Chapter 792: Preparing the Pit Rothschild Family

The Coca-Cola Company is in trouble today, but in terms of market share, it is still the world's largest cola company and a global beverage giant.

However, behind this is a battle between American consortia involving four of the top ten American consortia, including two giants, the Rockefeller and Morgan consortia.

Of course Coca-Cola was only a part of the plan for both sides, and even an unimportant part at that, but it was still a small part of the overall plan and would still be of concern to both sides.

A few years ago, the Morgan consortium already instructed PepsiCo, a subsidiary of the First Citicorp consortium, to take the lead and start the cola war. Coca-Cola's market share has been declining for several years in a row, and its stock price has fallen to just a few dollars, with a market value of around 1.7 billion US dollars.

Despite its low market value, not many shares were in circulation, as not many retail investors owned Coca-Cola shares.

Of course, this involved a secret struggle between the consortia, and ordinary people would never know about it. Even if they stood at the top of society, they would never know about it.

In other words, Xia Yu, with his memories from the future, knew about the hidden swordplay between the major American consortia in the 1980s.

It can be said that if the Rothschild family's stake in Coca-Cola was put up for sale, there would definitely be many companies interested, and most of these companies would be backed by the Rockefeller or Morgan consortia.

Of course, some people will say, 'It's just Coca-Cola, which is now worth 17 billion US dollars. It's not the global beverage giant it will become in the future, so it's not worth the attention of the major consortia.

Perhaps the shares are worth a mere 100 million or even a few hundred million dollars at most, which the major consortia can easily afford to lose. But in this case, it is not simply a matter of money.

Therefore, the Rothschild family's stake in Coca-Cola is definitely a hot potato. As soon as he takes over, he will be on the verge of the battle between the consortia with one foot in, and it is easy to attract the attention of the Morgan or Rockefeller consortia.

This could easily lead to a fire, and no matter which family he agrees with, he will offend the other.

If neither family agrees, then the situation will be even worse, offending both.

Moreover, the two major consortia will not be unaware of Xia Yu's source of equity, and they will definitely suspect Xia Yu's relationship with the Rothschild consortium, which will be eye-catching for the two major consortia.

Therefore, according to the current situation, before the two sides decide the outcome, it is best not to get involved and not take over the Rothschild family's stake in Coca-Cola.

But Xia Yu also thought about the future of Coca-Cola, which is a Fortune 500 company with a market value of more than 200 billion US dollars.

Even though PepsiCo is now challenging Coca-Cola's position, and Coca-Cola has already lost, it has not yet found a way to go forward.

But Xia Yu knows that as long as it endures for a few more years, Coca-Cola will be able to overtake PepsiCo by accident and further establish its advantage.

With the experience of the future, Xia Yu knows that Coca-Cola, which is in trouble now, is a gold mine.

If he could even take over Coca-Cola, he would become a world-class beverage giant overnight, and the Taikoo Group's advantage would be instantly destroyed.

After weighing the pros and cons, and looking at Jacob Rothschild's faint smile, Xia Yu made up his mind and decided to bite the bait.

There would be no second chance, and even though there was a great risk, the reward would definitely be worth it.

What's more, the risk was just speculation, and it was up to man to make things happen.

After making the decision, Xia Yu looked surprised, as if he had no idea about the twists and turns involved. He smiled and said, 'Mr. Rothschild, are you sure you want to sell me the shares of Coca-Cola?'

Seeing that Xia Yu had fallen for it so easily, perhaps because Xia Yu had acted so convincingly, Jacob Rothschild did not doubt him. He smiled and nodded, saying, 'Of course. As a partner, we will do our best to help you develop your business, provided that you need our help.'

Xia Yu nodded with a smile and thanked him, 'Then thank you, Mr. Rothschild, how exactly do we do this?'

Jacob Rothschild had already thought about it and smiled, 'The shares are in Rothschild Bank's hands now, as long as you send someone over to handle the transfer, you can take over the shares at any time.'

Afterwards, Jacob Rothschild said enthusiastically, 'By the way, Mr Xia, if you need to acquire Coca-Cola, Rothschild Bank can help you.'

Xia Yu refused without hesitation, but he phrased it politely, 'Mr Rothschild, thank you for your kindness, but for the time being, I don't need it. I have already arranged for the use of my funds, and I cannot come up with the funds to acquire Coca-Cola for the time being. It is also impractical to use bank loans. I hate trouble.'

'But if there is a need in the future, I will definitely come to you.'

Jacob Rothschild could not help but feel a little regret, but his face was impassive as he smiled and nodded: 'That's fine. If you have a need in the future, Rothschild Bank is always at your service.'

'Good!'

After a little chat, Xia Yu, led by Jacob Rothschild, took a tour of the Rothschild Castle and returned to the living room.

After agreeing to formally sign the contract the next day, Xia Yu offered his leave.

Before leaving, Jacob Rothschild also took out an ancient Chinese painting and a blue and white porcelain vase and gave them to Xia Yu, saying that they were treasures of the Rothschild family and that he had specially given them to Xia Yu as a gift after learning that Xia Yu liked antiques.

Of course, Xia Yu would not be polite about receiving Chinese cultural relics after they were given to him, and he accepted Jacob Rothschild's gifts with an open heart. These things originally belonged to the wealth of China, and it was only right to take them back.

On the way back, Xia Yu and Elena sat in the back of the same car, discussing what had just happened at the Rothschild family. Because what had just happened was different from what Elena had expected in her mind, it made her feel puzzled.

Xia Yu calmed down and patiently explained the ins and outs to Elena, who looked enlightened from time to time as she listened.

The next morning, representatives from Rothschild and Barclays arrived at Guangming Fund Company.

Rothschild first sold the Mirror Group to Guangming Fund for £100 million, minus one pound.

Then it sold 15.3% of Coca-Cola's shares to Guangming Fund for $262 million.

These two acquisitions, when converted into US dollars, cost Guangming Fund $480 million, which was definitely too much.

After that, the Bright Fund transferred a further 5% of its stake in the Royal Bank of Scotland to Barclays Bank, increasing Barclays' stake to 41.1%.

These steps took very little time as the collaboration had already been agreed.

After the collaboration was complete, Xia Yu saw the representatives of the two banks out the door.

He then went out to buy a gift, as he was planning to visit Lord Carter-Howard in the afternoon.

First, to express his gratitude, and second, there are some things he wants to discuss with Duke Carter Howard, such as—screwing the Rothschilds over.