Volume 5: The Age of Storms Chapter 0701 Whoever is disobedient will be punished
"Adam, Henry Kravis from KKR has contacted me. He wants to raise funds from the Scarlett Fund." Scarlett suddenly pushed Nan Yi and said.
"For the Reynolds Nabisco acquisition?"
KKR is a company that focuses on leveraged buyouts. Its essence is to use a small amount of its own funds and borrow the rest to acquire other companies with larger capital, just like using the principle of leverage to lift heavy objects with less force.
Leveraged buyouts are usually secured by the acquired company or future cash flow. Sometimes the profits are not as expected, which is very risky for investors.
As far as Nan Yi knows, KKR is acquiring Reynolds Nabisco.
In 1985, Reynolds Tobacco Company, which produced Camel cigarettes, acquired Nabisco, which mainly produced three brands of biscuits: Chewy, Oreo, and Ritz, and then established Reynolds Nabisco.
This is a company with an asset valuation of more than 30 billion US dollars, and it is not easy to acquire it.
"Yes."
“If the financing is just for this one project, the risk is too great. Unless KKR can agree to lower management fees and calculate carried interest [offsetting losses from failed deals with profits from successful deals] based on their fund’s total profits, it’s better not to invest.”
"I think so too. I am not optimistic about KKR's acquisition. I plan to wait and see. If their acquisition ultimately fails, I will consider investing a little and take the opportunity to get more favorable conditions."
“So, you are optimistic about KKR’s future development?”
"Yes, leveraged buyout is a good model. Investing in KKR should yield good returns. The Intelligence Committee has reached the same conclusion as me."
"Well, I'll keep an eye on it."
The sun rises and the moon sets, the sun sets and the moon rises, over and over again. The next day, Nan Yi takes Nan Youqiong to the west to participate in a war game with the theme of the Civil War. He served as a gunner and played with the Napoleon cannon.
On the third day, I took him to the "Big Guy" club, which is a club formed by military fans who are obsessed with heavy weapons. All members of the club own at least two big guys such as tanks, infantry fighting vehicles, fighter jets, etc.
If not, sorry, the club does not welcome visitors who are not of the same kind.
Nan Yi is naturally one of the same kind. He not only has T-34 and 76 Sherman, but also F-100F Super Sabre fighter. In fact, he is also a member of the club, but he rarely attends the parties.
"Wow, Yak, Leopard tank type A, can the engine still withstand the torture?" Nan Yi walked up to a big guy and said with envy and jealousy.
Jacques is a rich second-generation. His father died early, leaving him more than 300 million US dollars in cash and an office building worth hundreds of millions of dollars that he can always collect rent from. He is financially free and no one is controlling him. He is the coolest member of the club. After all, he has a lot of money and can always get good things.
Jacques, with a cigar in his mouth, said complacently: "Of course, as long as you are gentle, you can still toss for several years."
Nan Yi came close to Jacques and whispered, "Has the weapon system been dismantled?"
"I hid them secretly. I still have ten shells, including armor-piercing shells, incendiary shells, and grenades."
"I have a piece of land in Montana, and it's hundreds of miles in radius and it's all mine." Nan Yi said mysteriously.
Jacques' eyes lit up and he said, "Adam, when are you free?"
"A few months later, everyone will pull the big guys over and have a good time. If you want to have a second try, the ATF [Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives] might come knocking on your door."
"OK, I'll wait for your notification. I need to organize and see how many tanks and combat vehicles will be going there. I need to arrange for transportation first."
"Um, can I come in and sit in the big one?" Nan Yi said, pointing at the Leopard Tank Type A.
It is necessary to seek consent in advance. Not to mention whether it is polite or not, these big guys may have a higher status than their wives in the eyes of military fans. If you touch them without consent, it will be easy for both sides to get into a fight.
"Of course, whatever you like."
After getting their consent, Nan Yi took Nan Youqiong into the tank and sat in the gunner's seat, imagining the heroic appearance of the Leopard tank on the battlefield.
"Dad, the Leopard is so cool, I want to use one too." Nan Youqiong said enviously as he touched the tank here and there.
"Okay, Dad will buy you one, and a Tiger. It's a pity that there's only one King Tiger left that can be driven, and it's hard to get. Otherwise, I'll get you one too."
"Yeah, thank you, Dad."
"You're welcome."
Nan Yi felt embarrassed to accept his son's thanks. He didn't want to buy it for his son, but for himself. Among the Nazi weapons back then, Nan Yi only disliked the SD.KFZ.252 armored ammunition transport vehicle and the SD.KFZ.253 armored command vehicle. He liked the others and wanted to collect all those he could buy.
Having experienced the era when green military uniforms were popular, and also the era when military magazines were everywhere, Nan Yi can recite off the top of his head all the parameters of anything that has appeared in the magazines, from sabers and guns to aircraft carriers and bombers.
Having been Ye Gong for decades, Nan Yi now has the chance to own the real thing, so how could he miss it?
Because of Nan Youqiong's presence, other members were embarrassed to refuse the father and son's request to drill into the tanks. As a result, Nan Yi had the opportunity to drill into all the tanks and assault vehicles. Therefore, in the near future, Nan Yi would have an additional considerable expense.
After spending two days playing with Nan Youqiong, Nan Yi spent another four days at the Qidian Orphanage with his adopted children.
Afterwards, Nan Yifei went to London and stayed with Catherine for a few days.
Then flew to Paris.
That year, after the release of "Joan of Arc", which was made at no cost just to create a good image for Sophie Marceau, Sophie Marceau did gain a good reputation in France. At the same time, Nan also suffered a huge loss.
Because it was shot by a French company, the movie has a strong Gallic flavor. Apart from being scheduled in France and a few neighboring countries with little purchasing power, there is no thought of introducing it to big box office countries like North America and Japan.
Who made "Joan of Arc" lack one of the major selling points of French films: "exposure"? For French directors, if the heroine's clothes are not stripped off, it is not called a movie, let alone art.
Sophie Marceau's personality is different from her quiet appearance. She is not a person who is content with the status quo and is full of rebellious spirit.
As soon as he got off the plane, Nan Yi rubbed his temples. Just now on the plane, he had just finished reading Sophie Marceau's record of troubles. It really took a lot of connections and financial resources to suppress them one by one.
"Campus Belle, call Ya Zhenni and ask where she is."
Upon hearing this, the school beauty picked up the phone and dialed it. After a few words, she covered the microphone and said to Nan Yi, "At the Old Paris Restaurant on Île de Cité, there are three people together, a director and an actor."
"Oh, what's the director's name?"
The school beauty asked into the microphone and said, "Ya Zhenni said it was the one who taught a lesson last time."
"Oh, let Ya Zhenni find a few niggers to beat him up again. Don't be too harsh, just let him recover for a week. After he recovers, let him rest for a day, and then continue to beat him. One round every eight days. Don't stop if he dares to show up in front of Sophie again."
"Nansheng, do you want to get it done in one go?"
"No need. It's not a life-and-death feud. There's no need to be so ruthless. Let's go to the Viscount Castle."
Things were too complicated, and Nan Yi couldn't figure out whether he should be justified or feel guilty. If he didn't count his past life, he could be justified, but if he did, it seemed like he had no reason to do so, so he was very conflicted and didn't want to go too far.
"Nansheng, let's go to Neuilly-Billancourt Residence. The castle's garden is open to tourists."
"Okay, I'll listen to you."
In order to develop tourism, the Paris municipal government discussed with the castle owners in the suburbs near Paris two years ago to open the castle gardens to tourists for visits. Although it is not a mandatory act, other castle owners are willing to cooperate and even open the interior of the building to "special guests". The Vicomte Castle, which has special historical significance, cannot remain independent and can only open its own garden.
As a result, there is not much privacy and security in the castle.
"Although the city government gives some compensation every year, the cost of maintaining the castle has increased a lot. The cost of holding it is too high. It is not a good idea to hold on to it. You can consider selling it."
Stroking his chin, Nan Yi looked out the window. The scenery was still the same, the buildings were still the same, but the smiles of the pedestrians on the street were not as sincere as in the past two years. There was a feeling of trying to find the best possible way to cheer up in the midst of adversity.
After 1979, France's economy was like Wang Xiaoer's New Year , getting worse every year. Although there seemed to be growth every year, coupled with inflation, France's economy had actually been in decline for nearly a decade.
Not seeing anything new, Nan Yi withdrew his gaze and lowered his head to flip through the "Le Monde" he bought at the airport.
Not long ago, a delegation of Chinese writers came to attend the "Awakening of Chinese Literature" symposium. Facing more than 300 French cultural figures, sinologists and some domestic students, they talked freely and exposed what they believed to be the various bad things about China.
Instead, Xu Guangcun, a professor from Taiwan living in France, righteously fought back at the meeting, "Your works are all about exposing and exposing. You have been exposing for more than ten years and are still exposing. China is poor, but its culture is not poor. We should praise our nation. Don't forget that as writers, you should lead the Chinese people forward."
In sharp contrast to this, in January this year, at the 35th World Heritage Committee meeting of UNESCO, experts and scholars from various countries and 75 Nobel Prize winners gathered in Paris, France to discuss the destiny of mankind and study the future of the world.
After several days of discussion and research, 75 Nobel Prize winners reached a consensus that they were not only disappointed with the future of Western capitalism, but also completely denied the Soviet way of development.
So, where is the direction of human development?
75 Nobel Prize winners jointly issued a declaration after the meeting, one of whom said: "If human beings want to survive in the 21st century, they must go back 2,500 years and absorb the wisdom of Confucius."
Immersed in the annoyance of the report, Nan Yi and his party have arrived at the Neuilly-Billancourt Apartment.
After going upstairs, Nan Yi made a phone call, then sat in the living room watching TV while waiting.
About an hour later, the person Nan Yi was waiting for arrived.
Jean Bard is the vice president of Sophie Marceau on the surface, but he has full control over the affairs of Sophie Marceau, and Sophie Marceau is just a mascot.
"John, do you think that promoting Sophie will do more good or harm?"
Jean Bader didn't expect Nan Yi to ask such a sharp question right away. From his point of view, this question was not easy to answer. After all, he was involved and had a conflict of interest.
After thinking for a while and organizing his thoughts, Jean Bader said, "Mr. Adam, I think it is still a big benefit. President Sophie has considerable public support throughout France. When Sophie Investment Holdings executes certain acquisitions, it will reduce a lot of resistance from the public."
"for example?"
"If it weren't for President Sophie's influence, the acquisition of shares in the Ruineng Group in the fourth quarter of last year would not have been so smooth. We would not have been able to obtain 8.5% of the shares, but only about half."
"Keep the status quo?"
"I don't think it needs to change," Jean Bader said cautiously.
"Okay, I respect your decision." Nan Yi nodded and said, "Why did Total only get 4.5% of the shares? As far as I know, during the privatization process of Total, not many people were willing to subscribe to the company's shares."
“There are not many people who subscribe to the shares, and it is easy to acquire Total’s shares, but Total’s board of directors does not want to see the emergence of another super-large shareholder.
Therefore, when Sophie Investment’s stake reached 3.81%, resistance became very strong. The original shareholders did not want to see our stake increase further. The remaining 0.69% of the shares were acquired by me in the name of other companies from three small shareholders at a 40% premium.
"Well, is there any possibility of purchasing more shares of the public power company?"
"It is not possible for the time being. The shares that the government is willing to release have been bought up by everyone. Our shareholding of 0.47% is already the limit. If we want to increase it further, it depends on whether the public power company will be further privatized."
"Oh, where's Rhone Poulenc?"
“I haven’t heard any news about privatization yet, Mr. Adam. This enterprise was only nationalized in 1982. I guess it may never be privatized;
"Whether it is privatization or private placement, we will continue to pay attention and invest as long as there is a possibility of investing."
"clear."
"How was the talk with Pierre?"
Pierre Bellon is the founder of Sodexo, a company that provides high-quality integrated catering services to enterprises, government agencies, schools, hospitals, residential communities, nursing homes and other units.
Simply put, it is to deliver meals to companies and individuals or directly contract the kitchen. Customers just need to pay and don't have to worry about anything else. Sodexo will take care of everything.
Whether it is the agricultural products of Shennong Nanliang, or the "70% Love" semi-finished dishes and SGF high-end ingredients of the Pink Chrysanthemum and Golden Armor factories, Sodexo is an excellent and suitable customer.
"It's under negotiation, but Pierre is not willing to give up too many shares."
Nan Yi waved his hand and said, "We don't need many shares. We just need to establish a friendship with Pierre and ensure that our products can be sold smoothly to Sodexo. Not only can we provide him with high-quality products, you can also promise him financing channels.
The overall situation in the world is moving towards peace. In the next few years, the global supply of agricultural products will steadily increase. We will face huge challenges. Price drops and sluggish sales are problems we will face. Therefore, stable shipping channels are very important to us.
Not only Sodexo, the next step is to establish a good relationship with Carrefour and get our agricultural products into their supermarkets.
To facilitate your work, Houji Agriculture's French properties will be transferred to Sophie Investment Holdings in the near future. From the time you take over, all our farmland in France will be rotated to grow wheat and corn silage. When to end the silage plan will be notified by the group separately."
[To explain, the land used for silage has actually been planned before planting. The planting density of silage is different from that of general planting. In order to increase the "feed" harvest, the planting density of silage wheat fields will be very high, and photosynthesis and nutrients cannot be guaranteed. Even if it is allowed to grow to maturity, the "food" harvest is not guaranteed at all. If you want to swing between the two ends, you will lose both ends. It is not that you can call it silage if you harvest half of the wheat. That is nonsense.]
"Extreme planting?" asked Jean Bader.
"When have we ever adopted extreme planting methods? We still focus on protecting soil fertility. Corn should not exceed 4,500 plants per acre, and wheat should be planted 10% higher than normal. By the end of next year, we will re-inspect our land and start planning for organic fields."
Jean Bader had previously worked for Shennong Nanshi, so when it came to agricultural matters, he was able to connect seamlessly.
"Mr. Adam, are we going to push up the price of corn and wheat?"
"We don't have such plans yet. We just want to see how much impact our adjustment of planting plan will have on grain prices."
It cannot be said that Shennong Nanliang has the ability to manipulate grain price trends. It can only be said that once Shennong Nanliang adjusts its planting plan, the expected output of a certain grain will decrease or increase by a few tenths to one percent.
This is because Shennong Nanliang has been adopting a rotation farming model in order to protect the fertility of the soil and not push up the price of fertilizers. At the same time, less than half of the land is used for planting, and the remaining half is either abandoned or used to grow alfalfa or other green manure grasses.
In fact, it is difficult for food prices to go up. The trend of international food prices is that they are low most of the time, and occasionally natural disasters or human factors will raise food prices to unreasonable ranges.
The impact of the drought in Africa is about to end, and the country is about to enter a stage of self-sufficiency instead of support from other places. Food prices are about to fall, and it will be useless to grow more staple food in the next two or three years. Shennong Nanliang’s policy is to temporarily reduce planting and focus on animal husbandry; and take advantage of the low food prices and the general pessimism about agriculture to annex more land.
Nan Yi paused and continued, “You should be clear about the development policy of the Nan Group. Agriculture and technology are the core, and energy is the auxiliary. These three areas are operated according to the idea of sustainable development;
For others, finance is their lifeblood. We play the role of capital. If we can eat, we will eat. If we can’t, we will move to another place. We don’t have to be goats. We don’t have to let go of any grass roots and eat them all.”
“Understand that you should go wherever there is profit, and the execution strategy is between investment and speculation.”
“Yes, maintaining high capital turnover and high growth rate, speeding up rail transit is a topic that many countries are pursuing and researching. In the short term, Alstom will show a rapid upward trend. If possible, buy the company’s stock and take a ride. When it fights with General Electric, we will withdraw.
Nuclear power is also one of the major trends in the future of electricity. Areva has been developing very well in recent years and has even extended its reach to China. Daya Bay is built by this company. You can pay attention to it. If you can acquire some shares, buy them. If you can't, buy them from the secondary market.
In addition, the automobile market should continue to rise for a long time to come, so it is possible to speculate appropriately.
There is one more thing we need to pay attention to regarding automobiles. Once a research and development company that uses other energy sources as power appears in the automotive field and they can come up with reliable solutions, we will wait and see. If other companies want to suppress them, we will follow suit.
Whether it is hydrogen energy or electric energy, as long as it does not use diesel and gasoline, it is not in our interest. We will suppress it and do a good job of technology collection. After we have decoupled from oil on a large scale, we will enter the field of new energy vehicles.
We should do this quietly and not publicize it. Our interests are aligned with those of the oil giants.”
Jean Bader asked: "So, our approach in the oil sector is light oil fields, heavy refining and chemicals?"
“Yes, as long as any industry continues to develop, the share of profits of primary suppliers in the industrial chain will never be too large, and oil is no exception. From a long-term perspective, the profit of holding oil fields will become lower and lower, and being trapped in it is not in our interests.
But in the short term, its investment-output ratio is still very impressive. Within ten years, as for oil and oil fields, as long as the investment companies are reliable, you can invest heavily. All investments within the traditional French sphere of influence will be initiated by Sophie Investment Holdings, and by you. "
"Yes, I understand."
"As for your personal dividends, the Information and Strategy Committee will evaluate your work in the middle of next year. Once the evaluation results come out, you will be compensated for the dividends for the first half of the year. The second evaluation will be conducted at the end of each year.
Your dividend will be divided into two parts. A small part will go directly into your personal account, and the other large part will nominally belong to Sophie and will also go into a specific account of hers. You can withdraw it at any time. Do you understand this operation?"
"It is understandable that Sophie Investment Holdings and Sophie's president are bundling their brands. Sophie's president's personal charm can enhance Sophie Investment Holdings' corporate affinity and conduct brand marketing in disguise."
"Hmm, so don't waste resources. Run a mass brand of women's products, fast-moving consumer goods, or food, and let Sophie be in charge of the platform. Ah, when designing the brand positioning, consider Sophie's personality and make her more unrestrained and lively. It should be difficult for her to suppress her nature and play the role we need."
"Mr. Adam, I think President Sophie's personality is very French, which suits the French people's preferences. There is no need for us to deliberately create a false personality."
"Yes." Nan Yi nodded. "That was my mistake. I didn't understand the French people's temper well enough. At the end of the year, the Information Planning Committee will once again evaluate the investment return of "Saint Joan". If the evaluation results are not ideal, I will personally bear part of the losses."
After Nan Yi said this, Jean Bard didn't know how to respond and could only remain silent.
"John, let's stop here today. I'll go to the company to look at the financial statements tomorrow, and I'll invite you to dinner tonight."
"I already have plans for dinner tomorrow. I'm going to a white party."
"What kind of party was it?"
"It's hard to describe. It's an invitation-only party, usually held in complete secrecy. The venue will remain secret until a few hours before the party starts. Participants must wear all white and bring their own food, drinks and tableware."
"What about the subject?"
“There’s no theme.”
"Oh, French romance. OK, then let's change it to the day after tomorrow, not outside, but here."
"OK."
After the two finished chatting, Jean Bard said goodbye and left, and Nan Yi continued watching TV.
The afternoon passed quickly. For dinner, Nan Yi casually ate a few French breads, and then found two bags of potato chips. He ate the chips while continuing to watch TV.
"The Count of Monte Cristo" is being broadcast on TV. It is a joint production between France and the Soviet Union. There are only 3 episodes in total, and each episode is more than 230 minutes long. It is completely a series of movies.
The TV content was so exciting that Nan Yi was already immersed in it.
After watching an episode of a TV series, Nan Yi found a videotape of Sophie Marceau and watched "The Last Emperor".
By the time he finished watching, it was already midnight. Nan Yi, who had not waited for the person to come back, stopped waiting, washed up, and went to bed to rest.
He didn't know when, but Nan Yi, who was sleeping soundly, first felt a weight on his body, and then a cold and wet feeling moved across his cheeks, and then down his neck.
Nan Yi, who was woken up, pulled his hand out from the thin quilt, fumbled upwards, and touched a strand of hair and a little head. He exerted all his strength and pushed the little head under the bed, making a sound of "ouch".
"School beauty, school beauty."
Nan Yi shouted twice outside the bedroom.
After a while, the door was pushed open and a ray of light fell on Nan Yi's face.
"Do you know how to torture the soil?"
"Know."
"Take him to the guest room and shut his mouth. Don't disturb me while I sleep."
"yes."
"Adam, you... wuwuwu..."
The school beauty stepped forward, covered Sophie Marceau's mouth, put one hand around her neck and dragged her out. After dragging her out of the bedroom, she did not forget to close the door.
The noise disappeared and Nan Yi had a good sleep all night.
…
French breakfast doesn’t generate much expectation. For Nan Yi, its only function is that he can fill his stomach without frowning.
After morning exercise, Nan Yi ordered a "Petit Dejeuner" at a roadside cafe, which can be translated as a small lunch. To put it simply, breakfast in France is an appetizer for lunch.
For the French, lunch is an extremely important meal. From 12 am to 12 noon the next day, they eat something casually to transition to lunch time. Therefore, it is not uncommon for the French to drink a cup of coffee, eat a piece of fruit or a croissant for breakfast.
How can people look forward to a meal that is not taken seriously?
Nan Yi was eating bread and reading a newspaper when a woman with an oriental look walked up to him and greeted him, "Bonjour."
"Bon jour." Nan Yi responded subconsciously, raised his head to look at the woman who blocked his light, and after recognizing her, he said in Cantonese: "Miss Hui, are you asking for directions or are you meeting a fellow villager?"
The person who came was Kara Hui, a female action star from Hong Kong. She had won the Best Actress Award at the Academy Awards, but she had never been very popular and had acted in very few movies.
"What a coincidence! You are also from Xiangkeng?" The visitor was delighted.
"No, I'm from the mainland. Please take a seat."
Hui Yingzi sat down opposite Nan Yi and said, "I want to ask for directions and try to see if I can meet any fellow villagers. I don't speak French, so I can't communicate with anyone if I want to ask for directions."
"Where are you going?"
"Go to this place." Hui Yingzi took out a notebook, flipped through it and pointed at a line of words.
Nan Yi took a look and said, "It's in the experimental art gallery area, over at the Bastille. Do you want to go there to see the exhibition?"
