"Your Highness, according to information from British Motor Group, they have dispatched a team to negotiate with Daimler AG to acquire their stake in McLaren Technology Group..."
Shortly after Bonnie gave birth to Richard Cavendish, mother and son returned to their home in Kensington to recuperate.
Barron, meanwhile, has been spending time with them at home.
After hearing Zhang Junning's words, Barron nodded and said,
"We'll keep an eye on the situation. Daimler AG won't refuse to sell its shares in McLaren."
British Motor Group previously acquired a 30% stake in McLaren Technology Group from Ron Dennis and his partner, Mansour Oyer. They each currently hold 15%. The
remaining 40% is held by Daimler AG, Mercedes-Benz's parent company.
However, Daimler's stake in McLaren Technology Group is now open to sale. This is not only due to the subprime mortgage crisis, but also because Mercedes-Benz plans to acquire an F1 team to form its own team, making its partnership with McLaren no longer necessary.
However, the acquisition price for BAG will still need to be determined through negotiations.
Furthermore, in addition to its stake in McLaren Technology Group, BAG has partnered with the company to form McLaren Automotive, aiming to relaunch McLaren's road car program alongside its racing team.
Their latest supercar will also be released this year...
BAG holds a 49% stake in McLaren Automotive.
If BAG were to acquire Daimler's stake in McLaren Technology Group, its ownership would reach 70%, and its direct and indirect holdings in McLaren Automotive would reach a significant level, effectively giving it control of the company.
Regarding engines, the McLaren team has been using Mercedes-Benz engines since 1995, a 13-year partnership.
However, after Daimler AG launched McLaren Technology Group, they naturally could no longer provide the team with their engine platform for free. McLaren will then switch to engines from Cosworth, a subsidiary of the British Motor Group.
"Also, Your Highness..."
Zhang Junning continued,
"Regarding the sale of international publishing rights to Hachette magazines, a subsidiary of the Lagardère Group, in addition to our SEM Group, the American Hearst Corporation has also expressed interest and has sent representatives to participate in the negotiations."
"Give me the most detailed information..."
"I've already got it for you, and I'll send you the follow-up information immediately."
Baron took the information Zhang Junning handed him, carefully reading it, a look of deep thought.
During a previous trip to France, Sarkozy introduced Baron to the heir to the Lagardère Group, one of France's largest media groups, and the two forged a "friendship."
Barron's goal was to be able to participate in the next sale of the family fortune by this "prodigal son."
Lagardère Group is a French integrated media, machinery manufacturing, aerospace, and telecommunications conglomerate, with a publishing company, a satellite company, and an aerospace company under its purview. Lagardère Vital Media is one of the world's three largest publishing groups and France's leading media giant. The group currently owns 259 magazines worldwide, including ELLE, MARIE CLAIRE, and Paris Match.
For example, during the recent subprime mortgage crisis, which impacted its physical and telecommunications businesses, Arnaud Lagardère decided to divest some of its media assets.
This time, the company is considering selling Hachette, a subsidiary of Lagardère Vital Media.
Hachette, a subsidiary of Lagardère Vital Media, owns international titles such as Red, Sugar, and Inside Soap.
The group owns a total of 212 magazines, 80 of which are published in France, including ELLE and Psychologies.
Hearst Entertainment has taken a liking to Hachette's international rights, offering £600 million for them.
Barron is no stranger to Hearst Entertainment.
After all, Amanda and Lydia Hearst are from the same family.
Hearst Corporation was once incredibly prominent. Founded in 1867, the privately held company's five core business areas—newspapers, television, cable television, magazines, and business information—gave the company a balanced and diversified portfolio.
Hearst International is one of the world's largest diversified media companies, primarily owning 15 daily newspapers and 38 weekly newspapers.
Even in the UK, Hearst Corporation wholly owns the UK's National Magazine Company, which publishes a range of lifestyle magazines, including Harpers Bazaar, Country Living, Good Housekeeping, Reveal, and Esquire. If the
Hearst family completes this acquisition, they will acquire Hachette's publishing rights outside of France, including wholly owned or joint ventures in the UK, the US, and Europe in the Netherlands, Italy, and Greece. They
also hold partnerships in Asian countries and regions, including mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea, and Japan.
However, SEM Group had already made an offer for Hachette before Hearst.
Like Hearst, they not only wanted to acquire Hachette's overseas distribution rights, but also planned to acquire the entire company.
SEM's bid was over £1.5 billion, and the exact price was still under negotiation with Lagardère.
Barron hadn't expected Hearst to join the bidding.
This wasn't surprising, considering Hearst possessed greater global experience in magazine operations than SEM, and acquiring Hachette's overseas distribution rights would make them one of the world's largest magazine publishing groups.
Seeing this information, Barron couldn't help but think of Amanda Hearst.
Of course, she wasn't currently heavily involved in his own business, but since their last separation, Barron hadn't heard from her. Lydia Hearst had called him previously, but her details were vague.