"Boss, what are your thoughts on my plan?" Hao Jianguo and Huang He had a long discussion, lasting almost the entire night, before Hao Jianguo finally confirmed the boss's intentions.
"Honestly, I'm hesitant. This is the first time in my life I've been so indecisive! Do you realize how much approving your plan will impact the company's future development?"
"First, the company will have to invest all its profits into this acquisition. Second, we'll need to channel more resources into the development of the US e-commerce platform. All of this will consume a significant amount of the company's resources and energy, and you yourself will likely be completely caught in this vortex, with little room to breathe!" Huang He sighed after listening, stroking his chin. After a long pause, he said, "Jianguo, you want to know my thoughts. Do you think we should buy Amazon?"
"We should!" Hao Jianguo stated without hesitation this time. "Boss, I've thought this through very clearly. Buying Amazon at the current price is a guaranteed profit. Even if we do nothing and just resell it in two or three years, the profit will be tens of billions of dollars. I believe this is an opportunity we cannot afford to miss." xxs
"If you ask for my opinion, I will always give you only one answer: we absolutely must buy Amazon!"
"Good! I'm very pleased to hear such a confident answer from you. Your response also boosts my confidence!" Huang He smiled. "However, the biggest problem we face now is the funding gap. Of the 12 billion US dollars from the parent company, only 10 billion can be allocated here. The remaining 2 billion is needed to maintain the company's daily operations."
"According to your estimates, acquiring Amazon will cost around 25 billion US dollars, leaving a funding gap of about 15 billion US dollars. What do you think?" Huang He asked.
"Boss, this problem is actually very easy to solve. We can easily borrow 15 billion US dollars using some financial strategies!" Hao Jianguo said earnestly. "Boss, no company ever acquires another company using only its own funds. After all, most companies don't have enough cash to acquire other businesses!"
"Therefore, almost all acquisition plans involve borrowing or share swaps. However, I've considered it. Our company's development prospects are definitely much greater than Amazon's, and our company is not listed, making it difficult to determine the actual value of our shares. A share swap would be disadvantageous. The best approach is to secure bank loans and use the borrowed money to acquire the entire Amazon!"
In a few words, Hao Jianguo had subtly revealed his ultimate intention.
— — —
Let's rewind the clock about 10 days. Hao Jianguo once again appeared in the old man's office, initiating a conversation that would decide the future of the entire Jiangnan Group, and even Goldman Sachs.
"Huang He is looking to venture into the US e-commerce platform recently?" the old man asked calmly.
"Perhaps Huang He has such long-term plans, but for now, he just wants to promote his payment tool!" Hao Jianguo reported his current work situation and negotiation details in detail to the old man.
"Alas, compared to Huang He, you are ultimately too foolish. You actually believe that Huang He's sole purpose is to promote his payment tool!" A cold sneer appeared on the old man's lips as he sarcastically mocked Hao Jianguo, making his face turn crimson.
"Sir, Huang He really only ordered me to find other e-commerce platforms for cooperation for the Western Mustang Wallet. He also explicitly stated that the US e-commerce market is already saturated, and he has lost the first-mover advantage, making it difficult to succeed in this market."
"I have also analyzed the entire market environment these past few days. Huang He is not wrong. It is indeed very difficult for anyone entering this market now to defeat the current three giants. There is no opportunity!" Hao Jianguo couldn't help but defend himself, as he didn't consider himself foolish.
"Hmph, based on what you just said, you are indeed a fool!" The old man continued to rub salt into the wound, then added, "Indeed, what you said is also true. It is extremely difficult for latecomers to enter this market and become strong."
"Then the foolish stop there and abandon the thought. But Huang He is already thinking about how to break through, how to defeat these early entrants when the market is already occupied, and then have his Jiangnan Group dominate the entire market!"
"Just like how he used 00 to defeat QQ back then. At that time, QQ's market share in China was even higher than the current market share of the three giants in e-commerce, yet it was completely defeated by QQ in just over two years!"
"Huang He would never give up attacking just because the market is already occupied. It's as ridiculous as a football player giving up shooting because they see a goalkeeper in the goal!"
"Moreover, according to the analysis of our experts, the scale of the entire e-commerce market may expand by more than 10 times within 20 years. Companies like Amazon, with a market value of around 20 billion US dollars, could very well become 200 billion US dollar companies."
"Huang He's Jiangnan Group has already dominated the entire Chinese e-commerce market, so he clearly understands the immense potential of the future e-commerce market. I absolutely do not believe he would be willing to give up on the US e-commerce market."
"Therefore, this Western Mustang Wallet is not just a simple payment tool, but a foothold for Huang He's offensive. It's like the Normandy landings in World War II. As long as he can firmly occupy the payment tool market, Huang He will have more means to gradually erode the e-commerce market. This is Huang He's true intention."
"You have been with Huang He for so many years and even served as the head of North America, yet you cannot see through this simple plan. If you are not a fool, then who is?" The old man's words made Hao Jianguo feel as if he were falling into an abyss. He wasn't worried about Huang He's intentions, but rather feared that Huang He had concealed such a plan from him, which led him to wonder if Huang He had already discovered his spy identity!
"Don't think about those irrelevant things. No outstanding entrepreneur would tell an outsider all their thoughts, especially when something hasn't fully taken shape. Why would he tell you? To let you resign and start your own e-commerce business? If he really suspected you, he wouldn't hide it from you; instead, he would directly tell you about his plan to enter the e-commerce industry and then observe your reaction!" The old man's words immediately put Hao Jianguo at ease.
"Then, Sir, what should I do next?" the foolish Hao Jianguo asked humbly.
"Naturally, continue with your work as usual!" The old man lightly tapped the table and handed Hao Jianguo a document. "Take a look."
"Yes!" Hao Jianguo immediately read the document and discovered it was a comprehensive evaluation report of Amazon. It covered Amazon's development history, an analysis of the personality of Amazon's president, and predictions for Amazon's future development.
Ultimately, the report concluded that Amazon would inevitably dominate the entire US e-commerce market in the future, becoming the undisputed overlord. At the same time, Amazon's current stock price was severely undervalued, and its stock price would double within the next three years.
It would double again within 10 years and break through a stock price of 200 billion US dollars within 20 years.
In essence, all the analysis and opinions about Amazon that Hao Jianguo would express to Boss Huang 10 days later originated from this incredibly detailed forecast compiled by Goldman Sachs' top think tank.
"Sir, are you planning for me to leak the contents of this report to Huang He!" Hao Jianguo asked curiously after finishing it.
"You don't need to leak it. I never underestimate Huang He's intelligence. He must have already seen the potential of the Amazon platform, and he should be able to see everything in this report." The old man said calmly. "Furthermore, I've noticed someone in the market is inquiring about Amazon's stock, seemingly with the intention of acquiring it."
"I've investigated the origins of these individuals, and they were hired by a Chinese person to conduct investigations. This person can only be Huang He!"
"Then, do you mean that Huang He has already decided to buy Amazon?" Hao Jianguo exclaimed in surprise. He had not heard even a hint of this information from Huang He.
"Yes, but Huang He is likely still hesitant. I have a team of a hundred people conducting various investigations and analyses of Huang He's personality. Huang He is actually a very conservative person. Don't be fooled by his vast empire; he is very wary of acquiring large amounts of funds through financial means to further promote the company's development. He fears that someone might use these methods to take away his company. That's why Huang He currently holds 100% of Jiangnan Group's shares, and we have no opportunity to take Jiangnan Group from him."
"This also gives Huang He a fatal weakness: his funds are far from sufficient. Although Jiangnan Group has grown at an unimaginable speed and accumulated a large amount of capital, the liquid funds he can flexibly use should not exceed 5 billion US dollars. This amount is absolutely insufficient to acquire Amazon."
"At the same time, Huang He's personality dictates that he would never accept an equity swap to acquire Amazon. Therefore, Huang He is currently in a state of hesitation. He wants to buy Amazon, but he completely lacks sufficient confidence, unless he can find a source of funds to help him buy Amazon. Do you understand what I mean now!"
"Yes, I understand!" Hao Jianguo smiled and nodded. This time, he fully understood, which led to the conference call 10 days later.