Chapter 726: 249, The Chain Stratagem_3
That’s why Maholi said that we still need Donnie’s help with this!
Because the harder Apollo Chain presses on A&P, the worse off Kraft Foods will be, and the less confident their shareholders will be in Kraft Foods, naturally making it easier for Grain Empire Food Company to acquire them!
“That’s for sure!” Donnie said directly, “In fact, even without the acquisition of Kraft Foods, we would fight A&P to the end!”
Maholi also took several documents with the same content from her assistant and had her people distribute them to Donnie and the others.
“This is the information we’ve collected on the current shareholders of Kraft Foods. When your side is about ready to move, our company’s people will start contacting them.”
Donnie simply glanced at the contents before setting them aside, saying, “I believe that there would be no problem for our two families to join hands and complete the acquisition of Kraft Foods, so let’s talk about what will happen after we have acquired Kraft Foods!”
As we’ve just discussed, the benefits of Grain Empire Food Company’s acquisition of Kraft Foods for Apollo Chain are clear, but these benefits are for Apollo Chain, not for the relationship between Grain Empire Food Company and Kraft Foods!
After all, even if A&P eventually concedes, it will take time for Apollo Chain to catch up to A&P in scale, and in that time, A&P will still be America’s largest retail company!
So, does Grain Empire Food Company wish to go through this growth process with Donnie for the sake of A&P’s market channels?
Maholi nodded, seeing no issue with Donnie’s proposal.
If it were for personal reasons, even if Donnie said he wanted to borrow 10 million US Dollars from Maholi at this time, she would lend it to him without hesitation because of Walker’s connection.
But this is not a matter of personal relations; it involves the future prospects of two companies, so Maholi also needs to take it seriously.
“Donnie, as for the proposal you mentioned earlier, I can’t give you a definitive answer right now, because it has caused a great division on the board, and most people are against it!”
In fact, Maholi did not tell Donnie the full story. The real situation in Grain Empire Food Company’s boardroom was that many directors believed that even without their acquisition of Kraft Foods, given the current promotional war between Apollo Chain and A&P, Kraft Foods was already in a precarious situation, and they could take over Kraft Foods without any cooperation from Donnie!
After acquiring Kraft Foods, Grain Empire Food Company would become America’s largest snack company. With such scale, they wouldn’t need to worry about the competition between Apollo Chain and A&P; they could just reap the benefits.
Moreover, those people were also unwilling to give up Kraft Foods’ shares in A&P, considering A&P was still America’s largest retail company.
Some shareholders even suggested that after acquiring Kraft Foods, they should side with A&P against Donnie’s Apollo Chain, as that would bring them more benefits!
Although Donnie didn’t know the situation in the Grain Empire Food Company’s boardroom, thinking about the nature of those people, Donnie could guess that Maholi was being modest!
“I know it’s difficult to get Grain on our side, given that Apollo Chain is currently not comparable to A&P in scale. But Maholi, as one of the shareholders of Apollo Chain, you should be aware of Apollo Chain’s upcoming development plans. In two years, Apollo Chain will have more than twenty thousand stores, and I believe you don’t doubt that my personal finances can smoothly accomplish this,” Donnie said.
By then, Apollo Chain will be America’s largest retail company, and with such a vast distribution network, Apollo Chain could even support a snack company not inferior to Grain Empire Food Company.
At that point, we could have become partners, but instead, we would become competitors. I think this is definitely not a happy outcome for Grain Empire Food Company!”
Maholi nodded, “I do believe that, so I’ve decided before coming here, regardless of what the board thinks, I personally very much support you in this matter.
So once Grain Empire Food Company completes the acquisition of Kraft Foods, the shares that Kraft Foods holds in A&P will also be sold to your Apollo Chain!”
The shares Kraft Foods holds in A&P may not be a lot in the grand scheme of things, but it would deal a fatal blow to the John Hardford Family.
According to Donnie’s plan, if everything goes smoothly, he might even be able to take control of A&P during this battle!
Now that Maholi has decided to bypass the board to negotiate the cooperation with Donnie, that’s the most goodwill she could show!
Donnie smiled and said, “If that’s the case, then I can only thank you here and now.”
Maholi also smiled and said, “The directors on the board are old; they have lost the drive to move forward, always fixated on the benefits right in front of them. Donnie, in just three short years, you have achieved so much; I believe your future accomplishments will be even greater.
Every investment I make now will yield enormous returns in the future!”
Donnie stood up, approached Maholi, and smiling, said, “Then here’s to hoping our collaboration will be a pleasant one!” Thɪs chapter is updated by N(o)vᴇl(F)ire.nᴇt
“To a successful partnership!”