From legendary short seller to god of American capital

Chapter 316 The Barbarians at the Gate

Chapter 316 The Barbarians at the Gate

A flash of lightning illuminated the uninvited guest who had barged into the shareholders' meeting, leaving a purple silhouette of electricity. Everyone squinted, waiting for the intense flashes to subside before they could make out the man's face by the light of the gas lamp in the room.

The young man had a youthful face, golden hair, and a pair of deep blue eyes as dark as the sea. He appeared handsome despite his young age, but his firm and confident demeanor carried a sense of disharmony that came with the passage of time.

Herzog frowned, muttered something under his breath in German, and then raised his voice to Larry, "Sir, why are you opposing Zeiss's acquisition plan? Oh, wait a minute, I first need to confirm whether you are eligible to attend this shareholders' meeting. Are you a shareholder of Bausch & Lomb?"

Larry scoffed and said bluntly, "You shouldn't be asking that question, because you're not a major shareholder of Bausch & Lomb. In other words, what kind of outsider are you, standing here pointing fingers at me?"

Larry's question left Herzog speechless for a moment. He gave the young man at the door a deep look, then stepped aside from the podium and said to the host, "Then you may ask the question—I am very interested in this question: does this person who raised the objection have the right to speak here?"

The shareholder who had just chaired the meeting returned to the stage, looking somewhat apprehensive.

He glanced at the doctor first, then stared at Larry, and asked, word by word, "Sir, may I ask if you are a shareholder of our company? How many shares do you hold? I've never seen you before?"

Larry smiled and opened his trench coat, taking out a thick, elegant briefcase to show everyone.

He then took a few steps forward, placed the document bag on the lawyer's desk at the shareholders' meeting, and said, "This is a notarized copy of a shareholding agreement. A significant portion of the shares held by George Eastman are held on my behalf. In other words, Mr. Eastman has contributed his shares, along with the shares I have collected, to Manhattan United Capital. And now, our company jointly holds 19.8% of Bausch & Lomb's shares."

"What?! How is this possible?! How come I've never heard of someone like you before?"

"My God! 19.8% of the shares—that figure even surpasses that of Mr. Henry Len!"

"When did such a young shareholder appear in our company? Old John, what's going on?"

Larry's words caused a stir among the crowd, and the room was filled with unease and doubt.

The person who reacted most strongly to Larry's account was naturally Dr. John Sr. on the podium. He squinted at the young man who had barged in, his face full of doubt. His eldest and youngest sons, on the other hand, openly displayed their hostility.

Herzog remained impassive, giving Larry a once-over with his lips pressed tightly together, as if rapidly assessing this seemingly unexpected but actually premeditated intruder.

Dr. William Ho stood up abruptly, his hands gripping the table as he shouted angrily, "How is this possible? How could you become a shareholder of Bausch & Lomb?! I've never seen you before, I've never even heard of your damned name! I demand an explanation! What's going on?!"

At this moment, George Eastman slowly stood up, raised his hand to the podium, and then said, "It's me! I strongly disagree with the German company Zeiss's attempt to acquire our business. Bausch & Lomb is the face of Rochester, and a great company I've been proud of since childhood. I absolutely disagree with it being taken over by the Germans!"

Dr. William stared at Eastman with a look of astonishment on his face, but within ten seconds he had already come to his senses.

Was this premeditated? Acquiring 19.8% of Bausch & Lomb's stock is no easy feat. How could it be a spur-of-the-moment decision based solely on hearing that the Germans wanted to acquire the company?

Having realized this, Dr. William's face turned ashen. He glared at Eastman and said loudly to the lawyer, "Sir, please check that file folder. Has 19.8% of the shares been quietly amassed?"

Upon hearing Henry's order, the lawyer snapped out of his daze and hurriedly took out the thick file folder, starting to check the documents one by one.

When the lawyer took inventory, the entire room was completely silent, with dozens of eyes fixed on him. For a moment, the only sound in the room was the rain outside the window.

The lawyer checked the documents again and again until he was 100% certain before standing up and saying tremblingly to everyone, "No, that's right! The documents show that—although the shares are held anonymously—this company called Manhattan United Capital already holds 19.8% of Bausch & Lomb's shares. According to the current shareholding distribution, it...it has surpassed Mr. Henry Lomb to become the company's second-largest shareholder, second only to your family's shareholding, Mr. Dr. Lomb."

The lawyer's words were like a bomb dropped into the hall, and the previously quiet space was filled with gasps of astonishment.

Dr. William stared coldly at Larry, then turned to George Eastman, saying in an icy tone, "I understand. This is a trap, a pre-arranged conspiracy! You've been secretly buying up shares; you want to steal our family's company!"

"Don't be so harsh, Dr. Wilhelm. We simply want to participate in this bidding process. Since you're willing to sell your company, what difference does it make whether it's sold to the Germans or to us?"

Since they had already broken off all pretense of civility, George Eastman decided to put on a stern face and confront the other side head-on.

"Thieves! Robbers! You're trying to steal my company!" Dr. William raised his voice.

"I just want to stop you from making mistakes. You can't let the future of lenses belonging to the Americans be ruined in German hands." Eastman was equally adamant.

Dr. John Sr. frowned and stood up, waving his hand to stop his son. His eyes were fixed on Eastman, his voice trembling with emotion: "George, is all of this true? My God. I never imagined you would betray me—that you would plot against me behind my back. You know, of all my clients, I always gave you priority in supplying, the quality was always top-notch, and I never asked for advance payment because I've watched you grow up—"

Old John's words made Eastman's face flush red. He had imagined this scene countless times before. He had thought about the moment he revealed his trump card, and he thought Old John would scold him, but he didn't expect the other man's tone to contain disappointment. This made his heart suddenly skip a beat, and his throat felt like it was blocked with a cork, leaving him speechless for a moment.

The atmosphere in the conference room froze once again.

Larry slowly raised his hand, smiling as he addressed the crowd, "This has little to do with Mr. Eastman, it's mainly me! Because I believe Bausch & Lomb is a very great American company, and I don't want it to be destroyed. I repeat what I just said—if this is a conspiracy, it's a German conspiracy."

Larry then turned his attention back to the Germans.

Herzog squinted at Larry, then stepped back onto the platform and said in broken English, "Sir, I don't understand. You weren't even here at the shareholders' meeting and had no idea about my proposal. So why are you so quick to accuse this of a conspiracy? Are all Americans so prone to making baseless accusations?"

Larry smiled, pulled a piece of paper from his pocket, unfolded it in front of everyone, and then said to the crowd, "Gentlemen shareholders, I wasn't present when the Germans presented this plan. But interestingly, I have a very amusing acquisition plan here that I'd like to read to you—it goes like this: a certain company will acquire all of Bausch & Lomb's shares for $40, a premium of approximately 35% to 40%—"

Larry uttered the first sentence, and Herzog's face was already ashen.

The other minority shareholders looked at each other, wondering how Larry knew, since he hadn't even been there.

Larry continued reading, seemingly oblivious to his surroundings, "—Furthermore, this gentleman is willing to commit to supplying Schott optical glass free of charge for ten years. Unfortunately, they intend to move the company to Europe. Oh, and yes, the Germans have most likely also brought a personal letter from the Kaiser, which they will read to you. Was that the case just now?"

This is practically a perfect retelling of the acquisition plan we just discussed!

The shareholders couldn't help but mutter under their breath, then turned their attention to the Germans.

Herzog's face was grim, his eyes darting around; he suspected he had been being watched for a long time.

Larry's eyes were smiling.

This acquisition agreement was a pleasant surprise. The reason he was late today was to negotiate with the insider Mr. K had contacted and to buy this intelligence for $200.

Rather than simply hearing the plan and then refuting it, repeating it like this is more effective. It can catch the opponent off guard and better highlight one's own uniqueness.

Herzog stared coldly at Larry, his eyes like those of a hawk, locked onto his prey. He said coldly, "I had thought of many obstacles, whether from local politicians or from disgruntled major shareholders, but I never imagined that my opponent would be a young, blond lad."

Larry's smile grew even wider. He took off his wet overcoat, tossed it onto the table, and calmly leaned back against it. "For my country, and to prevent Bausch & Lomb from falling into German hands, I must be prepared."

After Larry entered, he kept emphasizing the word "German"; the underlying logic was that "Germans are stealing American companies," and this narrative has subtly influenced the subconscious of many people.

No sooner had he finished speaking than the minority shareholder who had stood up to question Old John suddenly stood up and loudly echoed, "That's right! Bausch & Lomb is an American company; it shouldn't be handed over to the Germans."

His words elicited a chorus of agreement. Clearly, most of the minority shareholders had strong patriotic sentiments, which Larry repeatedly tugged at and "frictioned," like a match being struck to produce a spark.

Herzog glanced at everyone with a cold expression, frowned, and said, "I don't care how you obtained my acquisition plan, but I want to ask you, what makes you think our acquisition is a conspiracy? This is slander! The cooperation between Zeiss and Bausch & Lomb has always been based on technology sharing."

After he finished speaking, a man on the platform slammed his fist on the table and stood up: "What sharing? You don't even tell us the speed of the grinder."

Last year we applied for a patent for a lens that eliminates chromatic aberration, and Zeiss immediately filed a version with a wider scope in Berlin. Is this what you call sharing?

Everyone looked on in surprise and saw that the one who stood up was none other than Old John's youngest son, Dr. John Jr.

Old John quickly retorted, "Son, you don't understand! In America, we'll always be second-rate. Only with Zeiss's help will Bausch & Lomb have a future!"

The eldest son, William, also stood up. He glared sternly at his younger brother and reached out to push him back into his seat.

Herzog ignored the earlier interruption, staring intently at Larry, and said coldly, "If you want to compete with me, then state your proposal and don't slander others."

Larry raised an eyebrow and smiled, saying, "You really want me to spell it out? Fine, if you're not afraid of embarrassment, then I'll give you a proper analysis of your acquisition plan."

As he spoke, Larry pulled a cigar from his humidor. He didn't light it, but instead held it up like a piece of chalk, drawing a line in the air: "Germans, you said you'd supply Schott for free for ten years. But then you wanted to move Bausch & Lomb to Germany. Isn't that a contradiction? If you can guarantee Bausch & Lomb a glass supply, why are you moving it?"

Herzog's face stiffened, but he calmly said, "Relocation is not something that can be done overnight. Before the relocation, Schott Glass will be given away for free, and the lenses will of course still be produced in the United States."

"That's probably not the case. The reason you moved Bausch & Lomb wasn't because of the glass, but because you no longer need to inject any costs into this company whose assets have been emptied out—if German capital takes control of an American company, its products will be considered German-made. So Bausch & Lomb lenses will be taxed at 52%, plus the import duties on the glass—Bausch & Lomb products will be 30% more expensive than Zeiss's Jena factory. At that point, do you think Zeiss will keep Bausch & Lomb, or will it transfer the orders back to Germany?" Larry asked with a smile.

This question hit the nail on the head. From the very beginning, the shareholders felt that the idea of ​​"free glass" was too good to be true.

But the Germans' plan was presented in a very disorganized manner, and no one had time to think about it carefully.

After Larry's analysis, everyone immediately understood the trickery involved.

Dr. John Sr. suddenly stood up and said to Herzog, "Didn't you say you wanted to run it? Did you intend to shut down the company from the very beginning of the acquisition?"

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