Li Mu liked to fool people, and because he had more than ten years of memories from his future life, he liked to use arguments that were completely contrary to the facts of his future life to fool people.
For example, he fooled Larry Page that if they did not cooperate with Makino Technology, Google would never rise, and might even be killed. Larry Page believed him, and he chose to believe Li Mu's nonsense, instead of believing that he could create a business empire with a market value of hundreds of billions of dollars in the future.
For example, Li Mu had tricked Apple into giving up the profits of ES, and the entire company would collapse. He would only need to use the cheaper NES to get rid of them. They had also chosen to believe Li Mu's nonsense. They did not believe that they could become a super giant with a market value of trillions of US dollars in the future with just an iPhone.
Now, Li Mu fooled Bill Ford Jr., telling him that his Jaguar and Benz's BMW and Audi were highly similar, but he would never be able to outsell Benz's BMW and Audi; his Land Rover was a pile of garbage that Hua Xia, Europeans, and Americans did not like. It was ugly, fuel-efficient, and of poor quality, and might even be boycotted by environmental groups in the future; his Volvo hid all the valuable things in the car, and what was the use of desperately installing airbags in the car? Hua Xia consumers would not pay for things that they could not see.
After being fooled by Li Mu, Bill Ford Jr. was completely shaken.
He suddenly felt that he was indeed a failure. Even Li Mu could see the weaknesses of these three brands, but he could not.
Jaguar, damn, this thing could not be sold anywhere;
Land Rover, basically the same as Jaguar;
Volvo, there was still some market among some high-level intellectual groups in Europe and North America, but it was a minority after all.
Li Mu was right. Hua Xia's best-selling model did not even have airbags. How could a brand like Volvo, which prided itself on safety, compete with this model without airbags?
The Santana could be bought for one hundred thousand, and Volvo started from two to three hundred thousand, which was the same level as Benz's Audi and BMW.
No wonder these three brands had been losing money. It turned out that this was the crux of the problem.
In comparison, these brands in his hands were really bad.
Once a person's beliefs were shaken, there would be a qualitative change.
Bill Ford Jr. started to feel a little irritated. Jaguar, Land Rover, and Volvo were all like hot iron blocks in his eyes. Holding them in his hands, he felt like his hands were burning.
He had thought about adjusting the development strategy of these three brands according to the problems Li Mu had mentioned, such as lowering the prices of Jaguar and Land Rover, and reducing the expensive hidden costs of Volvo. However, he did not have the energy to reorganize these three brands. For an automobile manufacturer, bankruptcy was much easier than changing the strategy.
Once the strategy was changed, it was necessary to develop new products. This was a task that required a lot of manpower, material, and financial resources, and years of hard work. The most frightening thing was that the success rate of several years of hard work was not high. Many automobile manufacturers were ambitious enough to launch a model and fail. After reorganizing and relaunching, they failed again. After failing three times in a row, they were not far from bankruptcy.
It was better to sell them all at once.
He could use the money to upgrade Ford. After all, Ford was the foundation of the Ford family.
However, Bill Ford Jr. was not willing to sell these three brands to Li Mu for five billion US dollars. He still hoped to fight for some profits for himself, even if it was 500 million US dollars, 300 million US dollars, or even just a mere 100 million US dollars.
Li Mu could see that Bill Ford Jr. was wavering.
Judging from the facts of his previous life, Ford could not hold on to these three brands for too long. They did not have the ability to revive these three brands. The problems that he had mentioned were not nonsense. These problems were real. What he was really talking about was the future development of these three brands.
Among these three brands, although Jaguar had not been very popular, it had many models and a wide range of coverage. It lowered its value to pull away from Benz, BMW, and Audi. Its overall sales were not bad.
Land Rover became a synonym for the nouveau riche. A lot of young men dreamed of owning one, and a lot of young women dreamed of riding one. Therefore, it sold well for many years.
Volvo was even more interesting. Its position was actually very awkward. Its price was similar to Benz, BMW, and Audi. However, its popularity and value retention rate were much lower. However, after it was acquired by Geely, it became the first well-known automobile brand acquired by Hua Xia. Its recognition in China skyrocketed. The strong national pride of the media gave Geely a super big gift. As a result, Volvo suddenly became a well-known brand that everyone knew.
If Ford had clenched its teeth and endured, it might have been able to see the spring of Jaguar Land Rover. However, it was impossible for Volvo. Volvo's situation was rather unique. To achieve this, they had to nationalize Volvo and make it their own brand.
Bill Ford Jr. hesitated for a moment and said, "Li Zong, regarding the problems that you mentioned just now, I believe that there must be some truth to them. However, the automobile industry is very complicated, and it cannot be explained clearly in a few words. I think we should return to the acquisition. You have the heart to buy, and I have the heart to sell. What's left is the problem of price."
Li Mu smiled and said to Bill Ford Jr., "Mr. Ford, regarding the issue of price, I have already given you my final offer. So, what's left is whether you are willing to accept this offer. If you accept, my team will discuss the details of the subsequent acquisition with you. If you don't accept, we can temporarily put this negotiation on hold. Next year, or the year after that, we can talk again when you have thought it through."
As he spoke, Li Mu said indifferently, "You also know that I will actually be quite busy in the future. Makino Technology is going to IPO soon. My Taobao Technology, Taobao Logistics, and Alipay also have to consider the next capital operation. Moreover, I really want to launch these three brands into Hua Xia. So, I really don't have time to invest in cars now. My shareholders and core team know that I want to invest in cars, so they actually have some objections. If we can't come to an agreement this time, then I can focus on business. When Taobao Technology also launches its IPO, I won't be so busy at work, and then I can play with whatever I want."
Bill Ford Jr. was already intimidated by Li Mu. He felt that what Li Mu said was right. Giving up a business worth hundreds of billions of dollars to invest in cars was actually a waste of time. If he was Li Mu's shareholder or partner, he would definitely object to this.
Moreover, he did not doubt Li Mu's words at all. He felt that Li Mu really wanted to invest in cars, so he wanted to buy his own brand to realize his personal passion and dream for cars.
Since this was the case, if Li Mu really gave up or temporarily shelved the acquisition plan, then Bill Ford Jr. would be in trouble.
The price of five billion US dollars was certainly a trap, but it was still a good opportunity to sell. When the stock price plummeted, it was generally impossible to find a buyer. If he could sell the stock at this price, although it would be painful, it would also be a good thing for him.
This was the same logic as an ulcerated leg that needed to be amputated. If he stopped the damage in time, there would still be a chance for him to slowly recover. However, if he persisted in going about things the wrong way, it might be a bottomless abyss.
Thinking of this, he deliberately said with a flattering expression, "Li Zong, you must be joking. Actually, with your passion and understanding of the car industry, I believe that you will definitely achieve great achievements. It will not be as simple as playing around."
Li Mu laughed self-deprecatingly. "Actually, I don't even have confidence in myself. You big families that have been in the car industry for nearly a hundred years can't do it, so I can't do it to a large extent."
Bill Ford Jr. was afraid that Li Mu would really have the intention to retreat, so he hurriedly said, "Li Zong, you're too humble. With your ability, I believe that you will definitely be much better than us."
Waving his hand, Li Mu said, "I'll tell you the truth. I'm already prepared to buy these three brands for USD 5 billion, and then invest another 2 to 3 billion before selling them for less than USD 5 billion. In other words, if I buy these three brands from you now, I'm prepared to lose around USD 3 billion in three to five years."
"Li Zong, you're really modest. I believe that if you're really prepared to lose money, Li Zong, a shrewd businessman like you will definitely not do this business." Bill Ford Jr. smiled.
Li Mu smiled indifferently and said, "For me, it doesn't matter if I lose some money. Why would I want to earn so much money? Isn't it to spend it? Spending USD 3 billion on cars is just a form of entertainment for me, and it's something that I can afford. "
As he said that, Li Mu smiled and said, "How do I compare it to you? It's like you're spending USD 2 million to buy a custom-made Cadillac Army No.1. This car is very expensive, but will it retain its value? It's impossible. I estimate that after driving it for three years, it'll be good if you can sell it for USD 400,000. But for you, spending USD 1.6 million to use the Cadillac Army No.1 is a very worthwhile thing. As for me, I'm richer than you. So for me, spending USD 3 billion to play in car manufacturing for three years is also a very worthwhile thing. "
Bill Ford Jr. was embarrassed.
Perhaps only Li Mu had the capital to say such words.
Three billion USD wasn't a big deal to him.
He could only sigh and say, "For Li Zong's financial resources, this amount is really nothing …"
Li Mu looked at the time and said, "Mr. Ford, I'm quite pressed for time. I'm going to New York soon, so we'll call it a day. After I leave, my team will stay here for about three days. You can take your time to consider my offer."
Bill Ford Jr. didn't expect Li Mu to suddenly leave. Before he could recover, he heard Li Mu say, "But Mr. Ford, I'll give you a small reminder. When my team left, I didn't bring any contracts to buy these three brands. In the next few years, you'll witness the continuous losses and depreciation of these three brands. After a few years, when the purchasing power of the currency drops by 20 to 30 percent, the price you get may not be higher than what I'm offering you now. If you insist on going the wrong way, it's fine. We can talk again in three years."
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