Chapter 512 - Investing in Electric Vehicles
Chapter 512: Investing in Electric Vehicles
Translator: Min Editor: Rundi
When Luer reminisces about this day many years later, he wouldn’t know what kind of emotion he had. He could only remember with certainty that his hands were shaking when he took the business card. It felt like he was not holding a gold-gilded business card, but a couple of tons of gold…
Jiang Chen demanded 80% shares. It was not an unreasonable request. Currently, Luer Auto Company didn’t even have their own car plant. The only source of income was from the France Government’s New Energy Vehicle Project Special Funding, and the only things worth money were the series of batteries along with the eleven patents and a few blueprints that could acquire more funding. Finally, there were the ten technical experts that Luer almost couldn’t pay anymore.
100 million USD of equity infusion was nothing for Jiang Chen and nothing for the automakers with billions in market cap, but to Luer’s company on the brink of bankruptcy, it was timely.
“Don’t rush to build a plant yet. I need you to focus your research on the development of the KS-12 Series Battery in improving the performance of the pure electric vehicle, as well as the compatibility with the wireless charged battery.”
“But with this money, we can improve the storage capacity of the battery and the charging speed. These are key for an electric vehicle.” Luer was a bright individual. Although the wireless charging concept was too forward for the era, it was based out of the consideration of charging speed.
“We’ll solve the battery problem. The specifications of the battery will be sent to you a week later.” Jiang Chen smiled.
What made Luer the most confused was what Jiang Chen saw in his company? But since Jiang Chen didn’t say anything, he didn’t ask.
After departing with Luer, Jiang Chen took a few more rounds around the venue. The booths he focused on were all unique; the types of companies with unique technologies but not favored by the market.
These types of companies shared a similar trait which was poor financial condition. Their president or chief engineer manned the booths. When Jiang Chen threw out stacks of cash as bait and asked for a significant chunk of the shares. The presidents handed their shares with both hands willingly while chuckling in their mind.
Of course, people rejected Jiang Chen’s offer. To those people, Jiang Chen’s action was straightforward.
Turn around and leave.
There were too many manufacturers attending this exhibition, regardless of technical expertise, as long as they met the requirement for new energy, they could register or be invited to the exhibition. If you don’t want to sell, they were plenty of people desperate to sell.
For a total of 500 million, Jiang Chen acquired France’s Luer, Finsai, and Frankberg’s Leon with a controlling share of 80%, 85%, and 75% respectively. Jiang Chen purchased the three companies with his own money and not Future Group’s balance sheet. So on the share transfer agreement, he signed his name.
When he returned to Xin, he planned to register a new subsidiary under Future Group with the name Future Heavy Industries. The first order would be the electric vehicle battery used in wireless charging equipment. And the three auto companies he purchased, they’ll use Future Heavy Industries’ battery as the core component to produce electric vehicles.
Jiang Chen thought about vertically integrating the entire vehicle production line, but he abandoned the idea.
Reason baring none other than it was necessary.
The battery was the core of the electric vehicle, and even more significant than the engine. This point was completely contrary to the diesel vehicle where the engine was significantly more crucial than the gas tank.
The top company establishes the standard; the second tier company produces the product. Future Group just needed to be the company that created the standard. It was not worth the risk to be investigated for having a monopoly by integrating the entire production line.
Establishing the three companies to be the leader in the electric vehicle field, and Future Heavy Industries’s high-efficiency battery would be pushed into the market. When all the clients were used to the convenient and fast wireless charging electric vehicles, the charging station and parking lot would then be paired with Future Heavy Industries’ charging equipment.
By then, Future Heavy Industries would be the standard.
Of course, it was easy to say, the actual implementation would require additional research.
When the exhibition was halfway done, Jiang Chen returned to Daimler’s area.
Carmen warmly introduced Jiang Chen to his business partners, including the Gulfstream Europe’s Area’s manager, Andy Belfort. With a price of 65 million USD, Jiang Chen purchased the newest model of G650 without much deliberation.
In the flashes of the reporters, Daimler’s CEO Zetsche took Jiang Chen’s hand and personally gave him the key to the Maybach EX.
It represented the friendship between Future Group and Daimler Corporation.
For Jiang Chen, he only took some photos to obtain a globally limited luxury car.
For Daimler, they only paid a price of 4.2 million Euros in exchange for their stock price rising by 4%. Investors certainly had complete confidence in Future Technology’ artificial intelligence technology.
Even if he had a better ride, Jiang Chen still loved the gift. Since a car not only represented a transportation method, it was also a symbol of power and influence. He won’t drive the car often, but it was not a bad addition to his collection in the garage.
Daimler Group arranged for the delivery of the vehicle to Xin’s Coro Airport. Once Jiang Chen stepped out of the plane in Xin, the car would be ready for him on the runway.
He spoke a few words about artificial intelligence in front of the media and didn’t stay in the venue much longer before leaving through the private tunnel.
He avoided the media at the gate and entered the black vehicle Carmen provided him. When he got in, Ayesha started the car.
“Where are we going?”
“University of Ber.”
Ayesha nodded and stepped on the gas.
In a small black female suit, the shades certainly matched well. It gave the beautiful Ayesha holding the wheel a bit more of a glamorous charm.
Jiang Chen flipped through the business cards in his hands and went through his schedule for the day in his head. Because he left the exhibition earlier, he planned to head to the University of Ber along the way before returning to the manor in Bava.
He wanted to see Xie Lei since he was considered the guardian for the brother and sister.
On the other hand, Jiang Chen wanted Xie Lei to find some mechanical engineering talents. Since Frankberg’s manufacture and technology level was without a doubt the leader of the world. It was meaningful to recruit a research team that could strengthen Future Group to digest the technology from the apocalypse,
And for the students that just graduated university, their ability to accept new knowledge was without a doubt, and their cost to recruit would be lower compared to engineers that already signed with other companies.
Future Group would provide the benefits impossible to refuse, in housing, salary, and other benefits as long as they accepted the condition of immigration.
The car entered the University of Ber.
Jiang Chen asked Ayesha to slow down and awed at the world-renowned education institution before he located the closest library on the GPS.
On the phone, Jiang Chen told Xie Lei to him meet there.