pjbooks Chapter 315 The Barbarians at the Gate
Chapter 315 The Barbarians at the Gate
Chapter 315 The Barbarians at the Gate (Part 1)
At 3:30 pm on May 12, after a clap of thunder, a light drizzle began to fall on this small town next to Lake Andalie.
The pattering rain masked the noise inside. Since it was already quite dark, the meeting room lights had to be turned on to provide sufficient brightness.
Dr. John Sr. is 78 years old this year, his face covered with wrinkles and age spots of various sizes. The reason he attended today's shareholders' meeting is because he knew the Germans would be there, and he had hoped that the Germans would give him a dignified way of leaving, after all, today is his birthday.
In addition, Dr. John's eldest son, Dr. William, and his youngest son, Dr. John Jr., were also sitting next to the old doctor.
Henry Len, the second shareholder of Bausch & Lomb, looked out the window at the dark clouds outside the venue with a slight displeasure on his face.
Besides these, there are the small shareholders, who include outstanding figures from all walks of life in Rochester. Because Bausch & Lomb needed a lot of financing in its early stages, many shares have been dispersed to wealthy people of all sizes in Rochester.
George Eastman of Kodak was also among those invited to the board meeting because he was also a shareholder of Bausch & Lomb with a 4% stake.
George Eastman sat there, glancing occasionally at the entrance, waiting for someone to arrive.
At that moment, thunder roared in the sky outside, and the crackling of lightning made the whole earth tremble.
The director presiding over the shareholders' meeting tapped the blackboard and said to everyone, "The weather is a bit bad, but fortunately we don't have to hold the board meeting outdoors. So gentlemen, if we finish the meeting early, we can also give Dr. [Name] some time to celebrate his birthday."
The host's words caused a stir in the room, with everyone clapping and laughing, wishing Dr. John Sr. a happy birthday!
But this relaxed atmosphere was instantly shattered when all the minority shareholders received news that the German company Zeiss would be coming to acquire Bausch & Lomb.
So, five minutes into the meeting, the director presiding over it was already losing control. He had to repeatedly emphasize the importance of the meeting to get everyone to quiet down for a moment. Finally, he straightened up and shouted to a corner of the meeting room, "Mr. von Herzog, didn't you have something to say to these minority shareholders? Now, please welcome Mr. Heinrich von Herzog, a member of the board of directors of the German company Zeiss, a Prussian nobleman, and a distant relative of Kaiser Wilhelm II!"
The host's words caused a commotion among the shareholders in the meeting room, who whispered among themselves and stared at the corner of the room.
In the southwest corner of the auditorium, a middle-aged man with light gray hair, wearing a well-tailored European-style morning suit, stood up. He first looked around and waved to everyone around him to show his politeness before walking steadily to the center of the meeting room.
"Gentlemen! It is a great honor to meet you in this picturesque little town in America." Herzog began, his accent slightly heavy with old European influence. "Gentlemen, Bausch & Lomb shareholders, I hope my arrival has not surprised you."
At this point, the other person first turned to look at the company logo flag on the rooftop in the rain outside the window, then smiled and said, "Everyone has heard my name. My name is Heinrich von Herzog. Besides being a member of the Zeiss board of directors, I have another identity: I am a distant relative of Kaiser Wilhelm II! In other words, I am here on the Emperor's orders."
Mr. Herzog's words elicited silent gasps of amazement from the crowd. After a brief buzz, the room fell silent again, and a smile appeared on Herzog's face.
"Gentlemen of America, the Greater German Empire may be a young nation, but that does not prevent us from inheriting the legacy of the Holy Roman Empire and answering the call of the times. We have made our mark in various fields, such as the Zeiss company for which I serve on the board."
Herzog spoke entirely off-the-cuff, going off on a whim, but perhaps he was born with the temperament of an orator, so even though his English wasn't fluent, his words deeply touched people's hearts.
"—I deeply regret that so many people like Dr. [Name] have left Germany for the New World for various reasons. This is a great loss to our people. But then again, even if they all obtained American citizenship, their roots are still in Germany. Now, it's time for them to return to their roots—"
The numerous minority shareholders remained silent; they already knew what Herzog was about to say.
The issue now is not whether people are willing to sell their shares to him, but rather to see if he will offer a suitable price.
Herzog continued eloquently, "—The German Emperor has visited Zeiss many times, even personally visiting the company's headquarters. I think this is a reasonable request from a customer, and it also shows how much His Majesty the Emperor values German industry. This is our pride, and Bausch & Lomb's pride!"
The numerous small and medium-sized shareholders looked at each other, feeling that applauding was inappropriate, but not applauding seemed impolite.
But Herzog completely ignored the reactions of others and continued, "Please allow me to remind you that your country's exorbitant import and export fees have severely disrupted normal international trade. Our lenses require extremely high prices to be imported into the Americas, which is very disappointing—"
Herzog looked around at everyone and continued with a smile, "My friend Dr. John once said, 'Never forget the friends who helped you get through this.' In fact, you have always been the driving force behind Bausch & Lomb's progress. It's just that times have changed, and you need a rest! So, Zeiss can provide you with a good way to retire gracefully, which is for Zeiss to pay for and take back your shareholder status."
After Mr. Herzog finished speaking, the conference room was initially silent, then a buzzing sound of conversation arose.
Rochester's shareholders did not expect that the other party would reveal its most bloody and greedy side so quickly.
Is this the legendary carrot and stick combo?
This led to discussions about how to acquire the shares held by everyone.
The minority shareholders continued their discussion, but Mr. Herzog showed no impatience. He smiled and waited until the murmurs subsided before continuing, "Gentlemen, thanks to God's mercy, we have discovered a new continent. There are countless treasures and vast lands waiting for humanity to cultivate. Unfortunately, German unification came relatively late, which means that Germany does not have large colonies to govern."
As he spoke, Mr. Herzog tilted his head slightly, looked at the minor shareholder in front of him, and continued, "I can hereby state my equity demand: to acquire all of Bausch & Lomb's shares at a price of US$40 per share. You should know that this price is already a 35% premium over the current public offering price. At the same time, even if you are unwilling to sell your shares, we promise to supply Schott Optical Glass free of charge for ten years to resolve the current raw material shortage."
Herzog's words stirred the crowd once again.
Free Schott glass! That measure has solved a major problem.
Bausch & Lomb's biggest problem right now is that its profitability is not solid enough—if it could receive free glass from other companies, its profits would be very high.
This news brought smiles of satisfaction to the faces of many minority shareholders who chose to stay.
Herzog continued, "In addition, we will retain the Bausch & Lomb brand, but the core technology will be controlled by the Jena headquarters—I don't think this is surprising, as we previously used overseas licensing. But now that we are one family, we can just supply it for free."
"Yes, Mr. Herzog," a minority shareholder stood up and answered loudly.
Herzog smiled and waited for the minority shareholder to sit down again before continuing, "Thank you for your agreement, but I haven't finished explaining my terms yet!"
The German company Zeiss has transformed Bausch & Lomb into a technology showcase for Zeiss in North America, not a wholly-owned subsidiary. In short, we are now one family. Of course, we also hope that you will stay.
After the German said this, regardless of what they had thought of the Germans before, or whether they chose to leave or stay, all showed satisfied smiles.
The terms offered by the German company Zeiss were very attractive, demonstrating a very sincere attitude towards acquiring the company.
Many minority shareholders felt that their position was being valued, and at the same time, they also noticed that the premium offered by the other party was quite good.
So now, whether to stay or leave is just a matter of personal opinion; everyone has already accepted the German offer!
After Herzog finished speaking, he deliberately left some time for everyone to think.
Meanwhile, the thunderstorm in the sky grew stronger, with lightning flashing intermittently through the dark clouds. The flashes of light danced back and forth between the raindrops, and after more than ten seconds, awe-inspiring thunderclaps finally exploded overhead.
In the meeting room, some people shrank back in fear, while others turned deathly pale. Only the German stood upright beside the podium, smiling confidently as he looked at the numerous small and medium-sized shareholders.
It was as if he were saying, "I've already given you the terms. Come on, either hand over your stocks or prepare to accept my leadership."
A Rochester local minority shareholder stood up, raised his hat to Herzog, but his eyes were fixed on the majority shareholder.
"Old John, I'd like to hear your opinion. 32 years ago, it was because I valued your advice that I joined Bausch & Lomb. I've had a very good time all these years, I've stood by Bausch & Lomb through thick and thin—but today we've reached a life-or-death moment, and I hope you can give me some guidance."
The minority shareholder's words caused another stir in the meeting room, and everyone's attention was focused on the company's founder, Dr. John Sr.
Dr. John had been sitting hunched over in his chair, not wanting to say a word. After all, today was supposed to be his 78th birthday. Normally, he should have been at home, enjoying a peaceful and happy time, but today he had to come to the company and face this acquisition that was destined to be embarrassing—old John was in a bit of a bind.
After a moment of silence, feeling the gazes coming from all directions, Dr. John sighed softly, "Without German glass, we are just craftsmen grinding lenses. I believe Zeiss can give us a soul."
The minority shareholder who asked the question was surprised by Old John's response and thankfully sat back down.
At the same time, a middle-aged man behind Dr. John stood up and addressed the crowd, "I am Dr. William. Twelve years ago, I traveled to Europe and brought back the latest and highest-level mirror-grinding technology from Germany, along with orders for German glass. Frankly, I don't think we have any way of refusing this offer. A premium of over 20% is something you can only dream of—"
Hearing his son's voice, old John first turned to look at his son, then lowered his head.
With the founders, father and son, expressing their agreement, the other minority shareholders understood the situation. Some of them might have previously been prepared to stop, wait, and observe the situation further.
But the vast majority of people have already decided to sell their shares since they won't lose money anyway!
"Will you continue to treat us small shareholders the same way you did with old John?"
This statement was directed at Mr. Herzog.
Herzopo smiled and continued in his strange English accent, "There's no doubt about it, and I want to show you a miracle—"
As he spoke, Herzog pulled a carefully folded stack of letters from his pocket. After unfolding the letters, he showed everyone the first side of the stack before continuing to read, "This is a personal letter from the German Emperor. The German Emperor says—Finally, Kaiser Wilhelm II blesses you, and may the light of virtue shine together on the path of human scientific exploration. In any case, I would like to pay my utmost respect to Dr. Johann, an elite of the German and Italian people."
After speaking, Herzog immediately straightened his posture, as if responding to Kaiser Wilhelm II's words and expressing his pride in being a part of it.
At the same time, everyone fell silent, their eyes drawn to the letter Herzog had produced, written by the German Emperor himself.
Henry Eastman sat there, a bad feeling creeping into his heart. The Germans were offering a very high price. What should he do?
It seems the most likely outcome is that the Germans will take over Bausch & Lomb. So what should we do then?
Larry Livingston, where are you? Give us some advice!
Just then, 65-year-old Henry Len suddenly stood up. He glanced at his old friend, Dr. John Sr., and finally said, "I think we should take the money, but we can't sell our main business. If we can reach an agreement with them, wouldn't that be the best of both worlds?"
Lun's opinion was very simple: he didn't like being kept by someone else, but wanted to speak up for his descendants.
He didn't want to be acquired; he just wanted the factory to stay with him.
Herzog reacted quickly, turning to Henry Len with a smile and saying, "Rest assured, the joint venture will represent the achievement of the terms desired by both parties—however, I personally believe that relinquishing the equity and enjoying one's retirement is a better option, since the factory will soon be relocated to Europe—"
What? Bausch & Lomb is moving to Europe? How can that be? And what's the point?
The minority shareholders started buzzing again, like a swarm of headless flies.
Herzog calmly looked at the second-largest shareholder, and after a moment said, "Your question is not a question! The shareholders' meeting is about making choices, and you just need to make a choice."
If you think yes, stay; if you think no, hand over your shares to us and enjoy a 40% premium—there's nothing to hesitate about.
Henry Len glanced at his older brother, Dr. John, who remained silent, his head bowed.
After letting out a soft sigh, the second-in-command sat back down in his seat.
He only owns 12.7% of the shares. If everyone else sells, what reason do he have to stay?
Herzog watched the crowd's reactions with satisfaction, and finally, his gaze suddenly fell on George Eastman, who had been silent all along.
"Sir, since you've come to attend the shareholders' meeting, please share your opinion."
Eshman paused for a moment, then stood up, straightened her tie, and said loudly to everyone, "I think there should be a third way—"
Everyone turned to look at Eastman, wondering what decision this largest importer of goods was planning today.
"Excuse me, are you asking whether you want to sell or not sell your shares?" Helberg narrowed his eyes, looking at the other person.
But before George Eastman could even reply, a thunderous boom suddenly echoed outside the auditorium.
Then, a black figure appeared at the entrance of the auditorium.
The magnificent thunder shocked everyone, and a figure wearing a trench coat walked gracefully towards them, stepping to the rhythm of the thunder.
"I oppose the German takeover plan because I think it's a trap!" The man removed his wet hat, looked at the minority shareholders, and then at Herzog on the stage. "My name is Larry Livingston, and I oppose this takeover!"
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