Chapter 298: Continuous Mergers and Acquisitions

Even Edith Rockefeller hoped that the steel tycoon would go to heaven quickly so that some inheritance could be left for her son, because Carnegie's first action after the merger was to donate five million US dollars to set up a relief and pension fund for steel workers to express his gratitude to the employees who helped him achieve career success.

If Carnegie had lived longer, he might have squandered hundreds of millions of dollars. In Edith Rockefeller's eyes now, this money has become her son's wealth.

"This? There is no solution for the moment!" Sheffield looked embarrassed. He just made a suggestion, but Edith Rockefeller was even greedier than him. She even thought about the cost of the merger. "To be honest, Edith, don't be too greedy. Just the shares left in the steel company will be a big profit if William Jr. gets them. Don't even think about the funds for the merger. Don't be so greedy."

"That's your and John's money. Can't you think of a way to save it? It's such a waste to do charity work." Edith Rockefeller hugged Sheffield's neck and said in a sweet voice, "You never do charity work. You should stand by me."

"No way!" Sheffield tilted his head and said firmly, "That's the money from the merger. It belongs to Carnegie now. If you think so, you might as well hope that before the merger, I can bring Black Gold Company to tie up Carnegie and make him give the steel company to me unconditionally. Since the merger has already taken place, the money belongs to him."

If this woman becomes greedy, Sheffield will be far behind. He dare not do anything to Carnegie now. He is now the richest man in the United States, the first in personal wealth, and it is all cash. If Carnegie is unwilling to be lonely now, he can stir up a storm in any field he enters. It is better to let him do charity honestly, at least he will not disrupt the market order.

They said they came to accompany Edith Rockefeller, but in fact, apart from carrying heavy loads forward, the two of them talked about business matters in their spare time. Last time, Edith Rockefeller listened to Sheffield's words and decided to try to develop the underwear business in Latin American countries. She wanted to hear any suggestions from the returning modern slave owner.

The textile industry has a low threshold and requires little capital. It is nothing more than choosing a good market. Sheffield thought about the situation of each country and analyzed it based on different national conditions. "From the perspective of national population, the only country in Latin America worth noting is Brazil. Other countries are not strong enough to resist the dumping of United States companies. Oh, and Mexico is also quite powerful. I take back what I just said. Only these two countries are worth noting. As for other countries, especially the small countries in Central America, they can be defeated with some pressure."

"So, the main thing is that the market and production base should be located in Brazil. It just so happens that some of my friends have left some connections in Brazil. Although I may not be able to accomplish big things, some small things like setting up factories are not a problem. If the relationship between Spanish-speaking countries and Portuguese-speaking countries is delicate, I think Venezuela is a good place at this stage. It has a good relationship with the federal government. Forget about Colombia. Because of the Panama Canal issue, it will definitely be hostile to our United States companies in the short term."

"Two clothing factories, one in Brazil. Rio de Janeiro is the best place in terms of population. Brazil has a lot of land, but the population is uneven, so Rio de Janeiro is just right. It's not easy to choose a location in Latin American Spanish-speaking countries, so we'll put it in Venezuela. The United Company has a factory there, which can be used to support your business."

Rio de Janeiro is an important gateway to Brazil and even South America. It is also one of the most economically developed regions in Brazil and South America. It is known as an important transportation hub and information and communication, tourism, culture, finance and insurance center in Brazil. Rio de Janeiro is the second largest industrial base in Brazil. The Port of Rio de Janeiro in the city is one of the three largest natural ports in the world.

Moreover, it is not far from São Paulo. In fact, its relationship is similar to that of New York and Boston. They appear to be two places, but in fact they are very close on the map. Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo alone account for half of the population of Brazil at that time, and their excellent ports can undertake transportation tasks.

Sheffield actually didn't know much about the major ports in Brazil, but there were many people in the United Company who knew about it, so he could just ask someone. After all, after the civil war, Brazil had long been the destination for the Black Gold Company's human trafficking. Not to mention the major ports, John Connor and the others were extremely familiar with any place where ships could dock.

Edith Rockefeller nodded frequently to Sheffield's analysis, her eyes full of appreciation. In this man's eyes, he seemed to have a certain understanding of all countries. In order to get along with the Chinese workers, he even went to eat grass...

Sheffield, who didn't know he was being bullied again, suggested, "After Christmas, let's go out for a walk together. I just happened to have some business to discuss, but it was delayed by the steel merger. I asked someone else to do the negotiation. Now that things are almost progressing and I'm free, I should go there myself."

"So anxious? What industry are you thinking of now?" Edith Rockefeller was a little surprised and said distressedly, "Don't tire yourself out. Isn't the United Company expanding into too many industries now? If it doesn't work, take a break? Look at John, he doesn't keep expanding like you."

Sheffield grabbed Edith Rockefeller's dishonest hand and said with a smile, "That's different. Standard Oil is a super trust. Although it is also expanding into other industries, everything is built on the foundation of oil and gas. John knows very well which industries are worth it and which are not. But United is not a trust. Except for United Motors in the automobile industry, there is no monopoly in other industries. United is a conglomerate that is involved in all industries without distinguishing between primary and secondary."

A conglomerate is a form of monopoly that achieves actual control through the parent company's holding of independent companies. Generally speaking, banks and other financial companies in the group play the role of holding companies.

Concerns control subsidiaries through economic and administrative channels, so their stability is comparable to that of trusts and superior to cartels and syndicates. In terms of involvement, this form of monopoly is different from cartels and trusts, and its direct purpose is not to dominate the market. In terms of capital concentration, it often exceeds the scope of a single market.

Conglomerates go one step further than cartels and trusts, involving a wider range of industries. They do not seek to completely monopolize the market like trusts do, but rather to form industries that produce and sell themselves. After Conglomerates arrived in Japan and South Korea, they became the chaebols that the general public loved to see in the past. Chaebol is the oriental name for Conglomerates.

Sheffield used the branches of United Corporation to separate the agricultural and animal husbandry industries and intervene in the supermarket chain. At the same time, it used United Fruit Company to provide fruit, Coca-Cola Company to provide beverages, and canned food through the Canning Trust. It continued to enter the derivative industry one by one. On the other hand, it entered the electrical industry through the Tesla team to support United Machinery Corporation, and then separated out a branch to produce automobiles. The automobile industry also needed steel support, so it acquired steel to support the Panama Canal project.

As for other companies, such as the sugar trust, which controls the sales of coffee and cigars, and is now preparing to acquire Reynolds Tobacco Company, this is another line. The route of the conglomerate is completely different from that of the trust. Sheffield naturally cannot stop and continues to enter related derivative industries until a stable closed loop of the industrial chain is formed.

These subsidiaries were established on Sheffield's own initiative. Since the joint company was his own, naturally the subsidiaries were also controlled by Sheffield. At least for now, his shareholding is more than 51%.

In the United States, a conglomerate-style company has now emerged. Sheffield is just one step ahead, because as more and more companies enter the industry, the trust color of many large companies in the United States will fade. The DuPont Consortium has been similar to a conglomerate since World War II.

Sheffield had to get ahead of his old rivals. This was the most intuitive idea in his mind. Each old industry had its own overlord, so he could only intervene in the emerging industries. Sheffield suddenly remembered Fisher who had gone to the 404 Institute, and asked indirectly, "Have you met Fisher?"

"No!" Edith Rockefeller was a little surprised, but she reacted immediately and asked aggressively, "Why do I feel like you mean something else? Are you doubting me?"

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"No!" Sheffield denied it bluntly, "I just asked this out of instinct."

"You are narrow-minded. I knew you had too many things to do. How dare you make a mistake? You are too possessive." Edith Rockefeller said with an expression that she had seen through everything. "You also know to be on guard, afraid that it will be stolen."

You have my spy in this villa! Sheffield didn't say it, and there was no need to say it, because every woman has one! To prevent Edith Rockefeller's ex-husband from happening to you, there is no such thing as a peaceful life, it's just that someone is carrying the burden for you.

"Small-minded slave owners are really annoying!" Edith Rockefeller's eyes seemed to be half-closed, and she spoke with a sense of hindsight, humming in a way that she still refused to admit defeat. "You said you were just asking casually, but you were clearly warning me. Are you dismantling the machine?"

"You miss my richest woman, so how dare I not try my best!" Sheffield blew out a smoke ring to recover his strength. "Come to North Carolina with me and visit Reynolds Tobacco Company in a while."

(End of this chapter)