America's Road to Wealth

In this time and space, Anne Hathaway is, in the eyes of many people, almost like the illegitimate daughter of Lady Luck.

When she first debuted and was not well-known, a relative of a senior CAA agent protected her.

Under the management of Michael Levine, Annie became the heroine of the TV series when she debuted.

Just for this reason, she is luckier than most actresses who enter Hollywood.

The TV series she acted in later became a hit.

But she was even more lucky to meet Abel, who had just arrived in New York.

From then on, her status in the circle.

She is destined to be looked up to, envied, jealous, and even hated by many female Hollywood practitioners.

They hate themselves for not being as lucky as Anne.

Like now, half of the more than 100 guests present are women.

These half of the women are basically Hollywood actors, stars, and singers.

These she-wolves were staring at Abel, or at themselves.

Anne felt the pressure.

under this invisible pressure.

At this time, Annie was already feeling guilty.

In her heart, she kept cursing at these people in her heart.

If he hadn't been worried about his image in front of Abel, there would still be a big boss like Murdoch present.

According to Anne's character, she even wanted to give the middle finger to these green people at this moment.

This was Anne's experience of being stared at by so many people.

As for Abel and Murdoch, they certainly wouldn't feel any pressure from this kind of gaze.

The two of them were the core of this cocktail party.

On the way in just now, Murdoch already knew the purpose of Abel's participation in his drinking party.

After entering the reception, the old guy pointed to the place where he had just been.

"Mr. William, they are over there."

Abel looked over and saw a few guys in suits and ties, smiling and raising glasses in his direction in response.

Abel also smiled at them, and he said softly to Murdoch:

"Then let's go over there. Rupert, tonight is your home court. I'm sorry to disturb you."

Before the last News Corp. board meeting, Murdoch was very wary of Abel.

Because at that time, at his peak, Abel once held 5% of News Corporation's shares.

Was the third largest shareholder of News Corporation at the time.

Abel himself is the boss of a media group, a well-known super financier, and a Wall Street giant.

Rupert Murdoch is worried that Abel will seize control of News Corporation from him.

At that time, of course he was very wary of Abel.

But after the last board meeting, Abel sold all his shares in News Corporation to Murdoch.

Part of it was exchanged for cash, and part of it was exchanged for Murdoch's 98% property rights in Lanai.

After the deal was concluded, although the two parties were still competitors in terms of media.

But the personal relationship between the two also began to normalize.

When he heard Abel say this, Murdoch of course smiled and said:

"It's not disturbing. My contact with them has just begun. And you know, they usually come to me to ask for this kind of thing."

"Ah~" Abel sighed, smiled and said to him:

"Actually, they are not the only ones. I also want to ask for help now. Dear Rupert, Smith Capital or Pacific Commercial Bank also have the ability to underwrite and IPO. Do you want to consider letting me act as one of your dealers? You Rest assured, commissions and fees will be low enough.”

Murdoch is holding this cocktail party tonight, and the main people he is entertaining are the guys who just greeted Abel.

Their identities are five well-known large institutions on Wall Street, including Vanguard Group, Fidelity International Investment Fund, State Street Bank and Wellington Management Group.

Murdoch hosted these people because News Corporation was preparing to spin off part of its business and IPO it here in the United States.

An IPO is a stock listing, and dealers are required to underwrite News Corporation's shares.

When part of Fox TV was previously listed, the relationship between Murdoch and several underwriters including Goldman Sachs was not very good.

This time, when the more important News Corporation went public, Murdoch did not seek out professional investment banks such as Goldman Sachs. Instead, he sought out these large investment institutions.

What Abel just said was just a joke, saying that Smith Capital and Pacific Bank were also willing to be News Corporation's stock underwriters.

The two financial institutions Abel have this qualification, and most Wall Street institutions have this qualification.

"No problem." Abel was more joking, but Murdoch said seriously: "How about 15%? The handling fees and commissions are the same as others."

Abel was stunned, "Do you believe me? What if I bought all these stocks?"

"Then you are one of the new shareholders of News Corporation."

Murdoch said confidently.

Aussie has reorganized the company's internal shareholding structure.

This reorganization gives Murdoch 100% control over News Corporation.

If Abel buys shares again at this time, Murdoch will no longer be afraid of being seized of power.

Then give some of the stocks to Smith Capital to sell, and you can also use it as a favor.

Abel also shrugged and said with a smile: "Then I will let David contact you."

No matter how small the mosquito legs are, they are still meat. News Corp stock is very popular, even if it's just a 15% share.

Smith Capital underwrites them and can earn commissions of at least several million dollars.

With millions of dollars, you can already buy a nice mansion in a place like Malibu Beach.

The two of them walked forward while chatting in low voices, and by this time they had reached the middle of the reception.

Anne, who was holding Abel's arm, smiled like a lady the whole time. She looked gentle and beautiful at the moment, with a very elegant temperament.

But her beautiful eyes are always full of lethality, her eyes are high above, as if she is looking down at the Wall Street she-wolves around her, advising them to take care of themselves and not to ignore their capabilities!

An invisible and invisible battle called [Abel Smith's Attack and Defense Battle].

The relationship has already begun between Annie and the surrounding Hollywood she-wolves.

In this offensive and defensive battle.

Anne is the defender who has taken an absolute advantage.

Each of these are Hollywood she-wolves who want to be the second of Charlize Theron, or covet the status of Anne and Jessica and want to replace them.

They are attackers who rise to the challenge and are not afraid of difficult challenges.

It's just that they haven't started to use their methods at the moment, and the battle hasn't started yet.

Murdoch was also there at this time. If they appeared, it would easily make the two media giants unhappy.

They are still choosing and waiting for the opportunity.

Abel didn't notice this. He was concerned about the people from the investment institutions at the moment.

To be precise, it is the stock of a certain company that these guys hold.

So when he and Anne were led by Murdoch to come to these people.

After Murdoch introduced these people to the two of them one by one.

Annie was still using her sight to repel the coveted gazes of the she-wolves.

Abel, however, requested people from these institutions to talk to them alone.

Faced with Abel's request, the managers of several large Wall Street institutions hesitated.

In the end, everyone agreed.

Abel then whispered to Anne: "You stay here for a while. I will bring you a victory."

Before coming, Anne already knew what his purpose was for attending this cocktail party.

Anne, whose appearance and temperament seemed to be a combination of Audrey Hepburn and Juliet Roberts, said in a sweet voice:

"Of course, you will always win, my favorite man!"

Anne's beautiful eyes were half-squinted, and she looked at Abel's leaving figure with some confusion.

She had always felt that the most distinctive thing about Abel was his calm and calm temperament brought about by his strong self-confidence.

She felt very charming, and coupled with the repeated successes as annotations, it also infected others with invincible confidence in Abel.

Infected by this kind of confidence, Anne also felt that she was fully capable of guarding Abel's position on an occasion like tonight!

After Abel and people from several major organizations left and went inside to talk about things.

The well-behaved lady Anne Hathaway is full of aura, and she looks at the numerous Hollywood she-wolves around her.

It seems to be saying——

"Come on, Biluchichi, use whatever tricks you have, I'm not afraid of you!!"

The place where Abel met with the top executives of the five major investment institutions was an open-air balcony on the second floor facing the reception.

When Abel attended his first Hollywood reception last year, Michael Ovitz's layout was almost the same.

The slightly larger mansions on the West Coast seem to like this design.

Conversing in this kind of place can ensure a certain degree of privacy, and at the same time let people know that they have not left the drinking party.

When he was on the balcony, only he, the heads of the five major organizations, and Edward were left.

Abel confessed to these people why he had invited them here.

That is, Abel, on behalf of Pacific Commercial Bank, wants to acquire the shares of American Express held by these institutions!

"My arrival will not change anything. American Express will continue to implement its original development strategy, and while maintaining financial stability and a good capital return plan, it will invest more funds to develop markets to increase profits in the future. income to better return shareholders’ investment.”

"I think this kind of thing is something that all shareholders of American Express are happy to see and support."

Abel raised the corners of his mouth with a calm smile, stretched out his fingers to draw a circle in the air, his eyes were bright and confident.

He looked at the heads of several large institutions around him and tried to persuade them, hoping to gain the support of these major shareholders of American Express so that he could easily seize the power of the American Express board of directors.

Since last year, he has been wanting American Express, the only service company on the Dow Jones Industrial Index.

He invested heavily in this effort, even using Smith Capital's shares to acquire a large number of American Express shares from Buffett.

And in the primary market and secondary market, it has been tirelessly acquiring shares of American Express.

But half a year has passed, and so far, Abel still only holds 30.96% of the shares of American Express.

When Abel acquired Sempra Energy, the triangle diagram news produced by American Express executives with the support of certain shareholders exposed Abel's intentions.

Many investors and these large institutions feel that he is determined to win American Express.

This has made American Express's stock very strong on the stock market in the past six months.

Even after the September 11th disaster, it didn’t fall much.

Seeing this, Abel decided to show off his cards.

No more pretending, I just want to acquire it, and at the end of the day I want to take charge of American Express and become its chairman!

Abel showed his ambition to acquire American Express, which made the five leaders present at Fisher Asset Management Group, American Vanguard Group, Fidelity International Investment Fund, State Street Bank and Wellington Management Group think deeply.

However, I thought that Abel Smith had firmly obtained so many American Express shares from Buffett before.

There are also subsequent acquisitions in the market, and they are somewhat relieved.

Having made so much preparation in the early stage, it is understandable that I want to join American Express Company.

After all, from many perspectives, many of American Express's businesses are indeed very powerful complements to American Pacific Bank of Commerce.

Not to mention merger, even cooperation is very attractive to Pacific Commercial Bank.

"So, Mr. Smith, what's your offer?"

The CEO of State Street Bank was the first to ask.

They are investment institutions, and the pursuit of profits is the most important thing. If short-term profits can be maximized, they will not hesitate to agree to Abel's offer and sell their shares in American Express.

As for whether American Express will change hands, some shareholders are not happy, and these are not within their scope of consideration.

But what is certain is that the original senior management of American Express is no longer able to control the company's future destiny.

"$18, which is a 25% premium based on the stock price in recent days."

When Abel acquired American Express last year, its stock was hovering around $13-$14.

In parallel time and space, its stock will fall to 8-9 US dollars per share at this time.

In this time and space, because of Abel, major institutions and investors believe that its price will increase.

This has kept American Express's stock from falling.

When the September 11th disaster plummeted, it actually held on.

It has been maintained at around 18-20 US dollars, neither rising nor falling.

These guys were just betting that Abe Smith would make a takeover.

You have been preparing for the foreplay for so long. With Abel Smith’s character, it’s impossible not to do it, right?

So Abel hasn’t finished his first quotation yet.

The CEOs of the five organizations present all smiled and shook their heads.

This quotation was far from their psychological price, so they shook their heads without hesitation to express their feelings.

"$25."

Abel originally knew this would be the case, these guys are always so greedy.

He made a new offer, a second offer.

But these five guys seemed to have a tacit understanding. After listening, they started shaking their heads again.

"cash payment."

Abel ignored the shaking heads of several people. He had no intention of buying up all the shares held by these large institutions.

As one of the most well-known institutional stocks in the United States, it is the only service company in the Dow Jones Industrial Index.

Wanting to wholly control American Express is actually similar to controlling military industry giants such as Raytheon Company.

Perhaps the latter is a bit simpler, as the latter only needs to obtain the consent of the military-industrial complex, and it is very easy to acquire shares.

But for institutional stocks like American Express, you can't buy them unless you spend two or three times as much money.

Otherwise, even if you can acquire it, you can only acquire its shares bit by bit.

But Abel also believed that as long as he announced to the outside world that he would acquire American Express shares at a price of US$25 per share.

Of the more than a thousand institutions that hold American Express shares, many will definitely choose to sell them.

As for the five major shareholders present, Abel needs their support even more.

Supported him to replace board members with his own people, and eventually Abel became the chairman and took control of American Express.

Looking at the CEOs of the five major organizations who are still unwilling to be satisfied.

Abel no longer talked about acquiring shares, but offered another temptation.

He smiled and said:

"Everyone knows that the global economy has been sluggish in recent years. The Nasdaq bubble just happened last year, and this year there is 9/11. Now there is a war going on, and no one knows what the future will be like."

"At times like this, I think the more cash you have on hand, the better."

"Let's put it this way, gentlemen. If I can be allowed to take over American Express, how about I take out all the profits of American Express in the next few years as dividends?"

In Abel's view, it seems impossible to directly acquire Express Company.

The triangle news incident had exposed his intentions.

It was difficult for him to make a sudden attack and take down American Express directly.

At the suggestion of the Smith Intelligence Group, Abel decided to take a roundabout action.

He planned to control American Express first, and then put himself in charge of the company.

And this will be a step-by-step process and cannot be achieved overnight.

Because 65% of the shares of Express Company are still in the hands of major institutions.

To a large extent, this is a fatal problem.

If he wanted to truly control American Express, Abel could only coax these major shareholders to slowly take control of the company.

As soon as Abel's proposal was spoken, the eyes of the five people present lit up slightly.

Then they looked at each other.

In fact, Abel has a headache for them, and big institutions like them also have a headache for Abel.

Abel now holds 30.96% of American Express shares. To be honest, they also know that there is no way to stop Abel Smith, a super rich man, from continuing his acquisition plan.

They originally just wanted to make a fortune.

Now Abe Smith hopes to buy American Express at a relatively small price.

So I approached them in hopes of getting support.

If they refuse, you can imagine that the smiling young man in front of you will not give up.

Not to mention his possible revenge in other areas.

However, in the case of American Express, the five major institutions that did not have a dominant shareholding were also very afraid of Abel.

At that time, once Abel successfully joins the board of directors of American Express as the largest shareholder and obtains the authority of chairman.

The first ones to deal with it may be institutions like them.

Without any extra effort, a proposal of not paying dividends for several consecutive years will suffocate them!

Can it be stopped?

The five CEOs all saw helplessness and doubts in each other's eyes.

Then they all turned their attention to Abel Smith, who was still calm and calm.

The main reason is that while this man is extremely rich, he is also influential in political affairs.

Not him, but the Bush family behind him.

If he is not in a hurry to acquire American Express, but slowly gets stuck like this.

How long American Express's stock can last, no one really knows.

If this guy gets angry and doesn't want American Express anymore.

That may even result in a futile attempt, and everyone will suffer a heavy loss first.

Now in front of these institutions, of course what they want most is for Abel to double the amount, at least not less than 30 US dollars.

But if Abel turns his back and leaves, it will be more of a loss than a gain.

The next best thing is to let Abel take over American Express first, stabilize him first, and earn some dividends first. It is not impossible.

After all, if he really wanted to come, no one would be able to refuse.