"That won't be possible, our bank..." Smith Yang started, but before he could finish, Huang He stood up and said, "Since HSBC is unwilling to lend, I shall take my leave!"
"Uh... is that so... wait..." Before Smith Yang could utter the word "wait," Huang He had already left without looking back. The entire conversation between him and Smith Yang had lasted less than a minute, and he had simply walked away. It was utterly baffling.
"Shouldn't he have communicated more with me, begged me to lend him money?" Smith Yang shook his head. He had been fully prepared with all sorts of languages and tactics to tease Huang He and enjoy immense psychological satisfaction.
But Huang He had given him no chance, not even a second word, before leaving without a backward glance. It was like facing a magnificent mare, ready to mount and engage in a fierce battle, only to find himself impotent before entering the fray. This was too much.
On the third day, as if these companies had colluded, the Beijing court issued a summons demanding repayment from Jiangnan Group, threatening to freeze their assets if they failed to do so.
The response, however, was a lawyer's letter from Jiangnan Group's lawyers. They stated that Jiangnan Group was an enterprise from Wenzhou, and the Beijing court lacked the relevant jurisdiction. They argued that gh should file their lawsuit in a Wenzhou court.
This was a perfectly reasonable legal demand, so the Beijing court directly announced that they would not accept the case and that gh should sue in the Wenzhou local court.
"A desperate struggle!" The chairman of gh could only say this upon hearing the news. He then ordered his subordinates to immediately sue in the Wenzhou court. However, this back-and-forth process granted Jiangnan Group an additional 3-5 days. Moreover, because Jiangnan Group was a local powerhouse, they could easily delay things for about 10 days by leveraging their influence, all while remaining within the bounds of the law, merely slowing down the process.
This was precisely why gh had intended to sue in Beijing, to prevent Jiangnan Group from dragging out the timeline.
Unfortunately, Jiangnan Group did not fall for the ploy and insisted on suing in Wenzhou. The legal principle supported suing in the location where the incident occurred, so gh had no choice but to return to Wenzhou, effectively wasting several more days.
"Don't mind it. This shows that Jiangnan Group has exhausted all their options and can only resort to such tactics to prolong their survival!" However, those American companies were quite philosophical about it.
They had compiled a wealth of intelligence and confirmed that Huang He was truly unable to borrow a single cent. Their conclusion was that his frantic efforts to borrow from banks across Hong Kong and his various delaying tactics were the best proof. They believed that as long as they patiently waited, victory was inevitable!
This was their thinking, but Huang He's subsequent actions made them uneasy.
Because the next day, Kingston's headquarters received a call from Jiangnan Group. Jiangnan Group expressed their willingness to sell the entire Jiangnan Optoelectronics, along with all the technologies they possessed, for a total price of 1 billion US dollars, and asked if Kingston was interested in acquiring it.
Soon after, Samsung Group's headquarters received the same call.
Hewlett-Packard Compaq received it as well.
Jiangnan Group's offer was consistent: Jiangnan Optoelectronics valued at 1 billion US dollars. During the call, Jiangnan Group frankly stated that they possessed a special material. This material could not only be applied to storage chips but also had the potential to be used in traditional chips in the future. It was a revolutionary material whose value far exceeded 1 billion US dollars. It was due to Jiangnan Group's current inability to repay their debts that they were forced to sell Jiangnan Optoelectronics as a package.
Not only these three companies, but over a dozen other major related enterprises, including Intel, also received similar calls with the same terms.
Clearly, Jiangnan Group was desperate due to the 1 billion dollar demand and had to rely on selling Jiangnan Optoelectronics, their most valuable and attractive asset, to secure the 1 billion dollar lifeline.
This news and the calls began to create a peculiar atmosphere among the five companies, shattering the initial camaraderie.
When Smith Yang from HSBC called to invite them to a meeting to discuss the next steps, only representatives from Citibank and Kingston attended. Samsung and Hewlett-Packard Compaq representatives were nowhere to be seen, clearly indicating that their companies' intentions had changed.
Originally, the three companies had agreed that after their five-party collaboration to acquire Jiangnan Group, Samsung, Kingston, and Hewlett-Packard Compaq would share Jiangnan Group's technologies. The two banks would handle the investment, and together they would establish a joint venture specializing in the production of storage chips, thereby solidifying their cooperation.
However, after Huang He announced the sale of Jiangnan Optoelectronics, the situation shifted. Why cooperate among three parties? Wouldn't it be more profitable to acquire Jiangnan's technology individually and dominate the entire storage device market?
Now that there was an opportunity to monopolize the chance to change the entire storage chip industry, why not seize it alone?
Kingston, however, was a smaller company, with a total market value of only around 2 billion US dollars. If they hadn't specialized in the storage chip market, they would never have had the opportunity to join this five-party alliance.
Therefore, although they harbored ambitions to monopolize Jiangnan Optoelectronics, they lacked the strength to do so. Consequently, they hoped for the continuation of the five-party alliance.
However, the departure of Samsung and Hewlett-Packard Compaq ensured the dissolution of the five-party alliance.
"This is hilarious!" Smith Yang suddenly remarked. "With just a few words from Huang He, the five-party alliance has disbanded."
What Smith Yang found even more astonishing was that a representative from Hewlett-Packard Compaq was actually present before Huang He, holding a bank card and frankly stating, "Boss Huang, this card contains 1 billion US dollars in cash. Let's make the transaction now. Hewlett-Packard Compaq can provide the funding to resolve Jiangnan Group's difficulties."
"Good!" Huang He nodded and then signaled to Hu Jing. Hu Jing stepped behind Huang He, and on a whiteboard hanging on the wall, she wrote "Hewlett-Packard Compaq, 1 billion US dollars."
"Mr. Huang, what do you mean by this?" the Hewlett-Packard Compaq representative asked with a frown.
"Today is August 2nd, and my final repayment deadline is September 12th!" Huang He said calmly. "If, in 10 days, the highest bidder on this board remains Hewlett-Packard Compaq, then Jiangnan Optoelectronics can be sold to you."
"You want to play an auction game!" the Hewlett-Packard Compaq representative exclaimed angrily. "You didn't say this on the phone. You said you'd sell it for 1 billion US dollars!"
"But Samsung is also willing to pay 1 billion US dollars!" Huang He spread his hands. "You all want it, and I don't know who to sell it to, so naturally, the highest bidder wins!"
"..." The Hewlett-Packard Compaq representative fell silent for a long moment, then said, "We are willing to pay 1.05 billion US dollars for Jiangnan Optoelectronics!"
"Alright, write it down!" Huang He nodded, and Hu Jing instantly changed the price to 1.05 billion US dollars, then wrote "1 billion US dollars" below it.
The Hewlett-Packard Compaq representative, seething, returned to his lodging. Less than a few hours later, Jiangnan Group called. Hu Jing, speaking fluent English, said, "Dear Representative, we are very sorry to inform you that Samsung Group has now bid 1.1 billion US dollars."
"This scoundrel!" The Hewlett-Packard Compaq representative was so enraged that he threw his phone onto the carpet, but it was of no use. A few minutes later, he dialed his superior. After some communication, he called Huang He again. "Boss Huang, we can offer 1.1 billion US dollars!"
...
September 10, 2003, marked the beginning of the new academic year and Teacher's Day.
However, for the Hewlett-Packard Compaq representative in the Wenzhou hotel, the day was utterly miserable.
Because this morning, the price on the whiteboard in Huang He's office had been updated again. The current bid had risen to 1.86 billion US dollars, and the bidder was none other than himself. This had already severely exceeded his company's original plan.
The original plan was for all five parties to collaborate and jointly acquire Jiangnan Optoelectronics.
But somehow, it had turned into a situation where his company alone was to acquire Jiangnan Optoelectronics, and the price had escalated from a mere few hundred million dollars to an exorbitant 1.86 billion dollars.
If acquiring Jiangnan Optoelectronics for 1.86 billion dollars could be secured, it wouldn't be a loss in the long run, and they could still make a significant profit. After all, Hewlett-Packard Compaq would then dominate the entire storage server market and could further capture the market for various storage electronic products, propelling Hewlett-Packard Compaq towards becoming a giant like Intel.
However, Intel had also entered the fray. The previous bid of 1.85 billion US dollars was from Intel. Intel was notoriously wealthy, and if they were truly determined to compete, Compaq didn't believe they could outbid Intel. They could only hope that Intel's desire to purchase wasn't that strong.
"Representative!" An hour later, the phone that had filled the Compaq representative with despair rang again. Hu Jing, with her distinctive voice, said, "Dear Representative, the representative from Microsoft Group just met with our Chairman. They are willing to pay 2.5 billion US dollars for Jiangnan Optoelectronics. Will you continue to bid?"
"Microsoft is here too?" Hewlett-Packard Compaq felt as if a heavy blow had landed on their chest, and they were about to collapse.
The progression of this story was completely different from what they had planned!