National Tide 1980.

Chapter 1297 Investment Confidence

Catherine Deneuve unexpectedly brought good news to Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre Bergé.

On that day, she discussed the general framework of investing in Yves Saint Laurent with Ning Weimin and Matsumoto Keiko. As soon as she drove back to her estate, she was extremely excited and called her friends to tell them the news.

She was very proud and boasted that she had found a wealthy man from the East who was willing to give their company 500 million francs of funds to replace those investors who had withdrawn their capital.

But the current problem is 500 million francs, which can only be paid in installments, and can probably be paid off within four months.

And in order to finally confirm it, the other party would need to meet with her two friends to discuss the shareholding ratio and some cooperation conditions.

That's what she said.

This is no small matter.

As soon as the news spread, it shocked the owner and chief manager of Yves Saint Laurent Company.

For the founder of Yves Saint Laurent, since he was not involved in the company's practical affairs, he only knew that the company's lack of money situation had hope of being resolved. This incident greatly alleviated his depression and mental anxiety.

However, for General Manager Pierre Bergé, the man who runs the company and handles the practical affairs on a day-to-day basis, the effect is exactly the opposite.

He does not have the innocence of an artist and is completely different from LV's president Henri Racamier.

So he was worried that Catherine would act rashly and bring a wolf into the house.

He also understood that this kind of interview was not a casual matter and he would need to do a lot of accounting work himself.

What's more, after a night, Catherine Deneuve called them again early the next morning and even added another piece of information.

It was said that the rich man from the East was here on his honeymoon, but due to visa issues, he was afraid that he would not be able to stay in France for long. He was afraid that the longer he stayed, the more trouble he would have, so he hoped to arrange a meeting as soon as possible.

This made Pierre feel tremendous pressure.

It must be said that this is a lengthy and laborious task.

Pierre had to hide some operating data that was inconvenient to disclose to outsiders, but he also needed to bring investment confidence to this oriental tycoon, letting him see that Saint Laurent's business potential was not exhausted and that it had a natural brand advantage in the ready-to-wear market.

Even though the founder's physical and mental state is not good, the market still buys into this brand.

So Pierre and the company's financial staff started to work in a hurry.

As a model boss, he also takes the initiative to work overtime, which is no different from the Chinese.

Even the financial staff had gone off work, but he was still busy with paperwork.

After a whole day and night of hard work, until dawn, everything was basically ready.

But the meeting had to be arranged for that evening because Pierre was too tired and needed to catch up on his sleep.

But what was unexpected and even more tragic was that that night, after being introduced by Catherine Deneuve, Pierre Bergé and Yves Saint Laurent finally met this mysterious oriental tycoon and his new wife.

Only then did Pierre realize that all his diligent efforts seemed to have been in vain.

Because the other party had little interest in the financial data he provided, and was only concerned about the company's debt ratio and operating profit, they put aside his carefully compiled financial statements and related documents.

The other party did not even ask for time to read the documents in detail or think about it, but clearly stated that they wanted to invest and hoped to get straight to the point and enter into substantive negotiations.

Although this counterintuitive frankness is a good thing, Pierre can't help feeling a little aggrieved and even sad for himself.

He seemed to feel that his work was not respected as it should be, and that the other party should be more cautious to be truly sincere.

"Sir, don't you want to take a closer look? According to the usual practice, you have to fully understand the financial situation of our company before we can negotiate. Otherwise, I doubt how long your investment confidence can last. It is true that we need funds, but we are also cautious in selecting shareholders. I don't want you to regret it after a while and ask me to withdraw your investment..."

But Ning Weimin said lightly, "It's really not necessary. This matter was initiated by Catherine, and I trust her. Moreover, Mr. Yves Saint Laurent and this company are well-known. When investing in such a company, I value the brand value and company heritage rather than short-term financial indicators. So you don't have to doubt my sincerity. I can assure you that I will never withdraw my investment. So let's save some trouble. I will take these indicator documents back and read them slowly, but we should talk about some substantive issues now."

These words not only showed strong confidence, but also quietly praised Catherine and Yves Saint Laurent, making them both smile immediately.

However, Pierre is a shrewd and pragmatic businessman and he is not so easily fooled.

Especially as an admirer and same-sex partner of Yves Saint Laurent, he spent his entire life protecting the company from the evil covetousness of scoundrels.

In his eyes, Ning Weimin's sweet words were nothing but flattery, which made him even more wary.

"No, no, that's not the case. Regardless of Catherine's or Yves Saint Laurent's status in the industry, they can't guarantee the safety of your investment. You must understand one thing: any investment is risky and you have to bear the risk yourself in the end. Frankly speaking, our company has always been a leader in the field of high-end fashion, but the process of entering the field of ready-to-wear manufacturing has not been smooth. But in order to achieve the goal of going public, we have no choice but to increase the stakes. Many shareholders withdrew their investment because they were not optimistic about our success. So if you decide to make this deal, we will not bear any legal responsibility. And if the ready-to-wear business fails, I'm afraid she won't be of any help to you if you go to Catherine again because of the loss."

It should be said that Pierre is indeed a qualified businessman, and he understands the necessity of speaking uglier first.

Moreover, whether it was warnings, suspicions, or dissatisfaction, they were all expressed in a decent manner, still leaving room for both sides.

Pierre even took the opportunity to exclude Catherine's responsibility from the matter.

As a partner, his unyielding quality can indeed avoid many business risks.

But telling the truth is always easy to offend people.

Beautiful women are also prone to excessive self-absorption.

After hearing what Pierre said, although Yves Saint Laurent himself had no objection, Catherine, who was involved, was unhappy.

She needs to be held in someone's hands all the time and cannot allow anyone to ignore or look down on her. This is related to her self-esteem.

So without waiting for Ning Weimin to speak, she spoke out to condemn him, as if Pierre was someone who deliberately sabotaged the cooperation.

"Hey, Pierre, what are you doing? Are you trying to scare away my friends?"

On the contrary, Ning Weimin's words were much more pleasing and more to her liking.

"No, I would never blame Catherine for the loss. If such a situation really happened, I would not blame my friend either."

Catherine immediately expressed her appreciation. "Don't mind it. Pierre is always nervous, as if he is surrounded by bad people. Isn't it Yves?"

As a result, Yves Saint Laurent was immediately embarrassed and caught in a dilemma.

“Ahaha!”

Pierre, however, snorted coldly when he encountered the sarcasm of not knowing how to appreciate kindness. Regardless of Ning Weimin's unreasonable words or Catherine's emotional revenge, he was still very angry.

He thought it was extremely stupid, and he didn't want to see the weak-willed Yves being led by others.

Therefore, he completely lost his patience and did not want to perform this kind of "friendship forever" drama for his "piss teammate" anymore, so he criticized it without any hesitation.

"I'm sorry, young gentleman. With all due respect, I really have to doubt your ability and sincerity. This is not a child's game. Is this how you are going to be responsible for your investment? Especially if the money you are going to invest does not belong entirely to you, then you are committing a crime against those who provide you with the money. Although no judge will judge you, this is definitely an immoral act. You can't let your attitude betray those who trust you and give you their money. Is it just because they have money?"

Obviously, in the opinion of Pierre who said this, at Ning Weimin's age, it is unlikely that he can possess such a huge amount of wealth alone.

Moreover, he cannot respect such a partner, as this goes against his business ethics and is likely to bring unpredictable risks.

Yes, he really hated this man, and he was sure that Ning Weimin was not trustworthy.

However, just when he had begun to consider how to persuade the two partners to give up the investment and refuse to accept new shareholders.

What happened next was so bizarre.

Ning Weimin's reaction not only stunned him, it even shocked him, and almost made his mind shut down.

"Mr. General Manager, have you misunderstood something? In view of your doubts, I need to state that the funds I use to invest in your company are all my personal property. I have no possibility of disappointing others. In fact, I only need to be responsible for myself and my wife."

"What? Five hundred million francs are all your personal assets!"

When Pierre, who was already in his fifties, heard these words, he was just like Alain Delon and Catherine Deneuve, stunned and unable to believe it.

He never imagined that Ning Weimin had such wealth at such a young age.

Just a casual remark almost slapped him in the face.

And that’s not all. Just when he was feeling ashamed and extremely embarrassed.

Ning Weimin seemed to sense his situation and immediately took the initiative to express his full approval of his point of view, giving him a way out.

"However, Mr. General Manager, I still agree with your point of view. In my opinion, although your words just now are full of doubts about me, they are enough to prove that you are a qualified business manager. Prove that you have strong morals and are trustworthy. So even though this is the first time we met today, I feel more at ease investing in your company."

"what?"

Ning Weimin's words left everyone except Matsumoto Keiko stunned.

Because I've seen people who are easy to talk to, but I've never seen anyone so easy to talk to.

In their opinion, Ning Weimin had reason to be angry because Pierre repeatedly questioned and targeted him.

It’s good enough that you didn’t turn around and walk away and refuse to negotiate.

Unexpectedly, he actually turned around and praised the person who made things difficult for him. They found it a little hard to understand how magnanimous he was.

However, Catherine, who was worried that the negotiations would fail, finally felt relieved.

"So, you still plan to continue investing?" she asked happily.

"Sir, Pierre is indeed a qualified business manager. I can absolutely guarantee that. If you really think so, then... that's great. I believe we will get along well."

Yves Saint Laurent, the shy genius, finally had the courage to chime in and endorse his old friend.

The person involved, Pierre, felt a little dizzy.

However, human nature will not change. He looked at his two partners and did not rush for success.

I simply said directly, "Sir, don't just say nice things. Even if you have confidence in me, I don't have confidence in you. Frankly speaking, I can't find anything trustworthy in you. You have to prove it to me. Yes, our company is in urgent need of funds, but if you want to truly become a shareholder, funds alone are not enough."

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone fell silent, and there was an unharmonious silence at the scene.

But precisely because of this, what he absolutely did not expect was that Ning Weimin actually agreed again.

"Yes, you said it very well. I think so too. There is no point in partners who just get together reluctantly. For the development of a company, in the long run, capital is far more important than people. So in order to win your trust, I will first explain my investment intention in detail. I hope that Mr. General Manager and Mr. Yves Saint Laurent can deeply understand my ideas. I have the confidence that we are consistent in many aspects. It is entirely possible for us to become partners in a relationship of mutual trust."

Pierre exchanged glances with the others, and seeing that even Catherine looked puzzled, he became even more confused.

"I think, although I don't know where your confidence comes from, I have no reason to object, please go ahead."

  So everyone's eyes were all fixed on Ning Weimin, and so many eyes gathered together and focused clearly into a huge question mark - what kind of words could he say?

"To be honest, my decision to invest in Yves Saint Laurent was made not only because I wanted to help Catherine, but also because I recognized the achievements of your company's founder, Mr. Yves Saint Laurent, in the fashion industry, and the management talent of the general manager. Yves Saint Laurent has become an indispensable element in French fashion. Such a company and such a brand should have been listed first. And if it is successfully listed, the returns will be huge, which is a well-known fact."

"As for the possibility of failure, I don't care. Because there have been countless design masters in the century-long history of fashion, but I have to say that Mr. Yves Saint Laurent is the most special one. He is so special that even I, a Chinese living far away in the East, know this. Even if it is a temporary failure, it doesn't matter. Yves Saint Laurent's heritage will prove to the world that gold will eventually shine."

"I don't mean to flatter. From my personal point of view, I absolutely agree that the future will belong to the era of female independence. So I think the unisex clothing design that Mr. Yves Saint Laurent pioneered and excels at will become the mainstream in the future because of the changes of the times. This is the need of the times. And perhaps the general manager and Mr. Yves Saint Laurent don't know it yet. I also work for Pierre Cardin and I know the huge potential of the ready-to-wear market. This is the main source of my investment confidence."

"However, despite this, I will not interfere with Yves Saint Laurent's operations and will not seek a seat on the board of directors. I understand that every company has its own characteristics and heritage, especially fashion companies, which need a distinctive style. It is not easy for outsiders to interfere. I have this self-knowledge, and investing in Yves Saint Laurent is purely for financial considerations. I also informed my boss, Mr. Pierre Cardin, of this matter and obtained his permission."

"Because I am an Oriental, I cannot stay in France for a long time. So I am also cautious in choosing investment targets. As long as there is no deficit in the financial statements, I will never bother you. In fact, I will not even become a shareholder of Yves Saint Laurent. I will put all the shares purchased with 500 million francs in the name of my wife. For no other reason, it is because my wife invests in movies on her own, and the risks in the film industry are too high. My appeal is that no matter what the circumstances, my wife must have an asset that can guarantee her a prosperous life forever. If Yves Saint Laurent is listed, then it should be able to do this, right?"

"As for my final statement, my original intention of investing was to help my friends, not to cause trouble. All I pursue is to get along with you all, a fair offer for the equity ratio, and the right to share the benefits with you all in the long term. This request is not excessive, right? So, are there any differences in our requirements? Do you still have any questions?"

After these words were spoken, not to mention the three partners of Yves Saint Laurent were moved and touched, even Keiko Matsumoto was moved and excited.

After all, Ning Weimin had never said these words to anyone before.

Think about it, which woman can remain calm when her husband gives her a gift of 500 million francs at will?

Not to mention, it would allow her to become a shareholder of the French fashion brand.

If this deal were to go through, it would be of great benefit to her fame and film career.

But Catherine was somewhat jealous of this.

After all, all her love life experiences were with scumbags, and her shares were all earned with her hard-earned money.

Seeing others being so lucky, she couldn't help but feel jealous.