Chapter 505 So What?

What the Chinese did was a conspiracy, and DeGraaf could not think of any way to break it. This echoes the old saying: In the face of absolute strength, all skills are redundant.

Tang Zifeng and Huang Liting were able to put pressure on Hegman in this way because Europe was in a debt crisis, and China was the only economy in the world that was still growing at a high speed. This was something that DeGraaf could not change.

After realizing this, DeGraaf had to put down his arrogance and go to China in person to ask for a meeting with Huang Liting. Until now, he didn't realize that there was another black hand behind this matter. He only thought that Huang Liting wanted to acquire Hegman, and became angry after being frustrated, which led to such a big deal.

Since it was Huang Liting who tied the bell in the first place, naturally she had to find this female elite businesswoman to untie the bell.

"Dear Ms. Huang, we meet again. I think you are a bit more beautiful than the last time we met. You have the classical beauty of an oriental lady."

As soon as he met Huang Liting, DeGraff complimented her with an extremely exaggerated expression.

The last time Huang Liting visited Hegemann Company, she met DeGraaf. However, at that time, DeGraaf was not interested in Huang Liting's intention, and naturally he would not say any compliments to her. He just exchanged a few greetings in a routine manner and got down to business.

This time, DeGraaf came to beg Huang Liting for mercy, so naturally he had to make some gestures first.

Huang Liting just smiled faintly after hearing what the translator said. She greeted DeGraaf and his entourage to sit down respectively. She sat behind the big office desk and said calmly: "Thank you Mr. DeGraaf for the compliment. May I ask, what matters do you want to discuss with me when you come to our company this time?" Negotiating, or just passing by?”

"Well..." Degraaf hesitated for a moment, and then said calmly: "This time I came to China, I made a special trip to visit Ms. Huang. I'm very sorry, last time Ms. Huang asked us for cooperation, because There is no consensus within the company, so I have never given Ms. Huang a formal reply, which is very rude. I am here to apologize to Ms. Huang this time."

"There's no need to apologize." Huang Liting waved her hand, "Actually, the last time I said I wanted to acquire Hegman, it was just an accidental idea. It would be great to be able to acquire it, and it doesn't matter if I can't. After all, there are still many merger and acquisition opportunities in Europe. Because we didn’t get a reply from Hegeman, we acquired three other machine tool parts companies. Although they are not as famous as Hegeman, they are enough for our company.”

"Really? That's really..., uh, I mean, I'm very curious as to why Ms. Huang would be interested in a machine tool accessories company." DeGraaf hesitated for a while, and finally raised the question.

Huang Liting smiled and said: "I said it, it was just a random idea. The global economic situation is now unstable, and our company's investment department suggested that the company should diversify its operations. Machine tool accessories are very far away from the retail industry. The industry is in line with our diversified requirements, so we acquired several machine tool accessories companies."

"So, does Ms. Huang still have the intention to acquire Hegman?" DeGraaf asked.

"This one is gone." Huang Liting said. After that, she seemed to think about it for a moment, and then added: "Of course, if Hegeman's bid is not particularly high, we can also consider it."

"You don't mean very high, but how high do you mean?"

"For example..., 400 million euros."

"400 million euros? Are you saying you hope to use 400 million euros to obtain a controlling stake?"

"No, I'm talking about hoping to spend 400 million euros to acquire 100% of Hegemann's shares."

"This is not..."

DeGraaf was halfway through what he said, but he quickly took it back. He wanted to say "This is impossible", but this answer would undoubtedly lead to the end of friendship between both parties. The female boss in front of him seemed to be at an emotionally unstable age. De Graaf doubted that the other party would do something even crazier if they disagreed with her. This was something De Graaf couldn't afford.

"Ms. Huang, the bid of 400 million euros is too low for Hegeman. In fact, even the last bid of 800 million euros you proposed was unacceptable to our company's shareholders. Hegeman is It is an old company with a history of 200 years. Some of our shareholders hold shares that can be traced back to the founding of the company. They have very deep feelings for the company. It is difficult for me to persuade them to sell the company to a Chinese company. "

DeGraff said in as tactful a tone as possible.

Huang Liting nodded and said: "OK, I completely understand the thoughts of your shareholders. In fact, if someone wants to acquire my supermarket, I will refuse it. Mr. De Graaf, please go back and tell your shareholders that we have already We have given up the plan to acquire Hegman. We have already acquired several companies such as Cork and Dudok Brothers. In the future, our main focus will be on digesting these companies and will not focus on the machine tool market. launch new M&A activities.”

"But..." DeGraaf hesitated.

"Why, is Mr. DeGraaf dissatisfied with our attitude?" Huang Liting asked.

Luotto, who accompanied him, spoke up for DeGraaf: "Ms. Huang, I think you should understand that after acquiring Cork Company and Dudok Brothers, you launched a series of promotions in the Chinese market. These activities have squeezed out Hegeman’s traditional market in China and put a lot of pressure on us.”

"Well..." Huang Liting drawled, "Mr. Luotto, isn't that what market competition is like? Besides, Kok Company's product line is very narrow, and its main product is ball screws. In addition to ball screws, Apart from this, there are no other products that affect Hegeman’s operations in China.”

"We have some tacit understanding with Cork Company, I mean, with Cork Company in the past. Cork Company's products will be maintained at a relatively high price, and we will not compete directly. But now, The price of Cork's products has dropped by half, which has seriously threatened our product market, so..." Luoto didn't know how to go on.

Huang Liting smiled slightly: "So what?"

"Ms. Huang, I think that maybe we don't need to use this kind of official rhetoric. I would like to know what Ms. Huang wants us to do so that you will cancel this current approach. In fact, according to your current approach, you are doing very little for science and technology. The acquisition of Gram Corporation and Dudok Brothers will be unprofitable, which is not in line with the character of a businessman.

"I think we can communicate candidly, Ms. Huang can put forward your conditions, and maybe we can reach a solution that is beneficial to both parties."

DeGraaf ripped open the window paper. Continuing to go around in circles like this does not put any pressure on Huang Liting, but it is very uncomfortable for Degraaf. Since the other person is also a smart person, why do you need to talk such nonsense?

Hearing what DeGraaf said so bluntly, Huang Liting could no longer pretend to be stupid. She asked: "If I still hope to acquire Hegemann for 800 million euros, will Hegemann accept it?"

"I'm really sorry, we really can't accept it," DeGraaf said.

"So, if we ask Hegemann to adopt a non-discriminatory approach towards Chinese machine tool companies and not restrict Chinese companies' access to Hegemann parts, can Mr. DeGraaf agree?"

"But..., does this matter have anything to do with Ms. Huang?"

"You can say it doesn't matter, or you can say it does."

"So that's it..."

DeGraaf suddenly understood that after a long time of trouble, the crux of the problem turned out to be here.

Lijia Supermarket acquires Cork Company and then sells Cork accessories at low prices in the Chinese market. This is definitely not a normal business behavior. Calculated based on China's labor costs, Cork's accessories sales at reduced prices can still make a certain profit, but this profit is not enough to compensate for the cost of Lijia Supermarket's acquisition of Cork.

The money in the hands of enterprises must be maximized. Huang Liting's adoption of such an approach that makes almost no profits obviously has other purposes. DeGraaf clearly told Huang Liting that it was impossible to acquire Hegman, but Huang Liting did not stop because of this, indicating that this was not her intention.

Now Huang Liting has set out conditions, requiring Hegeman to adopt a non-discriminatory policy when selling accessories to Chinese companies. This shows that she originally proposed to acquire Hegeman because of this matter.

Huang Liting did not admit that she had any relationship with Chinese machine tool companies, but she did not deny it at the same time. Could DeGraaf not understand the subtext? As for the behind-the-scenes connection between Huang Liting and these machine tool companies, DeGraaf was too lazy to inquire.

"Ms. Huang, if Chinese machine tool companies can promise to continue using our accessories, then we can also promise to adopt a non-discriminatory policy towards Chinese machine tool companies. But..." DeGraaf couldn't go on at this point.

"Are there any difficulties?" Huang Liting asked.

DeGraaf said with a grimace: "I suddenly remembered that the European Union gave us a quota, requiring us to impose restrictions on machine tool parts that are resold through China to other countries. This policy was promoted by various machine tool companies in Europe. , they say that Chinese companies’ use of European parts threatens their competitive position in the international market.”

Huang Liting frowned and asked, "When did this happen?"

"Two months ago," DeGraaf replied, "their lobbying power is much stronger than ours, Hegman and Tarrant. These companies are worried that we cannot keep our agreements with them, so they bypass us and carry out negotiations with the EU." Lobbying. In other words, it is not a question of whether we agree to export accessories to China, but a ban imposed by the EU, which we cannot violate."