Bill Ford Jr. had always been a little nervous.
As the head of this generation of the Ford family, he is actually a player who has seen the world and experienced great storms. However, when he thought about meeting the world's richest man, Li Mu, he felt somewhat guilty.
The current total market value of the Ford family is only 20 to 30 billion U.S. dollars, and a large part of it is owned by shareholders and other shareholders. The actual shares controlled by the entire Ford family are less than half, and the veteran Old Money has a very large The problem is that there are too many heirs.
This kind of family is generally rich for four or five generations. Starting from the second generation, the number of direct descendants increases exponentially. Four becomes sixteen, and sixteen becomes sixty-four. After four generations, the number of direct descendants increases. There are hundreds of people there, not counting their spouses. The Ford family now has so many direct relatives that even Bill Ford Jr. cannot recognize them all.
Such a family has reached this stage today. Although it is still glorious, it is also suffering.
I think it was really a top family that was all-powerful back then, but what about now? The world is developing too fast, and future generations are not supporting us. Ford's industry has not only failed to move forward, but has actually retreated.
The absolute value has been shrinking, but the number of people sharing the pie continues to increase. Up to now, hundreds of people in the Ford family are crying like blood-sucking bugs every day. A considerable part of the industry dividends and profits go directly into the family trust fund, and then again Given to these heirs, such a family does not have the pomp and courage of a top family, but rather looks a bit like a down-and-out noble.
A family with total assets of tens of billions of dollars, but less than $100 million per person, is understandably nervous when faced with a tycoon worth hundreds of billions of dollars.
Little Bill Ford even felt that it would be really good if he could take this opportunity to hug Li Mu's lap.
The best result is that Li Mu does not acquire the three brands he owns, but makes mergers and acquisitions.
Acquisitions are just giving money to buy things, while mergers and acquisitions are mergers and acquisitions, bringing the acquired party into one's own larger system.
Bill Ford Jr. feels that even if these three brands are valued at US$7 billion, selling them will only relieve some pressure. After all, Ford paid far more than US$7 billion for the acquisition of these three brands, and the acquisition In the past few years, there have been countless investments and losses.
Therefore, the best result is that Makino Technology can merge these three brands into it. If it does not cost more, and gives Ford three to five shares of Makino Technology, then Ford will really win in the future.
Makino Technology has not yet been listed on the market, and the current valuation generally given by the capital market is more than 200 billion US dollars, or even more. If it waits for Google to go public and then IPOs, it will really skyrocket.
At this stage, if the shares of Makino Technology can be exchanged from Li Mu, it would be far better for the Ford family than selling them in cash.
…
In the afternoon, Li Mu took Li Ziwei, Chen Ze, and Elon Musk’s team to the Ford headquarters.
Elon Musk has had several rounds of talks with Ford here, and the price has been negotiated from 7 billion to 6.3 billion. Li Mu had previously asked him to negotiate at a price of about US$5 billion, but Ford refused very simply.
In fact, to Li Mu, US$5 billion seems a bit low, but it is actually quite interesting. Which of these three brands is not heavily in debt? Which one is not losing money for consecutive years? The three brands combined are losing hundreds of millions a year. Ford itself will feel uncomfortable if it loses money for a few more years.
Once losses start, it is very difficult to turn losses into profits. As for these three brands, it can be said that none of them was won by Ford itself.
Jaguar has always been like that, but Land Rover has enjoyed some success over the past few years. Half of the credit is due to the Evoque, and the other half is due to Song Siming of "Snail House". If Land Rover could have developed the Evoque when it was still in the hands of Ford, it would have made the Evoque more popular. If Ford sees hope, let alone 5 billion or 7 billion, Ford will not be willing to package and sell;
As for Volvo, it's even worse. If this brand hadn't been acquired by the Chinese brand, so that the Chinese people had become sentimental towards the brand under various publicity campaigns, and with its Buddhist-style operating routines, if it could win, Li Mu is willing to eat four tires.
When Volvo started its own business, there were few legends about it on the market, but since it became a half-Chinese brand, legends about Volvo have suddenly become overwhelming.
I believe that every Chinese citizen who knows a little bit about cars has heard of a certain legend about Volvo. Someone swore that the cousin of his second brother’s third uncle’s distant nephew had an accident while driving a Volvo. , the car was scrapped in a collision, and all the airbags exploded, but the person was fine.
Some people also say that his boss's brother's brother-in-law rolled down a mountain in a Volvo. If it weren't for the fact that he was driving a Volvo, he would have died long ago, so he is determined to buy Volvos and only buys Volvos. .
As a result, Volvo turned a profit in the hands of Geely. Everyone thought Ford had lost money, but that was not the case. If Ford was given another chance, he might not be able to turn Volvo back into a profit.
After all, Ford is the most famous car brand in the United States. The three brands under his control, Jaguar, Land Rover, and Volvo, are selling poorly in the United States. It can be seen that even his own compatriots do not give Ford face and want to develop these three brands. For Ford, it is simply impossible to reach the sky.
Therefore, if Ford does not sell the US$5 billion this year, it will have to spend at least another US$3.5 billion on these three brands next year. If the US$3.5 billion is spent, the selling price will definitely not be higher than the US$5 billion. Maybe it will have to drop a little further.
…
When Li Mu saw Bill Ford Jr., Bill Ford Jr. shook Li Mu's hand with great joy and said in less fluent Chinese: "Hello, Mr. Li, I have long admired your name!"
Li Mu gave him a smile and said calmly: "Mr. Ford, there is no need to be so polite."
After saying that, Li Mu sat down opposite Bill Ford Jr.
Bill Ford Jr. sat on the other side of the negotiation table, facing Li Mu and said with a smile: "It is really an honor for the Ford Group that Mr. Li came all the way here."
Li Mu smiled and said: "Actually, I stopped by. You know, Google is about to go public. Larry Page invited me to come to New York to ring the bell with him. I couldn't refuse the hospitality, so I came over."
As he said that, Li Mu added: "Actually, I really don't want to do this multi-billion dollar business myself, but I just happened to be in the United States this time, so I came over to meet you. I may not have that much time. I will be there after today and tomorrow." It’s still unknown if I won’t be in Dearborn, so if I leave midway, please don’t take offense to Mr. Ford and just continue talking to Elon Musk.”
Bill Ford Jr. had a somewhat uneasy expression on his face. He wanted to express in a subtle way that Li Mu must attach great importance to this acquisition, but he didn't expect Li Mu to say directly and shamelessly that he was just stopping by to take a look.
However, Bill Ford Jr., whom Li Mu mentioned, did not have too much doubt, because Google is indeed planning to go public in the near future, and the capital circle is discussing this matter very enthusiastically.
Bill Ford Jr. felt that Li Mu's aura was a bit different. Generally, big shots had a strong aura that would make others feel a sense of pressure. However, Li Mu not only had his own aura, but also seemed to weaken others' aura. The aura of the field.
When a man worth hundreds of billions of dollars said that he was not involved in a multi-billion-dollar business, Bill Ford Jr. had absolutely nothing to do with him.
After calming down, Bill Ford Jr. asked Li Mu: "Mr. Li, as far as I know, Makino Technology has never been involved in any automobile industry. Why does it suddenly want to acquire three world-class automobile brands?"
Li Mu smiled and said: "Mr. Ford, two questions. First, these three brands are not world-class. Judging from the current situation, they are at the bottom of the second-rate. Second, I want to acquire these three brands and work with Makino Technology." It doesn’t really matter.”
As he spoke, Li Mu asked him: "Have you ever heard of the CSC Club? Its full name is China SuperCar Club."
"Of course." Ford nodded and said, "This is Mr. Li's club. I have heard about it."
The CSC club is indeed very famous. This is not only because the club members are the children of wealthy families, but more importantly, the cohesion of this club is particularly strong. Li Mu can easily raise tens of billions of yuan in this club. Just terrible.
Some anecdotes about the CSC club have been reported on Wall Street.
Li Mu said: "I built a racing track in China. After working on it for a while, I didn't find it very interesting. It just so happened that China didn't have any comparable car brands, so I just wanted to buy a few ready-made ones and integrate them when I went back. For a while, we can build a domestic brand, produce a few awesome models, and develop a few racing cars. While engaging in competitions, we can also be considered as contributing to the Chinese automobile industry."
What Li Mu said was completely true. He would take several brands back, integrate the technologies, and then combine the strengths of the three companies, plus Tesla’s unique technology, to create a Chinese independent car brand that can carry the weight, and then produce some products that can be used in the market. The world's best-selling dynamite car, you can also participate in rally racing, touring car racing and so on.
In fact, Li Mu has planned the future in detail, and in his opinion, the probability of success is very high. There is definitely a chance to revitalize the national automobile industry. However, when he said this, Bill Ford Jr. heard it. He shook his head inwardly.
He believed in Li Mu's original intention, but he didn't believe that Li Mu could do it well.
He felt that Li Mu really lacked understanding of the automotive industry. Do you really think that a little advanced technology can make a brand bigger? Stop making trouble, Ford has a lot of high-end technologies at its disposal. What do you think it's like now
The automobile industry is actually a very large barrel. Technical level is only one of the components that make up the barrel. The remaining ones include the organization and coordination ability of global procurement, the optimization ability of production lines, vehicle model design capabilities, global marketing capabilities, and product quality. control ability, after-sales ability, public relations ability, financial strength, etc.
Among so many capabilities, Jaguar, Land Rover, and Volvo are at the upper-middle level in terms of technical level. Which of the remaining ones is not at the tail end of the world's brands? Just because of you, Li Mu, and the technical level of these three brands, you want to revitalize China's automobile industry? I'm afraid I have to pay with my life...
(End of chapter)