On November 20th, former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan stated at a business conference that the housing market downturn and the credit crisis would continue to negatively impact the US economy, but the probability of a recession was "less than 50%."
Shortly thereafter, George W. Bush also publicly stated that despite ongoing problems in the housing and credit markets, the US economy's fundamentals were solid and that he was optimistic about the outlook.
Putting these optimistic statements aside, Barron's time in California was quite busy.
After reuniting with Ivanta, he returned to Los Angeles to spend a few days with Fan Bingbing and the children.
Fan Bingbing had just returned to Los Angeles after filming "Skyfall"—after all, while technically she was the second Bond girl in the film, her role wasn't significant.
Furthermore, the film will be released in China, so as a participating actress, Fan Bingbing will also be involved in the film's promotion, including at China Film next year.
However, due to the popularity of "Succession," Fan Bingbing, who played the stepmother in the series, had gained considerable fame in Europe and the United States.
After a period of rest, Fan Bingbing would return to China with her two children. Gucci would announce her as its brand ambassador for Greater China.
This meant that Fan Bingbing's fashion resources would become a top-tier presence in the Chinese film and television industry.
"From now on, I'll be living in China most of the time. Here..."
After handing the children over to the maid, Barron hugged Fan Bingbing and said,
"It's okay. Someone will always take care of it here. Just stay here when you come to America."
Hearing Barron's words, Fan Bingbing was delighted, which also demonstrated her importance in his heart.
As Fan Bingbing had said, aside from occasional appearances in Hollywood films, she would spend most of her time in mainland China. She would no longer take on ordinary film and television roles unless she particularly liked the scripts. She would focus her energy on Tianhe Film and Television Investment, investing in Chinese film and television projects.
Speaking of TRW Investment, their largest project in China, Nanjing Automotive Group, has been very successful following its joint venture with the British Motor Group.
Firstly, TRW British Motors, a subsidiary of Nanjing Automotive Group, holds the domestic distribution rights for all British Motor Group brands.
After Barron's previous visit to China, his impressive motorcade in Yanjing caught the attention of many wealthy Chinese. Barron's vehicle, the new Bentley flagship Mulsanne, was particularly popular among Chinese billionaires.
Notably, due to his relationship with Barron, Mr. Ma has now upgraded his vehicle from a BMW to a stretched Bentley Mulsanne, replacing the 6.2-meter Maybach of his previous timeframe.
Besides Mr. Ma, Pany Ma has also chosen the Bentley Mulsanne, which has drawn the attention of Chinese billionaires.
Indeed, only billionaires can afford this car. The Bentley Mulsanne is significantly more expensive than its predecessor—and accordingly, its materials are more luxurious. The lowest-spec Mulsanne costs over $500,000, making it a luxury car worth tens of millions of dollars in China.
However, these billionaires' mindsets differ from those of ordinary people. When choosing a car, the more expensive it is, the more it's preferred—though, of course, there's a reason for it.
As for joint venture brands, Nanjing Yingqi's biggest move this year was not only launching localized versions of Land Rover and Jaguar's overseas models, but also launching a new model specifically tailored to the preferences of Chinese consumers: the Shanhai.
This means this car boasts powerful performance, making it effortless across mountains and seas.
Continuing Land Rover's signature sleek, boxy design and powerful power, the Shanhai has quickly become a rising star among luxury SUVs priced in the million-dollar price range, becoming one of China's best-selling luxury SUVs in the second half of this year.
"Oh, honey, when we get back to China, please go visit Alibaba's boss, Ma, on my behalf."
"Are you talking about their company's IPO?" Upon hearing Baron's words, Fan Bingbing immediately grasped Alibaba's recent developments.
"Not only that, but Boss Ma has quite a network. Tianhe Capital should definitely keep in touch with him in China." Earlier
this month, Alibaba successfully listed its B2B business in Hong Kong.
Baron hadn't paid much attention to the listing, as he knew Alibaba would eventually decide to delist from Hong Kong in a few years. A US listing would be the perfect time to solidify Alibaba's position in China.
However, Baron also knew that Boss Ma would also split Alipay and other businesses from Alibaba in the future. This had caused some conflict between SoftBank and Yahoo in the original universe and Boss Ma.
But now, with Baron, if Boss Ma uses the excuse that businesses like Alipay are temporarily off limits to foreign investors, then Tianhe Capital, a Chinese company, could easily take over the shares in those businesses...
And as Baron mentioned, Boss Ma is a member of the Taishan Society, which includes many business leaders, including Lenovo's Liu. He also holds considerable prestige among Zhejiang businessmen. Tianhe Capital primarily operates in China, so Boss Ma's connections will be needed.
Fan Bingbing knew she was a complete outsider in business and had significant shortcomings, so she relied heavily on Baron's advice.
So, after Baron's instructions, she immediately agreed.
...
On November 20th, Reuters announced its acceptance of SEM Group's acquisition proposal, and from that point on, the two companies officially began the merger process.
In SEM's original acquisition proposal, since SEM already held over 30% of Reuters, they would use approximately £4.05 billion, plus the issuance of 49 million new shares, to acquire the remaining shares, thereby making Reuters a wholly-owned subsidiary. However,
after Thomson's acquisition of Reuters was blocked by antitrust authorities in both the UK and the US, the two parties re-entered negotiations.
The situation they now face is different from that of May this year.
At that time, SEM's share price was around £41.15, which would have put the total acquisition price for Reuters at £8.68 billion, including shares and cash.
However, SEM's share price has now fallen to around £38.75, impacted by the global economic situation. This lowers the total acquisition price for Reuters to £8.512 billion.
Reuters' share price declined, but shareholders preferred cash rather than a share swap. Consequently,
SEM Group decided to acquire Reuters in an all-cash transaction, paying £5.95 billion for the remaining shares in Reuters, completing its privatization.
The Cavendish Trust provided £950 million to purchase SEM Group's convertible bonds, which could be converted into SEM Group ordinary shares at any time within two years at the then-current 30-day average price.
SEM Group secured a £5 billion loan facility from Barclays and Standard Chartered to finance the acquisition. The
merger of SEM Group and Reuters is expected to be completed by February of next year, with Reuters's media operations integrated with SEM Group's related businesses, while Reuters will continue to operate independently as a wholly owned subsidiary of SEM Group.
In addition, Reuters will sell its overseas news businesses through Reuters International, which will be overseen by Reuters Founders AG, to ensure that the information services they provide continue to adhere to Reuters' five core principles.