The Son of Finance of the Great Age

  Chapter 668

   "Porsche wins!"

Rodney Jones hurried into Soros's office, waving a piece of paper, and shouted, "Just a few minutes ago, the European Court of Justice announced the result of Porsche's lawsuit against Volkswagen Law. Porsche won Already!"

  During World War II, Volkswagen was conscripted by the government. Although it was returned to private individuals, the Lower Saxony state government still retained 20.1% of the shares. In order to prevent the country's auto industry from being acquired by foreign companies, the then German government formulated a law specifically for Volkswagen in 1960, namely the "Volkswagen Law". The law stipulates that when holding less than 20% of the shares of Volkswagen, the voting rights are calculated according to the actual shares held. And once it exceeds 20%, no matter how much it exceeds, the actual voting rights are only 20%.

  Of course, in order to break through this shackles, this law also stipulates that when a shareholder owns more than 80% of the shares, this right of exceeding 20% ​​and not being able to fully exercise voting rights will be invalidated. However, based on the importance of Volkswagen to the Lower Saxony state government, the Lower Saxony state government will not give up its equity at any time, and their equity is exactly 20.1%, which means that no matter what, other consortiums cannot hold There are more than 80% of the shares.

  With this law, Volkswagen is not afraid of any form of acquisition at all. But Porsche has coveted Volkswagen for a long time, so how could it be bound by such an unfair law. In 2006, they decisively sued the European Court, accusing the "Popular Law" in violation of the EU's "anti-monopoly law." Because the status of the "Anti-Monopoly Law" in economic law is similar to the status of the Constitution among many laws, it is a law within the law, so once the lawsuit is won, it means that the "Popular Law" can no longer continue to protect the public company.

   It was the move of Porsche to sue the "Volkswagen Law" that made the market realize that Porsche had coveted Volkswagen, which attracted widespread attention from European and American hedge funds.

  After two years of litigation, the European Court of Justice finally made a final judgment, declaring that Porsche won. This means that at the legal level, Porsche has removed a huge obstacle for the acquisition of Volkswagen.

"Relax, Rodney, this is a good thing!" Soros didn't have any waves on his face, and he was completely in control, "This matter is not beyond the expectations of the market. Prior to this, the direction of the media has already explained everything, the "Popular Act" is indeed an unfair law, and it is time to abolish such a law."

"But in this way, our short position will be in danger!" Seeing Soros's flat reaction, as always indifferent, Rodney Jones is really anxious, "The 4 billion euro position bet on the public stock It’s a huge number on shorts. I always have this jittery feeling that something’s going to happen, and it makes me feel really bad.”

"Relax, buddy!" Soros looked straight at Rodney Jones, and suddenly smiled, "Rodney, maybe you don't know that there is another law in Germany that restricts the acquisition of Porsche. .”

  Rodney Jones plays the role of macro strategist and economist in Quantum Fund, which means that his eyes have been fixed on macro data, central banks and governments of various countries, and he pays little attention to a certain company. This time, if it weren't for the judgment of the European Court of Justice, and Quantum Fund blocked 20% of the funds in a single stock, he would not pay attention to the acquisition of Volkswagen.

  So at the micro level, it is normal for him to be ignorant.

   "Oh, what the **** is going on?"

   At this time, Rodney Jones also lost the panic at the beginning. He pulled a chair and sat down, waiting patiently for Soros' explanation.

"Germany's "Company Law" stipulates that the controlling stake in a company reaches 75%, that is, obtaining control of the company is our absolute controlling stake. The difference from our 50.1% is that they have a full 25% more Shares. And unlike us, their takeover offer triggers a starting point of 30%. This also means that between 30% and 75%, a full 45% of the shares need to be acquired.”

"Except for the 20% shares of the Lower Saxony state government, only 80% of the shares of Volkswagen AG are circulating in the market. As long as the current management of Volkswagen AG maintains more than 5% of the shares, the Porsche family will not absolutely control Volkswagen AG. No doubt. But this is an extreme situation. If it really develops to this point, the current CEO Ferdinand Piëch will definitely be kicked out of the board of directors. Therefore, no matter what, the shareholders who support Piëch will definitely retain More than 5% of the shares."

"There is also the most important issue, that is, money! To acquire 45% of Volkswagen shares, can the Porsche family come up with so much cash? I think Volkswagen Group will definitely not be willing to conduct transactions in the form of stock exchange, So cash reserves are very important. Since the middle of the year, the Porsche family has announced that they will acquire more than 50% of Volkswagen shares. But so far, they have not completed this goal, and even completed half of it. I think At this time, due to the impact of the acquisition news, Volkswagen’s stock price has risen like crazy, which has increased Porsche’s acquisition cost by more than 50%, which should have far exceeded their expectations. So they either continue to borrow funds for acquisitions, or Just give up the acquisition."

"Continue to borrow funds for acquisitions, and want to complete the final 35%. This amount of funds looks at the whole of Europe and even the world. I am afraid that there are not many people who can support them. Even if there is a consortium that really intervenes strongly, when the shares of Porsche reach a certain level, We can still leave the market calmly and lose at most a part of our funds. But if they can’t sustain it, the currently obviously inflated public stock price will definitely undergo a downward adjustment, and this is our opportunity!”

   “Simply put, this is a must-win situation!”

After Soros explained patiently, he looked at Rodney Jones again with a smug expression on his face, "Rodney, now you understand why I invested so much money in this acquisition. Believe me Other than me, other hedge funds are aware of this and are jumping in.”

"But Zhongshi appeared at the Porsche family's party before, what does this represent?" A big stone in Rodney Jones's heart finally fell, but another question quickly emerged, "Could it be that he intends to Provide funds to the Porsche family? If so, then Porsche may really succeed in acquiring Volkswagen."

   "I don't know about that!"

Soros frowned, and then slowly opened it, "No matter what this little guy is doing, the final situation still falls into these two situations. But now, it seems that the little guy didn't give the Porsche family too much. Much help."

"Then what should we do next?" Rodney Jones also couldn't figure it out, but now that he has a strategy that is almost perfect, it doesn't make much sense to think about why Zhongshi appeared in Germany at that time, "Continue to add Do you short Porsche? Or wait quietly for Porsche to make a final decision?"

"Of course we will continue to short!" Soros waved his hand proudly and said confidently, "If my guess is correct, other hedge funds will follow soon. At that time, find a few more brokerages, preferably those A market maker that does not need to provide real securities. The German market is very different from ours, and we must adapt as soon as possible.”

   As expected by Soros, hedge funds from all over the world soon gathered in Frankfurt, and everyone flocked to short the stock of Volkswagen. They are all not optimistic that Porsche will eventually acquire Volkswagen, and believe that Porsche will automatically back down at a certain point. For this reason, they wantonly shorted the stock of Volkswagen, and because of the German "Securities Law", market makers can still provide securities lending functions without corresponding real securities. Therefore, the securities lending business of Volkswagen is expanding rapidly, and the scale is getting bigger and bigger.

  …

   "Mr. Zhong, in the name of the Porsche family, I sincerely invite you to the celebration reception in Stuttgart!" Not long after the verdict of the European court came down, the phone rang in Zhong Shi's office in Hong Kong. On the phone, Schwarz Porsche, the fourth generation of the Porsche family, said solemnly.

   "Celebration?" Zhong Shi asked in bewilderment, "Celebrate what? Mr. Porsche, what is going on?"

"You don't know?" Schwartz's reaction was more surprised than Zhong Shi's. He explained with a stutter, "It's like this. Just now, the European Court announced that the "Popular Law" violated the "Anti-Monopoly Law". Our Porsche family won the case."

   "So, is that time coming soon?" Zhong Shi understood the news, and a mysterious smile rose from the corner of his mouth.

"What news?" Schwartz Porsche was at a loss, "Mr. Zhong, are you talking about the acquisition of Volkswagen? If this is the case, then I can tell you a piece of news in advance. After careful consideration, my father, Decided to suspend the acquisition of Volkswagen. The current price has clearly exceeded our ability to pay. I will announce this news on behalf of the Porsche family at the celebration reception two days later."

   "It turns out that he doesn't know anything." Zhong Shi snorted and stopped entangled in this issue, "Please tell Mr. Wolfgang, I will definitely attend."

  Schwarz Porsche hung up the phone with satisfaction after getting the news, completely unaware that what Zhong Shi said did not refer to the acquisition of Volkswagen by Porsche, but another matter. Because this matter is highly confidential, within the Porsche family, it is only known to a few third generations, and Schwarz Porsche, who is the fourth generation, is also kept in the dark.

   "Are you sure this works?"

  As Zhong Shi’s right-hand man, Jiang Shan has been involved in the entire plan, and he even helped the Porsche family design some details. Now that he heard that it was the harvest season, he was both surprised and happy, and his whole person became worried about gains and losses.

   This is the first big deal he has planned since he joined Tianyu Fund. Even Zhong Shi was full of praise for it when it was first designed, and Jiang Shan was also full of confidence, thinking that it was absolutely a foolproof big plan. With the implementation of the plan, the development of the situation was just as Jiangshan had expected, and more and more hedge funds were attracted. But the more this happened, the more disturbed Jiang Shan felt, because the market had lost its mind, and the accumulated funds far exceeded his expectations.

"Relax, even if you are accused by thousands of people, it will be the Porsche family that bears the infamy in the end." Zhong Shi seemed to see Jiang Shan's hesitation and hesitation, and persuaded in a deep voice, "Since Mr. Wolfgang wants such a result, We'll just design one for him. But he gets so much, we have to make him give something, don't we?"

"Can the Porsche family really finally acquire Volkswagen?" Jiang Shan took a few deep breaths, trying to calm down his emotions, "After this battle, I am afraid that one side will suffer heavy losses, and the winning side will hardly need to raise their hands." You can easily achieve your goals.”

   "The world is unpredictable!"

  Zhong Shi's face suddenly became serious, "Don't jump to conclusions until the last moment."

   Thanks to the book friend Molong Zhangui for voting for the monthly ticket! The writing may be a bit slow in sorting out the thoughts, everyone who can write it will read it first, the author will continue to work hard, and hope to get the support of more book friends~!

  (end of this chapter)