Chapter 477 North American Ford Family (7K chapter, please subscribe~)

   Michigan, Lake St. Clair, Ford Manor!

  As the second largest automobile company in North America, the Ford family, one of the well-known families in North America, owns a Ford estate here.

   At this time, Ford II, the helm of the Ford family, lived here.

  In the garden of the Ford Manor, Ford II, his younger brother William Ford, and Philip Caldwell, the current general manager of Ford Motor, are sitting on bamboo chairs, talking about what happened to Ford Motor recently.

Ford II is the grandson of Henry Ford, the founder of Ford Motor Company. His position was not so easy. Henry Ford was an extremely autocratic person. He was the son of Henry Ford, that is, Ford II's father Ethel Ford succeeded Henry. Ford becomes the helm of Ford Motor.

   But everyone knows that Ethel Ford is just a facade and cheerleader promoted by Henry Ford, and all decisions of Ford Motor are still decided by Henry Ford.

  In 43 years, Ethelford died young, and the doctor's diagnosis was written with special meaning—the cause of death was a complex disease: stomach cancer, fever and a broken heart.

  Subsequently, the 80-year-old Henry Ford decided to come out again and serve as the chairman himself.

  However, because of his health, Henry Ford still brought his eldest grandson Henry Ford II, who was serving in the military, back to succeed him and entered the company's board of directors as executive vice president.

  However, even though he is in a high position, Ford II still has no actual rights in Ford Motors. Old Ford always complained about his grandson "he doesn't understand anything."

  In the end, it was Ford II's mother who threatened the shares inherited from Ethelford and insisted that the old Ford give way to the eldest grandson.

  If old Ford dared not give up her position, she would dare to sell the company's shares to outsiders.

   This is absolutely unacceptable for the old Ford.

  Old Ford did not love money. His greatest wish was to keep the business he founded in his family forever.

  So under such threats, Old Ford finally gave in.

  Now the old Ford has passed away long ago, and under the leadership of Ford II, Ford Motor has reborn as a phoenix and has become the second largest automobile manufacturer in North America after General Motors.

   But at this time, Ford II encountered a troublesome thing.

  He never thought that Ford Motor would one day become a battleground for the other two consortiums.

  North America has always opened up battlefields outside of North America. When did your own place become someone else's battlefield?

   This made Ford II very, very unhappy.

   "How is the situation with Chu Huan?"

   Ford II sat there with his legs crossed. Not far from where they sat, there were a pair of bronze statues, which were the appearance of Ford II's parents walking here when they were young.

  Philip Caldwell said calmly: "KKR is still sweeping the stock market on behalf of Chu Huan's North American stock. It is estimated that Chu Huan's North American stock should already hold 25% of Ford Motor A shares!"

  As the general manager of Ford Motor, Philip Caldwell is also a legend in the North American auto industry, because he will become the first person with a foreign surname in Ford Motor to serve as the CEO of the Ford family car after Ford II retires.

   This alone is enough to make Philip Caldwell famous in the North American auto industry.

   Most importantly, he sat in this position for almost 20 years!

   "25%?" Ford II flicked the cigar in his hand, and said in a deep voice, "That means he has already spent at least 1.2 billion dollars?"

  Philip Caldwell nodded and said: "If the data is like this, then his cost should also be around this figure!"

   "This is a lot of money. Can Chu Huan still have cash in his hand?" Ford II asked.

  Philip Caldwell shook his head and said, "I'm afraid only Chu Huan knows this."

  William Ford, who was sitting on the other side, spoke dissatisfiedly at this time: "Didn't you even investigate the specific figures for so long?"

   Facing William Ford's questioning, Philip Caudle did not answer.

  Simply speaking, William Ford and Philip Caldwell are actually competitors.

  Before that, the biggest voice of Ford Motor CEO was William Ford to succeed his elder brother Ford II. After all, everyone knows that Ford Motor is the purest family business in North America.

   But last year, the Continental Car launched under the leadership of William Ford suffered heavy losses, which led to Ford's first annual loss after Ford II took over.

  Not only that, Ford Motor will continue to lose money year after year, and it was not until Philip Caldwell officially became the CEO of Ford Motor that this situation was reversed.

This alone makes William Ford a sinner of Ford Motor. If it weren't for the fact that Chu Huan acquired the shares of Ford Motor, the first thing the board of directors of Ford Motor is discussing now is to invite William Ford It's a matter of Ford Motor management.

Ford II waved his hand and said: "The other party has not issued an announcement about this kind of thing, so it will not be so easy to know, but don't worry, it will be the weekend soon, and on Monday, the North American club will follow the regulations. Announced the shares of Ford Motor that he holds in his hand!"

  There is no difference between the trading hours of U.S. stocks and other trading hours. They are all Monday to Friday, Saturday and Sunday off!

  Philip Caldwell said to Ford II: "Boss, do you want to use this weekend to meet Chu Huan, the other party?"

   "Why did you take the initiative to meet him?" Before Philip Caldwell could finish speaking, William Ford interrupted Philip Caldwell again.

   "Now this Chu Huan dares to buy the shares of our Ford Motor Company. If we take the initiative to meet him now, what will the outside world say about our Ford family? They will think that we are afraid of Chu Huan!

   We, the Ford family, are never afraid of anyone when it comes to controlling Ford Motors! "

   After being interrupted twice by William Ford, Philip Caldwell also had a displeased expression on his face, and he preached a little coldly.

   "Mr. Ford, don't you think it's still 74 years ago?"

  In order to ensure the Ford family’s permanent control over Ford Motors, and to avoid tax issues, Henry Ford founded the Ford Foundation in 1936, injecting Class A shares into the foundation, and Class B shares are jointly held by family members.

  At the beginning of the establishment of the Ford Foundation, the fund was only 25,000 US dollars, but as Henry and Ethel passed away one after another, most of the Ford shares they held were injected into the foundation, and the foundation became bigger and bigger.

Before Ford went public, 88% of the shares were held by the foundation, 2% of the shares were controlled by the company's directors, management, and employees, and the remaining 10% was left to the Ford family. The shares plus the Class B shares held by the Ford family have absolute decision-making power over Ford Motor.

  However, following the early 1950s, North American legislation stipulated that family foundations could not hold too concentrated shares.

  After Ford went public, the Ford Foundation sold off Ford shares one after another, and by 1974 they were almost all sold out.

  The Ford Foundation not only sold their shares in Ford Motors, but also the 10% of Ford Motors in the hands of the Ford family were also sold off due to the multiple financings of Ford Motors listing and family reasons.

   That is to say, today, the Ford family only holds 40% of the voting rights in Ford Motor Class B shares, and Ford Motor believes that the management that is completely in their control holds 2% of Ford Motor's equity.

   But no matter what, 40% of the voting rights always give the Ford family absolute control over Ford Motor.

   "What do you mean?" William Ford snorted coldly and said, "Even if it is not 74 years later, no one can challenge our Ford family's dominance in Ford Motor!"

Philip Caldwell did not speak, but simply glanced at William Ford. The meaning in his eyes was already very clear. If everything was as you said, I would not be sitting in your position as a Ford now. general manager.

  William Ford understood Philip Caldwell's eyes, and stood up angrily, wanting to argue with him.

"All right!"

Ford II spoke out at this time, stopped the open and secret fight between the two of them, and said indifferently: "Before the matter was made public, I went to meet the rising star in the business world. It was nothing, but now the matter has been made public. I can no longer take the initiative to meet him, this is not only the face of Ford Motor, but also the face of our Ford family!"

   Facing Ford II's final decision, William Ford looked proud, but Philip Caldwell shook his head helplessly.

  Although Philip Caldwell succeeded William Ford as the general manager of Ford Motor, the relationship between Philip Caldwell and the Ford family is very delicate.

  Just from the fact that he succeeded William Ford as general manager of Ford Motor Company, we can get a glimpse of it.

The removal of William Ford from the position of general manager can be said to be a collective victory for other shareholders of Ford Motor except the Ford family, and Philip Caldwell, the successor, is a helpless choice after the game between the Ford family and other shareholders of Ford Motor .

  In fact, it is the most common thing for a family business like Ford Motor to disagree with the company's professional management team.

  Now Philip Caldwell hears that Ford II put the face of the Ford family on the top of the Ford car, which is unacceptable to him.

"Boss, now that Chu Huan has become a major shareholder of Ford Motor, I believe he will convene the company's board of directors soon to discuss the re-election of board members. If we don't prepare early, I'm afraid this person will really It has an immeasurable impact on the company."

   Philip Caldwell still hopes to make the company run more normally!

  William Ford spoke on behalf of his brother: "So, you mean that you want us to terminate the cooperation with South Korea's Hyundai Motor?"

  Everyone understands that the real purpose of Chu Huan's acquisition of Ford Motor's shares is not Ford Motor, but Hyundai Motor, which has a deep cooperation with Ford Motor.

"If Ford Motor decided to end the cooperation with Hyundai Motor, the company's partner, because of Chu Huan's acquisition of the company's stock this time, how would the entire North American business community think of us, Ford Motor, and think that we were afraid of Chu Huan? Ford Motor North America is actually afraid of a businessman from Xiangjiang, do you think such a reputation is what our Ford Motor needs?"

Philip Caldwell shook his head and said: "We don't have to give up the cooperation with Hyundai Motor. I have also inquired about the grievances between Chu Huan and Hyundai Group, but it was caused by some small conflicts. Both parties are successful businessmen. , there is nothing that cannot be resolved through negotiations.

  As long as we can mediate and resolve the grievances between the two parties, then things will be very beneficial to us at Ford Motor. "

   Ford II stopped William Ford from continuing to speak with his eyes, looked at Philip Caldwell and asked, "Tell me in detail what you think!"

When Philip Caldwell saw Ford II asking, he immediately smiled and said: "Recently, I have been researching the situation of Chu Huan in Xiangjiang, but the more I research, the more I find that Chu Huan is in Xiangjiang, Southeast Asia. and other places have great influence.

  We cooperated with Hyundai Motor before because we took a fancy to this advantage of Hyundai Motor in Asia, hoping to use Hyundai Motor to open up our Ford Motor market in Asia.

  But the facts have proved that although Hyundai Motor is located in Asia, the influence of South Korea is really limited. The entire Asian auto market is still dominated by Japanese cars.

   And Hyundai's influence is limited to South Korea.

Chu Huan is different. This person is in Xiangjiang, and his influence in Southeast Asia is far greater than that of Hyundai Group. Moreover, the black and white media in the hands of the other party is now expanding the entire Southeast Asian market. If we can reach a cooperative relationship with Chu Huan, we can use Chu Huan's influence in Southeast Asia directly sells our Ford cars to that region, which is more in line with our company's interests in a short period of time than the cooperation with Hyundai Motor! "

  Ford II asked: "You mean that Chu Huan represents short-term interests, and Hyundai Motor represents long-term interests. As long as we can mediate their conflicts, then Ford Motor will have long-term and short-term interests?"

  Philip Caldwell nodded and said, "That's right."

   Ford II pondered for a while, and said: "Your statement makes sense, but now is not the time!"

  Philip Caldwell couldn't help asking: "Why?"

Ford II said calmly: "I agree with your suggestion, but it's still the same sentence. Now is not the time. Now Chu Huan is making great strides to acquire the shares of Ford Motor. If we choose to negotiate with the other party at this time, first Not to mention how the outside world will comment on us, even Chu Huan will have a psychological advantage in the negotiation process, and then ask us for more interests. How should we face it then?

   The best time to negotiate with him should be to make him understand that our Ford family can give him something because our Ford family is willing to give it to him, not because he came to grab it.

   Only when we hurt him, can we take the absolute initiative in negotiating with him. "

  Philip Caldwell shook his head silently in his heart. First of all, he acknowledged Ford II's analysis of the negotiation, but at the same time, Philip Caldwell did not think that what Ford II said was reasonable when analyzing the specific matters this time.

  Because Chu Huan is not an ordinary person.

  He is the richest Chinese man!

  The super rich with a net worth of over tens of billions of dollars!

  To put it bluntly, in terms of wealth on paper alone, Chu Huan's wealth has surpassed that of the Ford family.

   But now, what Ford II thinks is still only to suppress first and then win over. He is very unoptimistic about Ford II's plan this time.

  Seeing that Philip Caldwell did not speak, Ford II guessed what the other party was thinking.

Just calmly said: "It is actually very simple to let Chu Huan back out of difficulties and understand his situation. As Philip you just said, Chu Huan now holds 25% of Ford Motor's A shares. , must want to have a seat or a few seats on the Ford Motor Board of Directors, we just need to make him unable to achieve this goal, and he will naturally understand who controls Ford Motor.”

  According to common sense, to become one of the major shareholders of a listed company, you can naturally ask your own representative to join the company's board of directors.

   But this is just common sense and does not mean absolute. If the unanimous decision of the board of directors cannot be passed, there is naturally no other way, and you will be admitted to the board of directors.

   This was the case when Bao Yu just started to acquire Wharf, and it was also the case when Ye Han quit Aoyu and wanted his son to join the Aoyu board of directors.

   were unsuccessful.

   Now what Ford II has to do is to let Chu Huan understand that even if he already owns 25% of Ford Motor A shares, he still cannot even enter Ford Motor's board of directors.

  Ford cars can only be under the control of the Ford family!

.

  Hilton Hotel!

   "Second Uncle, I have received news that Ford II of the Ford family will not allow Chu Huan to join the Ford Motor Board of Directors!"

   Zheng Mengxian told Zheng Shiyong the latest news he got with a smile on his face.

   After Zheng Shiyong got the news, he smiled first, then looked suspiciously at Zheng Mengxian and asked, "Where did you get this news?"

   Zheng Shiyong is the representative of the negotiation with Ford this time, but he has not received the news yet, and his nephew got the news first, which makes Zheng Shiyong a little hard to accept.

  Jung Mong-heon didn't notice the change in Zheng Shiyong's tone, but just smiled: "It's Bill Ford, the son of Ford II, who called me."

  Bill Ford’s name is not actually this, but William Clay Ford II, and Bill Ford is a more affectionate name for him.

  Bill Ford is just 19 years old this year and hasn't officially joined Ford yet, but he already knows the Ford family's decision on how to deal with Chu Huan.

   It can be seen that although he has not officially entered Ford, the Ford family has already begun to train their next generation of successors.

  As for Philip Caldwell, he is always just a part-time worker, not a member of the Ford family.

   Zheng Shiyong was not relieved because the person who notified Zheng Mongxian was not a big shot in the Ford family. Now Zheng Mongxian and Bill Ford belong to the younger generation, and they may become the backbone of every family in the future.

   At that time, my own generation.

  Actually, Zheng Shiyong's worries are not exaggerated at all.

He is now the president of Hyundai Motor, and he will be for more than ten years, but even so, when the "Prince Rebellion" breaks out in the Hyundai Group in the future, Zheng Zhouyong will still use absolute authority to let his younger brother take over Hyundai Motor. The position of president was given up to his nephew Zheng Mengjiu.

   "If Chu Huan didn't even enter the board of directors of Ford Motor, then all that Chu Huan is doing now will be in vain!"

   Zheng Mengxian was still talking happily.

  Zheng Shiyong also calmed down his mood, smiled, and said, "As I said a long time ago, Chu Huan's idea of ​​using Ford to attack our modern cars is nothing short of whimsical."

   Zheng Mengxian nodded immediately.

   "By the way, have you notified your father about this?" Zheng Shiyong asked aloud.

   "It has been notified, and my father is also very happy after receiving the news!" Zheng Mengxian said happily.

   Zheng Shiyong's eyes once again flashed a flash of light, his own person was in Michigan, after Zheng Mengxian knew the news, he didn't tell him about it immediately.

  This person, once he gets into the horns, it's very difficult to get out again.

  Jung Se Young is like this now.

   "Very good, as long as your father is happy, then the board will have nothing to say!"

"I think so!"

.

  In South Korea, Zheng Mengxian learned that the Ford family would not allow Chu Huan to join the Ford Motor Board of Directors at around 9:00 am.

  So Zheng Zhouyong got the news after nine o'clock in the evening that afternoon.

  As Zheng Shiyong and Zheng Mengxian said, Zheng Zhouyong seemed very happy after hearing the news, no matter what time it is, he immediately asked his secretary to notify the group directors to hold a group board meeting!

   Zheng Zhouyong has absolute authority in Hyundai Group, those directors naturally dare not disobey Zheng Zhouyong's meaning.

  So no matter what time it is, I hurried to the headquarters of Hyundai Group.

  At the board meeting of Hyundai Group, Zheng Zhouyong proudly announced the news to all members of the board of Hyundai Group.

"I've said it a long time ago, Chu Huan's plan to take action against our Hyundai Motors is just a dream, and now the news from North America has confirmed this, so I ask you to stop anyone from now on. Decide, because my decision is always the right one.

   This time is no exception. Chu Huan will lose in this battle with our company, and the defeat will be terribly damaged. Everyone, now you have to think about how we can enter the construction market in Xiangjiang! "

  At this time, Zheng Zhouyong was sitting in the position of chairman of the board of directors of Hyundai Group, giving advice.

  The shareholders of Hyundai Group sitting on both sides have complicated expressions, but they are all smiling.

  As long as Zheng Zhouyong is still there, no matter how the equity distribution of Hyundai Group is and how these shareholders are connected in series, Hyundai Group can only belong to Zheng Zhouyong.

   This has nothing to do with equity allocation.

  Because Zheng Juyong is a close friend of the current South Korean President Park Chung-hee and has absolute authority in the South Korean business community. Anyone who wants to replace him will only end up in pieces.

It is precisely this kind of absolute authority that makes Zheng Zhouyong subconsciously think that it is impossible for him to lose to Chu Huan. This is why Zheng Zhouyong announced this matter just before the board of directors was convened after news came from the Ford family. s reason.

  He believes that the Ford family will definitely be able to control Ford Motors like they control the Hyundai Group. Since Ford II has said this matter himself, there is nothing to discuss.

  Chu Huan's defeat is set!

"President, our goal should not only be in the construction market of Xiangjiang. Chu Huan is in Xiangjiang and has a great influence in Southeast Asia. We should use this opportunity to push our pony car into the automobile market of Xiangjiang And the Southeast Asian market!"

  There are shareholders of Hyundai Group preaching.

  Since Zheng Zhouyong has announced this matter, although his attitude is as strong as ever, everyone is used to this Zheng Zhouyong.

   Make money!

   Kneeling without knocking!

   These shareholders in South Korea can bend and stretch!

  As for the condemnation of Zheng Mengzhun before, it is naturally gone. Everyone still has to focus on how to earn more benefits.

  The shareholder's suggestion made Zheng Zhouyong very useful, and he nodded in satisfaction: "Your suggestion is good, I will talk about it with Chu Huan.

  I believe he will not reject us! "

  Another shareholder said: "President, do you want to contact Chu Huan again?"

"Haha!" Zheng Zhouyong smiled triumphantly, and said, "Why did we take the initiative to contact Chu Huan? It should be Chu Huan who took the initiative to contact us, and I am in Seoul. I not only want him to contact me, but also And let him come to Seoul to apologize to me in person!"

  At this time, Zheng Zhouyong was in a mess of happiness. In his opinion, this matter has been settled, and it is only a matter of time before Chu Huan's defeat!

   In fact, not only Zheng Zhouyong, but also the directors of Hyundai Group, it is the same at this time.

   It has even been suggested.

   "President, I think that when Chu Huan comes to Seoul, we should notify all the media in South Korea and let them go to the airport to wait for Chu Huan!"

   Naturally, this is not to welcome Chu Huan, but to show the citizens of the Republic of Korea the capabilities of their modern group.

   Haven’t you been clamoring for the Hyundai Group to continue attacking Chu Huan’s armor department?

  Now our Hyundai Group has shown its power and asked Chu Huan to come to South Korea to apologize to us in person, which is enough to greatly satisfy the sensitive and inferior psychology of the South Korean people.

  Hyundai Group will be the hero of the Republic of Korea.

  Zheng Zhouyong smiled and said: "Since this method is your idea, then when the time comes, you will be in charge of this matter!"

   "Thank you, President!"

  Subsequently, the board of directors of the entire Hyundai Group began to discuss how to get Chu Huan to show more benefits.

   Not only that, but on the second day, the "North Korea Daily" published this news, as if everything was already settled!

   Such news was naturally seen by Li Zhenguo who was still in South Korea.

  As soon as he got the "North Korea Daily", Li Zhenguo reported the above content to Ma Jizu, and Ma Jizu also passed the news to Chu Huan's ears.

   At this moment, Chu Huan has actually demonstrated Chu Huan's advantages in this era. In the 1970s when information transmission was not yet developed, Chu Huan was able to know the news of his opponent in the shortest possible time.

  When Chu Huan saw the content in the newspaper, he let out a 'hehe' laugh.

   And ~ Huangshan continues to code words~~

  

  

  (end of this chapter)