Chapter 328: 322: Forced Acquisition – Part 2
Chapter 328: 322: Forced Acquisition – Part 2
Chapter 328: 322: Forced Acquisition – Part 2
Translator: 549690339
Finn Lewis furrowed his brows, “Mr. Kodiak Kennedy, are you sure?” “I’m sure. Do you know about Kendrick Campbell?” Kodiak Kennedy shrugged.
“Of course I know, you mean Kendrick Campbell, the steel tycoon of the North Federation?” Finn Lewis asked, slightly confused.
“Exactly. Damian Bryan is quite similar to him in personality. Sometimes it’s not about the money. In fact, when you’ve reached our age, money is still important, but there is little difference between having tens of billions or hundreds of billions of federal coins for someone without much left, isn’t it? Damian Bryan, how should I put it, it’s hard for him to believe that others can make Activision Blizzard better.” Kodiak Kennedy shrugged.
“Okay, I understand. But, Mr. Kodiak Kennedy, shouldn’t there be any issues with you selling your shareholding to me?” After mulling it over, Finn Lewis looked up and asked.
Kodiak Kennedy pondered for a moment, then nodded and said, “I have no problem selling my shares to you. However, I won’t trade now. We can sign a memorandum. When you own more than 30% of the shares, I’ll agree to sell my shares to you.”
Finn Lewis furrowed his eyebrows, hesitated for a moment and then stood up saying, “I see. I guess we’ll leave it at that for now.”
Back at the hotel, Finn Lewis was experiencing a headache. This was the first time he had encountered such a tough acquisition. He currently held around 20% of the shares, a considerable distance away from acquiring 30%. Where could he get this 10% of shares? On the stock market?
It was quite difficult. People on the stock market are no fools. The higher the offering price, the less likely anyone would sell. Even though Finn Lewis didn’t lack money, spending too much would affect the completion of the task.
It’s quite troublesome! Finn Lewis was indecisive. Previously things had always gone smoothly for him. Now he suddenly realized that it wasn’t that simple; unless Finn Lewis was willing to spend indiscriminately like a fool. For instance, if you offer 100 billion federal coins, Finn believed that Kodiak Kennedy wouldn’t care about any agreement and would directly sell the shares to him.
But Finn Lewis couldn’t actually proceed like that! Not to mention the task completion, it’s too foolish. Even if you have money, you can’t just give it away to foreigners. Even spending frivolously requires a strategic plan.
“Olivia, do you have any suggestions?” After lingering on this issue for a while, he finally asked.
“Master, you need to decide by yourself. I can only provide information for you; the analysis needs to be done by you.” Olivia replied.
Finn Lewis rolled his eyes in frustration, but he had no choice but to reflect on his own. After pondering for a long while, he picked up his phone and called Mr. M.
“Brother, what’s the matter?” Mr. M quickly picked up the phone. It was still morning in China, and Mr. M was probably just getting to work.
“There’s something I need to discuss. I was wondering if the 6% stake held by T company is for sale?” Finn Lewis asked directly.
“What shares?” Mr. M was a bit baffled.
“Oh, the shares of Activision Blizzard.” Finn Lewis quickly replied, as he had forgotten to mention the name before.
“Activision Blizzard? You’re not really thinking about acquiring Activision, are you?” Mr. M sounded surprised.
“Currently, that’s the plan. I’ve already discussed with Kodiak Kennedy. I can get the 23% shares he holds. I have around 20% myself. However, there’s a condition for Kodiak Kennedy to sell his shares to me; the shares I hold must exceed 30%.” Finn Lewis spoke in a somewhat helpless tone.
Mr. M understood instantly what 30% signified, “So you want to obtain absolute control over the company.” He sounded taken aback.
“Mr. M, could you sell it to me, the 6% shares held by the T company?” Finn Lewis asked directly, intending to have Olivia absorb a little from the market to make his total holding reach 20%.
“In principle, I could sell them to you, but it’s not just up to me. It has to be approved by the board of directors. Although you’re a board member, to be honest, I can only influence about 32% of the shares. Mr. M thought for a moment before replying.
“So this wouldn’t be easy to handle, would it?” Finn Lewis asked after some thought.
“This would require persuading the individuals at MIH Investment Group. The acquisition of the 6% stake in Activision Blizzard was quite a challenge for T company, and it is a significant part of their strategy. So persuading the board to sell it will likely be difficult.” A bitter smile crossed Mr. M’s face as he spoke the words reluctantly.
“Or maybe you could try Vivendi Group? But even if you bought the 6% from us, you’d still be short by 4%. Now that you’ve nearly acquired 20% from the stock market, it’s probably even harder to buy more, isn’t it?” Mr. M added.
Finn Lewis laughed bitterly, “It’s pretty much impossible to buy any more. Even buying 20% was quite an achievement.” He shook his head.
Although it seemed that the remaining 13% was still on the stock market, this didn’t mean that ordinary shareholders had control over it. A large proportion of these people had likely sold their shares when Finn Lewis had proposed a 30% raise in price.
One could say that the shares Finn Lewis had been able to consolidate were primarily those held by small shareholders. The remaining 13% were likely held by very valuable private investors.
“I can mention it for you, but don’t get your hopes up too high.” Mr. M shook his head.
“Alright, then let’s keep it at that for now. Thank you.” Finn Lewis nodded before hanging up the phone. After the phone call, he pondered for a moment before saying, “Olivia, contact South California MIH Investment Group’s parent company and get all related shareholder information. Also, inform T800 and Luca Hall that we’re heading to France tomorrow.”
“Alright.” Olivia didn’t object.
After hanging up the phone, Finn Lewis slapped his forehead. How could he forget about this? Forgetting about the Red Bank, back home, Finn Lewis remembered to leverage Red Bank and Rhine Kingdom Bank, but once he set foot in Red Bank’s domain, he completely forgot about using them.
“Mr. Lewis.” Oscar Blair answered the phone very respectfully. He was now the one in Red Bank who mainly corresponded with Finn Lewis.
“Hmm, I’m thinking of acquiring a company. Do you think you could help? This company is in the North Federation. I’d like to prioritize this acquisition,and I want to see results as soon as possible.” Finn Lewis spoke directly.
“Which company?” Oscar Blair paused, then asked quickly.
“Activision Blizzard.” Finn Lewis told Oscar Blair the name.
“Activision Blizzard? Alright, I got it. Mr. Lewis, I’ll formulate the relevant strategies as soon as possible. I’ll get back to you in three hours.” Oscar Blair paused before answering.
“No problem. If possible, this acquisition can be completed entirely by Red Bank.” Finn Lewis spoke directly.
Oscar Blair agreed, and quickly hung up the phone. Finn Lewis then hit his forehead, feeling that he had been very foolish before. How could he forget about using Red Bank?
Waiting for three hours wasn’t too difficult, especially since it was nighttime in the North Federation. After staying in the hotel for three hours, Oscar Blair called back on time.
“Mr. Lewis, the shareholding of Activision Blizzard… is a bit quirky.” Oscar Blair said somewhat helplessly.
“How so?” Finn Lewis raised his eyebrows..