American Peanuts

Chapter 199 Backstab, the vampire opens its fangs
"The fifth issue will be voted on below to approve PricewaterhouseCoopers as the audit unit for the new fiscal year..."

In the afternoon, several major company issues that need to be approved by shareholders are being held in the conference center.

Some are routine issues that arise every year, such as the current approval of audit units.Another example is annual performance targets, social responsibility reports, environmental responsibility reports, etc.

In addition to on-site voting, registered shareholders and proxy shareholders can vote through the proxyvote website and by calling 1-800-690-6903. However, the combined shareholding ratio of these small shareholders is not as high as that of anyone here. One person is obviously not enough to influence the final result.

It also includes topics that have been temporarily added this year.

"The company is expected to continue to adhere to its internationalization strategy, expand its presence in the global market, and increase investment and cooperation in emerging markets and developing countries in accordance with the requirements of some shareholders. The specific matters involved are to completely abandon its domestic manufacturing plants. , procuring non-main components in developing countries to ensure that the company is in a dominant position in the global supply chain..."

Capital is always profit-seeking. Charlie really couldn't imagine that anyone would vote against this issue, but unexpectedly, Susan Wagner next to him pressed the objection button, but even so, the globalization issue was still passed.

The next issue is even more important.

"Currently, the company has abundant cash flow, and it has been three years since the last dividend was paid. Now we will vote on whether to pay dividends this year..." As the host of the meeting read out, the shareholder representatives present began to operate the voting machines in their hands.

"Of course we should vote against it." Victoria next to her immediately whispered to Charlie.

"Why, don't you just leave the money in vain? This will bring a lot of returns to the big families." Charlie expressed doubts about this.

Victoria said cheerfully, as if mocking Charlie's ignorance: "Don't forget the opportunity cost. If you stop paying dividends, the remaining cash flow will be used for stock repurchase. Investment institutions can not only cash out, but the stock price will also rise. This Much more than a meager dividend.”

Sure enough, Charlie saw Susan Wagner, sitting on the right, voting no.

"Investment institutions need to pursue short-term gains, while pension funds are more inclined to hold long-term and pursue long-term profits. Am I right? Mr. William Patterson from the New York State and Local Retirement Fund." Victoria. He looked at the man on the left again.

"Yes, long-term investors will agree to pay dividends. I hope this issue can be passed. We have lost two opportunities in a row." He said slightly helplessly.

The results were announced a few minutes later. It was clear that the voting rights of investment institutions were more dominant, and the proposal to distribute dividends was terminated.

As expected by Victoria, the next issue of stock repurchase passed smoothly.

Next came the most important topic. Before starting, Charlie was asked to leave his seat alone.

"The list of new board members will be added below. There are two main candidates. They are Mr. Charlie Rossi recommended by the company's CEO Steve Jobs. He has extensive business potential in the entertainment industry and holds PB Magazine, PB Film Industry, PB Music, Marvel and many other companies can provide the company with professional advice related to the entertainment industry and accelerate Apple's expansion in the entertainment industry..."

"Another candidate is Julie Goodrich, CEO of North Star Group, recommended by the company's lead director Arthur Levinson. She has extensive experience in the investment field and can give professional advice in the financial field. suggestion……"

The host of the meeting read out the detailed resumes of the two people, and then the two candidates took the stage.

Standing on the stage, Charlie assessed his ticket holdings in his mind. First of all, it was his own share, plus Susan Wagner. Before the afternoon meeting started, she expressed her intention to support him. She serves as an equity agent for several investment institutions. People hold a lot of voting power in their hands.

However, when the two are combined, they account for nearly [-]% of the total voting rights. Only a small number of votes are needed to successfully enter the board of directors.

As the voting officially began, Charlie discovered that he was completely wrong.

The real-time voting results showed that Julie Goodrich surpassed herself in a crushing manner, receiving almost twice as much support as herself.

"B**ch, you are indeed a traitor!" Victoria sneered at Susan Wagner beside her in her seat.

"I am also considering the future of the company. Besides, the Rossi family's tentacles have stretched too far." Susan Wagner responded coldly.

You must know that the Rossi family is deeply rooted in Utah, but after so many years, its influence is limited to Utah. As the new patriarch, it can be seen that Victoria does not want to continue the family tradition, but is ready to open up a new one for the family. battlefield.

This will obviously bring a lot of variables. For Blackstone, it is also very necessary to keep the Rossi family in the cage of Utah.

"When PFD Acquisition, a subsidiary of Mormon, participated in the bidding for all the properties owned by Cabot Real Estate in Utah, I don't know if you thought it would happen today. The reason is the same." Susan Wagner said about what happened before.

Victoria shrugged, but her face didn't show much anger at being stabbed in the back: "We wouldn't have been so tense."

The voting continued, and Charlie saw on the screen that his approval rating was gradually catching up. The gap was narrowing, but he still maintained a certain gap with Julie Goodrich.

"You are right, but we have no way out. PFD owns a lot of properties in Utah, which is exactly what Blackstone wants." Susan even said helplessly.

But he saw Victoria turning her head to William Patterson on the other side.

"Don't forget the promise you made before." William Patterson chose Charlie on the voting machine.

"This...how is it possible!" Susan Wagner was taken aback for a moment, then immediately realized what was happening, and said to Victoria angrily.

"You're kidding me, you planned it out from the beginning!"

"If it wasn't like this, there's no need for me to appear here." Victoria said with a smile.

"And your reaction just proves that Blackstone is not trustworthy. In this way, I can successfully convince other members of the family to unite and drive Blackstone out of Utah." Victoria then revealed her true purpose.

·
"So, this was planned from the beginning. You made a deal with William Patterson to pay dividends next year in exchange for his support of me."

"And the appearance of Susan Wagner was a complete accident. After you listened to my ideas, you decided to use the trick. At the same time, you also let other members of the family see the true face of Blackstone and persuaded them to step up and complete the bidding for Cabot Real Estate."

In the evening, Charlie and Victoria went over some details.

"That's almost it." Victoria's slender goblet was filled with champagne, which was a celebration of victory.

"Then why did she come here? It's such a coincidence."

"All of this is traceable. The most important of the four major sectors of Blackstone Group is the real estate business. It holds properties valued at more than hundreds of billions of dollars across the country. Of course, I hope Apple can increase its domestic presence. Investment, which is why she voted against the globalization proposal. Now it seems that not only has her goal not been achieved, but she has also suffered other losses. She is probably sulking." Victoria drank the champagne in her glass. And done.

"So, you planned from the beginning to get me on the board of directors and spread the family's influence outside of Utah. You lied to me from the beginning." Only now did Charlie realize that those "for the interests of the family" "The words are not an excuse. She has deceived herself from the beginning.

"I don't like the word lie. Letting you join the board of directors is the family's help and support for you. Next, you need to use actions to practice your loyalty to the family."

"What do I need to do? What is your real purpose in letting me join the board of directors?" Charlie will not be deceived by her again.

"You can't know the answer to the question yet, because you are too weak. To be honest, I think you are nothing more than that. Without me, you would just leave in despair." Victoria shook her head and asked Charlie criticize.

"When the time is right, I will naturally tell you the answer." Victoria deliberately let it slip.

Since detonating the financial crisis in advance, Charlie has had a smooth life, but this is not a good thing.

"You are right, I do still need to grow up." Charlie nodded.

Victoria's words reminded him and made him understand that he was still relatively weak in front of the real behemoth.

"Speaking of which, aren't you part of some big conspiracy?" Charlie asked tentatively again.

"Whether it's a conspiracy or a conspiracy, it's something we have to go through. This is the only way to get out."

Victoria shook her head and sighed.

"Okay, let's end this slightly heavy topic. Don't forget your previous promise. I helped you successfully enter the board of directors. Then you should pay the reward." A smile appeared on her slightly drunk face, as if A black rose is blooming.

When he woke up the next day, Charlie was empty and Victoria had left.

Looking back on yesterday's "position", she has always been firmly at the top, and she has always controlled the rhythm from beginning to end.

Although the two of them talked a lot last night, they didn't seem to say anything.

She didn't seem to care at all about the disagreements within Apple, and Jobs himself, not to mention, maintained his set of bullshit logic of "let nature take its course."

"Forget it, the Lord is not in a hurry, what am I in a hurry for?" Charlie shook his head and put this matter behind him for the time being.

There was a knock on the door, and Charlie put on his shirt and opened the door. It was secretary Kayla Gavin.

"Ms. Victoria asked me to wake you up this morning. She also asked me to bring you a message. There are still things in the family that need to be dealt with. They will go back to Salt Lake City first. In addition, there is the first meeting of the board of directors today that you need to attend." She Seeing Charlie, who was only wearing a shirt, he quickly lowered his head, looked at his feet and said.

Charlie didn't close the door, but turned and walked back to the room.

"When will the meeting start?"

"The time is the same as the shareholders' meeting, which is 10:30 in the morning. There is still an hour and a half left." Kaila Jiawen stood at the door. He didn't know whether to go in at this moment or wait downstairs, so he could only freeze. Stand at the door.

"In that case, come with me to the restaurant downstairs for breakfast." Charlie saw her embarrassment and said very thoughtfully.

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[Taylor Swift: If you join the board of directors of Apple, will you be able to take advantage of Apple's products?So that we can use Apple phones and Apple computers at will, as well as new products that are still in the R&D center? (joy)】

[Faith Hill: Why are you focusing on these electronic toys?Dear, the rights of independent directors go far beyond that. For example, let Apple ITUNS place your new album in the most conspicuous position. Just by doing this, the extra money you make will be enough for you to buy tens of thousands of iPhones. (expect)】

[Ivanie: Or launch electronic products co-branded with Apple, such as an IPOD with a rabbit head logo printed on the back, and use the PB store as the only sales channel. 】

[Adam: You think Apple is too simple. Jobs at this moment will probably not agree to these requests.What I can do now is just expand Apple's entertainment content. 】

[Gisele Bundchen: It’s not cost-effective to go through all the trouble to get on Apple’s board of directors, only to end up working for Apple for nothing. (Get ill)】

[Adam: To put it another way, this is a very good deal.Transplant the entrance of PB Magazine into every mobile phone, so that every Apple mobile phone can become a sales window for PB Magazine, and this window currently only sells PB Magazine.By then electronic sales will easily exceed physical sales. 】

[In addition, ITUNS STORE needs to fill a large amount of streaming media content. Just selling the copyrights of old movies and comics from Marvel's PB Pictures can make a fortune. 】

[Finally, PB’s technical department can also strengthen cooperation with Apple. By then, the applications launched by the company will be recommended by Apple as a representative of outstanding developers. 】

[Faith Hill: What you said makes me feel that you are a vampire even more. (smirking)]

There is no doubt that Apple is a key for Charlie to open the next era.

But as Faith Hill said, shareholders, management, including Jobs himself, will not let this happen.

Therefore, the timing of the proposal is very necessary.

Putting down the phone, Charlie looked at Kayla Jiawen sitting opposite, her slender fingers surrounding a hard-boiled egg. As she moved, the eggshell peeled off, revealing the crystal clear protein inside.

"Weird way to eat it." She handed the peeled eggs to Charlie.

Americans have slightly different ways of eating boiled eggs. They either eat soft-boiled eggs, use a small spoon to crack a hole in the small end of the egg, sprinkle with salt, and dig in with a spoon.Sometimes the bread is cut into finger-thick strips and eaten with egg yolk.Either fully cooked and sliced ​​into sandwiches or tossed in salads.

"You and Victoria stayed in the same room last night, right?" Looking at Charlie who was chewing, Kai La Jiawen suddenly asked.

"Yes."

"Oh." Kayla nodded, slowly stirring the vegetable soup with a spoon, looking a little absent-minded.

"Come out with me this time, how does it feel?" Charlie asked casually.

"Traveling around on business, watching you meet all kinds of people, I feel quite relaxed. I just pretend that you are traveling. If there is a next time, you must take me with you." She looked a little excited.

"Aren't you ready to go back and finish your studies?"

Keira shook her head: "Let me go back now. What I learned before has been returned to the teacher. Besides, even if I graduate, it is almost impossible to find a better job than this."

"You're quite content with the status quo."

"I can't say that. I'm just confused, especially when I see..." Keira hesitated.

"Those stars are not as glamorous as they appear."

"Yes, that's right. Especially after knowing a lot of inside information, all the previous longings no longer exist. This is the disillusionment of ideals. So I think it's pretty good now."

"But it's hard to say. Who knows if I will suddenly find a new direction one day and leave you."

"But this possibility should be very small, because I have become accustomed to living by your side, going to luxurious places and meeting big people. Those boys who play house in school are no longer attractive to me." She laughed.

(End of this chapter)