Chapter 530 Kodak's Acquisition Proposal
"Kodak hopes that the entire industry will acquire Chinese film companies, and I am feeling embarrassed about this matter." Boss Zhu said to Fan Wubing.
Among the policy commitments proposed by Boss Zhu, the most impossible task is to use three years to get state-owned enterprises out of trouble. Because the spokesperson of the Ministry of Finance announced a disappointing reality in a briefing that year. The ministry conducted a spot check on the annual accounting statements of one hundred key state-owned enterprises. The result was that 81% There are cases where enterprises have misrepresented their assets and fabricated profits.
The speaker did not explain why this happened, but everyone knew why this happened.
"State-owned enterprises have reached a point where they must be reformed." Boss Zhu said to Fan Wubing, "My solution is to reform, reorganize, transform and strengthen management, and the implementation strategy is to resolutely and thoroughly implement state withdrawal in non-key industries. People advance.”
"Oh, so Kodak's industry-wide acquisition proposal is a litmus test?" Fan Wubing immediately understood Boss Zhu's intention. It seemed that he wanted to verify it through a pilot project in an unimportant industry. The correctness and feasibility of your own strategy of withdrawing from the country and advancing by the people, and then use this as a sample to promote the withdrawal of the country and the advancement of the people in non-strategic industries.
According to Boss Zhu’s vision, the country only needs to implement key controls on industries that are related to the country’s lifeline. In non-key industries, competition can be introduced, and private capital can be actively and profit-seeking to reduce industry competition. Strengthen efforts to achieve the purpose of prospering the market and increasing vitality.
According to the content of the negotiations between the two parties, the Chinese government has agreed that the American Kodak Company, the leader of the global film industry, will implement an industry-wide acquisition of the Chinese film industry. According to the agreement, all seven companies in China's film industry will establish joint ventures with Kodak, and Kodak promises to invest one billion U.S. dollars and bring world-class photosensitive technology to China.
Fan Wubing frowned immediately after hearing what Boss Zhu said. He had never paid attention to this matter before. He just thought of the many films he had seen before. In 1998, It gradually disappeared over the next few years, and the only products on the market were Kodak films.
It turns out there is such a business involved! Fan Wubing's mind immediately began to spin.
In fact, the plan proposed by Kodak originated four years ago, when the new Kodak President Pei Xuede asked to meet with Boss Zhu in Hangzhou and proposed this motion for the first time.
At that time, Kodak was in the midst of an unprecedented disaster. This century-old company that had survived for a century because of the invention of photosensitizers was strongly impacted by Fujifilm. In the European and American markets, Kodak has been losing ground and has been saddled with a huge debt of more than 10 billion US dollars.
There was once a dark humor circulating in Kodak: What is the difference between Kodak and Titanic? The answer is: a symphony accompanies the Titanic as it sinks.
In the Chinese market, Kodak is also a laggard. Fuji occupies more than 70% of the Chinese film market. If there is conventional market competition, Kodak has no chance of winning.
Therefore, when Pei Xuede suddenly proposed to China an industry-wide acquisition of Chinese film companies, everyone present felt that it was ridiculous. This was a topic that had not been discussed in advance. Even Pei Xuede's senior followers heard about it for the first time. .
However, only Boss Zhu did not think this was whimsical, because in his heart, he was planning another game of chess.
"If Kodak is in dire straits, then China's film industry is in dire straits." Boss Zhu said to Fan Wubing, "Like home appliances, beverages and other industries, the transformation of China's film industry after reform and opening up is also Starting from the introduction of complete sets of equipment, local governments have rushed to establish projects since the early 1980s, and have successively introduced complete sets of color film production lines from Kodak, Fuji and Germany's Aika. Among them, Xiamen Fuda and Kodak invested ten dollars in the introduction project. 500 million yuan, and the project cost of Shantou AD and Fuji was as high as 4 billion yuan. In just ten years, China has built seven film factories, becoming the country with the most film companies in the world. All the chronic problems of state-owned enterprises are in the film. The industry was concentrated, with huge duplication of investment, lack of technology digestion, lack of market competition, rigid mechanisms and chaotic management. By around 1993, all domestic film companies were losing money, and the total industry debt exceeded 10 billion yuan. . Faced with this situation, I am helpless.”
It was at this moment that Pei Xuede, who was also in trouble, pointed out a bright road.
Boss Zhu became more energetic when he talked about this matter, "In my opinion, Kodak's plan is attractive. In the process of the Chinese government's reform of state-owned enterprises, Kodak will bring three things. One is technology. , one is world-class management, and the other is an investment of at least a billion dollars.”
However, Kodak's requirements are also exclusive. They do not allow any foreign competitors to enter China because they have to reorganize existing old companies, while other competitors can build new factories from scratch, which is unfair.
"But from the beginning, Kodak's plan faced two major obstacles. One was the backlash from domestic film companies, and the other was resistance from Fujifilm." Boss Zhu said to Fan Wubing, "So from the beginning, some people were calling me a ** *ah!"
Fan Wubing smiled brightly and shook his head.
It is true that entrusting an important industry to a multinational enterprise is an unheard-of practice in the history of Chinese enterprises. Not to mention that each enterprise already has different partners with intertwined interests and many contradictions in the market. In fact, This motion itself means the annihilation of the national film industry.
In recent years, domestic domestic enterprises have emerged vigorously, and calls for revitalizing national industries have been heard endlessly. It is natural that Kodak's plan has been resisted. At least everyone has put up a banner that makes people unable to resist. This is a national pig*.
"The national pig is a double-edged sword. If used well, it can hurt others. If used incorrectly, it can be a weapon of self-mutilation." Fan Wubing said to Boss Zhu, "As far as the film industry is concerned, China's The overall film industry is too deeply influenced by me. There are huge profits, but they are all made by others. Even if it is to be reorganized under the slogan of revitalizing national enterprises, it cannot be separated from my own black hands and manipulation, which is what everyone is calling now. , it’s nothing more than some interest groups manipulating it behind the scenes. Besides, what’s so important about a film seller? Is it related to the national economy and people’s livelihood?”
After listening to Fan Wubing's words, Boss Zhu's face improved a lot, and he said with a smile, "Well, what you said is similar to what I mean. At that time, some people said that if the proportion of state-owned enterprises decreases and the proportion of private enterprises increases, will it turn society into a pig? * Changed? I would say, the quality of ng remains unchanged, the key lies in the economic lifeline. As for those hamburgers, a few film rolls, and head clips, what does it matter how much foreign investment you have? "
"But many people can't figure this out, because they can't look at the problem from an overall perspective, and their vision is naturally limited, so these people's opinions can be regarded as farts and ignored." Fan Wu Bian said, "However, as someone who has monopolized the Chinese film market, what is the reaction? There should be a lot of resistance, right?"
"My reaction is nothing to worry about." Boss Zhu was very relaxed when talking about this issue.
"Oh?" Fan Wubing felt a little strange. I have always been the best at operating in China. How could I not find a few powerful official supporters?
Boss Zhu quickly explained the inside story, which made Fan Wubing feel a little surprised.
Since Kodak's proposal to acquire the entire Chinese film industry came out, Fujifilm, as a monopoly in the film market, has naturally resisted fiercely.
Kodak's motion clearly implies an industry monopoly. Once finalized, it will mean Fuji's exit from the Chinese market.
However, somewhat unexpectedly, Fuji found that it could not find any sympathizers in China.
The reason is because of some things that happened before. At that time, Shantou AD Factory imported equipment from Fuji with a huge investment of 4 billion yuan. Later AD had a business crisis. In order to solve the problem, the then governor of Guangdong Province personally flew to Shantou AD with the management of AD Factory, hoping to get help. .
But unexpectedly, their request to meet with Fuji's leadership was ruthlessly rejected. I believe that the AD crisis is the Chinese people's own business and has nothing to do with them. The Chinese team waited in Tokyo to wait and see. He returned with empty hands and angrily.
This refusal to meet quickly spread in China's political and business circles, causing many people to grit their teeth.
Therefore, when Fuji tried to boycott the Kodak case, it was difficult to find powerful people who were willing to come forward for it. It was easy to help anyone, but if you came forward for yourself, everyone would point your nose at it and call it a bastard. Can't do it.
After hearing this explanation, Fan Wubing looked at Shen Ying and found that she was putting her elbows on the table, holding her face in her hands while watching him take the time, so he asked her, "Mr. Shen, what do you think about this?" How's it going?"
After hearing this, Shen Ying smiled and said, "Are you testing me?"
"Where are we, brainstorming, we are not outsiders." Fan Wubing said with a smile.
Boss Zhu looked at the two young men and women joking with each other here, and felt a little more relaxed. "Whoever solves this problem, I will write a letter for him, and it will be signed." Then he smiled and said, "I am not the one who solves this problem." There is no inscription on the name. If you keep it carefully, it will increase in value in the future. "
After thinking about it for a while, Shen Ying said, "Kodak is losing money all over the world. The key reason why they are interested in the Chinese market is that they are optimistic about one thing, that is, in a short period of time, China's film industry will continue to maintain its High growth, so Kodak has put its future on China and is willing to invest billions of dollars in restructuring. "
When she saw Fan Wubing and Boss Zhu nodding in approval, Shen Ying's thinking suddenly became very clear, and she continued to analyze, "But as far as the current situation of the domestic film industry is concerned, if there is no joint venture with Kodak, the technology Both the company and the equipment company are old and aging. They can only serve as a raw material exporter for Fujifilm, a subsidiary of Fujifilm, and let them earn a lot of money for nothing. However, domestic film companies are still following the old path of losing money and going bankrupt, without any hope. So I think a joint venture is inevitable. At least the Americans are willing to provide advanced technology and real money. Even though we know their thoughts, objectively speaking, this condition is acceptable. Or there is new hope.”
After Boss Zhu heard this, he said to Fan Wubing, "Your Mr. Shen is also very good. He can explain the problem clearly in just a few words. He is much better than many of our so-called experts."
Fan Wubing smiled, let out a rather contented sigh, and then said, "Actually, this proposal is acceptable, but it needs to be slightly adjusted, which will allow us to get greater benefits, and this joint venture plan will also become the future A classic case.”
"Well, please tell me." Boss Zhu still valued Fan Wubing's opinion more. Hearing this, he leaned forward and asked very solemnly.
Fan Wubing waved his hand and said, "Of the seven domestic companies, Kodak may not be able to accept reorganization. I think it would be good if they can reorganize half of them. The rest will probably be spent to disband. In this way, criticism There are still some. Therefore, I would like to make a suggestion that our Fan Investment Group also participates in this joint venture as part of the entire acquisition.”
"This case itself is very troublesome. If you are involved in the investigation, it will be even more difficult?" Boss Zhu pondered, but he still said, "What is your purpose? Let me explain it clearly first. I'll see if there is any Too much conflict?"
"If there are a lot of conflicts, I won't mention it." Fan Wubing said with a smile, "What I mean is that Fan Investment Group will invest US$200 million in proportion to participate in this joint venture project, and it will only participate in shares and dividends. Not involved in management. Another thing is that if Kodak wants to close several of its factories, we can absorb the laid-off workers."
"You must have any additional conditions, right? Otherwise, you wouldn't be so kind?" After listening to Fan Wubing's words, Boss Zhu first thought that Fan Wubing must have some additional conditions, otherwise he wouldn't be able to ask for it so easily. Provide money to help, and also help solve the problem of the whereabouts of laid-off employees.
These two conditions can be regarded as helping Shang solve his biggest criticism. First, it seems that Shang is not completely acquired by Kodak. Second, there is no problem of laid-off employees. The problems of unemployment and layoffs have been solved. , I will definitely get scolded less.
Sure enough, Fan Wubing immediately said, "My request is very simple, that is, Kodak will share its digital camera manufacturing technology and memory card manufacturing technology within three years with Fan Investment Group."