The Son of Finance of the Great Age

  Chapter 662 Buffett makes a move

   While Stanley was struggling desperately, another investment bank in the same position on Wall Street was also looking for life-saving straws everywhere, and this was Goodman & Company.

Goodman is a legendary company. It is not the oldest investment bank, nor does it have a good lineage, but since its strong rise in the 1980s, this company has been at the top of the industry and has never left the top three. s position. In the new century, he has firmly taken the top spot in the investment banking industry.

   Unlike Stanley, Goodman's brokerage business is not very strong, but it is first-class in investment banking, holding transactions, asset management and commodities. Moreover, in the past few years, Goodman Company has made great progress in its brokerage business and research capabilities through continuous poaching.

In terms of total assets under management, Goodman and Stanley are almost the same, but Goodman's global staff is only one-third of Stanley's. From this perspective, Goodman is indeed bigger than Stanley. For great.

  But in the face of the once-in-a-century financial crisis, even the smartest brain is useless. Even Henry Paulson and Ben Bernanke can't do anything about the panic in the entire market, let alone the ivy of Goodman's company.

In fact, this financial crisis also had the "credit" of Goodman Company. In the process of Bear Stearns and Lehman Brothers running out of cash flow, Goodman's traders spread the news and played a role in fanning the flames, which greatly accelerated the financial crisis. speed of capital flight. The reason why Goodman Company did this is naturally to eliminate competitors. But they never expected that this "fire" would eventually burn themselves.

  After the bankruptcy of Raymond Brothers, despite the panic in the market. But the daring Goodmans still didn't miss any opportunity to make things worse, and began to make rumors about their biggest competitor, Stanley. As they wished, Stanley was riddled with rumors and soon fell into the next target of hedge funds. However, Stanley Company was not to be outdone, and instead tied Goodman Company together, that is, if Stanley Company was finished, Goodman Company would also be finished.

  Four hours, just four hours.

   This is the conclusion drawn by Goodman Company, that is, from the moment Stanley Company is finished, Goodman Company will also be finished four hours later.

  Hedge funds are like a pack of hungry and red-eyed wolves. While pounced on Stanley Company, they also launched a crazy attack around Goodman Company. During this time, Goodman's cash was also drained heavily. But fortunately, there is another Stanley company resisting in front, which allows them to avoid part of the frontal battlefield.

   "How are the negotiations with Wachovia?"

  Friday morning, Blankfein anxiously asked the person in charge of negotiating with Wachovia. After the government promised to buy its toxic assets, Wachovia Bank began to actively plan for a merger. It first negotiated with Stanley, but neither side was sincere. Formal negotiations.

"The situation is not very good!" Dodge Bergman, the managing director of Goodman mergers and acquisitions who is in charge of this transaction, has a serious face. "According to our audit, Wachovia has as much as 120 billion US dollars in option index type mortgages. Loans. This number far exceeds the number they report to the Fed. Even if the Fed and Treasury went out and bought all the toxic assets they reported, this part of the assets would be a big problem. Of course, if the Fed can guarantee or buy With this part of the assets, everything is not a problem."

   "What?" Blankfein's expression changed drastically. "You mean, even if our merger succeeds, the newly established company may collapse because of this asset?"

"Yes, it's very possible!" Bergman nodded emphatically, "If that's the case, we just got rid of a wolf and met a tiger again. If the situation really develops like that, My opinion is that it is better not to merge. I have sent the revised agreement to the Fed and the Treasury Department, and hope they can reply to us as soon as possible.”

"Everyone may not know yet." Blankfein looked at the negotiating team who were also dejected, and said heavily, "Just now, Paulson just called me, and he has obtained the contract to deal with Goodman Company. Immunity. But I judge that in order to avoid suspicion, he is unlikely to have direct contact with us. Maybe they will exert pressure from Wachovia Bank, but he may not think that the problem is on our side."

"Our board of directors has been prepared to approve the merger with Wachovia Bank at any time. But now, we have to announce with sadness that the initiative of the matter is no longer in our hands. As for how things will develop, we can only see God meant it."

   What greeted Blankfein was deathly silence. Everyone knew that the current situation was indeed the case, and that Goodman's fate was already in the hands of others.

   That is, today, Goodman, like Stanley, announced the decision to become a bank holding company. But the performance of the stock market was not what they expected. On the contrary, because the market expected that Goodman Company might need more funds, under the interaction of various expectations, Goodman Company's stock price only rose a little bit, which made everyone The NPC was disappointed.

What made Blankfein even more disappointing was that shortly after the market closed, he received a call from Geithner, telling him that Goodman's request had not been approved, that is, the merger between Goodman and Wachovia had failed. up.

   also informed Blankfein that Stanley was in contact with the Japanese consortium. According to Geithner's description, Stanley is full of confidence in this, although he himself is not optimistic.

  The situation was reversed at once!

  Stanley Company found a funder, while Goodman Company fell into the point where no one cares about it.

This is simply a reversal of the plot. The Goodman Company, which was like a star holding the moon in the market, is very likely to declare bankruptcy protection, and Stanley, which they dealt with secretly, is very likely to become the last surviving large-scale company on Wall Street. investment bank. This has to be said to be a great irony.

  After hanging up Geithner's phone call, Blankfein's energy seemed to be sucked out of his body at once, and he had aged ten years. This is really shooting himself in the foot, he thought with a wry smile. But the next moment he corrected his thoughts again, instead of hitting his foot, he hit his head heavily.

   Blankfein also guessed part of the reason why the Ministry of Finance and the Federal Reserve did not guarantee the transaction. This is still a continuation of the policy of not helping Lehman Brothers, because in the face of the growing anti-rescue calls in the United States, the government had to compromise and not directly intervene in the transactions between these institutions.

  Although the government has been making connections, this effect is not as direct and effective as direct intervention. It is a pity that the current Goodman Company will also become a victim, although Paulson is unwilling to do so in his heart.

  Although the government has announced a large-scale rescue plan, Blankfein knows that the institutions waiting for the rescue can almost line up from Washington to New York, and Goodman Company is nothing at all. Among other things, each of the three major U.S. auto organizations has hundreds of thousands of employees. If saving such a company is not a priority, is it possible to save Goodman, who has only tens of thousands of employees?

   It's over! It's all over!

   At this time, the only thought that came to Blankfein's mind was that the Goodman Company was playing with fire after all.

  Although before this, Blankfein had been looking for potential buyers in the Middle East, Europe and China, and sent a special working group. But the news that came back one after another was disappointing. In the United States, Goodman's traders are also making phone calls like crazy, but the more this happens, the more pessimistic the market is about Goodman's prospects.

  By now, Blankfein has given up any hope of obtaining a large amount of funds from a single investor. He only hopes that several institutions will join forces to jointly inject capital into Goodman. But even so, the market feedback is still very little.

   "Lauder, I have a new plan that may be able to get a response in the market."

   Just when Blankfein was feeling desperate, a phone call revived his vitality. The caller was Jon Wind, the vice chairman in charge of Goodman's search for funds. During this period of time, he traveled all over the world, contacting the heads of organizations, hoping to find a "good-hearted person" who "generously donates money".

   "Oh? What's the plan?" Blankfein's answer sounded weak. In fact, he got too much bad news from Jon Wind, and now he doesn't hold much hope.

"Sale $5 billion of preferred stock options (options) on the condition of a 10% dividend, and at the same time allow these preferred shares to be converted into common stock at a price of $36." Jon Wind did not notice that Blankfein Uninterested, he said excitedly, "As long as this deal can be done, we will never have to worry about cash."

   "What?" Blankfein finally woke up from his numbness, and was taken aback, "Jon, are you crazy? You can agree to such a condition?"

  Sell $5 billion of preferred shares on the condition of a 10% dividend, which means that someone else gave Goodman a $5 billion loan, but the annual interest rate is 10%, which is much higher than the market interest rate. The conversion of the latter option into common stock means that the party who injected capital will officially enter Goodman's management.

   Blankfein's thoughts changed sharply, but he realized in an instant that this financing plan was too harsh, so harsh that he himself could not agree to it.

  Just Jon Wind's next sentence made him shut up.

   "But the other party is Buffett!"

  Jon Wind was a little anxious, and almost shouted out in a roaring voice, "Lauder, do you know? Our offer was made by Buffett."

   Blankfein was dumbfounded, but this state only lasted for three seconds, and then he shouted decisively: "No problem, we agree to this condition!"

  He is very clear that at this time, if Buffett can make a move, all the problems Goodman is facing will disappear in smoke. With the huge prestige and net worth of the "stock god", any problems with Goodman will no longer be a problem, and the market will favor Goodman again.

   For Goodman, Buffett is not only a life-saving straw, but also a panacea. After seeing the situation clearly, Blankfein decisively chose the correct decision.

  At this time, Buffett is eating in a dessert shop with his beloved grandson. After Rayman Brothers went bankrupt, people from Goodman Company approached him several times, and the terms he offered were more stringent each time. In the eyes of the most successful businessman in the world, if he can't get benefits, he won't make a move.

   Just as he was enjoying the coolness and family happiness, the phone in his arms rang. It was a call from Goodman Company. A faint smile appeared on the corner of his lips, and he knew that his "looting while taking advantage of the fire" had succeeded.

   "Fax the relevant documents as soon as possible, and we will do the final research."

  After listening to Blankfein's slightly respectful explanation, he said lightly, then stuffed the last cone into his mouth, and clapped his hands. The whole process seemed to be an extremely trivial thing.

   Thanks to book friends Molong Zhangui, Jiangnan Liu Feiyan, Gambling Ghost, it wasn’t me who voted monthly! At the beginning of the new semester, I was urged by the teacher to do various things, and I was in a bad mood... But the author will try his best to adjust his state, and he will still stick to the code when it is time to code. This book has been discontinued for so long I can’t repeat the same mistakes again, I hope everyone will continue to support this book, and I look forward to the results of this book getting better and better~

  (end of this chapter)