Money wasn't omnipotent.
At Li Dong's level, with a net worth of over 100 billion, sometimes it was ridiculous to talk about money.
However, even if he was the head of state, he couldn't ignore money.
The head of state needed to talk about money for the country's development and economic construction.
Li Dong naturally didn't lack money, but the development of the company still needed money.
Now, in order to acquire Gome, to develop online, to expand logistics and after-sales channels, to open up the overseas market, to realize his big plan …
Without exception, all of these required money.
Faraway Group, with a net worth of 100 billion, seemed a bit too weak at this moment.
Based on November statistics, Faraway Group's total assets were close to 200 billion, including liabilities and cash flow.
Among them, bank and other liabilities were close to 60 billion. Far away also misappropriated nearly 20 billion.
Based on this calculation, Faraway Group's total debt ratio reached 40%.
With such a high debt ratio in the industry, it wasn't considered low.
Of course, it was mainly the logistics and real estate industries that pulled up the debt ratio. Far away's debt ratio.
In short, Far away, the most commonly heard sentence was: No money!
In less than five years, they had expanded again and again, and again, and again, and again, and again …
From the opening of the first store with a total asset of one million, to the current total asset of hundreds of billions, the change was not small.
Because of the rapid expansion, Far away's funds frequently couldn't keep up.
Even if Li Dong raised money everywhere, loans, and financing, the funds still couldn't keep up.
In fact, the current Far Away could barely maintain a balance of payments.
The supermarket began to make profits, the logistics also had some profits, and the internet industry also gradually began to make profits …
These profits were invested into the operation of the group. It was barely enough if they didn't expand.
Of course, the Far away City plan still lacked a lot of funds, but this money could be solved through loans.
According to Yuan Chengdao's thoughts, before the end of the year, everyone shouldn't worry about money.
No one expected that Li Dong would do something big as soon as he came back.
Invest in Gome!
If that was it, Far away could still squeeze out more than a billion in funds.
Before Li Dong came back, Yuan Chengdao and the others had already heard the news and started to prepare for the funds.
Less than two billion yuan could be transferred from the Far away City project or the supermarket.
But when Li Dong sent the others away and only left Yuan Chengdao and the others, he suddenly said, "Prepare five billion yuan for me first."
"Five billion!"
Yuan Chengdao and the others looked at each other in a daze.
After a while, Sun Tao said softly, "General Manager Li, is it for Gome?"
Li Dong nodded.
Sun Tao frowned slightly and paused before saying, "So what you mean is that 8% is not our bottom line, and we still want to hold on to it?"
Now, everyone was no longer the same manager or manager as before.
Sun Tao had experienced a lot over the years. He quickly guessed Li Dong's intention.
If it was only 8% of the shares and Gome's online channels, the total investment would be less than two billion yuan. According to the plan that Bai Su gave them, 1.8 billion yuan would be enough.
Now that Li Dong wanted them to raise five billion yuan, it was obviously not just for this.
There was no need to hide some plans in front of the group's CEO and Vice CEO. If they could not even trust them, the group would not be able to operate.
Li Dong took out a few cigarettes and handed one to each of them. Then, he said, "I announced to the public that we only want the online channels, and the offline channels will be left to everyone. But that's relative.
I said a long time ago that we can ignore the small and medium-sized enterprises, but we can't ignore the giants.
Especially in the home appliances industry, we don't have a good branch company.
Retail is mainly department stores and home appliances. Now, we are the top in department stores. Together with the online channels, many things can go naturally.
But the home appliances industry is not good. We don't even have a store specializing in home appliances.
With such strength, how can we become the industry leader by relying on the online channels?
Therefore, we need to increase our control in this aspect.
If we want to increase our control, we only have two paths. Build it ourselves or acquire it!
As for building it ourselves … "
Li Dong shook his head and sighed. "Building our own stores is too time-consuming and laborious. Moreover, it's a thankless task.
When we chose to build our own supermarkets, we had no choice. We did not have a foundation and could only do it this way.
But to complete the nationwide layout, we spent five years and acquired many companies, including Carrefour.
Even so, we still did not have complete coverage in the western and northern regions.
This is a supermarket. If we still rely on ourselves in the home appliances industry, it will take another five years!
Therefore, we only have one path left — acquisition!
Acquisition of ordinary companies won't work. Currently, the home appliances retailers in the country are led by Suning, Gome, Five Star, Best Buy, and Grand Trinity.
The latter three are actually much weaker. Only Gome and Suning can have real influence and change the entire home appliances retail industry.
A few months ago, I did not have this intention.
On one hand, we do not have this opportunity, and on the other hand, we do not have this capability.
When Huang Guangyu first entered the industry, I did not even consider acquiring Gome.
But not long ago, I saw an opportunity! "
Li Dong emphasized. Before this, his plans had always been in the department store industry.
The opportunity he was talking about was the appearance of the Cheng Family.
It was because of the existence of Fukang and the fact that the Cheng Family had offended him that Li Dong started to have his eyes on Gome.
Otherwise, Li Dong might not have looked for Gome at this time.
Cooperation and shares were possible, but Li Dong did not want to be the controlling shareholder.
8% of Fukang's shares had a huge impact.
8% of a listed company's shares could change a lot of things, including Li Dong's decision.
Therefore, before Li Dong went to Beijing, he heard about Cheng Gang from Tan Yong and had the idea of acquiring Gome.
Sometimes, a decision was made in an instant.
Acquiring Gome was not only not in Yuan Chengdao's plan, but it was also not in Li Dong's plan.
When Qi Yunna mentioned the home appliances, all the executives, including Li Dong, told them to slow down.
But when they saw an opportunity, they would be stupid not to seize it.
They had to slow down because they did not have the opportunity.
Now that they had the opportunity, Li Dong would certainly try his best to seize it.
"Acquiring Gome?"
Sun Tao and the rest narrowed their eyes!
They knew about the rumors, but they had always treated it as a joke.
So far away, they had been working with Gome, and they had even fantasized about acquiring Gome.
But everyone knew that it was impossible now.
So when the rumors appeared on the Internet and the experts started to analyze it, Sun Tao and the rest had actually treated it as a joke.
These people were really good at exaggerating. Even we did not have the intention to acquire Gome, and you said that we were going to acquire Gome?
Even they did not believe it. It could be seen that the so-called experts were only bluffing.
Did Du Juan believe it?
There was no doubt. At least, she did not believe it now.
Among Gome's shareholders and board of directors, the only one who truly believed that Li Dong would do it was Cheng Gang.
Even if Li Dong had not said it, Cheng Gang would not have thought about it.
Now, in the entire business world, except for those who followed the crowd, no one thought that Li Dong would have the idea of acquiring Gome.
Even if he had the idea, within three to five years, Li Dong might not have the intention to do so.
But now, what did Yuan Chengdao and the rest hear?
Li Dong was going to acquire Gome!
There were no doubts or rejections like before. In the past few years, Li Dong had often turned the impossible into the possible, and everyone had been slapped in the face again and again. Now, everyone had learned to be smart.
They had to ask first before deciding if it was feasible.
They did not want to feel that it was impossible before they even asked and continue to be slapped in the face. After being slapped in the face for so many times, it was time for them to leave.
Chen Lang, who was sitting outside, took a puff of his cigarette and asked, "General Manager Li, are you confident about this? Have you made any plans for the proposal? "
Li Dong smiled. "Du Juan and the board of directors should agree to our proposal for Gome.
Right now, the Huang Family holds 38% of Gome's shares. This time, they will give up 3%, leaving 35%.
The remaining 5% will be transferred by several investment banks. JP Morgan Chase and Morgan Stanley, the two investment banks with the most shares, will give up 3% and will continue to hold 15%.
After that, it will be Fukang with 8%.
After the proposal is completed, we will also hold 8%.
The five of us will hold 66% of the shares, and Euphoria will hold about 10%. The other investment banks and risk agencies will also hold about 10%.
The remaining shares will be the circulating shares in the secondary market.
If we want to surpass the Huang Family, we will need to hold at least 35% of the shares. "
Everyone nodded their heads. Yuan Chengdao flicked his cigarette and furrowed his brows. "I think General Manager Li has his eyes on those investment banks.
Whether it's JP Morgan Chase or Morgan Stanley, all of them are cooperating with us.
Citigroup and a few others are also cooperating with us.
If we're willing to give up a portion of our profits, it's possible for us to obtain their shares.
Many investment banks now hold at least 25% of Gome's shares, and I don't think it's possible to obtain all of them.
I don't think it's possible to take all of them. If we pay the price, we can get about 18%. Director Li, am I right? "
"That's right. That's my plan." Li Dong smiled.
"At least for now, investing in Weibo is more profitable than investing in Gome, and everyone knows this in their hearts.
The purpose of those investment banks is to make money, so there's no reason for them to refuse.
Then again, according to the agreement they signed with Gome, Gome has the right to buy back their shares.
This is a rare opportunity. Gome doesn't have any money, and the Huang Family also can't raise so much money in a short period.
We can make use of this time to complete the share transfer.
If we can get 18% of the shares, we will have 26% of the shares.
Next, I can get another 10% of the shares, and I will hold 36% of the shares, surpassing the Huang Family! "
Everyone's faces changed. 10% wasn't a small amount, and Gome's shares were suspended from trading. That meant that Li Dong wasn't buying the shares from the secondary market.
So if Li Dong wants to obtain so many shares, he only has two choices!
First, Euphoria!
Second, Fukang!
The Euphoria Faction wasn't alone. Cheng Xiao might be the leader of the Euphoria Faction, but if Li Dong wanted to negotiate with them, there would be too many of them.
That also meant that Li Dong and Fukang had reached an agreement!
"General Manager Li, are you sure about this?" Chen Lang's eyes flickered.
"It's a done deal!" Li Dong smiled.
"But this 10% will require a total of 2.1 billion, and with the addition of 1.8 billion from Gome, it will be 3.9 billion.
At this time, we will only hold 36% of the shares, which is slightly more than the Huang Family. The Euphoria Faction's attitude is questionable.
At this juncture, the Huang Family might choose to inject the remaining unlisted stores into the market.
Once they do so, their shares will be diluted.
According to my estimation, our shares will be diluted by at least 20% once those stores are injected into Gome.
At that time, we will only be left with 29% of the shares.
As for the Huang Family, they will have 20% of the shares, and the diluted shares will be around 48%. They are just a step away from controlling the shares.
Furthermore, we can't stop them from injecting the shares. After all, Gome is one entity, and if we don't allow them to leave, Gome's value will be greatly reduced, and there will be a loophole in our plan.
Therefore, not only can we not stop them, we have to force them to inject the shares.
This way, the gap between us and the Huang Family will widen again.
The only thing that can offset this change is the convertible bonds that Gome previously issued.
If the Huang Family injects their unlisted assets into the market, we can buy the bonds and convert them at the same time.
The bonds are around 5 billion, and the value of their unlisted assets is around the same.
According to Gome's current market value, it should be around 20 billion.
After the conversion, the market value will be as high as 30 billion. After two rounds of dilution, we can obtain around 40% of the diluted shares with the bonds and 36% of the shares.
The Huang Family will also have around the same ratio.
After the Euphoria Faction and the investment bank's remaining shares are diluted, they will occupy around 10%, and the rest will be the circulating shares.
At this time, the circulating shares will be too little, and we can choose to issue new shares. As long as we win against the Huang Family in the secondary market, we will be able to control the shares!
In total, we will need close to 9 billion for the 3.9 billion and 5 billion for the bonds.
In addition, we will need to buy back some shares in the secondary market, and we will need to prepare at least 2 billion to 3 billion.
Let's play it safe, 3 billion is the most suitable. That is to say, with a total investment of 12 billion, we will have hope of controlling Gome after buying back the convertible bonds and injecting unlisted assets into the market.
This is definitely a good deal. After buying back the bonds and injecting some assets into Gome, the total assets of Gome will definitely be more than 30 billion, and that is based on the current value.
In fact, if Gome can get up in the future after injecting all of its assets, it will definitely be worth 50 billion. "
Sun Tao coughed lightly and said, "General Manager Li, it's not 12 billion. We haven't calculated the 18% from the investment bank. If we want to get so much shares from those greedy fellows, we will have to use about 4 billion Weibo shares.
At the very least, we will have to use about 4 billion Weibo shares to exchange for it.
In total, the investment will be more than 16 billion.
Even so, it is still uncertain if we can get the controlling shares.
In my opinion, even if we can get the controlling shares, the investment will be close to 18 billion.
Then again, it will be worth it if we can get the controlling shares.
With less than 20 billion, we can get the controlling shares of Gome, including their unlisted assets. I'm in favor of it.
Right now, there are two things that I'm worried about. Firstly, we might not be able to succeed. The risk is huge, and General Manager Li should be aware of it.
Secondly, even if we succeed, the Huang Family's shares are too high, and the slightest mistake might cause a comeback.
Putting aside the investment bank and the secondary market, the Euphoria Faction is also a problem.
The best way is to kick them out and obtain their shares. This way, it won't be easy for the Huang Family to make a comeback.
Then again, this is my personal opinion. After all, Cheng Xiao and her group have been in this business for a long time, and it's hard to kick them out. "
Yuan Chengdao gently knocked on the table and continued, "Truth be told, I never expected that General Manager Li has already done this.
Now that the Huang Family is facing problems both internally and externally, it's indeed an opportunity.
If we issue new shares, it will be hard for them to raise the funds to buy back the shares. So our chances of winning are still high.
What I'm afraid of is that someone might lend a helping hand to the Huang Family.
After all, it's not only about Gome if we want to get the controlling shares of Gome.
If someone else were to step in, it's fine as it's just a change of owners. It's a common occurrence in the industry, and no one will care.
We are different!
Even if we are not the number one in the department store industry, we are not far from Bailian. Adding in the online market, we are the undisputed number one.
If we become the number one in the home appliances industry, even I will be afraid, let alone others.
Suning and the other companies will not let us get the controlling shares of Gome. Once they start supporting the Huang Family or directly enter the market to fight us, we will need to spend more funds.
Overall, we need to ensure that we have close to 20 billion on hand.
Of course, we will put aside the 4 billion from the investment banks, which means we need to prepare at least 16 billion. "
The rest nodded, and Li Dong said, "Also, don't forget that the bond holders are mostly investment banks. You can also consider exchanging Weibo shares. That way, 10 billion will be enough. "
Yuan Chengdao smiled bitterly, "But if we do that, I'm afraid we will lose the controlling shares of Weibo. We have sold nearly 9 billion of Weibo shares, and our shareholding in Weibo, including the option shares, is only about 65%. According to the valuation of the second round of financing, even if it's a little higher now, we will only hold about 30% after we sell it. In the future, we will conduct the C round of financing, and then go public to dilute it … "
Yuan Chengdao could not continue. That way, Far Away, the owner of Weibo, might only hold about 20% of the shares.
Exchanging Weibo for Gome, was it worth it?
Of course, it did not mean that Far Away had completely given up on Weibo. He might still be the biggest shareholder with 20% of the shares, but there was still the risk of changing owners.
Now, it was up to Li Dong.
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