Makino Technology's strength in the Internet field was so strong that sometimes people looked down on its strength in other fields.
Most people always thought that if someone was good in one field, he must be much worse in other fields.
Bill Ford Jr. thought that Li Mu could make Makino Technology successful, but it was impossible for him to make cars.
However, he didn't care whether Li Mu had the ability or not. He only cared about how much Li Mu was willing to pay to buy his three brands.
Previously, he thought that for a person like Li Mu, who was not short of money, he should find a way to exchange these three brands for shares of Makino Technology. But now it seemed that Li Mu was in the car business for fun. He just wanted to throw some money at it. In this case, it would not be so easy to get his shares.
But there was always no harm in trying.
He said with a smile, "Li Zong, in fact, we have discussed your intention of acquisition many times, but we are more inclined to be acquired by Makino Technology. What do you think?"
"Acquisition?" Li Mu smiled slightly. "Mr. Ford, Makino Technology will not sell its shares to any group, enterprise, or individual before the IPO. After the IPO, the most direct way for anyone to get the shares of Makino Technology is to buy them in the market. So, I can tell you directly about the acquisition. It is impossible."
For Li Mu, he could basically tell what was a good asset and what was a bad asset at a glance.
Ford's assets were no different from cars. They depreciated quickly and had little room for appreciation. If he wanted to make these three brands profitable, he would have to wait at least five years if he did not have the advantage of being reborn.
But the assets of Makino Technology were like the land in the city center when housing prices were about to take off. There was great room for growth.
It was like exchanging a one-million-dollar Benz S for a three-bedroom apartment in Yanjing in 2008. Even if it was an equivalent exchange, the latter would be a huge loss. So, Li Mu would never do this kind of unprofitable business.
Bill Ford Jr. did not expect that Li Mu would reject him so directly. He did not even think about it at all, as if he had said a big joke.
This somewhat hurt his self-esteem. Originally, he was hoping for a glimmer of hope, but as a result, Li Mu directly refused him when he said it eagerly.
Bill Ford Jr. could not help but become tough. He said, "Since Li Zong does not consider the merger, it is not impossible for us to talk about a cash acquisition. Actually, we have already given Mr. Musk our offer. The total price of the three brands is 7 billion USD."
Li Mu smiled and said, "7 billion is impossible, Mr. Ford. You know in your heart that these brands are not good assets for Ford. On the contrary, they are all bloodsucking leeches. Don't think that I am taking advantage of you when I offer you 5 billion USD today. Five years later, your three brands together may not be able to sell for 5 billion USD. And in the next five years, I believe that as an entrepreneur, you should know better than me about the inflation of 5 billion USD."
Naturally, Bill Ford Jr. knew what Li Mu meant. Once the physical industry went downhill, it would indeed be a hot potato. Most of the time, he could not even find anyone willing to take over his business, so he could only let it fall into his own hands.
However, since he was here to negotiate with Li Mu today, he naturally had to show his attitude. If he was right and Li Mu really wanted these three brands, he might be able to get some shares from him. If not, he might even be able to get a good price.
Hence, he coughed and said, "Director Li, it's not an exaggeration to say that the actual value of these three brands is more than 10 billion USD. If we sell them to the public, the transaction price of these three brands will be more than 7 billion USD. Many companies in the industry are interested in these three brands."
Li Mu smiled and said, "I don't believe you at all. From this year to 2008, I believe that the financial situation will not be optimistic for the next four years, especially for the automobile industry. As far as I know, all the automobile brands are optimizing their assets and desperately reducing their burdens to cope with the coming winter. They still have a lot of inferior assets to sell. Why would they come to buy the garbage in Ford's hands?"
As he said this, Li Mu said apologetically, "Sorry, I'm just a straightforward person."
Li Mu had always been a tough person. This kind of character was cultivated because in the Internet industry, he never had to submit to any upstream and downstream companies, especially the platforms. He had the users and traffic in his hands. He did not have to be afraid of anyone. Ford had originally negotiated a price of 6 billion USD with Elon Musk, but Bill Ford Jr. suddenly asked him for 7 billion USD. This was a bit like he was challenging Li Mu.
Bill Ford Jr.'s expression was a bit ugly.
After all, they were three world-famous car brands. But Li Mu said they were trash. It was a little too arrogant.
But Li Mu did not care at all. Seeing Bill Ford's expression changing, Li Mu said, "For Ford, this year's money is completely different from next year's money. Not only the impact of inflation, but also the loss caused by the sale of inferior assets. In the current economic situation, there is no one else in the world who is willing to buy these three brands from you and give you 5 billion USD. And I don't have to buy these three brands. Why can't I go to GM and buy their brands? Cadillac is also quite miserable now. Just like you, they can't compete with Japanese brands in the US, and they have no place in Europe. They are almost as miserable as you. "
Bill Ford Jr. realized that he could not suppress Li Mu at all. Li Mu directly said that his brands were garbage, but he did not know how to refute it.
The sales of Jaguar, Land Rover, and Volvo had been poor for the past two years. Ford was not good at asset restructuring, nor was it good at quality control and cost control. But the worse Ford was at asset restructuring, the more it had to acquire other car brands in the past few years. Ford always felt that being a company was like playing a greedy snake. If it kept eating, it would eat, one after another, until it became a big dragon.
But after eating it, it was not able to digest it properly. As a result, the more it ate, the more cumbersome it became. Even its body was greatly affected.
Li Mu continued, "Putting aside the cooperation we are talking about this time, let me analyze for you. Who in the world will buy these three brands from you?
"First of all, the Japanese companies will never be interested in these three brands. The development ideas and philosophy of these three brands are the opposite of the Japanese companies' philosophy. In the eyes of the Japanese, there are only Japanese and German cars in the world. In their eyes, American cars are no match at all."
"Secondly, it is impossible for European automobile companies to buy these three brands. Although Volkswagen likes to acquire companies everywhere, these three brands will not be able to catch their attention. This is because these three brands were sold to you from Europe. If Volkswagen really likes these three brands, it will not be Ford's turn to acquire them.
"Lastly, Hua Xia will not buy these three brands, because the established automobile companies have already made a lot of money by producing joint-venture cars. None of the private enterprises are worth more than two billion US dollars. Even if they want to swallow an elephant, they do not have the ability to do so."
Actually, Hua Xia's automobile industry is not very eye-catching. The powerful private enterprises in the future have not really risen yet. Even if the boss of Geely was asked if he was interested in buying Volvo, he would think it was a fantasy.
Speaking of this, Li Mu said seriously, "Mr. Ford, think about the situation you are facing now. If you miss me, you will miss the only chance to sell these three brands in the next three to four years. Do you know why?"
Bill Ford Jr. asked, "I don't understand. Please explain it to me, Li Zong."
Li Mu said, "Because I am the only one who has the money, and I don't care about this little bit of money. I loved cars when I was young. At that time, I wanted to play with cars and buy a toy electric scooter. These were all luxuries for my family, but I am different now. Now that I have money, I still want to play with cars. Therefore, I can take out five billion US dollars just to fulfill a childhood dream of mine. Even if the three brands I bought with five billion US dollars will continue to lose money after I get them, I will accept this, because I can afford to spend five billion US dollars to satisfy myself. Apart from me, who else do you think would have the courage to spend so much money just to have fun? Bill Gates? Or Warren Buffett? "
Bill Ford Jr. said, "Li Zong, since you do not lack this bit of money, why do you still want to buy them at such a low price? The price you are giving me now is no longer a price that you are negotiating with in good faith. "
Li Mu smiled and said, "I do not lack money, and I am willing to spend money to do what I like, but it does not mean that I am willing to spend money to satisfy you. In my opinion, five billion US dollars is a very reasonable price. Ford can immediately get rid of the trouble caused by the continuous loss of these three brands, liquidate the inferior assets, and then invest the money into its own high-quality industry. Therefore, if we really want to cooperate, don't have the mentality of taking advantage of each other. Try to find a balance point that both of us can live with."
"If these three brands fall into your hands in a few years, you will definitely beat your chest and stomp your feet for this huge loss. But what about me? I might be glad that I did not waste this money in a moment of hot-headedness. "
"If these three brands fall into my hands in a few years, you will definitely be glad that you acted in time today. As for me, I will not regret spending this money. I will not even frown, because I have achieved self-satisfaction. That is enough for me. I have hundreds of billions of assets, and I can take out five billion US dollars to satisfy myself. Even if I lose all of it, it does not matter."
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