Chapter 1084: Eight hundred million dollars well spent

It was indeed necessary to calm down a bit after receiving such a huge amount of information all of a sudden.

But even though Alain Chevalier was already in his fifties and had experienced the ups and downs of the political and business world, he still couldn't calm down in the short time he had in the face of the big pie that Xia Yu had drawn, which was within touching distance.

This pie was so real and so delicious!

After a long time...

Alain Chevalier took a deep breath, suppressed the last vestiges of turmoil in his heart, and solemnly asked the most critical question: 'Mr. Xia, how long do you plan to take to complete these projects?'

Xia Yu's mouth curled up slightly, and he looked Alan Chevalier in the eye before saying, 'It's now the 19th of December, which means there are only 12 days left until 1982. I hope that within the next year, I can rely on a series of acquisitions to achieve a leading position in the wine and luxury goods industries. If it can be completed earlier, say in six months or three months, that would of course be even better, as we would have more time to slowly integrate and consolidate our position in the market.'

'Mr. Alain Chevalier, what do you say? Would you like to be personally involved in all this?'

Alain Chevalier gave a wry smile after a moment of silence, and with an open hand said, 'Mr. Xia, I can't seem to find a reason to refuse.'

Xia Yu smiled and extended his hand to him.

Alain Chevalier extended his hand and shook it with Xia Yu a few times.

'Welcome aboard!'

'It's my honour!'

After letting go of his hand, Alain Chevalier suddenly looked embarrassed, as if he had something to say.

Xia Yu asked, 'Mr. Alain Chevalier, is there anything else troubling you?'

Alain Chevalier nodded slightly, took a deep breath, and said,

'Mr. Xia, there is something I want to say, and it involves my principles and professional ethics.'

'Please go ahead!'

Xia Yu smiled and made a gesture of invitation.

'Although I have made the success of Moët Hennessy, the Moët family has also made me. The main reason why I did not refuse after Mr. Le Mire approached me for a discussion, but instead asked to meet with you, is the attitude of the Moët family towards the company itself. The current head of the family is not interested in running the company, he values money more. This is the reason why the Moët family asked me to run the company.'

'So whether I continue to run the company to receive dividends, or transfer my shares to receive a large sum of money at once, it's fine with the Moët family.'

'But I am now the president of Moët Hennessy Wine Group after all, and the Moët family has placed their trust in me. I cannot harm their interests, so I am not in a position to intervene in the takeover and need you or the Banque Nationale de Paris to negotiate.'

'Of course, if it is to acquire the Hennessy family's shares, I will cooperate fully.'

'I will also give my full support in the work that follows!'

He remembered the favour the Moët family had done for him, so he didn't want to damage the interests of the Moët family, but the Hennessy family had done him no favours.

The reason he led the Moët Hennessy Group in the acquisition of Hennessy was because Hennessy was in a difficult situation.

In the 1960s, Hennessy's share of the global brandy market reached its peak, accounting for more than half. Then began a period of decline, which led to a decline in the stock price. The shares that the Hennessy family had mortgaged to the National Bank of Paris were at risk of being liquidated. After receiving news from Le Mire, he promoted a merger between the two companies.

It can be said that he saved the Hennessy family.

However, the current head of the Hennessy family, Gilles Hennessy, is a very controlling and ambitious person, so after the company had settled down, he began to use dividends and other funds to gradually increase his shareholding, and he also placed people in the company with the aim of fighting for control of the Moët Hennessy wine group.

The internal struggle involved some of his energy and disgusted him.

So he was more than willing for Xia Yu to buy out the Hennessy family's shares and get rid of them...

On the contrary, if Xia Yu asked him to help drive down the price of the Moët family, then he would be in a difficult position...

Instead of getting angry at Alain Chevalier's request, Xia Yu gave him an appreciative look, and his impression of him improved even more.

With such character and values, he could use him with greater confidence.

If Alain Chevalier will now take the initiative to help him pit the Moët family, then maybe he will come to pit him in the future. He dares not use him with confidence. When faced with a multinational conglomerate, this kind of person will be an extremely unstable factor.

He nodded with a smile and said, 'Of course it's no problem. I support your attitude. The acquisition of the Moët family's equity will be completed by the Banque Nationale de Paris. In the meantime, you just need to temporarily maintain control of the company.'

Alain Chevalier let out a sigh of relief, a smile appeared on his face, and he readily agreed, 'Mr Xia, thank you for your understanding.'

'Please rest assured, the company will definitely not fall into turmoil!'

Xia Yu chuckled, 'I believe in your abilities!'

...

After dealing with Alain Chevalier, the acquisition team from BNP Paribas went directly to the Moët Hennessy family.

The family urgently sought advice from Alain Chevalier, who did not express an opinion but objectively analysed the pros and cons and then returned the decision to the family.

BNP Paribas also made full use of its resources and started with other industries of the family, especially the areas of interest of the current family head, and exchanged resources, plus offered a very favourable price.

As a result, the Moët family readily agreed to sell the shares.

As for the Bright Fund, it used the franc offensive to gradually break the psychological bottom line of the Blondel family. Without notifying the Vuitton family, it transferred the shares to the Bright Fund.

After a week of action, Xia Yu's second phase of the offensive achieved the expected results.

First, the Moët Hennessy Wine Group.

The acquisition of the 21.4% stake held by the Moët family cost 2.228 billion francs.

Then BNP Paribas and the Bright Fund each took a total of 11.8% of the shares from other institutions, at a total cost of 932 million francs.

Then there was the Louis Vuitton Group, which acquired 15.9% of the shares held by the Blondel family at a cost of 389 million francs.

So in total, Xia Yu spent 3.549 billion francs in the second phase, which is almost 800 million US dollars!

But it was worth it if the goal was achieved!

...

In the meeting room of the Bright Fund.

Xia Yu, Léo Martin and the acquisition team gathered together.

Léo Martin reported the latest situation to Xia Yu.

He was delighted with the successive successes and the absolute advantage that had been gained, and his voice was lighter when he reported.

'Boss, the combined shareholding of our company, Standard Chartered Bank and BNP Paribas in Moët Hennessy now stands at 70%.'

'The Hennessy family still owns 17.5%, while institutions and retail investors own 12.5%.'

'As for the Louis Vuitton Group, we now own 58.8%, with the remaining 41.2% in the hands of the Vuitton family.'

'Because we purchased a total of 6.7% of the shares of Moët Hennessy Wine Group from institutions and individuals two days ago, according to the rules, we need to publicly disclose the shares tomorrow...'

After listening to Léo Martin's report, Xia Yu nodded slightly, and after scanning everyone's faces, he praised, 'Thank you all for your hard work during this time!'

'Thanks to everyone's joint efforts, this acquisition has achieved great initial results.'

'However, we must also recognise that in the previous two stages, apart from our company, the Banque Nationale de Paris also played a huge role.'

'Starting tomorrow, however, we will have to rely on ourselves alone. The workload will increase significantly, and unknown risks still remain. Everyone must adjust their mentality...'

'Tomorrow morning, we will take back all the shares held by Standard Chartered Bank and those held in custody by BNP Paribas, and then disclose them publicly. After the disclosure, as the largest shareholder and with less than 25% of the shares in circulation, we will directly apply for a suspension of trading and arrange for someone to enter Moët Hennessy Wine Group to take over.'

'In addition, we will initiate the acquisition of the Hennessy and Vuitton families' shares.'

'Leo, you are in charge of grouping the people present. If there is a shortage of manpower, you must supplement it in time. We must act promptly tomorrow.'

'Do you all understand?'

When saying the last sentence, Xia Yu deliberately raised his voice and swept his sharp gaze over everyone.

All the people present looked up with their chests puffed out and responded loudly, 'Understood!'

'Does anyone else have any questions?'

Xia Yu asked again.

After sweeping his gaze around the room and finding that no one had spoken up, he directly announced the meeting to be adjourned.

'The meeting is adjourned!'

After saying that, Xia Yu left the meeting room with a steady pace.

After he left, Leo Martin began to break down the work...