Rebirth 76: Industrial Internet Empire

Yang Mo was also sighing. This was equivalent to being robbed twice in a row, but they still survived tenaciously. It had to be said to be a miracle.

At the Zeiss Optical Company in Heidenheim, Yang Mo successfully met with the company’s president, Lehmann, under the introduction of Hernandez Weaver.

After a brief exchange of greetings, Yang Mo got straight to the point and expressed his plan to acquire Zeiss Optical Company as a whole.

"Mr. Yang, I may disappoint you. The equity of Zeiss Optical Company in Heidenheim does not belong to an individual..." Lyman spread his hands and said.

"It doesn't belong to an individual?" Yang Mo asked in surprise.

Lehmann nodded and smiled: "100 years ago, one year after the death of Carl Zeiss, the founder of Zeiss, partner Mr. Abbe created the Carl Zeiss Foundation, and two years later, he transferred his personal holdings of Zeiss Optics All the equity interests in the workshop and the Jena Glass Factory will be put into the Carl Zeiss Foundation..."

After Yang Mo pondered for a moment, he asked reluctantly: "Mr. Lehmann, doesn't Zeiss Optical Company need to raise funds from the capital market?"

"The number of employees at Zeiss is very small, and the charter of the foundation clearly stipulates that Zeiss Optical Company is not allowed to operate with debt..." Lehmann explained.

Yang Mo muttered in his heart: This really shows the old-fashioned Germanic people!No wonder your products are so expensive. Your technology is far ahead of other companies, but your market share only accounts for a very small part...

There was no choice. He couldn't find a seller even if he wanted to buy. After walking out of Zeiss Optical Company, Yang Mo looked at Qian Ning with some frustration and said: "What happened to Zhiyuan International! Didn't even find out the Zeiss Foundation in the background check? What happened? Such a big mistake!"

Qian Ning looked embarrassed, scratched his head and said sheepishly: "The Zeiss Foundation's shareholding was described in the background investigation. I thought I could directly acquire the Zeiss Foundation..."

Hernanste Viv suddenly said: "Mr. Yang, there is nothing we can do!"

"Do you have any idea?" Yang Mo asked in surprise.

"You can think of the Zeiss Jena public enterprise in East Germany. Their technical level is no worse than the Zeiss Optical Company in Heidenheim..." Hernandst-Weaver said.

"Jena public enterprises are managed by the Jena city government?" Yang Mo asked thoughtfully.

Hernandez-Wive lowered his voice and said: "According to reliable information, there is social unrest in Eastern European countries, and many state-owned enterprises are facing the path of disintegration or privatization. Zeiss Jena Public Enterprise is no exception. As long as the relationship is cleared up, there is still hope. It’s possible to get the Zeiss Jena public enterprise at a lower price!”

Yang Mo pondered for a while and then said: "Mr. Hernandez, your family's prestige in Germany is unparalleled. Let's see if you can help us get in touch..."

"I can give it a try, but there's no guarantee it will work..." Hernandez-Weaver said.

Yang Mo knows better than anyone how important it is for Zhiyuan to open up the integrated circuit industry chain by taking over the Zeiss Jena factory and merging it into Cima Semiconductor Company.

The Hernandste family lived up to its reputation. After returning to Coburg, through the family's intricate connections in European politics, they quickly contacted Strauss, the conservative leader of Bavaria.

Strauss, who was a banker, was not an ordinary opposition party member. It was through his relationship with Western investment banks that he secretly raised funds for East Berlin, which was in financial crisis...

In Berlin, the capital of East Germany, on the busiest Central Street, a newly opened foreign bank attracted everyone's attention.

The luxurious decoration style and meticulous service are not the biggest highlights of this foreign-funded bank. What attracts the rich and powerful the most is the high-interest foreign currency deposit business launched by this bank.

This is different from all foreign banks that are worried about the depreciation of the East German Mark. They usually keep foreign currency interest rates extremely low and tempt you to convert them into domestic currency deposits that are at risk of depreciation for interest calculation.

Also welcomed by ordinary citizens in East Berlin, this foreign-funded bank also opened a foreign exchange window. However, each East Berlin citizen can only exchange 200 West German marks a month, and the exchange ratio is 1:3.8, which is lower than that of the National Bank. Slightly higher, but far lower than the black market’s 1:5.

The only thing that has no exchange limit is the ruble, which can be freely exchanged according to the national bank's listed price. You don't even need to queue at the foreign currency exchange window. You can exchange East German marks into rubles at the ordinary deposit and loan window and deposit them according to the exchange rate.

This move immediately attracted scalpers from the foreign exchange black market near the Berlin Wall. They purchased a large number of East Berlin citizens' documents, and then hired people to line up at the bank every day to get numbers.

Yes, this foreign bank is the newly established East Berlin branch of Merlo Bank.

Joseph, the executive director of the East Berlin Branch, actually opposed the launch of these two businesses, but David Silva said that it was the decision of the board of directors and must be implemented unconditionally.

Joseph's worry was not unreasonable. The foreign exchange he collected and saved was converted into East German marks through free convertibility. But looking at the entire East Germany, there were simply few industries worth investing in.

With more than 20 people who have nothing to do all day long, almost no profits are made, but they have to bear the risk of the devaluation of the East German mark. Joseph feels that the board of directors' head has been squeezed...

Fortunately, the board of directors, whose head was squeezed by the door, finally received new instructions: to acquire the public enterprise Zeiss Jena!

With the help of Strauss, Joseph met Honnayac's special representative Snod.

At this time, many of the East Berlin government's foreign debts were maturing. In order to cover up the economic depression, they had to tear down the east wall to pay for the west wall and continue to obtain loans from Western investment banks to fill the holes.

The two parties hit it off almost immediately, and Merlo Bank acquired all the shares of the public enterprise Zeiss Jena for 1.65 million West German marks!In addition, it will provide another US$1 million in five-year low-interest loans to the East Berlin government.

The news that the East Berlin branch of Merlo Bank fully acquired the public enterprise Zeiss Jena immediately triggered a chain reaction, and some Eastern European countries also began to accelerate the privatization process of state-owned assets.

The strongest reaction was from the Zeiss Foundation. They immediately protested to the East Berlin and Bonn governments and organized a legal team to prepare to legally overturn the transaction between the East Berlin government and Merlo Bank...

Unwilling to give in, the East Berlin government immediately gave a tough response: Zeiss Jena Public Enterprise was re-established from scratch by the Jena city government and had no affiliation with the Zeiss Foundation. On the contrary, the Zeiss Foundation The registered place is Jena. Legally speaking, Heidenheim Zeiss Optical Company should be an East German company. The Jena city government has the right to recover the ownership of Heidenheim Zeiss Optical Company in accordance with the law...