other until a bilateral meeting in 1995, when Blair, as one of the representatives of the British Labour Party, went to Australia, where he met Murdoch.

As everyone knows, Murdoch was originally an Australian, and he started his business in Australia. Later, after he expanded his business to the United States, in order to circumvent the relevant laws of the United States regarding owning media companies, he finally changed to American citizenship.

When he first met Blair, Murdoch had already established his own media kingdom and was trying to expand his territory further.

Having read countless people, he quickly discovered Blair among the representatives…

After a conversation at the cocktail party, Murdoch saw that Blair was also a pragmatist, that is, he made utilitarian choices based on facts.

He believed at the time that if such a person could hold power in the British government in the future, it would undoubtedly push his career to a higher peak.

So, Murdoch began to associate with Blair, and the other party naturally couldn’t wait to get on the “media tycoon’s” boat. The two quickly became close friends who could talk about anything, despite their age difference.

The “emotional investment” of the two sides quickly paid off. In 1997, Blair participated in the prime minister’s election. At the time, neither the British people nor the elders within the party were optimistic about this politician who had just turned forty—his initial polls were very poor, and at this time, his good friend stepped in…

The Sun newspaper, under Murdoch’s command, constantly created momentum for Blair, gradually manipulating public opinion, causing his approval rating to rise at an astonishing speed, and finally won the prime minister’s seat in the election.

This business was very profitable. Blair reciprocated, helping Murdoch gain a lot of benefits after he became prime minister.

In the years to come, with the help of the other party, Murdoch took control of six newspapers with the largest circulation, controlling the public opinion of nearly half of the British voters.

In fact, this was also the reason why Barron, last year, took advantage of a rare opportunity to force Blair to resign early; otherwise, if he was still in office, whether he could have ignited the “phone hacking scandal” at this time was naturally a question for Barron.

However, although Blair was no longer the prime minister, he still had his connections and influence in Britain. In this “phone hacking scandal” incident, he also tried to help Murdoch deal with it—Brown had previously mentioned to Barron that Blair had made some relevant remarks to him, hoping that the handling of this matter would…“not cause too much turmoil.”

Originally, Barron could have completely ignored Murdoch’s request to see him; he was originally prepared to do so.

The reason why he finally decided to meet Murdoch was that Murdoch didn’t go through other channels, but rather had his wife, Wendi Deng, directly contact Ivanka, and through Ivanka, arranged to meet him.

Chapter 526: McLaren

“Go and have Ivanka tell the Duke of Devonshire that you want to see him?”

Hearing Murdoch’s words, Deng Wendi asked with some confusion:

“Wouldn’t it be more sincere to contact him directly? And although the newspapers reported Ivanka’s rumors with the Duke of Devonshire, I haven’t heard her mention that person at all…”

“That is precisely the problem, my dear.”

Murdoch looked calmly at Deng Wendi, explaining to her:

“How old is Ivanka TP? What capital and ability does she have to manage IC Capital? Some people also say that the funds of this company come from the TP family. In fact, people who understand know that TP won’t have so much money to invest in IC Capital, and even if they have so much money, why not run his own family business well?”

“I’ve asked Ivanka about this too, and she said there are other investors.”

“If we look only at the source of the funds, it’s difficult to find the relationship between IC Capital and Cavendish, but through the phenomenon, we can explore the essence… For example, DS Group invested in Sinclair Group, and later IC Capital became one of the shareholders of this group; IC Capital bought DoubleClick and then sold it to Woaw, which was founded by DS Group, and now YouTube has also been sold to Woaw…”

Seeing the thoughtful look on Deng Wendi’s face, Murdoch smiled and said:

“Very interesting, right? And, in January, after Apple released the IPhone, Android released the Android system, and Android was also bought by IC Capital. So, what about Glory Electronics, which cooperated with them to launch the first Android phone? This company belongs to Caesar Fund, and Caesar Fund is under DS Capital… If there is only one thing, then it might be a coincidence, but if coincidences always appear, then there must be an unknown connection behind it.”

“So you mean?”

“I have studied Cavendish’s investment methods. It’s not an exaggeration to say that he is an investment genius. He can do everything just right in financial investment and capital operation, and similarly, I can see very similar patterns to Cavendish in many of IC Capital’s investment methods… So I think that behind your good friend, it’s not the TP family, or someone else, it’s the Duke of Devonshire.”

Hearing her husband’s analysis, Deng Wendi suddenly understood, but she was still a little puzzled and asked:

“If that’s the case, then it also shows that His Grace the Duke is intentionally concealing this matter, at least keeping a low profile. If we rashly contact him through Ivanka, he can completely ignore it on purpose…”

Murdoch looked at his wife, fell silent for a moment, and said softly:

“Smart people will only understand each other tacitly, and will not do anything superfluous.”

……

Before meeting Murdoch, Barron arrived in Woking first.

Woking, located in Surrey, is part of the Greater London metropolitan area, and is only less than forty kilometers away from the center of London.

Here, Barron, together with Tamar Eclestone, visited the headquarters of McLaren Technology Group, accompanied by Ron Dennis.

“McLaren has a glorious history, and I am very willing to support your future development plans, Mr. Dennis.”

Barron said this to Ron Dennis.

“I believe our cooperation will be very pleasant, Your Grace.”

Yes, Barron’s other purpose this time returning to Britain was to reach a cooperation with McLaren Technology Group.

In fact, as early as January of this year, Barron had already instructed the British Automobile Group to contact McLaren, intending to invest in them.

And at that time, there was another competitor between them and McLaren—Bahrain Mumtalakat Holding Company, and the behind-the-scenes controller of this fund was the Bahrain royal family.

In fact, if Barron hadn’t intervened, the Bahrain Mumtalakat Holding Company in the original timeline would have invested in McLaren at this time, and continued to expand its shares to a 60% share, until after Ron Dennis left McLaren in the future, they obtained all of the 100% shares of the McLaren Group.

But now that the British Automobile Group has joined, their advantages in the British industry, and the Barron behind the British Automobile Group, naturally, without any suspense, snatched the opportunity to invest in McLaren Technology Group from the hands of the Bahrain Mumtalakat Holding Company.

This time, in the cooperation, the British Automobile Group will purchase a total of 30% of the shares of McLaren Technology Group from Ron Dennis and his partner Mansour Ojjeh.

In this way, the shareholding of McLaren Technology Group became the British Automobile Group holding 30% of the shares, Ron Dennis and his partner Mansour Ojjeh each holding 15% of the shares, and Daimler-Chrysler Group (Mercedes-Benz’s parent company) holding 40% of the shares.

Since 1995, Mercedes-Benz has provided engines and funds to the McLaren team, and in 2000, it acquired 40% of McLaren’s shares, so the McLaren team became the Mercedes-McLaren team—later Vodafone sponsored it, which is now the Vodafone-McLaren-Mercedes team.

“I heard that your civilian models are already in the design stage?”

It can be said that Barron’s decision to bring Tamar Eclestone this time was not a casual one.

McLaren’s history began with New Zealand designer, driver, engineer, and racer Bruce McLaren—he was one of the first drivers to win the Ford GT40 at Le Mans.

After proving himself to be a true racer, Bruce McLaren founded the Bruce McLaren Racing Team (BMR) in 1963, and entered the F1 racing circuit in 1966.

However, in 1970, he died in an accident while testing the McLaren M8D at the Goodwood circuit in England.

Ron Dennis was only an apprentice technician for the Cooper team at the age of 19.

In 1980, at McLaren’s most difficult time, Ron Dennis and his partners acquired it.

Dennis led the entire team through multiple dynasties and became the most successful manufacturer in F1 history after Ferrari.

And Dennis was familiar with Tamar’s father, so she was active in it, which also made their conversation particularly relaxed.

“Yes, the plan is being implemented…”

After hearing Barron’s question, Dennis introduced it to him.

This is also the focus of McLaren’s cooperation with the British Automobile Group this time.

The British Automobile Group will invest and cooperate with McLaren Technology Group to establish McLaren Automotive, and enter the civilian super sports car market.

In McLaren Automotive, McLaren Technology Group holds 51% of the shares, and the British Automobile Group holds 49% of the shares.

In fact, the McLaren Technology Group at this time mainly focuses on McLaren’s team and technology research and development business.

After testing the Ferrari 360, McLaren had the idea of entering the civilian super sports car market. They hired Frank Stephenson as the design director and prepared to design and start conceptualizing the model named MP4-12C.

In fact, this is not the first time McLaren has entered the civilian car field.

In 1992, they launched the McLaren F1, a “god car.”

When it first appeared, the McLaren F1 broke the record for the fastest commercial car in the world.

Until today, it is still considered the greatest production car of all time.

The V12 engine, which can generate up to 618 horsepower, accelerates from 0 to 100 kilometers per hour in only 3.2 seconds, and the carbon fiber monocoque chassis and advanced suspension design make the value of McLaren cars constantly increase, and the F1 always increases with the passage of time.

After the McLaren F1 was discontinued in 1998, McLaren did not manufacture any civilian mass-produced cars.

It can also be said that they have not launched a new model for more than ten years.

Chapter 527: Meeting

After the British Automotive Group and McLaren Technology Group cooperated to establish McLaren Automotive Company, in addition to providing funds, the British Automotive Group will also use its related manufacturing resources to help McLaren restart the production of civilian cars.

In the future, the McLaren brand will compete with Ferrari and Porsche in the super sports car field, producing track-level sports cars.

Of course, currently the British Automotive Group has only invested in McLaren, and McLaren’s racing team and the manufacturing of civilian cars will be led by Ron Dennis.

Baron knew that in his previous life, Ron Dennis was also very successful in McLaren’s transition to civilian cars. For example, the McLaren P1, one of the “three great cars” that was very popular in the car world later, came from Ron Dennis’s decision.

The McLaren P1 was also the second successful comeback in the world sports car market since McLaren Automotive Company was first established in 1989—the first comeback was the McLaren F1, which debuted in 1992.

Now McLaren Automotive Company is setting off again, and will continue to target the top super sports car market—in fact, the super sports car brands that launch super sports cars are often limited editions, and correspondingly, the profit of each car will be good.

But if you add in the investment in research and development and the racing team, you won’t make much money—this can be seen from the fact that Ferrari is currently the only super sports car brand in the world with good profits.

But the investment in McLaren is also significant for the British Automotive Group, because it can be used to develop and experiment with some new technologies, which can then be applied to other products of the British Automotive Group. In addition, having a super sports car brand adds to the image of the entire automotive group.

Of course, the British Automotive Group also has Aston Martin, but Aston Martin has been away from the F1 track for a considerable amount of time. It will also take time to re-enter, and its results will certainly be difficult to surpass McLaren’s for a considerable period of time.

Moreover, such a brand, in fact, apart from research and development, which has a considerable effect on the entire group’s car manufacturing, as long as there are no major decision-making mistakes, it won’t lose money, so there’s no need to worry about having too many.

……

“Wow, you really bought McLaren, darling…”

On the way back, Tamara couldn’t hide her excitement, which could be felt from her tone.

“It’s too early to say that, baby, we are only cooperating with McLaren now, we are just their shareholders.”

“But it’s already a major shareholder, isn’t it, and you will eventually buy it completely…”

Hearing Tamara say this, Baron couldn’t help but smile:

“How are you so sure?”

“Because I know you, you will definitely buy what you like…”

Although Tamara looks carefree and has a “silly and sweet” feeling, in fact, she is very good at seeing through some things.

“By the way, darling… I want to make a car-related show.”

Being held by the girl’s arm, and listening to her coquettish words, Baron then asked:

“Why did you suddenly have this idea?”

“Because this is something I’m interested in, and now I have some experience in producing shows, so I want to give it a try.”

Baron himself is very supportive of the interests of the women around him, and Tamara also has her own advantages. Her father is an authority on F1 events, and she has been influenced by it since she was a child, and also has her own ideas about it.

At this time, Murdoch had arrived in Britain with his wife, Wendi Deng, and after their arrival, they also received media attention—he also enjoyed the treatment of being chased and intercepted by reporters this time.

After Baron returned to London, he had a secret meeting with Murdoch in one of his villas.

“Could it be that the Duke is behind this incident?”

Before coming here, Wendi Deng had asked Murdoch this question.

“There is no evidence to prove this at the moment, Wendi…”

Murdoch said slowly:

“But it doesn’t matter, we just need to understand that Cavendish is one of the keys for us to solve this matter.”

Murdoch understood that even though the “phone hacking scandal” had little to do with Baron, the emergence of this matter would inevitably be used by the other party.

Just as he said to Wendi Deng:

“The biggest competitor of News Corporation in Britain is the SEM Group. Although the BBC looks more powerful, its non-profit nature does not pose much of a threat to us. Only the SEM Group has ITV on television; in the newspaper industry, it has Independent News & Media, which is very similar to News Corporation’s layout, and is therefore a direct competitor. So, if it were me, I would spare no effort to seize this opportunity to attack a competitor…”

……

“Welcome to London, Mr. Murdoch, it’s just a pity that the weather in London hasn’t been too good recently.”

After the two met, Murdoch heard more meaning from the young British Duke’s words.

But as an “old fox”, Murdoch could say that he had seen all kinds of scenes, and would not be moved by it. He still smiled and said:

“Although the recent rain is indeed very London, the sunny days will come soon, Your Grace.”

“Yes, we all need an optimistic attitude, even if reality is often unsatisfactory.”

Baron shrugged and sat down on the sofa in the living room with Murdoch:

“By the way, this is the purest English black tea, it warms the body, I don’t know if you are used to drinking it, Mr. Murdoch.”

“Thank you, Your Grace…”

Murdoch understood that he was not here to talk to the other party about these meaningless words. Of course, the British Duke in front of him could chat with him without any burden, but he needed to get straight to the point.

“I think you should know what happened to News Corporation, Your Grace. I came here hoping that we could cooperate as friends. I wonder how I can move you?”

Hearing this sentence, Baron knew that it was time to talk terms.

“I heard that there are many people in the News Corporation’s board of directors who have proposed to get rid of the trouble by selling News International Group, is that right? I think this is also a good way for News Corporation to get out of it.”

Currently, News Corporation’s business in Britain is mainly composed of two parts: BSkyB and News International Group.

News Corporation holds 39% of the shares in BSkyB, making it the largest shareholder and controlling this most successful commercial television station in Britain.

News International Group includes all of News Corporation’s British print media and publishing businesses.

“As for this point, there is indeed such a voice on the board of directors, but I don’t think escaping is a good strategy, but rather to take responsibility.”

Murdoch’s meaning was very clear, that is, he would not easily sell News International Group…

He continued:

“I believe you also understand, Your Grace, whether it is News International Group or BSkyB, even if we sell it, it will be difficult for you to become the buyer, unless you give up the SEM Group…”

His words hit the point. The newspapers under News International Group account for about one-third of the total circulation in Britain.

And Independent News & Media, under the SEM Group, accounts for one-fifth of the total newspaper circulation in Britain.

If News International Group is sold to the SEM Group, it means that they will control more than half of the print media circulation in Britain, which is something that relevant regulatory agencies will never allow.

As for the television station, it is the same. Now, the three largest television stations in Britain are BBC, ITV and BSkyB.

Among them, BBC is a public television station, and only ITV and BSkyB are commercial television stations.

So how would the British government allow the SEM Group, or Baron, to control the two largest commercial television stations, thereby almost monopolizing British television broadcasting?

Therefore, whether it is News International Group or BSkyB, even if News Corporation sells it, the target will not be the SEM Group or other companies controlled by Baron. This is also the first consensus reached by Murdoch and Baron…

Chapter 528: The Winner

Even if Baron could drive News Corporation out of Britain, their current BSkyB and News International Group couldn’t be sold to Baron; they would only be sold to others—most likely, other American capital.

Moreover, this was fundamentally unlikely. With Murdoch’s methods, the worst outcome would be cutting off a limb to save the body.

In the original timeline, Murdoch ultimately “weathered the storm” by closing the News of the World, halting the overall acquisition of Sky Television, and resigning several senior executives…

Now, even with Baron adding fuel to the fire, if Murdoch directly sold News International Group—at worst, abandoning his newspaper media and publishing business in Britain—he could still retreat unscathed.

As for the investigation in America, for him, it was nothing more than wasting a few favors.

Therefore, both Baron and Murdoch understood that Baron’s asking price couldn’t exceed the value of the entire News International Group.

And because in this matter, Baron at most promised not to stir up trouble, and wouldn’t even actively help Murdoch smooth things over, what he could get…

“In fact, Your Grace, we don’t necessarily have to be competitors. If we can cooperate, we can actually both gain the greatest benefits…”

Although Baron didn’t have a good impression of these cunning Jewish fellows, he also understood that in their positions, everyone had already, at various levels, extended their relationships and connections like the roots of a tree, with countless threads.

The kind of thing that would uproot a family at once was simply unrealistic; the ultimate struggle was always the result of mutual compromise after repeated clashes.

And when the other party could bring him benefits, reason would ultimately prevail.

Unless, it was a life-or-death feud.

Of course, anyone could say nice things, but this time, it wasn’t just Baron making things difficult for Murdoch—the other party had given him this opportunity.

The key was that they still had to pass the British government’s scrutiny. In two days, Murdoch would need to attend a parliamentary hearing related to the questioning.

In addition, he certainly needed to produce enough bargaining chips to gain the friendship of Baron, this influential Duke.

Regarding this, it was believed that Murdoch could also understand—after all, if it were him, he probably wouldn’t miss this opportunity, or even go further.

…

Soon after the two men’s meeting, the results of the Premier League’s bidding for broadcasting rights were announced.

After Sky Television and SEM Group’s ITV, the two most competitive buyers, reached an understanding…

As mentioned before, in this bidding, a total of 138 Premier League matches would be divided into six packages, with 23 matches in each package.

The final bidding results showed that ITV obtained half of the total six packages, namely, the broadcasting rights for three packages, totaling 69 matches.

Sky Television only obtained two packages, with broadcasting rights for 46 matches.

The broadcasting rights for the remaining package of 23 matches were obtained by DailyVedio.com.

It could be said that Sky Television lost to ITV in this Premier League broadcasting rights bidding, which was bound to affect their subsequent user subscriptions for their sports channel…

The only thing that gave Sky Television a little comfort was that one of their two packages contained matches at the “golden combination” broadcast times of 4 PM on Sunday and 12:45 PM on Saturday. As for the other package of 23 matches, they were mostly matches at “garbage times” like 8 PM on Monday and 5:15 PM on Saturday evening.

And the other package, which was almost entirely “garbage time” matches, was bought by DailyVedio.com at a slightly lower price.

Even so, DailyVedio.com still defeated the video platform under BT.

They would use Freeview set-top boxes and websites to provide live broadcasts and video replay services for these matches, thereby attracting more registered users and VIP users who paid through Klarna Pay.

As for the 69 matches won by ITV, a considerable portion were during prime time, and the remaining matches were also better than “garbage time,” which could be said to be the three highest-quality packages…

Of course, they also needed to pay more broadcasting fees to the Premier League accordingly.

This time, a total of 138 matches, ITV, Sky Television, and DailyVedio.com, the three buyers, needed to pay a total of 1.7 billion pounds in broadcasting fees to the Premier League.

This was a full 66.6% increase compared to the previous Premier League broadcasting rights bidding, where Sky Television alone paid the Premier League 1.024 billion pounds in broadcasting fees.

Considering that the league broadcasts 138 matches each season, the average broadcasting fee for each league match had also increased from the current 2.47 million pounds to 4.76 million pounds.

In addition, the Premier League would soon complete the sale of global broadcasting rights, mobile information distribution rights, and highlight programs, with total revenue expected to approach 2.5 billion pounds.

…

On March 19th, Rupert Murdoch, Chairman of News Corporation, his son, James Murdoch, responsible for European affairs for News Corporation, and Rebekah Brooks, Chief Executive Officer of News International Group, attended a hearing held by the British Parliament’s Culture, Media and Sport Committee regarding the News of the World phone-hacking scandal.

Murdoch, when questioned by the MPs, expressed “shame” over the incident but refused to take responsibility for the scandal.

The hearing started at 2:30 PM and lasted for over five hours.

The MPs hoped to understand through questioning when the Murdoch father and son first knew that the News of the World was conducting phone-hacking, and what countermeasures they had taken.

This was the first time Murdoch had accepted a parliamentary hearing in the more than 40 years he had owned British media.

He and his son James both appeared before the MPs that day in dark suits and blue ties.

Murdoch stated shortly after the hearing began that this was the “most humble” day of his life.

Facing the MPs’ question of “whether he knew about the illegal acts of his subordinates,” Murdoch mostly responded with silence or “no.”

He said that he didn’t know until two weeks ago that News of the World reporters had hacked the mobile phone messages of the victimized girl, Milly Dowler, and he felt shocked, angry, and ashamed.

When asked if he was responsible for the phone-hacking scandal, Murdoch clearly refused to take responsibility.

He argued that News Corporation had more than 53,000 employees worldwide, and the News of the World only accounted for 1% of its global business, so he couldn’t know everything.

As for who should be responsible for this scandal, Murdoch said it was the specific people who had once run the newspaper and the people they had trusted.

Murdoch also admitted that he had ignored the newspaper’s operations and rarely communicated with the newspaper’s editor-in-chief. In addition, his subordinates had lied to him.

Murdoch said he had not seen evidence that reporters from his media had hacked the phones of victims of the American “9/11” incident, nor did he believe the FBI would find evidence that such a thing had happened.

Murdoch’s son, James, stated at the hearing that the phone-hacking scandal was unforgivable and an extremely regrettable incident, and he expressed his apologies to the victims of the incident.

He said the newspaper had not acted according to the standards they had hoped for, and they would ensure that such incidents would not happen again in the future.

As for the famous scene from Baron’s previous life, it surprisingly happened again, as if the small changes in history always needed to face its inertia…

During the hearing, a man used a can of foam shaving cream to throw at the elder Murdoch.

Everyone was shocked, and even Murdoch’s son, who was sitting closest to him, was completely unable to react.

It was Murdoch’s wife, Wendi Deng, who, with lightning speed, quickly jumped up from her seat and rushed forward to protect her husband.

With the force of lightning, she leaped over a woman, then raised her hand and slapped the attacker, then threw the foam shaving cream onto the attacker’s face. The entire process took no more than two minutes.

It could be said that Wendi Deng’s actions changed the public’s previous impression of her.

The media present were all shocked by Wendi Deng’s decisiveness and ruthlessness. She also successfully topped the headlines of various countries with a single slap, and even the stock price of Murdoch’s News Corporation rose by 6% as a result…

Chapter 529: Standard Newspaper Group

The flames in the fireplace danced, reflecting the scene inside the room, which resembled a dungeon.

However, upon closer inspection, one could see that the seemingly crude dungeon-like arrangement was, in fact, very carefully designed, with every detail meticulously considered and made with high-end materials.

This was only if one were to observe carefully. In reality, the crisp sound of a whip cracking echoed through the room. Under such circumstances, no one would have the leisure to carefully examine the details of the decorations.

“Ooh… Hmm…”

The firelight cast shadows on the wall, depicting a tall male figure and a bound, delicate form…

…

By the time everything was over, Joe Harriman felt as if she had lost the strength to even lift her arm.

Baron, after taking a bath, drank the amber-colored liquor.

Although the sounds earlier had seemed terrifying, the whips were actually made using a special process that amplified the sound, but with ordinary force, they wouldn’t harm the other person—at most, they would leave some marks.

Although Joe Harriman looked extremely disheveled at this moment, her still rosy complexion and the satisfaction in her eyes…

These made Baron realize that he seemed to have unlocked a particular attribute in this woman.

In fact, at a position like Baron’s, he would inevitably accumulate some negative emotions, because many of the world’s rules were only followed by those within the rules, while there were always some people who stood above these rules.

A docile and kind sheep could not protect his current status and wealth. Behind the glamorous facade, he always needed to use some means.

Don’t look at how Europe and America always boast of being “civilized,” but in fact, at his level, they still followed the law of the jungle—in many cases, it was difficult to understand this sense of contradiction using some traditional Chinese thoughts.

Just like the cultural relics displayed in the British Museum, over eighty percent were plundered from countries around the world. If according to the Chinese way of thinking, they probably wouldn’t dare to announce it to the public…

But Britain proudly displayed them, not caring that it almost indicated their history as robbers and aggressors, and was instead very proud of it…

How many of the Europeans who visited this museum would truly condemn Britain? Most of them envied their past strength.

That was the same principle, “killing people and setting fires earns you a golden belt.”

All those families that maintained their glory were steeped in blood behind their warm facades.

However, he would always hide these things in front of his family and loved ones, showing his gentle side.

But these negative emotions always needed to be vented at certain moments—he would choose to vent them in the most appropriate way.

…

On March 21st, the day after Murdoch’s participation in the hearing, the Independent Newspaper Group under the SEM Group signed an agreement with News International Group, they would acquire the Times and the Sunday Times from News International Group.

This news was not yet announced to the public, and the announcement would be released after a period of time.

Speaking of which, although the Times was not outstanding in terms of circulation or profit among the newspapers of News International Group.

But it was the most authoritative newspaper that News Corporation owned in Britain. Under normal circumstances, Murdoch would never easily sell this newspaper.

Times had changed. After promising to close the News of the World, if Murdoch wanted to keep News International Group, then under the pressure from Baron and the British government, the only way was to sell the Times.

Because of the outbreak of the “phone hacking scandal,” the British government would absolutely not allow News Corporation to control more than one-third of the printed media circulation in the UK, especially with an authoritative media like the Times, which would have an uncontrollable impact on British public opinion and politics.

At the meeting that day, the tacit agreement reached between Baron and Murdoch was that Sky Television would make concessions on the broadcasting rights of the Premier League, and sell the Times to Baron. After the initial concession on the Premier League broadcasting rights, Baron exerted some influence at the last hearing, preventing Murdoch from being cornered and allowing him to take a breather.

Now, it was time for him to fulfill his promise and give up the Times.

After this acquisition, plus the closure of the News of the World, News International Group’s share of printed media circulation in Britain decreased from over one-third to less than 20%, which could be said to have been a major blow—but at least News International Group was preserved.

And the Independent Newspaper Group under the SEM Group, its share of newspaper circulation, increased from one-sixth to over 25%, becoming the largest newspaper group in Britain.

Also, after the Times and the Sunday Times joined the Independent Newspaper Group, to show respect for one of Britain’s most authoritative newspapers, the Independent Newspaper Group would be renamed Standard Newspaper—echoing the name of the SEM Group (Standard Entertainment Media Group).

At this time, Baron had already left London and was heading to Los Angeles on the Devonshire.

Because Fan Bingbing’s due date was approaching.

Although the agreements Baron and Murdoch had reached were all verbal agreements, he believed that the other party would not be so irrational as to go back on their word.

Of course, this kind of going back on one’s word was not uncommon, but the premise was that you could withstand the other party’s anger.

Believing in Baron’s strength, as long as Murdoch still had his senses, he would be very trustworthy.

Upon arriving at the Lyss Flower Manor, Baron also met Fan’s mother for the first time.

After coming to the United States for the first time, seeing the meticulous care her daughter was receiving, as well as the environment of the manor, Fan’s mother had gradually accepted and become less worried about Fan Bingbing’s insistence on carrying a child for the British Duke.

In the following time, she and Fan Bingbing’s father had also taken turns visiting Fan Bingbing several times—after all, they had another child who was in elementary school in Beijing and needed to be taken care of.

It was just that during the Spring Festival period, because Baron could not come to visit Fan Bingbing, their whole family came to Los Angeles and spent the Spring Festival together.

Now that it was almost time for her daughter to give birth, Fan’s mother was naturally also very concerned and nervous, and had come here early to accompany Fan Bingbing.

This was Baron’s first meeting with Fan’s mother, and he could feel that at the beginning, Fan’s mother was still a little unnatural.

However, under Baron’s fluent Mandarin and his friendly attitude, Fan’s mother gradually adapted.

Because it was already known that Fan Bingbing was carrying twins this time, Baron was very careful and attentive. One week before the due date, he had already arranged a house in the Lyss Flower Manor, installed the best medical equipment there, and even set up a special delivery room.

The best obstetrics and gynecology team in the United States was also on call 24 hours a day under “supernatural abilities.”

Even two days before the due date, there were helicopters on standby in the manor at all times, in case of special circumstances, to transport Fan Bingbing to the nearest high-end hospital immediately.

Chapter 530: The Battle of Succession

Although various preparations were made at the beginning, fortunately, the process of Fan Bingbing’s delivery was very smooth.

On March 25th, Pacific Standard Time, Fan Bingbing successfully gave birth to a pair of babies at the Lis Flower Manor.

Baron was very happy to suddenly have this pair of children. What made him feel particularly different was that both children inherited his blue eyes and high nose bridge, but their hair was black like Fan Bingbing’s.

Speaking of which, Baron’s own genetic inheritance was quite strong. For example, he already had four children before, one boy and three girls. These children all inherited Baron’s golden hair. Only this pair of children born by Fan Bingbing had black hair.

In traditional British society, hair color also had a so-called “hierarchy of contempt.”

Among them, the most noble were considered to be black and golden hair—black hair was a symbol of Roman descendants, and the lighter the golden hair, the more noble the bloodline was considered.

Baron’s hair color was relatively light gold.

As for brown or flaxen hair, it was a symbol of the common people; while red hair was often considered low—because the red-haired Celts were considered a symbol of slaves.

Just like in the British royal family, Prince Harry was the only person with red hair, and this point was often discussed…

Of course, it was not without reason that Baron, in his previous life, was a Chinese person with black hair and black eyes, so he felt somewhat special about having children with black hair.

Among the twins born by Fan Bingbing, the boy was born a little earlier and was the elder of the two. Baron gave him the English name Andy Cavendish; the girl’s English name was Belle Cavendish.

As for their Chinese names…

“Why do they have to take the surname Chen?”

Fan Bingbing asked in confusion.

Baron, of course, couldn’t tell her that he had the surname Chen in his previous life, so he could only say (fabricate):

“Because when I first learned Chinese, I seriously wrote down the Hundred Family Surnames and drew lots, and what I drew was ‘Chen’…”

Seeing the increasingly strange expressions of Fan Bingbing and her mother, Baron could only grit his teeth and continue:

“And I once gave myself a Chinese name, which was Chen Kailun…”

“Wait, darling, why not Chen Baron, but Chen Kailun?”

“Uh, Chen Baron doesn’t sound good, so I chose the ‘Kai’ from ‘triumphant return,’ which is Chen Kailun…”

Fabricate… no, it was when he said this that Baron felt a little ashamed, so he said:

“It’s not important. Although I’ve never mentioned this Chinese name to anyone else, I think if I give the children Chinese names, I hope they will have the surname Chen…”

Well, although it felt a little… strange, Fan Bingbing still accepted Baron’s explanation. Anyway, Baron was originally British, and what surname the children took for their Chinese names wasn’t really that important.

So their son’s Chinese name was Chen Andy, and their daughter’s Chinese name was Chen Belle.

Because they were born in the United States, according to the American principle of “jus soli” (right of soil), Chen Andy and Chen Belle automatically had American citizenship—just like Baron and Rebecca’s daughter, Jennifer, before.

However, before they turned 18, they could have the opportunity to choose their own nationality. Therefore, Chen Andy and Chen Belle could choose to follow their mother’s nationality, China, before the age of 18. Jennifer could also choose British nationality before then, or have dual American and British citizenship—because both the United States and Britain supported dual citizenship, while China did not.

After Fan Bingbing’s delivery, she would begin recovery training. Two months later, she would join the cast.

Yes, Baron had already prepared a role for her, but it was not a movie, but a new drama that was being prepared—“Succession.”

The preparation for this drama started last year, and the script had been polished countless times. It was expected to start filming at the end of May.

“Succession” mainly tells the inside story of the scandals of an international entertainment media giant family…

Logan Roy and his four children control one of the world’s largest entertainment media groups. The elderly father, Logan, begins to withdraw from the company, while his children ponder how to seize the opportunity to inherit this entertainment media empire.

The role that Fan Bingbing was about to play was the young Asian wife of old Logan in “Succession,” and also the stepmother of his four children.

Uh, Baron did not mean to allude to the Murdoch family. It was just a coincidence that he needed to arrange a role for Fan Bingbing after her delivery…

After all, the Roy family’s industries in this drama mainly included media and cultural tourism, which looked more like the Disney Group rather than News Corporation.

And Baron also had the screenwriters refer more to some related plots of other wealthy families—after all, he had just done business with Murdoch, and it would not be appropriate to immediately film a drama that directly alluded to their family.

The setting of old Logan’s young Asian wife in “Succession” would be adjusted according to Fan Bingbing’s situation. She would be around 30 years old, beautiful, strong-willed, and very resourceful.

And after her delivery, Fan Bingbing did not need to completely restore her figure to what it was before pregnancy. A little bit of plumpness would also be more in line with the character’s setting.

The reason for choosing to start filming this drama two months later was also because by that time, some models of the British Automobile Group would be officially launched.

This included the Bentley Mulsanne, the new flagship model. This ultra-luxury model, painstakingly built by Bentley, would also become one of the main vehicles of the Roy family in the drama, with close-up shots at the beginning of the film.

In addition to the Bentley Mulsanne, new models from Jaguar, Land Rover, and Aston Martin would also appear in the film. Of course, it was impossible to only have models from the British Automobile Group. That would be too fake. Models like Mercedes-Benz, Lincoln, and Cadillac would also appear, but the best close-up shots would definitely be reserved for the “patron saint” brand.

In fact, this version of “Succession” already had some plots that were different from the original “Succession.”

For example, the scenes of the young stepmother played by Fan Bingbing would be increased, and there would even be a character based on Baron…

When the Roy family encountered their biggest crisis, the “stepmother” played by Fan Bingbing took a private plane to a magnificent and luxurious manor in Britain, met with a British duke who had had an emotional entanglement with her, and received support from the duke, who was richer than a nation, and obtained funds that could save the family…

At that time, this part of the plot would be filmed on location at Chatsworth House.

And the life of the wealthy family shown in the drama would be very “realistic.” The Roy family’s manor in “Succession” would be filmed on location at the Lis Flower Manor where Fan Bingbing lived.

And Baron’s helicopter, Gulfstream private jet, and the Devonshire, and even the “Kaiser Wilhelm II” superyacht, would also be provided to the crew for filming some scenes.

It could be said that just like what many people said, “When the music plays, gold is plentiful.”

After this drama was broadcast, I’m afraid that when its classic opening theme music played, it would make people think of the extravagant and decadent life of the wealthy.

Chapter 531: The Koch Family

As early as January of this year, HSBC Holdings for the first time increased its provisions for the subprime mortgage in the United States and issued a warning that it might significantly increase its provisions.

Then, on February 13th, New Century Financial Corporation released a fourth-quarter earnings warning.

The next day, New Century Financial Corporation’s stock fell 36%, and the subprime loan index ABX plummeted 5 points.

The market felt the chill of subprime mortgages for the first time.

In March, HSBC Holdings announced its results and further increased its provisions for subprime mortgages in the United States to 7 billion US dollars, totaling 10.573 billion US dollars, an increase of 33.6%!

The news caused a sharp drop in the stock market that day, with the Hang Seng Index falling 777 points, a drop of 4%!

On April 2nd, New Century Financial Corporation, the second-largest subprime mortgage company in the United States, filed for bankruptcy protection.

“With the collapse of New Century Financial Corporation, the subprime loan bond market has been severely impacted, and our profits are also continuing to rise…”

In fact, just from shorting New Century Financial Corporation’s stock, the profits of the Black Swan Fund exceeded 1.5 billion US dollars!

On March 14th, New Century Financial Corporation was ordered to suspend trading. It’s worth noting that from January 11th of this year to March 14th, before the suspension of trading, in just two months, their stock price had fallen from a high of 32.06 US dollars to only 67 cents.

And the bankruptcy of New Century Financial Corporation was also a last resort after facing nearly 15 billion US dollars in debt collection from Wall Street.

It can be said that although New Century Financial Corporation has declared bankruptcy, the losses it caused to related financial institutions still exist, like the first domino falling, and a chain reaction will continue to occur.

In fact, the impact of the subprime mortgage crisis is gradually expanding and transmitting.

In February of this year, it was just the initial signs, and it couldn’t even be called a crisis yet.

At that time, besides the Black Swan Fund, there were also some small and medium-sized funds, including the Paulson & Co. hedge fund, that had already placed their bets, waiting for the crisis to arrive…

The key is that those other funds, unlike Barron, did not know the evolution of the subprime mortgage crisis and the key time nodes – many of them had already noticed the unhealthy condition of the mortgage market before 2006, so they entered the market earlier than the Black Swan Fund – for example, the Paulson & Co. hedge fund began building its position as early as the beginning of July last year.

What they didn’t expect was that the market’s reaction was so “slow,” and until the subprime loan bond market had problems in February, they still hadn’t seen a large-scale price decline.

Therefore, many short-selling funds had to sell a portion of their tightly held chips in order to reduce their holdings, and this included the Paulson & Co. hedge fund – without a doubt, most of these released chips were taken by the Black Swan Fund.

The Black Swan Fund’s short-selling strategy for the subprime mortgage crisis was divided into several stages according to its transmission process.

The initial stage was mainly shorting subprime loan bonds, including CDOs, and aggressively buying CDS, as well as shorting related subprime loan issuing institutions…

After this stage began to enter the harvest period, they began to short related banks and financial institutions…

After that, naturally, it was shorting the entire stock market.

The entire spread of the subprime mortgage crisis was roughly like this.

Just after New Century Financial Corporation announced its bankruptcy, at this time in April, the vast majority of people in the market did not realize that this would cause a disaster for the entire financial system, nor did they realize its destructive impact on those investment banks, but only thought that the real estate industry and related financial institutions were at risk.

When the destructive power of the subprime mortgage crisis was transmitted to the financial system, investment banks kept discovering huge losses, which would lead to the drying up of market liquidity, so in the next stage, the stock market would have problems.

Similarly, the subprime mortgage crisis that occurred in the United States, because institutions and investors from Europe, Japan, and South Korea invested in it on a large scale, also transmitted the financial crisis to these developed countries.

In these countries, the destructive power was also transmitted from financial institutions to the stock market.

When developed countries were deeply mired in the crisis, in order to stabilize the market, they needed to withdraw funds and investments from other countries, so those countries were also affected, and debt crises in many countries also broke out as a result.

Therefore, it was not surprising that Barron saw those big shots with relaxed faces and the hall filled with laughter when he attended this high-end cocktail party in Los Angeles.

“I heard you played a trick on Murdoch in the UK…”

The old man who walked over to talk to Barron was named Charles Koch.

Many people might not have an impression of this name, but if you mention the Koch brothers or the Koch Industries, then you may have heard of it.

“That’s a little inaccurate, Mr. Koch, I just did some business with Mr. Murdoch.”

It seemed that Charles Koch didn’t take Barron’s answer seriously. He shook his head and said:

“That’s just a way of saving face for him. We all know what’s going on.”

It could be seen that Charles Koch didn’t get along very well with Murdoch.

In rankings like the Forbes Rich List or the Fortune Global 500, the names of the Koch brothers or Koch Industries are rarely seen.

But this doesn’t mean that their wealth is insufficient or their strength is not enough, but because Koch Industries, like DS Group, is a non-listed private company and does not publicly release its financial statements.

Of course, because DS Group has too many investments abroad, it can still roughly estimate its scale through the number of shares held – but after Barron injected some assets into private equity funds like the Caesar Fund and the Global Industrial Investment Fund, the wealth he personally owns in DS Group has become more and more of a mystery.

The Koch family’s wealth and influence cannot be underestimated. Koch Industries, which they control, is involved in multiple fields such as oil and natural gas transportation, foreign trade, agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry, and finance, and has developed into one of the world’s largest private companies.

If we list the “titles” of Koch Industries, it is:

The world’s largest petroleum coke trader;

The world’s largest asphalt supplier;

The world’s largest feed production group;

One of the world’s largest refinery equipment manufacturers, producing various chemical production equipment;

One of the world’s largest crude oil traders, with an annual crude oil trade volume exceeding 700 million tons…

And—

North America’s largest liquefied petroleum gas processing group, accounting for 25% of the North American market;

North America’s largest pipeline transportation company, owning the longest petrochemical product pipeline in North America;

The sixth-largest electricity supplier in the United States, with power supply operations in all fifty states…

Last year, in 2006, Koch Industries once announced its operating data, with sales revenue exceeding 100 billion US dollars that year.

In fact, the Koch family, which originated from Dutch immigrants, is an important part of the American Anglo-Saxon financial group, and the Koch brothers are keen on politics and are very influential in the United States.

In general, Barron has no conflicts of interest with the Koch family, so he doesn’t mind establishing some friendships with them.

Now it seems that Charles Koch also has a high opinion of Barron, and the two quickly started chatting.

Chapter 532: I Have a Date

Influenced by their father, the Koch brothers both adhered to libertarianism.

So-called libertarianism is a political philosophy that advocates that individuals should enjoy absolute freedom to engage in any activity with themselves and their property, as long as the individual does not infringe on the equal freedom of others.

Simply put, they oppose too much government intervention, loathe any censorship, and advocate for liberalism.

Charles Koch’s father had four sons. It is said that when the four brothers were young, their father always encouraged them to compete with each other. He would often only buy one toy and let the four brothers compete through games or answering questions, so that only the winner could get the toy.

Even if the four brothers were fighting in front of him, their father would never stop them…

Obviously, the result of such an education was that the four brothers would also be quite intense about the inheritance of the family property - this is also why the current Koch brothers are David Koch and Charles Koch who manage the Koch Industries Group.

At that time, the family inheritance rights were held by David Koch and Charles Koch, who were ranked second and third, to jointly fight against their elder brother and younger brother, and finally, the two won.

And the Koch brothers’ funding for politics was also to promote the libertarianism they believed in.

For example, the two were very opposed to Obama and contributed money to fight against the Obama administration…

In addition, although in many aspects, the two brothers were later supporters of the TP, they also fell out with the TP because of its subsequent trade protectionism policy, and eventually fiercely criticized the other party.

In this regard, Barron naturally also strongly supported the Koch brothers’ propositions - after all, as an Englishman, if he wanted to expand his investment in the United States, he naturally hoped that the United States would embrace liberalism and not interfere too much…

After chatting like this, Charles Koch almost regarded Barron as his confidant…

“I saw you chatting with Charles just now, you seemed to be getting along quite well?”

After Barron separated from Charles Koch, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. walked over to Barron and said.

“Just a casual chat, you know, I like to make friends.”

“Want to go find some fun later?”

Hearing Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s words, Barron shrugged and said:

“I already have a date.”

The two exchanged a look that all men understand, and everything was unspoken.

Don’t look at Robert F. Kennedy Jr. already being in his sixties, but his private life is still rich…

However, he was even more crazy when he was young, drinking, taking drugs… and a chaotic private life.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has had two marriages so far, but he inherited the Kennedy family’s ancestral sexual addiction. Later, according to his own admission, he had an average of more than fifty affairs per year throughout the 1990s…

…

“Hello, Your Grace…”

When Barron arrived at the villa’s room, he saw a girl in a red dress already waiting inside.

This was Barron’s earliest villa purchased in Malibu Beach. It was originally lived in by Rebecca, but after she moved to the mansion in Beverly Hills, it had been vacant.

The girl’s voice was a little timid, and her eyes revealed nervousness…

Barron sized up the girl at his leisure, and finally stopped at her very familiar face:

“Your pupils were originally green?”

“Yes, Your Grace, they are brown in the movie… Because the female lead in the novel has brown pupils, I wore contact lenses at the time to change the color of my pupils.”

Yes, the girl in the red dress in front of Barron was Kristen Stewart, the actress who played the female lead in the first movie of Twilight.

Interestingly, she, like Barron’s wife Bonnie, also has the surname Stewart, and both have emerald green pupils…

The first movie of Twilight, Twilight, was filmed in only two months and was released in early April. It grossed $70 million in its opening weekend, becoming the North American box office champion for that week.

The film’s investment was only $40 million, so it seems that the film’s return on investment is definitely not a problem, and not only that, it can also make a considerable income for the Marvel-MGM Group.

After all, the box office revenue of Hollywood movies usually only accounts for about a quarter of the total revenue of the film.

This is different from Chinese movies, which mainly rely on box office revenue. Hollywood movies are more diverse in terms of profit methods.

For example, when it comes to the theatrical release, a slightly competitive film usually has a North American box office split of about 50%, and an overseas box office split of about 40%.

In addition, it also includes television broadcast authorization, disc splits, airlines and some high-end venues broadcasts, peripheral products and other forms of income.

Barron remembered that Twilight in the original timeline made a lot of money, and it wouldn’t be too different now - this can also be regarded as the first blockbuster film launched after the establishment of the Marvel-MGM Group (Casino Royale is not a Marvel-MGM Group production).

Although it is obvious that through this film, Kristen Stewart is undoubtedly going to become popular, but not to mention that she is just an actress who is about to become famous, even those actresses and superstars, in front of Barron, this powerful big shot, need to be careful.

Therefore, it is not difficult to understand her nervousness and trepidation when facing Barron now.

Kristen is just 18 years old. In fact, she can also be considered a “child star”. She started playing the role of Jodie Foster’s daughter in Panic Room at the age of 12…

In the United States, there are many such cases. If a child has a talent for acting, they will be cultivated vigorously in order to make them a star to make money for themselves - the more typical of these is Macaulay Culkin, who became famous at the age of 10 for starring in Home Alone; in addition, there is Lindsay Lohan, who became famous at the age of 12.

Kristen is lucky enough that at least her parents are not too eager for quick success.

But up to now, Kristen has been “debuting” for more than five years. In the Vanity Fair of Hollywood, she has been influenced by it. Even if she is usually well protected by her parents, she also understands how many people dream of having the opportunity to get to know a big figure like Barron.

Before this, the films she starred in were mostly low-budget art films. Although Twilight - Twilight is not a big production, it is already Kristen’s best commercial film opportunity.

“Do you know what you are going to do today?”

Barron has no patience to “flirt” with this girl…

Under his aggressive gaze, although she had already prepared herself before coming here, Kristen was still inevitably a little nervous.

“I… Your Grace…”

Kristen put her arm behind her, a zipper sound, and then the red dress slipped onto the carpet.

Although Kristen is not a top beauty, she is considered to be quite distinctive and beautiful, and… she is young, her figure is still very good, and her skin is also glowing white…

“Do I need to take a shower first…”

Her slightly trembling eyelashes represent Kristen’s nervousness at this time.

Barron smiled, easing the atmosphere in the room:

“Let’s shower together, I think it can save some time…”

Chapter 533: Bourse?

April 15th, in Brita, the new capital of Kolo, located in the city center, the West African Financial Center established the Brita Stock Exchange.

It has been more than a year and a half since the Kolo government announced the construction of the new capital, Brita. The main functional areas of Brita have already begun to take shape.

Since September 2005, Kolo announced a total investment of 10 billion US dollars to build the new capital, Brita. It is estimated that Brita will cover an area of more than 250 square kilometers and be able to accommodate a permanent population of more than 2 million.

Brita is mainly divided into three parts: the administrative area, the business district, and the residential area. The West African Financial Center, which is currently the tallest building in Brita, with 55 floors, is located in its core business district.

Within the West African Financial Center, the West African United Bank, the headquarters of West African Holdings, the West African headquarters of Standard Chartered Bank, and the Brita Stock Exchange will be stationed.

The Brita Stock Exchange is 25% owned by the Kolo Industrial Investment Fund, 60% by West African Holdings, and 15% by the LOMX Group (London-OMX Group).

The LOMX Group will provide technical support to the Brita Stock Exchange.

The first companies listed on the Brita Stock Exchange include the Tablibo Cement Group, the Ormond Confectionery Company, and Kolo Telecom.

The Tablibo Cement Group was previously 60% owned by West African Holdings and 40% owned by the Kolo Development Investment Company. Initially, through the use of loans from China, the company purchased equipment and owned a cement plant in Tablibo, Coastal Province, with a daily output of 5,000 tons of cement. This is also the largest cement plant in West Africa.

The Ormond Confectionery Company mainly produces chocolate and some types of candies. It was established by West African Holdings after acquiring a British company and establishing a large-scale production base in Kolo using local cocoa bean raw materials.

It is worth mentioning that both Kolo and its neighboring countries are rich in cocoa beans – the quality of the cocoa beans here is even better than the products from South America, so the chocolate they produce is of very good quality.

Ormond chocolate is very popular with European users after being listed on Argos.com.

As for Kolo Telecom, it was taken over by the West African Group from the family of Naxin Dema, the previous dictator of Kolo. After taking over, they also improved Kolo’s telecommunications infrastructure. However, due to Kolo’s previous economic situation, Kolo Telecom still mainly focuses on landline services and only provides broadband and mobile communication services around Lottie and Brita.

You must know that no matter how poor a country is, there are wealthy classes. Especially with the economic development of Kolo in recent years, some related industries have indeed created some wealthy people.

These people, especially some who have received elite education, have a very high acceptance of stocks. Moreover, the three companies chosen this time for the first batch of listings all have very good operating conditions and considerable development potential.

Therefore, after the Brita Stock Exchange, or the Brita Stock Exchange, started trading, the purchase situation of the three stocks was still very popular.

The Brita Stock Exchange uses the Kolo legal currency, the Kolo shilling, as the pricing currency. Moreover, the Brita Stock Exchange temporarily only allows Kolo citizens to open accounts. It is worth mentioning that those who were able to purchase the first three stocks of the Brita Stock Exchange at the beginning and have held them all along have obtained rich returns.

…

When Barron returned to the Fleur-de-Lis Manor, he saw Fan Bingbing undergoing physical training.

As everyone knows, Chinese people have the habit of “confinement” (sitting the month), and Fan Bingbing once secretly complained to Barron that her mother, in order to help her with confinement, had been personally stewing chicken soup, fish soup, and pig’s feet soup these days… which caused her great difficulty in recovering her figure.

In order to take care of her daughter, Fan’s mother asked Fan’s father to take care of the children in Beijing, while she would stay in Los Angeles for more than a month to accompany her daughter.

Barron could understand Fan’s mother’s Chinese way of thinking. After all, for the physique of Chinese people, this custom of their ancestors may also have some truth in it, and Fan’s mother was not too outrageous. After all, she had received a good modern education and would only make demands on Fan Bingbing based on her experience as a “senior”.

Barron could only comfort Fan Bingbing and let her endure it for a while.

Anyway, there was no need to rush with the recovery of her figure. “Succession” will not start filming for nearly two months, and Fan Bingbing’s role setting in it is slightly more plump, which is more in line with the role, so she does not need to be too demanding of herself.

After giving birth to a pair of children, Barron also transferred a courtyard house in Beijing to Fan Bingbing’s name – he had bought a total of three courtyard houses in Beijing at the time, namely the “Little Duke’s Mansion” near the Forbidden City, a four-courtyard “Grand Duke’s Mansion”, and another courtyard house near the Summer Palace.

These courtyard houses have all been renovated very well. He gave the courtyard house near the Summer Palace to Fan Bingbing. The privacy there is good, which can allow Fan Bingbing to have a more suitable residence when she lives in Beijing with the children.

In addition, he also purchased a luxury house for Fan Bingbing in Shanghai, located near the Bund, where she can directly enjoy the invincible river view.

“Succession” is expected to have four seasons, and the role of “stepmother” played by Fan Bingbing has a lot of scenes in it, so she can film for four consecutive years with this American drama – of course, this is on the premise that the ratings of this series are good. After all, it is very common in American dramas to directly cut off the subsequent filming plan when the ratings are dismal.

However, based on the situation of the previous life and Barron’s investment and production of this series of TV dramas, he believes that it will not fall to that point.

In addition to “Succession”, Barron will also set a few movie roles for Fan Bingbing in the coming years, so she will spend a considerable amount of time in the United States each year, which will also make it convenient for her to be with the children here.

Even if she takes on some Chinese film and television dramas, she will be able to accompany her to China when the children are a little older – anyway, Barron’s previous Gulfstream G450 is not used very often anymore. At that time, she will use this aircraft to travel between the United States and China, which will also better ensure her privacy.

Barron’s arrangements are still very considerate – it can be said that except for a few people like Bonnie and Ivanka, Fan Bingbing is the one among Barron’s women that he has put the most effort into.

These efforts also made Fan Bingbing very happy, at least so far, it shows that her choice was correct.

Of course, Barron will not be too partial. His first daughter, Jennifer, is already three years old.

Jennifer’s birthday is on April 10th. Barron happened to be in Los Angeles and celebrated his daughter’s third birthday with Rebecca.

Three-year-old Jennifer has become more and more like a little princess, very cute.

It can even be said that her appearance is more like Barron’s, and although Barron does not have many opportunities to spend time with his daughter, Jennifer is very attached to Barron. Every time she sees Barron, she will happily run into his arms.

It was at this time that Barron suddenly had a feeling and did not want to miss too much time to spend with his children.

Perhaps, there is an opportunity to gather all the children together…

Chapter 534: Tech City Launched

When Baron returned to London again, the impact of the News Corporation “phone hacking” scandal had been brought under control.

Of course, it was far from being completely resolved. However, after News Corporation announced the permanent closure of the News of the World, and several senior executives of News Corporation, including News International’s CEO Rebekah Brooks, announced their resignations and accepted investigations, the damage this event caused to News Corporation in Britain was contained within a certain range.

This was also closely related to the tacit understanding Baron had formed with Murdoch after some transactions were completed – with Murdoch’s connections, the British government would not pursue the matter relentlessly after achieving some “results.”

It could be said that a new hot topic always emerges to replace the old one.

The most concerning issue for the British media during this period was no longer the News Corporation “phone hacking” scandal. The front pages of many newspapers were filled with news about Prince William and Kate’s breakup…

The British media broke the news of their breakup on April 15th. Afterwards, countless reporters surrounded Kate’s residence on Oxford Street.

According to media reports, at 10:30 am on the 16th, Kate’s younger brother, James, drove her back to her apartment in London from their parents’ home.

Subsequently, Kate fixed her hair, put on a pair of gold earrings, and walked out of the house with a tennis racket.

At that moment, Kate smiled and walked directly towards the paparazzi waiting at the door.

Then, the two of them drove back to their parents’ home to play tennis.

News reports indicated: “Kate has many close and trustworthy friends, and it wouldn’t be a problem for her to avoid the media.”

However, Kate obviously didn’t want to do that.

As one of Kate’s close friends revealed on the evening of the 16th:

“Kate feels that running away is the worst choice. She doesn’t want people to think she’s sad and can’t face reality. If she leaves now, people won’t know what conclusions they’ll draw. Kate is a strong girl, and she has the support of her family; she doesn’t need people’s pity.”

…

“Because of the recent situation, I gave Kate a two-week vacation to help her adjust her mood…”

Baron first met with Julia Moore. Kate’s employer, Harrods department store, was held by the Devonshire family trust, and Julia also served as the chairman of Harrods.

Of course, their meeting was not that formal; their conversation took place in Julia’s residence, on the bed…

“As for the media that came to interview at the store, we’ve already handled them. By the way, Kate mentioned that she wanted to see you.”

Julia didn’t know about Kate’s previous relationship with Baron – after all, it was only a fleeting encounter at most.

Because Baron had a good relationship with William and had arranged a job for Kate at Harrods, Julia only casually mentioned Kate’s desire to see Baron; she didn’t think too much about it, just assuming that Kate hoped to talk to Baron about matters related to William.

“The media’s attention is all on her right now; let’s wait until this matter cools down a bit.”

Julia agreed with Baron’s words:

“There are many gloating reports now, making fun of the situation. It’s best not to get too involved. Let’s wait and arrange a quiet place to meet.”

…

April 20th, Thursday.

Brown attended the launch ceremony of the London Tech City in the East End of London.

The Prime Minister stated that he would vigorously promote Britain’s technological innovation capabilities, and the government would provide preferential policies to support companies and startups in Tech City.

Initially, the Digital Future Investment Company under the Caesar Foundation bought a dilapidated warehouse in Shoreditch, East London, and demolished it to build the 15-story Digital Future Building. At the time, in addition to DailyVedio moving in, the Digital Future Building also became an incubator for technology projects.

Now, DailyVedio had built a new headquarters building next to the Digital Future Building, and the Digital Future Building had completely become an incubator, providing initial-stage development space for some startups with low rent and investment support.

In addition, Klarna Pay also moved its headquarters here from Sweden.

Argos Retail Group’s e-commerce business also built a research and development and operations center nearby.

It could be said that Shoreditch was now very different from the dilapidated old town it once was; many new buildings were constantly appearing, showing a vibrant scene.

It could be said that after the Digital Future Investment Company and related internet companies joined, they boosted the development of this area.

Therefore, after seeing the current achievements, in order to help make the original industrial cluster more substantial, the Brown government issued a plan to support the development of a “mini Silicon Valley,” building East London into a high-tech industrial center, named “London Tech City.”

The government would invest over 500 million pounds to support the development of Tech City, formulate preferential policies, and ensure that a portion of the space in the new buildings would be used as incubation areas.

Currently, large companies including Cisco, Intel, Qualcomm, Woaw, and Google were also about to start moving in, and financial institutions such as Barclays Bank would also launch special financing services for startups.

In the original timeline, London Tech City did not start until 2010, mainly driven by Cameron, who later came to power, and the then-Mayor of London, Johnson.

However, with Baron behind the scenes, this Tech City project also received Brown’s support in advance.

After attending the launch event of Tech City, Brown also met with Baron.

In this meeting, he still talked about the topic he had mentioned before, which was the hope of promoting more industries to take root in Britain to enhance Britain’s industrial capabilities and improve its industrial hollowing-out situation.

Generally speaking, when the proportion of manufacturing in GDP is below 15%, it can be regarded as industrial hollowing-out. According to 2006 data, the value added of manufacturing in Germany accounted for 20.66% of GDP, the European Union was 15.81%, while Britain was only 10.04%!

Outside the EU, China was 32.45%, Japan was 21.4%, and the United States was 12.99%…

It could be clearly seen that both Britain and the United States were facing industrial hollowing-out, especially Britain, which was more severe.

The common point of Britain and the United States was that their financial industries were developed, their markets were mature, and their capital was strong.

And if financial capital was too strong, it would squeeze the capital of the real economy. In addition, the financial industry made money quickly, making the people of the two countries, who were accustomed to making quick money easily, unwilling to work hard in manufacturing.

In contrast, China, Germany, and Japan did not have such strong financial capital. Germany had always been very cautious about the financial industry.

In Germany, finance and real estate did not have much to offer; only the real economy and scientific research had a future – at least that was the case for now.

And this trend of the decline of manufacturing in Britain was still continuing. In Baron’s previous life, by 2018, the value added of manufacturing in Britain accounted for only 8.83% of GDP…

It ranked at the bottom among the major countries in the world…

It could be said that John Bull was quite weak.

After all, Brown had been the Chancellor of the Exchequer for nine years. He also hoped to make a difference in the position of Prime Minister, so he also hoped to change the current situation to a certain extent.

Chapter 535: Difficult

Baron had also researched these matters; the think tank he funded conducted an analysis of the industrial structure in the UK and provided him with detailed reports every year.

As Baron held a high position in the UK and gained a deeper understanding of the situation, he realized more profoundly that the UK’s future was destined to be unable to return to its position as a global superpower, and even maintaining its current status would be extremely difficult.

Speaking of which, Baron was not only a Duke of the UK now, but his industrial base was also in the UK. Even for the sake of the safety and inheritance of his own wealth, if possible, he would try to make the UK strong—this way he could gain benefits by controlling a certain amount of power in the UK.

But in reality, this was too difficult; at most, only a certain degree of improvement could be achieved.

In fact, not only the UK, but also Western capital, including Europe and the United States, would face major challenges in the future, and they would become increasingly powerless.

This was the conclusion Baron drew from his understanding of the political, economic, and industrial production conditions of these countries, combined with some future developments from his previous life.

It could be said that since Mrs. Thatcher’s economic privatization reforms, the UK had completely lost the possibility of competing as a first-tier global power.

Why? It was precisely because of the free market reforms at that time that, up to now, almost all of the UK’s state-owned enterprises had become private enterprises.

How could the owners of private enterprises care about the importance of industry as the foundation of a nation? They only pursued profits and needed to earn more income.

If this was combined with the election system of the UK and other Western countries, then for enterprises, they could develop with very few constraints, but for the country, it had almost lost all its future—this might be too pessimistic, but at least it had lost the possibility of becoming an industrial power.

This had to be viewed from two aspects. For private enterprises, profit was the most important thing—if they could earn money more easily through finance or foreign investment, who would bother with the hard work of manufacturing?

Even for industrial manufacturing such as automobiles, electrical equipment, and daily necessities, if they could choose to set up factories in areas with lower labor costs like Asia and South America, who would set up factories in the UK, a place with such high labor costs?

In the end, what could remain in the UK were only finance, tourism, and other service industries, as well as high-tech and high-profit manufacturing.

As for the guiding role of the government?

This is where the most fatal flaw of the so-called democratic election system comes in: the parliamentary elections held every five years, which meant that each government could only see the results within five years, or even three years—they would only pursue short-term interests and could not make long-term plans.

Because many long-term plans might cause economic stagnation or decline in the short term, and only after breaking through a certain threshold would they enter a period of rapid growth.

But the UK government, with its five-year terms, needed to clean up the mess left by the previous government in the first two years—after all, being victorious meant the previous government had many unsatisfactory aspects or had caused crises—and then only had three years left. For the next election, would you choose policies that could produce immediate results and seek quick success, or policies that would take five or ten years to show their effects but would be very beneficial to the long-term development of the country?

Under this system of catering to voters, the continuity of policies was destined to be impossible, and in the end, they could only seek quick success…

If you look at it this way, even if you maintain high-tech manufacturing and finance, you can still obtain good profits and maintain the welfare of the people…

Yes, but the premise is that you need to maintain your technological advantage and always have a barrier in high-tech manufacturing.

But other countries are developing rapidly, climbing one industrial pearl after another, and driving down their prices, compressing profits!

Why did the Western countries of Europe and the United States fear the Soviet Union back then? It wasn’t just because of their social system, nor just because of the so-called “democracy”—you know, the word democracy originated from the Soviet Union, and at that time, the Soviet Union had a system advantage over the West.

The most terrifying thing about the Soviet Union for the West was not the above, nor their military, but the long-term plans that lasted for five or ten years, which could ensure that they concentrated their forces to overcome one technological barrier after another. This constant, continuous feeling of being chased and breaking their technological barriers became the norm, how could one feel at ease?

Every time a technological barrier was broken, it meant that the high profits of an industry were buried, and there might be several small-scale “developed countries” that would be brought down to earth…

Faced with such a behemoth, they could only hope that the other side would make mistakes.

Fortunately, the Soviet Union did make mistakes and eventually disintegrated.

But could they continue to be so lucky?

“We can’t just place our hopes on the other side making mistakes, even if we still have the advantage in media and comprehensive strength…”

Baron said to the Crown Prince and Brown:

“Any country is likely to make mistakes, including the United States, so we also need to ensure that we can stand on the other side when necessary—we need to maintain any possibility.”

No one knew his former homeland better than Baron; it wasn’t as aggressive as the West and only hoped to do business—in fact, their wish was already written on Tiananmen Square: “Long live the great unity of the world’s people!”…

As for the UK’s industrial manufacturing…

Baron could only guarantee to invest more in the high-end manufacturing sector with sufficient profits in the UK.

On the other hand, there was the London Tech City he was promoting. Baron hoped that in the field of the internet, the UK could at least keep up with the pace of the United States and China.

Not to say that they could be compared, but at least in some future directions, such as cloud computing and AI, they could drive Europe to not fall too far behind.

Of course, this would indeed be a bit difficult, because internet products were not like other industries, such as manufacturing, where you needed to manufacture a corresponding number of products to have as many customers as you wanted—but internet products were different. For example, after you develop a game or a piece of software, the number of your users depends on how widely you can market these games and software to user groups…

The reason why the United States and China are the most powerful in the internet industry in the future is mainly because they have the largest markets—the United States has a global market dominated by English, while China has a vast Chinese-speaking market…

As for Europe, to put it bluntly, internet products occupying the European market are not even as promising as going to the United States market—after all, although the value of European users is also relatively high, on this continent, which is about the same size as China and the United States, besides English, there are also French, German, Italian, Spanish… a very diverse market of languages.

But the problem is that competing with Silicon Valley in the United States market is really not that easy. The current London Tech City can only aim to have an advantage in the UK market first, and then seek the European market.

Chapter 536: Reuters Group

On April 25th, a month after the agreement was reached, the SEM Group (Standard Entertainment Media Group) publicly announced that it had completed the acquisition of the Times Newspaper Company under News International Group.

At the same time, the independent newspaper group under the SEM Group will be renamed the Standard Newspaper Group, and the newspapers it operates will add The Times and The Sunday Times.

The Times was founded in 1785, with a history of 222 years.

For a long time, The Times has been considered the first mainstream newspaper in Britain, hailed as “a faithful recorder of British society.”

The Times has played an important role in domestic politics and international relations in Britain.

However, after being acquired by Murdoch, many people believe that the style of The Times gradually became conservative.

After integrating The Times into the Standard Newspaper Group, its CEO, Ibai Gomez, stated that The Times would continue to uphold its principle of “independently and objectively reporting facts” and “reporting on developing history”…

This also marks that the Standard Newspaper Group will own two of the four major newspapers in Britain: The Times, The Guardian, The Independent, and The Daily Telegraph.

In fact, apart from the previous concessions on the Premier League broadcasting rights by Sky Television, and the sale of the Times Newspaper Company to the SEM Group, the “friendship” that Barron had previously reached with Murdoch also included the SEM Group’s acquisition of News Corporation’s shares in the Reuters Group for 650 million pounds.

Currently, News Corporation owns 10% of the Reuters Group’s shares, but Barron’s acquisition of the Reuters Group’s shares this time is not considered “taking advantage of someone’s misfortune,” but can indeed be considered a case of mutual affection.

By purchasing 10% of the Reuters Group’s shares for 650 million pounds, the SEM Group also paid a certain premium – the current market value of the Reuters Group is around 6 billion pounds.

When Murdoch first served as a director of the Reuters Group, News Corporation once held more than 23% of the Reuters Group’s shares at its peak.

However, Murdoch was eventually forced to reduce his shares in the Reuters Group, lowering his shareholding from 23% to below 15%, and currently only has 10% of the shares – because the Reuters Founders Share Company was worried that he would launch a hostile takeover of the Reuters Group.

Here, a brief introduction to the Reuters Founders Share Company is needed. It was established after the Reuters Group went public in 1984, and its main purpose is to defend the impartiality and independence of Reuters’ news services.

The members of the board of directors of the Reuters Founders Share Company are called trustees. After any investor holds more than 15% of the shares in the listed company Reuters, the trustees can force these investors to reduce their shares.

They can also request a special shareholders meeting to prevent any investor from gaining control of the company.

Just like forcing Murdoch to reduce his shareholding in the Reuters Group to below 15%, this is the only time the Reuters Founders Share Company has exercised this “golden share” so far.

Murdoch also realized that he could not make the trustees of the Reuters Founders Share Company believe that his acquisition of the company would not affect the neutrality and impartiality of its reporting, so he finally decided to continuously reduce his holdings in the Reuters Group.

In fact, the 10% of the Reuters Group’s shares he currently holds can no longer bring him much benefit.

Because during Murdoch’s term as a director, the board meetings of the Reuters Group were always very “active.”

Murdoch needed to face too many questions.

In addition, although Murdoch had not yet publicly announced it, Barron knew that News Corporation had now begun to be interested in Dow Jones & Company, which owns many media outlets including The Wall Street Journal, and was preparing to acquire it.

Therefore, Murdoch’s sale of the Reuters Group’s shares at this time could not only get rid of this chicken bone that was tasteless to eat and a pity to discard, but also obtain a portion of funds to acquire Dow Jones & Company.

While buying 10% of the Reuters Group’s shares from News Corporation, the SEM Group also began to increase its holdings in the Reuters Group on the stock market.

In the end, they set their shareholding in the Reuters Group at 15%, the upper limit of shareholding allowed for a single person and institution by the Reuters Founders Share Company.

If possible, Barron naturally hopes that the SEM Group can acquire the Reuters Group, but before that, he needs to face the Reuters Founders Share Company, this obstacle, and obtain their approval before he can complete this acquisition.

……

“How have you been lately, Kather?”

After the media coverage of Prince William and Kather’s breakup subsided slightly, Barron arranged a meeting with Kather at a villa in the British countryside.

“I’m of course doing well, if I wasn’t, would you still see me?”

It could be heard that although Kather still had a smile on her face, there was still some emotion in her words.

“The reason I’m only seeing you now is that I don’t want to make things more complicated when all the reporters’ eyes are on you…”

Barron shrugged and said:

“If there’s anything I can help with, I’m very happy to do it, after all, I consider you friends.”

“Friends?”

Kather said with a touch of self-mockery:

“I’ve already broken up with William, how can I be qualified to be a friend of your Duke of Devonshire? I also have to thank you for the job you gave me before, I’m afraid it was also because of William…”

Although what Kather said was the truth, Barron wouldn’t really be so blunt.

He looked into Kather’s eyes and said sincerely:

“Of course not, even if you’re no longer William’s girlfriend, I still won’t change my attitude, because that’s not necessary for me at all…”

“Or is it because we’ve slept together?”

“Uh… Kather, I’ve almost forgotten about that.”

After Barron said this, Kather’s gaze slightly dropped, falling on the table, and she said softly:

“That’s right, I’m being a bit presumptuous, if you… had to take care of every woman you’ve been with… that’s simply impossible.”

“Kather…”

Feeling that her topic had already deviated somewhat, Barron looked at Kather again and said:

“I know that your idea has always been to become a princess, or even a queen…”

“Yes, everyone says that, including those media, after we broke up, they started to mock me, saying that my dream of becoming a princess was over, I need to constantly cheer myself up to face them…”

Speaking of this, Kather’s emotions became a bit agitated:

“It’s also a breakup, I can’t show any frustration, and I can’t do anything wrong, but what about him? He can even go to a bar to drink and have fun without a care in the world…”

Barron had also seen the media reports about what Kather said…

In contrast to Kather’s deliberate effort to maintain a perfect image in front of the media, William, after the breakup, seemed not to care about what others thought.

According to the news in the newspapers, on the evening of the day they broke up, William went to the famous Mahiki bar to drink and have fun with his friends.

In one report, the amount he spent at the time was even found – 4,700 pounds.

In addition, the reporter interviewed the bartender of the bar, who claimed to have heard William say:

“I’m really happy, I’m going to have a good time!”

When William walked out of the bar, he was already drunk and staggering, and his pants were also stained with alcohol.

An observer at the time commented:

“He doesn’t look like a prince at all, just like a young Londoner out looking for fun.”

Chapter 537: You Will Be the Princess

In fact, many people have always believed that Catherine’s mother was the driving force behind Catherine’s relationship with William—although Diana was called “the People’s Princess,” it was actually a misnomer and should be translated as “the Princess of the People.”

This referred to Diana’s closeness to the common people and her love by the British people.

Diana’s father, Edward Spencer, was the eighth Earl Spencer of England, so her background was not common at all.

Catherine was the real “commoner princess;” she came from a middle-class family in Berkshire, England.

Catherine’s father was originally a flight dispatcher for an airline, but later went into business. Her mother, Carole, was once a flight attendant and now runs a business selling party supplies.

They invested a huge amount of money to give Catherine a noble education from a young age. She attended St. Andrew’s Primary School and Marlborough College, and later studied art history at the University of St Andrews.

It is said that Catherine had already been accepted by the University of Edinburgh in England, but after hearing that Prince William would be attending the University of St Andrews, she was willing to take a year off and retake the entrance exam in order to become his classmate.

As for what Catherine herself really thought, Barron was not going to explore. Perhaps she had also resisted such an “arrangement,” such as having other boyfriends in college, and even having an…one-night stand with Barron’s…previous incarnation…

But now it seemed that she still cared very much about becoming a princess.

“This isn’t the first time you two have broken up. You shouldn’t be unfamiliar with many of William’s actions. I can guarantee that you will still become a princess, and even the Queen in the future, Catherine.”

Hearing Barron’s words, Catherine looked at him deeply:

“What do you want to get? What’s in it for you?”

Seeing Catherine’s somewhat wary expression, Barron said with a smile:

“Don’t be so nervous, Catherine, am I really that utilitarian in your eyes? That’s really heartbreaking.”

“Then why do you…”

It has to be said that at this time, although Catherine did not yet have the noble temperament she would later have as a princess, both her figure and appearance were extremely outstanding—otherwise, it would not have been possible to keep William by her side.

Speaking of which, the first person he met when he came to this world was Catherine, but the two of them, in essence, hadn’t really experienced that process together. His and Catherine’s “past” was a bit of a misnomer.

Catherine keenly sensed the subtle change in Barron’s gaze towards her, and her woman’s intuition made her feel a little nervous.

“Barron, you…”

She had just spoken when she was pulled into Barron’s arms, and her struggle was like a mantis trying to stop a chariot for Barron…

“You have to understand that William is still at an age where he likes to play. When he realizes that he needs to take on more responsibility, he will understand that you are the most suitable choice for marriage.”

Barron said in Catherine’s ear:

“Now, consider this a vacation before you become a princess, enjoy this moment. After you become a princess, there won’t be such relaxed moments, Catherine…”

“Are you sure?”

“Of course, I assure you.”

As Barron finished speaking, Catherine immediately stopped struggling, she leaned in Barron’s arms and closed her eyes…

…

“This isn’t a poison pill, Your Grace, it’s much more noble.”

The person having afternoon tea with Barron today was Green Hammer, the current chairman of the Reuters Founder Stock Company. He took a sip of coffee and said to Barron:

“It’s not used to prevent a business action, but to protect Reuters’ operating principles.”

Green Hammer’s words were directed at the “golden shares” of the Reuters Founder Stock Company.

Green Hammer’s identity was the chairman of the Reuters Founder Stock Company.

He was a well-known Swedish entrepreneur who had served as the president of Volvo. Now, Green Hammer’s more famous identity was as the chairman of Aviva, the largest insurance company in England.

Barron met with him today because after SEM Group increased its holdings of Reuters Group shares to 15%, it aroused the vigilance of the Reuters Founder Stock Company.

Barron hoped to persuade these trustees, represented by Green Hammer, to agree to release the shares, allowing SEM Group to complete the acquisition of Reuters Group.

Reuters Group had stated in its annual report:

“Restrictions on ordinary equity and the special voting rights of the Founder Stock Company can be described as anti-takeover measures. In this sense, these measures can prevent someone from demanding control of the Reuters Group.”

To this day, Reuters, the official news agency of England owned by Reuters Group, has operating offices in 94 countries and 200 cities, as well as 197 news bureaus, providing news in 19 languages. Almost all major news media subscribe to Reuters news.

These include CNN, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Yahoo! News, America Online, and the British Broadcasting Corporation—ITV and Standard Newspaper Group, both under SEM Group, are also clients of Reuters Group.

Reuters is also one of the world’s three major news agencies, along with the Associated Press and Agence France-Presse.

At the same time, Reuters Group is also a renowned financial and economic information provider. Currently, the three giants providing financial and news information to financial institutions and brokers are Bloomberg, Reuters Group, and Thomson.

Among them, Reuters holds a 23% market share, second only to Bloomberg’s 33% market share.

It is worth mentioning that, in Barron’s previous life, later this year, Thomson would propose to acquire Reuters and complete the merger of the two. The merged “Thomson Reuters” Group would surpass Bloomberg News, with a 34% market share.

“Mr. Hammer, I also very much agree with your core principles of Reuters Group. I believe you know that I have always been committed to the fairness and objectivity of news media. For example, since SEM Group acquired The Independent and ITV, we have always kept this most important point in mind and have never had any false or exaggerated reports.”

Green Hammer did not refute Barron’s words. He also had to admit that what the British Duke said was not too exaggerated. Compared to News International Group, which was keen on attracting attention, SEM Group was already a very conscientious media outlet.

Of course, this itself was also related to the fact that Barron did not need to make money through these media. Even when he needed to achieve some goals through the media he controlled, those reports were all completely factual.

“And I can guarantee that after completing the acquisition of Reuters Group, you will still be given the power to supervise Reuters’ operations. My purpose in acquiring Reuters Group is, in fact, the same as yours.”

“Your Grace, I am very pleased to hear these. We are committed to ensuring that Reuters Group reports fairly without any interference. If anyone can provide a convincing reason to show that they will abide by our principles regarding news reporting and act in accordance with these principles, then we will not block his subsequent acquisition; but if we believe there is a threat, we will take action immediately.”

At the end of their meeting, Green Hammer said to Barron:

“In fact, we are very much looking forward to confirming your measures to comply with those principles of ours.”

Chapter 538: Solution

Next, Barron also met with Tom Glocer, the President of Reuters Group.

Tom Glocer joined Reuters Group as its president in 2001. He was also the final choice among global managers selected by the Reuters Founders Share Company based on its five core principles.

He was very successful in managing the Reuters Group. Later, after Thomson merged with Reuters in the original timeline, he also became the CEO of Thomson Reuters Group.

“I will support any proposal that is beneficial to the future development of Reuters Group. Of course, this includes your acquisition of Reuters, which is an option worth considering, Your Grace…”

During this meeting, Barron proposed that if the SEM Group could complete the acquisition of Reuters Group, Reuters Group would still maintain its independence, and Tom Glocer would continue to serve as the CEO of Reuters Group.

In response, Tom Glocer said:

“However, we still have concerns. That is, the SEM Group owns Standard Newspaper Group and ITV, while our Reuters Group’s important business is to provide news and financial consulting to the media. If we are acquired by the SEM Group, will it affect the purchase of our consulting services by media that have a competitive relationship with them…”

This was indeed possible, but…

“Mr. Glocer, nothing is perfect, and choices must be made. What I can guarantee is that after being acquired by the SEM Group, the benefits Reuters Group can gain will definitely be far greater than the impact it will suffer…”

Barron also proposed a plan:

“Not only will Reuters Group have a relatively independent position within the SEM Group in the future, but we can also specifically establish a global information company. This company will still be subject to the Reuter Trust Principles and will be responsible for Reuters Group’s external consulting services.”

The plan proposed by Barron was a solution to the “abiding by Reuters’ principles on news reporting” mentioned during his previous conversation with Green Hammer, the chairman of the Reuters Founders Share Company.

“I am very honored to have this meeting with you today, Your Grace. We still need to discuss the acquisition of Reuters Group by you. I personally hope that the final outcome will be a win-win situation.”

Barron also knew that an acquisition of this scale would certainly not be determined by just one or two meetings. Reaching an agreement on the demands of all parties required long-term negotiations and discussions, especially under the premise that Reuters Group had such a unique supervision mechanism.

But Barron knew that, according to the development of his previous life, Thomson Group should soon launch an acquisition of Reuters Group—perhaps the two sides had already made contact.

“In my previous meeting with Mr. Hammer, I had already proposed this matter. We will increase our holdings in Reuters Group in the near future and promise not to seek control of Reuters Group before reaching an agreement with you, and if the final agreement is not reached, we will reduce our holdings to 15% afterwards.”

“This is a matter that the Reuters Founders Share Company needs to review, Your Grace, but personally, I believe that even if we increase our holdings, it should not exceed 33%…”

The reason why Barron made such a request was also to prevent Thomson Group from launching an acquisition of Reuters Group, just like in his previous life—even so, at least the SEM Group could still make some money from it. Of course, he would do his best to prevent such a situation from happening.

In addition, Barron was now talking about this matter to the two of them to test the attitude of the Reuters Founders Share Company and Tom Glocer in this acquisition of the SEM Group and Thomson Group…

…

In the morning light, the bedroom was a bit messy. When Barron walked in, Katherina turned her head slightly and glanced at the door, then continued to fall back to sleep.

In the past few days, Barron had been frequenting this villa—the news the media got was that Katherina, after breaking up with Prince William, had taken a vacation and gone abroad to relax.

But in fact, she was picked up by Barron’s private plane and secretly sent to this newly purchased villa of Barron’s.

Barron still remembered the first time the two of them studied knowledge—strictly speaking, it was the first time for the two of them after Barron’s current soul came to this world—Katherina’s “complaint”:

“You’re going to kill me, Barron!”

It was obvious that she had experienced the difference between the current Barron and their previous encounter four years ago.

From her reaction, Barron could also know that this process might also be the biggest “test” she had encountered so far.

But what about the consequences? After she adapted to this learning rhythm, she began to crave more.

As for Barron, the satisfaction between him and Katherina was more psychological—whenever he thought about how Katherina, as a princess, looked noble and elegant when attending those major events in his previous life, this feeling brought to Barron was something other women didn’t have.

In other words, because of his extraordinary experience of being reborn, Barron could experience the unique experience brought by her future identity from Katherina, who was still a young girl now.

Of course, that was all, just like Katherina was getting more from Barron to fill her feelings of loss after breaking up with William, and to indulge herself appropriately.

Barron also regarded the relationship between the two of them as a role-playing game.

“Your previous vacation is scheduled until tomorrow, which means you will have to go back to work soon. Of course, if you still need time, it’s just a matter of a word, Katherina.”

Having just finished showering after a workout, Barron put on a brand new custom-made shirt, and while buttoning it, he said to Katherina.

Katherina heard this and opened her eyes again, focusing her gaze on Barron’s well-defined muscles. She took a deep breath and said:

“No need, I’ve rested long enough and I’ve had enough of your torment, I will be in good spirits to face everything.”

“It’s obvious that you don’t mean what you say, maybe you forgot how you begged me…”

“Shut up, Barron!”

It was obvious that Katherina and Barron no longer had the superficial politeness of before, but could communicate more directly—this was a good thing.

“Okay, suit yourself, Katherina, remember to get up and eat breakfast quickly, I’ll go out first.”

“I know, and I’ll move back home this morning…”

Barron heard this and stopped, turning his head to say to Katherina:

“No problem, I’ll send a car to take you there later.”

“No, someone will come and pick me up, I don’t have much luggage anyway, I don’t want to be seen by reporters getting out of your car and going home…”

Chapter 539: Merger?

“Hello, my friend.”

“Welcome to London, Walid.”

In May, Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal and Princess Ameerah al-Taweel came to London. As an important partner, Baron hosted them at his villa in Kensington.

In the early days of DS Capital, Prince Al-Waleed was one of their most important investors, and they have maintained a good cooperative relationship ever since.

“Your Grace, I’ve noticed that your fund has reduced its holdings in quite a few companies’ stocks. Does this mean you’re not optimistic about the market outlook?”

After dinner, as the two sat down to chat, Prince Al-Waleed suddenly brought up this question.

Unlike when DS Capital’s private equity fund was first established, when Baron needed to use various methods to seek investors, the funds under the DS Group could now attract more and more capital to invest or purchase their wealth management products. This was because Baron’s investment ability had been widely recognized.

At the same time, because of this, many people would also study the investment directions of some of his funds to observe his investment strategies.

Even though many of the DS Group’s investments were not made public, one could still get a general idea from the flow of funds and the disclosure of shareholdings.

Just like when Warren Buffett was not optimistic about the market, many people would become more cautious about investing, and it was the same principle.

Prince Al-Waleed was already a very well-known investor, but he had also known Baron for a longer time and understood the other party’s investment strength better, so he would also refer to Baron’s views on the entire market.

This was also the reason why Baron had acquired the Black Swan Fund in a low-profile manner to short the subprime mortgage crisis. It was also because by now, the DS Group had become one of the most well-known investment companies in Britain. Too many eyes were on it, and it could be said that many of his investments could influence more capital, thereby affecting a part of the investment market’s direction.

“Some of my funds are indeed reducing their holdings in some stocks. After all, some investments have reached the time to realize part of their profits and exit. Also, I will have some acquisition plans recently, and I need to raise some funds.”

Baron naturally wouldn’t reveal his true thoughts, but he wouldn’t completely hide them either. After all, the two parties still had a close cooperative relationship, and there was no need to “act” too much.

He said to Al-Waleed in a serious tone:

“Of course, frankly speaking, there is also the idea of avoiding risks. You should understand that when the funds reach their current scale, it’s also necessary to adjust the investment ratio appropriately.”

“This may be necessary for some securities investments, but my investment direction is still mainly focused on real assets. Even if I encounter economic cyclical fluctuations, I only need to hold them.”

That’s true. Al-Waleed’s investments were mostly relatively high-quality assets. Even his investment in Citibank, whose stock price plummeted during the subprime mortgage crisis, slowly recovered in the following years. This was the importance of not over-leveraging in investments. Even if you encounter huge fluctuations in the short term, as long as you continue to hold them, those high-quality assets will always return to their proper price.

Next, Baron talked to Al-Waleed about the Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts.

In the first phase of the Global Industry Investment Fund, or GII Fund, they and Al-Waleed’s Kingdom Holding Company had completed the privatization of the Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts. Currently, the GII Fund and Kingdom Holding Company each held 47.5% of the shares of Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts. The remaining 5% of the shares of Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts were held by the family of Isadore Sharp, the founder of Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts – they had also been responsible for the operation of Four Seasons Hotels.

This time, the Devonshire Family Trust hoped to continue to acquire the shares of Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts held by Prince Al-Waleed, and ultimately complete the merger of Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts with the Cavendish Hotel Group owned by the Devonshire Family Trust.

As for why they didn’t wait until after the subprime mortgage crisis broke out, when the global economy was affected and the market value of many companies fell.

The reason was, first of all, that Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts had already completed privatization, and its market value would not be reflected through its stock price. Of course, their revenue would also be affected and decline to a certain extent, but another reason was, as Prince Al-Waleed said, his investments would be held long-term, and naturally, he wouldn’t sell them at a low price during an economic crisis – unless he needed to give up part of his assets to raise funds to save other industries due to the impact of the economic crisis.

But obviously, Prince Al-Waleed would not have such a situation.

Therefore, since this was the case, it would be better to propose a relatively reasonable price now. Even if the other party didn’t agree for the time being, but when the subprime mortgage crisis broke out, if Baron was still willing to acquire it at that price, then the other party’s feelings would be completely different – well, it was a feeling of friendship.

This time, Baron proposed to acquire Prince Al-Waleed’s 47.5% stake in Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts for $1.66 billion.

Based on this price, the Devonshire Family Trust’s valuation of Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts this time would reach about $3.5 billion. Compared to the valuation of $2.86 billion when Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts was privatized, its price had increased by more than 22%, which was also a very reasonable price.

“I have stayed at Devonshire Hotels in London and Paris, and I am indeed deeply impressed by the brand of this hotel. If Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts and Cavendish Hotel Group were to merge, I would agree very much, as this would also benefit both parties. But as for selling shares, Baron, I haven’t considered this issue for the time being.”

“This is just a proposal. I have the idea of promoting this plan, and of course, it also needs the right timing. I hope you can consider it carefully, Walid, and I will keep this price.”

Since Al-Waleed had temporarily rejected the proposal, Baron put the matter aside for the time being and turned the conversation to other topics.

Prince Al-Waleed was very interested in the British Automobile Group that Baron had established. When he heard that Bentley and Aston Martin would be launching new models, he was very interested in visiting the production bases of the two brands during his time in Britain to see those new models in person.

Bentley’s new flagship, the Mulsanne, first appeared at the Geneva Motor Show in March. However, what was exhibited at the time was still an initial standard version of the prototype car, but it had attracted great attention when it was unveiled.

And so far, in Bentley’s Crewe factory, only two Mulsanne sedans had been produced, and public pre-orders had not yet begun.

These two sedans, one was a royal carriage specially customized for the Queen, which would be delivered to the royal family this month and unveiled at a public ceremony next month.

The other one was a customized extended version of the Mulsanne for Baron. The exterior and interior leather of the car would bear the Devonshire family crest.

Baron was naturally very welcome to Prince Al-Waleed’s wish to visit the Bentley factory. After all, he was also very likely to be one of Bentley’s first customers.

Chapter 540: An Acquisition Price of 8.6 Billion Pounds

“It fits perfectly, you look so handsome.”

Bonnie looked at her husband, who was wearing a dark blue velvet robe and a black hat with feathers, and said to him with a smile.

And their son, George, who was in her arms, was babbling and reaching out as if he wanted to grab the feathers on the hat.

What Baron was wearing was the Garter robe for the Garter Day procession to be held in mid-next month.

His newly delivered Garter robe was tailor-made, so he was trying it on.

At the end of last year, the Queen announced that Baron had been awarded the “Order of the Garter,” which meant he became one of the members of the Order of the Garter, with only 25 living members (excluding members of the royal family and foreign monarchs).

On next month’s Garter Day, he will participate in the procession and be formally knighted with those Garter Knights.

Baron and Bonnie’s son, George, had just celebrated his first birthday last month. He took his son from his wife and held him in his arms, letting his son use his little hands to grab the ostrich and heron feathers on his hat…

When Baron had spent time with his wife and son, and went downstairs to get in the car to go to the company, Laura, who was by his side, said:

“Your Grace, the Competition and Markets Authority in the United Kingdom stated today that if Thomson Group wants to acquire Reuters Group, it needs to pass their antitrust review. In addition, the Antitrust Division of the United States Department of Justice also stated yesterday that the merger of Thomson Group and Reuters Group is suspected of monopolistic behavior…”

Yes, right after SEM Group continued to increase its holdings in Reuters Group to more than 30%, news broke that Thomson Group had begun to bid for Reuters Group, hoping to negotiate with the other party to acquire Reuters Group.

It is believed that Thomson also received news of SEM Group’s actions, thus starting substantive actions.

It can be said that Thomson Group came with great momentum. They were prepared to acquire Reuters Group in the form of cash plus stock, with the vast majority being cash – at the current stock price, the total acquisition bid reached 8.6 billion pounds, an over 40% premium compared to Reuters Group’s current market value.

Of course, after the news of the acquisition was released, coupled with SEM Group’s prior bid for Reuters Group, SEM Group’s bid was also very attractive, so Reuters Group’s stock price rose as a result.

According to the Thomson acquisition terms currently disclosed, each Reuters share will receive 3.525 pounds in cash and 0.16 shares of Thomson stock. Based on the closing price of the previous trading day, their total acquisition price for each Reuters share is 6.86 pounds.

And from the information Laura, Baron’s assistant, just gave him, it can be seen that after the stock market opened today, Thomson’s stock price was 1.46 Canadian dollars lower than the closing price of the previous trading day, at 45.77 Canadian dollars, with a market value of approximately 29.5 billion Canadian dollars.

And Reuters Group’s stock price rose to a five-year high of 6.59 pounds at the beginning of trading, and then closed at 6.3 pounds, which is far lower than the proposed merger price.

Of course, it doesn’t mean that after the other party proposes an acquisition price, the stock price of the acquired company can immediately rise to the stock price corresponding to the acquisition price. The market also needs to judge whether the acquisition is successful, otherwise investors who take over at a high price will face acquisition failure and the stock price will fall back, which will definitely result in a large loss.

In fact, the rise in the stock price of the acquired company after an acquisition intent is announced can also show the market’s optimism about the acquisition.

Just like this time, Reuters Group’s stock price, under the premise of Thomson’s high acquisition price of 8.6 billion pounds, still has a certain gap from the stock price corresponding to the acquisition price after the stock price rose, which also indicates that the market is worried about this transaction, including the competition in which SEM Group participates, which may cause the entire process to last a long time and may face investigation by competition regulatory agencies.

Just like a Credit Suisse analyst said in a report: “We expect the regulatory authorities in the United States and the United Kingdom to carefully review.”

The Thomson family is the 10th richest family in the world. David Thomson, the current chairman of Thomson Group, is the richest man in Canada and the grandson of Roy Thomson, the founder of Thomson Group.

Currently, the family owns 70% of Thomson Group through its Woodbridge holding company.

In fact, speaking of the Thomson family, they are not unrelated to SEM Group, another competitor in their bid for Reuters Group…

Before the 1980s, the Thomson family once owned famous media outlets in the United Kingdom, such as The Times, and had the largest circulation of local newspapers.

In 1981, Ken N. Thomson (son of family founder Roy Thomson), who was the chairman at the time, decided to sell The Times and The Sunday Times to Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation.

The latter continued its media layout in the United Kingdom through acquisitions and gradually developed the News Corporation media empire.

The former gradually faded out of the print media industry in the following 15 years, and instead focused on electronic data products in finance, law, medicine, and other fields – although these products did not seem very eye-catching at the time, they brought Thomson Company huge profits, and Ken Thomson was also widely praised for this strategic vision.

And then, not long ago, News Corporation sold The Times and The Sunday Times to SEM Group, and SEM Group launched an acquisition of Reuters Group…

After Ken Thomson passed away a few years ago, his son, David Thomson, inherited the family business and began to shift his strategic focus back to the United Kingdom, turning to the more historically rich Reuters Group, which was the first in Europe to report the assassination of former US President Lincoln in 1865.

Speaking of which, although SEM Group has now obtained more than 30% of Reuters Group’s shares, Baron still does not have the sure-win confidence if he competes head-on with Thomson Group.

First of all, when they increased their holdings in Reuters Group, they already understood that this method could at most prevent them from getting nothing – even if they failed in the competition, they could at least obtain the premium of Thomson Group’s acquisition of Reuters Group…

Because of the existence of the “golden shares” held by the Reuters founder’s shareholding company, the other party can completely require SEM Group to reduce its holdings to within 15% in the future and prevent SEM Group from controlling Reuters Group.

And just looking at the competition, in fact, SEM Group is not at an advantage either.

First of all, in terms of synergy after the merger, according to Inside Market Data, the current global data business market size is about 12.5 billion US dollars, of which Thomson Group’s share is 11%, ranking third. After its merger with Reuters Group, its market share can reach 34%, slightly ahead of Bloomberg’s market share of 33%, thereby surpassing it and becoming the leader.

And if this transaction is completed, it can also combine Reuters Group’s advantages in sales and trading with Thomson’s fund managers and investment banking customer base, and integrate the market advantages of the two companies in North America and Europe.

According to analysis, it is estimated that after the merger of the two companies, the synergy generated by the merger can save more than 500 million US dollars in costs each year.

It is also for this reason that a Numis Securities analyst said in a research report: “Although the possibility of a competitive acquisition, including SEM Group, cannot be ruled out, given the scale of the synergies generated by this acquisition offer… we believe that Thomson Group is the best acquirer of Reuters Group.”

Chapter 541: Acquisition Obstacles

Furthermore, in Barron’s previous life, after Thomson Group acquired Reuters Group, Thomson Group’s President and CEO, Richard Harrington, retired, and the current Reuters Group CEO, Tom Glocer, became the CEO of Thomson-Reuters Group.

Then it’s very obvious to think that in this acquisition competition between SEM Group and Thomson Group for Reuters Group, Reuters Group CEO Tom Glocer, from his own perspective, would be more inclined to choose Thomson Group.

After all, if Thomson Group completes the acquisition, then Tom Glocer would become the head of a group that has a market share exceeding Bloomberg, ranking first in the industry.

On SEM Group’s side, although they would guarantee Reuters Group’s independence, the temptation within this is naturally not as great as being acquired by Thomson Group.

Therefore, Barron not only used his influence to launch an anti-monopoly investigation by the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority against Thomson Group’s acquisition, but also had a phone call with Michael Bloomberg.

Barron got acquainted with Bloomberg when he accompanied Brown on a visit to the United States. In the streets of New York, he ate hot dogs with Bloomberg, who was the Mayor of New York…

Bloomberg also has another identity, which is the boss of Bloomberg.

If Thomson Group completes the merger with Reuters Group, then their market share would surpass Bloomberg, becoming a powerful competitor to Bloomberg.

In comparison, Bloomberg naturally hopes that the one acquiring Reuters Group is SEM Group.

Therefore, under the tacit understanding between the two, Bloomberg also exerted his influence, and there were relevant anti-monopoly agencies in the United States investigating Thomson Group’s acquisition.

Faced with investigations by anti-monopoly agencies in both the UK and the US, it can be foreseen that Thomson Group’s acquisition would definitely be hindered – after all, Thomson Company is a Canadian company. In the original timeline, without a stronger competitor, they eventually completed the acquisition of Reuters Group after making many compromises, but now, it wouldn’t be so easy.

“If Reuters Group is acquired by Thomson Company, then they would inevitably reduce the number of employees in the UK, lay off a large number of people, and may even move their headquarters to Canada, which is unacceptable to the UK…”

The public relations team funded by Barron’s family office was publicizing this to the UK government officials involved in the acquisition review, striving to get the acquisition rejected by the relevant departments.

Although what they said hasn’t happened yet, it’s not a lie. In Barron’s previous life, Thomson did exactly this after acquiring Reuters Group.

For example, just in the year Thomson-Reuters completed the merger in the original timeline, which was 2008, they merged London’s offices from the original twenty-four to ten, and the global layoffs numbered fifteen hundred people, most of whom were employees in the UK.

Later, they even moved their headquarters away from the UK and sold the former Reuters Group’s headquarters building located in Canary Wharf, and finally delisted from the London Stock Exchange…

Of course, this was also related to the fact that they happened to encounter the global economic recession caused by the subprime mortgage crisis after the merger, but it also showed that after Thomson Group acquired Reuters, as the share of UK shareholders in the new group became extremely small, they had shifted their focus from the UK.

Currently, the public relations team funded by Barron’s family office is very large, including the functions of some lobbying groups in the United States – this team has more than a hundred people, a considerable portion of whom have previously held positions in the UK government, and another portion may also enter the UK government in the future.

And the public relations focus of this public relations team is directed at the core civil servant group in the UK – if you’ve watched the British dramas “Yes, Minister” and “Yes, Prime Minister” series, you can probably also feel some of the logic of the UK government’s operation.

It can be said that the UK government can be divided into two types: political officials and civil servants. Political officials are mainly decided by political parties – that is, political officials are appointed through the party that wins the election, and many of these political officials may have previously been so-called “political stars,” who don’t have much experience in the specific affairs of various departments, which requires the civil servants who have been working here for many years to help.

Civil servants have a set of independent promotion rules, which are not greatly affected by which party comes to power. It can be said that they are the “natives” rooted in various departments of the UK, even if their superiors appointed by the “new government” have any sudden whims, the final formulation of policy articles still needs to be done by the civil servants. It can be said that if they unite to fight against the political officials, the other party may not be able to do anything.

And in Barron’s public relations team, there are many people with many years of experience as civil servants. They understand very well how to deal with the civil servants who are really in charge of various policies and articles, and they can also convey Barron’s demands to the other party in a friendly manner.

It’s even no exaggeration to say that every department of the UK government has a corresponding team to work with in Barron’s public relations team…

And the funds for this entire public relations team come largely from the “consulting fees” or “public relations fees” like account expenditures of various companies under Barron’s name, such as United Energy Group, O2 Telecom, SEM Group, Argos Retail Group, and so on. These groups would have this part of the expenditure to support this public relations team.

Then, in this matter of Thomson Group acquiring Reuters Group, the most obvious result is that this acquisition would soon be subjected to a strict review by relevant UK agencies – under the name of preventing monopoly and unfair competition.

After all, in terms of national interests, they also cannot accept the result of Reuters Group, such a well-known large company, leaving the UK and laying off a large number of employees because of this acquisition.

If there were no other competitors, that would be fine, but now that there is the UK’s own SEM Group to compete, then Thomson Group would need to be arranged clearly…

Moreover, in terms of the acquisition price alone, the plan proposed by SEM Group is also not inferior.

SEM Group also proposed to acquire Reuters Group with a combination of cash and stock, and what’s interesting is that before Thomson officially announced the acquisition terms for Reuters Group, SEM Group already held 30% of Reuters Group’s shares.

Therefore, because Reuters Group was affected by the high-priced bidding of Thomson Group and SEM Group, their stock price rose sharply…

And SEM Group, which holds more than 30% of Reuters Group’s shares, also saw its stock price rise as a result. This caused that, according to the stock price corresponding to SEM Group’s acquisition plan, SEM Group’s acquisition consideration for Reuters Group is even higher than Thomson Group’s 8.6 billion pounds…

Because of the development of performance and the victory in the previous competition for the Premier League broadcasting rights, which is expected to bring a huge increase in the number of paying users to SEM Group’s ITV sports channel, SEM Group’s stock price at this time has exceeded 40 pounds, and its market value has also exceeded 8.5 billion pounds.

However, frankly speaking, SEM Group’s market value is still not as good as Thomson Group, and is even a little lower than their acquisition offer for Reuters Group.

But this time, SEM Group’s acquisition of Reuters Group is also mainly in cash, plus a part of stock swaps, so if the acquisition is completed, they can still ultimately hold the position of the main shareholder of the merged company.

Chapter 542: Parmigiani

As far as Baron knew, in his previous life, in order to acquire Reuters Group, Thomson Corporation even sold a considerable portion of its assets to raise funds.

At the time, Thomson Corporation sold its higher education asset, Thomson Learning, to investment firms Apax Partners and the large Canadian pension fund OMERS Capital Partners, for approximately 7.75 billion US dollars.

It also sold its asset, Thomson Prometric, to the educational assessment and research institution ETS for 435 million US dollars.

Most of the funds raised at that time were used for the acquisition of Reuters Group.

After forming the Thomson-Reuters Group, the Thomson family, through its Woodbridge holding company, controlled 53% of the new group’s equity and still controlled the Thomson-Reuters Group.

The other shareholders of the original Thomson Corporation and the original Reuters Group shareholders held 23% and 24% of the new group’s equity, respectively.

At the same time, SEM Group was also raising funds for the acquisition of Reuters Group.

After multiple reductions, the shares of SEM Group held by DS Holding Company (Cavendish Trust Fund) have decreased from an initial 130.5 million shares to approximately 105.5 million shares.

Their shareholding in SEM Group has also decreased from 62.14% to 50.24%, but they are still the controlling shareholder of SEM Group.

In this process, the Cavendish Trust Fund also obtained more than 950 million pounds in funds by selling shares.

According to SEM Group’s acquisition plan for Reuters Group, they will complete the acquisition of Reuters Group by paying 5.8 billion pounds plus issuing 70 million new shares.

Based on the current price of 41.15 pounds per share of SEM Group, their offer for the acquisition of Reuters Group is as high as 8.68 billion pounds, slightly exceeding Thomson Corporation’s acquisition price of 8.6 billion pounds.

In fact, because SEM Group currently holds more than 30% of the shares of Reuters Group, they only need to come up with approximately 4.05 billion pounds in funds and issue 49 million new shares to complete this acquisition.

For the 4.05 billion pounds in funds, the Cavendish Trust Fund, through DS Holding Company, provided 1.05 billion pounds as the purchase of SEM Group’s convertible bonds. They can convert this debt into SEM Group’s common stock at any time within two years at the average price of the previous 30 trading days.

For the remaining 3 billion pounds, SEM Group obtained a loan from Barclays Bank for this acquisition.

In this way, the two companies, SEM Group and Thomson Corporation, began negotiations on the acquisition of Reuters Group.

It is estimated that this process may even last for several months—after all, although SEM Group’s offer appears to be higher at the moment, Thomson Corporation has a greater advantage in terms of synergy after the merger.

However, the merger of Reuters Group and Thomson Corporation also faces regulatory issues.

Therefore, it will be difficult to get a result in the short term.

……

Baron opened the door to the balcony of the room and immediately felt a cool breeze blowing towards him, carrying a fresh scent.

The balcony faced the forest on the hillside, which was already covered in green, and the scenery was very good.

“Darling, what do you think of this trench coat?”

Baron looked in the direction of the sound, and Beatrice, wearing a light purple trench coat, was posing for him with a smile, looking very cute.

“Very beautiful, baby.”

Baron opened his arms, and embraced the girl, kissed her on the lips, and said softly:

“It’s almost time, let’s go see Mr. Landolt.”

He and Beatrice were staying at the Dolder Grand Hotel in Zurich, Switzerland. Today, Baron had an appointment with Pierre Landolt, the third-generation heir of the Sandoz family.

In 1886, the Sandoz family began to get involved in the commercial field. Sandoz was originally a chemical company and later became a pharmaceutical company.

Currently, the Sandoz family’s investment areas cover pharmaceuticals, modern agriculture, hotel tourism, and high-end watchmaking.

“Hello, Mr. Landolt, this is my friend, Miss Beatrice Borromeo from the Borromeo family in Italy.”

“Hello, Your Grace, and this beautiful lady.”

The Sandoz family has a unique vacation villa in Zurich, and Baron visited with Beatrice Borromeo.

The Sandoz family’s main industry is Novartis, a Fortune 500 company and one of the world’s top three pharmaceutical companies.

However, Baron’s visit this time was not for this, but because he was interested in the high-end watchmaking industry controlled by the Sandoz Foundation.

The world-famous top Swiss watch brand—Parmigiani—belongs to the Sandoz family.

Since 1996, the Sandoz family decided to invest in supporting independent watchmaker Michel Parmigiani to create the watch brand Parmigiani.

With the support of the Sandoz family foundation, Parmigiani quickly rose to become one of the world’s top brands in just a few years, becoming a rare myth in the independent watchmaker circle.

And Parmigiani is also one of the very few independent watch brands that has its own full production network to this day.

The Sandoz family foundation has built a watchmaking network around the Parmigiani brand, which includes various technical businesses required for making watches.

For example, the core component of a watch is the movement, and many watch brands currently need to purchase their movements externally.

But the Sandoz Foundation has the well-known high-end movement manufacturing company Vaucher Manufacture Fleurier (VMF).

In addition, it should be noted that last year, in 2006, Hermès bought 25% of the shares of this movement factory for 25 million Swiss francs.

Therefore, Hermès watches currently also use VMF’s high-end movements.

Baron came here this time, hoping to facilitate the acquisition of the Parmigiani watchmaking system, including the VMF movement factory, by the Gucci-Hermès Group, thereby adding a top-tier watch business to the luxury goods group Gucci-Hermès.

“In fact, our family’s connection with the watch industry did not arise after investing in Parmigiani…”

Pierre Landolt is exactly 60 years old this year. In addition to inheriting the management of the family’s Sandoz Foundation, he also has many businesses in Brazil. This time, he returned to Switzerland from Brazil and took time to meet with Baron.

He did not directly talk about the sale of Parmigiani’s related watchmaking business, but reminisced:

“Earlier, the time can be traced back to the late nineteenth century. Our family once supported the creation of a watch museum, which was famous for its collection of ancient Chinese imperial clocks. Most of the clocks that can still operate today were also repaired by Mr. Parmigiani himself. These treasures were once the treasures of the imperial palaces of the Kangxi and Qianlong emperors of China…”

Baron had heard about this for the first time, but this did not mean that the Sandoz family had no intention of selling their watchmaking business; it could also be a gesture to bargain.

In fact, the watchmaking industry is only a small part of the Sandoz family’s industry, and as far as Baron knew, none of the younger fourth generation of the Sandoz family is interested in these “ancient” clocks anymore, so selling these businesses is very likely.

If the Sandoz family is prepared to sell their businesses, the Gucci-Hermès Group can be said to be the most suitable buyer.

Because Hermès not only holds 25% of the shares in its most core VMF movement factory, but also holds partial shares in its related subsidiaries within the Parmigiani manufacturing system, such as Atokalpa, Elwin, Quadrance, Habillage, and Les Artisans Botiers…

These companies are responsible for producing escapements, screws, levers, gears, and most movement parts, as well as dials, cases, and other external parts of Parmigiani’s subsidiaries.

Chapter 543: Richard Mille

In addition, Parmigiani could also utilize the Gucci-Hermès channels targeting top-tier consumers to expand its watch sales.

It could be said that all of this was the most beneficial outcome for Parmigiani.

After accompanying Beatrice on a few days of sightseeing in Switzerland, Baron finally finalized the acquisition of the watchmaking businesses of the Sandoz family.

The Gucci-Hermès Group would acquire the remaining 75% of the shares of the VMF movement factory from the Sandoz Foundation. In addition, it would also obtain 75% of the shares of Parmigiani, with the remaining 25% still held by Michel Parmigiani, the founder of Parmigiani.

It has to be said that Baron’s aristocratic identity played a certain role in achieving this acquisition. Just like his personal use of a Bentley Mulsanne sedan, which made many wealthy people also become interested in this new Bentley flagship, in the luxury goods field, his “noble bloodline” background, as an old money class, could inherently play a leading role.

When Baron returned to London to prepare for the annual “Garter Day” event, Hadra Payne, Senior Vice President in charge of the acquisition and management of watch businesses for the Gucci-Hermès Group, also approached another young watch brand—Richard Mille.

Richard Mille’s popularity more than a decade later was still very high. When mentioning this brand, many people might first think of “very expensive”!

Indeed, the watch models under the Richard Mille brand were very expensive, with an average selling price of 180,000 US dollars, equivalent to 1.24 million Chinese yuan, and there were also quite a few models priced at tens of millions of Chinese yuan—this far exceeded the price of many people’s traditional impression of high-end brands, such as Patek Philippe, Audemars Piguet, Vacheron Constantin, and A. Lange & Söhne.

Therefore, it was also known as the “entry ticket for billionaires”…

In fact, Richard Mille, the founder of Richard Mille, did not know how to make or repair watches at all. His biggest connection with timepieces was that he had worked at Seiko and a French jewelry and watch store before the age of 50, engaging in luxury goods marketing and management.

He only started his own watch brand after the age of 50, which was after he was already over fifty years old.

Years of experience in luxury goods marketing and management told Richard Mille that many customers with huge purchasing power were no longer satisfied with buying traditional precious metal watches such as Patek Philippe and Vacheron Constantin; they needed “different” products.

And at that time, what could be seen on the market were Audemars Piguet’s Royal Oak, Royal Oak Offshore, and Franck Muller, etc.

But they were not “different” enough, not “outrageous” enough!

Therefore, “being different” became the foundation of the Richard Mille brand.

Having a highly recognizable appearance design was not enough. Richard Mille watches also needed a sufficiently powerful internal “core”.

Initially, Richard Mille watches used movements produced by Audemars Piguet Renaud & Papi (APRP).

APRP was co-founded in 1986 by Dominique Renaud and Giulio Papi, former employees of Audemars Piguet. Their main focus was on designing, developing, and producing high-end complex movements, and they did not manufacture complete watches.

The behind-the-scenes technology of many big brands came from APRP, including Audemars Piguet, A. Lange & Söhne, IWC, Chanel, and Cartier, according to incomplete statistics.

APRP was originally called “RP”, but in 1992, due to financial problems, Dominique Renaud and Giulio Papi sold most of their shares to Audemars Piguet, which became the sole shareholder and changed its name to “APRP”.

In 2001, after two years of preparation, research, design, and production, Richard Mille launched the first watch in the brand’s history, the RM001.

At that time, tourbillons were not as “common” as they were later. Coupled with unique design elements such as the tonneau-shaped case and sapphire dial, Richard Mille watches became an instant success upon launch.

And the technology behind their initial models came from APRP.

In fact, for a long time, Richard Mille could only independently produce the appearance parts such as the watch case, and the most core movement still needed to be purchased externally.

In other words, from its establishment, Richard Mille finally became a company that could produce watch cases after more than a decade of hard work.

But Audemars Piguet held nearly 80% of the shares in APRP. According to their contract, half of the high-end movements produced by APRP must be supplied to Audemars Piguet, and the other half could be sold externally—APRP, as Audemars Piguet’s own child, must give priority to meeting Audemars Piguet’s needs.

This was embarrassing for Richard Mille, who had no research and development capabilities at this time. After all, they were also in a competitive relationship with Audemars Piguet. Once Richard Mille’s brand developed well, they might not be able to get movements from APRP one day—or APRP could play a little trick, sell defective products to Richard Mille, or delay delivery…

This would definitely cause Richard Mille big trouble, so it was still necessary to be prepared.

In the original timeline, this year, in order to be able to cooperate with APRP for a long time, Richard Mille gave them 10% of its shares to Audemars Piguet at almost a giveaway price, becoming Audemars Piguet’s “adopted son”…

And even further, Richard Mille’s partial stores were also handed over to Audemars Piguet to operate.

But now, they had another choice, which was the VMF movement that was about to be acquired by the Gucci-Hermès Group.

In fact, in the original timeline, Richard Mille later also used VMF movements. After all, even if they gave up 10% of their shares, they also knew the principle of not putting all your eggs in one basket.

At that time, the three major buyers of VMF movements were Parmigiani, Hermès, and Richard Mille.

Now, before Richard Mille proactively gave up shares to Audemars Piguet, Hadra Payne, Senior Vice President in charge of the watch business for the Gucci-Hermès Group, found Richard Mille and indicated that after they acquired VMF, they could provide Richard Mille with a stable supply. Of course, the prerequisite was that the other party needed to “reasonably” give up a portion of its shares to them.

This could be said to be a perfect match for both parties. After all, the VMF produced the most top-tier movements, which completely matched Richard Mille’s positioning, and the Gucci-Hermès Group’s sales channels and customer base in the luxury goods industry were completely “tailor-made” for Richard Mille.

It could be said that compared to Audemars Piguet, the Gucci-Hermès Group was a more ideal “godfather” choice for Richard Mille.

And who was the boss of Gucci-Hermès?

That was one of the richest and highest-blooded people in the world—the Duke of Devonshire, who had a centuries-old history of top aristocracy in Britain!

If this genuine “darling of heaven” could wear Richard Mille watches in his daily life, the brand’s image would immediately be firmly established. What could be a better advertisement than this?

Therefore, Richard Mille did not hesitate too much and immediately agreed. They would sell 25% of their shares to the Gucci-Hermès Group at a low price, and the watches launched after that would start using VMF movements.

But there was only one condition, that was that the Duke of Devonshire needed to wear Richard Mille watches in some public occasions.

In fact, the later success of Richard Mille was, to a considerable extent, due to its successful marketing. They sponsored many events and invited the biggest stars to endorse Richard Mille watches, establishing its brand image.

Now, having such a top aristocratic wealthy person as an “endorser” was, for Richard Mille, something they could only dream of.

Chapter 544: Garter Day

June 18th, 2007. This day was the annual Garter Day in the United Kingdom.

Wearing a well-fitted Garter robe, with a light pink suit and a hat, Bonnie accompanied Baron to Windsor Castle to participate in this year’s event.

In fact, every year on Garter Day, besides the Garter Knights making their appearance and demonstrating unity, it was also a “fashion competition” for the ladies.

It was obvious that among the ladies this year, Bonnie Cavendish was the most eye-catching one. In her pink outfit, she looked quite youthful, making it hard to tell that she already had a child.

It was worth mentioning that according to British tradition, the aristocracy must wear hats in public.

There is a saying in the UK: a nobleman without a hat is like a commoner without clothes…

Of course, nowadays, not every public occasion requires the aristocracy to wear hats, but in major events like Garter Day, they still follow this tradition.

Just like the Garter Knight’s hat Baron was wearing at this moment, it was made of black velvet, with white ostrich and black heron feathers.

Her Majesty the Queen also appeared today wearing a Garter robe, but as the monarch, the style of Her Majesty’s Garter robe was very different from others.

Besides the monarch’s exclusive Garter robe having a long train, which would be held up by a special attendant, the Garter badge on the Queen’s chest was also a formal Garter badge, surrounded by diamonds, with a red cross of Saint George, commemorating the slaying of the dragon, in the center.

Legend has it that a dragon once demanded the king of Libya sacrifice maidens in exchange for water. After Saint George heard of this, he rode his horse and slew the dragon, thus becoming the protector of the oppressed and women.

Saint George’s character was considered to be consistent with the spirit of chivalry, so he has always been revered by the British kings as the patron saint of the country, and the flag of England, a white background with a red cross, was also named the Saint George’s Cross.

The Garter robes of other Garter Knights were all short, and the Garter badges on their chests were also simplified versions.

As a new member this year, William was also wearing a Garter robe, standing beside Baron, occasionally chatting with him in a low voice. It seemed that his recent life was quite “rich.”

Because Catherine was still in a state of separation from him, and even as lovers, they could not participate in Garter Day events before holding a wedding, so she did not appear today.

Although the Order of the Garter was only an honorary institution, it still established an officer corps internally according to ancient customs.

Accompanying the Queen were the holders of these six officer titles: the Prelate, the Register, the Garter Principal King of Arms, the Usher of the Black Rod, and the Secretary.

The Prelate has always been held by a heavyweight bishop of England—the Archbishop of Winchester, while the Supervisor is the Bishop of the Diocese of Windsor.

The Register is the rector of St. George’s Chapel, the Garter Principal King of Arms is held by the head of the College of Arms, and this Garter Principal King of Arms has the duty to keep the coats of arms and helmets of the knights.

The Usher of the Black Rod is the Gentleman Usher of the Black Rod in the House of Lords, and the Secretary is a dedicated Royal Herald.

After the event began, the crowd went down from Windsor Castle to St. George’s Chapel.

Here, a brief ceremony was held, where the Queen personally conferred the honors on Baron and Prince William, the two newly inducted Garter Knights.

The process of awarding the Garter badge was relatively private, because the entire ceremony did not allow any unqualified personnel to enter, only members of the Order participated, so no video materials would be left.

The ceremony was held in the main hall of St. George’s Chapel, where there were seats for each knight, with banners and coats of arms hanging above.

When the ceremony was in progress, the current members of the Order sat on the long benches in the hall, with the monarchs of all dynasties at their feet, and hundreds of various coats of arms above their heads. Each knight’s seat was lit with a small lamp arranged in a row, like the twinkling starlight commemorating the deceased monarchs.

The modern Garter badge is mainly composed of three parts: first, of course, the symbol of the Order, a blue garter.

The main part of the Garter badge, that is, the coat of arms, is worn around the neck, and it is engraved with the image of Saint George slaying the dragon and the motto of the Order, “Honi soit qui mal y pense” (Shame on him who thinks evil), symbolizing the spirit of chivalry.

The badge worn formally, also known as the star, is worn on the chest, and it is inlaid with diamonds—the formal badge is only worn by the monarch, and the ones worn by others are simplified versions.

First, Baron was awarded the honor. He would kneel before the Queen to take the oath, and then a kneeling master of ceremonies would put the badge on his outstretched thigh—the badge is worn on the right thigh when it is awarded, just like the position of the garter.

Finally, the Queen would personally hang the coat of arms around his neck, thus ending the award ceremony.

It should be noted that after the death of each holder of the Garter badge, his insignia must be returned by his closest relative to the monarch or the Garter Principal King of Arms authorized by him, and other coats of arms, robes, etc. are returned to the secretary of the Order.

And the Garter badge pattern in his coat of arms is allowed to be retained and passed down through the generations.

As the most elite Order, limited to only 25 members, each member was awarded a unique coat of arms.

In fact, because the Garter badge is the highest honor badge in the UK, many recipients, including national monarchs, are happy to use the Garter badge in their personal coats of arms, such as Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.

After receiving the Garter badge, Baron could also add the pattern of the Garter badge to his personal coat of arms.

After the ceremony, the royal family, the members of the Order of the Garter, and related personnel would leave the venue slowly in the traditional carriage transport, and return to Windsor Castle.

This round trip was the procession of Garter Day.

After the procession, everyone would also attend a private banquet hosted by the Queen at Windsor Castle, which was also a social occasion for the aristocracy and celebrities.

“I went to the Glory Experience Store a few days ago, Baron, it was really amazing, especially the fruit-slicing game, which was impressive. I immediately pre-ordered that phone.”

Speaking to Baron about this was Henry Howard. He was William’s friend, and Henry’s father was the Duke of Norfolk—the oldest duke family in the UK, and also the head of the College of Arms, the Garter Principal King of Arms of the Order of the Garter.

Since June 1st, the Glory Experience Store located in London had officially opened. Before the official sale of Glory Electronics’ Mate 1, interested users could go to this experience store for a trial, with a limit of half an hour per person, and they could make an appointment for the experience time.

Not only London, but also New York, Los Angeles, the Bay Area, Magic City, Tokyo, London, Paris, and Berlin, the eight cities that were the first to open Glory Experience Stores worldwide, opened on the same day. It was also from this moment that the Glory Mate 1 phone, which had only given a stunning glimpse at the Android press conference, unveiled its mysterious veil, and relevant trial reports appeared on various media.

Baron believed that not only these media reporters, but also Apple, and those other traditional feature phone companies, had already collected the usage and configuration information of the Mate 1 phone at the first opportunity.

But this was also inevitable. In fact, since the beginning of this year, the Mate 1 phone had already begun production at Glory Electronics’ production base in China. However, because the supply chain needed to be adjusted and improved gradually, and with the improvement of quality control, the production scale was gradually increased, the product’s production speed had not yet reached the most ideal state.

Chapter 545: Presale Preparation

Up to this point, Glory Electronics had prepared over 300,000 units of the Mate 1, and production was still ongoing…

This quantity had made the management of Glory Electronics somewhat nervous—after all, as a touchscreen smartphone completely different from previous feature phones, they couldn’t be certain if the Mate 1 would be well-received. In their view, while this phone was groundbreaking, producing over 300,000 units before it could receive consumer feedback was somewhat risky.

But Barron knew that, putting aside other factors, in terms of phone performance, the Mate 1 was even slightly superior to the iPhone 1. In the original timeline, as the lowest-selling model in the iPhone series, the iPhone 1 still managed to sell nearly 1.4 million units. Furthermore, the iPhone 3G, released the following year, saw sales directly exceeding ten million. Therefore, Barron was very confident that the Mate 1 would sell over a million units.

Now, nearly 20 days after the opening of the eight Glory Experience Stores worldwide, the management of Glory Electronics finally felt a little more at ease. This was because, judging from the feedback from these experience stores, users were very enthusiastic about the Mate 1.

Also, since the opening of Glory Experience Stores on June 1st, they had opened up pre-orders for the Mate 1. Now, after nearly 20 days, Glory Electronics had received a total of over 30,000 pre-order units—this was equivalent to each Glory Experience Store receiving pre-orders for over 200 Mate 1 phones per day on average.

This number might not seem very high, mainly because the most popular phones on the market were still Nokia, Motorola, and BlackBerry, and there were also some “smartphones” from other brands, but they all used physical keyboards for operation. Therefore, the launch of the Mate 1, which mainly relied on a touchscreen and was different from the mainstream smartphones at the time, caused most users to adopt a wait-and-see attitude.

It was also because of the ability to experience the phone that some users gradually accepted it after trying it out, eventually starting to pre-order. Moreover, the daily pre-order data of these experience stores was increasing over time. It was estimated that by the time the Mate 1 officially went on sale at the end of June, pre-orders exceeding 50,000 units wouldn’t be a problem…

You had to know that pre-ordering the Mate 1 required full payment, and it was currently only available for pre-order at the Glory Experience Stores in eight cities worldwide. So, this number was already very considerable.

When the Glory Mate 1 went on sale on June 28th, the first batch of sales areas would include North America, most European countries, and some Asian regions, including China, Japan, and South Korea. It would be sold simultaneously through Glory Experience Stores and partners. At that time, the sales channels would be much larger than they were now. Therefore, after deducting the estimated 50,000 pre-orders from the 300,000 Mate 1 phones that had already been produced, only 250,000 units remained…

Looking at it this way, there was a possibility of facing a supply shortage…

However, there was no need to worry too much about this because Glory Electronics’ production base in China could expand the production line scale at any time. The only thing was that the supply of components needed to be prepared in advance to avoid problems in the supply chain later.

It was worth mentioning that the Android system installed on the Mate 1 at this time had good application compatibility. The most popular application among users was the pre-installed game “Fruit Ninja”.

This game was produced by the Australian game studio Halfbrick Studio, which was acquired by Digital Future earlier. Because the gameplay was very suitable for touchscreen operation, this game was the most tried by users as a Mate 1 experience.

Woaw Technology had also completed the development of their test version of the Woaw app and was in the process of optimization. Both the iOS and Android versions would be launched in July.

In Barron’s previous life, the initially launched iPhone 1 was divided into two versions: 4GB and 8GB, priced at $499 and $599 respectively.

Later, Apple discovered that the 8GB iPhone version was more popular, so they discontinued the 4GB version a few months later and launched a 16GB version the following year.

Therefore, the Glory Mate 1 would only offer an 8GB version, priced at $568, which was slightly lower than the iPhone 1’s pricing. They also planned to observe consumer feedback and launch a 16GB version before the end of the year.

As mentioned before, in countries like Europe and Japan, consumers mainly purchased phones through carriers. Therefore, in addition to gradually increasing the number of experience stores and selling in experience stores, the Glory Mate 1 would also be sold through their carrier partners.

In North America, AT&T, the second-largest carrier, had supported Apple’s iPhone development earlier and would become the exclusive seller of the iPhone. Glory Electronics’ negotiations with Verizon, the largest carrier, were not going well, and they eventually reached a cooperation agreement with T-Mobile, which would sell Mate 1 phones in North America.

In Europe, O2 Telecom had also reached an agreement with Apple to exclusively sell iPhone phones in Europe, and Barron didn’t plan to play any tricks against Apple in this regard. In addition to selling the Glory Mate 1 through O2 Telecom, other carriers such as Vodafone and Deutsche Telekom would also be supplied, but whether they would highly recommend it was hard to say.

In China, Glory Electronics would also cooperate with carriers such as China Mobile and China Unicom, as well as mobile phone stores such as Gome and Suning, to sell the Mate 1, in addition to gradually increasing the layout of experience stores in Beijing, Shenzhen, and Chengdu within the year.

In short, the Mate 1, which was launched slightly later than the iPhone, could be said to have stolen the show, first appearing in front of consumers and providing an experience, and it was already prepared to officially go on sale in a little over a week.

…

“What are you guys talking about? The Mate 1? Barron, I’ve already pre-ordered that phone, and I can’t wait for it to go on sale…”

William also came over and joined the conversation. He was already on good terms with Barron, and now the two were considered to be in the same boat…

As early as when Barron’s son, George Cavendish, was born, he had offered to be George’s godfather and said that when he had children of his own, he would also have Barron be his children’s godfather.

At this time, William’s hair still looked quite thick—Barron remembered that starting next year, influenced by Prince Philip’s strong baldness gene, William would start to lose his hair, and it would become increasingly obvious until his marriage in 2011…

“William, don’t worry, you’ll be the first to get a Mate 1 phone on that day.”

Chapter 546: 350,000 Units!

Baron certainly didn’t mind opening a “back door” for the royal family. On the morning of June 28th, a dedicated person would deliver their pre-ordered Mate 1 phones to Prince William and other members. Their use of the Meta 1 phone in public was, in itself, an indirect advertisement for Glory Electronics.

Yes, the Glory Meta 1 would go on sale at 12:00 noon on June 28th, one day earlier than the iPhone – because that day was a Thursday, a workday, the sale was set for noon to allow office workers to buy it during their lunch break.

Because there were already some pre-order users, on the day of the sale, there would be two windows, one specifically for pre-sale users, who could directly take the new phone by using their reserved ID cards.

In addition, Glory Electronics’ partner carriers would also provide services for new card applications or plan conversions in their experience stores.

Even knowing that in the original timeline, there were queues on the day of phone sales, generally starting with the iPhone 1, and for this, Glory Electronics had also provided more sales channels, including carrier outlets and mobile phone chain stores, outside the experience stores. However, on the day of the sale, long queues still formed outside the eight Glory experience stores worldwide. The earliest people even started waiting at the experience store doors before six o’clock in the morning…

Compared to phones at this time, frankly speaking, the Mate 1 phone’s price of 568 US dollars was still relatively high, which would inevitably affect the sales of the Mate 1 to a certain extent.

In the original timeline, the initial price of the 8GB version of the iPhone 1, at nearly 600 US dollars, was also the reason why it didn’t enter the mainstream view in the early stage.

So Apple later adjusted its strategy. Two months later, Apple lowered the price of the iPhone 1 to 400 US dollars, which helped its sales to a certain extent.

But it wasn’t until 2008, when Apple sold the iPhone 3G for 200 US dollars and was compatible with the faster 3G network, that this phone truly became popular – in just five months, Apple sold 10 million iPhone 3Gs worldwide!

In addition, it is necessary to understand that whether it was the iPhone 1 or the Mate 1, their prices were the prices of the corresponding carrier’s two-year plan contract. If it was a non-contract phone in markets like China, the price would be even higher…

Taking the 4GB version of the iPhone 1 as an example, this phone sold for 499 US dollars, and the material cost alone, meaning the price of the components that made up this phone, accounted for about 46% of its selling price. This proportion was also the highest among all Apple phone models – of course, as the first phone product just launched, if considering its supply chain had just been built and the production scale wasn’t that large, and it needed to build a brand image, this was understandable.

The cost of the Mate 1 was not much different from that of the iPhone, but its advantage was that manufacturing and assembly were done in the Chinese production base, so this part of the cost would be lower.

Therefore, even if the selling price of the Mate 1 was slightly lower than that of the iPhone 1, its profit was still sufficient, and it could completely support its lower selling price – even if the price was lowered to 400 US dollars, considering the scale effect and the improvement of production line proficiency, they could completely make a profit.

But the newly released Meta 1 still chose to price itself closely to Apple’s iPhone 1, just to establish the image from the very beginning that “Glory brand phones and Apple’s phones are of the same grade” in the minds of consumers.

In the original timeline, Xiaomi phones initially focused on “cost-effectiveness.” Later, to launch their high-end model phones, they spent so much effort but still didn’t completely succeed…

Therefore, at the very beginning of this epoch-making smartphone, the Glory brand had to firmly establish its brand image.

As for the mid-to-low-end phone market, they could completely launch other brands, such as the Dopod brand they used before in the Chinese market.

350,000 units!

This was the sales volume of the Glory Mate 1 in its first weekend. If the initial pre-sale of 50,000 units was removed, then the sales of the Glory Mate 1 from June 28th to July 1st, a total of four days, was nearly 300,000 units.

And Apple’s iPhone 1’s first weekend sales were 270,000 units.

It seemed that the Glory Mate 1’s first weekend sales were higher than Apple’s iPhone 1…

But considering that the Glory Mate 1 went on sale one day earlier this week, and its sales scope was larger than Apple’s – the Glory Mate 1 was launched simultaneously in Asia, North America, and Europe, while the iPhone 1 was only launched in North America and Europe – then Apple still had its brand advantage compared to Glory Electronics.

But this already made Glory Electronics very happy. It already showed that the Mate 1 had succeeded. Currently, their accumulated products from the early stage were not much left. Glory Electronics’ production base in China had expanded the assembly production line and was producing Mate 1 phones at full speed.

For the Glory Mate 1, it could be said that Jobs’ mood was complex. In fact, when the Mate 1 started its experience phase, he sent technicians to test this phone – of course, he couldn’t go personally, as that would provide the other party with material for hype.

And after the Mate 1 was released, Apple immediately obtained this phone and disassembled it.

The final result was that in terms of patent technology, Glory Electronics really didn’t have any handle in their hands, and even in some aspects of hardware and the Android system, it had an enlightening effect on Apple…

It could be said that in the fight against those very powerful feature phone brands at this time, Glory Electronics and Apple were “allies” in the same camp.

But Jobs, who believed that touchscreen smartphones were destined to be the future, also understood that Glory Electronics was likely to be one of their biggest competitors in the future.

The emergence of Glory Electronics both expanded the user base of touchscreen smartphones at the moment and also diverted Apple’s attention.

Originally, in these two years, the users who first accepted the full touchscreen operation method for smartphones would put their eyes entirely on Apple.

But now, they had another choice.

After the Mate 1 achieved success, Glory Electronics didn’t have time to celebrate. They still had a lot of work to do.

In addition to consolidating their supply chain system and increasing the production scale of Mate phones, they also started the research and development of new products.

In addition to launching the 16GB version of the Mate 1 in the second half of this year, Glory Electronics will also further launch the Mate 1C phone in the second half of the year. As a “simplified version” of the Meta 1, the Meta 1C will lower the price to seize more market share.

In addition, the next generation of Mate 2 phones, which support 3G networks, will also be launched at the beginning of next year and are now being developed intensively.

It can be said that the success of the Meta 1 phone strengthened Glory Electronics’ confidence. They will not only expand the scale of their R&D center in Shanghai but will also invest more funds to expand the production base and expand the upstream supply chain, supporting more related suppliers to carry out technology upgrades to meet their development needs.

Chapter 547: The Dinosaurs of Wall Street

As early as June 7th, Bear Stearns, the fifth-largest investment bank in the United States, announced that two of its hedge funds had suspended redemptions.

Alarmed and puzzled investors soon discovered that these two Bear Stearns funds held a large number of securities related to subprime mortgages.

Regarding the suspension of redemptions by its two hedge funds, a Bear Stearns spokesperson also stated that this was to protect investors, because the actual value of the assets was higher than their current market price.

“We believe the funds’ portfolios are good and can weather the market’s recovery. We believe suspending redemptions is conducive to best protecting the long-term interests of investors.”

Prior to this, Sowood Capital, a hedge fund managing $3 billion of Harvard University’s assets, had its asset value shrink by nearly half in just one month due to its holdings in subprime mortgage businesses.

However, until this point, Wall Street was still completely unaware of the coming storm…

On July 19, 2007, the Dow Jones Industrial Average on the New York Stock Exchange hit a new all-time high, breaking the 14,000-point mark for the first time.

Up to this point, in the eyes of investors, the “fluctuations” in the real estate market only affected companies related to the issuance of subprime loans, while other industries were still thriving, with stock prices continuously rising.

Even some executives of investment banks and banks did not realize how widespread the implications of subprime mortgage-related bonds would be.

The current situation was like the American financial system having developed a boil, but no one had yet discovered this fact, only thinking that the body’s pain was occasional. It would not be taken seriously until the boil was pierced and could no longer be hidden, at which point the irreversible deterioration would have to be faced…

Baron, what needed to be done was to quietly wait for those boils to be pricked one by one…

This was only the “prelude.”

Once those banks and investment institutions realized how many subprime mortgage bonds they held, the subprime mortgage crisis would officially erupt.

As July arrived, some changes were secretly taking place.

On June 14th, the two hedge funds under Bear Stearns declared bankruptcy.

In the following two weeks, the publicly traded 3B-rated subprime mortgage bond index fell by nearly 20%…

The Black Swan Fund therefore profited handsomely from this—derived from their betting agreements on CDO bonds and expected profits from CDS bonds.

“For a period of time before this, they always used excuses like ‘systemic failure’ to delay the settlement of our CDO bond bets, but in July, those investment banks finally started to actively seek us out, ready to ‘have a good talk’…”

In the phone call, the general manager of the Black Swan Fund, Feron O’Neill, said to Baron.

This was also a problem encountered by some funds currently shorting the subprime mortgage crisis, especially some small funds—they had held the shorting chips for too long and needed to profit to stabilize investor confidence, but for those investment banks, they believed that the previous downward trend in subprime mortgage-related bonds could be controlled in the short term, so they kept using various excuses to delay the settlement of those shorting products.

But until July, they finally began to face this problem, realizing that if they continued, their losses would become greater and greater—of course, the investment banks that could realize these things were still in the minority, and these investment banks were already considered to be responsive…

It was so ridiculous that even after the bankruptcy of Bear Stearns’ two funds, many investment banks still did not truly realize the danger.

Later people would wonder how they could be so slow—but if you imagine how many businesses those large investment banks have, their top management may not have time to confirm the true situation of each business. It all requires feedback step by step from the bottom up, but the departments that actually incur losses often do not report their losses to their superiors immediately, but instead try to cover them up first, in order to solve the problem themselves…

Only when they realized that they could not solve it on their own would they possibly report these losses.

Just like now, some investment banks, including Goldman Sachs Group and Morgan Stanley, finally felt the pain, which spread from the tails of these dinosaurs to their heads…

On June 29th, the day Apple Inc. publicly released the iPhone 1, the Black Swan Fund finally received a call from Morgan Stanley. The other party was a senior vice president of Morgan Stanley, who stated that Morgan Stanley needed to confirm the current betting contract with the Black Swan Fund regarding the CDO bonds they held, and whether the market price of the CDOs was “fair”…

The next day, Goldman Sachs Group also contacted the Black Swan Fund. Their attitude was even more straightforward. Goldman Sachs hoped to talk to Feron O’Neill about resolving their betting agreement, and Goldman Sachs stated that they hoped to purchase some shorting chips from the Black Swan Fund—they knew that the Black Swan Fund held the most of these chips in the market, this previously unknown “small fund company.”

Goldman Sachs’ attitude also indicated that the moment of market reversal had arrived. Goldman Sachs, which reacted the fastest, was already prepared to change lanes—their managed Global Alpha Fund had suffered huge losses on subprime loans, and they had decided to switch from betting on the subprime mortgage market to betting against this market…

In fact, Morgan Stanley was the most unwilling to admit defeat among the Black Swan Fund’s betting “clients.”

A week before Feron O’Neill made this phone call to Baron, the Black Swan Fund had already officially notified Morgan Stanley—the credit default swap (CDS) products they had sold to the Black Swan Fund more than half a year ago had turned in favor of the Black Swan Fund.

The value involved in this batch of CDS reached $5 billion, and according to the Black Swan Fund’s model calculation, Morgan Stanley currently needed to pay the Black Swan Fund $1.5 billion. Of course, Morgan Stanley could still continue to stall, but the next time they were notified, the amount they needed to pay for this batch of CDS bonds might exceed $2 billion, or even $3 billion…

When they first received this notification, Morgan Stanley was unwilling to believe the result. They claimed that the thousands of 3B-rated bonds in their batch of collateralized debt obligation products had very low correlation, so the fact that some bonds had problems did not mean that they would be worthless.

“According to our model calculations, these CDS bonds did not make you earn that much profit, at most less than $200 million…”

Regarding Morgan Stanley’s “persistence,” the Black Swan Fund did not give too much explanation, but told them that this was just a friendly notification, and perhaps they could wait a while longer to confirm the settlement price of this bond.

Time was on the Black Swan Fund’s side. Their large holdings of shorting chips put the Black Swan Fund in a favorable position, so they were not in a hurry. Those “clients” who were betting against them should be the ones in a hurry.

Sure enough, a few days later, Morgan Stanley took the initiative to contact the Black Swan Fund. At that time, for this batch of CDS, Morgan Stanley already needed to pay the Black Swan Fund $2 billion…

Chapter 548: Open Handset Alliance

In truth, as time went on, the CDO hedging agreements and CDS bonds held by the Black Swan Fund would bring increasingly large losses to their hedging “clients.”

But succeeding by choosing the right direction was one thing; how to ensure their profits could be smoothly “pocketed” was also a problem.

After all, one needed to consider that the Black Swan Fund was playing such a large game, it could be said that they were almost standing on the opposite side of the entire Wall Street. Their hedging clients included not only the five major Wall Street investment banks and some established commercial banks, but also some large investment banks in Europe.

What were the rules? Did they have to be followed?

If you really thought the West “respected the rules,” then you were truly out of your mind.

When they could afford it, they didn’t mind following the rules, but when it came to a matter of life and death… what were the rules?

But there was no need to worry too much about this, because as the market’s turning point arrived, except for certain institutions deeply mired in the situation, having invested too much in the subprime mortgage bond market and unable to turn around, other institutions would immediately change their stance, switching from long to short. In this situation, those institutions that couldn’t change in time would become the fat meat to be devoured.

Including Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley, they would all be part of the reversal. They had already begun to negotiate with the Black Swan Fund—they hoped to resolve these hedging agreements as quickly as possible and join the short selling, while the Black Swan Fund held the most short-selling chips.

Development had reached this point, about to enter the second stage of the subprime mortgage crisis, and before this, the Black Swan Fund’s profits had already exceeded a scale of twenty billion US dollars…

…

Just two weeks after the successful launch of the Glory Mate 1, on July 10th, the Open Handset Alliance (OHA) held its first developer conference in Los Angeles.

This alliance was announced to be in the process of establishment at the Android launch conference at the beginning of the year. Its purpose was to support the Android mobile phone operating system and application software released by Android Company, and to jointly develop the open-source code of the Android system.

The members of the Open Handset Alliance (OHA) mainly included mobile phone manufacturers, mobile phone chip manufacturers, and operators.

Currently, the members who had joined the Open Handset Alliance included Android Company, Glory Electronics, Woaw Technology, Samsung, Qualcomm, Texas Instruments, O2 Telecom, Huaxia Mobile, Intel, LG, Motorola, T-Mobile, Telecom Italia, Telefónica, Huaxia Unicom, Nvidia, ARM, Broadcom, and Anhua, a total of more than thirty companies.

These companies would become the founding members of the Open Handset Alliance.

In addition, at this developer conference, Android Company released the latest Android system 1.1 version update, and announced that it would release the first major upgrade version of the Android system, Android system 1.5 Cupcake, before the end of this year—just like the original timeline, every major update version of Android would be named after a certain dessert.

After Apple and Glory Electronics successively released the epoch-making full-touch screen smartphones, the iPhone and Mate series, because Apple’s iOS system was not open, but a closed system, some mobile phone manufacturers also began to join the Android camp, putting the development of new smartphones equipped with the Android system on the agenda.

However, when they launched these phone models, the earliest they could be released would be next year…

After all, after the iPhone 1 and Mate 1 were launched, one problem that subsequent manufacturers needed to solve when they wanted to develop similar phone models was how to bypass some of the patent technologies, including appearance patents.

Companies including Samsung, Motorola, and LG all had plans to launch Android phones, while Nokia, the leader of the mobile phone industry at this time, was still focused on its own Symbian system.

In addition, Google, which had acquired Android Company in Barron’s previous life, was also secretly developing its mobile phone operating system, and might launch it before the end of the year…

In response, Android Company didn’t pay too much attention, but instead, it accelerated the development and update of its versions according to its own rhythm.

After all, in Barron’s previous life, after Apple’s iOS system and the Android system were launched, it wasn’t that other large manufacturers didn’t launch other mobile phone operating systems to compete, including powerful companies like Microsoft, which didn’t pose too much of a threat to these two.

…

After entering July, IC Capital completed another investment. They invested 5 million US dollars in Twitter, acquiring 25% of the shares of this startup company, which had been established for about a year.

Twitter was originally a simple group messaging service called twttr, developed by Jack Dorsey of the podcast company Odeo.

Odeo failed in podcasting and was acquired by a group of employees who decided to focus on social networking.

In March 2006, Twitter was founded by Jack Dorsey, Noah Glass, Biz Stone, and Evan Williams, and officially opened to the public on July 15th.

Simply put, Twitter could be seen as a product similar to Huaxia’s Weibo later on, except that it later developed into a global social media platform, and in Barron’s previous life, it was acquired by Elon Musk, who was the richest man at the time, and renamed X.

Twitter was currently in a very early stage. This 5 million US dollar investment from IC Capital didn’t even need Ivan Ta to personally oversee it, but was completed by sending an investment manager.

After Woaw acquired DoubleClick and YouTube, IC Capital held 812 million shares of Woaw Technology, accounting for 16.92% of Woaw’s total shares, becoming its second-largest shareholder.

Although the subprime mortgage crisis had already shown signs since February of this year, it hadn’t yet spread to the entire US stock market, and even various stock indexes were constantly reaching new highs after the internet bubble crisis.

Woaw Technology’s stock price was also rising due to the increase in its users and advertising revenue, currently exceeding 6.8 US dollars, heading towards 7 US dollars.

Not only Woaw, but also the stock prices of internet technology companies including Microsoft, Google, Amazon, and Skype were all rising. It could be said that the stock market was showing a scene of prosperity, and the decline in the stock prices of subprime-related companies was just a “minor interlude.”

Also taking advantage of this time, IC Capital began to reduce its holdings of Woaw shares.

Of their total holdings of 812 million shares of Woaw stock, 660 million shares had previously been mortgaged to obtain funds for investment in the Black Swan Fund, but when they sold YouTube last time, IC Capital, in addition to Woaw’s shares, also obtained 350 million US dollars in cash.

After repaying part of the loan to the bank, they also “unlocked” some of the mortgaged Woaw shares.

IC Capital’s goal was to reduce more than 200 million shares of Woaw stock before March of next year, reducing their holdings of Woaw stock from 812 million shares to about 600 million shares.

It was estimated that with the rise in Woaw’s stock price, they should be able to obtain 1.4 to 1.5 billion US dollars in funds.

Chapter 549: William-Weber Capital

“Our hedging agreement with NM Rothschild Bank has currently brought us over 1 billion euros in profits, and they already want to withdraw from this agreement…”

After Barron arrived in Paris, Ashley Weber met with him in the Duke Suite of the Devonshire Hotel and introduced him to their investments in France.

The hedging against NM Rothschild Bank in France was conducted through William-Weber Capital Investment Company.

The predecessor of William-Weber Capital was Weber Capital Advisers, a company known as an Elite Booth.ique.

Generally speaking, the business of a so-called boutique investment bank is more focused on narrowly defined financial services, namely “mergers and acquisitions” and “restructuring,” and less involved in capital market activities. For example, when Barron acquired Hermès, it was done through Weber Capital Advisers…

After completing the acquisition of Hermès, Barron injected capital into Weber Capital Advisers through an offshore trust and multiple layers of offshore companies, renaming it William-Weber Capital Investment Company, and holding over 80% of the shares in this company.

The remaining shares were held by Ashley Weber’s family and her partners.

Speaking of which, Barron’s choice of Ashley’s Weber family as his investment partner in France was not a casual decision.

Although the previous Weber Capital Advisers was not very strong, Ashley Weber was still very capable – this could be seen from her ability to lead the completion of the acquisition of Hermès.

You must know that in the previous life, even the powerful LVMH Group had failed in its acquisition of Hermès.

Furthermore, Ashley Weber had a strong network of connections in France. Her maternal grandfather had served as a French minister, and her father’s side also had considerable influence in the French financial world.

Therefore, through William-Weber Capital, they entered into a high-stakes hedging agreement with LCF Rothschild Group’s NM Rothschild Bank regarding subprime mortgage bonds.

Just to mention, the reason for naming it William-Weber Capital was because the first Cavendish family member to be created Duke of Devonshire was named William Cavendish.

In fact, LCF Rothschild Group had investments in many areas, including some French banks, companies, and wineries in which they held shares.

NM Rothschild Bank, on the other hand, was primarily an investment bank, which could be understood as a larger boutique bank, with its main businesses including merger and acquisition advisory services and helping clients with investment and financial management.

NM Rothschild Bank’s main clients came from Europe, while North America was their primary investment market.

Therefore, it was only natural that NM Rothschild Bank was also deeply involved in the business of American subprime mortgage bonds. When William-Weber Capital entered into a hedging agreement with them, NM Rothschild Bank, which held a large number of subprime mortgage bonds (specifically, purchased for their clients), readily accepted the bet.

In their view, this was an additional opportunity to make money.

But obviously, that was not the case. In these hedging agreements, NM Rothschild Bank had lost at least 1 billion euros to William-Weber Capital so far!

Barron, as a person, also had many shortcomings, one of which was that he held grudges.

He still remembered the matter of Benjamin Rothschild and Colin Hall colluding against him back then.

Although the Hall family had paid a price, Benjamin Rothschild, or the Rothschild family, still needed to settle the karma…

Even if the Rothschild family was not as exaggerated as described in those street stall novels, controlling the Federal Reserve, or even controlling global finance…

But at least in Europe, they could be considered a top-tier family, so Barron, of course, would not act rashly, but if there was an opportunity, he would not hesitate to give them a little lesson.

Well, it was indeed a “little lesson,” after all, the entire LCF Rothschild Group managed assets exceeding 80 billion euros, and the loss of over a billion euros was not a high proportion.

“What are your thoughts, Ashley?”

Barron asked with interest.

“Now NM Rothschild Bank hopes to resolve this matter privately, after all, such a loss, especially at this time, will affect their reputation…”

Ashley Weber said:

“And the Rothschilds are not stupid, on the contrary, they are very shrewd. Once they come to their senses, they will quickly realize that continuing this hedging agreement will only cause greater losses, like a deep wound. Ignoring it will only lead to continuous blood loss; the wisest approach is to immediately bandage it and stop the bleeding.”

“Your Grace, after your reminder, I found that many banks in France were also involved in the subprime mortgage bond business, and their performance will definitely be affected. Therefore, I believe that after receiving the funds from NM Rothschild Bank, we can short these banks and continue to increase our profits.”

In fact, William-Weber Capital was just a tool Barron used in France to “hedge” with NM Rothschild Bank. The funds for these hedging agreements had also come from him, so although Ashley Weber was initially uncertain, she had no objections and carried it out.

Now that the hedging had succeeded, she could see the opportunity to short the related banks, which also demonstrated her own abilities.

Indeed, French banks were also affected by the subprime mortgage crisis, but the disclosure of their losses was relatively late.

After the outbreak of the subprime mortgage crisis, the French government and financial circles had consistently claimed that the French banking industry had not been greatly impacted.

However, the semi-annual financial reports released by major French banks in the second half of 2008 began to expose their actual losses to the public.

In the disclosures at the time, the total losses suffered by the four major French commercial banks due to the subprime mortgage crisis totaled nearly 17 billion euros (in fact, it would be more).

Among them, Crédit Agricole suffered the heaviest losses, with a total asset write-down of 5.5 billion euros. Société Générale’s losses also reached 4.9 billion euros, Natixis Bank lost 3.9 billion euros, and the relatively smaller loss of BNP Paribas reached 2.3 billion euros.

However, the share prices of these banks had already entered a downward trend with the impact of the subprime mortgage crisis much earlier.

Within a year from now, BNP Paribas’ market capitalization would shrink by more than 37%, Société Générale’s market capitalization would decrease by nearly 50%, Crédit Agricole’s market capitalization would decrease by nearly 60%, and Natixis Bank’s market capitalization would plummet by more than 60%.

Meanwhile, the Paris CAC 40 stock index only fell by about 22%.

Therefore, shorting these banks starting now would indeed yield good returns.

Chapter 550: The Lagardère Family

In the final analysis, William-Webber Capital was just a part of Baron’s entire short-selling plan in Europe related to the subprime mortgage crisis.

The various funds under the DS Group had already successively increased their short positions in the European market, with a total investment of up to 10 billion euros. However, the impact of the subprime mortgage crisis spreading to Europe would take time, so they would gradually increase their positions and wouldn’t invest all of the funds at once.

For example, as mentioned before, Société Générale suffered a loss of 4.9 billion euros because of their trader’s private operations, which were bullish on the European stock market.

The counterparties to their bullish positions were now almost all being handled by the DS Group…

Wealth doesn’t disappear, it just shifts. Where there are institutions that incur losses, there will inevitably be those who profit, that’s just how it is.

“Hello, Mr. Sarkozy.”

“Welcome to Paris, Your Grace.”

In fact, the meeting with Ashley Webber was just a side note. After that, Baron met with Nicolas Sarkozy in a newly purchased villa in Paris.

Speaking of which, he could be considered a kindred spirit with the other party…

Previously, the old Sarkozy served as Minister of the Interior and won the election in May of this year, becoming the new President of France.

In addition, Bruni, who was once Baron’s French tutor and provided him with personal guidance, had also secretly been in contact with the old Sarkozy. The two would publicly announce their relationship a few months later, and then, following the trajectory of the previous life, Bruni would also become the First Lady of France.

Speaking of Bruni’s experiences, they were quite tortuous and melodramatic, but she also knew that her relationship with Baron, the Duke of England, was destined to be only a short-term one, so after meeting the old Sarkozy, she began to get very close to him.

It was through Bruni’s introduction that Baron and the old Sarkozy met and arranged this meeting.

The old Sarkozy was very interesting. He was initially on the side of former French President Chirac. Then, in the 1995 election, he switched sides to support Chirac’s opponent, and then returned to Chirac’s side in the 2002 election, running around for his campaign…

Of course, he also received rewards, later holding the important position of Minister of the Interior.

In this year’s election, Chirac announced his retirement and supported the old Sarkozy, ultimately helping him win the election.

Compared to South Korea, the position of President of France could be said to be very safe, but even so, the old Sarkozy later became the first French president to go to jail – although he was only sentenced to a one-year term at the time, with a suspended sentence.

The current old Sarkozy was naturally in a moment of triumph, having just taken the helm of power and being in a favorable romantic situation, but when facing Baron, the young Duke of England, he was still very friendly – after all, he also knew the capital and strength that the other party possessed.

In terms of policy, the old Sarkozy belonged to the hardline faction, which could be seen from his hardline attitude in quelling the riots in Paris at the time when he was Minister of the Interior.

At the same time, he also took a hardline stance on immigration. After taking office, he proposed a proposal to increase French and national values tests for those who join French citizenship.

Therefore, the old Sarkozy also strongly supported the previous cooperation between France and England to repatriate illegal immigrants.

Currently, on the border of eastern Kolo, on the side of the neighboring country of Benin, a “refugee resettlement zone” had been designated to accommodate illegal immigrants transported from England and France.

On the English side, the Coast Guard established by Protector Security Company cooperated with the French law enforcement agencies to prevent illegal immigrants from landing, and both sides contributed funds to send these illegal immigrants to West Africa.

It could be said that compared to the burden and negative impacts caused by these illegal immigrants entering the country on the welfare system and social security, spending some money to solve this problem was, in the old Sarkozy’s view, very worthwhile. Therefore, after taking office, he strongly promoted this cooperation with England, and its scope was not only limited to illegal immigrants found at sea and on the border who were preparing to enter the country, but also included illegal immigrants found in the country who were illegally staying in the country.

Baron also strongly supported this measure. Currently, the number of English and French “illegal immigrants” transported to the Benin resettlement zone had exceeded 1,000, and among them, after review by Kolo, more than 200 people had obtained residency permits in Kolo. If they performed well within five years, they would be able to obtain Kolo citizenship.

These people had all received a certain level of education or possessed a skill, which could make up for some of the labor shortages in the current development of Kolo.

In addition to matters related to the resettlement of illegal immigrants, Baron and the old Sarkozy also discussed investments in France.

Currently, the DS Group’s largest asset in France was the Gucci-Hermès Group. This group was composed of two top luxury brands from France and Italy. In fact, besides the Gucci and Hermès brands, the two companies also each owned some other luxury brands before the merger.

For example, before being acquired, the Gucci Group already owned many brands, including Gucci, Bottega Veneta, Barronciaga, Boucheron, and Saint Laurent.

And before the merger of Hermès and the Gucci Group, in addition to the Hermès brand, it also owned brands such as John Lobb, Saint Louis, and Puiforcat.

It could be said that among all of Europe, France and Italy had the most luxury brands. The old Sarkozy also hoped that Baron could invest more in France and promote the local economy.

In general, this meeting between the two was still mainly to “establish connections”. After all, after making a lot of money from the subprime mortgage crisis, Baron would definitely start acquiring companies on a large scale when the market capitalization of many companies was at a low point. At that time, with the old Sarkozy’s help in France, it would be easier.

And the old Sarkozy was also happy to establish a good personal relationship with Baron. He even stated that he could come forward to introduce some local families to Baron to promote cooperation between the two sides.

He wasn’t just saying it either. Soon, at a banquet, he introduced a gentleman to Baron…

This gentleman’s name was Arnaud…

Uh, not Bernard Arnault, the chairman of the LVMH Group, but Arnaud Lagardère, the new head of the Lagardère family, another wealthy family in France.

As for why the old Sarkozy introduced this gentleman, who was called the “most unsuccessful heir,” to him, Baron couldn’t be sure – but at least the advantage was that when this Arnaud wanted to sell any assets, Baron could take over more easily.

From the current perspective, the Lagardère family could rank among the top commercial families in France. Arnaud Lagardère’s father, Jean-Luc Lagardère, was one of the most well-known and respected businessmen in France. He built a business empire that included the missile manufacturer Matra and the publisher Hachette.

Currently, the Lagardère Group (Lagardère SCA) of the Lagardère family is one of the world’s three largest publishing groups, owning publications such as Paris Match, Le Journal du Dimanche, Hachette Publishing, Europe 1 radio station, and some important duty-free chain stores.

The Lagardère Group’s businesses include television stations, publishing, media magazines, and tourism.

They own nearly a hundred magazines in more than ten countries, including ELLE, Car Magazine, Version Femina, Art & Décoration, France Dimanche, Télé 7 Jours, Ici Paris, and Public.

Chapter 551: The Most Unsuccessful Heir

In 2003, when Arnaud Lagardère’s father, Jean-Luc Lagardère, suddenly passed away, he left the entire Lagardère Group to him.

Then, Arnaud Lagardère began his path of squandering the family fortune.

From 2000, when his father was seriously ill and Arnaud took over the family business, he made one blunder after another in business. He successively abandoned the aerospace division, and in the original timeline, he later sold or closed down a large number of media assets, constantly shrinking the Lagardère Group’s business scale, and successfully accumulated a large amount of debt for the group…

It even felt as though, because he had faced his parents’ divorce battle throughout his entire adolescence, and because of the personality of Arnaud’s father, their relationship was not harmonious, Arnaud’s actions of selling off assets were like a form of revenge.

For example, in 2005, he sold the Haras de la Teste racecourse, which the Lagardère family had spent decades building and which had 220 horses, for a mere 40 million euros…

When Jean-Luc Lagardère suddenly passed away in 2003, Arnaud was already 42 years old, but at that time, Arnaud was like a giant baby who had always been protected in a greenhouse, and was looked down upon by the senior executives of the group.

It was with the help of Jean-Luc Lagardère’s old friends, including Sarkozy, that Arnaud stabilized his position in the family group at the time.

But now, those friends of Arnaud’s father found that Arnaud himself was not a person of talent – he liked to make unreasonable risky investments, his personality was both cold and full of control, and he often said things in public that were out of line and made him look foolish.

Over time, Arnaud became an oddity among this wealthy class – he openly mocked the French elite class, looked down on the graduates of prestigious universities within his own group, and in turn, the elite circle did not accept him either.

His neglect of public affairs became increasingly public, going to the opposite extreme of his father, frequently absenting himself from business meetings, and those he stood up included even figures of the head of state level, like the Emperor.

Moreover, the senior executives of the Lagardère Group often couldn’t find him, so much so that they came up with a special reporting protocol – “If you do not receive your reply within X days, it will be considered that you agree with the decision.”

In the end, Arnaud didn’t even bother to endure this kind of “harassment,” and he directly had three senior executives take over his work.

He also knew that he could be ousted from the group at any time, but he didn’t care.

If the fact that Bruni had once been in love with the son of her boyfriend, who was 18 years her senior, was very melodramatic…

Arnaud’s private life’s melodramatic drama was no less than hers…

In Baron’s previous life, the child born to Jade, Arnaud’s second wife’s younger sister, Cassandra, had a father who was Arnaud’s eldest son, Alexandre…

Which meant that, at the time, Arnaud was both the child’s grandfather and uncle-in-law – well, it was a bit chaotic.

But thinking that they were “romantic” French people, it seemed reasonable.

Until Baron’s rebirth in his previous life, Arnaud Lagardère’s financial situation had been declining, and his personal annual income had dropped from 12 million euros to a mere 2 million euros. For an heir to a French commercial family in the top three, this was indeed quite lamentable…

Also, to mention, LVMH Group’s Bernard Arnault was also a close friend of Arnaud Lagardère’s father, Jean-Luc Lagardère. Seeing Arnaud’s “squandering” deeds after suddenly inheriting the family business, Bernard Arnault began to pay attention to the cultivation of his successor from this moment on.

I don’t know if it was because of Baron’s identity, but after he met Arnaud Lagardère, the other party’s attitude was not as “strange” as the rumors said. Although he couldn’t be said to be as welcoming as a spring breeze, at least it felt acceptable.

In his youth, Arnaud was a “playboy,” often sending the bills to his father after indulging in pleasure…

Then again, what kind of cunning could such a playboy have? It could be said that compared to those old foxes, Baron preferred to get along with this kind of person. At least, in the future when he wanted to sell certain industries, Baron could help him take over.

After all, those magazine media of the Lagardère Group were still quite good.

Also, to mention, the Lagardère family’s melodramatic events had not yet happened. The Belgian model Jade Foret, who was born in France, would not marry Arnaud until 2012.

“The Rothschild family? Those greedy Jewish guys who always pretend to be mysterious? I hate them…”

When Baron and Arnaud casually talked about French red wine, they naturally inevitably talked about the Rothschild family.

After all, this family had a huge influence in the French red wine industry and owned several well-known wineries.

Generally speaking, there are three branches of the Rothschild family that entered the wine industry, namely the Domaines Barons de Rothschild (DBR), the Baron Philippe de Rothschild (BPRD) and the Baron Edmond de Rothschild (Baron Edmond de Rothschild).

Chateau Lafite Rothschild and Chateau Mouton Rothschild, two of the five major first-growth estates in France, are both properties of the Rothschild family.

But for the Rothschild family, Arnaud’s big mouth, made no secret of his dislike for this Jewish family…

Well, although in the traditional upper class society of Europe, there was no great fondness for those Jews who had once specialized in managing business for the nobles, it was rare to be so bold, or rather, so rash to say it in front of someone he hadn’t known for long.

After all, until now, many people’s bloodlines were mixed, and it was difficult to know exactly what bloodlines a person possessed.

For example, Sarkozy, a friend of Arnaud’s father, had Jewish blood – his grandfather was a Greek Jew, his father had Hungarian blood, and his mother was French.

But no matter what, Baron at least had a common topic with Arnaud Lagardère in this regard, of course, Baron would not be as straightforward as him.

“I’ll throw a cocktail party for you tonight, Your Grace, you’ll like it…”

Arnaud said, winking at Baron. This kind of look that all men understood, made Baron understand what he wanted to do.

After all, judging by Arnaud Lagardère’s past, he was a complete playboy…

What made Baron a little doubtful was that he was a little worried that he would be too normal in this regard, and might be out of place…

“Okay, Mr. Lagardère, I’m looking forward to it.”

Uh, after all, when in Rome, do as the Romans do, Baron just wanted to learn more about the local customs and practices of France…

That’s all.

Chapter 552: Mate 1S

It has to be said that Arnault’s party was quite something. Although there weren’t many well-known supermodels among the girls who attended, the models with some fame and unique appearances were still dazzling.

After all, Paris was originally the capital of fashion, and the Lagardère Group itself had famous fashion magazines like ELLE, so there was no shortage of resources.

For example, Arnault’s future second wife was a model.

The girl Baron brought back to the villa was named Camille Romay. She was not yet twenty-one years old and was a newly debuted model.

According to Camille, she was born in France but grew up in New York and California. She had just graduated and was discovered by a modeling agency because of her good figure and appearance, and she was trying to become a model first.

In fact, Baron wasn’t that interested in Camille Romay’s story, nor did he recognize that this girl would become a supermodel and actress in the future. All he needed was for this girl to help him pass the evening…

“Your Grace, this is the revised development plan for Glory Electronics after the modifications from the Caesar Foundation…”

After leaving the villa and the girl named Camille, and getting into the Bentley Mulsanne headed for the airport, Laura took out a document from her bag and said to Baron.

“Let’s not look at it for now. Just tell me briefly, dear Laura.”

“Glory Electronics hopes to adjust the development plan for the second half of the year. They believe that rushing to launch the Mate 1C model is not conducive to establishing the high-end image of the Mate series phones, so they suggest that the low-to-mid-range Android phones be launched under the brand name of Dopod…”

Thinking about it this way, it wasn’t unreasonable…

Baron’s brows furrowed slightly, then gradually relaxed, and he said:

“Anything else?”

“Glory Electronics believes that the most important thing now is to launch an Android phone that supports 3G networks, so they hope to launch the Mate 1S in the second half of this year, including 8GB and 16GB versions, adding support for 3G networks…”

“Alright, let’s go with that…”

Currently, Mate 1 has sold over 500,000 units. At the current rate, it would be no problem for Mate 1 sales to exceed 1.5 million units this year.

However, as Glory Electronics said, the inability to support 3G was one of the reasons why the sales of the iPhone were not high in Baron’s previous life.

Although China wouldn’t officially launch 3G networks until April of next year, many countries around the world had already entered the 3G era—Japan was the first country to commercialize 3G, and after that, South Korea and most countries in Europe and America had also launched 3G networks.

According to statistics, the global 3G users had exceeded 500 million, so launching a phone model that supports 3G was still very necessary.

And 3G networks could also enrich the applications of the Android system, thereby attracting more users.

And there was another point, that after supporting 3G networks, the price of the Mate 1S phone could be greatly reduced—this was easy to understand. After mobile operators built 3G networks, they naturally hoped to promote their 3G plans to get more users to use 3G networks, which would allow them to recover their investment in 3G networks sooner or even make a profit.

Therefore, the contract phones for Mate 1S would definitely require a limited plan duration, usually a plan of at least two years, so the mobile operators would subsidize the contract phones for this, which would also allow the Mate 1S to be sold to users at a lower price—even users could get contract phones for free when choosing certain plans with a fixed term.

Currently, Glory Electronics had established two research and development centers outside of China, one located in Singapore, which was a mobile phone chip R&D center they established in cooperation with An Hua Gao; the other was the Glory Electronics European branch in London, where they cooperated with Huawei and ARM to begin the R&D of the next-generation 4G chips.

Speaking of Huawei, they had already entered the mobile phone industry in 2003. After the Android system was launched, Huawei also joined the Android Alliance, which was the Open Handset Alliance, but the main market for their mobile phone products was in China, and China would have to wait until April of next year to launch 4G networks, so Huawei phones that support the Android system would also have to wait until next year to be launched.

……

When Baron returned to London, he saw a piece of news in the newspaper…

Prince William and Kate were back together.

He wasn’t surprised by this, because Baron knew they would get back together soon after they broke up before.

Of course, Baron also contributed to this, well, in addition to trying his best to “comfort” Kate’s emotions, he also gave several pieces of advice to William.

So the prince and the future princess got back together, a happy ending for everyone.

After returning home and reuniting with his wife Bonnie and son George, their family went to the Earl of Booth’s home.

Well, Chrissy, that is, the Countess of Booth, was more than nine months pregnant… to be exact, nine months and two weeks.

Therefore, it meant that the baby boy in her belly—yes, it had already been confirmed before, this time the Countess was pregnant with a boy—would be born soon.

Speaking of which, this was the Countess’s second time “personally” pregnant and giving birth, so she naturally had more experience and wouldn’t be as nervous as when she gave birth to their daughter, Ethel.

The three children of the Booth. family, including Ethel, were already two or three years old, one boy, two girls, and they were surrounding little George, curiously teasing him.

And Baron and his family sat on the sofa on the other side of the room, casually chatting.

“It seems the SEM Group’s acquisition of Reuters is not going smoothly?”

The Earl of Booth. put the newspaper on the coffee table, took off his glasses, and said to Baron.

“It’s still at a standstill. Although Reuters Group prefers to be acquired by the Thomson Group compared to the SEM Group—you know, whether it’s the scale after the merger or the synergy of the two businesses, choosing the Thomson Group is better than the SEM Group, but this acquisition is hindered by the anti-monopoly review of Britain and the United States. Although they are trying their best to get it approved, it probably won’t be that easy…”

The Earl of Booth. nodded, agreeing with Baron’s view:

“If they merge with the Thomson Group, then they will become the largest market owner among financial information providers, which is something Bloomberg cannot tolerate, as for Britain…”

He glanced at Baron and said with a smile:

“Even Your Grace, the Duke, wouldn’t agree to this deal.”

“So it’s now at a standstill… unless Reuters Group compromises with the SEM Group.”

Baron shrugged and said with a smile.

Chapter 553: Bond Girl

By August, Fan Bingbing had already finished filming the first season of Succession.

Generally, the production cycle for each episode of an American drama is between seven and fourteen days. The first season of Succession has a total of ten episodes, requiring approximately three months of filming.

However, the “stepmother” character played by Fan Bingbing wasn’t a main character in the first season, just a supporting role with a few scenes, so she was able to complete her part of the filming early.

In fact, Succession didn’t follow the typical filming process of many American dramas.

How are most American dramas made?

Generally speaking, most American dramas are created by screenwriters, but some are developed by producers—in America, the television industry is dominated by producers, many of whom started as screenwriters.

Sometimes, even the director’s position isn’t as high as the screenwriter’s. On average, a complete American drama has fifteen to eighteen screenwriters. The screenwriters for sitcoms change more frequently than those for dramas, because each screenwriter’s ideas are limited, and directors usually change every few episodes.

Typically, the first step for an American drama comes from the screenwriter’s recommendation to a producer or a film and television company.

When a screenwriter has a good idea or a good script, they will first try to persuade the producer or film and television company. If the other party thinks the script has potential, they will begin to jointly refine the idea or script. The next step is to recommend it to a television station.

If the television station is also interested, they will buy the script (mostly buying the first episode of the script). After the first episode is filmed and handed over to the television station, and after a small-scale test screening, they will finally decide whether to include this television series in the broadcast schedule for the following year…

It can be said that every year there are countless new drama ideas, and the television stations, through a series of screenings, decide on the final small-scale list for test filming, and then give each television drama a trial-and-error cost of five to fifty million US dollars. They will choose from the final products the television dramas they will buy the entire script for filming. This is the usual process for American television stations to broadcast American dramas.

But Succession was completely different. Its filming was decided directly by the television drama production department of the Marvel-MGM Group—or rather, it was decided directly by the behind-the-scenes boss, Baron.

Therefore, there was no need to go through the television station’s screening process, only the group’s internal control of the quality of the television drama was needed.

Moreover, Succession would not be filmed and broadcast simultaneously, but rather, all ten episodes of the first season would be filmed directly. Anyway, for Baron, there would be no lack of platforms to broadcast this television drama. Whether it was the Sinclair Group’s television stations in America, or Netflix, or ITV and DailyVedio here in the UK, they were enough to ensure that this series would be delivered to the audience.

After filming Succession, Fan Bingbing began her “comeback,” appearing in public.

She directly took a private jet back to China—the Gulfstream G450 that Baron had purchased earliest was now used very infrequently and would be temporarily used by her.

This also made it convenient for Fan Bingbing to bring her two children, Andy and Bell, back to China. In Beijing, they discreetly moved into the meticulously renovated courtyard house located near the Summer Palace.

The first event Fan Bingbing attended after her appearance was the Huabiao Awards ceremony in August. At this awards ceremony, Fan Bingbing appeared on the red carpet in full dress, naturally causing a sensation in the media.

You know, this actress, who could be said to be a “top domestic star” before, had “disappeared” for a year…

It wasn’t that she had completely disappeared. During this period, there were occasional news reports about Fan Bingbing. According to Fan Bingbing’s studio, Fan Bingbing had gone to America for further studies and would return to China soon.

On Fan Bingbing’s personal blog and her Woaw personal page, she would also occasionally update some photos of her in Los Angeles—of course, the angles of those photos were very professional and wouldn’t show her figure…

Her latest news was that she had participated in the filming of an American drama, but she didn’t give any detailed introduction about it.

In an interview with reporters, Fan Bingbing thanked everyone for their concern and said that her studies in Los Angeles had made her realize many of her shortcomings. Soon, she would also join a film crew. As for which film, she didn’t say directly, but instead said that she would keep it a secret for the time being.

The most interesting thing was that Fan Bingbing presented the award for Best Actress at this Huabiao Awards ceremony, and the winner was another “Bing” from the “Four Dan and Double Bing” actresses, Li Bingbing…

She won the award at this Huabiao Awards for The Knot.

And this scene also became the cover photo for many media reports afterwards.

Just as the public was discussing Fan Bingbing’s return to the domestic entertainment industry, a piece of news was quickly released, which ignited the topic.

The Marvel-MGM Group announced that they would start filming a new 007 series film—007: Quantum of Solace.

Casino Royale, which had just been released last year, had achieved unprecedented success in terms of both reputation and box office. The film’s global box office reached 616 million US dollars, ranking fourth in the 2006 global film box office chart.

So the Marvel-MGM Group decided to take advantage of the momentum and launch its sequel, 007: Quantum of Solace. Unlike the previous film, this film would be independently produced by MGM Pictures and would no longer cooperate with Sony Pictures.

007: Quantum of Solace could indeed be called the sequel to Casino Royale, because the plot of 007: Quantum of Solace begins one hour after the end of Casino Royale, and it is the first time in the 007 series that two films are truly closely connected.

This is because some hint clues appeared in Casino Royale, and these clues were not answered at the end of the film, so the screenwriter wrote the story content for this.

This film will still be starring Daniel Craig, who played 007 in the previous film—in the previous 007 film, Daniel’s style was different from the previous 007, and he was accepted and affirmed by the audience.

And Chinese reporters found that in the cast list released by MGM Pictures, Fan Bingbing’s name actually appeared. She will play the MI6 agent Fields Fan in this film, and she will be the second “Bond girl” in this film.

And with this, Fan Bingbing also became the first Chinese “Bond girl.”

The first Chinese actor to appear in a 007 film was Tsai Chin in You Only Live Twice in 1967. Later, those who appeared in the 007 series also included the young “Landlady” Yuen Qiu and the Chinese actress Michelle Yeoh, who married a Jewish man…

Yuen Qiu had too few scenes in that 007 film, and she didn’t even have any lines, so she couldn’t be considered a “Bond girl.” And the other two could only be said to be Chinese. Therefore, Fan Bingbing’s performance in the 007 series film this time was quite sensational.

Chapter 554: Earning a Fortune Through Tears of Joy

In reality, Fan Bingbing no longer needed to rely on acting as her sole profession.

Because, in fact, Fan Bingbing had already become capital itself. Not only did Barron transfer the 15% stake in Huayi Company that he held through Rich23 Capital to Fan Bingbing after she had her child, but Tianhe Capital itself was registered in China under Fan Bingbing’s name—although she wasn’t the actual controller of the company, Fan Bingbing still had a significant say in Tianhe Film and Television Investment.

Her participation in Succession War and later 007: Quantum of Solace was also to enhance Fan Bingbing’s international profile.

It could be said that she was no longer on the same level as ordinary celebrities.

In the future, Fan Bingbing would gradually shift her role from celebrity to investor and producer—similar to Zhao Feite’s later transformation, except that Fan Bingbing’s background was much stronger than Zhao Feite’s at this time, and she wouldn’t resort to such low-level capital operation tactics.

Fan Bingbing herself was very good at dealing with people, or rather, her emotional intelligence was very high—this could be seen from how well she handled her relationship with the media in the original timeline. Even after she was blacklisted for certain reasons, almost no one in the industry kicked her while she was down. On the contrary, many people owed her favors, which eventually became resources for her younger brother, showing that she indeed did well in interpersonal relationships.

Even the host who triggered that incident once admitted that he was mainly targeting the feud between Feng Xiaogang and the film’s related parties, and Fan Bingbing was just caught in the crossfire. He also acknowledged that she was a very nice person.

Therefore, as Barron’s representative in China, Fan Bingbing would do what she was good at, which was to act as a “spokesperson” to make some investments and maintain relationships. As for business decisions and operations, she didn’t need to handle them personally; she could leave them to professionals.

Overall, Fan Bingbing’s role was similar to Ivanka’s in America. The difference was that Ivanka’s family background allowed her more possibilities, so she would shoulder more responsibilities in IC Capital.

…

On August 1, 2007, shareholders began filing the first lawsuit against Bear Stearns regarding the collapse of its hedge funds. Bear Stearns, one of the five major investment banks on Wall Street, began to run into trouble.

On August 8, BNP Paribas announced that it would suspend withdrawals for its money market fund investors due to problems caused by the American subprime mortgage crisis…

In fact, even though they were willing to start negotiating the CDO (collateralized debt obligation) bet contracts held by the Black Swan Fund, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley still didn’t show a very decisive attitude.

Goldman Sachs was better; they finally reached an agreement with the Black Swan Fund on August 10. By this time, their bet agreement had already caused Goldman Sachs a book loss of $2.5 billion!

The Black Swan Fund made a slight concession, agreeing to settle the bet contract with Goldman Sachs for $2 billion, which finally gave Goldman Sachs the opportunity to cut their losses in time.

“What I want to know is, do you have any more credit default swaps (CDS)? We will buy them in large quantities.”

This was what the senior vice president of the other party said to Fellen O’Neill, CEO of the Black Swan Fund, after the bet agreement with Goldman Sachs was settled.

“We have some, but you know, the prices of these CDS are changing every day…”

“That’s not a problem; we just want to complete the transaction immediately!”

Obviously, Goldman Sachs’ attitude showed that after cutting their losses in time, they had begun to turn their guns on the investment banks that sold more collateralized debt obligations (CDOs)—those friends who were once in the same trench…

Perhaps that’s not right; there are no friends in the financial field to begin with.

And what Fellen O’Neill said was true; the prices of CDS insurance bonds were indeed changing every day, even rising sharply within the same day.

For example, some of their CDS insurance policies initially cost 0.5% when they were bought, but now they had risen to over 30%…

This meant that the insurance policy they originally bought for $500,000 (to insure $100 million of subprime mortgages) could now be sold for 30% of $100 million, which is $30 million!

Of course, you could also wait until later to claim the full $100 million from the insurance company…

But both Fellen O’Neill and Barron understood how many such insurance policies they held, and their total insured amount was astronomical. In the beginning, because of the hot real estate market, no one thought these policies would have a chance to be claimed, so the price they paid for these policies was negligible compared to their total insured amount.

Even if only one-fifth, or even a smaller one-tenth, of these policies in their hands were actually claimed, those currently large insurance companies would probably rather choose bankruptcy…

Therefore, it was indeed better to sell them at the current price of 30%, or 35%… anyway, it was already enough to make them a fortune, at least to lock in profits and invest the funds in the next round of short selling.

As for why banks and investment banks like Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, and UBS were willing to buy these insurance policies?

Of course, on the one hand, their power on Wall Street was enough to get sufficient compensation from those insurance companies. Even if they couldn’t get 100% of the compensation, because much of the money they lost came from the funds they managed, they still had to account for their investors…

Of course, now, those who wanted to buy these insurance policies were not only Goldman Sachs or Morgan Stanley; almost all the investment banks that had sold large amounts of collateralized debt obligations (CDOs) were frantically seeking those CDS, trying to make up for some losses or run faster than others.

In Fellen O’Neill’s words, what these investment banks were doing now was like “desperately buying fire insurance for a house that is already burning fiercely”…

In the end, the Black Swan Fund received $2 billion in “bet agreement” compensation from Goldman Sachs and sold CDS insurance policies with a total payout of $10 billion at 30% of their value…

This also meant that the Black Swan Fund pocketed $5 billion from Goldman Sachs, and their cost was almost negligible…

At the same time, Goldman Sachs should be grateful, after all, the CDS insurance policies they bought might be enough to offset their losses, or even make a profit. They were also generous in offering their “sincere friendship” to the Black Swan Fund.

As for Morgan Stanley, their actions were a beat slower than Goldman Sachs.

It wasn’t until August 19, a week after the Black Swan Fund reached an agreement with Goldman Sachs and sold the CDS, and after their bet agreement with the Black Swan Fund had caused them a book loss of over $4 billion…

They finally had to face reality and completed the liquidation of the bet agreement with the Black Swan Fund for $3.5 billion…

At the same time, to express their friendship, the Black Swan Fund also generously sold Morgan Stanley CDS insurance policies with a total payout of $10 billion at 35% of their value…

Under Morgan Stanley’s grateful gaze, the Black Swan Fund earned a fortune of $7 billion through tears of joy.

In this way, the Black Swan Fund had already pocketed $12 billion from Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley alone. If this had been said a year ago, or even half a year ago, probably no one would have believed it.

But even so, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley still had the opportunity to minimize their losses, or even make a slight profit, from the CDS they bought and the subsequent short selling.

So who lost?

Chapter 555: Not Heartwarming Enough?

If a giant rock rolls down a mountain, and everyone works together to hold it back with wooden planks, each person will only suffer minor injuries and their lives won’t be in danger. But if they turn and run, the people in front will be unharmed, while those in the back will be crushed to death.

What would you choose?

Others might not know, but for Goldman Sachs, the choice was obvious…

Another point is that initially, the market believed that each collateralized debt obligation (CDO) corresponded to one credit default swap (CDS). But in the end, everyone discovered that in order to sell more CDS, the same subprime mortgage might have been insured with three, four, or even more credit default swaps from insurance companies…

So currently, only the Black Swan Fund is truly clear on this—they hold the most CDS default insurance. This is still a race; after mortgage payments stop, whoever demands compensation from the insurance companies or relevant institutions first is most likely to get the funds…

Then, when the insurance companies realize that they simply cannot afford to pay out everything, their most likely option is to declare bankruptcy.

As for the Black Swan Fund, because they already have so many CDS, they don’t need to wait for all their default insurance to take effect before seeking compensation from the insurance companies. After a simple calculation, they know that the other party simply cannot afford to pay out all the insurance they hold. They only need to sell them at a high price to the investment banks that need them before that happens.

…

The day after the Black Swan Fund reached a “friendly” agreement with Morgan Stanley, on August 20th, in London, Countess Chris of Booth. successfully gave birth to a baby boy.

According to the name they had chosen for him, Daniel Booth. became the sixth member of the Booth. family.

Baron held little Daniel, and could vaguely see that the downy hair on his head was light golden, different from both the Earl of Booth’s dark hair and Chris’s flaxen hair…

Looking at the other four children playing on the rug, Baron couldn’t help but sigh to Bonnie beside him:

“So many children make the house feel more heartwarming, darling. Perhaps we should put in some more effort…”

However, as soon as he finished speaking, Bonnie couldn’t help but roll her eyes at him…

What does that mean?

I just wanted things to be a little more heartwarming…

“Baron, I don’t want to go through that again. I’ve been bored to death during this time. I’m planning to go traveling next. I don’t want to spend all my time taking care of children…”

The Countess said through gritted teeth when facing Baron.

Well, postpartum mood swings need to be understood. Baron agreed in a very agreeable tone:

“It’s been hard on you lately, my dear. How about we go to America together in a while?”

“That wouldn’t be bad. We could also take the opportunity to visit Latin America…”

But come to think of it, did you spend a lot of time taking care of the children before? It seems like you left all that to the maids…

So Baron said:

“Dear Chris, Hawaii is also nice, the climate is pleasant, and we can also take a look around. We can buy a small island there and go on vacation whenever we have time. But we can wait another month or so, when the weather in London turns cold and little Daniel is a little bigger, we can take him with us.”

…

“Now that Nvidia’s stock price has exceeded $30, can we sell it?”

Catherine Neville had just returned to London with her children from their estate in the South of France. After Baron spent some heartwarming family time with his daughter Emily Neville, and the maids put the children to bed, it was naturally time for him to “study knowledge” with Catherine, the former Mrs. Hall, and even earlier, the fiancée of his good brother…

Previously, following Baron’s advice, Catherine had taken the 50 million pounds she had received from selling her Hall Bank shares back to the Hall family and used it to purchase approximately 15 million shares of Nvidia stock.

At that time, Nvidia’s stock price was less than $6.50, and now it had soared more than four times to over $30.

At this price, Catherine’s Nvidia stock was worth more than $450 million.

“I think it still has room to rise, so there’s no need to rush to sell. Hmm, you can start slowly selling it off in early October. Just have Daisy help you with the operation.”

The reason he said this was because Baron knew that in his previous life, on October 18th of this year, Nvidia’s stock price would reach its highest price before the subprime mortgage crisis, $37, and then it would continue to fall due to the impact of the subprime mortgage crisis.

Although there have been slight changes in this timeline, and the specific price may vary slightly, the overall trend will not be too different.

Similarly, DS Group also holds more Nvidia shares. Some of them were purchased before Catherine bought Nvidia stock, and some were purchased from Vanguard Group. Currently, Baron holds more than 25% of Nvidia’s shares in total.

Of these, 12% are held by Caesar Fund, which were exchanged with Vanguard Group for some of its shares in United Energy Group at the time.

The other more than 13% of the shares were purchased by Rich23 Capital from some institutions and the secondary stock market.

In the near future, they will also gradually reduce some Nvidia shares, eventually reducing the shareholding ratio by about 5% in total, maintaining the shareholding at about 20%.

Of course, after the subprime mortgage crisis affects the stock market, Nvidia’s stock price will fall to about one-seventh of its high point in October of this year. If these funds are used to buy back Nvidia stock at that time, in an ideal situation, the number of shares sold can be returned several times over…

Of course, in reality, it is not calculated like this. The price fluctuations caused by the purchase of circulating shares also need to be considered. But no matter what, it will be very easy for Baron to expand his controlled Nvidia shares from the current 25% to more than 40%.

Because Nvidia’s shares themselves are very dispersed at this time, and the proportion of circulating shares is extremely high.

This is just one part of the various high-selling and low-buying operations of Baron’s companies in the stock market during this period.

“But you said to short Northern Rock Bank, but their stock hasn’t fallen much yet. Should we continue?”

Speaking of which, Catherine can be said to have only a superficial understanding of finance, or rather, business. All of her investments have been made based on Baron’s advice.

Therefore, it is very normal to have doubts after seeing that Northern Rock Bank’s stock price has not fallen much.

“Don’t worry about that. Just treat it as a hedge against the risk of your Northern Rock Bank shares. All you need to pay is a little handling fee.”

The reason why Northern Rock Bank’s stock price has not started to fall is that, on the one hand, the subprime mortgage crisis can only be said to be in the first stage of its outbreak and has not yet begun to spread to banks, or rather, European banks.

The other reason is that Baron has not yet started to short Northern Rock Bank on a large scale…

Chapter 556: The Most Beautiful Lawyer

Entering September, Barron’s investment companies, including DS Group, began the final stage of reducing their holdings in listed companies.

At the same time, they also started shorting stocks and other securities markets on a larger scale in America, Europe, Japan, and South Korea.

Because this autumn, the American stock market would reach its peak before the subprime mortgage crisis.

It wasn’t just Nvidia’s stock price, as Catherine Neville had mentioned, that would reach its high point in October of this year, within the next two or three years.

It could be said that the market value high points of most companies before the subprime mortgage crisis would appear around that time.

Therefore, starting in September, the Black Swan Fund would gradually reduce its holdings in CDO counterparty agreements and CDS, and use the funds obtained to prepare to join in shorting all investment products such as the stock market, foreign exchange market, gold, and crude oil futures.

Of course, the rhythm of this was also different. Autumn was mainly focused on shorting the stock market, and the dollar exchange rate would continue to decline until April of the following year, when the exchange rates of the British pound and the euro against the dollar would reach their peak.

…

“Ms. Alamuddin, welcome to my team.”

“It is my honor, Your Grace. I believe you will not regret today’s decision.”

The confident woman with Arabic features standing before Barron was Amal Alamuddin, Barron’s new personal legal counsel.

Barron’s previous legal counsel was preparing to retire due to health reasons, and the confident and generous woman before him was one of the successors recommended by the former counsel.

After conducting background checks and interviews, Barron ultimately chose Amal.

Amal Alamuddin was born in 1978 and is 29 years old this year.

In the information about her that Barron had seen before, Amal Alamuddin was born in Beirut, Lebanon, and moved to England with her family at the age of two due to the war.

Amal’s parents were both intellectuals and were very strict with her and her siblings.

With her parents’ support, Amal Alamuddin attended high-end private schools all the way, winning top awards every year.

In 2000, at the age of 22, Amal graduated from the University of Oxford Faculty of Law. The following year, she moved to New York and enrolled in New York University School of Law.

In her first semester at New York University, she went to the U.S. Federal Court to work for a Supreme Court Justice.

At the age of 26, Amal Alamuddin obtained lawyer qualifications in both America and England and entered the International Court of Justice in The Hague to participate in legal work.

When Barron first saw Amal Alamuddin’s information, he felt a sense of familiarity. After meeting her in person, Barron recognized that the legal counsel he had just hired was the “most beautiful British lawyer” who was later madly pursued by Hollywood star George Clooney in his previous life…

The companies under Barron’s name all have legal departments, but Amal Alamuddin is his personal legal counsel, and this position is very important.

Because with Barron’s status, many things require professional lawyers to protect him from various legal risks, and these things also include many personal matters—such as the confidentiality agreements of the people serving him, and even his contact with some women, and the various risks that need to be avoided, and so on…

In addition to basic business capabilities, the other party must also be trustworthy. Often, some things also require a personal legal counsel to come forward to solve—for example, Ivanka’s father, in the original timeline, his personal lawyer needed to go out and pay “hush money” for some women to prevent them from disclosing his privacy.

However, at this time, Ivanka’s father’s “clout” is much lower than Barron’s. His personal lawyer does not only serve him alone, while Barron’s personal legal counsel will definitely only serve him alone, and will need to accompany him most of the time, especially when he goes overseas.

After joining the company, Amal Alamuddin will have a week to work with Barron’s previous legal counsel to familiarize herself with his various needs, and then she will be solely responsible for Barron’s personal legal affairs.

…

“This is my first time going to Kolo. I heard you have a lot of investments there?”

“In fact, the investments there are not considered a lot in my industry. Of course, for such a small African country, it is already a huge investment.”

The person talking to Barron was the Queen’s youngest son, Prince Andrew.

They were currently on the Devonshire, en route to Kolo.

As the representative of the British Royal Family, Prince Andrew will be visiting several Commonwealth countries in Africa this time, and Kolo, which has newly joined the Commonwealth, is also the first stop on his trip.

It happened that Barron was also preparing to go to Kolo, so Andrew simply hitched a ride on Barron’s private jet, and the two went together.

When the Devonshire entered Kolo’s airspace, two Tornado F3 fighter jets flew over and escorted the plane on both sides.

“Are these our Tornado F3 fighter jets?”

“Yes, it is said that Kolo purchased some of the aircraft that our Royal Air Force had just retired, including these Tornado fighters.”

When it comes to Prince Andrew, many people know him because of the “Lolita Island list” incident that was later exposed. He had a very close relationship with Epstein back then.

But objectively speaking, Prince Andrew did have some shining moments. It can be said that the young Prince Andrew had a completely different reputation from what he has now.

Prince Andrew is the Queen’s third child and her second child after the Prince of Wales—and also the first child born to a reigning monarch since Queen Victoria gave birth to her youngest daughter, Princess Beatrice, in 1857.

In 1982, Prince Andrew joined the Naval Air Squadron and served on the aircraft carrier “Invincible.”

At first, the British generally believed that Prince Andrew, as a prince, was going to the navy to gild himself.

Then, the Falklands War broke out between Britain and Argentina. Prime Minister Thatcher took a tough stance and sent ships, including the aircraft carrier Invincible, to fight there.

At that time, Prince Andrew, as a prince, went to the front line to fight, which made the British people admire him.

Originally, because the prince was personally on the battlefield, there was a risk of sacrifice at any time, so the British government planned to transfer Andrew back and arrange a clerical job.

However, the Queen insisted on keeping her son on the Invincible.

Finally, Prince Andrew, as the pilot of the Sea King helicopter, went on an expedition with the Invincible. He flew the plane to complete many anti-submarine and anti-surface warfare missions, and even played the role of “decoy missile” to attract the other side’s tracking missiles.

When the war ended and the Invincible returned triumphantly, Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip went to Portsmouth Naval Base to welcome their son home safely, just like other crew members’ families.

So it is not without reason that the Queen dotes on Andrew the most among all her children.

Later, after Prince Andrew got married, his wife Sarah was exposed by the media with a shocking photo of her vacationing on the beach with a wealthy businessman, which caused a public outcry. Andrew couldn’t wait to divorce her… and he is still single now, but his private life is very rich, and some outrageous rumors are often exposed.

Speaking of which, the Queen has worked hard to quell scandals for her youngest son…

Chapter 557: Kolo on the Offensive

It also wouldn’t be surprising that Prince Andrew recognized the Tornado F3 fighter jets still in service with the Royal Air Force, given his past experience as a naval aviator – he had been awarded the honorary rank of Colonel in the Royal Navy two years prior.

When the new government of Kolo was first established, it contracted its national defense and security to the Kolo Legion.

At that time, the equipment possessed by the Kolo Legion was mostly “lost” equipment purchased from the U.S. and British coalition forces during the Iraq War, and it was all army equipment. They only had a few helicopters, and a few coastal patrol boats for coastal defense.

The so-called air force of the previous Kolo junta’s government army consisted of only two old fighter jets.

After the discovery of oil fields in Kolo, the government gradually became “wealthy.” On the one hand, it hoped to increase its defense capabilities, and on the other hand, it sought a way to limit the Kolo Legion. So, last year, the Kolo government signed a new defense agreement with the Kolo Legion. The agreement stipulated that the Kolo government would fund the purchase of equipment to strengthen its national defense, including a newly built air force and navy.

This defense force would be trained by Kolo Legion personnel, equipped by the government, and jointly led by the government and the Kolo Legion.

In fact, this new agreement was proposed by Barron’s think tank. It was beneficial for the Kolo Legion to build up its heavy equipment, while the Kolo government would bear the costs. As for its use, was there really any difference when the Minister of Defense of Kolo was one of “their own”?

And no matter what, the people who actually used the equipment were all members of the Kolo Legion.

At that time, the Royal Air Force of Great Britain was preparing to downsize. They planned to disband one squadron of Tornado F3 air defense fighters and retire all Jaguar fighter/ground attack aircraft (3 squadrons) before 2007…

The number of Nimrod MR2 maritime patrol aircraft would also be reduced from 21 to 16, and the Royal Air Force personnel would be reduced from 48,500 to 41,000 before 2008.

So, with the help of Barron’s connections in the military, and the Duke of Westminster, who served as Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Ministry of Defense, Kolo bought 12 Tornado F3 fighter jets (half air-to-ground models and half air defense models) from this reduced equipment, forming a fighter squadron.

In addition, they also purchased 5 maritime patrol aircraft for the defense of offshore oil fields, and 10 G115 trainer aircraft.

The Kolo Legion Air Force formed in this way hired some of the personnel retiring from the Royal Air Force as instructors and to train maintenance personnel for various aircraft types, which also solved the problem of resettlement for the Royal Air Force’s laid-off personnel.

Some might say that the cost of purchasing retired equipment from the British army is not as cost-effective as buying it elsewhere…

In fact, the military procurement of any country is never purely an economic calculation; it can also be regarded as a continuation of politics.

Or, to put it bluntly, for some small countries, buying equipment from abroad is equivalent to paying “protection money” to those major arms-selling countries.

And Kolo, as a Commonwealth country, and with Barron having such a relationship, and with the instructors and core personnel in the Kolo Legion all originating from the British army, it would be really foolish if the main military procurement target was not aimed at Great Britain.

Kolo is such a small West African country, and there are really no strong countries around it. With the current strength of the Kolo Legion, it is more than enough to maintain national defense.

…

Because the airport near Kolo’s capital, Brita, was under construction and not yet in use, the Devonshire landed at Lottie International Airport in the old capital, which is also currently the largest city in Kolo. The runway here had also been expanded and renovated, and was longer than when they had come before.

When Prince Andrew and Barron’s party stepped off the plane, the presidential guard played music to welcome them on both sides of the airport’s red carpet.

Kolo’s President Jameh Bongo personally led some officials from Brita to greet them.

Prince Andrew was very happy to see that the other party welcomed him with such a grand ceremony. As a member of the royal family, he needed to undertake the responsibility of representing the royal family and the country in foreign visits, which was also one of their job duties.

In 2004, Kolo’s new government completed the general election. At that time, Jameh Bongo began his term as president.

The new Kolo constitution stipulates that the president’s term of office is 4 years, so there will be another general election next year. Jameh naturally hopes to be re-elected. Although Kolo has achieved great development and is very successful during his term of office, Jameh understands that in addition to the choice of the people, the most important thing for him to achieve re-election is to obtain the support of whom…

After a short rest and talks, Jameh Bongo took them to visit Lottie.

Even though Kolo had moved its capital from Lottie to Brita in the center of the country, Lottie was still the largest city in Kolo. After all, only part of Brita had been completed, and its population was still not large.

In fact, at the same time as announcing the plan to move the capital, Kolo also promoted an urban renewal plan in Lottie. After all, although Lottie had previously been the most “prosperous” city in Kolo, the areas where the poor gathered were still dirty and chaotic, comparable to the slums of India.

Therefore, on the east side of the original city of Lottie, the Golden Africa Real Estate Company under the West Africa Group took the lead in constructing a new urban area.

Now, some companies have moved into the new urban area of Lottie, including the Kolo Oil Company and the residential areas they provide for their employees. Compared with the old city, the appearance of the new city is much better, and the planning is more scientific.

It is expected that the new urban area of Lottie will be fully completed before 2010, and the renovation of the old city will begin.

It can be said that in Kolo, Barron saw the vigorous vitality that he had not discovered when he last came. Since the establishment of the new government in 2004, Kolo’s economic growth has entered a fast lane, with an average annual economic growth rate of more than 20%, which can be described as terrifying. Of course, this is also related to their originally weak foundation. In other words, there is a lot of room for improvement…

Especially in the areas surrounding the city, the per capita income of Lottie has doubled compared to 2004. Especially after the stable exploitation of Kolo’s offshore oil fields, Kolo has announced that it has bid farewell to the ranks of underdeveloped countries.

Of course, it is not just oil fields. The growth of domestic investment in Kolo is also very strong. This is also due to the fact that since 2004, with the support of the Kolo government and the West Africa Group, many technical schools have been established in Kolo. The government provides subsidies, and the West Africa United Bank provides some loans, which can enable ordinary people in Kolo to enter these technical schools for short-term study (more like on-the-job training) to help them acquire the ability to work in factories.

And including the previous Primark clothing chain, and the subsequent Fast Retailing Group, have also gradually expanded their production bases in Kolo; factories for the deep processing of agricultural products, including coffee and cocoa, have been established one after another; the infrastructure construction in Kolo has been carried out, and the entrepot trade has prospered due to the increased loading and unloading volume due to the renovation of Lottie Port, which has also made the transportation industry flourish…

These are the driving forces behind Kolo’s domestic economic growth.

Chapter 558: Jupiter Tower

Currently, in addition to the initial Block 1, the Colo offshore oil field has discovered Block 2 and Block 3 next to it. The total proven oil reserves of these three blocks have reached 2 billion tons and are being developed successively.

In addition to China Oilfield Services Limited, which cooperates with Colo Petroleum, having deployed more than five free or leased drilling platforms to carry out drilling operations in this area, Colo Petroleum has also established its own oil extraction department and has purchased two drilling platforms for operations.

Furthermore, at the beginning of this year, Colo Petroleum ordered 10 drilling platforms and offshore operating platforms from Dalian Shipyard in China in one go, and the delivery of the ships has begun successively in the second half of this year…

So far, with the commissioning of one offshore oil well after another, the daily output of the Colo offshore oil field has exceeded 1.5 million barrels per day!

At the beginning of this year, the price of North Sea Brent crude oil had reached 60 US dollars per barrel, and now, its price has reached a maximum of over 78 US dollars. Although the current oil price has fallen slightly compared to the price of 78 US dollars per barrel, even at an average price of 70 US dollars, with a daily output of 1.5 million barrels, the annual income from selling these crude oil alone can exceed 38 billion US dollars!

Of course, there will be considerable costs in the process of crude oil extraction and transportation, but as oil prices continue to rise and the output of the Colo offshore oil field continues to increase, the profits that can be brought to the Colo government, the West Africa Group, and the United Energy Group will also continue to increase.

The Colo government benefits the most from this. Through special taxes and shareholding in Colo Petroleum, they can take away more than half of the oil revenue, which also provides ample funds for the development of Colo.

“Along with the investment in medical and health care, we have begun to promote the ‘National Cleanliness and Hygiene’ campaign throughout Colo, first improving environmental sanitation in cities and cultivating good personal hygiene habits, which has greatly reduced the incidence of various diseases, especially infectious diseases…”

Jameh Bongo introduced to Prince Andrew and Barron.

As mentioned before, as of 2003, in Colo, malaria was the leading cause of illness (46%) and death (12.26%) in all age groups.

As of 2003, the HIV infection rate was as high as 5%, and the mother-to-child transmission rate was 35%!

In addition, tuberculosis is also one of the major threats facing the public in Colo…

As early as 2004, Colo obtained an interest-free loan of 2 billion Chinese yuan from China, most of which was invested in improving the overall medical and health care in Colo.

At that time, they purchased a large number of drugs and equipment from China, and with the assistance of China, they had a nursing school.

Thanks to their efforts, the incidence of malaria in Colo has dropped to below 10%, and the new HIV infection rate has been controlled within 2%. They have also carried out nationwide vaccination against tuberculosis and other common diseases.

During Jameh Bongo’s trip to China this year, he not only reached a series of procurement cooperation orders with them, but also received further assistance from China in medical and health care.

China will receive Colo’s international students in batches, mainly targeting related disciplines such as petroleum, medicine, and civil engineering.

In addition, they will also establish a joint venture with Colo to establish a related vaccine production base locally to help Colo achieve its goal of eliminating diseases such as malaria and tuberculosis throughout the country within five years.

…

The next day, Barron and his party traveled from Lottie to the capital, Bulita, via the Loda Expressway.

Currently, more than two-thirds of the Loda Expressway has been completed, and it is expected to be fully opened to traffic before the end of this year.

The first section to be completed was the road from Lottie to Bulita. After the completion of this section of expressway and railway, the transportation of materials was greatly accelerated, and the construction of the new capital, Bulita, also began to accelerate.

The journey from Lottie to Bulita is about 300 kilometers. After getting on the expressway, it takes two and a half hours to reach the exit of Bulita.

Along the way, in addition to the bodyguard team brought by Barron himself, there were military vehicles from the Colo Legion following the convoy, and even armed helicopters accompanied them in the sky along the way. It can be said that Barron’s security was done to the best.

Although no one in Colo would be crazy enough to attack Barron, the British Duke, and the members of the British royal family traveling with him—no one could bear the wrath of the British side after an accident happened to these two.

But it is still necessary to prevent any accidents from happening.

Jameh Bongo also made special arrangements. After their convoy got off the expressway, more than a dozen police motorcycles lined up in an arrow formation to lead the way in front of the convoy.

Behind the convoy, there were two more police cars following, escorting them all the way with their police lights on.

The road to the Presidential Palace had been placed under martial law, and no other vehicles or personnel were seen.

Speaking of which, this was Barron’s first time seeing the actual appearance of Colo’s new capital—before that, all he had seen were renderings of the new city of Bulita.

“Wow, this city looks good, very clean, like a European city.”

Prince Andrew couldn’t help but exclaim in admiration as he looked out the window at the scenery of the city with great interest.

This was the first time he had sincerely praised Colo since he came here—whether it was a polite compliment or not was easy to see from his expression.

“It’s really good. I hope Bulita can become a model of modern cities in West Africa.”

Barron also affirmed the construction of Bulita.

After all, it is a well-planned new city, and most of those who can move here are government personnel and employees of large enterprises. Even ordinary people in Colo are only allowed to live in this city after being screened. Therefore, although Bulita does not yet have the lively scene of Lottie, the city appearance is very well maintained, without the slums of dirt and disorder.

However, even Lottie, after the completion of the new urban area, will begin to renovate the old urban area, improve various public facilities, and demolish the slums—Colo is slowly becoming rich, and they will provide low-rent housing for ordinary people in Lottie’s old urban area. Although the area will not be too large, it will be much better than the shacks in the slums before.

Because this trip to Africa was very tight, Prince Andrew would only stay in Colo for two days, and then he would go to Colo’s neighboring country, Ghana, and would part ways with Barron and his party.

After Andrew completed his official visit to the Colo government, Barron hosted a banquet for him at his home in Bulita.

That was a high-rise building called Jupiter Tower, located in the most upscale residential area of Bulita, closest to the commercial district. It was a residence specially built for Barron here by Golden Africa Real Estate Group.

Jupiter Tower is 50 meters high with 11 floors. Inside, there is a large swimming pool, a private cinema, an extremely large gym, a family hospital, etc. In addition to more than 15 living rooms and guest rooms, there is also a viewing platform and a sky garden. There is a helicopter landing pad on the roof.

It can be said to be the most luxurious residence in the entire Bulita.

Chapter 559: Small Commodities Market

Of course, a building as large as this required quite a few service personnel.

However, most of the service personnel would only be responsible for routine maintenance, while when Barron came to live here, the more than 20 accompanying maids and various full-time service personnel would take over.

Regarding these matters, Barron’s life assistant, Aliya, was already very skilled. While he was still touring the Jupiter Building, Aliya had already directed the staff to place the brought clothes, daily necessities, and other items according to Barron’s habits, organizing the entire residential area in an orderly manner.

“Barron, I see that Kolo is developing very well here. Do you think there are good investment opportunities here?”

Standing on the top-floor observation deck of the Jupiter Building, overlooking this nascent city, Prince Andrew couldn’t help but ask.

“In fact, before this, it was very poor here, but fortunately, they discovered oil—although the reserves are far less than those Middle Eastern oil sheiks, for such a small country, it is already a gift from God…”

Barron held a wine glass, also looking at a corner of the city in the distance bustling with the construction of various buildings, and said lightly to Andrew:

“Moreover, Kolo’s location is good, possessing the best port in West Africa. This will be an emerging market, and in such a market, there are plenty of opportunities—after all, Europe is very prosperous, which also means that through full competition, there are no opportunities for new entrants, unless they encounter an innovative breakthrough.”

Words can deceive people, but money doesn’t lie.

Barron himself had quite a few investments here, so his words were very convincing to Prince Andrew.

It should be known that even as a member of the royal family, Prince Andrew could be said to be richer than most ordinary people, but he still needed to earn income through his own investments, and he was also keen on it.

Many people easily equate royal assets with the Queen’s assets, but there is still a difference. Just like the Queen’s assets shown in Forbes and other rich lists, they are usually the Queen’s private assets and do not include the assets of the entire royal family.

With hundreds of years of accumulation, the royal family owns a large number of real estate, jewelry, and stocks, but similarly, the many castles and manors they own require huge amounts of money for maintenance.

The royal family hopes that the government can pay for these, but of course, the government is unwilling… As early as 1760, King George III began to gradually transfer many real estate properties to the British government, and this tradition has been maintained—after all, the maintenance and renovation of those “antique buildings” requires a continuous investment of massive funds.

In exchange, the British government also pays the royal family a considerable “sovereign grant” every year.

However, these grants cannot be used for the private expenses of royal family members, but only for the daily maintenance of the royal family, including the salaries of the staff in the official residences, utilities, information technology, property maintenance, and travel expenses for royal trips, etc.

As a member of the royal family, one cannot receive remuneration for work outside the royal family. They can also receive considerable allowances by attending some diplomatic and charitable activities for the royal family.

Just like Prince Andrew, he also has the title of Duke of York, but not like his brother, the Prince of Wales—as the Prince of Wales, he owns the income from the Duchy of Cornwall, which belongs to the Prince of Wales himself.

Prince Andrew’s title of Duke of York is just a title, without any land income.

Therefore, if he wants to be more financially comfortable, he still needs to make some investments himself.

The scope of his invested companies ranges from perfumes to football clubs. In addition, he also holds social events, bringing investors and entrepreneurs together to discuss business ideas.

In his previous life, in order to get rid of the accusations against him, Prince Andrew spent 12 million US dollars to reach a settlement with the other party—it is said that some of the funds were sponsored by the Queen.

After that, Andrew’s financial situation was extremely poor, and even the villa he lived in was in disrepair due to funding problems, and he was almost kicked out by the Prince of Wales, who had become King at the time…

This also shows that his assets are not too much…

Even if Prince Andrew’s reputation is not good in the future, no matter what, he is a member of the royal family and has his own value.

Therefore, if he can invest in Kolo, he will inevitably maintain it for the sake of profit, which Barron is happy to see.

After seeing off Prince Andrew, Barron convened Eno Duran, the CEO of the West Africa Group, and the management of its various subsidiaries in the conference room of the Jupiter Building, to listen to their report on the current development of the group.

The West Africa Group is the entity group company through which Barron invests in Kolo and the entire West African region through West Africa Holdings.

It can also be said that the West Africa Group is the largest enterprise in Kolo, and its tentacles are involved in all aspects of Kolo’s national economy.

For example, in the financial field, the West Africa Group owns businesses such as the West Africa United Bank and the Brita Stock Exchange.

The West Africa United Bank even has the right to issue Kolo’s legal currency, the Kolo Shilling, and the right to make suggestions on relevant exchange rate policies and financial policies.

At present, the West Africa United Bank has not only established branch outlets throughout Kolo, but even in countries including Ghana, Benin, and Burkina Faso, it has established branches…

Because Kolo has Lottie, the largest port in West Africa, its entrepot trade has developed extremely rapidly, especially for landlocked countries such as Burkina Faso, which are adjacent to Kolo, almost all of their product imports need to pass through Kolo to reach their own country.

Even Ghana and Benin, which have their own coastlines, also need to transship a considerable portion of their goods from Kolo.

Therefore, the Kolo government has signed relevant trade agreements with these countries, including mutual tariff preferences and cooperation in the financial field…

It was from that time that the West Africa United Bank began its business expansion outside of Kolo.

Another thing worth mentioning is that the West Africa Business Management Company under the West Africa Group also built a West Africa Small Commodities Wholesale Market in Zewitz, less than 50 kilometers away from the Port of Lottie. They contacted Alibaba and imported a large number of inexpensive and high-quality goods from Yiwu, China, to sell here.

At present, the West Africa Small Commodities Wholesale Market has become one of the most well-known comprehensive wholesale markets in the West African region, and even many merchants from neighboring countries come directly to Zewitz to purchase goods…

After the success of the wholesale market in Zewitz, the West Africa Business Management Company will also establish a second small commodities wholesale market in Dassault.

Dassault is located at the northern end of Kolo, and is also the northernmost section of the Loda Expressway and the Loda Railway, the transportation artery of Kolo. Building a small commodities wholesale market there is also conducive to promoting the development of the northern region of Kolo, and at the same time, it is more convenient for the market to radiate to West African landlocked countries, including Burkina Faso.

With the development of these trades, the Kolo Shilling has gradually shown a trend of outflow.

On the one hand, it is more convenient to come to Kolo to “purchase goods,” and on the other hand…

After all, as we all know, in many African countries, due to economic instability, chaotic evidence, and various other reasons, the depreciation of the currencies of many countries is very common and large, which also devalues the savings of ordinary people.

Since its launch, the exchange rate of the Kolo Shilling has been relatively stable.

Chapter 560: The Vision for the Buliita Stock Exchange

The West Africa Group established the Buliita Stock Exchange not only to provide financing for some companies within Kolo, but also with a long-term plan in mind.

That plan was for the Buliita Stock Exchange, or BSE, to become an important financing market for West Africa and even the entire African continent.

Initially, the Kolo Institute’s development plan for Kolo was to develop it into Africa’s Hong Kong or Singapore.

In fact, Kolo’s situation is more similar to Hong Kong, possessing West Africa’s best port, and its economy is suitable for developing entrepot trade and the financial industry.

Even better than Hong Kong’s conditions, Kolo also has decent mineral resources.

This is one area where it is slightly better than Hong Kong, because Hong Kong is located in the most densely traded and wealth-generating region in the world since the late 20th century – Northeast Asia.

This is something that Kolo, located in West Africa, cannot compare to.

Of course, the entire Northeast Asian region, or even more broadly, the world island including Europe and Asia, is the forefront of American strategy. Therefore, it is almost impossible to find a country like Kolo that Barron can easily get involved in.

However, the African region will also enter a period of development in the future, so Kolo’s prospects are still very good.

Of course, nothing can be accomplished overnight. The current BSE can only be said to be in its very early stages. Currently, there are fewer than ten stocks being traded, and it needs to continue to increase its trading volume.

Moreover, if a stock market wants to become an influential financing venue, it needs at least some prerequisites. First, the financial industry in the city where it is located must be relatively developed in the region, and it must be able to gather a considerable amount of capital. Only then can it attract companies from other countries to list.

For example, the major stock exchanges such as the New York Stock Exchange, Nasdaq, London Stock Exchange, and Tokyo Stock Exchange are all located in globally renowned financial centers.

In addition, the currency used for pricing on this stock exchange must be recognized and relatively stable.

For example, the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq are priced in US dollars, the London Stock Exchange is priced in British pounds, and the Tokyo Stock Exchange is priced in Japanese yen. All of these are relatively stable and have some foreign reserves.

Therefore, if the BSE wants to develop into one of the major stock exchanges in Africa, or at least West Africa, then the Kolo shilling, the currency used for pricing on the BSE, should be recognized by companies in the region and have a certain degree of stability.

Otherwise, if you can raise funds here, but the funds you raise quickly depreciate significantly, and even affect your company’s market value, then who would dare to list here?

In addition to the financial sector, another major industry of the West Africa Group is West Africa Mining, which has now been renamed West Africa Mining and Energy Group.

Initially, West Africa Mining started with a small gold mine and diamond mine that Barron first acquired in Kolo.

Later, after the establishment of the new Kolo government, West Africa Mining cooperated with Stuart Mining to exploit several iron ore and phosphate mines in Kolo.

West Africa Mining’s rise began with the discovery of offshore oil fields in Kolo. West Africa Mining held 30% of the shares in Kolo Petroleum Company, which made it a veritable West Africa Mining and Energy Group.

After that, West Africa Mining and Energy Group completed the acquisition of Australian OZ Minerals, which enriched the company’s overall mining framework.

Currently, the West Africa Mining and Energy Group’s main projects, in addition to OZ Minerals’ existing operating mines, are the development of the Carrapateena copper-gold mine in Australia and the Kiaka gold mine in Burkina Faso.

The copper reserves in the Carrapateena mine and the gold reserves in the Kiaka mine are both very impressive.

The good news is that both mines have completed the preparations for mining – the construction of mine infrastructure and basic transportation, as well as the installation of mining equipment, and trial mining has begun.

Based on the current output, the quality of the ore from both mines is very satisfactory, and it is believed that a steady stream of revenue will be generated in the future.

For the West Africa Group, in addition to its existing businesses, including media, telecommunications, real estate, and ports, it will also add industries closely related to people’s livelihoods, such as electricity, water, gas pipelines, and food processing.

In short, every aspect of life for the people of Kolo is inseparable from the West Africa Group.

Another noteworthy point is that the international school originally located near the Munger base in the Prairie Province has also opened a new campus in Buliita and has become a school under the Munger International Education Group…

Because the original international school’s teachers were mostly from England, providing students with the most authentic British education, the Buliita Munger International School is very popular among local dignitaries and wealthy individuals, who send their children to study at this school, making it a “private school”.

And those orphans from all over the world in the original international school at the Munger base, especially those who are “well-behaved and academically excellent,” can also be sent to the better-equipped Buliita Munger International School to study.

…

“Your Grace, Mr. Kabore, the leader of the Kolo Socialist Party, called and hopes to meet with you.”

After the West Africa Group’s management finished their reports and left Jupiter Tower, Laura came to Barron’s side and said softly to him.

After listening to reports all afternoon, Barron was feeling a little tired. He felt the female assistant walk behind him, and her cool fingers gently placed on his temples, pressing with just the right amount of pressure. Barron couldn’t help but lean back into the softness…

“Call him back later and tell him he can come for lunch tomorrow.”

Closing his eyes, Barron said faintly after a moment.

“Yes.”

“Wait…”

Just as the female assistant was about to notify the other party, Laura suddenly felt her arm being pulled by Barron…

So, she fell into the Duke’s arms…

“Your Grace, you, what…”

Barron smiled and winked at her:

“There’s no rush to reply. There’s still time to do something else…”

Seeing his expression, how could Laura not understand what her boss meant?

However, there are people outside the door… they, shouldn’t be able to hear, right…

Chapter 561: Delaying Tactic

Thomas Cabore is the leader of the Kolo Socialist Party.

Just three and a half years ago, he represented the Kolo Socialist Party in the presidential election against Jameh Bongo, representing the Kolo People’s Party, ultimately losing.

In the last defeat, one of the reasons was that Jameh Bongo himself, with Barron’s support, overthrew the previous military government through a coup and formed a transitional government, so his prestige was higher both in the upper echelons and among the people.

Clearly, his purpose in wanting to be received by Barron this time was still for the upcoming new presidential election next year.

You should know that during this term, Jameh Bongo’s achievements have been very outstanding. Kolo’s development has been obvious to all, and the people’s quality of life has been greatly improved…

And the key is that Thomas Cabore is five years older than Jameh Bongo. Who knows what the situation will be if he cannot win the next election and has to wait another four years? Therefore, he also hopes to gain the support of Barron, this behind-the-scenes big shot.

The next day at noon, Barron had lunch with Thomas, but during the meal, he mainly chatted with him about Kolo’s development over the years and the problems it needs to face.

As for Thomas Cabore’s obvious words of “pledging allegiance,” Barron did not give a clear answer, only saying that he would respect the choice of the Kolo people and hoped that Thomas would have a wonderful performance in next year’s election.

After all, by now, Barron, for the most part, no longer needs to directly influence the election results in Kolo. It’s not that he respects “democracy” so much, but that from the very beginning, he had already planted the seed of the West African Group in the core of Kolo.

Therefore, his attitude towards Kolo is completely different from that of the former imperialist countries such as England and France towards their colonies.

He doesn’t have to worry that Kolo will develop well and break away from his control, because with Kolo’s development, the West African Group will only take root deeper and deeper, absorbing nutrients and growing stronger.

Therefore, he rarely intervenes in Kolo’s elections. Anyway, whoever sits in that presidential position must respect the interests of the West African Group in Kolo, otherwise, they cannot continue to sit there.

Of course, Thomas Cabore also needs to be seen. As the leader of the opposition party, Barron will also appease the other party appropriately.

At the same time, meeting with Thomas can also slightly alert Jameh Bongo, so that he does not get lost in his position and the people’s support, and can be a little more sober.

…

“Your Grace, the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice has received another application from Thomson Corporation hoping to acquire Reuters Group. This time, their acquisition plan has been adjusted, and I’m afraid it will not be easy to continue suppressing it. If you can’t convince Reuters Group, then the result…”

The call was from Bloomberg. What he was talking about was the antitrust investigation by the Antitrust Division of the American Department of Justice into Thomson Corporation’s acquisition of Reuters Group.

“Can you find a way to delay it for a while longer? Mr. Bloomberg, I think our goals are the same.”

“I can only try my best, I can’t guarantee the result.”

In terms of intention, if Reuters Group is destined to be acquired, then as the boss of Bloomberg News, Bloomberg would definitely prefer the acquirer to be SEM Group. After all, in terms of market share, Reuters Group will not increase, and Bloomberg News will still have the advantage.

But from Bloomberg’s words, it can be heard that being able to make the Antitrust Division of the American Department of Justice reject the other party once was already the best he could do. After Thomson Corporation adjusted its acquisition plan to pass the antitrust investigation, I am afraid that even if it is delayed, it will not be able to be delayed for too long.

The situation is the same in England, but what is slightly better than in America is that Barron has more influence here. After the last review was rejected, even if Thomson Corporation applies again, Barron can completely delay it for at least two or three months…

Two or three months is enough, because as long as England and the European Union do not approve this acquisition plan, then Thomson Corporation’s acquisition of Reuters Group cannot succeed.

The reason why he wants America to delay as much as possible is also because if the American antitrust review passes, it will put great pressure on the relevant review agencies in England and the European Union. In this way, even if they delay, they cannot delay for too long.

It is now mid-to-late September, and soon the American stock market will reach its peak before the subprime mortgage crisis. Next, it will usher in a continuous decline.

Whether it is the decline in Thomson Corporation’s stock price or the decline in Reuters Group’s stock price, it will affect their acquisition.

Speaking of which, from May of this year when Thomson Corporation began to acquire Reuters Group, it has been more than four months…

In fact, in the original timeline, the acquisition of Reuters Group by Thomson Corporation had been basically determined in May. Therefore, being able to delay it for four months, or even half a year, is already the result of Barron’s “efforts”…

But even so, SEM Group’s acquisition of Reuters Group has still not made much progress.

Obviously, the Reuters Group board of directors, including Reuters Group President and CEO Tom Glocer, is more inclined to merge with Thomson Corporation.

As for the reason, it has already been said before. For Reuters Group, merging with Thomson Corporation can make the new company’s market share rank first in the industry, and in terms of synergy, it can reduce many of the merged company’s expenses and generate greater benefits.

After all, both parties’ acquisitions have a stock swap component. Leaving aside the cash, they also hope that the shares of the new company they receive will have greater value.

Unless…

SEM Group is willing to increase the acquisition price of Reuters Group, but then again, knowing that the subprime mortgage crisis will further erupt, affecting the stock market and causing Reuters Group’s market value to fall, how can Barron be willing to significantly increase the acquisition price?

Unless it really comes to the point where Thomson Corporation is about to complete the acquisition of Reuters Group.

Currently, it seems that he can still continue to postpone this time, which is also the reason why Barron still has patience with this acquisition.

At this time, Barron had already returned to London from West Africa. As soon as he returned, he had already asked his public relations team to continue to fully promote the British Competition and Markets Authority’s re-examination of Thomson Corporation’s acquisition of Reuters Group.

At the same time, Tianhe Capital, far away in China, through one of their investment companies in Hong Kong, raised funds and began to massively short Thomson Corporation’s stock in the stock markets of America and Canada!

Chapter 562: Shorting Across the Board

DS Group is the largest shareholder of SEM Group, which in turn is competing with Thomson Group to acquire Reuters Group.

Therefore, when shorting Reuters Group’s stock, Barron would not use companies related to himself—at least not those openly related to himself—to do so, otherwise it would be very easy to be suspected of unfair competition.

He was very careful about this point.

Therefore, this large-scale shorting of Thomson Group was carried out by a fund company registered by Tianhe Capital in Hong Kong.

Their shorting of Thomson Group this time was not just for profit, but mainly because Thomson Group’s acquisition of Reuters Group was in the form of cash plus stock—although the cash portion accounted for the majority, the fall in Thomson Group’s stock price also meant that the total acquisition price for Reuters Group was “shrinking” accordingly.

Moreover, a sharp drop in its stock price would trigger a series of chain reactions, even causing Reuters Group to reconsider whether merging with Thomson Group would be a drag on itself.

Of course, Thomson Group could use its own funds to “defend” its stock price.

Although the Thomson family, through Woodbridge Investment Corporation, controlled 70% of Thomson Group’s shares, with only about 30% of the shares in public circulation, this was enough to cause a significant drop in its stock price.

The most important thing was the timing they chose.

If it were at a normal time, relying solely on their own funds to short a company of Thomson Group’s size on such a scale, even if it were effective, it might not be sustainable, and the effect would be questionable.

After all, the other party’s strength was there, and Thomson Group’s fundamentals were not too problematic.

But it should be noted that it was almost October, and the U.S. stock market was about to reach its peak before the subprime mortgage crisis. Next, it would be affected by the further outbreak of the subprime mortgage crisis, and the entire stock market would begin a downward trend.

This was equivalent to a boulder already standing on the top of a mountain, requiring only a small push to roll down… Under such a trend, the shorting by Tianhe Capital’s large amount of funds could accelerate the boulder’s descent…

And if the Thomson family wanted to maintain its stock price against the trend, the effect would definitely be more difficult than it was worth.

At this time, it was not only Tianhe Capital that began to short Thomson Group, but from the American stock market to the European stock market, and even the Japanese and Korean stock markets, shorting had begun to varying degrees.

“We started shorting Lehman Brothers Bank when the stock price was above $80. Now their stock price continues to rise and has reached nearly $86. We have increased the amount of shorting funds, and the stock price trend has quickly reflected this. Their stock price has stopped rising and has begun to fall slightly, which shows that the amount of funds bullish on Lehman Brothers has been exhausted, which is good news for us.”

Black Swan Fund had moved from trading in subprime mortgage-backed CDOs and related insurance bonds CDS to the second stage, which was a comprehensive shorting of the stock market!

In the first stage, Black Swan Fund successively obtained more than 35 billion U.S. dollars from Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Merrill Lynch, Lehman Brothers, Bear Stearns, the five major Wall Street investment banks, as well as Citibank, Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank, BNP Paribas and a series of other investment banks, through CDO betting agreements and the sale of CDS insurance bonds!

Moreover, until now, Black Swan Fund still held a considerable number of CDS insurance bonds, and would next participate in claims against insurance companies, including American International Group…

When advancing to the second stage, Black Swan Fund would increase its shorting efforts in the American stock market!

Their main targets for shorting were financial and insurance stocks, including Merrill Lynch, Lehman Brothers, and Bear Stearns. In addition, because their funds were too large, shorting these stocks only consumed a fraction of their funds, and the remaining funds were used to target stocks in more industries, and even stock index futures.

For example, Lehman Brothers Bank, now their stock price is above 80 U.S. dollars, corresponding to a market value of nearly 40 billion U.S. dollars—it can be said that this is a very ideal shorting target for them, with a high market value, high liquidity, and as one of the two Wall Street investment banks most deeply involved in subprime mortgage bond business, they will be most affected by the subprime mortgage crisis.

Oh, and the other one is Merrill Lynch, which is even larger than Lehman Brothers and is also one of the main targets of Black Swan Fund’s shorting.

In Europe, companies including DS Group’s funds and William-Webb Capital had also laid a dragnet. Their shorting also started from the banking industry, and many stocks with high credit demand, such as telecommunications, technology, and automobile manufacturing… had become their shorting targets.

The battlefields of Tianhe Capital and Rich23 Capital were mainly in Asia. In addition to Tianhe Capital’s fund in Hong Kong shorting Thomson Group, they also deployed shorting chips targeting the Japanese and Korean stock markets, as well as the stock markets of Hong Kong and Singapore.

But now Barron’s main focus was not on this, nor was it on SEM Group’s acquisition of Reuters Group, but…

On September 25, the Bank of England announced that it would inject 10 billion pounds into the money market and provide emergency rescue loans to Northern Rock Bank.

In fact, since the 14th, Northern Rock Bank had already begun to experience a run…

What was even worse, Northern Rock Bank issued a profit warning, pointing out that the rise in interest rates was unexpected, and the credit crunch led to a slowdown in asset growth, and it was expected that the pre-tax profit for 2007 would be about 20% lower than expected.

The announcement of this news directly triggered a large-scale run on deposits by depositors that day.

Northern Rock Bank’s customers began queuing at the bank’s branches, trying to withdraw their deposits from Northern Rock Bank…

Initially, not too many people were queuing, but the appearance of this situation exacerbated the panic.

Soon, the queue became longer and longer…

Because according to the “Deposit Compensation Scheme” formulated by England in 2001, depositors with deposits of 2,000 pounds or less can recover all deposits in the event of a bank bankruptcy, and depositors with deposits exceeding 2,000 pounds up to 31,000 pounds can recover 90%, while depositors with amounts higher than this cannot be guaranteed.

This was the root cause of the depositors’ nervousness!

Because this meant that unless your bank deposit was less than 2,000 pounds, if you deposited 31,000 pounds and the bank went bankrupt, you could only get back 28,100 pounds…

Uh, if your deposit exceeds this amount, you may only be able to get back 28,100 pounds, because deposits above 31,000 pounds are not guaranteed in any way!

After this situation occurred, the media also came out to fuel the flames, and their reports further deteriorated the situation.

In this regard, the Financial Times reported:

“The Bank of England has always firmly opposed rescuing banks that make loan decisions lightly. It is impossible to expect it to take the lead in rescuing Northern Rock. The reputation and credibility of the banking boss, the head of the Bank of England, Mervyn King, are at stake. He has never been as unconfident as he is today. Indeed, his credibility is being exposed in the spotlight…”

The Independent wrote:

“One thing is certain: Northern Rock must fight to save its reputation loss. On the one hand, as a brand, it can no longer win the trust of customers seeking loans and mortgages; on the other hand, if it receives a central bank bailout, it will forever be labeled with the reputation of ‘being rescued by the central bank’.”

Obviously, Barron was happy to see these media reports, after all, not only had Catherine Neville shorted Northern Rock Bank’s stock price, but he himself also held many shorting chips.

And after this incident broke out, he directed his funds to increase their efforts and began to short Northern Rock Bank on a large scale.

That day, Northern Rock Bank’s stock price directly plummeted by more than 40%!

Chapter 563: 25 Billion Pounds

Northern Rock Bank was founded in 1850, initially as a building society, before becoming a bank and going public in 1997.

Currently, it is the fifth-largest mortgage lender in Britain, with 1.5 million depositors and providing mortgages to 800,000 homebuyers, making it a considerable size.

In the first half of this year alone, Northern Rock Bank’s new mortgage lending accounted for 18.9% of the national total, ranking first in Britain.

In fact, unlike other banks whose funds mainly come from depositors, although Northern Rock Bank transformed into a listed bank in 1997, most of its funds still come from financial institutions.

Of Northern Rock Bank’s funds, less than 25% comes from retail deposit business, while more than 75% comes from the wholesale market—that is, financing through interbank lending, issuing bonds, or selling asset-backed securities.

Given the stability of retail deposit funding, Northern Rock Bank, with the vast majority of its funds coming from the wholesale market, is more susceptible to market supply and demand.

In addition, Northern Rock Bank is known for its bold lending practices, somewhat similar to New Century Financial Corporation. It gives homebuyers loans as high as 100% of the property price, exceeding the homebuyer’s income by five to six times, and sometimes even up to 125%!

Moreover, it also provides a large number of loans to buy-to-let investors.

These aggressive measures have made Northern Rock Bank rank first in the UK for new mortgage lending.

Therefore, when the subprime mortgage crisis swept through America and a wave of caution swept through the global banking community, many banks were unsure how much money had been invested in this shaky system.

All banks began to tighten their purse strings, slowing down or stopping interbank lending.

Against this backdrop, Northern Rock Bank inevitably encountered difficulties in financing.

It was precisely for this reason that when depositors, worried, started a bank run, Northern Rock Bank’s cash flow immediately dried up…

It is said that in just a few days, depositors withdrew more than 2 billion pounds of deposits from Northern Rock Bank.

Northern Rock Bank has approximately 1.5 million depositors, who originally had approximately 24 billion pounds in deposits in the bank.

However, it is clear that because of its aggressive lending strategy, Northern Rock Bank was unable to cope with more withdrawals and could only turn to the British financial authorities and the Bank of England for help.

Northern Rock Bank even attempted to contact DS Group, asking if they could repay their previous mortgage early—starting with the 4 billion pounds borrowed from Northern Rock Bank using part of the O2 Telecom shares as collateral, DS Group’s total loans in this bank had exceeded 6.5 billion pounds.

However, these loans were all five-year loans, so DS Group refused without hesitation, as everyone needed to act in accordance with the contract…

Ultimately, the previous scene occurred. To cope with the crisis, British Chancellor of the Exchequer Darling announced on September 25 that the British government would provide guarantees for Northern Rock Bank, ensuring the safety of depositors’ savings in the bank.

Darling said: “Depositors can continue to withdraw money from Northern Rock Bank, but if they choose to leave their money in the bank, we will ensure the safety of their deposits.”

He also stated that the British central bank—the Bank of England and the Financial Services Authority—would work together to ensure the “normal operation” of Northern Rock Bank.

After this news spread, even more depositors went to Northern Rock Bank to queue up to withdraw money…

As long lines began to form in front of the bank and television news began to report it, the report of “Northern Rock Bank suffers another bank run” reached everyone’s ears.

Those depositors with online accounts rushed to withdraw cash, to the point that the bank’s servers could hardly bear such a large load.

Panic intensified when news spread that online customers were unable to withdraw cash.

Everyone was worried that when this bank had fallen to the point of needing to seek help from the government and the Bank of England, the safest thing to do was to withdraw their deposits from this bank…

As of now, Northern Rock Bank’s stock price has fallen by more than 80% from its highest point this year!

For Catherine, the 8% of Northern Rock Bank shares she held had certainly suffered heavy losses, but the losses had been maximized through previous short selling.

DS Holdings, on the other hand, had also made substantial profits by shorting Northern Rock Bank.

And ironically, some of the shares they borrowed to short Northern Rock Bank may even have come from the Hall family…

But it’s still not over yet.

After the Bank of England, on behalf of the British government, initially injected 12 billion pounds into Northern Rock Bank on September 25, the bank run not only did not ease, but intensified…

The Bank of England had to inject a second tranche of 8 billion pounds into Northern Rock Bank a week later, finally calming the bank run.

However, both Northern Rock Bank’s shareholders and the British government understood that they had only temporarily bandaged the bank. To keep it alive, they needed to restore investors’ and depositors’ confidence in the bank. Otherwise, the only outcome waiting for Northern Rock Bank was bankruptcy.

But first, everyone was thoroughly disappointed with Northern Rock Bank’s business practices. Second, it was still difficult to specifically calculate how much Northern Rock Bank had lost in this crisis due to the subprime mortgage crisis. Therefore, Northern Rock Bank alone could not safely overcome this crisis.

Therefore, the British government’s opinion at this time was to find a suitable buyer for Northern Rock Bank, thereby reorganizing the bank and restoring market confidence.

In fact, since the Northern Rock Bank run occurred, there have been other banks and institutions interested in it.

For example, there are currently more than ten companies and consortia, including Virgin Group, a consortium led by investment company Olivant, and Paul Thompson.

Among them is a consortium composed of Standard Chartered Bank and DS Group.

However, although there are many institutions and consortia interested in Northern Rock Bank, it is still difficult to reach an acquisition agreement in a short period of time.

Because these institutions and consortia, in addition to needing to negotiate the acquisition with Northern Rock Bank’s board of directors, their acquisition also needs to be approved by Northern Rock Bank’s largest creditor at this time—the British government.

This is the most difficult point. It should be known that when the Northern Rock Bank run occurred, the British government, through the Bank of England, injected a total of 20 billion pounds in two tranches, and subsequently, in order to rectify its lending business, the Bank of England injected another 5 billion pounds into Northern Rock Bank…

And this total of 25 billion pounds was not provided to Northern Rock Bank for free use.

Because according to the British government’s philosophy, it has always intervened very little in banks—which is why it took more than ten days for the British government and the central bank to decide to bail out Northern Rock Bank after it experienced a bank run and sought help from the government and the central bank.

During this period, the British Treasury, the central bank, and the Financial Services Authority had fierce discussions about whether to make the decision to bail out Northern Rock Bank. Finally, in order to avoid the situation from continuing to spread and expand, they ultimately made the decision to inject capital into Northern Rock Bank for rescue.

But at the same time, this rescue could never be free, to avoid other banks from making rash business decisions as a result, and ultimately leaving the mess to the government—simply put, Northern Rock Bank’s shareholders and management must pay for their mistakes.

Therefore, the 25 billion pounds injected by the Bank of England into Northern Rock Bank were all in the form of loans and also required the payment of interest to the government.

Chapter 564: Return Within a Limited Time

Regarding the institutions and consortia interested in acquiring Northern Rock Bank, the government clearly stated that the acquisition offers needed to include specific plans and timelines for assuming and repaying the British government’s loans. They would then choose the most satisfactory proposal from among these.

It is estimated that Northern Rock Bank’s market value has shrunk from over 5.2 billion pounds in February of this year to less than 360 million pounds now.

In the end, Northern Rock Bank’s own investment in collateralized debt obligations (CDOs) wasn’t actually that high, only about 250 million pounds.

Therefore, their losses in the subprime mortgage crisis were not that significant. The reason for the bank run was that only about 25% of Northern Rock Bank’s loans came from its depositors, while as much as 75% of its funds were obtained through the financial market and interbank lending.

As mentioned earlier, the higher the proportion of funds from depositors in a bank’s loans, the lower the bank’s risk. Therefore, when a bank develops to a certain stage, with people withdrawing and depositing money simultaneously, the savings funds deposited in the bank are generally relatively stable, and the probability of a bank run is extremely low—Northern Rock Bank’s bank run was the first such event in Britain in over 150 years.

Funds from the financial market and interbank lending are different. Generally, it’s as if Northern Rock Bank borrowed funds from the financial market using its own credit and then lent these funds out to provide loans to others, earning the interest rate difference.

Although this method could allow Northern Rock Bank to develop rapidly during economic prosperity, it was very sensitive to interest rate changes. When the subprime mortgage crisis broke out and countries around the world began to increase loan interest rates to control mortgage ratios, it caused their liquidity to dry up.

At this time, if a bank run were to occur, it could directly lead to a credit crisis—the depositors’ savings had all been lent out, but due to the impact of the subprime mortgage crisis, many loans could not be recovered in time. If you can’t return the money when depositors want to withdraw it, then you’re completely finished.

You must know that credit is very important for banks or the financial industry. Credit bankruptcy means that almost no one will have any business dealings with you, and you will naturally face true bankruptcy.

…

Today, London was shrouded in a drizzle. When Barron walked out of the DS Financial Center, he immediately felt the coldness with a damp atmosphere.

Just now at the DS Financial Center, Barron discussed the acquisition of Northern Rock Bank with Standard Chartered Bank’s president, Davis, and others who had come to London. Next, he was going to meet with Chancellor of the Exchequer Darling.

The motorcade was already waiting at the entrance of the DS Financial Center, and on both sides of the door, bodyguards in black suits vigilantly observed the surroundings.

Barron’s personal assistant, Laura, held an umbrella, shielding Barron’s head, until he entered the black extended Bentley Mulsanne. Laura closed the car door and got into the car from the other side.

As the bodyguards successively entered the Land Rover Defenders in front and behind the motorcade, the motorcade set off in the increasingly heavy rain, leaving only the halo of the car lights.

This meeting with Darling was a private one.

But at such a moment, their conversation was destined to revolve around the consortium formed by Standard Chartered Bank and DS Group for the acquisition of Northern Rock Bank.

Before becoming Prime Minister, Brown served as Chancellor of the Exchequer, so it was clear that Darling, who now held the position of Chancellor of the Exchequer, was definitely Brown’s “own man.”

But even so, on the matter of acquiring Northern Rock Bank, Darling still had his demands and couldn’t just lean towards Barron’s side without any principles—at least if Standard Chartered Bank were to ultimately win, the terms of the acquisition would definitely need to be stronger than those of other competitors.

After all, besides the American consortia participating in the acquisition, the connections of Virgin Group’s owner, Branson, were not weak either.

“Currently, the acquisition terms of all parties are still not satisfactory to us, Your Grace. As I said before, we need the acquirer to promise to repay the loans and interest we provided within three years, and we need to ensure that Northern Rock Bank will not become a problem in the future.”

At the beginning, Darling said so bluntly:

“If these acquisition terms are not satisfactory to us, then we will ultimately have to initiate the nationalization process of Northern Rock Bank.”

As Chancellor of the Exchequer Darling said, the main demand of the Treasury, or rather the British government, was first and foremost not to harm the interests of taxpayers—this meant that the 25 billion pounds and interest invested in Northern Rock Bank needed to be repaid in the shortest possible time. The time they required was no more than three years.

Otherwise, using government funds to bail out the bank and failing to recover the funds for a long time, the government would inevitably be criticized by the public.

Why require it within three years?

Because three years later is 2010, and the next British general election is coming. They don’t want this bailout of Northern Rock Bank to become a weapon used by the Conservative Party to attack them at that time.

For Darling, he very much hoped to obtain suitable acquisition terms for Northern Rock Bank in order to complete the privatization of this bank, so that the government could complete its bailout work and withdraw completely.

But the bottom line was that they needed to recover those funds as soon as possible, and they had to come with punitive interest, so that they could give the public an explanation.

If they could not accept those acquisition plans, and there was no other way, they could only convert the funds they injected into bank shares to complete the nationalization of Northern Rock Bank, which could also be considered an explanation to the public—those shareholders and management who messed up the bank would be expelled, and the state would take over the bank.

Therefore, Darling made it clear to Barron that his talk of nationalizing Northern Rock Bank was not just a threat, but also a very possible option.

Barron himself was also clear about this, because in his previous life, the acquisition plans of those suitors for Northern Rock Bank were not approved by the British government until February of next year, and they ultimately nationalized the bank.

From this, it could also be seen how determined the British government, represented by Darling, was in dealing with the Northern Rock Bank matter, and how difficult it was for an acquisition plan to be accepted by them.

Currently, as far as Barron knew, most of the institutions and consortia participating in the bidding for Northern Rock Bank also found it difficult to accept the requirement to repay the government debt and interest of up to 25 billion pounds within three years.

Among them, the consortium led by Virgin Group was willing to immediately repay 11 billion pounds after acquiring Northern Rock Bank, but they needed a longer installment period to repay the remaining government loans, otherwise it would be difficult to bear such a heavy burden.

In fact, among the competitors other than Standard Chartered Bank, Virgin Group’s acquisition terms were already the closest to the British government’s requirements.

The other competitors, the shortest time they needed, could only promise to repay the 25 billion pounds of debt and interest within five years…

Chapter 565: A Different Approach

Although Northern Rock Bank had seen rapid development in the past two years, by 2007, it was a large bank with branches spread across Britain in various shopping centers…

However, even at its peak market capitalization in February of this year, it was only 5.2 billion pounds, and its scale was not considered enormous—roughly one-twentieth the size of Barclays Bank.

So, acquiring this bank now, even though its market value has shrunk to less than 360 million U.S. dollars—and its stock price is still falling…

But requires assuming as much as 25 billion pounds in debt and interest from the British government, is it worth the cost?

If that were truly the case, then so many institutions and consortia wouldn’t be so actively competing to acquire Northern Rock Bank.

Essentially, as mentioned before, Northern Rock Bank’s losses in the subprime mortgage crisis weren’t that significant. Their main problem was that they had issued too many mortgages, and the conditions for issuing loans at the time were relatively lenient, similar to the reasons for the subprime mortgage crisis in America. Because of rising interest rates in Britain, coupled with the impact of the subprime mortgage crisis, many loans might not be recoverable, leading to a credit crunch.

This situation would cause Northern Rock Bank’s cash flow to dry up—because 75% of the funds they lent out came from borrowing or lending from other channels. With the bank run by depositors, the cash flow that could circulate during prosperous times was interrupted, leading to Northern Rock Bank’s current predicament.

The funds injected into Northern Rock Bank by the British government through the Bank of England didn’t simply disappear. Instead, they covered the withdrawals of their depositors and the emergency repayment of funds previously obtained through other channels…

To put it simply, Northern Rock Bank originally had assets worth as much as 100 billion pounds. However, these assets included liabilities and depositors’ funds. Therefore, after deducting these, the market value reflected by the stock price was just over 5 billion pounds.

Now, Northern Rock Bank’s market value is only 360 million pounds. The reasons include losses they incurred, a decrease in depositors, increased debt and interest, and, more importantly, a lack of market confidence.

In essence, a stock price cannot 100% accurately reflect the true value of a company. It’s more about adding market confidence. When the market believes that you can achieve greater development or significantly increase revenue in the future, even if your current assets are only 100,000, the stock price can be pushed up, increasing your market value to 1 million, or even 10 million. In short, investors are investing in the future.

Conversely, when the market loses confidence in you and doesn’t favor you, even if you have 1 million in real assets, a sell-off could cause the market value reflected by the stock price to be only 100,000.

Completing the acquisition of Northern Rock Bank would certainly entail assuming as much as 25 billion pounds in debt and interest, and many of the previously issued mortgages might be difficult to recover. However, this doesn’t mean that the funds lent out would simply disappear.

Because those who took out loans to buy houses have already mortgaged their properties to the bank. Since they’ve started defaulting on payments, the bank can repossess these properties—the only concern is the current global economic situation, which means these properties might not temporarily sell for their mortgaged value.

After all, Northern Rock Bank, in order to issue more loans at the time, could even issue loans for 100% of the property’s value at the time, or even as high as 125% for some properties. Therefore, if the loans cannot be recovered, even if the borrower has already made several payments, the current prices of these properties will still cause some losses.

But at the same time, Barron also knew that after the subprime mortgage crisis, the British property market would recover quickly, and even see a considerable increase.

Therefore, these “bad debts” would at most tie up a large amount of their funds. As the housing market recovers, they will still be resolved and even generate profits; they won’t simply disappear.

It was seeing this situation that led more than a dozen institutions and consortia to participate in the bidding for Northern Rock Bank in the beginning.

It was just that the condition put forward by the British government to repay the 25 billion pounds in loans and interest they injected into Northern Rock Bank within three years made many institutions and consortia back down.

After all, given the current situation, who knows when the British real estate market will recover? Moreover, not only is Northern Rock Bank experiencing a liquidity crunch, but also, affected by the subprime mortgage crisis, many banks are starting to act cautiously. Assuming debt is not a problem, but having to repay it within three years is very difficult.

“I very much understand your concerns, sir…”

Barron said to the Chancellor of the Exchequer in front of him:

“I can guarantee that this 25 billion pounds and interest will be repaid within three years, but it needs to be achieved in a different way…”

Upon hearing the plan Barron told him, Darling frowned slightly and shook his head, saying:

“Operating in this way… I’m afraid it will be very difficult. At least within the government and the central bank, there will be many voices of opposition.”

“But I hope you understand, sir, that this is already the best solution. Apart from this, under the current circumstances, no one will be able to accept the condition of repaying 25 billion pounds of debt and interest within three years. As for those voices of opposition… things are often like this. It’s easy to oppose, but difficult to do. If anyone expresses a different opinion, then let them come up with a solution to this matter. Then they will immediately shut up.”

So far, among the other competitors besides Standard Chartered Bank, the acquisition plan closest to the British government’s requirements is that of the Virgin Group.

The Virgin Group has pledged that upon completion of the merger with Northern Rock Bank, it will immediately pay the Bank of England—the British central bank—11 billion pounds of the 25 billion pounds owed by Northern Rock Bank, and gradually repay all outstanding loans within the following five years.

It also stated that it would pay interest generated by various financing arrangements in cash, including interest generated by loans from the Bank of England.

After acquiring Northern Rock Bank, the Virgin Group would inject its monetary business assets into Northern Rock Bank, rename it Virgin Bank, and issue new shares. The Virgin Group’s current monetary business would be valued at 250 million pounds.

Of the 11 billion pounds they offered to repay to the Bank of England, half would be provided by the acquisition consortium cooperating with the Virgin Group, and the other half would be raised by issuing new shares to existing shareholders, priced at 25 pence per share, underwritten by the acquisition consortium.

However, Barron also pointed out to Darling the shortcomings of the Virgin Group’s acquisition plan compared to theirs.

In addition to the Virgin Group delaying the repayment of all debts to the Bank of England to five years later, firstly, since the government is providing assistance to Northern Rock Bank, it naturally hopes that they will not fall into trouble again in the future. The Virgin Group has no prior banking business; their monetary business can at best be considered some kind of “intermediary.” Therefore, whether they can manage Northern Rock Bank well and keep it away from trouble is still unknown.

But Standard Chartered Bank is different. It is an established bank with sufficient history and experience, and has a complete system in all areas covered by the bank. After completing the acquisition of Northern Rock Bank, Standard Chartered Bank would turn it into their network in Britain, thereby expanding their business to Britain. With Standard Chartered Bank’s reputation, it can naturally regain the trust of depositors and the market, allowing Northern Rock Bank to safely weather the previous storm.

In addition, the Virgin Group plans to raise some funds by issuing new shares. Barron also has reason to suspect that this process will not be as smooth as they expect. After all, this is a time when the subprime mortgage crisis is intensifying.

Don’t look at the stock market, which still seems prosperous, but choosing to issue new shares at this time is definitely not a good idea. I’m afraid they will regret it then…

Chapter 566: More Money Needed

The acquisition proposal that Barron put forward to Chancellor of the Exchequer Darling was very simple: hadn’t you injected 25 billion pounds in loans into Northern Rock Bank? After the acquisition is completed, DS Group can assume this debt and promise to repay it within three years. DS Group’s corresponding assets can even be used as collateral. With the strong strength of DS Group, this is enough to ensure the safety of this part of the funds, allowing the government to account to taxpayers.

But the prerequisite is that the government needs to provide DS Group with at least another 25 billion pounds, whether in the form of investment or loans, for them to invest. This way, he can guarantee that all 50 billion pounds, plus interest, will be repaid within three years, or even less.

Of course, the whole process is very complicated. Simply put, DS Group will issue a special bond, the interest on which will be equivalent to the 25 billion pounds that the Bank of England injected into Northern Rock Bank…

This special bond will be purchased by the government and the central bank, totaling 50 billion pounds, and will be redeemed within three years.

In this way, after obtaining these 50 billion pounds, 25 billion pounds of it will be used to repay the principal of the funds that the Bank of England lent to Northern Rock Bank (the interest will be borne by Standard Chartered Bank). The other 25 billion pounds will be placed in an escrow account that can be supervised by the Treasury and the Financial Services Authority, and will be operated by an investment fund specially established by DS Group for this purpose. This will also ensure the transparency and security of the use of these funds.

This series of operations will definitely be presented to the public after various legal and reasonable packaging, but the actual core is that the Bank of England, or some public funds under the jurisdiction of the Treasury, will fund the purchase of DS Group’s bonds, thereby injecting another 25 billion pounds of funds into it.

It looks like the government’s “creditor’s rights” have become 50 billion pounds…

But in fact, after DS Group obtains this fund and completes the acquisition of Northern Rock Bank, the loans they injected into this bank earlier can be repaid immediately, first completing the explanation to the public on this matter, and the government can completely withdraw from Northern Rock Bank.

As for the 50 billion pounds of debt added to DS Group from the government…

DS Group itself is one of the largest fund management companies in the UK. This kind of “investment” can be made acceptable through some packaging.

Moreover, this fund is placed in a special escrow account supervised by the government, which is also very reassuring.

The difficulty here is whether the relevant funds of DS Group can complete the task of earning 50 billion pounds with the remaining 25 billion pounds within three years… including some interest?

This requires completing a return of more than 100% in just three years, and with such a huge amount of 25 billion pounds. Considering that the global economy is not optimistic in the future, I am afraid that no one will have such great confidence.

Except for Barron.

Yes, in Barron’s view, this is not difficult, at least not as difficult as many people imagine.

Because in fact, he only needs to get a return of about 30% within three years…

Why?

Because the current exchange rate of the pound against the dollar has reached above 2, and by the beginning of November, it will reach a high point of 2.1163 within three years… or even the next ten years.

But by November 2009, that is, two years later, the exchange rate of the pound against the dollar will fall to 1.35…

Even if Barron does nothing, converts pounds into dollars next month, and then converts those dollars back into pounds two years later, the result will be…

The current 25 billion pounds will become more than 40 billion pounds!

Therefore, what Barron needs to consider is just how to turn 40 billion pounds into 50 billion pounds, a 25% increase.

However, considering that the exchange rate cannot be completely in such an ideal state during the two exchanges, and adding the need for additional interest, a 30% return is enough.

A 30% return in three years, with an average annual return of less than 10%, is not difficult even with a capital volume of more than 50 billion US dollars.

But for Darling, what he needs to consider is how to carry out such capital operations in compliance with regulations. After all, the government has already injected 25 billion pounds into Northern Rock Bank, which can be done with the reason of preventing the spread of panic and maintaining financial order.

But the additional 50 billion pounds of funds injected into DS Group (in fact, half of it will return to the central bank in the form of Northern Rock Bank’s repayment) needs to have a name that can withstand scrutiny.

“I know that you can ultimately choose to nationalize Northern Rock Bank and turn it into a state-owned bank, sir…”

Seeing Darling fall into deep thought, Barron said in a timely manner:

“But there are also risks, because Northern Rock Bank itself has caused a large number of non-performing assets, and the disposal of these non-performing assets is also a risk that needs to be faced after nationalization…”

“And after you rectify this bank, you will privatize them again. The most optimistic estimate is in three years or four or five years? At that time, many of the current choices still need to be made, and without the option of nationalization, will it be better than it is now?”

The hidden meaning in Barron’s words is that there will be an election in three years. If this matter cannot be perfectly resolved before then, then even if nationalizing Northern Rock Bank can benefit the government more, it is likely that it will no longer be related to the Brown government, and it is likely that it will no longer be Darling’s achievement…

And if nationalization can really solve the problem so well, then why did the UK choose to privatize so many state-owned assets in the first place?

In the eyes of these people, privatization can make operations more dynamic… Nationalizing Northern Rock Bank is just their final choice out of desperation.

“I can’t give you a definite answer yet, Your Grace, but I can guarantee that we will carefully consider the plan you proposed today…”

Barron was not surprised by Darling’s final answer.

After all, the final deadline they gave has not yet arrived, and they still have time to review the plans submitted by other bidders.

These institutions and consortia will negotiate with the board of directors of Northern Rock Bank on the acquisition, complete the acquisition plan, and submit it to the Treasury, the Bank of England, and the Financial Services Authority for review.

They have now given the final deadline - by the end of October, if there is no acquisition plan that satisfies them, then the government will ultimately consider nationalizing Northern Rock Bank…

Chapter 567: Shorting Thomson

Interestingly, on October 2nd, as the American stock indices continued to climb, The Wall Street Journal reported that the crisis caused by the subprime mortgage market was essentially over, and the American economy would continue to grow…

Then, on October 9th, the Dow Jones Industrial Average reached a historic high of 14,164 points.

At this time, the stock prices of many companies had reached or were about to reach their highest prices in the past two or three years.

For example, Thomson Corporation’s stock price had risen from approximately $42.50 when they initially prepared to acquire Reuters Group in May to nearly $47!

And Thomson Corporation’s market capitalization had also increased from approximately $27.5 billion at that time to nearly $30.5 billion, exceeding SEM Group’s market capitalization by more than $10 billion.

This also meant that according to the acquisition proposal previously put forward by Thomson Corporation, their acquisition price for Reuters Group could be increased.

Of course, their main task at present was to persuade the relevant regulatory agencies in America and Britain to give the green light in the anti-trust investigation against Thomson Corporation’s acquisition of Reuters Group.

To achieve this goal, in the recent Thomson Corporation’s acquisition proposal, Thomson Corporation and Reuters Group ultimately had to “bite the bullet”…

They agreed to sell some databases to eliminate the anti-trust authorities’ concerns about competition.

These included Reuters’ secondary market brokerage research reports, corporate earnings forecasts, and macroeconomic databases, as well as Thomson’s corporate basic financial information database.

Not only that, Thomson Corporation and Reuters Group also agreed to transfer the assets, personnel, intellectual property, and customers associated with the databases at the same time, so as to ensure that the buyer could form effective competition with the Thomson-Reuters Group in a relatively short period of time.

It can be said that with Thomson Corporation’s gradual concessions to the regulatory agencies, it also meant that the possibility of the regulatory agencies passing this acquisition was increasing, especially the American regulator—Bloomberg—who once again revealed to Barron that, according to the information he had obtained, officials from the American Trade Commission (FTC) and the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division had praised Thomson Corporation’s concessions, and their attitude towards this acquisition might become more positive in the future…

And once the American side passed the anti-trust investigation on Thomson Corporation’s acquisition of Reuters Group, then the pressure would all come to the relevant regulatory agencies in Britain.

However, also in early October, Tianhe Capital’s fund in Hong Kong began shorting Thomson Corporation’s stock price on the Toronto Stock Exchange and the NASDAQ stock market respectively.

This time, Tianhe Capital obtained a $1 billion loan from Standard Chartered Bank, using its automotive and real estate businesses as collateral.

Their Initial Energy Fund (IE Fund) in Hong Kong would use these funds to short Thomson Corporation’s stock price.

As early as September, IE Capital had already begun secretly buying Thomson Corporation’s shares in the secondary market. Because these purchases were very concealed, they did not attract Thomson Corporation’s attention.

It was not until October, after Thomson Corporation’s stock price exceeded $45, that IE Capital began to borrow Thomson Corporation’s stock from the market on a large scale.

On October 10th, they tentatively began their first large-scale sell-off. On that day, more than $50 million worth of Thomson Corporation’s stock was concentratedly sold off in a short period of time.

Although Thomson Corporation’s market capitalization had exceeded $30 billion at this time, 70% of its shares were held by Thomson family’s holding company, and the circulating shares on the market were less than 30%…

IE Fund’s first sell-off directly smashed Thomson Corporation’s stock price from $46.25 to $45.32, a drop of more than 2%.

A stock falling by 2% almost instantaneously is actually very abnormal. Even after the stock index reached its peak, and many stocks were falling after the market opened today, it was still puzzling for a stock like Thomson Corporation, which had not been affected by any negative news, to suddenly experience such a drop.

Therefore, seeing this scene, many people quickly opened Bloomberg News and other media outlets to see if there was any sudden news, or negative news that they had overlooked…

Of course, shorting is not a one-shot deal. After driving down the stock price, IE Capital continued to sell stocks rhythmically.

In addition, Barron also released some news through the media he controlled…

Of course, it couldn’t be fake news, otherwise the SEC would come looking for him on charges of manipulating the market.

Some experts appeared in some media on the same day. They analyzed the acquisition of Reuters Group by Thomson Corporation based on some public information and concluded that it would be difficult for Thomson Corporation’s acquisition of Reuters Group to be approved by market regulators, otherwise a new giant would appear, and this industry would inevitably become an oligopoly…

These reports were very careful not to contain any false information, and were completely normal analyses.

It was just that at this time, many media outlets concentrated on publishing such pessimistic news about Thomson Corporation’s merger, which had to make some holders of Thomson Corporation’s stock feel uneasy. In addition, although Thomson Corporation’s stock price had just risen to a high level, it immediately showed a significant decline today, which would also prompt some cautious investors to seek hedging.

On that day, Thomson Corporation’s stock price closed at $44.87, a drop of nearly 3% compared to the opening price.

This first day was just a tentative attack by IE Fund.

By the next day, before the North American stock market opened, news came from Britain after the market closed yesterday.

An unnamed official from the British Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) claimed in an interview with reporters that Thomson Corporation’s acquisition of Reuters Group would be difficult to pass their review. Based on the principle of fair market competition, the British side did not want a large company that could control the financial consulting industry to appear, because this meant that Bloomberg News and this merged company would account for more than 65% of the market share, which in itself was contrary to fair competition.

Affected by this news, after the NASDAQ market and the Toronto Stock Exchange began trading, Thomson Corporation’s stock price opened consistently lower, opening at a price below $44.

In just one morning, its stock price fell to around $42.50, which was close to Thomson Corporation’s stock price in May of this year.

It can be said that shorting Thomson Corporation’s stock price was IE Fund’s task this time, but placed on the entire European and American stock market, the funds mobilized by Barron had already started a full-scale shorting of the entire market at this time.

Black Swan Fund had invested most of the funds they had obtained in the previous stage into shorting American stocks.

Shorting in the European market also began to accelerate.

In France, William-Webb Capital finally obtained nearly 2.5 billion euros in betting agreement income under the entanglement of NM Rothschild Bank. These funds all entered into shorting the financial industry, including banks.

Throughout Europe, DS Group and related funds were also shorting heavily.

It can be said that the scale of this shorting was unprecedentedly large, and Barron had used more than $50 billion in funds in all markets!

Chapter 568: Dopods Smart 1

On October 15th, Dopods, a subsidiary of Honor Electronics, launched their first smartphone running the Android system, the Smart 1. This phone was only available in an 8GB version, used all-engineered plastic materials, and came in only black. Its price was just $349.

Before October, Apple had lowered the price of the iPhone by $100. Therefore, at this time, their 4GB version of the iPhone 1 sold for $399, and the 8GB version sold for $499.

The Dopods Smart 1, which only had an 8GB version, was even $50 cheaper than the 4GB version of the iPhone 1 at the time, making it extremely cost-effective.

Moreover, although the publicly stated price of the Smart 1 was $349, contract phones offered by carriers such as O2 and T-Mobile were even priced as low as $299 because they required a commitment to at least a two-year plan. The carriers had reached an agreed price with Dopods and would compensate them for a portion of the amount themselves.

The reason why the price of the Dopods Smart 1 could be compressed so low while still maintaining a considerable profit, besides the use of engineered plastic for the body, which reduced costs relatively, was also because the internal components of the Smart 1 largely used products from domestic Chinese manufacturers. Compared to the iPhone and Mate models, this significantly reduced costs.

As everyone knows, in 2007, with Shenzhen as the center, the supply chain for counterfeit phones in China was already very complete.

Well, the reason they are called “counterfeit phones” is, according to one theory, that the era of Shenzhen’s Huaqiangbei counterfeit phones began after MediaTek’s mobile phone chips went into mass production. At that time, MediaTek chips integrated camera, video, and MP3 functions. Factories only needed to make the casing and battery to sell the phone. Therefore, many factories did not put their factory name on the phone, but instead used the letters “SZ” to indicate that it was produced in Shenzhen, which was later read as “counterfeit.”

However, even though it started to rise in 2003, by 2007, the manufacturers of these accessories were still of varying quality.

After HTC was acquired and renamed Honor Electronics, they specifically allocated a portion of funds to screen mobile phone accessory manufacturers near Shenzhen. They selected manufacturers with more standardized operations and better quality control, provided them with financial support, listed them as their partners, and helped them improve their technology. After all, the Philips-related patent technology purchased by Honor Electronics was still relatively advanced.

Currently, Dopods’ Smart 1 has begun to use accessories from these manufacturers to reduce product costs. When their quality can be further improved, subsequent phone models of the Honor brand will gradually increase the proportion of accessories used from this industry chain.

Of course, for mobile phone touch displays, domestic Chinese products still cannot meet the standards. The mainstream suppliers in the market are still Sharp, Samsung, and LG. The Dopods Smart 1 can only choose LG’s touch screen, which has a slightly higher cost performance, instead of the Sharp screen of the Mate 1.

In other news, after the iPhone’s price reduction, hundreds of consumers who purchased the iPhone 1 at the original price sent emails to Apple, expressing their dissatisfaction. This forced Steve Jobs to hold a press conference, where he apologized to these consumers and compensated them with $100 Apple Store gift certificates.

In response, Honor Electronics went a step further and announced that its Mate 1 would also be reduced in price by $100. Moreover, users who had already purchased the phone could directly go to the experience store or carrier where they bought it to receive a $100 refund. This directly exploded their user favorability.

At the same time, Honor Electronics announced that it would release the latest Mate 1S phone on December 20th, before Christmas.

Compared to the Mate 1, the Mate 1S phone will only have a 16GB version and will add support for 3G networks.

Moreover, the Mate 1S phone will be the first to feature a front-facing camera. They will provide a 500,000-pixel front-facing camera and a 2-megapixel rear-facing camera.

Yes, both the previously released iPhone 1 and Mate 1 only had a single 2-megapixel rear-facing camera, instead of the front + rear dual-camera setup that later became popular.

The Mate 1S was priced at $599, and their contract phones with mobile carriers would be even cheaper, after all, 3G packages themselves are not cheap.

But even at $599, compared to the then-released 8GB version of the iPhone 1, one advantage was that their memory was expanded to 16GB, they added 3G network support, and they also had a front-facing camera, which was very attractive.

After Honor Electronics announced this news, it was probably not just Apple who wanted to curse, but also mobile phone manufacturers such as Samsung, Motorola, and Sony Ericsson. Looking at the configurations of their upcoming Android phone models and the pricing they were preparing…

They would probably have absolutely no competitiveness when facing the Mate 1S…

…

On the operating system side, after Apple launched the Apple Store, Android also announced the launch of their Android Store and partnered with Klarna to provide online payment functionality in the Android Store.

Users can purchase apps and related paid items, such as in-game item purchases, in the Android Store through Klarna Pay, which is built into the new version of Android.

Prior to this, Android had invested in Klarna, acquiring a 15% stake in the company.

Klarna also launched their mobile version of Klarna Pay in early October, providing users with mobile payment functionality on their phones. This itself was to achieve the goal of making it easier for users to place orders on their phones after the Argos app was launched in the Argos retail group.

However, the previous iPhone and Mate phones did not support 3G network functionality, so users shopping on Argos through the mobile app had less than ideal network speeds. Their images loaded too slowly, and as everyone knows, for a site the size of Argos.com, the number of images users need to view while browsing is very large.

Therefore, currently, there are not many users of the Argos APP. This situation will only improve after phone models that support 3G networks are launched.

Amazon currently operates in the UK, France, and Germany, which are also the largest e-commerce markets in Europe.

However, because Amazon’s main focus is still on North America, its market share in Europe is not very high and is suppressed by Argos.com.

But Barron has always been very wary of Amazon, so he will not relax the development of Argos.com and will continue to invest in the e-commerce business of the Argos retail group to maintain an advantage over Amazon.

Especially the heavy asset investment in logistics and warehousing, which can be said to be the biggest moat in the e-commerce field. Some startups may initially gain attention through special sales methods, but in the long run, the user experience when using e-commerce shopping is the most important, and a complete logistics and distribution system is a very important part of providing a good shopping experience for users.

Currently, in the UK, Ireland, France, and Germany, the Argos retail group has initially established a complete distribution network, covering the vast majority of their regions. Of course, the delivery time for some sparsely populated areas will definitely be relatively longer, and it would be considered fast if it could be delivered within a week.

However, in large cities, it has basically reached delivery within three days, and same-day delivery is already very normal in key cities such as London, Paris, and Berlin.

Of course, this refers to Argos’ own products. The time required for merchants to settle in is much longer.

Because Argos’ own products will have distributed inventory in various warehousing centers, while the delivery location of the merchants who settle in is uncertain.

Chapter 569: Veto

On October 13th, the United States Treasury Department announced that it would help major financial institutions establish a $100 billion fund (super fund) to purchase distressed mortgage securities.

At this time, the United States had realized that allowing the CDO bond crash to continue would cause their investment banks to continue to bleed, which could eventually have a greater impact.

By October 23rd, the American Bankruptcy Institute announced that the number of consumers filing for bankruptcy in September had increased by 23% year-on-year, approaching 69,000!

As soon as this data was released, the securities market immediately responded, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the Nasdaq Index both falling.

The next day, October 24th, Merrill Lynch, a top global brokerage firm, announced that it had lost $7.9 billion in the third quarter of this year due to the impact of the subprime mortgage crisis!

The day before, Nomura Securities, Japan’s largest brokerage firm, also announced a quarterly loss of $6.2 billion.

On October 30th, UBS, Europe’s largest asset manager, announced that it had suffered its first quarterly loss in nearly five years, reaching 830 million Swiss francs, due to losses on subprime-related assets!

On the same day, October 30th, Merrill Lynch announced that its current CEO, Stan O’Neal, had “decided to retire immediately.” Obviously, his resignation was due to Merrill Lynch’s $7.9 billion impairment of subprime mortgage-related assets in the third quarter, resulting in a quarterly loss of $2.24 billion. This was Merrill Lynch’s first quarterly loss in six years and the company’s worst performance in its 93-year history.

Merrill Lynch shareholders were furious, and Barron was very happy that Merrill Lynch’s stock price had shrunk by 30% since the beginning of the year—which meant that their short selling of the company’s stock had generated substantial profits.

Of course, it wasn’t just Merrill Lynch whose stock price had fallen sharply, but also the Thomson Corporation.

Since IE Fund began to increase its short selling of Thomson Corporation in mid-October, the company’s market value has fallen by more than 20% from its previous high, and its stock price has been hovering around $37.

Initially, the Thomson family simply thought that the company’s stock price was the result of an overall stock market correction after the Dow Jones Industrial Average reached its historical high.

But soon, they realized that something was wrong. It was obvious that someone was selling a large number of Thomson Corporation shares, causing their stock price to fall much faster than other companies in the same industry.

Since Thomson Corporation itself was engaged in the sale of financial information, they quickly learned after investigation that their stock price decline was deliberately caused by someone.

Now, they faced a choice—in fact, they didn’t need to choose at all. Acquiring Reuters was their most important task at the moment, so at this time, Thomson Corporation certainly didn’t want their acquisition to be affected by the short selling of their own stock.

So Thomson Corporation quickly issued an announcement stating that the company’s operations were normal, there was no undisclosed news, and announced that they would use $500 million to repurchase their shares, and did not rule out the possibility of adding more funds in the future to stabilize the stock price.

It should be known that Thomson Corporation had previously sold off their education-related industries one after another, obtaining more than $8 billion in funds.

But the Thomson family would also have some concerns when using these funds.

Because first of all, these funds belonged to Thomson Corporation. If these funds were used to repurchase shares, then these shares could only belong to Thomson Corporation, not the Thomson family—usually, such company stock repurchases would be destroyed to reduce the group’s total share capital. Correspondingly, the value of the remaining Thomson shares would also increase, which would naturally give the market confidence to stabilize the stock price.

But in this way, it was not only the Thomson family who would benefit, but all shareholders.

Another aspect was that these funds were originally prepared by Thomson Corporation for the acquisition of Reuters. If too much was used and not replenished, it would inevitably affect the acquisition of Reuters.

If the Thomson family were to repurchase the shares, they would not be able to come up with so much money in a short period of time…

It was still very tangled.

But later, the development of the situation no longer allowed the Thomson family to hesitate—it should be known that at the beginning, IE Fund had already bought $1 billion worth of Thomson Corporation shares in advance, and before that, had already taken advantage of the overall stock market downturn to sell them all.

Next, IE Fund used the funds obtained from the sale of the shares to start intervening in Thomson Corporation’s stock from the market, continuing to sell them, causing Thomson Corporation’s stock price to continue to fall, and the decline was much greater than those stocks that did not seem to be affected by the subprime mortgage crisis…

Similarly, the decline in Thomson Corporation’s stock price also affected Reuters, causing the merger between the two parties to fall into doubt again.

Because Reuters was also not spared, and its stock price had also fallen by more than 10% during this period. Although its decline was not as large as that of Thomson Corporation, it had a negative impact on the cooperation between the two parties.

After Reuters’ stock price fell sharply, many Thomson Corporation shareholders demanded that Thomson Corporation increase its acquisition offer for Reuters. After all, now that Reuters’ stock price had fallen sharply, it was equivalent to the loss of their equity in the stock swap outside of the cash acquisition.

By the same token, within Thomson Corporation, although the Thomson family’s holding company held more than 70% of Thomson Corporation’s shares, other shareholders also successively proposed that they hoped to reconsider the acquisition of Reuters, because under the current unstable stock price of the group, and at the same time Reuters’ stock price was also falling, forcing the merger of the two parties would even be implicated, thereby affecting Thomson Corporation’s operating conditions.

In addition, the market regulatory agencies of the United States and the United Kingdom had not yet made a final anti-monopoly ruling on this acquisition, which also required most of Thomson Corporation’s energy to be focused on the acquisition.

So even if the Thomson family used some of their own funds to buy Thomson Corporation’s stock, and later used $500 million of the group’s funds to repurchase the stock, it still did not stop the stock’s downward trend. After a slight rebound, it continued to enter a downward channel.

After all, with the overall stock market downturn, investors became more and more cautious, and many people also realized the risks involved, so not much capital was willing to come in and “support” the Thomson family—after all, before this, Thomson Corporation’s stock price was already at a high level, and who wouldn’t worry about becoming the one to take over at the high point?

On the contrary, even many Thomson Corporation stock holders had begun to sell their stock to “take profits,” which resulted in Thomson Corporation’s stock price falling by more than 20% from its high point twenty days ago by the end of October.

But things didn’t end here. On October 31st, Halloween, the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) announced that, considering that Thomson Corporation’s acquisition of Reuters would affect fair competition in the industry, they decided to veto the acquisition deal.

Chapter 570: The Dust Settles

The final veto from the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) was like the Sword of Damocles that had been hanging over this acquisition, finally falling.

As a result of this news, after learning that the merger between Thomson Group and Reuters Group was hopeless, Thomson Group’s stock price once again fell rapidly, dropping nearly 10% on the day!

Now, the only things facing Thomson Group were accepting this outcome and stabilizing their stock price…

But before they could act, a stream of capital had already entered the stock market, silently absorbing the shares being dumped.

So, in this situation, the downward trend of Thomson Group’s stock price gradually eased, and there was even a certain rebound. Eventually, their stock price returned to around $35, stopping the large fluctuations and trending toward stability.

This price was more than 25% lower than when Thomson Group’s stock price was at its highest in early October.

Without a doubt, this capital that was leading the way in “market support” for Thomson Group came from IE Fund.

They had previously shorted Thomson Group’s stock price extensively, borrowing a large number of Thomson Group shares from the market. Now that their operation was nearing completion, they needed to buy them back at a low price from the market and return them to the securities firms.

In this short-selling operation, IE Fund used a total of about 100 million dollars of capital, and after the final reckoning, they profited more than 200 million dollars…

It didn’t seem like much, mainly because although the entire market was generally in a downward channel, in order to make Thomson Group’s stock fall more sharply, IE Fund often had to act as a leader, breaking through some pressure points by selling a large number of shares. Moreover, there was also “market support” capital from the Thomson family and Thomson Group. In these battles and back-and-forth buying and selling, the transaction costs were also considerable.

But in any case, at least with the help of the general trend, they made a profit, successfully completed their closing, and were not squeezed out and suffered losses after Thomson Group entered with more capital. The result was still good.

And more importantly, this short-selling operation trained HK’s IE Fund team—although they had similar operations before, they had never experienced operations with such a large amount of capital.

After this, IE Fund could use its existing more than 1.2 billion dollars to join in shorting the entire market.

This time, without a specific task like shorting Thomson Group, where they had to play the role of a leader, their profits would also increase.

…

Just after the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) first rejected Thomson Group’s acquisition of Reuters Group, the relevant American agencies also rejected the acquisition the next day, November 1st, ruling that Thomson Group’s acquisition of Reuters Group would violate relevant “anti-monopoly” regulations.

So, after the hope of merging with Thomson Group was dashed, Reuters Group only had one choice left: SEM Group.

It wasn’t that they couldn’t give up being acquired and continue to develop independently.

But the board of directors of Reuters Group also understood that the reason why Reuters Group’s stock price had fallen far less than Thomson Group’s after the acquisition was rejected by the anti-monopoly agencies was largely because, although the two could not merge, which dampened the optimistic sentiment that the market had previously created, the market still understood that Reuters Group still had SEM Group as an option.

Although being acquired by SEM Group was not as good as choosing Thomson Group in terms of synergy and future overall scale, it was still a wise choice—after all, although SEM Group’s market value was similar to Reuters Group’s and far less than Thomson Group’s, the DS Group behind it was still very powerful.

If Reuters Group rejected SEM Group again, without a doubt, they would burst the market’s last bit of optimism about them, causing a panic-like drop in Reuters Group’s stock price. Under the current economic situation, this was definitely not a wise choice.

You should know that whether selling Reuters Group to Thomson Group or SEM Group, since they accepted the acquisition, the thing that the shareholders on the board cared about most was how to sell their Reuters Group shares for the best price, not the future of Reuters Group or their so-called “five core principles”—that was something for the Reuters Founders Share Company to consider.

The reason why they had previously supported Thomson Group’s acquisition plan more was also because, in addition to cash, they believed that the shares of the new company exchanged would be more valuable after the merger of Thomson-Reuters Group.

Therefore, after it was impossible for Thomson Group to acquire Reuters Group, if they could get a satisfactory offer from SEM Group, they wouldn’t mind agreeing to the other party’s acquisition.

In this situation, Reuters Group began negotiations with SEM Group on the acquisition—this was the second time the two sides had touched on substantive acquisition plans, after the two sides had some contact in May of this year, and Thomson Group had later emerged to cut them off.

And before this negotiation between Reuters Group and SEM Group…

On October 31st, the British Treasury, the Bank of England, and the UK’s Financial Services Authority finally determined that the acquisition plan of the consortium composed of Standard Chartered Bank and DS Group was the best among the acquisition plans of those institutions and consortia that intended to acquire Northern Rock Bank, and announced this result.

This also meant that Standard Chartered Bank could start the acquisition process of Northern Rock Bank from now on.

According to the acquisition plan submitted by Standard Chartered Bank, they would acquire 100% of the shares of Northern Rock Bank, whose market value had fallen to less than 300 million pounds at this time, for a total price of 500 million pounds, completing the privatization of this bank.

In addition, Standard Chartered Bank promised that their consortium would repay the Bank of England the high amount of 25 billion pounds in loans and interest that they had previously injected into Northern Rock Bank within one month after completing the acquisition of Northern Rock Bank.

It can be said that what enabled Standard Chartered Bank to win the approval of the British government in the competition with Virgin Group, the consortium led by Olivant Company, and more than a dozen companies and consortia including Paul Thompson, was their promise to immediately repay all 25 billion pounds and interest, which would enable the government to immediately withdraw from the Northern Rock Bank incident and would not bring negative impacts later.

As for their acquisition of all the shares of Northern Rock Bank for a price of 500 million pounds, completing privatization…

In fact, at that time, the board of directors of Northern Rock Bank was somewhat dissatisfied with this price—although the market value of the bank was less than 300 million pounds at this time based on the stock price of Northern Rock Bank, their board of directors believed that the current stock price of Northern Rock Bank could not reflect their actual value at this time, and was actually greatly underestimated due to the previous bank run.

In particular, the Hall family, the major shareholder of Northern Rock Bank, had expressed dissatisfaction with this.

But there was no way, the British government was very tough on this. Chancellor of the Exchequer Darling once directly declared to the board of directors of Northern Rock Bank:

“You only have two choices, one is to accept the acquisition, and the other is to nationalize the bank. Unless you can immediately repay the country’s 25 billion loan and interest, we will not allow the owners of the bank who have caused a crisis in the entire national financial order to escape punishment after receiving assistance. The investigation into this incident has not yet ended!”

His meaning was very clear. The board of directors of Northern Rock Bank definitely could not repay this 25 billion pounds in loans and interest. Then, whether it was being acquired or the bank being nationalized, their ending was the same.

On the contrary, if they were acquired, they could still get some money back. If the bank was nationalized, the government would strictly supervise it, and the 25 billion pounds of debt would be converted into bank shares. They believed that they would not get much benefit from this. Instead, the original shares would be diluted to almost non-existence and become “marginalized”…

To put it bluntly, you messed things up and we need to use money to help you. If you still affect the “normalization” of Northern Rock Bank, then don’t think that we won’t investigate the problems in the operation of Northern Rock Bank before. Our investigation hasn’t ended yet. Do you think we don’t dare to arrest a few people?

Faced with this situation, what else could those shareholders do?

At least Standard Chartered Bank was willing to offer 500 million pounds to acquire their shares…

Chapter 571: Withdrawing Funds

The British government’s acceptance of Standard Chartered Bank’s acquisition of Northern Rock Bank also indicated that Baron’s proposal had been accepted by Chancellor of the Exchequer Alistair Darling.

They would allocate 50 billion pounds from the Bank of England and related government-managed funds. Of this, 25 billion pounds would be invested in a dedicated escrow account established by DS Group, overseen by the Treasury and the Financial Services Authority. This account would be managed by DS Group’s newly established British Fortune Time Fund (BFT Fund).

According to the non-public agreement signed between DS Group and the British government, they would use the assets held by DS Holdings (Cavendish Trust) as collateral. They were required to return 50 billion pounds, plus corresponding interest, to the relevant banks and institutions from this fund within three years. If the funds in the British Fortune Time Fund’s account were insufficient to cover the amount due at that time, the shortfall would be made up by selling shares held by the Cavendish Trust.

The other 25 billion pounds of the 50 billion pounds would be used in the name of the Cavendish Trust to purchase convertible bonds of Standard Chartered Bank. Standard Chartered Bank would then use its own funds to pay the 500 million pounds to purchase the shares of Northern Rock Bank for privatization (in reality, because DS Group had previously purchased some Northern Rock Bank shares at a low price, this portion of shares would be exchanged for some of Standard Chartered Bank’s newly issued shares). In addition to the 25 billion pounds in interest, the 25 billion pounds obtained from the sale of convertible bonds to the Cavendish Trust would be returned to the Bank of England.

When the circumstances were right in the future, the Cavendish Trust would exercise its right to convert the 25 billion pounds of Standard Chartered Bank convertible bonds into ordinary shares.

After the acquisition of Northern Rock Bank was completed, the name “Northern Rock” would no longer be used.

Standard Chartered Bank would restructure Northern Rock Bank, integrating its business into Standard Chartered Bank’s own operations. In this way, they also greatly increased their business in Britain. Prior to this, Standard Chartered Bank’s main business was concentrated in emerging markets such as Asia, Africa, and South America. Their business in Britain was very small. If it weren’t for its headquarters being in London, it couldn’t even be considered a British bank.

As for the original management team of Northern Rock Bank, they were all replaced, and managers were reassigned from Standard Chartered Bank. In the future, Standard Chartered Bank’s British branch would adopt a more stable operating style and would not be as aggressive as Northern Rock Bank had been. Their current priority was to sort out Northern Rock Bank’s business and get it back on track.

…

At this time, after celebrating his 28th birthday, Baron and the Earl of Booth’s family went to America together.

Earlier, after the Countess of Booth, Christine, gave birth to Baron’s second child, he had promised her that he would take her out to travel.

Taking advantage of this time, the Earl of Booth. also planned to visit his sister, Jenny Booth..

“Didn’t John come?”

After seeing his sister Jenny, the Earl of Booth. asked.

Hearing her brother’s question, Jenny Booth. withdrew her gaze from Baron and picked up little Daniel, who was less than three months old, saying to her brother in an annoyed tone:

“Him? Since becoming the chairman of the Sinclair Group, he’s been busy all day long. I was too bored over there, so I might as well come to New York to relax.”

Hearing his sister’s complaint, Ian Booth. shrugged and said:

“You’ve been married for so long, you can have a child first, so you won’t be so bored…”

He looked around at his children:

“Having children makes the home much warmer.”

“Wow, Ian, you sound more and more like Dad, like those old fogeys.”

She didn’t give her brother any face at all, and took Christine’s hand, saying:

“Women are not just breeding tools, dear Christine. How about we go shopping together? Oh, right, Baron, didn’t you say you were going out? You can drop us off on the way…”

Baron had no intention of getting involved in their conversation, but hearing Jenny’s words, he glanced at Bonnie and said:

“You guys can go relax too. I’m going that way anyway.”

He was planning to go to DS Group’s New York branch, where he had arranged to meet with Lloyd, the CEO of Goldman Sachs.

It could be said that this subprime mortgage crisis had caused heavy losses to the five major investment banks on Wall Street, and Goldman Sachs was the one that suffered the least.

This also stemmed from Goldman Sachs’ ancestral skill: being flexible and opportunistic.

Seeing that the situation was not good, they immediately changed their camp, not only selling their CDO bonds as soon as possible, but also decisively withdrawing from the bet with the Black Swan Fund, admitting defeat and leaving the field.

Next, they turned around and started shorting, which seemed to not only make up for their previous losses, but also make a small profit.

Morgan Stanley was in a similar situation to Goldman Sachs. They also dealt with it in a timely manner. Although there were some losses, they were very small compared to the other three investment banks.

“Your Grace, you should know that this subprime mortgage crisis has caused us considerable losses. The third-quarter income that was previously announced has declined compared to last year. In the fourth quarter, we need a bright report…”

Lloyd didn’t waste any words and went straight to the point, stating his purpose, which was to hope that the Zeuss Fund jointly operated by both parties could distribute dividends in the fourth quarter. This would ensure that after the dividend income was increased, Goldman Sachs’ overall profit in the fourth quarter would look very good.

Initially, DS Group and Goldman Sachs jointly established Zeuss Investment Company with a ratio of 6:4. The Zeuss Fund specialized in high-frequency trading in the American market.

After this fund performed well and achieved very good returns, both parties subsequently increased their investment. Currently, the total size of the Zeuss Fund has exceeded 3.5 billion US dollars!

According to Lloyd’s idea, he hoped to take out 2.5 billion US dollars of it for dividends. Because the American stock market has been declining continuously since October, he believed that it would affect the Zeuss Fund’s rate of return, so it would be better to temporarily distribute dividends to help Goldman Sachs get a good financial report in the fourth quarter of this year, so that their stock price would have a strong performance.

Baron naturally understood that for Lloyd, hoping that Goldman Sachs’ performance would be good was one aspect. The most important thing was that his personal income, a large proportion of dividends and equity incentives, was linked to Goldman Sachs’ performance. In this year’s situation, he naturally hoped to be able to complete his overall performance through some means.

“That’s not a problem. If Goldman Sachs needs this income, then the Zeuss Fund can distribute your share in the form of dividends. However, DS Group’s share does not yet have a better investment target, and we will still choose to stay in the Zeuss Fund…”

Baron’s words surprised Lloyd somewhat, and he also knew that if this was the case, DS Group’s investment ratio in the Zeuss Fund would be much higher than Goldman Sachs’…

But after thinking for a moment, he nodded:

“Let’s do it that way.”

Chapter 572: Waiting for the Right Moment

In fact, Barron wasn’t without the idea of investing in American banking, but the timing wasn’t right yet.

Judging from Goldman Sachs’ choices, the current subprime mortgage crisis was only devastating the real estate industry and related lending financial companies, but it hadn’t yet expanded to the banking sector.

Although there were occasional reports of large banks suffering losses, the common practice among banks, like Goldman Sachs, was to try to conceal their true losses in their accounts as much as possible, hoping to weather the crisis and turn danger into safety.

The real large-scale explosion of the banking industry into the public eye wouldn’t happen until Lehman Brothers collapsed next year.

Only then would the banking industry become alarmed, stock prices plummet, and in order to survive, they would either seek government bailouts or look for capital injections everywhere.

It could be said that the market value of the banks at that time would be truly squeezed of its excess and begin a fire sale.

The aftershocks of the entire subprime mortgage crisis would continue until 2009, or even later, so Barron’s funds also needed sufficient patience.

Just like the newly established British Fortune Times (BFT) fund, the 25 billion pounds it had obtained was currently only being converted into dollar assets after the pound-to-dollar exchange rate exceeded 2.11.

It was estimated that these 25 billion pounds would be converted into approximately 52.5 billion dollars.

Barron naturally wouldn’t use these government-regulated funds to engage in large-scale short selling—and in fact, such a huge amount of capital entering the market to short sell also carried certain risks.

Moreover, if he used his own funds to short sell, it could be said to be understandable, but using funds from the British government to short sell…

It would be hard to explain to the government, no matter how you looked at it…

These funds would be used to purchase “discounted” assets in the future, but that would also have to wait until next year.

Before that, a portion of the funds would enter the gold market to purchase gold, an excellent safe-haven asset.

Currently, the international gold price was at 770 dollars per ounce, and by March of next year, the gold price would rise to over 1000 dollars per ounce.

In addition to the BFT fund gradually absorbing gold futures on the futures market, they would also take out a portion of the funds to purchase physical gold.

In Bullita, the capital of Colo, the West African Financial Center—where the headquarters of the West African United Bank was located—the basement of that building housed a vault that could be said to have the most complete security facilities in all of West Africa.

And the BFT fund would purchase physical gold from Africa, melt it into standard gold bars, and store it in that vault.

This included the gold mines owned by the West African Mining and Energy Group, as well as gold mines mined by other mining companies.

It should be noted that, according to statistics, it was estimated that Africa’s total gold production this year would exceed 500 tons, accounting for 25% of global gold production, second only to Asia, and the second largest gold-producing continent in the world.

Among them, South Africa’s gold production ranked first in Africa, followed by Ghana, Mali, and Tanzania.

Ghana itself was Colo’s neighbor, and Mali was only separated from Colo by Burkina Faso.

Even South Africa and Tanzania, which were slightly farther away from Colo, could easily transport gold by air.

What’s more, the West African Mining and Energy Group’s Kianka gold mine in Burkina Faso was estimated to have reserves of nearly 200 tons, and after its official mining, the gold mine’s daily output was gradually increasing.

And their gold mine screening and smelting plant, built near Kianka, could refine standard gold bars that could be easily transported to Colo.

At 770 dollars per ounce, one ton of gold would cost about 27 million dollars, so even 5 billion dollars could only buy 185 tons of gold, which was only slightly more than the carrying capacity of a Boeing 747.

…

The first movie of Twilight, which was released in early April of this year, had already finished its run. The movie was shown for nearly 150 days, and ultimately achieved excellent results with a box office of 195 million dollars in North America, 200 million dollars overseas, and 395 million dollars worldwide.

After all, the cost of the Twilight movie was only 40 million dollars, so it could be said that the box office revenue alone, not counting subsequent DVD and peripheral income, had already made Marvel-MGM Group a lot of money!

This also represented the success of the first Twilight movie, bringing a new series of movie IP to Marvel-MGM Group.

Encouraged by this success, Twilight had already begun filming its second movie, which was expected to be released next year.

“Currently still in production is the latest movie in the 007 series, Quantum of Solace, and Marvel Pictures’ Iron Man is still in post-production and won’t be released until next year.”

Annika Dawson, CEO of Blue Valley Capital, also served as the executive director of Marvel-MGM Group.

Prior to this, Blue Valley Capital had successively acquired Summit Entertainment, Marvel Entertainment, and MGM Studios. After these three companies merged into Marvel-MGM Group, this was Blue Valley Capital’s main investment business. Therefore, since Blue Valley Capital hadn’t yet reached the point of starting other investments, Annika Dawson’s main job was to assist Marvel-MGM Group in the integration after the merger.

It was worth mentioning that as early as 2005, Marvel Pictures, a subsidiary of Marvel Entertainment, had already launched the Iron Man project. It could be said that the project didn’t proceed smoothly. Even Robert Downey Jr., who played Iron Man, only took a salary of 500,000 dollars in order to get the role, and had been following the project ever since…

After Marvel Entertainment was acquired by Blue Valley Capital, with the addition of capital and Barron’s support, the Iron Man project was finally accelerated.

However, because this was Marvel Pictures’ first movie, and the post-production was very complicated, it still needed to wait until next year for the movie to be released.

In addition, Barron also rejected the filming of the Hulk movie—after all, he knew that in his previous life, the investment in the Hulk movie was higher than that of Iron Man, but both the box office and word-of-mouth were considered failures.

Audiences wanted to see the image of the Hulk in The Avengers, and it wasn’t easy to depict the two forms of the Hulk before and after the transformation in the Hulk’s independent movie.

Therefore, under such considerations, he made the decision to abandon the Hulk movie project and directly start the Captain America series of movies.

Both Iron Man and Captain America were paving the way for the subsequent The Avengers. Before launching The Avengers, Barron also hoped to try to recover more Marvel IPs in the subprime mortgage crisis, so that the content of the future “Avengers” could be richer.

However, realistically speaking, it wasn’t easy to get back the rights to Spider-Man from Sony, or the rights to X-Men, Fantastic Four, etc. from 20th Century Fox.

Especially if Iron Man was a big success, even if they were willing to let go of these copyrights, the price probably wouldn’t be cheap.

Chapter 573: Lanai Island

It always starts like this. Jenny Booth. was like an octopus, or perhaps some alluring siren, constantly urging Barron in his ear…

As if she couldn’t get enough…

Or it could be said that because Barron’s trip to New York included Bonnie, as well as Jenny’s brother and sister-in-law, she didn’t have many opportunities to be alone with Barron.

In any case, after an hour of… knowledge acquisition, perhaps her long-accumulated… thirst for knowledge was finally quenched.

“Are we going to Hawaii tomorrow?”

Jenny asked weakly, nestled beside Barron.

“Yes, the climate there is more comfortable at this time…”

Barron got up, preparing to rinse off, and casually said:

“And I just bought a small island there. You may have heard of it, Lanai Island, the one where Bill Gates held his wedding…”

Indeed, not long ago, Grace Tourism Group purchased Lanai Island, one of the six largest islands in Hawaii, for approximately $400 million.

In 1994, Microsoft founder Bill Gates and his wife Melinda held their wedding here, making the 365-square-kilometer island famous.

Before that, Lanai Island belonged to billionaire David Murdock – not the Murdoch who owns News Corporation, but the founder of Dole Food Company, who bought Lanai Island 22 years ago.

Following this, Grace Tourism Group will develop this scenic island, and Cavendish Hotels Group will also open a Cavendish resort hotel here.

Of course, some of the most scenic areas will be reserved for Barron’s private enjoyment, including a magnificent resort villa and related facilities previously built here by David Murdock. After Barron and his group’s visit, these will also be renovated and modified according to his requirements.

New York is already in winter, while Hawaii’s climate is very pleasant. The main purpose of coming here is for vacation, so they are all very much looking forward to this trip to Hawaii, especially the children who came with them.

The only slight drawback is that Lanai Island does not have an airport. To get here, you need to take a helicopter from Maui, which is relatively close to Lanai Island.

Therefore, Barron also plans to build a simple airport on Lanai Island in the future, at least one that can accommodate mid-sized business jets, such as the Gulfstream G450 he previously purchased.

It is also worth mentioning that when Barron first bought a private jet, the Gulfstream G450 was Gulfstream’s latest model, but they have now launched the Gulfstream G550 with better performance. He also intends to add a new toy for himself, but currently, ordering this aircraft requires waiting in line.

But the good news is that with the further outbreak of the subprime mortgage crisis, many wealthy people are destined to go bankrupt as a result. Therefore, before long, he will be able to directly take over those earlier orders, and in order to sell these orders, Gulfstream will also offer lower prices – after all, the original purchasers have already paid a considerable deposit, which they cannot recover after bankruptcy, so it becomes part of the discount for the successor.

It is expected that they will spend more than a month on vacation on Lanai Island, and then go to Australia, before returning to London when spring arrives.

Indeed, vacationing by the sea is very relaxing, but after only a week, Jenny complained that she had obviously gotten a tan…

When she heard that Barron was planning to go to Los Angeles, she asked to go with him.

“Perfect timing. I’m going to meet with John this time, so you can go home.”

Hearing Barron’s words, Jenny smiled and agreed, but when no one was paying attention, she glared at Barron.

“Are you really going to let me go home?”

After taking a helicopter from Lanai Island, which took them directly to Honolulu International Airport on Oahu, Hawaii, Jenny asked as soon as they boarded the plane.

“Of course, darling. I’m not going on vacation this time. I have important things to do.”

“Then…”

Jenny rolled her eyes and said:

“Spend two days with me first, then I’ll go home.”

Barron naturally understood what she meant. It seemed that he was about to be in the thick of it for the next two days…

…

Just as Barron said, he did have some things to deal with on this trip to California.

The first person he met was Schwarzenegger, the action movie star and current Governor of California.

Speaking of which, the reason Schwarzenegger was able to successfully run for Governor of California was not only because more than 40% of women voted for him, thus gaining a large number of votes based on his personal charm, but also because of his campaign slogan – that he would significantly reduce taxes after taking office.

In America, there is also a concept similar to national and local taxes in China. In addition to the taxes that need to be paid to the federal government, the tax rates in each state are different, and the state governments have a high degree of autonomy.

“The people of California pay taxes every morning when they get up and flush the toilet. They don’t pay too little taxes, it’s the politicians who are wasting taxpayers’ money.”

This was Schwarzenegger’s speech that was once applauded by the public.

And he did so after taking office. Since he took office, California’s tax rates have been reduced by more than 25% successively, but at the same time, this also means that the state government’s revenue has decreased, and the deficit has begun to increase.

If such a tax reduction policy was not so fatal in normal times, it is a pity that the subprime mortgage crisis that started this year broke out in California first.

However, so far, the most destructive moment of the subprime mortgage crisis has not yet arrived. Therefore, although Barron can feel Schwarzenegger’s worries, he is probably not yet aware of how serious the final outbreak will be – at least, he is still in the mood to chat with Barron for a few words.

“Increase investment in California?”

Hearing the meaning in Schwarzenegger’s words, Barron said with a smile:

“That’s no problem, Governor, but the premise is that there needs to be good projects. Yes, there are some good companies in California that I am very interested in, but I need to invest according to the plan.”

As everyone knows, many banks in America went bankrupt during the subprime mortgage crisis. Barron also plans to take the opportunity to take over suitable bank assets to expand Standard Chartered Bank’s business in America. Although they previously acquired American Express Bank, it was not American Express’s core asset, and its scale was limited. For Standard Chartered Bank, the biggest significance of acquiring American Express Bank is the help it provides in foreign exchange settlement.

And in eight months, IndyMac Bank of California will be taken over by the federal government due to bankruptcy. That is also the third largest bank to go bankrupt in American history. At that time, it may be possible to help this Governor.

Of course, that is under the premise that it is beneficial to Barron. He will not simply provide friendship assistance for the sake of this Terminator’s career.

Chapter 574: Affectionate

“Did you see Schwarzenegger today?”

Back in his villa, Barron heard Jenny Booth’s question and replied with a smile, “I believe I mentioned it to you this morning…”

He noticed the meaningful expression on Jenny’s face and couldn’t help but ask, “What’s wrong? Do you have some dissatisfaction with our governor?”

“Not at all. I don’t care too much about his affairs, but I heard that during his gubernatorial campaign, he spent a lot of money to silence his scandals.”

“That’s normal, isn’t it? After all, he used to be a heavyweight Hollywood star and has connections to the Kennedy family…”

Barron knew that Jenny Booth. was referring to the rumors that had plagued Schwarzenegger, including affairs after his marriage to his wife, and harassment of actresses. Schwarzenegger had spent a lot of money to settle these matters.

However, even bigger news broke after he left office, including his affair with his overly plump nanny—they even had an illegitimate child, which was one of the reasons for Maria’s later divorce from him.

The next day, Barron, with a radiant Jenny Booth, arrived in Hunt Valley, Maryland, the location of Sinclair Group’s headquarters.

“Honey, I heard you went to Hawaii with your brother and them. How was it? Pretty good?”

When John Smith saw his wife, Jenny Booth, he acted like a man who cherished his family, giving his wife a hug and asking affectionately.

“It was okay, but the overly bright sunshine there made my skin quite dark, so I came back early with Barron…”

Jenny dealt with her husband and then gently broke free from his embrace, saying, “You guys chat. I’m going upstairs to rest for a while.”

John looked at Barron and shrugged, “She’s always like this. It’s good to see you again, Your Grace.”

“Likewise, John. How have you been lately?”

John sat down opposite Barron and called a servant over, “A coffee for me. How about you?”

“Black tea will be fine, thank you.”

After the servant left, John said with a smile, “Things are going well at the company. By the way, the viewership for Succession is excellent. I believe it will definitely have a place at next year’s Emmy Awards.”

As he said, the first season of Succession had already begun airing on Sinclair Group’s television stations, and the viewership ratings were very good. After only two or three episodes, its popularity surpassed that of CBS’s popular American drama series, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation.

And it seemed that John was not at all concerned about the fact that Succession had a storyline similar to his and his older brother’s fight for control of the Sinclair Group.

In reality, the popularity of this television series did indeed increase Sinclair Group’s advertising revenue.

It must be said that although John Smith’s management style was different from that of his father and older brother, under his management, Sinclair Group had gradually reduced some of its debt.

However, it was unknown whether the liquidity stagnation caused by the subprime mortgage crisis in the entire American financial sector would turn Sinclair Group’s situation for the worse—after all, in Sinclair Group’s previous series of acquisitions, their debt level was still below the safety line.

“By the way, there’s something I need to tell you, Your Grace.”

John Smith took the coffee brought by the servant, put a sugar cube in it, stirred it for a moment, and said to Barron, “We are preparing to sell our shares in SEM Group. The funds recovered can be used to repay some of the bank loans.”

“This is something that Sinclair Group can handle on its own, John. I won’t have any objections.”

Relatively speaking, the impact of the subprime mortgage crisis was still limited to the American stock market and the stocks of some European banks, and the impact on SEM Group’s stock price was not yet that great.

Of course, SEM Group’s stock price had also fallen compared to last month, but it was still at a satisfactory level.

If John Smith’s judgment of the economic situation wasn’t particularly insightful, then it could only be said that he was very lucky. Selling SEM Group’s stock now could still be considered selling at a high price, and using these funds to repay bank loans would also allow Sinclair Group to be in a safer position when the crisis further erupted.

“Actually, what I mean is, if you want to buy back these shares, I can sell them directly to you.”

“That won’t be necessary. The shares I currently hold are already sufficient. There’s no need to hold so many.”

Even if he wanted to buy back some shares, Barron wouldn’t choose to do it at this time. The European stock market would definitely have several waves of declines next year, and he would be able to get a better discounted price at that time.

In any case, now that Jenny Booth. had returned to her own home, Barron could breathe a sigh of relief. He suspected that this woman had been constantly “charging up.” Her learning ability these past two days was truly astonishing to Barron. This was the first time since Barron’s rebirth that he had felt a little overwhelmed…

But just after he left John Smith’s place, he received a phone call…

“Are you still in Los Angeles, darling?”

“I came to Maryland. I just met with John. What’s up, baby?”

The call was from Ivanka. Barron heard her say on the phone, “It seems like my timing is off. I just got off the plane and I’m about to go to Silicon Valley…”

“I’ll come back right away, baby. You can wait for me at home first.”

The “home” that Barron was referring to was a mansion he had purchased for Ivanka in the San Francisco Bay Area. When they were in Silicon Valley, they always lived there together.

After hanging up the phone, Barron sighed. It seemed like tonight would be another night of hard study.

…

“You’re very optimistic about Twitter?”

After pausing, Ivanka asked, hearing Barron bring up IC Capital’s investment in Twitter.

“Before, Twitter’s development was just so-so, but now it’s different. Our Android system and Apple’s iOS system both support running apps more conveniently on mobile phones. Twitter’s social format is more suitable for such smartphones…”

Hearing Barron’s words, Ivanka’s eyes lit up. She was no longer as ignorant about the internet as she had been before. Through constantly investing in internet and technology companies over the past two years, Ivanka had also been learning in this area. At this time, her understanding had greatly improved, and she immediately grasped the meaning of Barron’s words.

Indeed, Twitter itself was a platform where users could directly express their opinions on the internet by editing text messages.

This was also the reason why each of its messages had a 140-character limit.

However, as the number of smartphone users increased, using the Android or iOS system, people could directly and conveniently log in to the APP to publish information through their mobile phones. This did indeed provide Twitter with fertile ground for rapid development.

“Then should I advise them to launch an APP on Android and iOS as soon as possible?”

“There’s no need to rush this. If their founding team is sharp enough, they will think of it. Or, after you participate in the next round of financing, if they still don’t have such an idea, you can remind them.”

Chapter 575: Acquisition Complete

On November 20th, former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan stated at a business conference that the housing market slump and credit crisis would continue to negatively impact the American economy, but the probability of the American economy falling into recession was “less than 50%.”

Shortly thereafter, George W. Bush also publicly stated that although there were still problems in the housing and credit markets, the fundamentals of the American economy were solid, and he was optimistic about the American economic outlook.

Putting aside these optimistic remarks about the American economy, Barron was quite busy during his time in California.

After meeting with Ivanka, he returned to Los Angeles and spent a few days with Fan Bingbing and the children.

Fan Bingbing had just returned to Los Angeles after completing filming for 007: Skyfall—after all, strictly speaking, although she could be considered the second “Bond girl” in this film, her screen time wasn’t that significant.

Furthermore, this film would also be released in China, so as a well-known Chinese actress involved in the film, Fan Bingbing would also participate in the film’s promotion, including in China, next year.

However, at this time, due to the popularity of Succession, Fan Bingbing, who played the “stepmother” in the series, had also gained considerable recognition in Europe and America.

After a period of rest, Fan Bingbing would return to China with her two children, and Gucci would announce her as their brand ambassador for Greater China.

It could be said that this also represented Fan Bingbing’s fashion resources reaching the top tier within the Chinese film and television industry.

“I’ll be living in China most of the time from now on, here…”

After handing the two children over to the nanny, Barron put his arm around Fan Bingbing and said to her:

“It’s okay, this place will always be taken care of. Just come and stay here whenever you come to America.”

Hearing Barron’s words, Fan Bingbing was very happy, which showed her position in his heart.

Just as Fan Bingbing had said, she would spend most of her time in mainland China, except for occasionally appearing in some Hollywood films. Moreover, unless she particularly liked a script, she wouldn’t take on ordinary film and television dramas, and would instead focus her energy on Tianhe Film & Television Investment, investing in some Chinese film and television projects.

Speaking of Tianhe Investment, their largest project in China, Nanjing Automobile Group, had been performing quite well since its joint venture with British Motor Corporation.

First of all, Tianhe-BMC, a subsidiary of Nanjing Automobile Group, holds the domestic distribution rights for all brands of British Motor Corporation.

After Barron’s visit to China earlier, his motorcade in Beijing attracted the attention of many wealthy people in China, especially Barron’s car—Bentley’s new flagship Mulsanne model, which was very popular among Chinese billionaires.

It is worth mentioning that, due to his relationship with Barron, Jack Ma’s car had been changed from a BMW to a long-wheelbase Bentley Mulsanne, instead of the 6.2-meter Maybach in the original timeline.

In addition to Jack Ma, Pony Ma also chose the Bentley Mulsanne as his car, which made the domestic billionaires turn their attention to this model.

Indeed, only billionaires could afford this car. The price of the Bentley Mulsanne was much more expensive than in the original timeline—correspondingly, its materials were also more luxurious. The lowest-spec Mulsanne was priced at over $500,000, which could be said to be a luxury car worth tens of millions when it came to China.

But the thinking of these billionaires was different from ordinary people. When choosing their cars, the more expensive the more popular, of course, provided that there was a reason for the high price.

As for the joint venture brand, Nanjing-BMC’s biggest move this year, in addition to launching the domestically produced versions of Land Rover and Jaguar’s overseas models, Land Rover also specially launched a new model in China that was modified according to the preferences of Chinese users—the Shanhai.

This meant that this car had strong performance, making it effortless to cross mountains and seas.

The Shanhai continued Land Rover’s consistent style, square and upright, looking very solid and powerful. Once launched, it stood out in the million-level luxury SUV market and became one of the best-selling luxury SUVs in China since the second half of this year.

“By the way, honey, after returning to China, visit Jack Ma of Alibaba for me.”

“Are you talking about their company’s listing?”

Fan Bingbing immediately reacted to the recent developments of Alibaba after hearing Barron’s words.

“Not just that, Jack Ma’s connections are still good. In this regard, Tianhe Capital can still contact him more in China in the future.”

Earlier this month, Alibaba successfully listed its B2B business in Hong Kong.

Barron didn’t pay too much attention to Alibaba’s listing, because he knew that Alibaba would decide to delist from Hong Kong in a few years. When they listed in America, it would be the time to establish Alibaba’s position in China.

But in addition to this, Barron also knew that Jack Ma would also split Alipay and other businesses from Alibaba in the future. In the original timeline, SoftBank and Yahoo also had some conflicts with Jack Ma because of this.

But now, on Barron’s side, if Jack Ma used the excuse that businesses like Alipay could not be interfered with by foreign capital, then he could completely use Tianhe Capital, a Chinese company, to take over the shares in this area…

Moreover, as Barron said, Jack Ma was a member of the Taishan Club, which included many business leaders led by Liu of Lenovo, and Jack Ma also had great prestige among Zhejiang merchants. Tianhe Capital mainly developed in China, and Jack Ma’s connections were still needed.

Fan Bingbing knew that she was originally an “outsider” in business and had great shortcomings in this regard, so she relied heavily on Barron’s opinions in this area.

Therefore, after Barron instructed, she immediately agreed.

…

On November 20th, Reuters Group announced that it had accepted the SEM Group’s acquisition proposal. From now on, the two companies would officially begin the merger process.

In SEM Group’s initial acquisition proposal, because SEM Group already held more than 30% of Reuters Group’s shares, they would use approximately 4.05 billion pounds of funds, plus the issuance of 49 million new shares, to complete the acquisition of the remaining shares of Reuters Group, making Reuters Group its wholly-owned subsidiary.

However, after Thomson Group’s acquisition of Reuters Group was rejected by the British and American antitrust agencies, the two sides restarted acquisition negotiations.

And at this time, the situation they faced was different from that of May this year.

At that time, SEM Group’s stock price was around 41.15 pounds. Calculated at this price, the total acquisition price of SEM Group’s shares plus cash for Reuters Group was 8.68 billion pounds.

But now, SEM Group’s stock price has fallen to around 38.75 pounds due to the global economic situation. Calculated on this basis, the total acquisition price of this acquisition plan for Reuters Group has been reduced to 8.512 billion pounds.

However, correspondingly, Reuters Group’s stock price has also fallen, but their shareholders prefer to receive cash rather than exchange shares…

Therefore, SEM Group finally decided to acquire Reuters Group in the form of all cash—they would take out 5.95 billion pounds to acquire the remaining shares of Reuters Group and complete its privatization acquisition.

Cavendish Trust Foundation took out 950 million pounds to purchase SEM Group’s convertible bonds—they could convert this debt into SEM Group’s ordinary shares at any time within two years at the average price of the 30 trading days at that time.

For the remaining 5 billion pounds, SEM Group obtained credit lines from Barclays Bank and Standard Chartered Bank to carry out this acquisition.

It is expected that the merger of SEM Group and Reuters Group will be completed before February next year. At that time, Reuters Group will merge some of its media business with the relevant business of SEM Group, while Reuters Group will continue to maintain its operational independence as a wholly-owned subsidiary of SEM Group.

In addition to this, Reuters Group will conduct overseas sales of information business through Reuters International, which is supervised by the original Reuters Founders Share Company, to ensure that the information services they provide continue to comply with Reuters’ five core principles.

Chapter 576: Massive Oil Deal

“Mr. Alekperov, we are very sincere. If you can agree, then we can directly buy enough of your production at a fixed price…”

Duane Hearst, CEO of British Fortune Times (BFT) Fund, said to the Russian in front of him.

He was now in Moscow, the capital of Russia, at the headquarters of Lukoil. The Russian in front of him, Vagit Alekperov, was the president and CEO of Lukoil—Russia’s largest oil company.

“If it really is as you say, this would involve nearly half of our annual production. Therefore, we need to verify whether it is feasible.”

Hearing Vagit’s words, Duane Hearst smiled and said:

“This is a rare opportunity, sir. You should know that although international oil prices have been climbing, at the same time, oil-producing countries around the world are stepping up their efforts to extract oil. Therefore, no one knows when the critical point for oil price decline will arrive. But this order of ours can allow you to lock in high oil price profits without any risk.”

This time, coming to Russia as the head of the BFT Fund, Duane Hearst’s task was to negotiate with Russian oil companies and sign a long-term, large-scale purchase agreement with them.

His first stop was Russia’s largest oil company, which was also one of the top ten oil companies in the world at this time—Lukoil.

Duane’s words also made Vagit Alekperov very tempted. Just as he said, no one can predict what the future trend of oil prices will be. The current international oil price has reached $90 per barrel. Perhaps next year, the oil price will rise to another level, unprecedentedly breaking through $100?

But it is also possible that international oil prices have reached their peak and then begin to fall rapidly…

Who knows?

What the other party was offering was a super order of up to $20 billion, with sufficient funds as a guarantee. If this contract could be signed, then it could be said that Lukoil could fix their substantial profits at the currently high oil price level.

At this time, Lukoil’s annual extraction volume was only over 70 million tons, and the $20 billion order was already close to half of their extraction volume!

But out of caution, Vagit Alekperov still needed to discuss it with the board of directors. And even if they decided to sign this agreement, the orders from their original customers… would also need to be adjusted and coordinated.

Vagit also understood that if they increased their extraction volume, then they could barely manage to reach the agreement for this order…

But was it worth betting on it?

It didn’t seem like there would be too much loss…

Of course, Lukoil was not Duane’s only target. Other large oil companies, including Rosneft, were also targets that Duane would negotiate with next.

Starting in November, Duane, the CEO of BFT Fund, traveled around the world. From Russia to Indonesia to Africa, they signed crude oil acquisition agreements with eight large oil companies, stipulating that from March to September of the following year, within six months, they would acquire crude oil at a fixed price of $90 per barrel, with a total value of $60 billion.

Of course, the agreement was very specific, including the amount of crude oil they needed to deliver each month, as well as the transportation method, etc…

The penalty for breach of this agreement was set at 20%…

And in order to persuade the other party to agree to this agreement, BFT Fund would deposit 50% of the transaction amount, that is, $30 billion, into the bank accounts designated by these oil companies as a guarantee.

Could it be that Barron was really preparing to buy so much crude oil spot?

Of course not—at least in the initial stage, the refining projects he invested in, including those in Coro and China, would have no problem consuming a certain amount of crude oil spot.

But compared to when oil prices continued to rise, especially when the price of crude oil rose to an all-time high in July of the following year, close to $150 per barrel, no oil company would be foolish enough to continue to execute this agreement. They would rather pay a 20% penalty for breach of contract than sell their crude oil at a higher price.

Therefore, without even waiting for July of the following year, after the price of crude oil rose to $108 per barrel in mid-March, which exceeded the agreed price of $90 per barrel by more than 20%, these oil companies would probably start to consider whether they needed to breach the contract…

Calculating it this way, BFT Fund’s total capital of $55 billion, in addition to the part used to buy gold, and the other $30 billion anchoring an order worth $60 billion, even if there were partial breaches of contract, they could probably get $10 billion in breach of contract penalties…

Of course, if the other party would rather not breach the contract and still deliver crude oil spot…

That would also be good. Reselling most of the orders to energy importing giants like China, Japan, and South Korea would result in a price difference far higher than that amount.

Anyway, BFT Fund would profit no matter what.

And most importantly, this would not delay BFT Fund’s bargain hunting investments after the large-scale outbreak of the subprime mortgage crisis…

…

In early November, Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase, and Bank of America announced the establishment of a standby fund totaling $75 billion to support SIVs (Structured Investment Vehicles).

According to the information Barron received, Citigroup is currently facing the problem of a liquidity crisis in its $100 billion SIVs.

On November 26, HSBC announced that it would invest $35 billion to rescue its two SIVs.

Under these circumstances, on the same day, Citigroup’s stock price once again plummeted by 6%, closing at $29.80, a new low in five years.

According to statistics, Citigroup’s stock price has fallen a total of 46% since the beginning of this year, and its market value has shrunk by $129 billion.

Also on this day, Citigroup officially announced that the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA), the sovereign wealth fund of the United Arab Emirates, would invest $7.5 billion to purchase 4.9% of the group’s equity.

The injection of this fund will bring the group’s capital adequacy ratio back to its established target in the first half of next year.

The statement pointed out that Citigroup will sell equity units that can be converted into common stock to the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority. At the same time, the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority agreed to hold no more than 4.9% of Citigroup’s total share capital, and does not enjoy privileges in Citigroup’s management, ownership, and corporate control.

In addition, the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority also has no right to appoint directors to Citigroup’s board of directors.

Although the shares purchased by the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority account for less than 5% of Citigroup’s total share capital, it is enough to exceed the equity ratio currently held by Citigroup’s largest individual shareholder, Prince Alwaleed bin Talal of Saudi Arabia.

At this time, Barron had returned to Lanai. Soon after, they would end their vacation on Lanai and go to Australia.

He also knew that now was not the best time to invest in Bank of America—everything had just begun.

Chapter 577: Reliance Group

On December 20th, just before Christmas, Glory Electronics announced the official launch of their second Android-powered smartphone, the Mate 1S.

As previously mentioned, the Glory Mate 1S would support 3G networks, and the 16GB version would retail for $459, lower than the Mate 1’s price, but with better specs—the Mate 1S included a 500,000-pixel front-facing camera.

Moreover, through partnerships with certain carriers, customers who opted for a two-year 3G plan would receive substantial discounts depending on the plan’s price.

For instance, with O2 and T-Mobile, the Mate 1S could be as low as $299 with the most expensive 3G plan!

Consequently, the Mate 1S immediately sparked a buying frenzy upon its release, with long queues forming.

Apple responded swiftly, announcing a 16GB version of the iPhone 1 and further price reductions for the original 8GB iPhone 1 model.

They also announced the upcoming launch of their latest iPhone 3G in February of the following year.

By this time, nearing the end of the year, iPhone 1 sales had surpassed 1.5 million units, while Mate 1 sales had exceeded 1.8 million units.

Although the sales figures of Apple and Glory Electronics were still far behind those of established giants like Nokia, Motorola, and Blackberry, they had already established a solid customer base.

The Mate 1S, in particular, benefited from being released during the peak Christmas shopping season in Europe and America, resulting in even stronger sales than the Mate 1. It sold over 500,000 units in just three days, a truly impressive feat.

This was the reason for Apple’s haste.

Having evolved from a mere “contract manufacturer” to a globally recognized smartphone brand, Glory Electronics had experienced rapid growth during this period.

More importantly, their supply chain integration through industrial investments in China was also proving successful—the proportion of “domestically produced” components used in the Mate 1S was significantly higher than in the Mate 1.

However, the two most crucial components, the chip and the touchscreen, still needed to be imported.

…

Similarly, just before Christmas, SEM Group, fresh from announcing its acquisition of Reuters Group, announced that its Summit Media subsidiary would acquire Stuart Media, a well-known British program production company, for 500 million pounds.

Prior to this acquisition, SEM Group already held a 30% stake in Stuart Media. SEM Group would issue new shares to acquire the 70% stake in Stuart Media held by Bonnie Capital, controlled by Bonnie Cavendish.

This would make Barron’s wife, Bonnie, one of SEM Group’s shareholders.

Stuart Media had already produced popular series such as “Strictly Come Dancing,” “Living the Dream,” and “Britain’s Got Talent,” and the rights to these shows had been sold to numerous overseas television stations, resulting in localized versions.

Bonnie’s decision to sell Stuart Media to SEM Group stemmed from her lack of time to oversee the company’s day-to-day operations—while in Australia, she discovered that she was pregnant again.

Yes, she was expecting her second child. Consequently, she wouldn’t be able to dedicate much time to running Stuart Media. Furthermore, with the completion of the MediaCityUK project in Manchester, many companies, including Stuart Media, would be relocating there. After careful consideration, she accepted Barron’s suggestion to sell Stuart Media to SEM Group.

After handing over the management of Stuart Media to her deputy, Bonnie Cavendish would become a director of SEM Group, responsible for some program production matters.

Following the acquisition of Stuart Media, its program production operations would be merged with those of Summit Media, falling under the umbrella of Summit Studio. This significantly enhanced Summit Media’s program production capabilities and provided it with more variety show IPs with strong viewership appeal.

While Bonnie and her cousin, Countess Chris, remained in Australia for a vacation, Barron and Earl Booth. had already left Australia for Asia.

The Devonshire landed at New Delhi Airport, where the Indian Minister of Commerce, Jaylen Ramish, personally greeted Barron and his entourage.

After the welcoming ceremony, the motorcade that drove off the Devonshire, under the escort of the Indian Mounted Police, went directly to the Prime Minister’s Office, where Indian Prime Minister Singh would meet with them.

The reason for such a grand reception in India wasn’t solely due to Argent Real Estate Group’s investment in Mumbai—after all, their investment scale here was still relatively limited.

The main reason was that the United Energy Group, owned by Barron, would be partnering with India’s Reliance Industries to build the world’s largest refining and chemical project in Jamnagar, India.

In this project, United Energy Group and Reliance Industries would each hold a 50% stake. Upon completion, it would reach a scale of 1.3 million barrels per year (62-65 million tons per year), three times the size of China’s largest refining project at the time. Furthermore, the petroleum coke/coal gasification combined cycle project to be constructed would also be the world’s largest gasification project.

Reliance Group, partnering with United Energy Group, is India’s largest private conglomerate.

Reliance Group’s founder, Dhirubhai Ambani, established Reliance Commercial Corporation in 1958, building himself up from nothing to become a billionaire.

He passed away in July 2002, and his son, Mukesh Ambani, took over Reliance Group. Subsequently, Reliance Group not only consolidated its position in energy production, finance, and biotechnology but also became a major player in India’s telecommunications industry.

According to Time magazine, in 2003, Reliance’s revenue was 16.8 billion US dollars, accounting for 3.5% of India’s gross domestic product that year.

Mukesh Ambani, the chairman of Reliance Group at this time, would also repeatedly become Asia’s richest man, a frequent presence on rich lists.

In fact, from the outset, Reliance Group had hoped to build a super-large refining and chemical project at Jamnagar, the largest refining base in India, and had been searching for partners to this end.

Finally, after United Energy Group negotiated with them, the project was finalized.

The total investment in this project would exceed 4 billion US dollars, jointly funded by both parties. Once completed, it would be able to absorb a significant portion of the crude oil produced by United Energy Group and sell refined petroleum products to the surrounding region, with India as the center.

It should be noted that, like China, India is also a major energy importer with a huge market. Furthermore, after acquiring Unocal, United Energy Group has substantial oil and gas reserves in Southeast Asia and the Caspian Sea, and they plan to gradually begin exploiting these oil and gas resources this year.

Chapter 578: Connections

This was also why Count Booth. had come to India with Barron this time.

After meeting with Indian Prime Minister Singh, Barron took Ian Booth. to see Mukesh Ambani, the chairman of Reliance Industries.

Many years later, the internet would often feature a building called Antilia, touted as “Asia’s most luxurious residence.” This mansion, located in the heart of Mumbai, belonged to Asia’s richest man, Mukesh Ambani, the owner of India’s largest private company, Reliance Industries.

Antilia has 27 floors, stands 173 meters tall, is earthquake-resistant to level 8, and features 3 helipads, an airport control tower, 6 floors of parking, swimming pools, a theater, and can accommodate up to 600 resident maids.

It is worth mentioning its architectural structure. About two-thirds of the weight of the building’s upper section is mainly supported by two sets of W-shaped steel bars on both sides of the aerial garden on the 9th to 12th floors, giving the illusion of a castle in the air. The cost of the entire building is said to be close to 1 billion U.S. dollars.

And this building would be completed next year.

In other words, Barron would not be able to admire this mansion on this trip.

However, upon arriving in Mumbai, Barron was still invited by Mukesh to visit his mansion there.

Although Reliance Industries did not have real estate business under its umbrella, as India’s richest man, Mukesh still had considerable connections here. Therefore, leveraging his network would help Argent Real Estate Group’s development in India.

Mukesh looked like a very amiable middle-aged uncle, but Barron knew that someone who could control such a large group would certainly not be as harmless as he appeared on the surface.

Another noteworthy point was that Reliance Industries’ telecommunications company was also one of Glory Electronics’ cooperative operators in India.

However, the best-selling phones they had in India were still the cost-effective feature phones and Smart Android phones from Dopod.

However, in addition to welcoming Barron, the British Duke, to India, Mukesh mainly discussed the large oil deals signed by the BFT Fund.

“So it seems, Your Grace, you are quite optimistic about oil prices next year?”

Many people have an impression of Indian English, that it has a very strong curry flavor…

Of course, this can be considered correct, but this impression mainly comes from their ordinary people’s class. Wealthy people like Mukesh, on the other hand, received elite education from a young age and had many years of overseas study experience. Therefore, when talking to Barron, his spoken English was very authentic.

“As an energy company with extensive oil exploration operations, United Energy Group has its own hedging system. As for those large oil purchase orders, it’s more that I hope to find a relatively stable source of raw materials for the large-scale refining and chemical projects to be invested in later.”

Of course, just saying that would definitely not dispel the other party’s suspicions. Barron said with a smile:

“Our research shows that in the foreseeable future, due to various factors, it will be quite difficult for global oil production to reach a relatively ideal level. So personally, I certainly hope that oil prices will be as high as possible, but no one can predict how long this trend will last.”

“But I greatly admire your boldness, Your Grace, and I hope that through this cooperation, we can continue to deepen cooperation in related fields.”

Barron, of course, agreed with Mukesh’s words:

“I hope so too, Mr. Ambani.”

Barron had his own considerations for choosing to cooperate with Reliance Industries in such a large refining and chemical project this time.

After all, India is very famous for taking advantage of foreign companies, and it doesn’t care which country you come from. It may take advantage of anyone, even those large American companies. It doesn’t hesitate to take advantage of them at all.

The main consideration for investing in such a large-scale refining and chemical project in India is India’s location, which can radiate to surrounding areas, and the labor costs and environmental pressure here are relatively small.

As for whether he would be taken advantage of?

United Energy Group is a joint venture project with Reliance Industries. Barron believes that with Reliance Industries as his partner, this project is relatively safe.

Otherwise, if you take advantage of me this time, then your Reliance Industries will either only do business in India, or if you come overseas, especially to Europe and the United States, then those who take advantage of me will always have to pay it back.

Barron now has the confidence to do so.

As for the Indian government, if Reliance Industries didn’t have strong connections in this area, it would not be possible to become India’s largest private company.

…

As the Bentley Mulsanne had just stopped at the hotel entrance, a group of people had already walked over. At the front was Feng Xiaogang, with a smiling face. He personally opened the car door and spoke to the woman with top-notch looks who stepped out of the car, with a hint of intimacy and flattery in his tone:

“Boss Fan, you’re finally here. Let’s go in.”

“Director Feng, please don’t call me that. Just call me Bingbing.”

The woman who stepped out of the car was Fan Bingbing, who had returned to China. She looked around at the crowd and said with a smile:

“Why are you all here? This year you are the main characters. I’m just here to support you…”

At this time, all she saw in front of her were enthusiastic smiles. Surrounded by the crowd, she walked into the hotel.

Today’s press conference was a promotion before the release of the movie Assembly.

As everyone knows, Feng Xiaogang had previously directed mainly New Year’s comedies. This time, he was filming a war-themed movie like Assembly. Although his reputation among domestic directors was only second to Zhang Yimou, many people were still not optimistic about this transformation work of his.

When the movie was first filmed, Huayi Brothers did take out 80 million yuan of funding for Feng Xiaogang, but in fact, the filming of the movie was not smooth…

First of all, Feng Xiaogang initially found Ge You, his old partner, as the protagonist of the movie, but after filming it several times, he felt that the image was not right; not only Ge You, but another heroine was also replaced shortly after filming began because she did not meet Feng Xiaogang’s protagonist shaping feeling…

Also, there was some shortage of filming funds, but Huayi really didn’t dare to continue investing money in it.

At that time, Boss Wang of Huayi gave Feng Xiaogang a suggestion, asking him to ask Fan Bingbing…

Sure enough, after calling Fan Bingbing, who was still in Los Angeles at the time, Fan Bingbing readily added investment through Tianhe Film and Television, which could ensure that Feng Xiaogang completed the filming of the movie.

And in the choice of the male lead, Fan Bingbing also recommended Zhang Hanyu - you know, although Zhang Hanyu is a member of Huayi, he has always served as a supporting role before this. Although the image and temperament are very consistent with the protagonist’s persona in this movie, Assembly’s investment is so high that Feng Xiaogang is still not at ease handing the protagonist over to him, and is preparing to invite Hong Kong and Taiwan movie stars.

Finally, under Fan Bingbing’s recommendation, Zhang Hanyu also served as the male lead in such a big-budget movie for the first time, and he was very grateful to Fan Bingbing.

This is why Feng Xiaogang was so enthusiastic about Fan Bingbing at today’s press conference.

Chapter 579: Investing in Merrill Lynch

On December 26th, just after Christmas, Merrill Lynch, one of the five major investment banks on Wall Street, announced that they had just reached an agreement.

Merrill Lynch would sell most of its commercial finance business to the British Automotive Group for $1.2 billion. This transaction would be completed in January of the following year.

After acquiring Merrill Lynch’s commercial finance business, British Automotive Group would use it as a foundation, combined with the related businesses of its various automotive brands, to form British Auto Finance, providing car loan-related services to its users.

By selling this part of its business, Merrill Lynch would obtain $1.2 billion in funds to reallocate to its other businesses in order to recoup some losses.

Prior to this, according to Merrill Lynch’s projections, the group might face another write-down of billions of dollars in assets in the fourth quarter.

In order to replenish capital, Merrill Lynch not only sold most of its commercial finance business to British Automotive Group, but was also seeking more capital injections.

At this time, those in contact with Merrill Lynch included Temasek Holdings from Singapore, Davis Selected Advisers, and Caesar Fund under the DS Group, all of whom were in relevant negotiations with them.

The reason Barron was participating in Merrill Lynch’s financing at this time was to gain early access to the internal workings of Merrill Lynch, so that when the subprime mortgage crisis completely detonated the American financial industry in the future, he could be in a prioritized position for the future “division of spoils.”

Prior to this, Wall Street investment banks in the throes of the subprime mortgage crisis had received multiple injections of capital from sovereign wealth funds.

For example, in November of this year, the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, a sovereign wealth fund of the United Arab Emirates, invested $7.5 billion to purchase 4.9% of Citigroup’s shares; earlier this month, the Government of Singapore Investment Corporation invested 11 billion Swiss francs in UBS, acquiring 9% of the bank’s equity; subsequently, China Investment Corporation invested $5 billion in Morgan Stanley, acquiring no more than 9.9% of the latter’s equity.

This time, Caesar Fund was also preparing to invest $5 billion to acquire no more than 10% of Merrill Lynch’s shares.

According to Merrill Lynch’s announcement, they were planning to raise a total of no more than $6.2 billion this time. According to estimates, they may have to write down another $8.6 billion in mortgage-related losses next month.

Through this private placement of common stock, Merrill Lynch would replenish its book value, while the equity of its original shareholders would be diluted by approximately 13%.

…

“We have seen that India has achieved considerable development since the new century and will become one of the world’s most watched economic engines in the future. This is why I value investment in India so much…”

Barron said this in a speech when he visited the Indian Institute of Technology in the ancient city of Kanpur before Christmas:

“After I arrived in Mumbai, I could hardly believe my eyes. I didn’t expect to see such a modern city in India. In some areas of Mumbai, it even reminds me of Silicon Valley in America. Perhaps in the future, it will become an existence surpassing Silicon Valley and London’s Tech City. Yes, that’s what I think.”

In fact, India’s IT industry has indeed developed rapidly. Of course, this is also due in some respects to the popularity of English - as everyone knows, India was ruled by Britain for nearly 200 years, and before 1965, English was the sole official language of India.

On the other hand, India’s emphasis on science and engineering is another major reason why its IT industry has been able to develop. For example, the Indian Institute of Technology he visited is the best university in India.

Of course, Barron’s praise naturally pleased the Indian students and local media present - making money, saying some nice words, there’s no shame in that.

Prior to this, not only would Argent Property Group participate in the construction of some important projects in Mumbai, but also Woaw and Skype would establish their customer service centers in India, using India’s cheap labor resources and relatively good labor quality to provide customer service to users worldwide.

Actually, this is not surprising. Many technology companies outsource their customer service to Indians, after all, the cost is very low, even if the local English has a bit of a curry flavor, it’s not to the point of being incomprehensible…

In addition, O2 Telecom will also cooperate with Reliance Infocomm, a subsidiary of Reliance Group, to establish O2 Reliance Telecom, with each party holding 50% of the shares, to provide mobile communication and broadband and other telecommunications services in India.

Reliance Infocomm was just established this year. Compared with Vodafone-Idea and Tata Teleservices, which have a higher market share in the Indian market, the gap is huge.

However, Mukesh Ambani of Reliance Group is still very ambitious in the telecommunications industry. Therefore, after cooperating with Barron, the two hit it off and facilitated this cooperation between O2 Telecom and Reliance Communications.

For well-known reasons, it is still safest to cooperate with local giants in India. For example, Vodafone-Idea, which currently has the highest market share in the Indian telecommunications market, is a joint venture between Vodafone and Idea Cellular.

India has a large population, and the telecommunications industry will also have a very large market. Being able to enter this market is still very worthwhile.

In addition, this cooperation can also enable Dopod mobile phones, a budget brand under Honor Electronics, to gain access to the Indian market, which can be said to kill two birds with one stone.

Or rather, not just kill two birds with one stone. After O2 Reliance Telecom develops in India, it can also introduce the online video platform DailyVedio.com into the Indian market.

…

On December 31st, before the arrival of 2008, Merrill Lynch announced that it had finally selected Caesar Group under the DS Group and Davis Selected Advisers as their investors.

Among them, Caesar Fund will invest $5 billion to inject capital into Merrill Lynch.

Through this investment, Caesar Fund will purchase $5 billion worth of Merrill Lynch shares at a price of $48 per share. This price is 13.6% lower than Merrill Lynch’s closing price last week. As a result, Caesar Fund will hold 9.9% of Merrill Lynch’s shares.

In addition, Davis Selected Advisers, headquartered in New York, will purchase $1.2 billion of Merrill Lynch’s common stock for long-term investment.

At the same time, Merrill Lynch also stated that after holding 9.9% of the group’s shares, Caesar Fund will be allowed to send a representative to their board of directors and have one vote in the board’s voting.

After this investment, Merrill Lynch’s stock price had a slight increase.

And the equity of their original shareholders will be diluted by about 13% by these newly issued common shares.

Chapter 580: A Corny Family Feud

Sunlight streamed down, the setting sun like blood.

A field of lavender flowers, bathed in the light of the setting sun, appeared even more beautiful.

The fragrance of the flowers was delicate and refreshing.

The air was filled with the scent of lavender, making people feel relaxed.

In the flower field, some bees and butterflies danced among the flowers, adding a touch of vitality.

At the edge of the flower field, a magnificent castle, set against the backdrop of the setting sun, looked peaceful, serene, and dignified.

This was the Blairstown Lavender Farm, the largest lavender farm in the Southern Hemisphere, previously purchased by Grace Tourism Group on Tasmania Island in Australia.

But now it had a new name: Grace Lavender Manor.

The year was 2008. By this time, the castle on the estate had been completed and fully furnished.

After returning to Australia from India, Barron brought his wife and family to the island and stayed in the castle for the first time.

In January, the lavender in the manor was in full bloom, and from within the castle, one could smell the faint fragrance of the flowers, which was refreshing.

It could be said that being in this manor made it easy to forget the various events happening in other parts of the world and simply enjoy the peaceful life here.

Of course, this was a rare treat for Barron.

Even when he was on vacation with his family, many matters concerning his businesses still needed to be handled by the family office, which was managed by Laura. Many of these matters required Barron’s final decision.

“Your Grace, we have made an offer for Nestlé’s shares in L’Oréal, but they have temporarily rejected our offer…”

“Why?”

“Because according to the agreement signed between Nestlé and L’Oréal in 2004, Nestlé’s sale of L’Oréal shares is restricted until 2014…”

The reason Barron wanted to acquire shares in the L’Oréal Group was that he was interested in the group’s market share in the cosmetics sector. Although the Gucci-Hermès Group also had some makeup businesses, their scale and profitability were incomparable to those of the L’Oréal Group.

However, the L’Oréal Group had always been under the control of the Bettencourt family. It would probably be impossible to buy L’Oréal Group shares from them. Currently, the L’Oréal Group shares controlled by the Bettencourt family were held by Liliane Bettencourt, the daughter of the group’s founder, Eugène Schueller. She was also the richest woman in France and the richest woman in the world.

Therefore, the only way to acquire the L’Oréal Group was to start with the group’s second-largest shareholder, Nestlé.

Everyone knows Nestlé is a food manufacturer.

The company was founded in 1867 by Henri Nestlé and is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland. It is the world’s largest food manufacturer.

Currently, Nestlé has more than 500 factories and 250,000 employees worldwide. In 2005, Nestlé’s annual sales reached 91 billion Swiss francs, and net profit also reached a record high of 8 billion Swiss francs.

But why would such a company be the second-largest shareholder of the L’Oréal Group?

There’s a story behind it…

The L’Oréal Group was founded in 1907 by Eugène Schueller.

However, after Eugène Schueller’s death, L’Oréal encountered a wave of nationalization of French enterprises.

In 1972, the French Communist Party and the Republican Party passed a joint government platform, preparing to nationalize most enterprises in order to “break the rule of big capitalists.”

To avoid the fate of the company being nationalized, Dal, the president of L’Oréal appointed by Schueller before his death, persuaded Schueller’s daughter, Liliane Bettencourt (who was also a famous figure in French politics and the wife of André Bettencourt, who had served as a government minister for many years), and other major shareholders to reorganize the company in 1973.

The following year, in 1974, Liliane Bettencourt exchanged half of her L’Oréal shares for 3% of the shares of a non-French enterprise, the Swiss food giant Nestlé.

After that, the Bettencourt family and Nestlé carried out a number of capital operations on the L’Oréal Group, with the Bettencourt family and Nestlé holding 31.0% and 29.6% of L’Oréal shares, respectively.

Such capital operations not only ensured the independence of L’Oréal, but also established closer ties between the two companies, which were increasingly becoming the strongest companies in their respective fields through cross-shareholding.

For example, in 2003, the L’Oréal Group and Nestlé formed a joint venture company, “INNEOV Laboratory.” The products of this company are the well-known oral beauty brand “Innéov.”

However, Liliane Bettencourt was born in 1922. By 2004, the elderly Liliane Bettencourt, in order to prevent the transfer of control of L’Oréal, signed a 10-year agreement with Nestlé.

This agreement stipulated that neither party could increase its L’Oréal shares while Liliane Bettencourt was alive and within six months of her death. After April 29, 2009, both parties could sell L’Oréal shares, with the other party having the right of first refusal.

Therefore, it would be necessary to wait until the agreement expired on April 29, 2014, before both parties had the right to freely sell L’Oréal shares.

The reason Barron was preparing to take action against the L’Oréal Group at this time was that the Bettencourt family had already begun to crack from within.

Just last month, the Bettencourt family mother and daughter, Liliane Bettencourt and her daughter Françoise Bettencourt, were involved in a lawsuit.

Françoise Bettencourt accused her mother of giving away $1 billion worth of wealth, saying that she was “senile” and mentally unstable.

Liliane Bettencourt refused to accept a mental illness assessment and believed that she had the right to dispose of her own wealth…

It can be said that the inside story of this story is very corny.

First of all, Liliane Bettencourt and her husband had a very happy marriage. Among the world’s five richest women selected by Forbes, she was the only one who had not divorced.

Their marriage lasted for 52 years, until last year, 2007, when Bettencourt passed away.

The Bettencourt family is a political family in France, with many family members serving as members of parliament, mayors, and other positions.

Interestingly, Bettencourt participated in a radical pro-Nazi organization when he was young, often held gatherings, and wrote articles in newspapers promoting Nazi ideas.

Eugène Schueller, the founder of L’Oréal and Liliane Bettencourt’s father, provided funding and meeting places for the organization as his son-in-law - right in L’Oréal’s headquarters.

Bettencourt once publicly called Jews “hypocritical Pharisees” in the media.

As late as 2001, a German woman sued Schueller, accusing him of buying a house that he knew had been plundered from Jews by the Nazis - the later L’Oréal German headquarters.

Bettencourt himself has been active in French politics, serving as Minister of Posts and Telecommunications, Minister of Industry, Minister of Culture, and Minister of Foreign Affairs.

Their daughter, Françoise Bettencourt, although the legal third-generation heir to the L’Oréal Group, is not active in the business world, but is more interested in religious studies. After studying Judaism for more than ten years, she simply married Meyer, a Jew.

It is worth mentioning that Meyer’s parents both died in Auschwitz…

In addition, the “close friend” who received up to $1 billion in wealth from her mother, as accused by her daughter Françoise, is 61-year-old photographer Banier.

He is an old friend of the Bettencourt couple. This friendship began in 1987, when Banier asked Liliane, then 65, to appear in his photography and appear on the cover of a magazine. Since then, he has frequently visited the Bettencourt couple’s mansion in Paris and become a close friend.

According to media reports, Liliane once hired a plane to fly from the Seychelles to France just to retrieve Banier’s paintbrushes.

Liliane’s gifts to Banier began as soon as they met. Her husband, André, never objected to this while he was alive.

After André Bettencourt passed away in 2007, Liliane and Banier became even closer, which made her daughter dissatisfied and directly sued both parties in court.

Uh, it is worth mentioning that Banier and Liliane Bettencourt may not be the kind of “close friends” you think, because Banier has already publicly “come out of the closet”…

Chapter 581: Equity Swap

Speaking of which, Barnier did have his own unique qualities—after all, no matter who it was, or what methods they used, being able to obtain a gift of up to $1 billion from a super-rich person required some special abilities.

And Barnier could be described as a master of social circles, always able to easily win the favor of important figures.

It is said that on his long list of friends were French President Mitterrand, Françoise Sagan, the author of Bonjour Tristesse, Dalí, Samuel Beckett, the author of Waiting for Godot, and Princess of Monaco, among others…

Johnny Depp, who starred in Pirates of the Caribbean, was known in the media for being difficult, but he praised Barnier, saying, “The photos he takes are the most honest photos of me, unposed and unguarded.”

Johnny Depp even asked Barnier to be the godfather of his beloved daughter, and his wife even allowed Barnier to photograph her breastfeeding their daughter…

In addition to this, Barnier was also a “companion” to many French socialite women.

Among them were famous female artists who promoted him, and the most famous female art patron of the 20th century.

In the salon culture prevalent in France, almost all the famous salon hostesses knew Barnier—Liliane Bettencourt was one of them.

From the moment she met Barnier, Liliane generously gave him many things: Picasso paintings hanging on the walls of her living room, a privately owned tropical island, a huge insurance policy with Barnier as the beneficiary, and properties all over the world.

Finally, Liliane even said that apart from the L’Oréal and Nestlé shares that had already been promised to her only daughter, everything else could be left to Barnier.

This also shows that Liliane had a great deal of affection for Barnier.

Although this scandal was a problem for the Bettencourt family, for Barron, it was a good opportunity for the Gucci-Hermès Group to take control of the L’Oréal Group.

You need to know that in the agreement previously signed between the L’Oréal Group and the Nestlé Group, the Nestlé Group could not freely sell its shares in the L’Oréal Group before 2014—because during this period, if either the Bettencourt family or the Nestlé Group sold their shares in the L’Oréal Group, the other party had the right of first refusal.

Therefore, if the Gucci-Hermès Group wanted to acquire the L’Oréal Group shares owned by the Nestlé Group before then, the Bettencourt family would have the right of first refusal and could buy the Nestlé Group’s L’Oréal shares first—unless the other party gave up this right.

For Liliane Bettencourt, although her mental state seemed worrying, the fact that she was able to reach such an agreement with the Nestlé Group as early as 2004 also showed that it was almost impossible to buy the L’Oréal Group’s shares from her.

But Liliane’s daughter, Françoise Bettencourt, was different, because it was clear that her main focus was not on the L’Oréal Group—in fact, since Liliane’s father passed away, the operation of the L’Oréal Group had mainly been the responsibility of its management, and the Bettencourt family only held the largest shareholding to ensure the family’s ownership of L’Oréal.

But compared to Liliane, Françoise was more likely to be willing to compromise on this matter.

Considering that, Barron remembered that in his previous life, from this time onwards, Françoise, on the grounds that her mother’s mental health was poor and susceptible to undue influence, asked the court for guardianship of Liliane Bettencourt, and successfully obtained it in 2011—which meant that from that time onwards, Françoise controlled the decision-making power over the L’Oréal Group shares held by the Bettencourt family.

Then, after that, given Françoise’s lack of interest in business, the Gucci-Hermès Group still had a great chance of gaining control of the L’Oréal Group.

But it seemed that it would not be possible until after 2011 at the earliest…

“We can lock in the shares held by the Nestlé Group in advance through an equity swap, provided that we can persuade the Nestlé Group to agree…”

In a telephone call, Ashley Weber, the head of William-Weber Capital, said to Barron.

The last acquisition of the Hermès Group was carried out through Ashley, and she was very familiar with some of the methods in this regard.

An equity swap is, in fact, what the LVMH Group used to acquire Hermès in the original timeline.

At that time, the LVMH Group signed equity swap contracts for the Hermès Group with three investment banks.

The content was that if the price of Hermès Group’s stock reached a certain level when the date stipulated in the contract arrived, then the LVMH Group could buy the stocks from these investment banks; if it did not reach that price, it would not buy them, but would have to pay a certain fee.

However, the main reason why the LVMH Group used this method to acquire Hermès Group’s stock at that time was to avoid alarming the other party and to avoid the rule that if it held more than 5% of Hermès Group’s shares, it would have to make a public offer.

Therefore, later, the Hermès Group filed a lawsuit with the Paris Prosecutor’s Office because of the LVMH Group’s method of acquiring shares, accusing LVMH of increasing its stake in Hermès by 12% through unconventional means such as “insider trading,” “collusion,” and “stock price manipulation,” and demanded that LVMH sell off the shares it had already acquired.

And now Barron and his team can use the equity swap agreement to lock in the L’Oréal Group shares held by the Nestlé Group in advance—they can sign an agreement with the Nestlé Group to have the right to acquire the L’Oréal Group shares held by the Nestlé Group at a specified price after a certain period of time.

In this way, if Barron manages to deal with the Bettencourt family, or directly waits until after 2014, he will be able to exercise this right and directly purchase the L’Oréal Group shares held by the Nestlé Group.

Of course, he also has the right to go back on his word and can choose not to buy at that time, but he needs to pay a certain fee to the Nestlé Group.

To put it bluntly, this is also a kind of bet.

The problem now is, how can they get the Nestlé Group to agree to sign such an agreement with them?

Moreover, even if the other party is willing to reach this agreement, the purchase price and term in the agreement will inevitably need to be negotiated.

“Okay, you can contact the Nestlé Group and see what their attitude is.”

The subprime mortgage crisis that is about to break out on a large scale has given Barron a good opportunity, and he decided to talk to the other party and give it a try.

“Your Grace, this is a list of the personnel in the office who are more familiar with the business. You can choose from it…”

After Barron finished his call with Ashley Weber, his personal assistant, Laura, handed him a folder and said to him.

Chapter 582: New Assistant Candidate

Baron took the list and flipped through it. The people on these lists had all undertaken some work in Baron’s family office, and their work abilities were relatively recognized by Laura.

His purpose in doing this was to select someone who could temporarily replace Laura’s work, that is, his personal assistant candidate—because Laura had just found out she was pregnant, and as Baron’s personal assistant, she needed to be by his side at all times, so she definitely wouldn’t be able to continue in this position later.

Yes, Laura was pregnant with Baron’s child. For the sake of the child, Baron wouldn’t let her continue as his personal assistant, because the job was very energy-consuming.

Just imagine how many industries Baron has, and all kinds of information from these industries that need to be reported to Baron need to be screened and summarized through the family office led by his personal assistant. You can know how mentally exhausting this work is.

Moreover, Baron’s industries are spread all over the world. It can be said that there are industries in every time zone. Therefore, many times, as his personal assistant, she even needs to help deal with some less important message replies and provide timely feedback to Baron while he is resting.

So, at least until Laura gives birth to her child and can return to work, a temporary replacement is needed—in fact, the possibility of her returning to Baron’s personal assistant position afterward is not very high. After all, with a child, and their child at that, Laura will definitely need to devote some time to taking care of the child.

At that time, he will also arrange a more suitable job position for Laura.

And now this replacement candidate is very important and needs to be carefully selected.

“What’s the deal with this girl named Ning Chang?”

When Baron saw the last piece of information, he couldn’t help but ask about this 25-year-old girl named Ning Chang.

“Actually, some of her conditions are not suitable for this job. Ning Chang’s Chinese name is Zhang Junning. She was born in Germany and currently lives with her family in Chinese Taiwan. She is not a formal member of the family office, but was previously responsible for our contact with Honor Electronics. And before that, she was a somewhat famous celebrity, but through contact with her, I think she is very capable and proficient in Chinese, English, and German. And after asking about her intentions, she is also quite interested in this position, so…”

Laura hesitated for a moment and said:

“If you don’t think it’s appropriate, then I’ll just reject her.”

The reason for asking this question was that Baron recognized this Taiwanese actress when he saw Zhang Junning’s information and her photos—in his previous life, apart from some well-known celebrities, he didn’t know too much about the female stars in the entertainment industry.

However, he could still recognize Zhang Junning, because for a while he liked to watch Bear Grylls’s wilderness survival show, and Zhang Junning participated in a show recorded by Bear Grylls in China and performed very well in it, which was impressive.

In addition, Zhang Junning is also a rare true academic in the entertainment industry. Unlike many so-called “academics” whose schools sound impressive but actually study drama performance, literature, or philosophy, Zhang Junning graduated from the Department of Law of National Taipei University in 2004.

Moreover, according to the information, she has already been admitted to the Master’s Program in Law at the Graduate Institute of Industrial Economics of National Central University—at that time, she entered the Master’s Program in Law at the Graduate Institute of Industrial Economics of National Central University as the third-ranked candidate on the admission list. It’s just that she had been scouted to film TV dramas before, and suspended her studies for two years. Now she is resuming her studies while working part-time for Honor Electronics.

Baron remembered reading a report in his previous life that she later submitted a graduation thesis of more than 110,000 words and successfully obtained a master’s degree in law from the Graduate Institute of Industrial Economics of National Central University with a high score of 90.5 in the final oral examination.

“Has a background check been done on her?”

“All the people on this list, except for Zhang Junning, have undergone strict background checks before entering the family office. Recently, including Zhang Junning, we have conducted background checks on them again…”

Laura said solemnly:

“Everyone has passed the investigation, and no suspicious points have been found. As for Zhang Junning, her parents both studied in Germany. Her father is a well-known professor in Taiwan, and her mother is a writer and university lecturer. It can be said that her background is very clean, and there is no information that would be detrimental to us. The only thing to consider is that Zhang Junning has had an acting experience. If she accepts this job, I’m afraid she won’t appear in public for a considerable period of time…”

What Laura said was also what Baron was worried about, that is, after being in the entertainment industry, a place of fame and fortune, he didn’t know if Zhang Junning would be willing to be Baron’s personal assistant in such a low-key manner.

Although in his impression, Zhang Junning’s personality is relatively willing to be ordinary, the so-called personality of the stars he saw in his previous life often had a lot of “persona” components and could not be used as the basis for his judgment now.

“Tell her about the pros and cons of this. If she is still willing to accept this job, then let her come here to see me.”

“Yes, Your Grace.”

…

“Your Grace, I was just kidnapped…”

“I know, Feron.”

From the phone, Baron could still feel the panic in Feron O’Neill’s voice. He said calmly:

“I’ve already rescued you, haven’t I? Don’t worry, I will warn all parties and replace you with the most stringent security. Nothing will happen to you again.”

“But Your Grace… shouldn’t we call the police?”

“Call the police?”

Hearing Feron O’Neill’s words, Baron chuckled:

“Do you think that’s useful? Believe me, other than getting this on the newspapers, those New York cops won’t do anything.”

“But…”

“Feron, if you’re scared now, then you can quit. I can guarantee your safety, but think about the rewards after it’s over. You should know that number by now. For my own money, I will give you the most stringent protection. So now, what are you going to choose?”

Feron O’Neill currently manages the Black Swan Fund on behalf of Baron. It can be said that he exists entirely as his “white glove” in America, and Baron promised him at the beginning that he would give him a small portion of the profits earned by the Black Swan Fund as a personal bonus—proportionally speaking, it is indeed a “small portion,” but based on the profits of the Black Swan Fund so far and the subsequent expectations, that nine-figure bonus is completely enough for Feron O’Neill to cross several levels!

And after that, he will also be able to enter the core of Baron’s business empire. For him, this may be even more valuable than that nine-figure bonus.

“I will persevere, Your Grace.”

Thinking of this, Feron O’Neill took a deep breath and said firmly.

“Very good, Feron. You should understand that not giving in was the key to your successful rescue. All you need is to persevere like this for a while longer.”

Chapter 583: Starting the Job

Sure enough, the security around Phelan was quickly strengthened, but even so, he still moved – moving out of the hotel he had been staying in and directly renting a high-end apartment on top of the Black Swan Fund building.

This way, he wouldn’t have to take a car back and forth every day, and he could simply go upstairs to rest under the protection of his bodyguards.

Even so, he still spent most of his time in the Black Swan Fund’s office, only going upstairs to rest under strict protection when it was time to sleep. He had already decided that it would only be a little over a year at most. For the dividends that would allow him to climb the social ladder, and for his future prospects, he could completely endure this almost prison-like life for a little over a year.

This was not surprising, after all, before this, Phelan O’Neill was just a financial practitioner. Where would he have encountered a kidnapping, something that only happens in movies and TV shows?

It was like before, when he just wanted to go to a club after work to find a fling and relax, he was violently taken away… This was New York, was there no law and order?

In addition, he was somewhat fortunate that, although he was afraid at the time, he remained rational. Although he suspected that it might be the Wall Street capital that had been fleeced by the Black Swan Fund who were behind it, he gritted his teeth and did not say the Duke’s name when they asked him who was behind him. To be fair, that burly man with a face full of橫肉 (fleshiness/roughness) was really terrifying.

Fortunately, he was soon released, and although he suffered a great psychological shock, at least Phelan O’Neill did not suffer any physical harm.

Without thinking, it must have been the great Duke who took action to protect his safety…

He was very fortunate that he had not revealed anything at the time, otherwise, if the Duke found out, he would definitely no longer care about his safety, and he would be of no use to the people who kidnapped him… The consequences were unimaginable.

…

“Keep an eye on Mr. O’Neill, Mikhail…”

Baron said into the phone:

“Although this time it was just a ‘drill,’ I don’t want it to really happen. Don’t think that the Wall Street crowd are all benevolent people; if they get desperate, they can even take down their own president.”

“Don’t worry, Your Grace, I’ll keep an eye on him.”

Yes, this “kidnapping” of Phelan O’Neill was directed by Mikhail. The purpose, in addition to testing whether the other party’s mouth was tight enough, was also to warn Phelan – after all, his “nightlife” had indeed been a little too rich recently.

Moreover, Phelan O’Neill was still very important in Baron’s layout for the subprime mortgage crisis, and it was necessary to ensure that he was a qualified “front man.”

As for whether Phelan himself would suspect that it was his side who did it…

He is a smart man, even if he has such an idea, he will make himself throw it away.

Laura’s actions were also very fast. Two days later, Baron met Zhang Junning, who had come to Melbourne, at his villa.

“Ms. Zhang, first of all, I want to know, you have previously starred in some film and television dramas as an actress, and even some works by well-known directors. Why would you be willing to give up the opportunity to be a star and apply for the position of my personal assistant?”

After Baron asked this question, Zhang Junning didn’t seem surprised. She said calmly:

“Indeed, if I continue to be an actress, I also have good opportunities. My parents and I talked about it many times. They told me that they wanted me to make my own choice, whether to continue on the path of an actress, or to temporarily shift the focus back to my studies…”

In fact, the opportunities for many stars to enter the entertainment industry are somewhat unexpected. For example, the Chinese goddess Brigitte Lin was spotted by a talent scout on the street and entered the entertainment industry. Zhang Junning was also somewhat similar, but more tortuous…

It was when Zhang Junning was a sophomore in college. One day, while shopping in Ximending, she kindly accepted an invitation from a work-study student to help with a questionnaire.

After Zhang Junning filled out the information at the time, she only asked the other party not to follow up with phone calls afterward, because she really wasn’t interested in buying anything.

Unexpectedly, this work-study student became an assistant to an artist agent a few months later. When the company needed to develop new talent, he remembered Zhang Junning, found the questionnaire, and invited her to join the company. Zhang Junning embarked on her acting career.

Initially, she only shot commercials and MTVs and made cameo appearances in some film and television dramas. It was not until 2005 that she became the heroine of the TV series “The Hospital,” which became popular after it aired in 2006 and gained her fame.

Just as Zhang Junning said, after subsequently starring in some movies, she finally, after encouragement from her parents and careful consideration, prepared to resume her studies, began to fade out of the entertainment industry, and obtained a part-time position in Glory Electronics, which was renamed after Caesar Fund acquired HTC, responsible for liaising with Baron’s family office, and thus entered Laura’s sight.

“After a period of returning to my studies, I also found something I like more. Frankly speaking, after getting this opportunity, I also considered it carefully. After all, if I accept this position, it means that I need to devote almost all my energy to it for a period of time, and I also need to adapt to a new identity. But I think this is a rare opportunity for me, and also a major challenge. I hope I can try it.”

Zhang Junning’s tone of voice was very gentle, but you could feel from her words that she was a girl who had her own opinions and was strong inside.

Speaking of which, Baron still admired her, mainly because in his previous life, in that wilderness survival program that Bear Grylls recorded in China, Zhang Junning’s performance was even better than many male stars.

Of course, if she took the position of Baron’s personal assistant, then she would definitely need to sign a series of confidentiality agreements, and the work tasks would also be very heavy. He believed that Zhang Junning had already given these things careful consideration.

So, after this conversation, Baron confirmed that Zhang Junning would start her job immediately and begin working as Baron’s personal assistant.

For the first month or so, Zhang Junning would be led by Laura to help her get familiar with the work as soon as possible.

After that, she would begin to fully take over and report directly to Baron.

At that time, Laura would also step down from her position as personal assistant, and she would go to London to await childbirth.

During this process, she would still help Baron manage some affairs of the family office located in London.

Chapter 584: British Energy Group

By the end of January, Merrill Lynch sought another round of investment.

According to an announcement released by Merrill Lynch, in order to alleviate the “anemia” caused by huge losses related to subprime mortgages, they planned to issue $6.6 billion worth of preferred stock to a group of investors. This included three well-capitalized Asian investors: the Korea Investment Corporation (KIC), the Kuwait Investment Authority, and Mizuho Corporate Bank, a subsidiary of Japan’s Mizuho Financial Group.

Prior to this, Merrill Lynch had announced that it had written down $8.4 billion in losses related to mortgage lending in the third quarter, and it was expected to write down a similar amount in the fourth quarter.

At the end of last year, DS Group’s Caesar Fund invested $5 billion in Merrill Lynch, acquiring 9.9% of its shares.

In addition, with the $1.2 billion investment from Davis Selected Advisers, Merrill Lynch received a total of $6.2 billion in investment that time—they also sold most of their commercial finance business to British Automotive Group for $1.2 billion.

After only one month, Merrill Lynch needed another $6.6 billion, which showed how severe the losses they suffered in the subprime crisis were.

According to a report in the Wall Street Journal, Merrill Lynch’s new Chairman and CEO, John Thain, said that one of his main tasks in the past few weeks has been to ensure Merrill Lynch’s strong financial position, and this transaction will ensure that Merrill Lynch has ample capital.

These Merrill Lynch shares will be mainly sold to the Korea Investment Corporation, the Kuwait Investment Authority, and Mizuho Corporate Bank, a subsidiary of Japan’s Mizuho Financial Group—the first two being government-controlled investment funds.

The issue price of these shares was $52.40 per share, equivalent to the average closing price of Merrill Lynch shares in the three days before last Friday, with a dividend of 9% per year.

A month ago, when Caesar Fund invested in Merrill Lynch, the corresponding issue price of new Merrill Lynch shares was still $48. Now it has risen to $52.4, which didn’t make them feel too much like they were “taken for a ride”…

It is worth mentioning that among the major banks in Japan, Mizuho suffered the most losses in the previous subprime crisis.

Even so, the company’s losses from investing in high-risk mortgage-backed securities in the six months ended last September were only $630 million, which was much less than some Western banks that lost billions of dollars at every turn—however, Mizuho also said that losses could increase.

Mizuho Corporate Bank, a subsidiary of Mizuho Financial Group, is the second-largest commercial bank in Japan by market capitalization, second only to Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group.

Uh, they are also on the short-selling list of Tianhe Capital’s IE Fund and Rich23 Fund…

In addition, South Korea established KIC (Korea Investment Corporation) in mid-2005 to use a portion of the South Korean central bank’s excess reserve funds for more proactive investment projects that the central bank is not allowed to engage in.

As of the end of 2007, the company managed assets of $20 billion, of which $14.8 billion had been used for investment.

Two months ago, the South Korean government allowed KIC to invest in emerging markets and announced that it would allocate $10 billion from a foreign exchange stabilization fund to the institution for management in early 2008.

As for the Kuwait Investment Authority, it is Barron’s “old friend.” Among the many investment funds controlled by Middle Eastern governments, KIA (Kuwait Investment Authority) is the oldest and most experienced. They manage assets of over $200 billion. At the same time, KIA has been investing in Western companies for decades, but before that, they adjusted their investment strategy and began to get involved in other investments and private equity transactions.

This also includes investments in various funds under DS Group.

…

In early February, Barron and his party returned to London. At this time, a personal assistant, Zhang Junning, was added to the entourage.

It must be said that returning to London, which was still in winter, from warm Australia did require some adjustment. On the way home, they could still see scenes of snow, as if they had traveled from summer to winter in an instant.

As soon as Barron returned to London, he met with Brown.

“The sale of British Energy requires more comprehensive consideration, Your Grace. After all, Électricité de France and Centrica each have their own advantages…”

Hearing the Prime Minister’s words, Barron didn’t react much, but said lightly:

“We already hold 8% of British Energy’s shares, making us one of the company’s major shareholders. Furthermore, after the acquisition by United Energy Group, the use of clean energy can be promoted, coal-fired power plants will be shut down, and the number of natural gas power plants will be increased. Prime Minister, I need your support in this regard, and I don’t think it’s a good idea to hand over all our nuclear power plants to the French.”

Yes, the main purpose of his return this time was to help United Energy Group win the bidding for British Energy, thereby increasing the power generation business of United Energy Group.

British Energy is the largest nuclear power company in England, with eight nuclear power stations and one thermal power station. The British government holds 35% of British Energy’s shares, making it the company’s largest shareholder. Therefore, the government’s intention is still very important for this acquisition of British Energy by United Energy Group.

Prior to this, the British government had set the deadline for the sale of British Energy shares at the end of May, so before that, United Energy Group needed to do its best to obtain government support.

At this time, United Energy Group had already bought 8% of British Energy’s shares from British Invesco Perpetual, a major shareholder of British Energy.

Their main competitors in this acquisition include Électricité de France and Centrica.

Among them, Électricité de France has the highest enthusiasm—currently, the world’s most advanced third-generation nuclear power technology includes the AP1000 of the American Westinghouse consortium and the ERP technology of the French Areva. The competition between these two technology routes is relatively fierce.

Électricité de France owns Areva’s ERP technology. Taking over British Energy will enable their Areva ERP technology to gain a larger market.

The French government currently holds more than 80% of Électricité de France’s shares—they hope to use these power stations under British Energy as their bridgehead, so as to build four new nuclear power stations in England by using the technology of the French Areva Group.

For England, not only can the disposal of their holdings in British Energy bring billions of pounds in revenue, but also the situation of energy shortage in England is becoming more and more obvious, and they also hope to alleviate it by building new nuclear power stations.

“We don’t necessarily have to use French technology, Prime Minister. I can also cooperate with the Westinghouse consortium to build the best third-generation nuclear power stations in England with the best technology.”

Behind the Westinghouse consortium is American capital. Of course, Barron didn’t really want to cooperate with them. Saying this was just a means.

Électricité de France already owned a significant share of the British power grid business before this—they already occupy more than 30% of the British power network, which is also an area that United Energy Group hopes to enter.

It is worth mentioning that the national grid business that Li Ka-shing bought in England in the future was bought from Électricité de France.

Chapter 585: Long Time No See

In fact, the British government’s sale of its 35% stake in British Energy Group was also a matter of necessity.

Currently, nuclear power accounts for about 20% of the total electricity consumption in Britain, but most of the nuclear power plants will be decommissioned before 2030. Therefore, new nuclear power plants need to be built to replace those decommissioned ones before then, which requires huge expenditures—estimated to be over 30 billion US dollars in total!

The British government has also consistently had energy conservation and emission reduction plans. While gradually reducing the number of thermal power plants within its borders, their energy demand gap must also be filled by nuclear power plants.

Therefore, if they continue to hold a large portion of the shares in British Energy Group, they may need to start considering the subsequent nuclear power plant replacement plan and prepare a financial budget for it now.

After all, nuclear power plants cannot be built in a short period. Don’t think that 2030 is still more than twenty years away, but it needs to be known that these nuclear power plants are being decommissioned successively. Therefore, in three to five years, planning for new nuclear power plants will be required.

One of the issues involved is the location of the nuclear power plants…

Because nuclear power plants require a lot of cooling, it can be found that almost all nuclear power plants are built by the sea.

Of course, Britain is an island nation, so it is not short of coastal locations—but the voices of the surrounding people also need to be considered, especially under a system like that of Europe and America. For large-scale projects like the construction of nuclear power plants, it is not uncommon to spend ten or twenty years just discussing them.

In addition, although Britain built nuclear power plants very early, their current technology is no longer considered advanced. Thus, in terms of the technology used in the new nuclear power plants, there are currently only two options: the AP1000 of the American Westinghouse consortium and the ERP technology of the French Areva Group.

In this way, not only can the sale of British Energy Group’s shares generate considerable revenue, but selling it to some large and powerful groups is also conducive to the promotion of future projects. Therefore, the British government conducted this tender for the sale of British Energy Group.

The French Electric Power Group is very active in this regard. Because as the French Electric Power Group, which is more than 80% controlled by the French government, can acquire British Energy Group, on the one hand, to expand their market share in the British electricity industry, and most importantly, to expand the market for French Areva Group’s ERP nuclear power technology.

But as Barron said, the British government, if it has a choice, does not want all of its nuclear power to be controlled by French companies. Therefore, they still hold a welcoming and encouraging attitude towards the participation of United Energy Group.

Similarly, during this meeting, Brown also revealed to Barron that, according to the British government’s opinion, even if the French Electric Power Group eventually completes the acquisition of British Energy Group, they will require the other party to hand over at least two nuclear power plants to British companies for operation.

However, at present, there are also two British domestic companies, including United Energy Group, participating in the competition for British Energy Group—the other one is Centrica Group, which they mentioned earlier. This company is the largest natural gas supplier in Britain and one of the largest public utility service companies in the world.

This company is the product of the restructuring of the former British Gas Corporation in 1997. Before 1986, it was a state-owned monopoly enterprise. At the beginning of the restructuring, it mainly supplied gas to civil, industrial, and chemical customers. However, developing to the present, Centrica Group, in addition to its inherent natural gas business, also involves electricity, finance, and telecommunications services.

Currently, the stock price of British Energy Group is around 5.65 pounds per share, with a market value of around 9.05 billion pounds.

Next, including French Electric Power, United Energy Group, and Centrica Group will submit quotations for British Energy Group before the end of May, and the board of directors of British Energy Group will ultimately choose which party’s acquisition offer to accept.

The decision to acquire British Energy Group is also a move by United Energy Group to enter the British electricity market.

Prior to this, United Energy Group already had a certain scale of electricity business—the previous Unocal company owned some power plants in Southeast Asia, including Thailand, Indonesia, and Malaysia. After acquiring Unocal, United Energy Group acquired a local power company, thereby forming their electricity business unit.

However, currently, their related businesses are only conducted in some countries in Southeast Asia. Now, United Energy Group also hopes to acquire British Energy Group, so as to have its power generation and grid business in Britain, which will be a stable and profitable public service project.

…

The band played light music, people in the hall talked in low voices, and from time to time, ladies and young girls accepted invitations and went to the dance floor with their partners.

This was a reception held by the Duke of Westminster. He specifically sent an invitation to Barron, so he came here tonight, also as a form of relaxation.

“I heard that your wife is pregnant again, congratulations, Barron.”

“Thank you, William. I also need to congratulate you. It’s really gratifying that you and Catherine were able to get back together.”

Prince William also came to this reception, and also brought Catherine with him.

They had already spread the news of their reunion at the end of last year, and began to publicly participate in some activities together.

At that time, Barron and his family were in America, so this was the first time Barron had met them since they got back together.

Today, Catherine was wearing a nude-colored tulle dress, looking extraordinarily beautiful.

She just smiled at this time, without speaking. Instead, William said to Barron in a joyful tone:

“Yes, we had a little problem before, but it’s all resolved now. I’m sure she’s the one I want to walk with.”

“Then I’m really happy for you, and Catherine, you look very beautiful today. It’s just a pity that Bonnie is not suitable to go out recently… At this time, she needs extra attention, and the winter in London is a bit too cold.”

Catherine nodded very elegantly:

“That’s how it should be, Your Grace. I hope to be able to visit her if I have the opportunity. We had a very pleasant chat before.”

“That’s great, I believe she will be very happy.”

…

This kind of occasion originally had a strong social attribute. With Barron’s status, naturally there were too many people who took the initiative to come and talk to him.

After dealing with some people, Barron walked to the second-floor balcony, preparing to stay by himself for a while to get a moment of leisure.

However, just as his gaze was about to look downstairs, his peripheral vision caught a familiar figure walking into the second-floor restroom—it seemed that there were too many people on the first floor.

Continuing to look downstairs, Barron found that William was chatting with several nobles with great interest.

“Ah… um, why is it you, Barron.”

When Catherine had just walked out of the restroom, she was pulled back in by Barron again.

Just as she screamed, her mouth was covered by the other party, but when she saw clearly that this person was Barron, she couldn’t help but lower her voice and asked nervously.

Barron closed the door smoothly and locked it.

“Long time no see, Catherine…”

He pinned Catherine against the wall, leaned close to her ear, and said softly:

“I’ve missed you very much during this time, especially missing that time…”

“Are you crazy, Barron? What if someone finds out…”

Obviously, Catherine was really worried about this. Her voice was as low as possible.

“So it’s best to be quick, darling.”

“You, don’t do this, Barron…”

Just as she was speaking, Barron had already pressed her shoulders and knelt her on the carpet…

“Mmm…”

Chapter 586: Fierce Competition

In early February, Apple officially launched its latest mobile phone, the iPhone 3G. As the name suggests, this phone began to support 3G networks.

The iPhone 3G featured a 3.5-inch LCD screen and came in black and white. The back was made of plastic. However, unlike Honor Electronics’ Mate 1S, the iPhone 3G still only had a 2-megapixel rear camera and no front-facing camera.

In fact, in Barron’s previous life, the iPhone 3G was launched in June of this year. But after Honor Electronics launched the 3G-enabled smartphone Mate 1S before Christmas last year, Apple became somewhat restless. Because it supported 3G networks and had a very high cost performance, the Mate 1S had already sold over 2 million units just a month and a half after its release!

You know, the entire Mate 1 series and the iPhone 1 sales didn’t even exceed 2 million units. The Mate 1S reached this number in just a month and a half.

This made Apple realize that the Mate 1S seemed to have captured the needs of many consumers in some aspects.

Therefore, under the personal supervision of Steve Jobs, Apple accelerated its research and development speed and released the iPhone 3G in early February ahead of schedule.

Not only Apple’s iPhone, but also brands such as Samsung, LG, and Motorola announced that they would release their Android-powered smartphones successively after April this year.

Obviously, after seeing Honor Electronics’ great success in the smartphone market, these brands were eager to join the competition.

Honor Electronics also did not relax at all. They planned to launch the new Mate 2 phone in June to consolidate their current leading position.

At the same time, Honor Electronics announced that they had purchased the remaining shares of TSMC held by Philips, increasing Honor Electronics’ shareholding in TSMC from 10% to 18.7%, surpassing the Taiwan Development Fund to become TSMC’s largest shareholder.

In addition, Honor Electronics also announced an investment in MediaTek, holding 15% of its shares and becoming the company’s second-largest shareholder.

Furthermore, Honor Electronics will cooperate with MediaTek to launch a smart phone chip integration platform based on the Android system. This platform will first be used in the mobile phone products of Dopod, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Honor Electronics.

…

Also in February, on the 12th, to avoid a mortgage default triggering more serious social and economic problems, the American government and the six major mortgage lenders proposed a “lifeline plan” to help homeowners who were about to lose their homes due to their inability to repay their mortgages.

According to the plan disclosed by American Treasury Secretary Paulson that day, homeowners who were more than 90 days overdue on their mortgage payments could contact the mortgage lender. If the homeowner met certain conditions, they would have the opportunity to obtain a 30-day buffer period, during which the auction of their house could be temporarily suspended, and the mortgage lender would formulate a more affordable repayment plan for the homeowners.

The “lifeline plan” covered all types of home loans. The six mortgage companies participating in the plan, including Bank of America, Citigroup, and JPMorgan Chase, accounted for nearly 50% of the American mortgage market.

Prior to this, according to estimates by some industry insiders, more than 1 million homeowners across the country would be unable to repay their mortgages on time this year, and they were facing the fate of having their homes foreclosed and auctioned.

Regarding the “lifeline plan,” a government spokesperson said that no plan could solve all the problems in the housing market, and the President believed that the plan could help Americans through the current difficulties.

However, some American lawmakers believed that the plan came too late and was too weak to cope with the severe mortgage delinquency problem in America.

Afterward, on February 14, Valentine’s Day, Bush officially signed a package of economic stimulus bills, significantly cutting taxes and stimulating consumption, in an attempt to revitalize the American economy.

After all, he also understood that the war on terror, which had once made his reputation unprecedented, had now seen the Saddam regime successfully overthrown in Iraq, but their troops were still trapped in the quagmire of the Middle East and unable to escape.

This had already caused great opposition from the global and American people. If the American economy were to be hit hard again…

Without a doubt, this year’s election would be a losing battle for him!

…

On Valentine’s Day, Barron naturally returned to his home in Kensington to spend time with his wife and children.

However, during the day, he had already sent Valentine’s Day gifts to Tamaran, Ivanka, Beatrice, and Fan Bingbing, and made sweet phone calls…

“I want to go and live at Chatsworth House for a while…”

Bonnie said suddenly, leaning in Barron’s arms.

“Why do you want to live there?”

In Barron’s memory, Chatsworth House would be most beautiful after spring. Going there now would inevitably make the scenery a bit monotonous.

“Although the scenery at the Grace Lavender Farm in Australia was also good before, I don’t know why, but I was very nostalgic for Chatsworth House, so…”

Bonnie looked at Barron and said softly:

“And I heard that Mr. Sean’s health hasn’t been very good recently, and I also want to visit him.”

Sean was the old butler of Chatsworth House. He retired earlier due to health reasons, and Ramos, who had previously served as Barron’s personal valet, succeeded him as the butler of Chatsworth House.

Also, because Butler Sean had dedicated almost his entire life to the Devonshire family, Barron kept him in the manor after his retirement. In name, he was a consultant to the manor, but in fact, it was equivalent to providing for his retirement.

And Bonnie’s words reminded Barron that since last winter, Sean’s health had been getting worse and worse since he accidentally fell…

“Then I’ll go back with you for a while, darling.”

“Okay.”

…

“Jun Ning, what are your feelings about this job now?”

The motorcade drove on the streets of London, and Barron casually asked his assistant Zhang Junning.

With the help of the former personal assistant Laura, Zhang Junning had now begun to independently carry out her current work.

“Very fulfilling and also very challenging. I will try my best to do it well…”

Of course, what Zhang Junning didn’t say was that in addition to the business aspects, where there was too much information to process, some of the Duke of England’s private affairs also “opened Zhang Junning’s eyes”…

For example, on Valentine’s Day before, so many gifts for different women needed to be handled through her.

What surprised Zhang Junning the most was that the identity of each of these women was not ordinary. Compared to them, Fan Bingbing, who gave her the greatest shock, was already considered the most “ordinary” one.

Before this, how could Zhang Junning have imagined that Fan Bingbing, the most well-known actress in mainland China, was also the woman of the Duke beside her, and had even given birth to a pair of children for him…

“Although a personal assistant needs to serve me, they also need management skills. If you can manage the ‘logistics team’ well, it will not only improve work efficiency, but also greatly reduce your own workload…”

Barron’s words interrupted Zhang Junning’s “daydreaming.” She carefully thought about what her boss said, knowing that he was also giving her a hint.

Chapter 587: The Bear Stearns Crisis

Speaking of which, Barron was very grateful that Bonnie remembered to remind him to return to Chatsworth Manor this time.

On the very evening they returned to the manor, Barron and Bonnie went together to visit Sean, the butler, who was recuperating.

“Actually, I don’t have any major problems. It’s just old age. I’ll be fine in a few days.”

Butler Sean looked at Barron and Bonnie with great satisfaction, just as he had when he first welcomed them back together at the entrance of the manor house.

That evening, Butler Sean specially took a small sip of whiskey and fell asleep peacefully.

When Ramos came to his room in the morning to deliver breakfast, he found that Butler Sean had already passed away in his sleep.

When Barron heard the news, he could hardly believe his ears, and Bonnie was immediately shocked as well.

After all, although he looked unwell yesterday, Butler Sean did not appear to be on the verge of death at all…

In any case, what was done was done. It was slightly comforting that Butler Sean passed away peacefully, and that Barron was able to meet him in his final moments.

Butler Sean had dedicated most of his life to the Devonshire family. According to his wishes, he would be buried in the Devonshire family cemetery.

In a way, Butler Sean could be said to be one of the links between Barron and the Devonshire family. After he came into this world, Butler Sean was the most familiar person to him in the Devonshire family. Therefore, he couldn’t help but feel a sense of loss at this moment.

…

On March 4th, Bear Stearns, the fifth-largest investment bank on Wall Street with 85 years of history, announced a serious cash shortage. On the same day, the Federal Reserve decided to have the Federal Reserve Bank of New York provide emergency funds to Bear Stearns, the fifth-largest investment bank in America, through JPMorgan Chase Bank.

Bear Stearns was founded in 1923 and is headquartered in New York.

It is the fifth-largest investment bank on Wall Street and a leading global financial services company that has provided quality services to governments, businesses, institutions, and individuals around the world.

The company’s main businesses include institutional equities and bonds, fixed income, investment banking, global clearing services, asset management, and personal banking services.

In addition to the American mainland, Bear Stearns has branches in London, Tokyo, Berlin, Milan, Singapore, and Beijing, with more than 10,000 employees worldwide.

In its 85 years of existence, it had created a record of 83 consecutive years of profitability.

But even such a Wall Street top-five investment bank with a glorious history was defeated by the subprime mortgage crisis at this moment…

In this bailout, Bear Stearns will receive a 28-day loan.

The loan is provided by the Federal Reserve to Bear Stearns through JPMorgan Chase, but the loan risk is borne by the Federal Reserve—this is the first time since the Great Depression of the 1930s that the Federal Reserve has lent money in this way.

The reason why the loan has to be given to Bear Stearns through JPMorgan Chase is that Bear Stearns, unlike other investment banks such as Goldman Sachs and Merrill Lynch, does not have its commercial banking business.

Bear Stearns is actually a large brokerage firm and cannot obtain funds through the Federal Reserve’s discount window. It must go through a commercial bank as an intermediary.

JPMorgan Chase was chosen because it was one of the few banks that suffered less damage in this subprime mortgage crisis. In addition, JPMorgan Chase has a history of taking on important responsibilities in times of crisis in Wall Street history.

After the news came out, Bear Stearns’ stock price fell 47% that day, closing at $30, reaching its lowest level in nine years. The Dow Jones Industrial Average also fell nearly 195 points as a result.

In fact, as early as last week, starting on February 25th, European banks had already stopped trading with Bear Stearns—this news had panicked the market at the time, and investors sold off financial stocks.

On the last day of February, February 29th, news began to circulate in the American stock market that Bear Stearns might have a liquidity crisis.

Some American fixed income and stock traders began to withdraw cash from Bear Stearns, fearing that their settlement funds would be frozen if Bear Stearns filed for bankruptcy.

At the same time, several American media outlets published rumors that Bear Stearns might be in a liquidity crisis.

This sentence made Bear Stearns’ customers and trading counterparties doubt its ability to fulfill its obligations.

In this sensitive period full of crises, what could be more destructive than such doubts?

So, naturally, Bear Stearns experienced a run, with cash flowing out like a stream, unstoppable.

By March 4th, the large-scale departure of hedge funds finally drained the last drop of blood from Bear Stearns, with 17 billion US dollars being withdrawn—it was because of this 17 billion US dollar withdrawal that the rumors became reality: Bear Stearns really had a liquidity crisis.

Simultaneously, its stock listed in New York staged a high dive. At this time last year, Bear Stearns’ market value was still as high as 20 billion US dollars!

Panic spread at an alarming rate. With a large amount of funds constantly flowing out, Bear Stearns became helpless—Wall Street no longer traded with it, foreign exchange credit lines from trading counterparties evaporated, and banks withdrew one after another.

By the end of this week, Bear Stearns was like a dying giant with all its internal organs intact. If it had sufficient blood supply and unobstructed blood vessels, it could have survived and thrived.

But in the financial world, there are no “ifs.”

It can be said that Bear Stearns was bled to death by its customers—Bear Stearns was responsible for operating and clearing customer funds of up to 288.5 billion US dollars on November 30, 2007.

But now Bear Stearns is on the verge of bankruptcy and can only breathe with the help of emergency financing from JPMorgan Chase and the Federal Reserve.

This is the efficiency of the modern financial market: the weakest link on the hinge is removed in an instant, resources are redistributed, and the entire system continues to move forward.

Ironically, in many reports on the Bear Stearns crisis, there is criticism of its management’s inaction.

When Bear Stearns was in a solvency crisis, Chairman Cain chose to go to Detroit to participate in a bridge tournament the previous weekend—during this period, he had very little contact with Bear Stearns executives or other board members.

When he returned to New York to personally inquire about the business, other Wall Street peers had stopped providing assistance, and the Federal Reserve had been forced to provide emergency financing to Bear Stearns through JPMorgan Chase.

Another famous incident was that he stormed out of a conference call held on August 3rd last year to rebuild investor confidence. This leader allowed his company to head towards destruction.

In fact, during the year of the subprime mortgage crisis, Bear Stearns executives had been nonchalantly trying to dispel investors’ and other banks’ doubts about its business.

Cain had been too lazy to communicate with the outside world before handing over the position of CEO to Alan Schwartz in January.

They did not make any efforts to reassure the outside world and let everyone know the progress of the matter.

Until recently, in the face of growing external doubts, Bear Stearns’ response was to issue a lukewarm, detail-free statement claiming that it had no problems with capital or liquidity.

In contrast to them is Lehman Brothers…

Media reports praised Lehman Brothers for launching a series of difficult and planned operations after the outbreak of the subprime mortgage crisis, thereby allowing those who wavered to rebuild confidence.

And believed that they had taken more decisive actions to stabilize its books—its cash buffer was twice that of Bear Stearns.

Lehman’s Chief Financial Officer, Erin Callan, delivered a series of data on a conference call last Tuesday to prove the company’s strength.

Well, at least for now, Lehman Brothers is still a “star student in the class”…

Chapter 588: The Curtain Falls

On March 6th, two days after the Federal Reserve decided to bail out Bear Stearns, U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson stated that he supported the Fed’s move, believing it had taken appropriate action.

Paulson said in a television interview that day that the Federal Reserve had taken appropriate action in cooperation with market participants to minimize the impact of the financial crisis.

He believed that the Federal Reserve’s bailout of Bear Stearns avoided potentially greater damage to other financial companies and even the American financial system.

Paulson expressed confidence in the American financial market’s ability to emerge from the current turmoil, believing that the American economy still had the ability to revitalize, and that a strong dollar was in America’s best interest.

Was this really the case?

Last Friday afternoon, Standard & Poor’s lowered Bear Stearns’ long-term credit rating to BBB, and said that further downgrades were very likely due to the company’s lack of liquidity.

Moody’s also downgraded Bear Stearns, currently rating it three notches above junk status.

Many analysts believe that Bear Stearns is very likely to be sold within the 28 days it has to repay this emergency loan.

Wall Street generally believes that JPMorgan Chase and other large banks are possible buyers.

According to Bloomberg, sources revealed that JPMorgan Chase has already expressed interest in buying Bear Stearns.

The Wall Street Journal reported that private equity firm J.C. Flowers & Co. may also acquire Bear Stearns. According to The New York Times, the Royal Bank of Scotland may be interested, and Standard Chartered Bank also has the strength to make an acquisition.

After all, Standard Chartered Bank can be said to be one of the few major European and American banks that has not been involved in the trading of subprime mortgage-backed CDOs – and the reason for this is understood by those in the know.

Therefore, Standard Chartered Bank not only did not suffer losses in the subprime mortgage crisis, but instead took the opportunity to acquire Northern Rock, a British bank caught in a run, thereby entering the British market.

However, Standard Chartered Bank’s CEO, Davis, said in an interview:

Standard Chartered Bank’s most important task at present is to complete the integration of Northern Rock into Standard Chartered Bank’s system, and to resolve the non-performing assets formed by their previous reckless issuance of housing mortgage loans. Before that, there are no plans to expand again.

“Currently, the most ideal option for Bear Stearns is to sell the entire company to JPMorgan Chase…”

Back in London, in his office at the DS Financial Center, Barron said to Daisy:

“This can prevent Bear Stearns from being ultimately dismantled… In fact, when they asked the Federal Reserve for help, Bear Stearns’ status as an independent bank was already lost, and being sold was only a matter of time.”

“Although Bear Stearns is in deep crisis, it actually has some good assets that are still attractive. Why don’t we take the opportunity to acquire them?”

Faced with Daisy’s question, Barron said lightly:

“You’re right, although Bear Stearns has been put on the stall, it is still a piece of fat. But the problem is, not every piece of fat can fall into our mouths. There are wolves all around. We can only choose the one that is most suitable for us, otherwise it will attract too much hatred.”

Sure enough, on March 7th, JPMorgan Chase announced that it would acquire Bear Stearns for a super-low price of $2 per share, totaling $236.2 million.

This acquisition price is only 1% of Bear Stearns’ previous market value of $20 billion.

However, their ultra-low offer was strongly resisted by Bear Stearns shareholders, who claimed that if these were the acquisition terms, then Bear Stearns would seek other acquirers…

Finally, after much negotiation, on March 14th, JPMorgan Chase reached a new agreement with Bear Stearns.

In this new agreement, JPMorgan Chase agreed to increase the exchange ratio, equivalent to raising the acquisition price from $2 per share to $10 per share, with a transaction amount of $1.19 billion – at the same time, JPMorgan Chase will also purchase 95 million newly issued Bear Stearns shares, which will increase JPMorgan Chase’s stake in Bear Stearns to 39.5%.

Even if Bear Stearns’ shareholders were still somewhat unwilling, the situation was stronger than them. If they could not agree to these conditions, then what awaited them would probably be the withdrawal of funds and the collapse of Bear Stearns…

After all, at this time, even other acquirers would find it difficult to offer better acquisition terms – who let Bear Stearns get to this point…

Relatively speaking, being acquired by JPMorgan Chase and exchanging their Bear Stearns shares for JPMorgan Chase shares, although still a huge loss, at least offered the possibility of a comeback in the future.

This was the best choice they could make…

It is worth mentioning that there is a reason why Bear Stearns caused such consequences and became the first of the five major Wall Street investment banks to fall into desperation and be acquired during the subprime mortgage crisis.

Although these Wall Street capitals themselves believe in the law of the jungle, when the media focused on reporting and “badmouthing” Bear Stearns before, no other banks stood up to help Bear Stearns, which can be said to be “as you sow, so shall you reap.”

Because Bear Stearns had also treated other members of Wall Street with such contempt.

It can be said that the seeds of today’s result were sown at least 10 years ago.

In 1998, it was Bear Stearns, then led by Kane, that refused to join its Wall Street peers in participating in the Federal Reserve-backed bailout of the highly leveraged hedge fund Long-Term Capital Management.

After refusing to help save Long-Term Capital Management, Bear Stearns became a true outcast, with almost no friends among other banks or regulatory officials.

When the crisis occurred this time, no one stood up to publicly refute the initial rumors about Bear Stearns, but they had helped Lehman Brothers, who was also troubled by similar rumors, two weeks earlier.

Bear Stearns’ maverick reputation ultimately cost it the trust of people on Wall Street.

This is also the main reason why Barron did not participate in this acquisition of Bear Stearns. After all, the people behind those Wall Street capitals hoped that they would complete the “curtain call” for Bear Stearns. If Standard Chartered Bank intervened, it would easily incur public anger.

Moreover, Bear Stearns itself is different from Merrill Lynch. They do not have commercial banking business in America, so it is not the best acquisition target for Standard Chartered Bank.

Since this is the case, he only needs to silently profit handsomely by shorting Bear Stearns.

Well, not just Bear Stearns. Affected by this incident, the entire American bank stock market has fallen a lot, and the Black Swan Fund has therefore expanded its gains in the subprime mortgage crisis.

Chapter 589: Gold Reserves

On March 20th, Kolo held another national election.

This time, Jameh Bongo once again represented the Kolo People’s Party, competing for the presidency against Thomas Kabore of the Kolo Socialist Party.

Four years prior, Jameh Bongo had defeated Thomas Kabore in the election, becoming the first president of the new Kolo.

And this election was still largely without suspense. After three days of voting, the Kolo Supreme Court finally announced that Jameh Bongo had won a staggering 69% of the vote, successfully winning the election.

This percentage was even higher than the votes he received four years ago.

After all, during Jameh Bongo’s four years in office, Kolo’s economy had developed rapidly, and people’s incomes had grown quickly. It had shed the label of “underdeveloped country” and become the fastest-growing economy in West Africa.

Perhaps the only good news for Thomas Kabore was that, according to Kolo’s constitution, this would be Jameh Bongo’s last term as president…

If Thomas Kabore could still persist in participating in the election at that time, his chances of success would presumably be somewhat higher.

When Jameh Bongo began his second term, he launched a new Kolo economic promotion plan, which mainly included further opening up the financial industry and encouraging people to invigorate the economy.

First, the Kolo Financial Administration would invest in purchasing over $15 billion worth of gold as its reserve.

This was a necessary preparation before they further opened up the financial industry. After all, Kolo still implemented strict foreign exchange controls. Ordinary people were restricted from exchanging foreign currencies. Foreign capital invested in Kolo also needed to first exchange foreign currency for Kolo shillings through the Financial Administration, and obtain the corresponding foreign exchange quota before they could apply to exchange foreign currency.

This was because Kolo had previously been just a small country, and its economy was very underdeveloped—most African countries also had such financial systems, because they had really suffered losses in this area, preventing foreign capital from arbitrarily shorting the foreign exchange market. This policy was necessary for countries with insufficient strength.

Now Kolo’s goal was to become the financial center of West Africa in the future, so opening up their financial industry was a must.

In order to ensure their own financial security, a certain amount of gold reserves and foreign exchange reserves were necessary, otherwise it would be easy to short the Kolo shilling.

First of all, international oil prices had now exceeded $108 per barrel, so the Kolo Oil Company, which continued to frantically increase offshore oil field exploitation, brought extremely high income to the Kolo government.

With these revenues, the Kolo government, through the Financial Administration, purchased more than 15 million ounces of gold bars, equivalent to more than 425 tons, from the BFT (British Fortune Times) Fund at a price of $1,000 per ounce, with a total value of more than $15 billion!

This was also equivalent to helping the BFT Fund cash out a large part of the gold bars they had previously purchased—the initial price at which the BFT Fund purchased these gold bars was about $770 per ounce, and the average price did not exceed $800 per ounce…

This transaction made the BFT Fund a whopping 25% profit!

It can be said that the current price was almost at the high point of international gold prices in the past year and a half—from the following month, international gold prices would be affected by the subprime mortgage crisis and fall all the way down. By the end of October, gold prices would fall below $700 per ounce.

It was not until the beginning of October 2009 that gold prices would once again stand at the $1,000 per ounce level.

However, the Kolo Socialist Party, as the opposition party, would not have any criticism of the Jameh government’s move—after all, Thomas Kabore was not stupid. He knew who was behind the BFT Fund…

Kolo’s political situation had only been stable for a few years. Before the new Kolo, the military government often had political figures die due to “accidents.”

Therefore, Thomas understood that he could publicly criticize Jameh in any way he wanted, but when it came to matters involving a certain big shot behind the scenes, it was wisest for him to remain silent.

Moreover, although in the short term, the Kolo government would indeed suffer huge losses by purchasing these gold bars at a price of $1,000 per ounce, they themselves were not investing in gold to make money, but to hold it as a national reserve for the long term. Therefore, from this perspective, this transaction would still have great profit potential.

Moreover, the BFT Fund’s gold was stored in the underground vault of the West African Union Bank headquarters, which would also serve as the storage location for the Kolo Financial Administration’s gold reserves. Therefore, after this transaction was completed, these gold bars would not even need to be moved…

After increasing its gold reserves and foreign exchange reserves, the Kolo government would be able to guarantee the exchange rate of the Kolo shilling.

Next, they would encourage people to participate in economic activity.

The Kolo government would allocate a special fund of 100 billion Kolo shillings, and provide interest-free and low-interest loans to qualified Kolo people through the West African Union Bank to help them engage in individual business and start companies.

The maximum amount of interest-free loans for individuals was 100,000 Kolo shillings for a 10-year term, and the maximum amount of low-interest loans could be as high as 1 million Kolo shillings.

In fact, this measure was to stimulate the domestic economy. After all, the Kolo shilling itself was issued by the West African Union Bank with the permission of the Financial Administration.

After the Kolo government had money through oil exploitation, they chose to provide interest-free and low-interest loans to the people to help them operate industries and start businesses, in order to increase income, rather than directly distributing the money to individuals.

After all, if it was distributed to individuals, given the “nature” of the Kolo people, they would likely just spend it directly.

But issuing it in the form of loans could urge them to operate carefully.

Of course, it was very likely that many people would still not be able to repay the loans in the end, but this was also a way for them to “screen” the people. Those diligent or capable citizens would naturally not only work hard to repay the loans, but also become rich as a result.

The Kolo government would continue to strongly support these people in the future.

As for those who were lazy and only wanted to spend money and enjoy themselves…

They would naturally be restricted in all aspects due to owing loans to the bank, ultimately achieving the purpose of natural elimination.

…

“Your Grace, the current international oil price has entered the ‘default window’ of our procurement orders, but for the time being, those oil companies have not started to propose defaults…”

Hearing the words of Duran Hurst, CEO of the BFT Fund, Barron said with a smile:

“I believe they have already started discussing this. If oil prices continue to rise, then default is the best option for them.”

Since November of last year, Duran Hurst, CEO of the BFT Fund, had already begun contacting some oil companies in Russia, Southeast Asia, and Africa, throwing out a super order worth up to $60 billion.

This was extremely tempting for the oil companies that already believed that “oil prices were high” at the time. After all, the BFT Fund was willing to pay a deposit of 50% in advance, which amounted to as much as $30 billion!

The agreement they signed with these eight major oil companies at the time was that from March to September of this year, the other party needed to provide the BFT Fund with spot crude oil at a fixed price of $90 per barrel, with a total value of $60 billion.

In international transactions, the supply price of such large orders for spot oil is often fixed for a fixed period, and will not be adjusted in real time according to oil prices.

So what if oil prices fluctuate after the order is signed?

Because these orders will always have a default penalty ratio, often around 20%.

So if oil prices suddenly skyrocket, then after weighing the pros and cons, it would be more cost-effective for the seller to pay the default penalty, then they will definitely breach the contract immediately.

If oil prices suddenly plummet, the buyer will also make such a judgment.

Now that oil prices have exceeded $108 per barrel, they have reached the “default window” of the agreement signed by the BFT Fund and these oil companies.

That is to say, if the price continues to rise now, it will be more cost-effective for these oil companies to choose to default and give the BFT Fund a 20% default penalty than to continue to execute this contract.

Chapter 590: Hot Topics

Of course, it’s not like these oil companies would immediately choose to default once crude oil prices rose to the “default window.”

After all, defaulting would require them to pay 20% of the contract amount.

That is to say, in addition to the crude oil they had already delivered to the BFT Fund in March, they would still need to pay 20% of the total contract value of 60 billion dollars as a penalty for breach of contract.

Thus, these oil companies would need to weigh whether oil prices would continue to rise, remain within the “default window,” or only rise temporarily and then quickly fall back.

If the time that oil prices remained in the “default window” was not long, then they could accept some losses and continue to supply the oil.

Therefore, at least another month of assessment is needed, based on a comprehensive judgment of factors such as the trend of crude oil prices, before these oil companies make a decision on whether to default.

Another possibility is that they will choose to negotiate with the BFT Fund, either to increase the selling price or reduce the amount of compensation. This will depend on the BFT Fund’s attitude at that time to determine their final decision.

The initial 25 billion pounds that the BFT Fund received was converted into approximately 52.5 billion dollars.

Among them, 30 billion dollars was deposited as a “security deposit” for the large oil order into the banks designated by those oil companies, and the remaining funds were invested in gold futures and spot markets.

Currently, the BFT Fund has already made nearly 10 billion dollars in profits from the rise in gold alone. If they can also get 20% of the oil order as a penalty for default, then so far, the BFT Fund’s profit could reach more than 22 billion dollars, exceeding a 30% rate of return.

In the future, these funds can be invested in “bottom fishing” after the subprime mortgage crisis fully erupts, which also means that the BFT Fund will have no problem ultimately repaying the British government’s 50 billion pounds, as well as related interest.

However, Barron’s ambition does not stop there. The BFT Fund will not only be used for investment profits and ultimately to repay the British government’s funds. This fund can also serve as one of the vehicles for his future investment layout, and he will continue to inject funds into it later.

…

“I believe the London government’s response to the subprime storm has been inadequate. London is one of the world’s financial centers, and the storm has now deeply affected the banking industry. We need to abandon some of the laissez-faire approach and try our best to help the banks through the difficulties…”

On television, Jo Harryman, dressed in an intellectual style, said to the camera:

“Of course, this is not to bail out the banks, but to avoid too much impact on ordinary people. After all, once panic spreads, its destructive power is enormous. I believe that the bank boards that have made mistakes should bear the consequences of these mistakes.”

This year is the London government’s election year, and the election for Greater London will begin in late April and early May.

To be precise, this year is the election year for the British local councils, which includes the election of the Mayor of Greater London, the City Council, and the district councils of its 33 districts.

Unlike the prime minister’s election, the London mayoral election is a candidate system, and its momentum has already begun a year ago. The two candidates with the highest support rates are the Labor Party candidate, who is also the current Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, who has already served two terms as Mayor of London. If he wins this year, it will be his third term.

The other is also an acquaintance of Barron’s, the Conservative Party candidate, Johnson. Basically, the new Mayor of London will be produced between Livingstone and Johnson.

Interestingly, the London mayoral election is not only open to British people living in London. The London mayoral election regulations stipulate that any citizen of the United Kingdom, the Commonwealth, or the European Union who is at least 18 years old and resides in London can apply to participate in the mayoral election.

Yes, that is to say, if you are a citizen of other EU countries, but can prove that you have lived in London for a long time, you can still participate in the London mayoral election and vote for the candidates.

Therefore, the official website of the London mayoral election provides as many as 17 language services, and Chinese alone includes both Traditional and Simplified Chinese…

Among the two candidates, Barron will naturally support Johnson, not only because he knows that in his previous life, Johnson won this election and was elected Mayor of London.

Also because Johnson is considered one of Barron’s “own people,” while the current Mayor of London, Livingstone, who is famous for his maverick and tough style, has a very ordinary relationship with Barron.

Don’t forget that Livingstone stood on the opposite side of Barron when he acquired the London Stock Exchange…

After Cameron became the leader of the Conservative Party in 2005, Johnson served as the Shadow Secretary of State for Education, but in order to prepare for the London mayoral election, he resigned from the position of Shadow Secretary of State for Education in July last year, and then was officially confirmed as a candidate by the Conservative Party in September.

In addition, Jo Harryman will also participate in this local council election.

In the last election, Jo Harryman was elected as a member of the Islington District Council of Greater London. This time, she will participate in the election of members of the London City Council.

Therefore, Jo Harryman has also been very active during this period.

With her age of less than 28, coupled with her identity as a minority woman, she will become a key target for the Conservative Party to cultivate.

So this time Jo Harryman is determined to win.

Of course, she will definitely get Barron’s strong support…

Judging from the current situation, the Conservative Party is coming on strong this time, and its support rate in the local council is very close to that of the current ruling Labor Party, and it is very likely to spring a surprise.

If the Labor Party loses this local election, then they will be very passive in the parliamentary election two years later.

The subprime mortgage crisis has greatly affected the banking industry in America, and the European banking industry has also been affected.

London, as one of the world’s financial centers, the impact of this financial crisis on the banking industry, and some of the policies to deal with the crisis afterwards, are all hot topics in this London mayoral election.

Including HSBC, Royal Bank of Scotland, and Barclays Bank, these important British banks have suffered huge losses due to being affected by the subprime mortgage crisis, so their corresponding stock prices have fallen significantly compared to the same period last year.

Even Standard Chartered Bank, even though it did not intervene in investments related to subprime mortgage bonds and did not suffer too much loss, was also affected, and its stock price has fallen by more than 15% compared to its highest point last year…

This is already the best performing of the major British banks.

Chapter 591: Hotel Group

“We’ve received notifications from three out of the eight oil companies, stating they will deliver the crude oil to the port at the agreed time. The other five have requested further negotiations with us…”

In early April, Duane Hearst, CEO of BFT Fund, brought Barron the latest news.

It’s important to note that the international crude oil prices mentioned earlier are usually based on the price of Brent crude oil from the North Sea in London – this type of crude oil is considered one of the highest quality crude oils.

The crude oil produced by the oil companies that signed agreements with BFT Fund, including those from Russia, Southeast Asia, and Africa, is generally of lower quality than North Sea Brent crude.

For example, the price of Russian Urals crude oil can be more than ten dollars per barrel lower than that of North Sea Brent crude oil…

At the same time, the spot crude oil purchase contracts that BFT Fund signed with them were for $90 per barrel. This $90 is the landed price, meaning it includes the freight and insurance of the crude oil. This price was determined at the time of signing the agreement, taking into account the Baltic Dry Index.

So far, according to the purchase contracts made at the time, a portion of the spot crude oil acquired by BFT Fund has been delivered to three ports.

Specifically, the oil produced by the Russian oil companies will be shipped to Indian ports for refining at the refineries jointly operated by United Energy Group and Reliance Group; the oil produced in Southeast Asia will be shipped to Guangxi Province in China for refining at the refining base jointly operated by United Energy Group and China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC); as for the oil produced in Africa, it will be shipped directly to the Colo refining base…

Of course, the current capacity of these refining bases is not sufficient to process all of this spot crude oil. Therefore, BFT Fund has also sold the surplus crude oil to some of United Energy Group’s partners, including Reliance Group, CNPC, and Sinopec…

With the current refining capacity of CNPC and Sinopec, they are fully capable of absorbing the excess inventory.

As everyone knows, China has many oil fields and is also an oil-producing country.

But in fact, the cost of extracting oil in China is higher than purchasing crude oil from abroad. However, in order to maintain the country’s oil extraction capabilities, maintain a certain degree of energy self-sufficiency, and because a large number of related upstream and downstream personnel and enterprises depend on this industry, many of CNPC and Sinopec’s refining bases still need to make internal purchases.

Moreover, CNPC and Sinopec also have considerable crude oil storage capacity. In comparison, BFT Fund’s oil is naturally welcomed by them.

The five oil companies are already hoping to reduce some of the “default costs” through negotiations. As for the three oil companies that are still holding on, they will gradually begin to choose to default as crude oil prices continue to rise.

Of course, as the power of the subprime crisis grows, BFT Fund also needs to start recovering funds to prepare for “bottom fishing.” Even so, they still hope to extract as much profit as possible from these oil companies.

…

“I heard you’re giving those oil companies a real headache, Your Grace.”

Prince Al-Waleed came to London again. As soon as he met Barron, after a hug, he said this.

Obviously, he was referring to the large purchase orders between BFT Fund and those oil companies…

Although Prince Al-Waleed’s business does not involve oil, Saudi Arabia itself is a major oil-producing country. They have always paid close attention to news in the crude oil market, so Barron was not surprised that Prince Al-Waleed knew about this.

“That’s not what I wanted, dear Al-Waleed…”

Barron shrugged and said innocently:

“No one could have predicted that crude oil prices would keep rising. If oil prices were the opposite of what they are now, and had fallen, then the situation would be completely different.”

Prince Al-Waleed agreed with what Barron said:

“Then I can only say you’re very lucky, Your Grace, or rather, your vision is very accurate. I’m more inclined to believe the latter.”

“Thank you for your praise, perhaps I should admit that’s the case…”

This time Prince Al-Waleed came, of course, not just to congratulate Barron…

Next, he talked to Barron about the Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts – as early as last year, Barron had taken the initiative to propose buying the remaining shares of Four Seasons Hotels held by Prince Al-Waleed.

During the first phase of the Global Industry Investment Fund, they and Prince Al-Waleed’s Kingdom Holding Company completed the privatization of Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts together. Currently, GII Fund and Kingdom Holding each hold 47.5% of the shares of Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, and the remaining 5% of the shares of Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts are held by the founder of Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, Isadore Sharp’s family – they have also been responsible for the operation of Four Seasons Hotels.

Last year, Barron proposed to acquire Prince Al-Waleed’s 47.5% stake in Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts for $1.66 billion.

According to this price, the Devonshire Family Trust would value Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts at around $3.5 billion this time. Compared to the valuation of $2.86 billion when Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts was privatized, the price has increased by more than 22%, which can be considered a very reasonable price.

However, Prince Al-Waleed did not have the idea of selling the shares of Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts at that time, so the matter was delayed.

But this time he came to London, it seems that Prince Al-Waleed had the idea of selling the shares of Four Seasons Hotels – according to Barron’s guess, it should also be because he saw the impact of the American subprime crisis on the banking industry and believed that now was the opportunity to continue to increase investment in it.

Prior to this, Prince Al-Waleed held a considerable number of Citigroup shares and was its largest private shareholder.

But in November of last year, after Citigroup accepted investment from the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority held less than 5% of Citigroup’s shares, surpassing Prince Al-Waleed and becoming Citigroup’s largest private shareholder.

At that time, Prince Al-Waleed did not have the idea of increasing investment in Citigroup, but one reason was that he was already Citigroup’s largest private shareholder. If there was a choice, Citigroup would prefer to obtain funds from other sources to avoid Prince Al-Waleed holding too high a proportion of their shares.

On the other hand, Prince Al-Waleed’s industry was also affected by the subprime crisis, and it was difficult to raise too much funds to participate in it.

It is estimated that this matter made Prince Al-Waleed want to sell the shares of Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts in order to obtain funds to subsequently increase investment in the American banking industry.

Since this is the case, it can be said that both parties are willing.

Barron is still willing to offer the previous conditions. Under the current impact of the subprime crisis on the global economy, stock markets in various places have fallen more or less, so Prince Al-Waleed readily agreed.

In this way, the Devonshire Family Trust will acquire 47.5% of the shares of Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts for $1.66 billion; the GII-1 of the Global Industry Investment Fund holds the other 47.5% of the shares of Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts.

Next, they will promote the merger of Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts with the Cavendish Hotel Group owned by the Devonshire Family Trust to form a larger-scale hotel group.

Chapter 592: UK Power Networks

The merged Four Seasons-Cavendish Hotel Group would have more than 110 hotels and resorts in over 40 countries worldwide, with the Devonshire Family Trust holding 59% of the hotel group, GII-1 Holdings (Global Industry Investment Fund I) holding 37%, and the Isadore Sharp family holding 4%.

The Four Seasons-Cavendish Hotel Group would implement a multi-brand strategy, divided into three tiers: Devonshire (luxury hotels), Four Seasons (high-end hotels), and Cavendish (deluxe hotels) for expansion.

According to the Four Seasons-Cavendish Hotel Group’s plan, they would open or acquire more than 80 hotels worldwide in the next 10 years, implementing a “10-20-50” strategy, namely adding 10 Devonshire luxury hotels, 20 Four Seasons high-end hotels, and 50 Cavendish deluxe hotels.

The main growth would be in Asia, with a focus on the Chinese region, where new wealth would rapidly accumulate.

In the Chinese region, the Cavendish hotel brand under the Four Seasons-Cavendish Hotel Group would become a strategic partner with Tianhe Real Estate, opening Cavendish hotels in Tianhe Real Estate’s new commercial centers.

For example, the first Cavendish deluxe hotel in China would open in the commercial center currently being developed by Tianhe Real Estate on Jinling Central Road.

As a preferential condition for Tianhe Capital’s Nanci Group to increase investment in Su Province, they had obtained development rights for prime locations in some cities. Following Jinling City, Tianhe Real Estate would successively develop three more commercial centers, and these projects would be completed within three years.

…

“Your Grace, I have met with Mr. Wang, and he welcomed our investment. In addition, I have also received information that Berkshire Hathaway’s Munger is also very optimistic about this company. It is said that he has been recommending this company to Buffett…”

“I will personally go to China next month to finalize this matter as soon as possible. I hope to meet with Mr. Wang at that time to celebrate the success of our cooperation.”

“Yes, Your Grace, I will do my best.”

The year was 2008, and the 29th Olympic Games would be held in Yanjing in August. Barron would also participate in this grand event.

But now it seemed that he had to leave earlier.

Before that, however, he still had to resolve the matter of the UK Energy Group.

As early as March, United Energy Group had already begun to participate in the acquisition of UK Energy Group.

It could be said that this acquisition was quite competitive, with not only Électricité de France (EDF), a global leader in nuclear power, but also Centrica, the UK’s largest natural gas supplier, participating in the competition.

However, Centrica’s offer for UK Energy Group was £7 per share, which was an acquisition price of £11.2 billion.

The offers from United Energy Group and Électricité de France were both higher than Centrica’s – it was said that Centrica’s board of directors did not want them to bid too high for UK Energy Group, and £7 per share was already the upper limit they could accept.

Therefore, the final competition fell between United Energy Group and Électricité de France.

During this period, Barron’s public relations team naturally began to work, lobbying the UK government with reasons such as the UK’s nuclear power should not be completely controlled by French companies.

And related reports also appeared in many media outlets – naturally including the media under the SEM Group.

This was not to completely exclude Électricité de France, but rather Barron hoped to have bargaining chips to negotiate with them.

In fact, from the beginning, he had no intention of completing the acquisition of UK Energy Group alone. After all, United Energy Group had not been involved in the nuclear power field before, and the steps could not be too big at once.

After starting to contact Électricité de France, United Energy Group began to show its true colors…

United Energy Group could give up the majority stake in UK Energy Group, but the premise was that they hoped to acquire 100% of the equity of UK Power Networks Holdings Limited (UKPN) currently owned by Électricité de France.

Many people may not be familiar with this company, but in Barron’s previous life, Li Ka-shing’s Cheung Kong Holdings purchased this company from Électricité de France in 2010 for £5.8 billion.

Then in 2022, a consortium led by KKR and Australia’s Macquarie acquired this company from Li Ka-shing for £15 billion…

In fact, the value of UK Power Networks was not only in the appreciation over more than a decade, but as a public infrastructure service company, it had stable profits every year.

UK Power Networks was the UK’s largest electricity monopoly, and its profitability could not be underestimated – UKPN supplied electricity to approximately 8.3 million homes and businesses, with revenue accounting for a quarter of the total revenue of the UK electricity industry.

Now Électricité de France’s desire for UK Energy Group was higher than that of United Energy Group. After all, winning UK Energy Group would allow them to take the initiative in the UK’s future new nuclear power projects and be able to use the ERP technology of the French Areva Group, which in itself was of strategic significance to the French government.

Therefore, for Électricité de France, which was nearly 85% controlled by the French government, the task of strategic significance was naturally higher than the need for profit – moreover, using the nuclear power technology of French companies could bring them returns.

It should be known that any technology needs to have enough market to continue research and development, especially under this economic system in the West, using profits to continue investing in research and development is a virtuous cycle.

Therefore, Électricité de France finally reached an agreement with United Energy Group.

United Energy Group would acquire 100% of the shares of UK Power Networks (UKPN) owned by Électricité de France for £5 billion, so that UK Power Networks would become a wholly-owned subsidiary of United Energy Group and merge its original power sector.

After that, United Energy Group and Électricité de France would jointly complete the acquisition of all shares of UK Energy Group for £12.5 billion.

Among them, Électricité de France would invest £7.5 billion to hold 60% of the shares of UK Energy Group; United Energy Group would invest $5 billion to hold 40% of the shares of UK Energy Group.

Moreover, following the UK government’s publication of the “New Energy White Paper” last year, it published the “Nuclear Energy White Paper” this year, announcing the restart of nuclear power projects.

It could be said that the UK was the first country in the world to develop nuclear power, and began construction of the world’s first nuclear power plant in 1953.

However, in the 1980s, the UK government abandoned its indigenous design technology and began to introduce pressurized water reactor technology – the Sizewell B project started in 1987, which was the last nuclear power plant built by the UK itself.

The reason was that in the 1980s and 1990s, the UK ushered in the reform of the electricity market and the privatization wave of energy companies. At the same time, due to the discovery of the North Sea oil fields, the UK was able to enjoy cheap oil resources and even achieved energy self-sufficiency.

Under this background, the advantages of nuclear power’s cleanliness and high energy density were no longer as attractive as before, and the disadvantages of large basic investment and long payback time were more prominent.

Coupled with social anti-nuclear pressure, the loss of talent in the nuclear energy field, and the government’s lack of development plans, nuclear power could not get enough attention in the UK for a long time.

This was also the reason why the French government hoped to win UK Energy Group to expand their nuclear power technology market, otherwise, once the application of a technology stagnated for ten years or even a few years, it could be overtaken and fall behind.

The UK currently had eight nuclear power plants (all belonging to UK Energy Group), with power generation accounting for 20% of the UK’s electricity consumption. These nuclear power plants would expire and retire around 2030.

According to the “New Energy White Paper” plan, the UK’s thermal power plants would also be completely closed around 2025.

The superposition of these factors would lead to a 20% reduction in the UK’s national power generation on the basis of the existing level, and energy security had become a real threat to UK society.

Therefore, according to the plan, in order to fill this power gap, the UK government would successively determine eight sites suitable for the construction of nuclear power plants, and then invest in construction, of which the highest priority was the Hinkley Point nuclear power project.

Barron had heard of the Hinkley Point nuclear power project, because in his previous life, China General Nuclear Power Group had once participated in it, but later chose to withdraw for various reasons. These things were relatively hot news at the time.

Now that United Energy Group had become a shareholder of UK Energy Group, they would definitely participate in this project in the future.

Chapter 593: BYD

In this joint effort by United Energy Group and Électricité de France to acquire British Energy Group, and their acquisition of British Distribution Company under Électricité de France, United Energy Group needed to come up with a total of 10 billion pounds.

These funds all came from bank loans and financing.

Among them, the 5 billion pounds for the acquisition of British Distribution Company came from a loan from Standard Chartered Bank; while the 5 billion pounds needed to jointly acquire British Energy Group with Électricité de France was paid by the relevant public funds of the British government purchasing 5 billion pounds of corporate bonds from United Energy Group.

At the same time, after the announcement of the acquisition of British Energy Group, the stock prices of both United Energy Group and Électricité de France rose accordingly—this also shows that the market is very optimistic about this acquisition.

In fact, United Energy Group’s debt is already relatively high. Not only has it carried out a series of acquisitions, but it has also launched a series of major projects, including refining and chemical base projects in Corio, China, and India.

However, these debts of United Energy Group mainly come from bank loans—speaking of which, it is still relatively cost-effective to use pounds for loans now, because in the following years, the pound will continue to depreciate, which means that the profits obtained by United Energy Group’s overseas projects will be able to enjoy a considerable exchange rate difference when converted back to pounds for repayment.

Not only United Energy Group, but also many companies controlled by Barron are expanding the scale of their overseas industries as much as possible through pound loans before this happens.

After this, Barron set off from London and went to China.

This trip to China by Barron was also quite high-profile. The Devonshire first landed at Yanjing Airport, where he would be received by senior officials.

This is not surprising, after all, Barron’s current status makes it impossible for him to keep a low profile when he comes to China.

Not to mention his identity as a British Duke, just his influence in the global business community alone—just think about the treatment Bill Gates, Murdoch, and even later Apple CEO Cook and Tesla boss Musk received when they came to China, and you can understand.

It should be known that Barron’s energy and wealth are stronger than any of these people.

Of course, the reason why he can be valued by the Chinese side, in addition to the great strengthening of relations between the two sides after Brown took office, is that he did not come empty-handed.

First of all, in addition to the large-scale refining and chemical project in Gui Province that United Energy Group is cooperating with CNPC, it will also cooperate with Sinopec to invest in another oil refining and chemical project in Liao Province, which will involve an investment of more than 2 billion pounds.

In addition, Four Seasons-Cavendish Hotel Group, O2 Telecom, and Gucci-Hermès Group will also expand their investment in China.

After meeting with the Chinese leaders, Barron went directly to Shenzhen.

“Very happy to meet you, Mr. Wang.”

“I am also particularly grateful to His Grace the Duke for his optimism about our company. I hope our cooperation can be successful.”

“It definitely will be.”

In Shenzhen, Barron met Wang Chuanfu, the boss of BYD Company. Accompanied by the other party, Barron visited BYD’s headquarters and automobile and battery manufacturing plants.

Yes, before this, Finn Hudson, CEO of Global Industry Investment Fund, had already come to Shenzhen and proposed to Wang Chuanfu the proposal to invest in BYD Company.

It can be said that BYD at this time has not yet achieved the unprecedented success in new energy vehicles that it would later achieve. Although BYD has already occupied a leading position in the global battery field, Wang Chuanfu’s decision to unexpectedly announce its entry into the automobile industry has not been understood by many people.

Moreover, even now, BYD cannot be said to be successful in automobile manufacturing.

Barron, as a world-renowned investor and a super-rich who owns British Automobile Group, a car group with many well-known car brands, his willingness to invest in BYD can indeed give Wang Chuanfu some support.

However, this time, the company that will invest in BYD Company is not Caesar Fund, which owns British Automobile Group, but Global Industry Investment Fund—this is not unrelated. Honor Electronics, which is owned by Global Industry Investment Fund, is also one of BYD’s major customers.

According to the agreement they reached, GII Fund will purchase 10% of the shares of BYD Company at a price of 8 Hong Kong dollars (approximately 1 US dollar) per share, with a total investment of approximately 230 million US dollars.

Through this investment, GII Fund has also become one of the major shareholders of BYD Company.

Of course, Barron also knows that he is not the only one interested in BYD Company. In his previous life, Buffett would invest in BYD in September of this year, but this investment was not because Buffett was optimistic about BYD, but because he made the decision under the strong recommendation of his partner Munger.

At that time, Buffett’s investment brought him a rich return. The BYD stock purchased at 8 Hong Kong dollars per share later rose to more than 200 Hong Kong dollars per share.

But now, this investment opportunity has been intercepted by Barron—with the investment of GII Fund, BYD Company no longer needs to accept the investment of Berkshire Hathaway later.

After all, although Buffett’s influence in the investment world is huge, Barron at this time is not much weaker than him.

After leaving BYD Company, Barron also took the opportunity to visit Honor Electronics’ production base near Shenzhen.

The scale of this production base is already relatively large. At this production base, the assembly of Dopod mobile phones and some Honor Mate mobile phones is mainly carried out.

Since the launch of the Mate 1S mobile phone before Christmas last year, the global sales of the Mate 1S mobile phone have exceeded 5 million units so far. It can be said that compared with Honor Electronics’ first smartphone, Mate 1, there has been a huge leap in sales.

This is also the reason why Honor Electronics is constantly expanding the scale of their production base.

In addition, Honor Electronics is about to launch the Mate 2 mobile phone. In the Mate 2 mobile phone, the proportion of mobile phone components produced in China will be increased. Therefore, outside of Honor Electronics’ production base, some upstream component manufacturers that they have invested in and supported have also concentrated their production bases here.

Currently, these mobile phone components are mainly used in the Dopod Smart 1, which greatly reduces the cost of this mobile phone and makes it very competitive.

“We are also supporting suppliers in the research and development of touch screens. The progress is good. I believe we will be able to use domestically produced touch screens soon…”

The person in charge of Honor Electronics here introduced to Barron:

“However, in terms of quality, there is definitely a certain gap compared with touch screens from Japan and South Korea. Therefore, these touch screens will first be used in the low-end models of Dopod mobile phones. For Honor mobile phones, we still need to purchase touch screens from manufacturers such as Sharp and Samsung.”

Speaking of which, touch screens are too important for smartphones, and they also account for a considerable part of the cost of mobile phones. Therefore, with the increase in sales of Honor Electronics mobile phones, they have always hoped to have a stable touch screen supplier—after all, Samsung and LG, among their suppliers, are also considered competitors of Honor Electronics in the mobile phone field, so it is necessary to plan ahead for everything.

Chapter 594: Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business

On May 3rd, the London Municipal Election Committee announced that Boris Johnson, a Conservative Member of Parliament, had defeated the incumbent Labour Mayor Ken Livingstone in the local municipal elections held on May 1st to become the next Mayor of Greater London.

The statistics showed that Johnson received 1.687 million votes, with a voting rate of 53.2%, while Livingstone received 1.028 million votes, with a voting rate of 46.8%.

It is worth mentioning that Johnson is the first Conservative mayor elected in London in 30 years.

After being elected, he said that he would do his best to win the trust of Londoners.

On May 1st, local municipal council elections were held in England and Wales, producing approximately 8,000 municipal councilors in 159 local municipal councils, as well as the new Mayor of London.

However, the ruling Labour Party suffered its worst defeat in 40 years in this local election, winning only in 18 local municipal council elections and losing control of 9 municipal councils.

The Labour Party won a total of 2,368 local municipal council seats, a decrease of 331 from the previous term.

The Conservative Party, on the other hand, gained control of 65 local municipal councils, an increase of 12 from the previous term, and won a total of 3,154 local municipal council seats, an increase of 256 seats from the previous term.

In terms of approval ratings, the Labour Party was only at 24%, lower than the Liberal Democrats’ 25%, while the Conservative Party was as high as 44%.

Prime Minister Brown was “disappointed” with the results of the May 1st local elections, believing that the economic pressures currently facing the UK had become Labour’s weakness.

Conservative leader Cameron, on the other hand, believed that the voters’ votes were a reflection of their confidence in the Conservative Party and an “important moment” in the Conservative Party’s history.

At the same time, in this election, Joe Harriman was also elected as a member of the Greater London Assembly, becoming a rising star within the Conservative Party.

“I need to congratulate you, Boris. I believe that in the next four years, no, the next eight years, London will usher in new development under your leadership…”

Baron also congratulated Johnson on his election in a phone call.

At this time, he had already arrived in Shanghai and checked into Devon Hill Garden, which was the Yan Family Garden that he had bought before.

Staying here with him were Fan Bingbing and their children.

After returning to China, Fan Bingbing basically stopped participating in the filming of film and television dramas.

Currently, in addition to participating in some affairs of Tianhe Film and Television Investment Company, her main thing now is “going to school”…

Yes, she signed up for this year’s Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business EMBA program and goes to class from time to time.

Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business was founded in 2002 by the Li Ka-shing Foundation. Of course, not just anyone can apply for the Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business EMBA program.

Generally speaking, nearly 700,000 yuan tuition, 8 years or more of work experience, and 5 years or more of management experience are only the basic conditions for the Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business EMBA program.

It only recruits 550 students each year, and there are only 60 places for the full-time program…

If she had only been a celebrity before, it would have been difficult for Fan Bingbing to be accepted into this program.

But for her now, it’s just a matter of a word…

After all, not to mention Baron behind her, just the background of Tianhe Capital alone is beyond the reach of ordinary students.

Of course, many entrepreneurs, executives, and officials participate in this program with the greater purpose of making connections—in many courses at Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business, they are divided into groups, and students address each other by nicknames they choose for themselves. This forms a “brotherly” friendship that is different from usual. This friendship often extends to their subsequent careers, thus forming relatively solid connections.

But if you really study hard, you can still learn something.

As the “representative” of Tianhe Capital, Fan Bingbing is beautiful, but she is really not afraid of any “evil thoughts” now. As for connections, she is already very emotionally intelligent, and she is also straightforward and generous, so she has won the favor of many classmates.

More importantly, she really wants to study and enrich herself, so even after graduating from this EMBA program, she will continue to look for opportunities for further study.

Of course, as a full-time program, the classmates in the class are all bosses, executives, and officials of various companies. It is impossible for them to go to class every day like students. They only organize learning for a period of time on a regular basis.

Now that Baron has come to China, Fan Bingbing will spend most of the rest of her time with him—she still cherishes this rare opportunity to be with her man.

“Honey, you asked me to pay more attention to these domestic film and television companies before. I found that Enlight Media has been performing well in the past two years. The box office of the films they released is good, so I am contacting them to prepare to invest in this company.”

Baron did not expect that Fan Bingbing’s vision was not bad. Of course, Enlight Media has indeed been outstanding in the past two years.

They began to get involved in film distribution in 2006. Because the mainland’s big directors have been “divided up” by various film and television companies, Wang Changtian, the boss of Enlight Media, set his sights on Hong Kong and Taiwan directors. The first film “Confession of Pain” was a success.

This year, they will also launch a series of films including “Painted Skin”, and the box office is very good.

If Tianhe Film and Television Investment can invest in Enlight Media, it will not only get a good return, but also expand the influence of Tianhe Film and Television Investment.

Of course, for this kind of investment, Fan Bingbing mainly provides suggestions and makes decisions. Specific negotiations and execution will be handled by specialized personnel. Her own abilities and strengths are not in this area.

“In addition to film and television investment, you can also pay more attention to the theater chains…”

Hearing Baron’s words, Fan Bingbing’s eyes lit up and asked:

“Are theater chains a good business?”

“Yes, I believe that with the development of China’s economy, the number of young people willing to go to the cinema to watch movies will explode. The future movie box office will be higher and higher, and the profitability of theater chains will also increase significantly.”

At the end of October last year, Orange Sky Entertainment reached an agreement with Raymond Chow, chairman of Golden Harvest, to purchase all of Raymond Chow and his daughter’s 24.78% of Golden Harvest shares and convertible bonds for approximately more than 200 million Hong Kong dollars. Since then, Orange Sky Entertainment has become the largest single shareholder of Golden Harvest, and Li Ka-shing is the second largest shareholder.

By July of this year, Orange Sky Entertainment will increase its shareholding ratio in Golden Harvest to more than 89%, thereby acquiring Golden Harvest, completing a backdoor listing, and becoming Orange Sky Golden Harvest—its theater chains will also quickly begin to enter the mainland for development.

It can be said that the other party’s move is still very good. Next, Tianhe Film and Television Investment can also enter the theater chain industry through acquisitions and other methods, and continue to expand its scale.

Mastering a certain number of theater chains will also cut a large piece of cake in the future explosion of China’s film and television industry.

Chapter 595: Agreement Reached

“It seems the Rothschild family is a little unwilling to accept their losses, Your Grace.”

“How so? Ms. Webber.”

After his personal assistant, Zhang Junning, forwarded Ashley Webber’s call to Barron, he walked to the window, looked at the scenery in the courtyard that was already covered in green, and asked casually.

“Someone is investigating our company’s financial transactions. If there are no surprises, it must be someone from the Rothschilds.”

“Are you sure?”

Ashley’s matter-of-fact voice came from the phone:

“All signs point to them. Don’t forget, Your Grace, I have my own channels. I won’t make a mistake on this kind of thing.”

“That’s normal. After all, they lost a lot of money before. They at least need to figure out if you’re doing this for a bigger purpose. If it were me, I would also investigate first.”

“Let’s put that aside for now. The Nestlé Group has been taken care of…”

Hearing Ashley’s words, he said with a smile:

“That’s good news. Well done.”

Prior to this, Ashley Webber had helped Barron negotiate with Nestlé Group, hoping to obtain their 29.44% stake in L’Oréal Group through a stock swap.

Originally, this matter was quite difficult, after all, Nestlé Group had been in an “alliance” with L’Oréal Group for more than twenty years.

But since this year, affected by the subprime mortgage crisis, which caused high inflation and a decline in the purchasing power of European and American people, L’Oréal Group’s first-quarter financial report was not good, and there were reports that they were preparing to lower their profit expectations for this year. This also led to its stock price falling from more than 100 euros at the beginning of this year to about 70 euros at this time, a direct drop of nearly 30%!

According to Barron’s request, Ashley Webber’s terms to Nestlé Group were quite tempting—they proposed that if L’Oréal Group’s stock price was lower than 120 euros per share within the next 8 years, they would have the right to purchase Nestlé Group’s shares in L’Oréal Group at any time at a price of 120 euros per share; if L’Oréal Group’s stock price was higher than 120 euros per share within the next 8 years, they would have the right to purchase Nestlé Group’s shares in L’Oréal Group at the current price at any time.

Of course, the prerequisite is that if they purchase Nestlé Group’s shares in L’Oréal Group before April 2014, they need to obtain permission from the Bettencourt family—because according to the agreement previously reached between Nestlé Group and the Bettencourt family, if either party sells their shares in L’Oréal Group before 2014, the other party has the right of first refusal.

If Barron and his team purchase Nestlé Group’s shares in L’Oréal Group after April 2014, when the agreement between the two parties expires, then there is no need to confirm with the Bettencourt family, and the transaction can be completed directly.

This agreement meant that Barron’s side guaranteed Nestlé Group that the minimum price for them to acquire their shares in L’Oréal Group was 120 euros per share.

You should know that the current stock price of L’Oréal Group is about 70 euros, and the price of 120 euros per share is a premium of more than 70%!

Even compared with L’Oréal Group’s stock price of about 100 euros at the beginning of the year, it is still a premium of 20%—L’Oréal Group’s stock price has not yet reached 120 euros per share.

Even if L’Oréal Group’s stock price really rises above 120 euros per share in the next 8 years, Nestlé Group can still sell its shares in L’Oréal Group to Barron at a higher price.

In short, this is a guaranteed stock option agreement with a price far higher than the current stock price of L’Oréal Group.

The only thing Nestlé Group needs to do is to confirm that they will sell their shares in L’Oréal Group to Barron and his team.

No matter what, it’s a win-win for them.

Of course, this agreement is not a loss for Barron either—it seems that he needs to pay a higher price to acquire L’Oréal Group’s shares, but the key is that the current stock price of L’Oréal Group is very low, but he can’t buy it.

Yes, they did secretly buy shares of L’Oréal Group on the secondary market, but at best, they can only buy a few sporadically.

You should know that the shares of L’Oréal Group held by the Bettencourt family and Nestlé Group alone exceed 60% of the total share capital.

It is definitely impossible to buy shares from the Bettencourt family. Even if there are internal conflicts, buying their shares is still more difficult than buying from Nestlé Group.

Moreover, you should know that the agreement signed between the Bettencourt family and Nestlé Group to restrict the sale of L’Oréal Group’s shares restricts both parties. Even if Barron can buy the L’Oréal Group shares held by the Bettencourt family before 2014, it still needs Nestlé Group’s permission.

What’s more, if you really want to buy shares from them, how can you buy them at the original stock price? A premium is definitely indispensable—just like Électricité de France paid a 35% premium to buy British Energy Group!

Barron also knew that in his previous life, in 2014, the Bettencourt family repurchased 8% of L’Oréal Group’s shares from Nestlé Group for 6.5 billion euros. At that time, L’Oréal Group’s market value was more than 82 billion euros, and the stock price was about 135 euros per share.

Then, 5 years later, in 2021, L’Oréal Group’s market value had reached more than 223 billion euros.

Even if he buys Nestlé Group’s shares in L’Oréal Group at a price of 120 euros per share before that, the corresponding market value of L’Oréal Group is only more than 72 billion euros, which is still not a loss.

Moreover, L’Oréal Group’s position in the beauty industry is very important to the Gucci-Hermès Group.

By acquiring L’Oréal Group, the Gucci-Hermès Group will be able to make up for their shortcomings in beauty products in one fell swoop.

At least now that the agreement with Nestlé Group has been signed, it has been determined that the shares of L’Oréal Group they hold are destined to belong to Barron—even if the Bettencourt family wants to buy L’Oréal Group’s shares from Nestlé Group, with this agreement in place, Nestlé Group will not be able to sell them.

This also means that almost 29.44% of L’Oréal’s shares held by Nestlé Group can be regarded as theirs for sure.

Coupled with the shares of L’Oréal Group they secretly purchased on the secondary market, after completing this acquisition, Barron’s shares of L’Oréal Group will exceed those of the Bettencourt family, thus becoming the largest shareholder of L’Oréal Group.

Of course, if he could also buy the Bettencourt family’s shares in L’Oréal Group, he would be able to privatize L’Oréal Group completely.

Prior to this, the Gucci-Hermès Group is first preparing to complete the privatization of Hermès.

Affected by the subprime mortgage crisis, Hermès’ stock price has also fallen accordingly, but it is still early. When the subprime mortgage crisis completely breaks out and affects the European stock market, they will start to increase their holdings of Hermès stock on the secondary market.

In addition, some members of the Hermès family will also be affected by the subprime mortgage crisis and will have the idea of selling Hermès shares. At that time, the Gucci-Hermès Group will also take them all down.

Finally, together with the remaining Hermès family shareholders, they will complete the privatization of Hermès and delist it.

After all, Hermès’ listing was mainly for the convenience of financing, but the Gucci-Hermès Group has Barron’s support and does not lack funds, and its income is relatively stable, so there is no need to be listed.

Chapter 596: A Sudden Turn for the Worse

Regarding the BFT (British Fortune Times) Fund’s large oil deal, a final agreement was finally reached with the eight oil companies in May, and the first installment of liquidated damages was received…

As early as mid-April, international oil prices, after a brief dip, rose again to $110 per barrel. By May, the price had surged to $120 per barrel.

At this point, the oil companies abandoned all illusions. After negotiating with the BFT Fund, they were exempted from the liquidated damages corresponding to the spot crude oil they had previously delivered, and only needed to pay the liquidated damages for the undelivered crude oil.

Of course, the BFT Fund was not at a loss either, because they had already made considerable profits by reselling the original spot crude oil to United Energy Group and partners including Reliance Group, China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC), and Sinopec.

Therefore, the BFT Fund ultimately secured profits exceeding $10 billion from the $30 billion large oil deal deposit.

Adding the over $28.5 billion in funds recovered after profiting from the $22.5 billion invested in gold spot and futures, the BFT Fund would have over $68.5 billion in funds arriving.

Because the liquidated damages from these oil companies were to be paid in two installments, the first installment would be paid in May, and the remaining balance would be received two months later.

But even so, the BFT Fund currently had over $60 billion in its account.

Next, they just had to wait for the subprime mortgage crisis to fully erupt.

Interestingly, as early as July 2006, Professor Nouriel Roubini of New York University put forward a then-controversial view—he predicted that the American economy faced the possibility of recession, which would be divided into 12 stages in the future “catastrophic” recession.

These were—

Step 1: The most severe real estate recession in American history occurs;

Step 2: Subprime mortgage losses will further expand, far exceeding the estimated $250 billion to $300 billion;

Step 3: Unsecured consumer credit suffers huge losses, with no escape for credit cards, auto loans, education loans, etc.;

Step 4: Professional credit insurers are downgraded, and their AAA rating, on which they depend, will be lost;

Step 5: The commercial real estate market collapses;

Step 6: Large regional or national banks go bankrupt;

Step 7: Financial institutions’ balance sheets will show hundreds of billions of dollars in paper losses;

Step 8: A wave of corporate loan defaults;

Step 9: The shadow banking system collapses;

Step 10: The stock market falls further;

Step 11: Liquidity is drained from the financial markets;

Step 12: A vicious cycle begins…

It can be said that there are always insightful people, but in times of prosperity, such voices are drowned out.

In Barron’s previous life, when he studied the subprime mortgage crisis, he saw this initially seemingly “radical” prediction, but it ultimately proved to be completely consistent with the occurrence of the subprime mortgage crisis.

Currently, the subprime mortgage crisis has progressed to Step 5, with the commercial real estate market about to collapse—Barron knew that the American “two houses” (Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac) would soon be unable to hold on, and their government would inevitably need to take them over…

When the process reached Step 6, with large banks beginning to go bankrupt, it would be time for the BFT Fund to enter the market.

However, what Barron did not expect was that this process was proceeding so quickly.

In early June, Barron temporarily left China and arrived in America aboard the Devonshire.

At this time, the subprime mortgage crisis once again showed signs of dramatic fluctuations.

In the past week, the share prices of the “two houses,” Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, had fallen by nearly 50%!

If estimated at the current lowest level of the two companies’ share prices, their share prices had fallen by more than 90% compared to their highest values in the past year!

It was conceivable how rapid the decline in the share prices of these two companies was. Well, Black Swan Fund had also made substantial profits from shorting the share prices of the two houses as a result.

But this time, Barron came to California.

While Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac faced being taken over by the government, IndyMac Bank in California also faced collapse.

In the past 11 days, its customers had withdrawn over $1.3 billion in panic.

Because IndyMac Bank also operated in the mortgage business, and it accounted for a significant proportion of its revenue, the impact of the subprime mortgage crisis on it was also extremely large.

It was said that if IndyMac Bank declared bankruptcy, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) might take over.

Barron came here to see if there was a possibility of taking over this bank, of course, depending on whether he could get suitable terms.

As of March 31 of this year, IndyMac Bank had total assets of $32 billion and deposits of $19 billion.

However, the panic caused by the subprime mortgage crisis meant that IndyMac Bank could declare bankruptcy at any time.

Speaking of which, this kind of panic had also appeared at Northern Rock Bank—last month, a senator wrote to banking regulators, hoping they would take measures to prevent IndyMac Bank from collapsing.

After this news came out, panic appeared in the market, and IndyMac Bank’s customers flocked to bank branches to withdraw money, resulting in a bank run, which led to IndyMac Bank losing $1.3 billion in deposits in 11 days.

“Yes, IndyMac Bank could declare bankruptcy at any time. I wouldn’t be surprised if I received a call now telling me they had already gone bankrupt.”

After the plane landed in Los Angeles, Barron met California Governor Schwarzenegger, who was waiting here. He said to Barron with a serious face:

“Barron, my friend, will you step in to help this bank?”

“That’s exactly why I came here from China, but you need to know that I am a businessman, so although I won’t hesitate to spend money, I won’t do things that have no return. At the very least, I need to get a bank that can recover in the future.”

“According to the investigation results, and the information I have received, IndyMac Bank is actually not that bad, at least not to the point of being beyond salvation. If a large amount of capital is injected, it can still be saved…”

“Isn’t there the FDIC?”

Hearing Barron’s words, Schwarzenegger couldn’t laugh:

“If we wait for the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation to take over, then IndyMac Bank may not be able to recover…”

“Because too many banks will follow suit?”

“Yes, I’m afraid this is not alarmist.”

It is estimated that if the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation takes over IndyMac Bank, the cost will be between $4 billion and $8 billion, which may set a historical record for the cost of acquiring a bank.

And once IndyMac Bank collapses, it will also become the second-largest bank failure in American history to date, second only to the scale of Continental Illinois National Bank and Trust Company of Chicago, which went bankrupt in 1984.

“So now, I need to negotiate with IndyMac Bank’s board of directors and the relevant agency heads to see if it’s worth investing.”

Chapter 597: Bankruptcy

Barron’s first child, Jennifer, was already four years old. She had been attending the best “kindergarten” in the neighborhood for two years and had made many good friends. The parents of these children were all wealthy and influential.

In America, “kindergarten” can be divided into Daycare and Preschool. In fact, Preschool is more similar to the concept of “kindergarten” in China, while Daycare mainly provides care for children before the age of three—even infants as young as six weeks old can be sent to Daycare, which is often the case when parents need to work and have no one to take care of them.

But wealthy people naturally wouldn’t send their children to Daycare so early. They would directly hire nannies to take care of them.

The reason Jennifer went to kindergarten was that Rebecca wanted to cultivate Jennifer’s ability to interact with her peers.

Jennifer had Barron’s signature light golden hair. The little girl, just four years old, still had chubby cheeks and looked like a cute little angel.

This time in America, Barron would take a few days to spend more time with her, which made Jennifer very happy.

…

In fact, the timing of the crisis that broke out at both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, as well as the near-collapse of IndyMac Bank, all happened earlier than in Barron’s previous life.

Barron had noticed this situation earlier, during the Bear Stearns event.

After all, the subprime mortgage crisis was indeed too famous, and it had a huge impact on the global financial system. It could be said that financial industry practitioners inevitably needed to understand this crisis.

In his previous life, Barron had carefully studied the subprime mortgage crisis, read a lot of related materials, and could recite the timing of some landmark events in the crisis almost backward.

The Bear Stearns event was only about ten days earlier than it happened in the original timeline…

But when it came to the Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and IndyMac Bank events, it was already more than a month earlier than Barron remembered from the original timeline!

After analyzing the situation, Barron had a general guess that this should be the impact of the large-scale participation of funds controlled by Barron in this subprime mortgage crisis…

For example, in the initial subprime mortgage bonds, CDOs, and swap bonds, the Black Swan Fund occupied a very large short position and had additional betting agreements with some large banks.

Coupled with short-selling activities in other markets, Barron’s involvement could be said to have fueled the subprime mortgage crisis…

It should be known that the subprime mortgage bond market was close to the root of the subprime mortgage crisis. The subsequent financial sector, stock market, and then the spillover into the real economy, were all instances of the destructive power expanding step by step.

Everyone knows about the so-called “butterfly effect.” When Barron was reborn and participated in global capital investment, his actions would have some impact, more or less.

Of course, the world’s operation has its inertia, and his individual strength is limited, so this impact could be ignored at first.

But as the funds and resources controlled by Barron expanded like a snowball, the amount of wind that his “butterfly” could generate by flapping its wings became stronger and stronger.

Although it wouldn’t cause too much deviation in the “wheels of history,” at least there were some changes in many details.

Just like in this subprime mortgage crisis, his strong involvement had already begun to accelerate the process of the crisis.

Barron understood that eventually, the securities investment data in his memory would become completely unrecognizable, but the general trend was still worth referencing.

At the same time, he was preparing for that day, such as the network of relationships and intelligence he had been weaving, and the layout of certain industries.

…

“Compared to acquiring IndyMac Bank as a whole now, we would prefer to acquire some of their business…”

Davis, the president of Standard Chartered Bank who came to Los Angeles, would be responsible for the subsequent acquisition of IndyMac Bank. After studying the detailed information of the bank, he said to Barron.

Before this, Barron had already asked his think tank to conduct a detailed investigation of some banks in America and had obtained a lot of information, including IndyMac Bank.

IndyMac Bank had assets of about 32 billion dollars before the crisis broke out, but the bank’s main business was to securitize mortgage loans—which was no wonder they would be reduced to such a state in this subprime mortgage crisis.

According to their analysis and contact with IndyMac Bank and relevant regulatory agencies, if Standard Chartered Bank wanted to take over IndyMac Bank at this time, it would need to provide at least 5 billion dollars in funding.

A considerable part of this was needed to help IndyMac Bank repay some of its debts and provide it with liquidity.

But the problem was that Standard Chartered Bank didn’t need a complete IndyMac Bank, but rather the bank’s branches and depositors, to improve their banking network in America.

The American Express Bank they had acquired before was limited in scale and didn’t include the core credit card business of American Express Group, but only improved Standard Chartered Bank’s foreign exchange settlement business.

If they could acquire the branches and depositors of IndyMac Bank, then Standard Chartered Bank’s business in America would be more complete, and it would also be used to break into the American banking system.

In the end, given the current situation, it wasn’t impossible to spend 5 billion dollars to take over IndyMac Bank, but it wasn’t cost-effective.

Moreover, with the full outbreak of the subprime mortgage crisis, it was believed that there would be more “cost-effective” acquisition targets appearing. At this time, it was better to be more careful.

In this kind of specific matter, Barron generally respected the opinions of professionals very much. Therefore, since Davis’s point of view was like this, he handed over the acquisition of IndyMac Bank to the other party.

Just like Barron said to Schwarzenegger, he could take over those troubles, but only if it could bring him benefits.

He didn’t come here to do charity…

If a buyer couldn’t be found as soon as possible, then the bankruptcy of IndyMac Bank was irreversible, and Standard Chartered Bank was the only buyer currently appearing in front of them…

Standard Chartered Bank was in a position of advantage, so they weren’t in a hurry.

But IndyMac Bank couldn’t stand it. After their proposed sale price was rejected by Standard Chartered Bank.

Three days later, IndyMac Bank directly announced bankruptcy. They would then be taken over by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC).

Later, if Standard Chartered Bank wanted to acquire some of IndyMac Bank’s assets, then it would need to deal with the FDIC.

Chapter 598: Breakup

“I’m not asking for too much, but you at least need to give me more of your time, Barron.”

Seeing Amanda looking somewhat angry, Barron shook his head and said, “I’ll try to make time for you, baby, but you should know, I’m just too busy, and…”

“And there are too many women who need your attention, is that it?”

Amanda Hearst looked directly at him, her face flushed with anger. “I think we should consider whether we should even be together anymore.”

Seeing the girl leave, Barron didn’t try to stop her.

He knew that Amanda was different from the others. She came from the Hearst family, a once incredibly glorious media empire, and was one of the family’s heirs.

Although the Hearst family was now far behind Barron, Amanda, as an heir, still had her pride. While Ivanka also came from a wealthy family, the difference between the two was that Ivanka was more career-minded. Her connection with Barron wasn’t just emotional; it also involved mutual interests.

Just like in Barron’s previous life, Ivanka was able to choose a marriage with a Jewish family that was more beneficial to her family. So now, facing Barron, the Duke of England, who was many times more powerful, Ivanka could still make a firm choice even without a formal marriage. Her personality was inherently dominated by reason.

Amanda, on the other hand, was with Barron purely because of her admiration for him. She didn’t have much ambition of her own. Choosing Barron was more like a girl’s infatuation with a Prince Charming.

In fact, Barron was already very surprised that Amanda had persisted this long. After all, although Barron often came to America, he spent most of his time in London.

And even when he came to America, Barron couldn’t possibly give all his time to Amanda. He also had to divide his time among Ivanka, Rebecca, and others.

In public, Barron had a wife. It was impossible for him to openly associate with Amanda, and Amanda couldn’t frequently go to London to meet Barron.

Therefore, it could be said that in all the time they had been together, the actual time they had spent together only added up to a few months.

If the initial feelings were passionate, like oil poured on a raging fire, with a touch of blind impulsiveness, then after so long, Amanda needed to consider their future more.

Unless Barron could divorce Bonnie and choose to be with Amanda…

But was that possible?

Not to mention that Bonnie was pregnant again, and Bonnie, who had been with Barron for longer and had a deeper emotional connection, held a more significant place in Barron’s heart.

And besides Amanda, there were also Ivanka, Tamaran, Miss Ella, and Beatrice. Even if Barron really got divorced…

Well, let’s put it this way, under the current circumstances, if Barron were to get divorced, the consequences might be even more chaotic.

Because at least now these women could still accept the fact that Barron was already married to Bonnie. If Barron divorced and became single again, whom would he marry then?

Believe me, no matter whom he chose at that time, the harm caused to the other women would be more severe than it was now!

Now that Amanda was saying she wanted to break up with Barron, whether she was just saying it in a fit of pique or it was a well-thought-out decision, Barron couldn’t immediately chase after her to win her back.

He could only try to talk to the girl after both sides had calmed down a bit. If he still couldn’t win her back with sweet words by then…

Then it could only be said that the girl had made her final decision, and the two of them would have to separate.

Having lived a second life, Barron had become more philosophical about this. Amanda was different from ordinary girls. When she was young, the two of them might be able to overcome some obstacles because of their feelings for each other, but unless she remained unmarried for life, how could she continue to be with him without any status?

And speaking of which, Barron asked himself honestly, his feelings for Amanda hadn’t reached a very deep level. The two of them were together more because of physical attraction. Even so, objectively speaking, Amanda’s appearance and figure weren’t the most outstanding among his women… Her family background added a lot to her appeal, but for Barron now, that kind of halo wasn’t a decisive factor.

“Lydia, yes, Amanda just left here. We had some disagreements…”

After thinking for a moment, Barron called Lydia Hearst.

Amanda hadn’t come with her cousin Lydia this time. Lydia was very surprised after hearing the news that Amanda had decided to break up with Barron.

“I can understand her feelings, after all, Barron, we all need companionship at times…”

“I’m sorry, Lydia.”

Hearing the loneliness and sadness in Barron’s tone on the phone, Lydia’s “empathy” for her cousin immediately softened. She said softly, “Don’t be like that, darling. I’ll go talk to Amanda later and have a good talk with her. Besides, I want to see you too…”

…

“Your Grace, this is the information on Costco. Currently, the company’s stock price is around $70, with a market value of approximately $31 billion, up 32% from the same period last year…”

The information Zhang Junning handed to Barron was about Costco. Costco was founded in 1983, when America was in a period of severe stagflation, with high unemployment and inflation coexisting.

Consumers in this era were price-sensitive, and low-priced, high-quality goods were what consumers wanted in the early 1980s.

Costco distinguished itself from traditional retailers by not relying on price markups for profit. Instead, its business model focused on long-term membership growth, which allowed it to stand out in the global retail competition.

In Costco, the arrangement of goods is different from that of ordinary supermarkets. It is more like a wholesale market, and their customers are used to driving to buy goods in bulk, whole packages and boxes, which are extremely cost-effective. It looks less like shopping and more like stocking up.

Another thing worth mentioning is that Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway has also purchased a lot of Costco stock. Interestingly, Costco is also a stock that Munger strongly recommended to Buffett. Berkshire Hathaway has been buying Costco stock since 2000.

Prior to this, Costco had become the fifth-largest retailer in America and the eighth-largest retailer in the world, with 53.5 million members worldwide and eight stores in Asia.

Barron was deeply impressed with Costco, mainly because it was a company that Buffett had once “heavily invested” in, and there were many related reports.

From what he knew in his previous life, Barron knew that after the financial crisis, due to the impact of the economic downturn, which led to a decline in consumer confidence, the growth of traditional retailers such as Walmart and Target had declined, but Costco had developed well against the trend.

From 2008 to 2015, Walmart’s compound annual growth rate fell to 2.5%, while Costco was still able to maintain a compound annual growth rate of more than 7%. In the eyes of investors, Costco’s performance was fully comparable to Amazon.

Chapter 599: King Behind the Scenes

It was quite obvious that Barron had long been considering Costco. By acquiring the company, Argos Retail Group would be able to extend its reach into its competitor Amazon’s home turf: the North American market.

In addition, Costco also had a considerable number of stores in Asia and the Chinese market, although the stores in the Chinese market were mainly in the Taiwan area—the Costco stores in Taiwan could be said to be among its most profitable stores globally.

Costco entered mainland China very late, not opening a store in Shanghai until 2019. The opening of that store was unprecedentedly popular, which left a deep impression on Barron.

The advantage of acquiring Costco was that the company did not have a controlling shareholder. Therefore, when making an acquisition, Barron only needed to ensure that he held enough shares and obtained the consent of the company’s board of directors, without having to “fight” with the family or group controlling the company, as he would when acquiring companies like Hermès.

Similarly, the disadvantage was also that it did not have a controlling shareholder—institutional investors held nearly 70% of Costco’s shares. Among them, The Vanguard Group, BlackRock, Berkshire Hathaway, State Street, Geode Capital Management, and FMR LLC were among the top shareholders, collectively holding nearly 30% of the company’s shares.

Therefore, Barron needed to absorb Costco shares from retail investors in the secondary market while dealing with some of these institutions to purchase their Costco shares.

Currently, Costco’s stock price was above 70 dollars, up 32% compared to the same period last year.

However, it would still be affected by the subprime mortgage crisis. Within this year, Costco’s stock price would drop to around 40 dollars at its lowest point. Therefore, taking advantage of this major trend, Barron’s side would also be able to absorb a certain percentage of Costco shares through the secondary market.

Moreover, for some institutions, many of their assets were affected during the gradual outbreak of the subprime mortgage crisis, and some of them even needed funds to remedy the situation.

Under such circumstances, persuading them to sell their Costco shares would not be too difficult.

From now on, Barron’s fund had already begun absorbing Costco shares. This would be a relatively long process to slowly achieve a controlling stake.

Specifically, Costco was the largest membership-based warehouse retail chain in the United States. Their operating methods were quite different from those of Argos Retail Group’s previous stores.

But considering the overall investment returns and the help to Argos’s business, Costco could be said to be one of their best acquisition targets.

After all, as everyone knew, the retail industry in the North American market was fiercely competitive. The largest retail companies in the world were all in North America.

Argos’s model was suitable for Europe, but it was not necessarily suitable for North America, let alone Asia—in the original timeline, Argos’s e-commerce exploration into the Chinese market ended in failure.

If Argos Retail Group wanted to enter the North American market and develop from scratch, it would definitely be very difficult and face huge competition—and in the e-commerce field, it would also need to directly face the pressure from Amazon.

The best option was to expand the market by acquiring Costco, and then use Costco’s channels to supplement its e-commerce sector.

Of course, that was something to be considered later.

…

“Congratulations, Mr. Obama, I hope you can achieve final victory in this election.”

“Thank you for your support, Your Grace.”

During this time, Barron also took the time to meet privately with Barack Obama.

This year was an election year in the United States, and in early June, Obama became the Democratic Party’s candidate in this year’s general election during the Democratic Party’s internal election.

In this Democratic Party internal election, Obama’s biggest opponent was Hillary, the wife of former President Bill Clinton.

In this party election, Obama won 1,762 delegate votes and 394 superdelegate votes, for a total of 2,156 votes.

Hillary, on the other hand, received 1,637 delegate votes and 283 superdelegate votes, for a total of 1,920 votes.

Because according to the rules, 2,118 votes were needed to win the Democratic nomination, Hillary could only admit defeat and choose to withdraw from the election.

And Obama obtained enough votes and was finally determined to be the Democratic candidate.

It was also worth mentioning that this time, the candidates participating in the Democratic Party’s competition also included that “American Grandpa” from before Barron’s rebirth, but he and the other four candidates had already fallen behind Obama and Hillary in January of this year and chose to withdraw from the competition.

In this general election, because George W. Bush had already served two terms, Obama’s opponent, the Republican candidate, was determined to be John McCain, the federal senator from Arizona, in March of this year.

As mentioned before, the country’s economic situation during and before the election would have a great impact on the election results.

Because of the impact of this subprime mortgage crisis, the public had many complaints about the current Republican Party in power. Therefore, from the current survey data, the Democratic Party’s situation was still relatively optimistic.

In this meeting between Barron and Obama, it could also be seen from the other party’s face that he was very confident about the upcoming election.

Of course, once Obama took office, the trouble of the subprime mortgage crisis would be his headache…

Obama’s warmth towards Barron was not only because Barron had provided him with a considerable amount of funding through certain channels, but also because the media that Barron could influence, including the Sinclair Group, was also a very important channel for voicing opinions in Obama’s campaign.

In addition to Obama, Barron also took this opportunity to meet with many people, including some Wall Street capitalists.

For example, Jamie Dimon, the chairman and CEO of JPMorgan Chase.

JPMorgan Chase had just acquired Bear Stearns, which had fallen into bankruptcy, and could be said to have gained something in this subprime mortgage crisis—this was both an expansion of JPMorgan Chase’s scale and an execution of their self-proclaimed responsibility for “saving the economy.”

From the name of JPMorgan Chase, one of the Wall Street giants, it was related to the Morgan family.

In fact, there were currently two Wall Street giants named “Morgan,” namely Morgan Stanley and JPMorgan Chase, which were often referred to as “Big Morgan” and “Little Morgan.”

Their emergence could be traced back to nearly 80 years ago, and it was also related to the famous “Titanic”…

If anyone had ever been the king behind the scenes in the United States, then the Morgan family was one of the most qualified candidates to be nominated.

At the beginning of the 20th century, the financial capital directly controlled by the Morgan family accounted for 38% of the total financial capital in the United States, with a total value of nearly 20 billion dollars, plus 12.5 billion dollars in insurance assets, accounting for 65% of the total insurance industry in the United States.

They once led the heroic feat of saving the American economy—

In October 1907, the stock price of the New York Stock Exchange fell by 50% year-on-year, and there were many bank and trust company runs.

As a large number of state and local banks and enterprises went bankrupt, panic spread throughout the country, which was called the Panic of 1907.

At that time, the United States had not yet established a central banking system and could not effectively intervene in the market.

The leader of the Morgan family, J.P. Morgan, stepped in to save the market, quickly gathering senior executives from major banks and trusts and various families, including the Rockefellers, to form a joint consortium responsible for allocating interbank funds to enter the market and sweep up goods, effectively curbing the sharp decline in stock prices.

With the strong intervention of multiple family consortia led by Morgan, the Great Panic ended in less than a month.

However, the American government also began to realize that the power of private consortia was too strong and began to gradually curb the major families.

This laid the groundwork for the birth of the Federal Reserve five years later…

Chapter 600: A Resounding Success

To put it simply, the most massive and luxurious cruise ship in the world at the time, the Titanic, was commissioned by the Morgan consortium.

In 1912, during the Titanic’s maiden voyage, it struck an iceberg and sank…

This was not only a disaster in human history, but also a turning point in the Morgan family’s wealth and destiny.

As a result, the Morgan consortium faced a series of congressional accusations and was forced to accept investigation.

And the legendary figure of the Morgan consortium, J.P. Morgan, died mysteriously two months after testifying in court. After that, the Federal Reserve was established, gradually replacing the Morgan family’s 150-year-long position as the central bank of America.

Afterward, America suffered the Great Depression. The stock and bond markets were severely depressed, the national economy was bleak, and the unemployment rate exceeded 10%.

People took to the streets, erupting in a tide of anger against Wall Street. The underlying theory was that the mixed operation of commercial banking and investment banking at the time had drawbacks, which amplified financial risks.

So in 1932, the U.S. Congress passed the Glass-Steagall Act, requiring commercial banks and investment banks to operate separately, thereby further weakening the power of private consortia and maintaining the stability of the financial market.

Ultimately, this act forced J.P. Morgan & Co. to abandon its investment banking business and choose to transform into a single commercial bank.

In 1935, J.P. Morgan & Co. completely closed its investment banking division.

J.P. Morgan’s grandson, Henry Sturgis Morgan, and Harold Stanley led the company’s investment banking team to leave and establish a new securities company, named Morgan Stanley, which is what we usually call “Big Morgan.”

Morgan Stanley’s registered capital and founding team all came from the original J.P. Morgan & Co. From then on, Morgan was split into J.P. Morgan and Morgan Stanley.

Since the 1980s, American financial regulation has also become more relaxed.

With the development and expansion of the American financial industry, commercial banks began to penetrate into investment banking, and many commercial banks had disguised investment banking departments.

In 1999, the U.S. Congress passed the Financial Services Modernization Act, abolishing the relevant provisions of the Glass-Steagall Act, legally eliminating the boundaries between banks, securities, and insurance institutions in terms of business scope, and ending America’s more than sixty years of separate financial operations.

The result was that commercial banks began to engage in investment banking business on a large scale, and J.P. Morgan & Co. gradually became a full-service bank.

In addition to the commercial banking sector, investment banking and asset management businesses were successively added, while Morgan Stanley still specialized in investment banking.

From the perspective of investment banking history, J.P. Morgan’s investment banking branch appeared later than Morgan Stanley, so Morgan Stanley is called “Big Morgan,” and J.P. Morgan is called “Little Morgan.”

But J.P. Morgan’s comprehensive strength is stronger. In this situation, when Barron was in the financial industry in his previous life, he often heard people in the Chinese industry jokingly refer to it as “Big Head Son and Small Head Dad.”

In 2000, J.P. Morgan & Co. merged with Chase Manhattan Bank to form JPMorgan Chase. Interestingly, Chase Bank was once the financial business platform of the Rockefeller family consortium, and has since undergone several mergers and acquisitions.

In this subprime mortgage crisis, JPMorgan Chase not only withstood the test of the subprime mortgage crisis, but also took the opportunity to acquire Bear Stearns at a low price…

Later, they will also merge with the bankrupt Washington Mutual, becoming the winner in this financial storm.

In 2004, JPMorgan Chase’s total assets were 1.12 trillion dollars, second only to Citigroup’s 1.19 trillion dollars.

And in Barron’s previous life, by 2009, JPMorgan Chase’s assets exceeded two trillion dollars, surpassing Citigroup by two hundred billion dollars.

Its investment banking business caught up with Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley to become the largest underwriter on Wall Street.

Yes, in this subprime mortgage crisis, many bankrupt banks and investment banks will become food for other “vultures,” but these “vultures” will also act according to their capabilities when hunting.

Because blindly expanding the scale does not necessarily increase profits. In previous and subsequent large company mergers and acquisitions, there was also a significant proportion of bankruptcies due to failed restructuring.

Therefore, Barron’s purpose in meeting with these Wall Street capitals, including JPMorgan Chase, who still retain strength in the subprime mortgage crisis, is to enter their ranks and maintain tacit understanding with them, so as to avoid conflicts in the “sharing of spoils.”

The reason why JPMorgan Chase ultimately acquired Bear Stearns is not only because their strength is sufficient, but also because Bear Stearns’ business is more suitable for JPMorgan Chase to merge with.

If many of the other party’s businesses overlap with their own, then acquisition is not the best choice.

The same is true for Barron. It is impossible for him to swallow all of these “fat pieces of meat” that are in trouble in the subprime mortgage crisis. On the one hand, there is not that much capital, and on the other hand, this will also cause dissatisfaction among other Wall Street giants, and it will also easily bury many hidden dangers if Standard Chartered Bank expands too much in the short term.

He needs a state of competition and cooperation with those other capital giants, maintaining a certain tacit understanding between each other.

…

“The success of Iron Man has greatly encouraged Marvel Studios. Next, they will immediately start preparing for the second Iron Man movie and another character movie, Thor…”

Hearing the words of Blue Valley Capital CEO Annika Dawson, Barron did not object. This was itself a change made under his proposal.

Originally, Marvel Studios was planning to shoot Iron Man and the Hulk movie The Incredible Hulk at the same time, but Barron knew that in his previous life, The Incredible Hulk did not perform well, so he rejected the plan for this movie and changed it to another movie, Thor.

But out of caution, Marvel Studios CEO Kevin Feige decided to wait until the first Iron Man movie was released and see the reaction before starting the Thor movie.

As a result, in April of this year, Iron Man finally began its global release, including the Chinese region.

As a result, this Marvel movie, which was not originally favored, took in 100.7 million dollars at the North American box office on its opening weekend. With this staggering achievement, the film undoubtedly took the top spot on the North American box office chart.

After that, Iron Man began to be released around the world, and the box office continued to accumulate and increase.

So far, Iron Man’s North American box office has exceeded 250 million dollars, and its overseas box office has exceeded 200 million dollars.

According to predictions from relevant institutions, Iron Man’s global box office will definitely exceed 550 million dollars, and may even reach 600 million dollars!

This number, compared to its production cost of less than 140 million dollars, is definitely a huge profit.

You know, box office revenue only accounts for a relatively small part of a Hollywood movie’s total revenue. Subsequent peripheral and DVD income is the main part.

And the most crucial thing is that after Iron Man succeeded, it declared that the “Marvel Universe” has been opened. Next, Marvel-MGM Group will be more confident in investing in Marvel movies. This is just the beginning.

Chapter 601: Acquisition Negotiations

Now, the only regret for the Marvel Universe is that characters including Spider-Man and the X-Men are no longer in Marvel’s hands.

Especially Spider-Man, who is one of the most popular superheroes in Marvel comics.

But Spider-Man is with Sony, and the X-Men and Fantastic Four are with News Corporation. At this time, the film and entertainment part of News Corporation has not yet been spun off to form 21st Century Fox. Retrieving them won’t be easy, so Barron can only see if there are any opportunities during this subprime mortgage crisis.

In addition to Marvel Studios, MGM Studios’ Twilight sequel and Quantum of Solace are also completed and will be released at the end of this year.

In addition, the Rocky reboot series is also underway.

It can be said that through the success of this series of films, the Marvel-MGM Group has begun to embark on the road to revitalization.

“There’s also the matter of Netflix. They’ve agreed to our request for an equity stake…”

Prior to this, DS Capital held less than 15% of Netflix’s shares, which already made them a major shareholder in Netflix.

Netflix’s video platform is also developing quite well, until… the establishment of Hulu.

Just last October, Hulu, a video website jointly invested by NBC Universal, News Corporation, and Disney, began its trial operation.

Initially, not many people in Silicon Valley or even the entire IT industry were optimistic about it. People thought it was just another “last-ditch effort” by old media.

But when Hulu ended its testing phase with 5 million users, this video website invested in by traditional entertainment media began to receive countless praises. It was considered the most successful case of traditional television and film industries connecting with the internet to date, a strong challenge to YouTube and Netflix, and possibly even a disruptive influence on the entire video industry.

The most nervous about Hulu’s success was not Woaw’s YouTube, but Netflix.

Because in addition to content from NBC and Fox, Hulu also partnered with more than 80 content producers such as Sony, Warner Bros., Lionsgate, and the NBA. And major and minor websites such as America Online, Yahoo, MSN, and MySpace were all its channel partners.

The influence of Hulu’s three major shareholders allowed it to have such powerful content and channels.

But before this, the content played on Netflix’s video platform was also mainly provided by these television groups and film companies. Now that the Hulu platform has appeared, it is difficult for Netflix to guarantee the sustainability of its content in a competitive situation.

To prepare for a rainy day, Netflix founder Hastings began to contact those content providers, hoping to obtain a longer-term and more stable source of content.

From the perspective of Marvel-MGM, which is owned by Blue Valley Capital, it should be on the side of the Hulu platform. But unfortunately, when the Hulu platform was established, Marvel-MGM was not valued by the Hollywood bigwigs, and therefore did not become a shareholder in Hulu.

Correspondingly, although Marvel-MGM received an invitation from the Hulu platform to cooperate on content, they still had another option, which was Netflix.

Of course, the premise was that Netflix could give up enough shares to bind the interests of both parties.

Obviously, Hastings made a wise choice in this situation. He agreed to Blue Valley Capital’s investment and prepared to issue new shares to Blue Valley Capital, so that its holding of Netflix shares reached 15% of the total share capital after the issuance.

If this cooperation can be reached, then Barron’s controlled share of Netflix will reach 27.41% (the original 14.6% of Netflix shares held by DS Holdings will be diluted to 12.41% after this issuance), becoming the largest shareholder of Netflix.

However, because Blue Valley Capital has no direct relationship with Barron on the surface, in the eyes of others, Blue Valley Capital and DS Holdings are just two separate shareholders.

…

Amanda had disappeared after leaving Barron last time.

Barron only learned from Lydia Hearst, who came to California to see him, that when talking to her cousin, Amanda said that she didn’t want to see anyone now and was going out to relax…

Since this was the case, Barron could only instruct Lydia to pay more attention to Amanda’s news, and then spent a few days accompanying the girl.

When the time entered July, the impact of the subprime mortgage crisis continued to expand.

Now almost all eyes are on Lehman Brothers.

Since last year, Lehman Brothers’ stock price has been falling all the way, and in the two months from the end of April to the beginning of July this year, Lehman Brothers accumulated losses of nearly 4 billion dollars!

So at the end of June, Lehman Brothers’ boss, Fuld, began to save himself.

At that time, he planned to sell 55% of the equity in its asset management business, and at the same time establish a new company to spin off 30 billion dollars of commercial real estate assets.

But this measure did not play any role at all. At this time, investors no longer believed that Lehman Brothers could get out of trouble through such methods.

Under these circumstances, Lehman Brothers began to put itself on the shelf.

At this time, there were still many people interested in acquiring Lehman Brothers, one of the five major Wall Street investment banks. Those who participated in the acquisition negotiations of Lehman Brothers included the Korea Development Bank, Bank of America, Barclays Bank, and Standard Chartered Bank.

Lehman Brothers first negotiated with the Korea Development Bank.

However, this negotiation was not smooth, and could even be described as difficult.

According to the information Barron received, the Korea Development Bank was willing to acquire a controlling stake in Lehman Brothers at a price of 6.40 dollars per share. This price was already at a 30% premium to Lehman Brothers’ current stock price, and the Korea Development Bank believed that it had given enough of a premium.

But on the Lehman Brothers side, its boss Fuld insisted that the Korea Development Bank acquire it at 17.50 dollars per share…

This price is equivalent to more than 3.5 times the current stock price of Lehman Brothers!

Just as their negotiation was deadlocked, South Korean financial regulators publicly warned on July 5 that South Korean banks should consider financial risks when acquiring overseas banking assets.

Under domestic pressure, coupled with Lehman Brothers’ insistence on not lowering the price, the Korea Development Bank finally announced that it would abandon the acquisition of Lehman Brothers.

Next, Lehman Brothers began to negotiate with the remaining acquirers, including Bank of America, Barclays Bank, and Standard Chartered Bank.

Chapter 602: Snatching the Deal

“Your Grace, it seems we’ve become competitors this time…”

Representing Barclays Bank in the acquisition negotiations with Lehman Brothers was Baron’s old acquaintance, Rolf.

Rolf was the credit officer at Barclays Bank who Baron dealt with when resolving the Devonshire family’s debt issues shortly after his rebirth into this world.

Later, through Rolf, Baron engaged in deeper cooperation with Barclays Bank, during which Baron’s wealth increased dramatically.

Rolf’s position also steadily rose, and he is now a Vice President at Barclays Bank, specifically responsible for the acquisition negotiations for Lehman Brothers.

After hearing Rolf’s words, Baron said with a smile:

“Although it appears we are competitors in this acquisition, nothing is absolute. We can also be collaborators.”

“Your meaning?”

“What Wall Street created should be cleaned up by Wall Street. But now we’ve come here as allies, although being too eager may not be appreciated…”

Baron looked at Rolf and said:

“Just remember, I won’t be your competitor.”

While Baron was meeting with Rolf, Bank of America announced its withdrawal from the acquisition of Lehman Brothers because the Federal Reserve refused to provide financial assistance.

Now, only Standard Chartered Bank and Barclays Bank, two British banks, remained as Lehman Brothers’ potential saviors.

“You must have noticed that although our sincerity in acquiring Lehman Brothers is sufficient, they still act with unwarranted confidence during the negotiations…”

Baron’s words struck a chord with Rolf, who couldn’t help but complain:

“Fuld, that greedy bastard, isn’t just doing this to us. Wasn’t the South Korean Development Bank the same way before? He’s convinced that the American government won’t let a investment bank as large as Lehman Brothers fail and will eventually bail them out, so he won’t budge on the price. But how could we offer a price several times the premium…”

Indeed, the American government ultimately bailed out companies and banks such as Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and Bear Stearns. Therefore, convinced that Lehman Brothers would also be bailed out in the end, its CEO, Fuld, held firm on his price demands during the acquisition negotiations.

“That’s what he thinks…”

Baron said to Rolf calmly:

“But will that really be the case?”

“You mean… Impossible!”

Hearing Baron’s words, Rolf widened his eyes and couldn’t help but say.

…

July 12th, Saturday.

Although it was the weekend, given Lehman Brothers’ current situation, if an acquisition agreement couldn’t be reached, they would likely have to announce bankruptcy on Monday.

On this day, the negotiating team from Standard Chartered Bank began final negotiations with Lehman Brothers. If they couldn’t reach an agreement today, Lehman Brothers would only be able to negotiate with Barclays Bank – because Standard Chartered Bank was the only one willing to make an all-cash offer, rather than a stock swap, and they were willing to acquire Lehman Brothers as a whole, rather than requiring the disposal of bad assets. Therefore, Lehman Brothers decided to negotiate with them first.

The negotiations continued until two o’clock in the afternoon. The two sides finally reached an agreement on the main terms of the acquisition and were preparing to sign the agreement when the Standard Chartered Bank’s negotiating representative took a call outside. Upon returning to the negotiation room, he said to the Lehman Brothers’ negotiating team:

“I’m very sorry, but this agreement doesn’t need to be drafted any further. Our board of directors has informed me to stop negotiations. We will terminate the acquisition from this moment on.”

Time shifted back to the day before…

July 11th, Friday, 8:00 PM, New York Fed Conference Room, a crucial meeting concerning global economic security was being held.

The attendees of this meeting included representatives from Goldman Sachs, Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup, Bank of New York Mellon, as well as Credit Suisse, BNP Paribas, Royal Bank of Scotland, and UBS.

Of course, also present were U.S. Treasury Secretary Paulson and Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Cox.

New York Fed President Geithner was the main convener of this meeting, and his goal was simply to reach an agreement to rescue Lehman Brothers.

However, Lehman Brothers and its potential acquirers, Standard Chartered Bank and Barclays Bank, were not invited.

“Thank you all for arriving on such short notice.”

Treasury Secretary Paulson spoke first. He briefly introduced Lehman Brothers’ precarious situation and urged that a solution be found before the weekend.

To make the focus of the solution clear to the attendees, Paulson said bluntly:

“Don’t expect government funding. The main players in solving this problem are you. If Lehman ceases to exist, our lives will be even more difficult. You should step in.”

That morning, Paulson had breakfast with Federal Reserve Chairman Bernanke, and they exchanged views on this matter. Both expressed a desire to avoid Lehman’s collapse in chaos and encouraged the private sector to solve its own problems.

However, Bernanke didn’t understand why Paulson was taking such a hard line. He suspected that Paulson was frustrated by the bailout of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and didn’t want to become the spokesperson for bailing out Wall Street.

Next, New York Fed President Geithner also stated that the Federal Reserve would not provide “special credit support.”

He also spoke to the bigwigs in an almost threatening tone:

“If you can’t find a suitable solution, panic will spread as soon as the market opens next Monday. A local problem will turn into a major disaster, and the entire financial system will be in danger.”

Paulson and Bernanke’s purpose in holding tight to the money was to force Wall Street financial giants to contribute funds to rescue Lehman Brothers, after all, you made this mess.

However, the other parties hoped that the Treasury Department or the Federal Reserve would step in. Some of them regarded Paulson’s threat as a bargaining tactic.

A complex power and interest game was entering its climax.

For the first few hours of the meeting, the financial giants were in no hurry to express their opinions, after all, they were not yet clear about Lehman’s true financial state.

Next door to the conference room, Paulson appointed Goldman Sachs and Credit Suisse to form an accounting team to assess Lehman’s true assets.

The accounting team’s lawyers, auditors, and accountants turned Lehman’s books upside down.

Treasury Secretary Paulson was angered by everyone’s passive attitude:

“This matter concerns the economic security of the entire United States. I will remember those who did not contribute.”

After speaking, he asked the attendees to continue the meeting here at 9:00 AM the next morning.

The next morning, which was when Standard Chartered Bank began final negotiations with Lehman Brothers, the accounting team announced their assessment data.

They believed that Lehman’s current asset value should be discounted by 40 percent, or even lower.

This result shocked the attendees, and the acquisition immediately fell into pessimism.

Bernanke even suspected that Goldman Sachs had deliberately lowered the numbers and exaggerated the risks.

Geithner explained to Bernanke that such a possibility existed. The value jointly assessed by Goldman Sachs and Credit Suisse was far lower than what Lehman Brothers itself claimed, which made it difficult for the market to trust Lehman.

At this time, the government’s idea, including Paulson and Bernanke, was to hope that Wall Street financial companies would jointly provide financial support or guarantees to assist Standard Chartered Bank or Barclays Bank in acquiring Lehman Brothers.

In case neither bank was willing to acquire, a cooperative mechanism would be adopted, using the power of the entire financial industry to prevent Lehman Brothers from collapsing in chaos and disorder.

Just like the bailout of Long-Term Capital Management ten years ago.

However, Bernanke ignored a fact – when they joined hands to rescue Long-Term Capital Management ten years ago, Lehman Brothers initially didn’t want to contribute a single cent, and was later forced to contribute $100 million, $150 million short of its original commitment.

…

After hearing the Standard Chartered Bank representative announce the termination of the acquisition, Lehman Brothers’ negotiating team was thunderstruck.

Afterwards, they learned that Standard Chartered Bank was also negotiating with Merrill Lynch, which was also in trouble, at the same time as they were negotiating with them – and Merrill Lynch had offered Standard Chartered Bank “an offer they couldn’t refuse.”

At yesterday’s meeting, Lehman Brothers and Standard Chartered Bank did not participate, while the Merrill Lynch representative who attended the meeting had already understood from Paulson and Bernanke’s attitude that the government would probably not provide a “safety net” bailout like they did for Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and Bear Stearns this time.

In this case, for Merrill Lynch, which was in the same situation as Lehman Brothers, Standard Chartered Bank became one of their few buyers, and they were in contact with Lehman Brothers!

It should be known that the entire meeting last night was counting on Standard Chartered Bank to acquire Lehman Brothers, and the Treasury Department and the Federal Reserve did not show any intention of providing a bailout.

In this case, Merrill Lynch’s CEO, Thain, showed a strong desire to survive. He decisively intervened, urgently contacted Standard Chartered Bank, and clung to this gold master by “selling off” at a low price.

Chapter 603: Standard Chartered-Merrill Lynch Group

According to the emergency merger agreement signed between Merrill Lynch and Standard Chartered Bank, Standard Chartered Bank will acquire Merrill Lynch for a total price of 40 billion U.S. dollars, which includes 25 billion U.S. dollars in cash and 15 billion U.S. dollars worth of newly issued shares to Merrill Lynch shareholders to complete the acquisition.

This acquisition price represents a premium of more than 50% compared to the market capitalization corresponding to Merrill Lynch’s closing price on the previous trading day.

This offer is obviously favorable to Merrill Lynch.

This is precisely one of the reasons why Merrill Lynch quickly finalized a transaction with Standard Chartered Bank after contacting several potential buyers in succession.

Previously, Bear Stearns and Lehman Brothers suffered heavy losses because they missed the best timing for the transaction, and the shareholders could not transfer their shares normally. This undoubtedly increased the sense of urgency among Merrill Lynch’s shareholders, prompting them to reach a deal quickly.

After the acquisition is completed, all of Merrill Lynch’s shares will be replaced with cash and Standard Chartered Bank shares, and Merrill Lynch will complete its delisting from the stock market.

According to Barron’s plan, after completing this merger, Standard Chartered Bank will be renamed Standard Chartered-Merrill Lynch Group. Some of Merrill Lynch’s overseas businesses will be incorporated into Standard Chartered Bank, while in the United States, investment banking business will still be conducted under the name “Merrill Lynch.”

Prior to this, Standard Chartered Bank also had both commercial banking and investment banking businesses, but its business was mainly concentrated in emerging markets such as Asia, Africa, and Latin America. After acquiring Northern Rock Bank, Standard Chartered Bank expanded its commercial banking and investment banking business in the United Kingdom. Now, through the acquisition of Merrill Lynch, they will also enter the North American market with these main businesses.

It should be noted that Merrill Lynch is a bank with a relatively prominent brokerage business, with 16,000 financial advisors. Through the acquisition of Merrill Lynch, Standard Chartered-Merrill Lynch Group will not only enter the commercial banking and securities business in the United States, but its brokerage business income will also greatly increase, and the proportion of non-interest income will further increase.

The commercial bank owned by Merrill Lynch, Merrill Lynch Industrial Bank, will also be incorporated into the Standard Chartered Bank system, thereby giving it a large number of business institutions and depositors in North America.

It is worth mentioning that, up to this acquisition, the market value of Standard Chartered Bank has reached 60 billion U.S. dollars, and its stock price has increased by more than 30% compared to last year! Its scale has increased by 1.5 times in the past four years, and the assets currently controlled by Standard Chartered Bank are close to 600 billion U.S. dollars.

This also makes Standard Chartered Bank the fourth largest listed bank in the United Kingdom, behind HSBC Holdings, Royal Bank of Scotland, and Barclays Bank.

This acquisition of Merrill Lynch by Standard Chartered Bank will be financed by British Fortune Times (BFT) Fund with 25 billion U.S. dollars (through the BFT Fund’s purchase of 25 billion U.S. dollars of convertible bonds from Standard Chartered Bank), and 15 billion U.S. dollars worth of new shares will be issued to Merrill Lynch.

In this way, after the acquisition, the original shareholders of Merrill Lynch will hold approximately 20% of the shares of Standard Chartered-Merrill Lynch Group (of which the shares of Merrill Lynch held by Caesar Fund will be replaced by approximately 1.7% of the shares of Standard Chartered-Merrill Lynch Group, as well as some cash).

After the acquisition, DS Holdings will hold 52% of the shares of Standard Chartered-Merrill Lynch Group; Rich23 Capital will hold 12% of its shares; and Caesar Fund will hold 1.7% of its shares.

Currently, Barron still controls 65.7% of the shares of Standard Chartered-Merrill Lynch Group.

In addition, Cavendish Trust owns 25 billion pounds of convertible bonds of Standard Chartered-Merrill Lynch Group; the BFT Fund also holds 25 billion U.S. dollars of convertible bonds of Standard Chartered-Merrill Lynch Group.

After these bonds are converted into shares of Standard Chartered-Merrill Lynch Group at the appropriate time, Barron’s shareholding in Standard Chartered-Merrill Lynch Group will also increase significantly.

In fact, for the listed companies he previously controlled, a major method of capital operation in this subprime mortgage crisis is to start reducing holdings when the stock price is at a high level, and then, after the subprime mortgage crisis gradually breaks out, provide funds to these companies in the form of convertible bonds to carry out acquisitions and expansions.

Then, when the stock price is at a low level, the convertible bonds are converted into ordinary shares of the company in order to greatly increase the proportion of shares he controls in these listed companies.

After this process, a cycle of “selling high and buying low” is completed.

Currently, Standard Chartered Bank has signed an acquisition agreement with Merrill Lynch and obtained the approval of both boards of directors.

Of course, this agreement still needs to be finally approved by the European Union and the U.S. government, and then this huge merger plan will begin.

……

Just as Standard Chartered Group reached an agreement with Merrill Lynch, it also meant that Lehman Brothers’ last straw was only Barclays Bank at this time.

At this time, Barclays Bank did not have an investment banking business. In order to enter the U.S. market, they had previously stated that they were willing to acquire Lehman Brothers after the toxic assets were stripped off for 10 billion U.S. dollars.

As mentioned earlier, in order to survive this bankruptcy crisis, Lehman Brothers’ CEO, Fuld, proposed a spin-off plan—he planned to strip out Lehman Brothers’ problem assets and other mortgage-related assets to form a “bad bank”; and merge the best assets and high-quality businesses into a “good bank.”

Financing through the sale of the “good bank” would inject capital into the “bad bank.”

At that time, the South Korean Development Bank was interested in Fuld’s plan and made an acquisition offer to Lehman Brothers.

They originally had a chance to reach a cooperation, but Fuld disliked the other party’s low offer, and the negotiations between the two parties were deadlocked.

So a few days later, South Korean financial regulators criticized the deal, which directly led to the South Korean Development Bank abandoning the acquisition.

However, now that the hope of selling Lehman Brothers as a whole to Standard Chartered Bank has fallen through, they can only pick up this plan again in order to negotiate with Barclays Bank…

The day after Standard Chartered Bank terminated its acquisition of Lehman Brothers, on July 13, U.S. Treasury Secretary Paulson and Geithner came to the meeting hall to announce good news that everyone present already knew. Last night, British Barclays Bank drafted a complete plan to acquire Lehman and was ready to implement it.

The only obstacle now is that the plan requires other banks to provide sufficient funds to finance Lehman Brothers’ bad assets, totaling approximately 33 billion U.S. dollars.

Geithner asked the big shots present to give a number and formulate a detailed funding plan.

Barclays Bank’s acquisition enthusiasm gave the big shots full confidence. Except for Merrill Lynch (which had been determined to be acquired by Standard Chartered Bank) and Bear Stearns (which had been acquired by JPMorgan Chase) clearly stated that they were unwilling to contribute, the other bankers formed a circle and began to subscribe for funding shares. Among them, JPMorgan Chase’s CEO Dimon was the most active.

JPMorgan Chase stated that they were willing to provide 1 billion U.S. dollars to finance Lehman Brothers’ bad assets…

Chapter 604: Dead End

Just when they thought everything was settled, the head of the British Financial Services Authority, McCarthy, called Geithner.

McCarthy informed Geithner that the British Financial Services Authority still needed to assess whether Barclays had the appropriate capital structure to take on the risk of acquiring Lehman Brothers.

After hanging up, Geithner stormed into Treasury Secretary Paulson’s office, informing Paulson and Cox of the reality that British financial regulators might veto the deal.

Paulson immediately expressed disbelief.

He asked Cox to call McCarthy again to confirm.

After receiving the same response, Paulson personally called the British Chancellor of the Exchequer, Darling, who also expressed anxiety about the potential risks of the deal, stating that Barclays’ acquisition of Lehman Brothers would pose a threat to British financial security—especially after Standard Chartered Bank had already acquired Merrill Lynch.

After hanging up, Paulson said fiercely,

“We’ve been played by the British; they don’t want to import our cancer!”

At this point, he still wanted to call George W. Bush, hoping the President could communicate with the British Prime Minister to see if there was any room for maneuver.

However, he seemed to have heard from the British Chancellor of the Exchequer that Prime Minister Brown was already aware of the matter, so he gave up on the final attempt.

“Why didn’t we think of this before? This is freaking crazy.”

Geithner exclaimed at the newly emerged situation.

Paulson, Bernanke, Geithner, and the Wall Street giants had made a serious mistake. They hadn’t even considered that British financial regulators would veto the deal, nor did they have a second alternative.

At this point, everyone was in danger.

The subprime crisis was intensifying. Bear Stearns was acquired by JPMorgan Chase under the protection of the Federal Reserve, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were taken over by the Treasury Department…

Financial companies realized that Lehman Brothers’ toxic assets were huge and complex, which could trigger financial shocks and spread to themselves.

Everyone was looking for a way out for themselves.

The American government and Wall Street financial institutions were unwilling to do anything or bear anything for Lehman Brothers, so why would Britain take the bait?

British Chancellor of the Exchequer Darling had previously reminded Paulson on the phone:

“We need to determine what we will bear and what the American government is willing to do.”

To which Paulson replied:

“Then we are helpless.”

Obviously, Wall Street and the British government would respond in kind.

This day was a day of despair for Lehman.

After Sunday, Lehman Brothers didn’t have much time left.

With Barclays’ acquisition of Lehman falling through, Paulson immediately realized that Lehman’s bankruptcy was inevitable.

So, Paulson and Bernanke, who were originally Lehman’s rescuers, immediately turned into “life support removers.”

They urgently urged the Lehman Brothers board of directors to file for bankruptcy as soon as possible, to prevent the spread of bad market expectations.

At 1:00 AM on July 14th, the Lehman Brothers board of directors announced:

“Lehman Brothers Investment Company has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection with the federal government.”

Thus, Lehman Brothers, a company with a history of 158 years, created the largest investment bank bankruptcy case in American history.

The company, with debts of up to 613 billion dollars, collapsed, causing not only the loss of jobs for more than 20,000 employees, but also a chain reaction in the financial markets.

On Monday morning, as soon as the stock market opened, the US stock market encountered “Black Monday”—the Dow Jones Index experienced its largest single-day drop since the “9/11” attacks, and global stock markets collapsed accordingly.

The next day, Asian-Pacific stock markets, including those in Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong, and Taiwan, all experienced declines of more than 5%.

At this point, the global economy encountered the Lehman moment, and the subprime crisis ultimately led to a world-class financial tsunami.

…

“We are all witnessing history, aren’t we?”

At this time, Barron had returned to New York. He was in the office of the New York branch of DS Group on Wall Street, looking at the flow of people downstairs, which seemed no different from usual, but always gave a sense of oppression, and said lightly.

“This is indeed one of the few times in my career that I have seen such a…tense moment, Your Grace.”

Beside him was Davis, the president of Standard Chartered Bank, who said with emotion:

“The collapse of Lehman Brothers is just the beginning. I’m afraid an even bigger tsunami is coming next.”

“But the good news is that we are now standing on the shore, and we just need to wait for the tide to recede before picking up the prey trapped on the beach.”

Yes, after Lehman Brothers announced its bankruptcy, another piece of good news came: after taking over the previously bankrupt IndyMac Bank, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) was still in negotiations with Standard Chartered Bank regarding its acquisition of some of IndyMac Bank’s assets.

With Lehman Brothers announcing its bankruptcy, the other party may have finally realized that they needed to prepare to take over more bankrupt banks, so they quickly reached an agreement with Standard Chartered Bank.

Standard Chartered Bank will acquire all of IndyMac Bank’s branches and some assets for 1.5 billion dollars, on the condition that they need to take over this part of the other party’s employees.

These IndyMac Bank branches and assets will be merged with the Merrill Lynch industrial banking institutions and assets they acquired to become Standard Chartered Bank’s commercial banking branches in America.

Impacted by the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers, the only two remaining independent investment banks in America, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley, also encountered considerable trouble.

However, the most urgent situation was that of American International Group (AIG), the largest industrial and commercial insurance institution in America, which involved a large number of toxic assets, including credit default swaps (CDS).

After Lehman filed for bankruptcy, mortgage defaults increased sharply, and a large number of financial institutions and counterparties that purchased this type of insurance filed claims with American International Group.

If it does not receive financial assistance, this company may not last for a few days, or even a few hours.

American International Group has a company called “AIG Financial Products (AIG-FP),” which operates a large number of credit default swap derivatives (CDS). Due to a lack of supervision and American International Group’s indirect reputation guarantee, customers did not require this company to increase transaction margins, so this company has long been operating with light assets and high risks.

The reason for such deep involvement in CDS is also because during the previous real estate boom, from 2001 to the end of 2006, American house prices continued to rise.

In AIG’s view, insuring those subprime loans under such circumstances was a risk-free money-making opportunity—at that time, in order to earn two or three hundred million dollars in premiums a year, this company guaranteed a large number of CDS bonds, and was the company with the largest amount of CDS bond guarantees in the United States. Now, the payment of CDS bond premiums alone is enough to drag this company into the abyss.

Because, as mentioned earlier, in order to sell more related financial derivatives, those financial companies often took out several insurance policies for one CDO bond…that is, it could correspond to several CDS!

According to statistics, in 2007, the total value of the global CDS market was as high as 62 trillion dollars, far exceeding the 14.48 trillion dollars of America’s GDP that year, while the total value of American subprime mortgage bonds (CDO) was only 7 trillion dollars!

According to statistics for the third quarter of 2007, the top 25 banks in America held CDS products worth as much as 14 trillion dollars.

Therefore, the default risk brought about by Lehman’s collapse meant that the financial derivative of credit default swaps alone could crush the seemingly huge financial system.

Because of the greedy Wall Street capital, the default insurance CDS, which originally reduced asset risk, became a nuclear bomb that destroyed this financial bubble.

Chapter 605: The Abandoned Lehman Brothers

It should be pointed out that Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy protection under Chapter 11, which is different from directly filing for bankruptcy.

Directly filing for bankruptcy means that the company immediately and completely dies without any room for maneuver, leaving only the path of liquidation and closure…

While applying for bankruptcy protection means that the company can restructure its business in the coming months, trying every possible remedy, and striving to become profitable again. The bankrupt company can still operate as usual, the company’s management continues to be responsible for the company’s daily business, and its stocks and bonds continue to trade in the market.

So, after Lehman Brothers announced its application for bankruptcy protection, they began to sell some of their assets to obtain funds to fill the “hole.”

On July 16, Barclays Bank, the third largest bank in Britain, invested $1.75 billion to acquire Lehman Brothers’ New York headquarters, two data centers, and some trading assets.

Nomura Holdings Inc., the largest securities company in Japan, signed an agreement with Lehman Brothers on July 21 to acquire Lehman’s Asia Pacific business (excluding South Korea).

The next day, Standard Chartered Bank announced that it would acquire Lehman Brothers’ business in Europe and the Middle East.

Then, on July 28, United Energy Group stated that its subsidiary, British Gas Networks, had agreed to acquire Eagle Energy Partners I, L.P. from Lehman Brothers.

This move aims to optimize the gas supply business under United Energy Group.

On the same day, private equity firms Bain Capital LLC and Hellman & Friedman LLC reached an agreement with Lehman Brothers to acquire most of Lehman Brothers’ investment management business, including Neuberger Berman, for $2.15 billion.

By August 1, Nomura Holdings signed an agreement with Lehman for the second time, agreeing to acquire Lehman Brothers’ Indian back-office business.

Lehman Brothers, once glorious, had been fragmented beyond recognition in less than three weeks.

At this point, Lehman Brothers finally fell to the bottom and could never see the light of day again.

However, shortly after Lehman Brothers announced bankruptcy protection, on July 15, the Federal Reserve announced that it would use the special authorization obtained after the 1929 stock market crash to provide an $85 billion emergency loan to American International Group (AIG), which was on the verge of bankruptcy.

In exchange, the American government obtained 79.9% of the shares of this largest American insurance company.

The American side’s decision to bail out American International Group was not unexpected by Barron.

As early as when Lehman Brothers announced bankruptcy protection, he had sent people to communicate with institutions such as Barclays Bank to “take what they needed” from the assets owned by Lehman Brothers.

And at that time, he had said to Ivanka, who had come to New York and lived in the penthouse of the Woolworth Building in Manhattan:

“Shorting Lehman Brothers will be the most successful one, because the previous bailouts of Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, Bear Stearns and other large institutions by the American side made Lehman Brothers’ CEO Fuld too confident. He believed that Lehman Brothers would also receive government assistance when things got out of hand…”

“Indeed, I heard that Lehman Brothers didn’t seem very urgent in the previous negotiations, even a little perfunctory…”

Ivanka asked incredulously:

“Although this attitude will annoy the government, will they really change their attitude because of this and turn a blind eye to the current crisis?”

“That won’t happen. In fact, Paulson and the others need to find a company with enough weight to ‘kill the chicken to scare the monkeys’, to knock on the heads of those Wall Street bankers and let them understand that the government will not always clean up their messes. Unfortunately, Lehman Brothers is the one who was ultimately selected…”

Taking a deep breath, Ivanka said thoughtfully:

“Similarly, this can also reduce the public’s criticism of the ruling party for being too active in bailing out those bankers?”

“That’s right, after all, this year’s election may not be so easy for the ruling party.”

…

Just like what Barron and Ivanka discussed, the collapse of Lehman Brothers and the actions of the American side triggered various controversies.

Some people pointed out, why didn’t American Treasury Secretary Paulson or Federal Reserve Chairman Bernanke directly bail out Lehman Brothers?

In addition, a large number of people also criticized the official takeover of Bear Stearns, “Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac”, and American International Group.

Bear Stearns had already experienced a crisis before Lehman. Bear Stearns held a large number of mortgage-backed securities. Investors redeemed cash in large quantities, resulting in the depletion of cash reserves and the company was on the verge of collapse.

At that time, Geithner, president of the New York Fed, discovered this systemic risk and immediately reported it to the Federal Reserve.

The Federal Reserve and the Treasury Department jointly intervened, and the Federal Reserve urgently provided $30 billion to “backstop” and support JPMorgan Chase’s acquisition of Bear Stearns.

However, it was precisely this action by the American government that released a bailout signal to the market.

Next, Treasury Secretary Paulson directly took over “Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac” which had already fallen into the whirlpool.

The specific plan was that the Treasury Department injected capital into Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and acquired relevant preferred stocks; government-related regulatory agencies took over the daily operations of the institutions and appointed new leaders.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are the two largest mortgage companies in the United States. They used to be institutions under the federal government. Although they were later privatized, they have long received government subsidies.

Therefore, in the minds of the American people, “Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac” have obtained an implicit guarantee from the federal government.

But for Paulson, facing the problems of “Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac”, there was no choice but to bail them out.

Paulson said to the outside world:

“Fannie Mae’s problems pose a systemic risk to the financial market. Taking over these two major institutions is the ‘best means’ to protect the market and taxpayers.”

However, Paulson’s takeover of “Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac” triggered moral hazard in the market.

At the same time, a large number of critics believe that taxpayers’ money should not be used to bail out these greedy big shots.

At that time, The Wall Street Journal said:

“If the federal government agencies bail out Lehman Brothers after bailing out Bear Stearns and Fannie Mae, it would be tantamount to indicating that the government will backstop all institutions in crisis. This administrative policy of the federal government will encourage more reckless risk-taking behavior.”

So, it is understandable that Paulson’s attitude reversed when it came to Lehman Brothers.

At the beginning, almost everyone, including Lehman CEO Fuld, believed that Paulson would not stand idly by.

But this time, Paulson’s attitude was extremely firm, and he insisted from beginning to end that the Treasury Department would not provide funds to bail out Lehman Brothers.

Why did Paulson save Bear Stearns, Fannie Mae, and Freddie Mac, but let Lehman die?

In fact, Paulson did not stand idly by.

However, his strategy was no longer direct bailout, but to force Wall Street to contribute money to overcome the difficulties together.

However, starting the power of the market to resolve the systemic risks of the market is certainly an ideal method, but the differences among them greatly exceeded Paulson’s expectations.

Paulson and Bernanke both realized that the previous bailouts of Bear Stearns and “Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac” had triggered moral hazard in the market and had also encountered overwhelming criticism.

This time, they insisted on not letting moral hazard spread, and at the same time tried to let a financial institution go bankrupt as a warning to others.

After confirming that Lehman Brothers’ bankruptcy was inevitable, Paulson and Bernanke gave a detailed report to George W. Bush.

George W. Bush’s attitude was that he did not want to see Lehman Brothers go bankrupt, but he respected Paulson’s approach and did not want the Treasury Department to directly take over Lehman Brothers.

Because this year is an election year, if George W. Bush overemphasized government bailouts, it would definitely be detrimental to the Republican Party continuing to win the election.

Just before Lehman filed for bankruptcy, the Republican Party clearly announced in its platform:

“We do not support government bailouts of private institutions.”

Previously, the government’s intervention in Bear Stearns, especially the Treasury Department’s takeover of “Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac”, put Paulson and George W. Bush in a controversial situation.

Therefore, from external factors, Lehman Brothers was unlucky and became a victim of political and market game at this juncture.

But what cannot be ignored is that Lehman Brothers’ own problems are even greater.

Chapter 606: Too Big to Fail

On the afternoon of July 14th, at four o’clock, George W. Bush convened a high-level meeting in the Roosevelt Room of the White House, bringing together Treasury Secretary Paulson, Federal Reserve Chairman Bernanke, advisors, and representatives from other financial regulatory agencies.

At this meeting, the President abandoned his usual light and humorous style, his face clouded with worry, and asked bluntly:

“How did we get to this point?”

Bernanke, who was sitting directly across from the President at the time, later recalled:

“The question was deafening.”

Lehman’s bankruptcy ultimately left Paulson, Bernanke, and Bush in a difficult and unenviable position.

After Paulson and Bernanke reported on the Lehman bankruptcy, they immediately presented the President with a plan for emergency assistance to American International Group (AIG).

Bernanke’s reasoning was that the motivation for saving the company was definitely not to help its shareholders or employees, but that the entire American economic system could not withstand its bankruptcy.

AIG’s assets exceeded $1 trillion, more than 50% more than Lehman Brothers, and it had more than 74 million corporate and individual clients worldwide.

More importantly, the company’s main business itself was not problematic; it could be said to be of high quality. However, its main problem was that its subsidiaries were involved in a large number of Credit Default Swaps (CDS).

Now that Lehman had collapsed, the large-scale payouts resulting from the wave of defaults could bankrupt AIG immediately.

Bernanke said to Bush very seriously:

“Due to the deep interconnectedness of international business, AIG’s bankruptcy could very likely lead to the collapse of more financial giants in America and other countries.”

Paulson also reminded the President that bailing out AIG was necessary and that there was little room for choice.

No institution in the market was willing to acquire it or provide it with loans, and the government did not have enough funds to take it over.

If AIG still had sufficient collateral assets, only the Federal Reserve could step in and provide it with loans to prevent it from collapsing.

…

“There’s always been a saying on Wall Street, which is ‘too big to fail’…”

The maid gently poured red wine into the decanter.

And Barron, said to Ivanka in front of him:

“It means that when a company is large enough, once it experiences a crisis, it will bring fatal damage to the entire market. Therefore, the government will try its best to avoid this situation and find ways to bail it out.”

“So, the larger the scale, the less likely it is to fall, right?”

“Yes, this explains the impulse of those Wall Street investment banks to strive to expand their own scale, especially those institutions that have lasted for hundreds of years. They try to extend their tentacles to all aspects of the economy, so as to integrate with it…”

“But Lehman Brothers still went bankrupt…”

Barron heard Ivanka’s words, raised his glass and clinked it with hers, and said with a smile:

“Then that shows it wasn’t big enough.”

Lehman Brothers’ collapse seemed to establish the government’s attitude of punishing the market.

But when a systemic crisis occurs, the logic of “too big to fail” seems to hold true again.

Regarding whether to bail out AIG, Bush chose to trust Paulson and Bernanke’s judgment and actions.

After reporting to Bush, Paulson and Bernanke rushed to Capitol Hill.

There, they had to explain clearly to the difficult members of Congress why AIG should be bailed out.

Various tricky questions came one after another, including one member of Congress asking whether the Federal Reserve had the right to lend money to an insurance company.

Under normal circumstances, the Federal Reserve can lend money to banks and savings institutions, but insurance companies like AIG…

In response, Bernanke explained that, according to Section 13(3) of the Federal Reserve Act, in “unusual and exigent circumstances,” the Federal Reserve could make loans to any individual, partnership, or corporation if five or more members of the Federal Reserve Board voted in agreement.

The meeting lasted for several hours, and the members of Congress were showing signs of fatigue. They were even more aware of the impending crisis and did not raise too many objections to Bernanke and Paulson’s approach.

After the meeting, the exhausted Bernanke returned to the Federal Reserve office.

Geithner of the New York Fed happened to call him to say that the AIG board of directors had agreed to the conditions they had proposed.

To receive the Federal Reserve’s bailout, certain conditions had to be met.

Out of caution, Bernanke set very harsh conditions for AIG.

“Because we don’t want to reward a failed company, nor do we want to encourage other companies to imitate AIG and take risks that could lead to bankruptcy.”

The Federal Reserve’s loan interest rate to AIG was very high, and the shareholding ratio after the capital injection was close to 80%.

And AIG’s real advantage was that its main business assets were still relatively healthy and of high quality.

However, Bernanke still felt extremely uneasy about this.

If this rescue operation failed, market confidence in the Federal Reserve’s ability to control the crisis would suffer a devastating blow.

The Federal Reserve was born after the financial crisis of 1907, and its original intention was to avoid a wave of bank failures.

However, during the Great Depression, the Federal Reserve’s function failed to stand the test, and it even became the culprit of the Great Depression.

This bailout of AIG can be called the deepest and most interventionist rescue of the market by a government agency in American history.

If it failed, could the Federal Reserve bear this responsibility?

Bernanke, in the end, mustered the “courage to act,” to “do what others cannot do, are unwilling to do, but must be done.”

The day after Lehman Brothers announced its bankruptcy filing, the Federal Reserve announced that it had authorized the New York Fed to provide AIG with $85 billion in loans.

At this point, among the five major Wall Street investment banks, Bear Stearns was acquired by JPMorgan Chase, Merrill Lynch was acquired by Standard Chartered Bank, and Lehman Brothers went into bankruptcy protection…

The only two remaining independent investment banks, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley, had no choice but to request the Federal Reserve to become bank holding companies.

The Federal Reserve approved the requests of these two investment banks on July 20th.

As mentioned earlier, under normal circumstances, the Federal Reserve can only lend money to commercial banks and savings institutions. After Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley “transformed,” they could permanently obtain the right to obtain emergency loans from the Federal Reserve, just like other commercial banks, in order to overcome the difficulties.

In the end, Lehman Brothers became, to this point, the only large financial institution that went bankrupt without being bailed out by the government.

On July 20th, Bush submitted a financial rescue bill totaling $700 billion and was passed by Congress on August 3rd.

The core content of the bill was the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP), which authorized the Treasury Department to purchase and guarantee the troubled assets of financial institutions in order to stabilize the financial system and provide credit support for economic recovery.

At the same time, at the Goldman Sachs Group headquarters at 200 West Street in Manhattan, a meeting was also being held.

Participants in this meeting included Wall Street giants such as Goldman Sachs Group, Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup, Bank of America, and Wells Fargo, as well as institutions such as Standard Chartered Bank, Barclays Bank, IC Capital, Vanguard Group, and DS Group.

“The funds under DS Group are willing to contribute to helping everyone through the difficulties. We need to act together to maintain the stability of the global financial industry, and the stability of Wall Street is particularly important here.”

Amber Sheen, as the representative of DS Group, said at the meeting.

Chapter 607: Investing in Goldman Sachs

To be honest, as the investment company with the shortest establishment time and the smallest asset scale, IC Capital’s participation in this meeting felt somewhat far-fetched.

However, nothing happens without a reason.

The theme of this meeting was how these capitals would resist the subprime mortgage crisis. Among them, the most concerning issue was seeking capital injection.

Especially for Wall Street capitals located at the center of the subprime storm, such as Goldman Sachs Group, Citigroup, and Morgan Stanley, in addition to finding ways to obtain loans from the government and the Federal Reserve, the injection of external funds was also very important.

As for banks like JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, and Wells Fargo, which hoped to take advantage of this subprime mortgage crisis to carry out acquisitions and expand their own scale, raising funds from domestic and foreign capital was also a matter of concern to them.

And IC Capital was in negotiations with Goldman Sachs Group, preparing to provide it with as much as 5 billion US dollars in funding.

In the beginning, Goldman Sachs Group hoped to seek help from Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway, hoping to sell it no less than 2.5 billion US dollars of common stock.

But Buffett rejected this proposal and instead put forward another plan—he hoped to purchase 5 billion US dollars of Goldman Sachs’ perpetual preferred stock with a 10% dividend.

In addition, as an additional clause for this investment, Berkshire Hathaway also needed to obtain permission to purchase Goldman Sachs Group’s common stock worth 5 billion US dollars at any time within 5 years, with a price of only 115 US dollars per share.

It should be understood that the current stock price of Goldman Sachs Group is about 125 US dollars…

In Barron’s previous life, Goldman Sachs was forced to agree to Buffett’s conditions.

This also led to the fact that when Goldman Sachs Group eagerly paid Berkshire Hathaway 5.5 billion US dollars to redeem its preferred stock in April 2011, it paid it about 1.75 billion US dollars in dividends and premiums alone…

Because according to the agreement at the time, the Goldman Sachs preferred stock purchased by Buffett stipulated a fixed dividend of 10% per year, which amounted to 500 million US dollars per year.

In addition, when redeeming, Goldman Sachs had to pay an additional 10% premium, which was 500 million US dollars.

Two and a half years of dividends plus a 500 million US dollar premium equals 1.75 billion US dollars.

If we also consider Buffett’s option to acquire Goldman Sachs shares, he could purchase 43.5 million shares of Goldman Sachs stock at 115 US dollars per share before October 1, 2013.

According to the closing price of 154 US dollars per share when Goldman Sachs redeemed the 5 billion US dollars of preferred stock, if Buffett exercised these options on that day, he could have made a steady profit of about 1.65 billion US dollars.

Adding all of this together, in two and a half years, Buffett’s 5 billion US dollar investment in Goldman Sachs earned back 3.4 billion US dollars!

What’s more, he was not in a hurry to exercise his options at the time, but waited until the option expired before directly exchanging its profits for Goldman Sachs Group’s common stock.

This also allowed Buffett to obtain 9.2 million shares of Goldman Sachs common stock without spending a penny, accounting for 2% of the total number of Goldman Sachs Group’s outstanding shares.

It’s no wonder that Buffett has always publicly stated that he wants to hold Goldman Sachs’ preferred stock investment for as long as possible.

He also specifically emphasized this point in his letters to shareholders in 2009 and 2010—without a doubt, the return on this investment is very attractive. Buffett earns about 1.4 million US dollars per day from dividends alone.

At the 2010 shareholders meeting, Buffett calculated the accounts in front of 40,000 shareholders—

“Goldman Sachs pays us 15 US dollars every second…”

Buffett said:

“Tick, tock, tick… the sound of the watch becomes so pleasant.”

…

In Barron’s previous life, Goldman Sachs Group was in urgent need of funds and had no choice but to agree to Buffett’s conditions.

But now, they have a better choice.

Although IC Capital cannot be compared with Berkshire Hathaway in terms of investment industry “weight,” and their investment in Goldman Sachs does not have the same “stabilizing force” effect on the market as the other party…

But the investment conditions offered by IC Capital are very tempting to Goldman Sachs Group!

IC Capital does not need to obtain a high annual interest rate of 10% in the form of preferred stock, but is willing to directly purchase the company group’s common stock—of course, the purchase price needs to be given a discount.

In the end, Goldman Sachs Group signed an agreement with IC Capital to sell 43.5 million shares of Goldman Sachs stock to IC Capital at a price of 115 US dollars per share, which made IC Capital’s holdings of Goldman Sachs shares reach 9%, becoming one of the major shareholders of Goldman Sachs Group.

Furthermore, IC Capital was also allowed to send a director to Goldman Sachs Group’s board of directors and have one voting right.

Although this investment by IC Capital will not have as high a return as Buffett’s 5 billion US dollar investment in the original timeline.

But it is still very satisfying to Barron and Ivanka, because not only will investing in Goldman Sachs Group’s shares now have rich returns under long-term holding in the future, but entering the Goldman Sachs Group’s board of directors will be of great benefit to the future development of both IC Capital and Ivanka herself.

Moreover, relying on the many resources of Goldman Sachs Group will also be more conducive to some of IC Capital’s future acquisitions and the development of its subsidiaries.

This is the first financing transaction since Goldman Sachs Group transformed from an investment bank into a bank holding company.

The reason why Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley chose to transform from investment banks into bank holding companies is because the main regulatory agency for investment banks is the Securities and Exchange Commission, while the main regulatory agency for bank holding companies is the Federal Reserve—this transformation enables Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley to directly obtain loans from the Federal Reserve under the supervision of the Federal Reserve, thereby reducing the risk of short-term funding runs.

In addition to investing in Goldman Sachs in the name of IC Capital, other funds owned by Barron will also participate in investments in other Wall Street capitals.

After all, Standard Chartered Bank has continuously acquired a considerable portion of the assets of Northern Rock Bank, Merrill Lynch Group, and IndyMac Bank in the short term.

It can be said that after becoming Standard Chartered-Merrill Lynch Group, its scale has more than doubled.

What Standard Chartered-Merrill Lynch Group needs to do most now is to first complete the integration after this series of acquisitions and digest the “prey” it has just swallowed, otherwise it is easy to leave major problems for future development.

At present, not counting other funds, the British Fortune Times (BFT) fund account alone still has more than 40 billion US dollars in funds.

And as a series of important companies in the Wall Street financial industry… Lehman Brothers, Merrill Lynch, American International Group, and other companies have successively encountered problems, under panic, coupled with the exhaustion of liquidity in the financial market, affected by this, not only the American stock market, but also the global stock market has begun a sustained decline.

Those funds and investment companies controlled by Barron, who had already laid out short positions in the global stock market, naturally made a fortune.

Some of the profits from these funds can also be used to start bottom-fishing acquisitions and investments.

Chapter 608: Injecting Capital into Morgan Stanley

It could be said that Barron had been quite busy during his time in New York, personally communicating with many people.

For example, after the previous meeting, he met with the “rescue trio” again.

“We will inject capital into some companies, gentlemen, but these injections all require prior assessment. We need to ensure the risk level of the assets they possess to ensure that their operations remain sufficiently healthy after the injection.”

After hearing Barron’s words, Paulson said:

“Thank you very much for your contribution to maintaining our financial security, Your Grace. I believe that with our coordination, we can create the most executable investment plan.”

The so-called “rescue trio” refers to Paulson, Bernanke, and Geithner.

Paulson was the Secretary of the Treasury at the time. Before that, he had served as the president of Goldman Sachs—which also shows the influence of Goldman Sachs in America. Quite a few of their former executives held important positions such as Secretary of the Treasury and regional chairmen.

Bernanke was the Chairman of the Federal Reserve, and Geithner was the President of the New York Federal Reserve at the time. In Barron’s previous life, he would take over as Secretary of the Treasury in the Obama administration shortly afterward.

These three had enormous influence and played a leading role in this government bailout, hence the name “rescue trio.”

Because of the controversy caused by their previous bailout actions, the three were more inclined to use private companies and financial institutions like DS Group and Standard Chartered Bank to rescue and inject capital into some banks.

Therefore, they welcomed Barron’s statement and promised to “communicate” on some of the policy issues involved.

…

On Monday, July 28th, the American Dow Jones Index fell 7%; the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index fell 8.8%, the largest single-day drop since the stock market crash in October 1987.

The reason for the sharp decline in the American stock market was that the American House of Representatives rejected the $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program by a vote of 228 to 205 on that day.

Two-thirds of the Republican members and two-fifths of the Democratic members voted against it.

The disagreement over the $700 billion asset rescue plan proposed by Bush Jr. mainly stemmed from the Democrats’ desire to include taxes on the financial industry and restrictions on Wall Street executive compensation in the plan. However, Paulson believed that the market could not accept such a plan, which was like trying to save someone while punishing them at the same time.

Another thorny issue was the timing of the fund disbursement. The Democrats were quite confident that Obama would win the election, so they did not want the Bush administration’s Treasury Department to use all the funds. Therefore, they wanted to give $250 billion or $300 billion first, leaving the remaining funds to the new government.

“Without this, wouldn’t we have nothing to do?”

After this result appeared, Vice President Cheney asked:

“Does the Federal Reserve have no power? Do we have no power?”

“Yes, we don’t.”

Paulson replied.

After the collapse of Lehman Brothers, Paulson realized that he needed greater power to carry out the bailout, and this power required congressional authorization.

Paulson needed to ask Congress for an appropriation to buy up the problematic mortgage-backed securities on the market.

As early as July 17th, he had submitted a plan to Bush Jr. to acquire troubled assets.

Paulson put a lot of thought into the final figure of $700 billion.

From a political point of view, $500 billion would make Congress unhappy, $700 billion would make Congress even more unhappy, and close to $1 trillion might be problematic.

On the other hand, at that time, America had about $11 trillion in mortgage loans. Based on his professional judgment, $700 billion was enough to stimulate the market.

On July 31st, during a lunch with Paulson, Bernanke, and Bush Jr., Paulson suggested that the asset acquisition plan might also need a plan to obtain direct equity in financial institutions.

This was also Bernanke’s consistent view, namely, to directly inject capital into financial institutions when necessary.

But this kind of “nationalization” behavior was difficult for Republicans to accept.

On the same day, the Troubled Asset Relief Program, which had been supplemented with tax extensions, energy provisions, and mental health parity act content, passed the Senate vote by 74:25.

On August 2nd, the $700 billion asset rescue plan returned to the House of Representatives for a vote and finally passed by 263 to 171.

According to the plan, the Treasury Department could immediately use $250 billion, and another $100 billion could be used if the President proved to Congress that it was indeed necessary.

To disburse the remaining $350 billion, the Treasury Department had to submit a detailed report to Congress on its investment plan.

At 2:30 p.m. that day, Bush Jr. signed the bill, and it went into effect.

However, for then-Federal Reserve Chairman Bernanke, this also meant that the Federal Reserve finally no longer had to bear the sole responsibility for restoring financial stability.

But the crisis continued.

…

Almost simultaneously, while the “rescue trio” was racking their brains for the $700 billion asset rescue plan, trying to get it passed by Congress, Barron took action again.

After IC Capital invested $5 billion to acquire 9% of the shares of Goldman Sachs Group, Morgan Stanley, the only other remaining of the five major Wall Street investment banks, which, like Goldman Sachs, had completed its transformation into a bank holding company, also received capital injection.

On July 30th, British Fortune Times (BFT) Fund reached an agreement with Morgan Stanley, the second-largest brokerage firm in America. BFT Fund would invest to acquire 20% of Morgan Stanley’s common stock, thereby becoming the bank’s largest shareholder.

The acquisition price would be based on the average stock price of the previous 30 trading days, and BFT Fund would use approximately $8.5 billion in total to purchase Morgan Stanley’s newly issued shares.

According to the agreement reached by both parties, after the acquisition of Morgan Stanley’s shares is completed, BFT Fund will send one or more directors to Morgan Stanley’s board of directors to participate in its management.

It can be said that when Morgan Stanley most needed the funds of strategic investors to stabilize market confidence, BFT Fund’s $8.5 billion investment greatly alleviated its critical situation.

In fact, Morgan Stanley’s initial target for help was China.

To this end, Paulson specifically spoke with senior Chinese officials, hoping to persuade them to invest in Morgan Stanley, but this request was ultimately rejected.

At the end of last year, China Investment Corporation (CIC), China’s sovereign wealth fund, invested $5.6 billion in Morgan Stanley in the form of mandatory convertible bonds, and this investment has now suffered heavy losses.

At this time, CIC was considering increasing its holding of Morgan Stanley to 9.99% of the shares, but because the Chinese side was worried about the security of the funds if they continued to invest, the relevant negotiations were eventually suspended.

At such a moment, BFT Fund’s $8.5 billion was of great significance to Morgan Stanley.

Not only did this sum of money greatly increase the possibility of Morgan Stanley surviving the crisis, but also the fact that BFT Fund, under Barron’s name, was willing to invest heavily in Morgan Stanley showed that this globally renowned investor was expressing his optimism about Morgan Stanley in this way—verbal praise may be false, but real money investment will never lie.

And at the current moment, investor confidence is the most precious thing.

Even during this period, Morgan Stanley’s CEO John Mack mentioned BFT Fund’s investment almost every time he appeared in public. Besides the fact that the investment they received was indeed of great significance, it was also to strengthen the market’s confidence in Morgan Stanley.

Chapter 609: Washington Mutual Bank

“Your Grace, after Washington Mutual Bank was taken over by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation on the 24th, JPMorgan Chase is actively negotiating with them to acquire most of Washington Mutual Bank’s assets…”

Zhang Junning said softly to Barron:

“To complete this acquisition, JPMorgan Chase hopes to obtain at least 5 billion dollars in financing. They have proactively conveyed this intention to the BFT Fund. Mr. Duane Hearst called half an hour ago to ask for your opinion.”

“Okay, I’ll call him back immediately.”

“Then I’ll go out first, Your Grace.”

If Zhang Junning’s understanding of her boss before becoming Barron’s personal assistant was that he was a British aristocrat with astonishing wealth, then now, as Zhang Junning has been by Barron’s side and has come into contact with more and more information, her awe of Barron has become increasingly strong.

It should be known that Morgan Stanley, Merrill Lynch, and JPMorgan Chase, before this, Zhang Junning knew what these names meant: they were long-established companies at the very top of the food chain in the global financial system.

Now, with just a simple word from Barron, they are either being acquired or having their shares held…

The most chilling aspect of this feeling is not just the transactions involving billions or even hundreds of billions of dollars, but also the experience of participating at close range in major events that are worthy of being written into history.

The reason why the call from BFT Fund CEO Duane Hearst needed to be relayed to Barron by Zhang Junning was because they were currently on a plane to China.

Entering August, with the Beijing Olympic Games about to open, Barron departed from New York and headed to China.

It is worth mentioning that he went to China together with Fan Bingbing—Fan Bingbing came to America half a month ago to reshoot some scenes for the second season of Succession, and also attended some related events.

Because they were on the plane, and Barron was resting in his bedroom before, in order not to be disturbed, all calls would first be answered by his assistant, Zhang Junning.

“It’s me, Duane, about the JPMorgan Chase matter…”

Barron quickly dialed Duane Hearst’s number.

After acquiring Merrill Lynch Group and the branches and assets of IndyMac Bank, Standard Chartered Bank did not participate in the competition for the assets of Washington Mutual Bank.

After all, integrating Merrill Lynch Industrial Bank and IndyMac Bank into the Standard Chartered Bank system was already a challenge they needed to face.

Not to mention that there were overlaps between the various banking institutions, the acquisition of Merrill Lynch Group had not yet received final approval from the American regulatory authorities, so Standard Chartered Bank did not need to create more trouble now.

Washington Mutual Bank, headquartered in Seattle, was the largest savings bank in America, with 307 billion dollars in assets and 188 billion dollars in deposits.

Its asset value was far higher than that of Continental Illinois National Bank, which was closed in 1984, and IndyMac Bank, which was taken over by the government earlier this year—therefore, the collapse of Washington Mutual Bank was the largest bank failure in American history to date.

After Washington Mutual Bank was taken over by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, JPMorgan Chase attempted to acquire the bank’s 5,400 branches in 23 states across America.

It should be known that in March of this year, JPMorgan Chase had just acquired Bear Stearns, the fifth-largest investment bank on Wall Street—that acquisition was supported by nearly 30 billion dollars in funding from the Federal Reserve.

Now that it was going to acquire the branches and deposit business of Washington Mutual Bank again, JPMorgan Chase was also facing a shortage of funds.

This time, the Federal Reserve would not take out money to lend to JPMorgan Chase to acquire the assets of Washington Mutual Bank, which had already been taken over by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.

JPMorgan Chase needed to raise the corresponding funds on its own.

According to analysis, if JPMorgan Chase acquired the branches and deposit business of Washington Mutual Bank, it would need to pay 2 to 3 billion dollars—it should be known that the asset scale and deposit scale of Washington Mutual Bank were almost ten times that of IndyMac Bank, so this price can be said to be quite cost-effective compared to the 1.5 billion dollars that Standard Chartered Bank paid when acquiring the branches and deposits of IndyMac Bank.

However, in contrast, because Washington Mutual Bank had been actively developing subprime mortgages and other risky mortgage loan businesses, the risks it had accumulated while rapidly expanding were ten times or even twenty times greater than those of IndyMac Bank.

Moreover, unlike the handling of IndyMac Bank, this time the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation would not use its deposit insurance fund for Washington Mutual Bank—according to public data, after IndyMac Bank collapsed earlier this year, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation’s deposit insurance fund plummeted from 52.4 billion dollars at the end of last year to 45.2 billion dollars, and the federal regulatory authorities were therefore criticized from many sides.

Therefore, the price that JPMorgan Chase needs to pay to acquire the branches and deposit business of Washington Mutual Bank, which was previously the largest savings bank in America, at a lower price is that they need to come up with considerable funds to deal with some of the non-performing assets left by Washington Mutual Bank, which were previously invested in subprime mortgage loan business with depositors’ deposits.

This is also the reason why JPMorgan Chase needs to raise funds to complete this acquisition.

Of course, even if they do so, it is more beneficial than harmful for JPMorgan Chase. According to Duane Hearst’s disclosure to Barron, once this acquisition is completed, it will increase JPMorgan Chase’s earnings per share by 50 cents in 2009.

Therefore, it is still very necessary to invest in JPMorgan Chase at this opportunity, but the specific investment plan needs to be further negotiated by both parties to determine.

…

The Devonshire landed at Beijing Airport. This time, Barron would be staying at the “Grand Duke’s Mansion,” a courtyard house with four courtyards.

His and Fan Bingbing’s children had been sent to Beijing when Fan Bingbing went to America, and were being taken care of by Fan Bingbing’s parents and a nanny.

When they arrived in Beijing, they had already sent the two children here—Fan Bingbing missed them very much after not seeing them for a while.

Fan Bingbing is one year younger than Barron and has not yet celebrated her 27th birthday. Now, compared to when Barron first met her, she looks a little more mature and charming.

It can be said that among his many women, Fan Bingbing is very special to Barron—not just because of her stunning beauty.

If it is said that there are many women around Barron who can be called stunning, Bonnie and Aliya are no less beautiful than Fan Bingbing, but Fan Bingbing’s Chinese-style beauty has the added bonus of his past life’s soul for Barron.

Now, after they have a pair of children, this feeling has undergone a deeper change.

Before they moved in here, this courtyard house had already been cleaned in advance.

Just as Barron was teasing the children with Fan Bingbing, Aliya was directing the maids who came here with Barron to decorate the entire courtyard, making it the way Barron was most accustomed to—after all, he had hardly lived here before. Several times when he came to Yandu, he stayed at the “Little Duke’s Mansion” near the Forbidden City.

Chapter 610: Luxurious SUV

“This place is indeed very beautiful, Your Grace, with a distinctly Chinese style that is truly admirable.”

Many foreign dignitaries were attending the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics. Before the ceremony, Baron hosted Brown, who had come to Beijing, in his courtyard house.

Brown had just arrived in Beijing yesterday, and upon receiving Baron’s invitation, he came here with his wife.

“Also, it is a great pleasure to meet you, beautiful lady.”

For this banquet, Baron brought Fan Bingbing to receive Mr. and Mrs. Brown. This was also the first time he had introduced her to such important guests.

Brown naturally knew that Baron had a wife. However, upon seeing Fan Bingbing by his side, his political skills were on full display, showing not the slightest hint of surprise—what was there to be surprised about? Not to mention someone like Baron, even ordinary nobles or wealthy people having lovers on the side was perfectly normal, wasn’t it?

Moreover, this lady named “Bingbing” was so beautiful.

Furthermore, the fact that he was bringing his Chinese lover to meet him only showed that His Grace the Duke did not consider him an outsider, didn’t it? This also signified the closeness of their relationship in a way.

It is worth mentioning that George W. Bush would also be attending the opening ceremony of the Olympics and would arrive in Beijing tomorrow.

However, Brown “wisely” did not intend to meet with him during this time—after all, he was well aware that in the current situation, the topics the other party would raise would definitely include the subprime mortgage crisis.

When Barclays Bank was preparing to acquire Lehman Brothers, it was the British side that prevented the acquisition. This also showed the attitude of the British government, which did not want to be too deeply involved in American financial assets, which could affect the British financial industry.

Moreover, the British banking industry itself had suffered significant losses in this subprime mortgage crisis. For example, Northern Rock had forced the government to intervene with a bailout.

In addition to Northern Rock, leading British banks such as Royal Bank of Scotland and HSBC Holdings also suffered huge losses due to the subprime mortgage crisis.

“I have seen related reports, Your Grace. You have recently invested a lot of money in many banks in America…”

Of course, the topic of their meeting would not avoid the subprime mortgage crisis, which was currently the most concerning issue.

“Yes, Prime Minister, as those larger banks face collapse due to the subprime mortgage crisis, it also marks the most dangerous moment of this crisis. However, it also contains opportunities…”

Baron spoke with a smile and eloquence:

“London was once the global financial center, but after World War II, Wall Street capital gradually overshadowed us… Of course, we still have a profound foundation, but why not take this opportunity to absorb nutrients from Wall Street?”

“But London also needs funds to stabilize its finances. If I may speak frankly, the funds in the BFT fund originally came from… the government. I don’t want to be criticized for this.”

Baron understood Brown’s concerns, but he didn’t care at all:

“I admit that those funds were initially invested in the BFT fund by relevant institutions, but since these funds have been invested, it is up to us to decide how to invest them. As long as the process is not in violation of regulations, there is no need to be too cautious.”

He raised his glass to Brown and said:

“I hope you believe, Prime Minister, that the government will receive the promised returns, and I will continue to increase investment in the UK—can you imagine me acquiring another bank in the UK that is similar in size to Merrill Lynch? That would definitely lead to an antitrust investigation by the regulatory authorities, so it’s not that I don’t want to invest in British banks, but I need to consider the actual situation. By the way, these are authentic Chinese delicacies specially prepared by Chinese chefs. I hope you and your wife enjoy them.”

…

“This is…”

The next morning, Baron took Fan Bingbing to the front of the garage.

As the garage door slowly opened, Fan Bingbing looked at the flame-like red SUV inside with surprise.

“Do you like it?”

Fan Bingbing nodded:

“Yes, it’s very beautiful…”

Her gaze turned to the car logo:

“Aston Martin? Does this car have an SUV?”

“This is its first SUV, and this one is a deluxe custom version, just shipped from England.”

It was already not easy for Fan Bingbing to recognize the Aston Martin logo, which resembled a soaring eagle. She herself didn’t have much knowledge about cars. The reason she had an impression of Aston Martin as a sports car brand before was because the brand belonged to the British automotive group, and the boss was the man beside her.

Now that she received this heartfelt gift from Baron, she was naturally very happy.

In fact, since Baron acquired the Aston Martin brand, he had required them to start developing SUV models, because as everyone knows, SUVs are very popular models worldwide.

Often, the sales volume of those luxury car brands’ SUVs far exceeds that of their sports car models.

At the North American Auto Show in January of this year, Aston Martin publicly unveiled the model car of its first SUV, named DBX.

And just last month, Aston Martin officially began selling this SUV.

Next, the British automotive group will also begin to vigorously promote this SUV in Asia, especially in China—the price of this car in China, depending on the configuration, is between 1.5 million and 3 million Chinese yuan. The red DBX that Baron gave to Fan Bingbing is a deluxe custom model and will not be sold publicly. It is only available for customization to specific users, and the price is more than 300,000 pounds, and not just anyone can buy it.

If we were to ask which luxury SUV is the most popular in China, the Porsche Cayenne would definitely be on that list.

And Porsche relied on the Cayenne model to see its sales in China skyrocket within a few years.

The reason why the Cayenne is so popular can be said to be because of its grand appearance, exquisite interior, strong handling, and surging performance…

But in the end, the most important reason is that it belongs to Porsche and can serve as a symbol of status.

Being able to buy a Porsche SUV for around a million yuan, if those previous advantages also exist, then it will naturally be popular.

Aston Martin’s DBX is also a model that the British automotive group is benchmarking against the Cayenne in the global market, and its positioning is even slightly stronger than the Cayenne.

In terms of brand heritage, Aston Martin is also a luxury sports car brand with a glorious history in international competitions.

In terms of performance, the DBX can be called the most powerful SUV on earth…

The only thing is that Aston Martin’s popularity in China may be slightly lower than Porsche’s—however, as the car of 007, Aston Martin will use the release of 007: Skyfall in China this year to increase its marketing efforts in China.

Well, giving this car to Fan Bingbing today can also serve as a link to increase Aston Martin’s brand awareness.

As the most well-known actress in China, Fan Bingbing’s new car will probably soon be on the entertainment headlines of many newspapers.

Chapter 611: Unparalleled

August 8th, today is the opening day of the 29th Olympic Games.

At noon, Barron was invited to the banquet hall on the second floor of the Great Hall of the People, where the Chinese side would hold a welcome banquet for the distinguished guests attending the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games.

Yes, Barron was invited by the Chinese side as a “friend of China” to attend the opening ceremony of these Olympic Games.

At the welcome banquet, in addition to Brown, Barron also met many “old acquaintances,” including George W. Bush, Sarkozy, and President Jammeh Bong of Coro.

This time, Coro also sent a sports delegation to participate in the Yanjing Olympic Games, the largest scale in Coro’s history of participation in the Olympic Games.

It is worth mentioning that many events are Coro’s first participation, and these events often come from their new immigrants—some refugees with athletic talent have been selected by Coro to join the Coro nationality.

“Hello, Ms. Merkel.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Your Grace.”

Standing in front of Barron at this moment was Merkel, known as the “Iron Lady” of Germany, who attended the state banquet as a representative of Germany.

As the first female Chancellor in German history, and the first Chancellor from East Germany after the reunification of East and West Germany, she took office in 2005 and is currently in her first term.

Of course, Barron also knew that as the last figure who could be called a “politician” in Germany before his rebirth, Merkel would experience a total of four terms, and she would become a relatively important figure not only for Germany, but for the entire European Union.

This time, the two only greeted each other and chatted casually for a few words.

Merkel gives the impression of being steady, pragmatic, and cautious, but she herself is also very supportive of “free economy.” In the future, Barron’s investments, whether in Germany or at the EU level, will inevitably involve dealing with her—after all, Merkel will have another ten years in power in Germany.

This welcome banquet lasted for about an hour and ended around two o’clock in the afternoon.

After a short rest, the highlight of the day, the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games, was about to begin.

At eight o’clock in the evening, Yanjing time, the exciting moment began.

In his previous life, Barron watched the opening ceremony of these Olympic Games on television, and more than once.

This time, he was experiencing this historic moment in person at the Bird’s Nest stadium.

When the familiar scenes from the depths of his memory appeared before his eyes from a different perspective, the memories of two lifetimes merged here, which made Barron’s mood very complicated.

After all, in the memories of his previous life, this moment was a sense of pride as a Chinese son and daughter.

But at this moment, his identity was already that of a British Duke, witnessing the current scene as a “friend of China.”

In any case, Barron knew that the process of China’s return to the center stage of the world was happening unstoppably.

Barron took photos of the scene with his mobile phone, sent them to his Woaw homepage, and left a message:

“I am at the opening ceremony of the Yanjing Olympic Games, amazed by this unparalleled and wonderful performance. This is the most impressive Olympic Games opening ceremony I have ever seen. I hope London will do its best and present the world with a feast in four years.”

Yes, Woaw has now launched a mobile version of the APP. After its launch, the number of users accessing the Woaw APP through smartphones has grown gratifyingly.

According to subsequent statistics, the Yanjing Olympic Games became the most watched event in human history, surpassing the “Apollo” moon landing broadcast and Princess Diana’s funeral broadcast, attracting 1 billion television viewers, and truly becoming the “first truly 1 billion-viewer live event.”

The report showed that at least 593 million people worldwide watched the entire 4-hour opening ceremony, and 984 million people watched at least the artistic performance, not including those watching in public places, adding up to more than 1 billion is definitely no problem.

You know, the current total global population is about 6.8 billion, with a total of 1.9 billion families, but only 1.4 billion families own televisions, and 1 billion people watching is really an amazing figure.

This amazing data is attributed to China’s 1.3 billion population, but the viewership in all corners of the world is also considerable. From 20:00 local Yanjing time, the number of people paying attention gradually increased—35 million people watched in America, 8 million in Germany, nearly 8 million in Australia, and 5.5 million in Italy…

In addition, SEM Group’s ITV also bought the broadcasting rights to the opening ceremony of the Yanjing Olympic Games. More than 7.5 million British viewers watched the opening ceremony through ITV, of which more than 5 million watched the entire 4-hour opening ceremony.

Many Europeans also chose to watch the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games online through DailyVedio.com afterwards.

Currently, the F1 Group is also committed to cultivating racing drivers in China. After these data were released, Bernie Ecclestone excitedly said to Barron:

“Imagine, if a talented young Chinese driver appears on the F1 track, then the prospects for F1 live broadcasts will be infinitely bright!”

……

“Your Grace, we have reached an agreement with JPMorgan Chase…”

On the plane back to London, Barron received a call from Duane Hearst, CEO of BFT Fund.

After negotiations, BFT Fund reached an investment agreement with JPMorgan Chase.

According to the agreement, BFT (British Fortune Times) Fund will invest 10 billion US dollars to purchase newly issued shares of JPMorgan Chase at a price slightly lower than the current market price. This part of the stock will account for about 8.5% of the total share capital after the issuance.

And BFT Fund has the right to send a director to JPMorgan Chase’s board of directors, with one voting right.

In this way, starting from the acquisition of Merrill Lynch Group from Standard Chartered Bank, BFT Fund has taken out a total of 43.5 billion US dollars to invest in Standard Chartered-Merrill Lynch Group (25 billion US dollars), Morgan Stanley (8.5 billion US dollars) and JPMorgan Chase (10 billion US dollars).

Currently, there are still more than 25 billion US dollars of funds unused in BFT Fund’s account…

After receiving this investment from BFT Fund, JPMorgan Chase immediately announced that it would acquire the branches and deposit business of Washington Mutual Bank.

They did not announce the specific acquisition funds, but JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon claimed that the 10 billion US dollars obtained from BFT Fund this time will be used entirely for the acquisition of Washington Mutual Bank’s assets and the subsequent disposal of non-performing assets.

Now the Yanjing Olympic Games are still in full swing, the reason why Barron left China at this time and went to London…

Because Bonnie became pregnant with her second child with Barron at the end of last year, and now the due date of this child is less than a month away, so Barron needs to return to London in advance to accompany his wife.

Chapter 612: Caught in a Dilemma

The moment he returned to London, Barron went straight back to his Kensington home. Although he knew from their daily calls that Bonnie and the baby were doing fine, he only truly felt at ease after seeing her.

“I watched the Olympic opening ceremony too…”

It was evening in London, and the weather was still pleasant.

Barron held Bonnie’s hand as they sat on a bench on the rooftop. He heard his wife say,

“It was really stunning. It’s a bit of a shame I didn’t see it in person…”

“The opening ceremony was indeed good, but seeing it in person, some scenes aren’t as spectacular as the panoramic view from the broadcast.”

Barron comforted her,

“I’ll take you to the opening ceremony of the London Olympics in four years, darling.”

Bonnie was now over nine months pregnant, her belly large and prominent. As a result, she often didn’t sleep very comfortably at night.

When Barron woke up the next morning, he saw the woman beside him sleeping soundly, so he got up as gently as possible.

Leaving the bedroom, Barron saw the faint glow of dawn just barely visible in the distant sky through the floor-to-ceiling windows. The outside was still mostly dark.

At that moment, Barron was momentarily dazed. Unknowingly, he had been in this world for six years. Not to mention the vast empire he had built, he had a family, many women, and many children—soon, his wife Bonnie would give birth to their second child…

“Your Grace…”

Aliya’s voice brought Barron back from his reverie.

“You’re up too, Aliya.”

Aliya, dressed in a white dress, handed Barron a glass of water—it was Barron’s habit to drink a glass of warm water after waking up.

As he drank the water, he heard Aliya softly ask,

“Are you still planning to go for a run? Shall I inform the bodyguards now?”

“Yes.”

…

“Our short selling of European stocks has already yielded considerable gains…”

Upon learning that Barron had returned to London, Daisy had compiled the latest investment data of their DS Group and personally handed it to him after Barron arrived at the DS Financial Center.

Within the DS Group, the short selling of European stocks was mainly carried out by the Caesar Fund and the DS proprietary fund, primarily funded by Cavendish Trust. Initially, a total of over 10 billion euros was invested in this short selling.

Now, affected by the subprime mortgage crisis, the decline had spread to the entire stock market, not just bank stocks.

Especially for industries with high financing needs—real estate, telecommunications, shipping, and related companies—the impact on their stock prices was particularly significant.

Because with the liquidity crunch in the financial industry caused by the subprime mortgage crisis, these industries that needed bank credit support immediately fell into a state of capital starvation. If this continued, many companies were even at risk of their capital chains breaking.

For example, O2 Telecom, although it had considerable debt, had DS Group as its backing, so it was relatively less affected by the subprime mortgage crisis. Their stock price had fallen by more than 25% compared to its highest point last year.

And other telecommunications companies, some even saw their stock prices fall by more than 40%…

Moreover, there was still no end in sight for this decline.

In addition, funds including the Mars Fund had also achieved satisfactory returns in short selling crude oil, gold, and other futures products.

As the saying goes, wealth doesn’t disappear, it only gets transferred.

And DS Group was definitely not the only company profiting from this crisis.

“Oh, and congratulations, I heard you’re going to be a father again soon…”

After they finished talking about the stock market and futures investments, Daisy said before leaving Barron’s office.

“Yes, although I can’t be sure of the exact date, it will be soon.”

Barron looked at Daisy and said,

“Although I hope you continue to dedicate most of your time to work, as a friend, I also hope you can…”

“Hmm? Fall in love? Get married? Or have children?”

Daisy raised an eyebrow, looking at Barron with a smile that wasn’t quite a smile.

“With whom? You?”

“Uh… you know, Daisy, we…”

“Alright, I’m just kidding, Barron. You didn’t seem like your usual playboy self just now.”

After saying this, Daisy turned and left before Barron could say anything.

Watching her slender back, Barron couldn’t help but shake his head.

Speaking of which, Barron’s predecessor had met Daisy during their student days, and Daisy could be said to be Barron’s earliest subordinate…

Over the years, it was impossible to say that there was no ambiguity between them. They had even almost crossed the line.

But with Daisy, Barron really couldn’t be as carefree as he was with other women.

Simply put, beautiful, even stunning women, were not a scarce commodity for him.

But women like Daisy, who were capable enough, trustworthy enough, and deeply involved in his most core businesses, were far too precious.

Therefore, Barron didn’t want the changes in their relationship to affect their cooperation in business.

But he also knew that sometimes, certain changes were uncontrollable, just like how Daisy had never had a lover until now.

And that almost inaudible “coward” she said when she turned to leave was also captured by Barron’s exceptionally keen hearing…

…

“Smack!”

A crisp sound echoed in the room.

After the sound, came a woman’s voice:

“Barron, I have an appointment to see Bonnie in half an hour. If I’m late, I’m afraid I’ll have to tell her it was you…”

“Smack!”

Another sound. Barron said calmly,

“Countess, perhaps that’s not a very good excuse, and you’re not performing actively enough. That’s probably why it’s not happening faster.”

In the corner of the room, a closet door was quietly opened a crack.

In the dark closet, the increasingly intense sounds outside were clearly audible.

As well as the difficult-to-suppress heavy breathing.

“Perhaps you should take a shower before going home with me.”

When things had finally calmed down, Barron picked up a handkerchief and gently wiped the sweat from his forehead, saying to the slightly limp Countess Booth..

“Forget it, I’ll go see her tomorrow. You bastard, you clearly said it would only be a little while…”

“Uh, I think you should have some understanding of how long ‘a little while’ is for me.”

Hearing Barron’s “innocent” words, Countess Booth. glared at him, lowering her voice to say,

“You should leave, Barron, if you don’t want someone to suffocate in the closet…”

Chapter 613: Richard

“Frankly, I believe the government needs to allocate funds to support domestic subprime mortgages. The Americans have already done this, mainly targeting ordinary citizens with a certain repayment ability, allocating over 100 billion dollars to ensure that they, having paid their mortgages for a considerable period, don’t lose their homes due to temporary difficulties.”

As mentioned before, the British government’s financial policy is primarily based on laissez-faire liberalism with minimal intervention. This policy can make the financial system more dynamic in normal times, but when faced with severe disruptions like the subprime mortgage crisis, it can easily lead to a chain reaction of disastrous consequences within the financial system.

This meeting between Barron and Chancellor of the Exchequer Darling was to persuade the latter to agree to aid ordinary citizens struggling with mortgage repayments, prompting Britain to launch a rescue plan similar to the “lifeline” program previously implemented in America.

“The bailout I’m talking about isn’t aimed at the banks, but at those who are normally capable of repaying their mortgages but are facing temporary repayment difficulties due to the impact of the subprime crisis. These people are the backbone of our society, and we need to ensure they can weather this crisis and retain the properties they have purchased.”

Barron wasn’t lying to Darling. Such rescue measures were indeed necessary. If it were purely for investing in property and speculating with leverage, then the government would have no obligation to provide assistance.

However, there were still many people who genuinely needed to buy homes and had considerable repayment ability, but were affected by the subprime crisis – either suffering losses from other investments, or because their employer suddenly went bankrupt, or they were laid off… among other unexpected reasons.

In normal times, the government could still maintain a “free economy,” but in the current situation, it was necessary to curb panic and give those in the “middle class” some support to safely navigate the crisis.

Of course, Barron and his people were already well aware of the British government’s attitude.

Therefore, last month, the four major listed banks in Britain – HSBC Holdings, Royal Bank of Scotland, Standard Chartered Bank, and Barclays – jointly established a crisis response fund of up to 50 billion pounds to provide guarantees for some of the British banks affected by the subprime mortgage crisis, covering a portion of their non-performing assets.

Naturally, the objects guaranteed by this fund also needed to be reviewed by a temporary body composed of the four banks.

And this time, it wasn’t just Barron pushing for the government’s bailout plan; other bank executives were also promoting it.

After all, these banks were all involved in mortgage lending to varying degrees, and they certainly hoped the government could provide assistance to some of the better-qualified users to reduce their proportion of non-performing assets – even if they could recover the mortgaged property when customers defaulted, they were banks, not real estate sales companies, and didn’t want to spend too much effort dealing with these properties.

Moreover, from last year to now, the entire British property market had been in a continuous decline, and the market value of almost all mortgaged properties was already lower than the mortgage loans they had provided…

Among them, Standard Chartered Bank’s situation was still the best, because after Standard Chartered Bank was acquired by Barron, it strictly controlled the issuance of mortgage loans, especially those high-risk subprime mortgages, and their operating scale accounted for a very low proportion.

And Standard Chartered Bank’s non-performing assets of this type mainly came from the relevant businesses of Northern Rock Bank, which they had acquired.

If these businesses of Northern Rock Bank accounted for a very high proportion for that bank, then when placed within the scale of Standard Chartered Bank, they were no longer considered too high.

Moreover, before Standard Chartered Bank acquired Northern Rock Bank, these non-performing assets had already been written down by a considerable proportion in Northern Rock Bank’s market value.

Then recently, Cavendish Trust injected 10 billion euros of its profits from shorting through the DS Group this time into its Cavendish Asset Management Company, and through Cavendish Asset Management Company, purchased 10 billion euros worth of assets from Standard Chartered Bank.

These assets were all part of the non-performing assets from Northern Rock Bank that Standard Chartered Bank had acquired – some properties that had been repossessed due to mortgage “defaults.”

After purchasing these properties, Cavendish Asset Management Company would simply tidy them up and renovate them before temporarily renting them out – waiting for British house prices to rebound, even without counting the rental income, they could still obtain satisfactory returns.

And Standard Chartered Bank, by selling these assets, also recovered funds, greatly reducing its non-performing asset ratio, and incidentally, could also repay a considerable portion of Northern Rock Bank’s previous short-term high-interest foreign debt.

It could be said that this was a win-win situation. Currently, it seemed that Cavendish Asset Management Company would suffer a slight loss – although they purchased these properties in bulk at a price slightly lower than the current market price, British real estate was still in continuous decline, and the market was not optimistic about it. This transaction might soon show a loss on paper.

But Barron understood that the British property market, especially the London property market, would rebound again in the next few years and be higher than the previous price. As a long-term investment, this transaction by Cavendish Asset Management Company could at least be satisfactory in terms of returns.

…

On September 8th, Bonnie Cavendish began to show signs of labor three days before her due date.

That night, in London’s best maternity hospital, under Barron’s slightly anxious wait, Bonnie gave birth to their second son.

“Thank you, darling.”

Barron held Bonnie’s hand, looked at her somewhat weak appearance, and kissed her forehead.

“I want to see our child…”

“He was just taken out for cleaning, I believe he will be back soon.”

Of course, as Barron’s offspring, someone would be with the nurse throughout the entire process after the child was born to ensure the baby’s safety.

Just as Barron finished speaking, the nurse brought the baby in.

“Look, how cute he is, just like George when he was little…”

Barron took the child and placed him in front of Bonnie, saying softly to her.

This child of theirs was also the second in line to the Dukedom of Devonshire. Barron named him Richard Cavendish.

Chapter 614: Hachette Group

“Your Grace, according to information from British Automotive Group, they have dispatched a team to negotiate with Daimler Group regarding the acquisition of their shares in McLaren Technology Group…”

Soon after Bonnie gave birth to Richard Cavendish, the mother and son returned to their Kensington home to recuperate.

Baron also made time to stay home with them during this period.

After hearing Zhang Junning’s words, Baron nodded and said:

“Monitor the subsequent situation. Daimler Group shouldn’t refuse to sell their McLaren shares.”

Previously, British Automotive Group had already acquired 30% of McLaren Technology Group from Ron Dennis and his partner Mansour Ojjeh, who currently each hold 15% of McLaren Technology Group.

The other 40% was held by Daimler Group, the parent company of Mercedes-Benz.

However, the possibility of Daimler Group selling its shares in McLaren Technology Group has now arisen – not just due to the subprime mortgage crisis, but also because Mercedes-Benz is preparing to form its own team by acquiring a Formula One team. Therefore, cooperation with McLaren is no longer necessary.

However, the acquisition price for British Automotive Group will need to be determined through negotiation.

In addition to owning shares in McLaren Technology Group, British Automotive Group has also partnered with them to re-establish McLaren Automotive, with plans to restart McLaren’s civilian car project in addition to the racing team.

Their latest supercar model will be launched this year…

In McLaren Automotive, British Automotive Group holds 49% of the shares.

If they can acquire Daimler Group’s shares in McLaren Technology Group, British Automotive Group’s shareholding in McLaren Technology Group will reach 70%. In McLaren Automotive, their direct and indirect shareholding will also reach a very high proportion, thereby essentially controlling the company.

In terms of engines, the McLaren team has been using engines provided by Mercedes-Benz since 1995, and the two sides have had a 13-year history of cooperation.

However, after Daimler Group exits McLaren Technology Group, they will naturally no longer be able to provide the team with their engine platform for free. At that time, McLaren will switch its engine platform to products from British Automotive Group’s Cosworth Engine Company.

“Also, Your Grace…”

Zhang Junning continued:

“Regarding the sale of international publishing rights for Hachette Group magazines under Lagardère Group, in addition to our SEM Group, Hearst Corporation of America has also expressed interest and has sent people to join the negotiations.”

“Get me the most detailed information…”

“I’ve already brought it for you. I’ll give you the follow-up information immediately.”

Baron took the information Zhang Junning handed over and carefully flipped through it, looking thoughtful.

When he went to France before, through the introduction of Sarkozy, Baron met the heir of Lagardère Group, one of France’s largest media groups, and the two sides formed a “friendship.”

Baron’s purpose was to be able to participate when this “spendthrift” sold off his family property again.

Lagardère Group is a comprehensive French media, mechanical manufacturing, aerospace, and telecommunications group. The group has a publishing company, a satellite company, and an aerospace company under its umbrella.

Lagardère Active Media is one of the world’s three largest publishing groups and France’s leading media giant. The group currently owns 259 magazines around the world, including “ELLE,” “MARIE CLAIRE,” and “Paris Match.”

For example, facing the subprime mortgage crisis this time, their physical and telecommunications group businesses have also been affected. Therefore, Arnaud Lagardère made the decision to sell some media assets.

This time, they are preparing to sell Hachette Group under Lagardère Active Media.

French Hachette Group is affiliated with Lagardère Active Media. Its international periodicals include the British women’s magazines “Red,” “Sugar,” and “Inside Soap.”

The group has a total of 212 magazines, of which 80 are published and distributed in France, including “ELLE” and “Psychologies.”

This time, Hearst Corporation has its eye on the international publishing rights of Hachette Group’s magazines. They are offering 600 million pounds in hopes of obtaining these publishing rights.

Baron is no stranger to Hearst Corporation.

After all, Amanda Hearst and Lydia Hearst come from this family.

It can be said that Hearst Corporation was once extremely prominent. It is a privately held company founded in 1867, and its five core business areas include newspapers, television, cable television, magazines, and business information, enabling the company’s business development to be both balanced and diversified.

Hearst International Group is one of the world’s largest diversified media companies, and its main business includes ownership of 15 daily newspapers and 38 weekly newspapers.

Even in the British market, Hearst Corporation owns the wholly-owned UK’s National Magazine Company, which publishes a range of lifestyle magazines, including “Harpers Bazaar,” “Country Living,” “Good Housekeeping,” “Reveal,” and “Esquire.”

If the Hearst family completes this acquisition, they will own the publishing rights of Hachette Group’s wholly-owned or joint venture companies outside of France, such as the United Kingdom, the United States, and European operations in the Netherlands, Italy, and Greece.

They will also have partnerships in Asian countries and regions such as mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan, South Korea, and Japan.

However, SEM Group had already made an offer for Hachette Group before Hearst Corporation.

They not only hope to acquire Hachette Group’s overseas distribution rights like Hearst Corporation, but also plan to acquire Hachette Group as a whole.

In this regard, SEM Group’s offer is above 1.5 billion pounds, and the specific price is still being negotiated with Lagardère Group.

However, what Baron did not expect was that Hearst Corporation had also joined this bidding.

But this is not surprising, because compared to SEM Group, Hearst Corporation has more extensive experience in operating magazines globally, and after obtaining Hachette Group’s overseas distribution rights, they will become one of the world’s largest magazine publishing groups.

After seeing this information, Baron couldn’t help but think of Amanda Hearst.

Of course, she is not yet too involved in her family’s business. However, since the last time the two separated, Baron has not received any news from her. Lydia Hearst had called him before, but her words were vague.

Chapter 615: Debt-to-Equity Swap

Although Barron’s relationship with the Hearst sisters was extraordinary, when it came to business matters… he certainly wouldn’t say he’d give up acquiring Hachette Group because of it.

After all, taking Hachette Group’s globally renowned fashion magazine “ELLE” as an example, it had 43 editions worldwide (various national or regional editions, such as “ELLE China Edition”), and was hailed as the jewel in Hachette Group’s crown.

In addition, “Psychologies” magazine also had 12 editions.

Barron himself already owned the fashion luxury goods group—Gucci-Hermès Group. If he also owned influential fashion magazines, it would be very beneficial for brand promotion and marketing.

Therefore, SEM Group would also actively participate in the competition.

Speaking of Gucci-Hermès Group, its brands’ revenue had also declined due to the impact of the subprime mortgage crisis.

However, under Barron’s instructions, they had started focusing on developing the Asian, especially the Chinese, market relatively early. Gucci-Hermès brands’ revenue growth in China was at the forefront of all luxury brands.

Therefore, the growth in the Chinese region compensated for a considerable portion of the decline in revenue in the European and American markets. Overall, Gucci-Hermès Group’s performance this year was still satisfactory.

Moreover, Gucci-Hermès Group itself was not a listed company—they had already completed the privatization of Hermès, so they didn’t have to worry about the impact of the global economic downturn on the group’s stock price.

Luxury goods groups like LVMH and Richemont had seen their stock prices fall by more than 25-35% compared to last year’s high!

Private companies and listed companies each had their own advantages and disadvantages. Listed companies needed to be responsible to investors, and the performance of the stock price would put considerable pressure on management. This led to certain measures to boost the stock price that might not be beneficial to the company’s long-term development.

This was actually somewhat similar to the Western election system—those professional managers had term limits. From the perspective of their personal interests, they would naturally want the company they managed to “prosper” during their term, so that they could get more bonuses and stock incentives.

As for the company’s long-term interests? With a few years of tenure, why consider matters of ten or twenty years?

How many people could endure a decline in business during their term for the sake of long-term interests, and even potentially be fired because of it… and then let their successor enjoy the resulting long-term dividends?

Of course, the reason why most multinational corporations were listed companies was because, at that scale, it was still the most stable non-family management method after weighing the pros and cons.

You couldn’t avoid all possible risks, you could only choose a relatively more stable one—this in itself was risk aversion after a company reached a certain scale.

Small companies and startups could take risks, but large companies needed stability.

…

In mid-September, the Federal Reserve Board and the European Commission successively approved Standard Chartered Bank’s acquisition of Merrill Lynch.

This also meant that the merger of the two parties would officially enter a substantial stage.

Former Standard Chartered Bank President Davies would serve as President of Standard Chartered-Merrill Lynch Group, and his deputy, Paul Spenter, would be promoted to CEO of Standard Chartered Bank—he would manage the branches and deposit business of Standard Chartered Bank after the merger of Northern Rock Bank, Merrill Lynch Industrial Bank, and IndyMac Bank.

In addition, Sein, the former Chairman and CEO of Merrill Lynch, who had just taken office this year after his predecessor was fired, would serve as Chairman of the Securities and Wealth Management Department of Standard Chartered-Merrill Lynch Group.

It was also worth mentioning that because Standard Chartered Bank’s stock price had fallen somewhat during this period—from $25 per share to below $20—the total price for the acquisition of Merrill Lynch had also decreased accordingly.

After all, a large part of this acquisition of Merrill Lynch was carried out through stock swaps.

And the vast majority of the $25 billion in cash was directly injected into Merrill Lynch to repay some of its debts and alleviate its liquidity shortage.

However, what was interesting was that after Standard Chartered Bank’s acquisition of Merrill Lynch was approved by the relevant regulatory agencies in the United States and the European Union, Standard Chartered Bank’s stock price fell by nearly 5% that day…

The main reason was that many voices in the market believed that Standard Chartered Bank needed to fill Merrill Lynch’s “hole,” and that it also had a pile of messes from its previous acquisition of Northern Rock Bank.

Under the current market conditions, it was feared that it would drag down Standard Chartered Bank’s performance.

Then, when Standard Chartered-Merrill Lynch Group announced that they would also pay £1.5 billion in bond interest to Cavendish Trust Fund before the end of September, their stock price fell again by more than 3%…

Because last year, when Standard Chartered Bank acquired Northern Rock Bank, according to the agreement, it needed to repay £25 billion in loans and interest to the British government…

At that time, Cavendish Trust Fund helped Standard Chartered Bank repay this loan by purchasing £25 billion of Standard Chartered Bank’s convertible bonds.

But these £25 billion in convertible bonds stipulated an annual interest rate of 6%, which meant that Standard Chartered Bank needed to pay £1.5 billion in interest to Cavendish Trust Fund every year. Now that it had been a full year since the issuance of these bonds, Standard Chartered Bank needed to make the payment before the end of September.

Under the current market environment, although Standard Chartered Bank was not greatly affected by the subprime mortgage crisis, because the stock market, especially bank stocks, was already in a general decline, their stock price had already fallen by more than 20% compared to last year’s high—which was already a relatively small drop among bank stocks.

Now that they also needed to bear such heavy financing interest, it was no wonder that Standard Chartered-Merrill Lynch Group’s stock price would fall again.

In this situation, when Cavendish Trust Fund proposed to convert their £25 billion of convertible bonds, plus £1.5 billion in interest, a total of £26.5 billion, into ordinary shares of Standard Chartered-Merrill Lynch Group at a price of £9.72 (equivalent to $17.5) per share, it immediately received the approval of the Standard Chartered-Merrill Lynch Group’s board of directors.

In addition, the $25 billion in convertible bonds that BFT Fund purchased from Standard Chartered Bank when it acquired Merrill Lynch would also be converted into ordinary shares of Standard Chartered-Merrill Lynch Group at this price.

Although the conversion price ($17.5) was slightly lower than the current stock price of Standard Chartered-Merrill Lynch Group, at least converting these “debts” into Standard Chartered-Merrill Lynch Group’s shares avoided the high annual interest payments—to be honest, the 6% interest rate on these convertible bonds was not high, but the scale of the debt they bore was high, so the corresponding amount that needed to be paid was very considerable.

Chapter 616: Valentino

After this conversion, Cavendish Trust will receive approximately 2.726 billion shares of Standard Chartered-Merrill Lynch ordinary stock; the BFT Fund will receive approximately 1.429 billion shares of Standard Chartered-Merrill Lynch ordinary stock.

Thus, the shareholding ratio of Standard Chartered-Merrill Lynch Group is approximately 60% held by Cavendish Trust (initially holding 65% of Standard Chartered Bank in the name of DS Holdings, plus the 2.726 billion ordinary shares obtained after the debt-to-equity swap, resulting in the combined shareholding ratio); 19.97% held by the BFT Fund; 5% held by Rich23 Capital; 0.7% held by Caesar Fund (resulting from Caesar Fund’s investment in Merrill Lynch, which was then exchanged for Merrill Lynch stock when Standard Chartered Bank acquired Merrill Lynch)…

It can be said that after the debt-to-equity swap, Barron, through the various investment companies and funds he controls, controls approximately 85.67% of the shares of Standard Chartered-Merrill Lynch Group. The remaining 14.33% of the shares belong to the original Standard Chartered Bank’s circulating shares on the secondary market, as well as the stock swaps from the original Merrill Lynch shareholders.

After this debt-to-equity swap, although the total share capital of Standard Chartered-Merrill Lynch Group was greatly expanded, it successfully converted most of its interest-bearing debt into ordinary shares – which no longer require interest payments. Therefore, this is a positive development for Standard Chartered-Merrill Lynch Group.

In the following week, the share price of Standard Chartered-Merrill Lynch Group rose slightly, from approximately £9.75 to approximately £10.2 (equivalent to $18.36), which also allowed the market value of Standard Chartered-Merrill Lynch Group to successfully exceed $131.3 billion, surpassing the Royal Bank of Scotland and becoming the second-largest listed bank in England, second only to HSBC Holdings.

In fact, because HSBC Holdings suffered considerable losses in the subprime crisis, its share price has fallen significantly this year. Currently, its market capitalization is only less than $10 billion higher than that of Standard Chartered-Merrill Lynch Group…

This “debt-to-equity swap” operation for Standard Chartered-Merrill Lynch Group will also become Barron’s primary method of increasing his holdings in listed companies when their share prices are at a low point during the subprime crisis – providing funds through his funds to purchase preferred shares or corporate bonds of listed companies for acquisitions and expansions, and then converting them into ordinary shares at low share prices…

The only difference is that, prior to this, his funds had reduced their holdings in listed companies such as Woaw Technology, SEM Group, and O2 Telecom when their share prices were relatively high, thereby obtaining considerable funds.

However, neither DS Holdings (Cavendish Trust) nor Rich23 Capital reduced their holdings in Standard Chartered Bank.

Because it is obvious that Standard Chartered Bank’s acquisition of assets such as Northern Rock Bank, Merrill Lynch, and IndyMac Bank in this process is considered relatively “risky” by the outside world, and contains many “non-performing assets.”

Furthermore, from Standard Chartered Bank to Standard Chartered-Merrill Lynch Group, it can be said that the scale of its acquisitions is extremely large.

Therefore, Barron needs to ensure absolute control over Standard Chartered Bank (DS Holdings plus Rich23 Capital controlling 80% of Standard Chartered Bank’s shares). Otherwise, even if his shareholding ratio exceeds 50%, he will still be affected by “noise” from the board of directors during these acquisition decisions, and will need to expend more energy to persuade the board of directors to carry out these acquisitions.

Now, after this series of operations, having completed the overall acquisition of Merrill Lynch, Barron is still able to control more than 85% of the shares of Standard Chartered-Merrill Lynch Group. It can be said that he has absolute control over this second-largest listed bank in England, second only to HSBC Holdings, and the sixth-largest listed bank in the world (currently ranked after Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, HSBC Holdings, China Construction Bank, Bank of America, and Bank of China).

…

“You bought Valentino?”

Barron arrived in Paris, and after meeting Beatrice here, the girl asked this question.

“Yes, Gucci-Hermès Group inquired about the price of this brand from Permira Investment Fund, and after negotiations, bought it…”

Beatrice’s concern about Valentino, which Barron had recently acquired, also has its reasons – after all, her uncle was once the president and chief designer of Valentino, but later he was involved in a tax evasion case. Last year, their family participated in selling Valentino Fashion Group to the British Permira Investment Fund for 2.6 billion euros.

The main reason why Gucci-Hermès Group did not participate in the acquisition of Valentino Fashion Group at that time was that, in addition to the Valentino brand, a considerable proportion of the company’s assets was the German Hugo Boss brand.

And obviously, Gucci-Hermès Group was not interested in this brand.

But now, the subprime crisis has arrived, and Permira Investment Fund is not having a good time in this crisis. Therefore, Gucci-Hermès Group took the opportunity to contact them, preparing to acquire the Valentino brand.

According to the agreement, Gucci-Hermès Group will acquire the operating rights of the Valentino brand and the M Missoni brand for 600 million euros.

Permira Investment Fund will split Valentino Fashion Group, separating the German brand Hugo Boss from the group, and then sell the remaining Valentino brand and M Missoni to Gucci-Hermès Group.

Speaking of which, not only Beatrice, but also her sisters, because of their previous relationship with the Valentino brand, most often wore Valentino fashion.

Now that this brand has been sold by her mother’s side, and eventually, after much back and forth, has been bought by Barron, Beatrice is also very happy.

After all, girls are always sentimental. In her opinion, this represents some kind of connection between her family and her lover.

For a considerable period of time before this, Barron was mostly in Asia and North America. He and Beatrice had not seen each other for a while. Beatrice was not idle either. She had devoted almost all her energy to studying during this time. According to her, she will be able to graduate a year early next year.

After graduation, Beatrice plans to go to America for further studies, which Barron also supports.

In any case, the two had been separated for a long time. The so-called absence makes the heart grow fonder, and their reunion fully allowed Barron to feel the girl’s enthusiasm…

Well, although this trip to Paris is not just for a private meeting with the girl, but…

Let’s first properly soothe her longing.

After checking the girl’s study progress, Barron imparted his knowledge without reservation, allowing Beatrice to learn a lot of knowledge in these two days…

Chapter 617: Angry Young Man

In the original timeline, Permira Funds sold its shares in Valentino to a Qatari royal family-owned investment fund for 700 million euros in 2012.

However, at that time, the Qatari royal family purchased a controlling stake in Valentino, meaning the majority of shares.

This was different from the Gucci-Hermès group’s direct acquisition of all of Valentino’s shares this time—in addition to Permira Funds, they also bought the remaining Valentino shares from the Marzotto family.

This was also because, since Valentino’s design director Valentino announced his retirement last year, although they had tried to bring in some designers, hoping to continue Valentino’s style, none of them were very successful. As a result, Valentino’s revenue declined significantly from last year to the first half of this year.

Otherwise, if Valentino was still very profitable, even if Permira Funds and the Marzotto family were willing to sell, they would have demanded a higher price.

However, Barron knew that the two brand creative directors Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pier Paolo Piccioli, who Valentino had recently hired, would perform very well in the future.

Starting next year, Valentino’s revenue would begin to grow—although the subprime mortgage crisis had a significant impact on the luxury goods industry in Europe and the United States, their growth in the Asian and Middle Eastern markets would be clearly visible.

According to statistical data, the increase from 2009 to 2012 was as high as 60%!

This was why the Qatari royal family’s investment fund later wanted to buy a majority stake in Valentino.

However, transactions of several hundred million euros would not occupy too much of Barron’s attention. It was only when Beatrice asked about it that he casually discussed the matter with her.

“Yes, a yacht I ordered before will be completed soon, Mr. Lagardère. There should be less than a month left, but unfortunately, the weather will be getting colder by then…”

Having arrived in Paris, Arnaud Lagardère, who had previously had a “pleasant conversation” with Barron, specially held a ball at his mansion for Barron, and Barron went with Beatrice.

Now, he was talking to Arnaud Lagardère about the super yacht he had ordered in Germany—it was before Barron’s wedding that he ordered a 500-foot-long super yacht named “Devonshire Poseidon” from the A&R shipyard in Germany.

The initial estimated construction period was about two and a half years…

But now, three years had passed, and Barron finally received news from the A&R shipyard that the “Devonshire Poseidon” would be completed and delivered in less than a month.

The reason for the delay of more than half a year was not only because Barron had made some higher-level upgrades to the internal structure and configuration of the “Devonshire Poseidon” in the middle, but also because the A&R shipyard had suspended work for more than three months due to the need to expand the dock size.

Fortunately, Barron had previously purchased the super yacht named “Caesar the Great” from the same shipyard. Although “Caesar the Great” was smaller than “Devonshire Poseidon,” it was enough for Barron to use.

Besides, he himself did not use yachts very often. After all, he had been relatively busy most of the time recently.

The last time he came to Paris to meet Arnaud, he invited Barron to a “swimsuit party” organized by him—after all, Lagardère Group was the largest media group in France, and the resources of its television stations and fashion magazines were basically equivalent to model and beauty resources…

However, now, Arnaud Lagardère had remarried, and his beautiful wife was previously a model, so this time, this old brother was not so wild—at least the ball held in his mansion this time was very “proper.”

That was good, as Barron himself had come with Beatrice Borromeo, and the girl was chatting with Arnaud’s wife, Jade, not far away.

It could be seen that Jade, Arnaud’s wife, who had once been a model, wore a satin dress that showed off her figure, but she looked a bit mature and charming, and her appearance was slightly inferior to Beatrice.

After meeting, Barron did not immediately talk to Arnaud about the Lagardère Group selling Hachette Group, but first talked about other things—after all, this matter was in negotiations, and even if Arnaud was a bit of a “spendthrift,” with competitors like Hearst Corporation, even if he was a “spendthrift,” he would not be stupid enough not to understand the principle of the highest bidder wins…

Of course, in terms of bidding, SEM Group still had an advantage over Hearst Corporation.

However, before that, Lagardère Group preferred to sell Hachette Group’s overseas business and retain the French operations of those magazines, which was the reason for Hearst Corporation’s bid.

Barron would also try to persuade Arnaud to make up his mind to completely sell Hachette Group.

At this time, the topic of the subprime mortgage crisis was also inevitable.

“The government? I have to say that their actions are very slow, and sometimes they don’t even know what to do. They even directly give money to those greedy bankers. This is simply taking our taxes to please the hateful capitalists…”

Interestingly, to some extent, Arnaud had the feeling of an “angry young man,” although he himself was one of the “big capitalists” and was no longer young.

What he was criticizing was the previous bailout of BNP Paribas, that is, Banque Nationale de Paris, by the French government—the French government decided to inject 5.1 billion euros into BNP Paribas, acquiring non-voting shares in the largest listed bank in France.

“After all, BNP Paribas is the largest bank in France, but I also think it would be better to let the market solve this problem at this time.”

Obviously, Arnaud agreed with Barron’s words. As for why Barron said this?

Because that was indeed what he thought. This way, he would have the opportunity to invest in BNP Paribas—as far as he knew, the Rothschild family had a considerable stake in BNP Paribas. Although the proportion was not high, it still had a certain influence on the bank…

If he could invest in BNP Paribas, of course, it would have to be voting shares, then Barron believed that he could eliminate the Rothschild family’s influence in BNP Paribas.

Moreover, in terms of returns, this investment could also obtain good returns.

But there was no way. As the largest listed bank in France, the French government would definitely prioritize bailing out BNP Paribas at this time.

Of course, because they all had relatively deep exposure to American subprime mortgage bond assets, coupled with the decline in global stock markets, the corresponding investment portions in banks continued to suffer losses, and the situation of many French banks was not so good…

Chapter 618: Natixis Bank

According to statistics, the losses suffered by the four major French commercial banks due to the subprime mortgage crisis have exceeded 25 billion euros!

These four major commercial banks are BNP Paribas, Société Générale, Crédit Agricole, and Natixis.

The one with the smallest losses among them is BNP Paribas. As early as June of this year, BNP Paribas’s public data showed its losses had just reached 2.3 billion euros. However, with the subsequent outbreak of a new wave of the subprime mortgage crisis, their losses have exceeded 5 billion euros, which is why they need to accept 5.1 billion euros in government bailout funds.

However, the other three banks have been quite critical of this, after all, BNP Paribas has the smallest losses, but it received government assistance, while they need to find their own ways to survive.

For example, Société Générale suffered losses of 4.9 billion euros just from the Société Générale fraud case discovered in January of this year. Adding in other losses, it is conservatively estimated that Société Générale has lost at least more than 6 billion euros!

In order to meet the relevant capital adequacy ratio requirements, Société Générale obtained approximately 5.5 billion euros in funding through increased capital and share expansion, finally allowing them to breathe a sigh of relief.

In addition to Société Générale, Crédit Agricole and Natixis have also suffered heavy losses, and they have also been seeking capital injections one after another.

“We participated in the equity financing of Société Générale and Crédit Agricole. I heard that Natixis Bank issued a large number of shares to William-Webb Capital in order to obtain funds…”

“William-Webb Capital?”

Hearing Arnaud’s words, Barron deliberately asked.

“Yes, it’s an investment company related to the Webb family. I heard that they made a lot of money by shorting stocks. Such a company is simply harming society. I don’t think Natixis Bank should accept investment from this company.”

Uh, hearing Arnaud complain so directly, Barron didn’t say much. He just wondered what his mood would be if he knew that the behind-the-scenes boss of this William-Webb Capital was himself…

…

“We have reached an agreement with Natixis Bank and will inject 4.5 billion euros into them, obtaining 30% of their shares and becoming the second largest shareholder of the bank…”

Next, Barron met Ashley Webb, the CEO of William-Webb Capital.

Just as Arnaud Lagardère had mentioned, as France’s fourth-largest commercial bank, Natixis Bank suffered heavy losses in this crisis and urgently needed capital injection. Therefore, taking advantage of this opportunity, William-Webb Capital participated in their financing.

Natixis Bank is one of the largest commercial banking groups in France. It was formed in 2006 by the merger of the subsidiaries of the Groupe Caisse d’Épargne and the Groupe Banque Populaire. Financial investment banking has always been Natixis Bank’s main source of income, accounting for almost half of their net profit.

However, due to the impact of the subprime mortgage crisis, according to publicly available data from Natixis Bank, its losses increased by nearly 1.5 billion euros in the second quarter of this year alone…

One data point is enough to show the impact of this subprime mortgage crisis on the French banking industry. Compared with the same period last year, BNP Paribas’s market value has shrunk by more than 40%, Société Générale’s market value has decreased by more than 55%, Crédit Agricole’s market value has decreased by nearly 60%, and Natixis Bank’s market value has shrunk by a full 65%!

The most critical thing is that due to the losses in this subprime mortgage crisis, the capital adequacy ratios of these banks are insufficient. According to the Basel Accords, which serve as the basic principles of international banking supervision, the target standard ratio for commercial bank capital adequacy is 8%.

In order to achieve a qualified capital adequacy ratio, these banks have successively carried out financing plans, starting with Société Générale in March of this year.

BNP Paribas received funding from the government, Société Générale and Crédit Agricole both financed by issuing more shares to shareholders. As for Natixis Bank, because its market value fell too “fiercely,” and with the precedents of Société Générale and Crédit Agricole, their internal financing plan ultimately failed to pass and they could only seek external financing…

Why is that?

Take Société Générale as an example, how did they carry out their capital increase and share expansion?

According to its capital increase and share expansion plan, Société Générale’s shareholders enjoyed the priority of subscribing for 1 new share for every 4 shares of Société Générale they held. In the end, they issued 116 million new shares, obtaining more than 5.5 billion euros in funding.

The most crucial thing is that the issue price of their new shares was 47.5 euros, while the share price of Société Générale at that time was 77.72 euros, which means that they issued these new shares at a discount rate of nearly 40%…

Of course, because their new share issuance was mainly aimed at existing shareholders, it did not cause too much dissatisfaction. On the contrary, it prompted their shareholders to actively subscribe, which also showed that their investors still had confidence in them.

Crédit Agricole’s capital increase and share expansion was somewhat similar to Société Générale’s plan, except that the issue price of the new shares did not have such a high discount rate, but it also had a discount rate of about 20%.

When William-Webb Capital was negotiating with Natixis Bank, their market value had fallen to less than 11.5 billion euros—a year ago, Natixis Bank’s market value was as high as 32.5 billion euros.

Also because of the urgent need for funds, Natixis Bank made some concessions to William-Webb Capital, and finally agreed to the condition that William-Webb Capital purchase new shares accounting for 30% of its total share capital after the issuance at a price of 4.5 billion euros.

At this point, William-Webb Capital became the second largest shareholder of Natixis Bank, the fourth largest commercial bank in France, second only to the Groupe Banque Populaire, which holds approximately 35% of its shares.

“Although our capital injection has temporarily alleviated Natixis Bank’s lack of funds, according to the requirements, they also need to raise the mortgage conditions for personal mortgage loans and carry out a certain degree of layoffs to make their operating conditions healthier and more stable.”

It can be said that Ashley Webb looks very high-spirited now, which is understandable. After all, being able to become the second largest shareholder of Natixis Bank, and with a shareholding ratio only 5% different from its controlling shareholder, also means that William-Webb Capital has a great say in Natixis Bank.

The main reason why William-Webb Capital was able to invest in Natixis Bank was because it previously obtained a profit of 2.5 billion euros from NM Rothschild Bank through a bet, and then made a lot of profit by shorting the French stock market, especially the bank stocks.

In addition to investing in Natixis Bank, William-Webb Capital still has a considerable surplus in its account…

“There’s no need to rush next. I think the impact of the crisis will continue, so just increase our holdings in Natixis Bank when the time is right. Also, is there any movement from the Rothschild family?”

Hearing Barron’s question, Ashley shook her head and said:

“At first, they were secretly investigating me, but I didn’t give them a chance. But now, I’m afraid they don’t have so much time to keep an eye on me. LCF Rothschild Group is already overwhelmed. Their investment losses are not small.”

“We still need to be more cautious, Ashley. Although the Rothschild family is not as good as before, they wouldn’t be so simple after being passed down to this day.”

Ashley Webb shrugged her shoulders:

“I’ll pay attention, Your Grace.”

Chapter 619: An Unexpected Encounter in Monaco

Baron didn’t continue waiting in Paris for the final negotiation results with Lagardère Group. Instead, he took Beatrice to Monaco first.

Speaking of Monaco, many people often confuse it with Morocco. In fact, Morocco is located in North Africa, while Monaco is in Europe, bordering France. Its territory is surrounded by France on three sides and faces the Mediterranean Sea to the south. Because of this, Monaco has a close relationship with France. It was originally a principality belonging to France, but later became independent.

Moreover, the Monaco team has always participated in the French Ligue 1.

Monaco is a very small country. Before 2000, its land area was less than 1.7 square kilometers. Later, after land reclamation, its area increased to more than 2 square kilometers – this area is only a quarter of the size of the Tiantongyuan residential area in Yanjing…

However, although the land area is small, Monaco can be called the country with the highest density of wealthy people in the world, thanks to Monaco’s very successful gambling, tourism, and banking industries…

As for why the wealthy are happy to immigrate to Monaco, it is also because of their “zero tax” policy, coupled with its excellent geographical location, which makes the wealthy flock to it.

It was rare to have the opportunity to accompany Beatrice, so Baron took advantage of this opportunity to bring her to Monaco for vacation.

As everyone knows, the world’s most famous gambling cities include Macau, Las Vegas, and Monaco.

In 1856, Prince Charles III of Monaco, in order to solve the financial crisis, opened the first casino on the cape north of the old city, and since then Monaco has gradually become one of the richest countries in Europe.

Today, Monaco’s gambling industry is developed, and the most famous of these is the “Sun Casino.” This Mediterranean-style building cost 500 million US dollars and is known as the most beautiful casino in the world.

This time, Baron and Beatrice and their party checked into the Hotel de Paris near this casino.

“Wow, we won, darling.”

The small ball of the roulette stopped, Beatrice saw the result, and happily shouted to Baron, and by the way, gave him a sweet kiss.

As the saying goes, a little gambling is fun, but too much gambling hurts. For Baron, there is no need to seek excitement through these casinos at all. In the financial market and other more grand fields, the excitement of participating in them far exceeds these.

Bringing Beatrice here this time was just for entertainment, and after he exchanged 100,000 euros in chips, he did not participate in any form of gambling himself, but simply watched Beatrice have fun.

However, maybe it was because “beginners have beginner’s luck,” Beatrice had never played these before, and even most of the rules she didn’t know, and needed the waiter next to her to introduce them. It could be said that she was betting randomly, all depending on her mood, but she had actually won a lot so far…

Of course, this does not rule out some of the casino’s own tricks. Then, when Beatrice had the illusion that she was a “child of fortune,” and began to increase her chips, soon, the chips in her hand gradually decreased, and eventually were “cleared.”

“Ah, it’s all gone…”

Beatrice said with a pout, looking very depressed.

“So I said this kind of place is just for fun, baby, let’s go back to the hotel and get something to eat.”

She didn’t feel it when she was excited just now, but after hearing Baron’s words, Beatrice immediately felt hungry, so she obediently took Baron’s arm, and the two walked out of the casino.

It is said that many casinos have a lot of tricks in the design of the decoration, which can keep gamblers in a state of excitement. Baron was not interested in exploring this.

“Beatrice?”

Just as the two walked to the entrance of the hotel, a blond young man in a group of people coming out of the hotel called out Beatrice’s name.

However, when the other party wanted to get closer, he was immediately blocked by the bodyguards surrounding Baron.

And Beatrice’s face was not very good when she saw the other party. She first looked at Baron’s expression, and seeing that he didn’t have any special reaction, she felt a little relieved:

“Honey, he’s a classmate from my school.”

“Is that so…”

At Baron’s signal, his bodyguards stepped aside slightly, allowing the blond young man to walk up to them.

“I didn’t expect to meet you here, Beatrice…”

Seeming to be very happy to see Beatrice, the other party showed a smile on his face, but when he saw Baron next to Beatrice, he asked with a wary tone:

“Who is he?”

Oh? He doesn’t recognize me?

Baron found it quite interesting. In fact, from the other party’s performance just now, Baron also remembered his identity…

He should be the Monaco prince who later married Beatrice in Baron’s previous life – Pierre. Thinking that they are now in Monaco, and this Hotel de Paris is also the most high-end hotel in Monaco at this time, then meeting Pierre and them, although the probability is not high, it will not be too surprising.

“Hello, I am Baron Cavendish.”

“Baron Cavendish? Are you the Duke of Devonshire?!”

Looking at Pierre’s surprised expression, it didn’t seem like a pretense, otherwise his acting skills would be worth an Oscar.

So he really didn’t recognize me before…

This is a bit interesting.

“Beatrice, you…”

“We are friends, Pierre. If there’s nothing else, we’re going to have dinner.”

Unless you were blind, you could definitely see that Beatrice and Baron’s relationship was definitely not an ordinary “friend” relationship.

And Beatrice’s attitude towards Pierre, even for a relationship that is not familiar, could not be said to be polite.

“Since you’ve come to Monaco, as the host, can you give me a chance to invite you to dinner?”

“No need, thank you. I’m glad to have met you today, Pierre. We’ll go first…”

That’s what she said, but from Beatrice’s face, you couldn’t see a trace of “happiness.”

…

“That girl, is that the one you said you fell in love with at first sight at school?”

After Beatrice and Baron and his party entered the hotel, several men and women who had come out of the hotel with Pierre walked up to him.

One of them, a slightly older, handsome long-haired man asked.

However, seeing Pierre still looking in the direction Beatrice left, silent and lost…

He said meaningfully:

“But it seems that girl doesn’t mean anything to you. The one next to her is the Duke of Devonshire, right? He’s already married… Interesting.”

“Enough! Andre, put away that look on your face…”

Pierre stopped his brother from continuing to speak, he gritted his teeth and said:

“Everything is not the final result yet.”

Chapter 620: Dog?

“Didn’t you want to ask me about what happened earlier? Darling…”

Beatrice said to Barron with some hesitation during dinner.

“Are you talking about that handsome young man we met earlier? If you wanted to tell me, you would, honey, and I trust you.”

“Thank you, darling. Pierre and I met at school, but he was always pursuing me, but I…”

Beatrice looked at Barron affectionately and said, “My heart only has you, so…”

Barron knew that in the original timeline, Beatrice fell in love with Pierre, the Prince of Monaco, while at school, and later married into the Monegasque royal family.

But now, Barron met Beatrice earlier, so there was no longer any relationship between them.

Speaking of Monaco, it’s a very interesting country.

First of all, Monaco was originally a principality belonging to France—the Principality of Monaco.

During World War II, in June 1940, France surrendered to Nazi Germany.

In the same month, Italy sent troops to occupy Monaco, a French dependency.

Hitler at the time was very dissatisfied with Italy’s invasion of Monaco and immediately sent a note to the Italian side, demanding that they immediately withdraw their troops from Monaco and restore Monaco’s neutral status—Nazi Germany needed to conduct trade through Switzerland and Monaco, these two “neutral countries.”

At that time, the Principality of Monaco was ruled by Prince Louis II. After Italy occupied Monaco, Prince Louis II was captured by Italy.

Just when Prince Louis II thought the Monegasque royal family was about to perish, a turning point came quickly.

A few days later, he was politely sent back to the Monaco Palace by the Italian army.

Then, Louis II watched as the Italian soldiers, who had been looting everywhere just days before, scurried out of Monaco.

If you looked out with a telescope at this time, you could see the Italian army gathering outside the territory of Monaco.

This is definitely the fastest restoration of a country in human history. The Poles, who were being wiped out again next door, would probably be green with envy if they saw this scene…

But this wasn’t the end. In November 1942, after the Allied forces landed in North Africa, Italy, under the pretext of protecting overseas Chinese, once again sent troops to occupy Monaco.

This time, Hitler did not ask Mussolini to withdraw his troops, because as the Soviet-German war continued, Nazi Germany suffered heavy losses, and Hitler no longer had time to worry about the safety of Monaco.

After Mussolini was overthrown in 1943, Nazi Germany took control of Monaco.

At this point, Monaco officially lost its neutral status and became the forefront of Nazi defense.

In August 1944, the Allied forces landed in southern France, and the German army, overwhelmed, began to withdraw from Monaco one after another.

On September 3, two American soldiers arrived in Monaco and announced in a restaurant that the Allied forces had officially occupied Monaco—September 3 also became Monaco’s Liberation Day.

After the Allied forces liberated Monaco, Prince Louis II was restored to power again, and Monaco returned to its original path, continuing to cultivate the tertiary industry.

Today, Monaco has become a world-renowned gambling mecca and the most developed country in the global entertainment industry. Relying on gambling and the entertainment industry, Monaco has become one of the countries with the highest per capita income in the world, and its residents’ happiness ranks among the top in the world.

If nothing unexpected happens, Monaco should continue to be so happy—until France raises the white flag again next time.

Back to Beatrice’s side, Pierre, whom they met today, is called the “Prince” of Monaco. In fact, he is not the child of the current Prince Albert II of Monaco, but the son of Albert II’s sister, Princess Caroline.

He also has an older brother, Prince Andrea, who is known as the “most handsome prince.”

Their grandmother is very well-known, the famous Hollywood actress Grace Kelly.

“I have to admit, the Monegasque royal family is very good at promoting themselves, which is why they have been able to succeed in the gambling and tourism industries.”

By the pool on the top floor of the Hotel de Paris, Barron and Beatrice were enjoying wine and looking at the sunset over the distant Mediterranean Sea. He said nonchalantly, “Like when Rainier III chose to marry Grace Kelly…”

“That matter is very famous, but that Hollywood actress didn’t end up living happily, did she?”

Hearing Beatrice’s words, Barron nodded and said with a smile, “It was a deal in itself. Rainier III needed to let the whole world know about Monaco in order to develop the gambling and tourism industries, and Grace Kelly wanted the title of ‘Princess,’ so the two hit it off.”

Before marrying Rainier III, Grace Kelly, as a well-known Hollywood actress holding an Oscar statuette, had several dates with Kennedy.

However, the Kennedy family did not favor Grace Kelly, preventing her from marrying into the Kennedy family. In the end, she made another choice—to marry a prince and become a princess.

Anyway, the story of the Monaco royal family is indeed full of soap opera drama—their prince is very happy to marry actresses with extremely high profiles, but at the same time, he is very promiscuous.

Especially the story between the current Prince Albert and Princess Charlene—Prince Albert is not only promiscuous, but his tastes are also very… diverse. Among his many illegitimate sons and daughters, well, there are also black people.

I won’t post the photos, they’re a bit of an eyesore…

Princess Charlene tried to escape the Monaco royal family three times, but was caught back by various means—threatened with her children. In the end, she may have resigned herself to her fate. I don’t know if there will be a fourth escape…

Speaking of which, it’s fortunate that Beatrice was able to avoid marrying into such a family.

After what happened before, although Barron didn’t care—he wasn’t worried about what the Monaco royal family would do to him, especially since Prince Pierre wasn’t considered a core member of the royal family.

But it still affected Beatrice’s mood for travel to some extent. Since that was the case, Barron took her away from Monaco and went to the next destination ahead of schedule—Germany.

Coming to Germany, in addition to preparing to go to the A&R shipyard to take delivery of the soon-to-be-completed super yacht “Devonshire Poseidon,” Barron will also meet with some bigwigs in Germany.

“Hello, Mr. Obermann, I believe this will be a constructive meeting.”

“I hope so too, Your Grace, it is an honor to meet you.”

The person meeting with Barron this time is René Obermann, the CEO of Deutsche Telekom, at Deutsche Telekom’s headquarters in Bonn.

This is not Barron’s first stop in Germany.

“When I met with Ms. Merkel before, I also talked about this acquisition. I believe this acquisition will be beneficial to both of us, especially in the current market environment.”

The acquisition that Barron is talking about is that O2 Telecommunications, together with the consortium formed by the Caesar Foundation, is preparing to acquire Deutsche Telekom’s subsidiary, T-Mobile USA.

Chapter 621: Acquiring T-Mobile

T-Mobile was, at this time, the fourth-largest telecommunications operator in America, preceded by AT&T, Verizon, and Sprint.

O2 Telecom hoped to enter the North American market by acquiring T-Mobile USA. After all, the scale of this market was extremely large, and the fact that T-Mobile was only ranked fourth in the American market indicated that the company still had relatively high growth potential.

At the same time, Deutsche Telekom was also willing to sell T-Mobile, which was the basis for the two sides to begin negotiations on this matter.

The reasons for this were, first of all, that T-Mobile’s situation in the North American market was not very good.

Deutsche Telekom, known as the “German Tank,” entered the American market in 2001 through the acquisition of VoiceStream Wireless and Powertel. At that time, the American telecommunications market was in a stage of rapid development, which was full of opportunities for Deutsche Telekom.

However, this kind of market was also full of competition.

In 1996, the American telecommunications regulatory agency, the FCC, created a relaxed competitive environment by relaxing regulations. Large and small competitors sprung up like mushrooms after rain, and the competitive situation was very fierce.

In addition, with the rise of emerging forces such as Apple and Android in recent years, operators in America were the first to be impacted. The operating conditions of foreign operators like Deutsche Telekom, who were trying to pan for gold in the American market, were relatively bleak.

It should be known that AT&T had invested in Apple in advance, thereby obtaining the exclusive sales rights for the iPhone in North America.

Although the sales volume of Honor Mate phones was not inferior to that of iPhones, T-Mobile did not have exclusive sales rights. Honor Electronics’ strategy was to obtain as many partners as possible.

Therefore, among the telecommunications operators in America, T-Mobile did not have any advantages in competing with Sprint and Verizon. On the contrary, AT&T seized part of the market share because it had the exclusive sales rights for the iPhone.

Statistics showed that T-Mobile accounted for a quarter of Deutsche Telekom’s sales revenue, but it was difficult to catch up with its competitors in 3G, and the loss of users was accelerating.

In the past 5 years, T-Mobile America had experienced a decline in profits for 4 years. Approximately 56,000 users abandoned T-Mobile in 2007 and switched to other operators.

At the same time, the number of users of AT&T, Sprint, and Verizon all increased.

Under these circumstances, selling T-Mobile became Deutsche Telekom’s only choice.

Moreover, because it was affected by the subprime mortgage crisis, the difficulty of obtaining bank financing increased, which would inevitably lead to a deterioration in the operating conditions of the telecommunications industry.

The reason why Deutsche Telekom was willing to sell T-Mobile was that it hoped to increase its cash reserves and temporarily abandon the highly competitive North American market, focusing on the European market and emerging markets in Asia and Africa.

Currently, the only difference between O2 Telecom and Deutsche Telekom lies in the acquisition price.

At its peak, T-Mobile USA’s market value was close to 40 billion dollars. However, with the decline in its performance and the impact of the subprime mortgage crisis, its stock price has fallen by more than 35% from its highest point last year, and its market value is less than 26 billion dollars.

“I believe that selling T-Mobile’s American business will help your company focus its energy on more growth-oriented markets. The mobile internet is still in its initial stages, and making the right choices is very important.”

Hearing Barron’s words, even though this was indeed their idea, Deutsche Telekom’s CEO, René Obermann, still asked:

“Then why would you make the choice to enter the North American market? Your Grace.”

“Because the market scale that O2 Telecom is involved in is not very large right now. Entering the North American market through acquisition is also a good method. Although the competition there is fierce, I still want to give it a try…”

Barron said with a smile:

“Of course, T-Mobile is one of our choices, but it is not the only choice.”

Deutsche Telekom currently conducts business in approximately 50 countries around the world, mostly in Western and Central European countries, while its subsidiary T-Mobile’s business involves North America and Northern Europe. This time, O2 Telecom is preparing to acquire T-Mobile USA, which is its North American branch.

Compared to the scale of Deutsche Telekom, O2 Telecom is much smaller. It currently only involves the Western and Eastern European markets. Barron’s words, in René Obermann’s view, carried a bit of youthful vigor.

This was not difficult to imagine. After all, Barron was not yet thirty years old, but he had already achieved amazing success and possessed a huge industry. Under such circumstances, it was very normal to be confident or even arrogant.

But Barron also pointed out one thing, that is—T-Mobile is not O2 Telecom’s only choice.

The fact was also true. In addition to T-Mobile, Sprint or Virgin Telecom’s American branches could also be included in O2 Telecom’s acquisition options.

Taking Sprint as an example, their current scale and market share are slightly higher than T-Mobile, ranking as the third-largest telecommunications operator in America.

In Barron’s previous life, after Masayoshi Son succeeded in acquiring Vodafone Japan, he chose to acquire Sprint some time later, entering the American market and attempting to replicate the success he had achieved in the Japanese telecommunications industry on Sprint.

But the result, well, the acquisition of Sprint did not achieve the results that Masayoshi Son was satisfied with…

But for now, acquiring Sprint can still be considered as one of O2 Telecom’s alternatives.

These things aside for now, at least for now, T-Mobile is still O2 Telecom’s primary target.

What O2 Telecom can use to impress Deutsche Telekom is that they are willing to use an all-cash offer with a certain premium to acquire T-Mobile—after the news of O2 Telecom’s acquisition of T-Mobile spread, there were other companies that were interested in T-Mobile, including America’s AT&T and Sprint, which had both tried to contact Deutsche Telekom.

But similarly, Deutsche Telekom is still listing O2 Telecom as the primary buyer for their subsidiary T-Mobile.

This is because although O2 Telecom’s offer is not the highest, they are willing to acquire it with all cash.

The acquisition plans of AT&T and Sprint are mainly based on stock acquisitions, and these two companies are themselves leading telecommunications operators in America. Their acquisition of T-Mobile will inevitably attract investigations from relevant regulatory agencies, which will inevitably lengthen the entire acquisition process.

O2 Telecom, on the other hand, has not entered the American market before. Its acquisition of T-Mobile USA will not involve monopolies, and the relevant regulatory aspects are easier to pass.

The reason why the two sides are still in negotiations is that they have not reached an agreement on the acquisition price.

This time, O2 Telecom will form a consortium with the Caesar Foundation to acquire T-Mobile, and it will also have the support of Standard Chartered-Merrill Lynch behind it—merger and acquisition projects like this are very popular with investment banks. Through the consulting and financing business involved, the investment banks that undertake these projects can often obtain good returns.

So for Barron, it is naturally “good fortune should not go to outsiders,” especially after the merger of Merrill Lynch, the current Standard Chartered-Merrill Lynch Group also has very rich experience in this area.

O2 Telecom’s offer for T-Mobile is 27.5 billion dollars. Although this price does not have much of a premium compared to T-Mobile’s current market value, it is considered relatively competitive considering the current market situation and the fact that it is an all-cash acquisition.

But Deutsche Telekom is not satisfied with this offer. They hope to sell T-Mobile for 30 billion dollars, so that they can obtain considerable liquid funds and take advantage of the current low stock price to promote a share repurchase plan to boost investor confidence.

So between these two bids and asking prices, the two sides continue to negotiate.

Chapter 622: Nine Now

“Okay, I will personally go to California to meet with him…”

After Baron hung up the phone, he handed the phone to Chang Chuning.

“What’s the matter, darling? Are you going to America?”

After Baron’s assistant left, Beatrice asked curiously.

“It’s about an investment, but not immediately. I’ll go back to London for a while first.”

Baron took Beatrice’s hand and walked with her in the garden, saying this.

It was already approaching October, and the climate in Germany was already quite cold. His and the girl’s tour had lasted for quite some time. Tomorrow, Baron would leave here and return to London.

Yesterday, they had just visited the headquarters of Daimler Group—British Automotive Group had just reached an agreement with them and completed the acquisition of the 40% stake in McLaren Technology Group held by Daimler Group.

After this acquisition, British Automotive Group would own 70% of the shares of McLaren Technology Group, becoming the controlling party of McLaren.

However, according to the agreement between Baron and Ron Dennis, he would still manage McLaren. He knew that in the original timeline, Ron Dennis had initially done a good job at McLaren.

“It’s just a pity that I can’t continue to spend more time with you this time, baby.”

Hearing Baron’s words, Beatrice stopped and looked at him, her eyes full of tenderness:

“This is already enough, darling. I know you have too many things to do. From the moment I met you, I understood this. In my heart, you are such a big figure, so I don’t mind at all…”

After Baron hugged the girl in his arms, the girl murmured:

“And I can also take this opportunity to seize the time to study. I hope to always stand by your side, instead of falling too far behind.”

…

“I’m very sorry, Baron…”

“No need to apologize. The matter has already happened, and I was mentally prepared for it before. Daisy, the most important thing now is to find out the cause of the error and ensure that it doesn’t happen again in the future.”

Baron’s expression was slightly serious, but he didn’t blame himself too much, which made Daisy feel even more guilty:

“I will. I’m already thoroughly investigating this matter, and I will keep an eye on it.”

The matter happened in the Athena Fund, which is a quantitative fund under the DS Group. However, just two days ago, the program run by the Athena Fund suddenly deviated—because this kind of quantitative fund is originally an automated transaction through complex formulas and algorithms.

Although the accident was discovered in time, it still caused a loss of more than 50 million pounds to the Athena Fund.

More importantly, it was also because of this matter that the Athena Fund could only temporarily suspend trading to check their entire operating program to avoid such things from happening again…

Of course, just as Baron said, he was also mentally prepared for some accidental “bugs” in this kind of quantitative fund, because no matter what, programs and algorithms are made by people, and there will always be mistakes.

Moreover, it was fortunate that the accident of the Athena Fund only caused a loss of 50 million pounds. After all, in his previous life, because of the bugs in quantitative trading, it was not uncommon for serious stock market crashes to be directly caused. The losses in that kind of situation had to be calculated in hundreds of millions or even billions.

Now the most important thing is to find out whether this is a problem with the “program” or caused by human factors. If it is not caused by human factors, then Baron can still accept it.

…

“Laura, you can just rest assured during this time. The work will be temporarily handed over to others…”

“Well, actually, I’m still a little worried at first. When the child is a little older, I will be able to take some energy to be responsible for some work.”

Baron is now in a luxury mansion in the City of London. This is a three-story apartment mansion in a high-rise, which Baron specially bought for Laura.

Just a week ago, Laura gave birth to a boy for Baron—Eden Cavendish.

Like Andy Cavendish (born to Fan Bingbing), Eden Cavendish has black hair—which is not uncommon among British nobles, after all, in the British “hair color” hierarchy of contempt, black hair is also at the top.

Since Laura became pregnant, she has “retired to the second line” and no longer serves as Baron’s personal assistant, but helps his family office to handle some work. This is why Baron bought a luxury mansion for her here in the City of London—this place is very close to Baron’s family office in the DS Financial Center, which is also convenient for Laura’s daily work.

But now, her most important job is naturally to take care of the two people’s child, and Baron doesn’t want her to be too tired—although Laura has enough maids to take care of her and her child, but when Eden Cavendish is so young, the mother’s company is also very necessary.

And according to Chinese tradition, Laura has to be out of “confinement” before she can gradually start to take over some work.

“My parents, they said they want to come and see the child…”

Hearing Laura say this to him cautiously, Baron held her hand and said:

“This is no problem, and if it is inconvenient for them to come over, I can let you take the child home to see them after a while.”

Laura’s parents still live in Hangzhou, China. Although the child is still young, if they take a private jet, there will be no problem after the child is one month old.

“I will also go to China in a while, you can go with me, and you can live there for a while.”

“Really?”

Hearing this, Laura smiled and asked happily.

“Of course.”

Baron gently pinched her cheek and said:

“I will arrange these for you.”

Although Laura is older than Baron in age, if you count his previous life, Baron’s mental age is definitely older, and as his personal assistant, Laura is very excellent in her work ability, but her personality is relatively simple.

Therefore, such intimate actions like Baron treating a little girl would not feel awkward to him, and it seems that Laura also enjoys it very much.

Speaking of which, Eden Cavendish is already Baron’s ninth child…

Calculating this suddenly, Baron’s mood is really a bit…complicated.

In his previous life, he could be said to be “playing around” and never settled down. Until before his rebirth, he was considered a lone wolf.

But now, in this world for only six years, he has already “bloomed everywhere”, and soon his children will be able to form a football team—I’m afraid this is not the final result, and maybe even the substitutes can be filled.

How should I put it, to those who are capable, more work should be given.

Chapter 623: Genius

“I want to talk to you about something…”

Julia nestled close to Barron, resting her head on the man’s strong arm, and spoke softly.

“What is it?”

Barron could detect a hint of seriousness in her tone, which was rare after they had become more intimate. Therefore, he couldn’t help but become more attentive.

“It’s about Rami. He…”

As Julia Moore recounted the story, Barron became increasingly interested in the boy.

Rami was one of the orphans Barron had adopted through the Devonshire Charitable Foundation at the international school in Corlo.

He also had a sister named Ravi. Both siblings were born in Palestine and later adopted in Lebanon.

Because Rami was extremely intelligent and excelled academically, he was among the first five selected to study in London with Barron’s support. Rami’s special situation was that Barron had promised him that if he could maintain the top rank among everyone, he would be allowed to come to England with his sister Ravi. Eventually, Rami achieved this.

Perhaps because she wasn’t planning to have children due to health reasons, Julia Moore paid close attention to these orphans who came to England. She often visited them on Barron’s behalf, especially Rami and Ravi, because they were exceptionally well-behaved and Ravi was very cute. Julia Moore took extra care of them, as if she were their elder.

Julia told Barron that Rami had already taught himself university-level courses and wanted to do something for Barron in addition to his studies…

This was quite a surprise to Barron.

“Is he really that much of a genius?”

“Yes, I spoke with his teachers. According to them, Rami is the most intelligent and hardworking child they have ever seen. With the knowledge he possesses now, he is no less capable than a university student, and he might even be able to get a university degree.”

Keep in mind that Rami was only 16 years old…

In his previous life, Barron had heard of so-called “juvenile classes” in some universities in China, which were filled with students who could be called “geniuses.” Many of them started university courses at the age of fifteen or sixteen.

But those children had all undergone systematic education from a young age.

Rami’s childhood had been difficult. He only had three or four years of primary school education while his parents were still alive. After becoming an orphan, it was impossible for him to continue studying at school.

In other words, after being adopted and entering the international school in Corlo at the age of 12, he had completed middle school, high school, and even university courses in just over four years…

This fully demonstrated that not only was he very hardworking, but his intelligence and learning ability were also far superior to ordinary people!

“If that’s the case, then I will definitely fund him to continue his studies. There’s no need to rush him to work for me, after all, he’s only 16 years old…”

“I told him that too, but he didn’t tell me much. He just kept asking me to convey this idea to you…”

It seemed that there was something else Rami didn’t want to tell others. Barron pondered for a moment and said to Julia:

“How about this, let him come see me tomorrow, and I’ll have a good talk with him.”

“Okay…”

Julia smiled and then instructed Barron:

“Actually, although Rami is a very smart child, even a genius, he is only 16 years old after all. I still hope he can stay in school. I will continue to try to persuade him, but I will also respect his ideas.”

It seemed that Julia really cared about these children.

…

“Hello, Your Grace.”

The next day, Barron took the time to meet with Rami. If one didn’t know his academic achievements, Rami seemed like a very introverted boy.

“Don’t be nervous, Rami…”

Barron said gently to Rami:

“I’ve been following you and am very happy to know that you are doing well in your studies.”

“Thank you, Your Grace. It’s all because you provided us with the conditions. I, I am very grateful.”

Although he seemed a little introverted and shy, Barron could feel that the boy’s eyes were very clear when he met his gaze.

“I heard that you have already mastered university courses and also want to work for me? Is that so?”

“Yes, Your Grace, I want to work for you.”

Hearing the boy’s firm words, Barron smiled:

“Why?”

“Because you helped me and my sister, so I want to repay you.”

Barron patted the boy’s shoulder and said softly:

“I’m very happy that you think that way, Rami, but you are only 16 years old now. I don’t want to hire child labor, and I think you should continue studying. If you really want to help me, then you should understand that if you are eager to work for me now, then you will only have the ability of an ordinary university graduate. In fact, there are many people like that, but with your intelligence and potential, if you can continue to study, then you will be able to provide me with greater assistance in the future. That’s what I hope for, do you understand?”

“I… I understand, Your Grace…”

Rami lowered his head slightly. After saying this, he gently bit his lip and looked up at Barron:

“But I can continue to study and also help you with some things, because I don’t think studying is that difficult for me. I mean, outside of studying, I can still have some time to do some things…”

“Earlier today, I talked to your teachers, Rami. I know that your grades are generally good, and you are especially outstanding in mathematics, physics, and chemistry, but you seem to be a bit isolated and don’t interact with other students.”

“That’s because… those people don’t welcome me very much.”

Barron could understand this. Many people say that America has racial discrimination, but in fact, America is an immigrant country. Speaking of racial discrimination, it certainly exists, but Europe is even more stubborn in this regard - especially after the increase in immigration.

And this kind of thing is also common in schools, and because Rami’s learning ability is very strong, which also makes him younger than his classmates, it is easier to be excluded and bullied.

Because of Barron’s relationship - he had specifically told those schools to take care of the children he sponsored - things like “bullying” would definitely not target these children, at least not openly, but alienation or unfriendly words could not be avoided.

Chapter 624: Theft

“What kind of work do you think you could do for me? Or rather, what are you interested in?”

Hearing Barron’s question, Rami looked up at Barron, hesitated for a moment, and said:

“I’m very interested in numbers, um, stocks. I can use that to help you make money, Your Grace.”

“Stocks?”

“Yes…”

Rami’s eyes shone with a certain light, and his tone became confident:

“Actually, I’ve tried it with the school’s computer, and I don’t think it’s difficult.”

“You’ve tried it? Where did you get the money? And you’re not old enough to trade stocks yet, you can’t even open an account.”

Although Barron would provide some pocket money for these sponsored children, it wasn’t much—at least not for stock trading, since their food, clothing, housing, and transportation were all taken care of by dedicated staff.

Moreover, the law stipulates that only adults can open accounts for stock investment, and Rami doesn’t meet the requirements in terms of age or identity.

“I used a virtual trading platform, Your Grace, but I believe that through my calculations, I can find some patterns and maintain profitability.”

“Really? Can you show me your trading records?”

“Certainly, Your Grace.”

After opening the computer, Rami logged into his virtual stock account—this virtual account, except for the virtual money used for funding, everything else, including stock trends and transaction data, corresponded to the real stock market. Barron discovered that, as Rami said, he had been trading stocks for half a year, and with an initial virtual capital of 50,000 pounds, his total account assets had reached over 1 million pounds! In other words, within half a year, he had increased his assets more than 20 times!

“Have you studied the economic situation? How did you confirm that the stocks you chose would fall?”

Barron could see that nearly 75% of Rami’s profits came from short selling—which also corresponded to the overall market trend in the past half year.

“I haven’t studied it specifically, I just analyzed the trading volume and some data of these stocks and made a judgment…”

Okay, it seems like Rami really has a high talent in this area.

“How did you become interested in this?”

“Because, because I want to make money.”

“Are you short of money?”

“No…”

Rami lowered his head slightly, looking at his clenched fingers:

“Because I want to repay you, and, I want my sister to have a better life…”

“But I’m rich enough, Rami. I don’t want you to become a money-making machine, or rather, I don’t want you to make money the meaning of your life. Maybe you don’t understand this now, but I think only by continuing to learn will you one day understand what I’m saying today.”

“Thank you, Your Grace, I will continue to study. But actually, I don’t spend too much time trading these stocks, and I treat it as a relaxation after studying…”

Uh, okay.

Whether in his previous life or this one, Barron could say that he was relatively smart, but far from being a genius—his current wealth and industry relied more on his memories and experience from his previous life.

Therefore, regarding the world of geniuses like Rami…

It could be said that Barron didn’t understand.

After all, he himself had no experience of being a “genius”…

“But there will still be differences in mentality between virtual trading and real trading…”

Barron said to Rami with a smile:

“Since you are interested in this, Rami, I can provide you with a stock account and give you a certain amount of capital. If you can achieve results that satisfy me within a year, then I can promise to let you work for me…”

“Okay, Your Grace, I will work hard.”

“No…”

Barron shook his head and said:

“Stock investment is not about working hard, you need to have a calm mind. Besides that, I hope you can still have sufficient academic achievements. I will help you get into Cambridge University. You can choose the major you like and get enough support from mentors. This is not something everyone can get. Between you earning 100 million pounds and you becoming a decision-maker with sufficient ability, I prefer the latter, Rami.”

Just as Barron told Rami, the boy would later receive a stock account with an initial capital of 50,000 pounds—just like he initially obtained on the virtual stock trading platform.

Then Barron would judge based on his subsequent operations.

But since he was a genius, in fact, Barron wasn’t exaggerating. Compared to helping him earn 100 million pounds, Barron preferred that Rami become someone with the ability to enter his core decision-making circle.

…

“Don’t worry, I’ll send people to strengthen your protection…”

Barron said to the woman in front of him, whose face still showed some worry:

“And you’d better move to a new place immediately. I can’t provide that for you, but after that, I’ll send people to check it out thoroughly.”

“Okay, the police haven’t given me any useful information so far…”

“Are you sure that among the stolen items, besides the valuables, there was nothing particularly important?”

“No, because I wouldn’t leave anything else in my hands at all.”

Hearing Jo Harriman’s words, Barron looked at her deeply, hoping she was telling the truth, otherwise, he was afraid he would be disappointed in her.

The incident happened last night. Jo Harriman, as a member of the London City Council, went to Australia for a visit. After returning home, she discovered that her home had been burglarized.

At the time, Jo Harriman chose to call the police and immediately informed Barron.

According to the woman, she lost some valuables, including jewelry and cash—and the results of the London police’s on-site investigation also showed that it should be a common burglary.

In May of this year, Jo Harriman was elected as a member of the London City Council. After that, she resigned from her position as an ITV host and participated in some City Council work.

Moreover, Jo Harriman had received the support of the Conservative Party and became their key “new generation” to cultivate—next year, there will be three seats in the House of Commons for by-elections, and Jo Harriman will represent the Conservative Party in the competition for one of them.

At this time, her home was “burglarized”…

This couldn’t help but make Barron cautious.

After all, he needed to confirm whether, in addition to the stolen valuables claimed by Jo Harriman, there was anything more important that could involve other matters.

Since Jo Harriman insisted that was the case, then Barron could only choose to believe her for the time being—of course, he would also conduct investigations through other means. If the other party disappointed him, then he would have to choose to give up on her.

Hopefully, Jo Harriman was a smart person.

Similarly, at this time, Jo Harriman could only choose to believe Barron—she had no other choice. As for whether Barron sending people to help her check her new residence was just a check…

She could only believe that the facts were as Barron said.

Thus, that night, Barron allowed Jo Harriman to stay overnight in this villa, but she needed to move as soon as possible—which made it inconvenient for Barron to provide her with accommodation. On the surface, Barron wouldn’t have any connection with Jo Harriman.

But afterward, he would also strengthen her protection.

Chapter 625: Online Banking

“According to the information we received from Scotland Yard, Ms. Harriman’s neighborhood is a high-end residential area. There have been a total of eighteen burglaries in the past year…”

Nigel Incester adjusted his glasses and said to Barron:

“And on the very night that Ms. Harriman’s house was burglarized, two other families in the same neighborhood also reported burglaries. Coincidentally, they were also not at home at the time…”

“Anything else?”

“We also obtained photos of Ms. Harriman’s house after the burglary from the police station, as well as the on-site investigation report. Through analysis by our experts, we can conclude from the scene that the places that were rummaged through were those where valuables were easily hidden. The other party did not seem to be deliberately looking for other items… such as photos, documents, or videotapes.”

Joe Harriman’s house was burglarized, and Scotland Yard is responsible for this matter. However, Barron doesn’t have much hope for their work efficiency and ability to solve the case, so he directly used his connections to obtain the relevant information and handed it over to his intelligence team for analysis.

As Nigel said, Joe Harriman lives in a high-end community, so the security is relatively good. But at the same time, such communities are prone to becoming targets for thieves because they are inhabited by high-income people.

This can be seen from the fact that Joe Harriman’s community reported eighteen burglaries in a year. This proportion is neither too much nor too little in London…

At the same time, on the night that Joe Harriman’s house was burglarized, two other families in her community were also burglarized, and their homes were also unoccupied that night. This raises the question of whether Joe Harriman’s encounter was indeed a random act of burglary, or whether the other party “stole” from two other families to cover their tracks. More evidence is needed to support either theory.

But it is clear that, based on Nigel’s current analysis and considering all aspects of the situation, the possibility that Joe Harriman encountered a random act of theft is greater than the possibility that someone broke in with a specific purpose to search for certain items.

In any case, when something like this happens, it is necessary to increase protection for Joe Harriman.

After all, she seems to have a promising political career at the moment and will provide assistance to Barron in the future.

…

“We plan to try online banking in England first, and then start promoting it in North America and Asia…”

Paul Spinter, CEO of Standard Chartered Bank, said to Barron.

Previously, Paul Spinter was an assistant to the former President and CEO David at Standard Chartered Bank. After Standard Chartered Bank acquired Merrill Lynch and formed Standard Chartered-Merrill Lynch Group, David took over as the President of Standard Chartered-Merrill Lynch Group, and Paul Spinter became the CEO of Standard Chartered Bank.

In fact, as early as 1995, the world’s first online bank, Security First Network Bank (SFNB), was born.

After that, online finance, represented by online banking, developed rapidly.

By 2000, online finance covered all retail banking business and some investment banking business in America, except for cash.

By introducing Internet technology, financial business broke through the limitations of time and space, reduced information management and transaction costs, greatly improved service levels and efficiency, and made services more personalized.

Barron naturally understands the development potential of online banking in the future. With the popularization of the Internet, especially the development of mobile Internet, bank customers will be able to complete almost all banking business online. This can greatly reduce the cost of opening bank branches and will be more accepted by young people.

Moreover, with the development of the Internet, in the next ten years or so, many bank branches will also be cut back due to a large decrease in customers and the high cost of maintenance.

In this case, Standard Chartered Bank might as well vigorously develop Internet banking directly. This will not only speed up development in regions with more complete network facilities, such as America and Europe, and increase market share, but also increase various services through the Internet.

As for cash services in some remote areas or areas with fewer users, relying on increasing the number of ATMs can still reduce Standard Chartered Bank’s expenditures on rent and labor costs.

Currently, through the acquisition of ING Direct, an Internet direct bank newly established under the Dutch ING Group, Standard Chartered Bank has established an online banking department on this basis, and will first conduct trial operations in England.

After gaining sufficient experience in the operation of online banking, they will begin to promote their online banking business in mainland Europe and North America starting next year.

It can be said that online banking will be a key development project for Standard Chartered Bank in the future, so it is directly overseen by CEO Paul Spinter.

Barron also affirmed the measures he promoted.

As the newly appointed CEO of Standard Chartered Bank, Paul Spinter attaches great importance to this meeting with Barron, after all, he understands that this Duke determines whether he can stay in this position.

After completing a series of debt-to-equity swaps, Barron once again controlled the absolute proportion of shares in Standard Chartered-Merrill Lynch Group, and the board of directors of Standard Chartered-Merrill Lynch Group has been firmly controlled by him.

“Your Grace, after the government launched the mortgage relief plan, plus selling some accumulated real estate to obtain funds, our business in England has stabilized. Deposit customers have begun to recover, and our mortgage business can continue. Of course, the mortgage conditions have been adjusted to ensure the safety of the funds we lend…”

In the beginning, when Standard Chartered Bank acquired Northern Rock Bank, it faced very difficult circumstances - it had very few depositors left, and mortgage loans faced a “wave of defaults,” which made it impossible to recover many of the mortgage loans that Northern Rock Bank had previously issued - what could be recovered were only buildings whose value had shrunk.

However, the “suggestions” of many British banks, including Standard Chartered Bank, to the government were finally adopted. The British government finally urgently launched a mortgage relief plan with a total amount of 100 billion pounds at the end of last month, which will provide assistance to families who are unable to repay their mortgages due to unexpected circumstances.

Although the families that can be included in the relief plan are those who have good conditions themselves, but whose income has temporarily decreased significantly due to the impact of the subprime mortgage crisis, accounting for only a part of the mortgage users facing default, and the assistance provided by the government also has corresponding requirements, and the interest that banks can get from it needs to be discounted.

But after all, this plan can stabilize a considerable number of mortgage users from defaulting and allow banks to recover some funds, so it is also very good news for those banks that have suffered losses from mortgage loans.

In addition, Standard Chartered Bank sold 10 billion euros worth of repossessed mortgaged properties belonging to Northern Rock Bank to Cavendish Asset Management Company - although these properties were sold at the current market price, which is much lower than the original valuation, it can at least enable Standard Chartered Bank’s business in England to obtain valuable liquid funds, greatly improving its operating situation and reducing a large amount of short-term high-interest debt.

Chapter 626: The Madoff Case

Speaking of Cavendish Asset Management, the fact that they were taking out 10 billion euros to purchase Standard Chartered Bank’s “non-performing assets”—more than 50,000 homes, apartments, and office buildings, etc.—wasn’t simply a one-time commitment of so much capital.

First and foremost, Barron was extremely optimistic about the future of the British real estate and housing rental market…

This was something he could deduce based on his past life’s experiences.

You should know that, according to data from professional research institutions, in Britain, approximately one in five households chooses to rent as a solution to their housing needs.

Therefore, the entire British Isles has an extremely large demand for housing rentals, which is also the premise for the great development potential of the British housing rental industry.

Currently, in the vast British housing rental market, private landlords have an absolute advantage in terms of proportion compared to private rental companies.

The largest private rental company in Britain currently owns over 9,000 apartments, but its market share is less than 0.2%!

But Barron knew that in the future, the British housing rental market would become increasingly professional. In addition, the impact of the internet on the housing rental industry would greatly shorten the distance between users and available rental properties. Therefore, on the one hand, Cavendish Asset Management could provide liquidity by acquiring these properties from Standard Chartered Bank. On the other hand, they could also use this as an opportunity to enter the British housing rental market.

You should know that in the future, the British banking giant Lloyds Bank would also be attracted and couldn’t help but join this market.

Currently, Cavendish Asset Management has already acquired Grainger, a company with extensive experience in property rentals, for 150 million pounds, and they will manage the properties they acquire.

Furthermore, they have launched a website providing housing rental information and services to individual users, and will conduct marketing and business development through the internet.

At the same time, Cavendish Asset Management will continue to cooperate with Standard Chartered Bank, not to continue acquiring their “non-performing assets,” but to package their property rental business into fixed-income products for sale to users.

After all, renting out real estate often yields very stable returns, so launching wealth management products based on this naturally appeals to risk-averse investors.

Simultaneously, the Cavendish Trust Fund behind Cavendish Asset Management can also use this to recover the capital invested in these properties and make other investments.

And they can also obtain the returns from the future appreciation of these properties.

Compared to the subprime mortgage bonds that triggered the subprime mortgage crisis, these wealth management products based on renting out owned properties are much less risky.

…

“This case is sensational enough, and the number of wealthy people involved is likely to exceed people’s imagination…”

“Looking at it now, it seems that everything was traceable, but how many people really caught these clues at the time?”

Barron shook his head, put the newspaper in his hand on the table, and said to Amber Sheen in front of him:

“But I believe he’s a smart man; some people’s money was withdrawn long before this…”

The newspaper that Barron placed on the table had a headline on the front page:

“$50 Billion Colossal Scam - Bernard Madoff Arrested”

Yes, on October 15th, this news spread around the world, causing a sensation.

According to reports, Madoff’s arrest was reported by his son.

In early October, Madoff revealed to his son that clients were demanding to redeem $7 billion in investments from their Madoff company, which would cause the company to have “cash flow problems.”

Then, on October 14th, Madoff confessed to his son that the Madoff company was actually “empty” and that he had previously concocted a giant pyramid-scheme “Ponzi scheme” that defrauded clients of more than $50 billion in total.

That night, Madoff’s son chose to report him to the police, and thus this largest fraud case in history was detonated.

Madoff can be called a big figure on Wall Street, having served as chairman of NASDAQ—of course, not a weighty big figure, or it wouldn’t have been possible to defraud $50 billion by “helping others invest…”

In fact, Madoff’s “Ponzi scheme” has been running well, running for more than eight years from 2001 to the present.

The reason is that Madoff was originally a senior figure in the financial industry, and he was able to strictly control the scale of the scheme’s promotion—the so-called “Ponzi scheme,” to put it bluntly, is to use the funds of later joiners to pay interest to those who joined earlier.

Therefore, in addition to using his reputation and relatively high (more than 10% annual rate of return) interest rates to attract funds, the reason he was able to run safely for so many years lies in Madoff’s strict control over the scale of his fundraising.

It must be in an inverted pyramid shape, that is, the initial scale is small, and then the scale gradually increases, so that the entire “Ponzi scheme” can continue to run…

So it can be said that Madoff is also a “master” in this regard. If he hadn’t unfortunately encountered the subprime mortgage crisis, and some investors suffered heavy losses in other investments and needed to redeem their funds from Madoff, causing Madoff’s company to experience continuous large-scale redemptions, then perhaps his “Ponzi scheme” would still be running for a while…

According to the information Barron received, not to mention the United States, even in Britain, there are quite a few wealthy people and companies that have suffered losses due to Madoff’s fraud case.

Including HSBC Holdings and Royal Bank of Scotland, these two banks have lost at least more than 1.5 billion pounds in this fraud case…

Of course, another concentration of suckers also includes those Middle Eastern tycoons—they were even proud to be able to squeeze into the ranks of Madoff’s investors, but in the end, Madoff returned the money of those real big shots first, and the rest could only bear the losses…

As for the so-called report of him by Madoff’s son in the report, Barron can only say “6” to this, sacrificing himself to protect his relatives is indeed a helpless choice.

But the final result is probably not what Madoff wanted. After all, he played too big this time. If I remember correctly, his son still didn’t have a good ending later, and Madoff himself died in prison.

In fact, Barron had paid attention to Madoff’s company earlier, but at the time he did not choose to detonate this matter—it had little to do with him in the first place.

However, what was unexpected but also reasonable was that the time this case broke out was earlier than in Barron’s previous life—at that time, it was not until December that this case was exposed.

But now the progress of the subprime mortgage crisis has greatly accelerated, so it is normal for the Madoff fraud case, which was affected by the subprime mortgage crisis and exploded due to massive redemptions by users, to explode earlier.

“By the way, how are the negotiations with AIA Group going?”

Hearing Barron’s question, Amber Sheen temporarily turned her attention away from the shocking Madoff fraud case and said to Barron:

“The price still needs to be negotiated. Our initial offer was rejected by them.”

Chapter 627: Friends Provident Insurance

Friends Provident Group was founded in 1832 and has a history of 176 years.

It was the first company in Britain to provide life insurance and related products to private clients and is currently the fifth largest life insurance company in Britain.

It manages funds exceeding 100 billion pounds, employs over 3,900 people, and manages over three million policies and accounts for clients worldwide.

In fact, two years ago, Friends Provident Group was still the second largest life insurance company in Britain, but due to the expansion of investment losses in the subprime mortgage crisis, coupled with the significant decline in sales of the group’s pension funds and protective products, it was unable to retain more funds, resulting in a sharp decline in its size.

Looking at the revenue data of Friends Provident Insurance Group, it can be seen that in 2006, they were still able to make a profit of 328 million pounds, but last year, Friends Provident Insurance Group announced a loss of 56 million pounds!

As a result, this year, just now, Friends Provident Group’s losses in the first three quarters have reached 330 million pounds, and its full-year loss is expected to exceed 450 million pounds.

This can be described as a straight-line decline…

According to information obtained by Barron, as an insurance company, Friends Provident Insurance Group does not seem to have any problems, but the key is their investment in those insurance premiums…

As we all know, an important way for insurance companies to make profits is to collect premiums from users and then use these funds for investment, ultimately obtaining the profit margin.

But the problem is that Friends Provident Group’s investment is really hard to describe—also because of Friends Provident Group’s huge losses, its shareholders are also putting pressure on the company’s management to sell the company.

Previously, DS Holdings (Cavendish Trust) contacted Friends Provident Insurance Group. Under Barron’s instruction, Amber Sheen offered a price of 2.35 billion US dollars, hoping to acquire the company.

Although DS Holdings’ all-cash acquisition plan was very tempting to the shareholders of Friends Provident Insurance Group—the company’s continued losses, and the fact that it was losing more and more, had already made these shareholders desperate and hoping to sell their shares.

But in the end, Friends Provident Group rejected DS Holdings’ offer on the grounds of “too low a price.” It should be known that although the current market value of Friends Provident Group is around 2.2 billion US dollars, they still believe that this is mainly due to the recent sell-off caused by negative news, and the actual value of Friends Provident Insurance Group is higher than this number…

In fact, DS Holdings also believed so after analyzing the situation of Friends Provident Insurance Group, but since the attempt to pick up a bargain was unsuccessful, they continued to negotiate with Friends Provident Insurance Group, preparing to increase the acquisition price…

…

“I saw that SEM Group bought ELLE?”

“Yes, darling, are you interested in these magazines?”

Bonnie gently stirred the coffee evenly, took a sip, and said with a smile:

“Not bad, I usually read these often, and Zhukova told me a while ago that she was preparing to buy POP to give it a try…”

In the end, SEM Group successfully defeated Hearst Group with a price of 1.5 billion euros and purchased Hachette Group as a whole from Lagardère Active Media Group, making this media group, whose main business is fashion magazines, a wholly-owned subsidiary of SEM Group.

And Zhukova, she has already married Abramovich . Barron remembers that in the original timeline, she did acquire a fashion magazine targeting young people and achieved success after the redesign.

“What, is she still preparing to persuade you to do this together?”

“Not really. After I politely declined her last time, Zhukova would only occasionally get some advice from me…”

Bonnie said:

“But I heard that she is contacting some friends in the fashion circle, including the former editor-in-chief of French Vogue, hoping that the other party will join her magazine.”

In the past two years, Zhukova has indeed done some things, such as launching the fashion brand Kova & T with her childhood sweetheart, Christina Tang, from Hong Kong, China. The brand name comes from the abbreviation of her and her childhood sweetheart’s surnames.

In addition, she also founded an art and creative center in Russia, but these can only be said to have some movement and are far from being successful.

“Although I think Zhukova is slightly more reliable in business than Victoria, I still suggest you find something you are interested in doing within SEM Group…”

“Okay, but let’s wait until Richard is older. Recently, I can only go to the company occasionally.”

Although Bonnie has much more experience facing their second child, Richard, than she did when she first gave birth to George.

But after all, the child is still too young, and even with the help of the maids, Bonnie still needs time to accompany him.

Therefore, as a director of SEM Group, the time she has spent at the company recently cannot be considered much.

Barron’s birthday has always been very low-key. Accompanied by his wife and children, he spent his 28th birthday.

Well, he didn’t hold a birthday party this year, and didn’t even invite some of his more familiar people. Perhaps as he gets older, he is no longer enthusiastic about this kind of thing.

He has been in this world for six years. If you add his previous life, then Barron’s mental age is already over forty years old…

“I have found those people, Your Grace.”

In Barron’s study, Mikhail Ritter, dressed in black, sat in the shadow of the light, seemingly merging with the shadow.

As Barron’s guardian in the dark, Mikhail not only provides him with a secret guard team in addition to Barron’s public bodyguards, but also is responsible for doing some things for Barron… that need to be done behind the scenes.

This time, Mikhail found the perpetrators of the burglary that Joe Harriman encountered, one step ahead of the London police.

“I proceeded from the direction of selling stolen goods. Someone was secretly selling jewelry in East London that came from another family in the same community as Ms. Harriman who was stolen on the same day…”

Mikhail followed this clue, sent people to lock down a theft team, and controlled the other party…

As for whether this is illegal detention?

Don’t worry, the London police won’t even know about these things.

“It has basically been determined that they did steal from, among others, Ms. Joe Harriman, and the stolen goods are still in their hands. I have found those stolen goods from the location where they were hiding them…”

“I need to know if this is just a random theft incident, or an action with other purposes.”

Hearing Barron’s words, Mikhail nodded:

“I will confirm this matter again, Your Grace.”

I believe that with the “obedience” of those people at this time, they will tell the truth.

After all, Mikhail was very experienced in how to make people “obedient” on Sonaran Island in Cyprus.

Chapter 628: Google’s Mobile Operating System?

After more than a month of negotiations, the consortium formed by O2 Telecommunications and Caesar Fund finally reached an agreement with Deutsche Telekom on the acquisition price of T-Mobile USA.

On October 25th, the two parties announced that Deutsche Telekom’s board of directors had approved O2 Telecommunications’ offer to acquire its subsidiary T-Mobile USA for $28 billion in cash.

This acquisition price represented a premium of over 10% compared to the market capitalization corresponding to T-Mobile’s stock price at the time. Because it was a cash acquisition, the price was satisfactory to Deutsche Telekom.

After all, from the very beginning of the negotiations between the two parties, after T-Mobile’s stock price had risen somewhat, it began to fall along with the collective decline of the stock prices of many telecommunications companies, which also led Deutsche Telekom to finally decide to sell T-Mobile USA.

At least after receiving this cash, Deutsche Telekom itself would be able to alleviate the crisis under the current situation.

After this agreement was reached, T-Mobile USA began the process of delisting.

Eventually, O2 Telecommunications would merge with T-Mobile USA, making it O2 Telecommunications’ American branch—O2 USA.

In this acquisition, Caesar Fund would provide funds for O2 Telecommunications. They would purchase $20 billion of convertible bonds from O2 Telecommunications. In addition, Standard Chartered Bank would provide O2 Telecommunications with a loan of $8 billion.

Currently, affected by the subprime mortgage crisis, the stock prices of the entire telecommunications sector are continuing to fall, and O2 Telecommunications is unable to remain unaffected.

It’s just that O2 Telecommunications’ stock price performance is slightly better than other telecommunications operators—like Vodafone, whose stock price has fallen by 30% compared to last year’s high…

Caesar Fund’s purpose is very clear, which is to wait until the end of this year or the beginning of next year, when the stock market reaches a low point, to initiate debt-to-equity swaps, thereby completing “bottom fishing” and expanding its shareholding in O2 Telecommunications.

“Now all the telecommunications companies are having a hard time…”

O2 Telecommunications’ CEO, Barry Trelawney, said to Barron:

“Many telecommunications operators have recently launched layoff plans…”

In the increasingly fierce crisis, operators cannot remain unaffected.

Among them, the American operators located in the eye of the storm are the most affected.

For example, AT&T announced a layoff plan of 12,000 people in the third quarter of this year, Sprint canceled its plan to sell Nextel, and Verizon’s acquisition of Alltel also faced difficulties due to a shortage of funds…

And T-Mobile USA was directly acquired by O2 Telecommunications…

South Korean SK Telecom insiders revealed that due to the deteriorating business environment, they have abandoned their plan to cooperate with America’s third-largest mobile operator, Sprint.

In Europe, the world’s telecommunications giant Vodafone recently announced that it would overcome this economic “winter” by controlling costs and laying off employees…

France Telecom and Deutsche Telekom are also affected by the subprime mortgage crisis, and Deutsche Telekom even needs to sell T-Mobile USA under pressure.

“However, compared to telecommunications operators, equipment terminal vendors are more affected, especially as the sales volume of Apple and Honor Electronics, as well as related Android phones, begins to explode…”

Just as Barry Trelawney said, the most dazzling “twin stars” in the mobile phone industry in the past two years are Apple and Honor Electronics, which have newly joined the industry and led the way in touchscreen smartphones.

Whether it is the iPhone 3G or the Mate 2, their performance in the market this year is far from what their previous generation of mobile phones could compare to last year.

The sales volume of these two mobile phones has now exceeded 10 million units, and what they are eating away at is undoubtedly the sales share of other traditional mobile phone manufacturers.

Therefore, under the subprime mortgage crisis, those other former mobile phone manufacturers are quite embarrassed…

According to the financial report for the third quarter of 2008, Nokia’s net profit fell by 30% in the quarter, with a year-on-year decline for two consecutive quarters. It recently decided to lay off 600 employees and stop supplying mobile phones to major operators in Japan…

Sony Ericsson, on the other hand, experienced its first net loss in nearly 5 years, with a loss of 25 million euros, and will lay off 2,000 people…

Motorola’s losses amounted to $840 million, with 3,000 layoffs, two-thirds of whom came from the mobile phone division.

BlackBerry, which was very popular on Wall Street during “9/11,” saw its stock price plummet from $150 to $60 in just four months.

According to the latest research report from Credit Suisse Securities, due to the uncertainty of the global economy, the development of the mobile phone industry in 2009 is not optimistic. With the weakening of demand and the increasing pressure on the supply side of the industrial chain, the industry’s revenue will experience its first negative growth in eight years. Mobile phone sales in 2009 may fall by 4% to 27% compared to 2008.

Market research firm iSuppli recently stated that due to the impact of the economic crisis, the cycle for consumers to replace mobile phones has begun to lengthen, so the global mobile phone market will continue to shrink in 2009.

iSuppli lowered its global mobile phone market forecast, estimating that mobile phone shipments in 2009 will be 1.22 billion units, a decrease of 6 percentage points from its forecast for 2008.

Affected by the economic environment, some equipment manufacturers have shown poor performance in the third quarter of 2008. Cisco, Nokia Siemens, Nortel, Texas Instruments, Samsung, NEC, Motorola and other equipment vendors generally experienced losses in their third-quarter financial reports and lowered their fourth-quarter forecasts.

Whether it is in the chip, storage, or system equipment links, the situation is not good. Due to the surge in revenue pressure, some equipment vendors have begun to adjust, helping companies through the trough by shrinking their business scope and strictly controlling costs.

Due to preconceived notions, even though brands such as Samsung, Motorola, and Sony Ericsson have successively launched mobile phones equipped with the Android system, their sales volume is still not comparable to Apple and Honor Mate series mobile phones.

It can only be said that it has slightly helped them to reverse the decline.

…

“If we acquire Motorola, is there any hope?”

After receiving Ivanka’s call, Barron couldn’t help but ask after hearing her idea:

“Why?”

“We need more patents, and Motorola has more than 17,000 mobile phone-related patents and 7,500 patent applications. Obtaining these patents can ensure that our Android camp is protected from patent lawsuits…”

It could be heard from the phone that Ivanka’s words carried a bit of caution:

“You should know that Google’s secretly developed mobile operating system is likely to be launched recently!”

Yes, this news was revealed to Ivanka by Barron, and he only learned about it when Google recently began to frequently contact some mobile phone manufacturers.

According to Barron’s further investigation, Google should have started this project more than a year ago, after Android Inc. officially announced the Android mobile operating system.

It is estimated that they did not expect at the time that this small company, which they had hoped to acquire but failed to do so, would eventually be able to develop a mobile operating system that could compete with Apple’s iOS system.

Unwilling to lose the network access portal for smartphones, Google decided to secretly launch its mobile operating system project.

Chapter 629: Wells Fargo

Actually, for new entrants into the mobile phone manufacturing industry, especially smartphones, they face obstacles from both old and new forces in terms of mobile phone patents.

Firstly, there are the patent barriers of traditional mobile phone manufacturers, and then there are the patents on touchscreen smartphones held primarily by Apple and Android.

Of course, a mobile phone manufacturer doesn’t need to own all the patents required to make a phone. Many manufacturers often own some of their own exclusive patents and produce phones by exchanging and licensing patents with other manufacturers.

You can even produce without any patents at all, as long as you can obtain the relevant patent licenses. You just need to pay the patent holder. For example, some of the traditional mobile phone patents used by Apple in the initial production of the iPhone came from licensing…

Companies like Nokia and Ericsson, after exiting the mobile phone manufacturing field, can still generate substantial revenue through patent licensing.

However, the problem is that if you only become an ordinary manufacturer with a small market share—simply put, just drinking a little soup—then this approach may be acceptable.

But if a company like Honor Electronics stands out from the crowd, then without sufficient patents, other manufacturers will inevitably use this to “strangle” them…

The most typical examples are Apple and Google in the original timeline. In the beginning, because the iPhone and Google system phones posed a great threat to traditional mobile phone manufacturers, they suffered a lot from patent lawsuits.

Then, in July 2011, Apple and five other companies teamed up to spend $4.5 billion to buy 6,000 patents from Nortel, and then through subsequent acquisitions and exchanging and licensing their smartphone patents, they finally filled the required patent gaps.

The same was true for Google in the original timeline. To support manufacturers in the Android camp, they acquired Motorola in August 2011 for $12.5 billion, mainly for the 17,000 patents and 7,500 patent applications held by the company.

And now, because of Barron’s early planning, Android’s patent reserves for touchscreen smartphones are not weaker than Apple’s.

Although Honor Electronics already has the relevant patent licenses obtained from Philips, that can only guarantee the “safety” of their own mobile phone production.

Android is different. They need to support the entire Android camp—otherwise, with Nokia’s Symbian system, Microsoft’s Windows system, and Google’s upcoming mobile operating system, even if the Android system currently has an advantage in touchscreen smartphones, how can those mobile phone manufacturers be sure they won’t be subject to patent lawsuits for launching Android system phones?

When it comes to life-and-death issues, those traditional mobile phone manufacturers will definitely use this trick.

Therefore, it is now very necessary to plan ahead. Ivanka’s idea is to increase Android’s patent reserves by acquiring Motorola, which is currently in decline, and provide licenses to manufacturers in the Android camp.

However, through Ivanka’s introduction, Barron knows that Motorola is not yet in the same situation as it will be three years later, when it will be difficult to maintain due to continuous losses. Therefore, in terms of valuation, the funds required to acquire Motorola are much higher than the $12.5 billion that Google paid to acquire Motorola in his previous life.

After all, he only needs Motorola’s patents. Barron is not interested in the brand and its product line, so this matter can continue to wait.

Moreover, the Android Alliance currently mainly consists of traditional mobile phone manufacturers such as Samsung and Sony Ericsson. Even Honor Electronics, because it has Philips’ patent authorization, does not have such an urgent need for mobile phone patents—even if there are occasional patent lawsuits, compared to the additional funds required to acquire Motorola, hiring a legal team to drag the lawsuit out for two or three years is more cost-effective.

Therefore, he persuaded Ivanka to wait a little longer…

As for the mobile operating system that Google may launch soon…

Compared to the current Android, although Google has higher visibility and stronger strength, not to mention mobile phone patents, even in terms of operating system applications, it is not so easy to catch up.

Why does Google have to launch a mobile operating system?

It’s still because after Apple and Honor Electronics launched touchscreen smartphones, coupled with the popularization of 3G networks, they saw the possibility that users’ daily internet habits would shift from the PC to the mobile end.

But for Google, a company centered on search, they can become the user’s internet portal on the PC end, making users accustomed to logging in to Google.com first to query information and websites when surfing the internet. But on the mobile end, because users use different APPs to realize various applications and functions, and those APP applications also regard their users and content as treasures and will no longer open them to search engines such as Google and Baidu, Google loses its advantage as an internet portal.

Just like in the previous life, the BAT three giants of the Chinese internet, Baidu fell behind first in the mobile internet era, and its market value is no longer at the same level as the other two, and even inferior to latecomers such as ByteDance and Meituan, which is for this reason.

At that time, Google had Android as an entry point to the mobile internet, but now it is completely different…

…

On October 20th, in many cities in the United States, people holding banners took to the streets. Their faces were filled with anger, and in the process, they kept shouting slogans and verbally attacking the then-current President of the United States, George W. Bush.

Because just a few days ago, the US government decided to use the national treasury funds again to rescue the US financial system under the influence of the subprime mortgage crisis.

And many Americans believe that this behavior of the US government is constantly using ordinary taxpayers’ money to help Wall Street capitalists out of trouble.

Manhattan, New York, in a building where the marching crowd had just passed, men in suits shook hands after signing an agreement.

“Happy to cooperate, Mr. Stumpf.”

“Welcome to join us, Mr. Hearst. This will be a wise decision.”

On this day, British Fortune Times (BFT) Fund reached an agreement with Wells Fargo to inject $20 billion into it—BFT Fund will purchase 800 million newly issued shares of Wells Fargo at a price of $25 per share.

After completing this investment, BFT Fund’s holdings in Wells Fargo will account for 16.7% of its total share capital.

And BFT Fund will send a director representative to Wells Fargo’s board of directors, with one voting right on the board.

And this time, Wells Fargo is raising funds through the issuance of new shares in order to complete the acquisition of Wachovia. After this acquisition, Wells Fargo will become one of the four major banks in the United States.

The other three of the four major banks are JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup, and Bank of America.

Currently, Wells Fargo’s market value ranks at the bottom of these four, but in a few years, it will become the leader.

Chapter 630: Initial Strategic Deployment Settled

Wachovia Bank was once the fourth-largest bank in America, headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. In 2007, its total assets reached as high as $783 billion.

The subprime mortgage crisis led to operational difficulties for many banks, including Wachovia.

Initially, it wasn’t Wells Fargo that was preparing to acquire the bank, but Morgan Stanley. As early as the end of August of this year, news emerged that Morgan Stanley was considering a merger with Wachovia and several other banks.

Then, on September 15th, Citigroup joined the fray, announcing that it had reached an agreement in principle with Wachovia, the original fourth-largest commercial bank in America, with the assistance of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). Citigroup agreed to acquire Wachovia’s banking operations for $2.16 billion in stock, including assuming $53 billion of Wachovia’s liabilities.

At the time, Citigroup’s agreement to acquire Wachovia had already been approved by both boards of directors, but the final agreement still required a vote by Wachovia’s shareholders, with a deadline of December 31, 2008.

Just when the market generally believed that Citigroup’s acquisition of Wachovia was a foregone conclusion…

On October 3rd, Wells Fargo suddenly announced that it would acquire Wachovia for a consideration of $15 billion in a stock-for-stock deal.

Moreover, after completing the acquisition of Wachovia, they would invite three Wachovia directors to join the Wells Fargo board and publicly issue $20 billion worth of new shares to raise capital.

According to information obtained by Barron, Wells Fargo joined the pursuit of Wachovia after learning of Citigroup’s acquisition plan.

It is worth mentioning that the Federal Reserve issued a public statement on October 3rd, pointing out Wells Fargo’s new proposal. The statement indicated that Wells Fargo’s proposal had not yet been reviewed, and regulators would strive to achieve a result that protects all Wachovia creditors and promotes market stability.

The statement also noted that Citigroup’s proposal was under review by the Federal Reserve and the OCC (Office of the Comptroller of the Currency).

On October 4th, Citigroup, feeling like it had been “robbed,” filed a lawsuit against Wachovia and Wells Fargo in anger, seeking temporary restraining orders, preliminary and permanent injunctive relief, specific performance of the exclusivity agreement, and punitive damages.

But on October 5th, Wachovia was not afraid at all, and they filed a motion for a temporary restraining order to prevent Citigroup from taking any action to interfere with the execution of the merger agreement between Wachovia and Wells Fargo.

Concerned that the competing legal claims of Citigroup and Wells Fargo could themselves have a destabilizing effect on these institutions, Wachovia, and the entire banking system, representatives of the Federal Reserve attempted to facilitate negotiations between Wachovia, Citigroup, and Wells Fargo to resolve their differences.

To allow time for these discussions to continue, Federal Reserve officials participated in negotiations to facilitate a ceasefire or stay of litigation between the three companies.

Finally, on October 6th, the parties finalized a standstill agreement. Under the agreement, Wachovia, Citigroup, and Wells Fargo agreed to suspend all formal litigation activity for two days, including discovery, and otherwise cooperate to maintain the status quo in any litigation…

Later, the agreement was extended to October 10th.

The result was that on October 9th, Citigroup announced the termination of negotiations with Wells Fargo regarding the Wachovia transaction. Citigroup stated that it would not obstruct the merger between Wells Fargo and Wachovia.

On October 10th, American federal antitrust regulators approved Wells Fargo’s acquisition plan for Wachovia.

On October 12th, the Federal Reserve also gave the green light to the transaction.

After the completion of this merger, Wells Fargo will receive $448 billion in bank deposits from Wachovia. It announced that after the merger of the two companies, its business scope will cover 10,761 regions in 39 states of America.

In fact, the American Federal Trade Commission was originally supposed to complete the review before the end of the 30-day review period, but it chose to accelerate the approval. The Federal Reserve also quickly shortened the review period and approved the transaction, making it completed within five days.

In this transaction, it is worth mentioning that Wells Fargo will calculate Wachovia’s non-performing assets at fair value, which also shows that Wells Fargo’s asset situation is very stable and can cope with the asset write-downs that must be carried out after acquiring Wachovia. This is the main reason why Wells Fargo ultimately won the competition with Citigroup for the acquisition of Wachovia.

After reaching this acquisition agreement, Wells Fargo then announced that it was prepared to transfer Wachovia’s problematic assets to its own balance sheet at a cost of $10 billion, while issuing $20 billion in common stock to improve its balance sheet.

It was from that time that the BFT fund began to contact Wells Fargo to purchase these common stocks and began negotiations.

Up to this point, Barron had invested in Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan Chase, and Wells Fargo through IC Capital and the BFT (British Fortune Times) Fund, respectively.

Among them, JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo are destined to alternate in the position of the largest bank in America…

And Standard Chartered Bank acquired Merrill Lynch to form Standard Chartered-Merrill Lynch Group.

Taking advantage of the subprime mortgage crisis, his deployment in American commercial banks and investment banks has been basically completed.

However, the American stock market still hasn’t bottomed out at this point. The stock prices of most companies still have more than three months of decline ahead.

Therefore, although he had already extracted a portion of the profits from shorting the subprime mortgage crisis from the Black Swan Fund, his short selling was still not over.

…

“For Friends Provident Group, it’s just a matter of the acquisition price. Last time our offer was considered insincere, and according to our analysis, their board of directors’ psychological expectation is above $3 billion…”

Under Barron’s instructions, Amber Sheen did not try to grind the acquisition price to the lowest through continuous negotiations, but also took into account the efficiency of the acquisition…

She said to Barron:

“Although I think we can completely force the other party’s board of directors to yield under the pressure of shareholders for less than $2.7 billion, it is indeed as you said, dragging on for too long will easily attract the attention of other insurance giants, such as Prudential Group…”

“And in the end, acquiring Friends Provident Group is not our ultimate goal, but only one link in all the plans, and it is not suitable to spend too much time on it.”

Barron interjected:

“Most of the time, in order to achieve strategic goals, even if tactical concessions need to be made, it is very worthwhile.”

On October 30th, Cavendish Trust Fund signed an agreement with Friends Provident Group to complete the acquisition of this fifth-largest life insurance company in Britain for $2.85 billion in cash.

After completing this acquisition, Amber Sheen, the manager of Cavendish Trust Fund, said that they will reorganize Friends Provident Group to improve its profitability.

And Friends Provident Group will cooperate with DS Group to improve the investment portfolio of the insurance group’s funds and complete the turnaround of its investments.

And Amber Sheen expects that they will acquire at least two more insurance companies in the future, and the Friends Provident Group acquisition may be the smallest of them.

But he declined to disclose the next acquisition target.

Chapter 631: Visiting Tesla

November 4th was Election Day in America. On this day, a nationwide vote would be held to elect the 56th President.

Unsurprisingly, this day was a Tuesday.

Because the voting day for the American Presidential election is set on the first Tuesday after November 2nd of the election year…

The reason it was originally chosen to be in November was based on the tradition of an agricultural society – the crop harvesting season had ended.

And Tuesday was chosen because many voters had to travel long distances to reach polling stations, and voters were mostly unwilling to move on Sundays due to religious activities.

Voting avoided November 1st because that day is Halloween in America.

American elections are not a direct national election, but rather an electoral college system – after the national election, the presidential candidate who wins the most votes in the general election must pass a vote by the electoral college composed of electors from each state. The presidential candidate who receives the most votes in a state wins all of that state’s electoral votes.

The electoral college refers to a group of “electors” nominated by political activists and party members from each state, consisting of 538 electors distributed among the 50 states and the capital, Washington, D.C.

The number of electors in each state is the same as the number of members of Congress from that state in both houses.

California, the most populous state in America, has 55 electoral votes, while Alaska, with a small population, has only 3.

Except in very special circumstances, if a candidate wins the popular vote in a state, he or she will receive all of that state’s electoral votes.

On Election Day, these electors, who pledge to support a particular candidate, are produced by popular vote.

In December after the presidential election, the elected electors vote for the president and vice president in their respective state capitals.

A total of 538 electors, and a candidate must obtain 270 electoral votes to be elected.

Some may ask, what if candidate A gets more votes in a state’s popular vote, but the electors ultimately vote for candidate B?

In fact, in modern American history, electors have never voted against the winner of the popular vote.

This American election will be between the Democratic Party candidate Barack Obama and the Republican Party candidate John McCain. George W. Bush cannot continue to participate because he has already served two terms, as per the law.

This election can be described as highly anticipated, because in any case, it sets several American historical records.

For example, this is the first time that two incumbent federal senators have competed for the presidency…

The first time an African American has received a major party’s presidential nomination…

The first time that both major candidates were born outside the mainland United States – Barack Obama was born in Hawaii, and John McCain was born in the Panama Canal Zone…

Because McCain’s running mate Sarah Palin is a woman, the outcome will be of historical significance no matter which combination wins – either producing the first black president in American history, or producing the first female vice president in America.

It is worth mentioning that in American politics, the vice president has a very low profile – his official duty is to serve as the president of the Senate, but this is mainly ceremonial, because he only votes when the votes in the Senate are equally divided.

The daily work of the vice president is usually determined by the president’s requirements and is generally insignificant, such as representing the president at the funerals of foreign leaders.

But…

According to the American Constitution, if the president dies or loses the ability to work, the vice president will take over the presidency – being vice president first is one way to ascend to the American presidential throne.

Since World War II, three vice presidents have taken over the presidency during the president’s term.

They are Harry Truman, who succeeded Roosevelt after his death; Lyndon B. Johnson, who succeeded Kennedy after his assassination; and Gerald Ford, who succeeded Nixon after his resignation.

Just as the American election was in full swing, Barron also arrived in California in a very low-key manner.

“Your Grace, Costco’s stock price has fallen by more than 25% again compared to the second quarter. We have started to absorb stocks through the secondary market. At the same time, contact with those institutional shareholders is still ongoing. Compared with three months ago, most institutions are now more flexible, after all, the entire American stock market is in turmoil, and cash is the most valuable thing.”

Sitting in the back seat of a Bentley Mulsanne, Barron listened to Chang Chun-ning beside him, reporting on the latest important news from the American side:

“Even Berkshire Hathaway, which rejected us most firmly before, changed its tune in the most recent contact, saying that it could consider selling Costco shares, but they emphasized that price is the most important factor…”

The acquisition of Costco is not urgent for the time being, after all, this retail group needs to wait until next year to start to improve, and their stock price will still reach its low point at the beginning of next year.

Therefore, compared with the initial active approach to contact and purchase Costco’s stock, but was ruthlessly rejected by holding institutions such as Berkshire Hathaway, although they are still in contact with these institutions now, the attitude has been very subtle. On the contrary, due to the continued decline of the entire American stock market, including Costco, more and more institutions have given up hope and are willing to sell Costco’s stock.

“Currently, our Roadster electric sports cars have been delivered to users one after another. Although there are a few minor accidents, we will solve them…”

At Tesla’s headquarters in Silicon Valley, Barron met the company’s new CEO, Elon Musk – yes, at this time, Tesla’s headquarters was still in the Silicon Valley area, and had not yet moved to Texas.

Many people call Musk the founder of Tesla. In fact, Tesla was originally founded by Eberhard and his partner Tarpenning. Later, Musk, who sold Paypal, invested in Tesla with funds and became the chairman of the company.

Tesla’s first electric car to be sold was the electric sports car Roadster, but the production process of this car was not smooth. Its original price was 100,000 US dollars, but because the cost seriously exceeded the budget, its price was repeatedly increased – you must know that users who ordered the Roadster sports car at this time have already paid a deposit, which has caused user dissatisfaction.

Since September last year, the rift between Eberhard and Musk finally broke out due to cost overruns and the continuous extension of the development cycle.

Then in January of this year, the original CEO, also one of the founders of Tesla, Eberhard, was kicked out of the company, and Ze’ev Drori took over as Tesla’s CEO.

Then last month, Musk directly took over the position of CEO, becoming Tesla’s chairman and CEO, taking charge of the power.

At this time, including the founder Eberhard and his partner Tarpenning have successively left the company.

However, it is also because of the smooth research and development and production of the Roadster electric sports car, coupled with the impact of the subprime mortgage crisis, Tesla is not only in trouble, and their financing is also very difficult – after all, in this era when fuel vehicles are popular, no one believes in electric vehicles, especially the current Tesla, can really succeed.

In fact, Barron had already begun to pay attention to Tesla earlier.

It’s just that Musk had already entered Tesla at that time and took control of Tesla’s power…

And it must be admitted that although Musk is very “out there,” Tesla’s success is indeed greatly related to his joining, so Barron did not intervene in this company too early, but looked for a better opportunity.

Chapter 632: Electric Cars

Now, with the further spread of the subprime mortgage crisis, the opportunity has arrived.

Speaking of Tesla, after the launch and initial deliveries of their electric sports car, the Roadster, the company had gained some initial recognition. However, it was still not taken seriously by the automotive giants, and it wasn’t until they launched the Model series that they began to attract attention.

After all, even if the Roadster was successful, it was, after all, just a sports car…

The sales volume would be limited, no matter what.

Only by achieving success in the largest market of family cars could they pose the greatest threat to the automotive giants.

And then, what would follow would be the combined suppression from the fuel car giants.

Facing Tesla, Barron couldn’t help but think of another company he had invested in – China’s BYD. As one of the world’s largest battery suppliers, BYD was also developing electric vehicles at this time.

Barron knew that in the following decade or so, BYD would accumulate strength in the electric vehicle field and eventually reach a position to compete with Tesla, becoming Tesla’s biggest competitor in the electric vehicle sector.

“You seem a little tired, Mr. Musk.”

Hearing Barron’s words, Elon Musk said with a hint of apology:

“Sorry, Your Grace, I worked overtime last night… I’m still not completely satisfied with the Roadster’s battery pack, and I’m still working on further improvements.”

Speaking of which, Musk is indeed a workaholic. Barron remembered seeing an interview with his later wife in his previous life…

In that interview, the actress complained that after their marriage, Musk spent most of his time working at the company, which led to the breakdown of their marriage…

At this time, in order to develop electric vehicles, Musk practically lived in Tesla’s research and development center, working with the company’s engineers on various experiments and trials…

This is also the reason why Barron didn’t seize Tesla before Musk in the first place.

After all, Barron asked himself if he could do better than Musk in this matter – and there was absolutely no need to personally participate in the research and development of electric vehicles…

He just needed to invest in the company at the right time, like now.

Although the Roadster electric sports car was successfully launched, Tesla’s current situation was not good. Therefore, in the subsequent talks, Musk almost wholeheartedly agreed to Barron’s intention to invest in Tesla – on the premise that the investment was just an investment, and he would not allow anyone to interfere with his dominant position in Tesla.

Tesla is expected to lose more than 80 million US dollars this year – it is conceivable how difficult it is for this company, which has never been profitable since its establishment, to raise funds when the financial crisis is intensifying.

However, Barron’s visit to Tesla this time was quite pleasant.

In the end, the British Automotive Group decided to invest 150 million US dollars in Tesla, acquiring 20% of the company’s shares, and would cooperate with Tesla on some electric vehicle technologies to jointly establish related research and development centers.

In accepting this investment, what Musk valued, in addition to the 150 million US dollars that could solve his urgent needs – it should be noted that in the original timeline, due to lack of funds, Musk eventually took out his remaining 60 million US dollars and invested it in Tesla, which can be said to be betting everything he had – was also the technical reserves that the British Automotive Group possessed in the field of traditional automobile manufacturing, which could help Tesla develop new models.

Both sides had their own thoughts. Barron invested in Tesla through the British Automotive Group, and what he valued was naturally the broad prospects of electric vehicles in the next decade or so that he knew about – he also hoped that through this cooperation between the British Automotive Group and Tesla, the British Automotive Group could have a certain degree of technical accumulation in the field of electric vehicles.

…

“You invested in Tesla?”

After Barron visited Tesla, he saw Ivanka who had come to his home in Silicon Valley.

“Yes, I think electric vehicles also have good prospects in the future, so I’m making a preemptive move. By the way, do you know this company too?”

“Yes, I’ve heard of this person Musk before. In addition, he has recently approached many investment companies, including our IC Capital.”

Ivanka took off her coat, revealing her figure in a close-fitting sweater, and said:

“But IC Capital doesn’t have any plans to invest in this field, so they refused.”

Speaking of which, IC Capital is now quite famous in America, which has also made Ivanka a goddess in the venture capital industry, with extremely high visibility.

It’s no wonder that Tesla would have contacted IC Capital when seeking investment.

However, after IC Capital sold DoubleClick and YouTube to Woaw Technology, Ivanka’s main focus has been on Android. She has been helping Android with related acquisitions, acquiring companies with the latest technologies and patents to help Android’s development.

Therefore, she naturally wouldn’t have any interest in Tesla.

“You’re going to see Jobs tomorrow?”

Putting his arm around Ivanka, Barron, after a passionate kiss with the woman, answered her curiosity:

“Yes, after all, I’m also a major shareholder of Apple.”

“I heard his current health condition… isn’t good.”

As early as 2004, Jobs publicly announced that he had a pancreatic neuroendocrine tumor, a relatively rare type of pancreatic cancer.

If an ordinary person unfortunately contracted this disease, they would probably have already passed away, but Jobs’s billions of dollars in wealth could also ensure that he received the support of the world’s most advanced medical resources – he himself directly “sponsored” a large amount of funds to related medical institutions.

In Barron’s previous life, Jobs died three years later, in 2011…

When Barron met Jobs the next day, although the other party appeared very calm, Barron could still see that his complexion was significantly dimmer than that of a normal person.

“Thank you very much for your continued support of Apple, Your Grace.”

Jobs’s eyes shone with a light that did not match his current physical condition. He looked at Barron and said:

“But at the same time, the Honor Electronics you invested in is also our biggest competitor.”

“You’re wrong, Mr. Jobs. Apple’s biggest competitor is not Honor Electronics, nor is it Android. On the contrary, they are Apple’s real allies…”

Chapter 633: New Force

“No matter what, Apple cannot monopolize the smartphone market…”

At Barron’s words, Steve Jobs appeared thoughtful.

Just as he said, although the touchscreen smartphones of Apple and Honor Electronics had each surpassed 10 million units in sales this year, the mainstream of the market was still dominated by traditional feature phone brands such as Nokia, Motorola, and Samsung.

For example, Nokia, the current mobile phone “overlord,” announced sales of nearly 120 million units in the third quarter, with annual sales steadily exceeding 460 million units, accounting for nearly 40% of the global mobile phone share. The sales of Apple and Honor Electronics were nothing compared to Nokia, and even Samsung—the world’s second-largest mobile phone manufacturer at this time—with a market share exceeding 16%.

Apple and Android represented the future, but the future had not yet arrived. Therefore, in the present, facing the more powerful traditional mobile phone manufacturers, Apple, Android, and even Honor Electronics were all considered part of the mobile phone “new force.” Barron’s intention was to avoid infighting among the “new force” at this time. Competition should wait until Nokia, Motorola, Samsung, and these “old fogies” were relegated to history…

Taking the iPhone as an example, it didn’t become ubiquitous until after the iPhone 4 was launched.

Currently, the iPhone 3G and Mate series phones were praised by many users, but their user base was still relatively limited compared to the entire mobile phone market.

Moreover, even within the “new force” of smartphones, there were not only Apple and Android. Whether it was Microsoft, which was more powerful but had a lower market share in mobile operating systems, or Google, which was about to join the chaotic mobile operating system landscape, Apple probably considered them more threatening than Android, this “newcomer.”

Looking at it this way, Barron’s meeting with Jobs this time had some effect.

Although Apple and Android did not reach any specific cooperation agreement in the end, they later developed a tacit understanding. They would engage in some “collaboration” in the field of touchscreen smartphones, and certain patents would be cross-licensed on an equal basis.

After all, in terms of patents, Honor Electronics had already obtained patent licenses purchased at a high price from Philips, and was not subject to much “attack” from traditional mobile phone manufacturers. But Apple, so far, had been involved in numerous patent lawsuits.

This was also why, three years later, they would participate in a consortium to acquire Nortel’s patents.

…

“The employment situation in Silicon Valley is also becoming increasingly severe. Many companies have gone bankrupt due to the breaking of their capital chains. Even those that have managed to survive have chosen to reduce spending by closing some projects and laying off employees…”

Accompanied by Ivanka, Barron headed to Woaw’s headquarters building in Silicon Valley.

Downstairs in the building, Barron looked around. Silicon Valley was still prosperous, but it was clear that the expressions on the faces of the people passing by in a hurry were much more solemn than they had been a year or two ago.

“Compared to large companies, it is even more difficult for startups. Because large companies like Woaw, although subject to many restrictions, at least have some financing channels. But for those startups, it can be said that unless they are highly regarded and have the potential to become unicorns, it is already difficult to get money out of venture capitalists’ pockets…”

As the manager of IC Capital, Ivanka felt this deeply. Not only was IC Capital a well-known investment company, but it received countless emails and visits from companies seeking investment every day…

And the attitudes and demands of those startups had become lower and lower with the current economic situation…

“How is Woaw doing?”

At this time, they had entered the building. Barron, Ivanka, and Woaw’s North American CEO, Sage Bain, along with a bodyguard, were riding in an elevator together. Barron’s question was directed at Sage Bain.

“The impact of the crisis also involves many aspects. The main one is that our advertisers are more cautious. Starting from the first quarter of this year, our advertising revenue has shown a trend of slowing growth, and the situation is getting worse and worse. According to the latest data, advertising revenue in the third quarter has decreased by more than 10% compared to the same period last year. It is foreseeable that the fourth quarter of this year will also be in a bad situation. Although we have used many methods to increase the enthusiasm of advertisers, but…”

Sage Bain shrugged and said helplessly:

“The overall market environment is like this. Other companies, including Google and Yahoo, are in similar situations… Yahoo’s situation is even worse. They directly fired the previous CEO, and Jerry Yang had to personally try to save the situation again.”

Sage was right. After the internet winter of 2001, seven years later, the internet industry was affected by the subprime mortgage crisis and ushered in another freezing moment.

And Woaw’s situation was not simply caused by a decline in advertising revenue. On the one hand, according to Barron’s requirements, they had invested a lot of manpower in developing the mobile internet—whether it was Apple’s iOS system or the Android system, Woaw was one of the first internet companies to actively develop its apps and optimize them.

But in reality, after all, the market share of Apple and Android systems was far from as high as it would be two or three years later, and the returns they could bring to Woaw were limited.

In addition, in terms of research and development, Woaw had also been investing funds in the research and development of cloud computing and streaming media technologies. The investment in these areas was relatively large. It could be said that a considerable part of the previous income had been invested in research and development, and although these technologies had achieved some results, they had not yet reached the point of generating revenue.

Finally, there was YouTube. Last year, Woaw acquired YouTube from IC Capital. After acquiring this video-sharing platform, Woaw also invested resources into YouTube, including a lot of money.

Of course, the effect was also significant. YouTube’s user growth was very satisfactory, and it had a good synergistic effect with Woaw.com.

But currently, or for a considerable period of time, YouTube needed Woaw’s continued investment. Its advertising revenue was far from enough to cover YouTube’s subsidies to its content creators—Barron also knew that doing so was very necessary, and it was these content creators who ensured YouTube’s competitiveness in the video platform field.

Moreover, as a video website, YouTube’s operation also required high broadband fees and maintenance fees, which were not small expenses.

In his previous life, after Google acquired YouTube, it also continued to inject blood into it, and it only began to make a profit after doing so for many years…

“As the saying goes, a crisis presents both danger and opportunity…”

Barron said to Sage:

“Now is also an opportunity for Woaw to absorb some excellent personnel, and some startups that can supplement Woaw can be acquired.”

Whether it was the continuous research and development or the support for projects such as YouTube, they were all layouts for Woaw’s future, so it was necessary to continue.

As for the funding, Barron would solve this matter this time.

Chapter 634: Increasing Woaw’s Capital

Specifically, it wasn’t Barron who was solving Woaw’s funding problem, but rather IC Capital, managed by Ivanka…

When IC Capital sold DoubleClick and YouTube to Woaw, it once held over 800 million shares of Woaw stock, accounting for nearly 17% of Woaw’s total share capital…

After that, as Woaw’s stock price continued to climb, from rising to $7 per share, then to $7.5 per share, and finally even exceeding $8 per share at its peak…

Woaw’s market value once approached $40 billion!

During this process, IC Capital began to reduce its holdings of Woaw stock, citing additional investments in Android and related acquisitions. Their holdings in Woaw decreased from 812 million shares to around 600 million shares, a reduction of over 200 million shares.

Correspondingly, because Woaw’s stock price was in an upward trend at the time, IC Capital obtained nearly $1.5 billion in cash.

This time, Woaw Technology will issue new shares to IC Capital at a price of $6 per share, with the number of shares issued being 250 million, and Woaw will receive $1.5 billion in funding from IC Capital.

Yes, Woaw Technology’s stock price has fallen below $6, a decrease of more than 25% compared to Woaw’s highest stock price last year!

After this Woaw private placement, Woaw’s total share capital will increase to 5.05 billion shares, and IC Capital will hold approximately 850 million shares of Woaw, accounting for 16.83% of its total share capital.

This Woaw stock issuance was also to raise funds to get through this difficult period. As for the fact that the issuance target was IC Capital, it was because under the same conditions, Woaw’s other investors were unwilling to participate…

After all, it is clear that the impact of the subprime mortgage crisis is far from over, and the overall economic situation is not good. Woaw’s investors, such as Sequoia Capital, Blackstone Fund, and Goldman Sachs, even couldn’t help but sell some Woaw shares in the second quarter of this year to recoup funds…

Therefore, IC Capital was the only one that actively responded to this Woaw stock issuance.

As for why Barron chose IC Capital to undertake this Woaw stock issuance instead of DS Group…

It was also because North America is already one of Woaw’s most important markets, and DS Holdings already has a relatively high shareholding ratio in Woaw. For IC Capital, as American capital, to obtain Woaw’s issuance and thereby increase its holdings in this emerging internet giant, is the most acceptable to the American side.

He didn’t want Woaw to encounter some trouble due to DS Capital’s large shareholding when American conservative sentiment takes over in the future. Don’t think that England is also one of the Five Eyes Alliance members, but America is not without precautions against its allies.

…

“By the way, how is Twitter doing now?”

After leaving Woaw and returning to their home in Mountain View, Barron casually asked.

“Oh, I was going to tell you, but I forgot…”

Ivanka said with a smile on her face:

“At my suggestion, Twitter also launched a mobile app in the first half of this year. The performance after its launch has been very good. In order to accelerate their development, they just conducted a Series B financing last month…”

Twitter can be said to be a very important media platform later on. For example, in Barron’s previous life, the then “richest man” Musk spent a staggering $44 billion to acquire this platform, renamed it X…

In the original timeline, it can be said that before being acquired by Musk, Twitter was controlled by the Democratic Party. For example, when the current president was running against the previous one, while the previous one was still in office, Twitter’s relevant executives were already listening to the Democratic Party, pushing messages favorable to the current president to users…

Even when the previous one was still the president, they directly banned his account…

The so-called “beacon of democracy” in America has particularly dark politics behind it.

This is also why Musk, after acquiring Twitter, would directly declare that he “cannot commit suicide” to avoid the possibility of him one day offending certain forces and then being shot eight times in the back or six times in the head… and ultimately being ruled as a suicide.

However, now, the situation is different…

Just last month, IC Capital invested an additional $10 million in Twitter, thereby increasing its stake in Twitter from 25% to 35%, becoming Twitter’s largest shareholder.

After continuing to invest in the future, if Twitter can still develop, then Ivanka will probably have great say in their leanings.

Speaking of which, the security in Mountain View is still very good. After all, this area belongs to Silicon Valley, where technology companies are clustered, and there are countless emerging wealthy people, so they naturally attach great importance to their own safety.

The villa where Barron and Ivanka live is located in the most upscale community in Mountain View. It is no exaggeration to say that the police force here can account for more than one-third of the entire Mountain View.

After all, according to the logic of a commercial society, those who pay the most taxes have the corresponding police force to protect them, which is very reasonable, isn’t it?

Their villa, although not large compared to Barron’s other manors, is rare in that it has a very large garden.

Moreover, the walls along the garden are full of surveillance cameras, and on one side of the residence, there are also more than a dozen bodyguards constantly guarding the safety of this place when Barron is staying.

In the villa’s hall, the firelight in the fireplace illuminates the entire space, making the room warm and cozy.

This makes it impossible to feel the chill that has begun to spread in Silicon Valley in November.

At this time, Ivanka was only wearing a silk suspender dress, showing off her curves undoubtedly, especially her slender legs, which were simply like works of art.

After all, Ivanka has a height of over 180 centimeters and has worked as a model. It can be said that her height is already a bit tall among models, but not just anyone can handle it…

The firelight from Ivanka’s side was reflected on the wall, and the silhouette of her hair pulled up was… undulating with a certain rhythm.

“Baby, you’re amazing…”

Hearing Barron’s heartfelt praise, Ivanka looked up, her eyes full of tenderness and… amorous feelings. Hearing Barron’s increasingly rapid breathing, she was very satisfied.

When Ivanka got up and sat on Barron’s lap, the young and handsome Duke looked at her with a smile that was not a smile:

“Madam, you are very proactive today, like a knight…”

“Is that so? Then let’s see if I can tame this wild horse…”

Looking down at Barron, as their eyes met, Ivanka frowned slightly, then bit her lip, and gradually, her eyebrows relaxed…

“Oh~ My God…”

“I prefer you call me Dad… baby.”

Chapter 635: A Tycoon’s Enthusiasm

The next day, when Ivanka woke up, Barron was no longer by her side.

However, unlike when they were first together, she no longer felt a sense of loss in such a situation.

Because she knew that Barron had a habit of exercising early… even if he had burned a lot of calories the night before, he still stuck to this habit.

This was also why he was able to maintain such a perfect figure – his whole body was muscle, like a god in ancient Greek sculpture.

Many times, Ivanka would also exercise with him, but last night… images of the two of them frolicking in the ocean of knowledge last night appeared in her mind, and even though it wasn’t the first time, Ivanka still blushed and her heart raced.

And the soreness all over her body at this time also showed the intensity of their learning last night.

After all, as a female knight, it certainly wasn’t easy to subdue that wild horse… unsurprisingly, she ultimately failed, and instead was repeatedly impacted by the wild horse and unable to resist…

Sure enough, after Ivanka dozed off again for a while, Barron returned to the bedroom with a towel around his neck, wiping away sweat.

“Baby, it’s time to get up…”

Barron’s way of waking Ivanka was very special. After he finished showering, he walked to the bed, and when he saw the woman looking over with a sleepy gaze…

With a “smack,” he patted the raised part of the blanket, then leaned down and kissed Ivanka on the forehead, saying with a smile.

As for why he didn’t kiss her lips and cheeks…

After all, “even tigers don’t eat their cubs”…

…

“Your Grace, my friend…”

“Hello, Mr. Bader, I’m very glad to see you in America.”

When Barron returned to Los Angeles from Silicon Valley, he met Bader Mohammad Al-Saad, the president of the Kuwait Investment Authority (KIA), who had come here.

Bader had made a special trip from New York to Los Angeles just for this meeting with Barron.

“Those investment banks and funds on Wall Street have disappointed us greatly, Your Grace. We have finally discovered that you are the true friend.”

In the magnificent Fleur de Lys estate, Bader said to Barron with a disappointed expression.

“I’ve heard about your situation, I’m very sorry, Mr. Bader.”

What Bader was referring to was the “Madoff scandal” that had occurred not long ago. It could be said that of the $50 billion involved in this case, at least more than $15 billion came from those oil-rich countries in the Middle East.

And these funds were completely unrecoverable…

Not only the “Madoff scandal,” but also in this subprime mortgage crisis, the sovereign wealth funds of the Middle Eastern oil-rich countries suffered heavy losses.

You should know that as their “protector,” these oil-rich countries would invest in America as a return – many of these funds went into the investment products of those Wall Street investment banks and funds, and these funds, due to the outbreak of the subprime mortgage crisis, suffered losses that were simply astronomical.

This was also why in Barron’s previous life, since the subprime mortgage crisis, Middle Eastern oil-rich countries began to shift some funds from America to other regions – mainly to Europe and Asia.

For example, those Middle Eastern funds’ investments and acquisitions of European companies and real estate began to become frequent after the subprime mortgage crisis.

Even Sun Zhengyi’s SoftBank Group subsequently received nearly $50 billion in funding from Middle Eastern oil-rich countries as a result.

In addition, the increase in Middle Eastern oil-rich countries’ investment in China also began after this.

From these, it can be seen how deeply those Middle Eastern oil-rich countries felt about the “harm” done to them by Wall Street capital.

In contrast, Barron’s DS Group had left a very good impression on these Middle Eastern oil-rich countries.

For example, in the first phase of the Global Industry Investment Fund (GII Fund), the GII-1 Fund raised a total of $6 billion, of which the Kuwait Investment Authority and the Saudi Public Investment Fund each contributed $2.1 billion, and the other $1.8 billion was contributed by DS Holdings (Cavendish Trust Fund).

Unlike the fixed-income products of the second phase, GII Phase 1 was a profit-sharing model, except that the DS Group would receive different proportions of the profits based on the final returns.

Last month, when the subprime mortgage crisis became more and more serious, the Kuwait Investment Authority and the Saudi Public Investment Fund suffered heavy losses in their investments in America, so they contacted the DS Group, hoping to recover their investments in GII Fund Phase 1.

The situation at that time was also that the “Madoff scandal” had broken out, which inevitably made these two funds worry that the DS Group, in which they had invested a lot, would be another Ponzi scheme, so they would make such a request.

But the problem was that when they initially joined the GII Fund, it was clearly stipulated in the agreement that all contributions must be withdrawn after 5 years. If they withdrew in advance, a considerable proportion of the fees would be deducted – after all, this was also understandable. Projects such as the Four Seasons Hotel and Fast Retailing Group, which were invested in by GII Fund Phase 1, were all long-term projects and needed to ensure the stability of long-term holdings.

But since the Kuwait Investment Authority and the Saudi Public Investment Fund insisted on taking back their investments, Barron readily agreed – although when he initially founded the GII Fund, especially in the initial phase, the funds invested by the Kuwait Investment Authority and the Saudi Public Investment Fund were a huge sum for Barron.

But now, with the scale of funds he controls, this amount of two or three billion dollars is no longer anything.

However, according to the agreement, the fees that should be deducted for early withdrawal also needed to be deducted.

In the end, the Kuwait Investment Authority and the Saudi Public Investment Fund each received $2.5 billion in refunds. This was the amount that Barron could refund to the Kuwait Investment Authority and the Saudi Public Investment Fund after assessing the value of the assets currently held by the GII-1 Fund, deducting the fees for early withdrawal, and the DS Group’s share.

This had already made the two sovereign wealth funds very satisfied. After all, their $2.1 billion investment had also earned $400 million in profits – which didn’t seem like much, but it was already after deducting the fees for early withdrawal and profit sharing…

And the current situation was still in the midst of the subprime mortgage crisis…

Compared with their investments in America – many of which had even lost all their capital – this was really too conscientious. Therefore, Barron and the DS Group also gained the trust of the Kuwait Investment Authority and the Saudi Public Investment Fund, these two sovereign wealth funds.

This time, when meeting with Barron, Bader not only represented the Kuwait Investment Authority, but also the relevant sovereign wealth funds of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and others. He told Barron that these funds would gradually withdraw some funds from America in the future, preparing to invest in markets outside of North America – including Britain.

He hoped that the DS Group could follow the example of the Global Industry Investment Fund and establish a new investment fund, or directly invest in the GII Fund.

And Bader also promised that this time, the total funds they invested would exceed ten billion dollars.

“To be honest, Mr. Bader, we are not short of funds right now. We even have some funds looking for investment projects…”

Barron said with some difficulty:

“But as friends, I will seriously consider your proposal.”

Chapter 636: Guarding Order

It can be said that times change.

Back when Barron had more limited funds, but possessed the experience of his previous life, knowing which companies would develop better in the future, he used external funds through entities like Mars Fund, Global Industry Investment Fund, and Caesar Fund to complete his deployments.

This approach undeniably accelerated his development and allowed Barron to complete certain arrangements ahead of schedule.

But now, especially after this subprime mortgage crisis, the scale of funds he controls is already extremely large, and he has completed and is about to complete deployments in many important areas…

So, funds from Middle Eastern oil-rich countries, even if they exceed ten billion, as Balder said…

For Barron, well, it’s not that it’s insignificant, but rather that it’s not entirely necessary.

Moreover, Barron previously offered attractive terms to attract external funds, including a profit-sharing model in the first phase of the Global Industry Investment Fund and fixed-income models with yields as high as 10%-15%…

But that is definitely not possible now. After all, the “Madoff scandal,” a Ponzi scheme, only offered an average yield of just over 10% over the years.

That’s why, after the “Madoff scandal” broke, the Kuwait Investment Authority and the Saudi Public Investment Fund wanted to withdraw their investments from the first phase of the GII fund…

It can only be said that Barron’s initial high-return conditions on some funds within the DS Group to attract external funds were, if not exactly the same as Madoff’s company, very close.

It wasn’t just these two sovereign wealth funds from Middle Eastern oil-rich countries; even some individual investors in Mars Fund, due to this concern, hoped to redeem their shares in the fund.

However, the Madoff scandal broke in October, after the September investment and redemption window for Mars Fund had already closed…

But Barron didn’t pay much attention to this. Mars Fund specifically issued an announcement to each investor, stating that in order to alleviate investor concerns and build investor confidence, the fund would once again open a separate redemption window for the next two weeks. Users wishing to redeem could do so within this window.

Moreover, this special case would only occur once. After that, redemptions would only be processed when the window was open; at other times, corresponding fees would be deducted.

After Mars Fund reopened the redemption window, the funds requested for redemption amounted to about 10% of the total fund size, which was considered a relatively high percentage. As for the remaining investors, they were probably all waiting and seeing. If Mars Fund delayed payment during this redemption, it would likely face a run…

However, this level of redemption, while somewhat impacting Mars Fund’s investments, wasn’t significant. After all, their round of short-selling on gold and oil futures during this period was highly profitable, although many positions hadn’t been closed yet and were just unrealized gains.

But now, with the redemption requests, these funds would naturally not be able to enjoy this portion of the profit. However, compared to the funds they invested in Mars Fund, it was already a substantial profit. New investments made in September and the closing of a small portion of futures positions were enough to cover the redemptions.

This calm and timely redemption action dispelled investors’ doubts about the DS Group.

Moreover, although the DS Group’s funds, in their early fixed-income products, looked somewhat similar to Madoff’s company, there were differences between the two, and they weren’t small.

After all, not including all stock investments and securities futures investments, the DS Group openly owned many companies: O2 Telecommunications, SEM Group, Argos Retail Group, United Energy Group, LOMX Group, and Standard Chartered-Merrill Lynch Group, among others. Although somewhat affected by the subprime mortgage crisis, their operating conditions were still relatively good.

This was unlike Madoff’s company, which claimed to have invested funds in financial securities, but where exactly they invested…

Had never been publicly disclosed.

…

“Indeed, the Madoff company has brought us no small trouble, you could say it’s adding insult to injury…”

Slowly exhaling a puff of cigar smoke, JPMorgan Chase’s Chairman and CEO, Jamie Dimon, said to Barron with some annoyance:

“Therefore, we also need to reassure some investors. Because of the Madoff company, many funds have become cautious, which is not a good thing for the current situation. The most important thing for the market is confidence.”

His words were somewhat similar to those of Paulson, the U.S. Treasury Secretary…

Barron had just met with Paulson the day before.

“Your Grace, I heard…”

Jamie Dimon looked at Barron:

“You know, there are always rumors in the circle, some true, some false, but many people say you will have a big move.”

“That’s not surprising, Mr. Dimon.”

Whether it was cigarettes or cigars, Barron had no interest in them. He didn’t like anything that could be addictive. After all, money and power themselves already required willpower to resist their temptations.

Barron didn’t give a very specific answer to Jamie Dimon’s rumors, or rather, his own speculation.

Although British Fortune Times (BFT) Fund had become one of JPMorgan Chase’s major shareholders, exposing his goals too early was not a rational thing to do.

“You know, some funds, we just manage them. Of course, the decisions need to be made by me, but in fact, to some extent, we are the same. So I always position myself as a wealth manager, or… a steward, whether it’s for God or for others, but wealth ultimately cannot completely belong to an individual, can it?”

“I very much agree, Your Grace. Wealth exists because of order, and now we need to maintain order. As for the growth of wealth, it is an extra reward based on our protection of order.”

Jamie Dimon was right. JPMorgan Chase had indeed received a reward. It could be said that they were the bank whose scale expanded most significantly during the subprime mortgage crisis.

Whether it was Bear Stearns or Washington Mutual Bank, JPMorgan Chase was the most proactive bank in providing assistance to them from the beginning.

These actions came from Jamie Dimon’s leadership, but earlier, they stemmed from the Morgan family’s protection of the American financial order. This protection also earned JPMorgan Chase a rich return.

It can be said that, apart from JPMorgan Chase, anyone… wanting to complete the acquisition of Bear Stearns or Washington Mutual Bank would find it difficult to obtain the same conditions as JPMorgan Chase. In terms of government support, the returns JPMorgan Chase received were indeed enviable.

“But besides that, I actually got more accurate information, Your Grace…”

Jamie Dimon showed friendship to Barron:

“We are already friends, perhaps the relationship can be closer. If you are interested in some of the business of the U.S. National Machinery Group, firstly, it does not have any competitive relationship with us.”

Chapter 637: AIA Insurance

It seemed Jamie Dimon did indeed have some relatively accurate information. This was unavoidable; it was nearly impossible to maintain complete secrecy while certain things were in progress.

During Barron’s previous meeting with Paulson, he had already mentioned his intention to acquire some assets of American International Group (AIG) through Prudential, a British insurance group.

As early as June, American International Group had suffered heavy losses in the subprime mortgage crisis—mainly due to underwriting too many CDS (Credit Default Swaps)—and was on the verge of collapse, ultimately being taken over by the American government.

Initially, the American government injected 85 billion dollars into American International Group to ensure that this largest American insurance group could successfully weather the crisis…

But then, they discovered that they had underestimated the scale of CDS involved with American International Group. Helpless, they could only continue to increase investment. To date, the American government has injected over 150 billion dollars into American International Group in two installments!

Even so, American International Group still hasn’t emerged from its predicament. According to the information Barron received, American International Group’s losses in the past three months alone exceeded 60 billion dollars. This figure set a record for the largest quarterly loss of a company in American history.

During the previous meeting, Barron could see that Paulson was still frowning about the current state of American International Group.

But what could be done? There’s a term called “sunk cost.” Now that so much money has already been put into American International Group, could they just wash their hands of it now?

What else could they do? Continue to bail them out…

In addition to the American government’s assistance, American International Group itself was also preparing to sell some assets to obtain funds for self-rescue.

In Barron’s previous life, American International Group gradually sold off their private bank, Hartford Steam Boiler (HSB), which was engaged in mechanical-related insurance business, and their Canadian life insurance business at the end of this year and the beginning of next year, obtaining some funds.

They even planned to sell some shares of their wholly-owned subsidiary, AIA Insurance Company, to obtain funds to recoup losses…

And Barron’s target this time was AIA Insurance Company.

In Barron’s previous life, before his rebirth, AIA Insurance gave people the impression of already being a Hong Kong company.

In fact, at this time, AIA Insurance was still an American company, a wholly-owned subsidiary of American International Group. American International Group owned many subsidiaries involved in the insurance business, the two most important of which were AIA Insurance and AIG Property Casualty.

Perhaps many people don’t know that American International Group has a deep relationship with China. In fact, it can be said that this largest American insurance group was founded in China…

The history of American International Group can be traced back to 1919, when the group’s founder, Cornelius Vander Starr, established an insurance agency in Shanghai, China, with 300 yen—American Asiatic Underwriters (AAU), providing fire and marine insurance coverage.

Starr was also the first Westerner to bring the concept of insurance to the Chinese in Shanghai.

Then, in 1921, Starr founded American International Assurance (AIA) and expanded the business throughout China and Southeast Asia in just ten years…

In 1926, AIG opened a branch in New York, America. After his insurance business succeeded in China, he established the United States Life Insurance Company in Hong Kong in 1931, and then expanded to Europe and the Middle East.

Later, due to the outbreak of the Japanese invasion of China, Starr moved the company’s headquarters from Shanghai to America, and then developed the Latin American market.

In 1949, AIG withdrew from its insurance business in China.

In 1968, Starr passed away, and his successor was Maurice R. Greenberg, who developed AIG’s American business.

In 1969, AIG returned to the American stock market. After years of development, AIG’s business has been distributed in more than 130 countries and regions, and has expanded from insurance business to other financial service categories, including retirement services, non-life insurance property insurance, asset management and related investments.

American International Group member companies provide services to commercial, institutional and individual customers through the insurance industry’s largest global property and life insurance service network.

American International Group member companies are the largest industrial and commercial insurance institutions in America, and AIG American General is one of the top life insurance institutions in America.

Well, until the subprime mortgage crisis, American International Group could be called a behemoth operating in multiple fields, including insurance and finance.

Now, they need to rely on government assistance and sell their own assets to survive.

In Barron’s previous life, Prudential, the largest insurance company in Britain, almost bought AIA Insurance from American International…

However, this transaction ultimately did not happen. After American International Group sold some shares of AIA Insurance Company, AIA Insurance was finally listed in Hong Kong in 2010, and American International Group gradually reduced its holdings of AIA Insurance Company shares. Eventually, AIA Insurance’s American characteristics gradually faded, and it became a Hong Kong company.

Speaking of which, among the many insurance businesses under American International Group, Barron was most interested in AIA Insurance Company.

Because first of all, AIA Insurance Company’s main business is in the Asia-Pacific region, and Barron knows that the insurance business in this region will also be the fastest growing in the world in the future. According to estimates by relevant institutions, 40% of the global life insurance premium growth in the next five years will occur in Asia.

Currently, AIA Insurance Company has more than 20 million customers and more than 200,000 insurance agents in Asia.

In the Chinese market, since AIA Insurance withdrew from the Chinese mainland market in 1949, they re-entered Shanghai, China, in 1992 as a wholly-owned entity, and were the first foreign company approved to operate insurance business in China.

Up to now, AIA Insurance has become the largest foreign life insurance company in China, and in major cities including Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou, AIA Insurance’s market share even exceeds some established Chinese life insurance companies.

According to the results of Barron’s contact with the management of American International Group, the other party is still willing to sell AIA Insurance Company.

American International Group Chairman and CEO Edward Liddy also stated that American International Group will refocus on its property and casualty insurance business in the future.

And American International Group plans to retain its American domestic property and casualty insurance and American foreign property insurance business… Then it is obvious that between AIA Insurance, whose main business is in the Asia-Pacific region and mainly focuses on life insurance, and AIG Property Casualty, which mainly focuses on property insurance, the core business that American International Group is preparing to expose is AIG Property Casualty…

“I know that you have extensive connections in the upper echelons of America, Mr. Dimon, especially close ties with the management and board of directors of American International Group, so…”

Barron said to Jamie Dimon:

“We are friends, aren’t we? You don’t have an insurance business, and similarly, Standard Chartered-Merrill Lynch Group has achieved enough development. Now is the time for us to give each other support.”

Even if American International Group intends to sell AIA Insurance Company, they will definitely not make it cheap in terms of asking price.

However, correspondingly, after American International Group received huge government bailouts, the right to speak on some matters… also needs to consider the government’s opinions, and JPMorgan Chase’s relationship with the government, as can be seen from their ability to turn decay into magic in the acquisition of Bear Stearns and Washington Mutual.

So, is he really willing to establish “friendship” with himself?

Under Barron’s gaze, Jamie Dimon should give an answer…

Of course, Barron did not expect to really get the treatment of a “favorite son” like JPMorgan Chase, but at least, he should give himself a “conscience price,” right?

Chapter 638: The Advantage is Ours

Previously, the Cavendish Trust Fund, which Barron owned, acquired the British Aviva Group for $2.85 billion. Even with the subsequent restructuring funds injected, it only amounted to around $3 billion.

In contrast, the value of AIA Group comfortably exceeded $20 billion – and that was even with the impact of the subprime mortgage crisis, which had caused the overall market value of companies to decline.

The reason American International Group (AIG) had fallen into its current predicament was mainly due to its financial division’s excessive involvement in subprime mortgage-backed securities. Its other businesses, however, were not significantly problematic, which was one of the main reasons the American government was ultimately willing to bail it out.

Therefore, from the outside perspective, using Aviva Group to merge with AIA Group was undoubtedly a case of a snake swallowing an elephant…

“Your Grace, we do have plans to sell some assets, but currently, we are only preparing to sell 49% of AIA Group’s shares to introduce new investors…”

This was what Edward Liddy, Chairman and CEO of American International Group, said when Barron met with him:

“And many companies are interested in this, including China Life and Prudential plc, who are hoping to discuss this matter.”

“If I were you, I probably wouldn’t make that choice, Mr. Liddy,” Barron said, shaking his head.

“Why is that?”

Although Edward thought it wasn’t surprising for Barron to say such a thing given his position, he still asked with a hint of curiosity.

“What American International Group needs most right now is capital and time. Among these, time is the more pressing matter. This will prevent your losses in CDS from causing excessive chain reactions, leading to accumulation.”

Edward had to agree with Barron’s point. He listened as the British Duke continued:

“If the American government had directly provided over $150 billion in aid to AIG from the beginning, your situation would probably have been under control. But the key is that this decision couldn’t have been made several months ago. In the end, only the initial $85 billion bailout was implemented, which was like fighting a fire by adding fuel to it, failing to decisively solve the problem.”

“It seems that way now, Your Grace, but the situation at the time…”

Indeed, from today’s perspective, what Barron said was the correct approach. But things are always clearer once the dust has settled. As for four or five months ago… American International Group, to say nothing of not knowing the size of the hole they had fallen into, even if they had known, how would they have dared to report it truthfully?

If the American government had known at the time that it would take over $150 billion, even close to $200 billion, to successfully bail them out, even if American International Group’s bankruptcy would have caused a greater chain reaction, their decision to bail out the company wouldn’t have been so easily made.

“Yes, saying all this now is of no help, but at least some things can still be done. You and I both know, sir, that AIG cannot continue to retain all of its businesses. It will inevitably need to make trade-offs. AIA Group not only has a relatively higher value but also has its main business in Asia. Therefore, it is the most suitable asset to exchange for valuable capital…”

“Even if selling AIA Group is an option, Your Grace, as you said, both time and capital are what we need. Therefore, at this time, we also need a sincere offer.”

Alright, Edward Liddy had made it clear that ultimately, they would still decide based on the price offered!

…

“We have communicated with the Department of the Treasury today, Your Grace. They welcome our acquisition, and the relevant regulatory agencies will not conduct overly strict reviews…”

Barron agreed with what Amber Sheen said. After all, under the current circumstances, whether it was for the sake of stabilizing American finance or for the Republican Party to “struggle” for the election, acquisitions that could help American International Group bail itself out would receive special treatment.

Moreover, they were British capital, not a target that required rigorous scrutiny.

After arriving in New York, Barron took up residence in the Long Island estate. Relatively speaking, he was more satisfied with the environment here than with the penthouse in Manhattan.

Amber Sheen had also arrived from London long ago, personally responsible for this acquisition of AIA Group – an acquisition that was destined to become the largest insurance company merger in the world this year.

In the pursuit of AIA Group, it seemed that Aviva Group was in a relatively advantageous position. Currently, their two biggest competitors were China Life and Prudential plc, which was also a British insurance company and ranked first.

However, China Life was only prepared to purchase a portion of AIA Group’s shares. If they hoped to acquire it entirely, there was no doubt that, due to certain factors, they would face strict scrutiny from the relevant American authorities, possibly repeating the mistake of CNOOC’s acquisition of Unocal.

As for Prudential plc…

They already had a large amount of business in Asia. Prudential plc has been rooted in the Asian market for nearly a century, currently has more than 20 million customers in Asia, and has more than $60 billion in assets in 13 markets in the region, making it one of the largest foreign insurance companies in Asia.

Last year, Asian business accounted for one-third of Prudential plc’s global sales and half of its total profit.

This was also why they were interested in acquiring shares in AIA Group, even acquiring it entirely.

According to the analysis of the think tank led by Barron, if Prudential plc completed the acquisition of AIA Group, then 80% to 90% of Prudential plc’s future sales and profits would come from the Asian market, and Prudential plc would gain a dominant position in the region.

In Barron’s previous life, Prudential plc had intended to acquire AIA Group, but ultimately, this acquisition fell through.

After all, a merger of this scale, involving two insurance companies of such size, would inevitably face scrutiny from the relevant regulatory agencies in various Asian countries. Even the relevant agencies in the European Union and the United States would conduct reviews.

Moreover, AIA Group would also consider whether there would be any conflicts between the acquired business and the original Prudential plc’s business.

That being said, given Aviva Group’s current size and the vast difference in its business in Asia compared to AIA Group, it was actually easier to win in this merger.

After all, time was also very important for American International Group, and the time required for regulatory review, even if it could be passed, would become increasingly long with the increase in the scale and market share of the merging parties.

American International Group probably wouldn’t have the patience to wait that long.

In addition, on the American government’s side, not only Barron’s side, after hiring JPMorgan Chase as their service provider for acquiring American International Group’s AIA Group, Jamie Dimon also began using JPMorgan Chase’s connections to lobby for this…

Chapter 639: Forging a Friendship

If Manhattan in New York gives the impression of being prosperous and bustling, then the mansions of various styles hidden quietly in the shade of Long Island’s trees form a haven for the super-rich, giving people a sense of secluded reclusion.

On the highway in the early morning, a convoy drove slowly and steadily.

Even without background music, this scene easily reminded people of the scenes in the television series “Succession,” which received multiple nominations at the Emmy Awards in September of this year and won many heavyweight awards, depicting the travels of those super-rich individuals.

After all, the extended Cadillac sedan, “protected” by Chevrolet SUVs in the front and rear, had a certain “old money” flair no matter how you looked at it.

However, at the gatehouse of a manor, the convoy was stopped by several “fully armed” security personnel. After questioning the identities of the people inside and inspecting each vehicle, the head of the security team picked up a walkie-talkie and gave the go-ahead.

This was not the end. After the convoy passed the highway around the periphery of the manor, it was stopped again. This time, the situation was slightly better. Several bodyguards in black suits, after conducting a routine inquiry, drove behind the convoy, heading towards the manor’s main residence.

At this time, many vehicles were already parked in the small square in front of the residence, almost all of them the configuration of bodyguard SUVs plus luxury sedans…

“Apologies, Your Grace, something came up that delayed me. I hope I haven’t kept you waiting too long…”

Seeing the handsome young man walking out of the main residence’s entrance, the middle-aged man, who had just gotten out of the car and straightened his suit, wearing gold-rimmed glasses and with a slightly receding hairline, said apologetically.

“Not at all, Mr. Fink, everyone was just chatting.”

This was the first meeting between the two. Baron, the British Duke who managed enormous wealth, needless to say, his reputation had already begun to spread on Wall Street earlier. Especially after the subprime mortgage crisis broke out, his multiple large-scale investments and acquisitions had made him the most watched person in financial capital.

And this “Mr. Fink” in Baron’s words was Larry Fink, the founder of BlackRock. Although BlackRock was also very well-known on Wall Street, Baron had not directly dealt with them before. However, he knew that after this crisis, BlackRock, relying on its outstanding capabilities and courage, would see its assets under management begin to expand rapidly.

From the cars parked at the entrance, it could be seen that Larry Fink was not the only one visiting Baron’s manor today. There were also bigwigs from various companies, including asset management groups such as Vanguard Group and State Street Corporation. Those who came were either their founders or the current managers of the groups.

Well, John Bogle, the founder of Vanguard Group, also came here. This was not his first meeting with Baron. The two could be considered “old acquaintances”…

These bigwigs, who could be said to influence the American economy, and even the global economic situation, gathered together, not only to discuss the subprime mortgage crisis, but also to establish “friendships” at a deeper level.

Regarding the matter of establishing “friendships,” Bogle had proposed it to Baron earlier. However, at that time, DS Group, not to mention compared to Vanguard Group, even compared to the relatively “weak” BlackRock at the time, DS Group could only be considered a younger brother, and a small one at that…

But now it was completely different. In just two years of development, the assets managed by DS Group had expanded several times. Although it was still far from Vanguard Group at this time, it could be said to be able to stand on a relatively equal footing with it.

More importantly, during this period, Baron had completed the adjustment of DS Group.

The ownership of the shares originally controlled by DS Group’s DS Holdings in companies including SEM Group, O2 Telecom, United Energy Group, Woaw Technology, and Argos Retail Group had been transferred to Cavendish Trust, while DS Holdings was only equivalent to helping this trust manage its assets.

In other words, DS Group had now completely transformed into an “asset management group” similar to Vanguard Group and BlackRock. Under this group were various investment funds and companies that managed equity. Its main profit came from investment dividends, and it no longer directly controlled its own assets.

However, because of the scale of assets managed by DS Group, and its profitability, its income was, in fact, not weaker than Vanguard Group and BlackRock at this time.

After all, the scale of funds managed was one aspect, and profitability was another.

The reason why Vanguard Group now managed hundreds of billions or trillions of dollars was largely because their “fees” were lower, and therefore they were competitive. Speaking of profitability, it was actually not higher than DS Group.

BlackRock was also like this. Before this, BlackRock’s scale was not so exaggerated. Similarly, its profitability was not as good as Vanguard Group…

So, under such circumstances, especially after Baron made a series of adjustments to DS Group, various parties, mainly Vanguard Group, BlackRock, and other companies, had a basis for further increasing “friendship” with DS Group.

To be realistic, Baron also understood that with his increasingly in-depth investment in America, and the increasingly large scale, it was impossible to avoid the establishment of “friendships” with these Jewish and Anglo-Saxon capital groups…

Of course, to welcome DS Group’s joining, and considering that although the scale of funds managed was relatively smaller than the other three – besides BlackRock at this time, Vanguard Group and State Street Corporation had larger fund sizes – Vanguard Group and the others had also made certain concessions.

DS Group would take out a total of 15% of its shares for cross-shareholding with Vanguard Group, BlackRock, and State Street Corporation, respectively.

After these three each held 5% of DS Group’s shares, DS Group would also correspondingly own 4.5%-5% of the shares of the other three groups, varying slightly.

“Welcome to join us, Your Grace. This will be the foundation for our continued strength…”

Bogle raised his glass and said with a smile.

“This is indeed something worth celebrating, gentlemen…”

Baron also had a faint smile on his face:

“As for the matter of Costco, I think today should just be for celebration. I don’t want to think too much about it now.”

He walked to Larry Fink’s side and said:

“By the way, Mr. Fink, congratulations on doing a great job with those bond liquidation operations. That’s not an easy task…”

“Yes, Your Grace, that was indeed a headache. Fortunately, we did a pretty good job.”

Chapter 640: Acquiring Costco

Speaking of Larry Fink, the founder of BlackRock Group, he was a Jewish man born in California. After obtaining an MBA from the University of California, Larry Fink’s first job was at the well-known investment bank First Boston.

During his time at First Boston, Larry Fink created a new type of financial product called mortgage-backed securities (MBS), laying the foundation for later financial innovations. Yes, the credit default swaps (CDS) that triggered the subprime mortgage crisis were a type of MBS, originally invented by Larry Fink…

In 1988, Larry Fink joined forces with Stephen Schwarzman, the founder of Blackstone Group, to establish Blackstone Financial Management, which later became BlackRock.

However, as the company developed, differences between Blackstone and BlackRock gradually emerged.

Eventually, Schwarzman cleared out his partnership with BlackRock for $240 million.

Since then, BlackRock, under the leadership of Larry Fink, has made great strides.

In fact, BlackRock Group seized the opportunity during the subprime mortgage crisis to achieve explosive growth.

Starting with Bear Stearns and continuing with American International Group (AIG), BlackRock Group helped these companies, as well as the U.S. Treasury Department and the Federal Reserve, to deal with the “toxic” assets on these companies’ books, analyzing and liquidating them.

The reason they were able to obtain this “big business,” besides the fact that BlackRock Group, led by Larry Fink, had in-depth research on this, was more importantly their “Aladdin” system.

“Aladdin,” short for “Asset, Liability, Debt and Derivative Investment Network,” is an electronic platform with powerful data processing and analysis capabilities.

The platform was launched in 1988 and was initially only for internal use by BlackRock.

Later, BlackRock discovered that the product had huge market demand and began selling it externally in 1999.

During the subprime mortgage crisis, BlackRock Group effectively avoided risks and made profits with the help of the “Aladdin” platform, in stark contrast to the heavy losses and even bankruptcies of Wall Street investment banks such as Lehman Brothers.

During this period, BlackRock Group also used the “Aladdin” platform to quickly complete asset status analysis and formulate non-performing asset disposal plans for the U.S. Treasury Department, the Federal Reserve, and Wall Street giants such as JPMorgan Chase and American International Group. It also provided key consulting services to sovereign wealth funds in countries such as Japan, Norway, and Singapore, with widely recognized results.

Baron knew that in the subsequent 2009 European debt crisis, the European Central Bank, as well as the governments of Ireland and Greece, began to use “Aladdin” to deal with the crisis.

This system was widely adopted thereafter, and even Vanguard Group, Blackstone Fund, and State Street Corporation, BlackRock Group’s “competitors,” had to purchase and use it, and it was called the “basic platform” in the financial field…

After this, BlackRock Group would obtain the management scale of more than 450 billion “bad” assets, and obtain 400 billion U.S. dollars of financial credit from the U.S. government to solve larger-scale bad assets. After several years, the assets managed by this group would be as high as 10 trillion U.S. dollars, becoming the world’s largest asset management group.

It can be said that by that time, people’s lives would be connected with this group at all times…

Although Baron also had confidence in DS Group, now, before the rise of BlackRock Group, exchanging equity with these future top capital firms to deepen “friendship” was something he could accept.

What’s more, besides DS Group already being completely transformed into an asset management group, in this three-way cooperation, in addition to DS Group accepting one director from each of the other parties, it would also send one director to each of the other parties, which could be considered a mutual check and balance.

In addition to this, Baron had another gain.

Vanguard, BlackRock, and State Street, among other institutions, had agreed to sell their shares in Costco to a consortium consisting of Argos Retail Group and Caesar Fund—but they needed to acquire them at a 35% premium to the current stock price.

Even so, due to the decline in Costco’s stock price, the acquisition price was much lower than when Baron prepared to acquire Costco in June of this year.

After continuously absorbing Costco’s stock in the secondary market, if the acquisition of these institutions’ holdings was completed, Argos Retail Group’s stake in Costco would exceed 50%.

In this case, Berkshire Hathaway finally relented and was willing to sell their 45 million shares of Costco stock to them.

At this point, Argos Retail Group was able to launch an overall acquisition of Costco and complete the offer for privatization and delisting.

They had been planning the acquisition of Costco for a long time. After contacting the management and promising to maintain the stability of the management after the acquisition and not make too many adjustments, Costco’s management also tended to be acquired by Argos Retail Group.

After all, everyone could see that DS Group had deep pockets. With its support, their future development plans would inevitably be guaranteed.

Therefore, the current acquisition of Costco only awaited the approval of the shareholders’ vote and the approval of the relevant regulatory agencies in the United States.

“I heard that you are also preparing to acquire AIA Insurance, Your Grace.”

As mentioned earlier, the relevant securities assets of American International Group were analyzed and liquidated by BlackRock Group. Especially after American International Group was taken over by the government, with the support of the Treasury Department and the Federal Reserve, BlackRock Group intervened deeply in the relevant assets of American International Group. Therefore, it was not surprising that they knew some of the internal details of Baron’s own Ace Insurance Group’s acquisition of AIA Insurance.

“After all, they need funds to overcome their difficulties, and I am also somewhat interested in AIA Insurance.”

Baron said with a smile:

“Actually, I am also very interested in those ‘bad assets,’ Mr. Fink, but unfortunately, Paulson and the others won’t hand this kind of thing over to us…”

“We are more professional in these matters, and it is not an easy thing…”

Okay, Baron just said it casually. After all, DS Group was British capital. Being able to intervene in the acquisition of some assets already gave it far more advantages than Chinese capital.

As for the “preferential treatment” of local capital, that was purely wishful thinking…

Of course, he now also had advantages over Wall Street capital, that is, the trust of the Middle Eastern tycoons.

Previously, Bader, the president of the Kuwait Investment Authority, had represented several sovereign wealth funds in the hope of increasing investment in DS Group’s funds. The reason was that the money they invested in Wall Street could be said to have been badly burned in the subprime mortgage crisis.

Originally, Baron didn’t care. He didn’t lack funds now, but later he thought that if he didn’t take it, the money would inevitably be invested in SoftBank, so this matter had been in contact.

Baron was not very willing to continue the profit-sharing type of Global Industry Investment Fund Phase I. What’s more, the funds of the Kuwait Investment Authority and the Saudi Public Investment Fund in GII Fund Phase I had already been withdrawn, and his own funds were merged into the Phase II fund.

After the subprime mortgage crisis, these Middle Eastern tycoon countries also wanted to seek stability, so they invested in GII Fund Phase II in the form of fixed income… Well, with the dissolution of Phase I, there is no longer a Phase I or Phase II, only the overall GII Fund.

The first batch of Middle Eastern sovereign wealth funds invested a total of 10 billion U.S. dollars, and will continue to expand investment in the future—they will slowly withdraw their investments in other places… mainly in the United States, and then reinvest in the GII Fund.

Chapter 641: A Road Paved with Gold

“Aren’t you attending the Open Handset Alliance conference in a couple of days?”

Ivanka sat on the edge of the bed in the morning light, bending over to put on her nude-colored stockings.

From Barron’s angle, he could see her rather impressive curves… but he was simply appreciating the scenery. After all, the two had just finished some intense “morning exercise,” and Barron was still in a state of post-coital clarity.

“I won’t be going. You know, after I meet with Obama later, I’ll be preparing to return to England…”

The so-called Open Handset Alliance was an alliance led by Android, Inc. to promote the Android mobile operating system.

Currently, the number of members in this alliance is constantly increasing. At this conference, Android, Inc. will also launch the latest Android version to compete with iOS system upgrades.

According to currently revealed information, Google will officially launch their mobile operating system in January of next year, although the specific name is still being kept secret.

It can be said that this mobile operating system will directly compete with the Android system, while Apple’s iOS system will only be installed on iPhones, and there is no need to compete with them for mobile phone manufacturers.

After saying goodbye to Ivanka, Barron took a car to the airport.

Next, he would go to Illinois to meet with Barack Obama, who had just won the election.

In the recently concluded American election, the Democratic Party candidate, also a senator from Illinois, Barack Obama, defeated his rival John McCain with a ratio of 349 to 163 electoral votes, and was elected as the 44th President of America.

“Congratulations, Mr. Obama, this is a great victory.”

“Thank you for your support, Your Grace. I will dedicate myself to serving the American people for the next four years.”

Although he had been confirmed as elected, Obama needed to wait until January 20th of the following year to take office, so he was still in Illinois at this time, not in Washington.

It can be said that Obama at this time was riding high on the crest of success. The smile on his face showed his ambitious mood.

However, at the same time, given the economic situation in America at this time, Obama also understood that after he took office, the first thing he needed to do was to clean up the mess left by Bush Jr., so that the American economy could get out of the subprime mortgage crisis as soon as possible and be revitalized.

Therefore, taking the time to meet with Barron, this capital magnate, was not only to thank him for his support in the election, but also to discuss the current financial situation in America, specifically, the subprime mortgage crisis.

It is worth mentioning that this American election was also the most expensive election in American history to date.

According to statistics from the Federal Election Commission, the funds spent by the two candidates in this election have approached 1.5 billion dollars…

Among them, Obama’s “fundraising” ability was obviously stronger, and his spending accounted for two-thirds of the total spending of the two candidates, which is close to 1 billion dollars.

It can be said that Obama’s road to the presidency was purely paved with dollars.

Because in fact, Barron knew that in addition to the publicly verifiable election funds that could be recognized by the Federal Election Commission, the funds filled in through other forms were several times that amount. For example, Barron, as a non-American citizen, invested funds in Obama’s Democratic Party through other “irregular” campaign finance methods.

Therefore, if all these funds are included, then the funds involved in this American election may be as high as 3 to 5 billion dollars!

And Obama’s gratitude to Barron, in addition to the funds he invested, also included the assistance of Sinclair Group’s media and Woaw’s biased push notifications, which cannot be ignored.

“America needs to get out of the storm of the crisis as soon as possible, so that the global economy can be stabilized. Mr. President, that requires more aggressive economic policies…”

Although Obama needed to wait nearly two months before officially taking office, Barron directly called him “President.” The Obama across from him simply smiled and did not correct him.

As for the “more aggressive economic policies” that Barron mentioned…

“I know that your funds have played a major role in stabilizing our finances, Your Grace. I am very grateful for this, and in the future, I will definitely implement a series of measures to revitalize the economy, but the specific plan needs to be carefully considered before it can be concluded.”

Although Obama had not yet taken office, Barron almost knew the outline of his future economic policies – it would not be any different from his previous life, which was massive quantitative easing…

Speaking of which, it seems that there is no better way now. In fact, “massive quantitative easing” has already begun…

Otherwise, where did the money for the American government’s bailout plans, which cost hundreds of billions of dollars at every turn, come from? Wasn’t it just from starting up their printing press?

This is also why Barron has been constantly buying, buying, buying since the second half of this year.

With this round of the Federal Reserve’s “flooding,” the devaluation of the dollar is visible to the naked eye – of course, it seems that the dollar has not depreciated much in terms of exchange rates relative to other currencies, and has even appreciated relative to the pound and the euro. That is of course because other currencies have also begun to ease accordingly.

After all, as the only global currency, if the dollar starts to ease, it will lead other countries to only be able to choose to follow, otherwise the consequence will be that their own country’s wealth will be harvested in this way – of course, currency easing has advantages and disadvantages, and in some cases the disadvantages outweigh the advantages, but between two evils, one can only choose the lesser.

Next, Barron will continue to make acquisitions, and spend the funds he earned in the subprime mortgage crisis through various funds as soon as possible, turning them into various assets, otherwise these funds will only be passively devalued if they are kept in hand.

In other words, Barron knows that if history does not change much, I am afraid that the well-known BitC will appear later – after all, in his previous life, it is said that the rather mysterious “Mr. Nakamoto” once worked in the banking industry, and saw the government’s “rescue” of the market through the arbitrary expansion of the dollar’s issuance in the subprime mortgage crisis, and questioned the centralized monetary policy, thus creating a decentralized BitC with a total amount of 21 million coins…

Of course, if he were an ordinary person, Barron might have participated in BitC when it first appeared, because there were very few people involved in “mining,” and there had not yet been several rounds of halving, even the computing power of ordinary computers could have rich output.

But for Barron now, even if BitC enters the mainstream view in the future, and more and more Wall Street capital participates, its total value is still far from gold, let alone the current “barren” period, and it is simply not worth his attention.

After all, he has no intention, nor is it necessary, to directly control BitC, just let it develop slowly like in his previous life.

As for some conspiracy theories surrounding BitC in his previous life, how should I put it… Conspiracy theories are often exaggerated, mysterious, and sensational, but inevitably, they lack logic.

Chapter 642: Aircraft Formation

Do you think Kodak, a company that mainly profits from selling film, would painstakingly and secretly invest resources and create a plan to build a “smaller version” of itself just to promote digital camera technology?

Without the benefit of “rebirth foresight,” the normal course of action for a company with that kind of inertia, upon acquiring such technology, would be to shelve it, or even actively resist it.

Similarly, for the United States, which controls the global financial system and easily reaps wealth through the centralized dollar, devising a massive plan to promote the concept of “decentralized currency” is fundamentally impossible. Moreover, Barron doesn’t believe they have the patience or the need to engage in such a “plan” at this point in time.

However, any concept that can serve as an “investment product” will naturally attract capital once it reaches a certain scale.

And after seeing certain opportunities, many other forces will begin to intervene…

For example, BitC’s so-called “anonymity” can indeed separate you from your real-world identity if it exists only in the form of BitC. However, as soon as it interacts with fiat currency, it will inevitably involve the exchange’s KYC (Know Your Customer) rules—that is, real-name authentication.

Except for those “ancient whales” who have been dormant in their accounts since the beginning and have hardly ever traded, it is difficult for any account that has been involved in exchange transactions later to remain “anonymous.”

After all, BitC transactions themselves can be publicly queried on its network.

Barron knew that ten years later, the institutions controlled by the United States would be able to track the information of over 80% of BitC account holders.

This is why they have the confidence to propose taxing profits from digital currency transactions.

…

After meeting with Obama and incidentally ordering a few more airplanes, Barron began his journey back to England.

Yes, he ordered a few more airplanes, including Gulfstream’s relatively new G550 model.

Affected by the subprime mortgage crisis, Gulfstream was also having a hard time. It could be said that the global market for business jets and private planes was greatly affected.

This could be seen from the rise of aircraft leasing businesses.

After all, not only were some wealthy individuals who had previously ordered private planes choosing to cancel their orders due to bankruptcy or huge losses, but even some companies were changing their plans to purchase business jets to temporary leases…

This led to manufacturers including Gulfstream and Bombardier having an increasing number of defaulted orders on hand.

And models that originally required a waiting period of a year or even longer could now have their delivery times greatly shortened by purchasing those orders that were no longer being fulfilled, and the prices of many orders could be slashed drastically… especially those with more customized projects.

Since this was the case, Barron took the opportunity to select some orders and buy them.

After all, although his Devonshire was large enough to carry all his entourage, a large amount of luggage, and a car fleet at once, it was precisely because of its large size that the requirements for airport takeoffs and landings were also very high. If he was going to some large cities, it wouldn’t be a problem, but for smaller cities or remote areas, it couldn’t take off and land directly. He would need to find a large airport nearby and then transport everything by car.

Compared to the Devonshire, a mid-sized aircraft like the Gulfstream G550 had much more lenient airport requirements. Most airports could meet its takeoff and landing conditions.

But the problem was that, while ensuring the comfort of Barron’s journey, the passenger and cargo capacity of such an aircraft was limited. It was impossible to carry all of Barron’s entourage and car fleet at once.

Well, since that was the case, if a single aircraft couldn’t meet the carrying capacity, then he would just get a few more…

Anyway, given the current situation, like the Gulfstream G550, after deducting the original deposit, and with Gulfstream offering some discounts… several of them wouldn’t even cost as much as Barron’s Devonshire.

In that case, one would be specially for Barron and his close staff, and could be luxuriously decorated, one would be used as a business jet for the entourage, and one would be like a cargo plane, carrying luggage and the car fleet. Yes, perfect.

…

“Your Grace, Downton Abbey will be released during the Christmas season. According to predictions from professional institutions, this movie has become one of the most anticipated films of this period…”

The Devonshire was flying at an altitude of 30,000 feet. In Barron’s private office on the plane, he was leaning back in his chair with his eyes closed, enjoying a massage from his personal assistant, Janine Chang, while listening to her report on recent matters of his various companies.

A total of six seasons of the Downton Abbey television series had been broadcast. After that, there would be plans for at least two more movies in this series IP.

As early as the first half of this year, the first Downton Abbey movie, co-produced by SEM Group’s Summit Studio and Marvel-MGM Group’s MGM Studios, had completed filming and was scheduled to be released during the Christmas season this year.

Most of the cast would still be the actors from the television series. Oh, and Rebecca, who played the third daughter in Downton Abbey, also took time out to join the crew.

This was her first movie since having children. Before that, she had successfully transitioned into a producer and manager of film and television projects.

In Barron’s original timeline, the Downton Abbey movie that was released at that time was also a great success, with very satisfactory box office results.

And now, after many years of broadcasting, this IP had also gathered a large number of fans, not only in England and Europe, but also in North America, Australia, and parts of Asia.

Therefore, this time, the Downton Abbey movie would also choose to premiere in England, and then be released worldwide.

In addition to the Downton Abbey movie, Succession, currently in its first and second seasons, had also won countless accolades and numerous awards.

At this year’s Emmy Awards, Succession won five out of six nominations, making it the biggest winner of the Emmy Awards for television series.

Although Bingbing Fan did not win an award for it, she also used this opportunity to gain some exposure in Europe and the United States.

In terms of movies, MGM Studios’ Rocky V would be released in January next year, and Thor would be released in March. In addition, new movies including Twilight had also been approved and would begin filming at the beginning of next year. It could be said that everything was on the right track.

Moreover, the more an economic crisis occurs, the more popular relatively low-cost forms of entertainment such as movies, television series, and games become.

It was believed that Marvel-MGM Group would usher in another year of harvest.

Chapter 643: Leasing Business

“So, you bought three more planes?”

Countess Booth. looked at Barron in surprise and asked.

“Actually, it’s five…”

Seeing her puzzled expression, Barron said calmly:

“Three can be delivered within a few months, two Gulfstream G550s and a Boeing 737-900ER…”

Yes, because the price was indeed very reasonable, Barron simply didn’t care about “that little” money and ordered five planes directly.

As he said, the existing orders he bought were for three planes. Two of them were Gulfstream G550s, one of which would become Barron’s simple “air apartment,” while the other would serve as a passenger plane for his entourage.

As for the other Boeing 737-900ER, it’s the latest model in the Boeing 737 series, first delivered in 2005. This particular plane hadn’t been internally decorated yet, so it would be directly converted into a cargo plane and modified specifically for Barron’s motorcade. It would be able to directly drive the motorcade into the plane and still carry a lot of luggage and cargo.

Relatively speaking, the Gulfstream G550 has the best airworthiness. It only needs a runway of 1,800 meters for takeoff and landing, and even some Level 3 airports can meet this requirement.

The Boeing 737-900ER requires slightly higher conditions. The takeoff and landing runway distance needs to be at least 2,600 meters, requiring airports of 4C or higher to operate. But usually, the cities Barron visits should at least have 4C airports, or have one within a three-hour drive…

This is already more convenient than the Devonshire, a large Boeing 747-400ER. After all, the Boeing 747-400ER needs a runway length of at least 3,000 meters, and there are strict requirements for the width and thickness of the runway. Because the Devonshire has undergone internal modifications, the required conditions are even higher than ordinary 747-400ER passenger planes, basically requiring the highest level 4E airport to meet its takeoff and landing requirements.

In China, at present, only airports in first-tier cities such as Shanghai and Beijing can meet the Devonshire’s takeoff and landing requirements… This greatly limits the use of the plane. For example, before, whether he went to China or North America, when riding the Devonshire, he needed to first land at a 4E airport, and then take a motorcade or change planes to go to other places.

Of course, in terms of the comfort of long-distance flights, the Devonshire is naturally unmatched by other medium-sized aircraft.

As for the other two planes Barron mentioned he ordered…

They were actually pre-orders. Both planes are Gulfstream’s G650, a business jet that can reach speeds of almost Mach 1 (the speed of sound), and is hailed as the fastest business jet in the world.

However, this plane is still under development and is expected to begin test flights in the second half of next year.

As for delivery… it won’t be until 2012 at the earliest.

However, as the first person to order this plane, and ordering two at once… Gulfstream gave Barron a relatively large discount.

After all, this plane hasn’t been completed or started test flights yet, and ordering it now, especially with the customer being a super-rich person with exceptional global recognition, Gulfstream’s huge discount also carried some “advertising fee” meaning.

Anyway, Barron knew that this plane was very popular in his previous life, and countless well-known wealthy people had bought this “world’s fastest business jet.”

Therefore, he didn’t mind pre-ordering it. By then, his two G550s would probably be “relegated to the second line.”

And now, not only Barron, but also his wife Bonnie, as well as Ivanka, Tamaran, and Beatrice, often need private jets for long-distance travel.

For example, the Gulfstream G450 he bought earliest is almost always used by Fan Bingbing—she often needs to travel back and forth between China and North America.

In addition, some of Barron’s industry leaders often need business jets for convenient business trips. After all, time and efficiency mean money. Before, these people needed to charter or lease business jets to use. After Barron owns more private jets, of course, some of them can also be used by these people.

Barron even thought about whether he could directly buy an aircraft leasing company, which could also help him manage these private jets…

It seems that American International Group (AIG) has a rather large aircraft leasing company under its umbrella.

“Yes, Your Grace, the aircraft leasing business under American International Group is called International Lease Finance Corporation (ILFC). It currently owns or manages more than 1,000 aircraft and has orders for more than 200 aircraft, with a value of approximately 5.5 billion US dollars, making it the second-largest aircraft leasing company in the world…”

The next day, Janine Chang had already handed Barron the information on International Lease Finance Corporation, the aircraft leasing company under American International Group.

In fact, according to the information, due to the huge losses suffered in the subprime mortgage crisis, coupled with the fact that the aircraft leasing business is not AIG’s main business, AIG has always hoped to sell this business in order to obtain some funds and return to its “old business” – the insurance industry – as soon as possible.

After all, the liquidity and credit conditions brought about by the sale of International Lease Finance Corporation will enable AIG to focus more on its core business.

It is worth mentioning that China is International Lease Finance Corporation’s largest single market. Currently, the company has a fleet of 180 aircraft in China, accounting for 35% of the market share in China.

At present, aircraft leasing in China is mainly monopolized by foreign capital. The reason is that, according to regulations, Chinese airlines mainly purchase aircraft through unified national procurement, and most of their domestic leasing companies do not have the right to purchase freely.

Therefore, when these aircraft leasing companies conduct overseas procurement of aircraft, they are mostly served by overseas aircraft leasing companies.

The reason why Barron is interested in aircraft leasing companies is not only because his many private jets in the future need such companies to manage them. If that were the case, there would be no need to pay attention to “giants” like International Lease Finance Corporation with a market value of 5.5 billion US dollars. It would be fine to just find a small aircraft leasing company and buy it.

The main reason is that Barron knows that the aircraft leasing business is still very promising in the future, especially in the Asian market, including China, where its business growth is very considerable.

And coincidentally, International Lease Finance Corporation occupies a considerable share in the Asian market, including China.

And another point is that the aircraft leasing business is also a relatively important link for Barron’s future layout…

Anyway, his United Friend Insurance Group is currently negotiating with AIG on the acquisition of AIA Insurance. If International Lease Finance Corporation is added and acquired as a package, maybe he can get a good price…

Thinking of this, Barron instructed Janine Chang:

“Send the information on International Lease Finance Corporation to Finn Hudson…”

The Global Industry Investment Fund (GII Fund) will soon receive 10 billion US dollars in investment from Middle Eastern tycoons. Using this fund to acquire International Lease Finance Corporation is also relatively appropriate.

“Yes, Your Grace.”

Chapter 644: Advancing Side by Side

In fact, by now, the equity relationships of the various companies that Barron owns or holds shares in are no longer as clear as they were at the beginning.

Take Argos Retail Group, for example. It’s a publicly listed company, but apart from the public shares circulating in the secondary market, although most of its shares are still controlled by Barron, they are divided among Cavendish Trust, Rich23 Capital, Caesar Fund, and other shareholders…

All things considered, Argos Retail Group’s equity structure is already relatively simple compared to some other companies.

SEM Group, O2 Telecom, United Energy Group, Woaw Tech, Standard Chartered-Merrill Lynch Group, LOMX Group…

In these increasingly large companies, Cavendish Trust (DS Holdings), Global Industry Investment Fund (GIIF), Caesar Fund, British Fortune Times (BFT) Fund, Rich23 Capital, IC Capital, West Africa Holdings, and other shareholders appear on the shareholder lists to varying degrees.

Not to mention the shares held through some more discreet offshore companies.

These situations are deliberately orchestrated by Barron. Otherwise, his name would probably have already dominated the top of various wealth rankings and become a household name – back when the internet wasn’t widespread, many Chinese people knew Bill Gates’ name because he monopolized the position of the world’s richest man for many years.

Besides this reason, it’s also to ensure that Barron’s shareholding ratio in some of these companies isn’t too conspicuous…

Of course, there’s also the reason of “legal tax avoidance.”

Therefore, especially after this subprime mortgage crisis occurred, he used BFT Fund, GII Fund, Caesar Fund, and IC Capital to inject a lot of funds into companies where he had previously reduced his holdings and lowered his shareholding ratio, through means such as “convertible corporate bonds” or “private placements,” thereby completing the process of buying low after selling high. Similarly, it made the shareholding ratios of various institutions in these companies look more balanced…

Moreover, Barron has a dedicated team doing these things: “cross-shareholding,” “shell companies,” “offshore trusts”… Through these methods, Barron gradually hides behind the scenes and achieves the goal of retaining a significant portion of the profits in offshore companies to achieve legal tax avoidance…

The reason why various rich lists don’t necessarily reflect true rankings is that too many families have already used such methods to hide behind the scenes.

After all, the current mainstream European and American rules and laws are tailored for capital, only subject to adjustments due to other demands.

…

“Really? Sounds pretty good.”

“It’s beyond just pretty good, it’s excellent…”

Daisy said to Barron with admiration in her voice:

“I didn’t pay much attention to it before because in the beginning, the account was slightly losing money, but two months ago, it not only started making a profit but has been consistently doing so. Now the account’s profit has exceeded 100%…”

What she was discussing with Barron was the account that Barron had previously entrusted to Rami to manage.

During a previous conversation with Rami – the Palestinian teenager adopted by Barron – after learning that he was also interested in stock investment, Barron gave him an account with 50,000 pounds of capital.

In fact, Rami only has the operating rights to this account, and the account itself belongs to DS Investment Company.

Therefore, Daisy can see all of Rami’s operations and the account’s holdings in the background.

An account with 50,000 pounds of capital is, for Daisy at this time, if not insignificant, then certainly commonplace.

Therefore, she basically didn’t pay much attention to this account – after all, the securities investments that require her attention are on the scale of tens of billions.

It wasn’t until one day when she suddenly remembered this matter and took another look that she discovered this somewhat surprising operation.

The most crucial point is that Rami is only 16 years old.

However, in Barron’s eyes, this matter can only be considered slightly surprising, enough to keep a small portion of his attention on Rami.

“Just observe it occasionally for now. By the way, how’s Nvidia doing?”

“After a period of absorption, although the company’s stock is still at a low compared to last year’s stock price, the trading volume has decreased, and there aren’t many sell orders, so our absorption rate has also slowed down, otherwise, it would be easy to push up the stock price.”

Barron has never given up on the idea of increasing his shareholding in Nvidia.

After all, he knows how important this company will be in the future AI wave.

Just like when Nvidia’s stock price reached a high point before, even though Barron told Catherine Neville to sell her Nvidia stock, thereby making a fortune…

He himself didn’t take the opportunity to sell even a single share of his own Nvidia holdings.

After all, he knows that even if Nvidia’s stock price is cut in half due to the impact of the subprime mortgage crisis, the problem is that the stock price is the stock price, and the trading volume is a difficult thing to determine.

Compared to Nvidia’s future market value, the current price, even at its highest last year, can be called a “steal.” There’s no need for him to fuss over it.

Moreover, after obtaining some Nvidia shares from Vanguard Group, Barron only holds 24% of Nvidia’s shares through Rich23 Capital and Caesar Fund.

Now, taking advantage of the fact that Nvidia’s stock price has fallen by more than 45% from its highest price last year, Barron is still using DS Investment to continue absorbing Nvidia’s stock in the secondary market in the name of Cavendish Trust.

According to Daisy, she has helped Cavendish Trust absorb about 6% of Nvidia’s stock – of course, this part of the stock is held separately by two offshore companies held by this trust fund.

In this way, the proportion of Nvidia’s shares that Barron can currently control has reached 30%.

“Let’s leave it like this for now, just keep the pace. Next, I will arrange for someone to talk to Nvidia about a stock issuance.”

In fact, now is the best opportunity to increase the shareholding ratio in Nvidia. After this, the company will begin to take off due to the success of its new products.

Barron will proceed in multiple ways simultaneously, not only with the capital increase that Barron mentioned and Daisy’s slow absorption of its stock, but also with Caesar Fund contacting some institutions, preparing to directly purchase the Nvidia shares they hold.

Chapter 645: Choosing the Lesser of Two Evils

“Prime Minister, I believe the government’s actions are too slow. If we continue like this, we will inevitably enter a recession, and at a much faster rate than other countries. This would be disastrous not only for you but for the entire nation.”

Upon seeing Brown again, Baron directly expressed his dissatisfaction with the government’s slow response to the crisis.

“We need to be cautious when introducing policies. While injecting funds is necessary, the extent to which we do so is influenced by many factors. We don’t want to accelerate inflation as a result.”

From the slightly worried expression on Brown’s face, it was clear that the government was in a dilemma.

As mentioned before, since Margaret Thatcher, the British government has adhered to a liberal economic policy, and the government has always avoided excessive intervention in the market.

For example, in this subprime mortgage crisis, when Northern Rock bank experienced a run, the British government only decided to rescue it after multiple discussions and finally seeing that the situation was becoming increasingly critical.

In terms of the scale and intensity of the rescue, the British government was far behind the United States.

The previous British version of the “lifeline plan,” a 100 billion pound rescue plan targeting some mortgage borrowers, was only launched after joint lobbying by British financial giants, including Baron.

The reason for this situation was not only the British government’s consistent effort to avoid interfering with the “free market,” but also the fear that large-scale bailouts, leading to monetary “easing,” would exacerbate British inflation.

It wasn’t that the British government didn’t realize the danger of this subprime mortgage crisis. For example, two months ago, the current Chancellor of the Exchequer, Darling, admitted:

“The British economy is experiencing the most severe crisis in 60 years, and Britain is facing the most severe test since the end of World War II…”

Finance is the pillar industry of Britain, and the banking industry was the first to bear the brunt of this subprime mortgage crisis.

Since Northern Rock Bank experienced the first bank run in Britain in a century, the London stock market has been declining, with the largest declines occurring several times. Among them, bank stocks were the biggest losers, and even the share price of Standard Chartered Bank was affected.

In addition to the banking industry, the real estate industry was also greatly impacted. British house prices fell at the fastest rate since 1983, exceeding 15% within a year. In Britain, where 80% of families own property, the impact of this decline was widespread.

Even due to the decline in house prices, the funding for the 2012 London Olympics was insufficient, with a reported shortfall of up to 250 million pounds.

“According to my latest data, our inflation rate has risen to 4.5%. Consumer prices are soaring, and one person declares bankruptcy every four minutes. The Bank of England even predicts that the British unemployment population will reach 2 million before Christmas this year…”

Seeing Brown frown and talk about the current grim situation, Baron shook his head and said:

“But if we continue to do nothing, the situation will only get worse. Prime Minister, there is a Chinese saying, ‘Choose the lesser of two evils.’ The ‘neoliberalism’ that we have always regarded as the gold standard is not necessarily suitable for all situations. Now is the time for the government to take action…”

He looked at Brown and said firmly:

“You know, I initially shorted the British stock market, not just Britain, but Europe, America, Asia, you could say almost the entire global market. If it were just for personal gain, then I could stay out of it. After all, Standard Chartered Bank is in good condition, and I have enough funds to ensure that the companies I invest in can safely weather this crisis and even take the opportunity to expand. But I am British, and now is the time for us to stand up…”

“We will have relevant responses. In this regard, I also need to respect Darling’s opinion.”

Darling is the current Chancellor of the Exchequer. He took over this position after Brown became Prime Minister.

“In my opinion, Darling is still too cautious. Of course, this is understandable, after all, you were so outstanding in that position that everyone will always compare you. But things are always changing. What was once a good medicine may not be effective for the current ailment.”

The current predicament faced by Chancellor Darling, in the eyes of some, is similar to what Brown encountered in the past—when Brown was Chancellor of the Exchequer, Britain also encountered an economic crisis triggered by the bursting of the dot-com bubble, but Brown’s response allowed the British economy to weather it relatively smoothly.

And this time, Darling’s actions and the stabilizing effect on the British economy are naturally easily compared with his predecessor.

“I will talk to him again properly, Duke.”

“I hope the government can act faster. After all, confidence is the most important thing for the market now. Only when the situation is stabilized can it gradually improve, and banks and finance are the key…”

Baron raised his glass, clinked it with Brown’s, and said:

“I will help you mediate the friction with Iceland.”

The friction between Britain and Iceland that Baron mentioned was also caused by this subprime mortgage crisis…

A total of 108 local governments, including England, Wales, and Scotland, had previously deposited 842 million pounds in Icelandic banks—some local governments even deposited the money used to pay the salaries of municipal system employees into Icelandic banks to earn interest.

As a result, when the subprime mortgage crisis came, the Icelandic financial system was hit by the global financial crisis and was on the verge of collapse. The Icelandic government had to take over its three major banks but did not promise to guarantee the return of the British local governments’ deposits.

Therefore, Britain retaliated by freezing the assets of relevant Icelandic banks in Britain under the anti-terrorism law, so that Brown and Icelandic Prime Minister Haarde publicly accused each other from their respective capitals, setting the first example of the financial crisis affecting national relations.

Prior to this, Iceland’s sovereign wealth fund also invested in DS Group’s funds, and Baron was able to contact the other party, so he would say words to help Brown ease the relationship between the two sides—after all, no matter what, the problem always has to be solved.

“I hope you can help stabilize the mood of the stock market, Duke. Although the bailout plan needs to be discussed and decided, if you can do this, then some of our relevant public fund funds can be gradually managed by DS Group…”

Just like Baron directly told Brown that he was shorting the global stock market, including Britain, it was because there was nothing to hide. Because shorting itself is not a negative term for Britain, which has a financial center like London, or for the entire Europe and the United States. Moreover, the shorting carried out by DS Group’s funds may not be known to ordinary people, but as Prime Minister, Brown can still obtain relevant information.

Even so, the meaning in Brown’s words was very clear, that is, although shorting is Baron’s freedom, he still hopes that the other party can give up continuing such actions so that the British stock market can stabilize.

Of course, in return, he also offered an exchange of benefits, that is, the management rights of some public funds managed by the British government can be gradually handed over to DS Group—of course, these assets are currently definitely losing money due to the subprime mortgage crisis, and Brown also hopes to recover some losses through the management of DS Group. If this goal is achieved, it can be called a win-win situation.

“As you wish, Prime Minister, but relying on our strength alone, the effect will definitely be limited. The market is now waiting for the government’s bailout, so that we can truly give everyone confidence.”

At the end of the conversation between the two, Baron once again reiterated his expectations.

Chapter 646: Rescue Plan

“Last month, after the United States launched a 700 billion dollar bailout plan, the London stock market actually experienced increased panic and a rare plunge, with stocks in the Bank of England system suffering the most…”

After meeting with Brown, Barron went to the DS Financial Center and heard Daisy’s summary:

“This has also expanded our profits. To date, we have invested a total of 10 billion pounds in shorting the British and European stock markets, including the Caesar Fund and the Buck Fund (investment funds established with funds from the Cavendish Trust and the Devonshire Family Trust). We have already made a profit of over 24 billion pounds…”

Compared to the American Black Swan Fund, which had an initial investment of over 5 billion dollars and now has profits approaching 100 billion dollars, the DS Group’s shorting in Britain and Europe, with only about 2.4 times the profit, is indeed not high, and even somewhat low.

But there’s no way around it. After all, in America, the Black Swan Fund initially directly shorted CDO bonds and bought CDS swap insurance, which was extremely profitable. In addition, the subsequent shorting of the stock market was able to use higher leverage due to the larger scale of the American market. It must be admitted that although London is still one of the world’s financial centers, its total capital scale and the breadth of participation are far lower than New York’s.

Even so, if the Black Swan Fund’s capital were increased to 10 billion dollars, the profit margin it could obtain would actually decrease slightly. The original scale of shorting is more suitable for a capital of 5 billion dollars.

As for Europe, their shorting investments are mainly aimed at the stock market. Even if the scope is the entire Europe, they need to be more cautious. Barron is satisfied with the current returns.

“Start closing out the short positions in the British market. As for Europe… we can keep a certain percentage of the positions and adjust them according to the situation.”

Barron had already promised Brown to “stabilize the British stock market,” and besides, by now, this wave of decline in the British stock market was basically in place.

The fattest fish head and body have already been eaten, so there is no need to insist on eating the tail.

Next, he needs to consider that with the upcoming large-scale market rescue policies of the British government, he can observe the market situation and carry out bottom-fishing and position building. Yes, including the government’s public fund funds that he is about to receive, waiting for the market to recover.

…

Just one week after Barron met with Brown, the British government announced a series of market rescue policies.

First, they announced that they would raise the upper limit of guarantees for all personal bank deposits from 35,000 pounds to 50,000 pounds. This can only be regarded as an appetizer, mainly to stabilize some depositors in British banks, which can reduce the probability of bank runs occurring again.

Then, the British government announced that it would buy shares in several banks and provide guarantees for merging banks to alleviate the credit crunch.

This included the possibility that the government would inject more than 50 billion pounds into the eight largest banking institutions in Britain. The Bank of England would provide another 200 billion pounds in short-term loans, and the government would provide 250 billion pounds to guarantee medium-term debt, in order to enhance interbank liquidity and help restore confidence in banks.

After this policy was announced, at the request of the banks, the British government announced in early December that it would inject 37 billion pounds into the Royal Bank of Scotland, Lloyds TSB, and Halifax Bank of Scotland, partially nationalizing them.

Among them, the British Treasury will exchange 20 billion pounds for 60% of the shares of the Royal Bank of Scotland, and inject 17 billion pounds into the merging Lloyds TSB and Halifax Bank of Scotland, holding 40% of the shares of the merged bank.

At this time, Barclays Bank was still holding on, hoping to seize the time to raise 7 billion pounds to supplement its capital. If Barclays Bank accepts government assistance, then the British government’s bailout fund will reach 20 billion pounds. However, faced with the “stringent” conditions of this subsidy, Barclays Bank hopes to find a way to solve the liquidity problem on its own first.

Of course, with the implementation of this round of bailout plan, the British government also required Halifax Bank of Scotland to raise 12 billion pounds, the Royal Bank of Scotland to raise 20 billion pounds, Lloyds TSB to raise 5 billion pounds, and Barclays to raise 8 billion pounds to make up for bad debts. Banks that are injected with capital must restore their mortgage and small business loans to 2007 levels.

As one of the policies of this round of bailout plan, the Bank of England announced that it would start cutting interest rates. This would be the third interest rate cut by the British central bank in the past two months, and the sixth interest rate cut by the British central bank since February of this year, reducing the benchmark interest rate from 5.5% to 2%!

This also means that Britain will begin to implement a quantitative easing monetary policy.

“Looking at the economic crises that have occurred in the world over the past 120 years, each economic crisis usually has a 2 to 3 year economic downturn and a loss of 5% to 10% of GDP growth. And this economic crisis, although it currently appears that GDP growth has entered a trough, it will still take some time for the economy to truly recover…”

What Barron held in his hand at this time was an analysis article made by his think tank on the current progress of the subprime mortgage crisis and the subsequent economic forecast.

Although he knew the detailed process of the subprime mortgage crisis in the original timeline, after all, in this world, the process of the subprime mortgage crisis has been affected by him, and there has been an obvious acceleration.

Therefore, he also needs to determine the subsequent actions through more data and analysis.

“From this government’s bailout plan, it can be seen that it is indeed greater than originally thought…”

Davis, the CEO of Standard Chartered-Merrill Lynch Group, which has become the largest listed bank in Britain besides HSBC Holdings, is naturally very concerned about the government’s bailout plan. Even if Standard Chartered-Merrill Lynch Group does not need any government assistance, from the point of view of the government increasing the liquidity of the financial industry, it is also very beneficial to their Standard Chartered Bank.

“This is the result of multi-party cooperation, and the Prime Minister also realizes that if he doesn’t try his best to maintain market confidence, then even if it’s a race to the bottom, Britain’s performance will be the more prominent one. This is not good news for him and the entire Labour Party. After all, in the local council elections in May of this year, the Labour Party has clearly fallen behind.”

Barron’s words were recognized by Davis:

“Indeed, not only the public, but also the bankers are complaining about the government’s slow action…”

He took off his glasses, took out a glasses cloth from the inner pocket of his suit, carefully wiped them, and said to Barron:

“Your Grace, the most anxious person now is probably Barclays Bank. Mr. Diamond found me after yesterday’s meeting to talk about Barclays Bank’s financing matters…”

Robert Diamond is the president of Barclays Bank. Yesterday, he and Davis, as well as some of Britain’s major bank managers, attended a meeting initiated by the government on this bank bailout and ensuring bank liquidity.

After that meeting, Robert Diamond took the opportunity to talk to Davis about their financing plan.

Due to the government’s requirements, Barclays Bank needs to come up with as much as 8 billion pounds as soon as possible to solve their bad debt problems. Otherwise, after the Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds TSB, Barclays Bank will also need to accept government assistance and partially nationalize it.

They naturally do not want to end up like this. Because the bailout is not free. In order to show the public that the government’s bailout is not paying for the mistakes of the bankers, those banks that accept the bailout need to accept stringent conditions.

For example, as a condition for obtaining government bailout funds, the presidents and chairmen of the board of directors of the Royal Bank of Scotland and Halifax Bank of Scotland will be forced to resign. Executives of bailed-out banks will not receive cash bonuses this year, and their bonuses in the future will be based on company performance in the form of stock…

If it were not really impossible, then Robert Diamond would naturally not want to end up like this himself. Therefore, in order to save themselves, they are preparing to obtain some urgently needed funds through financing.

Not only Davis of Standard Chartered-Merrill Lynch Group, but I believe that at this time, Barclays Bank is also contacting other possible investors to help them obtain funds to avoid “being bailed out.”

“Is that so? What kind of plan did they propose?”

Chapter 647: They’ll Be Anxious

“They’re hoping to secure at least £8 billion in funding to deal with non-performing assets, bringing their financial situation in line with government requirements so they can obtain further credit support…”

Davis said to Barron:

“Part of this funding they hope to obtain through issuing new shares. However, as you know, Barclays’ share price has fallen significantly compared to last year, so they want to complete the issuance at a reasonable price, which will not only boost the share price but also gain the support of other shareholders.”

“If that’s the case, why not buy on the secondary market? Of course, I know that absorbing shares on the stock market alone won’t get them a large percentage, but if they still hope to issue shares at an ideal price, I’m afraid there won’t be many takers.”

Hearing Barron’s complaint, Davis smiled and said:

“That’s indeed the case. Many people aren’t very interested in their plan right now. After all, everyone is being very cautious at this time. But time is of the essence; I believe they’ll face reality soon…”

Like the Royal Bank of Scotland, which was once the second-largest listed bank in England, but in the current crisis, the government injected £20 billion and took 60% of their shares. The reason is that their share price had also fallen too much, and the government’s injection naturally couldn’t offer too high a premium, otherwise, it would cause public dissatisfaction.

But similarly, if Barron or other private companies were to inject capital, it would be completely impossible to get such terms.

Because the management and shareholders of the Royal Bank of Scotland understand that the British government has no great interest in holding their shares for the long term. Injecting capital by holding shares is solely to bail out the banking industry. Therefore, they can return the government’s investment in the future under relatively lenient conditions to get those shares back.

If it were other private companies, it would be a completely different story.

The same applies to Barclays. Of course, accepting government investment is also an option, but the harsh conditions imposed on the bank’s management that would come with it are definitely unacceptable to them.

This requires them to find an investment plan that is acceptable to both shareholders and other investors; otherwise, in the end, they will have no choice but to accept government investment.

Barron is quite interested in investing in Barclays. After all, purely from a return perspective, taking advantage of the current opportunity to invest in it could yield good returns in the future.

Moreover, Barclays is one of the oldest banks in England and has a significant position in the entire British financial industry. Obtaining a certain percentage of its shares would also be beneficial for Barron to expand his influence in the British financial industry.

The current problem is the terms of investing in this bank…

But as Davis said, time is running out for Barclays; they will be anxious…

…

Besides causing tremendous damage to the financial industry and related sectors, the subprime crisis also has a significant impact on ordinary people.

On the one hand, the unemployment rate is constantly rising. In a crisis, even companies that are not on the verge of bankruptcy will first cut costs. Large-scale layoffs or the outright dismissal of entire departments are very normal. This leads to people who lose their jobs losing their source of income, and re-employment is also very difficult because jobs have been drastically reduced.

On the other hand, there is inflation.

This is what the British government was worried about before, especially against the backdrop of soaring crude oil prices this year. Rising oil prices have led to rising prices of consumer goods, but in comparison, incomes have not only not risen but have instead been reduced by the crisis, which increases the pressure on people’s lives.

However, from the perspective of the Argos retail group, this is also an opportunity for them to develop.

Although Amazon has begun to enter some Western European countries, currently, Argos.com’s market share in the e-commerce industry still far exceeds Amazon’s.

After all, Argos.com has a first-mover advantage and is essentially “fighting on its home turf.”

Moreover, its model is different from Amazon’s. Amazon, at present, has opened up its European market to third-party vendors. It can be said that a large proportion of the goods on its European site tend to be in a consumer-to-consumer format.

And at this time, there is no cross-border e-commerce. The source of goods for Amazon in the European market is mostly local suppliers.

The Argos retail group is different. From earlier on, they had begun to build an increasingly complete supply system in China. With the help of Argos’s capital and technology, most of the suppliers in this system can ensure that the cost-effectiveness of their goods is better than that of European goods.

And although Argos.com also has some third-party suppliers, more than 70% of the goods still come from Argos’s own supply system.

Because in the European market, using the Argos retail group’s own brand, even if the profit margin on some goods can be described as generous, it is difficult for consumers to compare prices with goods on other sales platforms.

Under the influence of the subprime crisis, cheap goods have become very popular everywhere, and the Argos retail group has a very strong competitive advantage in this regard.

It can be said that in terms of cost-effectiveness, even Amazon, which has begun to attract users through various discount activities, cannot shake Argos.com’s leading position.

Of course, Amazon’s user growth data is also not bad. The most affected is European brick-and-mortar retail. In terms of cost, these brick-and-mortar retailers are at a disadvantage. Especially for some daily necessities, small appliances, and other goods that do not need to be tried on or used on-site, they have begun to lose a large number of users.

In addition, some local e-commerce companies in various countries have also been squeezed by Argos.com and Amazon for their living space. With their financing becoming increasingly difficult and their cash-burning model unable to continue, there have been particularly many small European e-commerce companies that have recently announced their bankruptcy.

“Before Christmas, Costco will complete its shareholder vote. At that time, our acquisition of this company will be able to begin…”

Nathan Ellington, the CEO of the Argos retail group, is very confident about the acquisition of Costco. Of course, with the financial support of Caesar Fund, the Argos retail group, which already owns more than 50% of Costco’s shares, has basically completed its control of the company. But they hope to incorporate Costco into the Argos retail group’s system so that it can occupy a certain scale in the North American retail market.

“Costco’s management will be retained. We will not interfere too much with its operations. The only thing is that we will strengthen Costco’s e-commerce business. This has been proven by Amazon’s success, that in America, especially in big cities, e-commerce still has advantages.”

The situation in Europe and America is similar: e-commerce is more successful in densely populated big cities. As for some other sparsely populated areas, just the delivery of goods is a problem.

People there have also developed the habit of driving to nearby large supermarkets to shop on a large scale and then stock up.

Why is e-commerce so successful in China? The population of just one big city there is higher than the population of one state in America. Population density is also conducive to the development of e-commerce.

Now that Amazon has come to Europe to compete with Argos.com, the Argos retail group is naturally happy to go directly to the North American market by acquiring Costco and seize Amazon’s market share.

Chapter 648: Barclays Financing

The financing negotiations with Barclays Bank progressed rapidly—this was inevitable, as the deadline set by the British government was fast approaching. Ultimately, Barclays Bank had to make some concessions on the price of the share issuance. However, the final share issuance price still had a premium, albeit less than 10%…

Finally, Standard Chartered-Merrill Lynch Group, Global Industrial Investments Fund (GII Fund), and the Saudi Public Investment Fund would jointly invest in Barclays Bank.

Standard Chartered-Merrill Lynch Group contributed 4 billion pounds, while the GII Fund and the Saudi Public Investment Fund each contributed 2 billion pounds, totaling 8 billion pounds, in exchange for the newly issued shares of Barclays Bank.

Following this, Standard Chartered-Merrill Lynch Group would hold 14% of Barclays Bank’s shares, while the GII Fund and the Saudi Public Investment Fund would each hold 7%.

Standard Chartered-Merrill Lynch Group would appoint one member to Barclays Bank’s board of directors, possessing one voting right, while the GII Fund and the Saudi Public Investment Fund would not interfere with Barclays Bank’s management.

As an obligation of becoming a major shareholder, Standard Chartered Bank, under the Standard Chartered-Merrill Lynch Group, would also provide Barclays Bank with a credit line of 2 billion pounds.

The reason for investing in Barclays Bank in this way was that Barclays did not want this financing to excessively impact their board structure—after all, if Standard Chartered-Merrill Lynch Group had undertaken this financing alone, they would have obtained nearly 30% of Barclays Bank’s shares, becoming its largest shareholder.

If that were the case, it would be better to take it a step further and directly acquire Barclays Bank.

However, as two of the largest four commercial banks in Britain, their regulatory agencies would certainly not allow Standard Chartered-Merrill Lynch and Barclays Bank to merge. Furthermore, a merger between the two would not have significant synergistic effects—not only would many of Standard Chartered-Merrill Lynch Group’s businesses overlap with those of Barclays Bank, but it would also, to some extent, drag down Standard Chartered-Merrill Lynch Group’s balance sheet…

After several mergers and acquisitions, the more important thing for Standard Chartered-Merrill Lynch Group was to seize the time to complete the integration of the various businesses it had acquired, and it was not yet suitable for further expansion.

“Thank you very much, Your Grace. Our friendship will be as solid as a rock.”

During this financing process of Barclays Bank, the president of the Saudi Public Investment Fund and Prince Alwaleed came to London and visited Baron.

They also expressed their gratitude to Baron for introducing their sovereign wealth fund into the financing of Barclays Bank.

In everyone’s impression, Middle Eastern oil countries, including Saudi Arabia, are rolling in money, and their actions are astonishing.

Especially later, these countries frequently made large-scale investments in technology companies and new energy…

The main reason for this comes from these countries’ sense of crisis.

After all, the environment in these Middle Eastern countries is not good, and they have only become “nouveau riche” because of oil. Therefore, they are particularly aware of the crisis and fear that they will fall from grace when there is no more oil or when oil is replaced by new energy.

Therefore, the wealth they have obtained from selling oil resources has been actively invested in various ways.

But unfortunately, for well-known reasons, many of their investments, especially those in America… are constantly being harvested by the other party.

It was also after this subprime mortgage crisis that many Middle Eastern oil-rich countries began to divert funds to Europe and Asia because Wall Street’s behavior was too ugly.

Being able to invest in Barclays Bank this time, in the view of the Saudi Public Investment Fund, is a very good opportunity.

After all, finance is a pillar industry of Britain, and Barclays Bank, as one of the four major commercial banks in Britain, is a very good investment target even if it is currently facing a crisis—then again, if it were not for this subprime mortgage crisis and the difficulties Barclays Bank encountered, how could it be their turn to invest?

And Baron is also considered to be more prudent in his actions—at least that’s how these Middle Eastern tycoons see it. After all, Wall Street capital always wants to fleece them, but the funds they invest with Baron have always had stable profits, so in their eyes, Baron is their “true friend.”

In a word, it all depends on the contrast with others.

“I have seen your handling of those banks’ ‘non-performing assets.’ It is very bold, which also shows that you are continuously optimistic about the future of British real estate, Your Grace.”

Unexpectedly, Prince Alwaleed was able to notice Baron’s entry into the housing rental industry not long ago. However, this is not too surprising, as his Kingdom Investment Company is also involved in many real estate projects and has been buying real estate in London on a large scale.

“Economic crises always have their cycles. Based on Britain’s foundation, the future real estate market will definitely recover. Indeed, I am very certain of this, but it is difficult to specifically predict how long this will take, at least more than two years…”

Hearing Baron’s answer, Prince Alwaleed nodded:

“So during this period, renting out properties can also maintain a certain income, and your move to securitize these properties is indeed very creative, reducing capital investment.”

“Actually, this kind of thing has already appeared…”

Baron was referring to the securitization of those properties of Cavendish Asset Management Company.

After all, the reason for this subprime mortgage crisis is the same principle as those subprime mortgage bonds CDS, but bonds based on subprime mortgages are riskier than real estate.

“I have strictly controlled the risks involved, and with the basic interest rate constantly decreasing, even a slightly lower rate of return is enough to attract a lot of funds.”

“If possible, can I join this project?”

Prince Alwaleed was naturally not just here to talk to Baron about this matter. It seems that he is very interested in this and wants to invest in it:

“In fact, it’s not just me. Some of my friends are also looking for suitable real estate projects, and I think your project is very promising. At that time, these funds will come in through our company…”

Baron did not intend to refuse Prince Alwaleed’s proposal, as well as the proposals of some Middle Eastern funds, to join this project. This could help his Cavendish Asset Management Company to expand its scale during this time, and it could also help Standard Chartered Bank and other banks involved in the mortgage crisis to deal with their “non-performing assets”…

Just…

“Of course, that’s possible. But it needs to be stated in advance that the increase in funds needs to be gradual. After all, we are also slowly improving the process for housing rentals, and the renovation and expansion of housing sources still takes some time.”

Chapter 649: The Temptation of Finance

Before Christmas, on December 13th, the movie version of “Downton Abbey” was already released in England.

In fact, the movie version of “Downton Abbey” itself wasn’t a big production, with a production cost of only $20 million. After all, Barron knew that in the original timeline, the first “Downton Abbey” movie was a great success. But when the production team ambitiously increased the investment and produced the second movie, the result was a complete flop…

This also proved that this series of movies really didn’t have the potential to recoup costs by relying on big productions. Or rather, if you want to make money, one movie is enough. Even if you plan to release a second one, it’s best not to be too self-satisfied and still control costs.

Of course, one of the reasons was that in the original timeline, the main actors of “Downton Abbey” only signed a contract for the first movie. By the time the second movie was being made, those actors had already “made a name for themselves,” leading to a significant increase in their salaries, which greatly increased the production costs.

Anyway, after the movie was released, Barron specially booked a showing and invited some of his friends to watch it. The final reviews were very good.

After all, the television version of “Downton Abbey” had already been broadcast in England for five years, a total of six seasons. Even dignitaries, including Her Majesty the Queen, were fans of this series, and its base in England was very solid.

This can be seen from the movie’s box office performance. In its opening week, “Downton Abbey” topped the English box office charts.

It seems that, at least based on the performance of this movie, it won’t be too different from the original timeline’s global box office of over $200 million, and there’s even a possibility of exceeding it.

According to his previous habit, when the weather in England gradually turned cold, Barron would take his family to Australia, where the climate was warmer.

However, because his second son with Bonnie, Richard, was still too young, they didn’t set off too early this year.

He could take advantage of this time to handle some matters in England.

Such as the expansion of the British Automotive Group…

Before this, the British automotive industry had experienced a rather awkward history. England, once the second-largest automobile producer after America, saw its automobile brands gradually being acquired. With the bankruptcy of Rover, the last remaining independent British car manufacturer, it could be said that from 2005 onwards, Great Britain had lost all of its automobile brands…

Fortunately, Barron stepped in later and bought back some of the brands, forming the British Automotive Group, which managed to save some face for the British automotive industry.

Currently, the British Automotive Group seems to be relatively successful. In the luxury car segment, after the launch of Bentley’s new flagship model, sales began to grow steadily through vigorous marketing. Aston Martin’s luxury SUV model has also been well-received by the market. The Land Rover and Jaguar brands can still compete with Mercedes-Benz and BMW for the time being…

Under these circumstances, the British Automotive Group has received strong support from the British government. However, the government has also consistently hoped that the British Automotive Group can expand its manufacturing scale in the UK.

As mentioned before, due to the subprime mortgage crisis, the British government expects that England will have an additional 2 million unemployed people by Christmas this year. What the government is seeking now is to increase employment opportunities, especially stable, high-paying jobs, to maintain social stability.

Of course, they will provide the British Automotive Group with the support it deserves for this.

However, the production lines for the Land Rover and Jaguar brands of the British Automotive Group will mainly be located in China and South America, where production costs can be reduced. After all, in the competition with brands like Mercedes-Benz and BMW, cost-effectiveness will be a very important factor.

Next, in the UK, they will expand Bentley’s production line at the Crewe factory and Aston Martin’s SUV production line.

In fact, the main reason for the decline of the British automotive industry is that British automobile brands were too conservative. In order to maintain the brand’s image, they insisted on handcrafting and production, and paid too much attention to the quality of raw materials. This greatly lagged behind foreign brands that vigorously promoted assembly lines in the competition for mid-range and low-end cars.

Just like Bentley and Aston Martin, which still insist on handcrafting, this can certainly maintain the British brand’s image of “noble luxury,” but its production volume is hard to describe…

After all, for a country’s automobile industry, the most important force is the assembly line production of mid-range and low-end cars, whose sales can support the entire upstream and downstream industrial chain.

Handcrafting, at most, produces a few thousand or tens of thousands of vehicles a year, which is completely incomparable to the hundreds of thousands or millions of vehicles produced by those automobile groups each year in terms of promoting the industrial chain.

But in terms of production costs, just in terms of labor costs, England is indeed not suitable for the British Automotive Group’s layout in this area at this time. They can only increase the production of luxury car brands such as Bentley and Aston Martin.

However, in addition to this, the British Automotive Group will also add an engine production base, specifically for the production of Cosworth’s new high-end engines, which can indeed increase a lot of jobs.

“Jobs don’t just appear out of thin air…”

Barron complained to Julia Moore after meeting with the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

“Without enough policy, who would be willing to expand the scale of factories? After all, everyone likes to make money more easily through finance. The salaries of ordinary workers in England are so high that they require more profitable and advanced products to maintain them, but the manufacturing industry in England simply doesn’t have any competitiveness now!”

Just as he said, the financial industry has always been the pillar industry of England. Not only others, but Barron himself, after easily earning such huge profits through financial investment, especially shorting the subprime mortgage crisis, even with the memories and experience of his previous life, he was almost lost in the thrill of making “quick money”…

But he finally understood that making money through financial investment is, in essence, a kind of “plunder” of other countries. Perhaps when the West dominates global finance, this method can indeed easily allow one to “earn money while lying down,” but how long can this situation last?

If it’s just like this, then I’m afraid that the Devonshire family, in the future, will gradually fade away like the Rothschilds and Morgans after the financial order is replaced.

How powerful was the Rothschild family in the past? But after just one World War, coupled with mistakes in decision-making—withdrawing from the American market at the beginning of the last century—they have now withdrawn from the center stage of the world and can only retreat to Europe.

After this subprime mortgage crisis, they will probably be weakened a lot again.

Of course, Barron also has some “credit” in this. After all, although the Rothschild family had already been driven out of America, they still had considerable influence in the financial industries of countries such as England and France. But with Barron’s acquisition of Northern Rock Bank and his investment in banks including Barclays and Natixis, their influence will be further diminished.

Chapter 650: The Unlucky Earl of Booth.

On the way back to Kensington from the SEM building, the Christmas atmosphere was noticeably thickening.

Not only had the shops on the street begun to decorate with Christmas ornaments, but Christmas trees and images of Santa Claus were also visible everywhere.

At Barron’s home in Kensington, a freshly cut Christmas tree stood in the hall, its colorful lights illuminating the room with a festive glow.

“I heard ITV is planning to acquire an Australian television station?”

Bonnie asked, handing Richard to Barron. She sat beside her husband as he played with their youngest son.

“Yes, that’s the intention. Ten Network in Australia is in very poor financial shape and is looking for a buyer…”

Ten Network is Australia’s third-largest free-to-air television network. Since last year, the station has been operating at a loss. According to estimates, if this trend cannot be reversed, Ten Network will go bankrupt within two years.

After news of Ten Network’s potential sale spread, several companies expressed interest. In addition to SEM Group’s ITV, America’s Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) and FOX were also considering bidding for the station.

Australia’s broadcast television market is limited, but because of their shared heritage, British and American television programs are relatively popular there. Therefore, companies hoping to expand into the international market by acquiring the station are also from Britain and America.

According to Barron’s investigations, although CBS and FOX are also interested in Ten Network, the current economic situation is not good. Their bids for Ten Network have been relatively cautious; neither has even exceeded $60 million. Relatively speaking, ITV is more competitive.

After all, CBS and FOX already have a considerable audience in Australia. By acquiring Ten Network, ITV could enter the Australian market in one fell swoop. Therefore, ITV is determined to succeed this time.

Currently, BBC, ITV, and Sky are still the three giants in British television.

However, having secured the largest share of Premier League broadcasting rights, ITV has surpassed Sky to become the second-largest television station in Britain.

Furthermore, it has surpassed BBC in both sports and variety programming. It could be said that BBC’s overall market share is only slightly higher than ITV’s, but its commercial revenue is lower than ITV’s and Sky’s.

In this situation, ITV naturally needs to start trying to expand into overseas markets.

“Honey, about the Earl of Booth.…”

“Uh, you mean the so-called ‘illegitimate child’ thing?”

Seeing Bonnie nod, Barron said, “Don’t worry, I’m sure he can handle it.”

This was quite a melodramatic event that had occurred recently.

A woman showed up at the Earl of Booth’s residence with a child, claiming that the child was her and the Earl of Booth’s illegitimate son…

The key point was that the Earl of Booth. also looked completely bewildered, because he didn’t recognize the woman at all. People familiar with the Earl of Booth, such as Barron and Bonnie, and even the Countess, were very surprised, because it was common knowledge that the Earl of Booth’s preferences…

But what was even more surprising was that, after DNA comparison, the child was indeed a direct descendant of the Earl of Booth..

This was very strange…

But the Earl of Booth. was no pushover. After various investigations, he finally learned the truth: the woman had a close relationship with the Earl of Booth’s former personal valet.

Barron had met his previous personal valet…

When Barron first met the Earl of Booth, the valet was by his side, but later, for some reason, he replaced the people around him.

But the relationship between the two was naturally extraordinary.

Therefore, the valet had planned to obtain the Earl of Booth’s… “seed.” This “seed” was then planted in the woman.

What happened next was clear. The woman gave birth to the child and then brought the child to “recognize” his father.

After all, with the Earl of Booth’s status, not to mention anything else, a generous amount of child support would be guaranteed.

And indeed, in the end, the Earl of Booth. could only use money to resolve the matter. After all, his special preferences, although not strange in British aristocratic circles, were problematic because the Earl of Booth. had a family and several children. If this kind of thing were to spread, it would definitely damage their family’s reputation.

And frankly speaking, if this “strange anecdote” were really exposed, then the Booth. family would definitely become a topic of conversation in high society, which the Earl of Booth. would naturally not allow.

So the only thing he could do was give a sum of money and sign a relevant confidentiality agreement with the other party to settle the matter.

Bonnie’s mentioning this matter to Barron was naturally not without purpose. She was using it to remind Barron not to give her such a surprise one day.

After all, in the case of the Earl of Booth, he and the Countess had a certain tacit understanding, and this kind of thing would not affect their marital relationship.

But Barron’s situation was different. Bonnie was not completely unaware of some of Barron’s activities outside.

The existence of such things was one aspect, but to make it like the Earl of Booth’s situation was probably not acceptable to everyone.

This was unavoidable for people with considerable wealth and status like Barron. No one knew what the women who threw themselves at them were hoping to achieve.

In Europe and America, there were too many cases of a woman who had a “one-night stand” with a wealthy person or celebrity and then disappeared from their life for a period of time, only to return with a child to claim paternity.

It was all for money…

Otherwise, why would a certain rap star later need to squirt hot sauce into used condoms after sleeping with those women? It was to prevent someone from stealing the condom and planting a seed…

Of course, for Barron now, not just anyone could study knowledge with him. They were all carefully selected…

As for the question of whether seeds would be planted…

This was not a problem for him. Even if those women who could study knowledge with him did get pregnant, he could completely resolve it.

Of course, he couldn’t say these things directly to Bonnie. He shifted the topic to other areas in a timely manner.

“By the way, honey, are we still going to Australia this year?”

Chapter 651: United Bank for Africa

The New Year’s Day of 2009 had just passed, and it was Friday, January 2nd.

Barclays Bank announced that in response to profit losses, it would cut branches and sell its African division. Barclays Bank President Robert Diamond said that their focus in the next stage would return to the British and American markets.

The reason for making this decision, in addition to the impact of the subprime mortgage crisis, which required Barclays Bank to increase cash flow, was also because the devaluation of the South African currency led to Barclays Bank’s African business performing unsatisfactorily in the past two years.

Barclays Bank’s African business is mainly Barclays Africa Group. In 2005, Barclays Bank invested 4.5 billion US dollars to acquire 56.4% of the shares of Amalgamated Banks of South Africa (ABSA), and then increased its shareholding to 62.3% and renamed it Barclays Africa Group.

Barclays Africa Group is headquartered in Johannesburg, the capital of South Africa. It is a listed company on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange and the fourth largest bank in South Africa, ranking after Standard Bank of South Africa, FirstRand Bank of South Africa, and Nedbank of South Africa. It has 45,000 employees and 1,267 branches, spread across 12 countries, including Kenya, Tanzania, Mozambique, Ghana, and Uganda.

Finally, West African United Bank reached an agreement with Barclays Bank to acquire Barclays Bank’s 62.3% stake in Barclays Africa Group for 3.5 billion US dollars.

Furthermore, West African United Bank will also acquire 17.7% of the shares of Barclays Africa Group held by another shareholder of Barclays Africa Group, Amalgamated Banks of South Africa Group, for 1 billion US dollars.

After completing this acquisition, West African United Bank will hold 80% of the shares of Barclays Africa Group.

The funds required for this acquisition will be funded by West African Group and Kolo National Development Investment Company, shareholders of West African United Bank, in a ratio of 8:2 according to their shareholding.

After that, West African United Bank will merge its business with Barclays Africa Group to form United Bank for Africa (UBA).

After the merger, West African Group and Kolo National Development Investment Company will hold a total of 78.77% of the shares of United Bank for Africa.

Moreover, United Bank for Africa will have branches in more than 15 countries in Africa, spread across the African region, thus becoming an international bank in Africa.

In addition, United Bank for Africa will be listed on the Bulita Stock Exchange within this year, thus becoming a company dually listed on the Bulita Stock Exchange and the Johannesburg Stock Exchange.

“West African United Bank is the first bank in Africa to cooperate with payment software such as Paypal and Klarna Pay. We have always been committed to using technology to improve people’s lives, and will next serve more international African people…”

Hector Petre, President of United Bank for Africa, said in an interview:

“After the merger is completed, we will also serve more African companies, help them with financing and development, and contribute to the economic take-off of Africa.”

Before this acquisition of Barclays Africa Group, West African United Bank had already established branches in Ghana, Benin, Burkina Faso, and Côte d’Ivoire, countries surrounding Kolo, and the merged United Bank for Africa will continue to expand its business throughout Africa.

And support more high-quality companies to list and finance on the Bulita Stock Exchange.

It is worth mentioning that in this economic crisis, the currencies of most African countries, including the West African CFA franc, have depreciated significantly, but because of sufficient foreign exchange and gold reserves, the exchange rate of the Kolo shilling has remained relatively strong - a slight depreciation is also to maintain the export of goods produced in Kolo.

In addition, Kolo’s increasingly open monetary policy has made the Kolo shilling a “hard currency” that residents of many surrounding countries are willing to hold.

This has made the Bulita Stock Exchange increasingly attractive for some companies to finance, and the number of foreign investors opening accounts for investment on the Bulita Stock Exchange is also constantly increasing.

In order to serve overseas investors, the Bulita Stock Exchange has established branches in the capitals of some surrounding countries to provide local investors with services including account opening and redemption. Thanks to the technical support of LOMX Group, users can even complete transactions online directly after opening an account.

Currently, there are more than 50 companies listed on the Bulita Stock Exchange.

…

“Our negotiations with American International Group have yielded results. They will sell AIA to us for 22 billion US dollars…”

In a luxury apartment in the financial district, after Barron visited Laura and their child Eden who lived here, she also talked to Barron about the acquisition of AIA Insurance Company.

Now that Laura still needs to spend a lot of time with her child, she will no longer return to Barron’s side as his personal assistant - Zhang Junning is doing a good job in this position now.

Laura, on the other hand, has begun to be responsible for the affairs of the Cavendish Trust.

This is also the reason why she talked to Barron about the acquisition of AIA Insurance by Youcheng Insurance Group, which now belongs to the Cavendish Trust.

As for the funds for this acquisition, 17 billion US dollars will be provided by the Cavendish Trust (of which 10 billion US dollars is borrowed from Barclays Bank and Standard Chartered Bank with the shares of other companies held by the Cavendish Trust as collateral), and 5 billion US dollars will be invested by the Chinese company Tianhe Capital for the acquisition.

After the acquisition is completed, AIA Insurance Company will be merged into Youcheng Insurance Group, of which the Cavendish Trust will hold 80% of the shares of this insurance group, and Tianhe Capital will hold 20% of the shares of this insurance group.

As the largest single market of AIA Insurance Company, Tianhe Capital’s holding is conducive to the future development of Youcheng Insurance Group’s business in China.

As for the bank loans, in fact, for Barron, repayment is not difficult.

After all, insurance companies mainly make money by collecting premiums for investment and then compensating users…

For example, many life insurance policies have the meaning of “fixed savings”, plus those related pension insurance policies, their accumulated funds are actually very large.

And the extra income earned through investment can quickly repay these bank loans.

As the subprime mortgage crisis has developed to the current stage, whether it is the stock market or other securities, they have almost reached their lowest points. It can be said that if you enter now to buy the dip, you can make a substantial profit through cyclical increases within a few years no matter what you buy.

Of course, because both Youcheng Insurance Group and AIA Insurance have suffered losses in their previous investments, they will also need to increase the promotion efforts of their insurance salespersons and use more “attractive” insurance forms to attract the addition of some new funds.

Chapter 652: New Operation

On January 20, 2009, at precisely 10:00 AM, Barack Obama was officially inaugurated as President during the inauguration ceremony on the steps of Capitol Hill.

Shortly thereafter, his running mate, the future “Sleepy Joe,” was sworn in as Vice President of the United States.

At this time, Baron had already arrived in Australia with his family and the Earl of Booth’s family from London.

The “illegitimate child” incident that had happened to the Earl of Booth. earlier had dampened their spirits, and this was a good opportunity to come to Australia for a vacation.

“Wow… America’s first black president, interesting.”

The inauguration ceremony took place in the early morning of the next day in Australia, so Baron and his family naturally wouldn’t watch it specifically—they saw the related reports on television during breakfast.

However, hearing the Earl of Booth’s exclamation, Baron silently took a sip of coffee—you probably would never have imagined that the future Prime Minister of England would be of Indian descent…

Of course, that was in Baron’s previous life, but now… it’s not necessarily the case.

Prior to this, when running for election, Obama’s main declarations consisted of two points.

Namely, withdrawing troops from Iraq and implementing universal healthcare reform.

However, Baron knew that although the United States did begin a large-scale withdrawal of troops from Iraq during Obama’s term, they turned around and focused their energy on Afghanistan, where they once again fell into the “graveyard of empires.”

Of course, many things are just appearances.

The main reason why the US military seemed to be making slow progress in Afghanistan was… the will of the military was involved. After all, some situations, once started, are not so easy to end.

With the existence of a “war on terror” as a pretext, 5.009 million goats being eaten, $1,200 coffee cups being used, and countless items that could be manipulated, how could the military be willing to complete the war and withdraw casually? There’s a saying, “nurturing bandits to maintain power,” which is exactly the principle.

As for the government auditors…

Well, their helicopters would crash on their way home.

You should know that from 2001 to 2019, the US military’s overt military expenditure in Afghanistan totaled as high as $975 billion.

Of course, this was not without its benefits for Baron. As one of the alliance’s military contractors, Protector Military Company would receive more orders—the withdrawing Iraq needed them to protect the safety of British and American companies, and Afghanistan also needed them to carry out urban defense…

And they could also take this opportunity to cheaply purchase the coalition forces’ already “scrapped” weapons, and even equipment such as airplanes and tanks—in Baron’s previous life, there were reports that sixteen airplanes worth $24.3 million were sold for $32,000.

And Obama’s other major initiative—universal healthcare reform—was constantly being kicked around in Congress, and the plan was changed beyond recognition before it was barely passed. By that time, there was not much time left in Obama’s term…

Of course, this was not what Baron was concerned about…

As a “close ally” of the United States, he would be deeply involved in the reconstruction of the American economy.

…

“Phelan, we meet again…”

“Hello, Your Grace.”

The helicopter landed on the “Devonshire Poseidon” super yacht, bringing Baron’s guest to the ship waiting in the offshore waters of Australia.

Zhang Junning, dressed in a close-fitting professional suit, led Phelan O’Neill to the yacht’s living room.

After seeing the other party, Baron warmly gave Phelan a hug:

“What’s gratifying is that at this meeting, you have become a member of the super-rich.”

“This is thanks to your generosity, Your Grace, otherwise I would not have been able to obtain this wealth.”

Phelan O’Neill was initially sent to the United States by Baron to short the American market through the Black Swan Fund. Now this matter has basically come to an end. According to the final statistics, the profits obtained by the Black Swan Fund’s short selling this time exceeded $100 billion!

And according to Baron’s promise, the Black Swan Fund team will also be able to receive a corresponding bonus of nearly $5 billion—of which Phelan O’Neill himself, as the main person in charge, will be able to get half of these bonuses. Just as Baron said, this is enough to make Phelan O’Neill enter the ranks of the super-rich.

Now, after enjoying the final results, coming to this super yacht costing hundreds of millions of dollars, Phelan O’Neill is full of joy.

“This is what you deserve, Phelan. I said, there will be rewards for your efforts…”

“Is there another operation coming up next, Your Grace?”

Facing Phelan O’Neill’s inquiry, Baron said with a smile:

“That doesn’t need to be considered for the time being. At least now, you should relax… What I can tell you is that you have a choice, and it will be much easier than the previous investment in the United States.”

This time, Baron was specifically used to entertain Phelan O’Neill. Therefore, on this super yacht, a large number of beauties quickly appeared, all of whom were enthusiastic local models from Australia.

Of course, Baron had no interest in these models at all. Now is the time for Phelan and his team to relax.

In fact, as Baron said, Phelan O’Neill’s next task is also very simple. The Black Swan Fund’s short selling operation in the subprime mortgage crisis—at least the short selling operation in the American market—no longer needs to exist after it ends.

After all, because of the amazing rate of return obtained through short selling in this subprime mortgage crisis, the Black Swan Fund has become increasingly noticeable, which is not a good thing for future actions. Therefore, it needs to change its identity, at least it should not be so high-profile.

And next, Phelan O’Neill will not need to “fight alone” like he did in New York…

This time, his target will be placed on the Asian market—mainly the markets of Japan and South Korea, shorting those markets.

And fighting alongside him will be personnel from Wall Street capital such as Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase.

Well, to be precise, this will be a large-scale short selling of the financial markets of these two countries by Baron in conjunction with Wall Street capital.

After all, Wall Street capital such as Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, and JPMorgan Chase still suffered some losses in this subprime mortgage crisis, so for them, they do need to replenish their capital in overseas markets…

This time, Baron will inject $20 billion in funds into the “shell” company managed by Phelan O’Neill’s team through IE Fund, Rich23 Capital and other channels. Together with the funds from other Wall Street capital, the total scale of funds will exceed $50 billion, targeting the Japanese and South Korean markets for short selling.

I believe that through his experience in New York, Phelan O’Neill will be very interested in this operation.

After all, in terms of safety alone, there is no need to worry too much about this operation.

Chapter 653: Google’s Mobile Operating System

When Barron woke up, he gently moved the arm that was resting on his chest, careful not to wake the Countess beside him…

After all, she had been quite tired last night.

On his other side, Bonnie was also sleeping soundly.

Leaving the bedroom, Barron changed into his workout clothes, and his bodyguard was already waiting in the downstairs hall.

It has to be said that at Grace Lavender Manor, the air is filled with the scent of lavender. Morning jogs in such an environment are truly refreshing.

Yesterday, Philon O’Neill had already left Australia. On the second day of the yacht party, just waking up from his drunken stupor, Philon O’Neill accepted Barron’s new mission. He would directly take his team to Tokyo, and together with the Wall Street representatives, formulate a plan to short Japan and South Korea.

It was clear that Philon was very excited to start the operation again.

After all, the process always reminded him of the sound of a printing press churning out money.

However, Barron’s good mood didn’t last long…

“Your Grace, two pieces of news have come from America…”

Taking the documents handed over by Zhang Junning, Barron scanned them, his brow furrowing slightly.

Neither of the two pieces of news was good, and they both happened almost on the same day.

First, Nvidia confirmed its latest financing plan, but this time, the participants in the financing plan were not who Barron had hoped for, with the DS Group’s fund acting as the main investor. They only obtained a relatively small share of it.

Vanguard Group, BlackRock, and Fidelity Investments accounted for 80% of Nvidia’s newly issued shares, leaving only 20% for the DS Group.

Second, yesterday, Google officially launched their mobile operating system, Google OS (GOS), and announced at the press conference that the GOS alliance members included Motorola, Samsung, and LG, meaning that these mobile phone manufacturers would launch smartphones based on the GOS system within the year.

Of course, this doesn’t mean that Motorola, Samsung, and LG will abandon Android system phones, but it’s clear that they’ve chosen to hedge their bets.

Previously, Google had also extended an invitation to Honor Electronics, but it was rejected. It could be said that as the first manufacturer to launch a smartphone with the Android system, being able to pull them into the GOS camp would be highly anticipated by Google.

In any case, the emergence of the GOS system is not a good thing for Android, because it is clear that the GOS system is dividing the market share of the Android system, while the impact on Apple is relatively small.

After all, Apple’s iOS system is unique to them. Users who choose to buy iPhones will naturally use the iOS system. On the contrary, because mobile phone manufacturers such as Motorola, Samsung, and LG have launched mobile phones equipped with the GOS system, it will divert Android users.

“We are already analyzing the GOS system. If they step on our patents, we will immediately launch a lawsuit…”

Ivanka said so on the phone.

This is indeed the strategy that Android will first respond with. Like iOS and Android systems, they have registered many patents for their own operating systems. As a latecomer, the GOS system needs to find a way to bypass these patents.

This is probably why the release of the GOS system was delayed from the original plan. Google’s GOS operating system was originally expected to be launched before December of last year, but now it is more than two months later than they expected.

But now that they can release it, it probably won’t be so easy to restrain them in this regard, because the other party must have solved this problem before.

Or rather, even if there are places suspected of stepping on patent traps, it will not be too serious. Google is not afraid of being sued for this.

Anyway, this kind of ambiguous lawsuit can be fought for a long time, but it will help them “piggyback” on the Android system, thereby increasing the popularity of their own GOS system.

“In addition to this, Android is also stepping up the testing of the new version, which is expected to be released next month as Android system version 2.0.”

Barron has also been paying attention to the development of the new version of the Android system.

In the upcoming 2.0 version, codenamed Froyo (Frozen Yogurt), the Android system will part ways with the mainstream Linux development, thereby starting its independent development path, and there will be milestone changes in operation and function.

This is indeed a correct way to fight against the GOS system. After all, the iOS system and the Android system have opened the era of touch screen smartphones, and these users have also formed habits in the process of using these two systems.

This kind of usage habit has inertia. Just like later, whether some iPhone users switch to Android phones, or Android phone users switch to iPhones, it takes a period of adaptation. This discomfort is also the reason why many users have been staying in the iPhone camp or the Android camp.

It can be said that although Google’s GOS system was launched almost two years later than the two, it is not too late, otherwise the current smartphone users will inevitably have a greater “resistance” to the GOS system…

But after the surge in smartphone sales last year, at least a considerable number of users have become accustomed to the operating methods of the iOS system and the Android system. The GOS system will inevitably refer to the operating methods of these two, but limited by some patent points, there must be differences between each other.

Then what the Android system needs to do is to continuously update and iterate to increase the barriers between each other, so as to make its own users more secure.

And after all, the Android system is a pioneer, and it already has an advantage over the GOS system in terms of user habit development.

Of course, in terms of this advantage, Honor Electronics has played a huge role.

Speaking of Honor Electronics, the total sales of the two mobile phones, Mate 2 and Mate 2S, which were just launched last year, have exceeded 20 million units so far, which has made Honor Electronics a well-known mobile phone manufacturer in the world.

Of course, in terms of sales, including Honor Electronics and Apple, they are still not rivals of traditional manufacturers such as Nokia, Motorola, and Samsung. Even in last year’s ranking of mobile phone sales in North America, Apple and Honor Electronics did not enter the top five - the top five were Motorola, Samsung, LG, Nokia, and Blackberry.

However, the mobile phone sales of these traditional mobile phone manufacturers are still mainly feature phones and non-touch screen smartphones.

In terms of touch screen smartphones, Apple and Honor Electronics are in the first echelon by a wide margin.

Therefore, in the final analysis, it is only a matter of time before these two companies become new mobile phone giants - provided that Honor Electronics does not fall behind in this process.

To this end, Honor Electronics has reinvested most of its profits into research and development, expanding production scale, and maintaining product quality system control, in order to maintain its current leading position in touch screen smartphones.

Two months later, Honor Electronics will also launch the latest Mate 3 mobile phone. Compared with the previous mobile phone models, Mate 3 not only upgrades the functions, but also gives consumers more choices in terms of memory and color.

Chapter 654: ARM Company

“Your Grace, we have reached an agreement with NXP Semiconductors. They have finally agreed to sell their shares in ARM, though of course, we had to pay a premium…”

In early February, Barron received this news during a call with Finn Hudson, CEO of the Global Industry Investment Fund (GII Fund).

In fact, GII Fund had been trying to acquire NXP Semiconductors’ stake in ARM since the end of last year, but the other party had been reluctant to agree to the acquisition.

Finally, due to the subprime mortgage crisis, NXP Semiconductors’ business revenue declined sharply, and they needed cash flow, they finally agreed to the acquisition.

The reason for wanting to acquire ARM is that this company, located in England, is very important for the future development of smartphones—both Apple’s iPhones and Android phones are based on ARM’s chip architecture.

Furthermore, in the future handheld smart device market, ARM architecture chips will account for more than 90% of the market share.

In Barron’s previous life, SoftBank Group completed the acquisition of ARM in 2016 for 32 billion dollars—and later, Nvidia was also willing to buy ARM from SoftBank for more than 40 billion dollars, but that deal ultimately fell through.

Many people may have heard of these events, but what many people don’t know is that in 2010, Apple tried to acquire ARM for more than 8 billion dollars, but was ultimately rejected by ARM’s board of directors…

In fact, there is a great connection between Apple and ARM—Apple was originally the largest shareholder of this company, and it would not be an exaggeration to say that ARM once saved Apple.

In this agreement, GII Fund will acquire NXP Semiconductors’ 28% stake in ARM for 1.4 billion dollars.

Even though it was affected by the subprime mortgage crisis, because Apple and Google’s systems both use the ARM architecture, the total shipment of ARM chips reached 10 billion last year. Therefore, relatively speaking, ARM’s decline is not very high in the overall stock market downturn, and its current market value is around 4 billion dollars.

GII Fund’s acquisition of ARM shares from NXP Semiconductors was also at a 20% premium to reach the agreement.

As for why NXP Semiconductors holds shares in ARM, that goes back to the history of ARM.

The predecessor of ARM was Acorn Computers, founded in Cambridge, England, in 1978.

In 1983, Acorn’s RISC machine project began implementation.

RISC, short for Reduced Instruction Set Computer, is a type of processor that, while not able to handle as many instructions as a conventional CISC (Complex Instruction Set Computer), is faster.

As a result, this processor is powerful and fast enough to make up for the fact that instructions must go through more steps to be completed.

In addition to its functional and speed advantages, this device also consumes very little power, which piqued Apple’s interest.

In the late 1980s, Apple began working with Acorn.

Then, on November 27, 1990, the two companies, together with chip manufacturer VLSI Technologies, jointly established a company—Advanced RISC Machines.

This is the later ARM company. In this company, Acorn held 24% of the shares, Apple held 43% of the shares, and VLSI Technologies held the remaining 33% of the shares.

In 1998, ARM was listed on both the London Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq…

At the same time, Steve Jobs returned to Apple, which was on the verge of bankruptcy. In order to save Apple, after ARM went public, they successively sold their 43% stake in ARM, obtaining more than 400 times the return on their initial investment, and with these funds, Jobs developed the iPod, successfully saving Apple.

This is why it is said that ARM once saved Apple.

This is also why Apple’s subsequent products, including the iPod and iPhone, all used RAM chips.

However, interestingly, more than a decade later, Apple once again wanted to acquire ARM for 8 billion dollars, but was rejected…

Another company, VLSI Technologies, which held 33% of ARM’s shares (diluted to 28% after its listing), was maliciously acquired by Philips for 1 billion dollars in 1999, the second year after ARM’s listing.

Later, its semiconductor business was spun off from Philips—NXP Semiconductors, and the assets of VLSI Technologies were also transferred to this company.

This is why NXP Semiconductors currently holds 28% of ARM’s shares.

As for Acorn Computers, the original predecessor of ARM, it was wholly acquired by a private equity firm in 1999 after its name was changed to Element 14.

At the time, almost all of the company’s revenue came from its remaining 24% stake in ARM.

But these shares have now all been sold off.

The reason why ARM has been able to develop to its current level is due to its unique business model—it no longer produces chips, but instead transfers chip design plans to other companies through licensing, that is, the “Partnership” open model.

Specifically, ARM has three licensing methods: processor, POP, and architecture licensing.

Processor licensing refers to authorizing cooperative manufacturers to use processors designed by ARM. The other party cannot change the original design, but can adjust the frequency, power consumption, etc. of the product according to their own needs.

POP (processor optimization pack) licensing is an advanced form of processor licensing. ARM sells optimized processors to authorized cooperative manufacturers to facilitate the design and production of processors with guaranteed performance under specific processes.

Architecture licensing means that ARM will authorize cooperative manufacturers to use its architecture, which facilitates them to design processors according to their own needs (for example, Qualcomm’s Krait architecture and Apple’s Swift architecture were designed after obtaining ARM’s authorization).

Relying on this technical licensing method, ARM architecture chips occupied more than 90% of the market share in the handheld smart device chip market later on.

This is also the reason why ARM rejected Apple’s acquisition in Barron’s previous life, but later agreed to be acquired by SoftBank.

After all, ARM mainly profits by licensing its chip technology to all companies. The board of directors certainly does not want to sell itself to Apple, a hardware device manufacturer, and affect its independence, making its technology potentially monopolized by Apple, thereby losing ARM’s business model.

SoftBank, on the other hand, is not a device manufacturer and does not need to worry about losing ARM’s independence after being acquired.

As for the later failure of Nvidia’s acquisition of ARM, this factor also had an impact.

Barron’s acquisition of ARM through the GII Fund will not be subject to too much obstruction, after all, Honor Electronics belongs to Caesar Fund and has nothing to do with GII Fund.

Therefore, after taking down 28% of ARM’s shares, the next goal of GII Fund is to negotiate with ARM’s board of directors and prepare to complete the acquisition of the company.

After reaching an acquisition agreement with NXP Semiconductors, Finn Hudson is about to fly back to England to start contacting ARM.

Chapter 655: Thirty Years East of the River

“The people of Africa are not born to live the most impoverished lives. They can also appear on the world stage with dignity, Mr. Bongo. I am very sure of this. But before that, you need to understand that everything you gain cannot simply rely on the giving of others, but requires your own efforts. I can help the people of Kolo live a better life and enter modern civilization, but all of this comes at a price…”

In the wooden house of Grace Lavender Manor, watching the beautiful scenery of the sea of flowers blown by the wind outside the window, Baron said lightly to Jame Bongo in front of him:

“Facts speak louder than words. The people of Kolo now have undergone earth-shattering changes compared to five years ago, and all these changes come from our cooperation. Yes, cooperation. You will never be able to obtain such conditions from others.”

Jame Bongo won the Kolo election last year and began his second term.

This time, after visiting European countries including England, France, and Germany, Jame Bongo visited Australia and took the time to come to Baron to meet with the British Duke.

It can be said that compared to five years ago, when the new Kolo government was just established and Jame Bongo made a similar trip, this time he received a warmer welcome from those countries.

After all, at that time, Jame Bongo was just the president of a small African country, one of the least developed countries in the world. Now, with relatively abundant oil resources, his position is becoming increasingly important to European countries with huge energy demands.

Especially England, during the subprime mortgage crisis, international oil prices remained high, coupled with the cold winter, making it even more difficult for ordinary people in England.

Kolo’s oil and gas resources, its status as a member of the Commonwealth, and its close relationship with Baron, the British Duke, made Brown attach great importance to Jame Bongo’s visit this time.

After meeting with Baron, Jame Bongo will begin his trip to Asia, the first stop of which is China.

Speaking of which, although Kolo was previously one of the least developed countries in the world, they were very lucky to have discovered oil in their territorial waters.

Moreover, Kolo itself is a small country with a population of only about 7 million. Therefore, their oil resources are enough to allow the people of Kolo to live a good life. A country of this size, with sufficient resources or a leading position in a certain field, can easily make its people live well.

Unlike China, whose population will increase to 1.4 billion in the future, and currently there are only a “golden billion” people in what can be called developed countries. Just like later, Obama bluntly said:

“It is impossible for the Chinese to live the American lifestyle, otherwise Americans will not have a good life, and even the whole world may fall into disaster.”

His words do represent the ideas of many Americans, and even Westerners.

After all, the United States, with less than 6% of the world’s population, consumes as much as one-third of the world’s resources…

Even without mentioning the wasteful lifestyle of Americans, if all Chinese people were to live at the average living standards of developed countries, it would mean that China could not simply be the “world’s factory” and would have to occupy many high-profit industries - those fields currently controlled by developed countries.

After all, the growth of global resources is relatively slow. It can be said that under the “zero-sum” thinking, it is impossible for all 1.4 billion Chinese people to achieve the living standards of developed countries and continue to allow the West to “lie down” and seize the most profitable parts.

Does that mean that the Chinese are not qualified to live such a life?

The answer is obvious, and conflict is inevitable.

But similarly, it is also because Kolo is a small country that they cannot really fully enjoy their resources - don’t forget that even the Middle Eastern oil-rich countries need to constantly “pay tribute” to the United States in various ways…

And most African countries, even if they are rich in resources, find it difficult to have even a smaller percentage of those resources end up in their own hands.

Does that mean that after Kolo discovered oil reserves, it was never coveted?

Just as far as Jame Bongo and Baron knew, the French mining companies remaining in Kolo had made no small effort to contact Kolo’s senior officials, including Jame Bongo’s biggest competitor, Thomas Kabore, the leader of the Kolo Socialist Party.

Even Jame Bongo himself had been approached, either openly or secretly, with offers of “cooperation.”

As for the American side, the United Energy Group, which holds a relatively high percentage of shares in the Kolo Oil Company, also has American capital involved, otherwise, the CIA would probably have taken even more active action.

Therefore, as Baron said to Jame Bongo, the deeper meaning is that he can help Kolo stably obtain their share of the benefits - the Kolo government holds 40% of the shares in the Kolo Oil Company through the Kolo National Development and Investment Company, and through related special taxes, can obtain a total of about 50% of the oil profits. This is enough to make the lives of the Kolo people jump from one of the least developed countries to one of the richest countries in Africa.

What Baron needs is to ensure that he obtains his share of the benefits, so he defines his relationship with Kolo as a form of cooperation.

And Baron is not worried about whether the Kolo local forces, including Jame Bongo, will “bite back” in the future.

Because Kolo’s national system already guarantees that Baron does not have to worry about the other party breaking away from his control. What’s more, Kolo’s military power - the Kolo Legion - is also controlled by Baron, which also eliminates the possibility of a “coup.”

You should know that the Western-style “democratic system” itself is the foundation of the United States’ global rule, because under this system, weak countries simply cannot escape the fate of being controlled through various means, and the United States is the strongest existence in this system - in essence, the United States is not a country composed of Americans, but a community of interests of the world’s top capital under the capitalist system.

This is why Baron previously needed to integrate into Wall Street capital to some extent.

Because if they don’t see you as “one of their own,” it is simply difficult to develop.

Especially given that Baron is a British person in this world - after all, England is not China and no longer has the ability to confront Wall Street capital.

Back to Kolo, with Baron’s current power in Kolo, there is no need to interfere in Kolo’s internal competition - just like when Thomas Kabore expressed his “loyalty” to him before last year’s election, Baron did not make any clear statement.

Because with his significant influence on Kolo’s media, economy, and military, he only needs to talk to the winner within Kolo.

What he needs to do is to prevent the possibility of internal influence by other forces, and then make the internal winner in Kolo his partner to obtain corresponding benefits.

After all, judging from the United States’ previous interference in many countries, the more frequently it “points fingers,” the greater the backlash from internal local forces.

Chapter 656: Colo Airlines

“For the development of Colo, air routes to major cities are also very important. During our previous visits to various European countries, we have already finalized some routes. This time, when we go to China, we will also discuss cooperation in this area.”

Jaime Bongo was talking to Barron about Colo Airlines, which had only recently been established.

Prior to this, Colo only had a few flights in cooperation with Pan African Airlines. Whether traveling to Colo from Europe or Asia, it required complicated transfers, which was very inconvenient.

Previously, when Youcheng Insurance Group acquired AIA Insurance from American International Group, they also reached a package agreement. Cavendish Trust, in conjunction with Global Industry Investment Fund, acquired International Lease Finance Corporation, which owned more than 1,000 aircraft, for $5.5 billion, renaming it Global Lease Finance Corporation.

In this company, Cavendish Trust held 60% of the shares, while the remaining 40% were held by the GII fund.

Therefore, Colo Airlines, jointly funded by the Colo government and the West African Group (West African Group holding 60% of the shares and Colo National Development Investment Corporation holding 40%), did not need to purchase new aircraft. It only needed to lease passenger planes from Global Lease Finance Corporation.

Currently, Colo Airlines has already finalized routes from Lome Airport and Blitta Airport to the capitals of these European countries, as well as flights between some important African cities, with countries such as England.

Next, during this visit to China, Jaime Bongo will also discuss with the other party to finalize direct routes from cities such as Beijing and Shanghai to Colo.

Speaking of which, as Colo possesses an important trading port in West Africa and serves as a West African cargo transshipment hub, and has always been a friendly country to China, achieving the opening of these air routes should not be too difficult.

After all, in the development of the new Colo government, exchanges with China are very close, and Chinese companies are involved in many of Colo’s infrastructure projects.

Opening direct routes between the two sides is also conducive to the smooth progress of these collaborations.

…

Several helicopters landed successively on the airport runway.

From the first two helicopters, more than a dozen bodyguards in suits and sunglasses stepped out, then walked to the third helicopter. Under escort, Barron stepped out, followed closely by Zhang Junning, wearing a gun-grey suit dress and holding a briefcase.

Not far from these helicopters, on the airport’s wide runway, the massive Devonshire was quietly waiting for Barron and his party.

“Your Grace, you’ve arrived…”

Aliyah, the personal assistant who was already waiting on the Devonshire, took Barron’s coat after he boarded the plane and followed behind him.

“Prepare to depart.”

“Yes, sir.”

After Jaime Bongo left Australia, Barron also prepared to go to America.

Although before this, Argos Retail Group successfully completed the acquisition of Costco, DS Group suffered a small setback in Nvidia’s financing—in that financing, DS Group only obtained 20% of the new share quota. This time going to America, Barron needed to have a good talk with the bigwigs of Vanguard Group and BlackRock Group.

Of course, Barron also understood that if he had initially exchanged a portion of their Nvidia holdings from Vanguard Group by allowing them to invest in United Energy Group, Nvidia was at a critical stage of transformation at that time.

But now, Nvidia’s transformation has obviously been successful, and even if it encountered the subprime mortgage crisis, its stock price quickly rebounded due to the company’s good performance, which also allowed Vanguard Group to see the potential of this company again.

Moreover, Barron’s investment accuracy has always been praised, which inevitably brought side effects. That is, more and more investment companies are studying Barron’s investment direction—Vanguard Group is naturally no exception, which also means that the possibility of Barron wanting to “pick up bargains” from those institutions is becoming lower and lower.

Seeing that Barron has been increasing his holdings in Nvidia, it is not surprising that American capital, including Vanguard Group and BlackRock Group, will be more actively involved in this Nvidia new share issuance.

After all, although DS Group and Vanguard Group and BlackRock Group have completed mutual shareholdings, this only means that they have certain common interests in the macro field.

But there is still competition between them—in the American homeland, investment giants such as Vanguard Group and BlackRock Group are still more competitive than DS Group, so it is not surprising that Nvidia’s new share issuance will give these capitals more shares.

“Barron, is Argos Retail Group not planning to issue shares in America?”

Sure enough, this time they met, Vanguard and BlackRock played the art of deflection very smoothly regarding Nvidia. They were worthy of being old foxes.

And BlackRock Group’s Larry Fink also asked such a question, obviously seeing that Argos Retail Group had completed the acquisition of Costco, and was also interested in this company.

Barron didn’t mind them participating in Argos Retail Group, after all, in the competition with companies such as Amazon and Walmart, Argos Retail Group would inevitably have to burn money during this period.

“Now is not the right time, after all, you know, the stock market is too sluggish, it is not suitable for Argos to go public in America…”

Barron shrugged and said.

There was nothing wrong with his words. Now is indeed not the right time to go public. Even if it goes public, the funds that can be raised will be much less than normal.

Many companies waiting to go public have postponed their listing dates because of this.

And…

“Didn’t you already invest in Amazon?”

“Yes, Barron, we are interested in investing in any company we are optimistic about, even if they compete with each other.”

Larry Fink said without hesitation:

“Just like you, didn’t you also invest in Google?”

In fact, not only did he not sell the previous Google shares, but Mars Fund even still held Amazon shares.

“I won’t hold them forever, but the time is not right yet.”

“Is that so? Then I hope you can secretly tell me when you are preparing to reduce your holdings.”

Hearing Larry Fink’s words, Barron asked with a smile:

“Do you believe my judgment that much, Mr. Fink?”

“At least it’s a more reliable judgment, isn’t it? Besides that, I can’t think of anyone whose judgment is more accurate than yours, Your Grace.”

Chapter 657: Buying at the Bottom

The time came to February 2009. The entire U.S. stock market had just passed its lowest point since the subprime mortgage crisis broke out—the Dow Jones Industrial Average was near 6,000 points, the S&P 500 was near 650 points, and the Nasdaq had also fallen to 1,200 points.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, companies that Barron had previously reduced his holdings in, including O2 Telecom, SEM Group, and Argos Retail Group, saw their stock prices relatively depressed. His controlled funds completed their bottom-fishing.

The main method was to convert the convertible bonds purchased during their mergers and acquisitions into shares at this opportune time, thereby increasing their shareholding in these companies.

For example, when SEM Group acquired Reuters Group, Cavendish Trust Fund had used 950 million pounds to purchase SEM Group’s convertible bonds.

At that time, SEM Group’s stock price was around 38.75 pounds. Now, affected by the overall market environment, when Cavendish Trust Fund converted its bonds into shares, the average value of SEM Group’s stock price over 30 trading days had fallen to around 25 pounds.

By converting these bonds into common stock, Cavendish Trust Fund obtained approximately 38 million shares of SEM Group stock.

In this way, SEM Group’s total share capital increased to 297 million shares, and Cavendish Trust Fund’s (DS Holdings) shareholding in SEM Group increased from approximately 40.73% after the previous reduction to 48.32%.

If you add the shares that Mars Fund absorbed at low prices, as well as the SEM Group shares held by Bonnie (obtained through the sale of Stuart Media to SEM Group), then Barron could still control more than 50% of SEM Group’s shares, firmly controlling SEM Group.

The same was true for O2 Telecom and Argos Retail Group.

When O2 Telecom acquired T-Mobile USA, Caesar Fund also provided some of the funds to O2 Telecom in the form of purchasing 20 billion U.S. dollars of convertible bonds; Argos Retail Group’s acquisition of Costco also obtained the main acquisition funds in the same way.

Now, at this moment, they also completed the debt-to-equity swap.

Of course, apart from Barron, no one else was too sure at the moment. Although the American stock market had a slight rebound starting from the end of January, the lowest point of the U.S. stock market after the subprime mortgage crisis had passed…

Currently, there were still many arguments and predictions that the stock market might fall again—even more so than optimistic views.

After all, if you weren’t looking back from the other end of time, it would be very difficult to accurately judge the key node of a major cycle.

It was already very rare for a handful of investors to be able to judge the general trend within a period of time.

Therefore, choosing to complete the debt-to-equity swap during this period, the funds under DS Group were not criticized by other investors. On the contrary, choosing to convert corporate bonds into common stock could be said to have reduced the debt burden of those companies at this time—after all, corporate bonds require interest payments, and converting them into common stock, although the total share capital expands, also means a reduction in debt and an increase in total market value.

Also for this reason, this debt-to-equity swap operation, coupled with a certain amount of stock absorption in the secondary market at this stage, led to a significant rebound in the stock prices of companies including SEM Group and O2 Telecom.

It could be said to be a win-win situation for everyone.

…

“Hic…”

“What’s wrong, baby?”

Ivanka had just returned to New York from Silicon Valley. After seeing her and noticing her reaction, Barron asked.

“It’s nothing. Maybe I should go to the hospital to get checked. I’ve been hiccuping since yesterday. I didn’t care at first, because I’ve had this happen before…”

Ivanka frowned slightly and said:

“But this time seems different. I thought I’d be fine after a night’s sleep, but it’s still like this today… I called my private doctor before, and he suggested I have a gastroscopy.”

“Hiccups?”

Barron said with a smile:

“Maybe I have a method you can try…”

“I’ve tried so many methods, like taking a sip of water and swallowing it slowly, but none of them work.”

“Just listen to me…”

Barron had Ivanka sit upright in a chair, and then found the depression between her eyebrows near her nose, on the inside and between her eye sockets. It seemed to be a place called the “Zanzhu acupoint.” He had her use both thumbs to gently press down on this spot…

“Now take a deep breath, try to inhale as much air as possible, and then start pressing down hard on this area…”

Barron carefully explained the process to her:

“Then hold your breath, try to hold it for as long as you can, and keep pressing down hard on both locations during this process. Until you can’t hold your breath any longer, slowly exhale the air from your lungs, and at the same time, slowly reduce the pressure of the press, until you have completely exhaled, and then you can breathe normally…”

Ivanka did as Barron said and did it once…

“How do you feel, baby?”

Seeing Ivanka do this once, open her eyes, and look a little incredulous, Barron asked.

“Wait… I think I really stopped hiccuping! It’s really amazing, honey, how did you do it?”

“You should know that Chinese medicine has a concept called ‘acupoints.’ The two acupoints I had you press are these two. A Chinese medicine practitioner taught me this when I went to China. Isn’t it effective?”

“Wow! Amazing Chinese medicine, it’s really crazy!”

In fact, this was something that happened to Barron in his previous life. He had been hiccuping for two days, and after trying various methods, he was almost going to the hospital for a checkup. As a result, he searched on the short video app at the time, found this method, tried it, and it actually worked… so he remembered it.

“But since you suddenly have hiccups for so long, then maybe there are some minor problems with your stomach. It’s better to get checked when you have time, baby.”

“It’s a pity that the Chinese medicine practitioner you know is in China. It would be great if he could take a look. I heard that Chinese doctors can make a diagnosis just by touching a pulse. Is it really that amazing? I don’t know if the Chinese doctors in Chinatown are also so good…”

Barron didn’t expect that his casual little trick would make Ivanka interested in Chinese medicine.

“If you’re interested, baby, next time we go to China together, we can go and experience Chinese medicine.”

Of course, Barron knew that Chinese medicine did have its magical aspects, but unlike Western medicine, Chinese medicine is not a “unified process” for different patients, but rather “treats the disease according to the individual’s condition.” Therefore, truly skilled Chinese medicine doctors are still very rare and require a long period of accumulation. It is not easy for ordinary people to encounter them.

But this was not a problem for Barron.

Chapter 658: USA

“Yes, Mr. Kushner, I’m in New York right now…”

“Sorry, I’ve been quite busy lately, with almost no free time…”

“That’s a pity, okay, I’m going to rest now…”

When Barron came out of the bathroom, he saw Ivanka leaning against the headboard, talking on the phone in a businesslike tone, saying the above words.

“Who is it, honey?”

Barron checked the time; it was already close to ten o’clock at night.

Casually placing the phone on the bedside table, Ivanka looked at Barron and smiled:

“Someone I know, met him twice, at a friend’s gathering, the business kind. His name is Jared Kushner, his family is in real estate. Oh, and he bought the New York Observer a while ago, so he’s someone with some ability.”

Hearing Ivanka’s words, Barron raised his eyebrows slightly and put his arm around Ivanka:

“Let me guess, is he one of our Ms. TP’s admirers?”

Barron naturally knew who Ivanka was talking about, especially since she mentioned that he had bought the New York Observer…

That was Ivanka’s future husband in Barron’s previous life.

Hearing Barron’s words, Ivanka laughed:

“Perhaps it’s just a friendly greeting?”

“Oh?”

“Alright, I admit, maybe he does have feelings for me, but me…”

Ivanka leaned against Barron, looking him in the eyes:

“It probably won’t be easy to find a man more handsome, smarter, and more talented than Mr. Cavendish.”

“I have other advantages that you didn’t mention, honey.”

“Oh? What advantages? Tell me…”

Barron’s eyes roamed over Ivanka’s body, and he said with a mischievous smile:

“Just talking about it won’t give you a deep understanding, you need…”

“Need what?”

“Need you to try it out…”

Well, literally.

…

After O2 Telecommunications completed the acquisition of T-Mobile USA, the original T-Mobile brand in North America was changed to O2, becoming O2 Telecommunications’ North American branch.

Before that, T-Mobile’s market share in the United States ranked fourth.

Although this ranking doesn’t seem low, it should be noted that the American telecommunications market is dominated by AT&T and Verizon, which account for the vast majority of the market. Sprint and T-Mobile lag far behind the top two in terms of market share.

However, although AT&T’s user growth was relatively better than other companies due to its exclusive sales rights for the iPhone, the subprime mortgage crisis, the depletion of liquidity, and difficulties in financing also made the operating conditions of American telecommunications operators, including AT&T, less than optimistic.

After O2 Telecommunications acquired T-Mobile, O2 USA took advantage of this opportunity to copy O2 Telecommunications’ successful experience in the UK and even the European market—a low-price strategy—and began to seize market share from other operators.

After all, as everyone knows, American telecommunications rates are very expensive. The most common monthly plan is $29.99 for 300 minutes of talk time—which is simply not enough for many Americans, so they need $39.99 for 450 minutes, or even $199.99 per month for unlimited talk time.

If you need to use a 3G network to access the internet, the cost will be even higher.

And even now, mobile calls in the American market are still billed both ways—users are charged for both receiving and making calls!

It can be said that compared to many mobile users in the UK and mainland Europe at this time, American mobile rates are much more expensive.

This gives O2 Telecommunications room to maneuver. Originally, in the markets of the UK, France, and Germany, O2 Telecommunications rapidly expanded by relying on in-network packages and cheaper, high-quality services. Now, they will start stirring up the market in the United States.

While investing funds to improve mobile and broadband networks in the United States, O2 Telecommunications began to launch more cost-effective packages than AT&T, Verizon, and Sprint, starting a price war—we’ve updated our brand, shouldn’t we have a big promotion? That makes sense, right?

This made AT&T and Verizon very uncomfortable, because on the one hand, in the past two years, compared to before the subprime mortgage crisis, AT&T and Verizon were already in a bad position due to the fragile capital chain caused by continuous mergers and acquisitions and expansion.

Now that O2 Telecommunications is starting a price war, should AT&T and Verizon follow suit?

If they do, it should be noted that AT&T and Verizon have a much higher market share than O2 USA, which means that their current number of users is not at the same level as O2 USA at all. If they also follow suit and start a price war, not to mention the reduced profits, even those users who have already signed fixed packages will probably be full of complaints!

Are these two companies going to refund money to users? How could they do that?

Of course, O2 Telecommunications is not just fighting a price war. In addition, they are also cooperating with Huawei to improve infrastructure in the United States in order to enhance the user experience…

These certainly require increased investment, but compared to the increased users and market share, it is still very worthwhile.

After all, it is still in the midst of an economic crisis, and users can’t help but start to be more careful—since the launch of O2 USA’s preferential policies, in just two months, both mobile and broadband user growth rates have exceeded 25%!

Although this is also related to their original low market share—which means there is a lot of room for improvement.

But it should be noted that most of these increases are ultimately dug out from other “friendly companies.” This ebb and flow is the most pleasing thing for them.

“According to our analysis, even if the subsequent growth curve flattens out slightly, our users will at least double this year.”

O2 USA’s CEO, Quentin Geller, said excitedly to Barron:

“And as we advance the construction of our basic network and launch various preferential policies, I believe the user growth curve will continue.”

“We can also use prepaid discounts to attract users.”

Barron suggested the “recharge and get free talk time” activity that O2 Telecommunications had used in the UK, Germany, and France, which was very popular with users:

“For example, a one-time recharge of more than $1,000 can give you $800 of free talk time…”

The advantage of this activity is that it can not only attract new users to join, but also obtain sufficient funds in advance, allowing the company to expand its scale.

At the same time, users who recharge so much money into their talk time at one time also means that they will not switch companies for a considerable period of time—at least until the recharged talk time is used up, otherwise, wouldn’t this talk time be equivalent to giving it to O2 Telecommunications?

Moreover, for telecommunications companies, although this activity is equivalent to reducing revenue for a period of time—the problem is that it can attract more new users. The number of users is the most important thing. With a sufficient number of users, even if the rates are lower, the revenue will be higher when averaged out.

Chapter 659: Troop Withdrawal Plan

On February 25th, Barack Obama announced the United States’ new Middle East strategy. He stated that U.S. combat troops would complete their withdrawal from Iraq within 18 months.

According to the timetable he announced, U.S. forces would withdraw combat troops from Iraq by the end of August 2010, with the remaining tens of thousands withdrawing by the end of 2011 as a residual force.

After that, the United States would exert influence in the Middle East through non-military means such as diplomacy.

At this time, the total number of U.S. troops stationed in Iraq was approximately 142,000, of which approximately 100,000 were combat troops.

According to related reports from the Associated Press, in order to ensure the smooth completion of the Iraqi national elections, the main force of the U.S. combat troops would remain in Iraq until at least the end of this year, and it was expected that they would only withdraw in the last few months of the withdrawal period.

This 18-month withdrawal timetable for combat troops was about three months slower than the withdrawal timetable Obama promised when he was running for president, but significantly faster than the timetable considered by the previous U.S. administration. According to the agreement signed between George W. Bush and the Iraqi government, U.S. troops were required to withdraw completely from Iraq by December 31, 2011.

This also meant that after September 2010, approximately 35,000 to 50,000 U.S. officers and soldiers would remain in Iraq as a residual force after the complete withdrawal of combat troops, undertaking the tasks of training Iraqi security forces, protecting reconstruction activities, and limited counter-terrorism missions.

Obviously, from the moment the U.S. military began to withdraw from Iraq, the number of personnel needed from military contractors would begin to increase. This also meant that Protector Military Services Corporation, as one of the main military contractors, would receive more orders.

It is worth mentioning that because of Blackwater’s many “exploits” in Iraq, especially after these actions were made public by the media, Blackwater was not only driven out by the Iraqi side, but also suffered severe condemnation in public opinion.

As a result, after Blackwater was forced to begin withdrawing from Iraq, a considerable portion of the vacancies they left behind were obtained by the well-prepared Protector Military Services Corporation, while the remaining share was divided up by other military contractors.

And after the U.S. military withdrew, Iraq would undoubtedly experience a power vacuum—the current Iraqi government simply does not have the ability to control the situation.

This would inevitably trigger fierce competition for territory among various forces in Iraq. Even in order to maintain the interests of British and American companies, the existence of military contractors such as Protector Military Services Corporation was very necessary.

“We face the following challenges: the situation in Afghanistan and Pakistan is becoming a focus again; the military needs to reduce its burden; and the economy needs to be rebuilt. The United States can no longer afford the losses caused by separating Iraq from these urgent issues.”

This was what Obama said in a public speech. Barron understood that this also meant that the U.S. military would not easily shrink back to its homeland or their military bases—to be precise, the military and military-industrial enterprises did not want to see such a result.

Next, the U.S. military would have more actions in Afghanistan.

In fact, this would be a “strategic shift” for the United States…

Withdrawing troops from Iraq, increasing troops to Afghanistan, and shifting the focus of “counter-terrorism” from Iraq to Afghanistan…

As everyone knows, including Europe and the United States, most of their military-industrial enterprises are private enterprises—of course, even in times like these, the United States is still the so-called “beacon” of humanity, and there are still many people around the world who sing the praises of this operating model.

They believe that this makes military research and development “extremely dynamic,” after all, private enterprises are flexible and efficient.

But in fact, there is a prerequisite for this, and that is that military orders need to be attractive enough—the United States has been established for more than 200 years, and there have only been a little over a dozen years without war. Behind this, the promotion of the military-industrial complex is also a major factor.

Just like under the pressure of “public opinion,” the United States had to hurry up and withdraw from Iraq, but the military immediately found the next target, which was Afghanistan.

Of course, “hostile forces” cannot be eliminated quickly; it is necessary to proceed step by step.

If it is a U.S. military-industrial enterprise, it is actually still very prosperous. After all, even if the military’s demand is somewhat sluggish, at least with the status of the United States, most countries’ military purchases still need to choose them to pay “protection fees”—in fact, any country’s military purchases are not just about considering the economic cost-effectiveness; political considerations are the most important.

But even for those U.S. military-industrial enterprises, for some “high-precision” equipment that they do not consider exporting, such as the B-52 bomber and the F-35 fighter jet, coupled with the limited demand from the military, the cost of research and development, plus the necessary profits, are reflected extremely exaggeratedly in the cost—after all, they are in it to make money.

This is why, after measuring the information of “competitors” and learning that the possibility of the other party’s fifth-generation aircraft was not high, they could not wait to close the production line of the F-22 fighter jet.

This is still the situation of the “global hegemon,” the United States. As for the various European countries, they are naturally even more lagging behind.

On the one hand, with the suppression of the United States, a hegemon, many advanced weapons of European “powers,” including Britain, France, and Germany, have been “persuaded” to the stage of “it is better to buy than to build.”

On the other hand, without a real sense of crisis, Europe has reached the point of paying “protection fees” and then being protected by U.S. troops stationed there.

The ultimate result is that the military-industrial industry of the entire Europe has visibly weakened.

This can be clearly seen in the future war in Ukraine. The main force for its ammunition support is actually South Korea. Could you have believed this ten years ago?

It is no exaggeration to say that the ammunition production of North and South Korea is stronger than that of the entire Europe!

One is the main force supporting Ukrainian ammunition, and the other is the main force supporting Russian ammunition—this is the value of the Southeast Asian monster house.

This is also why Barron will try his best to advise to maintain the capabilities of the British domestic military industry, but will not easily invest funds here.

After all, with the current comprehensive strength of Britain, it is no longer the former Great Britain, and it is really not something he can greatly improve…

Even the Corvus Legion and Protector Military Services Corporation, when you think about it, it is really more practical to get some “damaged” equipment and ammunition from the British and American allied forces.

…

“Even last year, our membership was still growing…”

Costco’s CEO said proudly while accompanying Barron on a visit to their flagship store in New York:

“In fact, we don’t rely on the gross profit margin of goods to make money. Our greater profit comes from membership renewals!”

Indeed, Costco’s operating method is different from other retailers, including Walmart and Macy’s.

Like Argos, Costco also has its own private label, Kirkland, and the purpose of this brand is “not to reduce quality because of low prices.”

Usually, Costco stores only have one floor, but their goods can often be stacked up to 3 meters “high” and sold in super-sized packages—the feeling of coming to Costco is also very unique. You won’t see marble floors, beautiful display windows, or music solos in the lobby. These costs are saved and subsidized to consumers, helping them get ultra-low prices.

Just as Costco’s CEO said, their unique operating logic is that they do not rely on the gross profit of goods to make money—its gross profit has always been maintained at around 11%, but relies on membership renewals. Therefore, everything Costco thinks about is how to keep members renewing.

To this end, some products in Costco are sold at a loss, such as the classic Costco Rotisserie Chicken, which sells for $4.99 each—these rotisserie chickens are very typical traffic products, always placed in the oven at the very back. Consumers must walk to the deepest part of the store. You can imagine how much stuff they can put in their shopping cart along the way…

In order to keep the price of rotisserie chicken at $4.99, Costco has put in a lot of effort: even during the bird flu period, when chicken prices rose, Costco would rather sacrifice $30 million to $40 million in profits to maintain its price.

Chapter 660: Placing Bets on Both Sides

“It’s foreseeable that, affected by the economic crisis, consumers are becoming increasingly sensitive to prices. This will be Costco’s greatest opportunity…”

While touring the facility, Barron said to the CEO beside him:

“Argos Retail Group’s parent company and Standard Chartered-Merrill Lynch will provide financial support to Costco. I want you not only to develop plans for expansion and new store openings in North America, but also to increase outlets in Asia, and even consider entering the mainland Chinese market.”

Taiwan, China, was already one of Costco’s most profitable regions, and later, Costco was very well-received after entering Shanghai, China.

Moreover, Argos Retail Group already has a relatively complete partner system in China. With the help of these partners, Costco can also establish its own brand authorized manufacturers in China.

From Barron’s layout, it can be seen that he attaches great importance to the Asian market, especially the Chinese market.

After all, although people in this era do not yet understand what the Chinese market means for the future – even two or three years ago, if someone in China said that they would surpass Japan and become the country with the second-largest GDP in the world after America, they would probably only face a burst of ridicule…

But in 2009, it was already an unstoppable trend for China to surpass Japan in terms of total economic output – even further, in terms of purchasing power parity, China was not far from America.

And Barron, with his memories from his previous life, understands how important China will be as a market in the future!

Taking the automotive industry as an example, China is the second-largest automobile consumer country after America. It can be said that without the Chinese market, British Automotive Group would have no way to develop.

And for other markets, from consumer electronics to luxury goods, China will also become one of the most important markets in the world.

To be honest, if Barron didn’t have the memories of his previous life, then with his current status, coupled with the increasingly close relationship with Wall Street capital, what he would do would definitely be the same choice as other European and American capital, which is to restrict China’s technological research and development upgrades, and seek the Chinese market.

After all, Barack Obama had already made it very clear that the West did not want to see 1.4 billion Chinese people living the same lives as them. This meant that China would reach the top in most industries, blocking the path for many “developed countries” to make easy money.

What sets Barron apart from other European and American capital magnates is that he has experience from his previous life – he understands that no matter how Europe and America block or even target China, the fact proves that their goals cannot be achieved.

Since this is the case, then for Barron, becoming an “old friend of the Chinese people” is naturally more effective than making futile struggles.

After all, he is British, and one thing is very clear – that is, if his industry surpasses the other side, then America will not hesitate to “block” it, but China will not do so and will still open up the market.

For example, in the future, China’s 5G products, mobile phones, and electric vehicles will all face American sanctions, not allowing them to enter the American market.

And for Apple and Tesla, China still opens up the market and does not carry out equivalent sanctions.

This is itself a distinct manifestation of the different styles of the two sides.

Therefore, compared to the North American market, Barron actually pays more attention to the Chinese market – for example, when he acquired the assets of American International Group, he chose AIA Insurance, whose main business is in Asia.

In the end, he is capital and does not really need to choose a side.

When Barron was reborn, China and America had not yet determined the winner, but the trend was already visible.

Even with the most cautious choice, Barron can place bets on both sides.

…

“Acquiring LSI can expand Avago’s enterprise storage product line and plan to target data center IP, mobile data traffic, and other business opportunities.”

Chen Fuyang came to America and said this when he met Barron.

LSI is a leading supplier of semiconductors and software headquartered in Milpitas, California. In fact, as early as when Avago went public, Chen Fuyang was optimistic about LSI and hoped to acquire it.

However, Barron temporarily stopped him at the time – also because LSI’s market value was similar to Avago’s at the time, it was not the best time to acquire it.

However, Chen Fuyang did not idle during this process. Although LSI, with a market value of more than 5 billion US dollars at the time, was temporarily difficult to buy, Avago acquired Nemicon last year to enrich its motion control product series, and in October of the same year, it bought Infineon’s bulk acoustic wave business.

Then, at the beginning of this year, Avago acquired CyOptics, consolidating its leadership in the field of optical fiber products. Immediately afterwards, it acquired Javelin Semiconductor, strengthening its layout in the field of wireless communication.

Of course, these acquisitions were all taking advantage of the subprime mortgage crisis, when the prices of these companies were not high, and with the support of Rich23 Capital.

Now, Chen Fuyang has finally set his sights on LSI again.

Currently, LSI’s market value has fallen to about 3.5 billion US dollars with the subprime mortgage crisis… This price is really irresistible.

“Just like I promised you before, Hock, you can do it according to your ideas, and I will provide you with support.”

Hearing Barron’s words, although Chen Fuyang’s expression did not seem too excited, the gleam in his eyes was still very obvious:

“Okay, Your Grace, I will try my best to complete this acquisition.”

Barron knew that Chen Fuyang was very good at using capital operation methods to carry out large-scale “snake swallows elephant” mergers and acquisitions, and what he required was to pay the smallest cost of share dilution in this acquisition, and mainly use cash for the acquisition.

After all, he knew that the acquisition of LSI could only be said to be an “appetizer” on Avago’s acquisition path.

In Barron’s previous life, Avago’s mergers and acquisitions were larger than the last.

“I know, Hock, there are many benefits to placing Avago’s headquarters in Singapore, but I hope you can consider the feasibility of moving its headquarters to America now. After all, this may become an obstacle in future mergers and acquisitions.”

“I will consider it carefully, Your Grace.”

Now Avago’s acquisition scale is not too large, so even if its headquarters is in Singapore, it is not a big problem.

But Barron knew that in the future, Chen Fuyang’s several key acquisitions were hindered by the headquarters being in Singapore, and even led to some of its acquisitions being rejected by the American side. Ultimately, in the original timeline, he still chose to move the headquarters to America…

Chapter 661: Amanda and the Child

“You should have told me sooner, Lydia.”

“Darling, I didn’t know before either. It was only after my cousin came back that I learned about it…”

After arriving in Los Angeles, Barron’s motorcade drove through the city and finally entered an estate located in the suburbs.

Here, Barron met Amanda Hearst, who had “disappeared” for nearly a year.

Speaking of which, since the last time the two met and parted after Amanda complained, Barron had not stopped sending people to look for news about Amanda Hearst. He even instructed Amanda’s cousin, Lydia Hearst, to notify him immediately if she had any news of her.

But he never expected that Amanda Hearst seemed to have disappeared during this time. Lydia was able to get some snippets of information about Amanda from her mother, but it was only that her cousin seemed to be traveling abroad to relax, and the specific situation was unclear.

It wasn’t until recently that Lydia finally contacted Amanda and learned of her current location—not in New York, nor in Hearst Castle in San Simeon, but in this not-so-large estate in the suburbs of Los Angeles…

And at the same time, Barron also received a piece of news that surprised him greatly…

“Amanda, this child…”

Seeing Barron’s gaze on the child in her arms, Amanda’s face showed a hint of vigilance. She handed the child to the maid beside her, raised her head, and said:

“William is my child, but he has nothing to do with you!”

“William?”

“Yes, that’s the name I gave him, William Hearst.”

Well, it must be said that the Hearst family’s preference for the name William is truly surprising.

After all, throughout the entire Hearst family to this day, there are countless people named William Hearst—it has even reached William Hearst IV.

“Obviously, he’s my son. You shouldn’t just give birth to him without telling me, and then what? Plan to raise him yourself?”

“So what? Barron, at most it was just using your seed. Was it really important to tell you? Can you give us a family, or can you give him a legitimate and normal identity?”

Amanda Hearst said without reservation:

“If that’s the case, then why seek your consent? For your child support? Sorry, I don’t need it.”

Well, if Amanda said that, Barron really didn’t know what else to say.

After all, Amanda Hearst is different from other women. Not only does she come from the Hearst family—as the great-granddaughter of William Randolph Hearst, the founder of the Hearst Corporation, she will inherit the Hearst family’s vast wealth in the future. She is fully capable of giving the child the best life.

In addition, Amanda Hearst herself doesn’t have much ambition. It can be said that apart from her emotions, she doesn’t have much dependence on Barron. Therefore, since she can’t get what she wants emotionally, there’s no need to worry too much about Barron’s thoughts…

“So you’re just going to shut me out of our child’s life like this?”

“I think this is a better choice. Of course, Barron, I will explain our situation to him at the appropriate time.”

“Appropriate time?”

Seeing Barron’s puzzled gaze, Amanda said unhurriedly:

“Yes, I think I can at least wait until William grows up… Should I let him know from a young age that he is the illegitimate son of you, the Duke of England? Or are you planning to announce this now?”

As the saying goes, one who desires nothing is fearless. When Barron cannot give Amanda a proper status in terms of emotions, then she naturally will not have any scruples in other aspects.

Moreover, in the current situation, Barron doesn’t need to use sweet words to perfunctorily or even deceive Amanda in order to temporarily salvage the situation.

“No matter what, I hope you understand, Amanda, although I can’t give you and the child a proper status right now, I didn’t know you were pregnant before, and I won’t let you down in the future.”

“Heh, save those words for those other women…”

…

In the end, Barron left Amanda’s estate alone.

Of course, this doesn’t mean that he will no longer care about Amanda and their child… um, William.

He also arranged for special people to pay attention to Amanda and the child’s news, but he understood that Amanda was still in the stage of “resentment arising from love” for the time being, and the relationship between them still needed time to ease.

“You saw it, darling, Amanda’s current state. I can’t do more, otherwise, I’m afraid she won’t see me again…”

This time, Barron came to Los Angeles with Lydia Hearst, but she didn’t go to see her cousin with Barron.

Before leaving, when he was with Lydia, hearing her say this, Barron instructed:

“I know, baby, I still need you to help me visit them more. I will slowly make Amanda understand my feelings.”

“Um, darling, I…”

“What’s wrong?”

Lydia hugged Barron and whispered in his ear:

“I want a child too…”

…

In early March, Forbes magazine once again released this year’s list of the world’s billionaires.

Affected by the global economic recession, the average net worth of billionaires on this year’s list was $3 billion, a decrease of 23% from the previous year.

In 2009, a total of 793 people made the list, far fewer than the 1,125 in 2008.

America is still a gathering place for global billionaires, with 45% of the billionaires on the list coming from here, accounting for 44% of the total assets of global billionaires.

In the past year, the assets of 656 billionaires have shrunk, but the assets of 44 billionaires have increased.

For example, in this year’s Forbes list of the world’s billionaires, Microsoft co-founder and chairman Bill Gates regained the title of the world’s richest man with a net worth of $40 billion, but his assets decreased by $18 billion compared to the same period in 2008.

Affected by the sharp drop in stock prices, Warren Buffett, the world’s richest man in 2008, saw his assets decrease by nearly $25 billion, falling to second place with assets of $37 billion.

And Barron Cavendish, the chairman of the DS Group and the Duke of England, ranked third on the Forbes list of the world’s billionaires with assets of $35 billion.

Of course, in fact, Barron’s net worth is far more than the $35 billion on this list. It can be said that his current true net worth is probably ten times that amount. But through a series of offshore companies and trust fund holdings, coupled with a series of asset transfers, on the surface, his assets have also been affected by the global economic recession, and his assets have decreased significantly. According to Forbes magazine’s estimates, he “only” has this much left.

This still made Barron feel that it was too high-profile.

But there was no way, after all, he had already been at the top of the Forbes rich list before. Transferring all the assets out of his own name at once would be too obvious, so he could only continue to “shrink his assets” later.

But even so, it is impossible to be too outrageous after all. After all, to say nothing else, the assets of the Devonshire Family Foundation must always be counted under his name.

Chapter 662: Rainy Night Car Accident

Paris, France.

“Boss, the helicopter can’t take off due to the weather, so I’ve already arranged for the motorcade to pick you up.”

Hearing her female secretary’s words, Ashley looked out the window. Raindrops were blown onto the glass by the wind, leaving streaks.

“How long until they arrive?”

Having just finished an important meeting, Ashley felt a little tired. She rubbed her temples and asked faintly.

“Less than ten minutes, I think.”

Seeing her boss close her eyes to rest, the secretary glanced at her wristwatch and sat quietly on the sofa.

Her gaze swept across the two bodyguards in suits not far away, who were guarding them from a distance.

“Boss, the car is here…”

Hearing the secretary’s words, Ashley opened her eyes and looked out the window. She could see the headlights of the car at the entrance of the hall. She nodded and walked outside.

The secretary followed closely behind her, opening the umbrella after exiting the door and holding it over Ashley’s head.

A bodyguard, who had gone out ahead of them, had already opened the car door for Ashley.

After Ashley got into the car, the secretary opened the passenger door and sat inside.

One sedan and one SUV drove into the rainy night.

…

When Barron’s Devonshire landed at London Heathrow Airport, he had already received a call from France.

“I understand. Investigate the matter as soon as possible…”

After hanging up the phone, Barron frowned slightly.

He had just learned that a car accident had occurred in the suburbs of Paris last night.

Ashley Webber’s motorcade was hit from the side by a construction vehicle while passing through an intersection. Ashley Webber was sent to the hospital, while her driver and secretary died on the spot.

Ashley is the CEO of William-Webber Capital, and her family also holds 20% of the company’s shares. The other 80% is controlled by Barron.

At the first moment after the accident, Ashley was rescued by the bodyguards in the car behind her and sent to the hospital.

It is said that because it was raining at the time, their motorcade was not driving fast. When passing through an intersection, a construction vehicle coming from the side ran a red light and crashed into Ashley’s vehicle at a relatively high speed. Fortunately, her driver braked in time, so the impact was on the front of the car. Otherwise, if they had passed through at normal speed, it would have hit the rear of the car directly, and Ashley would probably not have had the chance to be sent to the hospital at all.

As for whether this car accident was an accident or intentional, it will be necessary to wait for the police investigation results.

However, from the perspective of the bodyguards at the time, the construction vehicle showed no signs of braking or slowing down during the process, which was very suspicious—except that the driver of the construction vehicle also died on the spot, and the subsequent investigation may not have results for a while.

William-Webber Capital had just invested in the French Natixis Bank, holding 30% of its shares, and was already a sizable investment company in France.

In addition, Ashley’s Webber family has considerable influence locally, so the French police attach great importance to this matter and have indicated that they will fully investigate—of course, if it was a deliberate car accident, the other party who dared to create such an “accident” would probably not be a simple character. Barron naturally would not just wait for their results. At the first moment, he had already sent people to Paris to monitor the subsequent situation.

As for Barron himself, he did not change the Devonshire’s flight path and still landed in London as planned.

“Your Grace, according to the latest news from France, Ms. Webber is not in life-threatening condition for the time being, but she needs a period of rest…”

On the way from the airport to his home, Zhang Junning reported to Barron after receiving the latest news.

“Strengthen Ashley’s security. Hmm, notify Protector Security Company to send capable bodyguards to provide security.”

Although Ashley had passed the danger, she was not fully conscious, so no further definite news had come.

However, fortunately, Ashley was wearing a seat belt in the back seat at the time, so after the car accident, she was sent to the hospital in time and was not in life-threatening condition.

After all, this matter happened in France, not in England. Even if Barron has a relatively complete intelligence system, it mostly involves areas where his power is relatively strong, including England, Cologne, and other places. As for France, it is impossible to respond at the first moment. Even the subsequent investigation needs to rely on local forces in France—this is also where his personal power is relatively weak compared to the power of the state.

Moreover, Ashley Webber is not a partner that Barron can openly mention—his shareholding in William-Webber Capital is carried out through complex overseas multi-layered shareholding, so it is impossible to directly ask the French side about this matter, such as old Sarkozy…

However, he believes that with the Webber family’s power, even if they don’t control this investigation, they can at least get relevant news from the police in a timely manner.

…

“Yes, Mr. Mayor, Digital Future Investment Company will increase its investment in Tech City, but the prerequisite is that we need more support from the London City Government…”

At the first moment after returning to London, Barron met with Johnson, who was currently the Mayor of Greater London. What they talked about was the matter of increasing investment in London.

“Tech City is also a project that our City Government attaches great importance to, and we will also provide support within our capabilities, Your Grace.”

“I hope you know that after this economic crisis, there is likely to be a global economic recession. In Silicon Valley in America, companies have already started large-scale layoffs, and many start-ups are facing bankruptcy. It can be said that the situation is very serious.”

Barron said to the “golden lion head” mayor in front of him:

“But similarly, this is also a good opportunity for the development of our Tech City. It depends on the determination of the City Government. If the attraction is sufficient, some start-ups may choose to move here…”

After a period of development, London Tech City has now attracted global technology companies such as Microsoft, Google, and Woaw to settle in, and their British headquarters are all in Tech City.

At the same time, the technology incubator park in the Digital Future Building is already quite large. Digital Future Investment Company has invested a total of nearly 150 million pounds to support the development of those technology start-ups.

The current Tech City is completely different from the dilapidated old district two or three years ago—at least in the core area, there is a thriving scene.

But just as Barron said, any country’s “Silicon Valley” needs strong support from the government, not only funds, but also corresponding incentive policies, so that talents and funds can gather there.

Barron also hopes that London Tech City can surpass its development in the original timeline and become a “Silicon Valley” that radiates throughout Europe, so that it can at least reduce the penetration of American Internet companies into Europe.

But this also depends on the support of the London and even the British government.

“Also, there is the matter of acquiring ARM company, Mr. Mayor.”

Chapter 663: How Did Things Degrade to This?

How important is Barron’s acquisition of ARM to England?

Consider this: ten years from now, when listing the English companies on the Fortune 500, it’s all oil, finance, telecommunications, tobacco, and power companies…

France at least has manufacturing groups like Renault, Saint-Gobain, and Schneider. As for Germany, besides the big three automakers—Volkswagen Group, Daimler Group, and BMW Group—there are Siemens, Bosch, BASF, ThyssenKrupp, Bayer Group… and a whole series of manufacturing groups…

So what is England left with?

Later on, when England is mentioned, besides the financial industry, the only industrial sector that can be proudly mentioned is Rolls-Royce aero engines… Even selling degrees is becoming a pillar industry for many of their cities.

Many times, Barron can’t help but sigh. How could the former British Empire, which first underwent the Industrial Revolution and created one-third of the world’s industrial output with just a small island nation, have fallen to this state?

Of course, what’s done is done. Back to the present, at least for now, England hasn’t fallen to the state it will be in more than a decade later—although many original local companies have already been acquired, at least Barron still has a little room to salvage things.

It’s not that he’s so patriotic towards England, but rather that “one’s position determines one’s perspective.” As a Duke of England, only if England possesses considerable strength can his overseas investments be guaranteed safe.

Otherwise, like Abramovich , even after spending so much effort to integrate into Europe, what was the final outcome in the original timeline?

Of course, compared to him, Barron’s Anglo-Saxon background is inherently more advantageous at this stage.

As for Barron mentioning the acquisition of ARM to Johnson, it’s not that he needs any help from him in the acquisition of this company…

Currently, the Global Industrial Investment Fund (GII Fund) has already submitted an offer to ARM’s board of directors, willing to acquire ARM for $5 billion, a price with a premium of more than 10% over ARM’s current market value.

On the premise of promising to maintain ARM’s independence and its current business model of widely licensing chip architectures, their negotiations with ARM’s board of directors are relatively smooth.

Of course, the completion of this transaction will certainly not be something that can be achieved in a short period of time, but it is very obvious that the possibility of reaching a final agreement is very high in the current economic downturn.

What Barron hopes more is that after the acquisition of ARM can be completed, the London government can guarantee to provide support to ARM in relevant policies.

After all, Barron knows the future application prospects of ARM’s chip architecture in mobile devices and will increase investment in ARM. But what needs to be seen is that in the research and development of chips, without the support of the government, it is difficult to say whether they can maintain their leading advantage in the future competition with America and China.

“London’s Tech City can’t just focus on software. Hardware research and development is also very important. Moreover, the competition in related fields will continue to intensify in the future. Whether or not we can find new pillar industries besides finance depends on the London government’s determination.”

After hearing Barron’s words, Johnson fell into deep thought—even if his understanding of technology is not very deep, he understands that Barron’s words are very reasonable.

“As long as it can promote the development of the industry, we will definitely do our best to support it, Your Grace. Moreover, this support will not be limited to just one or some companies, but support for the entire industry. As long as the requirements can be met, then this support will definitely be obtained.”

…

A motorcade consisting of two extended Bentley Mulsannes and two Land Rover Defenders in the front and rear drove through the streets of London.

After the accident that happened to Ashley Webber, even in London, Barron strengthened the security level for himself and the people around him.

Later that evening, Barron received the latest news from Paris.

After learning that Ashley Webber had finally woken up, he even had a brief call with her, learning more information about the matter.

“I can’t recall the specific process of what happened yet. The doctor said this is a temporary aftereffect and it will take time to recover…”

Hearing the weakness in Ashley’s voice, Barron said calmly:

“The most important thing now is for you to rest and recuperate, Ashley. I have arranged for people to increase your security. I hope you can cooperate. Leave the other things to me.”

“I understand, Your Grace. Although I don’t remember many things at the time, I heard that my driver and secretary are already… especially Lucia, she would always remind me to fasten my seat belt on rainy days like this…”

Her emotions were slightly low, but she quickly recovered:

“I have already seen my father and asked him to inquire about relevant information. If this was caused by someone, I will make them pay the price.”

“Yes, Ashley, someone will always pay the price for this!”

After ending the call with Ashley Webber, Barron dialed Bonnie’s number:

“Honey, are you awake?”

“Yes, Chris and I were just about to have breakfast…”

When Barron returned to London, Bonnie was still staying at Grace Lavender Manor with the Countess of Booth, and it was morning there.

“The weather in London hasn’t been good recently. You can stay at the manor for a while longer. I’ll pick you up then…”

“Is something going on?”

“Nothing, just a small matter. I’m planning to go to Asia next month, and I can come back with you, so you don’t have to endure the terrible weather in London now.”

“Okay, take care of yourself, dear.”

Barron naturally wouldn’t want his wife to worry. After gently comforting Bonnie, Barron took out another phone and dialed a number.

…

“Your Grace, are you going out?”

When Barron walked out of the study, he saw Janine Chang walking over. Hearing her say:

“It’s raining outside…”

“I’m not going out today. Didn’t I tell you that you could rest?”

When in London, Janine Chang also lives with Barron for convenience—of course, don’t misunderstand, it’s just that Barron’s residence has many guest rooms, and it’s convenient for her to stay together to respond at any time.

After all, as Barron’s personal assistant, some security measures are often needed, and Janine Chang herself is not a local, so living together would be much more convenient.

“I was just reading a book and came over to take a look when I heard the noise…”

It can be seen that Janine Chang is still wearing neat professional attire, and it doesn’t look like she has started resting.

“Reading? What book?”

“Some business books. I feel like there are still many areas where I need to improve, so…”

It must be said that from Janine Chang’s performance after becoming Barron’s personal assistant, she is still very outstanding and has always been conscientious. Although in the beginning, she was slightly unfamiliar with some things compared to Laura, she has grown quickly and can now be described as being adept at her job.

“It’s also important to combine work and rest. There’s nothing to do today. Just go back to rest later.”

“Okay, Your Grace.”

“By the way…”

Seeing Janine Chang, who was originally turning around to leave, stop and look over, Barron asked:

“If you’re free, how about we go downstairs and chat?”

Chapter 664: Offshore Wind Power

“Oh right, you don’t need to be so formal at home. Change into… well, something more casual. You’re still wearing high heels, aren’t you tired?”

Hearing Barron’s words, Zhang Junning blushed slightly.

“I thought you were still going out…”

After Zhang Junning changed her clothes—into a pink casual outfit, which made her look somewhat cute, a departure from her usual image as a professional elite—Barron was taking out a bottle of red wine. He glanced at her and asked, “Would you like some wine?”

“I… I can’t hold my liquor well. Just a glass.”

“If you don’t want to drink, don’t force yourself. We’re not really in a superior-subordinate relationship right now. You can be more relaxed.”

Seeing the smile on Barron’s face, which didn’t seem to imply anything else, Zhang Junning breathed a sigh of relief.

“I’ll have a glass, Your Grace.”

He picked up a wine glass, poured it about a third full, and handed it to Zhang Junning. After she took it with both hands, Barron poured himself a glass and said casually, “I know you Chinese people value the Spring Festival very much. Not to mention you usually don’t have any vacation time to go home and see your parents, you can’t even go back for the Spring Festival. Do you miss home?”

“It’s alright. After all, work requires it. I’d thought about all this beforehand and was mentally prepared.”

“Next month I’ll be going to Asia, and I’ll be staying in Hong Kong, China for a while. I can give you two days off then to go home and take a look…”

“Thank you, Your Grace…”

Zhang Junning hesitated for a moment and said, “There’s no need to make a special trip for me to go back. I can have my parents come to see me in Hong Kong. It’s very convenient to travel between the two places anyway.”

Perhaps it was really as Zhang Junning said, she couldn’t hold her liquor very well. After drinking just this one glass of red wine, her cheeks were slightly flushed.

Of course, in the end, Barron didn’t take advantage of the “slightly tipsy” atmosphere to take things further with her. After all, he was just taking this opportunity to chat with his personal assistant in a non-work setting.

This also made Zhang Junning breathe a sigh of relief after returning to her bedroom.

To be honest, she wasn’t completely unaware of the relationship between her predecessor, Laura, and the British Duke, the relationship outside of work.

After all, after becoming Barron’s personal assistant, many trivial matters needed to be handled by her.

Therefore, many arrangements, from Laura giving birth to Barron’s child after leaving her current position, to her current work, were completed through Zhang Junning’s hands.

She couldn’t help but wonder if one day, she would also…

Although, after putting herself in that position, she wasn’t against the outcome, at least for now, she felt she wasn’t ready for that kind of preparation…

…

“In fact, we have one of the best offshore wind power development conditions in the world, and relying on these conditions, as well as our efforts, we have become a global benchmark for the offshore wind power industry…”

In the United Energy Group Building, Barron listened to the report from British Power Distribution Company.

In fact, under Barron’s instructions, United Energy Group has not only been involved in the traditional fossil energy business, but also expanding into renewable energy sources, including wind energy.

For example, recently, they acquired the well-known wind turbine manufacturer Dewind. After that, British Power Distribution Company began to get involved in offshore wind power projects.

In fact, the world’s first wind power generation equipment was born in Britain—in July 1887, an electrical engineer named James Blyth built the world’s first wind power generation equipment in the yard of his vacation cottage in a rural area called “Marykirk” in Scotland, charging storage batteries and then providing lighting power for the vacation cottage.

James Blyth described his wind turbine in a subsequent paper:

“This wind turbine uses a tripod design, with a wind shaft of 33 feet and a wind arm of 13 feet, with sails made of canvas at the end, connected to a Bulgin generator through ropes and flywheels.”

Limited by the technical conditions at the time, wind power generation was not cost-effective at all, so it did not receive social attention.

It was not until 1970 that Britain began to re-evaluate the feasibility of industrial-scale wind power generation.

In 1991, Britain’s first commercially operated onshore wind farm was built in the Delabole area of southern England, installing 10 wind turbine units with a single unit capacity of 400 kilowatts.

However, due to the increasing size of modern wind turbine units, the 125-meter height limit imposed by Britain (except for Scotland) on onshore wind power facilities has technically limited the development of onshore wind power in recent years.

Therefore, the British naturally turned their attention to the sea.

Britain is surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean on all sides, with a vast sea area and frequent windy weather. Offshore wind energy resources account for about one-third of the total in Europe, and it is known as the first in Europe.

It is estimated that if Britain develops one-third of its 0-25 meter deep sea area, it can make the installed wind power capacity reach 40 million kilowatts, which is completely enough for the national electricity demand of Britain!

Of course, when offshore wind power was just starting, the problem facing Britain was that the cost was too high.

The British government’s solution was to require electricity providers to purchase a portion of wind power at a prescribed price, otherwise they would have to pay a fine. This is the NFFO (Non Fossil Fuel Obligation) mechanism implemented since 1990.

In the initial stage, with the help of this policy, the British offshore wind power industry received crucial financial subsidies, so that it could survive in the early stage of high costs.

Thanks to the NFFO mechanism, Britain’s first offshore wind farm, Blyth, was built in 2000, which was the third offshore wind farm in the world.

The Blyth offshore wind farm only installed 2 wind turbine units with a single unit capacity of 2 megawatts, which were the largest offshore wind turbine units at that time.

However, there is another requirement for developing offshore wind power, which is to obtain the permission of the royal family…

Because according to the law, most of the sea area 12 nautical miles outside the British coastline belongs to “public property held by the Queen of England” and is managed by a semi-independent legal entity, the Crown Estate.

Therefore, British offshore wind power, especially the development of nearshore shallow water projects in the early stage, must be approved by the Crown Estate.

In 1998, the British Wind Energy Association, now RenewableUK, with the consent of the British government, began to negotiate with the Crown Estate and reached an agreement in 1999, under which the latter issued 17 experimental project construction permits, the main purpose of which was to accumulate experience in the construction and operation of offshore wind farms.

This is the “initial round” in the history of British offshore wind power development. The starting point is very high, and the total installed capacity reaches 1.2 million kilowatts.

After 2002, the NFFO mechanism was gradually replaced by the RO (Renewable Obligation) mechanism.

The latter is essentially an upgraded version of the former, increasing the proportion of renewable energy that British electricity providers must purchase to 11.1%, and will further increase to 15.4% in 2015.

Eligible electricity providers will receive a ROC (Renewable Obligation Certificate) for every 1 megawatt hour of grid-connected electricity they provide.

By 2008, onshore wind power and offshore wind power were separated, and electricity providers would receive double the ROC for every 1 megawatt hour of grid-connected electricity they provided from offshore wind power.

In 2003, relying on the RO mechanism framework, Britain issued 15 construction permits in the second round of offshore wind power development, with a planned installed capacity of 7.2 million kilowatts.

In 2008, Britain’s installed offshore wind power capacity exceeded Denmark’s, ranking first in the world.

In the same year, after summarizing the experience and lessons of the first two rounds, the Crown Estate approved a large-scale third round of offshore wind power development plan, with a planned installed capacity of 25 million kilowatts.

Therefore, British Power Distribution Company itself needs to purchase 11.1% of renewable energy power generation in accordance with regulations for power distribution in Britain, which is also the driving force behind United Energy Group’s willingness to intervene in offshore wind power generation.

Although the cost of offshore wind power generation is still higher than that of fossil energy and nuclear power generation at this time, the government has also provided corresponding subsidies for this, and British Power Distribution Company itself needs to purchase a corresponding proportion of renewable energy power generation—in six years, this proportion will increase to 15.4%.

Moreover, Barron also knows that after Chinese companies intervene in this field in the future, the cost of wind power generation will be greatly reduced. In addition, Britain itself has abundant offshore wind resources, so it is still very necessary to enter the entire field in advance.

Chapter 665: Accident

Speaking of which, although the world’s first wind power generation equipment appeared in England, Denmark was the pioneer in offshore wind power.

The Vindeby project, built and put into operation in Denmark in 1991, installed a total of 11 450kW offshore wind turbines and was the world’s first offshore wind farm.

Currently, the offshore wind power industry in England started later than Denmark and Sweden, and at this time, the wind power field in England also has the participation of well-known foreign energy companies including DongEnergy of Denmark, Vattenfal of Sweden, and E.ON of Germany.

Of course, the British government also has relevant policy support for local wind power companies. United Energy Group’s British power distribution company will also cooperate with companies such as Siemens of Germany to jointly develop a new generation of wind power motor equipment to increase the efficiency of wind power and reduce its cost.

“In addition to England, the Chinese and Indian markets will also be very large. Of course, our most important task at present is to first carry out our first wind power project in the British waters…”

Speaking of which, British power distribution companies did not participate in offshore wind power early, but they have now obtained offshore wind power qualifications through acquisitions.

Moreover, in terms of technology, Dwind, a subsidiary of the British power distribution company, has also reached an agreement with Siemens to jointly establish a related research and development center specializing in the most critical component of wind power equipment—wind power motors.

After all, these motors need to consider the structural engineering problems of wind turbines and substations under extreme weather conditions such as possible typhoons and hurricanes…

And they also need experience in engineering design in high-frequency earthquake areas, extreme waters or weather conditions.

After having enough accumulation, the offshore wind power department of the British power distribution company can expand into foreign markets.

Just as the person in charge of the British power distribution company said, the Chinese and Indian markets will also be new markets with huge demand.

At present, the installed capacity of offshore wind power in England has become the first in the world, but in the future, China and India will become the world’s top two regions in terms of installed wind power capacity, while England will only rank third.

Therefore, the prospects for wind power technology in these two markets are still very broad.

…

On March 25th, a piece of news occupied the headlines of major British media.

Just the night before, Richard Hall, a British billionaire and chairman of Hall Bank, died in a helicopter crash.

The police have now confirmed that there were a total of four occupants on the helicopter Richard Hall was on, including the pilot, and none survived the accident.

Richard Hall, 56 years old this year, is the contemporary head of the Hall family and the chairman of Hall Bank, one of the oldest private banks in England. He also served as the chairman of Northern Rock Bank until the bank was injected with funds by the British government due to a run and was later acquired by Standard Chartered Bank.

Of course, some gossip tabloids gave more information.

Inevitably, it included some sensational speculations, such as the Hall family seemed to be cursed—Richard Hall’s son, Colin Hall, who was also the only heir of the Hall family, died in a car accident more than 4 years ago, and now, Richard Hall died in a helicopter crash…

However, after Colin Hall’s death, Richard Hall found one of his “illegitimate sons,” Alexander Hall, to return to the family and began to enter into family affairs.

Therefore, after Richard Hall’s death in a helicopter crash, Alexander Hall will become the heir to the Hall family.

But some gossip newspapers revealed that Alexander Hall was originally called Alexander Whitman, and his mother, Sandra Whitman, was originally a maid working for the Hall family.

Later, after she became pregnant with Alexander, Richard Hall sent her away, only paying Sandra Whitman child support on time. Therefore, it can be said that Alexander Whitman had never even met his father until he went to college and was always raised by his mother.

Baron also has more information here about Alexander Whitman, who is now Alexander Hall.

Indeed, as the newspaper said, Alexander had no impression of his father since he was a child, which can be said to be a completely different growth environment from Colin Hall.

For Alexander, Richard Hall was not a qualified father, not only because he did not appear in Alexander’s growth, but even the child support given to Sandra Whitman was not high—the matter of deducting the child support for this kind of “illegitimate child” is actually not uncommon among the British aristocracy, and it is even more unsurprising that it happened to Richard Hall, a banker.

Especially later, during Alexander’s university years, his mother died of illness. It can be said that their family situation was very difficult at that time, and Alexander even dropped out of school because of this. Richard Hall did not do anything about it… He may have almost forgotten that he had such an illegitimate son.

If Colin Hall had not “died in a car accident,” Alexander would probably never have appeared in front of Richard Hall again.

In addition, Baron also knows that the Hall family, especially Richard Hall, was not able to let go of Colin Hall’s death. They seemed to blame Baron for this matter.

Especially after the Northern Rock Bank incident—initially, as one of the major shareholders of Northern Rock Bank and serving as the chairman of Northern Rock Bank, Richard Hall strongly opposed the sale of the bank to Standard Chartered Bank…

If Standard Chartered Bank’s acquisition conditions were not the most in line with the British government’s wishes, under pressure from the government, the Hall family would probably not have agreed to the sale in the end—but facts have proved that this was of no use, after all, the Hall family’s shareholding in Northern Rock Bank had already fallen into the hands of Colin Hall’s widow, Catherine Neville…

In addition, Baron also held a portion of Northern Rock Bank’s shares, so the Hall family’s shareholding could no longer control the bank’s board of directors.

It is not an exaggeration to say that at that time, initiating a vote of no confidence in Richard Hall, the chairman of Northern Rock Bank, and removing him from office was just a formality.

Therefore, the Hall family could only swallow their anger and sign the sales agreement.

But because of this matter, Richard Hall’s hatred for Baron deepened a lot—this is also what Baron learned from some later intelligence.

After all, Richard Hall could not be too impulsive. Even if he was preparing to retaliate against Baron, he would act after careful planning…

But unfortunately, these actions, including his dispatch of people to investigate and monitor Baron, had completely fallen into the eyes of Mikhail Litov.

Baron also learned from this that before the car accident of Ashley Webber, the CEO of William-Webber Capital in Paris, France, Richard Hall had been in contact with people from the Rothschild family…

Obviously, the two sides were planning something…

Of course, now “man proposes, God disposes,” Richard Hall suddenly died in a helicopter crash, along with his assistant and others, all died in this accident.

So, let the dead rest in peace, Baron is not prepared to continue to pursue this matter—as long as Alexander Hall is smart enough.

Chapter 666: The LIBOR Scandal

“Mr. Richard Hall’s helicopter crashed shortly after taking off from his vacation villa in Bournemouth. According to information we received from the British Air Accidents Investigation Branch, the crash occurred shortly after takeoff…”

Hearing his subordinate’s report, Benjamin Rothschild asked with a stern expression:

“Was it an accident or deliberate?”

“That hasn’t been determined yet, but the weather in Bournemouth was clear and the wind was relatively light on the day of the incident. Also, something slightly unusual is that, according to the investigation, the helicopter Mr. Hall was in most likely took off at an angle of about 45 degrees to the ground, which is uncommon for helicopter takeoffs. This type of takeoff is more dangerous…”

“Is the helicopter pilot a suspect?”

“It can’t be determined for sure at the moment. It’s one line of inquiry, but since he also died in the crash and had been employed by Mr. Hall for a long time, the investigation may not yield any results… especially if someone orchestrated the accident behind the scenes.”

Benjamin Rothschild understood that the chances were slim. After all, he wasn’t ignorant of such things…

Those capable of creating such “accidents” would meticulously eliminate any possibility of being traced, just like…

“The London police are still investigating the car accident from that day, Mr. Rothschild.”

“I know. The Weber family has put considerable pressure on the police. How is that woman doing now?”

“She has returned to her residence and is being cared for by a specialized medical team. Security measures have also been tightened…”

Benjamin Rothschild extinguished his cigar in the crystal ashtray and said in a calm tone:

“Let’s leave it at that for now. Consider it a small warning to her.”

…

“The LIBOR matter?”

Sitting next to Barron was Darling, the Chancellor of the Exchequer of Britain. He frowned slightly and said:

“But our top priority now is to help the financial industry recover from the impact of the crisis…”

Indeed, as the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Darling had been struggling with the economic recession triggered by the subprime mortgage crisis since last year.

Even in January and February of this year, the government specifically criticized the media for fueling the banking crisis—at the end of January, the British Treasury Select Committee announced that it would launch an investigation into the role of the media in the banking crisis to determine whether to restrict the scope of journalists’ reporting during periods of market turmoil.

This investigation began in early February, and several key figures in the news media were questioned, including Robert Peston, the business editor of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC).

Peston had repeatedly revealed secret financial institution meetings in his reports—in the fall of last year, he broke the news that Lloyds TSB and Halifax Bank of Scotland were holding merger negotiations, causing the latter’s stock price to plummet.

Earlier, in 2007, he revealed that Northern Rock had sought financial support from the Bank of England, which triggered a run on the bank by depositors, ultimately leading to Northern Rock being acquired by Standard Chartered Bank after receiving government assistance.

In addition to Peston, reporters from The Guardian, Financial Times, and Daily Mail were also questioned at the time.

After all, the general election would be held next year, and given the current economic situation in Britain, if there wasn’t a significant improvement before then, the current Labour government would definitely be ousted—at which point Darling would inevitably have to leave his position as Chancellor of the Exchequer.

“I know there are some issues with LIBOR, but we need to consider the bigger picture. After all, I don’t want the banking industry, which has just begun to recover, to be hit again.”

What Darling said was precisely his concern.

LIBOR refers to the London InterBank Offered Rate, which is the interest rate that large international banks are willing to lend to other large international banks.

Currently, LIBOR is set by the British Bankers’ Association. It is the interest rate involved when commercial banks in the London interbank trading market trade dollars deposited in non-American banks.

In fact, the global banking system, including that of America, uses LIBOR as a benchmark for commercial loans, mortgages, and debt issuance rates.

At the same time, the interest rates on floating-rate long-term loans are also determined based on LIBOR, which is also the reference rate for many contracts.

Therefore, LIBOR is very important in the global financial industry, serving as the benchmark interest rate for over 350 trillion US dollars in contracts and affecting more than 1 trillion US dollars in financial transactions annually.

The reason Barron brought up the issue of LIBOR to Chancellor Darling this time was to better maintain Britain’s control over LIBOR.

In his previous life, the LIBOR scandal broke out in 2012, and more than 12 major international banks were investigated in this scandal, including HSBC, Royal Bank of Scotland, Barclays, Deutsche Bank, Société Générale, as well as banking leaders such as Citigroup and JPMorgan Chase.

These banks were accused of colluding to manipulate LIBOR for profit.

Prior to this, most banking scandals involved specific banks’ illegal transactions, often initiated by insiders and harming the banks themselves and their shareholders and customers, with the impact limited to specific banks and their stakeholders—for example, in September 2011, a UBS Group trader’s illegal operations caused a huge loss of 2.3 billion US dollars while severely damaging UBS’s reputation.

But the difference with the LIBOR scandal was that it was not just the illegal behavior of specific financial institutions, but a market-wide manipulation, involving a wide range of parties. The object of manipulation was a market benchmark interest rate that affected the whole body, and large banks were both the instigators and direct beneficiaries of the manipulation, while ordinary market participants and even the public became the largest group of potential victims.

This would inevitably deepen the rift between the financial world and society, and cause investors and the public to have more distrust of large banks.

In fact, the determination of LIBOR is not based on real financial transaction statistics, but is calculated by taking the weighted average of the interest rates offered by major banks in the London interbank lending market to arrive at the final figure.

LIBOR is formed from the quotes of 6-18 banks designated by the British Bankers’ Association (BBA). At around 11 a.m. each business day, each bank submits to Reuters a rate they believe they would need for interbank lending, and the average is calculated after removing the highest and lowest four quotes, which is the US dollar LIBOR rate for that day.

Yes, since its birth in the 1970s, LIBOR has been published by the Reuters Group, which is now under the SEM Group—but Standard Chartered Bank, under the Standard Chartered-Merrill Lynch Group, was not a LIBOR quoting bank because its main business was previously in emerging markets.

In an ideal state, the LIBOR publication mechanism can calculate an ideal interest rate that accurately reflects market price information.

Even if some banks want to profit by quoting interest rates too high or too low, the mechanism of removing high and low values and calculating the average will prevent them from succeeding.

In theory, different quoting banks, as competitors, can achieve checks and balances, prevent individual banks from gaining undue advantage, and form a self-supervising honor system.

Therefore, in response to previous critics’ doubts about this interest rate formation mechanism, the British Bankers’ Association has defended it on the grounds that it embodies the self-discipline and advantages of the free market.

But obviously, this formation mechanism can only guarantee fairness when each bank acts as an isolated individual and makes quoting decisions solely for its own benefit.

Once different quoters reach a conspiracy and take coordinated action, they can increase the benefits for everyone and transfer the losses to outsiders.

And according to the results of investigations by relevant British and American agencies, some member banks of the British Bankers’ Association took similar coordinated actions to obtain benefits.

Basically, quoters often cooperate in two ways to manipulate the rate: one is to adjust and control the LIBOR rate to benefit the bank’s investment positions; the other is to create the illusion that the bank’s financial situation is better than it actually is by quoting low interest rates to market participants.

Chapter 667: Patriot

In Barron’s previous life, Barclays Bank faced fines totaling over $450 million for allegedly manipulating LIBOR.

UBS and the Royal Bank of Scotland Group were also heavily fined over $2.5 billion by British and American regulators for manipulating interest rates. More than a dozen other financial institutions worldwide were investigated for manipulating LIBOR and ultimately received exorbitant fines.

But the consequences went far beyond that. Ultimately, the British Bankers’ Association was stripped of its responsibility for setting and regulating LIBOR, and the British government re-selected a “new owner” to control LIBOR.

At the time, the London Stock Exchange and the Reuters Group were among those competing for the right to set LIBOR. Ultimately, NYSE Euronext, the parent company of the New York Stock Exchange, acquired BBA Libor Ltd, the operator of the London Interbank Offered Rate Libor, from the British Bankers’ Association for a symbolic price of £1.

Few would believe that the pressure from the American government wasn’t behind this.

After all, the competition for the right to set LIBOR was, in fact, a battle for financial pricing power and influence.

In fact, as early as last year, Timothy Geithner, then President of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, had made six suggestions to the Governor of the Bank of England on how to improve the LIBOR mechanism. The core of these suggestions was to strengthen the influence and pricing power of American banks over LIBOR.

Geithner’s six suggestions included strongly demanding that more American banks be allowed to join the pricing mechanism; adding a new LIBOR interest rate product specifically for the American money market; and eliminating the incentive for banks to manipulate and misreport as much as possible, the key being to increase the number of banks participating in pricing, especially American banks.

However, the British side directly rejected these proposals at the time.

Barron knew that the Federal Reserve was well aware of the many problems with the LIBOR mechanism, but deliberately kept silent, waiting for the best time to strike.

After all, the Federal Reserve had long been dissatisfied with the British Bankers’ Association and British commercial banks dominating the mechanism, and had repeatedly and strongly demanded an increase in the pricing power and influence of American commercial banks, but the Bank of England had always ignored this.

It wasn’t until three years later, when the British banking industry’s reputation was tarnished by the LIBOR manipulation scandal, and the fairness and validity of LIBOR were widely doubted, that the Federal Reserve immediately seized the opportunity and quickly advocated for a new benchmark interest rate to replace it.

In other words, now, before the LIBOR manipulation scandal broke, and even earlier, the British government, including Chancellor of the Exchequer Darling, had already heard about the British Bankers’ Association’s manipulation of LIBOR.

There were many reasons why they hadn’t reacted or investigated.

First of all, Darling and others underestimated the severity of the big banks’ manipulation of LIBOR. This goes without saying, because before the subprime mortgage crisis, perhaps these banks hadn’t really manipulated LIBOR on a large scale. At most, it existed in the tacit understanding between some traders.

But after the outbreak of the subprime mortgage crisis, due to large-scale losses in investments and the liquidity crisis within banks, in order to increase profits and make their banks look better to the outside world, this manipulation of LIBOR became more and more rampant—otherwise, America wouldn’t have waited until 2012 to detonate the scandal.

In addition, the more important task of the relevant British financial regulatory authorities at present is to ensure the stability of its banking industry—to this end, they even went after the media that reported on the matter, so they temporarily couldn’t take care of the possible manipulation of LIBOR, which seemed like a “small matter.”

Moreover, in Darling’s view, perhaps these banks had compelling reasons for their small manipulations of LIBOR. After all, they needed to ensure everyone’s confidence in the banking industry, and with this mentality, they had reason to indulge them slightly.

Finally, it involved the Federal Reserve—America had always wanted to increase or even completely control the setting and regulation of LIBOR. How could the British side not know these intentions?

Before conducting a thorough investigation, Darling, who believed that the British Bankers’ Association’s manipulation of LIBOR was just a small overstep, naturally didn’t want to give the Federal Reserve a weapon by “exposing” the matter, giving them a reason to participate…

But Barron knew that the seriousness of this matter was not something that the British side could cover up by not pursuing it. No one understood that what might have started as a tentative “manipulation” would lead bankers to abandon their bottom line after tasting the sweetness of it.

Here, we need to bring out the classic argument in Das Kapital:

If capital has a profit of 50 percent, it will take risks; if it has a profit of 100 percent, it will dare to trample on all the laws of mankind; if it has a profit of 300 percent, it will dare to commit any crime, even the risk of being hanged…

Especially with intentional or unintentional indulgence, the banking association’s manipulation of LIBOR would become increasingly excessive, until the Federal Reserve took the initiative to expose it.

At that time, Barron had already seen the consequences for the British side in his previous life…

Not only did the credibility of the banking association and those big banks among the public collapse, but America also took the right to set LIBOR from Britain.

When the pricing power, and even the regulatory power, of LIBOR were controlled by America?

It also meant that Britain’s importance in the global financial system was greatly reduced, and then, the status of London as a financial center began to decline.

This was naturally not in Barron’s interest, which was why he raised this matter with Darling and hoped that the British financial regulatory authorities would intervene.

After all, although LIBOR was released by the Reuters Group, Standard Chartered-Merrill Lynch would not profit from the setting of LIBOR—at least not directly.

And if things continued like this, their interests would be harmed in the long run.

Better the neighbor’s house burns down than my own, that was how it was.

Moreover, if Britain took the initiative to correct this, it wouldn’t necessarily lead to the “neighbor’s house burning down.”

Anyway, at least institutions including Barclays Bank, UBS, and the Royal Bank of Scotland wouldn’t receive exorbitant fines like they did in his previous life. This could be considered Barron’s deep love…

After Barron stated the pros and cons, Darling’s expression turned serious. He said:

“If that’s really the case, Your Grace, we will intervene…”

After a pause, he continued:

“In the most appropriate way, but before that, we will conduct a comprehensive investigation.”

“You should know, sir, that this doesn’t really involve any benefit for me, but for the sake of Great Britain’s position in the financial industry, I have to come forward to promote this matter…”

“Thank you, Your Grace, you are a true patriot.”

Chapter 668: BGI

In fact, not only for Britain, but for the current European Union, the best strategy is to be politically close to America, economically cooperate with China, and trade with Russia for energy.

Only this kind of strategy can maintain its own relative independence and not become a vassal of one side.

Of course, this is just the ideal state. Obviously, this is not what America wants. America’s expectation is to cut off Europe’s economic exchanges with China and make Europe confront Russia, so that it will always be a vassal of America, and… a blood bag.

What Barron is trying his best to do now is to try his best to safeguard the interests of Britain in this process.

After all, he doesn’t think that even as a reborn person, he can stop this process with his own strength.

Britain is no longer the empire on which the sun never sets…

After meeting with Chancellor of the Exchequer Darling, Barron went to see Davis of Standard Chartered-Merrill Lynch Group. He has been in frequent contact with Robert Diamond, Chairman of Barclays Bank, recently.

What they were talking about was not the LIBOR matter, but the acquisition of BGI under Barclays Group.

Barclays Global Investors (BGI) is the asset management arm of Barclays Bank, currently managing approximately $1.04 trillion in assets.

As early as late last month, news came out that Barclays Bank intended to sell BGI…

The reason for this is naturally that the management of Barclays Bank wants to meet the requirement put forward by the British government that the capital adequacy ratio of British banks reach 8%.

Although Barclays Bank had previously carried out financing and sold its Barclays Africa Group and other businesses, the funds obtained still failed to meet this requirement after being filled in…

One of the main reasons is that Barclays Bank acquired Lehman Brothers’ equity and corporate finance business for $1.75 billion last year, ranking among the top five investment banks in the world—but its book assets also rapidly increased to 2 trillion pounds, requiring more capital.

The Financial Services Authority believes that Barclays Bank overvalued its financial assets and requires it to increase its capital and reduce the ratio of capital to bonds.

Although the British government is very willing to provide funds for Barclays Bank, Barclays Bank, or to put it bluntly, the management of Barclays Bank, is trying to avoid it—because after the British government rescues Barclays Bank, it will inevitably restrict the salaries of senior bank executives.

Therefore, Barclays Bank has been raising the required funds through financing and selling its own assets. According to estimates by relevant institutions, the sale of BGI will bring Barclays Bank more than $10 billion in funds. After obtaining these funds, Barclays Bank’s Tier 1 core capital adequacy ratio will exceed 8%, thereby meeting the requirements of the British government.

What Standard Chartered-Merrill Lynch Group values in acquiring Barclays Global Investors (BGI) is BGI’s high-quality iShares ETF business brand.

ETFs started as public fund products developed for small and medium investors, tracking the index investment of the stock exchange. Its advantages are low fees and the provision of liquidity.

Currently, in addition to Standard Chartered-Merrill Lynch Group, CVC Capital, Blackstone Fund, and BlackRock Group are also interested in BGI under Barclays Bank.

Barron knew that in his previous life, BlackRock Group ultimately “adventurously” acquired BGI, which is a rare successful example in the history of world acquisitions.

Yes, in the original timeline, BlackRock Group’s acquisition of BGI under Barclays Bank was a very risky behavior, because at that time, this acquisition can be said to have used all the funds that Larry Fink could raise. It should be noted that at this time, the operation of ETFs violated the American “Securities Exchange Act”!

Therefore, each ETF needs to be exempted by the Securities and Exchange Commission before it can start raising and operating.

If the American Securities and Exchange Commission no longer issues exemptions and withdraws the issued exemptions, ETFs will face a devastating disaster, and BlackRock Group will also lose everything.

However, after BlackRock Group acquired BGI, it coincided with the prevalence of the Federal Reserve’s quantitative easing policy, and ETFs took advantage of this “east wind” to rise.

After that, global ETF assets continued to climb, from $1 trillion in 2009 to $5.4 trillion ten years later.

Under this general trend, BlackRock Group’s ETF business has also risen—in the original timeline, when BlackRock Group acquired BGI in 2009, iShares assets were $300 billion, and ten years later, it increased to nearly $2 trillion.

It can be said that if it were not for the Federal Reserve’s continued quantitative easing policy, which provided cheap currency, ETFs would never have had such great development.

Cheap funds provided a large amount of idle money that could be used to invest in the stock market, driving stock prices all the way up.

With less volatility in the stock market, there is also a lack of opportunities to short and long, and ETFs have market makers, providing continuous arbitrage opportunities.

Since they can see these things, Standard Chartered-Merrill Lynch Group naturally has a plan to enter the ETF market in a big way. This time, the acquisition of BGI is enough to expand the business of its investment department again, and it can also curb the development of BlackRock Group to a certain extent.

Although DS Group also holds shares in BlackRock Group, it only accounts for a tiny bit, far less than the benefit that DS Group’s “own son,” Standard Chartered-Merrill Lynch Group, can obtain.

Therefore, Standard Chartered-Merrill Lynch Group proposed to Barclays Bank a plan to acquire Barclays Global Investors (BGI) for $10 billion in cash plus $3.5 billion in stock, for a total value of $13.5 billion.

This price can be said to be the highest among the companies currently participating in the bidding for BGI. At least from the perspective of Barclays Bank’s management, they are very positive about this plan.

“Among the current institutions, CVC Capital is only willing to buy BGI’s ETF fund iShare, while Blackstone Fund and BlackRock Group, BlackRock Group is more active, but in terms of price, it is still behind us, and they can only come up with less than $5 billion in cash, and the rest needs to be acquired in the form of stocks…”

Davis said to Barron:

“However, it is obvious that Barclays Bank needs cash more, so in this regard, BlackRock Group’s competitiveness is far lower than ours.”

Barron was also clear about this matter, because just last week, BlackRock Group’s Chairman Larry Fink had called him, hoping to obtain a portion of the funds from Barron by issuing corporate bonds…

Larry Fink couldn’t possibly not know that Barron is a major shareholder of Standard Chartered-Merrill Lynch Group, but since that’s the case, he has already spoken to Barron, which also shows that he has not let go of any possible opportunity to raise funds.

Of course, the result was not unexpected, Barron politely declined Larry Fink’s proposal.

To be honest, if he was preparing to raise funds by issuing additional shares to Barron, he might have considered it…

Chapter 669: Helping Whoever Wins

Back in Barron’s previous life, he often heard the assertion that the Blackstone Group controlled America because they managed over 10 trillion dollars in assets, ranking first in the world, and Blackstone Group held shares in almost all of the Fortune 500 companies. This group held the economic lifeline of the world…

Well, how should I put it? This kind of assertion vividly embodies the charm of journalism, which is to satisfy the public’s curiosity and conspiracy theories.

Blackstone Group was indeed very powerful more than a decade later. Its power came from the scale of assets it managed and the influence it possessed as a result.

But if you conclude from this that “Blackstone Group rules the world” or “Blackstone Group controls America,” it would be a bit hasty.

If this logic holds, then please tell me, Blackstone Group only accelerated its development after the subprime mortgage crisis. So, before Blackstone Group, why didn’t the financial company with the highest assets under management control the world or America? Instead, it was surpassed by Blackstone Group?

In fact, it is precisely because of the scale of assets managed by Blackstone Group that their investment approach is destined to choose the largest and most powerful companies in the world to invest in, and to delve their funds into the most prosperous branches of the global economy, in order to ensure that they obtain the dividends of development.

Just like Barron, before, his investments were more based on his memories from his previous life, looking for the fastest-growing industries to enter.

But as the countdown of his previous life experience progressed, coupled with the increase in his own scale, the current world is different from his previous life in many details and nodes. Therefore, his subsequent investments will become more and more inclined to Blackstone Group’s approach, which is to invest widely in those companies that are more likely to survive, have more development potential, and are more stable.

At the same time, this is also determined by the scale of funds. The investment methods are bound to be different when you manage assets in the hundreds of millions versus trillions.

As for why Blackstone Group’s managed funds have expanded so rapidly…

That’s because Blackstone Group stepped on the right development trend after the subprime mortgage crisis, and their Aladdin system was very effective. Therefore, this group has been successful all along.

And capital always chooses the winner.

Just like the saying in the movie “Let the Bullets Fly”—whoever wins, they help.

It’s that simple.

And in the process of Blackstone Group’s rise, completing the acquisition of Barclays Global Investors’ (BGI) asset management division was a very important step.

In Barron’s previous life, when Blackstone Group acquired BGI, Larry Fink spent two days and two nights busy calling people to connect, using all his relationships to raise the funds needed to acquire BGI.

Even so, to acquire BGI, Blackstone Group only took out 4.5 billion dollars in cash at the time, and also took out 19.9% of Blackstone Group’s shares!

Of course, these were very worthwhile. Through the integration of BGI, especially its ETF fund iShare, Blackstone Group successfully embarked on the road of capital expansion.

Now, Barron needs to make Standard Chartered-Merrill Lynch Group the new owner of BGI.

…

“According to the news from Paris, the driver of the engineering vehicle that caused the accident that night belonged to a local construction company. The other party has been divorced for many years and has been living alone. And the investigation into his call records currently cannot support the situation of someone instructing him. In addition, the other party died at the scene of the accident…”

“So, there’s no progress?”

“It seems that we can’t get any useful information from the driver. And according to the autopsy report, the driver has a long history of drug use. The police are more inclined to believe that this was an accident that got out of control…”

Barron had already expected this result. After all, since the other party chose to do this, I am afraid it will be difficult for the police to obtain any effective information…

But do many things really need such detailed evidence?

What’s more, although it cannot be found from the driver that he was instructed, according to relevant investigations, the driver’s driving route on the day of the accident obviously deviated from his normal driving trajectory. In addition, at the scene, the other party did not take any deceleration or braking actions during the process of hitting the vehicle Ashley Weber was riding in. If all of this is a coincidence, it would be too hasty.

If this was man-made, then in terms of motivation, although the Weber family may have some opponents or camps that they disagree with, it is difficult to find anyone who can directly attack Ashley Weber, who is not a core member of the Weber family politically.

The only one with this motivation is the Rothschild family, who were “tricked” by William-Weber Capital in the betting agreement and competed with them in the private banking field…

What’s more, Rothschild Bank itself was an important shareholder of Natixis Bank, and with the investment of William-Weber Capital, they became the largest single shareholder of Natixis Bank, which also diluted the Rothschild family’s influence in this bank.

These are enough for the other party to hate Ashley…

Moreover, this style of falling behind in competition and then resorting to tricks is indeed very much like what the Rothschild family can do.

Back in London, Benjamin Rothschild did this to Barron once.

It’s just that for a family with a long history like the Rothschild family, it can be said that after so long of inheritance, although the Rothschild family’s strength can no longer be compared with when they were at their peak and richer than a country, their foundation still exists.

Especially in Europe, the Rothschild family is associated with many new and old forces. They are not an ordinary family, and they are not so easy to deal with.

In terms of strength, Barron is not afraid of the other party at all, but he can’t really send someone to shoot all the Rothschild family members, right…

Let’s not talk about whether it can be done—after so many generations of inheritance, I don’t know how many people can be called descendants of the Rothschild family. Even its core members naturally have relatively strict security measures.

You can raid and take out one or two people, but once this kind of thing happens, others will inevitably be alert and will not arrogantly wait for you to come like in TV dramas…

But even if these can be done, Barron would not do it unless absolutely necessary.

Indeed, in the upper echelons of Europe and the United States, it is not uncommon to achieve goals through assassination—in fact, these people’s moral bottom line is much lower than you think.

But the key is that exterminating a family is different from your usual competition. Once you do this, there is no airtight wall in the world, so how will others see you?

I am afraid that not only will they be wary of you, thus alienating you, but it is not impossible to be further excluded by other families joining forces.

And using financial means, not to mention that the Rothschild family started with this, even if their current strength can only be regarded as a second-rate level in the world, at most it will cause them some losses, and it is almost impossible to completely “demote them to commoners.”

Moreover, LCF Rothschild Group is originally a family business, and the Rothschild family very cautiously holds most of the shares in this group. The acquisition methods Barron used before are difficult to work.

Although this kind of family-style group like Rothschild Group has the weakness of being relatively traditional and inefficient in obtaining funds in competition with Wall Street capital.

But in the same way, it also makes their control over family businesses more solid.

Therefore, Barron can only slowly lay out the situation at present, first gradually weakening the other party’s strength and influence.

Chapter 670: Returning the Favor

Of course, after the Ashley Webber incident, Barron certainly couldn’t let it go without “returning the favor.”

Just like in the beginning, when Benjamin Rothschild’s schemes in London led to Colin Hall’s death.

At that time, Barron certainly felt a sense of satisfaction, but the fact was that Colin Hall bore the consequences.

Although the Rothschild family lost a lot of money at the time, Benjamin Rothschild still managed to walk away unscathed.

This was also because Barron’s power at the time was not enough to reach France and cause trouble for him.

And this time, Richard Hall’s helicopter crash was a return for his constant plotting against Barron…

But besides that, the Rothschild family probably still doesn’t know about Barron’s relationship with William-Webber Capital. Richard Hall’s death can only be considered as cutting off one of their hands reaching into London. But he also needs to understand that the “accident” targeting Ashley Webber also requires paying a price.

“Yes, Mikhail, I think we need to ring the alarm bell for them, so they know that using these underhanded tactics will backfire.”

“So, to what extent, Your Grace?”

“I like Benjamin, well, I like his stupidity, so I don’t want anyone else to replace this idiot. Just let Benjamin feel a little pain.”

“As you wish.”

Of course, although Barron gave these instructions, it didn’t mean that action could be taken immediately.

After all, the Rothschild family, especially Benjamin Rothschild, is not a careless person—if they were, the Rothschild family probably wouldn’t exist anymore.

After Hall Bank’s chairman, Richard Hall, died in a helicopter crash, the core members of the Rothschild family became extra cautious, even canceling many public appearances. Even when traveling, they were heavily guarded.

This is not a good time for Mikhail to act. Although he is proficient in this, he hasn’t reached the level of being godlike as in the movies. He always needs to find the right opportunity.

…

“Darling, I really hate to see you go. I really want to go to China with you again…”

Tamara said reluctantly, hugging Barron after their passionate kiss.

Speaking of which, although Bonnie is more outstanding in terms of looks compared to her, Tamara’s figure… is the pear-shaped kind, with more to offer.

“Aren’t you about to start your new show? That’s important, isn’t it?”

“It is, but compared to you, I still want to be with you more.”

During this time, Bonnie and the others had not yet returned to London, so Barron spent most of his time with Tamara at The Holme in Regent’s Park.

Before, Tamara decided to try her hand at being a host, because she came from a family with a background in automobiles, and her father was the president of the Formula One Group. So she started hosting a car review show.

However, as everyone knows, the most famous car review show in England is “Top Gear.” The reputation of the “three stooges” later spread to China…

Therefore, in terms of ratings, Tamara’s show also performed well, but that was compared to shows other than “Top Gear.” “Top Gear” still remained far ahead.

Tamara, like a newborn calf unafraid of tigers, actually went directly to poach talent, causing the three stooges to leave the BBC where “Top Gear” was located, and instead began a new car review show with Tamara - “The Grand Tour”!

As for how Tamara did it, it was nothing more than using her money…

The production company of “The Grand Tour” was co-founded by Tamara and the three stooges. Each of the three stooges was able to get 15% of the shares of this company, SEM Group held 30% of the shares, and Tamara held the other 25% of the shares.

And this company is mainly funded by SEM Group and Tamara, which means the three stooges can get 15% of the shares for free. In addition, their remuneration for participating in the show is also higher than when they were at the BBC, so it’s no wonder these three would make such a choice.

Therefore, although Tamara very much wanted to accompany Barron on his trip, she definitely couldn’t leave now that the new show was about to start production.

Yes, Barron is ready to leave England and start his Asian tour.

Currently, the affairs in England have been handled almost completely…

As for the acquisition of Barclays Bank’s BGI, he handed it over to Davis, the president of Standard Chartered-Merrill Lynch, to complete.

This acquisition has basically been finalized, and what remains is just the negotiation of specific terms…

This also means that BlackRock Group has lost the opportunity to acquire BGI, which would have greatly increased its assets under management.

And Chancellor of the Exchequer Darling also announced yesterday that the relevant financial regulatory authorities in England will begin the first round of investigation into the determination of LIBOR. This investigation will be conducted in a low-key manner and will not be publicized, also to avoid the news from spreading and causing the United States to get involved.

The results of this investigation will also determine how the government will adjust the LIBOR pricing method and related supervision.

Before Barron left London, the Global Industry Investment Fund (GII Fund) finally reached an agreement with the board of directors of ARM Holdings, and they will complete the acquisition of ARM Holdings at a market value of 5 billion US dollars.

Of course, because GII Fund had previously acquired a considerable portion of the company’s shares by acquiring ARM Holdings shares held by NXP Semiconductors and absorbing them in the secondary market.

Therefore, the actual funds that GII Fund needs to pay are only about 3.5 billion US dollars.

After completing this acquisition, ARM Holdings will be delisted from the London Stock Exchange and the NASDAQ Stock Exchange, and become a wholly-owned company of GII Fund.

According to the agreement reached between GII Fund and the board of directors of ARM Holdings, after GII Fund completes the acquisition, ARM Holdings will still authorize ARM architecture chips to all cooperative companies in accordance with the previous operating methods to collect fees, and maintain independence from those manufacturers.

At the same time, GII Fund will also provide funds for ARM Holdings to expand the scale of its research and development center at its London headquarters to provide the latest chip architecture for mobile smart devices.

ARM Holdings’ senior management will also travel with Barron on this Asian tour. After all, the Asian market, especially the Chinese market, will be an important market for ARM Holdings. Therefore, the first thing ARM Holdings did after being acquired by GII Fund was to send a team to China for inspection. If suitable, it will begin to prepare for the establishment of ARM Holdings’ Chinese branch.

Chapter 671: The Disruptor

“Welcome, Your Grace.”

The Devonshire landed at Yokota Air Base in Tokyo. Barron’s first stop on his Asian tour was Japan.

This time, he was keeping a relatively low profile, visiting in a personal capacity. However, he was still greeted at the airport by Masayoshi Son, the founder of SoftBank Group.

Generally speaking, entrepreneurs fall into two categories: those who are high-profile and good at building their image to gain public favor and support, which they then extend to their companies and products; and those who are very low-profile, rarely appearing in the public eye, let alone frequently giving interviews and facing the camera.

In the early stages of Barron’s “entrepreneurship,” he was more like the first type. “The youngest Duke in Britain” and “investment genius” could be said to be Barron’s public image. After all, at that time, he needed to rely on these images to obtain funding and expand his investment scale.

He not only gave interviews back then, but also actively participated in some reality TV shows.

But now, Barron no longer needs to build his personal brand image in this way. Furthermore, as his assets have grown, he doesn’t even want his name to appear on the rich lists, so he has become increasingly low-profile. He himself hasn’t given an interview in a long time; related interviews are conducted by his spokesperson.

As for Masayoshi Son, he clearly belongs to the first type. He can often be seen in various reports, and this image has brought great benefits to SoftBank Group. For example, after the subprime mortgage crisis, although SoftBank Group didn’t receive as much investment from the Middle East as it did in the original timeline—50 billion US dollars—it still received a portion of the funds withdrawn from the United States by the Middle East, probably one or two hundred billion US dollars.

Barron and Masayoshi Son have known each other for quite some time, after all, they are both shareholders of Alibaba.

In addition to this relationship, SoftBank Group has also cooperated with Barron’s related industries in many ways. Furthermore, both parties have received significant investment from Middle Eastern funds, so Masayoshi Son warmly welcomed and hosted him on this visit to Japan.

“Congratulations, Mr. Son. You have been very successful in transforming Vodafone Japan, and thank you for bringing the Honor Mate series phones to the Japanese market…”

“It can be said that we have a win-win situation, Your Grace. The functionality and quality of Honor phones, which are different from Apple’s iPhones, are the main reasons for their success here.”

The mutual flattery between Barron and Masayoshi Son easily created a harmonious atmosphere between them.

However, Barron wasn’t exaggerating too much. SoftBank Group really deserves credit for bringing Honor phones to the Japanese market.

In fact, the Japanese mobile phone market is somewhat unique. During the era of feature phones, when brands like Nokia, Samsung, and Motorola were popular around the world, the most used mobile phone brands in Japan were Sharp, NEC, and Panasonic.

This wasn’t because the Japanese were patriotic, nor was it because they thought Nokia, Samsung, and Motorola were not good. The main reason was that the Japanese had money and were afraid of trouble. Therefore, they didn’t compare prices themselves and then go to the store to buy a phone. Instead, they went directly to the mobile phone operators to buy a phone.

Therefore, even if there were Nokia and other foreign brands of mobile phones for sale in the stores, the local people were mainly accustomed to buying phones through operators, and these operators had intricate connections with the large domestic conglomerates, which also controlled local mobile phone brands such as Sharp, NEC, and Panasonic.

Since this was the case, they would definitely only sell their own brands of mobile phones to the public. No matter how good Nokia, Samsung, and Motorola phones were, they could never enter the sales channels of the operators.

After the advent of the smartphone era, Apple phones and the Honor Mate series phones were very popular in many countries. However, for a long time, people in Japan were still using local brands of feature phones.

Japanese feature phones were more developed than those in any other country in the world. They had super-large screens, flip-phone TVs, and extremely rich internet services provided by the operators… This was a closed Japanese mobile internet system that had been operating well for many years.

Under the promotion of these operators, the Japanese people generally believed that traditional feature phones could already meet users’ needs very well, and that smartphones were too complicated to use.

SoftBank Group, from its very beginning, existed as a disruptor in the industry.

As early as 2001, Masayoshi Son’s SoftBank Group entered the long-monopolized broadband market in Japan.

At that time, the PC internet market in Japan was dominated by NTT, a long-established state-owned enterprise. The cost of internet access for the public was very expensive, and the internet speed was not fast.

NTT was a long-established state-owned enterprise in Japan, and its political and economic status in Japan was unmatched.

Masayoshi Son was very courageous at the time. He risked everything, taking gasoline and a lighter and rushing into the office of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, forcing officials to negotiate with him—demanding that the government amend the law to prevent NTT, which had long monopolized the fixed-line internet market in Japan, from exclusively occupying the fiber optic business.

In the end, Masayoshi Son’s gamble paid off. After negotiations, the Japanese government allowed SoftBank Group to enter this market. Therefore, Masayoshi Son’s SoftBank Group gained a huge market share through a low-price strategy, becoming an important network operator in Japan.

Later, in March 2006, SoftBank Group entered the mobile communications market.

They announced that they would acquire Vodafone Japan for 1.75 trillion yen (approximately 11.87 billion US dollars), officially entering the mobile communications business.

SoftBank Group didn’t have that much money at the time, and they took on a huge debt of 1.9 trillion yen for this.

Afterward, also through a low-price strategy, SoftBank Group launched a price war, constantly increasing its market share, becoming one of the three major mobile operators in Japan, along with NTT DoCoMo and KDDI.

As mentioned earlier, the main way for people in Japan to buy mobile phones is through the channels of mobile operators.

Therefore, after becoming a major mobile operator in Japan, SoftBank Group disrupted the Japanese mobile phone industry again—they introduced Apple phones and the Honor Mate series phones into the Japanese domestic market.

As early as when Apple phones were still in development, Masayoshi Son had already taken the initiative to meet with Steve Jobs in the United States, and eventually obtained the sales rights for the iPhone in Japan.

After the launch of Honor phones, SoftBank Group was also the only telecommunications operator in Japan willing to take on the sales rights for Honor phones.

Initially, because the Japanese people generally used feature phones, including other operators in the industry, they were not optimistic about SoftBank’s move, believing that the Japanese people were not accustomed to using smartphones, and therefore his move would ultimately end in failure.

But the final result was surprising. SoftBank Group succeeded again. Apple phones and the Honor Mate series phones were very popular in Japan, and young people bought them one after another, taking pride in using Apple phones and Mate series phones. The market share of these two mobile phone brands continued to rise, becoming the best-selling mobile phone brands in Japan.

Of course, the sales of iPhones and Honor Mate series phones achieved a win-win effect for SoftBank. The introduction of these two touch-screen smartphones greatly enhanced SoftBank Group’s appeal, and a large number of fashionable young people in Japan flocked to SoftBank Group’s network.

The amount of data traffic these people spent on iPhones and Mate series phones every month was quite astonishing. The monthly data spending on smartphones was more than ten times that of feature phones, which also made SoftBank Group the first operator in Japan whose data revenue exceeded its voice revenue.

In fact, whether it was Barron’s acquisition of O2 Telecom, using a low-price strategy, or later the acquisition of T-Mobile USA, using a low-price strategy to impact the American telecommunications market, they all more or less referenced Masayoshi Son’s successful methods in the Japanese telecommunications market.

Chapter 672: Long-Term Plan

“Your Grace, our short-selling in Japan and South Korea is already yielding good returns…”

After being hosted by Masayoshi Son, Barron met with Phelan O’Neill, who was currently in Tokyo.

Having completed the short-selling of the subprime mortgage crisis in the American market through the Black Swan Fund, Phelan O’Neill, after receiving a generous profit share, gladly accepted another task: to cooperate with other Wall Street capital and launch short-selling operations against Japan and South Korea.

After all, Wall Street capital had suffered significant losses in the subprime mortgage crisis and needed to recoup some of their losses elsewhere. Their first targets were Japan and South Korea – after all, colonies are for exploitation.

Of course, short-selling in Japan and South Korea at this time would not yield the same returns as the Black Swan Fund’s short-selling in America.

But there were also advantages: in these two regions, at least, they could act with less restraint and use more means.

This time, including the approximately 20 billion US dollars raised by Barron through the IE Fund, Rich23 Capital, and other channels, plus other Wall Street capital, they had a total of 50 billion US dollars for short-selling.

So far, according to Phelan O’Neill, their profits have exceeded 10 billion US dollars, and this is still not the final result…

“We have developed a comprehensive long-term plan that will allow us to continuously profit from these markets, even after this short-selling is completed and the Japanese and South Korean markets enter a recovery period.”

Phelan O’Neill excitedly introduced to Barron.

It could be said that what they had developed was a long-term plan with a cycle of several years, or even decades!

Taking the Japanese market as an example, Phelan O’Neill and those Wall Street capital firms would use the principal and profits from this short-selling to purchase corporate bonds of large American companies through Wall Street banks. After the subprime mortgage crisis, even with the Federal Reserve about to launch quantitative easing, many companies’ financing channels had not fully recovered, so the interest rates on these corporate bonds would be above 5%.

Then, they would use these corporate bonds as collateral to issue a large number of bonds in Japan. As everyone knows, interest rates in Japan are very low. These five-year Japanese yen bonds often have interest rates below 0.5%!

The interest rate on 30-year long-term bonds is only 1.5%, almost like giving it away!

At the same time, in addition to Japan launching quantitative easing and injecting a large amount of funds into the market, the Bank of Japan has implemented a series of innovations to further improve the efficiency of monetary policy transmission, one of which is to expand the scope of asset purchases.

When central banks implement quantitative easing, they generally only purchase government bonds or bonds with government credit – for example, the Federal Reserve purchased more than 3 trillion US dollars of government bonds, agency bonds, and MBS during the subprime mortgage crisis.

The Bank of Japan, in addition to purchasing a large number of Japanese government bonds, also purchased risky assets such as corporate bonds, commercial paper, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), and real estate investment trusts (REITs), mainly to reduce risk premiums and long-term interest rates and improve the corporate financing environment.

Then these Wall Street capital firms could completely get the Bank of Japan to purchase the bonds they issued, thereby obtaining sufficient funds, and in Japanese yen!

At that time, because the Japanese stock market had already been shorted by them, they could then use the yen obtained from issuing bonds to buy up Japanese stocks in large quantities, purchasing shares of their five major trading companies and other large companies.

Next, after the start of quantitative easing, the yen would enter a long-term depreciation channel, and the yen would depreciate against the US dollar by a large percentage. So, the key point is that the funds they used to purchase Japanese stocks on a large scale came from the yen obtained from issuing bonds in Japan, while their own funds were used to purchase corporate bonds in America. Finally, when they needed to repay the bonds issued in Japan, because the yen had depreciated against the US dollar, repaying in US dollars would be like getting a huge discount!

And their US dollar principal would have earned high interest rates for so many years for nothing!

After the Japanese economy recovered, in addition to being able to leave with profits, they could also find opportunities to short-sell again!

Therefore, in an ideal situation, they could continuously repeat this process.

And Japan’s financial policies would also cooperate with their entire operation… not that they were willing to do so, but if they didn’t, a mysterious department in Japan would be dispatched – the Special Investigation Department of the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office. Those politicians who didn’t listen would inevitably be found to have accepted bribes and committed corruption, and would be forced to step down.

In Japanese politics, the Special Investigation Department of the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office is very powerful, because behind the entire department, there is always the shadow of America. It can even be said that they are a knife that America has inserted into Japan.

Because the Special Investigation Department and ordinary Japanese political figures are originally “two trees grown from different roots.”

The origin of the Special Investigation Department is closely related to the US military stationed in Japan.

During World War II, when the Japanese army was defeated, they hid a large number of supplies, partly to allow the Japanese army to make a comeback if possible, and partly to become the private property of powerful figures.

In order to search for the various materials hidden by the Japanese army, the Allied Command headed by MacArthur established an organization called the “Mobile Team,” whose members were mostly Japanese staff members of the former American consulate and Japanese employees of the Allied Command.

Most of them were fluent in English and admired and accepted Anglo-American social concepts.

After special training, these personnel went to work, relying on their advantage of being far more familiar with Japan than Americans. The Mobile Team seized a lot of hidden assets for the US military and made great contributions.

Since then, this organization has been retained, specializing in investigating corruption and bribery in the Japanese political and financial circles. This is the predecessor of the Special Investigation Department.

Today, the Special Investigation Department of the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office is still a way for the United States to exert influence over Japan. This is not difficult to understand, after all, this department once seized countless hidden properties of Japanese nobles and financial groups in order to “please” the United States. This also greatly offended the local Japanese forces, so in order to continue, they can only lean more towards the United States.

In addition, after becoming America’s “direct descendant” in Japan, the Special Investigation Department of the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office also gained “privileges” that surpassed many big figures. The taste of this power would make it difficult for those within it to give up.

And even if the Japanese Prime Minister kowtows to the United States, for the members of the Special Investigation Department of the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office, there is absolutely no psychological barrier to their actions.

Chapter 673: Ruthless Person

Baron didn’t stay in Japan for too long. On the third day, he had already flown back to Hong Kong, China.

In Hong Kong, Baron checked into the newly opened Devonshire Hotel. Hong Kong already had a Four Seasons hotel group, but in the Four Seasons-Cavendish Hotel Group’s plan, they would open or acquire more than 80 hotels worldwide within 10 years, implementing the “10-20-50” strategy, which meant adding 10 Devonshire luxury hotels, 20 Four Seasons high-end hotels, and 50 Cavendish luxury hotels.

The main growth would be in Asia, with a focus on the Chinese region, where emerging wealth would accelerate.

One of the Devonshire luxury hotels was chosen for Hong Kong, the financial center of Asia.

This time, Baron came to Hong Kong mainly to inspect some of his businesses and provide support for some of them. Therefore, he was very low-key on this trip. Not only would he not have any contact with the authorities, but he also refused all private banquets from local tycoons.

After all, as a British Duke, his identity was somewhat sensitive when he came to Hong Kong, China. There must be quite a few people paying attention to his trip.

“We established the headquarters of AIA Insurance in Hong Kong to express our willingness to continue to use AIA Insurance as the main force to develop the Asian market, and we will provide the greatest support for this.”

As soon as he arrived in Hong Kong, Baron met with Arthur Henriques, the CEO of AIA Insurance, and expressed his support.

After Youcheng Insurance Group acquired AIA Insurance from American International Group, it still retained AIA Insurance as an independent company. Now, the headquarters of AIA Insurance has moved from the United States to Hong Kong. In fact, the headquarters of AIA Insurance was originally in Hong Kong, but the headquarters of its parent company, American International Assurance, was in the United States.

This also shows that AIA Insurance, as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Youcheng Insurance Group, has its main market in the entire Asian region radiating from Hong Kong.

In emerging markets such as Asia in the future, they will use the AIA brand for business, while in the European market, they will continue to use the original Youcheng brand for business.

However, compared to AIA Insurance, the “subsidiary” of Youcheng Insurance Group, its market value is much larger than its parent company.

The reason for this arrangement is also because AIA Insurance has developed a large customer base and brand effect in Asia after years of development, and should not be easily abandoned.

“In the next few years or even decades, the Asian region, especially China, will be the most growing market in the insurance industry. Our AIA Insurance will also invest in this market. Your Grace, especially in China, we have established Youcheng China Insurance Company as our China branch, which will also be our largest branch, to jointly develop this market with local partners.”

It can be seen that Arthur Henriques still attaches great importance to the Chinese market. Before this, he had just returned from mainland China, leading the team to inspect the Chinese insurance industry.

In the previous acquisition, Arthur Henriques stood on the side of Cavendish Trust, that is, Baron’s side. Therefore, after completing the acquisition of AIA Insurance, he was retained and continued to serve as the CEO of AIA Insurance.

The reason for making such a choice is also that Arthur Henriques is optimistic about DS Group and Baron’s investment capabilities. Insurance companies collect premiums and then pay out when conditions are met. During this period, there will be a large amount of idle funds, and an important part of their profit is the investment income of these idle funds.

Cooperating with DS Group for investment can ensure that AIA Insurance’s funds will have more reliable and considerable returns.

After all, the original parent company of AIA Insurance, American International Group, had to sell them due to huge losses in their investment department.

In contrast, DS Group not only performed well in the subprime mortgage crisis, but also in its investments since its establishment.

……

After arriving in Hong Kong, Baron also gave his personal assistant, Zhang Junning, a two-day vacation as he said before. Her parents also came to Hong Kong from Taiwan to see her at this time.

After all, since taking office as Baron’s personal assistant, although the treatment is generous, Zhang Junning can be said to have had no vacation for quite a long time, let alone going home to see her parents. Now that there is this opportunity, she can also reunite with her family.

At this time, he was meeting with a visiting guest in the hotel’s presidential suite.

This visiting guest is the famous Li Ka-shing.

In fact, this is not the first time Baron has met Li Ka-shing. Before he was preparing to acquire Standard Chartered Bank, he had come to Hong Kong to meet some Hong Kong tycoons and acquired some of Standard Chartered Bank’s shares from them. At that time, Baron had met Li Ka-shing.

This time, after Baron arrived in Hong Kong, he declined all private banquets, including those from Li Ka-shing.

However, what he didn’t expect was that Li Ka-shing came directly to the hotel to see him after failing to invite him.

Speaking of which, Baron has intercepted many of Li Ka-shing’s projects, including British Northern Gas Networks and British Power Networks, which were projects acquired by Li Ka-shing in the original timeline.

Even O2 Telecom Li Ka-shing once thought about acquiring, but this acquisition ultimately failed to pass the review of the British regulatory agency.

Obviously, Li Ka-shing has not given up his intention to invest in Britain. In his conversation with him, Baron can also see his intention.

This is no wonder. Although Li Ka-shing is considered to have connections in Britain, and he himself has been awarded a knighthood by the Queen, he understands even more that Baron, the British Duke, has a very large influence in Britain. If he can have a good relationship with him and get his support, it will also be beneficial to his series of acquisitions in Britain.

So, making money is not shameful. For this reason, the richest man in Asia personally came to the Devonshire Hotel to see Baron, which is not surprising.

Moreover, if based on personal wealth, although Baron is younger than Li Ka-shing’s youngest son, he can still rank third on the global rich list this year.

“I very much welcome you to invest in Britain, Sir, especially at this moment, the economic crisis has not yet passed, and the world is likely to fall into a long-term recession. Any investment is worth welcoming…”

Baron doesn’t like talking to old foxes like Li Ka-shing very much. After all, it’s really unpleasant to always talk in circles.

More importantly, according to the habits of the Chinese people, facing Li Ka-shing’s various praises, Baron should always be humble…

But his current wealth and status, relative to his youth, seems that no matter how humble he is, it looks like he is showing off in a roundabout way.

Okay, Baron can only congratulate Li Ka-shing on having another grandson…

The thing is like this, the hottest news in Hong Kong recently is nothing more than the “scandal” between actress Isabella Leong and Li Ka-shing’s second son, Little Superman. Of course, it’s not just a scandal now, because the media directly announced the photos of Little Superman’s “family of three.” At the end of April, Isabella Leong gave birth to a son for Little Superman in Canada.

Li Ka-shing was overjoyed and personally named this grandson “Cheung Chi”… (meaning “long-lasting governance”)

However, Baron knows that this Isabella Leong is also a ruthless person. In order to marry into a wealthy family, she gave birth to a son for Little Superman without a title, and then gave birth to three sons for Little Superman in a row. Even before Baron was reborn, news of Isabella Leong being pregnant with a fourth child began to come out…

Of course, she didn’t lose out either. Although she never married into the Li family in the end, she at least took away more than 500 million in alimony from the Li family, and her sons all have inheritance rights…

Chapter 674: Tianhe Real Estate

On the same day that Barron left Hong Kong for mainland China, a “small matter” also occurred in France.

A sports car, speeding, experienced brake failure, veered off the road, and the driver died on the spot.

The driver of the sports car was named Misso Edou, a 35-year-old French Jew.

The Edou family had always maintained close ties with the Rothschild family, and Misso Edou was an important partner and close friend of Benjamin Rothschild.

“Are there any results?”

Facing Benjamin Rothschild’s question, an ordinary-looking man replied:

“Yes, Mr. Rothschild. Mr. Edou’s sports car was tampered with, which caused the accident…”

“The Webber family’s doing?”

“Although there is no evidence, the previous incident just happened, and now…”

“Our old friend from England must be behind this…”

In fact, although there was no clear evidence linking William Webber Capital to Barron Cavendish, the Rothschild family had already begun to suspect the source of William Webber Capital’s funds when N M Rothschild Bank lost a large sum of money to William Webber Capital due to a gambling agreement.

After all, although the Webber family was behind William Webber Capital, daring to place such a huge bet with them was not the Webber family’s usual style.

However, although some superficial information about William Webber Capital’s equity structure could be found, many of the shareholders, when traced, were clearly shell companies meant to conceal the truth…

And the source of William Webber Capital’s funds…

Although the Rothschild family still had its foundation and influence, it could not be as aggressive as the American government in penetrating the global financial system to trace funds—even the American government could not track funds in many situations.

But various signs, such as William Webber Capital’s CEO Ashley Webber having met with Barron, and after her car accident, a group of security personnel holding British passports protecting her… combining these pieces of information, in Benjamin Rothschild’s eyes, the most likely conclusion was reached.

Looking at it this way, Misso Edou’s death could be considered part of the other side’s revenge.

This did indeed make Benjamin Rothschild somewhat uncomfortable, mainly because although the Edou family had cooperated with his family for many years, after Misso Edou’s death, the Edou family’s inheritance would undoubtedly fall on his younger brother, Guido Edou…

And Guido Edou had had many conflicts with Benjamin Rothschild, and the two did not get along.

“Send people to find out where those Englishmen are. I don’t believe they can hide from our sight after coming to France…”

Benjamin said with a cold expression.

“Yes, Mr. Rothschild.”

…

Arriving in mainland China, Barron’s first stop was Shanghai.

In fact, the subprime mortgage crisis that swept the globe also had a certain impact on China. The direct impact was that some Chinese financial investment companies had purchased American subprime-related products, which caused considerable losses.

But objectively speaking, because China’s restrictions on investing in foreign financial products were relatively strict, the scale of these investments was not large and was within an acceptable range.

Also, with the decline in global stock markets, China’s A-shares also fell sharply last year.

Taking Shanghai as an example, the stock index fell from a high of 5499.6 points at the beginning of last year to a low of 1664.93 points at the end of the year, which can be said to be very tragic.

Of course, in addition to these, the subprime mortgage crisis also had many indirect effects on China. For example, America was its largest source of trade surplus, and with another major trading partner, Europe, also deeply affected by the subprime mortgage crisis, China’s exports would also be significantly affected.

At the same time, because the major countries in the world were successively entering quantitative easing policies, the Chinese currency also faced considerable appreciation pressure, which would also be detrimental to exports.

Faced with this situation, China also launched a 4 trillion yuan plan to stimulate the domestic economy…

“With the relaxation of credit, the real estate industry has become active again, and the development of our Tianhe Real Estate has begun to accelerate…”

Li Lu came to Cavendish Garden at 699 Yuyuan Road and met Barron here. She said:

“We have reached an agreement with the Shanghai government that after Costco settles in Shanghai, a series of commercial complexes will be built around this supermarket…”

Yes, according to the plan, Costco’s first store in China is about to settle in Shanghai, which is almost ten years earlier than in Barron’s previous life!

In fact, there was some discussion within Costco about whether to enter the mainland Chinese market now.

After all, Costco’s style is mainly a wholesale warehouse supermarket model featuring quality, low prices, and large quantities. Like in America, many families drive to Costco for bulk shopping…

At this time in China, the popularity of private cars was still not high, so it was worth discussing whether Costco’s approach would be adapted to the local conditions.

However, on the one hand, Costco had successful experience in Taiwan, and the first store in China was also selected in Shanghai, the economic center of China, where various conditions were relatively ideal. Therefore, the decision to enter the Shanghai market was finally passed.

Of course, this is just an intention at the moment. The earliest Costco can open is next year.

Tianhe Real Estate will also be able to use this opportunity to build a commercial complex centered on Costco, and the world’s first Gucci-Hermès integrated flagship store will also open in this commercial complex—all the brands under the Gucci-Hermès Group will appear in this integrated flagship store, which is also the first time the Gucci-Hermès Group has attempted this form of store globally.

Therefore, this project is relatively attractive to Shanghai. Currently, this project is also being negotiated with the local government. Once it can be implemented, the local government will also provide Tianhe Real Estate with an ideal location for construction.

It can be said that this is the most important real estate project since the establishment of Tianhe Real Estate.

Not only Li Lu, the CEO of Tianhe Capital, but also Barron attached great importance to this.

“In addition to this project, when I was in Hong Kong, I also talked to Li Ka-shing and will take over some of his land for construction later, so you can send someone to contact them about this.”

In the end, Li Ka-shing is just a businessman who rose to prominence with the support of HSBC—in fact, even among businessmen, his bottom line is relatively low…

This can be seen from his various underhanded operations in mainland China. Taking advantage of the opportunity for various places to seek investment and development, he used huge investments as bait to acquire large tracts of land at low prices, giving those local governments who did not know the dangers of the business world a lesson—after obtaining the land, he hardly invested in construction anymore, hoarding the land and waiting for China’s economy to take off before selling it at a high price.

Well, it’s not that he doesn’t build at all. He goes to repair something every once in a while. Who told you that your contract doesn’t stipulate the completion date of the project? I strive for perfection. Is it not okay to build for 100 years?

Chapter 675: The Fall Guy

Compared to other real estate companies in China, Tianhe Real Estate’s shortcoming was its relatively small land reserve. After all, it was newly established and had missed the period when land prices in China were relatively low.

However, Barron was very optimistic about China’s future development, and the real estate sector still had a golden decade ahead. More importantly, even if housing prices started to fall in the future, real estate in China’s first-tier cities would still have a certain scarcity.

Therefore, he didn’t mind being Li Ka-shing’s “fall guy,” taking over some of his land in mainland China.

In addition to these plots, according to Barron’s instructions, Tianhe Real Estate also acquired the development and construction rights for a plot of land near Daci Temple and East Avenue in Jinjiang District, Rongcheng, for 2 billion Chinese yuan. In Barron’s previous life, this area was acquired by Sino-Ocean Land and Swire Properties in late 2010. The commercial complex built later was named “Taikoo Li.”

Barron had visited Taikoo Li in Rongcheng in his previous life. At that time, Taikoo Li had already become one of the most well-known “internet-famous check-in spots” in the country.

After acquiring this area, Barron, based on some of his memories from his previous life, brought in the most famous design company in England. Starting next year, Tianhe Real Estate would invest heavily to build a “Tianhe Li” here.

As for funding, IE Fund under Tianhe Capital had already made a lot of money in the subprime mortgage crisis and had also invested some funds in this short-selling plan against Japan and South Korea. With the support of Standard Chartered Bank and Bank of Communications, funding was not a problem at all.

Furthermore, thanks to China’s 4 trillion yuan stimulus plan, and the hope that the “Tianhe Li” project could revitalize Chunxi Road and become a new city landmark for Rongcheng, they also received strong support from Rongcheng. It could be said that doing real estate at this time was quite comfortable—as long as you could provide “landmark” projects for the local area, the level of support you could get was very high.

After all, the competition between cities in China at this time was also quite fierce.

After Li Lu finished discussing some matters related to Tianhe Capital with Barron, Fan Bingbing kept her for dinner at Cavendish Garden.

Yes, knowing that Barron would return to China, Fan Bingbing also brought her child to Shanghai to wait for Barron.

Fan Bingbing and Li Lu were already very familiar with each other. As the manager of Tianhe Capital, Li Lu herself often met with Fan Bingbing.

During dinner, Fan Bingbing also talked about some things about Tianhe Film & Television Investment Company. Now, the time was getting closer and closer for capital to enter the film and television industry. Fan Bingbing had almost gradually transitioned behind the scenes since giving birth to her child. News of her appearance was generally related to some film and television investments.

It seemed that she had transitioned to her new identity quite well—in terms of film and television investment alone, Fan Bingbing had done very well under Barron’s guidance.

In addition to Barron transferring his shares in Huayi Brothers to Fan Bingbing, Tianhe Film & Television Investment Company also invested in another film and television company—Enlight Media.

In terms of film investment, the films invested in by Fan Bingbing on behalf of Tianhe Film & Television Investment Company included “Let the Bullets Fly” and “Aftershock”…

“Let the Bullets Fly” was the first film project after Jiang Wen and Ma Ke founded Bu Yi Le Hu Film & Television Company. The total investment in this film was around 150 million Chinese yuan. Of course, their company could not come up with so much money. This included Tianhe Film & Television Company’s investment of 50 million Chinese yuan, and they would be one of the producers.

“Aftershock” was a large-scale production directed by Feng Xiaogang of Huayi Brothers. Previously, Fan Bingbing participated in the investment of Feng Xiaogang’s film “Assembly,” which moved Feng Xiaogang very much. This time, Tianhe Film & Television Investment Company naturally invested together with Huayi Brothers in “Aftershock”…

“Looks like you have a good relationship with Li Lu…”

After Li Lu left, after putting the child to sleep, Barron and Fan Bingbing returned to the bedroom together, and he said casually.

“Of course, she is a very capable person. I have learned a lot from her, and I admire her very much.”

Speaking of which, Fan Bingbing’s greatest advantage was that she was very good at knowing when to advance and retreat, and she was very sensible. Therefore, although her relationship with Barron was so close, and it could even be said that Barron’s industries in China were all in her name, she did not act spoiled and arrogant, but was very clear about her own abilities.

She would not interfere with Li Lu’s management of Tianhe Capital, but would only get involved in film and television investment aspects that she could understand. She would also actively maintain a good relationship with Li Lu and had been learning from her.

In Barron’s previous life, Fan Bingbing was able to become “I am my own tycoon” from ordinary origins—although there was also hype involved, she relied on more than just her beauty to reach that level. Her way of dealing with people was indeed commendable.

As for the tax problems that were later exposed, it could only be said that this kind of thing was very common in the film and television industry at that time. However, including her and Huayi, they all became “early birds” and were targeted.

Of course, wrong was wrong, and Barron had also specifically instructed Fan Bingbing that Tianhe Film & Television Investment Company must not have any violations in terms of taxation. They also hired the most professional team to handle this aspect of things, and absolutely prohibited any “reasonable tax avoidance.”

Barron spent a few days in Shanghai with Fan Bingbing and her child.

Speaking of which, Fan Bingbing would leave for America in July to shoot a movie.

The movie she was about to shoot was Nolan’s “Inception.” Fan Bingbing played the architect Ariadne, who was the assistant to the dream thief played by Leonardo DiCaprio.

“Inception” was originally produced by Legendary Pictures in the original timeline, but now, it was directly acquired by Marvel-MGM Group in advance and became the producer of this film.

As for Fan Bingbing’s joining, it was not entirely Barron pulling strings. After her previous participation in the “Succession” series and “Quantum of Solace,” she also had a relatively good reputation overseas. Therefore, she was fully qualified to join the movie “Inception.” After all, the role she played could at most be considered the second female lead.

Of course, Barron definitely played a certain role in this.

After all, Hollywood movies still had a huge market in China. Participating in Hollywood movies could indeed increase the status of Chinese actors a lot.

When Hollywood movies were no longer so attractive for various reasons more than ten years later, this kind of thing would not happen—moreover, when that time really came, even white actors could not compete with black actors under political correctness, let alone Chinese actors…

Chapter 676: For Peace

On June 10th, Avago, a semiconductor company headquartered in Singapore, announced an agreement to acquire LSI Corporation for $4.5 billion.

Avago Technologies, a global leader in analog, mixed-signal, and optoelectronic components, is expected to strengthen its position in the enterprise storage market and expand its product offerings with this acquisition of storage chip manufacturer LSI Corp (LSI), according to relevant agencies.

Furthermore, this transaction will create a semiconductor company with annual revenue of approximately $5 billion and will immediately help improve Avago’s free cash flow and earnings per share.

Under the agreement, Avago will pay $7.6 per share of LSI stock, a premium of nearly 30% to the stock’s closing price last Friday.

Avago’s CEO, Hock Tan, told the media that $1 billion of the funds required for the acquisition would come from the company’s own funds, while another $2 billion would be provided by Rich23 Capital and IC Capital, with these companies’ investments taking the form of five-year convertible bonds.

In addition, $1.5 billion would come from bank loans from Standard Chartered Bank.

The transaction has been approved by both companies’ boards of directors and is subject to LSI shareholder approval. The transaction is expected to be completed by the end of this year.

Hock Tan also stated that the transaction is expected to help save $200 million in costs in the first full fiscal year after completion.

At this time, Barron had already left China and arrived in Australia aboard the Devonshire, where he picked up Bonnie and his two children, as well as Countess Booth. and her children, for the return trip to London.

The Earl of Booth. had left Australia earlier, but for security reasons, Barron had asked Bonnie and the children to stay at Grace Lavender Farm for a while longer. Her cousin, Chris, had stayed with Bonnie and the children until now.

“I almost thought you’d forgotten about us here,” Countess Booth. couldn’t help but complain when she saw Barron.

“Of course not. There was just a slight hiccup… I must say, Madam, you look even more charming than the last time I saw you…”

“Heh, Barron, while I’m happy to hear you say that, it would be better if it felt a little more sincere.”

“I am being very sincere. If you don’t believe me, you can experience it for yourself later.”

After leaving these words in Chris’s ear, causing her face to flush slightly, Barron walked towards Bonnie and embraced her:

“Baby, I’m so sorry. Something delayed the trip.”

“Although I’m very curious about the reason, darling, I know you must have been doing it for our sake.”

“Everything is in the past now. It’s just that my partner in France had a bit of a problem, and I had some security concerns, but that’s been resolved.”

Taking George and Richard, the two brothers, from the hands of a maid, Barron easily said to Bonnie, holding one in each arm.

In fact, Bonnie’s stay in Australia wasn’t just about waiting.

Taking advantage of her time in Australia, the SEM Group was in the process of acquiring Australia’s Channel Ten television network. As a director of the SEM Group, Bonnie also participated in the acquisition. After completing the acquisition of Channel Ten, she used her extensive program production experience to help Channel Ten—now renamed ITV.AU—establish its local program production department.

Although ITV.AU can import many of the SEM Group’s programs, some related variety shows will also be produced locally.

The original Channel Ten wasn’t very good at this, which is why the television station continued to lose money. Now that it has been acquired by ITV, it can be said to have been completely revitalized.

Although he had maintained a high frequency of “learning” with Fan Bingbing in China, Barron was, after all, exceptionally gifted…

It wasn’t the first time he had experienced the feeling of “progressing a thousand miles in a day.” In the bedroom of the Devonshire, he first immersed his wife, Bonnie, in an atmosphere of learning, eventually causing her to fall asleep exhausted…

Then, as he had said to Countess Booth. earlier, he let her experience his “sincerity.”

This caused the Countess to exclaim that it was too sincere; Barron’s sincerity was overflowing…

…

“Everything is normal with Ms. Webber. Her health has recovered, and she can continue working…”

After returning to London, Barron met with Mikhail, who had returned from Paris. From him, he learned about Ashley Webber’s situation.

Although he had already learned the general details of the matter over the phone, Barron learned more detailed information during his meeting with Mikhail.

The “retaliation” against the Rothschild family had made them much more rational—often, having power doesn’t mean you like violence, but rather that it allows you to create more peace for others.

And Ashley Webber, back at work, hadn’t forgotten the Rothschild family’s “kindness.” She led William-Webber Capital, continuing to fiercely compete with NM Rothschild Bank in the private banking sector…

At the same time, the “minor dispute” between the Webber family and the Rothschild family, manifested in two car accidents, had attracted the attention of the French upper class. Even though there was no conclusive evidence pointing to either side in these accidents, Old Sa had people convey messages to both the Webber family and the Rothschild family, hoping that everything would be resolved within the rules, warning that if such “accidents” were to occur again, the government would not stand idly by.

If that was the case, then commercial matters would ultimately have to be resolved through commercial competition.

In this regard, with Barron as their backing, William-Webber Capital was not afraid of the other party.

In addition, Standard Chartered-Merrill Lynch’s president, Davis, lived up to Barron’s expectations and secured the acquisition of Barclays Bank’s investment division, BGI, in the negotiations.

According to the agreement between the two parties, Standard Chartered-Merrill Lynch will acquire Barclays Global Investors (BGI), Barclays Bank’s investment division, for $10 billion and the issuance of 175 million new shares—compared to before, Standard Chartered-Merrill Lynch’s stock price has risen and is now above $20 per share.

At the time, the consideration for Standard Chartered-Merrill Lynch’s acquisition of BGI was around $13.5 billion.

However, as news of Standard Chartered-Merrill Lynch’s acquisition of BGI spread, its stock price soared and has now reached $22.5 per share.

Calculated in this way, Standard Chartered-Merrill Lynch is acquiring BGI for a consideration of nearly $14 billion, which can be said to have made Barclays Bank very satisfied.

The only ones who were probably a little depressed were the BlackRock Group, after all, they had lost the opportunity to acquire BGI and use it to make a major foray into the ETF market—of course, they wouldn’t give up on this idea, but now they could only turn their attention to other acquisition targets.

Chapter 677: Shadow Cabinet

After completing the acquisition of Barclays Global Investors (BGI), BGI’s operations will be integrated into the asset management division of Standard Chartered-Merrill Lynch Group – Merrill Lynch Investment.

However, BGI’s ETF fund, iShares, will be fully retained, and Merrill Lynch Investment will use this as an opportunity to increase its scale in ETFs.

In this way, the assets managed by Standard Chartered-Merrill Lynch Group will exceed $2.5 trillion, becoming one of the largest asset management companies in the world.

“We are very optimistic about the future development of ETF funds, and after the subprime mortgage crisis, the global economic recession will eventually pass. This will not affect our investment strategy.”

In an interview, Standard Chartered-Merrill Lynch Group President Davis said:

“At the same time, we are also working with DS Group to create the latest risk assessment system. Yes, it will be similar to BlackRock’s ‘Aladdin’ system. In this regard, both Standard Chartered-Merrill Lynch and DS Capital have relatively rich experience – DS Capital’s quantitative fund is currently one of the best-performing and most stable quantitative funds in the world. Coupled with the historical data we have accumulated, I believe this risk assessment system will perform no less than the Aladdin system…”

“What do you think about Standard Chartered-Merrill Lynch Group’s market value just surpassing HSBC Holdings to become the largest listed bank in Britain?”

Regarding this question from the reporter – yes, because Standard Chartered-Merrill Lynch Group’s stock performance was more stable than other banks after the subprime mortgage crisis, and after successfully merging Barclays Bank’s asset management division recently, its market value has exceeded HSBC Holdings, becoming the number one listed bank in Britain – Davis replied:

“Stock performance does have its importance. This is good news for our investors, but it is not the most important thing. Standard Chartered-Merrill Lynch Group will not be limited to a certain region, but hopes to provide professional financial services to people around the world. And next, we will also have plans to list in America…”

“Timing? We cannot give a specific time for this. We need to consider the global economic situation. After all, now is not a good time for companies to go public, but we believe that the global economy will soon emerge from the recession and usher in a strong rebound.”

…

“This fully demonstrates the ambition of Standard Chartered-Merrill Lynch Group, doesn’t it?”

Just as Joe Harriman’s voice fell, with a “smack,” the woman who had been leaning over to pour coffee immediately straightened up and looked at Barron…

Fortunately, she remembered to hold on to the coffee pot, otherwise there would have been a big mess.

“You seem to have forgotten that you are no longer a financial news anchor, Ms. Harriman.”

Meeting Barron’s gaze, Joe Harriman placed the coffee pot on the table and then stood obediently in front of Barron, bending over…

It must be said that in addition to her extremely high looks, Joe Harriman’s figure is also very good. At least the places that should be there are very well-endowed – this should be inherited from her mother’s good genes as a former model.

However, Barron did not show any tenderness, facing her tight dress…

Another “smack” sounded.

“Now that the scale has reached the level of Standard Chartered-Merrill Lynch Group, simply being low-key is no longer useful. We also need to take on the responsibility of boosting market confidence.”

Barron’s words were like an answer to Joe Harriman’s earlier吐槽.

They are currently in Joe Harriman’s residence – after her previous residence was burglarized, Joe Harriman moved to this new residence.

The current community is located very close to the Greater London Authority, and many members of parliament and politicians live nearby, so the security is naturally very good.

And in view of the last incident, Barron also specially increased security measures for Joe Harriman, so in terms of security, this place is satisfactory enough.

Britain will hold another general election next year. Currently, in addition to being a member of the Greater London Assembly, Joe Harriman has also entered Cameron’s latest shadow cabinet as the Shadow Secretary of State for Women and Equalities, one of the three female members of the current Conservative shadow cabinet. The other two are Theresa May and Truss.

This is also related to the composition of the Conservative Party’s shadow cabinet. Before this, Cameron’s last shadow cabinet member list was called the “old boys’ club” by the media, who believed that there were too many male members – at that time, there was only one woman on the list, Home Secretary Theresa May…

Cameron’s advisors also suggested that he increase the number of female shadow cabinet members, otherwise it would be detrimental to next year’s election and would make the Conservative Party less attractive to female voters.

Therefore, he ultimately added Truss and Joe Harriman as female shadow cabinet members. Although the shadow cabinet position held by Joe Harriman is of low importance, it at least shows Cameron’s attitude…

After all, Joe Harriman, as a former well-known host, has always been labeled as an “independent woman.” In her previous elections, there would also be slogans emphasizing women’s rights, dedicated to increasing the social status of women.

And she has also made statements supporting special groups. Putting her in the position of Shadow Secretary of State for Women and Equalities is also conducive to the Conservative Party gaining votes from certain groups.

However, what others don’t know is that Joe Harriman, this independent woman, is not considered independent at all when she is with a certain Duke…

Of course, this scene will never be known to others.

“Some people within the Conservative Party are already, ah…”

Joe Harriman seems to particularly like talking about this kind of topic when doing certain things with Barron:

“Some people are dissatisfied with the party leader letting some old people make room for us…”

At this time, Barron was still calm and composed. He said lightly:

“I believe Cameron can persuade them, otherwise he wouldn’t be sitting in his current position. Speaking of which, although the Conservative Party’s style has changed somewhat, it is still more traditional than the Labour Party.”

“Then do you think we can win the election next year?”

With a “smack”…

“What did you say?”

“Ah, Master, do you think we can win next year?”

Joe Harriman’s face became even more rosy. She heard Barron say:

“That depends on the choice of the people, but currently it seems that the situation is favorable to the Conservative Party, isn’t it?”

Speaking of which, Brown is probably under a lot of pressure now. Not only did the Labour Party lose too many seats in last year’s local council elections, making them very passive, but also the satisfaction with the current government is not high in the opinion polls published by some institutions…

Chapter 678: LIBOR Secured

“Congratulations, Your Grace. LOMX Group has obtained the right to set the LIBOR rate…”

Hearing the congratulations from Lloyd Blankfein, CEO of Goldman Sachs, in the phone call, Baron said calmly:

“Thank you for your congratulations, Mr. Blankfein, but this is also a heavy responsibility for LOMX Group.”

“Haha, but as far as I know, the Federal Reserve is a bit dissatisfied with this, Your Grace.”

“That’s a matter between them and the British government… We are just the executors.”

Before Baron last left London, he had discussed the issue of LIBOR setting with Chancellor of the Exchequer Darling. After all, in his previous life, the LIBOR manipulation scandal ultimately led to the United States gaining the right to set the LIBOR rate.

After that, the relevant regulatory authorities in the UK launched an investigation into the pricing and supervision of LIBOR.

The final investigation results surprised Darling. He did not expect that the manipulation of LIBOR for profit by some large banks was more serious than he had imagined.

This also strengthened the British government’s determination to reform the LIBOR publishing process.

But one thing was that the British side did not want to make this matter too big, lest the United States take the opportunity to intervene and thus be at a disadvantage in the LIBOR competition.

Therefore, the British side did not disclose the specific investigation results, but instead called the British Bankers’ Association and several related banks to a meeting.

The final result was that the British Bankers’ Association was stripped of the right to price and supervise LIBOR—after all, the results of the investigation showed that even if the British Bankers’ Association did not directly participate in the manipulation of LIBOR, they at least condoned it.

After all, they found that this manipulation of LIBOR for profit was not a recent occurrence; it had been very serious for several years.

It also proved that the British Bankers’ Association’s pricing and supervision of LIBOR was almost a mere formality.

It can be said that facing the demands of the British government, the British Bankers’ Association had no way to refuse, even if they were unwilling. Especially those banks; if Darling and the others did not want to make the whole thing big and allow the Federal Reserve to take advantage of it, then HSBC Holdings, Royal Bank of Scotland, and Barclays, the largest British banks, would have received sky-high fines from the Financial Services Authority (FSA).

Now they were already handling it in a low-key manner, except that they did not give these banks too severe penalties—only a symbolic fine was imposed, with each bank not exceeding 50 million pounds—they even restricted media coverage of the matter.

Of course, at this time, the British side was even less likely than in the original timeline to hand over the right to set LIBOR to NYSE Euronext, the parent company of the New York Stock Exchange. The institution that ultimately set the LIBOR rate was the London Stock Exchange, under the LOMX Group.

After this, the London Stock Exchange would re-formulate the LIBOR pricing process, which would still be published by Reuters.

Originally, the LIBOR pricing process was that each trading day, the 16 large banks selected by the British Bankers’ Association would each calculate and report the next day’s borrowing rate, remove the lowest four quotes and the highest four quotes, and then calculate the average arithmetic value of the remaining eight banks’ quotes, which would become the day’s LIBOR and be announced to the outside world by Reuters.

Currently, this system seems very susceptible to interference, especially when multiple banks collude together.

After taking over the LIBOR pricing work, in order to make this process more difficult to be “manipulated artificially,” the London Stock Exchange submitted a new pricing plan to the British government that would mainly use two methods—

The first is to increase the number of banks collecting quotes. They plan to increase the number of banks quoting for LIBOR setting from the previous 16 large banks to 25, and also add a reserve list of 5 banks.

The London Stock Exchange will regularly rotate between the reserve list and the 25 quoting banks to make LIBOR pricing more reasonable.

In addition, they will change the LIBOR pricing mechanism. Specifically, the LIBOR price will not be determined by completely statistically averaging the quotes of the 25 quoting banks, but by randomly selecting the quotes of 20 of the 25 banks, and then removing the 5 highest quotes and the 5 lowest quotes, using the average value of the remaining 10 banks’ quotes to determine the day’s LIBOR price.

It can be said that their plan can, to the greatest extent possible, eliminate the behavior of multiple banks colluding to manipulate LIBOR—after all, according to this plan, the possibility of achieving such LIBOR manipulation has been greatly reduced.

Moreover, this time the London Stock Exchange only obtained the right to set LIBOR prices. As for the regulatory power over LIBOR, which was originally held by the British Bankers’ Association, it was taken back by the British government and will be directly supervised by the Financial Services Authority (FSA) in the future.

Of course, this time the London Stock Exchange obtained the right to set LIBOR prices, which is still beneficial to Baron. At least his financial influence and say will be correspondingly increased.

…

“Long time no see, Catherine.”

“Yes, Baron. Perhaps I should say, ‘What an honor’?”

After reconciling with William, Catherine still stayed at Harrods, after all, she was already one of Harrods’ purchasing managers, a position that was stylish enough for her.

Today, after Baron came to Harrods, he made a special trip to meet Catherine, Prince William’s girlfriend, which seemed very normal to colleagues—after all, it was well known that the Duke of Devonshire was a close friend of Prince William.

Of course, this did not include Catherine, because she knew that Baron, this British Duke, was completely different in front of her than his gentle and refined image in front of the world.

“That doesn’t sound like you’re talking to a friend, Miss Catherine.”

Baron walked to Catherine’s side and said with a smile.

“Friend? Do you regard me as a friend, or William as a friend? Is sleeping with me how you make friends?”

Seeing Catherine’s chest rising and falling, looking emotional, Baron shook his head:

“But you weren’t like this at the time, dear Catherine. You kept saying ‘faster, don’t…’”

“Shut up! Baron.”

Baron shrugged, pulled Catherine into his arms, and said in her ear:

“Besides, how do you know if William really cares about you sleeping with me? Maybe you can try telling him and see how he reacts…”

“You…”

Seeing Catherine’s exasperated look, Baron laughed:

“I’m curious, Catherine. I remember you said I was much better than him. Do you feel anything when you’re with him? Or do you always imagine you’re with me at that time…”

Chapter 679: The Ongoing Lawsuit

“Enough, Barron, did you come here today just to humiliate me?”

Looking at Catherine’s delicate earlobe, Barron couldn’t resist gently biting it, then made her face him and said,

“Weren’t you the one being sarcastic with me first? My dear Catherine, I came to see you with a heart full of passion, you’ve hurt me…”

“I, I apologize, Barron.”

“You’re avoiding my gaze, Catherine, an apology always needs some sincerity…”

“What do you want me to do?”

“It’s simple…”

Feeling Barron’s hand on her shoulder increasing in pressure, Catherine naturally understood his meaning. As she knelt on the carpet, she heard him say,

“Don’t tell me you’ve become unfamiliar with it after all this time apart…”

Seeing “it” starting to rise to the occasion…

Catherine took a deep breath, raised her hand, and placed it on his belt…

…

“I am very grateful that you could take the time to see me today, Ms. Meyers.”

At this time, in Paris, Ashley Weber, who had recovered from the previous car accident, met the middle-aged woman with black-framed glasses in a private club.

“I am purely curious about your intentions, after all, this is not the first time you have extended an invitation to me.”

“Our time is very precious, so let’s get straight to the point. What I hope to discuss with you concerns the L’Oréal Group.”

The woman in front of Ashley was named Françoise Bettencourt Meyers. She was the daughter of Liliane Bettencourt, the largest shareholder of the L’Oréal Group at the time, and the heir to the Bettencourt family.

“Oh? Then I’m afraid you’re too hasty, because I can’t make decisions about the L’Oréal Group yet.”

“That will happen sooner or later, won’t it? I believe you will win this lawsuit, and of course, with our help, that outcome will be even more certain.”

Ashley’s words immediately made Françoise’s smile disappear. She asked with vigilance in her eyes:

“I don’t quite understand, what do you mean?”

“Perhaps I should introduce myself first, Ms. Meyers. You should know my name, and I am also the president of William-Weber Capital.”

Françoise had heard of William-Weber Capital. After all, the company had previously invested in Natixis Bank, the fourth largest bank in France, becoming its major shareholder. She naturally wouldn’t miss this news.

“So, Ms. Ashley, are you looking to invest in our L’Oréal Group?”

“More or less, but not William-Weber Capital itself, but our clients who wish to invest in you.”

“Your clients?”

“Yes, we are now serving the Gucci-Hermès Group and will help them complete the acquisition of the L’Oréal Group.”

As soon as Ashley Weber finished speaking, Françoise immediately stood up:

“Then there’s no need for us to talk. It was nice meeting you today, Ms. Ashley, but I hope you know that neither my mother nor I will sell the L’Oréal Group.”

“I think nothing is absolute, Ms. Meyers, and if your mother were to make the decision, given the current situation, she might not agree with your ideas…”

“What do you mean?”

Facing Françoise’s condescending words, Ashley’s expression didn’t change at all, and she said calmly:

“Just like you said before, the lawsuit within your family has not yet concluded. Of course, the outcome will be determined by many factors, but what is certain is that in the current situation, your mother may not be willing to leave the L’Oréal Group to you…”

“Are you threatening me?”

Ashley shook her head and said,

“Of course not, I just want to tell you that your Bettencourt family has never interfered too much in the operation of the L’Oréal Group. So even if the Gucci-Hermès Group completes the acquisition of the L’Oréal Group, as long as your family’s shares in the L’Oréal Group are retained, what difference will there be compared to now, except for the ‘nominal’ control of the L’Oréal Group by the family? On the contrary, I believe that after belonging to the Gucci-Hermès Group, the development of the L’Oréal Group will be better and in line with your interests, isn’t it?”

In fact, by now, this lawsuit within the Bettencourt family was becoming more and more interesting.

Last year, Françoise Bettencourt Meyers filed a lawsuit against her mother, Liliane, claiming that her mother’s mental state was not suitable for managing her own property and requesting the appointment of a guardian.

She also accused her of being deceived by a photographer named Banier, who was 25 years younger and mingled in high society, and transferring huge sums of wealth to him.

Françoise claimed in the lawsuit that her mother was no longer able to manage her property personally, which led to criminal charges being filed against the man who was said to be Liliane’s lover, accusing him of exploiting her mother’s weakness (illness) to swindle her out of 1 billion euros.

Even more shockingly, in order to obtain evidence, Françoise arranged for the superintendent of her mother’s apartment to secretly record the conversations between her mother and her subordinates during business meetings for nearly a year and provided them to the judicial authorities.

From these recordings, the judicial authorities discovered that Liliane Bettencourt was suspected of tax evasion, tax avoidance, and illegally providing political donations to political figures.

Her mother, Liliane, was not to be outdone and immediately took measures to countersue her daughter for illegal eavesdropping, illegal espionage, and fabricating false evidence.

So far, their lawsuit had been going on for more than a year and still showed no signs of stopping.

And as the lawsuit escalated, more and more people were involved, and the family affair escalated into a national affair - even the current French President, Old Sarkozy, was not spared, because the recordings provided by Françoise showed that Old Sarkozy may have promised Liliane to help her win the lawsuit…

In the original timeline, this melodramatic lawsuit among the wealthy continued for three or four years, eventually ending with Françoise Bettencourt Meyers winning and gaining control of the family business.

But at the current point in time, the outcome of this lawsuit was uncertain, and as Ashley said, the intervention of the forces she represented would also have an impact on the result.

After all, not only did the Weber family have a certain influence in France, but the power held by William-Weber Capital, the Gucci-Hermès Group, and Barron behind them could still do some things.

Moreover, with Ashley’s help, the Gucci-Hermès Group had already reached an agreement with Nestlé to lock in their shares in the L’Oréal Group in advance. Coupled with the shares they had acquired in the secondary market, taking advantage of the impact of the subprime mortgage crisis, they had already posed a threat to the Bettencourt family’s shareholding in the L’Oréal Group.

Now it depended on what choice Françoise would make.

Chapter 680: Unease

“Mr. Xu, are we almost to Colo?”

“About half an hour more…”

The middle-aged man called Mr. Xu glanced at the young man beside him and said with a smile, “What’s wrong, feeling nervous?”

“A little bit…”

Lu Wei said somewhat embarrassedly, “This is my first time going abroad, and to Africa of all places. To be honest, I hadn’t even heard of this country before…”

He was an employee of China Construction Fifth Engineering Division, having started work less than a year ago. Because his English was relatively good and he also knew a little French, he was selected to join the project department in Colo after applying. Although Colo was now vigorously promoting English education, French had been the official language before, so most of the adults there still spoke French. English was only more common among the younger generation.

Before coming to Africa, especially for positions in their project department that involved a lot of communication with the locals, they would receive some French training. But it was clear that people like Lu Wei, who already had a foundation in French, learned more effectively. As for the other older employees, they basically still needed to rely on translators to communicate with the locals.

Although he had volunteered to participate precisely because he was young, didn’t have many family concerns, and the salary and benefits of overseas project departments were much higher than in China.

But as the arrival drew near, Lu Wei couldn’t help but feel a little uneasy…

“Mr. Xu, I heard that some diseases are pretty bad in Africa, is that right?”

Mr. Xu smiled at Lu Wei upon hearing his question. He was a young man after all, full of vigor.

“I still have to tell you, when you get to Colo, it’s best to avoid getting involved with the local women. It’s not because of AIDS, although that disease used to be quite serious in Colo. But in recent years, they’ve been strictly controlling it, and with our country’s medical support, those pathogens have now been contained in certain areas. And the hygiene situation is much better. Diseases like malaria, which used to be very serious, are almost gone. But if you young men can’t control yourselves, and the girl gets pregnant, and she comes to the company looking for you with the child, it wouldn’t just be a bad influence, but what would you do? Just stay here?”

For Chinese employees participating in projects in Africa, they had to get many vaccinations, because many infectious diseases that had disappeared in China were still rampant there.

This also deepened Lu Wei’s sense of unease.

However, as Mr. Xu said, since the establishment of the new government in Colo, they had invested a lot of money and manpower to improve the country’s medical and health standards.

Before 2003, malaria was the leading cause of illness (46%) and death (12.26%) in Colo for all age groups.

At the same time, the HIV infection rate in the country was as high as 5%, and the mother-to-child transmission rate was 35%!

In addition, tuberculosis was also a huge threat to the public in Colo…

As early as 2004, Colo received an interest-free loan of 2 billion Chinese yuan from China, most of which was invested in improving the overall medical and health care in Colo.

At that time, they purchased a large number of drugs and equipment from China, and with China’s assistance, they had a nursing school.

And as Colo discovered high-yield oil fields in its waters, the Colo government’s coffers gradually swelled, and a considerable amount of money was also invested in medical and health care.

Currently, malaria, tuberculosis, and other once-common infectious diseases have been basically “eliminated” in Colo, and the new infection rate of AIDS is less than 0.1%. Achieving such accomplishments in six years can be said to be remarkable.

What Mr. Xu was worried about was nothing more than young men like Lu Wei, full of vigor. Overseas assignments like theirs meant that most of the time they needed to stay in the local area, so it was very likely that they would get lonely and get involved with the local girls…

After all, relatively speaking, Chinese men, because of their family-oriented qualities, were in stark contrast to some local men, so Chinese guys were quite popular with the local girls.

In addition, it must be admitted that many of the local girls, apart from being darker-skinned, had appearances and figures that met aesthetic standards…

And also, with jobs like theirs, it was easy to start thinking that every girl was “beautiful” after a long time…

It wasn’t unheard of for Chinese employees to get involved with local girls, or even for a girl to come looking for the child’s father with a baby, as he said, so he definitely had to give them a heads-up in advance.

“Don’t worry, Mr. Xu, I definitely can’t accept these local girls. I only like Chinese girls…”

Hearing Lu Wei say this with such certainty, Mr. Xu could only hope that it was true.

Soon, the plane landed at Brita International Airport. They were on a Colo Airlines flight that had just opened a direct route to Yanjing, China. Before this, Mr. Xu had participated in projects in Africa many times. When they were in Nigeria, they often had to transfer in places like Dubai. As for Colo, because there were too few flights before, they even needed to transfer twice to get there, which was very troublesome.

Now that a direct flight to China had opened, it was much more convenient for them.

And compared to the old and worryingly unsafe planes of some local African airlines, at least the planes of Colo Airlines were newer and more comfortable.

Lu Wei was already looking at the scenery outside the plane window with great interest.

And like Lu Wei, there were many Chinese people who came to Colo for various reasons, and some of them even settled down and stayed in Colo for good.

…

“In fact, the Icelandic sovereign debt crisis began to emerge in October last year, but because Iceland’s economy is relatively small, it did not cause too serious consequences after timely rescue - at least it did not significantly affect other countries…”

As she spoke, Daisy handed a document to Barron.

After looking through it, a smile appeared on Barron’s face: “But that doesn’t mean the economies of other countries are healthy, right?”

“Yes, as you requested, we conducted an in-depth analysis of the debt problems of the Eurozone countries…”

Daisy shrugged and said, “The situation is not optimistic, especially in Greece. We believe that if a sovereign debt crisis breaks out in Europe after the subprime mortgage crisis, it is most likely to start in Greece first.”

“That’s normal. After all, given the situation in Greece, it would be surprising if there weren’t problems in the face of a subprime mortgage crisis like this…”

Barron said with a hint of sarcasm, “We also have to thank our friends. It was Goldman Sachs’ actions that personally brought Greece to the edge of the cliff.”

Chapter 681: Sovereign Debt

It’s worth mentioning that there is a difference between the European Union and the Eurozone.

The Eurozone is composed of countries that use the Euro as their legal currency. Eurozone countries are generally EU members, but the reverse is not necessarily true.

For example, Great Britain is currently an EU member, but not a Eurozone country, because it still uses the pound sterling, not the Euro.

The upcoming European sovereign debt crisis will mainly occur in Eurozone countries, which is related to the advantages and disadvantages of the Eurozone.

As everyone knows, a country’s monetary policy is related to its economic situation, and it can often adjust the economy by controlling the currency exchange rate.

However, Eurozone countries cannot do this.

Because the issuance of the Euro and related policies are formulated by the European Central Bank and are not affected by any single country—in fact, France and Germany, as the core countries of the Eurozone, have the greatest influence.

So why are so many countries willing to join the Eurozone?

One important reason is that joining the Eurozone makes it easier for these countries to borrow money. After all, small countries like Greece and Iceland will definitely face worse conditions when borrowing from abroad than countries like England, France, and Germany. Not only will banks charge these countries higher interest rates for lending funds or buying their government bonds, but the amount will also be relatively lower.

But joining the Eurozone is different.

First of all, the Eurozone has relatively high requirements for the financial situation of the countries that join, which gives capital the impression that countries that can join the Eurozone are relatively economically stable.

In addition, there is a safety net—once you join the Eurozone, other Eurozone countries cannot allow your economy to collapse and will provide assistance. Banks and investors will have more confidence in this country.

Going back to Greece, this is why they hoped to join the Eurozone.

But there was a problem: Greece could not meet the standards stipulated by the Maastricht Treaty, namely a budget deficit of less than 3% of GDP and government debt of less than 60% of GDP, making it difficult to join the Eurozone.

So their government hired Goldman Sachs to conduct financial optimization (fabrication). Goldman Sachs tailored a “currency swap transaction” method for Greece, covering up as much as 1 billion Euros of public debt to meet the standards of Eurozone member states, ultimately allowing it to successfully join the Eurozone.

Sure enough, with the participation of Goldman Sachs, if there are no accidents, then an accident is about to happen.

After joining the Eurozone, the Greek government finally felt relieved and began to borrow money recklessly. Then they encountered the subprime mortgage crisis. As the global economy fell into recession, the Greek government began to find it increasingly difficult to conceal their true foreign debt situation.

Of course, the reason why Greece’s sovereign debt crisis is getting closer and closer is also due to its domestic high welfare policy. Successive Greek governments, in order to please voters, blindly increased welfare benefits for voters, and this high welfare treatment was not based on sustainable fiscal policies, but relied on massive borrowing to provide it.

This has led to the expansion of the Greek government’s deficit, a surge in public debt, and ultimately its ability to repay its debts has been questioned.

Baron knew that before the end of this year, the Greek government’s sovereign debt crisis would erupt. After Greece, the other four countries of the European PIGS—Portugal, Ireland, Italy, and Spain—would also fall into sovereign debt crises one after another, and the impact of this crisis would eventually spread throughout Europe.

Well, the reason why Portugal, Ireland, Italy, Greece, and Spain are called the European PIGS is because the first letters of their country names can form “PIGS.”

And the public deficits of these countries all exceeded 3%!

In fact, the European PIGS were originally called the “Lazy Four,” with the “I” in “PIGS” referring to Italy. But later, Ireland joined, and its first letter was also “I,” so the “Lazy Four” became the “European PIGS,” with “I” corresponding to both Italy and Ireland.

Since there was such an opportunity to short, Baron naturally wouldn’t miss it—anyway, Great Britain is not a Eurozone country. Let France and Germany, the leading countries in the Eurozone, worry about the “European PIGS.”

Of course, besides Baron, Wall Street would naturally not miss such an opportunity to harvest Europe.

After all, they had just lost a wave of blood in the subprime mortgage crisis. Although they had sucked a little from Japan and South Korea, how could that satisfy their appetite? Of course, they had to continue to suck blood from old Europe.

With Baron’s current influence and strength, it was naturally impossible to prevent the European sovereign debt crisis from happening—and this crisis itself could be said to be self-inflicted by those countries.

Well, wealth doesn’t disappear, it only shifts.

Since wealth is destined to shift, in order to preserve Europe’s strength, Baron can only allow more wealth to shift to himself, rather than all of it flowing to Wall Street.

It could be considered bearing the burden of humiliation.

Of course, even after making this decision, Baron still instructed his think tank to conduct a detailed investigation into the debt problems of these European countries, because the current situation may be different from what it was in his previous life.

He could no longer rely solely on the time nodes from his previous life’s memories to make arrangements. He still needed to conduct investigations and analyses before formulating this short-selling action plan.

After sufficient data and intelligence support, he handed this over to Daisy to arrange.

Also, it is worth mentioning that Rami has now joined the DS Group and is interning under Daisy.

Rami is the older brother of the Palestinian siblings that Baron adopted. He is 17 years old and has completed his university studies.

Previously, Baron gave him 50,000 pounds, and he ultimately increased these funds by more than 20 times. Before being approved to join the DS Group, Rami’s account had exceeded 1 million pounds!

Therefore, he eventually became the youngest employee of the DS Group, and Daisy, who greatly admires Rami’s talent, is preparing to focus on cultivating him.

…

“Have you really made this decision?”

Countess Booth. held Bonnie’s hand and asked her cousin with concern.

“Yes, Chris, I’ve thought it over. This is an acceptable outcome for everyone, isn’t it?”

“But what about you?”

Bonnie’s expression was very calm at this time. She was silent for a moment and said:

“I’ve been prepared for this from the beginning. Now it’s just confirming that this moment has arrived.”

Chapter 682: Divorce

Yes, after some communication, Baron and Bonnie finally made the decision to end their marriage.

From September 2005 to now, their marriage had lasted for four years.

In fact, just as Bonnie had said to Countess Booth, from the day she married Baron, she had already anticipated this outcome, only she didn’t know how long their marriage would last.

Now it seems that four years is not a short time.

In addition, through their marriage during this period, Bonnie had also figured it out. If she continued this marriage, all she would get was the title of “Duchess of Devonshire.” Even if they divorced, other aspects would not change because of it.

At least their two sons, George and Richard, would inevitably be the first and second in line to inherit the Dukedom of Devonshire, and this would not change no matter what.

The reason Baron made this decision at this time was not because another woman was pregnant, but it was related—it was the inspiration he got from the Amanda Hearst incident.

That is, among his women, besides Bonnie, especially those with relatively prominent backgrounds, such as Ivanka, Tamarane, Miss Ella, Beatrice, and including Amanda and Lydia…

They might be with Baron without being too obsessed with eventually getting married and becoming the “Duchess of Devonshire,” but what they cared about was that, with their backgrounds, it would be difficult for them to openly become the “third person” outside of the “Duke and Duchess of Devonshire.”

Perhaps when they were younger, they could accept this, and even find it a bit exciting…

But as they got older, especially if they might have children in the future, then having a child for a married Duke of Devonshire and having a child for a single Duke of Devonshire were completely different concepts, and the public’s acceptance was also completely different.

After all, on the other hand, in Western societies, it is quite common for men and women to maintain a relationship without actually being married, living together, and having children.

This is fundamentally different from being a third party in a marriage—even if Baron, who remains single, has a few more girlfriends, the most that people will say is that he is a playboy, or perhaps it is not even criticism, but the concept of “debonair.”

If Baron had been single from the beginning, even if he didn’t marry Amanda, the relationship between the two of them probably wouldn’t have become like this.

Therefore, after these considerations, Baron, after communicating with Bonnie, decided to end the marriage.

In fact, this result was already tacitly understood between the two of them when they first got married, but now they have only determined the final time.

Regarding this divorce, although before their marriage, the controllability of Baron’s assets had been determined through methods such as placing assets in offshore trusts and prenuptial agreements, he still compensated Bonnie. In addition to their children eventually becoming heirs to the Dukedom, Baron also transferred some of his shares in SEM Group to Bonnie.

In this way, plus the shares she previously obtained from the sale of Stuart Media, Bonnie’s shareholding in SEM Group will reach 15%, making her one of the major shareholders of SEM Group.

“After careful consideration by both parties and for the sake of maintaining their relationship, Duke of Devonshire Baron Cavendish and his wife, Bonnie Cavendish, have made the decision to end their marriage. After this, they will continue to raise their two children together as a family and cherish each other’s unique position in their lives…”

“His Grace Duke Baron Cavendish thanks Bonnie Cavendish for her selfless dedication in the marriage. This time has become the most beautiful memory in life because of the other party’s companionship. At the same time, after this, in addition to continuing to assume the responsibility of raising the children as a family, Bonnie Cavendish, as a shareholder of SEM Group, will also contribute more to the development of the group…”

As the Duke of Devonshire in England, and also a globally renowned super-rich man, Baron’s divorce could not be carried out in a low-key manner—moreover, if this divorce was completed quietly, it would be meaningless for him to make this decision.

After all, the decision to divorce was made so that other women could step into the sunlight when they were with him.

But if Baron publicly appeared with other women and showed intimacy, it is unlikely that any media would let go of this news. If he waited until that time to announce that he and Bonnie were already divorced, it would be like locking the stable door after the horse has bolted…

It must be said that the news of Baron’s divorce caused quite a stir, both in England and around the world.

After all, the public is very interested in the gossip of such rich people, just like in Baron’s previous life, the divorces of both Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos caused considerable attention.

But regarding this matter, Baron only sent out a spokesperson to issue a statement, and his team also helped him post relevant news on his Woaw personal page.

As for the two parties involved in this matter, both Baron and Bonnie avoided public appearances for quite a long time—this cold treatment was also to let the heat of the matter pass as soon as possible.

Baron and Bonnie themselves are major shareholders of SEM Group, one of the largest media groups in England. If they don’t take the initiative to show up, no one with any sense would bother them.

Moreover, although the two have divorced, their relationship is still no different from before, except for the loss of the title of marriage. Bonnie still lives with Baron in the mansion in Kensington—these things had already been clarified by the two of them before.

It must be said that after the news of Baron’s divorce spread, the most excited were probably the women who had intimate relationships with him.

After all, the position of Duchess of Devonshire has been vacated, and it is unlikely that any of these women could refuse this temptation.

But these stirrings were quelled after Baron clearly expressed to them that he would not enter into marriage again. Although they were somewhat unwilling, they could only choose to accept it.

After all, it seems that Baron’s choice is the best solution to the current situation, otherwise, no matter who the next marriage choice is, it is likely to cause “instability in the harem.”

After all, the previous marriage was one thing—those women chose to be with Baron when he had already established a relationship with Bonnie, and even got married—but if he chooses someone now after the divorce, then from the perspective of other women, there will inevitably be some resentment.

Since this is the case, choosing no one is probably the best solution.

Moreover, the reason why Baron married Bonnie in the first place, apart from the fact that they were the first to fall in love, was also mainly to allow their children to obtain the status of “legitimate children” so that they could inherit the Dukedom of Devonshire.

Chapter 683: Short-Term and Long-Term

“We need more comprehensive policies to reduce the impact of the post-crisis recession on the country, Prime Minister.”

After the news of his divorce broke, Barron had not appeared in public for a while—of course, this didn’t really change much from his previous life, because in the past two years, Barron had greatly reduced his time in front of the cameras, only appearing in front of the public during some charitable activities or important events in British high society, such as the annual social season.

Of course, this did not prevent him from meeting with some friends, such as the Prime Minister.

Barron said to Brown in front of him:

“So far, the United States and other European countries have introduced a series of policies aimed at restoring the economy, and in comparison, our British response is relatively monotonous.”

“Indeed, there are more ways being discussed, but we will maintain a cautious attitude towards relevant policies, Your Grace.”

It seemed that Brown had also considered this, as he said:

“Quantitative easing can indeed stimulate the economy currently in recession, but it is also prone to inflation. We need to strictly control the intensity of relevant policies.”

Currently, the policies of various countries to address the post-subprime crisis economic recession are generally similar.

They are roughly divided into government investment, tax cuts, and subsidies for vulnerable groups.

For example, government investment, in the initial stage, mainly involved the government injecting funds into related banks and other financial institutions, nationalizing these institutions to save them, thereby avoiding the collapse of the financial system.

After stabilizing the financial system, government investment began to expand into the field of public investment, such as increasing infrastructure projects and subsidizing some industries.

These can be divided into two strategic objectives: short-term and long-term—in addition to providing more jobs in the short term to avoid further economic decline, they can also lay the foundation for future economic growth, such as investing in and subsidizing some technology, people’s livelihood, and other projects.

In addition to these government investments, there are also tax cuts and subsidies for vulnerable groups.

As Barron said, compared to the more diverse rescue policies of the United States and other European countries, the policies currently introduced in Britain are relatively monotonous. Apart from the previous large-scale government investment in banks and other financial institutions, the main measures are still tax cuts.

“In fact, I don’t think some of these policies are necessary, sir, such as the bailout of banks and some lending institutions. In fact, one of the main reasons for this crisis is that some financial-related companies are ‘harmful’ to society and need to be eliminated—many of our consumption habits are not healthy, we pursue excessive consumption and ignore the role of savings, which makes the entire society’s ability to resist risks very fragile. After negative factors accumulate to a certain extent, they will inevitably explode…”

Barron shrugged and said to Brown:

“If I were a businessman, I would welcome this habit of excessive consumption, after all, it is conducive to commodity consumption and the development of private credit, but for us in Britain, this is not a good thing… And the crisis itself is a process of eliminating those financial institutions that are operating too aggressively, but because we need to maintain social stability, the government has to bail out these institutions that should have been eliminated, which is equivalent to artificially postponing this process…”

Of course, it’s not that no one has seen these things, but the problem is that the definition of “correct practice” is drastically different in different situations.

For example, compared to enduring short-term losses in exchange for long-term healthy development, countries like Europe and the United States will inevitably choose to maintain stability and achieve impressive data in the short term.

Because on the one hand, the Labour Party needs to face the general election—from Brown’s point of view, with less than a year before the election, their economic policies will inevitably focus more on short-term effects. After all, even if they formulate policies based on long-term healthy development, if the economy is still in a downturn next year, the Conservative Party will come to power, and what happens after that will be meaningless to the Labour Party.

It may even allow the Conservative Party to reap the benefits of their long-term economic policies during their term, which would instead increase the difficulty for the Labour Party to regain power in the next election…

In addition, these governments also face pressure from capital—from banks to financial institutions, they all have intricate connections with the top capital in various countries. When they need government funds for bailouts, the final decision-making result is predictable.

You wouldn’t really think that the government elected by votes in Europe and the United States truly represents the interests of the “people,” would you?

Take the American President Obama, who took office at the beginning of this year, for example. During his campaign, he said that he would punish Wall Street and legislate to strengthen the supervision of the financial market—this is the common wish of the American people.

Since Obama took office, he has been brewing a financial regulatory bill, but it has been blocked by the Republican Party and Wall Street capital, and there has been no result to this day…

In the original timeline, the Democratic Party government repeatedly compromised, and the bill was passed by Congress in July 2010, but the core content had been removed, and the issue of Wall Street’s financial derivatives was basically untouched.

The bill focuses more on how to discover and solve crises, rather than fundamentally preventing them from happening.

The American economy is sluggish, and the consequences of the financial crisis are still harming the American people every day, while the people on Wall Street are still receiving high salaries and high bonuses.

In addition, under the pressure of Wall Street capital, Obama had to carry out quantitative easing in advance, and its scale is getting bigger and bigger, which is actually contrary to his initial campaign promises, but there is no way, he knows who he cannot afford to offend.

America is like this, so of course things are no better in Europe.

The reason why Barron discussed this topic with Brown was not because Barron was really so concerned about the country and the people… Of course, he would be happy to see Britain have better development, but it certainly wouldn’t be to the point where he would rather harm his own interests to achieve such a goal.

Barron is not that great, but as a British Duke, it is also beneficial for him if Britain can have more say in the world.

In addition, his current industries, even in the financial sector, whether it is DS Group or Standard Chartered-Merrill Lynch Group, have nothing to do with those companies that “need to be eliminated” in the subprime crisis. On the contrary, he is happy to see some banks enter the elimination sequence…

Of course, Barron also knows that facing the fierce momentum of the Conservative Party and the pressure of next year’s general election, the hope that Brown will really disregard short-term interests and pay more attention to Britain’s long-term development, thereby cleaning up the financial industry and supporting some high-end manufacturing and technology industries, is not too great.

But having some effect is better than doing nothing at all.

Chapter 684: Earl Montagu

The reason Barron was meeting with Brown this time was that after the previous round of quantitative easing this year, it was very likely that the British government would launch a new round of policies again soon.

The Bank of England had already started buying corporate bonds on March 25, 2009, launching the first round of 75 billion pounds of quantitative easing this year.

And the European Central Bank also began to implement a quantitative easing monetary policy plan in May, buying 60 billion euros of asset-backed securities.

But obviously, these policies were no longer effective and a new round of economic stimulus was needed. Barron hoped that more funds in this round of economic stimulus would be tilted towards high-end manufacturing and the technology industry.

After all, although the financial industry was the pillar industry of Britain, Barron knew from later experience that relying on these alone could, at most, barely maintain the dignity of this declining empire—after all, in the financial industry, Britain was still subject to America…

Once Britain was bound too closely to America, as in his previous life, then when the great ship of America sank, Britain would not be spared.

In addition, although Barron’s current funds were sufficient to support the development of his real economy.

But the problem was that capital would definitely choose regions with lower overall costs for investment—overall costs including political stability, worker quality, and production costs. Looking at it this way, it was not surprising that China became the world’s factory.

It wasn’t just a simple matter of demographic dividend. Otherwise, if foreign investment was always encroached upon with various reasons, and social contradictions were acute, even with a demographic dividend, it would be difficult to attract capital, and it would be even more difficult to replace China as the world’s factory. Yes, this was referring to a certain Eastern power—India.

Therefore, only if the British side could provide more favorable policies and more support in some aspects would Barron consider landing more related industries in the British mainland. Otherwise, even if they were forcibly built, they would eventually lose competitiveness, and no one would do a losing business.

…

“Nocton Hall, with an area of approximately 8,000 acres (approximately 32.4 square kilometers), is currently owned by the Montagu family trust. Their previous asking price was 150 million pounds, but it is obviously slightly higher than the market value. Some people are interested in it, but they will definitely not buy it at this price…”

Barron’s motorcade was driving on the road. At this time, he was sitting in a Bentley Mulsanne, listening to Julia Moore saying this beside him:

“Of course, we are going to attend the banquet of Earl Edward Montagu this time. He hopes to meet you.”

“Oh?”

“In addition to Nocton Hall, the Montagu family also owns several other manors. Their family began to invest widely in finance in the last century, and it is said that they made a lot of money. So they later bought some land, but precisely because of this, because they took out too much money for investment, they suffered heavy losses in this subprime mortgage crisis, so they need to sell some land to raise funds…”

This was understandable. After all, people often have path dependence, especially when they have made a lot of money through financial investment, they are particularly likely to think that this method is on the right path. But perhaps it is actually just accidental or simply good luck, and then using this as the main way to make a profit, it is easy to cause significant losses.

This was also what Barron had been secretly reminding himself after so many successful financial investments—even if he knew that the main reason for his success was because he had the memory and experience of his previous life, after repeated successes, the exclamations and admiration of the people around him could easily make people lost in it.

If he really thought so, even though there were still nearly 15 years before his rebirth, because of the variables accumulated by his rebirth, if he simply carved a mark on the boat to find the sword, then it would be easy to stumble in a certain investment.

Therefore, Barron needed to stay awake at all times and not be swayed by his emotions.

Just like he was now, in addition to still maintaining a certain amount of funds for financial investment, many funds had begun to be invested in the real economy, including land investment.

This time, Julia Moore discovered Nocton Hall when she was helping Barron find suitable land for sale, and then contacted the other party.

As for why Edward Montagu wanted to see him, Julia also answered him:

“When Earl Montagu knew that it was you who wanted to buy Nocton Hall, he proposed to meet you. I’m afraid this has something to do with your reputation in financial investment.”

Nocton Hall was in Lincolnshire, which was more than 100 kilometers away from London. After the motorcade drove for more than an hour, they arrived there.

Although the main house of Nocton Hall was far smaller in scale than Chatsworth House, it was still relatively beautiful, and it could be seen that the overall maintenance here was well maintained.

“Welcome to your arrival, Duke of Devonshire.”

A group of people were waiting for Barron outside the foyer. One of the middle-aged men in his forties, wearing a suit, greeted Barron enthusiastically after he got out of the car.

With Julia’s whispered introduction beside him, Barron knew that the other party was Earl Edward Montagu.

“Hello, Earl, it is a great honor to come to the beautiful Nocton Hall.”

“This is my wife, Sophie.”

“Hello, beautiful madam.”

When he looked over here after getting out of the car, Barron noticed the beautiful woman beside Earl Montagu, but before he thought she was Edward Montagu’s daughter, but he didn’t expect her to be his wife.

Indeed, this Sophie Montagu, although beautiful, looked only in her twenties, and her age was quite different from that of Edward Montagu.

But speaking of which, this was not too surprising.

Sophie was wearing a beige long dress, but what was more attractive was her excellent figure…

Well, comparable to a luxury sports car, with huge headlights and a high tail, it was very ornamental.

When the other party stretched out her hand to Barron with a charming smile, and Barron performed a kiss on the hand, he could smell the faint fragrance on her body.

Unlike the slightly heavy fragrance used by many British women to cover up their body odor, Sophie’s body had a faint scent of gardenia, which could not help but make Barron take a deep breath silently.

Next, led by the Montagu couple, Barron and Julia visited this manor.

Chapter 685: Transaction

Baron mainly purchased the Nocton Manor for its 8,000 acres of land.

“Land is the only thing in the world worth working for, fighting for, and dying for, because it’s the only thing that lasts.”

This is a classic line spoken by Scarlett’s father, gazing at the sunset-drenched Tara Plantation, to Scarlett in the famous American novel “Gone with the Wind” by Margaret Mitchell.

And in fact, even now, land remains one of the most important assets.

Furthermore, according to research data from investigative agencies, less than 1% of large landowners own half of the land in England, a situation that has remained unchanged for centuries.

Among these, nobles and gentry own 30% of England’s land; 18% is owned by various corporations; 17% is owned by a series of oligarchs and nouveau riche bankers; 8.5% is owned by the public sector; and the royal family owns 1.4%.

The vast majority of ordinary people own very little, or no land at all.

Those who own residences in England collectively own 5% of the land.

Actually, it’s not just England; the situation is similar throughout the British Isles, and even more so in Scotland.

During the peak of Baron’s Devonshire ducal family, they had eight incredibly vast estates in England, Ireland, and elsewhere, covering an area of over 200,000 acres!

However, many of the estates had to be sold off later for various reasons—especially during Baron’s grandfather’s generation, who had to sell off a considerable portion of the land to pay exorbitant inheritance taxes.

Now that Baron has sufficient funds, he naturally wants to allocate some capital to a land accumulation plan.

After this tour, Baron was quite satisfied with the manor. It was evident that the land was fertile and had been carefully managed.

During the conversation, Baron learned that Earl Edward Montagu owned four manors. Another Carrington Manor, not far from Nocton Manor, was also within Lincolnshire, covering an area of approximately 6,500 acres, slightly smaller than Nocton Manor.

“The land in Lincolnshire is very good. The situation at Carrington Manor is similar to here. If you have time next year, I can take you to see it, Your Grace.”

After the tour, they returned to the manor’s main house, where Earl Montagu had prepared a sumptuous dinner specifically for Baron.

“This dry red is very good, Earl, to your health.”

“This is still a collection from our family’s wine cellar. I’m very glad you like it.”

“What if I wanted to buy both of these manors?”

Hearing Baron’s question, Edward Montagu exchanged a glance with his wife and said with a smile:

“Originally, I only intended to sell this one manor, but if Your Grace wishes to purchase them, then I can sell them both to you and give you a satisfactory price…”

At this time, Baron simply nodded slightly and continued to listen to Earl Montagu.

As expected…

“However, I also have a small request, Your Grace.”

“Please speak…”

“To be honest, the reason I’m willing to sell this manor is because I’ve had some losses from previous investments, but I believe the current stock market has shown signs of recovery, so I hope to persevere…”

Earl Montagu looked at Baron, paying attention to his expression, and said:

“I just hope to know what your opinion is? Of course, if possible, after these two manors are sold, there will be some remaining funds, and I hope to invest them in your Mars Fund.”

As Baron had anticipated, the reason he was willing to sell the manor and requested to meet him was that Earl Montagu hoped to use this opportunity to establish a relationship with Baron.

Even if he couldn’t learn Baron’s, the famous investor’s, true view of the market, which could provide important support for Earl Montagu’s future investments, even the Mars Fund is not so easy to join and invest in now.

Yes, in the beginning, Baron even had to find ways to attract investors to the Mars Fund, but as this fund has developed to its current state, due to its consistently excellent profitability, it has become very sought after.

It can be said that ordinary people simply do not have the qualifications to buy shares in this fund. The current Mars Fund basically no longer openly opens investment windows. Those who are allowed to join this fund are all required to have a relatively close relationship with Baron—many politicians in key positions will have some funds invested in the Mars Fund.

This fund is also very attractive to many wealthy people, but many people can only obtain very limited investment quotas.

Although the investment returns of the Mars Fund are no longer comparable to what they were in the beginning—when the investment return rate was often several times or even ten times per year.

But the current return rate of this fund is still far higher than some other private equity funds.

“Regarding my view of the investment market, it’s similar to yours, Earl. I also believe that the market has entered a recovery and upward cycle. It will take a process, but what can be determined is that the lowest point of many stocks has passed…”

Baron didn’t feel there was anything to hide about his view of the investment market. After all, it wouldn’t involve some investment details. He has expressed his optimistic attitude towards the overall market trend more than once. However, just like how some people still lose money in a bull market, and there are quite a few of them, similarly, with the same view of the economic cycle, different operating methods will lead to very different results.

“As for the Mars Fund, how much capital can you bring to invest?”

“I hope to obtain an investment quota of 50 million pounds, Your Grace.”

“That’s no problem. I can reserve those shares for you, but it will have to wait until September…”

After all, September is when the Mars Fund settles accounts every year. Previously, the investment window was opened in September. Of course, some investors who redeem funds will also do so during that period.

…

“Weren’t you too quick to agree?”

That day, Baron and Julia stayed overnight at Nocton Manor. In the bedroom, after changing into a loose dress, Julia couldn’t help but say to Baron.

“Isn’t this how our goals are achieved? We bought Earl Montagu’s two manors, and the price was very reasonable. As for agreeing to let him invest in the Mars Fund…”

Baron said softly:

“Their family is worth befriending in itself. There’s nothing more solid than this kind of connection based on mutual benefit.”

During the dinner, after Baron agreed to Earl Montagu’s request, he seemed very happy and directly finalized the transaction with Baron regarding the two manors in Lincolnshire. The two pieces of land, with a total area of 14,500 acres, were sold for 235 million pounds, which was considered a relatively good price.

Chapter 686: Switching Sides

The next day, Barron bid farewell to the Montagues and left Nocton Manor.

In itself, a transaction of this scale didn’t require his excessive attention, but Barron also took the opportunity to accompany Julia out for a change of scenery.

The remaining matters concerning the land deal with Earl Montague could be entirely entrusted to Julia.

Furthermore, from their conversations, Barron learned that the Montagues also had a residence in London and spent about half their time there—considering Earl Montague’s fondness for financial investments, this was quite reasonable.

Therefore, when they said goodbye, they also agreed to meet in London sometime.

“After completing the transaction with them, we need to continue purchasing more land. Of course, it doesn’t have to be limited to England; we can discuss suitable land in other places like Northern Ireland and Scotland,” Barron said to Julia on the way back.

“I’ll keep an eye out, but land transactions require patience…”

Indeed, that was the case. Under normal circumstances, when a family’s operations were stable, very few people would sell their land. The sale of large tracts of land usually only occurred when a family encountered difficulties or when the heirs had no interest in managing the land.

…

“I’ve contacted Liliane Bettencourt…”

After returning to London, Barron received a call from Ashley Webber. Hearing her words, Barron asked, “What did she say?”

“Liliane Bettencourt’s current situation isn’t good, and it’s clear that her daughter’s actions have caused her great harm…”

Before this, Ashley Webber had first met with Liliane Bettencourt’s daughter, Françoise Bettencourt Meyers. However, during that meeting, Françoise remained noncommittal about the cooperation proposed by Ashley, giving no clear answer.

Since that was the case, Ashley began to contact Liliane.

After all, it currently seemed that if Liliane could cooperate with them, it would be the fastest way for the Gucci-Hermès Group to control the L’Oréal Group.

This was because Françoise had to win the lawsuit before she could gain control of the Bettencourt family’s shares in the L’Oréal Group. Currently, it seemed that this lawsuit wouldn’t be resolved in a short period of time.

However, if Liliane Bettencourt could agree to their cooperation, then at least they could now complete the “swap agreement” with Nestlé under the Bettencourt family’s permission, thereby buying their shares in the L’Oréal Group. Coupled with the shares of the L’Oréal Group they had acquired from the secondary market, they could gain control of the L’Oréal Group.

Even if the Bettencourt family continued to manage the L’Oréal Group, it would at least be a temporary victory for the Gucci-Hermès Group.

In addition, it seemed that cooperating with Liliane was a more likely option.

This was because although Françoise had not shown much interest in the management of the L’Oréal Group before, and had instead focused most of her energy on research.

But things were different now. After marrying her current husband, the Jewish Meyers, Françoise’s husband had resigned from the bank and joined the L’Oréal Group.

Currently, both Françoise and her husband were members of the L’Oréal Group’s board of directors, which indicated that at least Françoise, under her husband’s influence, had developed an interest in the management of the L’Oréal Group.

This explained why she wasn’t interested in the cooperation proposal Ashley had made earlier.

“Liliane Bettencourt still has the final say on the Bettencourt family’s shareholding. Although she didn’t immediately agree to our proposal during the last meeting, I could feel that she was also filled with hatred for her daughter’s ‘betrayal,’ so I think it’s still worth making an effort with her.”

Of course, Ashley also mentioned another consideration: Françoise’s evidence presented to the court through the previous “wiretapping” involved the current French President, Old Sarko.

Although it wasn’t convenient to exert too much influence in this lawsuit at the moment, it was clear that Old Sarko still hoped that Liliane would win this lawsuit—after all, it was obvious that once Françoise won, his relationship with the Bettencourt family would gradually drift apart.

Even worse, the conversations between him and Liliane shown in the “wiretapping” could potentially become a knife wielded by his political enemies against Old Sarko in the future.

In fact, in Barron’s previous life, Old Sarko fell into a corruption scandal after leaving office and even faced lawsuits as a result.

So, if Barron’s side also reached a cooperation with Liliane, pushing the lawsuit in Liliane’s favor, then in addition to gaining the support of the Bettencourt family, it would also make their connection with Old Sarko closer.

“We are originally bystanders, only wanting to take this opportunity to control the L’Oréal Group. Therefore, I hope to grasp the extent of our intervention, so that we won’t be involved when things fall apart… I hope to be more fully prepared.”

“I will consider these things, Your Grace.”

Speaking of which, this was equivalent to Barron changing the outcome of the judgment in his previous life. Even if the current analysis showed that it was still feasible, Barron still needed to consider more.

Anyway, the result wouldn’t be worse than Françoise ultimately winning the lawsuit and then resisting the Gucci-Hermès Group’s acquisition of the L’Oréal Group…

…

“Hello, Carla?”

“Your Grace, you haven’t contacted me in a long time…”

After talking with Ashley, Barron called Bruni. Hearing her voice with a hint of complaint, Barron said with a smile, “I just didn’t want to disturb your married life, dear Carla. When you got married last year, I was silently wishing you happiness.”

In February of last year, Bruni held a wedding with Old Sarko, and now she had become the First Lady of France.

Of course, Barron certainly wouldn’t personally attend their wedding at that time. It felt a bit melodramatic—although he had received an invitation from Bruni, he still found an excuse to brush it off, but he still sent someone to deliver a gift.

“Okay, you’re still so considerate, Your Grace. I think the reason you called me isn’t just to ‘reminisce,’ right?”

“In fact, that’s the main reason…”

“Then what’s the other reason?”

“I’ll be going to Paris next week to visit my dear Mrs. Bruni, and I also hope to meet with Old Sarko, well, to talk about something.”

Chapter 687: Insurance

The Devonshire landed in New York once again.

Yes, two days after his call with Bruni, Barron had arrived in America.

During their phone conversation, Barron learned that Old Sack was scheduled to visit America with Bruni. This presented Barron with a perfect opportunity to meet Old Sack in America. He felt that this was better than meeting him in France, as the secrecy would be much greater.

His arrival in America wasn’t solely for the purpose of meeting Old Sack.

Barron had already planned to travel to America after their meeting, so this just became a convenient addition.

Barron wasn’t traveling to America alone this time; Beatrice Borromeo accompanied him.

Beatrice had graduated from Bocconi University this year and received an offer for a Master’s degree in Journalism from Columbia University. Therefore, this trip to New York with Barron served as an early acclimation to her future life there.

Barron had no objections to her choice of Columbia University for further studies, as it was better than Beatrice choosing a university in London.

Furthermore, Columbia University is located in Manhattan, in the heart of New York City, making life more comfortable for Beatrice while she studied there.

To that end, Barron had specifically purchased a high-end apartment near the school to serve as Beatrice’s residence during her studies.

In addition, Beatrice could also stay in Barron’s penthouse in the Woolworth Building in Manhattan.

After all, Barron rarely stayed there when he came to New York now, preferring his Long Island estate.

This was easily understandable. When he purchased the penthouse, Barron was merely an ordinary British duke. Unlike now, his position was extremely important…

Therefore, wherever he went, especially in America, his security measures were extremely tight. After all, this was a place where even the President could have his brains blown out in the street…

Considering this, living in the Woolworth Building penthouse naturally didn’t offer the same level of security as living on the Long Island estate.

Of course, the penthouse wasn’t without its advantages. Overlooking the lights of New York at night through the floor-to-ceiling windows while engaging in certain knowledge acquisition was quite an experience.

For example, after Barron and Beatrice moved in together, they experienced this very thing that night.

Fortunately, the penthouse was known for its excellent soundproofing, otherwise Barron would have been worried that Beatrice’s passionate cries would reach the floors below…

He could tell that Beatrice was quite bold. Yes, it was indeed very enjoyable just now.

But the only drawback was that her stamina wasn’t great. Although she was one of the younger women in Barron’s life, she only “studied” twice before Barron had to carry her back to bed…

…

Just as many people visiting China would go to Shanghai, dignitaries visiting America would often come to New York.

Moreover, New York wasn’t far from Washington D.C., only a four-hour drive.

Barron met with Old Sack and Bruni when they came to New York.

By this time, Barron and Beatrice had moved into the Long Island estate, which offered greater privacy.

Knowing that Barron had matters to discuss with her husband, Bruni, after an initial chat, cheerfully went with Beatrice to tour the estate.

“Gucci-Hermès Group is preparing to acquire L’Oréal Group, sir.”

Settling down in the study, Barron stated his intention directly.

“We welcome all commercial investments, Your Grace.”

“But currently, the Bettencourt family is embroiled in litigation, as you should know, sir.”

Hearing Barron’s words, Old Sack frowned almost imperceptibly. Just as he was about to speak, Barron continued:

“I know that this involves you as well…”

“What do you mean?”

Seeing Old Sack’s slightly displeased expression, Barron looked at him and said:

“Of course, perhaps this isn’t a big problem for you, but sometimes, if these small problems aren’t handled properly, they can cause bigger issues.”

“This isn’t a problem at all…”

“What if Françoise wins this lawsuit?”

Barron leaned forward slightly and said:

“Of course, like you, sir, I hope that Liliane Bettencourt wins the case. This would not only minimize your involvement, but also make it more advantageous for us to acquire L’Oréal Group. To achieve this outcome, you need to exert some influence…”

Old Sack shook his head:

“Even if I wanted to, it wouldn’t be convenient to do so, as it would cause me trouble.”

Barron understood his meaning. The content of Françoise’s wiretapping of her mother’s calls already involved Old Sack’s promise to help Liliane Bettencourt win the case.

Therefore, Old Sack was worried that if he intervened too obviously in these lawsuits, he would be giving others more leverage against him.

“Of course, we don’t need you to come forward directly. We will also push this matter forward…”

Barron said with a smile:

“You only need to exert some influence at certain times…”

Old Sack probably hoped more than anyone that the internal lawsuit within the Bettencourt family could end as soon as possible, which would also allow the matters he was previously involved in to be resolved quickly.

As for who ultimately wins the case…

Yes, while under the influence of interests, even though the phone calls Françoise had wiretapped showed that Old Sack had previously intended to help her mother win the case, once she truly controlled the L’Oréal Group shares held by the Bettencourt family, she could still re-establish contact with Old Sack…

But relatively speaking, it would be easiest for Old Sack if Liliane Bettencourt herself won the case—the connection between the two parties had already been established and there would be no more variables.

But if he wanted to participate, Old Sack still needed to weigh the pros and cons. Only when the risks were relatively small would he be willing to be a driving force in it.

Barron hadn’t placed all his hopes on Old Sack anyway.

The Weber family itself had its own energy, coupled with Barron and his good relationship with the Lagardère family, as well as Liliane Bettencourt’s own energy—if the lawsuit could be resolved in the short term, it would be beneficial to their side. Adding Old Sack was just adding an extra layer of insurance.

Chapter 688: Patent Litigation

Old Sa’s itinerary for this visit to America was already very packed. Being able to meet with Barron was something he squeezed out of his schedule…

Therefore, after the two finally reached a consensus, he and his wife, Bruni, bid farewell to Barron and left the estate.

Of course, Barron also noticed that Bruni’s gaze towards him as she left held a great deal of meaning.

This woman is really bold, even in front of her husband.

Barron’s visit this time wasn’t just for leisure. Although he was with Beatrice, he also had many other matters to attend to.

The next day, he left New York for Silicon Valley.

As for Beatrice, Barron left her in New York because he was about to meet with Ivanka.

Anyway, she wouldn’t be bored in New York—Beatrice had a female classmate with whom she had a good relationship who was a New Yorker, and she would entertain her.

Being able to hang out with Beatrice, that female classmate’s family background wouldn’t be simple either.

Moreover, before leaving, Barron left bodyguards for Beatrice—although Barron didn’t like going to nightclubs, he knew that girls Beatrice’s age liked excitement, but this was New York after all, so the necessary protection was still needed.

After arriving in Silicon Valley, Barron arrived at his and Ivanka’s “love nest” there, which was the villa where they had been living before.

And Ivanka was already waiting there in advance.

“What, so happy?”

“Of course, because I missed you, darling.”

Seeing the sweet smile on Ivanka’s face, and how she threw herself into his arms upon meeting, Barron knew that this had something to do with the news of his divorce.

Although Barron had explicitly told the other women, including Ivanka, at that time that he would not enter into marriage again.

But at least after Barron’s divorce, they, including Ivanka, could all step into the sunlight.

Because Barron had regained his single status, even if he was photographed with her, it could only be said to be a normal romantic relationship.

As for Barron having a few romantic relationships…

He could only say, is it my fault?

Speaking of which, IC Capital’s investments have been very impressive in recent years, and it can be considered a very outstanding investment company in America.

Currently, the only shortcoming of this company is that it is too “new” and doesn’t have the vast network of relationships like Sequoia Capital or even Goldman Sachs.

Therefore, last year, IC Capital participated in the financing of Goldman Sachs, becoming a major shareholder of Goldman Sachs, thereby using Goldman Sachs’ relationships to enable IC Capital to have a broader network of contacts in the upper echelons of America.

And for Barron, the most important role of IC Capital is to use it to invest in some American industries that are “restricted.”

Don’t think that DS Holdings (Cavendish Trust) controls the controlling stake in Woaw, and that this company can still develop well.

But if in the future the DS Group still directly holds most of the shares of YouTube and even Twitter, you can try it again…

Now he can use Ivanka, who has a genuine American Anglo-Saxon group background, and the IC Capital she manages, to invest in companies including Twitter.

In addition, it seems that America is an open market, and even foreigners can freely buy shares of listed companies through their stock market.

But in fact, you are allowed to buy shares of Microsoft, Google, or even Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase, but if you go to buy their energy and military industry stocks… I’m afraid the FBI will come to your door soon to ask what your intentions are.

Of course, Barron wouldn’t directly buy American energy and military companies—even if he wanted to buy them, it would probably be difficult to achieve—but through IC Capital and other “aliases,” he can still invest in some companies that may face strict scrutiny from relevant American institutions.

The saying goes, absence makes the heart grow fonder. After Barron met with Ivanka, naturally, under her initiative, they first began to study knowledge…

Fortunately, Beatrice’s combat power wasn’t strong in New York, so Barron still had some energy left.

But Ivanka is completely different from Beatrice. This can be seen from her figure and build. Ivanka’s figure is more mature, like a juicy peach, and she has always insisted on exercising. In terms of physical strength, she is much better than Beatrice.

If Barron didn’t have a natural gift, I’m afraid that after studying with Beatrice every day in New York, he would have to raise the white flag after less than two rounds when facing Ivanka.

But now, Barron can support and learn from each other in the study of knowledge, with give and take, until after dark, before finally ending this long study of knowledge…

Well, if you were to rank the “learning abilities” of Barron’s current women, then Ivanka would be at the top.

“Android has already bought phones equipped with the GOS system released by Samsung and Motorola as soon as they were available, and has been studying them…”

Ivanka lazily nestled in Barron’s arms, telling him about the mobile phone operating system.

At the beginning of this year, Google released their GOS system at a press conference, but smartphones equipped with this system were not released until June.

The first batch of GOS phones included the Samsung and Motorola brands, and Android would naturally start studying the competitor’s products as soon as possible.

“In terms of operation, the GOS system has similarities with the Android system and the iOS system, but there are also differences. It seems that Google has put a lot of thought into bypassing the relevant patent barriers of Android and Apple, but in the GOS system, it was still discovered that there are several places that are suspected of touching our related patents…”

“What is Android going to do?”

“Google is very smart. The places where they are suspected of infringing on patents are not easy to determine. If we file a lawsuit, then with their financial resources, they can afford to drag it out completely, which would instead increase the popularity of the GOS system…”

Ivanka said very unhappily:

“But we can’t have no reaction to this kind of thing, so we are preparing to sue them first.”

This kind of thing is very normal in these technology companies. After all, if the lawyer’s fees are enough to cover the time saved and bring benefits, the other party is still very willing to respond to the lawsuit.

“We had already expected this kind of thing, didn’t we?”

“Yes, Apple is also preparing a strategy similar to ours, to file a lawsuit against Google…”

Ivanka said:

“But the good news is that GOS phones currently don’t have enough sales to pose a threat to us.”

Chapter 689: A Meeting?

After all, both the iOS and Android systems had been out for two years. At this point, the difficulties Google faced in trying to catch up were considerable.

“But we can’t let our guard down. Android needs to speed up its research and development.”

“The Android system has been undergoing small-scale updates. The next major version update won’t be until before Christmas.”

In March or April of this year, the Android system was officially upgraded to version 2.0, codenamed Froyo (Frozen Yogurt).

In addition, based on user feedback from the new version, the Android system has also been undergoing some small-scale version updates. Currently, the Android system has been updated to version 2.35.

Just as Barron had said before, facing Google’s GOS system, Android should take advantage of its first-mover advantage to keep GOS playing catch-up. They could also use some new related patents to build up barriers, making GOS’s pursuit unsustainable.

Although Google’s size far exceeded Android’s at this point, because of this, Google was involved in many fields, which meant that it had strong competitors in each of those fields.

So, how determined was Google to invest in a mobile phone operating system?

It was very possible that when their investment in this area was disproportionate to their returns, or when they were significantly outdistanced by Apple and Android, Google would cut its losses in a timely manner and end the business.

In any case, Android needed to continue competing with iOS. If, in the process, they could also eliminate Google’s GOS system, that wouldn’t be bad either.

“My father said he wants to meet you, darling.”

Hearing Ivanka say this, Barron couldn’t help but be taken aback.

Why did it suddenly feel like he was about to meet the parents? The key was that her father, Goldilocks… uh, no, the Builder-in-Chief, had left such a deep impression on him in his previous life with his every word and action…

Meeting him felt a little strange.

Barron couldn’t imagine if, during their conversation, the Builder-in-Chief suddenly said “China!”, whether he could stop himself from laughing…

But thinking about it, it was normal. Just like Ivanka’s relationship with Barron, even if she was hiding it from everyone else, it was unlikely she could hide it from her father. The simplest point was the source of IC Capital’s funds. As her closest family member, it was difficult for Ivanka to hide it.

And since Ivanka brought it up, Barron certainly couldn’t refuse. Although, with his current status, he had the initiative of whether or not to meet him, he was, after all, in this kind of relationship with Ivanka. He had already taken advantage of his daughter; it wouldn’t be appropriate not to meet him at all.

“Of course, when does he have time?”

Hearing Barron’s words, Ivanka finally became happy:

“Is it a bit sudden? Actually, he’s mentioned it to me several times already, but there’s no rush. I’ll coordinate the time, darling.”

Barron realized that Ivanka had brought this up suddenly. It just so happened that her father had gone overseas to discuss a hotel project, so they would have to wait until both of them were available to arrange a meeting.

For some reason, Barron was suddenly looking forward to meeting the Builder-in-Chief… What was going on?

…

After the Federal Reserve began “flooding the market,” that is, implementing quantitative easing, Wall Street’s financial markets finally began to show signs of activity.

This was easy to understand. After all, as the money supply increased, funds needed to start looking for investment opportunities.

This was also the result that Wall Street capitalists hoped to see.

Previously, Standard Chartered-Merrill Lynch acquired Barclays’ fund management division, BGI, and merged it into Merrill Lynch Investment. With the arrival of the “flooding” era, ETF funds also entered a stage of development.

Merrill Lynch Investment’s iShare ETF fund, originally part of BGI, was also eager to start absorbing funds on a large scale.

Also worth mentioning is that BlackRock Group, which lost out in the bidding for BGI to Standard Chartered-Merrill Lynch, although it did not expand its fund management scale and acquire the iShare fund through merging with BGI as it did in Barron’s previous life, thereby making great strides in the ETF field, it also didn’t fall too far behind. Not long ago, BlackRock Group merged with Morgan Stanley’s fund management division, expanding its fund management scale in another way and also starting to build their own ETF fund.

And Morgan Stanley, by merging its fund management division with BlackRock Group, was also able to avoid related financial regulations and focus its main efforts on its brokerage business. By holding shares in BlackRock Group, they were also able to obtain the dividends of its future development.

It could be said to be a very clever approach.

After all, BlackRock Group’s Aladdin system had unique advantages in investment risk management. Morgan Stanley’s fund management division had also been using BlackRock Group’s Aladdin system before, so after the merger, they could reduce operating costs and obtain higher returns.

Of course, inevitably, Barron’s DS Group’s shareholding ratio in BlackRock Group was diluted to some extent.

“Obviously, based on current performance, the future of wealth management will become increasingly concentrated at the top, resulting in some large fund management groups with super scales of trillions or even tens of trillions of dollars. These companies’ operating costs can be reduced accordingly, and their ability to resist risks will be strengthened due to their scale.”

John Thain, the former CEO of Merrill Lynch, is currently the Chairman of Securities and Wealth Management at Standard Chartered-Merrill Lynch.

Speaking of which, he was quite tragic. During the subprime mortgage crisis, after his predecessor resigned due to Merrill Lynch’s huge losses, he became the “firefighter,” serving as the CEO of Merrill Lynch.

But Merrill Lynch was ultimately unsustainable and was eventually acquired by Standard Chartered. However, his luck was not bad, and he became the Chairman of the Debt and Wealth Management division of Standard Chartered-Merrill Lynch—which was almost the main business of the previous Merrill Lynch.

And through subsequent acquisitions, especially after merging with Barclays’ fund management division, BGI, the scale of the business that Thain was responsible for was even higher than that of the former Merrill Lynch.

Thain certainly had no problem in terms of ability, and what he said was in line with future trends.

Before Barron was reborn in his previous life, in the financial field of the United States and even the world, the main resources in wealth management were concentrated in giants such as BlackRock Group, Vanguard Group, and State Street Corporation.

Especially BlackRock Group, it could be said that it controlled the economic lifeline of many countries.

Chapter 690: Cooperation

“Our original plan was to IPO this year, but with the current situation…”

Elon Musk shrugged, saying helplessly, “So this plan can only be postponed again. But Tesla’s current situation is still relatively stable, and I believe we can get through this difficult time.”

From his words, Musk was relatively optimistic about Tesla.

Of course, this was also partly due to the British Automotive Group’s previous investment of $150 million in Tesla, which significantly improved Tesla’s financial situation. At least now Musk was confident that he could keep the company afloat until the IPO next year.

Yes, in his plan, Tesla would go public next year. After all, only in this way could Tesla raise a significant amount of capital again.

In the original timeline, when Tesla’s IPO was hindered by the subprime mortgage crisis, Musk almost took out all the funds he had earned from his previous ventures. In addition, when Barack Obama visited their company, he persuaded him to provide support, which barely sustained the company until it went public.

Otherwise, if any of these steps had failed, there probably would have been no future for Tesla.

“I also believe that electric vehicles are very promising, but the current technology in this area, especially battery technology, still needs to be further developed…”

“In addition to batteries, electric vehicles are very different from traditional fuel vehicles in many ways, and many technologies need to be re-researched.”

Hearing Musk’s addition, Barron nodded and said, “I have a suggestion: British Automotive Group can cooperate with Tesla in related technology research and development. Under the current economic situation, whether in Silicon Valley or Britain, some related technical personnel have lost their jobs. We can take this opportunity to increase research and development personnel…”

Barron’s proposal interested Musk, but his hesitation was about the funding, not Tesla exclusively owning the technology they developed.

After all, at this time, although Musk was optimistic about the future of electric vehicles – otherwise, he would not have bet all his wealth on Tesla – it was unrealistic for him to know what scale Tesla would reach in the future.

Compared to traditional car companies, Tesla was just a toddler. The Model series of cars had not yet been successful, so where did Musk get the confidence to say that Tesla would become the car company with the highest market value in the future?

Moreover, there was also a realistic problem: the powerful traditional fuel vehicle companies were resisting Tesla. It would be an exaggeration to say they were deliberately obstructing, but did an elephant need to put all its effort into obstructing an ant? A puff of air from its trunk could make the ant “fall on its back.”

Therefore, if he could get the support of one of the car company groups – British Automotive Group – and cooperate with it, it would be like adding a powerful ally to Tesla.

Although British Automotive Group, in terms of scale, could not be compared with the leading Daimler Group, Volkswagen Group, and other companies, at least one thing was certain: the British Duke in front of him was not short of money at all.

As for the funding issues that Musk was worried about, Barron also promised that British Automotive Group could invest a considerable amount of money in the cooperation between the two parties. This was actually equivalent to sharing the research and development costs with Tesla, and also gaining an ally.

Musk found this temptation very difficult to resist…

As for Barron, he certainly knew that new energy vehicles, especially electric vehicles, were undoubtedly the general trend of the future.

In this field, only two groups were at the forefront globally: Tesla and Chinese car companies, while European car companies had completely fallen behind.

As for Japanese and Korean car companies, they had completely fallen behind.

For electric cars, some people might buy electric cars from European car companies to buy a brand name, but buying electric cars from Japanese and Korean car companies… what’s the point?

It was precisely because he knew this future result that Barron, now that he had British Automotive Group, naturally needed to plan ahead and lay out the new energy vehicle track in advance.

Besides Tesla, BYD, the company in which he held shares, had also started researching electric cars very early…

Moreover, BYD also had the advantage of batteries.

Barron knew that in terms of cost, because of the existence of China’s complete related industrial chain, it would be difficult for British Automotive Group to “compete” with Chinese car companies. But at least through early layout, British Automotive Group would still have a chance in the mid-to-high-end electric vehicle market in the future. At the very least, it couldn’t lose to Mercedes-Benz, BMW, and Volkswagen in electric vehicles.

Therefore, with the two parties hitting it off immediately, it was decided that British Automotive Group would cooperate with Tesla to establish electric vehicle-related research and development centers in America and Britain respectively.

British Automotive Group would initially invest a total of $100 million in these two research and development centers to support their joint research and development of related technologies.

With this, Barron finally made another move in new energy vehicles, laying out his plans in advance.

…

In other news, Musk currently did not have a girlfriend…

Yes, he had not yet met Talulah Riley, who amazed everyone in Inception – or rather, they probably would not meet… at least not get married.

Because in the original timeline, Musk met Talulah Riley in 2008, last year, when he went to London to relax after divorcing his ex-wife. He was introduced to her at a club by a friend.

At that time, Talulah had just starred in Pride and Prejudice, and was becoming somewhat popular in Britain. She happened to be attending an event with two other actresses, and went to the club to meet Musk, and the two “fell in love at first sight.”

But in this timeline, when Musk went to London last year, he was received by Barron – after all, he had already invested in Tesla at that time, and it was only natural to extend his hospitality to Musk.

So, under Barron’s arrangement, Musk happily spent a few days on Fantasy Island and then returned to America.

As for Talulah Riley…

In his previous life, her appearance in Inception had indeed amazed Barron.

Moreover, her marriage with Musk was not happy. They separated and reunited, divorced and remarried once, and eventually became strangers.

So, since that was the case, and marriage was so hurtful, it was better to let the beauty not be tormented by marriage…

Chapter 691: Deeply Impressed

After the cooperation was finalized, Elon Musk even planned to throw Barron a party, but he politely declined.

It wasn’t exactly because Ivanka was with him at the moment, but mainly because Barron didn’t really enjoy that kind of noisy atmosphere. Yes, cultivating his moral character, that’s it.

Speaking of Tesla, don’t assume that just because they are all engineers and programmers, these “tech nerds” are boring. In fact, the entire Silicon Valley is like this. Work is work, but when it comes to having fun, these tech nerds can be extremely wild.

After all, the internet has been at the forefront of trends for years, giving rise to countless new millionaires. Even an ordinary employee could become rich overnight after the company went public due to the stock options they were initially “promised” – of course, we should also recognize that even more companies have failed. Naturally, places close to money tend to attract other resources, like beautiful women.

Therefore, the Wall Street playbook was quickly adopted by these tech companies.

Moreover, Silicon Valley is relatively close to Hollywood, the area with the highest concentration of beautiful women in America, making it very convenient to hire aspiring actresses and models for wild parties.

As a result, the tech nerds at these companies’ private parties went all out.

In addition, in recent years, Chinese internet companies have increasingly been doing the same – this is not surprising, as a significant proportion of the founders or core members of these internet companies have experience working or starting businesses in Silicon Valley. After they made money, it was easy for them to bring this trend back.

However, compared to their American counterparts, China is still slightly more conservative.

It’s not that they don’t want to, but China really can’t fully embrace the evils of capitalism. There are still basic bottom lines.

…

“Hello, Mr. Trump.”

“Haha, Barron, I often hear Ivanka talk about you…”

Barron met Trump in Los Angeles. According to Ivanka, he had returned to America a day early just to meet with Barron.

This meeting gave Barron a very novel experience – this future president, whom he had previously only seen in the news… and even in those bizarre remix videos, was now standing right in front of him, having a conversation with him.

Of course, Barron had already met many famous people he had only seen on television and in the media in his previous life, but it must be said that Trump was one of the most special.

In fact, Trump’s situation was not good at this time, because in the original timeline, his Trump Entertainment Resorts would go bankrupt this year, and Trump would have to abandon all his investments in Atlantic City.

However, things were different now. Ivanka’s IC Capital had become one of the most well-known investment companies in America.

Therefore, at Barron’s suggestion, Ivanka, through IC Capital, invested in Trump’s Trump Entertainment Resorts, saving the company.

“Mr. Trump, as far as I know, you once participated in the presidential election. I wonder if you are still interested in it now?”

Yes, as everyone knows, Trump defeated the Democratic Party’s successor to Obama, that is, Bill Clinton’s wife, in the future, thereby becoming the President of the United States.

But in fact, as early as 2000, Trump ran for president as a Reform Party candidate, but later withdrew, citing “fear of shaking hands with too many people, so as not to catch a cold” as the reason.

Currently, Trump is a member of the Republican Party. In fact, he originally joined the Democratic Party and often switched between the two parties, and even joined the third-party Reform Party for a time – he last participated in the election as a Reform Party candidate.

In short, his choice of camp was that Trump was a Democrat before 1987, and first joined the Republican Party in 1987.

In 1999, he transferred to the Reform Party and participated in the presidential election in 2000 as a Reform Party candidate (later withdrew).

In 2001, Trump rejoined the Democratic Party, and in 2009, he rejoined the Republican Party again.

In fact, in Barron’s previous life, in 2011, Trump withdrew from the Republican Party and did not join any other party, and then in 2012, he joined the Republican Party for the third time, and continued until before Barron’s rebirth.

“Although I have never had any political experience, and I am just a businessman, this can be an advantage in some ways. That’s what I think.”

Trump was still very confident. He shook his head, smiled, and shrugged his shoulders, saying:

“Barron, believe me, at some point, I will strike again. Of course, it’s like doing business, you need to find the most favorable opportunity, and then go all out…”

If you only think of Trump as someone who likes to boast and is reckless from his words and deeds, then you would probably be mistaken.

In fact, he is very smart.

Actually, Barron had watched documentaries about Trump in his previous life and knew some things about him.

The person who sparked Trump’s interest in politics was a man named Jesse Ventura.

Jesse was an American professional wrestler, and he and Trump met at a match.

But surprisingly, Jesse, who had no political experience at all, became the governor of Minnesota in 1999 – this aroused Trump’s great interest.

After that, he frequently contacted Jesse to learn about Jesse’s campaign strategies.

Trump suddenly realized that people with no political experience could also win elections, thereby holding high positions in politics, which greatly stimulated his ambition – in the past few decades, he often criticized the then-president, and jokingly said, if I were the president, I would do this and that…

Now Jesse’s example made him couldn’t help but think – maybe I can really be president.

After that, Trump frequently released news that he might participate in the American election.

Basically, he would jump out and attract attention every election, and then announce that he would not run.

Politicians sneered at this.

But behind this series of operations, Trump also had his own intentions – he was testing the public’s reaction to him, he was waiting for an opportunity.

However, what Barron thought of at this time was that he really became president in the future, and he was a president with no prior political experience.

Moreover, what impressed Barron was that Trump could be called “heaven’s chosen one.”

After all, when he prepared to run again 15 years later, he was assassinated at a campaign rally.

The most bizarre thing was that the gunman at the time fired eight shots, one of which passed through his ear…

But he didn’t have a “mind-blowing” experience like Kennedy, but instead created a “world-famous painting” as a result…

Chapter 692: Self-Directed and Self-Acted?

After that incident, some people suspected that Jian Guo might have staged a “self-directed and self-acted” farce in order to gain more support and win the election.

However, a simple analysis reveals that this possibility is extremely low, almost non-existent.

Firstly, Jian Guo was not in office at the time; his opponent, Mei Xi Zong, was. Therefore, it was unlikely that Jian Guo would orchestrate such a thing under those circumstances.

Because it was clear that Mei Xi Zong had more resources at his disposal at that time—even the Secret Service providing protection to Jian Guo was under his control, not to mention intelligence organizations like the CIA and FBI. Therefore, under such circumstances, it would be too easy for a “former president” without actual power to be caught if he orchestrated such a self-directed event.

Indeed, there had been instances of people staging “assassination attempts” at such times, but these things were usually done by someone in office seeking re-election, like A-Bian back in the day…

It’s much more difficult for the “opposition” to plan such a thing…

Another noteworthy point is that at the rally, the Secret Service had positioned two snipers on nearby rooftops. However, even after audience members spotted the gunman climbing onto a nearby rooftop and alerted them, the Secret Service snipers still allowed him to fire eight shots with ease, which was simply outrageous.

And the Secret Service did not take orders from Jian Guo. If we rule out Jian Guo staging the whole thing, then this reaction becomes very intriguing.

The second reason is that staging such a thing is very risky. It’s usually a last resort when public opinion is lagging. Jian Guo wasn’t in that situation at the time; in fact, his popularity was significantly higher than Mei Xi Zong’s, so there was no need for him to take such a “desperate gamble.”

Thirdly, there’s the risk mentioned above, which is the most important thing—if you’re going to stage something, you need to find a “scapegoat,” right? Indeed, a scapegoat, because you can’t guarantee that the gunman you find will keep the secret 100%. So, the best way is to “kill him on the spot.”

For that, you need someone you can trust completely, otherwise it’s easy for the charade to become real, leading to unforeseen consequences.

But even then, it wouldn’t go to the extent of what happened to Jian Guo at the time. One of the bullets was captured in a photograph by a photographer at the scene, grazing Jian Guo’s head and piercing his ear…

The gunman was using an automatic rifle, not a sniper rifle, and was over 200 meters away. No one would be confident enough to play such a trick in a “self-directed” scenario. One wrong move, and it could really blow your brains out. How much trust would you need to have in the other person’s marksmanship to dare to do that?

Anyone with a little military knowledge, knowing the performance of such automatic rifles, would rule out the possibility of it being self-directed—frankly, at a distance of over 200 meters, considering the complex situation at the scene, well, it’s not easy to get a headshot even in a game. And to hit only the ear with such precision?

Especially since another Jian Guo supporter attending the rally was shot and killed, which further ruled out the possibility of it being self-directed. After all, if it were self-directed, there would be no fatalities, because that would completely change the nature of the event. In summary, if such a “self-directed” event resulted in a death, especially while the opponent controlled the state apparatus, it would be tantamount to suicide.

So, it really seems that Jian Guo has luck on his side. If he hadn’t been shaking his head during the speech, and happened to dodge the bullet at that moment, he might have been discussing the experience of having your brains blown out with Kennedy…

“Ivanka is a good girl, you know, I’m proud of her. Anyone would be proud to have such a daughter, Barron.”

Of course, the conversation with Jian Guo inevitably touched on the matter between Barron and Ivanka, which was probably one of the purposes of his meeting with Barron this time.

However, with Ivanka present, it was noticeable that Jian Guo spoke less exaggeratedly than he did in other interviews, making him seem much more normal.

“Yes, Mr. TP, I think so too…”

Barron looked at Ivanka beside him with deep affection, and the woman’s face was also full of love.

“We’ve both been divorced, Barron. In my experience, men always need a family. When you fall in love with a woman, you are attracted to each other, you fall in love, then you can consider giving her a family…”

Uh, Jian Guo, is he trying to force his daughter to marry?

“Dad, haven’t we talked about this?”

Before Barron could answer, Ivanka spoke first, saying:

“I think we’re fine as we are now.”

Barron patted Ivanka’s hand and said to Jian Guo with a smile:

“Mr. TP, I can assure you of my sincerity towards Ivanka, but you may also be aware that given the nature of IC Capital’s business, we are better off in our current state than with the formality of marriage.”

Perhaps Jian Guo’s words were a sudden thought, or perhaps it was something he had always been thinking, but after Barron said this, he also realized the deeper implications. Ivanka must have discussed with him their plans for investing in America.

Jian Guo shrugged and said:

“I won’t interfere too much in you young people’s affairs. I just hope you don’t make Ivanka sad…”

“Trust me, Mr. TP, I will give her enough security. Of course, most importantly, is my affection for her…”

In addition, Barron also believed that when Jian Guo prepared to compete for that position, he would also understand that, given Barron’s identity, his relationship with Ivanka, maintaining the current state, would be more beneficial to Jian Guo’s competition than them being a “family.” Besides reducing ammunition for his opponents, it would also be more convenient to help in other ways.

“How was my performance today, baby?”

The meeting with Jian Guo didn’t last too long. He was a busy man. After chatting with Barron for a while and having lunch, he flew back to New York—which was understandable. Originally, in the original timeline, Ivanka had already started working in their family company at this time, becoming the vice president of the TP Group, and sharing a lot of things for Jian Guo. Now, he can only do some things himself.

After he left, Barron said to Ivanka with a smile.

“Well, not bad, at least it seems my father is very satisfied.”

Chapter 693: Another Collaboration

Many people have grown accustomed to peaceful lives, but when you stretch time across the entirety of human history, you realize that peace is not the norm; war is.

It’s just that many people today are fortunate enough to have never personally experienced war.

But Barron knew that in the future, leading up to his rebirth, the entire global landscape would undergo many changes. Some even believe that World War III is likely imminent…

For ordinary people, peace is the most precious thing, but for the top echelons of capital, war is often more tempting—provided, of course, they are on the winning side.

Global conflicts like World War I and World War II inherently reshuffle power. For example, the Rothschild family gradually declined after World War I and World War II, while many other families rose to prominence through these two world wars. The American Wall Street capital we see today largely consists of those who seized the opportunity to climb the ladder back then.

Therefore, Barron needs to start preparing for this now.

“The operations in Japan and South Korea were very successful, Your Grace. We believe similar opportunities will arise in Europe. That’s your territory, and we hope to continue our fruitful collaboration.”

Before Barron left America, he made a special trip to meet with Jamie Dimon.

Jamie Dimon is the Chairman and CEO of JPMorgan Chase, and it can be said that his position on Wall Street at this time is very important.

JPMorgan Chase was a key member of the short-selling operations that Barron and Wall Street capital jointly conducted in Japan and South Korea. Moreover, Barron himself had already become a major shareholder of JPMorgan Chase through the British Fortune Times (BFT) fund. Therefore, the relationship between the two parties is currently quite close.

The logic is simple: after achieving good returns in Japan and South Korea, they hope to replicate this operation in Europe to continue replenishing their coffers.

“I only have some influence in England. As for mainland Europe, my involvement isn’t that deep, Mr. Dimon. In comparison, JPMorgan Chase has a more profound presence there.”

Upon hearing Barron’s words, Jamie Dimon simply smiled and did not refute him. This was indeed the case. Wall Street capital had already established a presence in Europe, though it was far from the level of control they had in Japan and South Korea. But compared to Barron, they certainly had an advantage.

“I value our friendship more than those returns, Your Grace.”

“I feel the same way. Frankly, I’ve also studied the situation in Europe. Although it’s slightly different from Japan and South Korea, there are still opportunities for short-selling. I hope we can once again return with a full load this time.”

Of course, Barron certainly didn’t need to reveal that he already had a presence in Europe. After all, they were only collaborators, far from being that intimate.

But he believed that Wall Street wasn’t just relying on their collaboration with Barron. They must have their own plans as well. When the DS Group was deploying in Europe, they couldn’t help but notice that there were funds doing the same thing. And according to their investigations, although they couldn’t determine exactly which party it belonged to, it was inextricably linked to Wall Street.

…

“How was your time these past few days?”

“Georgia helped me familiarize myself with the environment here. Do you know, she also received an offer from Columbia University, which means we’ll still be classmates…”

The Baldwyn Hill first picked up Beatrice in New York, and she would return to Europe with Barron.

The Georgia she mentioned was her friend living in New York, who also came from a wealthy family. During the time Barron was away from New York and on the West Coast, Georgia had been accompanying Beatrice on her travels here.

As for the fact that she also got into Columbia University, well, that wasn’t surprising. In societies like those in Europe and America, it’s not difficult for children from wealthy families to have a resume from a prestigious university like an “Ivy League” school. It’s nothing more than finding a “letter of recommendation” from someone with influence, or just throwing money at it if that doesn’t work…

As for academic performance…

Well, they value “experiential learning,” not “rote memorization,” understand?

“So you’re planning to go back to Italy for a few days first, is that right?”

“Yes, I’m going to see my mother and my sisters. About half a month, and then I’ll come to London to find you, okay? Dear.”

At this time, the Devonshire was flying smoothly in the air, and Barron spoke with Beatrice about their plans.

As mentioned before, Beatrice is considered an illegitimate child because her parents were not married when she was born. However, both her father and mother are from prominent families in Italy, so no one gossips about her because of this.

And although she and her sisters are half-sisters, their relationship is quite close.

“I’ll make time to be with you then, baby.”

“I’ll miss you so much…”

Beatrice was still very happy. Before this, she had been hiding her relationship with Barron, even from some of her close friends.

After all, she was an illegitimate child, and she had some concerns about such things.

But now that Barron was divorced and single again, she could tell her family about their relationship. This alone clearly showed that her mood had improved a lot recently.

“I don’t want you to have too much pressure, baby. You have to trust me. Although we won’t have a marriage, you’ll receive the best care in the world.”

“I believe you.”

Beatrice offered a sweet kiss and then leaned on Barron’s shoulder…

…

“We have been improving the website’s services. To this end, we not only provide timely updates on information, but also provide different language versions for various countries. But frankly speaking, this does increase costs to some extent.”

Kyle Bolton is the CEO of Independent News Network. This website started as the online version of the Independent newspaper. Later, after the expansion of the SEM Group, especially after the merger with Reuters Group, their sources of information became more extensive and the information was updated very quickly. It has become a well-known information portal website in Europe.

But similarly, the development of this website also needs to solve some problems.

In this regard, they are very envious of America and China, because they have a vast population that speaks a single language. Unlike the European market, although the economy here has always been good, there are too many fragmented countries here. Entering this market requires providing users with more types of language services…

Although many people know some English, they are definitely more comfortable using their native language.

For Independent News Network—not just Independent News Network, but also websites like Argos.com and Woaw—they need to expand into the European market in a multilingual environment.

Chapter 694: WoawChat

Although Independent News Network would incur considerable costs in the process of localizing in various European countries—not only needing to improve multilingual support for the website, but also needing to hire a significant number of personnel in each country to maintain the website.

But these were all very necessary. After all, SEM Group hoped to become a media group with global influence like the BBC, CNN, and News Corporation, rather than being limited to the British Isles. Therefore, expanding their audience through the emerging internet would also be an effective way.

After all, in terms of news and information sources, in addition to the original Independent Newspaper Group, they also had Reuters Group and other partners.

SEM Group’s primary goal was to radiate its communication network throughout Europe and extend it to Asia and Australia.

It wasn’t that SEM Group didn’t want to enter the most important North American market, but the key was that competition in this market was too fierce. Even the BBC couldn’t gain an advantage there.

Therefore, in the future, Barron would still enter the North American market through investment.

Speaking of which, the current stage was in the process of transitioning from a PC-based internet to a mobile internet.

It was like Barron knew that the mobile internet would rise in the future, and since the launch of the iPhone and Honor Mate 1, coupled with the popularization of 3G networks, it already represented the beginning of the mobile internet era.

Therefore, companies such as Woaw and Argos had already begun to lay out their plans for the mobile internet era, and had successively launched corresponding mobile phone apps.

However, the number of smartphone users and the speed of 3G networks had not yet reached the levels of later years.

For example, YouTube had not yet launched an app because the 3G network on mobile phones was not sufficient to support users accessing videos on their mobile devices…

Therefore, although they had begun to lay out their plans, they still needed to wait patiently for the user base of the mobile internet to reach a certain level.

Why was it said that after the internet entered the mobile internet era, many companies based on smartphone applications stood out? The reason was that traditional internet companies had not anticipated that the development of the mobile internet would be so rapid. Therefore, they simply transplanted their PC-based products to mobile devices.

However, in terms of the user experience on smartphones, the difference between these transplanted applications and applications specifically designed for smartphone operation was still very large, which allowed those emerging companies to quickly accumulate users and thus develop.

Barron was also trying his best to avoid this from happening. Therefore, whether it was the Woaw APP or the Argos APP, they were completely based on the operation methods of touch-screen smartphones. In addition to this, Woaw Technology also launched the chat application WoawChat APP.

The WoawChat APP allowed users to register directly using their mobile phone number, and users could choose to have it read their mobile phone contacts. This way, they could directly add friends in their mobile phone contacts who had registered for WoawChat, and recommend unregistered WoawChat friends to download and register.

To put it bluntly, WoawChat was similar to WhatsApp and WeChat, a social software completely based on smartphones.

Once launched, WoawChat quickly became popular with users and was rapidly promoted through users’ real-life social networks.

However, for the same reason, because the proportion of smartphone users was not yet high, and WoawChat only launched applications for the iOS and Android systems, the launch of Google’s GOS system version was still on the agenda. Therefore, in terms of the total number of users, it certainly could not compare with chat software such as MSN and Google message.

But Barron knew that WoawChat represented the future. As long as it continued to develop in this way without making any major mistakes, then it would become a globally dominant social application like WhatsApp in the future.

Speaking of which, with WoawChat, it was uncertain whether WhatsApp could still develop like it did in his previous life.

Because in fact, WhatsApp had already been launched at this time, but WhatsApp 1.0 at this time was not specifically a chat software, but could display user status on the phone.

Just like the PC version of Skype at this time had a new feature that could display statuses such as “Busy” and “Online,” but such a function had not yet appeared on the mobile end.

At this time, WhatsApp’s design concept was this: before users made a phone call, they could first open WhatsApp to see if the other party was online.

However, it was clear that this feature was not popular with users…

In the original timeline, it wasn’t until Apple launched the “push notification” function this year that WhatsApp developed a messaging function, thereby turning it into an instant messaging software, and from then on, WhatsApp began to be very popular.

But now, WoawChat had been launched ahead of WhatsApp and had made its functions more comprehensive, so everything had changed.

It would be difficult for WhatsApp to be as popular as it was before…

Even so, Barron was still sending people to pay attention to the development of WhatsApp. Once it changed, Blue Valley Capital would find them for investment—after all, IC Capital, managed by Ivanka, was one of Woaw’s major shareholders. After Woaw launched the WoawChat APP, it was likely that WhatsApp, which was still preparing to make instant messaging applications, would not accept IC Capital’s investment. Investing in the name of Blue Valley Capital was still relatively safe.

Moreover, Barron knew that WhatsApp’s founders also had a habit, which was that they hoped to cooperate with as few investors as possible—in his previous life, their early financing almost only chose Sequoia Capital.

So even if WhatsApp could still develop and form competition with WoawChat, Blue Valley Capital could still become WhatsApp’s main investor with relatively relaxed investment conditions, and ultimately it would still be invested in by Barron.

Moreover, even if WhatsApp could develop, in Barron’s previous life, WhatsApp was eventually acquired by Facebook.

So now that there was no Facebook, it wasn’t impossible for Woaw to acquire WhatsApp…

…

“I have persuaded Mrs. Liliane Bettencourt, Your Grace.”

At this time, Barron received a call from Ashley Weber, bringing him good news.

The lawsuit within the Bettencourt family was intensifying, and Liliane Bettencourt was at odds with her daughter.

Under this circumstance, although it would be somewhat difficult to get Liliane Bettencourt to agree to sell the shares of L’Oréal Group held by the Bettencourt family to the Gucci-Hermès Group—not to mention that Liliane Bettencourt wasn’t really confused, she wouldn’t easily sell the Bettencourt family’s shares, even if she was willing to sell, at this time her daughter Françoise Bettencourt Meyers was trying to obtain control of the family’s shares through litigation, so she could completely use this to require the French side to temporarily freeze the Bettencourt family’s shareholding, making it impossible to sell this part of the shares.

But at this time, Liliane Bettencourt still controlled L’Oréal Group, so as a second-best option, obtaining her permission to allow Nestlé Group’s shares to be sold to the Gucci-Hermès Group was still completely achievable.

It should be known that in the agreement previously signed between L’Oréal Group and Nestlé Group, Nestlé Group could not freely sell its shares in L’Oréal Group before 2014—because during this period, either the Bettencourt family or Nestlé Group had the priority if either party sold its shares in L’Oréal Group.

Only after 2014 could Nestlé Group freely sell their shares in L’Oréal Group.

Chapter 695: Completing the Agreement

According to the equity swap agreement reached between Gucci-Hermès Group and Nestlé Group at the time—

If the share price of L’Oréal Group is lower than 120 euros per share within the next 8 years, they have the right to purchase Nestlé Group’s shares in L’Oréal Group at a price of 120 euros per share at any time.

If the share price of L’Oréal Group is higher than 120 euros per share within the next 8 years, they have the right to purchase Nestlé Group’s shares in L’Oréal Group at the market price at any time.

When they reached this agreement, affected by the subprime mortgage crisis, L’Oréal Group’s share price fell from more than 100 euros at the beginning of last year to about 70 euros at that time. After that, L’Oréal Group’s share price fell again…

Although their share price has risen somewhat this year, it has only returned to the level of more than 70 euros.

In this case, if Gucci-Hermès Group purchases Nestlé Group’s shares in L’Oréal Group at a price of 120 euros per share according to the agreement, it is equivalent to giving a premium of more than 65%.

For Nestlé Group, they would definitely be willing to execute this agreement. After all, historically, L’Oréal Group’s share price has never reached 120 euros per share. It can be said that they are getting a great deal.

But Barron knew that purchasing L’Oréal Group’s shares at a price of 120 euros per share within the 8 years stipulated in the agreement was actually a better deal, because after that, L’Oréal Group’s share price would rise sharply, and it would cost several times more to acquire L’Oréal Group at that time.

Now that they have obtained the permission of the Bettencourt family, Gucci-Hermès Group will be able to complete this agreement with Nestlé Group, thereby obtaining Nestlé Group’s 29.44% stake in L’Oréal Group.

In this way, coupled with the L’Oréal Group shares they had previously acquired on the secondary market, Gucci-Hermès Group’s shareholding in L’Oréal Group will exceed 35%, thereby surpassing the Bettencourt family’s shareholding in L’Oréal Group and becoming its largest shareholder.

At the same time, this shareholding ratio will also allow Gucci-Hermès Group to be eligible to make a takeover bid for L’Oréal Group, thereby completing the acquisition of the remaining shares.

However, Liliane Bettencourt was not completely muddleheaded. She just didn’t want her daughter’s family to control L’Oréal Group, but she would not give up the Bettencourt family’s shareholding in L’Oréal Group.

Therefore, the premise for her to agree to allow Gucci-Hermès Group to acquire Nestlé Group’s shares in L’Oréal Group is that in the future, after Gucci-Hermès Group acquires L’Oréal Group, the Bettencourt family will retain its shareholding in L’Oréal Group and have corresponding voting rights on the board of directors, thereby maintaining some influence over L’Oréal Group.

Things always have to be done step by step. Barron didn’t think about achieving success in one stroke, so he instructed Ashley Weber to agree to Liliane Bettencourt’s request, and the two parties reached an agreement.

In this way, after Gucci-Hermès Group completes the agreement with Nestlé Group regarding the acquisition of L’Oréal Group’s shares, it will officially begin the acquisition of L’Oréal.

…

“Hello, Your Grace, I am Talulah Riley.”

“I know you. Your performance in Pride and Prejudice was a breath of fresh air.”

This is a charity gala held by the Devonshire Charitable Foundation in London. At this gala, funds will be raised for medical assistance for women and children in Africa. Accordingly, the gala has also invited many celebrities and public figures.

Barron is naturally no stranger to the tall beauty who is now walking up to him to say hello. She is the young actress Talulah Riley, who has recently gained some fame for her role in Pride and Prejudice.

Of course, in Barron’s previous life, she had another identity, which was Elon Musk’s second wife…

As mentioned before, Musk originally met Talulah Riley through a friend’s introduction when he came to London to relax last year after divorcing his first wife.

But because in this world, Musk was entertained by Barron in London at that time, he did not meet Talulah Riley.

And Barron did not miss this beauty because of this. For example, for this charity gala, the invitation letter that Talulah Riley received was sent at Barron’s instruction.

As the youngest British Duke, and also the person with the most wealth in Britain, this charity gala held in the name of Barron’s Devonshire Charitable Foundation naturally attracted everyone’s attention.

Being able to obtain an invitation to this gala can, without exaggeration, even become a symbol of status.

Although Talulah Riley has gained some fame in Britain through her previous role in Pride and Prejudice, which celebrity who can come to this charity gala is not the most popular and has the highest popularity in all of Britain?

Therefore, being able to obtain an invitation is enough to make Talulah excited.

Most importantly, now at the gala, she actually saw the Duke of Devonshire himself!

It is no exaggeration to say that having the opportunity to talk with Barron Cavendish is what all the girls in Britain and even Europe dream of.

After all, this handsome Duke has previously spread the news of his divorce. After he regained his bachelor status, he can be said to have become the top single aristocrat in Europe. Who can refuse the temptation of such a Duke?

Therefore, being able to have the opportunity to meet the other party, Talulah Riley would naturally not miss it.

In fact, before this, Barron had dealt with countless flirting celebrities and noblewomen. After all, this Duke can be said to be a very low-key one among the nobles. In recent years, he has only appeared at the Royal Ascot during the British social season, and he is always sitting in one of the seats closest to the royal family, and will not give ordinary nobles the opportunity to talk.

And he rarely shows up at charity galas like this, so now that they have the opportunity to get close, these people completely disregard their reserve.

In this kind of occasion, Barron would not talk to Talulah Riley for too long.

Just as she was struggling with how to hand the handsome Duke in front of her the tissue on which she had just written her phone number with lipstick, she suddenly heard the other party ask:

“Ms. Riley, do you have WoawChat?”

“Huh?”

Talulah’s almost crashed brain finally recovered its ability to think, and she quickly said:

“Yes, Your Grace. I registered for WoawChat before. It’s a very useful app…”

“Then let’s add each other as friends. Perhaps we’ll have the opportunity to invite you to dinner later.”

“That would be my honor.”

Seeing Barron bring up the add friend page of WoawChat on his phone and hand it over…

Talulah quickly took it and entered her phone number on it…

Suddenly, she recognized that this phone was very similar to the newly released Mate 3, but there were some differences in the details.

Chapter 696: High-End Mobile Phone

Baron’s phone was the high-end version of the Meta 3 phone, the Mate 3 Bentley Edition, which Glory Electronics was about to launch.

This was a co-branded phone between Glory Electronics and Bentley Motors. Not only did it use the highest-performance chip, but it also boasted the most luxurious specifications on the market in terms of memory, screen, and camera.

Furthermore, the phone’s appearance was designed with the participation of Bentley Motors’ chief designer, incorporating some of Bentley’s design elements, giving it a British-style luxurious feel.

The Mate 3 Bentley Edition also partnered with Standard Chartered-Merrill Lynch Group, allowing users to access the concierge services of Standard Chartered-Merrill Lynch Group’s private banking division with a single tap. Things like booking VIP concert tickets, obtaining limited-edition luxury brand access, and even requesting a helicopter pickup could all be arranged for customers.

Of course, that was provided they had enough capital to pay for the resulting orders…

The Mate 3 Bentley Edition was priced at 2,888 US dollars, so naturally, it wasn’t something ordinary people could afford.

And Baron, of course, was able to get his hands on this high-end model from Glory Electronics before its official release.

After entering his phone number on the device and submitting a friend request, Dalula took out her own phone and accepted Baron’s request, saying with a smile:

“I’m free recently. I look forward to hearing from you, Your Grace.”

In his previous life, Baron’s first move after adding a beautiful woman as a friend was usually to check out her “moments” (social media feed).

However, the current WoawChat didn’t have a feature like WeChat’s “moments” yet; it was just a simple chat tool.

Therefore, after taking back his phone, he put it in his pocket and watched Dalula Riley leave.

“Good evening, Your Grace.”

Baron turned his head and saw a couple approaching, and he smiled again:

“It’s a pleasure to see you here, Earl Montague, and the beautiful Countess…”

This couple was Earl and Countess Montague, who had previously sold two estates to the Devonshire family trust. As they had said before, they spent a significant portion of their time in London, so they were able to obtain an invitation to this charity gala.

In fact, even after selling two estates, the Montague family was still one of the largest landowners in England, still controlling a considerable amount of land.

As a result, they had a certain amount of influence not only economically but also politically. After all, they could use this land to influence the livelihoods of the people who lived on it, which was equivalent to controlling a certain number of votes.

Within their constituency, these votes were quite valuable.

Of course, their influence was nothing compared to Baron’s, but it was still worth Baron’s time to stop for a moment and exchange a few pleasantries with them.

“I know you’re interested in estates, Your Grace.”

Clearly, Earl Montague was also fond of investments. He said:

“I know of several other estates that are considering selling. If you’d like to know more, I can provide information.”

“I’d be very grateful, Earl Montague.”

“My pleasure.”

…

“Your Grace, may I have the honor of a dance with you?”

Charity galas like this were nothing more than social gatherings, buffets, and dances. When the music started in the hall, Countess Sophie Montague walked up to Baron and asked him to dance.

When he visited Nocton Manor last time, Baron was deeply impressed by this beautiful countess. Seeing her take the initiative to ask him, he smiled charmingly:

“With the greatest pleasure.”

The Countess was wearing a light green dress today, which not only showed off her exquisite figure but also revealed a large expanse of her fair skin thanks to the slightly low neckline, a truly magnificent sight.

Although the Countess was extremely charming and alluring, Baron maintained his gentlemanly demeanor throughout the dance and didn’t take the opportunity to do anything inappropriate.

Instead, as they danced together, they chatted about interesting things. The Countess leaned towards him from time to time, whispering in his ear, which allowed Baron to feel the magnificent pressure…

It must be said that maintaining composure in this situation was a real test of character.

“I didn’t realize you were so fond of animals, Countess. If I have the opportunity, I’d like to visit the little creatures on your estate.”

“They’re very well-behaved. Spending time with them is my happiest time. You’re welcome to visit our estate.”

It was rare to feel that a dance was so short, but Baron didn’t take the initiative to ask for another. Instead, he quietly left the charity gala.

After dancing with Countess Montague, Baron could sense the stirrings of other ladies in the room. If he didn’t leave, he would surely face endless invitations…

However, just as Baron got into his Bentley Mulsanne and was about to leave, he saw Dalula Riley’s figure appear at the entrance of the hotel through the car window. However, she was accompanied by a middle-aged man who was saying something to her, but Dalula kept shaking her head, looking outside as if waiting for something.

Seeing this, Baron whispered a few instructions to the driver.

The burly driver opened the car door and walked up to Dalula, saying a few words to her softly.

After that, Dalula’s gaze turned to the Bentley Mulsanne where Baron was sitting, and she walked towards it.

The middle-aged man who had been pestering her tried to follow, but was blocked by the driver. After the driver’s warning, the man glanced at Baron’s convoy and ultimately chose to leave.

“Your Grace?”

When Dalula approached the Bentley Mulsanne, she couldn’t see who was inside clearly due to the lighting. When she opened the car door and saw Baron inside, she said with a hint of surprise:

“Are you about to leave?”

“Yes, Miss Riley. I saw you seemed to be having a little trouble?”

“Oh, yes, that man kept bothering me, but the car I called hasn’t arrived yet…”

Baron smiled at her when he heard this:

“Get in. I can give you a ride home.”

“Thank you.”

It must be said that Countess Montague, who had danced with Baron earlier, had a very voluptuous figure, and Dalula was no less impressive. After she got into the car, in addition to the faint fragrance she brought in, there was also that glimpse of deep cleavage, which was particularly eye-catching.

“Where do you live, Miss Riley? I’ll take you there first…”

“Just call me Dalula, Your Grace…”

Dalula looked at Baron with her watery eyes and smiled shyly:

“Thank you so much today. Can I buy you a drink?”

Chapter 697: Test Drive?

“I rarely drink usually…”

Faced with Talulah’s words, Barron said:

“But a beautiful woman’s invitation shouldn’t be refused. In that case, I know a nice place.”

With so many security personnel constantly surrounding Barron, neither nightclubs nor high-end private clubs were suitable at this time.

Of course, he wasn’t planning to take Talulah directly to his house, so at his instruction, the motorcade headed straight for Dream Island on the outskirts of London.

Here, Barron could completely relax.

Barron had some patience with Talulah Riley.

In his previous life, the reason Musk was able to establish a relationship with her so quickly after ending his previous marriage, besides her beauty and the rare erudition among celebrities – Talulah later obtained a doctorate in quantum physics – was largely due to her being relatively chaste.

Talulah Riley had always refused premarital sex, so she was considered very “clean” among female celebrities.

This was probably why, despite her beauty, she only appeared in minor roles in very few Hollywood movies and TV series.

Of course, the principles one adheres to are often subject to change when encountering someone who makes one want to abandon them…

In the villa on Dream Island, Barron and Talulah enjoyed the breeze from the banks of the Thames and admired the night view on the balcony.

They didn’t drink too much, only finishing one bottle of wine.

However, it was clear that Talulah was already slightly tipsy.

At some point, Barron had pulled her into his arms, and they were occasionally lost in passionate kisses…

And in this process, Barron, like a professional mechanic, inspected the quality of the headlights, as well as the curves and components of the entire sports car…

But when he was about to start the sports car, he was rejected by Talulah…

“I, I think we’re moving too fast, Your Grace…”

“I told you, just call me Barron.”

At this time, Barron wasn’t in a hurry to test drive this beautifully designed supercar and very gentlemanly stopped the repair and inspection process…

After all, for him now, experiencing the whole process was more interesting than completing the test drive of the new car.

Even though he knew that even if Talulah refused at this moment, it wouldn’t be difficult to get her with a few tricks.

But what fun would that be?

When Barron finally left the villa, leaving Talulah to stay there alone, Talulah lay in the bathtub, surrounded by warmth. Her emotions at this moment were very complex. She was very grateful for the Duke’s respect for her, but at the same time, she couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed…

…

“Currently, our ITV is leading BBC and Sky in terms of variety shows, especially this year’s ‘The Voice UK,’ which has been very popular and has become another phenomenal variety show…”

At a SEM Group meeting, Barron and Bonnie, the former couple, were rare attendees.

In fact, Bonnie is now not only a major shareholder of SEM Group, but also responsible for the production and promotion of its entertainment programs.

Bonnie’s work has not been questioned, because most of the ace variety shows that ITV currently has were initially planned and produced by Bonnie.

This has given ITV an absolute advantage in variety shows compared to BBC and Sky.

The biggest gain for ITV in variety shows this year has been the newly produced and broadcast program – “The Voice UK,” which was still planned by Bonnie (in fact, originating from the main idea that Barron provided to Bonnie), and has been very popular since its launch.

During its broadcast, “The Voice UK” broke multiple ratings records. It can be said that its novel competition method, especially the blind auditions by the mentors, which relied mainly on voice for competition, made the audience’s eyes light up and immersed them in it.

In addition to creating a ratings myth in the UK, “The Voice UK” has also been actively introduced by many TV stations in Australia, North America, and Europe. Even now, more than three TV stations have purchased the rights to “The Voice UK,” hoping to replicate this phenomenal variety show locally.

Speaking of Sky, after Murdoch had to agree to “share” the Premier League broadcasting rights with Barron’s SEM Group due to “phone hacking,” their competitiveness has gradually weakened.

After all, before that, relying on the Premier League broadcasting rights, Sky could be said to have dominated the sports field. Neither BBC nor ITV could compete with it, and it once had the most paid TV channel subscribers in the UK.

But now it’s completely different. ITV itself has an advantage over BBC and Sky in entertainment programs, and in sports channels, it has gradually caught up, and even has a tendency to surpass them, by obtaining the right to “share” the Premier League broadcasting rights with Sky.

Many people analyze that it is very likely that in the next competition for Premier League broadcasting rights, Sky may even get fewer game broadcasts, thereby being completely suppressed by ITV…

This can be seen from Sky’s increasingly depressed stock price in the past two years. I am afraid that they are no match for ITV, which has strong support, in terms of financial strength.

As for news and information, BBC and ITV each have their own advantages…

It can be said that the current “Big Three” of British television stations are still BBC, ITV, and Sky, but the ranking of the strength of these three giants is very different from two or three years ago.

“It is said that News Corporation is preparing to complete the acquisition of Sky. Once this transaction is completed, it is not impossible for the other party to invest more funds to help Sky revitalize.”

News Corporation was previously only a major shareholder of Sky – News Corporation previously owned approximately 39.1% of Sky’s shares.

And they had long hoped to complete the full acquisition of Sky, but previously, due to the “phone hacking” incident, News Corporation had to announce the suspension of the full acquisition of Sky.

Because they knew that in the circumstances at the time, even if they still insisted on the acquisition, it was unlikely to be approved by the UK, so they could only temporarily give up.

But now Sky is facing difficulties, and with the fading of the impact of the “phone hacking” incident, News Corporation has the idea of fully acquiring Sky again, hoping to take the opportunity to buy Sky at a relatively low price and help it return to its previous glory…

Chapter 698: Living Under Someone Else’s Roof

So, could Barron compete with News Corporation to acquire Sky Television?

That’s almost impossible, because he already controls one of the largest media groups in Britain, SEM Group, which includes ITV, one of the “big three” television broadcasters. From a “fair competition” or “anti-monopoly” perspective, the British authorities would never allow him to acquire Sky Television as well.

Because the BBC is a public television station, if Barron completed the acquisition of Sky Television, it would mean that he controlled the vast majority of British commercial television shares. In that case, almost all the television programs that the British public watches daily would be controlled by Barron, which would be terrifying.

No government would allow that to happen.

Therefore, on the matter of News Corporation’s full acquisition of Sky Television, Barron can at most create some obstacles, but it would be difficult for him to personally step in and snatch it away.

Even compared to this, Barron influencing the personnel appointments of the BBC through various means, thereby pushing people connected to him into the senior management of the BBC, thus increasing his say in this public television station, would be more realistic.

“It seems you’re not too worried about News Corporation’s full acquisition of Sky Television?”

Bonnie asked, sitting next to Barron in the back seat of a Bentley Mulsanne as they left the SEM Building together.

Although Barron didn’t directly express this attitude during the meeting just now, after living with him for so long, Bonnie could still sense his view from many of his reactions.

“The most fundamental thing for a company is always to focus on itself, rather than always thinking about obstructing or destroying. After all, competitors will always exist. If it’s not Sky Television, there will be other television stations. And our goal is not just the British market, but should be placed in a broader market…”

Barron held Bonnie’s hand and said softly:

“Honey, since SEM Group has been able to develop to its current scale, it shows that it is on the right path and doesn’t need to be disturbed by these things at all.”

Moreover, what Barron didn’t say directly was that in the future, with the rise of the mobile internet, young people’s entertainment methods have changed dramatically. More and more people rarely turn on the television anymore.

Therefore, in the field of television stations, ITV will definitely have more than one competitor. The ownership of Sky Television, in any case, will not be SEM Group. From his experience in his previous life, Sky Television will not be a threat to ITV.

In the future, what is more likely to influence the thoughts of young people, compared to television stations, is probably online media platforms such as Twitter, YouTube, Ins, and TikTok.

This is also what Barron is currently focusing on.

Although, in the eyes of the outside world, Barron and Bonnie’s marriage has ended, in reality, the divorce is more symbolic. Their interactions haven’t changed much compared to before.

Barron still lives with Bonnie in their Kensington mansion for most of his time in London—in fact, after the divorce, Barron directly transferred the offshore company that holds this property to Bonnie’s name.

In other words, Barron living here is already considered “living under someone else’s roof”…

Of course, this is just a joke. Not to mention that Barron owns no less than ten mansions just in London, some of which he hasn’t even lived in yet.

Even with the mansion in Kensington, Bonnie has never had the idea of taking over as the master of the house.

Speaking of Bonnie, it is true that during the period immediately after the divorce, although she had been mentally prepared and had some sense of loss, more or less.

But now, she has completely accepted this matter. Compared to when she was “Duchess of Devonshire,” when there were more things to consider besides the feelings between the two, she has now shed many of the pressures on her, and has instead found some of the feeling of being in love with Barron again.

A very obvious change is that she expresses her own ideas more, instead of turning a blind eye to some of Barron’s affairs as she often did before…

In short, the two are more comfortable with each other.

Sometimes Barron also has the feeling that Bonnie is even more charming now…

“Really? You only think so now? Barron, you didn’t come back last night…”

“You know, there are always some social engagements. I didn’t want to disturb you by coming back too late.”

“This house is big enough…”

Heaven knows, although he was indeed with Talulah last night, he was very “clean.”

But he also understands that words are often pale, and actions are more powerful…

“I’m going to attend an event later, Barron…”

“There’s always time, honey.”

Although she has already had two children, Bonnie’s figure has recovered very well, and she has even gained some mature charm—of course, being able to achieve the current effect definitely requires the addition of money…

However, even after being together for so long, Bonnie’s ability to… “learn” is still limited compared to Barron.

This is also the reason why she reacted like this, because she knows that for her gifted ex-husband, once this learning starts, she will probably have to rest at home for the entire afternoon…

…

After the Gucci-Hermès Group announced that it would acquire the nearly 30% stake in L’Oréal Group held by Nestlé Group for 200 billion euros, it immediately caused a global sensation.

This is not just because the Gucci-Hermès Group’s acquisition price was more than 70% higher than the current stock price of L’Oréal Group…

More importantly, as one of the world’s most famous luxury goods groups, what does it mean that the Gucci-Hermès Group has now acquired 30% of the shares of the world’s largest cosmetics group, L’Oréal Group, at such a high price? It is very thought-provoking…

Whether from the perspective of background or lineage, many of the brands under the Gucci-Hermès Group can be called the blue blood of luxury brands.

Especially Hermès, in whatever aspect, it can be called the ceiling of luxury brands.

Now, if you add L’Oréal Group, then their scale can be completely compared with the LVMH Group…

Sure enough, shortly after reaching this “earth-shattering” deal, the Gucci-Hermès Group announced that they, together with their parties acting in concert, already held more than 40% of the shares of L’Oréal Group, becoming the largest shareholder of L’Oréal Group.

At the same time, the Gucci-Hermès Group stated that their goal is to complete the controlling acquisition of L’Oréal Group, so they will formally submit a takeover bid to the board of directors of L’Oréal Group.

Chapter 699: Vultures

The Gucci-Hermès Group’s official announcement of its acquisition of L’Oréal Group can be said to be the most sensational news recently.

This will also be the highest-value acquisition so far this year.

As soon as the news broke, everyone was most concerned about the attitude of the Bettencourt family, the current controllers of L’Oréal Group, towards the impending acquisition of L’Oréal Group by Gucci-Hermès Group.

This was too exciting for the peanut gallery…

Because many people know that France’s richest woman, Liliane Bettencourt, and her daughter have been in court for over a year regarding the control of the L’Oréal Group shares held by the Bettencourt family, and there’s still no resolution…

If you add the fact that Gucci-Hermès Group has now jumped out to announce its intention to acquire L’Oréal Group, then the future development of all this is just too exciting to anticipate!

It’s easy to imagine countless media outlets flocking to Gucci-Hermès Group and L’Oréal Group… and even directly contacting Liliane Bettencourt and her daughter, hoping to get the latest response.

L’Oréal Group and Liliane Bettencourt’s side did not give a clear response to this acquisition by Gucci-Hermès Group.

They only stated that they were still in negotiations with the other party and would disclose more information later.

However, Liliane Bettencourt’s daughter, Françoise, reacted more strongly.

In an interview, she claimed that her mother’s mental state was worrying and that she could not make independent decisions. Furthermore, the two sides were currently in litigation regarding the control of the L’Oréal Group shares held by the Bettencourt family.

Therefore, at this time, any decision made by Liliane Bettencourt regarding the acquisition by Gucci-Hermès Group should not have legal effect…

She would apply to the court to temporarily freeze the L’Oréal Group shares held by the Bettencourt family, prohibiting the trading of these shares until the outcome of the litigation between the two parties.

In fact, even if Françoise’s application were approved by the court, it could only freeze the trading of their family’s L’Oréal Group shares for a certain period of time at most, and could not prevent the share transfer agreement already reached between Gucci-Hermès Group and Nestlé.

Therefore, the fact that Gucci-Hermès Group has become the largest shareholder of L’Oréal Group cannot be changed.

In short, from the moment Liliane Bettencourt, on behalf of the Bettencourt family, agreed to the transaction between Gucci-Hermès Group and Nestlé, the acquisition of L’Oréal Group by Gucci-Hermès Group was already a foregone conclusion.

Françoise Bettencourt Meyers can only delay this process at most, and it is already difficult to stop it.

Moreover, this acquisition of L’Oréal Group by Gucci-Hermès Group is also supported by financing from Standard Chartered-Merrill Lynch, BNP Paribas, and Natixis, and William-Webb Capital is providing M&A advisory services, which can be said to represent the wishes of many capitals.

Under these circumstances, even if the Rothschild family went all out to help Françoise, it would probably be difficult to resist in the end.

And the Rothschild family probably wouldn’t have much interest in getting involved in this matter soon.

After all, in addition to the new round of short-selling layout in Europe by DS Group and William-Webb Capital…

Baron and Wall Street capitals, including Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase, have taken out even larger funds than those targeting Japan and South Korea to lay out short positions in Europe…

And some European capitals, including the Rothschild family, are the target of this harvesting—what could be more tempting than blowing up such a famous family to achieve “wealth transfer”?

“Although it has decreased after the subprime mortgage crisis, the assets currently managed by LCR Rothschild Group still exceed 70 billion euros…”

As mentioned before, the Rothschild family still mainly manages their industries in a family-style manner.

The most core industry is the LRC Rothschild Group, such as NM Rothschild Bank, where Benjamin Rothschild serves as president, which is a subsidiary of this group.

“Currently, it is almost impossible to carry out a hostile takeover of LCR Rothschild Group directly, because their family still holds more than 49% of the shares of this group…”

Daisy shook her head and said:

“And I don’t think acquiring this company is a wise choice, if only from a commercial point of view…”

“Of course, we don’t need to target them just to vent our anger, my dear Daisy, and swallowing this fat piece of meat…”

“But I don’t think those Wall Street vultures will be so proactive in doing so. They prefer to swarm in when the other party is on the verge of death.”

Baron tapped the table rhythmically and said with a smile:

“As long as there is profit, they won’t be willing to lag behind.”

“Currently, LCR Rothschild Group’s business mainly includes wealth management, M&A consulting, and investment business…”

Daisy thought for a moment and said:

“Although we have obtained some information, we still need to clearly know their detailed asset allocation and related capital flows…”

“You will get this information, my dear.”

Baron said confidently:

“Our plan needs to be carried out step by step. For example, when they suffer an unexpected huge loss in a certain investment, they are likely to engage in some illegal operations. When these things are exposed, and then we target the assets they manage for targeted short-selling, then I am afraid that the clients of LCR Rothschild Group will panic.”

“Like the previous Société Générale?”

“It will be even more disastrous than Société Générale…”

Daisy asked uncertainly:

“Even if we have a well-thought-out plan, how can you guarantee that those people on Wall Street won’t leak this information for some petty gains?”

“So they don’t need to know the whole plan, and they don’t even need to know that the Rothschild family will be one of the targets at the beginning. When our plan can achieve even only 50% of its progress, as long as they see the benefits, they will actively join in…”

Baron said contemptuously:

“I’m afraid that by then, even if we want to let the Rothschild family off the hook, those Wall Street vultures will not stop, but will eat up all their flesh and blood…”

Daisy had to admit that at this moment, the Duke in front of her was very charming.

Imagining this huge plan, Daisy was so excited that she almost trembled.

“I’m looking forward to that day…”

As she spoke, Daisy lowered her head and leaned close to Baron’s ear:

“Baron, f**k me…”

Chapter 700: Talulah

This wasn’t the first time Barron had seen Daisy so excited. In fact, it was only after Barron had broken through with her that he discovered this woman truly had an excellent sense of experience…

It could be said that Daisy’s only slight shortcoming was that her chest wasn’t ample enough—though it wasn’t exactly an A-cup, it could be considered a B+ at the very least.

But other than that, not only was Daisy among the top few women Barron had ever seen in terms of looks, but what Barron praised the most was her pair of long legs.

Not the skinny, bony kind, but a perfect balance of fleshiness and slenderness, especially when she wore stockings, to the point where it was hard to look away.

Perhaps because of the “long drought meeting sweet rain,” Daisy was very wild when studying with Barron…

But now, in the office environment, even if the soundproofing here was excellent, it was difficult for her to recite with abandon. The constant switching between suppression and release made Barron, who witnessed this scene, even more enthusiastic about studying…

It was also under such stimulation that Barron’s performance in studying today wasn’t very patient. Daisy’s emotional value was simply too much…

Finally, half an hour later, when Daisy said some very excessive “trash talk” in his ear, Barron poured out his heart and soul for her…

…

Talulah looked at her phone. It was the chat interface of the WoawChat app, and the contact’s name was Barron Cavendish.

However, at this moment, Talulah hesitated slightly, her fingers hovering over the virtual keyboard on the screen. In the end, she sent a sentence:

“Hi? Are you busy?”

At this time, Talulah had just finished a magazine shoot and was in the休息室 (xiū xī shì - resting room).

She kept looking at the phone screen, waiting for a possible reply.

A few days ago, after receiving an invitation, Talulah attended a Devonshire Charity Foundation gala.

It could be said that she was very excited at the time. After all, as a not-so-famous, at most slightly well-known, actress, she had never received an invitation of this level before—although it was just a charity gala, it was initiated by the Devonshire Charity Foundation, one of the most well-known charitable foundations in Britain today.

Most importantly, His Grace the Duke of Devonshire was likely to attend that gala. Because of this, those who hoped to get to know this important figure were flocking to the gala like ducks to water. Being able to attend such a gala was enough for Talulah to make a splash in her “circle of friends.”

The development of the matter later was smoother than Talulah had expected. She really met His Grace the Duke of Devonshire at that gala, as young and handsome as she had seen in some reports and programs…

Talulah even felt that when facing him in person, she could feel the noble charm he exuded even more.

Moreover, at that time, she not only added the Duke’s WoawChat friend, but also “accidentally” met him when she was leaving, and even had a chance to be alone with him.

However, after arriving at Fantasy Island, that time could be said to be deeply memorable for Talulah. His Grace the Duke of Devonshire… being with him could satisfy all women’s fantasies about Prince Charming, without exaggeration…

Under the catalysis of alcohol, what followed was simply like a beautiful dream…

However, when he tried to make the final breakthrough, Talulah, who was a little flustered, chose to refuse—after all, even now, it wasn’t as if she had never been in love before. For British girls, although not as open as French girls, they often tried love in high school, especially those girls with outstanding looks…

But unlike many girls, also because of her family, Talulah had always been very resistant to premarital sex, so until now, she still had no substantial contact with the opposite sex.

Although everything before that night was very pleasant and fascinating, when it really came to that moment, because of these reasons, Talulah, who was very flustered, still subconsciously refused His Grace the Duke of Devonshire.

What made her a little relieved was that although she could see that his emotions were already very high at the time, the Duke still showed respect in the face of her refusal and did not push his luck…

But because of this, Talulah couldn’t help but feel a little guilty.

Especially since that night, Talulah often recalled the scene of that night, especially when she was alone, she couldn’t help but wonder if refusing the Duke at that time would displease him?

These thoughts also made Talulah feel a little uneasy.

Although in these few days, she would occasionally take the initiative to send messages to Barron on WoawChat, but his reply was not so timely most of the time—of course, with his status, time would be very precious, and he would not have too much time to chat like ordinary people, which was to be expected.

But these situations would still constantly deepen Talulah’s sense of loss…

Just like now, after she sent that message, she was full of expectations that the Duke would reply.

But until the end of this shoot, when Talulah changed back into her daily clothes and took a taxi to return to her residence, she had not received a reply from the Duke, which made her very disappointed.

Just as Talulah opened the door of her apartment and was about to go in, suddenly, the message tone of her phone rang in her pocket…

Hearing this sound, Talulah knew that it was the message tone of the WoawChat app. She quickly unlocked her phone and saw that it was indeed a message from Barron.

Because she was too excited, Talulah almost dropped her phone on the ground…

Using her long legs wearing nude high heels to close the door, she casually put her挎包 (kuǎ bāo - shoulder bag) on the shoe cabinet. The girl couldn’t wait to read the message he sent:

“Sorry, I was just discussing something and didn’t have my phone with me.”

Seeing this message, Talulah couldn’t suppress her excitement. She didn’t even have time to sit down, and her fingers flew, replying to Barron:

“It’s okay, Your Grace the Duke. Are you in London now?”

After sending it, Talulah hesitated for a moment, took a deep breath, and sent another sentence:

“I miss you a little…”

She didn’t know why, but if it was face-to-face, or even on the phone, she would feel a little embarrassed to say this sentence so bluntly…

But typing a message on WoawChat was much more comfortable.

“I’m in Birmingham now. By the way, if it’s convenient, we can talk on the phone…”

Chapter 701: Building a New Factory

Yes, when he received the message from Talulah, Baron was visiting Birmingham.

Birmingham is the second largest city in Britain in terms of population and area, second only to London.

Moreover, Birmingham is also one of Britain’s major manufacturing centers.

It has a wide variety of industrial sectors, mainly heavy industry.

It is also one of the world’s largest metal processing regions. In addition, machine tools, instruments, carriages, bicycles, airplanes, chemicals, military industries, and other industries are also important here.

Birmingham’s automobile industry is very large, employing about a quarter of its residents, and it is known as the Detroit of Britain.

As mentioned before, British Automotive Group has two complete vehicle production bases in Britain located in the Birmingham area, namely Land Rover’s Solihull plant and Jaguar’s Birmingham plant.

Baron had indeed just seen Talulah’s message, because before that, he was talking with representatives from the West Midlands about expanding production there.

Earlier, Baron had spoken with Brown about hoping that the British government would provide support policies for manufacturing.

In that conversation, he also frankly stated that Britain’s manufacturing industry, especially manufacturing related to automobile production, did not have an advantage compared to many overseas regions.

And British Automotive Group needed to face competition from many car companies, including Volkswagen and Toyota.

If he was expected to increase investment in Britain, then in addition to supporting domestic cars in terms of tariffs, the related industrial chain needed to be supported as well. Otherwise, they could only maintain a limited production scale in Britain, and even with the intensification of competition, there might be industrial relocation.

In fact, it wasn’t just British Automotive Group; many manufacturing industries faced this situation. Baron wasn’t just seeking relevant policies for British Automotive Group, but hoping to support related industries.

After all, he didn’t want to see Birmingham, Britain’s second largest city, end up in bankruptcy as it did in his previous life.

After a period of discussion, the British side finally introduced relevant support policies as part of a new round of economic recovery stimulus policies.

The West Midlands, where Birmingham is located, was also very proactive in offering further preferential policies to British Automotive Group, hoping that they would locate their new complete vehicle production base there.

This time, Baron came to Birmingham to discuss this matter with these government representatives and to visit the Land Rover and Jaguar production bases located there with them.

After all, the Birmingham area has the most complete automobile industry chain in Britain. The local government not only hopes to increase employment through this, but also hopes that the establishment of British Automotive Group’s new production base can promote the related industrial chain.

“We plan to gradually upgrade the Land Rover and Jaguar production bases to improve production efficiency, and the newly built complete vehicle production base will also be able to produce some models of both brands at the same time—it will be a high-standard factory with the most advanced automated production lines…”

The team led by the CEO of British Automotive Group was the main force in negotiating with the local government. They said this during the visit.

The Land Rover Halewood plant they were currently in was established in 1963, covering an area of approximately 300 acres, and is Land Rover’s second complete vehicle production base in Britain.

Earlier than that was the Solihull plant, which was Land Rover’s earliest production plant, built in 1948 and covering an area of approximately 308 acres.

However, compared to some German automobile factories, the production equipment of these two factories is already slightly behind in terms of automation. In order to improve efficiency, there is also a need for upgrades.

As for the new complete vehicle production base, it is mainly to take over and expand the production capacity of British Automotive Group’s production plant in Germany.

British Automotive Group took over Volkswagen Group’s automobile factory in Wolfsburg, but relatively speaking, that factory has a relatively long history, and the salary costs of German automobile workers can be said to be the highest in the world. Therefore, British Automotive Group is preparing to close the Wolfsburg factory in Germany.

As for the original workers and technicians there, in addition to a small number who will come to the Birmingham factory, most of them have been taken over by Nanjing Auto Corporation (NAC) in China.

The joint venture between British Automotive Group and NAC, Nanjing British Auto, has been expanding its production scale. They have launched two models specially designed for the local market in China, the Land Rover Shanhai and the Jaguar Lingyun, which are luxury SUVs and luxury sedans respectively, and are very popular in the market.

For this reason, they have hired many technicians and experienced workers from British Automotive Group’s German factory at high prices to ensure the quality of the cars produced in China and to train local workers.

This has reduced British Automotive Group’s expenses to a considerable extent, and has also allowed British Automotive Group to be determined to close the Wolfsburg automobile factory and build a new factory in Britain.

This new factory will use highly automated production lines to not only improve its production efficiency, but also reduce the number of workers required—after all, compared to markets like China, the salary costs of British automobile workers are much higher. Doing so will also help control the cost of Jaguar and Land Rover products produced in Britain.

These two brands are different from luxury brands such as Bentley and Aston Martin, which can use “hand-built” as a gimmick, but need more advanced production lines to compete with brands such as Mercedes-Benz and BMW.

“I will stay here for two more days, and then I will go to Scotland. If you have time, you can come and have fun with me.”

After making the call, Talulah heard Baron’s invitation…

It would be a lie to say she wasn’t tempted, but what she was thinking about was, if she agreed, and then encountered the kind of “passionate” situation between the two of them that night, would she still refuse?

“What should I do?”

Realizing that the Duke was still waiting for her answer, Talulah bit her lip, thinking about Baron’s gentlemanly demeanor that night, and the regret she had felt after thinking about it…

“I’m also very curious about those places. Actually, I rarely have the opportunity to travel…”

Talulah said to Baron:

“Should I come find you now? Your Grace.”

“No, give me your address, and I will send someone to pick you up.”

It’s only about an hour and a half from London to Birmingham. Not long after Talulah hung up the phone, a luxurious Bentley Mulsanne arrived downstairs at her apartment…

Chapter 702: Probing

“Ms. Riley, hello, I am the Duke’s assistant, you can call me Ning.”

From London to Birmingham, the journey took about an hour and a half, but Talulah was very comfortable in the Bentley Mulsanne and did not feel any travel fatigue.

Before coming, she had specially put on her best and favorite Gucci dress, and when the car arrived in Birmingham, she touched up her makeup in the car, hoping to meet the Duke in her best form.

However, to her surprise, upon arriving at the hotel, she was greeted not by Barron himself, but by a very elegant Chinese beauty in business attire.

After the woman introduced herself, Talulah heard her say:

“His Grace the Duke is currently meeting with Mr. Emerson, the Mayor of the West Midlands, and Mr. Hull, the Mayor of Birmingham. He will be here to see you later. You can go to your room to rest first, and feel free to contact me if you need anything…”

“Thank you…”

Following the Duke’s assistant to the hotel’s presidential suite, Talulah looked around the luxuriously decorated room and couldn’t help but ask:

“Does the Duke live here?”

“Yes, that’s right, Ms. Riley, if you’re hungry, you can order some refreshments from the hotel…”

“No need, thank you, I’ll just have some coffee.”

…

“L’Oréal Group’s stock has risen by more than 50% to date. If the Gucci-Hermès Group’s acquisition offer can be approved, I believe its stock will continue to rise, and there is still a lot of room for that…”

“Buddy, wake up, you can’t buy L’Oréal Group’s stock on the market anymore. All the institutions are holding on tight. If you’re really as slow as you say, you’ll miss out on everything…”

In this bar, several men in suits and ties, who looked like white-collar elites, sat together, each with a glass of wine in front of them, looking like they had come here to relax after work.

However, it seemed that two of them had a small argument at this time, and another slightly balding man next to them calmed them down, saying:

“The Gucci-Hermès Group’s acquisition premium is too high, and it is estimated that it will be successful. It’s a pity that the Gucci-Hermès Group is not publicly listed now, otherwise I would be optimistic about their future performance…”

“Actually, I think that from the perspective of the US stock market, the economy has shown signs of recovery. There are still many investment directions we can pay attention to, such as international gold prices…”

“Indeed, now that countries have begun quantitative easing policies, according to previous patterns, gold prices tend to rise at this time…”

“What’s up? Pete, are you planning to try gold futures recently?”

“Haha, I’m just saying…”

…

“Sir, these are the recent chat logs we obtained from several employees of NM Rothschild Bank’s investment department, and we have sent people to infiltrate them and will begin tracking their capital flows…”

“I need information on those who can have larger investment amounts…”

In fact, intelligence gathering targeting the Rothschild family had already begun a long time ago. This was the result of the intelligence network that Barron had built after providing a large amount of funding for so many years.

For example, the previous bar had already been acquired by them through an offshore company earlier. The reason for doing this was because it was a place where many NM Rothschild Bank employees went for drinks after work. Their conversations here were very valuable, especially after drinking some alcohol…

…

If only from the perspective of sightseeing, the hand-built car manufacturing process is more interesting, but that is only something that automobile brands positioned as “luxury goods” such as Rolls-Royce and Bentley can do, and correspondingly, there will be considerable restrictions on the output of cars.

After all, “rarity increases value,” just like luxury brands such as Hermès. If they don’t use the gimmick of “hand-built,” why would people buy your products at such a high price?

But this kind of positioning, while being able to maintain style and earn super-high profits, can never become a giant because of the limited market size.

However, after completing his visit to Birmingham, Barron did not mind continuing to visit the Bentley and Aston Martin manufacturing plants in the company of Talulah.

This was also the first time Talulah had seen the manufacturing process of these luxurious cars, which could be called works of art.

After Bentley was acquired by Barron and returned to being a genuine “British brand,” it also received strong support from the royal family. For example, the Queen’s car had been changed from Rolls-Royce to Bentley’s new flagship Mulsanne.

And with continuous marketing, its style is no less inferior to Rolls-Royce.

After Aston Martin launched its SUV model, sales have also gradually opened up. Although it cannot be compared with the sales of the Porsche Cayenne, after all, the Cayenne has accumulated many years of reputation, and it is unrealistic to catch up as soon as it is launched.

But at least from the current sales, it can be guaranteed that Aston Martin’s profits have increased significantly compared to before.

Moreover, Aston Martin itself has just started manufacturing SUV models, and it also needs to accumulate experience in this area. I believe that as long as the models are improved, this part of the business will get better and better.

“How is it? Talulah, is visiting this kind of car factory a bit boring for you girls?”

“I like it very much, really, I’m also very interested in these things. When I was in school, I preferred mechanical toys that were considered for boys…”

When Talulah said this, she didn’t seem to be faking it. Judging from the fact that she was able to obtain a doctorate in quantum physics in Barron’s previous life, she was really quite interested in this area.

“Then do you prefer your current career as an actress, or something else?”

“At first, it was just curiosity, I wanted to see what I could do…”

Barron felt that Talulah’s personality was somewhat similar to Fan Bingbing’s, very straightforward.

She organized her words and continued:

“Maybe the only thing I’m looking forward to now is trying out Hollywood. It’s not that I expect to become a very famous celebrity, but how should I put it, since I’m an actress, Hollywood is always a goal, right?”

“What about after that?”

“I don’t know, maybe I’ll go to school. I interrupted my studies because I was an actress before. Actually, I had very good grades when I was in school…”

Chapter 703: Activision Blizzard

As the evening approached outside, the atmosphere in the room gradually became ambiguous.

Talulah’s legs were exceptionally beautiful: long, straight, and with a touch of voluptuousness.

When facing her, Baron’s gaze was invariably drawn to her legs, encased in black stockings.

Baron understood that when Talulah received his call and agreed to come see him, she had already made up her mind.

As a sudden silence fell over the room, Baron sat down beside Talulah and took one of her hands.

Feeling the warmth from his hand, Talulah’s breathing quickened slightly.

The dress she was wearing allowed Baron to clearly see the deep cleavage of her breasts…

And it was obvious that as he played with her slender fingers in his hand, her breathing became more rapid, her chest rising and falling.

Swallowing hard, Talulah said with difficulty:

“I… I’d like a drink…”

She still seemed unable to hide her nervousness. Baron stood up and walked towards the liquor cabinet:

“Red wine or whiskey?”

“Red wine, please…”

The crystal-clear liquid was poured into a wine glass. Talulah took the glass from Baron, gently swirled it, and after inhaling its unique aroma, parted her red lips and swallowed the wine…

Just then, before she could even swallow the wine, Baron pulled her into his arms and kissed her lips.

Not only that, he used his tongue to pry open her teeth, then went further, beginning to taste the exquisite nectar…

“Mmm…”

Only managing to let out this exclamation, Talulah, under Baron’s “little actions,” felt her consciousness gradually blurring, completely unaware of where she was…

…

The “boom boom” of the racetrack was exhilarating.

As a silver race car slowly came to a stop, the driver took off his helmet, revealing that it was none other than Baron.

“Wow, that was so cool!”

Talulah, who had been watching as a spectator in the stands, came to his side and cheered.

Although Baron had been relatively restrained last night, it was still noticeable that Talulah’s gait was slightly odd.

Especially when something seemed to trigger a sore spot, she couldn’t help but frown.

Prior to this, the Aston Martin team’s performance in Formula One races had not been ideal, always ranking near the bottom.

However, after Baron took over the company, he invested very generously in its racing team. Especially after Cosworth’s latest engine was used in the Aston Martin team’s cars, they had at least won one race this year.

This was the team’s best result in recent years.

Correspondingly, sales of Aston Martin’s latest sports car this year were also satisfactory.

This wasn’t the first time Baron had tried driving a race car. Thanks to his rebirth perk, his physical reaction speed was much better than that of ordinary people.

Therefore, although he couldn’t reach the level of a professional race car driver, he could still occasionally drive a race car for a thrill.

Moreover, with his status, it was naturally impossible for him to actually compete in races—as the saying goes, a wise man does not stand under a dangerous wall.

At most, he would just make a cameo appearance at times like this.

…

“We are in contact with Vivendi, trying to acquire their shares in Activision Blizzard. It seems they are not opposed to selling these shares, but it is difficult to make concessions on the price…”

Caesar Fund’s Pete Friedman informed Baron of Vivendi’s attitude over the phone.

Yes, Baron had his eye on the famous game company Activision Blizzard.

In 1991, three American UCLA graduates met and became friends. After graduation, the three of them jointly founded Silicon & Synapse.

In 1993, the company was officially named Blizzard Entertainment.

It can be said that this company’s status among gamers is unmatched. They have successively developed a series of epoch-making masterpieces such as Warcraft, Diablo, Starcraft, World of Warcraft, Hearthstone, and Overwatch.

Later, Blizzard Entertainment was transferred several times and eventually incorporated into Sierra On-Line (later renamed Sierra Entertainment), and behind Sierra was the Vivendi Group.

In 2004, Vivendi reorganized its gaming business and established a subsidiary, Vivendi Games, which consisted of Sierra, Blizzard Entertainment, and other departments.

In 2008, Activision merged with Vivendi Games, and Vivendi Games’ Sierra and Blizzard Entertainment departments were incorporated into game publishing giant Activision.

This is the origin of Activision Blizzard.

Currently, the Vivendi Group still holds approximately 61% of Activision Blizzard’s shares, and they are willing to sell them, but their asking price has scared off many investors interested in Activision Blizzard.

After all, the subprime mortgage crisis has just passed. Not only is the Vivendi Group’s situation not good, hoping to maintain the group’s operation by selling Activision Blizzard’s shares, other investors will also be very cautious about investing.

Baron knew that more than a decade later, Microsoft would complete the acquisition of Activision Blizzard for a sky-high price of nearly 70 billion US dollars.

But obviously, at this time, he would definitely acquire Activision Blizzard, the game giant with a large number of game IPs, before Microsoft.

The reason for wanting to carry out such a transaction is also because Baron knows the vigorous development of the game industry in the future.

It can be said that the scale of the game industry in the future will be several times that of the music and film industries.

The game industry will be the most growth-oriented track in the entertainment industry.

Therefore, it is necessary to start laying out the groundwork now.

Of course, compared to Activision Blizzard’s current main game business, including PC and game consoles, the future mobile game field has even greater potential.

But currently, the mobile game business is still in its infancy.

And even so, after acquiring Activision Blizzard, the many IPs he owns can still have a very obvious promoting effect on the development of some mobile games in the future.

The only thing needed now is to negotiate a suitable price with the Vivendi Group, so that they are willing to sell their shares in Activision Blizzard…

In fact, there have been dissenting voices regarding Baron’s desire to acquire Activision Blizzard.

Compared to before, many people believe that Blizzard Entertainment’s glory has passed. Even if Activision merged with Vivendi Games (including Blizzard Entertainment), making it larger, the key is that it seems that acquiring this company does not have much synergy with their other businesses.

Yes, they are not like Sony or Microsoft, who also have game console or computer businesses.

Chapter 704: Visit

At this time, Activision Blizzard not only had a series of single-player game IPs with excellent reputations, but Blizzard Entertainment’s online game “World of Warcraft,” released in 2004, was also once one of the most profitable online games in the world.

Now, although this online game has been launched for nearly five years, it is still very popular. According to official “World of Warcraft” data, the number of active online players worldwide has exceeded 13 million, making it a veritable cash cow.

Another noteworthy point is that the contract for the Chinese region of “World of Warcraft” with its previous agent, The9, expired this year and was replaced with a new agent—NetEase, which has had some impact on its operations.

However, Barron knew that when Microsoft acquired Activision Blizzard later on, among its many game IPs, the most valued was still the game “Call of Duty.” This was also because of the popularity of “battle royale” games later on, this type of game achieved great success, especially among game console players, and it had a huge influence. It could be said that these users’ choices between Sony’s PlayStation series consoles and Microsoft’s Xbox were also influenced by this to some extent.

“We have already taken action in advance, acquiring a portion of Activision Blizzard’s shares by absorbing stocks on the secondary market, and we have also been in contact with some shareholding institutions, but compared to that, directly acquiring Vivendi Group’s shares is the quickest way to acquire Activision Blizzard…”

Pete Friedman said this on the phone:

“We are currently in the middle of negotiations with them, having completed two rounds, and we will continue to do so. Once we can reach this deal, we can directly initiate the privatization and delisting of this company.”

Barron certainly understood that after the merger of Activision and Vivendi Games, including Blizzard Entertainment, Vivendi Group held approximately 61% of Activision Blizzard’s shares—in Barron’s previous life, Vivendi Group was constantly reducing its holdings of Activision Blizzard’s stock, and by the time Microsoft acquired Activision Blizzard, their ownership of the company’s shares was less than 20%.

This was also because Vivendi Group did not have the idea of selling all of its Activision Blizzard shares at the time, but it was in the midst of the global economic recession following the subprime mortgage crisis, and Vivendi Group’s asking price for these shares scared everyone away, so they could only slowly sell them off to extract cash.

This, in turn, allowed Vivendi Group to obtain much higher returns in the process of selling Activision Blizzard than if they had sold the shares in one go, which could be considered an unintentional stroke of genius.

Now, since Barron had already set his sights on this company, even if the price seemed to be slightly higher than Activision Blizzard’s current market value, he would rather acquire the company’s shares in one go than acquire them like squeezing toothpaste.

In fact, prior to this, Caesar Fund’s Digital Future Investment Company had also invested in several game companies, two of which were startups in London’s Tech City.

However, these companies were more like game studios, and were not very large in scale.

They mainly produced small games similar to “Happy Farm” that were released on Woaw.com.

This acquisition of Activision Blizzard was also Barron’s first foray into game companies of this scale, and for him, it was more about looking to the future.

…

Time came to September, and the Minister of Defense of Kolo and representatives of the Kolo Legion visited England.

If, when the new government of Kolo was first established, the team led by Jameh Bongo came to England to visit…

For the British side, they could only be considered a delegation from an insignificant small country in Africa—even not just ordinary British people, many government personnel who received them probably didn’t know where Kolo was in Africa…

But now, the situation was completely different.

Although Kolo, whether in terms of area or population, could only be considered a small country.

But because of the discovery of rich offshore oil fields there, in addition to bringing huge benefits to Kolo, as an important fossil energy source, coupled with the increasing demand gap for energy in England, Kolo was becoming more and more valued.

And considering that Kolo is a member of the Commonwealth and has good relations with England, their reception standards have also been improved.

This time it was clearly a delegation from the Kolo military. They came to England for a visit.

Their purpose was mainly to inspect some of the British Navy’s ships—Kolo intends to purchase at least two warships to expand their defense forces at sea.

This is not difficult to understand.

If Kolo was previously just a globally backward and underdeveloped country—at that time, they had no need to pay too much attention to the construction of maritime defense, and just a few speedboats were enough.

But now, because of the need for interests, Kolo has to consider strengthening its defense forces at sea.

First of all, it is aimed at Kolo’s offshore oil fields.

As the location of Kolo’s major interests, their offshore oil fields need to be heavily protected.

After all, as everyone knows, there are still many large and small pirates in Africa, and there are frequent reports of their activities.

In addition, after the discovery of oil resources in Kolo’s waters, they will inevitably face the covetousness of neighboring countries and need to strengthen their defense forces.

In addition, Kolo has the best deep-water port in West Africa, Loti Port, and port transshipment trade is also an important trade method for Kolo, which can bring huge benefits.

Then, relatively speaking, protecting their adjacent sea lanes in the chaotic West African waters is also a key consideration for the Kolo government.

It is also based on these reasons that they need to strengthen their maritime defense forces.

This time, the delegation from the Kolo military came to England, hoping to inspect some of the British Navy’s ships and choose suitable ones to purchase.

“The British Navy’s ships are relatively old and the asking price is very high…”

After returning to London, Barron met with one of the members of the Kolo delegation, the commander of the Kolo Legion, Errol Brute. He was promoted by Barron from within the Legion to take over after the previous commander retired last year, and he is naturally someone Barron trusts.

He said somewhat helplessly:

“Of course, the advantage is that we can absorb some retired naval personnel, who will be more likely to receive equipment, but the corresponding personnel salary expenses will also be higher…”

As the commander of the Kolo Legion, he only needs to consider the cost performance of the equipment and military issues.

But another member of the delegation, the Minister of Defense of Kolo, has more things to consider…

Chapter 705: Loophole

Just as mentioned before, so-called military sales between countries never only consider price factors; political considerations are even more important.

You could say it’s like a kind of protection fee.

Even if the price of some weapons is slightly higher, you still have to buy them. After all, if you don’t let the big brother earn more money, how will the big brother be willing to protect your safety?

For Kolo, it is a member of the Commonwealth, and its relationship with Britain is relatively close. If they want to buy military equipment, Britain is naturally the best choice.

“In this regard, I can help you contact the British side, and I can definitely give you some discounts on the price…”

Baron said to him:

“And we don’t need to buy too advanced ships, otherwise it will be a considerable burden for Kolo.”

Just as Baron said, for a small country like Kolo, there is no great need to have very strong naval power. It only needs to have a certain defensive force.

For example, the main threat they face now is pirates in the West African region.

As for neighboring countries, whether it is Ghana or Benin, their naval strength is also very limited. The only one or two ships they have can be called antiques.

And there is no need to use overly advanced ships to deal with pirates in the West African waters. After all, the so-called pirates in Africa often use speedboats, with a few people holding AKs, at most carrying RPGs, focusing on being swift and unpredictable…

If the ships are too big, it will be difficult to catch up with them.

Moreover, using those overly advanced weapons to attack these small speedboats is a complete waste.

As for the procurement negotiations, there is no need to rush.

After all, for the time being, adding a few gunboats is enough to deal with the current situation.

Next, Baron will also meet with relevant personnel from Britain, including Brown and Chancellor of the Exchequer Darling.

Because United Energy Group owns 30% of Kolo Petroleum Company’s shares, and a considerable portion of the petroleum products sold by Kolo Petroleum Company are used to meet the British market.

In this way, the safety and stability of Kolo’s offshore oil fields are also of considerable significance to Britain’s energy security.

So, it is only right and proper for them to support the other party, especially since they only need to lower the selling price a little.

After all, these ships are already quite old, and some are even facing retirement in the British Navy.

…

“His name is Pete. He is one of the traders in the investment department of NM Rothschild Bank that we are focusing on…”

Daisy handed Baron a document and said to him:

“Although he is not considered an important figure in the department, because his investment returns were good before, Pete has a considerable level in the investment department of NM Rothschild Bank and can have relatively high investment authority.”

“What’s interesting about this person?”

“Through our analysis of some of his chats and behaviors that we have collected, this person’s personality is relatively stubborn, especially when it comes to his own analysis results. He is very confident, which can be seen from some of his previous investment styles. The most important thing is that he is now very optimistic about the rise in international gold prices and holds a considerable position…”

In fact, it is not surprising to be optimistic about the rise in gold prices in the current situation.

Last year, international gold prices once reached a historical high, but were affected by the subprime mortgage crisis and experienced a considerable decline.

But now, with the recovery of the economy and the impact of various countries’ monetary policies, the upward trend of gold prices seems to be reasonable.

As everyone knows, the price of gold futures is affected by economic cycles, monetary policies, and wars.

For example, in the economic downturn cycle, because investors will be cautious about investment, then gold, as a safe-haven asset, will be favored, so it often rises.

In addition, when quantitative easing policies are implemented, as the money supply increases and more funds flow into the market, it is also easy for more funds to enter gold investment, raising its price.

As for war, it is easier to understand. After all, there has been a saying in China since ancient times that “antiques flourish in prosperous times, and gold in chaotic times.”

However, combined with Pete’s trading style, plus the fact that gold futures have been below $1,000 per ounce for a period of time recently, and the fluctuations are relatively flat, then, if he holds a considerable position in gold futures, facing the current market, it is very likely that he is investing with relatively high leverage.

So, what will the other party do if these investments suffer considerable losses?

Either bear the losses and exit, or invest more funds to verify their judgment.

Of course, Baron and his team hope that Pete will ultimately choose the second option, so that he will expand the losses of NM Rothschild Bank’s investment department in the constantly increasing positions.

Although investment departments like this have their own risk control systems, the larger the institutions, the easier it is for their risk control systems to have oversights.

For example, the huge losses caused by a trader at Société Générale at that time, the other party easily concealed them from their risk control system.

Naturally, Baron and his team will not put all their hopes on Pete alone.

For the entire LCR Rothschild Group, most of the assets they manage are allocated to real estate, bonds, and the stocks of large companies, which are products with relatively stable returns. For these investments, even if market fluctuations cause certain losses, they are very controllable.

But just like American International Group in the subprime mortgage crisis, their core business was very high-quality insurance business, but it was because their small investment department guaranteed some subprime mortgage bonds that ultimately brought unimaginable huge losses to American International Group in the subprime mortgage crisis, collapsing the largest insurance group in the United States.

So, the same is true for LCR Rothschild Group. Even if their main business is very stable, it is still possible for certain departments to cause excessive losses that can affect themselves due to guarantees or bets.

In this case, Baron needs to carefully select an investment direction for one of their departments that looks completely harmless on the surface, and then make corresponding bets.

Well, the sovereign debt crisis that will spread to many European countries next will be a very good opportunity.

Chapter 706: Frigate

This time, Kolo and the Kolo Legion’s options were limited when purchasing ships from the British Navy. Destroyers, amphibious assault ships, and even aircraft carriers were not only expensive, but also required daily maintenance and a number of naval personnel far exceeding Kolo’s needs.

Therefore, they were primarily focusing on frigates.

According to the information Barron obtained from Errol Brute, the Kolo Legion’s commander, the Type 22 and Type 23 frigates were the main options available.

The Type 22 frigate was a class of large, long-range, multi-purpose frigates that entered service with the British Navy from the 1970s to the 1980s. Their construction spanned eleven years and three batches, with a total of 14 ships entering service.

To date, a total of seven Type 22 frigates have been resold to other countries after being decommissioned.

These include Brazil, Romania, and Chile. The last Type 22 frigate to be traded was the HMS Sheffield, the fifth ship of the second batch, which was sold to Chile in April 2003 and renamed Almirante Williams F-19.

As for the Type 23 frigate, it is a class of large, multi-purpose frigate primarily focused on anti-submarine warfare that began entering large-scale service with the British Navy in the 1990s, and remains the mainstay of the British Navy’s surface fleet to this day.

The Type 23 frigate was built in five batches, with an original plan to commission 23 ships, but ultimately only 16 entered service.

In 2004, due to financial constraints, the British Navy continued to reduce the size of its surface fleet, and the number of Type 23 frigates was reduced to 13.

As a result, the “used ship prince,” the Chilean Navy, seized the opportunity and acquired the HMS Norfolk, HMS Grafton, and HMS Marlborough frigates from the British Navy at a low price in 2005. Among them, HMS Grafton had only entered service in 1997, just eight years before it was sold.

HMS Norfolk was transferred to Chile in 2006 and renamed Almirante Cochrane FF-05, entering service on November 22 of the same year.

HMS Grafton was transferred in 2007, and Chile named it Almirante Lynch FF-07, entering service on March 28, 2007.

HMS Marlborough was transferred to Chile in 2008 and renamed Almirante Condell FF-06, entering service on May 28, 2008.

“Although the Type 22 frigates are cheaper, considering their age, if we choose to buy them, we will not only need to spend extra money on overall upgrades and modifications, but also the usual maintenance costs will be higher.”

Maritime vessels, including these warships, require regular inspections and maintenance in shipyards, similar to a car’s annual inspection. The older the warship, the shorter the interval between these inspections will inevitably be, and the average annual maintenance cost will be much higher.

Considering all of this, Kolo is more inclined towards the Type 23 frigate.

After all, this type of frigate is still the mainstay of the British Navy, and the current Type 23 frigates have been in service with the British Navy for no more than 10 years, and their overall condition is very good.

If these two frigates were equipped, Kolo’s naval power would be among the strongest in all of West Africa…

After all, not only do many countries in the region not have decent warships, but even the few warships that do exist can be traced back to the Second World War and the Cold War.

“Taking the Chilean Navy’s purchase of three Type 23 frigates from Britain between 2006 and 2008 as an example, these three frigates had only served in the Royal Navy for about 10 years, were in good condition, and are the surface combat ships with the highest sortie rate in the Chilean Navy…”

Barron saw the following written in the relevant information:

“In 2004, in order to build the Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carriers, the British Royal Navy had to reduce its naval military spending and prematurely decommissioned three Type 23 frigates. The Chilean Navy got a bargain, buying three relatively new Type 23 frigates for a total price of less than 200 million US dollars.”

The Type 23 frigate has a standard displacement of 3,500 tons and a full load displacement of 4,200 tons. It is 133 meters long, 16.1 meters wide, and has a draft of 5.5 meters.

The power system consists of two Rolls-Royce Spey SM-1A gas turbines and two Rolls-Royce Spey SM-1C gas turbines, with a maximum speed of 28 knots.

The armament consists of one Mk 8 4.5 inch naval gun, two twin 30mm guns, a 32-cell Sea Wolf surface-to-air missile vertical launch system, two quad Harpoon anti-ship missile launchers, two triple 324mm torpedo tubes, and two Lynx Mk.8 anti-submarine helicopters.

According to the results of Kolo’s negotiations with the Royal Navy, if they purchase two Type 23 frigates, they can carry out corresponding modifications in British shipyards. In addition to a certain upgrade of the system, they will also be equipped with sufficient weapons and ammunition. Including personnel training, the total amount of this military sales order is approximately 125 million US dollars.

This price is relatively favorable, also because in the subsidiary agreement of this order, the Kolo Legion will receive a batch of retired naval soldiers and officers—these people have experience in operating Type 23 warships, and some of the Kolo Legion’s local personnel will also be sent to Britain to receive relevant training to ensure that they can complete the acceptance of these two warships and form combat effectiveness.

After this transaction is completed, it is expected that these two warships will be able to form combat effectiveness in half a year, that is, in March or April of next year, and enter the combat sequence of the Kolo Legion.

A portion of the relevant local personnel sent by the Kolo Legion to Britain for training will study with the entire process of the two warships being modified, and another portion of the personnel will be able to train with other British Type 23 frigates in service.

Although it is said that in these six months, the relevant sailors will hardly be able to complete enough training, these people themselves will not directly enter the key positions of operating these two frigates—these positions are still mainly filled by retired personnel from the Royal Navy, and they can continue to be trained in subsequent actual navigation exercises.

In the process of the British Navy’s scale reduction, it will be accompanied by the retirement of some redundant naval personnel. The resettlement of these personnel is also a headache for the government. This transaction with Kolo can not only reduce naval expenditure and reduce the number of warships, but also solve the resettlement of a considerable number of personnel, which is still very satisfactory to the British side.

And the most important thing is that a considerable number of personnel in the Kolo Legion, especially higher-ranking military personnel, are from the British Army.

In this way, although Kolo bought the ownership of the two warships, given the close relationship between the two sides, in an emergency, these two warships could “cooperate” with the British Royal Navy without too many communication and coordination obstacles.

Well, at least this can be done before the Kolo local naval personnel are qualified to enter the key positions of these two frigates.

So on September 15, Kolo officially signed this military purchase agreement with Britain.

Chapter 707: 5G Preparations

The morning air was refreshing, especially after a recent rain.

This was another of Barron’s villas in London, near Hyde Park. After a morning run in the park, Barron had only worked up a light sweat.

“Your Grace, shall I prepare breakfast now?”

As he entered the villa, a young maid immediately offered him a towel, asking softly.

“Is Talulah awake?”

“Miss Riley is still asleep…”

“Then I’ll go check on her.”

Barron hadn’t stayed at this villa before. After purchasing it, he had people decorate and furnish it, leaving a few servants to keep it tidy.

After Talulah Riley had a deep conversation with him, Barron arranged for her to live here, complete with a full staff.

When Barron arrived at the bedroom, he saw the girl sleeping soundly on the slightly disheveled large bed.

After Barron washed away the sweat from his morning run and sat on the edge of the bed, the girl sensed his movement and slowly opened her eyes.

“How are you feeling? Are you awake now, darling?”

Talulah stretched languidly, exposing her beautiful curves to the air. She wrapped her arms around Barron’s waist, rubbed her face against his side, and said lazily, “I want to sleep a little longer. I feel sore all over…”

It was no wonder Talulah wanted to stay in bed. Barron knew it was mainly because he had been too enthusiastic about learning new knowledge last night.

The first time they began their knowledge exchange, Talulah was a bit inexperienced, so even though Barron restrained his enthusiasm, Talulah still found the learning process… somewhat painful.

Now back in London, they tried learning again. After the girl had plenty of rest, Barron, even if he wasn’t going all out, unlocked various kinds of knowledge with her. It seemed like she had been injected with too much learning material, leaving Talulah feeling the lingering effects of swimming in a sea of knowledge…

Since that was the case, Barron didn’t force her and left the girl to continue resting.

In any case, there was a dedicated maid to take care of her here. He would talk to her after she woke up.

“You look very beautiful today, Chunning.”

Barron complimented his assistant, Zhang Chunning, after seeing her.

She was wearing a light purple silk shirt and a white skirt suit today, which really accentuated her temperament.

“Thank you, Your Grace.”

Zhang Chunning smiled and said, “Your Grace, the first phase of the Jamnagar refining project has been completed and will be put into trial operation next month. Mr. Ambani has invited you to attend the ceremony…”

The project she mentioned was a collaboration between United Energy Group and India’s Reliance Industries, to build the world’s largest refining and chemical project in Jamnagar, India, two years ago.

In this project, United Energy Group and Reliance Industries each held 50% of the shares, jointly investing.

Once completed, the Jamnagar refining project would reach a scale of 1.3 million barrels per year (62 to 65 million tons per year) – three times the size of China’s largest refining project at the time. Furthermore, the petroleum coke/coal gasification combined cycle project to be built would also become the world’s largest gasification project.

And that Mr. Ambani was Dhirubhai Ambani, the founder of Reliance Industries, India’s largest private conglomerate.

“Thank Mr. Ambani for me, but I have other matters to attend to at that time. Have Mr. Singleton attend instead.”

Eperley Singleton was the CEO of United Energy Group, and his status was sufficient to attend the ceremony.

With the successive completion of joint refining and chemical projects in Jamnagar, India, and Guisheng Province, China, by United Energy Group, coupled with the continuous expansion of the local refining and chemical project in Colo, the oil refining capacity of United Energy Group was also constantly strengthening. It could not only meet the refining needs of the crude oil extracted from their Colo offshore oil fields, but also prepare United Energy Group to begin exploiting the oil and gas resources they owned in the Caspian Sea and Southeast Asia.

“After discussion, O2 Telecom is preparing to adopt LTE as the 4G standard…”

Starting next year, many countries would successively begin issuing 4G licenses, which also meant that 4G networks were about to enter commercial application.

It could be said that in the 3G standard, America’s Qualcomm was the biggest winner, reaping huge benefits for it. As mobile networks began to advance to 4G, LTE was the most important standard among them. In addition, subsequent standards such as WiMax were also among the choices.

As one of the world’s largest telecommunications operators, O2 Telecom naturally needed to choose a 4G network standard according to their requirements.

In the original timeline, the UK didn’t officially have 4G networks operating until the end of 2012. For O2 Telecom, there was still plenty of time…

However, Barron was more concerned about O2 Telecom’s cooperation with Huawei.

In fact, O2 Telecom and Huawei had always had a good cooperative relationship. Huawei’s initial entry into the European market was as a equipment supplier for O2 Telecom.

Furthermore, through Rich23 Capital, Barron also held 12% of Huawei’s shares.

With the upcoming construction of 4G networks, Huawei was also striving to make O2 Telecom their main partner.

However, in addition to 4G networks, Barron knew that Huawei had very strategic ambitions. They had entered into 5G technology research this year.

In the future, Huawei would be a global leader in 5G technology research and development and application.

Since the two sides had a good cooperative relationship, O2 Telecom would naturally not miss this opportunity to get involved in 5G technology research and development.

They reached an agreement that Huawei and O2 Telecom would also jointly establish a related 5G technology research and development center in London. In addition to these two companies, Honor Electronics also joined in. The three parties would cooperate in 5G technology research and development, standards, and applications.

O2 Telecom would also use their advantages to provide funds and corresponding technologies for this research and development center.

As for the potential “sanctions” that Huawei might face in the future…

Not to mention that with the establishment of Barron’s various relationship networks in America, coupled with the fact that Huawei had already received British capital injection, it was still unknown whether such things would happen again—after all, in Barron’s previous life, Huawei encountered that kind of thing during the tenure of the founder, and now…

In addition, even in the most pessimistic scenario, if such a thing still happened…

Then, to put it bluntly, O2 Telecom’s American market might need to find another partner, but Barron was confident that he could resolve the situation in the British market…

Chapter 708: Beatrice

New York, Manhattan.

After spending a month in London with Baron before the start of the semester, Beatrice had come to New York to enroll in Columbia University, pursuing a master’s degree in journalism.

“I’m sorry, darling, I was reading and didn’t notice the time…”

Beatrice still dressed plainly at school. Today, she wore a black camisole with a light green cardigan and light-colored jeans…

Even so, her stunning looks and excellent figure still made her the center of attention on campus.

“It’s okay, I just got here too. Let’s get in the car first.”

The person speaking to Beatrice was a blonde girl, dressed even more provocatively, with a sequined bodycon dress and tanned skin. She looked like a trendy hot girl, with a very voluptuous figure. Plus, the girl was driving a yellow sports car, which made her even more flamboyant on campus.

However, in terms of appearance… although she could be considered a beauty, there was a significant gap compared to Beatrice.

After Beatrice got into the car, the blonde girl said with a smile:

“Are you really not coming to the party tonight?”

“You know, Georgia, I don’t really like noisy parties like that…”

Beatrice shook her head and said:

“I hope you have fun. If you drink too much, I can come pick you up.”

“Wow, darling, you’re such a sweetheart. Let’s go to your place…”

As Georgia spoke, she glanced behind her and said helplessly:

“Your bodyguard is really dedicated.”

“Linda is always like that, but don’t think she’s always cool. Actually, she’s very considerate.”

At this time, behind Georgia’s sports car, a woman wearing sunglasses and with a blank expression could be seen driving the Aston Martin DBX that Beatrice usually rode in, parked not far away.

“Linda, let’s go back to the apartment…”

Beatrice made a phone call and gave instructions. Then, she heard the roar of the sports car as Georgia stepped on the accelerator…

When Baron came to New York with Beatrice last time, he had already bought her a luxury apartment in Manhattan, located next to Columbia University.

In addition, to ensure Beatrice’s safety, Baron had specially arranged a female bodyguard for her through Protector Security Company, who also served as her driver.

Now, Georgia and Beatrice were going to her apartment.

Georgia could also be considered to come from a wealthy family, but compared to Beatrice, she had a more lively personality and was a typical American girl.

Although they both attended Columbia University, Beatrice was usually very low-key, rarely participating in outside activities, and only occasionally gathering with some female companions.

Georgia was different. She loved excitement and had parties almost every day, either in nightclubs or in friends’ villas…

However, although the two had some differences in personality, one thing was very good: they could both respect each other’s habits. To be able to enter Columbia University for a master’s degree, besides family reasons, Georgia herself was not too bad academically.

She could often accompany Beatrice to read and chat, without affecting her own subsequent revelry, and without forcing the other party to accompany her…

Sometimes, when she drank too much, she would call Beatrice and ask her to pick her up and take her back, and then stay at Beatrice’s place for a night.

“By the way, darling, I haven’t even met your boyfriend yet. When can I meet him…”

“He’s usually in Europe and is quite busy.”

“I just want to see what kind of man can have such a perfect girl like you and make you so devoted to him…”

Georgia’s words were also from the bottom of her heart. In her eyes, Beatrice was a very perfect girl, with a privileged background, and she could continue to work hard and achieve academic success.

And whether it was at Bocconi University before, or now, there were no shortage of suitors for Beatrice at school, and even a lot of them.

Although they had only been enrolled at Columbia University for a short time, Beatrice’s beauty had already gained considerable fame.

But she was a very low-key and quiet girl. It wasn’t that she was a bookworm who only knew how to study. Beatrice also liked to go shopping and occasionally go to nightclubs, but she would always go with her female companions and never accept invitations from other men. Even when she went to nightclubs, she would have a bodyguard with her and never cause trouble.

These behaviors were worlds apart from some of the other wealthy girls around Georgia.

In fact, even if Baron didn’t make special arrangements, Beatrice’s studies and life at Columbia University would be very comfortable.

After all, Beatrice came from the Borromeo family, and her mother’s side was also a famous Italian family. Since she became an adult, she had been able to enjoy the care of the family trust—including monthly living expenses and many conveniences in life.

And Beatrice herself also had her own work. She had previously worked as a part-time model, walking the runway for brands such as Valentino many times…

After all, her uncle was the president and chief designer of Valentino before. Now that Valentino has been acquired by Gucci-Hermes Group and belongs to Baron, she also has more resources.

Therefore, Beatrice herself could be considered a small rich woman. However, even so, although she was very wealthy compared to ordinary people, she was still far behind the top tycoons…

Now that Baron had arranged for her conditions including accommodation and bodyguards, Beatrice’s life was much more luxurious compared to wealthy daughters like Georgia.

After having dinner with Georgia, the two returned to Beatrice’s luxurious apartment.

Georgia was holding her phone, chatting with friends on WoawChat, talking about the party that night, while Beatrice leaned on the sofa and started reading.

“Darling, you’re really diligent…”

When Georgia looked up and saw Beatrice focused on reading, she couldn’t help but sigh.

“I just got some reading lists and want to adapt to the pace here as soon as possible.”

In fact, Beatrice also had her own ideas. Coming to New York to continue her studies was also a plan she had made for herself before.

But after all, it was too far from Baron here—although he often came here, he could only spend one or two months a year at most…

Moreover, there was a five- or six-hour time difference between New York and London. In addition, Baron was usually busy, and Beatrice could only occasionally contact him during the day to relieve her longing.

Therefore, Beatrice was now preparing to seize the time and concentrate on her studies, hoping to complete her studies in the shortest possible time, so that she could stay by Baron’s side.

Chapter 709: Absolute Control

October 18th was Barron’s birthday.

Before this day arrived, Caesar Fund finally reached an agreement with the French Vivendi Group. They would acquire Vivendi Group’s 61% stake in Activision Blizzard for $7.5 billion.

This price represented a premium of approximately 13% over Activision Blizzard’s current market value, slightly lower than the $8.1 billion asking price previously demanded by Vivendi Group.

This was one of the results of the negotiations between Caesar Fund and Vivendi Group during this period.

In addition, Caesar Fund had already acquired approximately 5% of Activision Blizzard’s shares through the secondary market. Activision Blizzard was a publicly listed company, and after its stock price plummeted during the subprime mortgage crisis, its stock price had risen considerably due to the stable performance of “World of Warcraft.”

Thus, after completing the acquisition agreement with Vivendi Group, Caesar Fund would hold approximately 66% of Activision Blizzard’s shares, which meant that as long as they acquired a few more shares, they would be able to achieve absolute control of Activision Blizzard.

At that time, Caesar Fund would have almost complete control over Activision Blizzard, a top global gaming company.

Of course, Caesar Fund itself was primarily focused on investment and would not be deeply involved in the operation of Activision Blizzard, at most providing some advice.

Therefore, they had already engaged in in-depth communication with Activision Blizzard’s management team and reached a tacit understanding beforehand: after the acquisition, Caesar Fund would not excessively interfere with the company’s operations in the short term.

Although Barron knew that the future operation of Activision Blizzard was not very satisfactory and had some questionable aspects.

However, his acquisition of Activision Blizzard was a strategic move in the gaming industry, and he did not believe that he could do better than the current management team if he personally managed the company.

Moreover, he simply did not have that much energy to do so. He owned so many businesses that he wouldn’t have enough time and energy even if he didn’t eat or drink.

Therefore, it was better to let Activision Blizzard maintain its original operation, as long as Caesar Fund did a good job of supervision.

“Activision Blizzard’s management team had intended to acquire Vivendi Group’s stake in Activision Blizzard through a management buyout, but because Vivendi Group’s asking price was too high, and those syndicates were very cautious at this stage, they all believed that this financing was too risky after evaluation, so it was not successful…”

Peter Friedman, CEO of Caesar Fund, said to Barron.

The so-called MBO refers to Management Buy-Outs.

That is, the managers and executives of the target company use the capital they raise to purchase the company’s shares, so as to realize the change of the company’s ownership structure, control structure and asset structure, and realize the managers’ leading the reorganized company as the owner and operator, so as to obtain the expected property rights income.

In simple terms, it is a way for the company’s managers to obtain funds through some financing methods to acquire the company’s shares, so as to obtain control of the company.

The reason why they did this was also because before this, Activision Blizzard’s management had disagreements with the major shareholder Vivendi Group on the company’s operation, so they hoped to acquire the shares held by the other party, so as to let Vivendi Group exit.

However, although their MBO was not successful, after Caesar Fund acquired Vivendi Group’s stake in Activision Blizzard, it replaced Vivendi Group as the controlling shareholder of Activision Blizzard.

And Caesar Fund seemed to be different from Vivendi Group. They did not have much desire to control the operation of Activision Blizzard, but handed over most of the power to the company’s management.

Therefore, this result was also very satisfactory to Activision Blizzard’s management.

…

Now that Barron had more women, the only thing was that he would be busier on birthdays or various festivals. Not only him, but as Barron’s personal assistant, Janine Chang also had to be busy.

If it was just the “canaries,” his assistant could completely handle it by arranging some gifts.

But there were still many women with closer relationships who required him to spend time and energy dealing with them.

But no matter what, Barron would always leave the most important time for his wife Bonnie… who was now his ex-wife.

Unconsciously, he had been in this world for more than seven years, and Barron had also reached the age of 30.

Apart from the changes in identity and wealth, and the calm temperament of a superior that he had developed as a result, Barron’s appearance still did not seem to have changed much, and he still maintained a youthful state and a perfect figure.

However, in order to better match his current identity, Barron had also started to grow a beard, which gave him a more mature and elegant feeling.

Now George Cavendish was three and a half years old. Compared to his younger brother Richard Cavendish, he looked like a little adult, and his angelic and lovely face made anyone want to pinch his cheeks.

At this time, he was looking at the birthday cake on the table with anticipation, and congratulating his father Barron’s birthday in a childish voice.

Bonnie was holding her younger son Richard, watching the scene in front of her, her eyes full of happiness.

Little Richard babbled something, reaching out his little hand to the cake, and was lovingly pulled back into her arms by Bonnie, who kissed him on the face.

…

At the same time in Paris, also in a magnificent mansion, the atmosphere was not as warm as Barron’s home, but seemed to be full of repression everywhere.

“I want to know how things happened.”

Benjamin de Rothschild said expressionlessly, looking at the subordinate in front of him.

“Sir, we are investigating…”

“Are you only starting to investigate now?”

Benjamin suppressed his anger and asked:

“What’s wrong with the bank’s regulatory system? Why was such a big loss not discovered until that bastard disappeared!”

“That, that trader named Peter used fake accounts to deceive the regulators, and we sometimes do this kind of thing when we conduct some… transactions, so…”

With a “bang,” Benjamin grabbed the cup on the table and smashed it on the ground, gnashing his teeth and asking:

“So you’re saying our risk control system is just a formality? A random trader can bring us a loss of more than 3 billion euros?!”

“Sir, I promise to find that Peter and thoroughly investigate the whole thing…”

“This is a must. In addition, I also need to know the specific losses. Also, I need to review all the investments of NM Rothschild Bank. I don’t want this kind of thing to happen again…”

Benjamin looked at the other party coldly and said:

“We must know whether this was an accident or premeditated!”

Chapter 710: Watching the Rise, Betting on the Fall

What Benjamin Rothschild was worried about was that if other forces were involved behind this matter, it was likely that it wouldn’t just be a single slip-up, but something that could affect the whole situation…

After all, the trader Pete, who had caused the trouble, had disappeared without a trace, making it impossible to find out the inside story immediately, and a thorough investigation of the matter would take time.

Furthermore, their family had been passed down to this day, and it could be said that they had encountered all sorts of conspiracies. The fact that they had survived to this day was entirely the result of their cautious actions.

“Mr. President, do we need to call the police?”

Hearing his subordinate’s question, Benjamin Rothschild hesitated for a moment, then decisively said:

“Don’t call the police for the time being, but use all means possible to find that damned bastard for me first!”

The losses of their NM Rothschild Bank were currently only known to a few insiders within the bank. Therefore, it was not surprising that Benjamin Rothschild made this decision, because this matter involved the NM Rothschild Group’s proprietary investment department, and he certainly didn’t want the news to be leaked. Otherwise, in addition to the losses that had not yet been fully calculated, the indirect losses caused by it would be even more immeasurable.

Therefore, their top priority now was to find the trader named Pete.

According to the information they had obtained, Pete had disappeared in less than 12 hours from his last appearance, and with the Rothschild family’s connections, they had found that he had no record of leaving the country…

This meant that either Pete had left using a fake passport, or he was still in France.

Even without calling the police, the resources and manpower that the Rothschild family could use were no less than the French police. Therefore, Pete was now facing an arrest network that was even tighter than a police warrant.

The only fear was that the other party was indeed related to other forces. With this support, it was very likely that he had already escaped outside of France, or even reached Africa, South America, and other places where their tentacles could hardly reach.

However, what made Benjamin Rothschild feel slightly relieved was that a few hours later, they received news that trader Pete had been found near the French border, and he was preparing to drive across the border into Italy…

After controlling Pete, the Rothschild family immediately interrogated the trader who had caused significant losses to the NM Rothschild Bank’s investment department. In order to obtain the truth in the shortest possible time, they even used some “minor methods”…

The information they ultimately obtained showed that Pete had not received orders from any other forces or individuals during any of his transactions. During this period, due to constant pressure, he had not even contacted anyone else except for occasional “relaxation.”

It was only because he himself had analyzed that gold would have a period of rise, so he bet on gold futures.

However, he found that the price of gold fluctuated very little for a considerable period of time, with ups and downs of less than 1%. Because of previous investment failures, he was under pressure to perform, so he unconsciously increased the leverage on gold futures—after all, he was very sure of the upward trend of gold prices, and according to his analysis, the curve shown by the current gold price simply had no room for decline.

Facts proved that Pete’s analysis was correct, at least at first.

The international gold price did indeed rise slightly, and Pete made a generous return through this investment, not only making up for previous losses but also earning him a satisfactory bonus.

It was also because of the previous high leverage that Pete was a little worried. After the gold price rose slightly and he had a satisfactory return, he closed his position.

But what he didn’t expect was that even after he closed his position, the international gold price did not stop and continued to rise, from the initial less than 1,000 dollars per ounce to more than 1,100 dollars per ounce.

But the more this happened, because he had previously closed his gold futures position, he did not dare to continue to go long at the current price.

After all, although he believed that the international gold price would generally be in an upward channel for a considerable period of time, there would inevitably be some retracement and repeated fluctuations in this process. He was prepared to wait for the gold price to retrace before entering the market again at a relatively low price.

After all, although there were many other investment targets, he had studied gold futures the most in the past six months, and this investment product was still easy to do.

While Pete was waiting, the international gold price rose slowly and actually broke through 1,180 dollars per ounce, and was about to break through 1,200 dollars per ounce.

If you don’t know what the current gold price means at this time—the price at which Corot bought the gold spot held by British Fortune Times (BFT) Fund at a “high price” before was 1,000 dollars per ounce. After that, the international gold price was affected by the subprime mortgage crisis and once fell to 700 dollars per ounce!

Therefore, facing the current international gold price that was about to break through 1,200 dollars per ounce, Pete began to feel restless. He was sure that the international gold price would be in an upward cycle for a considerable period of time, maybe two or three years, or maybe three or five years.

But this process was destined not to be a smooth upward curve. There would inevitably be some retracement, and then the data would be corrected, the price would be constantly consolidated, and finally, it would break through again and again.

Therefore, the price of 1,200 dollars per ounce was not so easy to break through, or rather, the probability of breaking through once and standing firm at this price was very small. There would definitely be a fierce confrontation between the bulls and the bears in this process before the trend could be determined.

And before finally standing on the price of 1,200 dollars per ounce, there would inevitably be a decline to finally stabilize the price.

In this way, after hesitating for a night, Pete finally decided to short gold futures near the integer price of 1,200 dollars per ounce of international gold!

Because the result of his analysis after repeated consideration was that if he went long on gold futures, the current retracement of the integer price was difficult to determine the specific price, so he needed to wait for the retracement price to stabilize before he could continue to go long.

But this time might be one or two weeks, or one or two months, or even half a year…

Then during this time, he would hardly have any performance.

And because the entire LCR Rothschild Group, including NM Rothschild Bank, had recently undergone some mergers and acquisitions, and was affected by the general environment, it would adjust personnel…

At this time, Pete naturally did not want to enter the “adjustment” sight.

In contrast, although he believed that the big cycle was a period of rising gold prices, now that the international gold price was about to break through 1,200 dollars per ounce, the multi-party and short-selling competition before this price broke through, or even a short-term decline adjustment, was bound to occur.

You know, even at the beginning of the subprime mortgage crisis, when the international gold price rose, it had not broken through 1,200 dollars per ounce!

So since a short-term decline in gold prices was a high-probability event, he made the decision to short near this price.

Of course, to make up his mind, he also drank some wine that night…

Chapter 711: Responsibility

The events that followed were not complicated.

Pete started building a short position in gold futures when the international gold price reached $1,185 per ounce, preparing to add to his position as the price rose.

Initially, things went as he expected. The international gold price slowly climbed from $1,185 per ounce, and Pete increased his position to 50 million euros…

With a leverage of 10x, he controlled assets worth 500 million euros.

Although he was showing a slight loss overall, he wasn’t flustered. On the contrary, he was excited because the gold price movement was exactly as he had predicted.

When the international gold price touched $1,200 per ounce, Pete had invested as much as 200 million euros.

He knew that the gold price would inevitably adjust at this key psychological level, and a fierce battle between bulls and bears was imminent.

The development of events did not deviate from his expectations. In the following two days, the international gold price retreated to $1,180, and the charts showed that the struggle between the two sides was very intense, as evidenced by the significantly higher trading volume than usual.

At this time, the previous paper losses in Pete’s investment account were about to be erased.

He knew that if the international gold price continued to fall, he would start to profit.

And just at this moment, the international gold price began to fluctuate slightly around the $1,180 level… According to Pete’s prediction, this correction in the international gold price would touch the previous gap at $1,050. It seemed that the bulls in gold futures were very strong, and they were prepared to hold their ground even in the face of attacks from the bears.

But the experienced Pete knew that these were often just appearances. Many times, the market makers were simply playing with the psychology of other retail investors.

Why is it that retail investors, and even small and medium-sized investors, find it so difficult to make money in many large price uptrends?

It’s because the trend doesn’t rise smoothly. Many of the declines in this cycle seem like just small ripples, but on the charts at the time, they were cliff-like drops.

After a few such ripples, many small investors or institutions with weak resolve would misjudge the situation and be shaken out of the market.

“Heh, I’ve seen through your sinister intentions…”

That was Pete’s mindset at the time. He knew that the seemingly evenly matched battle at the current price of $1,180 could change instantly, ushering in a wave of decline.

Although Pete’s position in gold futures was approaching his authorized funding limit, he thought that they had used some “tricks” to evade risk control before – as long as they could ultimately achieve substantial profits, no one would care about these things…

Therefore, in a fit of excitement, Pete began to lower the margin ratio, which was equivalent to increasing the leverage.

But the subsequent development of events was slightly beyond Pete’s expectations. He did not see a sharp drop in the gold price. Instead, the international gold price rebounded slightly, again approaching the $1,200 level.

“Are you trying to use another script? But no matter how you act, the end result will be the same. I’m not afraid of you.”

This was Pete’s inner thought at the time.

However, as the price rose, his losses in his account had increased exponentially due to the increased leverage. It seemed that some “small actions” were necessary…

…

“That’s right, he used his position to open multiple fake accounts to hide the true picture of the entire investment and evade risk control supervision…”

Hearing his subordinate’s report, Benjamin Rothschild asked in disbelief:

“Impossible! How could he have the ability to obtain such a large amount of funding authority?”

“He… fabricated a contract, using the pretext of providing high-leverage financing to clients to obtain the right to use a portion of the funds, and that so-called client was actually a virtual account of his…”

“F**K! Is this the regulatory system we pride ourselves on?!”

Benjamin Rothschild was furious.

“Actually, under normal circumstances, his actions would have been discovered, but…”

Benjamin’s subordinate hesitated for a moment and said:

“It just so happens that we recently acquired several related companies and added some related businesses, so there was a bit of confusion in this transition…”

“Can you confirm that these are all his personal actions?”

The subordinate understood Benjamin’s meaning. He nodded and said:

“We conducted a detailed interrogation and used that drug… and compared what he confessed with his trading records. They are completely consistent. There are no signs of other forces participating in this process…”

“Resolve this matter as discreetly as possible…”

Hearing Benjamin Rothschild’s instructions, the subordinate glanced at him and asked:

“So Pete… the trader who caused the trouble, he…?”

“He’s useless now. Hand him over to the police, but ask them to investigate the matter confidentially for the time being.”

To prepare for the worst, they couldn’t handle Pete themselves… Just like Société Générale at the time, when absolutely necessary, they still needed to disclose the entire process, which required the participation of the government. Therefore, although they didn’t want to, they still needed to hand the other party over to the police for investigation.

Taking a deep breath, Benjamin Rothschild asked coldly:

“What is the current loss?”

“At least 3.5 billion euros in direct losses… but if we transfer some of the losses to the funds we manage, then the losses attributable to our proprietary trading business will be greatly reduced…”

His subordinate said in a deep voice:

“However, in that case, the performance of our asset management business this year will not be very good…”

“But it’s better than us bearing the losses ourselves, isn’t it? After all, no one can guarantee whether things will improve after the crisis…”

“I understand, Mr. President.”

In fact, the reason why Benjamin Rothschild did this was also out of necessity. Although his father was the founder of NM Rothschild Bank, and he now manages one of the core businesses of the LCR Rothschild Group,

After all, the entire Rothschild family has not yet reached the point where he calls the shots. In the competition for family heir, he still needs to face many challenges.

And the occurrence of this matter, even if it is an “accident,” has exposed the huge loopholes in NM Rothschild Bank’s risk control system. This responsibility is one that he needs to bear.

Chapter 712: Surname

When the trader named Pete was found by the Rothschild family, Barron had already received the news from Mikhail, who had been monitoring him.

It could be said that Mikhail’s team acted solely as “observers” throughout the entire process, without intervening in the matter or helping Pete escape. After all, any involvement would leave traces, and the Rothschild family might then believe that Pete’s actions were not due to personal mistakes but a conspiracy against their family.

This would affect the progress of the entire plan.

Moreover, Pete himself was not particularly useful to them. During their initial screening, the person could have been Pete or Louis; there would always be someone whose financial operations were easier for them to “snipe.”

At this moment, Barron was relaxing on the sofa, holding a folder, occasionally flipping through it, and intently studying the information.

This was a document about gold futures trading from a fund under the DS Group.

Indeed, it could be said that the biggest counterparty in the gold futures trading targeted by the trader named Pete came from this fund controlled by Daisy.

And the person personally leading the trading of this fund was Rami, the “genius boy.” After joining the DS Group as an intern and receiving Daisy’s guidance, Rami’s growth in trading was extremely rapid, and he was already able to lead a fund with a scale of over 1 billion euros.

This also meant that, in reality, a significant portion of NM Rothschild Bank’s losses in gold futures had become the profits of this predator fund led by Rami.

Of course, these profits of the predator fund could not be considered their pure profits, because in this transaction, they did more than just act as NM Rothschild Bank’s counterparty in gold futures.

They even influenced the trend of international gold prices to a certain extent.

In other words, the funds and resources they used were not limited to the 1 billion euro scale of the predator fund.

Because influencing the trend of international gold prices was not something that could be achieved casually.

In addition to the DS Group and related foundations investing huge sums of money to reap profits in international gold futures, the gold reserves belonging to Kolo in the West African United Bank vault also played a significant role.

And the document in Barron’s hand was obtained from Daisy. Through this gold futures counterparty transaction with NM Rothschild Bank, and some information obtained directly from them, they could roughly estimate the scale of losses caused by this “blowout.”

Although the estimated result could not be said to be very precise, it was roughly accurate.

Of course, Barron also understood that, given the greed of his family with their Jewish heritage, these losses would certainly not be entirely borne by themselves…

Even though this transaction came from their proprietary investment department, it should be noted that, in addition to this, LCR Rothschild Group also managed tens of billions of euros in funds from their clients…

Anyone could understand that LCR Rothschild Group could only obtain a portion of the profits and a considerable percentage of management fees from these funds exceeding 70 billion euros.

But their proprietary department had to bear real losses in this gold futures transaction…

Therefore, with their family’s centuries of experience in the financial field, there were countless ways to shift the losses from one pocket to another while evading regulation.

After all, after the subprime mortgage crisis, the returns of many private equity funds and wealth management companies were not good.

Even losing less money was considered outstanding ability. LCR Rothschild Group could completely keep their clients in the dark even if they partially shifted these losses—and Barron believed they had done so before…

However, Barron and his people would not be too concerned about this, because they never expected to bring down the Rothschild family with this one event…

And they had made preparations in other areas, or rather, that was the fatal blow to the Rothschild family.

At this point, Barron casually placed the document on the nearby table. His gaze swept over a graceful figure in front of him, who was kneeling on the carpet, busily working with her head lowered…

From Barron’s perspective, he could see the woman’s focused expression, her silver tongue working tirelessly, leaving no spot untouched…

Moreover, the woman had her long hair pinned up, which not only gave her a mature and elegant look but also did not obstruct Barron’s view.

It had to be said that Jo Harriman’s skills were very proficient…

This was probably inseparable from Barron’s tireless adjustment… ahem, instruction over such a long period of time.

When Barron focused his attention here, his thirst for knowledge became even greater.

Anyone who saw Jo Harriman, this “representative of the new era of independent women” and “rising star in British politics,” in front of him, in a position like a good dog, performing actions that were completely contrary to her usual glamorous image, would feel a great sense of conquest.

So Barron ran his hand across her face, gently stroking her hair…

Then he placed it behind her head, gradually increasing the pressure…

“Mmm…”

Jo Harriman understood his intention. Obviously, she had been interrupted like this in many speeches and knew how to alleviate it.

But at this time, experience was just experience, and there would inevitably be physiological discomfort, such as her being “wronged” to the point of tears…

But after repeated training, she finally achieved ultimate success.

It was just that at this time, the woman could not help but gag a few times in addition to being moved.

She met Barron’s encouraging gaze, raised her proud head, and then, with a slight movement of her throat, swallowed the bitter fruit…

…

“Ms. Cavendish, your car is here.”

A female bodyguard with a height of over 180cm knocked on the door and said respectfully to Bonnie.

Bonnie raised her hand and looked at the time. It was already 7:30 in the evening. She put the documents in her bag, preparing to continue reading them in the car later.

After divorcing Barron, she did not change back to the Stuart surname but chose to continue using Cavendish, the surname of her “ex-husband.”

This kind of thing was not uncommon in Europe and America, and there were many reasons for it. For example, after some women took their husband’s surname after marriage, her name had become quite well-known, and changing it back would be more troublesome, so she simply did not change it.

And Bonnie had a tacit understanding with Barron. After all, the “divorce” was just a formality for them, and the substantive relationship would not change in any way.

Therefore, continuing to retain the Cavendish surname also indicated that her relationship with Barron would not be completely severed.

Walking to the entrance of the SEM Building, Bonnie breathed in the damp and cold air. Today, it was raining again in London.

Chapter 713: The Noose

Although Bonnie didn’t know the Chinese saying, “One autumn rain brings a spell of cold weather,” as she stood at the entrance of the building, she realized that London was about to enter another cold season.

After getting into the car, she turned on the overhead light and continued to read the documents she had.

She knew that after returning home, she would first spend time with her two children, and she definitely wouldn’t have time to deal with official business then, so she decided to use the time on the road to finish reading.

With a “ding,” Bonnie opened her phone and saw a WoawChat message from Barron:

“I’m coming home tonight.”

Bonnie smiled at the short message.

“Okay.”

…

On October 20th, the Greek government suddenly announced that in 2009, the government’s fiscal deficit and public debt accounted for 12.7% and 113% of the country’s gross domestic product, respectively, far exceeding the 3% and 60% limits stipulated by the European Union’s Stability and Growth Pact.

The news caused panic throughout the market.

As for why the Greek government was suddenly so honest…

It was because the announcement was made by the new Greek Prime Minister, George Papandreou, who claimed that his predecessor had concealed a large amount of fiscal deficit, so he disclosed the news shortly after taking office.

It was also because after this guy finally won the election and took office, he discovered that he had inherited such a mess that was really not easy to solve. In order to avoid being a scapegoat, he simply made it public.

Now that things had reached this point, Greece had no other choice but to continue its “old tradition”…

That is, to solve the current debt problem by borrowing new debts to repay old debts.

After seeing this news, Barron smiled, because he knew that Greece’s economic collapse had entered the countdown…

And not just Greece, this sovereign debt crisis would soon spread to the PIIGS countries and drag down the economies of the two core Eurozone countries, France and Germany, allowing him to make a fortune…

Similarly, the noose around the Rothschild family’s neck had also begun to gradually tighten.

The reason why Greece had fallen to its current state could be entirely described as self-inflicted.

As mentioned earlier, in order to meet the requirements and join the Eurozone, Greece at the time could be said to have exhausted all means…

They brought in Goldman Sachs to help them optimize their financial data, thereby hiding a large amount of debt on the surface, and successfully joined the Eurozone.

But what needs to be known is that what Goldman Sachs did was only to hide Greece’s large amount of debt. These debts did not disappear, and the Greek government still needed to pay high interest rates constantly.

In addition, Goldman Sachs’ work also allowed them to get 300 million US dollars in remuneration from the Greek government.

Greece’s domestic economic level was relatively weak among European countries, and the competitiveness of various industries was very insufficient. Under normal circumstances, they were not qualified to join the Eurozone at all.

But after joining through cheating, with the identity of a Eurozone country, the Greek government was able to finance at lower interest rates and borrow heavily.

If the loans they took out—that is, the sovereign debt they issued—could be invested in the development of the domestic economy, then perhaps joining the Eurozone would also be a good move for Greece, and it would not have developed to its current state.

But the problem is that Greece, to put it bluntly, “didn’t have the princess’s life, but got the princess’s disease.”

Yes, Greece is a “democratic country.” After joining the Eurozone, they used relatively low interest rates to issue sovereign debt on a large scale, and most of the money they borrowed, in addition to “new debt to repay old debt,” was used to improve the welfare benefits of the people.

This sounds like a relatively happy thing for the Greek people…

But this whole process precisely reflects the short-sightedness of Western-style democracy.

It’s like if you take out a loan to use for production and operation or real estate investment, then perhaps this is a rewarding thing for individuals to make good use of financial means.

But if the money you borrow is entirely for personal enjoyment and cannot bring returns at all, then all you can get is short-term pleasure, but as debts accumulate, it will eventually bury the future.

And Greece’s approach is like a country using loans for enjoyment. Their domestic production level has not only not improved, but has declined due to high welfare benefits, and eventually could not be concealed after the subprime mortgage crisis arrived, thus falling into a debt crisis.

The most interesting thing is that during each election, their different factions would use better welfare benefits to win over voters, resulting in a vicious cycle and developing to an uncontrollable point.

In fact, Barron’s layout for this had already begun earlier…

This must first start with Goldman Sachs’ “packaging” of Greece.

At that time, in order to modify Greece’s financial data, one of the measures Goldman Sachs took was to lend the Greek government 1 billion US dollars.

And Goldman Sachs was also very cautious. After lending this money, they immediately “insured” the loan—they reached an insurance agreement with a German financial institution, paying the other party a considerable “insurance premium” every year, and the other party needed to provide a guarantee for this 1 billion US dollar loan.

That is to say, if the Greek government ultimately cannot smoothly repay this 1 billion US dollar, then this financial institution needs to pay Goldman Sachs the full 1 billion US dollars!

This looks like Goldman Sachs is giving them money for nothing, because after all, Greece is carrying out this loan in the name of national sovereignty. How could such a country not be able to repay even a 1 billion US dollar loan?

Therefore, the other party very happily signed this insurance agreement with Goldman Sachs, and was able to get a considerable “insurance fee” from Goldman Sachs every year…

So there is nothing new under the sun…

It is estimated that their mentality was the same as when the investment department of American International Group insured subprime mortgage bonds…

Moreover, after the Greek government joined the Eurozone, and up to now, they have successively borrowed a large amount of sovereign debt, and this institution has “picked up” such money several times…

Uh, it is worth mentioning that this German financial institution has now been acquired, and they have now become a subsidiary of the LCR Rothschild Group…

Chapter 714: Financial Iron Lady

This story begins with the “accidental” car accident of Ashley Weber of William-Weber Capital.

Following that, Barron retaliated against the Rothschild family, and Benjamin Rothschild’s very close friend and partner also died in a car accident not long after.

This struggle between the two parties aroused the dissatisfaction of the French upper class, who issued warnings to both the Rothschild and Weber families, forbidding them from using such violent methods to fight each other.

Although both sides had to restrain themselves in terms of methods, the conflict between them did not disappear.

After all, William-Weber Capital had previously earned 2.5 billion euros from LCR Rothschild Group through a betting agreement, which was a great pain for them.

Conversely, on the Weber family’s side, Ashley almost died in a car accident, and her highly valued female assistant also died in the accident.

So, William-Weber Capital launched a commercial offensive against the Rothschild family. While Ashley Weber was still recuperating, they directed William-Weber Capital to intercept the other party, buying the two companies that LCR Rothschild Group was originally preparing to acquire at high prices.

After all, at that time, William-Weber Capital had been established for a shorter time than LCR Rothschild Group and still had a lot of room for expansion. Moreover, after becoming a major shareholder of Natixis Bank, they could obtain financing support from this bank in addition to their own funds.

Correspondingly, LCR Rothschild was already larger in scale, and they needed to consider more things when making acquisitions…

As the saying goes, a newborn calf is not afraid of a tiger. At that time, in terms of the acquisition conditions that could be offered, William-Weber Capital could be a little more “willful” and offer better conditions than LCR Rothschild Group. Therefore, at that time, they intercepted some of the Rothschild family’s acquisition targets.

But after being provoked like this, the Rothschild family naturally refused to show weakness and would also try to intercept William-Weber Capital’s acquisition targets.

And the more William-Weber Capital valued something, the greater the price increase they would make…

Otherwise, if they were always suppressed by such an emerging capital, then any Tom, Dick, or Harry could bully them in the future!

During that period, William-Weber Capital had the most contact with that German financial institution. Ashley Weber even flew to Germany to visit the institution as soon as she finished recuperating and started working, which shows how much she valued it.

Therefore, the Rothschild family was determined to get this institution as well.

Finally, after offering a higher acquisition price and better acquisition conditions than William-Weber Capital, the German financial institution ultimately became a subsidiary of LCR Rothschild Group.

Having said that, in fact, this German financial institution itself was quite large and, judging from its financial data, was also a very high-quality company. After all, aside from “extremely low probability risks,” the insurance agreements they had with Wall Street capital such as Goldman Sachs for the debts of countries such as Greece could bring them considerable income every year.

If it weren’t for this… the Rothschild family wouldn’t be so stupid as to just take over any company at a high price simply because William-Weber Capital showed interest in acquiring it, right?

Even if the acquisition process was a little more rushed than usual mergers and acquisitions in order to intercept, some necessary investigations would definitely be carried out.

In the end, Barron and the others achieved their established goal, enabling LCR Rothschild Group to successfully acquire that German financial institution and make it one of their nooses.

Now, it is only the initial period of the Greek and even European sovereign debt crisis. Of course, it is far from the point of complete outbreak, but as the Greek government announced its actual debt situation, the first domino fell…

This was because, at the very beginning, when Barron instructed DS Group to investigate the situation in Greece because he knew that the European sovereign debt crisis was about to break out, he discovered the insurance agreement between Goldman Sachs and that German financial institution.

This is not surprising, as Goldman Sachs itself is very “cunning.” No one probably knows more about Greek finances than Goldman Sachs, after all, they helped them beautify their financial situation at that time, so they could naturally obtain a lot of real data.

Therefore, with their cautious approach, they found that German financial institution to provide guarantees for the 1 billion dollars they lent to Greece.

It was this information that led Barron to focus on that German financial institution. After investigating the company, he discovered that later, not only Goldman Sachs, but also many Wall Street companies that provided sovereign debt bond funds to countries including Greece and Ireland had similar insurance agreements with that institution.

After all, it’s easier to do business with familiar people. After tasting the “sweetness” from Goldman Sachs, that financial institution was more willing to accept this type of business.

This also allowed Barron to include this financial institution in his plan against the Rothschild family, making it one of the nooses.

…

“Thank you, Your Grace, for your hospitality. This is a rare place to relax…”

A middle-aged man who looked steady and elegant said to Barron with a smile.

“Mr. Gio, Neverland is always welcome to you. Next time I go to France, I hope we can meet again if possible.”

“That is our honor.”

The man talking to Barron was named Xavier Gio, a French entrepreneur.

Of course, he was invited to appear in Neverland not because of his identity as a businessman, but because of his partner—Christine Lagarde.

Christine Lagarde, who always appears in public with silver hair, became the Chairman of the Global Executive Committee of Baker McKenzie, one of the world’s largest law firms, in 1999.

This also made her the first female chairman in the 50-year history of this global law firm.

And now, Christine Lagarde’s position is the French Minister of Economy, Finance and Industry. She is the first female finance minister in France and also the first female finance minister in the G7 group.

Barron knew that this woman, known as the “Coco Chanel of the financial world,” would become the first female president of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the first female president of the European Central Bank in the future.

Therefore, it is very necessary to have a good relationship with her now.

Chapter 715: Tillingham Manor

In fact, just like Merkel, Lagarde was not Christine’s original surname. It came from her first—and only—husband.

Their marriage did not last long. After the divorce, she never remarried, choosing instead to devote herself entirely to her career.

She had been in a relationship with the entrepreneur Xavier Gio since 2004, but they had never taken the step into marriage, maintaining their partnership as a couple instead.

This was quite common in France.

At this moment, Baron found it difficult to reconcile the composed and serious Xavier Gio before him with the man who had just been tied to a wooden rack in the basement, masked, and pleading for his queen’s punishment.

But then again, it made sense. Given what Baron knew, Lagarde had a naturally dominant personality. For Xavier to get along harmoniously with her, having such “preferences” was hardly surprising.

Christine Lagarde had entered French politics during Chirac’s administration. She had a good relationship with the Weber family, which was one of the main reasons Baron could strengthen ties with her.

Furthermore, the head of France’s primary financial regulatory authority—the Autorité des Marchés Financiers (AMF)—was directly appointed by the Minister of Finance, Economy, and Industry, a position held by Christine Lagarde herself. In other words, the AMF’s leadership was directly under her influence.

Before entering politics, Lagarde had been the chair of an American law firm, giving her strong U.S. ties. Moreover, her political career had little connection to the Rothschild family.

Given her crucial position, she played an important role in their current plans regarding the Rothschilds.

“I’m delighted to admire the beauty of this estate, Countess,” Baron remarked, gazing out the window over the vast manor grounds.

Though the weather had turned cold and much of the greenery had faded, from Baron’s vantage point, the estate still exuded a wild and untamed beauty.

“I’m so glad you like it. I’ve visited Chatsworth House before—it left a lasting impression on me,” the Countess of Montagu replied gracefully.

Baron had temporarily left London and traveled to Buckinghamshire, where he was now touring Tillingham Manor, accompanied by the Countess of Montagu.

Originally, the invitation had been issued in the name of both the Earl and Countess of Montagu.

However, upon Baron’s arrival, the Countess expressed her sincere apologies, explaining that her husband had urgent matters to attend to and would be unable to accompany them. Thus, she alone would be showing Baron around the estate.

Seeing the Countess’s alluring gaze and the elegant figure that even her wool coat couldn’t conceal…

What else could Baron do? He could only graciously accept.

With her introduction, Baron gained an initial understanding of Tillingham Manor.

The estate had been designed by the renowned British architect Sir Edwin Lutyens and built by Sir John Soane, completed in 1979.

Covering an area of 37,000 square feet (approximately 3,437 square meters), it was considered one of Britain’s most beautiful estates—a true architectural gem.

Under the Countess’s guidance, Baron toured the manor’s residence. The interior was both luxurious and modern, featuring four grand reception halls. The basement housed a spa area, a gaming room, a cinema, and a gym.

The entire estate contained 25 bedrooms and 32 bathrooms, with hot water available in every room.

Even the stables included servant quarters, a swimming pool, and a spa center.

It was worth noting that this was not an ancestral Montagu property. The Earl of Montagu had purchased it in 2001 for £2.5 million. He then invested millions more in renovations and restorations, ensuring that every detail shone with brilliance when presented to the world.

Despite the chilly season, the manor’s grand residence remained warm. Not only did the fireplaces burn brightly, but the estate was also equipped with an advanced underfloor heating system, making the indoor temperature pleasantly comfortable.

Now, standing beside Baron, the Countess had removed her wool coat, revealing a finely tailored gown that accentuated her graceful figure.

As she spoke, she stood quite close to him, so much so that Baron could catch the faint, delicate fragrance that lingered on her skin.

“I remember you mentioning, Countess, that you keep many delightful animals on the estate, is that right?”

“Yes, Your Grace, they are my dearest companions. Would you like to see them now?”

The Countess smiled elegantly.

“Or perhaps,” she suggested, “we should first relax in the spa. It will help relieve your travel fatigue. I have professionals here—their massage skills are exceptional.”

“That sounds very enticing.”

During their tour, the Countess had already shown Baron the spa center located in the manor’s basement.

He had learned that the Countess adored spa treatments. She had hired highly skilled female therapists, ensuring she could enjoy their expert services at any time.

Clearly, the Earl of Montagu not only knew how to indulge in luxury but also deeply pampered his wife—the stunning Countess standing before Baron. Every design choice in this estate bore her elegant touch.

At the Countess’s invitation, Baron accompanied her to the spa center.

The décor was lavish, stunning in every detail.

A beautiful maid stood beside him, guiding Baron toward the bath.

Steam rose gently from the water’s surface, swirling in the air.

The Countess had mentioned that the bathwater came from a nearby underground hot spring, known for its health benefits when soaked in regularly.

With the maid’s assistance, Baron changed into a bathrobe.

If this had been in his previous life, he might have felt somewhat uncomfortable with the situation.

But after adapting to his current identity, with his personal assistant, Alia, tending to his daily needs so meticulously, he had long since grown accustomed to such luxuries.

Though Baron was in excellent physical condition, his recent busy schedule had left him slightly fatigued.

Now, immersed in the warm spring water, he felt his entire body relax. Unable to resist, he closed his eyes, savoring the tranquility.

When he had finished bathing, the maids carefully dried him off and dressed him in a robe before leading him to a cozy chamber.

This room was situated above the bathhouse, offering a breathtaking view through its floor-to-ceiling windows.

Outside, the cold wind blew, but inside, the warmth was like spring.

The contrast was utterly delightful.

“Your Grace, please lie down,” a young and lovely woman beside him murmured softly.

Chapter 716: Countess

Without knowing when, snowflakes began to flutter in the sky.

Inside the French windows, Baron lay on the bed, a girl giving him a massage with just the right amount of pressure, dispelling all his fatigue.

It had to be said that her technique was indeed excellent, and with the soft music playing in the room, Baron almost drifted off to sleep in comfort.

At some point, he heard a gentle voice beside him:

“Your Grace, you can turn over now…”

That voice…

Baron turned over and lay on his back, feeling that the voice seemed different from before.

And also a little familiar.

He opened his eyes and looked over, for a moment even thinking he was hallucinating.

“Madam, you…”

Beside him was no longer the girl from before, but Sophie, the Countess of Montague.

The Countess had changed into a silk…bathrobe, and from Baron’s angle, the white bathrobe was very sheer…

It could even be said that it revealed everything underneath.

“Your Grace…”

Sophie Montague’s exquisite and beautiful face approached Baron’s ear, bringing with it a fragrant breath:

“Actually, my technique is also very good…”

As she spoke, she picked up essential oil and used her slender hands to help Baron relieve his stress…

After his initial surprise at the scene before him, Baron didn’t have much emotional fluctuation. Instead, he simply closed his eyes and began to enjoy her massage.

After all, from the very beginning when he met the Earl and Countess of Montague, at their first meeting, the way the Countess looked at Baron, and some of her small actions…

For example, when they had physical contact, her reactions, although not deliberate, were relatively intimate; for example, she would always look for opportunities to be alone with Baron…

All of this, as well as subsequent encounters, and today’s private meeting…

Baron could feel the Countess’s affection for him. Such things were not uncommon for Baron by now.

But Baron wasn’t indiscriminate and eating anything he could find. If that were the case, he could probably have a different woman every night.

The Countess beside him, whether because of her status or her beauty, was someone Baron was willing to try…

Otherwise, she wouldn’t have had this opportunity today.

The curtains on the French windows in the room had been closed by the Countess, blocking the outside scenery.

The soft light created an ambiguous atmosphere in the space.

Baron took a deep breath…

Just as the Countess began to kiss him.

Fine, dense kisses landed on Baron’s body.

Downward…

Like seawater lapping against the reefs, until it submerged the stubbornly standing lighthouse…

…

It could be seen that the Countess of Montague had received a good aristocratic education.

Like her moans, they carried a mesmerizing rhythm.

Also, her horsemanship was indeed admirable.

Her lithe figure and tacit cooperation gave her, as a female knight, a strong sensory appeal.

She looked down at Baron, the Countess’s face flushed, seemingly also a little tired, crystal clear beads of sweat sliding down her face.

…

However, what Baron liked most was the scenery of this manor.

Yes, after the Countess was a little tired, Baron naturally wouldn’t be too lazy, but instead took on the responsibility without shirking.

He hoisted up the Countess’s slender legs, so she wouldn’t be too tired…

He even directly held the Countess in his arms, walking around the room with ease…

Of course, what impressed him most was opening the curtains of the French windows. He and the Countess stood together in front of the French windows, looking at the scenery outside.

The Countess held onto the window with both hands, her face close to the glass, carefully admiring the falling snowflakes, praising them excitedly.

And Baron, behind her, saw her captivating curves blending with the scenery outside, becoming an extremely beautiful painting.

In the impact of the strong wind, branches swayed, suffering greatly…

…

“Given the significant deterioration of the Greek government’s financial situation, the world’s three major rating agencies have successively downgraded Greece’s sovereign credit rating…”

It was now November, half a month since the Greek government admitted their financial straits. After that, many of their data were disclosed, and the market reacted accordingly.

“Our friends on Wall Street seem to be getting impatient…”

Daisy said contemptuously.

Just today, the world’s three major credit rating agencies, Fitch, Standard & Poor’s, and Moody’s, successively lowered Greece’s sovereign credit rating, downgrading Greece’s long-term sovereign credit rating from “A-” to “BBB+”. Baron wouldn’t believe that Wall Street wasn’t behind this.

What they were doing had a huge impact on Greece.

After all, it was obvious that Greece could only continue by repaying old debts with new debts. But with their sovereign credit rating lowered, the most immediate impact was that if the Greek government borrowed again, the interest rate wouldn’t be at the previous level, but would be significantly increased, which would increase Greece’s financial burden.

After this news was released, it not only triggered a sharp drop in the Greek stock market, but also because Greece itself was a country in the Eurozone, then if this matter wasn’t resolved well, it would definitely drag down the euro’s exchange rate against the dollar.

“Greece’s debt is now as high as 280 billion euros. It is foreseeable that it will be difficult for them to overcome this crisis on their own. Previously, European banking member states, including France and Germany, have expressed their intention to intervene in this matter cautiously, but I’m afraid they can’t stay out of it.”

Baron strongly agreed with Daisy’s words.

He knew that the downgrade of Greece’s sovereign credit rating also meant that the Greek debt crisis had officially begun.

They didn’t need to act in a hurry, they could first see how the Eurozone countries, especially the core countries France and Germany, were prepared to deal with it.

Even if later that day, Greek Finance Minister Papandreou publicly stated that the Greek government would do its best to cut the deficit, it didn’t satisfy the market. The continued decline of their stock market was the best illustration.

Although the sharp drop in the Greek stock market had already brought a lot of profit to the DS Group, in the end, it was just an appetizer. The real feast was far from beginning.

“The Greek government is preparing to issue 5-year floating-rate bonds through private placement to raise 2 billion euros…”

“Oh?”

“However, although this bond seems to be able to successfully raise funds, the yield they need to pay is already 2.5% higher than the 6-month Euribor…”

Chapter 717: Dubai Debt Crisis

“Your Grace, we have already begun negotiations with Dubai World Group regarding the acquisition of their P&O Ports. It seems that their attitude is very positive…”

On the phone, the CEO of Global Industry Investment Fund (GII), Finn Hudson, said to Baron:

“After all, due to the sovereign debt issue, they now need funds and are preparing to restructure this, their largest corporate entity.”

Many people know that after the subprime mortgage crisis, a sovereign debt crisis erupted in Europe, mainly involving the “PIIGS” countries, but few people probably know that slightly earlier, the United Arab Emirates also experienced the Dubai sovereign debt crisis.

The full name of the UAE is the “United Arab Emirates,” which consists of seven emirates. Dubai, the most well-known among them, is actually one of these emirates – the Emirate of Dubai.

Just last month, the Emirate of Dubai in the UAE announced that, due to the burden of huge debts, it would restructure its largest corporate entity, Dubai World, and postpone its debt repayment for six months.

Affected by this news, European stock markets plummeted, with bank stocks generally falling by about 4%.

The reason for this is that a significant proportion of Dubai World’s creditors are European banking institutions. In the UK alone, creditors include HSBC Holdings, Barclays, Lloyds, and the Royal Bank of Scotland, among others.

Two days after the announcement, these banks’ stocks generally fell by 4% in intraday trading in European stock markets.

Currently, the Dubai government has stated that it has appointed Deloitte to lead the debt restructuring, but market participants are concerned that because Dubai has relied too heavily on foreign capital in the past, with a high degree of participation from international financial institutions, these institutions may face huge losses and bad debts in the future, suffering another blow just as they were recovering.

According to the data Baron obtained, the Emirate of Dubai currently has more than 80 billion US dollars in debt. As their largest entity, Dubai World has nearly 60 billion US dollars in liabilities, more than half of which are held by European banks.

Dubai World Group, whose business spans real estate and port shipping, is the largest corporate entity in the Emirate of Dubai. From Dubai’s famous Burj Al Arab hotel to the Burj Khalifa, which will be completed next year, and the Palm Islands, Dubai’s famous real estate projects are all invested in by Dubai World Group.

And five years ago, Dubai World Group also acquired the well-known British port shipping company P&O Ports, making it one of the largest related groups in the world.

However, Dubai World Group currently has as much as 60 billion US dollars in debt, and its third batch of 5.7 billion US dollars in debt, which is about to mature, cannot be repaid on time and needs to be postponed for six months until May 2010. This has led to its sovereign credit rating being impacted and downgraded by multiple rating agencies, making it even more difficult to continue financing.

Speaking of Dubai, many people’s impression is that it is a very wealthy place with many “spectacular projects,” such as the Burj Khalifa, the Palm Islands, and the Burj Al Arab hotel…

So why would such a wealthy place experience a sovereign debt crisis?

Dubai’s rapid development has always been called the “Dubai model,” which refers to an economic development model dominated by high-end real estate and finance, relying on large-scale borrowing and financing to engage in large-scale construction, attempting to drive financial leverage to “compound interest,” thereby driving economic development.

In fact, although the UAE is a member of OPEC, among the seven emirates of the UAE, the Emirate of Dubai has the fewest oil resources…

Therefore, starting from the last century, when faced with the depletion of oil resources, they began to transform, hoping to obtain stable income by developing finance, real estate, and tourism.

To this end, they began to borrow heavily. In fact, Dubai’s “spectacular projects” are mainly financed. The major financiers are the other emirates of the UAE and Saudi Arabia and other truly “oil-rich countries.” In addition, European and American banks have also provided them with a large amount of funds.

But first of all, in terms of finance, in recent years they have invested heavily in the international financial industry, with many large-scale acquisitions, such as investments in American companies, and large investments in European banks, including Deutsche Bank. This also includes the British P&O Ports company they acquired earlier…

However, in the subprime mortgage crisis that began to break out on a large scale last year, due to the global economic recession, these investments they made have suffered significant losses…

But the most critical thing is that, according to the data Baron obtained, 90% of Dubai’s sovereign wealth fund relies on borrowing to finance acquisition projects rather than using its own money. Dubai World has successively borrowed from multiple banks in the Middle East and Europe…

Dubai World’s investment company, Istithmar, has carried out 27 billion US dollars in acquisitions since 2003, of which their own capital contribution is only 2.5 billion US dollars!

The Emirate of Dubai currently has as much as 88 billion US dollars in debt, exceeding its GDP last year, accounting for 48% of the entire UAE’s debt. Dubai World’s liabilities alone reach 59 billion US dollars. Such a high debt ratio means that when the economy is prosperous, the hidden crisis is often concealed by rising housing prices, the popularity of investment projects and models, and high market expectations. However, once the situation changes, investors’ expectations are reversed, market confidence is lost, and capital flees on a large scale, a debt crisis will occur.

Speaking of housing prices, it is also one of the main reasons for the Dubai sovereign debt crisis this time. Just like their financial investments, in order to develop real estate and tourism, Dubai first needs to have considerable visibility globally, so they continue to build “spectacular buildings” to gain popularity.

But this requires continuous large-scale investment, and most of the funds are obtained through financing…

It can be said that in recent years, construction sites in Dubai have been busy all over the city, and many projects are labeled with names such as “world’s tallest” and “world’s unique.” Projects with investments of hundreds of millions of US dollars are everywhere, and many projects invest billions or even tens of billions of US dollars.

For example, the ultra-luxury Atlantis hotel on the Palm Jumeirah artificial island cost as much as 1.5 billion US dollars, and the cost of its opening ceremony alone was as high as 20 million US dollars…

The “Burj Khalifa,” scheduled to be fully completed in January 2010, is expected to cost 8 billion US dollars, the Palm Islands project will cost 14 billion US dollars, the “Dubai Land” 64 billion US dollars, and the more ambitious Jumeirah New City project will “burn money” 95 billion US dollars.

According to statistics, Dubai has used as much as 100 billion US dollars for engineering construction in recent years, while according to the World Bank’s estimates, the entire reconstruction funds for Iraq are only 53 billion US dollars.

One-fifth of the world’s cranes are operating here, and a total of 250,000 construction workers are working here.

For the development of these projects, the Dubai government and its affiliated development companies have borrowed heavily in the global bond market to raise investment funds, or they have operated affiliated companies through Dubai Holding to list on the Dubai International Financial Exchange and issue corporate bonds. International funds have also flowed crazily to this region in pursuit of profits, and the Dubai authorities’ real estate market system and supervision are not sound, which has led to the real estate market once being out of control.

According to reports, to purchase a property in Dubai, you only need to pay a deposit, and to purchase an uncompleted property, you only need to pay a 5%-10% down payment. This has become a common sales method during the peak of the Dubai real estate bubble.

Many people who invest in real estate in Dubai have never seen the actual property. They only need to look at the drawings and pay a deposit of 5,000-10,000 dirhams, and then resell it to the next buyer within half a month. Once they know that a real estate company has a project opening, many people will try every means to grab a number, and even queue up overnight to get a number. People who get a number can make money by selling the number, and they can earn 100,000 dirhams (equivalent to 186,000 Chinese yuan) for a number.

Driven by this crazy investment enthusiasm, Dubai’s housing prices have risen, nearly quadrupling in less than ten years.

The real estate bubble has grown bigger and bigger, and finally it has come to the time of bursting, so the crisis has occurred.

Chapter 718: The P&O Group

The Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company that Barron had his eye on boasted a long and storied history.

The P&O Group was founded in 1822.

They also had extensive operations in Asia. On December 31, 1840, the Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company was established in London with a capital of one million pounds. With the advance of colonial conquest, P&O’s business spread to Egypt, India, and even Singapore and Hong Kong.

The full name of the P&O Group is Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company.

From the very beginning, P&O virtually monopolized Hong Kong’s early foreign shipping business. In the late 19th century, P&O established its regional headquarters for Far East operations in Hong Kong, setting up a branch office in Sai Wan, which included private docks in addition to office buildings.

The Chinese name “Tie Hang” (literally “Iron Firm”) came about because when its Hong Kong company was established, the company’s comprador could not come up with a Chinese name that accurately conveyed the meaning of “Peninsular and Oriental.” Seeing the iron railings on the terrace, he casually picked up the characters “Tie Hang,” and the name has been used ever since.

In 1971, the P&O Group was reorganized into five major business divisions: shipping, trucking, passenger transport, European and air freight forwarding, and general holding operations.

Then, in 2002, the P&O Group merged with Carnival Corporation in a deal worth as much as 5.4 billion US dollars.

After the transaction was completed, Carnival held a 74% stake in the newly formed company, while P&O held a 26% stake.

The combination of the two companies immediately created a “juggernaut” in the global cruise market. After the acquisition, Carnival encompassed almost all well-known cruise brands, increasing the number of cruise ships it owned to 73, accounting for nearly 40% of the 11 billion US dollar global cruise market.

Before being acquired by Dubai World, P&O operated 29 container terminals in more than 100 ports in 18 countries around the world, making it a leading global terminal operator.

This included many port projects in China in which they participated, such as the joint venture project for the Qingdao Port Qianwan Container Terminal, jointly invested in by P&O Group, Maersk Group, COSCO Group, and Qingdao Port Group on July 21, 2003.

In the reorganized Qingdao Port Qianwan Container Terminal Co., Ltd., the total investment was 887 million US dollars, of which P&O Group accounted for 29%, Maersk Group 20%, COSCO Group 20%, and Qingdao Port Group 31%.

In the UK, P&O Ferries operated a total of 32 passenger ships, traveling daily between the UK and various European coastal countries.

P&O Cold Logistics is the world’s largest temperature-controlled logistics provider.

P&O Nedlloyd, a 50:50 joint venture between P&O and Nedlloyd, is the world’s second-largest container shipping company, with more than 70 fixed routes connecting 230 ports in 120 countries, with 147 owned or leased vessels.

Five years ago, in 2004, Dubai World defeated its competitor, the Port of Singapore Authority, and acquired the P&O Group for 6.8 billion US dollars, which immediately catapulted Dubai World from seventh to third place among global terminal operators.

Ahead of Dubai World were Hutchison Whampoa of Hong Kong and the Port of Singapore Authority.

With the addition of the 29 container terminals distributed around the world by P&O, Dubai World’s global container terminals also increased to 51, and its container throughput also increased to 33.3 million TEUs.

However, Dubai World, facing debt default, now had to sell its assets to obtain funds to avoid further deterioration of the situation.

Therefore, when Finn Hudson, CEO of Global Industry Investments (GII), went to Dubai to propose the acquisition of the P&O Group, they showed a positive attitude towards it.

“Our current proposed acquisition price is 6 billion US dollars, but Dubai World has indicated that it is difficult to accept such a price. They hope to sell the P&O Group for at least 6.8 billion US dollars, the price they originally acquired it for.”

Finn Hudson said:

“However, I think that if we insist, then they are very likely to compromise in the end. After all, so far, the projects invested in by Dubai World have all experienced very large declines in market value. In comparison, the P&O Group can be considered to have maintained its value…”

“In addition to price factors, we also need to consider whether the P&O Group will be affected by the delay. After all, although Dubai is eager to resolve the current crisis, if it drags on for too long, it will not be a good thing for us either.”

Although Dubai World initially acquired the P&O Group for 6.8 billion US dollars, due to the impact of the subprime mortgage crisis, not only did the market value of many companies plummet, but also the global port and shipping business entered a downward cycle due to the economic recession. Therefore, a moderate price reduction can be considered normal.

However, Barron also knew that if Dubai World was prepared to sell the P&O Group, then GII was not without competitors, such as the Port of Singapore Authority, which had previously competed with them when Dubai World acquired the P&O Group.

As the world’s second-largest port group, if it could merge with the P&O Group, then the Port of Singapore Authority would be able to surpass Hutchison Whampoa of Hong Kong in one fell swoop and take the top spot, which was also quite tempting for them.

What’s more, Barron still had a lot of things to deal with after acquiring the P&O Group.

For example, before Dubai World acquired the P&O Group, P&O had six container ports in the United States, located in New York, New Jersey, Baltimore, New Orleans, Miami, and Philadelphia.

However, the United States had not approved the review of this transaction during the process.

The reason was that at the time, a considerable number of members of Congress in the United States believed that the United Arab Emirates, a country associated with the ‘9/11’ hijackers, operating American ports would threaten its national security.

Since the “9/11” incident, the United States has regarded airport and port security as the “top priority” of homeland security. In January 2002, it proposed the Container Security Initiative (CSI) and regarded it as an important component of the United States’ global anti-terrorism strategy, aimed at preventing terrorist organizations or terrorists from using the weak links in container freight to attack the United States.

They believed that if Middle Eastern companies controlled these six major ports in the United States, the so-called container security issues would cause greater concern for the American security departments.

Although the then-President Bush worked hard to promote the completion of this transaction, after a long review, it was ultimately completed with Dubai World making a compromise and entrusting the operation of the six container ports in the United States to relevant American agencies.

If GII could complete this acquisition, then with GII’s same British background, it would naturally be able to regain the operating rights of these six container ports in the United States.

Therefore, after comprehensive consideration, Barron still instructed Finn Hudson to make appropriate compromises on the price in order to speed up the time for them to reach this transaction.

It can be said that many of Barron’s current businesses rely on shipping, such as the petrochemical products and natural gas of the United Petroleum Group, the products of the Argos retail group, and the British Automotive Group, etc. Therefore, acquiring the P&O Group is still very important for his future layout.

And not just the P&O Group, it should be known that Greece itself is also a major shipping country, so taking advantage of the Greek sovereign debt crisis, he can not only take advantage in the financial field, but also take the opportunity to acquire some Greek shipping companies.

Chapter 719: The Tide Recedes

In reality, Standard Chartered Bank was also a creditor of the Emirate of Dubai. However, in terms of the scale of its debt, its proportion was very low, far less than other British banks such as HSBC and Royal Bank of Scotland.

Because Standard Chartered Bank itself had a lot of business in the Middle East, the funds it provided to the Emirate of Dubai were all before Barron acquired the bank.

Since Barron became a major shareholder of Standard Chartered Bank, the bank has no longer participated in the financing of the Emirate of Dubai. After all, as a financial practitioner in his previous life, Barron naturally knew about the sovereign debt crisis that occurred in the Emirate of Dubai after the subprime mortgage crisis broke out, so he naturally couldn’t allow Standard Chartered Bank to continue to participate.

Moreover, the debt of the Emirate of Dubai held by Standard Chartered Bank had been partially repaid before, and the remaining outstanding debt can be said to be very little.

This is also the main reason why the stock price of Standard Chartered-Merrill Lynch Group did not fall too much after the Emirate of Dubai experienced a sovereign debt crisis.

Both the sovereign debt crisis of the Emirate of Dubai and Greece illustrate that the impact of the subprime mortgage crisis on the global economy still exists. Therefore, it is too early to say that the economic recovery after the crisis has arrived.

Of course, the reason why these countries suffered such consequences due to the subprime mortgage crisis is also because their economies had inherent hidden dangers in the process of development.

It’s just like the saying goes, you only know who’s swimming naked when the tide goes out.

If there had not been this economic crisis, the crises in these countries would certainly not have erupted now, but their hidden dangers were not non-existent. They were just covered up by the economic prosperity.

Perhaps these hidden dangers would slowly be eliminated with development, or these hidden dangers would become more and more deeply rooted.

If a very important factor in the sovereign debt crisis of the Emirate of Dubai was that their foreign investments suffered significant losses due to the subprime mortgage crisis, then the sovereign debt crisis of Greece was entirely because their borrowing was not used in places that truly needed it. It was bound to erupt sooner or later, and the later it erupted, the more serious the consequences would be.

However, after this call with Finn Hudson, the CEO of GII Fund, Barron temporarily put this matter aside and waited for the results of their negotiations with Dubai…

Because Tamaran Ecclestone was pregnant.

Although Tamaran was not mentally prepared for her pregnancy, it seemed that her emotions were relatively stable.

And she also told Barron directly that she would give birth to this child.

If Barron had not divorced, Tamaran, as the “F1 Group Princess” with a very good background, would have had some concerns about pregnancy. But now that Barron was single, her pregnancy could not be regarded as “illegitimate.”

After all, the two were in a relationship. Even if they were not married, as long as the other party was not a married man, having children in this kind of relationship was still very normal in Europe and America.

The only thing that Tamaran was slightly regretful about was that although she was just pregnant and it would not affect her work too much, she estimated that she would soon have to temporarily put down the program “The Grand Tour,” which she co-hosted with the three musketeers, and which had achieved good results—at least she would have to end her on-screen role in the program and move behind the scenes.

However, this program can be said to be on the right track now, and even if Tamaran leaves temporarily, the impact will not be too great.

After all, compared to giving birth to a child for Barron, these work matters are relatively less important.

“The climate in London is not very good. It’s cold now. Would you like to go to a warmer place to have your baby, darling?”

Barron had taken a lot of time these days to accompany Tamaran. He said softly to the girl.

Hearing her lover’s words, the girl hesitated for a moment and said:

“Actually, it’s okay. It’s mainly because my friends are all in London. If I go to other places, it’s okay for me now, but I’m afraid I’ll have to be careful when I travel in a few months…”

Tamaran seemed a little worried:

“You can’t always be with me. I’m afraid I’ll be bored at that time, and I won’t have any friends by my side. Let’s just stay here in London. At worst, I’ll try to go out less in the winter.”

Since she thought so, Barron did not continue to dwell on this topic, but instead asked:

“Have you told your father about this?”

“Yes, dear. I gave him the news yesterday after the results came out…”

Tamaran said with a smile:

“He was very excited on the phone and will be back tomorrow…”

Now Barron was able to calmly deal with the matter of his woman being pregnant. After all, he had had many experiences before, completely unlike the situation when he had no children in his previous life.

…

“We have further improved the rules of several trust funds under your name to ensure that the companies controlled by these trust funds will not be easily divided at any time…”

When he returned to Julia Moore, she handed Barron several thick documents and said to him.

Just in case, Barron had already placed most of the industries he currently controlled under several trust funds a long time ago.

This includes the Devonhill family trust fund and the Cavendish Trust Fund.

Including West Africa Holdings behind Kolo’s West African Group, without exception. Although this company has nothing to do with Barron on the surface, it is still controlled by an overseas offshore trust.

Perhaps the only exception is China’s Tianhe Capital. After all, as a “Chinese local enterprise,” this investment company is involved in industries that China currently does not allow foreign capital to control. Therefore, Tianhe Capital is nominally owned by Fan Bingbing and cannot be controlled through overseas offshore trusts.

Even IC Capital and Blue Valley Capital in the United States, although the controllers are Ivanka and Rebecca respectively, the main investors of these two capitals are still Barron’s offshore trusts.

Therefore, even if Barron were to die unexpectedly, all the industries he now owns would not fall into the hands of one person, but would be managed by these offshore trust funds.

According to the articles of association of these trust funds, Barron’s direct descendants and some women related to him, including Bonnie, Julia Moore, Tamaran, Ivanka, etc., will all enter the management committee of these trust companies, each with voting rights. Ultimately, major decisions of these companies need to be made through a vote of the management committee.

This avoids someone among these people making decisions that are detrimental to Barron because of selfishness—because just one or two people cannot decide on major matters of these trust funds.

Then what if most of the women unite?

If this really happens, then it can only show that he has failed as a person. If that result is caused, he himself is to blame, and what qualifications does he have to blame others?

Chapter 720: Selling Skype

As December began, and sovereign debt crises erupted in the Emirates of Dubai and Greece, escalating rapidly, the most eye-catching news was Microsoft’s announcement that it would acquire Skype for $9 billion.

When Skype went public in early 2007, its market capitalization exceeded $6 billion. At that time, DS Holdings held 61.25% of Skype’s shares, possessing 70.13% of its voting rights, while O2 Telecom held 8.5% of the shares.

Later, Skype was also affected by the subprime mortgage crisis, and its stock price fell sharply. DS Holdings took the opportunity to increase its holdings, bringing its shareholding ratio to 65%.

In Barron’s previous life, Microsoft acquired Skype in 2011 for $8.5 billion. However, because Skype’s development was better at this time than in the original timeline, Microsoft had to shell out an extra $500 million, ultimately completing the acquisition of Skype for $9 billion.

The reason for this was that, in the original timeline, Skype was initially acquired by eBay.

At the time, eBay’s main reason for acquiring Skype was to use this internet phone application to help its website users communicate while shopping online.

But the problem was that, as everyone knows, e-commerce companies can’t create popular social software. For example, China’s Alibaba, even with heavy investment, still hasn’t created successful social software.

The reason is that the communication between users of e-commerce websites is mostly a “stranger social” model. There is very little contact between them, and they will not build their social networks because of it.

Social software like Skype, on the other hand, is mainly “familiar social.” You don’t always like to call strangers, and those who can communicate by phone are mostly acquaintances.

Therefore, after eBay acquired Skype in the original timeline, it did not promote its development, but rather limited the stability of the social network between Skype users to a certain extent.

Now it’s different. After being invested in by DS Group, they provided Skype with the funds it needed for development, and O2 Telecom also helped them expand their user base.

Now, Skype’s global user base has exceeded 300 million. Microsoft itself has shortcomings in communication technology, and they hope to make up for them by acquiring Skype. They are very optimistic about the development of the video and voice chat market, and their Windows system on mobile devices is under great threat from Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android systems. They hope to use Skype to attract users to use their mobile operating system, so they finally decided to invest heavily, completing the acquisition of Skype at a premium of more than 40%.

In fact, in addition to Microsoft, Google was also very interested in Skype. After all, Google also has shortcomings in social networking, and they also hope to integrate Skype into the GOS mobile system…

But in the competition between the two, Google ultimately lost out to Microsoft in terms of price.

From the very beginning of investing in Skype, Barron’s plan was to sell it to Microsoft at a high price in the future, and he didn’t have the idea of keeping it for his own development.

Because he knew that the results of his previous life showed that Skype was not suitable for integration into mobile phones. After Microsoft acquired Skype, they also tried their best to do so, but Skype, which was eager for p2p technology, had a very big drawback when used on mobile devices, that is, the traffic consumption was extremely high.

In the end, Skype didn’t make much of a splash under Microsoft, and lagged far behind in the mobile internet era…

Having said that, they have already launched the WoawChat APP. In the future mobile internet era, WoawChat will be more convenient than Skype, whether it is voice chat or video chat.

Therefore, after comprehensive consideration, it is more appropriate to let Microsoft take over Skype now while the price is high.

Just after Microsoft took the initiative to negotiate the acquisition of Skype, raising the price to $9 billion, seeing that this might be the limit of Microsoft’s bid, DS Holdings and O2 Telecom readily agreed to the acquisition.

In this way, after selling Skype, DS Holdings (Cavendish Trust Fund) will receive $5.85 billion in cash and Microsoft stock; O2 Telecom will receive $765 million in cash and stock. It can be said that everyone is happy.

Perhaps the only ones who are a little depressed are the founding team of Skype, because some of them reduced their holdings of Skype stock during the previous subprime mortgage crisis, and now they don’t have many shares in their hands.

But the good thing is that they can continue to stay in Skype, and if Skype can develop in the future, they can still get certain equity incentives…

Of course, this is just some psychological comfort at best. Barron knows that this possibility is unlikely.

It can be said that from the very beginning of investing in Skype, to controlling the company, then going public with an IPO, and finally selling it to Microsoft, DS Holdings completed the entire process of investment-exit. This was an extremely successful investment, which ultimately brought them generous returns.

After completing this sale, DS Holdings used cash to acquire the Microsoft stock that O2 Telecom obtained from the sale of Skype shares - for O2 Telecom, holding Microsoft stock was meaningless, and it was better to get cash for the company’s operations.

It is worth mentioning that because of this high-priced sale of its shares in Skype, O2 Telecom’s stock price has risen slightly, and the increase in their market value is even higher than this $765 million.

And Barron knows that Microsoft’s stock price will rise exponentially in the next considerable period of time, so they are not prepared to cash out these Microsoft shares immediately, just keep them for now.

As for the cash they received, after acquiring O2 Telecom’s Microsoft stock, the remaining part was all invested in the Caesar Fund.

In fact, compared to Skype, Barron is more concerned about map software.

After all, in the future mobile internet era, map software can be said to be a basic application. Not only for travel, but many applications need map software to provide services.

Among the current map applications, the most complete and well-known is Google Maps.

And Apple has also been trying its best to improve their Apple Maps.

In the current smart phone operating systems, Apple’s iOS has Apple Maps, and Google’s GOS has Google Maps, so if Android doesn’t want to entrust future business in this area to competitors, then map applications are a must.

Therefore, they also acquired a number of online map companies, including Poly9, to improve their Android Maps.

Well, the map APP built into the Android system is called Android Maps, but with the same kernel, there is another name, called Woaw Maps.

This company is a map company jointly invested by Android, Woaw, and Digital Future Investment Company, and will provide map services for both Android and Woaw.

Although objectively speaking, the current Android Maps are not as good as Google Maps, and even slightly inferior to Apple Maps, but no matter what, map services are too important in future mobile internet applications. Therefore, Android Maps invests a lot of money in various map optimizations on the one hand, and on the other hand, it will also continue to acquire other online map service providers to supplement their map services.

Chapter 721: Loss Exposed

In addition to the map software, in late November, Digital Future partnered with Cambridge University to establish their first global artificial intelligence laboratory in London’s Tech City, marking their entry into the field of artificial intelligence research and development.

According to Barron’s plan, besides the London AI lab, starting next year, they will also establish two AI-related laboratories in Silicon Valley, USA, and Yanjing, China, respectively.

Artificial intelligence will be widely applied in many future fields, including digital entertainment, manufacturing, logistics, and autonomous driving. Therefore, the field of artificial intelligence is very important for laying out the future.

To this end, they directly invested 10 million pounds this time, conducting research related to deep reinforcement learning, neural networks, and other AI-related topics with relevant colleges at Cambridge University.

They will continue to increase funding based on the results of these studies.

“Société Générale’s massive loss incident reappears! NM Rothschild Bank may lose over 3 billion euros due to trader misconduct!”

Just before Christmas, many European newspapers, including those in Britain, carried such reports, and even American media across the ocean had related coverage.

For a time, public attention was diverted from the escalating Greek sovereign debt crisis to France’s NM Rothschild Bank.

After all, Société Générale, the last bank to suffer huge losses due to trader misconduct, was also a French bank…

Many reports discussed why such incidents occurred so frequently in France, and whether it was related to their financial regulation being too lax.

After this news was widely reported, the stock price of LCR Rothschild Group plummeted by more than 10%!

Immediately afterward, NM Rothschild Bank, the core company of LCR Rothschild Group, immediately issued an announcement stating that they had indeed suffered some losses due to the misconduct of a certain trader, but the scale of the losses was not as large as rumored. According to their calculations, the losses caused by this incident were within 1 billion euros.

The police have now intervened and taken control of the relevant personnel, and more detailed explanations will be disclosed after the case is processed.

As Barron expected, the Rothschild family ultimately chose to pass on most of the losses from this incident…

“A loss of 1 billion euros, while making LCR Rothschild Group’s financial statements for this year very ugly, will not cause them too fatal an impact…”

Daisy was right. After all, last time during the subprime mortgage crisis, William-Webb Capital caused NM Rothschild Bank to lose 2.5 billion euros through betting agreements. Although their actual losses this time are higher than that, by various means, these losses are transferred to their fund management department – that is, their investors bear most of the losses. Then NM Rothschild Bank’s private sector only announces a loss of 1 billion euros. This will affect the stock price of LCR Rothschild Group, but it is not fatal.

“So, from the beginning, we prepared more ‘surprises,’ didn’t we?”

Daisy knew that what Barron was talking about also included the “insurance agreements” between some Wall Street banks, including Goldman Sachs, and the previous German financial institution. Now these agreements have to be borne by LCR Rothschild Group.

As mentioned before, when Greece wanted to join the Eurozone, they hired Goldman Sachs to help them with “financial optimization.” The specific approach was:

Greece issued a 10 billion US dollar ten-year bond, listed in batches – this bond was handled by Goldman Sachs’ bank, which was responsible for converting the US dollars supplied by Greece into euros. When the bond matured, Goldman Sachs would still convert it back into US dollars.

The secret lies in the fact that if the exchange rate is calculated according to the publicly available actual exchange rate at the time of conversion, there would be no room for manipulation.

In fact, Goldman Sachs’ “concept” was to artificially set an exchange rate, allowing Goldman Sachs to lend a large amount of cash to Greece without it being reflected in Greece’s public debt ratio.

Simply put, if 1 euro is equal to 1.35 US dollars according to the market exchange rate, Greece would receive 7.4 billion euros by issuing 10 billion US dollars. However, Goldman Sachs used a more favorable exchange rate, allowing Greece to obtain 8.4 billion euros.

In other words, Goldman Sachs actually provided Greece with a loan of 1 billion euros, but this money would not be reflected in the calculation data of Greece’s public debt ratio at the time, because it would only be repaid ten years later. In this way, Greece had this cash income, making the national budget deficit only 1.5% of GDP on paper, thus meeting the entry threshold for the Eurozone, allowing Greece to successfully join the Eurozone.

In addition to using this method, Goldman Sachs also designed various ways for Greece to make money without increasing the debt ratio – such as pawning future income from the national lottery and aviation taxes in exchange for cash.

This method of pawning for cash is not considered debt in the calculation, but becomes a sale, that is, securitization of bank debt.

Ultimately, Goldman Sachs also received a commission of 300 million euros from the Greek government for this service.

However, when carrying out these operations, Goldman Sachs knew that Greece’s economy would inevitably have long-term concerns if it entered the Eurozone through this method. In the end, the 1 billion euro loan they lent to Greece would inevitably have a relatively high repayment risk.

To prevent their investment from going down the drain, Goldman Sachs purchased a 10-year, 1 billion euro CDS “credit default swap” from a German financial institution, so that the insurer would make up for the losses if there were problems with the repayment of the loan.

CDS (credit default swap) can be said to be an important cause of the subprime mortgage crisis. In particular, American International Group initially went bankrupt because it issued too many CDS related to subprime mortgage bonds.

If there was only Goldman Sachs’ CDS, then LCR Rothschild Group would not immediately fall into a predicament. After all, the term of Goldman Sachs’ 1 billion euro loan to Greece is 10 years, that is, until 2011, and the CDS they purchased is also a 10-year term, with an expiration date of 2011, which means there is still more than a year from now…

But in addition to Goldman Sachs’ CDS, after that, they also acted as a bridge, introducing other Wall Street banks to clients with European sovereign debt, including Greece. And these banks were also very cautious in purchasing CDS, a considerable part of which were purchased from the German financial institution with the idea that it’s better to do business with familiar partners. Now, the insurer of these CDS has become LCR Rothschild Group…

And a considerable number of these CDS will expire next year…

Chapter 722: Peninsular and Oriental

In reality, even Goldman Sachs’ 1 billion euro loan was not impossible to extend. After all, they would still receive interest during the extension period.

Just like in Barron’s previous life, this loan was extended to 2019, and then further extended to 2037…

After all, for a country, a credit default is a very serious matter. Once the loan matures and cannot be repaid, and an extension cannot be negotiated, it results in a national credit default. This affects their entire national debt system. Not only will previous national debts face demands for repayment, but no one will be willing to buy new bonds…

Although Greece would face the situation of debts maturing and having no money to repay them starting next year, it was believed that under normal circumstances, they could still ensure that a default would not occur through methods such as repaying old debts with new debts and negotiating extensions.

The only difference would be that the interest on the new debt would be higher…

But this was under normal circumstances. If Barron cooperated with Wall Street capital, including Goldman Sachs, to launch an offensive against LCR Rothschild Group, the underwriter of CDS, then the Rothschild family would inevitably face huge compensation.

Combined with their previous losses, it would be a fatal blow to the Rothschild family.

It should be known that, according to the data Barron and his team had, the total amount of CDS underwritten by LCR Rothschild Group alone exceeded 10 billion euros, with more than half of these CDS expiring within two years.

These CDS would certainly bring them continuous premium income, but once a black swan event occurred and the Greek government was unable to repay its debts, then these debts would need to be repaid by LCR Rothschild Group.

…

Before Christmas arrived, Global Industrial Investments (GII) finally completed negotiations with Dubai World Group. They finally settled on a price of 6.3 billion US dollars to purchase the Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company (P&O), which they had previously acquired.

This transaction price was 500 million US dollars less than when Dubai World Group acquired P&O, resulting in a loss for them. However, in the current economic situation, coupled with Dubai’s urgent need for funds to overcome its sovereign debt crisis, it was an acceptable outcome for them.

This transaction would be completed before February of the following year. The only thing needed now was to pass the review of the European Union and the United States.

According to Barron’s plan, after the acquisition was completed, P&O would be renamed Peninsular and Oriental Group (in fact, its English name did not change much, it was still P&O, but the Chinese name would be changed from 铁行集团 to 半岛东方集团).

In addition, they also poached Ed Christian, the senior vice president of Maersk, the world’s largest shipping company, to serve as the chief executive officer (CEO) of Peninsular and Oriental Group.

The new CEO of Peninsular and Oriental Group said in an interview:

“Next, we will complete the integration of the entire group’s business, and we will negotiate with the United States to accept the management of the six port terminals that had to be placed in trust before…”

Regarding the group’s future development plan, he said confidently:

“GII Fund strongly supports the future development of our Peninsular and Oriental. After the capital injection, we will strengthen the previously reduced shipping business through mergers and acquisitions and new ship construction, striving to make Peninsular and Oriental one of the top shipping companies in the world.”

Just as Ed Christian said, the main acquisition target of Peninsular and Oriental Group was currently locked on Costamare Inc., a Greek shipping company.

If you look at the ranking of shipping companies, you will mainly see large shipping companies such as Maersk, Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC), CMA CGM, and China COSCO Shipping, and there seems to be no Greek company… This seems inconsistent with the image of Greece as a major shipping country.

In fact, after years of development in the shipping industry, the division of labor has been refined into shipowners, shipping companies, ship management companies…

The difference between these can be simply understood as a fleet, and the owners and small fleets with their own vehicles attached to it.

The fact is that most Greeks are shipowners, but the shipping companies they operate themselves are not very large.

In addition, Greece as a whole owns many ships, but there are also many families who are shipowners, so the number of ships per family is not so scary.

Shipping giants such as Maersk, MSC, and CMA CGM have their own ships and also rent ships. European shipping companies in particular rent a lot of Greek ships.

Just like Peninsular and Oriental Group’s acquisition target this time, Costamare Inc., is a leading international container ship owner.

Through its subsidiaries, Costamare Inc. owns a fleet of 82 container ships with a total capacity of approximately 643,000 TEU (TEU is a shipping term that refers to a standard container).

At the same time, Costamare Inc. also provides services to liner companies that require high standards of safety and reliability, and in most cases, it is one of the largest liner companies in the world - Costamare Inc. and its predecessors have drawn on more than 48 years of maritime cargo transportation history, including more than 30 years of container transportation.

Generally speaking, Costamare Inc.’s strategy is to regularly charter its container ship fleet to a geographically diversified, financially strong, and loyal group of leading liner companies.

In fact, most of the large international liner companies are Costamare’s customers. Their recent customers include Maersk, MSC, Evergreen, Yang Ming, China COSCO Shipping, Hapag-Lloyd, and ZIM.

Therefore, after acquiring Costamare Inc., Peninsular and Oriental Group’s maritime capacity can be greatly improved.

At the same time, they will not only be able to increase the number of ships they own, but also gain the ship and shipping management experience that Costamare Inc. has accumulated over the years, thereby improving their service level.

To put it bluntly, the world’s top-ranked large shipping companies mainly rely on financial capabilities to operate. Although Greece now has shipowners and crew, it really doesn’t have much money, so it can’t become a globally ranked shipping group. They mainly survive by renting ships to those shipping groups.

After the GII Fund’s acquisition, with Standard Chartered-Merrill Lynch Group as its backing, there will inevitably be no shortage of funds. In addition, taking advantage of the Greek sovereign debt crisis and the relative low point of global shipping, expansion is the most appropriate time.

Speaking of which, the previous P&O had been cutting their shipping business, which is not necessarily a bad thing for the current Peninsular and Oriental Group.

After all, compared to that, the commissions required by British crew members are very high, and there are also holiday requirements. Now, when Peninsular and Oriental Group is expanding its shipping business, by hiring cheap crew members from third countries, the expenditure in this area is only a quarter to a third as low as that of all British employees before…

It can be said that their salary expenditure has been greatly reduced, and there are not so many requirements…

This also means that through this method, the profitability of the shipping business will increase, and the competitiveness will improve.

Chapter 723: Christmas

“Please, have mercy on me.”

Seeing the battered woman before him, crying and begging for forgiveness, Benjamin Rothschild felt a surge of impatience. He couldn’t help but forcefully grip her neck, then quicken his pace.

At that moment, a feeling of controlling everything arose within him, his spirit seemingly detached from everything, a sense of transcendence over all things.

When everything calmed down, he realized that she was no longer moving.

“Jamie!”

Having dressed, Benjamin Rothschild morbidly wiped his hands again and again with a towel…

Without even looking at the chaotic scene, he said to his trusted aide standing at the door:

“Clean everything up.”

“Yes, sir.”

Having received the reply, he left the room without looking back.

Recently, Benjamin Rothschild had been under immense pressure. Last year, during the subprime mortgage crisis, NM Rothschild Bank lost a large sum of money to William-Webb Capital due to a hedging agreement. This year, a damned trader under his command caused NM Rothschild Bank to lose nearly 3 billion euros.

Although he had tried his best to cover up the matter, he still faced reprimands from the LCR Rothschild Group.

After these events, Benjamin Rothschild knew that he would definitely be resented by the old men in the family. Thinking of this, he wished he could send that trader named Peter straight to hell, but he couldn’t do that yet. Otherwise, with the matter not yet settled on the surface, it would inevitably create more trouble.

The things suppressed in his heart could only be vented through other means.

All roads lead to Rome, as they say, but people like Benjamin were born in Rome.

For people like Benjamin Rothschild, from the moment they are born, every single hair on their body is meticulously cared for. What he wishes to obtain is always satisfied. It could even be said that many times he doesn’t even have to say it, and many things will be considered for him, a hundred times more thoroughly than he himself could have imagined.

Therefore, although Benjamin always behaved with gentle refinement due to the “education” he received, in fact, it was only because he disdained wasting his emotions on “commoners.” What he disliked would always be cleared from his sight by others…

So, the incident where he left London in such a sorry state left a deep impression in Benjamin Rothschild’s mind. What infuriated him even more was that the British Duke was not the “commoner” he had previously thought he was, and was not so easily “eliminated.”

On the contrary, as time passed, the other party became increasingly impossible to ignore.

This feeling was considered a disgrace to a prodigy like Benjamin Rothschild.

Thinking of this, the man, who had just felt a little relieved, couldn’t help but contort his face again.

…

Unlike previous Christmases, on December 25th this year, Barron, at the Queen’s invitation, went with the Royal Family to St Mary Magdalene Church on the Sandringham Estate in Norfolk, England, to attend Christmas service and joined them for Christmas dinner.

Afterwards, he returned to London to spend the evening with Bonnie and the children.

It is worth mentioning that the members of the Royal Family are of German descent, so they follow the German celebration tradition. On Christmas Eve, after afternoon tea, the Royal Family members open their presents.

Barron’s family, however, still followed the British tradition, and the children opened their presents from their parents on Christmas morning.

Of course, in addition to his and Bonnie’s two sons, George and Richard, Barron’s other children also received gifts from him on Christmas Eve.

“Come with me, darling, otherwise I’ll worry you’ll feel lonely if I leave you in London.”

According to Barron’s habit, he would take his family to Australia for a few months when the weather in London turned cold, but this year, due to some important matters, and Bonnie also needing to handle some matters for the SEM Group, it had been slightly delayed.

And Tamaran Ecclestone was newly pregnant, so Barron didn’t want her to stay in London alone and persuaded her to go to Australia with them.

Tamaran naturally wanted to be with Barron. What she was hesitant about was that if she went to Australia, she would definitely face Barron’s ex-wife. She wasn’t psychologically prepared for that.

“Darling, I…”

Barron could understand her worries, and holding the girl in his arms, he softly comforted her:

“You’ll get along just fine, don’t worry, I’ll be there.”

In fact, that was indeed the case. When Tamaran Ecclestone traveled to Australia with Barron on the Devonshire, she discovered that besides Barron’s ex-wife Bonnie Cavendish and the Booth. Earl and Countess, Catherine Neville, with a beautiful girl—Catherine and her daughter Emily with Barron—would also be coming.

However, this time Bonnie took the two children and the Booth. Earl and Countess to Grace Lavender Manor on the Devonshire first, and then Barron and his party were picked up.

After all, Bonnie’s two children, George and Richard, as the first and second in line to the Dukedom of Devonshire, are generally not suitable to travel on the same plane as Barron himself.

“Through two months of negotiations, we have reached a general framework with Rio Tinto on the specific investment plan.”

After arriving in Australia, Barron first met with Andrew Cole, the CEO of West African Mining Company. After West African Mining acquired Australia’s OZ Minerals, Barron brought him in as the CEO of West African Mining. Over the years, West African Mining Group has successively acquired multiple mines in Australia and Africa, involving iron ore, copper, and gold, all with very considerable reserves.

This time, West African Mining Company set its sights on Rio Tinto, one of Australia’s two major iron ore giants.

Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton are Australia’s two major iron ore giants. Together with Brazil’s Vale, they are the world’s main iron ore suppliers.

According to the results of Andrew Cole’s negotiations with Rio Tinto on behalf of West African Mining Company, West African Mining Company is preparing to invest 20 billion US dollars in Rio Tinto to obtain 12% of its shares. After this, West African Mining will surpass Chinalco to become Rio Tinto’s largest shareholder.

Chapter 724: Investing in Rio Tinto

In the second half of 2008, with the outbreak of the subprime mortgage crisis, Rio Tinto, one of Australia’s iron ore giants, also experienced a debt crisis and urgently needed external financial assistance.

At that time, BHP Billiton, another Australian iron ore giant, took the opportunity to propose acquiring Rio Tinto for a price of one hundred billion US dollars.

BHP Billiton was formed by the merger of two giant mining companies. BHP was founded in 1885, headquartered in Melbourne, and is one of Australia’s oldest and largest companies.

Billiton, on the other hand, was a British mining company and a pioneer in international mining, once known for its continuous innovation and intensive operations.

In 2001, the two companies merged to form the BHP Billiton mining group, which, together with Rio Tinto and Vale of Brazil, are listed as the world’s three largest iron ore giants.

Although the shareholder composition of BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto overlapped by as much as 70% at the time, Rio Tinto still believed that BHP Billiton’s acquisition price of 101 billion US dollars was too low and was unwilling to accept the acquisition.

However, the global economic situation was not good at the time, and Rio Tinto was facing a debt crisis. Without the injection of external funds, it could be fatal for them.

It was at this time that Chinalco from China entered the game.

At that time, Chinalco first obtained 12% of Rio Tinto’s shares for 14 billion US dollars. Next, they reached an investment agreement with Rio Tinto for a total of 19.5 billion US dollars, preparing to increase their stake in Rio Tinto to nearly 20%. In this way, Chinalco would become Rio Tinto’s largest shareholder and complete the acquisition of Rio Tinto.

However, because Chinalco’s funds had relieved Rio Tinto’s debt crisis, and under the vigorous lobbying of BHP Billiton, the Australian side began to discuss whether the control of Rio Tinto, such an iron ore giant, by a Chinese company would damage its mineral resource interests…

The most crucial point was that because Chinese companies had just begun to go abroad for mergers and acquisitions at that time, and they placed too much trust in the “commercial credibility” of the West, the penalty for breach of contract stipulated in Chinalco’s 19.5 billion US dollar investment agreement with Rio Tinto was only 1%, which was 195 million US dollars.

By the first half of this year, because Chinalco’s funds had solved Rio Tinto’s urgent needs, and the prices of raw materials such as iron ore had risen sharply, Rio Tinto’s stock price had once risen by 70%!

Therefore, Rio Tinto did not hesitate to pay Chinalco a penalty of 195 million US dollars for breach of contract and chose to terminate the agreement they had reached…

After that, BHP Billiton once again negotiated with Rio Tinto on the merger of their iron ore businesses.

At this time, West African Minerals Company appeared. Although BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto, and Vale are the world’s three largest iron ore giants, the iron ore resources owned by West African Minerals Company were also considerable at this time.

Moreover, Rio Tinto was unwilling to hand over the control of its iron ore business to BHP Billiton—after all, in terms of scale, BHP Billiton would definitely hold more shares in the joint venture between the two parties.

Therefore, after negotiating with West African Minerals Company, it was finally determined that West African Minerals Company would invest 20 billion US dollars in Rio Tinto, holding 12% of its shares.

After this agreement was reached, Chinalco’s shareholding ratio in Rio Tinto would be diluted to 10.56%, and West African Minerals Company would become Rio Tinto’s largest shareholder.

However, even at this point, West African Minerals Company could only be said to have a certain say in Rio Tinto. After all, the American capital still accounted for a larger proportion in Rio Tinto’s shareholder structure at this time.

Compared with Chinalco’s Chinese background, West African Minerals Group’s investment in Rio Tinto was more easily accepted by Australia.

After all, a considerable part of the personnel composition of West African Minerals Company came from the Australian mining company OZ Minerals that they had acquired before, and the country of Colo where West African Minerals Company is located, like Australia, is also a Commonwealth country.

Behind West African Minerals Company, there is also Baron, this British Duke, so BHP Billiton certainly cannot carry out sabotage like they did with Chinalco…

This time, West African Minerals Company’s investment in Rio Tinto will be responsible for financing part of the funds by the African United Bank. According to the current revenue situation of West African Minerals, this part of the financing does not have too much pressure and can be paid off quickly.

The key is that Rio Tinto’s market value will continue to rise in the future, and there will not be many opportunities to invest and get their shares, so it is definitely necessary to seize the opportunity if there is one.

Of course, the negotiations between West African Minerals Company and Rio Tinto have also reached the final stage.

As Baron’s partner, Earl Booth. still knows a lot about the inside story of West African Minerals Company.

When this cooperation is announced, he will inevitably be surprised.

Although their family’s Stuart Mining Group was once glorious, its current scale is far from comparable to giants like Rio Tinto.

Thinking that when he first met Baron, he was just a young man who had inherited a not-so-large family business, and a few years later, the industry he controlled was already terrifying, and even West African Minerals Company, a not-so-core industry, had become Rio Tinto’s largest shareholder.

This made Earl Booth. feel very complicated.

…

Although they both came to Australia, Baron did not immediately arrange for Tamarind and Catherine, the mother and daughter, to live with Bonnie and Countess Booth. in the Grace Lavender Manor on Stamania Island, but instead purchased a new manor in Melbourne and let them live here first.

Even if Baron has the idea of letting these women “live in harmony,” this process always needs to be gradual…

Otherwise, it may turn into a battlefield in minutes.

Speaking of which, Tamarind’s social circle does not intersect with Bonnie and Mrs. Booth, but Catherine Neville, as a member who often appears in London’s upper-class ladies’ circles, has met Bonnie a few times on some social occasions, and is also quite familiar with Countess Booth..

Therefore, it is believed that it should not be too difficult for them to accept.

However, it seems that the relationship between Tamarind and Catherine Neville is still good, a bit like best friends.

This is also due to Catherine’s initiative to show goodwill. After all, she herself does not have too many ideas to compete with the women around Baron. Now that she is by Baron’s side after Colin Hall’s death, has children, and does not lack money, she herself feels a bit detached.

Well, the only thing may be a fascination with a certain aspect of Baron…

This is also the reason why Baron specifically brought Catherine and her daughter this time, on the one hand, he hopes that they can start to slowly become familiar and adapt.

On the other hand, with Catherine’s identity and personality, she and Countess Booth. are also suitable as lubricants between these women.

Chapter 725: Julia and Lavi

By the time West Africa Mining Company finally signed an agreement with Rio Tinto, investing $20 billion and acquiring 12% of the company’s shares, thus becoming their largest shareholder, it was already 2010.

Although Rio Tinto’s headquarters were in London, their main operations were in Australia. Therefore, during this period, Barron also attended the New Year’s banquet held in Australia, getting to know many political figures and mining tycoons.

Of course, Barron’s public identity was that of a shareholder in West Africa Mining Company. This company, registered in Kolo, was not publicly listed, so specific shareholder information was not publicly available.

Moreover, even if one could obtain the shareholder information, the intricate web of offshore company holdings would not be easily deciphered.

“Rio Tinto’s Hamersley Iron Pty Ltd is the second-largest iron ore producer in Australia, with five producing mines in the Pilbara region of Western Australia. The current proven reserves are approximately 2.1 billion tons, and the company’s annual iron ore production capacity is 55 million tons…”

Andrew Cole, CEO of West Africa Mining Company, said to Barron:

“It is estimated that after the completion of the Yandicoogina mining project under construction, their annual iron ore production capacity will reach more than 65 million tons…”

Currently, Rio Tinto Group is the world’s second-largest mining group, second only to BHP Billiton.

In terms of total assets by region, 89% are concentrated in Australia and North America.

Among them, coal and iron ore account for 19% respectively, aluminum accounts for 17%, copper 16%, industrial raw materials 15%, gold and diamonds 5% each, and other 4%.

“Currently, China is Rio Tinto’s fourth-largest market globally, after North America, Japan, and Europe, and it is also the fastest-growing market. I believe that China will soon be able to surpass other countries and regions…”

During the process of West Africa Mining Company’s investment in Rio Tinto Group, the Chinese market was an unavoidable topic. Andrew Cole said to Barron in a low voice:

“Not only Rio Tinto, but BHP Billiton also hopes that we can stand with them and jointly negotiate iron ore sales prices with China.”

Prior to this, China’s purchases of iron ore from Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton were negotiated centrally. From some of the things Barron knew in his previous life, he understood that Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton could use any means necessary in this process.

However, because their asking prices were too high before, some of the iron ore and copper ore from West Africa Mining Company filled the gap needed by China.

The reason why Rio Tinto was willing to let West Africa Mining Company join their shareholders this time was, in part, to bring this rapidly growing iron ore mining company into their camp.

After all, these mining companies would naturally not let go of any opportunity to increase prices; this was all cold, hard cash.

“That’s not a problem. We will follow market rules for transactions.”

Barron said calmly.

He understood that after joining the WTO, China’s initial integration with the international market was somewhat chaotic. Certain tuition fees definitely needed to be paid. Even if West Africa Mining Company could sell iron ore to them at a lower price, their own iron ore mining scale was limited. Given China’s increasingly exaggerated steel production, it could only be considered a drop in the bucket.

Since that was the case, they would still inevitably need to purchase raw materials from the iron ore giants BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto, and Vale. Therefore, West Africa Mining Company did not need to play the villain among the suppliers.

Moreover, now that they had become Rio Tinto’s largest single shareholder, a significant portion of Rio Tinto’s profits would belong to West Africa Mining Company. Why would they want to argue with money?

West Africa Mining Company becoming a major shareholder of Rio Tinto had an additional benefit for Barron.

That was, under similar bidding conditions, Peninsula and Oriental Steam Navigation Company, which he had just acquired, could rely on this relationship to obtain a considerable portion of Rio Tinto Group’s shipping orders.

…

Before Barron left Melbourne for Grace Lavender Farm, he met with Julia Moore, who had arrived here.

Julia came to Australia with work as well. There were no suitable land acquisitions in England for the time being, so she came to Australia to help Barron purchase some Australian and New Zealand ranches for the Devonshire Family Trust. These ranches would belong to Devonshire Ecological Agriculture Company, providing high-quality meat and dairy products for their Duke’s Choice supermarkets and Argos retail group.

“I’ll go with you, Julia.”

After hearing Julia and Barron’s conversation, Catherine took the initiative to say to her:

“I think the environment here is good, and I’m also preparing to learn more about the ranches here. It would be nice to buy a ranch and come here for vacation during the London winter.”

Catherine Neville was now a wealthy woman with hundreds of millions of assets. One thing she had no doubt about was that following Duke Barron for investment would definitely not be a losing proposition. Like her current wealth, much of it had expanded under Barron’s advice.

“Then I’ll go too. It’s a good opportunity to relax.”

Seeing Catherine say this, Tamaran Ecclestone also became somewhat interested.

The past few days of getting along had made her relationship with Catherine increasingly close.

Knowing that Barron was about to go to Grace Lavender Farm to stay with Bonnie and the others for a while, Tamaran, to avoid boredom, also planned to go with Catherine and Julia to see the ranches, just as she said, to relax.

After all, Barron had arranged enough escorts to take care of them, so there was no need to worry about safety or living arrangements.

“That’s good too. You don’t have to rush too much, Julia. You can also take Lavi out to play.”

The brother and sister from Palestine, Rami, had now entered DS Group, devoting much of his energy to this operation against the Rothschild family…

This time, Julia Moore brought her sister Lavi, who was on vacation, with her to Australia. Hearing Barron’s words, she agreed very much, taking this opportunity to let the little girl see more of the world.

It could be seen that Julia was very good to Lavi. The relationship between the two was like that of a mother and daughter.

When she was first adopted by the Devonshire Charitable Foundation, her sister Lavi was only ten years old. This year, she would soon be fifteen years old, and she already looked graceful and slender. Standing with Julia, they looked like sisters.

Of course, Julia was of Russian descent, and relatively speaking, her figure was more slender and full, while Lavi was of Arab descent, with delicate features, and it could already be seen that she would definitely be a beauty in the future.

Chapter 726: Investing in Sharp

Throughout 2009, with the development of the mobile internet in many regions around the world, user demand for smartphones began to increase.

According to research results from relevant organizations, in 2009, the sales revenue of global mobile phone manufacturers reached 156 billion U.S. dollars, with total mobile phone sales exceeding 1.1 billion units.

A considerable portion of these were still traditional feature phones, but the smartphone market had already shown a trend of explosive growth since the second half of 2008, and it was also the only type of mobile phone with continuous growth in sales revenue and volume.

It is estimated that smartphone sales will continue to grow in the next five years, and the global smartphone market will undergo a major transformation in 2010, with annual shipments exceeding 320 million units.

In the smartphone field, Nokia remained the world’s largest smartphone manufacturer. In 2009, Nokia-branded smartphones accounted for approximately 32% of total smartphone sales. However, Nokia’s achievements mainly came from low-priced smartphones sold in markets such as China and South America. The North American market remained Nokia’s biggest problem.

Ranking second among smartphone manufacturers was Honor Electronics’ Mate series of phones, with a global market share exceeding 19%, nearly 3 percentage points higher than Apple’s iPhone series at 16%.

If you add Honor Electronics’ mid-to-low-end Dopod-branded smartphones, then Honor Electronics’ global smartphone market share would be as high as 30%, second only to Nokia. Considering Nokia’s current state of only being able to maintain the low-end smartphone market and its gradual decline, it is likely that in 2010, its position as the number one in smartphone shipments will be taken over by Honor Electronics.

The remaining two mobile phone manufacturers, Samsung and BlackBerry, accounted for 8% and 5% of smartphone shipments, respectively.

Because Motorola misjudged the situation and bet its smartphone future on the GOS system, it only launched one Android-based phone last year and three GOS-based phones. As a result, its overall shipments plummeted, and its market share in the smartphone market was less than 4%…

And Japanese mobile phone manufacturers such as Sony Ericsson and Sharp were even worse. In this year’s smartphone market share, they were all categorized under “other” brands…

Yes, from the current point of view, judging solely by smartphone shipments, the GOS system is not considered a success. Among the three touchscreen smartphone operating systems—iOS, Android, and GOS—the Android system, with its rich variety of manufacturers and models, occupies nearly 60% of the market (only counting shipments of phones with these three operating systems), the iOS system occupies more than 30%, and the GOS system has a market share of less than 10%!

On January 5, 2010, Honor Electronics and the Japanese company Sharp jointly announced that Honor Electronics would invest 64 billion Japanese yen (approximately 800 million U.S. dollars) to acquire 9.9% of Sharp’s issued shares, becoming one of Sharp’s shareholders.

Honor Electronics’ move was to consolidate their supply chain. After all, Sharp was once the inventor and leader of global LCD technology. Even though South Korean LCD panel suppliers, including Samsung and LG, have posed a threat to them, the LCD screens produced by Sharp are still among the best quality products on the market.

In order to consolidate the quality of Honor Electronics’ current Mate series phones and cope with the competition from South Korean Samsung Electronics in this field, they naturally need to have a stable supply chain of high-quality mobile phone LCD panels.

Although Honor Electronics had already invested in Chinese manufacturers last year to help them accelerate the research and production of LCD screen technology, currently, the quality of these mobile phone LCD screens is still slightly inferior to that of Japanese and Korean products. They can only be used in the lower-end Dopod brand. Honor Electronics’ most core and most successful Mate series phones still require high-quality LCD screens produced in Japan and South Korea.

Apart from Sharp, these LCD screens can only be obtained from Samsung and LG in South Korea. However, it should be noted that South Korean manufacturers have formed an industrial alliance. Honor Electronics also needs to guard against the possibility of them cutting off their supply of mobile phone LCD screens. Therefore, taking advantage of the fact that Japan is being heavily shorted and Sharp’s LCD business has a slight overcapacity, choosing to invest in Sharp at this time is also an important move for Honor Electronics.

Baron knew that in his previous life, the Taiwanese contract manufacturer Foxconn had intended to start investing in Sharp in 2012. The two parties had even agreed on a price, but because Sharp’s stock price suddenly plummeted at the time, Foxconn prepared to lower the price, but was rejected by Sharp, thus missing this investment opportunity.

However, Foxconn did not give up. Four years later, taking advantage of the opportunity when Sharp was completely in decline, it completed the acquisition of Sharp for 388.8 billion Japanese yen (approximately 3.25 billion U.S. dollars), thereby controlling the company with a 66% shareholding.

Of course, if Honor Electronics wants to invest in Sharp now, because their situation is much better than it was more than six years later, they will have to pay much more for the same shares.

But this investment is strategic and very important for Honor Electronics to consolidate its position in the smartphone market at this time. Therefore, it is impossible to really wait until six years later to acquire it at a lower price. In the original timeline, after HTC launched smartphones based on the Android system, its shipments once rivaled or even exceeded Apple’s. The lesson of its subsequent decline is something that Honor Electronics definitely cannot experience again.

In fact, Sharp’s most important business is their LCD panel business, and their LCD panels are mainly produced in Japan.

Because the shipments of Japanese mobile phone brands are very limited at this time, Sharp naturally needs to consider the buyers of their mobile phone LCD panels. Therefore, after Honor Electronics negotiated with them, the two parties hit it off and reached a cooperation agreement.

“In addition to high-quality LCD panels, low-temperature polysilicon LTPS-related cutting-edge LCD technology, and organic light-emitting diode technology under development, Sharp also has six major product technologies: medium-sized LCD panels, multifunctional office machines and robotics enterprise solutions, Internet of Things home appliances, automotive and industrial electronic components, and energy and solar energy. Therefore, not only Honor Electronics, but many of our other businesses can also obtain technological enhancements through the acquisition of Sharp…”

This is what Baron discovered after seeing Sharp’s relevant information. Therefore, they are now determined to acquire Sharp, after all, Sharp also has some good technologies in the fields of home appliances, automobiles, and energy, but this also requires future opportunities to arise.

The current Sharp can only accept investment and shareholding. It has not reached the end of its rope, and they will not be willing to be acquired.

Chapter 727: Merger?

In mid-January, after spending some time with Bonnie, Chris, and the children at Grace Lavender Manor, Barron left Australia and headed for America.

This time in America, his first stop was California.

At the estate where Amanda lived, Barron met their child, William Hearst.

Although Amanda Hearst didn’t stop Barron from seeing William, she still didn’t budge and was prepared to raise the child on her own.

“If you want me and the child to come back to you, the only possibility is if we get married and you can give William a normal family environment.”

That’s what Amanda had said to Barron at the time.

Although Barron had divorced Bonnie, he wasn’t planning on getting married again. After all, given his current situation, marrying any other woman would be difficult for the others to accept.

Even though Barron had tried to sweet-talk Amanda, it seemed she wasn’t buying it at all these days…

Fortunately, Amanda’s cousin, Lydia Hearst, was there to help Barron, allowing him to get timely news about Amanda and the child.

With that, Barron left Amanda’s estate after visiting his child.

Of course, Barron wasn’t too disappointed, as he had already tested Amanda’s attitude through Lydia beforehand and was mentally prepared for this.

After O2 Telecom completed its acquisition of T-Mobile USA, O2 USA used its low-price plan competitive strategy from the European market, and its market share in North America increased significantly compared to the former T-Mobile.

“In the North American market, we took the lead in lowering rates and providing users with more affordable family plans to attract more family users…”

The CEO of O2 USA told Barron:

“This has indeed led to a significant increase in our market share, but it will also lead to a decrease in profit margins. However, compared to the increase in the number of users, it is all worth it.”

Of course, if they could grab more users from other operators, a short-term decline in profit margins would be tolerable.

But after O2 Telecom made its move, other telecom operators might also actively or passively adjust their rates, which would intensify competition.

In fact, this low-price strategy was not only successful for O2 Telecom in the European market, but also for SoftBank Group in the Japanese market after acquiring Vodafone Japan.

However, this is usually a method used by telecom companies with relatively low market share to expand their scale. Companies that are already among the top in the market rarely actively use this method of reducing revenue per customer.

In addition, some people have suggested that they can increase their market share in North America by merging with other operators.

After all, although O2 USA is now the third-largest telecom operator in North America, the market share of the top two telecom operators, AT&T and Verizon, is far higher than that of other operators. If O2 USA could merge with the fourth-largest operator, Sprint, although the merged new company would still be the third-largest telecom operator in America, its number of users after the merger would barely be comparable to the top two operators, AT&T and Verizon.

The advantage of this merger is that it can achieve greater economies of scale. For the merged company, it can uniformly upgrade equipment and save on costs.

However, there is still considerable resistance to this merger. In addition to the fact that relevant American agencies would not easily approve such a large-scale acquisition, the main problem is that in terms of the current 3G network, O2 Telecom uses the WCDMA standard, while Sprint uses CDMA2000, similar to China Mobile and China Unicom, which are difficult to integrate.

“Technical obstacles are not insurmountable. As long as we are willing to pay enough, we can use the same network standard for the next generation of 4G networks…”

Barron heard the other party say:

“But even so, more resistance will come from relevant regulatory agencies, or rather, from AT&T and Verizon. They certainly don’t want us to merge with Sprint to form a more threatening company, so they will inevitably lobby like crazy to prevent the merger from being approved.”

This is understandable, after all, companies like AT&T and Verizon have stronger resources in the relevant government, mainly in terms of connections, than they do.

Of course, it’s not to say that this merger is destined not to be approved. The problem is that even if it can be allowed to merge, it will inevitably come with some relatively harsh conditions—just like when T-Mobile and Sprint were eventually allowed to merge in Barron’s previous life, both Sprint and T-Mobile paid a considerable “price” for it.

For example, in approving the deal, the U.S. Department of Justice ordered Sprint to divest certain assets, including Boost Mobile and some wireless spectrum; and T-Mobile must also allow Dish Network to access its network for seven years to help it become a new national telecom operator and increase market competition.

Therefore, before considering whether to launch an acquisition of Sprint to achieve the merger of the two, they need to weigh which is more promising, such a result or O2 Telecom developing independently in the North American market.

After all, not all mergers that stack up scale can have good results. In fact, most mergers ultimately fail to bring stronger competitiveness, and only a few mergers can be called successful.

…

“It seems that Google’s GOS system is not very successful, at least not as successful as they had hoped…”

After meeting Ivanka in Los Angeles, she said with a smile.

“But it seems they don’t plan to give up so easily, honey. They just announced that they will continue to increase their investment in the mobile operating system business.”

“Yes, that will indeed be a bit of a problem, but I am still very confident in Android.”

Just as Barron said, Google is not giving up on mobile operating systems so easily, which is related to their strategy.

It’s not hard for Google to see the potential of the future mobile internet market, but the problem is that Google’s proud search technology can occupy the majority of the market share in PC-side operating habits.

But if users’ internet habits change and the mobile internet explodes, and people start using smartphones to access the internet, it will be a crisis for Google.

Chapter 728: Android Tax

After all, for internet companies, data is the most important thing.

In the era of PC internet, when users used PCs to access the internet, they were accustomed to first opening Google’s homepage to search and browse.

This allowed Google to occupy the internet’s entrance and capture enough data for its own use.

But in the mobile internet era, users access the internet through smartphones, and this process is no longer through logging into web pages via browsers, but through using apps. This makes it difficult for search giants like Google to capture data from different apps—unless they control the underlying mobile operating system.

In Barron’s previous life, Google maintained its giant status in the mobile internet era precisely because of the Android system.

On the other hand, Baidu, one of the three major Chinese internet companies (BAT), began to fall behind after entering the mobile internet era because it lost its position as the gateway to the internet.

Later on, Baidu’s market value was even surpassed by companies that emerged later, such as ByteDance and even Meituan…

This is why, after IC Capital acquired Android, Google still insisted on independently developing the GOS system, and even when the GOS system did not meet expectations, it still did not give up and continued to invest resources in it.

However, Barron wasn’t too worried about this. After all, the Android system already had a considerable first-mover advantage. Among the touch-screen smartphone operating systems (iOS, Android, and GOS), it had the highest market share. Moreover, Android was no longer the small startup it once was. With the great success of the Android system, Android had also been constantly increasing its staff. In terms of mobile operating systems, its research and development capabilities were no weaker than Google’s—after all, it is well known that Google often enters previously untouched fields through acquisitions.

Another noteworthy point is that, in Barron’s previous life, because Google withdrew from the mainland Chinese market in 2010, many services of the Android system in mainland China were not directly operated by Google itself.

For example, application stores. At that time, Android users overseas mostly downloaded apps directly from the Google Play Store, while in mainland China, there were many third-party app stores. Eventually, almost every brand of mobile phone launched its own app store…

Apple relies on its App Store, and digital content consumption that users make within the app, simply put, recharges within the app, all need to pay a 30% fee (the commission rate for small and medium-sized developers with annual revenue below $1 million is 15%). This is called the “Apple Tax.”

This portion of revenue can be said to be a very important source of income for Apple. In the future, the global annual revenue of Apple’s App Store could exceed $80 billion!

And the Chinese region once surpassed the United States to become the region with the highest Apple Tax revenue!

Of course, there is also an “Android Tax” overseas, but in mainland China, these fees all went to those third-party app stores, and even some mobile phone brand app stores could charge as much as 50%!

But now, Android does not belong to Google, so even if Google withdraws from the mainland Chinese market this year as it did in the original timeline, Android will remain in China.

Moreover, Android will also, like Apple, gradually “block” third-party app stores, so as to take control of the Android system’s Play Store into its own hands, which will also become one of Android’s main sources of profit in the future.

With such a huge revenue expectation, Barron certainly couldn’t give up the Android system casually and would definitely insist on going head-to-head with Google’s GOS system.

…

When Ivanka first got together with Barron, she could only be considered a girl, but now she has revealed a mature charm. Coupled with her originally tall figure and substantial assets, it can be said that her attraction to Barron is also growing.

After meeting, in addition to discussing matters related to IC Capital, of course, there is also a need to conduct a lot of knowledge learning.

Well, in fact, they are always eager to conduct several rounds of learning at the first opportunity. Ivanka’s good physical strength from frequent exercise also ensures that she is more adaptable to the pace of learning knowledge with Barron than other women.

During these intervals of learning knowledge, they would take a short rest before starting to talk about work matters.

“My father talked to me, hoping that I could take over some of the TP Group’s work…”

Just like at this moment, Ivanka leaned in Barron’s arms and said to him softly:

“Actually, he had this intention as early as two years ago, but at that time, I hoped to do a good job with IC Capital, so I put it aside for the time being.”

Ivanka’s meaning was very clear. Now the development of IC Capital has been on the right track. Although there are still many things to do, many things can be handed over to the people below. Now, most of her energy is focused on the Android company, and there are not many other investment projects.

Moreover, unlike in the original timeline when she entered TP Group and needed to be responsible for many specific affairs, her father’s intention was also for her to do some decision-making work.

Although in terms of asset scale, the current IC Capital is much higher than TP Group, Ivanka is, after all, one of the family’s heirs. It is also natural for her to enter the family company to work.

But before that, she still hoped to listen to Barron’s opinion. After all, she understood that if she had to choose one of the two, then the value of the shares she held in IC Capital was even higher than the assets of the entire TP family. What’s more, even if she didn’t hold a position in the family business, the shares she should inherit in the future would not be less.

“I respect your choice, baby. After all, as you said, you only need to do some decision-making work, and IC Capital is already one of TP Group’s shareholders. Even as IC Capital’s representative in TP Group, it is your duty to ask about its operations.”

Before this, Ivanka’s family encountered a debt crisis. After obtaining Barron’s approval, she injected capital into the family business through IC Capital.

Therefore, IC Capital is now also the largest shareholder of TP Group outside of the TP family. So Barron would not have any objections to Ivanka entering the family company to be responsible for part of the work.

Besides, just like Ivanka said, now whether it is IC Capital or TP Group, Ivanka does not need to do those specific tasks, she only needs to make some decisions.

After these times of training, Ivanka’s ability has been obvious to all, and she herself is also very diligent. Barron believes that she can manage to balance these things.

Chapter 729: Ranked Fourth

“So far, we have basically completed the integration of Bank of America, which we acquired earlier. Starting in the second half of last year, personal savings deposits, including those in America and Britain, have shown an upward trend, which indicates that savings banks are showing signs of recovery…”

During the subprime mortgage crisis, Standard Chartered Bank expanded its business from emerging markets in Britain, Asia, Africa, and Latin America to the American market through the acquisition and merger of IndyMac Bank and Merrill Lynch’s commercial bank.

In addition to the savings bank, the investment banking business of the merged Standard Chartered-Merrill Lynch Group has also basically been incorporated into their investment and wealth management division—Merrill Lynch Investment.

Especially after acquiring Barclays Global Investors’ (BGI) asset management division, Merrill Lynch Investment’s assets under management jumped to the forefront globally. Although it still lags slightly behind Vanguard Group and BlackRock, its assets under management have reached trillions of dollars.

It is worth mentioning that although BlackRock lost out to Standard Chartered-Merrill Lynch Group in the competition to acquire BGI, it subsequently acquired Morgan Stanley’s asset management division. Most importantly, BlackRock obtained asset management business from many American public investment funds. As a result, its size continued to expand explosively, becoming comparable to Vanguard Group. This kind of treatment is enough to be called America’s “favorite son.”

This is also why Barron was able to persuade the British government to entrust the asset management of many British public investment funds, including some pension funds, to Standard Chartered-Merrill Lynch Group.

Otherwise, in this field, it would be difficult for a financial group with a significant British background like Standard Chartered-Merrill Lynch Group to compete with American financial groups like Vanguard Group and BlackRock.

Ultimately, Merrill Lynch Investment, the asset management division of Standard Chartered-Merrill Lynch Group, obtained asset management work for over 500 billion pounds of assets, including British pension funds and public investment funds.

This brought the total assets under management by Merrill Lynch Investment to 3.5 trillion dollars, making it the fourth-largest asset management company in the world, after Vanguard Group, BlackRock, and UBS, and ahead of State Street Corporation.

As the world’s fifth-largest asset management company, State Street Corporation manages approximately 3 trillion dollars in assets.

Merrill Lynch Investment, using their acquired ETF fund iShare from the original Barclays Global Investors (BGI) as a foundation, has begun to significantly expand their ETF fund size. They are not only buying American stocks on a large scale, but also buying stocks in Japan and South Korea at low index levels after they were shorted.

Judging solely by ETF funds, Merrill Lynch Investment’s fund size ranks among the top three globally.

Another point to note is the Zeuss Fund owned by DS Group’s New York branch. This quantitative fund, which they established earliest, was initially created as a joint venture between DS Group and Goldman Sachs.

At that time, the shareholding ratio was 60% for DS Group and 40% for Goldman Sachs.

However, during the subprime mortgage crisis, because Goldman Sachs urgently needed funds, they withdrew their investment and profits from the Zeuss Fund. Ultimately, the Zeuss Fund became a wholly-owned subsidiary of DS Group.

Now, Goldman Sachs has basically overcome the crisis and recovered some losses from shorting Japan and South Korea.

Coupled with the quantitative easing policy that the Federal Reserve has been implementing since the end of 2008, Goldman Sachs’s finances have improved. Last year, Goldman Sachs’s president, Lloyd Blankfein, contacted Barron, hoping to reinvest some funds into the Zeuss Fund.

Of course, Barron wouldn’t hold a grudge because Goldman Sachs withdrew its investment from the Zeuss Fund back then. After all, everything is for profit.

However, this time, when Goldman Sachs reinvests funds into the Zeuss Fund, it is impossible to directly hold shares in the investment company where the fund is located, as before. They can only invest funds directly into the Zeuss Fund’s capital pool, like a regular fund investment. This means that this portion of the funds not only needs to pay a management fee to the Zeuss Fund, but also needs to share its profits with the fund according to the Zeuss Fund’s regulations.

Since it can bring him benefits, Barron naturally had no reason to refuse.

Moreover, this time, not only Goldman Sachs, but also Wall Street capital such as JPMorgan Chase, have invested funds into the Zeuss Fund to varying degrees.

This can bring revenue to the Zeuss Fund on the one hand, and on the other hand, it can also tie the interests of these Wall Street capitals to him to a certain extent. It can be said to be killing two birds with one stone.

Capital is like this: when you can bring them benefits, then you are God.

Therefore, Barron’s relationship with Wall Street capital—more precisely, a portion of it—is closer than ever before.

Otherwise, it would be impossible for the shorting actions in South Korea, Japan, and Europe to be carried out “in partnership” with Barron, and Barron would also have considerable say.

“There is no problem putting pressure on the LCR Rothschild Group, Your Grace, but in the process, it will definitely affect our cooperative relationships with countries like Greece…”

This time, when Barron met with Wall Street bigwigs, including Lloyd Blankfein of Goldman Sachs and Jamie Dimon of JPMorgan Chase, and mentioned the actions in Europe, including the targeting of the Rothschild family, Lloyd frowned slightly and said this.

“Moreover, forcing a country to default on its debt is not a small matter and may cause many chain reactions,” Jamie Dimon added in a timely manner.

Of course, Barron understood that these old foxes were acting this way not because they were morally unacceptable. If it were for enough profit, they probably wouldn’t hesitate to sell out their closest relatives.

The reason they said this was simply to hope to gain more benefits in the future division of the Rothschild family.

Of course, in Lloyd and Jamie’s view, their purpose was to harvest Europe. If, in the process, they “accidentally” cut off a large piece of the Rothschild family’s flesh, then they could only say sorry and pay attention next time…

But if they were openly targeting the Rothschild family, although the other party has declined, they still have a foundation.

It’s not that they are afraid of the Rothschild family, but many things need a necessity to do, right?

For them, there is no need to deliberately target the Rothschild family, but if they must target them…

Then there must be enough benefits.

Chapter 730: House of Cards?

To be honest, after coming to New York from Los Angeles, Barron missed the warm climate of Australia a bit.

And when in America, he tried to avoid taking helicopters as much as possible, so he traveled by car all the way from his estate on Long Island to Manhattan.

“Darling, I missed you so much.”

Knowing that Barron would be coming to America soon, Beatrice didn’t leave New York during her previous vacation, but waited for Barron to arrive.

In their previous phone calls, she knew that Barron had gone to Los Angeles on the West Coast first, but she didn’t expect him to come to New York so quickly.

“So I came over as soon as I finished my work, baby.”

Hearing Barron’s sweet talk, Beatrice didn’t hold back and immediately offered a sweet kiss.

“How is it? Are you getting used to living here?”

After getting into the car, Barron asked casually.

“It’s not bad, except that I can’t see you often.”

Well, she knows how to talk.

Without further ado, after the two met, Barron could feel the girl’s thirst for knowledge.

After all, this was the first time he had met Beatrice since she came to New York for her master’s program, so naturally she had accumulated a lot of longing.

After accompanying Barron to his estate on Long Island, Barron wholeheartedly gave her a good lesson…

Which made Beatrice very satisfied.

“This year, Marvel Studios will release the second installment of Iron Man and the first Captain America movie, and they plan to start filming the ensemble The Avengers movie next year…”

After the formation of Marvel-MGM Studios, the company’s headquarters was established in Los Angeles, but the headquarters of Marvel Entertainment remained in New York.

The success of the two Marvel movies, Iron Man and Thor, made Marvel Entertainment increasingly confident in its superhero movies. Therefore, last year, they successively invested in the second Iron Man movie and the Captain America movie, both of which will be released this year.

According to surveys by relevant organizations, audiences are still full of expectations for these two films.

And what Barron cares more about is The Avengers, which will begin filming next year. From this movie onwards, the Marvel Cinematic Universe officially became a money-printing machine.

Although Marvel Entertainment was somewhat affected by the subprime mortgage crisis, for example, some of its debts were called in during this crisis.

But now Marvel-MGM Studios has Blue Valley Capital behind it, and behind this company stands Barron.

During the subprime mortgage crisis, Blue Valley Capital and IC Capital invested in Black Swan Fund, ultimately making a fortune.

Blue Valley Capital obtained a large amount of funds, and as the most important and core Marvel-MGM Studios owned by this company, it would naturally not lack financial support from them.

“Besides Marvel, Netflix is also developing well.”

Annika Dawson said to Barron:

“Although Netflix’s stock price is still far from recovering to pre-crisis levels, with our financial and resource support, Netflix is in a much better situation than last year.”

Initially, Barron, in the name of DS Investment Company, held more than 14% of Netflix’s shares.

Then, after Blue Cloth Capital acquired Marvel Entertainment and MGM Studios and formed Marvel-MGM Studios, as one of Hollywood’s most well-known content creators, Hastings keenly discovered the hidden worries of Netflix after the emergence of the Hulu video platform, which was invested in by companies including 21st Century Fox, Disney, and NBC Universal.

That is, in the competition, they may face the danger of Hollywood film companies cutting off content supply.

So Netflix took the initiative to agree to Marvel-MGM Studios’ request to invest, and ultimately, if you add the shares of Netflix held by both DS Group and Blue Valley Capital, then their shareholding in Netflix has exceeded 30%.

Of course, Barron knows that Netflix founder Hastings will do well in the future, and he has no intention of interfering in Netflix’s specific operations.

However, as a video platform with a great global influence in the future, Barron inevitably needs to have a certain influence on Netflix.

“Now, in addition to our Marvel-MGM Studios being able to provide some content for Netflix to play, Mr. Hastings also plans to start shooting Netflix’s self-made content. Of course, because they are just preparing to try to get involved in content production, Netflix also hopes to cooperate with Marvel-MGM in production. Their first project is to prepare to shoot a series called House of Cards.”

Hearing Annika Dawson’s words, Barron was slightly surprised.

He knew about House of Cards. In his previous life, this series made Netflix’s self-made dramas a hit. It can be said to be a phenomenal American drama. If he remembered correctly, House of Cards started broadcasting in 2013 in his previous life. Barron didn’t expect that Netflix already had plans to shoot this American drama.

But this is not too surprising. After all, the American drama House of Cards itself is adapted from the British drama of the same name. The British version of House of Cards had already been launched on the BBC in 1990. Therefore, if they had this idea early on, then after Blue Valley Capital provided them with the funds they urgently needed, it was not impossible for this project to start early.

“House of Cards? Like the BBC version, are you planning to make it a political satire?”

“The specifics are not yet clear, but as Netflix’s trial work, I think it is worth trying.”

That is naturally very worth trying, after all, except for Barron, no one would have thought that this Netflix trial work would become an instant hit, thereby bringing rich profits to Netflix.

While Barron was still in America, he was also paying attention to news about the Greek sovereign debt crisis.

At present, although the Greek debt crisis has caused anxiety in the financial markets, leading to a sharp drop in the euro exchange rate and a sharp rise in Greek government bond interest rates…

But at the decision-making level, whether it is the European Union, the European Central Bank, or the member states, people cannot feel the urgency to rescue Greece—especially the current President of the European Central Bank, Jean-Claude Trichet, who has always opposed helping Greece.

In previous related meetings, Trichet had bluntly stated that, according to his judgment, the Greek debt problem and even the Eurozone debt problem were not serious enough to require intervention.

At a press conference held on January 14 this year, Trichet clearly stated that the financial situation of the Eurozone was much better than that of America, Japan, South Korea, and other countries.

For example, outside the Eurozone, the UK’s fiscal deficit this year is expected to account for 12.6% of its gross domestic product, which is similar to Greece’s current level.

But Standard & Poor’s still maintains the highest AAA rating for the sovereign credit of America and the UK, and Japan is also rated AA, while Greece only gets a BBB+ rating.

Therefore, Trichet believes that the current predicament of Greece and even the Eurozone is more of a market confidence problem than a real debt problem.

In Trichet’s view, not rescuing is more likely to enhance market confidence than rescuing, and it is also more conducive to Greece establishing its own ability to cope with the crisis through its own adjustments.

Chapter 731: Kicked Wide Open

Most importantly, under the existing legal framework, the European Central Bank (ECB) has no obligation and cannot bail out Greece. The ECB President, Jean-Claude Trichet, has also stated that they have no plans to provide relief through roundabout methods.

The Eurozone’s relevant Maastricht Treaty contains a clause known as the “no-bailout clause,” which explicitly prohibits the European Central Bank and member state central banks from providing overdrafts or loans similar to overdrafts to member states or community public sector institutions; prohibits the European Central Bank and member state central banks from directly purchasing bonds from these institutions; and prohibits the European Central Bank from accepting or seeking bailout instructions from other institutions.

Although many countries, including core Eurozone countries like Germany and France, have occasionally exceeded the deficit level of no more than 3% of GDP stipulated by the Stability and Growth Pact, they have all relied on their own strength to reduce their deficits to within the prescribed levels.

Therefore, for Trichet, the crisis currently occurring in Greece is not new. Their current decision not to participate in the bailout is simply an enforcement of the treaty.

In fact, since the outbreak of the sovereign debt crisis in Greece at the end of last year, Greece, the European Central Bank, and other countries in the Eurozone have been engaged in a game of tug-of-war over whether to bail out Greece.

The reason why ECB President Trichet still insists on a no-bailout attitude, in addition to the relevant treaty having a no-bailout clause, is mainly because he is concerned about the moral hazard that would arise from bailing out Greece.

Even if, as Trichet said, the Maastricht Treaty contains a “no-bailout clause,” after all, before this, Europe, or even the world, had not experienced an economic crisis as devastating as the subprime mortgage crisis. And in addition to Greece, which actively hopes that the European Central Bank will provide corresponding assistance, other countries, especially the PIIGS (Portugal, Ireland, Italy, Greece, and Spain), also tend to support bailing out Greece…

After all, people know their own affairs best. These “PIIGS” countries are also aware of their own economic situations. If the European Central Bank can provide assistance to Greece, then if they themselves experience a sovereign debt crisis, they can also demand assistance from the European Central Bank…

Among them, Spain is currently the rotating presidency of the European Union, and their attitude towards bailing out Greece is relatively positive.

But the moral hazard that the European Central Bank is worried about is that they do not want to bail out Greece too easily—after all, it is clear that the main responsibility for the mess that Greece has created lies with the Greek government itself.

They even managed to join the Eurozone by “cheating.”

Therefore, they are naturally worried that if they bail out Greece too easily, it would be equivalent to shifting part of the losses caused by Greece’s own “death wish” to the entire Eurozone.

This could even have a negative impact on other countries’ compliance with the Stability and Growth Pact—if Greece can be bailed out, then other countries that are courting disaster can be bailed out in the future. Then, especially those small Eurozone countries whose economic situation was originally not good, who would be willing to work hard to develop their economies? They might as well just lie down and live off the wealthy.

Therefore, at the current stage, the attitude of the European Central Bank and some countries is still to require the Greek government to cope with the crisis by reducing its own expenditures and try to optimize its dangerous debt structure through its own strength.

According to information Barron obtained privately, ECB President Trichet told French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde that they would not consider bailing out Greece until Greece implemented fiscal austerity policies as they requested, strictly controlled government spending, and was completely unable to obtain funds through the market.

Moreover, the European Central Bank is different from the Federal Reserve. Even as the President of the European Central Bank, Trichet cannot unilaterally decide on many things.

After all, unlike the Federal Reserve, which is backed by the United States, the European Central Bank does not have a unified political environment or a coordinated government agency behind it.

Although both are independently operating financial stability institutions, the European Central Bank differs greatly from the Federal Reserve in terms of decision-making.

The decision-makers of the European Central Bank are representatives from the central banks of each member state and officials from the finance ministries of each member state, and these representatives and officials are directly subordinate to their national governments and bear the political and social pressure of their own countries.

This has caused hesitation and bewilderment at the decision-making level of the European Central Bank. In the face of the intricate political and economic interests of the member states, the European Central Bank is like a giant beast with its hands and feet tied, only able to shake its fur but unable to wield its claws.

Barron, who had been waiting for an opportunity, and the Wall Street capital that cooperated with him, naturally would not let go of this opportunity when the European Central Bank was hesitant and bewildered.

The media they controlled has been sparing no effort in carrying out relevant reports, exaggerating the severity of the European, especially the Greek, debt crisis—in addition to Greece, many other countries, including Portugal, Spain, Italy, and Ireland, had carried out varying degrees of “financial operations” on the issue of government debt levels in order to join the Eurozone…

And these countries with the most backward economic development within the EU suffered the greatest damage in the 2008 financial crisis.

Therefore, after the outbreak of the Greek sovereign debt crisis, they tried their best to make the public understand that it is not just Greece that is facing problems now. The entire Eurozone may experience an economic crisis even more serious than the subprime mortgage crisis after Greece takes the lead in detonating the sovereign debt crisis.

Correspondingly, affected by these, the euro exchange rate continued to plummet, and the stock indexes of the entire European market were in decline…

At the end of January, The Wall Street Journal took the lead in publishing a related report, pointing out that after NM Rothschild & Sons suffered significant losses due to a trader’s violation of regulations, its parent company, LCF Rothschild Group, may also face huge compensation. According to relevant sources, including Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, and Citigroup, since 2001, they have purchased corresponding credit default swap (CDS) bonds from a German institution for the loans they issued to many European countries, including Greece and Ireland. And now this German institution has been acquired by LCF Rothschild Group and become its wholly-owned subsidiary.

This also means that if these countries cannot repay these loans within the stipulated time limit, then according to the rules of the original CDS bonds, LCF Rothschild Group will, as the insurer, repay these loans!

And according to The Wall Street Journal’s estimate, the funds involved will exceed 10 billion euros!

This cannot help but remind people of the event that triggered the bankruptcy of American International Group in the subprime mortgage crisis. The cause was also that their investment department underwrote CDS bonds.

After The Wall Street Journal’s report, many media outlets, including those in the United States, Britain, and even mainland Europe, successively reported this shocking news.

Obviously, at a time when the European Central Bank has been tight-lipped and refuses to express its position on the issue of bailing out Greece, the sovereign debt crisis that has broken out in Greece is intensifying.

If it is really as reported, then perhaps Greece’s debt default is not an impossible event, and even seems to be increasingly likely…

Then what LCF Rothschild Group faces will probably be a desperate situation—after all, it has only been a little over a year since the fall of American International Group.

Chapter 732: Collapse

“We have examined the credit default swap (CDS) agreements between our subsidiary companies and several banks. We can confirm that, while the agreements currently carry some risk of default, it is nowhere near as severe as reported in the media…”

Soon after, LCR Rothschild Group issued a response to the overwhelming reports regarding their subsidiaries’ CDS agreements with Wall Street banks, which were tied to Greek debt:

“We are in communication with our CDS insurers, including Goldman Sachs, and are confident that we can resolve this matter amicably. Furthermore, many media reports have greatly exaggerated the situation, causing significant damage to LCR Rothschild Group. We will pursue legal action if these false reports continue.”

LCR Rothschild Group refused to comply with media requests to disclose the total financial scale of their subsidiaries’ CDS agreements, claiming it was confidential company information.

For a time, the matter of LCR Rothschild Group’s CDS agreements with Wall Street banks attracted public attention.

It should be noted that, although LCR Rothschild Group is no longer a top-tier financial institution globally and its primary business is limited to Europe,
the Rothschild family’s reputation is very high. Many people have heard various rumors about the once-incredibly wealthy Rothschild family.

Now that their LCR Rothschild Group has been thrust into the spotlight, people can’t help but wonder if it will suffer the same fate as American International Group.

Besides the general public, perhaps the most concerned at this time are LCR Rothschild Group’s clients. After all, they manage approximately 70 billion euros in assets for their clients, and if LCR Rothschild Group were to collapse, these assets would inevitably be affected.

Troubles never come singly.

Just as the LCR Rothschild Group’s CDS agreements were causing an uproar, a department head at NM Rothschild Bank suddenly testified to the French Financial Markets Authority (AMF), claiming that NM Rothschild Bank had used insider transactions to transfer losses from its proprietary trading business, causing their wealth management department to bear at least 2 billion euros in losses incurred by the proprietary trading business.

The French Financial Markets Authority is the highest financial regulatory agency in France, and its director is personally appointed by the French Minister of Finance.

In addition to describing how NM Rothschild Bank transferred most of the losses from its proprietary trading business to the wealth management department, Bardeaux Boyd, who came forward to testify against NM Rothschild Bank, also provided the Financial Markets Authority with a great deal of detailed evidence.

According to Bardeaux Boyd, NM Rothschild Bank’s losses due to the unauthorized trading of trader Peter exceeded 3 billion euros. However, NM Rothschild Bank only publicly announced losses of 1 billion euros. The remaining losses of over 2 billion euros were transferred to the wealth management department through complex operations, with NM Rothschild Bank’s clients bearing this portion of the losses.

Furthermore, Bardeaux Boyd claimed that this was not the first time NM Rothschild Bank had done this, and in fact, these methods had long been a “tradition” at NM Rothschild Bank.

The French Financial Markets Authority immediately launched an investigation into NM Rothschild Bank and demanded that Rothschild Bank seal all transaction data and information for their inspection.

At the same time, the relevant French investigative agencies issued restraining orders against NM Rothschild’s executives, including its president, Benjamin Rothschild, prohibiting them from leaving France until the investigation was completed.

“Your Grace, news from France indicates that they will only give us ten days. After that, they will reach a settlement with the Rothschild family.”

Baron was not surprised by this result.

After all, it was obvious that the Rothschild family, which had operated in France for so long and had once wielded immense power, could not possibly be without intricate connections to politicians in France.

Perhaps many people had compromising information in the hands of the other party.

Baron was able to obtain these ten days because his allies had exerted their influence, coupled with the fact that Old Sa and Christine Lagarde themselves were somewhat dissatisfied with the Rothschild family’s conduct.

Next, not only did the news that LCR Rothschild Group might suffer huge losses in CDS agreements spread like wildfire, but the news that NM Rothschild Bank was passing on losses from its proprietary trading business to its wealth management clients also became ubiquitous.

In addition, Baron and his allies began to aggressively short investments in LCR Rothschild Group’s wealth management department.

When some of LCR Rothschild Group’s clients withdrew their investments out of concern, they discovered that those investments had already shrunk significantly.

Even more alarming was that the redemption prices of many private equity funds were decreasing day by day…

Undoubtedly, news that LCR Rothschild Group was on the verge of bankruptcy began to spread among these clients.

Even though LCR Rothschild Group was doing its best to reassure its clients, claiming that these were only temporary situations and that profitability would soon be restored…

But like a bank run, once this kind of thing happens, it is difficult to stop.

After all, everyone is afraid of losing everything if they are too late to get out.

After the subprime mortgage crisis, confidence in the European market had not yet recovered, and then the Greek sovereign debt crisis broke out. Now, this crisis is threatening to spread to more countries, and the market is in a state of panic.

Baron and his allies’ short-selling was simply taking advantage of the situation.

In this situation, the value of LCR Rothschild Group’s wealth management department’s holdings was declining.

And because its core NM Rothschild Bank was under investigation, many of its operations were already restricted.

Now, as clients rushed to withdraw their investments, they also needed to liquidate their financial assets, which in itself was a selling behavior in the market and would contribute to the decline in prices.

These factors caused the scale of its wealth management to plummet.

Under duress, LCR Rothschild Group could only issue an announcement, in addition to condemning some capital for maliciously shorting them, they also announced restrictions on the daily amount of funds that could be redeemed.

It can be said that in the current situation, this is completely a desperate and foolish move—but then again, LCR Rothschild Group had no other choice, because now all of their institutions were almost surrounded by clients demanding to withdraw their funds…

And some clients, although they had already withdrawn their funds, inevitably felt greatly dissatisfied with LCR Rothschild Group in the face of their greatly reduced investments, which also contributed to the collapse of LCR Rothschild Group’s reputation at this time.

Finally, just one week later, LCR Rothschild Group had no choice but to seek help from the French government. According to statistics, the scale of funds they managed at this time was less than 20 billion euros…

And half a month ago, that number was 70 billion euros!

Many people knew that LCR Rothschild Group was finished.

Chapter 733: New Year’s Eve, Valentine’s Day

February 13th, New Year’s Eve, and also the day before Valentine’s Day.

Badu Boyd, who was under the protection of the French police, was found dead at his home.

Badu Boyd was the bank executive who reported to the French Financial Markets Authority that NM Rothschild Bank was transferring losses from its proprietary trading business to its wealth management division.

Of course, he didn’t do this out of a sudden burst of conscience, but because he had to. He certainly understood the power of the Rothschild family, and knew that actions like his would inevitably invite retaliation.

However, Mikhail also had a handle on him. Reporting the Rothschild family might bring retaliation, but not doing so would immediately lead to his ruin and even death.

Therefore, when reporting NM Rothschild Bank to the French Financial Markets Authority, his requirement was that they must guarantee his safety.

To this end, the French side specifically sent two police officers to protect Badu Boyd and his family during this period.

But even under such circumstances, Badu Boyd was still killed in his own home.

Yes, it was obviously murder, after all, being shot in the back, it couldn’t be suicide, right…

This incident made the French side very dissatisfied with the Rothschild family!

On the one hand, the police had already sent people to protect Badu Boyd, and he was still shot dead. This not only demonstrated the incompetence of the police, but also a provocation to the authorities.

On the other hand, the Financial Markets Authority is now investigating NM Rothschild Bank. The Rothschild family’s actions are clearly a warning to others, preventing them from cooperating with the Financial Markets Authority.

At this time, Benjamin Rothschild, the president of NM Rothschild Bank, was severely reprimanded by his uncle, David Rothschild.

“This is not something I did at all, and I am also investigating who did this!”

David looked directly at Benjamin. Although his head was full of silver hair, his eyes still looked sharp:

“It better not be you, otherwise it can only show that you are too stupid, my nephew.”

David Rothschild is the chairman of LCR Rothschild Group and the head of the Rothschild family in the French and German lines.

Now, the descendants of the Rothschild family are scattered all over the world, and some have even faded into obscurity.

Among them, the strongest is still the French and German branches of the Rothschild family. During World War II, the Rothschild family’s assets in Germany suffered heavy losses for well-known reasons, but after World War II, the Rothschild family once again entered Germany from France. These were the original French branches of the Rothschild family, and now they have become the most powerful branch of the Rothschild family.

As for the British branch of the Rothschild family, the current head is Baron Jacob Rothschild. Their core asset is RIT Capital Management, and their family’s total assets are less than $1 billion, which is far from the LCR Rothschild Group controlled by the French branch of the Rothschild family.

“Whether you did it or not, it doesn’t make much difference to us now, Benjamin.”

David Rothschild is the head of the Rothschild family, but at 62 years old, he has no male heirs, only two daughters.

In the tradition of the Rothschild family, the heir must be a male member, and the female members of the family are often used for marriage with other family forces.

Before this, Benjamin Rothschild was one of the more competitive candidates for family heir, and for this reason, David Rothschild is now slightly disappointed in him.

He sighed and said to Benjamin:

“Now is the most dangerous moment our family has faced since World War II. No matter what, things have already happened, and we need to consider what to do.”

In the second half of the 19th century, the Rothschild family made a strategic misjudgment. At that time, they misjudged the development of America, so they withdrew from North America under the joint resistance of the original American local forces they cultivated, including the Morgan and Rockefeller families.

However, at that time, the Rothschild family in Europe was still strong, controlling the financial lifeline of many countries.

Even behind World War I, there was the figure of the Rothschild family…

It can be said that at that time, the Jewish group led by the Rothschild family did become the behind-the-scenes financial overlord of Europe.

For this reason, the greed of many Jewish businessmen sowed the seeds for their experiences in World War II.

Many people think that anti-Semitism was done by Nazi Germany, but in fact, during World War II, not only Nazi Germany, but many countries discriminated against Jews to some extent, but Nazi Germany did it more directly and purely.

Therefore, with the war machine of Nazi Germany, not only in Germany, but also in the European regions they later occupied, the Rothschild family’s industries suffered devastating blows.

Hearing David Rothschild compare their current situation to the crisis during World War II, Benjamin Rothschild’s expression couldn’t help but become a little gloomy.

“The current situation is definitely not normal. There are some people behind the scenes who want to put us to death. I have contacted some people in the government, and I can feel this from their attitude…”

Just as David Rothschild’s voice fell, there was a knock on the door.

“Sir…”

The one who came in was David’s butler, who said:

“Three police officers are here to visit. They said they want to see Mr. Benjamin.”

On February 14th, Valentine’s Day, also the day after Badu Boyd was shot, the Paris police took Benjamin Rothschild, the president of NM Rothschild Bank, to the police station to assist in the investigation. This time they did not accommodate the Rothschild family, and detained Benjamin Rothschild for a full 48 hours.

…

On Valentine’s Day, Barron had returned to Grace Lavender Manor on Tasmania Island, Australia.

This day is also the Chinese New Year.

Well, the Spring Festival in Chinese tradition is a day for family reunion.

After discussing with Bonnie, Barron brought Tamaran Ecclestone and Katherine Neville and her daughter to Grace Lavender Manor for the first time.

His personal assistant, Zhang Junning, was also eye-opening, seeing Barron’s ex-wife and his two lovers getting along together for the first time—in fact, it was three lovers, and Countess Booth, Christine.

Although the scene when they first met was a bit awkward, under Barron’s mediation, the atmosphere was still good when they had dinner together in the end.

At least it seemed so on the surface.

At least the children got along very happily.

Barron watched the seven children playing together, five of whom were his children, uh, Tamaran has one in her belly…

This kind of family reunion scene is indeed very warm, isn’t it?

Of course, Barron also took great pains to achieve this.

After spending Valentine’s Day and the Chinese New Year with everyone, and personally giving them gifts, Barron also took Bonnie, and the two of them spent a sweet night alone on a yacht.

Chapter 734: Stepping Forward

Although the French police ultimately released Benjamin Rothschild after detaining him for 48 hours, the investigation into NM Rothschild Bank’s irregular transfer of losses and the case of Badu Boyd’s murder was still ongoing…

Meanwhile, the situation of the LCR Rothschild Group could be described as deteriorating day by day.

Affected by this series of events, the share price of LCR Rothschild Group plummeted by more than 70% in just half a month. This led to many loans, which the Rothschild family had mortgaged using their shares in LCR Rothschild Group, facing demands for repayment from the banks. They either had to provide sufficient additional collateral or repay the portion of the loan exceeding the collateral value.

Furthermore, the scale of wealth managed by LCR Rothschild Group had drastically decreased from approximately 70 billion euros to less than 15 billion euros, and it was still declining…

It could be said that the reason they still managed nearly 15 billion euros in managed funds was simply that this portion of assets had not yet had time to be cashed out and returned to clients.

As for David Rothschild personally approaching the French government to seek government assistance…

The government’s response was that, given the numerous problems exposed by LCR Rothschild Group, their request for assistance would only be considered after the Financial Markets Authority’s investigation reached a final conclusion.

However, the Rothschild family also received news that their angry clients, who had suffered losses due to investments, were already discussing plans to collectively file lawsuits against LCR Rothschild Group for compensation…

“I spoke with Acquaye today. Most people, including the President and the Minister of Finance, are furious about NM Rothschild Bank’s transfer of losses and Badu’s murder. Although he has a good relationship with us, he also stated that we must take responsibility for these matters before we can possibly receive assistance…”

In the evening, David Rothschild once again summoned Benjamin Rothschild to his home and said this to him.

“But we didn’t kill Badu!”

Hearing Benjamin’s words, David stared at him with his hawk-like eyes and said calmly:

“That’s not important at all, Benjamin. If it were any other time, let alone the death of one person, even the bank’s problems could be resolved…”

He lit a cigar, watching the flickering light on it, savoring the sensation of the smoke in his mouth:

“But the problem now is that we were caught with our pants down at our weakest moment. Can you guarantee that those people won’t find any problems in the bank?”

“I…”

Benjamin shook his head:

“Things happened too suddenly. The people from the Financial Markets Authority acted very decisively. We didn’t have time to do much. It should only be a matter of time…”

“Have you ever considered that the reason they haven’t found anything so quickly might not be because they can’t find anything, but because they are also stalling for time?”

“You mean…”

Seeing the surprised and somewhat enlightened expression on his nephew’s face, David nodded:

“As long as they are investigating, we cannot use our connections to get help. This may be the result they want…”

David walked up to Benjamin, patted him on the shoulder, and said:

“Benjamin, you are a member of our family. In times like these, someone needs to step forward.”

…

“As my friends, a win-win situation is what I pursue…”

After briefly accompanying his family at Grace Lavender Manor, Barron returned to New York.

Facing his allies this time, Barron said:

“Judging from the French side’s attitude, they are happy to see the Rothschild family weakened, but they will still retain some of their business… Moreover, they would prefer local financial groups to take over a significant portion of the Rothschild family’s business. You know, the French have always been quite insistent on this…”

Lloyd and Jamie Dimon exchanged glances, and then Lloyd asked:

“So, besides the profits from our shorting this time, what else can we get?”

“Don’t think I don’t know, gentlemen, some of the funds withdrawn from LCR Rothschild Group have been entrusted to you for management.”

Facing Barron’s words, Jamie Dimon replied nonchalantly:

“Doesn’t DS Group also get a significant share? Your Grace.”

“This shouldn’t be what we are arguing about…”

Barron shrugged and said:

“I will get some of the Rothschild family’s controlled bank shares as compensation. I will give up some of the shares in the shorting operations in Japan and South Korea to you. I believe this will satisfy you.”

Hearing Barron’s words, Lloyd and Jamie Dimon smiled simultaneously.

Compared to Japan and South Korea, Barron was more concerned about Europe. Although he had shorted Europe this time with Wall Street capital such as Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase, and targeted the Rothschild family.

But after this, he did not want to see American capital take the opportunity to control more of the European financial industry, especially after the Rothschild family inevitably lost blood. If the fat they lost was obtained by these Wall Street capitals, then France, as a relatively independent country in Europe, would be infiltrated as a result.

In Barron’s view, Europe was his private preserve. Even from the perspective of the French government, if they pushed too hard, the possibility of them turning around to help the Rothschild family would greatly increase.

Therefore, the best result was that he gave up some of his interests in Japan and South Korea in exchange for sharing more of the Rothschild “inheritance” this time.

After all, compared to South Korea, which was more obedient to its “American daddy,” Japan, even though its military and economy were controlled by the United States, would still try its best to retain some independent capabilities, even if this part was getting smaller and smaller.

For example, in the economic field, Japan’s financial industry could be said to have been infiltrated by American capital to a considerable extent, but in the manufacturing industry, there were still some core enterprises that were not controlled by Wall Street.

Since this was the case, Barron simply gave up some of his interests in Japan and let Wall Street capital take the lead.

This was also the main reason why he formed a tacit understanding with Wall Street bigwigs such as Lloyd and Jamie Dimon after arriving in New York this time—he did not want to immediately have rifts with these people due to “uneven distribution of profits” after this operation against the Rothschild family.

Being able to maintain this relationship for as long as possible was also very important for Barron, at least allowing him to have more time to develop.

Chapter 735: Case Reopened

On February 20th, Benjamin Rothschild, president of NM Rothschild Bank, and his lawyer surrendered to the French Financial Markets Authority (AMF).

In the plea bargain he signed with the AMF, Benjamin Rothschild admitted that, with his permission, some managers at NM Rothschild Bank had transferred at least 2 billion euros of the 3 billion euros in losses incurred by their proprietary trading desk due to trader Pete’s misconduct to their wealth management division.

In this agreement, Benjamin Rothschild explained that all of this stemmed from his desire to avoid losing out in the succession battle for the LCR Rothschild Group due to these massive losses, and he therefore concealed it from the group’s management.

Furthermore, Benjamin Rothschild denied that LCR Rothschild Group and NM Rothschild Bank had previously used these methods to transfer proprietary trading losses on multiple occasions.

Ultimately, Benjamin Rothschild would resign from all positions at NM Rothschild Bank and take responsibility, accepting the relevant penalties.

After all, with a transfer of over 2 billion euros in proprietary trading losses, if someone were to take responsibility for it, they certainly couldn’t push it down to someone lower…

The people at the AMF weren’t fools. An operation of this scale wouldn’t have been possible without the approval of Benjamin Rothschild, the bank’s president.

Therefore, in order to quickly conclude the Financial Markets Authority’s investigation into NM Rothschild Bank, Benjamin Rothschild, the president of NM Rothschild Bank, had to take responsibility.

In the end, Benjamin Rothschild will be placed under house arrest until his trial begins.

In addition, NM Rothschild Bank was fined a hefty 500 million euros by the French Financial Markets Authority as a result.

And the clients of LCR Rothschild Group, whose investments had shrunk significantly, collectively filed a lawsuit against LCR Rothschild Group in the Paris court, demanding compensation for their losses.

The total compensation they are seeking amounts to 35 billion euros!

This is the largest investment loss compensation lawsuit in French history.

It should be known that to become a wealth management client of LCR Rothschild Bank, ordinary people can’t even reach the threshold. At the very least, they are upper-middle-class wealthy families, and some are even super-rich…

Therefore, these people’s lawsuit against LCR Rothschild Group will probably give the Rothschild family a headache.

“A compensation amount of 35 billion euros will definitely not be supported. After all, when signing the fund management agreement, there will be relevant clauses. Generally speaking, as long as it is not a guaranteed-return agreement, losses caused by investment on behalf of others, as long as they are not caused by human factors, then the court will not support compensation…”

In a call with Daisy, she said to Barron:

“However, in this case, NM Rothschild Bank did transfer losses from the proprietary trading department to the wealth management department. So, for this part, they will definitely need to provide compensation and will receive corresponding fines.”

Barron naturally understood these things, but the most troublesome thing for the Rothschild family this time was that a considerable portion of the funds they managed belonged to some national sovereign wealth funds. The huge losses incurred by this portion of the funds will probably bury the Rothschild family’s relationship with these government-managed sovereign wealth funds.

In any case, now they just need to wait for things to proceed according to plan and finally reap the rewards.

But besides that, Barron encountered a little trouble.

In fact, this wasn’t really related to Barron, but to John Smith of the Sinclair Group.

Yesterday, John Smith contacted Barron by phone. He was cautious and didn’t reveal the details of the matter over the phone, but instead arranged a time to meet Barron.

Since John Smith gained control of the family business, Barron has rarely met with him – after all, the largest shareholder in the Sinclair Group outside of their family is now IC Capital, managed by Ivanka, and no longer SEM Group.

“Barron, I might be in trouble…”

After meeting, Barron noticed that John Smith’s expression was slightly flustered. He patted him on the shoulder and said calmly:

“Don’t worry, John, take your time.”

“The thing is…”

It turned out that what was causing John Smith so much anxiety was related to his good older brother.

Two days ago, police officers went to the Sinclair Group to see John Smith and asked him about the death of his brother, David Smith.

David Smith initially suffered a stroke and was hospitalized. In the hospital room, he died due to equipment failure caused by the negligence of the nursing staff.

Because the nurse was found to be an addict and later died at home from an overdose, David Smith’s death was initially ruled as an accidental death caused by human error.

But now, police officers have actually contacted John Smith again to inquire about the situation, which has aroused John Smith’s vigilance.

After dealing with the police officer, he discovered that not only him, but other siblings in their family were being questioned by police officers about this matter.

Now that John Smith is in the position of chairman of the Sinclair Group, he has access to more resources and information, so he quickly found out the cause of the matter.

It turned out that not long ago, a serious offender serving time in a Dallas County, Texas prison contacted a prosecutor in Maryland, claiming that he had an important lead to provide, on the condition that he be transferred to a California prison with better conditions and a more pleasant climate.

After hearing the lead provided by the other party, the prosecutor agreed to this exchange condition.

This prisoner told the prosecutor that another prisoner who had been in the same room with him had mentioned something while chatting with him, namely that the other prisoner had been commissioned to kill a hospital caregiver in Maryland. The caregiver’s last words before dying were also a bit strange…

After learning of this lead, the prosecutor first found the “cellmate” mentioned by this prisoner, who had now been transferred to a Maryland prison and was named Bartlan Rosario. He was a habitual offender with a rich “criminal history.” His most recent imprisonment was for second-degree murder after he shot and killed an elderly man during a burglary.

However, after the prosecutor approached Bartlan Rosario, the latter simply denied having said this and then, after contacting his lawyer, remained silent.

Clearly, Bartlan Rosario had extensive experience dealing with the police.

However, after consulting relevant records in Maryland and based on the caregiver’s last words before dying:

“Mr. Smith, don’t come looking for me. Someone else made me do it…”

The prosecutor narrowed the lead to the case of the accidental death of David Smith, the former chairman of the Sinclair Group, in the hospital. After all, according to the circumstances of that case, it directly corresponded to the description of the prisoner who provided the information earlier – the hospital caregiver’s negligence led to David Smith’s death, and the caregiver was later found dead at home from an overdose…

Seeing this, the prosecutor named Harrington Porter became excited. The Sinclair Group is a well-known media company in Maryland and even the entire United States. A case involving the death of the group’s former chairman would definitely attract global attention!

But at the same time, this case is also very tricky, not only because the identities of the various suspects involved are extraordinary, but also because the case was closed as an accidental death, and many pieces of physical evidence related to the case may not have been preserved…

Chapter 736: Support

Logically speaking, the investigation into the David Smith case should have kept many of its details confidential.

But the real world doesn’t always follow logic. Since Attorney General Harrington Porter wanted to reopen the investigation, he would inevitably need the cooperation of relevant police officers. With the Sinclair Group’s prestige in Maryland, it wouldn’t be difficult for John Smith to get inside information on the case.

After all, he had the excellent excuse of caring about his brother’s death.

“Luckily, that prisoner named Bartland wasn’t misled by the Attorney General into framing you, John. But this is still a hidden danger…”

In fact, this matter had nothing to do with Barron. After all, he had never explicitly discussed anything about David Smith with John Smith, let alone participated in it.

What surprised him, however, was that after John Smith had people do these things, he didn’t clean up the mess properly, leaving such a hidden danger. It seemed that even though he could be ruthless enough to get rid of his older brother, he wasn’t really someone who could accomplish great things.

This was normal. Before this, the Sinclair Group was mainly expanded by his father and older brother, and he had always been well protected.

But then again, it was precisely someone like this who was Barron’s best partner—provided he could ensure he wouldn’t get caught up in this.

Fortunately, John Smith was smart enough to know not to discuss this matter with Barron over the phone, but to talk to him in person. Barron himself owned O2 Telecom, so how could he not know that, like O2 Telecom, within the United States, it would definitely need to cooperate with relevant agencies. Not only the FBI and CIA, but even the American police, after obtaining authorization, could require O2 Telecom to provide call records of its users within the United States or even conduct remote monitoring.

Therefore, now that the other party had turned their attention to John Smith, it was entirely possible that his phone was already being monitored.

If John Smith had really mentioned this matter on the phone, Barron would have definitely said he didn’t know what he was talking about and completely distanced himself from it—because that would only mean he was too stupid.

Even now, when Barron was talking to John Smith, John Smith had been checked by Barron’s security personnel beforehand to ensure he had no listening devices on him, and their phones were left outside.

And even so, Barron wouldn’t leave any loopholes in his words.

He looked at John Smith and said:

“You should know how tempting it would be for a state attorney general to turn your brother’s death into a murder case and convict someone in your family, especially you. If this succeeds, it will definitely become a dazzling achievement for him…”

John Smith understood Barron’s words very well. After nodding in agreement, he heard Barron continue:

“Therefore, in order to achieve this goal, that Attorney General Harrington Porter is likely to offer Bartland tempting conditions in exchange for his testimony against you. Therefore, you need to speed up your actions, John.”

Actually, John Smith came to Barron this time because he had never encountered such a thing before, and he didn’t trust anyone else to discuss it with—not even his wife, Jenny Booth.. John Smith didn’t want to involve her in this.

But Barron was the one who suggested that he “resolve” his older brother David Smith, and he also believed that this young Duke’s methods in this regard were indeed beyond his reach, hence today’s meeting.

After Barron’s analysis, he also realized the danger of his current situation and also made it clear what to do.

When John Smith was leaving, Barron patted him on the shoulder:

“John, I believe in you, so I will support you.”

Yes, I will give you all the support except help.

Of course, Barron would definitely not say this.

…

“I didn’t expect you to be interested in the pharmaceutical industry, Barron.”

Bill Gates said to Barron very kindly.

“Is that strange, Mr. Gates?”

“After all…”

“After all, I’m still relatively young?”

Barron said with a smile:

“I’m not only planning to invest in Pfizer, but also in some pharmaceutical companies and institutions with unique new technologies. After all, this has nothing to do with my age. The pharmaceutical industry can help us humans fight diseases, which is a very meaningful thing…”

Uh, Bill Gates could only smile. He felt like his lines were being stolen.

Barron and Bill Gates have been on the Forbes Global Rich List for several years in a row. They knew each other before, and with Microsoft’s successful acquisition of Skype, their relationship became even closer.

This time, Barron and Bill Gates’ meeting first discussed Barron’s ongoing acquisition of some Pfizer shares.

Pfizer is one of the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies, and in fact, the Gates Foundation had already started buying shares in this company as early as 2002. Therefore, Bill Gates is also one of Pfizer’s major shareholders.

In addition, the Gates Foundation has also invested in many emerging pharmaceutical companies. After all, health is an eternal industry.

Of course, the future global virus will also allow many companies, including Pfizer, to make a lot of money. Just because of these, Barron will not miss these companies.

Currently, Pfizer’s market value is around 100 billion US dollars, and Barron’s Blue Valley Capital, Merrill Lynch Investment, and Global Industry Investment (GII) fund have invested a total of 10 billion US dollars to purchase approximately 10% of Pfizer’s shares, and will continue to buy in the future.

“You know, Mr. Gates, I have established an artificial intelligence laboratory in Silicon Valley. I know Microsoft is also conducting research in this field…”

Barron said to Bill Gates:

“In addition to Pfizer, I am also very interested in those innovative pharmaceutical companies. I believe that in the future, artificial intelligence can also be well applied to the pharmaceutical field, helping them shorten the research and development cycle of new drugs. The application of this new technology is still very promising.”

It must be said that Barron’s views coincide with Bill Gates, which is also a field he is very interested in. Therefore, the two had a very pleasant conversation about these things.

Chapter 737: Recovering Copyrights

Although Barron didn’t directly ask John Smith what he planned to do, he believed he wasn’t foolish enough to directly send someone to Maryland Penitentiary to silence Bartland Rosario – that is, the criminal who was instructed to kill the hospital worker by injecting an overdose of drugs.

This approach seemed the most direct. After all, once Bartland Rosario died, the prosecution wouldn’t be able to connect the case to John Smith.

But likewise, this action would be seen as a provocation to the prosecution. And carrying out a murder in such a heavily guarded prison, while not impossible, would require instructing someone else to do the dirty work. The prosecution could easily follow the trail of Bartland Rosario’s killer and continue the investigation…

Furthermore, from the very beginning, John Smith wasn’t so foolish as to directly find Bartland Rosario to silence him. Given his social standing, it wouldn’t have been easy for him to contact such a person.

Back then, he had used a “middleman” type of broker to find Bartland Rosario to carry out the hit.

Therefore, for John Smith, the safest thing to do was to cut off the connection between himself and Bartland Rosario, which meant making that “middleman” shut up permanently.

And in itself, this matter wasn’t that dangerous for John Smith. After all, the nurse who tampered with his older brother David Smith’s life support equipment, leading to David’s accidental death, was already dead with no way to prove anything. Even if the prosecution suspected other members of the Sinclair family, or even John Smith, who benefited the most, there wasn’t much evidence.

It could even be argued that another family member, seeking revenge for their older brother’s death due to the nurse’s negligence, hired someone to kill the nurse. That would be a plausible motive for murder.

But then again, didn’t David Smith’s “accident” raise suspicions among John Smith’s other siblings?

It was clear that the biggest beneficiary of this matter was John Smith. It was because of David’s death that John ultimately gained control of the family trust.

But at the time, there weren’t many voices raising these concerns. That’s just the way the cookie crumbles. If the other party really had any evidence, then that would be another matter. In itself, there was no strong evidence pointing to John Smith. Mere suspicion wasn’t convincing, and would only antagonize John, who currently held power. Why bother?

Therefore, Barron didn’t pay too much attention to this matter afterward, completely letting John Smith handle it himself.

He didn’t need to get too involved in such things.

…

“Darling, don’t worry, I’ll do my best to persuade my sister.”

Lydia Hearst had been accompanying Barron these past few days. Currently, among Barron’s women, only Amanda Hearst had given birth to a child for him, and then taken the child and distanced herself from him.

Lydia knew that Barron was always a bit concerned about this, so she comforted him from time to time.

This wasn’t because Lydia was truly selfless – although, in this regard, Lydia was much better than her cousin Amanda.

But Lydia also had her own little thoughts. In terms of various conditions, Lydia came from the Hearst family, and both her appearance and figure were extremely outstanding. Combining these conditions, she was very competitive among the socialites of America.

But all of this was for other men. When facing Barron, Lydia Hearst wasn’t so confident.

And Barron’s attraction to her was too great, making it difficult for Lydia to let go. Therefore, she believed that if she chose to stay by Barron’s side, she and her cousin Amanda together would be the ideal result in the competition with other women.

This was why, during this period, Lydia always tried her best to help Barron mediate his relationship with Amanda.

In fact, if Amanda Hearst could be more career-minded like Ivanka, it would be easier for Barron to handle his relationship with her.

In that case, although Barron couldn’t give Amanda a marriage in name, as a partner, Barron could help her better manage the Hearst family’s business. There was even a lot of room to maneuver, using the Hearst Group as a foundation and making it one of the leading media groups in America again through mergers and acquisitions.

But the problem was that, although she was the heir to the Hearst family, Amanda didn’t have much ambition in her career, but rather more ambition in her relationships.

Her only hope was to be able to enter into marriage with Barron openly and legitimately.

But currently, this was what Barron couldn’t give her the most.

Therefore, in such a situation, it was difficult for the two of them to resolve the conflict.

In Amanda Hearst’s view, the only obstacle between her and Barron before was Barron’s marriage to Bonnie.

But now that Barron was divorced, he still had no intention of giving her a title. Thinking about the compromises she had made for him before, Amanda couldn’t help but feel wronged and even resentful, which was understandable.

After all, given her background, if she had chosen anyone else, this situation wouldn’t have occurred.

But ultimately, in terms of external conditions, Barron’s background, wealth, and power, plus his own conditions – young, handsome, talented, and even with such a strong ability to learn knowledge… Such an ideal lover, if they hadn’t met him before, it would have been fine, but after getting along with him, including Amanda and Lydia, compared to the other men they had met, it was simply impossible to be willing to miss out on him.

“We are currently negotiating with Sony Corporation, trying to recover the Spider-Man copyright from their hands…”

Blue Valley Capital’s CEO, Annika Dawson, said to Barron:

“Sony Corporation’s situation isn’t very good right now. Their headquarters is even preparing to sell two headquarters buildings due to financial problems. But it seems that they are still wavering about selling the Spider-Man copyright. However, our minimum goal is to obtain the Spider-Man image license.”

Previously, Marvel-MGM Group had already taken back the copyrights to X-Men, Fantastic Four, and mutants from 20th Century Fox. They are now preparing to film the latest “X-Men” movie.

So the most important Marvel superhero still out there is Spider-Man.

Although, as Annika said, Sony Corporation’s situation isn’t very good due to the subprime mortgage crisis, the recent economic downturn in Japan and South Korea, and the intense competition in its main business of consumer electronics products, resulting in much lower performance.

But even so, Sony’s attitude towards Marvel-MGM recovering the Spider-Man copyright is still very cautious.

After all, the CEO of Sony Corporation at this time is Howard Stringer, who was born in Wales, went to America, and participated in the Vietnam War. He is the first foreign leader of the Sony empire.

And before serving as the CEO of Sony Corporation, Howard Stringer’s position was the CEO of Sony Corporation of America. It was under his leadership that Sony acquired the Spider-Man copyright from Marvel.

At the end of the last century, Marvel’s situation was very bad, on the verge of bankruptcy.

In order to quickly recover funds, Marvel put almost all of their superhero copyrights, including X-Men, Fantastic Four, and Hulk, on the negotiating table, and prepared to sell these copyrights as a package for $25 million.

At the time, Sony Pictures had always been very interested in Spider-Man. Therefore, in negotiations with Marvel, they stated that they only needed Spider-Man, and didn’t want to buy other superhero IPs – after all, at the time, there were very few successful comic-based superhero movies, and they weren’t favored. And among them, Spider-Man was the most well-known.

After a period of negotiation, Marvel lowered the price again, offering Sony a proposal to package the copyrights for $20 million…

Sony still refused to acquire Marvel copyrights other than Spider-Man.

In the end, the two parties finally reached an agreement. Sony acquired the film production copyright for Spider-Man for $7 million.

According to the sales agreement, Sony obtained the film production copyright for Spider-Man and all related characters, and all film revenue belonged to Sony.

The condition was that Sony had to release a Spider-Man movie every 5 years, otherwise the copyright would automatically revert to Marvel.

Chapter 738: A Deal

At that time, besides Sony purchasing the rights to Spider-Man, Twentieth Century Fox also purchased the rights to X-Men, Fantastic Four, and mutants.

This meant that from the moment they purchased these rights, as long as Sony and Twentieth Century Fox paid the copyright fees on time, Marvel Studios couldn’t make movies related to Spider-Man, X-Men, and Fantastic Four. Furthermore, Marvel couldn’t terminate the contracts and reclaim the film rights to these characters.

Therefore, when Marvel Studios prepared to turn their superheroes into movies, they could only utilize superheroes like Iron Man, Captain America, and Thor to build their “Marvel Cinematic Universe.”

Now that they had reclaimed the rights to X-Men, Fantastic Four, and mutants that Twentieth Century Fox had bought, the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s members only lacked Spider-Man, a major intellectual property…

Barron knew that, up to 2007, Sony had already released the “Spider-Man Trilogy.”

After these movies concluded, according to the original agreement that “a Spider-Man movie must be released every five years,” they had to release another Spider-Man movie before 2012, or the Spider-Man rights would revert to Marvel Entertainment.

In his previous life, Sony had to reboot the series in the form of “The Amazing Spider-Man,” but the subsequent “The Amazing Spider-Man 2” didn’t achieve the expected results in terms of either critical acclaim or box office revenue.

So, Sony Pictures and Marvel Studios reached an agreement, and both parties jointly used the film rights to the superhero Spider-Man.

After a long period of discussion, they finally decided to reboot the movie series again. However, “Spider-Man: Homecoming” was 100% funded and distributed by Sony, and Sony received all the box office revenue from the film, while Marvel Studios was responsible for producing the film and served as the “creative lead” for the film.

But Barron wasn’t willing to wait any longer. After all, Blue Valley Capital had money now, and Sony was in the midst of a financial crisis, which could be said to be a very good opportunity to buy back the Spider-Man rights.

In addition, Marvel-MGM Group had already released many superhero movies, which had already warmed up the market. Once the Avengers were released later, Sony would inevitably see the opportunity for superhero movies to become a hit. By then, even if they were to recover the Spider-Man rights, the price would be pushed to a higher level…

The most crucial point was that Blue Valley Capital was currently cooperating with the Grace Cultural Tourism Group, owned by the Devonshire Family Trust, to build the world’s first Marvel-MGM Studios near Los Angeles!

This studio would feature many characters from the movie IPs owned by Marvel and MGM, and the main force would naturally be Marvel’s superheroes—this would be like Disneyland and Universal Studios, and would be an attempt for Marvel-MGM’s IPs to enter the cultural tourism and entertainment field.

Therefore, it would be exciting if the highly recognizable Spider-Man could join this studio.

Unlike Universal Studios in Los Angeles, the Marvel-MGM Studios to be built would not include film studios, only theme parks.

After all, the cost of filming in the United States, especially near Los Angeles, was already quite high at this time.

Therefore, many movies chose to film overseas, especially in regions like Canada, Australia, and the British Isles that had special government subsidies, which could greatly reduce the cost of filming.

Next, Barron planned to choose a suitable location to build a film studio in Asia, especially in China, where costs were relatively lower. This would greatly reduce the filming costs of some future Marvel-MGM Group films.

…

“If I really said those things, it was just bragging. I don’t even remember it myself, sir. You know, in a place like prison, you always need to say some exaggerated things to make others feel like you’re not to be trifled with.”

In the visiting room of the Maryland prison, a disheveled middle-aged white man said to the attorney general across the table from him.

“Bartlane, you were previously sentenced to second-degree murder for theft and murder, so I don’t think you need to fabricate anything else…”

Hearing the attorney general’s words, Bartlane Rosario placed his hands on the table in front of him. He raised his head slightly and looked at the other party, saying:

“Who here isn’t a murderer? Sir, many times they have more to talk about. You always need to show that you’re not weaker than them.”

Harrington Porter knew that as a habitual offender with a criminal record that was longer than ninety percent of people’s resumes, Bartlane Rosario was very cunning. He certainly wouldn’t easily tell him what he wanted to know, but he had come prepared:

“I can make a deal with you, Bartlane.”

Seeing the other party looking him over with interest, he continued:

“I can get you better conditions here, such as a more comfortable single room, and more entertainment, but you need to answer me a question…”

“You can try…”

“For example, let’s say you happened to be near the caregiver who ‘overdosed on drugs’ that year. I want to know, what did he say when he was dying?”

After Harrington asked this question, Bartlane thought for a moment. He blinked and said:

“Maybe I did encounter such a person. Coincidentally, I remember he said, ‘Mr. Smith, don’t kill me, someone else made me do it’… Hmm, he kept repeating this sentence until he stopped breathing.”

Hearing this, a look of excitement flashed in Harrington’s eyes:

“That’s a good start, Bartlane. You’ll be transferred to a single room soon.”

Then, he took out a piece of paper and a pen, placed them on the table, and pushed them towards Bartlane.

“Maybe you know who would hire someone to kill a caregiver addicted to illicit drugs. You just need to write down a name, and how he contacted you at the time… Believe me, this can help you get a reduced sentence.”

Bartlane’s gaze shifted from the white paper on the table to Attorney General Harrington in front of him:

“I need to notify my lawyer, and he needs to be present, before I can accept the next… deal.”

…

At this time, far away across the ocean in Paris.

After Benjamin Rothschild “turned himself in” to the French Financial Markets Authority, admitting that it was under his instructions that NM Rothschild Bank carried out the loss transfer of proprietary trading business, several NM Rothschild Bank executives involved in the matter, including him, were issued restraining orders by the relevant authorities, prohibiting them from leaving France before the security review was completed, and requiring them to accept summons at any time to complete the investigation.

At the same time, after Benjamin Rothschild announced his resignation from NM Rothschild Bank, LCR Rothschild Group appointed Group Vice President Berthe Bersa to temporarily serve as President of NM Rothschild Bank.

In this case, the French side reversed its “customary” delays and acted with unprecedented efficiency. By the beginning of March, it had already begun the trial of the case.

This efficiency was achieved under the promotion of many parties.

Not only Barron’s side, but even the Rothschild family hoped that the Financial Markets Authority’s investigation of NM Rothschild Bank could be concluded as soon as possible under the current circumstances.

Chapter 739: High Efficiency

It was also in early March that the Greek government publicly admitted that it was in negotiations with several banks, including JPMorgan Chase, regarding loans totaling up to 5 billion euros that were due to mature within the next six months. They hoped to postpone the maturity date and promised to continue paying interest as normal during this period.

According to related media reports, at least half of the Greek government’s 5 billion euros in loans that were about to mature came from Wall Street. Furthermore, these banks had all purchased CDS (Credit Default Swaps) bonds from financial institutions under the LCR Rothschild Group. This meant that if the negotiations failed and the Greek government defaulted on its debt, the LCR Rothschild Group would be required to repay these loans on behalf of the Greek government, according to the agreement.

Some might ask, since the LCR Rothschild Group would have to repay these loans according to the CDS agreement if Greece couldn’t repay its debt on time, why didn’t the Greek government simply declare a debt default and let the LCR Rothschild Group repay the loans?

Because it wasn’t that simple.

In short, the debt between Greece and the banks was only a matter between those two parties. Even if Greece defaulted, it wouldn’t just be off the hook. At most, the issue would be resolved through negotiated reductions (with conditions attached, of course) and extensions of interest payments.

Moreover, a debt default would have very serious consequences. The most immediate consequence would be a downgrade in the country’s credit rating and an increase in its bond interest rates. This would mean a significant increase in the country’s financing costs, or even the complete inability to obtain financing—after all, even with high interest rates, banks need to consider whether they can recover the principal they lend out.

The thing to consider, however, was whether Wall Street’s money was so easy to avoid repaying.

For example, when Argentina declared a debt default in 2001, the Wall Street creditors, faced with Argentina’s uncooperative attitude, didn’t put up with it. They directly had the United States seize Argentina’s warships and prepare to put them up for public auction—a very humiliating thing for a country.

In addition to this, they also lobbied the United States to freeze all of Argentina’s overseas assets and prepare to exclude it from all international capital markets, making it completely impossible for Argentina to obtain any financing or overseas investment…

In the end, Argentina still succumbed and obediently admitted its mistake…

With this precedent, Greece naturally needed to consider its options carefully.

But even if Greece could reach an agreement to postpone repayment, it wouldn’t affect Wall Street banks’ claims against the LCR Rothschild Group.

Because the CDS agreement between the banks and the financial institutions had nothing to do with Greece’s repayment. It was essentially an insurance agreement, or it could be seen as a bet.

The bet was on whether Greece could repay the loan within the stipulated time.

After all, to reach this CDS agreement, the banks needed to pay fees (premiums) to the financial institutions every year. If Greece couldn’t repay the loan, then the financial institutions would lose the bet and would need to make payments with the stipulated funds. This “stipulated funds” was often the amount of the loan to Greece that the bank had insured.

It is worth mentioning that when financial institutions sell CDS agreements to banks, they assess the default cost of the loan and the borrower’s financial situation to determine whether to underwrite the loan and the annual underwriting fee.

But since the agreement had already been reached, if the borrower didn’t repay the loan within the stipulated time, then they would need to pay the corresponding amount.

This could only be blamed on the German financial institution for being too optimistic about Greece’s repayment situation, or for shortsightedly focusing on the high annual premiums in the CDS agreement.

And when the LCR Rothschild Group acquired this financial institution, it didn’t conduct a thorough background check in order to intercept William-Webb Capital, which ultimately led to the current result.

Now they needed to face nearly 2.5 billion euros in CDS agreement payments within six months, and if all their CDS agreements needed to be paid out, the total amount would exceed 5 billion euros!

In addition to this, the LCR Rothschild Group also needed to pay a 500 million euro fine to the French government for the losses caused by NM Rothschild Bank’s proprietary trading transfer, and face collective claims from customers. In the most optimistic scenario, the final amount of compensation to be paid wouldn’t be less than 3 billion euros!

This wasn’t the end of it, because of the claims and other reasons facing the LCR Rothschild Group due to various events, some of the other shareholders of the LCR Rothschild Group jointly launched a lawsuit against the major shareholder, the Rothschild family.

The Rothschild family owns nearly half of the shares of the LCR Rothschild Group, and therefore has always firmly controlled the group.

Some of the small and medium shareholders of the LCR Rothschild Group believe that the Rothschild family’s many mistakes and violations caused the current predicament of the LCR Rothschild Group, and therefore demanded that the Rothschild family compensate them for their losses. The amount of compensation claimed by these people was as high as 3 billion euros!

It can be said that the Rothschild family is now facing a very critical situation.

On March 14, the French Financial Markets Authority announced that, in addition to the fine of up to 500 million euros issued to NM Rothschild Bank, several bank executives, including former NM Rothschild Bank President Benjamin Rothschild, had reached a plea agreement with them. According to this agreement, the court sentenced these executives.

Among them, Benjamin Rothschild received a two-year prison sentence and will serve his sentence in a prison near Paris.

No one raised any objections to this verdict, nor did they continue to appeal.

It can be said that this investigation into NM Rothschild Bank demonstrated the unprecedented efficiency of the French Financial Markets Authority…

The next day, LCR Rothschild Group Chairman David Rothschild submitted a request for assistance to the government, stating that if the LCR Rothschild Group went bankrupt as a result, it would cause irreparable damage to the French economy.

In response, the French side stated that the LCR Rothschild Group’s predicament was entirely caused by its own mistakes and errors, and the government couldn’t use taxpayers’ money to foot the bill.

But they said that they could help them negotiate with some French banks and companies to help the LCR Rothschild Group through the crisis, but they must pay for their own mistakes.

The French side’s attitude was very clear, that is, they would do their best to maintain the stability of most of the LCR Rothschild family’s assets, but after that, whether these assets still belonged to the Rothschild family was not their concern, as long as it didn’t have too much impact on the French economy.

Chapter 740: Acquisition

On March 10th, Ashley Weber, representing William-Weber Capital, visited the headquarters of LCR Rothschild Group.

In the office of Chairman David Rothschild, Ashley Weber presented him with a deal.

William-Weber Capital was willing to take over the German financial institution under LCR Rothschild Group, which meant they could take over all the troubles Rothschild family was currently facing with CDS agreements.

However, this was not without a price. LCR Rothschild Group needed to sell a portion of its assets to William-Weber Capital and their partners.

This portion of assets included LCR Rothschild Group’s holdings in BNP Paribas and Natixis, as well as… NM Rothschild Bank.

Currently, LCR Rothschild Group holds approximately 5% of BNP Paribas shares and less than 10% of Natixis shares.

BNP Paribas is currently ranked 9th in the world in terms of bank market capitalization, with a market value of around 90 billion US dollars. Therefore, calculated in this way, the value of the shares of these two banks held by LCR Rothschild Group is about 5.5 billion euros.

As for NM Rothschild Bank, it is the core asset of LCR Rothschild Group. Although its scale is far smaller than commercial banks such as BNP Paribas, Natixis, and Crédit Agricole, its private banking business is outstanding—of course, this was before these scandals broke out.

But no matter what, once NM Rothschild Bank is sold, LCR Rothschild Group would probably be reduced to an empty shell, and the Rothschild family would only be able to return to being wine merchants. What they have left in the financial industry would be better than nothing.

The only thing that allowed David Rothschild to calmly listen to Ashley’s “proposal” was their promise that in addition to helping them solve the CDS agreement troubles, they would also bear the compensation lawsuits against the bank by its clients after acquiring NM Rothschild Bank.

This way, at least the Rothschild family could avoid most of the trouble. Although they would lose most of their financial business, they could at least continue to exist.

“We are just helping you facilitate these matters to avoid the shock to society caused by LCR Rothschild Group, sir…”

The representative from the French government, who came here with Ashley, said to David Rothschild:

“Of course, you can choose other partners, but as far as I know, Ms. Weber’s offer is already the best among them.”

Now it is clear that the French side does not want to be too involved in this event, but they need to avoid too much negative impact on the already shaky French economy due to the LCR Rothschild Group’s affairs.

At this time, Ashley Weber did not show any aggressive posture. On the contrary, she felt quite emotional in her heart. After all, before this, she almost lost her life in a car accident manufactured by the Rothschild family, but now, she is standing in the chairman’s office of LCR Rothschild Group as a victor, and will bring NM Rothschild Bank, the biggest competitor of William-Weber Capital, into her pocket.

On this day, after Ashley and her party left, David Rothschild sat in the chairman’s office for a long time…

Before this, he had learned from some people that French regulatory agencies planned to launch another investigation against the Rothschild family for the complaints from other LCR Rothschild Group shareholders about the Rothschild family harming the interests of minority shareholders. There were not many choices left for them.

…

“Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase have already made good profits in this short selling. At most, we can sell some of NM Rothschild Bank’s business to them…”

Hearing Barron’s words, Daisy couldn’t help but say on the other end of the phone:

“And we have given up at least 20% of the profits in Japan and South Korea…”

“After all, Europe is more important to us.”

Although LCR Rothschild Group’s chairman David needed time to consider Ashley’s proposal, Barron knew that no one else could help the Rothschild family solve this matter better than them.

At least that’s the case at the moment.

This is mainly because Barron is confident that after taking over the German financial institution under LCR Rothschild that has CDS agreements with American capital such as Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase, he can reach a settlement with the other party on the CDS agreements.

Before the EU spring summit, until March 16th, although the Eurozone and EU member state finance ministers reached an agreement to provide financial assistance to Greece if necessary, and clarified various technical methods for taking coordinated action, they still did not make a decision on the rescue mechanism and rescue methods.

Therefore, it seems at this time that a Greek debt default is still a very likely event.

Apart from Barron, other French banks and companies, even if they know that the French side and Germany are already negotiating to rescue Greece, it is not so easy to get this kind of thing passed in a divided Europe. Therefore, they will naturally make more pessimistic preparations for the LCR Rothschild Group’s offer.

And Barron knew that before Greece’s debts to these Wall Street banks expired, the European Central Bank’s first bailout would be determined.

And for Barron, taking over the German financial institution under LCR Rothschild Group and helping them solve the CDS agreement problem as a condition to acquire their French bank shares and NM Rothschild Bank, he also has a backup plan.

That is, if Wall Street banks raise other excessive conditions when Barron comes forward to solve these CDS contracts with them, Barron can simply provide funds to Greece through DS Capital or Standard Chartered-Merrill Lynch to repay the previous loans from these Wall Street banks for the CDS agreements.

Because on the one hand, the interest rate given for Greece’s financing at this time is relatively high, and on the other hand, he knows that Greece can get more than one round of bailout from the Eurozone, so there is no need to worry about repaying the current loan.

In this way, Barron took the initiative in this matter.

Of course, he can do this, but the Rothschild family cannot do it, and even Wall Street capital does not allow the Rothschild family to do it, not to mention that at a time like this, Greece’s situation is so bad, and the funds they manage have been depleted, so they are willing but unable to do anything.

“The most critical reason is that the French side does not want Wall Street capital to penetrate too deeply into their financial field. Although this result is inevitable, they are happy to set obstacles for it.”

Here, you can see the brilliance of Barron’s move to cooperate with local French families through William-Weber Capital.

Chapter 741: Decline

Before the end of March, the syndicate including William-Webb Capital and Standard Chartered-Merrill Lynch completed an agreement with LCR Rothschild Group.

The agreement stipulated that the syndicate led by William-Webb Capital would acquire, for 6 billion euros, the German financial institution that LCR Rothschild Group had used to issue CDS bonds to Wall Street banks, NM Rothschild Bank, and LCR Rothschild Group’s shares in BNP Paribas and Natixis.

Among these assets, the shares of BNP Paribas and Natixis held by LCR Rothschild Bank alone were worth approximately 5.5 billion euros at this time.

Therefore, the bundled acquisition price for the German financial institution and NM Rothschild Bank was only 500 million euros.

However, considering that the German financial institution was involved in over 5 billion euros of CDS bonds with an increasingly likely payout, and that NM Rothschild Bank might face compensation claims from its clients, this price could be considered reasonable.

It could be said that after this transaction, the Rothschild family essentially lost most of their assets in the financial sector. The 6 billion euros from the acquisition, based on their company shareholdings, would only yield them less than 3 billion euros, a portion of which would likely be used to cover subsequent claims from LCR Rothschild Group’s shareholders.

From now on, the Rothschild family would never regain its former glory. All they would possess, besides a small number of shares in some companies, would be their wine estates.

After reaching this acquisition agreement, Standard Chartered-Merrill Lynch would acquire 5% of BNP Paribas’ shares for 4.5 billion euros.

William-Webb Capital would invest 1 billion euros to acquire nearly 10% of Natixis’ shares, increasing their stake in the bank to almost 40%!

At the same time, William-Webb Capital invested another 1 billion euros to acquire most of NM Rothschild Bank’s business, as well as 60% of the German financial institution’s shares. Standard Chartered-Merrill Lynch would acquire the remaining 40% of the German financial institution.

Of William-Webb Capital’s 1 billion euros, 500 million euros were used to pay for the acquisition, while the remaining 500 million euros were injected into NM Rothschild Bank to maintain its stable operation.

Furthermore, the Webb family used their connections to reach out-of-court settlements with NM Rothschild’s former clients. They would pay these clients a total of 2.5 billion euros in compensation for the losses they suffered in the previous transfer of losses from NM Rothschild Bank’s proprietary trading business.

When the acquisition of NM Rothschild Bank was completed, the bank’s proprietary trading business had less than 3 billion euros in assets. After selling these proprietary assets to Standard Chartered-Merrill Lynch, the funds obtained were just enough to cover the compensation and pay the 500 million euro fine imposed by the French Financial Markets Authority.

A month later, after the European Central Bank and Eurozone countries decided to bail out Greece, initially granting them a 25 billion euro loan, William-Webb Capital and Standard Chartered-Merrill Lynch, the shareholders of the German financial institution, reached an agreement with several Wall Street banks, including Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase. NM Rothschild Bank would transfer 500 million euros worth of business to these Wall Street firms to terminate their CDS agreements.

It wasn’t that Wall Street firms were being particularly generous at this time. It was just that, on the one hand, Greece was confirmed to receive a bailout led by the European Central Bank, and Standard Chartered-Merrill Lynch was fully capable of providing Greece with the necessary loans to ensure they could repay the debts covered by those CDS agreements. Therefore, after receiving some benefits, the Wall Street banks let go.

In May, after NM Rothschild Bank finally emerged from its difficulties and its business returned to normal, Natixis, the fourth-largest commercial bank in France, announced that it would merge with NM Rothschild Bank, thereby acquiring its main businesses, including private banking and investment divisions.

After this merger, William-Webb Capital’s stake in Natixis increased to over 60%, making them the controlling shareholder of the bank. Ashley Webb also became the chairman of Natixis.

In other news, Benjamin Rothschild was found hanged in his single room after serving half a year in prison. After investigation, the French police announced that his death was a suicide.

This matter caused quite a stir at the time, but because David Rothschild had retired due to a stroke and his nephew, Alexandre Rothschild, had taken over as the head of the Rothschild family, the matter was quickly forgotten.

…

At this time, Barron had arrived at Lanai Island, which he had previously acquired.

Thanks to the construction by Grace Tourism Group, Lanai Island was now even more well-equipped than when Barron had first acquired it.

This time, Barron was vacationing with Rebecca and their daughter, Jennifer.

Jennifer Cavendish was Barron’s eldest daughter, and she would be turning six next month.

Now, Jennifer had grown into a little beauty. Her exquisite, angel-like appearance made everyone adore her.

Possibly inheriting the excellent genes of Barron and Rebecca, Jennifer was also very intelligent. Although only six years old, under the guidance of Rebecca and her hired private tutors, Jennifer not only excelled in her studies but also showed great talent in the arts.

Just now, Jennifer played a piano piece in the villa, earning Barron’s applause and praise.

“Next month is your birthday, sweetheart. What gift do you want?”

Lifting his daughter up and holding her in his arms, Barron said affectionately.

“I want Daddy to pick me up from school once.”

Jennifer said without hesitation.

“I want to introduce my friends to Daddy.”

It could be said that as Barron’s daughter, Jennifer had access to the best material conditions in the world. But this wasn’t perfect. At least in terms of companionship, Barron found it difficult to be like ordinary parents.

Therefore, after hearing his daughter’s words, Barron kissed her on the cheek.

“That’s no problem, sweetheart. I’ll throw a birthday party for you at home then, and you can invite all your friends to come.”

“Really? That’s great!”

After handing his daughter Jennifer to the maid beside him, asking her to take his daughter to play by the sea, Barron walked to Rebecca, who was watching the scene with a slightly complicated expression, and said:

“Honey, I think we should spend more time with the children. What do you think about sending Jennifer back to London? Then her brothers and sisters can be together, so they’ll have more family around.”

In fact, this idea wasn’t something Barron had just thought of. He had had this idea a long time ago.

After all, he now had many children, mainly in America and Britain, as well as Fan Bingbing’s children in China.

If these children could live together, then at least even if Barron and their mothers each had careers and couldn’t always be with them, at least the children could develop relationships from a young age and wouldn’t be too lonely.

Chapter 742: The Australian Telecommunications Market

Of course, to achieve a vision like Barron’s, the willingness of the children’s mothers, or rather, persuading them, was the primary prerequisite.

Among them, it was even more important to obtain Bonnie’s agreement—although the two were divorced and Bonnie was Barron’s ex-wife, she still occupied the most important place in Barron’s heart.

After a week-long vacation on Necker Island, Barron returned directly to Australia.

“So, besides the children you have now, you have other children?”

After hearing Barron’s words, Bonnie rolled her eyes at Barron, speechless, and said.

“Uh, honey, those were all accidents…”

Although Bonnie and Barron were divorced now, all of Barron’s children were conceived during their marriage…

Even though she had long anticipated his philandering, Bonnie couldn’t be happy knowing this now.

At this time, what could Barron do? He could only coax her with sweet words.

“No matter what, you are the most important person in my heart, honey. Even though I hope the children can live together, I respect your feelings even more than that…”

Barron held Bonnie in his arms and said softly.

“You jerk, so you want me to be the bad guy?”

Although she was in his arms, Bonnie still turned her face away coldly, refusing to look at Barron, clearly upset.

“Of course not, honey, I just care about your feelings…”

“If you cared about my feelings, you wouldn’t have had so many children in the first place…”

At this point, Barron knew that further reasoning would be ineffective, especially since he was at fault in this matter…

Therefore, he directly carried Bonnie to bed and used his body to “persuade” her…

…

Before the end of March, after O2 Telecom acquired the Australian subsidiary of Lee’s Singapore Telecom Group for $1.2 billion, they acquired the telecommunications company iiNet for 1 billion Australian dollars (approximately $800 million).

Through the previously acquired Australian subsidiary of Lee’s Singapore Telecom Group, O2 Telecom successfully entered the Australian market. In this market, Optus was the second-largest telecom operator after Telstra, and iiNet was a telecom operator providing fixed broadband services to users. After completing the acquisition of these two companies, O2 Telecom consolidated its broadband users in the Australian market.

Furthermore, leveraging its operating experience in Europe and North America, O2 Telecom would continue to upgrade the mobile communication and broadband networks of the acquired companies in Australia and compete with other Australian telecom operators, including Telstra, by offering more favorable packages.

It could be said that Australia, which was once a place of exile for European prisoners, did indeed have unique advantages.

After successfully turning the indigenous people into a “minority” through the traditional skills of European whites, confining them to reserves, the remaining residents could live a high-quality life simply by selling minerals in this sparsely populated land with abundant resources.

“In the next few years, the Australian government will have a plan to build high-speed fiber optics, for which they will invest at least 30 billion Australian dollars to improve facilities within the country and build a nationwide ultra-high-speed fiber broadband network, and we can also join this plan…”

Giorgio Ramsden was the CEO of O2 Telecom’s Australian branch. Before that, he served as a senior executive at the Australian subsidiary of Lee’s Singapore Telecom Group. At that time, as a telecom company with a monopolistic position in Australia, Telstra put great pressure on their development.

Now, with the strong support of its parent company O2 Telecom, Giorgio was also ambitious about the development of the Australian branch.

Previously, in the Australian mobile communications market, Telstra accounted for 45% of the market share, Optus accounted for 35%, Vodafone Australia accounted for 15%, and Hutchison accounted for 5%. These four were the largest mobile communication operators in Australia.

After Optus became part of O2 Telecom, O2 Telecom’s Australian branch also added a considerable number of broadband users from iiNet. Although there was still some distance compared to Telstra, it was already able to rank among the top two and compete with it.

Of course, Telstra’s advantage was still very significant in the fixed-line communications field, with over 80% of the fixed-line market share. Therefore, Telstra had been overwhelmingly dominant in the fixed-line and broadband fields.

However, now that it had entered the era of high-speed fiber optics, broadband companies such as TPG and iiNet were also gradually developing in the broadband market.

Therefore, the current O2 Telecom Australian branch could compete for Telstra’s user market by offering preferential family packages that combined broadband and mobile communications. As long as they could provide more cost-effective services, users would naturally know how to choose.

And Telstra, as the dominant player in the Australian market, was usually relatively slow to react…

…

“Mr. Porter, I apologize for taking up your time, but there are some things I need to discuss with you.”

In a coffee shop in Annapolis, the capital of Maryland, a tall blonde beauty spoke to a middle-aged white man in a suit and tie with slightly receding hair sitting in front of her.

“The pleasure is all mine, Miss Kahn.”

The woman in front of him, named Haida Kahn, was not a simple person. She was the assistant to Ivanka TP, the chairman of the well-known investment company IC Capital. Therefore, although Billy Porter was a Maryland state senator, he was still very polite to Haida. After all, when he ran for senator, the committee funded by IC Capital made a significant contribution to him.

Therefore, if he could provide some assistance within his power, Billy Porter was very willing to do so. After all, these financial backers needed to be maintained.

“It concerns a case, or rather, not a case. As far as we know, State Attorney General Harrington Porter is investigating the accidental death of David Johnson, the former chairman of Sinclair Group. Of course, Ms. TP does not want to interfere and is willing to provide assistance within her power. But the only point is that as a shareholder of Sinclair Group, Ms. TP is well aware of the importance of this group to Maryland. She does not want some unfounded suspicions to affect the normal operation of the group. Therefore, she hopes that before obtaining convincing evidence, some speculation will not cause Sinclair Group to become the center of public opinion.”

“Ms. TP’s concerns are indeed very reasonable, Miss Kahn. I will pay attention to this matter and urge them not to act rashly.”

Billy Porter would not directly interfere with the work of the Attorney General, but it was easy to convey the stakes involved through some personal connections.

Chapter 743: Fair Vision

As of now, the primary financial backer of a Super Political Action Committee named “Fair Vision” is IC Capital.

The predecessor to Fair Vision was a committee established by Ivanka to support certain American politicians in elections. Currently, this committee has over $250 million in funds, with contributors including Woaw Tech, Standard Chartered-Merrill Lynch Capital, Blue Valley Capital, and many other companies.

A “Super Political Action Committee” (Super PAC) evolved from a Political Action Committee (PAC). PACs have long existed in American society as non-profit organizations whose purpose is to raise funds to support candidates or factions. Super PACs are a new phenomenon that emerged after 2010.

Many people may know that American law places restrictions on political action committees in terms of fundraising and financial support for candidates. Any individual or organization donating to a political action committee cannot exceed $5,000 per election.

But that was before this year, before January 2010.

In fact, this regulation has now been changed due to a ruling by the Supreme Court of the United States.

In 2008, former First Lady Hillary Clinton participated in the Democratic primary as a candidate. An organization called “Citizens United” produced a documentary attacking Hillary, intending to broadcast it on television. However, a local court ruled that the documentary was equivalent to a campaign advertisement in nature and violated relevant election laws regarding broadcast time and production costs.

“Citizens United” then appealed the matter to the Supreme Court. In January 2010, the nine justices of the Supreme Court voted 5-4, ruling that the relevant election laws and regulations in effect at the time were unconstitutional.

According to this ruling, American commercial companies, labor unions, and social organizations should not have donation limits when donating to political action committees, and Super Political Action Committees came into being.

Of course, almost all of America’s super-rich and large companies have similar committees that they support, such as the Koch brothers, the biggest financial backers of the Republican Party.

As one of America’s most well-known super-rich individuals, controlling Koch Industries, Americans call the Koch family the “Kochtopus,” referring to the Koch family’s unparalleled influence, like an octopus with countless tentacles everywhere.

It is no exaggeration to say that before every election, the Republican candidates need to meet with the Koch brothers in turn, like a “job interview,” to seek their support.

In addition, there is another American super-rich man, also an old acquaintance of Barron’s—Bloomberg, the owner of Bloomberg News. This is also a heavyweight. As a super-rich man with assets exceeding $30 billion, he directly enters the arena himself, donating to his own campaign.

In addition to serving three consecutive terms as Mayor of New York City, Bloomberg has also participated in American elections before.

Although its influence cannot yet be compared with the above two, “Fair Vision” as a Super PAC, has participated in everything from American presidential elections to congressional elections, and even state legislature elections, extending its reach deeper and deeper.

If you invest $50 million in a candidate in the increasingly expensive American elections, you may only get some tangible returns after he finally wins. But for state legislators, a donation of $500,000 can make them feel deeply grateful and open their hearts to you.

When you have enough support from state legislators to congressmen, and even the President, then the passage of many relevant bills is not difficult.

After all, America has always had these rules of the game, and money naturally translates into power under these rules, or rather, money is power.

This time, Ivanka sent her assistant not just to meet with Billy Porter, the state legislator. She will not be involved in the David Smith case. Her purpose is simple: to ensure that before the prosecution has conclusive evidence, they will not prematurely leak any related suspicions to the media out of eagerness for quick success. This would indeed affect Sinclair Group’s operations and harm the interests of IC Capital as a major shareholder.

Moreover, as long as John Smith doesn’t do anything stupid, even if the prosecution suspects the cause of David Smith’s death, it will be difficult to find enough evidence to convict John Smith.

Ivanka just wants to make sure that the Maryland State Attorney is clear-headed. Of course, if this case can be successfully prosecuted, then with the influence of the Sinclair Group involved, he will immediately become a well-known figure.

But similarly, if the conviction fails, can a state attorney bear the anger of the Sinclair Group shareholders, including John Smith, whose interests have been damaged as a result?

…

When the motorcade drove into Cavendish Gardens, Fan Bingbing and her children were already waiting there.

“Andy, call him Dad quickly.”

When Barron held his daughter Belle in his arms, Fan Bingbing said to the cute boy beside her.

It was clear that Andy was a little nervous. He held his mother’s hand tightly, looked at the man in front of him with timid eyes, and whispered:

“Dad…”

Barron knew that it was because he didn’t see them often, so the child was a little shy. He also held his son in his other arm:

“Have you been listening to your mother?”

“Yes.”

Andy looked very well-behaved. Barron put the children down and then embraced the woman.

Yes, Barron had come to Shanghai, the “magic city” of China, from Australia.

It was almost April, and before returning to London, he had come to China again.

Unlike other children, Barron didn’t insist that his children with Fan Bingbing go to London. After all, as a connection from his previous life, he didn’t refuse to let his children receive more education in China.

Although Fan Bingbing often went to London or America to visit Barron and spend time with him before, she was very happy that he could come to China specifically.

In addition to spending time with them, Barron would also pay attention to the development of Tianhe Capital when he came to China.

Previously, Tianhe Capital’s HK fund—IE Fund—had obtained extremely generous returns through investments in America during the subprime mortgage crisis, as well as subsequent actions to short the Japanese and Korean markets.

Some of these funds were used for investments in industries including Nanjing Automobile Group and Tianhe Real Estate. In addition, IE Fund also established an industrial investment fund called China Future, which will invest in some Chinese projects.

Currently, China Future’s largest investment is holding 15% of Sina’s shares through acquisitions and capital injections.

In the second half of last year, Sina launched a new project called Sina Weibo.

Barron certainly knew the future role of Sina Weibo, which would be an important media platform. Therefore, his investment in Sina was mainly aimed at the future development potential of Sina Weibo.

You should know that most of Sina’s future market value comes from their holdings in Sina Weibo.

Chapter 744: Two Business Deals

At the same time, Ed Christian, CEO of Peninsula & Oriental Group, also arrived in Shanghai.

Ed Christian came to Shanghai after going to America, reaching an agreement with the American side, and confirming the timetable for Peninsula & Oriental Group to take over the operation rights of six container terminals in America.

After Global Industry Investment Fund (GII) acquired P&O Group, now Peninsula & Oriental Group, from Dubai World Group at the end of last year, they began negotiations with the American side to recover the operating rights of the six container terminals located there.

Because the American side had concerns about the Middle Eastern background of Dubai World Group after it acquired the British P&O Group, they only approved the acquisition after the other party handed over the six American container terminals to local American institutions for trusteeship.

Now that Peninsula & Oriental Group belongs to British capital, and given the relationship between Britain and America, their previous concerns were no longer valid. Therefore, Peninsula & Oriental Group began seeking to recover the operating rights of the six American ports.

Although the process was not smooth, it was eventually resolved.

Peninsula & Oriental Group already had many businesses in Asia, including China.

Whether in Hong Kong or mainland China, Peninsula & Oriental Group has participated in the construction of many ports and related facilities.

This time in Shanghai, Ed Christian had two main tasks.

The first was to bring an order for liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers.

Prior to this, Peninsula & Oriental Group’s shipping business was mainly container transport. However, it should be noted that Barron also controlled United Energy Group and owned the largest natural gas pipeline network and electricity distribution company in Britain. Therefore, whether transporting their natural gas to Britain and even Europe, or to Asia, required liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers.

Therefore, Peninsula & Oriental Group’s shipping business also needed to increase its liquefied natural gas transportation business.

Currently, Peninsula & Oriental Group’s liquefied natural gas carriers are all leased, but Barron knows that the demand for LNG transportation will continue to increase in the future. Therefore, Peninsula & Oriental Group has a plan to purchase LNG carriers.

At this time, South Korean shipyards accounted for the highest share of the global LNG carrier manufacturing field.

As everyone knows, America’s shipbuilding capabilities were very prominent during World War II. However, due to the introduction of the Jones Act, which required that the main components of the hull must be manufactured in America, the American flag must be flown, and more than 75% of all ships and 75% of the crew must be American, it undoubtedly tied its own hands, restricting the development of the American shipbuilding industry and causing a sharp decline in shipbuilding orders.

Due to the high cost of shipbuilding in America, related industries were gradually transferred to South Korea.

China only began developing LNG carrier manufacturing technology at the end of the last century. At that time, the most mature LNG carrier technology was in South Korea and Japan. The two countries had been fiercely competing in this field, and South Korea eventually won, occupying the vast majority of the LNG ship market – even ten years later, the South Korean shipbuilding industry could still account for more than 70% of the global LNG ship manufacturing market.

As for China, it was not until 2008 that the first LNG ship built by Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding, a subsidiary of China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation, was delivered.

And as of now, China’s shipyards have not yet opened up the international market. The LNG ships built before were only purchased by Chinese shipping groups.

It can be said that Shanghai was very enthusiastic about Peninsula & Oriental Group’s LNG ship order this time – Peninsula & Oriental Group plans to build five LNG ships in one go.

After all, once this agreement can be completed, it will officially demonstrate that China’s shipbuilding industry has overseas orders for the highest-end LNG ships, which is of great significance to them.

Being able to build them is one aspect, and being able to use them reliably is another.

It’s like a product that has never been purchased by users, then no one dares to buy it first. After all, no one has heard of user feedback and doesn’t know the quality.

China’s LNG ships are like this. Without overseas customers using them, it is difficult to open up the international market. It should be noted that at this time, “Made in China” was not recognized by too many people.

In fact, Peninsula & Oriental Group’s management was quite doubtful about ordering LNG ships from Chinese shipyards at first, but eventually, under Barron’s instructions, Ed Christian still came to Shanghai.

And relying on this order, Barron also hopes that Peninsula & Oriental Group can deepen its relationship with China and participate in the construction and operation of some Chinese ports in the future.

The current consensus reached by both parties is that Peninsula & Oriental Group is prepared to invest $750 million to order five LNG ships from Hudong-Zhonghua Shipyard.

With the help of Shanghai, they have also established contact with some Chinese shipping groups and port groups, and will also carry out subsequent cooperation in shipping and port management.

This also involves another purpose of Ed Christian’s visit to Shanghai this time. He also held talks with senior executives of China COSCO Shipping, proposing that Peninsula & Oriental Group and China COSCO Shipping cooperate to jointly bid for the controlling stake in Greece’s largest port – the Port of Piraeus.

In Barron’s previous life, China COSCO Shipping acquired 67% of the equity in the Port of Piraeus six or seven years later.

In fact, China COSCO Shipping had already participated in the competition for this port earlier, but later, after the leader of the Greek left-wing coalition, Alexis Tsipras, came to power, he suspended the privatization of its state-owned assets, and only restarted the process after a period of time. After several twists and turns, China COSCO Shipping finally obtained the controlling stake in the Port of Piraeus.

But last year, China COSCO Shipping obtained 35 years of operating rights for the Port of Piraeus for a price of 4 billion euros, but acquiring the controlling stake in this port is still fraught with difficulties.

However, if Peninsula & Oriental Group, backed by Barron, participates, then there is still a very good chance that the two parties can cooperate to obtain control of this port and finalize it before the Greek left-wing coalition comes to power.

After all, at this time, Greece, due to the outbreak of the sovereign debt crisis, their creditors are requiring Greece to sell some state-owned assets in exchange for funds to repay debts. From the information Barron has obtained, the Greek government is very interested in this and may start bidding for some state-owned assets, including the controlling stake in the Port of Piraeus, this year.

Therefore, after Peninsula & Oriental Group proposed this cooperation plan, China COSCO Shipping was very interested and is also studying the feasibility of this plan.

It should be noted that from a geographical point of view, the Port of Piraeus is a gateway to Asia, Eastern Europe, and North Africa. If it can be developed into the largest port in the Mediterranean, it will be very important for the development of Peninsula & Oriental Group.

Chapter 745: Splitting off Alipay

The main reason why Peninsula Oriental Group chose to acquire the Port of Piraeus in Greece together with a Chinese company was, of course, that the port itself had been taken over by COSCO Group the previous year, with a 35-year operating right.

After that, COSCO Group also planned to expand the scale of the Port of Piraeus and build it into the largest port in the Mediterranean. Peninsula Oriental Group’s advantage lies in its many years of experience in port operations, while COSCO Group, backed by China, is second to none in the world in terms of human resources and infrastructure capabilities. Cooperation between the two parties can also generate the greatest benefits for each other.

In addition, Barron knew about the “Belt and Road” initiative that China would vigorously promote in the future. Joining this initiative could bring considerable throughput to the Port of Piraeus, and the location of this port was also very important for this initiative.

The Asian market itself is a very important market for Peninsula Oriental Group, so in this market, it will become increasingly difficult to ignore the influence of China, one of the future two superpowers.

Moreover, it’s just doing business with China, and it doesn’t involve taking sides. Which of the big American companies, including Apple and Microsoft, isn’t doing the same?

According to Peninsula Oriental Group’s plan, they plan to acquire all the shares of the Port of Piraeus together with COSCO Group. COSCO Group will still hold 67% of the shares, and the remaining shares will be held by Peninsula Oriental Group. In this way, if there is any conflict with the American side in the future, Peninsula Oriental Group, as a “minor shareholder” of the Port of Piraeus, will naturally be unable to do anything about the Chinese side. At that time, Barron can only spread his hands and say so…

“These past two days, others have contacted me as well, Your Grace.”

“South Koreans?”

“Yes, their news is very well-informed. They are trying to persuade me to give the group’s LNG carrier orders to them…”

Barron was not surprised at all by what Ed Christian mentioned on the phone.

At this time, both Japan and South Korea have deeply cultivated their operations in China. It would not be surprising to get the news that Peninsula Oriental Group is preparing to order LNG carriers from Chinese shipyards.

Moreover, since China has been able to produce LNG carriers, the South Korean related conglomerates, which have a monopolistic position in this field, have been keeping a very close watch on China.

Of course, they do not want China’s LNG carrier business to obtain such a large order and want to intercept it, which is also expected.

However, they may be disappointed this time. After all, what Peninsula Oriental Group wants is not just ordering these five LNG carriers. In addition, this time it will involve a package of cooperation projects. South Korea is certainly not the best target for Peninsula Oriental Group for those cooperations.

Otherwise, why would they cooperate with South Korea in this kind of thing? It would be better to cooperate directly with their suzerain state, America.

The problem is that American capital only wants to use European countries, including Greece, as blood bags and is simply unwilling to invest resources to develop them, which runs counter to Barron’s purpose.

…

Knowing that Barron would stay in Shanghai for a few days before flying to London immediately after returning to Australia, Fan Bingbing cherished the opportunity to spend time with him very much.

This can’t be helped. It’s already April now, and Britain will soon usher in a more important moment—although Brown has not yet announced the time for this election, Barron already knows privately that this time is still not much different from when he was in his previous life. Brown will dissolve the cabinet in early May and then hold elections.

During his time in Shanghai, in addition to accompanying Fan Bingbing and their children, Barron also dealt with some affairs.

Among them, he met with Jack Ma of Alibaba, who came to Shanghai.

“Thank you very much for your support on the Alipay matter, Your Grace.”

Jack Ma was not surprised to see Fan Bingbing with this British Duke. After all, Fan Bingbing had previously met with him on behalf of Barron, and this former most well-known female star in China had strong resources in Hollywood and was gradually transitioning behind the scenes in China, which also made Jack Ma speculate about this.

Now Barron’s behavior of directly meeting with Jack Ma in this villa with Fan Bingbing made Jack Ma think that this was treating him as a friend.

What Jack Ma was talking about was that in the second half of last year, at the Alibaba company’s shareholders meeting, he had discussed with the Alibaba company’s shareholders and proposed to transfer 70% of Alipay’s shares to a mainland Chinese company.

The reason why he did this was that China was about to issue the first batch of payment licenses, and if Alipay wanted to obtain this license, it must be converted into domestic capital.

Otherwise, if Alipay still belongs to Alibaba, because its major shareholders include British, Japanese, and American capital, it will be difficult to obtain a payment license.

Of course, Barron also understood that in addition to the reason Jack Ma publicly stated, the reason he did not say also included that at this time, the Alibaba founding team, led by Jack Ma, did not hold many shares in Alibaba. After these years of development, Jack Ma could also see the significance of Alipay to the entire Alibaba company. If Alipay could be separated from Alibaba, relying on maintaining control over Alipay, Jack Ma could also reverse and strengthen his control in Alibaba.

Even so, after shareholder representatives including Yahoo and SoftBank raised objections, as a major shareholder of Alibaba, Barron still expressed his support for Jack Ma, which was something that Jack Ma was very grateful for.

Of course, Barron was able to do this because he knew that in his previous life, although Yahoo, which held 40% of Alibaba’s shares at the time, and another major shareholder, SoftBank, did not agree with this decision, they were ultimately persuaded by Jack Ma. Furthermore, Jack Ma insisted that Alipay needs to be controlled by a domestic capital company, so the shares of DS Holdings and Rich23 Capital in Alipay through holding shares in Alibaba can be completely realized by “selling” them to the domestic capital company Tianhe Capital.

“Making such a decision is very normal, Jake. Just like I have always said to you, my investment in Alibaba is just a financial investment. I am not interested in the operation of this company and believe that Alibaba is the right choice under your leadership. This is also why we handed over the voting rights of our shares to you.”

Of course, the premise for Barron to say this is that Jack Ma’s operation of Alibaba cannot harm their interests.

Just like Jack Ma’s splitting Alipay from Alibaba, he also promised to the shareholders of Alibaba, including Barron, that they would be compensated for their shareholdings before Alipay’s listing in the future.

Chapter 746: Rift

Besides discussing matters related to Alipay, Mr. Ma couldn’t help but complain to Barron about his unhappiness with another shareholder, Yahoo.

When Yahoo initially participated in Alibaba’s Series E financing round, it was Yahoo’s founder, Jerry Yang, who facilitated the collaboration with Mr. Ma. After that, Yahoo held 9.9% of Alibaba’s shares.

At that time, the relationship between Alibaba and Yahoo was very good, thanks to the good personal relationship between Mr. Ma and Jerry Yang.

This stemmed from 2005 when Lu Ji, a core figure in the influential Chinese organization, the Hua Yuan Science and Technology Association, and an employee of Yahoo, invited Yahoo’s boss, Jerry Yang, to be the keynote speaker at that year’s Hua Yuan annual meeting. Coincidentally, Mr. Ma was also invited to Silicon Valley – specifically “Pebble Beach” in the Bay Area – where the two first met, leading to Yahoo’s subsequent cooperation with Alibaba and participation in Alibaba’s Series E financing.

Then came the 2008 incident where Microsoft offered $44 billion to acquire Yahoo.

Jerry Yang, who was then the CEO of Yahoo, believed that Microsoft’s offer undervalued Yahoo’s worth and therefore resisted the acquisition, ultimately leading to Microsoft’s failure.

This matter particularly angered shareholders who were disappointed in Yahoo’s prospects for independent development. Coupled with Google’s announcement that it would abandon its advertising partnership with Yahoo, which would have brought Yahoo $800 million in annual revenue, Jerry Yang, who had a good personal relationship with Mr. Ma, resigned as Yahoo’s CEO. Carol Bartz, known as the “Iron Lady,” took over as Yahoo’s CEO.

Carol Bartz had no intention of establishing any personal friendship with Mr. Ma. After she took charge of Yahoo, her attitude towards Alibaba was strictly business.

Moreover, being called the “Iron Lady,” Carol Bartz was very tough. She was critical of many things, including Alibaba’s management of Yahoo China.

This led to a deterioration in the relationship between Yahoo and Alibaba, especially after Mr. Ma tried to separate Alipay from Alibaba. Carol Bartz directly expressed her dissatisfaction with Mr. Ma at Alibaba’s board meeting.

Fortunately, unlike the original timeline, Yahoo only holds less than 10% of Alibaba’s shares now, instead of the largest share of 40%, otherwise Mr. Ma’s life would probably be quite difficult.

Although Barron offered much consolation to Mr. Ma during their conversation, he was happy to see the rift between Yahoo and Mr. Ma, as well as SoftBank’s criticisms of Mr. Ma’s actions.

After all, these things could put Barron in a relatively advantageous position in Alibaba. He didn’t want Yahoo and SoftBank to affect Alibaba’s development, nor did he want Mr. Ma’s control over Alibaba to be too strong. At least, if Mr. Ma could have the final say in Alibaba without his help, it would be detrimental to investors, including himself.

He also didn’t want something like the Alipay spin-off to happen again.

In addition to meeting with Mr. Ma, Barron also met with Li Lu, the CEO of Tianhe Capital.

After acquiring Nanjing Automobile Group, the current Tianhe Nanjing is developing very well. In addition to the joint venture with British Motor Corporation, they are also preparing to launch Tianhe Nanjing’s wholly-owned domestic brand this year.

In addition, Tianhe Real Estate, wholly owned by Tianhe Capital, is also developing rapidly, and Tianhe Real Estate is expected to expand its land reserves in first-tier cities through mergers and acquisitions within this year.

It can be said that the landscape of China’s real estate industry will gradually change in the next two years.

First of all, starting last year, various cities in China began to intensively introduce many regulatory policies.

“Since last year, cities including Yanjing and Modu have successively introduced purchase restriction policies. According to our understanding, many more cities will introduce similar measures within this year…”

When talking about Tianhe Real Estate, Li Lu said in a deep voice:

“According to our speculation, in the short term, the introduction of purchase restriction policies in some cities will lead to stagnation in housing prices, but in the medium and long term, this policy of suppressing demand only increases transaction costs and postpones demand. It does not effectively meet demand. Therefore, although it seems that some real estate companies will have a hard time now, after a period of time, when this suppressed demand explodes, it will instead bring a wave of panic buying, which is precisely the opportunity for us to expand our scale through mergers and acquisitions.”

Thanks to the substantial returns brought by Tianhe Capital’s HK-based IE fund in financial investments, Tianhe Capital’s funds, especially foreign exchange, are currently very abundant.

But unlike Tianhe Real Estate, many real estate companies are feeling the chill of winter.

This is because not only has China introduced regulatory policies including purchase restrictions, but also throughout 2010, all financing methods related to real estate IPOs, additional issuances, and backdoor listings have been suspended.

Those real estate companies waiting to go public need to continue waiting for the day when the restrictions are lifted…

Real estate is originally an industry that requires a large amount of capital circulation. This situation has made things even worse for many real estate companies, forcing them to seek more financing methods.

Just like in Barron’s previous life, the number of mergers and acquisitions between real estate companies has exploded in the past two years.

Now, Tianhe Real Estate, which has sufficient funds, can just take advantage of the current opportunity to expand its scale through mergers and acquisitions.

Currently, Tianhe Real Estate’s main projects are concentrated in Su Province, Modu, and Rong City, among others. A considerable portion of the land was acquired when Barron went to HK last time, reaching an agreement with Li Ka-shing to take over some of what he had hoarded.

And Rong City’s “Tianhe Lane” – the plot of land that Swire Group acquired and built into Taikoo Li in Barron’s previous life – has completed demolition and started construction. This is also the largest-scale project currently undertaken by Tianhe Real Estate.

Second only to this is the related commercial complex in Modu centered around Costco. This project will be completed in the second half of this year, and Costco’s first store in mainland China will open at that time.

“Although Modu is more interested in the Marvel-MGM Studios project, they have already confirmed with Disney the establishment of a Disneyland in the area. In addition to the studios, we also have film and television bases and related real estate projects, which require too much land. For Modu, which has already established a Disneyland project, they are not very enthusiastic…”

Speaking of this, Li Lu paused for a moment and continued:

“However, many other cities are very interested in our plan, including Jinmen, Dalian, and Qingdao…”

Chapter 747: Oriental Movie Metropolis

From the perspective of many Chinese people, Baron could be considered a “pro-China” figure.

After all, related reports and meetings with some big shots have mentioned that this young British Duke is an “old friend of the Chinese people.”

Not only from a business perspective, he is one of the entrepreneurs with the most cooperation with China in the entire UK, Europe, and even the Western world—perhaps even the “one of” could be removed.

Moreover, Baron has made many goodwill gestures towards China, such as donating a large number of cultural relics to China. His foundation also funds many activities that promote exchanges between the UK and China. In many programs and interviews, not limited to those aimed at China, he has expressed his love and appreciation for Chinese culture, and so on.

But this is the situation as seen from the perspective of some Chinese people.

From the perspective of the American public, Baron can also be classified as “pro-American,” just as he spends more time residing in America than anywhere except London. He has invested in a large number of American companies, and his charitable foundation has made substantial donations to many public welfare and charitable projects in America.

In fact, simply classifying a person’s position as “pro-” or ”anti-” is overly simplistic, a black-and-white, all-or-nothing way of thinking. Everyone’s behavior and psychology are complex, and the so-called “pro” or “anti” behavior that is displayed may also be constantly changing.

Ultimately, the core of these external manifestations is based on self-interest.

When America can bring benefits to Baron, and is conducive to his current or future development, then he can become “pro-American.” When America cannot bring him benefits, and instead threatens his current or future interests, he can also very smoothly become “anti-American.”

And Baron, knowing the future trends of the world from his previous life, that is what sets him apart from most people.

Even in this year, China’s GDP will surpass Japan’s, becoming the second largest economy in the world.

But at the current point in time, if you say that China can become an equal match for the unipolar world power of America, not many people would sincerely agree—those alarmist claims spreading the “threat theory” are just hype for certain purposes.

After all, now and for many years to come, the “collapse theory” proposed by a certain “high-ranking Chinese American” is still very popular.

Even though China’s economic growth rate is so dazzling among many economies of this size, many people still believe that such development will inevitably come at a painful price one day.

But Baron is different. He has personally experienced the era in the future when the attitudes of China and America cannot be ignored on any issue in the entire world.

Therefore, even though he is now British, a British Duke, and has a large number of industries in Europe and America, Baron clearly knows that the UK’s desire to restore its former glory is almost impossible. It can only rely on the entire Europe to ensure that it can be a party with a certain influence in the gap between China and America.

With this understanding, how could he possibly put all his chips on the American side? The wisest approach, of course, is to bet on both sides, and then take sides after the outcome is clear—just like what America did during World War I and World War II.

Therefore, Baron will not be fixed on being pro-anyone or anti-anyone. Everything is based solely on self-interest and the other party’s potential.

Understanding this allows one to understand Baron’s various investments and layouts at this time.

Returning to Baron’s conversation with Li Lu, CEO of Tianhe Capital.

The “Marvel-MGM Studios” project mentioned by Li Lu is not entirely accurate, because the Marvel-MGM Studios planned to be opened in China will be larger in scale than the Marvel-MGM Studios already set to be located in Los Angeles, and this studio project is only part of the entire project.

Moreover, the project has not yet completed its final planning. Within the cooperative parties, including Marvel-MGM Group, Tianhe Capital, and Grace Cultural Tourism Group, it is temporarily referred to as the “Oriental Movie Metropolis Comprehensive Cultural Tourism Real Estate Project,” or “Oriental Movie Metropolis Project” for short.

The entire project will include “Marvel-MGM Studios,” a “Film and Television Industrial Park,” and supporting commercial real estate. The Film and Television Industrial Park alone is planned to be built into a global industry center with the largest film and television location shooting, film and television production, and film exhibitions. Its filming locations will replicate European and American cities such as New York, London, and Paris, as well as related European-style areas, Middle Eastern-style Arabian areas, and Chinese-style areas representing various dynasties of China, as well as Asian regions such as Japan and Thailand.

In addition, as a guarantee of the project’s profitability, there are also related commercial real estate areas, including commercial centers and residences.

Therefore, the total investment scale of the project will be as high as 50 billion Chinese currency or more!

This will definitely be the largest film and television cultural tourism real estate complex project in China to date. No wonder cities including Tianjin, Dalian, and Qingdao are eager to have this project located locally, and even first-tier cities such as Shanghai and Beijing have shown a positive attitude.

However, according to Li Lu, although many cities are interested, they are mainly focused on the three cities of Tianjin, Dalian, and Qingdao.

First of all, such projects are more suitable for northern cities, because since there are film and television shooting locations, the four distinct seasons of the north are more suitable—otherwise, if southern cities are chosen, they cannot meet the needs of some film and television dramas that require winter scenes.

These three cities are also coastal cities, with both mountains and seas, providing diverse scenes, and relatively well-developed infrastructure, making it convenient for Chinese and overseas crews to come for filming.

But the final choice of which city depends on the preferential policies that the other party can offer—one very important point to attract overseas film and television companies to film is to provide special subsidies in terms of taxation, just like what countries such as Canada and Australia do. This can attract these overseas film and television companies.

In addition to this, there are more factors to consider comprehensively. Even a project like Shanghai Disneyland was only landed and started construction after several years of negotiations, let alone a project of their scale.

Therefore, it is estimated that it will take three or four years or even longer before this project is landed and construction begins.

Chapter 748: Intense

On April 6, 2010, the incumbent Prime Minister Brown visited Buckingham Palace to request the Queen to dissolve Parliament in order to hold a general election.

After the Queen agreed to dissolve Parliament, Brown, accompanied by all members of the cabinet, officially announced the date of the national election at the door of 10 Downing Street – the election would begin on May 6, a month later.

At the same time, Brown made a speech saying that Britain was on the road to economic recovery…

“Nothing we do should put the economic recovery at risk…”

He also emphasized that Britain was facing three major challenges: ensuring economic recovery, protecting national interests while striving to reduce the fiscal deficit, and reform.

He stated that the Labor Party would always fight to ensure fairness within the country.

The election campaigns of various British parties will also be fully launched to compete for the 650 seats in the next House of Commons.

Conservative Party leader Cameron, the largest opposition party in Britain, said on the same day that this would be the most important election in Britain in more than a decade.

He also criticized the Labor government’s policies for leading Britain into recession.

Recent poll results show that the Conservative Party has consistently held a leading position, but the lead is gradually narrowing.

Analysts generally believe that this will be the most intense election contest between the two major British parties in the last decade or two.

Not long after Brown announced the election date, Barron returned to London.

He first went from Shanghai, China, to Australia, and after picking up Bonnie and Tamaran Ecclestone and others, they returned to London together.

It is worth mentioning that during Barron’s absence from London, he purchased all three villas adjacent to his villa in the Kensington area – the reason for buying these three villas was that only these three were willing to sell among the villas near his.

After all, those who can live near his residence are also members of the upper class, and being able to purchase these three villas is already a very difficult thing.

And during this period, these three villas, together with Barron’s original residence, have been renovated and connected, with walls enclosing the area where these four villas are located into one place, and corresponding renovations will be carried out.

After he returned to London, these renovations were still not completed – according to Barron’s plan, newly built antique buildings will connect three of the four villas into one super mansion, while the space of the other villa will be completely demolished, and that area will be used to expand the garden area of this area…

Of course, after adding newly built buildings to the three villas, which are already similar in style, to become a whole villa, its interior will also be re-planned for space division, so as to ensure that all of Barron’s children living in London, as well as their mothers, can live there.

The entire design will be completed by London’s most well-known architectural design firm, and is expected to be completed before October of this year.

Therefore, at this time, they temporarily moved into The Holme, a mansion located in Regent’s Park.

…

“You don’t have to let Brown continue for another five years…”

Just after Brown announced the official election date, Cameron, 43, said the following when giving a speech to supporters on the south bank of the River Thames:

“This is the most important election in decades, and you have the opportunity to choose a modern Conservative Party, choose us, and also choose hope, choose optimism, and choose change.”

When Cameron gave this speech, Barron was sitting in a car not far away.

And sitting next to him was Jo Harriman, the Conservative Party’s Shadow Minister for Women and Equality, who would also do her best in this election.

“From the perspective of approval ratings, the Conservative Party is in a good situation…”

Seeing Barron’s gaze through the car window towards Cameron in the distance, after hearing the words from his mouth, Jo Harriman raised her eyebrows:

“It seems so, but recently, our lead in approval ratings has gradually been caught up by the Labor Party.”

On April 6, a poll released by the British market research institution ICM Research showed that the Conservative Party’s support rate was 37%, down 1 percentage point from last week; the Labor Party’s support rate was 33%, up 4 percentage points from last week.

Just as Jo Harriman said, the support rates of the two sides are still very close. Although the Conservative Party’s support rate is currently still 4 percentage points higher than that of the incumbent Labor Party, Cameron still has a long way to go to regain power from Brown and the Labor Party…

“I have seen the relevant information, it seems that in the most critical economic issues in the competition between you, the Conservative Party does not have an advantage.”

Hearing his words, Jo Harriman took a deep breath and nodded.

Although the Conservative Party blames the current economic recession in Britain on Brown’s economic policies that have been implemented for many years – before becoming Prime Minister, Brown had been in the position of Chancellor of the Exchequer for nearly 10 years.

However, even if voters do not trust Brown, they are not at ease with Osborne, the 38-year-old Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer in the Conservative Party’s shadow cabinet.

Because if the Conservative Party is elected, the members of its shadow cabinet will often not change much, then Osborne, who is now the Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer of the Conservative Party, will inevitably serve as the Chancellor of the Exchequer of the new government.

Many people understand that Brown’s work in the position of Chancellor of the Exchequer is already considered outstanding. Even so, after he became Prime Minister, the appointment of the Chancellor of the Exchequer was his deputy, and the relevant policies would definitely still carry Brown’s shadow. In this way, it was impossible to avoid the economic recession that occurred in Britain after the subprime mortgage crisis.

And judging from the resume of Osborne, the Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer of the Conservative Party, it is difficult to expect him to be able to turn the tide and achieve achievements beyond Brown.

“I know you are also very interested in the position of Chancellor of the Exchequer, but it is too early…”

Jo Harriman has an educational background in economics, and has also worked in related professions before, but on the one hand, it is her age – the 38-year-old Osborne, born in an old Anglo-Irish aristocratic family and graduated from Oxford University, is still not favored even so, let alone the younger Jo Harriman.

If Osborne becomes Chancellor of the Exchequer, he will be the youngest Chancellor of the Exchequer in Britain in a century!

It should be known that the Chancellor of the Exchequer can be said to be the most important position in the British cabinet after the Prime Minister – the four most important positions are Prime Minister, Chancellor of the Exchequer, Foreign Secretary, and Home Secretary.

This is completely different from Jo Harriman’s low-importance Minister for Women and Equality in the shadow cabinet – sometimes the Minister for Women and Equality does not even have a dedicated person, but is concurrently held by the Home Secretary.

Barron knew that if it followed the direction of his previous life, the Conservative Party would win this election, then Osborne would indeed serve as the Chancellor of the Exchequer in the cabinet, and his work would be considered quite good.

However, by Cameron’s second term, the choice of Chancellor of the Exchequer would be changed.

In terms of Jo Harriman’s resume, she is more suitable for holding more important positions at that time. Even if she cannot serve as Chancellor of the Exchequer, then at least Foreign Secretary or Home Secretary is still hopeful.

Jo Harriman is also clear about this. At her current age, being able to serve as a member of the cabinet is already a very rare thing. It is also her identity as a woman and a member of a minority, coupled with Barron’s support behind her, that she can have such an achievement.

Chapter 749: Electric Supercar

It was clear that Ms. Jo Harriman was truly eager to improve…

That evening, Barron enjoyed the meticulous services provided by the future youngest female cabinet minister in Britain, in her apartment.

“Your Grace, no matter what, I have my own principles and will not obey your commands. I must prioritize the welfare of the people…”

Although her hands and feet were bound by Barron’s tie and her own stockings, the lady was still unwilling to yield to the handsome and wicked duke before her…

Jo Harriman held her head high, her delicate features displaying a solemn and sacred air as she stated her firm stance.

“Is that so? My beautiful cabinet minister, have you truly not considered your current situation?”

Barron watched Jo Harriman, whose suit dress was slightly disheveled from her struggles. He took out his belt, weighing its heft in his hand, and then turned his gaze to the curves of her skirt, which were stretched taut…

A crisp “smack” rang out, accompanied by Jo Harriman’s suppressed cry.

At this moment, her face was flushed with a mixture of pain and excitement, and she tried to regulate her breathing.

“I will not yield…”

“Then I eagerly anticipate your performance later, my dear cabinet minister.”

…

“Your Grace, we have prepared all the vehicles for the exhibition and completed the arrangement in the exclusive area of the British Pavilion…”

The CEO of British Automotive Group, Vandal Hawke, was speaking to Barron about their participation in the upcoming World Expo in Shanghai.

The 41st World Expo was about to be held in Shanghai, China, lasting for six months from May 1st to October 30th.

Barron knew that this World Expo would be the largest ever, so he attached great importance to it.

Many of his companies, including British Automotive Group, United Energy Group, and O2 Telecom, would participate in this World Expo.

At this World Expo, British Automotive Group’s brands would also launch some new and concept models.

In fact, construction on the British Pavilion at the Shanghai World Expo had already begun last year. In February of this year, its dandelion seed-like appearance was unveiled for the first time, which was very attractive, and it was therefore called the “Seed Cathedral.”

Many well-known British companies, including British Automotive Group, would set up their respective areas in the British Pavilion to showcase themselves to the public.

And the most eye-catching new model from British Automotive Group should be their Concept One electric supercar.

This concept electric supercar was designed using the electric vehicle technology developed in cooperation between British Automotive Group and Tesla, combined with Aston Martin’s supercar concept.

Prior to this, British Automotive Group had acquired a Romanian company called Rimac Automobili. This company had just been established last year, and its founder was named Mate Rimac. The name Rimac Automobili was named after him.

Mate Rimac had been interested in electronic devices since he was a child, and at the age of 17, he applied for and obtained his first patent - an electronic glove.

After earning his first pot of gold, Mate bought a BMW M3 E30 because he liked cars, and began modifying it in his garage and taking it to the track to compete with other drivers.

Because Mate’s E30 always lost, and the engine blew up in one race, he began to study how to use an electric motor to modify his E30.

After Mate turned his E30 into an electric car, he not only still lost the race, but was also ridiculed by his opponents.

But Mate did not give up. Each time he failed, he returned to his garage to improve his car, and also founded a company called Rimac Automobili.

Finally, earlier this year, facing 300 competitors, Mate’s company Rimac Automobili’s finally improved electric car won the championship.

In Barron’s previous life, in 2012, Mate’s green E30 broke the Guinness record for the 1/4 mile electric car with a time of 11.85 seconds, and later, they cooperated with many supercar brands including Porsche and Koenigsegg to provide them with electric supercar technology. It was a company with good technical strength.

But now, shortly after Rimac Automobili was established, British Automotive Group extended an olive branch to them and acquired the company.

And under their cooperation with Aston Martin, they completed the design of the first concept supercar and produced the first prototype car, Concept One.

After that, they prepared to mass-produce this car - this would also be a fully handcrafted electric supercar.

According to estimates, each Concept One would cost approximately 1 million US dollars. The car has 1224 horsepower, 1600 Nm of torque, and a top speed of 355 kilometers per hour. It can travel approximately 350 kilometers on a single charge.

Its zero-to-sixty acceleration is only 2.5 seconds, making it undoubtedly the fastest electric supercar in the world at this time!

This prototype car would also be airlifted to Shanghai to participate in this Shanghai World Expo.

Of course, Barron, or rather British Automotive Group’s ambition, was not only in electric supercars. They currently hoped to verify and strengthen their related technologies in the relatively high-end electric supercar market.

European countries themselves were particularly concerned about environmental protection. Judging from Barron’s previous life, outside of China, the European market was also the most receptive to electric vehicles.

Therefore, British Automotive Group naturally hoped to have a place in this market. In addition to the future China and the United States (mainly Tesla), the British automotive market involving civilian electric vehicles was bound to happen.

Moreover, British Automotive Group’s positioning was aimed at the mid-to-high-end electric vehicle market.

As for the low-end electric vehicle market, for cost considerations, it was better for the “local” Tianhe Nanjing Automobile in China to produce its own brand of electric vehicles to join the competition.

For British Automotive Group, whether it was future electric vehicles or current fuel vehicles, the biggest challenge in maintaining their manufacturing scale in the UK was the need for a relatively complete industrial chain.

Otherwise, even if they used various industrial robots on a large scale to improve the level of production automation, they could only maintain the manufacturing of relatively high-end brands in the UK. The mid-to-low-end automobile products with the largest output could only be transferred to overseas countries with a more complete industrial chain, such as China.

This was why some people would wonder why so many electric vehicle brands appeared in China later on. It seemed that the threshold for manufacturing electric vehicles was not high, but in the “powerful countries” of original automobile manufacturing, including Japan, South Korea, and Europe, why couldn’t they beat Chinese electric vehicles and needed to raise trade barriers to protect their local brands…

One of the main reasons for this was that the relevant industrial chain had been lost in these countries, and the difficulty of rebuilding it was very high.

Chapter 750: The Candidate

“After investigation and analysis, those people are very likely intelligence personnel from the United States…”

“The CIA?”

Hearing Barron’s words, Nigel Ince nodded:

“That’s their style.”

Recently, especially after the Rothschild family suffered a blow, Barron returned to London, and his intelligence advisor Nigel mentioned to him that the number of eyes watching the Duke had increased.

As he said, after reverse observation and analysis, they concluded that those people were very likely from the American CIA.

CIA is the abbreviation for the Central Intelligence Agency of the United States. It and the FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation) often appear in movies and television, and are very well-known.

The difference between the CIA and the FBI, simply put, can be understood as the CIA being primarily the United States’ foreign intelligence agency. Its main task is to openly and secretly collect and analyze intelligence on foreign governments, companies, terrorist organizations, individuals, politics, culture, technology, and other aspects, coordinate the activities of other domestic intelligence agencies, and report this intelligence to various departments of the American government.

The FBI, on the other hand, belongs to the United States Department of Justice and is considered the top of the United States’ regular police force, responsible for domestic security affairs, such as major gang wars, terrorist attacks, etc. At the same time, the FBI is also responsible for handling some major federal cases. For example, the Behavioral Analysis Unit (BAU) in the American drama “Criminal Minds” belongs to the FBI.

In fact, even before this, there had been no shortage of intelligence gathering targeting Barron—but most of it had been isolated by his security and intelligence personnel. This included various foreign intelligence personnel, as well as some eyes from the British MI5 (Military Intelligence, Section 5)…

Now that the CIA has increased its interest in Barron, he can also guess the reason. After all, the American CIA has intelligence gathering agencies in various countries, including their allies. Given Barron’s status and position, as a pivotal figure in both the political and economic spheres of Britain, it is normal for the CIA to pay attention to him.

Moreover, the energy he displayed in the matter concerning the Rothschild family is also difficult to ignore.

In response, Barron can only be more careful in his daily life. He believes that with his security level and the intelligence network he possesses, even if the CIA is famous, he doesn’t need to be afraid of them.

What’s more, he doesn’t have any major conflicts of interest with them at the moment, and it seems that the CIA has only shown interest in him, without any hostility.

“I’ve spoken with Cameron, Mr. Ince. If he becomes Prime Minister, he will appoint a new head of the intelligence agencies, and I will make a recommendation then…”

Although the election has not yet begun, according to Barron’s information, the Conservative Party still has a very high probability of winning the election, just like in his previous life.

Moreover, the Conservative Party led by Cameron has received even more public opinion support from the SEM Group controlled by Barron. Under such circumstances, it is not impossible for Barron to recommend candidates for the heads of MI5 or MI6 to him, given their relationship.

However, it seems that Barron is more likely to influence the choice of the head of MI6, the Secret Intelligence Service—MI6’s responsibilities are similar to the CIA, also being Britain’s foreign intelligence agency, normally responsible to the Foreign Secretary.

MI5, the Security Service, which is responsible for domestic security, primarily answers to the Home Secretary, and therefore, its candidate is often someone Cameron trusts and will not be influenced by Barron.

“Your meaning?”

“I heard before that you worked with Alex Younger for many years and have a good personal relationship. Do you think he is trustworthy?”

As Barron’s intelligence advisor for many years, Nigel Ince’s assistance to Barron has been obvious to all, so he has gained the trust of the British Duke.

Now that he says such a thing, Nigel understands that it means that if Alex Younger can stand on their side, then Barron will recommend him to take over the position of head of MI6.

“I have worked with Alex for more than 15 years. I know him very well. I believe he is capable of this position.”

Nigel said to Barron cautiously.

“Alright, help me arrange a time, and I will meet with this Mr. Younger.”

…

In addition to Britain, which is paying attention to the upcoming election, other European countries are also very concerned about this matter.

Especially when the Greek sovereign debt crisis is intensifying, after all, although Britain has not joined the Eurozone, Britain’s future policy trends will still affect it.

For example, Brown, who is currently the British Prime Minister, has always firmly opposed joining the Eurozone and does not want Britain to be too involved in some of Europe’s messy affairs. Whether he can be re-elected will, to a considerable extent, affect the European situation in the coming years.

But apart from this, more attention is still focused on Greece, after all, whether Greece can continue to stay in the Eurozone will also be determined recently.

Since April, Greece has begun negotiations with the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on accepting aid.

In a report on the 15th, the Greek Finance Minister announced some details of these negotiations to the media.

According to the requirements put forward by the European Central Bank and the IMF in the negotiations, the Greek government needs to implement more stringent austerity policies, including cutting the fiscal budget by 30 billion euros in the next three years, in order to control the fiscal deficit to within 3% of GDP in 2014.

Greek Finance Minister Papaconstantinou said that Greece is now facing two choices: either let the country go bankrupt, or save it.

He will also fly to Brussels, the headquarters of the European Union, at the end of April to attend a special meeting of the finance ministers of the 16 Eurozone countries.

The specific details of the bailout amount will be announced at this special meeting.

According to the information that has been disclosed, the scale of funds involved in this bailout plan may reach 120 billion euros, which will not only set a precedent for Eurozone members to accept bailouts, but the scale of the rescue will also far exceed the 45 billion euros initially agreed upon by Eurozone countries.

Of course, Barron knows that this will only be the first batch of bailout funds, and this amount will continue to expand later…

Currently, it seems that the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund will provide assistance to Greece, which is basically a certainty.

This does not surprise Barron, after all, things developed this way in his previous life.

European countries could certainly let Greece withdraw from the Eurozone, but after weighing the losses caused to the entire Eurozone by Greece’s withdrawal, and the funds needed to bail out Greece, they still chose to provide assistance.

In addition, looking at Greece’s location, it can be understood that Greece guards the gateway to Europe from the sea in the Mediterranean, holding down some countries in the Middle East and North Africa.

European countries also need Greece to help them prevent refugees from these areas from being smuggled into Europe. If Greece just ignores it, then refugees from North Africa and the Middle East, especially from some war-torn areas in the Middle East, will be able to continuously and unhindered migrate to the heart of Europe…

Chapter 751: Hung Parliament

Just as Britain was about to usher in a general election, a sensational incident occurred in the Gulf of Mexico near America.

This was the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.

On the evening of April 20th, local time, the “Deepwater Horizon” platform, hired by British Petroleum to conduct drilling operations in the Gulf of Mexico, experienced an explosion due to methane leakage and subsequent fire. The entire drilling platform was quickly engulfed in flames…

Although most of the workers evacuated by lifeboat or were rescued by helicopter, the final count was that 11 workers were still missing and presumed dead in the explosion.

After this, several ships tried to put out the fire, but were unsuccessful. Finally, the “Deepwater Horizon” platform sank on the morning of April 22nd after burning for about 36 hours.

If it had stopped there, although it caused multiple casualties, it could only be considered a safety accident. What was more serious was that on the same day that the “Deepwater Horizon” platform sank, it was discovered that the Macondo oil well, where the platform was conducting drilling operations, had begun to leak crude oil…

According to the investigation reports later released by the American Coast Guard and the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, problems with the cement used to reinforce the oil well were considered the main cause of the oil leak. The Macondo oil well had budget overruns and abnormal monitoring equipment before the oil spill occurred. British Petroleum and Halliburton reduced the amount of cement injected into the oil well to save costs when implementing the oil well cementing project, causing safety problems with the oil well.

Baron knew that this incident would cause very serious losses to both the local environment and British Petroleum.

In his previous life, British Petroleum, not counting the huge expenditures during the handling of this oil spill, was also required to pay nearly 19 billion dollars over 18 years to compensate for the losses caused by this incident.

It could be said that from the moment this incident occurred, countless media outlets were reporting on it every day, even completely overshadowing the news of the British general election at the beginning…

Because of this matter, United Energy Group and Colo Petroleum Company also began to inspect their own and hired drilling platforms, and required platforms that did not meet safety requirements to enter shipyards for rectification and maintenance.

After all, the Gulf of Mexico oil spill was too serious. Later, according to estimates, the total losses caused to local America and British Petroleum exceeded 60 billion dollars!

…

“Your Grace, I met with Mr. Nick Clegg, the leader of the Liberal Democrats, yesterday…”

As Baron’s public relations consultant, Annabella Nolan became his representative when Baron was not convenient to personally meet with some people as the general election was about to begin, in order to mediate between various factions.

She said:

“Mr. Clegg is very willing to deepen the relationship with us and hopes to have the opportunity to meet you in person.”

“He is a smart man…”

Baron said with a smile:

“In this election, it is very likely that the Liberal Democrats will become the party that is highly sought after.”

Indeed, as Baron said, after the British general election began on May 6th, the House of Commons, which had increased from 646 seats in the last election to 650 seats, began to face contention.

However, the final result was that the Conservative Party won 307 seats, the Labour Party won 255 seats, and the third largest party in Britain, the Liberal Democrats, won 59 seats.

This meant that no single party had won more than half of the total of 650 seats in the House of Commons (325 seats).

For the Conservative Party, which had obtained the most parliamentary seats, the bad news was that their seats did not reach more than half (at least 326 seats), so a “hung parliament” would occur…

The so-called hung parliament refers to a situation in which no political party wins more than half of the seats in the British general election, then a “no majority parliament” situation will occur. According to relevant British laws and practices, they can only form a coalition government with another party in parliament to make their proportion in the parliament exceed 50%.

Prior to this, there had been a total of 4 “hung parliament” situations in British history. This time would be the 5th time.

The good news was that even if the Labour Party formed a coalition government with the third largest party, the Liberal Democrats, their total seats would not reach 326 votes. Therefore, the only option at present was for the Conservative Party led by Cameron to negotiate with the Liberal Democrats to form a coalition government, thereby reaching the statutory number of seats.

In this case, the Conservative Party naturally needed to make some concessions to the Liberal Democrats, but because they were the only ones who could successfully form a coalition cabinet with the Liberal Democrats, they would not necessarily give up too many benefits…

The final result was that Cameron reached an agreement with Nick Clegg, the leader of the Liberal Democrats. The two parties formed a coalition government, with Cameron serving as Prime Minister and Nick Clegg serving as Deputy Prime Minister.

It is worth mentioning that in this election, Joe Harriman also successfully entered the House of Commons and became a member of parliament.

And in the list of cabinet members announced after Cameron took office, Joe Harriman also successfully became the Minister for Women and Equalities.

At this point, she also became the youngest female cabinet minister in British history and attracted much attention.

…

“Mr. Brown, I wonder what your plans are after this?”

On May 11th, Brown officially resigned as Prime Minister, and Cameron took over. After that, Baron also met with him specifically.

“After this?”

Brown’s expression did not seem to change much, but Baron could still see a hint of loss in his eyes:

“I might do some charity work, or start my academic work again.”

“Don’t you plan to seek some other positions?”

Brown shook his head and said:

“I don’t plan to enter those companies to take a position. In fact, I would rather do something that can give play to my own value…”

Baron believed this. Brown did not value money. In Baron’s previous life, Brown did not later rely on becoming a “consultant” for some companies and giving speeches to make money, like Blair before him. He was a very low-key person.

“I have an idea here. I don’t know if you are interested?”

When Baron met with him and brought up this topic, Brown had some guesses.

However, he guessed at the time that Baron was preparing to hire him as one of his “consultants”, but after his statement just now, Baron’s saying this now, of course, ruled out such a possibility.

Therefore, he was also a little curious:

“What do you mean?”

“I think you can try to compete for the position of Chairman of the International Monetary Fund.”

Chapter 752: Seeking a Position

Before this, because Brown still insisted on hoping to seek re-election, Barron had not discussed related matters with him.

However, Brown and Barron ultimately had a close relationship. Although he was more supportive of Cameron in this election, as a means of checking the other party, Barron would certainly not give up supporting Brown.

“The head of the IMF?”

After hearing Barron’s words, Brown said with doubt:

“But Kahn’s term still has two years left…”

However, from Brown’s expression, it could be seen that the position of Chairman of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) was still somewhat attractive to Brown.

After all, to some extent, this position can be considered high-ranking and powerful, and given Brown’s resume as the British Chancellor of the Exchequer for many years, it would be very suitable for him to take over as Chairman of the International Monetary Fund.

“I think you are very suitable for this position. As for Mr. Kahn’s term… Before that, you can first seek a transitional position in the EU or the UN. I believe that at that time, your chances of winning the competition for the IMF position are still very high…”

There was actually another reason for making this suggestion, which Barron would not directly tell Brown.

That is, the Frenchman Kahn, who is currently the head of the International Monetary Fund, in fact, his term is only one year away…

The term of office for the Chairman of the International Monetary Fund is often 5 years, and Kahn took office in November 2007, so normally, his term would last until November 2012…

But if things don’t change, then by May of next year, that is, one year later, Kahn will be charged in New York with sexually assaulting a hotel maid, and therefore will have to resign from the position of Chairman of the International Monetary Fund.

At that time, with Brown’s resume, plus Barron’s operation, he still has a very high probability of taking over the position of Chairman of the International Monetary Fund.

In fact, in Barron’s previous life, there were many contradictions in the Kahn sexual assault incident, and there have always been related conspiracy theories that he was framed.

After all, as a Frenchman, Kahn was very supportive of the Euro and resisted the US dollar during his tenure as Chairman of the International Monetary Fund. He also advocated reforming the International Monetary Fund to reduce the power of the United States.

It would not be an exaggeration to say that these actions of his became a “thorn in the side” of the United States. Therefore, judging from the past methods of the United States, doing so is not an impossible thing.

In addition, in this incident, the French side did not support Kahn either.

The reason is that, during his time at the International Monetary Fund, Kahn gained extremely high prestige in France, and at that time, France was about to hold an election. After Kahn finished his term at the International Monetary Fund, he would very likely return to France to run for election, becoming Sarkozy’s biggest competitor.

Therefore, being able to take this opportunity to ruin Kahn’s prospects, Old Sarko was also very happy to see…

When Brown participates in the competition for the position of Chairman of the International Monetary Fund, his advantage lies in the fact that, on the one hand, he is British and can gain some support in Europe; on the other hand, Brown has always opposed Britain joining the Eurozone. On the attitude towards the Euro and the US dollar, the United States is more likely to support Brown…

Of course, before that, because the Conservative Party has already won the election, Brown cannot hold relevant positions in Britain. Therefore, during this period, it is not very difficult to seek a transitional related position for him in the EU or the UN.

These things only require them to wait until a year later, after Kahn’s incident occurs, and then help Brown get the position of Chairman of the International Monetary Fund.

There is no need to rush to tell him so clearly now.

Obviously, Brown was very interested in Barron’s proposal, and he said that he needed to go back and consider it.

Even so, judging from his performance, Barron knew that this matter was almost a done deal.

…

“Regarding the acquisition of the Port of Piraeus, the team composed of Peninsula and Oriental Steam Navigation Company and China Ocean Shipping Company has already begun to contact the Greek side, preparing to acquire the holdings of all shareholders, including the Piraeus Port Authority…”

According to the agreement reached between Greece and the European Central Bank, the International Monetary Fund, and the finance ministers of France and Germany, the prerequisite for them to receive assistance is to drastically reduce their fiscal expenditures. Moreover, according to the requirements of Greece’s creditors at this time, they also need to raise corresponding funds by selling some state-owned assets to ensure debt repayment.

Among these, the Port of Piraeus has become one of the assets to be sold by the Greek government. It was at this time that Peninsula and Oriental Steam Navigation Company and China Ocean Shipping Company jointly negotiated and bid for the shares of this port.

In addition to the joint bid from China Ocean Shipping Company and Peninsula and Oriental Steam Navigation Company, the other participants in the bidding for the Port of Piraeus were Denmark’s APM Terminals and the Philippines’ International Container Terminal Services, but among these, their advantages are still very obvious.

After all, before this, China Ocean Shipping Company had already obtained the operating rights of the Port of Piraeus. Under such a premise, neither Maersk nor the Philippines’ ICTS would be very motivated to bid.

“In addition to this negotiation, our short selling of Greece has also been completely withdrawn, but we still have a large number of holdings in the short selling of other European countries.”

Daisy said with a smile:

“Through this exercise, Lamy’s experience in this kind of financial investment is becoming more and more abundant. Now the Predator Fund he is in charge of has a return rate of over 300%, which is one of our best-performing funds.”

“He is only 18 years old. Encouragement is important, but you can’t be too complacent. After all, in this kind of work, the price of arrogance is very high.”

Daisy also very much agreed with Barron’s words. To say nothing else, the reason why the trader named Peter from NM Rothschild Bank brought them such a big loss before was mainly because he was too confident in his own judgment.

Lamy’s growth is certainly gratifying, but although he is very talented, he is only 18 years old.

Throughout history, how many brilliant traders have faded away after shining for a while.

Barron doesn’t want him to end up like that too, it would be too regrettable.

“Don’t worry, I will keep an eye on him, and judging from his performance, his mentality is very stable, it’s simply not like that of an 18-year-old…”

Chapter 753: Broadband Promotion Plan

“Forgive my bluntness, but the development of the broadband industry in Britain is slow and stagnant, like a snail! It has seriously affected our development in the internet technology industry. If we cannot change the status quo as soon as possible, then in a few years, the internet industry in Britain and even the whole of Europe will lag far behind the development in Asia and North America, becoming a veritable internet desert.”

This was what the head of Digital Future Investment Company said to a group of relevant agency heads during a hearing on the development of Britain’s technology industry held by the new government after Cameron took office.

The purpose of this meeting was to launch a plan to vigorously develop Britain’s network infrastructure, in order to build an ultra-fast broadband network covering the entire country within five years.

“Although O2 Telecom has been trying its best to build Britain’s broadband access business, the fact that needs to be admitted is that British Telecom (BT) still controls most of the basic equipment for fiber optic access in Britain. I think you should listen more to the opinions of small and medium-sized companies. BT charges them excessive fiber optic access fees…”

Behind closed doors, Barron had complained to Jeremy Hunt, the British Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport:

“Of course, from a personal point of view, I am happy to see this situation. It is also because of this that O2 Telecom has been able to develop rapidly in the broadband business, winning many customers with more suitable prices. But from the perspective of the entire country, even O2 Telecom needs to weigh the cost-effectiveness of infrastructure investment, so it cannot take care of a wider range of the market in the short term…”

He didn’t directly state another layer of meaning, which was that British Telecom received too much of the government’s investment funds, which was not commensurate with their construction and investment ratio.

It can be said that many of the data listed in this meeting showed that the current level of network construction in Britain has lagged far behind the world’s leading ranks.

For example, according to data from Ofcom, the British telecommunications regulator, less than 5% of British households have access to ultra-fast broadband with speeds of 30Mbps or more!

Currently, only about 12% of British internet users can continuously access high-speed networks of 5 megabytes per second, compared with 65% in South Korea.

Similarly, a survey by Ofcom last week showed that only 0.2% of British households have access to fiber optic networks, while the proportion in Sweden is 12%, and Japan ranks first in the world with 34%.

Moreover, the main fiber optic access method in Britain now is fiber to the cabinet - which is to first connect the fiber optic cable to the telephone booths in each area, and then connect to each household through the existing copper wires. This is called FTTC and can only provide a maximum network speed of 4 megabytes per second.

And O2 Telecom provides fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) in some areas, with network speeds of up to 100 megabytes per second.

“The broadband network itself is not the goal, but the most important thing is the various services that can be provided by the broadband network, such as remote classrooms and telemedicine, so that people can be more closely connected. This will change people’s lifestyles, thereby accelerating the transmission of information throughout society and promoting the development of our internet industry. Although we now have some internet companies that are considered leading in Europe and even the world, such as Woaw, Argos.com, and DailyVedio, if we do not speed up the popularization of our broadband, then the development of these companies will eventually be limited, and ultimately lose to those companies in Silicon Valley…”

Barron told Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport Jeremy Hunt that these words were not alarmist:

“In the past year, the digital industry has contributed 10% of the new added value to Britain, which is equivalent to about 130 billion pounds, and the number of employees in the digital industry accounts for 6% of the total British labor force, more than 1.7 million people. It can be clearly seen that the digital industry still showed strong growth momentum during the economic recession.”

Similarly, according to a survey by the London School of Economics, laying ultra-fast broadband networks throughout Britain can create more than 300,000 new jobs.

And for every 100 million pounds the government invests in network-related infrastructure, it is possible to bring nearly 10 billion pounds in related industrial increments!

As the saying goes, “a new broom sweeps clean.” Cameron himself was very concerned about the development of London’s Tech City - the Mayor of Greater London had been Johnsson of the Conservative Party two years prior, and he was also a strong advocate for London’s Tech City.

In addition, he also promised to increase government investment and promote employment in the general election, and now he needs to carry out some plans that can be heavily publicized.

This is also the main reason why he launched this discussion shortly after taking office.

As for the funds to promote this plan, Barron promised Cameron that if the appropriation of this plan could be more “fair” and the funds could be invested in companies that are more active in construction, instead of still relying on British Telecom as the main force, then his British Fortune Times (BFT) Fund would be willing to return part of the funds invested in this fund and the corresponding interest to the government in advance.

According to this agreement, the BFT Fund will first return 25% of the funds and the corresponding interest to the Bank of England, totaling more than 13.5 billion pounds. These funds will be used to promote Britain’s broadband infrastructure plan within five years.

At that time, when Standard Chartered Bank acquired Northern Rock Bank, which was injected with government funds, Barron was willing to let Standard Chartered Bank return the 25 billion pounds of funds invested by the government.

But the condition put forward at that time was that the government needed to inject a total of 50 billion pounds of funds into this British Fortune Times (BFT) Fund, part of which was used to return the 25 billion pounds, and the other part required the BFT Fund to return these funds and the corresponding interest through investment.

Now, through Barron’s series of investments, especially the profits after shorting in Europe, there is not much pressure to return part of the funds.

And most importantly, when the remaining 25 billion pounds of the BFT Fund was converted into US dollars, the exchange rate of pound to dollar was at a high of 2.11…

Now, the exchange rate of pound to dollar, although it has not reached the lowest level ten years later, has also been reduced to about 1.45.

Just because of the advantage they gained in the exchange rate, it is already very obvious, not to mention that those assets that the BFT Fund bottomed out during the subprime mortgage crisis have now appreciated a lot.

Now Barron doesn’t even need to sell those invested assets, just using a portion of his own funds to make a profit is enough to pay the first 25% of the funds and the corresponding interest.

Moreover, O2 Telecom will inevitably be able to obtain a considerable portion of the subsidies in the broadband infrastructure promotion plan carried out by the government using these funds.

Chapter 754: Social Season

As they approached the end of May, Cameron announced another series of appointments, including the head of MI6, also known as the Secret Intelligence Service.

Senior intelligence officer Alex Younger would be the new head of MI6.

Just as Barron and his intelligence advisor Nigel Inkster had said before, he had secretly met with Alex Younger. After that meeting, this highly experienced intelligence officer with deep roots in the British intelligence system came into Cameron’s view and was eventually appointed as the head of MI6, reaching the highest position for a British intelligence officer.

“So, John Smith’s troubles are temporarily resolved?”

Barron asked casually during a phone call with Ivanka.

“Yes, after that, the prosecutor hasn’t ‘harassed’ him anymore. Although it’s unclear whether he’s given up the investigation or just hasn’t made any real progress, at least Sinclair Group won’t be significantly affected.”

After his last meeting with John Smith, Barron hadn’t asked him about the follow-up—he didn’t want to give the impression that he “was also involved” in the matter. He only learned about some of the situation through Ivanka.

It seemed that John Smith had cleverly severed his relationship with the prisoner this time. As long as he couldn’t be linked to the whole affair, there was no need to worry too much about it.

Speaking of John Smith, his wife Jenny had just returned to London and moved into the Earl of Booth’s mansion in Chelsea.

Because June was approaching, the British social season was about to begin.

When it comes to the British social season, the most familiar event is probably the Royal Ascot, held in the third week of June.

But in fact, the British social season is composed of a series of events including the Chelsea Flower Show, Royal Ascot, and Henley Royal Regatta.

Every year, as summer approaches, gentlemen and socialites dress up in their finest attire to participate in this series of events…

Although Jenny lived in America most of the time, she was, after all, from a British aristocratic family and had participated in this grand event every year since she was a child. Therefore, she wouldn’t miss it if she had the time.

As for Barron, he would of course attend the more important occasions, such as Royal Ascot. His estate had a horse farm, and he was invited to attend this grand event every year, sitting in the most important seat next to the royal family.

Bonnie used to accompany him to these events, but in fact, Bonnie wasn’t very interested in these activities that were more about form than substance. Now that they were divorced, although Barron still suggested that she accompany him, it seemed that his ex-wife preferred to stay at home with the children…

Richard was still too young and would be cared for by Bonnie at home. Barron would take his and Bonnie’s first son, George Cavendish, the heir to the Duke of Devonshire title, to participate in these events.

“If I could, I actually wouldn’t want to go to those events either…”

At the Earl of Booth’s house, the Countess of Booth, Bonnie, and Jenny were chatting about the social season events, while Barron was at the bar talking to the Earl of Booth. about the King’s Cross area.

“I passed by there a few days ago and felt that the construction of King’s Cross was a bit too slow. It didn’t seem much different from what I saw half a year ago…”

Hearing Barron’s complaint, the Earl of Booth. shrugged:

“This is London. The main reason is that construction was too slow during the winter. Now they’ve started to speed things up…”

Ian Booth. said with some helplessness:

“After all, there are too many people interfering with many projects here. Environmental protection, cultural preservation, and even community associations constantly give opinions and ask us to modify the plans. Although it’s not difficult to deal with, it does affect our construction progress…”

“How are Argent Property Group’s projects in Australia and India?”

“I must say, Barron, as a major shareholder of the company, you don’t pay enough attention to Argent…”

The Earl of Booth. said with a smile:

“Of course, you’re now focused on those big projects. But speaking of which, after developing in the Asian market, I’m very optimistic about its potential. Several projects in Mumbai are satisfactory. Well, some high-end areas there are not bad, as long as you ignore the slums that exist within them…”

As Barron was talking to the Earl of Booth, he noticed Jenny’s gaze from the women’s side, which contained some meaning.

Soon, Barron felt his phone vibrate. He picked it up and saw that Jenny had sent him a message on WoawChat:

“Come out with me later.”

Seeing this message, Barron casually sent a “?”.

This woman, just yesterday in her room here, hadn’t he just had a long “learning session” with her and the Countess? What did she want now?

“Didn’t you say you had some toys on Neverland? I’d like to see them.”

Uh, Barron suspected that her coming to London this time wasn’t really to participate in the social season, but that she had a bit of a fever and wanted him to give her a few more shots…

…

“I heard you’re planning a round-the-world voyage?”

In the basement of Barron’s villa on Neverland, after Jenny had her wish fulfilled and tried many interesting toys, she asked Barron weakly.

“It’s not really a round-the-world voyage. For now, I’m planning to depart from London and go to Kolo in West Africa.”

“When are you leaving?”

“After Royal Ascot next month…”

“I want to participate in such an interesting thing too.”

Last year, Kolo purchased two Type 23 frigates from Britain. After that, these two frigates, named “Brita” and “Lottie” respectively, were being refitted in British shipyards, and the Kolo military also sent some personnel to receive training.

Originally, it was supposed to be completed in May, but due to various reasons, the construction period was extended. Therefore, these two frigates and some related equipment would finally be completed in early July, departing from Britain and arriving in Kolo.

Barron was also planning to take this opportunity to bring his female companions and sail his super yacht, the “Devonshire Poseidon,” along with these two frigates to complete the voyage from Britain to Kolo in West Africa.

On the one hand, he could take this opportunity to experience the feeling of a long voyage. After all, since he ordered this super yacht, he hadn’t yet undertaken a proper ocean voyage.

On the other hand, following two warships would also ensure safety.

According to the plan, Barron’s female companions would include Bonnie, the Countess, Catherine, and others, as well as his children—Tamara Ecclestone should have finished giving birth by then and could also participate.

Now that Jenny had heard about the voyage plan from Bonnie and the others, she also strongly requested to participate. Barron didn’t really mind.

After all, the “Devonshire Poseidon” was big enough to accommodate more people.

Chapter 755: A Bond

“What a pity, if we could have left earlier, we might have been able to go to South Africa to watch the World Cup.”

When Tamerlane Ecclestone heard that Barron was planning an intercontinental voyage, she said with a hint of regret.

Hearing her words, Barron was speechless. She probably forgot that she was still pregnant…

Just as Tamerlane said, this year’s World Cup would be held in South Africa, from June 11th to July 11th.

However, Tamerlane’s due date was in early July, so how could she possibly watch the World Cup with a big belly, especially when it was so close to her due date?

Although her pregnancy symptoms weren’t severe, there would inevitably be bumps during the voyage, and her body would likely not be able to handle it.

That was precisely why Barron chose to begin the voyage in July, waiting until Tamerlane had given birth and then assessing her physical condition to see if he could bring her along…

Moreover, the England team didn’t perform particularly well in this South African World Cup. They met their formidable opponent, Germany, in the round of sixteen and were eliminated.

It’s worth mentioning that SEM Group’s ITV obtained the broadcasting rights for the World Cup in the British Isles and would broadcast live coverage of the World Cup to fans in the British Isles on their sports channel.

With Sky losing the exclusive broadcasting rights for the Premier League, ITV had snatched a significant number of viewers from Sky on the sports channel, especially in football, and had become the most-watched sports channel in the British Isles.

Although after News Corporation completed its acquisition of Sky – they were originally just Sky’s controlling shareholder – Murdoch increased investment in Sky, after giving ITV the opportunity, it was difficult to return to its former position.

“I have to say, News Corporation’s acquisition of Sky is costing them less at this time…”

The reason Barron said this was that due to the sharp decline in the pound’s exchange rate against the dollar, the dollars corresponding to News Corporation’s acquisition of Sky were “cheaper” than before.

This was a problem that many British companies needed to face, namely that as the pound’s exchange rate against the dollar fell, many British companies became more attractive in the eyes of American companies because they could spend fewer dollars to acquire these British companies.

Barron had mentioned this to Cameron before. This was not alarmist. According to recent related surveys, the number and scale of American companies acquiring British companies had increased significantly, month-on-month.

To this end, the Standard Chartered-Merrill Lynch Group, which Barron controlled, had a dedicated fund within its asset management department that invested in British companies listed on the London Stock Exchange, acquiring a significant number of these companies’ shares. This, on the one hand, allowed them to bottom-fish when prices were relatively low, and on the other hand, prevented these companies’ shares from being acquired by Wall Street capital.

Of course, strictly speaking, is Merrill Lynch Investment a British company or an American company?

It appears to belong to the Standard Chartered-Merrill Lynch Group, headquartered in London, and controlled by Barron, the British Duke, but a significant portion of Merrill Lynch’s funds come from American investors, so it’s difficult to say exactly where it belongs.

And in fact, the attitude of a considerable portion of the British government, including Cameron, is not overly resistant to British companies being acquired by American capital – as long as their business still belongs to Britain and they still employ British people to operate, then they can bring tax revenue and employment to Britain.

After all, when these acquisitions are carried out, there will often be corresponding agreements guaranteeing the future operation and employee issues before the acquisition is approved.

As for whether this view is correct, it is not necessarily absolute. Looking at the future situation in Britain, after many of their well-known companies were acquired, the various industries in the entire country regressed severely, and there was no trace of the former British Empire.

…

“To complete internal integration, it still requires a period of careful operation…”

During this time, Barron took the time to come to Paris and meet with Ashley Weber, the manager of William-Weber Capital.

Ashley discussed with Barron the current situation of the merger between Natixis Bank and NM Rothschild Bank, saying:

“After so many things, NM Rothschild Bank has been greatly weakened. We hope that we can complete the integration of NM Rothschild Bank into Natixis Bank while preserving its original strength as much as possible.”

At this time, the two of them were having dinner at Ashley’s home.

It could be seen that Ashley had prepared this dinner very carefully. Her makeup was exquisite, and her beautiful eyes were fixed on Barron. The atmosphere suddenly became a little… ambiguous.

“I believe you can do it, Ashley, just like when I first met you, I knew you would amaze everyone.”

It seemed that Barron’s words also evoked Ashley’s memories. A smile appeared on her face, and she said:

“At that time, I was just a girl hoping to prove herself in the family… You know, for our family, it’s not easy for a woman to hold power.”

“You succeeded.”

“Succeeded?”

Ashley tasted a spoonful of thick soup, looked up at Barron, and said thoughtfully:

“Now it seems that I have succeeded, but how long can such success last? To be honest, I don’t have much confidence myself.”

“What are you worried about?”

“I am very grateful for your support, Your Grace…”

Since William-Weber Capital stirred up this storm in France, in the eyes of others, Ashley Weber has always been a sharp and ambitious, and quite resourceful, female executive, but now, under the soft light, the woman in front of Barron showed her more emotional side…

“But will such support always exist?”

“Of course, as long as our interests are aligned, then the connection between us will be unbreakable.”

“Just a connection of interests? I hope to have a closer connection…”

“What do you mean?”

“I don’t want to be just a representative of the Weber family in your eyes, but to have another identity…”

Ashley looked at Barron and said softly:

“For example, if we could have a child, then this child will become the closest bond between you and the Weber family.”

Chapter 756: GHL Group

In fact, with Barron’s current status and position, if he simply liked beautiful women, he could have access to the most beautiful women ordinary people could ever see, enough to have a different one every day until he was sick of it.

But this kind of pleasure, while desired by many, was something that Barron at this point even needed to restrain and control.

What’s more, for a man, the satisfaction gained from conquering the world far outweighs that of conquering women…

Even by the strictest standards, Ashley Weber could be considered a beauty far exceeding the norm.

Moreover, she was a very important partner for Barron.

Indeed, after receiving most of the Rothschild family’s “legacy” in the financial field, Barron’s influence had successfully penetrated various European countries, especially France and Germany.

Among these, the Weber family, represented by Ashley Weber, was a very important partner for Barron in France.

After all, France was often wary of foreign capital, so it needed local forces like the Weber family to cooperate in order to achieve its goals.

However, it now seemed that Ashley Weber was not content with simply being the Weber family’s representative with Barron, but hoped to truly become the manager of William-Weber Capital.

As for her proposal to have a child with Barron, how much of that was driven by emotion…

Barron didn’t care too much. After considering it, he accepted her suggestion.

After all, as she said, such a result could indeed strengthen the bond between them.

The connection between interests can be very strong, but how to ensure that interests always align?

If it were that easy, there wouldn’t be so much betrayal.

If Ashley Weber always saw herself as part of the Weber family, then it was clear that while the cooperation between the two sides was very harmonious now, there would inevitably be times in the future when Barron’s interests would diverge from those of the Weber family. At that time, they might be able to reach a mutually acceptable outcome through compromise.

But it was also possible that the conflict could escalate and they could become enemies.

Now, this union between the two of them could indeed add some security to this cooperation. Even if it couldn’t guarantee complete alignment, it at least provided more options.

Moreover, William-Weber Capital was Barron’s strategic move in the French financial industry. In other industries, he also had investments, such as the Gucci-Hermes Group in the fashion industry…

Uh, it should now be called the Gucci-Hermes-L’Oreal Group, or GHL Group.

Because at this time, the Gucci-Hermes Group had completed the acquisition of L’Oreal Group, thus changing its name to GHL Group. They held 69% of L’Oreal Group’s shares, while the remaining 31% remained in the Bettencourt family’s hands.

However, according to their agreement with the Bettencourt family, L’Oreal Group would still be managed by the Bettencourt family, who would enter its management.

But if Liliane Bettencourt lost control of the Bettencourt family, then GHL Group would only reserve no more than two board seats for the Bettencourt family in L’Oreal Group.

Unlike the original timeline, in the Bettencourt family’s internal lawsuit, Liliane Bettencourt, after gaining new support, did not fall behind and still controlled the shares held by the Bettencourt family.

Both Barron and Ashley Weber understood that what GHL Group needed now was just to wait.

After all, Liliane Bettencourt was getting old, and it was likely that she would no longer be able to lead L’Oreal Group in a few years. When that time came, it would be a matter of course for GHL Group to take back the power of L’Oreal Group.

…

“Are you going to see Sarkozy today?”

Bathed in the morning light, Ashley’s face was somewhat languid as she watched Barron walk out of the bathroom, dry his hair, and start putting on his shirt. She asked.

“Yes, we’ve already arranged a meeting time. I’ll be talking to him about some things today…”

“Coming back tonight?”

Seeing that Ashley didn’t ask any more about his meeting with Sarkozy, Barron was very satisfied. He gently stroked Ashley’s hair:

“As long as you feel you can handle it, then wait for me at home…”

Barron’s meeting with Sarkozy was a private one. Of course, Barron’s investments in France would be mentioned…

In addition, Barron also discussed two things with Sarkozy.

The first was that he was helping Brown seek the position of Asian Special Envoy for the European Investment Bank, and hoped to get Sarkozy’s support in this regard.

The European Investment Bank (EIB) was founded in 1958 and is the lending institution of the European Union. It is currently one of the largest multilateral financial institutions in the world.

Since 2006, the European Investment Bank has obtained the unanimous agreement of European finance ministers to start financing projects outside the EU. Currently, Asia is one of the main markets for the European Investment Bank to provide external financing. As the Asian Special Envoy of the European Investment Bank, he would be able to communicate with many Asian countries to invest in local long-term projects. For Brown, this would be a good transitional position before competing for the position of Chairman of the International Monetary Fund.

As one of the core countries of the EU, if France could be won over to support him, and Barron had already communicated with Cameron, the UK would not interfere in this matter—neither supporting nor opposing. After all, Brown was the Conservative Party’s “opponent,” and it was already very commendable for Cameron to make such a statement.

In this case, Brown’s chances of getting the position were still very high.

In addition, Barron also discussed some of the disputes between Cotonou and Benin with Sarkozy.

After all, the disputes between the two sides had slowed down the “repatriation” of illegal immigrants to the area by the UK and France.

The main reason Cotonou bought two frigates from the UK in the first place was because of the harassment of its oil exploitation at sea by armed vessels from neighboring countries…

A significant portion of these armed personnel came from Benin. Barron wouldn’t believe that France wasn’t involved behind the scenes.

After Cotonou discovered abundant offshore oil and gas resources, its neighbors Ghana and Benin were naturally very envious.

Ghana’s situation was better. After exploring their waters, they also discovered some oil and gas resources in the area adjacent to Cotonou’s territorial waters. Although the reserves were far lower than Cotonou’s offshore oil fields, it was better than nothing…

But Benin was more depressed. Their waters had not discovered any oil and gas resources—the most critical point was that part of Cotonou’s coastline originally belonged to Benin…

Chapter 757: The Reason Why

In the beginning, the border between Colo and Benin ran from north to south, demarcated by the Mono River, with the east belonging to Benin and the west to Colo.

Upon reaching the coast, the boundary should have followed the Mono River’s estuary, but it didn’t. Instead, it suddenly cut more than 20 kilometers into Colo’s territory, though only spanning less than 500 meters north to south.

This meant that within this 20-kilometer stretch of Colo’s inland border, they could see the ocean just 500 meters away, but Benin blocked their access.

To reach the sea, they had to detour more than 20 kilometers westward around the Benin border.

It’s important to note that Colo’s coastline is currently only about 70 kilometers long, which means that nearly a third of it originally belonged to Benin.

This wasn’t just a matter of coastline; it also involved the ownership of a much larger area of territorial waters.

However, through negotiations between the two sides, and with Colo paying a certain price, they finally reclaimed this 20-kilometer stretch of coastline…

After all, both Colo and Benin were former French colonies and members of the West African Economic and Monetary Union, so relations were generally good.

But the problem arose when Colo discovered offshore oil fields, some of which were located within the territorial waters extending from that original 20-kilometer stretch of coastline that had belonged to Benin.

This gave Benin some ideas.

Of course, France was also subtly pushing things from behind the scenes. Eventually, armed groups from Benin began to frequently raid Colo’s offshore oil field areas, disrupting their oil extraction.

This was easy to understand. Colo was originally within France’s sphere of influence, but by the time they discovered these rich offshore oil resources, Colo had already left the French-dominated West African Economic and Monetary Union and joined the Commonwealth…

From France’s perspective, the oil-related rights that the British were now gaining in Colo—such as United Energy Group’s stake in the Colo Petroleum Company—should have belonged to French oil companies…

Especially the oil and gas resources within the territorial waters extending from that area that Benin had occupied before Colo reclaimed it, should have belonged to Benin.

Back then, no oil and gas resources had been discovered, and with the mindset that they were both former colonies, France had even actively mediated in the negotiations between the two sides regarding this section of coastline…

But now, the British had “stolen the fruit,” and from the French point of view, how could they not be angry?

Although Benin’s land area is slightly larger than Colo’s, its economy and military are not as strong. The fact that they are now actively allowing armed personnel to harass Colo’s offshore oil fields, besides their own resentment, must have French involvement behind it.

Information obtained from Colo’s intelligence agencies confirmed this – many of the armed personnel were financially supported by French companies.

Thus, after Colo protested to Benin without success, the “refugee resettlement project” that the two sides had been cooperating on came to a standstill.

Before the two frigates purchased from Britain returned to Colo, their Colo Legion Coast Guard temporarily used purchased speedboats and inshore patrol gunboats to ensure the safety of the offshore oil fields.

During this meeting with Sarkozy, Barron also mentioned this matter in passing, hoping that France would avoid getting involved in the dispute between the two sides…

Old Sarko was somewhat evasive on this topic, only saying that France had been paying attention to the situation and hoped that both sides would exercise restraint to avoid escalating the conflict.

In fact, this matter may not have been Sarkozy’s direct instruction, but at the same time, he was unwilling to get involved. Just like even though he was the President of France, there were some things that he couldn’t decide…

Like the Benin issue, the French energy giant TotalEnergies was involved.

Whether or not to offend this largest French oil and energy company was something Old Sarko needed to consider.

However, Barron was only mentioning this matter in passing. Even if Old Sarko didn’t prevent France from supporting Benin, once the two frigates arrived in Colo, those sporadic harassments could be greatly curbed.

Even if they still didn’t stop such behavior, then Colo wouldn’t mind carrying out cross-border strikes.

Even if doing so would cause strong protests from Benin, and even lead to conflict between the two sides, this would not stop Colo’s determination.

After all, their oil extraction is now one of Colo’s main sources of economic income, which is very important to Colo.

…

“My friend, Barron, I’m very glad you could come today…”

“Coming to Paris, of course, I have to meet with old friends, and madam, you are becoming more and more charming.”

Afterwards, Barron went to visit Arnaud Lagardère at his home.

Here, he met Arnaud and his wife Jade, who had come to greet him.

It must be said that the family fortune that Arnaud’s father left him was truly vast enough. Even after so many years of Arnaud constantly selling off assets after taking over the family business, the Lagardère Group is still one of the largest comprehensive groups in France.

Although Arnaud’s approach to management is hard to describe, he is still very individualistic in other aspects.

Moreover, his lifestyle of being good at enjoying life is hard to say is wrong… After all, the family fortune is too great. Perhaps this kind of “squandering” will allow their family wealth to last longer than the hard work of those incompetent family heirs.

“Hello, Your Grace, I’m Cassandra. It’s truly an honor to meet you…”

Just as Barron was attending this party, a stylishly dressed beautiful girl walked up to Barron and said this.

The girl looked about eighteen or nineteen years old, with a model’s figure and an angel’s face, which made Barron’s eyes light up.

In the conversation, Barron learned that the girl was Arnaud’s wife Jade’s younger sister… She had just been admitted to university and would become a freshman at the Paris Academy of Fine Arts in September.

Uh, Barron suddenly realized at this time that this girl named Cassandra was the one who later got together with Arnaud’s son, eventually creating a bloody drama among the wealthy.

Although that was Arnaud’s son from his first wife, and there was no blood relationship with Cassandra, it was still a bit… outrageous.

It could be seen that Cassandra at this time was still a bit shy as a young girl, and Barron could also clearly feel the girl’s affection for him…

It’s just…

Barron’s gaze swept over the girl’s body. Her mature figure made it hard to believe that she was only eighteen or nineteen years old. It was indeed very eye-catching.

Chapter 758: Hellenic Telecommunications

That morning, Barron changed his morning exercise routine.

It has to be said that Cassandra’s recovery ability was somewhat surprising.

After last night’s study session, she was still able to insist on morning reading with Barron, which was indeed a good sign of a girl who was good at learning…

“How long will you be staying in Paris?”

After the room finally calmed down, Cassandra couldn’t help but ask.

“Just a day or two more, you know, my schedule is going to be pretty busy after this.”

Hearing Barron’s words, Cassandra was slightly disappointed:

“Then can I come see you in London?”

“Uh, of course you can, but it’s best to let me know in advance so I can schedule some time…”

However, whether he would have time then, Barron couldn’t guarantee, after all, he only ate fast food occasionally.

Next, Barron met with the CEO of O2 Telecommunications, Barry Trelawny, who had come to Paris from Greece.

“In order to meet the requirements of the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund, the Greek government has formulated a plan to privatize some state-owned assets. We successfully bid for 25% of the shares of Hellenic Telecommunications (OTE) held by the Greek government. We paid 3 billion euros for these shares…”

This month, the Greek government finally completed the first round of negotiations with the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund, and they will receive a total of up to 120 billion euros in various bailouts.

But one of the conditions was that the Greek government needed to show its determination to eliminate the crisis. To this end, the Greek government, while drastically reducing government spending, also sold off some state-owned assets for privatization in exchange for funds to make their government debt look better.

Under pressure, the Greek government acted quickly. For example, Peninsula and Oriental Steam Navigation Company, in conjunction with China Ocean Shipping Company (COSCO), successfully completed the acquisition of Greece’s largest port, the Port of Piraeus.

COSCO acquired 67% of the shares of the Port of Piraeus, and the remaining 33% of the port’s equity was acquired by Peninsula and Oriental Steam Navigation Company.

In this way, the two sides will cooperate to expand the scale of the Port of Piraeus, increase its throughput, and make it the largest port in the Mediterranean.

And in the Greek government’s list of sales, it also included 25% of the shares of Greece’s largest telecommunications company, Hellenic Telecommunications.

In the competition for these shares, O2 Telecommunications defeated other competitors and finally won 25% of the shares of Hellenic Telecommunications for 3 billion euros.

However, after this agreement was reached, O2 Telecommunications CEO Barry Trelawny will also go to Germany after this meeting with Barron to discuss with Deutsche Telekom…

Because the largest shareholder of Hellenic Telecommunications is currently Deutsche Telekom, and they hope to buy the shares held by Deutsche Telekom, thereby completing the acquisition of Hellenic Telecommunications.

In addition to being the largest telecommunications operator in Greece, Hellenic Telecommunications has a strong position in the communications markets of Southern and Southeastern Europe, including Algeria, Romania, and Bulgaria.

As early as March 2008, Deutsche Telekom acquired less than 20% of the shares of Hellenic Telecommunications (OTE) from MIG, with an acquisition price of approximately 2.55 billion euros.

Afterwards, through negotiations with the Greek government, Deutsche Telekom gradually increased its shares in Hellenic Telecommunications to about 35%, becoming the largest shareholder of Hellenic Telecommunications.

However, it is obvious that since the subprime mortgage crisis broke out, Deutsche Telekom has not had a good time. In order to repay its debts, it had to sell its American subsidiary, T-Mobile USA, to O2 Telecommunications.

Now O2 Telecommunications hopes to further acquire the shares of Hellenic Telecommunications held by Deutsche Telekom, so that they will own more than 60% of the shares of Hellenic Telecommunications, thereby completing the acquisition and making it a subsidiary of O2 Telecommunications.

Adding to Czech Telecom (now O2 Czech Republic), which O2 Telecommunications acquired earlier, O2 Telecommunications will have a considerable market share in the Eastern and Southern European markets.

Deutsche Telekom also participated in this bidding for the sale of Hellenic Telecommunications shares by the Greek government, but ultimately lost to O2 Telecommunications in terms of price, which also shows that Deutsche Telekom is no longer as powerful as it once was.

Therefore, this time O2 Telecommunications is very likely to get Hellenic Telecommunications from Deutsche Telekom’s hands.

Of course, if Deutsche Telekom does not budge, then they can only continue to acquire Hellenic Telecommunications shares in the secondary market, and acquire them from other small shareholders, in order to achieve control of Hellenic Telecommunications.

That would inevitably require spending more money and time, and can only be used as their backup plan in case of last resort.

“If we can complete the acquisition of Hellenic Telecommunications, it can have a synergistic effect on our current European business, increasing the number of users while reducing considerable operating costs…”

Currently, Hellenic Telecommunications has a total of about 7 million users. If the acquisition of Hellenic Telecommunications can be completed, O2 Telecommunications will become the third largest telecommunications group in Europe in terms of user scale.

…

Barron stayed in France longer than he had anticipated…

After dealing with the matters in France, he also helped Alicia Webb with multiple rounds of sowing… Barron returned to London in late June.

At this time, Tamarind Ecclestone’s due date was very near, so Barron would take more time to accompany her.

During this time, Catherine Neville was the person who was most often with Tamarind - the two had begun to develop a close relationship in Australia.

This also made it convenient for Barron. When he lived with Tamarind, because of her physical condition, Barron often studied knowledge with Catherine first, and then accompanied Tamarind to sleep…

He couldn’t help but suspect that Catherine might soon have their second child.

“Yesterday, on our northern border, militants crossed the border and attacked villages in the Kolo area…”

Nigel Ince reported the situation that had just occurred to Barron:

“The Kolo Legion responded quickly and repelled the militants, but the remaining members of the other side crossed the border and fled to the Benin side. We can only temporarily stop the pursuit, but we have strengthened the local alert and reconnaissance.”

Hearing this news, Barron frowned slightly:

“Can we confirm whether there was any involvement of the Benin military in this?”

“There is no sign of this for the time being, but it is clear that the other party has received some external financial support.”

Barron understood that the “external funds” that Nigel was talking about were likely to come from France…

“Let the Kolo side warn Benin and demand that they cooperate in controlling these terrorists, otherwise the Kolo Legion does not rule out the possibility of cross-border pursuit!”

Chapter 759: Peculiar Fleet

In fact, this wasn’t the first time the French had caused trouble for Kolo. Prior to this, Kolo’s intelligence department had obtained information that certain French funds were supporting tribal armed forces in remote areas of Kolo, attempting to incite another civil war.

And the Kolo Legion successfully nipped such conspiracies in the bud…

At that time, the French side was retaliating because Kolo was trying to break away from French control, withdraw from the West African CFA franc zone, and join the Commonwealth.

After that action failed, this time they found a better way, which was to organize armed personnel from Benin to cross the border and launch attacks on Kolo. Such actions were indeed difficult to deal with.

After all, if it were Kolo’s “internal affairs,” they could completely suppress it decisively with force. But when it involved neighboring countries, then crossing the border to pursue those armed elements would encounter certain obstacles.

The question is, would Kolo care about these things? Would the Kolo Legion care about these things?

Most of the soldiers in the Kolo Legion had experience carrying out missions in Iraq, which was a real battlefield. Therefore, even the army of Benin would not be taken seriously by them.

And Barron was not someone who was afraid of trouble.

Now Kolo was developing rapidly, and he would not allow anyone to undermine this development.

At the same time, Barron also understood that blind concession would not bring peace, especially in a place like Africa.

What was it that a certain great man in China said?

“A single blow wards off a hundred punches.”

If Benin insisted on being the chicken in the “kill the chicken to scare the monkeys” proverb, Barron would grant them their wish.

So, after Kolo issued a warning to Benin, a considerable portion of the Kolo Legion began to assemble near the border.

And they didn’t just wait passively, but began to collect intelligence on the strongholds of those armed elements within Benin, in preparation for subsequent cross-border strikes…

…

On July 10th, the same day that the Kolo Legion sent an elite squad in armed helicopters into Benin, destroying the stronghold of the armed group that had crossed the border to attack Kolo, and wiping out nearly twenty people, Tamaran Ecclestone gave birth to a baby boy in London’s best maternity hospital.

Because she had been well cared for, Tamaran’s delivery this time was very smooth. This first child of Barron and Tamaran was named William.

William Cavendish was a very well-known ancestor of the Devonshire family, and England once had a famous king named “William the Conqueror.”

Therefore, Barron named his son William, which also represented his earnest expectations for him.

“Actually, I prefer a daughter…”

After completing the delivery, Tamaran’s condition was still good. She took the newborn infant from the nurse’s hand and looked at the son in her arms, saying娇声 (jiāo shēng - softly and sweetly) to Barron.

“A son is good too, baby. Haven’t you noticed that he looks a lot like me? When he grows up, he’ll definitely be a handsome guy.”

Barron’s words made Tamaran couldn’t help but laugh:

“It’s true, the more I look at him, the more I feel that William’s eyebrows and eyes are especially like yours, darling.”

That day, they returned to their residence, where Barron had hired the best medical staff to serve Tamaran and the child at any time, ensuring that they received meticulous care.

And Tamaran’s recovery also put Barron’s mind at ease, so he decided to embark on a long voyage a few days later, on July 20th.

Originally, throughout this journey, there would always be a medical team on standby on the Devonshire Poseidon.

This could also ensure the safety of Tamaran and her child who were participating in this trip.

According to Barron’s plan, this voyage would depart from near London, then pass through the English Channel, and stop in Portugal and Spain for supplies along the way. He could also take the time to tour the scenery near the local ports with his female companions.

Anyway, Barron was not in a hurry. This was a vacation in itself.

As for the business of his industries, Barron would also bring his team of assistants, including Zhang Junning, which would not prevent him from handling company affairs.

…

“This scenery is beautiful, isn’t it?”

As the coastline had disappeared from view, all around was the vast sea.

And the sun was about to set, dyeing the sunset red.

Standing on the viewing platform on the third floor of the yacht, Barron said to Julia Moore beside him.

He was not on the Devonshire Poseidon now, but on another super yacht, the “Kaiser Wilhelm,” which was slightly smaller in scale than the Devonshire Poseidon.

This yacht was actually the first super yacht that Barron owned, but it was not built according to Barron’s ideas. After he ordered the Devonshire Poseidon, because the construction period was relatively long, he happened to be going to Germany with Fan Bingbing to watch the World Cup when he received news that someone wanted to sell this super yacht that was about to be completed.

Because the Kaiser Wilhelm had already completed the construction of the hull, and only needed to improve the interior decoration, Barron bought the super yacht and handed it over to Gucci designers to complete its construction.

Because his route this time was a “classic” route from England to West Africa - as early as the Age of Discovery, merchant ships had traveled on this route, so they could occasionally see other ships passing by along the way.

Some of these ships would also notice Barron’s rather strange fleet - two super yachts not far apart, followed by two warships, which looked really weird.

Well, the speed of Barron’s two super yachts exceeded that of the two frigates that Kolo bought from England, but as mentioned before, Barron was not in a hurry, so he could maintain a relatively stable distance from the frigates.

Because Barron also needed to handle some official business during this voyage, those who participated in this voyage with him also included his family office’s assistant team, as well as a large number of maids, bodyguards, chefs, medical teams, and so on.

The team members who handled Barron’s company affairs were mainly arranged on this Kaiser Wilhelm super yacht. In addition, there were Julia Moore and Bonnie Cavendish - after all, they also had their own careers, and would use the equipment on the Kaiser Wilhelm to handle company affairs in their spare time.

And Barron’s other female companions and children were all on the Devonshire Poseidon.

Anyway, the distance between the two super yachts was not far, making it convenient to cross between them by helicopter.

Chapter 760: Expansion

Those who are often at sea understand that the scenery encountered while sailing the ocean is indeed spectacular.

But if you face such scenery every day, you will soon become tired of it.

However, Barron and his group were far from feeling that way. After all, they would stop at ports during this voyage to visit the different customs and cultures of various places.

And even at sea, whether it was the Devonshire Poseidon or the Caesar the Great, with their complete facilities, their daily lives were no different from those at home, if you didn’t look at the environment outside.

Especially the children Barron brought. The older ones were already four or five years old and full of energy. Under the care of the maids, they could happily play on the yacht’s slide all day long.

What’s more, there were so many interesting things to do, such as fishing, riding jet skis, and even taking a helicopter.

His children might have been a little unfamiliar with each other at first, but now they were all playing together and had a very good relationship.

For example, right now, George, Esther, Emily, and the other children were gathered around Barron, their big eyes full of anticipation as they looked at the fishing rod in his hand and the fishing line extending from it to the sea.

“Got one! Did you see that, darlings? It’s very strong, trying to break free…”

Hearing their father’s words, the children could see the splashes on the sea surface, caused by the struggling fish…

And the fishing rod was being pulled, bending slightly…

“Daddy, pull it up! I’ll help you!”

George said, wanting to come over and help…

“No need to rush. This fish is too big. We need to slowly exhaust its strength first…”

Seeing such a big fish on the hook, the children were very excited and kept discussing it.

Finally, after some time, Barron began to reel in the line, eventually pulling a fish more than a meter long out of the water…

“We’re in luck. This is a Spanish bluefin tuna. After processing it, we can have it for dinner!”

…

On July 25th, the Protector Military Services Company, headquartered in the northern city of Munger in Colo, once again sent more than 1,500 military personnel to Iraq. This was the fifth time this year that Protector Military Services Company had increased its military personnel in Iraq.

At this time, the total number of employees of Protector Military Services Company had exceeded 15,000, and the total number of personnel they had sent to Iraq had exceeded 8,000, of which more than 7,200 were military personnel!

The main reason for this was that with the American withdrawal plan in Iraq, they needed more military contractors to fill the void in Iraq. For example, Protector Military Services Company currently undertakes multiple businesses in Iraq, including security and military training.

In the first few years of the Iraq War, its troops stationed in Iraq were as high as more than 130,000.

Starting in 2007, in response to the deteriorating security situation in Iraq, the US military continued to increase its troops in Iraq. In October of that year, the number of US troops stationed in Iraq reached a historical high of 166,000.

However, on November 17, 2008, before the United Nations’ authorization for the American-led multinational forces to carry out missions in Iraq expired, the United States and Iraq reached a bilateral agreement on the issue of future American troops stationed in Iraq—according to the agreement, the American combat troops stationed in Iraq would completely withdraw from Iraqi towns before June 30, 2009, and completely withdraw from Iraq before the end of December 2011.

This agreement officially came into effect in early 2009.

Then, Barack Obama won the American election, and he also prepared to withdraw American troops from Iraq as he had promised.

In February 2009, Obama officially announced the American plan to withdraw troops from Iraq.

This withdrawal plan included withdrawing most of the troops from Iraq before August 31, 2010, ending combat missions, and leaving 35,000 to 50,000 troops to support the military operations of the Iraqi government and its security forces.

Then, all remaining troops would be withdrawn before the end of 2011.

Of course, Barron knew that the first half of this plan went smoothly, but the United States did not neatly complete the full withdrawal from Iraq—after all, there was still the oil that attracted them the most, and because of the changes in the situation in the Middle East, the United States needed to maintain its presence there.

Moreover, the decision to withdraw from Iraq was not because Obama and his people were so fond of peace, but mainly because, from the current point of view, Iraq was increasingly becoming a quagmire they were sinking into.

This can be seen from a piece of data—in the large-scale military operations to attack Iraq, only 138 American soldiers were killed; but since then, the American military has frequently been attacked by anti-American armed forces in Iraq, and the number of casualties has continued to rise. As of now, the total number of American troops killed in Iraq has reached 4,415, and approximately 32,000 others have been injured in combat.

Moreover, the huge military expenditure has also placed a heavy burden on the American economy, especially when the United States has encountered the subprime mortgage crisis and has not yet recovered significantly.

As of the end of July 2010, American spending on the Iraq War had reached 742.3 billion US dollars, exceeding the cost of the Vietnam War and the Korean War—calculated according to the approximately 2,700 days from the start of the war to the withdrawal of troops, an average of 275 million US dollars was spent every day.

This was also one of the reasons why Obama was able to win at the time—due to the high cost of the war, the Bush administration had to squeeze funding for healthcare, education, housing, and other domestic projects to maintain the high military budget.

The huge war expenditure aggravated the American financial burden. In addition, the American government launched a large-scale economic stimulus plan to cope with the financial crisis and economic recession, and tax revenues dropped significantly. In the first nine months of the 2008-2009 fiscal year, the American federal fiscal deficit exceeded 1 trillion US dollars for the first time.

But after withdrawing from Iraq, there was still a lot of work to be done, so Protector Military Services Company received a large number of orders, including training local troops and police, and protecting the safety of American companies and employees, which led to their continuous expansion of personnel in Iraq this year.

According to a report in The New York Times, several American officials who did not want to be identified said that more than 1,200 tasks performed by the American military have been scheduled to be transferred to non-military departments, the Iraqi government, or canceled.

The American side also plans to hire 6,000 to 7,000 security company personnel to provide protection for approximately 2,400 people working in American diplomatic missions in Iraq.

After Blackwater Company was driven out of the area due to various scandals and the Iraqi government’s resistance, at least one-third of the underwriting orders fell into the hands of Protector Military Company, which had a relatively good reputation.

Of course, because of these businesses they undertook, and their cooperative relationship with the British and American coalition forces, Protector Military Services Company continued to receive equipment supplements from them, either openly or secretly.

So much so that even the Colo Legion, with the addition of this equipment, looked somewhat impressive.

Chapter 761: G4S Group

In addition to Protector Military Services, the size of Protector Security in England was also increasing.

After the split from Protector Military Services, the part that remained in England became Protector Security, whose business mainly involved security and risk management services for companies and individuals within England.

Furthermore, Protector Security also obtained some government business. For example, they cooperated with the British Immigration Office to form a maritime guard to prevent illegal immigrants from entering England and to repatriate these illegal immigrants—primarily to the area between Benin and Kolo in West Africa.

However, due to the increasingly tense relations between Kolo and Benin recently, the cooperation between England and France regarding the repatriation of illegal immigrants has also been temporarily suspended.

But this does not mean that the illegal immigrants intercepted by Protector Security cannot be repatriated. Kolo has reached an agreement with another neighboring country, Ghana, to designate a new settlement point for illegal immigrants in an area adjacent to the two countries. Ghana and Kolo will cooperate in the resettlement of British illegal immigrants.

After all, unlike Benin, Ghana is a former British colony and, like Kolo, is a Commonwealth country.

Previously, Benin was able to obtain what they considered to be a considerable resettlement fee from England and France for sheltering these illegal immigrants, which naturally made Ghana very interested. This is why they were able to reach an agreement with Kolo so quickly to take in these illegal immigrants heading to England.

As for the illegal immigrants from France, Kolo could no longer control this, because for well-known reasons, their relationship with France has also fallen to a low point—of course, France can still transport illegal immigrants to Benin for resettlement as before, but Kolo has temporarily suspended cooperation with Benin in this regard…

Not only that, but in response to Benin’s allowing armed personnel to invade Kolo, the relevant Kolo agencies also stirred up trouble in the illegal immigrant resettlement points in Benin and secretly provided weapons to some of the more “volatile” illegal immigrants. This has led to multiple riots in this illegal immigrant resettlement point in Benin recently, causing considerable damage to Benin.

Returning to Protector Security, just before Baron departed from England, Protector Security completed its merger with G4S.

G4S Group, formerly known as Group 4 Securicor, was founded in Copenhagen in 1901 and later moved to England. It has a history of over 100 years. The company’s main business ranges from security for properties, high-end stores, and banks to services such as celebrity bodyguards, cash and jewelry transportation, and alarm systems.

In 2004, the security business of Group 4 Falck merged with Securicor to form G4S Group, becoming the world’s largest security company.

As of now, G4S Group’s business covers more than 100 countries and regions around the world, with more than 400,000 employees worldwide. It has business activities in major regions of the world, including Europe, Asia, North America, South America, Africa, and the Middle East.

The Cavendish Trust, owned by Baron, acquired a portion of G4S Group’s shares prior to this, and by merging G4S Group with Protector Security, it currently holds more than 45% of the shares of the world’s largest security company, making it the largest controlling shareholder.

“G4S Group has obtained a contract from the British government to be the security contractor for the London Olympics in two years. However, according to previous drills, London is not satisfied with the security forces that G4S will deploy and hopes to increase security…”

Yes, as the security contractor for the London Olympics, G4S has won a high-value order from England. Now, merging with Protector Security can enable G4S Group to increase its security forces in London, and they expect to leverage the influence of their major shareholder, Cavendish Trust, in England to increase British spending on Olympic security…

“If we follow the requirements of the London government, then we may incur losses in this Olympic security project. To obtain more security forces, we must increase funding!”

This was the complaint of the CEO of G4S to them.

Don’t think it’s an exaggeration that a private security company like this is the security contractor for the London Olympics, because many other businesses of G4S Group are even more surprising. In the 1980s and 1990s, they undertook large-scale contracts from various governments, including security services for the Hungarian government, private management of prisons in England, escort and custody services for London courts, criminal correction services in America, and joint ventures with the German postal service.

Even some of the business of police stations in Scotland and Northern Ireland is outsourced to G4S!

In G4S’s total revenue last year, revenue from government clients accounted for nearly 40%!

These government businesses include prison guarding, judicial care, embassy security, disaster relief and mitigation, charitable and non-governmental services, border guarding, and mine clearance, among others…

Prior to this, G4S Group was an international security company that had undergone multiple mergers and splits in its history, with extremely complex origins. Its main bloodline came from Group 4 Total Security, formed by the merger of four independent British companies in 1968, Securicor, which was listed in London in 1971, and Falck Securitas, which was listed in Copenhagen in 1995.

In 2000, G4 and Falck Securitas merged to form Group 4 Falck; in 2002, G4 Falck acquired Wackenhut Corporation, the second-largest security service company in America; in 2004, G4 Falck merged with Securicor to form the current Group 4 Securicor, which is listed on the London and Copenhagen stock exchanges.

Now, after merging with Protector Security, the new G4S Group has a market value of 5 billion US dollars and is the world’s largest private security group.

This time, Baron’s journey, in addition to the protection of two frigates belonging to the Kolo Legion and the accompanying guards, whenever he went to a port for supplies and played with his women and children, he was accompanied and protected by local G4S Group security personnel.

After all, he is now really the boss of G4S Group…

Baron is still very cautious. In regions such as Europe, America, and Asia, the surface forces he controls are all completely legal and compliant security companies like G4S.

In addition, in Africa and the Middle East, Protector Military Services of the West African Group and the Kolo Legion have no direct relationship with him on the surface. Well, it’s just that the managers of these forces all listen to him…

Chapter 762: Casablanca

Speaking of Africa, many people associate it with being the homeland of Black people, with Black people being the majority.

In fact, many African countries are not predominantly Black, such as Egypt, Libya, Algeria, and Tunisia, which are mainly populated by white people, or more precisely, Arabs. These countries are mostly concentrated in North Africa.

This includes Morocco, where Baron’s fleet is about to arrive.

Morocco is known as the backyard of Europe. Looking at the map, Morocco is very close to Europe, practically facing Spain across the sea.

It was once ruled by France and Spain respectively, so you can still see many Europeans in Morocco.

“Of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world, she walks into mine…”

“Wow, Casablanca, I’ve seen that movie too.”

Baron’s two super yachts docked in Casablanca, Morocco’s largest city and largest port, and also the setting for the classic film Casablanca.

After the fleet reached African waters, this was their first African port of call.

It’s worth mentioning that Kolo’s main mineral resource before was phosphate, which is also Morocco’s main mineral resource - Morocco’s phosphate reserves are estimated at 110 billion tons, accounting for almost 75% of global reserves!

Normally, just selling phosphate would be enough for the people here to live well…

Of course, in reality, for small countries like Morocco that were once colonies, these mineral resources are naturally difficult to benefit ordinary people. The influence of the French is still strong here.

Countess Booth.boer and Bonnie had previously visited Morocco for leisure, and Tamaran had recovered well. She strolled with Baron through the streets of Casablanca, exclaiming:

“It looks like a European city, whether it’s the architectural style or the people passing by, it doesn’t feel like an African country at all…”

“Yes, Morocco is often called the most un-African African country. After all, it’s mainly populated by Arabs and Berbers, who are both white, adding up to 95% of the total population…”

Baron took her hand and said to the woman:

“And it was ruled by France for a long time, so the architectural style and culture are very similar to Europe…”

“You know so much, darling.”

Faced with Tamaran’s adoring gaze, Baron touched his nose - well, Bonnie had told him all this just before they docked…

Whether arriving in Morocco or previously docking at ports in Portugal and Spain, apart from Baron’s two super yachts, Kolo’s two warships, besides taking necessary supplies, were not convenient for long-term docking, so they would often temporarily anchor offshore, waiting for Baron to finish sightseeing and then provide protection.

Baron and his party will be staying at Casablanca’s most luxurious hotel, sightseeing for two days, and then setting off again.

…

On August 1st, the British Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport announced the British “Superfast Broadband Future Plan.”

According to this plan, the British government will invest a total of 5 billion pounds in phases to subsidize the facility construction of relevant telecommunications companies, with the goal of achieving 95% high-speed network coverage nationwide within five years, so that the public can enjoy high-speed broadband networks of at least 24Mbps.

Different from before, this time it is not British Telecom (BT) that will receive the largest share of the plan’s subsidies. In addition to BT, O2 Telecom has also obtained at least 35% of the subsidy share, based on their broadband upgrade plan for the next five years submitted to the British government.

If O2 Telecom can complete this upgrade plan, they could even receive more than half of the subsidy share…

In addition, the British government will invest 8 billion pounds to establish a National Digital Industry Investment Fund, which will provide investment and low-interest financing for related digital industry companies, helping British companies to develop.

It can be said that this plan has been widely anticipated since it was proposed.

It will not only promote the popularization of broadband networks in Britain, but also greatly promote the British digital industry.

To date, the Digital Future Investment Company under Caesar Fund has invested in more than 100 projects, some of which have been able to obtain relatively good investment returns. In addition, some companies with unique technologies or ideas have been acquired by companies such as Woaw, Argos Retail Group, and DailyVedio, and the effect is very obvious.

Now with the support of the British government, even from the perspective of Digital Future Investment Company, many of the start-up projects they support are likely to receive support from this digital industry investment fund, thereby reducing Digital Future’s funding pressure.

In addition to this good news, O2 Telecom’s CEO, Barry Trelers, who went to Germany to negotiate with Deutsche Telekom, also brought Baron good results.

Finally, after O2 Telecom’s bid reached 4.35 billion euros, Deutsche Telekom finally relented and was willing to sell its shares in Hellenic Telecom to O2 Telecom - which means that Deutsche Telekom finally gave up control of Hellenic Telecom.

After completing this acquisition, O2 Telecom’s shareholding in Hellenic Telecom will exceed 60%, thereby turning it into a subsidiary of O2 Telecom.

After Hellenic Telecom becomes a subsidiary of O2 Telecom, O2 Telecom will successfully enter the Southern European market and consolidate its Eastern European market, becoming one of the telecommunications companies with the largest number of users in this market…

“The Eastern European market is developing very fast. Compared with the relatively stable Western and Northern European markets, the market there has more potential…”

Barry Trelers said in an email to Baron:

“And the most important thing is that young people there are very enthusiastic about our culture and trends, and as many countries try to integrate into the European Union, their markets are completely open to us, and it will become a market that many European telecommunications companies actively develop…”

Indeed, Eastern Europe is now not only an important market for Western European products, but also young people there, with the process of integrating into the European Union, are beginning to fill the labor shortage here. They are happy to go to Western European countries to work, and they do not have much of a habit of saving. The income they earn is very willing to be spent.

Therefore, not only O2 Telecom, but also Argos Retail Group and other industries of Baron have begun to regard expanding the Eastern European market as a new frontier after the market in Western and Northern European countries has stabilized.

Chapter 763: Choosing Shadow Capital?

“Currently, our Oriental Shadow Capital project has been in in-depth contact with the local governments of three cities, including Jinmen, Dalian, and Qingdao. Among them, Qingdao has shown the greatest sincerity, and its other conditions are also more suitable compared to the other two cities…”

While wearing shorts and sunbathing, Barron listened to Li Lu on the phone discussing the Oriental Shadow Capital project.

Some of this information was also mentioned in the emails sent to him by Tianhe Capital before.

The reason for currently leaning towards Qingdao, besides the local government’s positive attitude, is that Qingdao shares more similarities with Hollywood in America in terms of geography and climate – both are located around 35° north latitude, have similar climates, long hours of sunshine, and are both coastal cities…

According to Li Lu, in order to secure the Oriental Shadow Capital project, Qingdao is willing to offer a total of 16 plots of land on its west coast, covering an area of nearly 4 million square meters, at a relatively low price to Tianhe Oriental Shadow Capital Group, a joint venture company jointly funded by Tianhe Capital, Marvel-MGM Studios, Blue Valley Capital, Grace Cultural Tourism Group, and Cavendish Trust Fund, specifically to implement the Oriental Shadow Capital project.

These 16 plots include an island called “Starlight Island” that Qingdao plans to create through land reclamation.

And for such a large area, Tianhe Oriental Shadow Capital Group only needs to pay the local government 2.1 billion Chinese yuan.

Through the information, Barron knew that the plots of land offered by Qingdao were in the same location as the film and television project invested in by Wanda Group in his previous life, but the area of the Shadow Capital was larger than that of Wanda Group at that time.

This is not surprising. First of all, Qingdao originally had the idea of developing a cultural tourism industry on this plot of land – Barron had also heard in his previous life that Wanda Group’s Shadow Capital project was initially considered for Dalian, but eventually Qingdao was chosen.

In addition, it’s not that Qingdao doesn’t have other plots of land of comparable size besides this one, but the surrounding development of those plots is relatively mature, and they have long been held by people with influence in the local area, who would definitely not be willing to hand them over.

The area on the west coast of Qingdao, close to Jiaonan, is relatively “remote,” and has not been hoarded by anyone with a specific purpose, making it relatively easier to cooperate with Tianhe Oriental Shadow Capital Group.

“Although these plots of land are not as developed and are a bit far from the center of Qingdao, this is not a major problem. Moreover, the area has mountains and sea, and the terrain is rich, which is also suitable for the construction of a Shadow Capital…”

Li Lu said to Barron:

“Qingdao has promised that if the project is implemented, they will plan new subway lines that will pass through most areas of our Shadow Capital, making transportation more convenient…”

In addition, two of the 16 plots belong to Jiaonan City, but Qingdao has promised that after Tianhe Oriental Shadow Capital Group acquires these two plots, they will be quickly incorporated into Qingdao’s Huangdao District…

More importantly, Qingdao is also willing to provide necessary policy support for the Oriental Shadow Capital project. For example, they are willing to jointly invest 50% each with Tianhe Oriental Shadow Capital Group to establish a special film and television industry development fund with a first-phase scale of 5 billion Chinese yuan, which will be used to subsidize film crews coming to shoot…

“This fund will invest 1 billion Chinese yuan each year for the next five years, providing subsidies of 20%-40% of the production cost for film crews coming here to shoot…”

The specific subsidy method is initially determined as follows: for domestic films, films with a production cost of 8 million to 20 million will receive a 30% subsidy; films with more than 20 million will receive a 40% subsidy…

Foreign films with more than 30 million yuan (including 30 million yuan) will receive a subsidy rate of 40%.

A single film will be subsidized up to 120 million yuan (approximately 18 million US dollars).

“40% is undoubtedly a very considerable subsidy, and it is currently the highest subsidy amount in the world. In Asia, Malaysia’s 30% production subsidy was once the highest in Asia.”

Barron had also learned in America that some of their states, in order to snatch some film location shooting from Hollywood, would also provide similar production incentives, often offering tax rebates/rewards to film companies in the range of 25% to 30%…

“However, although such subsidies and incentives are very important, what is more important for many film and television companies is the credibility and sustainability of the policies. Therefore, in these aspects, we need time to earn a good reputation, and we also need to confirm the sustainability of these policies with Qingdao.”

In addition to attracting film and television companies to come to Oriental Shadow Capital for shooting and post-production, the area will also feature the world’s largest Marvel-MGM theme park, as well as characteristic commercial centers, yacht clubs, and residential real estate projects.

“According to our most conservative estimate, if the entire project progresses smoothly, the land price here can also increase more than tenfold compared to before…”

Well, although it is Qingdao, it is not an exaggeration.

After all, this area was previously considered a very remote location in Qingdao, and the housing prices were not high…

Barron knew that in his previous life, Wanda Company also ambitiously built a Shadow Capital here. At that time, they completed the acquisition of AMC, the second largest cinema operator in the United States, and later acquired the well-known Hollywood production company Legendary Pictures for 3.5 billion US dollars, possessing considerable Hollywood resources.

Therefore, at that time, they even shouted out the ambition of building an Oriental Hollywood here, and planned to hold the Oscars one year in the United States and one year in their Qingdao Shadow Capital.

The groundbreaking ceremony of Wanda Qingdao Shadow Capital was very grand. They invited Hollywood stars such as Leonardo DiCaprio, Nicole Kidman, and John Travolta to support the event, which was very eye-catching for a time.

However, afterwards, it can be said that there was a lot of thunder but little rain. Wanda’s Shadow Capital in Qingdao did not achieve the goals they had hoped for. Instead, as Wanda Group’s glory faded later, it gradually faded from people’s sight.

But the Tianhe Oriental Shadow Capital Group’s project is different. In addition to the fact that Tianhe Capital, the main controller of this project, and its Tianhe Film and Television Investment Company also have a significant influence in the film and television industry in China, their other shareholders include Marvel-MGM Studios, one of the six major Hollywood production companies, which is currently on the rise. In addition, Blue Valley Capital has also invested in many companies in Hollywood, including cinemas and platforms, such as Netflix…

Moreover, the resources that Barron behind them can give to this Shadow Capital are by no means comparable to those of Wanda Group…

Chapter 764: Arrival

It could be said that Baron had a very leisurely journey. Setting off on July 20th, he was finally about to arrive at Lottie Port, Kolo’s largest port, a month later.

Of course, during Baron’s vacation, the two frigates belonging to Kolo were not idle. During this time of escorting, with the help of some retired British Royal Navy officers hired by the Kolo Legion, they allowed the Kolo Legion’s native naval members to quickly familiarize themselves with the operation of these two frigates.

“That is our destination, Lottie Port!”

Following the direction Baron pointed, the children curiously looked at the busy port in the distance.

The current Lottie Port has been expanded and has become the busiest port in West Africa, with an annual throughput of nearly 6 million tons.

Although the distance is still relatively far, you can already see freighters constantly entering the docks. The various goods loaded on these freighters will be unloaded in Lottie and then transported to various West African countries through Lottie’s increasingly complete transportation network.

This was also Baron’s first time bringing his family to Kolo, this emerging West African freight and financial center covered by his influence.

Of course, here, Baron can also receive more high-profile and flamboyant treatment than when he was in Britain and America.

When the Devonshire Poseidon and Caesar the Great, these two super yachts, docked at a private port not far from Lottie Port, a company of soldiers from the Kolo Legion had already lined up on the pier in the most dignified manner to welcome the true master of Kolo.

To be honest, although Kolo is a country mainly composed of black people, it is quite ironic that the soldiers of the Kolo Legion who came to greet them looked no different from American soldiers in terms of appearance and equipment…

Well, if you ignore the differences in uniforms and equipment, even if the proportion of black soldiers inside exceeds 50%, they don’t look much different from French troops…

Oh, by the way, on the flag, the Kolo Legion’s military flag is also quite different from the white of France.

After Baron took his family ashore, they got into the motorcade that came to greet him…

This motorcade was the same as when he was in Britain, consisting of Land Rover Defenders for the guards and Bentley Mulsannes for him and his family – these cars were all driven from Kolo’s capital, Bullita. They were originally parked at his residence, Jupiter Mansion, and were used for his travels when he came to Kolo.

From the city scenery outside the car window, Baron could see that although Kolo’s capital had moved from Lottie to the inland Bullita, Lottie had not stopped developing. Compared to the last time he came here, Lottie looked more prosperous, and the city’s landscape was more beautiful and tidy.

The slums that were often seen before were also much fewer, replaced by many newly built residential areas…

After all, Lottie is still Kolo’s largest city. Thanks to the development of port transshipment and the development of Kolo’s offshore oil fields, the income of local residents in Lottie is also continuously increasing, and the number of wealthy people is much higher than before.

If you were to make a comparison, the status of Bullita and Lottie in Kolo is somewhat similar to that of Yanjing and Shanghai in China.

The cities that develop first in a country will always be those with excellent geographical locations and functionalities, such as the three major cities of Kolo: Lottie, Bullita, and Dassault.

These three cities are located at three important nodes of Kolo’s transportation artery, the Loda Railway and the Loda Expressway.

The coastal port of Lottie, the inland capital of Bullita, and the end of the Loda Railway and the Loda Expressway, Dassault, located at the junction of Kolo, Ghana, Burkina Faso, and Benin – it has become Kolo’s largest small commodity market besides Lottie. Merchants from many inland West African countries will go to Dassault to purchase various goods shipped from overseas.

“Honey, I think you’ve eaten too much. How about you rest for a while and I’ll have them take you out to play?”

As a port city, Lottie is also very rich in seafood. Well, many of the seafood are things that the children had never seen in London before, and they are also very delicious.

Therefore, Baron could clearly see that George Cavendish’s little belly was bulging…

The house where Baron and his family lived in Lottie was the former presidential palace.

After Kolo’s capital moved from Lottie to Bullita, it was vacated. After renovation, it served as Baron’s residence in Lottie.

In any case, this presidential palace was once the residence of a country’s leader. Before becoming the presidential palace, it was the governor’s mansion of the French governor during the colonial era. It was built very exquisitely and elegantly, and also had a bit of historical atmosphere.

After dinner, the women took the children to visit the place.

Baron, on the other hand, received Errol Brute, the commander of the Kolo Legion, in the study.

“Are you saying that the conflict with Benin has not ended yet?”

“Yes, Your Grace, after our two successful entries into Benin to raid the armed militants’ strongholds, cross-border attacks in the north have no longer occurred…”

Errol introduced the recent situation to Baron:

“However, armed vessels harassing our offshore oil fields, although the frequency has been very low, still occur from time to time…”

“Then what plans do you have for this? Commander?”

“Before, we used armed patrol boats and gunboats to defend our offshore oil fields, which was relatively passive. However, after the two frigates are commissioned, we will formulate a plan to strike at some areas in Benin where these armed vessels are hiding…”

Baron strongly supported Errol’s plan.

After all, Kolo’s offshore oil fields are very important to them, and he doesn’t want these harassments to affect the production of the offshore oil fields.

Although the current oil price has fallen back compared to before, it is still at a relatively high level – entering August, the price of London Brent crude oil is still above 80 US dollars…

Therefore, taking advantage of the current opportunity to increase production can also bring more benefits to Kolo and United Energy Group.

For this reason, it is necessary to strike at the harassment from Benin.

Even if Benin protests against this, Baron and Kolo will not care at all. Who told you to cause trouble first?

Besides, with two frigates, Benin poses no threat to Kolo in terms of naval power…

Currently, Kolo’s intelligence agencies have obtained the approximate location where the opposing armed vessels are hiding. Next, the two frigates that will join the Kolo Legion’s naval fleet need to destroy them.

Chapter 765: Mediation

In fact, the strike against the armed vessels within Benin’s waters was a bit of overkill for their two frigates.

The Type 23 frigate was originally positioned within the British Royal Navy as a multi-role vessel for long-range ocean operations, possessing a complete and powerful array of armaments.

In terms of weaponry, the Type 23 frigate’s primary air defense self-defense weapon is the GWS.26-1 Sea Wolf surface-to-air missile vertical launch system in the “B” position, with a total of 32 tubes, providing considerable point air defense self-defense capabilities.

In addition to the Sea Wolf missiles, another air defense weapon of the Type 23 frigate is two Oerlikon DS-30B 30mm 75-caliber anti-aircraft guns with automatic operation capabilities and a stabilized base. They have a range of 10km against surface targets and 3.5km against aerial targets – this was also added by the British Royal Navy based on the experience of the Falklands War.

During that war, the Royal Navy discovered that firing tracer rounds from machine guns at Argentine aircraft, even if it didn’t hit them, could greatly interfere with their bombing, thereby reducing the hit rate.

In terms of anti-ship weapons, the Type 23 frigate is equipped with a BAE Systems RO Defence-produced MK-8 4.5-inch automatic naval gun on the bow, with a range of 22km against sea targets and 6km against air targets; in addition, there are two sets of quadruple Harpoon anti-ship missile launchers between the vertical launcher and the bridge.

In terms of anti-submarine weapons, the Type 23 frigate itself is equipped with two triple 324mm torpedo launchers, using British-made Stingray lightweight anti-submarine torpedoes.

There is a helicopter hangar at the stern, which can provide landing refueling and ammunition loading operations.

It is worth mentioning that the original design of the Type 23 frigate’s landing deck and hangar size were both designed to match the newly developed HM Mk.1 Merlin heavy anti-submarine helicopter at the time (its size and weight were even larger than the Royal Navy’s largest Sea King anti-submarine helicopter in service at the time), but because the development speed of the Merlin could not keep up with the commissioning of the Type 23, it initially operated a current Lynx Mk.8 anti-submarine helicopter, while the Merlin entered Royal Navy service in December 1998 and was equipped on the Type 23 frigate.

Currently, Kolo’s two frigates are equipped with the Merlin heavy anti-submarine helicopter.

The average speed of the Type 23 frigate is nominally 28 knots, but in fact, during the voyage from Britain to Kolo, Kolo’s two frigates were able to easily reach speeds of 32 knots.

This speed is not too far behind the 35 knots of Barron’s two super yachts.

You should know that Barron’s two super yachts are already considered relatively fast among current super yachts, such as Abramovich ’s “Eclipse”, which has a maximum speed of only 21 knots.

The so-called armed vessels departing from Benin are actually just small boats that have been modified from ordinary speedboats, at most welded with a machine gun, or armed personnel carrying RPGs.

When facing harassment from these vessels, the Kolo Legion’s patrol boats are sufficient to deal with them.

Moreover, the value of the anti-ship missiles carried by these two frigates is far higher than the value of those so-called armed vessels.

The reason why Kolo purchased these two frigates was not because of the harassment of these small armed vessels from Benin, but to maintain the safety of the waterways in their nearby waters.

According to their plan, Kolo will cooperate with many countries and international organizations to form a joint escort fleet to enforce the law in the Gulf of Guinea and prevent some transport ships from being harassed by pirates.

Of course, in addition to this, owning these two “advanced” frigates is also a deterrent to surrounding countries – to be guilty of possessing a treasure, having rich offshore oil fields will always attract covetous eyes.

Excluding those armed vessels, Benin’s maritime power, like Kolo’s before, only has some small patrol boats for coastal defense.

Therefore, if their Type 23 frigates were to take action, these Benin patrol boats would probably not pose any threat at all.

In any case, this operation can be regarded as a live-fire exercise, so in the final action, both of their frigates participated in this operation.

This operation of the Kolo Legion was very smooth. With detailed intelligence, knowing the location where the other party’s several armed vessels were hiding, coupled with the advanced electronic equipment and weapons of the two frigates, Kolo easily destroyed that stronghold in one fell swoop.

When the Benin patrol boats arrived, they only dared to follow from a distance, escorting these two “giants” out of Benin’s waters.

However, what followed was a strong protest from Benin.

…

“The President today received representatives from the Economic Community of West African States and the African Union, who expressed great concern about the conflict between Kolo and Benin…”

At this time, Barron and his party had left Loti and arrived in Kolo’s capital, Bulita, via the Loda Expressway.

After the Kolo Legion’s maritime operation, the conflict between Kolo and Benin became increasingly fierce. Although Benin’s maritime power was insufficient, in order to express their protest, they began to concentrate a considerable part of their military forces towards the border between the two countries.

Benin’s total military strength exceeds 10,000, but a considerable part belongs to the “Public Security Force” and militia. The regular army is around 5,000, most of which is the army (approximately 4,500).

Its equipment is mainly French and Chinese weapons – in the 1980s, Benin underwent five years of civil war, and China provided Benin with a lot of assistance, so their relationship with China is also very good.

“Before this, the President also met with representatives from France and China, who also hope to mediate this conflict…”

Barron can understand China’s position, after all, Benin has a good relationship with China, and there are many cooperation projects between China and Kolo, so they do not want the two sides to really intensify their conflicts, leading to war.

As for France, they themselves initiated this conflict behind the scenes. It can truly be said that they are shedding crocodile tears.

Because Kolo and Benin both belong to the Economic Community of West African States (Kolo withdrew from the West African Monetary Union after abandoning the West African Franc, but remains in the ECOWAS), both ECOWAS and the African Union hope to reconcile their conflicts.

“The African Union is preparing to hold a related meeting in Abuja, Nigeria, hoping that we and Benin can send people to participate and mediate the recent conflict.”

Soon, Barron received news from Jameh Bongo.

Abuja is the capital of Nigeria, and it is very close to both Kolo and Benin. It is Benin’s eastern neighbor.

It is very normal for the African Union to choose Nigeria, a third country, to mediate between Kolo and Benin.

Moreover, Nigeria itself is the largest economy in Africa and the largest oil exporter in Africa. Both Kolo and Benin have to give them face to host the mediation efforts.

Chapter 766: Subsidized Housing

Originally, Kolo had already completed its retaliatory strikes against Benin’s provocations, and to be honest, this conflict, while causing some losses to Kolo, didn’t bring any benefits to Benin either.

It could be said to be a completely lose-lose situation.

Now, if there was talk of peace negotiations, Kolo would be perfectly willing to accept – revenge had been taken, and it could be considered practical military training…

Most importantly, Kolo was currently undergoing rapid development and didn’t want to be disturbed.

Of course, Jame Bongo was definitely going to Nigeria with conditions.

Anyway, if you don’t want to talk, that’s fine, the Kolo Legion isn’t afraid of a fight.

Before Jame Bongo set off for Nigeria, he met with Barron.

This meeting between the two, apart from discussing the peace talks with Benin, also touched upon the development of Kolo.

Barron received relevant reports on Kolo’s development from the Kolo Development and Reform Research Center every month – this institution, originally established by Barron in London, was moved here after Kolo was “liberated.” Most of Kolo’s development plans and related policies came from this research center.

On the surface, the Kolo Development and Reform Research Center was responsible to the President of Kolo, providing intellectual support for Kolo’s development.

But in reality, the formulation of relevant policies and development plans by this research center was all in line with Barron’s will.

Of course, Barron didn’t need to excessively exploit Kolo economically. On the contrary, he would provide assistance for Kolo’s development, but all of this was on the premise that many aspects of Kolo’s economy, politics, and military were under his control.

As the President of Kolo, Jame Bongo naturally understood this very well, and he was willing to be a link in Barron’s control of Kolo.

His second term as president was already more than halfway through, with less than two years left. In 2012, Kolo would once again usher in a general election.

According to Kolo’s constitution, Jame Bongo could only serve a maximum of two presidential terms, so he would no longer be eligible to participate in the general election as a candidate. He would resign from his position as the leader of the Kolo People’s Party and hand it over to someone else to participate in the election.

Therefore, Jame Bongo’s only hope now was to successfully complete this term, without any further ambitions.

After all, as the President of Kolo, Barron had already left a certain share of stock for Jame Bongo in the West African Group. With these shares, Jame Bongo’s family was destined to become one of Kolo’s established families. As long as he didn’t make any mistakes, their family’s position in Kolo would be secured.

Moreover, as the founder and first leader of the Kolo People’s Party, the largest party in Kolo, he also had a huge influence within it, enough to ensure that his descendants had a higher starting point.

Jame Bongo’s eldest son, Nicola Bongo, was currently studying at Cambridge University. After he graduated and returned to Kolo, he would be able to inherit a considerable amount of Jame Bongo’s political legacy.

Well, given the relationship between the Devonshire family and Cambridge University, it was very easy for Barron to recommend an outstanding young person from Kolo to study at Cambridge…

…

After arriving in Kolo’s capital, Brita, Barron and his entourage checked into the super mansion built specifically for him by Golden Africa Real Estate – Jupiter Tower.

Although Jupiter Tower wasn’t the tallest building in Brita – the West Africa Tower, located in the center of the business district and standing over 120 meters tall, was the headquarters of the West Africa Group and also the tallest building in Brita at present.

However, in Brita’s cityscape, the uniquely shaped Jupiter Tower was still one of the most eye-catching buildings.

This 50-meter-high, 11-story building was located in the center of Brita’s most upscale residential area.

Inside the building, in addition to 15 luxurious living suites, there was also a large swimming pool, a private cinema, a super-sized gym, a family hospital, and a rooftop sky garden and observation deck.

On one side of Jupiter Tower was Brita’s Central Park, with an elegant environment. Moreover, the area near the building was a restricted area of Central Park, not open to the public, with guards on duty 24 hours a day. It was a park within a park, exclusive to Jupiter Tower and the surrounding upscale villa area.

The most unique scenery of Jupiter Tower was the waterfall flowing down from the roof on one side of the building, which could directly fall into the small lake below in the park.

Especially at night, with the light shining on it, it was very magnificent.

“With the development of Kolo, more and more foreigners are coming here, which has driven the development of cities including Brita and Dassault. Moreover, because of the formation of middle and high-income groups, the demand for good residential communities is increasing. Therefore, our Golden Africa Real Estate has become the largest real estate company in Kolo through mergers and acquisitions…”

In Barron’s study on the 9th floor of Jupiter Tower, he met with Ramesh Serrano, the new CEO of the West Africa Group. He had just taken over as CEO of the West Africa Group at the beginning of this year. Before that, he had performed well in the West Africa Port Group and then served as the vice president of the West Africa Group.

The previous CEO of the West Africa Group, Eino Duran, was appointed as Kolo’s Minister of Finance by Jame Bongo after Kolo’s previous Minister of Finance was unable to continue his duties due to illness.

Ramesh Serrano was also at that time, because of his outstanding performance in the West Africa Group, that he obtained the position of CEO.

Just like Ramesh introduced to Barron, because of economic development, the real estate industry in Kolo has also ushered in explosive growth.

Especially in emerging cities like Brita and Dassault, their real estate development is even more rapid than Lottie, which has long been Kolo’s largest city.

Of course, because they have the backing of the West Africa Group, their Golden Africa Real Estate can also get the best plots of land in these cities, thus developing rapidly.

“In addition to commercial real estate, Golden Africa Real Estate also undertakes social responsibility. We have been entrusted by the Kolo government to build more than 10,000 units of subsidized housing for low-income groups in the two cities of Lottie and Brita. The profits from these constructions are not high, but they can help us improve our construction capabilities…”

At present, more than 70% of Kolo’s subsidized housing is built in Lottie, and its main purpose, in addition to ensuring the housing of some low-income people, is to facilitate the demolition of slums formed for historical reasons.

Many of these slums are already located in relatively central locations in Lottie, and those who live in them do not have so-called “property rights”…

Even so, the local government cannot directly drive these people away, so it entrusted Golden Africa Real Estate to build subsidized housing in the new urban areas – many of the subsidized housing provided to the residents of those slums have rents that are even negligible, only used as property management fees for these subsidized housing.

After these slum dwellers are moved out, the slums can be demolished, so as to re-plan the city and convert it into commercial centers or high-end residential buildings.

Not only can economic benefits be obtained as a result, but also the appearance of the city can be greatly improved, making the city cleaner and tidier. It can be said to be a win-win situation.

Chapter 767: SQM Company

“We have already donated $1 million to the rescue efforts at the San Jose copper mine disaster in Chile and sent a team to assist with the rescue work…”

These words were spoken to Barron by Williams Brad, the Executive Vice President of West African Mining Group. As for the CEO of West African Mining Group, Andrew Cole, he personally led a team to Chile.

The San Jose copper mine disaster mentioned by Williams refers to the collapse that occurred on August 5th at a copper-gold mine called San Jose in the Atacama Desert in northern Chile.

This accident resulted in 32 Chilean miners and 1 Bolivian miner being trapped 700 meters underground. Rescue efforts were immediately launched. The Chilean government attached great importance to the accident, and the Chilean President and Minister of Health personally went to the accident site to organize the rescue.

By August 22nd, rescuers had finally drilled a narrow passage with a diameter of 6 inches (approximately 15.2 centimeters) directly from the ground to the miners’ shelter.

They then used this passage to receive a small note written by the surviving miners in the shelter: “All 33 of us are in the shelter, all safe and sound.”

At this time, the miners had survived for 17 days on a small amount of emergency food stored underground, which was nothing short of a miracle.

Then, using this passage, rescuers began to send supplies to the trapped miners, including food, water, and air…

They were even able to talk to their families and watch sports games—after the passage was widened, they sent down televisions and signal cables.

According to the rescuers’ plan, they would use a special drilling rig to penetrate the hard rock and create a rescue tunnel with a wellhead diameter of approximately 66 centimeters (circumference of approximately 207 centimeters, equivalent to the size of a bicycle tire) directly to the space where the miners were trapped.

This required all the trapped miners to keep their waistlines below 90 centimeters, because the rescue equipment also needed to occupy space in the rescue tunnel.

This rescue tunnel was planned to take 120 days to complete.

West African Mining Group also provided assistance for this rescue, including donating funds and sending experienced teams…

The reason they were so proactive this time was that West African Mining Group was seeking to acquire shares in Chilean Chemical Mining Company (SQM), and even further control the company.

Therefore, they hoped to take advantage of the current opportunity to gain favor with the Chilean government.

The CEO of West African Mining Group, Andrew Cole, directly led the team to Chile for this matter.

The reason they were interested in this company was that West African Mining Group hoped to obtain the lithium mining rights owned by Chilean Chemical Mining Company (SQM), especially their lithium mining rights in Chile.

As everyone knows, Chile has very abundant lithium resources and is the world’s largest lithium reserve country. Currently, its proven reserves account for more than 36% of the world’s proven reserves!

Chile’s lithium resources are mainly distributed in the salt lake area in its northern region, located in the so-called South American “Lithium Triangle” area. The “Lithium Triangle” region includes lithium resources such as the Atacama Salt Lake, the Hombre Muerto Salt Lake, and the Pastos Grandes Salt Lake.

Among them, the Atacama Salt Lake is located in Chile and is one of the world’s most well-known lithium-producing areas.

The mining rights of this salt lake are mainly controlled by Chilean Chemical Mining Company (SQM), and its produced lithium carbonate is known for its high quality.

In addition, Chilean Chemical Mining Company has also acquired some lithium mining rights in Bolivia, Argentina, and Australia, making it arguably the company with the highest lithium reserves currently.

Chilean Chemical Mining Company has mature technology and optimized lithium production processes, which can effectively control costs and has stable production capacity and high product quality.

This is why it is favored by West African Mining Group, which hopes to acquire its shares and even complete the controlling stake in the company.

After all, Barron knew that lithium ore was very important for the battery industry in the future new energy industry.

Currently, the price of lithium carbonate ore, the main source of lithium, is less than $10,000 per ton, but in ten years, its price will skyrocket to over $50,000.

And by then, Chilean Chemical Mining Company will also see its value multiply due to its rich lithium resources.

Chilean Chemical Mining Company (SQM) was founded in 1968 and is headquartered in Santiago, the capital of Chile.

They were listed on NASDAQ in 1993. Relying on geographical resource advantages, they have developed into a global professional producer of potassium nitrate, iodine, and lithium, accounting for approximately 50%, 40%, and 35% of the global market share, respectively.

In Barron’s previous life, China’s Tianqi Lithium once acquired 23.77% of SQM’s shares in 2018 for $4.066 billion. However, this acquisition later caused disputes after Chile announced that it would nationalize domestic lithium mines—Tianqi Lithium’s interests in SQM were therefore infringed upon and could only resort to litigation…

But now SQM’s market value is only less than $4.5 billion. For Barron, who hopes to intervene in the lithium mining and processing industry that will have a huge impact on the battery industry in the future, this is naturally a very suitable time to acquire it.

“We have reached an agreement with PotashCorp of Canada and are preparing to acquire their 25% stake in Chilean Chemical Mining Company for $1.2 billion. This acquisition can be achieved after SQM confirms it, but if we want to continue to acquire more SQM shares, then we need to do more work…”

Before going to Santiago, the CEO of West African Mining Group first arrived in Canada and reached this agreement with PotashCorp of Canada, the world’s largest potash fertilizer manufacturer, regarding the acquisition of SQM shares.

It is worth mentioning that in Barron’s previous life, the 23.77% of SQM shares purchased by China’s Tianqi Lithium were auctioned from PotashCorp of Canada.

West African Mining Group’s offer for purchasing PotashCorp of Canada’s 25% stake in SQM was $1.2 billion, which corresponds to a value of over $5 billion for Chilean Chemical Mining Company, giving PotashCorp of Canada a considerable premium, which is why they were willing to sell these shares.

“Lithium ore is very important for battery production. With the improvement of lithium battery technology, its application scenarios will become more and more abundant, so its price will definitely usher in a wave of strong increases…”

For West African Mining Group, Barron used the rising future value of lithium ore as the reason for acquiring Chilean Chemical Mining Company.

What he valued more was the demand for lithium batteries from industries such as mobile phones and other electronic consumer products, as well as electric vehicles. It can be said that controlling the amount of lithium ore directly determines the right to speak in the new energy industry.

Chapter 768: Negotiations and Rescue

On September 5th, a consultation meeting was held in Abuja, the capital of Nigeria, regarding the resolution of the conflict between Kolo and Benin.

In addition to the presidents and delegations from Kolo and Benin, the two conflicting parties, the African Union Council, the Economic Community of West African States, and special envoys from France, Britain, and China participated in the coordination efforts.

President Jameh Bongo of Kolo put forward several demands for resolving the conflict with Benin.

These included Benin’s apology for previously allowing harassment against Kolo; strict control over domestic militants to prevent further attacks within Kolo’s borders; compensation for the losses suffered by Kolo as a result; and the publication of the investigation results of the incidents.

Of course, Benin did not show weakness. They strongly condemned Kolo’s military forces for entering Benin and carrying out operations, believing that this seriously violated Benin’s sovereignty, caused casualties to civilians, and damaged some of the country’s facilities.

As things have developed to this point, on the surface, each side has its own justification, but everyone knows what’s really going on.

Moreover, Kolo was not at all afraid of the conflict continuing. Kolo’s intelligence agencies and the Kolo Legion even had plans to provide weapons to small anti-government armed forces, or rather “terrorists,” near the border between northern Benin and Burkina Faso and Niger.

Furthermore, after carrying out attacks in Benin’s waters, two frigates and some aircraft and marine units of the Kolo Legion conducted a three-day joint exercise in areas near Benin.

Well, it wasn’t to send a threatening signal, but rather to really familiarize themselves with some joint combat tactics.

This made Benin very nervous. After all, although their army had the equipment it should have, such as light tanks, armored vehicles, and artillery, their naval power was dwarfed compared to the Kolo Legion.

Moreover, most of the Benin army’s equipment came from some “outdated” equipment from France and China, and was quite old. Not to mention whether the other party would sell more advanced equipment, the key was that Benin couldn’t afford it.

As for the Kolo Legion’s equipment, most of it was standard equipment of the British and American coalition forces directly transported back from the Iraqi battlefield. The gap between the two sides was very obvious.

Since Benin chose to participate in the negotiations, it also showed that they understood that they had no chance of winning if a more intense conflict really broke out. Moreover, they weren’t stupid. Helping the French might bring some benefits, but it wasn’t enough to throw themselves into the fire.

Therefore, the final negotiation result will definitely not depend on who shouts the loudest, who is the most unreasonable, or who can get the most benefits.

It still depends on the strength of each side as support.

Finally, three days later, the “Kolo-Benin Abuja Agreement” signed by Kolo and Benin under the coordination of all parties, its content…

It can be said that it exceeded many people’s expectations.

According to this agreement, first of all, Benin is willing to reach a consensus with Kolo on military coordination and cooperation, and the two sides will establish relevant mechanisms, jointly enforce the law, and maintain the safety of navigation in the Gulf of Guinea.

Then, Benin and Kolo will conduct reciprocal negotiations on finance and trade to initially establish a smooth financial and trade common market.

…

It can be said that if you didn’t know that the two sides had just broken out in conflict, just looking at the content of this agreement, you would think that Benin and Kolo were close partner countries.

Therefore, both President Jameh Bongo of Kolo and the Benin side can be said to be mature “politicians” who are quite flexible.

Obviously, Kolo finally gave up the obvious benefits—such as demanding an apology and compensation from Benin.

Instead, it got more tangible benefits, allowing Benin to open up the financial and trade market to Kolo on a larger scale.

Of course, in name, the two sides are in a mutually beneficial relationship, but in essence, given the financial and trade strength of the two sides, this result is definitely most beneficial to Kolo. Kolo’s financial institutions and companies, including the African United Bank, will be able to conduct business in Benin more conveniently in the future.

Think about it, who shouts the loudest about “free trade”? It’s definitely not countries with weak manufacturing industries.

As for the Benin side, they are not stupid either. Although they may be able to get a little benefit from the French after this incident, the losses caused by the interruption of trade and other cooperation with Kolo are far greater than what they gained.

Therefore, after Kolo gave them a way out, they had to quickly change their attitude.

Did they really want to go to war out of spite? What good would that do? They might not even be able to win.

…

At the same time, the European sovereign debt crisis was also spreading.

“It is said that the situation in Ireland is not ideal either. Their finance minister has already submitted a request for assistance to the European Central Bank while attending a meeting in Brussels…”

In the phone, Daisy told Barron the latest news.

“It is said that in order to prevent the crisis from further spreading to countries such as Spain and Hungary, the European Central Bank is also discussing with Ireland about rescuing them. However, after some news spread back to Ireland, some people were very dissatisfied with the 6% loan interest rate required by the European Central Bank. They believe that the interest is too high and call it ‘usury’…”

So far, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund, as well as a considerable number of EU member states, have carried out the first round of rescue for Greece, which was the first to break out in the sovereign debt crisis, and according to their requirements, Greece must achieve the first phase goals they require before they will consider the next round of rescue.

At this time, Ireland also said that they could not hold on any longer.

In fact, Ireland had already shouted that it couldn’t hold on once when Iceland broke out in a debt crisis after the subprime mortgage crisis.

However, Europe did not take further rescue actions at that time—maybe after seeing Greece successfully rescued, they didn’t want to work hard anymore.

Although the actions of the European Central Bank have shown that in order to ensure that the euro does not collapse, they will still rescue some countries that are in a debt crisis.

But like Greece, these rescues will definitely have corresponding conditions and requirements, such as requiring them to reduce expenditures and make their finances healthier. In addition, these rescues will not be free or low-interest loans, but will give relatively normal interest rates.

For example, this time they insisted that even if they provide rescue, the loan interest rate to Ireland will not be lower than 6%.

From here, it can be seen that the negotiations between Ireland and the European Central Bank regarding the rescue are unlikely to be reached in the short term.

Chapter 769: QE2

Outside of Europe, there were increasing indications that the Federal Reserve was likely to initiate a second round of quantitative easing, following the one in 2008…

The first round of quantitative easing (QE1: an abbreviation for a first round of quantitative easing) occurred after Lehman Brothers collapsed in 2008. To prevent more financial institutions from following in Lehman Brothers’ footsteps, the Federal Reserve rushed to introduce quantitative easing.

In the subsequent three months, the Federal Reserve created over one trillion dollars in reserves, mainly by lending the reserves to its affiliated institutions and then directly purchasing mortgage-backed securities.

Through this method, they finally mitigated some of the destructiveness of the subprime mortgage crisis, preventing major Wall Street players, including Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase, from collapsing.

However, this also led to a certain degree of devaluation of the dollar and an increase in the prices of many raw materials and commodities…

Moreover, although the Federal Reserve released one trillion dollars in funds during this round of quantitative easing, its effect was temporary.

Since April of this year, American economic data had been disappointing, and the overall economic recovery appeared to be faltering.

In this situation, the Federal Reserve was increasingly under pressure from various parties, including Wall Street, to launch a new round of quantitative easing to increase the market’s capital surplus and accelerate the pace of economic recovery.

As early as August, Federal Reserve Chairman Bernanke, in a speech at a meeting of Federal Reserve officials, had already hinted at a tendency to introduce a second round of quantitative easing, although he also cautiously pointed out that quantitative easing was not a foolproof remedy.

Indeed, at this time, not everyone in the American economic decision-making circles supported quantitative easing, and everyone understood that quantitative easing was only a temporary solution and had many potential drawbacks.

However, with Wall Street and many major capitalists calling for the launch of a new round of quantitative easing, even as the Chairman of the Federal Reserve, Bernanke probably couldn’t do much…

Baron knew that in his previous life, the Federal Reserve’s second round of quantitative easing (QE2) was officially announced in early November of this year. At that time, the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) of the Federal Reserve System announced that it would implement a 600 billion dollar “quantitative easing” plan, with the Federal Reserve issuing currency to purchase long-term bonds issued by the Treasury Department, with monthly purchases of 75 billion dollars until the second quarter of 2011.

This was the QE2 of the original timeline, the so-called second round of quantitative easing by the Federal Reserve.

The purpose of QE2 was to boost the American economy by purchasing large amounts of American Treasury bonds, thereby lowering long-term interest rates, especially to avoid deflation and reduce the high unemployment rate of 9.6%.

However, judging from the current situation, the Federal Reserve would definitely not be able to hold out until November this time. Most likely, the second round of quantitative easing would begin as early as next month, October, and on a larger scale…

Correspondingly, quantitative easing would still bring many adverse effects, such as the dollar flooding the market again and causing exchange rate fluctuations and asset bubbles in many countries.

With the dollar actively “releasing water,” if a series of countries, including Europe and Asia, wanted to avoid greater losses, the best option would be to actively “release water” together, which would also cause a new round of price increases for raw materials and various commodities…

For Baron, this round of quantitative easing would also have a significant impact on him.

“We need to increase our investment in various markets, including stock and securities investments, as well as the acquisition of high-quality assets!”

This was a choice that both Baron and Daisy strongly agreed with.

At this point in time, their DS Group and other investment funds had earned substantial returns from shorting in Japan, South Korea, and Europe.

But it was clear that with the Federal Reserve “releasing water,” the dollar was about to experience a devaluation after the flood—not just the dollar, but other currencies, including the pound and the euro, would also depreciate accordingly.

This meant that the real value of the cash held by Baron and his team would be diluted in this round of quantitative easing.

This was like the American debt and dollar assets held by many countries now, which would definitely depreciate with the Federal Reserve’s quantitative easing policy.

The best way to combat this devaluation was to convert the dollars and other currency cash in hand into high-quality assets before the devaluation occurred.

These high-quality assets included the stocks of high-quality companies in various markets, as well as “hard currency” such as minerals and real estate.

Even for Baron, simply adding the funds in hand to investments was not satisfactory. He also needed to carry out a large amount of loan financing to buy high-quality assets, so that after the currency depreciated, it would mean that the funds to be repaid had actually passively shrunk in value…

Once this decision was made, it meant that they would begin a new round of major acquisitions, targeting assets with clear “value preservation” attributes, such as energy, minerals, basic public services, and cutting-edge manufacturing…

In fact, this round of “acquisitions” had already begun, including the West African Mining Group’s acquisition of Chilean lithium giant SQM, and…

Currently, British Gas Corporation, under the United Energy Group, had made an offer to TotalEnergies of France to acquire their natural gas pipeline network and storage subsidiary, Total Infrastructures Gaz France (TIGF).

In fact, after TotalEnergies expressed its intention to sell TIGF, they received more than seven offers for the company, including private equity firms under the French insurance company AXA, nuclear funds under the French power company EDF, the French state-owned bank Bpifrance, and the Spanish utility company Enagas…

Including British Gas Corporation under the United Energy Group, a total of five companies would participate in the second round of auctions for TIGF, and according to their estimates, the final transaction price would be around 2.5 billion euros.

United Energy Group hoped that by acquiring TIGF, they could expand their natural gas business into France and use this as a starting point to enter various countries in continental Europe.

Currently, there are two natural gas long-distance pipeline operators in France. One is GRTgaz, of which France’s Engie Group (Engie Group is a vertically integrated energy utility company that dominates the French natural gas market and owns the largest natural gas transmission network in Europe) owns 75% of the shares, and the remaining 25% is owned by a public consortium.

GRTgaz is the largest natural gas long-distance pipeline operator in France, with 32,000 kilometers of natural gas pipelines, controlling nearly 85% of France’s long-distance pipeline network (main pipelines), and supplying gas to nearly 50 wholesalers.

The other company is TIGF, the target of United Energy Group’s acquisition this time.

TIGF controls nearly 15% of France’s long-distance pipeline network, operating 6,000 kilometers of natural gas pipelines and storage facilities in southwestern France, and supplying gas to 14 wholesalers.

In the French natural gas storage facility business, two companies are mainly involved in operations, namely Storengy (a subsidiary of Engie) and TIGF under TotalEnergies.

Storengy operates 13 underground gas storage facilities in France, including 10 aquifer storage facilities (centered on the Paris Basin) and 3 salt cavern storage facilities (in southeastern France), with a total storage capacity of 10.4 billion cubic meters (approximately 80% of France’s storage capacity).

TIGF is a wholly-owned subsidiary of TotalEnergies, operating 2 underground gas storage facilities in France, the Izaute and Lussagnet aquifer storage facilities in southwestern France, with a total storage capacity of 2.7 billion cubic meters (approximately 20% of France’s storage capacity).

It can be said that although TIGF is still relatively far behind the Engie Group in terms of natural gas pipeline networks and storage in France, TIGF is still the most suitable and most likely choice for United Energy Group to enter the French natural gas market.

Chapter 770: West Africa Strategy

In reality, the gains made by Jame Bongo on this trip to the Nigerian capital weren’t limited to the Cotonou-Abuja Agreement, which eased relations with Benin. There was also a multinational cooperative oil pipeline project…

This oil pipeline would be a collaborative effort between Klowe, Burkina Faso, Niger, and China. It would originate at the Agadem oil field in Niger, a joint venture with China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC), pass through parts of Burkina Faso, enter Klowe, and then run through Klowe to the vicinity of Lottie Port.

This would allow crude oil extracted from Niger to be directly loaded onto ships at Lottie Port and transported to China…

After all, although CNPC had entered the Niger market in 2003 and partnered in oil extraction, Niger is a landlocked country and needs a port to export its crude oil.

Initially, China’s plan was to construct a Niger-Benin oil export pipeline. After all, Benin has a very good relationship with China, and transporting oil through Benin and loading it onto ships at their ports would be a relatively safe route for China.

But now, things are different. CNPC and China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) have significantly increased their cooperation with Klowe Petroleum Company, and Klowe’s relationship with China is also rapidly developing.

Given this situation, since some of the crude oil and refined oil from Klowe’s offshore oil fields are already being sold and loaded onto ships at Lottie Port for transport to China, the Niger-Klowe oil pipeline, if built, could fully utilize the more complete facilities at Lottie Port to transport Niger’s crude oil.

Although the Niger-Klowe pipeline is relatively longer than the Niger-Benin pipeline and passes through Burkina Faso, Klowe and Burkina Faso currently have very friendly relations. Furthermore, to secure the oil pipeline project, Klowe has promised to ensure the safety of the pipeline within Burkina Faso and dispatch personnel to maintain it. Therefore, after negotiations, the Niger-Klowe oil pipeline project was finalized.

As for Klowe’s motives for doing this, of course, it’s not just for the oil pipeline project itself. The deeper reason lies in Baren’s knowledge of what will happen to Burkina Faso and Niger in the future. He is already laying the groundwork to divide the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), an alliance of West African countries controlled by France…

As everyone knows, France was once known as the “Gendarme of Africa” because, at its peak, a third of Africa’s land was its colony.

Although many African countries gained independence and broke away from French colonization with the global wave of independence, France still maintains a military presence in many countries in West Africa (including Niger). Through ECOWAS, it economically controls many West African countries. Even the West African CFA franc is heavily influenced by France.

As you can see from this map, around Klowe, only Ghana, which belongs to the Commonwealth, is not a former French colony. The other countries are deeply influenced by France, and France still wields considerable influence there.

Even Burkina Faso, which once had a strongman leader, saw French influence return after Sankara’s death. Currently, France also has troops stationed in Burkina Faso.

But Baren knows that as France’s national strength declines in the future, its influence in many West African countries will also wane. Starting ten years from now, Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger will all forcibly expel French troops and withdraw from ECOWAS…

Especially after the coup in Niger, when France and ECOWAS countries put pressure on it, the “French white flag of surrender,” after weighing the situation, quietly chose to withdraw.

At that time, the Wagner Group, Russian mercenaries, supported Niger, as well as Mali and Burkina Faso…

Currently, Klowe is already at odds with France due to the conflict with Benin…

Furthermore, Klowe hopes to become the financial center of West Africa, which inevitably means that it will clash with the French-controlled ECOWAS in many ways.

After all, Klowe’s Klowe shilling is already more stable than the legal currencies of other countries, making it more widely accepted and creating conflict with the West African CFA franc…

Therefore, dismantling ECOWAS, or even replacing it with another alliance, is Klowe’s goal, solely for the sake of Klowe’s development plans.

Now, uniting Burkina Faso and Niger, two countries that are not only frequently exploited by France but also negatively impacted by the population drain to coastal nations, is the first step in Klowe’s plan.

Perhaps in the future, it won’t be Wagner who supports them in driving out French troops, but the Klowe Legion, or Protector Military Services Company…

Just as Klowe has already signed many cooperation agreements with neighboring Ghana and Burkina Faso through financial and trade means, West Africa Mining Group has many mining interests in Ghana and Burkina Faso…

In the financial sector, many good local companies in Ghana and Burkina Faso choose to list on the Klowe Stock Exchange, and there are also many African United Bank branches locally.

Basically, Ghana, Klowe, and Burkina Faso have already formed a connection similar to a free trade zone.

Next, West Africa Mining Group is not only interested in Niger’s mineral resources but also plans to try to bring Benin and Niger into this free trade zone as well…

Relatively speaking, according to the analysis of the Klowe Development and Reform Research Center, the difficulty of integrating Niger into this free trade zone is even lower than that of Benin joining.

However, the only difficulty lies in the fact that while the political situations in Klowe and Ghana are relatively stable, Burkina Faso and Niger have always had anti-government armed forces, even forces that can be described as terrorist organizations.

Therefore, whether investing in mineral resources or engaging in trade and basic manufacturing in these two countries, security is the first issue that needs to be considered.

But through years of cooperation with Burkina Faso, Klowe has already explored some ways to cooperate with such countries. In addition to Iraq, Protector Military Services Company also has a significant number of armed personnel in Burkina Faso responsible for protecting their mines and some factories.

Well, after all, capitalists are profit-driven. Some processing factories with very low technical requirements that only need labor have lower costs in Burkina Faso than in Klowe, even with the addition of security costs—at worst, they can choose areas firmly controlled by government forces.

Because of Klowe’s support, the areas of Burkina Faso near Klowe are all areas well-controlled by government forces.

And for the sake of profit, Klowe does not object to helping Burkina Faso stabilize its political situation at certain times.

Chapter 771: PMC Fertile Ground

“We anticipate adding at least 5,000 armed personnel in the next five years, with at least 70% of them coming from West Africa itself…”

As the head of Protector Military Services, Graf Eaton was naturally referring not to the Kolo Legion, but to Protector Military Services, headquartered at the Munger base north of Kolo.

After all, while the Kolo Legion was the armed force of Kolo and had extremely close ties to Protector Military Services, there was still a significant difference in name.

For example, the personnel sent to protect the West Africa Group’s mines or corporate institutions in other countries could certainly not be under the banner of the Kolo Legion, but only as security personnel of Protector Military Services…

This wasn’t the first time Barron had met Graf Eaton. Previously, he was the commander of the Worcestershire and Sherwood Foresters Regiment in England. The regiment’s mascot, the goat “Derby XV,” was even donated by Barron, the Duke of Devonshire, from the Chatsworth House farm.

After leaving the British Army, Graf Eaton joined Protector Military Services and eventually succeeded as the company’s head.

As for the previous head of the company, he had already begun to enjoy retirement…

As mentioned before, including the recently deployed batch of 1,500 armed personnel to Iraq, Protector Military Services currently had over 9,500 employees in Iraq, of which over 8,700 were armed personnel…

Currently, Protector Military Services’ employees, in addition to the largest proportion of British military veterans and personnel recruited in Kolo, also included military veterans from other Western countries—with Eastern Europeans accounting for the highest proportion of “other” personnel, as they were relatively experienced in combat and required slightly lower compensation.

The personnel deployed to Iraq consisted of British veterans, Kolo natives, and veterans from other countries in a ratio of approximately 4:4:2.

However, outside of Iraq, for example, the security personnel deployed by Protector Military Services to other West African countries, including Ghana, Burkina Faso, and Benin, to protect the interests of the West Africa Group, would have a much higher proportion of local personnel.

On the one hand, due to the “regional matching system” here, there was no need to consider the combat capabilities of personnel as much as in Iraq, thereby reducing the proportion of some West African local armed personnel—even though the local personnel hired by Protector Military Services were already the cream of the crop, and their quality and obedience were far higher than those of ordinary African armies…

On the other hand, having more black faces involved in the security forces of West Africa Group’s subsidiaries in other countries would also be less sensitive and more easily accepted by the other party.

It was with such considerations that Protector Military Services’ recent recruitment of personnel in West Africa was not limited to Kolo, but also included recruiting some high-quality soldiers from countries such as Burkina Faso and Ghana.

After all, relatively speaking, young people in Kolo now have more options besides joining Protector Military Services or the Kolo Legion due to the country’s rapid economic development. Compared to the beginning, the compensation was no longer as attractive.

But such compensation was very attractive to young people in countries including Ghana and Burkina Faso. Furthermore, serving in Protector Military Services for a certain number of years still offered the opportunity to bring their families to settle in Kolo, which made many young people eager for Protector Military Services’ offers…

However, Protector Military Services screened these local soldiers very strictly, with a strong emphasis on their discipline.

After all, they didn’t want their security personnel to be like those African armed forces, raising their AKs above their heads and firing with a “whatever happens, happens” combat style…

In fact, in Africa, especially in West Africa, where coups and internal conflicts frequently occur, there are such problems, and more consideration and investment must be made in security.

But it is precisely because of this that Africa is fertile ground for the development of PMCs (Private Military Contractors) like Protector Military Services.

Well-known examples include South Africa’s EO, Israel’s IZO, and Russia’s Wagner in the future. The remaining mercenary organizations, large and small, are countless, and some of the larger organizations can easily overthrow a country’s regime.

Among them, Protector Military Services, with the financial support of the West Africa Group and the orders obtained in Iraq, can be said to be one of the leading PMCs in Africa.

However, they have not been involved in too many conflicts in African countries. Currently, they are only present in Ghana, Burkina Faso, and Benin, which are surrounding Kolo, and they are relatively formal, without the indiscriminate killing and looting that many other mercenary organizations engage in…

Therefore, many countries still have a relatively positive attitude towards Protector Military Services.

The current Munger base has expanded more than tenfold compared to its initial size.

The facilities of the entire base are also more complete, including equipment warehouses, training grounds, barracks… even on the mountain next to the base, there is a dedicated radar station and a set of anti-aircraft missiles…

Even the town near the Munger base has become much more prosperous than ordinary small cities in Kolo due to the development of Protector Military Services.

Currently, only three areas in Kolo have anti-aircraft systems deployed: the largest city, Lottie, the capital, Brita, and the Munger base where Protector Military Services’ headquarters is located.

The anti-aircraft system they deployed was the FD-2000 air defense system (the export version of the Hongqi 9) purchased from China not long ago.

If it were an air defense system, England not only had the Rapier air defense system from the 1970s and 1980s but also the latest “Sea Ceptor” air defense system.

To be honest, with Barron’s and Kolo’s relationship with the British military, even the Sea Ceptor air defense system wouldn’t be too difficult to purchase if they wanted to…

But in the end, Barron still chose the FD-2000 air defense system…

Mainly because the British Sea Ceptor air defense system just didn’t give Barron a very reliable feeling… He remembered that in his previous life, the “Sky Sabre” air defense system, which England equipped in 2020 and touted as miraculous, was later deployed to Poland for some reason, but its technical faults couldn’t be resolved for more than a month, rendering it unusable…

In comparison, China’s air defense system can be said to be good and cheap…

Not only was its price much lower than those of England, the United States’ Patriot, and Russia’s S-300, but the Hongqi 9 also successfully shot down a ballistic missile earlier this year.

Chapter 772: Signed a Document

In fact, although the Red Flag 9 was equipped in China as early as 2003, it was not until 2013 that its export version, FD2000, first appeared in the Turkish military’s bidding process, and it won the bid in one fell swoop, defeating similar products from the United States and Russia.

However, due to the great pressure exerted on Turkey by NATO, which is controlled by the United States, this transaction fell through.

As early as last year, Colo had contacted China, hoping to purchase their air defense system, targeting China’s Red Flag 9.

At this time, the Red Flag 9 had not been tested in actual combat. Even in Africa, those countries that had the money to buy air defense systems were focusing on products from the United States and Russia.

Because there had been a lot of cooperation with Colo and the relationship between the two sides was close, this led to the early birth of the HD2000 – this type of weapon system, which is mainly used for local defense, is not very sensitive, and with Barron’s support behind it, this transaction was successfully completed.

To say nothing else, Barron always needs to consider his industry in Colo, as well as his own safety after arriving in Colo, so providing air defense protection for important areas of Colo is also very necessary.

Even for his own safety, deploying such an air defense system in Africa is not an exaggeration.

What’s more, in their West African strategy, it is necessary to divide the influence of the French here, so it is also necessary to defend against aerial attacks from the French.

……

After staying in Colo for quite some time, it was time for Barron to prepare to leave.

Two days before that, female relatives and children, including Bonnie and Countess Booth, had already taken Barron’s fleet of planes back to London.

Of the five aircraft that Barron had previously ordered, two Gulfstream G550s and one Boeing 737-900ER had been renovated and delivered, while the remaining two Gulfstream G650s would not be delivered until 2012.

These aircraft will be managed by the International Leasing Finance Corporation, which was previously acquired by Youcheng Insurance Group.

Now, for safety reasons, the female relatives and children are taking these planes back to London.

As for Barron, he took his team to Bulita International Airport, where they will take the Devonshire to New York in the United States.

“Your Grace, this document is about the ‘African Star’ Trust Fund and requires your review and signature…”

When the plane reached the stratosphere and the flight was stable, Amal Alamuddin walked into Barron’s office.

As the British Duke’s personal legal counsel, Amal’s recent job was to help Barron establish a trust company in Colo and put a considerable portion of the shares of the West African Group, which he controls, into this trust company.

As mentioned before, in order to isolate himself, West African Holdings, the holding company of the West African Group, was not founded in Barron’s name, but he controlled the shares of this company.

Now, through this highly confidential trust company in Colo, Barron can more firmly control these companies in order to maintain control of the West African Group.

And even if something unexpected happens to him, his trustees can still gain control of these shares.

The establishment of such a trust company is certainly not a simple matter. The relevant documents that Amal brought in alone looked almost as thick as a phone book…

As Amal Alamuddin’s responsibility, she naturally needs to carefully explain the key points of this document to Barron.

Although Amal, who belongs to the “rich face” category, has relatively three-dimensional features and may not meet the aesthetics of some people, it cannot be denied that she is not only very capable, but also has a very shapely figure.

For example, Amal, who is standing next to Barron and explaining it to him item by item, looks very well-suited in her light purple suit dress today from Barron’s point of view, perfectly revealing her exaggerated curves.

And the scent of perfume from Amal is not too strong, just enough to give a sense of seduction.

“The terms here list the circumstances under which control of the trust company will be temporarily placed in escrow…”

Listening to Amal’s introduction, Barron raised one hand…

It has to be said that the material of her dress is very smooth, especially in tight places…

At the same time, Amal Alamuddin’s words paused for a moment, and soon she nonchalantly continued to speak…

And while she was “concentrating” on the introduction, when Barron began to check the quality of her stockings, she would subtly change her standing posture to make it easier for His Grace to check…

Of course, the result of this was that the beautiful legal counsel’s face became more and more rosy as she spoke, and her breathing became much more rapid.

It was also because she had a relatively strong will that she was able to explain without stumbling too much, which also fully demonstrated Amal’s excellent professional skills.

From the window, you can see the plane traveling through the clouds, and water droplets will gradually condense…

After the sound of “ripping”, as Barron’s inspection deepened, Amal Alamuddin needed to support herself with both hands more and more.

Finally, Barron moved the boss’s chair back slightly and said to her:

“Let me take a look at these documents myself first.”

Amal’s beautiful eyes saw this situation and naturally understood what to do next…

After all, the space under the desk here is large enough…

And the carpet on the floor is soft enough…

So she put most of her body under the desk, knelt on the carpet, and when Barron’s eyes were focused on the documents in his hand, she unbuckled his belt…

……

“Ms. Alamuddin, does His Grace have time now?”

After Amal came out of Barron’s desk… uh, office, she happened to meet Zhang Junning walking towards her.

Noticing the look in the personal assistant’s eyes looking at her face, she subconsciously wiped her mouth, fortunately there was nothing…

“Yes, I just had him sign a document…”

Amal raised the folder in her hand, gave Zhang Junning a smile after speaking, and left in a hurry.

And Zhang Junning couldn’t help but look back at the woman’s back after she passed by.

Signed a document? Does it take that long?

Although she thought so, Zhang Junning could naturally guess from her rosy face and just subconscious action that it was probably not that simple…

Chapter 773: Patent Litigation

After the Devonshire arrived in New York, Barron returned to his Long Island estate and found Ivanka waiting for him.

The reason he didn’t return to London but came directly to New York from Colo was because Ivanka had something important to discuss…

“Starting last month, we’ve been successively receiving patent lawsuits from companies including Apple, Microsoft, and Oracle…”

After embracing and kissing, the two who had been separated for several months, Ivanka couldn’t wait to tell Barron the specifics…

This trouble originated from Android, owned by IC Capital. As Ivanka said, Android had been facing a series of patent disputes recently, which made Ivanka and the Android management team very troubled.

After all, the Android system was currently making great strides globally, and even its market share in the smartphone market (excluding Nokia’s Symbian system) had surpassed Apple’s iOS system, ranking first.

Following behind were Apple’s iOS system, Microsoft’s Windows system, and Google’s GOS system.

Yes, in Barron’s previous life, Google’s Android system also encountered similar patent lawsuit attacks. Companies including Apple, Microsoft, and Oracle filed patent lawsuits against companies in the Android system camp.

But now, the Android system belonged to IC Capital, and Google’s GOS system had even fallen behind Microsoft’s Windows system in user market share. Naturally, the target of these companies was the leading Android.

“Our current market share lead is due to our first-mover advantage and our free and open licensing. But if we ultimately lose these patent lawsuits, we’ll definitely have to pay patent fees to those companies. Given our current number of users, Android simply can’t afford these patent fees. We’d inevitably have to charge phone manufacturers, leading to an increase in the cost of the Android system…”

As Ivanka said, some media outlets had even predicted that the Android system might go from being initially free and open to becoming the most expensive smartphone operating system in history.

The reason these companies were launching lawsuits against Android and phone manufacturers using the Android system was naturally because of the rapid development of the Android system – it could be said that apart from Apple and Nokia, other phone manufacturers were more or less launching smartphones based on the Android system.

Apple and Microsoft naturally couldn’t sit still. They were both competitors of Android in the mobile operating system market.

In particular, they could file patent lawsuits against some “emerging brands” that launched Android phones, such as Honor Electronics, Meizu, Huawei, ZTE, Lenovo, and other brands.

The least threatened among them was probably Honor Electronics. After all, Barron, with his foresight, had already obtained nearly 20,000 patent licenses from Philips.

However, the problem was that this could only ensure that Honor Electronics was not affected by these patent lawsuits. After all, Honor Electronics had obtained patent licenses, not ownership of these 20,000 patents…

Therefore, it could only ensure that Honor Electronics’ launch of Android phones would not be affected. Other phone manufacturers would still be subject to relevant patent lawsuits.

To solve the current situation, Android itself needed to obtain more mobile phone patent ownership, which could protect phone manufacturers launching Android phones from patent lawsuits.

“In the previous patent auction of Canada’s Nortel Networks, Apple, Microsoft, and six other companies jointly acquired more than 6,000 patents and patent applications from Nortel Networks for $4.5 billion. We missed this opportunity, which put Android at a disadvantage…”

Ivanka’s words made Barron nod.

Barron was slightly careless about the Nortel Networks matter. In his previous life, this happened in 2011, but he didn’t expect that Nortel Networks, the Canadian telecommunications provider, was somehow influenced and put their patents up for auction this year.

As a result, a consortium of six companies, including Apple, EMC, Ericsson, Microsoft, RIM, and Sony, who were well-prepared, directly reached a sales agreement with Nortel Networks for $4.5 billion in cash.

Among the more than 6,000 patents sold by Nortel Networks this time, seven of the 105 core patents related to 4G communication technology were at the same level as Qualcomm and Sony.

This was what made Barron unhappy. It seemed that this transaction clearly bypassed Android, and there was more to it than met the eye.

According to data from the United States Patent and Trademark Office, Apple has more than 4,000 patents in the United States; Microsoft has 18,000 patents. Compared with these two companies, Google is at a great disadvantage…

“I heard that Motorola is preparing to split up, so we can try to acquire their mobile phone division. This way, acquiring their patent portfolio can solve the problems Android is currently facing…”

In Barron’s previous life, Google also encountered similar problems and ultimately solved these patent lawsuits by acquiring Motorola’s mobile phone division.

Now it seemed that Android also needed to do this once.

Indeed, although it had not been officially announced, Barron and Ivanka already knew about Motorola’s intention to split up through many sources, because this was not new…

In fact, as early as 2008, Motorola had proposed a split internally…

Speaking of which, 2008 was Motorola’s darkest year. After a dismal 2007, Motorola was mired in a quagmire in 2008 – in late February 2008, its stock price once fell below $10, which was the lowest point in the company’s stock price for many years.

According to statistics, Motorola’s mobile phone business lost approximately $5 billion in the three years from 2006 to 2008. At that time, its mobile phone business had become Motorola’s heaviest burden.

Uh, it still seemed to be the case, after all, although Motorola had also launched Android phones, they did not focus on it. Instead, they were one of the more active phone manufacturers supporting Google’s GOS system.

Reality proved that their vision was indeed not very good. Now, Google’s GOS system’s market share was even less than Microsoft’s Windows system, so the situation of Motorola’s mobile phone business could be imagined…

In Barron’s previous life, Motorola would be officially split into two new companies in early next year – Motorola Mobility and Motorola Solutions.

After the split, Motorola Mobility (MMI) would consist of the mobile terminal and home broadband business divisions of the original Motorola.

The other part, Motorola Solutions (MSI), would include public safety solutions represented by TETRA, mobile computing technology mainly based on RFID, and would also provide data acquisition, integrated command and control communication, wireless local area network and other services.

But obviously, given Motorola’s current situation, this split would definitely be brought forward. Their shareholders couldn’t wait to get rid of the burden of Motorola Mobility early!

Chapter 774: Motorola Mobility

As an established telecommunications company, Motorola Mobility holds over 17,000 patents and 7,500 pending patent applications. Acquiring it would provide Android with ample “ammunition” to fend off patent infringement lawsuits initiated by companies like Apple and Microsoft against the Android mobile operating system.

Hearing Barron’s words, Ivanka’s eyes lit up, and she said:

“Indeed, if we can acquire Motorola’s mobile division, it will completely enrich our patent portfolio and allow us to fearlessly face the anti-competitive threats from companies like Microsoft and Apple… However, although Motorola’s mobile division is currently operating at a loss, acquiring it will likely involve a significant premium.”

Indeed, Barron knew that in his previous life, Google spent a total of 12.8 billion dollars to acquire Motorola Mobility. This price represented a premium of up to 63% over Motorola Mobility’s stock price at the time!

However, in his previous life, Google acquired Motorola Mobility in August of the following year. If they were to acquire it now, the price shouldn’t reach as high as 12.8 billion dollars, but in any case, it wouldn’t be lower than 10 billion dollars.

“Besides obtaining their numerous patents, acquiring Motorola Mobility also offers us several other benefits. Furthermore, it’s not as if we can’t find ways to spread out the costs.”

In fact, Barron had already analyzed this matter thoroughly. After he explained it to Ivanka, she became even more interested.

Firstly, when Google acquired Motorola Mobility, Motorola Mobility itself had 3 billion dollars in cash.

This meant that even if the acquisition of Motorola Mobility was completed at a price of 12.8 billion dollars, the actual capital cost would only be 9.8 billion dollars.

Moreover, after Android acquired Motorola Mobility, in addition to obtaining its numerous patents, it would also strengthen Android’s technical capabilities in hardware. This is very important for the future integrated software and hardware design of the Android system.

Besides, regarding the mobile phone brand, although Barron didn’t care about the Motorola brand itself, there were still many companies interested in it.

For example, Google sold Motorola’s mobile phone business (excluding patents) to Lenovo in 2014 for nearly 3 billion dollars.

Therefore, after Android acquired Motorola Mobility and absorbed their hardware technology, they could still do the same, selling off the Motorola mobile phone business…

Moreover, Motorola Mobility also includes broadband and set-top box businesses, which O2 Telecom and SEM Group would likely be interested in. These parts could be spun off and sold…

Motorola Mobility’s strong position in home equipment and video solutions could benefit SEM Group, strengthening its set-top box business in the British market, the North American market, and other markets.

Calculated this way, the funds that Android would need to spend solely for Motorola’s technology and patents wouldn’t be too much, well within their affordable range – after all, six companies, including Apple, Microsoft, and Sony, spent 4.5 billion dollars to purchase over 6,000 patents from Nortel Networks…

Moreover, acquiring Motorola Mobility would greatly benefit Android’s tablet market. Currently, the Android system is struggling to compete with Apple’s iPad in this market. Although Honor Electronics has tablet products, their sales are still far behind the iPad. Motorola, on the other hand, still has a certain degree of recognition in this market.

“You can use IC Capital’s name to acquire Motorola Mobility, and then after the acquisition is completed, dismantle it. Merge some of the business with Android, and sell off the other businesses…”

After such an analysis, Ivanka became even more excited. She couldn’t wait to immediately assemble a team and start discussing the acquisition with Motorola…

Of course, before that…

“How are you going to repay me? Darling?”

“What do you think? Your Grace…”

Ivanka, with her charming figure, sat on Barron’s lap, looking down with a seductive gaze.

The temperature in the room immediately began to rise to a scorching level…

And Ivanka, shed her armor, like a proud female knight…

…

As expected of the most combative of Barron’s women, Ivanka had already left Long Island Manor early the next morning to assemble a team and prepare to acquire Motorola Mobility…

“Your Grace, news from London, Mr. Mike Lynch called to inquire when you will return to Britain. He hopes to meet with you…”

Hearing the words of his personal assistant, Zhang Junning, Barron said without hesitation:

“I’ll be here for the time being. If he has anything, he can talk to Friedman.”

Although Mike Lynch is a highly renowned figure in the British technology industry, known as the “British Bill Gates,” Barron didn’t care much about it, or rather, didn’t want to have too much contact with him.

Mike Lynch founded Autonomy in 1996. This company uses technology based on semantic computing (MBC) researched at Cambridge University and is a British technology company that provides high-end search engine software for enterprises.

After experiencing the dot-com bubble at the turn of the century, Autonomy also entered the American market, acquiring three American companies, and became one of the few British technology companies that grew against the market trend during the financial crisis.

Some even claimed that Autonomy’s intelligent search engine software might challenge Google’s dominance in this field in the future.

If you look at Autonomy’s customer directory, you will feel that this company is still very impressive. More than 16,000 government agencies and blue-chip companies use Autonomy’s powerful pattern matching algorithms in their products to extract meaning from unstructured information.

For example, in agencies belonging to the American Department of Homeland Security, 21 agencies use semantic computing technology to monitor groups suspected of terrorist activities, thereby providing a comprehensive list of terrorist suspects and enabling real-time notification of relevant departments when possible terrorist activities occur.

Ford Motor Company uses semantic computing technology to convert text, audio, and video files in its research knowledge base in order to obtain meaningful reference materials for its more than 150,000 employees to view – with the help of these materials, employees can learn about the company’s new projects faster.

Other companies that have used and benefited from semantic computing technology include: BAE Systems, Boeing, Ford, Daimler-Chrysler, Shell, AOL, BBC, Reuters, Ericsson, Philips, Coca-Cola, Kraft Foods, Nestle, Lloyds TSB, GlaxoSmithKline, KPMG, Citigroup, ABN AMRO, Deutsche Bank, Nomura Securities, and the American Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)…

Of course, as a well-known British technology company, Barron’s fund also invested in this company - Caesar Fund’s Digital Future Investment Company holds approximately 25% of Autonomy’s shares. They spent less than 500 million dollars to obtain these shares initially.

This is why Barron said that Caesar Fund’s CEO, Pete Friedman, would contact the other party…

Chapter 775: Mike Lynch

The reason Barron didn’t want too much contact with Mike Lynch was also because he didn’t want to get too deeply involved in a future deal of Autonomy…

In Barron’s previous life, in October of the following year, Hewlett-Packard, hoping to expand its business scope, would acquire Autonomy for $11 billion!

You should know that earlier, Lynch hoped to sell Autonomy to Oracle for $6 billion, but was rejected…

In the end, Lynch still found a way to sell Autonomy at a high price, allowing Hewlett-Packard, which was trying to catch up with competitors like IBM in the enterprise application software market, to acquire Autonomy for a sky-high price of $11 billion…

Most importantly, this transaction was an all-cash acquisition!

In fact, this acquisition by Hewlett-Packard at the time was driven by Hewlett-Packard CEO Léo Apotheker. At the time, the acquisition was criticized by Silicon Valley as being too expensive and was strongly opposed by the company’s CFO, but it was ultimately approved by the board of directors.

The reason why Hewlett-Packard’s board of directors approved this acquisition at the time was also because they trusted the audit firm Deloitte’s financial audit report on Autonomy.

As part of the due diligence, Hewlett-Packard also hired KPMG to audit Deloitte’s report, and investment banking intermediaries such as Barclays also participated in the acquisition transaction.

Neither Deloitte nor KPMG were able to find any problems—until April 2012, when Autonomy founder Mike Lynch was fired, a senior member of Autonomy’s leadership team took the initiative to “blow the whistle.” Hewlett-Packard discovered through investigation that Autonomy had a series of suspicious accounting and business practices, which led to a serious deviation in the valuation of Hewlett-Packard’s acquisition of the company.

Eventually, Hewlett-Packard discovered that Autonomy, which they had acquired a year earlier, was not worth $11 billion at all. They recorded a non-cash goodwill impairment charge in the fourth fiscal quarter of fiscal year 2012, the cost associated with Autonomy was worth $8.8 billion…

And most of it—more than $5 billion—was related to serious accounting misconduct, misrepresentations, and disclosure errors.

This also meant that in just one year, 80% of Hewlett-Packard’s $11 billion acquisition of Autonomy had been lost.

From that time on, Hewlett-Packard began to sue Autonomy’s founder, Mike Lynch, known as the “British Bill Gates,” and tried to extradite him to America for trial…

This lawsuit can be said to have been a marathon that lasted for more than a decade…

The final result was that twelve years later, he was finally acquitted, and then two months later, the yacht he was on encountered a tornado at sea. Most of the crew on board survived, but only Lynch and his family and defense lawyers died in the accident.

It looked like an accident…

Well, around the same time as this accident, Mike Lynch’s partner, and another defendant in the Hewlett-Packard case, Autonomy’s former Deputy Chief Financial Officer, Stephen Chamberlain, was hit and killed by a car while jogging.

This is also the reason why Barron didn’t want to have too close contact with Mike Lynch.

It’s not that Barron was afraid of the masterminds behind Lynch and a series of “accidents” in the future. Barron didn’t think so much about this matter in his previous life, and just regarded it as a sensational thing.

But now, with his status and position, looking back at this matter, although he can’t directly guess which party is behind it, it is very obvious that it is not Hewlett-Packard—and after so many years of litigation, Hewlett-Packard has been unable to convict Mike Lynch in America. If a certain force behind the scenes can only use physical means to deal with him and his partner Stephen Chamberlain, then the other party’s energy is only so-so…

Of course, it is not impossible for the capital or forces behind Autonomy to solve Mike Lynch and others to silence them, then… that would be another story.

After all, in the matter of Autonomy being sold to Hewlett-Packard for a sky-high price of $11 billion, Mike Lynch himself only received about $1 billion. More of the profits flowed to other shareholders and the capital behind them…

If they were ruthless enough, after Mike Lynch was acquitted, solving him would obviously make the public’s first suspect only the “furious” Hewlett-Packard, which was a very successful diversion of attention.

The reason why Barron didn’t want to get too involved in this was also because he didn’t want to enter the vortex of public opinion because of this matter—now his fund only holds 25% of Autonomy’s shares, and making a small profit in next year’s transaction is enough.

The reason why Digital Future invested in Autonomy, in addition to this, is also because this company’s technology does indeed have unique advantages in obtaining some intelligence.

The intelligence system controlled by Barron uses Autonomy’s technology to screen intelligence from some public information. This method is still very effective…

“Dear Duke, I’m very glad you’ve come to America again…”

Barron quickly put Mike Lynch’s matter behind him. Today, his Long Island estate welcomed another guest, an old friend of the Kennedy family, Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

After Obama took office, it was obvious that the Kennedy family became active again.

This is not surprising, after all, Obama himself received great support from the Kennedy family in the previous election.

As mentioned before, at present, the descendants of the Kennedy family have not produced anyone with much political talent. The performance of the few members who have entered American politics is far inferior to that of the three Kennedy brothers in the past…

Therefore, they can only find potential politicians to win over, so as to act as spokespersons for their family.

To some extent, Obama is now playing such a role.

Of course, even so, the relationship between them can only be said to be more of cooperation, and not too close.

But at least it now allows the Kennedy family to gain more capital in politics.

Well, the relationship between the Kennedy family and Barron is also similar.

In America, Barron needs the influence of their family at certain times, and the Kennedy family is the same. In this way, when the interests of both parties are consistent, they can have good cooperation.

“Although you weren’t in America before, I often heard news about you at gatherings, Duke…”

“Oh?”

“For example, you’ve had several big moves recently, which has attracted a lot of attention.”

“Are you talking about Pfizer and those other companies?”

Barron said with a smile:

“I manage assets for many people, so I always need to let them get a satisfactory return. I haven’t hidden my views. I’ve always said that I’m very optimistic about the recovery of the American economy in the future…”

Chapter 776: Doing Some Work

Previously, Baron had acquired 10% of Pfizer through several funds, including IC Capital and DS Group.

Earlier this month, Baron doubled down, investing an additional $12 billion through the British Fortune Times (BFT) Fund and Global Industry Investment (GII) Fund, increasing his total stake in Pfizer to 20%.

With this, he had effectively become one of the largest shareholders of this pharmaceutical giant. However, on the surface, his holdings were scattered across more than six funds or investment companies.

It wasn’t just Pfizer. Baron had told Daisy long ago that the Federal Reserve’s second round of quantitative easing (QE2) would inevitably stimulate the somewhat sluggish recovery of the American economy.

At the same time, injecting more money into the market, this “watering” would also cause the dollar to depreciate. Of course, not just the dollar, because the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy affects not only the dollar but also other countries.

As the dollar began to depreciate, other countries would correspondingly initiate similar quantitative easing policies to ensure their export and other economic situations. Thus, the era of global “watering” arrived, and various currencies would depreciate accordingly.

Under such circumstances, holding cash was naturally a very inappropriate behavior, only passively devaluing one’s wealth.

Therefore, Baron had already formulated an acquisition plan. Not only would the funds held by his various investment companies be invested in the acquisition of high-quality assets, but he would also take out loans and add some leverage to carry out these acquisitions.

As a result, many people, including Robert Kennedy Jr., could see Baron’s investment companies and funds launching acquisitions in the American market. Not only in the American market, but also in the European, Asian, and Australian markets, they were selecting high-quality assets for acquisition. However, relatively speaking, the American market had a larger capacity and could accommodate more funds.

The American side welcomed this very much.

After all, the Federal Reserve was under pressure from various parties to start a new round of quantitative easing policies because the recovery of the American economy after the crisis had shown a sluggish trend in the first half of this year.

Due to the impact of the subprime mortgage crisis, some funds chose to flee the American market, including not only some Middle Eastern funds but also many Wall Street funds. They entered the Japanese, Korean, and European markets to short sell, which, on the surface, looked like some funds were being withdrawn from America to these places.

Now that Baron was willing to invest a considerable portion of his funds in the American market, it would naturally make these markets more active, which was what the American side wanted to see.

Of course, it wasn’t just Baron’s funds. As this stage of reaping profits from Japan, Korea, and Europe was completed, those other Wall Street capitals would also begin to flow back.

Coupled with the funds released by the Federal Reserve, it was believed that the economic recovery of the American market would soon accelerate again, and markets including the stock market and real estate would once again usher in a small wave of increases.

“I hope to get some funds from public investment funds, Mr. Kennedy.”

“At least in Massachusetts, we have tried our best to secure a lot of funds for you…”

Indeed, from the beginning, when the Mars Fund’s scale was not very large, some funds came from some common funds in Massachusetts and funds from the Boston Consortium. These funds were all found for Baron through the Kennedy family’s connections.

“And I have brought them generous returns, haven’t I?”

Baron said lightly.

“But the scale of those funds is still not very large. You know, BlackRock Group has received more financial support, and our Standard Chartered-Merrill Lynch Group is no weaker than them in terms of fund management capabilities…”

“That’s not surprising, Baron. BlackRock Group… has received support from some powerful people. Of course, I will help you get some support too, but… I can only say that I will try my best.”

…

“The good news is that we have acquired 25% of the shares of Sociedad Química y Minera (SQM), owned by Potash Corporation of Canada. Adding to what we acquired from other minority shareholders, West African Mining Group already holds approximately 30% of SQM, becoming the company’s largest single shareholder…”

West African Mining Group CEO Andrew Cole said to Baron on the phone.

“This allows us to send three directors to the company’s board of directors and exert some influence on it… but that’s all.”

“Can’t we continue to increase our shareholding in SQM?”

“A senior official in Chile told me privately that they welcome our normal investment, but for the sake of the security of their lithium industry, if our shareholding reaches a ‘danger line,’ they will consider the renewal of SQM’s lithium mining rights in the Atacama Salt Flat area, or even increase the bidding for lithium mining rights in this area.”

Currently, SQM holds the main lithium mining rights in the Atacama Salt Flat area, which belongs to the region with the richest lithium reserves in the South American “Lithium Triangle.”

However, SQM’s lithium mining rights here are currently contracted until 2030. Therefore, according to the other party’s statement, SQM’s board of directors will naturally resist West African Mining Group acquiring more shares in the company.

“F**k, perhaps we can do some work through other means?”

“What do you mean?”

“Bribery, or even creating chaos… it seems that Chile was never that stable anyway. No matter what, I just want to take control of SQM!”

Baron’s call with Andrew Cole was made using an encrypted satellite phone, so he didn’t have too many scruples when speaking.

“Uh… Your Grace, in fact, the Americans have done these things here, and even more…”

“Try harder, Andrew. I want results.”

In South America, which is already chaotic, Baron didn’t actually have too many concerns. After all, if necessary, with his power, he could even help them complete a coup.

Of course, precisely because this is in America’s backyard, it certainly can’t be like many countries in Africa… doing things too crudely.

Lithium mining is very important for Baron’s future plans. If he can acquire control of SQM through legitimate means, he is naturally happy to do so.

But if it is difficult to do so, then Baron doesn’t mind using more brutal methods.

Just like he said to Andrew Cole - the Americans have done it before, haven’t they…

Chapter 777: Retaining Motorola?

“As early as July of this year, Motorola had already finalized their spin-off plan. Of course, the implementation of this plan will take time, so it’s scheduled to officially proceed in the fourth quarter of this year. Everything done before that is preparation work…”

Ivana had already organized a team, not only conducting a detailed investigation into Motorola’s situation but also starting to analyze and calculate this acquisition to determine the final offer.

In the documents that Motorola submitted to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), it was mentioned that Motorola would be split into Motorola Mobility and Motorola Solutions.

Motorola Mobility would license the trademark and name to Motorola Solutions.

The two companies after the spin-off would sign an agreement to determine the relationship between the two parties, including how to allocate employee benefits and intellectual property. The two companies would also sign commercial agreements to cooperate in specific product and service areas.

A Motorola executive said in an interview that the spin-off would be beneficial to the company’s development, partly because the network and enterprise mobile businesses would be relieved of their historical baggage and would no longer have to subsidize the struggling mobile phone business.

The two companies would have different users and investors. Motorola Mobility would be consumer-focused, while Motorola Solutions would be enterprise market-focused.

The latest news about Motorola’s spin-off is that it will be completed before October 24, 2010.

Motorola shareholders will receive Motorola Mobility common stock shares at a ratio of 1:8. In addition, the board of directors also passed Motorola’s 1:7 reverse stock split plan.

According to this plan, Motorola will officially change its name to Motorola Solutions on Monday, October 25, 2010, and be listed on the New York Stock Exchange with the stock code MSI.

The spun-off Motorola Mobility will also be listed on the New York Stock Exchange on the same day, with the stock trading code MMI.

“So, if we plan to acquire Motorola Mobility, it’s best to wait until the company is spun off and listed before proceeding with the acquisition. Otherwise, on the one hand, Motorola has already done a lot of work on this spin-off, and it may be difficult for them to be willing to change their plans before the official split to discuss the acquisition of Motorola Mobility with us…”

Ivana said to Barron:

“In addition, some shareholders may have expectations for the value of Motorola Mobility after the spin-off and listing, so acquiring it now, even if we can offer a relatively good price, the other party may still think it’s not up to expectations…”

What she said made a lot of sense. After all, although Motorola’s situation in 2007-2008 was very bad, and its mobile phone division suffered significant losses, last year, in 2009, due to the launch of its Android phones and GOS phones, although it had not yet turned a profit, at least the amount of losses had decreased.

According to Sanjay Jha, who is in charge of Motorola’s mobile phone division, in an interview, he said that he believes Motorola’s mobile device business is likely to turn a profit in the fourth quarter of this year or the first quarter of next year…

This optimistic sentiment will naturally affect some investors’ and shareholders’ judgment on Motorola Mobility’s stock price.

But Barron knew that if Motorola had insisted on launching Android phones from the beginning, the situation might have improved. However, after Google launched the GOS system, Motorola turned to cooperate with Google—they not only reduced research and development on Android phones, but also the Droid series of phones, which originally supported the Android system, switched to supporting the GOS system…

But as the market share of the GOS system gradually decreases, Motorola’s upcoming Droid X phone, from the current point of view, has an extremely high probability of failure—this phone is known as Motorola’s highlight of this year, but it is obvious that it is difficult to meet their expectations…

In this case, after Motorola Mobility is spun off and listed, the market will probably throw a bucket of cold water on them. At this time, going to talk to the other party about acquiring Motorola Mobility, giving a certain premium, not only will the total offer be slightly lower at that time, but it will also be approved by many Motorola shareholders.

“If we get Motorola’s mobile phone division, and don’t sell it externally, but fully launch phones that support the Android system, then can we save this brand?”

Ivana thought for a moment and then asked.

Barron could tell from her expression that she had probably been considering this question herself…

“It’s not impossible to try, but what needs to be known is that Motorola’s brand does have a good reputation, but that’s in the traditional mobile phone field. In terms of smartphones, for the new generation of users, Motorola doesn’t have much advantage compared to Apple, or even Honor Electronics’ Mate phones…”

“But at least letting Motorola join the Android camp would be a good thing for the Android system.”

Barron nodded and said:

“If that’s the case, then we need to consider that the Motorola brand should not have too close a relationship with Android, after all, Android itself needs to promote the Android system. If it has its own mobile phone brand under its banner, for other mobile phone manufacturers, even in terms of perception, it won’t seem so friendly.”

It’s like Microsoft developed the Windows operating system, then they certainly can’t say that they manufacture computers themselves, then how would other computer manufacturers dare to use your system? If you give other brands of computers some bugs at the system level to make your own computers sell better, and they crash at every turn, that definitely won’t work.

The principle is the same. Android must be in a relatively neutral position among various mobile phone manufacturers so that these mobile phone manufacturers can rest assured and fully launch Android phones. If Motorola and Android become one company at that time, then under the mentality of prevention, it is easy to make some mobile phone manufacturers dare not fully bet on the Android system, and it will also leave more opportunities for the GOS system and Microsoft’s Windows system.

After all, now, apart from Apple’s iOS system, which is not open to the public, although the Android system has occupied the vast majority of the market share, it still doesn’t dare to say that it has already won steadily. Neither Microsoft’s Windows system nor Google’s GOS system are without the opportunity to make a comeback.

Moreover, the scale and strength of these two companies are stronger than Android.

“At that time, IC Capital and other companies, such as the Global Industry Investment Fund and other investors, can form a group to acquire Motorola. After transferring the assets needed by Android, including patents, the rest can be distributed…”

Chapter 778: New Model?

“Alright, you wanted to see William, and I’ve let you see him. He’s still too young and can’t be away from me for too long. When he’s older, I can allow you to spend some time with him every year, but I’m afraid you’ll have too many children and not enough time…”

“Honey, can’t we talk about anything besides children?”

“Please call me Amanda, Your Grace.”

This was at Amanda Hearst’s estate in Los Angeles. Barron knew that she had been living here ever since she brought their child back.

Seeing Amanda still speaking coldly, Barron couldn’t help but sigh.

“Then tell me, what else can we talk about? You know what I want…”

“I’m divorced, darling. You should know why.”

“Let go of me…”

As Barron reached out to embrace Amanda, she struggled and said:

“Is it just because of me? Your women, don’t think I don’t know, mmm…”

Although Amanda had just tried to break free from Barron’s embrace, Barron could feel that she wasn’t using her full strength. Therefore, as she said this, he kissed her directly, stopping her words in her throat…

Even though the two were nominally separated, Barron wasn’t completely ignorant of Amanda’s life. On the contrary, he had sent many people to protect her around her estate.

Therefore, he knew very well that Amanda hadn’t started any new relationships during this time, but had instead devoted all her energy to being with her child…

Before they met, Amanda often frequented the New York socialite circles, attending gatherings with heiresses like Ivanka and Paris, but now she hadn’t appeared in those places for a long time. Instead, tabloid reporters had taken pictures of Amanda taking her child shopping in Los Angeles.

As for who the father of Amanda, the Hearst Corporation heiress’s, child was, it had caused widespread speculation, but there was never a definite answer—even if reporters chased after Amanda and asked, she herself never responded, and her bodyguards immediately blocked them, sending them away empty-handed.

Now, from Amanda’s reaction, Barron could also feel it…

Just after he kissed her lips, although she resisted at first, she soon, under Barron’s relentless persistence, finally became a deep French kiss…

It was as if the surface ice shell had been broken, and Barron had successfully grasped Amanda’s gentle and soft side…

So the development of things became logical, dry wood met raging fire, and eventually, a blazing fire burned.

…

“I’m just using you to satisfy my own needs, don’t think I’ll give in…”

The next day, when Amanda woke up and saw Barron again, she raised her head slightly and said this.

Barron simply hugged her, gave her a light kiss, and didn’t argue.

After all, he also understood that this kind of thing definitely couldn’t be changed all at once, it needed to be done slowly.

At least from her current attitude, it was already moving in a good direction, so he didn’t need to continue persuading her…

The advantage of smooth talking wasn’t used like this. If you can’t persuade them with words, slowly persuade them in bed.

Of course, this time he came from the East Coast to the West Coast, of course, not just to see Amanda and his son. After that, Barron went to Tesla and met Elon Musk.

Unlike Barron’s previous life, Tesla didn’t choose to IPO in June of this year, but slightly delayed the listing plan, which was expected to be listed next year.

As early as last year, British Automotive Group invested 150 million U.S. dollars in Tesla, obtaining 20% of the company’s shares.

Then in January of this year, under Barron’s contact, Barack Obama visited the Tesla factory and gave Tesla a lot of support—after that, Tesla received a low-interest loan of up to 500 million U.S. dollars from the U.S. Department of Energy, which further alleviated Tesla’s financial crisis.

And Musk didn’t slow down Tesla’s development speed. In May of this year, Tesla acquired the car factory in Fremont, California, which was originally operated by Toyota and General Motors, and prepared to transform the car production line there.

In the original timeline, until the Tesla Shanghai factory was built, the Fremont factory was Tesla’s main production factory.

This time when he met Elon Musk, Barron talked to him about the cooperation between British Automotive Group and Tesla—the two parties jointly established an electric vehicle research and development center in Silicon Valley, and the research and development center established by British Automotive Group in London has also been sharing technology with Tesla.

And before that, as a major shareholder of Tesla, in order to express their support for Tesla, they also provided Tesla with a low-interest loan of 50 million U.S. dollars to help Tesla transform the Fremont factory.

These assistance to Tesla will naturally bring benefits to British Automotive Group. For example, in the process of helping Tesla transform the Fremont factory, they can accumulate experience so that British Automotive Group can build similar electric vehicle gigafactories in Britain and even other regions in the future.

“We have overcome many problems in the research and development of new models. Believe me, Your Grace, when our new models are released, the whole world will be shocked…”

Regarding Musk’s words, Barron just asked:

“So when will the new model be available?”

“Uh, it is estimated that it will be available next year. You know, we have bought the Fremont factory, and the transformation of the factory will take some time. In addition, we also need to optimize the new model more…”

Then, under Musk’s leadership, Barron saw Tesla’s new model prototype car…

Well, just like Tesla’s first model, the Roadster, was actually an electric Lotus sports car, the Tesla “prototype car” that Barron saw at this time looked like a Mercedes-Benz CLS…

In fact, when Musk and the others launched the Roadster and prepared to develop a new model, Tesla’s engineers went to the Mercedes-Benz 4S store and conducted a detailed evaluation of the Mercedes-Benz CLS and E-Class models. The final conclusion was that the CLS was better than the E-Class, so they bought a CLS, and then after emptying it, they used the CLS body as the basis to develop a new model.

In other words, until now, they have not determined that the new model will be named Model S, and have not determined the appearance design of Model S…

Chapter 779: The Melancholy Terminator

Interestingly, it seemed that Tesla, after launching the Model S, became an instant sensation, and the Model S became Tesla’s best-selling model…

But the truth is, when Tesla first launched the Model S, it still had some problems, and sales weren’t good. Musk was forced to turn nearly five hundred of Tesla’s technical staff into salespeople, making them do their best to promote the Model S…

Even at that time, Musk actively approached Google, hoping to sell Tesla to them.

Unexpectedly, the Tesla employees were very effective and sold more than ten thousand Model S cars, instantly bringing Tesla back from the brink of collapse.

And the Model S gradually began to be accepted by consumers, eventually creating the exaggerated scene of a Tesla company whose market value exceeded the sum of other traditional car manufacturers…

Now, Musk, in front of Barron, outwardly exuded confidence.

But Barron knew that even he himself probably wasn’t so sure whether Tesla’s new models would be successful.

Otherwise, he wouldn’t have had the idea of selling Tesla to Google later…

If Barron hadn’t known much about the automotive industry in his previous life, he would have had some thoughts – should he wait until the Model S was launched and Musk had the intention to sell Tesla, and then buy the company?

However, what made Barron slightly unsure was whether Tesla, without Musk, could still launch so many popular models like in his previous life?

He finally decided to put this idea on hold for the time being and observe Tesla’s situation before making a decision.

The British Automotive Group took the initiative to cooperate with Tesla to conduct research on electric vehicles. What did other car companies think?

The truth is, they didn’t think much of it, and even felt a bit amused.

After all, at this time, electric vehicles had not shown much potential for development – yes, many people believed that electric vehicles were a future trend, but it must be known that often, the company that develops a new technology may not be the company that “pioneers” it.

In other words, many car companies were also developing electric vehicles, but they didn’t put too much effort into it. Moreover, the development direction of electric vehicles, such as the batteries they use, and the technological route, was not necessarily determined. For example, Japanese car companies were more optimistic about hydrogen fuel cells…

These car companies thought that new energy vehicles, including electric vehicles, might indeed succeed in the future, but definitely not now – they believed that many technologies were not mature, and electric vehicles still had a long way to go compared to traditional gasoline vehicles. Therefore, grasping the current advantages in the field of gasoline vehicles was the top priority. These vested interests would definitely not take the initiative to start a revolution.

Just like Tesla, even though it had launched the Roadster model, no one would have thought that it would achieve great success with the subsequent Model S.

Otherwise, if they could really see this, Tesla would not have been in financial crisis all the time. Those investors or car company groups would have rushed to invest in it.

Therefore, the British Automotive Group’s investment in Tesla was only seen as a blind bet.

In Musk’s view, the cooperation between the British Automotive Group and them did seem to be interested in electric vehicles, but judging from the brands owned by the British Automotive Group and their actions in the field of electric vehicles, this car company’s goals were different from Tesla’s. Tesla’s Model S was still targeting models of brands such as Mercedes-Benz and BMW.

And the Romanian Rimac Automobili company that the British Automotive Group had previously acquired, the Concept One electric supercar that had just debuted at the Shanghai World Expo, and the company’s cooperation with Aston Martin, showed that the British Automotive Group was aiming at the high-end luxury market of supercars in the field of electric vehicles, and would not compete with Tesla.

Moreover, even if the British Automotive Group was interested in mid-range electric sedans, Musk wouldn’t care too much – on the one hand, at this time, he certainly couldn’t know for sure that Tesla would almost monopolize this market in a period of time and be able to threaten traditional gasoline vehicles; on the other hand, Tesla was now being squeezed out by traditional gasoline car companies in many cases because of the development of electric vehicles. If there could be a company that also entered the field of electric vehicles, at least the two sides could be considered allies…

Therefore, no matter what, at least in this period, the cooperation between Tesla and the British Automotive Group was very harmonious, and both sides were wholeheartedly investing in the cooperative development of electric vehicle technology.

After visiting Tesla headquarters, Barron returned to Los Angeles, stayed there for only one day, talked with Annika Dawson, CEO of Blue Valley Capital, about investing in Hollywood, and then left.

Mainly because he was not going to meet California Governor Schwarzenegger, after all, this “Terminator” was destined to step down as governor at the beginning of next year, and it was difficult to reverse.

It could be said that when he took office in 2003, there were so many expectations, and now, he was so down on his luck.

When Schwarzenegger first took office, he launched a series of new reform policies, promising voters – “Audit everything, end the crazy financial spending.”

In 2004, Schwarzenegger was at the peak of his political career, with a public support rate of 65%, and then in 2006, he easily won re-election.

However, during Schwarzenegger’s second term as governor, the American financial crisis swept the globe, and under the impact of the financial tsunami, California’s finances were on the verge of bankruptcy…

In fact, the California government had already run out of cash in February 2009, and the state government at that time needed to face a deficit of up to 42 billion dollars!

Rating agency Standard & Poor’s had previously downgraded California’s state bond rating.

In this case, Schwarzenegger had to announce that most officials would have their salaries reduced by 18%, and the state government would have to pay its employees and contractors with “IOUs,” and employees and contractors could redeem their salaries with the IOUs when the state government had money in the future – even many civil servants had begun to take unpaid leave. In addition, the state government had to cut education and social welfare budgets.

Since the financial storm, California’s economy has been severely damaged due to the collapse of real estate, tax revenues have been greatly reduced, and the unemployment rate has soared. The state government’s finances have been in frequent crisis. In mid-May of last year, the California government announced the auction of seven real estate properties to raise money, including large stadiums, convention centers, etc.

To make up for the huge budget deficit, the California government proposed six bills and held a referendum. These bills included raising taxes, expanding borrowing, and cutting spending. The only bill passed by angry voters was that government staff should not be given pay raises when the state government had a deficit.

In the end, because most of the bills proposed by Schwarzenegger were not supported by voters, the state government had to cut various education, medical care, and social welfare expenditures, including reducing 5,000 civil servants, releasing prisoners from prison early, closing some fire brigades, canceling health insurance subsidies for poor children, and reducing subsidies for community colleges, abused women, and children. This had the greatest impact on vulnerable groups.

Therefore, in this California gubernatorial election, Schwarzenegger happily lost to Jerry Brown of the Democratic Party…

During Schwarzenegger’s tenure, California became the first state in the United States to implement mandatory controls on greenhouse gas emissions from factories, power plants, and smelters – this was the only political legacy Schwarzenegger left to California.

In addition, when Schwarzenegger stepped down, California’s fiscal deficit was as high as 25.4 billion dollars, far exceeding the 10.2 billion dollars when he took office.

According to some American media, during Schwarzenegger’s tenure, California went from being a wealthy state that could be called “the eighth largest economy in the world” to a place where “no one wants to work.”

Well, it’s very sad.

Chapter 780: Congratulations

“Congratulations, William. When I heard the news, I knew you must be the happiest man in the world…”

“Thank you, Barron. I am indeed very lucky. Also, I very much hope you can attend my engagement ceremony next month. I will send you a formal invitation later.”

By the time Barron returned to London, it was already late October.

After returning to London, Barron, as the Duke of Devonshire, attended an event held by the royal family. It was here that he met Prince William.

By this time, he had already received the news that earlier in the month, Prince William had taken Catherine to Kenya, and it was there that he proposed to her…

Right now, this news is only circulating within their inner circle. It will not be announced to the public until their official engagement ceremony next month.

From Prince William’s expression, one could see his high spirits. After all, let’s not talk about his career for now—his father is still the Prince of Wales, and he has to wait his turn…

But at least in terms of his personal life, he has settled down.

“Barron, regarding the Kolo situation, the French have privately protested. They don’t want Protector Military Company to extend its reach too far, as it’s already affecting Niger…”

In addition to congratulating Prince William, the Prince of Wales also mentioned the situation in West Africa during a private conversation with Barron.

“The French are being too nosy. Those countries are no longer their colonies. Besides, they’ve been overdoing it there. Protector Military Company is simply conducting commercial activities there, and it doesn’t involve any interference with the sovereignty of countries like Niger…”

Hearing Barron’s somewhat dismissive words, the Prince of Wales cautiously said:

“Although these protests from the French are only private messages and can be ignored, we still need to be wary of them making trouble.”

“Yes, I’ll have them pay attention, Your Highness.”

Barron said with conviction.

It was very obvious that the Prince of Wales’ attitude towards Barron was completely different from what it was in the beginning. It was more like the attitude of speaking to a “business partner,” and not just addressing a junior.

This was naturally the respect that Barron’s strength and status had earned him.

“Regarding illegal immigration, the French haven’t been causing us any more trouble, have they?”

“Not at all. Our cooperation has started again, returning to the previous level.”

When there was conflict between Kolo and Benin, the cooperation between Britain and France on the repatriation of illegal immigrants was also affected and temporarily suspended.

This situation ended with the easing of relations between Kolo and Benin, and cooperation between the two sides was restored.

However, now, in addition to the “illegal immigrant settlement area” between Kolo and Benin, Britain has another option. With Britain’s mediation, Kolo and its other neighbor, Ghana, have also cooperated in this area. However, this “illegal immigrant settlement area,” located on the Ghanaian side of the border between Ghana and Kolo, is specifically used to accommodate illegal immigrants found along the British coast and does not involve illegal immigrants from France…

…

“Honey, how does it feel to be a mother?”

“It’s okay. Catherine often comes over to help me. It’s just that I feel like little William is growing a bit slowly…”

Tamara Ecclestone’s small complaint made Barron laugh.

Speaking of which, in a family like Barron’s, even with a newborn, Tamara wouldn’t feel much more involved in taking care of him.

After all, there are more than five maids dedicated to taking care of their little son alone. It can be said that there are at least two maids watching over the child 24 hours a day.

In that case, there really isn’t much for Tamara to do when it comes to taking care of the child.

On the contrary, she can enjoy the feeling of doting on her child, and Tamara even has plenty of time to go shopping with Catherine and the others…

It can be said that Tamara’s most important thing during this time is to exercise and restore her figure with the help of professional teams.

Just like this time, after Barron saw her, he felt that compared to when she was in Kolo, her figure was closer to what it was before she was pregnant—on that basis, she had a bit more of a mature woman’s charm. Plus, Tamara’s figure was already quite curvy, which made Barron feel that she was even more charming…

However, even so, Tamara’s combat power still couldn’t compare to Barron’s. Well, she was even considered somewhat lacking among Barron’s women.

It was like when two people were learning knowledge. After only one round of learning, Barron hadn’t even fully appreciated the beauty of the knowledge when Tamara was already exhausted and unable to continue learning…

Faced with this situation…

After Barron said something in Tamara’s ear, her face immediately turned rosy:

“Maybe she’s already asleep…”

“I can help you go check, honey.”

Seeing Barron’s somewhat expectant look, Tamara immediately covered her head with the quilt:

“That would be too embarrassing…”

“It’s not like we haven’t tried it before…”

What Barron was referring to was that time in Australia when Barron specifically drank with two women, and when they were tipsy, things fell into place naturally…

Even so, it had only happened once. Now that Tamara was sober, she was too embarrassed to continue talking.

But seeing her expression, Barron understood that although Tamara seemed shy about this kind of knowledge learning, she wasn’t too resistant…

So, when Tamara, who had buried her head in the quilt, heard a moment of silence in the room, followed by the sound of the door opening, along with Barron’s slightly heavier footsteps than usual.

When she raised her eyes from the quilt, she saw Barron holding a long-haired woman horizontally in his arms. Judging from her figure, wasn’t it Catherine Neville, who had a good relationship with Tamara…

Tamara’s eyes met Catherine’s, and she immediately buried her head back in the quilt, her face becoming even rosier.

Next, she felt the mattress next to her sink, followed by strange learning sounds…

Tamara only felt her heart beating faster and faster. Just as she inadvertently touched another arm next to her, she could even feel the other person’s scorching temperature…

Chapter 781: The Potential of E-commerce

“Having acquired Feelunique, we’ve increased our e-commerce business in the cosmetics sector, and we plan to continue expanding this business to other European countries…”

Nathan Ellington, CEO of Argos Retail Group, explained to Barron.

Currently, in the European e-commerce market, Argos.com is firmly in the leading position in terms of market share. According to the latest survey, its market share exceeds that of second-place Amazon by a third, with eBay ranking third. In addition, there are some emerging local e-commerce companies in various countries.

As for Feelunique, which Nathan Ellington mentioned, it is currently the largest cosmetics e-commerce website in the UK. Founded in the UK in 2005, it was one of the first pure e-commerce beauty retailers in Europe. It currently offers over 25,000 products from approximately 500 brands, including categories such as beauty, makeup, skincare, haircare, fragrance, devices, and health products.

Earlier this year, Argos Retail Group completed the acquisition of this company from London private equity firm Palamon, making it a wholly-owned subsidiary of Argos Retail Group.

“We have just completed the acquisition of the French high-end perfume retail chain Parfumeries Rive Droite, using it as a platform to develop our business in France and continental Europe…”

Feelunique’s main model is to establish multiple offline flagship stores in major cities. In these offline flagship stores, customers can either place orders directly on its website with the assistance of store staff, or use them as showrooms for the products sold by Feelunique.

Of course, users can also directly place orders on Feelunique’s official website from home. After all, for many women, the brands and types of cosmetics they use are often fixed, and they don’t need to try them on every time they shop, like they do with clothes and shoes.

Parfumeries Rive Droite, which Feelunique recently acquired, has a total of four boutique stores throughout France, with its flagship store located on Avenue Marceau in Paris. By using these four stores as Feelunique’s flagship stores in France, Argos Retail Group’s cosmetics business can break into the French market, and then gradually cover the entire country.

Just like Argos Retail Group’s expansion in continental Europe, Feelunique will first enter the French and German markets, and after gaining a foothold in Western Europe, it will gradually expand to other parts of Europe.

It can be said that the cosmetics e-commerce business is a very promising industry. Previously, although Argos Retail Group had also been involved in some cosmetics-related products, compared to Feelunique, a website in such a segmented vertical field, there was always a big gap in terms of professionalism. It could only be said to be better than nothing.

However, based on the revenue performance after the acquisition of Feelunique, the combination of Feelunique and Argos.com has indeed produced a considerable synergy.

Now, when you enter the beauty and cosmetics category on Argos.com, you will be directly redirected to the Feelunique website. Feelunique can also directly obtain the rich user resources accumulated by Argos Retail Group. As a result, Argos Retail Group’s cosmetics business has shown a monthly growth trend in the past three months.

In fact, as it stands now, the market value of Argos Retail Group’s e-commerce business has slightly exceeded its market value in the brick and mortar industry - and this is even after including the increase in the market value of Costco (Costco), which it previously acquired, in its physical sales.

To make a comparison, Amazon’s current market value is over 800 billion US dollars, but less than 900 billion US dollars, and it has already started business in many countries around the world.

Argos Retail Group’s current market value is slightly higher than Amazon’s, at around 1 trillion US dollars, and its e-commerce business contributes more than 500 billion US dollars to the group’s market value.

Of course, this also includes the e-commerce business that Costco began to experiment with in America last year.

Barron naturally understood the development potential of e-commerce in the future. In terms of market value alone, the e-commerce business can easily have an extra layer of internet leverage compared to brick and mortar retail groups.

For example, in Barron’s previous life, Amazon’s market value once exceeded 2 trillion US dollars, which is more than twenty times its current market value - it is difficult for physical sales to have such a terrifying growth under this volume.

Of course, now with Argos Retail Group’s competition in the European market, it is difficult to say whether Amazon in this timeline can still reach this market value.

But what is certain is that even if Argos Retail Group can only maintain its leading advantage in the e-commerce industry in the European market, then in the future, their total market value, to say the least, is very likely to exceed 500 billion US dollars.

If it goes a step further and can expand in the North American and Asian markets, it is very hopeful that its market value will exceed 1 trillion US dollars in the future.

However, everything is relative. From now on, it can be seen that whether it is the increase in Amazon’s market value or the fact that Argos Retail Group’s stock has begun to be favored by investors, it is already a consensus among many people that e-commerce is becoming a new trend. Therefore, in the UK alone, or rather in the London Tech City startup park, there have been many e-commerce startup projects in the past two years…

If we expand to the entire European continent, almost every country has many startup teams joining the e-commerce industry, and the methods they adopt can be said to be diverse.

Therefore, the e-commerce industry is also facing increasingly fierce competition. Of course, Barron also knows that many big brands have not yet started to develop their own channel e-commerce business. When that time comes, the competition will be white-hot.

In addition, speaking of Costco, earlier this year, on October 1st, which is also China’s National Day, Costco’s first store in China, the Costco flagship store located in the magic city, officially opened.

The grand occasion of the opening of the Costco magic city store that day can be said to be impressive.

The location of the Costco magic city store is not in the city center of the magic city, but it is not considered a suburb either. The transportation is very convenient, and most importantly, this Costco is surrounded by many international schools. Many children of foreign personnel in the magic city are studying nearby.

And there are also many students from mainland China among them. It is conceivable that the parents of these students will also be high-income earners, and if they are able to send their children here, they must have plans to let their children study abroad.

The consumption of these people can be said to be the group of people closest to being in line with the world, and their consumption power is very strong.

In fact, many people will ask relatives and friends abroad to purchase many goods from local Costco stores and bring them back to China, including health products, etc…

On the day of Costco’s opening, the area around its store even caused traffic jams…

Long queues formed at the entrance of the store, and as for the inside of the store, its level of busyness and crowding was comparable to the Spring Festival travel season!

Chapter 782: Transfer

In Barron’s previous life, in 2019, when the Costco store in Shanghai opened, he was in Shanghai at the time.

Although he didn’t join in the excitement, he knew how popular it was from friends and media reports.

Now that it opened nine years earlier, Barron had reminded Costco to be prepared.

Well, although it didn’t happen like in his previous life, where the inventory was bought out by swarms of customers in just half a day, forcing them to suspend business…

It only lasted three hours longer. At four o’clock in the afternoon, Costco informed Shanghai citizens via mass text message that it would suspend business for the day and asked them not to visit the store anymore.

It could be said that the scene on Costco’s opening day excited everyone, including Costco’s management.

But Barron understood that as a warehouse-style supermarket with a sales method different from local Chinese retailers, whether this situation could continue remained to be seen.

However, Costco itself implemented a membership system similar to Walmart’s Sam’s Club later on. Only Costco members could enter. In China, the annual fee for individual Costco members was 299 yuan—but before the opening, Costco Shanghai began attracting new members with a preferential price of 199 yuan for the year. So far, they have accumulated more than 50,000 members!

Therefore, it was clear that users who had already signed up for membership probably wouldn’t just come to shop once or twice for a novelty…

Costco is unlike other supermarkets, whose profits mainly come from products sold in the store. Costco’s profits mainly come from membership fees.

Therefore, the pricing of Costco supermarket products is basically the purchase price—the supermarket also stipulates that the gross profit of all sales items must be controlled between 10% and 14%. If it exceeds this, it must be reported to the CEO.

For example, if a T-shirt costs 10 yuan to purchase, it cannot be sold for more than 11.4 yuan.

This high cost-performance ratio has created a global membership renewal rate of over 87% for Costco supermarkets!

…

“Congratulations, William and Kate. Have you decided when to hold the wedding?”

On November 26th, Prince William and Kate held a formal engagement ceremony at St. James’s Palace in London.

This engagement ceremony was not held publicly. Only nobles who were close to the royal family and friends of both parties were invited. Only after the ceremony was completed would William and Kate take an engagement photo at the entrance of St. James’s Palace to announce it to the media.

Today, Kate was wearing a dark blue dress, and on her hand was a sapphire ring surrounded by small diamonds.

Barron knew that Prince William had proposed to Kate with this ring in hand while on vacation in Kenya.

And this ring was also of extraordinary significance, as it was the one worn by William’s mother, Princess Diana, when she got engaged…

“The wedding is planned for April next year…”

Hearing William’s words, Barron said with a smile:

“That will definitely attract a lot of attention. By the way, this ring is very beautiful. We all like the meaning it represents.”

Prince William’s gaze rested on Kate’s hand, and he said:

“This is very special to me. It’s my way of commemorating my mother… We are both very happy now.”

And Kate also looked at William affectionately:

“I love this ring, and I will take good care of it.”

…

The time was almost December, which was also the end of 2010.

At this time, the weather in London had turned cold.

However, after discussing it with Bonnie and the others, Barron planned to wait until after New Year’s Day before heading to Australia to spend the winter.

After all, earlier, they had spent a considerable amount of time sailing at sea and had lived in Kololi, West Africa, for a while.

Not only Barron, but also Bonnie, Tamaran Ecclestone, and the others all had their own work to deal with.

Yes, now Tamaran had already started to resume work while taking care of little William. In fact, before this, she had been paying attention to the production of “The Grand Tour” and was preparing to produce a new show.

Perhaps some people have already noticed that among Barron’s children, there are two “Williams,” namely his son William Hearst with Amanda Hearst, and his child William Cavendish with Tamaran Ecclestone.

Although it is not uncommon for Westerners to share a name for three generations, it is of course extremely rare for siblings to have the same name—but if cousins or distant cousins in a large family have the same name, it is possible.

Moreover, there won’t be a situation where it is difficult to distinguish them. After all, the two “Williams” probably won’t appear at the same time very often. Even so, William Hearst and William Cavendish can be distinguished by referring to them as William H and William C.

Or, they can each be given a nickname used by the family.

Like the well-known George Bush Senior and George Bush Junior, they are often referred to as Bush SR. (Senior) and Bush JR. (Junior). Senior and Junior are often used when elders and juniors in the family have the same name.

When Barron pulled open the gap in the curtains, he saw that the outside of the window in the early morning was covered with snow.

Last night, the snow wasn’t falling very heavily. It seemed that in the second half of the night, the snow hadn’t stopped and was getting heavier and heavier.

Wearing pajamas, looking at the snow-covered world outside from the warm room felt quite subtle.

Barron turned around and saw that Zhang Junning was sleeping soundly on the bed at this time—it was also because their learning last night was too intense.

Yesterday, because he went out to relax with William and the others, Barron didn’t return to The Holme in Regent’s Park, but stayed at this villa near Kensington Palace.

After Barron finished exercising and taking a shower, while having breakfast with Zhang Junning, who had already gotten up, Talulah Riley, dressed in professional attire, also arrived here.

Talulah Riley’s identity is no longer that of an actress—in fact, she had stopped acting in film and television dramas as early as last year and had returned to school again to study a short-term MBA course.

After all, in the original timeline, she later obtained a doctorate in quantum physics from Caltech, which also shows that she is definitely a “straight-A student”…

The reason why she was dressed in an OL outfit today was because during this period, Talulah Riley would serve as Zhang Junning’s deputy, and with her help, she would adapt to Barron’s assistant role.

After Talulah Riley was able to take on the work of this position, Zhang Junning’s position would also be transferred—she would be stationed in Asia to take over as CEO of Rich23 Capital.

Rich23 Capital’s headquarters are located in Singapore. Before this, this investment company was mainly responsible for Barron’s investments in China. However, after the establishment of Tianhe Capital, investment in certain industries would be more convenient for Tianhe Capital. Therefore, Rich23 would only hold partial shares in some Chinese companies, and its main business would also shift to Southeast Asia.

The initial head of Rich23 Capital was Chen Fuyang, but Chen Fuyang’s main focus was now on Avago Technologies.

Liu Chiping, who joined later, went to Penguin Company as in the original timeline and is now the president and executive director of Penguin Company.

Since Barron had not found a suitable person to take over, and Rich23 Capital had always been a shareholder with not much work, Chen Fuyang continued to serve as CEO concurrently.

Now that Barron had assessed and passed Zhang Junning, and his personal assistant position was not convenient for one person to hold for a long time, after the relationship between the two became closer, he would send her to Rich23 Capital to serve as CEO, responsible for the daily affairs of this investment company.

Chapter 783: Prosperous Earth

“I’m very pleased that you accepted this position, Mr. Miliband. I said before that if there’s anyone who can maximize the impact of this foundation, it’s you and no one else.”

Sitting across from Barron was a refined-looking, middle-aged man with black hair, who smiled upon hearing Barron’s words and said:

“I believe this is a challenge, but I will do my best.”

Before the Labour Party conference in September of this year, Brown, as he had promised, resigned from his position as leader of the Labour Party.

In fact, as early as May of this year, after the results of the British general election were announced, Brown, in order to facilitate a coalition government between the Labour Party and the Liberal Democrats, had promised to resign as party leader before the Labour Party conference in September.

However, the Conservative Party, led by Cameron, still successfully formed a coalition government with the Liberal Democrats.

Interestingly, at the Labour Party conference three months prior, the hottest candidates for the position of Labour Party leader were a pair of brothers, David Miliband and his younger brother Ed Miliband.

They had both previously held important positions in Brown’s cabinet, with David Miliband serving as the previous Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, and Ed Miliband as the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change.

As mentioned before, in the order of precedence of British cabinet members, after the most important Prime Minister and Chancellor of the Exchequer, the next is the Foreign Secretary, so the importance of David Miliband is evident.

At the time of the Labour Party leadership election, according to the betting companies’ rankings, David Miliband, the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, was the most likely to be elected, followed closely by his younger brother, Ed Miliband, the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change.

David Miliband was considered the best candidate for the position of Labour Party leader, but his brother Ed was seen as the Labour Party’s greatest hope.

But the result was unexpected, and in the end, David’s brother, Ed Miliband, won the victory and became the new Labour Party leader after Brown.

And sitting in front of Barron at this time was David Miliband, who had agreed to become the chairman and CEO of the Prosperous Earth Foundation supported by Barron.

The Prosperous Earth Foundation (PEF) is a non-governmental organization, a so-called NGO (Non-Governmental Organization). This foundation is mainly funded by Barron and some related enterprises, and its role is very broad, promoting and funding the development of environmental protection, social relief, medical and health care, education, culture, and other fields in Britain and overseas.

The reason why Barron was able to invite David Miliband, a heavyweight figure with considerable influence in British politics and globally, to join the Prosperous Earth Foundation (PEF) this time was because the initial PEF would receive as much as 500 million US dollars in funding, and Barron did not have specific requirements for the projects that this foundation would undertake. The only thing needed was for David Miliband to improve the foundation’s structure and give it a certain influence.

Just as Barron said, David Miliband can be said to be the most suitable candidate for the head of the Prosperous Earth Foundation.

In addition to the fact that he had previously served as the British Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, and had good personal relationships with many important figures in countries including Europe, the United States, Asia, Africa, and Latin America—for example, he had a very good relationship with the current US Secretary of State, former First Lady Hillary Clinton—he was also an important advisor to Brown, and also participated in the establishment of the Centre for European Reform. In 2001, when EU countries formulated the Laeken Declaration, calling for reforms to EU institutions, David Miliband was also one of the people involved in drafting the foreign policy section of the declaration.

In addition, after missing out on the position of Labour Party leader, David Miliband also hoped to have a platform where he could fully utilize his abilities, and at Barron’s invitation, he accepted this position.

In Barron’s previous life, David Miliband later became the president of the International Rescue Committee in 2013, and remained in this position until Barron’s rebirth, and his work was very outstanding—this was also one of the reasons why Barron insisted on inviting him to the Prosperous Earth Foundation.

“Your Grace, this is a draft of a plan I have developed for PEF. If there are no problems, I plan to use this as a basis for starting work.”

After David took a document out of his briefcase and handed it to him, Barron read it carefully, looked up at him and said:

“As I said to you before, Mr. Miliband, in the beginning, I will not interfere with your work. You can choose the way you think is most appropriate to carry it out…”

Although he said that, from the plan that Barron had just seen, it was clear that Miliband had first chosen to jump out of Britain and carry out the work of the Prosperous Earth Foundation in Asia and Africa. According to his idea, the PEF headquarters and a specialized research institution would be established in London, first conducting research on the relevant situations in West Africa, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia, and choosing to start in the areas of medical and health care and education.

Well, it must be said that David Miliband is very thoughtful—after all, Britain is currently governed by a Conservative Party coalition, and given David’s background, if he chose to start the Prosperous Earth Foundation’s business domestically in Britain, it would be easy to arouse the other party’s suspicion.

But now that he has skipped over Britain and started from regions such as West Africa, in addition to making it easier to establish the reputation of Prosperous Earth and penetrate influence, it also shows that he is an understanding person, has studied some of Barron’s industries, and knows how to do things to get more support from Barron…

Another thing worth mentioning is that David Miliband’s background is quite interesting. He was born in London in 1965 and is a descendant of Polish Jewish immigrants…

His father, Ralph Miliband, was a famous Marxist theorist, and his grandfather fought for the Soviet Red Army.

In addition, although he is Jewish, he does not belong to the Zionist branch. In March of this year, when he was still serving as Foreign Secretary, he expelled an Israeli diplomat stationed in Britain, causing strong dissatisfaction in that country.

That was because on January 20th of this year, Hamas leader Mahmoud al-Mabhouh was found dead in a hotel room in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

After investigation, Dubai police believed that agents of the Israeli intelligence agency “Mossad” forged other people’s passports and entered Dubai to carry out the assassination.

The forged passports were British, French, German, Irish, and Australian passports.

Afterwards, David Miliband read a statement in Parliament, stating that in this assassination incident, Israel needed to be held responsible for the misuse of 12 British passports, and therefore expelled an Israeli diplomat…

Chapter 784: Launching an Acquisition

As for Brown, he was appointed as the European Investment Bank’s special envoy to Asia, as he wished, and will be responsible for all European Investment Bank investment and cooperation projects in the Asian region—of course, at present, the vast majority of the European Investment Bank’s business is still in Europe. Although there are projects in Asia, they are not that many.

At the same time, Brown also received an appointment from the UN, becoming a special envoy for peninsula affairs—on March 26 of this year, a South Korean patrol ship exploded and sank in the western waters of the peninsula, with only 58 of the 104 officers and soldiers surviving.

On May 20, a multinational joint civilian-military investigation team released a report stating that the ship was likely sunk by a torpedo fired by a Northern submarine.

Because of this incident, the situation in the region has become tense again, and Brown has become a special envoy for peninsula affairs, hoping to communicate with all parties to prevent the situation from developing in a more dangerous direction.

Currently, Brown has left London and gone to Asia. Especially after he resigned from the position of leader of the Labour Party, his two current identities will be a good transition for him to seek the position of Chairman of the International Monetary Fund after the Kane sexual assault incident breaks out next year.

Of course, in essence, whether it is Brown or David Miliband, their relationship with Barron is more of a cooperative one. It is definitely impossible for them to completely obey him like Barron’s other company executives.

This is unavoidable. After all, although the Devonhill family has a history of hundreds of years, Barron’s situation is special. The family did not leave him many excellent talents with a certain degree of loyalty, and he needs to find them himself.

And even if heavyweight figures like Brown and David Miliband maintain considerable “respect” for Barron, how can they be considered loyal? It’s just a matter of mutual interests.

Moreover, even among the managers of the many companies that Barron currently controls, there is no guarantee that they do not harbor other thoughts.

For example, to date, at least one-third of the companies controlled by Barron have replaced their presidents or CEOs. These people either had other options, or their behavior exceeded Barron’s tolerance.

Just like Barron’s intelligence agency, there is a special team responsible for supervising some of the company executives he controls, especially important levers such as the DS Group and the West African Group. Barron needs to be clear about any changes in them, otherwise, if something goes wrong, it will be a big problem.

…

“We have officially contacted Motorola Mobility and made an offer to acquire them…”

Before Christmas, Barron learned this news during a phone call with Ivanka.

As early as October 25, Motorola officially completed its split into two companies, Motorola Solutions and Motorola Mobility, which were listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

It can be said that in the beginning, investors were quite optimistic about Motorola’s split.

This can be seen from the trend of the two stocks, which both rose on the day the two companies were listed on the New York Stock Exchange on October 25.

After all, whether from a business perspective, after the split, both parties can focus more on the development of their own businesses. In addition, before the split, Motorola also released some good operating data.

But the good times did not last long. In the last two months of this year, many mobile phone brands have launched new mobile phones, including smartphones from Apple, Honor Electronics, and Samsung, which have achieved good sales.

The Android phones launched by Motorola still have no special features. As for the Droid X, which is specially equipped with the GOS system, Motorola has invested a lot of expectations in it. As a result, the sales are very disappointing. It can be said that it is at the bottom of the recent new phone sales.

After all, even Google has clearly shown a downward trend in its investment in the GOS system.

This is easy to understand. In order to launch the GOS system, Google has invested a lot of resources and spent a lot of money, but except for the initial stage, when the GOS system could still show some competitiveness when facing the iOS system and the Android system, later on, it was even difficult to catch up with Microsoft’s Windows phone operating system.

This result is really unacceptable and extremely inconsistent with Google’s position in Internet technology companies.

Their “obsession” with the GOS system has also caused dissatisfaction among many investors—after all, reflected in the stock price, it can be said that the high investment and bleak situation of the GOS system directly lowered the price trend of Google’s stock.

In addition, with the end of the year approaching, Motorola Mobility released an earnings warning for the fourth quarter earlier, stating that revenue for the fourth quarter was lower than expected, which may lead to an expansion of losses.

Under the influence of these factors, Motorola Mobility’s stock price has been falling quite badly in recent trading days…

At this time, a syndicate composed of IC Capital and Global Industry Investment (GII) Fund contacted Motorola Mobility and prepared to make an acquisition offer, which aroused great interest from some investors.

Similarly, Motorola Mobility’s management did not react too strongly to this, but said—we can talk and see…

Of course, in the meantime, IC Capital and GII Fund have also quietly absorbed a certain amount of shares while Motorola Mobility’s stock price was falling. Currently, the combined shareholding of both parties is approximately 9%.

“Currently, Motorola Mobility’s market value is around 7 billion US dollars, and we have tentatively offered an acquisition price of 10 billion US dollars, which is a premium of nearly 43%…”

In Barron’s previous life, Google completed the acquisition of Motorola Mobility for a price of 12.8 billion US dollars, and their price at that time was a premium of up to 63% relative to Motorola Mobility.

However, because Motorola is now focusing too much on the GOS system, resulting in insufficient investment in Android phones, this has caused Motorola Mobility’s revenue to be much different from what it was in the original timeline.

Ultimately, this also led to Motorola Mobility’s market value being lower than it was at the time.

Therefore, the acquisition price of 10 billion US dollars offered by the syndicate of IC Capital and GII Fund on behalf of Ivanka is relatively a high premium.

Of course, the two parties still need to continue to contact and negotiate next. The final acquisition price of Motorola Mobility depends on whether other competitors will emerge in the middle and are willing to acquire Motorola Mobility at a higher premium than them.

Well, it’s hard to say. Maybe this time Google is ready to bet everything and spend a lot of money to buy Motorola Mobility. That’s not guaranteed.

Although, given Google’s current situation in the mobile phone operating system business, this approach is too reckless…

After all, if Google had the Android system like in the original timeline and had already occupied a considerable market share, such an acquisition would still make sense, but now…

Chapter 785: Pillars of Support

“Honey…”

“What is it, baby?”

“I… I’m pregnant.”

This was the message Ivanka finally delivered to Baron after he had discussed the acquisition of Motorola Mobility with her.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, I went to a reliable clinic for a check-up.”

“Well… well, that’s great, baby.”

The news was too sudden, but not unexpected. After all, Baron and Ivanka hadn’t been using any protection.

Moreover, the other women with Baron had been getting pregnant one after another. Relatively speaking, Ivanka had been with him for quite a while, so it was normal for her to be pregnant now.

“We… darling, I mean, what status will the child have when they come into this world?”

“Don’t worry, baby, we’ll give him enough love to make him the happiest child in the world…”

Baron said to Ivanka:

“I’ll go to America after New Year’s, and we’ll sort this out then, okay?”

“Okay, I’ll wait for you.”

Baron naturally understood Ivanka’s unspoken meaning. They had discussed the topic of having children several times before.

And although Ivanka hadn’t asked in detail, she knew more or less about the existence of Baron’s other children.

Now, Baron could feel that her mentality seemed to have changed somewhat after she was really pregnant.

Of course, it would be difficult to explain this clearly over the phone, but soon after New Year’s, Baron and his family would leave London and head to Australia for the winter as before.

He could take the opportunity to go to America and have a good talk with Ivanka about this matter.

…

As Christmas approached, Baron was once again in one of his villas, entertaining some children of different ages.

The oldest of these children were eighteen or nineteen, and the youngest were only fourteen or fifteen…

They were all orphans adopted globally by the Devonshire Charitable Foundation. After receiving basic education at Kolo International School, the most outstanding among them would receive further funding from Baron and be sent to the best high schools in England until they completed their university studies.

The earliest batch, the children who came to England with Rami, had all successfully entered university – of course, Rami was the most outstanding of them all. He had already completed his university courses and was now independently responsible for an investment fund within the DS Group.

At this moment, these children were having dinner with Baron, the Duke, who was also their benefactor. When they heard his encouraging words, their eyes were filled with gratitude and admiration.

As Baron had considered before, most of the managers of his many companies and projects were professional managers he had found through headhunting firms.

Perhaps some of those who had followed him earlier were more loyal, but that varied from person to person – often, loyalty and ability were difficult to find in one person.

Therefore, relatively speaking, these children around him were the guarantee for the continuation of his family and career in the future, or even further, the inheritors of his spirit and ideals.

Since being adopted, these orphans had received basic education at Kolo International School. Children with talent and excellent grades would be sent to England to continue their education under better conditions.

The other children would be arranged according to their areas of expertise. For example, some had already joined the Protector Military Services Company.

From the time they started at the international school, these people had been instilled with gratitude and admiration for Duke Baron. It could be said that their loyalty to Baron was the highest.

The children sitting beside Baron now had different appearances and skin colors, but because of their special experiences, they were completely like a family.

It was believed that in a few years, these people would successively enter Baron’s various industries and gradually play the role of pillars of support within them.

…

“We have sent people to negotiate with the Royal Ordnance Factory in Leeds, preparing to acquire this nearly bankrupt arms factory…”

Although before Baron’s rebirth, the impression was that the British military industry was not what it used to be, at this time, Britain was still frequently ranked second in the global arms sales list.

In particular, BAE Systems, the largest military company in Britain, was formed in 1999 by the merger of British Aerospace (BAE) and Marconi Electronic Systems. In 2000, after the merger, BAE Systems ranked third among the world’s 100 largest military companies.

In 2007, BAE Systems completed the largest acquisition in its history, acquiring Armor Holdings of America. Its armored vehicle business also doubled, making it the world’s largest manufacturer of ground weapons and equipment.

In 2008, BAE Systems surpassed Boeing of America with annual sales of 32.4 billion US dollars, becoming the “world’s largest arms company” of the year.

Therefore, in some military industries, Britain was still quite strong at this time.

As for the Royal Ordnance Factory in Britain, it was already very famous during World War I and World War II, having produced many classic firearms and artillery.

However, with the intensification of competition and the iteration of weapons and equipment, some arms factories were far from what they used to be – for example, the Royal Ordnance Factory in Leeds that they mentioned. Due to the shrinking sales, its production capacity had been reduced, and now it had reached the brink of bankruptcy.

The reason why Baron was interested in this arms factory was that although under the trend of refinement and modernization of the British army, the products of this arms factory were difficult to enter the military’s procurement, at least in the production of some firearms and ammunition, this arms factory was still sufficient.

According to their plan, after the acquisition was completed, only the basic personnel configuration would be retained in Leeds, and the corresponding equipment and technical personnel of this “Royal Ordnance Factory” would be moved to Kolo to establish a new factory there.

This would not only ensure that the Kolo Legion and the Protector Military Services Company could be self-sufficient in basic equipment such as bullets, shells, and grenades, but also continue to increase production and enter the arms market in West Africa and even Africa.

After all, although some of the firearms of this Royal Ordnance Factory were a bit “outdated,” at least there was no problem in imitating some classic gun types, such as the AK series rifles that were very popular in Africa…

Chapter 786: BAE Systems

Of course, comparatively speaking, Barron was naturally more interested in BAE Systems, after all, as the world’s second-largest military industrial company, its product range covers land, sea, and air weapon systems. It holds a leading position in the development and construction of fighter jets, tanks, other ground weapons, nuclear submarines, and aircraft carriers.

At the same time, it is also one of the main military suppliers for countries like England and the United States. BAE Systems’ well-known products include the Challenger 2 main battle tank, the Harrier series of short take-off and vertical landing fighter jets, the Lightning fighter jet, the Typhoon fighter jet, the Type 45 destroyer, the Astute-class nuclear submarine, and the Vanguard-class strategic nuclear submarine, which is currently England’s only strategic nuclear deterrent.

In addition, BAE Systems is also one of the main manufacturers of the Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carriers for England.

From this long list of heavyweight weaponry, one can see BAE Systems’ position in the English military industry.

Currently, BAE Systems is listed on the London Stock Exchange, with a market capitalization of around 9 billion pounds (equivalent to 13.95 billion US dollars).

It may seem that its market capitalization is not high, but wanting to control or even acquire this company is not easy—it can even be said to be very difficult, more difficult than all the companies Barron has acquired before.

After all, as one can imagine, as BAE Systems merged time and time again from the earliest Hawker Siddeley (Hawker Siddeley merged with Scottish Aviation in 1960 to form British Aerospace) to the current BAE Systems, coupled with subsequent mergers, the shares of BAE Systems are very dispersed…

Moreover, due to the special nature of BAE Systems’ industry, the identities of the company’s shareholders are also very unusual.

Because BAE Systems’ main revenue comes from military procurement orders from many countries, including England and the United States, its shareholders are often able to provide considerable assistance in these processes.

Therefore, Barron simply cannot completely acquire it like other companies, and even absolute control is impossible. At most, he can become the largest and most influential shareholder of this company, which requires careful planning to achieve.

This is destined to be a long-term process. He has already begun to arrange it, first by acquiring shares of BAE Systems through the secondary market.

“In addition, I need you to analyze the list of BAE Systems’ shareholders, first find the individuals or institutions most likely to sell shares in this company, and get as many shares as possible first.”

“The real holders of some of BAE Systems’ shares are not easy to find from public channels, but we will do our best…”

This is the reason why Barron needs a professional intelligence agency.

If he remembers correctly, Barron knows that BAE Systems’ market capitalization had reached 40 billion US dollars before he was reborn, so buying shares in this company, even if only from an economic point of view, is worthwhile…

…

Although the world had previously experienced an economic recession caused by the subprime mortgage crisis, this did not have a major impact on high-end department stores such as Harrods.

According to the performance report submitted to Barron by Harrods, from 2008 to the present, Harrods’ turnover has maintained a steady growth trend.

This time, accompanied by Julia Moore, Barron came to Harrods again.

Approaching Christmas, the interior of Harrods was also decorated accordingly, creating a more festive atmosphere.

After all, in Europe and the United States, the period around Christmas is the most important sales period of the year, and all businesses will do everything possible to welcome the shopping spree.

However, unlike before, Katherine did not appear in this department store—previously, Katherine served as a purchasing manager at Harrods, but after her engagement to Prince William, she officially resigned from her position at Harrods.

After all, Katherine will marry Prince William next year and become a member of the royal family, so it is certainly impossible to continue working in a commercial company.

“Two months ago, we held a limited-time exclusive membership event for Harrods in Shanghai. This event was very successful, which also shows the great consumption potential in Shanghai, China…”

The CEO of Harrods said to Barron:

“Next, we plan to hold similar events in Shanghai every year. If this situation can continue, then we can consider fixing this form of exclusive membership club.”

In Barron’s previous life, Harrods did not establish a fixed exclusive membership club in Shanghai until 2020.

However, what made Harrods interested in the Chinese market originated earlier.

“Although there are less than ten days before New Year’s Day, according to our statistics, this year’s consumption by Chinese customers in our Harrods store has increased by 125% year-on-year. This year’s consumption by Chinese tourists here is three times that of Americans!”

Barron heard the CEO excitedly say:

“These signals release the direction of future wealth flow, and China is one of the luxury goods markets with the most growth potential.”

In fact, in Barron’s previous life, after Harrods was acquired by the Gulf country’s sovereign wealth fund “Qatar Holding” in 2010, Harrods Group, the parent company of Harrods, launched an expansion plan. In that year, they told the media that the company was considering opening the world’s second Harrods department store in Shanghai, China.

It’s just that later, for various reasons, this plan was not implemented.

However, Barron understood the potential of the Chinese luxury goods market, so he strongly supported Harrods’ entry into the Chinese market.

It should be known that the SKP shopping mall in Beijing once became the shopping mall with the highest sales in the world, with a single-day peak sales exceeding 1 billion!

Therefore, facing such a huge market, it is definitely better to enter as early as possible, especially now that China’s purchasing power has begun to show…

“First of all, it is necessary to take trial actions, but I am also very optimistic about the growth rate of the Chinese market, so we can speed up. This is one of the most important markets in the world in the future. I also think that Harrods’ second store is a very wise choice in Shanghai.”

At present, it seems that the cooperation between Argos Retail Group and Tianhe Real Estate in Shanghai is very successful, and the continued popularity of Costco’s Shanghai store has also benefited the surrounding business districts.

Next, Harrods can also carry out this kind of cooperation with Tianhe Real Estate, so as to gain a firm foothold in Shanghai, the most economically dynamic city in China.

Chapter 787: Small Unmanned Aerial Vehicles

The annual Christmas arrived as scheduled. This year’s Christmas seemed no different from previous years.

People watched the Queen’s Christmas address on television, then went shopping with their families, enjoying the Christmas shopping carnival.

However, judging from the data, probably due to the influence of the economic situation, the proportion of online shopping in this year’s Christmas retail sales has increased significantly.

Yes, because of habit and the festive atmosphere, people still like to take their families to the shopping malls around them, but if some goods are cheaper to order online, then for those thrifty housewives, why not go to the mall to take a look at some shoes, hats, and daily necessities, and then place an order online?

Moreover, this year, the Argos retail group also offered extremely favorable discounts for e-commerce business, which also attracted more users to choose this novel shopping method.

E-commerce shopping is not new to many families in Europe and the United States. They used to have the habit of selecting goods through telephone and door-to-door product catalogs, but now they have simply changed this method to computers or mobile phones.

In the Holme mansion in Regent’s Park, in addition to using some colorful lights and decorations to create a more Christmas atmosphere, a Christmas tree much taller than the average standard stands in the hall of this mansion.

The children laughed and played, and whenever they passed by the Christmas tree, their eyes could not help but be attracted by the various beautiful gift boxes hanging on it.

Probably before going to bed tonight, they will check the stockings hanging on their bedside again, lest Santa Claus miss their share when delivering gifts tonight.

…

“Hello, Mr. Blot, my name is Laura Wong, this is my business card.”

“Cavendish Trust? Ms. Wong, are you here on behalf of the Duke of Devonshire?”

As the business development director of BAE Systems, Matthew Blot was no stranger to the name of the Cavendish Trust, after all, this trust is a major shareholder in many well-known companies.

Laura was not surprised by Matthew Blot’s reaction. She still wore a standard smile and said:

“Yes, as you can see, I am a representative of the Cavendish Trust. To get straight to the point, today I would like to talk to you about BAE Systems’ small unmanned aerial vehicle project…”

What Laura discussed with Matthew was BAE Systems’ small unmanned aerial vehicle project. The predecessor of this project was the Advanced Ceramics Research Institute, which BAE Systems acquired in North America in 2009 for 14.7 million US dollars.

At that time, BAE Systems claimed that this move could provide it with a series of mature and reliable products in the field of small, micro, and tactical unmanned aerial vehicles.

During this period, Matthew Blot spent most of his time in Arizona, USA, responsible for related projects.

But now, BAE Systems’ focus on unmanned aerial vehicles has begun to shift. They value the business of large unmanned aerial vehicle platforms and supporting equipment carried out in Britain more.

Currently, BAE Systems, including Qinetiq, Rolls-Royce, and GE Aviation, are conducting large unmanned aerial vehicle projects, in which BAE Systems has invested a lot of resources—this is the later British first high-tech stealth unmanned aerial vehicle, the Taranis unmanned aerial vehicle.

It’s just that this project is currently in the research and development stage, and it is expected to have its first test flight next year.

Therefore, under such circumstances, BAE Systems also intends to sell their small unmanned aerial vehicle project in North America to focus on core areas.

Currently, the Cavendish Trust’s acquisition of the Royal Ordnance Factory in Leeds has been confirmed, and the next step is to go through the process.

After that, Laura also began to acquire some of BAE Systems’ shares in the secondary market and from small shareholders through offshore companies controlled by the Cavendish Trust, according to Barron’s requirements.

At the same time, they also learned that BAE Systems intends to sell their small unmanned aerial vehicle project in North America, which is the main reason why Laura met with Matthew today.

“Indeed, I have heard such rumors, but Ms. Wong, after all, this transaction has not officially started, so as one of the people in charge of this project, it is not convenient for me to meet with you at this time…”

Although Matthew said so, Laura believed that since he had come here today and chose to meet with her, he must still have some ideas about this matter.

Of course, what Barron didn’t tell her was that in the original timeline, when BAE Systems decided to spin off and sell their small unmanned aerial vehicle project in North America, it was Matthew Blot in front of her who found investors, got the project, and led the company to later develop the “Silver Fox,” “Ray,” and “Coyote” three unmanned aerial vehicles.

“Today’s meeting has no other meaning, Mr. Blot, we will naturally acquire this project from BAE Systems through normal procedures…”

Laura said to Matthew:

“But after that, we need to find a suitable leader for this company. You know, we are a trust company and need professional people to manage the company.”

Matthew naturally opposed BAE Systems’ plan to sell the North American small unmanned aerial vehicle project.

But he also knew that the head office did not think they had too many advantages in the field of small unmanned aerial vehicles, and they were more concerned about large unmanned aerial vehicle projects—and Matthew was only a business development director, not a high-level figure, so he did not have much say in this matter.

This is also the main reason why he later left BAE Systems and found investors to take over the project.

Now that there is a ready-made option, and the other party also needs a professional to lead the development of the company after the acquisition, it is impossible for Matthew not to be tempted.

“Indeed, I am very interested in this project. It can be said that for more than a year before, most of my energy has been put on this project…”

He thought for a moment and said to the beautiful Chinese woman in front of him:

“I can’t make too many promises now, because you haven’t determined that you can win this project, but if that day really comes, I am very willing to join it.”

Getting this answer was enough for Laura now. She nodded and said to Matthew:

“I believe there will be results soon, Mr. Blot, I hope we can cooperate happily then.”

After the two shook hands and said goodbye, Laura immediately informed Barron of the result by phone.

“Then you can start talking to BAE about the acquisition…”

Barron said to Laura on the phone:

“If all goes well, I will go to the United States once after New Year’s Day, and I can go to that company to take a look then.”

Chapter 788: Welcome Banquet

“Dalula, this time I’m going to Singapore to take over a new position. If you need to know anything about the work in the future, you can contact me. Of course, you also need to pay attention to the relevant confidentiality regulations…”

Zhang Junning turned her gaze away from the clouds outside the window and said to Dalula Riley.

They were now aboard the Devonshire, high in the sky at an altitude of ten thousand meters.

After New Year’s Day, Barron left London with his family and entourage to travel to Australia.

Zhang Junning had been informed in advance that after arriving in Australia with the Duke, she would go to Singapore to take up the position of president of Rich23 Capital, and from then on she would also become a senior executive in the Devonshire system.

Taking advantage of the time when Barron had returned to the bedroom to rest, she once again explained to Dalula Riley, who was taking over her position, the things that were easy to overlook, and finally said this to her.

“Congratulations, Ning, and I am also very grateful for your guidance during this time.”

Looking at the slender, beautiful woman in front of her, Dalula expressed her feelings and said.

Based on a woman’s intuition, she knew that Zhang Junning, who was about to enter a management position, had a close relationship with her boss.

Of course, this was normal. After all, as a super-rich man with Barron’s status, his personal assistant could be said to need to be by his side almost all year round, and what needed to be dealt with was often not just work matters.

However, Dalula didn’t have any more thoughts about this other than a little envy.

After all, on the one hand, she herself had a closer relationship with Barron, and from the beginning she knew that this romantic Duke had more than the average number of women…

Moreover, whether it was Laura at the beginning or Zhang Junning now, they could be said to have set a very good example for Dalula, that is, as long as you do your current job with all your strength, then the future channels for advancement are very smooth.

Speaking of which, the Duke’s previous personal assistants were all of Chinese descent. She was his first white assistant. It seems that the rumors that the Duke was very interested in Chinese culture were indeed true - even in terms of women, it could be reflected.

Dalula Riley had also felt through this period of time that this position of personal assistant was not so easy to do. In addition to the pressure that needed to be borne, she also needed to stay energetic at all times.

Now that there was Zhang Junning, such a sufficiently excellent “predecessor”, who could give her guidance in many times, that was what Dalula couldn’t ask for.

Therefore, she also hoped to maintain a good personal relationship with the other party.

As for being jealous? Competition?

Only fools would do that. Now the two of them have no conflict of interest at all. On the contrary, maintaining a harmonious relationship is the best choice.

And this Duke has so many women, if you hold such extreme ideas and try to win his favor blindly, I am afraid that you will not be able to gain a foothold by his side at all.

…

“Sure enough, I still prefer the climate in Australia at this time…”

When the Devonshire landed in Melbourne, the Countess of Booth, who was beside Barron, couldn’t help but sigh.

Well, coming from the damp and cold London to the sunny Melbourne, this contrast is indeed obvious.

This time, the Earl of Booth. did not come with them. Although he told Barron that he still had some things to deal with in London recently, as far as he knew, this Earl had recently changed to a handsome personal male servant…

From Melbourne to Grace Lavender Manor, you need to transfer to a helicopter or yacht. Barron’s Devonshire Poseidon super yacht is already waiting here.

He let the other female relatives and children go to Tasmania first, while he and Bonnie and their two children, George and Richard, stayed here temporarily.

Although Barron’s trip was low-key enough, the plane’s landing still alarmed local dignitaries and celebrities in Melbourne.

They had just received an invitation from the Mayor of Melbourne, who was preparing to host a welcome dinner for Barron, the Duke of England, and also a super-rich man of immeasurable wealth, tomorrow night.

At that time, many political and business celebrities in Melbourne and the surrounding areas will attend this dinner.

After all, this is not the first year that Barron has come to Australia at this time. It has been like this for many years, and many of these people also hope to have contact with this Duke.

“Thank you very much for your invitation, Mr. Doyle.”

When Barron brought Bonnie and the two children to this dinner the next day, Melbourne Mayor Robert Doyle led many political and business celebrities to greet him at the door.

Robert Doyle can be said to have deep connections in Melbourne. He had met Barron when he first came to Melbourne.

And I believe that for many years to come, this “tumbler” will still be able to sit firmly in the position of Mayor of Melbourne.

“What two little gentlemen, this is George that I saw last year…”

After exchanging greetings with Barron, Robert Doyle said kindly to the two children standing beside Bonnie, looking well-behaved:

“You are Richard, right? You are already so tall. My granddaughter Jennifer is also here today. You children can play together later.”

Just like what Robert Doyle said, he would host a welcome dinner for Barron’s arrival every year before.

It’s just that Richard was too young before, and Barron didn’t bring him to this kind of occasion.

Speaking of which, this kind of dinner is nothing more than a social occasion. Bonnie took the two children to the women and children’s side, while Barron was constantly approached by people who took the initiative to chat.

Of course, those who can come here are all political and business celebrities with considerable influence in Melbourne or the surrounding areas. If Barron was just an English Duke, these people would not have to be so enthusiastic at all.

But in addition to owning a noble title, Barron is also a super-rich man, and his industries in Australia also involve energy, mining, communications, media, agriculture and animal husbandry, and other fields. It can be said that perhaps one or two sentences here can determine a cooperation of considerable scale.

Also, ordinary cooperation does not require Barron to speak in person.

After arriving at Grace Lavender Manor with Bonnie and the others, Barron did not stay there for too long…

On January 10, 2011, he returned to Melbourne again with his entourage, and from here, took the Devonshire to New York on the east coast of America.

Chapter 789: Solving the Problem

“Just yesterday, Ivanka TP was photographed with a man on Fifth Avenue in New York. The two appeared very intimate, and the man even kissed Ivanka on the cheek…”

“The man’s identity is not simple. He is Baron Cavendish, the Duke of Devonshire in England, and also the youngest Duke in England. In addition, Baron Cavendish is known for his accurate investment acumen and has been ranked among the top of the Forbes Global Rich List for many years. In last year’s Forbes ranking, he was ranked third, and it is said that his actual assets may be far more than that.”

“Ivanka comes from the TP family, and her father is a well-known real estate tycoon. Ivanka is now the chairman of IC Capital and is known as the most successful heiress. IC Capital mainly invests in the high-tech field, owns the well-known mobile phone operating system company Android, and holds 9% of Goldman Sachs Group’s shares, as well as a significant stake in Woaw Technology…”

Two days after Baron arrived in New York, a gossip newspaper published news of his scandal with Ivanka. The photo accompanying the report showed Baron and Ivanka holding hands on the street and him kissing her cheek…

This was not because he was too careless, but because after arriving in New York, Baron met with Ivanka. The two talked that night, discussed Ivanka’s pregnancy, and ultimately made this decision.

Before meeting Baron, Ivanka was relatively concerned about exposure, after all, she came from a family that was good at this kind of hype. This talent played a huge role in her father’s ability to rise from the brink of bankruptcy multiple times.

For example, whether she chose to be a model early on, or later served as a host on her father’s reality show, and often showed her presence in New York’s socialite circles, it was all with this purpose.

After all, even though Paris Hilton’s reputation isn’t great, it doesn’t affect the great success of her own brand, and this kind of fame plays a big role…

And how Kim Kardashian went from Paris’s “sidekick” to a queen of influence, benefiting her entire family…

These things show that this kind of fame, also known as “traffic” these days, is also an important resource that can be monetized.

But now it’s different. After Ivanka took over IC Capital, she can conservatively say that she can get 10% of the equity of this already very large investment company…

Of course, IC Capital’s investment direction is mainly in technology internet companies like Android, Woaw, and Twitter - from the behavior of many founders of these companies, it can be seen that the founder’s fame is very important for the company’s development…

However, these companies often want to shape the founder into a very individual “tech hero”, and will not get too involved in private emotional life.

Therefore, with her current status, Ivanka no longer needs the hype methods of socialites like Paris Hilton. In her private life, she has always been very low-key and rarely appears in the public eye.

In this case, now that Ivanka is pregnant and has Baron’s child, this matter can actually be handled in a low-key manner. In Europe and the United States, even if a woman has a child out of wedlock, she can completely claim that she had a child after falling in love at first sight, and finally choose to raise the child alone. This will instead shape her into a “strong and independent woman,” which is actually a very positive image.

But obviously, that’s not what Ivanka wants. She wants to stand with Baron more openly.

So what Baron needs to consider is how to meet Ivanka’s requirements outside of marriage - although the two are now closely tied together in terms of interests, at the same time, there must be a deep emotional connection between him and Ivanka…

Another thing Baron needs to consider is that he knows that after Obama’s two terms as president, Ivanka’s father is very likely to choose to run for president as he did in his previous life, and ultimately win!

You should know that compared to the original timeline, Ivanka, as a member of the TP family, has more resources and connections - not to mention the Super PAC “Fairness Vision” mainly funded by her IC Capital, its financial abundance is far from comparable to the original timeline.

In addition, IC Capital managed by Ivanka is also a major shareholder of Sinclair Group, a major investor in Twitter, and owns a considerable stake in Woaw. These media resources are extremely enviable!

With these considerations, if Ivanka has a child, it would be a better choice to publicly announce this matter to a certain extent, rather than keeping the identity of the child’s father a secret all the time, and it will be easier to be accepted in the future.

As for whether the child’s father is a British Duke will cause suspicion?

Don’t mention the complicated relationship between England and America, maybe this identity will make it easier to win the favor of Americans - otherwise, why are those candidates always keen on linking their origins to some British noble families during the American elections?

What’s more, in the original timeline, Ivanka’s husband was a pure Jew, and she even went to great lengths to join Judaism for this purpose, and in some later practices, it can be said that she was too good to Israel, which did not cause too much public resentment.

In comparison, Baron’s situation is much easier to accept.

Therefore, their final plan is to first show the intimate relationship between the two in front of the public, but not to admit or deny any related interviews, in short, they do not want to disclose their private life…

Then, after the child is born, even if Ivanka makes a statement after a while, “Still in love, but broke up peacefully due to problems in getting along, will treat each other like family…” this attitude can still be accepted by most people.

Of course, this level of consideration, because it involves the future direction of the country, Baron will not mention to Ivanka, which will instead make Ivanka more satisfied and accept this plan.

In addition, Baron also promised that after the child is born, in addition to still being one of the beneficiaries of the various trust funds established by Baron, just like his other children…

Ivanka herself will also receive three luxury homes in New York, Los Angeles, and London, as well as 5% of the equity of IC Capital - in this way, her shareholding in IC Capital will increase to 15%, of course, after she fully obtains the 10% equity incentive of IC Capital before.

And this 5% of IC Capital shares is not without conditions. There are relevant loyalty provisions in this agreement. In short, Baron being Ivanka’s only “partner” is a prerequisite.

You should know that both Baron and Ivanka understand that, given the potential of IC Capital, the value of this 5% equity is likely to exceed the assets owned by the entire TP family soon!

It can be said that what Baron gave to Ivanka immediately comforted her, who was not long pregnant, and also tied the two more closely together in terms of interests.

Chapter 790: Laser System

In fact, initially, Barron had also considered another option, which was to spin off Motorola’s mobile phone business from the company after IC Capital and GII Fund jointly acquired Motorola Mobility, and then transfer it to Ivanka.

But in the end, he chose the plan of giving Ivanka a 5% equity stake in IC Capital.

The reason is that IC Capital, managed by Ivanka herself, wholly owns Android Corporation. If she personally owned the Motorola mobile phone brand, not to mention the negative impact on the Android system among other mobile phone manufacturers, it would be human nature for her to favor Motorola phones to some extent in the development of the Android system due to personal interests.

Therefore, this choice would be unwise for the development of Android Corporation or Barron’s layout in the mobile smart terminal field.

Speaking of Motorola Mobility, the joint acquisition initiated by IC Capital and GII Fund has entered the stage of discussion by the other party’s board of directors.

The offer of 10 billion dollars is very tempting for Motorola Mobility.

In addition to IC Capital and GII Fund, after the news spread, there were also some companies interested in Motorola Mobility, and they were also coveting this company, including Microsoft – Microsoft was very interested in the large number of patents owned by Motorola Mobility, because these patents might become an important weapon for Microsoft to kill the Android system in the future.

Currently, in the field of smartphone operating systems other than the IOS system, the market share of the Microsoft Windows system is second only to the Android system.

Although the data shows that the difference between the two is relatively large, Microsoft, which has already achieved a monopoly on the PC side, will certainly not give up their possibilities in the mobile smart terminal operating system.

However, in terms of bidding for Motorola Mobility, in addition to needing to use stocks as the main method of payment, Microsoft’s bidding is not as “generous” as IC Capital’s.

It seems that they are probably pinning their hopes of blocking Android Corporation from obtaining Motorola Mobility’s patents on other avenues.

If the situation continues as it is, other companies, including Microsoft, may pose a threat to their acquisition of Motorola Mobility, but the threat is not too great.

After all, any effort needs to be based on being able to obtain sufficient benefits. Android Corporation now needs the patents owned by Motorola Mobility – which is also the main reason why Google would pay a 63% premium to acquire it in the original timeline.

As for other competitors, including companies like Microsoft that have ambitions in mobile phone operating systems and hope to prevent the development of the Android system; in addition, there are some mobile phone manufacturers…

They have a demand for these patents, but the demand is not as strong as that of Android Corporation; and for other mobile phone manufacturers, if they spend 10 billion to buy Motorola Mobility, perhaps only 30% or even a lower percentage of the assets are what they need most.

Therefore, apart from Android Corporation, it is difficult for others to come up with such a premium to acquire Motorola Mobility, which is the key to the matter.

The reason why Motorola Mobility’s board of directors needs to discuss it now, and has not directly given a reply to the acquisition by IC Capital and GII Fund, is also with the idea of seeing if any competitors can increase the price.

But it is feared that after they have given this price of 10 billion dollars, it will be difficult to find a buyer willing to offer a higher price. When Motorola Mobility sees this fact clearly, the transaction will be reached quickly.

After all, many people can see that the GOS system that Motorola Mobility placed its hopes on is unlikely to succeed, and their performance is gradually declining as a result. The recent slight increase in Motorola Mobility’s stock price is also due to the emergence of the premium acquisition offer from IC Capital and GII Fund.

If this transaction cannot be reached, then their stock price will definitely be immediately beaten back to its original form, and even fall further on this basis.

…

After the romance between Barron and Ivanka was exposed by the newspaper, it was already a very eye-catching big news.

It is said that the TP Building on Fifth Avenue in New York has seen the figures of gossip tabloid reporters gathered for several days in a row…

Well, in addition to this, although Barron and Ivanka can stay at home and not appear in public, Ivanka’s father…

He has been asked about this matter more than once during interviews…

“Her and that Duke? I don’t want to talk about this matter. Yes, Ivanka specifically told me that she doesn’t like her relationship receiving too much attention…”

He said this at a public event:

“My daughter is very excellent, I have never doubted this. She deserves anyone. I know that Barron not only has a good background, and he has achieved incredible results at such a young age, but I still have to say that he is a lucky dog. It’s no exaggeration to say that if Ivanka wasn’t my daughter, I would definitely pursue her!”

When Barron saw this interview, he was also a little speechless, and looking at Ivanka’s expression, it seemed that she was not too surprised that her father could say such a thing…

This is where the benefits of their Long Island estate are reflected. On the one hand, Barron is very low-key when he lives here, and this estate has no connection with him on the surface, so even if the American reporters are resourceful, they can only stake out at the Woolworth Building, which is where Barron’s penthouse in Manhattan is located…

Moreover, with Barron’s security strength, it can be said that all the entrances and exits of this estate are guarded by security personnel, and there are also special security teams patrolling the estate, which is not only very safe, but also ensures that no reporters can enter to snoop.

What is even more exaggerated is that in Barron’s mansion, there is also an anti-photography laser system set up for the airspace.

As everyone knows, some Western media even use helicopters to shoot in the air when “looking for news material” – many Hollywood celebrities’ mansions have encountered such things.

In Barron’s Long Island estate, there is an anti-photography laser system similar to the one Abramovich has on the “Eclipse” yacht.

When security personnel discover that a helicopter is spying and shooting at Barron’s estate, then this system will scan the direction of the helicopter in the air. Targeting the charge-coupled device of the camera on the helicopter – that is, the “eye” of the digital camera, the anti-spy system will emit a laser beam to it, so that the photos taken by the other party will be a bright light and cannot be imaged.

Chapter 791: Sentinel Corporation

“Welcome to Sentinel Corporation, Your Grace.”

After comforting Ivanka, Barron left New York and traveled aboard the Devonshire to Tucson, Arizona. The small drone project that Cavendish Trust had just purchased from BAE Systems was located here.

Arizona borders California to the west, close to the American West Coast. It also borders Mexico to the south—well, Arizona is one of the states that America seized from Mexico.

Greeting Barron here was Matthew Blott, who had already resigned from BAE Systems. After the acquisition, the small drone project would be renamed Sentinel Corporation, and Matthew Blott would serve as the CEO of Sentinel Corporation, responsible for leading the company in continuing to develop small drones.

It was clear that Matthew Blott had acted quickly. When Barron got out of the car, he saw that the company name had already been changed to Sentinel Corporation at the entrance of the building.

“We already have several good products, like this drone you see here, called ‘Coyote,’ which is a small drone we developed under commission from the U.S. Navy…”

Listening to Matthew’s introduction, Barron saw a small fixed-wing drone that looked a bit… rudimentary.

Of course, this impression came from comparing it to the drones he had seen in his previous life…

As Matthew explained, Barron learned that the “Coyote” drone was a single-use product.

The “Coyote” is 0.91 meters long, has a wingspan of 1.47 meters, and weighs 5.9 kilograms, including a maximum payload of 0.9 kilograms.

It is typically deployed from an aircraft at 20,000 feet in a manner similar to deploying sonar buoys. After separating from its packaging, it unfolds its wings and stabilizes its speed at 60 knots (111 kilometers per hour). Its goal is to cruise at 60 knots for one hour, and the battery life will increase by 50% if batteries are used.

Since last year, the “Coyote” has undergone several rounds of test flights and is now ready for mass production, providing various uses for the U.S. Navy and related agencies…

For example, the model used by the U.S. Navy will use an infrared or electro-optical sensor for intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance missions.

The model provided to the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is equipped with meteorological sensors and can be used for research on meteorological data such as hurricanes and tropical storms.

“This project was initially carried out by Advanced Ceramics Research Corporation. The initial model had many problems. After BAE Systems acquired it, we improved the drone’s technology, and it is now very mature and has entered the stage of delivery and application…”

Matthew said to Barron:

“Of course, we will continue to improve on the current basis to launch subsequent new drones. In addition, we are also carrying out other projects, some of which are also in cooperation with the U.S. military.”

Although cooperating with the U.S. military sounds very high-end, it is often the case that some military agencies put forward requirements and then entrust private companies to design and develop them.

However, being able to achieve such cooperation also shows that Sentinel Corporation’s technical strength is quite good.

In the field of drones, there are currently two main types: fixed-wing drones and rotary-wing drones.

Obviously, Sentinel Corporation is mainly engaged in the research of fixed-wing drones. As for rotary-wing drones—like DJI drones, which were very well-known in Barron’s previous life—they are all rotary-wing drones, developed from single-rotor drones similar to helicopters.

For rotary-wing drones, the most important thing is actually the software, that is, the drone’s flight control system, which requires complex algorithms to control the drone’s flight attitude and achieve multiple attitudes, including hovering.

Barron had already made arrangements in this field. As early as two years ago, Rich23 Capital had invested in the early DJI company, and they currently hold about 15% of DJI’s shares.

One of the more important tasks for Laura, who took over as CEO of Rich23 Capital this time, is to continue to participate in DJI’s future financing.

Rich23 Capital’s headquarters is located in Singapore. Although this is due to the previous person in charge, Chen Fuyang, needing to manage Avago Technologies in Singapore, the past heads of this investment company have all been Chinese. The headquarters is in Singapore, which is dominated by Chinese, and it has previously invested in many Chinese internet companies, including the BAT three giants, so it is relatively familiar with the Chinese market.

In addition, Digital Future Investment Company has also acquired a company in London that studies similar drones, called Aerospace Precision Engineering. They are cooperating with Cambridge University and are also conducting research on multi-rotor drones. The first-generation engineering prototype developed has undergone three modifications, and there has been great progress in the flight control system.

Of course, for small drones, in addition to the flight control system, the battery is also a very important component, especially rotary-wing drones, which need to be powered by batteries, and the weight of the battery cannot be too large, so that it can have a longer flight time…

If these achievements are to be commercially operated, then cost control of the drone is also an important part. Otherwise, even if Aerospace Precision Engineering’s multi-rotor drone can reach the level of DJI, it will not be competitive if the price is too high.

It should be known that in this regard, Chinese companies have great advantages, not only the issue of labor costs, but more importantly, China will be able to have a rich full industrial chain in future development, providing the most cost-effective components for the manufacture of these consumer electronic products—if this continues to develop, I am afraid that ten years later, in the whole world, except for Shenzhen, it will be basically impossible to see such a professional, diverse, and cost-effective electronic component market in other countries.

But Barron also understood that from the situation of the later Russia-Ukraine conflict, it can be seen that even in military conflicts, the importance of drones is unmatched.

It can be said that in front of suicide drones equipped with high-explosive bombs, traditional tanks are almost like targets. What is the cost of this drone, and what is the cost of a tank?

Therefore, even as a strategic investment, drones are a very important field, and it is worth Barron investing some resources in it.

“In addition to continuing to maintain research and development in North America, branch offices will also be established in England. Sentinel Corporation’s products can also try to cooperate with British military projects.”

Hearing Barron’s words, Matthew nodded and said:

“I have a lot of previous understanding of drone research and development in England. I believe that we will be able to find enough talents to join us then.”

In terms of drones, Sentinel Corporation’s positioning is mainly for military scientific research and other fields, while Aerospace Precision Engineering’s positioning is to open up the civilian market.

However, there will still be no problems with some technical cooperation between the two parties.

When Barron and his party left Arizona and arrived in Los Angeles, he was given the cold shoulder at Amanda Hearst’s estate.

Chapter 792: Mobile Advertising

Yes, the reason Barron was turned away by Amanda Hearst was naturally because of the reports in New York regarding his rumored affair with Ivanka.

In Amanda’s view, when she was with Barron, she made a significant sacrifice by not demanding that he publicly acknowledge their relationship.

But now, Barron was tacitly accepting the reports about Ivanka…

Women, especially socialites like Amanda and Ivanka who are evenly matched in every aspect, inevitably compare themselves to each other.

Whether it was family background, appearance, or even the sacrifices made for Barron, Amanda Hearst believed she was not inferior to Ivanka. She even had Barron’s child earlier than Ivanka. The current disparity between them naturally ignited her anger.

Well, on the bright side, it at least showed that Amanda still cared about his news…

Furthermore, the relationship that Barron had been trying to mend between them would require continued effort…

Of course, if Barron were to leave America now, Amanda’s relationship with him would likely plummet to freezing point. It was impossible for Barron not to understand this kind of female psychology.

Under these circumstances, Barron revised his itinerary and headed to Silicon Valley first.

“Woaw’s advertising revenue is second only to Google, surpassing even Yahoo. The fastest-growing segment is mobile advertising, and we are convinced that this is the most promising advertising market of the future…”

Although as a leader, Woaw’s CEO, Khalid Rivell, was slightly inferior to the founders of companies like Google or even Yahoo—after all, success is often not accidental, and it is even more difficult to lead a company into a phase of sustained development after success.

If Khalid Rivell possessed such qualities, he wouldn’t have been in a position to be acquired in the first place.

But Khalid Rivell’s advantage was that his execution was decent, and he was controllable enough.

If it were a highly individualistic entrepreneur like Zuckerberg, it wouldn’t be a good thing for Barron, especially if their strategic vision wasn’t up to par.

Now, all Barron needed to do was chart the course for him, and Khalid could execute it effectively, which was enough.

Of course, it was also because Khalid was able to accurately position himself that he was able to remain in the position of CEO of Woaw Technology…

Because Barron had started laying out plans for the mobile internet very early on, Woaw Technology completed the acquisition of mobile advertising network company AdMob before Google in early 2010, and integrated AdMob’s technology into Woaw’s advertising services.

In addition, besides launching the mobile app version of Woaw.com, Woaw also developed the popular mobile social application WoawChat, which greatly increased Woaw Technology’s mobile user base.

“Recently, regarding mobile social applications, besides moving their Google+ to mobile phones, Google also acquired a company called Whatsapp earlier. This company’s product is very similar to our WoawChat…”

Perhaps this was the inertia of history. Although Barron had specifically investigated when Woaw launched the WeChat-like mobile chat application WoawChat, and the Whatsapp that was wildly popular in his original timeline hadn’t appeared on the market…

But not long after, this application was developed…

Although it still used the name Whatsapp, its interface was somewhat different from the Whatsapp Barron had used in his previous life.

This was normal. After all, when WoawChat was first launched, Barron had drawn inspiration from chat applications like WeChat and Whatsapp from his previous life. Now that WoawChat was launched earlier and provided richer features from the beginning, it was only natural that Whatsapp in this timeline would draw inspiration from some of WoawChat’s new features.

It was also because WoawChat was so popular among smartphone users, and the mobile version of Google’s Google+ had a much lower user share compared to WoawChat. Therefore, after Whatsapp appeared, Google chose to acquire this application similar to WoawChat in order to compete with Woaw Technology in the mobile social field, which was their usual tactic.

It could be said that compared to Google’s old rival Yahoo, Woaw Technology was now even more feared.

Because of the launch of WoawChat, which achieved great success among smartphone users, and the rapid development of YouTube, which was acquired earlier, even though neither of these two currently contributed much profit to Woaw Technology—they were still very cautious about advertising on WoawChat, only trying to insert a small amount of advertising information into their friends’ status updates, and YouTube still needed Woaw Technology to inject capital—Woaw Technology’s market value had already exceeded 100 billion dollars!

After all, for internet companies, user scale is the greatest value.

In a global IT industry market value ranking list released at the end of last year, Apple ranked first with a market value of nearly 300 billion dollars, followed by Microsoft, IBM, and Oracle.

Google ranked fifth with a market value of nearly 150 billion dollars.

Woaw Technology, with a market value of 100 billion dollars, ranked ninth, ahead of Hewlett-Packard.

At the same time, Woaw Technology was one of only two companies in the top ten of this list whose headquarters were outside of America. The other company was Samsung Electronics, which ranked sixth.

However, although Woaw Technology’s headquarters were still in London, its international headquarters in Silicon Valley now handled most of the business—this was also related to the development trend of the internet industry. After all, in Silicon Valley, they could directly face the forefront of the internet, and as Woaw Technology’s business expanded, they could also find more relevant talents here.

And Woaw Technology intended to move its headquarters from London to Silicon Valley by the end of this year.

“In addition, we also believe that mobile payment is a very important need in the future. After increasing our stake in KlarnaPay, we will also prepare to integrate KlarnaPay’s NFC and QR code payment functions into WoawChat and the Woaw app. In addition, we are also helping KlarnaPay to cooperate with banks and credit card companies, including American Express and Citibank, to support more payment methods.”

KlarnaPay was a mobile payment application originally launched by a Swedish online payment company acquired by Caesar Fund’s Digital Future Investment Company.

Later, companies including Argos Retail Group, Woaw Technology, and Standard Chartered-Merrill Lynch all invested in this company. Currently, Woaw Technology holds approximately 22.5% of Klarna’s shares, making it the second-largest shareholder in Klarna after Digital Future.

Currently, KlarnaPay has partnered with multiple banks and credit card companies in North America, including Standard Chartered Bank, Citibank, and American Express. In the field of online payment, it has become the second most used payment method after Paypal.

Chapter 793: WWS Cloud Services

In fact, there wasn’t a significant technological gap in mobile payment between China and overseas countries.

So why did such a large gap emerge between the two a decade later?

Firstly, there’s the matter of demand. Mobile payment does offer the convenience of only needing a phone – something everyone carries anyway. However, in terms of paperless payment, Europe and America already had well-established credit card payment systems. From large shopping malls to small roadside shops, they had widely adopted card readers, making transactions very convenient. Even checks were readily accepted in many European and American cities.

People typically didn’t need to carry much cash; a single credit card sufficed.

In China, development in this area lagged slightly behind Europe and America. Only some shopping malls and specialty stores offered card payments. Ordinary shops and roadside stalls lacked such facilities.

Therefore, mobile payment was easier to promote in China.

Furthermore, the resistance was also a factor. Because Europe and America had comprehensive credit card and check systems, with entire supporting companies and institutions providing services, mobile payment faced opposition from these companies dependent on the credit card payment ecosystem.

When mobile payment wasn’t yet widespread, asking banks and credit card companies to choose between mobile payment and their traditional payment customers was a no-brainer.

This resulted in slow development and significant resistance to mobile payment in Europe and America.

Regardless, Barron knew that mobile payment would inevitably become a trend. In the future, many European and American countries would also see decent development in this area. While not as ubiquitous as in China, the growth in market share would be considerable.

Moreover, Barron himself had relevant resources. For example, Standard Chartered Bank, under his control through Standard Chartered-Merrill Lynch, and some American banks where he held shares and could exert influence, could all support KlarnaPay.

This was the main reason for KlarnaPay’s rapid growth in mobile payment market share, although the total volume of mobile payments still lagged far behind traditional credit card and check payments.

This was also due to the current penetration rate of touchscreen smartphones not being that high, and the popularization of mobile payment was not an overnight process. Even in China, it wasn’t until after 2015 in the original timeline that it could be considered relatively widespread. After that, Alipay and WeChat began heavily subsidizing offline payments to compete for the mobile payment market.

This not only accustomed Chinese people to using Alipay and WeChat for everyday offline spending, but also established the dominance of these two players in China’s mobile payment landscape.

Therefore, even in China, the fastest-growing market for mobile payment, it still took four years to popularize it. This was even more so in Europe and America, where older card payment habits were more deeply ingrained.

In this regard, they still had time, but now was the time to lay the groundwork.

However, another more pressing matter for Woaw was the launch of their cloud services.

The earliest cloud services were launched by Amazon, with AWS in 2006. Google launched its PaaS service, App Engine, in 2008, and Microsoft launched its cloud service, Azure, last year.

Globally, Amazon’s AWS held the vast majority of the cloud services market share, accounting for over half of all cloud services. However, with Google and Microsoft entering the market, fierce competition began.

In fact, Amazon and Microsoft differed in their cloud service businesses.

Amazon Cloud mainly focused on IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service), which is the infrastructure service of cloud computing.

This meant that Amazon needed to build data centers in various regions, purchase servers, storage, and other infrastructure, and then rent this computing power to customers. The essence of the IaaS business is renting out servers.

To achieve continuous business growth, they had to constantly purchase new servers and expand data center clusters, which is a very asset-heavy business with significant investment. When there are few competitors, it can still generate good profits, but once more competitors enter, profits will inevitably be diluted.

From the customer’s perspective, the motivation for using IaaS services is clear: to reduce costs, because renting is cheaper than buying.

Moreover, because computing power is universal, like electricity, it’s the same no matter where it comes from. Customers naturally choose the cheapest option.

This is why the cloud services market will primarily be dominated by giants competing with each other. After all, these internet giants themselves have cloud service needs, and they are better able to withstand the corresponding investment and enjoy economies of scale, allowing them to survive the future price wars.

Unlike Amazon, which mainly focuses on IaaS and will take a low-price route in the future, Microsoft, as a long-established software giant, initially entered cloud computing through PaaS (Platform as a Service).

PaaS means not only providing customers with cloud computing infrastructure, but also configuring operating systems, middleware, runtimes, and so on on top of the infrastructure, thereby building a software development platform. Customers can develop their own applications on the platform, focusing only on their business logic without worrying about the underlying layers.

In the future, in addition to PaaS, Microsoft is also vigorously developing SaaS, which is the often-mentioned “Software as a Service.” Customers don’t even need to develop their own applications; they can directly use software and data deployed in the cloud.

To put it simply, cloud computing vendors are like landlords renting out houses. IaaS is like a “shell” house with basic utilities, PaaS is like a fully furnished apartment, and SaaS is like a hotel-style apartment with everything included. The better the service provided, the higher the fees charged, of course.

For Woaw, Barron had already instructed them to establish a cloud computing research center and invest in the development of cloud technology before encountering Microsoft.

Their upcoming WWS (Woaw Web Services) will initially be used to meet the cloud service needs of themselves and other industries controlled by Barron.

For example, Woaw’s own user photo storage, YouTube’s video storage, and the relevant needs of Argos.com, DailyVedio, and O2 Telecom.

Of course, because Woaw doesn’t have as strong a software development foundation as Microsoft, WWS will initially choose Amazon AWS’s IaaS approach…

However, they will then try to cooperate with companies more skilled in software, such as IBM, Oracle, SAP, and Penguin Company, to improve their WWS services and transition to PaaS.

“Next, we will initially invest 5 billion US dollars to establish new cloud computing data centers in North America, Europe, and East Asia, respectively, preparing to double the number of our data centers within 5 years…”

Barron knew that the 5 billion US dollars that Khalid mentioned would only be Woaw’s first investment in cloud computing data centers, and subsequent investments would be added successively.

For example, Microsoft’s plan is to invest more than 15 billion US dollars in the purchase and construction of cloud computing data centers within five years…

Soon, the arms race among the giants in this field will become increasingly fierce.

Chapter 794: Tide

After returning to Los Angeles from Silicon Valley, Amanda Hearst’s mood seemed to have calmed down over the past couple of days, finally allowing Barron to step into her estate there once again.

“Honey, have you noticed that little William looks more and more like me…”

Barron held their son, playfully teasing him, a smile on his face as he spoke to Amanda.

To this, Amanda replied without any mercy:

“Then I will educate him well, and hope that he doesn’t grow up to be a philanderer like you!”

Hmm, seems like she’s still a bit angry…

However, the fact that he was allowed into the estate meant that Amanda’s attitude had softened somewhat—wonder if Lydia’s help had anything to do with it.

Lydia had secretly called Barron on the day he arrived in Silicon Valley, telling him that she would try her best to persuade Amanda…

In comparison, Lydia, Amanda’s cousin, was much more well-behaved.

After Barron spent some effort to properly “pacify” Amanda, it was time for him to return to Australia.

Of course, before returning, he definitely needed to spend some more time with Ivanka.

The Devonshire departed from Los Angeles and stopped in Chicago, Illinois, for two days—Ivanka’s team was negotiating the acquisition with Motorola Mobility’s headquarters located nearby.

Ivanka was still very career-minded, and the acquisition of Motorola Mobility was destined to be no easy task.

This wasn’t to say that buying the company was too difficult, but rather what would happen after the acquisition was completed…

Because they would then need to dismantle Motorola Mobility. Its patents and some hardware technology would go to Android Inc., while the broadband and set-top box businesses would be sold separately.

As for the remaining Motorola mobile phone business, they would decide whether to sell it off or keep it and operate it independently, depending on the situation…

Therefore, even if this negotiation could ultimately reach an agreement to acquire Motorola Mobility, it would probably take several months or even more than a year to complete these spin-offs.

…

“The situation in Tunisia is getting bigger and bigger. According to the information we have, the situation is trending towards spreading to other Arab countries. Egypt is likely to be the next target…”

After Barron returned to Grace Lavender Manor, Nigel Inceaster, Barron’s intelligence advisor who had traveled from London, and also the manager of his intelligence system, met with him there.

“Looks like the CIA is getting busy again…”

Barron said with a smile:

“I believe our MI6 is also playing a significant role in this.”

Nigel didn’t say anything to his words, but his expression said it all.

The current head of British MI6, Alex Younger, had a close relationship with Nigel, and it was clear that he had already confirmed some relevant information from him.

What they were talking about was the event later known as the “Arab Spring,” or rather, it was currently the initial period of this event.

Barron had a deep impression of the Arab Spring in his previous life, but he only saw it as a news event back then. However, his current status allowed him to access more inside information that was unknown to ordinary people.

The so-called Arab Spring was a revolutionary wave that swept through some Arab countries, but the first wave of this tide, the fuse that ignited the tide, had a bit of randomness.

This fuse occurred in Tunisia at the end of last year.

On December 17, 2010, in a small town in Tunisia, a street vendor named Mohamed Bouazizi, after having his stall and goods confiscated by local police, self-immolated in protest against the unfair treatment.

His suicide sparked sympathy and outrage among the Tunisian people, who took to the streets to demand the government step down—this was the famous Jasmine Revolution, and also the beginning of the Arab Spring.

From the perspective of others, the Jasmine Revolution quickly achieved success. On January 14 of this year, Tunisian President Ben Ali was forced to step down and flee to Saudi Arabia.

This news caused a sensation in the Arab world, giving people in many countries the idea of emulating the Tunisian people.

However, Barron knew that if the Jasmine Revolution had an element of randomness at the beginning, then it was clear that internal and external forces were involved later on.

How could the CIA’s meddling be missing from this?

In fact, the CIA had never stopped its activities in some Arab countries, and now it was taking advantage of the situation in Tunisia to start instigating change in some Arab countries.

Next, opposition elements in countries including Egypt, Yemen, Libya, and Syria would all be incited by the CIA…

“Just yesterday, Egypt broke out in demonstrations against President Mubarak… Protesters occupied Tahrir Square in Cairo, demanding Mubarak’s resignation.”

“Egypt?”

Barron looked at Nigel and said:

“Although according to this document you gave me, the CIA is involved in this activity in Egypt, I’m afraid this won’t be their main target…”

He pointed to a spot on the map in the document. Nigel looked at the place Barron was pointing to, his pupils contracting slightly:

“You mean…”

“Yes, Britain itself has a certain influence in Egypt, and Mubarak has always been regarded as ‘pro-American’. This time, the situation in Egypt can only be said to be the CIA taking advantage of the situation. Next, I’m afraid they will make this their main target, and may even personally intervene again…”

The place Barron was pointing to was Libya in North Africa.

He knew that Colonel Gaddafi would probably start the countdown, just like Saddam.

However, no matter what happens to these countries, it wouldn’t have much to do with Barron now. It was just that Nigel, as his intelligence chief, needed to consider the impact of these sudden events on Barron’s businesses.

“By the way, how’s Kolo doing?”

“Thomas has already started building momentum, but after our last warning to him, he is now acting more cautiously and will not have too much impact on Kolo’s development.”

What Nigel was talking about was Thomas Kabore, the leader of the Kolo Socialist Party.

After the establishment of the new government in Kolo, Jammeh Bong, who formed the Kolo People’s Party, became the first president of the new government in Kolo and won re-election.

However, there was less than a year and a half left in Jammeh Bong’s term. In April or May of next year, Kolo will hold another general election.

And Jammeh Bong will not participate in the next election. The Kolo People’s Party will nominate a new candidate…

Thomas Kabore, as Jammeh Bong’s biggest competitor in these two elections, next year will be his last chance.

Chapter 795: Operation S

According to the information Barron received, the most likely candidate to succeed current Kolo President Jameh Bongo from the Kolo People’s Party in the next general election is Soba Fleming, the current party whip of the People’s Party and Speaker of the Kolo Parliament.

Soba Fleming, unlike Jameh Bongo, did not originate from the Kolo Liberation Front. Prior to this, he was a professor at Kolo University, the only university in Kolo, and had consistently opposed the dictator Nassin Demba during the military government era.

After Jameh Bongo formed the Kolo People’s Party, most of the original members of the Kolo Liberation Front were military personnel. Therefore, they absorbed some of the more well-known democrats in Lottie at the time, and Soba Fleming was a relatively important member among them.

However, there is one problem: Soba Fleming is a few years older than Jameh Bongo, about the same age as Thomas Cabore. After all, Jameh Bongo became the president of Kolo at less than forty years old due to a successful coup, which is extremely young and a special case.

Therefore, if he competes with Soba Fleming in next year’s general election, Thomas Cabore has a much greater chance of winning compared to Jameh Bongo, who has a higher domestic reputation.

Speaking of which, Thomas Cabore is also a clever man. His Kolo Socialist Party, as the largest opposition party in Kolo, has been the target of external forces trying to win him over since the establishment of the new Kolo government. These include the French and the Americans…

But Thomas Cabore did not easily rely on these forces that seemed to offer him shortcuts just because of two election defeats. To be honest, this kind of behavior is very commendable in Africa.

After all, in most countries here, it is indeed very common to come to power through coups supported by external forces.

Therefore, Barron would be happy to see Thomas win the next election and become the president of Kolo.

Although Jameh Bongo is obedient, he has already served two terms. Even from the perspective of enabling Barron to better control Kolo, he does not want to see one dominant power.

Of course, the premise is that Thomas Cabore can also “stay true to his original aspiration.”

…

In fact, neither the Arab Spring nor the developments in Kolo are the main purpose of Nigel Inskter’s visit to Grace Lavender Manor this time…

“Your Grace, we have made a major breakthrough regarding ‘Operation S’…”

Hearing Nigel’s words, Barron asked with a serious expression:

“Have you found him?”

“Yes, he is already very hidden for ordinary people, but after more than a year of investigation, unless he is truly protected by a national-level intelligence agency, it is impossible to have no results…”

Nigel took out a document from his briefcase and handed it to Barron, continuing:

“We have locked down his location and have a special team monitoring him. Do you need us to bring him back now?”

“For now, let’s conduct strict ‘protection’. Unless there is an emergency… um, report his movements to us at any time.”

Nigel would naturally carry out Barron’s instructions seriously. Although he didn’t know why this Duke was so interested in the other party, in his opinion, what the other party had created, although a bit interesting, didn’t seem to be worth the Duke spending so much effort to investigate…

However, Nigel never acts arbitrarily when it comes to things he doesn’t understand. There have been cases before where Barron paid attention to things that he didn’t think were that important at the time, but the final results showed that this Duke with extraordinary insight was indeed always on the right path.

Barron then turned his attention to the information in his hand. One of the photos showed a middle-aged white man—is this the mysterious Mr. Satoshi Nakamoto? It seems that the widely circulated photo of the Japanese-looking “Satoshi Nakamoto” that he saw in his previous life was indeed a case of misinformation.

Yes, the so-called “Operation S” that Barron asked Nigel to carry out was to find out the real identity of “Satoshi Nakamoto.”

The one who created BitC and pioneered the blockchain era.

In his previous life, BitC had evolved from a small circle “game” to a symbol of technology and a crazy investment product. Of course, even before Barron’s rebirth, although more and more people accepted BitC, there were still more people who called it a “scam,” even though companies including Tesla, Apple, and Goldman Sachs had joined the BitC investment, and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) had approved the issuance of BitC ETF products from investment companies including BlackRock and Grayscale, and even some countries had officially made BitC their legal currency…

And at that time, the price of BitC had risen from the earliest recognized transaction of 10,000 BitC for 2 pizzas to a maximum price of over 73,700 U.S. dollars per BitC before Barron’s rebirth!

But from beginning to end, the founder of BitC, Satoshi Nakamoto, was shrouded in mystery, and no one ever knew who he was—except for a certain “Aussie Satoshi” who claimed to be “Satoshi Nakamoto” but never produced convincing evidence…

On November 1, 2008, an inconspicuous post appeared on a cryptography mailing list. The post’s remarks were very bold: “I am developing a new electronic cash system that is completely peer-to-peer and does not require the intervention of any third party.”

The post was signed Satoshi Nakamoto—this was also the first time the name Satoshi Nakamoto appeared on the relevant network.

After that, Satoshi Nakamoto published the paper “Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System,” which is also the BitC white paper.

In the early morning of January 4, 2009, on a small server in Helsinki, Finland, Satoshi Nakamoto mined the first block of BitC—the genesis block—and received a reward of 50 BitC.

He wrote the following sentence on the block: “The Times 03 Jan 2009 Chancellor on brink of second bailout for banks.”

This was the headline on the front page of The Times that day.

From the release of the BitC white paper, Barron gave Nigel a task: to find this Mr. “Satoshi Nakamoto.” Within the intelligence agency led by Nigel, this operation was named “Operation S.”

Chapter 796: Satoshi Nakamoto

In Barron’s previous life, many people believed that “Satoshi Nakamoto” was Japanese. Even the information Barron saw on “Satoshi Nakamoto’s” encyclopedia at the time definitively stated that he was Japanese, and the most widely circulated “Satoshi Nakamoto photo” on the internet was that of a disheveled, middle-aged Japanese man…

However, the person in the photo was named Dorian Nakamoto, born in 1949, a Japanese-American. He graduated from California State Polytechnic University with a bachelor’s degree in physics and had worked for the American military. This background led many to believe that he fit the image of “Satoshi Nakamoto.”

It was later proven, however, that Dorian Nakamoto was not the “Satoshi Nakamoto.”

Speaking of which, the idea that “Satoshi Nakamoto” was Japanese was supported by several pieces of evidence…

Besides the fact that the name Satoshi Nakamoto he used online was a Japanese name, the personal profile he registered on P2PFoundation in 2008 stated that he was born on April 5, 1975, resided in Japan, and was male…

In addition, the website bitcoin.org, which he registered on August 18, 2008, initially used a Japanese anonymous registration service provider, and the server was hosted on a Japanese ISP, an internet service provider…

Perhaps for this reason, Japan also developed relatively quickly in the field of cryptocurrency later on and maintained an open attitude towards it.

Initially, the “S Action” intelligence team also thought so.

But later, their experts analyzed the content of Satoshi Nakamoto’s posts online. From 2008 to 2009, Satoshi Nakamoto appeared on the Cryptography mailing list, the Sorceforge development platform, the P2P Foundation website, and the Bitcointalk forum. His statements were analyzed from multiple perspectives, including linguistics and cryptography.

The intelligence team ultimately concluded that Satoshi Nakamoto was likely born in England or received his native language education in British English from a young age.

Besides the fact that a quote left by Satoshi Nakamoto in the genesis block was from a headline in the British newspaper The Times, he never used Japanese in any of his messages, but rather skillfully used English—especially in his statements on Bitcointalk, where many British English usages appeared.

For example, in a message from Satoshi Nakamoto on May 5, 2010, there was:

“Sorry to be a wet blanket, But, writing a description of Bitcoin for general audiences is bloody hard.”

The phrase “bloody hard” is a very typical British English usage.

Another example is from his message on August 27, 2010:

“As a thought experiment, imagine there was a base metal as scarce as gold but with the following properties…”

The word “colour” in “boring grey in colour” has a “u” in British English, but not in American English.

In addition, analysts also believed that Satoshi Nakamoto himself was likely located in North America. Because, according to the time he posted on various websites, only within the American time zone, applying his posting frequency, his active time was all between 9 a.m. and 11 p.m., which perfectly matched the active time of a normal person!

Of course, judging from Satoshi Nakamoto’s actions, the many contradictions may have been intentional counter-reconnaissance measures, releasing smoke screens.

However, in the end, the intelligence team’s hackers successfully penetrated all the proxy servers set up by Satoshi Nakamoto through technical means and found his real internet address—thereby confirming that he was indeed located within the United States.

After locking down his real identity, Barron obtained this detailed information about Satoshi Nakamoto himself.

It revealed that he lived in England before graduating from university, then went to the United States to obtain a master’s degree in finance. He entered Wall Street, worked at several banks, and was once stationed in Japan for two years—knowing a little Japanese, which could explain why he used the Japanese name “Satoshi Nakamoto” to publish information online.

The reason Barron specifically sent people to find “Satoshi Nakamoto” himself was, of course, not just to satisfy his own curiosity.

In his previous life, on April 23, 2011, Satoshi Nakamoto sent a final email to a developer, leaving this sentence:

“I’ve moved on to other things and Gavin and others will be in good hands to take care of Bitcoin.”

Since then, he disappeared without a trace.

Until BitC (Bitcoin) became successful, was understood by more and more people, and its price repeatedly broke new highs, astonishing people, countless people couldn’t help but think, where did Satoshi Nakamoto ultimately go, who exactly was he?

Barron sent people to monitor Satoshi Nakamoto, also wanting to know why he chose to disappear from that time on. Was it because he contracted a serious illness, or died in an accident, or, as some conspiracy theories said, was BitC itself a scam created behind the scenes by the American side, or by some large capital?

It should be known that this kind of conspiracy theory was very popular later on.

Some even believed that BitC was not created by Satoshi Nakamoto alone, but by a team.

For example, some started with Satoshi Nakamoto’s name, “Satoshi Nakamoto,” believing that it might have the meaning of “Central Intelligence Agency” in Japanese…

Or splitting it up, believing that the name represented that BitC was a project jointly developed by four companies: Samsung, Toshiba, Nakamichi, and Motorola.

Of course, this kind of speculation seems very reasonable, but it is actually very far-fetched.

After all, BitC’s success actually has a great deal of randomness. Even the blockchain technology represented by BitC—blockchain was later considered one of the four pillars of the “Fourth Technological Revolution” alongside artificial intelligence, big data, and cloud computing—in fact, even with the hardware conditions of today, or even ten years later, the application scenarios that can be realized are not many.

For a long time after its birth, BitC actually did not enter the mainstream view. Even the total value of all Coins, including BitC and Ethereum, was far less than other traditional financial investment products. It was not until nearly ten years after BitC’s birth that mainstream institutions began to try to intervene in this market…

To be honest, judging from the past of European and American government agencies or large capital, to say that they would spend more than ten years to slowly promote a so-called “financial scam,” Barron, from his current perspective of being in contact with what can be considered the top echelons of Europe and America, simply would not believe it.

In Barron’s view, it is precisely because of BitC’s “non-governmental” and “libertarian” attributes, and the disappearance of Satoshi Nakamoto, the founder who is said to own more than 1.1 million BitC, that BitC attracted many technicians and was ultimately widely accepted.

And the reason why Barron would actively look for Satoshi Nakamoto, in addition to wanting to solve the doubts of his previous life, was also to confirm that Satoshi Nakamoto, and those BitC he controlled, would not have a negative impact on the development of BitC—at least before BitC’s size reached a considerable scale, it was necessary to ensure that those 1.1 million BitC were in a “frozen” state.

After all, the total amount of BitC is only 21 million, and the annual production is halved each time…

Uh, actually, maybe Satoshi Nakamoto doesn’t have 1.1 million BitC in his hands now, because in the early days of BitC’s launch in 2009, Barron had already arranged for people to participate in BitC mining.

Affected by this, under the premise that the daily BitC production is constant, what Satoshi Nakamoto himself can mine will naturally decrease accordingly.

Chapter 797: Koluo’s Preparations

As everyone knows, BitC, or rather blockchain, has several key characteristics: decentralization, traceability, and anonymity.

Decentralization means that information in the blockchain is not stored centrally like traditional centralized data, but rather all participating members can record it completely, making the data tamper-proof.

For example, a user’s bank account information is stored on the bank’s servers. In fact, the bank has the authority to unilaterally modify your account information.

But when using the decentralized storage of blockchain, each user can keep accounts, and if a single storage is tampered with, it can be immediately detected during “reconciliation.”

This is why blockchain technology is said to be too advanced for the current level of hardware…

Because, not to mention some of the information that needs to be recorded using blockchain technology, even just BitC’s various transfers and user account information, as time increases, it will be impossible for ordinary users’ computers to store it. With the accumulation of time, it will be increasingly massive data, occupying a considerable amount of storage space.

Therefore, after discovering this problem, many blockchain projects have had to settle for second best, allowing some larger institutions or companies to participate. Not every user stores the information, but rather some “nodes” with strength complete the information storage, and these institutions or companies acting as “nodes” can receive rewards for bookkeeping, which is a portion of Coin…

In addition, the account status of all BitC accounts, including transaction records, is publicly available.

In Barron’s previous life, after Satoshi Nakamoto disappeared and BitC had gained considerable recognition and had a relatively high value, many people found accounts holding large amounts of BitC through queries (these accounts are often called whales). Some of these accounts were created very early and had not been used for transfer transactions, and were believed to be owned by BitC’s founder, Satoshi Nakamoto.

These accounts, after Satoshi Nakamoto “disappeared,” almost never transferred assets again, until before Barron was reborn.

One can imagine how many people around the world were monitoring these accounts at that time—after all, these accounts held a large amount of BitC, and once sold, it would naturally cause extreme volatility in BitC’s price.

It was also because these accounts were almost all “sealed up” and never used again that many people suspected that Satoshi Nakamoto might have passed away…

After all, with BitC’s price at $70,000 per coin, 1.1 million BitC would be worth $77 billion. Anyone who owns such a large fortune would probably find it hard to say they wouldn’t touch it—even if they were afraid that selling too much would cause BitC to crash, with BitC’s extremely high daily trading volume later on, taking out a portion to sell would not have a significant impact…

Now, Barron also has the opportunity to solve this mystery. What exactly happened that made Satoshi Nakamoto suddenly ignore BitC after creating such a magical thing?

Barron also has other purposes for this action.

For example, to make Koluo one of the global blockchain, or more specifically, the center of digital currency…

If only from a numerical point of view, even when BitC’s price is at its highest in the future, calculated according to its total amount of 21 million coins, its total market value will be less than $1.5 trillion (not to mention that at that time there will be many that have not been mined, and a large number of BitC will be permanently “sealed” due to early holders not valuing them and losing their private keys), while the total market value of gold exceeds $7.5 trillion.

Therefore, the difference between the two is still huge…

However, surrounding these Coins, including BitC, the surrounding industries, including mining machines, related exchanges (in addition to spot, there are also derivative contracts and other transactions), as well as the research and development and investment of various emerging projects, the scale of all the industries involved is still very considerable.

And not only in China, even in regions where policies in this area are not so strict, regulation is always present—for example, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is constantly issuing various fines to many related projects.

Therefore, if Koluo can be relatively friendly to these projects in this regard, then it is still very likely to get a considerable share of the entire industry’s pie.

Just like in the future, after China tightens relevant regulations, a large number of projects will go overseas to Singapore, Dubai, and other regions with relatively friendly policies in this area.

The reason why Barron initially chose Koluo as one of his “bases,” in addition to the “fate” of the Protector Military Services Corporation, is that Koluo does have a good geographical location in West Africa. It has Lottie Port, the best port in West Africa, and its land area and population are not ranked among the top in West Africa, or even Africa, and it is not too eye-catching…

Barron’s original plan for Koluo was mainly in two aspects: trade transshipment and finance. Later, after offshore oil fields were discovered here, there were also energy-related industries…

But given the situation in Africa, financial aspects are limited by the instability of many countries, making it possible for Koluo to become one of the financial centers in West Africa, and even Africa.

Given Koluo’s situation, it would be good to reach this step.

Don’t think that India seems to be bad in every way. That’s because India is compared to China, and the “excellent student” highlights the “poor student.”

But how does India compare to Africa…

Why does the West give India so much help in many cases, and even China’s situation can only be envied in comparison?

It is simply hoped that India’s vast market can develop, and with a population scale comparable to China’s, as long as it can reach half of China’s GDP, it can also bring a huge market that is enough to be coveted.

As for why they chose India among developing countries instead of Africa?

It’s very simple. Compared to China, India is beaten in all aspects, but compared to other developing countries in the world, India is still the most promising…

Therefore, located in such a “uniquely blessed” region, it is too difficult for Koluo to become a global financial center like Hong Kong or Singapore. Barron can only let it take a different path and increase its investment in blockchain.

This can also be regarded as Barron’s advance layout for the future. In May of last year, the famous incident of 10,000 BitC buying two pizzas had just happened—it will take until 2013 for BitC to initially show its wealth effect and have a certain trading volume, and it will be even later for blockchain to be valued on a larger scale.

Before that, Koluo just needs to be prepared.

Chapter 798: Interest Rate Hike?

“In the past month of January, the UK’s inflation rate, calculated year-on-year, has risen to 4%…”

Daisy said to Barron on the phone:

“This figure has set a new high in more than two years. Judging from this, an interest rate hike is the most likely outcome.”

In December of last year, the UK’s inflation rate had already soared to 3.7%. Since then, many voices have suggested that the Bank of England is likely to make a decision to raise interest rates before spring arrives.

This includes Charles Bean, Deputy Governor of the Bank of England, who warned in an interview: Raising interest rates may become a necessity.

Andrew Sentance, an outgoing member of the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee, also holds the same view…

But at the same time, many people are worried about raising interest rates, believing that this drastic measure may directly kill the UK’s economy.

“So it seems that the economic recovery in Europe, including the UK, is not progressing as expected. In addition, the situation in Greece has not fundamentally changed due to previous aid. On the contrary, many countries, including Ireland and Spain, have also shown signs of a debt crisis…”

Barron paused here, remembering that Hungary had taken over the six-month rotating presidency of the European Union at the beginning of this year.

The then Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said at the time: “We must save the euro in the next six months.”

At the Davos World Economic Forum annual meeting held earlier, many people also expressed concern about this year’s economic situation…

He got up, walked to the window, looked at the beautiful scenery of lavender covering the mountains in the distance, and continued to say to Daisy:

“According to my prediction, in order to save the euro, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund will provide further large-scale assistance to some weak countries in the Eurozone. And in America, there are also signs that there are some problems with the fiscal deficit. So I think if the situation deteriorates further, investors will start looking for safe havens…”

“You mean gold?”

“Yes, I think in the short term, well, within four or five months, the price of gold will break through again, reaching above $1,500 per ounce, and may even continue to climb later.”

The current international gold price is around $1,300 per ounce. If it really exceeds $1,500 per ounce, it will be a historical high for the price of gold.

In fact, in the original timeline, just over three months later in May, the international gold price had already broken through $1,500 per ounce…

And in August, it reached a price of $1,900 per ounce!

Now, with the participation of Barron’s capital, it will inevitably be able to push up the international gold price faster—after that, as the economic situation in America improves, the price of gold will also rebound after reaching a historical high.

“It seems we need to make another plan for gold futures…”

“Yes, dear Daisy, I believe you have enough experience.”

…

This year’s Valentine’s Day, Barron and the others still spent it at Grace Lavender Manor…

Well, very lively.

In these turbulent times around the world, Barron is very satisfied with the quiet and peaceful life in the manor.

Of course, it would be even better if the relationships between these women could be more harmonious.

But there’s no way around it—even on Stamania Island, it’s not really completely isolated from the world. Everyone can not only see the daily newspapers delivered by helicopter every day, but also access the internet…

In other words, it’s not just Amanda Hearst who is very dissatisfied with the widely reported romance between Barron and Ivanka…

After Barron returned to Grace Lavender Manor, Tamaran directly expressed her dissatisfaction to Barron…

As for the others, Bonnie was cold to him for two days anyway.

In order to make up for the consequences of this incident, Barron worked very hard to learn some knowledge.

Even Barron at this time can’t completely ignore the feelings of these women—yes, if he just wanted to possess them, it would be much simpler; but if he further hopes that the relationship between them is harmonious, then many of the things he has to give are not just material things.

On February 15th, the first protests against the Gaddafi regime broke out in Libya, and quickly turned into riots the next day. The government forces clashed with the protesters, and the wave of protests began to spread across the country.

Through Nigel Ince’s intelligence, Barron also clearly knew that this time the Libyan opposition was supported by NATO. Intelligence organizations, led by the CIA, provided the Libyan opposition with intelligence, funds, and weapons in this conflict.

On February 20th, after several days of fighting, the Libyan opposition occupied Benghazi, and then successively occupied several towns including Bayda and Tobruk. The Libyan civil war broke out.

Two days later, the Arab League (AL) decided to suspend Libya’s participation in AL meetings. The conflict between the opposition and Gaddafi supporters escalated, and many countries, including China, began to evacuate their citizens from Libya.

At this time, Barron left Australia again. This time he came directly to Shanghai.

“How is it? Are you adapting to the work?”

In Shanghai, Barron met Zhang Junning, who had become the president of Rich23 Capital.

Of course, regarding her work during this period, Barron had received her reported emails in his mailbox—after all, she had been his personal assistant for so long, Zhang Junning knew Barron’s reading habits very well. Therefore, through these emails, Barron was very clear about her work.

But now that he saw her again, he still directly asked this question.

“It’s not bad. It’s very different from the work I did by your side before. I need to be more proactive in promoting some work. I will try to adapt, Your Grace.”

After arriving in Australia together on the Devonshire, Zhang Junning then went to Singapore to take over the work of Rich23 Capital.

In the shortest possible time, she became familiar with the situation of this investment company, and then took the team to Shenzhen to participate in the new round of financing of DJI company.

“It has now been determined that we will join this financing. We have valued DJI at $250 million. After this financing, we will slightly increase our stake in this company…”

In the original timeline, DJI did not start its first round of financing until 2012, but now the participation of Rich23 Capital can be said to have accelerated the development process of DJI to a certain extent.

Chapter 799: DeepMind

In fact, at this time, there was also a drone startup in America called 3DR, founded in 2009 by Chris Anderson and Jordi Muñoz.

Founder Chris was the editor-in-chief of the famous American technology magazine Wired, focusing on reporting on emerging technologies.

What truly sparked his strong interest and focus on the drone field was his five children. Once, Chris brought home a Lego drone kit, and when his five children were deeply immersed in the fun of operating the drone, he noticed some instability.

So, Chris, who was good at solving problems, created the drone online community DIY Drones.

He hoped that through this community, geeks interested in drones could communicate with each other and solve some of the problems faced in drone operation.

The other founder, Jordi, was the seventh user to register on DIY Drones. He had won a very good ranking in the 2008 Sparkfun AVC competition with his self-developed helicopter model, and was a highly skilled tech geek.

Jordi often shared photos, videos, and code of his DIY drones in the DIY Drones community.

This code looked very sophisticated and difficult, and Chris thought Jordi’s technology was quite good. So they messaged each other privately in the community, became familiar with each other, and eventually co-founded 3DR.

In the early days of 3DR, Jordi was responsible for hand-crafting and selling drones, while Chris continued to run his drone forum.

At that time, Chris had not yet left Wired magazine, but continued to serve as the editor-in-chief of Wired magazine. This situation lasted for three years, until 3DR received Series A funding.

Although 3DR still hadn’t launched a fully formed product at this time, because the capital market was optimistic about the prospects of drones and because the company was founded in America, by the end of 2012 in the original timeline, its number of employees had reached 350, and it completed Series A financing slightly earlier than DJI, with a valuation as high as 360 million US dollars. At that time, DJI, which had already launched several products before the Phantom 1, was valued at only 300 million US dollars in its Series A financing!

However, Barron still chose to invest in DJI and was not prepared to intervene in 3DR, because he knew that the products launched by 3DR later had many problems, but they blindly increased production, leading to product backlog and dragging down the company, forcing them to withdraw from the consumer drone market…

In fact, 3DR was also very fortunate to appear after DJI’s success, and when American capital needed to benchmark DJI and deploy in the drone industry, their expectations were artificially inflated.

If only from the perspective of technical strength, the current 3DR company does not have very leading technology. Instead of acquiring or investing in this company, Barron might as well invest these resources in Aerospace Precision Engineering, which he established in London.

After all, in the field of consumer drones, DJI has already set an example. They only need to follow in DJI’s footsteps and achieve better characteristics in some aspects, while controlling their production costs.

Even if Aerospace Precision Engineering finds it difficult to catch up with DJI’s drone products, they will be able to fill the gap when the European and American markets place some restrictions on DJI’s products in the future.

In addition, Barron also needs drone projects that he can control.

…

“Your Grace, Digital Future has just completed the acquisition of DeepMind. Next, it will expand its laboratory in London as planned to complete more projects…”

After Zhang Junning left, Talulah Riley came over and said to Barron.

DeepMind is a cutting-edge artificial intelligence company co-founded in 2010 by artificial intelligence programmer and neuroscientist Demis Hassabis and others.

This company, in Barron’s previous life, would be acquired by Google in 2014, becoming the most important part of Google’s artificial intelligence business, Google DeepMind. They combine the most advanced technologies of machine learning and systems neuroscience to build powerful general learning algorithms. The initial results are mainly applied to commercial fields such as simulation, e-commerce, and game development, and will gradually be applied to fields such as healthcare.

Since this company is so important, Barron naturally cannot leave it to Google. At the beginning of this year, he had already instructed Caesar Fund’s Digital Future Investment Company to discuss the acquisition with them.

Artificial intelligence has a very wide range of applications in the future, from intelligent driving to medical care, which are very important for Barron’s industries.

Now, it is still a relatively early period for the field of artificial intelligence. Baidu, the earliest Chinese company to invest in artificial intelligence, did not create a deep learning laboratory until 2013.

The reason why DeepMind was able to accept Digital Future’s acquisition, in addition to the fact that they have sufficient application resources to enable DeepMind’s research results to be applied in this regard, is also because Digital Future promised to continue to invest funds in DeepMind in the future. There is no doubt that the research of artificial intelligence is also a very money-burning thing. The computing power that needs to be stacked for this alone is not something that ordinary companies can handle.

Currently, in addition to DeepMind, which has just completed the acquisition, Barron has also established three artificial intelligence-related research centers in London, Silicon Valley, and Shanghai respectively. It can be said that he is not stingy with money in terms of investment in this area.

“Honey, are you busy?”

Just after reading the documents Talulah Riley brought over about DeepMind’s current projects, the door to his study was knocked, and Fan Bingbing stood at the door and asked.

“Wait a moment…”

Barron got up and said to Talulah:

“There is no need to adjust DeepMind’s projects for the time being. Artificial intelligence is still some distance away from large-scale applications, so the most important thing is to ‘cultivate’ those scholars and experts to give machines a higher level of intelligence.”

While Talulah silently noted Barron’s words, seeing the other party’s departing figure, she could not help but turn her gaze to Fan Bingbing, who was also looking at her…

Of course, she knew the other party’s identity. In addition to being a very well-known female star in China, she also had some fame in Hollywood.

At the same time, this boss of hers is in charge of some of his industries in China, especially in film and television investment.

Speaking of which, Fan Bingbing’s appearance is indeed to the extent that both the East and the West would admire.

Coming to Shanghai, Barron naturally lives in Cavendish Garden, which is the Yan Family Garden that he bought earlier and later underwent thorough renovation and decoration.

Fan Bingbing had just returned to Shanghai from Qingdao. The Oriental Movie Metropolis project has been officially determined to be located there, and Tianhe Oriental Movie Metropolis Group has signed a contract with Qingdao. As an important figure in Tianhe Film and Television Investment Company, Fan Bingbing also attended the signing ceremony that had just ended.

Chapter 800: Mentougou

It could be said that the announcement of the Oriental Movie Metropolis project caused a huge sensation throughout China.

After all, the total investment in this project would exceed 50 billion Chinese Yuan, making it the largest film and television investment project in China to date.

At the same time, the participation of Hollywood companies such as Marvel-MGM Studios and Blue Valley Capital also attracted widespread attention to the project—at this time, Chinese audiences welcomed Hollywood film and television works the most. Moreover, Marvel’s “Marvel Cinematic Universe” film series had already begun to become a global phenomenon.

And the 007 series of films owned by MGM Studios was also one of the most well-known Hollywood films to the Chinese people.

This time, the Qingdao side showed great sincerity in order to win the implementation of this project. In addition to completing the demolition and leveling of 16 plots of land with a total project area of 4 million square meters, the Qingdao side also agreed to provide some preferential tax subsidies for the studios within the future Oriental Movie Metropolis.

Of course, before that, the Oriental Movie Metropolis project also needed to show some sincerity—the original purpose of the Qingdao side in introducing this project was not only to obtain investment and development, but also to carry out activities that could expand Qingdao’s international reputation, including film festivals and cultural tourism projects related to the film and television industry.

This kind of reputation enhancement could itself bring more overseas investment and an increase in tourism revenue.

If the Oriental Movie Metropolis project could really achieve such an effect, the Qingdao side would naturally not be stingy with various support policies—they would give what they could give, and if the local area could not give it, they would also be willing to actively seek policy support from higher authorities.

This could achieve a win-win situation.

But if this project ultimately failed to achieve the expected results, their attitude would probably change accordingly.

This was not a difficult thing for the Oriental Movie Metropolis Group, because since they had decided to carry out such a project, they already had enough related resources as a guarantee.

After all, the shareholders of the Oriental Movie Metropolis Group also included Blue Valley Capital and Marvel-MGM Studios, which had a great influence in Hollywood.

For example, for the groundbreaking ceremony of the Oriental Movie Metropolis, which was scheduled to take place next month, Hollywood’s top stars, including Leonardo DiCaprio and Nicole Kidman, who had attended the groundbreaking ceremony of Wanda Movie Metropolis in the original timeline, would still come.

In addition, the actors who played members of the “Avengers,” such as Robert Downey Jr. and Scarlett Johansson, as well as other Hollywood stars who had close ties with Marvel-MGM Studios, would also gather in Qingdao.

Such a lineup had never been seen in China at this time.

Therefore, it could be said that the Oriental Movie Metropolis project had now gained enough attention from the Chinese media, and there were related reports appearing in the media almost every day.

Of course, some of these were reports they had arranged, but there was also no shortage of attention from literary and artistic media that yearned for Hollywood—after all, as everyone knew, the Chinese literary and artistic circles admired the West more than usual.

For example, a certain Asian-American actress with American citizenship, whose domestic popularity was no less than Fan Bingbing’s, and who was known as “Fairy Sister” in China, her mother took the initiative to contact Tianhe Film and Television, hoping to obtain a qualification for her to appear at the groundbreaking ceremony of the Oriental Movie Metropolis, so that she could appear on the same stage with those Hollywood stars…

…

“Hello, Mr. McCaleb, it’s a pleasure to meet you…”

“You’re the one who wants to buy my website?”

Jed McCaleb was a white man with brown curly hair. He looked at the young man sitting in front of him and asked.

Although he was called a young man, the other party actually looked a bit green. Jed thought he was not even twenty years old, so he was a little uncertain.

“Yes, sir, my name is Rami Sharkfa. I represent Matrix Capital and hope to acquire your Mt.Gox website. We think it’s very interesting…”

“But to be frank, Rami, our website is developing very well at present. Although Bitcoin is a new thing, we have occupied the vast majority of its trading share. Moreover, there are now other people contacting me, hoping to acquire Mt.Gox, and their offer is much higher than yours…”

Perhaps because the young man in front of him looked a little immature, and he was wearing casual clothes, which did not seem like someone with much business experience, Jed’s tone was not so polite.

If he hadn’t wanted to use other acquirers to increase the price of his website, he wouldn’t have planned to say too much to the other party today.

Sitting opposite Jed was Rami, who had previously been funded by Barron and was responsible for the Predator Fund in DS Capital. However, now he had a new position and became the head of this newly established investment company called Matrix Capital.

Matrix Capital was an investment company founded by Barron to invest in the blockchain industry. The reason for choosing Rami Sharkfa as the head of this company was not only to train him, but also because Rami was very young and had a very high IQ, which made it easier to communicate with this industry, which was currently dominated by young people.

At the same time, Rami also had sufficient experience in financial investment, which was conducive to the development of Matrix Capital in the early stage of the development of digital currency.

At this time, looking at Jed McCaleb in front of him, Rami’s mind also flashed some information about the other party.

Jed McCaleb was born into a single-parent family in Arkansas, USA, and was raised by his mother.

Jed was proficient in mathematics and science from an early age, and successfully entered UC Berkeley, which had trained more than 90 Nobel Prize winners, but he had a wide range of interests and lacked focus, and eventually chose to drop out and move to New York.

In New York, he co-founded the p2p file transfer commercial software eDonkey.

This software was a huge success, eventually leading the Recording Industry Association of America to sue them for infringement—this was somewhat similar to the founding team of Skype, who also started their business with P2P file transfer software and were also sued by the Recording Industry Association…

In the end, the lawsuit was settled with Jed and his partners paying 30 million US dollars and closing eDonkey.

But in any case, they still made millions of dollars in profit from this business.

Although a bit introverted, Jed was not ambiguous in making friends and had many romantic affairs…

In July 2010, in an accidental discharge of a firearm, Jed got one of his “girlfriends” pregnant, and the two decided to have the child.

Jed used his savings to buy a house with a swimming pool in upstate New York. During that time, he was addicted to a game called “The Far Wilds” all day long…

One day, Jed accidentally saw an article reporting on Bitcoin in the room and was immediately attracted—wasn’t this the vision of his founding eDonkey? Returning power to the individual…

But when he wanted to buy Bitcoin, he found that it was very inconvenient to buy Bitcoin on the existing websites.

So he built a trading website overnight, using a domain name he bought in 2007, mtgox.com…

Mt.Gox is an abbreviation for “Magic The Gathering Online eXchange,” which was then used to trade recharge cards for the role-playing game “Magic: The Gathering.”

However, in China, most people translate it as “Mentougou” Exchange based on its pronunciation…

On July 18, the first day of its official launch, Mt.Gox traded 20 Bitcoins, 5 cents each.

In less than a week, the daily transaction volume exceeded 100 US dollars.

Throughout July, due to Slashdot’s report, more and more computers joined the Bitcoin network, and Bitcoin’s founder Satoshi Nakamoto decided to increase the mining difficulty to ensure an average block time of 10 minutes.

For a time, the difficulty of Bitcoin mining increased by 300%. Many people found that their old computers could no longer mine Bitcoin and turned to buying Bitcoin—this attracted more users to Mt.Gox.

By the end of July, Mt.Gox had become the world’s largest Bitcoin exchange, with its trading volume once accounting for more than 70% of the global Bitcoin trading volume!

Chapter 801: Distributed Foundations

“I know that Tibanne Company from Japan also wants to buy your website, and their offer is even higher…”

Rami didn’t mind Jed’s attitude. He said leisurely:

“However, if I’m not mistaken, you probably didn’t mention some of Mt. Gox’s security vulnerabilities when you contacted this company, did you? It’s even very likely that Mt. Gox has already experienced coin theft…”

Hearing Rami’s words, Jed’s expression changed, but he still pretended to be calm and said:

“This is completely untrue. Mt. Gox’s operations are very normal and developing rapidly…”

“If that’s really the case, then you shouldn’t object to our kind reminder to Tibanne Company to pay attention to this possibility.”

Jed took a deep breath and suddenly asked:

“Did you do it?”

“No…”

Rami seemed to have heard something funny:

“That’s completely unnecessary, sir. If you understand the background of our Matrix Capital, then you should know that for this scale of investment, we don’t need to take legal risks to do such a thing at all… It’s just that basic background checks are still necessary before the acquisition, and it was at that time that we happened to discover this matter…”

In Barron’s previous life, the famous “Mt. Gox incident” was something that no one could avoid in BitC transactions, including BitC.

At that time, Mt. Gox was already the world’s largest BitC exchange, accounting for more than 80% of the global BitC transaction share. Then, in February 2014, Mt. Gox experienced withdrawal problems. After a period of time, Mt. Gox announced the suspension of all trading activities, and the Mt. Gox website only left a blank page.

According to a document circulating on the internet at the time, Mt. Gox lost nearly 850,000 BitCs in total, including 100,000 BitCs from the Mt. Gox platform itself, and 744,408 BitCs stolen by hackers over the years. The 850,000 BitCs accounted for 7% of the total circulation at that time—calculated at an average price of $400 per BitC at the time, this loss was about $470 million.

At that time, Mt. Gox had already been sold by Jed, and the owner at that time was Mark Karpelès, a BitC enthusiast from France.

On February 28, 2014, Mt. Gox filed for bankruptcy protection in Tokyo, and then on March 9, it filed for bankruptcy protection in the United States.

The remaining 200,000 BitCs frozen by Mt. Gox and other properties derived from them (later, various other Coins were forked through BitC and also had considerable value) had not yet finalized a compensation plan for Mt. Gox users when Barron was reborn in his previous life. These BitCs had also become a “Sword of Damocles” hanging over its currency price. After all, once the plan for the total amount of 200,000 BitCs was determined, it was very likely to be sold for compensation, which would inevitably have a huge impact on the market.

Back to Rami, although the “Mt. Gox incident” happened three years later, in fact, before Jed sold Mt. Gox, coin theft by hackers had already occurred. Before he sold Mt. Gox, about 80,000 BitCs had already been lost…

In fact, at this time, exchanges, including Mt. Gox, were privately founded. Compared with other financial systems, they were too small, and naturally, they did a mediocre job in terms of security protection…

Therefore, the theft of coins by hackers really happened frequently—even earlier than the outbreak of the “Mt. Gox incident,” in March and May 2012, hackers used security measure loopholes in the Bitcoinica exchange network server to launch two attacks, stealing 61,000 bitcoins, which ultimately led to Bitcoinica’s bankruptcy.

So, when Rami took out a document and told Jed that when they conducted security tests on the Mt. Gox website, technicians discovered many vulnerabilities on the website, and also found traces left by hackers in it—they could correspond one by one with the transfer records from Mt. Gox’s official wallet and these traces…

Under this circumstance, he finally persuaded the other party to sell Mt. Gox to Matrix Capital at a “reasonable” price, and Matrix Capital was willing to help him clean up the current “mess.”

It was also because of Mt. Gox’s current popularity among BitC enthusiasts that they decided to acquire this website instead of starting from scratch.

And Barron also hoped to avoid the “Mt. Gox incident” that later caused great harm to BitC.

After all, now Mt. Gox has only been stolen 80,000 BitCs, and at the current price of BitC, it only needs to take out a “small amount of money” to make up for this hole.

The reason why the Mt. Gox incident became bigger and bigger later was also because as time passed, the value of BitC changed dramatically, which made these losses difficult to make up for.

You should know that the 850,000 BitCs lost by Mt. Gox were worth $470 million in 2014, but ten years later, their highest value had reached nearly $60 billion!

For now, acquiring Mt. Gox is not something that Barron needs to personally intervene in in terms of the scale of funds.

But this is very important for future planning.

For the time being, Mt. Gox will not have much change. After the acquisition is completed, Mt. Gox’s headquarters will be moved to Kolobrita, and professional security teams will be established in London and Hong Kong, China, to eliminate website vulnerabilities and be responsible for preventing coin theft by hackers.

And later, Mt. Gox will also adopt the common practice of various exchanges later—storing most of the BitC assets in “cold wallets” that are physically isolated from the network, and only storing a small amount of BitC for daily circulation in “hot wallets” connected to the network, which can greatly increase its security.

Even if there is an occasional oversight and hackers invade, at most only a small amount of BitC and other assets in the hot wallet will be lost.

And in the future, they also plan to establish an “investor protection fund” through a part of the website’s surplus to protect users’ property—once a sudden risk occurs, the fund will be used to make advance payments to Mt. Gox users and protect their rights.

In addition to acquiring Mt. Gox, an organization called Distributed Foundations was also established very low-key in the capital of Kolobrita.

The BitCs that Barron sent people to obtain through early mining are all under the control of this foundation, and in order not to be noticed, the Distributed Foundations currently holds about 500,000 BitCs, scattered in dozens of cold wallets, and the number of BitCs in each wallet does not exceed 10,000.

Moreover, for a considerable period of time after that, these BitCs that they have mastered will be in a state of “hibernation.”

The private keys of these wallets are all split and engraved on two separate stainless steel sheets, which are stored in the vaults of the African United Bank in Kolobrita and the Standard Chartered Bank in London, respectively.

In addition, the Distributed Foundations will also continue to acquire relatively small amounts of BitC on the market and properly store them.

In the future, in the eyes of many people, these BitCs in the wallets will probably also be a part of the “permanently lost” ones…

Chapter 802: DMIC

In Barron’s previous life, according to a report released by blockchain analysis company Chainalysis in June 2020, at least 3.7 million Bitcoins had not been touched for more than five years. Conservatively estimated, about 3 million Bitcoins will be lost forever…

For example, lying in some discarded hard drive in a large landfill. Because the price of Bitcoin wasn’t high back then, many people didn’t care about saving their wallet keys. A Bitcoin wallet key is usually a string of 256 alphanumeric characters (including uppercase and lowercase). A string of keys corresponds to a wallet address. Only by possessing the key corresponding to the address can one perform operations such as transferring Bitcoin from the address.

Or because of floods, tornadoes, typhoons, tsunamis, wars, artillery fire, etc., the computers in their path are reduced to ashes…

Or because of hard drive damage, computer loss, coffee spills on laptops, or even accidental deletion of software, virus and Trojan horse damage to data, or malicious destruction of computers leading to the loss of wallet keys…

Sometimes, people forget where they stored their Bitcoin or forget that they even have Bitcoin…

If you lose your bank card or bank deposit slip, you can still withdraw your deposit with proof of identity; or if you forget your bank password, you can also go to the bank and have the staff modify it.

But Bitcoin, as a blockchain asset, has the characteristics of anonymity and immutability.

That is to say, the basis for you holding Bitcoin is that only you know the key to the corresponding wallet. Once you lose the key for various reasons, you will lose these Bitcoin assets forever.

Because once the key is lost, it also means that it is impossible to get the Bitcoin back by modifying the blockchain record…

Thus, these Bitcoins will forever lie in those wallet addresses, unable to enter circulation, becoming “dead” Bitcoins.

Therefore, although the total amount of Bitcoin is 21 million (as of the end of 2020, more than 18.5 million Bitcoins have been mined, and less than 2.5 million have not yet been put into circulation), in fact, the number of Bitcoins that can actually be used is far lower than this number. As mentioned above, at least more than 2 million Bitcoins have become permanently uncirculatable for various reasons…

Moreover, the production of Bitcoin is halved approximately every four years. If the performance of Bitcoin mining machines continues to improve, it also means that the cost of mining Bitcoin itself is constantly increasing (the cost of the mining machine plus the electricity consumed during the mining process). This is the basic logic behind the rise in Bitcoin prices.

Of course, the premise is that this game can continue to be played—in other words, its value can be recognized by more and more people and become a consensus similar to gold.

Some people also think this is something similar to a “tulip mania”…

But at least until Barron was reborn, Bitcoin had not yet collapsed.

To put it another way, if a “scam” can last for an extremely long time, long enough to cover your entire life…

Then does it matter to you whether it is a scam or not?

It’s like the proportion of time in human history that has been peaceful is extremely short, but if you are lucky enough to spend your entire life in this short period of peace, then for you, topics related to war are not of great significance.

And after all, Barron’s wealth does not rely on Bitcoin. He only needs the blockchain industry derived from it to promote the development of Kolo.

He is not a savior, and he doesn’t want to be like Satoshi Nakamoto, making great contributions to the development of this industry. All he wants is what has been proven in his previous life: that this industry has a certain wealth accumulation effect, and that’s enough.

…

The groundbreaking ceremony for the Oriental Movie Metropolis project will not be held until next month. After all, this time, Oriental Movie Metropolis Group is preparing to make an impressive debut, so they have invited many celebrities. Not only will many Hollywood stars come, but also basically all the Chinese stars with considerable popularity will be present at that time.

It can be said that their groundbreaking ceremony will be a scene comparable to many later entertainment celebrations.

Before that, Barron took Fan Bingbing and their children and temporarily left China to go to India.

The Devonshire landed in Mumbai, and they took a motorcade to the distinctive Antilia building, which is one of the residences of Mukesh Ambani, the richest man in India and the boss of Reliance Group.

The last time Barron came here, he was invited by Mukesh to visit.

After all, the two sides still have a lot of cooperation in the Indian market. Not only will United Energy Group cooperate with India’s Reliance Industries Group to build what was then the world’s largest refining and chemical project in Jamnagar, India, but also O2 Telecom and Reliance Infocomm have formed a joint venture, O2 Reliance Telecom, whose business covers India and some surrounding countries.

“Hello, Your Grace the Duke…”

“Isha, it’s nice to see you. You’re even more beautiful.”

In this mansion, Barron also met Mukesh’s family, including his daughter Isha Ambani. The little girl is only fifteen years old now and looks very ladylike.

Barron had an impression of her in his previous life, and this impression came from the overwhelming media coverage at the time. When Isha Ambani got married, Mukesh spent $100 million to hold a wedding for her, dispatching more than 30 planes to pick up guests around the world. It can be said that the pomp was outrageously extravagant.

After all, Mukesh has maintained the title of Asia’s richest man for a considerable period of time, and because of the surge in his stock holdings in 2007, he even briefly pushed Bill Gates off the position of world’s richest man…

At least on the surface, Barron has never achieved this feat.

“Your Grace the Duke, I wonder what you think of India? Are you optimistic about India’s future development?”

After Mukesh entertained Barron and his party with traditional Indian cuisine (of course, not the kind of street food, clean and hygienic…), he stood with Barron in the rooftop garden of the Antilia building, overlooking the night view of Mumbai, and said to Barron.

Barron took a sip of the red tea in his cup and said with a smile:

“In the next twenty years, Asia will be the engine of global economic development. Among them, China and India are the most eye-catching. After all, whether it is a high-quality population or a vast market, India will also become one of the main forces in the global economy…”

“But I have to say, compared to China, India still has some gaps.”

Unlike the blind self-confidence of some ordinary Indian people, Mukesh, standing in his current position, can see many things very clearly.

In fact, India and China started at roughly the same time. In the middle of the last century, India was stronger than China in some indicators. India’s per capita income at that time was $619, while China’s was only $439. India’s human development index at that time was 0.163, while China’s was only 0.160.

But this gap began to widen sharply after the 1980s. Now, India’s GDP is only a quarter of China’s, and the gap between the two sides is becoming increasingly obvious.

“This also shows the potential that India possesses, doesn’t it?”

Hearing Barron’s words, Mukesh nodded and suddenly asked:

“Have you heard of DMIC?”

“Is it the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor?”

“Yes, our Minister of Industry is about to visit Japan. The most important topic at that time will be this plan. Are you interested in it, Your Grace the Duke?”

Chapter 803: Grand Blueprint

The so-called DMIC, or Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor, was proposed back in 2006. Initially, it was in December 2006, when Indian Prime Minister Singh visited Tokyo, that the Japanese side provided him with a detailed plan.

This was a plan “tailor-made” for India by the Japanese, drawing on their experience with the Tokyo-Osaka industrial belt. The Tokyo-Osaka industrial belt had been operating successfully for over 30 years, contributing about two-thirds of Japan’s gross domestic product.

Delhi is both the capital of India and one of its manufacturing centers, while Mumbai is a port city and also India’s financial center.

Therefore, according to the DMIC plan at the time, within five years of the “Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor” being completed, it would increase India’s employment by 15%, industrial output by 28%, and exports by 38%.

Initially, Japan and India hoped to jointly launch this ambitious and large-scale plan.

According to their blueprint, the governments of Japan and India, as well as companies engaged in infrastructure construction, would jointly build roads, power stations, and ports, while Japanese manufacturers would invest in building new factories.

Among them, 15 iconic companies from the Japanese business community, such as Mitsui & Co., Honda Motor, Suzuki Motor, NEC, Sony, and Hitachi, also expressed their willingness to actively participate in this plan.

In addition, if Indian companies were willing to participate in the infrastructure construction of this project, they could raise funds from the Japanese market.

They estimated that once the “Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor” was completed, industrial zones within the corridor were expected to attract 90 billion US dollars in investment within seven years.

Why would Japan be so actively investing such a large amount in India, and why were many of the conditions in this plan so favorable? It was practically hoping to help India complete its industrial upgrading with its own strength…

Because this was essentially a long-term investment by Japan in India. They had tasted the sweetness of their previous investments in China. China’s economic take-off had also brought Japan huge markets and returns. Therefore, they now regarded India as another “China.”

In fact, not only Japan, but many Western countries also had high expectations for India.

Especially after China rejected the United States’ “G2” proposal…

To put it bluntly, the so-called G2 was nothing more than the United States hoping that China could serve as a market for their products and provide the production of cheap goods, that is, a super-sized “blood bag.”

Since this could not be achieved, they turned their attention to India, hoping that by investing in India, they could help it grow and fill the role originally intended for China in the G2…

According to the original plan of Japan and India, the first phase of the “Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor” project would be completed in 2012, and the remaining plans would be completed in 2016.

But Japan, which had come to appreciate China’s pragmatic style, could never have imagined the situation of freedom in India…

The fact is that from the end of 2006 until now, discussions between the two sides on the “Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor” are still stuck on paper…

Perhaps even now, they would not have imagined that this ambitious plan would not be completed in its first phase even by the time Barron was reborn, let alone the overall completion. It might become a “century project”…

And Reliance Group, as India’s largest private enterprise, with industries spanning energy, petrochemicals, telecommunications, real estate infrastructure, retail textiles, and other fields, would naturally not be absent from such a large-scale project as the “Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor.”

This was also the reason why Mukesh discussed this topic with Barron. After all, before this, several companies controlled by Barron, such as United Energy Group, O2 Telecom, and Standard Chartered-Merrill Lynch Group, had cooperated with their Reliance Group. Barron possessed strong resources and energy in Europe and the United States, and Mukesh also hoped that through the cooperation between the two sides, their family could maintain greater stability.

An interesting situation is that compared to domestic companies, many large private enterprises prefer to cooperate with foreign capital.

The main reason for this is that, on the one hand, domestic companies have greater influence in their own countries compared to foreign capital, and cooperation with foreign capital makes it easier to maintain their own control over the company.

On the other hand, cooperation with foreign capital is also conducive to their game with the domestic government. After all, in many issues, domestic companies are at a relative disadvantage compared to the government, but with the addition of foreign capital, there is more room for maneuver in many things…

Just like Barron’s cooperation with Reliance Group, what Reliance Group values is the energy of Barron’s “foreign-funded companies” overseas in India, and their ability to serve as a barrier between Reliance Group and the Indian government in many cases.

And Barron is able to have allies in India, avoiding the fate of some foreign-funded companies that were “harvested” by the Indian side later on. Unless Reliance Group completely abandons the overseas market of India and only shrinks within India, it will inevitably avoid this kind of thing from happening, not to mention jointly harming Barron’s investment with the Indian government…

Even so, understanding the mess that the so-called “Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor” plan in India would become, Barron certainly did not want to get too involved…

“This is indeed a grand project, but at present, the projects within it will definitely be dominated by Japanese companies and Indian domestic companies. If we get a suitable opportunity, we certainly won’t miss it.”

Of course, he would not directly tell Mukesh his thoughts. At this stage, he could completely use a delaying tactic.

After all, he understood that this plan would not really start construction until after 2016. India really gave the Japanese a good lesson. Japan planned such a grand blueprint for India with the “Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor,” and then India directly took this plan and turned around to fool European, American, and Chinese companies…

Don’t mention it, it really did fool a lot of companies into the pit. Judging from the experience of some “suckers” later on, the final result was “India earns money and India spends it, don’t even think about taking a penny home”…

This also reminded Barron that when he had the opportunity, he had to get in touch with Count Booth.ville and let him know that he should not, under a series of pie-in-the-sky promises, let Argent Real Estate Group invest funds here.

“I am very happy that United Energy Group can take over the cooperation project between British Petroleum and us. I believe that after having the previous cooperation foundation, the connection between us will be closer…”

After discussing matters related to the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor, Mukesh brought the topic back to the cooperation between the two sides.

Chapter 804: Avoiding the Pitfalls

Earlier this year, United Energy Group took over British Petroleum’s (BP) interests in more than 20 deep-sea oil and gas fields in India.

Due to the impact of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill last year, at the request of the United States, British Petroleum needed to allocate huge sums of money to address local crude oil pollution and compensate for the losses caused.

To raise funds, British Petroleum had to sell off some of its assets, including their previous cooperation project with Reliance Industries.

At that time, British Petroleum paid more than 7 billion USD to purchase 30% of Reliance Industries’ shares in more than 20 deep-sea oil and gas fields in India.

Furthermore, British Petroleum established a joint venture with Reliance Industries—BP Reliance Gas Company—to be responsible for constructing exploration infrastructure and developing, distributing, and selling natural gas products.

At that time, the total value of these agreements was as high as 20 billion USD, which was also the largest single foreign direct investment in Indian history.

Ultimately, United Energy Group acquired 30% of the shares in these 20-plus deep-sea oil and gas fields from British Petroleum (BP), as well as 50% of the shares they held in BP Reliance Gas Company.

Of course, since then, BP Reliance Gas Company has been renamed UE (United Energy) Reliance Gas Company.

It can be said that the current cooperation between United Energy Group and Reliance Industries involves the entire industrial chain of oil and gas extraction, processing, and sales. United Energy Group has also become Reliance Industries’ most important partner, with both sides jointly occupying a considerable share of the energy market in India.

This is why Mukesh values Barron so much; it’s not just because of his title as the Duke of England, but also because of the close alignment of their interests.

In fact, India’s automotive market can also be considered to be developing rapidly, and it will become the world’s third-largest automotive market after the United States and China in the future.

In Barron’s previous life, Land Rover and Jaguar, which now belong to British Motor Corporation, were acquired by India’s Tata Group.

However, even so, British Motor Corporation still has no plans to build a factory in India. They would rather produce cars in China and then import them to India…

This is mainly because India’s relevant policies are really unpredictable.

You could say that all the car companies in the world can see the potential of the Indian market, and many car companies have chosen to build factories in India, including brands such as Volkswagen, Hyundai, Toyota, and General Motors.

But only a handful of one or two can survive here, and most of them are in a miserable state.

For example, General Motors later directly sold their car factory to SAIC, directly screwing SAIC over badly…

Many car companies only discovered after coming to India to build factories that the policies related to automobiles here can be said to be like a fit of madness, with no continuity at all. A policy is suddenly introduced after a while, and then it disrupts some car companies’ long-term plans, leaving them simply wanting to cry.

Knowing these things, Barron certainly wouldn’t let British Motor Corporation jump into this pit again.

Therefore, he will never put British Motor Corporation’s manufacturing power in India. Moreover, British Motor Corporation’s models are all mid-to-high-end cars. Even if they are imported cars and the tariffs are higher, those who want to buy them will still buy them.

As for the microcars and small cars that sell best in the Indian market (somewhat similar to Geely QQ models), the local Tata Group and Maruti Suzuki already occupy a very large market share, which is not British Motor Corporation’s business direction at all.

At most, after the Sino-foreign joint venture Tianhe British Motors produces economical cars in the future, it will try to enter the Indian market.

In fact, although Britain carried out nearly 200 years of colonial rule in India, because India gained independence through the “non-violent non-cooperation” led by “Mahatma” Gandhi, even today, among the Indian elite, there is still some “spiritual imprint” on Britain.

This is also easy to understand, because it was not through military force that independence was achieved, so the “colonial liquidation” was not carried out as thoroughly as in many countries—as we all know, Britain’s method of rule in the colonies was often to use local upper-class people to carry it out. Therefore, after India’s independence, the original “proxy ruling” class directly transformed into India’s ruling class…

And because India hopes to “inherit” Britain’s political legacy in this region, they have not made efforts to eliminate their own British imprint.

It can be said that the current wealthy class in India still retains many of the ways of the former British rulers in their preferences—Britain has been the first choice for Indian elites to study abroad for a considerable period of time (later, the United States surpassed Britain as their first choice, but Britain still occupies a considerable proportion), and the car brands they like are mainly British brands.

Rolls-Royce, Bentley, Land Rover, Jaguar, and other brands are still sought after by the wealthy class in India.

And like Land Rover and Jaguar, Indian tycoons also prefer models produced in the British mainland.

…

“You’re awake?”

“Ah, Your Grace, I’m sorry, I overslept…”

The woman had just woken up, and after hearing Barron’s words, she immediately got up and said to him, completely disregarding her exposed charms…

It was just that the movement seemed too big, pulling on the pain, and a look of pain appeared on her face, but she tried her best to hold it back.

“It’s okay…”

Barron waved his hand and said:

“I have a habit of getting up early to exercise. If you’re still not feeling well, then sleep a little longer…”

Barron had just come out of the gym. After he finished speaking, he walked directly into the bathroom next to him, and then the woman heard the faint sound of water flowing from the bathroom.

Although the other party just said that she could rest for a while longer, after hesitating for a moment, this extremely beautiful woman still endured the occasional pain, got up, found the clothes scattered on the ground, and began to put them on…

Thinking of the handsome Duke’s seemingly never-ending thirst for knowledge last night, the woman’s face couldn’t help but blush a little more.

Barron is now living not in Mukesh’s mansion called Antilia, where he lived when he first arrived here, but in a luxury villa that Mukesh specially gave him, not far from Bollywood, which can be said to be one of the most prosperous areas in Mumbai.

This luxury villa occupies a not small area, with a garden of more than 1,000 square meters, quiet in the midst of the hustle and bustle. Although the degree of luxury is not comparable to Mukesh’s Antilia mansion, it is completely sufficient as Barron’s temporary residence when he occasionally comes here.

Since it was already March, two days ago, Fan Bingbing had taken her son and daughter back to China on Barron’s Devonshire.

The woman who came to Barron’s mansion last night was named Neha Dalvi, who is less than 23 years old and has been named the most beautiful girl in Indian universities for three consecutive years, and is known as the most beautiful model in India.

She was met by Barron at a dinner party that Mukesh specially held for him. All the men who attended this dinner party were celebrities from all walks of life in Mumbai, and the women who could enter there were also carefully selected, either well-known models or Bollywood actresses…

And among them, Neha Dalvi can also be regarded as the most eye-catching.

Chapter 805: Integration

On March 11, 2011, a magnitude 9.0 earthquake struck the eastern sea area of Japan, the largest earthquake ever recorded in the country.

This disaster triggered a massive tsunami, destroying several cities along Japan’s eastern coast and claiming the lives of 15,800 people.

More seriously, the earthquake caused reactor malfunctions at two nuclear power plants in Fukushima Prefecture, with one reactor at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant experiencing abnormal conditions and leaking nuclear steam after the quake…

Baron wasn’t particularly concerned about whether people were starting to hoard iodized salt again…

At this time, he had already returned to the Grace Lavender Manor in Australia.

A week later, on March 19, NATO launched a large-scale air strike against Libya.

On the same day, another blockbuster announcement was made in the IT industry.

The Motorola Mobility board of directors completed its voting, and they accepted the acquisition offer from the syndicate composed of IC Capital and GII Fund for the company.

This meant that Motorola Mobility would be sold for $10.5 billion, a price that represented a premium of over 45% compared to its stock price before trading was suspended prior to the acquisition!

This acquisition was highly anticipated, not only because of Motorola Mobility’s own reputation in the mobile phone industry, but also because one of the acquirers, IC Capital, was the sole shareholder of Android Corporation.

Android Corporation’s Android system, slightly ahead of Apple’s iOS system, held the largest share of the smartphone market.

Many believed that this acquisition, with IC Capital’s high-priced acquisition of Motorola Mobility’s large number of related patents, would allow the Android system and related mobile phone manufacturers to get rid of the current patent lawsuits from giants such as Apple and Microsoft, thereby clearing the way for their future development.

On the day the news was released, Ivanka TP, Chairman of IC Capital, who led the acquisition, said that after the acquisition was completed, they would integrate Motorola Mobility’s existing businesses and ensure that the Motorola brand, which had a glorious history, would continue to maintain its position in the mobile phone industry.

“We have no intention of merging Motorola Mobility into Android Corporation. As a mobile operating system development company, Android Corporation will continue to provide an open platform for all mobile phone manufacturers…”

In front of the television cameras, Ivanka said with a smile:

“Of course, the relevant patents owned by Motorola Mobility will also help Android Corporation and its partners enrich their patent portfolio. In addition, we will increase investment in Motorola, and consumers can look forward to the launch of more new Motorola phone models…”

In fact, Motorola Mobility, which they acquired this time, still had approximately $2.5 billion in cash on its books after the previous Motorola split, which meant that the actual cost paid by IC Capital and GII Fund for this acquisition was approximately $8 billion.

The current Motorola Mobility mainly includes mobile phones and television set-top boxes. The mobile phone business has been losing money in recent years, while the set-top box business has been consistently profitable.

Moreover, Motorola Mobility is one of the world’s two largest providers of television set-top boxes, its main competitor being Cisco’s subsidiary Scientific-Atlanta. Their set-top boxes are mainly used by cable TV companies to provide services to homes.

But Baron knew that in the near future, the television market would gradually transition to devices that delivered content over the Internet, such as Apple, Microsoft Xbox, and Google.

Initially, their plan was to sell off the television set-top box business after acquiring Motorola Mobility—for example, in Baron’s previous life, Google sold its set-top box business for more than $2 billion after completing its acquisition of Motorola Mobility.

However, that was because Google itself had plans for its own Google TV business and was not very interested in the traditional cable TV set-top box business. Moreover, it conflicted with the direction of its own business, so it was better to spin off and sell the Motorola Mobility set-top box business while it was still profitable.

But Baron’s situation was different. He had richer content than Google, whether in the traditional television field or in the entertainment content field.

For example, he could cooperate with the SEM Group, Sinclair Group, Marvel-MGM Group, as well as Netflix and DailyVedio, and other businesses with the set-top box business.

Therefore, after completing the acquisition of Motorola Mobility, the set-top box business will acquire and integrate PUMA Electronics, which was previously owned by Digital UK (for set-top box sales in the UK and manufacturing in China). In addition to television set-top boxes, it will also develop network set-top boxes, and in North America and Europe, cooperate with O2 Telecom to build home broadband networks, so as to enter this more emerging and promising market.

As for Motorola Mobility’s mobile phone business, including its Motorola production base in Tianjin, China, and its research and development center in Yanjing, will continue to be retained.

However, more than one-third of its offices in other regions, as well as research and development centers in Chicago and Sunnyvale, and most of its manufacturing plants outside of China, will be gradually reduced. The goal is to preserve the corresponding research and development capabilities while reducing some operating expenses.

After all, Baron understood that the era of smartphones was completely different from the previous “gameplay.” Previously, many mobile phone brands could launch several or even more than a dozen mobile phone models a year, but like Apple phones, they only had one or two fixed models a year, and they still crushed other mobile phone manufacturers.

Other mobile phone manufacturers also often launched one or two models in each of the low, medium, and high-end categories.

In the low-end mobile phone field, Motorola was destined to be unable to compete with Chinese domestic mobile phones on cost, so what it should do most was like Samsung’s strategy, competing in the mid-to-high-end mobile phone market.

Therefore, Motorola Mobility will focus on the development of Android phones in the future, and will only launch a small number of models each year. The primary goal is to complete the turnaround of its mobile phone business to profitability. As for increasing market share, it needs to be considered after surviving.

Motorola Mobility’s mobile phone business will only retain manufacturing plants in China, also for cost reduction considerations, and other manufacturing plants will be sold off one after another.

Even the manufacturing plants in China will be temporarily observed—Baron even considered adopting Apple’s model, that is, no longer owning its own mobile phone manufacturing plants, but only retaining design and development, as well as the supply chain of components, and entrusting the assembly of the entire machine to OEM factories.

This model may even reduce the cost of mobile phone products, making profits higher, or rather, having more room for price cuts and competition…

Chapter 806: Changeover

Of course, this doesn’t mean that Motorola Mobility needs to completely abandon its production capabilities. Even for the sake of some degree of independence, they will ultimately retain at least a portion of their manufacturing plants.

Therefore, at the very least, Motorola’s production base in Tianjin, China, will definitely be retained, instead of being directly sold by Google as it was in the original timeline.

To complete the reorganization of Motorola Mobility, at Barron’s instruction, Ivanka specifically invited Lawrence Culp to serve as the CEO of Motorola Mobility.

From 2000, during his tenure as CEO of Danaher Corporation, he led Danaher Corporation to successfully transform, with revenue and market value increasing fivefold. As a result, he was listed as one of the “Top 50 CEOs in the World” by the Harvard Business Review.

And Barron knew that in his previous life, Lawrence Culp would become the CEO of General Electric (GE) in 2018, and successfully saved the company through cost reduction, asset sales, and debt repayment.

The work that Lawrence Culp needs to do at Motorola Mobility will be similar business restructuring and cost reduction, in order to first achieve the goal of turning losses into profits.

“I heard that Google has basically stopped investing in the GOS system and will be laying off this department or merging it into other departments later…”

Barron was not surprised by this news from Ivanka.

After all, Motorola was previously an important member of the GOS system camp, but it is clear that after Motorola Mobility was acquired by IC Capital, it will only retain research and development on Android system phones…

As for Google, given the previous performance of the GOS system, it is impossible for them to spend a lot of money to buy Motorola Mobility as they did in Barron’s previous life—moreover, Motorola’s GOS phone sales were very disappointing. Even if Google’s management had the urge to do so, their shareholders would do their best to prevent it from happening.

Therefore, with Motorola destined to withdraw from the GOS camp, Google has fewer and fewer partners in mobile phone operating systems—those mobile phone manufacturers are not stupid, and they can all see the future trend, so there is no need to go against the tide.

…

Forbes magazine released its latest global rich list in March of this year.

In this year’s rich list, benefiting from the recovery of the world economy, the number of global billionaires and the total amount of assets both reached record highs.

Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim topped the list again since last year, and his lead has widened. He ranked first on the rich list with a wealth of 74 billion US dollars…

Microsoft founder Bill Gates and billionaire investor, “Oracle of Omaha” Warren Buffett ranked second and third, with assets of 56 billion US dollars and 50 billion US dollars respectively.

As for Barron, because of his continued “donations” to charity over the years, his ranking on the rich list this year has dropped to below 5th place…

Of course, he has also gained a good reputation for being charitable among the public. According to statistics, Barron attended more than 50 charity-related events last year alone…

In the past year alone, Barron’s companies and trust funds have donated more than 1 billion US dollars to non-profit organizations, including the Devonshire Charitable Foundation and the Prosperous Earth Foundation (PEF).

These nominal “donations” will also provide Barron with influence in other areas.

The Prosperous Earth Foundation, currently led by David Miliband, has established offices in several countries, including Australia, Asia, and West Africa.

“We will start with educational institutions and the media, cooperate with some universities in these countries, and screen young people with a sense of social responsibility to help them grow. At the same time, we will shape these young ‘opinion leaders’ to have a good impression of us, thereby influencing the younger generation in these countries.”

Since Barron’s last meeting with David, when he decided to join the Prosperous Earth Foundation, David Miliband has acted very quickly.

David Miliband himself has many resources in this area. After investing funds, he quickly built a relatively complete framework.

…

As early as February, Coro President Jameh Bongo had already announced the date of the Coro election.

This election was still scheduled for March 20th.

According to relevant surveys conducted previously, the two candidates in this election, Soba Fleming from the Coro People’s Party and Thomas Kabore from the Coro Socialist Party, have support rates far ahead of other small parties.

And the support rates of Soba Fleming and Thomas Kabore are very close, so it is difficult to determine who will ultimately win before then.

Soba Fleming finally won the candidate qualification in the internal competition of the Coro People’s Party and received the support of Jameh Bongo.

Thomas Kabore has competed with Jameh Bongo for the position of Coro president twice, and can be regarded as failing repeatedly but trying again and again.

In media reports, West Africa Media Group did not conduct too obvious biased reports, and basically maintained a neutral attitude.

However, when the Coro election ended, it did not exceed Barron’s expectations. Thomas Kabore of the Coro Socialist Party won more votes than Soba Fleming and was finally elected as the new president of Coro.

This is also the first time that the Coro Socialist Party has won in the election.

After the results were announced, Soba Fleming held a press conference, admitted his defeat, and said that he would continue to lead the Coro People’s Party and do a good job of supervising Coro’s development.

Thomas Kabore will succeed to the presidency one month after Jameh Bongo’s term ends.

As for Jameh Bongo, after congratulating Thomas Kabore on his victory, he said that after the end of his presidential term, he will no longer hold any government positions, but will instead enter Coro University, which has been moved to the capital, Bulita, to serve as the president of Coro University.

Of course, the Jameh Bongo family has now obtained some shares in the West Africa Group. With just this wealth, their family has become one of the wealthiest families in Coro, and even in the entire West Africa.

According to his plan, after his eldest son, Nikola Bongo, graduates from Cambridge University, he will also return to Coro and enter the Coro People’s Party.

It is believed that with the help of Jameh Bongo, Nikola Bongo, who has inherited his political legacy, will definitely be able to achieve something in Coro’s political arena.

Perhaps, he will become the future president of Coro…

Chapter 807: Lively

On April 23rd, the British media had already revealed the guest list for Prince William and Kate’s wedding, totaling nearly 1,900 people, including royalty from various countries around the world who had accepted invitations to attend.

According to the list, Prince William’s brother, Prince Harry, would serve as the best man, and Kate’s sister would be the maid of honor.

Of course, the list also included Prince William’s friends, the Duke of Devonshire and British billionaire, Baron Cavendish.

At this time, Baron had returned to London from Australia with his wife and children.

Prince William and Kate’s wedding was scheduled for April 29th, and it would be the grandest celebration in Britain in the last thirty years.

According to estimates from relevant organizations, this wedding would break the world record for the largest television audience, with an estimated 2 billion viewers worldwide watching the live broadcast—in 1981, when Charles and Diana married, approximately 750 million people watched the live broadcast.

It must be said that even though Britain’s influence was gradually waning, the British royal family remained the most well-known and influential in the world.

Such a wedding was enough to focus the world’s attention on London.

After Baron and his family returned to London, they could feel the joyful atmosphere throughout the city, with everyone looking forward to the grand event in a few days.

On April 29th, Baron, along with Bonnie and their two children, George and Richard, all dressed in formal attire, arrived to attend Prince William’s wedding.

In the morning, the Queen announced the conferral of titles upon Prince William and Kate, and they would be styled as the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, respectively.

Next, the wedding officially began…

From 8:30 AM, the guests began to gather at Westminster Abbey.

At 11:01 AM, the wedding ceremony, conducted according to the traditional Anglican royal wedding rituals, officially began.

Baron watched as Kate, wearing an ivory white wedding dress with a theme of blossoming flowers, entered the hall.

The dress’s appliqué lace bodice used traditional British hand-cut techniques, perfectly blending lace flowers with ivory tulle.

She walked down the red carpet, arm in arm with her father, to Prince William, who was already waiting at the front of the hall.

Then, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, began to officiate the wedding ceremony.

“Although many are still worried about the future, today is a good day, a day that people all over the world can share, a day full of hope…”

The Bishop of London, Richard Chartres, gave the final address.

The wedding ceremony concluded with the British national anthem.

After the wedding, Prince William and Princess Kate, accompanied by Prince Charles, Queen Elizabeth, and others, rode in a carriage to Buckingham Palace. The newlyweds walked hand in hand onto the balcony of Buckingham Palace and, under the gaze of countless people, gave the “kiss of the century.”

When the two kissed on the balcony of Buckingham Palace, the crowd erupted in cheers…

It is worth mentioning that Baron and Bonnie’s eldest son, George Cavendish, also appeared as one of the flower boys in this wedding.

His handsome and adorable appearance also attracted a lot of attention.

…

On the third day after Prince William’s wedding, May 1st, the American President Barack Obama held a press conference to announce to the world:

The terrorist that America had been pursuing for 10 years, Osama bin Laden, known as “the world’s most wanted man,” was killed by the American Navy SEALs in Pakistan.

Soon after, some terrorist organizations in the Middle East confirmed the news and vowed to take revenge on America.

In fact, earlier this year, Baron had already received information from British intelligence that the CIA had confirmed that Osama bin Laden was likely hiding in Pakistan.

However, they had not yet found his specific hiding place at that time.

Or perhaps they did not notify their ally, MI6, of this location—which was quite normal. This year was the tenth anniversary of the “9/11” attacks, and the American side had been tracking Osama bin Laden for so many years, so of course they hoped to completely eliminate him at this time. Even if they had accurate information, they would not easily leak it.

And Obama also hoped to increase his own prestige through this operation.

It should be known that since 2005, America had already raised the reward for Osama bin Laden to a record 50 million US dollars.

In reality, by now, al-Qaeda had been almost completely destroyed, and it no longer had its original scale. The reward for Osama bin Laden was more symbolic than practical.

Therefore, even though Baron knew the specific time of America’s “Neptune Spear” operation to kill Osama bin Laden in his previous life, he was not particularly concerned about it.

What he was more concerned about was another matter…

On May 14th, the Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Dominique Strauss-Kahn, was arrested at Kennedy Airport minutes before boarding a flight to Paris, on charges of sexually assaulting a hotel maid near Times Square.

This matter, after being reported, immediately caused a global sensation.

After all, as the Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund, Kahn could be said to be a globally known figure…

He served as the French Minister of Economy and Finance from 1997 to 1999 and was regarded as the architect of France’s economic recovery. The French people affectionately called him DSK (his full name is Dominique Strauss-Kahn).

He successfully reduced the French fiscal deficit, enabling France to meet the conditions for entering the Eurozone.

He was also the driving force behind the privatization of some French state-owned enterprises.

Kahn’s efforts to become a Socialist Party presidential candidate in 2006 failed, but surprisingly, he was nominated by his rival, Nicolas Sarkozy, the eventual victor, as a candidate for Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund.

His work at the International Monetary Fund has also been widely praised…

In 2008, the global financial crisis broke out, which coincided with Kahn’s second year in office.

The reforms under Kahn’s leadership brought the IMF back to the center of the global economic decision-making stage: its “Flexible Credit Line” (FCL) changed the rigid and slow execution procedures of traditional loans…

In the Greek debt crisis, the IMF joined hands with the European Union to provide a 110 billion euro guarantee for the Eurozone (with the IMF contributing 30 billion euros)…

In global policy coordination, the IMF has now become an important vehicle for the G20 in international monetary cooperation, and the IMF’s monetary resources have tripled from a meager 250 billion US dollars at the beginning of the crisis to one trillion US dollars.

He also strived to give emerging countries more say in the International Monetary Fund.

Although Kahn’s workplace as the Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund was in Washington, D.C., he often “stayed” in France… People speculated that he might be considering returning to politics, preparing to run as a Socialist Party candidate in the 2012 French presidential election.

In other words, he was likely to become Sarkozy’s main competitor next year…

That day, The Wall Street Journal published a commentary stating that Kahn’s arrest would not only lead to chaos in the IMF’s leadership but would also cause the IMF to lose its core position in European financial rescue efforts.

As the world’s leading financial lending institution, headquartered in Washington, D.C., the IMF is responsible for ensuring the normal operation of global finance and is hailed as the “central bank of all central banks in the world.”

The organization is currently at a critical stage: on the one hand, it needs to cope with the European sovereign debt crisis and provide financial assistance to countries such as Portugal, Greece, and Ireland; on the other hand, it is undergoing structural reforms such as the transfer of voting rights and shares.

Chapter 808: Standard Defense

On one hand, Kahn was very assertive within the International Monetary Fund, and the reforms he was implementing favored the Euro, which was not what the United States wanted to see.

On the other hand, he was also highly likely to participate in the French presidential election next year, and would be the biggest competitor to the current French President Sarkozy.

Therefore, unlike the one-sided mockery and accusations of Kahn’s incident from other places, after the news broke in France, the public generally believed that this was a dirty political frame-up. Some even believed that after Kahn was arrested by the United States, unfavorable reports about Kahn immediately appeared in France, suggesting that Sarkozy had cooperated with the United States…

Baron also believed that there might be something fishy about this matter…

Well, if you saw the photos of the black maid who accused Kahn, then considering Kahn’s status, for him to do those things to her could only mean that Kahn’s tastes were really… questionable.

And the most crucial point was that just a few hours after Kahn was taken away by the New York police, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) announced Kahn’s successor—the IMF’s First Deputy Managing Director, American banker Lipsky.

You should know that since the establishment of the International Monetary Fund after the Second World War, its president has always been a European—while the president of its sister organization, the World Bank, has been an American. This is a political understanding between Europe and the United States, and a balanced arrangement of world economic power.

But from this moment on, this balance has been broken, and the United States has at least temporarily achieved a “grand unification” of the world’s two most important economic institutions.

Therefore, the International Monetary Fund’s rapid appointment of a new boss led some Europeans to question:

Was the IMF prepared for this long ago?

So on May 16, a German government spokesman said that Germany hoped that a European would replace Kahn.

At the same time, the Financial Times reported with considerable concern that the possibility of the International Monetary Fund being headed by a candidate from a developing country was higher than ever before…

“Emerging market countries have long been eager to move, and now they may feel that the time has come…”

Canadian media commented that previously, the International Monetary Fund had increased China’s share in the institution and reduced the influence of European countries.

Emerging market countries will seize the opportunity of Kahn’s sex scandal to question:

The old way of choosing leaders is ineffective and can only bring embarrassing controversy to the IMF.

The Wall Street Journal also reported that the unwritten rule that the IMF president is always a European and the World Bank president is always an American may be coming to an end.

However, the report said that for Europeans, the IMF is like the “key to their front door” and they may not leave it to emerging countries at this critical juncture.

On the same day, the British Prime Minister Cameron’s spokesman also mentioned in an interview that Europe needed to immediately find a candidate to succeed the Chairman of the International Monetary Fund.

And he also suggested that former Prime Minister Brown had rich professional experience and was one of the best candidates to succeed Kahn as Chairman of the International Monetary Fund.

Many people compared this statement from the Prime Minister’s Office to the precedent of Sarkozy proposing Kahn as a candidate for IMF Chairman a few years ago.

Cameron’s statement was naturally the result of Baron’s mediation.

Baron had already prepared for this matter.

On the day the Kahn incident broke out, Brown had already set off from Asia to return to London, and next he would also travel to European countries including France and Germany, as well as the EU headquarters in Brussels, hoping to gain European support so that he could take over Kahn’s position.

Given the current situation, Brown is probably a candidate acceptable to both the United States and Europe.

Compared to other European countries, Brown, who was once the British Prime Minister, has a closer relationship with the United States.

In addition, at least his own identity means that if he takes over as Chairman of the International Monetary Fund, the position will still be held by a European, maintaining the original tacit understanding.

…

“We have currently transported most of the equipment from the Royal Ordnance Factory in Leeds to Colo…”

After acquiring the original Royal Ordnance Factory in Leeds, they established Standard Defense Ltd. on this basis, and through Standard Defense, acquired some of BAE Systems’ weapons business, including light weapons and individual combat equipment.

Currently, Standard Defense includes two subsidiaries: Standard Weapons Company (military equipment) and Sentinel Company (drones).

At this time, they have moved some of the less technologically advanced factories, such as the gunpowder factory and the gun and individual equipment factories, to Bogu in Colo, where they have built Standard Defense’s production base.

Bogu is located in the grassland province north of Colo, near Mung, where the Protector Military Services Company headquarters is located, and close to Daso, the largest city in northern Colo, making it a relatively suitable area for military production.

The Standard Defense military industrial base under construction in Bogu covers an area of more than 50 acres. Currently, more than half of the area has been completed, and production departments including gunpowder factories, gun factories, and grenade factories have moved in.

Before the end of the year, the Bogu production base will be fully completed. At that time, its products will not only meet the needs of the Colo Legion and Protector Military Services Company, but will also be sold to the entire African region.

Colo had previously reached relevant agreements with countries in the “West African Free Economic Zone,” including Burkina Faso and Niger, to allow them to purchase some weapons and ammunition from Colo through a combination of aid and low-interest loans.

The so-called low-interest loans will be provided to these countries by the African United Bank in Colo shillings. These countries can use the Colo shilling loans they receive to purchase related products from Colo.

The purpose is naturally to increase the circulation of the Colo shilling in the West African region—after all, the Colo shilling is relatively “value-preserving,” so it is relatively popular among the people in the West African region.

However, before that, due to the policies of many countries here, the rules for holding foreign currency were still relatively strict.

And through the “West African Free Economic Zone” agreement signed by Colo with countries including Ghana, Burkina Faso, and Niger, there are provisions that the currency circulation restrictions between these countries will be more relaxed, which will also be conducive to the external promotion of the Colo shilling.

In addition, Colo’s Bourse (Brita Securities Exchange) has become the second largest stock exchange in West Africa, second only to the Nigerian Stock Exchange.

The Bourse can also provide complete financing services for companies in the “West African Free Economic Zone.”

Chapter 809: Vanishing Without a Trace

At the end of May, Thomas Kabore, who had already taken office as the President of Kolo, led a delegation on his first foreign visit since assuming office.

Thomas’s first stop was England, where he would meet with Cameron in London and showcase the development achievements of the new Kolo over the past eight years, hoping to attract more British-funded enterprises to invest in Kolo.

After eight years of development, Kolo could be said to have undergone a complete transformation. Its per capita GDP had skyrocketed tenfold from less than 400 US dollars in 2003!

According to 2010 statistics, Kolo’s per capita GDP now exceeded 4,000 US dollars, ranking 96th in the world, just ahead of Ukraine.

At the same time, Kolo had become the country with the highest per capita GDP in West Africa.

This also meant that Kolo had shaken off the label of an underdeveloped country and become a middle-income country.

Moreover, the new Kolo government’s “Education Act” mandated compulsory education for all children and adolescents, and the state funded literacy education for adults. Currently, Kolo’s enrollment rate for school-age children had risen from 75% to 100%.

The national literacy rate had also increased from 63.7% to over 95%!

Kolo had also made rapid progress in other areas such as medical and health care, and transportation infrastructure.

Kolo had now basically eliminated malaria within the country, and the incidence of AIDS had become the lowest in West Africa.

Therefore, under such circumstances, Kolo had enough confidence to encourage British capital to invest in it.

Investing in Kolo had already seen many successful cases, such as the Argos retail group and Devon Hills Ecological Agriculture Company, which had invested in Kolo to establish several raw material processing plants, providing coffee and cocoa products from Togo to their sales networks.

The Audmon Candy Company, listed on the Bourse Régionale des Valeurs Mobilières (BRVM) stock exchange under the West African Group, had seen its sales in Europe increase year by year, becoming the largest candy processing and manufacturing company in Africa, with factories all over Kolo, Ghana, Benin, Burkina Faso, and other countries.

Currently, Kolo’s main external investments were concentrated in basic processing industries. However, with the improvement of the quality of the new generation, it could provide more qualified blue-collar workers for manufacturing enterprises.

For example, Dopoda, a brand under Glory Electronics, was preparing to open an assembly plant in Kolo, specifically to provide low-end smartphones for the African market.

In addition to meeting with Cameron and other senior British officials, Thomas Kabore also made a special trip to meet with Baron.

Although he had successfully ascended to the position of President of Kolo, and could be described as riding high, Thomas still understood who truly held the reins of Kolo. Therefore, when facing Baron, his attitude was still very proper.

After visiting England, Thomas Kabore would continue to visit various European countries, and then take a special plane arranged for him by Kolo Airlines to Asia, to visit China, Kolo’s most important partner.

…

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, Your Grace.”

Mikhail handed a mobile hard drive to Baron, and said:

“We helped him complete the last stage of his life, and carefully eliminated some traces…”

At this time, the mobile hard drive in Baron’s hand contained a text file recording the wallet key of BitC held by Satoshi Nakamoto.

Out of importance to BitC, Baron specifically sent his most trusted Mikhail Ritter to monitor Satoshi Nakamoto.

In the end, they determined that the reason why Satoshi Nakamoto decided to withdraw from all BitC work was because he himself was seriously ill. In fact, from the time he started “creating” BitC, he already knew his physical condition. When he believed that there were now suitable people to take over the work related to BitC, he was finally able to withdraw with peace of mind.

Next, Mikhail helped him leave peacefully when Satoshi Nakamoto’s condition deteriorated, and obtained all the information about BitC from him, including the approximately 600,000 BitC held by Satoshi Nakamoto.

Baron did not intend to use these BitC - let Satoshi Nakamoto’s secret be sealed up like in his previous life.

For this reason, Mikhail’s team also helped Satoshi Nakamoto eliminate many traces that could point to his true identity.

“Currently, the main work of BitC is being carried out by a team led by Gavin Andresen, which Satoshi Nakamoto handed over to them. They are preparing to establish a BitC Foundation to develop and promote it…”

Mikhail said to Baron:

“Currently, this foundation is in preparation, and we have already placed our own people into this preparation team…”

Gavin Andresen was born in Australia in 1966 and immigrated to the United States at the age of five.

In 1988, Gavin graduated from Princeton University with a degree in computer science. After graduation, Gavin Andresen naturally became a programmer in a Silicon Valley company. His usual work was mainly in 3D graphics, which he did for eight years.

In 1996, he founded Wasabi Software, during which he developed SkyPaint software.

Later, he also worked on VoIP Internet phones and developed multiplayer online games, covering a wide range of areas.

This was basically Gavin Andresen’s work experience before 2010. His achievements were just average and not very dazzling.

However, a person’s destiny depends not only on personal struggle, but also on the course of history.

In 2010, Gavin Andresen never dreamed that his life would undergo earth-shaking changes.

At that time, Gavin Andresen saw an article introducing BitC on InfoWorld, which was his first contact with BitC.

He was immediately conquered by the ideas behind BitC.

He was so obsessed that he read through the source code of BitC and read all the articles he could find about BitC…

As a result, Gavin Andresen became Satoshi Nakamoto’s “fanboy.”

Soon after, he registered on the BitcoinTalk forum and sent a private message to Satoshi Nakamoto - and it was through this method that he got in touch with Satoshi Nakamoto.

It is worth mentioning that, in order to promote BitC at that time, Gavin Andresen paid out of his own pocket, spending 50 US dollars to buy 10,000 BitC, and founded a website introducing BitC.

At that time, all visitors to the website could receive a reward of 5 BitC.

From the very beginning of creating BitC, Satoshi Nakamoto had planned to hand over this cause to some like-minded people. Therefore, Gavin Andresen, as a programmer, also contributed a lot of code to BitC. Also, because his code was well-written, Satoshi Nakamoto entrusted him with more coding tasks.

Until this year, Satoshi Nakamoto began to gradually move behind the scenes, and Gavin Andresen, as BitC’s most loyal “fan”, also began to gradually take on more responsibilities.

Knowing that Satoshi Nakamoto would disappear from now on, Baron also hoped to influence BitC to some extent through some means.

In addition to arranging personnel to enter the BitC Foundation, there would also be dedicated personnel to monitor Gavin Andresen.

Chapter 810: Progress

To be precise, Barron didn’t care whether BitC could change the world; that was far too idealistic.

He only needed to ensure that BitC could at least have a development trajectory similar to his previous life. Well, it would be even better if it could last longer.

If BitC could truly become a future monetary value anchor similar to gold, Colo, which embraced BitC, would inevitably gain corresponding influence in this field.

Even if it couldn’t reach that height, at least they could get dividends from the development of the entire industry.

Barron knew that in his previous life, although some countries used BitC as legal tender, they were all very small countries…

For example, El Salvador. On June 9, 2021, in the original timeline, its Congress passed a proposal to make BitC legal tender, making it the first country in the world to recognize BitC as legal currency.

But in the end, El Salvador, a country that most people hadn’t even heard of before, made such a decision for a reason…

El Salvador is located in Central America, and its land area is less than half that of Colo…

Well, seeing its location in Central America should give you a general idea—the region with the highest crime rate in the world. Countries like Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador have consistently ranked among the top countries in the world for homicides for many years…

No way, too far from Heaven, too close to the United States.

In terms of economy, El Salvador’s official currency, the Salvadoran Colón, was gradually abandoned due to a sharp devaluation in 2001. After that, El Salvador simply stopped issuing its own currency—using the US dollar as their official currency.

Then, in 2008, they encountered the subprime mortgage crisis…

El Salvador helplessly discovered that its Salvadoran Colón was devalued so badly that even using the US dollar wasn’t reliable—as the Federal Reserve “flooded the market,” the US dollar also began to devalue.

The key is that when the US dollar devalues, the United States can provide cash compensation to its own people, but El Salvador has to fully bear the negative impact of the US dollar’s devaluation…

So, El Salvador designated BitC as their legal tender simply because their situation was already bad enough. It was better to take a gamble, because it couldn’t get much worse anyway…

However, as far as the situation before Barron’s rebirth was concerned, El Salvador’s approach could be considered a blessing in disguise—although the price of BitC fluctuated greatly, at least they had a lot of profit later on because of the continuous use of national funds to buy BitC.

Otherwise, it would have been impossible for other countries and regions to prepare to make BitC their legal tender after El Salvador.

Even so, Colo’s situation is different from those countries that have “nothing to lose.” There’s no need to bet all the chips on BitC. It’s enough to be as friendly to the industry as Singapore or Dubai later on.

And not including the 600,000 BitC from Satoshi Nakamoto that Barron plans to keep “sealed” and unused, the Distributed Foundation he controls alone holds more than 500,000 BitC and continues to buy them.

Therefore, in the future, the Distributed Foundation will become the biggest player in BitC.

Colo’s position in the entire development of BitC is far from comparable to that of countries like El Salvador.

…

“Currently, our King’s Cross neighborhood renewal project has completed the first and second phases of the project, and the remaining two phases will be completed successively in the next ten years…”

Speaking of which, the King’s Cross neighborhood renewal project led by Argent Real Estate Group has been going on for more than eight years. Coming here again with Earl Booth, Barron can see that the appearance of King’s Cross has undergone earth-shaking changes compared to the earliest days.

Although Barron still thinks that the progress of the project here is a bit slow, objectively speaking, in England, this is already considered a relatively smooth project.

King’s Cross Station has been renovated, making this area a transportation hub in London again.

The flow of people naturally provides vitality for the renovated King’s Cross neighborhood.

“In the King’s Cross neighborhood, the London government is focusing on promoting several major industries with the strongest wealth-generating capabilities in modern society besides finance: technology, creativity, fashion, design, and the music industry are gathered here…”

Earl Booth. pointed to the office building not far away and said:

“Currently, quite a few companies have moved their London headquarters here. In addition to the planning given by London, our updated facilities and relatively cheap rents are also the main reasons.”

In the commercial area not far from King’s Cross Station, the O2 telecommunications building is particularly eye-catching.

In addition to O2 Telecommunications having already moved its headquarters to the King’s Cross area, now including Google, Woaw Technology and other technology companies, as well as Universal Music, Sony Music, Havas Group and other top companies have set up their headquarters in the King’s Cross neighborhood.

It can be seen that the development potential of the King’s Cross neighborhood is still very large, and Argent Real Estate Group has successfully become one of the leading real estate groups in England through the development of this area.

You should know that this area, including some high-end apartments and office buildings, except for a few buildings such as the O2 Telecommunications Building and the Cavendish King’s Building that are directly sold, most of the residences and office buildings are held by Argent Real Estate Group and only rented out.

Although this will take up a lot of funds, at the same time, because high-end residences and office buildings in London have always been in short supply, and rents continue to rise, it can bring continuous and stable cash flow to Argent Real Estate Group.

“In addition to the projects that have been completed so far, the third and fourth phases also include several large shopping malls and commercial complexes, which are expected to be put into use as early as 2018, which will further enrich the business forms in this area…”

Standing on the side of the road at this time, Barron can see many men and women in suits and ties, dressed as white-collar elites, walking by in a hurry.

Although they have quite a few entourages and bodyguards here, which makes people can’t help but take a second look, almost no one will stop to watch and will leave immediately.

“I am still very optimistic about the real estate industry in England. After the previous economic crisis, the recovery of real estate is about to come, so I think Argent Real Estate Group still needs to continue real estate development here in London. Well, in addition to London, including Liverpool and Manchester, are worth developing.”

Hearing Barron’s words, Earl Booth. nodded:

“Indeed, but our development overseas is also very good. Although it is not easy for you to invest too much money in India, at least the project in Mumbai is very successful.”

“Some cities in India are also developing well, and there is also a great demand for commercial real estate and high-end residences, but Ian…”

Barron said cautiously:

“Our model there must be different from that in England. There is no need to hold on to it all the time. We still need to focus on selling.”

He still adheres to his consistent attitude. For investment in India, long-term planning is prone to pitfalls. It is safest to take profits when they are good.

Chapter 811: Opportunity

On June 28th, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) announced that former British Prime Minister Gordon Brown had been selected as the organization’s new Managing Director. His term would begin on July 5th and last for five years.

As early as the beginning of June, there was already heated discussion about who would replace Dominique Strauss-Kahn, who had resigned from his position as IMF Managing Director due to a “sexual assault incident.”

Besides Brown, Agustin Carstens, the Governor of the Bank of Mexico, also declared his intention to compete for the position of Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund. He was Brown’s main competitor.

It is worth mentioning that Christine Lagarde, the French Minister of Economy, Finance and Industry who took over this position in the original timeline, did not join the competition this time.

The reasons behind this were complex, but the most important was that Lagarde did not receive the support of the United States as she had in her previous life…

Before the Executive Board meeting of the International Monetary Fund on June 28th, the United States Secretary of the Treasury, Timothy Geithner, publicly expressed his support for Brown. The outside world therefore believed that this former British Prime Minister, who had the backing of the United States, was destined to become the new Managing Director.

According to a Reuters commentary, this selection of the Managing Director was the most competitive since the International Monetary Fund was founded.

After the International Monetary Fund confirmed the new Managing Director, Brown issued a statement saying:

“I am deeply honored by the trust placed in me by the Executive Board, and I will strive to work for all members of the International Monetary Fund…”

British Prime Minister David Cameron also called Brown afterwards to congratulate him.

Cameron’s spokesperson claimed in an interview:

Brown’s appointment as Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund is a victory for Britain, and also a victory for Europe.

It is worth mentioning that, along with Brown’s appointment as Managing Director, the appointment of the IMF’s First Deputy Managing Director was also announced—the current IMF First Deputy Managing Director, John Lipsky, will retire on August 31st and has stated that he will not seek reappointment. He will be succeeded by Zhu Min, the former Deputy Governor of the People’s Bank of China and the current Special Advisor to the IMF Managing Director.

This appointment also reflects the increased voice of emerging countries, including China, within the IMF.

In an interview on June 29th, Brown said:

“In the future, China’s share in the International Monetary Fund will continue to increase. We can see that Asia has been the first to recover from the previous economic crisis, which also reflects the economic vitality of Asia. It will be the most active region in the global economy in the future.”

Many people believe that during his five-year term as Managing Director, Brown will face many challenges, the most urgent of which is to launch a new version of aid measures for Greece and deal with the European debt crisis.

Just now, on June 28th, the five-year austerity plan proposed by Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou won a majority vote in parliament, clearing a major obstacle to obtaining international financing and avoiding default.

The Greek parliament supported the plan with a vote of 155 to 138.

Reducing spending and increasing taxes are the prerequisites that European countries and the IMF have put forward for providing assistance to Greece.

Currently, the focus is shifting to the second round of voting to be held on the 29th.

This round of voting is mainly aimed at approving the implementation of the austerity plan.

With the positive results of the first round of voting, the second round of voting is also expected to pass smoothly.

Just as Papandreou was running full speed ahead, German Finance Ministry officials were scheduled to meet with the country’s banking and insurance industry representatives on Wednesday to jointly explore Germany’s role in the Greek bailout, based on a new rescue plan proposed by France.

Although Greek protesters are protesting against economic austerity measures, Lagarde still called on Greece to pass the new economic austerity plan.

In an interview on the 29th, Brown said:

“In my exchanges with European leaders, I will insist on the necessary fairness and will not back down in the face of toughness…”

In this interview, he showed a relatively tough attitude towards Greece:

“If tough choices must be made, I will not show the slightest mercy. In order to ensure the sustainable development of public finances and reshape the country’s competitiveness, the Greek authorities must make difficult but necessary adjustments. There is no other choice.”

…

As soon as Brown was elected Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund, Barron congratulated him on the phone.

At this time, he had already left London and arrived at the Borromean Islands in Italy…

This is the traditional territory of the Borromeo family, and it was not Barron’s first time here. He came this time because Beatrice Borromeo was on vacation. She returned to Europe from New York and happened to return here with Barron.

When Barron arrived here, in order to show their importance, “Isola Bella,” the most beautiful of the Borromean Islands, was temporarily closed to the public and specially used to welcome him.

Speaking of which, among the four sisters of the Borromeo family, although the other sisters are all married well, Beatrice’s eldest sister married an Italian Count who is also the Chairman of API Oil Group; the second sister married the Chairman of Fiat Group; the third sister married a German Prince…

It can be said that each of them has an extraordinary status, but perhaps the wealth of these people combined is not as much as Barron’s. And, he is also a British Duke…

Therefore, although Barron and Beatrice have not yet made their relationship public, they still received a warm reception when they came to the Borromeo family this time.

Of course, Barron and them also had no shortage of topics. Whether it was his noble status, or the oil and energy and automotive-related industries he owned, he could communicate with the other Borromeo family sons-in-law.

“I heard that United Energy Group is preparing to acquire shares in Enel?”

Ugo Brachetti Peretti is Beatrice’s eldest brother-in-law. He is also the Chairman of the Italian API Oil Group. He mentioned this topic in his chat with Barron.

“Yes, they are negotiating with RWE, but no agreement has been reached yet, mainly on the price…”

Enel SpA is the largest electricity group in Italy, and British Distribution Company, under United Energy Group, intends to enter the Italian market by acquiring shares in this company.

The most important thing is that if this acquisition is completed, then their holdings in Enel will be second only to the government’s shareholding…

The reason why RWE is willing to sell its shares in Enel is also related to their previous acquisition intention.

In 2007, RWE joined the competition to acquire Endesa, the largest electricity company in Spain. At that time, their offer of more than 29 billion euros had already defeated the Spanish domestic competitor Gas Natural.

However, at this time, because the Spanish government did not want the country’s largest electricity company to fall into the hands of foreign companies, it imposed certain restrictions on the conditions—and then RWE’s competitor appeared, that is, Enel jointly acquired Endesa with the Spanish domestic infrastructure company Acciona, and pushed the acquisition price to more than 40 billion euros.

At that time, in order to prevent Enel from participating in this bidding, RWE increased its shareholding in Enel, holding 32% of the shares—this shareholding ratio was only 0.4% lower than that of the Italian government, the controlling party of Enel…

But in the end, their actions did not prevent RWE’s failure to acquire Endesa…

Therefore, their current high shareholding in Enel is not so meaningful to RWE—moreover, RWE has recently hoped to compete with Eon on the country’s natural gas pipeline network and needs capital investment, so it has begun to consider selling part of Enel.

This is also an opportunity for United Energy Group to enter the Italian market, so they are preparing to take over the shares of Enel held by RWE.

Chapter 812: Power Group

The current United Energy Group possesses multiple businesses, including oil and gas extraction, natural gas transmission and storage (British Gas Company), and power generation and distribution (British Power Distribution Company).

Their British Gas Company previously entered the French natural gas market by acquiring TotalEnergies’ Total Gas & Power France (TIGF). After being acquired by British Gas Company, TIGF became their French subsidiary, currently holding approximately 20% of the French natural gas storage and transmission market.

If United Energy Group’s entry into the French market through the acquisition of TIGF wasn’t considered a large-scale move, then this purchase of shares in the Italian National Electricity Company is a very significant investment.

Because the Italian National Electricity Company (Enel SpA) can be described as a behemoth. In last year’s Fortune Global 500 list, it ranked fourth among electricity companies, the second largest electricity company in Europe after Électricité de France, with a current market value of as high as 50 billion US dollars!

Based on the current market value alone, the 32% stake held by RWE is worth over 16 billion US dollars!

What’s more, to complete this acquisition, United Energy Group will inevitably need to pay a premium. For a monopoly electricity company like the Italian National Electricity Company, every share transaction will be a high-profile event.

To complete this acquisition, United Energy Group will issue corporate bonds worth a total of 10 billion US dollars to its major shareholders, and take nearly 10 billion US dollars from its own profits to pay for this acquisition.

Of course, most of the corporate bonds they issue will be purchased by funds under the DS Group.

After all, they have obtained substantial profits from the European sovereign debt crisis and the previous short-selling operations in Japan and South Korea, and now they need to invest these profits in the acquisition of high-quality assets.

This is also the reason why Hugo, as the chairman of the API Oil Group, is so enthusiastic towards Barron.

After all, API Oil Group is not among the top oil companies in Italy, and its scale is even less comparable to that of the Italian National Electricity Company. Enel is the third largest company in Italy, second only to Eni Group (ENI) and UniCredit…

Even the Fiat Group owned by Beatrice’s brother-in-law, John Elkann, has a market value far higher than that of API Oil Group…

After all, Fiat Group is the 7th largest company in Italy, with a market value of around 13.5 billion US dollars!

The main business of API Oil Group is the manufacturing and sales of petroleum products. They have a wide distribution of gas stations in Italy, as well as their own crude oil refining plants, belonging to the downstream enterprises in the oil industry.

Prior to this, API Oil Group also cooperated with United Energy Group, and they purchased some of their refined oil and crude oil from United Energy Group.

United Energy Group has also deployed some gas stations in Ireland, Britain, and France through acquisitions and new construction, controlling a portion of downstream sales.

But currently, these are still not the main industrial directions of United Energy Group.

In fact, this acquisition of shares in the Italian National Electricity Company by United Energy Group is not as simple as it seems on the surface, just to obtain shares in this company.

Currently, among the shareholders of the Italian National Electricity Company, the largest shareholder is the Italian government, which holds 32.4% of the shares, only slightly higher than the 32% stake held by RWE.

But it is this difference of only 0.4% of the shares that RWE has never been able to overcome. Any increase in their shareholding ratio on this basis requires the consent of the Italian government.

Obviously, the Italian government will not give up its control of the Italian National Electricity Company, which is why RWE finally gave up and prepared to sell these shares.

United Energy Group’s British Power Distribution Company, in addition to owning power distribution networks and related power plants in Ireland and Britain, also owns 40% of the shares of British Energy Group, the main nuclear power plant operator in Britain. In addition, British Power Distribution Company also owns power plants and power distribution networks in Australia and Southeast Asia.

It can be said that British Power Distribution Company has become one of the largest electricity companies in Britain. After United Energy Group completes the acquisition of 32% of the shares of the Italian National Electricity Company, it will try to persuade the Italian government to merge British Power Distribution Company with the Italian National Electricity Company, thereby creating a power group with businesses all over Europe, as well as Australia and Southeast Asia, which will surpass Électricité de France in one fell swoop and become the largest power group in Europe.

I believe that the Italian side should still be interested in this proposal, even if the Italian government loses control of the company at that time.

But after all, it is now a time of European debt crisis, and the situation in Italy may not be much better…

Currently, the Prime Minister of Italy is still Berlusconi, but Barron knows that he will resign as Prime Minister in November of this year.

The reason is that the Italian sovereign debt crisis is intensifying. Faced with a serious economic crisis, Berlusconi has no way to deal with it properly, and finally resigns.

At that time, Italian bond yields soared to 7.5%, making Italy unable to repay its debts, and also dragging Spain, Portugal and other countries, and even the entire Eurozone, into the crisis.

It is already July, and there are only a few months left until that time. I believe that by that time, not to mention agreeing to the merger of the two power groups, even selling the Italian government’s shares in the Italian National Electricity Company may be acceptable to the Italian government, which is in urgent need of funds…

“In fact, in addition to the Italian National Electricity Company, including the Italian Natural Gas Company and some Italian banks, are assets that can be acquired…”

Before coming to Italy, Barron had a related conversation with Daisy. At that time, he said:

“We also have related short-selling operations in Italy. Taking advantage of the low stock prices of some companies to buy in will turn our profits into tangible assets.”

Britain, France, Italy, and Germany will be the most core part of Europe, and will also be the key areas for the layout of some industries controlled by him.

After controlling this area, spreading to other countries will be able to achieve twice the result with half the effort.

Chapter 813: Gains and Losses

On July 15th, the SEM Group, after holding a board meeting, announced to the public that the current Group CEO, Feagal Hayden, had concluded his term and would serve as an advisor to the board thereafter.

The board of directors decided that Michael Gray, the former CEO of Pinnacle Media, would be promoted to CEO of the SEM Group, and Bonnie Cavendish, the executive director of the SEM Group, would take over as CEO of Pinnacle Media.

At this point, many people could see that, given Michael Gray’s age, he would likely serve one term as CEO of the SEM Group. After his term expired, Bonnie Cavendish would very likely succeed him.

She was not only Barron’s ex-wife, but also demonstrated extremely high personal ability in the development of the SEM Group, especially in the area of variety shows, where ITV had a greater advantage than other television stations. Almost all of ITV’s (and the former SDTV’s) phenomenal variety shows were spearheaded by her.

In addition, it is worth mentioning that in the Forbes Global 100 Most Powerful Women list released earlier this year, Bonnie Cavendish ranked 50th – right after the Queen of England.

She was also the second-highest-ranked British woman.

It is worth noting that the top three on this list were German Chancellor Merkel, American Secretary of State Hillary, and Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff.

It is also worth mentioning that Ivanka TP, the chairman and CEO of IC Capital, ranked 9th on this list, after Michelle, wife of Barack Obama…

Anyway, Barron had the maids collect all the newspapers that published this list that day at home…

Oh, right, after returning to London this time, Barron and his family moved into the renovated super mansion in Kensington. This super mansion, which was created by connecting his original villa with three adjacent villas, was finally completed.

Therefore, there was enough space here for Barron’s female companions and children in London to live. In particular, the garden rebuilt after demolishing one of the villas was the children’s favorite place to play.

Moreover, during the renovation process, the security level here was also improved. It is no exaggeration to say that the security level at Barron’s place now is comparable to Buckingham Palace.

…

“What’s wrong?”

“Regarding the aid to Greece, Lagarde had previously communicated with me…”

After leaving Italy, Barron arrived in France…

At this time, Ashley Weber in front of Barron, with a rosy complexion, looked like a woman who had been well nourished.

Unfortunately, Ashley did not get her wish to conceive Barron’s child last time, so this time he came here, he naturally needed to put in some effort and hard work…

“By the way, Barron, about Lagarde…”

Ashley said to Barron:

“She was a little unwilling about the position of President of the International Monetary Fund…”

“That’s just the way it is, isn’t it?”

Barron shrugged and said:

“No one could have predicted that Kahn would have such an incident. As for the choice between her and Brown, the Americans’ choice is self-evident. I believe she can understand.”

Speaking of which, Christine Lagarde could also be considered Barron’s ally, but there was no way around it. Barron had a closer relationship with Brown, and after all, he was a Brit. To maximize his interests, he could only choose to support Brown.

Moreover, just as he said, no one could have predicted before that Kahn would suddenly fall due to the “sexual assault incident”… except for himself.

Besides, Lagarde is now in the position of French Minister of Finance, which is more beneficial to Barron.

“What is Lagarde’s attitude towards the bailout of Greece?”

“A bailout is necessary, but first of all, it cannot excessively damage the interests of other countries. Otherwise, this kind of aid can easily lead to the disintegration of the Eurozone. What’s more, in addition to Greece, countries like Ireland and Portugal are also in dire straits.”

Hearing Ashley say this, a smile appeared on Barron’s face:

“So, interestingly, Lagarde and Brown are basically in sync on their attitude towards Greece.”

“I believe that if she were to sit in the position of IMF President, she would make the same choice. This is not just about Greece alone.”

In addition to this, they also talked about the L’Oréal Group.

With the “help” of various parties, including Sarkozy, unlike Barron’s previous life, Liliane Bettencourt won the lawsuit against her daughter, Meyer.

However, according to Ashley’s definite information, Liliane Bettencourt has indeed been diagnosed with mild “mixed dementia” and suspected “Alzheimer’s disease.” Therefore, even if her condition worsens further, her daughter could still win control of the Bettencourt family property if she continues to file a lawsuit.

Therefore, the GHL Group (Gucci-Hermès-L’Oréal Group) will also seize control of the L’Oréal Group, such as acquiring their L’Oréal Group shares from Liliane Bettencourt, or injecting capital through other means to dilute the other party’s shares.

Currently, the GHL Group holds 69% of the shares of the L’Oréal Group, and the other 31% of the shares are held by the Bettencourt family.

Of course, with the proportion of shares held by the Bettencourt family, they have basically lost most of their influence over the L’Oréal Group. Even the influence they have left will eventually be lost over time, coupled with the change of management of the L’Oréal Group.

But the best option is to try to compress the other party’s shareholding ratio as much as possible before Liliane Bettencourt loses control of the family, otherwise her daughter may still cause trouble for the GHL Group.

In this matter, Sarkozy did use his influence, but in other aspects…

“This time, although Kahn’s incident eliminated the biggest competitor for Sarkozy, he also lost a lot of points…”

“Yes, many people believe that the government’s support for Kahn was insufficient, allowing the American conspiracy to succeed…”

Just like what was said before, in the Kahn incident, because of his achievements as French Minister of Finance and his tough stance as President of the International Monetary Fund, Kahn still had many supporters in France.

Regarding the Kahn incident, the French mostly believed that this was an American conspiracy, and the whole incident was a frame-up against Kahn.

Although the French side’s “cold treatment” of Kahn successfully prevented him from participating in the general election next year, it also caused his approval rating among the public to decline.

It looks like that next year, Sarkozy will probably lose the election as in the original timeline…

Chapter 814: Alstom

This time coming to France, Barron had another purpose, which was to prepare to acquire the French energy and power giant—Alstom.

Alstom, founded in 1928, operates in areas covering electricity, electromechanical, high-speed rail, and other businesses.

Alstom has always been known as the pearl of French industry, a national treasure-level enterprise of France.

The famous TGV French high-speed train was built by Alstom; in Taiwan, China, the signaling of the Taipei Metro’s high-capacity system also comes from Alstom; in mainland China, Alstom’s projects include the Three Gorges Dam’s hydroelectric generator sets, the Harmony CRH5 series electric multiple units, the Ling Ao Phase II nuclear power plant, the Nanjing Metro Line 1 and Line 2 trains, the fully automated signaling system for the Yanjing Airport Line, and the trains and signaling systems for the Shanghai Metro, among others…

In the energy sector, Alstom is second only to Germany’s Siemens in the field of gas-fired power generation turbines, and along with America’s General Electric (GE), is the world’s third-largest manufacturer…

And in the field of power grid transmission and distribution systems, Alstom is second only to Germany’s Siemens and Switzerland’s ABB, also the world’s third-largest manufacturer…

But such a giant enterprise is now in a bad situation, because Alstom has experienced a series of wrong decisions and bad luck in the past…

In 1999, in order to compete with GE (General Electric), the leading power equipment supplier at the time, Alstom and power giant ABB formed a joint venture, AAP, with Alstom and ABB each holding 50% of the shares.

Afterwards, AAP developed the world’s most powerful (240,000 kilowatts) and most efficient (54%) gas turbine generator sets GT24 and GT26 at the time. Once the products were launched, their technical performance attracted the attention of the world, and 76 units were sold in a very short period of time.

In 2000, Alstom spent a huge sum of 5 billion euros to buy out all of ABB’s AAP shares from its partner ABB. Unfortunately, however, a generator set produced by the previous joint venture AAP was found to have defects, and Alstom paid an additional 2 billion euros for repairs.

It can be said that this decision-making error greatly damaged Alstom’s vitality…

But that’s not all. As a manufacturer of large luxury cruise ships, Alstom designed a win-win financing plan to sell products to cruise companies in the Caribbean region—however, the “9/11” incident caused a sharp decline in the business volume of cruise companies in the Caribbean region, so they stopped paying lease fees to the international syndicate. The international syndicate then turned to Alstom, the guarantor, to demand debt repayment, which made Alstom’s situation even worse.

Misfortunes never come singly. After the completion of the Channel Tunnel running the “Eurostar” high-speed train, Alstom, as the general contractor, further established its leading position in the industry, but budget errors led to high construction costs, resulting in further losses in its economic benefits.

These events directly led to a financial crisis for Alstom, bordering on bankruptcy…

As France’s industrial giant, if Alstom declared bankruptcy, not only would 110,000 employees around the world lose their jobs, but it would also lead to the consecutive bankruptcy of dozens of its creditor banks. Therefore, Alstom and its creditor banks simultaneously requested the French Ministry of Economy, Finance and Industry to intervene.

Then, in October 2004, the French government stepped in to buy 21% of the shares to help Alstom through the difficulties.

In 2006, the French government sold its shares in Alstom to the French real estate giant Bouygues Group. Bouygues Group has continued to increase its shareholding since then, and currently their shareholding in Alstom Group has reached 25%…

However, Alstom, which obtained new investment, did not rise again, but instead deeply trapped the Bouygues Group—the 2008 financial crisis brought a catastrophic blow to Alstom, and the stock fell by 30% that year. Since then, although it has tried to remedy the situation by massively laying off people and selling its assets to increase cash flow, it still cannot stop the downward trend…

Therefore, the Bouygues Group, which has been trapped all along, also has the idea of selling their 25% stake in the Alstom Group…

The reason why Barron is interested in Alstom is also because its two main businesses, gas turbine equipment and power generation turbines, as well as power grid transmission and distribution systems, are of strategic significance to Barron’s power industry, as well as ships and high-speed rail.

In terms of the acquisition of Alstom, Barron also handed over the acquisition strategy to William-Webb Capital, which is managed by Ashley.

“We have already contacted the Bouygues Group, and they are interested in selling their Alstom shares…”

Ashley said to Barron:

“In addition, including BNP Paribas and Natixis Bank, are creditors of the Alstom Group. In terms of the sales plan, we can get the support of these two banks.”

Back when the Alstom Group was on the verge of bankruptcy in 2004, its main creditor banks included BNP Paribas and Natixis Bank. To date, these two banks still hold a large amount of the Alstom Group’s debt.

You should know that Standard Chartered-Merrill Lynch, controlled by Barron, is one of the major shareholders of BNP Paribas; and the controlling party of Natixis Bank is William-Webb Capital.

Therefore, these two banks, as the main creditor banks of the Alstom Group, can naturally exert influence on the Alstom Group and the French government in the acquisition.

After all, in addition to Barron’s side, there are several companies interested in the Alstom Group—including Siemens, General Electric, and Mitsubishi.

“Mitsubishi is not a threat here. After all, in the main business of the Alstom Group, Mitsubishi is quite far from it, and Mitsubishi does not have an advantage in terms of bidding…”

After listing the possible competitors, Ashley analyzed for Barron:

“As for Siemens, it competes with Alstom in all aspects. Whether it is the French government or the Alstom Group, they are very resistant to selling Alstom to Siemens!”

The reason why Ashley said this is because Siemens and Alstom have a high degree of similarity in their businesses, making the French side very worried that a merger between the two would lead to massive layoffs.

In addition, in 2004, when Alstom was operating miserably and on the verge of bankruptcy, Siemens lobbied the French government not to come to the rescue, hoping to sell Alstom to Siemens…

It is also because of this history that the entire Alstom company has expressed its unwelcomeness to Siemens.

“Moreover, as the two largest electrical companies in Europe, and with comprehensive business competition, it also means that if the two merge, it will directly form a monopoly in the industry, which is also not allowed by the EU’s anti-monopoly agencies.”

Chapter 815: Ideologies

Regarding Alstom Group, the most well-known incident in Barron’s previous life was the suppression of this company by the United States…

In the original timeline, on April 14, 2014, Alstom’s international sales vice president, Frédéric Pierucci, was arrested in the United States. Subsequently, three more senior executives were arrested by the United States, all facing charges of commercial bribery. They were imprisoned in high-security prisons in the United States and, in the process, demanded a sky-high compensation of 800 million US dollars. Failure to pay the compensation would result in the direct arrest of Alstom’s president.

The decision to arrest Alstom’s senior executives actually originated from the United States’ “Foreign Corrupt Practices Act”…

In fact, all business giants are not clean in their behavior of seizing orders. Especially companies like Alstom, in order to obtain international orders, had bribed local officials in Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the Bahamas, and Indonesia in the form of consulting fees, ultimately obtaining 4 billion US dollars in orders. Part of the bribes were channeled through Alstom’s American subsidiary, which gave the Americans an opportunity.

Even for some American giants, such operations are very normal.

But the background at the time was that the American industrial giant General Electric (GE) was seeking to acquire Alstom Group’s most profitable power division, and they also faced competition from Siemens.

Therefore, facing the accusations from the United States, Alstom, which was listed in the United States, had no choice but to admit defeat. After all, being blacklisted by the American market would undoubtedly be an economic death sentence. The compensation of 800 million US dollars was also not low, so they ultimately had to sell their most profitable power division to General Electric for 12.4 billion euros to avoid the charges. It was called a fair and impartial commercial acquisition, but only they knew whether it was fair.

Therefore, although Ashley Webber’s analysis suggested that General Electric would not pose too great a threat to their acquisition, it was only because she had not yet encountered the United States using such “off-the-field tactics” to force Alstom.

However, Barron’s advantage now is that, first of all, he is more than two years ahead of General Electric’s acquisition of Alstom in the original timeline. At this time, General Electric has not yet focused more on the energy and power sector. Therefore, even if General Electric intends to enter the competition after Barron initiates an acquisition of Alstom, they may not necessarily use such drastic methods.

In addition, he also has time to prevent some of Alstom’s operations from being caught “red-handed” by the United States, so the accusations from the United States can likely be avoided.

But in any case, acquiring a company like Alstom is not something that can be accomplished overnight. Both Barron’s side and Ashley’s William-Webber Capital need to do a lot of work for this.

In particular, it will take some time for the French side to accept the reality of Alstom Group being acquired.

To this end, under Ashley’s arrangement, Barron specifically met with French President Sarkozy privately. As for the specific content of their conversation, it is not known to outsiders.

At least after that, the French side, on the premise that Barron could guarantee that there would be no large-scale layoffs after the completion of the acquisition, and that Alstom’s headquarters would remain in France and its main business would not be relocated, would not set obstacles to Barron’s acquisition.

Next, Global Industrial Investments (GII) Fund reached an agreement with the French Bouygues Group to purchase 25% of Alstom Group’s shares from them for 3 billion euros.

In the original timeline, General Electric’s initial offer for Alstom Group was less than 10 billion euros, but later, facing competition from Siemens, the price was raised to 12.8 billion euros.

But that was already 2014, and Alstom Group’s stock price had already rebounded significantly compared to the subprime mortgage crisis.

Now, GII Fund is acquiring Alstom Group for a total value of approximately 12 billion euros. In fact, compared to its current market value, there is already a premium of more than 25%, which cannot be considered low.

This is also the reason why Bouygues Group was able to quickly reach an agreement to sell Alstom Group’s shares. After all, their investment in this company had been trapped for several years. Now, they do not see a positive trend in Alstom Group, and being able to withdraw the funds from it at a good price is enough to satisfy Bouygues Group.

After obtaining 25% of Alstom Group’s shares, GII Fund, together with William-Webber Capital, launched an overall acquisition offer for Alstom Group, preparing to privatize Alstom Group for a total price of 12 billion euros.

This news immediately made Alstom the focus of media reports again.

However, at this time, the acquisition is still in progress, but in fact, Barron has already reached a tacit understanding with all parties on the key issues.

Therefore, he also took the opportunity to leave France, which was attracting a lot of attention, and left the opportunity to stand in front of the stage to GII Fund’s CEO, Finn Hudson, and William-Webber Capital’s Ashley.

…

“Regarding Motorola Mobility, those adjustments already have detailed plans, so I don’t need to pay too much attention to them. Now I have handed over many of IC Capital’s daily tasks to the team to be responsible for…”

In the Long Island manor, Barron accompanied Ivanka for a walk in the garden, listening to her talk about her work arrangements.

After leaving France, he returned to London to deal with some matters, and then flew directly to New York.

After all, it is already the end of July, and in just over a month, Ivanka’s due date will arrive. Barron will also stay in the United States during this time to accompany her.

It can be clearly seen that Ivanka’s belly is already very large. For the soon-to-be-born son—it has been confirmed that Ivanka is pregnant with a boy this time—after discussing with Barron, the two decided to name him Theodore TP.

Yes, this child will take his mother’s surname, which is also to establish Ivanka’s image as an “independent and self-reliant” powerful woman in public.

Anyway, for Barron, his children have taken their mother’s surname many times before—in fact, for him, even Cavendish, his own surname in this life, is not taken too seriously.

If viewed from a psychological perspective, the most important period for shaping a person’s worldview is childhood—which means that for his soul, these concepts had already formed in his previous life.

Reincarnating as a British Duke has given Barron more opportunities. He can do corresponding things for his current identity and interests, but it does not mean that in his heart, he completely identifies as a “British Duke” or even an “Anglo-Saxon white man”!

Everything is for the sake of profit.

This is his most honest thought. It is not about family or race, but he is more concerned about the inheritance of his ideals and spirit.

In the eyes of others, this means that he is a very open-minded person who is not particularly stubborn or traditional.

Just like the decision he made regarding his child with Ivanka, it also greatly comforted Ivanka and made up for the regret of not being able to give her the status of marriage.

Chapter 816: An Unexpected Twist

Of course, this time he came to America not only to accompany Ivanka as she awaited childbirth, but also to monitor General Electric’s movements as the GII Fund and William-Webb Capital moved forward with their acquisition of Alstom.

This way, Barron could, when the time was right, use his influence in America to prevent the American side from using “anti-corruption” as a pretext to pressure the acquisition, as had happened in the original timeline.

“The reporters around the estate have been showing up more and more frequently lately…”

After Barron arrived in New York, the ever-“resourceful” reporters got wind of the news.

After all, even though he arrived on a private plane, these reporters probably knew more about Ivanka’s pregnancy than she did herself, due to their concern for her.

Therefore, the news that she was about to give birth made the media particularly interested in the movements of the “father of the child.”

When the Devonshire landed at the New York airport, even though Barron’s arrival was heavily guarded, the reporters couldn’t get close, but that didn’t stop them from finding out through various channels that the Duke had arrived in New York.

It wasn’t hard to guess why those cameras had appeared near the estate.

However, the number of security personnel around Barron exceeded everyone’s expectations, making it impossible for anyone to get any valuable photos.

Forget about sneaking into the estate, they couldn’t even get close.

These media outlets then discovered that the estate even had a ridiculously advanced laser anti-photography system installed!

Someone tried to use a helicopter to spy on the estate from the air, but that also ended in failure.

As for whether the destruction of their photography equipment would bring lawsuits and compensation for Barron?

Well, you can try discussing that with the Duke’s legal team, which is large and full of top-notch lawyers—they’re itching for a fight. You want to sue us for damaging private property? Then take this subpoena for invading personal privacy and creating a security threat.

Of course, if you have the leisure, you can try a marathon lawsuit with Barron’s legal team, which would contribute a lot to America’s GDP.

“However, there’s some trouble with Sinclair,” Ivanka said to Barron with a slight frown.

“Although the prosecutors don’t have any evidence yet and haven’t formally charged John Smith, the news has been leaked and is already being hyped up. And there are also some restless people within the Sinclair family.”

Barron had already received news of this before arriving in New York.

He hadn’t expected John Smith to overreach and try to have Bartland Rosario taken care of in prison!

Bartland was the hitman John Smith had hired through a third party to silence the hospital caregiver. Later, he was arrested for something else and imprisoned in Maryland.

Originally, according to Barron’s initial suggestion, John Smith only needed to cut off contact with Bartland Rosario, that is, keep the middleman silent—John Smith himself had never had direct contact with Bartland Rosario, so even if Bartland was willing to confess to the prosecutors, it would be difficult to directly implicate John Smith.

At the time, the matter had been suppressed—Bartland’s knowledge was limited, and he hadn’t fully cooperated with the prosecutors yet. Moreover, Ivanka’s Super PAC “Fair Vision” had also used its connections to make it difficult to directly initiate the case.

But perhaps John Smith saw that things were going well and wanted a permanent solution, so he made a foolish move. He contacted an inmate at the Maryland prison again, trying to make Bartland Rosario “shut up forever” in prison…

The key point is that, whether Bartland was lucky or the person John Smith hired was unreliable, the hit wasn’t successful—although Bartland was seriously injured in a “conflict,” he was rescued.

So now, things have gone south. He directly went ballistic and began cooperating with the prosecutors, thereby obtaining the protection of Maryland Attorney General Harrington Porter.

Although Bartland Rosario has no direct evidence to prove that John Smith, the current chairman of the Sinclair Group, is directly related to David Smith’s death.

But by admitting that he was instructed to murder the caregiver who caused David Smith’s death, and explicitly providing that the caregiver said before his death, “Mr. Smith, don’t kill me, someone else made me do it…”

This proves that David Smith’s death was not an accident, but a murder—this is enough for Harrington Porter to launch an investigation into the case.

John Smith’s trouble now is that, even if there is no reliable evidence to link him to the matter, many things don’t require such concrete evidence.

Yes, there may be no evidence to convict you, but everyone knows it was probably you who did it!

Moreover, John Smith himself took control of the Sinclair Group after David Smith’s death, using his mother’s extra vote in the family trust.

The other two of the “ex-wife’s three brothers,” Duncan Smith and Robert Smith, who originally sided with his elder brother David Smith in the family, left the Sinclair Group after that, but that was in the context of David Smith’s accidental death.

They themselves had doubts about David’s death. Now, during the Maryland prosecutors’ investigation, they learned that it was very likely not an accident…

The two also confronted John Smith. Even though John Smith denied the matter and there was no concrete evidence.

But the suspicion that Duncan and Robert had always harbored in their hearts has now become unwavering conviction.

Therefore, their questioning of John Smith during interviews has brought considerable negative impact to the Sinclair Group’s image.

“This matter was caused by John Smith. I think whether he did those things or not, he needs to resolve this matter. We’ve done enough to help the Sinclair Group…”

Ivanka looked at Barron and said, “You know, I really want to believe John, but conspiracy theories are always very popular. If he can’t resolve this matter, then for the normal operation of the Sinclair Group, we can only let him take a break for a while.”

IC Capital is the largest shareholder of the Sinclair Group besides the Sinclair family. As an investor, Ivanka doesn’t care who leads the company, as long as it doesn’t affect the value of the Sinclair Group.

“I feel the same way, honey. It seems John really isn’t that wise sometimes.”

Chapter 817: Charging Standard

Just as Ivanka said, while the matter of “David’s death” hadn’t been brought into the open, and the Maryland State Prosecutor’s Office couldn’t even formally launch an investigation, Ivanka, as the major shareholder representative of the Sinclair Group, had every reason to have her people intervene, using the excuse of “avoiding the negative impact of unwarranted speculation on the Sinclair Group.”

However, once the Maryland prosecutors formally launched a related investigation, Ivanka would definitely not be willing to take the risk of “interfering with judicial investigation” and continue to be involved in the matter.

Therefore, if John Smith couldn’t quell the impact of this matter himself, he would have to temporarily leave his important position in the company for the sake of the Sinclair Group’s normal operations.

It should be known that while the Sinclair Group owns the entire local television network and is a very important television platform, they also have no shortage of competitors in the United States. If there is an opportunity to make an issue of this, these competitors will certainly not let it go easily.

“I’ll find someone to talk to him, I believe he will understand the importance of the matter.”

Barron said to Ivanka at the end.

“Oh right, there’s something else, darling…”

Ivanka took Barron’s hand and said:

“My father said that if you have time, he hopes we can go home for a meal together. After all, he is also very concerned about me…”

“Okay, baby, no problem, you arrange it.”

…

After entering August, United Energy Group finally reached an agreement with German RWE Group. They will acquire 32% of Enel’s (Italian National Electricity Company) shares from the other party for 13 billion euros (equivalent to approximately 18.655 billion US dollars).

This transaction will be conducted in cash. United Energy Group will complete the share delivery and pay the full amount to RWE Group within one month.

From then on, United Energy Group will become the second largest shareholder of Enel, second only to the government’s shareholding.

The Italian electricity industry was initially operated mainly by private enterprises. After 1962, according to the “Nationalization Law of Public Electricity,” the government took over the country’s private electricity companies and established the state-owned Enel (Italian National Electricity Company), which adopted a vertically integrated management system for power generation, transmission, and distribution. Currently, it has 30 million customers throughout Italy, accounting for 87% of the entire country, and is Italy’s largest power generation and supply company.

Currently, Enel mainly has two major business branches: electricity and natural gas.

Its subsidiary natural gas company (Enel Rete Gas) currently has a market share of 15% in Italy and is the second largest natural gas supplier in Italy.

In addition, Enel also has more than 20 companies and institutions, including electricity, energy equipment manufacturing, environmental protection equipment manufacturing, research and development, and new energy development.

Enel has more than 10 wholly-owned, joint venture, and equity participation companies abroad, mainly distributed in Spain, Slovakia, Romania, Bulgaria, and other countries.

For example, Enel currently holds approximately 18% of the shares of Endesa, the largest electricity company in Spain.

“Currently, Morgan Stanley holds 6.6% of Enel’s shares. They originally purchased them from the Italian government for 2.17 billion euros. Now they are quite positive about our offer of 2.68 billion euros…”

United Energy Group CEO Apeli Singleton said to Barron on the phone:

“However, this transaction must be approved by the Italian side. After all, if we complete this transaction, the shares we hold in Enel will exceed those of the Italian government and become the controlling party of this company…”

“Then we can simultaneously propose to acquire part or all of the Italian government’s shareholding, and we can show the Italian side our plan, which is to merge United Energy Group’s British Power Distribution Company and British Gas Company with Enel. This will become the largest electricity group in Europe, and we can guarantee that we will continue to increase the investment of the merged company in Italy.”

Of course, negotiations with the Italian side may not be too smooth.

But Barron knew that after Berlusconi resigned as Prime Minister in November of the original timeline, he was succeeded by Mario Monti, known as “Super Mario.” He is an academic economist who, after taking office, devoted himself to cutting government spending and carrying out liberal economic reforms in Italy. Therefore, the Italian government is very likely to be willing to withdraw its shareholding in Enel at that time, so as to obtain funds to cope with Italy’s sovereign debt crisis.

There are still more than three months. During this time, United Energy Group can first integrate their electricity and natural gas businesses, so as to merge these businesses with Enel’s business at that time.

Therefore, he said to Apeli:

“The merger with Enel will also involve relevant anti-monopoly reviews by the European Union. In this regard, we also need to prepare in advance.”

Oh, it is worth mentioning that Mario Monti’s current position is the European Union’s anti-monopoly commissioner.

…

Also in August, the “Standard Charging Alliance” was jointly established by British Motor Group and Tesla, and the SCC (Standard Charging Connector) charging standard will be launched.

This charging standard is the result of the electric vehicle-related research center jointly established by both parties. The Tesla Model S sedan, which will be launched next year, will use this charging standard.

At the same time, the Concept One supercar jointly launched by Rimac Automobili and Aston Martin, which began to be delivered this year, will also use this charging standard.

And at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September this year, Rimac’s second electric supercar will also be unveiled.

This electric supercar, named Nevera 11, will use their latest battery pack technology on the basis of Concept One to comprehensively improve the performance of the sports car, once again breaking a series of records created by Concept One, and will be the most powerful electric sports car in the world.

And also because the scale of the British Motor Group’s electric supercar manufacturing center in Britain has been expanded and the production capacity has been improved, the Nevera 11 electric supercar is expected to be sold globally in 99 units, with an estimated price of 1.2 million US dollars per car, and will be able to be delivered successively from the beginning of next year.

At the same time, British Motor Group will start next year to hold an electric vehicle championship in Newport, where Aston Martin’s headquarters is located, to promote electric racing.

Chapter 818: Misunderstanding

In fact, future electric vehicle charging standards are mainly divided into three types: American standard, European standard, and China’s national standard, corresponding to the three major electric vehicle markets.

In addition, there are also two charging modes: direct current and alternating current.

At this point in time, the charging standards in these regions are still very early. It can be said that they have not been completely fixed. Therefore, the Standard Charging Alliance formed by British Automotive Group and Tesla also hopes to gain a voice in the charging of electric vehicles in the future.

Next, they will also persuade other car companies to join this alliance. At least China’s Nanjing Automobile Group will participate in this alliance. As for BYD, Barron is also sending people to contact them, hoping they will also become members of the alliance.

Of course, even so, it is impossible to achieve a globally unified charging interface style, because the formulation of this charging standard is very complex and requires consideration of different power grid conditions in various regions.

For example, in Europe, especially in Germany, because there is a need for three-phase electricity, their charging interface needs to be different from other regions.

And it is also necessary to consider the future needs of fast charging, so the charging interface they develop also needs to be scalable.

The first version of the SCC standard charging interface launched by the current Standard Charging Alliance takes into account the needs of major countries, is integrated, and can meet the requirements of North America, China, and Europe.

That is to say, the plugs of charging piles in different regions will be different, but according to their SCC standard, electric vehicles will be equipped with an integrated interface that can adapt to all plugs.

Next, Tesla and British Automotive Group will establish a joint venture company - Standard Automotive Grid Company. This company will install private charging piles for users of member car companies of the Standard Charging Alliance, and begin to install SCC standard public charging piles in parts of North America and Britain.

In addition to the Aston Martin super electric sports car in cooperation with Rimac Automobili, British Automotive Group is also conducting research and development on hybrid vehicles. The upcoming Land Rover and Jaguar brands will have hybrid models.

…

“Our financial control in Japan and South Korea, especially Japan, needs to continue. Not only in the financial sector, but also in the manufacturing sector, their industries can fill the affected American industries after the subprime mortgage crisis.”

Hearing Barron’s words, Jamie Dimon pondered:

“That requires us to intervene more deeply in Japan’s finance, but it will also make us vulnerable to their influence…”

“Haven’t we intervened deeply enough before?”

Barron said with a smile:

“Don’t think Japan is very obedient now. That’s because America has never loosened the rope around its neck. Otherwise, not to mention the Pearl Harbor incident, think about how they bought Columbia Pictures and the Empire State Building…”

Even for his own benefit, Barron hoped that Japan’s economy would continue to suffer a setback, so that he could more easily buy some of their industries.

Especially in the manufacturing sector, for example, although Honor Electronics has already invested in Sharp, holding 9.9% of the company’s shares, if it wants to further complete the acquisition of this company, Japan’s economy also needs to continue to be depressed. Otherwise, he may only be able to wait until Sharp’s revenue situation declines severely a few years later, like Hon Hai in the original timeline.

But by that time, Sharp’s importance to Honor Electronics will not be so great.

Therefore, he still hopes to persuade Jamie Dimon’s JPMorgan Chase, as well as Goldman Sachs and other “allies,” to continue to harvest Japan’s finance.

Of course, people like Jamie Dimon also have their own considerations. This kind of harvesting actually relies on the background of the “dollar tide” and needs to be carried out periodically. Following the trend will make their operations more effective.

Otherwise, the investment will be doubled if it is forced - no matter what, you always need to give them time to recover after sucking blood once, right?

“What’s more, there is an even better opportunity now. The situation in Greece is already very dangerous, isn’t it? In addition, countries such as Italy and Portugal are also inevitable…”

Goldman Sachs Chairman Lloyd Blankfein said with a smile:

“As far as I know, rating agencies, including Moody’s, have decided to lower the credit ratings of Greece and other countries again. If this continues, Greek debt will become junk debt.”

In March of this year, Moody’s had already lowered Greece’s credit rating by three levels in a row, from BA1 to B1…

Indeed, as Lloyd said, if Greece’s rating is downgraded again, then the debt they issue will become junk debt, which also means that Greece’s financing channels in the international financial market will basically be closed.

“This is indeed a negative message for those countries, including Greece, but at the same time, under this circumstance, it is also easier for the Greek government to accept the harsh conditions of the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund in order to obtain assistance again. Therefore, the window of opportunity for us to short may not be too long.”

Currently, funds including DS Group, Standard Chartered-Merrill Lynch Group, and some Wall Street capital have obtained substantial profits from shorting the European economy.

But similarly, just like Japan and South Korea, this kind of “harvesting” also needs to give the other party a recovery period.

And Barron’s own funds were very cautious in this short selling, using all offshore accounts to carry out, and on the surface, it will not be related to their main business - otherwise, even if this short selling can be explained as “normal investment behavior,” many of the businesses he is involved in will also be easily targeted.

“So, we need to seize the last opportunity to increase profits.”

Jamie Dimon raised his glass and said to Barron and the others.

“I have another matter, someone seems to be investigating me…”

Barron’s expression turned serious and said:

“I don’t care if it’s the FBI or the CIA, I hope they can stay away from me.”

“Are you sure?”

Seeing Barron nod slowly, Jamie Dimon took a sip of wine and said lightly:

“This is normal, they have always liked to go their own way, but it doesn’t necessarily mean that there is any plan against you. This may just stem from their perverted desire for control… Anyway, I will find an opportunity to ask about it for you.”

“Thank you, Mr. Dimon. In addition, when I meet with the President, I will mention this matter. I don’t want there to be any misunderstandings between us.”

Chapter 819: Dangerous David

From the outset of this trip to America, Barron had already finalized a private meeting with Barack Obama.

What he had told Jamie Dimon and the others was something he had actually discovered earlier – that the CIA was monitoring him.

However, recently, in addition to Barron himself, his intelligence network had also detected signs that the American side was investigating some of the industries he controlled.

Therefore, this matter would also be brought up during his meeting with Obama. Although the CIA and FBI are managed by different departments, it is no longer the era when J. Edgar Hoover was the director of the FBI and could not be controlled by the president.

Now, neither the CIA nor the FBI would easily go against the will of the President. Therefore, as someone with ties to Obama, Barron could at least express his dissatisfaction to restrain some of these departments’ actions.

This was also based on Barron’s vigilance regarding America’s actions against Alstom in his previous life.

He didn’t want to become a target for America to exploit assets using “long-arm jurisdiction” clauses, including the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.

For example, the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, which was cited as the law to sanction Alstom.

This law, first passed in 1977, prohibits American companies from bribing any foreign companies, governments, or political parties.

Since its enactment, the law has long been questioned by major American industry giants, who believe it puts domestic companies at a disadvantage in export markets. Therefore, it was not vigorously implemented in the early stages.

In 1998, the American Congress amended the law to give it extraterritorial effect, making it equally applicable to foreign companies.

As long as a company signs a cooperation agreement denominated in US dollars, the payment occurs in American territory, or even just sends and stores emails through servers located in America, these are considered “instruments of international trade,” and America believes it has the right to file a lawsuit.

This made the legal clause a tool for America’s long-arm jurisdiction. America used it to continuously plunder assets in the following nearly twenty years. The largest companies in Germany, France, Italy, Sweden, the Netherlands, Belgium, and England were successively convicted of corruption, bank crimes, or violation of sanctions. Tens of billions of dollars in fines went into the American treasury, with French companies alone being extorted for over 13 billion US dollars.

Thus, this act became a real gold mine for the American Treasury.

Of course, in addition to America, major Western powers have similar anti-corruption laws, among which the British Bribery Act is known as “the strictest anti-corruption law in the world.”

Moreover, the relevant laws of many countries were ultimately formulated under the promotion of the United States. As mentioned earlier, the initial legal provision was formulated for American companies when conducting overseas business. This caused dissatisfaction among many large American companies, who believed that such strict restrictions on American companies would make them constrained in some overseas businesses and lose competitiveness.

Therefore, later on, the American side began to exert influence, requiring other countries to also introduce similar laws.

The difference is that even with the same laws, the final effect is different—because America is the only superpower, the relevant laws of other countries can only target their own companies, but America can make it a long-arm jurisdiction legal clause, targeting all companies globally and promoting judicial hegemony on a global scale.

Out of fear of this situation, Barron is very cautious about the “gray transactions” carried out by the companies he controls. He absolutely does not allow them to be conducted through American branches or banks, giving the American side a handle for “jurisdiction.”

This is also one of the reasons why Barron controls Colo. Currently, Colo’s financial business can only reach the African region, but it can still provide him with a safe channel.

However, even so, Barron has not relaxed his vigilance. After all, with many of America’s practices, especially their CIA, they dare to do anything—because of the CIA’s huge global network, even if they can get more than 30 billion US dollars in funding every year, it is still not enough to maintain their overly large subordinate institutions. Therefore, in order to earn extra money, they even engage in many illegal businesses, including but not limited to drug trafficking, human trafficking, and arms trading.

They even carry out these behind-the-scenes “operations” without the knowledge of the American high-level officials.

Therefore, if the CIA really targets him, Barron doesn’t think that just not giving them a handle on the surface is enough. They have done framing and planting evidence before, and they are very skilled at it.

Of course, with Barron’s current status and network of relationships, it is probably not easy for the CIA to deal with him casually. If they really push Barron too far, it is not impossible for the CIA director to commit suicide by shooting himself eight times in the back.

After all, if you anger the Deep State, the American President can have his brains blown out…

He just doesn’t want things to escalate to that point. It would be best to resolve the “misunderstanding” with each other before things worsen.

In addition, in fact, Barron wouldn’t necessarily go to the point of mutual destruction with the CIA…

At the end of April this year, the then CIA Director Leon Panetta was appointed as the Secretary of Defense by Obama.

And his successor was David Petraeus. This person is not unfamiliar to Barron. After all, he served as the supreme commander of the American forces in Iraq from 2007 to 2008. Before serving as the CIA Director, David Petraeus also served as the supreme commander of the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan.

It can be said that he also has many “business dealings” with Protector Military Services Company.

What’s even more interesting is that in Barron’s previous life, David Petraeus had to resign after only a little over a year in the position of CIA Director because he was exposed for having an extramarital affair…

Yes, David Petraeus’s affair with a woman named Paula Broadwell did not escape his intelligence gathering…

Although he would not easily use this kind of thing, the premise is that both parties must maintain a friendly relationship…

He believes that when faced with matters concerning his future, David Petraeus will be able to make a wise choice.

However, speaking of which, there is a reason why this David Petraeus was privately called “Dangerous David” and “Peach” by his mistress.

After all, when David was appointed as the CIA Director, both his mistress and his wife appeared at the scene, and they were sitting in the same row…

Chapter 820: Basically Smooth

“How was the feeling of meeting with that Commander-in-Chief?”

“To be honest, meeting with Barack Obama wasn’t anything special; I’m actually more nervous around your father…”

Hearing Barron’s answer, Ivanka smiled sweetly and said:

“You should know that although some of the things he says in public seem a bit… well, you know, he’s actually a very genuine person in private.”

“I know, baby.”

Barron and Ivanka were talking about his private meeting with the President of the United States today.

Actually, Barron had known Barack Obama even earlier, but at that time, he wasn’t yet the President of the United States.

In Barron’s previous life, someone like Barack Obama would definitely have been an unattainable figure to him. But in reality, if you’ve seen him relaxed and uninhibited in private, then you probably wouldn’t take his current position too seriously.

Of course, different positions naturally bring out different attitudes, which is normal.

During the conversation, when Barron mentioned the CIA’s investigation into him, Barack Obama also said that he would ensure the legitimate interests of investors like Barron, who make significant contributions to the American economy, and wouldn’t let those CIA guys run wild.

Barron took his words with a grain of salt, and would wait and see how things actually turned out.

He also knew that their relationship was pretty good now, and could even be said to have established close ties. But if things turned out the same way they did in his previous life five years from now, then the situation might be different…

“I saw in the reports that General Electric also submitted a bid for Alstom. Will they also be involved in the acquisition of this company?”

The two then discussed the Global Industrial Investments (GII) Fund’s acquisition of Alstom…

It was already mid-August. After completing the acquisition of Alstom shares held by the French Bouygues Group, the GII Fund now held 25% of Alstom’s shares.

In addition, they also acquired Alstom shares through the secondary market, and currently held 35% of the Alstom Group’s shares.

The GII Fund’s offer for the overall acquisition of Alstom Group was a consideration of 12 billion euros.

Currently, in addition to the GII Fund, companies interested in acquiring Alstom Group also included Siemens, Mitsubishi, and General Electric.

Just as Ashley Weber had analyzed, Alstom Group had already rejected Siemens’ acquisition internally—moreover, the Siemens acquisition process seemed more like a “political show,” and their offer wasn’t very sincere.

As for Mitsubishi, they were never really in Alstom’s consideration from the beginning…

Or rather, if there were no other companies, Alstom might have been willing to keep Siemens and Mitsubishi around to drive up the price for the GII Fund, but with General Electric’s competition, these two quickly lost their competitiveness.

So, between the GII Fund and General Electric, Alstom and France naturally favored the GII Fund.

The reason was simple: first of all, General Electric itself competed with Alstom in its business, which also meant that the two sides’ businesses overlapped.

The French naturally worried that General Electric would cut some overlapping businesses after completing the acquisition of Alstom—in the current situation of overall economic downturn in Europe, this also meant that it could cause a large number of unemployed people, which was the last thing France wanted to see.

As for some of the promises that General Electric might make…

Come on, how long can such promises be guaranteed? A year or two? By then, even if they really broke their promises, could France really hold General Electric, such an American giant, accountable?

In this regard, the GII Fund didn’t have to worry about this at all. After all, this was an investment fund, and judging from the GII Fund’s past investments and acquisitions, it was enough to believe that they would maintain the integrity of the Alstom Group.

Moreover, the GII Fund was also one of the major shareholders of United Energy Group. The power companies under United Energy Group, as well as the Italian National Power Company in which they held shares, could provide Alstom’s power business with substantial orders, which was also a point that Alstom valued very much.

As for the behind-the-scenes tricks from the American side?

Fortunately, it wasn’t 2014 now, and the GII Fund acquiring Alstom was backed by Barron, a super-rich with extensive connections in the United States. Although General Electric did lobby the American government to take some actions to pressure Alstom Group.

But similarly, the foundation and the “Fair Vision” Super PAC controlled by Barron were also major clients of American lobbying groups. In this regard, even if the two sides were evenly matched, it would be difficult for the American side to really use behind-the-scenes forces…

Of course, before that, Barron also attended a dinner at Ivanka’s house. This time, not too many guests were invited; it was just her family and Barron.

It could be said that Ivanka was very much loved at home, so her current situation with Barron naturally couldn’t be said to be satisfactory to her family…

Probably anyone whose daughter was treated like this would dislike that rascal, let alone a family that could be called a wealthy clan.

But if you think about the assets she has acquired since being with Barron, just the 15% stake in IC Capital alone is worth more than the entire TP family’s wealth…

Well, if that’s the case, then marriage, such an impractical thing, isn’t really necessary if it doesn’t exist; it’s acceptable…

What’s more, the child that his daughter will give birth to in the future will be named Theodore TP, the new generation of the TP family.

So, at that day’s family dinner, everyone was smiling and happy.

…

Finally, on August 22, Alstom Group’s board of directors voted to accept the GII Fund’s acquisition, and would sell all of Alstom Group’s shares for a consideration of 12 billion euros.

This acquisition would begin after passing the review of the relevant EU authorities.

At that time, Alstom Group would be privatized and delisted from the Paris, New York, and London stock exchanges, and shareholders would receive cash compensation from the GII Fund.

After the acquisition is completed, the current Alstom Group CEO Patrick Kron would continue to serve as the chief executive officer, and the other executives of Alstom Group would basically remain unchanged.

This was also the main reason why Alstom’s management would support the GII Fund’s acquisition of them.

At the same time, the GII Fund also promised France that it would not make large-scale adjustments to Alstom’s business, and would also inject funds into it to help Alstom overcome its difficulties.

At the press conference for the deal, Alstom Group CEO Patrick Kron said that Alstom would, with the support of the GII Fund, consolidate their market share in North America and Europe, and increase investment in emerging markets, including China, especially in smart grids and gas turbines. Alstom would continue to conduct research and development to maintain its leading position in the industry.

Chapter 821: Unforeseen

On August 25, 2011, Ivanka successfully gave birth to a baby boy at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York.

Mount Sinai Hospital, located on Fifth Avenue in New York, is one of the best obstetrics and gynecology hospitals in the city. It should be attributed to Ivanka’s consistent exercise routine that she is in excellent physical condition. Therefore, the birth of their son, Theodore TP, went relatively smoothly.

“Look at him, so beautiful, baby.”

After giving birth, Ivanka returned to the Long Island estate to recuperate. After all, there would be a dedicated team here to assist in her recovery, and in case of any emergency, the best medical staff from Mount Sinai Hospital would arrive by helicopter at a moment’s notice.

Now, after two days, Theodore’s skin no longer looked wrinkled like it did at birth. He was starting to fill out, looking small and tiny, his big eyes full of curiosity as he looked around, appearing extremely adorable.

When Barron held him close to Ivanka, it seemed as if he recognized his mother. Theodore stretched out his little hand towards Ivanka, with a pitiful little expression…

Seeing this, Ivanka quickly took the child from Barron’s arms. Seeing Theodore smile in her embrace, she felt her heart melt and couldn’t help but say to Barron:

“Yes, dear, he truly is a little angel. Perhaps our Theodore could even become the President of the United States in the future!”

Oh? That was a path Barron hadn’t considered.

But it seemed that, as a member of the TP family, Ivanka was indeed a bit like her father, still having a bit of an obsession with the presidency.

But for Barron, it didn’t matter. After all, it was still forty years away—so far, the youngest President of the United States, uh, was also named Theodore…

Theodore Roosevelt took office as President of the United States at the age of 42 years and 322 days.

Moreover, rather than being a figurehead like the President, wouldn’t it be more comfortable to be the power behind the throne?

…

“Why are you here? Jenny.”

Just then, Jenny Smith came to New York. She called Barron, insisting on seeing him.

“You should know, Barron, John is in trouble.”

“You came to see me for this?”

Seeing Barron’s calm and composed demeanor, Jenny gritted her teeth and said:

“Otherwise what? Although we have… but John is still my husband after all.”

“That’s not like you, Jenny.”

Hearing Barron’s words, Jenny glared at him:

“What do you think I should be like? Abandon him when he’s in trouble and then be with you? You and I both know, you have too much company, Barron.”

“Alright, then what do you want me to do?”

Although Jenny initially didn’t know what John had done in the “Death of David” affair, it was clear that she must have found out something by now, judging by her current attitude.

“I hope you can continue to support him. I heard that the shareholders of Sinclair Group want him to temporarily leave the company…”

“Jenny, having John step aside temporarily isn’t abandoning him as you say. It’s actually protecting him. After things have settled down, John will return to the position of chairman.”

“I don’t think that’s really the right thing to do, Barron. Stepping aside is a sign of weakness. If he hasn’t done anything wrong, why should he step aside?”

She softened her voice, earnestly saying to Barron:

“I haven’t asked you for anything before. I only hope that you can support John now. Only by retaining his current position can he withstand those attacks, otherwise… there will be too many variables.”

Hearing her say these words, Barron was silent for a moment before saying to her:

“I can do as you say, but you need to understand that the final result depends on what John does. If he continues to make foolish moves like before, then it’s better to leave sooner rather than later.”

“I only need this one chance.”

“Alright, Jenny, but you need to let John know that the FBI has become involved in this matter, so tell him to be careful about what he says. I don’t want him to be caught by the other side because of something he says.”

If the FBI was involved, then the resources they could mobilize would far exceed the authority of the police. In addition to the possibility of wiretapping John’s related personnel’s phones, even their usual conversations could be under surveillance.

So Barron had to remind Jenny about this.

This didn’t have much to do with Barron. On the one hand, what he valued was Sinclair Group’s media dissemination capabilities. Even if John was arrested by the police, the impact on Sinclair Group would be limited—at most, the stock price would be affected in the short term. On the other hand, this matter would not involve Barron in any way. Even if the FBI intervened, they would not monitor him.

Therefore, since Jenny had come forward to plead for John, it wasn’t impossible to give him another chance.

If he still messed things up this time, then he would have to bear the consequences himself.

After receiving a satisfactory answer, Jenny finally felt relieved…

Of course, to thank Barron, Jenny put even more effort into their “knowledge exchange,” and her learning ability amazed Barron, making him very pleased…

…

“Currently, we at Costco have already begun to promote e-commerce business in North America, but the specific model still needs to be explored…”

Barron could understand what the CEO of Costco was saying.

For Argos Retail Group, which mainly competes with Amazon in the e-commerce field in the European market, being able to bring e-commerce business into North America and pose a threat to Amazon in its “home base” was also a goal they hoped to achieve.

So after acquiring Costco, they could finally promote e-commerce business here based on the retail company’s North American sales network.

But Costco’s e-commerce business still had a problem to solve.

That was that Costco’s own sales model relied on membership fees for profit, ensuring low prices and high quality, and customer loyalty was very high, which allowed it to maintain steady growth for many years.

But for the same reason, if e-commerce business was developed, the current European and American approach was to include shipping and handling fees in the price of the goods. Therefore, for Costco, the result would be that online shopping prices would usually be higher than in physical stores.

Currently, many customers who shop online are often office workers who don’t have much time. The method of shopping online and having it delivered to their homes, although the price is slightly higher than shopping in physical stores, is acceptable.

But as e-commerce competition intensifies, price wars are inevitable. At that time, consumers will be more inclined to find cheaper goods, so Costco members will generally choose to go to the store to buy or shop at other online retailers.

On the other hand, the delivery services offered by Costco on its website are mainly divided into same-day delivery and two-day delivery, which greatly limits the selection of goods.

For a simple example, if consumers choose the two-day delivery service, then the platform will not offer perishable goods such as fresh produce, bakery pastries, or roast chicken.

In the early stages of Costco’s e-commerce business, the delivery fee for its delivery personnel to achieve same-day delivery will definitely be higher than for two-day delivery. Many customers will often choose two-day delivery, so the types of goods purchased will inevitably be limited.

These are all problems that Costco needs to solve in its subsequent e-commerce business.

Chapter 822: Battery Production Center

By early September, Barron had left the United States and returned to London.

Upon his arrival in London, the CEO of Alstom Group, Patrick Kron, traveled specifically from France to meet with Barron.

The GII Fund had already reached an agreement to acquire Alstom. As for the European Union, the GII Fund’s acquisition of Alstom didn’t involve a merger of the two companies; it was simply an acquisition. Therefore, there were no antitrust issues, and the acquisition was quickly approved.

Patrick Kron would continue to serve as the CEO of Alstom Group, and with the injection of funds from the GII Fund, he would make certain adjustments to Alstom Group.

However, the main topic they discussed during their meeting was a thorough internal audit of Alstom Group.

This was Barron’s precautionary measure to prevent Alstom from repeating past mistakes. In the original timeline, the main reason Alstom was targeted by the United States, besides “assisting” General Electric in acquiring the company, was that Alstom’s business threatened related American industries.

Although Alstom had been acquired by the GII Fund, avoiding its fate of being taken over by General Electric, the threat Alstom posed to related American industries still existed. Therefore, it couldn’t be said that Alstom was now safe. Even Barron’s own other businesses had inevitably been investigated by the CIA before, so he couldn’t be complacent and assume that the United States would let the company off the hook.

Of course, engaging in certain transactions privately to secure overseas orders was unavoidable in many countries in Asia, Africa, and Latin America.

As mentioned before, multinational corporations all did this; if you didn’t, you would only lose out on some major orders.

But even so, Alstom needed to avoid certain actions that could fall within the scope of the United States’ Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.

Now that Alstom was being acquired by the GII Fund, it would soon be delisted from the New York Stock Exchange. However, the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act stipulated that even if you engaged in these activities through American branches, banks, or related institutions, the United States would still exercise long-arm jurisdiction.

Therefore, the purpose of this audit was to first identify any previous “private transactions” that involved companies and institutions that could be “governed” by the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. In the original timeline, Alstom’s vice president was detained by the United States. One of the charges was that in 2003, Alstom’s vice president, Frédéric Pierucci, bribed Indonesian members of parliament and officials from the state electricity company through “middlemen” to successfully bid for the Tarahan power station project in Sumatra and the Phase 5 project of the Ciliwung power plant near Jakarta.

At the time, using middlemen to obtain international market projects was an accepted and common practice, and many large multinational corporations, including Alstom, had used similar methods.

But the key was that this particular transaction involved an American branch of Alstom, so the United States seized on this loophole and arrested Pierucci, citing the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.

Therefore, this internal audit of Alstom was to screen out such past transactions and rectify them.

In addition, it was to strictly stipulate that Alstom’s future similar transactions should not be conducted in US dollars (using US dollars would involve American banks or financial institutions, which were also within the scope of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act), nor should they be conducted through any company or institution related to the United States.

A relatively advantageous point for Barron was that through the development of local financial institutions, including Colo’s African Union Bank, its related businesses would not be limited to the African region but would also expand to Asia, Europe, and other places. Therefore, this would provide a safer and more discreet channel for many of their transactions, making them less susceptible to strict American supervision.

This was a very significant function of a regional financial center. For example, Barron knew from his previous life that if a film company or a company that signed internet celebrities had a close relationship with a company established in Hong Kong, there was a very high probability that these companies would be involved in money laundering.

This was using the convenience of Hong Kong’s financial center to conduct illegal transactions.

It could be said that Alstom’s downfall to its current state was not without reason. Besides bad luck, its internal management did have some problems.

But similarly, the reason Barron went to great lengths to acquire it was that it had corresponding value. In terms of technology, Alstom also had its own technological reserves in the fields of power and gas turbines.

Therefore, Patrick Kron’s next very important task was to reorganize Alstom’s business and develop it according to the path Barron had set for Alstom.

After all, although he was in the financial industry in his previous life, it also involved some corporate mergers and acquisitions. At that time, some domestic Chinese power companies had hired their department for consulting when conducting overseas mergers and acquisitions.

Therefore, although Barron was completely ignorant of the specific technical aspects of these industries, he still knew which fields had development potential ten years later.

And these were what Alstom needed most now.

…

On September 15th, the Frankfurt Motor Show began.

Germany was the first place in the world to hold an international auto show. The Frankfurt Motor Show was formerly the Berlin Motor Show, founded in 1897. It moved to Frankfurt in 1951 and was held annually, with passenger cars and commercial vehicles alternating.

The Frankfurt Motor Show was the largest auto show in the world, known as the “Automobile Olympics.”

At this year’s Frankfurt Motor Show, a dedicated exhibition hall was set up for the first time to showcase electric vehicles, representing the organizers’ support for and deepening of the global promotion and use of electric vehicles.

Following the launch of the electric supercar Concept One at the Shanghai World Expo last year, Rimac Automobili and Aston Martin’s new electric supercar, Nevera 11, also made its debut at this year’s auto show and received a great deal of attention.

In addition to the performance improvements of the Nevera 11 compared to the Concept One, the most important point was that the batteries used in the Nevera 11 were manufactured by the British Motor Group itself.

At the beginning of this year, the British Motor Group acquired a lithium battery manufacturing plant in Britain from the Japanese Automotive Energy Supply Corporation (AESC), and on this basis, established its own battery production center.

AESC was a joint venture established by Nissan and NEC in 2007, specializing in lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles. One of their lithium manganese oxide batteries was used in Nissan’s Nissan Leaf car last year, which later became the world’s best-selling pure electric model.

Their battery production plant in Britain was located in Sunderland, in the northeast of England. Based on the research results of the joint research and development center between the British Motor Group and Tesla, they established the British Motor Group’s first battery production center after acquiring this battery plant. The lithium batteries produced were currently of relatively good performance. After a long period of testing on the Nevera 11 prototype, the results were very satisfactory.

After using their self-produced batteries and battery pack technology, the Nevera 11’s full-charge range was significantly improved compared to the Concept One.

In addition to providing batteries for the Nevera 11, this Sunderland battery production center would also provide batteries for Jaguar’s upcoming pure electric sedan.

This would also be the first electric sedan produced by the British Motor Group, and it was expected to be sold in the European market starting next year.

Jaguar’s model was named TYPE, a four-door coupe, and its pure electric version would be launched at the end of 2012, with an estimated price of $95,000 to $100,000, slightly higher than the Tesla Model S.

Chapter 823: Xiaomi Corporation

In order to launch this Jaguar TYPE electric sports coupe, British Motor Group renovated one of its Jaguar production bases in Britain, which will be dedicated to producing its electric car models.

For the renovation of this electric vehicle production center, they drew on the experience of Tesla’s renovated Fremont factory in California, which will be transformed into a highly automated super factory.

In addition, British Motor Group also cooperated with Android Company and Cambridge University to form a research center to develop vehicle systems for their electric vehicles. The external characteristics of electric motors are very different from those of internal combustion engines, the most obvious of which are torque output and response time.

The response time of electric vehicles can reach the millisecond level, while internal combustion engines involve the processes of intake, compression, and power stroke, plus an uneven torque curve. Even turbocharged models have a boost pressure build-up process, so their response time is much longer than that of electric vehicles. Therefore, the torque build-up of electric vehicles is very fast compared to fuel vehicles.

This also means that electric vehicles can establish more intelligent and advanced vehicle systems, allowing computers to have more intervention in the control of electric vehicles.

For example, in Barron’s previous life, later functions such as autonomous driving and automatic parking have been widely used in many electric vehicles…

Of course, although the Artificial Intelligence Research Center founded by Barron has been researching technologies such as autonomous driving, it has not yet reached the point of application. Therefore, the electric vehicles launched by British Motor Group cannot currently provide such services.

Their cooperation with Android Company and Cambridge University is to develop British Motor Group’s own vehicle system. They will share this technical achievement with Android Company, which also means that after Android Company has accumulated this technical experience, it will also be able to provide related software services to other car companies.

After British Motor Group’s Jaguar brand launched the TYPE electric sports coupe, their Land Rover brand will also launch pure electric and hybrid SUV models in succession after the battery performance is improved.

In addition to Tesla and British Motor Group, BYD Company was also one of the first companies to enter the field of new energy vehicles.

As early as 2003, when it acquired Qinchuan Automobile and entered the automotive industry, BYD had already begun to establish departments related to electric vehicles.

They once launched China’s first pure electric car, the F3DM. Of course, at this time, BYD’s influence in the electric vehicle field was still minimal, but they were already the world’s largest battery supplier. Relying on their accumulation in the battery field, the subsequent successful electric models such as Tang and Song will also make BYD one of the world’s largest electric vehicle manufacturers.

Next, British Motor Group’s joint venture company in China, Tianhe Yingqi, will also cooperate with BYD Company to use their batteries to launch local electric vehicle models in China.

…

“Hello, Mr. Lei, congratulations on the successful launch of Xiaomi’s mobile phone.”

In a coffee shop in Yanjing, Zhang Junning said to the somewhat refined man who had just sat down in front of her.

“Thank you, Miss Zhang. I wonder what brings you here today?”

At the same time, Lei Jun was also subtly sizing up the young and beautiful woman in front of him.

Although young, Lei Jun would not neglect her in the slightest. After all, he knew the woman’s identity. She was the president of Rich23 Capital, and this investment company headquartered in Singapore was currently a major shareholder of the three giants of China’s Internet industry, BAT (Baidu, Alibaba, Tencent).

At the same time, Rich23 Capital is also one of the shareholders of his newly started company, Xiaomi Corporation.

It can be said that in China’s IT industry, Lei Jun’s qualifications are older than those of the founders of the current BAT companies.

He started his business as a senior in college. In 1992, Lei Jun joined Kingsoft Corporation and held several important positions in Kingsoft Corporation for the next 16 years.

It was not until after he led Kingsoft Corporation to a successful listing that he finally decided to leave there and start his business again.

In April 2010, Lei Jun and several team members jointly founded Xiaomi Corporation, aiming at the mobile phone industry.

In the Series A financing of Xiaomi Corporation at the end of June this year, Zhang Junning represented Rich23 Capital in their financing. At that time, Xiaomi Corporation was valued at 250 million US dollars, and Rich23 Capital invested 25 million US dollars, obtaining 10% of the company’s shares.

The reason why Rich23 Capital was able to participate was also because this investment company could provide Xiaomi Corporation with the resources it needed. It is not only a major shareholder of many Internet companies such as Alibaba, Tencent, and Baidu, but also Rich23 Capital can help Xiaomi Corporation in the upstream supply chain.

On August 16 this year, Xiaomi Corporation officially released their first mobile phone, MI 1.

On September 5, Xiaomi mobile phones began accepting online reservations.

That is why Zhang Junning congratulated Xiaomi mobile phones on their launch when she met Lei Jun today.

This time, Xiaomi Corporation also relied on their mobile phone community for continuous publicity and adopted a scarcity marketing strategy. Their first batch of 100,000 mobile phones were sold out in just one and a half hours.

It can be said that this is a very good result for a new company that has not had any mobile phone manufacturing experience before.

Although Barron already owns two mobile phone brands, Honor Electronics and Motorola, he knows that with the potential of Xiaomi mobile phones, it is still worth investing in.

After all, after Xiaomi Corporation entered the market, it began to drive down the price of smartphones. Before that, even the “low-end” touch screen smartphones of Dopod, a subsidiary of Honor Electronics, were priced close to 3,000 yuan in China.

The first mobile phone MI 1 launched by Xiaomi Corporation was priced at only 1,999 yuan!

Speaking of which, Dopod’s smartphones are not incapable of selling at this price. After all, with the support of Honor Electronics, most of the smartphone components, except for a few components such as chips and screens, have been localized.

In addition, Honor Electronics’ own purchasing scale enables them to obtain goods at a relatively low cost.

But the problem is that since they can maintain relatively high profits, Honor Electronics has no need to actively reduce prices.

However, after the emergence of Xiaomi mobile phones, it is different. The new mobile phones launched by Dopod in the fourth quarter of this year will also be significantly reduced in price.

Only their high-end Mate series mobile phones will still maintain a pricing level slightly lower than the iPhone.

“Xiaomi Corporation’s products can be said to be an instant hit, but your current production capacity still restricts the company’s development…”

Hearing Zhang Junning’s words, Lei Jun smiled and said:

“There is no way around it. After all, this is our first time making mobile phones, so we definitely need to ensure quality, and we also need to take it slowly in terms of the supply chain.”

“That’s right. We are very optimistic about the development of Xiaomi Corporation. I wonder when you will start the next round of financing? We will give you a satisfactory valuation.”

Chapter 824: Brexit?

October 5th, Apple’s founder Steve Jobs passed away due to illness.

It can be said that Jobs had been battling illness for years. Of course, it was also because he had sufficient resources that he was able to persevere for so long. If it had been an ordinary person, a terminal illness like pancreatic cancer would have made it impossible to live for so many years.

After Jobs, Apple entered the Cook era. He would continue to lead Apple towards its goal of becoming the world’s highest-valued and most profitable mobile phone company.

But Barron understood that after Jobs’ death, Apple would gradually lose its innovative capabilities. Until Barron’s rebirth, Apple phones could still only be considered “living off their past glory,” relying on their loyal fan base and the United States’ suppression of Huawei to allow Apple’s success to continue.

On this day, Barron received the news of Jobs’ death after concluding a private meeting with Cameron.

Although his interactions with Jobs were not many, and Jobs was quite criticized in many aspects, it must be admitted that Jobs was a genius in business and design.

Therefore, he couldn’t help but feel a sense of melancholy for Jobs’ passing.

Currently, Cameron’s main focus is on reducing British government spending. This meeting touched on topics related to the European debt crisis, and also the somewhat sensitive issue of the increasingly strong desire for Brexit within British society.

In fact, British policy towards Europe has always been controversial domestically. Both the public and political elites are divided on this issue.

Historically, Britain initially dismissed the European Union initiated by France and Germany after World War II.

In 1957, when the Treaty of Rome, which marked the start of the European integration process, was signed, Britain did not participate.

It was not until 1973 that Britain decided to join the European Economic Community in order to share the benefits of the growing European Common Market.

Then, in the early 1990s, when European countries discussed signing the Maastricht Treaty, which laid the foundation for monetary integration, then-Prime Minister Major signed the treaty despite opposition from “Eurosceptics” within the Conservative Party—this caused an unprecedented split in the Conservative Party and indirectly led to the Conservative Party being in opposition for many years thereafter.

During the Labour Party’s rule, although Britain joined the European Union, it remained vigilant about European integration due to strong Eurosceptic sentiment among the public.

Although Britain signed the Maastricht Treaty, it did not participate in the Eurozone…

Later, Britain did not sign the Schengen Agreement, which was established to further promote the common market…

Then, when signing the Treaty of Lisbon, it demanded “opt-outs” in areas such as justice and social policy…

Until recently, after the outbreak of the European debt crisis, the Conservative government, which had returned to power, openly rejoiced that Britain had not joined the Eurozone.

Specifically, during the evolution of the European debt crisis, Britain objectively stood with the United States and adopted a “kick them when they’re down” attitude towards the crisis.

Therefore, it currently seems that Britain’s policy of “excluding itself” from the European Union has put it at risk of being increasingly marginalized in EU affairs.

At the same time, the British government’s policy towards Europe has made Eurosceptic sentiment increasingly strong domestically.

According to the latest polls, more than 75% of Britons want to hold a referendum to decide whether to remain in the European Union.

In this meeting, Cameron told Barron that he had recently received a letter from some Conservative MPs, who believed that the price Britain paid for EU membership was too high…

And in Cameron’s recent public statements, he also expressed that he did not rule out deciding whether to leave Europe through a referendum…

Of course, Barron understood that Cameron’s statement, in addition to having the purpose of appeasing the public and the “Eurosceptics” within the party, also had the intention of using this to “blackmail” the EU, prompting it to make more concessions in handling its relationship with Britain.

However, Barron knew that after the impact of the European debt crisis, although the EU still cared about whether Britain remained in the EU, it would no longer make concessions to Britain’s special demands.

In response to Cameron’s recent statement, Christian Leffler, Chairman of the European Committee of the German Federal Parliament, said in an interview:

“Britain’s intention to leave the EU, or to try to be treated specially in certain special areas, is clearly not suitable for the current situation…”

In fact, both Barron and Cameron knew that if Britain left the EU, the damage to Britain itself would far outweigh the damage to the EU.

And in terms of Barron’s own interests, he did not want Britain to eventually choose to leave the EU because of a referendum, as in his previous life.

After all, he himself has investments in various European countries, and the European market is also very important for his industries—Britain must either choose to deeply bind itself with the United States, or it needs to rely on the EU to achieve something outside of the United States…

With the experience of his previous life, Barron knew that choosing the former path would not bring much benefit to Britain. Instead, it would become a pawn of the United States.

But he also knew that if things continued as they were now, then the result of Britain leaving the EU would still be highly likely to come true.

This also includes the reasons for British domestic politics—the current reality is that some people within the Conservative Party are doing their utmost to clamor for a referendum in order to cater to public opinion.

And the Labour Party, which has become the opposition party, may also propose a national referendum on whether to remain in the EU before the next British general election in order to split the Conservative Party.

The result is that, although neither party leader wants Britain to leave the EU, holding such a referendum is almost inevitable.

In addition, once it is determined that a referendum will be held to decide whether to leave the EU, the United States will inevitably use various means to influence the British people, so as to achieve the goal of making Britain leave the EU and weakening Europe.

Barron would naturally do his best to avoid this from happening.

In Barron’s previous life, Britain finally decided to leave the EU in a referendum in 2016, and then, after stumbling along, officially left the EU in 2020.

After Brexit, a deep barrier was formed between Britain and Europe, which not only affected its trade, but also increased the cost of living for its domestic population, and blocked the flow of talent between it and Europe, causing great negative impact on Britain.

At the same time, this result also forced Britain to become increasingly closer to the United States, but the way the United States acted later could not benefit Britain, but instead required it to support the United States’ decisions in many ways…

This has to be said to be a bad move, and it was also caused by Britain’s later chaotic political landscape.

Therefore, from now on, Barron will do his best to avoid this result from happening.

Chapter 825: United Power Group

On October 20, 2011, the ruling authorities of Libya occupied Sirte, the last stronghold of Gaddafi’s remnants. Gaddafi and his successor, Mutassim, were killed by gunfire.

The armed forces of the ruling authorities sent the bodies of the two men to a meat refrigeration warehouse in Misrata, where they were displayed to the public for four days before being secretly buried.

At the same time, the political situation in Italy became increasingly chaotic…

“As early as July of last year, Berlusconi had a falling out with his important ally, Italian Speaker of the House Fini. Fini was expelled from the People of Freedom party…”

Intelligence consultant Nigel Ince told Barron:

“And Fini was originally one of the most important figures in the People of Freedom party. After Berlusconi forcibly expelled him from the party, Fini established the Future and Freedom party for Italy. Currently, many ministers in the Italian government have close ties with Fini, which puts Berlusconi in a very awkward position.”

The People of Freedom party is the largest political party in Italy, and the current Italian Prime Minister, Berlusconi, is the leader of the People of Freedom party.

For many years in Italian politics, Fini had been a strong supporter of Berlusconi, but later the two disagreed on issues such as combating illegal immigration and anti-corruption investigations, and the differences grew.

On July 29th of last year, the executive committee of the People of Freedom party voted and unanimously agreed that Fini’s “attitude was bad” and that he was “opposed to the government.” They said he had formed a “party within a party” and that his behavior was “completely inconsistent with the principles of the People of Freedom party,” so they no longer recognized Fini as a member of the party.

Berlusconi also demanded that Fini resign from his position as Speaker of the House, but he refused.

Then, at the end of last year, four members of the Italian cabinet resigned—these four ministers were all closely related to Fini and were considered a retaliatory blow after Fini’s falling out with Berlusconi.

However, until the second half of this year, Berlusconi had been claiming that the Italian government was still running smoothly and would not be greatly affected.

After acquiring 32% of the shares of the Italian National Electricity Company, United Energy Group proposed to the Italian side to merge the electricity and natural gas businesses under the original United Energy Group with the Italian National Electricity Company—before this, the business of British Power Distribution Company and British Gas Company under United Energy Group had been integrated into British Power Group.

However, this proposal has not received a positive response from the other party.

But now, things have changed. Not long ago, affected by the sovereign debt crisis facing Italy, Berlusconi’s approval rating has fallen below 35%. It is said that in the upcoming parliamentary vote of confidence, he will likely be unable to obtain enough votes.

“Now, it is almost certain that Berlusconi’s resignation is a foregone conclusion, so he needs to consider what will happen after his resignation. After all, he still owns a large business empire…”

Nigel’s meaning was very clear, that after leaving Italian politics, Berlusconi would need to give more consideration to his family’s business, so no matter what, it would be difficult to refuse the olive branch that Barron extended to him.

All he needed to do was to give the green light to the integration of United Energy Group and the Italian National Electricity Company.

The Italian government’s shareholding in the Italian National Electricity Company is held by their Ministry of Finance, and the Italian Minister of Finance is a confidant of Berlusconi.

It is clear that after Berlusconi steps down, many people will have to start considering the road ahead.

In fact, Barron and Berlusconi had been in contact before, but at that time, Berlusconi still firmly grasped the power of Italy and was enthusiastic about his “gatherings”…

Sure enough, on November 5th, after Barron had a friendly phone conversation with Berlusconi in private, the Italian side approved United Energy Group’s proposal.

The Italian National Electricity Company also issued an announcement the next day that they would merge with British Power Group to form United Power Group.

This merger is expected to be completed within a month. The merged United Power Group will cover more than 10 countries in Europe, Australia, and Southeast Asia, becoming the largest power group in Europe.

Through this merger, United Energy Group will hold more than 55% of the shares of United Power Group, thereby becoming the controlling party of this power group.

The shares held by the Italian government will become 17.5%.

The board of directors of United Power Group appointed Gerry Larson, the former CEO of British Power Group, as its president.

As for the shares of United Power Group held by the Italian government… things have to be done step by step. We have to wait until Berlusconi resigns before talking to his successor about this matter. I believe that at that time, facing the country’s debt crisis, the Italian government will be very willing to sell this asset—as long as United Energy Group can offer a good price.

…

Many times, Barron couldn’t help but feel that time was passing faster and faster.

Especially when he saw his children growing up—like his eldest son with Bonnie, George Cavendish, who is now five and a half years old and will soon be old enough to go to school.

Although Barron just celebrated his 32nd birthday, if you add his age from his previous life, he is already in his forties…

It’s no wonder he has such a feeling, because people always feel that time is passing faster and faster. When you are only ten years old, each year is only one-tenth of your life experience. If you only have solid memories after the age of three or four, then this year is even “longer” for children.

But at Barron’s current age, each year is only a little more than one-fortieth of his life, so it is normal to feel that time is flying by.

The reason why he suddenly had such thoughts…

Because Bonnie is pregnant again. After having two sons, George and Richard, Bonnie hopes more that this time it will be a girl…

However, even with a color ultrasound, it will still take some time to know the gender of the fetus…

At the same time, Bonnie’s psychological thoughts are also a bit complicated. After all, she has not been in the position of CEO of Pinnacle Media for too long. If she needs to wait for delivery, then for a period of time, she will need to hand over most of the work to others.

It’s still early, these are things to consider in a few months…

From Barron’s point of view, of course, taking care of their children is more important, but at the same time, he will also respect her thoughts.

“I feel that having three children is enough…”

Hearing Bonnie say this, Barron shrugged:

“These things can’t just be planned, it’s more of an arrangement of fate. I think the more children, the better…”

“Hehe, it’s not like there’s no one else to have them for you.”

When she said this, Barron touched his nose and just smiled.

Chapter 826: West African Free Trade Zone

In early November, the heads of state of Colo, Ghana, Benin, Burkina Faso, and Niger gathered in Dassault, the third largest city and northern stronghold of Colo. There, they signed the “West African Five-Nation Free Trade Agreement,” officially announcing the birth of the “West African Free Trade Organization.”

Currently, the West African Free Trade Organization is entirely independent of the Economic Community of West African States. According to the “West African Five-Nation Free Trade Agreement,” the free trade zone formed between these five countries will trade with the lowest possible tariffs and engage in deep financial cooperation.

At the same time, Colo, Burkina Faso, and Niger signed an agreement to construct a two-way railway passing through the territories of the three countries. According to this agreement, the West African Railway Group will invest in the construction of a “Dassault-Niamey Railway.”

The Dassault-Niamey Railway will start from Dassault, a major northern city of Colo and a border trade center, pass through several cities in Burkina Faso and Niger, and finally reach Niamey, the capital of Niger.

The entire railway is over 700 kilometers long, with a total investment of over 5 billion US dollars. It will be invested and constructed by the West African Railway Group, which will also be responsible for its operation.

Once this railway is completed, it will connect Colo, Burkina Faso, and Niger, greatly promoting economic and trade exchanges between the three parties.

An investment of over 5 billion US dollars is indeed substantial. However, the West African Railway Group will obtain the operating rights of this railway. The West African Railway Group will be a joint venture between the West African Group, the Colo Industrial Investment Fund, the government of Burkina Faso, and the government of Niger. The West African Group will hold 60% of the shares, the Colo Industrial Investment Fund will hold 25% of the shares, and the remaining 15% of the shares will be held by the governments of Burkina Faso and Niger.

The entire Dassault-Niamey Railway will be contracted to China Railway Group for construction. China will provide a 4 billion US dollar interest-free loan for the construction of this railway, repayable over ten years. Therefore, the initial investment required by the West African Railway Group is only 1 billion US dollars.

Once this railway is completed, it will facilitate the flow of Colo’s capital into Burkina Faso and Niger for factory construction. Furthermore, the railway directly connects to the Loda Railway within Colo, enabling products to be directly transported to the Port of Lome for export.

This will create countless economic benefits for the three countries, thereby promoting their economic development.

If relying solely on Burkina Faso and Niger, they probably would not be able to afford the cost of such a railway. Niger, at least, has some oil resources. Although Burkina Faso has some mineral resources, it can be said to be one of the least developed countries in the world, with the majority of its population living below the poverty line.

However, Burkina Faso’s poverty has many historical reasons. What Colo values is Burkina Faso’s agricultural and mineral resources. Colo has limited land area, and the land suitable for cultivation is also limited…

Relatively speaking, they prefer to invest in cash crops such as coffee beans and cocoa domestically. Therefore, developing agriculture and mining in Burkina Faso can also provide support for Colo’s development.

Niger itself is already cooperating with Colo and China in the construction of a crude oil transportation pipeline directly to the Port of Loti.

Some of the crude oil can be refined directly at the refining base near Loti in Colo, while the remaining crude oil is directly transported to China by tankers. The construction of the Dassault-Niamey Railway will also enable closer exchanges between the two countries.

Therefore, with Colo’s capital as the mainstay, carrying out railway construction that benefits the three countries can also spread Colo’s influence throughout the three countries. Otherwise, why would Burkina Faso and Niger be willing to open up their financial sectors to Colo?

At the same time, the establishment of the West African Free Trade Zone can also enable many of Colo’s industries to develop in other countries.

For example, in recent years, Colo Media Group has successively acquired some television stations and newspapers in Ghana, Benin, Burkina Faso, South Africa, and other countries, forming the Free Africa Media Group, which can spread their voice to a wider area.

The Prosperity Earth Foundation (PEF), led by David Miliband, has also established its African headquarters in Bullita, the capital of Colo, and has begun investing funds to infiltrate… uh, to subsidize education and media in countries surrounding Colo.

Some young scholars from these countries can receive funding from the Prosperity Earth Foundation to study or visit universities in Colo and England, thereby strengthening their sense of identity.

“Our aim is to promote the democratization process in these countries and cultivate a group of young opinion leaders who are close to us, thereby spreading the concept of ‘civilization’ to their people…”

Of course, compared to this kind of ideological stuff, ordinary people are more concerned about increasing income and improving living standards. Colo is also happy to invest in some basic processing industries, thereby providing cheaper products for the entire Argos Retail Group and other retail networks.

In addition, Colo Telecom has also entered the countries belonging to the West African Free Trade Zone and has begun to build mobile communication networks and broadband facilities in these countries.

In fact, the telecommunications industry in Africa is also developing rapidly. According to the latest research report released by GSMA Africa Mobile Communications in 2011, the penetration rate of mobile communication users in Africa is expected to reach 649 million in the fourth quarter of this year. In the future, Africa will become the second largest mobile communication market after Asia, and will develop into the fastest growing market for mobile communication services.

The report also pointed out that in the past five years, the number of mobile communication users in Africa has increased at a rate of 20% per year, and the total number of users is expected to reach 735 million by the end of 2012.

Because the African mobile communication industry market is still untapped, nearly 36% of the population in Africa’s 25 largest mobile communication markets still cannot enjoy this service. If the mobile communication service penetration rate reaches 100%, it will increase the entire African GDP by 35 billion US dollars, an increase of about 2%.

Due to historical reasons, the mobile communication industry in Africa is greatly influenced by Europe. Therefore, the most widely used mobile communication technology in Africa is still the GSM standard, which also makes the development of Colo Telecom, which holds shares in O2 Telecom and can obtain related communication technology from O2 Telecom, smoother.

Currently, the construction of 2G networks has been basically completed in Colo, and the construction of 3G networks has been completed in important cities including Bullita, Loti, and Dassault.

In the West African Free Trade Zone countries adjacent to Colo, Colo Telecom is also building 2G networks and will carry out 3G network construction in key cities.

In particular, because Glory Electronics has started construction of a Dopod brand assembly plant in Colo, more low-priced smartphones will enter the West African market in the future, which can also promote the construction of mobile networks in these areas.

Chapter 827: Nigeria

One perhaps unexpected aspect of the African smartphone market is partly due to the severe electricity shortage there…

This may seem a bit strange, but it’s the reality.

Not to mention that many families here can’t afford computers, even if they could get their hands on one, they probably couldn’t afford the electricity to run it.

Therefore, relatively speaking, broadband development here lags even behind mobile network construction—because smartphones consume far less power than home computers and can still perform some of the same functions…

Take mobile payments, for example. It’s difficult for people in many parts of Africa to access banking services, but since last year, mobile payments have become relatively active in the African region because people can use smartphones for payments, replacing bank card transfers…

For example, the mobile payment service launched by the United Bank for Africa and Klarna in West Africa is very popular with people in countries surrounding Kolo.

They only need to go to a big city to open an account, and after linking it, they can easily transfer money to relatives far away…

In Nigeria, this mobile payment business is also developing rapidly…

Of course, unlike other countries, Kolo has long recognized the limitations that electricity shortages place on economic development, and fortunately, they already possess abundant offshore oil and gas resources!

Therefore, after the West African Power Group was established, it built several LNG power plants within Kolo. LNG power generation is considered a type of clean energy and can also provide sufficient electricity for Kolo.

The West African Power Group is a joint venture, with the Kolo Industrial Investment Fund (state-owned) holding 25%, the West African Group holding 45%, and the United Energy Group (directly held by the United Power Group) holding 30%.

This company holds over 85% of the distribution market in Kolo and plans to invest in multiple LNG and thermal power plants in countries such as Benin, Burkina Faso, and Niger—although Burkina Faso has limited oil resources, their coal resources are relatively abundant.

Even the British Nuclear Energy Company—British Energy Group—held by the West African Power Group and the United Energy Group, is conducting a feasibility study on building West Africa’s first nuclear power plant in the coastal areas near Kolo and Benin.

Currently, only South Africa has a nuclear power plant in all of Africa. If a nuclear power plant can be built in Kolo, it can provide power output to the entire region and drive development in the area.

Furthermore, Kolo itself will develop in the blockchain field, represented by BitC. Having relatively “cheap” nuclear power could attract some “BitC mining farms” to settle in Kolo in the future, thereby boosting the local economy.

…

After signing the relevant agreements for the West African Free Trade Organization, Kolo’s President Thomas Kabore led a delegation on a five-day visit to Nigeria on November 10th.

The purpose of his visit was clear: Kolo did not want the establishment of the West African Free Trade Organization to affect their relationship with Nigeria.

Nigeria is the most important country in the Economic Community of West African States and one of the most important countries in all of Africa—in fact, you could often drop the “one of.”

Nigeria covers an area of over 923,000 square kilometers, roughly equivalent to the combined area of Qinghai and Hunan provinces in China. Judging solely from the area, it is smaller than Mauritania, Mali, and Niger, not just in Africa as a whole, but even just in West Africa…

But Nigeria can still be called the largest country in Africa…

The main reason is that Nigeria is rich in resources. With a current population of 165 million, it is the most populous country in Africa and ranks seventh in the world.

As of 2011, Nigeria’s total economic output ranked second in Africa (surpassing South Africa after 2014 to become the first). It can be said that Nigeria has the largest market in all of Africa and is an indispensable trading partner for Kolo.

You see, Africa as a whole gives people the impression of poverty and chaos—35 of the world’s 50 poorest countries are in Africa; 20 of the 25 countries with the lowest per capita GDP are in Africa.

Entering the new century, Nigeria is one of the few African countries with good economic development and one of the fastest-growing economies in the world.

The main reason is that Nigeria has abundant mineral and oil and gas resources—in terms of reserves, the oil and gas resources in the Gulf of Guinea are comparable to those in the Persian Gulf. Nigeria has the second-highest oil resources and the highest natural gas resources in Africa, and it is the largest oil and natural gas exporting country in Africa.

All of the above determines that Kolo will not easily give up its good relationship with Nigeria.

Although Kolo’s per capita GDP is far higher than Nigeria’s, Kolo cannot afford to abandon Nigeria’s vast market.

Therefore, during Thomas Kabore’s visit to Nigeria, the two sides deepened cooperation again, including the Kolo Oil Company investing in an oil refining and chemical base in Nigeria to help Nigeria refine crude oil products.

In addition, the Bulita Stock Exchange will also cooperate with the Nigerian Stock Exchange, headquartered in Lagos. The two sides will gradually form stock connectivity and cooperate in digital transformation.

Currently, the Bulita Stock Exchange and the Nigerian Stock Exchange are the first and second largest stock exchanges in West Africa, respectively. Their cooperation will provide more financing options for companies throughout West Africa.

At the same time, Kolo also signed a financial cooperation agreement with Nigeria, which will allow banks from both sides to conduct more business operations in each other’s territories. The United Bank for Africa will establish a branch in Nigeria and expand its business and investment.

During this visit, Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan, who had just won re-election in the April general election this year, stated that he was willing to propose Kolo’s accession to the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) at the next OPEC member meeting.

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries was established in September 1960 by Asian, African, and Latin American oil-producing countries to coordinate the petroleum policies of various countries and to oppose the exploitation and control of Western oil monopoly countries.

Its headquarters are located in Vienna, Austria, and it currently has 14 member countries: Kuwait, Iran, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Tunisia, Saudi Arabia, Ecuador, Libya, Iraq, Venezuela, Algeria, Gabon, Indonesia, Nigeria, and Congo.

Currently, due to the discovery of its offshore oil fields, Kolo’s output has developed to the point where it can be ranked among OPEC member countries.

Since joining this organization can give it a certain say in global oil and gas exploitation, Kolo is happy to join it.

Chapter 828: Customized

Although the Prosperity Earth Foundation (PEF), led by former British Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs Secretary David Miliband, ultimately established its headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, rather than London—placing it in the same city as the European Union headquarters to facilitate the foundation’s work in Europe—they had also recently set up an office for the Prosperity Earth Foundation in London.

Currently, several organizations funded by the Prosperity Earth Foundation, such as “European Unity” and “United Europe,” have already begun “anti-Brexit” campaigns within Britain.

At the same time, companies including Woaw and DailyVedio have further strengthened the data protection of their social media users to prevent their user data from being stolen.

This isn’t just borrowing trouble, because in Barron’s previous life, it was later revealed that Facebook had leaked the data of over 50 million users, a significant portion of which was used by a company called “Cambridge Analytica” for big data modeling. This modeling allowed them to target undecided users with specific advertisements in order to influence their choices, specifically related to the 2016 American election and the British referendum on leaving the European Union.

At the time, a psychology professor at Cambridge University in Britain, Alexander Kogan, designed an application called “This is Your Digital Life.” Once users downloaded this software, which claimed to help users with personality analysis and psychological testing, and agreed to allow the software to view their “Facebook” data, the software could obtain the personal information of the user and their “Facebook” friends.

Alexander Kogan used this software to obtain the personal information of up to 50 million “Facebook” users and provided this data to Cambridge Analytica.

Cambridge Analytica analyzed the behavior patterns, personality traits, and values of these “Facebook” users, and then pushed targeted information and campaign advertisements, which allowed them to influence voters in the 2016 American election.

Later, Cambridge Analytica was also hired by British pro-Brexit organizations during the British Brexit referendum to conduct canvassing and propaganda.

To prevent this from happening again, Barron’s internet companies now have dedicated departments to protect the company’s user data. If any company uses their user data illegally, they will face relevant legal action.

At the same time, Barron’s intelligence agencies also have related data analysis centers in London and Corlo Bliita. These data analysis centers will use user information from companies controlled by Barron, including Woaw, YouTube, and Twitter, as well as relevant data obtained from other companies through hacking, to conduct big data analysis and artificial intelligence technology. This allows them to influence these users through differentiated information pushes.

“We have compiled a list of current pro-Brexit politicians and members of parliament in Britain, and we will be observing their behavior, Your Grace…”

Nigel Incester said to Barron:

“At the same time, we will conduct detailed background checks and surveillance on these people in order to collect information about them…”

The purpose of this is obvious: according to their intelligence department’s analysis, they can use methods such as threats and exposure of scandals to eliminate some of the die-hard “Brexiteers.”

Of course, whether it’s “Brexit” or “opposing Brexit,” there will definitely be considerations of interest behind it.

In addition, some people are acting on the instructions of intelligence agencies such as the CIA—knowing that Barron and his people can use such methods to threaten these people, then the CIA can certainly do the same. It is believed that this will be a protracted struggle between the two sides in this area.

…

“Don’t worry, darling, we’ll have our own children soon…”

“But this way always makes me feel guilty.”

Barron held Julia Moore in his arms, kissed her forehead, and said:

“I don’t want to say that many people are doing this, but you should know that the girl is completely voluntary, and I can guarantee that what she gets will be what she dreams of, and you will also get what you want.”

From a long time ago, Barron could see that Julia Moore was very fond of children, just like the brother and sister Rami and Ravi, and other children adopted by the Devonshire Charitable Foundation who came to London for further study, all received Julia’s care.

And Julia always treated Rebecca’s children as her own.

People always have compensatory psychology; what is difficult to obtain is especially valued. This may be the main reason why Julia behaves this way.

Because she suffers from hereditary heart disease, on the one hand, it would be more dangerous for her body to have children; on the other hand, she doesn’t want such a disease to be passed on to her children…

In addition, given Julia Moore’s personality, although “surrogacy” can be said to be relatively common in British high society, she still finds it difficult to accept this form.

And Barron naturally didn’t want her to always have such regrets, so under his persuasion, Julia’s attitude finally softened, and she was already willing to try to have her own children like the Earl and Countess of Booth….

Moreover, with the resources that Barron can mobilize, not to mention that he can screen to prevent their children from inheriting Julia’s disease, even if they really did inherit it, he can still guarantee that they can live a happy and peaceful life.

The Earl and Countess of Booth. initially found a girl in Ukraine to carry out this process—in Ukraine, due to legal permits, coupled with the country’s situation, the related industry is very mature, and it is called the “womb of Europe”…

Under normal circumstances, if a girl here can successfully participate in it, she can often receive a reward of 30,000 US dollars, which is already a satisfactory income for them in Ukraine.

Even the industry here is so mature that it can provide “customized” services for those wealthy people.

Of course, since it is Barron and Julia who need it, it is definitely impossible to choose like ordinary people.

Just like this time, the girl Barron arranged for Julia, the selected girl, is a Russian girl from Ukraine. Not only is her figure and appearance top-notch, but she has also received a good education.

And next, they will directly take the girl to Corlo and hire the top technical team to carry it out, until the child is born, the entire process will be carried out under strict supervision.

And that “lucky” girl will eventually not only be able to obtain a reward sufficient for her to live a stable life, but also be able to become a British citizen and live under Barron’s protection—it can be said that if all goes well, she can change her own, and even her entire family’s, destiny.

Chapter 829: Transition

On November 12th, Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi submitted his resignation to President Giorgio Napolitano, officially stepping down from his post.

Berlusconi had served as Italy’s Prime Minister three times and was the longest-serving Prime Minister in Italy after World War II—however, this time he did not survive his third term.

Due to Italy’s increasingly severe debt crisis, Berlusconi had made a “promise” to the public on November 8th, stating that he would resign after Parliament passed the economic reform plan required by the European Union.

On November 12th, the Italian Chamber of Deputies passed the austerity bill with 380 votes in favor, 26 votes against, and 2 abstentions, in order to stabilize the country’s financial situation.

After that, later that day, Berlusconi “as promised” went to the Presidential Palace to submit his resignation. According to Berlusconi’s spokesman in an interview, Berlusconi intends to withdraw from politics after his term as a member of parliament expires.

Berlusconi is currently a member of the Chamber of Deputies for the People of Freedom party, with a term expiring in 2013.

However, even if he withdraws from Italian politics, Berlusconi can continue to be a media mogul—the Fininvest financial investment institution founded by Berlusconi’s family includes Mediaset Broadcasting Corporation, Italy’s largest private broadcasting operator, and also owns the Serie A club AC Milan.

Affected by the European debt crisis, the market value of this broadcasting company has shrunk by half since May of this year, but last month, Mediaset Broadcasting Corporation received an investment of 200 million euros from the SEM Group, which improved the company’s financial situation.

After accepting Berlusconi’s resignation, Italian President Giorgio Napolitano is scheduled to convene various political parties on the 13th to discuss candidates for the new Prime Minister and establish a transitional government as soon as possible.

It is widely believed that the famous economist and former European Commissioner Mario Monti is a popular candidate for Prime Minister.

One signal of this is that after Berlusconi announced his conditional resignation on the 8th, Napolitano appointed Monti as a lifetime senator the next day.

Monti is 68 years old and was born into a wealthy family in Varese, Lombardy, northern Italy. His father worked in banking.

He graduated from Bocconi University, a well-known Italian business school, in 1965, and later entered Yale University in the United States.

Monti is regarded as an academic economist with considerable theoretical achievements and extensive practical experience, earning him the nickname “Super Mario.”

Monti served as the president of his alma mater, Bocconi University, from 1989 to 1994, and was later appointed by then-Prime Minister Berlusconi to the European Commission, serving as the Commissioner responsible for internal market affairs, and then as the Commissioner responsible for competition affairs in 1999, until 2004.

During his tenure as a member of the European Commission, Monti repeatedly showed a tough side.

In 2001, he rejected the merger of Honeywell International by General Electric of the United States for 47 billion US dollars, sending a different European voice to Washington.

In 2004, he ruled that Microsoft Corporation of the United States “abused its monopoly position in the European personal desktop computer market” in violation of EU law, fined approximately 500 million euros (approximately 670 million US dollars) and required it to share key technologies with competitors.

In any case, after the new Italian Prime Minister takes office, the biggest challenge he will face is how to get Italy out of the sovereign debt crisis as soon as possible.

At the beginning of this month, the escalating European debt crisis finally overwhelmed the Greek Papandreou government, and then the crisis pointed to Italy.

For a time, the yield on Italian 10-year government bonds once exceeded the dangerous level of 7%, the Milan stock market fell sharply, and the global financial market was severely hit.

People are worried that Italy will default on its debt, and even more worried that Italy’s debt scale will be too large to “bail out” and drag down the Eurozone, thereby harming the global economy.

In this context, the Berlusconi government has been under pressure from home and abroad and has encountered an unprecedented “crisis of confidence”—other leaders attending the G20 summit have criticized Italy’s ineffective reforms, domestic opposition parties have repeatedly accused the Berlusconi government of limited ability to overcome the crisis, and even past allies have parted ways with it.

Italy is the third largest economy in the Eurozone after Germany and France. Once its economic situation falls into a “Greek-style crisis,” it will inevitably affect the stability of the Eurozone.

EU leaders believe that a “firewall” must be established to prevent other Eurozone countries from being affected after Italy falls into trouble.

Therefore, whether the Italian transitional government can resolve the crisis is of great concern.

Analysts believe that Berlusconi’s resignation has paved the way for the establishment of a transitional government, which can temporarily calm the market’s crisis of confidence, but the long-term accumulated problems in Italy are difficult to solve in the short term.

The fiscal austerity measures finally passed by the Italian Chamber of Deputies that day include increasing consumption surcharges, raising the age for receiving pensions, raising fuel prices, and selling state-owned assets.

These measures need to be implemented by a government with strong execution.

For Italy, what is crucial at the moment is to achieve fiscal austerity targets, implement and strengthen economic system reforms, and stimulate economic growth.

On November 14th, Italian President Napolitano officially appointed Mario Monti as Prime Minister, responsible for forming a transitional government.

After accepting this appointment, Mario Monti said that he would form a new government as soon as possible, and that Italy was facing a very difficult moment and must repair its finances.

Just one week after Mario Monti took office, in order to ease the financial crisis, Italy will auction 3 billion euros of 5-year government bonds.

Analysts believe that the current interest rate on Italian 10-year government bonds has reached a record high of nearly 7.5%. Once the auction interest rate remains high, Italy, whose total debt is five times that of Greece, will find it difficult to repay its debts.

The market generally expects the auction interest rate to be around 6%. Due to the extreme concern of international capital about Italy’s solvency, a higher yield compensation is required.

Before this 3 billion euro 5-year government bond auction, the newly appointed Italian Finance Minister stated that in addition to continuing to issue government bonds, according to the austerity bill reached by the previous parliament, they would also consider selling some state-owned assets to replenish funds.

The 17.5% stake in the United Power Group currently held by the Italian government is said to be on the list of this sale.

“The Italian side has indicated that they are willing to consider our proposal to acquire the government’s stake in the United Power Group, purchasing these shares at our offer price of 13.2 billion euros…”

Currently, United Energy Group holds 55% of the shares in the United Power Group. If the acquisition of the Italian government’s shares is completed, then their shareholding in the United Power Group will reach 72.5%, thereby completing absolute control of the company.

As for the acquisition funds…

This time, Natixis Bank and BNP Paribas of France will provide United Energy Group with a total of more than 12 billion euros in loans for the acquisition, of course, with some of the United Power Group’s shares as collateral.

With the profitability of United Energy Group, it is believed that these loans can be repaid within 5 years…

Chapter 830: Unity Followed by Division

“According to the information we have received, both the FBI in America and the Serious Fraud Office in Britain have launched investigations into Mike Lynch…”

Today, after Barron had finished breakfast, Nigel Ince arrived at his residence to report the latest news regarding the lawsuit between HP and Mike Lynch.

As mentioned before, last year, Mike Lynch, the tech entrepreneur known as the “British Bill Gates,” sold his tech company, Autonomy, which specialized in information retrieval using unique algorithms, to HP for a high price of $11 billion, as HP hoped to transform itself.

Some time ago, HP accused Lynch and Stephen Chamberlain, the company’s then-Chief Financial Officer, and other executives of using methods to artificially inflate the company’s valuation, causing HP to suffer huge financial losses, after an internal investigation.

HP immediately wrote down $8.8 billion in value, mainly due to the losses caused by this acquisition.

In fact, when HP announced the acquisition of Autonomy for $11 billion, it caused an uproar in the IT industry at the time, with many believing the price was too high.

Of course, such acquisition prices, with premiums high and low, all depend on the value they bring to the acquiring company.

If there is a particular need for the technology or business, then it is normal to give a high premium for the acquisition.

But whether it can really meet the expectations of the acquiring party after the acquisition is another matter—in many cases, acquisitions that are truly worth the money are rare.

In HP’s acquisition, the management of Autonomy must have led HP to believe that the company had great potential in order to obtain such a high acquisition price of $11 billion.

As for whether Mike Lynch and his team committed fraud…

Judging from the results of Barron’s previous life, the lawsuit lasted for more than a decade, and the American side ultimately ruled that Mike Lynch and his team did not constitute fraud, which shows that neither the FBI nor the British Serious Fraud Office had conclusive findings.

Moreover, Mike Lynch’s legal team was strong enough.

Earlier, Caesar Foundation’s Digital Future Investment Company invested in Autonomy, holding 25% of its shares, which allowed them to obtain $2.75 billion in the cash acquisition by HP, a very profitable outcome.

Therefore, although Barron had not had much personal involvement with Mike Lynch before, he would not refuse to help with the troubles they were now encountering, if he could.

As for the later “physical removal” targeting him personally, that was not within Barron’s consideration.

…

Speaking of which, in the field of financial investment, Barron’s controlled companies, including DS Group, Standard Chartered-Merrill Lynch Group, and William-Webb Capital, are still in a honeymoon period with American capital represented by Vanguard Group and BlackRock Group.

They cooperate in many fields—as leading global asset management companies, they inevitably hold shares in many companies.

In particular, Standard Chartered-Merrill Lynch Group, which currently manages more than $3.5 trillion in assets, although not as large as BlackRock Group—after all, BlackRock Group has received strong support from the American side, managing most of their domestic pension funds and public funds, with assets under management exceeding $5 trillion!

But Standard Chartered-Merrill Lynch Group ranks among the top three in the world in terms of assets under management.

The financial industry is indeed profitable, and it can be said that most of Barron’s profits currently come from his financial investments—and American capital is reaping the rewards globally through the financial industry.

Or more broadly speaking, in Barron’s financial business, it is already difficult to separate him from Wall Street capital—is Standard Chartered-Merrill Lynch Group a British company or an American company?

For such financial capital, there is no very specific national concept; in order to make money, they can go anywhere in the world.

But at the same time, Barron is very clear that in addition to financial investment, concrete manufacturing and other real industries are also very important.

The reason why Barron is still in a honeymoon period with Vanguard, BlackRock, and other capital groups is that, although there are frictions between him and them in the real industry, the interests involved are still not on the same scale compared to their cooperation in finance, so they are within each other’s tolerance.

For example, among Barron’s other industries, only basic industries such as energy and electricity can generate stable profits…

Internet companies like Woaw, although highly valued, need to invest their profits in research and development and expansion; the same is true for O2 Telecom and Argos Retail Group…

Even British Automotive Group is still at the stage of needing to use funds obtained from the financial sector for investment…

Therefore, at present, the only companies that have a competitive interest with American capital in the real industry are Alstom and Honor Electronics.

These entanglements of interests are still within the limits that both sides can tolerate.

But as Barron continues to acquire and expand in the real industry, I believe that sooner or later, his conflicts of interest with them will exceed the limits of tolerance, leading to confrontation…

It is even possible that this time will come sooner—because not only on Barron’s side, but also with China’s industrial upgrading, the high-tech industry, which is rich in profits, will become increasingly crowded.

On the other hand, within America itself, there are two major interest groups: the Jewish group and the Anglo-Saxon group.

Previously, the Jewish group occupied the main share in finance and media, while the Anglo-Saxon group controlled politics, military affairs, and the energy sector…

Therefore, in the financial field, the Anglo-Saxon group needs to cooperate with the Jewish group in order to obtain industry benefits.

But after Barron appeared, with his orthodox Anglo-Saxon background, and entered the Wall Street financial industry, he gave the American Anglo-Saxon group another choice of cooperation—for example, American political families such as the Kennedy family and the Bush family have begun to cooperate with him more and more deeply in the financial field.

Although the scale of cooperation between the two sides is not large in the entire Wall Street financial sector.

But this cooperation is still developing and expanding, and it will inevitably arouse the vigilance of Jewish capital.

The trend of the world is such that after a long period of division, there is unity, and after a long period of unity, there is division.

This can also be applied to these capitals, so Barron has already begun to prepare for future conflicts and is waiting for that day to come.

Chapter 831: New Situation

On November 25th, the newly appointed Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti approved the decision to sell the shares of the energy group, United Power, held by the Ministry of Finance.

This sale of state-owned shares would bring in over 13 billion euros for Italy, thereby alleviating the country’s increasingly severe sovereign debt crisis.

As a “reward,” in the Italian government’s auction of 3 billion euros of 5-year treasury bonds the previous week, the asset management company under Standard Chartered-Merrill Lynch Group purchased 1 billion euros of the bonds at an interest rate of 6.29%.

It is worth mentioning that just a month prior, the interest rate on the same Italian 5-year treasury bonds was only 5.32%.

This also shows the market’s declining confidence in Italy’s sovereign debt.

After acquiring the shares of United Power held by the Italian government, United Energy Group’s stake in United Power rose to 72.5%, achieving absolute control.

After this news came out, United Energy Group’s stock price rose again, with a daily increase of up to 3.5%. It is clear that the market is optimistic about their acquisition.

At this time, Barron had already arrived in Kolo with Julia Moore.

In Bullita, the capital of Kolo, Natasha, a Russian girl from Ukraine, was already waiting.

This trip to Kolo was naturally to help Julia “fulfill her dream.”

Bullita’s best general hospital is Devonshire Hospital, which was funded and established by the Devonshire Charitable Foundation.

The top reproductive medical team from London had already arrived.

Next, they would complete Natasha’s conception, thereby enabling her to conceive Barron and Julia’s offspring…

After success, Natasha would stay in Kolo for ten months, until after the child was born, before being taken to England with the child.

…

Kolo’s President Thomas Kabore had completed his visit to Nigeria and returned home.

Taking advantage of Barron’s visit to Bullita, Thomas met with him.

Through the two terms of Djime Bongo, Kolo’s domestic economy achieved leapfrog development.

After Thomas Kabore took over as President of Kolo, the work he needed to do, in addition to Kolo’s external development, was to maintain Kolo’s social stability.

Because of the establishment of the West African Free Trade Zone, the flow of people between Kolo and neighboring countries was objectively relaxed.

But comparatively speaking, Kolo is economically better than its neighboring countries, and the treatment of its citizens in all aspects, as well as its infrastructure, are more complete.

This has led to a considerable number of people from neighboring countries, including Ghana and Burkina Faso, entering Kolo to look for job opportunities—the income earned for the same work here is higher.

Of course, this is indeed beneficial to Kolo in some ways—foreign workers can provide Kolo with more relatively cheap labor.

After all, due to the increase in income, many Kolo citizens are not very enthusiastic about some heavy labor, and even if they participate in such work, the required remuneration is higher.

It’s similar to Singapore, which uses the introduction of a large number of foreign workers to provide cheap labor for its economic construction, thereby achieving long-term development.

To put it bluntly, it is exploiting foreign workers to provide better treatment for its own citizens.

Kolo can certainly do the same, but at the same time, it will bring more complex governance work to Kolo.

Because with the influx of more foreign workers, it will inevitably affect Kolo’s social security.

Data shows that the recent influx of foreign workers has also led to an increase in Kolo’s overall crime rate, and has also put pressure on areas including medical care and education.

At the same time, because of the relatively lower wage requirements of foreign workers, this has in fact caused some conflicts between local residents and foreign workers in terms of job opportunities.

These are all problems that Kolo needs to solve as soon as possible in the future.

Currently, Kolo is continuously recruiting more police officers to ensure police coverage, thereby maintaining good social order.

In addition, they also need more industrial investment to provide more abundant job opportunities.

For example, the low-end mobile phone assembly factory of the Dopoda brand built by Glory Electronics in Kolo not only provided Kolo with considerable quality jobs, but also its related upstream and downstream industrial chains can provide more jobs.

The military industrial production center established by Standard Defense Company in Bogu, a small town in northern Kolo, is also like this. Because the production of gunpowder and weapons is somewhat dangerous, and some of the positions do not require high technical content, but the corresponding income is relatively high, Bogu has attracted many workers to move in, thus making this former northern town already have the scale of a small city.

Next, many companies controlled by Barron will also gradually transfer some industries with low technical content to Kolo.

Moreover, Kolo will once again carry out a wave of infrastructure construction, investing in the country’s transportation, water conservancy and other aspects. In addition to providing more jobs, it can also improve Kolo’s transportation and agriculture.

With an “printing machine” like the Kolo offshore oil field, the Kolo government is not short of money. In this round of infrastructure construction, they will invest a total of 100 billion Kolo shillings (approximately 10 billion US dollars) according to the plan they have formulated…

“Peninsula & Oriental Group has established a maritime school in Lottie Port, Kolo’s largest port, which is training seafarers for young people in Kolo…”

From the information obtained, Barron could see:

“By training more local Kolo seafarers, in addition to providing relatively high-paying jobs for locals, it can also greatly reduce the personnel costs of Peninsula & Oriental’s ocean transportation by employing Kolo crew members, thereby enhancing their competitiveness.”

Through additional investment, Peninsula & Oriental Group currently holds 15% of the shares of Lottie Port and participates in the operation of Lottie Port to improve the operating level of this largest port in West Africa.

At the same time, after obtaining funds, Lottie Port will carry out a new phase of expansion and construction, adding two bulk cargo loading and unloading terminals and a container terminal.

Moreover, Lottie Port will also expand the scale of its oil terminal—after the completion of the oil pipeline directly from Niger to Lottie Port, Lottie Port will increase the scale of oil loading and unloading in addition to the oil produced and refined in Kolo.

It can be said that in the near future, Lottie Port will not only continue to be the largest port in West Africa, but will also challenge the position of the largest port in the entire Africa.

Chapter 832: Tesla Goes Public

December 5, 2011. On this day, Tesla went public on the NASDAQ.

In the original timeline, Tesla went public in July 2010, becoming the only independent pure electric vehicle manufacturer listed in America.

However, due to the impact of the subprime mortgage crisis at the time, the American economy had not recovered from the collapse of the crisis. Therefore, Tesla went public at a price of $17 per share, with a market value of less than $1.6 billion at the time.

Tesla was already preparing to go public due to a lack of funds, but the subprime mortgage crisis caused delays.

But because there was really no other way and they desperately needed funds, they chose to go public in 2010 in the original timeline—this was Tesla’s only option at the time.

In this timeline, Tesla has Barron’s financial support, and he didn’t want Tesla to rush into an IPO, which could negatively impact the company’s stock price and market value. So, he delayed it until now before finally deciding to go public.

This time, Tesla’s IPO was priced at $27.50 per share, with a public offering of 13.3 million shares. After the issuance, the total share capital would be 93 million shares, and the IPO price corresponded to a market value of over $2.55 billion.

Tesla’s IPO came after the launch of their Model S—the Model S is Tesla’s first model that truly achieved mass production of electric vehicles (the previous Roadster was a modified model and not mass-produced). Tesla has already received approximately 4,600 orders and will begin official deliveries next year.

According to Tesla’s design, the Model S will have a cruising range of 480km on a single charge, support 45-minute fast charging, support battery swapping, and accelerate from 0-100km/h in under 6 seconds.

On Tesla’s first day of trading, its stock opened at $29, rose to a high of $32.77 during the day, and finally closed at $30.65.

At this price, Tesla’s market value reached $2.85 billion.

British Automotive Group holds 15.94 million shares of Tesla, accounting for approximately 17.14% of the shares after the IPO, currently worth $488 million—they initially invested $150 million to acquire these shares, and their investment has now generated a profit of over 225%.

Of course, more importantly than this, British Automotive Group has obtained many key technologies related to electric vehicles through its cooperation with Tesla.

And with Tesla’s future development, the value of their current holdings will increase a hundredfold.

Through this IPO, Tesla raised $365.75 million through the public offering of shares.

These funds will be used to further expand their factory in Fremont, California, and for the research and development of Tesla’s third model—the Model X electric crossover.

Yes, although the Model S has not yet begun deliveries, Tesla already has plans for new model development, which will be a pure electric CUV model.

It is worth mentioning that when Tesla went public, DS Capital and funds under Standard Chartered-Merrill Lynch also actively subscribed, purchasing a total of approximately 5 million Tesla shares, accounting for about 5% of the current total share capital.

Although the entry of British Automotive Group will change the landscape of the electric vehicle sector in this world, Tesla remains one of the most promising electric vehicle companies.

…

Meanwhile, after being acquired by IC Capital and GII Fund, Motorola Mobility discontinued the subsequent models of GOS system phones.

So far, it has launched two smartphones that support the Android system. Thanks to Motorola’s still existing brand influence, the sales of these two phones have been quite good. Although they cannot be called admirable smartphone models, they have at least alleviated Motorola Mobility’s decline in the mobile phone business in terms of revenue, and finally achieved profitability in the fourth quarter of this year.

And these two phones, after all, were mainly launched to maintain Motorola Mobility’s mobile phone business.

Currently, their mobile phone research and development department is focusing all its efforts on the new series of mobile phones to be launched in the second quarter of next year. The DEFY series mobile phones currently being designed will continue Motorola’s classic design details and will be strengthened in “three-proof” features, namely “dustproof, waterproof, and scratch-resistant,” reaching the IP68 dustproof and waterproof level.

This will be Motorola Mobility’s flagship phone next year, and Motorola Mobility has high hopes for this phone.

Currently, Google has basically abandoned the mobile phone operating system department, and Microsoft’s Windows system has not posed a threat to the Android system.

Therefore, after Ivanka gave birth to her child and returned to work, her main focus was on transforming Motorola Mobility.

Motorola Mobility’s set-top box division has always been profitable, and after merging with Puma Electronics, it has performed well not only in the North American market but also in the European market.

So, for Motorola Mobility, the most important thing is to reverse the decline of their mobile phone division.

After discussing with Barron, his suggestion to Ivanka was to have Motorola Mobility learn from Samsung’s path in the mobile phone field in her previous life, so that Motorola Mobility could re-enter the mainstream mobile phone brands.

…

“This is a detailed investigation of the G4S Group that we conducted, hiring multiple security assessment and corporate audit agencies, over a period of three months…”

After returning to London, Barron received this thick document from Laura, and heard her say:

“Currently, it seems that G4S has big problems…”

Prior to this, the Umbrella Security Company (British), belonging to the Cavendish Trust Fund, merged into the G4S Group. In addition, through acquisitions, the Cavendish Trust Fund currently holds more than 45% of the shares of the G4S Group, making it the controlling shareholder of this largest private security company in the world.

Through Laura’s introduction, Barron learned that the most serious problem currently facing the G4S Group is their slow response, which may prevent them from completing the security work for the London Olympics.

Last year, G4S Group signed an Olympics security agreement with the London government worth over $440 million.

According to the agreement, G4S Group will be responsible for the security work of the London Olympics to be held next summer, and will need to deploy at least 10,000 security personnel during the Olympics.

However, according to the investigation, the training of relevant personnel in G4S Group is severely lagging behind. So far, only one-tenth, or 1,000 security personnel, have received relevant training, and the quality of training is worrying.

If this progress continues, it will definitely be impossible to complete the personnel deployment stipulated in the agreement before the Olympics.

Chapter 833: Problem

In his previous life, before the London Olympics, Barron had seen reports about the G4S Group’s inability to complete the Olympic security arrangements. Because of this, the British government had to urgently recruit thousands of active military personnel to join the security team.

That was why he had previously instructed Laura, who was in charge of the Cavendish Trust, to send people to investigate the G4S Group. After all, he was now the controlling shareholder of the G4S Group. If something went wrong with the security for the London Olympics, it would also affect his reputation.

But he hadn’t expected the situation to be so serious.

It should be known that the security situation for this London Olympics was quite severe and highly valued.

This was because there had been news that British authorities had received intelligence that the London Olympics could be a target for terrorist attacks.

Furthermore, in July 2005, the day after Britain won the right to host the London Olympics, terrorist attacks occurred on the London Underground and buses, shocking the world.

In addition, there was another background that could not be ignored—next year would be the 40th anniversary of the “Munich massacre,” the most serious political terrorist incident in Olympic history.

On September 4, 1972, eight terrorists broke into the Munich Olympic Village and kidnapped nine Israeli athletes.

This incident resulted in the deaths of 11 Israeli athletes, one German police officer, and five terrorists.

Therefore, the British government attached great importance to the security of the London Olympics next year and did not want a situation similar to the “Munich massacre” to occur in London.

“In addition to the London Olympics security issues, the G4S Group also has more or less problems in the operation of some private prisons. These are all things that can easily cause trouble. Therefore, the rectification of this company is imminent.”

After reading this investigation report, Barron realized the seriousness of the problem.

From these situations, it seemed that the rectification of the G4S Group was imperative, and regarding the Olympic security…

“This is also related to the company’s capital investment. I will discuss with the British government and need them to increase the security costs for the London Olympics. In addition, we also need to speed up the training progress of security personnel…”

Although Britain was currently implementing austerity policies, it was unlikely that both London Mayor Johnson and Prime Minister Cameron would want security problems to arise when the Olympics were about to open. Therefore, the wisest choice was to increase investment in Olympic security.

But there also needed to be reasonable grounds. He believed the intelligence agencies would provide more prudent advice…

As for the G4S Group, since there were so many problems now, it also showed that the company’s management had not done their job well. They should be replaced. These people really needed to be given a shake-up, and at the same time, some managers from the original Protector Security Company could be promoted.

…

Of course, Barron had another purpose, which was to take advantage of this matter to test the current Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, again.

After all, although Barron’s relationship with Johnson had been quite good before, and he had been a regular at “Neverland,” Johnson’s attitude on the Brexit issue in Barron’s previous life gave him some thoughts about Johnson.

In Barron’s evaluation of Boris Johnson, as he once told Joe Harriman, he was a “person who is good at breaking the rules.”

Yes, Johnson has always been an unconventional person, and his behavior is rare in the current British political scene.

He has rich political experience and can keenly perceive the emotions of the British people.

As early as the time when former Prime Minister Blair’s Labour Party was in power, Johnson challenged London Mayor Livingstone and defeated Livingstone in 2008 to become the second Mayor of London.

What Johnson felt most strongly in the London mayoral election was the power of the people. As long as he could put forward issues that the public cared about, he would have the opportunity to lead the trend of the times.

In the name of the people, or with the support of the general public, this is the foundation for Johnson to be able to navigate the political arena with ease.

In the governance of London, Johnson made considerable reforms in preventing crime and developing the economy, and these governance experiences laid the foundation for Johnson to take the position of Prime Minister in the original timeline.

At that time, Johnson returned to the House of Commons as a Conservative MP in the 2015 general election. After ending his term as Mayor of London in 2016, he only had the status of a Member of Parliament.

But he had a close relationship with then-Prime Minister Cameron and was also an important supporter of Cameron within the Conservative Party.

However, it was this supporter who seized the opportunity created by Cameron and pulled Cameron down from the position of Prime Minister.

In the original timeline, Cameron led the Conservative Party to win a majority in the 2015 general election, ending the hung parliament formed in 2010. The Conservative Party could finally independently formulate major policies.

In order to fulfill the promises made in the general election, Cameron brought the Brexit referendum forward to 2016.

Originally, he wanted to use the remaining power of the Conservative Party’s victory in the general election to guide the public to choose to remain in the European Union, so that he could use the power of the people to put pressure on the European Union and promote the reform of EU institutions, but things did not go as planned.

The biggest problem was with Johnson.

As an influential Mayor of London, Johnson’s political views would affect a large number of people.

In February 2016, Johnson publicly expressed his support for Brexit after notifying Cameron by text message, which caused a disastrous blow to Cameron.

In May, Johnson stepped down as Mayor of London. Polls showed that 52% of people thought he did a very good job as mayor. At this time, there was only a little over a month left before the Brexit referendum in June. Johnson had become a key leader in the Brexit camp, and he was fighting for his political future.

The relevant British system has formed a great constraint on the Prime Minister. This pressure is not only from the opposition party, but also from within the ruling party.

The Conservative Party has detailed regulations for electing a leader. Candidates must first be supported by eight Conservative MPs, and the final candidate is generally determined after two or more rounds of elections.

After Britain left the European Union, then-Prime Minister Cameron resigned, and the Conservative Party had to elect a new leader.

In the leadership contest, Johnson was attacked by his close ally in the Brexit movement, Gove, and angrily refused to participate in the election.

After Theresa May was elected leader, in order to bridge the internal divisions of the Conservative Party, she brought Johnson, the leader of the Brexit faction, into the cabinet and appointed him as Foreign Secretary in July 2016.

The biggest problem with Theresa May’s government was its inability to calm the internal divisions of the Conservative Party. The hard-Brexit faction became increasingly powerful, and May’s European policy was obviously somewhat lagging behind.

This created an opportunity for Johnson. He retreated to advance, resigned as Foreign Secretary in July 2018, and further waited for the opportunity to move towards the position of Prime Minister.

Finally, Theresa May failed to quickly resolve the Brexit issue and suffered repeated defeats in the House of Commons.

Under pressure from Brady, chairman of the 1922 Committee, May made the decision to resign.

Johnson officially participated in the Conservative Party leadership election and won without a doubt.

In July 2019 in the original timeline, Johnson became Prime Minister.

Chapter 834: Complex Situation

Baron had reviewed his memories from his previous life, considering why the Brexit referendum in Britain ultimately succeeded.

It could be said that there were multiple reasons. It started as a trickle, soon became a constant stream, and finally ended in a flood. Before that, Cameron genuinely wanted to remain in the EU, but he intended to use the “Brexit referendum” as a tool, a bargaining chip to win votes in 2013…

According to his thinking at the time, after he was successfully elected, he could use it to gain public support—the British public at the time was full of resentment towards EU immigration policies and refugee sharing policies—and resolve domestic Eurosceptic pressure…

In addition, Cameron also hoped to use “Brexit” as a tool to reach a new “Remain” agreement with the EU.

Unexpectedly, the Cameron government eventually lost control of the matter, and the “Leave” camp overwhelmed the “Remain” camp, inadvertently shooting themselves in the foot.

This was by no means the result the Cameron government wanted. He originally hoped that the Brexit referendum would prolong his political life, but it ended his political life instead. After the Brexit vote succeeded, Cameron resigned as Prime Minister.

One of the main reasons why this Brexit vote was successful was that the camp advocating for Britain to remain in the EU at the time constantly issued warnings about the negative economic impact of Brexit, but this had the opposite effect.

Experts from the International Monetary Fund, the Confederation of British Industry, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, and others all spoke out at the time, warning of the consequences of Brexit on economic growth, rising unemployment, and the fall of the pound…

But many British people felt that they had not gained any economic benefits from Britain’s 50 years of EU membership…

And in response to the warnings about the consequences of Brexit issued by so many institutions, politicians, and elites, the public, who were accustomed to believing in conspiracy theories, instead believed that these groups had a vested interest in “remaining” and were therefore making such statements…

In fact, even if there were many reasons that led to the success of the Brexit referendum, it is undeniable that an important reason was that Britain had been a member of the EU for nearly half a century before that.

Holding a Brexit referendum at this time made it easier for the public to be persuaded by the “Leave” camp. The “Leave” camp could promise the public many pies in the sky, even if some of them were unlikely to be realized, but they were very tempting, such as—

At the time, one of the most tempting arguments for the public from the “Leave” camp was that “leaving the EU will free up an extra 350 million pounds per week for the National Health Service!”

The reason for this statement was that the fees that Britain needed to pay to the EU, if all used for the National Health Service, would provide it with additional funding…

Undeniably, this kind of statement is the kind of political slogan that those campaign activities dream of obtaining: impactful, easy to understand, and can attract voters of different ages and political beliefs.

Therefore, it is not surprising that the “Leave” camp chose to print this slogan on the buses they used for street campaigning.

But in fact, this statement could not stand up to scrutiny.

This figure was calculated using the total amount disputed by the Treasury Select Committee—the British Institute for Fiscal Studies called the figure potentially misleading.

But unfortunately, this did not weaken the impact of this statement, because the public likes this kind of tempting argument, but few people deeply consider its authenticity.

Polls showed that this statement won over some people, and 350 million pounds became the only number that left the deepest impression on the campaign—many people believed that the money that Britain paid to the EU as a member should be spent on Britain.

Therefore, in essence, because the vast majority of British people have always lived as members of the EU, the benefits of Britain’s existence in the EU—such as being able to provide British companies with a broader market, being able to more easily attract European talent, and other beneficial aspects—because they are not intuitive, and cannot impress the public as much as a specific number like 350 million pounds—therefore these have all been taken for granted…

On the contrary, they only saw the benefits that Britain needed to pay to the EU as a member, including the need to receive many immigrants, and other things that were considered to damage the interests of all British people.

Therefore, in the final analysis, decisions like this at the national level, whether to leave the EU or not, should not be decided by ordinary people who are easily influenced by propaganda, but should be decided by think tank elites…

It’s like if you bought all your funds in the stock of a company, would you want the company’s major decisions to be decided by a vote of all employees, or by those management who have rich management experience?

It can be said that the West, including European countries, pursues the so-called “democratic system” of excessive public participation, coupled with Britain’s complex political ecology, which ultimately led to the realization of the Brexit referendum, which also cost the entire Britain a heavy price.

In Baron’s view, rather than striving to make the “Remain” camp win in the Brexit referendum, a better choice would be to directly avoid the occurrence of the “Brexit referendum”!

This requires him to continue to increase his control within the Conservative and Labour parties, to prevent Cameron from ultimately taking risks for votes.

In fact, not only the “Brexit referendum”, but also the Scottish independence referendum, are the result of these politicians risking making promises in order to seek support for relevant votes.

Sometimes, knowing that Britain’s national strength is continuously weakening, their politicians are still constantly courting death, which is indeed very helpless.

But what can be done? For his own benefit, Baron can only try to maintain Britain’s dignity.

When these things can’t be maintained, he can only choose to put his industry in a safer and more promising place…

This result is naturally what he does not want to see.

In the final analysis, although he currently has a non-negligible influence on many politicians in Britain.

But these people will value his views, but it is impossible to really completely obey him.

The relationship between them is more of a cooperative relationship, and each will have its own interests and demands. These demands, in many cases, cannot be agreed upon.

It’s like he can advise Cameron, Johnson, and others to implement some policies, but when it really comes to their political lives, or even more important interests, then conflicts will arise, and I am afraid that this “harmonious” relationship will not be maintained.

Relatively speaking, Cameron is already a more rational politician, while Johnson is more difficult to control.

But at this time, within the Conservative Party, the relationship between Johnson and Cameron is still in the “honeymoon” period, and he is also Cameron’s most important supporter and ally.

Therefore, how to prevent Johnson from ultimately losing control on the Brexit issue requires long-term planning and strategy.

For many situations, these politicians are very sensitive. Baron can certainly support other people, such as cultivating Joe Harriman to gain more status and power.

But when Johnson realizes this trend, I am afraid that he will soon form a “centrifugal force”, and thus the relationship with Baron will begin to become subtle.

Chapter 835: Broadcom

At this time, Zhang Junning had already left China and arrived in Singapore.

She had just represented Rich23 Capital in completing a new round of financing for Xiaomi Corporation.

In early July of this year, in the previous round of financing for Xiaomi Corporation in which Rich23 Capital participated, they invested $25 million in Xiaomi Corporation, obtaining 10% of Xiaomi’s shares.

And only half a year later, in this round of financing for Xiaomi Corporation, their valuation had already skyrocketed from $250 million half a year ago to $1 billion—even though at this time, Xiaomi Corporation had only released the MI 1 mobile phone and received orders for 340,000 units, and had not yet completed delivery.

But anyone with discerning eyes could see that, with Xiaomi Corporation’s momentum, their chances of success were already very high.

Most importantly, Lei Jun, having already had successful experience, was also very popular with investors as an entrepreneur.

Therefore, in this round of financing for Xiaomi Corporation, Rich23 Capital also actively participated, putting up $50 million to participate in this financing of Xiaomi Corporation, and once again obtaining 5% of the company’s shares—so that at this time, Rich23 Capital already held 14% of Xiaomi Corporation’s shares (the shareholding ratio obtained in the previous round of financing was diluted by the new round of financing).

After completing this round of financing for Xiaomi Corporation, Zhang Junning arrived in Singapore, where she met Hock E. Tan, the CEO of Avago Technologies.

Avago Technologies was originally established when Chen Fuyang, while leading Rich23 Capital, acquired Agilent Technologies, the semiconductor division spun off from Hewlett-Packard.

After that, Chen Fuyang focused his main energy on the management of Avago Technologies.

In Barron’s previous life, Chen Fuyang was known as a “merger maniac” for leading Avago to become a global semiconductor giant through repeated mergers and acquisitions.

Now, with the funds provided by Barron and the financing support of Standard Chartered Bank, Chen Fuyang has not stopped, but has instead accelerated his pace.

If the initial acquisition of Infineon Technologies’ sound wave business for more than $20 million, and the acquisition of CyOptics for $400 million, were just a small test for Chen Fuyang.

Then next he had a big move. In 2009, Chen Fuyang took advantage of the global economic downturn after the subprime mortgage crisis to acquire storage chip manufacturer LSI for $4.5 billion, helping Avago strengthen its position in the enterprise storage market and expand its product offerings.

Now, after three years of development at Avago, Chen Fuyang could not restrain himself and was preparing to make another acquisition.

This time, he first prepared to acquire Emulex.

Emulex, headquartered in Costa Mesa, California, is one of the world’s leading suppliers of enterprise-class servers and storage.

Its widely acclaimed products include HBAs, intelligent storage platforms, and specific storage products such as switches, bridges, routers, and I/O controllers, providing users with reliable, scalable, high-performance storage and server solutions.

Chen Fuyang hopes to accelerate Avago’s strategic deployment in next-generation servers and storage racks through this acquisition.

Although Zhang Junning is the president of Rich23 Capital, and Rich23 Capital wholly owns Avago.

But in the semiconductor field, Chen Fuyang still has the greatest say in Avago’s mergers, acquisitions, and development.

Therefore, in this acquisition of Emulex by Avago, Rich23 Capital will fully cooperate.

The acquisition of Emulex is expected to cost approximately $600 million, which is not a particularly significant acquisition for Avago.

But Chen Fuyang’s plan is not limited to this. After the acquisition of Emulex is completed, he has a big goal—Broadcom.

Broadcom is different from the companies Avago has acquired before. This is truly a giant in the field of communication chips—Broadcom is famous for its broadband and WIFI chips, the most famous of which is the earliest cable modem to market, and this product has also expanded to the network processor and Ethernet switch chip market.

Broadcom’s switch has the strongest response in the SDxContral world, because its chips are used to design new switches, including most current waveform white box switches.

At the same time, Broadcom also produces chips for about half of the world’s tablets and smartphones, and is one of Qualcomm’s main competitors.

Currently, Broadcom’s market value is around $30 billion, but there is no doubt that if this acquisition is to be carried out, it will inevitably require a premium acquisition—therefore, this can also be called a significant acquisition for Avago.

“Avago and Broadcom have very little overlap in products, and we have successfully entered the storage market through the acquisition of LSI and other companies, but if we can acquire Broadcom, we can definitely stabilize our market share in this market and reach the top level in the world…”

Although Zhang Junning is too young compared to Chen Fuyang, in Chen Fuyang’s eyes, she is actually more of a representative of Barron, so at this time, his attitude towards Zhang Junning is still very well controlled, patiently explaining to her:

“Although Avago and Qualcomm’s target applications are both the broad consumer electronics market and the commercial market, Avago’s strength is currently in analog products for optical and wireless communication applications, while Qualcomm is good at digital SoCs for smart homes, data centers, and other applications. Many of our two companies’ customers overlap. If we can reach a merger, it will be good news for chip buyers who want to simplify the supplier list, and the revenue and profits of our two companies have always had stable growth performance. I have a very positive view of the synergistic effect after the merger.”

In fact, as Chen Fuyang believed, although as the president of Rich23 Capital, Zhang Junning can independently invest in Xiaomi Corporation, and even she can make the decision on Avago’s acquisition of Emulex.

But for super-large mergers and acquisitions involving hundreds of billions of dollars, such as the acquisition of Qualcomm, she still needs to report the details to Barron and listen to his opinions.

Therefore, in this matter, she also mainly needs to do a good job of conveying information, so she is also listening carefully to the content mentioned by Chen Fuyang.

Finally, she said to Chen Fuyang:

“Mr. Chen, I will convey all the information involved and your views to His Grace the Duke in full, and will also conduct a detailed assessment of your acquisition. I believe His Grace the Duke will make the correct judgment. As for the acquisition of Emulex, Rich23 Capital will give you the support you need. This work can begin now.”

Chapter 836: Beach

This winter, Barron and his family did not go to the Grace Lavender Manor in Australia as they had in previous years. Instead, after leaving London, they went directly to Hawaii.

As early as the second half of 2007, Barron had already bought Lanai Island, the sixth largest island in the Hawaiian archipelago.

After so many years of continuous investment and construction, Lanai Island’s facilities are now very complete. A Zhongxing Airport was also specially built. Although it cannot meet the take-off and landing requirements of the Devonshire, business jets like the Gulfstream G550 are perfectly fine.

Of course, this time they came to Lanai Island, they first took the Devonshire to Honolulu International Airport on Oahu, Hawaii, and then transferred from there to the Devonshire Poseidon, a super yacht, to reach Lanai Island.

When Barron bought Lanai Island, it wasn’t just to leave it idle. Although the five most beautiful of Lanai Island’s 18 best beaches are Barron’s private beaches and are not open to the public, many areas are still operated by Grace Culture and Tourism Group. As a high-end tourist area in Hawaii, it also includes a luxury hotel under Four Seasons-Cavendish, the Devonshire (Lanai Island) Hotel.

Hawaii has an island climate, with monsoons regulating the weather all year round. The temperature here does not change much throughout the year, with almost only summer and winter seasons.

Generally speaking, May to October is summer, with an average temperature of around 30 degrees Celsius; November to April is winter, with an average temperature of around 25 degrees Celsius.

Therefore, Lanai Island at this time is pleasant and very suitable for living.

In his private territory on Lanai Island, Barron owns a “miniature” Chatsworth House residence—built in the style of the Chatsworth House main house. Of course, it doesn’t have such an exaggerated number of rooms, but it still looks very magnificent, with more than 50 rooms, including 10 luxury suites, a study, a gym, a private cinema, and everything else you could want.

And near the beach, there is also an all-wood villa, which is also a favorite residence for the children.

It is worth mentioning that although they have come to Lanai Island, because Christmas is coming soon, a “Christmas tree” air-freighted from North America has already been erected in the hall of the mansion, adding a bit of festive atmosphere to the residence.

“Are you done, honey? Let’s go for a walk, it’s good for the baby.”

When Barron came out of the study, he saw Bonnie and said to her with a smile.

Bonnie is now pregnant for the third time, almost four months along. Even if she is wearing a loose dress, you can still see the bulge of her lower abdomen.

Because she has taken on the role of CEO of Summit Media, even after coming to Lanai Island, Bonnie, like Barron, has many things to deal with. She also brought a team of assistants with her, who can communicate with her about work matters at any time.

Of course, what she needs to deal with are all relatively important matters. Bonnie has already handed over general daily affairs to her deputy.

Today, only Barron and Bonnie are staying on Lanai Island. After all, although the climate here is pleasant and suitable for living, it is impossible for everyone to always stay on this island for these months. From time to time, they will also go to the city to play.

Just like in the morning, Countess Booth. and Tamaran Ecclestone, Catherine Neville, and others took the children to Honolulu to play, and will not be back until tomorrow.

And the women have also planned a trip to New York, Los Angeles and other cities for shopping in a while.

After carefully helping Bonnie downstairs, the two of them walked hand in hand towards the beach not far away.

The sun is not strong today, and there is a sea breeze blowing from time to time, making people feel very comfortable.

Speaking of which, Barron and Bonnie are also very much enjoying this time alone together. They both have faint smiles on their faces.

Another thing that makes Bonnie happy is that they already know the gender of the baby in her belly. Finally, as she wished, this time it is a girl.

This makes Bonnie, who already has two sons, very happy, and she is also looking forward to the arrival of this little princess.

Even when she was shopping, she had already bought a lot of clothes for her daughter, who is still a few months away from being born…

“I heard that China is preparing to introduce the copyright of ‘The Voice’, and the negotiations are almost complete…”

After all, she started her career outside of being a host by producing variety shows, Bonnie still pays special attention to variety shows related to Summit Media.

It is worth mentioning that although variety shows such as “The Traitors” and “Love Island” are produced by Summit Media, their overseas copyrights are all promoted through the related copyright operation company Halo Company. This company is also one of the earliest companies established by Barron. Back then, “Werewolf” was promoted by this company, and now the copyrights of “Downton Abbey” and many variety shows with ideas provided by Barron from the SEM Group are operated by this company.

Halo Company has even carried out many copyright acquisitions overseas in England and can be said to be a very large-scale copyright operation company.

As for “The Voice” that Bonnie mentioned, Halo Company has indeed determined the production party for this show in China—Shanghai Canxing Culture. This company received investment from Tianhe Film and Television Investment Company earlier, becoming a program production company controlled by Tianhe Capital. That is why it was able to obtain the copyright of “The Voice,” a variety show that is very popular all over the world.

Currently, China is trying to separate the production and broadcasting of television programs, so “The Voice” will also be a project in which Canxing Culture and Lantai cooperate for the first time in this way.

This is certainly not the first time that China has introduced a variety show from the SEM Group. Before this, “Dancing Miracle,” which was also produced under Bonnie’s leadership, was a cooperation with Hunan TV. They purchased the copyright and produced it.

It was from this time that China’s television variety shows were about to enter a period of explosive growth, so the SEM Group also began to pay attention to this market with great potential, trying to promote its own variety IP to them.

As the CEO of Summit Media, Bonnie is very clear about this, and she has also been to China with Barron before. The experience at that time left a deep impression on her, and she can be said to be very interested in the Chinese market.

“After our daughter is born, let’s find time to go to China again together. I believe you will find that there have been many changes there.”

“Yes, I heard that there is an Oriental Movie Metropolis project in China, which is very large. We can go and see it then…”

Chapter 837: Different From the Past

Speaking of Oriental Movie Metropolis, the groundbreaking ceremony earlier this year was quite grand.

Several of Hollywood’s most well-known stars, including Leonardo DiCaprio and Nicole Kidman, as well as the actors playing members of “The Avengers,” who were very popular at the time, such as Robert Downey Jr. and Scarlett Johansson, and other Hollywood stars closely related to Marvel-MGM Studios, all appeared at this ceremony in Qingdao.

It can be said that the shareholders of Oriental Movie Metropolis Group, including Blue Valley Capital and Marvel-MGM Studios, used a lot of connections for this ceremony.

Fan Bingbing also shone brightly at this ceremony, standing alongside those Hollywood stars. As one of the Chinese actresses with the highest recognition in Europe and the United States at this time, due to her starring role in the hit American drama “Succession War” and cameo appearances in several Hollywood movies, even if these stars had not met Fan Bingbing before, they at least knew of her.

Moreover, as one of the bosses of Tianhe Capital, Fan Bingbing could be said to be a financier of this Oriental Movie Metropolis, naturally different from other Chinese stars.

For example, the Wang brothers of Huayi Company, who currently dominate the Chinese film and television industry and also attended this event, already had a completely different attitude towards Fan Bingbing.

It should be known that since its successful listing on the A-share market in 2009, Huayi Company can be said to have been riding high, firmly sitting in the top spot of domestic private film and television companies in China.

However, precisely because of this, they have had a lot of contact with the “Tianhe Group,” and naturally understand Fan Bingbing’s current status. Not to mention that after Barron transferred his shares in Huayi Company to Fan Bingbing’s name, she herself is one of the major shareholders of Huayi Company. Just the investment of Tianhe Film and Television Investment Company in the domestic film and television industry is currently unmatched by other capital.

That’s why many people now call South Auto Group, Tianhe Real Estate, and some film and television program production companies controlled by Tianhe Capital the “Tianhe Group.”

The key is that very few people are clear about the background of Tianhe Capital, the core of the Tianhe Group. Even the few who know the relationship between it and Barron keep their mouths shut and won’t talk about it to outsiders. This also involves some “preferential treatment” from the upper echelons towards Barron, an old friend of China, and the reason why they didn’t pursue it too seriously. After all, the scale of his investment in China is enough to attract attention.

This has created the impression to outsiders that the background of the “Tianhe Group” is particularly mysterious. Even if they can find that Fan Bingbing herself exists as the legal person of Tianhe Capital, they will normally be considered a “front man.” What kind of people need to use a “front man”? This is even more unspeakable.

Although the Wang brothers’ Huayi Company can be said to be a leading enterprise in the Chinese film and television industry, Wang Zhongjun is now considered to be sitting at the lowest seat in the “Taishan Club.”

Therefore, in front of Fan Bingbing, they are now putting on a very correct attitude.

After all, the entire market value of Huayi Company is now less than 20 billion yuan, while the total investment in the Oriental Movie Metropolis project alone exceeds 50 billion…

After the groundbreaking ceremony, the first phase of the Oriental Movie Metropolis project has already started construction. It is expected that the main structure of the entire Oriental Movie Metropolis will be completed within four years, that is, in the second quarter of 2015.

However, the film and television production base of the first phase will be completed in the third quarter of next year, and some film and television and variety shows can be produced at that time…

The Marvel-MGM theme park will be completed in 2013 and open in the second half of that year.

It can be said that the construction progress is very fast. When talking to Fan Bingbing on the phone, Barron knew that it was currently under construction in full swing.

…

In Barron’s previous life, there was always the Mayan prophecy that 2012 would be the end of the world.

The disaster film “2012” also left a deep impression on Barron.

But when Barron entered 2012 for the second time, the world continued to operate as usual, and no doomsday disaster occurred.

It is worth mentioning that after his father passed away on December 30, 2011, the young man known as “the strongest post-80s generation on Earth” combed his hair back and stood on the pinnacle of power in the peninsula.

After New Year’s Day, Barron temporarily left Lanai Island and arrived in New York to visit Ivanka and their child, Theodore.

When Barron saw Ivanka, she had just returned from Android:

“Android will release a new version next month, adding many features to cope with the competition from iOS. In addition, WP cannot be ignored. According to news, they will launch WP8 later this year and make significant adjustments.”

The upcoming Android system has reached version 4.0, known as Ice Cream Sandwich.

Although Google has basically withdrawn from the mobile operating system competition—their GOS system, the last time a major version update was released, was a year and a half ago…

But Android cannot be said to be able to breathe a sigh of relief just yet. After all, in addition to its main competitor, Apple’s iOS system, Microsoft has always been thinking about mobile operating systems.

Their WP (Windows Phone) operating system has never had a high market share, but it has always maintained a presence.

Even because of Google GOS’s withdrawal, they have gained some of the market share that was vacated as a result…

After completing the acquisition of Motorola Mobility, Android obtained a huge number of mobile phone system-related patents. In the years of competing with Apple’s iOS, Android has also been summing up experience and began to tighten the loose open platform of the original Android system, and improve the shortcomings of the current low compatibility of Android systems between different devices. After all, compared to Apple’s tightly controlled iOS system, the most troublesome thing for application manufacturers with Android is that they need to be tired of testing compatibility…

Moreover, from the rich profits of Apple’s Appstore, Android also saw the “money-making potential”—although Android also launched its own Play Store, even if the market share of the Android system is slightly higher, its revenue is far less than that of the Appstore.

These are all areas that Android needs to improve in the future.

“There’s one more thing, honey. Avago will be making a major acquisition next. I hope IC Capital can participate…”

Barron received Zhang Junning’s report as soon as Chen Fuyang prepared to acquire Broadcom. He also strongly agreed with this acquisition.

After all, from the perspective of future development, in his previous life, Chen Fuyang successfully ate a considerable part of the dividends of AI development through this acquisition.

However, Avago is now 83.3% held by Rich23 Capital. It can be said that except for the circulating shares of the listed part, the remaining Avago shares are in the hands of Rich23 Capital and Chen Fuyang (holding 1.7%).

But after acquiring Broadcom, their scale will reach the forefront of the world. Only with more American capital joining in will it not hinder future expansion.

This is also the main reason why Barron intends to have IC Capital participate in this acquisition.

Chapter 838: A Fortune 500 Company

It wasn’t just IC Capital. According to what Barron had discussed with Chen Fuyang, this acquisition of Broadcom by Avago would be in the form of cash plus stock. Based on their estimates, the total acquisition price would definitely exceed 34 billion dollars.

The acquisition in the form of partial stock would allow Broadcom’s shareholders to retain a certain percentage of shares in the new company.

In addition, the funds required for the acquisition could also be raised through the issuance of additional shares to some Wall Street capital firms. In this way, Wall Street capital, including Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, and BlackRock Group, could obtain partial shares in the merged company, thereby increasing the proportion of American capital in Avago’s shareholding.

This would be beneficial for the merged company’s subsequent mergers and acquisitions. In Barron’s previous life, Avago’s shareholders were mainly American capital. However, when it later attempted to acquire Qualcomm, it was still rejected by the United States.

The reason was that Broadcom (renamed Broadcom after Avago acquired it in the original timeline) was not headquartered in the United States at the time, but in Singapore, and was not considered an American company.

What’s more, Avago’s largest shareholder now is Rich23 Capital, an investment company headquartered in Singapore…

Earlier, Barron had communicated with Chen Fuyang that after acquiring Broadcom, the new company’s headquarters would be moved to the United States, making it an “American company.”

“There’s definitely no problem with that, and participating in this acquisition is also very beneficial for our layout in portable smart devices.”

Ivana certainly had no objections to Barron’s proposal.

After all, Avago and Broadcom now have a considerable share in the chip field of smartphones and tablets, and the Android company and Motorola Mobility, in which IC Capital has invested, can all participate in this merger and acquisition to increase their say in the upstream chip field.

In addition, what Barron didn’t mention was that in his previous life, Google had in-depth cooperation with Broadcom (the new company after the merger of Avago and Broadcom) in the field of artificial intelligence. Google customized the artificial intelligence chip TPU from Broadcom, which is a key component of artificial intelligence infrastructure.

Therefore, Woaw Technology and other IT companies under his control can also benefit from this acquisition in the research and application of artificial intelligence. They can also rely on cooperation with Broadcom to obtain stable related customized chips.

IC Capital also holds shares in Woaw, making it the second largest shareholder of Woaw Technology after DS Holdings (Cavendish Trust Fund).

“If this acquisition can be achieved, then you will have one more Fortune 500 company…”

Ivana’s words were in response to the Fortune 500 list released in the second half of last year. According to that list, the companies currently controlled by Barron, including United Energy Group, O2 Telecom, Standard Chartered-Merrill Lynch Group, Argos Retail Group, SEM Group, GHL Group (Gucci-Hermès-L’Oréal Group), British Motor Group, LOMX Group (London-OMX Exchange Group), Honor Electronics, and Woaw, are all on the Fortune 500 list.

It can be said that Barron now controls more than ten Fortune 500 companies.

If Avago can complete the acquisition of Broadcom, then the size of the acquired company will also be able to enter the Fortune 500 list…

…

While Barron was talking with Ivana, in Baltimore, Maryland, at John Smith’s home, he also breathed a sigh of relief.

After making a bad move last year by sending someone to silence Bartland Rosario in prison, but failing, John Smith began to face an investigation by the Maryland Attorney General’s Office. Because Bartland Rosario turned into a witness for the prosecution, he entered the “Witness Protection Program,” and enabled Attorney General Harrington Porter to initiate an investigation into the “Death of David.”

It can be said that the situation John Smith was facing at the time was very dangerous, because with the launch of the investigation, John’s two half-brothers, Duncan Smith and Robert Smith, began to stir.

They have publicly claimed more than once that the mastermind behind David’s death was John Smith, who benefited from it and became the chairman and CEO of Sinclair Group.

To make matters worse, John Smith was warned by Ivana and Barron, the major shareholders of Sinclair Group, at this time that if he could not quell the matter, they would suggest that he take a temporary break.

It is conceivable that if his current power is really deprived, coupled with the launch of the investigation, what awaits him may not be a pleasant result.

Fortunately, John still fought for himself an opportunity. In order to get rid of this matter, he spent a lot of money to hire the well-known defense lawyer Roy Black to resolve the litigation he is now facing.

Roy Black can be said to be the most famous and highest-paid criminal defense lawyer in the United States today.

He can be said to have achieved fruitful results. Not only was he once the lawyer of American rock superstar Michael Jackson, Michael Jackson once said:

“I don’t want to get into trouble, but if trouble finds me, Roy Black will be the best person to defend me.”

Moreover, he also acquitted William Kennedy Smith in the sensational William Kennedy Smith rape case in the United States. From the name, it can be seen that William Kennedy Smith is the eldest son of President Kennedy’s sister, that is, the nephew of Senator Ted Kennedy, the only surviving of the Kennedy brothers.

Because of this, Roy Black’s fees are also the highest level in the United States. Someone once said:

“Roy Black represents those who can afford the fees - you are basically innocent until you prove yourself penniless.”

And John Smith is the one who can afford the money.

It must be said that although he needs to sign a high attorney’s fee bill, Roy Black is indeed worth the money.

“I think you know this, but I still have to remind you, Mr. Smith, as your lawyer, I have the privilege granted to me by American law. Everything we discuss will be kept confidential and will not be disclosed to others.”

After receiving John Smith’s commission, Roy Black said to him:

“As your lawyer, I am not here to judge you. My goal is very simple, to keep you out of jail. I don’t need you to be innocent, I just need you to provide truthful information. Even if you really did those things, I can find a way, but I can’t help a client who lies to me, because lies will eventually bite us back.”

Chapter 839: Ten Years

“I need to confirm again, you haven’t held anything back from me in what you’ve told me, have you?”

After receiving an affirmative answer from John Smith, Roy Black said to him:

“If what you’re saying is true, then I can tell you some good news, which is that this case isn’t too difficult compared to many of the cases I’ve taken on before. I can even try to prevent the case from even reaching the indictment stage with the evidence the prosecution currently has…”

As it turned out, Roy Black was indeed worthy of being called the most expensive lawyer in America. After obtaining detailed information from John Smith, he first hired private investigators and used his connections to investigate and obtain information on the “tainted witness” Bartland Rosario, and even the prosecutor Harrington Porter.

Ultimately, he obtained the favorable information he had hoped for.

In addition to Bartland Rosario having a record of providing false testimony to the police in the past—which would greatly reduce the credibility of Bartland’s testimony against John Smith this time—the past of Maryland State Prosecutor Harrington Porter was not spotless either.

He had been accused of “threatening an accomplice to obtain a plea bargain” five years ago. Although the final investigation of this accusation did not have enough evidence to support it, it could at least cast doubt on the “objectivity” of his investigation this time.

In addition, Roy Black also obtained “leverage” over Duncan Smith and Robert Smith, who had frequently made statements unfavorable to John Smith in this case—the two had been suspected of obtaining improper benefits for themselves through the Sinclair Group.

When Duncan Smith and Robert Smith held management positions at the Sinclair Group, they were suspected of privately accepting benefits from related companies to conduct flattering publicity for them in the Sinclair Group’s broadcast programs.

At that time, David Smith, who had passed away, held the position of chairman of the Sinclair Group, but he did not investigate the relevant reports and let the two go.

Therefore, they had reason to believe that Duncan and Robert’s words and actions now were out of resentment because they had to leave the Sinclair Group’s management after John Smith took over David’s position as chairman.

In addition, as of now, the “David’s Death” case, apart from Bartland Rosario’s testimony indicating that the caregiver who caused David Smith’s death did not die accidentally, but was murdered by someone, and indicating that David’s death was also suspicious, there was no other evidence linking this matter to John Smith or anyone else.

So, under the pressure Roy Black exerted on the prosecution using this information, they had to withdraw the charges against John Smith and were not allowed to disclose any information that might affect John Smith’s personal reputation.

And under the threat of Duncan and Robert being accused of damaging John Smith’s reputation, and the Sinclair Group possibly re-investigating all their violations while they were in office, they also chose to shut up.

In this way, in less than a month after Roy Black took over John Smith’s commission, he got John Smith out of this storm, which relieved him.

As for whether Maryland State Prosecutor Harrington Porter would continue to investigate this case—it was believed that with the passage of time, after Bartland Rosario’s identification was distrusted, it would not be so easy for him to find other evidence.

Of course, this time the prosecution withdrew the charges and suspended the investigation, which may have had other considerations.

That is, according to the Anglo-American legal system’s “Double Jeopardy” principle (called “Res Judicata” in continental legal systems), a person cannot be tried or punished twice or more for the same act or the same crime.

Therefore, if John Smith was prosecuted this time, and the evidence was not sufficient to support a high probability of the other party being convicted, then even if more evidence was found later, it would be difficult to initiate the charges in this case again.

Now Roy Black had grasped the prosecution’s “weakness”. If they continued to charge John Smith, then there was a very high probability that the other party would be found not guilty, and it would not be possible to charge him again for this case.

It was also for this reason that many Anglo-American prosecutors, in order to increase the conviction rate of the cases they handled, would not easily charge the suspect when the evidence obtained was not enough to obtain the support of the jury, or continue the investigation and drag it into a cold case, or reach a plea bargain with the other party on more lenient terms.

Now that Roy Black’s side had the advantage, it was impossible to advise John Smith to reach a plea bargain, and the prosecution had no choice but to abandon the charges and suspend the investigation in the absence of sufficient evidence to support it.

…

After leaving America, Barron did not immediately return to Lanai Island, but returned to London first.

On February 6, 60 years ago, Elizabeth Alexandra Mary, then 25 years old, inherited the British throne.

Yes, the 60th anniversary of the Queen’s accession to the throne was coming up soon, and the Queen would become the second monarch in British history to reign for more than 60 years (the first was Queen Victoria, who reigned for 64 years)—of course, Barron knew that, barring any accidents, Queen Elizabeth would become the longest-reigning monarch in British history.

Although the Queen’s 60th anniversary parade in London would still be held in early June, as an important British Duke, Barron also needed to return to London on the anniversary to participate in related events at Buckingham Palace.

In fact, in many Commonwealth countries around the world, celebrations for the 60th anniversary of the Queen’s accession to the throne would begin on February 6.

It must be said that Barron felt the passage of time at this moment. When he first came to this world and became the heir to the Devonshire family, he was just in time for the 50th anniversary of the Queen’s accession to the throne.

This also meant that he had been in this world for exactly ten years, and he had gone from being an “unreliable young man” to a Duke with great influence in Britain and even the world, and he also had many children…

“I heard you went to Hawaii for vacation, Barron. That’s a good place, especially compared to the cold and gloomy London in winter…”

“Yes, Your Royal Highness the Prince of Wales. If you have time, I sincerely invite you and the Princess of Wales to stay on Lanai Island for a while. I have private territory there, and I believe it will allow you to have a wonderful time.”

At a noble gathering he attended after returning to London, Barron met the Prince of Wales.

Seeing his already gray hair, Barron couldn’t help but sigh for him, believing that he would not have imagined that Her Majesty the Queen would still have the day to celebrate the 70th anniversary of her accession to the throne…

Chapter 840: Change of Pace

“Your Grace, you were looking for me.”

“Yes, Rami.”

Baron looked at the young man walking into the study and said to him with a smile, “Sit down, I have some time, and I’d like to chat with you.”

It must be said that of all the children adopted by the Devonshire Charitable Foundation, Rami seems to be the most talented.

Not just Rami, his sister Lavi is also performing exceptionally well in her studies. Although she is not yet 16 years old, Julia Moore once told Baron that the young girl has completed her high school studies and is preparing to enter university this year.

Rami is not yet 19 years old, but after his experience in the DS Group’s foundation and later in charge of Matrix Capital, although his appearance is still a bit green, he already has a calm temperament.

Facing the Duke, Rami was visibly a little nervous. He sat down on the sofa in the study and heard Baron say, “How is Mt. Gox doing lately?”

“It’s going relatively smoothly, Your Grace. Mt. Gox still maintains its position as the world’s largest Bitcoin exchange, and after our acquisition, we increased the team and specifically enhanced Mt. Gox’s security…”

Speaking of the Mt. Gox exchange acquired by Matrix Capital, Rami spoke eloquently, “Since then, although Mt. Gox has encountered several hacker intrusions, they have all been discovered by our team, and we have also been able to reverse-track them. Two of the hackers with good technical skills have also been recruited by us. In addition, we have recovered more than 20,000 previously stolen Bitcoins…”

“I heard from Julia that you moved out of her place?”

Among the adopted children, Julia liked Rami and Lavi the most, and his sister Lavi has always lived with her.

“Yes, Your Grace, because I often need to go overseas now, and when I’m in London, my working hours are also uncertain, so I don’t want to disturb Aunt Moore…”

“You are a man now, Rami, and I am very pleased with what you are doing…”

Rami showed his talent in financial investment even before he came of age. Coupled with the fact that he is now in charge of Matrix Capital and some investments he makes himself, Rami’s income can be said to make him a “small rich man.”

What pleases Baron even more is that although he already has enough assets to live a comfortable life, Rami has not indulged in a life of luxury. Even the apartment he rents is not luxurious, and he has no bad habits in his daily life and is very self-disciplined.

Because there are many very talented young people, perhaps like Rami, who have experienced a life of poverty. After they become successful, they indulge in enjoyment, which ultimately leads to limited achievements.

Only those who are as self-disciplined as Rami and have long-term plans can ultimately succeed.

“However…”

Baron changed the subject and said, “You donated a large portion of your money, didn’t you?”

“Yes, Your Grace.”

Rami didn’t seem surprised that Baron mentioned this.

With his intelligence, he certainly understood that someone like him, who could be considered one of Baron’s “core personnel,” would have many things about him scrutinized.

And he didn’t make a special effort to keep these actions secret—otherwise, with his intelligence, he would have more discreet channels to use.

“I was born in Palestine. Because I was lucky, I met you, so my sister and I were able to grow up safely. We are grateful for this.”

Rami said sincerely to Baron, “But I know that in my hometown, the situation… is still very dangerous. Many children are not so lucky and don’t even have the chance to grow up, so I just want to do what I can and donate some money to relevant organizations.”

Listening to Rami’s words, Baron nodded and said, “I can understand what you’re saying, Rami. There’s a Chinese saying: ‘Cultivate your own morality when poor, and benefit all under Heaven when successful’…”

“Yes, this is what a Chinese sage named Mencius said, Your Grace.”

Baron said “Cultivate your own morality when poor, and benefit all under Heaven when successful” in Chinese, and Rami could understand it—as mentioned before, Rami is the smartest and most talented child Baron has ever seen. Before he was adopted by the Devonshire Charitable Foundation, he already knew Arabic and Hebrew. He was then quickly able to conduct English conversations fluently. Now, he has learned five languages: Arabic, Hebrew, English, French, and Chinese.

Because Baron liked Chinese culture, Rami, who had deep gratitude and admiration for him, taught himself Chinese after receiving a copy of Selected Works of MAO TSETUNG from Baron on his 16th birthday, and read the original version of the book and other Chinese classics…

Well, sometimes Baron can’t help but envy Rami’s memory. If he didn’t have the “benefit of being reborn,” like he was in his previous life, he wouldn’t be able to achieve Rami’s reading efficiency. With full concentration, he can read several books a day and remember the content.

“Your compatriots are constantly under threat from Israel. I know the situation there, but Rami, some things are not impossible to do, and I will support you, but the approach needs to be more flexible…”

Baron said to him, “After all, you should know that the Zionist movement behind Israel has a great influence globally. I don’t want you to attract the attention of Mossad because of these things.”

“I understand, Your Grace, I will be more careful.”

Just as Baron said, he does not object to Rami using his abilities to help Palestine, but the premise is that it needs to be discreet enough.

After all, he still has expectations for Rami’s future and doesn’t want him to be noticed by the Israeli intelligence agency Mossad because of this, or even put on their assassination list—after all, the fanaticism of these Zionists is well known.

Until now, although Palestine has declared its independence, the conflicts and contradictions caused by Resolution 181 passed by the United Nations General Assembly in 1947 still exist—the resolution aimed to divide the Palestinian region into two countries: a Jewish state and an Arab state.

The Jewish state, Israel, was met with the First Middle East War on the day it declared its independence.

But afterwards, with the support of the United States, Israel entered the United Nations, but Palestine has been constantly obstructed and is still not a member of the United Nations.

Last September, Palestine submitted an application to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, seeking to become a full member of the UN, but it failed to obtain the support of the Security Council due to opposition from the United States and Israel—like many resolutions related to Palestine and Israel, the United States and Israel were the only two countries that voted against it at the time.

Chapter 841: Who’s the Real Daddy?

In his past life, Barron knew that the relationship between Israel and America could be described as the closest.

It could even be said that no other country could make America defend it so fiercely—many times, in order to defend Israel, America didn’t hesitate to become enemies with all other countries.

Since 1972, America has used its veto power dozens of times at the UN, doing everything in its power to obstruct any resolutions unfavorable to Israel. In many cases, even the “Five Eyes” alliance countries, including Britain and Australia, couldn’t stand it and preferred to abstain from voting in favor of Israel, but America firmly stood by Israel’s side, even if it would damage America’s own interests.

At the time, Barron didn’t quite understand this—could the Jewish lobby’s control over America have reached such a degree? That was a bit of an exaggeration.

But now, Barron has understood many of the reasons behind it.

In fact, America didn’t start supporting Israel with such intensity from the very beginning of the country’s founding…

Although America supported Israel at the time, the intensity wasn’t that great—after all, Israel itself was an important part of America’s Middle East strategy. The then-President Obama had said long ago, “If Israel didn’t exist, we would have to invent one to protect our interests in the region…”

Later on, America became increasingly tolerant of Israel’s many outrageous actions.

Therefore, some people call Israel America’s closest “son,” and America treats it like a spoiled, rebellious son, tolerating all its willfulness and doing its best to protect it.

Others believe that Israel is America’s “daddy,” with America providing for Israel without reservation and complying with many of its demands…

For example, in September 1953, Israel ignored the UN resolution and attempted to build a canal to draw water from the Jordan River.

At the time, American Secretary of State Dulles immediately announced the suspension of foreign aid to Israel—the effect of America’s threat on Israel was immediate, and a month later, Israel terminated the water project.

From numerous examples from the same period, we can see that Israel didn’t initially occupy a special position in America’s alliance system.

Although America had been providing large-scale aid to Israel since its founding, the “aid” method at the time was similar to its relationship with allies such as Japan and South Korea today. America was able to effectively restrain Israel’s behavior at the time.

Just as in 1956, America could effortlessly persuade Israel to withdraw from the territory seized from Egypt—this ability to intervene allowed America to benefit from the conflict between the Arab world and Israel, controlling the Middle East by playing the role of a referee, which was America’s original intention in supporting Israel.

However, from the mid-1960s, America’s policy in the Middle East began to uncontrollably lean towards Israel. The main sign of this was Israel’s efforts to make America tacitly approve of its possession of nuclear weapons.

In 1963, then-American President Kennedy began a protracted standoff with Israel over the development of nuclear weapons. Kennedy’s tough opposition threatened Israel’s nuclear program several times, until Kennedy’s successor, Lyndon Johnson, took office, and things suddenly took a turn for the better.

In 1968, Richard Helms, then the director of the CIA, reported to Johnson that Israel had effectively acquired nuclear capabilities.

It is said that Johnson appeared very annoyed at the time and just wanted to get rid of him from the White House as soon as possible…

Normally, according to America’s interests, if such a thing happened, Johnson, as president, would have to take action—but obviously something made him very hesitant about his attitude at this time.

Therefore, the conspiracy theory that Kennedy’s “brainstorming” had the shadow of Zionist forces behind it is not without basis.

From then on, America’s support for Israel became more and more generous, and it never stopped even when it was contrary to America’s interests.

Moreover, America’s increased support not only did not increase Washington’s influence over Israel, but instead decreased it.

For example, the Nixon administration, in order to get Israel to agree to support UN Resolution 242, did not threaten to stop aid, but privately guaranteed to provide it with additional fighter jets.

In addition, after Israel occupied Syria’s Golan Heights, despite the opposition of almost all countries, including European allies, America once again stood on the opposite side of the world, helping Israel withstand international pressure—this was undoubtedly undermining the rules of the post-war world system set by America itself.

There is also a large amount of evidence from the same period that shows that the relationship between America and Israel did indeed undergo subtle changes starting in the mid-1960s.

This change in circumstances is closely related to the increasing influence of the Zionist backing—the American Jewish lobby.

In fact, according to relevant information collected by Barron’s think tank, the so-called “Jews” are not a “nation” as many people think, but rather a “social organization” with closely linked interests.

The so-called “Jews” who now live in Israel, who may account for the vast majority of people, no longer have any relationship with the Jews who were persecuted in Europe during World War II.

It’s just that they use their control of the media to spare no effort in publicizing the persecution of “Jews” during World War II to the world—as if the whole world owes the Jews something, so that any remarks unfavorable to the Jews can be labeled as “anti-Semitism” and “Nazi behavior.”

If we make a comparison, we can see how terrifying the results of the Jews’ actions are—

Even though Germany has conducted such deep reflection on Nazi behavior after World War II, a German facing a Jew today can be said to be trembling with fear, and may be labeled as “anti-Semitic” by the other party for a careless word.

As for other countries that were invaded and massacred by Japan during World War II, even if the number of people involved is far higher than that of the Jews, there are not many Westerners who care about it on a global scale…

In America and even globally, the Jewish lobby firmly controls the media—the famous American international relations theorist John Mearsheimer once wrote a book called The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy. This book originated from an article commissioned by The Atlantic Monthly in 2002.

But after this article was completed, it could not be publicly published for undisclosed reasons.

Chapter 842: Who is a Jew?

The first question is whether modern Jews, such as those living in Israel, the United States, and Europe, are related by blood to ancient Jews.

Modern science has verified that some modern Jews are related to ancient Jews. This portion mainly consists of ultra-Orthodox Jews in Israel, such as the Haredi Jews, who have lived in the Palestinian territories until the establishment of Israel, when they became citizens of that country.

It is worth mentioning that ancient Jews and Arabs actually share the same origin, both having Middle Eastern Semitic ancestry. There is no discernible difference in appearance between Middle Eastern Arabs and the descendants of ancient Jews.

As for the majority of people who now identify as Jewish, aside from the Haredi Jews, they are actually the result of Zionist efforts to combine the widespread and historically deep-rooted Jewish identity with emerging nationalist theories.

In other words, even if someone has Jewish ancestry but does not practice Judaism, they will not be recognized as Jewish by the “Jews”…

We can see that Jews scattered around the world have different skin colors, speak completely different languages, and have diverse lifestyles…

There are even black-skinned Jews among them. This branch mainly lives in Ethiopia, and they are generally believed to be a branch formed after some Israelites fled to the area during the wars and collapses of ancient empires such as the Assyrian Empire, and extensively intermarried with the local population.

Therefore, they are all called Jews, but the differences between their internal branches are enormous, which is unique among the world’s “ethnic groups.”

The emergence of this situation is related to the unique way Jews pass down their heritage. According to Jewish religious law, Halakha, as long as a person’s mother is Jewish or they convert to Judaism, they can be considered Jewish…

It can be said that in the long and brutal ancient history, this rule greatly solved the problem of Jewish inheritance.

Because in ancient times, when productivity was generally low, women and children often survived as the spoils of the victors. Therefore, when a tribe destroyed a Jewish community, the Jews would not disappear. Instead, they would continue to be passed down along the maternal line in the new tribe…

Moreover, women born in the new tribe could also be recognized as Jewish, spreading the Jewish identity. This has led to the situation where a person can be considered Jewish regardless of how diluted their actual Jewish ancestry is.

According to Halakha, even if a person has no Jewish ancestry, they can be considered Jewish as long as they are willing to convert to Judaism…

Therefore, Jews can be seen as a group that relies more on cultural identity and economic interests to maintain cohesion.

For example, the matrilineal rule used by Jews to solve the problem of inheritance has led to an unexpected result: due to the low requirement for bloodline, many outstanding people in human history have been labeled as Jews. As a result, legends about Jews possessing a unique wisdom have spread, becoming part of maintaining Jewish social and cultural identity.

In addition, our common impression is that Jews are good at finance and business. This popular impression is constantly reinforced by many related books and the numerous “Jewish families” in global finance and commerce.

The core of the financial industry is whether one can borrow money at a low interest rate and lend it to suitable people at a higher interest rate!

The characteristics of Jewish society enable them to have unique advantages in this regard.

In the daily economic activities of ancient Europe, ethnicity was a very important factor. Lending within the same ethnic group often had lower interest rates than lending between different ethnic groups.

Compared with other ethnic groups divided by race and genes, Jews have almost no bloodline barriers when absorbing outsiders into Jewish society. Therefore, when a businessman becomes a member of the Jewish community through conversion to Judaism or marriage, he can share the Jewish society’s low-interest funds, making it easier for him to achieve commercial success.

As a result, this economic benefit can attract more business elites to join Jewish society, and the resource advantages of Jews can become more and more obvious.

This set of rules has led to Jewish communities scattered in various countries becoming an organization that can quickly absorb and assimilate local business elites. In other words, in everyone’s impression, the label of Jews seems to always be associated with elites. This may not be because there are any special ingredients in their bloodline and genes that easily give birth to geniuses, but because their assimilation characteristics make it easier for various elites to be absorbed into Jewish society.

For example, the United States, which became a global hegemon after World War II, has gathered a large number of elites and has also become a key country for Jewish society to operate in.

This is why the Israeli lobby can spread to many fields in the United States and seize huge influence in just over a decade.

Currently, there are approximately 18 million Jews worldwide, with approximately 7.1 million in Israel and 7.6 million in the United States. They are distributed among the elite classes in American politics, finance, media, technology, commerce, and other fields.

However, if a group mainly built on interests rather than blood relations wants to maintain stability, it needs to conduct higher-intensity loyalty tests on its members—rewarding those who have made more contributions and are more loyal, and excluding free riders who only want benefits but do not want to contribute, as well as rebels who ignore collective interests.

This has led to another consequence: those American elites who choose to join Jewish society or marry into it often behave very actively and aggressively in order to improve their status within it, even at the expense of the country’s interests.

After all, “newcomers” need to show more and prove their “loyalty” to others by demonstrating their maintenance of the group’s interests. This situation can often be seen in countries large and organizations small.

Therefore, you can see that Jewish groups are often very “united.” When there are unfavorable remarks or behaviors against Israel or Jews, many Jewish tycoons will stand up and obstruct and defend them in many ways…

This is also because in Jewish society, a person’s status is directly related to their contribution to the collective. Obviously, this rule encourages members to show their value to the collective in a more radical way.

When hostile people appear, launching public retaliation against them is a way for its members to show loyalty to the “Jewish community” and reflect their value.

As a result, the entire Jewish society has formed the characteristic of radicals in power, and those in power becoming more radical.

Moreover, this actively applied pressure is not only directed at external threats but also at internal Jews.

Back in 1973, during the Fourth Middle East War (also known as the Yom Kippur War), a group of American Jews founded a new organization called Breira. This organization called on Israel to withdraw from the occupied territories and discuss a peaceful settlement agreement with the Palestinians. Representatives of the organization even met with a group of Palestinian representatives in a private capacity.

Soon after, a powerful resistance appeared. Organizations such as the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, the American Jewish Committee, and the National Jewish Community Relations Advisory Council immediately issued condemnations of the Breira organization. Jewish community organizations revoked Breira’s membership, and local Jewish community committees stopped providing it with funding and venues. Soon, the resources of the entire Jewish society were closed to it.

Under this pressure, the Breira organization was forced to disband in less than five years.

It is also these characteristics of the Jewish consortium mentioned above that make them an elite organization with highly consistent internal actions and extremely sensitive to external threats, while also breeding a powerful lobbying group.

Baron once saw such a story in relevant materials: Steven Rosen, a former official of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, placed a napkin in front of Jeff L. Bewkes, editor-in-chief of The New Yorker magazine, and claimed that he could get 70 senators to sign it within 24 hours…

Many American politicians and congressmen, under the powerful influence of the Jewish consortium, would choose to yield. Because for officials or congressmen who showed non-cooperation, the Israeli lobby would resolutely adopt counterattack strategies, stop the supply of political donations, and even start funding their opponents. Many times, they would also use the media they controlled to publish unfavorable news about these people.

It is also because some people in the Jewish group and Zionism are too radical and crazy that Baron does not want Rami’s high-profile act of providing assistance to his hometown to attract the attention of the other party.

After all, Israel’s Mossad is very famous for assassinations…

Moreover, Israel can even attack personnel from international organizations such as the UN in some military operations and bombings, let alone Rami’s current identity.

Of course, with Baron’s current strength, he is not afraid of these Jewish groups, but he just doesn’t want to cause trouble for no reason.

If he was really afraid, he wouldn’t have attacked the Rothschild family in the first place. The internals of these Jewish groups are not monolithic. Although integrating into them can gain assistance, it is only easier to obtain resources than others. Within them, there are also occasional conflicts.

The reason he attacked the Rothschild family in the first place was because the other party had declined to the point where most of their power could only remain in Europe, and they already had rifts with some capital on Wall Street.

This is also a very normal thing. Even within a family, fighting to the death is nothing new.

Of course, Baron can also choose to integrate into the Jewish group. In fact, even the Anglo-Saxon group has intermarried with the Jewish group, so there are countless connections with it.

For example, Ivanka in the original timeline married a Jewish businessman and changed her faith for this reason, passing the Jewish exam. According to the Jewish way of inheritance, she can also call herself a “Jew”…

But this is no longer a necessary thing for Baron. He doesn’t need to obtain resources from the Jewish group in this way. On the contrary, this will create hidden dangers for his family.

If he marries a Jewish woman, not to mention that another marriage will be a challenge to his family relations, in the long run, his descendants with Jewish ancestry may be coerced by the Jewish group, which may cause future disputes between descendants.

He does not want some of his businesses to become part of the “Jewish consortium” in the future.

Moreover, he himself does not have a good impression of the overly radical and crazy part of the Jewish group, so he naturally does not want to stir up this muddy water.

Chapter 843: Back in Riyadh

Of course, even if Baron didn’t have much affection for Jewish groups, he wouldn’t go so far as to oppose them by supporting Palestine.

But if Rami were to help Palestine in some way based on personal feelings, Baron wouldn’t object.

Otherwise, he wouldn’t have allowed the Devonshire Charitable Foundation to adopt Rami and Ravi, the Palestinian siblings, in the first place.

In fact, the British have always had a complex relationship with Palestine.

Well, a more poetic way of putting it is—

London and Jerusalem are thousands of miles apart.

But for two thousand years, the British have yearned for the land of Palestine. They seek their roots here, entrust their faith, pilgrimage, adventure, wage war, and write legends, so much so that many British people would say:

“When I die, open my chest, and you will find Palestine lying in my heart.”

William Thomson, the Archbishop of York, once said:

“Palestine is our home, I have said this, and I will continue to say it.”

They believe that their ancestors came from the East, from the holy land of Palestine.

According to the Book of Genesis in the Bible, after the Great Flood, Noah’s descendants spread to various places, forming nations.

Noah’s grandson, Japheth’s son Gomer, came to Britain and became the ancestor of the British.

In 1916, Britain occupied Palestine, and after World War II, Britain became the trustee of Palestine until the partition of Palestine and Israel.

In fact, when Zionist movement wanted to establish the Jewish state of Israel in the Palestinian territories, Britain agreed, but in the distribution of benefits, it still favored the Arabs.

After all, the entire Middle East was once considered to be within Britain’s sphere of influence, but the establishment of Israel was supported by both America and the Soviet Union, with the aim, similar to the national liberation movements that arose around the world after World War II, of dismembering the colonial forces of traditional imperialist countries such as Britain and France.

At that time, Britain had better traditional relations with Arab countries such as Saudi Arabia, Syria, and Iraq, but America was actively promoting the establishment of Israel. As for the Soviet Union, it had no direct interests in Palestine at the time, but was happy to see Britain’s influence in the region weakened, so it went along with the tide.

On November 29, 1947, with the support of America, the Second United Nations General Assembly passed Resolution 181 on ending British mandate rule and implementing partition in Palestine, stipulating that British mandate rule should end before August 1, 1948, and that two states—an Arab state and a Jewish state—should be established in Palestine two months later.

According to this resolution on the division of the proposed territories of the two countries, the Jews got a great advantage.

At that time, among the more than 1.8 million people living in Palestine, there were only 600,000 Jews, less than one-third of the total population, but the land allocated to them by the resolution accounted for 57% of the total area of Palestine, and most of it was fertile coastal plains.

In contrast, the Arabs, who accounted for more than two-thirds of the total population of Palestine at that time, received only 43.88% of the total area, and most of it was barren hilly land.

The Jews were quite satisfied with this, and on May 14, 1948, they declared the establishment of the State of Israel in Tel Aviv.

However, the Palestinian Arabs and the surrounding Arab countries expressed strong indignation and refused to accept the resolution.

The League of Arab States, which was established not long ago, issued a “Statement Against the United Nations Resolution on the Partition of Palestine” on December 17, 1947, stating that “The Arabs are determined to fight against the United Nations resolution to split Palestine, and, in accordance with the will of God, will fight to the final victory.”

On the day of Israel’s founding, the first Middle East war broke out… thus beginning the endless armed conflict between Arabs and Israelis.

This has led to Palestine’s failure to establish a state to this day, and it has been constantly eroded by Israel with the support of America.

However, Baron doesn’t intend to be a “crusader for justice,” after all, even now, under the seemingly gentle veneer of “civilization,” the world still speaks with strength—might makes right.

Moreover, Palestine will not bring him any benefits, and there is no need to provoke those Jewish lunatics because of it.

…

On February 15, Avago Technologies reached an agreement to acquire Emulex Corporation for $600 million.

This acquisition will strengthen Avago Technologies’ business in enterprise storage.

Next, they will form a consortium with companies including Rich23 Capital, IC Capital, as well as Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase, to launch an acquisition of Broadcom.

If the acquisition of Emulex was just a “warm-up,” then the acquisition of Broadcom is a major test for them.

“My dear friend, welcome back to Riyadh…”

“I must say, Your Highness, coming from the cold and gloomy London to sunny Saudi Arabia has lifted my spirits.”

After Baron embraced Prince Alwaleed, he went directly with him to the motorcade that had come to greet them.

Yes, after some royal activities in London, Baron left Britain again and came directly to Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia.

Currently, the activities for the Queen’s 60th anniversary of accession to the throne are only a small-scale celebration among the royal family and nobles. The national celebrations in Britain will be held in early June, so Baron will return to London with his family from Lanai Island in May.

Baron and Prince Alwaleed met a long time ago. The Prince is a very important partner, and Middle Eastern funds, including those from Saudi Arabia, have invested heavily in the DS Group and related funds.

Especially during the subprime mortgage crisis, many Middle Eastern funds withdrawn from America were invested in the British and European markets because of Baron—in contrast, SoftBank Group was not so lucky this time, failing to secure as much as $50 billion in Middle Eastern investment. According to the data Baron obtained, they only attracted less than $10 billion in funds…

In this regard, Baron doesn’t feel any guilt towards Masayoshi Son, after all, he believes that he can give these oil-producing countries a higher return than SoftBank Group.

In addition to cooperation in funding, United Energy Group also has a lot of cooperation with some Gulf countries, including Saudi Arabia.

Their cooperation is not related to oil, but in the field of new energy, especially in photovoltaic solar energy. Saudi Arabia’s investment fund has invested in related projects of United Energy Group.

Prior to this, United Energy Group’s electricity business had already entered the offshore wind power field, but photovoltaic solar energy is also a very popular new energy direction, and as a United Energy Group whose main business is energy, it will naturally not miss it.

Chapter 844: Photovoltaics

One of the main reasons why traditional oil-producing Middle Eastern countries like Saudi Arabia are keen to invest in renewable resources such as solar energy is that these countries have become some of the wealthiest in the world through “gifts from heaven,” namely the abundant oil and gas resources stored beneath their land.

However, they also understand that fossil fuels like oil and natural gas will eventually be depleted. To prepare for the future, their sovereign wealth funds like to invest in new energy and technology sectors to ensure they have a foothold in the future.

In addition, these Middle Eastern countries have abundant sunshine resources, and countries like Saudi Arabia have a significant portion of their land covered by deserts. Developing the photovoltaic solar energy industry can make full use of these resources.

However, precisely because of this, traditional crystalline silicon solar cells require a large amount of water. These water-scarce desert countries, when investing in photovoltaic solar energy, pay close attention to concentrated photovoltaic (CPV) cell technology—these types of cells use optical lenses to collect large amounts of sunlight for power generation.

To date, Middle Eastern member countries of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) have invested tens of billions of dollars in total to develop solar and other renewable energy sources.

Therefore, United Energy Group is happy to cooperate with these Middle Eastern countries, using their investment funds to conduct research and development on new technologies in the photovoltaic solar energy industry.

Relatively speaking, the Middle East and the West African region where Colo is located have more abundant sunshine resources than the British Isles, and are also suitable for investing in photovoltaic solar power in the renewable energy sector.

In addition to acquiring photovoltaic solar energy-related companies in the British Isles to have research and development centers and production bases, United Energy Group will also establish their Middle East research and development center in Saudi Arabia or Dubai.

Currently, Saudi Arabia is the world’s second-largest crude oil exporter, second only to Russia.

“Our domestic oil and gas operations in Saudi Arabia are basically controlled by Saudi Aramco, so for other capital, using solar energy to fill domestic electricity demand is a good investment direction…”

After returning to his mansion with Barron, Prince Al-Waleed said:

“According to the information I have received, we plan to invest more than 100 billion US dollars to achieve 41GW of solar power generation capacity by 2032!”

It seems that Prince Al-Waleed is also quite interested in the photovoltaic solar energy industry.

And he also understands that, based on the cooperative experiences of both parties, if United Energy Group wants to compete for this huge order in the future, then the best partner in Saudi Arabia would be himself.

This time, Barron did not bring Rami with him to Saudi Arabia.

Because he understands that with Rami’s age and talent, the most important thing for him now is to hone himself in practice and work, not to rush to increase his connections in various aspects.

The more he expects from his future, the more he needs to solidify his foundation in the beginning.

There are many smart people in this world, and there will be many people who can reach Rami’s level, considering the global population of over 7.1 billion.

But whether he can achieve achievements that satisfy Barron is not just about being smart or having a high IQ. Experience and the way he handles things are even more important.

Anyway, Rami is still young and has enough time to hone his abilities in all aspects.

“This car is very good. I wonder if you have any plans to launch a new model?”

Everyone knows that these Middle Eastern tycoons like to collect luxury cars, and the Middle East is also an important market for luxury cars globally.

Barron did not expect to see a silver Nevera 11 in Prince Al-Waleed’s garage. This is a new electric supercar launched by Rimac Automobili and Aston Martin at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September last year.

The Nevera 11 is limited to 99 units worldwide, and each car will have a unique serial number. Prince Al-Waleed’s Nevera 11 is marked with “N05,” which means that it is the fifth Nevera 11 delivered to customers, already ranked very high.

It can be seen that Prince Al-Waleed still likes this supercar very much and is looking forward to Rimac’s new supercar.

“I can reveal in advance that Rimac Automobili will cooperate with McLaren this year to launch an electric supercar. Undoubtedly, that car will break many of the Nevera 11’s records. You can pay attention to it, Your Highness.”

Currently, British Automotive Group has completed its controlling stake in McLaren Automotive. After Rimac Automobili cooperated with Aston Martin to launch two electric supercars and achieved success, McLaren also became interested in electric supercars. They had already cooperated with Rimac Automobili last year to develop a new electric supercar.

“Then I will look forward to it very much, Your Grace.”

“In addition, an electric sports car race will be held in the British Isles this summer. It is the first one, and I hope to invite you and your friends to watch it.”

“Really? That’s great. Don’t forget to notify me when the time comes.”

Speaking of which, it is very interesting that because electric supercars are driven by electric motors, they are very quiet when driving compared to gasoline cars.

However, what these wealthy people who drive supercars like most is to rev the engine and use the sound to “bomb the streets.”

If it is too quiet, they will definitely feel that something is missing.

Therefore, these electric supercars launched by Rimac have special external speakers, and users are equipped with a variety of sound effects options when they leave the factory, which allows them to have a similar feeling to traditional gasoline supercars when driving electric supercars.

……

At this time in London, Catherine looked at the two red lines on the test strip in her hand and needed to take a deep breath to calm her emotions.

After marrying Prince William, she moved into Kensington Palace, where the royal family members live.

However, with some recent physical conditions, she couldn’t help but think of one possibility…

Sure enough, after secretly buying a test strip, she finally basically confirmed her guess.

But…

Catherine began to recall the few times she had met Barron after her marriage… The most recent time was when he returned to London in early February.

In terms of time, it shouldn’t be his…

Although she came to this conclusion, Catherine couldn’t help but feel a little uneasy.

After all, if the royal family, including William, really knew that she was pregnant, then the direction of this matter…

No matter what, she definitely has to do some tests according to the royal family’s procedures.

She can’t bear the consequences of that one in ten thousand chance…

The key is that Barron is not in London now…

“It shouldn’t be, because the time doesn’t match…”

I have to say, she really regrets not being more forceful in her attitude towards him after that.

Chapter 845: Operation Siegfried

Baron was naturally unaware of Princess Kate’s inner struggles.

After staying in Jakarta for two days, being hosted by Prince Walid, and meeting with Saudi dignitaries including Little Salman, he left for Lanai, Hawaii.

After entering 2012, the European debt crisis showed no signs of easing and, on the contrary, appeared to be deepening further.

As German Chancellor Merkel said, this year would be a difficult one for Europe.

As early as January of this year, Standard & Poor’s, one of the world’s three major rating agencies, announced the downgrading of the sovereign credit ratings of nine European countries, including France—with France and Austria’s sovereign ratings being lowered from AAA to AA+.

At this point, it could be said that American rating agencies had begun to take turns “bad-mouthing” the Euro.

On February 13th, the Greek parliament passed the second round of bailout agreement with the European Union and the International Monetary Fund by a two-thirds majority, agreeing to implement new austerity measures. The Greek government would further cut 3.2 billion Euros in spending in 2012, including downsizing the public sector, cutting pensions, and lowering the minimum wage.

According to the terms of the second round of aid agreement, as a condition for receiving aid, the Greek government had to implement the latest fiscal austerity measures, including reducing the minimum wage standard in the private sector by 22%, cutting 3.2 billion Euros in spending this year, and laying off 15,000 civil servants.

Following this, Eurogroup President Juncker announced at a press conference held after the Eurozone finance ministers’ meeting on the evening of March 12th that it had formally approved the second round of Greek bailout package totaling 130 billion Euros.

In response, International Monetary Fund (IMF) President Brown said in an interview:

“We are very pleased to have reached a consensus with Greece on the next step of assistance, but it needs to be understood that it will take more effort to completely solve their current predicament…”

Brown, who took office as President of the International Monetary Fund last year, had previously demanded that European countries implement stricter fiscal austerity policies if they wanted to obtain this round of IMF assistance—the IMF would not waste funds to rescue countries that were unwilling to make efforts.

“According to statistics, the Greek government will face 14.5 billion Euros of national debt due on March 20th. If an agreement on repayment cannot be reached by then, they will face a catastrophic disorderly default…”

Daisy said in a call with Baron:

“Now Greece has reached an agreement with the European Central Bank and the IMF on the second round of assistance, which has shown a glimmer of hope for resolving the country’s debt crisis, and the Euro has therefore been supported… On that day, the Euro had a relatively large increase against the US dollar.”

Unlike those financial institutions with more concerns, they had already anticipated that Greece would eventually receive assistance, so DS Group and related funds had already closed their last round of short positions on European countries, including Greece, earlier.

Not only that, in the following period, they would continue to invest funds and begin to build positions, preparing to obtain a corresponding share of the dividends in the subsequent recovery of the European economy.

…

“Mr. Lopez, we have lost contact with Frank…”

Hearing the news reported by his subordinate, Mike Lopez frowned slightly:

“When did this happen?”

“Just now. He was supposed to contact us today, but he didn’t as scheduled. We reported this situation to London, but we couldn’t find them…”

“What about the rest of the team?”

Hearing Mike Lopez’s question, his deputy said solemnly:

“They’ve all lost contact…”

Upon receiving this news, Mike Lopez knew that something must have gone wrong.

Mike Lopez was the head of the CIA’s European division, and Frank, who had lost contact with them, was leading an elite team of CIA operatives.

Only Mike knew that, at his instruction, this elite team had gone from Germany to London to carry out a top-secret plan called “Operation Siegfried.”

But now it seemed that this so-called “top-secret plan” had likely gone awry.

…

“Captain, we got a list. It’s everyone they knew involved in this plan…”

At the same time, in a villa in London, Mikhail Ritter took the piece of paper with some names written on it from his subordinate and said with some disappointment:

“I haven’t even done anything myself yet. These Americans.”

But now that he had obtained the information he needed, those people…

He casually said:

“Get rid of them and dump them at 24 Grosvenor Square. Let the CIA collect their bodies.”

The American embassy in London was located at 24 Grosvenor Square, which was also the location of the CIA’s London branch. Obviously, Mikhail didn’t care about offending the CIA.

Initially, they had received definite intelligence that the CIA was going to take action against the Duke, but they were not yet clear about the specific content of this action.

It wasn’t until they captured this operational team that they finally extracted the detailed content of this so-called “Operation Siegfried”—Mikhail knew that there were very few agents who insisted on not revealing information. Under those effective interrogation methods, revealing the truth was only a matter of time.

It was just that getting these CIA agents to talk was easier than Mikhail had expected.

Siegfried was the dragon slayer in German legends. As the name suggested, the so-called “Operation Siegfried” was a plan carried out by the CIA’s European division against the Duke of Devonshire, which was naturally unfavorable to Baron.

And he also learned that this operation against Baron did not come from CIA headquarters in Langley, but was carried out independently by the head of the CIA’s European division—as for the reason, it was obvious that certain forces had offered a price for it.

As for which force or forces were involved?

Those behind-the-scenes matters were not clear to the agent named Frank and his team members.

But…

Mikhail glanced at the list in his hand—he believed that he could find the answer he wanted from this list.

“I need detailed information on these people. Also, we need to get the information we need from them in the shortest possible time…”

London was still a bit cold at night, but in the darkness, many messages had been sent out, and many personnel had begun to gather.

Not only Mikhail’s side, representing Baron, but also the CIA’s European division was trying its best to control the spread of the situation.

“Although there is no definite news yet, we need to assume the worst. I need your assistance…”

While Mike Lopez, the head of the CIA’s European division, was on the phone, the door to the room was knocked.

“Sir, we found Frank and his team in London… They’re all dead.”

Chapter 846: 60th Anniversary

The celebration of Queen Elizabeth’s 60th anniversary of her accession to the throne began on June 2nd.

It could be said that this was a globally watched celebration. Earlier, Barron had already returned to London with his family from Lanai Island—after all, as the Duke of Devonshire, it was impossible for him to be absent from such a celebration.

On June 3rd, more than 1,000 ships from around the world cruised along the London section of the Thames River to celebrate the 60th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II’s accession to the throne.

The Queen, accompanied by her husband Prince Philip, participated in this grand cruise aboard the “Royal Barge.”

Barron, with his two sons George and Richard, sat on a similarly luxurious boat near the “Royal Barge.”

Bonnie did not participate in this event because she was currently pregnant.

Beside Barron, Aliya, his personal assistant, helped Barron hold his two children’s hands, taking care of them.

The crowds on both banks cheered from time to time, their gazes mostly focused on the “Royal Barge” where the Queen was.

When he noticed someone looking at him, Barron turned his head and met a pair of eyes filled with complex emotions.

Two months prior, the royal family had announced that the Duchess of Cambridge, Princess Kate, who had just married Prince William last year, was pregnant.

This also meant that the British royal family would welcome its fourth generation. Once this child was born, he or she would become the first in line to the throne of the fourth generation, with their succession sequence after the Prince of Wales and Prince William.

Today, Princess Kate was wearing a China red dress. Perhaps because the dress was slightly loose, her pregnancy was not obvious.

At this moment, her gaze met Barron’s briefly, then she turned her head and looked elsewhere.

Barron smiled, leisurely looking at the approaching dock in the distance.

At this time, not far away, another gaze was directed at Barron. The middle-aged white man in a suit was Hernan Lorenzo, who was in charge of British affairs for the CIA.

He looked at Barron with complex emotions.

If the “Operation Siegfried” was still top secret at the beginning, then with the death of an entire CIA action team, headquarters also conducted an investigation.

The final result was that the head of the European Division, Mike Lopez, was urgently summoned back to Langley headquarters. Although his unauthorized actions would be reprimanded by the higher-ups and would ruin Mike Lopez’s future in the CIA…

But at least the top wasn’t a monolith, and Mike Lopez could still be accommodated.

But the other people involved did not have such good results. It could be said that the few days after that were bloody and stormy.

Only the CIA’s European Division personnel involved in “Operation Siegfried” had 5 people missing, plus other related personnel, the number of missing people exceeded 15.

The results of these “missing” people probably wouldn’t be very good.

It can be said that this was a major loss for the CIA’s European Division, but it was also due to the unauthorized actions of the former head, Mike Lopez—this kind of thing is not uncommon in the CIA’s global divisions, but before, no one had been bold enough to carry out reckless actions against someone with Barron’s status…

Therefore, even knowing that the disappearance of these people was probably inseparable from Barron, in the end, Langley headquarters could only pretend that nothing had happened.

However, this matter was not objectively a bad thing for Hernan Lorenzo—after all, he also gained the opportunity to participate in the competition for the head of the CIA’s European Division because of this.

…

“History connects the monarch and Parliament, like a thread linking one era to the next.

So, in an era where doing extraordinary things receives more attention than ordinary life, I am very happy that I can be the second monarch to celebrate a Diamond Jubilee.

To this day, I am honored that you can attend my Silver and Golden Jubilee celebrations.

Many of you also attended ten years ago.

During my reign, I have been a frequent visitor to the Palace of Westminster. So far, I have had pleasant cooperation with 12 prime ministers.

…

During the Queen’s years, the support from generations of my family has been immeasurable.

Prince Philip is famous for rejecting all kinds of praise. However, he is a firm supporter and guide.

The Prince of Wales and other family members will represent me on Diamond Jubilee visits to all Commonwealth realms and some Commonwealth countries. He and I are very happy and proud.

These overseas trips will closely link the Commonwealth member states, which account for one-third of the world’s population.

…

In the past sixty years, many things have changed, but the courage to dedicate oneself to guarding the country and our freedom will last forever.

The pleasant relationship between me and the parliamentarians has continued well for more than the time I have signed 3,500 bills.

As a result, I received very spectacular gifts, many of you generously paid for.

I will be happy if this beautiful window can add color to this ancient place.

Here, we remember the stories of our country’s past, the resilience, creativity, and tolerance of the people.

I have personally experienced some of this history, and with the support of my family, now and in the future, I will be committed to serving our great country and people.”

With the Queen’s speech in Parliament, it also marked the end of this celebration.

Similarly, the secret battles that had previously taken place in London and some European countries had also come to an end.

Before Barron returned to London, Avago Technologies had already formally negotiated with Broadcom’s board of directors regarding the acquisition.

This acquisition will be the highest-value merger and acquisition to date this year—this process will inevitably receive attention from the United States and related reviews…

Therefore, at this time, Barron did not want to cause more trouble, and tacitly quelled the matter with the CIA.

Of course, this does not mean that he will let this matter pass—besides the many people involved who have “disappeared,” he will also keep an eye on the forces behind this, hoping that they will not give him a chance to retaliate, otherwise…

According to the acquisition plan proposed by Avago, their total acquisition price this time will be as high as 35 billion US dollars—including 20 billion US dollars in cash and 15 billion US dollars in stock swaps.

And IC Capital and American capital such as Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase will provide a total of 20 billion US dollars in funding to the acquirer Avago Technologies in exchange for Avago’s corresponding private placement of shares to them.

In this way, if the acquisition is completed, the main shareholders of the new company will include Rich23 Capital, IC Capital, Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase, and the original shareholders of Broadcom.

And the new company will move its headquarters to the United States, thus becoming an “American-funded enterprise.”

Chapter 847: The Olympics Are Approaching

Ordinary people only need to abide by the law; the upper class has much more to consider…

Within the “modern civilization” of Western societies, a “perfected” legal system provides ample protection for the wealthy elite.

It’s no exaggeration to say that with the wealth and resources Barron currently commands, he could commit all sorts of atrocities and still be hard to convict.

Because victims and witnesses can always have flaws found that can be exploited by a “dream team” of lawyers, and then, when magnified, their testimony’s credibility can be questioned.

Even if there were a truly “perfect victim,” he could use his media resources to fabricate flaws.

Worst case scenario, in the extremely unlikely event that he was actually convicted, after paying “bail” – here’s a blank check, fill in any amount – Barron could still leave the country where he was being tried and go to a third country not bound by extradition treaties.

For example, in Barron’s previous life, in April 2017, Tiffany Li, a wealthy Chinese-American second-generation immigrant in California, was accused of murdering her ex-boyfriend Keith Green and was subsequently released on bail for a staggering $35 million (approximately 500 million RMB at the time).

This case, known as the highest bail amount in American history and the 10th highest globally, caused a sensation.

Then, more than three years after the incident, on November 15, 2019, after 12 days of deliberation, the jury determined that the murder and conspiracy charges were not established due to lack of evidence, and Tiffany Li was acquitted…

Therefore, most of the time, whether or not you can be convicted depends on whether you can sign a check for exorbitant legal fees.

Of course, this is based on dealing with ordinary people. When conflicts arise between the upper classes, different rules apply.

…

July 27th, the London Olympics are about to begin.

This also means that after the celebrations for the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee, the most important task for London is the final preparation for the Olympic Games.

“Currently, the Four Seasons-Cavendish Hotel Group has more than 50 hotels in Britain, a third of which are located in Greater London, and these hotels are all ready to welcome global tourists…”

In fact, the previous celebrations could be seen as a “stress test” for London’s hotel industry before the Olympics.

When the Olympics are held, the influx of global tourists will inevitably fill London’s hotels to capacity.

“Granger Property Leasing Company will also cooperate with the Four Seasons-Cavendish Hotel Group to provide butler-style apartment short-term rentals to tourists using its properties after the hotel rooms are fully booked…”

Since the subprime mortgage crisis, in order to resolve the non-performing mortgage assets of Standard Chartered-Merrill Lynch Group’s banks, Cavendish Asset Management, under the Cavendish Trust Fund, invested $10 billion to acquire their non-performing assets related to property mortgage loans after merging Northern Rock Bank and other businesses from Standard Chartered Bank.

Afterward, they acquired Granger, a company with extensive property leasing experience, to manage and rent out the properties owned by Cavendish Asset Management through offline and online services.

After this business was on track, Cavendish Asset Management absorbed funds from Catherine Neville, Middle Eastern tycoons, and sovereign wealth funds, and continued to acquire properties in Britain involving non-performing assets from banks—now, Granger, with asset injections from Cavendish Asset Management, has become a giant in the British private housing rental sector.

They manage over 100,000 apartments, houses, and office buildings, with stable revenue and cash flow, and maintain low-cost expansion by securitizing their assets and income…

Because of this, during the upcoming London Olympics, facing the influx of global tourists and the full occupancy of hotels throughout London, Granger Company will use its properties located throughout London to provide short-term rental services, which will greatly alleviate the situation and bring them short-term excess profits.

Of course, as the Olympics approach, security issues are also receiving increasing attention.

Last year, at Barron’s direction, Laura conducted an investigation into G4S, and the results were very unsatisfactory.

Other problems can be solved slowly, but the main problem is that G4S signed an Olympic security agreement with the London government, promising to provide 10,000 security personnel for the London Olympics, but at that time they had only trained 1,000 people. If they continued at that pace, it was feared that no more than 4,000 security personnel would be trained before the London Olympics, less than half of what the contract required…

Moreover, the quality of training provided by G4S for those security personnel did not meet the requirements.

Clearly, if, as in Barron’s previous life, G4S failed to fulfill its commitment to the London government before the opening of the Olympics, they would inevitably be distrusted in future government contract cooperation.

To this end, as the controlling party of G4S, the Cavendish Trust Fund directly reorganized their management, with Rhys Mesa, the CEO of Protector Security Company, taking over as the person in charge of G4S’s London Olympic security project.

In order to fulfill its commitment to London, G4S increased the scale of security personnel training and hired a large number of Kolo Legion personnel from Kolo through labor dispatch—this not only reduced the training time required for relevant personnel but also significantly reduced costs.

Because NATO will withdraw troops from Afghanistan, a considerable portion of the Protector Military Services Company’s personnel stationed there will also be reduced in scale, which can be used for security at the London Olympics.

There is now considerable consensus that 2012 will be the year the US military withdraws from Afghanistan…

With the breakdown in relations between the United States and Pakistan, and between Pakistan and Afghanistan, last year, this situation will further deteriorate in 2012, jeopardizing the Western withdrawal from Afghanistan and the stability of Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Since the 9/11 attacks, the United States launched the “War on Terror,” and Pakistan was an important ally of the United States in the War on Terror.

But since last year, relations between the two sides have cooled rapidly, even reaching a hostile state.

The reasons are not only the United States entering Pakistan to kill Osama bin Laden—this action was not notified to Pakistan in advance and was regarded as an invasion of Pakistan, but also anti-American organizations launching attacks on the US embassy, NATO headquarters, and other buildings within Pakistan, which the US side believes were supported by Pakistani intelligence agencies, as well as NATO repeatedly bombing the Pakistani border…

Ultimately, the Pakistani military ordered the United States to be treated as an enemy and to attack any aircraft that invaded its airspace.

This greatly affected US military operations in Afghanistan—after all, Pakistan is adjacent to Afghanistan, and al-Qaeda can easily move into the nearby Pakistani mountains when attacked, and the US side will no longer receive assistance from Pakistan.

And if the United States and NATO enter Pakistan again to strike at al-Qaeda, Pakistan may no longer show mercy…

Chapter 848: Adjustments to G4S

Meanwhile, this year is an election year in America, with Obama seeking re-election, and the Republican Party needing to decide on its candidate internally…

U.S.-Pakistan relations have also become a hot foreign policy issue in the American election, with the Republican candidates’ unguarded remarks further widening the divide between the two countries.

In addition, America has also pledged to seek a closer partnership with India, which has further angered Pakistan.

According to plan, in 2012, Afghan forces will gradually take over their own security affairs, and Afghanistan will face a difficult period.

Affected by the global economic crisis, it will not be so easy for Afghanistan to obtain economic and military assistance and financial support in the future.

In May of this year, NATO will hold a summit in Chicago, but at this meeting, America did not secure much international support for Afghanistan.

This led to America’s decision to first withdraw some troops from Afghanistan—which triggered an acceleration of troop withdrawals from Afghanistan within NATO.

Unlike Iraq, there are not many security needs of American and European companies in Afghanistan. Prior to this, Protector Military Services Company’s business in Afghanistan mainly involved helping local troops and police with training, as well as helping to defend some important areas.

With the general trend of troop withdrawals from Afghanistan, the personnel they have invested in Afghanistan will also begin to decrease.

As a result, a considerable portion of the personnel withdrawn from Afghanistan will be able to reach London and join the security efforts for the Olympic Games.

By the end of June, G4S had finally completed the training of nearly 8,000 security personnel. In the less than one month that follows, more than 2,000 more personnel will arrive in London and, after receiving the appropriate training, join the security efforts for the Olympic Games.

Another area of adjustment for G4S is their “correctional services business,” which, to put it bluntly, is the contracting of private prisons.

Many Western countries, including the United Kingdom and the United States, have private prisons—where private companies contract with the government to guard prisoners and operate prisons.

And these businesses are very “lucrative”!

Today, there are three major giants in the American private prison industry—CCA, GEO, and MTC. These three companies own more than 200 prisons in America, holding more than 8% of American prisoners.

CCA and GEO are even publicly listed companies…

It is worth mentioning that GEO Group, one of the correctional groups, was originally established from the spin-off of G4S’s North American correctional business, and G4S still holds some shares in GEO Group to this day.

In fact, the profit model of these private prisons is not complicated. Simply put, it is “having your cake and eating it too”—receiving government subsidies on one hand and exploiting prisoners on the other.

On the government side, private prisons are generally allocated funds on a per capita basis.

For example, in CCA’s private prisons, for every prisoner sent in, it can receive a government subsidy of $58 per person per day.

Subtracting the operating costs of the prison, not counting the labor output of the prisoners, CCA can still earn $18 per day from each prisoner.

However, even so, the government is willing to subsidize them.

On the one hand, it is because of the cronyism between officials and businessmen; on the other hand, if the management model of public prisons is followed, the cost would far exceed these $58.

But why are the costs of private prisons like CCA so low?

Obviously, increasing revenue and reducing costs is the most basic requirement.

First of all, the salaries of employees in private prisons are generally about a quarter lower than those of public prison guards, almost at the state’s legal minimum wage standard.

However, low employee salaries are not the main reason.

Squeezing as much as possible out of the prisoners is the real money-making secret of these private prisons.

They have certain requirements for the prisoners allocated by the government—they must not have major diseases or strong violent tendencies…

In other words, it is necessary to ensure that the prisoners have full working capacity.

In addition, the wages they pay to prisoners are extremely low, but the intensity and duration of work are far higher than those of workers in the free world—anyway, there are no union organizations in prisons, let alone any insurance or benefits, so let them work their fingers to the bone.

In private prisons, ordinary prisoners earn 17 cents per hour, and even prisoners who can hold “high-tech positions” earn a maximum of 50 cents per hour.

The prisoners in public prisons generally earn an average of $1.25 per hour, and they are basically able to send money home every month.

As for those prisoners who are locked up in private prisons, let alone sending money home, their wages are difficult to even support themselves.

In CCA-affiliated prisons, the price of a cigarette is $1.5—which means that these prisoners need to work 3-10 hours to earn a cigarette.

In addition, CCA has also established a cooperative relationship with “Global Tel Link”—this company specializes in transferring “prison hotlines,” which is actually responsible for connecting prisoners with their relatives and friends outside the prison.

According to their charging standards, calls cost $1.2 per minute, and video calls cost $1.5 per minute.

As mentioned earlier, if a prisoner works 8 hours a day at the highest wage standard, his daily wage is only enough to make a phone call to his family to report that he is safe.

This is on the premise that the prisoners are not further exploited by the “prison bullies.”

In Barron’s previous life, Frédéric Pierucci, the international sales vice president of the French company Alstom, was once thrown into a prison managed by CCA by the FBI. Afterwards, he took the initiative to expose that “dark” experience to the media:

“In prison, nothing is free. You have to buy plastic cups to drink water. There is a TV, but it is silent. You have to spend money to buy headphones to hear the sound. Three meals a day are very simple, two slices of bread and a paste of something that I don’t know what it is, no taste, no smell, the cost will definitely not exceed $1…”

Of course, it is not impossible for prisoners to improve their treatment, just add money.

In European and American public prisons, prison guards taking money to do things is called bribery, which is illegal.

But in private prisons, almost everything here is openly priced.

For example, if you don’t like living in a multi-person cell, you can purchase an $82 per day “package”—get a double room and be exempt from labor.

You can even spend money to change your roommate, or change to a single room—a $100-a-day cell, where there is hotel-like bedding, prisoners who are exempt from labor can also use computers and TVs, and hot water is available 24 hours a day. If you don’t want to go out to eat, someone will deliver your customized daily meals.

Except for not being able to walk out of the yard at will, this is almost like going to a hotel for vacation.

For those wealthy VIP users, enjoying some special door-to-door services, as long as the money is in place, is not impossible…

Chapter 849: Inheritance

Of course, private prison companies like CCA and GEO are also greatly affected by policies. For example, during Obama’s second term in the original timeline, legislation was passed to reduce the number of private prisons in the United States, with public prisons taking over.

As soon as this policy was announced, the stock prices of CCA and GEO immediately plummeted by more than 60%.

However, after the Builder-in-Chief took office, this policy was repealed, and the two companies returned to their original market value…

Of course, for Baron, this risk wasn’t significant—he never intended for C4S to enter the North American private prison market. Instead, he planned to expand these operations in the United Kingdom, Australia, South Africa, and other regions.

C4S already had private prison operations in Northern Ireland, Wales, and other parts of the United Kingdom. However, investigations revealed numerous hidden dangers in their existing private prisons.

Such as chaotic management and outdated facilities.

The main reason was that C4S was excessively cutting operating costs in these private prisons, hoping to obtain more profit.

But that’s often how things go. You can make excess profits in the short term, but it’s not conducive to long-term operations—because once problems arise frequently, the government will definitely take action based on public opinion.

Even if Baron could use his influence to affect policy, he naturally wouldn’t risk his reputation doing such a thing casually.

Therefore, compared to short-term windfall profits, he preferred C4S’s private prison business to achieve sustained profitability.

Besides, even without pursuing windfall profits, the profits that private prisons can reap are higher than many other industries.

So, the upcoming rectification of C4S’s correctional business will involve updating the current private prison facilities and strictly enforcing the management system of these prisons to prevent major problems later. Afterwards, they will also contact local governments in the United Kingdom, Australia, South Africa, and other overseas locations to obtain more related business orders.

…

“I’m still a little worried…”

“Don’t worry, darling, everything is under control. According to the news from Chloe, Natasha is doing well. In less than three months, we’ll have our own children, and they’ll be twins…”

Baron held Julia’s hand and said softly to her.

Last year, at his urging, Julia finally made up her mind to have her own children with Baron, like the previous Count and Countess of Booth..

So, at the end of November last year, Baron accompanied her to Chloe Britta, where she underwent surgery.

The Russian girl Natasha, who was found from Ukraine, stayed in Chloe from that time on and was well taken care of.

It can be said that the entire operation was very successful. After that, Natasha successfully conceived and was carrying twins, a boy and a girl.

This means that according to the expected date of delivery, Baron and Julia’s twins will be born in September of this year.

But the closer it got to that time, the more Julia couldn’t help but become anxious.

Baron understood that the main problem was that Julia Moore herself had a hereditary heart condition, so she was very worried that her condition would appear in her children.

Baron could only use the doctor’s words to try his best to comfort her. The best option was to wait until the children were born, and after diagnosis, use the facts to dispel her concerns.

It can be said that Julia Moore was one of the first women Baron met after coming to this timeline. At that time, she, who had a close relationship with the Devonshire family, had already begun to be responsible for the management of the family’s most important asset—the Devonshire Family Fund.

Of course, the current Devonshire Family Fund is vastly different from what it was then.

Although the Devonshire Family Fund is far smaller in scale than the Cavendish Trust Fund that Baron later established—after all, the Cavendish Trust holds Baron’s core industries such as SEM Group, United Energy Group, O2 Telecom, and Argos Retail Group—Julia Moore has far more say in the management of its subsidiaries than Laura.

Laura is more responsible for the financial management of the Cavendish Trust Fund, while Julia has decision-making power over the operations of Devonshire Ecological Agriculture Company, Grace Cultural Tourism Group, and Four Seasons-Cavendish Hotel Group, which are controlled by the Devonshire Family Trust.

Also because of the continuous increase in business, Julia now needs an entire team to help her manage the Devonshire Family Fund, and she is responsible for strategic matters.

It can be said that she is usually very busy and needs to show the demeanor of a strong woman.

Only occasionally in front of Baron can she reveal more of this soft, needing-support trait.

In early July, before the opening of the Olympic Games, Baron specially returned to the family’s ancestral property—Chatsworth House—for a few days. This time, Julia Moore and the girl living with her, Lavi, came back with him.

Baron’s original personal male servant, Ramos, still serves as the butler of Chatsworth House. It can be clearly seen that Ramos now gives people the feeling of being quite like the old butler Sean used to be, with a calm demeanor.

However, seeing Baron and Julia return here together, one could still feel his excitement and happiness in Ramos’s eyes.

The current Chatsworth House has become a must-visit attraction for overseas tourists coming to the United Kingdom due to the spread of “Downton Abbey” and the prestige of the Devonshire family, which Baron has revived.

Even local British tourists come here in droves to experience the aristocratic heritage of the Devonshire family.

It can be said that this is one of the most difficult castle estates to book in the United Kingdom. Current tourist bookings are scheduled for more than a year later…

Even so, some people, after coming here, would rather take pictures with the estate in the background from a distance, even if they cannot enter the estate because they failed to book successfully…

“We have always kept your room as it was, Your Grace. It is cleaned every day.”

Hearing Ramos’s words, Baron realized that it seemed like it had been more than two years since he had returned here.

After all, in addition to the fact that he had more and more things to deal with, it was also because his soul came here ten years ago, so it can be said that he didn’t have too deep of an attachment to this estate of the family.

However, seeing Ramos suppressing his happy expression, and the maids’ footsteps seeming to be much lighter, Baron secretly decided… Perhaps he should come back at least once a year in the future, so that the children can become more familiar with Chatsworth House, which is a symbol of the Devonshire family’s heritage.

Chapter 850: Potential Stock

“I agree with your assessment; he is a person with great potential and worth investing in…”

“Yes, serving as Deputy Secretary-General of the Presidential Palace is a good start.”

Baron and Ashley Weber were discussing the new French government on the phone.

In the second round of the French presidential election in early May of this year, Socialist candidate Hollande defeated incumbent President Sarkozy to become the new President of France.

According to the French Constitution, the President of France is elected by universal suffrage, using a “majority two-round system.”

That is, if no one obtains more than half of the votes in the first round of voting, a second round of voting is held, in which voters choose one of the two candidates with the highest vote share in the first round to serve as president.

This year is an election year in France. As the biggest opponent of the ruling Union for a Popular Movement, Socialist Kahn was unable to run due to a “sexual assault scandal” that broke out last year during his tenure as head of the International Monetary Fund.

The candidate put forward by the Socialist Party was Hollande, who had previously served as an advisor to former President Mitterrand.

In the first round of voting in this election, held on April 22, incumbent President Sarkozy, candidate of the Union for a Popular Movement, and Socialist candidate Hollande won the first round, defeating three other contenders: Marine Le Pen of the far-right National Front, Jean-Luc Mélenchon of the Left Front, and François Bayrou of the centrist Democratic Movement.

However, neither candidate’s support rate exceeded half, so a second round of voting was required between Sarkozy and Hollande.

On May 6, Hollande won 51.8% to 51.9% of the valid votes in the second round of the presidential election, defeating Sarkozy and being elected as the new President of France.

Baron didn’t have a deep impression of Hollande; he knew more about his “love affairs” and the fact that he was called the most unsuccessful president in France…

For the French, who are known for their “romance,” it seems that every president has no shortage of topics related to their private lives.

However, even so, Hollande’s past in this regard was not to be outdone.

For example, he is still unmarried but has had multiple girlfriends, including Royal, who served as a minister three times and was far more famous than Hollande…

How strong was Royal?

In the Socialist Party’s internal primary before the 2007 French election, Royal defeated three men—Kahn, Hollande, and Fabius—to become the Socialist Party’s candidate, facing off against Sarkozy.

Of course, Royal lost that election, but her influence in France was evident.

In addition, Royal, who entered the École nationale d’administration’s “Voltaire class” with Hollande in 1978 and lived with him for 30 years, also bore him four children.

After Hollande became president, although he was still unmarried, his second girlfriend, senior journalist Valérie, became France’s de facto “first lady.”

Then, during his presidency, Hollande had another affair, and the whole of France knew that he was “fully armed” and riding his bodyguard’s “scooter” to meet the actress Julie Gayet in private…

Then, after his girlfriend Valérie learned about this, she flew into a rage and broke into Hollande’s office, smashing the furniture inside, causing 3 million euros in damage—the things she smashed included a national treasure: a Sèvres porcelain vase made during the reign of Louis XVI, with a history of over 200 years…

Don’t feel that these French presidents are playing more and more elaborate games. If you change your perspective, perhaps their love lives are too in line with their country’s “tradition” to gain higher support?

In addition, Hollande was also very unlucky during his tenure. France frequently experienced terrorist attacks, and his unemployment rate remained above 10%. Therefore, as his term was about to end, his approval rating had fallen to just 4%, and he was called the most unsuccessful French president.

However, Hollande has just defeated Sarkozy in the election and was officially sworn in as President of France and Co-Prince of Andorra on May 15…

In fact, since France implemented the presidential system, French presidents have also served as Co-Princes of Andorra.

Andorra, officially the Principality of Andorra, is located in southwestern Europe and is a small country with a total area of approximately 468 square kilometers and a population of approximately 78,000.

Andorra was originally a parish established by Frankish King Charlemagne in the 9th century to prevent harassment from the Moors. Therefore, historically, there are two Co-Princes of Andorra: the President of France and the Bishop of Urgell in Spain.

For the two foreign Co-Princes, Andorra also pays tribute on time every year—according to historical regulations, Andorra must pay 960 francs to the French President every year; and 430 pesos, 20 hams, 20 pickled chickens, and 20 cheeses to the Bishop of Urgell in Spain.

After Hollande took office, he appointed Manu as Deputy Secretary-General of the Presidential Palace, responsible for economic and financial affairs.

Baron was very familiar with Manu, after all, in his previous life when he was reborn, the other party was the President of France.

Of course, adhering to the tradition that the French president’s love life must have enough topics, Manu’s most talked about thing is his “teacher-student romance.”

Manu’s wife, Brigitte, is 24 years older than him. The two met when Manu was in high school. At that time, Brigitte’s eldest daughter, Laurence, was the same age as Manu and was a classmate, while Brigitte was Manu’s French and drama teacher.

There are rumors that the two fell in love and got married because Brigitte’s family has close ties to the Rothschild family—in fact, this is all unfounded. In fact, Brigitte’s parents run a family chocolate shop with a history of over a hundred years, with assets of only over one million euros…

Moreover, when the two fell in love, Manu was just a high school student…

But Manu does have some relationship with the Rothschild family—in 2008, Manu resigned from his senior civil servant position and joined the private sector, joining the Rothschild family’s investment bank.

Perhaps in the original timeline, Manu’s subsequent political career had the help of the Rothschild family, but now…

LCF Rothschild Group has been acquired by William-Weber Capital, so Manu has become a member of Natixis Bank, which they control.

Therefore, with the current influence of the Rothschild family, it is naturally impossible to provide much help to Manu.

But Baron did not forget this future French president—the difference between the French election and those of Britain and the United States is that the main policy platforms of the Socialist Party and the Union for a Popular Movement, which are in key positions, have not been very different in recent campaigns. The main factor affecting the election results is the personal charisma of the candidates…

And Manu can be said to be a natural politician, and in the current French election situation, his chances of winning are extremely high…

Similarly, as a qualified politician, Manu is also flexible enough—being able to obtain the support of William-Weber Capital behind Natixis Bank and the Weber family, a traditional political family in France, is also something Manu is eager for.

Chapter 851: 100% Equity Ownership

With the end of the election, Sarkozy’s political career also came to a close.

However, for Sarkozy, regardless of what happened afterward, at least before his term expired, he had already completed his greatest achievement in office, which was to lead the attack on Libya, resulting in the downfall and death of Colonel Gaddafi.

Speaking of which, in terms of personal relationships, Colonel Gaddafi and Sarkozy were quite close. During the 2007 French election, Colonel Gaddafi had secretly provided Sarkozy with as much as 50 million euros in campaign funds.

However, France ultimately became the most active country in NATO’s operation against Libya. They were the first to declare Libyan airspace a no-fly zone and subsequently sent warplanes to bomb Libya.

Relatively speaking, the United States and other European countries were lukewarm about the operation in Libya, with not much vested interest.

Of course, the reason why Syria and Libya, both Arab countries, both had no-fly zones established by NATO in preparation for regime change, had completely different international situations was also due to Colonel Gaddafi’s many bizarre behaviors, which made the major powers dislike him.

However, Sarkozy’s active participation in overthrowing Colonel Gaddafi was also due to many reasons behind the scenes…

First of all, Colonel Gaddafi was too ambitious and had been seeking to establish an “African Federation,” creating a unified African state—using their petrodollars to gain dominance in the African region.

But many regions of Africa used to be French colonies. Even now, France still has many interests in Africa, which naturally conflicted with the increasingly arrogant Colonel Gaddafi.

In addition, Gaddafi’s son had a “big mouth” and directly revealed that they had provided Sarkozy with a large amount of campaign funds, which naturally infuriated Sarkozy.

The final outcome was that, under France’s leadership, Colonel Gaddafi and his sons died violently—even though France is at the bottom of the “Permanent Five” of the UN Security Council, it is still a major power, far from being something a country like Libya could provoke…

However, for Barron, Sarkozy’s greatest “achievement” before leaving office was to act as an intermediary, helping the GHL Group complete its full control of the L’Oréal Group.

At this time, one can see the domino effect of many things.

In Barron’s previous life, in the battle for control of the L’Oréal Group, Liliane Bettencourt’s daughter, Françoise Bettencourt-Meyers, won the lawsuit.

A large part of the reason for this was that Bettencourt-Meyers was married to a Jew. After winning the lawsuit, her husband and son also began to enter the management of the L’Oréal Group.

Obviously, the Rothschild family was behind this. At that time, the Rothschild family’s influence in France was enormous—even President Sarkozy was put in an awkward position because of some accusations from Bettencourt-Meyers that he had accepted Liliane Bettencourt’s funds to help her win the lawsuit…

But things are different now. Through that acquisition, William-Weber Capital ultimately acquired the entire LCR Rothschild Group, and the Rothschild family’s influence in France has also been reduced to a minimum. This made it naturally difficult for them to interfere in this internal dispute within the Bettencourt family.

The final result was different from the original timeline. Liliane Bettencourt won the lawsuit against her daughter for control of the family’s assets, gaining control of the L’Oréal Group shares held by the Bettencourt family.

However, because Liliane Bettencourt was old and had been diagnosed with possible “mixed dementia” and “moderate Alzheimer’s disease,” Bettencourt-Meyers repeatedly appealed to the court, hoping to gain control of the family’s assets.

But without the support of the Rothschild family, these claims were not supported by the court.

Just before Sarkozy left office, under his mediation, Liliane Bettencourt finally agreed to sell approximately 31% of the L’Oréal Group shares held by the Bettencourt family to the GHL (Gucci-Hermès-L’Oréal) Group.

In this way, the GHL Group will hold 100% of the shares of the L’Oréal Group, making this world’s largest cosmetics group a wholly-owned subsidiary of the GHL Group!

Of course, Liliane Bettencourt’s decision to sell the family’s L’Oréal Group shares was not approved by her daughter, Bettencourt-Meyers. In April of this year, Bettencourt-Meyers once again appealed the matter to the court, requesting the court to rule the agreement for the GHL Group to purchase the L’Oréal Group shares held by the Bettencourt family invalid.

However, after two months of trial, the court ultimately rejected Bettencourt-Meyers’s appeal and ruled that the acquisition agreement was established.

With this, this deal can be considered officially completed.

After the Bettencourt family withdraws from the management of the L’Oréal Group, the GHL Group will retain most of the L’Oréal Group’s management, maintain the L’Oréal Group’s business strategy, and, in addition to maintaining the European and American markets, vigorously develop the Asian market, especially the Chinese market.

…

In early July, after returning to London from Chatsworth House, Barron soon crossed the English Channel again and came to Paris.

Here, he will have a private meeting with the new French President, Hollande.

Regardless of the later evaluation of Hollande, although he adopted a relatively radical tax increase policy in the early days of his administration to solve the government’s budget deficit problem, he later began to shift to a more pro-free market stance.

This is also the attitude that Barron welcomes. After all, a super-capitalist like him certainly likes the free market very much, which allows him to wave banknotes and have fewer restrictions on acquisitions in France.

Therefore, this meeting with the new president is still very necessary, after all, this will be the first step in forging their friendship.

In fact, personally, Hollande has a better private relationship with Ashley’s Webber family. Because of this, when Barron and Ashley met with Hollande together, the atmosphere was very good.

It is worth mentioning that Ashley Webber finally got her wish and became pregnant with Barron’s child. When Barron returned to London from Lanai Island in early February of this year, Ashley made a special trip to London to meet with Barron privately.

Obviously, it was during that time that she finally got her wish.

Now Ashley is five months pregnant and already showing. At this time, Ashley has learned that she is carrying a boy, and her face is always with a faint smile.

Hollande has a good relationship with Ashley’s father. Ashley calls him uncle—Hollande was born in 1954 and is 58 years old this year, in fact, he is slightly older than Ashley’s father.

Chapter 852: President

Although the relationship between Ashley and Barron wouldn’t be known to most people, there was no need to hide it too much in front of Hollande.

Anyone who could reach the position of president would not be incompetent. At the very least, they would be experts in interpersonal relationships.

Seeing some very natural intimate gestures between Barron and Ashley, Hollande could naturally understand some things.

The French, of course, wouldn’t find this kind of relationship strange.

Just like Hollande, his first girlfriend lived with him for as long as 30 years and bore him four children, but the two never got married.

France can be said to have the highest rate of non-marital births in Europe—many French couples choose to live together and have children without ever entering into marriage.

According to statistics from the French National Institute for Demographic Studies, out of 775,000 newborns in 2000, children born to unmarried mothers accounted for 42.6%, and by 2012, this proportion had risen to 55.8%.

In other words, nearly 6 out of every 10 newborns in France are now born to unmarried parents.

This phenomenon is directly related to the continuous decline in the marriage rate in France—from 2000 to 2011, the number of newly registered marriages in France decreased by 60,000 couples.

And the number of people signing cohabitation agreements rose from more than 20,000 couples in 2000 to more than 210,000 couples in 2011—considering that many unmarried cohabitants do not go through the signing formalities, the actual number of cohabitants should be even higher.

This is also due to the fact that French marriage law is too protective of women and too harsh on men…

According to French marriage law, if the two parties divorce, the man needs to give three-sevenths of his monthly income to the woman, and he must continue to give it until the woman finds a high-paying job…

In other words, if the woman does not look for a job after the divorce, the man has to give nearly half of his income to his ex-wife.

And if the other party has a child, you have to raise the child, regardless of whether the child is related to you or not!

This leads to the magical situation of French women living with their lovers while asking their ex-husbands for money!

Well, French men are not stupid either, they can’t just let women take advantage of them like this, so they choose not to marry in order to fight against this unfair marriage law!

This is also why we see women crying so much when they are proposed to in French movies—because a man willing to marry you means you have a guaranteed meal ticket!

Although French women are indeed happy under this marriage policy, French men also have their own countermeasures.

That is, they would rather date you for a lifetime than get a marriage certificate, which has led to a continuous decline in the marriage rate in France. In the end, the marriage rate of white people in France is only 3%, which is an incredible scene.

During this meeting with Hollande, Barron also met a handsome young man by his side—this was Barron’s first time meeting Manu.

During the meeting, Manu’s eyes looked at Barron from time to time. It could be seen that he was suppressing his inner excitement at being able to meet such a big figure as Barron.

Although Manu was three years older than Barron, whether it was his identity as a civil servant before, or his management positions from NM Rothschild Bank to Natixis Bank, or even his current position as Deputy Secretary-General of the President, his status and position were too far behind Barron…

Even Ashley Webber, this powerful French financial woman, now needed to look up to Manu.

Of course, things are unpredictable, and when their identities are different a few years later, it will be another situation.

…

“Welcome to Natixis Bank, Ms. Lagarde.”

“This is a very challenging job, and I like such challenges.”

Immediately afterwards, Barron met Christine Lagarde.

As the longest-serving finance minister in France, unlike in the original timeline, because of Barron’s support for Brown’s participation in the competition, Lagarde did not become the first female president of the International Monetary Fund.

In addition, after Hollande took office as president, he appointed a new finance minister, Montebourg, and Christine Lagarde also left her position as Minister of Economy, Finance and Industry of France.

However, William Wade Capital extended an olive branch to Christine Lagarde and hired her as the president of Natixis Bank.

After merging the main business of LCR Rothschild Group, Natixis Bank became the third largest commercial bank in France, second only to BNP Paribas and Société Générale.

Currently, Natixis Bank has a lot of business in European countries such as France and Germany, and it also holds shares in some Asian banks.

For example, the 5% stake in China’s Qingdao Bank, which was originally held by LCR Rothschild Group, now belongs to Natixis Bank.

Although in name, the president of the International Monetary Fund is more prominent, after all, that is a super organization that can use trillions of dollars in funds.

But now, being able to serve as the president of Natixis Bank is already a very good choice for Lagarde after stepping down from her position as French Finance Minister.

“Currently, we have acquired 9% of the shares of Commerzbank through the secondary market and some institutions. I will go to Germany soon to discuss the purchase of Commerzbank shares held by the German government…”

Commerzbank was founded in 1870 and is headquartered in Frankfurt. It is one of the component companies of the German stock index DAX.

It ranks second among the three major banks in Germany, and its size is second only to Deutsche Bank.

In addition, Commerzbank occupies an important position in the German banking system. Together with Deutsche Bank, it represents the main commercial banks in Germany. The German banking system is dominated by universal banks, which not only provide regular deposit and loan services, but also involve securities, payment settlement, trust and other financial services.

At the same time, Commerzbank is also the largest real estate lender in Europe, with more than four million customers.

It was also because of this that the bank announced a net loss of 6.6 billion euros in 2008 and continued to suffer losses in the following quarters—in the German government’s bank bailout plan for the subprime mortgage crisis, Deutsche Bank and Dresdner Bank rejected government bailouts, but trapped by the liquidity exhaustion caused by the subprime mortgage crisis, Commerzbank received capital injection from the German government in 2009.

Afterwards, Deutsche Bank completed the acquisition of Dresdner Bank in 2010, but this acquisition also brought billions of euros of toxic assets to Commerzbank.

As early as August 2010, German Economy Minister Brüderle requested that banks that had received state aid during the financial crisis should repay the aid as soon as possible—he hoped that Commerzbank would pay off its debts within three years.

During the subprime mortgage crisis, Commerzbank received a total of 18.2 billion euros in capital injection from the German Financial Market Stabilization Fund (Soffin) in two installments, of which 1.8 billion euros would be converted into Commerzbank common shares—making the German government hold 25% of Commerzbank’s shares and become its largest shareholder. The rest is non-public equity participation (requiring payment of equity income in the form of debt interest).

In addition, the German Financial Market Stabilization Fund also provided guarantees totaling 15 billion US dollars for commercial bank bond financing.

However, Germany then faced the European debt crisis, which led to the slow recovery of its banking industry.

Therefore, it is now difficult for Commerzbank to repay these government debts in the short term as required by the government.

Chapter 853: Hidden Danger

The current situation is, of course, an excellent opportunity for Natixis Bank to acquire Commerzbank.

If it can acquire the 25% stake in Commerzbank held by the German government, Natixis Bank’s shareholding in the bank will reach 34%, making it the largest shareholder and thus controlling Commerzbank.

Of course, as the president of Natixis Bank, Lagarde’s goal is to facilitate a merger between Natixis Bank, the third largest bank in France, and Commerzbank, the second largest bank in Germany. This would make the merged bank one of the largest banks in Europe, with a broader market and greater synergy.

However, the most important thing is the attitude of the German government. Barron knew that in his previous life, the German government successively sold off some of its shares in Commerzbank, eventually leaving only half of the shares, which it was also preparing to sell off eventually.

But in 2024, when UniCredit, Italy’s largest banking group, prepared to acquire Commerzbank, it was not accepted by the German government.

Of course, the current situation is also different from that time. The situation of Commerzbank in the original timeline has greatly improved later, so there is no need to sell it—apart from the government’s desire to reduce its holdings of stocks for profit.

But now, Commerzbank has not yet recovered from the impact of the subprime mortgage crisis and has a significant proportion of non-performing assets.

Coupled with the subsequent European debt crisis, many of the bonds of European countries purchased by Commerzbank are facing danger.

Now, the German government’s holding of Commerzbank shares is more seen as a burden than an asset.

If Natixis Bank can acquire Commerzbank, it would be a way to save the bank.

In addition, there is also the relationship between Lagarde and the German government…

In this year’s French election, throughout the world, outside of France, probably German Chancellor Merkel is the one who cares most about the result.

Because in the previous European debt crisis, Sarkozy and Merkel, representing France and Germany respectively, cooperated relatively well.

And Hollande’s many remarks before the election about “France needing to re-examine its responsibilities in the Eurozone countries” made Merkel a little uneasy.

After all, France and Germany are the two core countries of the Eurozone, and resolving the European debt crisis depends on the cooperation between the two countries. If the new French government changes its attitude at this time, it will certainly not be an encouraging result for the Euro.

Therefore, now that Lagarde, who once had a tacit understanding with Germany, has taken office as the president of Natixis Bank and is promoting the acquisition of Commerzbank by this French bank, perhaps when Germany and France need to re-establish a tacit understanding after the French change of government, the German government will more or less need to consider what negative impact refusing this merger would have on the relationship between the two sides.

Making the German government have such concerns is also what Barron hopes to see, which creates a good opportunity for Natixis Bank to acquire Commerzbank.

…

“When we were testing the TYPE electric coupe prototypes, we found a safety hazard in the battery cooling system. We need to further improve the entire system, which may delay the official launch of the TYPE…”

When Barron returned to London, he received this news from British Automotive Group.

Previously, Jaguar, under British Automotive Group, had planned to launch an electric coupe, the TYPE, by the end of this year, using their research and development achievements in electric vehicles.

According to Jaguar’s internal investigation, the safety hazard discovered this time is in the battery cooling device.

In order to cool the battery, the TYPE’s battery cooling system has coolant pipes added to the outside of the battery. However, because the aluminum material used for the end connection fittings is soft, it is easily worn and cracked during use, causing coolant leakage, leading to battery short circuits and even fires.

Because of the discovery of such a safety hazard, Jaguar needs to cooperate with the electric vehicle technology center of British Automotive Group to find an alternative solution to avoid such accidents, so it may not be possible to launch the new model at the scheduled time.

In fact, the main electric vehicle technology framework adopted by British Automotive Group on the Jaguar TYPE is almost the same as that of Tesla’s Model S—after all, the electric vehicle research and development centers of both parties can share the results of research and development.

After this safety hazard was discovered, British Automotive Group also discovered the same problem on the Tesla Model S…

“We have notified Tesla of this safety hazard, but they have not made it public yet.”

On June 22nd of this year, Tesla delivered the first batch of 100 Model S vehicles to users. Thanks to the funds Tesla obtained before, it accelerated the transformation of the Fremont factory in California. The delivery speed of the Model S is faster than in the original timeline. It is expected that Tesla will be able to complete the delivery of more than 3,500 Model S vehicles this year.

From the looks of it now, Tesla is prepared to keep this issue quiet.

In Barron’s previous life, there were also reports that pointed out that Tesla had already discovered safety hazards in the battery cooling system of the Model S before the Model S was delivered, but they still chose to deliver according to plan and did not immediately solve these problems.

After all, although there is a safety hazard, the failure rate is not high. Because they have already been under great pressure in the research and development of the Model S and are eager to achieve vehicle delivery, Tesla still made such a choice.

However, unlike Tesla, which is still a “newcomer” in the automotive field, Jaguar is already a well-known car brand. Since such a hidden danger has been discovered, it is naturally impossible to take risks. They can only release the TYPE electric coupe after solving the problem.

“Doing so is the right thing to do. For us, there is no rush to enter the field of electric vehicles. The users in this field still need to be cultivated, which can leave us with enough time, but if there is a safety hazard, it will be fatal to our brand…”

“What about Tesla’s side…”

Barron understood what British Automotive Group’s CEO, Fandall Hawke, meant by this sentence.

On the one hand, British Automotive Group is a major shareholder of Tesla. After the successful delivery of the Model S, Tesla’s stock price has risen slightly. Currently, its stock price has exceeded 34 US dollars. If the safety hazard of Tesla’s Model S car is exposed, it will definitely have a great impact on its stock price and will also cause British Automotive Group to suffer losses.

On the other hand, when Jaguar launches the TYPE, it also means that British Automotive Group will enter this track. Delaying the release of the new model in order to solve the safety hazard will also be a positive publicity for them to be responsible to consumers, especially compared to Tesla…

“There’s no need to interfere too much with their decisions. As for the discovery of safety hazards in the TYPE’s test vehicles, let’s keep this a secret for the time being.”

Chapter 854: Broadcom Group

July 27th, the 30th Summer Olympics began in London.

On that day, the Olympic flame was carried to London, arriving at the London Bowl (Stratford Olympic Stadium), which was also the venue for the London Olympics opening ceremony.

During the opening ceremony, Baron sat next to the royal family, with Prince William beside him, while Bonnie was whispering something to Princess Catherine…

As for the children, including George and Richard, they were in the VIP area not far away with Tamaran, Catherine, and the Earl of Booth’s family.

It is worth mentioning that this was also Bonnie’s first appearance in front of the cameras after giving birth.

Last month, she gave birth to her third child, a girl named Calida Cavendish.

Having previously given birth to two sons, George and Richard, Bonnie had been hoping for a daughter ever since.

When she learned through ultrasound three months into her pregnancy that she was carrying a girl, she was overjoyed and kept imagining how beautiful her daughter, inheriting her and Baron’s excellent genes, would be in the future.

However, since Calida was only a little over a month old, she naturally couldn’t bring her to the opening ceremony of the Olympics; she was being looked after at home by a number of nannies and maids…

Before the opening of the London Olympics, C4S also fulfilled its commitment to the London government in the agreement, sending a total of more than 10,000 security personnel to this London Olympics – of which more than 6,000 were foreign employees temporarily hired from Colo, who had received qualified security training.

Since 2003, Colo had primarily adopted British education in its schools, so after so many years, coupled with the increasingly strong English-speaking atmosphere in its society, the younger generation in Colo now spoke English as their native language.

In addition, nearly half of these security personnel from Colo had experience in security missions in Iraq, Afghanistan, and other places, requiring coordination with the British and American coalition forces, so their English was also considered fluent. It was naturally no problem for them to serve as security personnel for the London Olympics.

In addition to the more than 10,000 security personnel from C4S, in order to cope with the current severe situation – in addition to participating in the American anti-terrorism war, which made this London Olympics subject to the threat of “terrorists” from the Middle East, there were also threats from terrorist organizations such as the Irish Republican Army – the British government also urgently mobilized more than 20,000 soldiers to participate in the security of the Olympics.

As a result, many reports mentioned that the number of British troops used for Olympic security was higher than their current number in the Afghan theater.

In addition, a large number of active-duty weapons and equipment were also put into security.

The British Air Force imposed martial law around London and southeastern England. If an aircraft violated the restricted airspace, the military would first require it to follow military aircraft away from London.

If the aircraft did not cooperate, the fighter jets would fire flares or lasers at it.

If the aircraft still refused to obey orders, it would be shot down by the British Air Force.

To this end, the Royal Air Force’s “Typhoon” fighter jets were deployed to Northolt Air Force Base, and “Rapier” missiles and “Starstreak” missile defense systems were deployed at six locations in eastern London, four of which were grasslands, hillsides, and river valleys, and two were on the roofs of residential buildings.

…

Just as London was welcoming the Olympics, in America, after discussion, Broadcom’s board of directors finally approved the acquisition proposal put forward by Avago Technologies.

According to this plan, Avago Technologies would acquire Broadcom for a total price of 35 billion US dollars, including 20 billion US dollars in cash and 15 billion US dollars worth of stock.

After this acquisition plan was reached, Avago Technologies would first issue 15,000 shares of common stock to IC Capital, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, and BlackRock Group at a price of 120 US dollars per share, raising a total of 18 billion US dollars, plus their own funds of 2 billion US dollars, to pay for the cash portion of this acquisition.

Since Avago’s listing in 2006, its stock price had risen nearly 200% in less than 6 years from the day of its listing to the present – this time, Avago Technologies issued additional shares to the four investment companies and banks, with the price calculated at the average price of nearly 30 trading days, which was 120 US dollars per share. Based on this calculation, Avago’s market value had reached 30 billion US dollars before this additional issuance.

It can be said that this acquisition of Broadcom by Avago Technologies was not a “snake swallowing an elephant” like in the original timeline, but a merger between two giants.

After the merger plan was approved, it only needed to obtain “passports” from the American and European Union sides, and then the merger of the two companies would officially begin.

According to Chen Fuyang’s plan, after Avago acquired Broadcom, the new company would still use “Broadcom” as its name, becoming Broadcom Group – this was because Broadcom had a longer history than Avago, and its reputation in the semiconductor industry was higher. At the same time, using the name Broadcom would make it easier to label the company as “American-owned.”

The merged Broadcom company would move its headquarters from Singapore to the United States and have more American shareholders.

Because in the merged Broadcom Group, Rich23 Capital’s shareholding ratio would be reduced from more than 80% to 39.25%…

IC Capital obtained half of the additional issuance ratio in this additional issuance, and its shareholding ratio in Broadcom Group was 14.25%; Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, and BlackRock Group divided the remaining half of the additional issuance stock equally, each holding 4.75%…

The shareholders of the acquired Broadcom company would receive 23.8% of the shares in the new Broadcom Group.

Chen Fuyang would continue to serve as the chairman and CEO of Broadcom Group, and his shareholding ratio in Broadcom Group would be 2.95%.

In this way, if the shareholding of the original Broadcom company’s shareholders was added, then the American shareholding ratio of Broadcom Group would exceed 50%, and there would be no problem in saying that this company was an American company.

However, Rich23 Capital and IC Capital, the two investment companies controlled by Baron, would still hold a total of 53.5% of the shares in the future Broadcom Group, which would still allow him to maintain his strong influence over this semiconductor chip giant.

“This acquisition will change the current landscape of the semiconductor industry. Qualcomm has previously opposed the merger of Avago and Broadcom, believing that the merger of the two would cause chaos in the semiconductor chip industry, but according to news we have received from the US Department of Justice, this acquisition of Broadcom by Avago is likely to be approved…”

The media naturally paid attention to this acquisition by Avago. The Wall Street Journal published a related report yesterday.

It seemed that they did indeed have relatively accurate sources of information, because Baron had also received news from America that their relevant antitrust agencies would not set obstacles to this acquisition.

Chapter 855: Mali Civil War

During the London Olympics, it seemed like tourists from all over the world had descended upon the city…

As one can imagine, the result was that the crowds in London were even more terrifying than usual.

“Before the Olympics even started, London hotel prices had already skyrocketed, with increases exceeding 300%. Even so, finding a room here was incredibly difficult…”

According to statistics, London has approximately 110,000 hotel rooms, but the athletes from various countries participating in the Olympics alone occupied one-third of these rooms. In fact, the International Olympic Committee had already reserved 40% of them for official Olympic use well before the Games.

The various hotels under the Four Seasons-Cavendish Hotel Group were no exception. This included their two Devonshire luxury hotels and one Four Seasons Hotel in London. All three of these top-tier luxury hotels were fully booked.

It’s no exaggeration to say that the revenue of these hotels during the two-week period of the London Olympics was equivalent to that of an entire quarter during normal times…

Some hotels even resorted to kicking out customers who had booked at slightly lower prices or had already checked in, using various excuses, all to seize the opportunity to earn three or four times the usual room rate.

Of course, the hotels under the Four Seasons-Cavendish Hotel Group would not allow such practices. After their hotel rooms were fully booked, they collaborated with Grainger Property Leasing, a subsidiary of Cavendish Asset Management, to provide short-term rental apartments. These apartments were also fully booked by tourists. Due to ongoing expansion plans, the Four Seasons-Cavendish Hotel Group had been consistently training reserve service staff. This time, they drew from these trainees and surplus service staff from other English-speaking countries, providing sufficient personnel for the short-term rental apartment project with Grainger Property Leasing.

It can be said that due to thorough preparation, the London Olympics would bring satisfactory revenue and profits to the Four Seasons-Cavendish Hotel Group.

Of course, the hotel industry was not the only one profiting from the Olympics. Industries such as retail, catering, entertainment, and cultural activities also made a killing. Because Olympic tickets were difficult to obtain, many tourists who came to London were unable to attend the competitions in person. Even those who managed to get tickets often only saw one or two events…

Therefore, guided by the principle of “since we’re already here,” many of these people took the opportunity to visit other famous scenic spots in Britain. The numerous castles and manors owned by Grace Cultural Tourism Group were naturally also major destinations for these tourists.

Even more popular was Harrods, one of the most famous department stores in London and even Britain. This “shopping paradise” owned by the Devonshire Family Fund was now filled with tourists from all over the world.

After all, those who could come to London at this time were mostly wealthy people. Therefore, during their leisure time in London, they couldn’t miss the opportunity to experience Harrods, one of the world’s top shopping centers.

According to statistics sent by Julia Moore to Barron, Harrods’ sales began to rise sharply from the week before the Olympics opening. In particular, tourists from Asia provided more than one-third of Harrods’ sales during this period, with Chinese tourists being the main force. Their purchasing power was evident.

However, at this time, Barron had already left London. After attending the opening ceremony of the Olympics and watching some of the competitions for the first two days—including the first gold medal of the London Olympics, won by a Chinese athlete in the women’s 10-meter air rifle event—he left London and went to Kolo.

…

Before Barron arrived in Kolo, the Kolo armed forces, the Kolo Legion, in response to the African Union’s proposal, had already sent a force of approximately 500 people (about a battalion) to participate in the African Union’s peacekeeping operation in Mali.

All of this stemmed from the turmoil in North Africa last year.

During the “Arab Spring” that began in Tunisia, a North African country, last year, the Gaddafi regime in Libya collapsed.

Previously, there was a group of Tuareg mercenaries in Libya under Colonel Gaddafi. After Colonel Gaddafi fell, these Tuareg mercenaries fled, some to Nigeria and some to Mali.

The Tuareg are a semi-nomadic Islamic people widely distributed in Niger, Mali, Algeria, and Libya.

However, the Tuareg in northern Mali had conflicts with the Malian government. Because they were marginalized by the Malian government, they had a strong sense of national identity and had been trying to establish an independent country.

Therefore, after some Tuareg from Libya arrived in Mali, they quickly formed an alliance with the local Tuareg and launched a large-scale Azawad National Liberation Movement.

On the surface, Mali had been relatively stable since the establishment of the Third Republic in 1992, but this stability was mainly due to the balance between the central government and local tribal forces.

However, the emergence of the Azawad National Liberation Movement broke this balance and plunged Mali into the shadow of civil war.

Thus, in January of this year, the Malian civil war officially broke out!

The Malian government, like many governments in Africa, was internally corrupt and had very weak control over the country. Therefore, when the civil war broke out, the government army was beaten to a pulp by the long-prepared rebels of the “Azawad National Liberation Movement,” losing territory one after another.

Ultimately, the government army’s poor performance led to the Malian coup in March of this year, when a group of soldiers overthrew the then-president and formed a military government—this kind of thing is quite normal in Africa…

However, ideals are lofty, but reality is harsh. After the military government came to power, it still did not stop the government’s defeat.

By April, the rebels of the Azawad National Liberation Movement had occupied two-thirds of Mali’s territory and even declared the establishment of the Republic of Azawad in northern Mali.

As a result, Mali was divided into north and south, with the government army in a precarious situation.

It was also at this time that a split occurred within the Azawad National Liberation Movement.

Within the Azawad National Liberation Movement, it mainly split into two forces: “Ansar Dine” (Defenders of Faith) and the “Azawad National Liberation Movement.”

The “Ansar Dine” organization had deep roots with the al-Qaeda organization and belonged to an Islamic extremist organization. They advocated imitating the Islamic State (ISIS) and building an extreme religious regime covering West Africa.

But the Azawad National Liberation Movement did not have such grand ambitions. They did not want to overthrow the Malian government, but simply wanted to establish a secular nation-state that could be recognized by the UN.

Because the differences were so great, after their common enemy—the government army—weakened, these two groups quickly started fighting each other.

Chapter 856: Mission Force

By the end of June, the “Ansar Dine” had taken advantage of the civil war to comprehensively suppress the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad, and implemented strict Islamic law in northern Mali.

Then, after a short rest, the “Ansar Dine” launched a southward offensive from its occupied territories, breaking the stalemate and capturing the important towns of Konna and Djabali in central Mali, directly threatening the capital, Bamako.

It should be noted that it takes about two days to drive from Konna to Bamako, so for a time, everyone in Bamako was on tenterhooks.

This also indicated that without the involvement of external forces, the Malian civil war would turn from a simple separatist war into a humanitarian crisis.

In this dangerous situation, the President of the Malian transitional government (military government), Traoré, wrote to the UN and the African Union for help.

As early as June 12 of this year, the Chairperson of the African Union Commission, Jean Ping, had stated that the African Union had submitted a request to the UN, hoping that the Security Council could pass a resolution on the Malian issue in the near future, authorizing the establishment of a multinational stabilization force to militarily intervene in Mali if negotiations failed to resolve the problem.

Prior to this, officials from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) standby force held a meeting with representatives from the African Union, the United States, and France in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, to discuss the details of the ECOWAS force to be sent to Mali in the future.

Mali is a French-speaking country, a former French colony, and is now a member of the African Union and the Economic Community of West African States, so France is also very concerned about the situation in Mali.

After Hollande came to power, he successively met with the rotating chairman of the African Union, the President of Benin, and the President of Niger at the Élysée Palace, making it clear that the initiative to resolve the Malian issue was in the hands of Mali, its neighboring countries, and ECOWAS, but if the African Union and ECOWAS submitted a request to the Security Council within the UN framework, France would provide full support.

Although all parties emphasized the importance of resolving the crisis through peaceful dialogue, military intervention had become an option, even an inevitable choice, to prevent the emergence of a “West African Afghanistan.”

However, while paying attention and offering verbal support, Hollande never lagged behind, but in terms of actual actions, he really didn’t want to get involved at first.

On the one hand, although the anti-government armed forces in Mali are poorly equipped, they have relatively stable territories, and in any case, they have a certain combat capability in the long-term confrontation with the government forces, with a total force of about 10,000 people.

Faced with such an enemy, simply dropping a few bombs with fighter jets would definitely not solve the problem.

It would definitely be necessary to send ground troops to clear and encircle the cities one by one in order to completely eliminate the opponent.

Due to years of reduced military spending, the French army at this time did not have sufficient transportation capacity to airlift at least a brigade of personnel and equipment from the mainland to the Malian battlefield thousands of miles away.

This lack of projection capability completely limited the French army’s desire to participate.

On the other hand, before this, the US military had fallen into a difficult strategic predicament in the battlefields of Iraq and Afghanistan.

It is conceivable that if France intervened in the Malian civil war, it would likely end up in the same situation.

Therefore, for France, the safest way at present is to let the UN take the lead in organizing a multinational peacekeeping force, or to have the African Union obtain UN authorization to organize troops and intervene in the Malian civil war under the guise of peacekeeping.

After the “Ansar Dine” organization captured the important town of Konna in Mali to the south, the President of Niger, Issoufou, publicly stated:

“In northern Mali, militants from Afghanistan, Pakistan, and other places are providing training for terrorists. Terrorism not only threatens the security of the entire region, but also endangers the peace of the world.”

In addition, Guinea and Senegal also supported sending troops to Mali when necessary to ensure the smooth transition of the regime and assist the Malian government forces in combating the rebels and Islamic extremist organizations in the north.

When the Nigerien Minister of State, Bazoum, held relevant talks with the new Minister of Defense of Kolo, Errol Bruté, who had previously served as the commander of the Kolo Legion, he said:

“We firmly believe that military strikes against terrorists are the only option.”

In early July, the President of Burkina Faso, Compaoré, who attended the 20th African Union (AU) summit in Addis Ababa, announced that the African Union had decided to provide 50 million US dollars in funding for the African-led International Support Mission to Mali.

The President of Kolo, Thomas Kabore, also attended this African Union summit.

At this meeting, the Chairman of the African Union announced that it had obtained authorization from the UN to organize a peacekeeping mission to support Mali, in order to help the Malian government stop separatist forces and combat the harm caused by terrorists to civilians.

Currently, more than a dozen African countries have expressed their willingness to participate in the International Support Mission to Mali, including Burkina Faso, which will send 650 soldiers, and Kolo, which will send 500 soldiers… The number of this multinational force may reach 5,000 to 6,000 people.

Kolo itself has a tradition of supporting the African Union and actively participating in peacekeeping operations in various African countries, so after this civil war in Mali, the President of Kolo, Thomas Kabore, also actively responded to the call of the African Union—and Mali and Kolo are only separated by Burkina Faso.

Moreover, the economic and political ties between Burkina Faso and Kolo have become increasingly close, and the northern border of Burkina Faso also faces the infiltration and threat of the “Ansar Dine” extremist organization in Mali.

Therefore, the participation of Burkina Faso, Niger, and Kolo in the African Union’s peacekeeping operation is also partly based on their own interests.

According to African Union officials, resolving the Malian crisis requires raising 760 million US dollars in funding, of which 460 million US dollars will be used for the International Support Mission to Mali, and 300 million US dollars will be used for the reconstruction of the Malian army.

In addition to sending 500 peacekeeping troops, Kolo also pledged to donate 25 million US dollars to the African Union’s peacekeeping operation, and provide training and 10 million US dollars worth of weapons and equipment to the Malian government forces—these weapons and equipment will all come from Kolo’s domestic military industrial production base.

On July 16, after the establishment of the African Union’s peacekeeping mission to assist Mali, a total of 1,800 peacekeeping troops (three battalions) from Kolo, Burkina Faso, and Niger entered Mali from the border between northwestern Burkina Faso and Mali. According to the African Union’s allocation, they established a security zone in the northwest of Bamako, the capital of Mali, and began to take in Malian civilians who had fled there to avoid being attacked by various armed factions in Mali.

In order to avoid causing additional trouble, the peacekeeping force sent by the Kolo Legion to Mali this time, except for a 15-person technical team, was entirely composed of black people from Kolo, and can be said to be composed of the most elite members of the Kolo Legion.

Just from the equipment of the personnel, one can clearly see the difference between Kolo and the other two countries.

Not only are the weapons and individual equipment more complete and advanced, but this battalion of peacekeeping troops from the Kolo Legion is also equipped with two armed helicopters and one transport helicopter, as well as armored vehicles and multi-functional combat vehicles and other advanced armed vehicles.

In addition, their technical team also brought drones!

Chapter 857: Large Unmanned Aerial Vehicle

This time, the unmanned aerial vehicle that accompanied the Kolowe peacekeeping forces to Mali was the Jungle Wolf II, developed by Sentinel Corporation.

This unmanned aerial vehicle was upgraded from the previous Jungle Wolf. Thanks to the more advanced battery provided by British Automotive Group, the Jungle Wolf II is larger, nearly 2 meters long with a wingspan of 3.45 meters. It can carry more electronic equipment and has a battery life of up to 3 hours!

Furthermore, unlike the disposable Jungle Wolf unmanned aerial vehicle, the Jungle Wolf II can return for charging and be used multiple times.

This will provide the Kolowe peacekeeping forces with more reconnaissance information to understand the surrounding battlefield situation.

The technicians who came to Mali with the Kolowe peacekeeping forces this time belong to Sentinel Corporation. They will conduct combat tests on the Jungle Wolf II unmanned aerial vehicle to accumulate data for the subsequent launch of military models.

Of course, the Jungle Wolf II unmanned aerial vehicle is still a small unmanned aerial vehicle that uses batteries for power. Limited by current battery technology, it still cannot reach the scale of the Predator unmanned aerial vehicle, which is over 8 meters.

However, Standard Defense Company has already hired a team with extensive experience in fighter jet research and development in England through headhunting firms. Combining Sentinel Corporation’s experience in the field of unmanned aerial vehicles, they will develop large unmanned aerial vehicles in England.

This unmanned aerial vehicle, internally codenamed Tiercel, will use fuel for power and a turbine engine for propulsion. Standard Defense Company plans to use this unmanned aerial vehicle to compete for military orders from America and England.

Although BAE Systems is already developing the “Taranis” unmanned aerial vehicle project in the field of large unmanned aerial vehicles, according to Barron, as a cutting-edge unmanned aerial vehicle, the Taranis is expensive—its experimental prototype costs as much as 143 million pounds. Therefore, even if England and NATO are willing to purchase it, the quantity will not be too large.

This requires a “cheaper” large unmanned aerial vehicle that can meet basic needs, which is also the military procurement demand that Standard Defense Company is targeting.

In Standard Defense Company’s plan, the Tiercel unmanned aerial vehicle is basically benchmarked against General Atomics’ Predator unmanned aerial vehicle, and will reach or even exceed the technical data of this unmanned aerial vehicle—

Length 8.27 meters, wingspan 14.87 meters, maximum operating radius 3,700 kilometers, maximum flight speed 240 kilometers per hour, loiter time over the target 24 hours, and maximum endurance 60 hours.

The Predator is equipped with electro-optical/infrared reconnaissance equipment, GPS navigation equipment, and synthetic aperture radar with all-weather reconnaissance capabilities, with a resolution of 0.3 meters at an altitude of 4,000 meters and a target positioning accuracy of 0.25 meters.

To this end, Standard Defense Company has also poached many technical talents from America for the large unmanned aerial vehicle project that Sentinel Corporation has established in England.

……

This time, Barron came to Kolowe with Julia Moore.

She can also take the opportunity to learn about the situation of Natasha, who is currently awaiting delivery in Brita—in just over a month, the two children will be born.

Although detailed information can be obtained in London even without coming in person, for Julia, who is both expectant and apprehensive, coming in person can make her feel more at ease.

As mentioned before, in the last surgery, Natasha successfully conceived twins, and she needs to spend time in Kolowe’s capital, Brita, before giving birth.

Natasha lives in one of the guest rooms in Barron’s mansion in Brita—Jupiter Mansion.

There are dedicated maids and medical staff to take care of Natasha here. Of course, there will also be bodyguards responsible for protection and surveillance to ensure the safety of Natasha and the children in her womb.

In fact, before coming to Kolowe, Natasha was a little worried about this trip—after all, in her impression, Africa is very chaotic and poor, not to mention Kolowe, a country she had never heard of.

If it is slightly better, it may be South Africa. After all, if the cities in Africa are ranked at this time, at least three cities in South Africa can enter the top ten, which can be called the face of Africa.

However, after arriving in Brita, Kolowe, she finally felt relieved. The urban construction here is no worse than that of Ukraine. If it were not for the fact that the people she encountered in the city were mainly black, she would not know that this was a city in a small West African country.

And it can be clearly found that the mental state of these Kolowe people is relatively good, it is the kind of positive and upward state with light in their eyes and hope in their hearts.

In fact, this is also thanks to the development of Kolowe over the years—if time is traced back to before 2003, Kolowe at that time was completely different from now.

However, even now, the Kolowe government still faces many challenges. The first is what they have been doing since the establishment of the new Kolowe government—enhancing national identity.

As we all know, almost all countries in Africa have been in war for a considerable period of time.

It can be said that it is very normal to see civil wars in African countries from various news reports—it seems abnormal if no country in Africa is fighting in a civil war.

The main reason for this is that most African countries do not have a strong sense of national identity—when European colonists came to Africa, it was still in a slave system, and there were not many concepts of countries, but rather composed of tribes.

This can be seen from the map of Africa. The borders of modern African countries can be said to be like someone drawing a few vertical and horizontal lines on the map with a pen—the fact is similar to this. The borders of most of these African countries do not have much historical inheritance, and were originally determined by colonists drawing lines on the map at will.

This has resulted in the same ethnic group often being assigned to several countries, and a country having several ethnic groups with deep contradictions between them…

In addition, having a very long history of being colonized, these countries successively gained independence in the global national liberation wave in the 1950s and 1960s, but are still deeply affected by colonialism—old colonial countries such as England and France still have the ability to interfere in Africa in various ways, and for their own interests, they are unwilling to see these former colonies develop stably, so they can “make trouble” through tribal conflicts…

As a result, few countries in Africa can have long-term stable development and are always prone to being involved in wars.

Kolowe is very small in area and is considered a small country in Africa, but there are still many tribes within its borders.

Even during the previous military government period, many tribes were “autonomous” to a certain extent.

That is, after the establishment of the new Kolowe government, through economic and military disintegration, the Kolowe government finally slowly dispersed these tribes—and under Barron’s request, they implemented a relatively neutral policy of equality for all ethnic groups, which finally gave Kolowe a certain degree of integrity.

In addition, they have been promoting “compulsory education,” which has been strengthening national identity and weakening the concept of ethnicity, and it has only had some effect now.

But these policies still need to be continued.

In addition, the more lazy characteristics of the local black people in Kolowe compared to the Eurasian region are also being guided by the Kolowe government.

Chapter 858: The Rubber Industry

A clear example of the Kolo native Black population’s laziness is that, before this, Kolo had allocated a special fund of 100 billion Kolo shillings. Through the West African United Bank, they issued interest-free and low-interest loans to eligible Kolo citizens to help them engage in individual businesses and start companies.

The maximum amount for an individual interest-free loan was 100,000 Kolo shillings with a ten-year term, and the maximum amount for a low-interest loan could be as high as 1 million Kolo shillings.

At that time, Kolo was reaping huge profits from offshore oil fields, and this measure was implemented to stimulate the domestic economy. After all, the Kolo shilling itself was issued by the West African United Bank with the permission of the Financial Administration Bureau. They chose to provide interest-free and low-interest loans to help people run businesses and start businesses to increase income, rather than directly distributing the money to individuals.

But several years have passed, and the effects of this initiative have become apparent.

Indeed, a small number of people have seized the general trend of Kolo’s economic development through these interest-free and low-interest loans, and have become affluent through expanding production and operation.

However, more people have regarded these loans provided by the government for individual business production as “welfare” and have already squandered them.

Currently, Kolo has issued a total of more than 100 billion Kolo shillings in loans, and less than 5% of them have been successfully recovered…

However, Kolo had anticipated this situation to some extent. It’s just that the actual repayment rate was lower than they expected. It is not to say that these unrecoverable loans are completely wasted. After all, the money we issued is Kolo shillings, printed and circulated by Kolo itself, which also has some effect on promoting social consumption.

Moreover, this itself is a screening of those lazy and unambitious people among the population. According to relevant regulations issued by Kolo, the Kolo government will implement coercive measures against citizens who fail to repay their loans on time, and “detain” them to repay the loans with labor.

This kind of approach might cause protests in developed Western countries, but in Africa, it really isn’t a big deal.

Therefore, the Kolo government has also seen the widespread laziness among the people, so they need to use various systems to suppress it.

In some areas of Kolo, the state-owned Kolo Development and Investment Corporation (科发投) has participated in the investment of many industries, including plantations of cash crops such as rubber, cocoa, and coffee beans, as well as the initial processing plants for these crops. Most of the people who owe government loans and are unable to repay them on time are restricted from freedom and work in these plantations and factories.

Speaking of which, compared to the just over 7 million people when the new government was first established, with Kolo’s social stability and economic development, our population has increased to nearly 7.7 million.

Moreover, the largest city in Africa is currently Cairo, with a population of over 10 million. Even Lagos, the largest city in Nigeria, has a population of 8 million, exceeding the population of the entire Siqing.

This of course includes Kolo.

Baron hopes that Siqing will have one of the top-ranked cities in West Africa within ten years, but for Kolo’s urbanization, he hopes to have cities based on industries such as industry and manufacturing, rather than like many cities in Africa, completely relocating many people to the cities without corresponding industrial support, resulting in slums all over the city except for a few “prosperous” wealthy areas.

Although Kolo’s rubber planting area is smaller than those countries, Kolo’s capital is relatively strong. Including the West African Group and Kolo’s state-owned Kolo Development and Investment Corporation, they have invested in rubber plantations in Ghana, Nigeria, and other countries, and have built many related rubber product manufacturing industries in Kolo.

Among them, Côte d’Ivoire has the largest rubber plantation in Africa, followed by Nigeria, Ghana, and other countries.

In addition, because of Kolo’s cooperation with China in many aspects such as infrastructure and manufacturing, many Chinese people have come to Kolo, and eventually some of them stayed there. The number of these people is not too large.

Kolo itself already has some factories for these rubber products. Africa itself is an important global banana planting area. Looking at the map, areas such as Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, and Nigeria, which are roughly at the same latitude as Hainan Island in China, have climates that are very suitable for rubber planting.

These immigrants mainly come from the Middle East, and a few from Eastern Europe, but because they have been screened, over the years, Kolo has absorbed only over 10,000 “new immigrants”…

For example, for products like “condoms,” Kolo’s domestic output is small. We have joint ventures with relevant companies in the UK and China, and some of these brands are still very popular in Africa.

As for those from neighboring countries around Siqing, such as Benin, Ghana, and Burkina Faso, who come to Kolo, they mainly obtain short-term work visas. Kolo rarely gives these people formal national identity.

Of course, they will not be exploited too much. It’s just that the remuneration they can get is only used to maintain their survival, and the rest is used to repay national loans.

In addition, although Kolo will not carry out mandatory control measures for its own population growth, it will also carry out the so-called “eugenics” policy through many methods.

In addition to avoiding the occurrence of sexually transmitted diseases such as AIDS, it also prevents some people at the bottom from having children blindly…

For this reason, Kolo has also promulgated corresponding immigration laws. Because the quality of Kolo’s people is much worse than that of developed countries, and the growth of people’s quality is a slow process. In the beginning, we mainly cooperated with Britain and France to “repatriate illegal immigrants” and absorbed people with skills in the “illegal immigrant resettlement points” in Benin and Ghana.

Therefore, in the policies formulated by Siqing, what we are pursuing is a quality population growth based on industry and focusing on education.

After all, this is all aimed at the part of the population that obtains national loans for enjoyment and is unable to repay them.

However, even so, Kolo’s population density is not low. After all, for example, Singapore has a population of 5 million, and its area is only less than one-tenth of Kolo’s, which is truly extremely high population density.

For example, in Kolo, there are free “condom” distribution points everywhere, and many specialized institutions distribute these free measures in public places.

Currently, Kolo’s largest city is Lottie, its southernmost port city, and Kolo’s former capital. Although with the construction of the new capital, Bulita, a considerable number of government agencies and company headquarters have moved there, because Lottie is the first good port in West Africa and has the support of industries including petrochemicals and shipping, its population has still increased compared to the beginning, and the current population has reached 2.6 million, accounting for one-third of Kolo’s total population.

Chapter 859: Raids

Without a doubt, those who can be stationed in peacekeeping forces are the elite of each country—after all, this is how they can demonstrate their military strength to other countries through international cooperation.

Therefore, not only Kolo, but also the troops from Burkina Faso and Niger participating in the African Union’s peacekeeping mission in Mali this time, are also the most elite troops in their respective countries, equipped with their most advanced equipment.

Taking Niger as an example, in the past, their army mainly cooperated with France, Italy, and the United States, receiving training from them.

In terms of military equipment, Niger’s peacekeeping forces are also mainly equipped with French and South African equipment.

French equipment goes without saying, after all, Niger was once a French colony, and France still has troops and military bases stationed in Niger.

Therefore, their foreign arms purchases are also mainly French weapons.

As for their South African-made weapons and equipment, including the Puma M26-15 armored vehicle and the Mamba Mk 7 armored mine-resistant ambush protected vehicle, they all came from American military aid—after all, the United States has deployed the second largest number of troops in Niger after Djibouti.

The situation of the Burkina Faso peacekeeping force is similar to that of Niger, except that almost all of their equipment is French weapons.

Burkina Faso also has an air force of several hundred people, whose main combat mission is to assist France in combating domestic armed forces, with one attack aircraft squadron, one transport aircraft squadron, and one helicopter squadron.

From this, we can also see France’s influence in West Africa.

However, even though the 1,300 troops from Niger and Burkina Faso in the three-nation peacekeeping force are already their most elite troops and their equipment is the best in their countries, they still cannot hide their envy when they see the equipment of the Kolo Legion.

After all, the French equipment of the two countries is either phased out from the French regular army or from second-line units.

Even Niger’s military aid from the United States is all South African-produced equipment…

But what the Kolo Legion uses is all active-duty equipment used by the British and American forces in the Iraq War. Not only is their individual equipment excellent, but they also have M3 infantry fighting vehicles and M109 self-propelled howitzers.

It’s not that the Kolo Legion can’t get the American M1A2 main battle tank, it’s just that the cost-effectiveness is not high for them.

But what makes them most envious is the Kolo Legion’s aerial drones.

Although far inferior to the American Predator drones, which can directly launch Hellfire air-to-ground missiles to destroy enemy facilities and kill personnel…

The Jackal II drone is still very useful for reconnaissance of enemy movements and defenses.

At this time, the peacekeeping forces of the three countries have arrived at a small town about 200 kilometers northeast of Bamako, the capital of Mali. This is located on the flank of the road from the important town of Konna, which has been occupied by the “Ansar Dine” organization, to the capital, and is about 400 kilometers away from Konna in a straight line.

A total of three battalions, 1,800 people, from the Kolo, Niger, and Burkina Faso peacekeeping forces were deployed on three sides of the town to maintain a certain range of security zones to prevent the “Ansar Dine” rebel army from continuing to move south from here, and to shelter and protect civilians fleeing here from the direction of Konna.

In fact, the pressure they face from the rebels in this direction is not great.

After all, according to the information obtained, the main armed force of the rebels is about 10,000 people, although the number is far greater than the number of peacekeeping forces of the three countries, and even more than the total strength of the African Union peacekeeping mission to Mali this time.

But at this time, the rebels have split into two forces, and they are wary of each other.

In addition, they need a considerable force to garrison the towns and put pressure on the capital, so the number of rebels opposite the three countries does not pose a great threat to them.

However, the Kolo Legion’s peacekeeping force is not satisfied with simply maintaining their security zone from being attacked by the other side—although the rebels have received training from terrorist organizations in Afghanistan and Pakistan, with the excellent matching mechanism in the African region, although the rebels previously rubbed the Malian government army on the ground, the Kolo Legion does not take their combat effectiveness seriously.

In fact, these armed forces in Africa are quite fierce when they are winning, but their organization is not strong. Once they face a headwind, they are easily defeated.

What’s more, through the reconnaissance of the Jackal II drone during this period, the Kolo Legion’s peacekeeping force has mastered the situation on the opposite side.

In Konna, there are nearly 2,000 armed rebels stationed, of which more than 400 have established an advance position in a village about 50 kilometers southwest of Konna.

According to the drone reconnaissance, it was found that the other side often sent several teams of dozens of people to harass and attack nearby towns and villages.

Most recently, these small harassing teams were less than 150 kilometers away from the security zone where the Kolo Legion’s peacekeeping force was located.

Therefore, the Kolo Legion’s peacekeeping force is preparing to cooperate with the drone intelligence to eliminate these small harassing teams.

Their intention is not to use ground troops to occupy the other side’s strongholds, but to eliminate their active forces.

The Kolo Legion’s peacekeeping force has five armed helicopters, namely three Lynx and two Apache armed helicopters.

In addition, there are three Chinook transport helicopters, each of which can transport 45 fully armed soldiers or 10 tons of cargo.

Therefore, three Chinook transport helicopters can easily transport a company of soldiers (about 120 people) or half a company of soldiers along with their military vehicles and other heavy equipment to the designated location, so as to maneuver and ambush the rebel harassing teams.

These actions can also practice the information transmission and cooperation between drones and ground troops in actual combat.

It should be known that the designation of tactics is one thing. This time, the Kolo Legion’s peacekeeping force that came to Mali, in addition to the fifteen-person drone technology team, is entirely composed of local black soldiers and officers from Kolo—among them, the commander of the peacekeeping force, Malcolm Oliver, was sent to a certain army command academy in China by the Kolo government, and after graduation, he joined the Kolo Legion, and then led a team to Iraq to perform security tasks.

It can be said that Malcolm Oliver is the best of the local black officers in the Kolo Legion. He has performed very well and has an excellent style of leading troops. Therefore, he was appointed as the commander of the peacekeeping force entering Mali this time.

Malcolm’s favorite book is “The Art of War” by Sun Tzu, and he is a military officer who likes to use varied tactics very much.

He personally led the team to carry out this operation.

After discovering that the rebel harassing team was dispatched, using the Jackal II drone to provide the other side’s movements, Malcolm led nearly 50 elite soldiers, took the Chinook transport helicopter to fly secretly to the vicinity, and then got off the plane and took the military vehicle to ambush in advance at the place where the other side must return, to carry out an ambush.

During this period, armed helicopters will also provide air support.

In this way, even if their numbers are similar to those of the other side, under such an ambush, those rebels will basically be unable to organize an effective counterattack, and will be completely wiped out in the rout.

After carrying out such two ambushes and killing more than a hundred rebels, the rebels near Konna began to huddle in the town, and dared not go out in small groups to harass again.

And after obtaining such results, the Kolo Legion’s peacekeeping force was almost zero casualties—the only unlucky guy was too excited at the time, and his arm was scratched by a stray bullet when he got up to strafe.

Chapter 860: Industrial Development

As early as the African Union’s peacekeeping mission to Mali, Kolo had pledged to donate $25 million to the AU’s peacekeeping operation and provide the Malian government army with training and $10 million worth of weapons and equipment.

Besides enhancing Kolo’s influence throughout Africa, the other purpose of these donations was naturally to promote the weapons and equipment produced domestically.

Currently, Standard Defense Company’s weapons production base in Bogu, a small town in northern Kolo, has already begun production and is capable of producing conventional army weapons such as firearms, ammunition, various landmines, and hand grenades.

Next, they will also build new factories near Bogu to produce L118 105mm light howitzers and matching shells.

It can be said that the prices of the same type of weapons produced in Kolo are lower than those produced in Europe. Their support for the AU peacekeeping forces and the Malian weapons and equipment can serve as a “trial.” If the quality can also satisfy the troops of these countries, they will receive many orders next.

Before this, Kolo’s neighbors, such as Niger and Burkina Faso, which are also members of the West African Free Trade Organization, had accepted low-interest and interest-free Kolo shilling loans and purchased some of the weapons and equipment produced at the Bogu base, which has received very good reviews.

This time, when Barron came to Kolo, he originally wanted to visit Standard Defense Company’s production base in Bogu, but his security team ultimately dissuaded him.

After all, there are gunpowder and ammunition factories there, and his security team didn’t want Barron to take risks—incidents such as armories accidentally igniting gunpowder and exploding have happened in England, let alone that the production base in Kolo employs a large number of locals. To be honest, it doesn’t feel that reliable.

Otherwise, there would not have been such concerns when Standard Defense Company chose Bogu, a relatively remote town in the north, instead of near large cities such as Lottie and Bulita, just in case.

It is worth mentioning that Kolo’s President Thomas Cabore has just returned to Kolo after finishing his visit to China.

This time to China, Kolo and China continued to reach a series of cooperation agreements, and Thomas Cabore’s purpose was also to go to China to “attract investment,” promote Kolo’s preferential policies, and a fair and open business environment to attract investment from Chinese companies.

At this stage, China is also encouraging its companies to go global and explore international markets.

However, entering the European and American markets for acquisitions and investments is not that easy, and the African market is also experiencing rapid growth. But what is more worrying is that the unstable political situation in many regions will affect their investment.

Kolo, however, currently has a stable political situation and is continuously investing in education, medical and health care, and transportation infrastructure. It can be said to be one of the few countries in Africa that is suitable for investment in all aspects, and it can also radiate to the entire West African market. Therefore, it has indeed attracted many Chinese companies to come and investigate.

“Our previous cooperation with Honor Electronics was very successful. The mobile phone manufacturing base they invested in in Kolo is the largest mobile phone production enterprise in West Africa. The affordable products are not only popular in West Africa but have also established a sales network throughout Africa. With such a successful example, many Chinese companies have become interested in Kolo…”

What Thomas Cabore said to Barron, he certainly knew very well, was the mobile phone assembly base built by Dopod, a low-end brand under Honor Electronics, in Lottie, Kolo. Its products are very popular throughout Africa because of their high cost performance. Currently, Honor Electronics has begun construction of the second phase of this assembly base, which can provide more employment and train skilled workers for Kolo.

In addition to Dopod, Transsion Holdings, a Chinese mobile phone manufacturer specializing in the African market, has also taken a fancy to Kolo’s good regional location and business environment. The production base they invested in building in Lottie is about to be completed, located not far from the Dopod (Lottie) assembly base…

It is very likely that that area will become Kolo’s mobile phone manufacturing (assembly) center in the future.

This time Barron came to Lottie, which was very different from when he first came to this city.

The most obvious point is that the slums that were once ubiquitous in the urban area of Lottie have disappeared—or rather, there are still low-income communities here, but the environment is very different.

Also, because Lottie is the best port in Kolo and even West Africa, with the development of Kolo’s economy and the expansion of their entrepot trade, Lottie has attracted more and more capital inflows, which has led to the expansion of the urban area of Lottie compared to before.

And a long time ago, Lottie had already begun urban renovation, especially with the relocation of its administrative and financial functions to the new capital, Bulita, which also provided conditions for their urban renovation.

The Kolo government, through Golden Africa Real Estate Company, carried out large-scale construction of low-rent housing in Lottie, especially near the new urban area. These low-rent houses are held by state-owned asset management companies, which charge extremely low rents to low-income people, allowing them to move in.

This has gradually moved the residents of the original slums in Lottie City into low-rent housing, so the vacated slums can be renovated and rebuilt into office buildings or high-end apartments—these newly built buildings in the city center can bring a substantial increase in assets to state-owned asset management companies, which is enough to subsidize the construction costs of those low-rent houses.

Using this method, in just a few years, the municipal landscape of Lottie City has been dramatically improved.

It can be said that Lottie can now be fully regarded as a benchmark city in West Africa.

Foreigners who come to Lottie, the largest city in Kolo, for the first time can’t help but marvel—not that it can surpass international cities such as London, New York, and Shanghai, but that Lottie’s municipal planning and the city’s cleanliness and order completely subvert their impression of African cities.

Of course, these changes in Lottie are also based on its industrial, manufacturing, and commercial industries, which enable the city government to have the capital to improve its image.

Even though Bulita is the capital of Kolo, Lottie still relies on its excellent geographical location and is the economic center of Kolo. It has more than half of Kolo’s industrial and manufacturing industries and is the most dynamic city in Kolo.

Similarly, in terms of education, although Kolo University has moved to Bulita, Lottie still has a large number of vocational and technical schools, including Lottie Petroleum Institute, Mining Institute, and Maritime Institute, which continuously cultivate technical workers for their industries.

Chapter 861: Franco-German Disagreements

In fact, starting two or three years ago, besides some high-precision manufacturing industries, the remaining manufacturing industries that needed to strengthen their competitiveness through cost have been transferring to Asia, mainly China, but Colo has also accepted a lot of industries.

What he transferred to China were industries such as automobiles, mobile phones, and chips that required the cooperation of a complete industrial chain and had a certain technical content.

And most of the primary processing manufacturing industry has been transferred to Colo—after all, compared to China, the labor cost here is lower.

At the same time, with the rise in unemployment in Britain after the subprime mortgage crisis, a considerable number of British employees have also been seconded to China and Colo.

Yes, the labor cost of these overseas seconded employees is slightly higher than that in Britain because they need to pay overseas allowances.

But considering that these employees can train local employees in China and Colo and bring out more qualified local employees, this temporary increase in salary costs is acceptable.

Therefore, like Colo, the number of employees from Britain in various industries is also close to 2,000, which is not a small scale.

Fortunately, when the new government of Colo was established, English was already designated as one of its official languages. Perhaps not many older people can use English, but the younger generation has basically become accustomed to communicating in English.

After all, although Colo still nominally regards English and French as official languages at the same time, in fact, only English is used for teaching in their entire education system, and French is only used as a compulsory “foreign language”—just like in schools in China, English can be said to be taught from elementary school, but until graduation from university, the proportion of people who can fluently use English to communicate with foreigners is not high.

This is the difference between a native language and a first foreign language.

…

“I believe that the merger of Natixis Bank and Commerzbank will become a model for cooperation between France and Germany in the financial field…”

Currently, Ashley Weber’s most important task is to facilitate Natixis Bank’s acquisition of Commerzbank. Therefore, even though she is nearly six months pregnant, she still personally met privately with German Chancellor Merkel’s representative while Lagarde was in Germany promoting Natixis Bank’s acquisition of Commerzbank.

She said to the other party:

“Dealing with the European debt crisis is a very important task for our two countries, and we must cooperate closely. Of course, we have also seen that some of President Hollande’s recent actions may seem a little out of place, but I believe that these measures are mainly to fulfill his campaign promises, but reality will make him change…”

Ashley Weber’s identity is not only the chairman of William-Weber Capital, the controlling shareholder of Natixis Bank, but also a member of the French political family—Hollande himself has a close relationship with the Weber family, which is why Merkel specifically asked her secretary to meet with her this time she came to Germany.

As mentioned earlier, France under Sarkozy had a relatively tacit understanding with German Chancellor Merkel on the handling of the European debt crisis.

But during the French presidential election in April this year, because of Hollande’s remarks about France’s relationship with the EU and the Eurozone at the time, Germany had doubts about the prospects for Franco-German cooperation after Hollande’s election.

In the division of the political spectrum, Hollande represents the French left, while Merkel’s governing philosophy represents the right. After Hollande came to power, the ruling parties of France and Germany belonged to different political factions. This difference in ideology is not conducive to cooperation between the two sides, or at least it is difficult to cooperate as tacitly as Sarkozy did.

Even after Hollande took office as President of France, he immediately went to Germany for a visit, and both countries were trying their best to maintain the friendly relationship of the “Franco-German alliance”…

However, different economic ideas have led to continuous discordant voices between the two countries afterwards.

In the eyes of many people in Germany, Hollande has taken a series of measures that are not conducive to improving the competitiveness of the French economy in order to fulfill his campaign promises, which will ultimately harm France and also affect the EU.

For example, the French newspaper Le Figaro stated that the German government is particularly worried that Hollande’s economic policies will affect the vitality of EU countries in implementing structural reforms and strict budgetary discipline.

And former German Chancellor Schröder also criticized Hollande’s economic policies after taking office at a seminar on the EU.

Schröder believes that France is currently like Germany in 2003—Germany was in a very bad economic environment at that time and was called the “sick man of Europe.” Schröder’s later drastic reforms led Germany out of its predicament.

Schröder reminded Hollande:

“The French president’s campaign promises will eventually be shattered against the wall of economic reality.”

Schröder believes that Hollande’s move to advance the retirement age of some French workers from 62 to 60 after taking office is a “bad signal,” and the French government does not have the financial resources to support this measure.

He also believes that Hollande’s single-minded increase in taxes in order to achieve deficit reduction goals will not only cause the outflow of French capital, but also lead to the collapse of the French job market.

“As long as two or three wrong signals are sent to the outside world, our French friends will face a cruel reality.”

In this regard, the French newspaper Le Figaro commented that Schröder loudly expressed the concerns that Merkel government officials did not dare to express publicly.

When French media asked officials from the German Chancellery and ministries to publicly evaluate the French economic situation, they were often rejected.

However, some German officials still privately expressed their concerns about the French economic situation.

For example, a senior German government official said privately:

“Bild is a bit exaggerated. France is neither Greece, nor Spain, nor Italy. However, the situation in France is worrying.”

This official believes that France’s neighboring countries are carrying out courageous economic structural reforms, and Hollande appears ideologically isolated compared to these neighboring countries.

Some economists with the greatest influence on the German government unanimously believe that Hollande’s sharp increase in taxes, but “too shy” in reducing spending, will inevitably lead to the suffocation of the French economy and increase unemployment.

They believe that only structural reforms of the economy and the implementation of strict budgetary discipline can bring positive effects to economic growth and employment.

German economists have prescribed a series of “panaceas” for Hollande to get rid of his economic predicament:

Reduce wage costs, abolish the 35-hour work week, promote competition, reduce taxes, and reform the retirement system.

However, analysts believe that Hollande, as a left-wing president, may not have the courage to adopt these more right-wing economic policies.

Therefore, Ashley’s words to Merkel’s secretary imply that they also disagree with some of Hollande’s policies—after all, as everyone knows, his ideas are inclined to the left, and he did not have much experience in governing before, so it is normal to have some “idealism” in terms of policies.

But in the end, his policies, whether it is a sharp tax increase or continued relaxation of workers’ welfare benefits, will cause dissatisfaction among domestic capital in France.

I believe that reality will soon make him adjust his policies—I believe these are also what the German side would like to see.

Chapter 862: Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Limited (CATL)

In the end, Ashley’s visit to Germany wasn’t solely about Natixis Bank acquiring Commerzbank.

Or rather, through this matter, both sides engaged in some behind-the-scenes exchange of benefits.

The German side wasn’t just concerned about the ownership of Commerzbank—that wasn’t the priority. Their most pressing need was to ensure the stability of the Euro and resolve the European debt crisis.

Clearly, as France’s third-largest bank, Natixis Bank’s intention to acquire Commerzbank was under close scrutiny.

Especially now, with disagreements between Germany and France on how to deal with the Eurozone debt crisis, the German side, frankly, didn’t want to hinder Natixis Bank’s acquisition, thereby negatively impacting cooperation between the two countries.

If Natixis Bank could guarantee that the acquisition wouldn’t affect Germany’s regulatory oversight of its domestic operations, they weren’t planning to block the acquisition of their shares.

After all, this would allow the government to recover some funds while ensuring that Commerzbank’s operations wouldn’t compromise German financial security.

Furthermore, another issue discussed by both sides was Commerzbank’s debt problem—after the subprime mortgage crisis, the German government injected funds into Commerzbank, including nearly 20 billion euros in debt.

If Natixis Bank were to acquire Commerzbank, Germany would have reason to demand a timetable for the repayment of these debts.

At the very least, the previous demand from their Minister of Economic Affairs for Commerzbank to repay the government debt within three years was worth discussing.

In this regard, Ashley Webber stated that if Natixis Bank could complete the acquisition of Commerzbank, they could naturally provide guarantees, but she couldn’t provide a specific timetable for debt repayment at this time. Instead, Natixis Bank CEO Lagarde would need to assess Commerzbank’s situation before making a determination.

However, at least through this meeting, both sides reached many consensuses, greatly advancing Natixis Bank’s acquisition of Commerzbank.

…

Just as the world’s attention was focused on the ongoing London Olympics…

On August 6th, Li Lu, representing Skyworth Capital, signed an agreement with ATL, a subsidiary of the Japanese corporation TDK, to purchase 15% of the shares of Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Limited (CATL).

Speaking of CATL, it became very well-known in Barron’s previous life, known as the “CATL King.” However, the company had only recently been spun off from its parent company, ATL.

To discuss CATL’s development history, one must first talk about the experience of Zeng Yuqun, one of its founders.

In 1968, Zeng Yuqun was born in a small village in Ningde, Fujian—at that time, Ningde was still among the top 18 poorest regions in the country, and many families couldn’t even afford basic necessities.

After graduating from the Department of Naval Architecture at Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 20-year-old Zeng Yuqun was assigned to a state-owned enterprise in Fujian Province.

However, working within the system couldn’t ignite Zeng Yuqun’s passion.

After less than three months of contemplation, Zeng Yuqun made the first gamble of his life, much to the bewilderment of his family—he resigned from his secure job and went to work in Guangdong!

After joining SAE Magnetics, an American contract manufacturer, he met his superior, Dr. Chen Tanghua.

Zeng Yuqun, who was diligent and capable, was highly appreciated by Chen Tanghua.

Under Chen Tanghua’s promotion, Zeng Yuqun quickly rose from a grassroots employee to a management position.

During his 10 years at SAE, due to his outstanding professional skills, Zeng Yuqun became the youngest engineering director and the first mainland Chinese director. At this time, Zeng Yuqun was only 31 years old.

In 1999, company leaders Liang Shaokang and Chen Tanghua pulled Zeng Yuqun into starting a business together, and ATL was officially established.

In the beginning, ATL had almost no core technology and could only purchase patents.

To quickly seize the market, Zeng Yuqun flew to America with more than 7 million, buying a lithium battery technology from Bell Labs.

He happily thought that with this technology, the company would definitely make a fortune!

But after returning to China, he found that this type of battery was prone to bulging after multiple charges and discharges, and would be scrapped in no time!

Unwilling to accept this, he flew back to America to argue, but they simply wouldn’t acknowledge the problem.

Seeing that more than 7 million had gone down the drain, Zeng Yuqun thought: There’s no turning back, now that I’ve started, I’ll see it through to the end!

So, he plunged into the laboratory.

Zeng Yuqun’s team started by studying electrolytes, and through testing and optimization, they finally solved the problem of polymer batteries bulging easily after repeated charging and discharging.

Zeng Yuqun actually solved a technical problem that even Bell Labs couldn’t crack!

After the battery bulging problem was solved, in 2002, an American customer came knocking, specifically requesting to use Zeng Yuqun’s batteries. This customer was Apple, as we all know.

With Apple’s endorsement, ATL became an instant hit, and major companies such as Samsung favored it, receiving orders non-stop!

It is worth mentioning that Honor Electronics is also one of ATL’s major customers, and some of their high-end mobile phones also use ATL’s batteries.

However, in 2005, due to a lack of funds, TDK Corporation invested 100 million US dollars to acquire 100% of ATL’s equity, and ATL became a wholly-owned subsidiary of TDK.

TDK was founded in 1935. This long-established Japanese company mainly develops magnetic material “ferrite”—the tapes used in tape recorders and video recorders were basically monopolized by TDK.

Soon after being acquired by TDK, Zeng Yuqun and other ATL management decided to establish a power battery team to promote the research and development of vehicle power batteries and power battery management systems.

However, Zeng Yuqun’s team still encountered bottlenecks in ATL when making car batteries.

When BMW Group was looking for battery suppliers for its new energy vehicles, it noticed ATL, Apple’s largest battery supplier in the world, and extended an olive branch to Zeng Yuqun.

However, the parent company, Japanese TDK, was not progressive and unwilling to expand production and invest in power batteries, rejecting BMW’s cooperation request. This was one reason.

At the same time, due to national regulations, wholly foreign-owned enterprises cannot produce power batteries, and ATL is a 100% foreign-owned enterprise, making it impossible to produce power batteries.

So Zeng Yuqun and another founder of CATL, Huang Shilin, decided to go a step further and completely separate the power battery team from ATL to establish a new company.

However, although CATL had separated from ATL, ATL still held 15% of its shares.

This time, Skyworth Capital invested to buy CATL’s shares from ATL, Zeng Yuqun naturally knew about it and welcomed Skyworth Capital’s joining.

The reason, besides the fact that this share transfer could turn CATL’s Japanese capital shares into mainland capital (Skyworth Capital) holdings, was that Skyworth Capital also promised to help CATL expand their user base.

Chapter 863: Nanjing Auto Kirin

First, Tianhe Capital wholly owns the shares of Nanjing Auto Group, and Nanjing Auto Group has a joint venture with MG Motor UK in China, called Tianhe MG Auto.

And MG Motor UK is a major shareholder of the well-known electric vehicle company, Tesla…

Before Li Lu acquired Ningde Times shares from ATL, she promised Zeng Yuqun when they met:

If Ningde Times’ power batteries meet the requirements, she can help connect them with Tesla, so that Tesla can try using Ningde Times’ batteries.

In the original timeline, Ningde Times became a Tesla supplier in 2020.

Tesla’s current battery supplier is Panasonic, and Tesla and Panasonic have jointly invested in building a battery factory in the United States.

The cooperation with Tesla also allowed Panasonic to quickly become a global battery leader.

However, Panasonic is not up to the task, and its battery production capacity cannot keep up with Tesla’s pace.

In 2019, Musk tweeted that the production capacity of the aforementioned battery factory was restricting the growth of Tesla Model 3 production.

In addition to strained relations with Panasonic, cost demands have also led Tesla to consider adding new suppliers in China, which led to the cooperation between Tesla and Ningde Times.

Although MG Motor UK also has a battery production plant, Barron understands that when it comes to cost, building a factory in the UK or Europe will definitely not be able to beat Ningde Times.

Therefore, MG’s battery factory does not plan to expand its scale, but only serves as a production plant for high-end batteries for research and development, providing them to MG Motor UK’s high-end brand electric vehicles, such as Aston Martin, McLaren, or Bentley’s electric models.

As for other electric vehicle models, they will also consider cooperating with Ningde Times, or even establishing a joint venture battery factory.

This is also why he would instruct Tianhe Capital to hold shares in Ningde Times.

Since this is the case, it is better to preempt Panasonic and promote Ningde Times to cooperate with Tesla in advance, and jointly build a factory in North America—MG Motor UK would not mind taking a share at that time.

As for BYD, in which Barron has shares, it entered the power battery field earlier than Ningde Times, and seems to be a better partner…

But the problem is that BYD is not only a battery supplier, but also manufactures electric vehicles, and its future scale is comparable to Tesla.

Barron knew that in his previous life, in 2014, BYD would announce that its power batteries would not be sold to the outside world!

At that time, BYD tried to use this move to block other electric vehicle competitors…

This can be said to have sent a boost to Ningde Times—Ningde Times took advantage of its opponent’s strategic mistakes and policy support, and quickly won a group of customers such as BMW, Mercedes-Benz, BAIC, Great Wall, Geely, and Hyundai. Its production capacity soared, and finally in 2017, it became the world’s largest battery supplier!

Even if Barron holds shares in BYD, it is inevitable that BYD will no longer provide power batteries to MG Motor UK after it enters the electric vehicle field on a large scale…

This is why he needs MG Motor UK to have its own battery production capacity, and why he is now starting to invest in Ningde Times.

In addition, Tianhe Capital’s acquisition of Ningde Times’ shares is also needed by Nanjing Auto Group, which it wholly owns.

From this time on, China has also been vigorously supporting the production of independent brand cars.

For example, SAIC, FAW, GAC and other automobile groups with joint ventures have also begun to launch their own brands—brands that everyone is more familiar with include SAIC MG, FAW Bestune, and GAC Trumpchi…

Nanjing Auto Group is also the same. In addition to its joint ventures with foreign companies such as MG Motor UK and Iveco, it also launched a new brand independently developed by Nanjing Auto Group this year—Kirin.

Of course, like many Chinese automobile companies at the beginning, the first model BX1 launched by Nanjing Auto Kirin looks seven or eight parts similar to the Land Rover Shan Hai launched by its joint venture company…

This is also normal, after all, the automobile industries in the United States, Japan, and South Korea all started with “copying” in the early days, and experienced a process from copying to absorption to independent research and development.

Because China’s automobile industry started later and is also subject to many restrictions, it has only just reached the stage of “paying tribute to classics,” but it will definitely have to go through these processes later.

The BX1 of Nanjing Auto Kirin, as a tough SUV model, uses an engine produced by MG Motor UK’s Cosworth factory in China. The overall performance is very good among household SUVs, and the price is between 138,800 and 198,800 yuan, which can be said to be very cost-effective. In the second quarter of this year, this car became one of the top three best-selling domestic SUVs, which can be said to be a great success.

After the successful launch of Nanjing Auto Group’s Kirin SUV model this time, they will also launch a sedan model next year. This sedan will be a compact electric vehicle, which will use power batteries provided by Ningde Times.

It is also because of these resources that Tianhe Capital can have that Ningde Times will not have any resistance to their purchase of 15% of their shares from ATL. On the contrary, they will welcome Tianhe Capital, a Chinese capital, to become their shareholder.

Of course, the investment in Ningde Times is one aspect of Tianhe Capital’s layout in the electric vehicle field.

Immediately afterwards, Tianhe Capital announced a cooperation with Baidu to invest 50 million yuan to establish a smart driving research laboratory and launch the “Apollo” project, which will study smart driving solutions.

In the original timeline, Baidu began to form a team related to unmanned driving in 2013, and established an autonomous driving department in 2015, and began road experiments of unmanned vehicles in cooperation with BMW.

The addition of Tianhe Capital has slightly advanced Baidu’s progress and started the development of related fields in China.

MG Motor UK itself has a smart driving research project with an artificial intelligence laboratory invested by Barron in London, and has already made some research results, but the research in this cutting-edge field naturally requires multi-party investment to ensure that it can ultimately have a greater chance of success.

And Barron knew that in his previous life, Baidu’s smart driving project had very good results.

……

Before the closing ceremony of the London Olympics, Barron returned to London from Cologne.

Not long after returning to the UK, Barron came to Chatsworth House again—during the time Barron went to Cologne, Fan Bingbing brought their children Andy and Belle to London to watch the Olympics.

Andy and Belle were almost five and a half years old at this time. The two perfectly inherited the beauty of Fan Bingbing and Barron, and looked like a pair of jade dolls, which were very lovable.

At this time, Fan Bingbing’s status and status no longer cared about whether her pair of children would be made public—after all, she is now responsible for the investment decisions of Tianhe Film and Television, and has not acted in film and television dramas for a long time, and is basically in a state of retirement.

Of course, for her, there is no need to push her son and daughter to the front stage. The London Olympics will naturally have many broadcast shots, but she will not deliberately avoid it.

As for who the father of the child is…

I believe that even if the media has speculation and suspicion, they will not report it. This is her current confidence.

Chapter 864: Time to Accelerate

Although he could ensure that no one would report the related matters, Baron didn’t need to appear at the Olympic venue with Fan Bingbing and the children.

He simply took them to Chatsworth House.

As the ancestral home of the Devonshire family, he needed to bring Andy and Belle, the siblings, to see it.

“Do you like it here, my darlings?”

The five-year-old children already looked like little adults, but Belle looked so adorable, like a porcelain doll, that Baron couldn’t resist picking up his daughter, letting her sit on his shoulders, and then holding Andy’s hand, standing not far from Chatsworth House, and asking.

“It’s so pretty, Daddy, it looks like a palace.”

After Andy answered, Belle also waved her hand, pointing into the distance, and said to Baron in a childish voice:

“Daddy, look, there are little lambs over there, and big horses. Can I go play with them?”

“Yes, yes, I want to ride a horse too…”

Seeing the two children vying with each other, Baron said with a smile:

“Of course, I’ll take you over to play later, but you’re too young to ride horses yet. But Daddy promises you, how about buying you two ponies after a while?”

“Great, Daddy, pinky swear…”

At this time, Fan Bingbing was watching the heartwarming scene of Baron with the two children and was very happy.

Over the years, Baron had only been able to reunite with his family when he went to China, or when Fan Bingbing occasionally took the children abroad to see him. Therefore, the time spent with Andy and Belle was not much.

In the blink of an eye, they were both about to start elementary school, so this time, he took the time to stay with Fan Bingbing and the children at Chatsworth House for a few more days.

And Baron didn’t forget his promise to the children, specially taking Andy and Belle to choose two Shetland ponies at the Chatsworth House stables.

Pony, the English name for a small horse, corresponds to “horse,” which specifically refers to a large horse.

Ponies are divided into two types: primitive ponies and bred ponies. Among them, primitive ponies include Chinese ponies, British Shetland ponies, etc.; bred ponies include American Miniature horses and Argentine Falabella horses, etc.

The most well-known of these is the British Shetland pony, which originated in the Shetland Islands of northeastern Scotland and is named after them.

It is a strong, sturdy pony breed. Adult Shetland ponies are less than one meter tall (generally 70-85 centimeters high).

The British royal family especially favors Shetland ponies. They are pets of the royal family and close companions of children.

When Queen Elizabeth was a child, King George VI gave her and Princess Margaret Shetland ponies as pets, which cultivated the Queen’s lifelong love of horses. She later served as the honorary president of the Shetland Pony Association.

Although Shetland ponies are very precious and are called “pandas of the horse world,” there are many such horses in the Chatsworth House stables. When Baron brought other children here before, they also enjoyed playing with these ponies.

The two ponies chosen by Andy and Belle will later be airlifted to Cavendish Garden (Yan Family Garden) in Shanghai, where the two children will be able to spend time with these ponies often.

…

By the time Baron returned to London, the London Olympics had ended.

“Natixis Bank’s plan to acquire the German government’s stake in Commerzbank is no longer news, and Commerzbank’s stock price has risen by more than 15% cumulatively as various rumors have spread…”

In the chairman’s office of the DS Financial Center, Daisy placed the document in her hand on the table in front of Baron and said:

“Currently, our Mars Fund has purchased nearly 5% of Commerzbank’s shares in the secondary market, but according to our investigation, funds including BlackRock Group have also taken action to buy shares in this bank.”

Natixis Bank’s negotiations with the German government have been going on for quite some time, but neither side has revealed too much information to the media.

Before completing this acquisition of the German government’s stake, the German government did not want Natixis Bank to continue to increase its stake in Commerzbank.

But this is not difficult for Baron. It is inconvenient for William-Weber Capital to take action, but it does not affect the actions of Standard Chartered-Merrill Lynch and DS Group at all.

However, due to the impact of the news and the desire to avoid disclosure requirements after holding more than 5% of the shares, the total proportion of Commerzbank shares currently held by DS Group’s Mars Fund and Merrill Lynch’s fund is just about 10%.

As for BlackRock Group’s stake in Commerzbank that Daisy mentioned…

BlackRock Group was initially a passive investor—given the scale of BlackRock Group, Vanguard Group, and Merrill Lynch Investment, they definitely need to invest widely in the constituent stocks of various stock markets.

Well, for example, their S&P 100 index fund purchases stocks according to the weight of each stock in the S&P 100, causing the fund to move in line with the S&P 100 index.

BlackRock Group, Vanguard Group, State Street Corporation, and Merrill Lynch Investment have many similar index funds—it is no exaggeration to say that the index funds of these four companies account for 80% of the total market value!

Before this, BlackRock Group, Vanguard Group, and even Merrill Lynch Investment invested in the German stock market according to various indices. Because Commerzbank is a component company of the German stock index DAX, many similar investment funds hold shares in this bank. Most of their holdings are linked to Commerzbank’s status as a constituent stock in various stock indices.

But it is clear that BlackRock Group and other companies have recently increased their holdings of Commerzbank shares, but the proportion is not high. It should also be affected by the news.

In addition to DS Group and Standard Chartered-Merrill Lynch, the investment department of William-Weber Capital also holds nearly 5% of Commerzbank shares through institutional purchases.

In this way, if Natixis Bank can finally reach an agreement with the German government to acquire its stake, then Baron’s side will be able to control nearly 50% of Commerzbank’s shares. This will likely complete the merger of Natixis Bank and Commerzbank and maintain a controlling stake in the merged bank.

However, whether it is DS Group or Standard Chartered-Merrill Lynch, acquiring less than 5% of Commerzbank’s shares is not a big move.

And Daisy’s expression turned serious at this time:

“Indeed, according to our analysis, the Federal Reserve is very likely to launch a new round of quantitative easing…”

Baron was not surprised by this, after all, this was what he had deduced based on his experience from his previous life and the current economic situation in America.

He heard Daisy continue to say:

“With the launch of the Fed’s QE3, other countries will inevitably have to follow suit with similar measures, which also means that a new round of massive monetary easing is coming, and our actions need to be accelerated.”

Chapter 865: Becoming a Target

The accelerated pace Daisy spoke of naturally referred to their acquisition of various high-quality assets…

This process had already begun after the last round of quantitative easing by the Federal Reserve, also known as QE2.

After all, with the Federal Reserve and other countries successively implementing quantitative easing policies, the result was currency devaluation.

If you didn’t want your own wealth to depreciate at the same time, you needed to quickly spend the money and convert it into assets that held their value, such as real estate, precious metals, and high-quality companies.

Some even more aggressive individuals would choose to take on debt for acquisitions—the logic being simple: as the currency devalues, the actual value of the money you borrow from the bank shrinks by the time you repay it. Even with the interest you have to pay, you’re still making a profit.

Of course, the prerequisite is that what you’re buying with the borrowed money is a high-quality asset that can withstand currency devaluation.

In terms of identifying these assets, Barron, as a reborn individual, naturally had a distinct advantage.

The Federal Reserve conducted its second round of quantitative easing, QE2, in October of last year. What Daisy hadn’t expected was that less than a year had passed—barely ten months—and the Federal Reserve was already preparing to launch a third round of quantitative easing.

Clearly, this could only mean that the economic recovery in America was still not meeting expectations. Under pressure, they needed to flood the market with money for a third time.

However, considering that this year was an election year in America, it became understandable.

The current American president, Obama, needed to seek re-election, so naturally, before November, he needed to make the American economy perform better and satisfy the American people.

It could be said that the Federal Reserve’s choice to implement quantitative easing at this time was somewhat intriguing, with implications of assisting Obama’s re-election campaign.

Since the Federal Reserve’s last round of quantitative easing last year, the funds and investment companies controlled by Barron had successively acquired assets including Motorola Mobility, Enel (Italian National Electricity Company), Alstom (France), Broadcom, and the ongoing acquisition of Commerzbank (Germany)…

It could be said that the total funds involved in these acquisitions exceeded $100 billion!

These acquisitions, in addition to some company stock issuances, included profits from some capital market investments, and some came from loans and financing from banks and other financial institutions.

Even so, the debt of his holdings was still at a relatively low level, and he could still continue to raise funds through loans and other means for subsequent acquisitions.

As long as the acquired assets could maintain their value for a considerable period afterward—in other words, if the prices of these assets continued to rise during currency devaluation—then Barron would be making a profit.

Many investors were using this approach, but not all of them could succeed.

The key was in the selection of the assets to be acquired. It was not uncommon in the history of global commercial mergers and acquisitions for companies to be acquired at exorbitant prices, only to be sold off at low prices due to poor management. In fact, this happened more often than not.

It was Barron’s vision that ensured he wouldn’t face a black swan event that would lead to a broken capital chain and a complete collapse.

However, while they were acquiring assets, some of Barron’s holdings also became acquisition targets.

For example, the LOMX Group recently received an acquisition proposal from NYSE Euronext, the parent company of the New York Stock Exchange, for the London Stock Exchange (LSE). NYSE Euronext was prepared to acquire the LSE for $10 billion.

At the end of 2004, Barron, through Global Industry Investment Fund (GII), completed the acquisition of the LSE. After that, he acquired the Swedish OMX Group and formed the London-OMX Exchanges Group (LOMX Group) through a merger.

The LOMX Group later reached a mutual shareholding agreement with the Nasdaq Group and, after listing and financing on the Nasdaq stock market, completed the acquisition of the Borsa Italiana (Italian Stock Exchange).

It could be said that, by now, the LOMX Group had become the largest exchange group in Europe, but it still hadn’t stopped its expansion.

In 2010, the LOMX Group acquired the Toronto Stock Exchange’s parent company, TMX Group, for $3 billion, integrating Canada’s largest exchange into its own system.

In 2011, the LOMX Group acquired 60% of the shares of the clearing house, London Clearing House, for 15 euros per share, making its share in the clearing market globally leading.

In the same year, the LOMX Group completed the acquisition of the London Metal Exchange (LME) for $2 billion, making it a wholly-owned subsidiary of the LOMX Group, thereby greatly enhancing the LOMX Group’s control in the non-ferrous metal trading sector.

The London Metal Exchange (LME) is the world’s largest non-ferrous metal exchange, founded in 1876. Its trading products include copper, aluminum, lead, zinc, nickel, and aluminum alloys. The exchange’s prices and inventories have a significant impact on the production and sales of non-ferrous metals worldwide.

It is worth mentioning that, in Barron’s previous life, the London Metal Exchange was acquired by the Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEX) in 2012 for nearly 1.4 billion pounds, but now the LOMX Group had beaten them to the punch.

Now, the LOMX Exchange Group had a market value of over $25 billion and was one of the largest exchange groups in the world.

However, what NYSE Euronext wanted to buy was the core asset of the LOMX Exchange Group, the London Stock Exchange. It should be noted that the GII fund only spent less than 1.5 billion pounds to complete the acquisition of the LSE back then…

Of course, the LSE was now very different from what it was back then. On the one hand, belonging to the LOMX Group, through continuous acquisitions and shareholdings, had given the LSE, as its core asset and located in London, a major global financial center, a great deal of integration power.

In addition, after obtaining the right to set the LIBOR (London Inter-bank Offered Rate), the LSE’s position in the financial sector became increasingly important.

Just after the LOMX Group unhesitatingly rejected NYSE Euronext’s acquisition offer, the other party immediately raised the price, offering a price of $12 billion…

“We have no intention of selling the London Stock Exchange, and we do not believe that NYSE Euronext’s offer reflects the current value of the London Stock Exchange…”

This was what LOMX Group CEO Wayne McAulay said during a related interview.

Wayne McAulay had just taken office as CEO of the LOMX Group last year and had led the acquisition of the London Clearing House and the London Metal Exchange.

In addition, he had also been the chief advisor to the previous Chancellor of the Exchequer, Alistair Darling…

In fact, what Wayne McAulay didn’t say in his statement was that they even doubted whether NYSE Euronext could pay the $12 billion they had proposed.

After all, in Barron’s previous life, when Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) acquired NYSE Euronext at the end of this year, its offer was only $8.2 billion…

Chapter 866: Heading East

Of course, even so, the questioning of the Pan-European Exchange Group’s ability to pay was more of a joke.

Because both Wayne Macaulay and Barron were well aware that the Pan-European Exchange Group’s acquisition of the London Stock Exchange under the LOMX Group, rather than the entire LOMX Group, was probably aimed at the LIBOR fixing rights held by the London Stock Exchange.

If that was the case, then even if the Pan-European Exchange Group did not have enough funds to pay for the acquisition, there would be corresponding bank support…

Sure enough, after the LOMX Group rejected the Pan-European Exchange Group’s acquisition proposal, the American side immediately launched an investigation into whether there was any artificial manipulation in the London Stock Exchange’s LIBOR fixing process.

And some media in America and Europe also published reports about traders from several banks profiting through the artificial manipulation of LIBOR fixing at the time.

Of course, these reports would naturally not explicitly state that those “artificial manipulation of LIBOR for profit” behaviors all occurred before the London Stock Exchange took over LIBOR fixing, and also because of the British investigation into these manipulations, which led to the LIBOR fixing and supervision rights being taken back from the London Banking Association and given to the London Stock Exchange.

In Barron’s previous life, the American side exposed the LIBOR manipulation issue in the second half of this year, not only imposing heavy fines on banks involved, including Barclays, HSBC, and Deutsche Bank, but also using this as leverage to pressure the Pan-European Exchange to take over LIBOR fixing on July 9, 2013.

Later, they went a step further and directly terminated the publication of LIBOR, replacing it with other benchmark interest rates.

It should be known that LIBOR, that is, the London Interbank Offered Rate, represents the short-term borrowing cost between banks (overnight to one year), thereby affecting the pricing of financial products in all links such as fixed deposits, swaps, loan interest rates, and housing mortgages.

According to rough estimates, $800 trillion in securities, loans, and various derivatives worldwide use LIBOR as a reference. Every 1 point change in LIBOR will generate hundreds of millions of profits or losses.

It can be said that the battle for LIBOR is a battle between America and Britain for global financial discourse power—even though America is the only superpower in the world, before this, the world’s number one financial center was still London.

America would never let go of the opportunity to easily make money by controlling finance.

It was only because Barron knew the cause and effect of LIBOR in his previous life that he asked British Chancellor of the Exchequer Darren to investigate the LIBOR manipulation issue in advance and deal with the relevant banks as soon as possible…

Then, by taking back LIBOR regulatory rights and changing LIBOR fixing rights, he plugged this loophole.

This was to avoid the American side taking away LIBOR fixing and ultimately terminating it, as in his previous life.

At that time, after the London Stock Exchange took over LIBOR pricing, in order to make the process more difficult to be “artificially manipulated,” they changed the LIBOR pricing scheme to make the fixing process more fair and less susceptible to manipulation—

The first was to increase the number of banks collecting quotes. They increased the number of banks quoting for LIBOR fixing from the previous 16 large banks to 25, and also added a backup list of 5 banks.

The London Stock Exchange also regularly rotated between the backup list and the 25 quoting banks to make LIBOR pricing more reasonable.

In addition, the mechanism for LIBOR pricing was changed. Specifically, the LIBOR price is not determined by completely calculating the quotes of the 25 quoting banks, but by randomly selecting the quotes of 20 of the 25 banks, and then removing the 5 highest and 5 lowest quotes, and using the average of the remaining 10 banks’ quotes to determine the LIBOR price for the day.

It can be said that their plan can eliminate the behavior of multiple banks colluding to manipulate LIBOR to the greatest extent possible.

Now that the American side is again investigating the London Stock Exchange’s LIBOR fixing and starting related one-sided reports, it is obvious that they want to take action on this.

Although it is known that it is not easy for Britain to withstand the pressure from America in this regard now, at least the situation faced at this time is much better than in the original timeline.

By detonating the LIBOR manipulation issue in advance and reforming the LIBOR pricing mechanism, even if the American side investigates, they will not be able to find too many major faults in this regard.

Nor will they be able to easily abolish it after the fixing of LIBOR is controlled by the American side, as in the original timeline.

Next, the LOMX Group sent a team to China to contact the Shanghai Stock Exchange and the Hong Kong Stock Exchange to study cooperation in more fields.

For example, the “Shanghai-London Stock Connect” between the Shanghai Stock Exchange, that is, the interconnection mechanism between the Shanghai Stock Exchange and the London Stock Exchange—listed companies in the two places that meet the conditions issue depositary receipts in accordance with the laws and regulations of the other market and are listed and traded in the other market.

At the same time, the interconnection between the two markets is realized through the cross-border conversion mechanism arrangement between depositary receipts and underlying securities.

As well as the in-depth cooperation between the London Metal Exchange and the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

And the London Stock Exchange will continue to expand its Hua currency business, which will replace Hong Kong and become the world’s largest Hua currency offshore center…

These actions are naturally for the American side to see—if they continue to exert pressure, then this kind of in-depth cooperation with China is inevitable.

Of course, these cooperations themselves are what the LOMX Group is prepared to do, but the degree of cooperation between the two sides can be controlled.

Now that the LOMX Group has sent a team to China, it can also be regarded as advance cooperation negotiations for Cameron’s upcoming visit to China again.

In 2010, only five months after Cameron took office as British Prime Minister, he launched his first visit to China.

At that time, Cameron led the largest and most luxurious team in British history, with more than 50 people, to Beijing, striving to open a “golden era” for both sides.

At this time, Cameron still attached great importance to the relationship with China and was known as the most pro-China Prime Minister in Britain…

This was partly because Britain urgently needed external financial assistance to improve its economy after the subprime mortgage crisis.

In addition, Cameron pursued a neo-liberal economy. Therefore, he put forward the idea that Britain should act as a “global hub.” Under this idea, Britain must pay attention to its relationship with emerging economies, because whether it is the Anglo-American relationship or the Anglo-European relationship, they are already very stable. Only by improving the relationship with emerging economies can the idea of this “global hub” be truly realized.

Among the emerging economies in the world, the most important is China.

Barron knew that Cameron was brewing his second visit to China during his term, which was expected to begin at the end of this year or the beginning of next year.

The time he chose coincided with Barron’s intentions. After all, November is China’s “Eighteenth National Congress.” At that time, he will be able to start cooperation with the new leadership.

Chapter 867: Operation Serval

Often, those caught up in a process don’t see the changes, but tracing the development of many things, and their interest-based shifts, can be quite fascinating.

Take, for example, Cameron’s attitude towards China, both now and in the future, which is like a “face-changing” act; and then there’s the role France is playing in Mali…

Well, at this point in time, France is still the Malian government’s “close friend.”

After the Kolo Legion’s peacekeeping forces took the initiative to strike, ambushing some of the “Ansar Dine” rebel group’s harassing squads, the rebels retreated into Konna.

However, with the increasing number of rebels arriving in Konna, it was clear that they were about to launch another offensive southwest, towards the Malian capital, Bamako.

On the evening of August 20th, Hollande gave a speech at the Élysée Palace, announcing that French forces would assist the Malian army’s military operations to protect the Malian people, the 6,000 French nationals in Mali, and to maintain regional peace and stability.

According to French media reports, Hollande defined this military intervention as a strike against “terrorists,” saying that the military operation would last for “as long as necessary” – this French military operation against the Malian rebels was also named “Operation Serval”!

This time, France’s decision to personally enter the fray came almost four months earlier than in Barron’s previous life.

The reason for this should be related to the more active participation of Kolo, Niger, and Burkina Faso in the African Union peacekeeping mission, and the fact that the Kolo Legion’s peacekeeping forces inflicted significant personnel losses on the rebels in front of the Malian capital, Bamako…

Just as Hollande was giving his speech, the French military operation had already quietly begun.

On August 20th, the Malian army, with French support, launched a counter-offensive against the armed rebel groups that had recently occupied towns in central Mali.

The next day, the French Air Force launched airstrikes on Konna, reportedly killing at least 100 rebel militants.

After the airstrikes, the Malian government forces, with the intelligence assistance of the Kolo Legion peacekeeping forces, entered Konna and basically occupied the important town within two days.

Since then, the French military operation in Mali has continued, with the number of participating troops reaching 2,500.

On August 25th, French ground forces successively arrived in Mali from their military bases in Chad and Côte d’Ivoire, and the military intervention shifted from airstrikes to a joint air-ground offensive.

On the 26th, French ground forces entered combat for the first time, advancing north from the capital Bamako overnight to the town of Diabaly, about 400 kilometers away, and engaging in fierce fighting with the local extremist group “Ansar Dine.”

As mentioned before, France’s long-range deployment capabilities are limited, but their military operation has received support from some countries. Although some NATO countries have not directly participated in this “Operation Serval,” they have provided transport capabilities for the French forces.

Previously, on August 23rd, a British C-17 military transport aircraft arrived at the French Évreux Air Base, and another transport aircraft would also go to provide support.

On the 24th, Canada sent a C-17 “Globemaster” transport aircraft to carry out a week-long mission of transporting supplies for the French forces.

Belgium will also send two C-130 transport aircraft and two helicopters to participate in the French military intervention in Mali.

In Africa, the French military operation has also received strong support from some countries and organizations. The African Union peacekeeping mission, including the Kolo Legion peacekeeping forces, will cooperate with the French forces. In addition, several ECOWAS member states have announced that they will each send approximately 300 to 600 troops, forming an ECOWAS force of approximately 3,300 to intervene in the Malian war.

Currently, the first batch of ECOWAS troops arrived in Mali on the 27th, local time.

In fact, Kolo, Burkina Faso, and Niger all have good relations with China, especially Kolo, which has close cooperation with China.

In Mali, China has many cooperative projects. Another very important task of the Kolo Legion peacekeeping forces is to focus on protecting the personal and property safety of Chinese personnel and institutions during peacekeeping operations.

As for the highly anticipated “international police,” Uncle Sam, their response this time seems very “calm.”

On August 27th, U.S. State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland emphasized that U.S. personnel would not go to Mali, but U.S. military training personnel “will arrive on the African continent this weekend” to help countries sending troops to Mali “prepare for deployment.”

According to U.S. Department of Defense officials, the U.S. military may provide assistance to France in terms of airlift and intelligence sharing.

The Wall Street Journal and other media commented that Washington’s “limited response” is reminiscent of the NATO strikes against Libya, indicating that the United States, currently busy extricating itself from Afghanistan, “does not want to be dragged into another conflict.”

…

Around this time, on September 5th, at the Devonshire Hospital in Kolo’s Blitta, with a burst of infant cries, Julia, waiting outside, became increasingly nervous as she stared at the closed hospital room door.

“Congratulations, madam, both children are very healthy.”

Only when the nurse came out holding the swaddled infants and said these words to her did Julia breathe a sigh of relief. When she wanted to see the children the two nurses were holding, she was told that they first needed to be cleaned…

Just now, Natasha, the Russian girl from Ukraine, successfully gave birth to twins, a boy and a girl. Although she needed a C-section, which would leave a scar on her abdomen, the result of these sacrifices was that her life would be changed forever.

“Can I see the children?”

After the effects of the anesthesia wore off, Natasha looked at the nurse by the bedside and asked weakly.

When she saw the other party shake her head and instead ask her how she was feeling…

A look of disappointment appeared in Natasha’s eyes, and she mechanically answered the nurse’s questions.

After all, she carried them for ten months. Even though the genes of those two children had little to do with her, there was still a blood connection. Knowing that she would never see them again, Natasha felt very sad.

Of course, from the employer’s perspective, making such a decision was to avoid the girl’s emotional entanglement with the children.

After all, not to mention the ten months of pregnancy, if during the subsequent breastfeeding period, the mother and child established the initial and most important emotional connection, it would be easier for the girl to find it difficult to part with the children. Therefore, it was necessary to sever this connection from the beginning.

Moreover, in terms of material compensation, sufficient compensation had already been made for such a situation…

Julia Moore had already equipped a complete team in Blitta to take care of the twins for the next month, and then they would be taken back to their home in London by private plane.

As for Natasha, she would need to recuperate in Blitta for a while. After she recovered, she would be able to go to England, where Barron and Julia would be able to arrange her identity in England and provide her with enough money to live a life of comfort and security.

Chapter 868: Continental United Bank

Also in early September, Natixis Bank finally reached a final agreement with the German government on the acquisition of shares in Commerzbank.

Natixis Bank will acquire the German government’s 25% stake in Commerzbank for 2.5 billion euros—compared to the 1.8 billion euros the German government invested in Commerzbank in 2009 to obtain these shares, it also provided corresponding funds when Commerzbank acquired Dresdner Bank later.

However, Natixis Bank’s offer has a premium of about 15% compared to Commerzbank’s share price before the acquisition, which is also a very cost-effective transaction for the German government, giving their investment a profit of nearly 30%.

However, although the completion of this transaction enabled Natixis Bank to increase its stake in Commerzbank to 34%, becoming the controlling shareholder of Commerzbank, the management of Natixis Bank also promised the German government that it would repay the debt Commerzbank borrowed from the German government as soon as possible.

Furthermore, if it continues to acquire Commerzbank in the end, it cannot drastically reduce Commerzbank’s business—that is to say, there cannot be large-scale layoffs.

After all, under the current circumstances, this is something the German government does not want to see happen.

Currently, with the shares held by DS Group, Standard Chartered-Merrill Lynch Group, and William Weber Capital, Barron’s side can control nearly 50% of Commerzbank’s shares, which is fully capable of starting to promote Natixis Bank’s overall acquisition of Commerzbank—that is, the merger plan between Natixis Bank and Commerzbank.

After completing the acquisition of the German government’s shares in Commerzbank, at the request of Natixis Bank, Commerzbank held a board meeting. In this board meeting, Commerzbank adjusted its board of directors. Lagarde, the president of Natixis Bank, was appointed as the chairman of Commerzbank, and Ashley Weber was appointed as the executive director of Commerzbank.

And at this board meeting, the merger plan between Natixis Bank and Commerzbank was approved.

The merger between the two parties will be carried out by Natixis Bank paying cash or issuing additional shares to the remaining shareholders of Commerzbank.

Currently, Commerzbank’s share price is around 8 euros per share. Other shareholders of Commerzbank can choose to exchange each Commerzbank share they hold for 8.4 euros in cash, or exchange them for Natixis Bank shares at a ratio of 1:1.25.

Currently, Natixis Bank’s share price is around 6.7 euros, which is the price when the two parties suspended trading before the news of the impending merger between Natixis Bank and Commerzbank was released—because the market itself had some speculation about this, both stocks had already risen to a certain extent before this, and the increase exceeded 10%, relatively speaking, Commerzbank’s share price increased even more.

Therefore, whether to choose cash or exchange shares depends on whether Commerzbank’s shareholders have confidence in its future development.

Seven days later is the deadline for Commerzbank shareholders to choose, and then the two parties will complete the merger.

In the end, about 70% of Commerzbank shareholders other than Natixis Bank chose to exchange shares.

According to the previous plan, Merrill Lynch Investment, a subsidiary of Standard Chartered-Merrill Lynch Group, the partner of Natixis Bank in this acquisition, will pay the Commerzbank shareholders who choose cash compensation and obtain the corresponding share exchange quota.

Therefore, Merrill Lynch Investment took out approximately 1.98 billion euros and obtained 294.75 million newly issued Natixis Bank shares, plus the approximately 59.52 million Commerzbank shares previously held by Merrill Lynch Investment, which can be exchanged for 74.4 million Natixis Bank shares…

In this way, Merrill Lynch Investment can obtain a total of 369.15 million Natixis Bank shares.

After the merger is completed, Natixis Bank will be renamed Continental United Bank (CUB), with a total share capital of 3.236 billion shares.

The Natixis Bank shares originally traded on the Paris Stock Exchange will be changed to Continental United Bank shares at a ratio of 1:1 after trading resumes.

The Commerzbank shares originally listed and traded on various German exchanges, as well as in Paris, New York, Vienna, Geneva, Basel, Amsterdam, London, Luxembourg, Antwerp, and Brussels, will be changed to Continental United Bank shares at a ratio of 1:1.25 after trading resumes.

After the merger of the two banks, William Weber Capital will hold 1.5444 billion shares, and its shareholding ratio in Continental United Bank will still exceed 47.7%!

Therefore, William Weber Capital is still the controlling party of Continental United Bank. Ashley Weber will serve as the chairman of Continental United Bank, and Lagarde will serve as the president of Continental United Bank.

Merrill Lynch Investment holds 369.15 million shares of Continental United Bank, accounting for 11.4%, and is the second largest shareholder of Continental United Bank.

In addition, DS Group also holds approximately 77.4 million shares of Continental United Bank, accounting for approximately 2.3%…

In this way, Barron can still control more than 61% of the shares in Continental United Bank, although on the surface this bank still has a considerable number of French and German shareholders…

At the end of September, after Continental United Bank resumed trading on various stock exchanges, its stock price had a considerable increase, from 6.7 euros when trading was suspended to 7 euros!

This brought the total market value of Continental United Bank close to 23 billion euros, which means that its market value is not far from that of Deutsche Bank, Germany’s largest bank—it should be known that due to frequent accusations and fines, Deutsche Bank’s share price will fall by more than 70% in the 10 years starting from 2012. Therefore, it is believed that Continental United Bank will soon surpass Deutsche Bank and become the bank with the highest market value in Germany.

As for France, unfortunately, even after this merger, Continental United Bank’s market value is still far lower than that of Société Générale, and it is still ranked as the third largest bank in France.

In any case, both Barron and Ashley Weber are very happy about the successful acquisition of Commerzbank. This represents that their financial tentacles have entered another core country of the European Union—Germany.

It’s just that Ashley is now only two months away from her due date, so she didn’t go to Germany again. Instead, Lagarde, the president of Continental United Bank, is stationed in Frankfurt, Germany, to conduct the post-merger review and rectification of the two banks’ businesses.

“After the merger of Natixis Bank and Commerzbank, there is a lot of work to be done. Although the two banks have some overlapping businesses, the complementarity between the two parties is stronger. I am very optimistic about the future development of Continental United Bank…”

In a German financial interview program, Lagarde’s demeanor remained undiminished. She said:

“Eurohypo, owned by Commerzbank, is still the best real estate bank in Europe. Although it has been impacted to a certain extent in the previous crisis, we will optimize the assets in the German market and are optimistic about the coming recovery of the real estate industry…”

“So, do you mean you will consider selling some of the non-performing assets of the original Commerzbank? Ms. Lagarde.”

“We will focus on the main business. A certain amount of slimming down is necessary, which is to allow us to concentrate resources and obtain higher profit expectations. We have seen some British banks, such as Standard Chartered Bank, sell some non-performing assets after the subprime mortgage crisis, which not only obtained liquidity replenishment, but also reduced the burden. Most of these banks have now performed well, and I think this approach is worth considering.”

Chapter 869: QE3 Arrives

Just as Lagarde said, Eurohypo, the real estate bank owned by Commerzbank, was one of the largest in Europe before the subprime mortgage crisis.

Consequently, affected by the subprime mortgage crisis, the real estate mortgage loans of this real estate bank, especially those involving subprime loans, brought huge losses to Commerzbank.

The subsequent acquisition of Dresdner Bank also increased the scale of non-performing assets of Commerzbank.

Before this, Commerzbank didn’t not want to deal with these huge non-performing assets, but the problem was that under the current economic situation, the entire European real estate market had not yet shown signs of complete recovery. Therefore, even if these non-performing assets involving real estate were sold, it would be difficult to get a good price.

However, things were different after William-Webb Capital became the controlling party of the merged Continental United Bank of Commerzbank—to be precise, the Cavendish Trust behind William-Webb Capital.

Cavendish Asset Management, under the Cavendish Trust, successfully completed this model in England: acquiring the non-performing assets involving housing mortgage loans from banks (Standard Chartered Bank) at a suitable price, and then handing these properties over to Granger Property Leasing to renovate and rent them out, thereby earning stable rental income.

If the real estate industry can enter a stable upward phase, then the corresponding steady increase in rent can provide Cavendish Asset Management with long-term stable rental income.

Even after the leasing business is on the right track, it can even be “securitized,” that is, investors purchase the relevant creditor’s rights of these properties, and then use the obtained rent as a stable return on their investment.

In this way, Cavendish Asset Management can recover the funds invested in these properties—if it is in a general trend of rising house prices, they can also obtain additional property appreciation profits.

Because Barron knew that the English real estate industry would have a rising cycle of more than ten years after the subprime mortgage crisis, this model was very stable and profitable.

Similarly, France and Germany, as the two core countries of Continental Europe, are also in such a real estate recovery and rising cycle. Therefore, this model that has already “run through” in England can also be used in France and Germany.

In fact, Cavendish Asset Management had already purchased a considerable scale of “non-performing assets” from Natixis Bank, and expanded Granger Property Leasing’s business from England to France.

Next, they can continue this process, purchasing the real estate mortgage-related “non-performing assets” held by the original Commerzbank and its real estate bank Eurohypo, thereby digesting these “burdens” that are difficult to realize in the short term for Continental United Bank and revitalizing their assets.

Perhaps some people will ask, can’t banks like Continental United Bank, which have “non-performing assets” involving real estate mortgage loans, renovate these properties and rent them out themselves?

Of course, it is also possible to do so, but if the bank does this, it will involve the real estate leasing business outside of their main financial business, and they will inevitably need to spend extra energy and funds to operate it.

These certainly cannot be done as well as a professional company like Granger Property Leasing, which already has successful experience and has summarized a complete process.

Moreover, in terms of securitizing these real estate leasing businesses, companies like Cavendish Asset Management, which already have successful cases and have long-term operating performance, are far more trustworthy to investors than those banks that are eager to deal with non-performing assets generated by blind mortgage loans.

Therefore, it is not that no other banks have tried to cooperate with other companies to do this, but the final result is far from reaching the effect of Cavendish Asset Management.

It is also because of Barron’s confidence in Cavendish Asset Management’s operating procedures that he can give Continental United Bank’s management a price for those non-performing assets that other companies find difficult to give and that satisfies them.

It can be said that in this regard, from the initial Standard Chartered Bank to the current Continental United Bank, Cavendish Asset Management is really helping them solve non-performing assets, and its profits are more aimed at the recovery of the entire real estate market, rather than excessively suppressing the price of these assets and the “price difference” between them and the market price.

…

Next, as expected, it did not exceed Barron and Daisy’s expectations.

On September 13th, in order to stimulate economic recovery and job growth, the Federal Reserve announced the launch of the third round of quantitative easing (QE3)!

They decided to buy $40 billion of mortgage-backed securities (MBS) per month, but did not specify the total purchase size and execution period.

At the same time, the Federal Reserve will continue to implement the “Operation Twist” of selling short-term Treasury bonds and buying long-term Treasury bonds, and continue to reinvest the principal of maturing agency bonds and agency mortgage-backed securities.

In other words, the Federal Reserve did not set a deadline for this asset purchase plan, which can be called “unlimited” monetary easing.

In addition, the Federal Reserve decided to continue to keep the federal funds rate in the ultra-low range of zero to 0.25%, and plans to maintain this level at least until mid-2015.

The Federal Reserve said in a statement that the U.S. economy continued to grow moderately after the subprime mortgage crisis, but job growth was slow and the unemployment rate remained high. Although some key commodity prices have risen, overall inflationary pressures are moderate and long-term inflation expectations are stable.

The Federal Reserve said it will closely monitor economic and financial data in the coming months, and if the outlook for the job market does not improve significantly, the Federal Reserve will consider taking more asset purchase actions and making reasonable use of other policy tools.

And Barron knew that the Federal Reserve’s third round of quantitative easing did not end there, just as the Federal Reserve said in its statement, it would decide whether to take further measures based on economic and financial data in the coming months.

When Barron was in his previous life, by December of the end of the year, the Federal Reserve decided to further expand QE3. After the “Operation Twist” expired at the end of the year, in addition to continuing to purchase $40 billion of MBS per month, it would also purchase an additional approximately $45 billion of long-term Treasury bonds to replace the “Operation Twist.” The monthly purchase amount reached $85 billion, and this purchase plan also had no deadline!

In addition, the Federal Reserve also decided that it would continue to keep the federal funds rate at 0-0.25% if the unemployment rate was higher than 6.5% and the expected inflation level in the next one to two years was no higher than 2.5%. This was the first time the Federal Reserve linked the setting of interest rates to the unemployment rate.

Chapter 870: Global Easing

In fact, before the Federal Reserve launched the third round of quantitative easing, many countries had already begun cutting interest rates. Last year, seeing hope for economic recovery, many countries began raising interest rates, but the subsequent round of economic recession forced them to choose to cut rates again.

For example, earlier this year, in early June, the People’s Bank of China announced a 25 basis point cut in the benchmark interest rates for Hua currency deposits and loans at financial institutions.

This was the first interest rate cut by the central bank since December 2008.

Then, on July 6, less than a month later, the central bank announced another 25 basis point interest rate cut.

Earlier, in February and May, the central bank had twice lowered the deposit reserve ratio by 0.5 percentage points each time.

Coincidentally, the South Korean central bank’s announcement of an interest rate cut after three and a half years also surprised the market.

On July 12, the South Korean central bank announced a 25 basis point cut in the benchmark interest rate to 3.0%, the first time South Korea had lowered the benchmark interest rate since February 2009.

This was just the beginning, and it was very likely that the South Korean central bank would announce another interest rate cut next month.

On the European side, the European debt crisis had not been effectively resolved for a long time. To avoid further recession in the European economy, the European Central Bank also used all its means.

On July 5, they announced a 25 basis point cut in the refinancing rate to a historic low of 0.75%. This was the third interest rate cut since European Central Bank President Draghi took office in November last year.

Since then, the European Central Bank has maintained this ultra-low interest rate and announced the launch of a new bond buying program in September—Outright Monetary Transactions (OMT), also known as an unlimited sterilized bond buying program, but with strict bond buying conditions. It would comprehensively consider factors such as interest rates, interest rate spreads, liquidity, and volatility to determine whether to buy bonds, and would announce the details of bond purchases every month.

At the same time, the OMT program would be implemented in cooperation with the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF) and the European Stability Mechanism (ESM), with purchases mainly targeting Eurozone government bonds with a maturity of less than three years.

With the European Central Bank being so open, other European countries also began to follow suit.

On July 5, the Danish central bank followed the European Central Bank’s interest rate cut measures and lowered its benchmark lending rate by 25 basis points to 0.2%, and even lowered the deposit certificate rate from 0.05% to -0.2% for the first time, marking the first negative deposit interest rate in history.

They said this was to ensure the stability of the Danish krone against the euro.

Although the wealthy Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank were both implementing unlimited bond buying programs, they were, after all, proceeding step by step and advancing month by month. The Japanese central bank and the Bank of England were prescribing strong medicine to the economy, with round after round of quantitative easing.

The originator of QE—the Japanese central bank—also played its best card to the fullest this year.

In 2012, the Japanese central bank would ease monetary policy five times, expanding its asset purchase scale from 55 trillion yen in February to 101 trillion yen in December (approximately 1.2 trillion US dollars).

To date, the Japanese central bank has implemented QE 11 times.

Not only that, with the further recession of the Japanese economy, the pressure on the Japanese central bank to cut interest rates further increased after the new Prime Minister Abe took office.

Abe said he hoped the Japanese central bank would continue to lower interest rates or even reach negative interest rates to stimulate Japan’s economic development.

The market expects the Japanese central bank to raise its inflation target to 2%, and may cut interest rates as early as January next year.

The Bank of England’s QE was also reckless. To stimulate economic growth, the Bank of England expanded its QE scale twice this year (mainly buying government bonds), adding 50 billion pounds each time, with a current total of 375 billion pounds (approximately 600 billion US dollars).

In addition, the Bank of England has maintained an ultra-low interest rate of 0.5% since 2009.

It must be said that with the implementation of the third round of quantitative easing in the United States, impacted by the ever-increasing US dollars, and the still unfavorable global economic situation, most countries in the world had no choice but to enter the interest rate cut channel together.

By the end of 2012, among the major countries in the world, more than 22 central banks had adopted relatively direct monetary easing policies such as bond purchases or interest rate cuts to stimulate economic growth, and some countries had taken measures such as lowering the reserve requirement ratio.

Therefore, from this time on, the era of global flooding had already begun to arrive…

…

“Mr. Ma, we are willing to financially support Alibaba’s repurchase of Yahoo’s shares. You know, His Grace the Duke has always believed that Alibaba can only have promising development prospects under your leadership, so our support for you is unwavering.”

“Thank you, Ms. Wang. I also spoke with His Grace the Duke on the phone yesterday. Next, we will come up with a feasible plan.”

Mr. Ma was meeting with the extremely elegant Chinese beauty in front of him at Alibaba’s headquarters.

Facing her, Mr. Ma still maintained a very correct attitude. After all, this Ms. Laura is not only currently responsible for the affairs of the Cavendish Trust Fund, but also served as the British Duke’s personal assistant for many years before that. From this, it can be seen that she is definitely one of the most trusted people by the other party.

In fact, as early as nearly ten years ago, Mr. Ma had already met Laura. When Barron first came to China and met with Mr. Ma, Laura accompanied him as a personal assistant.

It’s just that over the years, whether it was Barron, Mr. Ma, or Laura, their status and position have undergone earth-shaking changes compared to that time.

And what Laura mentioned in her conversation with Mr. Ma just now was about Mr. Ma’s plan to conduct a share repurchase in order to take back the Alibaba shares held by Yahoo…

At this time, Alibaba had completed its delisting from the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

In 2007, Alibaba’s B2B business was listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, raising 1.5 billion US dollars, with an issue price of 13.5 Hong Kong dollars. The closing price on the first day was 39.5 Hong Kong dollars, an increase of 193%.

However, in the subsequent short five years, Alibaba experienced a series of storms intensively, including the financial crisis, the shrinking of the B2B business, and the fallout with investors, including Yahoo, due to the spin-off of the Alipay business. The stock price even fell to a low of 3.46 Hong Kong dollars.

Then, on February 21 of this year, Alibaba proposed a privatization offer to repurchase the 26.5% of Alibaba’s B2B business shares that it did not already hold at a price of 13.5 Hong Kong dollars per share.

Just like what was said earlier, the issue price of Alibaba’s IPO listing on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and the price of this privatization repurchase were both 13.5 Hong Kong dollars per share, which is equivalent to Alibaba using the 1.5 billion US dollars of funds raised from the listing on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange for five years without paying a penny of interest.

It can be said that this operation deserves a “well done” at the very least…

On June 20 of this year, Alibaba officially delisted from the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. This privatization of Alibaba cost nearly 19 billion Hong Kong dollars, using external financing and its own cash holdings to complete.

In Barron’s previous life, the outside world generally believed that one of the motivations for the privatization and delisting of Alibaba’s B2B company was to get rid of Yahoo. At the same time, it was also one of Alibaba’s strategic transformation and upgrading measures to pave the way for a future overall listing.

But in this timeline, because the major shareholder of Alibaba has become Barron’s faction—he holds nearly 40% of Alibaba’s shares through DS Holdings (Cavendish Trust Fund) and Rich23 Capital.

And Yahoo’s current shareholding in Alibaba is only 9.9%…

The key is that Barron has always been very supportive of Mr. Ma, and has always handed over the voting rights of the shares he holds to Mr. Ma. Even in the matter of the Alipay business spin-off, the two parties agreed after friendly consultation to compensate him with shares in the future payment business at an appropriate time.

This is a huge difference from the “tough” style of Yahoo in the previous life, which led to Mr. Ma needing to painstakingly recover its shares.

Therefore, when the relationship between Mr. Ma and Yahoo gradually became sharp, with the support of Barron’s major shareholder, Alibaba’s repurchase of its shares did not need to be as drastic as in the original timeline.

On the other hand, for Yahoo, it was not so resistant to Alibaba’s repurchase of its shares this time.

Chapter 871: Stock Repurchase

Alibaba offered $3.8 billion for the 9.9% stake held by Yahoo!

This included $3 billion in cash and $800 million worth of Alibaba Group preferred stock.

In addition, Alibaba would pay Yahoo! a one-time fee of $125 million in cash for technology and intellectual property licenses.

This fee was essentially Alibaba’s compensation to Yahoo! for the loss incurred by the Alipay spin-off.

For Yahoo!, this capital would help them better compete with Google and Woaw.

“Yahoo!’s core business is facing challenges, and the cash from this transaction will help the company address them.”

Baron’s think tank had analyzed it for him this way:

“In addition, Yahoo!’s sale of its Alibaba shares is a partial realization of investment gains over the years. This deal will appease Yahoo!’s shareholders, motivate employees, and give the newly appointed CEO a win-win start.”

Yes, Yahoo! had changed CEOs again…

Since Jerry Yang stepped down as Yahoo!’s CEO, the company had been through a revolving door of CEOs over the past four years.

The longest-serving of these was Carol Bartz, the “Iron Lady” who succeeded Yang, and she was only four days away from reaching 1,000 days in office.

Of course, Alibaba’s Jack Ma’s relationship with Yahoo! began to sour after Carol Bartz took office as CEO…

After Carol Bartz, Yahoo!’s CEOs included Tim Morse, Scott Thompson, and Ross Levinsohn…

The longest tenure among them was only four months.

In July of this year, Yahoo! officially appointed Marissa Mayer, former Vice President of Google, as the company’s new CEO – another strong-willed female CEO, but in Baron’s impression, her performance at Yahoo! was quite commendable.

Speaking of which, Jack Ma wasn’t without the idea of repurchasing Baron’s shares in Alibaba. After all, although his relationship with Yahoo! was currently more strained…

Unlike the original timeline, Yahoo! now only held 9.9% of Alibaba’s shares. Even if their relationship was terrible, they could only create minor troubles for Jack Ma in managing Alibaba, and they couldn’t threaten his control of the company.

On Baron’s side, DS Holdings (Cavendish Trust) held 12.66% of Alibaba’s shares, and Rich23 Capital held 26.79% of Alibaba’s shares…

Combined, these two parties controlled a staggering 39.45% of Alibaba’s shares, far higher than the 31.66% held by Jack Ma and his team…

However, unlike Yahoo! in the original timeline, Baron had always, through agreements, delegated the voting rights of his shares to Jack Ma without harming his own interests. Among Alibaba’s investors, he was the most supportive of Jack Ma – unlike Yahoo! in the original timeline, which delegated some voting rights to Jack Ma but stipulated a time limit, and only when the time limit was about to expire did Jack Ma decisively repurchase Yahoo!’s shares.

Moreover, Baron had promised Jack Ma that within one year after Alibaba’s overall IPO, he would reduce some of his Alibaba shares so that the total shareholding would be below that of Jack Ma and his team, which further reassured Jack Ma.

In Jack Ma’s view, Baron was unwilling to have Alibaba repurchase the shares now in order to sell them at a higher price after the IPO, and naturally he didn’t want these things to affect their cooperative relationship.

Furthermore, for this Alibaba share repurchase from Yahoo!, Cavendish Trust and Standard Chartered Bank provided financing. Of the $3 billion in cash to be paid to Yahoo!, $1.5 billion came from a loan from Standard Chartered Bank, and another $500 million came from Alibaba preferred shares purchased by Cavendish Trust.

It was this kind of support that made Jack Ma very grateful to Baron.

This time, Laura returned to Hangzhou not only to discuss cooperation with Jack Ma on behalf of the Cavendish Trust Fund, but also to take her child back to Hangzhou to see his maternal grandparents.

Laura and Baron’s child, Eden Cavendish, was now four years old. This wasn’t Eden’s first time back in Hangzhou, but the last time Laura brought him to see Eden’s maternal grandparents, he was less than a year old, so he had no memory of it.

With half Chinese blood, Baron and Laura both hoped that Eden could learn more about China. Therefore, they occasionally took him back to China when they had time, especially to Hangzhou, the place where Laura was born and raised, which was also what they hoped for – moreover, Laura’s parents had visited her in London twice, but they were not used to living in London for a long time, so they returned to Hangzhou. Returning here was also because they missed their grandson very much.

Fortunately, it was before the National Day holiday, and the number of tourists in Hangzhou was not yet as exaggerated – just like when he accompanied Baron on his “first” visit to Hangzhou, it was during the National Day holiday, and he witnessed the overcrowded scene at West Lake…

…

“Oh my god, I can’t believe he did such shameless things…”

When Tamaran Ecclestone sat down at the dining table and picked up today’s newspaper placed on the table by the maid, she exclaimed upon seeing the front-page report:

“I remember I used to love watching his shows when I was a kid, this is terrible!”

“It’s normal that you don’t know, after all, many of these things happened before the 1990s…”

What they were talking about was the bombshell… scandal on the front pages of many newspapers today – the sex scandal of BBC’s famous host Jimmy Savile.

Speaking of Jimmy Savile, he was a very well-known figure in England – he was a household name and a popular host in the 1960s and 1980s, a leading star in the British broadcasting industry.

Jimmy Savile was also a keen philanthropist, often calling for donations for disabled children. He had a charitable foundation named after himself, and it was said that he raised as much as 40 million pounds for various charitable foundations in his lifetime, and 90% of his lifetime income was donated.

Moreover, Jimmy Savile was also a friend of the British Royal Family and successive Prime Ministers. Jimmy was awarded a knighthood by the Queen in 1990 for his outstanding contributions to the charitable field.

Jimmy was also a good friend of Margaret Thatcher. It is said that during Thatcher’s time as Prime Minister, he appeared in her home 13 times in a row, kicked off his shoes, sat in front of the fireplace, and watched Christmas programs with Thatcher.

Last October 29, Savile died at the age of 85. At that time, Prince Charles and his wife Camilla also expressed their condolences to him.

But less than a year after his death, before the halo had faded, the hideous and ugly side of his life was exposed.

Chapter 872: Shocking Scandal

According to media reports, the British Royal Prosecution Service received four accusations against Jimmy Savile in 2009, all of which were sexual assault cases that occurred in the 1970s.

However, the Royal Prosecution Service did not prosecute Savile at the time, giving the reason that the victims were “unwilling to cooperate with the police investigation.”

Other reports pointed out that last November, the BBC’s flagship investigative program “Newsnight” produced an investigative program targeting Savile, but it was not broadcast due to pressure from higher-ups.

Therefore, within the BBC, they were not ignorant of Jimmy Savile’s affairs, but were very clear about the seriousness of the matter and tried to shield the other party’s crimes.

According to current investigations, Jimmy Savile is suspected of sexually assaulting underage girls for 40 years, and the number of victims may be as high as dozens.

The British “Daily Mail” reported that, starting two weeks ago, more than 10 victims have come forward to identify Jimmy Savile as having sexually assaulted multiple women, including underage girls.

All of this happened when his career was at its peak.

Faced with a media celebrity they could not shake, many victimized girls ultimately chose to remain silent.

However, Barron knew that what has been revealed now is only the tip of the iceberg of Jimmy Savile’s crimes. In his previous life, by the end of 2013, with the deepening of the investigation, the task force led by the London Metropolitan Police stated that the number of victims of alleged sexual assault by the late BBC host Savile had reached 450.

Eighty-two percent of the victims were female, and 80% of them were teenagers or children at the time of the incidents.

It can be said that this scandal has plunged the BBC into the most serious crisis of confidence since its establishment in 1922.

The British Broadcasting Corporation BBC, where Savile worked during his lifetime, is now surrounded by anger—public opinion questions whether this “world’s largest public broadcasting organization” not only condoned wrongdoing, but also tried to cover up this shocking scandal.

There are also accusations that the wrongdoing was not limited to Savile, and a “culture of sexual assault” was spread within the BBC.

Under pressure from all walks of life and victim testimony, the police have launched a criminal investigation—the police have contacted 40 potential victims of Savile through 340 clues, and have formally recorded 12 charges of sexual assault, and it is expected that more victims will come forward to testify.

After Savile’s crimes were widely reported by the media, they affected the entire British Isles. Police in Greater Manchester, Lancashire, North Yorkshire, and the Tayside administrative region received reports, and 14 local police stations assisted the London police in conducting investigations.

The earliest case occurred in 1959, and the latest was in 2006, which means that his crimes lasted for 40 years, and the number of cases involved has set a British historical record.

Regarding such a shocking scandal that shocked the entire British Isles, and even the world, British Prime Minister Cameron also stated in Parliament that the British Royal Prosecution Service has launched an emergency investigation to verify the reasons for the termination of the investigation into the Savile case in 2009.

Cameron also said that the BBC should “take a correct view and properly investigate” this “truly shocking” case.

British Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said that he did not understand why this matter had been hidden for so long, and he believed that there must be many people in the BBC or the police station who knew about it.

“The only explanation I can think of is the dark side of ‘celebrity culture,’ or even the dark side of ‘celebrity worship.’”

It can be said that facing this scandal has also made the royal family, including the Crown Prince, quite embarrassed, after all, before this, their relationship with Jimmy Savile was relatively close.

It is said that Cameron and the royal family are already discussing stripping Jimmy Savile of the knighthood he was granted…

These things have nothing to do with Barron, after all, he himself has a relatively deep impression of the scandals that happened to this British celebrity later, so he has never had any contact with him.

As for using the media he controls to expose the other party’s actions in advance?

What good would that do for him? The things Jimmy Savile committed mostly happened before he came here. Even if he didn’t care about offending people, he couldn’t change much.

What’s more, to put it bluntly, this kind of thing is basically common in the upper echelons of Europe and the United States. It’s not something that can be solved by exposing just one Jimmy Savile.

There are countless such things, including Lolita Island, Puff Daddy, and many more that have not yet been exposed.

Barron is not a person with moral purity. As long as his interests are not violated, then he is too lazy to take the initiative to manage this kind of thing—besides, those meddlesome people with moral purity will also be “out of place” with the European and American dignitaries.

…

“The HUM-1 drone we launched has received very good feedback after its release, and currently has sales of more than 10,000 units…”

“This product is not bad, I have also tried it, and the operation is not that complicated, it can be regarded as qualified as an entry-level drone.”

Barron was talking to his personal assistant, Talulah, about Aerospace Precision, a startup drone company invested by Caesar Foundation’s Digital Future Investment Company, which just launched its first drone, the HUM-1, in June of this year and began selling it on July 15.

As early as last year, Digital Future Investment Company acquired a local British drone team and formed Aerospace Precision. In the early stages, the company focused its main energy on the research and development of drone flight control.

What they are aiming at is the consumer-grade rotor drone field. For example, DJI, a Chinese company invested by Rich23 Capital, has very good technical accumulation in flight control.

Aerospace Precision has also studied the other party’s flight control technology.

At the end of last year, Digital Future helped Aerospace Precision acquire the drone business of French company Parrot.

Parrot was founded in 1994 and is located in Paris, France. It was originally a manufacturer of wireless products for in-vehicle infotainment systems.

In January 2010, Parrot launched the first truly consumer-grade drone, the Parrot AR Drone, which received great attention as soon as it was launched.

The Parrot AR Drone is characterized by its lightness, ease of learning, and strong entertainment value—it can be controlled via smartphone or tablet.

What is even more surprising to players is that two or more AR Drones can simulate air combat games, making it completely different from ordinary model remote control airplanes, and players only need to download relevant software from the Apple App Store.

After that, Parrot successively launched subsequent models.

The AR.Drone 2.0 is equipped with a 5-megapixel camera, as well as ultrasonic sensors and pressure sensors, which can perform automatic flight and even perform difficult actions such as rolls. It can be said that in terms of flight control, there has been a great improvement compared to their previous generation products.

This is also the main reason why Aerospace Precision decided to acquire Parrot’s drone business—after all, Barron knew that in the original timeline, by 2015, due to the outstanding performance of the drone business, Parrot would spin off their in-vehicle business and become a true drone company, and later become one of the world’s top three drone brands after DJI.

Chapter 873: Hummingbird HUM

After combining Parrot’s extensive experience in drones, Aerospace Precision finally launched their first drone product, the HUM-1, in June of this year.

HUM is short for Hummingbird. This HUM-1 drone has foldable quad-rotors and is easy to control and carry, making it a consumer drone very suitable for family use.

The HUM-1 is priced at only 2,000 euros, which can be said to be relatively cheap in the current drone market. At the same time, Aerospace Precision also provides a variety of professional accessories for their drone products, including camera components and gimbals.

Because shortly after the HUM-1 went on sale, the London Olympics kicked off, and tourists from all over the world tried out the drone’s good handling in Aerospace Precision’s experience store in London, which also made Aerospace Precision’s product a hit.

So far, Aerospace Precision has received orders for more than 10,000 units, and they are still increasing.

Aerospace Precision’s research and development center is located in London’s Tech City, but in order to control costs, their production plant is located in Shenzhen, China, after all, it has more cost-effective skilled workers and a more complete related industrial chain.

As early as a long time ago, Baron’s industries, including Puma Electronics and Argos Retail Group, had already begun to establish a production and supply system in China. This experience is enough to help Aerospace Precision complete the establishment of production plants and related production processes in China in the shortest possible time.

And with the success of Aerospace Precision’s first drone product, the HUM-1, they plan to launch more models of drones in the future and expand their production scale in China.

It is expected that by the end of this year or early next year, they will launch the upgraded version of the HUM-1, the HUM-1 Pro, which will upgrade its configuration and flight control system.

In addition, as the name suggests, HUM (Hummingbird) is Aerospace Precision’s entry-level drone product model for families and non-professional groups, focusing on easy operation and portability.

In addition to this, Aerospace Precision is also developing the Griffin series of drones, which will be launched soon. It will be a larger and more professional drone than the HUM series.

Of course, it will also be more expensive.

Just as Baron said, when the HUM-1 was first launched, he had tried the product. Although the user experience was much inferior to the DJI drones he had played with in his previous life, at this time when consumer-grade drones were just starting out, the HUM’s performance was still good.

Moreover, his children also liked this “toy” very much. Baron prepared several of them as gifts for them, and they loved them to bits.

…

“Welcome to Germany for investment, Your Grace…”

Merkel said to Baron with a smile:

“I hope that Germany and Britain can have more economic exchanges, and thank you for your mediation in last year’s EU summit.”

“I believe that Europe is a whole. Britain needs Europe, and Europe also needs Britain. However, due to many complex situations, Britain will have concerns when dealing with related matters. I believe you will understand many of the hidden reasons…”

Baron said meaningfully:

“However, with the establishment of the European Financial Stability Mechanism, I believe that the Eurozone has passed the most difficult time, and the European economy will usher in recovery. I have great confidence in this, and I will increase investment in the entire Europe…”

This time Baron came to Germany, in addition to the Cavendish Trust’s asset management company signing an agreement with Continental United Bank to purchase its 5 billion euro worth of mortgage properties and other assets located in Germany, and will renovate these properties and increase domestic housing rental business in Germany…

It was also a special trip to meet with German Chancellor Merkel - Merkel had just attended the Eurozone finance ministers meeting held in Luxembourg, near Germany.

It was also at this meeting that the 500 billion euro European Stability Mechanism (ESM), a permanent European aid fund, was officially launched to enhance Europe’s ability to cope with the sovereign debt crisis.

Baron knew that with the launch of the European Stability Mechanism, Europe would also pass the most difficult period of the European debt crisis and officially enter the economic recovery period.

It can be said that from the outbreak of the European debt crisis in 2010 to 2012, the European economy has been in a cycle of contraction and recession - the Eurozone’s economic growth rates in 2010 and 2011 were 2.2% and 1.6% respectively, but in 2012 it fell to -0.7%!

The Eurozone’s unemployment rate also reached 11.4% this year, which means that as many as 18 million people are unemployed within the Eurozone!

From next year, the Eurozone’s economic growth will finally come out of negative values and gradually increase, entering into recovery.

In fact, after the outbreak of the European debt crisis, since heavily indebted countries were unable to raise funds from the capital market under financially sustainable conditions, the EU had already established the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF) in May 2010 as a temporary crisis rescue mechanism.

The European Financial Stability Facility is responsible for raising funds from the financial market and providing temporary loans to Eurozone member states in crisis.

However, the European Financial Stability Facility is a temporary measure and will end in mid-2013.

Therefore, since last year, the EU has begun to discuss the establishment of a long-term similar stability fund, and finally in September of this year, the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) was formally established, as a permanent institution to replace the expiring European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF) from July 2013, providing financial assistance and stability support to countries seeking assistance under strict conditions.

On October 8, the Eurozone finance ministers meeting was held in Luxembourg. At this meeting, the 500 billion euro European Stability Mechanism (ESM), a permanent European aid fund, was officially launched.

According to relevant regulations, the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) funds are divided into two parts, namely 80 billion euros of paid-in capital and 620 billion euros of callable capital, totaling 700 billion euros (including capital buffers that cannot be used for lending).

The first batch of 32 billion euros of paid-in capital was already in place in October 2012, which will enable the ESM to immediately obtain approximately 200 billion euros of financing capacity; the remaining paid-in capital will be in place in two installments by the first half of 2014, at which time the institution’s lending capacity will reach the upper limit of 500 billion euros.

It is worth mentioning that Germany still plays an important role in the “European Stability Mechanism” - the ESM’s fund pool is subscribed by Eurozone member states according to the amount of each country’s gross domestic product, so the top three countries in terms of contribution are Germany, France and Italy, their subscribed amounts will exceed 100 billion euros, and Germany’s subscribed amount will be as high as 27% of the total fund pool.

According to regulations, the voting rights for each decision of the European Stability Mechanism are linked to the subscribed amount of each country, which means that Germany alone can veto any decision of the fund’s board of directors.

Chapter 874: Isolated

As for Merkel mentioning Baron’s mediation at the EU summit at the end of last year, she was referring to the EU summit held in December of the previous year. At that time, Britain vetoed the signing of a new treaty and refused to contribute to the International Monetary Fund to save some European countries in crisis.

According to the plan of the EU summit at that time, Britain needed to inject about 30 billion euros into the International Monetary Fund, an amount second only to Germany and basically the same as France…

And at this EU summit, they were preparing to pass a revised EU fiscal treaty, requiring EU member states to strengthen fiscal discipline.

Its content included stipulating that the annual structural deficit of contracting states should not exceed 0.5% of GDP and enshrining this in the laws of each country; initiating an automatic sanction mechanism for countries whose deficit-to-GDP ratio exceeds 3%; and ensuring that debt-to-GDP ratio does not exceed 60%.

However, British Prime Minister Cameron, who attended the summit, said that the new EU treaty harmed British interests. In the end, he used Britain’s veto power and vetoed the signing of the new treaty.

And Cameron also refused the request for Britain to contribute to the International Monetary Fund, claiming:

“Britain will not pay so much money for the Eurozone; it is not in Britain’s interest!”

In fact, at this EU summit, the EU’s plan was a capital increase plan of 200 billion euros, but because of Britain’s expression of non-participation, non-Eurozone countries in the EU, including Denmark, Poland, the Czech Republic, and Sweden, also took the opportunity to avoid participating in the Eurozone’s capital increase proposal.

This led to only the Eurozone countries reaching an agreement to increase capital by 150 billion euros.

In fact, the governments of other non-Eurozone EU countries also had doubts about this capital increase plan.

For example, the possibility of additional contributions to the International Monetary Fund sparked fierce debate in the Czech Republic. Opponents argued that the Eurozone’s proposal for the Czech Republic to contribute 3.5 billion euros to the IMF was more than 10% of the country’s foreign exchange reserves.

It should also be pointed out that at the EU summit at the end of last year, the biggest supporters of this 200 billion euro capital increase plan for the International Monetary Fund were France and Germany—the French president at the time was still Sarkozy, who worked closely with Merkel to achieve this plan to save the euro.

It can be said that the two did a lot of work targeting Britain at that time, but Cameron ultimately insisted on rejecting these proposals—the consequence was that when France and Germany were doing their best to save the European debt crisis and save the euro, Cameron was “singing a different tune,” which caused resentment from many EU countries, making Britain somewhat isolated in the EU.

After all, Cameron had been asking the EU to solve the Eurozone’s debt problem, but he always refused to provide any help…

At the time, after Cameron rejected these requests at the EU summit, he not only dissatisfied other EU countries, but also received widespread criticism at home after returning to Britain.

Not only did the opposition Labour Party say that Cameron’s “unprecedented use of the veto to prevent the Eurozone from responding to the debt crisis” at the EU summit would isolate Britain from the rest of Europe and cause great economic losses.

Even Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg, who had always been a supporter of Cameron, publicly admitted that he was very disappointed by this move.

Clegg said: Britain’s distancing from the EU meant that “Britain, leaving the EU, would be considered irrelevant by Washington and seen as the most insignificant country in the world!”

No wonder Clegg had such an attitude, because the current British government is a coalition government of the Conservative Party and the Liberal Democrats, and Nick Clegg belongs to the Liberal Democrats.

The Liberal Democrats have always been a pro-European party in Britain, a party that prides itself on its pro-European tradition.

Many people believe that Cameron’s behavior may lead to the split of the current ruling coalition.

This time, Baron also rarely had a dispute with Cameron. Although he understood that Cameron’s statement at the EU summit was to make several demands related to financial services rules to the EU as a reward for Britain’s support, in order to guarantee the status of the London financial center.

However, the final use of the veto power, which made the EU’s new treaty impossible to reach, was very unwise.

According to EU law, only when all 27 EU countries agree can European-level institutions play a role in the affairs of a small number of member states.

Cameron’s rejection of the new treaty meant that the European Commission would not be able to govern the EU’s new fiscal union, and Eurozone member states could only sue each other when a country defaulted, rather than turn to the European Court of Justice.

In this way, it would be difficult for the Eurozone to establish a reliable fiscal union, even at the first hurdle.

What’s worse, Cameron was unwilling to agree to even this small amendment request, so it would probably be difficult to make further amendments to the treaty in the future to expand the role of the European Central Bank or issue Eurozone common bonds—although Britain had stated that these two routes, expanding the role of the central bank and Eurozone common bonds, were essential to ending the Eurozone crisis.

In fact, none of the amendment proposals posed a significant threat to British national interests, but Cameron used this as a threat to demand that the EU agree to the demands he made regarding financial services rules, otherwise he would veto the proposal, which was also very inappropriate.

After all, if the Eurozone collapses, it would be a disastrous consequence for London’s finance itself.

And this time, because of the 1:26 veto of policies that were closely related to saving the economies of Eurozone countries, Britain may find itself in a position of isolation when it needs the support of allies in matters related to new financial service regulations. This is far from beneficial to maintaining London’s status as a financial center.

Previously, Britain had been very successful in protecting its financial industry interests within the EU. Although it had been opposed by some countries, Britain had never been vetoed by other countries on financial services-related regulations.

And now this situation is likely to change.

In addition, Britain may find itself increasingly sidelined in broader EU discussions, which could eventually lead to Britain’s withdrawal—Baron certainly knew that this outcome was foreseeable, which was not only something he did not want to see, but also something Cameron did not want to see.

In fact, in his previous life, Britain would eventually go to a referendum on Brexit, and the vote would be successful. Many of the wrong choices in this European debt crisis had already laid the groundwork.

Of course, not spending money to participate in saving Eurozone countries can enable Britain to avoid “unnecessary” expenditures—but similarly, if you do not take on such responsibilities, then why should other countries open up more to you in terms of finance and markets?

It can be said that on this point, France and Germany, who put more effort into saving the euro, saw further than Britain. Their behavior was not just because they were in the Eurozone.

Chapter 875: The Helplessness of Reality

Since he didn’t want to see Britain gradually drift away from Europe as it had in his previous life, ultimately leading to Brexit, Barron began actively mediating between Germany, France, and Britain.

Cameron wasn’t necessarily unwilling to contribute to resolving the European debt crisis. He had previously stated that Britain could contribute 10 billion euros, but he preferred to do so within the framework of the G20, rather than through the IMF—of course, his remarks had also provoked dissatisfaction from the IMF Managing Director, former British Prime Minister Brown…

Moreover, upon returning home and facing criticism from both the Labour Party and within the coalition government, Cameron, while defending his position in Parliament, couldn’t help but feel some regret.

Therefore, Barron, who had good relations with both France and Germany and could also speak directly with Cameron, became the best candidate for mediation.

You should know that at the previous EU summit, Sarkozy and Cameron had actually quarreled directly. Sarkozy had bluntly told Cameron at the time:

“We’ve had enough of your criticism, enough of your lecturing. You say you hate the euro, you don’t want to join the Eurozone, but now you want to interfere in our meetings.”

Therefore, if the two sides were to face each other directly again, the likely outcome would still be an unhappy ending.

Finally, at the beginning of this year, under Barron’s strong “persuasion,” Cameron ultimately changed his attitude, expressing his willingness to shoulder Britain’s responsibility and contribute 30 billion euros to the International Monetary Fund. Driven by the change in Britain’s attitude, other non-Eurozone EU member states also successively agreed to their previously promised contribution shares.

However, on the EU side, France and Germany also made certain compromises to Britain, and at the EU summit in January 2012, they adjusted the previous “Fiscal Compact”…

The latest version of the Fiscal Compact stipulates that the annual structural deficit should not exceed 0.5% of GDP as the medium-term fiscal target for contracting states, but allows contracting states to “temporarily deviate from the medium-term target in the event of abnormal events beyond control that have a significant impact on the government’s financial situation, or during a severe economic recession as defined in the revised Stability and Growth Pact.”

At that EU summit, Cameron expressed satisfaction with the compromises finally made to the originally rigid EU Fiscal Compact.

In fact, during this process, Barron sometimes felt very powerless.

After all, even now, there wasn’t much he could do. Taking Britain as an example, whether it integrated into Europe or left the EU, there were both advantages and disadvantages.

For example, if Britain joined the Eurozone, it would lose its independent regulatory policy over its own currency, which would pose a huge challenge to both the British economy and the status of the London financial center.

And based on the current situation, it would also have to bear the burden of other countries like Greece and Ireland, which lacked economic competitiveness but needed to provide their citizens with extremely high levels of welfare.

But if it didn’t join the Eurozone, then in situations like the European debt crisis, it would still need to take out money to help those countries, just like at this EU summit, in order to maintain its influence in Europe.

The advantage is that it can gain access to the vast European market. After all, there are no tariff barriers within the EU, and the free movement of people within the Schengen Area is also very convenient. This allows British companies to have a greater advantage in the European market than Asian and North American companies, making the European market their “base.”

However, there is no perfect thing in the world. With advantages, it is natural to bear responsibilities, especially for “big guys” in the EU like Britain, France, and Germany, who also need to bear more EU expenses…

If Britain leaves the EU…

Then, as in Barron’s previous life, losing Europe would first be a very big blow to Britain’s domestic manufacturing industry.

In addition, leaving Europe would mean that Britain’s influence in Europe would gradually disappear. In this situation, Britain can only adjust its national strategy and turn to become a staunch ally of America’s global strategy—to put it bluntly, without Europe as its foundation, Britain can only obediently be America’s lapdog…

This is naturally not what Barron wants to see.

Ultimately, neither joining the EU nor leaving the EU would be comfortable for Britain. The reason is that the EU is too loosely organized.

To put it bluntly, the EU is just an economic organization and is still a long way from being a nation-state. Although the EU has a central bank, a parliament, a court, and other organizations.

But militarily, it is still dominated by NATO, and NATO, to put it bluntly, is controlled by America, the leading big brother, and is a vassal of America.

Among the European countries in NATO, the only one that has a little bit of autonomy in military affairs is France—this can be considered de Gaulle’s political legacy. At least there are no American troops stationed in France, and their military research and development has always been relatively independent.

As for the other two big guys, Germany… do they even have an army?

Britain?

“Britain is just America’s missile base…”

Within the EU, each country has its own agenda for its own interests and is not united at all.

This has led to the EU basically being unable to solve too many problems, and most of the time they are caught up in their own infighting—even bills jointly promoted by Britain, France, and Germany need to be repeatedly haggled over, and the final consensus is often a result that has been greatly discounted from the original bill…

What’s more, Europe is still constrained militarily by NATO, which is dominated by America…

This has led to the fact that in terms of economic size, Europe, China, and America may seem like a three-legged stool, but in fact, Europe simply cannot stand up to America. Even if the heads of state are openly wiretapped by America, they can only pretend not to know…

There are many people who see this point in Europe, but it is certainly extremely difficult to truly integrate Europe, especially with America constantly guarding against this and with each country maintaining its own self-serving intentions.

This is also what caused Ursula von der Leyen to later choose to fully lean towards America, relying on America to achieve her “European unification” and attempt to concentrate more European power in the EU.

It is precisely for this reason that Barron clearly understands that he alone can hardly change the current situation and can only try his best to protect his own interests.

And in order to protect Barron’s own interests, Britain needs to maintain its influence in Europe so that his industries can smoothly reach Europe and stabilize the European market.

As for the greatest hope for Europe in the future, it can only be hoped that it can hold on until there is a country that can pose a threat to America and ultimately lead to a decline in its global control—after that moment arrives, Europe may be able to break free from the shackles that America has placed on them and thus gain “autonomy.”

Chapter 876: Solar Power to the Home

It was also because after the European Union launched the European Stability Mechanism (ESM), Europe’s economy would bottom out and begin to recover, so the capital and companies controlled by Barron would continue to expand their investments in Europe.

This included Cavendish Asset Management entering the German property leasing market by acquiring non-performing assets related to property mortgages after the subprime crisis through the acquisition of Continental United Bank.

Furthermore, Argos Retail Group would continue to improve its sales network in Western Europe and extend its services across the entire continent.

Especially in countries where the economic situation wasn’t very good, such as Greece, Ireland, and Spain, Argos Retail Group was doing quite well.

After all, thanks to Argos’s increasingly complete supplier system in China and West Africa, many of their private-label products were very cost-effective in Europe.

Especially small appliances on Argos.com, because the holding company of Argos Retail Group was the controlling party of Supor, this Chinese company received comprehensive support in terms of technology, capital, and sales channels, and developed extremely rapidly.

Initially, Supor’s small appliances were sold in the European market under the name of Argos’s private label. Now, their Supor (SUPOR) brand has also gained considerable recognition in Europe, and sales are increasing year by year.

Not only did they enter the European market through Argos Retail Group, but Supor’s small appliances were also popular in Africa, especially West Africa.

As everyone knows, the biggest obstacle affecting the popularization of electrical appliances in Africa is not their low income, but the deployment of electricity facilities in many regions.

After all, even with low income, there can be choices for cheap appliances, but without electricity, even if you buy appliances, they can only be used as decorations.

China also achieved universal electricity access after achieving electricity access in every township in 1987, and then successfully solving the problem of the last unelectrified household in 2006.

Even South Africa, the country with the highest electricity generation in Africa, still had 3 million people without electricity in 2011, and this was in a so-called “developed country.”

And in the original timeline, until 2020, the population with electricity access in the entire Africa only accounted for 10%…

Even in Koloh, which is known as the “Kuwait of West Africa” due to its possession of the best port in West Africa and abundant offshore oil and gas resources, the government has relatively ample funds and is continuously investing in infrastructure, but according to relevant statistics, more than 30% of households still do not have electricity.

The areas where these families live are relatively remote, and the economic benefits of establishing power plants and distribution networks there are extremely low.

For this reason, the West Africa Group cooperated with the Koloh government to implement the “Solar Power to the Home” program.

The West Africa Group and the Koloh Industrial Investment Fund jointly funded the establishment of the West Africa Electric Company. West Africa Electric cooperated with relevant Chinese enterprises to install solar panels and electricity storage systems for Koloh families without electricity at relatively low prices.

The reason why West Africa Electric can complete this work at a relatively low price is not only because the Koloh government will provide subsidies for the installation of solar power systems for each household…

But also because most of the solar panels installed by West Africa Electric come from China - they are “second-hand” solar panels dismantled and shipped from China.

From a very early time, China had already formulated policies to support the development of domestic photovoltaic power generation - initially, due to backward technology, the photovoltaic solar panels produced in China were slightly inferior to those in the West.

However, with the development of Chinese enterprises in this field, the scale of its photovoltaic industry is also growing rapidly, and its technology has gradually caught up with and surpassed the West, with costs decreasing and product updates accelerating.

In his previous life, Barron had seen data showing that in the ten years from 2007 to 2017, the cost of photovoltaic power generation in China decreased by more than 90%!

And from 2012, China’s new photovoltaic installed capacity has also ranked first in the world.

In this process, many of the initially used photovoltaic solar panels in China have begun to be replaced and upgraded, after all, there are now products with lower costs and higher conversion rates.

What West Africa Electric is doing is purchasing the solar panels that have been phased out from China at extremely low prices and transporting them to Koloh, and then installing them in those homes.

Although the conversion rate of these solar panels is much lower than that of current products, they can still generate solar power. The key is that as phased-out second-hand products, the price is extremely low - after all, the recycling technology of solar panels is not perfect now, so it is better to sell them at a low price.

In this process, West Africa Electric has cooperated with some Chinese companies, who help “recycle” solar panels in China, and then transport them to Koloh for installation and deployment by West Africa Electric.

Among the earliest companies to cooperate with West Africa Electric was Supor - they valued the vast untapped market in Africa.

It’s not that the people of Africa don’t have a demand for electrical equipment, it’s just that most families didn’t have electricity before…

Now, after West Africa Electric helps these families install photovoltaic power generation systems, it will be possible to sell some “cost-effective” Chinese electrical appliances and small appliances here.

After confirming that this operation could be successful, not only Supor, but many other Chinese companies also participated.

At the same time, West Africa Electric has also become one of the largest sales channels for Chinese household appliances in Koloh.

Moreover, not limited to Koloh, West Africa Electric, in cooperation with the Prosperous Earth Foundation, has begun to carry out this project of installing household photovoltaic power generation systems at relatively low prices in neighboring countries of Koloh, such as Ghana, Benin, and Burkina Faso, which are part of the “West African Free Trade Zone.”

This has made West Africa Electric the largest Chinese household appliance distributor in West Africa, bringing Chinese household appliances with extremely competitive prices to these families - this is somewhat similar to a version of the “Appliance Subsidy Program” in Africa.

In addition, the previous idea of building a nuclear power plant in Koloh has been temporarily shelved after evaluation.

Because although the power generation of a nuclear power plant is considerable, the investment is huge, and the maintenance after completion also has certain risks - especially after the Fukushima nuclear power plant leak in Japan last year, the world has begun to re-examine the safety of nuclear power plants, and nuclear power projects in many countries, including Nigeria and Britain, have begun to be re-evaluated.

More importantly, according to current technology, the cost of power generation from nuclear power plants is not low, far higher than that of traditional power plants - of course, compared to photovoltaic power generation, the cost of power generation from nuclear power plants still has an advantage.

However, with the reduction in the cost of photovoltaic power generation in recent years, it can be predicted that the time for the cost of photovoltaic power generation to fall below the cost of nuclear power is not long.

In that case, given Koloh’s latitude, its solar energy resources are also very rich, so it is better to switch to vigorously building photovoltaic power stations in the future - the United Energy Group itself has photovoltaic power generation research centers in Britain and Saudi Arabia, and already has some results that can be applied to this.

It is worth mentioning that the mainstream of global photovoltaic power generation is still silicon-based solar power generation technology, accounting for more than 80% of the total global photovoltaic power generation.

And the United Energy Group is currently mainly researching concentrated photovoltaic power generation.

Chapter 877: Return to the Asia-Pacific

High Concentrated Photo Voltaics (HCPV) technology differs slightly from silicon-based photovoltaics. This technology concentrates light from a certain area through a concentrating system onto a small area (focal spot). The solar cell only needs to be the size of the focal spot, which greatly reduces the amount of solar cells used. Under the same conditions, the higher the magnification, the smaller the required solar cell area.

This technology is developing rapidly in Europe and the United States due to its advantages such as high efficiency, low cost, and environmental protection.

However, with the cost of silicon-based solar panels dropping significantly after China’s entry into the market, the economic advantages of concentrated photovoltaics, which originally had a cost advantage, have become less obvious.

Moreover, concentrated photovoltaics have a disadvantage: although increasing the “mirrors” arranged on the ground, which increases the concentration ratio, can reduce the overall cost of concentrated photovoltaics.

However, there are limits to this increase. After all, the purpose of the mirrors is to focus sunlight on one point, so all the mirrors need a “sun-tracking system” to control them, to ensure that the light is always focused on one point as the sun’s position relative to the earth changes. Therefore, the more mirrors there are, that is, the higher the “concentration ratio,” the more complex the tracking system becomes…

For the above reasons, concentrated photovoltaic projects later became more competitive in areas with abundant sunshine resources. Therefore, many areas in the Middle East and Africa are most suitable for building concentrated photovoltaic projects.

This is why Saudi Arabia’s investment is more interested in research on concentrated photovoltaics.

Currently, United Energy Group plans to cooperate with Saudi Arabia’s VisionElectro next year to build a concentrated photovoltaic power station with an annual power generation of more than 500 megawatt-hours. Once completed, it will surpass SolFocus’s concentrated photovoltaic project in Bahrah, Saudi Arabia, and become Saudi Arabia’s largest photovoltaic power station.

After gaining experience from this project, United Energy Group will continue to cooperate with West African Power Group to build Africa’s largest concentrated photovoltaic power station in Kolo.

…

“Tonight, more than 200 years after a colony won its independence, we have come here and are constantly moving forward.

This is mainly because you firmly believe that this country can realize eternal hope and realize the dreams that immigrants dream of. We are a big family, and we struggle together as a country and a nation.

…

Whether you voted in person or by phone, whether you voted for me or for Romney, your voice has been heard by everyone, and you have made some changes to our country. I just spoke with Romney and congratulated him on his victory in this difficult and extraordinary battle…”

On November 4th, Obama defeated Republican candidate Romney in the American election and won re-election.

Later, he delivered his victory speech at the McCormick Place Convention Center in Chicago.

It can be said that at this time, the American election could still be wrapped in a warm cloak, and the contradictions between the red and blue states were not yet so sharp.

Moreover, the United States was still basically the most powerful country on the planet. Although it performed poorly in Iraq and Afghanistan, it could still be called a “beacon,” and it did not show the exhaustion that Barron saw when he was reborn.

At the same time, Obama’s re-election also meant that in the next term, he would continue to implement the American strategic adjustment he proposed earlier this year, namely the “Return to the Asia-Pacific” strategy.

As early as January 5th of this year, Obama issued a “New Defense Strategy,” abandoning the “two-front” strategy of winning two wars simultaneously in the Middle East and Asia, and proposed to shift the focus of the United States to the Asia-Pacific region—as everyone knows, the United States likes to set up a priority imaginary enemy for itself and contain it strategically.

During the Cold War, when the two powers were competing, its imaginary enemy was naturally the Soviet Union. After the disintegration of the Soviet Union, although the United States and Russia ostensibly had a honeymoon period, in essence, the United States’ imaginary enemy was still Russia, which inherited most of the Soviet Union’s legacy.

Now Obama’s “New Defense Strategy” naturally regards the Eastern power as their primary target for containment…

At the annual Shangri-La Dialogue that closed on June 3rd of this year, American Defense Secretary Panetta proposed the American “Asia-Pacific Rebalancing Strategy,” pointing out that the United States would transfer a batch of naval warships to the Asia-Pacific region before 2020, and at that time, 60% of American warships would be deployed in the Pacific.

Then in November, Obama visited Thailand, Myanmar, and Cambodia, choosing the Asia-Pacific region for his first visit after re-election, marking a new stage in the American “Asia-Pacific Rebalancing” strategy.

In addition, the Middle East was not peaceful either.

As early as March of this year, the most serious conflict in three years broke out between Israel and Hamas.

On November 14th, Israel launched a military operation called “Pillar of Defense” against the Gaza Strip. Hamas military leader Jabari was killed, causing more than 300 casualties to Palestine.

In retaliation, Hamas launched rocket attacks on Jerusalem and Tel Aviv—this was the first time that the Israeli capital Tel Aviv had been attacked in this way since the 1991 Gulf War.

This also gave Hamas more public support in Palestine, and later, the main Arab countries expressed their support for Hamas. Egypt came forward to mediate peace talks and facilitated a ceasefire between the two sides.

The United Arab Emirates and Jordan called on the international community to “no longer turn a blind eye to Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territory and hope that the international community will adopt the Arab Peace Initiative to establish a just peace in the Middle East.”

However, it is clear that this appeal will not have much effect. After all, Barron knew that until he was reborn in his previous life, the Israeli-Palestinian issue had not been resolved. Instead, with the support of the United States, Israel was increasingly pressing forward, even blatantly massacring Palestinian civilians in the Gaza Strip…

Just after the Israeli-Palestinian sides reached a ceasefire again, a charity called “Seeds of Hope” adopted 50 Palestinian orphans who had fled to Lebanon. These children were sent to Munger in Kolo.

Yes, the backer behind this adoption was Lamy.

These adopted Palestinian children will all enter Devonshire International School in Kolo Munger to study.

According to their wishes, some of the older boys will join Protector Military Services Company after 2-3 years of study and receive corresponding military training.

In fact, Protector Military Services Company itself has many employees from the Middle East—in the “illegal immigrant repatriation and resettlement areas” in Benin and Ghana, many refugees from the Middle East have been absorbed by Kolo and joined Protector Military Services Company.

After all, Protector Military Services Company has a lot of security work in Iraq, and having some employees who speak Arabic makes it easier for them to carry out business there.

Therefore, it would not seem too abrupt for these Palestinian orphans to join Protector Military Services Company in the future.

As for whether these people will choose to return to Palestine to continue the struggle in the future, or stay in Kolo, it is their own choice.

Chapter 878: Immense Scale

However, right at this moment, Barron arrived in Paris.

On November 25th, Ashley Webber gave birth to a baby boy in Paris, and they eventually named the child Victor Webber.

Well, it’s worth mentioning that Ashley initially favored the name Pène, but Barron vetoed it, because if it were Pène Webber… OMG!

After completing the acquisition of Commerzbank, Ashley finally settled down in Paris to recuperate and gave birth to the child.

Fortunately, Paris was not far from London, and Barron was able to spend some time there with them, mother and son.

Barron temporarily left Paris on December 10th.

“I wanted to stay with you longer, but this matter is very important. I’ll come back to see you after it’s done. It shouldn’t be more than a week…”

“I understand, darling. Don’t worry.”

The reason Barron needed to leave at this time was because he was going to China with Cameron.

In the original timeline, Cameron led a delegation to China in December of the following year, 2013.

However, due to some reasons, he brought this visit forward – one of the reasons being the pressure exerted by the United States on the London Stock Exchange’s LIBOR rate setting.

Of course, Barron’s influence was also behind this…

Especially chosen after Obama’s trip to Southeast Asia, at a time when the United States was proposing the “Asia-Pacific Rebalance” strategy, Cameron’s trip would signal increased cooperation with China and send a message to Washington – if Britain was pushed too hard, then Britain and the European Union still had other options, at least economically.

After all, although the United States had a “Asia-Pacific Rebalance” strategy in military and political terms at this time, it still had to cooperate with China to some extent economically, and had not yet reached the point of open hostility as it would later.

Before going to China, Cameron had already warmed up for the trip…

On December 3rd, Cameron visited the Victoria and Albert Museum in London to see a special exhibition of masterpieces of ancient Chinese painting.

Relying on the residual memories of art history he had learned in high school more than 30 years ago, Cameron praised Emperor Huizong of Song’s “Auspicious Cranes,” saying:

“This is hundreds of years earlier than Da Vinci’s work.”

He also met with British students learning Mandarin at 10 Downing Street, encouraging them to learn Chinese well…

In addition, he even opened a Weibo account and posted his first message:

“Hello friends in China, I am very happy to join Weibo. I look forward to visiting China soon!”

This Weibo account, named “British Prime Minister,” attracted more than 120,000 “fans” in just one day.

And because the account was not officially verified, that is, it didn’t have the “V” symbol, it was even once thought to be fake…

In fact, in the original timeline, one of the reasons why Cameron did not visit the East for the second time until 2013 was that relations between the two sides had reached a freezing point in 2012 due to a meeting.

In this timeline, Barron would naturally not allow such a thing to happen:

“Prime Minister, I hope you have thought it through. If you insist on meeting, then you will see some relevant and true reports in some newspapers and television programs the next day. I believe the British people will be very interested in these truths. I don’t think you want to put yourself in such an embarrassing situation.”

That’s why Barron sometimes looks down on these politicians so much. Britain is decaying like this, and instead of thinking about making more real gains, they are always doing these unnecessary things…

They purely want to have their cake and eat it too…

Therefore, Britain did not have to wait until a year later to start repairing relations with China.

…

On December 10th, Cameron’s special plane landed at Yanjing Airport, starting his visit to China.

Accompanying Cameron on this trip to China was a large business team of about 150 people, which exceeded the scale of his last visit and became the largest official delegation in British history.

Barron did not travel on the same plane as Cameron, but instead landed more discreetly on the Devonshire, and did not even appear in the welcoming crowd.

After all, this was Cameron’s visit, and he was too handsome to steal Cameron’s thunder.

However, Barron later received a special reception, and the atmosphere was very good. After all, the two sides had met in Jiangzhe a long time ago.

The reason he was so valued was that a considerable number of members of the British business delegation were connected to Barron.

Including more than ten heavyweight CEOs in the delegation, such as United Energy Group, O2 Telecom, SEM Group, LOMX Group, Argos Retail Group, Woaw Technology, Standard Chartered-Merrill Lynch Group, GHL Group, and British Automotive Group, could be called Barron’s “subordinates,” accounting for more than one-tenth of the delegation, which was quite a large scale.

Moreover, before this, his investment scale in China could be said to be the largest in the entire West.

And this time, the cooperation reached between the two sides, in which Barron’s industries were involved, would exceed 5 billion pounds, involving energy, communications, finance, media, automobiles, the Internet and other fields – in the original timeline, even just the 120 million pound healthcare agreement between the two sides was widely reported by the media…

More importantly, unlike many other foreign investors, Barron’s investment in China has always been very sincere, and he has always been regarded as an “old friend of the Chinese people,” so it is very normal for him to receive such attention.

“China’s development is obvious to all. More than ten years have passed since I first came to China. I can say that I have never seen any country with such a rapid rate of development. I believe that China will be the most important participant in the world, and no investor should miss this process. I am very fortunate and proud to have participated in China’s development and witnessed the Chinese people embarking on the road to the rejuvenation of this ancient and strong civilization…”

“Now China is no longer just the ‘world’s factory,’ but has also made breakthroughs and innovations in many technological fields. We help Chinese companies sell goods to Europe and the United States, from the initial clothing and shoes to the current home appliances, mobile phones, new energy batteries and other technological products. This also shows China’s progress in all aspects. Next, I will increase my investment in China, especially in some new energy, telecommunications, chip and artificial intelligence fields, and cooperate with Chinese technical experts, hoping to jointly lead global technological innovation…”

Chapter 879: Favorability UP

Cameron’s schedule was quite tight. After only staying in Yanjing for one day and holding important meetings, he then went to his next destination—Shanghai.

As China’s economic center, Cameron naturally came here to carry out the most important task of this trip. Well, in Chinese terms, it was “attracting investment.”

In Shanghai, Cameron met with many well-known figures in the Chinese business world, including Jack Ma of Alibaba. Cameron hoped that more British companies could sell their products on Alibaba’s Tmall platform.

During his trip to Shanghai, Cameron participated in many business events, calling the relationship with China an “indispensable” partnership.

However, Barron did not go to Shanghai with Cameron. After all, the purpose of his trip, in addition to continuing to deepen the relationship with China, was to show that “old friend” his firm belief in China’s prospects.

To be honest, although those European and American business tycoons often put on a “sincere and friendly” mask for the sake of the Chinese market when they come to China, lavishing praise, one can imagine what their attitude is like in front of the European and American media and governments after leaving China.

“Making money isn’t shameful…”

But Barron was different. He sincerely hoped that China could be revitalized—this was not because his previous life’s soul came from China, at least not the main reason.

The main reason was because of his current identity. To maintain the relative security of his industry, he needed to rely on the European market. However, to prevent the European market from being controlled by American Jewish capital, Europe needed to have a certain degree of autonomy. Therefore, the current situation of American dominance and hegemonic behavior had to be broken.

Only when China’s strength could restrain America could Barron feel relatively secure about his industry.

Also, because Barron came from China in his previous life, he did not have the preconceived prejudices against China that many Europeans and Americans have. Compared with America, China is more pragmatic. As long as investments in China don’t cause trouble, the Chinese are more willing to do business with you and make money, rather than grabbing your weaknesses to extort you like the Americans do…

…

“Your Grace, as a successful investor, we can see that you have invested in many successful companies, such as Woaw and Skype. I wonder how you choose the companies you invest in?”

“That’s a good question. I am very lucky that the companies I have invested in have generally operated well. Everyone has their own way of investing. In my opinion, the most important thing is to invest in areas with development prospects and choose the most powerful one among them. For example, I have invested in many Chinese companies, including Alibaba, Tencent, and Baidu, mainly because I am very optimistic about China’s development. The first time I came to China was ten years ago. At that time, I went to many cities in China, including Shenzhen, Shanghai, and Yanjing. What I saw and heard at that time gave me a great shock. At that time, I judged that this would be the fastest-growing and most potential place in the world. I couldn’t miss China’s development, so there was a series of investments later. Now, I am very grateful for my decision and still stick to my judgment.”

While Cameron went to Shanghai, Barron was invited to Yanda to give a speech.

The venue for his speech was packed with students and teachers from Yanda and even surrounding universities. The handsome face, elegant demeanor, and fluent Chinese of this young British duke, who was richer than a country and had a prominent background, left a deep impression on the audience.

During the question-and-answer session after the speech, everyone was very enthusiastic.

“Can you talk about why you are so optimistic about China’s development, Your Grace?”

“I personally like Chinese culture and Chinese food very much… China has a long and magnificent history of five thousand years. Among the world’s four ancient civilizations, only Chinese civilization has survived to this day and remains vibrant…”

Barron said seriously:

“I know that in the past hundred years or so, China has had a period of lagging behind Western civilization, but if we lengthen our perspective, in China’s five thousand years of history, it has been at the center of the world stage for almost all of the time. These hundred years or so are just a blink of an eye compared to China’s history. Napoleon called China the sleeping lion of the East. Well, to be precise, it just took a little nap and then returned to the center of the world stage—just like when I first came to China, I was amazed by the rapid development of this country. When I looked for the reasons for this, the diligence and unity of the Chinese people impressed me the most. I have been to many countries, and only in China can I have this impressive feeling. So, such a country and people are bound to develop rapidly and embark on a great road…”

His speech and the subsequent question-and-answer session can be said to have greatly increased his popularity in China. After all, at this time, China was able to develop rapidly after joining the WTO, and at the same time, it also very much needed the recognition of the world.

And Barron, as the world’s most successful entrepreneur and investor, and his identity as a British duke, his affirmation and praise will naturally reap China’s favor.

Moreover, he was not just talking about it, but had a large amount of real money invested in China, and was one of the largest entrepreneurs in terms of investment scale in China in the entire Europe and the United States, which also shows that his words were not just simple lip service, but a sincere recognition.

Also on the same day, Barron also received an honorary doctorate from Yanda, which he naturally gladly accepted.

As early as 2007, “world’s richest man” Bill Gates gave a speech at Shuimu and received an honorary doctorate from Shuimu.

Now that Yanda has awarded Barron an honorary doctorate, this prestige is no weaker than that of Shuimu and Bill Gates for both parties…

After Cameron and Barron unreservedly released goodwill, Britain and China seemed to have entered a honeymoon period for a time, and the relationship between the two sides, whether official or private, warmed up rapidly.

And the cooperative achievements of both sides are also very fruitful.

The London Stock Exchange and the Shanghai Stock Exchange reached relevant agreements on deepening cooperation between the two sides, preparing to open “Shanghai-London Stock Connect,” which refers to the fact that companies listed on the London Stock Exchange and the Shanghai Stock Exchange can issue corresponding depositary receipts in each other’s markets, thereby achieving partial trading of each other’s stocks.

Of course, the first phase of “Shanghai-London Stock Connect” only involves the trading of depositary receipts corresponding to the other party’s listed stocks, and does not involve financing, but if “Shanghai-London Stock Connect” can operate well, then increasing the service of financing for each other’s listed companies is also expected.

In addition, the LOMX Group will also increase its support for offshore Chinese currency transactions, striving to make London the world’s largest offshore Chinese currency trading center, which is also very important for the internationalization of the Chinese currency.

London can also attract more financial business from China, thereby expanding their financial business scale and stabilizing London’s position as a global financial center.

Chapter 880: Reducing Holdings

In addition to this, Peninsula Oriental Group also reached an agreement with Shanghai authorities to invest 1 billion Chinese Yuan in building its international logistics distribution center near Shanghai Port.

At the same time, Peninsula Oriental once again signed an order worth 500 million US dollars for large container ships with China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation, which will be delivered within the next 5 years.

Since Peninsula Oriental acquired A.P. Moller-Maersk’s LNG business for 1.4 billion US dollars last year, coupled with the LNG ships they ordered in China that have been launched successively, Peninsula Oriental Group now has one of the world’s leading LNG transportation fleets.

At the same time, they have also been expanding the size of their bulk cargo and container fleets.

Along with this, a port affairs agreement was also signed. Peninsula Oriental Group will cooperate with multiple ports in China, participating in the operation and management of these ports through investment.

“Since the subprime mortgage crisis, the global shipping business has entered a relatively sluggish stage, and many shipping groups have had to reduce the size of their fleets.”

In an interview, Peninsula Oriental Group CEO Ed Christian said:

“But risks also contain opportunities. We believe that the global economic recovery is coming, and now is a good time to expand. Peninsula Oriental Group attaches great importance to its business in China and was one of the first shipping companies to enter the Chinese market. We entered the Chinese market as early as the late nineteenth century. Now, China’s shipping market is developing rapidly, and Peninsula Oriental Group will also be committed to cooperating with relevant Chinese companies to enhance our technical strength in this business.”

…

“Next, Alibaba should have plans for an IPO listing, right?”

“Yes, the preliminary plan is to prepare in the second half of next year, but the specific listing time will depend on the stock market situation…”

When Barron arrived in Shanghai, Cameron had already left and gone to Chengdu, China.

At Cavendish Garden, Andy and Belle were playing with two ponies under the care of the maids.

Fan Bingbing personally poured tea for Barron and Mr. Ma, and then sat aside listening to their conversation…

It can be said that Mr. Ma has been quite prominent recently, not only completing the repurchase of Alibaba shares held by Yahoo for a huge sum of 3.8 billion US dollars, but also because Cameron made a special trip to meet with him during his visit to Shanghai.

It should be noted that Cameron’s itinerary in China was relatively tight. In addition to attending some business gatherings with many Chinese entrepreneurs, Cameron only took the time to meet with two Chinese entrepreneurs separately: Mr. Li of Geely Holding and Mr. Ma in front of Barron.

Cameron met with Mr. Li of Geely Holding because Geely had acquired 20% of the shares of the London Taxi Company (LTC) as early as 2006, before acquiring Volvo. Currently, a considerable number of London taxis are produced by Geely in China.

As for the meeting with Mr. Ma, it was naturally because of Alibaba’s almost monopolistic position in the Chinese e-commerce field at this time – and before this, Alibaba’s B2B business had already connected many small and medium-sized Chinese enterprises with overseas companies’ orders.

Barron also knew that this time, Alibaba’s overall listing would definitely choose to list in the United States, barring any unforeseen circumstances. After all, the Hong Kong Stock Exchange could not accept companies with a “partnership system” like Alibaba, and the possibility of successfully listing on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange with this type of company system was too low.

At this time, Mr. Ma’s relationship with Barron was still relatively close, which was of course also due to Barron’s promise to reduce some of his shares after Alibaba’s listing.

Currently, Barron holds Alibaba’s shares through two companies: DS Holdings (Cavendish Trust) and Rich23 Capital. DS Holdings holds 12.66% of its shares; Rich23 Capital holds 26.79% of its shares.

Barron had previously promised Mr. Ma that after Alibaba’s overall listing, he would reduce at least 10% of the 12.66% of Alibaba’s shares held by DS Holdings within one year.

After this reduction, Barron’s shareholding ratio in Alibaba will be lower than that of Mr. Ma and his team. Even if one day in the future he no longer gives the voting rights of his shares to Mr. Ma, Mr. Ma would not have to worry about losing control of the company.

Of course, Barron had his own plans for making such a promise.

He knew that in his previous life, Alibaba was listed on the US stock market in September 2014. At that time, the issue price of Alibaba’s stock was 68 US dollars, and the closing price on the first day of listing was 93.89 US dollars, an increase of 38.07%.

In the following two months, Alibaba’s stock price rose all the way, reaching a record high of 119.15 US dollars per share in November of that year.

However, afterwards, affected by the investigation by the Chinese Ministry of Commerce and its own counterfeit goods problems, the stock price subsequently experienced a continuous sharp decline.

Therefore, Barron could completely sell part of Alibaba’s shares held by DS Holdings at a high price, and then, when its stock price had a relatively large decline, have other companies buy them back – for example, Tianhe Holdings in China, which Barron controls, could carry out the task of buying back.

It is worth mentioning that the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) does not have mandatory lock-up period regulations for US-listed companies, but usually, in order to ensure the stock price performance at the beginning of the company’s listing, the company’s original shareholders and employee stock holdings will sign an agreement before the IPO, stipulating a 90-180 day lock-up period. This is a completely market-based behavior, a result of the game between the company and the investment bank, and a necessary behavior for the company and the investment bank to gain investor trust and increase valuation.

However, with the consent of most shareholders and brokerage investors, exceptions can be made, or DS Holdings can obtain the shortest 90-day lock-up period for this portion of shares…

To ensure that Barron can sell this portion of shares, Mr. Ma will definitely firmly support this request.

Even if he only obtains a 90-day lock-up period, Barron will be able to ensure that he has enough time to reduce those shares before the Chinese Ministry of Commerce investigation and the counterfeit goods incident occur by listing Alibaba slightly earlier than in the original timeline.

However, thinking of Alibaba’s listing at that time, Barron looked at Mr. Ma in front of him with a smile on his face – at that time, he would become the richest man in mainland China in one fell swoop, and from that time on, Mr. Ma would also become a symbol of wealth in China.

That’s how “money talks” came about…

Chapter 881: Prince

At this time in Mali, Operation Serval, with the French army as the main attacking force and the Malian government army and the African Union peacekeeping mission as auxiliaries, was still ongoing.

With the help of transport planes dispatched by European countries such as Britain and Germany, France had transported a total of about 4,000 troops to Mali.

First, the French army dispatched “Gazelle” armed helicopters to strike the anti-government forces heading to Konna.

After that, the French air force bombed multiple targets of the anti-government armed ground forces, cutting off their reinforcements to the city of Konna and severely damaging the enemy.

Within a week of the French army’s participation, after four French “Rafale” fighter jets bombed the anti-government armed headquarters in Gao, the French ground forces helped the Malian government army recapture Konna in a counter-offensive.

The African Union peacekeeping mission, including the Kolo Legion peacekeeping force, helped the government army recapture Jabali from another direction, and ultimately the government army and its allies achieved a complete recovery of the lost territory from Konna to Jabali.

In the counterattack against Jabali, the Coyote II UAV used by the Kolo Legion played a significant role, providing their allies with detailed real-time battlefield intelligence.

After a short rest, the French army, the African Union peacekeeping mission, and the Malian government army continued their counter-offensive, pushing the front line to 100 kilometers from Gao. The French army dispatched aircraft to bomb the anti-government armed forces’ granaries and armories in and around Gao.

After a week of continuous bombing raids, Gao was successfully recovered.

In this way, within half a month, under the counter-offensive of the Malian government army and its allies, the anti-government armed forces could only retreat in a disheveled manner to the Kidal region on the border between Mali and Algeria.

On November 20th, the French army, with helicopter support, carried out a vertical assault by special forces and seized the Kidal airport.

From December 7th to 8th, the French army launched a new round of air and ground operations aimed at capturing Tessalit, the last city in Mali where the anti-government armed forces were entrenched.

The French army first airdropped special forces at Tessalit Airport to control the airport runway, and then transport planes delivered French troops for a vertical assault, seizing control of the entire airport.

With the support and cover of the French Army Aviation and Air Force, the African Union peacekeeping mission and the Malian government army recovered all lost territory and restored territorial integrity in less than a month.

After this, the French army continued to clear out extremist forces and maintain order in the area, while the African Union peacekeeping mission successfully completed this mission. The Kolo Legion peacekeeping force, due to their excellent performance in this battle, received an order from the Malian government army and will help Mali train their government army.

Of course, it was not only Mali that extended an olive branch to the Kolo Legion. Because their garrison was very close to the Kolo Legion peacekeeping force, peacekeeping force officers from Burkina Faso and Niger could not restrain themselves and tried out many weapons of the Kolo Legion peacekeeping force. They were also very envious of this equipment.

After this peacekeeping mission to Mali ended, Burkina Faso and Niger both sent military delegations to Kolo. Afterwards, they submitted purchase orders to Kolo, purchasing some firearms and individual equipment produced locally by Kolo.

It is worth mentioning that the standard rifle currently equipped by the Kolo Legion is the same as that of the British Army, the L85A1 5.56mm assault rifle.

This rifle has both the precise aiming and shooting characteristics of old-fashioned rifles, and the advantages of submachine guns: fierce firepower, high accuracy, good controllability of bursts, and flexibility. It is a single-soldier weapon with good performance and won the championship in the practical rifle competition held in 1985.

The gun is 785 mm long, the barrel is 518 mm long, the total weight is 4.98 kg when fully loaded with bullets, and it can fire single shots or bursts. The effective range is 500 meters.

It fires NATO standard 5.56mm bullets, namely SS109 bullets, and can fire 610 to 770 bullets per minute.

The magazine capacity is 30 rounds, and each soldier generally carries 8 magazines, which are compatible with the American M16A2 rifle magazines.

The scale of this part of the purchase order is relatively small, mainly equipping the elite troops of Burkina Faso and Niger. However, these two countries have also received some military assistance from France before—France’s standard rifle also uses NATO’s 5.56mm ammunition, so in terms of commonality, there is no problem.

In the peacekeeping operation to Mali, the Coyote II UAV developed by Sentinel Company provided the Kolo Legion peacekeeping force with the convenience of battlefield intelligence acquisition.

Based on the verification of this operation, Sentinel Company will continue to improve the Coyote II UAV in order to prepare for their subsequent participation in the military order competition between the United States and Britain.

After that, the Kolo Legion received a new “toy,” which is the Griffin-1 UAV that Aerospace Precision will officially launch before Christmas. This is the first product in the Aerospace Precision Griffin series of UAVs.

Compared to the previously launched Hummingbird HUM-1 UAV, the Griffin-1 UAV is larger, which allows it to carry more sophisticated camera equipment and also provide longer flight times, making it suitable for the Kolo Legion to use for reconnaissance.

After all, compared to the Coyote II UAV, the Griffin-1 is a rotor UAV, which can take off and land vertically, is easier to carry, and can even be provided for a squad to carry and use.

……

At 4:00 PM on December 15th, Princess Kate gave birth to a baby boy. Prince William and Kate named the child George Alexander Louis.

At the same time, this newly born royal “fourth generation” was named “Prince George of Cambridge,” becoming the third in line to the British throne, after the Prince of Wales and the Duke of Cambridge, William.

With the Queen’s approval, Princess Kate’s son’s birth certificate has been posted at Buckingham Palace to announce it to the world…

The content is: The Duchess of Cambridge, Princess Kate, successfully gave birth to a baby boy at 4:24 this afternoon. Kate and the child are in good health, signed by four doctors below—Outside Buckingham Palace was crowded with people taking photos of the birth certificate.

“Congratulations, William, today is an important moment for Britain…”

At this time, Barron, who had returned to London, was beside William, looking at the other party’s happy and excited expression, and said this.

At Prince William’s request, Barron will serve as the godfather of “Prince George of Cambridge,” that is, William and Kate’s child.

This is also the reason why he came here today.

If Barron remembered correctly, in his previous life, Kate gave birth to “Prince George of Cambridge” in July of the following year, so this time “Prince George of Cambridge” was born 7 months earlier than in the original timeline.

But this is not important, after all, so many things have changed now, and one more thing doesn’t make a difference.

Chapter 882: The Greatest Challenge

“In fact, since Margaret Thatcher, especially since the new century, there are no longer any pro-European factions within the Conservative Party…”

Joe Harriman said to Barron with some helplessness:

“If you clearly state a pro-European stance, then I am afraid that you will not get any support within the Conservative Party. Cameron now needs the support of the Conservative Party. Every compromise with the European Union will put him under tremendous pressure within the Conservative Party.”

She naturally understood Barron’s interests, and given her choice to become dependent on him, she would certainly need to carry out his will. But realistically speaking, even trying to avoid a Brexit referendum is very difficult with the Conservative Party in power.

This is no wonder that when Cameron resigned as Prime Minister in Barron’s previous life due to the success of the British Brexit referendum, someone joked:

“When Conservative Prime Ministers come to power, they think the biggest problem is managing Britain; they only realize when they step down that the real problem is managing the Conservative Party…”

In fact, the first referendum in Britain on the issue of European integration took place as early as 1975 after the Labour Party came to power. The referendum at that time was to bridge the internal divisions within the Labour Party regarding its relationship with the European Economic Community. Margaret Thatcher, then leader of the Conservative Party, waved the flag and shouted for Britain to remain in the European Economic Community.

Later, after the Conservative Party regained power, Margaret Thatcher became increasingly skeptical of European integration in the process of developing relations with Europe – her most famous saying was “We want our money back,” at the time she was trying to force the European Economic Community to make concessions to Britain on budgetary issues…

She also held strong anti-European positions in areas such as the European Economic Community’s voting system and social policies.

Margaret Thatcher’s Eurosceptic stance aroused strong opposition from pro-European factions within the Conservative Party at the time and gradually lost their support.

In October 1989, her Chancellor of the Exchequer, Nigel Lawson, resigned, largely due to serious disagreements with her on the issue of whether Britain should join the European Economic and Monetary Union.

In 1990, her close comrade-in-arms, former Chancellor of the Exchequer and incumbent Foreign Secretary Geoffrey Howe, resigned. In his resignation speech in the House of Commons, the usually mild-mannered Geoffrey Howe used fierce language to criticize Margaret Thatcher’s increasingly strong anti-European stance, believing that Margaret Thatcher’s European policy endangered the future of the Conservative Party and Britain.

The serious divisions within the Conservative Party on the European issue at that time were one of the reasons for Margaret Thatcher’s eventual resignation.

Later, John Major succeeded as Prime Minister, and he tried to retreat from Margaret Thatcher’s Eurosceptic stance, but was also strongly criticized by the Conservative Party – the difference was that if the criticism of Margaret Thatcher within the Conservative Party was mainly against her strong Euroscepticism, then the criticism of John Major was because his Eurosceptic attitude was not strong enough.

So-called doubting Europe without being absolute means absolutely not doubting Europe…

The public division within the Conservative Party on the European issue also became one of the reasons for the Conservative Party’s defeat in the 1997 British general election.

After that, the successive Conservative Party leaders Hague, Smith, and Howard were all well-known Eurosceptics, especially Smith, who was a staunch opponent of the Maastricht Treaty establishing the European Union.

And every development of the European Union during this period would cause greater controversy within the Conservative Party, and even trigger internal divisions and defections of members of parliament – some members joined the more extreme British Independence Party, whose sole purpose was to leave the European Union. These members, such as Titford, Knapman, Pearson, Farage, Nattrass, and others, successively became leaders of the Independence Party, and the emergence of the Independence Party also promoted the development of Eurosceptic sentiment within the Conservative Party…

Logically speaking, Margaret Thatcher’s resignation in 1990 should have been an opportunity for the Conservative Party to transcend Thatcherism, but in reality, it was quite the opposite.

Of the 165 newly elected Conservative members of parliament in 1997, 140 were Eurosceptics.

This situation continued in the 2001 general election, and the Conservative Party became more right-wing, failing to transcend Thatcherism and return to the middle ground.

In the 1992-1997 parliament, about 58% of Conservative members of the House of Commons were Eurosceptics. After the 2001 British general election, this number became a surprising 90%.

After Cameron was elected leader of the British Conservative Party in 2005, he tried to reduce the status of the European issue on the Conservative Party’s agenda, calling on the party to stop arguing about the European issue.

However, due to the development of European integration itself and the growth of Eurosceptic forces within the Conservative Party at that time, Cameron’s attempt ultimately failed.

Of the Conservative members of parliament elected in 2010, only 7 were pro-European, accounting for only 2.3% of the Conservative members of the House of Commons!

In this case, the division between pro-European and Eurosceptic has become outdated within the Conservative parliamentary party – it has now become a division between “soft Euroscepticism” (pragmatic) and “hard Euroscepticism.”

“Soft Euroscepticism” refers to not opposing European integration and the European Union in principle, but may hold opposing attitudes towards the alliance on specific policy issues.

“Soft Eurosceptics” tend to support retaining Britain’s membership in the European Union, although they believe that membership should be renegotiated to a greater or lesser extent.

“Hard Euroscepticism” refers to fundamentally opposing the European Union and European integration, advocating abandoning membership in the European Union. Hard Eurosceptics tend to believe that the issue of Britain’s membership in the European Union is non-negotiable. Negotiation means compromise, which also means betrayal of sovereignty to some extent, regardless of what concessions can be obtained from Britain’s European partners accordingly.

Although the vast majority of the Conservative parliamentary party under Cameron’s leadership are soft Eurosceptics, hard Eurosceptics also account for 35.4% of backbench members.

More importantly, hard Eurosceptics are more organized and more willing to challenge the positions of Conservative Party leaders and Conservative Party policies.

This led to Cameron being forced to announce in 2013, under the pressure of Euroscepticism within the Conservative Party, that if he could win the election, he would hold a national referendum on Britain’s membership in the European Union during the next parliament…

Then, as Cameron envisioned, the Conservative Party achieved good results in the 2015 British general election and was able to form a government independently.

At that time, Cameron made full preparations to fulfill his promise of a Brexit referendum made before the election – before that, he negotiated with the European Union on Britain’s relationship with the European Union, and the European Union was forced to make concessions to Britain in many aspects.

With these achievements, Cameron was full of confidence in maintaining Britain’s relationship with the European Union, so he announced a Brexit referendum.

The result is known to everyone. What he did not expect was that the final result of the referendum was a great victory for the Eurosceptics. As a result, Cameron had to choose to resign as Prime Minister.

And the Conservative Prime Ministers after Cameron, whether it was Theresa May or Johnson, did not solve the problem of Britain’s exit from the European Union, and eventually led them to choose to resign – Britain’s Prime Ministers changed like a revolving door, causing political chaos and further harming Britain’s society and economy.

Rome wasn’t built in a day. Barron’s think tank has detailed analyses of the current situation. It can be said that avoiding the eventual Brexit result of his previous life has become his greatest challenge at present.

Chapter 883: Still Going Strong

Of course, with Barron’s changes, the current Britain is somewhat different from how it was in his previous life.

Let’s not even mention the financial industry—although Barron’s main profitable business is financial investment, London has always been a world financial center in his previous life. Even under various pressures from the United States, it can still rival New York in the financial industry.

And in some aspects, such as the foreign exchange market and settlement market, it is even stronger than New York.

As for manufacturing, although some of the industries controlled by Barron have investments in China, what is being transferred are manufacturing industries that are not at the top level in terms of technology (of course, even so, such manufacturing industries, compared with the high-tech industries in Europe and the United States, are still difficult for more than 80% of the countries in the world to possess). The most cutting-edge industries, such as luxury cars, chips, and communication technology, are still retained in Britain.

This is a great improvement compared to the original timeline of Britain, where related industries were acquired by other European and American companies, and industries began to transfer.

You know, under such a system in Europe and the United States, no matter what kind of political party or members of Congress, their political demands are supported by related capital behind them.

To put it bluntly, in Britain, the Euroskeptic and pro-European factions are essentially driven by capital with related interests behind them. For example, in the original timeline, Britain’s manufacturing industry was very small compared to other continental European countries such as France and Germany, and Britain’s most important industries were finance and services.

Therefore, when negotiating with China, a very important trading partner in Europe, the European Union, led by France and Germany, first considers the interests of the manufacturing industry. This is very uncomfortable for Britain.

Because Britain can make money from China in finance and services, but this is not in the interests of other EU countries. Therefore, the focus of the relevant agreement negotiations will inevitably be on manufacturing, which will instead harm Britain’s interests—for example, in Barron’s previous life, the EU’s barriers to electric vehicles in China were very important for major automobile producing countries such as France and Germany, and other EU countries with many related industrial supporting facilities.

But for Britain, whose domestic automobile industry was already declining at that time, it was simply unnecessary—therefore, Britain was a relatively open country to Chinese electric vehicles at that time.

The demands of these capitals or industries also represent the demands of the parliamentarians’ “sugar daddies,” which are reflected in British politics. Naturally, the power of the Euroskeptic faction will greatly increase.

However, Britain also has the need for manufacturing and exports. Therefore, although the Euroskeptic faction has gradually become the mainstream within the Conservative Party, the attitude of the Labor Party is still mainly pro-European—when Blair was in office, he actively promoted the integration of Britain with the EU, while Brown’s “Euroskeptic”主張 (zhǔzhāng) – advocacy/proposition mainly focused on finance—after all, he was from the Treasury Secretary, and he still attached great importance to Britain’s financial position.

Therefore, in addition to financially supporting some pro-European organizations to promote to the public, Barron hopes to change Britain’s final Brexit result. More importantly, he wants to expand Britain’s manufacturing strength so that Britain’s interests in this regard will at least not be contrary to the EU.

Of course, if Cameron still shouts out before the next election that he will hold a Brexit referendum if he is re-elected, then Barron doesn’t mind using any means to promote the Labor Party’s victory at that time. After all, he still maintains contact with the Labor Party. The head of the Prosperous Earth Foundation is the brother of the current Labor Party leader, and he still has a close relationship with Brown.

…

It’s almost Christmas again, and Barron and his family are preparing to go to Lanai Island after Christmas—they also invited Prince William and Princess Kate’s family. Kate had just given birth and was originally planning to go to a manor in Scotland to recuperate, but the climate on Lanai Island is more pleasant than in Britain, so William accepted the invitation.

The reason for choosing to leave after Christmas is also because they spent last Christmas on Lanai Island. Although the climate there is warm, Christmas is all about a snowy scene, which has more atmosphere.

…

“I always think that only gasoline cars are for real men. The sound of the engine is exciting. Those electric cars have to use speakers to play sounds, just like sissies wearing fake beards!”

In the mansion in Regent’s Park, Barron is gathering here with Tamra Ecclestone’s family.

Bernie Ecclestone, the president of the F1 Group, said to Barron.

What he was talking about was the electric sports car race held in Britain this year. Bernie doesn’t seem to be interested in electric cars.

“But you can’t deny that electric cars will be the trend, Dad.”

Tamra’s work involves car reviews. She was on one side of the sofa, looking at the market magazine in her hand, and couldn’t help but say when she heard the words near her.

“Even if electric cars develop well, they will not replace gasoline cars in the racing field, because the most attractive thing about racing is not only the constantly improving engine technology, but also the driving skills of the drivers. Those top drivers have already developed this into an art, but electric cars…”

Bernie shook his head:

“It’s always a little short.”

It is worth mentioning that this year, Bernie started his third marriage. The 82-year-old Bernie married the 35-year-old supermodel Fabiana—his young wife is 7 years older than Tamra, but 21 years younger than Bernie’s eldest daughter…

Of course, this is not the most outrageous thing, because Barron knows that in his previous life, Fabiana would give birth to his first son for Bernie, who was nearly 89 years old at the time…

At that time, Bernie’s eldest daughter was already 65 years old!

Barron couldn’t help but sigh that this old guy Bernie is really… still going strong.

Speaking of which, since buying the F1 Group, Barron has rarely cared about this company, and only occasionally sees some related data from the documents sorted out by his assistant.

In addition, British Automobile Group currently owns two F1 teams, Aston Martin and McLaren.

After Aston Martin returned to the F1 arena, it can only be said that its performance is okay, but the McLaren team has always performed well.

Bernie is very satisfied with Barron’s “delegation of power.” Although he is already in his eighties, he is still obsessed with F1 racing. It seems that he truly loves this sport.

Chapter 884: Standard Aviation

On December 27th, Standard Defense Group announced the completion of its acquisition of German Concept Laser GmbH. With this acquisition, Standard Defense Group completed its layout in the field of additive manufacturing. Prior to acquiring German Concept Laser GmbH, Standard Defense Group had already acquired Swedish Arcam AB and German SLM Solutions Group, both suppliers of additive manufacturing equipment.

Concept Laser GmbH was founded in 2000 and commercialized its first metal additive manufacturing machine tool in 2001.

For twelve years, they have industrialized their LaserCUSING patented process and maintained a leading position in the industry. Currently, Concept Laser GmbH has more than 150 employees and is a pioneer in the field of metal additive manufacturing.

Concept Laser GmbH designs and manufactures powder bed-based laser additive manufacturing machine tools. Its customers include the aerospace and medical industries, as well as automotive and jewelry sectors. Their machine tools cover the largest and smallest size ranges currently on the market and can process a variety of powder materials, including titanium and nickel-based alloys, cobalt-chromium and precious metal alloys, as well as hot-work and advanced steels and aluminum.

Additive manufacturing, commonly known as 3D printing, integrates computer-aided design, materials processing and forming technology. Based on digital model files, it uses software and numerical control systems to layer specialized metal materials, non-metal materials, and medical biological materials through extrusion, sintering, melting, light curing, spraying and other methods to create solid objects.

Unlike the traditional processing mode of removing, cutting, and assembling raw materials, it is a “bottom-up” manufacturing method that accumulates materials, creating something from nothing. This makes it possible to manufacture complex structural parts that were previously constrained by traditional manufacturing methods and impossible to realize.

Since the second half of this year, Sentinel, a subsidiary of Standard Defense Group, has established a research and development center in London to develop a large fuel-powered drone named Tiercel.

For the research and development of this project, Standard Defense Group even poached researchers from companies including BAE Systems and Dassault Aviation of France, some of whom have experience participating in the research and development of large drones.

In the manufacturing of such large drones, some parts need to be manufactured using 3D printing technology. Moreover, Barron also knew the future prospects of this technology, so he simply had Standard Defense Group acquire some technologically leading companies in related fields, thereby gaining a dominant position in this area.

The research and manufacturing of large drones like the Tiercel project is naturally not as easy as the Jungle Wolf series of small drones previously launched by Sentinel. Its difficulty is no less than the research and manufacturing of ordinary military aircraft. Therefore, Standard Defense Group not only established Standard Aviation Manufacturing Company specifically on the basis of Sentinel, but also needs to carry out a series of acquisitions to obtain the required technology.

“Regarding the aviation manufacturing company, we have listed a list, which also includes large aviation manufacturing companies, such as Dassault Aviation and Embraer…”

Joseph Buckley, CEO of Standard Defense Group, said to Barron.

Joseph Buckley previously served as Vice President of BAE Systems. The reason he was willing to come to Standard Defense Group, whose scale was far smaller than BAE, to serve as CEO, was not only due to Barron’s personal invitation, but also because he saw the ambition of this company.

“If the French government agrees, then I would be very willing to buy Dassault Aviation…”

“That’s difficult. Compared to that, Embraer is more likely, although that is also a huge challenge.”

Joseph naturally understood Barron’s meaning. After all, the Mirage 2000 and Rafale fighters, the “face” of the French Air Force, are developed and produced by Dassault Aviation. It is believed that the French government would have to be out of their minds to agree to sell this company to a British company.

After all, within the NATO group, France attaches great importance to the independence of its military equipment.

“The matter of the aviation manufacturing company cannot be completed in the short term. Next, our target is the British company e2v. This company has leading technology in sensors…”

e2v is a leader in imaging sensors for space and astronomy. Its image sensors are often used in the most demanding Earth observation missions, including Thales Alenia Space’s third-generation Meteosat (MTG), the French Space Agency (CNES)’s Pleiades satellite, and the European Space Agency (ESA)’s SEOSAT/INGENIO satellite, all of which use e2v products.

The company’s most famous products are CCD and CMOS sensors for space imaging, which in recent years have captured images of the dwarf planet Pluto and Comet 67P.

e2v is also closely involved in the UK’s National Quantum Technologies Programme (NQTP), which has invested £330 million in quantum technology research and development.

Among them, quantum projects involving e2v include the UK Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (DSTL)’s gravity imaging camera prototype, which is one of the key technologies driving the development of quantum technology, and an innovative laser-cooled frozen atom trap project called “frozen rays.”

Currently, e2v’s market value is around 200 million pounds. Joseph Buckley believes that even with a corresponding premium, it would be enough to complete this acquisition within 250 million pounds. Relatively speaking, although e2v’s technology is advanced enough, considering that it is a British company, Standard Defense Group will face less resistance in the acquisition.

And e2v’s technology in imaging sensors will also help them in the research and development of drones and other aviation fields.

In addition to sensor technology, e2v also has sufficient accumulation in aerospace chips.

“Go ahead and do it. If you have any questions, you can contact Laura.”

…

Before New Year’s Day, Barron and his party set off for Lanai, Hawaii. They had been there earlier last year, and the children seemed to be looking forward to this trip to Lanai.

As for William and Kate, they will arrive later. After all, for long-distance flights, for safety reasons, they are prepared to wait until Prince George is a full month old.

Moreover, around New Year’s Day, the royal family also has many activities that require their participation.

In addition, although George and Richard accompanied Barron on this trip, Bonnie will also go to Lanai with William and Kate later.

After all, she is now the CEO of Summit Media and needs to complete her recent work and arrange some work before she can safely go to Hawaii.

At that time, she will travel with her youngest daughter, Carida.

On the Devonshire, the women gathered together, teasing a pair of lovely babies - Sasha Cavendish and Alice Cavendish, the children of Julia Moore and Barron.

It can be said that such a small pair of babies in swaddling clothes are the easiest to melt a woman’s heart, especially when they are so cute.

And because of Julia’s consistent gentle personality and the affairs she is responsible for, her relationship with the women around Barron is very harmonious, so the atmosphere looks extremely good at this moment.

Chapter 885: Whispers of Disapproval

“We discovered together that free markets only thrive when there is competition and fair competition.

…

We, the people, still believe that our obligations as Americans are not just to ourselves, but to all posterity.

We will respond to the threat of climate change, knowing that the failure to do so would betray our children and future generations.

Some may still deny the overwhelming judgment of science, but none can avoid the devastating impact of raging fires, crippling drought, and more powerful storms.

The path towards sustainable energy sources will be long and sometimes difficult.

But America cannot resist this transition; we must lead it.

We cannot cede to other nations the technology that will power new jobs and new industries; we must claim its promise.

…”

The year was 2013, January 21st. Barack Obama was inaugurated as the President of the United States on Capitol Hill, commencing his second term.

Meanwhile, Barron had traveled from Lanai to Washington D.C. He and Ivanka were invited to attend Obama’s inauguration ceremony.

It must be said that Obama’s speech was indeed inspiring. However, when Barron thought about some of America’s subsequent policies, he couldn’t help but feel a little ironic.

“Your Grace, my friend, I am very glad that you could come today…”

After finishing his speech, Obama warmly embraced Barron and said.

“Congratulations, Mr. President. Today is a historic moment and the best footnote to your previous four years of fruitful work.”

On such occasions, Obama was very busy, after all, he had to take care of every guest. Even though Barron was one of the guests he valued most, he could only chat for a few extra moments. However, he still arranged to meet privately before leaving.

“Many members of Congress are very dissatisfied with Cameron’s previous trip to China, Your Grace.”

At this time, Jamie Dimon, Chairman and CEO of JPMorgan Chase, came to Barron’s side.

Jamie Dimon has a wealth of experience in the American financial world, and his career is quite interesting. He initially joined American Express, working as an assistant to the president, Sandy Weill. After Sandy Weill stepped down, he left American Express with him and jointly took over Commercial Credit Company in Baltimore.

Through a series of mergers and acquisitions, the two developed this company into Travelers Group. In 1998, after Travelers Group’s $70 billion deal with Citigroup, the massive new Citigroup empire was born, with Sandy Weill and Citigroup’s original CEO, John Reed, jointly leading the new Citigroup.

However, not long after the merger, Jamie Dimon and Sandy Weill, who was like a mentor to him, had a falling out and left Citigroup, ending their 17-year partnership.

In 2001, after several years of dormancy, Jamie Dimon chose to go to Chicago and take over Bank One. In just a few years, he transformed the bank into a veritable “Western Citigroup.”

Later, in 2004, JPMorgan Chase acquired Bank One for $58 billion, making the merged entity second in size only to Citigroup.

It is said that J.P. Morgan’s then-CEO, William Harrison, acquired Bank One for one important reason: to choose Jamie Dimon as his successor.

It can be said that Jamie Dimon’s many experiences, and his success in leading JPMorgan Chase, made him a major figure in the American financial industry. He has been in the position of head of JPMorgan Chase for more than 20 years. From 2004, when he took office as Chairman and CEO of JPMorgan Chase, until before Barron’s rebirth, Jamie Dimon was still leading JPMorgan Chase, the behemoth of the American banking industry.

“I can imagine such a result, but so what? Whether it is America or Britain, they cannot ignore cooperation with China economically, so there is no need to create conflicts in this process. Politics is politics, and economics is economics. If you can’t see this point and just create issues, there is no need to waste time on such politicians.”

Barron’s relationship with Jamie Dimon is quite good now. Not only does Standard Chartered-Merrill Lynch have a lot of cooperation with JPMorgan Chase, but Barron’s own British Fortune Times Fund (BFT) holds 8.5% of JPMorgan Chase’s shares, making it one of their major shareholders.

Of course, even so, their interests cannot be completely aligned, but at least for now, the relationship between the two sides is very harmonious.

He smiled and said to Jamie Dimon:

“China’s development cannot be ignored. No one would want to miss out on participating in it. I believe JPMorgan Chase is no exception.”

“I agree with your statement. JPMorgan Chase currently has a strong wholesale banking business in China and is also looking for opportunities to enter retail banking through mergers and acquisitions…”

He shook his head and said:

“I know that Standard Chartered Bank has a lot of cooperation with some Chinese banks and has also invested in some of them, but in my opinion, China’s regulations on foreign capital, which only allow a 20% stake, are not very attractive to us. I will proceed at my own pace, with time and patience.”

Barron did not give too much response to Jamie Dimon’s statement. He understood that JPMorgan Chase’s ambitions were great, and this also came from the result of America’s financial policy coercion towards other countries.

However, China has always maintained a cautious attitude towards foreign capital entering its financial industry. After all, there are too many lessons from the past. Premature opening up would naturally make China an easy target for vultures.

Barron understood that the main reason why those American congressmen had reservations about Cameron’s trip to China was that, in the current situation of America’s “Asia-Pacific rebalancing” strategy, Britain’s “eastward” intimacy was too conspicuous.

But so what? Britain itself needs to consider its own interests more. And as he said, politics is politics, but only a fool would refuse the tangible benefits of economic cooperation.

Isn’t America doing the same thing, saying one thing but doing another? It’s not doing any less economic cooperation with China, and even complaining that the other side’s opening up of industries is not fast enough…

Don’t look at the fact that there are some voices in America now criticizing Barron for investing too much in China, and even suspecting him of transferring technology, blah blah blah. In essence, most of them are just jealous and envious. They just hate that they didn’t see the opportunity early and invest in it…

After all, from the current point of view, Barron’s investments in China have been very successful and have yielded generous returns.

I believe that if given the opportunity to choose, these people would not hesitate to learn from Barron’s approach…

Capitalists, as long as the profit is sufficient, they will not refuse to sell the rope to hang themselves.

Chapter 886: Abandoning the Purchase

“Yes, I know that the importance of natural gas in the energy sector may surpass that of oil in the future, but we predict that oil and gas prices will fall in the next few years. Therefore, we will suspend participation in the acquisition of Eni East Africa’s shares this time…”

Barron said to Apelli Singleton, CEO of United Energy Group, on the phone:

“Not only the East African oil and gas blocks, but within three years, we will also suspend the acquisition of other oil and gas blocks. The oil and gas resources we currently own are enough for us to exploit…”

“But China National Petroleum Corporation is very interested in the shares of Eni East Africa…”

“Then tell them that we are willing to cooperate with them in oil and gas exploration and production, natural gas and LNG (liquefied natural gas) value chain, trade and logistics, refining and petrochemicals. However, this acquisition of Eni East Africa’s shares does not fit our strategy…”

What he discussed with Apelli was about China National Petroleum Corporation contacting United Energy Group, hoping that the two parties would cooperate to jointly acquire Eni East Africa, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Italian oil giant Eni.

Previously, including the exploitation of the Coral offshore oilfield and United Energy Group’s oil and gas blocks in Southeast Asia, they had good cooperation with China National Petroleum Corporation. Based on this, the other party made such a cooperation request.

Eni Petroleum is the largest oil group in Italy. Its wholly-owned subsidiary, Eni East Africa, holds a 70% stake in the deep-water Area 4 block in the Rovuma Basin in Mozambique. The area has as much as 85 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, exceeding Norway’s existing total natural gas reserves.

However, Barron knew that in the next few years, global oil and gas prices would fall by more than half. In the original timeline, China National Petroleum Corporation spent 4.21 billion US dollars to purchase 28.57% of the shares and obtain 20% of the rights and interests in Area 4 block…

Three years later, ExxonMobil purchased 35.7% of Eni East Africa’s shares from Eni Petroleum and obtained 25% of the rights and interests in Area 4 block, but it only cost 2.8 billion US dollars.

It can be said that buying shares in Eni East Africa now is not a wise decision.

Of course, Barron could not directly persuade China National Petroleum Corporation to give up the decision to purchase Eni East Africa’s shares—after all, it is not easy to convince the other party by saying this now, and it is even more impossible to reveal his own judgment on future oil and gas prices.

Moreover, China National Petroleum Corporation’s choice to purchase overseas oil and gas resources is not entirely for economic benefits, but also for China to reduce its dependence on coal and meet its energy needs.

In January of this year, severe smog broke out in Yanjing, China. In the entire January, there were 25 days of smog, and only 5 days of relatively clean air.

At that time, the heavy smog forced citizens indoors, causing flight disruptions and affecting the health of millions of people—during this period, Yanjing’s air pollution index once reached 40 times the safe index.

In order to deal with this crisis, China began to control the environment. In terms of energy, it will reduce its reliance on and use of coal, and increase the proportion of clean energy such as natural gas.

Having said that, at the current point in time, if Barron didn’t know about future oil and gas prices, then purchasing the natural gas block resources of Eni East Africa would also be a reasonable decision.

Since the reserves of the Mozambique Area 4 block natural gas field were announced, many international oil giants have extended olive branches to Eni Group, including ExxonMobil, Royal Dutch Shell, Total of France, and Gazprom of Russia, in addition to China National Petroleum Corporation.

In the end, among these cooperation intentions, Eni Petroleum chose China National Petroleum Corporation. One reason is the friendly relationship between China and Mozambique. With the participation of China National Petroleum Corporation, Eni Petroleum can minimize the political risks of this project…

Secondly, they hope to deepen cooperation with China National Petroleum Corporation so that they can control the entire Asian natural gas product market in the future and earn huge profits.

Of course, if United Energy Group is willing to cooperate with China National Petroleum Corporation to directly acquire Eni East Africa, Eni Petroleum will not refuse as long as it can offer a satisfactory price.

After all, as a state-owned enterprise in Italy, given the current economic situation in Italy, they are happy to accept being able to earn enough profits through this sale—when it comes to oil and gas resources, Eni Petroleum is not too short of them. In addition to Mozambique in East Africa, as an established oil company, Eni Petroleum also owns multiple oil and gas blocks in Africa, such as their oil and gas blocks in Egypt, which have very rich reserves.

Just as Barron said, their decision is not only to give up the purchase of Eni East Africa, but also to suspend the purchase of other oil and gas blocks in the next two or three years.

However, as a partner with good cooperation with China National Petroleum Corporation, although Barron cannot directly persuade the other party to purchase shares in Eni East Africa, he has done his best.

In addition to rejecting this cooperation, which is a subtle reminder to the other party, the investment company controlled by Barron has also been continuously shorting global oil and gas prices—with the addition of their large amount of funds to short, well, at least the current decline in global oil and gas prices should be less than in the original timeline, right…

…

“Yes, the decline of paper media has become inevitable in recent years. Whether it is in America or England, the proportion of young people reading newspapers has decreased significantly. Paper media has been regarded as an ‘antique’. Traditional paper media are either trying their best to transform into the Internet, or they are finally discontinued…”

Barron and Ivanka brought their children to the mansion on the top floor of the TP Building on Fifth Avenue to gather with her family. Unknowingly, they talked about the current situation of paper media. Facing the sighing eyes of others, Barron said lightly:

“When the British”Financial Times” announced in the first half of last year that the number of digital subscribers exceeded the paper version for the first time, the media still regarded it as an unusual exception. In fact, this unusual situation will become the norm in the future. The newspapers under Independent News & Media have long begun to transform to the Internet, and their current online revenue has exceeded the paper version…”

“So, the influence of Internet media will become greater and greater, surpassing paper media?”

Hearing her father’s words, Ivanka said with a smile:

“Although there is still a slight gap now, the Internet has a greater influence among young people, but soon, within four years, as the generation accustomed to paper media becomes more and more accepting of the Internet, especially the mobile Internet, this trend will begin to accelerate.”

Seeing Jian Guo’s thoughtful look, Barron understood. It seems that at this time, he was already planning things for four years later…

Chapter 887: Influence

Currently, in the internet sphere, IC Capital, managed by Ivanka, is Woaw’s second-largest shareholder. This company not only has a social network but also owns the video-sharing platform YouTube.

Moreover, IC Capital is the largest shareholder of Twitter!

It can be said that these will be very powerful promotional platforms if needed in the future.

Well, at least it can avoid the embarrassing situation in Barron’s previous life where Twitter banned a certain sitting President of the United States.

Some who admire the West might think, “Even the President can be banned, how free is that?”

As for the so-called freedom of speech…

Is that even comparable?!

As for traditional print media, it’s not impossible to acquire one when needed.

It’s not purely for Barron’s father-in-law’s election…

At least for a certain period, print media still has some influence.

Besides, even The Washington Post, one of the most influential newspapers in the United States, famous for its exclusive reporting of the “Watergate Scandal” that ultimately led to Nixon’s resignation and on par with The New York Times, only sold for 250 million dollars when it was sold to Amazon’s Bezos in August of this year.

Similarly, The Boston Globe, with a 140-year history, will also be sold by The New York Times Company in August of this year. This newspaper, along with some New England media assets, has a package price of only 70 million dollars.

You should know that twenty years ago, in 1993, The New York Times Company acquired The Boston Globe for 1.1 billion dollars. The price it was sold for twenty years later is less than one-tenth of the purchase price, which is also very sad. Print media has clearly become a sunset industry.

Of course, such a price is still very cost-effective for Barron, who only needs the influence of these print media to help him achieve certain goals—even if these newspapers are not profitable and their assets are shrinking, as long as they can help him in terms of public opinion, it can be considered a good deal.

Just like in England, the Independent News & Media group under SEM Group has a weak profitability compared to those television stations, and even occasionally requires investment.

But because it can still rely on these newspapers to manipulate some public opinion, it is a very useful tool for Barron to control power in England, so he is happy to keep them.

After that, Barron quietly spent some time with Ivanka and their children at his estate on Long Island, New York.

Except for attending a banquet held by Blue Valley Capital and Marvel-MGM Studios, he hardly appeared in the public eye for an entire week.

Speaking of Marvel-MGM Studios, their performance in recent years can be said to be the envy of other film companies in Hollywood.

The first Avengers movie they released last year grossed more than 1.7 billion dollars worldwide, ranking third in the global box office, after Avatar and Titanic.

The reason why the global box office of the first Avengers movie in this timeline is higher than the 1.5 billion dollars in the original timeline is because after obtaining the rights to “Spider-Man,” Marvel Studios restarted the Spider-Man film series before the Avengers movie. The first movie of the new Spider-Man series has already been released, and the box office performance is very good. In addition, they added characters whose rights they had regained, including Spider-Man, X-Men, and Fantastic Four, to The Avengers, which made the movie even more popular.

In addition to the superhero movies of its Marvel Studios, which can be called box office harvesting machines, MGM Studios has also performed well, especially the Hobbit series, which they co-produced with Warner Bros. and New Line Cinema, and whose box office performance is also very satisfactory.

Taking advantage of the opportunity to attend this banquet, Barron also talked with Annika Dawson of Blue Valley Capital about the development of Marvel-MGM Studios.

In fact, by now, those big Hollywood production companies have begun to seek stability. Apart from art films aimed at awards, they are very cautious about investing in huge commercial films.

Therefore, it can be seen from the movies released every year now that big productions often pursue IP effects. Apart from Marvel’s superhero movies, the others are sequels to existing series.

After all, judging from history, the reason why many once-glorious film companies have declined is largely due to the blind launch of large-scale productions, which ultimately did not meet expectations at the box office and resulted in unbearable losses.

Now, for those small productions, the themes are relatively more free, while large productions must pursue conservatism.

In addition, they are all looking forward to the Marvel-MGM Studios in Qingdao, China, which will be completed this year.

The performance of the first Marvel-MGM Studios built in California, USA, was satisfactory, which gave the Marvel-MGM management a great deal of confidence—just like the Disney parks all over the world, in addition to obtaining considerable profits, they can also consolidate Disney’s fan base. The Marvel-MGM Group also has high hopes for their studio project.

If the Marvel-MGM Studios in China can be successful, then their studio plan will continue to advance, and they plan to choose a location in Europe to continue building new studios.

“Hello, Your Grace…”

Barron looked at the girl who was speaking. Although she was not tall, she looked very youthful.

After the girl came to Barron’s side, Annika Dawson also introduced her to Barron in a timely manner, and then left tactfully.

Although this banquet was initiated by Blue Valley Capital and Marvel-MGM Studios, which have a great influence in Hollywood, there were many actresses who came, but Barron’s appearance here was still very low-key. Those who could be placed next to him would naturally be judged as “very safe”…

Just like the girl in front of him, named Emma Roberts, born in 1991, she is just 21 years old this year—to be precise, she will be 22 in more than ten days.

Although very young, as early as 2000, when she was only 9 years old, she had already starred in the classic film Blow, starring Johnny Depp, and thus entered the film and television industry.

The main reason for this, of course, is because she has a good aunt—Emma is the most beloved niece of Hollywood superstar Julia Roberts.

Emma Roberts participated in the filming of the MGM Studios movie We’re the Millers last year, which is also the reason why she is associated with the Marvel-MGM Group and appeared at today’s banquet.

“I’ve seen your movies, but you were just a child at that time. Now you’ve become a great beauty…”

Hearing Barron’s praise, Emma smiled sweetly:

“That’s really an honor, Your Grace. I’ve been following you on Woaw for a long time. I’m a fan of yours. You’re even more handsome in person than in the photos…”

Chapter 888: Telecommunications Merger

Someone like Emma Roberts, born into a family of performers and possessing a sweet appearance, would naturally see the best path forward as leveraging her aunt’s resources in Hollywood and pursuing a career as an actress.

However, Emma is not just an actress; she has also released records, demonstrating that she has inherited her family’s talent in the performing arts, and her performance is quite impressive.

Even so, if she could have the opportunity to connect with Barron, this “big shot,” it would be something she couldn’t wish for more.

After all, besides possessing wealth that could rival a country, his influence in Hollywood and the media is something that even a Hollywood superstar like Julia Roberts can only look up to.

In the end, Barron left the party with Emma Roberts, and the two spent the night in his penthouse mansion in Manhattan.

Having entered the entertainment industry at a young age and being in such a world of fame and fortune, Emma Roberts is naturally not some innocent “white lotus.”

However, because she has her aunt as her backing, and the well-known Julia Roberts, who has considerable influence in Hollywood, protects her very well.

Moreover, Emma has not had any negative news come out about her so far. Clean and not causing trouble, these are what Barron values more now.

When she arrived at his mansion with him, Emma Roberts naturally knew what would happen next, and she was very much looking forward to it.

Even with her aunt’s care, if she wants to do better in Hollywood, especially without being disturbed by some dirty things, then finding a big shot with enough power as protection is naturally the best choice.

And what excites Emma the most is Barron himself. He is at the very top of this planet, but unlike others who have reached such a position, he is not an old man with a distorted figure or even starting to grow age spots.

Although he is more than ten years older than Emma, his age in his early thirties is already a rare existence in his circle, not to mention that Barron’s appearance itself, whether it is his muscular physique or his handsome face, can be described as the best.

Yes, in the car, when Emma secretly glanced at the Duke of Devonshire beside her, she felt a sense of enjoyment, and when she entered the bedroom and saw his perfect figure, she looked forward to this night even more…

She understands that if her girlfriends knew that she had the opportunity to spend a night with the Duke of Devonshire, they would probably be consumed by jealousy.

Emma is even prepared to use all her “knowledge” reserves to enjoy this night…

The process of this night, serious readers should not want to know too much detail, after all, it was a long and sweaty process…

When the next morning came, with Barron’s physical strength, he was still able to get up at six o’clock and go to the gym to continue to expend his energy and sweat.

As for Emma Roberts, even with her young body, full of youthful vitality, it was still almost noon before she finally recovered her spirits slightly.

At that time, Barron had already left a maid to take care of her, and he himself set off to return to Lanai.

…

“According to the information we have received, SoftBank intends to acquire Sprint, the fourth largest operator in the United States, and has already sent a team to contact them…”

Barron was not surprised by the news he received from his personal assistant, Talulah Riley.

After all, in his previous life, this acquisition by SoftBank had caused a lot of buzz.

Since Son Masayoshi acquired Vodafone Japan and succeeded with a low-price strategy, becoming one of Japan’s major telecommunications operators, he planned to replicate his success.

However, unlike the previous application of his “time machine” theory, this time Son Masayoshi is not “copying” the successful industrial path of developed countries from less developed countries, but directly chose to replicate his successful experience in Japan in the most developed region in the world, the United States.

However, Barron’s experience in his previous life also showed that after SoftBank acquired Sprint, it did not achieve the same successful results as SoftBank in the Japanese telecommunications market, and it can only be said that it was barely satisfactory.

But even so, Barron will not be too careless.

After all, this year’s global telecommunications market, especially in the American market, has seen a lot of changes.

In addition to SoftBank’s acquisition of Sprint, in the second half of this year, Verizon Communications will also acquire Vodafone Group’s 45% stake in their joint venture, Verizon Wireless, for a staggering 130 billion dollars.

The amount of funds involved in this transaction ranks third in the world’s current corporate mergers and acquisitions. The first two are Vodafone’s predecessor, Vodafone AirTouch, acquiring Mannesmann for more than 150 billion euros, and the merger of Time Warner and AOL.

Previously, Verizon Wireless was a joint venture between Verizon Communications and Vodafone, with the two parties holding 55:45 of the shares in the company. After this transaction, Verizon Wireless will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Verizon Communications.

This transaction also shows Verizon Communications’ confidence in the American wireless market, even though the market’s growth rate is slowing down and competition is intensifying—Verizon Wireless is currently the best-performing and most profitable company in the American market.

Compared with it, O2 USA is still in a position to catch up—but since O2 Telecom acquired T-Mobile USA, their number of users in the North American market has been continuously increasing, and they have also widened the gap with Sprint, firmly sitting in the third position in the North American market.

Especially in the field of mobile internet, O2 Telecom’s development is even faster. After all, this market itself is relatively “new” compared to fixed-line and broadband services. Even if AT&T and Verizon have more users, it is easier for O2 Telecom to catch up.

Of course, Barron has not considered competing with SoftBank for Sprint. If Sprint can be merged into O2 USA, it will definitely greatly shorten the gap with AT&T and Verizon.

However, the problem is that if SoftBank does not give up and insists on the acquisition, then the offer for Sprint will naturally increase at a premium.

And if the final acquisition is made by O2 Telecom, it will also face the blame of the American antitrust agency—yes, even if O2 USA merges with Sprint, it is still somewhat different from the two major giants AT&T and Verizon. In the end, it can still pass the antitrust investigation, but it is believed that the process will inevitably be tortuous.

Moreover, comprehensively speaking, instead of competing with SoftBank to acquire Sprint, it is better to invest these funds in the development of O2 USA, or to acquire some smaller companies that can supplement O2 USA’s business.

However, O2 Telecom is also brewing an acquisition plan, but not for the North American market, but for the European market—specifically, the German market.

Chapter 889: I’m Really Looking Forward to That

Currently, O2 Telecom’s internal team is discussing the acquisition of the German subsidiary of the Dutch company KPN, E-Plus.

The estimated value of this acquisition is between 7.5 and 8.5 billion euros.

Although O2 Telecom had already entered the German market and experienced rapid growth, the gap between them and the top German operators, including Deutsche Telekom and Vodafone Germany, was still significant.

According to O2 Telecom’s assessment, if they could complete the acquisition of KPN’s German subsidiary, E-Plus, O2 Telecom would have over 40 million users in Germany and an annual revenue of over 8 billion euros.

At the same time, O2 Germany would become one of the three major telecom operators in Germany, alongside Deutsche Telekom and Vodafone Germany.

Speaking of which, the telecom industry is quite profitable. Even though O2 Telecom entered new markets with a “discount package” strategy, as long as they could accumulate a sufficient number of users, profits would follow.

After all, the biggest expense in the telecom industry is the investment in deploying communication equipment. If you want to enter this market, this investment is unavoidable.

But the more users you have, the higher the revenue you can generate from the same equipment expenditure. In other words, you are diluting your costs, and profits will inevitably increase.

Just like how O2 Telecom accumulated a lot of debt through repeated acquisitions, they have now repaid more than 40% of their bank loans, reducing their debt ratio to a considerable level.

This is also the main reason why they are launching another acquisition. According to calculations, although O2 Telecom needs to obtain more than 5 billion euros in debt from banks for this acquisition of E-Plus, these debts can be repaid within three years solely from the receivables of its German subsidiary after the acquisition is completed.

…

“Hey, William, I’m sorry I went to America earlier and didn’t wait for you on Lanai. How are you finding it?”

As Talulah Riley left, Baron saw William and Kate walking over from the beach.

When Baron went to New York, William and Kate brought their little prince from London to Lanai.

Now, Baron saw William, who was usually dressed in a suit and tie, wearing a Hawaiian shirt and beach shorts, adapting to the local customs. Kate was also dressed casually. The two were holding hands, probably just returning from a walk on the beach.

“It’s great here, especially coming here from cold and gloomy London. I love the sunshine here.”

William said to Baron in a relaxed manner:

“Thank you for your invitation, Baron. George seems much happier since coming here.”

“Don’t mention it. We’re friends. You’re very welcome here.”

Kate, who was next to William, also behaved very naturally. After chatting with Baron for a few words, she said she was going back to check on the child, leaving the two men space to chat.

“I have to say, your life is really comfortable, Baron. I didn’t expect them to get along so harmoniously.”

What William was referring to was naturally the various beauties around Baron. When he was in London, he had heard that his friend was very popular with women, but he was still shocked by what he saw and heard after coming to the island.

As a member of the royal family, it is impossible for Prince William to be completely devoted to one person. Counting the princes of the British royal family, which one doesn’t have a bunch of lovers?

It’s just that in front of the public, he always has to pay attention to his image and maintain his loving husband persona with Kate.

Even before William got married, there were many rumors about him.

“That’s nothing. If you have the chance one day, we’ll go to Los Angeles for a few days. The parties there are very lively, with many Hollywood actresses…”

“Uh, that’s not very good…”

It’s not that Prince William needs to pretend in front of Baron. Baron understands what he is worried about…

“Don’t worry, it will be a private party. No one will reveal it.”

“I’m really looking forward to that…”

In fact, there’s no need to go to Los Angeles. If Baron wanted to, plenty of Hollywood actresses and supermodels would be willing to fly to Lanai to meet them.

It’s just that Princess Kate and Baron’s women are all here, so at least on the island, it’s not appropriate for Baron to be too outrageous.

…

The 55-story West African Financial Center used to be the tallest building in Bulita, but now, next to this building, the 69-story United Building will be completed by the end of this year, at which time this building will become the tallest building in Bulita.

It can be said that the area near the West African Financial Center is the CBD area of Bulita, where the headquarters of many large enterprises and banks are located.

This includes the recently established Matrix Capital. Their building is only 25 stories high, and the Mt.Gox exchange headquarters, which was acquired by Matrix Capital, is located on the 17th and 18th floors.

Until now, Mt.Gox is the world’s largest Bitcoin exchange, with its trading volume accounting for more than 70% of global Bitcoin transactions.

On November 28th of last year, Bitcoin experienced its first halving since its birth. When the Bitcoin network block height reached 210000, the reward for each block produced was halved from 50 Bitcoins to 25 Bitcoins.

According to the Bitcoin operating mechanism, it will be halved approximately every four years. Each halving means that the output of “mining” per unit of time for “mining machines” with the same performance will be halved.

For example, if the global grain production suddenly halved, the result would inevitably be an increase in grain prices.

The same principle applies. After the Bitcoin halving, and now that it has a considerable trading market, it will inevitably lead to an increase in its price.

In the original timeline, the first Bitcoin “bull market” appeared in 2013. The price of Bitcoin in this “bull market” rose from about 10 US dollars initially to a maximum of 1242 US dollars, an increase of more than a hundred times.

Of course, this price increase, the halving of Bitcoin production, is only one of the reasons, or a catalyst.

Another reason should also be attributed to the fact that with the previous development of Bitcoin, more and more people began to come into contact with and recognize this “new thing.” With the expansion of the “user” base, it will naturally lead to an increase in its price.

Generally speaking, many factors are also interdependent. The soaring price of Bitcoin will also be reported by some media, causing it to enter the field of vision of more people - most of whom will still think this is “unreliable” or a “scam,” and some people will start trying to understand it…

However, although he knows that in this “bull market,” the price of Bitcoin will increase a hundredfold, it is still considered “niche” and the market is small. The total trading volume of Bitcoin in 2013 increased nearly 60 times compared to 2012, reaching 108 billion US dollars, but this trading volume is less than the daily trading volume of global gold futures!

Therefore, Baron has never thought about participating in Bitcoin trading at this stage. At this stage, he only needs to do a good job in the “infrastructure” of this market, such as the standardization of exchanges, and…

Chapter 890: USDA

On February 14th, 2013, Valentine’s Day, Anchorage, a company established by Matrix Capital, launched USDA, a stablecoin pegged to the US dollar.

The launch of USDA was intended to help BitC investors transfer funds between different exchanges.

Although the Mt.Gox exchange currently accounts for more than 70% of global BitC trading volume, in addition to Mt.Gox, there are other exchanges such as Bitstamp and Kraken. Within China, there are also exchanges like BitC China, Bitmain, and Huobi.

Previously, users transferring assets between different exchanges needed to withdraw BitC from one exchange and then transfer it on the blockchain to another. Both the withdrawal and deposit processes required BitC as a transaction fee, and the transfer efficiency (time) of BitC was not high.

If the price of BitC was low before, the BitC transaction fee might not have been a big concern, but when the price of BitC soared, each transfer would be a painful experience.

However, after using USDA, the transaction fees for transfers within the USDA network could be negligible.

Anchorage stipulated that the price of USDA would be pegged to the US dollar, meaning 1 USDA would be worth 1 US dollar. Users who transferred a certain amount of US dollars to a custodial account would receive the equivalent amount of USDA.

Of course, users did not need to carry out this exchange process themselves. Anchorage initially injected 100 million US dollars into the custodial account and then sold these 100 million USDA to users through exchanges. This meant that users purchasing BitC from exchanges would first exchange their currency into USDA at a certain exchange rate and then use USDA to purchase BitC.

Mt.Gox exchange was the first to list USDA, and their BitC price was then displayed in USDA – the BitC/USDA trading pair.

In fact, in Barron’s previous life, there were many similar stablecoins. The most famous one was Tether (USDT), launched by Tether Limited in 2014, which was also pegged to the US dollar. This was the most commonly used stablecoin at the time. By 2021, the market value of Tether had exceeded 60 billion US dollars, becoming the world’s largest stablecoin in circulation.

The reason Matrix Capital established Anchorage to issue USDA was not only to provide “infrastructure” for future digital currency transactions, but also because if USDA could replace USDT’s position in the original timeline, they could influence the price trend of Coin by controlling the issuance and destruction of USDA.

Moreover, in some cases, they could also obtain a certain “seigniorage” – just like in the original timeline, although Tether had always claimed that they had a one-to-one cash reserve in US dollars for the USDT they issued, regulators had always believed that the issuance of USDT lacked transparency.

In other words, Tether Limited was suspected of issuing USDT without providing sufficient US dollar reserves for the USDT issued.

Then this company could obtain excess US dollar income during the issuance process. It should be noted that even with these tens of billions of US dollars, simply investing in US Treasury bonds could generate considerable income for them.

In addition to Matrix Capital, the Distributed Foundation, also headquartered in Bullita, continued to absorb BitC in small quantities after acquiring and sealing 500,000 BitC from the market.

Although Barron’s other funds would not participate in this round of BitC’s bull market speculation, the Distributed Foundation would gradually sell a portion of their BitC holdings after the price of BitC reached above 1,000 US dollars in the second half of this year. However, the quantity sold at that time would be controlled within a certain scale.

One of the purposes of this was to avoid excessive speculation on the price of BitC in this round of bull market, as such short-term excessive speculation would also harm its long-term development.

In addition, the Distributed Foundation could also use the strategy of selling BitC at a high price and then absorbing it at a low price to control the price of BitC within a healthy range.

The profits they obtained could also be used to support other blockchain start-up projects.

Currently, in addition to BitC, the Distributed Foundation has also reserved a certain amount of another newly emerging digital currency, LitC.

LitC was launched by former Google engineer Charlie Lee (Li Qiwai) in 2011. It is similar to BitC, but has been improved in some aspects, and its goal is to provide a faster and cheaper way to transact.

Currently, many exchanges, including Mt.Gox, have listed LitC trading in addition to BitC.

It is also worth mentioning that Charlie Lee is the younger brother of Li Qiyuan, the CEO of China’s largest BitC exchange – BitC China (BTCC).

And Li Qiyuan is the person who, in an interview program in 2014 in the original timeline, had a dialogue with the “well-known economist” Lang Xianping, causing Lang Xianping to create the famous scene of “If you give me BitC, I will not want it.”

…

Also in Colo, on February 15th, the groundbreaking ceremony for the Adjarala Hydropower Station project was grandly held at the construction site.

The participants in this groundbreaking ceremony included the presidents, ministers, and members of the National Assembly of Colo and Benin, as well as the Chinese ambassadors to Colo and Benin.

The President of Colo, Thomas Kabore, together with the President of Benin, unveiled the cornerstone for the Adjarala water project.

The Adjarala Hydropower Station is located on the Mono River, the border river between Colo and Benin. For nearly 40 years prior to this, Colo and Benin had been raising funds for this hydropower station. After all, the two countries had previously suffered from domestic power shortages, and the completion of this hydropower station could provide considerable power output for the two countries. However, this project had been shelved due to funding issues.

According to the project plan, the Adjarala Hydropower Station has a total installed capacity of 147,000 kilowatts, and the average annual power generation after completion is 461 million kilowatt-hours.

The entire project includes a barrage dam with an average height of 40 meters and a total length of 3,700 meters, a 161 kV high-voltage transmission and transformation line with a total length of 252 kilometers, a water diversion system, a plant, access roads, and other ancillary facilities.

The project is invested in by the West African Power Group and constructed by the China Hydropower Construction Group. The project has a construction period of 50 months and a total cost of 550 million US dollars. These funds are all provided by the West African Power Group, including a 250 million US dollar interest-free loan issued by the China Import and Export Bank.

The West African Power Group will obtain 70% of the shares of the Colo-Benin Hydropower Consortium holding the project, while the Colo and Benin governments will each hold 15% of the shares.

The Adjarala Hydropower Station is a large-scale infrastructure project for tripartite cooperation agreed upon by the heads of state of China, Colo, and Benin. It is the first cross-border tripartite cooperation project in the West African sub-region, which will effectively strengthen regional energy interconnection and alleviate the power shortage situation in Benin and Colo.

The project can provide nearly 10,000 jobs, reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 150,000 tons per year, promote the balance of the domestic power structure, significantly reduce electricity prices, create huge economic benefits for the people of the two countries, and continuously improve the material and cultural living standards of the people of the two countries.

Chapter 891: F. William McNabb III

“Besides the lower oil and gas prices, we also predict that gold will end its decade-long bull run and start to decline. Therefore, we have also invested funds to short gold futures…”

It was clear that compared to when she first joined DS Capital, Daisy had truly grown into a “financial powerhouse” after years of financial investments.

Now, Daisy made most of the decisions related to financial investments at DS Group, except for Barron occasionally providing advice on significant investment judgments and plans.

“I agree with your assessment. Since breaking through $1,900 per ounce last September, it has been considered a period of adjustment for gold prices until the beginning of the year. However, it’s clear that a significant factor in the rise in gold prices over the past two years is that investors have valued its safe-haven attribute following the outbreak of the subprime mortgage crisis and the subsequent sluggish global economic recovery, resulting in a large influx of funds into gold…”

At this time, Barron was in the office of the Lanai Island estate mansion, having a video call with Daisy.

After he finished speaking, Daisy continued:

“In addition, quantitative easing policies in various countries around the world have led to an increase in the money supply, and a significant portion of these funds have also flowed into gold investment. Various investment companies are establishing gold trust ETFs, which have all pushed up the price of gold.”

“But this enthusiasm will eventually dissipate, especially with changes in the external environment…”

“Yes, according to data released by the U.S. Department of Labor last Thursday, the number of initial jobless claims last week fell significantly, and the number of continuing jobless claims hit the lowest level since the week of July 12, 2008. The data showed that the number of initial jobless claims in the U.S. for the week of February 9 fell to 341,000, with expectations of 360,000. At the same time, the number of initial jobless claims for the previous week was revised to 368,000, with an initial value of 366,000. This shows that the signs of economic recovery in the U.S. are obvious, and as the economy recovers, the safe-haven attribute of gold will no longer be valued. In addition, the price of gold itself is already high enough, and the sentiment to take profits and leave the market has begun to emerge…”

Of course, because of the prominence of economic recovery, when the U.S. economic figures are relatively good, it will lead people to expect that monetary easing policies will weaken, thus believing it is unfavorable to gold prices, and selling gold in advance, or even shorting gold in the futures market.

However, most institutions need more data to support such judgments.

But Barron already knew that the U.S. and even the global economy would recover and improve starting this year, so he could make arrangements early.

After all, in financial investment, those who move ahead of the curve always profit more and have less risk, while those who follow the trend later are likely to be buried.

However, as of now, DS Group and Standard Chartered-Merrill Lynch have evolved from being early entrants to becoming one of the major players in the financial market.

Therefore, as the scale of funds they can use reaches tens of billions, their operating methods will also be very different from before.

Currently, Daisy is doing a good job in this regard.

…

“Hello, Mr. Smith…”

“Excuse me, who are you?”

While John Smith was attending this business gathering and chatting happily with the glamorous socialite beside him, a middle-aged blond man in a suit walked up to him.

“Avery Garcia. Beautiful lady, do you mind if I have a private word with Mr. Smith?”

The man who identified himself as Avery Garcia looked at the alluring woman next to John and asked politely.

Although his demeanor was polite, the woman could feel an undercurrent of unease emanating from him, especially when his gaze fell on her, it felt tangible and brought her pressure.

“Of course, you guys talk. I’ll go say hello to a friend…”

“I don’t believe we’ve met…”

Seeing Avery Garcia’s behavior, John Smith frowned slightly and said.

“No, but I think you should know Mr. McNabb. He wants to see you.”

“McNabb? Which McNabb?”

“Mr. McNabb of Vanguard Group.”

“F. William McNabb III? Is he here too?”

“Mr. McNabb is in the private room upstairs…”

Avery Garcia glanced at his wristwatch and said:

“I don’t think you want to keep him waiting too long.”

As the chairman of Sinclair Broadcast Group, John Smith naturally knew F. William McNabb III, the chairman and CEO of Vanguard Group.

After John Bogle retired, John Brennan took over as the new helmsman of Vanguard Group in 1996.

Then, in 2008, F. William McNabb III succeeded him as the CEO of Vanguard Group. Currently, he serves as the chairman and CEO of Vanguard Group and is its head.

However, John Smith had not had any contact with Mr. McNabb before – although Vanguard Group was also a shareholder of Sinclair Broadcast Group, since he became the chairman of the group, Vanguard Group’s board representative in Sinclair Broadcast Group had been relatively low-key. Even when John Smith encountered an investigation by the Maryland Attorney General’s Office, the other party only expressed the hope of maintaining the company’s stability.

Of course, since F. William McNabb III happened to be at this business gathering, it was possible that he learned that he was here and wanted to meet and chat.

With these thoughts, John Smith followed Avery Garcia through the crowd in the hall and up the stairs to the second floor.

Compared to the lively hall below, the second floor was much quieter. Along the way, John Smith only saw two or three people. As they moved forward, the sound of the hall behind them gradually faded.

Reaching the door of a room, Avery Garcia knocked lightly on the door twice, waited a minute, and then gently opened the door.

“Sir, Mr. Smith is here.”

As Avery stepped aside, leaving a passage for John Smith, John saw a white man, about fifty years old, with slightly gray hair and wrinkles on his face that seemed carved, sitting alone in the luxuriously decorated private room.

Although he had never met him, that person’s appearance often appeared in financial media reports, and John naturally recognized him as Mr. McNabb, the chairman and CEO of Vanguard Group.

“Please sit down, Mr. Smith.”

After John Smith entered the private room, Avery Garcia left the room and gently closed the door.

F. William McNabb III looked at John Smith warmly, opened the cigar box on the table, and said to him:

“Would you like a cigar? This is a good thing from Cuba.”

Chapter 892: Forbidden Fruit

“John?”

When Jenny’s voice rang out beside him, John Smith suddenly snapped back to reality. Meeting her questioning gaze, he quickly said,

“It’s nothing, just a little tired today.”

John’s behavior didn’t make Jenny suspect anything. She casually said,

“Then go and rest for a while. I’m going out. Chris and the others are in New York.”

Hearing Jenny’s words, John was silent for a moment, then nodded.

Chris was the Countess of Booth.. Just like last year, they didn’t always live on Lanai Island. The women would occasionally get together and go out, visiting cities like those in Australia, or places like New York and Los Angeles in America. Anyway, with a private jet, it was very convenient.

Because John Smith had to attend some business gatherings recently, he and his wife had left Maryland and come to New York for a few days, which was perfect for Jenny to meet up with the women and have some fun.

After Jenny left, John Smith didn’t return to the bedroom, but went into the study.

Sitting in the chair, with only a dim desk lamp on in the room, he couldn’t help but recall the scene when he met with the head of Vanguard Group just now.

…

“In fact, the reason I’m meeting with you this time is because I have a plan…”

After hearing F. William McNair III’s straightforward words, John Smith looked at him with a puzzled expression.

“I want to push Sinclair Broadcast Group to acquire Tribune Media Company. They own more than 40 local television stations and are highly profitable. After completing this acquisition, Sinclair Broadcast Group will cover more than 72% of American households, becoming one of the largest television networks in America.”

“Tribune Media Company? But they’re under Fox…”

It could be said that McNair III’s words caught John Smith completely off guard…

“That’s not a problem. Our Vanguard Group can help you achieve this goal.”

Regarding John’s doubts, McNair III said calmly,

“But there’s one condition, and that is that we can provide the acquisition funds for Sinclair Broadcast Group, but it needs to be in the form of issuing additional shares.”

“This…”

John Smith frowned slightly and said,

“This kind of thing requires a decision from the board of directors…”

“But you are the chairman of Sinclair Broadcast Group, Mr. Smith. I hope you understand that our joining will only make your control over the company more secure, instead of being in a threatened position like you are now…”

The last time Sinclair Broadcast Group faced a debt crisis with the Bank of New York Mellon, IC Capital and DS Group jointly invested to purchase most of the $250 million worth of Sinclair Broadcast Group’s convertible bonds to help them through the crisis, and the portion of bonds they held has now been converted into Sinclair Broadcast Group shares.

Therefore, in terms of the current shareholding ratio of Sinclair Broadcast Group, the Sinclair family’s total shareholding is about 38%, IC Capital’s shareholding ratio is 15.5%, DS Capital’s shareholding is 14.5%, and Vanguard Group’s shareholding in Sinclair Broadcast Group has become 7%…

This makes Sinclair Broadcast Group’s shareholding ratio rather delicate.

Although the Sinclair family’s total shareholding is 38%, higher than other shareholders, and even higher than the total shareholding of IC Capital and DS Group.

But currently, John Smith can confidently control only the 22.5% of shares held by the family trust, as well as the shares held by his full sister and brother, plus his own shareholding, totaling 7.75% of shares—adding the shares held by the family trust, John Smith can truly control 30.25% of the Sinclair family’s shareholding, only slightly higher than Barron’s controlled 30% shareholding ratio.

So, obviously, McNair III was very clear about the current shareholding ratio of Sinclair Broadcast Group. His words naturally had a deeper meaning—who else could be the so-called “threat” that John Smith was facing?

But then again, it was impossible that John Smith hadn’t thought about the “threat” McNair III mentioned before.

Moreover, during the previous investigation by the Maryland prosecutor, Ivanka’s attitude, that feeling of having one’s life and death decided by others, was not without impact on John Smith.

But similarly, John wasn’t a fool. He understood that if Barron and the others’ power in Sinclair Broadcast Group posed a “threat” to him, then would McNair III, representing Vanguard Group, be the “savior”?

Just like McNair III mentioned the acquisition of Tribune Media Company under Fox, that was a large company with more than 40 local television stations, and most of them were sports programs, which were very high-quality assets.

Under normal circumstances, Murdoch, the media mogul behind Fox, would definitely not agree to sell this asset.

This was indeed a tempting cake for Sinclair Broadcast Group.

But John Smith also understood that Tribune Media Company was worth a lot of money, probably no less than $7 billion!

For Sinclair Broadcast Group, this was simply an act of a snake trying to swallow an elephant. According to McNair III’s request, obtaining the other party’s funds by issuing additional shares, even if it was only a portion of the required funds, Vanguard Group would become the largest shareholder of Sinclair Broadcast Group in the future.

Perhaps his situation at that time would be even more awkward than it was now.

Indeed, the Sinclair family had developed this group from a local television station in Baltimore into a television giant covering the entire United States. In the end, everyone believed that the main credit went to his father and eldest brother.

Now, as the head of the family and the chairman of Sinclair Broadcast Group, John Smith also hoped to leave a strong mark on the development of the family and Sinclair Broadcast Group.

If he could facilitate this acquisition, it would be a huge leap for Sinclair Broadcast Group.

But the problem was, would Sinclair Broadcast Group still belong to the Sinclair family at that time?

The future blueprint was wonderful, but every decision had unpredictable consequences—either success, enjoying applause; or failure, being stripped of the family business.

McNair III in front of John Smith was no different from the serpent in the Garden of Eden, tempting Adam and Eve.

At the same time, from McNair III’s words, John also vaguely felt some unusual meaning.

Just like he said before, this proposal required the approval of the board of directors, which also meant consulting with DS Group and IC Capital—if the other party agreed to have their shares diluted, then they wouldn’t have any objections to him.

But based on John Smith’s understanding of Barron, even if he didn’t object to the acquisition of Tribune Media Company, that British Duke wouldn’t lack funds at all…

And McNair III’s meaning…

Only needed John Smith, the chairman, to agree to promote this matter?!

It wasn’t impossible to do so. After all, even according to the 30.25% shareholding ratio that he could control, plus Vanguard Group’s 7% shareholding, it would be enough to completely defeat Barron’s controlled shares.

But this kind of tit-for-tat behavior was tantamount to declaring war on the other party!

Even if John Smith hoped to strengthen his power in Sinclair Broadcast Group, it didn’t mean he wanted to fall out with Barron—at least not when he didn’t have that much confidence.

Chapter 893: Investment Queen

Jeannie naturally had no idea what John Smith was thinking at that moment.

After meeting up with her sister-in-law, Countess Chris, and Tamaran, and having a good time in New York for two days, she went directly to Lanai Island with them.

Of course, Jeannie and Chris could really be considered close as sisters-in-law, especially when they were studying together…

When Barron initially persuaded the two of them to study together, both Jeannie and Chris were a little embarrassed about it.

As for now, they were both able to enjoy the “special pleasure” of it.

After all, Jeannie understood her brother’s “personal preferences.” As a woman herself, she thought that her sister-in-law Chris was better off maintaining such a relationship with Barron than being alone in her room, raising a kept man. It would be more reliable.

Such things were not uncommon among the British aristocracy.

With Barron’s status, it wouldn’t pose any threat or harm to the Booth.s’ marriage. On the contrary, it would help maintain its stability.

Speaking of which, while studying with Jeannie and Chris, Barron couldn’t help but wonder what it would be like if Bonnie were added, putting these three women with “complex” relationships together…

It had to be said, such a thought was very… stimulating.

Although Bonnie and Countess Booth. had been together before…

Putting these three together would still be a very challenging task.

“Give it to me, give it all to me… Master.”

When Jeannie uttered those words, Countess Booth. had already fallen asleep beside her.

In terms of combat power alone, it was clear that the countess, who had already given birth twice, was far inferior to Jeannie—this was probably not just a difference in age, but also related to her physical constitution.

“Aren’t you afraid of getting pregnant? Or did you take medicine beforehand?”

Even though Barron’s body was terrifyingly strong, he felt a little tired after this “battle.”

He reached out and hugged Jeannie, deliberately asking.

“Hmph, that’s none of your business.”

Jeannie seemed to have completely forgotten the scene of begging for mercy just now, and said stubbornly.

“I’m just a little curious as to why you and John aren’t planning to have children yet? Could it be…”

“Okay, if you want to hear the truth, it’s that he’s infertile…”

“What about other methods? Like IVF or…”

Drawing circles on Barron’s body, Jeannie said lightly:

“If it was just low sperm count or low survival rate, it would be fine, we could use that method, but unfortunately, he completely lacks…”

Barron suddenly understood:

“So you’re planning to get pregnant with mine?”

Rolling her eyes at him, Jeannie said nonchalantly:

“It depends on your ability. I don’t care anyway.”

Uh, Barron was very confident about this. He had some experience in this area…

“Okay, I’m sleepy, darling…”

…

On March 16th, Motorola Mobility launched the Moto Watch smartwatch.

Since the beginning of the year, when Google’s Google Glass trial version was delivered to developers, “smart wearable devices” began to attract attention.

The Google Glass Explorer Edition has a built-in camera, audio and video playback functions, giving wearers real-time information. Like a smartphone, it can control taking pictures, video calls, and surfing the Internet, processing text messages and emails through voice commands.

After that, Honor Electronics also launched their Honor Band and smartwatch products, adding fuel to the fire of wearable devices.

Just as Motorola Mobility launched the Moto Watch, news also spread that Apple was developing similar products.

As a major shareholder of Motorola Mobility, Ivanka also represented IC Capital at this Motorola Mobility product launch.

Now her title of “Investment Queen” had already spread throughout the industry, so Ivanka’s appearance also attracted many media interviews.

It’s just that at this moment, the focus of many media outlets was not on Motorola Mobility…

“Ms. TP, it is said that Microsoft intends to acquire Nokia. As a competitor in the mobile phone operating system field, will Android also join the competition?”

Well, recently, the hottest news in the tech world has been the acquisition rumors between Microsoft and Nokia.

Specifically, Nokia intends to sell their Devices & Services division—which can basically be seen as Microsoft preparing to acquire Nokia’s mobile phone manufacturing business.

Once upon a time, Nokia was almost seen as synonymous with mobile phones, but with the rise of the Android and Apple mobile phone system camps, Nokia’s global mobile phone business can be said to have declined all the way.

In the end, Nokia’s mobile phone business was reduced to the point where it needed to be sold.

As for Microsoft being interested in Nokia’s mobile phone business, it was not surprising at all…

Before that, Microsoft had already acquired Nokia’s low-end brand, Asha, which provided Microsoft’s WP (Windows Phone) system with a larger audience: millions of users in developing countries.

Microsoft initially planned to use Asha as a springboard to attract more consumers to accept the WP system.

Acquiring Nokia’s Devices & Services division, Microsoft also had the same idea, which was to acquire more users for its own WP system through this acquisition.

This also showed Microsoft’s emphasis on the mobile phone operating system business!

“If possible, we would definitely like to join the acquisition of Nokia’s mobile phone division. After all, the previous acquisition of Motorola Mobility seems to be very successful so far…”

To this, Ivanka did not shy away from it:

“Of course, what we care about most is whether we can be treated equally in the negotiations with Nokia. After all, in some respects, Microsoft has an advantage…”

Ivanka shrugged her shoulders as she said this, the implication being very obvious.

After all, Nokia’s current CEO, Stephen Elop, previously served as a senior executive at Microsoft and was once considered one of the most promising candidates to succeed Microsoft CEO Ballmer.

This is also why the acquisition that Microsoft later reached with Nokia was called “Elop’s last loyalty to Microsoft”…

Of course, this was definitely a joke.

However, after Microsoft completed the acquisition of Nokia’s Devices & Services division in the original timeline, Stephen Elop gave up his position as Nokia CEO and went to Microsoft to serve as Executive Vice President of the Devices & Services division, which was a definite thing…

In the original timeline, Microsoft reached an acquisition agreement with Nokia in September of this year. Now they have accelerated their actions.

This is of course also related to the fact that the current Android camp is more powerful than it was in the original timeline.

Not only is the development of Honor Electronics more successful than HTC in the original timeline, but Motorola Mobility has also been adjusted after being acquired. Although it cannot be said to have returned to its glorious era, it can be called a resurrection.

Therefore, not only has Nokia’s mobile phone business share been squeezed by them, but the rate of decline is also faster…

Microsoft is also facing far greater pressure than in its previous life in the face of Android.

Then it is understandable that the two sides began to contact each other earlier than in the original timeline and talked about the acquisition.

Chapter 894: King of Social Media

Although Ivanka stated in the interview that Android Corporation would participate in the acquisition of Nokia’s Devices & Services division, she wasn’t particularly interested. After all, she had already completed the acquisition of Motorola Mobility, and while the company’s performance had improved, it was far from returning to its original scale.

However, both Microsoft’s Windows Phone system and Nokia’s mobile phone division were in competition with the industries that Ivanka’s IC Capital was involved in.

Therefore, she was happy to stir up the situation through this interview.

If this could help Nokia raise its price, making Microsoft pay more, or even ruin the deal altogether, that would be ideal.

Just like Ivanka’s answer, implying the Nokia’s current CEO Stephen Elop’s close ties with Microsoft, could also create pressure on Stephen Elop during negotiations with Microsoft regarding the acquisition. He had to secure a good price for Nokia, otherwise he could easily be seen as still “loyal” to Microsoft…

That being said, even if Nokia chose to sell their Devices & Services division, it didn’t mean Nokia would withdraw from the mobile phone industry altogether. It only meant they were exiting the mobile phone manufacturing industry. But Nokia’s accumulation in the mobile phone industry over the years, not to mention their continued research and development capabilities in related technologies, even just relying on patent fees charged to mobile phone manufacturers from their vast patent library, would be enough for them to continue to reap substantial profits from the industry.

“There are reports that Twitter will go public this year. As Twitter’s largest investor, what is IC Capital’s view on this?”

Hearing the reporters ask about Twitter’s IPO again, Ivanka said:

“Twitter is developing very smoothly at the moment. Active users have exceeded 250 million. It has been developing for seven years now, and it is an appropriate time to go public. This matter is still being pushed forward. If there is definite news, Twitter will issue an announcement to the media.”

Having developed to its current stage, Twitter has gone through five rounds of financing. IC Capital participated in all rounds except the last one. Therefore, they currently hold approximately 32% of Twitter’s shares, making them Twitter’s largest shareholder.

In the Series E financing completed by Twitter in September of last year, they obtained as much as 500 million dollars in financing, and Twitter’s valuation has also reached as high as 8 billion dollars.

Currently, besides IC Capital’s shareholding, Twitter founder Evan Williams holds the most shares, reaching 10.5%; another co-founder Jack Dorsey holds 5%, and the current CEO Richard Costolo holds 1.5%.

In addition, venture capital firms such as Sequoia Capital, DST Global, and KPCB have also invested in Twitter, holding shares ranging from 6% to 10%…

Just as Ivanka said, Twitter currently has more than 250 million active users. Of course, this number is still far behind Woaw’s scale of over 800 million monthly active users.

But at the same time, Twitter’s user activity is particularly high, and information can be widely shared in a very short period of time.

For example, as early as the 2008 American election, Barack Obama’s Twitter popularity soared, and he used it as the “center” of his grassroots campaign plan.

In November, after being elected, Barack Obama publicly thanked his Twitter followers.

In addition, Twitter is not only a giant in the mobile social networking field, but has also become a new channel for merchants to promote themselves.

The company makes money by selling embedded targeted advertising models, and Twitter’s advantage is that merchants can publish advertisements based on their users’ preferences and geographic distribution. They can also invest relevant advertisements based on what they are doing, which fully locks in the target customer group, and the content is similar to the content published by users, making it easier to be accepted.

Therefore, Twitter’s successful advertising model has become a new paradigm for mobile advertising. Woaw has also learned from Twitter’s successful advertising model and launched a similar advertising product last year.

Currently, Wall Street giants including Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan Chase, and Standard Chartered-Merrill Lynch are interested in becoming underwriters for Twitter’s IPO. Most of these investment banks initially estimated Twitter’s market value at around 10 billion dollars.

But Ivanka insists that Twitter’s market value cannot be less than 15 billion dollars, and the specific details of its listing are currently being discussed.

After all, Barron knew that in his previous life, Twitter’s market value exceeded 25 billion dollars on the day of its IPO…

In addition, speaking of Woaw Technology, IC Capital is also one of the major shareholders of this technology company that has now become an internet giant.

Woaw initially rose during the PC internet era. After the rise of the mobile internet, Woaw was also one of the first social networks to launch a mobile app version. The Woaw Chat they launched has now replaced Whatsapp’s position in the original timeline. Even because it initially relied on Woaw’s huge user base, Woaw Chat’s development has been faster than Barron’s previous life’s Whatsapp.

In addition, in May of last year, Woaw also acquired online photo sharing service Instagram (IG) for a high price of 1 billion dollars. This is a very popular photo sharing application on the Apple Appstore and the Android Play Store.

After being acquired by Woaw, relying on its larger user base, Instagram has also achieved rapid development, topping the download charts of the Appstore and Play Store for several consecutive weeks last year.

It is worth mentioning that IC Capital was also an early investor in Instagram, and it was Ivanka who came forward to facilitate Woaw’s acquisition of Instagram, which also led to a slight increase in IC Capital’s shareholding in Woaw.

Currently in America, 4G networks have covered most of the states. Therefore, after being acquired by Woaw, IG (Instagram), in addition to its original photo sharing function, also launched a short video sharing function at the right time.

IG users can quickly create 15-second MVs by matching the videos they shoot with music from the music library, or choose their favorite popular songs and create music videos through lip-syncing and body movements.

After the launch of this function, it was quickly welcomed by users, especially young users.

High school and college students regard this as a very cool thing, and IG’s young users are therefore increasing rapidly.

In particular, many filters and gameplay added by IG later are very popular among users, triggering a trend in America and even Europe.

It is through launching new applications and acquiring potential companies that Woaw Technology currently occupies the largest share of the global social network market. Although companies such as Google, Microsoft, and Yahoo also have some applications similar to Whatsapp, Skype, and Yahoo Messenger, the number of their active users is far less than that of Woaw’s applications.

As a result, Woaw Technology’s advertising revenue has now surpassed Yahoo’s, and the gap with Google is gradually narrowing.

Chapter 895: Giving Up Profits

It was also because of Woaw’s success in the social media sphere that Woaw Technology’s stock price had reached $43.45. In the global IT company market capitalization list released in the first quarter of this year, Woaw ranked fourth with a market capitalization of $220 billion.

Ahead of Woaw were Apple, Microsoft, and Google—it is worth mentioning that Google’s market capitalization was $225 billion, only $5 billion higher than Woaw’s.

Although Google no longer had YouTube and Android, and its market capitalization potential was much weaker than in its original timeline, it still entered the mobile instant messaging (Whatsapp) and video sharing fields through acquisitions. However, in terms of user share, these areas were far inferior to Woaw’s WoawChat and YouTube.

As for the mobile operating system, the GOS system had basically been abandoned by Google. Currently, Android’s main competitor was still Apple’s iOS.

At the same time, starting from the fourth quarter of last year, DS Holdings (Cavendish Trust) had begun to reduce its holdings of Woaw shares—in fact, Woaw’s stock price in the first quarter of this year was slightly lower than in the fourth quarter of last year due to market influences…

This was also related to the announcement of the share reduction by its major shareholder, DS Holdings.

Currently, the total share capital of Woaw Technology is 5.06262 billion shares. Before the reduction, DS Holdings held 2.2 billion Woaw shares, accounting for 43.45% of the shares; the second largest shareholder, IC Capital, held 855 million Woaw Technology shares, accounting for 16.89% of the shares.

However, because DS Holdings held 200 million Class B shares of Woaw, DS Holdings’ voting weight in Woaw exceeded 58%.

From the fourth quarter of last year, when Woaw’s stock price was above $45, DS Holdings began to reduce its holdings. Up to now, they had basically completed the reduction of approximately 500 million Woaw shares, obtaining nearly $19 billion in after-tax income.

After the reduction, DS Holdings still held 1.7 billion shares of Woaw Technology, accounting for 33.58% of the shares, a significant decrease from before.

However, DS Holdings’ voting weight in Woaw remained at 51%.

The reason why DS Holdings began to reduce its holdings of Woaw Technology shares was not only for cashing out, but also mainly for the future development of Woaw Technology.

After all, DS Holdings’ previous shareholding ratio in Woaw Technology was too high, which was rare among American IT giants. Companies like Apple, Microsoft, and Google did not have shareholders holding nearly half of the shares…

If such a shareholding ratio was maintained, a company of Woaw Technology’s size would inevitably arouse dissatisfaction from many other capitals—they should be given opportunities to share the profits.

Currently, Sequoia Capital, Goldman Sachs, and Blackstone Fund are among the major shareholders of Woaw Technology, but this is not enough. There are more large capital groups, including Vanguard Group, BlackRock Group, and State Street Corporation, that have the need to invest in Woaw.

Only by allowing more of these capitals to enter can most of the resistance be reduced in Woaw’s subsequent mergers and acquisitions and development. Otherwise, with your size, any slightly large-scale merger and acquisition could trigger an anti-monopoly investigation that would give you a hard time.

Even without further mergers and acquisitions, you could be subject to an anti-monopoly investigation under the promotion of certain capitals.

For example, when Woaw acquired Instagram last year, it aroused opposition from companies such as Google and Yahoo. At that time, the American Department of Commerce also intervened in the anti-monopoly investigation of this acquisition.

Even though Barron’s connections were strong enough, he still had to promise privately to reduce Woaw’s shares before the matter was settled.

After DS Holdings reduced its holdings in Woaw, capitals such as Vanguard Group, BlackRock Group, and State Street Corporation almost took over the shares it reduced. It can be said that Woaw Technology is now able to ensure that it will not be deliberately obstructed in its competition with IT giants such as Microsoft and Google at the capital level.

Barron had long anticipated this situation. It is said that you have to give to get. Otherwise, if other capitals unite to snipe, Woaw’s development will inevitably be curbed, and its market value will certainly not have much potential. Even if you hold more shares, the wealth you obtain will be limited.

After all, think about it and you’ll understand. If we hold more shares in Microsoft and Google, who should we help when Woaw faces their competition? Do we still need to consider it?

Only when these companies all hold shares will they not “take sides.” Anyway, whoever wins, I win.

In fact, Barron is also a beneficiary of this system.

After all, not only Vanguard and BlackRock say so, but the Standard Chartered-Merrill Lynch Group he controls also does the same. The trillions of funds they control also need to be “sprinkled evenly” and invested in almost all listed large enterprises.

In this way, competition remains competition. As long as these companies occupying the upper and middle levels of the pyramid on Earth continue to control most of the world’s economic interests, they will be able to maintain the growth of their asset scale.

Of course, unlike these capitals, Barron, in addition to this, also took advantage of his friendly relationship with China to invest heavily in many related industries in China.

It is not to say that other capitals have not entered the Chinese market to invest, but there are some restrictions on such investment there, and because of their vested interests, the degree of entry of those old Western capitals is not as good as Barron’s.

Even later, Vanguard Group reduced its investment in China…

After all, the logic of these American capitals is that, before this, it was not that there were no countries that could challenge American industries, such as Germany and Japan, but they were ultimately suppressed by the American side. This long-term successful strategy also made them path-dependent on this, believing that they could continue to do so to achieve their goals.

However, Barron knew very well that this time was different.

After all, currently, the only countries in the world that can be called independent and autonomous are the top three permanent members of the Security Council. If you want to be more specific, it can only be regarded as three and a half, with a certain Eastern power counting as half…

India: That would be me…

The same method may work for Germany and Japan, but it may not work for a certain independent and autonomous country…

After all, from the very beginning, they have come out of this biting their teeth.

This spirit, which is different from other “developed countries,” is more or less imprinted in Barron’s soul.

…

“Dear John, how have you been lately?”

After embracing Barron, John Smith squeezed out a bright smile and said:

“Not bad, I’m very happy to see you, Barron.”

Barron came to America again. This time, he first sent Jenny directly back to Baltimore, the largest city in Maryland. The headquarters of the Sinclair Group is located here, and John Smith has also returned to Baltimore from New York.

Speaking of which, it is no wonder that the Sinclair Group chose this place as its headquarters. In addition to the fact that the Sinclair Group started by acquiring a local television station in Baltimore, Baltimore’s location is also very good. It is less than 300 kilometers away from New York, and only 60 kilometers away from the capital, Washington.

At the same time, Baltimore is also located on the western side of the top end of the Chesapeake Bay and is one of the main ports in America.

This time, Barron needed to go to Washington to meet with some “old friends” on Capitol Hill. After that, it would only take an hour by car from Baltimore to get there…

Chapter 896: Something’s Not Right

The convoy drove along the highway to Washington, D.C., attracting curious glances from other vehicles.

A motorcade like this, with three Land Rover Defenders leading and three bringing up the rear, and five Bentley Arnages in between, including three extended versions, was a rare sight in America.

After all, although Washington had its fair share of powerful figures, American politicians usually traveled in Cadillacs or Lincolns, with Chevrolet Suburbans for security detail…

As for America’s super-rich, while Bentley had been performing well in the luxury car market in recent years, a fleet consisting entirely of Bentleys was still uncommon among them. Most preferred Rolls-Royces…

Therefore, seeing the scale of this convoy, people couldn’t help but speculate about which important person was traveling—even the President didn’t usually have this much fanfare.

However, it was just speculation as they passed. Anyone with a sane mind wouldn’t get too close. After all, everyone understood that it was best not to invite trouble. If a misunderstanding arose, those bodyguards might actually open fire…

Sitting in one of the extended Bentley Arnages, Baron was lost in thought about his earlier meeting with John Smith.

John’s occasional, slightly unnatural behavior at the beginning hadn’t particularly registered with Baron at the time. He had simply attributed it to John’s slight embarrassment at seeing Baron again after Baron had returned his wife…

Baron believed that John might not have initially known about the “classmate” relationship between him and Jenny…

But now, although Baron hadn’t specifically asked Jenny, he didn’t believe that John was still in the dark.

Putting aside the fact that Jenny had come to him to plead for John Smith last time, just the information he had just received—that Jenny knew John was infertile, yet still confidently studied with him without taking any precautions…

That indicated that the couple had reached a certain understanding on the matter.

Therefore, even if John Smith, like Count Booth, had some special preference regarding his wife… in this kind of relationship, it was normal for there to be some awkwardness when the three of them met face-to-face for the first time.

However, now that Baron thought about it, something seemed a little off.

Especially the question that John Smith had abruptly asked when he was about to leave…

“Baron, I think Sinclair Group’s business is stable now. We can look for suitable television networks to acquire and expand our scale. What do you think?”

When Baron heard John Smith’s words, his first thought was of the acquisitions Sinclair Group had made in his previous life…

He said with a smile:

“Funding isn’t a problem. If it’s possible, I’ll support it. But you should know that the biggest obstacle is the government’s restrictions on the number of television stations a media group can own. I’m afraid if Sinclair Group continues to make acquisitions, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) won’t allow it.”

“What if we could get the FCC’s approval?”

Baron shook his head when he heard this:

“It’s unlikely. After all, the Democratic Party is in power now, and they themselves are opposed to this. Moreover, this regulation was promoted by the current FCC Chairman, Tom Wheeler, who is inherently wary of large corporations. Unless we can get the FCC to change its chairman…”

The Democratic and Republican parties in America have quite different governing philosophies. The so-called “bleeding hearts” are mostly from the Democratic Party. Their policies are less friendly to free economics than those of the Republican Party, and many regulations restricting large corporations were formulated when the Democratic Party was in power.

Just like in Baron’s previous life, Sinclair Group’s acquisition of Tribune Media didn’t happen until five years later. This acquisition was achieved partly because Disney acquired Twenty-First Century Fox, and the regional sports channels of Tribune Media under Fox overlapped with Disney’s sports television network ESPN, so they sold Tribune Media.

In addition, the Republican Party, which Sinclair Group had always supported, came to power, and FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler was replaced by the more conservative Ajit Pai, allowing Sinclair Group to be free from the previous restrictions on the number of television stations a media group could own, and complete the acquisition.

If it were now, such an acquisition would probably be difficult to achieve. On the one hand, the Democratic Party itself is cautious about the expansion of media groups like Sinclair Group…

Also, Sinclair Group has always leaned towards the Republican Party. Whether it was when George W. Bush was in office, or when the Builder ran for president later, Sinclair Group didn’t hold back from cheering them on in the original timeline.

So, the Democratic Party definitely wouldn’t give Sinclair Group any good looks… This was foreseeable.

Logically speaking, John Smith should be clear about these things, so why did he suddenly ask such a question?

“Your Grace?!”

Hearing Talulah Riley’s call beside him, Baron turned to look at her.

“We’re here…”

Sure enough, Baron already saw Alan Hoffman, Obama’s senior aide, waiting on the steps outside. He straightened his clothes, and before the bodyguard opened the car door, he turned to Talulah and said:

“Remember to have Nigel call me later, after my meeting with the President.”

…

On March 20th, O2 formally began contacting Dutch KPN to negotiate the acquisition of their German subsidiary, E-Plus.

Royal KPN is the largest mobile and fixed-line operator in the Netherlands. At the same time, they own mobile networks in Germany and Belgium. Currently, they have a total of nearly 30 million mobile users, of which approximately 10 million are in Germany.

Currently, O2 Germany, O2’s German subsidiary, has approximately 30 million mobile users. If it can complete the acquisition of Royal KPN’s subsidiary E-Plus, then O2 Germany’s number of users will exceed 40 million, accounting for almost half of the total population of Germany at this time, becoming the largest telecommunications operator in Germany.

Prior to this, America Movil and Telefonica had also expressed interest in E-Plus, but Dutch KPN considered America Movil’s offer to be too low—as early as last year, Mexican operator America Movil was interested in increasing its stake in struggling KPN by 3.2 billion euros, in order to expand into the European market.

Therefore, O2’s main competitor is currently Telefonica.

Undoubtedly, if O2 wants to snatch E-Plus from Telefonica, it needs to offer an attractive price.

However, interestingly, in Baron’s previous life, Telefonica first acquired O2, and then in 2013, their subsidiary O2 acquired E-Plus.

But now, not only has O2 been taken down by Baron early on, but through these years of mergers and development, its scale has surpassed Telefonica, and it has now become a competitor for Telefonica’s acquisition of E-Plus…

Chapter 897: Power Merger

In late March, British media revealed that United Power, currently the largest power company in Britain, was making an offer to Scottish & Southern Energy (SSE) to acquire the company, one of the six major power companies in Britain, for 7.5 billion pounds (approximately 9.64 billion U.S. dollars).

After this news emerged, some members of Parliament raised objections. They claimed that as the largest power company in Britain, United Power Group had a complete power generation, transmission, and distribution industry chain. If it completed the acquisition of Scottish & Southern Energy, the gap between its scale and other power companies would widen, which would be detrimental to fair competition in the British power market.

Of course, there were also those who held different opinions, pointing out that the two power companies in Scotland (Scottish & Southern Energy being one of them) did not fully compete in the power supply in the Scottish region, but often formed alliances on electricity prices, making it difficult for other competitors to profit in the Scottish market.

Because although the two Scottish power companies could nominally participate in the bidding of the electricity pool, Scotland exports electricity to England and Wales through several transmission lines with extremely limited transmission capacity, and the transmission prices are also inefficient, thus creating barriers to entry.

For example, in 1990, the average residential electricity price in London, England, was 10% higher than that in Edinburgh, Scotland. However, after 2001, the average residential electricity price in Edinburgh was more than 10% higher than that in London.

Moreover, judging from the way dividends are distributed, consumers have not benefited from it.

Therefore, if United Power Group completes the acquisition of Scottish & Southern Energy, it means that its market will enter the Scottish region, which will have a positive effect on local power competition…

As mentioned earlier, United Power Group, under United Energy Group, was formed by merging with UK Power Networks after they acquired Italian National Electricity Company.

UK Power Networks owns 3 of the 14 regulated power grids in the British market, with a total length of approximately 190,000 kilometers of cables. The grid covers an area of approximately 29,000 square kilometers, supplying electricity to more than a quarter of the British population. Its distribution service covers London, Southeast England, and East England, with 8.3 million users.

In addition, UK Power Networks also engages in unregulated businesses in the local area in the form of commercial contracts, providing power distribution services for private facilities, including four airports in London, the London Underground, and the Channel Tunnel Rail Link.

Therefore, UK Power Networks is the largest among the six major power companies in Britain.

The so-called “Big Six” power companies in the British market are British Gas, a subsidiary of Centrica, one of Britain’s largest utility companies, E.ON UK, a subsidiary of German E.on, Scottish Power, EDF Energy, a subsidiary of French EDF, Scottish & Southern Energy (SSE), and United Power Group (formerly UK Power Networks).

For a long time, the “Big Six” have had a market share of as high as 90% to 95% in the British market.

Scottish Power and Scottish & Southern Energy (SSE), two of the “Big Six” energy suppliers in Britain, have their main markets in the Scottish region.

Don’t think that just because SSE’s name is Scottish & Southern Energy, their market is in southern Scotland. In fact…

Scottish Power mainly serves the central and southern regions of Scotland, while Scottish & Southern Energy mainly serves the northern region of Scotland.

Currently, the market value of Scottish & Southern Energy is around 6.4 billion pounds. United Power Group’s offer can be said to offer a premium of nearly 15%, which is still very attractive.

After all, with the previous increase in international energy prices, coupled with the fact that Britain has a maximum price limit for electricity prices, this has led to a decrease in the profitability of many power companies, including Scottish & Southern Energy—even if they can negotiate with the British energy market regulator (OFGEM) on electricity price limits, their profits have begun to be squeezed under the premise of considering public acceptance.

Currently, the UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has publicly stated that it will review United Power Group’s acquisition of Scottish & Southern Energy to assess whether it constitutes a monopoly.

If the UK Competition and Markets Authority can approve this transaction, then United Power Group will complete the acquisition of Scottish & Southern Energy within two months. By then, United Power Group’s British subsidiary, British Power Company, will have a market share of 40% in the British market!

Of course, the premise is that the CMA can pass this acquisition. It can be said that this kind of acquisition is a challenge to the concept of a British “liberalized market” that previously encouraged full competition.

However, correspondingly, the Times recently published an article entitled “Were the Measures of British Electricity Privatization Reform Successful?” which summarized some of the situations since Mrs. Thatcher’s privatization reform of electricity in Britain, which pointed out some problems that have emerged in the past two decades of reform.

These include the following points:

First, the number of engineers has decreased. In order to improve efficiency and reduce costs, power grid companies have laid off a large number of personnel, resulting in an insufficient number of engineers, and even fewer engineering and technical personnel to participate in policy formulation;

Second, investment in international cooperation and technical research has decreased. Britain’s technical advantages in the international electrical engineering field have gradually been lost, which is related to insufficient participation;

Third, there is a lack of systematic perspective. There are almost no young experts who understand how the entire power industry operates. After the split, companies only care about their own business and have no opportunity to cultivate experts with a global perspective;

Fourth, the split improves efficiency and competition, but it also leads to an isolated pattern. Whether it is conducive to long-term development needs to be further evaluated;

Fifth, policy decisions consider the economy more, but the power system is complex. Economic decisions can provide a reference, but the current economic models do not have the ability to consider the overall energy security issue, and cannot make decisions that are more conducive to the overall situation;

Sixth, cost reduction is also overdrawing the power grid. Some local areas have serious potential equipment safety hazards. For example, the British National Grid Company (NG) has reduced employees and reduced costs through active operations. These costs are reflected in the reduction of transmission costs since the reform.

In addition, the article also mentioned that in terms of British energy security, even 60% of the British electricity market share was once in the hands of French and German companies (at that time, UK Power Networks belonged to a subsidiary of French EDF Group), which is a threat to British energy security.

The implication is naturally that the growth of United Power Group, a British company, is not a bad thing for the British power industry. At least, it can enable Britain to have a large-scale power group that ranks among the top in Europe and even the world, and can also have more resources to invest in technological research and development in the power field…

Chapter 898: Accelerating the Plan

“Currently, regarding the acquisition of South Scotland Electricity, five members of parliament have publicly expressed their opposition, including two members of the UK Parliament and three members of the Scottish Parliament…”

On the phone, Nigel Inskter said to Barron:

“At the same time, more members of parliament have stated that the acquisition of South Scotland Electricity by United Power Group is beneficial, whether in terms of strengthening local competition or improving the financial situation of the Scottish government…”

It seemed absurd to think that after the acquisition, the market share of British Power Company, a subsidiary of United Power Group, would increase, which would be beneficial to full market competition.

But in fact, it was quite reasonable. After all, many investigations had pointed out that the electricity market in Scotland was not fully competitive. The two major electricity companies, Scottish Power and South Scotland Electricity, often had a tacit understanding when it came to price competition.

After British Power Company completed the acquisition and entered the market, it would help break this tacit understanding—after all, British Power Company was larger, and its average cost would be lower.

So, if they started competing for local users in Scotland, Scottish Power would probably start to feel the pressure…

In addition, the Scottish government previously held a portion of shares in the two local electricity companies.

The current situation was that after the subprime mortgage crisis, Cameron was committed to reducing government spending in Britain, and the Scottish government naturally could not stay out of it. Their finances were also reduced, causing problems with some public services.

Once South Scotland Electricity was sold, the Scottish government would be able to obtain a considerable amount of funds, which would be very beneficial to alleviating their current financial pressure.

Of course, whether it was media outlets such as The Times or the members of parliament who stood up to speak in favor of this acquisition, they were certainly not acting entirely “based on facts.” Whether it was the “foundations” funded by Barron or the resources of United Energy Group, these were the main reasons why those members of parliament expressed “goodwill.”

As for those members of parliament who opposed it, there were naturally other capital interests behind them, but the reality was that they were not on Barron’s side now, so the consequences…

“I hope to change the attitude of some of them, as for the hardliners… they should learn a lesson after this matter.”

“We are already doing it, Your Grace. The intelligence department has already obtained investigation reports on some of them, and others are under investigation. I believe they will make a wise choice.”

Hearing Nigel’s words, Barron said with a smile:

“I believe you can do a good job. By the way, the Sinclair family…”

“Our North American division is already conducting a special investigation into John Smith and other members of the Sinclair family. If there are any results, I will inform you as soon as possible.”

…

In fact, the reaction of politicians to this acquisition of South Scotland Electricity by United Power Group was just a microcosm of Barron’s plan to eliminate “non-cooperators.”

Ever since he realized the need to change the outcome of Britain’s “Brexit,” Barron had begun to prepare this plan.

Or rather, even before that, he had realized the importance of those “voices” that influenced policy to his interests. It was just that after that, he invested more resources and formulated a more detailed plan.

Currently, there are more than ten different organizations and foundations in Britain that are mainly funded by his companies.

And these institutions provide financial support to many politicians…

Especially within the Conservative Party, his think tank has been assessing the number of members of parliament and dignitaries they can influence, and will use events such as this acquisition by United Power Group to verify the attitudes of some politicians.

Those who stand on his side will receive continued funding and media support, and as for those who dare to oppose him, they will either be “amicably negotiated” or step down due to scandals.

After all, reaching Barron’s current asset scale, if he does not have enough “spokespersons” to protect his interests—especially in his home base of Britain—then there will always be hidden dangers.

If he wants to consolidate his industry, or even continue to expand…

Then putting the right people in the right positions is crucial.

This not only refers to the company’s management, but also to those politicians.

…

“Speedboats approaching, alarm!”

As the alarm sounded, the personnel on the drilling platform suspended their work and went to the platform’s safe room to assemble, according to the usual drills.

At this time, several fully armed security personnel appeared on the platform’s side, observing the approaching speedboats with binoculars.

There were two speedboats. From the binoculars, it could be seen that there were about ten black people in various clothes on the speedboats, most of whom were holding guns.

When the speedboats approached less than 50 meters from the platform, some of the armed men had already opened fire on the platform.

Although at this distance, with the accuracy of the AK rifles in their hands, there was almost no danger, the security personnel on the side of the ship still scattered and found cover to hide.

They could already hear the crisp sound of bullets colliding with the hull of the ship on one side of the platform…

“This is the South Mira drilling platform, under attack by armed men. The other party has rifles, no RPGs have been found…”

“Please hold your position, the helicopter is on its way…”

“Roger!”

After contacting headquarters, the security personnel on the drilling platform carefully observed the movements of the two speedboats. Whenever a speedboat approached the platform and the other party prepared to climb onto the platform from the legs, they quickly leaned out and shot downwards to prevent the other party’s actions…

Finally, more than twenty minutes later, they heard the faint sound of a helicopter coming from a distance, and couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief.

At this time, the armed men who attacked the drilling platform also discovered the armed helicopter flying towards them, but they saw someone take out a tube-shaped object from the speedboat and carry it on his shoulder…

“Attention, attention, the other party has an RPG, aiming…”

“Roger!”

Just after the security personnel on the platform notified the helicopter, they saw a rocket flying towards the helicopter with a long tail flame.

At the same time, after being reminded, the helicopter urgently changed its altitude. The rocket passed a few meters from the bottom of the helicopter, causing everyone to break out in a cold sweat…

Next, they discovered that the other party did not continue to launch rockets, and should have only carried one this time…

So the machine gun on the helicopter began to shoot at the speedboat…

The security personnel on the drilling platform also took this opportunity to lean out from behind the cover and shoot at the speedboats on the sea.

In the end, one of the two speedboats should have been hit in the fuel tank and exploded.

The other one hurriedly left here, still leaving two bodies behind.

Chapter 899: Niger River Delta

This attack on the South Mira drilling platform occurred in the Niger Delta region, located in southern Nigeria, West Africa. It covers an area of 36,000 square kilometers, dotted with lakes, swamps, and abandoned oxbow lakes. Rich in oil resources, with a humid and hot climate and a population of over one million, it is the fourth largest delta in the world.

As everyone knows, Nigeria possesses abundant oil and gas resources. However, almost all of Nigeria’s oil and gas production comes from the Niger Delta. It is the world’s twelfth largest oil and gas-rich area, with proven recoverable oil reserves of 4.5 billion tons, accounting for 2.2% of the world’s proven oil reserves, and proven recoverable natural gas reserves of 2.7 trillion cubic meters, accounting for 1.4% of the world’s proven natural gas reserves.

Shell plays an important role in Nigeria’s domestic oil industry. For example, the South Mira drilling platform that was attacked this time was contracted by Shell.

The reason is that Shell was the first company to discover and develop Nigeria’s oil resources, and its oil exploration activities in Nigeria date back to the colonial period.

In 1937, Shell was granted permission to explore for crude oil in Nigeria, becoming the first oil company to enter Nigeria.

In 1956, Shell discovered oil in the Niger Delta in Nigeria and began commercial production in 1958, with a daily output of 6,000 barrels.

With Nigeria’s independence in 1960, Shell became more deeply involved in Nigeria’s oil field drilling, pipeline laying, refinery construction, and port facility development.

At the same time, other large European oil companies such as Total and Elf also entered Nigeria one after another.

After the 1970s, Shell’s business in Nigeria further expanded. Today, Shell operates more than 1,000 wells, 87 flow stations, and more than 6,000 kilometers of oil pipelines in the Niger Delta, with a daily oil production capacity of over 1 million barrels.

Shell’s position in Nigeria is extraordinary.

In the field of oil development, Shell, as the earliest developer, has long held a monopoly position.

Before 1979, in the Niger Delta region with the highest oil reserves, Shell’s oil production exceeded half of the region’s total output, exceeding the total output of ten large oil companies such as Mobil and Elf.

In 1977, the Nigerian government established the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), hoping to promote nationalization in the oil industry by acquiring shares.

Therefore, in 1979, the nationalized NNPC and Shell formed a joint venture, the Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria (SPDC).

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) held 55% of the shares, Shell held 30%, and other oil companies shared the remaining 15%.

From the perspective of shareholding, Shell is in an absolutely dominant position compared to other foreign oil companies. From the perspective of management structure, although the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation is the largest shareholder of the Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria, it is still an overseas subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell, and the operator is still Shell, and all previous general managers have been Shell personnel.

It can be seen that the company is still dominated by foreign capital represented by Shell.

After the establishment of the joint venture, Shell began to develop Nigeria’s deep-water oil fields. The entire Niger Delta region is 38% on land, 21% on the continental shelf, and 41% in deep sea areas.

However, the Niger Delta region is not so peaceful. There are many anti-government armed forces here, the most important of which is the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta.

They often attack oil companies and kidnap hostages.

According to statistics, since 2006, more than 300 foreigners have been kidnapped in this area.

The anti-government armed forces in the Niger Delta region are slightly different from those in other countries and can be called “oil and gas parasitic” anti-government armed forces.

The emergence of anti-government armed forces in the Niger Delta region has a specific socio-economic background. The economic contradictions, ethnic contradictions, and generational contradictions in this oil and gas producing area are intertwined, triggering complex conflicts between the government, companies, and local people. The failure of peaceful resistance ultimately led the people to choose armed struggle to fight for their own interests.

In 1914, the British Nigerian colonial government and protectorate promulgated the Minerals Act, which stipulated that all types of mineral resources belonged to the local government, and the proceeds were naturally used for local social development.

After Nigeria’s independence in 1960, successive federal governments, from the perspective of political integration and economic coordination, have been committed to controlling as much oil and gas revenue as possible, and have formulated new Petroleum Acts accordingly.

According to this act, the previous principle of local autonomy was abolished, and all oil and gas resources belonged to the federal government. The oil and gas revenue of the oil and gas producing areas was distributed by the federal government through the central fund.

Since then, the proportion of tax revenue that oil and gas producing areas can obtain has been sharply reduced year by year, from 100% in 1953 to 1.5% in 1984, and only slightly increased to 3% in 1992.

In other words, local governments in oil and gas producing areas directly benefit less from oil and gas revenue.

In addition, although the federal government established a development derivation fund for oil-producing areas from its oil and gas tax revenue in 1992, the management organizations of the fund, the Oil Mineral Producing Areas Development Commission (OMPADEC) and the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), were plagued by serious corruption and bureaucracy, and their role in promoting the economic and social development of the delta region was very limited.

Since the oil and gas industry has obvious characteristics of technology and capital intensity, it does not sufficiently drive employment in the resource area and contributes little to the development of local communities. In this case, the share of benefits from oil and gas development is reduced to a minimum, which means that the delta region cannot benefit from the development of the oil and gas industry, and it also loses the start-up capital necessary for the development of other industries.

While the distribution of benefits is reduced, the huge environmental costs generated by the development of the oil and gas industry also damage the interests of the local people.

This “negative asset” is mainly reflected in soil, water, and air pollution.

According to statistics, in the half century up to 2013, more than 6,000 oil spill accidents occurred in the delta region, resulting in the leakage of more than 1.5 million barrels of oil and gas, polluting the local soil and water. The arbitrary laying of a large number of oil pipelines has changed the original river course and destroyed fish spawning grounds. The various associated gases flared during oil and gas extraction have caused serious pollution to the atmosphere in the region.

The Niger River Delta region has become one of the most polluted areas in the world. Not only has the health of residents been damaged, but also the local traditional fishing and agriculture have been devastated, seriously affecting the normal life of local residents.

However, in order to ensure the continued growth of oil and gas revenue, the Nigerian federal government has long ignored the environmental problems in the delta region.

The 1969 Petroleum Act exempted oil and gas companies from their obligations to local environmental protection. The 1978 Land Use Decree stipulated that land not yet assigned to the federal government belonged to the governor (then appointed by the central government). Oil and gas companies could drill at will without consulting with local communities, and local communities lost the right to bargain with oil and gas companies and obtain environmental compensation.

Whether in the distribution of oil and gas resource revenue or in the allocation of oil and gas resource costs, the Nigerian federal government has long ignored the interests of the people in the delta region.

This energy-rich land has also become the poorest place in Nigeria.

According to incomplete statistics, by the end of the 20th century, the poverty rate in this area was as high as 74.8%.

73% of people lack safe drinking water, 70% of families have electricity shortages, most communities lack educational facilities, the enrollment rate of primary school-age children is less than 40%, and only 2% of the local population can obtain basic medical security.

The average life expectancy of local residents is only 46.8 years, and the mortality rate of children under 5 years old is as high as 20%.

By the time the Abubakar military government returned power to the people in 1999, the Nigerian federal government could no longer ignore the deteriorating socio-economic conditions in the delta region.

In order to quell the growing public discontent, the government increased the proportion of energy revenue that oil and gas producing areas could obtain to 13% that year, but this was still not enough to compensate for the costs paid by the people in the delta region for nearly half a century. Therefore, the public generally believed that this proportion should be increased to between 25% and 50%.

The limited concessions of the federal government and the demands of the people still could not be reconciled, and dissatisfaction was widespread.

A 2005 survey showed that more than half of the residents in the delta region believed that the federal government was the culprit hindering local development.

Another survey in 2007 showed that as many as 36.23% of the people were dissatisfied and expressed their willingness to participate in or support armed resistance against the government.

The evolution of the anti-government armed forces in the Niger Delta region from small-scale at the beginning to organized large-scale later is also related to the political situation in Nigeria.

In 1999, the Nigerian military government returned power to the people, and Nigeria restarted the democratization process.

However, due to the imperfection of the corresponding regulatory system, a large number of fraudulent activities occurred in the 2003 elections in Nigeria.

A few politicians, in order to win the election, did not hesitate to hire and arm militants to form armed gangs loyal to them personally, forcing local community members to vote for them.

Among them, the Niger Delta People’s Volunteer Force was initially supported by Peter Odili, the governor of Rivers State.

After the election, in order to prevent the organization from becoming too powerful, Odili supported the Niger Delta Vigilante to fight against it and check each other.

In the end, the Niger Delta People’s Volunteer Force announced a “full-scale war” with the government in September 2004, demanding that all oil and gas companies immediately stop operations and leave the delta region. At the same time, it began large-scale sabotage operations against oil and gas production facilities in the delta region, which had a huge impact on Nigeria and even the world’s crude oil market.

Since the suppression operation was difficult to achieve results, the Obasanjo government had to seek to resolve the issue through negotiations.

Finally, the Niger Delta People’s Volunteer Force reached a ceasefire agreement with the government in October 2004.

The government promised to grant amnesty and jobs to the militants and recover their weapons at a price of $1,800 per piece, while the latter guaranteed to stop confronting the government.

However, the ceasefire agreement only temporarily quelled the armed conflict in the delta region.

On the one hand, the amnesty program failed to effectively help the militants return to society, and the various contradictions caused by the development of oil and gas resources were not completely resolved. On the other hand, the government’s “acquisition price” for weapons was much higher than the “market price,” which objectively helped the militants upgrade their military equipment.

In September 2005, Asari Dokubo, the former leader of the Niger Delta People’s Volunteer Force, was arrested by the government for the crime of splitting the country, triggering a strong social backlash.

In January 2006, the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta was established. In the following six months, it launched nearly 20 attacks on oil and gas companies, causing more than $2 billion in economic losses (accounting for 32% of Nigeria’s total oil and gas revenue that year) and leading to a large-scale withdrawal of international oil and gas companies.

Since then, anti-government armed forces such as the Niger Delta Liberation Army and the November 1895 Movement have been established one after another, launching fierce struggles with the government or with each other around oil and gas resources.

By 2009, Nigeria’s oil and gas exports had fallen by 38.5% compared to 2006.

As Shell, which has significant oil and gas interests in the Niger Delta region, had to guarantee the safety of its oil fields in various ways over the years, including regularly paying “protection fees” to these anti-government armed forces, funding the improvement of the government’s armed forces, and hiring and strengthening its own security forces, etc…

However, with the recent escalating attacks, Shell finally hired Protector Military Services, headquartered at the Colo Mangki base, to ensure the safety of some of their oil fields.

This is the origin of the previous scene. Whether it is the security personnel on those oil platforms or the supporting armed helicopters, they all belong to Protector Military Services.

Prior to this, Protector Military Services exported a large number of security personnel to London to provide “labor services” for the G4S Group, assisting in the security work of the London Olympic Games.

After the Olympic Games closed, most of these personnel returned to Colo because the United States began to withdraw from Iraq and Afghanistan, and correspondingly, the demand for military contractors in these places was decreasing.

This required Protector Military Services to open up more business, including providing security for oil companies in Nigeria.

Currently, Protector Military Services has built a security base in the Niger Delta region, and more than 1,000 armed security personnel, as well as corresponding weapons and equipment, have been deployed here.

Although Protector Military Services’ security quotation is higher than that of Shell’s previous security company, their strength is still very satisfactory to the other party.

At the same time, since the start of the Niger Delta conflict, with the continuous deterioration of the security situation, many international oil companies have intended to withdraw their investment from Nigeria, including large oil companies such as Total and ENI.

The internal affairs of United Energy Group are also assessing the feasibility of taking over the oil shares of these oil companies in Nigeria. After all, the fundamental contradictions in the Niger River Delta region have not been resolved. Even if strong measures are used to suppress those anti-government armed forces, as long as the distribution of benefits is not recognized by the local people in the delta, the anti-government armed forces will still have soil to survive.

However, at least now, United Energy Group and Shell have a cooperative beginning. They cooperate with Colo Energy and Chemical Group under the West Africa Group to invest in a refining and chemical base in the petrochemical industrial base about 90 kilometers away from the Port of Colo Lotti. Some of the crude oil produced in Nigeria will be processed here and sold to the world.

The total investment in this refining and chemical base exceeds 15 billion US dollars, including two oil refineries and one chemical plant. Currently, this base in Colo has become the largest petrochemical base in West Africa. Because Lotti has a related petrochemical college, coupled with years of training, Colo has also been able to provide mature industrial workers and front-line technicians for these petrochemical plants.

Of course, there are also refining and chemical bases in Nigeria, but Nigeria’s crude oil daily output once approached a historical high of nearly 2.5 million barrels. However, due to outdated equipment, theft, and destruction, the current output is less than 2 million barrels.

Similarly, Nigeria’s four state-owned refineries are poorly managed, and their refining capacity is far from the designed capacity of 445,000 barrels per day.

Therefore, the capacity of Nigeria’s domestic refineries cannot digest their oil production at all. Most of their crude oil production is directly exported.

Now, it is very convenient to transport it to the petrochemical base in Colo for crude oil refining, which is not far away.

Chapter 900: High-Speed Rail Line 2

As April arrived, this round of BitC’s bull market officially began.

In fact, BitC’s rise had already started last year with its first halving. BitC underwent its first halving on November 28th of last year.

Before this halving, BitC’s price was less than $1, but now it had risen to over $35. If it followed the trajectory of its original timeline, the highest price throughout April would exceed $140, and in the first stage of this bull market, before June, BitC’s price would exceed $260…

Of course, BitC’s current price still had enormous room for growth compared to the over $70,000 it would reach later.

At this point, Barron remembered a story a friend had told him in his previous life:

When he went to his friend’s house, they talked about how BitC’s price had already exceeded $60,000 per coin. Then his friend suddenly said, “I bought a lot of BitC on Taobao many years ago. It was very cheap back then…”

Hearing this, he immediately became excited:

“Really? Then you’re rich! How much did you buy?”

“Uh… a box, I guess.”

As he was wondering about this, he saw his friend pull a box out from under the bed in the bedroom, and he immediately felt that things were not so simple…

Sure enough, after his friend opened the box, he saw it was full of “gold coins” printed on it…

Of course, this was just a joke.

But getting back to the point, not to mention in 2013, even more than ten years later, even among young people, those who haven’t had specific exposure to it probably still have very little understanding of BitC. Many people don’t understand what it is.

At the same time, the promotion of USDA at this time wasn’t exactly smooth. Although Mt. Gox and some exchanges invested in by Matrix Capital and the Distributed Foundation had already changed the pricing of BitC and other coins to BitC/USDA trading pairs, the trading volume of BitC wasn’t very large at the moment. Including its main markets in America and China, there weren’t many users directly buying USDA.

After all, in the American market, you could directly use dollars to buy, without the extra step of converting to USDA.

As for the Chinese market, because regulations weren’t strict yet, the exchanges there could directly use Chinese currency to buy…

But Anchorage wasn’t in a hurry, because after the People’s Bank of China and other five ministries issued a document at the end of this year requiring the prevention of BitC risks, the direct way to buy BitC with Chinese currency would be blocked, and the scope of USDA’s use would expand.

At least USDA was still quite popular in some countries outside of those that used the dollar as their official currency.

…

After entering April, the rate of decline in international gold prices began to accelerate.

In September of last year, international gold prices reached a historical high, exceeding $1,900 per ounce. At the beginning of this year, although international gold prices fell below $1,700 per ounce, they were generally in a state of fluctuation during these three months.

But after entering April, international gold prices began to fall below $1,600 per ounce, and by mid-April, their price directly had a tendency to fall below $1,300 per ounce.

Just like Daisy had analyzed with Barron before, the global economy began to show signs of recovery in the first quarter of this year. This led investors to expect that the United States would reduce its quantitative easing policy and the Federal Reserve would reduce its bond-buying scale. In addition, the funds that had previously invested in gold futures had the idea of taking profits and leaving the market. These factors led to this wave of decline in international gold prices.

For the funds under DS Group, because they had already begun to hold short positions in gold futures last year, this round of gold price decline also made their profits very considerable.

At this time, Barron had returned to London with Bonnie. As for the other women, because they didn’t need to be involved in work like Bonnie, most of them were still staying on Lanai Island with the children.

After returning to London, Barron met with Prime Minister Cameron. The main topic of their discussion this time was the plan for Britain’s second high-speed rail line.

Britain’s first high-speed railway, namely High Speed 1 (HS1), connects St. Pancras Station to the British entrance of the Channel Tunnel, with a total length of 109 kilometers. It makes London and Paris only two hours apart.

It was also the construction of High Speed 1 that led to the reconstruction of St. Pancras Station—these were mentioned when Barron invested in Argent Property Group and carried out the King’s Cross regeneration project.

And Britain’s second high-speed railway, High Speed 2 (HS2), was already approved by the British government on January 8th of last year, 2012.

At that time, the initial investment in High Speed 2 was estimated to reach 32 billion pounds, with construction expected to begin in 2016 and full operation in 2033.

As for why such a high-speed railway would have to wait four years before construction could begin, this was due to Britain’s “systemic issues.”

In fact, the British had long been unable to stand British trains that were delayed by a little wind and canceled directly by a little rain! Many people were extremely excited about this project.

However, as soon as this project came out, Britain was divided into two factions, supporters and opponents, arguing fiercely.

The supporters believed that building high-speed rail could create tens of thousands of jobs and stimulate economic growth.

After the high-speed rail was completed, it would greatly reduce transportation time, increase capacity, and make commuting between cities more convenient.

This would also balance the economic situation in the south and north, which was a very beneficial thing.

According to the plan, Britain’s High Speed 2 consists of three railway lines, namely the London-Birmingham high-speed railway, the Birmingham-Manchester high-speed railway, and the Birmingham-Leeds high-speed railway, with a total length of approximately 500 kilometers.

In the design, the operating speed of the High Speed 2 high-speed train is 220-225 miles per hour (approximately 360 kilometers per hour). After completion, the travel time between London and Birmingham will be reduced from approximately one and a half hours to 49 minutes; the time to Manchester or Leeds will be reduced to 80 minutes, and the time to major cities in Scotland will be reduced by approximately three and a half hours.

By connecting with High Speed 1, the European high-speed rail network can be extended to the British heartland.

The opponents said that the HS2 project should not be started at all.

The high-speed rail line would occupy a lot of farmland, and some people believed that this would damage farmland and the natural environment.

Some people were also worried that building high-speed rail would dig up a lot of ancestral remains, destroy graves, and cause the deceased to be treated indecently.

After all, according to British or European “tradition,” strict environmental assessments and environmental protection standards are usually implemented when launching large-scale projects.

Britain is a country that implements private land ownership. If the government wants to build high-speed rail, the first problem is to buy land from landowners. The land required to build a railway far exceeds the area required to lay the tracks, and a large area of land is also needed to store construction materials and machinery.

Some British people and environmental organizations were worried that building HS2 would damage the environment and bring huge costs. Apart from the ancient pear tree in Warwickshire, HS2 would pass through approximately 350 animal habitats, 67 ancient woodlands, 30 rivers, 24 scientific research stations, and hundreds of ecologically sensitive areas. HS2 would have an impact on many protected species, such as the great crested newt.

Therefore, as of now, more than 70 groups in Britain have protested against this.

They believed that instead of spending huge sums of money, it would be better to improve the existing railway system, and that building high-speed rail would damage the environment and beautiful natural landscapes…

Chapter 901: Dismantling Bombardier

Of course, the most important issue was that the British government was short on cash!

If things followed the same trajectory as in Barron’s previous life, this bickering would drag on. Forget 2016; Britain wouldn’t even begin the first phase of construction until 2017. And the progress would be snail-paced, constantly starting and stopping.

The entire budget for High-Speed Rail 2 (HS2) would also balloon from an initial estimate of £32.7 billion to £62 billion, and then again to £106 billion, a massive cost overrun!

The truth was that most of these added expenses, besides a small portion allocated to environmental protection and historical preservation, were simply due to delays.

Didn’t Cameron want HS2 to start construction sooner?

Don’t think that Europe and America don’t have their own “vanity projects.” The benefits of this high-speed rail line were obvious. It would not only improve the flow of people and goods within Britain but also provide a large number of jobs. This type of infrastructure project was incredibly useful for Britain’s economic recovery.

However, on one hand, due to excessive “freedom,” there was a cacophony of voices. On the other hand, the most crucial problem was money.

Therefore, upon hearing that Barron intended to take on the HS2 project, Cameron couldn’t wait to meet with him.

“Are you really prepared to invest in this project? You know the budget is as high as £40 billion…”

Cameron didn’t hide anything and told Barron:

“According to the latest estimates, the required investment is likely to be slightly higher than that number.”

“I understand that the HS2 project is very important to Britain, and I am willing to contribute my efforts to it, Prime Minister…”

Barron first reaffirmed his stance and then said:

“But, in the end, I hope that through this project, both I and the country can benefit and achieve a win-win situation. Therefore, before that, you need to meet several of my requirements.”

“What requirements? You can tell me.”

Regardless, Cameron wanted to hear Barron’s ideas first.

After all, considering the investment required for this project, probably no company in Britain could take it on—except for the Duke of Devonshire in front of him.

This was why the British government had been considering funding the project from the national treasury. But realistically, even for the British government, £40 billion, with the possibility of additional budget increases, was not something they could launch in a short period. The original plan was to start construction in phases in 2016, which required preparations in the government’s annual budgets beforehand.

But if possible, Cameron certainly hoped to start this project during his term. After all, he wasn’t sure if he could be re-elected after the next election.

If this project could be launched during his term, not to mention when it would be completed and open to traffic, at least the jobs created by HS2 and the small and medium-sized enterprises that would benefit from it would be tangible—and these would all contribute to his political achievements in the next election.

“First, I need to acquire the operating company for this project…”

Barron’s first requirement was for the British government to provide as much support as possible in his related acquisitions. After all, Barron’s current businesses did not include companies involved in high-speed rail construction or operation.

He already had some acquisition targets in mind. The first was First Group.

FirstGroup PLC is a passenger transport company headquartered in Britain, with most of its revenue currently coming from Britain.

The group has three divisions: Greyhound, First Bus, and First Rail.

Greyhound operates intercity buses in the United States and Canada; First Bus operates buses in Britain and Ireland; and First Rail operates passenger trains in Britain and Ireland.

Currently, First Group’s market value is not high, around £500 million (approximately $750 million), so it wouldn’t be too difficult for Barron to acquire.

Another target was Eversholt Rail Group, one of the three major railway rolling stock leasing companies in Britain. It leases trains to passenger and freight railway companies under long-term contracts, with a wide range of train types, including regional, short-distance, and high-speed passenger trains, as well as freight locomotives.

Currently, the company’s train fleet includes 3,474 passenger cars, 63 freight containers, and two factories.

In the original timeline, Li Ka-shing’s Cheung Kong Infrastructure acquired this railway group for £2.5 billion two years later, but now, it was estimated that this deal could be completed for under £2.3 billion.

Since he was entering the railway industry, Barron’s ambition was naturally not limited to the HS2 project. He naturally hoped to acquire more high-quality related companies.

These two acquisitions were not too difficult. The key was the last item.

Barron hoped that the British government could support him in acquiring Bombardier through Alstom.

Specifically, Barron would acquire Bombardier and then dismantle it—Bombardier’s main businesses currently include aviation and rail.

Many people may only know Bombardier for its business jets, but in fact, Bombardier Transportation is also a technology leader in high-speed rail and light rail vehicles.

If Alstom could merge with Bombardier’s rail business, it would surpass Siemens in size and become the world’s largest rail transit giant!

Of course, Alstom would only hold this top position for less than a year…

Because after China’s CNR and CSR merged into CRRC next year, they would snatch the top spot from Alstom.

Currently, Bombardier’s total market value is around $20 billion. According to Barron’s plan, after acquiring Bombardier, he would spin off its rail business and merge it with Alstom, leaving only its aviation business.

In fact, Bombardier’s situation had not been good in recent years. Due to high R&D investment in its C Series commercial aircraft, coupled with the economic crisis, the profitability of both its rail and business jet businesses had declined significantly. To date, Bombardier’s external debt had exceeded $9 billion, and its financial situation was in crisis.

In Barron’s previous life, Bombardier’s C Series had fallen into financial crisis due to cost overruns in R&D and the United States using tariff “sticks” to restrict its sales.

Finally, in 2017, Airbus acquired 50.01% of the C Series for $1 and renamed it A220, with Bombardier retaining only 31% of the shares.

And to cope with the financial crisis, it had to sell the Dash 8 and CRJ regional jet programs in 2018 and 2019 respectively.

At the same time, Bombardier’s rail business had also remained loss-making in the following years…

The only profitable business was its business jet sales, which were doing well due to the global economic recovery, but the global economic recovery had only just begun.

Therefore, Barron’s acquisition would basically not encounter too much difficulty on Bombardier’s side. The only thing that needed to be resolved was the EU’s antitrust investigation.

The EU’s antitrust authorities are very cautious about mergers between “giants” that already have a high market share.

In the original timeline, when Alstom later acquired Bombardier’s rail business, the conditions for obtaining EU approval included:

Alstom needed to sell some factories, including its factory in Reichshoffen in eastern France, as well as sell its Coradia Polyvalent series of multiple units, and divest the production facilities of Bombardier’s commuter train division and the related Hennigsdorf factory in Germany.

Barron naturally didn’t want to have to “dismember” Bombardier’s rail business so much, so Britain needed to come forward to persuade the EU—and France, where Alstom was located, would also lobby for it.

At a time when the EU needed internal unity, if Britain and France both strongly supported Alstom, the possibility of the EU antitrust authorities giving the green light was still very high.

Chapter 902: Too Difficult

Regarding acquisitions, the main points are the three mentioned above.

“Besides these, I need to obtain autonomy over the High-Speed Rail Line 2 project. I don’t want the government to interfere with decisions such as selecting construction companies and financing, beyond normal oversight. I need your full cooperation in my decision-making for this project. If these requirements can be met, then I can guarantee that this project will be completed with quality and on schedule, and may even be completed and open to traffic ahead of schedule.”

To be honest, Baron really didn’t want to say much about the efficiency of the British government leading this project. It was simply the most direct manifestation of Britain’s decline…

Now that he had taken on this project, he naturally didn’t want the kind of situation where people are “incompetent but full of hot air” to happen later.

Before Baron’s rebirth, the so-called “high-speed rail plan” in Europe had almost become a joke, and the British High-Speed Rail Line 2 was one of the biggest jokes among them…

Before the new century, the European Union had a plan to build a high-speed rail network within its member states and connect them to each other. For this reason, it specifically allocated special funds for high-speed rail construction.

And before the rise of China’s high-speed rail, there were only four companies in the world with high-speed rail construction technology: Germany’s Siemens, France’s Alstom, Canada’s Bombardier, and Japan’s Kawasaki Heavy Industries.

Europe accounted for two of these – or rather, three, because in addition to Germany’s Siemens and France’s Alstom, the railway division of Canada’s Bombardier was mainly located in Germany and mainly came from the acquisition of German companies.

As a result, on the one hand, the railway track specifications, dispatch systems… and even voltages of the EU countries were different, making it not easy to connect and maintain unified dispatch. Moreover, each country had its own selfish interests in terms of benefits, which led to the failure of cross-border high-speed rail connections within the EU.

In addition, it’s just… how should I put it? Sometimes the biggest obstacle to Europe’s development is the EU itself.

Well, this is not nonsense. Originally, in the original timeline, facing the merger of China’s CRRC to become the world’s largest rail transit group, Germany’s Siemens and France’s Alstom were preparing to merge their railway businesses to become a European railway consortium. As a result, this plan, which had already been reached, was rejected by the EU’s antitrust regulators…

This has caused European rail transit groups to lag behind China’s CRRC Group in terms of both economies of scale and research and development, and ultimately they can only rely on the EU’s trade barriers to defend their market in Europe.

But in the global market, the former “big four” in the high-speed rail field can no longer compete with CRRC Group at all.

The reason why Baron put forward these conditions was that he needed to obtain the leading role in the British High-Speed Rail Line 2 project, and he needed the British government to provide support – in addition, on the French side, he would also persuade them to provide support through Alstom.

In addition to needing them to fight for benefits with the EU, the government needs to provide support when dealing with domestic environmental protection and animal protection organizations.

Speaking of which, in Europe and the United States, environmental protection and animal protection are essentially a business.

The purpose of these organizations is not entirely for the slogan of protecting the earth, but to gain the right to speak in this field, so as to obtain benefits from it.

Under this rampant demand, it can be said that many constructions in Europe are hindered by it.

For example, when Tesla built a super factory in Germany, it was tortured to death by environmental protection and animal protection groups.

In the original timeline, Tesla’s establishment of a factory in Germany was resisted by local environmental protection and animal protection groups… because they believed that Tesla’s factory construction would pose a threat to local water sources and wild animals, including an endangered bat that was hibernating.

In addition, there is a woodland area of 92 hectares near the site of the Tesla factory, and they prevented Tesla from cutting down these trees…

Coincidentally, also in Germany, when they were building the German high-speed rail S21 project, this high-speed rail with a total length of 200 kilometers began planning in 1994, but it had not been completed until before Baron’s rebirth, that is, thirty years later…

Well, you can find that the plots of being hindered by environmental protection and animal protection when Europe and the United States carry out these constructions are similar. First of all, when the S21 project just started construction in 2010 – well, you read that right, planned in 1994, approved in 2007, started construction in 2010, and then it has not been completed after more than ten years. This is European speed – also because it is necessary to cut down some trees, and then environmental protection organizations began to organize people to demonstrate, and had a “beautiful scene” with the police…

This protest lasted for several months, and naturally the S21 project could only be suspended.

Then in 2012, two endangered animals were found along the route of the project – this time it was lizards, so environmental protection and animal protection organizations became energetic again, continuing the previous process, protesting, confronting, and then “beautiful scenery,” forcing the project to stop again…

Well, this time it was suspended for a full 15 months.

In the end, the German railway company had to spend 15 million euros to find experts to catch those lizards one by one and resettle them before stopping this conflict.

Therefore, Baron can foresee that in the construction of the British High-Speed Rail Line 2 project, this kind of plot must also be gone through once.

At least, he needs to leave funds to “deal with” environmental protection and animal protection groups.

Because even if his influence in Britain is enough to deal with these environmental protection and animal protection groups, the plot of this kind of protest-confrontation-compromise will have to be repeated anyway. After all, it is impossible to just give money, and those environmental protection and animal protection organizations will not make trouble…

The premise for them to “make trouble” lies in their sense of existence in this kind of event. To put it bluntly, it is not to let go of any opportunity to “make trouble,” and they must first gain a firm foothold on the moral high ground. Therefore, they should still make trouble, but at least the time to solve it will be much shorter, and it will not be as outrageous as making trouble for several months.

If the government promotes this kind of company, it is naturally impossible to be as “flexible” as Baron in dealing with environmental protection and animal protection groups, so naturally the timeline of the entire plot will be lengthened.

At this time, you can understand why later China’s environmental protection and animal protection groups also do not let go of any opportunity to “appear on camera.” In addition to the funding from various foundations, they also see their overseas “counterparts” jumping up and down and eating their fill, and they don’t know how envious they are…

“I can give you the greatest support, Duke, but some things, it’s best not to make them too ugly…”

Understanding Baron’s demands, in fact, Cameron was relieved in his heart. Although it was true that he needed to give considerable support, at least it was within his acceptable range.

The only thing he was worried about was that those very troublesome environmental protection and animal protection groups would not seize any handle in his next election to criticize him.

“In addition, is there no problem with the funds?”

Although Cameron knew that among the private enterprises in Britain, only the one in front of him had the strength to take on a project of the scale of High-Speed Rail Line 2 alone, he was still a little unsure about the funds.

“No problem, I have my plan…”

Baron said with confidence:

“Of course, I know that we can apply for relevant high-speed rail construction funds from the EU. We cannot let go of the benefits in this regard.”

“Of course, we will try our best to fight for it from the EU.”

Cameron also supported this, after all, Britain handed over so much money to the EU every year, and it was necessary to try to get some back in this kind of thing.

Chapter 903: Respect

Of course, these kinds of projects require the government to discuss them for ten or eight years. Even if Barron takes over, it’s impossible to start immediately.

After their meeting, Barron formed a related team and negotiated with the British government regarding the many procedures for taking over High Speed 2.

In addition, Cavendish Trust and Alstom jointly made an acquisition offer to Bombardier.

According to their plan, after completing the acquisition of Bombardier, Bombardier would be split up. Its aviation business would be sold to Standard Aviation under the Standard Defense Group, and its railway business would be merged with Alstom’s railway business.

Bombardier’s current situation is not good, so as long as their offer is “reasonable,” the Bombardier board of directors is very likely to agree to the acquisition.

The key is the opinion of the European Union, so while making the acquisition offer, Alstom also communicated with the EU about the acquisition of Bombardier.

Within the EU, this acquisition will be promoted by the United Kingdom and France. As for Germany, although Siemens in Germany certainly doesn’t want to see Alstom acquire Bombardier…

“I am also willing to promote the merger of Alstom and Siemens’ railway businesses, but compared to acquiring Bombardier, a merger with Siemens would be subject to stricter EU anti-trust scrutiny and would be difficult to get approved…”

Barron said this when he spoke with Merkel on the phone:

“Therefore, if Siemens is willing to sign a contract stating that they will compensate Alstom 1 billion euros if the merger is unsuccessful, I can suspend the acquisition of Bombardier…”

If Alstom and Bombardier’s railway businesses merge, their market share in the European regional train sector will exceed 45% (Bombardier approximately 24%, Alstom approximately 22%). This is a major consideration for the EU in reviewing this merger.

But if Alstom merges with Siemens, then the combined market share in the European regional train sector will exceed 50%…

Moreover, because high-speed trains and railway signaling systems are Siemens’ main businesses, the merger of Siemens and Alstom’s railway businesses would give them a market share of over 90% in this field!

This was the main reason why the EU later rejected the merger in Barron’s previous life.

But Siemens cannot give up its main business, so there is no room for compromise on this point.

Barron can certainly try to promote the merger of Alstom and Siemens’ railway businesses, but this is much more difficult than acquiring Bombardier. The 1 billion euro failed merger compensation he proposed is based on this reason. This kind of compensation is very common in global merger and acquisition history and is not considered an excessive demand.

“I will pass on your opinion.”

Merkel could only answer that. Whether or not to accept it was up to Siemens to consider.

Although Siemens is a German industrial giant, Bombardier’s railway business is also almost entirely in Germany. Therefore, for Merkel, while she hoped to facilitate the merger of Siemens and Alstom’s railway businesses, which would create a behemoth company, a “Airbus on Rails,” if the alternative was the integration of Alstom and Bombardier’s railway businesses, she could accept that as well.

…

“What is this?”

“A plan. I hope to expand the Sinclair Group’s business, so I need to make an acquisition, Ms. TP…”

Meeting Ivanka’s questioning gaze, John Smith suppressed his excitement and pretended to be relaxed as he said to her:

“Of course, as a major shareholder of the Sinclair Group, as a matter of respect, I need to get your approval beforehand.”

Giving John Smith a deep look, Ivanka picked up the document and flipped through it. As she turned the pages, her brow furrowed slightly.

John Smith, on the other hand, observed her expression without betraying any emotion, the corners of his mouth tilting up slightly.

“I have a question, Mr. Smith…”

Holding the folder in her hand, Ivanka asked:

“According to this… plan, the Sinclair Group hopes to acquire the Tribune Media Group?”

“Yes. If we can complete this acquisition, then the Sinclair Group will have more than 220 television stations, becoming one of the largest television networks in America. And I am very optimistic about the profitability of sports programming…”

“Then first of all…”

Ivanka interrupted John Smith:

“The Tribune Media Group currently belongs to Fox. Whether or not they are willing to sell is another matter. You can see that sports programming is profitable, so there is no reason why Fox can’t see that. Even if Fox is willing to sell, they will inevitably ask for a high premium, which I’m afraid the Sinclair Group can’t afford. I don’t want to see a financial crisis again…”

Hearing Ivanka’s words, alluding to the Sinclair family’s previous difficulties due to loans, John Smith’s long-dead memories seemed to revive. His expression became uncontrollably ugly:

“This time will be different, because we have a reliable partner…”

“A reliable partner?”

Ivanka said with a smile that wasn’t a smile, and said faintly:

“That’s my other question. Even if the Sinclair Group wants to make this acquisition, in terms of funding, not only IC Capital, but other major shareholders can also provide it. We can even use a leveraged buyout and have a solid plan. Why is the plan I’m seeing here the one that I’m seeing?”

Seeing the other party close the folder and throw it on the table without any hesitation, as if throwing away garbage, John Smith felt his upper and lower teeth grinding together. He took a deep breath:

“As you just said, this is the best plan to avoid the Sinclair Group’s debt ratio from being too high.”

“Oh? If that’s the case, if Vanguard Group provides funds to acquire Tribune Media Group, and 50% of these funds are exchanged for Sinclair Group stock, and the other 50% is used to purchase Sinclair Group’s preferred shares… the result is that Vanguard Group will become the largest shareholder of the Sinclair Group. Then I want to ask, is the Sinclair Group acquiring Tribune Media Group, or is the Vanguard Group acquiring Sinclair?”

“As for the distribution ratio of these funds between stocks and preferred shares, it can still be negotiated. And Vanguard Group has no intention of controlling the Sinclair Group. They simply see this as a financial investment…”

John Smith stood up and said:

“Of course, as a matter of respect, I will communicate with IC Capital and DS Holdings in advance…”

“I will not agree to this plan. I believe DS Holdings will not think this is a plan that is in the best interests of the Sinclair Group’s shareholders either.”

Hearing Ivanka’s words, John Smith was not surprised at all. He shrugged:

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

Until Ivanka got up and left his office without hesitation, John Smith thought of Ivanka’s performance just now, and couldn’t help but feel a little resentful towards her strength:

“I am the chairman of the Sinclair Group, damn it!”

Then, he smiled again, looking forward to the expression on the face of that TP family’s young lady tomorrow.

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

“Lacey, help me buy an iPhone, the latest model…”

“5S hasn’t started selling yet? Damn it, Mate is already at 7, then buy an iPhone 5, uh, the highest configuration.”

Chapter 904: Good Luck

“Aren’t you going to give me an explanation? John.”

As John Smith had expected, he received a call from Barron, though it came a little later than he had anticipated.

“This is for the development of Sinclair Group, Barron.”

“We don’t need to beat around the bush. You understand the key issue. The way you notified us already represents your choice.”

Hearing the aggressive tone in Barron’s voice, John Smith couldn’t help but feel annoyed. He said coldly:

“I had no choice. You know, Sinclair Group’s continued expansion will be restricted by the FCC, but Navigator Group can help me eliminate this obstacle.”

“That’s a pity… Good luck, John.”

Hearing the sound of the call being hung up, John Smith shook his head and said:

“It seems that the Duke is not in a very good mood…”

At this moment, sitting opposite John was none other than F. William McNair III, the chairman of Navigator Group. He exhaled a puff of cigar smoke and said lightly:

“No one would be in a good mood when suddenly faced with something like this, but there’s nothing we can do. It’s just business.”

“But, the shareholders meeting has been postponed to the day after tomorrow. Is that really okay?”

Seeing that John Smith was still somewhat anxious, McNair III stood up and patted him on the shoulder:

“We were prepared for this anyway, weren’t we? These two days are the weekend. Before the shareholders meeting on Monday, even if IC Capital or DS Holdings want to buy shares from the secondary market, they won’t have the chance.”

Generally speaking, some of the company’s more important decisions are voted on through either the board of directors or the shareholders meeting.

For example, the previous struggle between John Smith and his older brother David Smith over the positions of board members was decided by a vote of the board members – the board of directors makes decisions by the board members voting, one person one vote, the minority obeys the majority.

This is also why the number of members of the board of directors is often chosen to be an odd number, to avoid a tie.

However, major matters such as company restructuring, acquisitions, or sales are often voted on by the shareholders meeting – this is a competition to see which party obtains the support of shareholders with a larger percentage of shares.

The reason why John Smith chose to vote through the shareholders meeting this time was also the result of discussions with McNair III.

Sinclair Group’s board of directors originally had 11 members, but after David Smith passed away and John Smith became chairman, coupled with changes in Sinclair Group’s shareholders, they reorganized the board of directors.

Now Sinclair Group’s board of directors has 7 members. The Sinclair family has two board members, namely John Smith and his brother from the same parents. These two votes are controlled by John Smith. Even with the addition of one director from Navigator Group, they can only confirm support for three votes, which is not more than half.

IC Capital and DS Holdings each have one board member, and these two board members are definitely their “opposition.” As for the other two board members, including an independent director and a director from Fidelity Investments, their attitudes cannot be determined.

Therefore, John Smith chose to vote through the shareholders meeting. He now controls 30.25% of the shares. Adding the 7% of shares held by Navigator Group, at least 37.25% of the shares are on their side.

IC Capital and DS Holdings together hold 30% of the shares. Adding the fact that he chose to notify them on Saturday, they simply won’t have time to acquire shares on the market, which is even safer.

“I’ve talked to the people at Fidelity Investments. Fidelity Investments will remain neutral in this vote, but only on the condition that we sign a price protection agreement for Sinclair Group’s stock with them…”

McNair III said:

“This also means that in the next 12 months, Fidelity Investments has the right to sell us their shares of Sinclair Group at the current price. I’ve fulfilled my promise to you. What about you? Are the other shares of the Sinclair family secure?”

John Smith understood that McNair III was referring to the shares of the Sinclair family members who had previously sided with David Smith, including David Smith’s personal shares managed by David Smith’s widow as guardian, as well as the personal shares held by David Smith’s two half-brothers, Duncan Smith and Robert Smith.

The three of them currently hold a total of 7.75% of the personal shares, the same as the personal shares held by David Smith and his half-brother and sister.

This is what they were worried about. If Barron obtained the support of these 7.75% of the shares, then 37.75% of the shares would be in the hands of the “opposition,” higher than the 37.25% that they can currently clearly control!

“I already took care of it yesterday. They signed an agreement with my lawyer that those shares will not be sold or entrusted later…”

John Smith sighed:

“I also paid a price for it. If the stock price falls later, I will need to compensate them, and I also paid them extra fees!”

“If that’s the case, then Barron will have no way to veto our proposal.”

You should know that the total amount of shares held by these major shareholders in Sinclair Group already accounts for nearly 83%. Therefore, Barron’s 30% shareholding ratio is simply impossible to purchase more than 7.25% of Sinclair Group’s stock from the secondary market in the short term, which would exceed their 37.25% shareholding ratio.

At the shareholders meeting, neither the other small shareholders nor the institutions holding a small amount of Sinclair Group’s stock care who controls Sinclair Group in the future. What they care about is whether the company’s performance can bring them returns.

From this perspective, if the acquisition of Forum Media Group can be completed, then Sinclair Group will have more than 220 local television stations, including many profitable sports channels. The small shareholders have no need to oppose this at all.

“Then I’m looking forward to seeing the expression of that ‘Investment Queen’ at that time. It’s a pity that her boyfriend, that British Duke, won’t be attending this shareholders meeting. I hope he can understand that this is just our business…”

“Mr. McNair, about the equity incentive you mentioned earlier…”

Hearing John Smith bring up this topic, McNair III smiled:

“Don’t worry, Mr. Smith. We at Navigator Group will reward those who bring us benefits. We will sign this agreement with you after the shareholders meeting. As the future chairman of a larger Sinclair Group, if the company performs well under your leadership, you will receive generous rewards.”

Chapter 905: Shareholders’ Meeting

“John, have you lost your mind?”

The first thing John Smith faced upon returning home was Jenny’s questioning.

“What’s wrong?”

“I just found out you’re going to hand over control of Sinclair Group to Vanguard Group?”

Hearing Jenny’s words, John Smith’s expression showed no tension. Instead, he said with ease:

“That’s for the company’s development, Jenny. And control is still in my hands. We signed an agreement…”

He took Jenny’s hand:

“What is it? You’ve never been interested in company matters, have you?”

“Yes, but that doesn’t include you handing over control with both hands. Although your siblings haven’t said anything, they still called me to ask about this. Otherwise, how do you think I found out?”

“Oh, don’t worry. I’ll explain it to them.”

John glanced at his watch and said to Jenny:

“Thank you for your concern, darling. I made a reservation at a restaurant today. Shall we go out for a nice meal?”

“John, if an acquisition is needed for the company’s development, then Barron is our friend, and he’s been working with my brother. He can provide funding…”

It seemed Jenny wasn’t planning to let the topic go:

“Don’t you know what those Wall Street types are like? Think about Megan Bank before. They’re experts at seizing family companies and then selling them for a good price!”

“Barron?”

It seemed John Smith was finally losing patience. He stood up, looked at Jenny, and said coldly:

“Do you think he doesn’t have his own agenda? Why do you think Vanguard Group would scheme against me, but he wouldn’t? Is it just because he slept with you?”

“John!”

Hearing him say that, Jenny’s face immediately turned cold:

“We’ve already talked about this. Do you have to drag these things into it?!”

“Then besides that, I don’t know what other reason I have to trust them. Have you forgotten the faces they made when I was under investigation before? And that Ivanka, they’re all birds of a feather. I have more options!”

Seeing John so agitated, Jenny asked in confusion:

“Why would I think that? At least Barron hasn’t threatened the Sinclair family’s control of the company, and don’t forget, he helped you when you were in the most difficult situation…”

“Helped me? I just didn’t tell you the specifics. That help didn’t come without a price, Jenny.”

“Then you can tell me now, what exactly happened…”

Facing Jenny’s questioning, John began to feel impatient. He walked to the coat rack, picked up his suit jacket, and said:

“Perhaps today isn’t a good day to discuss these things. I need to cool down, darling.”

“Are you just going to leave like this?”

“Yes, everything will be over tomorrow. Then I’ll explain everything to you.”

Seeing John Smith walk out the door just like that, Jenny couldn’t help but throw the pillow in her hand to the ground.

After a long while, she took a deep breath, picked up her phone, and searched through her contacts…

…

Monday, May 6th.

On this day, the shareholders’ meeting was held at the Sinclair Group headquarters in Baltimore, Maryland.

The rules for holding shareholders’ meetings vary from state to state in America, but the general procedures are similar.

The convening of a shareholders’ meeting requires the participation of shareholders holding more than 50% of the shares, and its resolutions are only valid if this condition is met.

The people confirmed to attend this shareholders’ meeting included John Smith representing the Sinclair family, Ivanka representing IC Capital, Laura representing DS Holdings (Cavendish Trust), representatives from Vanguard Group, and representatives from Fidelity Investments.

The shareholdings represented by these people were close to 80% of the total share capital of Sinclair Group. The remaining shareholders, including the Sinclair family members, including David Smith’s widow, did not attend, and the rest were scattered shareholdings circulating in the secondary market.

In fact, the motions to be voted on at today’s shareholders’ meeting had already been delivered to all shareholders before the meeting, in accordance with relevant regulations.

Therefore, they were all very clear about the motions to be discussed today.

After everyone arrived in the conference room, John Smith, the chairman of Sinclair Group and the host of this meeting, cleared his throat and announced the official start of the board meeting. His secretary then distributed today’s motions to everyone.

“As you all know, I plan to cooperate with Vanguard Group to acquire Forum Media Group, which owns 42 television stations. I have communicated this plan with all the attending representatives separately before today, and I believe everyone is clear about the specific details.”

Looking around at the shareholder representatives in the conference room, especially at Ivanka, Laura, and the representatives of Vanguard Group, John Smith paused slightly and continued:

“Next, we will vote on this proposal through today’s shareholders’ meeting. First, on behalf of the Sinclair family trust, which holds 22.5% of the company’s shares, I express my support for this plan…”

He took out a document and said:

“In addition, this is the authorization document from my brother Quentin Smith and sister Barbara Smith. Adding the shares I hold myself, a total of 7.75% of the company’s shares, we also support this plan…”

So far, just John Smith’s speech had increased the proportion of shares supporting the plan to 30.25%!

“Now, please vote.”

As John Smith’s voice fell, there was a moment of silence in the conference room.

Just as several shareholder representatives exchanged glances, the Sinclair Group representative said to Laura:

“I wonder what DS Holdings’ opinion is?”

Laura had just arrived in America from London yesterday, but she looked well-rested. She didn’t decline and said directly:

“We are disappointed with this plan and believe that it does not conform to the interests of our DS Holdings. Yes, we are opposed.”

“As expected, it’s not surprising.”

After hearing Laura’s words, John Smith said indifferently.

DS Holdings holds 14.5% of Sinclair Group’s shares. Currently, the score is 30.25:14.5…

Next, everyone’s eyes turned to IC Capital. After all, everyone present was aware of the romantic relationship between Ivanka and the British Duke’s lover behind DS Holdings.

However, Ivanka was not in a hurry. She looked at the representative of Fidelity Investments and asked:

“I wonder what Fidelity Investments’ attitude is?”

Regarding today’s shareholders’ meeting, the most indifferent person in this conference room was probably the representative of Fidelity Investments. He didn’t decline and said directly:

“We support the development of Sinclair Group, but regarding the specific content of this proposal, we believe that more communication is needed. We abstain.”

After the other party finished speaking, a faint smile appeared on John Smith’s face. He looked at Ivanka, the representative of IC Capital, again.

This time, Ivanka didn’t delay any further. She also said crisply:

“As a major shareholder of Sinclair Group, IC Capital is puzzled by the chairman’s proposal to exclude other major shareholders and believes that this plan will harm the interests of other shareholders. Therefore, we are opposed…”

Regarding Ivanka’s statement, John Smith shook his head:

“I hope Ms. TP can understand that we chose Vanguard Group for cooperation because they can provide indispensable assistance in this merger…”

To this, Ivanka just shrugged her shoulders and didn’t want to say anything more.

Just because IC Capital’s shareholding ratio is 15.5%, plus DS Capital, which holds the same position, the total shareholding is only 30%. The current vote is 30.25:30…

As for the representative of Vanguard Group, who had not yet spoken, he directly expressed his support afterward.

37.25:30!

Obviously, John Smith and Vanguard Group held the majority of the vote.

“In that case, I am very happy that our voting result is gratifying…”

Chapter 906: This is Impossible

“Wait a moment!”

Just as John Smith was about to announce the results, Ivanka suddenly said:

“I have another document here…”

The moment Ivanka uttered these words and actually produced a document, the smile on John Smith’s face visibly froze.

“It needs to be pointed out that IC Capital’s stake in Sinclair Group is not 15.5%…”

Ivanka spoke as if she were simply stating something insignificant, but to John Smith and the representative of Vanguard Group, it was anything but.

However, Ivanka didn’t even glance at them at this moment, and continued:

“Last Wednesday, we signed purchase agreements with Sophie Smith, Duncan Smith, and Robert Smith respectively. Through an offshore company, we acquired the holding companies that controlled their shares in Sinclair Group. However, due to certain reasons, this agreement was only notarized and officially took effect this morning.”

Sophie Smith is David Smith’s widow. Ivanka’s words indicated that the shares of the other three members of the Sinclair family were now owned by IC Capital…

Mechanically taking the document presented by Ivanka from his secretary, John Smith looked at its contents. Just as Ivanka had said, they hadn’t directly acquired the shares themselves, but had completed the acquisition of the holding companies that controlled those shares. Therefore, prior to this, it wouldn’t have been reflected in any changes to Sinclair Group’s shareholding…

“Impossible, this is impossible!”

John Smith muttered. He had clearly signed agreements with those three, and they had promised in the agreements not to sell their shares…

Thinking of this, he immediately said:

“This agreement is invalid!”

“Oh? Mr. Smith, I would like to remind you that this document has already been verified by the company’s legal counsel, so…”

“But I have already signed agreements with Sophie, Duncan, and Robert. They cannot sell their shares. Your agreement is completely invalid.”

Hearing John Smith’s words, Ivanka said with a noncommittal smile:

“As far as I know, the content of the agreement you signed was that they could not sell or entrust the shares they held after that, is that right? May I ask when you signed the agreement?”

“Last Friday!”

“It seems you weren’t listening carefully to what I just said. However, you can take a look at the date on this acquisition document. We signed the acquisition agreement on May 1st, which was last Wednesday…”

“F**K, those bastards!”

At this moment, John Smith finally understood why the three had agreed to sign that restrictive agreement for money after rejecting his request to acquire their shares… How could he have known at the time that they had already transferred their shares, including the holding companies, before that…

Although the representative of Vanguard Group didn’t show as much composure as John Smith, his expression was still extremely unpleasant.

Clearly, the other party had received the news before they announced the acquisition plan. Who leaked it?

With Ivanka producing this document, it meant that IC Capital’s stake in Sinclair Group had increased from the previous 15.5%, plus the 7.75% acquired from the three members of the Sinclair family, to 23.5%!

Adding the 14.5% stake held by DS Capital, the proportion of shares opposing the proposal had become 37.75%…

This was 0.5 percentage points higher than the supporting side, which was the 37.25% stake controlled by John Smith and Vanguard Group.

Just this 0.5 percentage points determined the outcome of today’s shareholders’ meeting – that John Smith’s proposal was rejected.

But things didn’t end there.

Ivanka looked coldly at John Smith and said:

“I propose that another shareholders’ meeting be held in a week to vote on the choice of chairman.”

“You!”

Ivanka ignored John Smith, instead taking a deep look at the Vanguard Group representative, catching the look of panic in his eyes. Then, she gave a smile to the Fidelity Investments representative and said:

“I believe that Mr. John Smith has not performed his duties as chairman of Sinclair Group in a qualified manner. Therefore, I will initiate a vote of no confidence against him at next week’s shareholders’ meeting and elect a new chairman.”

According to relevant company law, each company must hold at least one shareholders’ meeting each year, but there is no limit to the specific number of meetings held. If there are major matters that need to be voted on, then it can be convened at the initiation of shareholders holding a considerable proportion of shares.

Just like the vote of no confidence in the chairman proposed by Ivanka, it naturally requires a vote at the shareholders’ meeting.

Ignoring John Smith, who was somewhat dejected in his chair after his anger, Ivanka nodded to everyone and walked directly out of the meeting room.

Laura, representing DS Holdings, also seconded the proposal and took her leave – it seemed she would have to stay in America for another week.

But at least she could take this opportunity to visit the Duke on Lanai…

…

Speaking of which, Barron and his side’s response this time was somewhat fortunate.

It was also during his last meeting with John Smith that he later noticed some subtle nuances, so he asked the intelligence agency headed by Nigel Ince to investigate the other party.

In the end, from John Smith’s private contact with Vanguard Group, they made some guesses and took precautions in advance.

From Vanguard Group’s perspective, there was perhaps nothing excessive about trying to take control of Sinclair Group, logically speaking.

After all, the business world is like a battlefield, and there will inevitably be corresponding strategies for the acquisition or control of a company.

There’s no reason to only allow you to acquire other companies and not allow others to acquire or control your company, right?

But logic is logic, and many times things can’t be resolved simply by reasoning.

The reason why Barron had endured the entire process without taking the initiative to question Vanguard Group’s Chairman, McKenna III, about this matter was that he didn’t want the other party to be alert before the Sinclair Group’s shareholders’ meeting.

More importantly, he was very annoyed by the other party’s direct attack without even saying hello – the saying goes, “A timely punch avoids a hundred later ones…”

Barron also wanted others to see that such offenses against him would come at a price.

But at the same time, Barron was also considering a question – a question he had also given to his think tank to study.

That is…

Why did Vanguard Group choose to attack Sinclair Group at this time? Why use the Forum Media Group as bait?

Barron knew that in his previous life, Sinclair Group did acquire Forum Media Group from Fox, but that was six years later, after Murdoch had decided to sell 21st Century Fox to Disney. Because of a conflict with Disney’s sports channel ESPN, he decided to sell Forum Media Group, which was mainly composed of local sports stations, to Sinclair Group.

So why choose to facilitate Sinclair Group’s acquisition of Forum Media Group now – that would require a lot of work, at least the FCC (Federal Communications Commission) wouldn’t be so easy to deal with.

Although they had now successfully prevented the other party’s plan, Barron still needed to figure out the reasons behind it.

Chapter 907: Efficiency

Seeing the name “John Smith” on his phone’s caller ID, Barron casually rejected the call.

“Let’s continue…”

He was on a video call with Daisy, and he heard her continue:

“Regarding international crude oil prices, many international capital firms expect a downward trend. Unless there are particularly sudden and significant events, this trend is quite certain…”

The reason Barron abandoned the cooperation with China National Petroleum Corporation to jointly acquire ENI East Africa was because oil and gas prices were expected to fall by more than half in the following years, making the acquisition very uneconomical at the time.

But in fact, major investment banks such as Goldman Sachs, Vanguard Group, and Standard Chartered-Merrill Lynch have all anticipated the decline in international crude oil prices. After all, the main reason for this round of oil and gas price declines is the shale oil and gas revolution that has occurred in America.

In fact, American venture capital and private equity investment have been ongoing in shale oil and gas exploration-related technologies.

And with the breakthroughs in this technology in recent years, the scale of these capital investments has also increased, ultimately leading to rapid growth in American shale oil and gas production—something that Vanguard Group, as one of the major American capital firms, cannot be unaware of.

According to statistics from the American Energy Information Administration (EIA), from 2000 to 2013, American shale gas annual production increased from 11.796 billion cubic meters to 302.5 billion cubic meters, and the proportion of American shale gas production in total natural gas production rapidly reached 44% from 1.7%.

At the same time, the proportion of conventional natural gas in total natural gas production continued to decline, falling from 73.3% in 2000 to 43.1% in 2012.

It can be said that the American shale gas revolution was an unplanned revolution by the American Obama government, and its progress greatly exceeded the expectations of the American Department of Energy, having a huge strategic impact on the American energy structure.

The widespread application of shale gas horizontal well and hydraulic fracturing technology has not only increased the production of shale oil associated with shale gas, but also rapidly increased the production of shale oil wells.

Since 2013, American shale oil production has reached more than 3.5 million barrels per day. The shale oil and gas revolution has led to a significant increase in America’s domestic oil production capacity.

Since 2004, American domestic oil production has increased by 56%, with an additional 3.1 million barrels per day of production beyond the normal production of traditional American oil fields.

In America, the use of natural gas as a power source for vehicles and ships is rapidly increasing, forming an irreversible structural energy transformation, and the American shale oil and gas revolution has had a profound impact on the global oil and gas supply and demand pattern.

From this point on, America has also replaced Saudi Arabia as the world’s largest oil producer!

“So, it’s impossible to snipe Vanguard Group on oil and gas price-related futures. They are even shorting oil and gas prices to some extent themselves…”

In this regard, Daisy summarized:

“But it is still possible to snipe Vanguard Group on international gold prices, because they have multiple gold trust ETFs under their umbrella. These funds have previously gained good returns from the rise in gold prices. According to our monitoring data, the size of these gold trust ETFs has decreased somewhat, but the degree of reduction is not too great.”

“What about the situation of other investment banks’ gold-related funds?”

Hearing Barron’s question, Daisy confirmed several data points and said to him:

“Wall Street capital firms such as Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase have always been more flexible in this regard, and BlackRock’s gold trust ETF scale is also being reduced…”

In addition to expelling Vanguard Group’s influence in the Sinclair Group, Barron also intended to give them a lesson—but the extent of this lesson needed to be controlled.

The struggles between these large capital firms are ongoing and cannot be like a street brawl where a winner must be determined in one go.

Moreover, the saying “kill one thousand enemies, lose eight hundred of your own” needs to take into account whether other capital firms will take the opportunity to stir up trouble. This is actually somewhat similar to the competition between countries. If you are too belligerent, everyone will be wary—but if you retaliate appropriately, everyone can accept it.

As for whether to choose to give Vanguard Group a blow on international gold prices, it is also necessary to consider whether it will accidentally injure others—if you predict correctly and make money in the process, no one can say anything, but if you “rig the game” yourself, influencing prices by stirring up the situation, then the capital firms that suffer losses as a result will inevitably have resentment.

Therefore, what field to operate in and to what extent are all things that need to be considered.

…

“If you’re still pleading for John, then I can only say I’m sorry…”

Barron didn’t answer John Smith’s call. After ending the video call with Daisy, he saw that his phone’s caller ID was Jenny’s name…

After answering, Barron said directly.

“I’ll be very sad if you say that, Barron, although I didn’t intend to plead for him at first…”

Jenny said on the phone:

“I know, this time is different from last time. He… is really too muddleheaded, or rather, he shouldn’t have forced himself into this position in the first place.”

Jenny’s words surprised Barron somewhat. Although he knew that this woman had always had her own opinions, it was still rare for her to see these things.

“Are you at home now?”

“No, I left home. John’s brother and sister went to the house earlier, and they had a fight. I didn’t want to stay there. John’s emotions are a bit out of control…”

“Should I send someone to pick you up?”

“No need…”

Jenny seemed to hesitate for a moment and said to Barron:

“I’ll go stay at my New York home for a while. I was originally planning to tell John, but now is not an appropriate time for his situation. Barron, I’m pregnant…”

Barron didn’t expect it to happen so quickly…

Yes, Jenny didn’t take any precautions when she was with him before, but to have such high “efficiency,” could it be that he was really good at it?

“What are you going to do?”

“I want to keep it…”

It seemed she had already made a decision. Barron heard Jenny say:

“I’ll tell John in a while, but I’ll want this child. It has nothing to do with you, Barron. I’ll raise it myself.”

“How can it have nothing to do with me? Never mind, just know that you can contact me if anything happens, and I’ll help you solve it.”

Until Jenny hung up the phone, she didn’t mention anything about John again. It seemed she really wasn’t planning to intervene in this matter again.

Barron looked at John Smith’s missed calls in the call history and called back. It rang several times, but no one answered.

He shook his head and hung up the phone.

Chapter 908: The Death of John

John Smith is dead.

Barron only learned of this news later.

According to information Ivanka obtained from the police and relayed to Barron, John Smith’s car was found under a bridge in the suburbs of Baltimore. John Smith himself was driving.

Later, the autopsy results revealed that John Smith’s blood alcohol content was extremely high, confirming that he was driving under the influence. While trying to avoid an oncoming vehicle, he lost control of the car at high speed, causing it to skid off the bridge and crash onto the shore below…

According to Jenny, John had indeed been drinking at home that night and was emotionally agitated.

As for why he would drive alone to the suburbs so late…

The police retrieved John Smith’s call records. The last calls made to him included those from Quentin Smith and Barbara Smith, John’s brother and sister, as well as the Vanguard Group’s shareholder representative at Sinclair…

There was also a call from Barron, but it was not answered. According to the time, the accident had already occurred when Barron called John Smith…

Ultimately, the Vanguard Group’s shareholder representative at Sinclair confirmed that John Smith had contacted him the previous night, hoping to discuss matters related to the upcoming shareholders’ meeting.

It seemed that John Smith had the accident on his way from his villa to the other man’s house—the accident site was on the direct route from John Smith’s home to the other man’s.

The final investigation concluded that this was an accidental car crash caused by drunk driving.

And that should be the truth, after all, the Vanguard Group had only used John Smith, but had no reason to get rid of him at this time.

As for Barron—he was very clear that he had no need to physically eliminate him. Simply removing John Smith from the positions of chairman and CEO was enough to make him lose control of the Sinclair Group.

And others didn’t have much of a motive either…

So, after John Smith’s death, the question that needed to be resolved was: who would take over as chairman of the Sinclair Group?

…

“You want me to be chairman?”

Because of John Smith’s accidental death, Barron came to Baltimore, Maryland.

After meeting with John Smith’s widow, Jenny, she shook her head after hearing Barron propose that she take over as chairman of the Sinclair Group, saying:

“I’ve never been involved in this kind of business, and I have a child now. I’m planning to rest and recuperate in a while…”

“It’s just to have you temporarily hold this transitional position, and the company’s operations will be handled by the CEO. Your duties as chairman won’t be too demanding, just signing documents and attending some meetings. After all, you are the most suitable person right now…”

As Barron said, now that John Smith had died unexpectedly, his widow, Jenny, had become the most suitable candidate for the position of chairman of the Sinclair Group.

At least with her in the role, all parties could accept it, and it could avoid the turmoil that could be caused to the Sinclair Group in the short term.

You should know that although IC Capital had bought the shares held personally by the three David Smith brothers, the Sinclair Family Trust was still the largest single shareholder of the Sinclair Group, holding 22.5% of the shares.

The current situation is that the Sinclair Family Trust’s shareholding has a total of seven votes: three votes from David Smith’s widow’s side, three votes from John Smith’s side, and one vote in the hands of John Smith’s birth mother.

So, it turned out that Jenny Smith had become the only person who could be accepted by these Sinclair family members to control the shares held by the Sinclair Trust.

In addition, because of his personal relationship with her, Barron would naturally be willing to have Jenny as the transitional candidate for the chairman of the Sinclair Group, which would give him time to acquire more shares of the Sinclair Group, so that he could neatly implement the candidate to replace her next.

As for the Vanguard Group…

Although their shareholding is currently the smallest, under certain relatively balanced circumstances, they are also a decisive force that can influence the situation. Similarly, Jenny, as John Smith’s widow, is also an acceptable candidate for them.

Even though Jenny and John Smith had some slight disagreements before, they had at least been married for many years. Therefore, when suddenly faced with John Smith’s accidental death, Jenny still showed a state of grief.

This made Barron himself couldn’t help but curse himself as a pervert—it must be said that Jenny was wearing a black dress, her face was cold, and in this situation, it really made him feel a little aroused…

Before, when considering Jenny as a candidate for the position of chairman of the Sinclair Group, Barron really felt that this was a very appropriate arrangement.

Although, as Jenny said, she had not been involved in too much business before, from Barron’s previous conversations with her, it could still be seen that in terms of judging the situation, at least Jenny was much more clear-headed than the deceased John Smith.

And as he said, the position itself does not require responsibility for the specific matters of company management. All those things can be handed over to professional managers. All she needs is to ensure that his (Barron’s) decisions are implemented in this position.

Under Barron’s persuasion, and considering the need to appease the Sinclair family, and that she already had a child and needed to consider the child’s future, Jenny finally accepted Barron’s arrangement and would try to serve as the chairman of the Sinclair Group.

Of course, there was still a lot of work to be done after that, but Barron didn’t need to come forward for any of it.

Ivanka, representing IC Capital, and Talulah Riley, as Barron’s representative, will talk with the members of the Sinclair family to communicate about the company’s arrangements after John Smith’s death.

Ashes to ashes, dust to dust…

Since John Smith had died unexpectedly, and Jenny was now pregnant with his child, Barron didn’t need to pursue the Sinclair family too much for his “betrayal” of him.

However, in addition to Jenny, the other members of the Sinclair family will gradually be excluded from the decision-making level of the Sinclair family, which is also an inevitable result in the future.

At least Jenny’s existence, as a representative of the Sinclair family—plus she is pregnant, which in the eyes of others is John Smith’s legacy—can maintain the Sinclair family’s sense of presence in this group.

Chapter 909: A Conversation is Possible

“Almighty God, since in your great mercy you have taken unto yourself the soul of our dear brother John Smith, we therefore commit his body to the ground;
earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust, in sure and certain hope of the Resurrection to eternal life, through our Lord Jesus Christ;
who shall change our vile body, that it may be like unto his glorious body, according to the mighty working, whereby he is able to subdue all things to himself…”

As the coffin bearing John Smith was lowered into the grave and gradually buried, it signified that the traces of his existence in this world were beginning to fade away.

Jenny, dressed in black, quietly watched the entire process unfold. In the end, a single tear streamed down her cheek.

Baron and Ivanka, also in black suits, attended the funeral with solemn expressions.

Perhaps the most grief-stricken person present was John Smith’s mother. The elderly woman had suddenly fainted just moments ago and was taken to the hospital by John Smith’s brother and sister.

“Your Grace, I hope to take up a few minutes of your time to discuss matters concerning the Sinclair Group…”

The representative of the Vanguard Group, a shareholder in the Sinclair Group, approached Baron after the funeral and said respectfully.

“What? Do you have other plans now?”

Baron’s words were laced with sarcasm.

“You misunderstand, Your Grace. We are acting purely out of business considerations, simply to help…”

“You might also be misunderstanding…”

Interrupting the other man, Baron said calmly:

“First, I already have plans for the future of the Sinclair Group. Second, if you want to talk, have McKenna come to me.”

After he finished speaking, Baron’s security assistant blocked the man’s path.

This was not the place for extensive contact with Jenny. Baron and Ivanka offered her a few words of comfort, and after consoling other members of the Sinclair family as well, they left.

On May 13th, another shareholders’ meeting was held at the Sinclair Group headquarters.

However, due to the unexpected death of John Smith, the agenda of this shareholders’ meeting was slightly altered.

At this shareholders’ meeting, it was almost unanimously approved that Jenny Smith would assume the position of Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Sinclair Group.

As for the other management positions, including the CEO, some candidates have already been identified and are being contacted. A final decision will be made shortly.

Originally, according to the discussions between Baron and Ivanka, this shareholders’ meeting was intended to remove John Smith from his position as Chairman, with Ivanka temporarily taking over the role—as she needed to manage IC Capital, she would have delegated the company’s management to professional managers anyway.

Now, with Jenny taking on the role of Chairman, it could be considered a win-win situation, at least in terms of minimizing resistance from the Sinclair family.

…

“Your Grace, I do not wish for a war to break out between us.”

“Oh? I thought you had already declared war on me, Mr. McKenna.”

Clearly, Baron’s words had gotten around.

Upon arriving in New York, he had been invited to a cocktail party hosted by some Wall Street capital, and unsurprisingly, F. William McKenna III had approached Baron at this party.

“I have no such intention, and I certainly would not want to wage war against you…”

McKenna III frowned slightly and said:

“The Sinclair Group matter was merely an accident, and furthermore, we lost over $200 million on the Gold Trust ETF!”

“That’s truly unfortunate. However, the price of gold fluctuates; it’s perfectly normal…”

Hearing Baron’s nonchalant words, McKenna III looked at him and couldn’t help but retort:

“Isn’t DS Group currently the largest short seller in the gold market?”

“That might also be an accident. After all, we are simply following market trends; it’s an investment decision…”

Being parried with his own words, McKenna III’s expression turned unpleasant.

However, he quickly adjusted his mindset:

“Whether you believe it or not, Your Grace, using the Sinclair Group to acquire the Tribune Media Company was simply a link in our overall plan. It was not targeted at you.”

“So it was collateral damage?”

“The matter is in the past. We should all look forward…”

McKenna III had to admit that his previous strategy had been a mistake, and therefore he now had to work hard to remedy it:

“We can still push forward with the Sinclair Group’s acquisition of the Tribune Media Company, and this time we will guarantee your control over the company…”

Baron also understood that if he hadn’t previously cut off the Vanguard Group’s reach into the Sinclair Group and had the ability to inflict losses on their other investments, then the Vanguard Group certainly wouldn’t be so willing to talk.

No matter the time, the prerequisite for others being willing to “reason” with you is that you truly hold “truth” in your hands.

“But the FCC (Federal Communications Commission)…”

“We can work together on that. I believe they will understand as well…”

Just as McKenna III looked at Baron, awaiting his reply, he heard Baron say with a rather playful tone:

“In fact, you are pushing for the sale of 21st Century Fox, aren’t you? Let me guess who wants to make this acquisition… Disney?”

Hearing Baron suddenly say these words, McKenna III’s pupils instantly constricted. His reaction confirmed Baron’s and his think tank’s conjecture.

It seemed that as Murdoch aged, they were indeed beginning to worry about what would happen to the media group he controlled if he suddenly kicked the bucket.

After all, the infighting within the Murdoch family was no joke—the original timeline’s “Succession” series was largely inspired by the struggles of the Murdoch family’s next generation.

Just as Baron had seen in his previous life, there were only a few companies capable of acquiring 21st Century Fox, and Disney was the most suitable one.

As for the Tribune Media Company—Disney didn’t need this regional sports network, as they already had ESPN.

“If needed, I can provide funding for Disney’s acquisition of 21st Century Fox…”

“All of this is not yet certain, Your Grace. I believe we will contact you if the need arises…”

McKenna III’s words indicated that the various interests in this Disney acquisition seemed to have been divided up quite neatly. What they were worried about was Baron causing trouble.

However, the current Disney didn’t have Marvel, and 21st Century Fox didn’t have the X-Men and Mutant IPs. Baron really wasn’t very interested in it…

“If that’s the case, then we can talk, but after the acquisition is completed, I don’t want the Vanguard Group’s shareholding in Sinclair to exceed 10%.”

Chapter 910: Prism Gate

What is the problem with America?

Many people say that America’s manufacturing industry is hollowed out. After all, the term “Rust Belt” was first used to refer to the Great Lakes region of America.

The so-called Rust Belt refers to the former traditional industrial areas, especially heavy industrial areas, such as the Great Lakes region, including industrial cities such as Pittsburgh, Youngstown, Milwaukee, Dayton, Cleveland, Chicago, Harrisburg, Bethlehem, Buffalo, and Cincinnati, after America’s industry has shifted to being dominated by the tertiary sector. The industries there began to decline, and the once bustling and developed industrial cities saw large areas of factory buildings and equipment being idled, leaving only mottled rust.

This is inevitable. After all, America’s most developed industries now are finance, media, and entertainment…

Almost all elites choose to enter the financial industry as their first choice, as that is where they can truly make big money.

For capital, being able to easily rely on America’s global hegemony to reap huge profits by sucking the blood of the world, who would bother to make machine tools, clothes, and appliances to make money?

In fact, this is the case in any country, including Europe, Japan, South Korea, and China. Those who can control the financial industry are invariably closely related to power—after all, using information to make money is arguably the easiest.

It’s just that because of America’s hegemonic position in the world, their financial capital is particularly strong.

America has already entered such a cycle. With their dollar system and global hegemony, even if they have more foreign debt, they can continue to harvest the world through finance.

As long as they can maintain this position, then they don’t have to worry about their system collapsing at all, because the whole world will pay for its debts.

Therefore, Barron’s industrial layout in America is also mainly focused on finance, media, and entertainment industries.

Sinclair Group, although far from being ranked in terms of asset size compared to Barron’s other industries, is valued by Barron because of its media attributes.

That’s why he doesn’t allow Vanguard Group to get involved.

Before, if John Smith could always stand by his side, then he didn’t mind the Sinclair family continuing to maintain control of this company—after all, in some cases, when Sinclair Group is needed to help him “create momentum,” the Sinclair family on the surface is more conducive to hiding his existence.

But unfortunately, John Smith ultimately made the wrong choice, which led to Barron having to remove him from the position of chairman of the group.

But now, Jenny has become the chairman of Sinclair Group, and can also preserve the Sinclair family’s presence in this company, which is considered a happy ending.

Of course, Barron will not allow Vanguard Group to continue to increase its shareholding in Sinclair Group, even if they can facilitate Sinclair Group’s acquisition of Tribune Media.

In the current situation, even if Vanguard Group is unwilling, they can no longer continue to oppose Barron, especially within Sinclair Group, because of the unexpected death of John Smith, it can be said that their cooperation with the Sinclair family has also declared failure.

It’s not that they haven’t tried to contact other people, but the results were very disappointing to them. Besides Jenny not having the intention to talk to them at all, Quentin Smith and Barbara Smith also flatly rejected them.

Speaking of which, currently, besides Jenny holding the more symbolic position of chairman in the company, Quentin Smith is the only other member of the Sinclair family responsible for one of the departments, and Barbara Smith has long left the family group to pursue her own career.

Quentin Smith was originally a person without much ambition, otherwise he wouldn’t have chosen to support his younger brother John Smith at that time, instead of personally confronting David Smith.

He naturally has a relatively clear understanding of the situation of Sinclair Group. Whether in terms of funds or resources, the Sinclair family is no match for Barron and Vanguard Group. Simply within Sinclair Group, choosing Barron as a partner is naturally superior to Vanguard Group.

Next, Ivanka will personally come forward, together with the new CEO of Sinclair Group, to discuss the specific matters related to the acquisition of Tribune Media with Vanguard Group.

Barron naturally doesn’t need to handle these things personally. What he is concerned about now is another matter.

Entering June, what is about to come is the outbreak of the Prism Gate.

In fact, as early as December last year, some European journalists received encrypted emails from someone named “Citizen Four,” claiming that he was a senior employee of an American intelligence agency, and that he had some information that he wanted to share with them…

“From now on, every border you cross, every item you buy, every phone call you make, every cell phone tower you pass, every friend you make, every article you write, every place you go, every word you type in the title bar, every data packet you send, is in the hands of a system, its coverage is infinite, but the safeguards are limited…”

This “Citizen Four” reminded the other party in the email that their emails were likely being monitored by American intelligence agencies, and warned the other party that once they obtained those documents, their lives would be threatened.

Those who received this encrypted email included French documentary director Laura Poitras, British Guardian senior reporter Glenn Greenwald, and The Independent reporter Lauson Welson.

When Barron obtained that email from Lauson Welson, he already understood that this “Citizen Four” was Edward Snowden, who was known worldwide in his previous life for exposing America’s “Prism” program.

The Prism program (PRISM) is a top-secret electronic surveillance program implemented by the American National Security Agency (NSA) since 2007.

The official name of the program is “US-984XN.” According to documents later disclosed by Snowden, the American National Security Agency can access a large number of personal chat logs, stored data, voice communications, file transfers, personal social network data.

Barron naturally understands the great impact that Prism Gate will have later. It is no exaggeration to say that after exposing this program, Snowden became the primary target that American intelligence agencies wanted to eliminate as quickly as possible.

And he knows that as a senior intelligence officer, Snowden will definitely be able to make the “Prism” program public in the end, so he doesn’t need to get involved at all.

Moreover, even if Snowden didn’t announce this program, he is very clear about the content of this program—after all, Woaw Technology, which he controls, has to open the relevant server access interface to the American intelligence agencies.

This is also a prerequisite for Woaw to operate smoothly in America and around the world. After all, giants like Google, Microsoft, Yahoo, and Apple have to do this. If you refuse, you will be investigated in minutes and sanctioned under various names.

Considering this situation, Barron did not let the reporter from The Independent participate in this matter. He still followed the development of the original timeline, and let Laura Poitras and Glenn Greenwald make contact with Snowden.

Chapter 911: Joint Venture

Yes, in May of this year, “Citizenfour,” also known as Snowden, proposed a meeting with Laura Poitras in an encrypted email—he chose Hong Kong, China, as the meeting place.

Because Snowden chose a meeting place far from Europe in a foreign land, Laura was concerned about security and prepared to travel with others.

So Laura Poitras contacted a friend who had participated in activities with her—Glenn Greenwald, a senior reporter for the British newspaper The Guardian.

Of course, her movements were also reported to Barron by his intelligence agency, which was monitoring her.

After telling Glenn Greenwald about “Citizenfour,” Laura discovered that Glenn had also received encrypted emails from him before.

However, Glenn thought the person’s claims were a bit “out there,” and he himself knew nothing about encrypted communication, so he didn’t reply.

In the end, Laura, Glenn, and a senior editor from The Guardian flew to Hong Kong to meet with “Citizenfour.”

After meeting, Laura and the others recorded an interview with Snowden and later released a documentary about the “Prism” program under the name Citizenfour.

At the same time, The Guardian was the first to report the contents of the “Prism” program revealed by Snowden, causing an uproar around the world.

After all, according to the Prism program revealed by Snowden, it also included the United States eavesdropping on the heads of allied countries, including UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, German Chancellor Merkel, Brazilian President Rousseff, and as many as 35 national leaders appearing on the US National Security Agency’s surveillance list.

Subsequently, the German magazine Der Spiegel, citing documents provided by Snowden, revealed that the US National Security Agency monitored 122 foreign leaders in 2009 and built a special database to store information on foreign leaders, including 300 reports on German Chancellor Merkel alone.

It can be said that after the Prism scandal broke out, the global reaction was quite a show.

And the instigator, Snowden, began his life on the run—according to news Barron received from British intelligence agencies, in order to capture Snowden, the United States even sent a 16-person special agent team to Lotus Island, which resulted in a collective first-class merit for the local special forces company…

Barron could also understand why the American intelligence agencies were so interested in him—after all, because he knew about the American “Prism” program in his previous life, he had been very concerned about preventing eavesdropping from the beginning.

Not only would all the places he went to be thoroughly searched by his security team first, but his usual communications would only use specially made Glory Electronics phones, through the O2 Telecom he controlled.

And important conversations were conducted through encrypted satellite phones, so it could be said that although the American intelligence agencies could eavesdrop on the leaders of many countries, eavesdropping on Barron was much more difficult.

…

On June 10th, O2 Germany finally completed the acquisition of the German subsidiary of the Dutch KPN Group—E-Plus.

This time, O2 Telecom’s offer was 8 billion euros, exceeding that of Telefonica of Spain, so it ultimately won the competition.

After completing the acquisition of E-Plus, its business will be merged into O2 Germany, giving O2 Germany more than 40 million users, accounting for nearly half of Germany’s total population, surpassing Deutsche Telekom and Vodafone Germany to become the telecom operator with the most users in Germany.

At this point, through years of development and acquisitions, O2 Telecom has become the second largest telecom operator in Europe, second only to Vodafone.

Just after Barron returned to London, he saw Huawei’s boss, Mr. Ren, who had come to his home again.

“I still remember the first time we met. Unconsciously, it’s been ten years, Mr. Ren.”

It can be said that compared to then, now whether it is Barron, Mr. Ren, or Huawei, there have been very big changes, so when talking about this matter, Barron couldn’t help but feel a little emotional.

“Yes, Your Grace the Duke. At that time, Huawei hoped to develop the British and European markets. The first cooperation in Britain was with your O2 Telecom. Until now, O2 Telecom has become one of the largest telecom companies in Europe, and we have always been close partners. We are filled with gratitude for this.”

“But the situation is different now. You know, although O2 Telecom is larger in scale, it also covers the markets of many countries. Our cooperation with Huawei also faces more challenges…”

“You must have a plan for seeing me today. I’m all ears.”

The conversation between the two was conducted in Chinese. After all, Mr. Ren was already very accustomed to this British Duke’s fluent Chinese.

“You should know about the recent Prism scandal, Mr. Ren. This can explain the main reason why Huawei has run into walls in the American market, but the situation is somewhat different in the European market…”

Barron handed the other party a document and continued:

“After the debt crisis, Europe’s economic recovery has been slower than expected. Correspondingly, European telecommunications equipment manufacturers need the European Union to provide them with guarantees. In this case, not only O2 Telecom, but also other telecommunications companies are facing pressure, that is, they need to give priority to considering European equipment suppliers…”

Mr. Ren frowned as he looked through the information Barron handed him.

Yes, Huawei has now become one of the world’s largest telecommunications equipment suppliers, and can provide customers with the most cost-effective products and the best quality services, but so what? After all, the European Union can subsidize local companies, and in many assessments, the choice of telecommunications company equipment procurement will be taken into account…

And this information is some specific policies of the European Union and related information.

“I am willing to continue to cooperate with Huawei, after all, our cooperation has been very satisfactory before, but in view of the current situation, I have a proposal…”

In the beginning, Barron had completed the acquisition of British Marconi through Rich23 Capital and merged it into Huawei, thus holding 15% of Huawei’s shares.

And Barron’s proposal is that Rich23 Capital withdraw its holdings in Huawei and convert them into holdings in a Huawei European joint venture.

That is to say, based on Huawei’s European branch (established on the basis of the original Marconi company), a joint venture between the two parties will be established, in which Barron’s side holds 51% of the shares and Huawei holds 49% of the shares, then this joint venture will be regarded as a European company.

In this way, the cooperation between O2 Telecom and other telecommunications companies and the Huawei European joint venture will no longer be restricted by relevant EU policies.

Chapter 912: Huawei Marconi

This plan did indeed tempt Mr. Ren somewhat.

The main reason was that Huawei now was no longer the Huawei of ten years ago.

It could be said that because of Huawei’s business practices and development, it had gained more support from the Chinese side. However, the 15% stake held by Rich23 Capital had, to some extent, become an obstacle to Huawei gaining even more support.

After all, the autonomy of the communications industry has always been valued by every country—the only difference is whether they have the ability to be autonomous or not.

Huawei’s current performance completely warranted more support from the state, but under these circumstances, having foreign capital and not having foreign capital were different concepts.

If they followed Barron’s plan, then Huawei would simply take a portion of its European market share in exchange for its parent company’s “pure Chinese bloodline”—what’s more, this would also benefit Huawei in acquiring more market share in Europe.

Furthermore, according to Barron’s plan, Huawei would still be the largest shareholder in this joint venture—its European joint venture, Huawei Marconi, would have the following share distribution: Huawei holding 49%, DS Holdings (Cavendish Trust) holding 36%, and William Webb Capital holding 15%…

This way, at least in the British, French, and German markets, Huawei Marconi would be treated the same as domestic telecom equipment suppliers.

Mr. Ren knew Barron’s influence in these places, so he naturally had no doubts.

“Mr. Ren, I have specifically learned about your experiences and greatly admire your character and business acumen. Therefore, if there is an opportunity, we will become Huawei’s most reliable partner.”

“You flatter me, Your Grace. I only started Huawei at the age of 44. In the previous ten years, I also experienced various setbacks. I can’t compare with someone like you, a dragon among men…”

Speaking of which, Mr. Ren was grateful to Barron. Back in 1998-2000, Huawei bet on 3G technology, but unexpectedly, China’s 3G licenses were delayed, which put Huawei in a difficult situation. Their choice of the GSM technology route meant that almost all of China Unicom’s CDMA IS95 equipment purchases went to ZTE.

It should be known that in the early days, there were two standards for 2G networks: GSM (GPRS/EDGE) organized by the European ETSI and CDMA IS95/CDMA2000 1x organized by the American TIA, mainly led by Qualcomm. In those years, China’s two mobile operators, China Mobile, used GSM, and China Unicom used CDMA IS95.

Ultimately, Huawei believed that CDMA IS95 was a technology destined to be eliminated, so it put almost all of its research and development and investment into GSM, preparing to continue developing 3G technology after that.

As a result, China Unicom’s communication equipment tenders were all won by ZTE, which had invested in the research and development of CDMA IS95…

As for China Mobile’s GSM tenders, Huawei was also very unlucky. It happened that European manufacturers were engaged in a price war in order to compete with American manufacturers, and the price of GSM equipment dropped sharply. If Huawei calculated the research and development costs, it would lose money even if it won the bid…

Then, the 3G technology they developed had no market in China because China had not yet launched 3G licenses.

Misfortunes never come singly. At that time, UT Starcom, which occupied a large market share of Little Smart in China, bundled the sales of their broadband access equipment based on their market share, which also greatly squeezed Huawei’s market in broadband equipment.

It should be known that the main market for the GSM path’s 3G network, WCDMA, was in Europe. At that time, they first reached a cooperation with O2 Telecom, thereby entering the British and European markets, which could be said to have saved Huawei’s life.

Moreover, after Barron held 15% of Huawei’s shares, O2 Telecom’s equipment in Europe was also mainly purchased from Huawei. With the expansion of O2 Telecom’s scale, Huawei now occupies a considerable market share in Europe.

Now, changing the way they cooperate can be said to be beneficial to both parties.

For Barron, Huawei has a unique equity distribution method and has never been listed. In addition, with Huawei’s increasingly important position in China’s domestic telecommunications industry, the 15% stake they hold has basically little influence on Huawei’s decisions in terms of influence. In terms of revenue, Huawei invests almost all of its income in research and development and basically does not distribute dividends. Furthermore, if it never goes public, it will not be launched through the public market…

Rather than that, it would be better to turn it into shares in the joint venture between the two parties in Europe.

According to the agreement reached between Barron and Mr. Ren, Huawei Marconi will cooperate with Huawei to establish a research and development center in Europe, and the research and development results of both parties will be shared.

Huawei Marconi is also authorized by Huawei to use Huawei’s exclusive patents—of course, it needs to pay patent fees to Huawei.

In the future, related communication equipment for the European market will be produced at the Huawei Marconi factory in Britain, which also means that Barron’s side can obtain half of the profits from the European market.

At the same time, O2 Telecom will also support Huawei in the field of 5G technology standards in the future, and the two parties have reached a technology alliance on this.

Mr. Ren also attached great importance to the establishment of this joint venture, after all, it concerns Huawei’s future European market.

Barron entertained Mr. Ren well in London, and also took the time to visit Chatsworth House in Derbyshire with him, fulfilling his obligations as a host.

It is worth mentioning that Chatsworth House has closed to visitors on May 31st of this year and will undergo overall renovation again.

And after this renovation, the manor will no longer be open to the public.

Yes, this renovation of Chatsworth House will be more thorough than the previous overall renovation. Not only will the external walls be carefully maintained, but also the interior of the manor house will be renovated and modernized again to make it more suitable for modern people to live in.

Because after this renovation, Chatsworth House will return to being the residence of the Devonshire family and will be equipped with comprehensive security, so it will naturally no longer be open to tourists.

The Devonshire family initially opened the manor mainly to obtain funds in this way to bear the expensive maintenance costs of the manor.

Later, after Barron’s assets continued to expand, he himself did not like living here very much—originally, this kind of aristocratic manor was used by nobles who lived in the countryside and was not suitable for the residence of the current commercial society.

For young people like Barron, it is naturally more suitable to live in big cities like London, whether it is for socializing, work, or the education of children, the convenience of big cities is far from being comparable to this ancient manor.

However, now that Barron has reached this position, it is not a big deal to occasionally return here for a month or two, because he has the assistance of his entire team of assistants and family office.

In this case, if Chatsworth House continues to be open to the public, according to the opinion of Barron’s security team, there will be some hidden dangers in terms of security.

Since he no longer cares about the funds for maintaining the manor, Barron simply made the decision to close it to the public after this overall renovation.

Moreover, this overall renovation will not only add more modern facilities but also conduct a large-scale upgrade in terms of security in preparation for any eventuality.

Chapter 913: Threat

“I hope you can make the EU understand that Alstom’s merger is imperative. Bombardier and Siemens’ rail divisions must at least have one approved without any conditions. Otherwise, our High-Speed Rail Line 2 project will be entirely outsourced to China, and Europe will not receive any orders.”

Ashley Webb personally led the negotiation team formed by Barron to deal with relevant EU institutions regarding this Alstom acquisition. The members included representatives from Alstom, Standard Defense, and Continental United Bank—William-Webb Capital would provide consulting services for this acquisition, and Continental United Bank would provide financing.

At the same time, the British and French governments would also send ministerial-level personnel to participate in the negotiations with the EU anti-monopoly agencies.

In fact, as early as when the British government approved the construction plan for High-Speed Rail Line 2, China had expressed interest in participating.

In January 2012, the South China Morning Post quoted sources from China Railway Corporation as saying that if the British government wanted to build this high-speed rail project, China Railway was interested in bidding.

At that time, China South Rail Corporation also expressed interest in the project…

Even earlier, in September 2011, China and Britain signed a “Memorandum of Understanding between the Two Governments on Strengthening Infrastructure Cooperation.” Going further back, in June 2011, the Chinese Premier met with Cameron in London and proposed China’s participation in the construction of Britain’s HS2 high-speed rail project.

Although Cameron did not respond explicitly at the time, only stating that Britain welcomed China’s investment in British infrastructure, a statement by Hoon, the British Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, revealed his admiration for China’s high-speed rail and other projects with energy-saving and emission-reduction effects.

And at the end of last year, when Cameron led a delegation to China, the Chinese side expressed its intention to invest tens of billions of pounds in British infrastructure, including over 40 billion pounds in the British HS2 high-speed rail.

It can be said that China is very active in participating in the High-Speed Rail Line 2 project and is even willing to provide most of the loans needed for construction.

“We also need to consider that if we really open up most of the HS2 project to China, the EU will inevitably withdraw its subsidies for this high-speed rail project in Britain…”

British Secretary of State for Business, Peter Mandelson, as the main representative of the government assisting Barron in completing this acquisition of Bombardier, immediately dissuaded Barron from what seemed like rather impulsive words:

“And doing so will inevitably lead to criticism from some local companies, and we will be under great pressure.”

“If such a consequence occurs, it is entirely because of the EU’s excessive anti-monopoly investigation, which prevents us from using sufficient European resources, and…”

Barron did not take Peter Mandelson’s words to heart, but on the surface, he said in a slightly缓和 tone:

“If I take over this project, then first of all, it will be a commercial project. I will only care about who can complete this project with higher efficiency and lower costs while ensuring quality, rather than blindly creating benefits for those uncompetitive companies.”

Yes, as a private company, Barron only needs to consider how to complete this project in the most economical way, but as the British government, it needs to consider more things.

This is why, in his previous life, this high-speed rail line in Britain was delayed again and again, and eventually became a “negative example” in high-speed rail construction.

Of course, he would give all companies an equal opportunity in the bidding for this project. If the British government or other EU countries were willing, they could fully provide corresponding subsidies to their companies to increase their competitiveness.

Until now, Barron has not started to acquire FirstGroup and Eversholt Rail Group. The meaning is obvious: completing the acquisition of Bombardier is a prerequisite for him to take over Britain’s High-Speed Rail Line 2.

Otherwise, even if he is willing to take over, he will choose a more cost-effective solution—of course, now outsourcing most of this project to Chinese companies is just Barron’s “threat” to the EU anti-monopoly agencies, but if the other party really rejects him, then as long as Barron takes over High-Speed Rail Line 2, this will inevitably become a reality.

As for Barron’s previous proposal to German Chancellor Merkel that Alstom and Siemens’ rail divisions merge, Siemens needs to agree to provide 1 billion euros in “merger failure compensation.” Siemens has not yet responded to this.

But from the information Barron obtained, Germany and Siemens have already discussed merging their rail businesses with Alstom with the EU, apparently to test the waters first to assess the possibility of this plan being approved by the other party.

It is not just Alstom that needs to pay Siemens “merger failure compensation.” From the current situation of Cavendish Trust and Alstom contacting Bombardier, the other party does not mind being acquired, but they are also worried about the EU anti-monopoly agency’s review, so they said that Barron also needs to provide “merger failure compensation” for the acquisition, with an amount of up to 500 million euros.

Therefore, in the current situation, it is a bit chaotic. They need to obtain a commitment from the relevant EU agencies before they will continue with this acquisition.

Of course, if the other party cannot give a clear commitment, Barron does not mind really cooperating with China on a large scale in this High-Speed Rail Line 2 project.

At that time, Alstom, which has not completed the merger, will only be able to obtain the orders they can undertake, and most of the rest will belong to China.

“The problem is more complicated than initially expected.”

When Barron met with Cameron again, the latter loosened his tie and couldn’t help but sigh.

“As long as you do things, you will always encounter various problems. Only when you are just talking the talk do you not need to solve problems.”

Barron shrugged and said.

Having been in the position of Prime Minister for three years, Cameron naturally had a deep understanding of what Barron said.

Especially in “democratic” systems like Europe and the United States, it is particularly difficult to get things done.

After all, there are all kinds of debates in the parliament every day, countless opinions are put forward, and things are argued back and forth. This process, day after day, is always particularly tiring.

It can be said that no matter what the final evaluation is, anyone who initially sits in a position like Cameron’s always has the idea of making great achievements and doing something.

It’s just that in the face of various disputes, too few people can ultimately persevere in doing something.

Just like Obama, even if he served as the President of the United States for two terms, years later, what people can remember is nothing more than “Obamacare.”

Chapter 914: Oh Right, I’m Still a Member of Parliament

A five-year term as Prime Minister seems quite long, but Cameron now felt that compared to what he wanted to accomplish, this term was simply not enough.

Also, because more than three years of his five-year term as Prime Minister had already passed, with less than two years until the next general election, Cameron needed to start preparing for his re-election now.

For this reason, he genuinely hoped that High Speed 2 could proceed smoothly. Of course, it would be even better if some small and medium-sized British enterprises could secure orders in this “massive” project.

This meeting with Barron was also prompted by hearing that the Duke had stated that if the EU’s monopoly authority could not guarantee the approval of his acquisition, he would rather forgo EU subsidies and cooperate with China to involve them in most of the HS2 project. He specifically wanted to communicate with Barron about this.

“We are in negotiations with the EU, and I believe we will eventually reach an acceptable outcome. As for the EU’s high-speed rail construction fund, Your Grace, if the EU does not subsidize the high-speed rail project in Britain, we will reduce our contributions to the EU budget next time…”

Cameron said:

“Although I have promised to give you the lead on the High Speed 2 project, we still need to consider companies within the EU, especially British companies, in the contracting and procurement of this project…”

“I will definitely consider that, Prime Minister. Even if we cooperate with China, the specific subcontractors and procurement projects will not exclude British companies. But at least when dealing with the EU, I need to show my stance.”

Barron didn’t need to put on airs with Cameron. He directly told him that taking on this project would also put him under immense operational pressure, so he naturally needed to consider the investment and the final return. Only if profitability could be achieved would it be a healthy commercial project, and have the potential to be replicated later.

Similarly, because he was investing in this project, the British government would save a significant amount of money on high-speed rail construction.

The operation of High Speed 2 itself would be of great strategic significance for British domestic transportation and communication between the north and south.

Therefore, if the government hoped to use this to boost related domestic enterprises, it could use some of the saved funds as subsidies for these enterprises, strengthening their competitiveness in the HS2 project.

For Barron, he understood very well that cooperating with China would greatly reduce the total investment in High Speed 2. A comparison would reveal just how outrageous the current estimated total investment of nearly 40 billion pounds for the HS2 project was.

High Speed 2 is divided into three sections, roughly in a Y shape…

Birmingham is the central hub, with one section running from London to Birmingham, and then extending in two directions from Birmingham, reaching Manchester and Leeds respectively.

According to the latest plan, the total length of High Speed 2 is approximately 531 kilometers. Based on this calculation, even with the budget not yet significantly increased, the cost per kilometer is as high as 0.75 billion pounds (approximately 7 billion Chinese yuan).

In comparison, the Beijing-Shanghai High-Speed Railway in China, which opened in 2011, has a total length of 1,318 kilometers, almost 2.5 times longer than HS2. Its cost per kilometer is only 130 million Chinese yuan, less than one-fifth of the current estimated cost per kilometer of HS2.

The most crucial thing is that the Beijing-Shanghai High-Speed Railway started construction in 2008 and opened in 2011…

It can only be said that there is no harm without comparison…

Even considering that the cities connected by HS2 are all important British cities—London, the largest city in Britain; Birmingham and Manchester, both important transportation hubs in Britain; and the Leeds region, which claims to be the second largest city in Britain, and is also the second largest region in Britain after Greater London…

After this high-speed rail line is completed and operational, it will still have acceptable profitability.

Of course, if relying solely on train ticket revenue, it would probably take 50 years to achieve profitability…

But if the operating income of the high-speed rail stations along the route and the operating income on the high-speed trains are calculated, then the expectation of profitability will greatly increase.

This is one of the reasons why Barron is willing to take over this project.

In addition, controlling the operation of such an important passenger transport line in Britain would also bring him other benefits.

…

“We have reached an agreement with Scottish and Southern Energy (SSE). British Electric Power will complete the acquisition of this company for 7.5 billion pounds…”

Although the acquisition of Scottish and Southern Energy initially faced some questioning from politicians, this questioning was quickly quelled.

Of the five members of Parliament who initially opposed the acquisition of Scottish and Southern Energy by British Electric Power under the United Power Group, three quickly changed their attitude after friendly negotiations and voiced their support for the acquisition.

As for the remaining two members of Parliament, they were both exposed by the media last month for scandals, and ultimately had to resign from their positions as members of Parliament under public pressure. One of them even had to face charges from the prosecution and may not be able to escape imprisonment.

After completing the acquisition of Scottish and Southern Energy, British Electric Power’s market share in the British domestic electricity market will reach 40%, becoming the largest electricity group in Britain.

This acquisition was also welcomed by residents in northern Scotland because after merging with Scottish and Southern Energy, British Electric Power announced that it would build a new LNG power station in the region to increase the local electricity supply. At the same time, due to the decline in international energy prices and the overall synergistic advantages of British Electric Power, they would reduce electricity prices for residents in northern Scotland by 5%.

This was the first electricity price reduction in the region since 2007, naturally leading local users to welcome this merger.

After discussing the acquisition of Scottish and Southern Energy, Talulah Riley glanced at Barron and said:

“Your Grace, the House of Lords will hold a meeting next week. The Lord Speaker has sent a letter hoping you can attend…”

Uh, if Talulah hadn’t reminded him, Barron would have almost forgotten that he was still a member of the House of Lords.

The main reason is that Barron himself doesn’t need to “clock in” by attending meetings to receive subsidies like some members of the House of Lords…

Therefore, unless there is something important, he hardly ever attends meetings of the House of Lords.

Speaking of which, maybe he’s doing this to save seats in the House of Lords meeting room.

After all, even after the streamlining of the House of Lords membership during the Blair era, the number of members of the House of Lords has once again exceeded 760…

Chapter 915: Agenda

It was precisely because the British House of Lords had too many members, who were not elected, and whose composition and behavior did not reflect public opinion, yet they enjoyed generous subsidies, that they were often criticized for wasting public funds.

With the current number of members in the House of Lords, if several committees met on the same day, the meeting rooms simply could not accommodate all the attending members, let alone a full house…

Moreover, it was said that Cameron was planning to nominate several more members soon—because, according to tradition, the ruling party had the right to increase its seats in the House of Lords.

Hughes, the vice-chairman of the Electoral Reform Society, a group promoting parliamentary democracy, stated bluntly:

“The expansion of the House of Lords is out of control!”

The society recently published a report stating that the House of Lords was an “outdated and unrepresentative institution,” with more than half of its members over the age of 70 and only two under 39—yes, since entering the House of Lords, Barron had been the youngest member.

In fact, the current members of the British House of Lords are rarely descendants of nobles; most are politicians, advisors, and supporters who have contributed to elections and are nominated as members as a reward.

After all, although members of the House of Lords do not receive a salary, they can receive a subsidy of 300 pounds for each day they attend a meeting, and they do not have to give up their positions outside the House—those who hold positions in the House can receive additional salary.

Some members of the House of Lords have even never attended meetings in certain years, yet have received a total of more than 300,000 pounds in subsidies over four or five years…

The entire House of Lords once refused to hold a joint banquet with the House of Commons to save expenses, because they were worried about the quality of the champagne declining…

Some members’ behavior is even more out of touch with public opinion. Last month, The Sun published a video exposé revealing that Lord Sewel, 67, the Deputy Speaker of the House of Lords and Chairman of the Discipline Committee, used a rolled-up banknote to snort illegal substances from a prostitute’s breasts. Sewel subsequently resigned from his positions as Deputy Speaker and Chairman of the Discipline Committee.

But no matter what, the existence of the House of Lords is still necessary—aside from the duties of the House of Lords, the House of Lords, known as the “House of Nobles,” is one of the few places where modern British nobles can display their status.

If the House of Lords were abolished, it would not be an exaggeration to say that the entire British nobility system would face a shock.

Then, once the nobility as a group becomes dispensable, the British Royal Family will lose the greatest foundation for its legitimacy.

Therefore, even as a means of maintaining the current British state system, the House of Lords needs to continue to exist.

“By the way, did the Speaker say what matters the meeting next week is preparing to discuss?”

Hearing the question Barron casually asked, Talulah Riley’s expression was somewhat strange, and she said:

“It is said that it will discuss issues related to British communications security and the ‘Prism’ affair involving the Government Communications Headquarters and intelligence agencies…”

“Okay, I understand. Reply to the Speaker that I will attend at that time. Also, I need detailed information on these aspects.”

“Yes, Your Grace.”

As early as the beginning of this month, the British Parliament’s Intelligence and Security Committee had published a report criticizing the government for being too lenient in its review of foreign investment in the communications sector.

The report called for strict scrutiny of telecommunications products from companies such as Huawei of China.

But it also admitted that it had not found any improper behavior by Huawei.

In fact, not only in Britain, but also within the European Union, there have been related criticisms regarding Huawei’s ever-expanding market share in Europe.

Of course, Barron understood very well that behind these accusations were the shadows of related European and American communications companies, simply using “national security” as a pretext to attack competitors; these were all old tricks.

This was also the main reason why Barron had previously reached an agreement with the boss of Huawei to use Huawei Marconi, a joint venture, as the main supplier to the British and even the European Union markets.

After all, European capital accounts for more than half of the shares in this company, so they can have more reason to launch lobbying efforts to ensure that Huawei Marconi receives equal treatment in the supply of communications equipment and technology.

As for the other agenda item of the House of Lords, it is also related to communications—the “Prism” affair involving the British side.

Don’t think that when talking about the “Prism” program, it is just the American intelligence agencies monitoring the world.

In fact, in Europe, Britain and America have the closest alliance, and the two sides have a shared agreement on intelligence.

Therefore, the British intelligence agencies are also part of the “Prism” program, participating in the monitoring of the global network.

At the beginning of this month, the British Guardian had already reported that the British Government Communications Headquarters could directly obtain personal information from mainstream European and American internet companies.

In response, the British Government Communications Headquarters responded that “their actions are strictly controlled within the framework of laws and policies.”

As public opinion fermented, Cameron had to order an investigation into the British Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) “Prism” surveillance program.

On June 17, the two-day G8 summit opened at Lough Erne in Northern Ireland, with the global economy and counter-terrorism listed as important agenda items for the summit.

But on the eve of the G8 summit, the Guardian, again, exclusively revealed secret documents disclosed by Snowden on its front page.

The documents showed that during the 2009 G20 summit, British secret intelligence agencies eavesdropped on the phones of participating dignitaries and monitored their computers, obtaining email correspondence.

It must be said that after obtaining Snowden’s relevant information, The Guardian went on a rampage…

On June 21, after reporting that British intelligence agencies eavesdropped on the G20 summit, causing an uproar, The Guardian once again revealed that, according to information disclosed by Snowden, the British intelligence agency Government Communications Headquarters also intercepted a large amount of data information intelligence from optical fiber cables transmitting global communications.

Snowden said that the British intelligence agency’s surveillance behavior was “even worse” than that of the United States.

Therefore, this time the House of Lords will take these two matters as agenda items. Among them, regarding communications security, the CEO of Huawei Marconi will submit relevant materials to the British Parliament at the end of the month, including the shareholder structure of Huawei Marconi, their expansion of production and research and development bases in Britain, the employment they provide for Britain, and so on, in order to request the British government to provide them with a fair business environment.

And with Barron’s relationship with those “noble lords,” this communications-related meeting of the House of Lords is also providing Huawei Marconi with an additional opportunity to “petition.”

It seems that the key issue this time is the Prism program involving the British side.

The current Director of MI6 is still Alex Younger, who has a close relationship with Nigel Inkster.

It can be said that with such a relationship, their participation in the Prism program is almost “open” to Barron.

And just as American telecommunications companies need to open up communication records to their intelligence agencies, British telecommunications companies, including O2 Telecom, also need to cooperate with their intelligence agencies.

However, in these cooperations, the communication records and content of some personnel related to Barron are “hidden.” Apart from Barron, no one has the authority to view them.

If the British intelligence agencies or the police need to inquire about the records of personnel on this list, they need to obtain Barron’s consent.

Chapter 916: Bull Market Begins

By June, the first phase of this round of the Bitcoin bull market had concluded, and its price entered a consolidation phase.

At this time, China was one of the major global markets for cryptocurrency, so Matrix Capital, led by Rami, and the Distributed Foundation went to China and other parts of Asia (Japan and South Korea) to participate in many related conferences and activities.

They also invested in many related projects, including exchanges and mining machine companies.

Although Barron knew that a significant portion of these investments might not yield much profit in the end, even after a substantial increase in Bitcoin’s price, its total market size was still not considered large, and the funds they invested in it were relatively limited.

Not to mention that the returns from even a tiny fraction of these investments – such as those in OKcoin and Huobi – would be enough to cover the total investment.

Furthermore, these investments were worthwhile in terms of expanding Colo’s influence in the blockchain industry.

It’s worth mentioning that Matrix Capital, managed by Rami, also delved into his old profession. Its Origin Fund, with an initial asset size of only 5 million U.S. dollars, also participated in the trading of digital coins such as Bitcoin and Litecoin.

This was not at Barron’s direction, but Rami himself believed that he could participate in this Bitcoin bull market and gain some profits. Anyway, the Distributed Foundation’s more than 500,000 Bitcoins, and the hundreds of thousands of Bitcoins obtained from Satoshi Nakamoto, would not be sold. The Origin Fund’s “investment” scale was small. After instructing that it should not be the main force for speculation, but rather follow the trend, Barron allowed Rami’s operation.

The Origin Fund also made substantial profits in the first phase of this Bitcoin bull market, and some of the profits were used by Matrix Capital as funds for investing in the blockchain industry.

In fact, the reason for the significant increase in Bitcoin’s price since April of this year, in addition to Bitcoin completing its first halving last year, is also related to the fact that after years of development, Bitcoin has gained more and more recognition, or rather, has gathered considerable “consensus.”

When more and more people believe that something has value, whether it is a “metal” or a piece of “code,” it gains corresponding value.

In February 2013, the news community Reddit accepted Bitcoin for paid services, followed by the blog website WordPress and the domain name server hosting provider Namecheap accepting Bitcoin payments.

From that time on, more and more websites, including WikiLeaks, which became well-known due to “Prismgate,” began to support Bitcoin payments.

In addition, on March 16 of this year, the government of Cyprus, with a population of only 1.1 million, froze citizens’ bank transfers, causing a run on banks, which led to Bitcoin attracting attention in Cyprus.

Of course, at the current stage, the actual use case of Bitcoin that cannot be ignored is still in the gray and black markets. The reason is that Bitcoin’s anonymity makes it the “best” currency for some illegal activities.

For example, in the “black markets” in the deep web, illegal transactions including intelligence, arms, and human trafficking are mostly conducted using Bitcoin.

Even recently, many hackers have been demanding that their victims use Bitcoin to pay ransoms during virus extortion attacks.

Moreover, many money laundering and asset transfer activities also use Bitcoin.

As a result, on March 18 of this year, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FINCEN) issued regulations for the management of virtual currency by individuals, in order to constrain the use of Bitcoin in illegal activities and tax evasion.

Even so, at this stage, the regulation of Bitcoin, this “emerging thing,” by various countries is still extremely lagging.

And Colo became one of the first countries in the world to recognize the legality of Bitcoin and enacted relevant laws to protect the property rights of Bitcoin holders.

In addition, because the world’s largest Bitcoin exchange, Mt. Gox, was located in Colo, and both Matrix Capital and the Distributed Foundation had close relationships with the Bitcoin Foundation, a non-profit organization that continued to develop and promote Bitcoin after Satoshi Nakamoto “disappeared.”

Rami was a member of the Bitcoin Foundation, and a significant number of its members were also closely related to him.

Therefore, with the support of the Distributed Foundation, the first Global Bitcoin Conference was held in Colo’s capital, Blita, on May 17 of this year.

More than 1,300 people from around the world participated in this Bitcoin conference. Attendees were professionals already involved in the blockchain industry, including exchanges, mining machines, and other new projects, as well as seasoned Bitcoin enthusiasts.

At the same time, this was the first time that Colo had held such a global event – even though this “Bitcoin Conference” at this time might not be as influential or well-known as a slightly famous sporting event.

Similarly, this was almost the first time that all the attendees of this Bitcoin conference had come to Colo, a small African country that they had never heard of before.

Perhaps except for previously learning that the world’s largest Bitcoin exchange had moved its headquarters here after being acquired.

In their minds, Colo must be a backward and poor African country, and many even suspected that holding the Bitcoin conference in Colo was a joke – would there even be a mobile network there?

Perhaps if the Distributed Foundation had not funded this Global Bitcoin Conference and been responsible for the attendees’ air tickets, not many people would have come to this conference, let alone reach 1,300 people.

However, after arriving in Blita, it completely subverted everyone’s impression of Africa.

The capital, Blita, which was built with all the efforts of the Colo government, was designed by a British design firm. Although it was far from being comparable to international metropolises like New York and London, it could be called a garden city, with a pleasant environment and a clean city appearance.

Moreover, the Bitcoin conference was held in Blita’s central business district (CBD), which could be said to be full of high-rise buildings, with a bit of a Manhattan feel.

Although Colo is an African country, mainly populated by black people, many Europeans, Americans, and Asians can still be seen in Colo. With the implementation of Colo’s talent introduction policy, more than 70,000 non-black residents currently live in Colo, accounting for 1% of the total population.

These people mainly live in large cities such as Blita and Lotti, and about two-thirds of them already have Colo citizenship. Because Colo recognizes dual citizenship, their immigration policy is relatively friendly to foreigners.

And some of these people who came to the conference stayed here after the conference because of Colo’s relatively friendly policies towards blockchain.

After all, a considerable number of Bitcoin enthusiasts are tech-savvy nerds. As long as there is internet, living anywhere is pretty much the same.

And after these years of development in Colo, especially in large cities such as Blita and Lotti, the internet infrastructure is quite good.

Chapter 917: Additional Issuance

Just as the BitC Conference was being held, Anchorage, a company under Matrix Capital, announced that it would issue an additional 400 million USDA.

Because USDA is pegged to the US dollar at a 1:1 ratio, this also means that they will supplement their reserve funds by 400 million US dollars.

One reason for Anchorage’s additional issuance of USDA this time is naturally because the BitC bull market has begun, and global related transaction volumes have soared.

Especially in markets outside of America, the demand for USDA, a digital coin pegged to the US dollar, has increased. The original 100 million USDA issued by Anchorage was no longer sufficient, and an additional issuance was needed.

Another reason, however, was something they had not anticipated…

That is, in Africa, especially in many countries in West Africa, the people are actually converting a portion of their savings into USDA and storing it in their mobile phone accounts.

According to estimates, the amount of USDA settled in these mobile phone accounts has exceeded 30 million…

This all started with the cooperation between the African United Bank and Klarna Pay.

As early as 2011, the African United Bank cooperated with Klarna Pay to launch a mobile payment application in Colo and surrounding countries.

With the development of the past two years, especially after Colo Telecom entered the Nigerian market this year, the number of Klarna Pay users in West Africa has begun to grow exponentially…

At the beginning of this year, with the signing of an agreement between Colo and Nigeria to further deepen economic cooperation, Colo Telecom entered Nigeria, the largest market in Africa, through acquisitions.

In February, Colo Telecom successfully completed the acquisition of Globecom, making it a wholly-owned subsidiary, thereby entering the Nigerian market.

Currently, there are a total of 26 telecom operators in Nigeria, but most of them are fixed-line operators, with only 4 mobile operators: NITEL, MTN, Globacom, and Vmobile.

Nigeria issued four 3G licenses in 2007, which were issued to these four companies.

Globecom, which was acquired by Colo Telecom this time, obtained Nigeria’s second full-service telecommunications business license as early as 2002, and is the only operator besides the state-owned operator NITEL that has the qualifications to operate full services.

Currently, Globecom’s market share in Nigeria is 27%, second only to the state-owned operator NITEL, ranking second among the four major operators.

After completing the acquisition of Globecom, Colo Telecom began to improve the 3G network in and around major cities in Nigeria. At the same time, in order to compete for the domestic telecommunications market in Nigeria, they began a “choose a package and get a free phone” promotion.

Of course, this activity is not only being carried out in Nigeria, but also in Colo and neighboring countries in the West African Free Trade Zone.

The mobile phones given away are mostly Dopod brand mobile phone models produced locally in Colo by Honor Electronics.

This can be regarded as Colo Telecom’s contribution to the popularization of smartphones in the West African region…

At the same time, the African United Bank has also opened many branches in West Africa, including Nigeria, because of the increase in smartphone ownership in this region—as mentioned before, many countries in Africa are very short of electricity, resulting in high electricity bills, so for some families with relatively good conditions, buying a more power-consuming computer is not as good as using a more convenient and less power-consuming smartphone.

This has also led to a relatively high penetration rate of mobile payments, mainly Klarna Pay, in a considerable area of West Africa…

In addition, many countries in Africa have another characteristic…

That is, the degree of currency devaluation is relatively high.

Taking Nigeria as an example, its legal currency is called the Naira. Since the outbreak of the subprime mortgage crisis, the exchange rate of the Naira against the US dollar has soared from an average of 1 US dollar to 117 Naira in 2007 to the current 1 US dollar to 165 Naira…

It should be known that the US dollar has also depreciated considerably in this process due to its quantitative easing policy.

Although after the subprime mortgage crisis, because of America’s quantitative easing policy, most other countries in the world had to “print money” together, resulting in varying degrees of devaluation, the degree of currency devaluation in some African countries is somewhat exaggerated in comparison.

It should be known that although the Colo Shilling (CS) has also depreciated somewhat due to related financial policies…

But this is mainly a “proactive devaluation” carried out by the Colo government considering the issue of exports. Generally speaking, the Colo Shilling still maintains an exchange rate of 10 CS = 1 USD against the US dollar, and has not depreciated significantly relative to the US dollar.

It is also for this reason that when the currencies of countries surrounding Colo have relatively depreciated, and the magnitude is not small, many people have converted part of their savings from their local currency into Colo Shillings in order to maintain the purchasing power of their assets.

But the problem is that although Colo has related financial cooperation agreements with countries in the West African Free Trade Zone and Nigeria.

However, out of consideration for protecting its own financial security, although their acceptance of the Colo Shilling is slightly looser than that of foreign currencies such as the US dollar and the Euro, there are still restrictions on the total amount of Colo Shillings that their citizens can exchange.

This has also led to the Colo Shilling having a relatively high premium in the black markets of these countries, just like the US dollar.

At this time, many people discovered another way to exchange “foreign currency,” which is USDA.

As mentioned earlier, starting this year, many websites and applications have begun to support BitC payments. In fact, even earlier, in January of this year, bitpay, which is used for BitC payments, received 500,000 US dollars in financing, and wanted to become the Paypal of the BitC world.

Although Klarna Pay does not support BitC payments—because Barron understands that BitC, which still has an unstable price and will have a large increase, is not suitable for payment.

The instability of the price is secondary. The key is that because of BitC’s decentralized operation, its transfer efficiency is not high, especially when the network needs to process more transfer information…

Can you tolerate buying a cup of coffee and having to wait for more than ten minutes or even half an hour for the transfer to wait for block confirmation?

Not to mention that as the price of BitC rises, the miner’s fee required for the transfer (which can be understood as a transfer fee) will become increasingly “expensive”—it is possible that the miner’s fee you need to buy a cup of coffee will be much higher than the price of the coffee.

Therefore, if BitC is used as “currency,” it can definitely not be in this decentralized way.

But shortly after the launch of the USDA, which is pegged to the US dollar, Klarna Pay has supported USDA in quite a few countries.

The most important thing is that USDA, as a digital coin pegged to the US dollar, is not regarded as “foreign currency” in the supervision of almost all countries.

In the beginning, some people who were in contact with BitC trading found that if USDA could really remain stable, it could be used as a substitute for the US dollar in many aspects.

Then, starting this year, some West African users who have not been exposed to digital coins like BitC, but understand the meaning of USDS pegged to the US dollar on Klarna Pay, began to try to convert a portion of their local currency assets into USDA and store them in Klarna Pay…

As of now, more and more West African users are using this method to combat the sharp depreciation of their local currencies.

More than 30 million USDA have settled in Klarna Pay’s user wallets, which means that assets worth more than 30 million US dollars have been converted into USDA.

If the USDA had not been issued for a relatively short time, and the degree of trust in it was still worth discussing, then this number would be even higher…

Chapter 918: The Rising Generation

Don’t think it’s outlandish that some West African civilians, who hadn’t even encountered any digital coins, would dare to exchange part of their savings for USDA…

Just imagine those older folks later on who knew absolutely nothing about blockchain or Bitcoin, but after being brainwashed by pyramid schemes, spent a fortune buying worthless altcoins. Then you’ll understand the ability of ordinary people to accept new things when driven by the desire for wealth.

Of course, USDA is different from those altcoins. The “ambitious” Anchorage company would naturally not engage in such short-sighted fraudulent behavior. The pegging of USDA to the dollar must be sustainable.

However, while they can’t control individual users holding USDA, if USDA is used for asset transfers to evade regulation or for illegal transactions, then even if the regulation of digital coins isn’t strict right now, once the scale reaches a certain level, it will inevitably attract the attention of international regulatory agencies led by the United States, bringing trouble to Anchorage.

After all, when ordinary users use Klarna Pay to exchange for USDA, because Klarna Pay follows KYC principles (Know Your Customer), users are required to verify their identity, which does somewhat curb illegal transactions and money laundering.

But if purely using Anchorage’s decentralized network (not completely decentralized, with transaction confirmations handled by its seven nodes distributed globally) for transfers, due to its anonymous nature, it will be very difficult to match the holder with their real identity.

However, this is also a characteristic of decentralized blockchains, so unless Anchorage is subjected to mandatory review by relevant agencies in the future, they won’t easily change this.

Of course, as Bitcoin’s popularity grows and more people participate in its ecosystem, it’s inevitable that countries will bring it under regulation.

For example, on June 25th, after multiple applications, the Mt. Gox exchange finally obtained a money service license issued by the U.S. Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), for which they need to report to FinCEN regularly.

A little over a month ago, Mt. Gox had already been targeted by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, which believed that users of the world’s largest Bitcoin exchange were involved in money laundering and asset transfers by terrorist organizations, and threatened to use its long-arm jurisdiction to close its bank accounts…

After obtaining a license from the U.S. Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, it also meant that Mt. Gox needed to provide user data to avoid being targeted by those being monitored and sanctioned, in order to get rid of the other party’s targeted investigation.

There’s no way around it, the United States is just that strong. The Mt. Gox exchange was targeted because of its high market share, and other Bitcoin exchanges will inevitably face the same fate later on.

On June 27th, the German newspaper Die Welt reported that the German government recognized Bitcoin’s legal and tax status, becoming the ninth country in the world to officially recognize Bitcoin’s legal status.

At the same time, the German government announced: holding Bitcoin for more than one year will be tax-free.

Next, German banks including Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank will cooperate with Bitcoin exchanges. They first reached a cooperation agreement with the Mt. Gox exchange - Mt. Gox users can directly use these banks to pay for Bitcoin purchases.

It is worth mentioning that during the Bitcoin conference, with investment from Matrix Capital, the Bitcoin Foundation acquired a publication called Bitcoin Magazine.

Bitcoin Magazine was founded in September 2011 by Vitalik Booth.rin, who was only 17 years old, and Romanian programmer Mihai, mainly for popularizing and promoting Bitcoin. It is a publication that exists in both physical and online forms, and has currently accumulated approximately 500,000 readers.

As Bitcoin enthusiasts, the two also attended this Bitcoin conference.

After being acquired, Bitcoin Magazine will continue to be operated by Mihai, while Vitalik Booth.rin, now 19 years old, was born in Russia and had just entered the University of Waterloo in Canada, ranked third in the country, to study computer science.

However, after attending this Bitcoin conference, Vitalik Booth.rin saw Bitcoin enthusiasts from all over the world gathering in Brittany, Cologne…

After this “baptism,” having seen the world, Vitalik felt that this Bitcoin thing “had potential.”

“At that moment, I was really blown away. I felt that this thing was very promising and worth pursuing!”

At this time, Vitalik’s mind was full of Bitcoin. He realized that he simply couldn’t juggle Bitcoin research, writing, and his studies at the same time. Plus, after selling Bitcoin Magazine, he had a certain financial foundation, so he decided to devote himself fully to the field of Bitcoin.

So Vitalik made a decision - to drop out of the University of Waterloo, start traveling the world, and communicate and learn with Bitcoin enthusiasts around the world.

Well, in a few years, Vitalik Booth.rin would have another, more well-known name - V God.

…

At the end of June, a group of young guests arrived in Shanghai.

“Students, welcome to Shanghai, China. I am Walker Morton, your leader for this summer camp. You can call me Walker. I currently teach at Aurora University. I hope you can gain some understanding of China during this month…”

Amidst the welcome from this seemingly sunny Brit teaching at Aurora University, regardless of their previous imaginations of China, this group of young men and women, brimming with youthful energy, couldn’t help but gaze with curious eyes at the China they were seeing for the first time.

This time, a total of 50 university students from various universities in Britain came to China. They will use the opportunity of the summer vacation to conduct a month-long summer camp in China.

This type of summer camp activity is the first of its kind this year and belongs to the “British-Chinese University Student Exchange Program” funded by the Devonshire Charitable Foundation.

The so-called “British-Chinese University Student Exchange Program” refers to the selection of a certain number of students from universities in Britain and China through voluntary registration, who will then go to the other country for a month-long “study tour.”

All expenses during this period will be provided by the Devonshire Charitable Foundation, with the aim of “enhancing communication between the younger generation and eliminating misunderstandings”…

For this first event, the British side first cooperated with several universities in Shanghai, including Aurora University. During their time in China, the British students will also visit these universities and tour Shanghai and its surrounding areas, experiencing China’s development and customs, in order to deepen their understanding of China.

And the Chinese students who go to Britain will visit top British universities such as Cambridge and Oxford after touring London and its surrounding areas.

It can be said that these students are all representatives of the most outstanding young people in China and Britain. Such activities will also allow them to understand each other’s true situation through personal experience.

If this event can be successfully held, then next year, the quota will be increased to 100 students from each side…

Chapter 919: New Position

“In this cabinet reshuffle, although I’m still behind Theresa May, at least I’ve narrowed the gap.”

“Theresa has more seniority than you. Her position as Home Secretary is difficult to shake, and compared to those core cabinet members, you’re too young…”

Baron said to Jo Harriman:

“However, you can work on the number of supporters within the party, just like you’re doing now, which is excellent.”

At the beginning of this year, public and media dissatisfaction with some British policies, coupled with criticism from several Conservative MPs that the coalition government had not taken sufficient action to promote British economic growth, prompted Cameron to decide to adjust the cabinet.

According to Cameron’s spokesperson:

Cameron planned to add more young people to the cabinet and those who could help him formulate policies to stimulate economic growth.

However, the main members of the cabinet and the general direction of economic policy would not change.

Ultimately, the most important positions of Chancellor of the Exchequer, Home Secretary, and Foreign Secretary remained unchanged.

Jo Harriman’s position, however, was adjusted from Minister for Women and Equalities to Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, concurrently serving as President of the Board of Trade.

It can be said that this adjustment represents an increase in Jo Harriman’s importance in the cabinet. After all, the original position of Minister for Women and Equalities was often held concurrently by other cabinet members and was a relatively marginalized position.

According to information Baron obtained, Cameron initially considered Jo Harriman’s experience as a senior executive at SEM Group and had intended to appoint her as Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, which could be considered a “professional match.” However, also because of her experience at SEM Group, nominating her for such a position would likely be opposed by media outlets such as the BBC and Sky TV. Therefore, she was ultimately given her current position.

The person who took over Jo Harriman’s position as Minister for Women and Equalities was her previous deputy, Grace Oliveira. She has a close relationship with Jo Harriman, so overall, it can be said that this cabinet reshuffle allowed Jo Harriman’s “ranking” within the Conservative Party to rise.

Furthermore, prior to this, Jo Harriman, based on Baron’s advice, had already begun to deliberately cultivate her supporters within the Conservative Party.

Currently, the Conservative Party has a total of 307 seats in the House of Commons, of which nearly 40 Conservative MPs are already her political allies.

At the same time, she is also promoting and supporting some young newcomers, believing that in the next government, with her internal support within the Conservative Party at that time, she will be able to secure a more important position for herself.

“How should I thank you, Your Grace…”

Jo Harriman’s beautiful eyes looked at Baron, her alluring lips seemingly hinting at something.

“Do I have to tell you? Darling…”

Baron glanced at the watch on his wrist and said with a smile:

“Rosie shouldn’t be here for a while yet. We can warm up first…”

“I wouldn’t want her to see me looking disheveled when she arrives.”

Although Jo Harriman said so, the meaning revealed in her eyes seemed to be completely different.

Therefore, when Rosie Huntington opened the door and entered Jo Harriman’s bedroom, the scene she saw caused her face to flush red…

…

On July 1st, O2 Telecom announced that they had confirmed a partnership with Huawei Marconi to begin deploying a 4G network in Britain.

As early as March of this year, Ofcom, the British telecommunications regulator, began issuing radio spectrum licenses to the five winning operators in the 4G auction.

The five operators that won 4G licenses were British Telecom (BT), O2 Telecom, Hutchison Whampoa UK, EE, and Vodafone.

Of course, winning the 4G license auction was not the end, because the British side allocated 4G spectrum from 800MHz to 2.6GHz bands. In the final allocation stage of the auction, these five operators would also choose their frequency bands by “bidding higher.”

In the end, the 4G spectrum allocation stage brought an additional 27.16 million pounds in revenue to the British government.

It can be said that in this auction, the bids of these operators were relatively cautious. The final auction brought the British government a total revenue of more than 236 million pounds, far lower than the British government’s initial expectation of 1 billion pounds.

O2 Telecom won the most important 800MHz spectrum block, and of course, the British government also has higher requirements for this.

To this end, O2 Telecom needs to launch 4G services suitable for “indoor reception” by the end of 2017, covering at least 98% of the British population and 99% of the outdoor population.

It can be said that O2 Telecom’s 4G network equipment procurement is the largest order in the entire British 4G market, and Huawei Marconi winning this order… is not surprising at all, after all, Baron himself is the behind-the-scenes major shareholder of this joint venture.

O2 Telecom’s 4G deployment throughout Britain is naturally carried out in stages. The first area to be commercialized is definitely the most important London area.

At the same time, obtaining this 4G network order from O2 Telecom, and the subsequent performance of its 4G network in the London area, is also very important for Huawei Marconi to obtain more related orders from other telecommunications companies.

They will naturally go all out for this project.

“We welcome all foreign companies to invest in Britain, and we hope to bring capital and technological exchanges. The deployment of the 4G network is very important for Britain’s technology strategy and will inevitably spawn more high-tech enterprises, which is of great significance to the entire society…”

As Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills and President of the Board of Trade, Jo Harriman also attended the launch ceremony of O2 Telecom’s 4G network deployment with Marconi Huawei and gave a speech on stage.

At this time, Jo Harriman had her long hair neatly tied up, and the slightly androgynous dark suit and trousers could not hide her beauty at all, and gave people a sense of heroic spirit.

Well, completely different from the charming and delicate appearance of that night…

After participating in this event, Jo Harriman will also lead a team to Silicon Valley. In order to realize the “technology strategy” she proposed after taking office in her new position and build a British technology center, she will try her best to persuade Silicon Valley giants, including Microsoft and Google, to increase their investment in Britain.

After the visit to America, Jo Harriman’s next stop will be China.

The purpose is naturally to consolidate the results of Cameron’s visit at the end of last year, while striving to attract more investment from Chinese capital.

Chapter 920: The Same Genes

“Is it really necessary to make such a large-scale acquisition?”

Faced with Jenny’s question, Ivanka pondered for a moment and said:

“I know what you’re worried about. Currently, Sinclair Broadcast Group’s market capitalization is less than 4 billion dollars, and this acquisition of Tribune Media will cost 7.5 billion dollars. This will inevitably put enormous debt pressure on the company…”

“Yes, even the interest on these debts will be a huge burden for Sinclair Broadcast Group.”

At this time, Jenny Smith’s abdomen was already slightly showing, and she was wearing a dark-colored long dress, saying solemnly:

“Although I don’t understand these business matters very well, I know that since John was so determined to promote the acquisition of Tribune Media at the time, it should be beneficial to the development of Sinclair Broadcast Group. However, I can’t help but feel a little worried.”

“Actually, that’s right. Tribune Media does have its value, and the profitability of the sports channel is relatively optimistic. Besides, these kinds of acquisition opportunities don’t come along all the time…”

Ivanka nodded and said:

“The main reason we opposed the acquisition of Tribune Media before was that the funds for the acquisition were mostly provided by Vanguard Group, which would have greatly diluted our shareholding in Sinclair Broadcast Group.”

Currently, Jenny has taken over as the chairman of Sinclair Broadcast Group. This time, she came to New York with Ivanka, representing IC Capital, to sign an agreement with Vanguard Group and 21st Century Fox regarding Sinclair Broadcast Group’s acquisition of Fox’s Tribune Media.

At this time, some specific terms of this acquisition have been negotiated, and it is only necessary to wait until the two parties finally sign the agreement tomorrow to complete the acquisition.

When signing the agreement, Vanguard Group’s Chairman, Michael MacNabb III, still behaved with great grace, and one could not see the angry look of smashing his phone after Barron hung up on him when they discussed the acquisition.

This was because Barron had demanded that Vanguard Group withdraw its shareholding in Sinclair Broadcast Group—which was a complete and utter about-face compared to their initial permission to retain no more than 10% of the shares in Sinclair Broadcast Group.

But in the end, he reluctantly agreed to Barron’s request…

As for the reason, it was not much different from Barron’s analysis. First of all, Vanguard Group did a lot of work in contacting Disney to acquire 21st Century Fox, both on the Disney side and on the 21st Century Fox side.

In addition, the price that Barron proposed that Sinclair Broadcast Group could afford for Tribune Media was indeed the highest of the offers they had received.

According to the agreement reached between the two parties, Sinclair Broadcast Group will complete the acquisition of Fox’s Tribune Media for 7.5 billion dollars.

After completing this acquisition, the number of local television stations controlled by Sinclair Broadcast Group will exceed 200, making it the second-largest television network in America.

This acquisition is being conducted entirely in cash. Of the 7.5 billion dollars that Sinclair Broadcast Group needs to pay to 21st Century Fox, 2.5 billion dollars comes from a loan provided by Standard Chartered Bank.

Another 2.5 billion dollars is raised by Merrill Lynch Investment purchasing its preferred stock with an annual interest rate of 8%.

The final 2.5 billion dollars is raised by IC Capital investing in Sinclair Broadcast Group’s convertible bonds, with these bonds having an annual interest rate of 7.5%…

In addition, IC Capital also reached an agreement with Vanguard Group to acquire its 7% stake in Sinclair Broadcast Group at market price.

After this, IC Capital’s shareholding in Sinclair Broadcast Group will increase from 23.5% to 30.5%, thereby surpassing the Sinclair family trust and becoming the largest single shareholder of Sinclair Broadcast Group.

However, according to the tacit understanding they have reached with the Sinclair family, Jenny Smith will still represent the Sinclair family as the chairman of the company.

Moreover, this also avoids the possibility of other members of the Sinclair family reclaiming Jenny Smith’s control over the shares held by the Sinclair family fund in the future.

Because once they do so, Jenny Smith herself will possess the portion of Sinclair Broadcast Group shares she personally held after John Smith’s death, plus the support of Barron’s side, the Sinclair family will be completely “disenfranchised” in the company…

At that time, they probably won’t even have a “nominal” chairman like Jenny.

…

“He’s really too cute. Look, he smiles like a little angel, melting people’s hearts…”

After signing the agreement for Sinclair Broadcast Group’s acquisition of Tribune Media, Jenny was invited to Ivanka’s residence. There, she met Ivanka’s son, Theodore TP.

Theodore was born in July of last year and will be one year old soon…

What Jenny said was not flattery. The current Theodore clearly inherited the excellent genes of his parents, and his face was as delicate as an angel. Jenny couldn’t help but hug him and kiss his little face:

“I hope my child will be this cute too.”

Well, it should be about the same, after all, at least half of their genes are the same…

Ivanka also cherishes her son very much, and after taking him from Jenny’s hands, she kept him in her arms.

Speaking of which, Theodore is also the youngest member of the TP family at this time…

Not only Ivanka, but Theodore also receives the love of his maternal grandfather.

It is worth mentioning that the youngest of Ivanka’s siblings is the little son that her father had with his third wife in 2006—Barron TP.

Yes, Ivanka’s younger brother, who is only seven years old, has the same name as Theodore TP’s father.

Barron also finds this interesting—after all, in the original timeline, Ivanka’s father gave his youngest son this name, but when Barron TP was born, Ivanka’s father was already very clear about the relationship between Barron and Ivanka, and he still gave him this name…

It seems to be very meaningful indeed.

As the manager of IC Capital, which has become a giant in the American investment field, Ivanka is usually quite busy, and she doesn’t have much time to spend with Theodore.

Often, when she goes on business trips, she sometimes sends Theodore to her family’s mansion—the penthouse on the top floor of the TP Tower on Fifth Avenue.

This is not to say that Theodore has no one to take care of him when Ivanka is away on business, after all, as the child of Ivanka and Barron, Theodore has been meticulously cared for since birth—a team of more than 10 people specifically serves Theodore TP, including five nannies, nutritionists, private doctors, etc…

It’s more because, from Barron’s previous life, no matter what, Ivanka’s family’s education of their children was very successful, so Barron is more at ease with this arrangement.

And Barron TP also likes his nephew very much. Almost every day after school, he will patiently play with little Theodore for a while.

Chapter 921: Another Success

“Prime Minister and Mr. Hollande met with Mr. Barroso last week, finally prompting the European Union to make a statement…”

Baron received this news from Talulah Riley while he was en route from England to America.

Barroso is the current President of the European Commission. He previously served as Prime Minister of Portugal and has been President of the European Commission since 2004. His second term will end at the end of next year.

Although the President of the European Commission is not like a normal head of government, lacking the power to conduct foreign policy, command the military, or raise taxes, his power within the EU is considerable, especially for someone like Barroso who has held the position for nearly ten years. It can be said that he can influence many positions within the European Commission.

The fact that Cameron and Hollande personally discussed the merger of Alstom’s railway business with Barroso shows how seriously they both take the matter.

After all, this matter determines the success or failure of Baron’s acquisition of the British High Speed 2 railway line, which is of great significance to Cameron’s administration.

At the same time, Alstom is a French company, and Hollande is very keen for it to become the world’s largest rail transit group through mergers and acquisitions.

Ultimately, the feedback from the EU indicates that the chances of the EU approving the merger plan between Alstom and Siemens’ railway businesses are almost zero…

After all, once these two parties complete the merger, their market share in railway signaling systems alone will exceed 90% of the EU market, which is something the EU, which is very wary of monopolistic giants, finds difficult to accept.

As mentioned before, Siemens is unlikely to give up its railway signaling business, which is one of its main activities…

This means that the merger of the two parties’ railway businesses has basically been rejected.

However, as a concession, the EU also stated that it would show the greatest possible tolerance for the merger of the two parties’ railway businesses in Alstom’s acquisition of Bombardier.

In other words, although not explicitly stated, the EU will not create obstacles to the merger of Alstom and Bombardier’s railway businesses.

“It seems we can talk about substantive matters with Bombardier…”

“Yes, Your Grace, our acquisition team has arrived in Canada and is formally negotiating the specific acquisition plan with Bombardier.”

…

After arriving in New York, Baron first celebrated his son Theodore’s first birthday with Ivanka.

Later, many people claimed that Baron Trump Jr. was the center of attention from birth and was called a “billion-dollar baby”…

However, comparatively speaking, Ivanka’s son Theodore Trump received even more attention and could even be called a “trillion-dollar baby”…

It’s just that Ivanka is very protective of Theodore and has never allowed him to appear in front of the cameras.

But also bearing the Trump name, Theodore’s background can be said to be even more prominent than his little uncle.

After all, if the Trump family can be called a wealthy family, then Baron’s family is now one of the world’s top wealthy families.

Not to mention the assets involved in IC Capital, which is managed by Ivanka, are more than ten times the size of the entire Trump Group, and her own assets far exceed the entire Trump family.

As for Baron, he is even further out of reach for the Trump family—this gap should be equivalent to the gap between an ordinary person and the richest person in his town.

“What have you been busy with lately, honey?”

After finally lulling Theodore to sleep and handing him over to the nanny, Baron returned to the bedroom, exchanged a smile with Ivanka, and asked.

Ivanka stretched, then leaned into Baron’s arms, resting her head on his broad shoulder, and said softly:

“There are always endless things to do. I just finished the Sinclair Group matter and handed it over to the new CEO. Next, Twitter needs to prepare for its IPO, and the team has selected some start-ups. I will choose a few to invest in from the final list—now these start-ups, even in Series A or Series B funding rounds, require more capital than the tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars they needed three or four years ago…”

As IC Capital continues to expand, Ivanka naturally has more work to handle.

Fortunately, she is no longer the little girl who barely understood these technology and business matters when she first took charge of IC Capital. Ivanka’s growth has been visible to the naked eye in recent years.

In addition, she has also learned a lot from Baron. For example, she also has an entire team of assistants to help her filter out the most important items from the heavy workload, greatly saving her time spent doing everything herself.

It can be said that one of her most important tasks next is Twitter’s IPO.

After last year’s Series E funding round, Twitter’s valuation has exceeded 8 billion dollars, and IC Capital still holds 32% of the company’s shares, making it the largest shareholder.

The IPO of such a company has naturally attracted the participation of many Wall Street investment banks, but Ivanka directly increased the initial valuation of approximately 10 billion dollars set by these investment banks for Twitter by 50%, requiring that Twitter’s IPO valuation not be lower than 15 billion dollars…

It can be said that her move did indeed scare some investment banks.

But there are also those who remain optimistic about Twitter—ultimately, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, and Standard Chartered-Merrill Lynch will jointly serve as the underwriters for Twitter’s IPO this time.

It can be said that these are all “old friends.” IC Capital is a major shareholder of Goldman Sachs, Baron’s British Fortune Times (BFT) Fund controls a large share of JPMorgan Chase, and Standard Chartered-Merrill Lynch is Baron’s own industry…

That’s just how it is. Leaving such money-making opportunities to “one’s own people” allows for the formation of closer alliances.

According to the plan, Twitter will officially go public in November of this year. It has now obtained approval from the SEC and has begun the listing process.

According to Twitter’s prospectus, they plan to publicly issue 70 million shares of common stock in this IPO, accounting for 10% of the total share capital after listing…

At that time, IC Capital’s shareholding ratio in Twitter will decrease to 28.8%. Based solely on a valuation of 15 billion dollars, IC Capital’s investment in this company is currently worth 4.32 billion dollars…

Moreover, Baron knows that in the original timeline, Twitter’s market value exceeded 20 billion dollars on the day of its IPO.

It can be said that IC Capital’s investment in Twitter will be another great success.

But the most important thing is the future influence of Twitter in the American media and public opinion.

You know, in Baron’s previous life, Elon Musk, who was then the world’s richest man, only had the capital to influence American politics after acquiring Twitter.

Chapter 922: Not Impossible

“It seems that the current Lachlan Murdoch is quite troubled… Your Grace.”

“Facilitating Disney’s acquisition of 21st Century Fox could help him recover some ground.”

In New York, Barron also took the time to meet with Jamie Dimon of JPMorgan Chase.

What Jamie Dimon mentioned was Vanguard Group’s losses in the gold trust ETF…

Coupled with the initial failure in the clash with Sinclair Broadcast Group, Lachlan Murdoch is facing considerable criticism within Vanguard’s board of directors… This is even before DS Group’s representatives on the board have publicly attacked Murdoch.

However, if he can facilitate Disney’s acquisition of 21st Century Fox, at least Murdoch can secure his position.

Currently, Vanguard Group has withdrawn from their gold trust ETF on a large scale, which means they have ultimately chosen to concede defeat, rather than directly confront the short sellers in the international gold market—Barron’s controlled funds and investment companies being a major force among them.

After all, Vanguard Group isn’t stupid. Just recently, the Chairman of the Federal Reserve, Ben Bernanke, hinted in a business gathering that they were approaching the point of reducing the scale of “quantitative easing.”

His remarks caused many investors to become pessimistic about some securities, the stock market, and gold prices.

At such a time, Vanguard Group naturally wouldn’t go against the tide.

Of course, Barron knew that America’s real action to reduce the scale of bond purchases in the “quantitative easing program” would probably not begin until the end of this year.

But that’s how the market is; public sentiment can sway the balance of power between bulls and bears. Even without concrete action, when such expectations are highly likely to materialize, the market has already begun to react.

“What do you think of Disney’s acquisition of 21st Century Fox, Your Grace…?”

“I can only say that Murdoch is getting old, and his children don’t have enough talent to inherit his media empire. Therefore, selling 21st Century Fox is both being forced by major shareholders and his own unavoidable choice. Otherwise, when he can no longer control the situation, the consequences for his assets will be even worse…”

Although Barron owns Marvel-MGM Group, one of Hollywood’s leading production companies, and can be said to be a competitor of Disney and 20th Century Fox.

And after Disney acquires 21st Century Fox, including 20th Century Fox Film, its scale will be even larger, which from a competitive perspective, is not a good thing for Marvel-MGM Studios…

However, Barron also understands that even if he were willing to offer more money, he probably couldn’t buy 21st Century Fox.

Yes, it’s not just about money, but a consolidation of industries controlled by behind-the-scenes capital.

For example, Vanguard Group, which has been actively involved in this acquisition, is also the largest shareholder of both Disney and 20th Century Fox.

It is also worth mentioning that JPMorgan Chase and Standard Chartered-Merrill Lynch’s ETF funds also hold some shares of both companies, but their quantity is completely incomparable to Vanguard Group, not even reaching the level of BlackRock Group…

Since this is the case, the only thing Barron can do is use this opportunity to obtain something he is more interested in.

Such as having Sinclair Broadcast Group acquire Tribune Media, while driving Vanguard Group out of that company.

And also…

“I heard that besides Tribune Media, Disney is also not very interested in Sky TV and is looking for a buyer for it?”

Murdoch’s News Corporation had previously been the largest shareholder of British Sky Broadcasting (BSkyB). Later, after 21st Century Fox was spun off from News Corporation, the shares in Sky TV belonged to 21st Century Fox. Originally, Murdoch had always intended to acquire Sky TV entirely and had been negotiating with the British side for a long time.

However, with the outbreak of the “phone hacking scandal,” he had to postpone the acquisition of Sky TV.

Of course, after Barron’s SEM Group acquired ITV, it took the opportunity to win the broadcasting rights to the relatively better Premier League matches after the Premier League broadcasting rights reform, which led to a decline in Sky TV’s market share in the British market.

Eventually, Murdoch completed the overall acquisition of Sky TV through 21st Century Fox.

Hearing what Barron said, Jamie Dimon looked at him deeply and said with a smile:

“Are you interested in Sky TV?”

What Disney is acquiring this time is 21st Century Fox’s entertainment assets, as for Sky TV…

“I heard that Comcast has offered Murdoch $28 billion to acquire Sky TV as a whole. This offer has a considerable premium compared to the price Murdoch paid for Sky TV before.”

Before completing the overall acquisition of Sky TV, Murdoch owned 39% of Sky TV’s shares.

He acquired the remaining 61% of Sky TV’s shares a little over a year ago for $15 billion, which calculates to an overall valuation of Sky TV at around $24.6 billion at the time.

Now Comcast is willing to offer $28 billion to acquire Sky TV, giving a premium of over 13.8% compared to the price more than a year ago.

After all, the current Sky TV is no longer the king in the field of television with the most paying subscribers in Britain…

After several blows, the overall performance of Sky TV can only be said to be at the bottom among the three major television stations, BBC, ITV, and BSkyB…

“I’m afraid that’s almost impossible…”

Barron shook his head and said:

“After all, the British government wouldn’t allow me to own both ITV and Sky TV at the same time… But if there could be other competitors, it would be very interesting, wouldn’t it?”

Just as Barron said, no matter what, the British government would not be willing to see him take both ITV and Sky TV into his arms at the same time. That would almost represent the fact that he has formed a near-monopoly in the field of television media, and then Barron’s influence on television media will be unprecedented.

At least on the surface, this situation is impossible to happen.

Of course, what if it is a battle between American capital for Sky TV?

Since Sky TV may be sold to Comcast, it may also be sold to other American companies, such as… IC Capital.

As for whether Murdoch is willing to give IC Capital a chance…

After all, Murdoch is already 82 years old, his health is not very good, and he has not yet divorced Wendi Deng, while Ivanka, who manages IC Capital, is a very good friend of Wendi.

Chapter 923: No Wonder

“I feel like you’ve lost some weight in your face, Jenny.”

Baron walked up to Jenny, embraced her, and said softly, “Now that you’re pregnant, you need to take extra care of yourself…”

This was the first time Baron and Jenny had met again after John Smith’s death and after Baron had persuaded Jenny to take over as chairman of the Sinclair Group.

When he held the woman in his arms, Baron could feel her body was slightly stiff, but after his gentle words, Jenny gradually softened, gently resting her head on his shoulder, and said softly, “Maybe it’s just because everything happened so suddenly, and I need to accept all these changes, which is a little hard to adjust to.”

“Indeed, it’s difficult…”

Baron took her hand and pulled her to sit on the sofa. “You need to relax and get over the previous shock. How about this? The Sinclair Group’s affairs are mostly settled, and the rest can be left to professional managers. I’m going to Asia soon. Come with me, change the environment, just think of it as a vacation, what do you say?”

Jenny was born into a British aristocratic family, and it could be said that she had enjoyed a far superior environment than most people since she was a child. She had traveled to most European countries, but she had never been to Asia, and Baron’s proposal sparked a hint of interest in her.

“Where are you planning to go? China? Or Japan?”

“I’m planning to go to India first, maybe stay for a few days, and then go to China. Those places have a lot of unique cultures, you’ll find it interesting.”

…

However, before leaving America for India, Baron first went to Los Angeles.

“How are you going to handle your relationship with Lydia?”

Yes, Baron came to Amanda Hearst’s estate in Los Angeles, ostensibly to visit their son…

Although Amanda Hearst’s attitude towards Baron wasn’t exactly good, it was at least much calmer than when she had seen the overwhelming reports about Baron’s relationship with Ivanka in the media.

However, this time Baron wanted to ease his relationship with Amanda, and in addition to using their child as an excuse, he also had to face a new problem…

That was Lydia Hearst, Amanda’s cousin, who had also studied with Baron all night…

But Lydia was pregnant…

There was no doubt that the child was Baron’s – the last time Baron came to America, well, it was after attending John Smith’s funeral, he took the time to spend two nights with Lydia, and then…

Now this matter had not been concealed from Lydia, or rather, Lydia had taken the initiative to tell her cousin about it.

So at this time, Baron was facing Amanda’s questioning about this matter.

“Uh, honey, Lydia and I both think our relationship is fine as it is. You know, sometimes the closer you get, the more likely you are to end up alienated…”

“Are you suggesting she become a single mother like me?”

Amanda looked directly into Baron’s eyes and said.

Before this, Baron and Amanda had already had some rather intense “studying” – after all, absence makes the heart grow fonder – so Amanda was a little gentler, otherwise she probably would have cursed him directly.

“There’s nothing wrong with that, after all, it’s just a formality. I’ll take care of everything.”

As Baron’s words fell, Amanda couldn’t help but sigh. “You’re such a bastard, Baron.”

But she didn’t plan to say anything more. After all, when Lydia told her about this, her words were not exactly the same as what Baron had just said, but the general meaning was the same.

So what else could she say?

Wasn’t she the same? The man beside her, knowing that he was a bastard, but including herself, her cousin Lydia, and all the other women, weren’t they all so fascinated by this person that they often abandoned their principles?

Although it is said that “with great power comes great responsibility,” Baron himself often felt that his “responsibilities” were already enough. After all, even as a “time management master,” with his status and position, it was impossible for him to put most of his energy into women… and the children that followed. For a man like him, power and wealth were often more fulfilling than women.

Therefore, now, even the most beautiful women in the world were within his reach.

But those women could mostly only become his “entertainment,” and it was very difficult to keep them by his side.

Just like Emma Roberts, who had a one-night “study” relationship with him before, had taken the initiative to send Baron many messages through WoawChat after that, but Baron only replied twice at the beginning, and then never contacted her again.

…

“Yes, the stock market has shown signs of recovery. We can see that since the beginning of this year, the development of the BRIC countries, which were considered to have great potential, has begun to slow down, while North America and Europe have clearly begun to recover…”

Robert Kennedy Jr. was an old acquaintance of Baron, and the Kennedy family was also his “traditional ally” in America.

Most importantly, with the help of the Kennedy family, Baron had obtained the support of most of the public investment funds in Massachusetts, where the Boston Consortium was located, and most of the funds flowed into Standard Chartered-Merrill Lynch’s ETF funds.

This was one of the few regions where Merrill Lynch Investment’s wealth management division could gain an advantage, against the backdrop of most of America’s public investment funds being scooped up by groups such as BlackRock.

“However, even if there is a recovery trend, not all stocks will perform well, and appropriate strategies are needed to make selections…”

Uh, if someone else said this, it would sound like a scammer who was “illegally raising funds” or pulling people into a stock group, but when Baron said it, Robert’s eyes were full of trust.

After all, the track record speaks for itself.

“So that’s why we chose to cooperate with you, Baron. Some of California’s pension funds have recently suffered some losses, and they hope to have a more stable investment direction. I believe Merrill Lynch Investment will give them satisfactory results…”

Robert Kennedy Jr.’s words surprised Baron a little. “Forgive me for being blunt, but can I know the scale of these funds? Also, where were they invested before…”

“I can’t be sure of the exact scale, but it’s definitely over 1 billion dollars…”

Robert said with some pride. “I wouldn’t be talking to you personally if it were less than that. They were previously invested in Vanguard Group, but the recent losses have been a bit large…”

“No wonder…”

Chapter 924: Distinguished Guest

“Welcome back, Master.”

Upon arriving in Mumbai with Jenny and checking into Barron’s villa there, Barron noticed the strange look Jenny gave him when she heard Niha Dalvi address him as such…

“Uh, Niha, in the future, you can just call me Your Grace or BOSS…”

“As you wish, Master.”

“…”

Niha Dalvi was the “most beautiful female student at an Indian university” and “most beautiful model” whom Barron had once “favored” when he came to India before…

Now, Niha Dalvi had graduated from university and been assigned to Barron’s villa as his housekeeper.

Compared to when he first met her, when she was still slightly green, Niha, dressed in a pink traditional Indian outfit, revealing her “snake waist,” looked more mature and alluring.

In addition, it was clear that Niha’s English pronunciation was much more fluent than before, with almost none of the “curry accent.” It seemed she had put in the effort.

“You rest for a while. Mukesh will host a welcome banquet for us tonight. If you don’t want to attend, I’ll come back early.”

After all, Jenny was now pregnant and didn’t particularly like such formal occasions.

However, her brother, Earl Booth, would be coming to Mumbai tomorrow to meet them.

Argent Real Estate Group had quite a few businesses here, and before that, Earl Booth. was in Australia “handling business” – as far as Barron knew, the Earl, who liked to “meet difficulties head-on,” had just changed his personal assistant and was enjoying himself a little too much outside…

After learning that Barron and his sister had come to Mumbai, Earl Booth. would arrive in Mumbai tomorrow to meet them.

Reliance Industries Group was Barron’s main partner in India, and their cooperation covered petrochemicals, telecommunications, finance, and automobiles, among other businesses.

As India’s largest private enterprise, Reliance Industries Group was naturally not satisfied with dominating only the Indian market. It could be said that the cooperation between the two parties was mutually beneficial. Cooperation with Reliance Industries Group allowed Barron’s capital to enter the Indian market; while Barron’s side could obtain overseas channels for Reliance Industries Group.

More importantly, Barron knew how many pitfalls there were in investing in India, and one could suffer great losses if one wasn’t careful. However, as the second most populous country in the world, the Indian market was very attractive to any capital.

Therefore, by cooperating with Reliance Industries Group, one of the strongest local capitals in India, Barron could also ensure the relative safety of his investments.

And Reliance Industries Group cooperated with Barron with similar goals in mind.

Barron’s strength was beyond doubt, and he was also a British Duke. Even though Britain had long ended its rule in India, it still retained a certain influence on this land.

It should be known that in a country like India, if a private enterprise wants to develop to the scale of the Reliance Group, it will inevitably involve collusion between officials and businessmen.

Taking the development of the Reliance Group as an example, Mukesh Ambani’s father, Dhirubhai Ambani, founded Reliance Industries Group in 1957.

Dhirubhai was originally a poor boy from India. At the age of 17, he followed his brother across the ocean to work at a Shell gas station in Yemen.

One day, Dhirubhai discovered that a certain silver coin in Yemen was higher than its value, so he exchanged and bought a large amount of it, then melted it and refined it into silver bars for sale, earning his first pot of gold.

Unfortunately, this good time did not last long. After three months, his business was discovered by the Yemeni government and had to be terminated.

In 1957, Dhirubhai returned to India and founded Reliance Commercial Corporation, engaged in the export trade of spices and textiles.

Later, he entered the industrial sector.

In the early 1980s, Dhirubhai met Indira Gandhi, India’s first female Prime Minister, known as the “Iron Lady of India” (not related to “Mahatma” Gandhi; Indira Gandhi was the daughter of India’s first Prime Minister, Nehru).

With the help of this “Iron Lady,” Dhirubhai’s business expanded rapidly like a balloon in just a few years, soaring into the sky and becoming India’s largest private entrepreneur.

However, after Indira Gandhi stepped down, Reliance Industries Group was “liquidated” by the subsequent government and once fell into trouble, almost bankrupt. If it hadn’t been for the stock market crash in the United States, the Indian government would have had to rescue the economy in order to prevent the domestic economy from being affected. As the most important constituent stock in the Indian stock market, Reliance Industries Group would inevitably be on the list of rescues, thus escaping the disaster. Then, there would be no current richest man in India.

It was also because of these past experiences of the family that Mukesh Ambani would regard the cooperation with Barron, this British Duke, as a kind of “protection” for his Reliance Industries Group – that is, a kind of “relying on foreign powers to build oneself up,” which could avoid the failure of his “political investment” in the future and protect his industry.

“Your Grace, it is a great honor for you to be able to attend today’s welcome banquet…”

Today was originally a welcome banquet specially held by Mukesh for his most distinguished guest - the Duke of Devonshire. On the one hand, it was to express his respect for Barron, and on the other hand, it was to show the upper echelons of India attending this banquet his close relationship with the other party.

“Prime Minister Singh is visiting abroad and will return home tomorrow. His secretary specifically called to say that he hopes to have a meeting with you…”

“I will be staying here for a few days, and I look forward to meeting Mr. Singh then.”

Before this, Barron had met with Indian Prime Minister Singh. This time, the other party specifically stated that he wanted to see him, so there must be something to talk about.

Barron chatted with Mukesh, and couldn’t help but wonder what it was about?

From Mukesh’s words, it was revealed that Singh had visited Japan after finishing his visit to China…

Then… is it about DMIC (Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor)?

Those who could attend this banquet were naturally members of the Indian upper class. During Mukesh’s departure, many people took the initiative to talk to Barron.

To be honest, knowing the nature of Indians, Barron would not fully believe in the projects proposed by some of them. Well, being able to listen to those blueprints at a 10% discount was respect enough…

So after Barron initially perfunctorily responded, he simply had Niha, who came with him, accompany him to the balcony to catch some wind…

“That is…?”

Following Barron’s gaze, Niha Dalvi saw Mukesh talking to another middle-aged man in the garden downstairs. Because they were too far away, she couldn’t hear the content of the conversation, but judging from the actions and expressions of both parties, it seemed that the conversation was not very harmonious.

“That seems to be Mr. Anil…”

Niha widened her eyes, looked carefully, and said affirmatively:

“Yes, it is Mr. Anil Ambani, he is Mr. Mukesh’s younger brother.”

Chapter 925: The Ins and Outs

In the Indian market, O2 Telecom and Reliance Industries Group formed a joint venture, O2 Reliance Telecom. Backed by two powerful parent companies, this company launched a large-scale price war through extremely favorable policies. In just two years, it became one of the largest telecom companies in India in terms of user base.

In fact, initially, Reliance Industries Group, or rather, Reliance Industries Company owned by Mukesh, did not have a telecom business.

This all stems from the split of the Reliance Group.

Mukesh and Anil are the two older sons of Dhirubhai, the founder of Reliance Industries Group. After studying in the United States, they returned to India to join the family business.

In 2004, their father Dhirubhai suddenly passed away without leaving a will. As the eldest son, Mukesh naturally took over Reliance Group and became the chairman, while his younger brother Anil became the general manager. Their mother became the honorary chairman.

After becoming the chairman of the group, Mukesh continued to explore new businesses, and the oil industry gradually became an important pillar of the group.

However, at this time, his younger brother Anil began to feel dissatisfied, believing that he was “always working in his brother’s shadow.”

But Mukesh believed that his inheritance was a matter of course. On the one hand, he was the eldest son and began helping his father manage the company’s affairs before he even finished his studies. On the other hand, Mukesh considered himself proficient in chemical engineering (he studied chemical engineering at Stanford University in the United States), and no one was better suited to manage the company’s core business—oil.

In addition, Mukesh excluded his brother from every major meeting.

Feeling sidelined, Anil repeatedly wrote letters to his brother, complaining that he had no real power—to this end, he even began to secretly manipulate the board of directors.

His brother, who was perceptive of everything, announced in an email to all employees that he would be fully responsible for the management of all the group’s affairs, “The issue of group ownership has been resolved.”

The younger brother, who wanted to strike first, did not expect to be outmaneuvered by his brother. Angered, he subsequently submitted a 500-page report to the board of directors, listing his brother’s mismanagement and fraudulent accounting practices.

Later, Anil even sued his brother Mukesh in court.

The children of the richest family were actually fighting each other, and this matter immediately spread throughout the streets and alleys of India.

Their mutual accusations and insults on television also became one of the highest-rated programs in India.

This incident also caused the Indian stock market to shake. Helpless, it is said that the Indian Minister of Finance and the Prime Minister personally came forward to mediate the conflict between the two brothers.

Ultimately, it was their mother who brought the two brothers to a reconciliation.

It is said that the mother couldn’t bear to see her family fighting internally. On her 70th birthday, she gave the two brothers a “do or die” order: they must reach a reconciliation on the day of their father’s memorial!

After their father’s death, the two brothers had great respect for their mother, so after several days of discussion, they reached an agreement on the division of property.

The two brothers and their mother each received 30% of the assets, and the remaining 10% of the family assets were distributed to their two sisters.

After the separation, Mukesh mainly obtained assets in the petrochemical industry—Reliance Industries Limited and Indian Petrochemicals Corporation.

Anil took over the assets in electricity, telecommunications, and finance—Reliance Energy, Reliance Communications, and Reliance Capital, three subsidiaries.

In order to pay tribute to their deceased father, although they divided the property, they still used the name Reliance to operate their respective businesses.

Mukesh formed the current Reliance Industries Group based on the two subsidiaries he obtained at the time, Reliance Industries Limited and Indian Petrochemicals Corporation.

And the two parties reached an agreement that within the next ten years, they would not enter each other’s business areas.

After that, Mukesh’s younger brother Anil’s Reliance Communications developed into India’s second-largest telecom operator, and the company’s market value soared…

In 2008, Anil’s personal wealth reached 42 billion US dollars, surpassing his brother Mukesh and becoming the richest man in Asia, ranking 7th in the world. It can be said that he was in the limelight.

Of course, Mukesh would naturally feel somewhat unwilling that his younger brother was even more successful after the separation. He not only prevented his brother’s Reliance Communications from cooperating with MTN, South Africa’s largest telecom group, after the subprime mortgage crisis broke out…

In addition, he also indirectly entered the telecommunications industry. Through O2 Reliance Telecom, a joint venture with O2 Telecom, he also entered the telecommunications industry before the ten-year period arrived.

At that time, India’s mobile communications were almost all 2G networks, while O2 Reliance Telecom directly invested heavily in building 3G networks in India. Because of the strong capital strength of O2 Telecom and Reliance Industries Group, they not only had more advanced mobile networks, but also launched a large-scale price war, pushing 3G networks to the market at extremely favorable prices. They even used O2 Telecom’s usual trick—users who signed long-term 3G network contracts could even get Dopods Smart series smartphones “for free.”

In this way, relying on strong capital, O2 Reliance Telecom burned through 150 million rupees in its first year of operation. The result was that they gained more than 100 million users within six months, thereby posing a great threat to Reliance Communications owned by Mukesh’s younger brother Anil.

But at that time, Reliance Communications was in financial trouble due to the subprime mortgage crisis, and its stock price plummeted, making it difficult to launch a strong counterattack against O2 Reliance Telecom.

It seems that the dispute between the two brothers that Barron saw today was not the first time it had happened. From Anil’s perspective, Mukesh violated the “agreement” between the two parties and entered the telecommunications market to compete with him within the stipulated ten-year period, so he was naturally very unhappy.

“Reliance Communications’ development has stagnated in the past two years, and there have been various problems. According to our investigation, Reliance Communications’ debt has now exceeded 5 billion US dollars, and their largest creditor is three banks from China…”

When Barron returned to his villa, his personal assistant, Dalula Riley, had already obtained some information about Anil’s Reliance Communications:

“Among them, Reliance Communications’ largest creditor is the China Development Bank. Since 2010, the other party has provided approximately 2 billion US dollars in loans to Reliance Communications. The loans from the other two Chinese banks do not have sufficient collateral and are based solely on Anil’s personal credit, so the risk of default is still very high.”

Well, Barron also had an impression of this matter in his previous life. After all, this matter caused a big stir at the time. These Chinese banks later sued Anil in court, but even if the court ruled that Anil was required to repay the loan, he still couldn’t come up with the money and could only delay it…

Chapter 926: A Little Too Conservative

Even though O2 India Telecom currently appears to be developing well, it is still in the early investment stage. After all, building a 3G network from scratch in India, followed by a 4G network, requires a considerable amount of infrastructure investment.

Compared to this, the 150 million rupees spent on user tariff discounts is insignificant.

Ultimately, Barron’s most important projects in cooperation with Reliance Industries Group remain in the energy and petrochemical sectors, with projects involving scales exceeding tens of billions of dollars.

The following day at noon, Earl Booth. arrived in Mumbai.

He came to Barron’s residence with his new assistant, a burly, handsome young man.

Jenny wasn’t too surprised by this – at least in front of Barron and Jenny, the two behaved normally.

After a short rest, Ian Booth. prepared to take his sister to tour the commercial projects of Argent Real Estate Group in Mumbai. Argent Real Estate Group participated in the third round of construction in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region and is developing a commercial center project in New Mumbai.

However, New Mumbai has not yet reached scale, but at least in some of Mumbai’s CBD areas, high-rise buildings stand tall, giving it the feel of an international metropolis.

Of course, if you only look at their CBD area, it still has the feeling of a bustling city – as long as you don’t cast your eyes outside this small area to the slums that are everywhere.

As for Barron, he took Talulah Riley to a private meeting with the returning Indian Prime Minister Singh.

“Your Grace, I know you have made many investments in India. Through our cooperation, we have not only deepened our friendship but also benefited both sides.”

The atmosphere of the conversation was relatively harmonious. Singh graduated from Oxford University, so he and Barron had no shortage of topics.

He is most praised for his achievements in improving the Indian economy and is known as the “Father of Indian Economic Reform.”

At the same time, Singh has the temperament of a scholar and is relatively soft-spoken, which is in stark contrast to some other Indian Prime Ministers.

However, precisely because of this, as Prime Minister, Singh is somewhat weak. Although he focuses on the economy, he is often swayed by external interference, leading to some measures being changed frequently.

For Barron, people like Singh are naturally easier to cooperate with than those who are more assertive.

“This is our latest plan for the Mumbai-Delhi Industrial Corridor. Your Grace, I believe you have seen the development of Mumbai. If this plan can be achieved, it will create the most dynamic region in the world today, and participation in it will yield great returns.”

Seemingly feeling that the groundwork had been laid, Singh took a document from his secretary and handed it to Barron.

It must be said that whether it was Singh’s confidence when talking about the Mumbai-Delhi Industrial Corridor or the grand vision outlined in the plan in his hand… if Barron hadn’t heard of this plan in his previous life, he might have really believed it…

You should know that even if you discount it and then discount it again, assuming that only ten percent of this plan can be realized, and then make relatively cautious investment decisions – the consequences may be like those Japanese people, wanting to cry but having no tears.

Therefore, after Barron generally browsed the plan, he pondered for a moment and said to Singh:

“Forgive me for speaking frankly, but I think this plan is… still a little too conservative. It doesn’t anticipate the continued high-speed development of the Indian economy during the construction and promotion of the plan…”

As soon as Barron’s words fell, he clearly felt the light suddenly erupting in Singh’s eyes beside him.

He continued to maintain a smile on his face, but still suppressed the upward curve of his lips:

“I am very optimistic about the development of India. I believe that the future of the world belongs to India. With India’s current development trend, it will inevitably surpass America within thirty years and become the global leader…”

“Do you really think so?”

After Singh finished speaking, he adjusted his expression, but still suppressed the upward curve of his lips:

“But that is also a matter of the future. We Indian people still need to use this as a goal to strive for…”

Sure enough, when you are more radical than the other party, the other party will inevitably become conservative…

“I believe that people with long-term vision can see this trend, which is why I invest in India…”

Barron said lightly in Singh’s gaze, which was like looking at a “kindred spirit”:

“Mr. Prime Minister, I can reveal a piece of news to you. I will be taking over the High Speed 2 railway line in Britain. I have also noticed that in your plan, there is a Mumbai-Ahmedabad high-speed railway plan. The length of this high-speed railway line is similar to that of High Speed 2…”

“Yes, Your Grace, are you interested in investing in this Mumbai-Ahmedabad high-speed railway?”

Hearing Barron mention this high-speed railway line, Singh became very interested.

“I think that if it is to be built, then India should have the best high-speed railway in the world…”

Barron’s fingertip fell on the location of Mumbai on the map, then drew a line, and finally his finger stopped at the location of Delhi, and he smiled:

“I see that the high-speed railway line in your plan, from Mumbai to Ahmedabad, is just over 500 kilometers long, which is less than Britain’s High Speed 2. I think this plan is too conservative. Mr. Prime Minister, you should know about China’s Beijing-Shanghai high-speed railway, right? That high-speed railway line is 1,318 kilometers long and is an amazing project, but I think India deserves better…”

In Singh’s slightly rapid breathing, Barron said directly:

“From Mumbai to Delhi, running through the entire industrial corridor, with a total length of over 1,500 kilometers, that will be a super project that will attract global attention!”

Of course, as the Prime Minister of India, Singh would not really be so immersed in imagination. To be precise, after indulging in the exciting blueprint for five minutes, he began to return to reality:

“But such a line would require extremely large investments. Your Grace, are you planning to invest in this line?”

“If I can participate in it, that is definitely something I look forward to very much.”

Barron nodded and said:

“However, such a project requires the best technology to carry it out. Therefore, I am preparing to accumulate experience through Britain’s High Speed 2 – you should know that Alstom Group, in which I hold shares, is a leader in global railway-related technology. I believe that through the construction of Britain’s High Speed 2, we can demonstrate our strong strength to you!”

It can be said that in the subsequent conversations between the two, the topic began to focus on the construction of high-speed railways, not the Mumbai-Ahmedabad high-speed railway initially planned by the Indian side, but the larger-scale Mumbai-Delhi high-speed railway.

In Singh’s eyes, this young British Duke has also become one of the investors he believes has the most forward-looking vision for the future development of India…

Chapter 927: Merger and Reorganization

Although Baron ultimately didn’t give a definite commitment to invest in the Mumbai-Delhi high-speed railway, only indicating that he would consider investing in the high-speed rail project after the High Speed Two project in Britain was completed…

But because what he said was the truth, without any excuses, Singh was ultimately very satisfied with this meeting between the two parties.

What’s more, the Mumbai-Delhi Industrial Corridor plan itself couldn’t be started in the short term.

Although when he visited Japan previously, the Japanese side was very enthusiastic about undertaking the Mumbai-Ahmedabad high-speed rail line, even saying they could bear more than 70% of the total investment for this high-speed rail line, after this conversation with Baron, Singh believed that there could be other options for this plan…

Moreover, with the arrival of another piece of news, this further confirmed Singh’s change in attitude.

On July 26th, Bombardier announced that their board of directors had approved the cash acquisition proposal put forward by a consortium composed of Alstom and Cavendish Trust, among other companies.

According to this proposal, Bombardier would be sold for a price of 22 billion U.S. dollars.

Among them, Bombardier’s rail division would be merged with Alstom’s rail division, and the resulting Alstom-Bombardier Heavy Industries Group would become the world’s largest rail transportation group.

Bombardier’s aviation division would be merged with StandardAero, and the resulting Standard Bombardier Aviation would become an aviation group covering business aircraft (regional jets), business jets, and large unmanned aerial vehicles, among other businesses.

It could be said that this acquisition shocked the world. Although the acquisition price of 22 billion U.S. dollars wasn’t too earth-shattering, this acquisition would change the landscape of global rail transportation groups, and even the aviation field would see some changes…

According to media reports, after Alstom and Bombardier’s railway businesses merged to become Alstom-Bombardier Heavy Industries Group, they would surpass Siemens in the global rail transportation field and become the world’s largest rail transportation group.

At the same time, Alstom-Bombardier Heavy Industries Group would also occupy more than 45% of the market share in the European regional train sector.

After this acquisition was made public, the European Union antitrust agency announced that it would conduct a relevant investigation into the merger of Alstom and Bombardier’s railway businesses.

For a time, many people discussed whether this merger, which would affect the landscape of the rail transportation field, could be approved by the EU antitrust agency. Relevant commentaries in several newspapers believed that even if the EU ultimately allowed this merger, it would inevitably impose restrictions on some of the two companies’ businesses—such as forcing the two companies to sell some businesses after the merger.

Although Baron had previously received news from various channels, especially from Cameron and French President Hollande, about their meeting with European Commission President Barroso, and the other party had given a certain commitment…

He still wasn’t preparing to celebrate prematurely…

After staying in India for a few days, he and Jenny arrived in China aboard the Devonshire.

What caught the attention of some people concerned about the merger of Alstom and Bombardier’s railway businesses was that on the day Baron arrived in Beijing, China, Henri Poupart-Lafarge also arrived in Beijing.

Henri Poupart-Lafarge is the Senior Vice President of Alstom Group, mainly responsible for the railway business. He flew directly to Beijing from Canada—before that, he participated in the negotiations of the consortium where Alstom was located for the acquisition of Bombardier, and was considered the most likely candidate to be the future Chairman and President of Alstom-Bombardier Heavy Industries Group.

Although Henri’s arrival in China this time was nominally to inspect Alstom’s investment enterprises in China and to study the experience of China’s high-speed rail development…

But Cameron, Hollande, and some EU officials all understood that at this time, Henri Poupart-Lafarge’s temporary departure from the front line of acquisition and integration with Bombardier to go to China and meet with the Duke of Devonshire was self-evident—if the EU really didn’t approve this merger, or put forward other requirements, then perhaps this inspection would determine the Chinese partner for the High Speed Two project in Britain…

This was of course pressure that Baron deliberately put on the EU side. After all, the last leg of a journey is always the hardest. At this time, he didn’t want the EU to get the wrong idea and cause any more problems in the process of this acquisition.

Of course, bringing Henri Poupart-Lafarge to China wasn’t just for show.

Even if this merger is achieved, in order to complete the High Speed Two project in Britain efficiently, he would cooperate with Chinese companies on many projects—but in that case, the high-speed rail trains and some related equipment could be handed over to Alstom-Bombardier Heavy Industries Group. However, in terms of project construction, overall project scheduling, and organization, Chinese companies have more complete experience than Britain, including large-scale projects such as the Beijing-Shanghai high-speed railway.

Moreover, only by handing over a considerable part of the project construction and related cooperation to Chinese companies can a fairly high proportion of Chinese loans be obtained for the High Speed Two project in Britain—in recent years, the Chinese side has also been happy to help their companies obtain overseas projects through foreign investment and loans.

Since this is the case, cooperation with the Chinese side can at least achieve a “win-win” situation for Baron and the other party.

Besides, rather than lending money to people like Anil Ambani, which leads to the inability to recover it, it’s better to borrow from China, at least to ensure repayment on time…

In addition to Henri Poupart-Lafarge, Amber Sheen also came to China this time.

At the beginning of this year, Amber Sheen, as Baron’s “old guard,” stepped down as CEO of DS Group, and Daisy took over.

However, Amber Sheen still serves as the Chairman of the Supervisory Committee of the Board of Directors of DS Group, responsible for the group’s supervisory duties.

Last week, DS Holdings invested in the acquisition of British rail transport operator First Group, renaming it British First Rail Group.

Although the amount of this acquisition was not high—before that, First Group’s market value was only around 750 million U.S. dollars, and DS Holdings bought the company for less than 600 million pounds (900 million U.S. dollars).

But Baron still appointed Amber Sheen to personally serve as the president of this company, because Baron will use British First Rail Group to undertake the entire High Speed Two project.

He needs to use Amber Sheen’s personal abilities and rich experience to complete such a huge project.

Therefore, after Amber Sheen arrived in China, Amber was responsible for contacting those Chinese related companies about the High Speed Two project in Britain, and Baron would not personally participate in it.

Chapter 928: Shock

“I personally experienced the Beijing-Shanghai High-Speed Railway…”

Annabelle Sheen said to Barron with admiration:

“I have to say, the Chinese have already surpassed us.”

Barron understood Annabelle’s words very well. Not to mention 2013, even more than ten years later, after China opened its 144-hour visa-free policy, the Beijing-Shanghai High-Speed Railway was a must-try experience for many foreigners who landed in the “newbie village” of Shanghai for the first time.

These people invariably praised China’s high-speed rail, let alone now.

If Annabelle was surprised by her personal experience on the Beijing-Shanghai High-Speed Railway, then she was simply shocked after learning more about the construction data…

You see, compared to other high-speed rail lines, the Beijing-Shanghai High-Speed Railway is not only longer—1,318 kilometers in total, making it the world’s longest high-speed railway built at one time with the highest standards…

Moreover, the terrain along its construction route is complex and the technical difficulty is extremely high, passing through 16 tunnels, making it a veritable “World High-Speed Rail Technology Museum.”

Even so, the construction funds for the Beijing-Shanghai High-Speed Railway only amounted to 122.4 billion yuan (equivalent to 11.66 billion pounds at the time).

In addition, the Beijing-Shanghai High-Speed Railway officially started construction on April 18, 2008, and the entire line officially opened to traffic on June 30, 2011, with a construction period of just over three years…

In Annabelle’s view, this was nothing short of a miracle, which is why he said from the bottom of his heart before that “China has far surpassed Britain…”

If only Annabelle Sheen’s opinion was considered, the best approach for the British High-Speed Rail 2, which is being managed by the British First Railway Group, would be to hand it over entirely to the Chinese for construction, replicating their success on the Beijing-Shanghai High-Speed Railway.

But he also understood that this was unlikely…

After all, the Chinese only need to focus on construction, but the gentlemen in London have much more to consider…

For example, they need to use the High-Speed Rail 2 project to boost some related small and medium-sized enterprises in Britain and promote employment, and they also need to consider the interests of relevant suppliers within the European Union…

Even Barron himself has related companies such as Alstom in his controlled industries that need to obtain orders.

However, for China, even if they can only obtain a portion of the British High-Speed Rail 2 project, it is already a better-than-expected result. Annabelle can start related contacts now.

After returning to London, he will continue to acquire Eversholt Rail Group, one of the three major railway vehicle leasing companies in Britain, through the British First Railway Group, in order to enrich the relevant business of the British First Railway Group.

…

“Aren’t you coming with me, Barron?”

“I have plans today, darling. Ning is a great guide, and she will take you around the famous attractions in Yanjing these days.”

Actually, this is not the main reason, but rather that Barron has seen those famous attractions in Yanjing more than once or twice. He doesn’t want to have to visit them every time he accompanies someone to Yanjing. Compared to that, he would rather see some old friends.

It just so happened that Zhang Junning of Rich23 Capital was also in Yanjing—she had just reported on some recent work to Barron last night, and of course, the two also had a round of “interactive learning”—it was quite appropriate for her to accompany Jenny to tour Yanjing.

This time, Barron and Jenny were staying in his courtyard house with four courtyards in Yanjing, and Jenny was very curious about this style of traditional Chinese residence.

Also curious about this was Barron’s next guest—David Miliband, the former British Foreign Secretary in charge of the Flourishing Earth Foundation.

“When I visited China, I visited such courtyard houses, but the layout here is the most unique I have ever seen.”

After entering this rather large courtyard house, David Miliband couldn’t help but exclaim.

Well, someone who has been a Foreign Secretary knows how to talk. Barron knows that there must be plenty of flattery in his words.

As the chairman of the Flourishing Earth Foundation, David Miliband usually travels between Europe, Asia, and Africa. In fact, China is currently not the main target country of the Flourishing Earth Foundation. In Asia, Southeast Asia and the Middle East are the regions where the Flourishing Earth Foundation invests the most funds.

Of course, because of China’s importance, there are still some projects here that involve them.

For example, in the past year, the Flourishing Earth Foundation has helped Kolo carry out many image promotion activities in China—after all, the fundamental purpose of the Flourishing Earth Foundation is to realize Barron’s strategy and protect the interests of the industries he owns.

And the current Kolo is in great need of some high-quality talents. Relatively speaking, the overall quality of the Chinese is what Barron appreciates the most—including the Chinese people’s diligence, discipline, tolerance, and friendliness.

But generally speaking, there are indeed many high-quality talents in China in this era who hope to immigrate overseas, but these people’s goals are developed countries in Europe and America, followed by Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand…

As for Kolo, an African country—I’m afraid most people haven’t even heard of such a small African country, and African countries are always associated with war, poverty, and rampant disease in the eyes of the Chinese.

Therefore, although the President of Kolo invited Chinese people to go to Kolo for work or tourism when he visited before, apart from those state-owned enterprise employees and their families who were dispatched to Kolo for construction work, there are very few people who actively go to Kolo.

For this reason, under Barron’s instruction, one of the main projects of the Flourishing Earth Foundation in China is to promote the image of Kolo—to put it bluntly, it is to show the prosperous and open side of Kolo to the Chinese people through some programs and reports.

In this way, after removing prejudices and seeing Kolo’s completely different appearance from other African countries in their impressions, it will also be conducive to Kolo’s attraction to the Chinese.

Currently, the effect of these practices seems to be good. Based on the data for the second quarter of this year alone, the number of Chinese people arriving in Kolo has increased by more than 200% year-on-year. Among them, some are here for tourism, and some are here to look for business opportunities…

Because obtaining Kolo permanent residence and citizenship requires a period of investigation, there is a considerable lag in the reflection of the increase in these data.

But this effect is already very good.

“Next, we can infiltrate our ‘business’ into Britain and European countries, Mr. Miliband…”

Barron’s words made David Miliband’s eyes light up.

Bringing the foundation’s influence back to Europe is naturally also something David is interested in.

And for Barron, the first thing he needs to face is the construction of the British High-Speed Rail 2 that he is about to undertake. He will definitely need to face some domestic environmental protection and animal protection organizations. He is not convenient to directly confront these organizations. He believes that it is a feasible strategy to use the Flourishing Earth Foundation to deal with them.

Chapter 929: Night Walk

August 5th, just as Amber Sheen had done before, Barron also chose to travel from Yanjing to Shanghai via the Beijing-Shanghai High-Speed Railway.

Just the day before, Jenny Smith had concluded her trip accompanying Barron, and Barron’s private jet, Devonshire, had flown her back to America.

Because he chose to travel by the Beijing-Shanghai High-Speed Railway, Barron’s team directly chartered the entire VIP carriage. In fact, even if he hadn’t requested it, for the sake of the safety of this distinguished Duke of England, who was also friendly with China, the Chinese security personnel would have contacted the railway authorities to request this.

Yes, now that Barron had come to China, he would not only have his own security team, but the Chinese side would also send dedicated personnel to protect him.

“Your Grace, Mr. Ma of Alibaba will meet with you after you arrive in Shanghai, and the meeting with Ms. Li Lu of Tianhe Capital is scheduled for the day after tomorrow…”

From Yanjing to Shanghai, depending on the train, the high-speed rail journey takes about four to five hours. The high-speed train that Barron was on took about four and a half hours to reach Shanghai.

On the way to Shanghai, Barron was not sleepy. In addition to “again” admiring the scenery along the way, he also took the time to handle some work and confirmed part of his itinerary to Shanghai with his personal assistant, Talulah Riley.

This was not the first time that Talulah Riley had accompanied Barron to China. Unlike her first time in this land, when language barriers made many things inconvenient, Talulah Riley now knew the importance of the Chinese market to Barron. She had even taught herself Mandarin. Although her spoken Mandarin was not as fluent as Barron’s and still had a noticeable accent, at least ordinary daily communication was basically no problem.

In addition, Barron’s two previous assistants, Laura and Zhang Junning, were both Chinese, which was also one of the reasons why Talulah was determined to learn Mandarin.

What’s more, Laura is now responsible for managing the daily affairs of the vast Cavendish Trust, and Zhang Junning is responsible for Rich23 Capital. With the demonstration effect of these two personal assistants of Barron, Talulah naturally cherished the opportunity she now had.

However, as far as Barron was concerned, he didn’t have any particular preference for the choice of personal assistant—apart from figure and appearance…

After all, the reason for choosing Laura as a personal assistant in the first place, apart from coincidence, was also because Barron had come to England from China in his previous life, and having a Chinese assistant by his side could give him a greater sense of familiarity.

As for Zhang Junning, it was because she was a “celebrity” that Barron knew in his previous life. He thought it would be interesting to have her as a personal assistant, and she could also help him more in contacting the Chinese industries he was interested in at the time.

Now that it was Talulah Riley’s turn, Barron no longer had any preference for whether his assistant was Chinese or needed to be from a specific ethnic group. As long as they were capable enough and trustworthy, that would be enough. Speaking of which, this seemingly “simple” requirement was actually very difficult given Barron’s current status and position.

…

“Your Grace, are you planning to take a stroll here with me?”

What Mr. Ma did not expect was that Barron did not choose to meet him at home or in the office, but chose to meet him on the streets of Shanghai.

Fortunately, it was already night, and the weather in Shanghai was much cooler. If it were during the day, in the summer season, he would probably be sweating all over soon.

“I just suddenly wanted to take a random walk around here and feel the night in Shanghai. Mr. Ma doesn’t mind, does he…”

Hearing what the Duke of England said, Mr. Ma laughed heartily:

“Of course I don’t mind. To be honest, I rarely have such an opportunity.”

“Ryan, tell them not to be nervous. We are in China, and it is very safe.”

Barron said the last sentence to the head of security beside him, who was constantly looking around. However, even though he said that, Ryan Wilson, as the Duke’s head of security, still did not dare to relax. He signaled his security team to spread out and subtly surround Barron in the center.

In this way, it actually made Barron and his party more conspicuous…

After all, it is not uncommon to see blue-eyed, blond-haired foreigners in Shanghai occasionally, and although Mr. Ma now has considerable fame, he has not yet reached the point where Alibaba is listed, he begins to compete for the title of China’s richest man, and thus wields his “money power” to become “Father Ma.” Not many people would recognize him walking down the street like this.

But with Barron and Mr. Ma surrounded by a group of burly foreign men, it was different. This kind of formation would be hard to miss in China.

Therefore, after walking for a short while, Barron noticed the problem. He stopped and pointed to one side, saying to Mr. Ma:

“How about we go there and get something to eat?”

Mr. Ma followed Barron’s finger and saw an inconspicuous noodle restaurant. The interior was very ordinary. Through the glass window, he could see that although there were two or three diners inside, the west side of the restaurant was still empty. He said:

“Okay, I’m actually a little hungry.”

After entering the restaurant, Barron chose a seat by the window and sat down. Opposite him, Mr. Ma also sat down facing him, looking at the menu on the table.

Barron told the security personnel to eat at the tables next to them, leaving only Talulah to sit at the table next to him, so as not to disturb his conversation with Mr. Ma.

“What do you want to eat? Your Grace, I’m afraid you haven’t had this kind of Shanghai-style noodles before.”

“You’re wrong, Mr. Ma. I actually quite like it… Hmm, I’ll have the clam and pig liver soup noodles, with shredded potatoes, pickled mustard tuber and shredded pork. What about you?”

Hearing the noodles that Barron ordered, Mr. Ma immediately believed what he said. After all, as far as he knew, the English rarely eat animal organs. Although Barron quite liked Chinese food, if he hadn’t really eaten it before, he probably wouldn’t have immediately ordered such a bowl of noodles with pig liver…

“Haha, then I’ll have a bowl of braised large intestine noodles, and two cans of mung bean and lily soup. You can try this, Your Grace, it clears heat and relieves summer heat.”

While waiting for the food to be served, Barron casually asked:

“Has the date for Alibaba’s listing been set?”

“I originally wanted to list in the second half of this year, but based on the current situation, April or May next year is a better choice. After all, although the stock market has begun to recover, market sentiment is not yet very hot.”

Mr. Ma opened a can of mung bean and lily soup, handed it to Barron, and picked up another can himself, took a sip, and said:

“And the company is not too short of funds right now, so it’s okay to wait a little longer.”

Chapter 930: Recovery and Collapse

Baron nodded and said, “The U.S. stock market is currently recovering, but investors’ enthusiasm will take time to return. Choosing to go public next year is appropriate.”

Hearing Baron say this to him personally, Mr. Ma felt even more certain.

After all, apart from his identity as a British Duke, his investment acumen had been verified countless times.

It could be said that in the past ten years or so, Baron’s investments had been flawless.

In the investment field, he had become an investment master comparable to Warren Buffett—and in comparison, the only thing Buffett had over Baron was a longer period of sustained profitability.

But this was inherently limited by the age difference between the two, and not Baron’s fault.

Of course, there could be many reasons why a company chooses to go public, such as gaining greater visibility, allowing early investors to cash out, etc.

But the most important purpose was to obtain the funds needed for corporate development through an IPO—the original purpose of the stock market was to provide financing channels for companies.

Therefore, Mr. Ma naturally hoped that Alibaba could choose the right time to go public, which would increase the company’s valuation and achieve a good stock price, thereby attracting investors and gaining more exposure.

Baron’s affirmation was like a reassurance to Mr. Ma—after all, according to the agreement between the two parties, Baron would need to sell his Alibaba shares held through DS Holdings (Cavendish Trust) after Alibaba went public.

Therefore, even for his own benefit, he would certainly want to sell those Alibaba shares at a good price, and there was no need to be insincere in his statement.

Just as Baron had analyzed to Mr. Ma, after entering 2013, the American stock market repeatedly reached new highs…

Since the beginning of the year, the S&P 500 index had accumulated a gain of over 16.5%, and the Dow had accumulated a gain of 14.55%.

But strangely, although the stock market seemed to be doing well, American stockholders did not seem willing to easily follow suit, and financial tycoons were quietly withdrawing large amounts of capital from the bull market. Some famous American investors made no secret of their concerns about the future market, believing that the current U.S. stock market was overbought and that the possibility of a collapse was increasing.

It was worth noting that stock market index increases that broke through certain values did not necessarily have a real impact on the market direction. Valuation levels, economic growth, and corporate profit growth were the core determinants.

Behind the continued rise of the U.S. stock market, was it a genuine economic recovery, or was it hiding a fragile state? Was a collapse possible? These were the things that financial media and investors had been constantly discussing.

Especially in May, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke’s remarks in a private setting hinted at the intention to reduce the scale of quantitative easing, which had a certain impact on the market at the time…

But related formal speeches and policies had not yet appeared…

Recently, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke changed his tune again, implicitly indicating in his speech that the Federal Reserve had no intention of reducing QE, which surprised investors who had originally expected a reduction in the bond-buying program. The U.S. stock market soared in response, with the Dow and S&P 500 indexes once again hitting historical highs, and all ten industry sectors achieved gains…

In fact, since June of this year, doves and hawks had been constantly arguing about QE3. Federal Reserve Chairman Bernanke’s speech reassured investors who had been troubled by the Federal Reserve’s policy adjustments, and the overall U.S. stock market remained strong.

Of course, as Baron had mentioned to Robert Kennedy Jr. before, although the S&P and Dow indexes of the U.S. stock market seemed to have risen this year, not all stocks could “share the blessings”…

The best performers were consumer, TMT (technology, media, and telecommunications), and financial stocks. In the past month, pharmaceutical and automotive stocks had also performed well—as the economy improved, their demand began to accelerate.

If one compared it with the Federal Reserve’s policy timetable, it was not difficult to find that in the four and a half years from 2009 to the present, each wave of new stock market highs coincided with the timing of the introduction of quantitative easing policies.

From November 2008 to March 2010, the Federal Reserve launched QE1 (the first round of quantitative easing), during which it purchased a total of 1.725 trillion U.S. dollars in assets, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average also rose from 8479.47 points to 10856.63 points, an increase of 28.03%.

During the implementation of QE2 from August 2010 to June 2011, the Federal Reserve purchased 600 billion U.S. dollars in American long-term treasury bonds, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose from 11215.13 points to 12414.34 points, a stage increase of 10.69%.

From September to December 2012, the Federal Reserve successively launched QE3 and QE4. In addition to continuing to purchase 40 billion U.S. dollars of mortgage-backed securities per month, it would also purchase an additional approximately 45 billion U.S. dollars of long-term treasury bonds.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose from 13539.86 points to a high of 15542.40 points on May 22, 2013, with a maximum range increase of 24.61%.

In this way, with the introduction of QE, the American economy achieved restorative growth.

According to data released by the U.S. Treasury Department in June of this year, as of the first quarter of 2013, the U.S. economy had grown for 15 consecutive quarters, meaning that from the second half of 2009, the U.S. economy gradually emerged from the trough.

However, policy implementation did not always move in one direction, and the arrival of the quantitative easing exit window made the situation complicated.

“In order to stabilize the confidence of debt-holding countries, the Federal Reserve is unlikely to exit QE this year. However, in order to reduce funding costs and alleviate the financial crisis, the Federal Reserve has to make a gesture, but each time it is all thunder and no rain. Bernanke has no new tricks to play.”

This was what a related report published in The Wall Street Journal last week said.

However, what was still eye-catching was the actions of those financial tycoons and Wall Street capital, after all, in the eyes of many people, they could obtain more information.

According to regulatory filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, George Soros had already begun to clear out bank stocks in the first quarter of this year, including stocks of famous banks such as Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan Chase, and Goldman Sachs…

American hedge fund magnate John Paulson (who rose to fame by shorting the subprime mortgage crisis and whose managed fund size exceeded 20 billion U.S. dollars) was also quietly shorting U.S. industrial, commercial, and financial stocks.

In addition, Dealogic statistics showed that since the beginning of this year, the funds realized by private equity investment companies had reached 57.8 billion U.S. dollars, far higher than the 35 billion U.S. dollars in the same period in 2007 (the peak before the crisis) and the record level of 43 billion U.S. dollars in 2011.

However, of course, there were also those who continued to increase their investment in U.S. stocks, including Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, and Baron’s affiliated companies—Merrill Lynch Investment, funds under DS Group, etc.

Although most industry insiders now optimistically believe that the U.S. stock market will experience fluctuations in the later period due to the effects of the Federal Reserve’s “tightening spell” and risks in the external market, considering the continuous recovery of the American economy and the enhanced level of corporate profitability, the U.S. stock market still has room to rise before the end of the year.

However, the frenzy on Wall Street still made American stockholders, who had been repeatedly fooled and learned their lesson over the years, feel apprehensive. The two major collapses in American history on October 29, 1929, and October 19, 1987, sounded the alarm for the euphoric bull market.

Before the outbreak of the two crises, the stock market was a scene of prosperity, which attracted a large amount of hot money. The hot money that came for profit frantically raised stock prices, and one false bubble after another was created.

Of course, Baron would not publicly express any opinions on this, but his attitude towards Alibaba’s choice of going public had already shown that he held an optimistic attitude towards the economic situation next year, especially the economic situation in America.

Chapter 931: As If Worlds Apart

“Xin’ai, look, that foreigner is so handsome.”

A baby-faced girl suddenly stopped and nudged her friend beside her, chirping excitedly.

The tall girl in the sky-blue business suit beside her saw her friend’s eyes light up as she looked ahead, and couldn’t help but follow her gaze. Her eyes were immediately drawn to the tall, noble figure in the crowd.

“He’s really handsome, isn’t he? I’ve never seen such a handsome foreigner in Shanghai before. Is he a model or a celebrity? He’s like a prince from a movie. I’m falling in love, Xin’ai…”

As she spoke, the usually cute and charming baby-faced girl noticed the middle-aged man standing next to the handsome foreigner – mainly because the contrast in their appearances was simply too extreme…

She said with some uncertainty, “The one next to the prince… is Jack Ma?”

“Jack Ma who?”

“He’s the founder of Alibaba. Taobao, which you use all the time, is from Alibaba…”

The baby-faced girl’s current company was an internet company, so she had naturally heard of Alibaba’s founder, Mr. Ma. However, she knew that her friend worked in a traditional company and didn’t usually pay much attention to these things, so she explained, “I heard our boss talk about Mr. Ma at an internet conference once. They say that if his Alibaba company goes public, his net worth will exceed 10 billion!”

“Ah?!”

Although an ordinary person doesn’t have a direct understanding of such astronomical figures, the impact of seeing a super-rich person with a net worth of billions in person is still huge.

“But it looks like Jack Ma respects that foreigner a lot…”

The baby-faced girl looked at them from afar and had the same feeling. “I have to take a picture…”

As she said that, she took out her Honor Mate 6S phone. Just as she pointed the phone’s camera at them, a tall and sturdy figure blocked her way…

…

“Don’t you want to walk around a bit more? Your Grace.”

“I’m afraid I can’t stroll around like an ordinary person in this state…”

Baron gestured to the numerous security personnel around them and shrugged, saying helplessly, “Let’s not cause them any more trouble.”

At this time, a convoy consisting of Land Rover Defenders and Bentley Azure cars had already stopped by the side of the road…

“We will continue to maintain close cooperation with Alibaba, just like we did before in the cloud computing business.”

Baron said to Mr. Ma as the elegant and intellectual Talulah Riley opened the car door for him.

Just then, a dispute not far away caught Baron’s attention.

When his gaze turned there, he made eye contact with a tall, beautiful woman.

Baron paused for a moment, beckoned to his security director, Ryan Wilson, asked about the reason, and then instructed, “It’s just a small matter. Don’t make things difficult for them. Oh, and say something to the people on the Chinese side as well.”

…

“I’m sorry, this is probably a misunderstanding. We just hope you didn’t take a picture of my boss…”

At first, a bodyguard from Baron’s security team stopped the baby-faced girl from taking pictures and asked to see her photo album in English to avoid any photos being taken.

However, the other party didn’t understand at first, so it looked like there was a dispute. Ryan Wilson had lived in Hong Kong with his father for a while when he was a child, so he knew some Chinese. After he joined, he quickly calmed the matter down.

After everyone left and the convoy full of luxury cars drove away in a grand manner, the baby-faced girl stuck out her tongue and discussed with her friend about where those people came from, looking like big shots from a TV series…

“Please wait a moment…”

At this time, two Chinese men in suits stopped the two girls. One of them, a seemingly calm middle-aged man, took out his ID from his pocket, showed it to them, and said, “Sorry, we need to check your phone. We hope you can cooperate with our work…”

Seeing the ID from that mysterious department, the two were even more surprised and uncertain. Fortunately, the other party’s attitude was very amiable. After seeing that there were no relevant photos in the Mate 6S, they let them leave.

“Oh my god…”

The baby-faced girl breathed a sigh of relief and said to her friend, “That foreigner wouldn’t really be a prince from some country, would he…”

The tall girl beside her couldn’t help but recall the moment she made eye contact with the handsome foreigner just now. She seemed to feel a sense of… familiarity from his eyes?

…

Sitting in the back seat of the Bentley Azure, Baron turned his head and glanced at the two girls. As the street scene of Shanghai at night began to recede outside the car window, it felt like worlds apart.

Yes, the girl named “Xin’ai” had a story with him in his previous life.

At that time, Baron had just arrived in Shanghai to make a living and rented an old house not far from here.

At that time, he was still full of confusion about the future. He had walked shoulder to shoulder with her on this street, and the two of them had eaten noodles at that noodle shop, dreaming about the future.

He didn’t lie to Mr. Ma. He had indeed eaten such noodles, but it was in his previous life, when he was “eighteen that year, standing like a nobody.”

“Your Grace, we’ve arrived…”

Talulah Riley’s soft voice beside him brought Baron back from his brief memories.

Cavendish Garden, which was also the “Yan Family Garden” that Baron first bought in Shanghai, Fan Bingbing was waiting for him here with the children.

…

“Madam, after the market opened today, GSK’s stock price continued to fall. Our short position in this company has exceeded 1 billion pounds…”

“Continue to increase the position. They will be very embarrassed this time, and it is also our opportunity.”

In London, Daisy, as the CEO of DS Group, began to issue orders.

The GSK she mentioned refers to GlaxoSmithKline, the largest pharmaceutical company in England. This company is also a global pharmaceutical company, founded in December 2000, formed by the merger of Glaxo Wellcome and SmithKline Beecham.

GlaxoSmithKline is headquartered in London and focuses on the development of new drugs and new vaccines, with products throughout the global market.

However, last month, in July, GlaxoSmithKline was exposed for serious bribery incidents in China – GlaxoSmithKline (China) Co., Ltd. used travel agencies and other channels to bribe relevant officials, pharmaceutical industry associations and foundations, hospitals, doctors, etc., in order to open up drug sales channels and increase drug prices. The bribery lasted for a long time and involved huge amounts of money!

For this reason, the Chinese side has arrested a number of senior executives of GlaxoSmithKline (China) Co., Ltd. to investigate them.

After that, the United States Department of Justice also announced that it would investigate GlaxoSmithKline’s transnational bribery behavior around the world, and the British side also quickly announced that it would cooperate with the United States to investigate this matter…

After these things happened, GlaxoSmithKline’s stock price immediately began to plummet. So far, their stock price has fallen by more than 30% compared to before!

Chapter 932: To What Extent?

After all, facing these investigations, once verified, GlaxoSmithKline would not only face huge fines from China, the United States, and the United Kingdom, but also lose a significant portion of its market…

You know, GlaxoSmithKline (China) is one of the largest multinational pharmaceutical companies in China. Before Glaxo Wellcome and SmithKline Beecham merged into GlaxoSmithKline and established their headquarters in Brentford in 2000, they had already entered the Chinese market in the 1980s.

As of now, GlaxoSmithKline has a commercial presence in more than 250 cities and regions in China, with five regional centers, an investment company and an infectious disease and public health research institute in Beijing, as well as joint ventures, research and development centers, and a national commercial operations center in Shanghai, Tianjin, and Wuhan, employing a total of more than 4,000 people.

Therefore, this bribery case of GlaxoSmithKline in China will definitely impact its market in China, especially its two core businesses in China – prescription drugs and vaccines.

In Barron’s previous life, impacted by this incident, GlaxoSmithKline’s revenue from these two businesses in China once plummeted by 61%!

“In fact, GlaxoSmithKline’s current sales in China only account for about 3% of its global sales. Therefore, on a global scale, even if GlaxoSmithKline completely abandons the Chinese market, the impact on its revenue is not that significant…”

Daisy said to Barron:

“The main reason why their stock price has suffered such a degree of decline this time, with a drop of more than 30% at one point, is mainly due to rumors that China will impose a huge fine on GlaxoSmithKline. In addition, the involvement of the United States Department of Justice in the investigation is a more direct threat to GlaxoSmithKline, which is also listed on the US stock market, after all, the American market is an important part of it…”

At this time, Barron had returned to London from China.

Indeed, the GlaxoSmithKline bribery case was quite a big deal in China at the time. Barron had heard about it in his previous life, especially since China imposed their highest fine ever on GlaxoSmithKline in this case – a fine of 3 billion Chinese currency, which was indeed impressive.

“GlaxoSmithKline cannot abandon the Chinese market. After all, although their current sales in China do not account for a high percentage of their global sales, the Chinese market is growing rapidly, and GlaxoSmithKline has already established a presence in China and made many acquisitions…”

In the pharmaceutical business, GlaxoSmithKline has always focused on four core therapeutic areas: infectious diseases, HIV, oncology, and immunology. In China, GlaxoSmithKline has repeatedly made large-scale fixed asset investment projects in recent years.

These include GlaxoSmithKline’s acquisition of Nanjing MeiRui Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. for 70 million US dollars in cash in December 2010 – MeiRui Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. is the operating entity of Pagoda Pharmaceutical Group in China, and its product line includes urology and allergy product portfolios.

In September 2011, GlaxoSmithKline invested 39 million US dollars to acquire the remaining 51% equity of Shenzhen GlaxoSmithKline Haiwang Biological Products Co., Ltd., a joint venture between the two parties, from Shenzhen Haiwang Interlong Biotechnology Co., Ltd., which is mainly engaged in the research, development, production and operation of vaccines.

Therefore, development in China is GlaxoSmithKline’s established strategy and cannot be easily abandoned.

As for the sharp decline in GlaxoSmithKline’s stock price, it also reflects the market’s panic. After all, if the case can be resolved with a fine from China, it would not be a crippling blow to GlaxoSmithKline – but relatively speaking, the United States Department of Justice is more difficult to deal with.

GlaxoSmithKline has had similar bribery cases in other countries before. For example, they have been fined heavily in the United States, Italy, New Zealand and other countries for suspected violations.

If the United States Department of Justice keeps a close eye on GlaxoSmithKline, it would be disastrous for GlaxoSmithKline’s European and American markets, which account for a higher proportion.

“Those multinational companies do this in many countries and regions. It’s just a matter of whether or not they will be caught and punished by regulators. Our short selling of GlaxoSmithKline has already yielded good profits. Next, we need to determine to what extent we want to go?”

Daisy is right. For example, in China, the GlaxoSmithKline incident is not an isolated case of foreign companies suspected of bribery in China. Previously, many well-known multinational companies, including Pfizer, Morgan Stanley, IBM, Lucent, Walmart, Depp, and Avery Dennison, have been suspected of commercial bribery in China.

As for her question…

Then Barron needs to make a decision. Is this action just to short sell for profit and then close the position and leave; or is it to go a step further and take advantage of GlaxoSmithKline’s current trouble to hold some shares of this pharmaceutical giant.

In fact, the pharmaceutical and healthcare industry is also an investment direction that Barron is interested in. For example, he previously invested heavily in Pfizer and became the company’s largest shareholder.

GlaxoSmithKline is also a pharmaceutical giant of similar size to Pfizer – well, saying similar size refers to their ranking among global pharmaceutical companies.

Currently, according to market value, Pfizer ranks second among global pharmaceutical companies, with a market value of approximately 190 billion US dollars, second only to Johnson & Johnson.

GlaxoSmithKline previously ranked sixth, with a market value of less than 120 billion US dollars.

Judging from the market value alone, the gap between the two is still quite large.

However, according to Barron’s experience in his previous life, GlaxoSmithKline’s future development is not as good as Pfizer’s.

In the original timeline, GlaxoSmithKline continued to appear in the top ranks of global pharmaceutical companies until 2015, but after that, GlaxoSmithKline could no longer be seen in the top 15 of this ranking.

Well, unlike Pfizer’s continued expansion of market value, GlaxoSmithKline’s market value even fell below 100 billion US dollars a few years later…

Barron did not have experience in related industries in his previous life, and did not pay much attention to the subsequent development of the pharmaceutical industry, so he did not know what caused GlaxoSmithKline’s decline later.

However, he understands that the pharmaceutical industry is an industry with frequent mergers and reorganizations, and the research and development of drugs by companies like GlaxoSmithKline still has a great impact on the company’s revenue.

Therefore, he said to Daisy:

“We can leave some stocks behind after this. After all, after this GlaxoSmithKline incident, their stock price will still rebound. If we hold some shares, we can also observe the situation and make a final decision…”

Daisy had no objection to this. She turned and said:

“Congratulations, the European Union has compromised.”

Chapter 933: There Will Be a Way

What Daisy was referring to was the acquisition of Bombardier.

The acquisition of Bombardier by a consortium consisting of France’s Alstom and Cavendish Trust, among others, had attracted a lot of attention.

At the time, some media reports suggested that it would not be easy for this acquisition to pass the scrutiny of the European Union’s antitrust authorities.

Prior to this, the planned merger between Siemens and Alstom’s railway division had already been rejected by the EU’s antitrust regulators.

These media outlets were not wrong in their assessment. After all, in the original timeline, Alstom’s acquisition of Bombardier’s rail business had been subject to strict scrutiny by the EU’s antitrust authorities. Back then, Alstom had to agree to sell off some related businesses to ensure that the acquisition of Bombardier’s rail business would not threaten “fair competition” in certain areas before it passed the antitrust review.

But now things were different. After all, Barron, through the High-Speed Rail Line 2 project, had reached an “alliance” with the British government…

At the same time, the French side naturally needed to cheer for Alstom’s merger.

As for the German side…

After the merger between Siemens and Alstom’s railway division fell through, and considering that most of Bombardier’s railway business was in Germany, their attitude could be understood as “orderly neutrality”…

With the three most important countries in the EU, and also the main contributors to the EU’s funds, taking this kind of attitude, the consequences would be uncontrollable if the EU’s antitrust authorities insisted on blocking the acquisition.

So, while principles are principles, the EU’s attitude was quite flexible at times.

This led to a situation that surprised some analysts: less than a month after the EU’s antitrust authorities announced their review of the Bombardier acquisition, they announced that they had basically approved the acquisition and restructuring plan of Bombardier by the consortium including Alstom, with only some insignificant requirements…

These requirements seemed more like a symbolic gesture by the EU to save face.

This meant that the acquisition and restructuring of Bombardier was officially completed. Next, according to the existing plan, Bombardier would be split into two parts: the railway business and the aviation business.

Bombardier’s railway business would be merged with Alstom Group’s railway business to form Alstom-Bombardier Heavy Industries Group.

Alstom Group would hold 55% of the shares in Alstom-Bombardier Heavy Industries Group, while British Fortune Times (BFT) Fund, one of the consortium’s investors, would hold 25% of the shares, and Cavendish Trust, another investor, would hold the remaining 20% of the shares in Alstom-Bombardier Heavy Industries Group.

As for Bombardier’s aviation business (commercial aircraft and business jet manufacturing), it would be merged with Standard Aviation Manufacturing Company to form Standard Bombardier Aviation Manufacturing Company, with Standard Defense Group holding 65% of the shares in the merged aviation manufacturing company, and BFT Fund holding the other 35% of the shares.

After this integration, Standard Bombardier Aviation Manufacturing Company would be involved in three main manufacturing businesses: commercial aircraft (regional jets), business jets, and large unmanned aerial vehicles.

The manufacturing of commercial aircraft and business jets would still be mainly based in Canada, while a related research laboratory would be established in Canada for large unmanned aerial vehicles. The main department would be composed of the original Standard Aviation Manufacturing Company in Britain.

Their large fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicle project, which was the “Tiercel” unmanned aerial vehicle project that was already being developed by a team to compete with General Atomics’ “Predator” drone, was expected to complete the construction of the first prototype by the middle of next year and conduct experiments and verification in various environments and missions.

Now that the EU had given the green light to the establishment of Alstom-Bombardier Heavy Industries Group, preparations would begin to advance the High-Speed Rail Line 2 project in Britain.

As the CEO of British First Railway Group, Amber Sheen had already made a full acquisition offer for Eversholt Rail Group, one of the three major railway rolling stock leasing companies in Britain. The offer of 2.3 billion pounds was a sufficient premium compared to the company’s market value, and it was believed that the negotiation process would not drag on for too long.

“Regarding the EU’s high-speed rail special fund subsidy, we hope that the other party will provide no less than 2.5 billion euros, but currently the EU has only promised to provide 1 billion euros, which is a large difference…”

While acquiring Eversholt Rail Group, Amber was also paying attention to the negotiations between the British government and the EU regarding the high-speed rail special fund subsidy.

Yes, the matters related to the high-speed rail special fund subsidy were mainly negotiated by relevant personnel of the British government with the EU. After all, Britain had to pay so much money to the EU every year, and it had to try its best to ask for subsidies when it was time, otherwise the money would be used to “alleviate poverty” in those Eastern and Southern European countries…

“This should be a problem for the Prime Minister, and I believe he will find a way.”

Barron was not worried about this. After all, in the investment agreement for High-Speed Rail Line 2 formally signed between British First Railway Group and the British government, Barron had requested that the agreement stipulate that the British government would invest no less than 2.5 billion euros in the project.

After all, High-Speed Rail Line 2 was of great significance to both the British government and Cameron.

But for Barron, in the final analysis, it was a commercial project that needed to generate a certain amount of profit.

“Prime Minister, I can help you solve this problem and win the praise of the public for your government, but the premise is that I cannot build and operate at a loss. If we cannot obtain more subsidy funds, it means that we need to invest more funds, then we can only earn back this money by raising ticket prices…”

That’s what Barron said to Cameron at the time:

“We all know the importance of High-Speed Rail Line 2 to Britain, but thin verbal support cannot achieve practical results. We need sufficient financial support from the government.”

Therefore, if the British government could not obtain this 2.5 billion euros of “subsidy” from the EU, it meant that the difference needed to be made up in the government budget.

It was believed that Cameron, who was now committed to reducing the government budget, would not hesitate to threaten to reduce “contributions” to the EU, demanding that the EU provide them with sufficient high-speed rail subsidies.

After all of this, including the formation of British First Railway Group and the arrival of high-speed rail subsidy funds, they would begin to tender for High-Speed Rail Line 2…

Chapter 934: Unusual

In the London night, a steady drizzle continued to fall.

After another knock on the study door, Baron placed the book he was holding on the desk and saw Aliya enter with a cup of hot tea.

She placed the delicate bone china teacup on the table and softly said to Baron:

“Your Grace, Mr. Incester has arrived.”

“Let him in.”

Aliya gave Baron a sweet smile. This nominal personal assistant, but in reality, his personal maid, then turned and left, gently closing the door behind her.

“Any news?”

After Nigel Incester entered the study, he sat on the sofa in front of Baron, his face solemn, and slowly said:

“We have been monitoring McKenna III of the Vanguard Group, but for the sake of secrecy, our actions have been relatively cautious…”

Baron naturally didn’t believe that after the Sinclair Group incident, in which he retaliated against the Vanguard Group and manipulated international gold prices against them, they would simply give up.

Therefore, the intelligence system he controlled had been trying to monitor McKenna III, the chairman of the Vanguard Group, to detect any plans that might be detrimental to him as early as possible.

“During this period, McKenna III has had dealings with senior executives from groups including BlackRock, State Street, and Citigroup…”

Nigel Incester said:

“But as you know, it is quite normal for these Wall Street capitals to cooperate with each other. Therefore, we need a longer period of observation and analysis of the information we obtain to determine the anomalies. We also need to find opportunities to monitor them in more ways…”

“I hope to see results…”

Baron understood that Nigel’s words were not without reason. After all, as the chairman of the Vanguard Group, McKenna III would be involved in many more secretive operations, such as cooperating with other Wall Street capitals for “hunting” and needing to meet with relevant officials to obtain more information that would not be disclosed to the general public…

“We have also discovered some unusual things, Your Grace. One particularly noteworthy thing is that McKenna III had two relatively secretive meetings last month. Although we didn’t risk too much to obtain more information the first time, we finally identified the person he met the second time…”

Nigel Incester opened the file he had brought and gently pushed it in front of Baron.

What Baron saw was a photo clipped in the file…

“This person is Michael Morell, a deputy director of the CIA. Michael has been with the CIA for more than 30 years and is currently the most powerful deputy director of the CIA, with a very high reputation.”

If things had gone according to the original timeline, then “Dangerous David,” David Petraeus, who took office as the CIA director in 2011, should have resigned last year due to an extramarital affair scandal.

However, because Baron’s side had previously had “friendly exchanges” with him, David Petraeus’s relationship with Baron had also become harmonious.

Therefore, David Petraeus was able to avoid the outbreak of the extramarital affair scandal and has remained in the position of CIA director to this day.

You should know that in the original timeline, the reason why David Petraeus’s extramarital affair scandal broke out was mainly because—this matter was investigated by their “old rival,” the FBI.

At that time, in the summer of 2012, a socialite reported to the police that she had been receiving anonymous email threats…

The FBI investigation revealed that these emails were sent by Paula Broadwell, the biographer of CIA Director David Petraeus, using Petraeus’s personal email.

The FBI and the CIA had always been at odds, and now that the FBI had obtained “dirt” on the head of the CIA, they certainly wouldn’t help cover it up…

As a result, the extramarital affair between the CIA director and the beautiful reporter was exposed.

Then, as the investigation deepened, the FBI found a lot of classified information files on Paula Broadwell’s computer, suspecting that Petraeus had leaked them. This extramarital affair immediately turned into a national security incident.

Therefore, David Petraeus, who had a promising future at the time and was considered a potential contender for the future President of America, had no choice but to resign.

In addition, in the original timeline, after David Petraeus resigned as CIA director, the person who became the acting CIA director was Michael Morell, the most senior deputy director…

Now, David Petraeus, under Baron’s people’s “kind reminder,” knew that his extramarital affair with the beautiful reporter had been discovered, and for the sake of his future, he dealt with the matter.

This also eliminated the possibility of the beautiful reporter Paula Broadwell using David Petraeus’s email to issue anonymous threats, preventing the FBI from intervening in the matter and thus making it public.

The result was that David Petraeus was still sitting on the throne of the CIA director.

Of course, even so, David Petraeus, as a powerful figure in the world’s most powerful country, now in control of intelligence forces all over the world, even if he had a relatively “harmonious” relationship with Baron, it was still impossible to say that he would provide any intelligence or anything like that. At most, the two sides would form a certain tacit understanding on certain matters.

And Michael Morell, as a senior deputy director of the CIA, even with Baron’s intelligence capabilities, could only obtain confirmed intelligence that he had a private and secret meeting with McKenna III. As for the content of the meeting between the two sides, there was still no detailed intelligence available.

But this was enough to arouse Baron’s vigilance.

“Increase surveillance of McKenna III…”

Baron hesitated for a moment, pressed his finger on the photo on the table, and said affirmatively:

“And this Michael Morell’s surveillance power, but the surveillance of Michael Morell must be especially careful, and we need to be cautious and careful not to attract the attention of the CIA.”

“Yes, Your Grace.”

“Also…”

Baron looked at Nigel Incester and said:

“I need more intelligence support from Alex, and I need to obtain listening records related to this matter…”

The “Alex” he was referring to was the current head of MI6, Alex Younger. He had a close relationship with Nigel, and Baron had helped him to take on his current position.

However, although Alex Younger would provide them with some intelligence, he did not open up the entire MI6 intelligence network to them.

Now that Baron needed more specific intelligence, he needed Nigel to come forward and persuade him.

“Okay.”

Nigel Incester sighed slightly and said to Baron:

“I will talk to him, Your Grace.”

Chapter 935: CSIB

“This is where the taste of war is,”

A Chinook transport helicopter landed in the town, and a dozen white men in military uniforms stepped out.

However, there were no unit insignias on their uniforms.

They were currently in a small town in the northern Daraa Governorate of Syria, where the Syrian opposition had set up a training camp.

Since the outbreak of the Arab Spring in 2011, influenced by it (and of course, with a lot of CIA behind-the-scenes pushing), conflict had erupted within Syria.

From March 2011 to July 2012, the situation in Syria mainly consisted of anti-government protests and the resulting suppression.

Influenced by the Arab Spring and instigated by some external forces, Syrian people began to hold anti-government demonstrations in various places, demanding that Assad step down.

After that, as the scale of these actions expanded, the government forces used violence to suppress them, resulting in a continuous increase in casualties.

Some soldiers and civilians took up (obtained) arms and formed the Free Syrian Army to confront the government forces.

Since July of last year, with the support of relevant forces, the conflict in Syria has escalated and begun to evolve into a civil war.

The Syrian opposition began to occupy some cities and regions, engaging in fierce battles with the government forces.

At the same time, some extremist organizations, such as the al-Nusra Front (which later became ISIS), also joined the battlefield, trying to establish their own spheres of influence.

Foreign countries and organizations also began to support different warring parties, such as the United States, Turkey, and Saudi Arabia supporting the opposition; while Russia, Iran, and Hezbollah in Lebanon supported the government forces.

The Syrian civil war has essentially become a proxy war.

This time, Protector Military Services Company received orders from the United States and Saudi Arabia, requiring them to send “instructor teams” to a training camp of the Syrian opposition to help them conduct military training for newly recruited militants.

The amount of this order was still satisfactory enough – after all, unlike the “security missions” in Iraq and Afghanistan, this time they were closer to the front lines of the war…

And these “mercenaries” would not be protected by the Geneva Conventions.

This time, the teaching team sent by Protector Military Services Company to Syria was entirely composed of retired soldiers from Britain and other NATO countries – after all, in the Middle East, the appearance of “locals from Caulo” would be very conspicuous.

In addition to this, the military factory in Caulo also received some orders for weapons and ammunition to be shipped to Syria, some of which had already arrived, and the rest were on their way at sea.

The reason they were able to obtain this part of the order, mainly for small arms and ammunition, was because the price was relatively lower. As for how much of the funds allocated by the United States and Saudi Arabia the “Smith Commissioners” could take, that was not their concern…

In March of this year, the Free Syrian Army launched an offensive in the Daraa Governorate to seize strategically important border areas.

In this campaign, the opposition captured several military bases and towns.

However, according to relevant intelligence, the government forces will launch a counter-offensive in the near future, so the anti-government armed forces need to obtain personnel and ammunition replenishment before that – after all, they also suffered considerable losses in the previous offensive.

And the arrival of these Protector Military Services Company “instructor teams” was to train their personnel.

In addition to this, they will also cooperate with NATO intelligence organizations, including the CIA and MI6, to organize small-scale special operations.

…

In fact, many extremist organizations in Africa have more or less connections with extremist organizations in the Middle East.

For example, the previous offensive against anti-government armed forces in Mali, organizations such as “Ansar Dine” were developed from extremist organizations that had fled from Libya.

So far, after France’s “Operation Serval,” most of the anti-government armed forces in Mali have been eliminated.

But at this time, the situation in Mali has undergone subtle changes.

When French troops entered Mali to conduct “anti-terrorism operations,” they promised that French troops would not be stationed in Mali for a long time.

But now that most of the anti-government armed forces have been eliminated, and the “African Union” peacekeeping mission, including Caulo, Niger, and Burkina Faso, has withdrawn from Mali, France has been slow to announce the end of “Operation Serval,” so thousands of French soldiers remain in Mali, carrying out “operations to clear the remaining anti-government forces.”

However, it is already clear to everyone that the French are just using this as an excuse to stay in Mali.

According to relevant intelligence, representatives from the French side have even hinted to the President of Mali in private conversations that maintaining the presence of French troops in Mali is conducive to the Malian government controlling the domestic situation…

It can be said that this has become “the dagger is revealed,” France’s intention is still to maintain its presence in Mali.

Although the peacekeeping forces of the Caulo Legion have withdrawn from Mali, they still have cooperation with the Malian government army – the Malian government army purchased some of the individual weapons and equipment produced by Caulo in the form of loans, and Caulo provided corresponding training to the Malian government army.

At the same time, according to information obtained by their intelligence agencies, some of the remaining anti-government armed forces in Mali are suspected of having received some funding and weapons support…

If the interests are taken into account, the French side is suspected of “nurturing bandits to maintain their importance” at the end of “Operation Serval.”

The Caulo Security Intelligence Bureau (CSIB) is Caulo’s only intelligence agency, nominally directly serving the President of Caulo…

In fact, the director of the Caulo Security Intelligence Bureau is nominated by the Caulo Development and Reform Research Center and appointed by the President.

As for the Caulo Development and Reform Research Center, its predecessor was the Anglo-African Institute established by Barron in London, and its members are experts in various fields hired by his think tank – in short, this is an institution for Barron to formulate development plans for Caulo, and Caulo’s important policies and regulations are formulated by the Caulo Development and Reform Research Center.

Therefore, in fact, the CSIB (Caulo Security Intelligence Bureau) is directly led by Barron’s intelligence advisor, Nigel Incester, and its directors are all his people.

As for the President of Caulo, he can receive intelligence briefings provided by the CSIB, but most of the content is filtered – domestic intelligence in Caulo will be more detailed, but their foreign intelligence will only provide “what the President should know within the scope of his duties”…

The CSIB’s foreign intelligence is mainly aimed at the African region – after all, although the CSIB has absorbed some other races, it is still mainly composed of black people, so their ability to obtain intelligence from countries outside Africa is insufficient (except for multi-racial countries such as France)…

In fact, there is not much need for the CSIB to obtain intelligence from countries outside Africa, after all, Barron has his own intelligence forces for those regions, and can also obtain intelligence support through MI6.

Chapter 936: A Blockbuster Acquisition

In early August, the blockbuster acquisition in the American entertainment media industry was finally announced.

On August 4th, American time, The Walt Disney Company announced that it would acquire 21st Century Fox Group, after the divestiture of some of its businesses, for a price of 45 billion U.S. dollars.

According to media reports, Disney will also assume approximately 10.5 billion U.S. dollars in Fox’s debt, so the total transaction price will be as high as 55.5 billion U.S. dollars!

The 21st Century Fox businesses acquired by Disney include:

20th Century Fox’s film and television program production departments, entertainment content cable television networks, and international television businesses; IPs such as Avatar and The Simpsons, and platforms such as FX cable network and National Geographic will all be brought under Disney’s umbrella…

There are also Fox’s shares in Hulu, which is competing with Netflix, and Star TV in India, etc…

Disney said the acquisition would greatly enhance its ability to provide content and entertainment choices to consumers around the world.

At the same time, some businesses of 21st Century Fox Group will be divested and not sold.

These include Fox Broadcasting Network, Fox News and Business Channels, and the sports information website Big Ten Network, which will be acquired by the Murdoch family and other existing shareholders of 21st Century Fox Group.

Tribune Media has already been acquired by Sinclair Broadcast Group.

The above businesses directly overlap with Disney’s existing ABC Broadcasting Network and ESPN sports.

In addition, Sky TV, wholly owned by 21st Century Fox, has also been put on the shelves, and several media groups are bidding for it.

According to the agreement reached between Disney and 21st Century Fox Group, the transaction will be conducted through a stock swap, with each share of Fox being exchanged for 0.2735 shares of Disney stock. This price is based on Disney’s stock price over the past 30 days.

In addition, Disney will assume Fox’s 10.3 billion U.S. dollars in debt.

After Disney acquires Fox, the “Big Seven” of Hollywood will become the “Big Six” – the other five being Marvel-MGM, NBCUniversal, Time Warner, Sony Columbia, and Viacom Paramount.

After the merger of Disney and 21st Century Fox, it will become a behemoth among them.

In fact, in the original timeline, because the “phone hacking scandal” broke out later, and after that, because Barron’s appearance did not seize part of the Premier League broadcasting rights, the strength of Sky TV did not decline…

Therefore, the British government has been delaying Murdoch’s intention to acquire the remaining 61% stake in Sky TV. Later, in the bidding for this part of the shares, Fox lost to Comcast Group.

But now, although Murdoch is still caught in the trouble of the “phone hacking scandal,” it can be regarded as a blessing in disguise. In their subsequent acquisition of Sky TV, because the strength of this TV station was weakened, the British government and Barron did not interfere too much, allowing 21st Century Fox to complete the acquisition of Sky TV for 15 billion U.S. dollars.

When 21st Century Fox was willing to put Sky TV on the shelves, Comcast Group once again began to pursue this TV station.

Prior to this, among the several media groups bidding for Sky TV, Comcast Group’s offer of 28 billion U.S. dollars was the highest.

Just when everyone thought that Comcast Group would finally be able to get its wish and bring Sky TV into its pocket, a threatening competitor appeared…

On August 5th, IC Capital’s CEO Ivanka announced that they would also join the battle for Sky TV and had submitted an acquisition offer to 21st Century Fox - their offer for Sky TV was 28.5 billion U.S. dollars, higher than Comcast Group’s previous offer.

This once again focused the attention of the media and the public on the acquisition of Sky TV. After all, no one would want to miss the excitement of two American companies “fighting” for a European TV station.

Regarding IC Capital’s sudden entry, the chairman of Comcast Group once bluntly said:

“IC Capital is just a spoiler. They are an investment company and will not provide any help to the development of Sky TV…”

In response, Ivanka also retorted in an interview:

“We are the largest shareholder of Sinclair Broadcast Group, the second largest television network in the United States. We also have experience in operating television stations and have the advantage of capital. As for Comcast, they are too old, and those outdated experiences are not suitable for the development of television stations now…”

In any case, this kind of back-and-forth rhetoric is just a competition of volume. Ultimately, the decisive factor is their offer, and currently, IC Capital has an advantage in terms of price. Whether Comcast Group will follow up with IC Capital’s offer of 28.5 billion U.S. dollars… still needs to be discussed.

To this end, Comcast Group specifically convened a board meeting to vote on the acquisition of Sky TV.

As for the seller, 21st Century Fox, they have now decided to sell their business, so what they value most is naturally the final offer - the highest bidder wins.

It is said that even if Comcast Group offered a good price, News Corporation was still somewhat hesitant about selling Sky TV - they also planned to keep Sky TV.

However, starting in June of this year, Murdoch became embroiled in a divorce lawsuit with Deng Wendi.

This incident also dealt a heavy blow to Murdoch, who was already 82 years old, and ultimately decided to sell most of 21st Century Fox Group’s assets.

In the eyes of the public, this matter happened somewhat suddenly…

On June 13th, Murdoch filed for divorce from his third wife, Deng Wendi, in the New York Manhattan Court - and in less than two weeks, it would be their 14th wedding anniversary.

As soon as the news came out, it immediately became the headline news on the entertainment pages of major media around the world.

The sensational yacht wedding of the two in New York that year is still vivid in people’s minds: Deng Wendi held a bouquet of white flowers, sweetly nestled beside Murdoch, and Murdoch embraced the beauty’s waist with a happy face…

The next day, Murdoch’s spokesman, Steven Rubenstein, confirmed Murdoch’s divorce filing to the media and revealed that the original sentence in the application document was: “Murdoch and Deng Wendi’s relationship has irretrievably broken down.”

Although negative news about the two people’s marriage has been reported from time to time, when the public recalls the “phone hacking scandal” that News Corporation was deeply involved in in Britain, when Murdoch attended a hearing in the British Parliament and was attacked by a comedian, the “tiger wife” Deng Wendi bravely protected her husband and slapped the attacker… This made the divorce incident a surprise to people.

The world still remembers the touching scene of Deng Wendi holding Murdoch’s hand tightly in the car after attending the hearing. No one could have imagined that the marriage of the two would fall to the “irretrievable” situation of today.

Even more exaggerated is that Murdoch’s sudden divorce request not only surprised onlookers, but even the person involved, Deng Wendi, said that she was kept in the dark and had no prior knowledge of it.

After this matter was exposed, it was rumored that Deng Wendi tried to meet with Murdoch but was turned away. She said that she needed to discuss it properly, but Murdoch resolutely refused to meet and declared: everything is over.

According to a friend of Deng Wendi’s, who revealed to the media, even Deng Wendi herself only learned the truth about the divorce afterwards:

“She (Deng Wendi) told me that she had no idea they were going to get divorced. She did not deny that there were no major conflicts between the two, but she did not expect Rupert to make the problem public and directly declare that the marriage was a huge mistake.”

It is conceivable that just a moment ago, they were a sweet and loving couple, and the next moment they were suddenly told to divorce. The emotional contrast was so great that it was really difficult to accept.

Chapter 937: Decisiveness

It could be said that although this divorce looked like Rupert Murdoch launched a “surprise attack” on Wendi Deng, he himself considered himself a victim.

As everyone knows, the reason for their divorce was Wendi Deng’s affair with former British Prime Minister Tony Blair.

“Everyone was talking about Wendi Deng and Blair’s relationship, but I was the last to know. Later, I learned two facts from the ranch that were enough to confirm it.”

This is what Murdoch said later in an interview with Fortune magazine when talking about the divorce.

It is said that before this, news about Wendi Deng’s infidelity had reached Murdoch’s ears more than once. Before that, he always chose to believe his wife.

Until one day, Wendi Deng mistakenly sent an email, a blatant “love letter” she wrote to Blair, to the mailbox of a News Corporation employee…

“Oh my god! Why do I miss you (Blair) so much? You are so charming, well-dressed, in perfect shape, and even your butt is great…”

Such straightforward and cheesy words probably stunned that employee when they saw this email from the “boss’s wife,” especially since it was supposed to be sent to Blair…

So, after hesitating for two days, this employee forwarded the email to Murdoch himself.

Murdoch was in Australia when he received this news. Then he personally went to the California ranch to investigate. The ranch’s servants confirmed that Blair and Wendi Deng had met secretly there many times, even feeding each other food.

Clearly, this had gone beyond the scope of ordinary work or friendship.

Even worse, Blair entered Wendi Deng’s bedroom and closed the door.

So Murdoch finally made a decision and decisively ended the marriage…

It is worth mentioning that because Murdoch and Wendi Deng had a prenuptial agreement, and supplemented it with postnuptial agreements in 2002 and 2004, Wendi Deng could only get some breakup fees in this divorce battle. She basically could not get her hands on News Corporation’s shares, nor could she become a beneficiary of the Murdoch family trust fund.

However, the two daughters she bore for Murdoch became beneficiaries of the Murdoch family trust fund, and could receive corresponding dividends from the sale of many assets this time…

This goes to show that Wendi Deng’s success was not accidental - she was ruthless to herself.

After Murdoch met Wendi Deng, he quickly proposed a divorce to his second wife, just like this time, it was still a decisive decision.

At that time, his second wife, Anna, proposed a harsh condition before the divorce -

That is, after Murdoch’s death, Wendi Deng would have no right to inherit any property unless the woman had children after marriage.

It should be known that Murdoch was already 68 years old at the time and suffered from prostate cancer, and had no normal fertility.

But Wendi Deng successfully gave birth to two daughters for Murdoch…

She used Murdoch’s previously frozen “seeds” and used high-tech in vitro fertilization to successfully give birth to two daughters, which also consolidated her position.

It can be said that this divorce of Murdoch, although he was very decisive, also had an impact on him, thus becoming the main reason for his final decision to sell many assets, including Sky TV.

As for Comcast, their board of directors, after finally evaluating IC Capital’s offer and the other party’s determination to compete, finally decided not to raise the price…

This also means that IC Capital has become the highest bidder among the current competitors for Sky TV, and has the greatest possibility of winning Sky TV.

…

“My dear princess, your skills are getting better and better.”

Baron’s words were full of praise.

Recently, Catherine has become fond of studying musical instruments. It must be said that she is quite talented in this area.

At this moment, she is playing seriously, blowing, plucking, and singing, all with a unique charm.

In the next room, several nannies are watching on the side, watching the children playing and frolicking. Among them is Princess Catherine’s son, the “Cambridge Prince” George, who is not yet one year old. At this time, he is lying in the cradle, waving his hands and babbling to the surrounding children. The children occasionally tease him with toys, watching him laugh.

Because Prince William recently went overseas to participate in the British Navy’s foreign exchange activities, Prince George is not yet one year old, so Princess Catherine stayed at Kensington Palace in London to take care of her young son and did not go with him…

Since this is the case, as the little prince’s godfather, Baron has not forgotten to fulfill his responsibilities. He also has children at home who are slightly older than George, and can occasionally invite Catherine to bring her children to his home as guests.

In addition to Baron deepening his relationship with Prince George, he also takes the time to appreciate Princess Catherine’s artistic attainments.

Especially from the perspective of the audience, he gives her some suggestions, which Princess Catherine can humbly accept.

Just like now…

At this time, Baron likes to feel the princess’s skills of “pushing, pulling, plucking, and singing,” standing in front of the window, admiring the scenery in the yard…

After all, in Baron’s mansion, the scenery in the yard has been carefully designed by designers, and the current season is also the most unique time for the scenery in this yard…

——

Reason 404, skipped——

…

On August 15th, after many discussions and the British side’s measures of threatening, the European Union finally reluctantly agreed to increase the subsidy for the upcoming High Speed 2 railway line from the EU High-Speed Railway Special Fund from the initial 1 billion euros they proposed to 1.85 billion euros…

This also means that, according to the previous agreement between British First Railway Group and the government, the British government will have to take out 650 million euros from the government budget to supplement it, in order to complete their promised total subsidy of 2.5 billion euros.

Also on this day, British First Railway Group, led by Amber Sheen, finally reached an agreement with Eversholt Rail Group, one of the three major railway vehicle leasing companies in the UK, to complete the acquisition of the company for 2.3 billion euros.

After that, Eversholt Rail Group will be merged into British First Railway Group, making it one of the largest railway operating companies in the UK.

It was mentioned before that Eversholt Rail Group leases the trains it owns to various railway operating companies to obtain income. In Baron’s previous life, Li Ka-shing’s company acquired it for 2.5 billion pounds not long after.

Regardless of Li Ka-shing’s character, it must be admitted that his vision is still good…

Of course, Baron’s acquisition of Eversholt Rail Group through British First Railway Group is not only for asset appreciation, but also to gain relevant train management experience through this acquisition, and use Eversholt as a basis to provide train management for the future British High Speed 2 railway line.

Chapter 938: Dissonance?

“We have already contacted five Chinese railway construction groups, and they are all eagerly hoping to join the construction of the High Speed 2 project…”

After completing the acquisition of Eversholt Rail Group, Annabel Sheen’s current task is to integrate it into British Rail First Group, so that various businesses can be streamlined to form synergy.

However, Annabel Sheen had carried out countless mergers and acquisitions before, so she can be said to be very experienced in these matters.

In addition, there is the matter of the bidding process for the British High Speed 2 project.

When she went to China before, Annabel Sheen had contacted some relevant engineering companies in China, including China Railway Construction, China Railway, China Water Resources and Hydropower Construction Group Corporation, and China Communications Construction Company, which had undertaken the Beijing-Shanghai high-speed railway…

In addition, China Guangzhou-Shenzhen Railway Company and MTR Corporation are also very interested in this project.

“After we returned to London, the Chinese side also sent a team of considerable size to contact us. The officials leading the team even promised that if we could sign a package agreement with them for the entire project, including trains and other equipment, then the Chinese side could provide us with interest-free loans covering the entire investment amount…”

It must be said that the conditions proposed by China are very attractive.

Unlike most Westerners at this time, Barron is very confident in China’s current strength in high-speed rail construction.

If the plan proposed by the Chinese side is followed, not only can the construction of High Speed 2 be completed with guaranteed quality and quantity and at the fastest speed, but Barron does not even need to bear the financial pressure.

But as the saying goes, “A man in the arena has no choice”…

To be precise, Barron now owns the world’s largest rail transport group, Alstom-Bombardier Heavy Industries Group, so it is impossible to hand over the high-speed rail trains and related equipment and systems to Chinese companies.

Moreover, some requirements of the British government also need to be appropriately met, so in the entire High Speed 2 project, some soup needs to be left for the local small and medium-sized enterprises in Britain.

“Loans from China are naturally the more the better, but on the HS2 project, we can only hand over part of the project to Chinese companies, and we also need to consider orders from our own related companies…”

Annabel Sheen naturally knew this well, and he nodded and said:

“In fact, the Chinese are not greedy. They also understand some of our considerations. Therefore, if most of the railway engineering and high-speed rail station construction projects can be handed over to them, then they promise to provide loans of no less than 80% of the total investment…”

“Then continue to talk to them, and tell the Chinese that we will be constructing the entire section of HS2 simultaneously, hoping to complete it as quickly as possible. In the upcoming project bidding, I hope they will come up with the best conditions…”

Barron’s words almost implied that if the conditions were similar, he would choose to cooperate with the Chinese side.

“But Your Grace, if you really decide to cooperate with the Chinese side, then some additional resistance needs to be overcome…”

This is Annabel Sheen’s attempt to prepare Barron, after all, in this field, China is a “new player” in the global market, and the entry of new players is always accompanied by a lot of dissonance.

The so-called dissonance is nothing more than voices based on interests.

Just like in the original timeline, when the Chinese side hoped to participate in the High Speed 2 project, even the United States publicly declared that it would affect Britain’s “national security”…

In response, the British side could only say “There is no risk of high-speed rail being eavesdropped”…

Of course, the United States itself does not have very strong strength in high-speed rail technology, but Europe does. If it is really decided to cooperate with the Chinese side, there will inevitably be a lot of this kind of dissonance within the European Union alone.

Even within Britain, there will be a lot of dissonance.

But Barron doesn’t care about this, and this dissonance will not have a big impact on him - since he has decided to take over the High Speed 2 project, compared with avoiding this project becoming the “joke” of his previous life, this little bit of dissonance is really nothing.

Moreover, as Barron said, he is preparing to start construction on the entire line of High Speed 2 at the same time - this will definitely greatly speed up the progress of the project.

In the original timeline, limited by the British government’s financial situation, coupled with the fact that they are no longer the former industrial hegemon, the dispatch and management of such large projects is indeed stretched, so High Speed 2 was divided into two stages of construction…

The first phase was the construction of a high-speed rail line from London to Birmingham, and even this had not been completed before Barron was reborn…

If he can obtain loans from the Chinese side to solve most of the project investment, then Barron can completely carry out simultaneous construction on the entire route.

This is really “time is money”. On the one hand, the currency will continue to depreciate, and the corresponding increase in raw materials and labor will inevitably lead to an expansion of the total investment if the time is delayed.

On the other hand, the sooner it is completed, the sooner it can start operating and making profits…

Looking at it this way, cooperating with the Chinese side is not only about the financial support they provide, but also the efficiency of the other party is a very important factor.

Of course, the resistance of some local people to High Speed 2 cannot be ignored.

The main reasons for this are nothing more than that the houses are too close to the high-speed rail line, which is considered to be disturbing the people; and considerations for environmental protection and cultural relic protection.

Barron has already made preparations for this.

Those private lands and houses involved are actually relatively easy to solve - just buy them.

As for saying that it is your ancestral property and you don’t want to sell it?

Well, in climates like Britain, in August and September, the weather is dry and things are easily flammable, it is normal for a fire to occur.

As for those animal protection and environmental protection organizations?

To put it bluntly, they can still jump up and down when facing the British government.

But when facing powerful figures like Barron…

Then you can only be polite first and then use force.

Put the black material of the leaders of those organizations in front of them, and then a check. Choose, do you want to leave with dignity, or do I give you dignity.

Speaking of which, there are not even any hard bones among these people, and there is no need to use the method of shooting yourself eight times in the back to commit suicide…

In this way, what was originally the most headache for the British government, British Rail First Group completed the route planning and land acquisition in less than two months after taking over, and began to prepare for project bidding.

Chapter 939: Whether to Join

“Although GlaxoSmithKline is currently facing a major crisis, it is not fatal to its core business. We believe that the most important thing for GlaxoSmithKline now is to re-plan its strategy, especially in balancing stable businesses such as vaccines, over-the-counter drugs, and consumer healthcare products with specialized drug businesses such as oncology and respiratory systems, which have long research and development cycles and require huge investments…”

During the short-selling of GlaxoSmithKline, Barron specifically requested his think tank to study the current situation of GlaxoSmithKline and ultimately provide him with relevant information on the company’s future development.

In fact, he has not yet made a final decision on whether to deeply participate in this company.

Even with the current sharp drop in stock price, GlaxoSmithKline’s market value is still over $80 billion. To have an impact on such a large pharmaceutical giant, a huge investment is necessary.

Furthermore, as GlaxoSmithKline slowly falls behind and its market value drops out of the top 10 global pharmaceutical companies, Barron needs to find out the reasons for this and determine whether it is possible to avoid such a situation through adjustments.

It should be known that the pharmaceutical industry has long cycles.

Although a blockbuster product may drive a company’s market value to soar (such as the very well-known blue pill for Pfizer), it is not so easy for an established pharmaceutical giant with mature technology, pipelines, and commercialization teams to see its market value plummet.

If it really falls behind, the hidden dangers are likely to have been buried many years ago.

Therefore, GlaxoSmithKline must have had problems with its corporate strategy later on.

Of course, even though Barron didn’t know too much about pharmaceutical companies in his previous life, there is one thing he can still deduce.

For example, one of GlaxoSmithKline’s main businesses is vaccines. It used to be the “King of Vaccines,” but during the global pandemic that occurred before his rebirth, Pfizer regained its position in the top 2 in market value due to its corresponding vaccine business, but GlaxoSmithKline missed that opportunity, which is evident.

Ten years ago, in 2003, GlaxoSmithKline’s market value ranked third among pharmaceutical companies, second only to Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson.

But before this incident, its market value had already ranked sixth.

In another ten years, GlaxoSmithKline’s market value will even fall outside the top 15 globally…

Of course, when it comes to GlaxoSmithKline’s strategy, we need to mention the company’s CEO.

Before that, the first CEO after the merger of Glaxo Wellcome and SmithKline Beecham was Garnier, and it can be said that he made a great contribution to GlaxoSmithKline.

Under Garnier’s leadership, the two companies, which were huge, complex, and had different cultures and businesses, were successfully and seamlessly integrated.

During his tenure, GlaxoSmithKline has always been firmly in the top three in global market value. Garnier planned a more effective marketing strategy for GlaxoSmithKline, optimized the pipeline of drugs on the market and in development, and ensured that more than 30 new products entered the late stages of development, laying a good foundation.

Then, in 2008, Garnier retired successfully and handed over power to his successor, Andrew Witty.

A few years after Andrew Witty took over, GlaxoSmithKline faced two relatively large external shocks in succession:

One was the American healthcare fraud case in 2012; the other was the bribery case in the Chinese market that had just broken out.

It can be said that he was unlucky, but similarly, as mentioned earlier, many things had been gradually accumulating before they broke out.

“Currently, Andrew Witty’s strategic decisions seem to be different from his predecessor’s. In his opinion, compared to stable businesses such as vaccines, over-the-counter drugs, and even consumer healthcare products, oncology drug research and development has a long cycle, requires a lot of investment, and has a high failure rate, so it is not a good business…”

This is the judgment of GlaxoSmithKline’s current CEO in the information Barron has.

Moreover, according to information obtained from certain channels, Andrew Witty seems to intend to sell or swap all of GlaxoSmithKline’s listed oncology drug assets in order to obtain vaccines, over-the-counter drugs, and other assets that they are more interested in…

Therefore, what is now in front of Barron is how to adjust to avoid the decline in its business if he intervenes in GlaxoSmithKline.

“The good news is that we have made a profit of more than $8 billion from shorting GlaxoSmithKline. If we reinvest this money in the company’s stock, we can get a shareholding ratio of about 8.5% or more…”

Daisy shrugged and said to Barron:

“In fact, some small and medium-sized institutional shareholders are already intending to clear their holdings in GlaxoSmithKline. Of course, there are always investors who hope that the situation can be reversed, but obviously that is not a wise idea…”

“So what are the ideas of those major shareholders now?”

As a company listed on the US stock market, Barron was not surprised to see the names of Vanguard Group, BlackRock Group, State Street Group, and other institutions among GlaxoSmithKline’s shareholders. After all, as mentioned earlier, given the scale of assets managed by these groups, they would inevitably invest heavily in stocks with high market capitalization, especially those that are components of stock indexes.

In fact, ETF funds under Standard Chartered-Merrill Lynch Group also held a lot of GlaxoSmithKline stock before, and even when Barron and his team were shorting the company, they did not reduce this shareholding.

After all, there is such a thing as a stock index ETF fund, which invests in stocks according to the weight ratio of the components of each stock index.

“Them?”

Daisy took a sip of coffee, pursed her lips, and put the coffee on the table, saying:

“Some of them have reduced their holdings in GlaxoSmithKline, including Vanguard Group and BlackRock Group, but they are still on the list of the top ten shareholders of GlaxoSmithKline, with shareholding ratios slightly below 5%…”

“Then temporarily keep our shareholding at that ratio as well.”

“Are you planning to…”

“Let’s wait and see for now. I need to find a key to unlock the puzzle.”

Barron is already the largest single shareholder of Pfizer. If he then massively intervenes in GlaxoSmithKline…

Then perhaps he can make some adjustments to the asset integration between the two companies, so that both can focus more on their own core businesses.

However, these are not things that Barron can clearly judge now. He still needs to do more research.

Chapter 940: Most Charming

“Once, East London was full of light industrial areas, but with the development of London, the factories and warehouses here have gradually been abandoned. Now, however, it has become a gathering place for technology, digital, and creative enterprises. It houses the European headquarters and incubation centers of globally renowned technology companies such as Woaw, Google, and Microsoft, as well as many vibrant start-ups…”

On August 20th, the British Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, Jo Harriman, held a press conference at London Tech City, announcing that the government would establish a special investment fund aimed at promoting technological innovation. This year, the fund would invest 600 million pounds to vigorously develop areas such as big data technology, synthetic biotechnology, space technology, robotics, new materials, and energy technology, and invest in start-up companies in these fields.

“Britain needs to maintain its global competitiveness, and the primary way to do that is to value the development of new technologies. We have already fallen behind in many areas, which is the result of past negligence. We should not allow this situation to happen again…”

It must be said that as a former well-known British host, after entering politics and now becoming the youngest member of the cabinet, the graceful and beautiful Jo Harriman is still very eye-catching.

Moreover, she is decisive and efficient, and has always had a considerable number of supporters. It is worth mentioning that as a representative of independent women in the new era, and having previously served as the Minister for Women and Equalities, constantly advocating for the protection of women’s rights, a large proportion of Jo Harriman’s supporters are young women.

Now, as the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, Jo Harriman naturally needs to achieve results within her responsibilities.

For example, not long ago, she personally led a delegation to the United States and China, inviting some well-known IT companies from the two countries to settle in London Tech City.

Speaking of which, due to Barron’s promotion, London Tech City is developing earlier than in the original timeline, and has received a large amount of funding.

In addition, the success of Woaw Technology has driven many young people to start internet businesses in London, rather than just going to Silicon Valley…

These changes have made Britain the most active in Europe in terms of internet development. It can be said that technology companies hoping to gain access to the European market are now primarily focusing on Britain.

Many European headquarters of multinational IT companies are located in London.

After all, although Britain is an island nation separated from the mainland by the sea, its connection with France is still very convenient due to the existence of the Channel Tunnel.

Moreover, Britain’s network infrastructure has been actively developing.

Another point is that Britain’s special effects technology is also very good. Previously, due to lower costs, many Hollywood film companies chose to carry out post-production special effects here.

Similarly, some game companies also choose to outsource related businesses here.

Currently, China is developing extremely rapidly in the production of domestic games, and some leading game companies have also begun to try to expand into overseas markets.

When Jo Harriman led a team to visit China, attracting investment from game companies was also one of her main goals.

Currently, some well-known Chinese game companies, including Tencent, NetEase, and Perfect World, have also begun to establish branches in London…

…

“Of course, I won’t directly choose a Chinese company as a partner, Prime Minister…”

Now, whether it is Cameron or Barron, what they may be most concerned about is the British High Speed 2 railway line, after all, this is a “super project” involving tens of billions of investment…

In this meeting, Barron directly said to Cameron:

“Regarding the selection of partners for this project, we will complete it through completely fair competition.”

“I hope so too, Your Grace, because not only British domestic companies, but also some engineering companies from Italy and France are very enthusiastic about this project.”

Barron shook his head and smiled at Cameron:

“Frankly, I’m afraid they will all be disappointed. You know, the Chinese company told me that they can reduce the budget cost to half of the original when they come to build the HS2 project! How do you think other European companies can compete with them?”

“But we can’t just look at the price, quality is the most important thing. If something goes wrong, Your Grace, you and I will be unable to bear it.”

“Of course I understand this, but I am not worried about the quality at all. I have taken their Beijing-Shanghai high-speed railway in China. To be honest, in terms of experience, it is the most comfortable and quiet high-speed railway I have ever taken. You should try it next time.”

Although compared with the budget given by the British side, the price quoted by the Chinese railway construction company for undertaking this project surprised Cameron…

But considering that the total mileage of the entire British High Speed 2 railway line is less than half of the Beijing-Shanghai high-speed railway, and the construction difficulty is smaller - the construction cost of the Beijing-Shanghai high-speed railway is less than 12 billion pounds, it can be understood.

Of course, building such a high-speed railway in Britain cannot be simply compared in terms of cost.

After all, even if a Chinese company undertakes this project, some of its subcontractors will need the participation of relevant British companies. In addition, considering factors such as local British prices and working hours, the construction cost will inevitably be much higher than in China.

But even so, the Chinese side can still reduce the total construction cost of the High Speed 2 railway line by about half, which is also one of the main reasons why Barron hopes to cooperate with them.

Of course, just as Barron said to Cameron, the entire bidding process will be fair and just.

It’s just that those construction companies from European countries such as France and Italy, and even Britain’s own, if they want to compete with the Chinese side, they should offer competitive conditions…

“Yes, Uncle Hollande has proposed hoping to help the French National Railway Company participate in this competition…”

Just like Ashley Webber said when she called Barron:

“But I told him bluntly not to have too high expectations. After all, Alstom-Bombardier Heavy Industries Group will receive most of the orders for the trains and related systems for this high-speed railway, so it is impossible to be biased towards French companies in terms of construction projects.”

Currently, in addition to the consortium composed of Chinese companies such as China Railway and China Railway Construction, China Guangzhou-Shenzhen Railway Company and MTR have also formed a consortium to bid for the area from London High Speed Rail Station to Heathrow Airport.

Other competitors include a consortium formed by the Italian State Railway Company and the British Virgin Group; a consortium formed by the French National Railway Company, etc.

Well, this time the Japanese company did not participate in the competition.

Chapter 941: Development

At the end of August, President Thomas Kabore of Kolo once again visited Nigeria. In Lagos, Nigeria’s largest city, Kabore and Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan signed a comprehensive cooperation agreement between the two countries.

Accompanying Kabore on this visit was Ramesh Serrano, CEO of the West Africa Group. In this cooperation agreement, the West Africa Group will also make large-scale investments in Nigeria.

After all, Nigeria, as the largest market in West Africa and even Africa, with the largest population, is extremely attractive to the West Africa Group.

As early as the beginning of this year, the West Africa United Energy Company, jointly established by the West Africa Group and United Energy Group in West Africa, had already taken over the oil shares of Total, ENI and other oil companies in Nigeria. Due to the increasingly chaotic situation in the Niger Delta region, these oil companies were troubled by the resulting reduction in oil production from Nigerian oil fields, and therefore began to plan to withdraw from the oil exploration market there.

Now, in the cooperation between the West Africa United Energy Company, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, and Shell Oil, efforts will be focused on rectifying the situation in the Niger Delta.

After all, the Nigerian government itself is unwilling to see such chaos continue, otherwise it will affect not only local oil exploration, but also lead to a sharp decline in the Nigerian government’s revenue. Currently, oil exports are still Nigeria’s main source of income.

Therefore, they will take two approaches to try to resolve the situation in the Niger Delta.

First, the Nigerian government will once again carry out the largest amnesty operation for local anti-government armed forces. The government will increase the local oil revenue sharing, provide jobs for anti-government armed members who lay down their weapons, and compensate for the weapons confiscated.

In addition, after the amnesty, the Nigerian government will cooperate with relevant military companies (Protector Military Service Company) to increase the crackdown on the small number of anti-government armed forces that remain stubborn, and strive to completely restore the peaceful atmosphere in the area.

To this end, Protector Military Service Company has expanded its “security base” in the Niger Delta region, and in addition to the original security personnel, more than 500 armed personnel with rich combat experience have arrived here.

In addition to cooperation in oil, the West Africa Group’s investment in Nigeria this time will also involve agriculture, electricity, telecommunications, finance, processing and manufacturing, and internet technology, with a total investment of more than 100 billion Kolo shillings (approximately 10 billion US dollars).

If you add the investment of other Kolo state-owned and private capital, including the Kolo Industrial Investment Fund, in Nigeria, the total scale will be as high as 200 billion Kolo shillings.

Of course, these investments are not all put in immediately. After all, even if the agreement is signed, whether Nigeria can maintain stable cooperation still needs to be continuously observed. The entire cooperation will be implemented gradually over the next 5 years.

Compared to his predecessor, Jammeh Bongo, Thomas Kabore needs to solve the problem of Kolo product exports during his term.

It can be said that Jammeh Bongo laid the foundation for the development of the new Kolo government. With more than ten years of development, Kolo’s domestic manufacturing industry has also made some progress, from the initial simple processing of raw materials to the further production and assembly of more complex products.

Kolo’s continued promotion of educational investment has also made it possible to expand the scale of their “high-quality” workers (relative to the entire African region). At present, the scale of manufacturing factories in Kolo has increased dozens or hundreds of times compared to ten years ago. Some chemical products and technological products can now be assembled and processed in Kolo.

Then, in order to maintain the continued development of Kolo’s economy, and not be like Nigeria, where most of the country’s income comes from oil exports, Kolo will inevitably need to expand more overseas markets.

Of course, other places are difficult, but the West African region is the priority for them to develop, especially populous countries like Nigeria.

…

“Yes, the second phase of MediaCity is about to begin. After the completion of the first phase, many media companies have moved in, and now there is a lot of activity there…”

Count Booth. finally returned to London from Asia. What he was talking about with Barron was MediaCity, which was initially led by the BBC and SEM Group, and supported by the British government, and built in Manchester.

At present, the first phase of the MediaCity project has been completed. The BBC is still in the process of migrating some production operations to MediaCity, but SEM Group’s Pinnacle Studio and ITV’s post-production departments have completed their migration to MediaCity.

It can be said that the MediaCity project is the largest-scale construction project that Argent Real Estate Group has undertaken in England since the King’s Cross area renewal project, and Count Booth. naturally attaches great importance to it.

As support, in addition to SEM Group, companies including DailyVedio and YouTube have built their post-production centers in MediaCity to provide support for their own and some professional users’ video production.

Barron also spoke with cabinet members, including Cameron and Joe Harriman, about the development of London.

After all, London is the economic center of England, and it can be said that the eyes of the world are more focused on London in England.

But under such development, England already has an unbalanced trend, and London’s high housing prices and rents are not exactly friendly to the innovative development of some industries.

Therefore, under their plan, they hope to transfer some of London’s industries to the surrounding areas, thereby expanding London’s radiation range and forming a “London 1-hour economic circle.”

This is also the reason why the British government attaches so much importance to High Speed 2, after all, with this high-speed railway line, the scope of the “London 1-hour economic circle” can be greatly expanded, thereby providing a broader blueprint for their development.

In this way, everyone doesn’t always have to focus on London and squeeze into such a central location. If commuting can be completed within 1 hour, then the relocation of some industries is acceptable.

However, even though Barron has greatly advanced the progress of High Speed 2 compared to the original timeline, it will not be possible to complete the full opening and operation of this high-speed railway line in three to five years…

Of course, on the bright side, if the London-Birmingham line, which has the fastest planned construction progress, can be completed and put into operation within three years, then the planning of some functional “satellite towns” around London can already begin…

Chapter 942: Again and Again

“Yes, Comcast has sent people to contact me, hoping that we can give up the acquisition of Sky TV. To this end, they are willing to issue us some additional shares and let us join their board of directors…”

In the phone call, Ivanka said to Barron:

“Of course, I directly rejected them. It seems they are very unhappy.”

“It seems that their relationship with Murdoch is not that close…”

“Of course, since the decision has been made to sell the business, Murdoch, that old fox, won’t refuse to sell it for a higher price. I’m afraid he’s even happy for us to drive up the price for him.”

Barron was slightly surprised that Comcast Group would negotiate directly with Ivanka, but it was also reasonable.

Moreover, their doing so was also to test how determined IC Capital was to acquire Sky TV.

Some things are no longer secrets, such as in America, most media groups are controlled by Jewish people—to be precise, most media groups either have Jewish founders, or the capital behind them is mainly Jewish capital, or their chairman or CEO is Jewish…

Among them, it can be said that the Sinclair Group they invested in before was one of the few media groups controlled by a non-Jewish family—but even so, the shareholding institutions of Sinclair Group before were not without Jewish capital.

As for Comcast Group, it is obviously controlled by a Jewish group. Not only are its three founders Jewish, but its current CEO is also Jewish, and the capital behind it is also mainly Jewish capital.

From here, one can understand the recent split operations of Twenty-First Century Fox by some American capital, including Vanguard Group.

It was because they saw that Murdoch was getting old and had the willingness to sell some of his assets, so these capitals manipulated Disney to acquire these assets—the most powerful person in Disney right now is its Chairman and CEO, Robert Iger, a Jewish man.

However, Disney already owns the sports channel ESPN and does not need the Forum Media Group under Fox, which conflicts with its business.

Therefore, Vanguard Group’s plan was to use Sinclair Group to acquire Forum Media Group—this could achieve two goals: one is to continue to bring Forum Media Group under their control; the other is to use this step to bring this media group, originally controlled by the Sinclair family, into their “media territory,” and incidentally dilute Barron’s shareholding ratio.

It’s just that this plan was disrupted by Barron and Ivanka, causing Vanguard Group to fail to achieve either of its goals and instead be expelled from Sinclair Group.

As for Sky TV owned by Fox, it is naturally acquired by Comcast Group.

In this way, Murdoch sold the business and obtained funds, and the original Twenty-First Century Fox Group is still in the “territory” of these capitals, but it is split into three media groups.

Now it seems that, apart from Disney’s successful acquisition of most of Twenty-First Century Fox’s business (entertainment business), the other two mergers have been disrupted.

IC Capital has once again taken action, intervening in the sale of Sky TV and raising Comcast’s offer of 28 billion dollars to 28.5 billion dollars.

And based on the current situation, it also confirms Barron’s guess—within Jewish capital, it is not a monolithic entity, or rather, the “businessman” attribute of Jewish people themselves determines that their own interests are the most important thing for its composition.

Therefore, with IC Capital’s offer of 28.5 billion dollars, even if Murdoch is willing to accept the plan to sell his own business, he will not “lower the price” and sell Sky TV to Comcast Group for 28 billion dollars.

Just like when Barron controlled Sinclair Group, they offered a higher price and were still able to acquire Forum Media Group…

Some people may ask, since IC Capital can stand up and raise the price, does Comcast Group lack these 500 million dollars?

Of course, Comcast Group does not lack these 500 million dollars, but the problem is, if Comcast continues to raise the price, will IC Capital continue to follow?

In this way, if they want to acquire Sky TV in the end, they will need to offer more than just 500 million dollars higher than the initial offer of 28 billion dollars—since Comcast Group would offer 28 billion dollars to acquire Murdoch’s Sky TV under the coordination of Jewish capital, it means that this price is acceptable to both the buyer and the seller.

Now, if Comcast Group is asked to spend another 500 million, 1 billion, or even 2 billion dollars to buy Sky TV, then they will not accept it so easily.

As mentioned earlier, Comcast Group contacted Ivanka, and it is very likely that it was to test how determined IC Capital, managed by her, was to acquire Sky TV…

Or rather, even if Comcast Group wants to give up, why not help Murdoch raise the price and continue to bid higher?

This is not a game, and IC Capital is not some pushover. Is it necessary for Comcast Group to do this? Not to mention that only Murdoch will benefit from this, once IC Capital stops following at some point, will they be able to acquire it with so much more real money?

This is not just a show. IC Capital, a capital giant of this size, is watching you, and you can’t fool them with just a show.

But no matter what, it is conceivable that Ivanka’s IC Capital has stirred up the “pool” of Twenty-First Century Fox’s sale twice, and is very likely to ultimately disrupt their two plans. I am afraid that even if the other party ultimately accepts this result, they will not be very “calm” about it…

“Next, it depends on how Murdoch chooses. But speaking of which, honey, you also know how those Jewish people act. I will send a security team to you. You should also be careful.”

Hearing Barron’s nervousness and concern, Ivanka was very happy:

“I know, dear. They shouldn’t do anything too extreme, otherwise you wouldn’t let them off… I think those people will at most make trouble in other places.”

What Ivanka said also makes sense. After all, with Barron as her backing, whoever touches Ivanka is naturally an enemy to him. A “dangerous element” like Barron, who has power, force, and money, should be able to keep those people rational.

But even so, it doesn’t hurt to be cautious.

Therefore, on the same day, he asked G4S Group to find the most reliable and capable security team and fly to America.

Chapter 943: Sky Group

On September 5th, The Wall Street Journal, citing sources, reported that the United States Federal Trade Commission (FTC) was handling a complaint related to the Android system.

Android Inc. was accused of using the Android system to promote its other services and pre-install partner apps, in order to suppress competitors.

According to data from market research firm IDC, the Android system currently holds the largest share of the smartphone market in the United States, at 59%, followed by Apple’s iOS at 38%, and Microsoft’s Windows Phone system at only 2.35%.

According to internal sources, the FTC’s investigation is still in its early stages, and it is currently unclear whether the FTC will dedicate significant resources to investigating the matter.

However, the FTC has not yet contacted Android Inc. to inquire about the investigation.

Sources said that some application developers and other online service providers have filed complaints about the Android system, and the FTC recently held discussions with them.

One of the issues the FTC is focusing on is whether Android Inc. is using the Android system to strengthen its leading position in certain application areas.

For example, the Android system has its own search service built in. Smartphone manufacturers can use the Android system for free, but if they want to access the app store and other services to enhance the functionality of Android phones, they must agree to place its search service in a prominent position.

In addition, the Android system also includes applications such as Twitter, Woaw, WoawChat, and YouTube built into the system.

IT companies, including Microsoft and Google, as well as some application developers, have stated that this practice is suspected of unfair competition…

After all, the owner of Android Inc., IC Capital, is also the largest shareholder of Twitter and Woaw Technology.

A coalition of large technology companies, including Microsoft, called FairSearch, stated that Android Inc. has abused its market position and welcomes the FTC’s investigation into Android.

The organization stated: “Android Inc. has adopted a series of strategies that violate the principles of competition, making it more difficult and costly for innovative companies to enter the market.”

The FTC declined to comment on this news.

An FTC spokesperson said: “FTC investigations are not public, and we will not comment on any particular investigation or whether an investigation exists.”

In addition, European Union antitrust officials also stated that they would conduct a relevant investigation into the Android system if necessary.

After this incident broke out, Barron and Ivanka understood that these complaints about Android Inc., in addition to the tactics of competitors such as Microsoft and Google, had more forces colluding behind them…

After all, after IC Capital participated in the counterattack against Vanguard Group’s control of Sinclair Group, and snatched Sky TV from Comcast Group, Jewish capital was bound to react.

Currently, it seems that they have first targeted Android Inc., which is controlled by IC Capital.

Of course, Ivanka is not without countermeasures. The Super PAC she controls, “Fair Vision,” immediately took action, mobilizing some of the congressmen it supports to put pressure on the United States Federal Trade Commission (FTC), demanding that they “act cautiously” in the investigation of Android Inc.

In addition, Android Inc. also issued an announcement explaining some of the accusations.

For example, its search, map and other services are themselves a part of the convenient services provided by the Android system to users, and in these respects, both iOS and WP systems are the same.

In addition, regarding the pre-installation of apps, the mobile phone manufacturers themselves have the corresponding permissions to pre-install them, and the accusations against Android Inc. are simply unreasonable.

On the other hand, Ivanka did not relax her “pursuit” of Sky TV…

After Comcast Group’s board of directors decided not to raise the acquisition price of Sky TV, IC Capital’s team continued to negotiate with Murdoch’s side…

Finally, the two sides reached an agreement on September 13th that IC Capital would complete the acquisition of Sky TV for 28.5 billion US dollars in cash.

The handover between the two sides began from the moment the agreement was reached and would be completed within a month.

To be precise, what IC Capital acquired was not just Sky TV, but Sky Group, but Sky TV was more well-known among them.

Sky Television (BSkyB) is just a subsidiary of Sky Group. Currently, Sky Group’s business covers media (Sky TV), the internet, and telecommunications, among other industries.

After completing the acquisition, IC Capital announced that Remi Dairoch would continue to serve as the CEO of Sky Group after the acquisition, and Ivanka TP would serve as the Chairman of Sky Group.

Remi Dairoch joined Sky Group as Chief Financial Officer in 2004 and was promoted to Chief Executive Officer three years later.

Under his leadership, Sky experienced a period of rapid growth, making the company a European giant.

Since he had done a good job at Sky Group before, Barron and Ivanka were willing to continue to give him a chance, especially after Remi Dairoch met with Ivanka’s representative, Haida Kahn, and expressed his support for IC Capital’s acquisition of Sky Group.

Anyway, if the other party’s performance is not as expected in the future, then they can be replaced…

In fact, Sky Group has long been dissatisfied with the British and Irish markets. In recent years, it has been expanding aggressively in other European countries by merging with local companies, and its market share in Germany, Italy, Austria and other places has steadily increased year by year.

After the acquisition, Ivanka told Remi Dairoch that she would support Sky Group’s expansion in multiple fields and more markets, hoping to increase the number of paid subscribers in Europe from the current less than 20 million to more than 25 million within three years.

And it will also achieve substantial development in the fields of network and new media, telecommunications and other businesses.

Due to the rapid development of streaming media such as YouTube and Netflix in the past two years, Ivanka also hopes that Sky Group will pay attention to the development in the field of streaming media.

Prior to this, Sky Group had its own streaming media platform, but its development was not very good. Ivanka put forward a bold idea, that is, to promote the merger of Sky Group’s streaming media platform with DailyVedio…

It should be known that DailyVedio is backed by SEM Group and O2 Telecom, and was previously a competitor of Sky Group.

But now…

And the most important thing is that if the merger between the two parties is facilitated, it will mean that SEM Group, Sky TV, and even some other small TV stations and content providers will share the platform, which can be said to be of great significance.

“There is a lot of difficulty in this, after all, the other party has the advantage, and our interests are difficult to guarantee…”

Hearing Ivanka’s proposal, Remi Dairoch looked embarrassed, but still said:

“We can communicate with the other party and try it out. If we can reach a cooperation, it will be a good thing for us.”

Of course, the difficulty in this is not small, because although IC Capital is controlled by Barron, all parties also have corresponding interests, and balancing these interests is not so easy.

But if it is completed, then DailyVedio, as the largest streaming media platform in Britain and even Europe, will be able to compete with platforms such as YouTube and Netflix.

Chapter 944: Very Regrettable

The change of hands at Sky Group was a major piece of news in Britain.

After all, although Sky Television’s influence had waned slightly, it was still one of the country’s three major television networks.

However, within Sky Group, this change of “owner” was calmer than people imagined.

Apart from the departure of a few of Murdoch’s direct descendants in the management team, Sky Group’s operations continued as usual, as Remi Darroch retained his position as CEO.

Ivana took advantage of this opportunity to come to London, handling the handover affairs related to Sky Group and also having the opportunity to spend time with Barron.

Barron had stayed at Joe Harriman’s apartment last night. After all, the British people’s beautiful cabinet minister had been working tirelessly for the country’s technological innovation recently, and he certainly had to offer his condolences on her behalf.

It must be said that under the “dual swords combined” of Cabinet Minister Joe Harriman and supermodel Rosie Huntington, the combat effectiveness was still considerable, giving Barron a feeling of “meeting a worthy opponent, encountering a talented general.”

After picking up Ivana, she got into the car, leaned against Barron, sniffed, and then smiled:

“Where are we going?”

Barron noticed the woman’s actions. Well, showering and changing clothes in the morning was very useful. Otherwise, if she smelled the scent of other women, she probably wouldn’t be so gentle.

“Let’s go rest for a bit, baby. I’ve prepared a house especially for you. You can stay there for the next few days.”

“Aren’t we going to see your house?”

Hearing Ivana’s words, Barron understood that the woman was saying this on purpose…

“Where you live is our home, baby.”

…

In mid-September, a team including Chinese officials and representatives from China Railway Corporation, China Railway Construction Corporation, China Railway, and other enterprises arrived in Britain. They would be meeting with Amber Sheen, CEO of British Rail First, to discuss the bidding for the British High-Speed Rail 2 project.

Earlier, British Rail First officially announced the final route plan for High-Speed Rail 2, as well as the project bidding catalog and process.

It is worth mentioning that after the final route plan for High-Speed Rail 2 was announced, British animal protection organizations claimed that the noise during high-speed rail operation would disturb animals’ rest and affect their reproduction, demanding that the high-speed rail must slow down when passing through animal habitats—according to their investigation, there were a total of 350 animal habitats along the route of High-Speed Rail 2…

Then, British Rail First invited the head of the animal protection organization that raised this protest, as well as the animal protection experts they had found, to conduct an investigation on the planned route by helicopter.

However, regrettably, the leaders and experts of these animal protection organizations unfortunately died in a plane crash.

After investigation, the crash was entirely accidental, as the heavy fog on that day affected the helicopter’s flight…

So British Rail First once again invited the newly appointed head of this animal protection organization to continue the investigation—that newly appointed head changed his tune, believing that British Rail First’s technical requirements for high-speed rail ensured that the operation of high-speed trains would not disturb those animals.

In this way, British Rail First finally “regrettably” gave up its efforts to continue inviting the other party to conduct an investigation.

Although a helicopter was “unnecessarily” lost, it was covered by insurance after all…

Moreover, compared to the so-called “trains need to slow down when passing through animal habitats” proposal of those brain-dead animal rights organizations, this loss could only be said to be “a drop in the bucket.”

After all, according to their route plan, it would pass through more than 350 so-called “animal habitats” of all sizes. In that case, why build high-speed rail at all? Just use slow, old trains.

Previously, there were also so-called environmental protection organizations claiming that the exhaust fumes from high-speed trains would pollute the environment—damn it, didn’t you investigate before protesting? High-speed rail uses electricity, it doesn’t burn coal, where does the exhaust come from?

Barron was not used to these freaks and monsters at all. He wasn’t the British government, building high-speed rail with the government budget, willing to waste time with these people. He was spending his own money. Whoever came to cause trouble was his enemy. If you didn’t appreciate the respect given to you, then he would help you appreciate it.

Moreover, in terms of public opinion, not only were SEM Group and Sky Group under his control, either overtly or covertly, but even the BBC, after the previous scandal, the newly appointed president after the resignation of the former BBC president Entwistle also had a good personal relationship with Barron.

As for the British government, because Cameron needed to rely on Barron’s strength to promote the High-Speed Rail 2 project as soon as possible, it could be said that the efficiency of many things had been greatly improved.

In addition, it is worth mentioning that because they tried to help those animal rights and environmental organizations target British Rail First with accusations, two members of Parliament have been exposed for scandals and resigned in disgrace. It is unknown whether there are any more thick-headed people who want to try again…

“We are very much looking forward to cooperating with high-speed rail construction companies with strength from all over the world. In fact, during my last visit to China, I personally took the Beijing-Shanghai high-speed rail and was deeply impressed by it. China has advanced technology and experience in high-speed rail construction, and is a cooperation partner that we value very much.”

Amber Sheen, CEO of British Rail First, met with the Chinese delegation and highly praised China’s strength in high-speed rail construction. The Chinese side also showed a very positive attitude towards this.

They had already submitted their bid to British Rail First, preparing to have several Chinese engineering companies that had participated in the construction of the Beijing-Shanghai high-speed rail undertake the entire construction of the HS2 railway line.

In addition, China’s CRRC and CRRC Changchun Railway Vehicles would also participate in the bidding for high-speed trains and other equipment.

However, regrettably, although there was no problem in handing over most of the construction of the high-speed rail railway and stations to the Chinese consortium, Alstom-Bombardier Heavy Industries Group was determined to win the high-speed trains and related train systems.

Even if the Chinese side promised that if CRRC and CRRC Changchun Railway Vehicles joined, they could provide more loan amounts—even covering the entire investment of High-Speed Rail 2.

But on the one hand, their own company definitely needed to participate in it, and on the other hand, if all the bidding projects for the entire High-Speed Rail 2 were won by the Chinese side, it was feared that neither the British government nor the European Union would be able to justify it.

In the end, some benefits had to be left for local companies.

For this reason, the British government also took out a portion of the funds, which would subsidize local enterprises participating in High-Speed Rail 2 to enhance their competitiveness when facing other competitors, mainly Chinese enterprises.

It could be said that this period of time was very tense for both Chinese companies and other companies participating in the bidding for High-Speed Rail 2.

Because in half a month, at the end of September, the final bidding results would be officially announced.

Chapter 945: An Expensive Apple

In fact, during this bidding process, besides the overt competition among the various consortiums regarding the tender documents, the behind-the-scenes battles were also quite fierce.

Even though Barron had delegated the main work to Amber Sheen, he still received numerous approaches from various connections directly – after all, everyone with discerning eyes knew who truly held the power to decide the outcome.

The key was that those who could reach Barron were often people he needed to deal with.

For example, today, Barron had received an invitation from the Crown Prince to attend a party – regardless, he had to give the Crown Prince some face.

Although nominally just a charity banquet, Barron’s presence created a situation where tickets became highly sought after.

“Good evening, beautiful lady.”

Barron attended the banquet with Ivanka, taking the opportunity to introduce her to some members of British high society.

Undoubtedly, Barron and Ivanka, this pair of “handsome man and beautiful woman,” became the most eye-catching presence at the banquet.

Not only because of Barron’s status and power, but also because this was the first time the Duke of Devonshire and his rumored “lover,” Ivanka, from the well-known American TP family, had appeared together in a British social setting.

Since Barron’s divorce from Lady Bonnie Cavendish, he had remained single.

However, the young and handsome Duke was never short of beautiful women by his side. According to gossip circulating among high society ladies, the Duke had quite a few affairs.

But this was not surprising, after all, who could refuse this charming Duke?

This was also why, in the mouths of those socialites and ladies, the women rumored to be involved with him seemed unworthy of the Duke of Devonshire, a result of their own sour grapes – they would have preferred to be the ones having scandalous affairs with the Duke.

Of course, the attention on Ivanka was not only because of her relationship as Barron’s “lover,” but also because IC Capital had just completed the acquisition of Sky Group.

As a top British media group, Sky Group’s influence was not to be trifled with. As the “new boss” of this giant company, coupled with Ivanka’s background, supermodel figure, and stunning appearance, she naturally garnered a great deal of attention.

“Good evening, Your Grace. I have long admired you and am very pleased to meet you today…”

Attending such gatherings naturally involves some socializing and small talk, especially at this time…

Just now, Barron had brief conversations with the Chinese Ambassador, the Italian Minister of Commerce, and the French President’s Special Envoy, and the topic of the British High Speed 2 railway project bidding was unavoidable.

However, the middle-aged Indian man with silver hair, a slightly receding hairline, and dark skin who was now approaching Barron did not seem to be concerned about the HS2 project, appearing only to want to get to know him.

His name was Prakash Hinduja. Barron knew this person, but only from his previous life…

In the original timeline, in the British rich list to be revealed next year, the Indian Hinduja family would top the list with assets of 12 billion pounds.

Of course, such a thing was impossible now, after all, Barron existed…

In 1914, the Hinduja brothers’ father founded a company in Mumbai, mainly dealing in carpets, spices, tea, and other commodities.

After accumulating a certain amount of wealth, the family moved to London.

In the following years, they invested in British real estate while spreading their net around the world, investing in oil and natural gas, automotive companies, information technology, media, banking, real estate, healthcare, and other businesses, diversifying their risks.

The Hinduja family’s wealth rose mainly from their real estate investments in Britain…

Like many immigrants who came to Britain to develop, the Hinduja family also hoped to integrate into London’s high society.

For example, they spent a huge sum of money to buy a six-story mansion with 25 bedrooms, located next to Buckingham Palace, becoming “neighbors” with the royal family.

In addition, Prakash Hinduja once bought an apple stuck on the wall at an art exhibition for a high price of 1.5 million pounds and ate it himself…

Well, perhaps this matter seems outrageous, but many seemingly outrageous things have reasons that ordinary people do not know.

After all, that apple, uh, the artwork, was created by an artist funded by the Crown Prince, and the proceeds from its sale went to a charitable foundation under the Crown Prince’s name…

Therefore, what the Hinduja family spent 1.5 million pounds on was not an apple, but a ticket.

For example, today, didn’t he appear at this banquet held by the Crown Prince?

But what’s interesting is that Barron had seen another news item in his previous life…

That was that the family members, including Prakash Hinduja, were accused in Switzerland of exploiting and oppressing their domestic servants.

The incident occurred at the Hinduja family’s super mansion on the shores of Lake Geneva in Switzerland.

They recruited nannies and servants in India and brought them to their luxury holiday home in Switzerland, exploiting them economically by taking advantage of their lack of language skills and cultural differences…

They made the nannies working in Switzerland receive low wages from India, forced them to work overtime like crazy, and took away their passports, making it impossible for them to leave this luxurious prison.

According to the investigation, these nannies served the family’s life in the big house from morning to night, working up to 18 hours a day, every day, with no days off.

And their wages were only 6 pounds a day – the salary they spent on all the servants was less than the cost of raising their small pet dog…

The Swiss court retrieved the family’s financial report and found that the family’s financial budget for a pet dog was 7,616 pounds…

In the conversation, Prakash Hinduja was still quite measured, only hoping to invite Barron to attend a banquet they were organizing.

This was naturally rejected by Barron. Now that it wasn’t necessary, he was also trying to attend such social occasions as little as possible. After all, at his level, he no longer needed too much socializing to maintain relationships – at least there were very few occasions worth his personal attendance. Many things were handled by his subordinates, allowing him more room for decision-making.

When Barron finally had some peace and quiet, he surveyed the hall and found Ivanka’s figure, but then his eyes twitched…

Because he saw Ivanka at this time, with a smile on her face, seemingly chatting about something happy.

And the one chatting enthusiastically with her was the increasingly mature-looking Princess Kate.

Chapter 946: Profit Distribution

“I wonder what you two are chatting about?”

After Barron walked over, Princess Catherine’s smile subtly faded, and she resumed her dignified demeanor.

“We were talking about women’s things. The Princess was saying that Prince George is very cute, and we’ve arranged to visit the little prince in a couple of days.”

Hearing Ivanka’s words, Barron understood. She and Catherine both have young boys. Ivanka’s son, Theodore TP, is slightly older than Prince George, so they do indeed have a lot to talk about.

At this moment, Prince William also arrived. Hearing them talking about their son, Prince George, he said to Barron with a smile:

“I heard that George often goes to your place to play with the children. Thank you for taking care of them, Barron.”

“It’s nothing. I’m George’s godfather, after all. And it seems my children like the little prince very much, especially George. He’s very fond of his namesake…”

Barron was referring to his eldest son with Bonnie, George Cavendish, who shares a name with “Cambridge Prince” George Alexander Louis.

However, as Barron spoke to Prince William about these things, Princess Catherine, who was beside Prince William, shifted her gaze, as if she was thinking about something…

After this banquet, Ivanka’s relationship with Princess Catherine began to grow closer.

After all, although Catherine is now a princess, the saying goes, “The higher the gate, the deeper the courtyard,” let alone a royal family…

She was very curious about Ivanka, this “independent” and powerful woman who could manage a behemoth like IC Capital, and was willing to establish a closer relationship with her to broaden her own network.

From Ivanka’s perspective, she was also willing to cultivate any opportunity to establish some kind of connection with the royal family—after all, although America is no longer in an era of following European trends, the royal family, especially the British royal family, still has a certain significance in American high society… Having a close relationship with the royal family is like the luxury goods with noble lineage that those socialites and wealthy ladies consume.

…

Before Ivanka left London, in addition to stabilizing the situation at Sky Group after the acquisition by IC Capital, she also settled two matters with Barron.

The idea of merging Sky Television’s online platform with DailyVedio to unify the online streaming platform, which she had mentioned to Sky Group’s CEO, Remy Darrow, was actually suggested by Barron from the start.

This way, in the global streaming media platform arena, DailyVedio would be able to compete with the relatively strong Netflix and YouTube in the European region.

However, one problem that also needed to be solved was that after Sky Group’s streaming media platform was merged into DailyVedio, while it would certainly enrich DailyVedio’s content and greatly expand its user base, the profit distribution among DailyVedio’s various shareholders needed to be balanced.

Currently, DailyVedio’s shareholders include three parties: Digital Future Investment Company, SEM Group, and O2 Telecom.

Previously, much of the official broadcast content on DailyVedio came from SEM Group, its largest content provider, so it was inevitable that SEM Group would have a stake in it.

And O2 Telecom, in order to compete with its broadband business rival, British Telecom (BT Company), in the video service business, also needed DailyVedio…

As for Digital Future Investment Company, as Caesar Fund’s subsidiary mainly engaged in venture capital for internet technology, they had helped DailyVedio make many acquisitions related to streaming media technology and video technology over the years to enrich its technical strength, and were also an indispensable part of DailyVedio.

Now that Sky Group was going to merge its streaming media platform business into DailyVedio and provide content for it, it would naturally need to occupy enough shares in DailyVedio to be in line with Sky Group’s interests.

Otherwise, although DailyVedio would have more users and a higher market share, if the shareholding ratio was not sufficient, it would be better for Sky Group to continue promoting its own streaming media platform business.

You say that Netflix’s rise in the future will compress the streaming media business of these single media groups? How many people can see that now? But if Sky Group feels that its interests are being harmed in the current merger with DailyVedio, it will also affect IC Capital’s control over them.

Therefore, these matters still needed to be discussed slowly with DailyVedio’s other three shareholders, and slowly bargained. According to Barron’s estimate, it would be appropriate for Sky Group to ultimately occupy 25%-30% of the shares in DailyVedio, and O2 Telecom, with the globalization of its business, could also accept giving up some of its DailyVedio holdings.

The other matter was related to Android Corporation.

Prior to this, the United States Federal Trade Commission (FTC) had launched an investigation into “unfair competition” in some of the services and applications within the Android system.

After that, the relevant institutions of the European Union also announced that they would investigate the Android system…

Ivanka believed that the FTC investigation would not pose a major threat to IC Capital and Android Corporation—because before that, last year, the FTC had conducted a similar investigation, but it ultimately came to nothing. After the FTC proposed three areas for improvement, Android Corporation made “optimizations” and was lightly let off.

She was confident that she could reach a private settlement with the FTC this time, and might not even need to pay a fine.

But on the EU side, although the problem would not be too big, it should be known that because of the EU’s weakness in the internet field, coupled with the fact that the United States also likes to seize on small mistakes and impose huge fines on European companies, the EU also often “gives tit for tat”…

Including American IT giants such as Microsoft, Google, and Yahoo, have all received high-priced fines in the EU. Now Ivanka does not want to settle the FTC in the United States, but be fined by the EU, so she hopes that Barron can come forward to coordinate.

This is also because Android Corporation is ostensibly a purely “American company,” owned by IC Capital, and has nothing to do with Barron, so the EU seems to have no scruples when taking action.

But Barron didn’t want to see this situation either, and he would naturally use his connections to smooth things over.

After all, after communicating with the EU on the acquisition of Bombardier by Alstom last time, Barron had also established contact with the relevant EU institutions.

After dealing with these matters, Ivanka said goodbye to Barron and boarded her private plane to return to America.

Prior to this, Barron had purchased several business jets at one time, one of which, a Gulfstream G650, was generally used by Ivanka and was already considered Ivanka’s private plane.

The fuselage of this aircraft is painted with the “IvanCa” logo.

Chapter 947: Hitting Bottom

“Currently, China has announced the penalty for GlaxoSmithKline, issuing a fine of 3 billion Chinese Yuan, which is the highest fine ever imposed on a company in China…”

Daisy elegantly adjusted her gold-rimmed glasses and continued, “With the release of this result, GlaxoSmithKline’s stock price continued to decline after the market opened, and has currently fallen by nearly 5%.”

“We can take this opportunity to close our short positions and buy some GSK (GlaxoSmithKline) stock.”

“That’s what I was thinking too. We’ve already started buying.”

Although the 3 billion Chinese Yuan fine that China imposed on GlaxoSmithKline seems like a lot.

However, it should be noted that last year, in 2012, GlaxoSmithKline also paid 3 billion… U.S. dollars to reach a settlement with the U.S. pharmaceutical regulatory authorities for charges such as fraud!

This is the largest settlement in history to date.

The U.S. Department of Justice stated at the time that GlaxoSmithKline pleaded guilty to three criminal charges and was suspected of bribing doctors in the U.S. with luxury trips to Hawaii and million-dollar speaking fees, to prescribe the company’s products to patients.

At the time, GlaxoSmithKline’s CEO, Andrew Witty, said afterwards, “We have learned from our mistakes.”

Well, judging from the events in China, GlaxoSmithKline hasn’t learned enough.

But as it stands now, the “shoe dropping” in China also means that the biggest negative news for GlaxoSmithKline in these events has been confirmed—although it will inevitably affect GlaxoSmithKline’s stock price again, after this, there is a possibility of hitting bottom.

This is why both Barron and Daisy believe that their short selling of GlaxoSmithKline’s stock price can be closed, and the profits can be used to continue absorbing its stock.

Currently, GlaxoSmithKline’s market value has fallen from its high point last year of over 120 billion U.S. dollars to less than 80 billion U.S. dollars.

According to calculations, DS Group’s short selling action against GlaxoSmithKline’s stock price will eventually generate a profit of approximately 8 billion U.S. dollars.

This means that investing these profits into acquiring its stock could obtain nearly 10% of GlaxoSmithKline’s shares.

However, in reality, it’s not calculated this way.

Although GlaxoSmithKline’s market value is now less than 80 billion U.S. dollars, as they close their short positions and subsequently absorb GlaxoSmithKline’s stock, with a volume involving tens of billions of dollars, it will inevitably significantly raise the price.

Therefore, even if all 8 billion U.S. dollars of profit are invested, it is estimated that they will only be able to obtain approximately 8-8.5% of the shares, with the specific proportion depending on market conditions.

As for buying GlaxoSmithKline’s shares from some institutions?

Of course, that’s possible, but it certainly won’t be at the current price—those institutions won’t be so quick to take a loss. Since Daisy can see the possibility of GlaxoSmithKline’s stock price hitting bottom, those institutions naturally can’t be unaware of it.

The difference is that DS Group was able to successfully short sell GlaxoSmithKline’s stock price because they had already built their positions before this “sudden” event…

What if things changed and GlaxoSmithKline’s bribery in China didn’t erupt on schedule like in the original timeline?

Such a large-scale short selling operation had already begun to be arranged, and if this event hadn’t happened, Barron wouldn’t have hesitated to directly report it to the Chinese authorities…

After all, with the current volume of funds invested by DS Group, there are very few such operations that can target a single company, and it is only possible for those large companies with a market value of over 100 billion.

It’s rare to have such an opportunity, so naturally it can’t be missed.

…

On September 20th, Aerospace Precision officially released the latest drone in the Hummingbird series, the HUM-2 model.

This is the third Hummingbird series drone launched by Aerospace Precision—they launched the HUM-1 and HUM-1 Pro Hummingbird series drones last year and early this year, respectively, and both received good responses.

Especially the HUM-1 Pro, which upgraded the performance of the original HUM-1 drone and optimized the handling and flight attitude, but was priced at only 1999 euros, the same as the HUM-1, which also increased the sales of the HUM-1 Pro.

However, compared with the previous two Hummingbird drones, the launch of the HUM-2 is disruptive.

Not only does the HUM-2 continue to improve in performance, but also, like the Phantom series drones launched by its competitor DJI, this time it is equipped with a high-definition lens, which can be said to have greatly improved its cost performance.

Thanks to Aerospace Precision’s establishment of an advanced “robot production workshop” in Birmingham, and the fact that most of its accessories are obtained from long-term partners in China, its cost control has made great progress.

Of course, this is also related to the fact that after the first two Hummingbird series drones, Aerospace Precision has gained economies of scale in terms of supply chain and reduced procurement costs.

Finally, with a significant improvement in performance, the price of the HUM-2 was directly reduced to 1599 euros, allowing it to compete with DJI’s Phantom series drones.

Therefore, on the day the Aerospace Precision HUM-2 drone went on sale, there were long queues of customers waiting to buy it in front of the Aerospace Precision experience stores in London and New York.

As mentioned earlier, the HUM (Hummingbird) series is Aerospace Precision’s entry-level drone product model for families and non-professional groups, focusing on ease of operation and portability.

In addition, Aerospace Precision also launched its first product in the Griffin series of drones, the G1, at the end of last year.

The G1 is larger and can carry professional camera equipment, so it is popular among professional photographers.

After all, before this, if aerial footage was needed, it often required the use of helicopters or hot air balloons for shooting, which was not only costly but also had its limitations.

But the emergence of DJI’s Wind Fire Wheel and Aerospace Precision’s G1 has made aerial photography a more convenient choice for everything from film crews to travel photography teams.

The second product in Aerospace Precision’s Griffin series, the G2, will also be launched around Christmas, for which they will also build a new “robot production line” specifically at Aerospace Precision’s manufacturing base in Birmingham…

Currently, Aerospace Precision’s two main rotorcraft drone products are the Hummingbird series and the Griffin series, and in the future, they will maintain a rhythm of launching 1-2 new products each year.

To this end, Aerospace Precision continues to expand the scale of its research and development center in London, recruiting more technical personnel and professionals to carry out technology and talent reserves.

There is no doubt that after the launch of the HUM-2 drone, Barron’s children will get their new toys again…

Chapter 948: Solidifying the Foundation

“Europe needs stronger banks to help it develop its economy and compete with other large economies…”

This was the statement made by Christine Lagarde, President of Continental United Bank (CUB), at this year’s European Banking Conference.

In fact, Lagarde’s statement was recognized by many.

Just looking at market capitalization, the top-ranked banks are: Wells Fargo, close to $250 billion; JPMorgan Chase, close to $220 billion; Bank of America, close to $170 billion; Citigroup, close to $150 billion…

Among the European and American banks with a market capitalization of over $100 billion, the only non-American banks are HSBC Holdings and Standard Chartered-Merrill Lynch.

However, British banks are often not regarded as European banks. After all, Britain has always sought to maintain a certain degree of independence in banking supervision and is unwilling to integrate into Europe in this regard.

Because London is a global financial center, Britain is unwilling to let it be subject to European regulation.

Calculated this way, compared with Bank of America, the more competitive European banks such as BNP Paribas, UBS Group, and Deutsche Bank are all “little brothers.”

In fact, before the subprime mortgage crisis, European banks including UBS Group, Deutsche Bank, and BNP Paribas were important competitors of American banks…

However, after that, until Barron’s rebirth in his previous life, it could only be said that European banks were becoming increasingly lackluster.

But now that these words are spoken by Christine Lagarde, the president of Continental United Bank, which was just formed last year by the merger of France’s Natixis Bank and Germany’s Commerzbank, it is inevitable that people will wonder if Continental United Bank has its eye on another bank for acquisition.

After all, Christine Lagarde was known for her proactive and tough style in her previous roles, especially when she served as the French Minister of Finance.

“We are still sorting out the merged businesses and transforming Continental United Bank’s operations, focusing on existing businesses, and expanding non-interest income…”

In response, Lagarde replied:

“As for acquiring other banks or businesses to expand our scale, it is not within our short-term considerations. Everything needs to be done after we are well-prepared…”

As the President of Continental United Bank, after completing the merger of the two banks last year, Lagarde’s development plan for Continental United Bank is to base itself on retail business and develop wholesale business and wealth management business in a balanced manner.

The so-called retail business, in banking terms, is also known as community banking, which mainly provides a range of financial products and services, including savings, investment, insurance, and trust, to ordinary consumers and small and medium-sized enterprises (with annual sales of less than $5 million).

Wholesale banking mainly provides investment banking, cash management and other services to large and medium-sized enterprises (with annual sales of more than $5 million), institutions and social organizations.

Wealth management uses planning methods to provide customers with a range of financial products and financial advisory services.

Therefore, at present, Continental United Bank is mainly using the original branch networks of the two banks and expanding them to focus on retail banking as the foundation for its development.

Of course, this does not mean that Continental United Bank will abandon or shrink its wholesale banking and wealth management businesses.

After all, before this, NM Rothschild Bank, which was first acquired by Natixis Bank, had a very good foundation in these businesses, especially in private banking for high-net-worth individuals.

Moreover, in some of Barron’s industry’s previous acquisitions in Europe, such as O2’s acquisition of KPN’s German subsidiary E-Plus, and Alstom Group’s series of acquisitions, Continental United Bank participated in providing loans, and these businesses could bring good profits to Continental United Bank.

Although Lagarde publicly responded to the media in this way, it does not mean that Continental United Bank really has no plans to continue acquisitions, but that they need to first complete the integration of the previous two banks’ businesses and resolve some problems before advancing these plans.

For example, Continental United Bank has already sold its previous non-performing assets involving real estate mortgage loans through cooperation with Cavendish Asset Management, replenishing its own liquidity.

After the initial successful cooperation, the two parties also expanded the scope of cooperation. So far, all of the non-performing assets involving real estate mortgage loans caused by Commerzbank’s real estate bank Eurohypo during the subprime mortgage crisis have been cleared – this also includes some “toxic assets” contained in Dresdner Bank, which was previously acquired by Commerzbank.

This has greatly reduced Continental United Bank’s non-performing asset ratio, and the bank’s capital adequacy ratio has reached the required standard.

In fact, among the two large banks controlled by Barron, Standard Chartered Bank belongs to the current Standard Chartered-Merrill Lynch Group. Although its headquarters are still located in London, through the merger with Merrill Lynch, Standard Chartered-Merrill Lynch Group is behaviorally closer to Wall Street capital.

And Barron is also consciously weakening the national affiliation of Standard Chartered-Merrill Lynch Group, that is, the attributes of British capital, and developing it towards global capital, or rather, closer to Wall Street capital.

After all, this is the only way for Standard Chartered-Merrill Lynch Group to better develop its business in North America, especially Merrill Lynch Investment, to which its wealth management business belongs, which is already known as one of the three giants of global wealth management alongside BlackRock and Vanguard.

Since this is the case, then the other bank he controls—Continental United Bank—naturally highlights its “European bank” attribute even more, and will also serve as one of his main financing channels for future expansion and mergers and acquisitions in Europe.

As for the other bank he controls—African United Bank—it cannot yet be considered a “large bank” and will mainly conduct business in Africa, which is still different from Standard Chartered Bank and Continental United Bank.

“Five years have passed since the subprime mortgage crisis, and there are signs of recovery in the European real estate industry. We still need to develop Eurohypo into the best real estate bank in Europe and re-enter the field of housing mortgage loans…”

It can be said that after the outbreak of the subprime mortgage crisis, many banks suffered large amounts of non-performing assets as a result, which has led to some banks becoming increasingly conservative in their strategies for entering the housing mortgage loan market in recent years.

However, Lagarde believes that one should not “avoid drinking for fear of choking.” She once said this to Ashley Webb:

“The first thing we need to do after the merger is to improve asset quality and steadily increase the capital adequacy ratio, but after that, we still need sufficient profitability to maintain expansion. From the development of the American banking industry, we can see that the acquisition and integration of the banking industry is a very necessary thing. This is a story about running. Those who run slowly will exit the market or be acquired.”

“I have studied Wells Fargo, which has developed rapidly in recent years. They proposed that no financial product is more important to Americans and more related to financial security than home mortgage loans. In fact, this is also the case for Europeans…”

Under Lagarde’s persuasion, Continental United Bank is still preparing to enter the housing mortgage loan market on a large scale through its real estate bank Eurohypo, not only to meet customers’ housing mortgage loan needs, but also to meet their needs for mortgage-related financial services.

Chapter 949: Undercurrents

When Barron woke up, rising from beside Bonnie and Countess Chris and leaving the bedroom, he could sense the quiet throughout the villa, subtly mixed with the sounds of early-rising servants busying about.

After changing into sportswear and walking into the hall, all traces of last night’s banquet had already been cleared away.

Just yesterday, Barron had celebrated his 34th birthday, also his twelfth birthday since coming to this world.

Because of the Duke of Devonshire’s birthday, yesterday all the homeless people in London were given winter sleeping bags, blankets, toiletries, and rare non-expired food from the Devonshire Charitable Foundation by enthusiastic volunteers…

So, being a wealthy person means bearing social responsibility, just like the Devonshire Charitable Foundation, which spends nearly a hundred million every year on charity, both showcasing the Duke’s family’s benevolence and providing tax deductions.

This couldn’t help but remind Barron of when he saw in his previous life that the “Oracle of Omaha”, Warren Buffett, had decided to leave only 0.5% of his personal wealth to his children, donating the remaining 99.5% to… the family foundation.

In other words, he was even prepared to pay inheritance tax on his 0.5% of wealth. Truly a role model for our generation.

After his usual exercise, Barron’s personal assistant, Talulah Riley, had already arrived at his home. While accompanying him for breakfast, Talulah didn’t forget to tell him:

“As you instructed, the plane will take off in an hour. Also, the High-Speed Rail Line 2 project will officially start on the 25th of this month. You still have time to return for the groundbreaking ceremony…”

Today, Barron would depart for Kolo, expecting to return in three days.

As for the High-Speed Rail Line 2 project, managed by British First Rail Group, the bidding results were announced at the end of last month. The railway construction will be mainly undertaken by a Chinese consortium, while the supplier of trains and railway systems will, unsurprisingly, be Alstom-Bombardier Heavy Industries Group.

To this end, the China Development Bank will provide British First Rail Group with a low-interest loan of up to 20 billion pounds for the railway construction.

This loan seems huge, but in fact, most of it is used to pay for the construction costs of related Chinese companies. For China, it is equivalent to moving money from one pocket to another…

They don’t even need to actually take out so much pound sterling in foreign exchange – settlements with related Chinese companies can directly use Chinese currency, and when British First Rail Group repays the loan, the China Development Bank will receive real pound sterling.

In China’s foreign loans for its engineering construction, many use this method. For some African countries, loan repayments are made with their mineral resources and other resources.

This also means that after the completion of High-Speed Rail Line 2, British First Rail Group only needs to bear approximately 10 billion pounds of other investment funds, including trains and other equipment.

The reason why the Chinese consortium was able to successfully obtain the overall construction work for this project, in addition to their rich construction experience and technical accumulation in high-speed rail, as well as the loans provided by China, was also mainly due to their ability to reduce the cost of the entire railway construction by half.

Moreover, compared to before… or rather, Barron’s previous life, the turtle-paced construction speed of High-Speed Rail Line 2, the Chinese consortium has also shortened the overall construction period to within 50 months.

Roughly between the end of 2017 and the beginning of 2018, High-Speed Rail Line 2 will be completed and begin operation.

It must be said that the Chinese side should also have considered the “special circumstances” of Britain. Compared to the Beijing-Shanghai High-Speed Railway, which is nearly 2.5 times the total length of High-Speed Rail Line 2 and was built in 37 months, setting a construction period of within 50 months for High-Speed Rail Line 2 can be said to be very conservative.

But even so, for the current railway construction in Britain, or rather, for railway construction in Europe, it is a surprisingly high speed…

…

“After conducting Operation Serval, France still has no intention of ending its military operations and has begun building military bases in Mali, with a tendency to station troops there long-term…”

On the plane to Kolo, Nigel Ince told Barron.

Of course, according to the history Barron knew, France’s so-called “military operations” in Mali would last for seven years, eventually having to choose to withdraw in the face of strong protests from the Malian side, overwhelming public opinion, and the tough stance of the interim government after the Malian coup.

An interesting scene appeared at that time, namely that France initially sent troops to Mali to help the government army eliminate anti-government armed forces; but later, the anti-government armed forces had increasingly obvious French funding behind them, and the Malian government could only counter them by hiring “Wagner” mercenaries from Russia.

It was also with Wagner’s support that the Malian side had the confidence to break with France.

In this regard, France can be said to be somewhat “despised by both gods and men.” Not only Mali, but later Niger and Burkina Faso also began to expel the French military presence…

And the eight countries of the West African Economic and Monetary Union and the six countries of the Central African Economic and Monetary Community are also trying to gradually get rid of France’s control over their economies.

“France has no uranium mines and mainly imports from Niger and Kazakhstan. It can be said that one-third of France’s light bulbs are lit by uranium from Niger – without uranium, their nuclear power plants would have nothing to cook…”

Nigel said to Barron:

“That’s why French troops are stationed in Arlit, a uranium-rich town in Niger. It is difficult for France to give up the resources of these African countries…”

The actual situation in Africa is much more complicated. In West Africa, it is not only about the relationship between France and local governments, but also affected by the transatlantic relationship between Europe and North America, and even Russia will occasionally come to meddle.

However, for Kolo, or rather, for Barron, what needs to be done is to focus on his interests in West Africa.

Now Kolo has formed a West African Free Trade Zone with Niger, Burkina Faso, and other countries, and their relationship is gradually becoming closer.

And recently, Mali has also shown an intention to move closer to the West African Free Trade Zone…

These actions have naturally aroused France’s vigilance. Even if there are no overly obvious actions yet, some undercurrents have still appeared.

“We should still try not to directly confront France head-on. After all, no matter what, it would be more trouble than it’s worth…”

Nigel very much agreed with Barron’s words:

“This is also our strategy. In our contact with Mali and other countries, we have been avoiding direct military cooperation and are still starting from the economic aspect…”

Chapter 950: Madness

Indeed, as Nigel Ince said, the West African Free Trade Zone is still primarily an economic alliance at this stage.

At least for now, there is no overt military cooperation between the countries of the West African Free Trade Zone.

As for countries including Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso purchasing some arms from Kolo…

The arms trade is still trade, after all, and these countries are using Kolo shilling loans from the African United Bank to purchase arms from Standard Defense Group. What does that have to do with the Kolo government?

Even if the government forces of Mali and other countries receive military training services, that is their commercial cooperation with Protector Military Services, and it has no direct relationship with the Kolo Legion…

This is also why, at this stage, Barron doesn’t want Kolo to have direct conflicts with France. He believes France feels the same way.

Although the French troops who came to Mali during “Operation Serval” performed admirably and were a sight to behold, the Kolo Legion isn’t some ragtag African rebel group. During “Operation Serval,” French troops also cooperated with peacekeeping forces sent by the Kolo Legion, and their combat effectiveness left a deep impression on the French military.

Therefore, France wouldn’t be overly domineering towards Kolo.

However, while military conflict is off the table, France hasn’t held back on infiltrating Kolo.

In addition to gathering intelligence through some French companies in Kolo, don’t forget that France itself has a significant advantage in intelligence work targeting Africa. Their intelligence system has no shortage of operatives who can blend in with the native African population…

“CSIB (Kolo Security Intelligence Bureau) has noticed that a significant portion of the personnel they’ve identified entering Kolo for intelligence work are from France. They’ve even discovered ‘The Swimming Pool’ operatives are active…”

The “Swimming Pool” that Nigel mentioned refers to the Directorate-General for External Security (DGSE), France’s largest intelligence agency. It’s nicknamed “The Swimming Pool” because its headquarters are located in an old barracks near the Piscine des Tourelles swimming pool at 141 Boulevard Mortier in the 20th arrondissement of Paris.

The DGSE’s predecessor was the Central Intelligence and Action Bureau led by de Gaulle. In 1946, it was renamed the French Foreign Intelligence and Counter-Espionage Service.

After the French Socialist Party came to power in 1981, it strengthened the reorganization and reform of intelligence agencies, and the DGSE was renamed the “Directorate-General for External Security” in April 1982.

The main task of the Directorate-General for External Security is to comprehensively collect various intelligence on foreign politics, economics, military affairs, science and technology, and terrorist activities. It is responsible for detecting espionage activities abroad that are detrimental to French interests and deciphering foreign intelligence by collecting foreign communication signals.

Compared with other similar departments, the DGSE is the institution with the largest budget invested by the French Ministry of Defense.

In addition to the Ministry of Defense’s appropriations, the Directorate-General for External Security also enjoys special funds within the French Prime Minister’s so-called “Joint Service Regulations.”

In 2002 alone, these special funds reached 33.2 million euros.

Currently, according to public information, the DGSE has approximately 3,500 employees. As Africa is where France’s main interests lie, it is naturally a region that the DGSE focuses on.

Therefore, it’s not surprising that Nigel said there were signs of French Directorate-General for External Security personnel operating in Kolo.

…

After the Devonshire arrived in Kolo’s airspace, two Kolo Legion fighter jets escorted it on either side.

Although the history of these two fighter jets can be traced back to the French second-hand aircraft purchased by the government forces during the Kolo military government era—Mirage F1 fighters, “old antiques” that first entered service in 1970, later replaced by the Mirage 2000, which France half-sold and half-gave to the Kolo military government back then…

Regardless, this counts as a kind of symbolic gesture…

Prior to this, the Boolita International Airport had been occupied by a team of Kolo Legion soldiers. After the Devonshire landed, escorted by Kolo Legion military vehicles and helicopters in the sky, Barron and his party directly took the motorcade carried in the Devonshire to his residence in Boolita, Jupiter Mansion.

“No need to be so extravagant in the future…”

Barron didn’t say anything on the road just now, but after arriving home, he said to Nigel and Errol Brute beside him:

“Withdraw the Kolo Legion personnel. My own security team is enough.”

Errol Brute is the current commander of the Kolo Legion. After Barron arrived in Boolita, he personally went to the airport to greet him and came here in the same car with him.

Just after they arrived at Jupiter Mansion, there was still a full company of fully armed Kolo Legion soldiers guarding the mansion.

“Your safety is the most important thing, Your Grace…”

However, seeing that Barron insisted on being more low-key, Errol could only instruct his adjutant to order the Kolo Legion soldiers to withdraw.

“As long as you have enough control over Kolo, then I am absolutely safe.”

Barron’s words received an affirmative response from Errol.

After settling down here, Barron first met with Rami Shakfa.

As the person in charge of Matrix Capital’s investments in the blockchain industry, Rami Shakfa has been in Boolita for some time.

Learning that Barron had come to Kolo, Rami was naturally very happy. It can be said that because he was adopted and funded by the other party since he was a child, Rami has feelings of gratitude and admiration for this Duke, and even in a sense, regards him as an elder similar to a father and teacher.

“Starting in September, after a period of substantial increase in the second quarter, the price of BitC has entered a stage of rapid increase again after several months of consolidation, and this increase is even more violent than the second quarter…”

Rami only started to come into contact with BitC and related blockchain concepts through Barron.

Although he himself developed a great interest in BitC after that, even as a true “genius,” Rami never thought that the price of BitC could rise so crazily this year.

Let’s put it this way, although the price of BitC had reached over 30 dollars at the end of last year, this round of the BitC bull market started to climb from a price of just over ten dollars at the beginning of this year.

If it is said that from more than ten dollars to the high point in the second quarter, exceeding 260 dollars, with an increase of nearly 20 times, it is already very exaggerated.

Then, starting in September, BitC quickly broke through 1,000 dollars, and now it is close to 1,200 dollars…

In almost one year, the price of BitC has ranged from a low of more than ten dollars to a high of nearly 1,200 dollars, with an increase of nearly 100 times. From this, you can feel how crazy it is at this moment…

However, perhaps only Barron knows now that from now until before his future rebirth, BitC will have an increase of nearly a hundred times, which is the craziest!

Chapter 951: Control

It’s easy to imagine the shock that BitC’s insane upward trend brought to those who encountered it at this time.

This wealth effect also triggered its first foray into the mainstream, making it known to more people. BitC’s trading also gradually expanded from its initial small circle.

Even so, the influx of new money into this round of BitC’s bull market was not as large compared to the subsequent bull markets.

After all, it’s obvious that the amount of capital needed to push the price from 10 to 1,000 is fundamentally different from the amount needed to go from 1,000 to 10,000, or from 10,000 to 100,000.

Each time BitC’s bull market pushed prices higher, it was based on the participation of more people. Later on, even some tech giants and Wall Street capital began to join in after its total scale reached a certain level.

By the time Barron was reborn from his previous life, it had even become one of the topics in the American presidential election.

“The price of BitC has been pushed up a little too high right now, which isn’t good for its future development…”

Lamy’s words came from his experience participating in DS Group’s financial investments.

Anything in excess is as bad as anything in deficiency, especially now, when BitC doesn’t have enough participation, or rather, is only in the early stages of forming a “consensus.” With its current trading user base, it’s not enough to support BitC’s price exceeding $1,200.

In other words, this high price of BitC will inevitably be unsustainable for a period of time.

In fact, it’s the same principle as stocks. Why can the price-to-earnings ratio of American companies far exceed that of A-share listed companies?

Of course, “capital speculation” can raise a company’s market value in the short term, and the more concentrated the shares of a company are, the easier it is to raise the price—because often the circulating shares of a listed company in the secondary market only account for a very small percentage, such as 15%. That means you can spend a small amount of money to drive up the company’s stock price in the stock market, and its corresponding market value will quickly inflate.

That’s why many people say that market value is all smoke and mirrors.

But it’s not easy to maintain that stock price in the long run, because when you go up, others can hitch a ride and not sell their shares. Once the upward momentum is exhausted, it’s difficult to stop others from cashing out.

Unless you can convince others that this company, this stock, is indeed valuable, and that you are making a “value investment”…

The American stock market can be said to gather investors from all over the world, facing investment funds from all over the world. Therefore, companies listed there can obtain higher price-to-earnings ratios under the “support” of these funds.

Like BitC now, if Matrix Capital and the Distributed Foundation inject large-scale funds, not to mention $1,200, even a price of several thousand dollars is not impossible to speculate—after all, the entire BitC trading market is not large now.

Moreover, in that crazy atmosphere, there will be no shortage of people who have lost their minds seeking to get rich quick and take over at high prices.

But the result of that may be that they can earn hundreds of millions of dollars, but BitC may be left with nothing but a complete mess.

After such speculation, without subsequent incremental funds of sufficient scale entering, the price of BitC will be like a balloon, how it was blown up, it will eventually disappear with a “pop.”

In that case, falling from a price of several thousand dollars would be close to “zeroing out,” and countless newly entered investors would lose everything, and BitC would truly become “a scam”…

But ultimately, Barron’s purpose is not here—if it’s just to make money, he doesn’t need to get his hands dirty for it.

His purpose is still to allow Chloe to deeply participate in the development of the blockchain industry. Therefore, even the Origin Fund, which is responsible for Matrix Capital’s participation in BitC speculation, has its operating scale limited in this bull market, just to prevent the speculation of BitC from getting out of control.

After BitC’s price rose sharply, reaching above $1,200, the Distributed Foundation, which owns more than one million BitCs, also began to enter the market, selling a portion of BitC to curb the momentum of BitC’s price increase, controlling the price of BitC in this bull market within a relatively “healthy” range.

Of course, after this bull market, the Distributed Foundation will also buy back the BitC shares it sold after BitC’s price plummets, which can also be regarded as holding back BitC’s price, so as not to “accelerate downhill.”

In Barron’s previous life, he also had friends around him who had already come into contact with BitC during this period. After BitC’s price soared to the sky, he also discovered an interesting thing.

That is, many people who bought BitC when it was only a few dozen yuan in the early days would almost sell all their BitC in the process of subsequent price increases. Very, very few people could keep BitC until the price of that BitC was calculated in tens of thousands of dollars.

And those people—

Will never buy BitC again!!

This is also easy to understand. You buy a pen for one dollar, and it doesn’t seem special, but one day it rises to 50 dollars a piece, will you sell it?

Maybe not, but what about the price reaching 500, 5000?

Can you resist not selling?

50,000 a piece?

When you bought it, it looked like an ordinary ballpoint pen!

If in the process of this price increase, the intermediate price once fell from 500 yuan to 100 yuan; from 5,000 yuan to 1,000 or even 500 yuan?

Then one day, its price reaches 50,000 yuan, can you still insist on not selling?

You finally sold it, feeling that you bought it for one dollar and sold it for 50,000, which is a huge profit!

Then one day, you find that its price is already more than 700,000!

But you don’t have it anymore, you sold it when it was 50,000.

So the next question, would you buy this pen at a price of more than 700,000?

You never will, and you won’t even buy it again when you sell it for 50,000.

Because you did buy this pen for one dollar.

……

London, Neverland.

Just as Mikhail arrived here, preparing to meet Dylan Ozdemir, he received a call from his subordinate.

“Boss, we have found the traces of those people again, but they don’t seem to have anything special about them at the moment.”

Mikhail frowned slightly and said:

“Continue to keep an eye on them. Also, I need to know what they did, or who they contacted, during the time they were out of our sight before…”

“That’s probably not easy, without them noticing…”

The person on the phone hesitated for a moment and asked:

“Since they might be from the CIA, can’t we find out what they’re doing in London through MI6?”

Mikhail took a deep breath:

“That’s what I’m worried about. These people haven’t contacted MI6, and they haven’t reported their mission. It seems they definitely have something important going on.”

Chapter 952: The Commonwealth’s Presence

Britain is one of America’s closest allies. Leaving aside the complex “co-father” relationship between the two, Britain is extremely important to America, at least in Europe.

The cooperation between Britain and the United States in intelligence systems is also the closest. For example, some of the CIA’s operations within Britain are often reported to the British intelligence system to avoid misunderstandings.

Of course, there are also some operations that are not reported, and these operations are often targeted at Britain…

The reason why Mikhail’s team targeted these people this time was because they appeared in London and were very likely targeting the Duke of Devonshire.

It should be known that the most important task of the intelligence system owned by Barron is to protect himself and everyone in his system. This intelligence system was originally established to track down the members of the “London Star” fraud gang that caused significant losses to the Devonshire family.

Furthermore, before this, his intelligence system had also discovered traces of the CIA investigating Barron. The intelligence investigations and transmission paths involved in this matter that were discovered at that time have also been under the surveillance of his intelligence system.

And these people who came to London this time used some of these resources. This is also the main reason why Mikhail’s team confirmed that the other party was from the CIA.

Since this is the case, they will naturally closely monitor these people to prevent anything from happening that endangers the Duke of Devonshire.

However, during this monitoring process, two of these “uninvited guests” briefly disappeared from their surveillance for about half a day under the cover of others.

Because it is necessary to avoid the other party discovering their surveillance, some actions will be restricted, and it is not surprising that such a situation occurs.

But for Mikhail, based on his intuition, he believed that these people would be involved in some important matters, so he hoped to figure out all the other party’s actions without leaving any omissions.

…

“The French side has a lot of NGOs (non-profit organizations) that are relatively active in West Africa. They certainly won’t be able to make waves in Kolo…”

Nigel was very familiar with some of France’s actions in West Africa through the CSIB (Kolo Security Intelligence Bureau).

Indeed, as he said, in Kolo, the French NGOs’ penetration did not have much effect. After all, in addition to the Security Intelligence Bureau itself being very vigilant about this kind of thing, the African branch of the Prosperity Earth Foundation is located in Kolo. In this way, those NGOs can hardly compete with the Prosperity Earth Foundation.

It should be known that Kolo’s main television, radio, newspapers and other media are controlled by the West African Media Group. With the cooperation of the West African Media Group, the Prosperity Earth Foundation will use Kolo as its base to radiate West Africa and even the entire Africa. How could it allow other countries, including French NGOs, to develop and grow here?

A small number of local people in Kolo who have some connections with those NGOs with French backgrounds, such as certain scholars, lawyers, and businessmen, have already entered the monitoring list of the Security Intelligence Bureau, and they have no chance to stir up trouble.

However, some French NGOs have had a certain impact in countries such as Mali and Niger. After all, in some countries in West Africa, coups often occur, and then military governments come to power. Some of the policies of these military governments are often more radical and easily cause rebounds from certain groups in the country.

Then in this, there is naturally room for those NGOs to stir up trouble.

According to CSIB’s intelligence, the Malian government has also noticed the actions of those French NGOs and has protested to France through some channels.

But the French side did not pay too much attention to it, and only perfunctorily dismissed it with high-sounding excuses such as “freedom of speech.”

Speaking of which, the things that the Prosperity Earth Foundation does in West Africa are not essentially different from those French NGOs.

However, the difference is that the actions of the Prosperity Earth Foundation are not as radical, and now they are mainly carrying out some activities that seem to promote the society in the countries of the West African Free Trade Zone and Nigeria, such as some exchange activities in the fields of medical and health, education and academics. Overall, it will not cause resentment from the local government.

…

This time Barron came to Kolo, ostensibly to attend the Kolo event to compete for the 2018 Commonwealth Games.

The Commonwealth Games are a comprehensive sports event held every four years by the Commonwealth countries.

The Commonwealth Games were first held in 1930. At that time, Britain was still the empire on which the sun never sets. The Games were then called the British Empire Games.

The name of the Games was changed to the British Empire and Commonwealth Games in 1954. After World War II, with the tacit support of the United States and the Soviet Union for the “national liberation movement,” the colonies of old-fashioned imperialist countries such as Britain and France were in fact dismembered and deprived. The original British colonies, including Australia and Canada, have gradually become “Commonwealth,” but Britain still stubbornly calls itself the “British Empire”…

Then, in 1970, it was changed to the British Commonwealth Games, and in 1978 it was changed to the current Commonwealth Games…

It is true that Britain is increasingly recognizing its own position…

Speaking of which, Britain originally formed the Commonwealth to maintain ties with its colonies after their independence and to be the “big brother.”

But unfortunately, those former colonies are not stupid after independence. If they are all hugging thighs, why not hug the thickest one?

America: That’s me…

Back then, during World War II, Britain’s colonies really worked hard, not only doing their best to provide various raw materials, but also organizing allied forces from places including Australia, New Zealand, and Canada to fight for Britain from afar.

But now it is different. Although the Queen is still the nominal head of state of many Commonwealth countries—for example, the Queen is also the Queen of Australia, the Queen of New Zealand, the Queen of Canada…

But it is only nominal. Other countries do not have to give any benefits to the Queen, and besides, they are used to this ultra-long standby monarch, so they are too lazy to change it, and it looks good on the surface.

But the Commonwealth… is really not a very close alliance. For the countries in it, it feels dispensable. At most, it provides a social circle, and its presence in the global political ecology is not strong.

Those countries don’t take the so-called Commonwealth title too seriously. Now, the Commonwealth Games are its most prominent activity…

As mentioned earlier, the Commonwealth Games are held every four years. Next year, that is, the 2014 Commonwealth Games will be held in Glasgow, Scotland.

Mainly because the competition for the 2014 Commonwealth Games began as early as 2006.

At that time, the new government of Kolo had only been established for three years, and Kolo was still an underdeveloped country that needed to rely on international aid. Naturally, it was impossible to apply for such an event…

Chapter 953: Expectations

It’s worth mentioning that in the competition to host the 2014 Commonwealth Games, Glasgow, Scotland’s biggest rival was Abuja, Nigeria.

However, ultimately, at the Commonwealth Games Federation meeting in Colombo, Sri Lanka, all 71 Commonwealth member organizations voted, and Glasgow successfully bid for the hosting rights with 47 votes in favor to Abuja’s 24.

Then, in 2010, Kolo, which had become wealthy through entrepot trade and the oil extraction and processing industry, also participated in the bidding for the 2018 Commonwealth Games.

After all, Kolo, which was committed to transforming itself into a West African shipping and financial center, needed to establish its national image and reputation, and was therefore willing to actively participate in and host these international events.

But with Kolo’s current strength, hosting events like the World Cup or the Olympics was completely unrealistic, and it was even more impossible to win the hosting rights.

Therefore, using the Commonwealth platform to host the Commonwealth Games, an event with a reasonable number of participating countries but not too many major events and not requiring too much space, was a more appropriate choice for them at the moment.

This time, Kolo-Brita’s rivals for the 2018 Commonwealth Games included the Gold Coast of Australia and Hambantota of Sri Lanka.

Especially the Gold Coast of Australia. Barron remembered that in the original timeline, the 2018 Commonwealth Games were held there.

It should be known that the Gold Coast of Queensland is a famous tourist destination. Barron and his family had been there and the scenery was very pleasant. Kolo’s ability to win this competition, apart from Kolo’s growing importance in the British energy security system and Barron’s behind-the-scenes operation, was also due to Kolo’s commitment to invest a total of 10 billion Kolo shillings in the Brita project, to build related facilities including a comprehensive stadium, a racecourse, and a swimming pool.

This time, Barron would also attend the groundbreaking ceremony for this comprehensive stadium named Brita’s “Eye of Wonder” and the nearby swimming pool.

The “Eye of Wonder” was expected to be completed in 2016, fully in time for use before the 2018 Commonwealth Games.

Of course, the construction of these sports venues, including the “Eye of Wonder,” was not only for the Commonwealth Games. After that, these venues would also be open to the public and host some events and competitions.

This was also part of Kolo’s “Revitalizing Culture and Sports” plan, which included Kolo launching a national football league—the people of Kolo themselves loved to play football, and the Kolo national team had successfully entered the finals of both the German World Cup and the South African World Cup.

When Kolo was still an underdeveloped country, many Kolo children could only play football barefoot in the streets. Next, the Kolo government would invest special funds to build football fields for every school and construct football parks.

In addition, a special sports fund would be established to build larger football stadiums in some larger cities and rent them to local football clubs as their home venues.

And the “Eye of Wonder” would be the future home of the Brita football club.

“After successfully obtaining the hosting rights for the 2018 Commonwealth Games, we are also strengthening the construction of football venues and preparing to participate in the competition for the hosting rights for the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations…”

It must be said that even though they had only obtained the hosting rights for the 2018 Commonwealth Games, Kolo’s profile among the people of the Commonwealth countries had increased a lot because they had defeated a strong opponent—the Gold Coast of Australia—in the competition. This could be seen from the significant increase in the number of short-term tourist arrivals from Commonwealth member countries recently recorded by Kolo’s official statistics.

Therefore, this greatly encouraged Kolo—after all, Kolo’s environment was still very good, and tourism could drive many industries and increase income.

In his conversation with Barron, Kolo’s President Thomas Kabore also expressed interest in Kolo bidding for related events.

It could be said that Kolo’s mindset in Africa and the Commonwealth was somewhat similar to China’s in the world, that is, the country’s strength had accumulated, and it hoped to improve its image and boost the national pride of its people.

Of course, in terms of its own strength, Kolo could not be compared with China. Kolo was somewhat similar to the “oil sheikhs” of the Middle East, but not as rich, only moderately wealthy.

At the same time, Thomas Kabore’s enthusiasm for this also showed his expectations for his re-election.

After all, a year and a half later, in 2015, it would be Kolo’s election year again. Only if Thomas Kabore was re-elected at that time could he see the scene of Kolo hosting the Commonwealth Games in 2018 during his term. As for the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations, even if Kolo obtained the hosting rights, since the Africa Cup of Nations was often held in June or July, it would inevitably be a matter for the next president’s term.

But if Thomas Kabore could lead Kolo to continuously obtain the hosting rights for the Commonwealth Games and the Africa Cup of Nations, as the president who brought Kolo’s presence to the international community, Thomas would also be recorded in Kolo’s history books.

Thomas naturally also understood that the key to whether he could achieve his wish and be re-elected did not lie in the election a year and a half later, or in “public opinion,” but in the Duke beside him.

……

The screen was playing a video that was obviously taken from a hidden angle, and the content of the picture was somewhat unsightly…

When the former President of the United States, “Zipper-ton,” appeared in a blue dress in the picture, Barron couldn’t help but be speechless. He pressed the remote control, and the picture on the screen went dark.

“Now you can confirm the authenticity of these things in my hand, Your Grace.”

At this time, Barron was in a secret safe house, and the person speaking beside him was a blonde woman.

“What do you want?”

Barron asked with a smile.

Yes, Barron’s purpose in coming to Kolo this time, in addition to the superficial purpose, was actually most importantly, to meet someone.

It was the woman named Leslie Grove who was standing beside him now. When she contacted Barron’s people stationed in the United States, she said that she had something very important in her hand, but she needed to meet Barron in person to take it out, so there was this meeting between the two parties.

Leslie Grove’s identity was Epstein’s personal assistant.

“I want a guarantee of safety.”

Hearing Leslie’s words, Barron asked in reply:

“As far as I know, Epstein has taken care of everything. Even if he has been charged with something, he was only sentenced to less than two years in prison and has already been paroled…”

Chapter 954: An Unexpected Turn of Events

“That’s Epstein. I need to think of myself… I know Epstein too well. I was brought to his side when I was just a teenager. I know what kind of person he is. He’ll throw anyone away when he needs to, and I don’t want to be the one he throws away…”

What Leslie Grove said basically matched Baron’s investigation into her – which was to be expected. Before this trip, he definitely needed to thoroughly investigate her to ensure his own safety.

Besides, Baron had already had people paying attention to and investigating Epstein a long time ago. It was just that Epstein acted very cautiously, and Baron didn’t want his “interest” in him to be discovered, so he hadn’t obtained any solid evidence, let alone what he was seeing today… But Baron did know some basic information – including the details of those close to him.

Just as Leslie Grove said, besides Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein’s former girlfriend and business partner, there were four “personal assistants” who were closest to him.

These four personal assistants had all been kept by Epstein since they were very young, in their teens – well, thinking about the name “Lolita Island,” one could understand Epstein’s methods.

Because of this, these four had been controlled by Epstein for many years, so he trusted them to a relatively high degree.

Moreover, these four were basically from Eastern Europe, so it could be said that they had no relatives or friends in America, only Epstein as their “family,” making them easier to control.

But even in this situation, Leslie Grove was still able to think of secretly keeping some of Epstein’s “treasures” as her own insurance. The fact that she could think of this and dare to do it was a bit surprising to Baron.

“Then why did you come to me?”

Hearing Baron’s question, Leslie Grove showed a strange expression and said:

“Because you are one of the few who refused to go to the island and did not respond to his attempts to befriend you. He said a lot about you in private…”

“I’m afraid it wasn’t anything good…”

“Yes, but that’s also why I remembered you, Your Grace. After all, I wouldn’t entrust my safety to those who have dirt on them.”

He hadn’t expected that her thinking was actually… relatively clear. Baron said directly to Leslie Grove:

“If you want me to protect you, then I need more…”

Baron pointed to the darkened screen and said:

“Only these… valuable things can earn my promise. Otherwise, let’s pretend we never met today. I have no interest in wasting my energy on things that aren’t worth it.”

“I can take out some more, but not all of it…”

Leslie thought for a moment, bit her lip, and said:

“Only after I can finally obtain freedom and safety will I give it all to you. After all, I have seen too many dark things and need to be cautious.”

Leslie was very clever. She didn’t bring all of her “treasures” with her. Some of them would require Baron to send trustworthy people to America to retrieve them from her later.

“This is a Swiss bank account. The money you wanted is already in it. You can use it at any time.”

Baron finally handed Leslie a slip of paper and said:

“I will send you back to Poland by plane tonight. Be careful from now on.”

Being able to come to Cologne to meet with Baron was also an opportunity that Leslie Grove took when Epstein assigned her to go to Poland to “pick up goods” for Lolita Island. Baron had specifically sent a plane that couldn’t be traced to bring her over – as for what kind of goods she was picking up, it was self-evident – therefore, Leslie needed to immediately take a plane back to Poland after this meeting in order to conceal her trip to Cologne.

After Leslie left in a hurry, Baron took out the DS card, twirling it in his fingers, deep in thought.

Next, this card would be copied and then stored in the safest vault under the headquarters of the African United Bank.

…

“Boss, they’re CIA… if we make a move…”

Seeing his subordinate’s hesitation, Mikhail said indifferently:

“So what if they’re CIA? Now they’re just our prey.”

There was something he didn’t say, which was: CIA? He had not only captured them, but also personally killed a few.

The development of events made Mikhail somewhat annoyed. As they monitored, they discovered that those “small fry” who had come to London were preparing to leave.

This could only mean that the other party had completed their mission here – which must have happened when the two went missing.

Now, they either had to watch the other party leave, or… they could only use forceful means.

Mikhail didn’t hesitate at all and immediately issued the order.

The ones making the move were the special operations team personally led by Mikhail, all of whom were experienced special forces soldiers.

These people were different from those in the intelligence groups he led. They were decisive in action and did things cleanly.

In these people’s eyes, the enemy was the enemy, without any distinction of identity, only the will of His Grace the Duke.

“Be quick, don’t make too much noise, and… we need them alive!”

As Mikhail’s voice fell, the fully armed special operations team in the darkness, with standard tactical coordination, stormed into the other party’s residence…

…

On October 21st, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) delivered subpoenas to several investment banks and financial groups, including DS Group’s New York branch, Standard Chartered-Merrill Lynch Group, Goldman Sachs Group, and Morgan Stanley, announcing that it would investigate these companies for possible illegal transactions.

Relevant SEC officials pointed out that DS Group, Standard Chartered-Merrill Lynch Group, and other companies were suspected of releasing information in securities investments to influence market sentiment, and may also have engaged in illegal activities such as insider trading and illegally disclosing relevant information to investors. They would investigate this.

After this news broke, it immediately became the headline on the global economic pages. However, when interviewed by reporters, the spokespersons of these companies denied the SEC’s allegations, saying that after receiving the SEC’s subpoena, they had proactively conducted internal self-examinations and had not found any relevant violations. They hoped that the SEC’s investigation would be released only after there was concrete evidence, otherwise, they would reserve the right to pursue the matter.

“Didn’t you receive any news about this beforehand?”

It could be said that this was the first time that the DS Group and Standard Chartered-Merrill Lynch Group controlled by Baron had been subjected to a relevant investigation by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. At the same time, Goldman Sachs Group and Morgan Stanley were also on the list of this investigation. Therefore, Baron immediately telephoned Lloyd Blankfein, the CEO of Goldman Sachs Group.

Chapter 955: Emergency

“Believe me, Your Grace, if I had any advance notice, you would have been the first to know…”

Lloyd said to Barron on the phone:

“But I have a feeling that this move by the SEC, the scale of it, doesn’t seem simple…”

Barron had also considered what Lloyd said. The SEC’s actions were very unusual.

You have to understand that after the subprime mortgage crisis, the American stock market had just begun to recover. The Federal Reserve’s three consecutive rounds of quantitative easing after the crisis were intended to alleviate the domestic liquidity crunch caused by the subprime crisis through “flooding,” allowing the economy to recover.

Moreover, the financial groups that the SEC was investigating this time, such as DS Capital, Standard Chartered-Merrill Lynch, Goldman Sachs, and Morgan Stanley, could be said to be the main forces “bullish” on the American stock market. If viewed from this perspective, even if there was evidence of “irregular operations,” it shouldn’t be investigated at this time, considering the overall situation, as it would negatively impact the recovering American stock market…

Unless…

There was a significant force pushing for it, insisting on investigating these companies even if it negatively impacted America’s recovery…

“We need more information to analyze the current situation, Mr. Trunkfin. I think we should mobilize your connections to deal with this.”

Although Henry Paulson, the former CEO of Goldman Sachs, had stepped down as the United States Secretary of the Treasury in 2009, Goldman Sachs still had many connections within the American government. Now, cooperation between the two sides was needed to address this matter.

“We will do so, Your Grace, but we also need your strength…”

Hearing Lloyd’s words, Barron responded:

“I am already contacting our friends, and I myself will be going to America soon to deal with this.”

…

Northern Ireland, Bilou Castle.

In fact, in Britain, the safest place for Barron wasn’t his London residence or Chatsworth House, but Bilou Castle. Near Bilou Castle was the original Protector Security Company’s training camp. After merging into the G4S Group, it also became a G4S Group training camp, with a long-term garrison of over 200 military personnel.

Beneath Bilou Castle was a prison, built a long time ago. Barron’s personal assistant, Aliya, had once been held there.

Now, it welcomed new “guests.” The individuals captured by the Special Operations Team in London were sent there overnight and “treated” properly.

However, what annoyed Mikhail was that two of them died on the spot during the Special Operations Team’s raid in London. It wasn’t caused by the Special Operations Team, but after realizing they were surrounded, the two immediately bit down on a cyanide-filled false tooth in their mouths and committed suicide.

It could be said that this decisiveness and ruthlessness clearly couldn’t be explained by ordinary agents.

In the subsequent interrogation of the others, Mikhail confirmed this. Those captured readily stated their identities as “CIA agents” without much concealment.

This didn’t surprise Mikhail. Professional agents often understand very well that after being captured alive, it’s almost impossible to withstand various forms of torture without revealing information. Without extraordinary willpower, it’s simply impossible to do so, and such people are rare. The CIA has tens of thousands of agents overseas, many of whom are “rookie” level without much training. How could they all be “supermen”?

From these CIA agents, Mikhail learned that they were assigned to Britain to cooperate with two “intelligence personnel” in their activities.

The two “intelligence personnel” they mentioned were the two “martyrs” who committed suicide. The specific identities of these two were unknown to the CIA agents.

As for the specific mission of these two martyrs, the CIA agents were also completely unaware. Their orders were only to assist and cover the mission of these two martyrs.

The current situation was that Mikhail could only learn from the surviving CIA agents that this operation involved the Duke of Devonshire, so they were extremely careful. After all, the other party was a British Duke, and not just one with a nominal title. It could be said that London was his home base.

With only this little information, Mikhail was naturally unwilling, and he didn’t care about the title of CIA agent at all.

As Barron’s right-hand man, Mikhail knew that the CIA agents’ so-called orders from their superiors, given the Duke’s “tacit understanding” with the CIA Director, were likely not from official CIA directives, but rather private assignments from someone with real power within the organization.

This could explain why the main responsibility for the core mission was those two martyrs who were likely not from the CIA, but rather from some other force.

Therefore, he continued to “pressure” the CIA agents at Bilou Castle. Through some physical manipulations, he obtained an important clue.

One of the CIA agents who was directly communicating with the two martyrs “suddenly” remembered that he had inadvertently learned that the people the two martyrs were meeting were from the Duke of Devonshire’s…

But the clue could only go this far. After exhausting all means, the “Great Memory Restoration Technique” couldn’t make the CIA agent remember anything more, such as who that person was…

It seemed he really didn’t know.

But the clues obtained now had made Mikhail realize the urgency of the situation.

“We have used reasonable excuses to contact the families of all the Duke’s security team members, and have not found anything unusual…”

Since the clue pointed to the Duke’s closest security team, according to Mikhail’s analysis, the most likely reason for the other party to “turn” someone was the safety of their family members.

After all, those who could enter the Duke’s security team had already passed the most stringent background checks, and the probability of them being “double agents” from the beginning was basically eliminated…

Of course, there was also the possibility of being turned purely for greed, but relatively speaking, the probability was very low. After all, the benefits would have to match the serious consequences of betraying the Duke.

Moreover, the situation was urgent now. First determining whether any security team members’ families were being controlled was the fastest way to identify the “traitor…”

“I have arranged for the fastest plane to go to the Duke’s location…”

Mikhail said to his deputy:

“You need to seize the time now, send people to confirm that the families of all security team members are safe, and be sure to confirm with your own eyes, preferably leaving people to continue monitoring…”

Chapter 956: Incident

“Ms. Nolan met with the chief secretary of the President’s office. The secretary conveyed the President’s message, stating that he would be following the SEC’s investigation into the New York branch of DS Group and Standard Chartered-Merrill Lynch, ensuring that it would not affect these companies’ normal investment activities in America…”

Hearing Talulah Riley’s report, Barron rubbed his temples and said:

“I’ll go rest for a bit. Wake me up when we’re close to America…”

“Yes, Your Grace.”

Just as Barron was about to get up, the plane suddenly lurched violently, and the alarm sounded.

“What’s going on?”

Barron steadied himself and pulled Talulah, who was about to fall, when Nigel rushed over, slightly flustered, and said:

“The plane’s missile defense system detected anti-aircraft missiles locking onto us and being launched. We’ve deployed decoy flares as an emergency measure…”

Before he could finish speaking, Barron, looking out the window, caught sight of a streak of fire rapidly approaching the plane…

Then, a dazzling light engulfed his vision…

…

Barron suddenly sat up, finding himself in bed, not on the plane, and there was no explosion. Everything had just been a dream.

Only then did he realize that the blanket covering him was soaked with sweat.

Recalling the scene from his dream, it felt so real, unlike anything he had ever experienced…

He glanced at the time; it was already six in the morning. Barron was no longer sleepy. He got up and went into the bathroom.

“Your Grace, are you going for your morning run?”

After Barron showered and changed into his workout clothes, he saw Danny Burton waiting downstairs. As his security consultant, Danny and two bodyguards accompanied Barron on his morning runs.

“Not today. I’ll go to the gym. By the way, how are the preparations for the plane?”

“According to the plan, we will take off at noon. There are two team members guarding it, and we will conduct a thorough inspection before takeoff.”

…

“Boss, the FBI is here to see you.”

At IC Capital headquarters in New York, Ivanka’s secretary, Meda Kahn, had just finished speaking to Ivanka when several people in black suits with solemn expressions walked directly into Ivanka’s CEO office.

The middle-aged black man leading the group took out his badge and held it up for Ivanka to see, saying:

“Ivanka TP, I am Quincy Dean, Director of the FBI’s Criminal Investigation Division. We need you to come with us to the precinct for investigation regarding multiple charges, including suspicion of obstruction of justice…”

Hearing what the man said, Ivanka looked surprised. She remained calm and said:

“I need to wait for my legal counsel to review the relevant documents before I go with you.”

“We have a search warrant signed by the New York Federal Court…”

Quincy Dean seemed to have anticipated Ivanka’s reaction. He gave a meaningful smile:

“I can give you ten minutes. I hope you won’t keep us waiting too long.”

He turned to Ivanka’s secretary, Meda Kahn, and continued:

“Also, we have an arrest warrant for Ms. Kahn, so we will need you to come with us as well.”

…

“Hello, Director-General Younger, please sit down.”

“May I ask what brings you here today, Minister?”

Alex Younger, the Director of MI6, was in the office of the Home Secretary, Theresa May. Facing this important figure in Cameron’s cabinet, he asked.

“I received a report from MI5 that the American CIA is protesting that several of their intelligence officers have gone missing in London. Are you aware of this matter?”

Hearing this, Alex Younger shrugged and said:

“That’s a matter for MI5. We are only responsible for foreign intelligence, Minister May.”

“The thing is, according to the report submitted by MI5, these disappearances may be related to the Duke of Devonshire, and as far as I know, you have a close personal relationship with His Grace…”

“These are just baseless accusations. I think it’s highly inappropriate for you to question me based on this.”

Alex Younger interrupted Theresa May, saying coldly:

“Moreover, if, as you say, the CIA is conducting a secret investigation into our Duke, that in itself is a very offensive matter. Perhaps we should first ask them for an explanation.”

Within the British intelligence community, MI5 is responsible for domestic intelligence and is under the leadership of the Home Secretary, Theresa May.

MI6, on the other hand, is responsible for foreign intelligence and is under the leadership of the Foreign Secretary.

Therefore, Alex Younger was not so concerned about Theresa May’s questioning.

Of course, he was also under pressure from the CIA, but according to the information Alex Younger had, the agents’ actions were not officially authorized by CIA headquarters. Therefore, although the CIA was very angry about their disappearance and hoped that the British side would assist in the investigation, it was not enough to put too much pressure on them.

Today’s conversation between Theresa May and Alex Younger was just a verbal warning.

She turned and asked:

“I don’t know if you have determined the Duke’s current situation? Also, what was the cause of the plane crash? Was it really hit by a missile? We can’t keep it a secret for too long. Sooner or later, we will need to announce it to the public…”

“We are trying to contact the Duke’s side, but we haven’t received a reply yet. We have also urgently dispatched MI6 personnel in the vicinity to investigate. If there are any results, I will report to Mr. Hague as soon as possible.”

Not long ago, the British intelligence system received news that a plane had exploded in the airspace between Algeria and Libya, and locals had seen traces of what appeared to be anti-aircraft missile launches…

More importantly, according to the filed flight records, the plane was likely the Duke of Devonshire’s private jet, the “Devonshire One.”

As Alex Younger said, after receiving this news, they immediately contacted the Duke’s side, but no one in London had any definite information. And there had been no response from Chloe’s side. Now Alex Younger himself was a little unsure. Could it be…

As for the “Mr. Hague” he mentioned, he was referring to the current Foreign Secretary, William Hague, who was also Alex Younger’s direct superior.

Alex’s words were clear: he would only be responsible to the Foreign Secretary…

“Mr. Younger, I hope you understand that you are the head of British intelligence and need to be responsible to Britain, not to any individual…”

Theresa May said to him as Alex prepared to leave after they finished their conversation.

As Alex walked out of Theresa May’s office, he couldn’t help but sigh deeply. If His Grace was alright, everything would be fine, but if…

He knew that the Home Secretary he met today was not the first to “warn” him.

Before that, the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, had also met with him privately, and the underlying meaning of his words coincided with Theresa May’s.

There were rumors that after Johnson finished his term as Mayor of London, he was likely to succeed William Hague as Foreign Secretary…

Chapter 957: Exposure?

Just after Ivanka and her secretary were taken away by the FBI for “assisting in the investigation,” some well-informed people in both America and Britain had already received the news.

That was, the private jet “Devonshire,” belonging to the Duke of Devonshire of Britain, which had taken off from Cologne, was suspected of being attacked on its way to America, while still over Africa, in the airspace near Libya and Algeria. Those who got the news earliest received different descriptions of the event depending on their proximity to the information source and the channels they used.

For example, some heard that a bomb had been planted on the plane and exploded during the flight.

Others heard that the Devonshire was hit by a missile in the crash area…

And so on…

But the relatively certain point was that the plane exploded and disintegrated in the air, and it was feared that no one on board could have survived.

It could be said that this news was extremely shocking.

Who was the Duke of Devonshire?

He was more than just a British duke. After all, even though a duke is the highest non-royal title in Britain, there are still twenty-eight dukes in Britain, which is not a small number.

The key point was that, in addition to the British dukedom, Baron Cavendish was also a globally renowned investor, entrepreneur, and super-rich man. His wealth ranking had consistently been in the top five globally, and he had been the richest man in Britain for many years.

Of course, a few discerning people knew that the wealth calculated in these wealth rankings was only the visible portion of the Duke of Devonshire’s wealth.

It was no exaggeration to say that, in secret, the Duke of Devonshire controlled Britain’s leading companies in communications, energy, media, automobiles, retail, luxury brands, finance, technology, and more. Truly, every Briton, from birth to death, could not live without the industries he controlled.

If something happened to such a person…

The consequences were unimaginable. To say nothing else, if it caused chaos, the entire British economy would likely suffer a setback.

No wonder that upon learning of this matter, the Queen immediately summoned Cameron, hoping to get detailed information about the matter and confirm the Duke of Devonshire’s safety.

…

“Boss, the source of the funds is difficult to determine in the short term, but what is certain is that many of our holding companies have been heavily shorted, and some media have already begun to release news of the Duke’s misfortune…”

In the City of London’s DS Financial Center, the atmosphere at DS Group was somewhat tense.

The SEC’s investigation into DS Group’s New York branch for illegal trading a few days ago, although troublesome, was not a major issue for Daisy. Historically, Wall Street capital, including Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase, had been investigated by the SEC, but it often ended without resolution. At most, they would pay a fine to reach a settlement, so-called “spending money to avoid trouble.”

Moreover, DS Group’s internal self-examination had also proved that they did not have particularly big problems in the areas alleged by the SEC. Of course, it would be an exaggeration to say that their operations were completely legal and compliant, but it was very normal for financial groups like them to have individual employees who slightly crossed the line. It was not at all to the point where the SEC would seriously deal with it.

If that were the case, then all Wall Street capital, without exception, would probably be doomed…

But starting today, DS Group began to discover that the listed companies they controlled, including United Energy Group, O2 Telecom, Woaw Technology, and others, whether listed on the London Stock Exchange or on the US stock market, had successively been heavily shorted…

If this happened at any other time, Daisy would not panic but would laugh, because that would be tantamount to suicide.

But choosing the current time, coupled with some media—including American and European media—releasing news of the Duke’s accident, was a bit troublesome.

Because this news would inevitably affect market sentiment. When the market doubted these companies in the face of the Duke of Devonshire’s accident and the uncertain future of the companies, it would easily lead to investors selling their holdings to avoid risks. This was like a domino effect, and under the chain reaction, it would inevitably lead to a continuous decline in stock prices.

Even if they could come up with funds to support the stock price… it would be easy for those shorting institutions to take a bite out of them in the process.

Moreover, before this, because of the global quantitative easing policy, the capital controlled by Baron was also taking the opportunity to make large-scale acquisitions. If they now took out huge amounts of funds to support the stock prices of related companies, it would easily cause a liquidity shortage in the operation of these industries. If someone seized on this point to attack them in a targeted manner, the consequences would be more than just being bitten off a piece of meat…

What Daisy felt was troublesome now was that she herself could not contact Baron, which made her worry about him and also unsure of how much to counterattack in the face of the current short selling.

“Temporarily use our existing funds to protect the market. Also, contact those companies and release relevant announcements as soon as possible to appease investors.”

This was also the safest approach now…

…

Quincy Dean, the director of the FBI’s Criminal Investigation Division, walked into the interrogation room again.

At this time, Ivanka, who was sitting in the interrogation room, looked at him calmly, accompanied by her legal counsel.

Although the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution protects the due process rights of American citizens, including “protection from unreasonable searches and seizures.”

That is to say, law enforcement agencies cannot search and detain citizens without concrete evidence and reasons.

But now Ivanka was facing the FBI. The FBI did not completely need charges to arrest people. Although in most cases, they would arrest and prosecute suspects based on criminal behavior, sometimes they might launch investigations based on other reasons. In this case, the FBI might take action even without clear charges.

The FBI’s responsibility is to investigate and combat various crimes, including terrorism, economic crimes, and cyber crimes.

In the process of carrying out its mission, the FBI sometimes takes extreme measures, even without concrete charges. They only need suspected criminal behavior to conduct investigations and interrogations of targets.

Now the FBI had detained Ivanka for nearly 10 hours. If they could not find enough evidence, then at most after 24 hours, they would have to let Ivanka leave.

After all, Ivanka was not an ordinary person. Not to mention that she came from the TP family, even IC Capital, which she managed, was a capital giant in America. Moreover, after Ivanka was taken away by the FBI for “assisting in the investigation,” her team had already taken action. Many members of Congress had “expressed concern” about this, and there were no lack of members of Congress questioning whether the FBI had evidence to carry out this action.

It could be said that the FBI was also under considerable pressure now.

DNA Quincy Dean did not care about this. He sat in front of Ivanka and placed a newspaper on the table:

“Ms. TP, you might be interested in the report on this.”

Ivanka first glanced at her legal counsel. After the other party nodded, she picked up the newspaper. It was a copy of The Wall Street Journal, which Ivanka usually read.

However, when her eyes fell on the bold headline on the front page, she immediately showed a surprised expression and widened her eyes.

“British Duke of Devonshire’s Private Jet Attacked and Exploded, No Survivors…”

“No, this can’t be true!”

Quincy Dean had been anticipating this moment before he came in. At this time, he admired the slightly distraught expression on Ivanka’s beautiful face and smiled:

“Do you think we would give you a fake newspaper? In front of your lawyer? Perhaps, Ms. TP, I can give you time to let your lawyer verify the authenticity of this news…”

Chapter 958: A Meticulous Conspiracy

“My friend, you’ve deceived the entire world…”

“It’s not like that, dear Salman, I was merely observing the situation for the time being…”

Baron said to Ben Salman, who was standing before him:

“Sometimes such moments of waiting are necessary, so one can see more clearly who is a friend and who is an enemy.”

“I am very fortunate that we are friends.”

Hearing Salman’s words, Baron smiled:

“I am also very fortunate to have your support. I believe we will change many things.”

“Hopefully. You are always someone who can create miracles, aren’t you?”

While many places were experiencing various repercussions fueled by the news of the accident involving Baron’s private jet, Baron was actually at the Colomanges base, holding a secret meeting with Ben Salman.

As for what happened during this time, let’s rewind to noon, before the incident occurred.

After that dream the previous night, Baron had felt a persistent unease.

Then, Baron received a call from Mikhail…

Without this call, Baron would have dismissed the feeling as a figment of his imagination.

After all, despite experiencing the inexplicable phenomenon of rebirth, Baron was, for the most part, a very rational person. He didn’t like to let his emotions cloud his judgment.

“Are you sure there’s a problem with my security team?”

Baron asked in the study after Mikhail arrived at Colomanges.

“Although we cannot be one hundred percent certain, as we do not yet have concrete evidence, any risk is unnecessary for you…”

Mikhail said to Baron solemnly:

“Therefore, I hope you can postpone your departure from Colomanges until our investigation yields results. Furthermore, we need to isolate all members of the security team first.”

Baron knew that what Mikhail was saying was the best option, and through a series of events, he had a deep foundation of trust in him.

“Then do it.”

Just as Baron finished speaking, they suddenly faintly heard gunshots.

Mikhail immediately shielded Baron behind him. He opened the door and asked the captain of the special operations team he had brought:

“What happened?”

The fully armed special operations team outside the door immediately adopted a defensive posture.

“It’s not clear yet. The sound came from downstairs…”

This time, Mikhail had brought over twenty members of the special operations team to Baron’s residence. He immediately ordered a small team to investigate, while the rest continued to protect the Duke.

The news that the team sent to investigate brought back was… Baron’s security advisor, Danny Burton, had been found dead from a gunshot wound in a room downstairs…

Based on the scene, it could be determined that Danny Burton had committed suicide with his own gun.

Just as Mikhail was preparing to control the members of Baron’s security team, Danny Burton immediately committed suicide, which was naturally very suspicious.

However, a few minutes later, Mikhail received news from London. After confirmation, the families of all the security team members were confirmed to be safe and sound, except for Danny Burton’s wife and two children…

Initially, when they made phone inquiries with reasonable excuses, Danny Burton’s wife answered the phone and seemed perfectly normal.

But when their personnel arrived at Danny Burton’s home, they couldn’t find his family. When they tried to contact them again via mobile phone, no one answered.

All of this information pointed to the fact that the person who betrayed the Duke was likely his security advisor, Danny Burton…

Sure enough, in the subsequent search, C4 explosives were found in a box that Danny Burton had placed on the Devonshire. If the explosives in this box detonated, no one on the entire plane would survive.

It should be noted that the security checks for Baron’s private jet had always been carried out by the security team led by Danny Burton.

The weapons carried by the security team would be placed in a special box in a coded storage room on the plane during the flight—the box with the built-in C4 explosives was found in that storage room.

Therefore, only Danny Burton had the opportunity to put it there, after all, the weapons in that storage room were ultimately checked by Danny Burton…

At this point, the matter seemed to have been resolved without any real danger.

However, out of caution, Mikhail still controlled and isolated the remaining security team members. They would be temporarily sent to the Manges base, and would only be freed after it was finally determined that the others were not involved.

Furthermore, Baron’s team would forgo traveling to America on the Devonshire and instead arrange for another plane to depart at a later time.

The Devonshire would still carry some items, including vehicles and supplies, to America as originally planned.

Then, while the Devonshire was flying at high altitude over the border between Libya and Algeria, it was attacked by missiles and exploded in mid-air…

Looking at the map, it would seem that traveling from Colomanges to America would involve directly crossing the Atlantic, as flying in a straight line between two points is the shortest route.

But in reality, aviation routes are often not like that. Firstly, the Earth is spherical, so the flight path between two distant points is actually an arc, not a simple straight line.

In addition, the safety of the flight must also be considered. Just as the route from China to America does not directly cross the Pacific, the route from West Africa to America does not simply cross the Atlantic.

Especially for Baron’s private jet, the possibility of aircraft failure needed to be considered—if they directly crossed the ocean, then during the journey, there would only be the vast sea below. Once the plane encountered a problem, there would be no opportunity for an emergency landing…

Therefore, their route would follow the coastline of the continent as much as possible, first flying north towards the Arctic to reach North America.

This is why the Devonshire was attacked at the border between Libya and Algeria on its way to North America.

The subsequent attack on the Devonshire also made Mikhail feel fortunate—from this, it could be seen how meticulous the person who planned this assassination was.

They not only used Danny Burton to place the box containing C4 explosives on the plane, but also knew the plane’s flight path—either they had hidden a tracking device on the plane, or they had hacked into the plane’s internal system—in this way, the explosives on the plane, plus the missile attack, would have made this assassination attempt against Baron foolproof…

Of course, if Mikhail had not promptly discovered the traitor in the security team from the clues and immediately brought people to Colomanges to prevent this flight…

Chapter 959: Appearance

Following the attack on the Devonshire, Barron traveled from Corlo’s capital, Britta, to Munger Base, the headquarters of Protector Military Services.

This was the first military base established by Protector Military Services in Corlo. After years of development, its facilities were complete and its defenses were strong. It could be said that for Barron, this was the safest place in Corlo.

All the members of Barron’s previous security team were being held in isolated confinement here.

Because his entire security team had been isolated, Barron replaced them with a new one.

Most of the members of Barron’s current security team were young people trained at Munger Base. These young people were all orphans adopted by the Devonshire Charitable Foundation several years ago. Some of the teenagers, although they received some basic education after arriving at Munger Base, chose to enter the Protector Military Services training camp due to their age.

It could be said that these people no longer had any family, and Barron gave them a new life. Coupled with the education they had received here, their loyalty to Barron was unmatched.

The new captain of Barron’s security team, who was also his new security advisor, was a young man named Peter Allen, who had been cultivated by Mikhail. It could be said that his skills were all inherited from Mikhail, and his loyalty to Barron was also beyond doubt.

Later, at Munger Base, Barron met with Ben Salman, who had arrived secretly.

It was almost ten years ago that Barron first met Ben Salman in London. He had gone to London with Prince Walid, and Ben Salman was just a young man at that time.

Over the years, Barron had maintained a friendship with Ben Salman. It could be said that their closeness was no less than that with Prince Walid.

The current Ben Salman was not yet the “iron-blooded” Saudi Crown Prince of Barron’s previous life. His father, Salman bin Abdulaziz, was currently the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia still followed the nomadic tradition of “succession by brothers.”

Salman bin Abdulaziz was born in 1935 and was now 78 years old. He was the 25th son of King Abdulaziz. Prior to this, Salman bin Abdulaziz had served as a senior official in Riyadh Province for nearly 50 years.

In November 2011, he replaced his brother Sultan, who died of illness, as Minister of Defense. Then, last year, he replaced another brother, Nayef, who died of illness, as Crown Prince, while also serving as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense.

In a little over a year, the current King of Saudi Arabia, Abdullah bin Abdulaziz, Salman bin Abdulaziz’s brother, passed away. As Crown Prince, he would ascend to the throne as King of Saudi Arabia and announce the Second Crown Prince and Second Deputy Prime Minister, his brother Muqrin, as Crown Prince.

Of course, everyone knew what happened later. In 2018 in the original timeline, Saudi King Salman announced the abolition of his brother Crown Prince Nayef and replaced him with his most favored son, Little Salman, also known as Ben Salman, as the new Crown Prince.

In this way, the Saudi Arabian throne inheritance system, which had been followed since the nomadic period, changed from “succession by brothers” to “father to son” in the case of Little Salman.

Although Little Salman was not yet the Saudi Crown Prince, his father, Old Salman, as a very powerful figure “second only to one” in Saudi Arabia, served as the Saudi Crown Prince, as well as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense, and had a great deal of resources at his disposal in Saudi Arabia.

Now that he was facing a choice between friends and enemies, Barron naturally needed allies like Little Salman to strengthen his side.

…

On October 29th, two days after the Duke of Devonshire’s private plane was attacked and exploded in mid-air, Duke of Devonshire Barron Cavendish appeared in London.

However, Barron did not accept media interviews, but only released a message through his spokesperson:

“His Grace the Duke is well. Upon returning to London this time, His Grace the Duke will first meet with Her Majesty the Queen. Afterwards, we will hold a special press conference to announce the details of this matter to the media.”

After meeting with Little Salman, Barron contacted London. It could be said that upon learning that the Duke of Devonshire was unharmed, some people, including the Queen and the Prime Minister, breathed a sigh of relief.

But at the same time, after Barron returned to London and showed his face, it could be said that some were happy and some were sad. Those who were close to him and stood on his side were relieved, but others were not so comfortable…

In fact, the moment Barron returned to London, Cameron had already arrived at Barron’s residence to meet with him.

Although by now, the British intelligence agencies had made some guesses about this matter. Based on the intelligence they had obtained and analyzed, there was a certain degree of directionality.

But Cameron also wanted to know what information Barron had about this matter. More importantly, after such a thing happened, what would this Duke do? Barron’s behavior was not just his own affair. It was no exaggeration to say that it would have a great impact on the situation in Britain. Cameron needed to assess this.

After all, in his opinion, Barron was still a “young man.” He was worried that after encountering such a thing, the other party would retaliate in anger, regardless of the consequences, thereby leading the matter to an uncontrollable point.

Barron certainly would not retaliate recklessly as Cameron feared, but a necessary response was also needed, which was the so-called “kill the chicken to scare the monkey,” or “strike a blow to avoid a hundred blows.” He wanted others to understand that if they did something “outside the rules” to him, then he would not mind stepping outside the rules to respond.

But at the same time, as he told Little Salman, it was still necessary to distinguish who was a friend and who was an enemy.

After all, he didn’t read that book for nothing. “Making more friends” was also the key to victory.

The reason why he was not in a hurry to publicize the “truth” of this incident after arriving in Britain was to wait for certain people to negotiate with him. The extent to which the “truth” would be revealed would also be related to the outcome of the negotiations.

When Cameron left Barron’s residence, his expression was not very good.

After all, during the meeting between the two, although Barron seemed very emotionally stable, Cameron did not completely convince him. What he hoped was that after paying a certain price, that is, dealing with the perpetrators, the two sides would shake hands and make peace, and no longer pursue the matter…

This was also because he had analyzed the results provided by the British intelligence system, and this incident pointed to certain American consortiums…

And those consortiums were also part of the so-called “deep state” of America. Therefore, if the reaction was too strong, he would inevitably be subjected to pressure from the American side…

Britain and America have a “special relationship” that both sides express, but in fact, in this special relationship, Britain attaches more importance to the close relationship with America. As for America, in some aspects—such as containing Europe—it also needs to achieve this through Britain.

To put it bluntly, Britain still needs to hold on to America’s thigh, and through demonstrating its value, it can be in a relatively comfortable position in the global structure system constructed by America.

This in itself was determined by the strength of both sides.

That is, Britain has not yet left the European Union, and at least still has a certain degree of “initiative.” If Britain leaves the European Union, then it can only choose to hold on to America’s thigh more closely, thereby becoming the other party’s “watchdog.”

But even so, Cameron had long understood that what he needed to do was to try his best to avoid a situation where Britain and America became enemies. This was also the reason why he advocated that Barron “take a step back” this time.

Chapter 960: Audience

But it was very clear that Cameron had not convinced Barron in this meeting.

On the contrary…

As he sat in the car on the way back, he seemed to still hear Barron’s words echoing in his ears:

“Prime Minister, I shouldn’t need to remind you, but you should understand what means those people used to deal with me this time. Not only was the CIA involved, but also the FBI and the SEC. Oh, and I can tell you that Mossad was also involved. If even I can be treated like this, what security can other British companies have? These underhanded tactics have gone beyond the bounds of competition.”

“Finally, I hope you understand that we need a British Prime Minister who first and foremost protects British interests, not an American spokesperson. So, this time, I hope you and the British government will stand with me. Think about what will happen to the British economy if I am brought down.”

Barron’s words were not alarmist. In the original timeline, without his presence, most of the major British companies had already been infiltrated by American capital. When you think of British brands, what comes to mind? The Times? That belongs to News Corporation. Rolls-Royce and Bentley? Those belong to German companies. Rolls-Royce engines? There is also American capital in that. HSBC? Standard Chartered? Barclays? These all have deep American investment…

It could be said that Barron himself had already blocked countless foreign investments from penetrating Britain…

Therefore, as he said to Cameron, even to protect British interests, they must stand with him. Otherwise, Britain has no future.

In fact, the more important Britain is to Europe, the more important it is to America. When Britain abandons Europe and wholeheartedly follows America, its value to America is greatly reduced.

This is the so-called “licking to the end and getting nothing…”

…

After this meeting with Cameron, Barron traveled by car to Buckingham Palace to meet the Queen.

In fact, this time Barron was meeting the Queen more to thank her for her concern during the time he was “missing,” and he did not expect to get any substantial support from her.

It must be admitted that in this day and age, as the figurehead of Britain, a constitutional monarchy, perhaps no one does it better than Her Majesty the Queen.

You must know that before the Queen, Britain went through a long game between Parliament and the King before finally establishing a constitutional monarchy—retaining the King, but the power to govern the country belongs to Parliament.

In other words, the King is the “mascot” of Britain, while Parliament has the power to govern the country.

But is this inevitable? Not everyone supports the existence of the King. The “republicans” in the British Parliament have always existed, and there has never been a shortage of voices calling for the abolition of the royal family.

The reason why the British royal family seems so “stable” now is mostly because the Queen is sitting in that position.

It can be said that the Queen has spent her entire life doing what is necessary to maintain the existence of the royal family. To this end, she can be said to have been trying her best to solve the various “troubles” of the royal family.

Before the Queen, the media had not yet reached the point where it could “broadcast” all over the world. At that time, the royal family only appeared on BBC radio, in newspapers, and at most, on the balcony of the palace…

At that time, the royal family had already begun to exist as the “mascot” of the country, but because it was distant from the people, it still had a mysterious veil—that is, the “sacredness” of the royal family.

But it was different from the Queen onwards. Mass media rose, and television and the internet became popular, so every move of the royal family was seen by the public…

So, for the royal family, they needed to make a choice—if the royal family behaved as if it were “dispensable,” then the public would begin to question why we should continue to support these people? But if the royal family behaved actively and aggressively, it would arouse the vigilance of Parliament.

And the Queen found a perfect balance in this.

She successfully shaped herself into a popular “cultural icon.” She only provided stable comfort to the public, giving various speeches and blessings, and never providing definite political advice.

In other words, you never see the Queen expressing any clear attitude on domestic or foreign affairs, only giving ambiguous platitudes. This is also adhering to the principle of leaving national management to Parliament, and only in this way can the royal family last longer.

Therefore, in Barron’s case, the royal family was destined not to “take sides,” and could only give him “all support except help” at most…

Sure enough, Barron’s audience with the Queen this time was very warm, and the Queen was very concerned about Barron, but it was of no use.

…

Compared with the meeting with the Queen, what was really important to Barron was the meeting he had the next morning with visitors from America who had come to London.

Those who came here to meet Barron included the special envoy of the American President, as well as representatives of the CIA Director and others.

Of course, although these people came on the same plane, Barron met with them separately.

The special envoy of the American President was named Avril Haines. Her current position was Deputy Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs and Deputy Counsel to the National Security Council…

Barron also knew something about this woman. After all, in Barron’s previous life, she later became the female boss of the American intelligence community—taking office as the Director of National Intelligence in 2021.

In fact, originally in the original timeline, Avril Haines had already become the Deputy Director of the CIA at this time, but because the current CIA Director David Petraeus did not resign due to an extramarital affair scandal, Avril Haines’ career had also changed somewhat, and she remained in her original position.

But it seems that this change will now be corrected.

Because Avril Haines, on behalf of Obama, hoped that Barron would characterize this incident as an “attack by a terrorist organization” in the subsequent press conference, rather than an assassination by certain people from America.

To this end, Avril Haines promised that they would deal with the relevant personnel of the CIA and FBI involved in this matter—CIA Deputy Director Michael Morell would be dismissed and subject to internal investigation, and Avril Haines would replace Michael Morell as CIA Deputy Director. FBI personnel involved in this matter, including Quincy Dean, the head of the Criminal Investigative Division who launched the investigation into Ivanka TP, would also be dismissed and prosecuted for “abuse of power.”

The SEC (American Securities and Exchange Commission) will also end its investigation into DS Group and Standard Chartered-Merrill Lynch…

Chapter 961: God’s Choice

Regarding Avril Haines’ proposal, Barron understood that this was a measure by the Americans to appease both Britain and Barron himself after the incident.

Of course, if the assassination had been successful, the outcome would have been completely different. Even if the British side protested, what could they do when the person was dead? Naturally, they would divide the spoils…

But now that things hadn’t succeeded, the moment of “reckoning” was about to arrive. After all, from the information Barron and the British intelligence network had gathered, this incident wasn’t orchestrated by the American government, but by certain American financial groups.

Although they were both part of the “deep state,” these capitalists weren’t monolithic. There were struggles and collaborations between the Jewish and Anglo-Saxon groups. Within the Jewish group itself, there were also different factions due to the division of interests, with their own struggles and collaborations…

Now that the financial group that planned this incident had ultimately failed, the other financial groups wouldn’t miss the opportunity to “settle accounts.”

And the executors of this assassination and related events would inevitably be brought out to appease Barron.

But Barron also knew that figures like CIA Deputy Director Michael Morell were naturally the main executors of the assassination plan. The CIA member who came to Britain to try to turn Barron’s security advisor, Danny Burton, was acting on orders from Michael Morell. Morell had served in the CIA for over 30 years and had deep-rooted connections within the agency, always having people willing to “do the dirty work” for him.

According to Avril Haines, the handling of Michael Morell, aside from removing him from his position, the so-called “internal investigation” would most likely just be for show.

Furthermore, as everyone knew, the “revolving door” phenomenon was very common in American politics, referring to government officials “serving” capital, and then, after leaving office, taking positions in large corporations, with many even just serving as salaried “consultants”…

Someone like Michael Morell, after being removed from his position as CIA Deputy Director, would certainly be able to continue working as a “consultant” for companies controlled by certain capital…

This was why someone of his stature could be used by those capitalists.

“Britain and America are close allies, and we have always invested in America according to the rules. If someone acts outside the rules, the consequences are not so easily remedied, Ms. Haines.”

Hearing Barron’s words, Avril Haines’ expression gradually became serious. She looked at him and asked:

“This requires us to jointly correct the errors and bring things back to the rules. Do you want to continue to break the rules, Your Grace?”

“Given my good personal relationship with your President, and out of respect for America, I’m not planning to go for the jugular…”

As Barron spoke, a gold coin danced between his fingertips…

This was a gold coin minted in the mid-thirteenth century during the reign of Henry III, known as “Britain’s earliest gold coin.” Only eight of them remained in the world, each worth over 400,000 pounds.

Barron held the gold coin in his hand and said to Avril Haines with a smile:

“But someone has to pay the price. I can let God decide. The human image is Michael Morell, the cross is Quincy Dean. Who do you think it will be?”

At that moment, Avril Haines simply looked at the gold coin in Barron’s hand, unable to speak for a moment. She was still thinking about the meaning of his words…

And Barron gently tossed the gold coin onto the coffee table between them. After a crisp sound, the gold coin spun…

“Unfortunately, it’s the human image. It seems God has made a choice…”

When the gold coin stopped, Barron glanced at it indifferently and said to Avril Haines.

“Your Grace, we… we can’t do this. Everything needs to be within the framework of the law.”

Hearing Avril Haines’ words, Barron gently shook his head:

“I can accept rules, and I can accept chaos, but I can’t accept someone switching between rules and chaos at will.”

Avril Haines had been paying attention to Barron’s expression and demeanor. At that moment, she suddenly thought of something, and her face changed:

“I need to communicate with my country first, Your Grace. I hope you will act cautiously…”

“If that’s the case, then you can go and rest for a while. I’ll talk to the others. After all, a result that satisfies all parties isn’t so easy to achieve.”

At this point, Avril Haines couldn’t care about much else. After leaving Barron’s residence and returning to her room, she immediately took out her phone and dialed a number.

Because just now, she finally realized that the Duke might not only be pinning his “response” on negotiations with her, especially when the gold coin landed on the side representing Michael Morell’s human image…

But after Avril Haines contacted her country, before she could remind them to protect Michael Morell’s personal safety, she received a piece of news that she found hard to believe…

Just now, CIA Deputy Director Michael Morell, less than two kilometers from Langley headquarters, had a dispute with someone over a minor car accident and was shot dead by the other party who emptied his magazine.

And the black youth who attacked Michael, when confronted by the police officers who arrived at the scene, was shot to pieces by multiple officers for threatening them with a gun.

What shocked Avril Haines the most was that the time of Michael Morell’s death was less than ten minutes after the British Duke had said to her, “God has made a choice!”

Avril certainly didn’t believe this was “God’s choice.” Based on her experience, she could almost certainly determine that this was the Duke’s doing, and his “response.”

But the speed of execution was still a bit frightening to her.

This was a “linkage” between two ends of the earth, 6,000 kilometers apart. If the fall of that gold coin really decided Michael Morell’s life or death, then the so-called “God’s choice” was more like the “Duke’s choice.” This was really… too terrifying!

After this shock and fear, Avril Haines suddenly felt a surge of anger.

The Duke of Devonshire’s actions… how dare he! Even though the other party had made a mistake, his current position was still the Deputy Director of the CIA, one of the leaders of the most powerful intelligence system on the planet, and also the position she was about to take over. Yet, his life or death was decided by a gold coin?!

Chapter 962: Is This Where It Ends?

The moment Avril Haines learned that CIA Deputy Director Michael Morell had been “emptied of his magazine,” she notified the United States to protect another person—Quincy Dean, the head of the FBI Criminal Investigative Division, represented by one side of the gold coin’s cross.

Fortunately, Quincy Dean did not meet with misfortune, perhaps because, as Barron said, “God” had not chosen him.

But they dared not take it lightly. Quincy Dean was temporarily suspended and kept at FBI headquarters under “protection.”

As for Ivanka, who was taken away by the FBI for “assisting with the investigation,” she had already been released.

Speaking of which, Barron was slightly worried about Ivanka when the incident occurred.

Not only was he worried about her safety, but Barron also knew that in his previous life, after her father stepped down, Ivanka had chosen to cooperate with the Democratic Party, “backstabbing” her father…

Would she make the same choice this time?

In fact, Barron had been prepared for this beforehand. IC Capital, which Ivanka managed as Barron’s vehicle for controlling his American assets, would have suffered severe consequences if she had chosen to betray him.

Some of Ivanka’s people, including her bodyguards, were also responsible for providing Barron with information about her. In addition, Barron had made arrangements within IC Capital.

During the period when Ivanka’s freedom was restricted by the FBI, the masterminds behind this incident had already tried to co-opt her. The choice they offered was that Ivanka could cooperate with them to truly control IC Capital and become a member of the “deep state.” Besides that, they could make Barron disappear, and they could also make her disappear…

Thankfully, Ivanka made the right choice—she refused their offer.

Regardless of the reason for Ivanka’s choice, the saying “judge by actions, not intentions” applies. She passed Barron’s test and gained his trust.

Although the head of the FBI Criminal Investigative Division, Quincy Dean, was “protected,” this might not be the best outcome for him.

Because after this, he would probably live in fear forever…

In the following hour, many “accidents” happened one after another.

The Jewish woman named Miriam Nelson, a partner at a consulting firm, who offered Ivanka a cooperative choice in the FBI interrogation room, was found dead at home from a drug overdose.

An arms dealer named Adam Sanders, who had connections with both American and Israeli intelligence agencies and had many clients in North Africa, was found dead in a trash can in an alley not far from the Vanguard Group headquarters. It was clear without an autopsy that he had been brutally tortured before his death.

Almost simultaneously, David Rothschild was found dead at home, his symptoms diagnosed as a “sudden heart attack.”

By the time Avril Haines saw Barron again, her emotions had stabilized considerably.

Placing a file containing detailed reports of the several people who had “accidentally died” in the past few hours in front of Barron, Avril Haines said to him:

“Your Grace, I think this should stop here. Things should not continue to spiral out of control.”

“Normally, I am very willing to reason, Ms. Haines, when I am not threatened.”

“Then let’s reason, if you don’t want to lose the American market.”

Hearing Avril’s words, Barron scrutinized her:

“Are you threatening me?”

“I am just relaying the words from the United States, Your Grace.”

“Then I can also trouble you to relay my words. The American market is very large and very important, but it is not the only one. Besides that, there is the Chinese market, and if that is not enough, there is the Russian market…”

Barron said calmly:

“England is a close ally of the United States, and there is a special alliance between the two sides. We have always believed this before, and we have always done so, but now the United States’ actions are pushing us away from this alliance, which is probably something neither of us wants to see.”

“This incident was just an accident. We will avoid such things from happening again, but you should also restrain yourself. When he learned about the actions against you, the President was also very angry…”

“I will personally thank the President for his concern. In addition, we should talk about some substantive issues.”

…

As the two continued to sit down and talk, it was destined that Barron’s “off the books” response to certain American consortia would come to an end.

Yes, it was an “off the books” response.

In fact, at the same time that Barron returned to London and appeared in person, the DS Group, led by Daisy, had already begun to take action.

Regarding the large-scale short selling of the listed companies controlled by the DS Group, the DS Group could only respond in a limited way due to funding constraints.

But when Barron returned to London, he also brought back a huge amount of funds. When he met with Little Salman, the two sides reached a new cooperation. Saudi Arabia provided Barron with as much as 35 billion US dollars in funding. At the same time, their bank also provided DS Capital with a loan quota of 15 billion US dollars.

This meant that the DS Group could use an additional 50 billion US dollars!

With these funds, coupled with the news that the Duke of Devonshire had safely returned to London, the DS Group immediately intervened on a large scale. The stock prices of the related companies rebounded strongly within a day, without even giving the short-selling funds a chance to close their positions in time.

This time, they wanted to bite off a piece of flesh from him, or even “divide and devour” him, but Barron would make them cough up blood…

The next morning, the British government announced that it would expel two Israeli diplomats and hoped that Israel would explain the kidnapping and murder that occurred in London.

This was the second time in British history that Britain had expelled an Israeli diplomat, after Britain expelled an Israeli diplomat in 2010 because Israeli agents used British passports to assassinate a Hamas leader in Dubai.

For a time, relations between Britain and Israel dropped to freezing point.

Before this, Barron had said that he announced the news would be released in two days to give the relevant parties a chance to negotiate.

People from the United States had already come, and they had reached an agreement.

But the people from Israel had not come…

Yes, the Mossad of Israel was also involved in this assassination.

Just two days ago, London police found three bodies by a river in the suburbs. They were Danny Burton’s (Barron’s previous security consultant) wife and two children, all shot in the head.

When he was in Colo, Danny Burton chose to commit suicide, probably more to protect his family, who were controlled by those people, but he probably did not expect the other party to be so decisive and ruthless.

After investigation, it was not the CIA who attacked Danny Burton’s family. This method was more like the way Mossad operated.

In addition, through the interrogation of arms dealer Adam Sanders, it was learned that Mossad also assisted in transporting the surface-to-air missiles to West Africa. Even the armed men who used surface-to-air missiles to attack the Devonshire were brought in by Mossad…

Since this was the case, Barron agreed with the United States not to use “off the books” methods against their people, but that did not include the people from Israel.

In fact, for those “lunatics,” rules were of no use.

Chapter 963: Facing Threats

“In a single day, just one day, we went from being profitable to losing over $5 billion!”

“Complaining is useless now. We should be thinking about how to minimize the losses. You know, after the stock market opens tomorrow… or even before tomorrow, the European stock markets are already giving us a headache.”

New York, Manhattan.

In this global financial center, the heads of the three leading figures of the Jewish consortium, including Vanguard Group, BlackRock, and State Street Corporation, were gathered to discuss the situation.

Hearing the conversation between Joseph Hooley, Chairman and CEO of State Street Corporation, and Larry Fink of BlackRock, F. William McNabb III, Chairman of Vanguard Group, remained silent for a moment.

Larry Fink glanced at him and then said to the slightly agitated Joseph Hooley:

“We have stronger capital. As long as we go all out, we can definitely drive down their stock price…”

“Then how do we do that? Tell our investors that we need to sell other assets to short that damned Englishman’s company? Or send someone to just kill him directly? You know, we’ve already received warnings that if we don’t stop, then…”

Joseph Hooley shrugged:

“Who knows if he’ll target us next?”

This large-scale short-selling targeting DS Group’s holding listed companies was undoubtedly initiated by Vanguard, BlackRock, and State Street.

However, facing the sudden surge in the stock prices of the related companies, which has resulted in huge paper losses for them, the most anxious of the three was Joseph Hooley, the Chairman of State Street Corporation.

You see, at the end of last year, due to poor performance, coupled with State Street Bank’s stock price falling to less than a quarter of its pre-financial crisis level, and the lack of any impressive performance since then, four shareholders even jointly proposed replacing Joseph Hooley.

Although this “palace coup” was resolved by Joseph Hooley, he could imagine what fate awaited him if they submitted another severely loss-making financial report this year.

The reason why State Street Corporation joined this time was that Joseph Hooley saw it as an opportunity to cooperate with Vanguard and BlackRock and hitch a ride to make a profit.

Moreover, the strong rise of DS Group and Standard Chartered-Merrill Lynch had indeed diluted State Street Corporation’s profits in many areas. Being able to suppress them was also something Joseph Hooley was happy to see.

But who could have imagined this outcome…

“Perhaps we should send someone to talk to that Duke. What does he want? At least let us leave safely!”

Hearing Joseph Hooley’s words, Larry Fink frowned almost imperceptibly and looked at McNabb III of Vanguard Group again.

Noticing their gazes, McNabb III stubbed out his cigar violently in the ashtray and said coldly:

“What do you want? Do you want me to apologize to that guy and beg for his forgiveness?”

“But things always have to be resolved. You initiated this matter, so now that it’s come to this, we need to consider how to end it.”

Larry Fink’s words were like lighting McNabb III’s fuse:

“F**K! Are you already preparing to throw all the problems at me? Yes, I proposed this plan, but you all agreed to join and used your power to push it forward. Now, no one can stay out of it…”

As McNabb III spoke, his emotions became more and more agitated. He stood up and pointed out the window, saying:

“I’m the one facing the greatest threat and pressure, understand? Right there, where we can see, that arms dealer’s body was thrown there like garbage. Do you understand what that means?”

In McNabb III’s roar, Larry Fink and Joseph Hooley both fell silent.

It wasn’t just McNabb III. In those bloody hours before, Larry Fink and Joseph Hooley had hired the best security companies and increased their bodyguards to protect their safety.

It is said that the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division Director, the poor Quincy Dean, although still alive and under FBI protection, has emotionally collapsed and even attacked the FBI officers protecting him, mistaking them for assassins sent to kill him…

And back to their short-selling action against DS Group’s holding listed companies, their losses in this have already exceeded $5 billion… In fact, the number of losses may be rising every minute now…

After all, the markets where those companies are listed include Europe and North America, which means that even in their sleep, they still have to face the situation of constantly rising losses—how can they have a peaceful sleep in this situation? The predicament that Daisy of DS Group faced in the beginning has been returned to them in double measure.

It can be said that except for Larry Fink, who is slightly more stable in his position as the founder of BlackRock, once the losses this time are huge, then McNabb III and Joseph Hooley may need to consider the anger of the board of directors and shareholders, and the consequences of being fired.

When that time really comes, without the high security costs covered by the company’s funds, the two of them may have to face the fear of “accidental death” at any time.

“Perhaps we should talk to that Duke first…”

When Larry Fink said this idea again, neither McNabb III nor Joseph Hooley objected.

…

“These are the results of our investigation into all company executives, Your Grace.”

After taking the documents handed over by Nigel Inceaster, Barron did not rush to open them. Instead, he casually placed them on the table and said to his intelligence advisor:

“Give me a brief overview, Nigel.”

“Fortunately, the CEOs have maintained their positions, but the situation is still not that optimistic. Almost all companies have people who are in contact with them, especially O2 Telecom and some of the American branch’s high-level executives of Standard Chartered-Merrill Lynch…”

“That’s more optimistic than I initially expected, isn’t it?”

“It can only be said that they are all smart people who have made wise choices.”

“Okay, then deal with it according to this list…”

Noticing Nigel’s expression, Barron asked:

“What’s wrong? Is there anything else you want to say?”

“Two things. The first is the attitude of the Conservative Party towards this matter. Although we need to strengthen Ms. Jo Harriman’s position within the Conservative government, it must be admitted that she is still too young, and further promotion may cause a lot of backlash…”

Barron understood what Nigel meant. In this matter, the attitude of some people within the Conservative Party was also very subtle.

For example, Theresa May. In the original timeline, after Cameron resigned, she became the leader of the Conservative Party and the British Prime Minister as his successor.

It can be said that as the Home Secretary, Theresa’s ranking in the Conservative government is already among the top.

The main reason why she “knocked” on MI6 Director Alex Younger after the incident was that she felt Jo Harriman’s threat to her position.

Chapter 964: Controlling the Scale

Theresa May having such thoughts showed a certain degree of political sensitivity.

After all, although Barron had contact with her, their relationship wasn’t particularly close, especially compared to Jo Harriman.

Theresa May, Jo Harriman, and Truss were among the fastest-rising women within the Conservative Party.

Of course, if comparisons were to be made, Jo Harriman was a better match for Truss, as Theresa May’s seniority within the Conservative Party far exceeded both of them.

But as women, Jo Harriman posed a greater threat to Theresa May. After all, many people were aware that she had a powerful background—not only had Jo Harriman gained the support of former Conservative Party leader Howard, allowing her to inherit some of his political legacy, but more importantly, she had the support of the Duke of Devonshire, who wielded immense influence in Britain…

This was also a crucial factor in Jo Harriman’s meteoric rise after joining the Conservative Party and entering politics at a young age.

Compared to Jo Harriman, Theresa May’s only advantage might be her greater seniority and her “loyalty” to Cameron—Theresa May was one of Cameron’s staunch supporters within the Conservative Party, which was why she was able to secure the important position of Home Secretary.

Besides Theresa May, another figure within the Conservative Party with a subtle attitude this time was the current Mayor of London, Johnson.

Having successfully campaigned for and won re-election as Mayor of London, Johnson was also one of the Conservative Party’s “key members.”

And currently, Johnson was also an important supporter of Cameron.

Rumor has it that after his current term as Mayor of London expires, if the Conservative Party can continue to win the next general election, then Johnson will replace William Hague as the next Foreign Secretary.

At that time, Johnson would also become the direct superior of MI6.

Therefore, compared to Theresa May, Johnson’s warning to Alex Younger this time probably put even more pressure on the latter.

After all, when it comes to appointing or dismissing the head of MI6, the Foreign Secretary’s will is very important, and the Prime Minister often prioritizes their opinion.

As for why Johnson’s attitude had changed, it wasn’t difficult to understand. He must have felt the Duke of Devonshire’s “cold shoulder” towards him during this period.

After all, Barron understood that Johnson had a bit of a rebellious streak in him.

Or, more specifically, he had no moral constraints when it came to changing his stance for the sake of his political future.

For example, in the original timeline, after sensing subtle changes in public opinion before the Brexit referendum, Johnson was able to “stab” Cameron in the back without any burden, switching to the Brexit camp and leading to Cameron’s resignation.

Then, after Theresa May took office, he openly stirred up trouble on the Brexit issue, leading to Theresa May’s mishandling of Brexit and eventual resignation, allowing Johnson to successfully take over.

Although Johnson himself wasn’t clean, with plenty of scandals in his private life, he could be said to be a master of grasping public opinion, very skilled at placing himself in the position of “representative of the people” to gain support.

Therefore, Barron naturally wouldn’t use such a person with confidence, and instead began to support Jo Harriman in gaining more support within the Conservative Party.

Having sensed this shift in Barron’s attitude, Johnson didn’t let go of the opportunity presented by the previous assassination attempt, and covertly obstructed it.

“For them, if our actions are too big, it will not only go against the rhythm of our previous plans, but also lead to a deterioration in our relationship with Cameron. After all, both Theresa May and Johnson are important supporters of the Prime Minister within the Conservative Party. With the election getting closer, he needs to maintain unity within the Conservative Party…”

Barron understood what Nigel meant. It was simply that Jo Harriman had just undergone a position adjustment, obtaining the higher-ranking position of Minister for Business, Skills and Innovation. Coupled with her age and seniority, it would be difficult for her to continue rising in the short term, especially before the election.

And now they were still trying to win over more senior members of the Conservative Party. If they were to openly target Theresa May and Johnson now, it would inevitably lead to estrangement between them and Cameron, as well as some members of the Conservative Party.

After all, although Theresa May and Johnson’s attitudes were somewhat subtle this time, they still had a certain degree of concealment and hadn’t openly rebelled. This was fundamentally different from the conflicts with the United States and Israel.

Moreover, even if they managed to bring the two down, they wouldn’t be able to fully reap the rewards—Jo Harriman didn’t yet have the seniority to replace either of them.

Therefore, the best option was to “take it slowly,” or to only target one of them.

“What’s your suggestion?”

“At most, we can start by covertly targeting Johnson in the media, since he has more ‘stains.’ Moreover, Theresa May herself has a moderate political stance, without overly distinctive views, and rarely makes mistakes.”

After confirming Nigel’s first point, he raised a second matter…

“Also, the scale of the weapons support for Hamas needs to be adjusted. We can’t accomplish what the entire Arab world hasn’t been able to achieve. At the moment, we just need to express our attitude…”

This was related to another secret agreement Barron had reached with Mohammed bin Salman.

In response to the Israeli Mossad’s involvement in the assassination attempt against Barron, Barron would provide a batch of arms to the Palestinian resistance organization Hamas through the Kolo weapons manufacturing base, including rockets, explosives, and some related weapons and equipment, which would be delivered to Hamas through Saudi channels.

At the same time, Hamas would also receive a sum of money.

Barron’s request was that Hamas needed to carry out a rocket attack against Tel Aviv in the near future.

This was essentially Barron “hiring” Hamas to attack Israeli territory.

Of course, Hamas, which was competing with the PLO for prestige within Palestine, was happy to do so. After all, Hamas had already done this once in the recent Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

As for why Mossad was involved in the assassination attempt against Barron, it wasn’t difficult to understand—on the one hand, those American Jewish financial groups were deeply involved with Zionism itself, and Mossad had always been adept at terrorist attacks and assassinations. Naturally, those financiers preferred to entrust such matters to professionals.

Moreover, Barron didn’t believe that Mossad would be unaware of the Devonshire Charitable Foundation’s adoption and training of some Palestinians, as well as Barron’s “adopted son” Rami Shakfa’s donations to Palestine through some related organizations. However, because of Barron’s identity, they wouldn’t have taken drastic action before. But now, with the commission from the “financiers,” they could take the opportunity to retaliate.

Nigel was reminding Barron this time that a response to Israel was necessary, but the scale needed to be controlled.

After all, as he said, even if Barron provided full support, it wouldn’t be possible to achieve the goals that the Arab world hadn’t been able to achieve in the previous Middle East wars—as an important strategic foothold for the United States in the Middle East, they wouldn’t allow Israel to suffer a devastating blow.

Moreover, getting too deeply involved in such a conflict wouldn’t be in Barron’s interests.

Chapter 965: A Satisfying Punishment

Speaking of which, in America’s global strategy, it controls strategic strongholds in all major regions.

For example, Japan and South Korea in Asia, Great Britain in Europe, and Israel in the Middle East.

Then the question arises, apart from Japan and South Korea existing as colonies, the other two have a complex “co-father and son” relationship with America…

If Great Britain and Israel have irreconcilable conflicts, which side will America stand on?

One is the biological father, and the other is the surrogate father. Of course, without a doubt, America will stand with Israel. Faced with this situation, what can Great Britain do except complain about an “ungrateful son”?

What’s more, even if Barron has great influence in Great Britain, he still cannot represent Great Britain. At least for now, he cannot exist as the “uncrowned king” of Great Britain.

Therefore, if his conflict with Israel escalates, in addition to his own strength not being able to compete with Israel at present, America will of course take action to prevent their… uh, strategic stronghold in the Middle East from being hit.

This is what Nigel said to Barron, that they need to respond to Mossad’s involvement in the assassination attempt on Barron, but they also need to control the scale of the response.

In addition to supporting Hamas with some weapons to strike Israel, Barron has also expanded the “adoption” of Palestinian orphans, and will train a group of qualified young people in the Munger base for the future of Palestine.

…

“It’s so good that you’re okay…”

“There were some small troubles, but they’re all over now, baby.”

After being released, Ivanka stabilized the situation of IC Capital and immediately took a plane to London.

For safety reasons, she specifically traveled in first class on a commercial flight this time.

In this incident, Ivanka refused the other party’s threat of cooperation, which can be said to have passed Barron’s test, and temporarily dispelled his doubts about Ivanka’s “backstab” in her previous life when building the country.

Of course, it is reasonable to think this way, after all, in her previous life, Ivanka chose the interests of her and her husband’s “small family,” and now, although Barron and her have no official status, they can be regarded as a “small family.”

Moreover, she is also a smart woman, understanding that although she manages IC Capital, most of the time, it is because she has Barron as a backer that she can achieve her current achievements.

Otherwise, based on her ability alone, is she stronger than her father?

Think about how much the assets of the entire TP family are now, and how much the assets of IC Capital she manages are. The reason for this is clear.

A person can be smart, stupid, or ordinary, but as long as they understand the boundaries of their abilities, it is not difficult to have a good ending.

In addition to Ivanka’s arrival, John Bogle arrived in London not long after her.

“It’s not easy to see you, Your Grace, after all, such a long trip is no longer easy for me.”

John Bogle looked older than when Barron first met him, after all, he is already 84 years old this year.

He sat in the position Avril Haines had sat in before and said to Barron:

“I haven’t been in charge of Vanguard Group for a long time, but now in this regrettable situation, they have invited me out again…”

When John Bogle appeared, Barron already understood the purpose of his visit.

After all, in the past few days, they have not given those Jewish capital a chance to withdraw in time, or rather, the opportunity has passed while the other party hesitated.

When the other party’s attack was the fiercest, the stock prices of listed companies controlled by DS Group, including United Energy Group, O2 Telecom, and Woaw Technology, once fell by 20-25%, which was enough to cause panic in the market.

However, as DS Group obtained funds and began a large-scale counterattack, coupled with the announcement by various companies that major shareholders would contribute to increase their holdings to stabilize confidence, and Barron’s spokesperson stated that all companies were operating well and that profits had increased in the third quarter of this year, the stock prices of these companies began a strong rebound from the bottom, not only recovering lost ground, but even having a retaliatory rise compared to before.

This situation made it very uncomfortable for those short-selling capital, including Vanguard Group and BlackRock Group. It is conservatively estimated that their losses in this short-selling will exceed 15 billion US dollars!

You know, when Société Générale in France lost nearly 5 billion euros, it almost caused the bank to go bankrupt. Now, if they cannot reduce their losses as soon as possible, even for companies like Vanguard and BlackRock, it will not be crippling, but it will cause them to lose a larger amount of capital flow - this will cause them to lose the trust of a considerable number of investors, who will then choose to withdraw their investment.

“Fortunately, you can still see me, Mr. Bogle. This is already God’s favor to me.”

“This is a very irrational, unforgivable mistake, Your Grace. It also violates my original intention of founding Vanguard Group…”

Regardless of John Bogle’s true thoughts, at least at this moment, he still showed emotions of anger and sadness.

He sincerely said to Barron:

“The board of directors will remove William from the position of chairman and CEO, and dismiss all personnel in the company involved in this matter, and will suspend all malicious short-selling of companies related to you…”

When John Bogle said this, Barron did not immediately respond, but continued to look at him with a smile, waiting for his next words.

“Of course, in order to avoid market turmoil, I hope you can temporarily stop operating here so that we can complete the closing of positions smoothly.”

The other party’s losses in this short-selling action have already been determined, and the only uncertainty is how much the losses will be.

John Bogle’s meaning is very clear, which is to hope to reduce their losses.

“I’m just very curious, if I hadn’t been favored by God this time, would you have given DS Group a chance to withdraw safely?”

Hearing Barron’s words, John Bogle touched his nose, the corners of his mouth twitched slightly, and after a moment of silence, he said:

“It’s meaningless to say these things now. I can only tell you that if I were still in control of Vanguard Group, then this would not have happened. We would still be close partners, but now that things have happened, what we need to do is try our best to repair it. Those who participated in this matter…”

He looked at Barron and slightly deepened his tone:

“Will receive a punishment that satisfies you, but if you really continue to confront like this, in order to avoid expanding losses, these companies, including Vanguard Group, can only do their best. You must know that the assets controlled by these companies exceed 20 trillion US dollars… This is not a threat, Barron, just stating a fact. Neither investors nor the board of directors will allow the losses in this action to be too great…”

“You understand what a punishment that satisfies me is, Mr. Bogle. In addition, I can temporarily stop DS Group’s buying operations from that time, but there is one more condition.”

“You say.”

“Vanguard Group and BlackRock Group withdraw all the shares they currently hold in these companies. I will arrange for other companies to take over at your closing price.”

Chapter 966: Establishing Friendship

On November 5th, Vanguard Group announced that their Chairman and CEO, F. William McNabb III, had resigned from all his positions for personal reasons. He would be succeeded by the company’s Chief Investment Officer, Tim Buckley, as Chairman and CEO.

That very evening, McNabb III died of a sudden heart attack at his home.

Upon receiving this news, Barron couldn’t help but admire Vanguard Group’s efficiency. It seemed they were eager to end this matter as quickly as possible, willing to accept the losses and retreat, regardless of the consequences…

In the original timeline, McNabb III remained in his position as Chairman and CEO of Vanguard Group until 2018 before retiring.

Now, due to a wrong choice, he had suffered “unfortunate consequences.”

In addition to this, after the new Chairman and CEO of Vanguard Group, Tim Buckley, took office, his first act was to sign agreements with financial giants including Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, and JPMorgan Chase. These agreements transferred Vanguard Group’s shares in Barron’s controlled listed companies, such as United Energy Group, SEM Group, DS Group, and Woaw Technology, to these companies at an agreed-upon price.

The “agreed-upon price” they set was the price for DS Group to cease its operations, providing a window for Vanguard Group, BlackRock, and State Street to cover their short positions.

Since John Bogle had demonstrated his “sincerity,” Barron followed through with the plan they had agreed upon.

Even so, in this short selling operation, excluding the other institutions that followed the trend, the three firms suffered significant losses, estimated at around 15 billion US dollars.

And DS Capital’s profit this time, conservatively estimated, could reach 16.5 billion US dollars. After all, with the other side covering such a large volume of short positions, DS Capital would inevitably have to relinquish some of the shares of these companies that they had purchased at low prices. Although the transfer of shares was conducted through agreements, preventing additional profits, the remaining shares could still increase profits when sold after the stock price rose later.

IC Capital, BFT Fund, and other institutions controlled by Barron were already major shareholders of Wall Street firms including Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, and JPMorgan Chase.

In this counterattack by Barron, these firms were also quick to join the long positions of the listed companies controlled by Barron.

Although the profits they gained were certainly not as substantial as those of DS Capital due to their limited investment, they were able to make some gains by acquiring the shares transferred by the other party at the agreed-upon price.

This was also the reason Barron understood that his relationship with Jewish capital, including Vanguard Group, BlackRock, and State Street, would become complicated afterward, and why he was trying to win over capital like Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley.

…

“Hello, Mr. Hague, it’s a pleasure to have the opportunity to meet you today.”

“The pleasure is all mine, Your Grace.”

The guest who came to Barron’s residence today was the current Foreign Secretary, William Hague.

Speaking of which, Hague was one of the most senior members of Cameron’s cabinet. Born in 1961, he was currently 52 years old.

As early as when Hague was 16 years old, his speech at the Conservative Party’s annual conference was praised by then Conservative Party leader Margaret Thatcher.

In 1995, when Major reorganized the cabinet after reassuming the leadership of the Conservative Party, he appointed him as the Secretary of State for Wales.

In 1997, during the Conservative Party leadership election, Hague, then only 36 years old and not very prominent, defeated former Conservative Chancellor of the Exchequer Clarke, who was widely expected to win, by a landslide victory of 92 votes to 70, becoming the youngest leader of the Conservative Party in 200 years.

Unfortunately, he was facing Tony Blair at the time, who had successfully reorganized the Labour Party, was invincible, and had charisma.

Therefore, after the Labour Party won re-election in the 2001 general election, Hague announced his resignation as leader of the Conservative Party.

After that, he was one of Cameron’s staunch supporters and was awarded the position of Foreign Secretary after Cameron took office.

Overall, within the Conservative Party, Hague was considered to have a “neutral” stance on order. He leaned conservative on some issues, but could also treat certain issues mildly.

For example, he advocated restoring the death penalty and lowering tax rates, but he also did not oppose same-sex marriage and did not support vigorously developing private education.

In his role as Foreign Secretary, Hague positioned the relationship between the UK and the US as “strong, but not blindly following.” He had been trying to correct the attitude of the previous Labour government, especially during Blair’s premiership, of simply “following” the US.

By now, Hague no longer had much ambition for his own political future. In the original timeline, Hague would voluntarily resign from his position as Foreign Secretary next year to become the Speaker of the House of Commons, making room for Cameron to adjust his cabinet members and add fresh blood in order to prepare for the 2015 general election.

Therefore, in terms of planning his path, there was no conflict between him and Barron’s plans, making him a very suitable partner.

At the same time, Hague was happy to establish a close “friendship” with Barron, this powerful duke. Although the British political landscape was not as obviously dominated by “political families” as in America, Hague also needed to seek a better environment for his family to achieve sustained prosperity, in addition to his political ambitions.

Just as after Brown lost the position of Prime Minister, the Duke of Devonshire tried his best to secure him the position of Managing Director of the IMF; and former Foreign Secretary David Miliband also became the chairman of the Prosperous Earth Foundation, established by this duke, after losing the Labour Party leadership competition. These living examples made current British politicians happy to establish friendly relations with him.

Of course, this meeting between Barron and Hague, besides establishing friendship between each other, had another matter to discuss.

Friday, November 8th.

Just as the weekend approached, many British newspapers and media began reporting on London Mayor Johnson’s extramarital affair.

This included the “romantic affair” between American businesswoman Jennifer Arcuri and Cameron…

It was said that the two first met at a venture capitalist summit held in London in October 2011.

At the time, Arcuri, who was still studying for an MBA in the UK, pretended to be the head of a venture capital club and sneaked into this high-end summit in the investment world, using this identity to get close to Johnson.

The romantic relationship between the two began on August 29th, 2012, the day of the opening ceremony of the London Paralympic Games.

Some media revealed that just a few hours after dating Jennifer Arcuri in a hotel on that day, Johnson, as the Mayor of London, appeared impeccably dressed at the opening ceremony, accompanied by his then-wife Wheeler and several members of the British royal family…

Of course, Johnson had had multiple extramarital affairs before this, and his relationship with Jennifer Arcuri was the most concerning because Johnson was suspected of using his position as Mayor of London to provide Jennifer Arcuri with convenient conditions to enter the business world after graduation…

Amid the media’s scramble to report this, Johnson also faced tremendous public pressure in his position as Mayor of London.

And at this time, Barron had already left London…

On November 8th, British Foreign Secretary William Hague led a delegation to Russia for a visit, and Barron, as one of the members of the delegation, arrived in Moscow.

Chapter 967: Energy Lines

In fact, the relationship between Britain and Russia has always been very complex. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that they can’t stand each other.

After all, since the Crimean War in 1853, involving Britain, France, the Ottoman Empire, and Tsarist Russia, there have been countless conflicts and wars between the two sides for over a century.

In Barron’s previous life, during the subsequent Russia-Ukraine conflict, Britain actively aided Ukraine, becoming a “vanguard” in supporting Ukraine against Russia.

As it stands, relations between Russia and Britain have not recovered from the chill caused by numerous past events.

This all started with the poisoning of Alexander Litvinenko in 2006.

Litvinenko was a former Russian agent who fled to Britain in 2000 and became a British citizen. He died in November 2006 from polonium poisoning. At the time, Britain accused former Russian agent, now Duma member and businessman, Lugovoy of being the murderer and demanded his extradition to Britain for trial, but Russia refused, leading to a “war of words” that brought relations to a freezing point.

After that, events such as the 2008 conflict between Russia and Georgia, and the equity conflict between British Petroleum (BP) and Russian oil companies, prevented any repair of relations.

Even when Cameron visited Russia in 2011, he and Russian President Medvedev only discussed economic and cultural cooperation, rarely touching on politics.

This time, British Foreign Secretary William Hague’s visit to Russia, in addition to exchanging views on the Syrian civil war, mainly involved communication on economic cooperation.

Barron, meanwhile, brought the management teams of companies including United Energy Group, O2 Telecom, and British Automotive Group to Russia, preparing to invest and cooperate in the Russian market.

The focus this time remained on energy cooperation with Russia.

In fact, this energy cooperation with Russia was not aimed at Britain, but at the European market.

Before Barron arrived in Russia, United Energy Group’s CEO, Eppel Singleton, had already visited Romania and Azerbaijan, finalizing a series of investment intentions.

It should be noted that United Energy Group owns oil and gas blocks in Azerbaijan and the Caspian Sea region (acquired from Unocal, see Chapter 403). However, previously, for the newly established United Energy Group, the development of the Corocue oil field alone had consumed a great deal of their energy, and they had not been able to attend to oil and gas resources in other regions, especially Azerbaijan, which required additional manpower and resources for development.

But now, United Energy Group is large enough to handle the development of more oil and gas blocks. Furthermore, Barron plans to increase his presence in various industries in Europe, including the energy industry.

Therefore, they have developed a new layout plan: in addition to cooperating with Russian domestic oil companies to purchase crude oil and natural gas, they will also begin developing oil and gas blocks in the Azerbaijan region.

As everyone knows, Azerbaijan was once a republic of the Soviet Union. Its capital is Baku, located on the Caspian Sea coast, with abundant oil resources and vast oil reserves, known as the Baku oil fields.

The first oil well in the Baku oil fields was drilled in 1873. At the beginning of the 20th century, Baku oil fields had the highest output in the world, accounting for almost half of the world’s oil production in 1901.

At its peak, the output of the Baku oil fields once reached more than 70% of the entire Soviet Union’s oil production!

Of course, that was before the large-scale development of oil and gas resources in Siberia.

According to the agreement reached between United Energy Group and the Russian side, the crude oil and natural gas they purchase mainly comes from the North Caucasus and Volga-Ural regions, and is transported to Romania via the Black Sea.

United Energy Group will invest in building a large-scale oil refining base in Romania, specifically to process this crude oil.

Similarly, the crude oil and natural gas extracted in Azerbaijan and the Caspian Sea region will also be transported to Romania for processing via oil and gas pipelines.

In fact, the oil and gas resources produced in Azerbaijan itself are transported to Europe through two channels. One is a pipeline from Azerbaijan through Georgia, then shipped across the Black Sea to Europe; the other is an oil and gas pipeline through Turkey, transported to Europe via the Mediterranean Sea.

For United Energy Group, once the oil refining base in Romania is completed, they only need to load the oil onto ships at the port in Georgia, cross the Black Sea, and then refine it in Romania before supplying it to Europe.

Speaking of it, Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan, the “three countries of the South Caucasus,” can be said to be in a very important location, situated at the crossroads of the Caspian Sea and the Black Sea.

But the three countries are also sandwiched between Turkey and Russia, and their lives are not easy.

Take Georgia, the homeland of the Soviet “Father of Nations,” for example. The original Ossetia region was divided into South Ossetia and North Ossetia by the Caucasus Mountains.

The Ossetian people have always lived in this region. North Ossetia belongs to Russia, and South Ossetia has historically had great conflicts with Georgia. South Ossetia declared its independence through a referendum in January 1992, but this led to war with Georgia. With Russia’s help, the two sides finally reached a ceasefire, and a peacekeeping force composed of Georgia, Russia, and Ossetia was stationed there.

Finally, in 2008, Georgia believed the time was right. With assurances from the United States that “Russia would not interfere,” they launched an attack on South Ossetia on August 8, while the world’s attention was focused on the Olympics—at that time, the Great Emperor also went there as Prime Minister to attend the opening ceremony. Georgian forces entered the region and occupied it in a short period of time…

After the outbreak of this war, the Great Emperor immediately returned to the country. Under his command, Russian troops massed at the border and occupied the entire territory of Georgia in just 10 days.

The final result was that Russia forced Georgia to no longer interfere in the two autonomous republics of South Ossetia and Abkhazia—yes, the consequence of Georgia’s proactive attack was that it not only lost control of South Ossetia, but also lost the autonomous republic of Abkhazia…

This war also allowed Russia’s sphere of influence to cross the Caucasus Mountains, giving it a strategic foothold in the South Caucasus region.

As for the other two South Caucasus countries, Armenia and Azerbaijan, they are also not peaceful.

Shortly before Barron’s rebirth in his previous life, Armenia and Azerbaijan had been at war with each other.

In short, the conflict between the two lies in the Nagorno-Karabakh region (the gray and red area). To put it simply, the Nagorno-Karabakh region is to Armenia and Azerbaijan what Jerusalem is to Israel and Palestine.

Armenians used to mainly live in this region, but the three South Caucasus countries have always been sandwiched between two major powers—Russia and Turkey—which has created a complex relationship between them.

Armenians believe in Christianity, while Azerbaijanis believe in Islam.

When the forces of Ottoman Turkey invaded here, Armenians were driven out of the Nagorno-Karabakh region, and Azerbaijanis who shared their Islamic faith were introduced.

But when Tsarist Russia became strong and came here, it moved Armenians who also believed in Christianity back, and Azerbaijanis became a minority…

Later, both Armenia and Azerbaijan joined the Soviet Union, and things finally calmed down here. Although the Soviet Union placed the Nagorno-Karabakh region under the administration of Azerbaijan, most of the people here were Armenians at the time. If the Soviet Union had continued to exist, it wouldn’t have been a big problem since they were all part of the same family.

However, the Soviet Union disintegrated…

So, taking advantage of the disintegration of the Soviet Union, when Armenia declared its independence, it pulled the Nagorno-Karabakh region (mostly populated by Armenians) along with it. At that time, Armenia and Azerbaijan also broke out in war, but because Armenia received weapons support from Russia, it was the victor. Therefore, the Nagorno-Karabakh region belonged to Armenia.

However, Azerbaijan has never given up its struggle for the Nagorno-Karabakh region. Furthermore, Azerbaijan has oil and can buy more weapons.

Moreover, Azerbaijan and Turkey are both pan-Turkic countries, and they recognize Turkey as their big brother (they have an exclave, the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic, which borders Turkey). Turkey provides Azerbaijan with great support, including a drone production line.

Finally, in 2022 in the original timeline, Azerbaijan regained the Nagorno-Karabakh region in the war with Armenia—in this war, Azerbaijan relied on its drone technology, which was superior to Armenia’s, to gain an advantage.

In addition, they also hope to further seize the Zangezur corridor, so that their mainland is connected to the exclave bordering Turkey—the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic.

This is why United Energy Group chose to mainly develop their oil and gas resources in Azerbaijan, and did not invest heavily there to build a refining base.

After all, in places like the three South Caucasus countries, the situation is very complex. Russia, Turkey, and NATO all have their eyes focused here. With Barron’s status, if his presence there is too strong, NATO might be okay, but countries like Turkey, a NATO rebel, and Russia, would inevitably be very wary.

And this wariness is something that Barron doesn’t need to provoke at all right now. He might as well focus on managing his European industries properly.

For example, the oil refining base that United Energy Group invested in in Romania is very popular with the local government. In addition, O2 Telecom already occupies a certain market share in Romania, which has allowed his influence to begin to enter here.

Chapter 968: Reconstruction

“He said that to you?”

Upon hearing his daughter’s words, TP immediately sat up straight and asked.

Ivanka was slightly surprised by his reaction, but she continued, “Yes, I don’t know why he suddenly asked about this. Maybe it’s because you tried to run for office in 2001, but he didn’t seem to be joking…”

“Then I can have a good talk with him about it. Actually, I think there’s a good chance. People already have a lot of complaints about the Democratic Party, and you… you have a television station, social networks, and Twitter—that app’s influence is growing. If he can really support me… all of that will be a boost for us.”

Seeing his excitement, Ivanka hesitated and asked, “Father, do you really want to run in the next election?”

Ivanka had returned to America when Barron left for Russia.

After visiting the heads of Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase, as Barron had instructed, she returned to her home in TP Tower and discovered that her father was indeed already champing at the bit for the election two years from now.

In fact, two years ago, in 2011, her father had also participated in the election—specifically, he was the first to declare his intention to run and had received relatively high support in the party’s polls.

But later, after analyzing the situation, he concluded that the chances of defeating Obama were slim, so he publicly stated that he had no intention of becoming a candidate…

However, during this process, Obama’s humiliation of him at a White House Correspondents’ Dinner deeply stung him.

When he initially declared his intention to run, he “fired a shot” at Obama to build momentum, saying that his birth certificate was fake, that he was born in Kenya instead of Hawaii, and was not a true American.

Then, at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner in April of that year, Obama responded. His entrance music was “Born in the USA,” the big screen flashed his Hawaiian birth certificate, and a clip from The Lion King showing Simba’s birth was played, with the voiceover, “This is my birth video,” mocking the accusation that he was born in Africa.

Later, Obama felt that these counterattacks were not strong enough, so he said to the room full of celebrities:

“But no matter what, Mr. TP will definitely bring some changes to the White House—”

He pointed to the screen, which showed a photoshopped image of “TP White House Resort and Casino,” with bikini-clad women and gold-plated pillars at the entrance, implying that he would not only bring his flamboyant lifestyle to the White House but might also offer services there.

Ivanka’s father was present at the Correspondents’ Dinner, and the camera repeatedly focused on his profile, showing his tense expression and silence.

After the dinner, reporters asked him how he felt, and he said that he was honored to be made fun of, but the expression on his face betrayed him.

He didn’t respond much and quickly hurried away.

The next day, the headlines of major American media outlets were “TP Humiliated.”

It can be said that for TP, if he could defeat the Democratic Party’s candidate in two years and enter the White House, it would be the most powerful response to this humiliation.

No wonder he already has plans to participate in the election again…

As for Barron, even though he had made generous donations to both the Republican Party and the Democratic Party, this incident showed that no matter how strong his capital was, it was currently difficult for him to enter America’s “deep state.”

At most, he could only win over one faction within the deep state… well, the deep state groups, and use them to fight against another faction.

Since that was the case, and knowing that his cheap “father-in-law” would win twice in the future, he could rely on his support to help him ascend to that position, thereby gradually reshaping the “deep state,” just like Musk did later. With Barron’s current strength, his help to the other party would definitely be stronger than Ivanka’s Jewish “in-laws” in the original timeline, and he could do even better than Musk.

At that time, his DS group could become a genuine DS (Deep State) group in Britain, America… and even Europe.

…

“In fact, Mr. Hague, rather than using Russia as a pawn to check Europe, it can play a greater role in balancing our relationship with America. You must remember that the Soviet Union no longer exists, and Russia is different from the Soviet Union. It can be used by us.”

“That is certainly an ideal strategy, but Your Grace, judging from the wars Russia has participated in, we still cannot relax our vigilance against it…”

The results achieved in Russia were still satisfactory to Barron. After all, in the early stages of cooperation, there always needs to be a process of building trust, step by step.

Now, on the plane back, he was discussing Britain’s diplomatic strategy towards Russia with Foreign Secretary William Hague.

It is worth mentioning that because the Devonshire had been destroyed, Barron could only use his fleet of Gulfstream G650 and Boeing 737-900ER aircraft for travel.

However, the Airbus A380 that Barron ordered will be delivered in the second half of next year, at which time the new Devonshire will be able to provide him with more space than the original Boeing 747.

The A380 that Barron ordered will be specially customized according to his needs, and through his “private connections,” this A380 will also be equipped with Europe’s most advanced missile defense system, providing him with maximum security.

Speaking of which, Britain’s attitude towards Russia is not only due to “historical reasons,” but more so to follow their ancestral principle of “offshore balancing.”

After all, as an island nation, Britain has always been committed to maintaining the balance of power in Europe, avoiding the emergence of a single dominant power on the continent, leading to the unification of Europe.

Because in the eyes of British leaders, if Europe becomes a whole, then Britain, as an island nation, will be marginalized, thereby losing its influence over Europe.

Whether it was the formation of a coalition to fight against Napoleon of France, or the weakening of Germany in World War I and World War II, these were all manifestations of this “offshore balancing” principle.

As it stands now, Britain also does not want Europe to complete its union. This is why Britain is willing to act as America’s “pawn” in disrupting Europe, and continues to pull the European Union to release hostility towards Russia, using Europe’s fear of the Soviet Union, and then transferring this military fear to its “successor,” Russia.

This strategy can be said to coincide with America’s strategy of controlling Europe—making Russia the “imaginary enemy” of Europe, thereby artificially creating rifts between the two sides, which are inherently complementary (Russia’s energy and food are complementary to Europe’s technology and goods), so as to avoid the “center” of the world returning to the Eurasian continent, the “world island.”

After all, for America, if the “world island” becomes the center of the world again, then they, located in North America, will be marginalized and isolated, just as Britain fears.

Chapter 969: Super Fund

Of course, Baron wasn’t trying to turn the often-hostile relationship between Britain and Russia into one of close cooperation.

He simply needed to make adjustments based on the interests of the nation… and, crucially, his own interests.

In fact, to some extent, these weren’t contradictory.

What needed to be understood was that Britain was no longer the empire on which the sun never set. Although they were still one of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council, their economy was about to be surpassed by India. In Baron’s struggle against certain capital factions within America, relying solely on Britain wouldn’t provide him with enough support. Therefore, he needed to achieve his goals by balancing various forces.

At least until 2015, when he could obtain stronger support in America, he needed to do so.

So, with his own interests as the priority, Britain’s flexible diplomacy between Europe, Russia, and America was crucial. He didn’t want Britain to continue playing the role of the “anti-Russian vanguard.”

“We can make some verbal changes in how we position our relationship, Your Grace, but a shift in diplomatic strategy isn’t so easy. It requires careful analysis.”

William Hague’s words also indicated his attitude. He could support the Duke, and he believed Cameron would make the same choice now, but it would be limited to a certain extent. After all, this kind of diplomatic strategy couldn’t be changed on a whim.

Often, when you see a politician suddenly make a 180-degree turn on an issue, it usually just means that he, or the interests he represents, is using it as a bargaining chip, preparing to negotiate.

Because this kind of rapid change in the short term usually doesn’t have the conditions to be truly implemented.

Only after careful analysis is it possible to truly change course in action, and this kind of change often can’t be achieved overnight. As the saying goes, “a large ship is difficult to turn around.” The more a change involves a large system, the more it needs to be done gradually.

Next, the flight didn’t return directly to London, but landed at Beijing Capital International Airport.

After visiting Russia, Foreign Secretary William Hague’s next stop was China.

In public statements, Hague stated that this visit to China was still about deepening economic and cultural cooperation between the two countries.

The main purpose was to implement the package of cooperation agreed upon during Cameron’s previous visit and to reaffirm the sincerity of both sides’ cooperation.

In terms of economics, most of the previously signed agreements had already reached the implementation stage; and in terms of culture, there had been considerable progress in cultural exchange activities between the two peoples.

The “China-Britain Year of Cultural Exchange,” originally scheduled for 2015, was brought forward to next year, 2014, due to the previous visit.

The “British Cultural Season” would be held in China in the first half of next year, and the “Chinese Cultural Season” would be held in Britain in the second half of the year. Hague would also use this opportunity to reconfirm the arrangements for this event with the Chinese side.

In addition, the summer exchange program for university students from both countries, sponsored by the Devonshire Foundation last year, was also very successful. Not only did 50 students from each country personally experience the other’s development and culture, but these students also recorded their visits in videos and other forms and posted them on their respective social media platforms, causing quite a stir in both societies and changing many people’s impressions of each other.

In particular, many Britons saw the real picture of Chinese cities such as Shanghai and Hangzhou for the first time, unfiltered by the “special” lens of the BBC and other media outlets, which had a greater impact on them.

Unlike Hague’s more official approach, Baron received a special meeting with a top leader after arriving in Beijing.

After all, as the Western entrepreneur with the largest investment scale in China, he was also highly valued by the Chinese side.

This time, the United Energy Group, controlled by him, would continue to deepen its cooperation with China’s “three barrels of oil” (referring to the three largest state-owned oil companies in China) – in addition to the joint development of United Energy Group’s oil and gas blocks in Southeast Asia, such as Thailand and Indonesia, with China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) and China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC), they would also outsource some of the exploitation operations of their oil and gas blocks in Azerbaijan and the Caspian Sea region to Chinese oil service companies.

In addition, in response to the “Silk Road Economic Belt” and the “21st Century Maritime Silk Road” strategies proposed by China in September and October of this year, Baron also expressed his great interest in this concept during his meeting with the top leader, believing that it would be a magnificent plan connecting the world’s most promising regions, and that many of his industries were willing to join this plan.

It should be noted that, first of all, in the financial field, Standard Chartered Bank, under Standard Chartered-Merrill Lynch Group, had its main markets in emerging countries in Asia and Africa. The distribution of its markets largely overlapped with the “Belt and Road” plan, and participating in this plan would be of great benefit to the development of Standard Chartered Bank.

In addition, the Greek port of Piraeus and the port of Kolo in Cote d’Ivoire, in which Baron invested, are important shipping nodes of the “21st Century Maritime Silk Road.” The port of Piraeus in Greece is the largest port in the Mediterranean and is jointly invested and developed by Hutchison Whampoa and China’s COSCO Group; while the port of Lottie in Cote d’Ivoire is the largest port in West Africa and is equally important for radiating to West Africa.

Even based on considerations of self-interest, joining the “Belt and Road” initiative would promote many of his industries.

What’s more, this was also a risk hedging strategy for his industrial layout. Baron, who knew the future development of the world situation, would naturally not bet all his industries on the American camp. Otherwise, he would inevitably be like other Wall Street capitalists, letting his backside determine his head, and having to fully confront the rising emerging forces because of the binding of interests.

“We are about to establish a super fund with a scale of 65 billion US dollars for investment in emerging markets. We believe that these investments can promote your country’s ‘Belt and Road’ plan.”

The super fund with a scale of up to 65 billion US dollars proposed by Baron also aroused the interest of the Chinese side.

This fund is called Vision Fund… uh, sorry Masayoshi Son, I guess you have to think of another name for the future “trillion-dollar fund.”

However, with closer cooperation between Middle Eastern capital and Baron, and with SoftBank’s shares in Alibaba being severely compressed, it is difficult to say whether Masayoshi Son will be able to raise funds for his fund as smoothly as in the original timeline.

Baron’s Vision Fund, with a total capital scale of 65 billion US dollars, will come from the 50 billion US dollars he previously obtained from Saudi Arabia and other Middle Eastern countries, as well as the profits from this interception of short selling.

In fact, a considerable portion of this fund, which he claimed would “invest in emerging markets,” would be used to support the layout of Baron’s industries in this “Europe-Asia-Africa” strategy.

For example, the investments of United Energy Group in countries such as Romania and Azerbaijan will be obtained by issuing additional shares to the Vision Fund.

Chapter 970: Submergence and Progress

In fact, Heg’s visit to Russia and China this time, although planned in advance, had its content adjusted and changed after Barron joined the team.

This can be regarded as an action by the British government to show support for Barron after the assassination attempt.

After all, even if Barron led a business team to visit these countries, relevant cooperation could still be achieved, but the significance of having official British participation and endorsement was different.

Sure enough, after their itinerary was made public, some Western media interpreted it.

For example, The New York Times believed that the recent visit by the British Foreign Secretary was not a positive signal for America and its allies. They argued that this indicated that the British government, facing a slower-than-expected economic recovery after the crisis, hoped to increase domestic investment through cooperation with Russia and China, a practice that was questionable.

The Washington Post, on the other hand, bluntly pointed out that Britain’s behavior was intended to strengthen its relationship with the East. Combined with the recent attack on the Duke of Devonshire and the “malicious short-selling” of some companies related to him, it showed that Britain was dissatisfied with some of the American government’s practices, which the current government needed to reflect on…

“If we cannot unite the democratic societies and cause division, only American interests will suffer.”

Although Barron claimed at a press conference in Britain after the “assassination attempt” that he had been attacked by terrorists and urged the international community to pay attention to the spread of terrorism in Africa, many perceptive people could roughly guess some of the inside story from some of America’s actions afterward and the short-selling of related listed companies.

You know, much intelligence doesn’t require sending “agents” to infiltrate and obtain, but can be extracted and analyzed from some public information…

It is worth mentioning that The New York Times has always been a media outlet leaning towards the Democratic Party, while The Washington Post tends to favor the Republican Party.

It can be said that in terms of media, the voice of the Democratic Party is louder, but the Republican Party is not without its own media, otherwise this two-party system would not work.

Now that the Republican Party has the opportunity to criticize the Democratic Party, it will naturally not let it go.

…

At this time, the training instructors sent by Protector Military Services to Syria had all been withdrawn to the Munger base.

As early as when the “assassination attempt” occurred, the American side stopped the order with Protector Military Services for military training for the Syrian rebels and replaced it with domestic American military contractors.

Barron knew that the situation of the Syrian rebels would not be good next. Now is different from ten years later when Russia is deeply involved in the Russia-Ukraine war and has no time to spare. At present, Russia is determined to support the Syrian government army, so it will directly send its military personnel to help the other side fight against the rebels.

Therefore, after this, the Syrian rebels will suffer Russian airstrikes. It is still quite risky to conduct military training for them.

Moreover, Barron is now deepening cooperation with Russia and is not prepared to participate in the multi-party game in the Syrian civil war.

The military training personnel withdrawn from Colo can also be sent to Mali, Burkina Faso, and other countries that have good relations with Colo after a period of rest, to help their government forces conduct military training.

“If there is a paradise on earth, Damascus must be in it; if paradise is in the sky, Damascus must be on par with it.”

This is an Arab proverb, which shows the status of the Syrian capital Damascus in their hearts.

However, starting this year, the Syrian civil war will enter its most intense stage, with the imminent emergence of the extremist organization “Islamic State (ISIS)”, as well as America, Turkey, Iran, Russia, Israel…

The Syrian civil war, triggered by the Arab Spring, is about to turn Syria into a “duel arena” for multiple forces to compete with each other, and will also crush the Damascus rose into the dust.

Compared with Syria, Colo is much luckier—both are countries with oil resources. It can be said that if the political situation is stable, as long as the rulers are not so “inhuman,” the people can live well. For example, under the rule of Saddam and Gaddafi, who were once considered “dictators” by the West, the income of their people at that time was also richer compared to other developing countries.

To compare with data, before the Arab Spring in 2010, because Assad promoted “secularization” rule in the local area and vigorously developed the economy, Syria’s per capita GDP reached 11,304 US dollars—it should be known that the threshold for developed countries is about 20,000 US dollars per capita GDP.

At that time, Colo had already undergone rapid development, but its per capita GDP was only about 4,000 US dollars…

But under the Syrian civil war caused by the Arab Spring, this year Syria’s per capita GDP has plummeted to 993 US dollars, less than one-tenth of what it was three years ago…

And Colo is still developing steadily, and its per capita GDP is expected to be above 6,000 US dollars this year.

After more than 10 years of development, Colo will also usher in a stage of rapid improvement in the quality of its population—after the establishment of the new Colo government, it has continued to promote universal education. After nine years of compulsory education, even the first batch of children who had just enrolled at that time have mostly begun to enter professional technical schools for learning, and will soon graduate after two years of skills training.

Of course, some students with better learning talents aim to enter the two local universities after graduating from high school, or go abroad to study, in order to reserve high-level talents for Colo.

Generally speaking, the overseas study destination for wealthy families in Colo is British universities; while Colo students from ordinary backgrounds, if they have excellent grades, can compete for government-sponsored scholarships if they choose to study abroad—the Colo government has study-related agreements with Britain, China, and other countries, and can send students to universities in these countries to study. All the study and living expenses of these government-sponsored students are borne by the Colo government. After these students graduate, they must return to Colo to work.

On November 10th, the President of Colo attended the signing ceremony at Brita International Airport for agreements between Brita International Airport and Colo Airlines, Pan African Airlines, Emirates Airlines, China International Airlines, British Airways, and American Delta Airlines for the opening of multiple new routes from Brita International Airport to North Africa, the Middle East, China, Europe, and North America.

It should be known that before this, most of the routes directly connecting Colo to these regions were handled by Colo Airlines, and there were very few routes, perhaps only one or two flights a week. Many times, to travel to West Africa from these regions, one needed to first arrive in Senegal and then transfer.

The main reason is that in West Africa, where French colonies occupy the majority, Senegal is known as the “Gateway to West Africa” because it was the “base camp” operated by French colonists in West Africa. The residence of the Governor-General of French West Africa has always been located in Senegal, so France has invested a great deal of energy in its construction.

However, after this, Colo will not only become a transshipment center for West African shipping in terms of sea transportation, but also strive to become one of the aviation hubs in West Africa.

Chapter 971: Expanding the Scale

During this period, the first round of investigations into the other members of Barron’s previous security team had been completed. This investigation found no evidence that anyone else was involved in the incident.

This included investigations into all information, including bank accounts and communication records, of these personnel and their families. Going even further, background checks were conducted on everyone they had contacted within the past five years.

Of course, this was only the first round of investigation, and more detailed investigations would continue to follow.

Now that their suspicions had been largely cleared, their quarantine was lifted.

However, for safety’s sake, they could no longer be part of Barron’s close protection team. By now, these individuals naturally understood what had happened.

Fortunately, His Grace the Duke was unharmed. Otherwise, under the wrath of everyone with a stake in his well-being, these people, whether innocent or not, would have found it difficult to escape unscathed.

Of course, the only regret was that they had lost their positions as members of the Duke’s close protection team, a highly paid job.

But as professionals with extensive relevant skills, they would naturally be put to good use. They could stay at the Munger base as instructors, join Protector Military Services, or choose to join G4S Security.

The decision would be made according to their own wishes. In any case, they would be able to obtain a junior management position, which was already satisfactory.

In the previous two years, as winter arrived in London, Barron and his family would go to Lanai, Hawaii, to spend the winter.

However, due to the recent assassination attempt on Barron, they would stay in London this winter for safety reasons and would not travel overseas.

After all, although Barron had “reconciled” with some consortia in the United States, he had not resolved his animosity with Mossad. After Britain announced the expulsion of two Israeli diplomats, although Israel expressed regret over this action and its ambassador to Britain specifically communicated with Britain on the matter, Britain still expressed a relatively tough stance towards Israel.

As everyone knows, Mossad is very good at terrorist attacks and assassinations, and Barron needs to be prepared for this.

It’s not that he doesn’t trust his current security team, but at this time, there is no need to put himself at risk. “A wise man does not stand under a dangerous wall.” From now until 2015, it is an important period for his subsequent layout, and he doesn’t mind being temporarily low-key.

Because of the incident, Barron missed the groundbreaking ceremony for the British High Speed 2 railway line, which he had originally planned to attend after returning from Colo.

Currently, High Speed 2 has been contracted by a consortium of Chinese engineering companies and has begun laying the tracks.

This time, it is different from what happened in his previous life. At that time, the route planning of High Speed 2 was revised and revised due to budget issues. In the end, six prime ministers left office, and when the seventh prime minister took office, it was still far from completion…

According to the Chinese plan, after detailed geological surveys, they will be divided into four construction bases and built simultaneously.

That is to say, they will be built simultaneously from London, Birmingham, Manchester, and Leeds.

The construction team in Birmingham, which is located in the center, will be the largest because the Birmingham construction base will build in three directions at the same time: London, Manchester, and Leeds.

Because the entire High Speed 2 line is a Y-shape, and Birmingham is located at the central intersection.

If it is built in this way, the progress of the entire project will be greatly accelerated, but at the same time, the organizational ability of the entire project construction will also be a great test.

The Chinese consortium’s bid for the entire High Speed 2 railway construction and high-speed rail station construction was far lower than the initial British government’s estimate. If the construction period can be shortened, then it can be said that the Chinese engineering construction’s performance in this high-speed rail construction is perfect. They are also treating this project as a model project in Europe. After all, at this time, China’s high-speed rail projects are still only staying in the country, and there are no commendable projects in overseas projects.

If they can have a bright performance in this project, it will naturally promote their undertaking of a series of high-speed rail projects in Europe later.

However, having said that, although the Chinese bid this time is much lower than the initial budget, its cost is still much higher than that of high-speed rail projects in China.

After all, the British high-speed rail project needs to take care of local construction companies. Although the general contract this time is a Chinese consortium, there are still many British local small and medium-sized enterprises as subcontractors.

They are all construction workers, but British construction workers are certainly far less “durable” than their Chinese counterparts.

“I heard that British Motor Group is preparing to expand its electric vehicle gigafactory in Birmingham?”

It seems that with the approach of the election—at most, there is only a year and a half left—Cameron is particularly concerned about the economy. After learning that British Motor Group was preparing to expand their gigafactory, he came to Barron.

“Yes, there is such a plan. After all, you know, sales of the Jaguar TYPE electric model in Europe last year were still satisfactory.”

“Indeed, this is the only electric vehicle in Europe that can compete with Tesla in the electric vehicle field.”

Cameron did not skimp on praise and then said:

“Then are you not considering building another electric vehicle factory in other cities? The government can provide preferential policies…”

“Uh, we still need to consider costs, and we also need to be steady and pragmatic. Although more models will be launched this year, not only Tesla, but also the development of electric vehicles in China is very rapid, and German and Japanese automakers are still competitive, so…”

Barron could only politely decline Cameron’s proposal:

“However, we will add two production lines to the gigafactory in Birmingham, which can also provide a lot of jobs there.”

“But your gigafactory is an automated production line. I have visited it. It is very advanced, and the demand for employees is not high…”

Cameron said with some regret.

This is also something that cannot be helped. After all, although the Jaguar TYPE is relatively speaking a high-end model and competes with brands in the same class as Mercedes-Benz and BMW, it still needs to enhance its competitiveness in the face of Tesla.

In the past year, if Tesla was the best-selling electric car in North America, then in the European market, the Jaguar TYPE was the darling of the electric car field.

For example, when the Jaguar TYPE electric car landed in the Norwegian market at the beginning of this year, it broke the local sales record in the first week, selling 350 cars…

In the past year, total sales of the Jaguar TYPE in Europe reached 15,000 units, far higher than Tesla’s less than 5,000 units. Of course, Tesla’s main sales market is in North America, where they sold more than 20,000 Model S vehicles in the past year…

But this also shows that the Jaguar TYPE has finally achieved success. According to surveys, the main group of people buying electric cars in Europe are young people who pursue environmental protection and technology.

Well, Barron has finally tasted the sweetness of “environmental protection.” To this end, the Prosper Earth Foundation has recruited several environmental organizations in Britain and mainland Europe, loudly shouting that everyone should pay attention to the future of the earth and, for environmental protection, should buy electric cars…

Chapter 972: European Wealth

As mentioned before, in Europe and America, the so-called “environmental protection” and “animal protection” are often just a business.

Take those environmental organizations that fearlessly protested various large-scale construction projects. Did you think they were just so free, with nothing better to do than protest all day?

Of course not. There are interests involved.

Many environmental organizations are backed by related environmental assessment companies…

Yes, as long as you control the narrative of “environmental protection,” then whether you are environmentally friendly enough depends on the checks you write to their assessment companies.

Other organizations, including “equality” groups, use the same tactics—constantly accusing certain companies of discrimination against “minority groups” in their employee structure or products, and then sending inspection teams to these companies to profit. Later, these organizations did the same in Hollywood and the gaming industry… Just look at what Blizzard’s game characters have become.

Even in Barron’s High Speed 2 railway project in Britain, he used both hard and soft tactics. He not only used tough measures to threaten some of the more vocal “environmental” and “animal protection” organizations, but also gave them a carrot after the stick—he funded several assessment companies related to these organizations to evaluate the planned route of the High Speed 2 railway. A few million pounds in checks were written, and the result was a win-win for everyone.

It is also because the High Speed 2 railway is being implemented by a private company like British First Railway Group that such flexible measures can be taken.

If it were those “old men” or “transportation experts” from state-owned companies, they would probably be as clueless as they were in the original timeline, unable to pinpoint the “core demands” of these environmental and animal protection organizations, and after spending countless amounts of wasted money, the project would still be intermittent.

After the success of Jaguar’s TYPE, it can be said that British Motor Group is full of confidence in the development of their electric vehicles.

At the beginning of next year, in addition to Jaguar continuing to launch new models of its subsequent electric coupe TYPE, the Land Rover brand will also launch a pure electric SUV, the Aurora X…

This is also the main reason why British Motor Group will expand their super factory in Birmingham.

Cameron was smart enough not to mention Johnson’s affairs this time.

As the public opinion intensified, more and more about Johnson was revealed. This very individualistic Mayor of London was in a state of anxiety and faced great pressure.

He issued a public statement a few days ago, apologizing for his extramarital affair and resigning from his position as Mayor of London.

You should know that he had just defeated his old rival, the Labour Party candidate and former Mayor of London, Livingstone, in last year’s London mayoral election, and won re-election.

After Johnson’s resignation, his position as Mayor of London will be held by the Deputy Mayor until the next London mayoral election in 2016.

Although Johnson is currently a supporter of Cameron, because the Mayor of London remained within the Conservative Party after his resignation, Cameron was able to accept it, although he was slightly regretful.

However, it is certain that even if Cameron can win re-election in the 2015 general election, there will be no place for Johnson in the new cabinet.

…

“Hello, Earl Spencer, it’s a pleasure to have you here…”

“Duke of Furneaux, we meet again. I hope you have a good time today.”

“Mr. Grosvenor, thank you for coming especially. I heard you haven’t been feeling well lately? Are you better?”

A grand banquet is being held at Chatsworth House.

It can be said that almost all of the top British nobles have been invited—the noble families who received the invitation handwritten in beautiful calligraphy felt extremely honored, after all, the invitation to this banquet was issued by the Duke of Devonshire, who currently possesses the most top-notch wealth and power in Britain.

Entering December, Barron and his family returned to Chatsworth House, where they plan to spend Christmas before returning to London.

Although Chatsworth House is undergoing another overall renovation, the renovation of the main house’s exterior walls and some living spaces has been completed, which is enough for Barron and his family to live in and hold such a grand banquet.

It can be said that only in such a magnificent building as Chatsworth House can such a large-scale banquet be held.

In this hall with British classical style, against the beautiful background, being in it seems to return to the Victorian era, to the banquets that were prevalent during the golden age of the nobles…

“Barron, I heard you are planning to launch two more funds?”

After the Duke of Westminster asked this question, many nobles focused their attention on Barron’s upcoming answer.

The reason why so many nobles came here today, in addition to the Duke of Devonshire’s “prestige”—if that assassination attempt had succeeded, coupled with the successful short selling of DS Group companies by certain consortia, then these nobles would only lament the decline of another ducal family… and look for opportunities to take advantage of it.

But none of these things happened. After the Duke of Devonshire returned to London, those attackers paid the price, and the Devonshire family was still thriving—the stock prices of DS Group’s listed companies have risen even more than before.

Under such circumstances, knowing that everyone has the opportunity to invest in the funds led by the Duke of Devonshire again, everyone is naturally very concerned about the relevant news.

Seeing the expectant gazes of the crowd, Barron smiled and said directly:

“Yes, we will have two super funds open for subscription before next year. These two funds are the Foresight Fund, which invests in emerging markets, and the European Wealth Fund, which invests in mature European markets…”

The total size of the first phase of the Foresight Fund is 100 billion US dollars, and 65 billion US dollars has been raised so far, of which 15 billion US dollars is DS Group’s own funds.

Because it invests in emerging markets including Asia and Africa, the expected return of the Foresight Fund will be slightly higher, but the risk will also be correspondingly higher.

In addition, there is the European Wealth Fund, which invests in mature European markets. The total size of its first phase is 50 billion euros. The expected annualized return of this fund is about 6-8%. Relatively speaking, the risk will be relatively small, because it invests in mature European market businesses.

Therefore, everyone can choose according to their own investment preferences, but both of these funds have investment thresholds—the minimum investment for the Foresight Fund is 10 million US dollars, and the minimum investment for the European Wealth Fund is 5 million euros.

Chapter 973: Standard Bombardier

If Baron’s grand banquet at Chatsworth House was aimed at raising funds from those British nobles with deep roots, who were still prominent and had accumulated considerable wealth.

Then, during this time at the end of the year, DS Group, Standard Chartered Bank, and Continental United Bank were also holding various fundraising cocktail parties and other activities throughout Europe to raise funds for these two super funds.

After all, the Vision Fund for emerging markets was a fund jointly operated by DS Group and Standard Chartered Bank, and its custodian bank was Standard Chartered Bank, which had more branches in emerging markets.

The European Wealth Fund, which invests in the European market, is a fund jointly operated by DS Group and Continental United Bank, with Continental United Bank as its custodian bank.

Not only British nobles, but also nobles and wealthy individuals from other European countries actively participated in the investment of these two funds.

If, at the very beginning, the nobles and wealthy individuals needed to put up a small portion of their funds to try out the funds launched by Baron, then now, with Baron’s continued success, the funds he launched could not only attract capital from the Middle East, but these European gentlemen and emerging wealthy individuals also found these funds very popular.

In fact, because these two super funds have quite high investment thresholds, families that can invest in them regard investing in these two funds as a low-key way to show off.

Why are Wall Street capitals like BlackRock, Vanguard, and State Street so powerful in the original timeline?

Making money with other people’s money is a sure-fire business.

Moreover, those investors are themselves influential wealthy individuals in various fields, and the energy gathered by them is terrifying.

Through these two super funds, Baron is also slowly bringing together the traditional wealthy families of Europe, so that his subsequent investments can be successful in everything he does.

…

On December 5th, Kolo Airlines signed an order worth nearly 1.5 billion U.S. dollars with Standard Bombardier. They will purchase 20 CRJ900 regional jets from Standard Bombardier Aviation Manufacturing Company, and have pre-ordered 11 of Standard Bombardier’s upcoming C-series of the latest regional jets, including 5 CS100s and 6 CS300s.

One of the CS300s will be converted into the presidential plane for the President of Kolo.

The CRJ900 is a 90-seat regional jet, an extended version of the CRJ-700, and the largest and newest member of the most successful CRJ series of Bombardier’s civil regional jets. The development plan was officially launched on July 24, 2000, and the first flight was on February 21, 2001…

It was also because of the success of the CRJ series of aircraft that Bombardier was once regarded as the world’s third largest passenger aircraft manufacturer after Boeing and Airbus… Of course, the so-called third place is quite different from Boeing and Airbus, which are in the top two.

It can be said that although the CRJ900 is relatively “old,” it can also be regarded as a relatively cost-effective regional jet. Compared with its main competitor, the Brazilian Embraer 190, although the CRJ 900 is smaller, its operating costs are much lower.

The monthly operating cost of the CRJ 900 is less than 500,000 U.S. dollars, while under the same conditions, the 190 requires 35% higher costs than the CRJ 900, and needs to carry 1,942 more passengers per month to break even.

The CRJ900 aircraft purchased by Kolo Airlines will be used for their routes between African countries. As an aircraft with less than 100 seats, the CRJ900 is also relatively suitable for Kolo’s current passenger volume.

This is also Baron’s “support” for this company, which has been renamed Standard Bombardier, in the field of commercial aircraft after acquiring Bombardier’s aviation business.

The completion of this order will greatly improve the company’s financial situation in regional jets.

After all, before this, Bombardier had suffered huge losses in order to develop the C-series of 100-130 seat regional jets.

It can be said that this acquisition of Bombardier’s aviation business saved the company’s regional jet business.

In the original timeline, Bombardier successively sold its regional jet business due to its deteriorating financial situation in later years—

First, in 2017, the leading role of the newly developed C-series aircraft project was handed over to Airbus, and the name was directly changed to A220…

Then, at the beginning of 2019, it sold the “Dash” series of turboprop regional jets to De Havilland; in the same year, it sold its CRJ project to Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. So far, it has completely abandoned the regional jet business…

Now it’s different. With Baron’s financial support, Standard Bombardier’s C-series will continue…

In 2004, Bombardier began to study the launch of a new aircraft to compete for the regional aircraft market occupied by increasingly aging aircraft such as DC9s, MD80s, Fokker 100s and Bae 146/Avro RJs, and named the aircraft “CSeries.”

Bombardier said that the name represents “competitiveness,” “the ability to fly across the continent,” and “connector,” while commemorating the Canadian aircraft manufacturing company (Canadair) acquired by Bombardier in 1986.

At the same time, the C series also represents Bombardier’s ambition at the time—C also implies that Bombardier hopes to break the pattern in which the single-aisle aircraft market is dominated by Boeing and Airbus, because A represents Airbus and B represents Boeing.

At this time, the research and development of related models has entered the final stage. The model is planned to use 3+2 as the layout, with larger windows and luggage racks, while fuel consumption and operating costs will be reduced by 20% and 15% respectively.

The C series includes two models, the smaller model (CS100) will accommodate 100 to 115 passengers, and the larger model (CS300) will accommodate 130 to 135 passengers.

In the original timeline, on June 30, 2016, Swiss International Air Lines took delivery of the first CS100 aircraft and began its first flight from Zurich to Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport on July 15.

The first CS300 aircraft was delivered to Air Baltic on November 28, 2016, and put into commercial operation from Riga, the capital of Latvia, to Amsterdam, the capital of the Netherlands, on December 14, 2016.

However, because of the advance order from Kolo Airlines, Standard Bombardier Aviation Manufacturing Company, which has obtained more funds, will also step up its efforts and is expected to be able to start delivering CS100 aircraft in 2015, which is in two years…

Currently, Bombardier Aviation’s main assembly lines and related functions, including the C-series aircraft project, will remain in Quebec, Canada, where they will mainly serve North American customers.

They plan to add assembly and main parts production centers for Standard Bombardier Aviation in the UK and France to serve customers in Europe, Asia and Africa…

In addition to Kolo Airlines, Baron’s DS Group and Standard Chartered-Merrill Lynch Group also own partial stakes in other airlines, and also own the world’s second largest aircraft leasing company—Global Lease Financial Corporation, which was originally acquired from American International Group, and has more than 1,000 various aircraft. Some of Kolo Airlines’ aircraft were leased from here before.

Therefore, expanding the regional jet business of Standard Bombardier is not a difficult task for Baron.

Chapter 974: Digital Tax

In fact, in the regional jet sector, Airbus has always had a weak spot. This is why, in the original timeline, Airbus “took over” Bombardier’s C Series aircraft project, renaming it the A220, to complement its best-selling A320 series.

Therefore, in Airbus’s “home base” of the European market, Standard Bombardier’s regional jet business can still be competitive.

In addition to converting the Airbus A380 jumbo jet ordered from Airbus into his new “aerial palace,” Barron will also gradually replace the Gulfstream G series private jets in his fleet for short-haul flights and convenient landings with Bombardier business jets.

The “presidential business jets” of his companies will also be gradually replaced with the Bombardier Challenger series.

As for Barron, he has taken a fancy to the Global 8000 business jet recently announced by Bombardier, but this model has not yet completed testing and will not be available for another two years.

It can be said that after Barron acquired Bombardier, Gulfstream lost a major customer…

Well, not only that, but it will also face a more powerful competitor in the business jet field—Standard Bombardier.

…

On December 10, after several months of negotiations, Sky Group finally reached an agreement with DailyVedio. They will merge their streaming platform into DailyVedio and receive 15% of DailyVedio’s shares.

At the same time, SEM Group also announced a strategic cooperation agreement with DailyVedio. They will invest 600 million pounds, plus their related media resources, valued at 1 billion pounds, to obtain 10% of DailyVedio’s shares.

Thus, DailyVedio, a streaming platform with viewers across Britain, Europe, Australia, North America, and parts of Asia, has developed for many years, has over 1 billion users, and more than 500 million monthly active users. Its valuation has reached 10 billion pounds.

Initially, DailyVedio was jointly established by O2 Telecom and Digital UK. However, later, Digital Future, under the Caesar Foundation, increased its stake in DailyVedio to 70% through investment and acquisition of Digital UK’s shares. O2 Telecom then held 30% of the shares.

Later, O2 Telecom increased its investment in DailyVedio again in order to compete with British Telecom’s (BT) online video business, bringing its shareholding to 40%.

Now, after this agreement is reached, the shareholding ratio of DailyVedio is as follows: Digital Future holds 45% of the shares, O2 Telecom holds 30% of the shares, Sky Group holds 15% of the shares, and SEM Group holds 10% of the shares.

It can be said that Digital Future’s total investment in DailyVedio is less than 100 million pounds, and its shareholding is now worth 4.5 billion pounds. The investment in DailyVedio has been a very successful one.

Currently, DailyVedio is more than just a website. They mainly feature two applications—DailyVedio and Daily TV. DailyVedio mainly features video sharing content from independent media and individual users, similar to YouTube. It also includes paid programs officially released by media such as ITV, BBC, and BSkyB.

Daily TV is used on multiple platforms, including mobile phones, computers, and set-top boxes. The content mainly includes variety shows, TV series, and other programs from its partner TV stations, as well as film and television content purchased by DailyVedio.

DailyVedio’s CEO, Carrie Simmons, also revealed to the media that they expect to conduct an IPO listing next year, and are expected to list on the Nasdaq and the London Stock Exchange for financing.

At the same time, Carrie Simmons also revealed that DailyVedio will increase the proportion of their self-made content in the future. They have purchased the copyright of the American drama “Succession” and will cooperate with SEM Group’s Summit Media to film the British version of this TV series.

After all, DailyVedio’s main source of income is still advertising revenue, accounting for 60% of the company’s total revenue, while content payment revenue only accounts for about 35%…

Among them, the content with the highest user subscription volume on DailyVedio to date is still the classic British drama “Downton Abbey.”

It can be said that under the leadership of Woaw and Digital Future, the development of London’s Tech City is much smoother and more fruitful than in the original timeline.

Not only have the European headquarters of Silicon Valley giants such as Microsoft, Google, and Yahoo settled in Tech City, but in addition to DailyVedio and Argos.com, many Internet projects have also been incubated in London’s Tech City, including some small e-commerce and group buying websites. Although they face competition from Argos and Amazon, they can also have good development in some niche vertical fields.

If Silicon Valley is the center of the global Internet, then London’s Tech City has become the center of the European Internet. London’s Tech City has explored a relatively complete incubation mechanism for start-ups, attracting relevant talents from all over Europe to start businesses. Not only Digital Future Investment Company, but also the British government’s special support fund, and some increasingly active European local Internet venture capital institutions are concentrated in Tech City, making this once slightly decadent East London completely changed its appearance and become full of technology.

…

“We need to levy a digital tax on those Internet giants!”

Just before Christmas, the British government declared.

After Britain took the lead in proposing the idea of levying a digital tax, EU countries seemed to suddenly realize it. Countries such as France and Germany also began to announce that they would start studying the issue of levying a digital tax on Internet companies, and these European countries are preparing to reach a consensus on the collection of digital tax.

The British Treasury stated:

“Applying the current corporate tax rules to digital economy companies has led to inconsistencies between where profits are taxed and where value is created.”

They believe that setting the digital tax rate at 2% can bring an additional 515 million pounds in fiscal revenue to the British government each year.

“We have invested heavily in the construction of Britain’s network, but those global network giants occupy most of these resources. They need to pay for this. But in order to promote the development of those Internet start-ups, I think a certain threshold should be set for companies that collect digital taxes. The giants with the most profits should pay these fees. This is very reasonable. After all, search engines, social media services, and online market services of companies such as Google, Yahoo, and Amazon are the companies that occupy the most public bandwidth resources…”

Regarding the issue of levying digital taxes, British Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, Jo Harriman, publicly stated that the target of digital tax collection should be placed on overseas network giants.

In fact, the reason for requiring the collection of digital tax (data facility service fee) is not only because the British government is really short of money, but also because they can no longer tolerate the situation that global Internet giants such as Google, Yahoo, and Amazon occupy the vast majority of the network facilities resources built by the British government at great expense, but pay very little tax to the British government.

Chapter 975: Reaching the End of Patience

In fact, the United Kingdom has also invested significantly in network infrastructure. Prior to this, they launched the “Broadband Promotion Plan,” using funds returned from the British Financial Trust (BFT) to invest in broadband network construction.

When Standard Chartered Bank acquired Northern Rock Bank, it also assumed 25 billion pounds of debt bailed out by the British government.

According to the agreement between Barron and the British government regarding assuming these debts, the British government once again injected 25 billion pounds into the British Financial Trust (BFT) fund established by Barron. Through investment, he would repay the British government a total of 50 billion pounds plus corresponding interest.

Prior to this, the BFT fund had already returned 25% of the funds plus corresponding interest to the British government, totaling over 13.5 billion pounds. These funds would be used to invest in a plan to promote broadband infrastructure in the United Kingdom within five years.

As a result, the network situation in the United Kingdom is now greatly improved compared to the original timeline.

However, the British government discovered that the network bandwidth in their country was mostly used by internet giants such as Google, Yahoo, and Amazon, but they did not recover much tax revenue from these internet giants.

These internet giants often choose to establish branches in tax havens through “aggressive tax optimization” to reduce the taxes they pay in overseas markets.

According to investigations, internet giants such as Google, Yahoo, and Amazon have been enjoying single-digit effective tax rates on their non-American profits, which is about a quarter of the average tax rate in their overseas markets.

Generally speaking, “taxes are taken from the people and used for the people.” This applies to most individuals and businesses. As long as you engage in economic activities in a country or region, you must pay taxes to the government of that country or region. Moreover, since most economic activities are visible or measurable, taxation is inevitable.

Some taxes are directly felt by ordinary people, such as the individual income tax paid when receiving a salary each month; some taxes are not directly felt by ordinary people, such as the consumption tax when buying things, the value-added tax paid by enterprises to the government, and so on.

However, for certain special enterprises, it may not be so easy to collect taxes from them. The most obvious example in this regard is undoubtedly internet companies.

Internet companies, especially large internet giants like Google, Yahoo, and Amazon, use the internet, a global super-infrastructure, to provide their services to people all over the world, but their income is not taxed everywhere…

This is because it is very likely that everyone in the United Kingdom watches a lot of advertisements on Google, bringing a lot of income to Google, but in reality, the advertisers may not be in the United Kingdom, and these incomes are all paid to Google in the United States.

So, from a taxation point of view, Google may have paid these taxes in the United States.

In particular, the tax rates in various countries are completely different. Some countries have heavy tax burdens, while others have lighter tax burdens. Some overseas island nations, known as “tax havens,” have become the most common way for many internet companies to “legally avoid taxes.”

For example, in order to avoid income taxes exceeding 35% in countries such as the United Kingdom and the United States, Apple successfully avoided 12 billion US dollars in taxes in 2012 alone by going through its subsidiaries in low-tax countries such as Ireland.

The process is that Apple establishes a subsidiary in Ireland, where the tax rate is extremely low, and then uses this subsidiary to provide services to its branch in the United Kingdom, transferring most of the profits from the United Kingdom market to the Irish subsidiary under the names of “service fees” and “authorization fees.”

In this way, Apple’s branch in the United Kingdom has almost no profit and only needs to pay extremely low taxes; and Ireland, because the tax rate is extremely low, only needs to pay very little tax.

Of course, as the global hegemon, the United States can use its long-arm jurisdiction, and Apple’s taxes paid to the United States certainly cannot be reduced too much, but the United Kingdom and other European countries have no way to deal with Apple’s approach…

Similarly, companies like Google also transfer tens of billions of advertising revenue to offshore tax-haven-registered Bermuda subsidiaries every year, thus avoiding billions of taxes - between 2006 and 2011, Google paid only over one million euros in income tax in European countries such as the United Kingdom, Germany, France, and Italy.

As for Woaw, DailyVedio, and Argos retail group, these companies also use a lot of bandwidth, but because their headquarters are in the United Kingdom, especially DailyVedio and Argos.com’s main markets are in Europe, and their advertisers are mainly European companies, they pay slightly more taxes to the United Kingdom and other European countries compared to those American internet companies.

Although they also use some “legal tax avoidance” methods, their basic market is in Europe, and they will not go too far.

Therefore, the fact that Google, Yahoo, Amazon, and Apple make a lot of profits in the British and European markets, but only symbolically pay a few million in taxes, while the United Kingdom alone has invested tens of billions of pounds in improving its broadband network, naturally makes them very dissatisfied.

The so-called digital tax is actually a service fee charged to these internet giants for using network infrastructure.

According to the British government, they will levy a “digital tax” on companies with global revenue exceeding 500 million pounds and revenue in the British market exceeding 25 million pounds - which also means that this tax is aimed at internet giants of a certain scale and will not put pressure on internet start-ups.

In other words, when you need to pay the “digital tax,” it also means that the company’s scale can be considered an internet giant.

Although the collection of the “digital tax” will inevitably affect Woaw, DailyVedio, and Argos.com controlled by Barron, after all, even if they can avoid paying this tax in the United Kingdom because they pay more taxes to the British government, if other countries in Europe and even around the world successively levy this type of tax, these companies will still increase their tax burden.

But in comparison, once the “digital tax” is levied, their competitors, such as Apple, Google, and Amazon, will be even more uncomfortable.

Moreover, it can increase government revenue and help Europe strengthen network infrastructure construction, and Barron can still accept some of these burdens.

But then again, in Barron’s previous life, countries including Europe, Japan, and South Korea had the idea of levying a “digital tax,” but in the end…

The collection of this fee is still quite difficult.

After all, these companies are all American companies, and they cannot evade American taxes… or rather, they dare not evade too much. Therefore, the United States, as the base camp of these internet companies, will definitely stand up for these internet giants, even at the cost of using retaliatory measures to threaten the United Kingdom and other countries to compromise.

In addition, it is very troublesome to calculate the tax base of the “digital tax” because the internet companies’ revenue data in the United Kingdom are not published, and it is actually difficult for the British tax authorities to know how much money these internet giants are making in the United Kingdom…

The same is true for other countries…

Of course, as listed companies, their financial reports are published, but these companies can completely choose not to publish the specific income and profit situation of certain regions in their financial reports, so how to collect this money is not an easy task for the tax authorities in the United Kingdom and other European countries.

Chapter 976: Collapse

In December, the People’s Bank of China and five other ministries jointly issued a document called “Notice on Preventing BitC Risks.”

This “Notice” clearly stated that BitC does not have the attributes of legal tender and prohibits financial institutions from participating in BitC-related trading activities.

This move by China immediately led to a sharp drop in the price of BitC, which had risen to $1,200.

It should be noted that before this, BitC exchanges in China could directly deposit Chinese currency for trading.

The introduction of this regulatory measure led some BitC exchanges in China to cease operations, and exchanges including OK and Huobi also stopped directly accepting payments from users using Chinese currency.

So, how would these surviving exchanges retain their Chinese users?

At this time, they all noticed the USDA, a dollar-pegged stablecoin launched by Anchorage.

In many overseas BitC exchanges, the prices of digital currencies, including BitC, were already displayed in USDA. Now that Chinese exchanges could not directly accept users’ Chinese currency deposits, they changed their approach. The exchanges did not directly accept users’ funds, but instead built a “C2C exchange platform” under their supervision. Some merchants could accept users’ payments on this platform, convert their Chinese currency into USDA, and then users could trade on the exchange.

This gradually became the method adopted by BitC exchanges that still maintained operations in China, and USDA gradually became the most widely used dollar-pegged stablecoin in non-dollar regions.

Although the price of digital currencies, including BitC, has fallen significantly from its previous high point, if you want to wait for the next bull market, it will have to be after the next BitC halving.

At the same time, with this BitC bull market, the wealth effect it generated has caused BitC to break out globally, and more and more people have begun to come into contact with it, understand it, and join it.

An industry that will be called “digital gold” in the future is beginning to develop.

Just like Satoshi Nakamoto once said:

“If you don’t believe me or don’t get it, I don’t have time to try to convince you, sorry.”

Yes, you can say it’s a scam over and over again, until its price goes from 10,000 BitC for two pizzas to, before Barron’s rebirth, 1 BitC costing over $100,000.

Again, if a “Ponzi scheme” will run through your entire life, is it still a scam?

In addition, there is another inconspicuous little thing.

That is, Vitalik Booth.rin, the young man who sold “BitC Magazine” to the BitC Foundation, chose to drop out of the University of Waterloo after only eight months of enrollment. During this period, he used the money he earned from selling the magazine to visit BitC developer communities in the United States, Spain, Italy, Israel, and other countries, and joined the BitC transformation work.

It was also during this period that Vitalik gradually discovered the limitations of BitC in its design—and to break through these limitations, it was not enough to rely on patching up the Bitcoin protocol.

Finally, after the BitC price “collapsed” in December, Vitalik returned to Kolobryta, where he temporarily settled down. He wanted to create a general-purpose new type of crypto coin, a platform that allows anyone to create any application.

Vitalik named this project Ethereum.

Ethereum is a portmanteau derived from ether, a substance imagined by the ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle (later proven not to exist), and the Greek word oleum (oil).

Finally, in January 2014, Vitalik published “Ethereum: A Next-Generation Cryptocurrency and Decentralized Application Platform” in BitC Magazine, publicly proposing the concept of Ethereum technology for the first time.

……

Before Christmas, Continental United Bank announced that it had reached an agreement with two Italian banks, Banco Popolare and Banca Popolare di Milano, to complete the acquisition of the two banks for a total of 1.75 billion euros.

Since the outbreak of the European debt crisis, the Italian economy has faced severe damage, and the Italian banking industry can be said to be clouded with gloom. Many banks are burdened with heavy debts and are mired in the mud.

Under such circumstances, since Continental United Bank set its acquisition target on Banco Popolare and Banca Popolare di Milano two months ago, after several negotiations, the boards of directors and shareholders of the two banks approved the acquisition on the condition that Continental United Bank was willing to bear all the debts of the two banks.

This acquisition of the two Italian banks by Continental United Bank will raise 2 billion euros in the form of convertible bonds for the acquisition and subsequent business integration. The newly established European Wealth Fund purchased all of the convertible bonds, setting the annual interest rate of the bonds at 6%.

After completing this acquisition, Banco Popolare and Banca Popolare di Milano will undergo business mergers and reorganizations, thereby becoming Continental United Bank’s branch in Italy. This has allowed Continental United Bank’s business scope to expand from Germany and France to Italy, ranking third in Italy.

“Since the 2008 financial crisis, Italian banks’ balance sheets have maintained a high level of non-performing loan ratios, and the two banks we have acquired also face such problems…”

Continental United Bank President Christine Lagarde said in an interview when talking about this acquisition of Italian banks:

“However, we also see the prospects of the Italian banking industry. Continental United Bank has rich experience in solving non-performing loan ratios, and we believe that we can help them solve this problem.”

In fact, in the original timeline, Banco Popolare and Banca Popolare di Milano, which were acquired by Continental United Bank, will merge into Banco BPM bank three years later, becoming the third largest bank in Italy.

In addition, after UniCredit Bank of Italy announced its preparations to acquire Commerzbank of Germany, it also proposed a 10 billion euro acquisition price for their main competitor, Banco BPM.

This also shows that after passing through this crisis, the development prospects of these two banks are still worth looking forward to.

More importantly, as the three largest economies in the Eurozone, Germany, France, and Italy, Continental United Bank can only establish a firm foothold in these national markets before it can serve as an important part of Barron’s future European strategy.

At the same time, the financial market also reacted to this acquisition by Continental United Bank. After announcing this acquisition, its stock price rose by more than 5.5% on the last trading day before Christmas, which also shows that investors are optimistic about this acquisition by Continental United Bank.

Chapter 977: Coup d’état

In the main hall of Chatsworth House, a Christmas tree, freshly felled and recently brought in, already stood tall.

Children, young and old, couldn’t help but cast their eyes upon the brightly decorated Christmas tree and the gifts hanging from its branches as they passed by, giggling.

A snow had just fallen, and looking out from the upper floors of Chatsworth House, the eye could see nothing but a beautiful, silver-clad landscape.

In stark contrast, the fire in the fireplace of the study made the room feel as warm as spring.

“Sophia, have today’s ingredients arrived?”

“Yes, Mr. Butler. The farm specifically slaughtered a whole sheep. The Chinese chef said he will be preparing a roast whole lamb. And there are also some fresh vegetables and fruits…”

Ever since the Barron family arrived at Chatsworth House, Ramos, who used to be Barron’s personal valet and is now the estate’s butler, has been in an excellent mood. Consequently, he directs the estate’s servants to handle all internal and external affairs with utmost perfection.

“The children are playing in the snow in the garden. Remember to prepare hot tea so they don’t catch a cold.”

“We have already prepared it, Mr. Butler…”

……

Meanwhile, thousands of miles away in West Africa, the “Land of Upright Men,” Burkina Faso, was far from experiencing the same tranquility as Chatsworth House.

On December 24th, the Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of Burkina Faso, Traoré, launched a coup, imprisoned President Compaoré, announced the dissolution of parliament, and formed a provisional government, with Traoré serving as the president of the provisional government.

After the coup, Traoré controlled the situation in the capital, Ouagadougou, and then went to the television station to address the nation.

Traoré claimed that the current president, Compaoré, was implementing a dictatorial rule in Burkina Faso, selling out the country’s interests, causing serious domestic corruption, soaring prices, and leaving most of the people in extreme poverty.

Now was the time for change. He would promote reforms in Burkina Faso and hand over power at the appropriate time, holding elections within a year. At the same time, Traoré announced that a curfew would be imposed on the capital, Ouagadougou, starting that day.

It can be said that this coup in Burkina Faso happened quite suddenly. Even Koloh only learned about it after it had already occurred.

After this incident, the French Foreign Ministry spokesman said at a press conference that France was closely monitoring the coup in Burkina Faso, calling on all parties in Burkina Faso to exercise restraint and restore calm to the situation as soon as possible.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon also issued a statement through his spokesman on the same day, expressing deep concern about the situation in Burkina Faso, calling on all parties in Burkina Faso to end violence, maintain calm and restraint, and resolve all outstanding issues through dialogue. He has requested his Special Representative for West Africa, Chambas, to go to Burkina Faso before the 25th, and welcomed the representatives of organizations such as the African Union and the Economic Community of West African States to go there as well.

And the spokesperson for the United States stated that the United States was concerned about the situation in Burkina Faso and called on all parties concerned to avoid violent conflict.

After President Koloh communicated by telephone with the leaders of other countries in the West African Free Trade Area, he issued a joint statement from the West African Free Trade Area through his spokesperson, expressing willingness to provide assistance for the smooth transition of power in Burkina Faso, and respecting the right of the people of Burkina Faso to choose their own path of national development, hoping that Burkina Faso would restore the democratic process as soon as possible.

In fact, on the same day, President Thomas Kabore of Koloh spoke by telephone with Traoré, the initiator of this coup in Burkina Faso. The two sides confirmed the continuity of cooperation between Burkina Faso and Koloh, as well as the countries of the West African Free Trade Area. Traoré also invited Koloh to send representatives to the capital of Burkina Faso, Ouagadougou, to witness the establishment of a transitional government in Burkina Faso and the smooth transition of power.

……

“For us, the coup in Burkina Faso is not a bad thing. On the contrary, it is conducive to strengthening cooperation with Burkina Faso…”

In the study of Chatsworth House, Nigel Ince said to Barron:

“Through our background investigation of Traoré and the communication we have had with him, it has been confirmed that he personally agrees with Burkina Faso’s position in the West African Free Trade Area. At the same time, Traoré also hopes to strengthen cooperation with West African countries to jointly resist France’s economic colonization of West Africa. He also said that he welcomes our investment in Burkina Faso…”

In fact, although Burkina Faso has participated in many projects in the West African Free Trade Area led by Koloh, its attitude has been somewhat subtle before.

The main reason for this stems from the style of the former President of Burkina Faso, Compaoré - he was personally very close to France. Although in the African political arena, Compaoré was always happy to appear as a “mediator,” within Burkina Faso, Compaoré was still using various methods to maintain his control over the country…

Although Burkina Faso joined the West African Free Trade Area, it was more based on economic interests. At the same time, Compaoré still maintained cooperation with the French and the Economic Community of West African States, which can be regarded as a relatively wavering existence.

Compaoré launched a coup in 1987 and overthrew the former President of Burkina Faso to come to power. He has been in power in Burkina Faso for more than 26 years.

Anyone who knows a little about Burkina Faso probably knows that the former president overthrown by Compaoré was Thomas Sankara, the “man of the hour” of Burkina Faso.

Compaoré was once Sankara’s close friend. On August 4, 1983, Sankara and Compaoré launched a coup and overthrew the then-government of Ouedraogo.

In fact, when the coup occurred, Sankara, who was highly prestigious in the army and united many progressive young soldiers, had already been arrested and imprisoned by the Ouedraogo government at the request of France.

Compaoré led young officers to launch a coup and rescued Sankara from prison. From then on, Sankara became the head of state, and Compaoré became the number two figure in the new regime.

The name of Burkina Faso was also taken by Sankara. “Burkina” means “upright men” in the local Mossi language, and “Faso” means “country” in the Bambara language - Burkina Faso means “Land of Upright Men.”

Sankara dedicated his life to interpreting the word “upright man.” He lived a simple life, led Burkina Faso to expel French forces, and build the country.

It was just that in the end, he was defeated by human nature - he rose with Compaoré, and fell with Compaoré.

His close friend Compaoré eventually betrayed him and betrayed the revolution - in 1987, Compaoré launched a coup, and Sankara, who was wearing simple sportswear and attending a meeting, was shot and killed by the coup plotters, dying from multiple gunshot wounds.

Chapter 978: Close Cooperation

In Barron’s previous life, the coup in Burkina Faso took place in October 2014.

At that time, Compaoré had been in power in Burkina Faso for 27 years, having been re-elected president three times in 1998, 2005, and 2010 respectively.

According to the Burkina Faso constitution at the time, Compaoré would reach the presidential term limit in 2015 and would not be able to participate in the general election again. To this end, Compaoré promoted constitutional amendments at the time to lift his term limit.

Because of this, Compaoré’s actions at the time, coupled with high prices and a sluggish economy in Burkina Faso, made it impossible for the people to tolerate Compaoré’s continued hold on power. In the capital, Ouagadougou, more than 100,000 people took to the streets to protest Compaoré’s “constitutional amendment” behavior.

Just as Compaoré announced a nationwide state of emergency, the military, led by Traoré, announced a coup, seizing power by force and overthrowing Compaoré’s rule in Burkina Faso.

It’s just that now, the coup in Burkina Faso has happened 10 months earlier…

According to the information Barron obtained, the early occurrence of the Burkina Faso coup was more or less related to Kolo…

It wasn’t that Kolo had intervened in Burkina Faso’s domestic politics. Although Barron’s think tank had suggested that in order to consolidate cooperation between countries in the West African Free Trade Zone, the organization should be transformed from economic cooperation to all-round cooperation in economy, politics, and military affairs.

However, Barron still did not directly interfere too much in the internal affairs of Kolo’s neighboring countries. In particular, armed forces such as the Kolo Legion did not participate in the affairs of other countries—even the military training provided to countries including Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger was carried out through Protector Military Services.

The reason for doing this was also to reflect the difference between Kolo, and the West African Group behind it, and the old-brand imperialist countries such as Britain and France. They only pursued economic cooperation and would not interfere in the internal affairs of other countries.

In Barron’s previous life, why were the Russian Wagner mercenaries able to develop rapidly in countries such as Niger and Mali, and even be accepted by these countries to fight against France and help them expel French troops from these countries?

The main reason was that they could trust Wagner more, knowing that the other party just wanted to “make money.” They could provide assistance in exchange for mineral resources and funds in these countries, but they were not interested in the internal affairs of these countries.

Now Kolo also hopes to give these countries such an image, so as to gain their trust and not be suspected, fearing that they will be controlled by them again after they drive away the French.

Barron’s influence on some West African countries is mainly through some cooperation projects of the Prosperity Earth Foundation. These projects are very low-key and not radical. Compared with some French NGO organizations, they are nothing at all.

However, some young officers who launched the military coup in Burkina Faso this time participated in Burkina Faso’s peacekeeping operations in Mali and had more contact with the Kolo peacekeeping forces.

At the same time, some officers also participated in the military training conducted by Protector Military Services for Burkina Faso.

Especially when these people saw that Kolo, a former small West African country, had a domestic population whose lives were not much different from those of Burkina Faso, and even some people in northern Kolo lived worse than the people of Burkina Faso…

But now, under the leadership of the new government of Kolo, Kolo has undergone earth-shaking changes. There is no longer any bone-sucking French capital, their government is more efficient, and it pays more attention to the development of the domestic economy and people’s livelihood, and invests heavily in cultural education, medical and health care, transportation, water conservancy, and other people’s livelihood development.

The life that the people of Kolo are living now is the life that the people of Burkina Faso dream of. These young officers were greatly shocked by this.

In addition to the shock, they couldn’t help but think about where the road for Burkina Faso was. Under Compaoré’s rule, they couldn’t see any hope for Burkina Faso to get better…

And Burkina Faso was not without moments of hope. It’s just that the person who led them on such a moment had already died under Compaoré’s gun.

Such thoughts took root, sprouted, and eventually led to the outbreak of this coup in Burkina Faso.

After the transitional government of Burkina Faso took control of the domestic situation, it quickly extended an olive branch to Kolo.

On December 27, Kolo announced that it would send a delegation composed of representatives from Kolo, Niger, Benin, and other member states of the West African Free Trade Zone to Burkina Faso to discuss the future governance direction of Burkina Faso and cooperation between each other with the transitional government.

Kolo President Thomas Kabore will also accompany the delegation to Burkina Faso to meet with interim President Traoré.

On December 30, after two days of talks, the West African Free Trade Organization issued the “Ouagadougou Declaration.” The declaration reaffirmed the framework of economic cooperation between member states of the West African Free Trade Zone and gave special preferential policies to investment and trade between each other.

Kolo will also invest in Burkina Faso through the West African Group—Burkina Faso’s domestic planting industry has been dominated by cotton planting since the French colonial period. Before this, they did not have any related deep processing and production industries in their country. They directly sold cotton to French capital as one of their pillar industries.

The monopolistic operation of French capital in Burkina Faso has also left the people of this country, which ranks fourth in Africa in gold production, in a state of long-term poverty.

The West African Group will invest in building textile factories in Burkina Faso to help Burkina Faso upgrade their cotton planting industry to the textile industry—this will also provide relatively cheap and stable fabric supplies for Kolo’s increasingly large-scale garment processing industry, thereby becoming one of the production bases for Barron’s controlled apparel sales companies, including Fast Retailing Group.

The agreement reached by the two parties also included energy cooperation.

In addition to continuing to purchase electricity from Kolo, the West African Power Group will also invest in hydropower and natural gas power stations in Burkina Faso to help Burkina Faso solve its domestic power shortage.

According to the West African Power Group’s plan, after their large-scale solar power station in Kolo is completed, the area near the desert in Burkina Faso is also a very suitable location for building solar power stations, and they will have corresponding plans in the future.

At the same time, the West African Railway Group is also in discussions with Burkina Faso and China to prepare for the construction of the Wafa Railway (blue in the picture) connecting Burkina Faso’s capital Ouagadougou with its third largest city, Fada N’Gourma, which is also the capital of the East Region of Burkina Faso.

It is expected that the Wafa Railway will be invested by the West African Railway Group, accept loans from China, and be built by China Railway…

The West African Railway Group itself is a joint venture between the West African Group, Kolo Industrial Investment Fund, the Burkina Faso government, and the Niger government. The West African Group holds 60% of its shares, the Kolo Industrial Investment Fund holds 25% of its shares, and the remaining 15% of the shares are held by the governments of Burkina Faso and Niger.

After completion, the Wafa Railway (blue line in the picture) will connect the Dani Railway (red line in the picture), which has been mostly completed, plus the Loda Railway (Port Lotti to Dassault, the northernmost city, orange line in the picture), which was built earlier. Then the capitals of Kolo, Burkina Faso, and Niger will be connected by a railway network, and Burkina Faso and Niger, as landlocked countries, will also be able to directly reach Lotti Port, the largest port in West Africa, by railway, thereby deepening the connection between the three countries and promoting the trade of Burkina Faso and Niger.

Chapter 979: Independence Referendum

“Yes, we have successfully completed our established goals. Currently, the fundraising scale of both the Vision Fund and the European Wealth Fund has exceeded 80% of the planned amount.”

The year was 2014. After New Year’s Day, Daisy reported this fairly good news to Barron.

The two funds that Barron planned to establish were the Vision Fund, which focuses on investing in emerging markets, and the European Wealth Fund, which focuses on investing in the European market. The fundraising process is currently going very smoothly, and it is expected that the fundraising plans of $100 billion and 50 billion euros will be completed before the end of January.

As for the managers of the two funds, they have also been determined long ago. The CEO of the Vision Fund is Heidi Collins, recommended by Daisy. She is 41 years old this year and used to be in charge of the investment department of Standard Chartered Bank in Asia. Later, she joined DS Group and has been Daisy’s assistant. According to Daisy’s evaluation, Heidi has both rich experience in company management and a global strategic vision, and she is very good at communicating with people. Therefore, she is competent for the position of CEO of the Vision Fund, which has a total capital scale of $100 billion.

The CEO of the European Wealth Fund is Gerard Reynolds, recommended by Ashley Weber. Gerard comes from a once prominent aristocratic family in France. Although his family’s situation is not as good as before, he still has certain connections in Europe. In addition, Gerard, as the second son in the family, is also very capable. He participated in many of William-Weber Capital’s previous mergers and acquisitions.

After raising the funds, these two super funds will then need to spend the money and make investments.

The Vision Fund is easier to handle. After all, based on Barron’s experience, there are still many investment opportunities targeting emerging markets.

But the European Wealth Fund…

Currently, in addition to participating in the Continental United Bank’s acquisition of two Italian banks, Barron’s requirement for Gerard Reynolds is to first study the basic livelihood industries in Europe, including electricity, gas, water, logistics, and other industries, and list companies suitable for investment or acquisition…

In addition, the goal is to target Europe’s high-precision and cutting-edge industries, including precision manufacturing, semiconductors, and other industries.

After all, he understands that in many ordinary industries, especially manufacturing, it will be difficult for Europe to compete with China in the future.

The decline of Europe is inevitable in the long run, so as an investment, Barron can only choose industries that are more stable and less susceptible to this decline.

…

“According to the latest opinion poll, 30% of the people in Scotland firmly support independence, 51% do not support independence, and 19% of the people have no definite intention…”

While eating breakfast, Bonnie flipped through the newspaper and casually told Barron about the Scottish independence referendum discussed in the newspaper.

Yes, the independence referendum in Scotland will be held on September 18th of this year…

Since it was confirmed in 2012, this matter has often become a very popular topic in the UK.

In fact, apart from the historical entanglement between Scotland and England over thousands of years, the reason why Scotland clamors for independence from the UK every once in a while is nothing more than interests…

It can be said that the UK has been continuously de-industrializing since World War II, transferring the country’s industrial pillars to finance and service industries…

However, Northern Ireland and Scotland are the centers of industrial manufacturing in the UK. Unlike England, especially the area near London, these regions have not gained many benefits from the development of the UK’s financial industry. Instead, their industries have been damaged due to the process of de-industrialization, so they have always had criticisms.

In addition, what is more important is the North Sea oil and gas fields owned by the UK, which are located near Scotland. It can be said that 90% of the area of these oil and gas blocks belongs to Scotland.

However, the local Scottish can only obtain 10% of the benefits from the North Sea oil and gas fields, which also makes the Scottish people believe that once they break away from the UK, almost all of the North Sea oil and gas fields will be given to them, which accounts for 10% of the UK’s population, and their income will inevitably increase significantly…

Of course, in addition to this, the Scottish government often uses independence as a means to fight for benefits from the UK government.

Therefore, agreeing to the Scottish independence referendum can be said to be a gamble for Cameron - if the final vote shows that most Scottish people do not support independence, then you should stop clamoring all day long and honestly follow the country…

In 2007, the Scottish National Party won more seats in the Scottish Parliament in the Scottish elections and formed a minority government.

It should be known that the Scottish National Party, as the name suggests, is a staunch supporter of Scottish independence…

After winning the election, the Scottish local government controlled by the Scottish National Party published a white paper entitled “Choosing Scotland’s Future,” which outlined possible options for Scotland’s future, including independence…

Faced with this situation, the Scottish Labour Party, the Scottish Conservative Party, and the Scottish Liberal Democrats jointly resisted the referendum that included independence as an option.

The then Prime Minister Brown also publicly opposed this independent option.

The three major parties formed the Calman Commission against independence, which reviewed the devolution of powers and considered all constitutional provisions to prevent independence.

On August 8, 2009, the Scottish National Party announced that the “Scottish Referendum Bill 2010” would become part of its 2009-2010 legislative program, detailing the issues and implementation methods of this possible independence referendum.

According to the plan, the bill would be announced on “Burns Night” on January 25, 2010, and the referendum was suggested to be held on “St. Andrew’s Day” on November 30, 2010.

However, due to the status of the Scottish National Party as a minority government and the opposition of all major parties, this bill was not passed.

So, in September 2010, the Scottish government could only announce that no referendum would be held before the 2011 election.

Then, the Scottish National Party, which advocated for Scottish independence, won the 2011 election, and they won an absolute majority of seats in the Scottish Parliament.

After that, Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond stated his intention to hold a referendum in 2014 or 2015.

After intensive discussions, the UK government, the Secretary of State for Scotland, and Prime Minister Cameron hinted that they hoped that the UK Parliament would devolve power to hold a referendum, but disagreed with the Scottish National Party’s timetable and related arrangements.

Alex Salmond and his Scottish National Party insisted that the Scottish Parliament already had the power to implement a referendum and no longer accepted the authority from Westminster.

Finally, on October 15, 2012, Prime Minister Cameron and Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond jointly signed the historic “Edinburgh Agreement.”

The agreement paved the way for the vote to be held in the fall of 2014.

According to the provisions of the “Edinburgh Agreement,” the referendum only provided “yes/no” options on whether Scotland should leave the UK, and allowed people aged 16 and 17 to participate in the vote. The UK government granted the Scottish Parliament limited power to hold this legal referendum under a mechanism called “Section 30.”

On November 14, 2013, the Scottish Parliament passed the “Scottish Independence Referendum Bill,” allowing Scots to vote on whether Scotland should become an independent country, setting the date of the referendum on September 18, 2014, which coincided with the 700th anniversary of the Battle of Bannockburn.

Chapter 980: The Problem

In fact, although Cameron’s agreement to a Scottish independence referendum was a gamble, it wasn’t a decision made lightly.

Firstly, he understood that Scotland had always used independence as leverage to demand rights from the British government. Furthermore, the Scottish National Party’s consecutive election victories indicated a certain level of support for independence within Scotland. He hoped to channel this “public opinion” by giving them a referendum opportunity, at least to control some of the initiative—such as specifying the wording and method of the referendum options.

Moreover, they had conducted some surveys in Scotland, and the data showed that the majority of people were still against independence. This had been confirmed in previous opinion polls. Apart from a portion of the public who had not yet made a final decision, those against independence consistently outnumbered those in favor.

After all, after hundreds of years, not everyone in Scotland was originally “Scottish.” Through population exchange, many people identified with the “British Empire.”

Judging from the results of the referendum in the original timeline, Cameron won this gamble…

But whether this successful gamble gave Cameron confidence is unknown. He took another risk later—promising a Brexit referendum…

As everyone knows, in the original timeline, Cameron’s second gamble failed miserably. He originally wanted to use the Brexit referendum to gain the support of “Euroskeptics” to win the election. On the other hand, Britain could also use this Brexit referendum to play a game of brinkmanship, putting pressure on the European Union to gain some benefits.

However, the result was that the Brexit referendum actually passed…

The failure of this gamble had a chain reaction. Not only did it alienate Britain from Europe, but it also negated the success of the previous gamble—the Scottish independence referendum.

According to the agreement reached between the British government and Scotland, Scotland would not be able to hold another referendum after the 2014 Scottish independence referendum unless there were significant key changes.

Cameron originally hoped to take advantage of the fact that Scotland’s “centrifugal force” was not yet beyond control to solve the problem of their constant calls for independence once and for all.

But after the Brexit referendum passed, Scotland constantly demanded another referendum—because a significant key change had occurred. The Scottish government wanted to integrate into the European Union and did not want to leave…

Since you, Britain, are now leaving the European Union, it’s not too much for us, Scotland, to demand independence and then rejoin the European Union as a country, right?

This put the British government in a very passive position. They absolutely could not allow another Scottish independence referendum, because they understood that under the premise of Brexit, another independence referendum would likely result in Scotland actually becoming independent…

It should be known that in the original timeline’s 2014 Scottish independence referendum, Britain barely managed to retain Scotland with a vote of 55% to 45%.

Once Scotland became independent, what about Northern Ireland?

Northern Ireland also wanted to remain in the European Union. After all, if it was in the European Union, because Ireland was also an EU country, it would be extremely convenient for Northern Ireland and Ireland to communicate. After Brexit, the two sides would need to seal the border…

In that case, the original United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland would become the United Kingdom of England and Wales…

After all, the island of Great Britain itself includes England, Scotland, and Wales.

Wait, Wales isn’t without its own ideas about independence…

Well, the final result might be that the British government would only have England left… The national flag is readily available; the blue Union Jack would become a red cross on a white background.

What is this “unity after a long period of division, division after a long period of unity” plot?

But the good news is that because Wales was originally implicitly included in England, the Welsh red dragon flag did not appear on the British flag. Well, then there’s no need to change the national flag again.

…

Speaking of the British government, recently they have more than just the Scottish independence referendum to worry about—after all, this matter will not take place until September, and the British government has been mentally prepared for it for two or three years.

The first thing that gives Cameron a headache is the country’s financial problems.

Although compared to the original timeline, the current British government’s financial revenue situation has improved significantly. After all, no matter what, the DS system’s capital investment in British domestic companies and industries has allowed the British government to obtain increased tax revenue, and the returns on some British government-controlled funds invested in the DS system’s funds are also considerable.

But relatively speaking, the British government’s investment in some industries has also increased.

For example, investments in internet and other infrastructure, support for domestic technology projects, etc., the British government’s investment is greater than in the original timeline.

Inevitably, these investments will bring long-term returns to Britain, but in the present, when the results have not yet appeared, the British government will also face greater pressure.

In addition to this, with the turmoil in the Middle East, including the escalation of the Syrian civil war, a large number of refugees have poured into Europe, including Britain.

As mentioned earlier, because of Europe’s aging population and low proportion of young people, Europe needs the addition of fresh blood.

But the prerequisite is the addition of high-quality immigrants. However, when these refugees from the Middle East pour in, and the government’s financial pressure is huge, making it difficult to allocate enough funds to resettle these people, it will cause social risks.

What’s more, the religious beliefs of these refugees, as well as the squeezing of local citizens’ employment opportunities, causing dissatisfaction… etc., will all cause great negative impacts.

Although the British government has been cooperating with Cologne on the resettlement of illegal immigrants, the scale of this cooperation is still effective in normal times. When the scale of refugees suddenly increases, it becomes somewhat stretched.

It’s not that the British government doesn’t want to implement more aggressive policies to resist refugees. The problem is that Britain is still a member of the European Union, and their policies on refugees are still influenced by the European Union in many ways.

If they go too far, when the European Union adopts a relatively open policy towards refugees, they are likely to be criticized by the European Union—other countries are also unwilling. Everyone is a member of the European Union, so why should we take in the refugees we share, while you drive them all away?

The European Union cannot allow Britain to do this, otherwise their work will be impossible, and they won’t be able to lead the team…

But the consequence of all the above problems is that the British people are increasingly dissatisfied with the European Union. According to opinion polls, the voices of “Brexit” and “Euroskepticism” in Britain are growing, and the right-wing shift of voters is becoming increasingly obvious. In this case, for next year’s election, Cameron is very likely to reorganize his cabinet again in the second half of this year, as in the original timeline, to cater to voters and increase the right-wing color of the cabinet…

When Barron was in his previous life, people like Foreign Secretary William Hague, a “center-right moderate” within the Conservative Party, retired in that cabinet reshuffle…

Chapter 981: Political Talk Show Host

Although Barron had, in recent years, funded numerous “pro-European” organizations within Britain to promote related propaganda to the public, the general trend was not so easily reversed. After all, issues like the refugee problem were not something he could solve solely with his own power.

Most people are short-sighted. It’s like when you build a fence to protect a flock of sheep from attacks by wild animals…

The result might be that the sheep are not grateful to you, but instead believe that you are restricting their freedom by enclosing them—and some sheep, incited, might even think that you are doing so with some ulterior motive.

After all, from the perspective of these sheep, after being protected, the so-called “attacks by wild animals” are very distant matters.

“We haven’t seen any sheep being eaten by wild animals…”

On the contrary, the fences are something they can deeply perceive—those fences restrict their freedom.

Only after those sheep are incited to tear down the fences, rush to “the free world,” and then encounter wild animals and become their food, will they probably understand the meaning of those “fences” in the first place.

Many things are like this.

Now, most British citizens, especially young people, are accustomed to Britain’s situation within the European Union. If you tell them that if Britain leaves the EU, it will lose the European market, lose talent, and put Britain in an awkward position, only able to blindly follow the United States and prioritize American interests…

They will only say that you are an alarmist, and that it must be propaganda by capitalists for their own benefit.

Then they can only see that within the EU, Britain needs to hand over billions of euros to the EU every year to “feed” those European deadbeats.

And they also have to follow the EU in accepting refugees, snatching their jobs, and worsening public safety…

“Public opinion is like this. Even if we suppress those ‘Eurosceptic’ politicians and constantly instill the serious consequences of leaving the EU into the public, we still can’t stop the decline of the current political ecology…”

Barron’s think tank had conducted detailed research on these matters, and Joe Harriman couldn’t help but say:

“The current situation is that there will always be someone who can perceive the current public’s inclination and use this inclination to gain support and votes. If the Conservative Party doesn’t do this, then the Labour Party will do it, and they will lose the general election next year; and within the Conservative Party, if other members do this and you don’t express your position, then for the sake of votes, you can only push those who actively express their views to the forefront to win votes…”

Indeed, as Joe Harriman said, Barron also understood that if things continued like this, it would even reach the point where your election manifesto would be seen as “pro-European” if it wasn’t radical enough.

Although he had already taken down Johnson before—although Johnson was still in the Conservative Party, he had lost the position of Mayor of London, and Cameron would not give him a position in the cabinet, so he had basically disappeared from public view—there would always be someone who would choose to take a gamble for their own political future.

You can take down one or two people, or even make them “commit suicide,” but can you solve everyone? That would become a “white terror.” If Barron really did that, even if he could suppress this trend, as long as the public still tended to leave the EU, then he could suppress it for a year or two, five or ten years, and eventually the more he suppressed it, the more violent the rebound would be, and it might even bury himself.

Therefore, the best approach is “Yu the Great’s flood control”—prevention is better than cure.

If leaving the EU is inevitable, then a “patch” needs to be made for it.

…

“Being a host is good; it puts me more at ease than you being a reporter.”

“That time was just an accident. I didn’t expect to encounter that kind of thing…”

Beatrice Borromeo said to Barron with a hint of coquettishness:

“We finally get to see each other, so let’s not talk about these things, darling.”

Beatrice had now graduated from school and obtained a Master’s degree in Journalism from Columbia University.

After she returned to Europe, she did not choose to work in Barron’s industry, but instead found a job at an Italian newspaper, working as a political reporter.

What the two had just been talking about was when Beatrice, as a reporter, investigated a politician who had close ties with the Mafia, which led to the Mafia stalking her. Fortunately, the bodyguard Barron sent to her side discovered the situation and resolved the matter.

Speaking of which, Beatrice is very focused and hardworking in her work in the news industry, but after that incident, at Barron’s persuasion, she entered television.

Well, the television station she entered was Sky Italia—this television station was formed by the News Corporation in 2002 with a price of 1.5 billion euros from Vivendi Universal’s Telepiu television station and their previous Stream merged, and it is also Italy’s largest pay-TV station.

At Sky Italia, Beatrice is responsible for a very popular political talk show, often interviewing social celebrities such as members of parliament and writers. With Beatrice’s family background, it is naturally easy to achieve interviews with these celebrities, and Beatrice’s program is also known for its bold topics and sharp questions, which has made her a well-known beauty host in Italy.

“I heard you’re also planning to shoot a documentary?”

After a deep “knowledge learning” with this heiress, Barron held her in his arms and asked.

“Yes, this is the inspiration I got from some people I met when I was a reporter before, and I’ve been preparing for it for a long time. I named it ‘Mamma Mafia,’ and I’m going to record the lives of the women in the Mafia…”

“You know…”

“I know, darling, safety is the most important thing. Although this subject matter won’t be dangerous, I’ll be careful too. The bodyguards you arranged for me are always by my side.”

In this timeline, Beatrice Borromeo will naturally no longer become “Princess Beatrice.” Since she also hopes to make a career for herself, Barron also supports this attitude. Anyway, for him, there are a lot of related resources.

But just like Barron said to Beatrice, safety is the most important thing. According to the conditions he reached with Beatrice, he would strongly support Beatrice’s news career, but the two female bodyguards he arranged for the girl, as well as a small team of security personnel on standby in Italy, must exist.

“Also, the European Parliament elections will be held this year, and I plan to do a special report on this matter at that time.”

Chapter 982: Change of Leadership?

The biggest event in European political life this year is likely to be the European Parliament elections in May, a reshuffle that happens every five years.

At that time, voters across the European Union will directly elect 751 members of the European Parliament.

Related to this is the change of leadership for the President of the European Council, the President of the European Commission, the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, as well as the Secretary-General of NATO.

Currently, Europe is in a situation where the sovereign debt crisis is gradually easing. As the process of EU integration is being “forced” by the crisis and moving forward with difficulty, this European Parliament election will have a certain impact on the future political and economic situation in Europe, the development of the EU, and even global international relations.

However, correspondingly, before this, European voters were not very enthusiastic about the EU Parliament elections.

According to relevant data, due to voters’ general indifference to European politics, coupled with distrust of EU institutions and leaders, as well as dissatisfaction with their “broken promises,” “inefficiency,” “lack of fairness,” and “lack of transparency,” direct elections to the European Parliament have been declining in EU member states.

In 1979, the voter turnout in the nine EU member states was 62%. In 1994, when there were 12 member states, it dropped to 56.8%. In 1999, with 15 member states, it was 49.5%. In 2004, with 25 member states, it was 45.5%. Until the last European Parliament election in 2009, the average voter turnout in the 27 member states was only 43%.

Judging from relevant predictions, the possibility of this year’s European Parliament election voter turnout exceeding 50% is still unlikely.

However, what is worrying is that ordinary voters are not interested in voting, but supporters of far-right forces are eager to try, hoping to use this opportunity to vent their dissatisfaction with EU integration.

Beatrice Borromeo naturally knew Barron’s attitude. He supports European integration, after all, he has invested heavily in industries in various European countries, and European integration is conducive to him using the entire European unified market.

But the reality is that European integration still faces many obstacles.

The simplest point is that language is difficult to unify, which is also a difficulty in promoting many industries, including the Internet, in Europe.

Speaking of which, the value of Qin Shi Huang’s “standardizing writing and unifying the gauge of cart axles” is fully demonstrated.

Imagine that the EU currently has 27 member states, with a total area of approximately 4.322 million square kilometers, and almost every member state of the EU has its own unique language.

That is to say, in this area less than half the size of China, there are 24 official languages—this situation is almost equivalent to China not having standard Mandarin, but each province using “dialects” with different pronunciations and writing styles. Just imagine it and you can understand how chaotic this situation is.

You say the EU unifies languages? Then which language should be used? Although English is the most widely used language in the world and can be called a “world language,” will France agree? French has always been the “aristocratic language” of Europe…

And Spanish, you English and French are widely used around the world, is my Spanish any worse? Spanish in Latin America is also widely used.

That’s not all. As the economic engine of the EU, doesn’t German deserve a place?

What’s more, with Europe’s “democracy” system, how is it possible to forcibly promote this kind of language unification? They don’t have a strong central government, and they can discuss even trivial matters for several years…

……

After Beatrice Borromeo left England, Barron finally prepared to meet with the board of directors of GlaxoSmithKline.

Last year, DS Group, under the control of Daisy, shorted GlaxoSmithKline, the largest pharmaceutical company in England. Using the profits they made from this short sale, DS Group then bought some shares in GlaxoSmithKline…

Currently, they hold nearly 10% of GlaxoSmithKline’s shares, making them one of the company’s major shareholders.

When DS Group was shorting GlaxoSmithKline, it happened to be when the company was caught in investigations in China and the United States regarding commercial bribery. It can be said that GlaxoSmithKline’s management privately “greeted” the other party quite a bit.

But now the situation is stronger than people. DS Group has become a major shareholder of GlaxoSmithKline, and their funds, including the newly established European Wealth Fund, are continuing to acquire shares from some institutions. It is believed that they will soon become the largest shareholder of GlaxoSmithKline. In this case, coupled with Barron’s influence in the West, continuing to oppose this capital tycoon would not be a wise thing to do.

“I support GlaxoSmithKline making some changes, gentlemen.”

Barron met with the board members of GlaxoSmithKline at Chatsworth House. Well, it looked more like a “reception.”

He said to these people:

“I understand that the research and development investment in oncology drugs is huge and has considerable risk, but I still believe that even if the oncology drug and consumer healthcare businesses are separated, the best way is to form a joint venture with other companies’ related businesses, and we retain shares…”

In fact, Andrew Witty, the current CEO of GlaxoSmithKline, is of this view regarding the oncology drug business, believing that its investment is huge and the failure rate is high—he is considering selling or swapping GlaxoSmithKline’s oncology drug business for vaccines or OTC (over-the-counter) businesses that he is interested in.

But Barron knows that GlaxoSmithKline, led by Andrew Witty, will not have ideal revenue in the future, which will also cause its stock price to underperform other pharmaceutical giants.

Barron doesn’t want to wait until he needs to find a new CEO before readjusting the development path of GlaxoSmithKline that Andrew Witty has adjusted…

Therefore, when he decided to become a major shareholder of GlaxoSmithKline, he had already determined Andrew Witty’s fate.

He can no longer wait until 2017, when GlaxoSmithKline falls out of the top ten global pharmaceutical companies, before dismissing Andrew Witty, as in the original timeline.

Although DS Group currently only controls about 10% of GlaxoSmithKline’s shares, its funds are still purchasing GlaxoSmithKline’s shares from other institutions—compared to last year, GlaxoSmithKline’s stock price has rebounded a lot, which has also made some institutions want to take this opportunity to “jump ship” and sell GlaxoSmithKline’s shares.

After he becomes the largest shareholder of GlaxoSmithKline, he will begin to contact other shareholders to replace the CEO.

It seems that Emma Walmsley, who later took over as CEO of GlaxoSmithKline in the original timeline, performed well. She is currently working at L’Oréal Group under GHL Group.

Chapter 983: The Beginning

At this time, Ukraine was undergoing a “color revolution.”

On February 22, 2014, the Ukrainian parliament impeached President Viktor Yanukovych.

In fact, after the collapse of the Soviet Union, Ukraine had been seeking to join the European Union and accept the protection of the West, for which they also accepted many harsh conditions, essentially “disarming themselves.”

This is understandable. The permanent members of the UN Security Council basically tacitly agreed to disarm Ukraine, especially its “nuclear arsenal.”

Otherwise, after the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russia inherited its permanent seat in the United Nations. What about Ukraine? They also possessed nuclear strike capabilities… You couldn’t just add another permanent member.

For Ukraine itself, they didn’t want to maintain their many weapons and equipment, including nuclear weapons, anyway—after all, the maintenance costs of these weapons were extremely high and would bring a heavy financial burden to Ukraine at the time.

It was better to use this as a condition to obtain a “neutral” status from the United States and Russia, as well as some conditions that were beneficial to them.

After that, Ukraine continued to seek to join the European Union.

However, in November of last year, the Ukrainian government suddenly announced the suspension of the signing of the Association Agreement with the European Union and resumed consultations with the customs union led by Russia—the reason was that the current Ukrainian President Yanukovych could be seen as “pro-Russian.” He was born in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine, where Russians make up the majority of the population and is the stronghold of pro-Russian forces in Ukraine.

Another reason was that the Ukrainian government was facing financial difficulties at the time and needed to pay Russia huge natural gas fees and repay debts to the International Monetary Fund. Therefore, the government decided to resume trade relations with Russia in order to conduct corresponding negotiations.

But this decision by the Ukrainian government naturally aroused dissatisfaction among the pro-European factions in the country. Therefore, the pro-European opposition gathered in Kiev’s Independence Square to demonstrate, which later evolved into violent clashes.

“This ‘Maidan Revolution’ was orchestrated by the CIA. Right there in that square, color revolution experts sent by the CIA were directing the protests…”

Baron was not surprised by Nigel’s words.

After all, starting with the Arab Spring, and even before that, the CIA had accumulated rich experience in these “revolutions,” and the entire process could be said to be very familiar.

These “experts” provided detailed tactical guidance to the protesters—many of whom were extreme right-wing organizations in Ukraine with strong neo-Nazi overtones—such as making Molotov cocktails, tactics for confronting the police, and so on. They also provided funds to ensure that these protesters had uninterrupted access to drinking water and food…

Nigel Inskter also said:

“They also added a ‘white powder’ to the drinking water of those protesters. Well, this was already being used in the Arab Spring protests, and it can reduce the protesters’ perception of danger and fear…”

Of course, in addition to the behind-the-scenes “technical support,” in order to put pressure on Yanukovych and prevent him from forcefully suppressing the protests, many members of Congress, dignitaries from the United States and Europe, and even the U.S. Assistant Secretary of State personally went to the protest site in the square to “show their support” and cheer on the protesters.

On December 11, 2013, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Victoria Nuland arrived in Kiev’s Independence Square, distributing food to demonstrators and cheering on pro-Western protesters.

On December 7, Mikheil Saakashvili, the pro-Western former President of Georgia, visited Ukraine to express his support for the protesters.

From December 14 to 15, U.S. Senator John McCain and U.S. Senate European Affairs Committee Chairman Chris Murphy visited Kiev and met with opposition leaders in Independence Square, strongly supporting the opposition.

On January 29, 2014, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Ashton arrived in Kiev and met with the main Ukrainian opposition leaders and representatives of the protesters in Independence Square.

In early February, German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle visited the opposition protest camp while in Ukraine to attend a meeting of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe.

On February 6, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Nuland visited Ukraine and met with the three major opposition leaders.

It could be said that it was a constant rotation of appearances…

“This time, Russia’s reaction was too slow…”

“That’s normal. After all, the man in charge before still had illusions about the United States. But when he realizes that even if Russia cuts off all its claws, the United States will personally reattach them in order to use it as a hypothetical enemy to threaten Europe and make Europe seek protection from the United States, there will definitely be a response…”

On February 21, the crowd gathered outside Kiev’s Independence Square was growing larger and larger, and everyone was shouting that Yanukovych must step down.

After three months of protests, the whole of Ukraine was in chaos. Yanukovych was now completely isolated and had even lost control of the internal troops and police.

At this time, Ukrainian opposition representatives Yatsenyuk, Klitschko, and others, with Western support, signed an agreement “aimed at resolving the Ukrainian crisis.”

Subsequently, the foreign ministers of Germany and Poland, as well as officials from the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, agreed to this agreement, demanding that Yanukovych accept this condition. The agreement required Ukraine to restore the 2004 constitution, which represented the victory of the Western faction led by Yushchenko after the Orange Revolution, which Yanukovych had worked so hard to change.

The agreement also required Yanukovych to hold early presidential elections and withdraw law enforcement personnel from Kiev.

Western countries guaranteed that after Yanukovych agreed to the February agreement, they would urge the opposition to hand over their weapons and stop protesting.

It is said that the Russian side advised Yanukovych not to recognize or sign this agreement, but it was clear that Yanukovych still harbored illusions about the West…

So, after he signed the agreement, that night, a group of militants organized by the opposition occupied the Ukrainian Presidential Palace and the Verkhovna Rada (parliament).

Next, the Ukrainian Verkhovna Rada (parliament) impeached Yanukovych, the democratically elected president, on the grounds that he could no longer fulfill his duties.

“Yes, according to information from British intelligence agencies, Yanukovych has fled to Russia…”

Nigel shrugged and said:

“Those protesters had clear goals, and there were snipers on the scene targeting the Presidential Palace. Yanukovych originally planned to fly directly to Russia, but was refused. So he first returned to his hometown of Donetsk, then arrived in Crimea, and escaped with Russian assistance…”

Chapter 984: Settlement Screen 1.0

Why was Barron so concerned about the “Color Revolution” happening in Ukraine?

It wasn’t naturally due to his personal preferences. The main reason was that they were preparing to start investing in Ukraine after this.

After Ukrainian President Yanukovych fled to Russia, the country would begin to lean completely towards the West…

To be precise, except for the eastern Ukrainian region, where ethnic Russians were in the majority, other regions of Ukraine would begin to open up to Western capital.

Although the Color Revolution that had just taken place in Ukraine would lay the groundwork for the Russo-Ukrainian War a few years later, when Russian troops would enter Ukraine on a large scale, the areas west of Kyiv would generally be fine as long as they stayed away from military facilities.

“However, neo-Nazism is now becoming prevalent in Ukraine, and the far-right forces will probably dominate the country next…”

Nigel’s meaning was clear: the domestic environment in Ukraine would inevitably be unstable, so their investment still needed to be studied before a decision was made.

So-called “neo-Nazism” has some differences from the Nazism of Germany during World War II…

Of course, its nature is very similar, both based on “racism” and “populism.”

For example, not long ago, the songs sung by the protesters in the Maidan protests in Ukraine were adapted from Nazi songs that have now been banned in Germany. Since then, more and more young people in Ukraine have joined “neo-Nazi” organizations, and many Nazi symbols, including swastikas and SS skull logos, have appeared.

“But they’re not stupid. They know who they can’t afford to offend, don’t they?”

In fact, it’s not just Ukraine. In many regions that have been hit by economic shocks, extreme nationalist “neo-Nazism” is prone to emerge. For example, some countries in Eastern Europe, and even in Europe and America, later had many neo-Nazis.

Unlike the German Nazis of World War II, who hated Jews, neo-Nazis often advocate “white supremacy.” Like some countries, including those in Eastern Europe, those neo-Nazis hate immigrants of color who, in their eyes, have taken their jobs and squeezed their living space.

And within Ukraine, the target of neo-Nazi hatred is mainly ethnic Russians.

Ukraine is becoming increasingly divided. The eastern region, which is mainly populated by ethnic Russians, is more inclined towards Russia; in other regions, extreme nationalism is becoming increasingly prevalent.

This will lead to the enactment of laws prohibiting the speaking of Russian under the “de-Russification” policy in Ukraine. The eastern region, in a state of panic, will begin to hold “referendums” one after another, demanding independence and autonomy.

Ultimately, the Ukrainian government, under the guise of “counter-terrorism,” will support neo-Nazi extremist organizations, including the “Azov Battalion,” to begin massacring ethnic Russians in eastern Ukraine.

These “referendums” are certainly supported by Russia, but the West opposes them, but they themselves are not clean—many “countries,” including Kosovo, were originally split by the West using this kind of “referendum.” If you do it once, don’t be surprised when others do it back to you. It’s hard to protest with any real conviction.

At most, they just smear the referendums in eastern Ukraine in the media. You say Ukraine massacred people there?

No, no, no… I won’t report it, and I won’t admit it. Anyway, the public can’t see it, so it didn’t happen…

However, speaking of which, Barron doesn’t care what happens to Ukraine, but there are indeed profits to be made there.

Ukraine’s fertile black soil and rich mineral deposits are of great value to Europe. Europe naturally needs to stand on Ukraine’s side in this matter. In that case, the European capital should also invest in it, and not let BlackRock Group have a monopoly.

In this way, the European wealth fund needs to show its presence.

…

“If the government needs it, the British Fortune Times (BFT) Fund can return some of the funds again…”

As mentioned earlier, the British government is facing financial difficulties. At this time, Cameron thought of the BFT Fund, which the British government had previously invested in.

Previously, during the “Broadband Promotion Program,” the BFT Fund had already returned 25% of the government debt and corresponding interest in order to help the British government raise funds.

“Although it is not an appropriate time for the BFT Fund, I will naturally provide support if the government needs it.”

Barron said to Cameron:

“The BFT Fund can return another 25% of the total debt and interest, which will be a sum of more than 14 billion pounds, but I have another proposal, Prime Minister.”

Although the BFT Fund is responsible for all 50 billion pounds of debt and interest, this fund initially only had 25 billion pounds of capital—of which 25 billion pounds was the debt that Northern Rock Bank accepted from the government bailout.

However, after Barron’s investment, the asset scale of the BFT Fund, even without the later additional capital injection, is now fully capable of repaying all 50 billion pounds of debt…

After all, the exchange rate of the pound against the dollar was still at a relatively high level at the beginning. Initially, Barron converted 25 billion pounds into approximately 52.5 billion US dollars at an exchange rate of approximately 2.1.

Before the subprime mortgage crisis, these funds were used to invest in spot and futures gold, and to sign large-scale purchase agreements with some large oil companies to go long on crude oil prices, eventually expanding its asset scale to more than 70 billion US dollars.

Next, during the subprime mortgage crisis, the BFT Fund “bottom-fished” some financial capital in America.

Among them, the purchase of 25 billion US dollars of convertible bonds of Standard Chartered-Merrill Lynch Group was eventually converted into 1.429 billion shares of Standard Chartered-Merrill Lynch Group, accounting for approximately 19.97%. These assets are currently worth approximately 40 billion US dollars, with a profit of approximately 60%!

With 8.5 billion US dollars, it obtained 20% of the common stock of Morgan Stanley. Currently, the market value of Morgan Stanley is approximately 56 billion US dollars, and the shares held by the BFT Fund are worth 11.2 billion US dollars, with a profit of approximately 32%!

The BFT Fund used 10 billion US dollars to obtain approximately 8.5% of the shares of JPMorgan Chase. Currently, the market value of JPMorgan Chase is approximately 200 billion US dollars, and the shares held by the BFT Fund are worth 17 billion US dollars, with a profit of 70%!

With 20 billion US dollars, it obtained 16.7% of the shares of Wells Fargo. Currently, the market value of Wells Fargo is close to 220 billion US dollars, and the shares held by the BFT Fund are worth 36.75 billion US dollars, with a profit of 83.75%!

In addition, the BFT Fund also used 6 billion US dollars to purchase 5% of the shares of Pfizer Pharmaceuticals. These shares, because they were purchased relatively recently, are currently worth more than 10 billion US dollars, with a profit of more than 66%!

In other words, the value of these assets alone is close to 115 billion US dollars. According to the current exchange rate of the pound against the dollar of approximately 1.67, these assets are equivalent to 68.86 billion pounds, far exceeding the total debt and interest of 50 billion pounds borne by the BFT Fund for the British government!

This is indeed somewhat unbelievable in the eyes of others. It is equivalent to Barron initially using a principal of 25 billion pounds, and finally expanding it nearly three times after operating it—with this scale of funds and the low-risk coefficient of its investment, it can be called a miracle.

Chapter 985: Strategic Missiles?

If you look at the rate of return, then it’s clear that Morgan Stanley’s performance has been somewhat lackluster since the subprime mortgage crisis.

From March 2009 to the present, the increase in the stock prices of Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs has lagged far behind banks including Wells Fargo, Citigroup, and Bank of America—commercial banks have performed far better than investment banks.

In contrast, during the previous five-year bull market from September 2002 to September 2007, the S&P 500 index rose by a cumulative 87%, with the financial sector as a whole rising by 66%. During this period, Goldman Sachs rose by 228%, and Morgan Stanley rose by 124%, both significantly outperforming the market.

In the coming year, these banks and investment banks are generally expected to have at least another 10% increase…

The reason Barron says now “is not the right time” is not mainly because the stocks held by the BFT fund still have some room to rise, but also because of the exchange rate between the pound and the dollar.

Initially, when the Bank of England injected 25 billion pounds into the BFT fund, the exchange rate between the pound and the dollar was around 2.1.

When the BFT fund first returned 13.5 billion pounds, accounting for 25% of the British government’s total debt, plus corresponding interest, the exchange rate between the pound and the dollar was 1.45. Therefore, these 13.5 billion pounds were equivalent to approximately less than 19.6 billion dollars.

And now, the exchange rate between the pound and the dollar is around 1.67. Compared to the last time 25% of the debt and related interest were returned to the British government, the exchange rate between the pound and the dollar has increased somewhat, so the nearly 14 billion pounds needed to repay the same 25% of the debt and related interest (the extra part compared to the last time is the accumulated interest) is equivalent to nearly 23.4 billion dollars.

After all, the assets currently held by the BFT fund are all denominated in dollars, so that they can obtain the extra benefit of the pound’s depreciation against the dollar.

But this is not a big problem. Just like the last time the BFT fund returned part of its debt to the British government, it was not raised by selling its own shares, but “diverted” from other places.

After all, the interest given by the BFT fund on the British government’s 50 billion pounds investment was not low—at that time, these rounds of quantitative easing policies had not been implemented, and there had been no round after round of interest rate cuts—so, for example, if the BFT fund needed to return 13.5 billion pounds to the British government, then they could raise this amount of funds from other places at the same interest rate…

Just like the Youcheng Insurance Group controlled by Barron, a considerable amount of pound funds are deposited in its British business, which is used to purchase the relatively high-interest “bonds” of the BFT fund, which is enough to cover the funds that the BFT fund needs to return to the British government.

This time, the same operation can still be done. The later the time is delayed, the lower the exchange rate between the pound and the dollar, the more cost-effective it will be to convert their dollar assets back into pounds for payment.

…

As for the proposal that Barron made to Cameron while returning part of the British government’s debt, it is related to the national security of Britain.

“Although we are close allies with the United States, our country’s nuclear deterrent capability still needs to be in our own hands, instead of being controlled by the United States as it is now…”

“What do you mean?”

“We need to have our own strategic missiles for precision delivery!”

Why say that? Because now the button for Britain’s strategic nuclear deterrent is not in its own hands, but needs to be approved by the United States.

Speaking of which, Britain originally wanted to reduce its financial pressure, but in the end it became a “sucker” who spent money…

In 1952, with the assistance of the United States, Britain detonated its own atomic bomb, and then in 1957, it successfully detonated a hydrogen bomb.

Thus, Britain became the third country to possess hydrogen bombs after the Soviet Union (1953) and the United States (1954), before China (1967) and France (1968).

The reason why Britain was so actively developing atomic bombs and hydrogen bombs at that time was also because it was worried about the Soviet invasion—after all, the Soviet Union’s iron torrent was right next to Western Europe, and the Soviet Union had already possessed atomic bombs and hydrogen bombs.

At that time, Britain’s nuclear strategy was “minimum nuclear deterrence”—maintaining a limited but effective strategic nuclear force, and declaring that it would target the enemy’s important cities, so that the enemy would bear unacceptable losses, and achieve the purpose of deterring potential enemies from launching nuclear attacks lightly.

To put it bluntly, you, the Soviet Union, can “nuke” the British Isles, but I can at least drag your Moscow down with me…

However, due to funding problems, Britain eventually abandoned the research and development of nuclear weapon delivery vehicles, and instead signed an agreement with the United States, giving up the “triad” nuclear strike capability, retaining only sea-based strategic nuclear submarines as a nuclear strike capability, and purchasing and using the United States’ strategic missiles to carry their nuclear warheads—and according to the agreement, Britain can continue to develop nuclear weapons, but its experiments need to be conducted within the United States…

Thus, in the end, the situation arose where Britain manufactured its own nuclear warheads and nuclear submarines, but needed to use the United States’ Trident missiles for delivery.

In theory, the British Prime Minister can issue an order to launch Trident strategic missiles without prior approval from the White House…

But this is only in theory. After all, the manufacture and maintenance of Trident strategic missiles all depend on the United States. If the United States refuses, then even if Britain launches Trident, whether it can reach its designated destination is also a question…

This is also why the classic British drama “Yes, Prime Minister” bluntly stated that “Britain is the United States’ missile base.”

“You mean we no longer use the United States’ Trident and develop our own strategic missiles?”

Hearing Barron’s words, Cameron widened his eyes and asked.

This is not something that can be decided casually. In addition to the reaction from the United States, the research and development of such strategic missiles will definitely require a large amount of investment. At that time, not to mention the opposition party, even within the Conservative Party, there will probably be many voices of doubt—is it necessary?

“Of course, we don’t need to develop it independently. I also understand that this is very difficult, but what if we cooperate with other countries? For example, France and Italy…”

Seeing that Cameron was still silent, Barron continued:

“Or even just put forward this idea first and treat it as an option…”

Hearing him say this, Cameron finally reacted:

“But the United States…”

“We can’t follow the United States blindly like in the Blair era. Sometimes, maintaining a certain degree of autonomy will make us more valuable to be wooed, Prime Minister.”

Chapter 986: European Missile Group

So far, through Cavendish Trust, DS Group, and funds under Standard Chartered-Merrill Lynch, Barron has accumulated more than 15% of the shares of BAE Systems.

It can be said that the shares of BAE Systems are very dispersed. Although he only controls 15% of the shares, Barron is already the largest shareholder of this largest British arms manufacturer. Before he entered BAE Systems, the largest single shareholder was Barclays Bank, holding less than 5% of its shares…

It can be said that being able to obtain this much of BAE Systems’ shares is already Barron’s current limit. Besides having already bought up the shares of institutions willing to sell, their absorption in the secondary market cannot continue, because the trading volume is already not high. Buying more would lead to a straight-line increase in the stock price…

After all, BAE Systems is one of the main military equipment suppliers for the United States, Britain, and some European countries…

It is worth mentioning that although BAE Systems’ American subsidiary is a major military equipment supplier to the American military, it is also because of this that, according to relevant regulations, its American subsidiary basically operates independently. Even if Barron becomes the largest shareholder of BAE Systems, it would be difficult to interfere in some matters of the American subsidiary, otherwise it would inevitably affect the company’s sales to the American military.

The reason for mentioning BAE Systems is because it is one of the major shareholders of the European missile group, holding 37.5% of its shares.

Although Barron said that Cameron only needs to make a gesture of cooperating with Europe to develop strategic missiles, if possible, he still hopes that this research can begin now, rather than waiting a few years, until after the Russia-Ukraine war, when Britain discovers its shortcomings in long-range missiles, before joining Europe’s strategic missile development.

The European missile group is the world’s second-largest missile manufacturer, second only to America’s Raytheon, and is also the only manufacturer in the world capable of simultaneously developing active and future missile systems for the army, navy, and air force.

Therefore, if Europe jointly develops strategic missiles, it will inevitably be done through the European missile group.

Currently, the European missile group’s shares are held by capital from Britain, France, Germany, and Italy. Among them, the aerospace-Matra missile company, a subsidiary of the European aerospace defense group jointly operated by France and Germany, holds 37.5% of the shares, BAE Systems holds 37.5% of the shares, and Italy’s Finmeccanica Group holds 25% of the shares.

In this way, by controlling BAE Systems to a certain extent, Barron can exert some influence on the European missile group.

But in the end, projects like developing strategic missiles, which require huge investments but do not have a large commercial return, naturally need to be funded by government investment.

The reason for saying that the returns are not too great is also due to the restrictions of NATO’s relevant military framework. If they were really sold openly, then, to say nothing of others, the Middle Eastern tycoons would dare to place large orders, but this is impossible. After all, Europe is now militarily tied to NATO, and the leader of NATO is the United States. How could it allow the breaking of the regional “balance” it has established?

Therefore, not to mention that research and development is very difficult. After all, before this, not only Britain, but it can be said that countries in Europe other than France were relying on America’s “military protection” within the NATO framework. It can be said that they are already far behind in the development of strategic missiles. Before this, the European missile group’s main business was still air defense missiles, air-to-air missiles, and so on…

Even if they develop results, their products can only be provided to some countries within the NATO framework. You must know that the United States has always been “lenient with itself and strict with others.” Although they will later withdraw from the “Intermediate-Range Missile Treaty,” it does not affect their strict review of other countries’ arms exports, especially within the NATO framework.

But even so, if they obtain the support of relevant governments, then research and development of strategic missiles can still be a relatively stable and profitable business. Governments are often willing to invest money in projects related to strategic security.

…

“The Ukrainian people have made the right choice. We support the upcoming re-election in Ukraine and believe that under the leadership of democratic civilization, it will soon be fully integrated into the European family…”

In early March, British Secretary of State for Business, Skills and Innovation, Jo Harriman, visited Ukraine and publicly delivered a speech supporting Ukraine’s democratic process.

In addition to making a gesture of support, some British business representatives accompanied Jo Harriman on her visit. After expressing their optimism about Ukraine’s future and hoping that it could stabilize as soon as possible, British capital, including the European Wealth Fund, also expressed its willingness to invest in Ukraine, involving agriculture, minerals, and finance.

According to the latest opinion polls, the Conservative Party’s support rate in Britain has declined. In response, Cameron is preparing to adjust the cabinet before the election.

William Hague has stated that he is willing to give up his position as Foreign Secretary and will serve as Speaker of the House of Commons after the cabinet reshuffle.

Jo Harriman, because of her “outstanding work,” will succeed William Hague as the second female Foreign Secretary in British history after Margaret Beckett during the Blair era.

Given Jo Harriman’s age, it would be impossible to serve as Foreign Secretary, one of the core members of the cabinet, if it were not for the groundwork laid by her previous two cabinet positions.

Even so, the competition for Foreign Secretary was still fierce, but Cameron, after listening to the opinions of Barron and William Hague, still chose Jo Harriman.

Therefore, before taking office in her new position, Jo Harriman took advantage of the current opportunity to lead a team to Ukraine, on the one hand, to “show her face” in this globally watched hotspot, and on the other hand, to help the European Wealth Fund controlled by Barron cooperate with Ukraine.

Like Russia in the past, after the collapse of the Soviet Union, Ukraine’s domestic land, mining, energy, and other industries fell into the hands of oligarchs, and the lives of ordinary Ukrainians can be said to have deteriorated year by year. Ukraine, which has abundant resources, was once the country with the lowest per capita income in Europe.

Now that Ukraine has once again leaned towards the United States and the West, the oligarchs in their country are also happy to cooperate with the European Wealth Fund to help them transfer some of their assets to European countries, including Britain, in order to obtain an extra layer of security.

Chapter 987: Joint Venture

“This time, the cooperation with Russia, including Russian oil giants like Lukoil, requires that the long-term sales agreements signed with us have a mechanism to flexibly adjust according to market prices…”

Baron was momentarily at a loss for words regarding the statement from Apeli Singleton, CEO of United Energy Group…

After a long pause, he said calmly:

“Very good, this is exactly what we hoped for, but it’s also good if it makes them feel like they have the upper hand.”

Although it was United Energy Group, not the BFT Fund, that was cooperating with these Russian oil giants this time, the “crude oil bet” that the BFT Fund had with these Russians back then left a deep impression on them…

For example, Vagit Alekperov, the president of Lukoil, still vividly remembers the profits that the BFT Fund obtained from Lukoil due to the soaring international crude oil prices—although Lukoil only made less money during that price surge and did not suffer any losses, it still left him with lingering resentment.

This is also why, in this cooperation between United Energy Group and the Russian oil and gas giants, they demanded that a mechanism be added to the oil and gas prices to adjust according to market changes…

They were really worried that history would repeat itself. If another price surge were to occur after the contract was signed this time, it would not be a pleasant experience.

In fact, they guessed correctly, but only half correctly, because this year’s oil and gas prices will have huge fluctuations, but not an increase, but a decrease—the annual oil and gas prices will fall by more than half, and these declines are mainly concentrated in the second half of the year.

Of course, this is what happened in the original timeline. Many times, Baron’s actions in the investment market will take into account the impact on his industries. Therefore, Baron himself is still hesitating whether to control or suppress participation in this round of crude oil price declines and related bulk commodity price declines…

After all, the scale of purchasing their oil and gas products in cooperation with Russia is not small.

Moreover, United Energy Group and Colo Petroleum itself have considerable oil and gas extraction, and the decline in oil and gas prices will inevitably deeply affect these industries.

However, this year’s oil and gas price decline is itself affected by many factors—the Federal Reserve’s exit from quantitative easing, leading to a stronger dollar, coupled with a decrease in global demand, leading to a decline in oil and gas prices…

Moreover, before this, many capitals were long on oil and gas prices, and began to massively reduce their positions in the second half of this year, causing a panic sell-off…

Baron doesn’t think they can completely resist this trend through the capital market…

Since this is the case, the other party is more proactive in the negotiations with the Russian oil and gas giants regarding the purchase price adjustment mechanism…

Then DS Group has no psychological burden at all, and can prepare to start intervening in this wave of sharp oil and gas price declines, which in turn leads to a layout for the decline in commodity prices.

As for United Energy Group and Colo Petroleum, they will also add corresponding futures short-selling arbitrage according to their oil and gas production.

…

And throughout March, what attracted the most attention from the British public and the global pharmaceutical field was that GlaxoSmithKline, the largest pharmaceutical company in Britain, announced the replacement of its chairman and CEO.

With the increase in investment that Baron has made in GlaxoSmithKline through the new fund European Wealth Fund since the beginning of this year, DS Group and its related capital have now cumulatively controlled 25% of GlaxoSmithKline’s shares, plus their influence—some other shareholders of GlaxoSmithKline also maintain close cooperative relationships with DS Group.

As a result, they have taken control of GlaxoSmithKline’s board of directors, and thus announced in March that its chairman and CEO, Andrew Witty, will “retire” early, and Emma Walmsley, who previously worked for L’Oréal Group under GHL Group and is currently managing consumer healthcare products at GlaxoSmithKline, will replace Andrew Witty as the first female head of GlaxoSmithKline in history.

“My goal is to lead GlaxoSmithKline to transform, I hope to focus on research and development, and bring better products to users…”

It has to be said that Emma Walmsley has a great determination…

After taking the lead of GlaxoSmithKline, her first decision was to cooperate with Pfizer to merge the consumer healthcare businesses of both parties—it should be noted that Emma Walmsley was previously the head of GlaxoSmithKline’s consumer healthcare business.

“The merger of the consumer healthcare businesses of both parties will save a lot of costs, and occupy the first or second market share in the healthcare products business in all key regions, including the United States and China. This is beneficial to both GlaxoSmithKline and Pfizer…”

It can be said that Emma Walmsley’s choice of Pfizer as a partner in the field of consumer healthcare also took into account the influence of the Duke, the controlling party of GlaxoSmithKline, in Pfizer.

After all, in addition to controlling 25% of GlaxoSmithKline’s shares, Baron also controls more than 20% of Pfizer’s shares, which is also the driving force behind the cooperation between the two parties.

According to the negotiations between the two parties, after the merger of the two parties’ businesses, GSK Consumer Healthcare will be used as the name of the joint venture, of which GlaxoSmithKline owns 68% of the shares and Pfizer owns 32% of the shares—this integration involves multiple products of both parties, such as Sensodyne, Advil, and Centrum.

The joint venture will focus on business integration. It is expected that by 2015, the two businesses will save 500 million pounds per year. At the same time, they also stated that up to 25% of the cost savings will be reinvested in the business to support innovation and other growth opportunities.

At the same time, GlaxoSmithKline plans to spin off the joint venture from the company within three years and list its consumer healthcare business in Britain and the United States.

The management of GSK Consumer Healthcare will also be mainly composed of GlaxoSmithKline executives. Pfizer will have the right to appoint three of the nine members of the joint venture’s board of directors.

After the announcement of this cooperation between the two parties, the stock prices of GlaxoSmithKline and Pfizer both rose slightly, which also shows that the market is still very optimistic about this cooperation between the two parties.

“GlaxoSmithKline needs to maintain its strength in research and development, whether it is cancer drugs or the vaccine business…”

This is what Baron said to Emma Walmsley when they met last time.

At that time, Emma Walmsley hoped to establish a genomics research laboratory within the company, increase investment in oncology drugs, and focus on research and development.

Baron basically agreed with her strategy, and specifically reminded that GlaxoSmithKline cannot relax in the vaccine business either.

Chapter 988: Participating in Research and Development

“We focus on the quality of life of every citizen, but we will not neglect the guarantee of national security, which is the foundation of our civilized society. Even now, threats against Europe and the British Isles still exist. Just on the 17th of this month, the Crimean region of Ukraine, with the support of Russia, experienced a split…”

On March 21st, when Cameron was giving a speech in the British Parliament, he mentioned:

“Therefore, in such a complex situation, we must be able to ensure that we have sufficient means to protect Britain, protect Europe, and the civilized societies that share our values. That is why I propose that Britain, together with our European allies such as France, Germany, and Italy, jointly develop a new generation of strategic medium- and long-range missiles…”

After the 14 billion pounds that the BFT Fund returned to the British government gradually arrived, Cameron finally became tough again.

It is no wonder that he attaches so much importance to Barron’s opinions. After all, in addition to the media platforms controlled by the latter, the arrival of this sum of money can indeed help Cameron in 2014, the time node before the general election, to patch up the British economy, which is not recovering ideally, so that Britain can show the public during next year’s general election that his term of office still has commendable aspects.

For example, 1 billion pounds of this 14 billion pounds was injected into the National Health Service (NHS), which is a livelihood area where ordinary people have a relatively obvious feeling about government policies.

It can be said that in Britain, if ordinary people get sick, they only need to choose the NHS and wait in line. The rich need to consider more – which private hospital has better technology.

The NHS is Britain’s “universal free medical insurance.” The NHS concentrates excellent medical staff and medical resources, providing almost free services from seeing a doctor to treatment to hospitalization and surgery.

Well, that’s how it looks on the surface…

To paraphrase a saying – after we leave, they will build schools and hospitals for you, and they will raise your wages. This is not because they have a change of heart, nor because they have become good people, but because we were here.

The first country in the world to achieve universal free medical care was the Soviet Union.

After World War II, facing the social welfare policies promoted by the Soviet Union, such as the “8-hour work system, free education, and free medical care,” Britain was under great pressure. Finally, under the pressure of opposition from some dignitaries, it nationalized hospitals and established the National Health Service (NHS), with the aim of providing free medical care to British citizens.

It must be admitted that this system once made a significant contribution to the health of the British people – even during Margaret Thatcher’s administration, when she vigorously sold off state-owned assets, she did not dare to privatize NHS hospitals.

Also, at the opening ceremony of the 2012 London Olympics, the NHS was also presented on stage as a source of pride for Britain, receiving cheers from the entire audience.

But again, what is free is the most expensive.

Because the NHS’s operating funds come from taxes, coupled with the increasingly serious aging of British society, and the sharp decline in British government revenue after the subprime mortgage crisis, the NHS needs to bear increasing pressure from universal medical care.

Especially after Cameron came to power, in order to cope with the subprime mortgage crisis, he has been reducing government spending – he has reduced government investment in medical and health care from 3.6% to 1.5%…

This has led to the fact that British people actually need to deduct a special “medical tax” when paying income tax.

In addition, to see a doctor using the NHS, you need enough patience. If it is a minor illness, it is okay for the doctor to prescribe a pill, and you can wait a week or two. But if you need a CT scan or even surgery, it is normal to wait for several weeks, months, or even a year…

The situation in Britain is still okay now. When the epidemic breaks out a few years later, the waiting list for the British NHS in 2023 will be as high as 7.6 million people… At that time, the total population of Britain was only 65 million, and more than one-tenth of the people were waiting to see a doctor. Are you afraid?

So, for minor illnesses and injuries, and non-urgent ailments, although the NHS has a long waiting time, it is at least “free.”

But for emergencies, you need to purchase additional commercial medical insurance, otherwise you can only “self-heal” while waiting.

It can be said that Cameron’s previous cuts in medical investment were also a point of opposition from many people. Now that he has received funds, injecting 1 billion pounds into the NHS has at least been welcomed by many people.

Since this is the case, he also took advantage of the March 17th incident, in which Crimea announced a referendum to secede from Ukraine and join Russia as an autonomous entity, to begin promoting the topic of Britain cooperating with France, Germany, and Italy on the research and development of strategic medium- and long-range missiles.

In fact, from the perspective of the British government, since it is necessary to allocate funds every year to purchase Trident missiles from the United States and related maintenance and upgrade costs, if the European missile group can develop strategic medium- and long-range missiles to replace them, which also requires government funding for configuration, they do not reject jointly developed European missiles that have more “autonomy.”

But what needs to be considered is that after all, the accumulation of various European countries in this area… There used to be technical accumulation, but most countries have been abandoned for a long time. Perhaps only France has been maintaining research in related directions. So, it is still unknown whether the four-nation joint research and development based on the European missile group can have satisfactory results after investing funds.

Therefore, out of caution, even if the British side, the Cameron government is willing to promote this cooperation, in the initial stage, it will only symbolically invest less than 100 million pounds for testing.

“In fact, there are also internal objections within BAE Systems to investing funds in the European missile group for the research and development of related strategic missiles…”

Laura said to Barron:

“The European missile group is not publicly listed, so the corresponding research and development depends on the appropriations from these national governments – specifically, they first assess the required missile types and performance indicators, and then allocate a budget for this purpose. After successful research, they provide mature missile products to various countries…”

The problem now is that Cameron does not want to immediately determine the replacement of the Trident missiles currently purchased from the United States. Therefore, the British government will not allocate all the funds, but will only promise to replace them after successful research, so that the European missile group can obtain the corresponding orders.

This attitude is naturally out of caution. After all, before the general election, the government is still very sensitive to financial expenditures. There is “supervision” from opposition parties, including the Labor Party and the Liberal Democrats, who are watching closely, and it is easy to be caught and attacked on this policy – why not continue to buy American missiles, is there a need to participate in research and development, will it increase the financial burden, and so on.

Since this is the case, BAE Systems is hesitant to participate in this strategic missile research and development project without much certainty – because if it is determined to participate, then France, Germany, and Italy may be able to obtain more upfront appropriations from the government, so BAE Systems needs to bear a considerable portion of the British funding itself.

“If that’s the case, then we can use Standard Defense Group to pay this part of the money, but in the end, it still needs to be done in the name of BAE Systems.”

After all, BAE Systems itself is one of the shareholders of the European missile group, and its shareholding ratio is very high, the same as the joint shareholding of France and Germany, higher than Italy’s 25% shareholding ratio.

In this way, Standard Defense Group can invest by purchasing convertible bonds issued by BAE Systems, and agree with BAE Systems that if this strategic missile research and development is successful, then these convertible bonds will be converted into ordinary shares of BAE Systems – after all, if the strategic missile research and development is successful, it will inevitably be a stable source of income, and BAE Systems is happy to maintain its shareholding in the European missile group.

If subsequent research and development is difficult, or if continuous additional investment is required, then this part of the convertible bonds held by Standard Defense Group will be exchanged for a part of the European missile group’s shares held by BAE Systems.

BAE Systems is very happy to accept this condition, which can make their risks controllable.

At most, it will only lose a part of the European missile group’s shares. At that time, this part of the shareholding will still be held by Standard Defense Group, which is also a British company.

Chapter 989: Ebola and Refugees

On March 22nd, the Guinean Ministry of Health announced that the Ebola epidemic had infected 80 people, resulting in 59 deaths.

In fact, this Ebola virus outbreak, which first erupted in Guinea in February of this year, would later spread to eight countries: Liberia, Sierra Leone, Nigeria, Senegal, the United States, Spain, and Mali. For the first time, it would extend beyond remote jungle villages to densely populated major cities.

The Ebola virus is a highly contagious virus that causes Ebola hemorrhagic fever in humans and primates. It was first discovered in 1976 in the Ebola River region of southern Sudan and Zaire (the former name of the Democratic Republic of the Congo). Due to its extremely high mortality rate, the World Health Organization has listed it as one of the most dangerous viruses to humans.

The Ebola virus genus includes five distinct species: Bundibugyo, Zaire, Reston, Sudan, and Taï Forest (i.e., Côte d’Ivoire).

The Bundibugyo, Zaire, and Sudan species have been associated with major Ebola virus disease outbreaks in Africa over the years, while the Reston and Taï Forest species do not pose a serious threat to humans.

Among them, the Zaire species is the most pathogenic and deadly, with a mortality rate of nearly 90%. On March 26th, the Pasteur Institute in Lyon, France, confirmed that the Ebola virus appearing in Guinea this time was the Zaire strain.

Kolwezi is located in West Africa. In the original timeline, it was not involved in this Ebola virus outbreak. However, because the flow of people between Kolwezi and neighboring countries has greatly increased, we cannot take it lightly.

In early March, after the Ebola epidemic in Guinea began to worsen, Kolwezi Airlines announced the suspension of flights to Guinea. The Kolwezi government also stated that it would strengthen border control and inspection, and also reminded its citizens to avoid traveling to countries that had experienced an Ebola outbreak.

After all, as can be seen from the map, the area where the epidemic broke out is not far from Kolwezi. In the two years following the Ebola epidemic in the original timeline, it brought more than 32 billion U.S. dollars in losses to West Africa as a whole, and caused local food shortages.

Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone had just begun to recover from military and political crises, but were then hit by the Ebola epidemic. Agricultural production in various countries was severely damaged, commerce was almost stagnant, and people’s lives became even more difficult.

In response, the West African Free Trade Organization urgently convened a meeting on preventing the spread of the Ebola epidemic to the region, and announced that it would jointly provide 1 million U.S. dollars in assistance to three international organizations, including the World Health Organization, to respond to the Ebola hemorrhagic fever epidemic spreading in West Africa. (In August of that year, Japan’s first aid amount was only 1.5 million U.S. dollars.)

At the same time, the Devonshire Charitable Foundation also announced a donation of 5 million U.S. dollars to relevant international organizations to respond to the Ebola epidemic in Guinea, and began recruiting volunteers in Britain, including doctors and nurses, to participate in treatment work in Guinea.

However, the Ebola epidemic in West Africa, although it does not seem serious now, will have a certain impact on the repatriation of illegal immigrants in Britain as its scope expands.

After all, most of the illegal immigrants currently traveling to Europe come from the turbulent Middle East, from the initial Iraq and Afghanistan, to the later Libya, and recently Syria…

It can be said that the increasingly fierce wave of refugees is making Europe struggle to cope.

The EU is almost impossible to send these refugees back to the Middle East. Therefore, as early as a few years ago, Britain and France carried out “illegal immigrant repatriation” cooperation, and established two illegal immigrant settlements near Kolwezi at the border between Benin and Ghana.

Currently, the illegal immigrant settlement in Benin is mainly used to accommodate refugees transported from France; the illegal immigrant settlement in Ghana is mainly used to accommodate refugees transported from Britain.

Of course, Benin, Ghana, and Kolwezi can also obtain considerable “refugee resettlement funds” from Britain and France as a result.

But as the Ebola virus epidemic in West Africa begins to worsen, the resistance of those illegal immigrants to going to these “illegal immigrant settlements” will become stronger and stronger.

“We are urging the EU to coordinate with Turkey on the refugee issue…”

Cameron was also quite troubled by this, and he complained to Barron:

“Those Turks are opening the door for the influx of refugees as a bargaining chip to obtain benefits from the EU. Their asking price is very high, and it is impossible to reach an agreement in the short term.”

As can be seen from the map, in general, there are two main routes for smuggling from the Middle East to Europe.

That is to cross the Mediterranean Sea by boat to reach Europe—often, Greece and Italy are the main landing points.

The other is by land. As we all know, Turkey’s geographical location is very important. It straddles Europe and Asia, and Turkey borders Syria.

Before that, during the Syrian civil war, Turkey carried out a series of shady operations in order to obtain more benefits from the EU, that is, it opened the border between Turkey and Syria, allowing Syrian refugees to enter Turkey.

Then, countless “snakeheads” in Turkey began to help Syrian refugees enter Europe by land and sea, which brought an increasingly large wave of refugees to Europe…

Don’t think that Britain is farther away from Turkey and will not be greatly affected—although Bulgaria and Greece, these Eastern and Southern European countries, are closer to Turkey, the refugees are not stupid. They know which countries have better welfare policies. It must be Western European countries. Therefore, a large number of refugees still bypass the Mediterranean Sea and go to Britain and France…

“If I may be blunt, Prime Minister, while immigrants can bring fresh labor to Britain, it is also important to note that, especially refugees from the Middle East, on the one hand, their level of education is not very high, and on the other hand, there is the issue of religion, which makes them more likely to become a breeding ground for extremist terrorism. Therefore, unless the government has sufficient funds for resettlement and civilizes them, the result will inevitably be social division and opposition…”

Cameron is not unaware of what Barron said, but the problem now is that Britain does not have so much money to resettle refugees, and because of the “comparison” of other EU member states, they cannot say too firmly that they will refuse those immigrants. At least they can’t say they won’t leave any at all. Putting on a show is necessary.

“If Turkey insists on using refugees to blackmail Europe, then we should also respond, for example, by giving the Kurds more support…”

“The Kurds?”

Hearing Barron’s words, Cameron fell into thought.

Chapter 990: Kurds

Although there’s a saying later on, “Huskies among dogs, Turkey among nations,” Turkey’s ancestors were indeed powerful once.

The Turkey of the past, starting as a Turkic tribe, developed into the Ottoman Empire spanning across Europe, Asia, and Africa, once suppressing the European countries, making them tremble in fear…

It was also because the Ottoman Empire was too powerful at the time, occupying most of the Mediterranean Sea and monopolizing European trade to Asia, that it forced European countries to open up new sea routes, leading to the rise of the British Empire.

It can be said that everything is rolling forward in the meshing gears of history, and the Ottoman Empire and the Chinese Empire, these two behemoths in the east and west of Asia, were also constantly attacked by emerging capitalist countries afterward.

Compared to the Great Qing Dynasty, it can be said that Ottoman Turkey, because it was once the nightmare of Europe for centuries, was directly dismembered into nearly forty countries. Modern Turkey, which inherited its mantle, occupies less than one-seventh of the territory of the Ottoman Empire at its peak.

Besides Turkey, which countries were carved out of the Ottoman Empire?

In Europe, these include Hungary, Croatia, Bulgaria, Slovenia, Romania, Albania, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia, Greece, and Montenegro.

In Asia, these include Syria, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman, Yemen, Lebanon, Israel, Palestine, Jordan, Iraq, and Kuwait.

In Africa, these include Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, Algeria, and Morocco.

At this point, it becomes clear why Turkey likes to meddle in the Middle East at every turn. After all, in their view, most of the Middle East was once the territory of their “ancestors”…

Currently, Turkey is a member of NATO, but not a member of the European Union.

The main reason is that Turkey and Tsarist Russia and the Soviet Union can be said to be sworn enemies. They were taught a lesson by the Russians many times in history. During the Cold War, the United States naturally would not miss the opportunity to win over Turkey, which was in a key strategic position. So, Turkey readily accepted large amounts of Western aid and joined NATO.

However, from the 1980s until now, for more than thirty years, Turkey has been seeking to join the European Union, but has never been accepted—this is not so much because the European Union dislikes Turkey, at least that’s not the main reason. The main reason is that Turkey’s sworn enemy, Greece, is a member of the European Union, and always casts a veto, preventing Turkey from joining the EU…

Between Greece and Turkey, there was the Greco-Turkish War. Anyway, they fought quite a few battles, and the two sides still have territorial disputes that have not been resolved—in the dispute with Greece over Cyprus in 1974, Turkey even pulled off the “feat” of disguising three warships as Greek warships, preparing to launch a sneak attack, only to be discovered by their own air force, which sank one and severely damaged two…

As for the Kurds that Barron mentioned to Cameron, it can be said that their “appearance rate” in the many conflicts in the Middle East is also very high.

The Kurds themselves are the fourth largest ethnic group in the Middle East after the Arabs, Turks, and Persians. Saladin, a hero in Islamic history, was a Kurd.

Previously, the Kurds were ruled by the Ottoman Empire. During the national independence movement after World War II, the Kurds hoped to establish their own “Kurdistan,” but they were not successful. As a result, their gathering areas were divided into four countries…

Then the Kurds have been seeking independence. During the Iraq War, the Kurds resisted Saddam Hussein to seek independence; during the Syrian civil war, the Kurds resisted the government forces to seek independence…

In fact, the Kurds within Turkey are also restless, and Turkey has never relaxed its crackdown on Kurdish independence forces.

Of course, the Kurds are always funded by the United States to rebel when countries like Iraq and Syria are overthrown, but when their interests conflict with Turkey and other parties, they are betrayed without any psychological burden, which can be considered quite miserable.

Currently, the Kurds are facing the threat of ISIS (Islamic State). Although this extremely dangerous terrorist extremist organization, which originated from Al-Qaeda, has not yet officially changed its name to “Islamic State,” it has joined forces with the Syrian opposition armed organization “Al-Nusra Front” and occupied parts of northern Iraq and Syria.

It can be said that until now, Western countries, including the United States, are still immersed in the confrontation with Russian forces in Syria and have not realized the danger of the Islamic State.

In the future, the Kurds will not only be one of the important forces resisting the Islamic State, but will also cause some trouble for Turkey, so it is still worthwhile for them to support them a little.

Cameron wanted to say that the strategy for the Middle East needed to be coordinated with the United States.

However, thinking that the Britain led by this Duke needed a certain degree of autonomy, he suppressed this idea and said:

“I will have the intelligence department prepare a feasibility report and will carefully consider this matter…”

“Support for the Kurds does not require too much investment in the early stages. We can contact them through our relationship network in Iraq and provide them with a portion of guns and ammunition in the early stages. I believe this is what they expect.”

Although the British army has almost completely withdrawn from Iraq, their intelligence agencies still have a certain relationship network in Iraq, and the remaining forces of Protector Military Services in Iraq can also provide channels for these support materials to the Kurds.

And these guns and ammunition can also be shipped directly from Colo to Iraq through the channels of Protector Military Services and delivered to the Kurds.

“In addition, we can also provide training for some Kurds. Through our bases in Iraq and Colo, especially the use of some small drones, it still has a great effect in their small-scale infiltration battles.”

Even if it is not a professional reconnaissance drone like the “Timberwolf” with a wider reconnaissance range and longer flight time, the use of the “Hummingbird” series of small drones produced by Aerospace Precision can play a great role in the conflicts of local armed organizations in an area of the Middle East.

Protector Military Services itself has specialized research and application of these drone tactics at the Munger base. It can be said that they are among the earlier ones to conduct drone operations.

When these Middle Eastern terrorist organizations and anti-government armed forces use drones to participate in combat in a few years, it will no longer be a rare thing.

Chapter 991: Nuclear Power Project

“I personally support China General Nuclear Power Group’s participation in the Hinkley Point C project, but I hope the government can fully promote this project. If it’s still so slow, United Energy Group may withdraw from the Hinkley Point C nuclear power project and instead build a nuclear power plant in Kemper County.”

Saying these words to Cameron was because Barron was truly speechless at the cumbersome process of nuclear power plant construction in Britain.

It could be said that as early as 2008, after United Energy Group acquired a 40% stake in British Energy Group, it had already begun to promote the construction of a new nuclear power plant project in Britain together with Électricité de France.

After all, the situation facing Britain at that time was that many of their existing nuclear power plants were nearing the end of their service life. However, due to the pursuit of environmental protection, they also had to shut down a large number of thermal power plants, which would cause a huge shortage in Britain’s electricity supply. Building new natural gas power plants would certainly not be enough, so new nuclear power plants needed to be built.

After Brown took office as Prime Minister, he finally determined the location of the new nuclear power plant to be Hinkley Point in England, where there were already two nuclear power plants. Now, a new nuclear power plant was about to be built there – the Hinkley Point C nuclear power plant.

Then, it was time for the stage of going through layers of approvals and holding hearings…

Initially, Électricité de France, the largest shareholder of British Energy Group, expected the project to be completed in 2017, at which time the British people would be able to use the electricity generated by the new nuclear power plant…

However, their understanding of British efficiency… well, let’s just say it wasn’t comprehensive enough.

Because after obtaining some approvals, they encountered the Fukushima nuclear power plant leak in Japan. Global attention to the safety of nuclear power plants increased, and the British side became more cautious about the approval of Hinkley Point C nuclear power plant.

Moreover, in Britain, or rather, in all large-scale construction projects in Europe, the indispensable environmental organizations began to become active. A group of environmental organization members who “don’t need to work and dedicate all their energy to environmental protection” began to station themselves at the construction site of the Hinkley Point C nuclear power plant, engaging in a battle of wits and courage with the project side…

“The construction cost of Hinkley Point C has risen from the initial 16 billion pounds to more than 17 billion pounds. If it continues to be delayed, it will continue to rise…”

Although the investment in Hinkley Point C will be entirely borne by British Energy Group, that is, by its two shareholders, Électricité de France and United Energy Group, as a supplement to Britain’s electricity shortage, the British government cannot say that it will not provide any subsidies – according to the agreement they reached with the British government, the British government will subsidize the electricity price, that is, allow British Energy Group to sell the electricity generated by this new nuclear power plant at almost twice the wholesale price of electricity after completion. The portion higher than the market price will be subsidized by the British government.

So Barron’s meaning was very clear: if it continues to be delayed like this, the higher the subsidies the British government needs to provide will be. It’s up to you to decide…

Of course, in the original timeline, the subsequent events were indeed no longer Cameron’s concern, because after the Brexit referendum, he stepped down…

However, the current Cameron naturally does not know these situations, and Barron needs him to promote the accelerated progress of this nuclear power project.

Sometimes Barron can’t help but wonder, is there still hope for Britain?

If you look at those “major projects” in Britain in the original timeline, nuclear power plants, high-speed rail, airports, etc., they are completely providing negative jokes for the global infrastructure sector.

In addition, since Blair, British Prime Ministers have changed frequently, with one person taking the stage after another, and there is no continuity in policies…

There’s no way around it. As a Briton, Barron himself has a huge influence in Britain, so he must bear many responsibilities for this.

To put it bluntly, regardless of these projects, whether it’s high-speed rail or nuclear power, regardless of vested interests or what position one stands on, everyone understands that these projects are beneficial to Britain as a whole.

Being able to promote such projects is itself a manifestation of one’s ability – tangible influence, not just because of Barron’s wealth, but also because many people understand that this person’s role in some things is irreplaceable.

“We have previously had discussions with the Chinese side regarding cooperation in nuclear power plants, but it also depends on the attitude of Électricité de France…”

Overall, whether it was Brown or Cameron, generally speaking, Britain’s relationship with China during their terms of office could be considered a “honeymoon period.” Therefore, after China General Nuclear Power Group expressed interest in Britain’s nuclear power construction, there were some contacts regarding this.

“I’m afraid that Électricité de France’s attitude has greatly softened now. As long as they can push this project forward, they can make certain concessions.”

After all, Électricité de France is really scared by Britain’s various baffling operations. If it continues to be delayed like this, the cost of Hinkley Point C nuclear power plant alone will be higher than the market value of Électricité de France…

Now that China General Nuclear Power Group, a major Eastern power, can participate in the investment in Hinkley Point C, Électricité de France is also welcome.

However, the two sides are not without differences. For Électricité de France, the reason for actively participating in the construction of nuclear power plants in Britain is mainly to find a market for their nuclear power technology – that is to say, Hinkley Point C this time and subsequent nuclear power plants will inevitably use the nuclear power technology owned by Électricité de France.

But the reason why China General Nuclear Power Group wants to participate in Britain’s nuclear power plant project… coincidentally, it is also to seek opportunities for their technology to go overseas.

Therefore, Électricité de France now hopes that China General Nuclear Power Group will only be responsible for investment in the Hinkley Point C nuclear power plant, and then wait for dividends.

However, China General Nuclear Power Group hopes that their “Hualong One” nuclear power technology with independent intellectual property rights can be applied in Britain’s nuclear power plants…

For Barron, he doesn’t care which party’s technology is used – after all, regardless of whose technology is used, the steam turbines of the nuclear power plant will use those from Alstom Group.

The only thing he cares about is promoting the project as soon as possible.

Therefore, under the mediation of United Energy Group, Électricité de France and China General Nuclear Power Group finally reached an agreement.

For the Hinkley Point C and the next Sizewell C nuclear power plants, China General Nuclear Power Group can only participate in the investment, accounting for 33.3% and 20% of the investment share respectively.

However, for the subsequent Bradwell B nuclear power plant, China General Nuclear Power Group’s investment will account for 66.5%, and China’s “Hualong One” technology will be used.

Chapter 992: Electricity Shortage

To be honest, Barron was increasingly understanding the reason for the question he had in his previous life—why did those European countries, Britain, France, Germany… end up so bad? Especially Britain, with prime ministers changing one after another, all the policies were nonsensical, completely lying down and letting themselves be mocked…

The reality is that the whole of Europe is increasingly showing a trend of suffering from a serious “moral sickness.”

Yes, sitting on the throne of wealth built on the bones of those plundered and enslaved over centuries, they morally judge others.

The United States also constantly talks about things like “civilization” and “values,” but the problem is that the United States does this for profit. As long as the profit is sufficient, even Mauritania (the only country where slavery still exists) can become their closest partner…

Compared to the United States, many European countries, whether governments or people, are a bit like “naive sweethearts.” They are truly capable of harming their own interests for the sake of so-called “values”…

Now, even if Barron wants to increase the scale of British manufacturing, he faces many difficulties.

Although Britain’s more comprehensive welfare system for workers will increase labor costs, this is not the biggest difficulty. After all, German auto workers’ salaries are among the highest in the world, but Germany’s auto industry, at least for now, is still very strong.

In fact, even if workers’ salaries are higher, the cost占比 in products like automobiles is not too high. More important is the completeness of the industrial chain.

Because most of Britain’s automotive industry has already been acquired by overseas capital, brands such as Rolls-Royce, Bentley, and Mini are heavily reliant on external supply for many of their parts.

It is not easy to gradually improve the British automotive industrial chain. For example, British Automotive Group has made breakthroughs in electric sedans, but they face many difficulties in expanding their battery production base in Britain, including protests from local residents and environmental reviews from relevant British departments.

This has led to them currently only being able to provide self-produced batteries for their high-end products, and even this portion of battery capacity is insufficient. The remaining battery products can only be obtained from cooperative manufacturers, such as Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Limited (CATL) and BYD.

Many other automotive components also need to be imported from other European countries.

This has resulted in British Automotive Group only being able to manufacture their higher-profit high-end models in Britain. The more competitive mid-range models, such as most Land Rover and Jaguar models, need to be manufactured in overseas factories.

Faced with China’s lower labor costs and increasingly complete related industrial chains, these low-to-mid-end products in Britain simply cannot compete at all.

“Next, we will try our best to maintain the manufacturing scale of high-end models in Britain. In fact, comprehensively speaking, the most suitable place to build a new production plant is China, but there is a problem: according to local policies, only joint ventures with local manufacturers are allowed to build factories there…”

Hearing Vanderhulk’s complaint, Barron said with a smile:

“We can try to talk to them. If we build our electric vehicle Gigafactory in China, can we obtain sole proprietorship status?”

Barron knew that the first car company to build a factory in China with sole proprietorship was Tesla. After that, China introduced new regulations allowing new energy vehicle companies to build factories in China with sole proprietorship.

Although Tesla was only approved to build a factory in Shanghai four years later, the two sides had already begun multiple negotiations on this matter before that.

Barron plans to sound out Elon Musk when he goes to the United States in a while. At that time, Tesla and British Automotive Group can jointly conduct relevant negotiations with Shanghai. With the temptation of the two best-selling electric sedan brands in the world settling in Shanghai, it is very likely that these restrictions can be lifted in advance.

“In addition, we are also investigating Kolo, judging the feasibility of building a battery production plant there.”

The reasons for making this choice are that Kolo’s connection with Barron’s interests is relatively close, and with the popularization of local education, the quality of workers can be said to be the highest in West Africa. Also, Kolo itself produces a large amount of phosphate, and phosphate rock is one of the important upstream raw materials for battery production.

Moreover, building a battery production plant in Kolo will not face strict environmental reviews like in Europe, which can ensure the speed and scale of construction.

In addition, because Kolo is an important energy supplier to Britain, Kolo is currently negotiating with the British government. If a relevant agreement is reached, Kolo will establish the closest trade relationship with Britain, thereby obtaining the same trade conditions as other EU countries. As a battery supplier for British electric vehicle production bases, most of the import taxes will be waived.

Therefore, Barron’s previous statement that the United Energy Group was preparing to build a nuclear power plant in Kolo was not just a bargaining chip for Cameron, but a genuine plan.

After all, the entire West African region is very short of electricity. Currently, Kolo’s domestic power supply is the most abundant in West Africa due to its investment in infrastructure.

But next, the Kolo Development and Reform Research Center has formulated an ambitious “Industrial Upgrading Plan” for Kolo, which will create conditions for the development of Kolo’s manufacturing industry.

If this is the case, after more factories and production bases are built, Kolo’s power supply will be in short supply. Thinking about the obstacles caused by Vietnam’s power shortage to their industrial undertaking in the original timeline, one can understand how important the power supply is to the manufacturing industry.

In addition, Kolo itself is close to the sea and can be said to be the most suitable area for building a nuclear power plant in the West African Free Trade Organization. After the nuclear power plant in Kolo is completed, in addition to solving the domestic power supply shortage, it can also easily export electricity to neighboring countries including Benin, Ghana, and Burkina Faso.

In this case, the slightly higher electricity cost of nuclear power plants is no longer a disadvantage.

Therefore, while the British Energy Group is negotiating with China General Nuclear Power Group (CGN) on the cooperation of the Hinkley Point C nuclear power plant, the United Energy Group and the West African Power Group are also consulting with the other party on the establishment of the Kolo nuclear power plant.

It should be known that Niger, which is adjacent to Kolo, itself has abundant uranium mines, which is also a very favorable condition for Kolo to build a nuclear power plant.

Now CGN is also trying to promote their latest nuclear power technology in the international market, so it can be said that the two sides hit it off immediately. Even the Chinese side is willing to provide a full amount of interest-free loans for this project. The Chinese side itself has many investments in Kolo, and they welcome Kolo to repay their loans with materials such as oil.

Chapter 993: DailyVedio Goes Public

On March 31st, DailyVedio, the largest streaming platform in Britain and even Europe, officially landed on NASDAQ for its IPO.

This time, DailyVedio would publicly offer 100 million American Depositary Shares (ADS) on NASDAQ, accounting for approximately 9.1% of DailyVedio’s total share capital. A week later, DailyVedio would continue to list on the London Stock Exchange, also issuing 100 million new shares.

Currently, DailyVedio has over 500 million users worldwide, with over 75% of its users in the European, Australian, and Indian markets. It also has several content partners, including SEM Group, Sky Group, and Sinclair Group. Its service content is roughly equivalent to a combination of Netflix and YouTube.

Before the listing, the issue price of DailyVedio was $17 per share, calculating its current market value at $18.7 billion (equivalent to £11.3 billion).

However, on the first day of listing, its closing price was as high as $27.52, an increase of 61.88% compared to the issue price, which can be said to be an excellent performance.

Based on the current closing price, DailyVedio’s market value reached nearly $30.3 billion.

According to DailyVedio’s performance on its first day of listing, its underwriters on NASDAQ, Standard Chartered-Merrill Lynch Group, Goldman Sachs Group, and Morgan Stanley, announced that they would exercise the “green shoe” option (over-allotment option). This meant that they would buy more shares from DailyVedio to make up for the shares they sold in order to meet the strong demand from investors.

“Currently, DailyVedio has strong momentum in the European market, as well as emerging markets including Australia and India. The funds we have raised from this IPO will be used to improve services and invest in more self-produced content. We currently have potential cooperation plans with several content producers, including SEM Group and Marvel-MGM Group, and we believe we can bring users higher-quality content and more comprehensive services…”

This was what DailyVedio’s CEO, Zeni Field, said in an interview with the media.

In response to a reporter’s question about whether DailyVedio had plans to enter the American streaming market, Zeni said:

“In fact, we already have users in North America, but you know, the competition here is more intense. Streaming platforms including Netflix and YouTube are strong opponents, but we do have plans to explore the North American market. This is also why we chose NASDAQ as the first stop for our listing. We believe our high-quality content is also of interest to North American users. Before this, the proportion of North American users was not high, simply because our reputation had not reached here… The internet market is globally open. In such an era, you inevitably need to serve more people. This is our vision and our mission.”

Of course, Zeni Field wasn’t just talking. O2 Telecom’s North American branch, O2 USA, one of their major shareholders, had already reached an agreement with Motorola Mobility to promote their new generation of set-top box services in North America, in which DailyVedio’s Daily TV would be built-in.

And DailyVedio would carry out large-scale promotional activities in North America after that.

…

Just as DailyVedio’s listing gained great affirmation from the market, in Britain, Barron’s financial team would once again “adjust” his assets.

In particular, the Devonshire Family Foundation and the Cavendish Trust, as well as other major funds, would use more offshore companies to directly hold shares in some industries, in order to hide these major funds and trusts behind them.

This was unavoidable, after all, as Barron’s wealth increased, these tasks were necessary.

For example, among the companies currently listed in Britain, more than half of the top ten companies by market value are held by funds controlled by Barron. If the ranking is expanded to the top 50, then he controls at least 15% of the shares in more than one-third of the companies…

Before this, someone had already noticed this, but the relevant news reports had already been “taken care of” before they were published.

Such a fact would probably be difficult for ordinary people to accept. In order for everyone to be “at ease,” Barron had to, for the third time, and the most in-depth time, “isolate” the capital he directly controlled from some companies.

Of course, in addition to Britain, his layouts in the United States, France, Germany, Italy, and other European countries would also undergo such “treatment.” After all, although not as exaggerated as in Britain, those parts were still the “giant” capital of those countries.

Speaking of which, the most terrifying is Kolo…

Of course, the West African Group almost controls most of Kolo’s key livelihood and lifeline enterprises, but Kolo’s situation is slightly different. You can compare it to Singapore.

Kolo is a small West African country, and its current total population is less than 8 million, only slightly more than Singapore (as of 2013, Singapore’s population was about 5.4 million).

Just as Singapore’s Temasek Holdings controls most of the industries, you can also think of Kolo as a large company.

Yes, on the surface, Kolo is a country, but in essence, it is similar to a company controlled by the West African Group.

The quadrennial election is the selection process for the CEO of this company. The elected president (CEO) will operate this company for these four years. If the performance is qualified, then after this CEO “retires,” they will be able to obtain corresponding equity incentives (just like Jameh Bongo obtained some shares of the West African Group after his term as president).

The key to the sustainability of this model lies in the fact that Barron, as the actual controller of this company, can provide good benefits to the company’s employees (the citizens of Kolo) and use interests (equity incentives) to control and encourage managers (the president) to operate diligently.

Since it is a company, it is naturally very reasonable for their security defense to be handed over to the hired security company (the Kolo Legion).

…

In April, with the arrival of spring, the temperature in London warmed up, and Barron’s family moved back from Chatsworth House to their mansion in Kensington.

Of course, not everyone can adapt to life at Chatsworth House. Perhaps at the beginning, there was some novelty, but after all, it is different from the pleasant climate of Lanai. People like Tamaran Skierston often returned to London to go shopping with their sisters.

Now that they have returned to London, they have begun to organize gatherings.

Barron let them do as they pleased. He himself was preparing to go to America soon.

This would also be Barron’s first trip to America after the previous assassination attempt, and his security would naturally be very carefully considered.

Now, the security team around Barron has been completely replaced by “Guardians” trained from orphans adopted by the Devonshire Charitable Foundation, who are more trustworthy.

Although he believed that after that incident, some people would no longer have any illusions about using means outside the rules, necessary precautions were still needed.

Chapter 994: Snapchat

“Yes, Snapchat is about to launch a chat function. According to surveys, Snapchat is currently most popular among young people, especially high school students, and user loyalty is extremely high…”

After arriving in New York, Barron spoke with Ivanka about another project IC Capital had invested in: a social media application called Snapchat.

Many people may not be familiar with Snapchat, but everyone should have used an application with the “self-destructing” feature. Snapchat was the first social media application to launch this feature—it’s a photo-sharing application that allows users to send pictures, videos, and other content, and set a viewing time. Once the set time is exceeded, the content is automatically deleted.

Snapchat was founded in 2011. At that time, Woaw, Twitter, and LinkedIn almost completely dominated the social media landscape. Other social applications, including Google’s own Google+ and its investment Whatsapp, were not performing well.

At the time, Evan Spiegel, one of Snapchat’s founders, was studying product design at Stanford University. He believed that most social media services lacked a way for friends to communicate privately—Woaw, Twitter, and other social media platforms provided an unprecedented platform for sharing and connecting, but the interactions on these platforms lacked the intimacy of real-world interactions.

In this context, Evan Spiegel and his classmates launched the application, then named Picaboo, on the App Store in July 2011.

In fact, Barron had never used Snapchat in his previous life, so he didn’t initially remind Ivanka to invest. Instead, Ivanka heard her secretary, Haida Kahn, mention that her high school-aged sister was recently obsessed with a social media application. After investigating, she decided to invest…

That was already 2013, so IC Capital missed Snapchat’s seed round of funding.

But in February of that year, after Ivanka personally met with the founders of Snapchat, they finalized the Series A funding round.

In this round, IC Capital valued Snapchat at $60 million, investing $15 million for a 25% stake.

From then on, Snapchat’s growth rate was astonishing.

Snapchat users sent over 60 million photos every day, totaling over 5 billion photos sent.

Incredibly, Snapchat’s operating team at the time still only had five full-time employees.

Shortly after completing the Series A funding, Snapchat hired five more employees, bringing the company’s total number of employees to 10.

Also, with the support of IC Capital’s resources, Snapchat’s popularity began to soar. Through the media and mobile operating system resources that Ivanka controlled, Snapchat was heavily promoted.

Subsequently, IC Capital also served as the lead investor, continuing to participate in Snapchat’s Series B and C funding rounds in 2013, bringing its stake in Snapchat close to 40%, becoming Snapchat’s largest investor—the ability to obtain such a large shareholding was also related to the enormous resources that IC Capital could provide to Snapchat.

It should be known that, to date, IC Capital is already one of the largest shareholders in Woaw, and has also invested in Twitter and LinkedIn, just in the social media field. The most well-known applications in the social media field are all connected to this investment company.

Therefore, their investment in Snapchat inherently brought traffic and received extensive media coverage. Snapchat was seen as a “rising star,” which saved it a lot of trouble. It should be known that the development speed of Snapchat was drastically different before and after IC Capital’s investment.

Although Snapchat currently does not have a clear plan for commercial monetization, it already has more than 30 million daily active users, who upload more than 400 million photos to Snapchat every day, even exceeding the number of photos users upload to Woaw daily.

“Snapchat’s users in the 18-24 age range account for 45% of the total users, a proportion that far exceeds all other social applications. This is completely different from Woaw’s main user group. Although Google and Woaw are both interested in acquiring Snapchat, with the highest bid exceeding $3 billion, Snapchat’s founding team also understands their advantages and still tends to develop independently.”

Although IC Capital is also a major shareholder in Woaw, and YouTube was acquired by Woaw after IC Capital initially invested in it.

However, Ivanka respects the founders’ opinions more and will not put pressure on them regarding acquisitions.

Barron also agreed with this. Snapchat’s rapid development was due to its “gameplay” attracting young people. As Ivanka said, in the 18-24 age range, Snapchat’s users accounted for 45% of the total, while Woaw, Twitter, and Google+’s corresponding proportions were 16%, 19%, and 15%…

Relatively speaking, young people prefer “cool” ways to play.

Although Barron initially overlooked Snapchat, after Ivanka mentioned it, he remembered that the company’s market value once reached $30 billion after its IPO, but its subsequent development was not ideal, and its market value later fell to more than $8 billion.

Of course, if Woaw still acquired Snapchat for around $3 billion, it would be a worthwhile deal.

However, Barron did not think that after acquiring Instagram, and owning Woaw, WoawChat, and Instagram, three “star social applications” that occupy a considerable market share, Woaw acquiring Snapchat would be tolerated by the regulatory authorities in America.

Not to mention that they have already begun to layout the short video field.

Therefore, it is also a good choice for IC Capital to invest in Snapchat and appropriately reduce its holdings after its IPO to obtain sufficient profits.

…

Unsurprisingly, after Barron arrived in New York, Ivanka mentioned to him that her father had invited Barron to his home to meet.

Barron naturally understood what he was thinking, which was nothing more than a great interest in the election two years later.

However, although Barron would give him strong support, he did not want this kind of thing to be too obvious, because his identity is that of a British Duke. Getting too deeply involved in this kind of thing, even if Britain is a close ally of America, it is very easy to cause questioning, and even have the opposite effect.

Of course, it doesn’t matter to just attend a family gathering and chat about these things privately.

But Barron will not personally endorse him at that time, let alone be as high-profile as Musk later—at least Musk is a proper American.

Anyway, even if Ivanka, as his daughter, comes forward, and she manages most of Barron’s resources in America, it will be enough to provide super-strong assistance at that time.

If they could succeed in that situation, now with resources that are many times stronger, there should not be much possibility of failure.

Chapter 995: Sale?

In two years, in 2016, America will usher in another presidential election.

This also means that they will hold midterm elections this year.

The American midterm elections refer to the regular elections held in November of the second year of the president’s term, every four years.

This election mainly involves the re-election of seats in both houses of Congress, including all 435 seats in the House of Representatives and about one-third of the seats in the Senate.

In addition, midterm elections may also involve the election of governors and local administrative and legislative bodies in some states.

Midterm elections are an important activity in American political life, and their results can have a significant impact on the president’s remaining term in office and future presidential elections.

For example, in the midterm elections in the original timeline this year, the Republican Party won and occupied a majority of seats in the House of Representatives, which led to heavy resistance to the policies promoted by Obama afterward. Even his most valued “Affordable Care Act” was rejected many times, and the final version that passed had been changed beyond recognition…

And the “Fair Vision” Super PAC, funded by IC Capital, will also provide funds to the politicians they cooperate with in this midterm election to help them obtain better positions.

Previously, when Ivanka faced charges from the FBI, the congressmen funded by this Super PAC opportunely made public statements in support of Ivanka, which also put considerable pressure on the FBI at the time.

It should be known that even the director of the FBI must be careful when facing certain powerful congressmen, so as not to be attacked by these people after they find loopholes in the FBI.

It is worth mentioning that the politicians “donated” to by the “Fair Vision” Super PAC are not only Republicans. Even members of the Democratic Party can become “partners” as long as they can cooperate.

If you only lean to one side, it is easy to narrow the road.

…

“I told you last time that Lenovo Group of China hopes to buy Motorola Mobility from us…”

Ivanka suddenly thought of this and said to Barron.

“What do you think?”

“Although Motorola’s mobile phone business has improved a lot now, the sales of several main models launched in recent years have been so-so. It is much better than those Japanese mobile phone brands, but even among Android phones, it is far inferior to Honor Electronics and Samsung…”

In fact, the most critical point is that IC Capital wholly owns Android, but they also own Motorola Mobility at the same time. This will make other mobile phone manufacturers in the “Android Alliance” more or less worried about whether the Android operating system will provide more resources to Motorola Mobility…

After all, Barron already has Honor Electronics, which is developing more comprehensively and successfully. If he chooses between the Android system and Motorola Mobility, there is no doubt that the Android system is more important…

Ivanka naturally understood his thoughts.

And it is true that in these years, although she successfully rescued Motorola Mobility from the brink of bankruptcy, although the company’s mobile phone business is no longer as glorious as it was in 2005, when it competed with Nokia for the global mobile phone hegemony… But at least in the mobile phone industry, it can still be regarded as the second tier, unlike Japanese mobile phone manufacturers, which can only be classified as “other” in the global market share.

But in this process, it is indeed very exhausting - Ivanka needed to deal with some Motorola Mobility restructuring matters even when she was pregnant.

Moreover, in terms of revenue, the current mobile phone business of Motorola Mobility is not ranked at the top of IC Capital’s industries.

Therefore, although she was a little reluctant, she still said to Barron:

“If they can give a good price, then selling Motorola Mobility’s mobile phone business is also one of the options…”

In fact, as early as 2010, after Motorola was split into two, Yang Yuanqing, then chairman and CEO of Lenovo Group, came to America and went to Motorola headquarters to try to negotiate the acquisition…

However, due to seeing the wrong person in charge - Yang Yuanqing saw Brown, the CEO of Motorola Solutions responsible for Motorola systems, instead of the person in charge of the mobile phone business, so the negotiation failed to continue.

Next, news came that IC Capital, together with GII Fund, acquired Motorola Mobility for 10.5 billion US dollars…

After that, Yang Yuanqing still did not give up. After IC Capital completed the acquisition, they contacted Ivanka through Goldman Sachs, expressing their hope to buy Motorola Mobility’s mobile phone business from IC Capital.

However, Ivanka was already preparing to revitalize Motorola Mobility at the time, so she declined the other party’s proposal.

After that, by adjusting Motorola Mobility’s mobile phone business, reducing some research and development centers, and focusing on the research and development of mobile phones for the Android system, Motorola Mobility began to turn losses into profits and survive.

However, Lenovo Group’s pursuit of Motorola has not given up. Not long ago, they contacted Ivanka again and proposed the idea of acquiring Motorola Mobility’s mobile phone business again…

“What is their offer this time?”

“They only hope to acquire the mobile phone business, with the key patents attached, and the offer is 2.8 billion US dollars…”

Uh…

Barron remembers that Lenovo eventually acquired Motorola Mobility for 2.91 billion US dollars in his previous life…

But at that time, Motorola Mobility was already half-dead in Google’s hands, and Google could naturally accept the price of 2.91 billion US dollars.

But the current Motorola Mobility is different from the original timeline. At least its mobile phone business has improved greatly and has successfully turned losses into profits…

“That’s too low. Even if we sell the mobile phone business, we need to get a good price. I don’t think we need to consider it at all if it’s less than 3.5 billion US dollars.”

Hearing Barron’s words, Ivanka nodded:

“I think so too. We can reply to them like this first.”

It seems that IC Capital acquired Motorola Mobility for 10.5 billion US dollars at the beginning, and now it is selling it for only 3.5 billion US dollars, which is a huge loss…

In fact, this is not the case. After all, after they acquired Motorola Mobility, there was still 2.5 billion US dollars in cash in the company’s account, which is equivalent to the actual cost of IC Capital’s acquisition this time being 8 billion US dollars.

In addition, the most valuable thing about Motorola Mobility is the mobile phone patents it owns. At that time, Motorola Mobility had about 17,000 authorized patents and 7,500 patent applications.

These patents cover the core technologies in the field of mobile terminals and are of great significance for Android to build a patent umbrella for the “Android Alliance”.

But now what they are selling to Lenovo Group will only be the mobile phone business in the two businesses of Motorola Mobility, mobile phones and set-top boxes, and it is to authorize the other party’s core patents. Those patents will still remain in IC Capital - specifically, these patents will be injected into Android.

This is why Google spent more than 12 billion US dollars to acquire Motorola Mobility in the original timeline, and was willing to sell Motorola Mobility to Lenovo for only 2.91 billion US dollars…

Chapter 996: The Enthusiastic Goldman Sachs

“We are firmly on your side, Your Grace. The Navigator Group’s previous actions have crossed the line…”

Next, Barron met with Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein and others, who immediately expressed their support for Barron.

Of course, Barron didn’t take his statement too seriously. After all, he understood that Goldman Sachs, as the most adept at judging the situation and the most flexible on Wall Street, was making its choices based solely on profit.

If the final result was Barron’s death in that assassination attempt, then without a doubt, Lloyd would gladly lead Goldman Sachs into the ranks of those dividing up the “DS Group’s” assets, and would be at the forefront.

Although Goldman Sachs was initially founded by Jewish people, it is not a supporter of Zionism. For Goldman Sachs, nothing is more important than profit. For profit, they can even fly the red flag…

Moreover, its current head, Lloyd Blankfein, is not Jewish either, but comes from a working-class family in the Bronx, New York…

It can be said that the interests of Goldman Sachs are now tied relatively deeply to Barron’s side. Through IC Capital, it directly holds 9% of Goldman Sachs’ shares. Adding in the holdings of Standard Chartered-Merrill Lynch Group and the related funds under the DS Group, Barron can control more than 17.5% of Goldman Sachs’ shares and has two votes on the Goldman Sachs board of directors.

In comparison, Navigator Group is no longer Goldman Sachs’ largest shareholder as it was in the original timeline. Their total shareholding in Goldman Sachs, along with BlackRock Group and State Street Group, is just over 12%, giving them only one vote on the Goldman Sachs board of directors.

This is why Goldman Sachs did not hesitate to join in when Barron fought back against the short-selling behavior of these three capitals – making money, of course, you have to seize the opportunity. Goldman Sachs is really good at judging the situation. They like to stand on the winning side, and if they find that they have stood on the wrong side, they will switch sides without any psychological pressure.

Just like now, Lloyd’s attitude towards Barron can be described as extremely warm. After all, in the financial field, compared to the Navigator Group and BlackRock Group, which are controlled by Barron, Standard Chartered-Merrill Lynch Group poses a greater threat to Goldman Sachs.

It can be said that these capitals have almost obtained all the fund management business of American public funds – a new emperor brings a new court. The American Treasury Secretary is no longer a former Goldman Sachs CEO. After the subprime mortgage crisis, especially BlackRock Group, obtained most of the fund management business of American public funds, which made Goldman Sachs very unhappy.

On the contrary, cooperation with Barron has brought a lot of performance to Goldman Sachs. In addition to the financing and loan business that has continued from the beginning to the present, the underwriting business of the IPO listing of those companies controlled by Barron in the US stock market will also include Goldman Sachs. These alone have made them a lot of money.

In the American market, it is impossible for Barron to fight against the crowd alone. He must weave his own network of relationships and establish his own partners. Although the trustworthiness of partners is often questionable, in many cases, an attitude of “benevolent neutrality” is enough. What’s more, even after gaining an advantage, you still need someone to cheer you on…

“The American stock market has recovered strongly in the past two years. Although it has experienced two troughs at the beginning of this year, I believe it will soon recover from this short-term decline. I think it is very wise for Alibaba to choose to go public in the second half of the year.”

Prior to this, the successful listing of DailyVedio gave Goldman Sachs great confidence. Now, what they are most looking forward to is the US listing of Alibaba, which is regarded as the biggest IPO feast this year.

Just as Lloyd said, before this year, the American stock market had experienced more than 20% gains in the Dow Jones Index and the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index for two consecutive years, which also made Goldman Sachs Group’s investment banking and global market business shine.

However, since the beginning of this year, first, from mid-January to early February, the sharp depreciation of global emerging market currencies triggered the first round of bear market in US stocks, with the Nasdaq index falling by 5.8%, but the market gradually stabilized after the Federal Reserve interest rate meeting.

Then in March, the situation in Ukraine triggered the second wave of bear market, with the Nasdaq index falling by a maximum of 8.2%, but the S&P 500 and Dow Jones indexes subsequently recovered their losses.

DailyVedio chose to go public at the end of March and still showed an amazing increase, which gave Goldman Sachs great confidence in the investment enthusiasm of this year’s market and began to look forward to the upcoming listing of Alibaba.

It should be known that Alibaba’s performance and scale are not comparable to DailyVedio’s, and Goldman Sachs Group is also one of the underwriters of Alibaba’s US listing. Lloyd believes that by the time Alibaba is listed in the second half of this year, the market will be able to fully recover from the two small twists and turns at the beginning of the year, and they will be able to obtain far more stock business income than on DailyVedio.

Currently, Barron holds shares in Alibaba through two companies, DS Holdings (Cavendish Trust) and Rich23 Capital, of which DS Holdings holds 12.66% of its shares; Rich23 Capital holds 26.79% of its shares.

According to Barron’s promise to Jack Ma, after Alibaba goes public, he will reduce at least 10% of the 12.66% of Alibaba’s shares held by DS Holdings within one year (based on the pre-IPO share issue ratio). Therefore, this time, the shares held by DS Holdings in Alibaba’s IPO obtained the shortest 90-day lock-up period among all the original shareholders, while the lock-up period for other shareholders was at least 180 days.

Originally, Jack Ma was preparing to sell this part of DS Holdings’ shares in the IPO process, so that this part of the stock would be included in the initial public offering and sold at the stock issuance price.

However, Barron said that he was more optimistic about the performance of Alibaba’s stock price after the listing, so he rejected this proposal.

According to Alibaba’s prospectus, the publicly issued shares this time, in addition to the newly issued shares, include the sale of some shares including SoftBank, Jack Ma and his team.

Due to Barron’s proposal to Jack Ma, this time Alibaba’s listing did not initially plan to list in Hong Kong as in the original timeline. The negotiations with the other party failed, and the Hong Kong Stock Exchange still does not support Alibaba’s “partnership system” - the “partnership system” aims to ensure that the founders and management team have greater control over the company, even if their shareholding ratio is not high.

This system is inconsistent with the Hong Kong Stock Exchange’s insistence on the principle of “one share, one vote”, while the American capital market allows dual-class equity structures such as AB shares, which allows the founders to maintain control of the company by holding fewer shares.

Therefore, the time for Alibaba’s listing will also be earlier than in the original timeline. It will not wait until September of this year to be listed, but will be listed in the United States on July 18, two months earlier than when Barron was in his previous life.

Chapter 997: Too Early

“Build a factory in China?”

In California, Barron met with Elon Musk, the chairman of Tesla.

Hearing the other party mention building a new factory in China together, Musk was slightly surprised:

“Building a new factory is premature for Tesla. Our California factory can meet our production requirements, and we still have room for expansion here.”

Barron wasn’t surprised by Musk’s words.

Currently, Tesla has two Gigafactories in the United States. The first, the Fremont factory in California, is Tesla’s main vehicle assembly plant. It currently produces the Model S, and the Model X, a luxury electric SUV scheduled to launch in the second half of this year, will also be produced there.

The other is the Gigafactory in Nevada, which Tesla and Panasonic jointly invested in to produce batteries and electric vehicle components.

Although the British Automotive Group and Tesla are working together to develop the global electric vehicle market, Tesla’s sales are not yet comparable to what they will be in a few years. Last year, Tesla sold nearly 25,000 Model S vehicles. It is estimated that its sales this year will be around 35,000. If things proceed as they did in the original timeline, Tesla’s global sales won’t exceed 100,000 until 2017, three years from now.

Of course, it looks like this time could be brought forward, but it won’t happen until 2016 at the earliest.

After all, considering the price of the Model S and Model X, these two models are targeting the Mercedes-Benz E-Class and BMW 5 Series. Only when they launch the Model 3, which is aimed at the mass market, will Tesla’s production capacity in its American factories become a bottleneck and require new factories.

In the present, Musk himself would not have predicted that Tesla’s development would be so rapid and that demand would soon outstrip supply. Therefore, he was puzzled by Barron’s proposal to build a factory in China.

Moreover, even if Musk were to build a factory overseas, China is not his first choice right now.

Besides the fact that China currently only allows companies to enter into joint ventures with local companies, although China has the advantages of policy (encouraging the development of new energy vehicles) and a complete supply chain, it has not yet encountered the financial pressure and funding shortages it faced in 2017 in the original timeline, which led to its decision to build a factory in Shanghai with preferential policies and support from the Chinese side.

Currently, Musk’s first choice for overseas factory construction is still Germany.

Well, he hasn’t yet been educated by the future mess of the German factory.

Since that’s the case, Barron decided to postpone the British Automotive Group’s plan to build a wholly-owned production plant in China.

It’s also because he has more options. The Nanjing Automobile Group in China can launch electric vehicles under the mass-market Qilin brand to seize the Chinese market.

“Let’s not just talk about these things. We can talk more at the company tomorrow. Let’s enjoy tonight. I’ve invited quite a few celebrities.”

Although he is often a workaholic, Musk is very open when it comes to having fun.

As he said, he invited many Hollywood stars to the party at his Los Angeles mansion tonight.

“Let me introduce you. This lady is Ms. Heard. She gave a stunning performance in this year’s ‘3 Days to Kill’…”

The first person Musk introduced to Barron was a beautiful woman…

Uh, Barron was very familiar with this woman. Isn’t she “Aquaman’s” wife?

Her divorce dispute with Johnny Depp was all the rage in Barron’s previous life.

Oh, right, the two haven’t married yet. They went public with their relationship last year and just got engaged at the beginning of this year…

It is said that in the original timeline, Musk saw Amber Sheen in “Machete Kills” after two marriages, was amazed, and then contacted the director of that movie to introduce him to Amber.

But now, Musk’s “second wife” does not exist yet - Talulah Riley has been taken by Barron in advance and became his personal assistant.

But Musk’s “taste” has not changed. He said that after seeing Amber in the movie “3 Days to Kill,” which was just released at the beginning of this year, he took the initiative to get to know her.

Now, seeing the various signs between the two, even if Amber, who just got engaged to Johnny Depp, a Hollywood man 23 years older than her, doesn’t have any substantive “crossing the line” with Musk, there is still some ambiguity between them.

But it must be said that this “Aquaman’s” wife is considered to be outstanding in appearance among Hollywood actresses, no wonder Musk is fascinated by her.

“Hello, Your Grace, it’s an honor to meet you.”

When shaking hands with Amber, Barron felt her little finger brush against his palm, whether intentionally or unintentionally.

Interesting…

…

“With DailyVedio’s IPO in the United States and England, Netflix is also feeling the pressure. Hastings contacted me before, hoping to give them more support, at least in the North American and Asian markets, we should favor them.”

Although there were many Hollywood actresses at Musk’s party last night, Barron is no longer very interested in these actresses - if in his previous life, his identity would have been surrounded by the fame and glamour of these Hollywood actresses and the filters of the movies, then with his current identity, plus knowing the “red couch” that prevails in Hollywood, it is no longer an unspoken rule, but an open one.

Well, regardless of gender, just like Hollywood actor Ben Affleck once bluntly said, “In order to get a good role, I don’t mind playing the flute for someone all night”…

Therefore, he is no longer very interested in these actresses - but speaking of which, after separating from Musk yesterday, when he was studying knowledge with his assistant Talulah Riley at his Fleur de Lys estate in the evening, it felt quite special…

Now he is meeting with Annika Dawson, the CEO of Blue Valley Capital.

Currently, through DS Holdings and Blue Valley Capital, Barron holds more than 30% of Netflix’s shares, making him the company’s largest shareholder.

Also, thanks to the cooperation with Marvel-MGM and Barron’s financial support for Netflix, Netflix’s transformation to self-produced content is still very successful, leaving Hulu behind in the competition for streaming media platforms.

Now Netflix is also consolidating its North American market and preparing to expand into overseas markets.

Because the European market has DailyVedio, a streaming media platform supported by European local media groups, Netflix’s expansion in the European market is somewhat unsatisfactory. The dramas co-produced with European local production companies do not have very satisfactory viewership. Now they are starting to target the Asian market and are preparing to cooperate with some film and television companies in South Korea and Japan to launch local Asian dramas.

But after DailyVedio went public in the United States, their remarks about expanding into the North American market made Netflix a little wary.

They don’t want to be “robbed” directly when they are developing overseas markets.

Although both DailyVedio and Netflix can be regarded as Barron’s industries, the shareholders of DailyVedio are all British companies, while the shareholders of Netflix, in addition to DS Holdings, also include Blue Valley Capital.

Hastings hopes that Blue Valley Capital can give him enough support in this regard.

Chapter 998: Satisfied Result

Of course, there is another way, which is to merge Netflix with DailyVedio. This way, there would be no competition between the two, and they could unify the global market. It can be said that there are many benefits to this.

But at the same time, there would also be a problem, namely that the interests of media groups, including SEM Group and Sky Group, would be diluted.

You could say that after the merger of the two companies, the size of the new company would expand, which would be like making the cake bigger.

However, why, in the original timeline, did companies including Disney and 20th Century Fox create their own Hulu platform, and BBC and Sky also have their own streaming platforms, instead of continuing to cooperate with Netflix?

This involves the issue of internal resource allocation within a company. When the shareholding ratio of these media groups becomes smaller, Netflix, for the sake of overall interests, will inevitably encroach on or even damage the interests of media groups like SEM Group and Sky Group in some decisions.

You can certainly say that these media groups are also controlled by Barron Holdings, but that doesn’t change anything. As the saying goes, “Every party has its factions, and every faction has its quirks.” The larger the scale of a group, the more its internal structure will gradually be divided into their respective interest factions.

After all, for the CEOs of these companies, the revenue of their own company is the most fundamental standard for measuring their work performance. Not to mention that even if the two parties merge, with Hastings’ desire for control, he will not allow Netflix’s management power to fall into the hands of others. At that time, conflicts will inevitably arise again.

Therefore, Barron did not promote the merger of the two, but allowed the two to compete with each other—only to limit this competition to a benign scope, so as not to generate too much internal friction.

Not only in the streaming media platform industry, but also in the social field, there is a competitive relationship between Woaw and companies such as Twitter and Snapchat, which are invested by IC Capital. These are all considerations.

Otherwise, he could directly promote Woaw’s acquisition of these companies, thereby creating a social giant that occupies the vast majority of the global market share, but that would not only easily face anti-monopoly reviews from various countries, but also easily attract criticism.

…

In early May, IC Capital finally reached an agreement with Lenovo Group. Lenovo Group will invest 3.5 billion dollars to acquire Motorola Mobility’s mobile phone business.

What Lenovo Group acquired includes Lenovo obtaining Motorola Mobility’s brand, trademark portfolio, 2,000 patents, and cooperative relationships with more than 50 operators worldwide.

In addition, Lenovo also took over Motorola Mobility’s product planning, including Motorola Mobility’s mobile phone business design centers in China and the United States.

Because Lenovo has a production base in Jiangcheng Optics Valley in China, in order to reduce the price, they did not take over Motorola Mobility’s mobile phone production base in Tianjin—in the original timeline, this production base was sold by Google to Flextronics in 2012, and then continued to provide OEM services for Motorola mobile phones. Now it has been sold to Glory Electronics for 100 million dollars, and will be used as their Dopod brand production base.

Motorola Mobility’s set-top box business was also spun off from Motorola Mobility and renamed Motorola Electronics, still using the Motorola brand.

This time, Lenovo Group’s 3.5 billion dollar acquisition payment includes 1.05 billion dollars in cash, 750 million dollars worth of Lenovo Group common stock (accounting for about 5% of Lenovo Group’s total share capital), and 1.7 billion dollars in three-year notes.

This acquisition is also another large-scale overseas merger and acquisition carried out by Lenovo Group after acquiring IBM’s personal computer business unit for 1.25 billion dollars in 2004, and acquiring IBM’s low-end server business for 2.3 billion dollars at the beginning of this year.

Lenovo Group’s CEO Liu Yuanqing later declared that this acquisition is an important part of Lenovo Group’s global expansion strategy. Through this merger and acquisition, they will be able to absorb the advanced technology accumulated by Motorola over the years, and use it to enter mature markets in Europe and the United States. Motorola’s brand influence and operator relationships provide Lenovo with a convenient way to enter these markets…

As for IC Capital and GII Fund, which initially acquired Motorola Mobility for 10.5 billion dollars, they are also very satisfied with this transaction.

After all, when Motorola Mobility was acquired, it had 2.5 billion dollars in cash on its books, which is equivalent to them acquiring the company for 8 billion dollars.

Now its mobile phone business has sold a total of 3.6 billion dollars (plus 100 million dollars for the sale of the Tianjin production base), and the remaining Motorola Electronics (set-top box business) is worth about 3 billion dollars. In addition, from the acquisition of Motorola Mobility to the present, because of Motorola Mobility’s net operating losses in the United States and overseas businesses, IC Capital can also obtain nearly 4 billion dollars in tax deductions…

Calculated in this way, the final cost that IC Capital paid for Motorola’s more than 20,000 communication patents is negligible, and these patents can bring more than 10 billion dollars in market value to Android.

No matter how you calculate it, it is a very cost-effective deal…

At this time, Barron had returned to London.

At this time, the European Parliament elections are about to be held, but in Britain, there is not much feeling of this atmosphere.

After all, within Britain, there are differences in attitudes towards the European Union, and in the past two years, especially due to the refugee issue, Britain’s Euroscepticism has been intensifying.

And relatively speaking, British voters are more concerned about domestic issues, such as the economy, health, education, etc., rather than the European Parliament elections—in this case, the European Parliament elections are regarded as secondary.

“After reaching a new investment agreement, the Hinkley Point C nuclear power station project has started again. This time it is relatively smooth and is expected to be completed before 2018.”

Just as Talulah Riley said in the latest information she obtained from the United Energy Group regarding the British Energy Group’s Hinkley Point C nuclear power station project, under pressure, Électricité de France finally reached a final agreement with United Energy Group and China General Nuclear Power Group on China General Nuclear Power Group’s investment in the Hinkley Point C nuclear power station project.

To this end, Électricité de France also made concessions, allowing China General Nuclear Power Group to hold a majority stake in the subsequent nuclear power station project, the Bradwell B nuclear power station, and use their “Hualong One” nuclear power technology.

After this agreement was reached, under Barron’s promotion, the British police also acted quickly, and those “environmentalists” who had occupied the construction site of the Hinkley Point C nuclear power station were immediately cleared out, and this project was finally able to proceed smoothly.

After all, they already have rich experience in friendly exchanges with these “environmentalists” in the High Speed Rail 2 project, and can directly hit the key points, so that these people cannot make any waves.

As for why they didn’t act so quickly before?

Électricité de France is the largest shareholder of British Energy Group, and United Energy Group, which only holds 40% of its shares, does not need to overstep its authority.

What’s more, without giving them some pressure, how could Électricité de France so easily agree to this investment agreement with China General Nuclear Power Group?

After all, in terms of construction projects, Barron still trusts Chinese companies more. Although the French are slightly more reliable in this type of project than the British, the difference is relatively limited…

Chapter 999: Airline Company

“Our negotiations with Alitalia have not been smooth. The Italian government has not responded positively to our proposed staff reductions and partial asset restructuring…”

Gerard Reynolds, CEO of European Wealth Fund, said to Barron:

“Besides us, Etihad Airways has also expressed interest in Alitalia. This airline has always liked to expand its global network by acquiring equity in other airlines. This time, they are preparing to acquire 49% of Alitalia’s shares.”

Clearly, this time the European Wealth Fund’s acquisition target was Alitalia. The reason for choosing to acquire, according to Gerard’s team’s analysis, is that if this airline cannot undergo a thorough change, its situation will be difficult to reverse.

Alitalia was founded in 1946 and is Italy’s largest state-owned airline, with the Italian government as its largest shareholder.

Due to the company’s inefficient management and persistently high labor costs, Alitalia has been in a state of long-term losses since 2002, under the influence of low-cost airlines such as Ryanair and easyJet constantly penetrating the market.

In order to improve the company’s financial structure and improve operational efficiency, the Italian government began selling its shares in Alitalia from 2004.

Despite the Italian government’s efforts to save Alitalia, the airline, struggling with continuous losses, declared bankruptcy and reorganization in 2008.

However, the reorganized Alitalia did not reverse the decline, leading the Italian government to abandon its bailout plan for the company and plan to sell it as a whole.

Alitalia began privatization in 2009.

Although the Italian government provided 500 million euros in aid to save Alitalia, this move still failed to reverse Alitalia’s decline, and the company once lost a net 1.5 million euros per day.

Last year, in 2013, Alitalia’s main shareholder, Air France-KLM Group, refused to inject more capital and reduced its stake from 20% to 7%, which once again brought Alitalia to the brink of bankruptcy.

Therefore, the Italian government had to look for new investors for Alitalia.

This is also where the European Wealth Fund’s disagreement with the other party lies. The Italian side hopes to obtain funds to maintain Alitalia’s operations, but the European Wealth Fund’s team believes after evaluation that Alitalia’s poor management efficiency and high labor costs, if there cannot be a certain degree of layoffs and asset restructuring, then it will still be unable to get out of the current predicament.

If this is the case, then it will be necessary to carry out “transformation” after the overall acquisition of Alitalia, but under the current circumstances, the Italian government does not want this to lead to employee unemployment—after all, Italy’s economy is still relatively sluggish, and they need more jobs to stabilize society.

“The Italian side doesn’t have much objection to our proposed overall acquisition price of 3.5 billion euros, but the only point is that they don’t want us to carry out large-scale layoffs after taking over…”

Hearing Gerard Reynolds’ words, Barron shook his head:

“If that’s the case, then the result can only be that our funds are poured into this company’s black hole, which is not what we should do.”

He turned and asked:

“You said earlier that Ryanair and easyJet’s market share in the Italian market has been expanding?”

“Yes, Your Grace, statistics show that from 2008 to now, Alitalia’s market share has fallen from 23% to less than 20%, while Ryanair’s market share in the Italian market has rapidly risen from 12% to 23%, currently ranking first in Alitalia’s market share…”

“Then contact Ryanair and see if we can acquire them.”

Ryanair is an Irish airline, founded in 1985.

In the early 1990s, in order to reverse Ryanair’s operational difficulties, founder Tony Ryan sent 26-year-old O’Leary to Dallas to learn from Kelleher, the founder of Southwest Airlines.

With the help of wine and cigars, the two chatted late into the night, and O’Leary finally obtained the key factors for successful operation from Kelleher, including the importance of speeding up aircraft turnaround time, absolute focus on costs, and the use of the same aircraft type to simplify maintenance and training operations.

Since then, Ryanair has used its low-price advantage to develop from an initial one aircraft and 5,000 passengers to one of the largest low-cost airlines in Europe today.

“Currently, Ryanair has the highest profit margin among airlines in the world, even though their ticket prices have been constantly decreasing…”

It seems that Gerard Reynolds had already conducted a relatively in-depth study of Ryanair before this.

Ryanair pays great attention to cost control, which is reflected in several aspects—

First of all, the company’s personnel are very streamlined—generally, there are only two “flight attendants” on Ryanair’s planes, while other airlines generally have five “flight attendants.”

In 2001, Ryanair successfully transported 9 million passengers with 1,500 employees, while Irish National Airlines transported only 6 million passengers with 7,000 employees.

Moreover, Ryanair’s aircraft turnover rate is extremely high. Ryanair was previously able to complete the unloading, cleaning, stocking, and reloading of an aircraft in 25 minutes, which may be the fastest speed in the industry.

This means that Ryanair can complete 8 flights in 6 hours, while other competitors can only complete 6 flights.

After the 9/11 incident, security procedures slightly extended the turnaround time, but Ryanair is still the fastest in the entire aviation industry.

In addition, most of Ryanair’s flights land at cheaper, second-tier airports, which reduces airport service fees and allows for faster turnaround times and reduced delays (small airports are less crowded, eliminating the need to wait or postpone).

Ryanair also transferred ticket booking business from agents to the website—because the website does not charge agency fees and does not require a central booking system.

Currently, Ryanair is listed on the London Stock Exchange. The company’s market value is around 8 billion pounds (equivalent to 13.2 billion US dollars), but it is quite difficult to acquire the company as a whole.

Because the company’s shareholding is currently very dispersed, coupled with its good performance, if it is to be acquired as a whole, it will inevitably need to be given a certain premium…

But Barron didn’t have any objections to this. After all, he remembered that by next year, Ryanair’s stock price would soar due to its performance growth far exceeding expectations. Barron remembered that he had read relevant reports in his previous life. From the beginning of next year to September, Ryanair’s stock price cumulatively rose by nearly 50%, and its market value was close to 21 billion US dollars, ranking fifth in the world’s airline market value.

Chapter 1000: Vision 2020

Another point is that Barron currently owns the world’s second-largest aircraft leasing company—Global Lease Finance Corporation. If Ryanair gains Barron’s support, they will have greater flexibility in deploying routes because they can easily access the resources of this aircraft leasing company.

This will also be one of the bargaining chips for the European Wealth Fund in negotiations with the other party.

In fact, there are still quite a few airlines worldwide that could be put on the for-sale list right now.

After all, like Alitalia, they were previously affected by the global economy. People often started choosing cheaper low-cost airlines for travel, including in the European and North American markets. As a result, many airlines were impacted, which is one of the reasons for the wave of mergers and acquisitions among airlines in the coming years.

Well, that’s not all. Once these airlines show some signs of recovery, the global pandemic will bring a huge impact to these airlines.

Therefore, comparatively speaking, acquiring a low-cost airline like Ryanair is more promising.

…

On May 15th, the Kolo government released the “Vision 2020 White Paper.”

In this “White Paper,” the Kolo government outlined its national development plan for the future and promulgated a series of policies aimed at building Kolo into a financial and technological center of West Africa and even the entire African continent.

The first is their “Information Superhighway Plan.” According to this plan, the Kolo government will invest a total of 50 billion Kolo shillings to upgrade Kolo’s broadband and communication infrastructure. It will first complete the full coverage of fiber optic and 4G networks in the three cities of Bulita, Lottie, and Dasso, as well as the surrounding areas, and then complete the full coverage of fiber optic and 4G networks throughout Kolo within five years, as well as 5G network coverage in major cities.

Furthermore, the Kolo Industrial Investment Fund will establish a technology incubation center in Bulita to provide financial and facility support for startups in the internet and high-tech fields.

In addition, Kolo will optimize its tax policies to attract businesses and talent. Starting from January 1, 2015, Kolo will no longer levy personal income tax, and will levy low tax rates on company operations. Its comprehensive corporate tax rate will be only 12.5%, and there will be corresponding tax reductions for supported industries, including the internet and blockchain. According to estimates, the actual tax rate collected can often be as low as 5-7.5%.

In terms of education, Kolo will build three new universities in the three cities of Bulita, Lottie, and Dasso, respectively, and establish no fewer than ten technical colleges within five years. These schools will recruit students from home and abroad and provide full scholarships for students with excellent grades.

In addition, the “White Paper” also formulated Kolo’s domestic infrastructure plan, which includes the high-speed railway with a length of about 280 kilometers, which is currently under negotiation with China, and will be built between the capital Bulita and Lottie Port. Once the Bulita-Lottie high-speed railway is completed, the time from Lottie, the largest port in West Africa, to the capital Bulita will be shortened to within 50 minutes, making the circulation between Kolo’s two largest cities smoother.

After all, the economic development of Africa as a whole is relatively backward, especially compared with Europe, the United States, and East Asia, the gap is even greater.

The only country that can be considered economically good is South Africa, one of the “BRIC” countries, but South Africa’s economy now…

Therefore, on this continent, if there can be a relatively stable political situation, as well as complete infrastructure and convenient transportation, then Kolo has the hope of becoming a “safe haven” for wealthy people and entrepreneurs in Africa.

After all, even in the poorest countries, there are still wealthy classes.

So Kolo first lowered its domestic tax rate to increase its attractiveness to capital—although the exemption of personal income tax and the reduction of corporate tax will reduce the Kolo government’s revenue in the short term, Kolo itself has rich oil and gas resources. The government relies on the share dividends in the Kolo oil fields and related special taxes, and still has sufficient sources of funds.

And in the long run, if more funds can be attracted to Kolo, it is equivalent to making the pie bigger. Even if the tax rate is extremely low, I am afraid that the final income will not be lower than before.

In addition, Kolo is also targeting the blockchain and internet high-tech industries. To develop these industries, the basic condition is to have good network facilities, so investment in fiber optic and mobile networks is imperative.

Many African countries are very rich in resources. If they can have a stable political situation and then invest in education, transportation, and other fields, it is not difficult to develop.

But the problem is that just the stability of the political situation is an extremely rare thing for African countries.

In fact, in Lottie Port, Kolo, in addition to entrepot trade and the oil and gas petrochemical industry, there is another industry that is also developing rapidly, namely gold trading.

The gold trading here initially started when the BFT fund massively bought gold bullion before the 2008 subprime mortgage crisis and deposited it in the underground vault of the African Union Bank (formerly the West African Union Bank) in Bulita.

After that gold acquisition, Kolo immediately became famous in various African countries because of the large amount of acquisition and the quick payment.

After that, although the BFT fund later sold those gold bullions to the Kolo government as their gold reserves, Barron knew that even if the gold price was already at a relatively high level at that time, the gold price would still have considerable room for appreciation in the future. Therefore, the Kolo government did not rush to repay various loans with the many foreign exchange revenues it obtained, but continued to set up a long-term gold acquisition center in Lottie Port to acquire gold bullion for a long time.

After all, their loans from the World Bank, the European Union, China, and other countries are all low-interest or even interest-free loans based on corresponding assistance or infrastructure projects.

In that case, it is better to use their foreign exchange to acquire gold bullion. Anyway, they are happy to use Kolo’s oil and gas resources to repay China’s loans. As for other loans, when the gold price rises, selling a part or directly using gold to repay them, I believe the other party will be happy to accept it.

So over the years, the gold acquisition center originally established by the Kolo government in Lottie has gradually developed into a gold market.

You should know that gold is not too scarce in many African countries. At the same time, the political situation in many countries is not stable. Those warlords who came to power through coups do not even know how long they can maintain their rule over the country. Of course, they are seizing the time to use the country’s resources to fill their own pockets. Therefore, these people are also eager to exchange the gold they obtained from the gold mines for assets that are easier to transfer overseas—such as US dollars and pounds sterling in Swiss bank accounts.

Moreover, the gold sold by these people can even be discounted. After all, in many cases, they are more or less subject to sanctions, and it is difficult to sell such a large amount of gold bullion through formal channels at one time, and because of some gold purity issues, the price itself will be lower.

So the gold market here even has supporting industries for smelting, refining, and processing. As the scale of transactions here expands, it has also increased many industries for jewelry making and sales.

Because the cost is relatively low, the selling price of some gold jewelry is also relatively low. Many people who come to Kolo for tourism will come here to buy some gold jewelry…

The gold industry has gradually become a relatively fast-growing industry in Lottie.

Chapter 1001: Privatization

Besides these, Kolo’s arms export scale is also constantly expanding.

Currently, Kolo already possesses a complete light weapons manufacturing industry. Even some of the British military’s light weapons orders are manufactured by Kolo.

As for the African market, including Ghana, Nigeria, Burkina Faso, Niger, and Mali, among others, they are already “old customers” for Kolo’s light weapons sales. Although they mainly use loans provided by Kolo to purchase weapons, these loans are repaid with their produced minerals and oil.

Moreover, as time goes on, more African countries have begun to turn their attention to Kolo for purchasing light weapons. After all, the products here have a very high cost-performance ratio, and the payment methods are also very diverse. Minerals, gold, diamonds, even coffee beans, cocoa, and cotton are all accepted.

For those warlords, it completely achieves the effect of feeling right at home. There is bound to be a method that suits them.

These items used for payment, after entering Kolo’s processing factories, will also be converted into products and sold overseas, thereby earning foreign exchange.

It can be said that this time, Kolo’s President Thomas Kabore launched the “Vision 2020 White Paper.” Although it originated from the Kolo Development and Reform Research Center, the timing of the “White Paper’s” launch also has some profound meaning.

After all, next year, which is 2015, will be Kolo’s general election. Thomas Kabore still hopes to win re-election in this election—he certainly knows that a single term and serving two full terms result in completely different “equity incentives,” and he also hopes to embody his value in serving the people.

Now that the “Vision 2020 White Paper” has been issued, not only has it eliminated personal income tax for citizens, but it has also greatly reduced corporate taxes, naturally gaining great favor from the public.

In addition, the construction of infrastructure, including transportation, communication networks, and water conservancy, not only continues to provide more jobs within Kolo, but also has a very obvious impact on improving people’s livelihoods. This will also be one of his important political achievements in securing re-election.

…

“I’ve noticed that the attitude towards the European Union within Britain is somewhat worrying, Your Grace.”

“Yes, it is indeed perceptible. Especially in the last two years, the Euroskeptic tendencies of the British public are intensifying. This is caused by many factors, sir.”

Baron arrived in Paris very discreetly. Here, he will accompany Ashley and her son for a period of time.

At Ashley Webber’s home, he held a private meeting with French President Hollande.

During their conversation, Hollande expressed some concern about the Euroskeptic tendencies within Britain. To this, Baron said:

“This is influenced by the large influx of refugees, and also by the high fees that Britain has been paying to the European Union… Of course, I know that the refugee problem is something that all European countries need to face, and the obligations to the European Union correspond to the rights…”

He shrugged, saying helplessly to Hollande:

“But it needs to be noted that the thinking of young people today is different from ours. The technological and social environment that already existed when you were born will be regarded as a matter of course. It’s like we experienced the huge impact on life from the emergence and development of the internet and mobile networks, but for them, it seems that the world should have had the internet and mobile phones from the beginning… Regarding the European Union, the British always believe that the benefits obtained from it are a matter of course. On the contrary, things that seem to harm British interests will make them resistant to the European Union.”

“As a major country, it is necessary to bear the responsibilities that come with it. Within the European Union system, we need Britain to cooperate more.”

So far, Hollande has entered his third year in office. During his term, France has been relatively concerned about its role in the international community, which is reflected in their military intervention in Africa.

Economically, although in the beginning, facing the economic difficulties in Europe and France, Hollande introduced a relatively radical tax increase policy, he also turned to a free market stance under strong opposition pressure. At this time, his policies were considered relatively friendly to domestic capital in France.

“I also believe that Britain and continental European countries, especially France and Germany, should cooperate closely. For example, our economic ties are becoming increasingly close, and many problems need to be faced together…”

Just like in the construction of Britain’s High Speed 2 railway line, Alstom is providing the trains and the entire signaling system; and in the construction of the Hinkley Point C nuclear power station, Électricité de France and Alstom are deeply involved.

However, in this private meeting, Hollande was more interested in the European Wealth Fund that Baron had recently established. This super fund, with an initial capital of 50 billion euros, has not only participated in the acquisition of two Italian banks by the Continental European United Bank, but has also been making frequent moves recently. Hollande also hopes that Baron can increase investment in France, thereby promoting France’s economic recovery.

After all, Hollande’s attitude has shifted towards a free market stance. One of the measures is that they intend to sell part of the shares of Électricité de France.

Électricité de France is one of the world’s leading electricity producers. This company has long been wholly owned by the government.

However, with the liberalization of the energy market and the increase in the company’s financial pressure, the Hollande government decided to raise funds and introduce strategic investors by selling some of its shares.

This time, they plan to put 20% of the shares up for sale.

“We have always had good cooperation with Électricité de France. I also believe that selling part of its shares can not only alleviate the French government’s financial burden, but also promote the optimization of Électricité de France’s governance structure and the improvement of its market competitiveness. The European Wealth Fund will also participate in this share auction. Of course, we still need to further study the specific plan.”

This is also one of the main purposes of Baron’s visit to Paris to meet with Hollande this time. Not only the shares of Électricité de France, but also the Paris Airport Group (ADP) and the French water company Suez are on his investment list.

These two companies are also currently held by the French government. Among them, the Paris Airport Group is wholly owned by the French government, while the Suez Group is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Suez Environnement Group (GDF Suez), which was formed by the merger of the French Gas Group and the Suez Group in 2008. The French government holds more than one-third of the shares in the Suez Environnement Group.

Chapter 1002: Target: Tiffany

In the original timeline, the Paris Airport Group and Suez Group’s government-held shares were not sold during Hollande’s term.

But now that they are willing to sell 20% of Électricité de France to alleviate the government’s financial pressure, it is not impossible to sell shares of these two companies ahead of schedule.

Sure enough, when Barron expressed his intention to invest in these two companies, Hollande was slightly surprised, with a thoughtful look on his face, but he did not directly refuse. He only said that he needed to give Barron a reply after the relevant government agencies had assessed the situation.

“Are you really preparing to invest heavily in these companies? They are all basic industries related to people’s livelihoods, and if managed properly, they can provide stable profits.”

After Hollande left, Ashley Weber sat next to Barron and said to him:

“But one thing is, even if the shares of these companies are finally approved for sale, it is basically impossible to allow them to be bought outright. They can only be regarded as financial investments…”

“These are inherently companies that can generate stable profits. Investing in them, even as a financial investment, is worthwhile…”

Barron specifically explained to Ashley, perhaps because most of the companies Barron had acquired before were wholly owned, and some were even split and reorganized. It was rare for him to simply acquire shares, which gave Ashley the illusion that the companies he was interested in needed to be wholly owned, or at least controlled…

“By the way, how is the Italian bank acquired by Continental United Bank doing?”

“Not bad, it’s proceeding according to plan. We first stripped and sold the non-performing assets held by these banks related to mortgage loans, and then injected funds into them to provide liquidity. Now these measures have taken effect…”

Through the acquisition of the two Italian banks, Cavendish Asset Management’s housing rental company, Granger, also entered the Italian market—the non-performing assets of those banks related to mortgage loans were sold to Cavendish Asset Management.

They were already familiar with this kind of operation, from British to French and German banks’ non-performing assets.

Up to now, through Standard Chartered Bank and Continental United Bank, Barron has penetrated his financial business into the four most core countries of the European Union—Great Britain, France, Germany, and Italy.

Of course, although Standard Chartered Bank’s business in Great Britain and America is growing, its main source of profits is still emerging markets in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. By participating in China’s “Belt and Road” initiative, it will also perform well in these emerging markets.

As for Continental United Bank, it will naturally be based in the European market. After its business in Italy stabilizes, it will begin to expand its market to surrounding countries.

In this process, acquisition is a way to achieve immediate results, but it is important to be wary that the banks that can be acquired often have considerable non-performing assets—otherwise, the difficulty of acquisition will greatly increase, and a considerable premium will be required.

Therefore, the accumulation of these non-performing assets can easily leave hidden dangers for Continental United Bank. Acquisition-absorption-re-acquisition, adhering to such a process, rather than blindly expanding rapidly, is the rhythm that should be followed.

…

“Tiffany’s board of directors has not rejected our offer, but said they need to discuss it…”

Domenico De Sole shrugged and said to Barron:

“I think they are probably waiting to see if other companies will bid for them. This explains why they would actively spread the news. I think Bernard Arnault has probably sent someone to America…”

During this period, GHL Group (Gucci-Hermès-L’Oréal Group) has not stopped its expansion. The largest acquisition was last year when they acquired the French high-end jewelry brand Boucheron.

Boucheron was founded in 1858 and is known for its high-end jewelry, watches, and perfumes.

Through this acquisition, GHL Group further consolidated its position in the high-end jewelry market, forming a counterweight to its competitor, LVMH Group.

In the original timeline, Boucheron was acquired by Kering Group in 2018. However, because Barron entered the luxury goods industry relatively late, many high-end luxury brands have been acquired one after another. He naturally cannot miss the opportunity to acquire the remaining high-end luxury brands, and he will inevitably snatch them from the hands of those luxury goods groups from the original timeline.

Now, GHL Group is once again targeting the well-known American jeweler Tiffany & Co.

Tiffany, founded in 1837 on Broadway in New York, is known for its high-end jewelry, diamonds, and perfumes.

Speaking of this brand, the first thing that comes to mind may be “Tiffany Blue”—a color derived from robin’s egg blue…

And the movie “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” starring the legendary Hollywood actress Audrey Hepburn. In the movie, Audrey Hepburn’s image is closely linked to Tiffany’s jewelry, especially the scene where she wears a little black dress and Tiffany jewelry, which has become a classic scene in film history.

The Tiffany jewelry she wore included a famous yellow diamond necklace. The yellow diamond on this necklace weighs 128.54 carats and is one of Tiffany’s treasures.

Currently, Tiffany’s stock price is nearly 65 dollars, and its market value is around 7.8 billion dollars. In order to acquire this well-known American jeweler, thereby strengthening GHL Group’s position in the jewelry field and further expanding its business in America, they offered Tiffany & Co. 9.35 billion dollars, a premium of nearly 20%, to acquire the company.

However, as Domenico De Sole said, after they made an offer to Tiffany, the news that the well-known luxury goods group GHL Group intended to acquire Tiffany quickly appeared in the newspapers…

And Tiffany’s board of directors did not reject it, but did not respond too actively. They just said they needed to discuss it, using this excuse to delay for the time being.

This tactic is obvious. GHL Group’s offer made them a little tempted, but they couldn’t help but secretly announce—they are going to acquire me! Other luxury goods groups, look over here, is there anyone who wants to compete?

Of course, before acquiring Tiffany, GHL Group had already considered the possibility of such a situation occurring, and their biggest competitor would inevitably be LVMH Group.

This is why De Sole joked that LVMH’s boss, Bernard Arnault, may have already sent someone to America to contact Tiffany’s board of directors…

However, they are not unprepared for this.

If LVMH Group wants to join the acquisition of Tiffany…

Then GHL Group will respond by acquiring shares of Christian Dior!

Chapter 1003: Bombing Attack

It can be said that Louis Vuitton (LV) and Dior are the two most core brands under the LVMH Group, and these two brands support half of the LVMH Group’s business.

Currently, LVMH Group holds 74% of Dior’s shares. This acquisition began in the 1960s, when Dior, facing a crisis, was eager to raise funds, and the transaction was completed.

However, Christian Dior still has 26% of its shares held by some institutions. In the original timeline, after LVMH Group’s acquisition of Hermes was frustrated in 2017, they offered a 15% premium and used their then-held Hermes shares to exchange shares with those institutions holding Christian Dior, thereby completing the full ownership of Dior.

And at that time, LVMH Group’s acquisition of Hermes was also supported by several banks, including NM Rothschild Bank.

From these facts, it can be seen that LVMH Group’s cash flow is not very abundant. So, if they want to participate in the acquisition of Tiffany & Co. and bid against GHL Group, Barron will use the strategy of “relieving the state of Zhao by besieging Wei,” offering to acquire the shares of Christian Dior held by those institutions.

Although even if all the remaining 26% of Christian Dior shares are bought, it is impossible to snatch the brand from LVMH Group’s hands, holding this proportion of shares and entering Dior’s board of directors is a very reasonable thing, and LVMH Group absolutely does not want this to happen.

When faced with the choice between Dior and Tiffany, LVMH’s choice will naturally be Dior, the core brand of the group, without a doubt.

In addition to the acquisition of Tiffany, Domenico De Sole also talked about the current development of GHL Group.

Since Barron successively acquired these companies to form GHL Group, he has attached great importance to the Asian market, especially the Chinese market.

In recent years, GHL Group has opened more than 10 new GHL flagship stores in Chinese cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Hangzhou, and Chongqing. These stores include all brand products of GHL Group, including Gucci, Hermes, L’Oreal, and Valentino, and are all located in the center of the most prosperous commercial districts. In fact, these high-end luxury brands under GHL Group are very popular with all commercial complexes, as they can improve the style of these places. Therefore, settling in these places often results in very low rents or even rent-free treatment.

In addition to the layout of new stores, GHL Group has also carried out a series of promotional activities in China, and even chose China to release some of their new products. This has led to a considerable increase in GHL Group’s market share in the high-end luxury field in China.

Reflecting on operating income, their revenue in China has increased for ten consecutive years, and the Chinese market has become the most important market for GHL Group globally.

…

June 12th was the day of Shavuot in Israel.

Shavuot commemorates the day Moses received the Ten Commandments and is also known as the Festival of the Harvest because this time of year coincides with the wheat and fruit harvest.

On this day, people decorate their homes with fresh flowers, eat a rich festive meal the night before the holiday, and recite the Ten Commandments on the day of the holiday.

At 10:00 a.m. that day, the Mossad headquarters, located in the Galiot area at the southern end of Tel Aviv, the capital of Israel, was subjected to a suicide bombing attack carried out by two cars loaded with bombs.

The bombing resulted in 36 deaths and more than 100 injuries.

At the time of the explosion, Talmir Pardo, the then-director of the Mossad, and another deputy director were killed on the spot because they had just entered the headquarters building.

It can be said that this attack was the most significant loss suffered since the establishment of the Mossad in 1951. This attack also shocked the entire nation of Israel.

After the incident, Israel immediately mobilized all its forces to investigate the bombing attack.

Especially since the timing of the attack was too coincidental—the director of the Mossad, Talmir Pardo, had just entered the headquarters building not long before, so he was unable to escape the disaster. Therefore, Israel needs to quickly find out whether this bombing attack was a premeditated attack that obtained accurate intelligence. If so, it means that there is a big problem within the Mossad.

Although the “terrorists” who carried out the bombing attack were instantly reduced to dust due to the high-intensity explosion, through the detection of residual human tissue and the investigation of relevant intelligence, Israel still determined that the other party came from the Palestinian resistance organization Hamas.

But the problem is that the Galiot area, where the Mossad headquarters is located, is also the location of multiple intelligence departments of the Israel Defense Forces. It can be said that the defense is very strict. The other party was able to carry out such a precise bombing attack, which must have obtained fairly accurate intelligence and other assistance. What if this attack did not happen at the Mossad headquarters, but at the Prime Minister’s Office at 3 Balfour Street in Jerusalem?

This made Israel very nervous and needed to investigate all the intelligence related to this attack in the fastest possible time.

But no matter what, since it has been “determined” that the Palestinians carried out this bombing attack, the Israelis immediately launched a new round of bombing and shelling of the Palestinian-controlled areas as retaliation.

And arrested many suspicious people for “efficient” interrogation.

…

“What I want to know is, judging from the intensity of the explosion, the other party used explosives with super-strong power. How did Hamas get them? Is there anyone else supporting them behind the scenes?”

Faced with the questioning of Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, the new acting director of the Mossad, Yossi Cohen, replied:

“According to our detection, the other party used C4 explosives, which is a highly efficient explosive that can easily evade X-ray security checks, and police dogs without specific olfactory training can hardly identify it. I think this is also the reason why the other party was able to bring it into Israel…”

Yossi Cohen was born in 1961 and grew up in a Jewish family in Jerusalem.

His father, Leo, was the leader of the Irgun militia organization before the establishment of Israel in 1948—the Irgun militia organization (Irgun Zvei Leumi), meaning “National Military Organization,” was a Zionist military organization. This organization not only mainly engaged in spying on the British garrison intelligence in Palestine and smuggling arms from abroad, but also carried out a number of extreme terrorist actions against Arabs and British people.

Among them, the most shocking action was undoubtedly the bombing of the King David Hotel on July 22, 1946. This terrorist attack caused 91 deaths and 46 injuries. Among the dead and injured were British, Arabs, Swedes, and other Europeans, and even Jews…

The Irgun organization was dissolved after the establishment of Israel in 1948, and its members later participated in the establishment of the Israel Defense Forces.

The Irgun’s organizational philosophy and methods of action had a profound impact on later Israeli political and military strategies.

Yossi Cohen is proficient in multiple languages, including Hebrew, English, French, and Arabic.

In 1983, Cohen was specially recruited into the Mossad. At first, he received training as a case-handling officer and became an Israeli border police officer, but in fact, he was an agent of the Mossad’s Training and Organization Affairs Department, responsible for recruiting and training spies, and training agents for the Israeli Military Intelligence Directorate (Aman) and the Israeli National Security Agency (Shin Bet).

In the 1990s, Cohen served as the director of the Mossad’s Intelligence Collection Department, serving the Israeli military’s combat operations and overseas secret operations.

In 2011, Cohen was appointed as the Deputy Director of the Mossad, actively supporting the work of Director Talmir Pardo—they focused their work on Iran’s nuclear development program and organized the assassination of Iranian nuclear scientists.

In August last year, he was appointed as the Israeli National Security Advisor, providing Prime Minister Netanyahu’s cabinet with important intelligence and policy advice in the fields of national security and diplomacy.

In early 2016 in the original timeline, Cohen was officially appointed as the Director of the Mossad. During his tenure, he organized Mossad agents to steal half a ton of nuclear weapons development documents, 50,000 pages of documents, and 163 computer hard drives from Iran.

Now that Mossad Director Talmir Pardo has died in this bombing attack, Yossi Cohen has been appointed as the acting director of the Mossad ahead of schedule.

Chapter 1004: Taking a Stand

“As for the source of these C4 explosives…”

Yossi Cohen paused for a moment and said, “According to our intelligence, they should be from Colo…”

“Colo?”

“Ahem… Mossad was also involved in the assassination attempt against the British Duke in Colo last year. After that, Hamas launched another rocket attack against us. We discovered that the materials used in their rockets were different from their previous homemade rockets. After an investigation by the intelligence department, it wasn’t until the beginning of this year that we received information from our informant within Hamas that Hamas had obtained a batch of weapons and explosives through secret channels. All the information pointed to these weapons and explosives being transported from Colo in West Africa to Hamas. It is believed that this was the Duke’s revenge for our previous involvement in the assassination attempt…”

Hearing Yossi Cohen’s words, Netanyahu frowned involuntarily.

Netanyahu was very clear about the assassination attempt against the Duke last year. After all, the British government even expelled their diplomats because of it. Although Israel communicated with the British side later, the relationship between the two sides is still at a low ebb…

Moreover, the Duke’s anger also led to the unnatural deaths of many related personnel. Although these news were concealed from the public, Netanyahu, being in such a position, and with Mossad’s close cooperation with the American intelligence agencies, was able to obtain relevant information.

He didn’t expect that this bomb attack on Mossad headquarters would also involve this matter…

“Could the Duke possibly be involved in this attack?”

Hearing Netanyahu’s question, Yossi Cohen hesitated for a moment and said, “Currently, in our investigation, we have not found any concrete evidence to show that the Duke of Devonshire is involved in this matter, but further investigation is needed to determine the truth…”

“Investigate it as soon as possible…”

Netanyahu looked at Cohen and said, “Moreover, the investigation into the Duke needs to be strictly confidential. Regardless of whether he is involved, do not leak it. You will report to me separately at that time.”

Although this time, Israel’s proud Mossad had its headquarters attacked, which was a very embarrassing thing for them.

But Netanyahu also knew that they could engage in some small actions against those Arab countries, but when it came to that British Duke…

The last time Mossad acted, it was not authorized by the Israeli government, but only at the request of their “patron.” If it had succeeded, everyone would have been happy, but the result was that the action failed, and all parties paid a certain price for it.

For Netanyahu, he didn’t want this investigation to point to the Duke, otherwise things would become tricky, because unless there was considerable hard evidence, the other party could completely deny it outright. And if they pursued it like this…

The other party’s influence was not limited to within Britain. Even in America, he had considerable power. He also needed to consider Israel’s international environment in the future, and many things required the support of the West.

Therefore, even if there were signs that the other party was involved in this matter, the publicly stated “fact” would inevitably be that Hamas orchestrated the attack, and they would retaliate against the Palestinian side again to appease all parties.

…

“Yes, I am with Rosie, and I am very grateful for her support. I can devote myself wholeheartedly to serving the people and the country…”

In an interview on a British television program, Secretary of State for Business, Skills and Innovation, Jo Harriman, publicly revealed the fact that she was “coming out of the closet.”

When the host asked if the two were considering getting married, Jo Harriman said, “I am very happy that our same-sex marriage law officially came into effect on March 29th this year. This reflects our protection of the equal rights of different orientations and the society’s tolerance of diversity. As for whether we will get married, I can only say that I hope so, but marriage is a responsibility, and we need to ensure that both parties have clearly understood that they can bear this responsibility before considering this matter…”

In fact, choosing to come out at this time was a decision Jo Harriman made after careful consideration.

First of all, considering her relationship with Barron and her future prospects, she would basically not marry other men—but if that were the case, given her increasingly prominent position, if she had children, it would easily cause gossip and even be dug up by reporters for possible scandals, which would inevitably involve Barron.

Moreover, reporters had indeed photographed the famous supermodel Rosie Huntington entering and leaving Jo Harriman’s residence before. Although these photos were “handled” by Barron, they couldn’t keep guarding against it like this forever.

Therefore, she simply decided to publicly acknowledge that she was with Rosie Huntington, so that she could not only gain the support of “minority groups,” but also, if she became pregnant with Barron’s child in the future, she could use the excuse that she chose to use a “sperm bank” to give birth to cover it up.

More importantly, there had already been many examples of European politicians coming out of the closet before, and the public had already been able to accept it. Moreover, these politicians were not only able to gain the support of “minority groups,” but also the support of “social justice warriors” who touted diversity.

For example, Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir, who was elected Prime Minister of Iceland in 2009, was the first Icelandic Prime Minister to publicly come out of the closet.

Xavier Bettel, who took over as Prime Minister of Luxembourg in 2013, also came out of the closet in 2008…

The same was true for Elio Di Rupo, who took office as Prime Minister of Belgium in 2010…

Given this, Jo Harriman’s “coming out” statement could be said to be a win-win situation.

And in itself, between her and Rosie Huntington…

Well, for some time, she had been engaging in in-depth study with Barron together with Rosie. In addition, when Barron was unable to accompany the two of them in their studies, the studious pair would also study some new knowledge on their own…

Therefore, her so-called “coming out” was not exactly a lie, just not precise enough.

After Jo Harriman made such a statement, Cameron naturally would not miss this opportunity to tout the Conservative Party’s “diversity” when interviewed.

He said, “In fact, I just learned about this matter. I admire Ms. Harriman’s frankness. In addition, her personal abilities are also very admirable. It can be seen that no matter what position she is in, she can show excellent work ability. I think this is what we need to pay more attention to.”

Chapter 1005: Cabinet Reshuffle

On July 15, 2014, Prime Minister Cameron announced a major reshuffle of the coalition government’s cabinet, including changes to positions such as the Foreign Secretary.

This was considered a crucial step for Cameron in preparing for the general election next year.

The current government was formed in 2010. Last year, Cameron had made minor adjustments to some cabinet members, but these did not involve important positions such as Chancellor of the Exchequer, Home Secretary, and Foreign Secretary.

In this reshuffle, Foreign Secretary William Hague will be reassigned as Leader of the House of Commons. Jo Harriman, the former Secretary of State for Business, Skills and Innovation who recently came out, will take over foreign affairs and become the new Foreign Secretary.

Education Secretary Gove will be reassigned as the Conservative Party’s Chief Whip, responsible for the Conservative Party’s discipline, and will also be in charge of election publicity and public relations. His work will be taken over by Ms. Morgan, the former Financial Secretary to the Treasury…

In addition to Morgan, 38-year-old Ms. Toulouse became Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs; White became Attorney General; and Crabb became Secretary of State for Wales.

In this cabinet reshuffle, the positions of Chancellor of the Exchequer, Home Secretary, and Secretary of State for Health remained unchanged.

After this adjustment, the number of cabinet members increased from 22 to 23, and the number of female cabinet members doubled from 3 to 6.

Cameron’s major adjustments to the cabinet were mainly due to the following two reasons:

First, the United Kingdom will hold a general election next year, and the Conservative Party is determined to win the election and gain the opportunity to form a government independently.

However, the Conservative Party is currently lagging behind the Labour Party by 3 to 7 percentage points in the polls. The cabinet adjustments mainly involved middle-aged male cabinet members, which is considered to be paving the way for a younger, more female cabinet in the next term.

Second, to prepare for adjusting the United Kingdom’s relationship with Europe.

Previously, Cameron had publicly stated that if he wins the general election next year, he may hold a referendum on leaving the European Union in 2017.

Although Barron had warned Cameron that if the United Kingdom leaves the European Union, he would be cautious about investing in real industries in the United Kingdom and may even transfer some manufacturing to more competitive regions, the reality is that he is under increasing domestic pressure from the growing Euroskepticism. In order to win next year’s election, Cameron had no choice but to make such a statement.

However, Cameron also privately assured Barron that even so, there are still variables regarding whether to hold a referendum on leaving the European Union, and even if a referendum is held, he will ensure that the United Kingdom remains within the European Union.

Of course, Barron would not have any trust in Cameron’s guarantee, after all, what happened in his previous life had already explained everything.

But he also understood that in the current situation of such surging public opinion, simply trying to stop it may not be the wisest choice, just like everyone has received various advice and admonitions from their parents and elders when they were young, but not many people can really avoid those pitfalls in their growth—understanding many principles, but still not being able to live this life well.

Because only when you really suffer a loss can you be deeply impressed. What others say is just a breeze passing by your ears.

Just like Jo Harriman, under the current circumstances, she needs to occasionally make some remarks leaning towards “Euroskepticism” to maintain her approval rating.

In Cameron’s reshuffled cabinet, there are people like Defense Secretary Hammond and Energy Minister Fallon, who have always been staunch Euroskeptics and believe that if the European Union cannot change and adjust its relationship with the United Kingdom, the United Kingdom must withdraw from the European Union.

Putting them in important positions can both appease the hardliners within the Conservative Party and win the support of right-wing voters in next year’s general election, bringing back the voters who were lost in this year’s European Parliament elections.

Yes, in this year’s European Parliament elections, the Conservative Party’s performance was very disappointing to Cameron. The number of seats they won in the European Parliament was even less than that of the opposition Labour Party… It can be said that it was a complete defeat.

This is why Cameron has made so many moves for next year’s general election.

Regarding this cabinet change, relevant people, parties, and organizations have responded.

William Hague will not participate in the parliamentary election next year, and his resignation at this time is to make room for others.

In an interview later, he said that this adjustment found a balance between experience and personnel renewal, and that the Conservative Party and the government needed to be renewed to give opportunities to those who are extremely talented.

He also denied that the Conservative Party’s European policy would change, saying that he, Cameron, Hammond, and others have the same position on European issues, and are committed to improving relations with the European Union, and then holding a referendum on whether to leave the European Union.

Jo Harriman, who has just taken over as Foreign Secretary, said that Hague has made outstanding achievements in returning the United Kingdom to the center of the world political stage during his four years as Foreign Secretary, and that he will do his best to live up to expectations.

Through this cabinet adjustment, Jo Harriman has become one of the most core members of the cabinet. Among the six women in this cabinet, it can be said that Home Secretary Theresa May and Jo Harriman are the two most important, occupying two of the positions of Prime Minister, Chancellor of the Exchequer, Foreign Secretary, and Home Secretary.

Yes, according to importance, the ranking of the British cabinet is Prime Minister, Chancellor of the Exchequer, Foreign Secretary, and Home Secretary.

That is to say, Jo Harriman’s position in the cabinet has now surpassed Theresa May, becoming the third most important person in the cabinet—which is why Theresa May looked like she didn’t like to smile when the cabinet members were announced after this adjustment…

After all, the Foreign Secretary is responsible for the country’s foreign relations and international affairs, which is a very important position in the government itself.

Just like the United States Secretary of State, who is mainly responsible for foreign affairs and also manages some domestic affairs, nominally second only to the President and Vice President, and is the third in line; but in terms of actual power, he is second only to the President.

In addition, the Secretary of State is fourth in the presidential line of succession, above whom are the Vice President, the Speaker of the House, and the President Pro Tempore of the Senate.

That is to say, if the President, Vice President, Speaker of the House, and President Pro Tempore of the Senate of the United States all kick the bucket, the Secretary of State will become President…

But for many people, if you ask them who the Vice President of the United States is, they will probably be dumbfounded.

But if you talk about the Secretary of State, then many names are very familiar.

Just like the current President of the United States, he was only known to everyone after he became the President. If you don’t specifically mention it, would you know that he was previously the Vice President of Obama? And he served as Vice President with him for two terms.

Chapter 1006: Alibaba Goes Public

Shortly after Cameron’s cabinet reshuffle, on July 18th, Alibaba officially listed on the New York Stock Exchange in the United States, with the stock ticker symbol “BABA.”

The bell-ringing ceremony for Alibaba’s IPO was quite special. Instead of Mr. Ma and his executives, eight ordinary customer representatives rang the bell, embodying Alibaba’s “customer first” philosophy.

It can be said that Alibaba’s IPO was highly anticipated. Its underwriters included Standard Chartered-Merrill Lynch, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, Morgan Stanley, and Citigroup, a massive lineup.

Alibaba’s IPO price was set at $70 per share, slightly higher than the $68 in the original timeline. Including the over-allotment option, their maximum fundraising would exceed $25 billion, setting a new record for the largest IPO in U.S. stock market history!

After the bell-ringing ceremony and before the first trade, Alibaba’s stock underwent ten rounds of pre-market price discovery, with the price range gradually increasing from $80-83 to $92-93.

Finally, nearly two and a half hours after the U.S. stock market opened, Alibaba’s stock officially began trading, opening at $92.77, a 32.5% increase over the IPO price.

At this point, smiles appeared on the faces of Mr. Ma and the company’s underwriters. Although investors had shown great enthusiasm for Alibaba during the roadshow, recognizing it as a company poised to make U.S. stock market history, it was only at this moment that they could be sure the IPO was a resounding success. In the current market environment, it also strengthened the confidence of other tech companies considering going public.

After the opening, Alibaba’s stock price quickly climbed, approaching $100 in just a few minutes, reaching $99.95, which was also the highest price on Alibaba’s first day of trading.

Soon, the stock price experienced a “nosedive,” stabilizing before continuing to fall, even dropping below $90 to $88.95, but it quickly recovered.

Thereafter, Alibaba’s stock price fluctuated between $91 and $93.

It rose near the close, eventually closing at $93.92, a 34.17% increase over the IPO price.

At this price, Alibaba’s market capitalization was close to $241.5 billion, just surpassing Google’s $240 billion market capitalization, making it the second-largest internet company in the world, second only to Woaw Technology ($320 billion).

Its market capitalization also exceeded the combined market capitalization of the other two of China’s internet giants, Tencent and Baidu.

It can be said that Alibaba’s IPO created an astonishing “wealth effect.”

Jack Ma, the founder of Alibaba, who gained approximately $900 million in cash from this IPO, still held nearly 9% of the company’s shares. This stake alone, calculated at the closing price on the day of the IPO, was worth over $21.7 billion, making Mr. Ma the new richest man in mainland China.

At the same time, it is conservatively estimated that nearly 30 billionaires and thousands of millionaires and multi-millionaires would be created among Alibaba’s employees through cashing out on the IPO day.

Thanks to his investment in Alibaba, Masayoshi Son, the founder and CEO of Japanese technology and telecommunications giant SoftBank Group, saw his net worth approach $20 billion, becoming the richest man in Japan.

Of course, the biggest winner of all was Barron, who, through DS Holdings and Rich23 Capital, held approximately 912.95 million shares of Alibaba, accounting for approximately 35.5% of the company’s total share capital after the IPO!

These holdings are currently worth over $85.7 billion, making him the richest person in the world based on this asset alone!

On the Forbes Global Rich List released on March 4th of this year, Bill Gates topped the list with a personal wealth of $76 billion.

However, thanks to his previous optimization of his industrial holdings, concealing the majority of his shareholdings, Barron was ranked fifth on the Forbes Global Rich List with a “mere” $57.5 billion in personal assets, behind Warren Buffett.

Alibaba’s IPO in the United States not only brought huge financial support to the company but also enhanced its global visibility and influence. At the same time, Jack Ma also became the richest man in mainland China as a result.

“Starting tomorrow, it will be even more difficult for us. The whole world will be watching whether we keep our promises. What we raised in this IPO is not money, but trust. I hope everyone lives up to this trust and lives up to this dream!”

When Mr. Ma, Alibaba’s Vice Chairman Joseph Tsai, and CEO Jonathan Lu held a video call with Alibaba employees on the day of the company’s IPO, Mr. Ma said this.

Afterward, in an interview with CNBC, he said that the internet would change China…

“Fifteen years ago, everyone questioned whether I and my team could survive. I told everyone that we have always had confidence. I admire many American companies, and I want to be like them, changing the business ecosystem and benefiting society…”

Unsurprisingly, given Alibaba’s strong stock performance on its first day, its underwriters chose to exercise their over-allotment option, allowing them to sell more shares.

As for Barron’s promise to Mr. Ma to reduce the vast majority of Alibaba’s shares held by DS Holdings, because their shares were not part of this IPO and have a 90-day lock-up period, they will only be able to start selling them on the secondary market after the lock-up period expires.

Starting from the end of the 90-day lock-up period, DS Holdings will reduce its holdings of a total of approximately 292.98 million Alibaba shares by no less than 231.42 million shares (accounting for 10% of Alibaba’s total share capital before the IPO) within one year.

If calculated at Alibaba’s closing price on the first day of trading, these shares to be reduced are worth as much as $21.735 billion!

Of course, it is still unknown where Alibaba’s stock price will be at that time, and their reduction will not be concentrated in the short term but will be carried out slowly over a considerable period. While this will have an impact on Alibaba’s stock price, it will also be kept within a certain range.

It is worth mentioning that, at the time of Alibaba’s IPO in the United States, Amazon, which had always been regarded as a benchmark for Alibaba’s valuation, had a market capitalization of around $150 billion, far behind Alibaba. In fact, at this time, Alibaba’s market capitalization was higher than the sum of Amazon and eBay’s…

The main reason for this is that Alibaba did not have strong competitors in the Chinese market at this time, and its position was more dominant. Alibaba’s rapid growth and innovative business model in 2014 attracted investors’ attention, while Amazon, although also growing, did not perform as well in the market and was not as profitable as Alibaba at the time.

For example, in the European market, Amazon’s market share has always been suppressed by the Argos retail group. Even in the North American market, after acquiring Costco, the Argos retail group used its stores and warehousing logistics system to directly compete with Amazon in the North American e-commerce field…

In addition, traditional retailers, including Walmart, have also begun to focus on online sales…

These factors have affected Amazon’s revenue performance, leading investors to believe that its future market prospects are not as good as Alibaba’s, which has the Chinese market.

Chapter 1007: Official Visit

From the end of July to the beginning of August, the newly appointed British Foreign Secretary, Jo Harriman, embarked on her first official visit since taking office. This time, she would visit key EU countries, including France, Germany, and Italy.

“Britain and France have always maintained close cooperation. We share the same values and have common interests and positions in dealing with international crises, including the threat of terrorism…”

During her meeting with the French Foreign Minister, Jo Harriman reiterated Britain’s position, saying:

“Although we have disagreements on some EU matters, I believe these can be resolved. Britain is willing to work with France to build the closest possible alliance…”

In fact, as early as 2010, after Cameron came to power, Britain and France signed a military cooperation agreement. According to the agreement, the two countries agreed to create a joint force and share aircraft carriers, as well as jointly develop new nuclear testing facilities.

This agreement marked the in-depth cooperation between Britain and France in the military field, aimed at strengthening both sides’ defense capabilities and strategic coordination.

Jo Harriman’s choice of France as the first country to visit after becoming Foreign Secretary, and her above remarks, were also seen as sending a strong signal of goodwill to France, attempting to strengthen cooperation between the two countries.

In addition, an EU Foreign Ministers’ meeting would be held in Brussels in early September, where foreign ministers from EU countries would discuss some international hot issues.

These issues would include the Syrian civil war and the Russia-Ukraine conflict—after the Autonomous Republic of Crimea held a referendum declaring independence and joining Russia, in April of this year, the Ukrainian government began “anti-terrorist operations” against its eastern region, which was mainly populated by ethnic Russians.

This led to large-scale conflicts between government forces and extremist organizations they supported, including the “Azov Battalion,” and local civilian armed forces.

The international community was trying to reach a ceasefire agreement through negotiations. Jo Harriman also communicated with the French Foreign Minister about these events in advance, hoping to promote a unified action on related events at the subsequent EU Foreign Ministers’ meeting.

The two sides also confirmed Cameron’s official visit to France in October.

Cameron’s last official visit to France was on May 20, 2010, just after he was elected Prime Minister, but the French President at that time was still Sarkozy.

Hollande made his first official visit to Britain on July 10, 2012, during which he met with Cameron to discuss the European economic growth plan and the future cooperation between the two countries.

At the time, both sides believed that France and Britain were “the most important and precious partners,” and that the two countries would continue to commit to closer cooperation.

It can be said that Jo Harriman’s visit to France attracted a lot of attention…

(Typed on a mobile phone, the picture is placed after this chapter)

Especially her beautiful appearance and elegant demeanor, and especially the fact that she came to France with goodwill this time, immediately captured the hearts of thousands of French people.

After all, people’s opinions are easily swayed by appearances, and this exists everywhere in the world.

Even more interesting is that nearly half of them were women…

After all, the fact that Jo Harriman had publicly “come out” and had a supermodel partner was once again reported by many media outlets in France…

After completing her visit to France, Jo Harriman visited Germany and Italy respectively, and held talks with their foreign ministers.

She said that Germany and Italy were important trading partners of Britain, and hoped to cooperate closely with both sides in the future in the areas of economy, culture, and EU affairs.

Especially Italy, the two countries have common interests in addressing security challenges and immigration issues in the Mediterranean region, and will continue to strengthen cooperation in this area.

During Jo Harriman’s visit to these European countries, reporters naturally asked about Cameron’s previous statement that if he could successfully be re-elected, he would hold a referendum on leaving the EU.

After all, as core EU countries, these three countries, especially Germany, were very concerned about the “Eurosceptic” tendencies in Britain and subsequent developments.

“I believe that Britain needs to participate in the process of European integration, which is crucial to revitalizing the European economy. Leaving the EU is not a better option and will bring many problems to Britain…”

In this regard, Jo Harriman did not mind appropriately expressing her own inclination:

“But I also respect the choice of the people, and I believe that the British people will make a choice that is more beneficial to the country.”

…

After ending her visits to European countries, Jo Harriman wasted no time in leaving Europe and heading to her next stop, America.

Although this extremely charismatic new British Foreign Secretary did not choose America as the first stop of her foreign visits after taking office, as many previous British Foreign Secretaries had done, but instead completed her European trip first before arriving in America, this was not incomprehensible.

In the eyes of many media outlets in America, it was precisely because of the emerging Eurosceptic tendencies in Britain that Jo Harriman needed to repair relations with those European countries and resolve differences between the two sides, including the refugee issue.

However, some of Jo Harriman’s subsequent remarks during her visit to America made the American media see a hint of something unusual.

Generally speaking, when the British Foreign Secretary visits America, they are received by the American Secretary of State.

After all, according to the principle of diplomatic reciprocity, visits by foreign dignitaries are received by officials of the same level in the host country who are responsible for related affairs.

Of course, this is not absolute. Just like this time, during the British Foreign Secretary Jo Harriman’s visit to America, not only did American Secretary of State Hillary Clinton come forward to meet with her, but for some unknown reason, President Obama also personally received Jo Harriman.

However, from beginning to end, during her meetings with Hillary Clinton and Obama, as well as at the subsequent press conference, Jo Harriman never mentioned the “special relationship” between Britain and America…

This made her visit more perfunctory compared to her previous visits to European countries.

It should be known that in the past, when British politicians talked about the relationship between Britain and America, it was impossible not to declare this comprehensive, in-depth, and lasting “special relationship” between the two sides.

On the contrary, the American side rarely mentioned it. Compared to Britain, America has been lavish in its praise of Germany in recent years, showing a closer relationship than with Britain.

Obama has praised German Chancellor Merkel on many occasions, emphasizing that Germany is one of America’s closest allies, and even often omitting the “one of”…

For example, on February 17, 2011, Obama praised Merkel at the Medal of Freedom award ceremony, saying that Germany was “one of America’s closest allies”…

He also praised Germany as America’s “best friend and partner” in a speech…

Even in the original timeline, on January 22, 2017, Obama’s last phone call on the last day of his term was to Merkel, praising the partnership and friendship forged with her over the past eight years, and stating that the close cooperation between Washington and Berlin was of great significance to the transatlantic partnership and the world order…

Chapter 1008: Privatization and Delisting

Therefore, quite often, Britain, which considers itself the United States’ closest ally and enjoys a “special relationship” in American foreign strategy, inevitably feels a bit jealous of the enthusiasm the United States shows towards Germany…

As the saying goes, “A simp is a simp, simping until the end, with nothing to gain”…

Many times, the United States is like a “scumbag.” After getting its hands on Britain, the former “sweetheart,” and having it completely under control, it starts using sweet words and generous gestures to pursue new targets.

And this time, during Joe Harriman’s entire visit to the United States, she didn’t mention the “special relationship” between Britain and the United States once. She only discussed the recent international situation, stating that Britain and the United States need to cooperate in the Syrian civil war and the Russia-Ukraine conflict to prevent the situation from developing in an uncontrollable direction.

The relevant American media interpreted this as Britain being dissatisfied with the United States’ “cold shoulder” and neglect of British interests…

Judging from the previous Cameron government’s proposal that Britain should have its own independent diplomacy outside the Anglo-American alliance, and Joe Harriman’s performance since taking office, Britain is adjusting its diplomatic strategy, shifting from blindly following the United States during the Blair era to seeking more multilateral diplomatic relations.

This includes closer cooperation with European countries such as France and Germany, as well as the “honeymoon” with China that began under Brown.

This is not a good sign for the United States and may affect its global strategy.

Joe Harriman’s behavior this time was a carefully considered choice, neither alienating the United States too much nor failing to send a certain signal. The key was to strike the right balance.

It must be said that Joe Harriman did a good job. On the contrary, because of her personal charm, she established good personal relationships with American political figures such as Hillary and Obama.

After completing her visit to the United States, Joe Harriman once again took a commercial flight to the next stop on her tour, China.

It is worth mentioning that Joe Harriman’s visit this time was very “low-key.” When traveling to France, Germany, and other places, she took the train, and her trips leaving Europe were only in business class on commercial flights.

This also earned her a lot of praise. After all, for politicians in “vote-based politics” like those in the West, performance is very important—even if you have tens of billions of dollars, as long as you cycle to work every day under the protection of bodyguards, you can still be praised.

In this regard, Joe Harriman naturally paid close attention.

“Currently, the relationship between Britain and China is in a golden age. The trade volume between the two sides has increased significantly, and Chinese companies have deeply participated in the construction of Britain’s telecommunications, high-speed rail, and nuclear power fields, and have done an excellent job…”

Joe Harriman mentioned when meeting with the Chinese Foreign Minister:

“Not only does cooperation with China help Britain’s economic growth and restart, but also in global challenges including climate and regional conflicts, as a pivotal major country, cooperation with China is something Britain needs to continue. I hope that Britain and China, from officials to the public, can increase mutual trust through exchanges and cooperation, and use this as the foundation of friendship between the two countries.”

It can be said that Joe Harriman’s attitude towards China this time, based on Cameron’s previous expressions during his visit, has a further strengthened color of cooperation.

In response, the Chinese side also made a positive response, hoping that the two sides can abandon prejudice and establish a closer cooperative relationship through gradually achieving mutual trust.

After that, Joe Harriman also enthusiastically visited some famous historical sites in Beijing, and specially posted a photo of herself wearing a red cheongsam at the Temple of Heaven on her Woaw and Twitter personal accounts…

In fact, after this visit to various countries, because she has received much attention, Joe Harriman has captured countless fans with her personal charm. Her Twitter alone has more than 10 million followers…

You know, at this time, Cameron’s Twitter followers are around 4.75 million, which means that Joe Harriman’s Twitter followers have more than doubled that of the British Prime Minister…

Well, the politician with the most Twitter followers in the world is of course the American President Obama, whose current number of followers is close to 40 million.

…

On August 25th, after many days of negotiations, the board of directors of Ryanair finally agreed to the acquisition by the European Wealth Fund after it raised its offer to 10 billion pounds (equivalent to 16.6 billion US dollars), a premium of 25% compared to its previous market value.

This means that the acquisition has been formally reached. The European Wealth Fund will complete the acquisition of Ryanair, a leading Irish low-cost airline, within the next month. At that time, Ryanair will be delisted from all trading markets and become a wholly-owned company of the European Wealth Fund.

After the completion of the acquisition, Michael O’Leary, who is crucial to the development of Ryanair, will continue to serve as the chairman and CEO of the group, managing the company.

Back in 1989, when Ryanair’s business declined, it was Michael O’Leary who, during his tenure as interim CEO, adopted the Southwest Airlines business model, successfully reversing the company’s financial situation through reform measures such as canceling unprofitable routes, eliminating turboprop aircraft, and adopting a single type of aircraft, enabling Ryanair to gradually develop into one of the most profitable airlines in the world.

It is precisely because O’Leary successfully led Ryanair out of its predicament and developed it into the largest low-cost airline in Europe with his outstanding reform capabilities, cost control capabilities, financial incentive strategies, and strategic vision, that Barron will also trust him and continue to entrust Ryanair to him.

Michael O’Leary said that after the European Wealth Fund acquires Ryanair and privatizes and delists it, they will continue to adhere to their ultra-low-cost operating model, attracting customers by optimizing the cost structure and providing ultra-low fares.

“This strategy not only strengthens our market competitiveness, but also helps us establish a strong brand effect globally.”

In addition, in addition to relatively low fares, Ryanair will also increase their ancillary revenue by providing ancillary services such as seat allocation and associated credit card fees—the revenue share of these ancillary services is increasing year by year, becoming an important guarantee for the company’s profits.

In addition, Ryanair will also launch a customer improvement plan—Ryanair has launched a series of customer improvement measures, including seat allocation optimization, a website “fare finder” function, two free carry-on baggage items, “quiet flights,” and a 24-hour “grace period,” to meet the needs of different customers.

Currently, Ryanair has 68 aviation bases throughout Europe, operating 1,600 routes daily, connecting 186 destinations in 30 countries.

And they will support overall operational efficiency through a multi-base hub network model and continue to expand their route network…

Michael O’Leary believes that the implementation of these strategies will enable Ryanair to maintain strong profitability and market competitiveness, and even continue to expand efficiently, in the face of global economic fluctuations and increased industry competition…

Chapter 1009: Scottish Referendum

“I was born in Scotland, so I can understand many of the feelings of the Scottish people, and I respect their choices. I believe that no matter what, after this referendum has its final result, what we need to do is accept the result and continue to take appropriate measures for the benefit of Britain and the Scottish people.”

After returning to Britain, Jo Harryman accepted an interview on ITV, a program of her “old employer,” the SEM Group.

In addition to talking about some interesting anecdotes from her visits to various countries and her own diplomatic philosophy, because Jo Harryman herself was born in Glasgow, Scotland, the host also asked her opinion on the upcoming Scottish independence referendum.

September 18, 2014, was the day the Scottish independence referendum was held.

On that day, the 5,579 polling stations set up in Scotland officially opened, and all Scottish residents over the age of 16 could participate in the vote.

Voting lasted for one day, from 7:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. that day.

All Scottish residents participating in the vote would choose either “Yes” or “No” on ballots that read “Should Scotland be an independent country?”

It could be said that this referendum in Scotland not only affected the hearts of all Britons, but also attracted global attention.

In fact, before this vote, British politicians had been making various efforts to win back Scotland.

For example, on September 10, Prime Minister Cameron went to Edinburgh, Scotland, to communicate with employees of the “Scottish Widows” fund company, hoping to use the last bit of time to persuade Scotland “not to leave.” He promised to share more rights with Scotland and pleaded with the Scottish people not to leave the “British family,” saying that he would be “heartbroken” to see a split.

On the same day, Ed Miliband, leader of the British Labour Party, the largest opposition party, also arrived in Glasgow, Scotland, hoping to use the last bit of time to persuade Scotland “not to leave.”

Although political rivals with Cameron, the two were very tacit in retaining Scotland.

Cameron and Miliband both decided to miss the regular parliamentary meeting on the 10th and went to Scotland separately to lobby.

Also in Glasgow, Jo Harryman, who had just returned to the country not long ago, also returned to her hometown. Although she had always claimed that as a “daughter of Scotland,” she would support the choices of the Scottish people, she also called for “internal family disputes” to be resolved rationally, rather than making impulsive decisions.

September 10, Whitehall, London, the British flag and the Scottish flag intertwined.

To salvage the situation, the British government had promised to give Scotland more autonomy, including taxation and social welfare spending.

Scottish First Minister Salmond was unimpressed.

He said that the central government’s proposals were just a “repackaging” of old proposals and did not make any new substantive concessions to Scotland.

Regarding this Scottish independence referendum, the Queen also expressed her attitude, which was not to comment on it…

A Buckingham Palace spokesman said on September 9 that the British Queen would not speak on the upcoming Scottish independence referendum.

British media had previously reported that the Queen was worried about the possible split of Britain, and Prime Minister David Cameron, facing pressure, was considering asking the royal family to intervene.

In response, a Buckingham Palace spokesman said that the British royal family was above politics and that any remarks about the Queen wanting to influence the outcome of the Scottish independence referendum were “absolutely wrong.”

The spokesman stressed that the Queen believed that the independence referendum was a matter for the Scottish people themselves.

Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond, who supports Scottish independence, also told the media on the same day that he had met with the Queen at Balmoral Castle in Scotland two weeks earlier.

“Her Majesty has experienced many events during her long reign, and I think she will be happy to be the Queen of Scotland, and we are honored to have her as the monarch of this land…”

The Scottish government had previously stated that even if Scotland declared independence, the Queen would still be the head of state of Scotland.

The media believes that the Queen’s decision not to intervene in the Scottish independence referendum is not a consistent practice, as she had previously spoken on similar issues.

As early as 1977, the year of the Queen’s 25th anniversary of her coronation, Scotland and Wales were holding votes on the grounds that they needed greater autonomy.

At that time, the Queen used a speech during the coronation anniversary to issue a clear warning against national division, which was believed to have helped resolve the crisis.

In her speech at the time, she said that she understood the idea that local areas needed more power, but “I cannot forget that I am the crowned Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland… Perhaps this coronation anniversary is the right time to remind ourselves of the benefits that national unity brings to residents in all regions of Britain, both at home and abroad…”

Back to September 18, at 10:00 p.m., after the vote, the polling stations closed and the counting of votes began.

Just after the “long wait” of the British nation and many people around the world, the next day, September 19, the results of the Scottish independence referendum were announced!

Voters accounting for 55.8%, a total of 1,877,252 voters, said “no” to independence; voters accounting for 44.2%, a total of 1,661,993 voters, supported independence.

In the end, this Scottish regional turnout was as high as 84.6%, breaking the British voting record, the “Scottish independence referendum,” and ultimately the Scottish people chose to remain in Britain by a ratio of approximately 55:45.

After the results of the vote were announced, Scottish First Minister Salmond, the core figure supporting Scottish independence, gave a speech acknowledging defeat, saying that he would accept the will of the Scottish people and announce his resignation.

British Prime Minister Cameron happily stated that the Scottish people had reached a clear result, that they chose to continue to be with other British compatriots, and called on all British people to unite and move forward together…

Also on the same day, Jo Harryman, who had been staying in Scotland, also gave a public speech in Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland:

“I am very happy that the Scottish people have made their own choices. No matter what the result, I personally will support the choices of the Scottish people. The result of the vote is that most people choose to stay in the British family, then this will also become the choice of Scotland. I am very proud for everyone, for everyone’s choice based on the future of Scotland, and I will work hard for the interests of Britain and the Scottish people…”

However, although the result of the Scottish referendum only gave people a false alarm, and ultimately Scotland remained in Britain with a result of 55:45.

But both Jo Harryman and Barron understood that the current referendum results might not solve the problem once and for all…

After all, there is still an outstanding issue, that is, if Scotland, which is pro-European, encounters the result of the British Brexit referendum…

Chapter 1010: Partnership

Speaking of which, aside from the rather special “blood alliance,” the highest level of diplomatic partnership in China is the “all-weather strategic partnership”—currently, only “Iron Brother” Pakistan enjoys this status.

“All-weather” means that no matter how the international situation changes, cooperation between the two sides in political, economic, military, and other fields will not be affected.

This relationship is based on deep mutual trust and common interests, and is a further sublimation of comprehensive strategic cooperation.

The second tier is the “comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership,” which covers consistent cooperation on overall, global, and core interests, including Russia, Belarus, Greece, and China’s neighboring countries such as Vietnam, Laos, and Myanmar (excluding South Korea and Japan, two American colonies).

The “comprehensive strategic partnership” established between Colo and China lacks the word “cooperative,” placing it in the third tier. Its scope of cooperation is slightly inferior to that of a comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership, but it still covers multiple fields such as politics, economics, and culture.

Many important countries and regional organizations, including the European Union, Britain, France, Italy, and Spain, have this type of relationship. This partnership helps both parties coordinate and cooperate on their respective core interests, and promotes global governance and multilateral cooperation.

Lower down the scale, there is the “strategic partnership”—focusing on cooperation in specific areas or on specific issues, such as energy, security, and trade. Examples include ASEAN, Canada, Nigeria, and Serbia.

Then there’s the “all-round cooperative relationship”—focusing on coordination and cooperation in a wider range of fields, emphasizing the comprehensiveness and depth of cooperation. Countries such as India, South Korea, Turkey, and Afghanistan fall into this category.

The remainder are “other cooperative relationships.” For example, the relationship between China and the United States is a “new type of great power relationship”—roughly meaning that we are both great powers, and, well, that’s about it…

Of course, as a global hegemon and an emerging superpower, the relationship between China and the United States is very complex. Competition is inevitable, but cooperation is also a reality that cannot be avoided.

As for the relationship between China and Japan, it only belongs to the “strategic reciprocal relationship”…

Well, there is neither “cooperation” nor “partnership.” The general meaning is that we can do some business for “reciprocal benefit,” but other than that…

Back to Colo, as the first African country to join the “Belt and Road” initiative, Colo has a very high degree of trust in China from these years of cooperation and exchanges, and is happy to deepen the relationship between them.

In addition to Colo’s President Thomas Kabore being invited to stay in China to attend China’s “National Day Reception” celebrating the 65th anniversary of the founding of the country, Thomas Kabore also proactively mentioned to the other party that Colo hopes to participate in the establishment of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) and become one of the first “prospective founding members.”

However, China only stated that it needed to wait for the time being, as the full name of the AIIB is the “Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank,” and it is currently aimed at Asian countries.

In the original timeline, on October 24th, less than a month later, the first 21 prospective founding member states that signed the agreement to establish the AIIB, including China, India, and Singapore, were all Asian countries.

Of course, China also stated that if the AIIB accepts African member states in the future, Colo, as the first applicant, will become the first member state.

However, there is still more than a year before the official establishment of the AIIB, and it is still in the early stages of preparation.

If Barron were there, he might even directly propose removing India and adding Colo instead—after all, comprehensively speaking, it seems that any organization or alliance with India’s participation will not be so smooth…

As the saying goes, “More hindrance than help, hmm…”

…

“Although we successfully acquired 20% of Electricite de France, the government is still discussing the sale of shares in Aeroports de Paris and Suez Group…”

Ashley Weber, wearing a violet shirt, leaned lazily on the sofa and said to Barron:

“Indeed, Uncle Hollande hopes to save the government’s tight finances by selling state-owned shares, but opening such a big hole at once will also bring a lot of opposition.”

“We’re not in a hurry, are we?”

Barron held her hand and said lightly:

“It’s the French government that’s in a hurry now.”

Currently, the market value of Electricite de France is around 59 billion euros (equivalent to 75 billion US dollars), but in the auction held last month, European Wealth Fund, together with United Energy Group, successfully acquired 20% of Electricite de France with a bid of 12.05 billion euros.

And their consulting firm for this acquisition of Electricite de France shares was William-Weber Capital.

It can be said that Ashley Weber also used a lot of her connections for this share acquisition of Electricite de France, which also earned William-Weber Capital a large order for M&A consulting services.

In addition, Barron also has his eye on Aeroports de Paris and the Suez Group, a leading water company in France.

But as Ashley said, Hollande is also very tempted to sell some shares in these two companies, after all, it is not a complete privatization, but only selling a portion of the shares to obtain urgently needed funds for the French government.

But to do these things, first of all, it is necessary to eliminate the current opposition voices.

Relatively speaking, the profits of Electricite de France have declined slightly in the past year.

And at this time, their nuclear power project in Britain also requires huge capital investment. Under such circumstances, selling some shares to raise funds and introduce partners to optimize the management of Electricite de France is something everyone is happy to see.

But Aeroports de Paris and Suez Group are still public service companies with stable profits. Selling shares in these companies will give those opposition parties and parliamentarians something to say.

“But don’t worry, we are also working on it. Some politicians who have close ties with us will express their support one after another. I believe that the sale of shares in these two companies will be finalized before the end of the year.”

“I believe in your ability, baby.”

This is not just Barron’s polite words. From beginning to end, Ashley Weber has shown flexible skills and super abilities in commercial M&A in France.

Choosing her as his partner is also something Barron is very grateful for.

Of course, now the relationship between the two people has a closer bond in addition to partners.

“By the way, do you remember those Rothschild family wineries? I just bought one.”

Chapter 1011: Winery

“The Rothschild family’s winery?”

Hearing Ashley’s words, Barron asked, puzzled.

She hadn’t mentioned it to him before.

“Yes, you know, although the Rothschild family previously had enormous power in France, there were also quite a few who coveted their wealth and had been suppressed by them…”

After Barron acquired the LCF Rothschild Group, it could be said that the Rothschild family’s main assets in France were those wineries.

The Rothschild family’s involvement in the wine industry dates back to the 19th century.

In 1853, James Rothschild acquired Château Mouton Rothschild, a first-growth Bordeaux estate, marking the financial family’s formal entry into the wine world.

Since then, the Rothschild family has continuously expanded its wine empire, acquiring numerous world-class wineries through acquisitions, joint ventures, and other means, such as Château Lafite Rothschild, Almaviva Winery, and Château Haut-Brion.

For example, of the current five first-growth wineries in France, two are owned by the Rothschild family.

The five first-growth wineries in France usually refer to Château Lafite Rothschild, Château Latour, Château Margaux, Château Haut-Brion, and Château Mouton Rothschild in the Médoc region of Bordeaux.

Château Lafite Rothschild and Château Mouton Rothschild are among those owned by the Rothschild family.

In addition, the Rothschild family also owns several other wineries and many overseas wineries.

In fact, although these wineries are said to belong to the Rothschild family, the Rothschild family has many branches, and there are three Rothschild family groups involved in the wine industry: Domaines Barons de Rothschild (DBR), Baron Philippe de Rothschild (BPDR), and Baron Edmond de Rothschild (BEDR).

The three winery groups operate independently, but all operate under the Rothschild family name.

Among them, Domaines Barons de Rothschild (DBR) is world-renowned for its Château Lafite Rothschild.

In addition, Domaines Barons de Rothschild also owns other famous wineries such as Château Duhart-Milon, Château Rieussec, and Château L’Évangile.

The Baron Philippe de Rothschild group is centered around another first-growth winery, Château Mouton Rothschild.

Château Mouton Rothschild was classified as a second-growth in 1855, and later promoted to a first-growth in 1976, becoming one of the five great Bordeaux wines.

It is also the only winery in the world to be upgraded from a second-growth to a first-growth.

Finally, the Baron Edmond de Rothschild group, although its influence in the wine world is relatively small, its Château Clarke is a member of the Union des Grands Crus de Bordeaux.

The group also owns Château Laurets, Flechas de los Andes, and other well-known wineries…

This time, the Château d’Armailhac winery that Ashley Webber bought is not a first-growth winery like Château Lafite Rothschild and Château Mouton Rothschild—this winery was classified as a fifth-growth in the 1855 classification, but Château d’Armailhac is located next to Château Mouton Rothschild and Château Lafite Rothschild, enjoying the same geographical location and terroir, and was separated from Château Mouton Rothschild.

That may not be entirely accurate, as the relationship between the two is somewhat complicated.

At the end of the 18th century, the French d’Armailhac family purchased a vineyard from Prince VIGNES and established Château d’Armailhac. The winery continued to expand under the management of its family, and soon after acquired the neighboring Château Mouton and renamed it Château Mouton d’Armailhac.

Unfortunately, the good times didn’t last long. They only operated for half a century before facing the biggest financial crisis in the family’s history. In 1843, the family heir, Ode d’Armailhac, after careful consideration, sold the vineyard that originally belonged to Château Mouton to Château Lafite.

In 1933, the French Château d’Armailhac was sold to Baron Philippe de Rothschild (who had already acquired Château Mouton Rothschild) in an extremely helpless situation and became part of Château Mouton.

It can be said that although the Rothschild family was famous before, after nearly two hundred and fifty years of development, there are now many family members, and most of them no longer have any ambition…

Especially after suffering a major blow before, and shortly before that, after the family leader David Rothschild “died unexpectedly,” the entire family can be described as falling apart.

This is understandable. In the beginning, there were enough assets for a large family to share, and everyone was happy.

But now that the most important financial industry has been stripped away, the remaining industries are no longer enough to support these people’s original lives.

In addition, the sudden death of the family leader caused chaos, and the struggle for power was inevitable.

After all, although the three major winery groups of the Rothschild family operate independently, their family assets have always had a considerable portion of shares held by family funds.

From Ashley, Barron learned that this time, the Baron Philippe de Rothschild group had to sell Château d’Armailhac to obtain funds to deal with other competitors and internal family targeting, so she took the opportunity to take over the winery.

This made Barron think that if the assassination attempt against him had succeeded, his assets would probably be even worse than the current Rothschild family, and would be immediately devoured by a pack of wolves.

Currently, Château d’Armailhac is managed by the daughter of the former owner of Château Mouton Rothschild.

The estate covers an area of 50 hectares, most of which is planted with Cabernet Sauvignon grapes, with an average vine age of 47 years. Each vintage is aged in 30% new oak barrels for 16 months, and the remaining 70% of the barrels come from Château Mouton Rothschild.

“If you’re interested, you can come with me to see it recently. You can even see the winemaking process there…”

French vineyards usually start making wine from mid-August to mid-October each year. This period is the season when grapes ripen and the best time to make wine.

The maturity and quality of the grapes have a crucial impact on the quality of the wine, so wineries choose to harvest and make wine during this period.

It is now early October, which is also the last winemaking period of the year.

However, Barron was not very interested in Ashley’s proposal. He himself did not have much love for red wine, or rather, he rarely drank alcohol—this was also related to the fact that he came to this world because of alcoholism in his previous life…

In addition, Château d’Armailhac is located near Château Lafite Rothschild and Château Mouton Rothschild. Who knows if some die-hard members of the Rothschild family will come to “avenge” themselves if he really goes there…

This was just a thought of his. If the other party really had the guts, they wouldn’t have waited until now.

Moreover, his own security team is not just there for show.

“Do you remember Manu? The young man beside Hollande that we met at the Élysée Palace before…”

Chapter 1012: The Postman

“What is it?”

Baron, of course, remembered Manu that Ashley mentioned. After all, he had consistently been the president of France after Hollande.

“He hopes to have the opportunity to meet with you.”

Ashley said:

“He has been performing well in his new position recently, and based on my observation, his ideas are quite aligned with ours.”

Speaking of which, the current French President Hollande can be considered Manu’s “benefactor.” The two met in 2006, after which Manu resigned from his position as a financial inspector in the French Ministry of Economy and Finance and joined NM Rothschild Bank.

It was also at NM Rothschild Bank, after William-Webb Capital acquired it, that Ashley discovered Manu’s talent.

Coincidentally, Hollande took office as the French President, so with Ashley’s support, coupled with Manu’s good relationship with Hollande, he became the Deputy Secretary-General of the Presidential Palace.

Just at the end of August of this year, Manu was appointed by Hollande as the Minister of Economy, Industrial Renewal, and Information Technology.

Although Manu has been in the position of Minister of Economy for less than two months, his performance has been very outstanding. He is determined to reform the French labor market and trade system, and continue to promote the process of European integration. It can be said that some of his bold moves have made him the focus of domestic and foreign media.

What Baron and Ashley value is Manu’s strong pro-EU stance, his bold reform tendencies, and his clear opposition to traditional forces.

“Arrange a time when you can.”

From a personal benefit perspective, Baron naturally supports European integration. Although it is very difficult and there is a long way to go to make the EU a de facto federal state like the United States or the Soviet Union, unifying the markets in these regions and having a relatively strong authority to coordinate and manage them is the only way for Europe to occupy a more advantageous position in the future world landscape.

Therefore, Manu is worth supporting for Baron, of course, provided that he can be used by him.

With this in mind, Baron said to Ashley:

“It would be good before we go to Germany.”

…

“Yes, we will invest funds to participate in the research and development of a new generation of European medium- and long-range strategic missiles, and I can guarantee that if this project is successful, it will be able to obtain orders from Britain to replace the Trident missiles currently used in the nuclear strategy.”

This time in France, Baron has another thing to do, which is to personally meet with Hollande to finalize Britain’s participation in the new generation of medium- and long-range strategic missile project jointly developed by France, Germany, and Italy.

After all, for such a “strategic” weapon of mass destruction, it is conceivable that the research and development requires huge investment, and the European Missile Group, as a company, must determine that the final product can obtain orders.

Currently, France, Germany, and Italy have all confirmed that they will deploy this strategic missile after the project is successful, so if Britain wants to participate, it must also make a corresponding commitment.

But the problem is that although Cameron can release the news and prepare to adjust their nuclear strategy, using more autonomous missiles to deliver nuclear weapons, the specific deployment quantity and the timetable for replacing the Trident missiles cannot be determined yet—after all, facing domestic opposition, he needs time to get this measure passed in Parliament.

Then Baron needs to personally communicate with relevant countries on this matter. After all, everyone needs to admit that the words of this British Duke are more trustworthy than Cameron’s.

If the other party can make such a commitment in person, then they believe that it can be achieved no matter what.

“We welcome Britain to join our research and development of the next generation of medium- and long-range strategic missiles. We believe that we share the urgent desire to have a more autonomous strategic delivery weapon.”

Hollande affirmed Baron’s commitment.

This time, Standard Defense Group, controlled by Cavendish Trust, will also participate—because BAE Systems, which originally held a considerable share of the European Missile Group, did not have much confidence in joining the strategic missile research and development plan. Therefore, the final determined plan is that Standard Defense Group will invest in participating in this project, and Standard Defense Group and BAE Systems will form a joint venture.

BAE Systems will transfer their 37.5% stake in the European Missile Group to this joint venture called Standard Strategy.

BAE Systems and Standard Defense Group each hold 50% of the shares of Standard Strategy, and Standard Strategy represents Britain in the research and development project of the next generation of medium- and long-range strategic missiles conducted by the European Missile Group in the four countries of Britain, France, Germany, and Italy.

According to Baron’s idea, since Britain hopes to replace the Trident missiles currently provided by the United States with new self-developed missiles, then this ballistic missile, named “Postman,” needs to be launched from submarines, and its maximum range should exceed Trident, reaching more than 7,500 kilometers.

Such a strategic long-range missile is still very difficult for the European Missile Group, which is why Baron needs to persuade these countries this time.

Prior to this, these countries had a lot of experience in jointly developing various types of missiles. For example, the most well-known is the “Storm Shadow” cruise missile, which has been developed since the 1990s. This long-range cruise missile, which has been equipped by the air forces of many countries, is developed by the European Missile Group.

But in the field of ballistic missiles, Britain has been abandoned for many years. Although there is still relevant technical accumulation, it is far inferior to France.

It can be said that in the field of ballistic missiles, France is the strongest in Europe besides Russia. Therefore, to develop ballistic missiles through the European Missile Group, it is necessary to obtain the support of France. In this field, Germany can participate in related joint research for historical reasons, but is still restricted from independent research and development.

Britain, on the other hand, “abandoned its martial arts” for a period of time, resulting in a lack of relevant technology.

Therefore, France will inevitably become the main force of this cooperation project.

Of course, for France, it is also welcome for Britain and other countries to join the joint research and development.

On the one hand, it can share the financial pressure of related research and development. On the other hand, as France, which has always advocated European integration and a certain degree of autonomy in Europe, it is also happy to be able to obtain autonomous delivery capabilities on ballistic missiles without being controlled by others.

What’s more, Hollande himself is very happy to show France’s position on the international stage, so Britain’s move is very much in line with his expectations.

Chapter 1013: The Grand Finale ①: 2015

After Barron returned to London, he celebrated his 35th birthday.

The day after his birthday, October 19th, marked three months since Alibaba went public.

However, according to the 90-day lock-up period, the Alibaba shares held by DS Holdings (Cavendish Trust) were, in fact, eligible for public sale on the secondary market from October 17th, the day before Barron’s birthday.

Of course, according to the relevant regulations in the United States, major shareholders are required to disclose their intentions when reducing their holdings, which would naturally have a certain impact on the stock price.

Since Alibaba’s IPO, its stock price had generally been on an upward trend, currently hovering around $105.

Because the 18th and 19th were a weekend, Alibaba announced on October 20th that its major shareholder, DS Holdings, would be releasing its share lock-up and would be partially reducing its holdings.

In response, a spokesperson for DS Holdings stated that, in accordance with Alibaba’s prospectus at the time of its IPO and their agreement with Alibaba’s management, they would complete the sale of approximately 231.42 million of their total holdings of approximately 292.98 million Alibaba shares within one year from that point forward.

The goal was to allow more investors to participate in the investment of Alibaba, a leading e-commerce giant in China with immense growth potential.

Furthermore, their reduction would follow the principle of “easing out,” with the expectation that only less than 1% of the total share capital would be sold in the subsequent 15 trading days.

After these announcements were made, Alibaba’s stock price only fell slightly, but its excellent revenue performance quickly allowed it to recover its losses.

Next, on November 14th, driven by the news that Alibaba’s recent Singles’ Day shopping festival had set a sales record of 57.1 billion yuan, Alibaba’s stock price rose sharply.

During trading on the 14th, its stock price reached a high of nearly $120!

When Monday, November 18th, arrived, DS Holdings disclosed to the public that they had sold 5% of Alibaba’s total share capital.

By Christmas, DS Holdings had sold approximately 231.42 million of its total holdings of 292.98 million Alibaba shares, and would not be selling any more shares in the short term.

This time, DS Holdings sold a total of approximately 231.42 million Alibaba shares at an average selling price of around $112.45, generating a total of approximately $26 billion.

“U.S. stocks will continue to rise next year with the economic recovery, so our funds will continue to be used to invest in the U.S. stock market…”

Of course, in addition to this goal, Barron was also preparing to use the returns from these investments to enable DS Holdings to complete the overall acquisition of BFT Fund in a few years.

This way, they would acquire the shares held by BFT Fund, including those in Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan Chase, and Wells Fargo, and avoid a large capital gains tax.

And they would also be able to use the acquisition funds to convert back to pounds at a low exchange rate between the pound and the dollar, and return the money to the British government.

…

March 20th, 2015.

Kolo held its fourth general election since the establishment of the new government. Thomas Kabore, who led Kolo to rapid development in his previous term, successfully won re-election and will begin his second term.

In the new government formed by Thomas Kabore, Hector Peter, the president of the African United Bank whose term had just expired, was nominated to serve as Kolo’s Minister of Finance; while the Minister of Foreign Affairs was Roman House, the Deputy Director of the Kolo Development and Reform Research Center…

According to statistics, five people in Thomas Kabore’s new government had previously served in the West African Group and related institutions.

On March 25th, the Kolo military announced that it would order 12 EF2000 (Typhoon) fighter jets from British BAE Systems, as well as a series of mounted missiles and weapons, including Storm Shadows. The total value of this order would exceed 1 billion euros.

On April 2nd, the heads of state of the member countries of the West African Free Trade Organization held a meeting in Bullita, the capital of Kolo. Member countries of the West African Free Trade Organization, including Kolo, Ghana, Benin, Burkina Faso, and Niger, decided to form a joint counter-terrorism force to jointly combat anti-government armed forces and terrorists within the West African Free Trade Area. They named this joint counter-terrorism operation “West African Peace Mission 2015.”

In this counter-terrorism operation, the West African Joint Counter-Terrorism Force widely used various drones to conduct reconnaissance and aerial strikes against anti-government armed forces and terrorists. With their help, this operation was very successful. In the following two years, the West African Joint Counter-Terrorism Force basically eliminated the unstable factors within the West African Free Trade Area.

And it also made the West African Joint Counter-Terrorism Force the most combat-effective force in West Africa, and even the African region.

…

On May 7th, Britain held its general election for the House of Commons. The Conservative Party, led by Cameron, successfully won re-election, and Cameron formed the Conservative Party’s first majority government in 23 years.

The government formed by Cameron, apart from adjustments in individual positions, was basically the same as the personnel after the cabinet reshuffle in July of last year, especially in the selection of important core members such as the Chancellor of the Exchequer, the Foreign Secretary, and the Home Secretary, there were no changes.

After winning the election, Cameron stated that, in accordance with his previous commitment, Britain would hold a referendum on leaving the European Union before 2017.

“It looks like the Brexit referendum is very likely to be next year…”

“Yes, you need to be prepared.”

“What do you mean?”

Faced with Joe Harriman’s doubts, Barron just smiled and said lightly:

“If the result of the referendum is that Britain leaves the European Union, then Cameron will have no choice but to resign.”

“Will it really be like that? Maybe it will be like the Scottish independence referendum last year…”

But soon, Joe Harriman understood why Barron would say that.

If Europe had previously had refugees from the Middle East entering as illegal immigrants, then from 2015 onwards, the situation began to change dramatically…

In the first half of 2015, a large number of refugees from the Middle East and North Africa entered Europe via the Mediterranean Sea and the Balkan Peninsula seeking asylum.

At the same time, because negotiations between the EU and Turkey had failed to reach an agreement, Turkey allowed refugees to cross the border, and even its domestic “snakeheads” made money from this…

According to data from the United Nations Refugee Agency and the International Organization for Migration, as of November 21, 2015, the total number of refugees and migrants traveling to Europe via the Mediterranean Sea and land routes had exceeded 1 million!

In particular, after German Chancellor Merkel announced on September 4, 2015, that she would open the borders to refugees, this decision directly led to a large number of asylum seekers entering Germany from the Austrian border.

Between 2015 and 2016, more than one million asylum seekers entered Germany, which also led to serious divisions within the EU on the issue of refugees.

Although the EU tried to share the burden through a refugee distribution plan, Eastern and Western European countries disagreed on this, and some countries, such as Hungary, even opposed the mandatory sharing of refugees - British citizens were also opposed to accepting refugees.

Some European countries have taken measures to close borders and tighten refugee policies, leading to a large number of refugees being stranded in border areas, triggering humanitarian crises and social conflicts.

The refugee crisis has put enormous pressure on European society and the economy, increased the economic burden on European countries, triggered xenophobia and social instability. At the same time, the refugee issue has also exposed loopholes in the EU’s system for accepting refugees, posing a challenge to the European integration process.

It was from the refugee crisis that began in 2015, the most serious crisis Europe had faced since World War II, that Euroscepticism in Britain rose to an unprecedented level.

Chapter 1014: Grand Finale ②: Sibling Chapter

“Is Ravi adjusting well?”

“She’s doing great. Although she’s a little green in some areas, she learns quickly and is very diligent.”

Hearing Daisy’s words, Barron felt relieved.

Just after returning from America and arriving at the DS Financial Center, Barron saw Ravi again.

He couldn’t help but feel a sense of nostalgia. After all, the first time he met the young girl, she was only ten years old and had just been adopted by the Devonshire Charitable Foundation along with her brother, Rami.

In the blink of an eye, Ravi had grown into a twenty-year-old young woman.

He had just greeted the young girl outside Daisy’s office and encouraged her.

Over the years, Barron had seen Ravi a few times. Julia Moore was very fond of Ravi and had been living with her, their relationship somewhat like that of a mother and daughter.

From Julia, Barron also knew that although Ravi’s academic performance wasn’t as exaggerated as her brother Rami’s, it was still far beyond ordinary.

This was evident in the fact that Ravi had obtained dual degrees in economics and law from Cambridge University in just two years, and was now interning at the DS Group while pursuing a master’s degree in law.

Daisy had once mentored Rami, and now that his sister Ravi had joined the DS Group, Daisy also liked this young girl very much. She first had her intern in various departments, preparing to make her her assistant and mentor her in the future.

“We have already begun to position ourselves in the British stock market in anticipation of the upcoming Brexit referendum.”

After a brief chat about Ravi, they moved on to work-related matters.

Although the date for the British Brexit referendum had not yet been determined, according to Cameron’s promise, it would be held before 2017, so it was almost certain that it would take place in 2016.

Indeed, in the original timeline, the Brexit referendum was held in June 2016.

Therefore, in anticipation of the Brexit referendum, the DS Group had already begun to use funds from overseas offshore accounts to position itself in the British stock market.

Since the British would only realize the benefits of staying in the European Union after they actually left, Barron didn’t mind making their impression even more profound.

…

“The current Ethereum network is only in its first phase and is not yet a fully decentralized network, but my friend, I believe that Ethereum’s grand vision can be realized step by step…”

“Thank you for your help with Ethereum, Rami. I look forward to our next meeting.”

After saying goodbye to Vitalik Booth.rin, Rami Shakfa, accompanied by bodyguards, left Britta for New York.

In early 2014, Vitalik Booth.rin proposed the Ethereum concept.

Then, in order to raise funds and resources to promote the development and promotion of Ethereum, and to support developers and projects, Vitalik founded the Ethereum Foundation.

After that, Ethereum issued a total of 72 million Ether Coins (ETH) through an Initial Coin Offering (ICO), of which 60 million ETH were allocated to ICO participants, and the other 12 million ETH were allocated to early contributors and long-term research projects.

In this Ethereum ICO, they raised more than 30,000 Bitcoins in less than 40 days. Among them, Distributed Foundation and Matrix Capital’s Origin Fund were two of Ethereum’s largest investors.

Distributed Foundation acquired over 15 million ETH through investment, while Origin Fund held 5 million ETH.

It was from that time that Rami had more contact with Vitalik Booth.rin.

Through years of contact and research on Bitcoin and the blockchain industry and technology, Rami could already be considered an expert. Although many people regarded Vitalik Booth.rin as a “genius” and later called him “V God,” after Rami participated in the Ethereum project, Vitalik couldn’t help but marvel at the other’s “monster” talent and was deeply impressed.

It was also at Vitalik’s earnest invitation that Rami joined the Ethereum Foundation and made many contributions to its development.

Rami personally received 1.5 million of the 12 million ETH distributed by Vitalik to project contributors—these ETH, calculated at the highest price ten years later, were worth 7.5 billion US dollars!

In July 2015, the Ethereum network officially went live. This stage was called “Frontier,” and it was the first stage of Ethereum, marking the official launch of the project, enabling users to mine and trade ETH.

…

“Although we experienced a bull market in 2013, the current trading volume and total value of digital coins are still far behind traditional investment products and securities. Therefore, I believe that the launch of Bitcoin securities is still premature, and both the acceptance of traditional investors and regulatory aspects need to experience at least one more bull market before considering it.”

Two years after Rami Shakfa said these words to Barron, in 2017, one year after Bitcoin’s second halving, digital coins led by Bitcoin ushered in their second bull market.

In this round of bull market, the price of Bitcoin rose from the highest price of the previous bull market, exceeding 1,200 US dollars, to nearly 20,000 US dollars.

With the emergence of this round of bull market, Kolo, which had been laying out the blockchain industry, also became one of the global trading centers due to its friendly policies towards digital coins.

In particular, with China’s reintroduction of restrictive policies, the BA exchange, which had moved overseas and relocated its headquarters to Koblyta, began to grow, becoming the world’s second-largest digital coin exchange, second only to the Mt. Gox exchange.

Matrix Capital, managed by Rami Shakfa, also participated in the investment when CZ left the OK exchange to start his own business, becoming one of the major shareholders of the BA exchange and owning a considerable number of platform coins—BNB. In the future, this investment will also receive generous returns.

After that, Distributed Foundation, together with Matrix Capital, cooperated with the African United Bank, the European United Bank, and Standard Chartered-Merrill Lynch Capital to launch the Bitcoin-pegged investment product T-Bitcoin to the investors of these banks.

At this time, the price of Bitcoin had been maintained at several thousand to more than ten thousand US dollars, but at the same time, it also caused the miner fees (which can be understood as handling fees) required for transferring on the Bitcoin network to be very high and the speed to be extremely slow.

Anchorage, a company under Matrix Capital, launched USDA, a stable coin pegged to the US dollar, and this time will launch T-Bitcoin, pegged to Bitcoin.

The European United Bank and Standard Chartered-Merrill Lynch Group will package T-Bitcoin into a bond, corresponding to the value of Bitcoin, to sell to traditional investors who are interested in investing in Bitcoin but do not understand the complex concepts of Bitcoin wallets and transfers.

Distributed Foundation uses its huge Bitcoin reserves to provide credit for the 1:1 peg between T-Bitcoin and Bitcoin.

In this way, it is possible to successfully transform the transaction of digital coins into an investment product similar to traditional “securities” and “stocks,” and without expensive transfer fees.

After its launch, T-Bitcoin quickly became the Bitcoin-anchored security with the largest global trading volume, and Matrix Capital, with its huge amount of funds, has become increasingly powerful in its say over the price of Bitcoin.

It is worth mentioning that Tesla’s boss Musk later came into contact with Bitcoin through Rami Shakfa, as well as his more beloved “Dogecoin”—even the abbreviation of the American Department of Government Efficiency, where Musk served in the original timeline, is DOGE…

It can only be said that he loves it!

Chapter 1015: Grand Finale (3): Female Prime Minister (Part 1)

On June 23, 2016, the United Kingdom began its Brexit referendum.

On February 20th of that year, David Cameron announced that the referendum date would be today.

On this day, the people of the entire United Kingdom would choose “Yes” or “No” on the ballot asking, “Should the United Kingdom remain a member of the European Union or leave the European Union?”

It could be said that this day’s vote would determine the fate of the United Kingdom for quite some time to come.

On June 24th, after a busy day of counting votes, the Chief Counting Officer, Jenny Watson, officially announced the national vote results of the referendum at Manchester Town Hall.

According to statistics, the Brexit referendum received a total of 33,578,016 votes, accounting for 72.2% of the British population eligible to vote. A turnout of over 70% indicated that the Brexit referendum attracted the participation of most of the nation.

Ultimately, the number of voters supporting Brexit was 17,275,889, accounting for 51.45% of the total votes; the number of voters supporting remaining in the EU was 16,302,127, accounting for 48.55%…

Therefore, in this Brexit referendum, the people who supported leaving the EU won by a narrow margin!

After the Brexit referendum results were announced, David Cameron gave a speech in front of 10 Downing Street, announcing his resignation as Prime Minister.

He stated that although he supported remaining in the EU, the British people had chosen another path, and therefore they needed a new Prime Minister.

Despite appearing calm and composed in his resignation statement, Cameron was actually deeply affected internally. Many years later, in his memoirs, he admitted that the referendum result was a huge blow to him, that he fell into “extreme depression and frustration,” and that he was very clear in his mind that “some people will never forgive me.”

Some of Cameron’s close staff later revealed to the media that the Duke of Devonshire, who was on very good personal terms with Cameron at the time, had warned him very early on that Brexit would severely damage the British economy.

Cameron himself was a representative figure of the Remain camp. He initiated the Brexit referendum to quell the controversy within the party regarding the EU, and believed that the British people would choose to remain in the EU.

However, the referendum result was beyond his expectations. 51.45% of voters chose to leave the EU. This result made his political position awkward and difficult to continue leading the country.

Similarly, the Brexit referendum result brought huge political and economic uncertainty, and Cameron also felt it difficult to cope with the subsequent Brexit negotiations and national integration tasks. Some reports pointed out that he was unwilling to deal with the complex issues involved in Brexit, and therefore chose to resign.

Of course, the most important reason was that Cameron felt personally responsible for the referendum result, because he was the leader of the Remain camp. After the referendum failed, he believed that he was not qualified to continue leading the country, and therefore chose to resign to show responsibility.

In addition to this, the result of this Brexit referendum also severely damaged the British stock market.

Time returned to the morning of June 24th. When Barron’s motorcade arrived at the DS Financial Center, Daisy, who was beside him, looked at Barron before getting out of the car:

“Will today’s result be as you expected?”

“Although I don’t want it to be, unfortunately…”

Daisy kissed Barron on the face and said:

“Then I need to prepare for battle. I’ve been preparing for so long.”

Watching the woman get out of the car and walk towards the building with vigor, Barron smiled and wiped the lipstick mark off his face…

Just after the Brexit referendum results were announced, the British FTSE 100 index futures plummeted by more than 15%, and the FTSE 350 index also plummeted by more than 13.5%!

And in the following days, it continued to fall, and the British stock market ushered in a bloodbath.

In addition to the British stock market, because the Brexit referendum result would directly affect the relationship between the United Kingdom and the European Union, the result also triggered violent fluctuations in global stock markets.

The German DAX index futures fell by 9% in response.

At the same time, risk aversion soared, causing global investors to flock to safe assets. The Japanese yen soared, and the Japanese Nikkei index plummeted by 7% and triggered a circuit breaker.

The Asia-Pacific stock markets were not spared either. The Hong Kong Hang Seng Index fell by 5.7%, the South Korean Kospi fell by more than 4%, and the Taiwan Weighted Index and the Singapore Straits Times Index both fell by more than 2%.

The Chinese A-share market was also affected by the external market. The Shanghai Composite Index turned sharply downwards in the afternoon, once falling by 2.9% to 2807.6, the largest decline since May 30, 2016. The CSI 300 index fell by 2.5%, and the ChiNext index fell by 3.4%.

In addition, the Brexit referendum result also had a significant impact on the exchange rate market.

After the Brexit referendum results were announced, the pound sterling fell sharply against the US dollar, hitting its lowest level in decades, and the euro was also affected.

The sharp fluctuations in exchange rates had a significant impact on international trade and cross-border investment. Investors needed to face exchange rate risks and adjust their relevant business strategies and expectations.

Citibank had warned that if the United Kingdom left the EU, it could lead to a fall in the pound and the euro, and a strengthening of the US dollar.

In response, US Federal Reserve Chairwoman Yellen said that the Brexit referendum could bring significant economic impact, and that the financial markets may experience a period of volatility, bringing negative impacts on financial conditions and the American economic outlook.

In addition, Brexit may also lead to more EU countries considering the possibility of leaving the EU, which means that the EU has the opportunity to face a state of disintegration, bringing a sustained negative impact on the market.

……

After Cameron announced his resignation, the Conservative Party’s top priority now was to elect a new party leader to replace Cameron and take on the responsibility of Prime Minister.

From this time on, the Conservative Party began its competition for party leadership internally.

The Conservative Party leadership election was divided into two stages.

The first stage of the election, starting on July 5th, would select from the current five candidates who intended to participate in the election.

The candidates included former Foreign Secretary Joe Harriman, former Home Secretary Theresa May, former Energy Secretary Andrea Leadson, and former Defense Secretary Liam Fox.

This stage of selection would involve three rounds of voting within the Conservative Party’s members of Parliament. In each round, the candidate with the fewest votes would lose the qualification to continue in the election.

However, what was interesting was that in this Conservative Party leadership election, the three most popular people were Joe Harriman, Theresa May, and Andrea Leadson. They were all women.

(Image: Joe Harriman, Theresa May, Andrea Leadson)

This also meant that there was a high probability that the United Kingdom would have its second female Prime Minister after Margaret Thatcher.

Sure enough, in the two rounds of selection held on July 5th and 6th respectively, two candidates withdrew from the competition.

The remaining three candidates were Joe Harriman, Theresa May, and Andrea Leadson.

This also meant that no matter who among the three won the final victory, it was a foregone conclusion that a second British female Prime Minister would appear after Margaret Thatcher.

What was interesting was that among the three female candidates currently in the selection process, the order from pro-EU to Eurosceptic was Joe Harriman, Theresa May, and Andrea Leadson.

Joe Harriman and Theresa May initially supported the Remain campaign promoted by the current Prime Minister Cameron, but which had failed. However, Joe Harriman’s attitude was more firm. Although Joe Harriman began to keep a low profile on related statements due to the increasingly strong Eurosceptic tendencies of the public, she had always emphasized the serious consequences of Brexit.

Theresa May’s attitude had undergone a subtle change before the Brexit referendum. She no longer talked about the negative impact of Brexit, but began to talk more about the United Kingdom’s “not unacceptable and somewhat beneficial” options in Brexit…

As for Andrea Leadson, she had always been an active Eurosceptic, supporting the United Kingdom’s withdrawal from the EU.

In the third round of selection on July 7th, it was determined that Joe Harriman and Theresa May would enter the final competition, while Andrea Leadson was eliminated.

Joe Harriman ultimately defeated Theresa May in the vote held on July 11th by 150,000 Conservative Party members and was determined to be the Conservative Party leader.

Next, Cameron made a statement outside 10 Downing Street later on the 11th, announcing that he would resign as Prime Minister on the 13th.

After making the statement, Cameron did not remove the small microphone on his collar and walked directly towards the door of 10 Downing Street.

At this time, a voice came from the microphone. Cameron was humming a little tune in a low voice, and the tune sounded very cheerful.

After the door closed, Cameron’s voice came from the microphone: “Okay.”

Then, he took off the microphone.

Some media believed that judging from the cheerful tune Cameron was humming, he was very happy to leave 10 Downing Street to escape the chaos caused by “Brexit.”

On July 13th, Cameron attended the Prime Minister’s Questions session in Parliament for the last time that noon, and went to Buckingham Palace in the afternoon to submit his resignation to the Queen.

After the Queen accepted his resignation, Joe Harriman traveled by car to Buckingham Palace to meet the Queen.

At this time, Joe Harriman had cut her hair short, making her look more neat and capable.

When she entered the reception room, the Queen had a moment of dismay when she looked at Joe Harriman.

After all, from her perspective at the time, the person who had just stepped in was, as if in a trance, her former daughter-in-law, Diana.

However, the Queen was only momentarily distracted. She quickly realized that it was just her illusion, and then a familiar, kind smile appeared on her face…

At this point, Joe Harriman was formally approved by the Queen and became the new Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.

She was the second female Prime Minister in British history after Margaret Thatcher.

At the same time, at the age of just 36, she broke Cameron’s record (43 years old) and became the youngest British Prime Minister in nearly 200 years.

It is worth mentioning that in the entire history of the United Kingdom, only William Pitt the Younger was younger than Joe Harriman when he served as Prime Minister. He was appointed Prime Minister in 1783 at the age of 24.

Interestingly, William Cavendish, an ancestor of the Devonshire family, was also elected Prime Minister of the United Kingdom in 1756 at the age of 36.

However, because Joe Harriman’s 36th birthday was not long after this time, she became the second youngest Prime Minister in British history by a slight margin.

Subsequently, Joe Harriman and her partner, supermodel Rosie Huntington, came to 10 Downing Street and gave a speech at the door of the Prime Minister’s residence.

In her speech, Joe Harriman promised to be committed to solving the various injustices existing in British society, developing the British economy, and providing more jobs and security for the people.

Regarding the Brexit referendum, Joe Harriman said:

“After the Brexit referendum, we have understood the choice of the British people. I will respect everyone’s wishes and lead the government to deal with the challenges brought about by this matter… But what needs to be understood is that ‘Brexit’ is a complex matter. We need to carefully invoke Article 50 of the Treaty on European Union until we find the best solution…”

Chapter 1016: The Grand Finale ④: Female Prime Minister (Middle)

“There’s no law stating that after the Brexit referendum passes, we need to immediately leave the European Union…”

After Jo Harriman became Prime Minister and moved into 10 Downing Street, Barron visited the center of British power (at least nominally) for the first time to experience it.

Watching the fragrant “Madam Prime Minister” beside him, dressed in silk pajamas and busying about, he said:

“The referendum result itself doesn’t have legal force; it’s just an expression of public opinion. The power to decide on Brexit rests with Parliament. Even to leave the EU, Parliament needs to authorize you to formally submit a declaration of withdrawal to the EU…”

“Ahem… You mean to delay it?”

Jo Harriman, who was drinking milk, choked slightly. She didn’t immediately wipe her mouth but looked up and asked:

“But those Brexit supporters within the Conservative Party, and opposition party members like those from the Independence Party who are clearly demanding Brexit, probably won’t let us drag it out.”

“I’ll help you deal with some of those people. And no matter how noisy Parliament gets, I believe that as long as we can delay it until after the next election, we’ll have an absolute majority of seats. The most important thing is not to easily invoke Article 50 of the Treaty of Lisbon.”

Article 50 of the Treaty of Lisbon, which Barron mentioned, refers to the formal mechanism for a member state to withdraw from the EU as stipulated in the treaty signed by EU member states.

A very important part of it is that once a member state intending to withdraw submits an application to the EU, an exit agreement needs to be reached within two years, unless all member states unanimously agree to an extension.

Like Theresa May, who “succeeded” Cameron in the original timeline, the very important reason she ultimately resigned was that she was indecisive and had a vague stance on Brexit, failing to firmly take charge of the overall situation, which aroused dissatisfaction from all walks of life in Britain, including within the Conservative Party.

So, in order to quell dissatisfaction and doubts, on March 29, 2017, Theresa May hastily invoked Article 50 of the Treaty of Lisbon—the curtain on Brexit negotiations was raised, and the Brexit process officially began.

This set off the chain reaction that led to Theresa May’s downfall.

At that time, after the British Brexit process officially started, the “Remain” forces in Parliament began to fiercely oppose it.

Helpless, in order to strengthen control over the Brexit process and to give the Conservative Party a greater advantage in Parliament, Theresa May abandoned her promise upon taking office and called for an early general election in June 2017.

According to her idea, an early election could significantly increase the Conservative Party’s slim majority in Parliament at the time, after all, the Labour Party was torn apart by internal conflicts, and the Conservative Party’s approval rating was high everywhere.

At that time, with the Conservatives in control of the House of Commons, Brexit would be much easier.

But no one expected that after this election, the Conservative Party led by Theresa May not only failed to win a majority of parliamentary seats but also lost its slim advantage in Parliament—she would face a “hung parliament” with a majority of opposition party members, making it even more difficult to push forward Brexit!

To make matters worse, the Conservative Party was very dissatisfied with the results of this election and began to call for Theresa May’s resignation.

It can be said that this election left Theresa May besieged on all sides, and her political prestige and ruling position were seriously weakened as a result, which also foreshadowed the two rounds of no-confidence votes she later faced from the Conservative and Labour parties.

Here, the general election was a foregone conclusion, and there, the difficult Brexit negotiations had just begun.

Initially, the positions of both Britain and the EU were very tough, and the negotiations fell into repeated stalemates.

Later, due to the urgency of negotiating future relations with the EU, especially a British-EU trade agreement, Theresa May had to make some concessions.

As the Brexit deadline approached, Theresa May became even more eager to reach a Brexit agreement with the EU.

Then, when Theresa May returned to Britain with the hard-won agreement, she encountered even greater resistance—the Brexit agreement, which had been painstakingly negotiated, was rejected three times in Parliament, and Theresa May was almost helpless, and finally had to resign in tears.

Therefore, now that Jo Harriman has replaced Theresa May as Cameron’s successor, she needs to learn from her lessons in the original timeline.

In fact, before this, Barron did not interfere too much with the public opinion before the Brexit referendum—although he had such an idea at the very beginning.

He did this mainly for two considerations.

The most important of these is that some people who have not truly felt the disadvantages of leaving the EU will always cheer for Brexit.

Just like a flock of sheep that has not been chased by wolves to become prey, they will not understand the necessity of a fence.

Immediately after the Brexit referendum succeeded, not only did the British stock market plummet, but many multinational companies also successively expressed the possibility of considering moving their European headquarters out of London.

Investment in related manufacturing industries has also begun to stagnate and wait and see. Once Britain starts Brexit, barriers will appear between them and the European market.

These can be seen from the unemployment rate that will be listed this month…

In addition, voices of opposition have also emerged in regions including Northern Ireland and Scotland—once Britain leaves the EU, the border between Northern Ireland and Ireland will be closed again, which will naturally cause dissatisfaction in Northern Ireland.

In the lead-up to Brexit, Eurosceptics used a lot of exaggerated propaganda about the benefits of Brexit. Without real-world comparisons, people are too easily deceived by those illusory promises, believing that the “Brexit will hit the British economy” arguments of the Remain camp are just exaggerated lies for their own benefit.

It’s like you telling a beautiful female student that skipping class to go to a nightclub is dangerous. If there are no real related cases or her own experiences, it is easy to be considered just an exaggeration to keep her in school, “It’s safe there”…

It’s just that there are many real cases of beautiful female students encountering misfortune in nightclubs, and not every girl needs to experience it to believe that this is not “exaggeration.”

But the “Brexit” thing has not happened yet, and the British people who blindly want to leave the EU still need to experience it for themselves.

As for the other reason, it can also be regarded as a side benefit, that is, after the “Brexit referendum” is successful, Cameron will inevitably resign as in the original timeline, and Jo Harriman, with Barron’s support, has more supporters in the Conservative Party than Theresa May, which is also the best way for her to quickly “ascend to the top.”

Currently, things are developing according to Barron’s plan.

On the day Jo Harriman took office as Prime Minister and moved into 10 Downing Street, she also appeared with the new cabinet members.

The core members of Jo Harriman’s cabinet include—

Chancellor of the Exchequer: Philip Hammond, who served as Secretary of Transport and Secretary of Defense in Cameron’s cabinet, is Jo Harriman’s political ally and also a staunch Remainer.

Foreign Secretary: Grace Oliveira, who served as Jo Harriman’s deputy when she served as Minister for Women and Equalities. After Jo Harriman transferred to become Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, Grace Oliveira served as Minister for Women and Equalities. She is naturally Jo Harriman’s number one confidante and will serve as Foreign Secretary and Minister for Women and Equalities in the new cabinet.

Home Secretary: Theresa May, yes, although Theresa May was Jo Harriman’s opponent in the party leadership competition, her inclination is still towards remaining in the EU, and she is a force that can be united—after all, it is impossible for Jo Harriman to make her entire cabinet composed of her confidantes, and she also needs to use some positions to unite the forces within the Conservative Party that can cooperate.

Seeking common ground while reserving differences is the true meaning of politics, and a certain degree of compromise is often required.

And Theresa May’s personality, although not suitable as a leader, she still does a good job as Home Secretary.

After the previous events, she also released goodwill to Barron in some ways.

In addition to these core cabinet members, there is also a female politician who entered the cabinet for the first time in Jo Harriman’s cabinet, that is, Liz Truss, who serves as Secretary of State for Justice…

Shortly after taking office, Jo Harriman, after taking control of the cabinet and gaining the support of most members of the Conservative Party, began to announce her views on Brexit.

That is to respect the will of the people in the Brexit referendum and will carefully treat the future relationship between Britain and the EU.

But “although the number of people who voted to support Brexit slightly exceeded 50%, the nearly half of public opinion that voted to support remaining in the EU also needs to be respected”…

Jo Harriman said that when it comes to “Brexit,” a historic choice that affects the future of Britain, as Prime Minister, she needs to be more cautious and will appoint David Davis as Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union (commonly known as Brexit Secretary). David Davis is responsible for forming a related think tank to deduce and analyze various options for this issue and is responsible for negotiating with the EU on bilateral affairs.

At the same time, Jo Harriman began her diplomatic visits after taking office, including the EU headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, to communicate with the EU on the results of the British “Brexit referendum.”

Although if Britain chooses to leave the EU, it will have many negative effects on itself, it is not a good thing for the EU either and will cause considerable losses.

In addition to setting a bad example for the member states of the EU, making the “Brexit” ideas of some of these countries stir, as an important economy of the EU, Britain’s departure from the EU will directly cause the EU to lose an important economic contributor, which will have a direct impact on the EU budget.

And Britain’s departure from the EU will affect the trade relations between the two sides, increase the trade costs between each other, and have an impact on some countries in the EU that have close trade relations with Britain, such as Ireland and the Netherlands.

Therefore, the EU also does not want to see Britain ultimately choose to leave the EU.

But the EU also does not want Britain to use this as a threat to put forward more favorable conditions to the EU.

And for Jo Harriman, Brexit is impossible, and she will really try her best to ask for conditions. What needs to be grasped in this is the sense of propriety—Cameron also tried to use this to make conditions to the EU when he agreed to the Brexit referendum, but he screwed it up…

In Brussels, Jo Harriman met with European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, the rotating President of the European Council.

During this meeting, Jo Harriman said that she would not arbitrarily invoke Article 50 of the Treaty of Lisbon, but in the same way, the results of the Brexit referendum showed that the British people were dissatisfied with many aspects of the EU, such as refugees, fisheries, and EU budget contributions, and she also needed to respect public opinion. Therefore, she hoped to have more consultations with the EU on the future direction of bilateral relations.

It is worth mentioning that the current rotating President of the European Council is also the Dutch Prime Minister, and the Netherlands itself is one of Britain’s most important trading partners in the EU. Therefore, the other party naturally does not want to see Britain leave the EU. It can be said that with Mark Rutte’s mediation, Jo Harriman’s trip to the EU was very rewarding.

Chapter 1017: Grand Finale ⑤: Female Prime Minister (Part 2)

In addition to meetings with the European Union, Jo Harriman still did not neglect communication with core EU countries such as France, Germany, and Italy regarding the issue of Britain’s “Brexit.”

Whether in meetings with the EU or in communication with countries like France, Germany, and Italy, Jo Harriman hinted at their concerns, namely that in addition to the impact of Brexit on trade and other aspects, they were also worried that Britain’s departure from the EU would lead other EU members to follow suit.

This concern was not unfounded. After all, in Barron’s previous life, after Britain left the EU, far-right conservative forces in various European countries began to rise. From France to Germany, from Italy to Austria, the far-right voices against immigration, globalization, and European integration gained more and more public support…

Jo Harriman expressed the hope to reach a “Brexit trial agreement” between Britain and the EU outside of Article 50 of the Treaty of Lisbon.

The “trial agreement” she proposed referred to not formally applying to the EU for withdrawal through the provisions of Article 50 of the Treaty of Lisbon…

Instead, the two sides would simulate Britain’s withdrawal from the EU in a relatively short period of time and reach a “simplified” Brexit trial agreement. Britain would implement this “trial agreement” within 6-12 months after the agreement was reached.

Jo Harriman would promise to push the British Parliament to pass a motion to hold another “Brexit referendum” after the “Brexit trial period” was over, and that Brexit referendum would determine whether Britain would formally invoke Article 50 of the Treaty of Lisbon and formally withdraw from the EU.

“Yes, in the previous Brexit referendum, 51.45% of participants chose the option to leave the EU, and we will respect the wishes expressed by everyone in this referendum…”

Jo Harriman said this in a speech to the entire nation after returning to Britain:

“But we will also respect the voices of the other 48.55% of voters, and cautiously face the matter of ‘Brexit,’ which is of great importance to all British citizens, especially given that the relevant survey data we have obtained shows that a considerable number of voters did not realize what ‘Brexit’ means, and the changes it would bring, which may involve every aspect of our lives…”

In this speech, Jo Harriman mentioned the “Brexit Trial Agreement” that she had proposed to the EU and the British Parliament.

Whether it was France, Germany, or the EU, they all realized the “demonstration effect” that Britain had on other EU member states, so they finally agreed to the “trial agreement” negotiations between Britain and the EU as a special case under her persuasion.

In the plan submitted to Parliament regarding the “Brexit Trial Agreement” negotiations, Jo Harriman would send a team led by “Brexit Secretary” David Davis to negotiate the content of the agreement with the EU.

Once the final “Brexit Trial Agreement” was approved by Parliament, it would take effect immediately, and Britain would establish a “simulated post-Brexit relationship” with the EU within the framework of the “Brexit Trial Agreement” in the following 6-12 months.

When the “Brexit trial period” expired, Britain would immediately hold a new round of “Brexit referendum.” The result of this Brexit referendum would directly determine whether Britain would activate Article 50 of the Treaty of Lisbon and begin the formal Brexit process.

It can be said that the “trial period” approach proposed by Jo Harriman was unprecedented, and after this proposal was made public, it also aroused fierce discussions from all sides.

Among them, the Independence Party, along with some Brexit supporters within the Conservative Party and the Labour Party, questioned Jo Harriman’s proposal.

Their main reason was that the result of the Brexit referendum had already shown that more people chose to leave the EU, and conducting such an experiment was very frivolous, and there was no need to hold another Brexit referendum. Otherwise, if the result of the new referendum could change the result of the previous referendum, then the form of referendum would not have any meaning, because if its result did not meet the expectations of some people, it could be carried out again and again, then their democracy would become a joke.

In response to the questioners’ doubts, Jo Harriman also gave her own reasons. According to a questionnaire survey by an authoritative organization, more than one-third of the respondents said that although they participated in the Brexit referendum, they did not know what Brexit meant. Even a considerable number of them only started searching online for what the “EU” was after the results of the Brexit referendum were announced…

Moreover, before this, no other country had experienced Brexit, and could not provide the British government and people with sufficient arguments to support which was the better choice between leaving and staying in the EU. Therefore, the “Brexit experiment” she proposed was very necessary. It could not only provide experience support for the British government for possible “Brexit” in the future, but also allow the public to more deeply appreciate the differences between post-Brexit and the present.

Under such circumstances, the Brexit referendum choice they ultimately made would be more informative.

In the final parliamentary vote, it narrowly passed with 435 votes in favor, 202 votes against, and 13 abstentions.

Because according to relevant British regulations, a motion proposed by the Prime Minister must obtain more than two-thirds of the votes of all members of the House of Commons (including vacant seats) to be passed in Parliament—currently there are 650 members of the House of Commons in the British Parliament. Therefore, in order to obtain parliamentary authorization for passage, Jo Harriman’s “Brexit Trial Agreement” motion must obtain the consent of more than 434 members.

This time, the relevant motion was approved with the support of 435 votes, which can be said to be a very close call.

So on the same day, Jo Harriman announced the formation of a team led by David Davis to start negotiations with the EU on the specific terms of the “Brexit Trial Agreement.”

…

On November 9, 2016, the results of the American election were announced, and a surprising candidate had the last laugh.

A week later, just as the British Parliament passed the “Brexit Trial Agreement” negotiations and British representatives began negotiating the relevant terms with the EU, British Prime Minister Jo Harriman paid a visit to America.

That day, The New York Times used a photo of Jo Harriman wearing a red trench coat walking out of the airport as the front-page photo.

And the title was—

“Renewed Prosperity, or Collapse? Where Will the Most Charming Prime Minister Lead Britain?”

Before this, when she served as the British Foreign Secretary, Jo Harriman had attracted countless “fans” because of her personal charm. After she took office as Prime Minister, her Twitter followers had exceeded 50 million, second only to Barack Obama’s 80 million followers, becoming the second most followed politician in the world.

Therefore, Jo Harriman’s visit to America this time also attracted the attention of a large number of Americans. During this period, the most frequently appearing news about Jo Harriman was on American television and in newspapers.

During her previous visit to America as Foreign Secretary, Jo Harriman established a good personal relationship with Barack Obama. When she took office as British Prime Minister, Barack Obama specifically called her at the first moment to congratulate her.

At that time, in a media interview, Barack Obama’s evaluation of Jo Harriman was “a very charming and capable woman, and I believe she will lead Britain to overcome any difficulties.”

During the meeting with Barack Obama, Jo Harriman talked about the issue of Britain’s Brexit, saying that this was a matter of great impact for the world, so she would treat it with caution.

Barack Obama, who had less than two months left in his term, also praised Jo Harriman’s caution and courage in dealing with the “Brexit” issue, and said that as the closest ally, America was willing to stand with Britain at any time.

In addition to meeting with Barack Obama, Jo Harriman also held a private meeting with the incoming new President, but the content of the talks was not disclosed to the public. Jo Harriman only said that she hoped that the partnership between Britain and America would continue to last, and the two exchanged views on certain issues.

The new President praised Jo Harriman, saying that the conversation with her was very pleasant, and he also looked forward to continuing to cooperate with Britain in various global affairs.

…

In January 2017, Britain announced that it had reached the first phase of the “Brexit Trial Agreement” with the EU.

The first phase of the agreement mainly determined three key aspects—

First, Britain will continue to contribute to the EU budget during the two-year transition period of the agreement (simulating a formal Brexit agreement, in fact, continuing to pay budget contributions during the trial period). This fund is called a “divorce bill.” Although the agreement did not announce the specific amount, according to Britain’s contributions in previous years, it is estimated to be between 20 and 30 billion euros per year.

Second, the border issue between Britain and Ireland: The agreement confirms that during the “trial period,” no physical facilities such as customs or border inspections will be set up on the border between Northern Ireland and Ireland, and the current “invisible border” will continue to be maintained—Northern Ireland will leave the EU with Britain, but will not enjoy “special status.”

Third, regarding citizen rights, the agreement stipulates that approximately 3 million EU citizens in Britain during the “trial period” can apply for permanent residence in Britain, and can also apply for family reunification; if they move out of Britain, they can transfer their social security in Britain or apply for British welfare in accordance with regulations.

In fact, although it was a “Brexit Trial Agreement,” the EU itself was negotiating with the mentality of using this as a negative example of Brexit, so naturally it would not make too many concessions on the content of the agreement.

On the British side, although Jo Harriman also hoped to use this to let the public understand the impact of Brexit on life, it would not cause Britain to lose too much, to the point of “hurting its bones”…

Therefore, the negotiations between the two sides were still quite intense, and it really had the air of formal Brexit negotiations.

However, in order to reach an agreement as soon as possible, the British side would not dwell too much on some things, so overall, the progress of this agreement negotiation was relatively fast.

In May 2017, the two sides finally reached the final “Brexit Trial Agreement.”

Its main contents are—

1. Trade: Trade between Britain and the EU is not restricted by tariffs and quotas, but Britain is no longer part of the EU economic area, and the two sides will form two independent markets.

2. Fisheries: During the trial period, the amount of fish caught by the EU in British waters needs to be reduced by 25%.

3. Dispute resolution: The two sides reached a “common standard,” establishing a common standard framework in aviation, commercial subsidies, labor rights, the environment, and law enforcement, and setting up an independent dispute resolution mechanism.

4. Immigration system: The free movement of people between the EU and Britain ends. EU citizens no longer have the right to automatically settle in Britain, and British citizens will also lose the guarantee of living, working, and retiring in other European countries.

5. Northern Ireland: Northern Ireland will remain in the EU single market for goods and comply with EU regulations, avoiding a hard border with Ireland.

At this point, the Jo Harriman government announced that it would officially enter the “Brexit trial period” on June 1, 2017. The entire trial period is tentatively set for 6 months.

After the trial period expires, Parliament will vote to decide whether to extend it to a maximum of 6 months, or to immediately conduct the final “Brexit referendum.”

If this Brexit referendum passes, Parliament will authorize the Prime Minister to activate Article 50 of the Treaty of Lisbon within two months and formally begin the Brexit process.

…

On December 1, 2017, after the “Brexit trial period” expired, the British Parliament voted to decide to terminate the “trial period” and hold the final “Brexit referendum” on December 5.

Before the Brexit referendum, according to a survey by relevant institutions, more than 65% of the people who chose “Brexit” last time regretted their original choice.

After a day of voting and counting, on December 6, Chief Counting Officer Jenny Watson announced the national counting results of this referendum.

In the end, voters who supported remaining in the EU overturned the results of the last Brexit referendum with a proportion of 78.2%.

On the same day, Jo Harriman delivered a television speech, announcing that the “Brexit Trial Agreement” between Britain and the EU was officially invalidated, and Britain would re-negotiate with the EU on returning to the EU system.

In 2018, the “Postman-1” strategic ballistic missile developed by the European Missile Group was successfully test-fired. Although its range was only about 7,000 kilometers, the Jo Harriman government still approved the plan to purchase the “Postman” series of strategic ballistic missiles to replace the “Trident” strategic missiles previously purchased from America.

…

In 2020, because of her outstanding performance in the Brexit incident, and the subsequent rapid recovery of Britain’s economic development, and effective measures to deal with the global epidemic, the Conservative Party led by Jo Harriman once again won a majority of seats in Parliament, and she herself was successfully re-elected as British Prime Minister.

In June 2022, EU President Ursula von der Leyen was forced to resign due to a scandal.

Jo Harriman announced her participation in the competition for the position of EU President, and she also resigned from her positions as British Prime Minister and leader of the Conservative Party as a result.

In July 2022, Liz Truss, who had just won the Conservative Party leadership competition, insinuated in her speech after taking office as Prime Minister that certain nobles monopolized Britain’s economy…

On July 15, the EU announced that Ms. Jo Harriman would become the new EU President and would lead the EU until 2024.

In August, the new Prime Minister was impeached and stepped down for shielding his subordinates in a previous fraud incident.

In the subsequent Conservative Party leadership competition, former Foreign Secretary Grace Oliveira, who was also Jo Harriman’s top confidante, won and became the successor to the Prime Minister.

In 2024, Jo Harriman was re-elected as EU President in the European Parliament elections. When she delivered her inaugural speech, she mentioned the need to further promote European integration and create a European Union army led by the EU…

Chapter 1018: Grand Finale ⑥: A Woman Like a Flower

“Seeing that you’re doing alright, I’m relieved.”

“Did you expect me to be on the verge of death? You know my situation with him…”

Hearing Barron’s words, the Countess of Booth. said faintly, “But no matter what, he was always good to me, even though we were only husband and wife in name…”

Just a week ago, the Earl of Booth. was in a car accident in India and died on the spot.

In the car with him at the time was his young and handsome new assistant…

Since Ian Booth’s parents had already passed away, Countess Chris Booth. inherited all of the Booth. family’s property as the Countess—she managed the children’s portion as their guardian.

Barron hadn’t expected the Earl of Booth’s accident, but after investigation, there were no human factors involved; it was purely an accident.

Ian Booth. had always managed the Booth. family’s business, and the Countess wasn’t interested in it, preferring to enjoy life.

Now, these industries, including Argent Real Estate Group, Stuart Mining, and the family’s real estate and farms, are managed by professionals.

Barron also provided some assistance in this regard—he holds shares in both Argent Real Estate Group and Stuart Mining, making him a close partner with the Booth. family.

…

In May 2016, Michael Gray, Chairman and CEO of SEM Group, completed his term and moved to become Chairman of the Supervisory Committee of the Board of Directors.

The group announced that Bonnie Cavendish, the former CEO of Summit Media, would become the Chairman of SEM Group, and Bolso Chamberlain, the group’s former Chief Financial Officer, would become the group’s CEO.

Later, in December 2017, SEM Group announced that it would jointly acquire 75% of MediaCity in Manchester with Cavendish Asset Management, the largest real estate acquisition institution in Britain, and would continue to invest 500 million pounds in the next three years to complete the third phase of the MediaCity project.

Furthermore, SEM Group will build the largest media production center in Europe in MediaCity to meet its increasingly rich content production needs, and the media center will also provide leasing services for independent media and small media studios.

In 2020, Bonnie Cavendish announced her resignation as Chairman of SEM Group and founded the Bonnie Cavendish Cultural Arts Trust. She donated all of her shares in SEM Group to this trust fund, dedicated to promoting the development of the arts and media fields.

In the same year, Bonnie Cavendish received the British Academy Film and Television Arts Award (BAFTA Awards) for Lifetime Achievement for her outstanding contributions to the British film and television industry.

In 2021, the American Emmy Award for Lifetime Achievement was awarded to two people: Kobe Bryant and Bonnie Cavendish.

With this, Bonnie Cavendish became the second person after British legendary actor Laurence Olivier to receive both the British Academy Film and Television Arts Award and the Emmy Award for Lifetime Achievement, and the only one to achieve this feat during her lifetime.

After all, when Laurence Olivier received the Emmy Award for Lifetime Achievement in 1999, it was ten years after his death.

…

“What are you doing?”

After the motorcade started, Barron asked, seeing the actions of the female assistant beside him.

“Dear boss, today is my last day as your personal assistant, so…”

Delivering these words in a sensual voice, Talulah Riley didn’t stop what she was doing…

“I will savor this moment…”

When she looked up again, she said so.

Today, Barron will be heading to Cologne, which, after a six-month delay, will be the first intercontinental flight of his newly delivered “aerial palace”—the Airbus A380.

And after arriving in Cologne, Talulah Riley will take up her new position as CEO of the Vision Fund.

The previous CEO of this fund, Heidi Collins, also did a good job, but as Ivanka’s father reached the top, Standard Chartered-Merrill Lynch Group will begin to expand its business in America. Heidi Collins will become the President of Standard Chartered-Merrill Lynch Group in North America and be responsible for Merrill Lynch’s investment business.

Talulah Riley has been by Barron’s side for many years and has performed very well in her work, fully capable of taking on the role of CEO of the Vision Fund.

Moreover, after Heidi Collins’ management, the structure of the Vision Fund is already very complete, and there are very few investment and mergers and acquisitions that Talulah Riley needs to personally go out and negotiate.

Of course, in addition to the above reasons, Talulah Riley’s job change is also because… she is pregnant.

Well, although it has only just been confirmed that she is pregnant, and she is only about two months pregnant, for safety’s sake, it is not suitable for her to follow Barron around as a personal assistant.

(Comparison of Airbus A380 and Boeing 737 sizes)

As for Barron’s new assistant…

After he boarded the A380 named “Duke of Devonshire,” he saw Ravi Shakfa, who was already there helping the life assistant, Alia, with the arrangements.

Yes, Barron’s new personal assistant is Rami Shakfa’s sister, Ravi.

“Hello, Your Grace…”

“Why are you wearing this?”

Seeing the flight attendant uniform on Ravi, Barron asked in confusion.

“Ah…”

Ravi seemed to just realize this, her face flushed, and she said in a low voice, “Sister Alia just had the flight attendants help customize this uniform, and we’re about the same size, so she asked me to try it on, but I didn’t have time to change back…”

Seeing Ravi’s nervous appearance, Barron couldn’t help but laugh:

“Then go change back, the plane is about to take off.”

“Okay, Your Grace.”

It must be said that this flight attendant uniform really suits Ravi, and the little girl has grown up.

However, when Barron first met Ravi Shakfa, she was only ten years old, so it can be said that he watched her grow up.

Although he suddenly realized that the little girl has grown into a big girl—she is now 21 years old—Barron still treats her as his junior.

Therefore, what Barron is more curious about at this time is what Alia looks like in this uniform… I believe he will see it soon.

…

In April 2018, Talulah Riley gave birth to a daughter for Barron, Celine Cavendish.

At this time, Ravi had already obtained a master’s degree. After a few months of assistant work, she had shed her initial naivety and nervousness and began to become more confident.

“I can tell that you like children, Ravi.”

“Maybe it’s because Celine is too cute.”

Ravi said with a smile.

When she went to visit Talulah Riley just now, Ravi had been holding little Celine, playing with her, so Barron said this.

As Barron’s personal assistant, Ravi has come into contact with more things closely related to him. Compared to the beginning, she has a deeper understanding of this Duke.

For example, knowing that he has many women, and that these women have given birth to more children for him…

But even so, the thoughts hidden in the deepest part of Ravi’s heart have not changed, but have become even more firm.

Perhaps that kind of feeling originated a few years ago… or even earlier.

Carefully glancing at the Duke of Devonshire in front of her, although a few traces of time can be faintly seen on that handsome face, it does not affect his charm at all, but instead gives people a mature and stable temperament. This temperament is even more attractive to Ravi, who has been an orphan since childhood.

“I love you, Your Grace…”

When she was held in his arms, Ravi closed her eyes and whispered.

(End of the book)

Table of Contents

Chapter 1: I Am… Barron?

Chapter 2: Something Happened

Chapter 3: Inheritance Tax and Debts

Chapter 4: Going Bankrupt?

Chapter 5: He Who Wears the Crown Must Bear Its Weight

Chapter 6: News Reports
Chapter 7: Personnel Reduction
Chapter 8: Setback
Chapter 9: Going to London
Chapter 10: The Underdog?
Chapter 11: Golden Jubilee Celebration
Chapter 12: The Queen’s Audience
Chapter 13: The Concert
Chapter 14: Gas Tank Reconstruction
Chapter 15: You’re such a bastard!
Chapter 16: Just in Case
Chapter 17: Prank
Chapter 18: Declining
Chapter 19: Conjoined Triplets
Chapter 20: Loyal to Whom?
Chapter 21: London Star
Chapter 22: His Grace the Duke
Chapter 23: Bonnie’s Invitation
Chapter 24: The Dialogue Sounds So Familiar
Chapter 25: Friendship
Chapter 26: Well Done
Chapter 27: The Decline of the Aristocracy
Chapter 28: Consider It
Chapter 29: The Novel
Chapter 30: Daisy
Chapter 31: The Wager
Chapter 32: DS Capital
Chapter 33: Neoclassicism
Chapter 34: The Best Opportunity
Chapter 35: The Ball
Chapter 36: Royal Family Members
Chapter 37: Viscountess
Chapter 38: Rolling in Dough
Chapter 39: The Livery Company
Chapter 40: Family Hotel
Chapter 41: Impatient
Chapter 42: Radical Strategy
Chapter 43: Interview
Chapter 44: A Big Move
Chapter 45: The Independent
Chapter 46: Methods of Cooperation
Chapter 47: Short Selling
Chapter 48: Just the Beginning
Chapter 49: Renovation Plan
Chapter 50: I’m a Genius
Chapter 51: Things Fall into Place
Chapter 52: That’s Absolutely Ridiculous
Chapter 53: The Cavendish Hotel
Chapter 54: Hotel Brands
Chapter 55: 1 Pound
Chapter 56: His Royal Highness the Prince
Chapter 57: Newspaper Reform
Chapter 58: Serialized Novel
Chapter 59: Still Short on Money
Chapter 60: Argent Real Estate Group
Chapter 61: Establishing a Position
Chapter 62: The Prime Minister’s Wife
Chapter 63: The Sale of ITV Digital
Chapter 64: The Independent’s Redesign
Chapter 65: The Opportunity to Get on Board
Chapter 66: Werewolf?
Chapter 67: Cosplay

Chapter 68: Disagreement Over the Renovation Plan

Chapter 69: Halo Company
Chapter 70: Costume Party
Chapter 71: Madam, You Wouldn’t Want…
Chapter 72: The Duke’s Selection
Chapter 73: Night at the Manor
Chapter 74: Traitors
Chapter 75: Cooperation or Buyout?
Chapter 76: A Complete Victory
Chapter 77: Neutral and Charitable Attributes
Chapter 78: Portal Website?
Chapter 79: Free Evening Paper
Chapter 80: The Date
Chapter 81: Support from the Crown Prince
Chapter 82: Miller Valley
Chapter 83: Broadcast Time
Chapter 84: Mars Fund
Chapter 85: Royal Suite
Chapter 86: Appreciation?
Chapter 87: City Renewal Plan
Chapter 88: London Evening Standard
Chapter 89: Blog
Chapter 90: Creating Something Out of Nothing
Chapter 91: Clouds of War
Chapter 92: The Foundation of the Aristocracy
Chapter 93: Bad News
Chapter 94: Counterattack
Chapter 95: Bonnie Returns
Chapter 96: “The Traitors” Premiere
Chapter 97: Not Bad Performance
Chapter 98: Social Network
Chapter 99: Woaw
Chapter 100: Preparing to Start Filming
Chapter 101: Grosvenor’s Invitation
Chapter 102: Exchange of Interests
Chapter 103: Joining the Negotiations
Chapter 104: Website Launch
Chapter 105: Tit for Tat
Chapter 106: A Task
Chapter 107: Hunting
Chapter 108: Attempting Cooperation
Chapter 109: The Big Fellow
Chapter 110: The Scenery is Not Bad
Chapter 111: Starting Negotiations
Chapter 112: Arriving in Guangzhou
Chapter 113: Long-Term Investment
Chapter 114: Acquisition Completed
Chapter 115: Mr. Ma’s Offer
Chapter 116: Declining the Banquet Invitation
Chapter 117: Negotiation Progress
Chapter 118: Enriching Content
Chapter 119: Being Rejected
Chapter 120: SDTV
Chapter 121: Do They Need Funding?
Chapter 122: Birthday Party
Chapter 123: Doubts
Chapter 124: SEM Group
Chapter 125: Digital UK
Chapter 126: Losing in the East
Chapter 127: Distant Relatives
Chapter 128: The Cursed Family
Chapter 129: Arriving in Boston
Chapter 130: Mr. Bodybuilding
Chapter 131: Exchanging Shares?
Chapter 132: Going with the Flow
Chapter 133: The Shield of the Empire
Chapter 134: Insufficient Production Capacity
Chapter 135: Outsourcing
Chapter 136: Thank You
Chapter 137: House of Lords
Chapter 138: The Future Her
Chapter 139: Cooperation?
Chapter 140: Visiting
Chapter 141: Christmas Address
Chapter 142: Earth-Shattering Acquisition
Chapter 143: 500 Million Pounds
Chapter 144: Cooperation Reached

Chapter 145: Laying Out the Manchester United Plan

Chapter 146: Making Dumplings
Chapter 147: Family Office
Chapter 148: Gift
Chapter 149: The Skyscraper for Sale?
Chapter 150: The Correct Choice
Chapter 151: The Disruptor
Chapter 152: The Outbreak of War
Chapter 153: Are You Serious?
Chapter 154: Just a Social Overture
Chapter 155: An Unexpected Incident
Chapter 156: DS Financial Center
Chapter 157: The Rich List
Chapter 158: Old Trafford
Chapter 159: Protectors
Chapter 160: Organic Certification
Chapter 161: Summit Studio
Chapter 162: Love Island
Chapter 163: The Choice of Listing
Chapter 164: Want to Borrow Money Too?
Chapter 165: Dara Goy
Chapter 166: Number 2, The Bund
Chapter 167: Argos
Chapter 168: Hot Springs
Chapter 169: Taking Over Manchester United
Chapter 170: Manchester United Superstar
Chapter 171: Independent Information Network
Chapter 172: Interview
Chapter 173: Shadow Cabinet
Chapter 174: The Multilateralist Faction
Chapter 175: Special Operation
Chapter 176: Pregnant?
Chapter 177: Transfer Saga
Chapter 178: Manchester United Business
Chapter 179: Success
Chapter 180: Raphael
Chapter 181: Music Festival
Chapter 182: Invitation
Chapter 183: 200 Million Pounds
Chapter 184: This is charity work!
Chapter 185: Investigation?
Chapter 186: What About the Child?
Chapter 187: The Death of a Weapons Expert
Chapter 188: Exploded
Chapter 189: Breakup?
Chapter 190: The Reason for the Choice
Chapter 191: Taking a Bite of the Apple
Chapter 192: Beach Villa
Chapter 193: Netflix’s Challenge
Chapter 194: Rushing Over Overnight
Chapter 195: Google Stock
Chapter 196: Big Shots
Chapter 197: Amanda
Chapter 198: Purchasing Time
Chapter 199: Top-Floor Luxury Residence
Chapter 200: The Hearst Sisters
Chapter 201: Who is William?
Chapter 202: Quantitative Trading
Chapter 203: Athena Fund
Chapter 204: Important Target
Chapter 205: Athena Number One
Chapter 206: Super Big Order
Chapter 207: Through the Wall
Chapter 208: Building the Old Nest
Chapter 209: Inviting Boss Ren
Chapter 210: Excuse Me
Chapter 211: Who Are You?
Chapter 212: 5 Billion US Dollars!
Chapter 213: Sudden Attack
Chapter 214: Solving the Problem
Chapter 215: Tipsy
Chapter 216: Aliya
Chapter 217: Sahara Company
Chapter 218: Security Company
Chapter 219: Skype
Chapter 220: Deeply Worried
Chapter 221: A Persistent Woman
Chapter 222: Sicily
Chapter 223: Primark
Chapter 224: Target: F1
Chapter 225: Responsibility is Important
Chapter 226: Descendants of the Holy Lineage
Chapter 227: Amazing Treasure
Chapter 228: Observing the Sample
Chapter 229: O2’s New Headquarters
Chapter 230: How Strong Bonnie Is
Chapter 231: Giant Studio
Chapter 232: Middle Eastern Tycoons?
Chapter 233: Long Time No See
Chapter 234: The Most Expensive Mansion
Chapter 235: The Hall Family
Chapter 236: This Isn’t a Threat
Chapter 237: Two Choices
Chapter 238: Inheritance?

Chapter 239: The God of Stocks in the Middle East

Chapter 240: Always Leading the Pack
Chapter 241: Public Investment Fund
Chapter 242: Two Children
Chapter 243: A Trip to California
Chapter 244: The Zeuss Fund
Chapter 245: Are You Alright?
Chapter 246: Binding Interests
Chapter 247: IvanCa Capital
Chapter 248: The Civil War Begins
Chapter 249: West African Mining
Chapter 250: Charity
Chapter 251: Twins
Chapter 252: Broadcasting Rights Competition
Chapter 253: Christmas Is Approaching
Chapter 254: Handover
Chapter 255: 7 Billion US Dollars!
Chapter 256: Series B Funding
Chapter 257: Low-Interest Loan
Chapter 258: Evans Manor
Chapter 259: The Choice
Chapter 260: Digital Standards Group
Chapter 261: F1 Group
Chapter 262: Hock Tan
Chapter 263: Bulldog
Chapter 264: A Delight to See
Chapter 265: Beginning the Operation
Chapter 266: Transition
Chapter 267: Declined
Chapter 268: Alibaba’s Further Financing
Chapter 269: Shanghai Mansion
Chapter 270: Avago
Chapter 271: Tender Offer
Chapter 272: A Good Port
Chapter 273: Completion of the Acquisition
Chapter 274: West African Group
Chapter 275: The Result
Chapter 276: Britain’s Richest Man
Chapter 277: IPO Listing
Chapter 278: Awaiting Childbirth
Chapter 279: Jennifer
Chapter 280: Laying Out the Future
Chapter 281: Beginning Development
Chapter 282: Ambitious Aspirations?

Chapter 283: Withdrawing from the West African CFA Franc Zone

Chapter 284: Mikhail
Chapter 285: Increasing the Issuance Price
Chapter 286: Low-Interest Loan
Chapter 287: Aether
Chapter 288: Time for Another Meal
Chapter 289: Needs to Learn
Chapter 290: Frenzied Party
Chapter 291: Baidu’s Further Financing
Chapter 292: Industrial Investment
Chapter 293: Bank Cooperation
Chapter 294: Tencent’s IPO
Chapter 295: Siheyuan (Courtyard House)
Chapter 296: Incredibly Noble?
Chapter 297: Supor’s IPO
Chapter 298: One Bright, One Dark
Chapter 299: Global Industrial Investment
Chapter 300: The Night Before the Wedding
Chapter 301: What if He Comes Back…
Chapter 302: WTF?!
Chapter 303: Grand Wedding
Chapter 304: Google’s IPO
Chapter 305: Summit Media Listed
Chapter 306: Going Long Again
Chapter 307: Tesla
Chapter 308: Mrs. Hall
Chapter 309: A Shining Life
Chapter 310: Duke of Devonshire
Chapter 311: Investment or Power Grab?
Chapter 312: Negotiating Terms
Chapter 313: Preparing to Take Action
Chapter 314: Google Goes Public
Chapter 315: Gentleman’s Agreement
Chapter 316: Athens
Chapter 317: Solana Island
Chapter 318: The Caulo Shilling
Chapter 319: What Plan?
Chapter 320: Dream Island
Chapter 321: A Certificate of Initiation
Chapter 322: Eliminating Possibilities
Chapter 323: Target: LSE?
Chapter 324: Big Business
Chapter 325: The Gucci Battle
Chapter 326: Pledging Again
Chapter 327: Privatization
Chapter 328: Boeing 747
Chapter 329: Moving In

Chapter 330: Standard Chartered’s Proactive Move

Chapter 331: The Situation Improves
Chapter 332: Secret Meeting
Chapter 333: Happy Birthday

Chapter 334: Let’s Talk About the Market, Shall We?

Chapter 335: Curtain Pulled?

Chapter 336: The London Stock Exchange Changes Hands

Chapter 337: Fanning the Flames
Chapter 338: Enemy?
Chapter 339: Which Cup?
Chapter 340: It’s Your Turn, Mr. Hall
Chapter 341: Misunderstanding?
Chapter 342: Meeting
Chapter 343: Just Interest
Chapter 344: Karma
Chapter 345: Benjamin’s Frustration
Chapter 346: Caesar Fund
Chapter 347: Turning to E-commerce
Chapter 348: New Year’s Eve Banquet
Chapter 349: Snatching the Deal
Chapter 350: Series C Financing
Chapter 351: Financing Completed
Chapter 352: A Small Problem
Chapter 353: Oil Field?
Chapter 354: Compensation
Chapter 355: Digital Future
Chapter 356: Model Agency
Chapter 357: Valentine’s Day
Chapter 358: Joining the Acquisition
Chapter 359: Kolo Petroleum Company
Chapter 360: Good Luck to Them
Chapter 361: Seizing the Opportunity
Chapter 362: What Should We Do Now?
Chapter 363: Luxury Brands
Chapter 364: YouTube’s Angel Round
Chapter 365: Android Company
Chapter 366: Interactive Entertainment
Chapter 367: The Power of Unity
Chapter 368: Acquisition of Czech Telecom
Chapter 369: Baidu IPO
Chapter 370: Trapped in a Predicament
Chapter 371: Huayi Brothers
Chapter 372: Just Right
Chapter 373: Not Needed for Now
Chapter 374: Cavendish Garden
Chapter 375: Attacking the Heart
Chapter 376: Marconi Company
Chapter 377: Merger
Chapter 378: You Trust Me That Much?
Chapter 379: Airborne Palace
Chapter 380: A Gentle, Dependent Woman
Chapter 381: Respect
Chapter 382: Huge Loan
Chapter 383: Blue Blood Brands
Chapter 384: High-End Luxury System
Chapter 385: Exchange
Chapter 386: United Energy Group
Chapter 387: Interested?
Chapter 388: Goldman Sachs’ Friendship
Chapter 389: Returning to the Manor Again
Chapter 390: BBC’s Proposal
Chapter 391: Temporarily Observing
Chapter 392: Listing Plan
Chapter 393: Stock or Bond?
Chapter 394: An Important Position
Chapter 395: Smoke Screen
Chapter 396: Second Marriage
Chapter 397: Back to Square One
Chapter 398: The Pinnacle of Luxury
Chapter 399: 5 Billion Pounds Financing
Chapter 400: That Girl
Chapter 401: The Crown
Chapter 402: Google’s Request
Chapter 403: Selling at the Right Price
Chapter 404: Don’t Be Anxious
Chapter 405: Blue Valley Capital
Chapter 406: Summit Entertainment
Chapter 407: A Bolt from the Blue
Chapter 408: Dust Settles
Chapter 409: Acquisition of ITV
Chapter 410: Selling Primark
Chapter 411: She’s More Reliable
Chapter 412: Baidu Goes Public
Chapter 413: Before the Wedding
Chapter 414: Preparation
Chapter 415: GII Fund Phase Two
Chapter 416: A Difficult Task
Chapter 417: FingerWorks
Chapter 418: Skype Takes Off
Chapter 419: Gift
Chapter 420: Wedding
Chapter 421: Emily Neville
Chapter 422: Hongda Electronics
Chapter 423: In the Name of Glory
Chapter 424: Picking and Choosing
Chapter 425: Making It Possible for Others
Chapter 426: Relief
Chapter 427: Astounding
Chapter 428: AuthenTic
Chapter 429: OMX Group
Chapter 430: Devonshire Series
Chapter 431: Klarna Pay
Chapter 432: Virgin Mobile
Chapter 433: Advantage
Chapter 434: We Are Friends
Chapter 435: Heirs

Chapter 436: Standing on the Side of the Victor

Chapter 437: Board of Directors Meeting
Chapter 438: The Revelation
Chapter 439: Candid
Chapter 440: Brita
Chapter 441: Startling Similarity
Chapter 442: The Final Bid
Chapter 443: A Trip to France
Chapter 444: LOMX Group
Chapter 445: Kololo United Petrochemical
Chapter 446: Woaw’s IPO Begins
Chapter 447: The Value of a Gift
Chapter 448: Mining Acquisition
Chapter 449: A Pleasant Surprise
Chapter 450: A Steady Decline
Chapter 451: Strategic Preparations
Chapter 452: Tianhe Capital
Chapter 453: Debt Crisis
Chapter 454: A Failed Investment

Chapter 455: Treating the Symptoms and the Root Cause

Chapter 456: Target: Marvel
Chapter 457: Key Project
Chapter 458: Plan A
Chapter 459: Listed One After Another
Chapter 460: Filling the Boxes
Chapter 461: Applying a Patch
Chapter 462: Debts and Listing
Chapter 463: Exchange
Chapter 464: Woaw Goes Public
Chapter 465: The Duke’s Heir
Chapter 466: LOMX Group Goes Public
Chapter 467: Resignation
Chapter 468: O2 Telecom’s IPO
Chapter 469: British Brands
Chapter 470: Super Yacht
Chapter 471: Luxury Car Brands
Chapter 472: First Victory
Chapter 473: Argos Goes Public

Chapter 474: The New Prime Minister Assumes Office

Chapter 475: Bentley?
Chapter 476: Black Swan Fund
Chapter 477: The Most Beautiful Princess
Chapter 478: Gold Mine
Chapter 479: Private Talks
Chapter 480: Code Name A1
Chapter 481: Capital Injection

Chapter 482: Meeting an Old Acquaintance Again

Chapter 483: China’s Automobile Industry
Chapter 484: Capital Operations
Chapter 485: Beginning to Reduce Holdings
Chapter 486: Nanjing Automobile Group

Chapter 487: Premier League Broadcasting Rights

Chapter 488: British Automotive Group
Chapter 489: Flagship Model
Chapter 490: Congratulations
Chapter 491: Cavendish Art Museum
Chapter 492: 250% Return
Chapter 493: Paulson’s Loss
Chapter 494: Joint Venture
Chapter 495: Car Engine
Chapter 496: Good Deeds
Chapter 497: Watching the Sea
Chapter 498: Lirna Korchunova
Chapter 499: NBA Team
Chapter 500: Tense Situation
Chapter 501: Harrods Department Store
Chapter 502: A Request
Chapter 503: New Job
Chapter 504: British Automotive Industry
Chapter 505: Refugee Resettlement
Chapter 506: Warning
Chapter 507: Public Acquisition
Chapter 508: Gucci-Hermes Group
Chapter 509: Media City
Chapter 510: Marvel-MGM Group
Chapter 511: The Order of the Garter
Chapter 512: Dream Farm
Chapter 513: Jinling Cloud Brocade
Chapter 514: The iPhone Arrives
Chapter 515: Glory Mate 1
Chapter 516: Skype Goes Public
Chapter 517: CDO and CDS
Chapter 518: The Dollar Tide
Chapter 519: The Incident Escalates
Chapter 520: The First Signs
Chapter 521: Broadcasting Rights Competition
Chapter 522: Selling YouTube
Chapter 523: Love at First Sight
Chapter 524: The Bridge Effect
Chapter 525: Kings Meet Kings
Chapter 526: McLaren
Chapter 527: Meeting
Chapter 528: The Winner
Chapter 529: Standard Newspaper Group
Chapter 530: The Battle of Succession
Chapter 531: The Koch Family
Chapter 532: I Have a Date
Chapter 533: Bourse?
Chapter 534: Tech City Launched
Chapter 535: Difficult
Chapter 536: Reuters Group
Chapter 537: You Will Be the Princess
Chapter 538: Solution
Chapter 539: Merger?

Chapter 540: An Acquisition Price of 8.6 Billion Pounds

Chapter 541: Acquisition Obstacles
Chapter 542: Parmigiani
Chapter 543: Richard Mille
Chapter 544: Garter Day
Chapter 545: Presale Preparation
Chapter 546: 350,000 Units!
Chapter 547: The Dinosaurs of Wall Street
Chapter 548: Open Handset Alliance
Chapter 549: William-Weber Capital
Chapter 550: The Lagardère Family
Chapter 551: The Most Unsuccessful Heir
Chapter 552: Mate 1S
Chapter 553: Bond Girl

Chapter 554: Earning a Fortune Through Tears of Joy

Chapter 555: Not Heartwarming Enough?
Chapter 556: The Most Beautiful Lawyer
Chapter 557: Kolo on the Offensive
Chapter 558: Jupiter Tower
Chapter 559: Small Commodities Market

Chapter 560: The Vision for the Buliita Stock Exchange

Chapter 561: Delaying Tactic
Chapter 562: Shorting Across the Board
Chapter 563: 25 Billion Pounds
Chapter 564: Return Within a Limited Time
Chapter 565: A Different Approach
Chapter 566: More Money Needed
Chapter 567: Shorting Thomson
Chapter 568: Dopods Smart 1
Chapter 569: Veto
Chapter 570: The Dust Settles
Chapter 571: Withdrawing Funds
Chapter 572: Waiting for the Right Moment
Chapter 573: Lanai Island
Chapter 574: Affectionate
Chapter 575: Acquisition Complete
Chapter 576: Massive Oil Deal
Chapter 577: Reliance Group
Chapter 578: Connections
Chapter 579: Investing in Merrill Lynch
Chapter 580: A Corny Family Feud
Chapter 581: Equity Swap
Chapter 582: New Assistant Candidate
Chapter 583: Starting the Job
Chapter 584: British Energy Group
Chapter 585: Long Time No See
Chapter 586: Fierce Competition
Chapter 587: The Bear Stearns Crisis
Chapter 588: The Curtain Falls
Chapter 589: Gold Reserves
Chapter 590: Hot Topics
Chapter 591: Hotel Group
Chapter 592: UK Power Networks
Chapter 593: BYD

Chapter 594: Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business

Chapter 595: Agreement Reached
Chapter 596: A Sudden Turn for the Worse
Chapter 597: Bankruptcy
Chapter 598: Breakup
Chapter 599: King Behind the Scenes
Chapter 600: A Resounding Success
Chapter 601: Acquisition Negotiations
Chapter 602: Snatching the Deal

Chapter 603: Standard Chartered-Merrill Lynch Group

Chapter 604: Dead End
Chapter 605: The Abandoned Lehman Brothers
Chapter 606: Too Big to Fail
Chapter 607: Investing in Goldman Sachs

Chapter 608: Injecting Capital into Morgan Stanley

Chapter 609: Washington Mutual Bank
Chapter 610: Luxurious SUV
Chapter 611: Unparalleled
Chapter 612: Caught in a Dilemma
Chapter 613: Richard
Chapter 614: Hachette Group
Chapter 615: Debt-to-Equity Swap
Chapter 616: Valentino
Chapter 617: Angry Young Man
Chapter 618: Natixis Bank

Chapter 619: An Unexpected Encounter in Monaco

Chapter 620: Dog?
Chapter 621: Acquiring T-Mobile
Chapter 622: Nine Now
Chapter 623: Genius
Chapter 624: Theft
Chapter 625: Online Banking
Chapter 626: The Madoff Case
Chapter 627: Friends Provident Insurance

Chapter 628: Google’s Mobile Operating System?

Chapter 629: Wells Fargo

Chapter 630: Initial Strategic Deployment Settled

Chapter 631: Visiting Tesla
Chapter 632: Electric Cars
Chapter 633: New Force
Chapter 634: Increasing Woaw’s Capital
Chapter 635: A Tycoon’s Enthusiasm
Chapter 636: Guarding Order
Chapter 637: AIA Insurance
Chapter 638: The Advantage is Ours
Chapter 639: Forging a Friendship
Chapter 640: Acquiring Costco
Chapter 641: A Road Paved with Gold
Chapter 642: Aircraft Formation
Chapter 643: Leasing Business
Chapter 644: Advancing Side by Side
Chapter 645: Choosing the Lesser of Two Evils
Chapter 646: Rescue Plan
Chapter 647: They’ll Be Anxious
Chapter 648: Barclays Financing
Chapter 649: The Temptation of Finance
Chapter 650: The Unlucky Earl of Booth.
Chapter 651: United Bank for Africa
Chapter 652: New Operation
Chapter 653: Google’s Mobile Operating System
Chapter 654: ARM Company
Chapter 655: Thirty Years East of the River
Chapter 656: Colo Airlines
Chapter 657: Buying at the Bottom
Chapter 658: USA
Chapter 659: Troop Withdrawal Plan
Chapter 660: Placing Bets on Both Sides
Chapter 661: Amanda and the Child
Chapter 662: Rainy Night Car Accident
Chapter 663: How Did Things Degrade to This?
Chapter 664: Offshore Wind Power
Chapter 665: Accident
Chapter 666: The LIBOR Scandal
Chapter 667: Patriot
Chapter 668: BGI
Chapter 669: Helping Whoever Wins
Chapter 670: Returning the Favor
Chapter 671: The Disruptor
Chapter 672: Long-Term Plan
Chapter 673: Ruthless Person
Chapter 674: Tianhe Real Estate
Chapter 675: The Fall Guy
Chapter 676: For Peace
Chapter 677: Shadow Cabinet
Chapter 678: LIBOR Secured
Chapter 679: The Ongoing Lawsuit
Chapter 680: Unease
Chapter 681: Sovereign Debt
Chapter 682: Divorce
Chapter 683: Short-Term and Long-Term
Chapter 684: Earl Montagu
Chapter 685: Transaction
Chapter 686: Switching Sides
Chapter 687: Insurance
Chapter 688: Patent Litigation
Chapter 689: A Meeting?
Chapter 690: Cooperation
Chapter 691: Deeply Impressed
Chapter 692: Self-Directed and Self-Acted?
Chapter 693: Another Collaboration
Chapter 694: WoawChat
Chapter 695: Completing the Agreement
Chapter 696: High-End Mobile Phone
Chapter 697: Test Drive?
Chapter 698: Living Under Someone Else’s Roof
Chapter 699: Vultures
Chapter 700: Talulah
Chapter 701: Building a New Factory
Chapter 702: Probing
Chapter 703: Activision Blizzard
Chapter 704: Visit
Chapter 705: Loophole
Chapter 706: Frigate
Chapter 707: 5G Preparations
Chapter 708: Beatrice
Chapter 709: Absolute Control

Chapter 710: Watching the Rise, Betting on the Fall

Chapter 711: Responsibility
Chapter 712: Surname
Chapter 713: The Noose
Chapter 714: Financial Iron Lady
Chapter 715: Tillingham Manor
Chapter 716: Countess
Chapter 717: Dubai Debt Crisis
Chapter 718: The P&O Group
Chapter 719: The Tide Recedes
Chapter 720: Selling Skype
Chapter 721: Loss Exposed
Chapter 722: Peninsular and Oriental
Chapter 723: Christmas
Chapter 724: Investing in Rio Tinto
Chapter 725: Julia and Lavi
Chapter 726: Investing in Sharp
Chapter 727: Merger?
Chapter 728: Android Tax
Chapter 729: Ranked Fourth
Chapter 730: House of Cards?
Chapter 731: Kicked Wide Open
Chapter 732: Collapse
Chapter 733: New Year’s Eve, Valentine’s Day
Chapter 734: Stepping Forward
Chapter 735: Case Reopened
Chapter 736: Support
Chapter 737: Recovering Copyrights
Chapter 738: A Deal
Chapter 739: High Efficiency
Chapter 740: Acquisition
Chapter 741: Decline

Chapter 742: The Australian Telecommunications Market

Chapter 743: Fair Vision
Chapter 744: Two Business Deals
Chapter 745: Splitting off Alipay
Chapter 746: Rift
Chapter 747: Oriental Movie Metropolis
Chapter 748: Intense
Chapter 749: Electric Supercar
Chapter 750: The Candidate
Chapter 751: Hung Parliament
Chapter 752: Seeking a Position
Chapter 753: Broadband Promotion Plan
Chapter 754: Social Season
Chapter 755: A Bond
Chapter 756: GHL Group
Chapter 757: The Reason Why
Chapter 758: Hellenic Telecommunications
Chapter 759: Peculiar Fleet
Chapter 760: Expansion
Chapter 761: G4S Group
Chapter 762: Casablanca
Chapter 763: Choosing Shadow Capital?
Chapter 764: Arrival
Chapter 765: Mediation
Chapter 766: Subsidized Housing
Chapter 767: SQM Company
Chapter 768: Negotiations and Rescue
Chapter 769: QE2
Chapter 770: West Africa Strategy
Chapter 771: PMC Fertile Ground
Chapter 772: Signed a Document
Chapter 773: Patent Litigation
Chapter 774: Motorola Mobility
Chapter 775: Mike Lynch
Chapter 776: Doing Some Work
Chapter 777: Retaining Motorola?
Chapter 778: New Model?
Chapter 779: The Melancholy Terminator
Chapter 780: Congratulations
Chapter 781: The Potential of E-commerce
Chapter 782: Transfer
Chapter 783: Prosperous Earth
Chapter 784: Launching an Acquisition
Chapter 785: Pillars of Support
Chapter 786: BAE Systems
Chapter 787: Small Unmanned Aerial Vehicles
Chapter 788: Welcome Banquet
Chapter 789: Solving the Problem
Chapter 790: Laser System
Chapter 791: Sentinel Corporation
Chapter 792: Mobile Advertising
Chapter 793: WWS Cloud Services
Chapter 794: Tide
Chapter 795: Operation S
Chapter 796: Satoshi Nakamoto
Chapter 797: Koluo’s Preparations
Chapter 798: Interest Rate Hike?
Chapter 799: DeepMind
Chapter 800: Mentougou
Chapter 801: Distributed Foundations
Chapter 802: DMIC
Chapter 803: Grand Blueprint
Chapter 804: Avoiding the Pitfalls
Chapter 805: Integration
Chapter 806: Changeover
Chapter 807: Lively
Chapter 808: Standard Defense
Chapter 809: Vanishing Without a Trace
Chapter 810: Progress
Chapter 811: Opportunity
Chapter 812: Power Group
Chapter 813: Gains and Losses
Chapter 814: Alstom
Chapter 815: Ideologies
Chapter 816: An Unexpected Twist
Chapter 817: Charging Standard
Chapter 818: Misunderstanding
Chapter 819: Dangerous David
Chapter 820: Basically Smooth
Chapter 821: Unforeseen
Chapter 822: Battery Production Center
Chapter 823: Xiaomi Corporation
Chapter 824: Brexit?
Chapter 825: United Power Group
Chapter 826: West African Free Trade Zone
Chapter 827: Nigeria
Chapter 828: Customized
Chapter 829: Transition
Chapter 830: Unity Followed by Division
Chapter 831: New Situation
Chapter 832: Tesla Goes Public
Chapter 833: Problem
Chapter 834: Complex Situation
Chapter 835: Broadcom
Chapter 836: Beach
Chapter 837: Different From the Past
Chapter 838: A Fortune 500 Company
Chapter 839: Ten Years
Chapter 840: Change of Pace
Chapter 841: Who’s the Real Daddy?
Chapter 842: Who is a Jew?
Chapter 843: Back in Riyadh
Chapter 844: Photovoltaics
Chapter 845: Operation Siegfried
Chapter 846: 60th Anniversary
Chapter 847: The Olympics Are Approaching
Chapter 848: Adjustments to G4S
Chapter 849: Inheritance
Chapter 850: Potential Stock
Chapter 851: 100% Equity Ownership
Chapter 852: President
Chapter 853: Hidden Danger
Chapter 854: Broadcom Group
Chapter 855: Mali Civil War
Chapter 856: Mission Force
Chapter 857: Large Unmanned Aerial Vehicle
Chapter 858: The Rubber Industry
Chapter 859: Raids
Chapter 860: Industrial Development
Chapter 861: Franco-German Disagreements

Chapter 862: Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Limited (CATL)

Chapter 863: Nanjing Auto Kirin
Chapter 864: Time to Accelerate
Chapter 865: Becoming a Target
Chapter 866: Heading East
Chapter 867: Operation Serval
Chapter 868: Continental United Bank
Chapter 869: QE3 Arrives
Chapter 870: Global Easing
Chapter 871: Stock Repurchase
Chapter 872: Shocking Scandal
Chapter 873: Hummingbird HUM
Chapter 874: Isolated
Chapter 875: The Helplessness of Reality
Chapter 876: Solar Power to the Home
Chapter 877: Return to the Asia-Pacific
Chapter 878: Immense Scale
Chapter 879: Favorability UP
Chapter 880: Reducing Holdings
Chapter 881: Prince
Chapter 882: The Greatest Challenge
Chapter 883: Still Going Strong
Chapter 884: Standard Aviation
Chapter 885: Whispers of Disapproval
Chapter 886: Abandoning the Purchase
Chapter 887: Influence
Chapter 888: Telecommunications Merger

Chapter 889: I’m Really Looking Forward to That

Chapter 890: USDA
Chapter 891: F. William McNabb III
Chapter 892: Forbidden Fruit
Chapter 893: Investment Queen
Chapter 894: King of Social Media
Chapter 895: Giving Up Profits
Chapter 896: Something’s Not Right
Chapter 897: Power Merger
Chapter 898: Accelerating the Plan
Chapter 899: Niger River Delta
Chapter 900: High-Speed Rail Line 2
Chapter 901: Dismantling Bombardier
Chapter 902: Too Difficult
Chapter 903: Respect
Chapter 904: Good Luck
Chapter 905: Shareholders’ Meeting
Chapter 906: This is Impossible
Chapter 907: Efficiency
Chapter 908: The Death of John
Chapter 909: A Conversation is Possible
Chapter 910: Prism Gate
Chapter 911: Joint Venture
Chapter 912: Huawei Marconi
Chapter 913: Threat

Chapter 914: Oh Right, I’m Still a Member of Parliament

Chapter 915: Agenda
Chapter 916: Bull Market Begins
Chapter 917: Additional Issuance
Chapter 918: The Rising Generation
Chapter 919: New Position
Chapter 920: The Same Genes
Chapter 921: Another Success
Chapter 922: Not Impossible
Chapter 923: No Wonder
Chapter 924: Distinguished Guest
Chapter 925: The Ins and Outs
Chapter 926: A Little Too Conservative
Chapter 927: Merger and Reorganization
Chapter 928: Shock
Chapter 929: Night Walk
Chapter 930: Recovery and Collapse
Chapter 931: As If Worlds Apart
Chapter 932: To What Extent?
Chapter 933: There Will Be a Way
Chapter 934: Unusual
Chapter 935: CSIB
Chapter 936: A Blockbuster Acquisition
Chapter 937: Decisiveness
Chapter 938: Dissonance?
Chapter 939: Whether to Join
Chapter 940: Most Charming
Chapter 941: Development
Chapter 942: Again and Again
Chapter 943: Sky Group
Chapter 944: Very Regrettable
Chapter 945: An Expensive Apple
Chapter 946: Profit Distribution
Chapter 947: Hitting Bottom
Chapter 948: Solidifying the Foundation
Chapter 949: Undercurrents
Chapter 950: Madness
Chapter 951: Control
Chapter 952: The Commonwealth’s Presence
Chapter 953: Expectations
Chapter 954: An Unexpected Turn of Events
Chapter 955: Emergency
Chapter 956: Incident
Chapter 957: Exposure?
Chapter 958: A Meticulous Conspiracy
Chapter 959: Appearance
Chapter 960: Audience
Chapter 961: God’s Choice
Chapter 962: Is This Where It Ends?
Chapter 963: Facing Threats
Chapter 964: Controlling the Scale
Chapter 965: A Satisfying Punishment
Chapter 966: Establishing Friendship
Chapter 967: Energy Lines
Chapter 968: Reconstruction
Chapter 969: Super Fund
Chapter 970: Submergence and Progress
Chapter 971: Expanding the Scale
Chapter 972: European Wealth
Chapter 973: Standard Bombardier
Chapter 974: Digital Tax
Chapter 975: Reaching the End of Patience
Chapter 976: Collapse
Chapter 977: Coup d’état
Chapter 978: Close Cooperation
Chapter 979: Independence Referendum
Chapter 980: The Problem
Chapter 981: Political Talk Show Host
Chapter 982: Change of Leadership?
Chapter 983: The Beginning
Chapter 984: Settlement Screen 1.0
Chapter 985: Strategic Missiles?
Chapter 986: European Missile Group
Chapter 987: Joint Venture

Chapter 988: Participating in Research and Development

Chapter 989: Ebola and Refugees
Chapter 990: Kurds
Chapter 991: Nuclear Power Project
Chapter 992: Electricity Shortage
Chapter 993: DailyVedio Goes Public
Chapter 994: Snapchat
Chapter 995: Sale?
Chapter 996: The Enthusiastic Goldman Sachs
Chapter 997: Too Early
Chapter 998: Satisfied Result
Chapter 999: Airline Company
Chapter 1000: Vision 2020
Chapter 1001: Privatization
Chapter 1002: Target: Tiffany
Chapter 1003: Bombing Attack
Chapter 1004: Taking a Stand
Chapter 1005: Cabinet Reshuffle
Chapter 1006: Alibaba Goes Public
Chapter 1007: Official Visit
Chapter 1008: Privatization and Delisting
Chapter 1009: Scottish Referendum
Chapter 1010: Partnership
Chapter 1011: Winery
Chapter 1012: The Postman
Chapter 1013: The Grand Finale ①: 2015
Chapter 1014: Grand Finale ②: Sibling Chapter

Chapter 1015: Grand Finale (3): Female Prime Minister (Part 1)

Chapter 1016: The Grand Finale ④: Female Prime Minister (Middle)

Chapter 1017: Grand Finale ⑤: Female Prime Minister (Part 2)

Chapter 1018: Grand Finale ⑥: A Woman Like a Flower