Chapter 735: Involving the Mitsui Consortium

Just as the public's attention was drawn to the Rolls-Royce 4S Auto City, the global financial market was already in turmoil.

On 2 January, the international gold price rose to a high of 634 US dollars per ounce, and inflation in the United States further increased.

The US financial system quickly convened a high-level meeting.

At the meeting, a decision that shocked the world was quickly voted through.

That afternoon, US Treasury Secretary Miller appeared on the TV screen with a serious expression and announced that the US Treasury would no longer sell gold.

This casual sentence sent shockwaves through Wall Street.

The impact then spread to the rest of the world in a fission-like manner.

The international gold price entered a frenzy.

In less than 30 minutes, the international gold price soared from 634 US dollars per ounce to an ultra-high price of 715 US dollars per ounce.

The rise in the price of gold had a knock-on effect, driving up the price of international crude oil.

This was reflected in the exchange rates of various countries, causing the exchange rates of various countries to fluctuate more and more.

...

'A Yu, is this price the top?'

At Xia Yu's home, Bao Yugang and Huo Yingdong came together and asked Xia Yu about the international gold price with slight tension.

Previously, Bao Yugang had taken out 220 million US dollars, and Huo Yingdong took out 180 million US dollars, for a total of 400 million US dollars, and handed it over to Xia Yu to speculate in London gold futures.

That was fine, after all, Xia Yu was personally following the situation, so they were not worried.

It was only later that Xia Yu revealed to the two of them that if they had spare money, they could invest in London gold. Of course, the two of them were willing to believe Xia Yu, and they invested huge sums of money to speculate in gold futures on their own.

After all, the two of them were not professionals in finance. Suddenly, they saw that even the US Treasury Secretary Miller had come out to intervene, and the price of gold had started to rocket. This was completely beyond the scope of their analytical abilities. Both of their subordinates said that they did not know what to do, so it was inevitable that they would be anxious.

If things go wrong, if the gold price plummets again, they will lose their floating profits, but they are afraid that they will lose their principal as well, which will deal a heavy blow to their careers.

In this situation, where can Bao Yugang and Huo Yingdong sit still? They simply came to Xia Yu to consult him.

Xia Yu took a sip of tea and said calmly, 'Bao Yugang and Huo Yingdong, don't worry, it's just the beginning. The gold price is only 715 US dollars an ounce, it's still low!'

Bao Yugang's eyes narrowed, and he blurted out, 'Yu, this price is still low? I remember that in 1977, the international gold price was only 180 US dollars, and it only rose to more than 200 US dollars at the end of 1978. Now it is almost three times the price at the end of 1978!'

Huo Yingdong also nodded and said, 'Yes, Yu, we are all using ten times leverage, and we have invested our entire fortune, so we always feel insecure.'

Xia Yu smiled and said, 'Don't worry, it's only the US Treasury Secretary who has come out, not even the US President, which shows that the US has not yet reached its most stressful moment.'

'We have to trust those capitalists. At this time when they are making money out of a national disaster, the wolves on Wall Street will never stop. I have been closely monitoring the movements of Wall Street and London.'

'If there is any sign of trouble, I will immediately notify you, but you must be prepared to make a delivery at any time, so that you don't run out of time to get your money out.'

Bao Yu was slightly relieved after hearing this, and immediately nodded: 'Then I'm relieved. I'm ready, and I'll act on your news when the time comes.'

Huo Yingdong also agreed: 'That's right, Ah Yu, it's up to you!'

After that, the three switched to a more relaxed topic.

...

Meanwhile, in Shiba Park, Minato-ku, Tokyo, the headquarters of the Japanese 7-Eleven retail company.

President Toshifumi Suzuki was handling company affairs when there was a sudden knock on the door. He said come in without looking up.

Then a subordinate came in and respectfully reported, 'President, there is important news to report to you.'

Suzuki Toshifumi paused, put down the pen in his hand, looked up at him, and calmly asked, 'What is it?'

The subordinate immediately said, 'Just now, Taichi Higashimoto, who was sent by the company to study at Southern Company in the United States, passed on the news that a Wall Street company is in the process of acquiring Southern Company.'

Suzuki Toshifumi was shocked. His composure was gone, and he looked at the subordinate with burning eyes and asked, "Is this news true? What else did he say?'

The subordinate nodded solemnly and said, "I have asked again and again, and this news is true.'

'But after all, he was only there for further studies, so he doesn't know the news from the top of Southern Company. He is still asking around, and will report any important news to the company as soon as he gets it.'

Suzuki Toshifumi still felt uneasy in his heart. Through his efforts, 7-Eleven convenience stores in the island country have found a correct path and are now developing better and better. His cooperation with Southern Company has also been quite pleasant.

If Southern changed hands and got a new boss who was difficult to deal with, and if something went wrong, there would be big trouble!

After all, the brand licence for 7-Eleven on the island nation had been granted by Southern, even though they had to pay a 0.6% profit share.

And the more he ran the 7-Eleven convenience stores, the more he discovered that this was a good path to take, with a bright future. So he was determined to forge ahead, and he was not content to just develop on the island nation.

Since American South can be acquired, why not be acquired by them?

Thinking of this, Toshifumi Suzuki's heart beat faster.

He decided to go to the parent company Ito-Yokado to raise this suggestion, but before that, he had to find out the situation first.

He picked up the phone and dialed the number of American South.

'Hello...'

Listening to the other party's words, Toshifumi Suzuki's face gradually became grave.

After hanging up the phone, he immediately and anxiously ordered someone to notify the directors and call an emergency board meeting.

After intense negotiations, Suzuki Fumitoshi painstakingly convinced all the directors of the island country 7-Eleven retail company, and the meeting unanimously approved joining the camp of the takeover and striving to acquire American Southern Company.

After reaching an internal agreement, Suzuki Fumitoshi rushed to the parent company Ito-Yokado and persuaded the president of the parent company, Ito Masatoshi, to get the support of the parent company.

Afterwards, Suzuki Fumitoshi selected several capable and reliable subordinates to form an acquisition team, flew to the United States that day, and then transferred to Dallas, Texas.

There, it was the headquarters of American South Corporation.

On Xia Yu's side, the person in charge of acquiring American South Corporation was Julian Robertson, the general manager of Tiger Fund.

He happened to have a friend in a key position at Dallas First National Bank, and Dallas First National Bank happened to be the main lending bank for American South Corporation.

Julian Robertson therefore took full advantage of this relationship and used the Texas Consortium to strategically pressure American South, opening a crack.

After a period of tug-of-war, the psychological defences of the original shareholders of American South were broken one after the other.

Seeing that success was at hand, who knew that a group of Japanese jumped out to join the competition, and American South, which was about to agree, began to hold out for a higher price.

Faced with this sudden situation, Julian Robertson sent someone to continue the attack while he made a phone call to Xiangjiang to report the sudden situation to Xia Yu.

Chairman's office, Jiuding Building, Jiulong, Xiangjiang

'...I understand, you continue the acquisition. You have only acquired 28% of the shares, which is far from enough, I need 100% of the shares!'

'I will intervene on my side too!'

After saying this, Xia Yu hung up the phone. After pondering for a long time, a phone call was made to the island country's Jiuding Yonghe Fund Co., Ltd.

Half an hour later, the phone rang back, and it was Kazuya Fukuhara on the other end.

'Mr. Fukuhara, I would like to ask you a favour. Could you please help me investigate information on Ito-Yokado...what?'

'Related to the Mitsui Foundation? !'

'An outer enterprise of the Mitsui Foundation system? !'

'Okay, thanks, I know that already, but I still need you to help me find detailed information, preferably on all the shareholders... Okay, I'll wait for your news!'

'Click!'

After hanging up the phone, Xia Yu leaned back in his boss's chair, rubbed his temples, and frowned in thought.

He never expected that just buying a company in the American South would cause such a problem. The Japanese are really nosy!