The Son of Finance of the Great Age

  Chapter 633 Final Redemption (6)

   During the discussion that lasted several hours, only one person did not speak from the beginning to the end, and he was John Thain of Merrill Lynch.

  As the head of the third-ranked investment bank on Wall Street, John Thain is also a well-known figure in the financial market. This guy who started from a small employee of Goodman Company and gradually rose to a top professional manager once saved the New York Stock Exchange, so he is considered by the whole Wall Street to be the ultimate master in dealing with crises.

   Merrill Lynch is also in crisis at present, at least so far, they have not shown any obvious decline. But John Thain and the CEOs here are very clear that if Leimen is finished (bankrupt or acquired), then the next target of the market is Merrill Lynch.

   It is precisely because of this reason that everyone knows it well, so John Thain didn't say a word of his opinion.

   "John, can I have a minute?"

   Paulson announced the adjournment of the meeting, and the CEOs walked towards the door. At this moment, the CEO of Bank of America, Ken Lewis, walked quietly to John Thain and said in a subtle voice.

   "..."

John Thain turned his head and saw that it was Ken Lewis. His expression was astonished, but the next moment his face immediately returned to the state of ancient well, and he also nodded slightly, and then acted as if nothing happened. go outside.

   At the moment when they passed each other, the two parties tacitly completed an exchange.

  …

On the next Saturday, at eight o'clock in the morning, bankers and lawyers in suits and ties crowded the corridors of the Reserve Bank of New York. They were analysts sent overnight by various financial institutions, covering accounting, auditing, mergers and acquisitions, Legal affairs, bonds, real estate, stock rights, foreign exchange and other aspects. These people will sit together, and in two days today and tomorrow, they will jointly review the balance sheet of Leimen Brothers, analyze its real operation situation, and then estimate a detailed figure, which will provide a basis for formulating the overall acquisition of Leimen Brothers. decision making.

Prior to this, they had a clear division of labor, analysts from Citigroup, Merrill Lynch and Stanley were responsible for Lehman's balance sheet and liquidity, and analysts from Goodman, Credit Suisse and Deutsche were responsible for Lehman's For real estate, ****, Bank of America, and Barclays were responsible for studying the structure and position risks of Lehman Brothers and other institutions, and estimated the amount needed for the acquisition based on the previous research.

  Mountains of documents were transported to various conference rooms in piles, crowded with people everywhere, and the air conditioner turned on to the maximum still couldn't stop the sweat from the analysts' foreheads. Almost everyone was calculating and evaluating, and even some CEOs were present, including Merrill Lynch CEO John Thain.

  Stayed last night, Ken Lewis didn't talk much to him, but the two sides agreed to have an in-depth talk this afternoon. But John Thain already understood what Ken Lewis meant. The other party was more interested in Merrill Lynch, and might give up the acquisition of Raymond Brothers.

  In September last year, the two parties had a negotiation on the acquisition. At that time, the share price of Merrill Lynch was around US$70. Bank of America offered a premium of US$90 per share, but Merrill Lynch refused. Now that the stock price of Merrill Lynch has plummeted to about 20 US dollars, Bank of America will definitely not offer a similar price again. In less than a year, Merrill Lynch has shrunk by more than two-thirds, which makes John Thain sigh extremely.

   "In big trouble, very big trouble."

   At noon, analysts were still struggling to analyze various data, **** CEO Jamie Dimon walked into John Thain's office, quietly pulled him aside, and said in a low voice.

   "I know the situation is very bad." John Thain's face was ugly, "But Jamie, the situation is not so bad. Uh... Are you talking about our Merrill Lynch, or Raymond Brothers?"

"Of course it's you!" Jamie Dimon looked straight at John Thain, his face full of disbelief, "John, if it was Raymond Brothers, do you think I would tell you this? You It should be clear that we **** are the settlement bank for Lehman Brothers and Merrill Lynch, so some of the losses on positions will be reflected in our settlement accounts, if not on the balance sheet."

"According to the preliminary calculations of the analysts just now, the assets of Lehman Brothers have been at least 8 billion US dollars under-provisioned. It is estimated that after all the accounts are calculated, this figure is likely to expand to 20 billion US dollars. According to what the Bank of America said yesterday, the The line of credit they acquired could expand to $50 billion to $60 billion."

"Again, it's just as bad for you at Merrill Lynch. So far, you're doing better than Lehman Brothers. But as soon as the Lehman Brothers crisis is over, it will be your turn. It's obvious. Yes. My buddy, you have to get ready. My boys have been talking about the bankruptcy of Merrill Lynch just now."

  Looking at Jamie Dimon who was shaking his head away, John Thain was in a state of confusion for a moment, not knowing what to do. The possibility that was only guessed at first is gradually becoming a reality. Even though John Thain is fully prepared, he still cannot accept this reality.

  Concerned about gains and losses, John Thain went to Ken Lewis' apartment near Central Park in the afternoon.

   This is a top-level apartment, located on the top floor of the building, with a 360-degree view of New York. It has three bedrooms, five bathrooms, and a total area of ​​more than 400 square meters. However, after John Thain went in, he quickly realized that this was not Ken Lewis's property, because there were not all kinds of furniture and artworks in this luxuriously decorated room, which obviously did not meet the requirements of Ken Lewis. The style of Wall Street's top CEOs.

Here, in addition to seeing Ken Lewis, John Thain also accidentally saw another person, and this person should be in command of many bankers in the New York Federal Reserve Building at this time. He is the Vice Chairman of the Federal Reserve Geithner .

   "Mr. Vice Chairman..."

  John Thain was a little confused about the situation, but he still greeted him politely, and then asked Ken Lewis in a low voice, "Ken, what the **** is going on?"

  He lowered his voice very low, naturally he didn't want Geithner to hear it. But since Ken Lewis invited Geithner, he naturally wouldn't hide it. He said loudly, "John, to be honest, I invited you here this time to discuss the Bank of America's acquisition of Merrill Lynch. Frankly, Say, we're not interested in Raymond Brothers, we're interested in you."

"Are you crazy?" John Thain glanced at Geithner and said quickly, "Ken, do you know what you're talking about? Buy us? Don't you want to save Raymond Brothers? You know, if Raymond Brothers If it goes bankrupt, how much impact will it have on the market?"

"Relax, my friend!" Ken Lewis followed John Thain's gaze, glanced at Geithner, and then smiled to give Geithner a reassurance, "Mr. Vice Chairman also knows this situation, he is support us."

   "What?" John Thain was stunned and became more and more confused.

At this moment, Geithner stood up, walked to John Thain with a smile, and said in a relaxed tone: "John, don't worry. I support Bank of America's interest in you. As for Lehman Brothers, isn’t there Barclays? As long as the guys at the New York Fed finally come to an agreement, I will go and explain these things to Paulson and Dimon in person.”

"Yes, John, after our financial analysis of Raymond Brothers, we do not agree that this company is worth buying. But you are different. Although your operating conditions are not very good so far, we I have always been optimistic about you, and I believe that acquiring you will be a correct choice." Ken Lewis also chimed in, "Yes, this will be at least a more correct choice than acquiring Raymond Brothers."

   "But how are you going to explain to the Minister of Finance?" John Thain still couldn't believe this fact. Although he had long expected that Ken Lewis and Bank of America were interested in Merrill Lynch, he never expected that Vice Chairman Geithner would also be involved in this matter.

  Just a day ago, Geithner and Paulson also vowed together that they would unite with Wall Street consortiums to save Raymond Brothers. But just one day later, Geithner and Bank of America, which was considered most likely to buy Lehman Brothers, expressed their support for the acquisition of Merrill Lynch.

  This change is too fast, too sudden.

"Confession?" Geithner snorted coldly, and said with disdain, "John, you haven't figured out the political significance behind this incident at all. Paulson only needs to explain to the public, to those taxpayers, he As long as they don’t spend their tax money indiscriminately. As for the Leimen Brothers, no one cares at all. I believe that yesterday, as you saw, no one notified them to come to the meeting. This has already doomed their fate. Everything I do is to maintain the stability of the market, not out of sympathy or pity."

"As long as someone rescues these institutions that may harm the market, and it doesn't cost taxpayers money, Paulson doesn't care which institution Bank of America acquires!" Geithner's dissatisfaction grew louder, "Since Leimen already has British banks interested in it, and Bank of America is interested in Merrill Lynch. Isn’t it better for everyone to bid for what they want? The market has also been saved, and the public has an explanation, Paulson How could you disagree?"

In the whole matter, because he was particularly upset that Bank of America had to be involved in the bidding of Lehman Brothers, after negotiating privately with Ken Lewis, Bank of America decisively turned to the acquisition of the United States. Lin Securities' reasoning.

   Of course, the premise of this deal was that Bank of America was interested in Merrill Lynch, and as it happens, it was.

   It can be said that Geithner and Paulson had a secret fight on this matter, and in the end it was a good breath of anger. Although so far, Paulson does not know the specifics, but he may compromise on this.

"9.9% of the shares, plus a credit authorization of 20 billion US dollars!" Just when Geithner and Ken Lewis looked at each other and smiled, immersed in the pleasure of getting rid of Paulson, John Thain gave out inappropriately Offer to buy Merrill Lynch.

  John Thain has been on Wall Street for a long time, so he is naturally not easy to get along with. When he saw Geithner, he was already thinking about the possibility of Bank of America becoming a shareholder. 9.9% of the shares will basically not touch the red line of launching the acquisition, and the credit authorization of 20 billion US dollars will solve the liquidity problem of Merrill Lynch Securities at once. "If it is possible, we can sit down and talk now. It’s a matter of price,” he added.

   "No! No! No!" Ken Lewis' face changed drastically, and he couldn't laugh out loud. He said seriously, "John, if it's not 100% holding, or it's acquisition, there is no third choice!"

   Geithner, on the other hand, gave John Thain a meaningful look, walked slowly to the French windows in the distance, and seriously admired the scenery of Manhattan.

   Thanks to book friends Huang Tianlong and Jiangnan Liu Feiyan for voting monthly tickets! Thanks to book friend Xiao Qi for another reward for the miracle of civilization! The author has been working hard to write a book this month, but I can't explain why the results are not as good as before. It seems that what has been lost is really not so easy to recover. I have no choice but to continue to work hard. I hope more book friends can support book~

  (end of this chapter)