When the New Year bell rings, 1995 officially arrives.
In a manor in the northern suburbs of Greenwich.
Everyone cheered, kissed, sang and danced, and enjoyed the fireworks show. The carnival lasted until one o'clock in the morning. The New Year's Eve party finally came to an end, and the guests and guests enjoyed themselves.
Only the executives and shareholders of the Levison Group, who were suddenly given an ultimatum by a drunken young tycoon, were thrown into a panic on this New Year's Eve. When they returned to their home on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, Francis Levison had to An emergency conference call was held with the core members of the group, most of whom were on vacation in various places, and many people stayed up all night as a result.
If possible, Francis Levison would have loved not to have had contact with Simon Westeros tonight.
The Leveson family founded the Leveson Group. Four generations of the family have controlled the company for a century. In some moments deep in his heart, Francis Leveson would rather the family business collapse than hand it over to others. .
Of course, this is just a thought.
Frances Levison, who has been accustomed to a luxurious life since he was a child, cannot imagine what he will be like after the bankruptcy of his family business. Although he will certainly be able to retain a part of his family wealth that ordinary people cannot earn in a lifetime, the daily private jets, holiday islands, luxury Yachts and the like are definitely out of the question.
It’s hard to accept when you think about it.
The emergency conference call lasted all night, and the top executives of Levison Group and shareholders were deeply divided.
Some people advocate accepting Simon's shareholding. After all, the conditions offered by this super tycoon are actually not too harsh. They are better than those coveters who are waiting like vultures for the bankruptcy of Levison Group. The US$1.5 billion in funds can not only completely alleviate the financial crisis. Wesson Group's financial pressure is also able to pay off some of the urgent debts that are about to mature.
There are also many objections.
Francis Leveson's uncle Brody Leveson, who controls the Leveson Family Trust Fund and serves as vice chairman of the group's board of directors, expressed firm opposition to Simon's offer, believing that it was taking advantage of the situation. In the final analysis, it is still Brody. ·Leveson does not want the Leveson family to lose control of the business.
Although he is not involved in corporate management, Brody Levison has quarrelsome relationships with many other shareholders of the group, and has also installed many senior executives he personally promoted within the company.
After a dispute, many people also sided with Brody.
Of course, the opponents did not want the Levison Group to go bankrupt, so they proposed that they could use the news that Simon Westeros intends to take shares to attract other investments. Since Simon Westeros is optimistic about this company, it is inevitable to raise funds. It was easy, Westeros only gave them one night to think about it, not just to prevent them from doing this.
Until daybreak, there was still no result.
Finally decided to vote.
Francis Levison did not want to take a stand, but at the request of his uncle, he still voted against it.
The final result was to reject the Westeros system's participation.
The time Simon gave Francis Leveson was nine o'clock the next morning.
On the first day of the new year, shortly after getting up, before Levison could reply, he received a call from James Raybould, and got the news in advance. It turned out that it was an executive who was in favor of Simon's investment in the overnight call. After the meeting, the news was revealed to a creditor of the Levison Group, who then contacted James in a roundabout way.
Simon is not surprised by the Levison Group's decision to use the name of the Westerosi system to raise funds from other sources.
Of course, I will never let it go.
Otherwise, it will be difficult to do business in the future.
When Celia Miller arrived at the northern suburbs manor at nine o'clock in the morning, Simon had already made more than ten calls in a row. He had done a lot of work in advance, and his countermeasures were very simple, almost comparable to those of the Levison Group. Weakness - huge debt.
Levison Group raised most of its debt through Wall Street.
Because the company has been teetering on the edge of a cliff for several years, many creditors have been worried about the safety of their funds.
Levison Group's corporate assets appear to be $7 billion, enough to offset $5.3 billion in liabilities, but this is only an ideal state under normal operating conditions for the company. Once the Levison Group's capital chain breaks and goes bankrupt, the liquidation process will inevitably mean a significant decrease in the value of assets.
By then, let alone US$7 billion, even half of it may not be recovered.
If you accept investment from the Westeros system, not to mention anything else, just the name Simon Westeros is enough to jump the Levison Group's shaky junk-rated bonds to the most secure AAA level.
Unexpectedly, without communicating with creditors at all, Levison Group gave up the opportunity to cooperate with Simon Westeros so rashly, putting everyone's investment in danger again.
How can this be tolerated!
Simon did not need to be too obvious to add fuel to the fire. Before the top executives of the Levison Group had time to use the name of the Westeros system to contact other investors, many frustrated creditors had already come to the door and demanded an explanation from Francis Levison. , some creditors even directly demanded immediate repayment.
Celia Miller was treated to several cups of coffee by Janet, and it wasn't until ten o'clock that Girl A came over to remind Simon that he was done.
Arriving at the study, Simon was already sitting on the sofa in the living area with his legs crossed in a leisurely manner.
After a simple greeting and motioning for Celia to sit down opposite, Simon directly handed over the information he had just read: "You take a look at this first."
Celia took the information and opened it.
His eyes quickly narrowed.
The information in hand should be roughly regarded as a memorandum, a very special memorandum, recording various deeds of a series of members of the family of Yuri Miloslav, the governor of the Rivne region of Ukraine, starting from September last year until the end of the year. There are three pages of lists.
Yuri Miroslav has three sons and two daughters, the eldest son Malcolm, the second son Oliver, the third son Gary, the eldest daughter Sabina, the youngest daughter Kitty, and a very active nephew Igor in the memo .
As for the content of the memo, it can be summed up in four words: Eat and take cards.
Miloslav's third son Gary, who was studying in London, asked for 100,000 pounds to buy a sports car for his 18th birthday.
Oliver Miroslav opened a building materials company and asked to contract to supply some materials to the UFMS family. The price was 60% higher than the normal price, and the order value was US$1.2 million.
The shell company in Igor's name directly demanded to take away the 10% stake in a natural gas company acquired by Oldek Company in Rivne Oblast, worth US$700,000.
Sabina and his wife wanted to move to Kiev and asked Oldek's company to sponsor the purchase of a property for US$300,000.
Etc., etc.
At the end of the document, Celia discovered that Yuri Miroslav's second son was still asking her shell company, which had just been registered less than a month ago, to take all the catering, clothing, and training supplies supply orders for the UFMS base. This made Celia even endure it. I couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat.
Really... seeking death!
Celia, who has personally participated in a large number of Ukrainian affairs, knows very well that the reason why Miroslav was able to maintain his position as governor after Kuchma came to power was largely the result of the operation of the Westeros system. Now, this family regards Rivne Oblast as their private territory, and the Westeros system as a fat sheep that takes everything it wants.
After reading the information in her hand, Celia looked up but did not speak.
He roughly guessed what his boss wanted to do, but this matter was not that simple.
Unlike the United States, the appointment of governors in Ukraine is not through election, but is directly in the hands of the president. The original operation allowed Yuri Miloslav to continue to serve as the governor of Rivne Oblast after the new president Leon Kuchma took office, which was considered a good thing. But if you want to remove the other party, it may lead to some unpredictable consequences.
No country’s top leaders like to be interfered with in their internal affairs.
Simon could also see Celia's thoughts and understood the sensitivity of his decision, but he did not hesitate.
The Westeros system has invested enough in Ukraine for the past six months, and many people in Ukraine have benefited from it. If you just invest and give without demanding or having a firm attitude, then you are really no different from a fat sheep.
This time it was Simon's attitude.
When you should be strong, never give in.
Simon attaches great importance to the layout of the Westeros system in Ukraine. However, even if all previous investments in Ukraine were in vain, it will not have any impact on the Westeros system.
If you really can't do anything, just quit.
Dragging your heels will only lead to more losses.
Thinking like this, Simon said to Celia: "I am a very generous person. According to the previous arrangements of the Westeros system, if Yuri Miroslav focuses on what he should do, within ten years, Mi The Roslav family can become the most powerful political and business family in Ukraine. Unfortunately, they are too short-sighted. If we want to take root in Rivne Oblast, we must remove this stumbling block."
Celia nodded slightly and added: "But, Simon, this may cause a backlash from Kuchma. After all, he is the governor of a state."
Simon said: "This is your task, Celia. I want you to set off to Ukraine tomorrow to convince Leon Kuchma to replace Yuri Miroslav and hand over Rivne Oblast completely to us."
Celia suddenly felt that the burden was a little heavy: "Simon, this is not easy. I can't promise you anything. Besides, where are our bargaining chips?"
Simon looked at the woman opposite and smiled: "I believe in your ability, Celie. As for the bargaining chip, I am not taken advantage of. The Westeros system has given enough. Of course, you can draw some for Kuchma Big pie, the Westeros system has enough strength to help Ukraine's economy recover. As long as the living standards of the local public are improved, it will be easy for him to be president for ten or twenty years, and we will unswervingly support him, including Lobby the federal government for this. By the way, there is also the European Union. The Ukrainian economy can only rely on us if it wants to join the European Union cross-border. The premise of all this is that we must have a clean business environment."
Celia had just been thinking about how to communicate with Leon Kuchma, and Simon's ideas coincided with hers.
The Westeros system has invested enough in Ukraine, especially the arms trading network directly related to the Kuchma family. Even if it is just to safeguard this interest, the possibility of concessions by the Kiev authorities is very high. What's more, the Westeros system is definitely not just a simple commercial chaebol now, and its influence on the Washington authorities will also make Leon Kuchma treat it carefully.
Thinking this way, Celia nodded, and couldn't help but ask: "Simon, do you really want to help Ukraine join the EU? This is actually not in our interests."
Once Ukraine joins the EU, apart from other things, under the pressure of European allies, the Kiev authorities will probably not allow private mercenary organizations like the UFMS to continue to exist. This is precisely the most critical layout of the Westeros system in Ukraine.
When Simon heard this question, he shook his head directly: "Of course not, and Kuchma will not be allowed to be in power for more than ten years. The chaotic Ukraine is more suitable for our layout in this country."
Celia was startled.
I have been working hard in Washington for many years, and I am used to seeing all kinds of deceit and deceit, and now I feel that I am still far less "simple" than my boss.
After thinking about it, Celia asked again: "Simon, after taking down Miroslav, how should we deal with him? Also, do you have a candidate for the new governor?"
Simon nodded and said: "I don't want the Miloslav family to cause any trouble for us after they lose power, so this family must be taken down. That's why I asked you to rush to Ukraine tomorrow. It's just the New Year, and they The whole family is in Rivni, so there is no need to leave this time. The new governor is Andrei Smirnov, a politician with very shallow roots who has cooperated with us enough in recent months."
Andrei Smirnov is the mayor of Rivni. Celia has met him several times before. Thinking back carefully, he is indeed a good match. If everything goes well with this "killing the monkey to scare the chicken", as long as Andrei Smirnov's brain is not broken, he will only stand more on the side of the Westeros system after taking power.
Celia agreed, thinking more about the fate of the Miloslav family.
Taking them all, this is too cruel.
However, considering the information I just read, this family is not a fuel-efficient family. If we can't eradicate the root causes, it's hard to say what will happen in the future.
Simon made such a decision because of a woman.
Tymoshenko.
In my memory, due to the conflict with Leon Kuchma in the late 1990s, Tymoshenko was once beaten to the end, but Kuchma did not go further, and as a result, this woman made a comeback. Ukraine's continued turmoil after the new century is largely the result of this beautiful prime minister.
Cut the grass without eradicating its roots, but it will grow again when the spring breeze blows.
Lessons from the past.
Therefore, Simon will never let Yuri Miroslav step down. This politician, who happens to be 60 years old this year, will spend the rest of his life in prison.
The two chatted in some more details. Simon also revealed to Celia that this comprehensive purge plan would not only bring misfortune to the Miloslav family. Tomorrow, Ken Dixon, a close confidant of Simon, would fly to Ukraine with Celia. The two After completing this matter, Simon will also personally go to Ukraine at the right time.
After talking about things, it was almost noon.
Celia said goodbye and left to start preparing for tomorrow's trip to Ukraine. Simon's attention in the afternoon turned to sorting out and summarizing the 'Information Age' marketing plan that had just lasted two months.