Chapter 1087: Inducement

That morning, Xia Yu was eating breakfast at home, occasionally looking at a resume sitting on the table to his left.

This resume was faxed from London early this morning. It was the resume of the 26th Governor of Hong Kong, Peter Munro, who was appointed by the British government just yesterday to replace Murray MacLehose.

Yes, the 26th Governor of Hong Kong is not Edward Youde from history, but someone else.

Xia Yu is sure that this is the result of his butterfly effect.

If there are no unforeseen circumstances, the new Governor of Hong Kong will arrive on 20 May this year to replace Murray MacLehose and officially assume his duties.

It is only 6 January 1982, so there are still more than four months to go.

The resume clearly states Peter Munroe's work experience and basic information.

Peter Munro was born in 1925 and is now 57 years old. He has 32 years of diplomatic experience and is an experienced diplomat. Apart from having served as a diplomat in North Africa for nearly ten years, the remaining 22 years have been spent in Asia.

One period of his experience caught Xia Yu's attention: from 1958 to 1964, Peter Munro served as an official in the Department of Political Affairs during the time when Sir Alexander Grantham was Governor of Hong Kong.

At the end of the resume, there is also an analysis of his character traits, the most obvious one being that this person is not a nationalist, does not have an obvious pro-China stance, nor an anti-China stance...

'Haha, Margaret Thatcher still considered the destabilising factors.'

'It's not that youde is good, it's up to Argentina to deliver next.'

'If I make a big noise in France, maybe the old woman will be worried...'

...

After breakfast, Xia Yu took the car to the company.

Upon arrival, he immediately called a meeting with the acquisition team to get the latest situation and assign tasks.

After all, the LVMH Group is a non-listed company. Although the board of directors has been re-elected, Bright Fund only holds 58.8% of the shares and does not have complete control over the board.

Generally speaking, for non-listed companies, private placements and proposals for mergers and acquisitions only require a simple majority of the board of directors to agree.

However, this is only the general case. The Vuitton family has introduced investors in the past, and in order to maintain the family's control over the Louis Vuitton Group, they have amended the articles of association so that more than two-thirds of the voting rights are required to pass on these major matters.

There is also no requirement for non-listed companies to have one-third of independent directors, and Louis Vuitton Group does not have any, so the voting rights of the board of directors are basically equivalent to those of the shareholders' meeting.

According to the articles of association of Louis Vuitton Group, a two-thirds vote of the board of directors is required to approve a private placement, so Xia Yu was unable to dilute the Vuitton family's equity through a private placement. Nor could he forcefully push for a merger between Louis Vuitton Group and Moët Hennessy Wine Group.

Since formal business methods cannot be used, then take advantage of human weaknesses!

The final resolution of the meeting was twofold. One was to be handled by Léo-Martin, who diluted the Hennessy family's stake in Moët Hennessy through a private placement.

And to take revenge on the Hennessy family, the private placement was not carried out at the previous market value of nearly 6 billion francs of Moët Hennessy, but at the actual asset value of 2.1 billion francs, raising 1 billion francs. The only target of the private placement was the Bright Fund.

Once the private placement was implemented, the Hennessy family's shareholding would drop from 17.5% to 11.85%, while the Bright Fund's shareholding would rise to 88.15%.

The Hennessy family would lose the equivalent of more than 210 million francs!

The second decision was for Xia Yu to personally meet with Louis Vuitton Group President Henri Ricamar.

Everything is different for different people.

With Alain Chevalier, it was about dreams, but with Henri Rivier, it was about tangible benefits!

...

It was just after 3pm, and they were still in the same restaurant near the Champs-Élysées where they had met Alain Chevalier the previous time.

Xia Yu met Henri Rigaud, a refined man with curly blonde hair and gold-rimmed glasses.

After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Xia Yu praised his achievements and contributions to the Louis Vuitton Group, but then, in a sudden mood, he pointed out the Group's shortcomings.

'Mr Henri Rigaud, although the Louis Vuitton Group is famous all over the world, its market share of luggage is not particularly high due to financial constraints,'

'And compared to other companies, the Louis Vuitton Group's business is limited to the luggage sector. The fashion and luxury goods market has a very broad boundary. How long will it take for the Louis Vuitton Group to expand its business?'

Faced with Xia Yu's sudden question as a major shareholder, Henri Rigaud-Mille was at a loss for words.

Just as he was struggling to think of an answer to Xia Yu's question,

Xia Yu smiled again and said, 'Mr. Henri Rigamire, it takes a long time and a lot of money to start a business from scratch. If you can merge the Louis Vuitton Group with a strong company, then with the resources of the other company, the effect will be 1+1>2, don't you think so?'

This time, if Henri Rigamire still didn't understand Xia Yu's purpose, then he was not qualified to be the president.

What's more, Bright Fund had recently made a splash by privatising the wine giant Moët Hennessy.

Was Xia Yu planning to push for a merger between Moët Hennessy and LVMH?

With this speculation in mind, he forced a somewhat stiff smile and asked, 'Mr Xia, which company do you want to merge with LVMH?'

Xia Yu smiled faintly and said one name: 'Moët Hennessy.'

It really is!

After his guess was verified, the smile on Henri Rigaud's face completely disappeared, and he said with difficulty, 'Mr. Xia, the influence of Moët Hennessy is in the wine market, while the Louis Vuitton Group is in the luggage market. Even if the two companies merge, they cannot share resources, and it will not generate enough benefits for the Louis Vuitton Group.'

That was the reason given, but in reality it was because Moët Hennessy was so huge.

At the time of its IPO, the market value of Moët Hennessy reached 5.85 billion francs.

And Louis Vuitton?

It would never reach 2 billion francs.

If the two companies merged, the Vuitton family's shareholding would drop by three-quarters to around 10%.

Without the right to veto, the Vuitton family would lose its ability to protect itself.

And he, as the president of the Louis Vuitton Group, would probably lose his job.

So whether it is for the interests of the Vuitton family or for his own personal interests, he will not agree.

The long-term interests of the company are not linked to his interests, and there is no need or reason for him to agree to Xia Yu's proposal.

Xia Yu shook his head slightly and retorted, 'Mr. Henri Rigaud, although the main consumers of wine are men and the main consumers of luggage are women, they are mainly aimed at the mid-to-high-end customer base, and some of them overlap.'

However, Xia Yu did not want to argue too much about this.

Without waiting for Henri Rigaud to comment, he suddenly asked a borderless question.

'Mr Henri Rigaud, I know that you are the son-in-law of the Vuitton family. You have served the Vuitton family for so many years. How do they treat you?'

Henri Rigaud's expression froze for a moment, then returned to normal, and he said vaguely, 'The treatment is not bad.'

Xia Yu smiled faintly and said to himself, 'I know the salary is not bad, but although your wife is from the Vuitton family, the company's shares have nothing to do with you, your wife, or your son.'

'Don't you want to leave something for your children? Like company shares?'

Henry Rigamire's heart trembled, and his mouth moved, but he couldn't say no.

Because Xia Yu's words hit home.

Although he is the son-in-law of Henri Vuitton, he does not have any company shares. And because there are many members of the Vuitton family, including five brothers of his wife's side, and because of the special way in which the Vuitton family's assets are passed down, his children are not eligible to inherit a part of the Louis Vuitton Group's assets.

But Xia Yu, who is now the majority shareholder of the Louis Vuitton Group, suddenly told him about this, so how could he not understand? His heart began to stir.

The temptation was too great!

There is a fundamental difference between working for someone else and becoming a shareholder!

Henri Liger-Belair was right to remain silent!

This meant that he was indeed tempted.

Xia Yu wasted no time. After glancing around to make sure no one was around, he first told Henri Liger-Belair some high-sounding words to convince himself: 'Mr Henri Liger-Belair, the merger of the Louis Vuitton Group and the Moët Hennessy Group is a powerful combination that will create greater value.'

'Even if the Vuitton family's shareholding percentage decreases after the merger, the future price potential will actually be higher. Where else in the luggage market can you compare with the wine and luxury goods market?'

'Without the Vuitton family having to waste energy, they can also obtain greater benefits. The merger will bring them far more benefits than disadvantages. The only disadvantage is the loss of operational control, but they are handing it over to you now, aren't they?'

Then Xia Yu immediately threw out the most obvious benefit: 'If you can get the Vuitton family to agree to the merger, I will reward you adequately.'

'And the two companies will only be integrating their resources; in fact, they will both be subsidiaries of the parent company. Your abilities have been proven, and I will appoint you as the president of the Vuitton Group.'

'What do you think?'

Henri Rigamar's mind was shaken, and Xia Yu's words kept going around and around in his head.

After a long while, his personal interests overrode the interests of the Vuitton family.

Moreover, he was fairly certain that he could persuade the Vuitton family to agree to the merger, so he could give it a try!

He took a deep breath, looked at Xia Yu, who was smiling, and said, 'Mr. Xia, how much can you give me?'