Ford is having a tough time right now.
Sometimes it is easy for a business to fall into a strange circle. In the 1.0 era, there were not many employees and the business was not big, but it could make a lot of money. As a result, when we were ambitious and ready to step into the 2.0 era, we suddenly found that there were too many workers. , The business is getting bigger, but the money is getting less and less.
That's the case with Ford.
In its glory days, Ford was at its peak. In addition to Ford, it also owned Mercury, Lincoln, Aston Martin, Volvo, Jaguar, Land Rover and many other brands. However, the more brands there were, the lower the profits, and it had even begun to experience major financial crises. .
Ford's own financial department estimates that in the next few years, Ford's losses will become larger and larger, and its financial crisis will become more severe until it is dragged into a desperate situation.
At this time, Ford was like a middle-aged and elderly man who was originally very successful, but was dragged down by a large group of unmotivated children. These children did not really want to take advantage of the old people, but Ford himself did not educate them well. He did not plan a successful path for them, so these children had to rely on him to support them.
If it is really a father-son relationship, it is absolutely impossible for Ford to have the idea of getting rid of the burden, but the key point is that running a business is not a father-son relationship. No matter who is responsible for the failure of these sub-brands, for Ford, since it has no ability to help If they improve, the best way is to get rid of all these burdens as soon as possible.
In this way, not only is there no drag, but when you get rid of the burden, you can make a comeback with the money from selling sub-brands.
Since last year, the automobile industry has not been in good shape, especially for established automobile companies such as Ford and General Motors. The system is bloated, internal friction is serious, quality control is insufficient, product competitiveness is insufficient, and the sales network has major flaws. All businesses are like It's a mess that I can't even think about, so I can only cut it off.
In view of the current general trend, although Ford wants to sell several sub-brands, it has never found a suitable opportunity to do so. From Ford's perspective, at this stage, no automobile company is willing to sell these brands in its hands. Interested because these brands have been reduced to inferior assets.
Now, these sub-brands are like giant babies without any profitability, but with huge appetites. Any company that wants to buy them back will not only have to spend a large amount of cash to acquire them, but the first thing they will do after buying them back is to continue feeding them. These giant babies, otherwise, once there is a break and the giant babies die, all the investment will be in vain.
Who would give themselves a few more mouths to eat in this economic situation
Calling it a giant baby is a graceful way of describing it. In fact, these sub-brands are giant beasts of 10,000 tons. Whoever buys them will ride on their necks. If they can bear it, then everything is easy. If they can't, it will be easy. , these giant babies can crush him to death immediately.
However, Ford never dreamed that someone would actually want to acquire its own sub-brands in this economic situation, and as soon as they opened the door, they would buy three of them.
When Davidson relayed Li Mu's intention to Ford's chairman of the board, Bill Ford Jr., the current head of the Ford family, Bill Ford Jr., was so shocked that his jaw almost dislocated.
He couldn't believe that a representative figure like Li Mu, who was at the forefront of the high-tech industry, would be interested in traditional manufacturing.
It’s not like I haven’t come into contact with the Internet tycoons in Silicon Valley. These people have eyes on the top of their heads. They are all self-proclaimed masters. They wish they could buy a pair of shoes and write “morality” on them to tell you about them. Always stand on the moral high ground.
Bill Ford Jr. felt that the people in Silicon Valley were particularly boring. Although some of the things they did were really great, they were really boring.
Under normal circumstances, you talk to him about the oil industry, and he talks to you about the greenhouse effect; you talk to him about the will of the country, and he talks about LGBT equality; you talk to him about Ford cars, and he talks about Prius to you. In my eyes, the Prius is the future development direction of the automobile industry, and all traditional fuel vehicles are the devil of global warming.
Bill Ford Jr. dislikes such bird people the most. We are all Americans. Who the hell doesn’t know who they are
You all usually live in a villa worth more than 50 million US dollars in the Bay Area. The villa consumes thousands of kilowatt-hours of electricity a day. How much greenhouse gases are burned to generate these thousands of kilowatt-hours of electricity? Then you go out and drive a Prius. Come to me to talk about environmental protection? Talk about global warming? I can go to your uncle's house.
Precisely because he knows so many people like this, Bill Ford Jr. is very dissatisfied with the rich people in Silicon Valley and the Internet. Of course, he also knows that those people are also dissatisfied with him.
This is why, he can't understand, Li Mu, as the top person in the Internet industry, is actually interested in the traditional automobile industry.
This doesn’t seem to fit the character!
Moreover, isn't Li Mu's appetite a bit too ruthless? Does he want to take away Jaguar, Land Rover, and Volvo all in one package
This gives people the feeling that a vegetarian suddenly came to him, pointed to a pig, a cow and an elephant, and said: "Excuse me, no matter how you sell these three, I will eat them all in one breath." "
He was stunned for a long time before confirming with Davidson: "Davidson, are you kidding me? Li Mu wants to buy three of my brands?"
"I'm not kidding you." Davidson said, "I was entrusted by Li Mu to help him connect. If you are interested, I can arrange for both of you to take time to sit down and chat."
Bill Ford Jr. couldn't help but ask: "Davidson, we are old acquaintances. Can you tell me why Li Mu is interested in the traditional automobile industry?"
"I don't know..." Davidson said seriously: "I have also advised Li Mu that the automobile industry is not very good now, and compared with the Internet industry, this industry has no advantages. It takes up a lot of capital, has a long payback period, and is difficult to operate. The risk is higher, but Li Mu doesn’t seem to care.”
As he spoke, Davidson added, "He should have some interest in the automobile industry. I think it is a personal hobby."
"Personal hobby..." Bill Ford Jr. couldn't help but said: "If it is a personal hobby, wouldn't it be good to buy Aston Martin? The price is not expensive, and they produce all performance cars."
Davidson smiled and said: "What? I hear what you mean, do you not plan to sell it? If you don't plan to sell it, I will tell Li Mu."
"No, no, no." Bill Ford Jr. said hurriedly: "Everything is easy to discuss. Since Li Mu is interested, I can have a chat with him, or we can send people to meet and contact each other first to see what the wishes of both parties are. In principle Generally speaking, as long as the price is right, all of Ford's assets are likely to be sold."
Davidson said: "In that case, I will convey your original words to Li Mu. You can communicate first and then see how to arrange the next step."
"Okay!" Bill Ford Jr. smiled and said, "Then please help me convey it."
After hanging up the phone, Bill Ford Jr. immediately pumped his fist excitedly and yelled: "YES!"
Then, he immediately pressed the hands-free and quick call on the landline on his desk, and immediately said after being connected: "Lauren, ask the members of the board of directors in the group to come to my office immediately."
A few minutes later, members of the Ford Group's board of directors came to Bill Ford Jr.'s office one after another.
Although Ford Motor Group is a listed company, the Ford family still controls more than 70% of it through various channels. Strictly speaking, this is a family business. Therefore, no matter who the previous CEOs are, they are only professional managers hired by the Ford family. People have no independent decision-making power at all on truly major events.
Because of this, those who came to Bill Ford Jr.'s office were basically all direct members of the Ford family. Most of them had the surname Ford, and a few were relatives, cousins or sons-in-law of the Ford family.
Bill Ford Jr.'s office covers an area of more than 200 square meters. Even if more than a dozen people come in one after another, it does not seem crowded at all.
After confirming that all the company's board members were present today, Bill Ford Jr. said, "I asked everyone to come here because I have some news to announce to you."
At this point, Bill Ford Jr. paused for a moment and went straight to the point without much delay: "Li Mu, the founder and chairman of Makino Technology, expressed an acquisition intention to me through Davidson of the Goldberg family. He is interested in Volvo, a subsidiary of our group. Three brands, Jaguar and Land Rover, are interested and intend to package and acquire it.”
As soon as these words came out, everyone was stunned.
The reason for their surprise was the same as that of Bill Ford Jr., so everyone speculated, and some even suspected that it was a prank in itself.
However, Bill Ford Jr. interrupted their discussion and said: "I know Davidson quite well. He will definitely not make something out of nothing. As for Li Mu, this person has so many properties, there is no way he has time to do anything with us." What a prank, in terms of value, his time is more valuable than ours."
Someone immediately said: "Li Muren has too much money, so why not take this opportunity to give him a good deal?"
Bill Ford Jr. asked: "Do you think you are smarter than Li Mu? Blackmail him? If he could be blackmailed by you casually, he would not be as rich as he is today. I have only heard of Li Mu blackmailing others, not of him. If someone can knock him off, if you don’t believe it, just look at Google and you will know.”
The members of the Ford family who had looked excited just now and wanted to take advantage of Li Mu immediately withered.
Bill Ford Jr. was right. If Li Mu had been someone who could take advantage of anyone, there would be no way his company would be where it is today.
On the contrary, Li Mu is simply a good person, and his calculations on others are extremely accurate. If you want to take advantage of him, you will definitely be unlucky.
At this time, Bill Ford Jr. said again: "The purpose of calling everyone here is not to solicit your opinions, but to inform everyone about this matter, and at the same time to inform everyone of my attitude. As long as the price given by Li Mu is right, these three brands, We take action immediately!"
(End of chapter)