Becoming a Russian Oligarch After Rebirth
Chapter 580: Wang Ye’s Circle of Friends_1

Chapter 580: Chapter 580: Wang Ye’s Circle of Friends_1

Regarding the brand Volvo, Wang Ye also knows a bit about it.

In his "former life", a domestic company acquired the brand, and it had a successful business in China.

However, its brand power was indeed weaker, forcing it to take the middle and lower-end route, becoming famous for selling "broken efforts".

Frankly speaking, if this brand were acquired, it would be quite decent. Hence, Wang Ye also put it on his acquisition list.

The second and third brands, as Kaja mentioned, are being sold in bundles.

They are Land Rover and Jaguar...

These are British brands with relatively higher market positioning, nearly on par with, or even slightly above BMW Mercedes.

Similarly, due to poor business operations, these two brands have also changed hands once.

They were acquired by General Motors in the United States a few years back.

Unfortunately, these two brands did not thrive under General Motors and instead slowed down its development.

Now, General Motors plans to once again divest these two "burdens".

In terms of price, it’s ironic that the single brand, Volvo, is asking for a higher price, probably because despite poor profitability, its sales volumes are still good, especially in Europe, where it has a strong market share.

As for Land Rover and Jaguar, for some reason, General Motors is asking for a surprisingly low price!

...

After listening to Kaja’s report, Wang Ye pondered for a while.

He is considering whether to acquire Volvo or Land Rover Jaguar.

It can only be said that each has its own advantages.

Truthfully, the Land Rover isn’t bad. It has a long history, and it has always been at the forefront of the world’s luxury SUVs.

Range Rover, Land Rover Discovery, Defender!

Whether it comes to their exterior looks or performance, all these series are quite impressive.

But the Jaguar is not that great, it’s just a burden.

As for Volvo, aside from the high asking price, it is likely that their board of directors will impose some restrictions on the acquisition.

For example, the factories cannot be relocated, the design and marketing center must be located somewhere specific, etc. After all, the company hasn’t hit rock bottom yet.

Of course, the requirements are relatively high.

"Explore both sides simultaneously. If the price is right, it wouldn’t be a problem to buy both." WangYe said with a furrowed brow.

Kaja was a little surprised and she reminded, "Although Land Rover Jaguar has a low market value, the price of Volvo is not low. If both acquisitions were to take place, it would require a large sum of money!"

Wang Ye said with a smile, "How much money should we be prepared to set aside?"

"It would need... at least ten to twenty billion US dollars." Kaja said with some uncertainty.

Wang Ye nodded, indeed, that would be the estimate, especially since Volvo is more expensive. If he only buys Land Rover Jaguar, it would be a lot cheaper.

"Let’s start negotiating first. After all, this kind of acquisition cannot be done in a short time. It’s normal to drag it on for a year or two. By then, we might have enough money on hand. We certainly cannot fork out so much money now."

Kaja nodded to show she understood.

As Wang Ye’s "chief steward", she had a clear idea of how much money Wang Ye had left.

Although the profits from various group companies were substantial, Wang Ye was spending even faster!

Previously, there were two major "black holes" for spending money, namely Wagner Security Company and Crimea Investment Company.

Now that Wagner has been temporarily "fed", it does not need a large investment in the short term, but the Crimea Investment Company still needs to consume a huge amount of capital every year!

Ten billion US dollars in ten years!

Averaging it out, it’s one billion US dollars a year. This amount, not to mention for Wang Ye,

even for a rich tycoon like Khodorkovsky, it is not a small sum...

...

On September 3, a mansion in the suburbs of Moscow was filled with distinguished guests!

This was A Bu’s mansion, the place where Wang Ye had visited for the first time with Khodorkovsky.

A Bu’s return to Moscow this time was low-profile.

But as one of his best friends currently, Wang Ye naturally knew about it beforehand.

After A Bu finished his main tasks, Wang Ye invited a few good friends to gather together.

Apart from the "landlord" A Bu, there were Wang Ye, Gavriil, Aleksey and Rilinov.

With these people gathered together, it represented an unquestionably powerful force!

A Bu, although he keeps a low profile, those who know him well are aware that A Bu’s wealth can definitely rank in the top three across Russia.

As Wang Ye estimates, apart from his uncle Khodorkovsky, the person currently with the most wealth is this A Bu, who is always having a shy smile on his face.

Also, A Bu is the governor of Chukotka, a member of the Upper House!

His political influence cannot be overlooked!

Wang Ye, there’s no need to introduce him because there are too many titles...

However, he is definitely the youngest and most promising political star in Russia after the Former Soviet breakdown!

Of course, he is also an upcoming oligarch...

Gavriil, simply put, being known as the Director of the Kremlin, this title alone is awe-inspiring wherever it goes.

His arrival represents the Kremlin, representing that person!

Rilinov, the incumbent party leader of the third faction in the Duma, the vice speaker!

Aleksey, the newly-appointed Minister of Energy. Among those present, his position is the lowest.

This is the circle of friends Wang Ye has at the moment!

Of course, this is only a part, considered as the core friend circle.

If considering the outer circle, there are more.

Like Shao Yigu, Grezlov, etc...

...

"Misha, I heard you made some big moves recently. Even all the way in Chukotka, I can often see your news." A Bu said with a smile to Wang Ye.

"Ha-ha, he is indeed quite capable of stirring things up. Recently the focus of the Moscow political arena is him, which is quite a sight to behold." Gavriil added.

Rilinov also joined in the joking, "Being able to bring Misha into our faction, we really have to thank A Bu for that. You’ve done us a great favor."

Indeed, for Wang Ye to enter the Third Faction and become a member of the Duma, A Bu had rendered considerable assistance in the past.

If you were to calculate, A Bu should indeed be considered Wang Ye’s "guide" into politics!

Wang Ye humbly said, "This is all due to everyone’s help. Otherwise, how could a newcomer like me, who knows nothing, be able to accomplish all this."

Aleksey chuckled and remained silent. His rank was the lowest, so he was very low-profile, tried not to speak out of turn, instead, sat there quietly to hear Wang Ye and the others in deep conversation.

In the midst of the conversation, A Bu suddenly brought up a matter.

As he smoked a thick cigar, he squinted and said, "A few days ago, I went to London to see a football match with a friend. I must say, their football culture is much stronger than ours. So, I had this idea, maybe it’s time to acquire a Premier League Club..."