Invisible Security Guard
Chapter 234: Hostile Takeover

Chapter 234: Chapter 234: Hostile Takeover

When Yusuf Zuck drove up to Everest Zuck’s villa, Faye Webb was actually waiting outside the villa’s entrance.

Winter had begun, and the first snow had fallen, making the outside rather dry and cold. Faye Webb was wearing a white down jacket, tight jeans, and knee-high boots.

Faye Webb was very beautiful, especially her big, lively eyes that seemed as if they could speak, and she always had a smiley expression when she looked at someone.

"Why are you outside? Waiting for me?" Yusuf Zuck hopped out of the car and asked curiously.

"Master said you were coming and told me to wait for you. You’re a guest of honor now. I’m thankful for you saving Master’s life this time, thank you," Faye Webb bowed slightly to Yusuf Zuck.

"Ah, it should be him thanking me, not letting you stand out here waiting. That’s not very sincere, and he actually let you stand in the cold!" Yusuf Zuck couldn’t help but mutter softly and then entered the living room with Faye Webb.

The Zuck residence was a European-style building with a wall in the living room that had a fireplace. At that moment, Everest Zuck was sitting in front of the fireplace, holding a fork with chicken wings on it, roasting them over the wood fire!

"Wow, you really know how to enjoy yourself, using this to barbecue?" Yusuf Zuck exclaimed as if he had discovered a new continent and immediately sat down, grabbing a chicken leg that seemed freshly roasted and started eating.

"Hmm, the taste’s not bad!" Yusuf Zuck commented while eating.

"Faye did the cooking. I’m just responsible for roasting. Faye, don’t just stand there, come over and roast too. And bring the wine, get that century-old well wine for Yusuf Zuck to taste," Everest Zuck said with a smile.

"Hmm," Faye Webb responded softly.

"You have century-old vintage wine? For real?" Yusuf Zuck asked in amazement.

Everest Zuck replied, "Of course it’s real. There aren’t many like it in the world, but I still have a few bottles."

It didn’t take long for Faye Webb to bring over a bottle of wine, a kind of milky white porcelain bottle with a seal of clay, not an aluminum cap.

"Pour the wine, pour yours as well," Everest Zuck commanded.

"Hmm." Faye Webb obediently poured three glasses of wine, of course, the wine glasses were tiny, half-an-ounce jade cups, very small.

However, as soon as the three cups were poured, Yusuf Zuck could smell the wine filling the room, and the wine had turned syrupy, like jelly.

With a "sizzle" sound, Yusuf Zuck impatiently grabbed a cup and took a drink. The wine was both delicate and smooth, and as the jelly-like wine slid down his throat, Yusuf Zuck could distinctly feel it, all the way to his stomach, where it felt like a sudden ball of fire, warmly comforting.

"Great wine." Yusuf Zuck praised heartily, the best wine he had ever tasted.

"You drink too," Everest Zuck glanced at Faye Webb and ordered.

"Hmm." Faye Webb nodded slightly and took a light sip.

Everest Zuck took a sip, too, then closed his eyes to savor: "This wine, drink a cup, and the world has one less such cup, impossible to replicate or regenerate. Others could offer me thousands, and I still wouldn’t exchange it."

"Haha, I won’t give you a penny for it, but I will take two bottles when I leave!" Yusuf Zuck laughed mischievously like a bandit.

"Fine, Faye, remember to give him two bottles to take later."

"Yes," Faye Webb continued to comply.

"Beauty, stop with the ’yes’ all the time. After drinking this cup, go and stir-fry a couple of hot dishes for me, vegetarian, please. After drinking wine at night, I don’t want anything too greasy. If you can cook porridge, that would be even better. Thank you!" Yusuf Zuck brought his hands together in a gesture of thanks in advance.

"Go ahead, I’ll have some porridge tonight too," Everest Zuck nodded and said.

"Okay." Faye Webb got up and went to the kitchen.

"What’s the matter that you had to send Faye away?" Everest Zuck asked in a low voice.

"I knew I couldn’t hide it from you." Yusuf Zuck didn’t hold back and shared the plan to outmaneuver Albert Wilcox as well as the schemes of Samuel Ross and the others.

Since the plan didn’t involve killing or arson and was at most a bit of mischief, it didn’t matter much if Everest knew about it.

"Your plan is too complicated. What if it fails afterwards? Someone who can be a branch office CEO won’t be easy to deal with—are you prepared for your plan to fail?" Everest Zuck said bluntly after listening.

"That’s why I came to you for advice," Yusuf Zuck shrugged and replied.

"There’s not much advice to give," Everest Zuck shook his head: "Branch offices are different from subsidiaries; they don’t have independent legal status, and the headquarters is responsible for their overall finances. Thus, while they may have some financial independence, accounting is still managed by the headquarters."

"Moreover, the appointment and dismissal of key personnel in branch offices are decided by the board of directors at the headquarters. So even if you did oust Albert Wilcox, the new branch CEO would be designated by the headquarters too. Therefore, can you be sure that after this person is removed, your ’horse’ will be able to come back as CEO?"

"I can’t be sure of that," Yusuf Zuck shook his head.

"So see, you can’t pull this off! In the future, when contemplating issues, don’t oversimplify. Think more comprehensively. And you really don’t understand business issues, so you’d better get something like a legal advisor."

Yusuf Zuck thought for a moment, sighed, and said, "I guess I did oversimplify it."

"Of course, if you really want to do it, there is one simple and direct method, but the prerequisite is that you have money," Everest Zuck said with a smile.

"What method?" Yusuf Zuck asked curiously.

"Ever heard of hostile takeovers?" Everest Zuck smiled: "Hostile takeover bids happen every day, and although many countries explicitly prohibit them, they can’t truly prevent them effectively."

"Hostile takeover? What’s that?" Yusuf Zuck continued to ask.

"It’s simple," Everest Zuck said: "If you have the money, you can use your connections to find some shareholders of this Fungdu headquarters. If they’re public, everyone has shares. If not, they still have equity. And what you need to do is contact each one privately and then throw your money at them!"

"For instance, if the value of their equity capital is ten thousand US dollars per share, then you throw fifteen thousand or twenty thousand, offering fifty percent, or even double or triple the market value to acquire them!"

"No one hates money. With your high capital investment, some will be tempted. When the equity or shares get transferred to you, you become a shareholder of the company."

"There are even cases where some private equity funds maliciously acquire more than fifty-one percent of a company’s shares, becoming the major shareholder and essentially the owner."

"If I spend several times the money to acquire the shares, won’t I be at a loss?" Yusuf Zuck asked, puzzled.

"It depends on how you operate and your business acumen. Some people, after making high-value acquisitions, change the company’s business operations and end up making big profits. Others, after acquiring companies that are not publicly traded, make minor adjustments and then go public on the stock market, and their share price soars."

"You’ve heard about people holding original shares and then when the company goes public, by selling these shares, they recoup huge gains, right? The principle is the same; it’s all about how you operate!"

"I do want to acquire, but Fungdu Group has its roots in America’s Chinese capital, and I assume it’s not yet public. It’s a family business!" Yusuf Zuck said with a wry smile, knowing his funds were nowhere near even a fraction of Fungdu’s assets!

And because he knew his capital couldn’t compare to the Wilcox Clan, let alone the even more formidable competitors, that’s why he was willing to spend two hundred million to have Marlon Shepherd operate and in a way, train him—a gamble of sorts!

"That’s true, capital accumulates bit by bit; no one becomes a super-rich overnight. However, I do know of a project suitable for long-term investment. The guy is currently worried about funds, but I’m not sure if you’d be interested," Everest Zuck said with a smirk, looking at Yusuf Zuck.