Chapter 1437 It’s All About Money, No Conflict

In the evening, the film festival awards ceremony begins. As a brand designer, Zhuo Qing'er can lead his team into the interior of the award ceremony, and Chen Hong follows along to join in the fun.

Although I don’t feel that it is necessary to walk on the red carpet, I am full of curiosity about such an international film festival, and I also want to see the difference between in person and live TV.

Yang Dongxu obviously didn't have much curiosity about such an occasion, so he didn't accompany the two women. And came directly to Maserati Automobile Company.

Carlo Rossi looked at the young and overly young boss sitting in front of him. To be honest, even though he had been working at Maserati for so many years.

Every time he sees his big boss, he always has an unreal feeling. He is too young. It is simply unimaginable that such a young person controls a large company with a market value of tens of billions.

"Can't the price be lowered?" Yang Dongxu closed the document in his hand and asked.

"I don't think so. They are very fond of this brand. Although the company's operations have temporarily encountered some difficulties, it can apply for a government loan. Given Yafit's size, although this loan is large, it will definitely be approved.

After all, the higher-ups don’t want to see so many people unemployed at the same time, and the president cannot bear such a responsibility. Carlo said helplessly.

Yang Dongxu rubbed his chin.

This time he came here not to hang out with Chen Hong, but to do business, a big deal.

BMW China's car sales have continued to rise in recent years, after all, whether it is the halo blessing of official cars or the fashion sense of those business cars.

China BMW dominates the top three Chinese luxury brands, with Mercedes-Benz, BMW, and Volkswagen's Audi on par.

But in the field of sports cars, Maserati is a bit insignificant. Maserati still has a place in the mid-to-high-end sports cars, but the truly top-level sports cars have always been inferior to BMW of China.

That is the world of brands such as Ferrari and Porsche.

Yang Dongxu's goal in coming to Italy this time is Ferrari. In fact, it stands to reason that such an awesome brand will definitely not be traded as long as Fiat's management has no brains.

But now there is a problem with the operation of Fiat, which gives Yang Dongxu such a small opportunity.

The Automobile Industry Alliance, led by Fiat in 2000, was disbanded this year.

In addition, the Italian economic market has been sluggish in recent years, and Fiat's operations have also encountered some problems, so they have the idea of ​​​​cutting off some of the company's less important businesses to reduce the burden.

Of course, high-quality industries like Ferrari are definitely not within the scope of reductions, but cutting other sluggish industries will only reduce the burden and will not help Fiat tide over the difficulties.

By selling Ferrari, Fiat would be rich in an instant. Therefore, after Yang Dongxu asked Carlo to try the offer, the other party firmly refused at first, but later when the purchase price reached 6.3 billion US dollars, they had to hesitate.

After all, they only spent a few hundred million dollars when they bought Ferrari. At the same time, although the automobile industry is booming, it is also becoming more and more competitive.

Porsche, owned by Germany's Volkswagen, has been keeping pace with Ferrari. In recent years, it has created a Lamborghini to attack Ferrari from both sides.

Fiat does not have the energy or money to develop other sports car brands, and they have always focused more on their own automobile industry.

Ferrari is an independently operated subsidiary. Although this subsidiary has been very successful in helping to make money in recent years, it is undoubtedly just an illegitimate son. No matter how good the performance is, it will not be as favored as the legitimate son.

Therefore, Fiat's executives, who had not originally sold their Ferrari business, couldn't help but be moved after receiving Carlo's offer of US$6.3 billion, which far exceeded Ferrari's current market value.

In addition, the government bailout loan they applied for at this time was delayed, and the voice of selling Ferrari in exchange for a large amount of funds to tide over the difficulties gradually became louder among the company's top management.

In fact, everyone knows that it will only be a matter of time before the bailout loan comes out, and Fiat cannot go bankrupt. Because none of those politicians can take the blame for the loss of more than 200,000 employees once Fiat goes bankrupt.

But the money obtained from the loan and the sale of the Ferrari are undoubtedly two different concepts. After all, the loan is a rescue loan, so it can only be used for company operations, and there is no way to put it into your own pocket.

But thinking about the money earned from selling Ferrari is really exciting. Fiat's business has been sluggish in the past few years. The automobile industry alliance finally took a breather, but it was disbanded in less than five years.

Now there is a lot of mess left to clean up. How long has it been since shareholders received a large dividend?

If Ferrari were sold, shareholders would be able to pocket more money than all past dividends combined, which made them uneasy.

"What do you think their final price will be?"

"Seven billion U.S. dollars, this price is really too high. In fact, the current price" Carlo didn't finish his words.

But Yang Dongxu already understood what he meant. Not to mention US$7 billion, even the current price of US$6.3 billion was a bit outrageous.

After all, the sales in the Chinese market are so good. After opening the European and American markets through Daier, China BMW, which has also achieved good sales, now has a total market value of only 10.3 billion US dollars.

As for the Masati sports car brand, which is already a good independent brand, its current market value is only 1.8 billion US dollars. Is one Ferrari worth three and a half Maseratis?

As the head of Masati's sports car subsidiary, Carlo felt that the acquisition made him feel aggrieved.

Didn't they see any problems in Fiat's business? Other car companies that originally asked about the price, after hearing Maserati's offer of 6.3 billion, curled their lips and left as if they were fools?

"I know the price is exaggerated, but if it's not high, people won't sell it. After all, as long as those Fiat shareholders are not greedy and wait for government relief funds, they can easily get through it.

So now is our best opportunity to win Ferrari. In terms of business cars or fashion cars, we now have a certain say even in the European and American markets.

But this sports car." Yang Dongxu didn't finish his words.

Carlo obviously understood what his big boss meant. Although he was still a little unconvinced, he could not say anything to refute.

After all, it occupies a market in China that is growing rapidly year by year. Maserati's sports car sales are still far behind Ferrari and Porsche.

Even in terms of branding, Ferrari is clearly the king and Maserati is the queen. However, due to Porsche, this charming little bitch, who succeeded in overtaking in a corner, sports cars from other car brands have also begun to emerge suddenly in the past two years, squeezing the market that was not enough. Maserati's sports car business is in trouble.

“Official cars, business cars, SUVs, plus the Maserati coupe business currently under development, we have capable fighters in each model.

But the only shortcoming is sports cars. You have also seen how the Chinese market has prospered in recent years. Volkswagen's Audi is also used as a business car in China, and Porsche first launched in Hong Kong and then entered the mainland with very good results.

With our strong local advantages, we have also boosted the sales of Maserati sports cars in China. But this kind of market is obviously very unstable.

Nowadays, many people are beginning to pay attention to the sports car segment of the pie. Although Porsche already exists, in 1998 Volkswagen still spent a lot of money to acquire sports car brands such as Lamborghini and Bugatti.

After years of preparation, these two sports car brands have become very famous and are currently sharpening their skills to enter the Chinese market.

Regardless of other sports car brands, there are only three sports car brands of German Volkswagen. Do you think Maserati can withstand it alone? "

"This." Carlo's shoulders began to slump and he lost his confidence.

German Volkswagen has always been China BMW's strongest competitor in the Chinese market. Carlo knows very well that China BMW has official cars here, and Volkswagen's Audi became official cars earlier.

BMW China has developed a Mercedes-Benz high-end business car, Volkswagen has the top-of-the-line Bentley, BMW China SUV has suddenly emerged, and the Volkswagen Audi Q series SUV has always been a hot spot in the market.

Not to mention sports cars compared with Porsche, Maserati can only be compared with Bugatti and Lamborghini, which were just acquired and brewed for five or six years and are not yet very mature. But it’s just a comparison now, in a few years

“So the top sports car segment must come up with a brand that can compete, and we can’t just mess around like in previous years.

Otherwise, the China BMW brand will always make people feel that it is inferior to these car brands such as Volkswagen and Mercedes-Benz. Not only will the price not be high, sales will also be affected.

You don’t want to be pointed at your nose and say, Masati is not as good as Audi, Mercedes-Benz, or BMW, right?

At the same time, in the low-end market, Volkswagen also has FAW-Volkswagen, SAIC-Volkswagen and other companies. These mid- to low-end market companies have been fighting back and forth with Japanese companies.

So now we have established ourselves in the mid- to high-end market and there is no room for decline. If we cannot capture some share of the top market, our brand effect will be extremely embarrassing in the future. "

"I understand." Carlo took a deep breath and nodded.

Although he is only responsible for the sports car business, he is also responsible for the European market, not the Chinese market. But BMW China is the parent company of Maserati, and he knows the principle of both prosperity and loss.

"Get it as soon as possible. The purchase amount can be raised to 6.5 billion. This is the final price. If it doesn't work, forget it. And when you are negotiating with the other party's senior management, you can hint that as long as the deal is completed.

Maserati can help them invest in parts foundries in China. And we are willing to help them successfully obtain loans from the rescue fund. "

"you mean?"

There is nothing wrong with bringing people together to invest in foundries in China. Nowadays, powerful companies all over the world are doing this. My big boss is very powerful in China, so this promise is normal.

But this will help you apply for the relief fund

If you buy Ferrari as a package, Fiat obviously doesn't need a bailout fund.

"As for the rescue fund, there must be interest-free, low-interest and various welfare provisions. The purchase of Ferrari can be signed first, and then announced after the loan is obtained. And as long as the signing is completed, we can pay half of the payment first and the rest. Settled within three years.”

"This." Carlo's eyes flickered.

I understood what my big boss meant. The bailout fund was to rescue companies, and the money from selling Ferrari could be put into my own pocket. There seems to be no conflict between the two!