America's Road to Wealth

Chapter 219 The capital battlefield full of gunpowder

The three Taylor brothers finally agreed to Abel's offer.

Now in 2001, Abel's offer can be said to be the most sincere offer.

Even among the many buyers who are interested in Sempra Energy, his offer is the most attractive one.

In the end, Abel bought 78 million original shares of Sempra Energy in the hands of the Taylor family at a price of US$5964.

This news was learned by Qixiu Martin, chairman of Sempra Energy, on the same day.

"Fake Taylor! Fake Taylor! Fake! Fake!!"

Around 60 years old, founder of Enova, one of the companies that merged into Sempra Energy.

Qixiu Martin, the chairman of the merged Sempra Energy Company, was so angry that he almost smashed things in the office.

"Boss, anger won't help." The general manager Delevingne persuaded.

"I understand, I understand" Qixiu Martin knew this too.

"BOSS. The next thing we should consider is how to maintain our control of the company when Smith enters the board of directors." The general manager said.

Qixiu Martin was very sure of this.

"Although we directly hold only about 31.1% of the shares." Qixiu Martin said confidently:
"But the shareholders are willing to trust us, at least 30% of the voting rights are on our side! In the board of directors, we are not afraid of Smith's 21%!"

The general manager also nodded with a smile.

After all, Qixiu Martin has been running Sempra Energy for two years.

Under his leadership, the company performed well.

The annual dividend distribution is also satisfactory.

More importantly, he is one of the founders of the company.

The control of the company, as well as the win over of the company's shareholders, are very successful.

"Ring~Ring~Ring"

The phone in Qixiu Martin's office rang, and the chairman picked it up.

"Mr. Chairman, is Mr. Mayo's call transferred?"

"turn around."

Mayo is a minority shareholder in Sempra Energy.

He is also a friend of Qixiu Martin.

Also one of his supporters at the shareholder meeting.

"Hi ~ Mayo, good morning." Qixiu Martin said cheerfully:
"How long has it been since we played golf together? Last month, oh no, it was last October. When will we meet again? Old friend, I miss you a little bit."

"Sorry, Martin, I might be busy next time"

The voice of Mayo, the shareholder, came from the opposite side. He said on the phone:
"I'm making another call to tell you, Martin, that my 9.09% stake in Sempra Energy has just been sold."

"Mayo!"

Qixiu Martin's voice couldn't help but grow louder.

"Sorry. I don't want to do this, but Martin, the price was too good."

"Mayo Jones, you are a betrayal, a naked betrayal." Qixiu Martin hissed.

"Hehe...you can say whatever you want. Goodbye, Qixiu Martin." The minority shareholder hung up the phone.

"Snapped!"

Qi Xiu Martin hung up the phone vigorously.

Not two seconds later, the phone rang again.

"Hello?" Qi Xiu Martin held back his anger.

The secretary's voice was still on the phone, and the secretary seemed to hear the boss's anger.

She hesitated and whispered, "Boss, it's Mr. Mayo's call again."

"Answer."

Qixiu Martin said in a deep voice.

Soon the voice of the minority shareholder came from the phone:

"For the sake of our getting along well in the past. Mr. Martin, I will tell you one last piece of news."

"what news?"

"The news is... In fact, as early as two or three months ago, someone from Smith Capital was contacting us."

"us?"

"That's right. It's us." Mayo said over the phone:
"Like me, the shareholding ratio is not too much, the minority shareholders of Sempra Energy. We all got their offers."

Qixiu Martin was already anxious, and he tried his best to look calmer.

He continued: "Impossible. If that was the case, they should have told me earlier."

"No one will be against their own interests. No one." Minority shareholder Mayo said:
"You should understand that, Martin. Hope you're doing well, bye."

Qi Xiu Martin didn't even want to say goodbye, so he hung up the phone.

After hanging up the phone, he immediately started ordering the general manager Delevingne.

"Delevingne, contact the shareholders immediately. Especially those small shareholders, immediately!"

Kisho Martin said loudly.

The general manager Delevingne, who was watching the whole process, also knew what happened.

He immediately agreed.

Then the chairman and general manager of Sempra Energy acted.

But before noon, they got bad news one after another.

The more than ten small shareholders that the two contacted separately informed the two of them.

Just in these two days, a company called Ales Energy bought their shares.

"15%." Delevingne said with some trepidation: "Including the Taylor family's 21%, it's more than 36%!"

Qixiu Martin had a cold face, and just about to speak, the secretary walked in.

Then the chairman and general manager of Sempra Energy heard the news they least wanted to hear.

"Mr. Martin, Mr. Lexley. Just now, a Texas energy company announced that it holds a total of 36.3% of our company's shares."

"And for the secondary market and the primary market, a comprehensive tender offer was launched for us!"

Qixiu Martin, who is in his 60s, only felt his eyes go dark.

That night, some TV stations that focus on finance and economics published the news.

For example, Fox News Channel, which is owned by News Corporation.

It has a featured program.

Fox News, after the news broadcast every night.

Create a one-hour special that breaks down the day's major domestic news.

In this program, the good-looking young hostess specifically talked about Ales Energy's comprehensive offer to acquire Sempra Energy.

[Since last year, Alesvas and Power Company in Texas has been buying Sempra's stock continuously. 】

[Since mid-March this year, the shareholding ratio has reached 3%. 】

[The day before yesterday, Alan Baker, special advisor to Ales Energy, and Abel Smith, chairman of Ales Energy, reached a deal with the major shareholder of Sempra Energy, the Taylor family. 】

[Ales Energy acquired 21.07% of Sempra Energy shares held by the Taylor family in cash.

[The total share capital held by Ales Energy Company immediately rose to more than 27%. 】

[But Mr. Smith is not content to be the second largest shareholder of Sempra Energy. 】

[Ales Energy has contacted many shareholders of Sempra Energy in private, and purchased 9.5% of Sempra Energy in one go yesterday and today]

[Recently, Ales Energy's shareholding line has exceeded the 36% offer line. 】

[Ales Energy, today, launched a general tender offer for Sempra Energy. 】

[Sampra Energy is a West Coast energy giant with a market value of 166 billion US dollars, which provides nearly one-third of the electricity and more than one-quarter of the natural gas in many parts of California, with more than 2000 million customers]

【.There is no doubt that the most intense first battle in the stock market this year is about to start. 】

Under the guise of the Fox host.

A lot of ordinary Americans who wouldn't pay attention to this sort of thing.

Because one of the acquirers was Abel Smith, and after the host made such remarks.

Many ordinary Americans began to pay attention to this news.

There are more people paying attention, other newspapers and TV stations.

In order to compete for sales and ratings, in order to compete for eyeballs.

Naturally, they quickly followed suit.

The next day, the Wall Street Journal, the largest newspaper in the United States that had initiated the second wave of the "Smith Storm", also came to an end.

The Wall Street Journal analyzes this transaction from a more professional financial perspective.

The reporter of this daily thinks in the article.

Sempra Energy is a very low-key company.

It had never made any news before this year.

It has never been obvious, because its performance has been stable all year round, and its scale has neither declined nor developed. It has no attention from securities analysts, has been neglected, and has not attracted the interest of investors.

But since November last year, the stock price has been rising all the way.

The original market value fluctuated around US$130 billion.

In just four months, the stock price has soared by 38%, and it is about to break through the 170 billion mark.

Apparently at that point, it was time for Abel Smith to start planning ahead.

The Wall Street Journal is all over.

Naturally, the financial experts of the major media couldn't hold back.

They began to study the enterprise comprehensively.

This made them realize that even if the stock price rose so much.

Sampra's current market value still has a certain gap from his net assets.

For example, the market share of Sempra Energy in California is actually similar to that of another California Pacific Electric.

However, the market value of California Pacific Electric is as high as 250 billion US dollars.

And Sempra Energy holds a large number of offshore oil exploration rights.

These ocean exploration rights, it's okay if no oil is found.

If oil is found, $170 billion will definitely not be the real value of Sempra Energy.

In addition, Sempra Energy is also actively exploring overseas markets.

Especially in South America, technology transfer sales contracts have been signed with companies in Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay, Brazil and other countries.

In addition, Sempra Energy has also signed long-term parity natural gas contracts with several companies on Maoxiong's side.

It was signed two years ago.

Two years ago, when the exchange rate collapsed and the sovereign debt defaulted, it was the most difficult time for them.

It was also a time when global natural prices were low.

This allowed Sempra Energy to sign the contract at the time, and the price of natural gas was very low.

The low price of natural gas means that for a company that provides electricity, the cost is a little lower than others.

Such a low-key and underappreciated listed company was suddenly targeted by "Financial Moses" this year.

Or Abel Smith, the first to announce a general takeover offer.

That means he takes the company very seriously.

It means that the current market value of Sempra Energy does not match its true value at all.

The Los Angeles Times, the most authoritative local newspaper in California, also commented:
[Alex Energy Chairman Abel Smith arrived in California on March 3. 】

[With his arrival, more threatening actions are bound to be taken against Sampla Energy. 】

[Whether he can take Sempra Energy under his banner or not, the local financial authorities on the west coast have all given affirmative judgments. 】

The "New York Times" is also paying attention, and they even sent someone to interview the top figures related to Sempra Energy.

[Mr. Qixiu Martin, chairman of the board of directors of Sempra Energy, said that he is not afraid of any hostile takeover, and has contacted major banks and is always ready to fight back against the 'invasion' of Ales Energy. 】

[This newspaper also interviewed another founding family of Sempra Energy. 】

[According to Mr. Musk Taylor, the chairman of the Taylor Charitable Foundation Council, Qixiu Martin broke his promise first, and the sale of shares by the Taylor family is not a betrayal! 】

All major newspapers appeared.

Of course, financial magazines will not fail.

"Fortune" magazine, as the media of the American elite, also participated in the report of Sempra energy news.

But "Fortune" magazine only mentioned Abel's acquisition of Sempra Energy.

The following content, as the headlines on the front page, they actually stopped mentioning the recent hot acquisition of Sampla Energy.

Instead, put Abel Smith and Warren Buffett.

With American Express Bank CEO Kenneth Chenault.

Hang the photos of the three people on the headlines in triangles, and draw the arrows of the three-party game.

[Are Smith and Buffett acting in concert? 】

"Person acting in concert" is a term used in business transactions, acquisitions, and especially the stock market.

Generally, it refers to several people who cooperate secretly according to formal or informal agreement and tacit understanding, and achieve the acquisition of a listed company through any party.

All stock exchanges around the world are strictly guarding against persons acting in concert in the acquisition of a listed company.

The securities regulatory commissions of various countries do not even investigate written agreements when dealing with such lawsuits.

As long as the fact of concerted action is found, the acquisition will be rejected.

Concerted action is covert action.

Two or more parties are eyeing a listed company.

In order to take the controlling stake by surprise.

They will launch a bright acquirer to fight the listed company openly.

The rest of the partners fought secretly, and after they completed their absolute control, they suddenly launched an attack on the listed company.

This kind of attack has already established the victory, and the listed companies have no chance of turning over.

Precisely because of the great harm, all CSRCs have strict restrictions on "persons acting in concert" and only look at the facts, not the agreement.

"Fortune" guessed that Abel and Buffett were acting in concert, and it was not groundless. They analyzed:
[As we all know, Warren has always been very bullish on American Express Bank.Because American Express Bank is the only service company in the Dow Jones Industrial Data constituent stocks. 】

[From a long time ago, Buffett has been increasing his holdings of American Express Bank shares. 】

[However, in the near future, we have noticed that Smith Capital and Pacific Bank of Commerce have become the actual largest shareholders of American Express Bank]

[After this, Warren Buffett also suddenly began to increase his stake in American Express Bank]

[Before this newspaper published this news, the two parties already held 36% of the shares of American Express]

[No matter who sells the stock to another person, the other party must be able to control American Express, which is very similar to the standard of "people acting in concert"]

【So this newspaper.】

"Fortune" this kind of material is poking holes.

A little carelessness will lead to "Fortune" itself falling into crisis.

That's Buffett and Smith, plus a Soros.

The three have been rendered as the three major Wall Street oligarchs.

At the risk of offending two of the big three oligarchs, Time Warner, behind Fortune, still allowed it to be published.

What is it a media giant doing to get involved in this kind of thing?
Two reasons.

One is that Abe is also a media giant and a catfish in the American media industry, making the entire American media industry panic.

Already a competitor.

Not much to say about the competition, of course.

In addition, the management of American Express Bank has discovered a change in the attitude of Buffett, who was very supportive of them in the past.

They are worried that if Buffett really unites with Smith, then their group of high-level executives will really be finished.

Other Amex shareholders also don't want this high-quality company to be monopolized by others.

So with the help of certain shareholders, American Express CEO Kenneth Chenault personally asked Fortune to send it out.

AmEx is in a precarious position at a time like this.

It doesn't have the power to fight both Buffett and Smith.

It has to build momentum, it has to use all means at its disposal.

Otherwise Amex would have changed hands.

Of course.

"Fortune" did not dare to be completely dead.

An Abe Smith, there is a way to get Time Warner in the capital market.

Now there's another Warren Buffett.

"Fortune" didn't dare to get too involved, and added a sentence in black font at the end:

[The opinion comes from XX, an authoritative expert in the financial industry, and has nothing to do with this newspaper]

After the news came out, Smith Capital responded very quickly.

A press conference was held at [-] o'clock that morning and was broadcast live on AMC.

David Mellon, the newly appointed CEO of Smith Capital, personally acted as a spokesman, severely criticizing Fortune for its distorted and bad remarks.

David opened his eyes and lied:
"The company has never made a decision on "person acting in concert" with Mr. Buffett before this."

"Fortune's groundless speculation has badly affected the reputation of the group. We have issued a lawyer's letter, and Fortune must make a public apology."

"As for the financial person, we will directly resolve it through litigation."

Berkshire is right behind Smith Capital.

Munger, Buffett's confidant, lashed out at "Fortune" for irresponsible slander.

Don't look at Huan who scolded both of them, his attitude is very firm.

But this kind of thing is actually the same as what the United States did at the National Congress meeting.

[I said you have washing powder, you really better have washing powder·JPG]

It just so happened that Buffett and Abel really had "laundry".

Then "Fortune" dared to say that it was offending the two of them.

The number one pony of the two came out to make such a statement.

So much so that "Fortune" finally had to publish an apology in the newspaper.

That "expert so-and-so" was charged with "planting and slandering" by the impartial and impartial prosecutor Robert in the Manhattan area because of this matter, and was sentenced to three months in prison.

At the end of March 2001, the American financial media was full of gunpowder, and it was also thrilling.

In the midst of this scolding war and public opinion, the stock price of Sempra Energy has also skyrocketed.

From $166 billion at the beginning, it rose to $265 billion in just a few days.

It has surpassed another peer, Pacific Electric, which also has a huge market in California and the West Coast.

(End of this chapter)