Chapter 121 New Acquisition

Since the trip to Europe, Sheffield has been investing a lot, buying patents, acquiring steel mills, poaching Tesla team members, and spending money in all aspects. So far, there is no sign of a return on investment. But all of these must be done. This is not a side job, and there is definitely no such thing as a profit without investment.

However, if the legitimate industry is done well, it will be much faster to expand than to make money from illegal income. No illegal income can make more money than Standard Oil, so temporary investment is completely acceptable. Even Mr. Lafayette has no objection to this.

This time, he finally took full advantage in the field he was good at, subdued Keane, and took this official license that had been entrenched in Central and South America for decades into his own pocket. If Sheffield hadn't existed, Keane would have become the top company in the United States with the help of the United Fruit Company. Although he still couldn't be compared with Rockefeller, DuPont, and Morgan, he would have become a giant with his own influence.

Although Keane's road to becoming a giant only occupies a branch of agricultural products, he has become the emperor of many banana republics for decades, and for a period of time he lived a more comfortable life than the real giants.

But now, the banana republics in Central and South America have changed their emperors to the more powerful and influential Sheffield. As for Mr. Keane, he should have made a great contribution to history and could be compared with the East India Company, but now he can be described as having died halfway through his career.

Although Keane was detained in Houston, Sheffield did not do anything to the former Banana Emperor. Once he gave in, everyone was friends, and friends should be treated as friends. Making the business bigger and stronger was the serious matter. As for the unpleasant things in the past, it was Keane who suffered, not him, so he just turned the page and did not mention it.

Together with Keane's stock, railway and subsidiary company assets, after a new round of calculations and evaluations, the new United Fruit Company was established. The moment Keane wrote his name, Sheffield took the first step in his own career, and he no longer had to wonder if he was dreaming.

If the new United Fruit Company is counted as a single shareholder, Keane has become the second largest shareholder. In theory, he is a person with very heavy say. However, the other shareholders are all from the South. Although many shareholders are plantation owners who returned from Brazil, they are still friends of the Sheffield family for decades.

So if Sheffield really wants to make Keane a rubber stamp for dividends, there are actually many ways to do it.

Keane obviously did not want such an outcome, but the other shareholders were indeed friends of the Sheffield family. This was an unchangeable fact. Almost immediately, the idea of ​​joining him if he could not beat him occupied Keane's mind, and he had to demonstrate his own value.

"Master William, I have an idea that has been lingering in my mind for a long time." Keane looked at Sheffield, who was not pretending, and found an opportunity to put forward his suggestion.

Sheffield has been a little too proud of himself in recent days. He is always smiling so his face is a little stiff, so he can only keep a straight face to make his sore cheeks feel more comfortable. However, in Keane's eyes, Sheffield's image, which was not very glorious to begin with, seems to have become taller all of a sudden. If he has heard Oriental words, he should be able to remember what it means to remain calm even when facing a catastrophe.

"We are partners now. Mr. Keane, you can raise any ideas you have. It's all for the development and growth of the company!" Sheffield's tone was full of politeness. He no longer had the momentum to swallow Keane alive. His fangs had been deeply hidden.

In total, including the previous cargo ship fruit, and the losses in mergers and acquisitions, Keane's losses must be more than one million US dollars, and it is not known whether it is two million US dollars. Normally, Keane would hold a grudge and might even think of dying together. But he thought too much, the friendship between capitalists is much stronger than that between the proletariat.

Moreover, Keane is not a behemoth like Standard Oil or DuPont. Keane thinks he is a member of the upper class, but that depends on how big this upper class is. He only thinks so, and it does not mean that Sheffield thinks so too. The other party does not have the ability to retaliate against him.

Just like Sheffield thought, Keane now just wanted to recover his losses from other places. He knew that Sheffield had been busy with the electrical company, his own farm, steel mill and military factory these days, and probably had little time for the United Fruit Company. Since Sheffield didn't have the time, Keane felt he could do it for him. Of course, he first had to forget the fact that he had suffered losses and the company was acquired. It was especially important to gain the trust of the Dixie shareholders, especially the largest single shareholder, Sheffield.

The company that these Dixie plantation owners united to create was something Keane could not resist. Now he had figured out that this day would come sooner or later. Morgan could not support him to fight against these professional plantation owners in a small industry. So when he heard that Sheffield was interested, he said, "In fact, I have always wanted to acquire Boston Fruit Company, but I didn't do it because of insufficient funds. Now that the reorganization of Banana Enterprise and United Fruit Company has been completed, the time to acquire Boston Fruit Company is ripe."

"Oh?" Sheffield looked at Keane and nodded. "No problem. This will make us stronger. As for expanding the plantations to other countries, you don't have to worry about it. We are better at this than you. Many partners are still looking for places to expand their plantations."

"Thank you for your support, Master William!" His banana company was acquired, but Keane thought it was not without benefits. For example, many of his original ideas could be realized earlier. It was not that he was comforting himself, but what else could he do if he didn't think so. Things were a foregone conclusion.

At the end of 1895, Sheffield, which had been spending money continuously, finally ushered in the harvest season. After the economic depression and the suppression of Britain, the United States finally got rid of the previous haze, and everything began to develop in a good direction.

Not long after, good news came from Washington. Both the Senate and the House of Representatives unanimously passed a resolution to increase the military budget. This meant that the United States, whose military power had long been inferior to that of Brazil and Argentina since the Civil War, had gotten rid of the era of relying on 30,000 armies to conquer the world.

After the care of the world hegemon, the British Empire, the beacon of humanity finally entered a new era. From then on, the Monroe Doctrine was no longer a slogan regarded as nonsense by European countries, but became more and more real.

The direct beneficiaries of this expansion were naturally Sheffield and DuPont. The Sheffield family's share was twice that of DuPont. With the help of the Rockefeller family, DuPont, which was already in decline, seemed to become increasingly unimportant.

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Keane also transformed himself into the second largest shareholder of United Fruit Company. With the earnest expectations of many shareholders, he left Houston for Boston and started a new round of acquisitions.

(End of this chapter)