The elder acted swiftly and accurately, spreading his net out. Before they knew it, the future PT equipment network that Boss Huang had formed around Android was stolen by Goldman Sachs.
However, under Goldman Sachs' plan, there was still a fatal and crucial missing piece: a suitable mobile phone manufacturer.
The elder had no intention of leveraging this resource to build his own mobile phone brand. This was because the elder was backed by the Goldman Sachs Group, whose business philosophy was to never engage in any actual production enterprises, only dealing with equity-related businesses.
In Goldman Sachs' own view, this was the world's most superior business strategy, a path chosen by truly intelligent people. Conversely, any enterprise engaged in physical production was trash, the most foolish undertaking in the world.
This was because physical production involved logistics, product lines, a large workforce, market uncertainties, and so on. In short, it was a job that was both arduous and complex, fraught with crises. Most importantly, physical industries didn't earn much. Grinding out profits from workers who were worse than dogs was a business no one would even deign to acknowledge.
Conversely, controlling numerous companies and industries through financial means and equity control was the simplest and most effortless. One only needed to recruit some smart elites and invest a small amount of capital upfront to easily control countless companies and industries.
And the profits painstakingly earned by these foolish physical enterprises could be easily pocketed, with more than half of it taken by themselves. Furthermore, by weaving an entire investment network, they could control the stock market, further controlling finance, and even indirectly controlling the direction of the entire nation.
Especially with the advent of computers and networks, the elder could, with just a single computer, influence the global situation, causing chaos with a single word. Was there any more magnificent undertaking than engaging in finance?
Therefore, Goldman Sachs would absolutely not venture into any physical production. Even though the elder had gradually gained control of the entire chip industry through stocks and was preparing to control the upcoming PT industry in advance, he had no intention of producing PT equipment himself.
Thus, the best method was to acquire a traditional mobile phone manufacturing company from the market and then use that company to produce PT equipment. This was Goldman Sachs' consistent method and playbook.
Naturally, Goldman Sachs did not look favorably upon first or second-tier mobile phone brands. In Goldman Sachs' eyes, only four companies were qualified to be controlled and serve as their ultimate trump card: Motorola, Nokia, Samsung, and the newly emerging Bell.
The first to be ruled out was Samsung because Samsung itself was an extremely massive conglomerate, representing the power of the entire South Korean chaebol behind it. It wasn't easy for Goldman Sachs to directly interfere.
Not to mention that Samsung was effectively acquired by Wall Street. During the 1997 financial crisis, Wall Street had already taken a 55% stake in the Samsung Group.
However, these shares were not acquired by Goldman Sachs, the biggest black hand of Wall Street, but by the more powerful Rothschild consortium. This entity was not to be trifled with, even by Goldman Sachs.
Coupled with Samsung's complex web of interests and extremely intricate power struggles, even the elder was not confident in his ability to control the Samsung Group and make it obediently follow his commands.
Of course, the most crucial point was that even Goldman Sachs did not currently possess sufficient capital to acquire Samsung's shares. After all, Samsung's total market value had already reached over 300 billion US dollars. Although Goldman Sachs' assets were greater, they couldn't directly fork out over 300 billion to acquire Samsung.
The previous 200 billion used to lay the groundwork for the entire chip industry was already all the liquid capital Goldman Sachs could mobilize. While Goldman Sachs' total assets amounted to trillions of US dollars, its book assets were never cash.
Therefore, in a sense, the elder's move to lay the groundwork for the entire chip industry had also staked all of Goldman Sachs' liquidity. If it failed, Goldman Sachs might very well be crippled.
Samsung was out, and so was Bell.
This was because Bell was backed by Xiaomi, and everyone knew that Xiaomi was a loyal subordinate of Jiangnan Group, having been supported by Huang He himself. Although the elder firmly believed that if enough benefits were offered, Xiaomi could be transformed into "white rice," the problem was that the risk involved was too great.
After all, everyone in Xiaomi was Chinese. It was difficult to make them completely loyal to him. Strangers would always have different intentions.
This saying, when applied to Chinese people, was merely a platitude. After all, Chinese people had never engaged in genocide. However, Westerners had genuinely caused the demise of countless races, so they would not fully trust Xiaomi.
Moreover, who knew if Huang He had planted his own pawns within Xiaomi? If the operation were exposed and Huang He received news of it, wouldn't that be like beating the grass and scaring the snake prematurely? Therefore, Bell was also an impossibility.
This left only Nokia and Motorola as potential acquisition targets.
Nokia was largely within the European sphere of influence. Major European financial groups had their own pawns within Nokia. To control Nokia, he would have to fight against these major European financial groups, which was undoubtedly a foolish endeavor.
Therefore, the only remaining option was Motorola. This was a purely American enterprise with a long history, and its employees were all noble Caucasians.
Moreover, Motorola had already clashed with Jiangnan Group multiple times, and their animosity was deep. Once they cooperated, there would be no need to worry about their stance, and they could strike Jiangnan Group with the most ruthless blow.
Lastly, and most importantly, the elder currently held a significant stake in Motorola. It was somewhat embarrassing to admit, but when short-selling Motorola, although the elder had wanted to escape immediately, he was ultimately a step too slow. Only a portion of the shares escaped; a large half remained in his hands, awaiting a future rise in stock price.
However, it now seemed that this was a serendipitous development. It could be used to intervene in Motorola. Furthermore, Motorola's stock price had been stagnating, making it the perfect time to act, acquiring control of Motorola at a relatively low cost.
Despite having decided on the target of his actions, the elder did not rush to execute them.
No need to rush. There was still some time before February, wasn't there?
When February arrived, the full financial reports for 2004 would have to be published. At that time, Motorola's sales plummet in the latter half of 2004, caused by the impact of the Zhong Mi mobile phone, would be announced to all investors without exception, followed by another round of decline for Motorola. That would be the opportune moment to proceed with acquiring Motorola, so for now, Motorola would have to wait. xxs1
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"This is our last hope!" Edward Zamp, unaware that he had become a target for acquisition and could soon switch to a better father, looked at the mobile phone before him with anticipation.
This was the latest Motorola phone equipped with the Game Center! Just as decided previously to bridge the gap between major game manufacturers, this Game Center, jointly developed by major manufacturers, was not worthy of its own brand and would ultimately only bear the simple name of Game Center.
However, in a certain sense, this could be considered a form of pure aesthetic.
At the same time, the Game Center had become Edward Zamp's last straw.
Previously, Edward Zamp had invested heavily in sponsoring movie screenings. Initially, the results were quite good. Although sales didn't increase significantly, there was constant positive feedback about Motorola online.
As a result, Motorola's stock price rose by about 10%... Although professional analysts viewed this increase more as a normal price trend, a retaliatory rebound after a massive fall, our dear Edward Zamp took full credit for it, claiming it was entirely due to his marketing and planning. After all, Nokia's growth wasn't as high as his, which he attributed to his investment of millions in sponsoring movie theaters.
However, Edward Zamp was inwardly tormented because he knew that the more money he spent, the more benefits Jiangnan Group reaped. As for the marketing gains he spoke of, he was acutely aware of how much of it was exaggerated.
What was most painful was that despite knowing all this, he still had to continue sending money to Jiangnan Group and forcibly patting himself on the back.
Moreover, more and more companies were joining this marketing frenzy.
It was now January 20th, twenty days after the premiere of "Misty Journey" Part Three. With the dedicated assistance of these companies, the box office for "Misty Journey 3" had surpassed 600 million US dollars, placing it just one step away from the top ten highest-grossing films of all time.
Then, "Misty Journey 2" had a box office of over 780 million, and it was estimated that it would eventually break 800 million, already ranking fourth in film history. Once it broke 800 million, it would become third.
As for the second place, it was naturally "Misty Journey" Part One. It had now reached 99 million. Although the possibility of surpassing the first-place film, "Titanic," was slim, breaking the one-billion mark was still a certainty.
Furthermore, negotiations for the global release of these three films had begun, and it was expected that they would be released worldwide soon.
Thanks to the promotion through company sponsorships, there was now global anticipation for these three films. Motorola's contribution to this was undeniable. How disheartened must Edward Zamp be?
At the same time, Edward Zamp understood even more clearly that the current stock price increase was merely an illusion, and everything would fall apart once the financial reports were released.