From legendary short seller to god of American capital

Chapter 314 Before the Storm

Chapter 314 Before the Storm

On the way back to the hotel, Larry kept his head down in deep thought, clearly planning his next move. The latest intelligence he had gathered was quite useful.

Compared to the previous simplistic and crude approach of simply throwing money at the problem, I can now make more detailed plans based on the latest situation.

The Bausch & Lomb shareholders' meeting will be held tomorrow afternoon, Thursday, May 12.

We're getting very close to that time, so we need to expedite the arrangements.

No problem — it's really just a matter of refining the ideas we've already conceived — so it seems we'll have to use Mr. Whitney in addition to Goldman Sachs — I wonder if he'd be willing — but it's definitely worth a try.

Larry walked while thinking, and soon returned to the hotel.

He went straight upstairs and knocked on the door of Sachs's standard room.

"Good morning, Mr. Livingston!" Sachs greeted Larry politely as he came out, then led him into the room and pushed his assistant out the door.

The standard room was very basic. Larry casually sat down on the edge of the bed, and only after watching the other person sit down did he say, "Mr. Sachs, I'd like to discuss some business with you. I need you to do some fine work; how much do you charge?"

When facing the Goldman Sachs representatives, Larry simply got straight to the point.

Sachs's small eyes lit up, and even his chubby face twitched slightly, but he lowered his eyes and said businesslike, "As previously agreed, if you hire us for general financial consulting, then our fee is $200 per case."

"I'll pay you $1000, but you have to do this job meticulously, and you should even bring in some more people from New York!" Larry said with a very serious expression.

Sachs immediately straightened his back, his eyes brightening. He looked directly into Larry's eyes, his voice steady, "So, tell me! Should we design the shareholding structure for the acquisition of Bausch & Lomb? Or should we buy off the minority shareholders one by one?"

Larry was a little surprised because Sachs was saying exactly what he had been thinking.

Larry's so-called "detailed work" actually involved having Goldman Sachs people work on each and every minority shareholder.

It seems the other party is really thinking about me, and has a pretty good grasp of my thoughts.

Of course, there were other things I needed him to do.

"Would you be interested in making a trip to Canada for me?" Larry asked.

Sachs's eyes darted around, and a serious expression appeared on his face. "You mean—you want to circumvent tariffs?"

Larry gave the other person a deep look.

Clearly, he had barely begun to speak when the other person had already moved on to the point where he was already speaking.

Larry hesitated for a few seconds, then decided to be blunt to see how well the other person understood his feelings. "Yes—can you handle this? Here's what you'll do: tell me a plan based on your understanding of everything. If your plan is comprehensive, then you can execute it, and I'll offer you additional consultation and commission fees."

Sachs thought for a moment, then slowly said, "Actually, the most important thing is the tariff issue. The Germans probably never considered that Canadian tariffs are at least 80% cheaper than German ones —"

Larry nodded, skipping over that question, and moved on to the next one, "So, is it processing trade or offshore?"

Sachs shook his head slightly. "No need for that trouble—I can handle this. It will reduce tariffs to 18%."

Larry nodded, then the topic jumped again, "What about the minority shareholders?"

Sachs smiled slightly, "If you can handle it by tomorrow, then of course I won't need to step in—but if you can't, you'll have to set aside at least a week for me to work on each of you individually."

Larry raised an eyebrow. "Is a week enough?"

"I've looked through all the shareholder lists—a few are tough, but most are easy to deal with. To be honest, while Henry was gathering information, I also did some background checks on them—the Riddle family, who hold 4% of the shares, is in some trouble."

He said it was troublesome, but there was no ripple in Sachs' eyes.

Larry nodded secretly, thinking to himself, "This guy thinks of everything before I do, he's amazing!"

"Alright, if things don't go smoothly tomorrow, I'll try to buy you a week. As long as you get it done, well, you can name your price, right?"

"$2000! One price, and I'll do everything you need here." Sachs' eyes brightened, staring intently at Larry without flinching.

"Deal! Your fee is a bit high, but I like things to be done quickly," Larry nodded.

Their conversation was fragmented and disjointed; if an outsider were to observe it, they would have no idea what they were talking about.

But the deal was actually struck!

Larry was also impressed with Sachs. This man was able to think of all the clues he had just obtained and the things he had just pieced together—he was truly remarkable!

At the same time, Sachs met Larry's gaze without flinching, his eyes revealing the calmness and shrewdness he usually concealed.

It was as if Sachs was using this method to silently prove something to this major client whom he had previously missed out on from his brother-in-law.

The room was silent for about ten seconds, then Larry suddenly laughed. "Why don't we get started now—it takes quite a while to save time going to Ontario."

Sachs smiled. "I inquired about this place before; the first ship to Canada leaves at noon."

Larry stood up, smiled, and said to him, "Okay! You can handle the procedures yourself. The shareholders' meeting is tomorrow afternoon. It would be best if you could make it back, but if you can't, remember to send me a telegram."

"Okay, sir!" Sachs reverted to his previous憨憨 (simple and honest) demeanor, smiling as he stood up to see him off.

Larry walked out the door, then, as if remembering something, turned back and asked him, "Do I need to pay in advance?"

"No need, my assistant speaks French!" The other person said something seemingly random, but Larry understood.

"Okay! I'll wait for your good news. I'll try to get you a week at tomorrow's shareholders' meeting." Larry said, smiling and waving at him before turning and leaving.

Larry's face turned cold as he walked down the corridor. He hadn't realized before how deep Sachs' thoughts were—

This person remained silent and thoroughly figured out his thoughts!

This was a major mistake on my part! I underestimated him.

Fortunately, the other side is currently on our side.

Fortunately, the other party clearly wanted to show him that he was no less capable than Henry Goldman and wanted to snatch him, a major client, from his brother-in-law, so his attitude was very eager.

George Eastman, arranging a standard room for Sachs was your biggest mistake! This man is very reserved and deliberately hides his emotions; he must be a very thoughtful person.

People who deliberately conceal their feelings over such trivial matters are mostly vengeful.

When that kid gets his chance, he'll get his revenge on Eastman.

Larry returned to his room and thought for a moment before getting up again, walking to the suite next door, and knocking on Whitney's door.

Whitney opened the door and saw Larry. A warm smile spread across her face. "Good morning, Mr. Livingston!"

Larry gave a shy, sincere smile. "Mr. Whitney, please allow me to ask you frankly, could I have the honor of asking you for a favor?"

"Oh? Why be so polite? Come, come, sit down and let's talk." Whitman warmly invited Larry to sit on the sofa, then took out a box of cigars from his pocket, cut it open himself, and handed it to Larry.

Larry didn't stand on ceremony; he wasn't there to exchange pleasantries, but because he genuinely needed the other party's help.

Once the smoke from the cigars had risen from their fingertips and the atmosphere was intimate enough, Whitney smiled and said, "Don't be shy! Just say what you need to say, Larry. Coster already told me to treat you like a brother. He said you're a rare young talent, and maybe we old guys will still need to rely on you in the future."

Does Koster really say that about himself behind his back?

Larry paused to think for a moment, then nodded and smiled at Whitney, "I just gathered some information from Mr. Eastman. Currently, Bausch & Lomb's biggest problem is the high cost of glass materials, and they are also very troubled by their current reliance on Zeiss for supplies."

Whitney nodded without saying anything, took a puff of her cigar, and waited for Larry to continue.

"I think the best way to address both the symptoms and the root cause is to find them a second glass supplier, an American supplier, so that they can break free from their heavy dependence on German glass. That's what we call domestic substitution," Larry continued.

Whitney only half understood, and he quickly waved his hand to stop you from talking. After thinking for a few seconds, he said, "I don't know if I understand correctly? You mean that Bausch & Lomb, as a lens grinder, needs better glass manufacturers to supply it? In fact, the quality of its glass suppliers may even be comparable to the high-end products from the Germans."

"That's right. He might not be able to right now, but if we invest some money in this glass manufacturer, he should also have research capabilities." Larry nodded in agreement.

Whitney still looked puzzled. "There are so many glassmaking workshops. Almost every small town in New York State probably has one. Where are we going to find a glass supplier with research potential?"

Larry thought to himself, "Of course you don't know, and even I don't know now—but I knew there was one in my past life."

"Have you heard of Corning Incorporated? It's located in Corning, New York, only 70 miles from here." Larry said, taking out his small notebook from his pocket and turning to the last page, where there was a small square cut from a newspaper, densely covered with the word "GG".

"Corning Incorporated delivers the finest heat-resistant borosilicate glass to you!" The address is also listed below.

Whitney took the message and read it, then understood Larry's intention. "You mean, you want me to make a trip for you? To ask this company if they can help Bausch & Lomb solve the lens problem. But the two companies are so close—"

Whitney only said half of what she meant, but the other half was quite clear. Bausch & Lomb and Corning are so close; if they could collaborate, they probably would have done so already. Why would she need to act as a go-between?

Larry smiled and began to explain, "According to my intelligence, 12 years ago, Bausch & Lomb had already fully imported Schott's glass. They probably really don't know that the glass factories around them also have the same glass production capacity."

A country's industrial sectors can advance very rapidly. Sometimes, without a thorough assessment, one wouldn't even know how advanced the manufacturers around them have become.

Whitney nodded emphatically and smiled at Larry, saying, "It's okay. Even if it's a wasted trip, it's like a vacation for me."

Larry's face regained its sincerity as he respectfully said to Whitney, "The key issue is that Eastman and I are both insignificant and powerless. Even if we went to Corning, we wouldn't know each other well, so we wouldn't have any authority. But you're from Morgan Bank; you can solve this problem. Please!"

Whitney smiled and waved her hand. "I'll help you, and you'll help me. It's a fair trade. Okay, what do you want me to do? Tell me now!"

Larry thanked her repeatedly before moving closer and explaining his plans to Whitney.

Twenty minutes later, Larry left Whitney's room, where she was already getting dressed and preparing to go out.

Larry then went to Mr. K's room, knocked on his door, and after a long pause, heard a tired and grumpy voice from the other man, "I don't need breakfast service, get out!"

"It's me! Larry Livingston," Larry introduced himself.

After a dozen seconds, Mr. K opened the door listlessly, let out a long yawn, and said, "Good morning..."

Okay, boss, why didn't you sleep a little longer—why did you wake me up so early? What's up?

"Want to make money?" Larry asked with a smile.

"Money, um, money—ah! Wait, what are you talking about? I'm willing, I'm willing to earn some money!" Mr. K suddenly became excited from his initial confusion.

"Do me a favor—it might be a bit troublesome, but no one else is more suitable than you."

"Okay, I'm very honored. Tell me quickly, what should I do?" Mr. K urged impatiently.

"Find out where the Germans who came here to acquire Bausch & Lomb live. You also need to get to know the Bausch & Lomb technicians, befriend them, and ideally, become like brothers with them."

"What kind of mission is this? And how can it make money?" Mr. K asked, puzzled.

"If you do a good job, I will naturally tell you how to make money."

Mr. K frowned, hesitated for a moment, then immediately looked up and said firmly, "Okay, boss. Just say the word, and I'll do it right away. Who at Bausch & Lomb do you want me to contact?"

"Anyone will do—what worries me is, how can you quickly establish contact with them when you're in an unfamiliar place?"

Mr. K laughed, turned around and took a bottle of whiskey from the room, waving it in front of Larry. "I searched for two hours yesterday to find this. It's the most important hard currency in all of America—with this stuff, I'll never have trouble finding good friends."

"Alright! Get moving then. Remember to find the Germans first, and come back to me as soon as you have any news."

Larry took out two more hundred-dollar bills from his wallet and stuffed them into the other man's arms.

"Get a few more buddies together, treat them to a big meal, and then find a place to have some fun. Don't be stingy with the money."

Mr. K stared at the $200, his face lighting up with delight. He quickly stuffed the money into his vest and said with a smile, "No problem, I'll go right now! Spending money is what I'm best at—"

In short, Larry assigned tasks to everyone he met. When George Eastman arrived at the hotel at noon to invite everyone to lunch, he saw Larry sitting alone on a sofa in the hotel lobby, smoking a cigar and spreading his hands with a smile, saying, "Sorry! I've already sent them all out on their business. It'll probably just be the two of us for the next couple of days."