Holding a massive amount of cash, Kyle was extremely tempted by the high-quality assets available under the internet crisis, but he would definitely not invest blindly.
Future giants like Amazon, Apple, Microsoft, Dell, Hewlett-Packard, and Oracle were naturally priority investment targets. However, due to the current macro environment, Kyle wouldn't be able to secure many shares even with heavy investment. Well, except for the opportunity to buy back Amazon stock, which wasn't as frequent now.
As for the others, they were barely satisfactory!
Therefore, Kyle was determined to win the investment in Mars Company.
"Boss, two heads are better than one. Didn't you entrust me and the headhunting company to assemble a think tank before?" said the private lawyer, Paul Goodman.
"Oh?"
Kyle immediately looked delighted and asked, "Is there any progress?"
Paul Goodman smiled and said, "More than just progress. You've been busy lately, so I haven't reported to you yet, but there are currently three members in the think tank."
A short while later.
The three members of the newly recruited think tank group arrived at Kyle's Villa one after another.
Ike Mossinski, male, 48 years old, former head of the investment department at the Polish branch of Swiss Bank, specializes in banking, venture capital, and fund raising;
Little Baggio Lister, male, 35 years old, former vice president of Aviva Commercial Union Insurance in Britain, specializes in information gathering;
Osethe Oside, female, 41 years old, former vice president of Paris No. 3 Investment Company in France, specializes in venture capital and industry management;
Facing these three, Kyle naturally expressed a great welcome.
Of course, Kyle also had his doubts.
Two men and one woman, three in total, all from Europe.
"Boss, don't worry about regional differences for now; these three can definitely help you better. Why don't you listen to their opinions first?" Paul Goodman suddenly said.
"You're right."
Hearing this, Kyle nodded and turned his gaze toward the three-person think tank.
Managing a single enterprise requires immense effort, let alone the fact that Kyle currently served as the boss of multiple companies. Moreover, in the future, Kyle would inevitably have more companies or become a shareholder in many enterprises.
With all these affairs, if Kyle relied on himself alone, he would be worked to death and still wouldn't be able to manage everything.
Ike Mossinski, the former banking professional, spoke first.
"Boss, I have some understanding of Mars Company. Primarily, it is a family business controlled by the mars family. Its shareholders and management are either direct descendants of the mars family or people joined through marriage; it's very difficult for outsiders to intervene."
Ike Mossinski continued, "However, where there are people, there are opportunities. We aren't entirely without options. We can support Mars Company's competitors to put pressure on them."
Supporting competitors to gain an opportunity to enter Mars Company.
It must be said that this plan was quite ruthless, but the business World is like a battlefield; one must never be soft-hearted!
Kyle nodded: "We can try that. Start gathering information on this now. I only care about the results."
The second member of the think tank, Little Baggio Lister, also offered a suggestion.
"A media public opinion offensive."
Little Baggio Lister said, "Since the largest shareholders of Mars Company, the Mars Brothers, are caught in a financial crisis, we can use the media to—"
—give them another push, making their stock price drop even harder. Boss, you could even choose to short it, making their situation even worse."
Hostile takeover?
"Tsk tsk tsk."
Kyle blinked and smiled, "That's quite nasty, but worth a try."
They chatted back and forth for a while.
A full hour passed.
The results were quite good, and Kyle tentatively approved of the three think tank members. However... this was only temporary. To help manage such a vast industry, one had to be an exceptionally outstanding talent; there was no room for carelessness.
Therefore, the three were still in a probationary period... The next morning.
Kyle received a phone call from the McAfee Company.
"What?"
"Are you sure Microsoft is giving up its equity in McAfee?!"
Kyle was very shocked, yet it was also within expectations.
A few months ago, Microsoft was incredibly rampant, trying to get its hands into almost every industry. Now, it was facing an anti-monopoly investigation and had encountered the once-in-a-lifetime Dot-com Bubble, causing its stock price to plummet and its market value to lose over $200 billion.
Under various difficulties, Bill Gates had to make the decision to tighten funds.
One of those measures was giving up equity in McAfee Company.
In the future, McAfee Company would be one of the World's largest 'antivirus' companies with a very decent market value. How could Kyle let such a delicious piece of cake go?!
Immediately, Kyle arranged for the three-person think tank to come up with a highly feasible acquisition plan in the shortest possible time.
"Even if I can't take controlling interest of McAfee, I will become McAfee's largest shareholder this time," Kyle said, in a rare state of high ambition.
After all, Kyle's relationship with the current chairman of McAfee was quite average, and there were even quite a few conflicts... Among the materials for optional investment projects, Kyle quickly settled on another company—a real estate company.
The owner of this real estate company was Edward Roski Jr.
He was also a minor millionaire with a net worth of over $50 million, running a real estate company. Of course, small real estate companies like this were as numerous as the stars across the U.S.; there were simply too many of them.
"Boss, whether it's this real estate company or Edward Roski Jr. himself, I haven't found anything extraordinary. Why did you choose to invest?" The financial advisor, Anna, was quite puzzled.
Who was Edward Roski Jr.?
One of Los Angeles' well-known profligate sons.
In just three years, he had squandered nearly $100 million of the $300 million inheritance he received from Old Edward, failing in several investments.
His investment record was often used as a laughingstock by others.
"I agree with the boss's decision."
Think tank member The Handmaiden Osethe smiled and said, "I know something about Edward Roski Jr."
Kyle's eyes immediately lit up: "Tell me about it."
"Edward Roski Jr. is a person with a great talent for financial management, and his vision is quite precise. The reason his investments failed several times wasn't a problem with his ability or vision, but a matter of luck. In his several failed cases, what I saw was him being intercepted by others. I believe that as long as time permits, he is bound to rise," Osethe said confidently.
Financial advisor Anna: "..."
She wanted to refute, but as the words reached her lips, she found no loopholes in Osethe's statement.
Clap, clap, clap.
Kyle clapped and smiled, "Osethe, your view and mine are simply a perfect match."
Currently, Edward Roski Jr. was a profligate son in the eyes of the World, but... who could have imagined that he would become a famous billionaire in the U.S. in the future? His total assets would rank him among the top 200 super-rich people in the entire World.
"Investing is about looking at the person!"
"The profits of a real estate company are definitely not much worse than those of the internet."
"And as the Dot-com Bubble continues, the U.S. economy will be on a downward trend for the next few years, but the real estate business is indeed thriving. Otherwise, it wouldn't trigger a subprime mortgage crisis in the future."
Kyle thought to himself.
The three fields of internet, real estate, and food would undoubtedly be the focus of Kyle's investments for the coming period.