Becoming a Russian Oligarch After Rebirth
Chapter 989 - 894: Then Make Your Move_2

Chapter 989: Chapter 894: Then Make Your Move_2

...

Normally, there was no need for Constantin to personally attend the end-of-year meeting of Xiao Ying Group.

Clearly, the meeting was just a pretense, his real purpose was to see Wang Ye, because there was an important matter he wanted to discuss with Wang Ye.

After the Group meeting concluded, Constantin took Wang Ye to the top-floor large office for a confidential talk.

Without beating around the bush, as soon as he sat down, Constantin spoke seriously, "Misha, there’s a big project I’m not sure if you’d be interested in."

Wang Ye asked with a smile, "What kind is it?"

"Siberian Coal Group! This company, in the past two years, has almost acquired all the large coal mines in the country, integrating the coal industry. It’s not an exaggeration to say they nearly have a hold on the domestic coal resources!" Constantin replied.

Wang Ye furrowed his brows, the Siberian Coal Group...

He was, of course, familiar with the name; indeed, it was one of Russia’s energy industry giants.

Of course, these days coal prices aren’t high, compared to oil and natural gas, coal isn’t as attention-grabbing.

Furthermore, although Russian coal resources are not lacking, ranking in the top five worldwide, that’s just the proven reserves— they haven’t really been developed yet, so the overall size isn’t considered very large.

Thus, Wang Ye hadn’t focused his attention on this industry, as he had many more important matters to attend to.

But now, listening to Constantin, did he mean they had found a point of entry to acquire Siberian Coal Group?

"This company... who’s behind it?" Wang Ye cautiously asked.

In Russia, it’s not just about energy giants; any company of scale, their background is not that simple!

Before making a move on a company, it’s a must to thoroughly investigate their background first.

Otherwise, if the opponent’s backing is too solid, not only will you fail to gain advantage, but you might just get your teeth knocked out...

Constantin gave a slight smile, "Kasianov!"

Wang Ye suddenly realized, no wonder Constantin suddenly wanted to act against Siberian Coal; it turned out the company’s backer had fallen...

He hesitated, still intending to curry favor with Kasianov himself later on. If he really went after Siberian Coal, wouldn’t that be offending someone?

As if he saw through Wang Ye’s thoughts, Constantin explained further:

"After Kasianov stepped down, Siberian Coal has been urgently seeking a new backer.

From what I understand, they have been frequently contacting core figures of the Petersburg Faction, hoping to get an opportunity to approach the Kremlin.

But well, there hasn’t been much progress for now, which means the Kremlin hasn’t recognized this company yet.

So now is the best opportunity window!

If we don’t act now, and they really get the Kremlin’s support, then it will be difficult for us to make a move later on."

Wang Ye nodded, Constantin, the old fox, was indeed deeply calculating!

His style of doing things was steady, accurate, and ruthless!

Just as he had said, with Kasianov in position before, it really wasn’t a good idea to mess with this company.

If later it really aligned with the Kremlin, it would be even worse to mess with it.

So, this period of time is a "gap" when it has lost its backing and is in the weakest state of "turning from darkness to light."

The resistance to taking it over would be much smaller...

So now, the key question is whether it’s worth the effort and investment to acquire Siberian Coal Group!

Wang Ye didn’t speak hastily but casually took a cigarette case, lit up a Black Russian, rested his chin in one hand and held the cigarette in the other, pondering deeply.

...

He wasn’t considering what problems might arise during the acquisition.

As a joke, with his current strength, as long as the other party wasn’t backed by a powerful patron like the Kremlin.

Or, if they were from the same faction with a close relation, and it would be embarrassing for him to act against them.

Then there was no way he couldn’t handle it!

The only thing to consider was whether it was worth it!

Coal isn’t something Wang Ye was too familiar with, moreover, Russia’s coal industry wasn’t as famous as its oil and natural gas.

Many people were more familiar with Australian coal, or Indonesian coal, even Mongolian coal to some extent...

But as the Chairman of the Economic Committee, Wang Ye wasn’t just holding the title for nothing. According to the data he saw, the proven coal reserves in Russia could rank about fifth worldwide.

By 2004, it had already occupied nearly ten percent of the global coal market share.

If investment were increased and production were boosted, it could probably take up to fifteen to twenty percent of the global coal market share.

Viewing it this way, it already had strategic value!

Worthy of his personal involvement...

After weighing these considerations, Wang Ye stubbed out the cigarette in his hand and lifted his head to say indifferently, "Then, let’s get started."

This statement signified his agreement with Constantin’s suggestion to join hands with him in acquiring the Siberian Coal Group!

Constantin was delighted and quickly leaned in to ask, "So for this thing, will you send someone, or..."

Wang Ye said with a smile, "Set up a new company. Route the funds through an offshore firm before bringing them back. It’s best if people can’t figure out from the books who the controlling shareholder is.

However, when it comes time to really acquire it, the other party needs to know.

You take care of it.

It’s not too convenient for me to appear publicly."

Of course, it wasn’t convenient for Wang Ye to publicly acquire the Siberian Coal Group himself. It was different from the time he acquired the Siberian Oil Company; back then, he held no official title, and it was purely a business act!

Now, most people’s first thoughts upon seeing him weren’t about his business identity, but rather "Vice Speaker," "Party leader," "Chairman of the Committee"...

Moreover, it was easier to leave a handle for political opponents to latch onto and criticize.

Therefore, he specifically instructed Constantin to disguise the source of the funds. It was best not to expose him.

Constantin naturally understood the cue and nodded assertively, "Of course! But what if they refuse the acquisition?"

The reason to involve Wang Ye wasn’t that he was his "grandson-in-law."

Constantin was a man who distinguished public from private interests. The reason he brought in Wang Ye was to have someone who could solve problems if the acquisition faced difficulties...

Wang Ye smiled faintly, "We won’t take advantage of the other party, let’s offer them a fair market price. But if they fail to appreciate our goodwill and insist on refusing, it will be a case of refusing toasted drinks only to be forced to drink a forfeit. I’ll handle it."

That was exactly the assurance Constantin was looking for!

Constantin laughed heartily, "That settles it. The owner of the Siberian Coal Group is Menchinko.

This guy’s business isn’t small; he owns banks, fertilizer, and steel operations.

In Moscow, many streets have his bank branches offering currency exchange services.

Oh, last year he splurged three hundred and fifty million US dollars on a private yacht.

As you can see, he’s made quite a bit of money."

He was informing Wang Ye of the details about Menchinko, the owner of the Siberian Group...

Of course, without him saying anything, with just an order from Wang Ye, in a few days, everything about Menchinko from birth to the present, his entire family, whether he had any illegitimate children, what color underwear he preferred...

All the information related to Menchinko would be gathered completely and laid in front of Wang Ye!

If Menchinko really refused a relatively "reasonable" acquisition price and wanted to arm-wrestle, then Wang Ye would teach him a lesson on how to behave...

Honestly, proposing an acquisition of the Siberian Coal Group while it lacked a solid backing did feel a bit like taking advantage of the vulnerable. But Wang Ye didn’t have any psychological burden about it.

He was well aware that these days, in Russia, none of those involved in energy and finance were "clean"!

The oligarchs, big and small, whether they were engaged in acquisitions or collaborations, it was simply a matter of big fish eating small fish, and small fish eating shrimp.

At least, after acquiring the coal group, he would expand its scale as much as possible and provide more employment opportunities.

He would pay taxes honestly, and even take on more social responsibilities.

Isn’t that better than leaving the company to those oligarchs to transfer the money they earned abroad for hedonistic pleasures, to buy super yachts and private planes?