"We have to be very careful with all this, Your Highness, we need to plan carefully..."
That's right, just as Ashley Webb said, their acquisition of Hermès this time is not about money or personnel, but about being cautious.
Even if they don't need to hold more than 50% of the shares, the more the better…
Therefore, as far as Barron knows, LVMH Group had already acquired nearly 5% of the Hermès Group's bottom warehouse earlier...
This means that even if they only hold 46% of the shares, the Hermès family will not be able to gather more than 50% of the shares to prevent being acquired.
But although LVMH will not become an ally of the Hermès family, it will not do good things for Barron either. In fact, they are more likely to help the Hermès family get rid of the acquisition from the Gucci Group first. Therefore, for Barron and others, of course, the more shares of Hermès they can own, the better - before the Hermès family and the LVMH Group find out about this.
According to Ashley Weber, they have now filled 7 boxes and are putting candy into the 8th box...
In other words, the offshore companies connected with them already hold more than 35% of Hermès shares. This progress is beyond reproach.
After all, all of this needs to be done in secret. Even every original Hermès shareholder who sells shares to them, including some members of the Hermès family, the people they come into contact with are completely different - especially those who belong to the Hermès family. They are contacted and traded with by different institutions for various reasons.
To these people, this seems more like normal investment behavior of some financial institutions.
If not, there would be no chance of success for their acquisition of Hermès this time.
Ashley Webb quietly came to the "Caesar" and finally left quietly.
Before the superyacht left France, Barron specially held a grand cocktail party on the "Caesar".
For this reception, he invited many celebrities from French political and business circles, including Bernard Arnault of LVMH Group and his daughter Delphine Arnault, who all attended the reception.
"Congratulations, Your Highness, you have successfully acquired those British car brands."
Bernard Arnault turned to Barron and congratulated him.
"I also want to thank you for not investing too much energy in Aston Martin, Mr. Arnault."
"Of course, Aston Martin is a very attractive brand, but I am more surprised that the Germans are willing to sell Bentley..."
What Bonnard said also shows that when LVMH first participated in the competition with Aston Martin, it did not actually go all out. After all, LVMH Group's main business is still luxury goods, and the automotive industry is not so easy to enter.
"That's probably because I gave a sincere price. You know, Mr. Arnault, generally speaking, people always think that the brands of their own country are more valuable, just like me."
"I am different, Your Highness. I respect valuable brands from all countries. If one day you want to sell Gucci, I will definitely give you a satisfactory price."
Hearing what the other party said, Barron laughed:
"If there is such a day..."
…
"You did it, Barron, it's an exciting achievement."
Upon returning to London, Barron was also congratulated by the Prince of Wales and the Duke of Westminster.
It is no exaggeration to say that if Barron did not hold the title of Duke, his achievement of bringing these British car brands back to England alone would be worthy of the Queen awarding him an honor.
"Yes, Your Highness, I will definitely do it, for Dae-yeong..."
After Barron raised his glass, everyone drank together and Barron said:
"But buying these brands is only the first step. The next step is to restore them to their glory days, which is a huge challenge."
"We'll help you in any way we can, Barron."
His Royal Highness the Crown Prince promised generously.
Of course, the premise is that he can do it, and he also knows that Barron will not force others...
"Thank you for your support, Your Highness. Bentley is going to launch a new flagship brand. It will be the most luxurious car in the world. I hope you can give us your valuable suggestions after riding it."
"No problem, I'm sure it will be a great experience."
In addition to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, the Duke of Westminster also expressed his support for Barron:
"If this car can be launched, Barron, I will order it immediately."
"Thank you, Mr. Grosvenor, you will definitely be on our top priority guest list."
During their meeting, in addition to discussing the British Motor Group, they also talked about the new Prime Minister's upcoming visit.
Last month, Brown visited the United States. Although Barron did not arrive with him, he still participated in some activities.
After visiting the United States, Brown also determined the destination of his next visit while in New York. This time, Barron will also accompany him.
"You'll be going with the Prime Minister, won't you, Barron?"
"Yes, Your Highness. China is a very important market, and its importance is growing, especially after the establishment of the British Automobile Group. The market there cannot be ignored by any brand. I need to rely on the Chinese market to reorganize the British automobile industry."
In addition to Brown and Barron, Prince Andrew will also go to China on behalf of the royal family.
And it's not just Barron. He will bring the management of companies such as Caesars Fund, SEM Group, O2 Telecom, United Energy Group and British Motor Group to China as members of the British entrepreneurial team.
The two sides are destined to reach a series of economic cooperation, and these companies will also cooperate with relevant Chinese companies.
It can be said that the scale of this visit is very large. As an important member, Barron is destined to meet with some bigwigs.
…
"Do you still need to take George with you, dear?"
Bonnie has returned to the company now, but this time when Barron goes to China, she, as the Duchess, will accompany him - after all, there will be many important occasions, and it is more appropriate to bring the wife along.
"That's not necessary. You'll just be in Yanjing for a few days, a week at most, and then you can fly back. It won't be a big problem for someone else to take care of your son during this time."
George is only four or five months old now, so Bonnie doesn't want her son to suffer too much. After hearing Barron's arrangement, she immediately agreed.