Chapter 1491: The enemy is running out of tricks, so they're resorting to underhanded tactics!

The information disclosed by the Royal Bank of Scotland was like a bolt from the blue.

The first one to jump to his feet was none other than the current chairman and president of the National Westminster Bank, Myron Barrett.

At this time,

The senior management of NatWest Bank, who had just heard the news, all had different thoughts. Some subconsciously walked lightly as they passed the chairman's office, glancing at the closed door.

Inside the office, the atmosphere was very tense.

Myron Barrett and his son Ron Barrett were in urgent consultation.

With Myron Barrett's support, Ron Barrett had long since joined the National Westminster Bank, and was now a director of the bank, as well as vice president and in charge of the credit department.

'Father, the Royal Bank of Scotland has such a high shareholding, so close to 50%, and with the strength of the Royal Bank of Scotland and the Bright Fund behind it, it will be difficult for us to stop it.'

'Are we going to lose the National Westminster Bank?'

Ron Barrett asked anxiously, looking at his father, who was pacing back and forth.

Seeing that his father was taking too long to answer, he continued, 'Father, it's been almost twenty days, and the support promised by the Rothschilds has not arrived yet. Are they unable to support us?'

On hearing the word 'Rothschild,'

Myron Barrett's body froze for a moment, and he looked at Ron Barrett with indignation. 'Don't mention the Rothschilds to me! If Jacob Rothschild were going to support us, he wouldn't have let the Silverada Group buy a stake in our bank, but would have lent us the money to do it!'

'Jacob Rothschild talked a good game, promising to bring me powerful allies, and I fell for it!'

'Look at the shares that Silverada Group has acquired. Basically, they were held by people who originally supported us.'

'How many shares did Silverada Group acquire that were not owned by shareholders affiliated with the Rothschild family? They were all acquired by the Bright Fund, weren't they?'

'You say that Silverada Group can be considered an ally?'

'In the end, I might not be where I am now, but Peter Wallenberg!'

Ron Barrett was stunned by his father's barrage of questions and it took a while for him to come back to his senses. He asked in a dry tone, 'So what should we do?'

'As the current largest shareholder, RBS has such a high stake that an extraordinary general meeting can definitely be convened.'

'If RBS acquires some more shares or persuades some shareholders, it will be easy to exceed 50% of the voting rights, and then the re-election of the board of directors will be an unstoppable process.'

Myron Barrett remained silent for a long time, and then he silently took out a cigarette and lit it. Standing in front of the French windows, he looked out at the grey sky and fell into deep thought.

He didn't turn around until he had finished the whole cigarette.

Then he looked at Ron Barrett and said slowly, 'The liquidity of our family cannot be touched, and taking it to buy shares will not help at all.'

'Let's be prepared to change our family.'

'In any case, let's try to keep as much of the shares held by our family as possible.'

'Of course, it would be best if the Royal Bank of Scotland's takeover failed...'

Just as father and son Barrett were urgently discussing the matter,

Peter Wallenberg in Switzerland was left with a buzzing head after hearing the news.

It took him half a minute to come back to his senses.

Then he immediately picked up the encrypted phone and called Jacob Rothschild.

It took a long time for the call to be connected.

From the receiver came the slightly tired, aged voice of Jacob Rothschild: 'Peter, you're calling about the National Westminster Bank, aren't you?'

Peter Wallenberg immediately said into the phone: 'Yes, Jacob, so far, I have only acquired a total of 16.29% of the National Westminster Bank's shares, which is a far cry from the Royal Bank of Scotland!'

As he spoke, Peter Wallenberg was so excited that the veins in his experienced hand holding the phone bulged.

'16.29%...actually, this percentage is not low...' Jacob Rothschild's voice came again from the phone.

As Jacob Rothschild said.

It had only been sixteen days since they had gathered together on the evening of the 23rd of January to discuss joining forces!

In sixteen days, they had acquired 16.29% of the shares of National Westminster Bank from scratch.

If this result were announced, even giants like Goldman Sachs, which were proficient in mergers and acquisitions, would be greatly impressed.

This was definitely the result of money, and it had cost a lot!

But the Warburg family had lost the initiative.

Before the Warburg family got involved, the Bright Fund had secretly acquired 24.18% of the shares in NatWest.

They had just announced it all at once!

"Jacob, even if this is not a low percentage, it is still a long way from RBS!'

'Jacob, what percentage of shares does Barclays Bank hold?'

'3.72%!'

'...'

'Even if Myron Barrett and I join forces, the three of us only hold 32.2% of the shares!'

After another round of discussions, Peter Wallenberg's mood had improved somewhat, but he was still extremely heavy-hearted.

At this rate, they were not far from the self-protection line, but the gap with the Royal Bank of Scotland was still huge.

What's more, he had other worries in his heart.

Myron Barrett, the current chairman of National Westminster and the original largest shareholder, might not necessarily fall over to their side.

Even if Myron Barrett was and is an ally of the Rothschild family!

Peter Wallenberg put himself in their shoes.

If RBS promised him that he could keep his position as chairman if he fell over to their side, he might actually agree.

After all, the knife was already at his neck, and allies were useless!

If Myron Barrett defected,

then it would be up to the Warburgs and the Rothschilds to figure out how to withstand the pressure and protect their interests.

It seemed as if he could see Peter Warburg's desperation through the phone line. Jacob Rothschild comforted him, 'Peter, just hold on. Don't give up so easily. Right now, try to buy as much of the shares as you can. We'll help you.'

'And I have a not-so-mature idea, not sure if it will work...'

Peter Wallenberg, who was listening, shuddered as if he had grasped a lifeline, and hurriedly asked, 'Jacob, what is your solution? Tell me!'

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the line.

Just as Peter Wallenberg was about to ask again, a voice finally came through again: 'Pressure from the political level, citing that the acquisition of the National Westminster Bank by the Royal Bank of Scotland would destroy the good competitive atmosphere that has always existed in the British banking industry and deal a devastating blow to it, so as to get the government to intervene and halt the acquisition!'