The call was answered quickly.

A hearty laugh came from the other end of the phone: "Mr. Prado, hello, what brings you here?"

“Mr. Aiden, hello. I have thought it through and will accept your company’s terms.”

"Wait, Mr. Prado, the situation is different now. My boss has given me new instructions, requiring me to buy shares directly from you, instead of making a direct investment. So, Mr. Prado, you're free. You can finally escape this misery, get some money, travel to your heart's content, sample local delicacies, or perhaps cover the losses of your other company..."

Del Prado was taken aback upon hearing this, then realized that Philips, ASML's other major shareholder, didn't care about ASML's development at all. Why was he putting in so much effort to keep ASML afloat? He had originally planned to sell ASML anyway, so it was perfect that Wujiang Group was willing to take over his shares.

"No problem, but how much is Wujiang Group willing to pay for my shares?"

Rex Eden replied, "$9 million!"

After hearing the offer, Del Prado paused for a moment, then gritted his teeth and said, "Wujiang Group must offer at least $10 million, otherwise I'd rather not sell my ASML shares!!!"

Rex Aiden then smiled and said, "Okay, Mr. Prado, $10 million is a deal! Please come to Wujiang Group's Japanese branch at 10:00 AM tomorrow to sign the share transfer agreement."

“Okay, no problem, I’ll be there on time!” Del Prado nodded heavily in response.

Rex Aiden said, "Okay, see you tomorrow!"

See you tomorrow!

...

At 10:00 a.m. the following morning, Del Prado arrived at the Japanese branch of Wujiang Group as scheduled to sign the ASML share transfer agreement.

From then on, Wujiang Group acquired a 50% stake in ASML.

Philips paid no attention to ASML, so Wujiang Group directly took over the management of ASML.

At that time, ASML was just an insignificant little company, practically unknown, and the Western countries, led by the United States, had not yet begun to support it. ASML's rise was not only due to its own hard work, but also closely linked to TSMC.

It's important to know that Philips is a major shareholder of TSMC. Although Philips didn't initially value ASML, "it's better to keep the profits within the family." Philips is, after all, a major shareholder of ASML, holding 50% of the shares. Therefore, when TSMC purchased lithography machines, it directly bought ASML lithography machines.

TSMC's business model (wafer foundry) was undoubtedly very successful, and ASML benefited greatly from it, taking off as well. From then on, ASML came into the sights of Americans.

Currently, since Wujiang Group holds a 50% stake in ASML, the United States may not continue to support ASML in the future. If the United States does not support ASML, it may support Japanese companies such as Nikon and Canon.

Zhao Ye felt that Japanese companies were a bit more difficult to deal with.

ASML is indeed somewhat like an assembly plant, while Japanese companies are able to produce many key pieces of equipment themselves.

Therefore, once ASML goes public, Wujiang Group can cash out a portion of its shares, ultimately retaining no more than 20% of the shares.

Initially, Zhao Ye did not intend to acquire ASML, but rather to invest in ASML and make a quick profit. However, he later realized that if he acquired ASML now, he could gain control of ASML's management and then control Zeiss.

Zeiss is currently relying on ASML for financial support to stay afloat.

If Zhao Ye were to get ASML to spread the word that they no longer intend to cooperate with Zeiss, what do you think Zeiss would do?

At this time, Zeiss was in a state of panic and was on the verge of bankruptcy.

If Wujiang Group can take this opportunity to acquire Zeiss, that would be perfect.

Even if they can't acquire Zeiss, they can still acquire Zeiss's optical system patent technology and poach Zeiss's engineers.

"Boss, we have acquired all of Del Prado's ASML shares." Rex Aiden reported to Zhao Ye immediately.

Upon hearing this, Zhao Ye was overjoyed and said in a deep voice, "Take over ASML immediately, and then launch the Hunter Project!!!"

“Yes, boss!!!” Rex Aiden replied excitedly.

The acquisition of ASML was just the appetizer; the real target of the "Zeiss Hunt" plan was Zeiss.

This is an optical giant with over a century of history. If Rex Eden could lead the acquisition of such a company, his name would surely resound throughout the world!

P.S.: I'll be busy during the day and won't have time to write, so I'm staying up late to write this chapter. Please vote to encourage me!