The old man finally understood how Hardy succeeded. His previous politeness and calm attitude were all an illusion. The blood in his bones was darker than that of the capitalists.

However, the old man knew that only such people could succeed in this society.

"Acquiring Wells Fargo is no small matter. Wells Fargo's assets exceed $200 million. This is a big deal."

"The Fargo family is the founding family of Wells Fargo. They now own 17% of the shares. It is not easy for them to give up Wells Fargo, and Wells Fargo has dozens of other shareholders."

Hardy smiled and said, "I believe it won't be too difficult for Bank of America to make a move. If they want cash, I can give them cash. If they don't want cash, I can exchange it with shares of other industries I have, such as shares of Hardy's Hotel."

The old man's eyes suddenly lit up.

"In exchange for casino shares?"

"Yes, but the price needs to be negotiated. The profitability of Hardy Hotel is obvious to everyone. If it were to go public now, what do you think its market value would be?" Hardy said.

Hadi knew that it was impossible not to give any benefits at all. Giannini was a shrewd banker. Although he valued the chips in Hadi's hands, he was not willing to give out hundreds of millions to support Hadi.

The old man hesitated for a while, looked at Hardy and said, "Hardy, I will pay 60 million US dollars to buy 30% of the shares of Hardy Hotel."

This price is equivalent to pricing Hardy Casino at 200 million.

"At the same time, I will help you complete the acquisition of Wells Fargo Bank, and Bank of America will lend you the missing funds."

No one knows what the future of the casino they are cooperating with will be like. Even if it meets expectations, it will take two to three years before profits can be seen.

Hardy's Hotel is a piece of fat meat right in front of him, and it has already started to make a lot of money. Giannini had coveted the profits of Hardy's Casino before, so how could he let go of the opportunity now?

Hardy shook his head: "The casino now has an annual income of 40 million. I believe it will be even more in the future, 30% to 100 million."

The old man thought the price was too high.

"80 million is the maximum."

"90 million. I won't sell the casino shares if it's less. There are 13,000 banks in the United States. I don't believe I can't buy one of them." Hardy said.

"Okay, it's a deal!"

The old man compromised.

"By the way, you just said you wanted me to help you with a few things. What else?" Giannini asked.

"I heard that you have shares in Pepsi-Cola. I like this drink very much. I wonder if Mr. Giannini can sell the shares to me," said Hardy.

Giannini did not expect that Hardy wanted to buy Pepsi. To him, Pepsi was just a drink. The real ruler of the cola market was Coca-Cola, and Pepsi only had about one-tenth of Coca-Cola's market share.

Especially during World War II, Coca-Cola entered the U.S. military's logistics supply list and its sales soared, while Pepsi was gradually marginalized and was once on the verge of bankruptcy.

Later, they adopted the strategy of increasing quantity and reducing prices. With the same price, they could buy twice the amount of Coca-Cola, which helped them to maintain the low-end market.

Many black people drink Pepsi because it is cheap, so it is jokingly called Black Coke.

"I own 23% of PepsiCo's shares. PepsiCo's current market value is about 16 million US dollars. Do you want these shares?" said Giannini.

PepsiCo has not made much money in recent years and its stock price has been very low, so Hardy was willing to acquire Gianini without much thought.

"Yes, I do." said Hardy.

Hardy said that he acquired Pepsi because he liked the drink. Janini thought that was nonsense, but it didn't matter. Pepsi was just a small beverage manufacturer. With the giant Coca-Cola blocking the way, it would be difficult for the company to develop. So it didn't hurt to sell it to Hardy.

"Okay, I'll sell it to you at the market price." said Jianini.

Hardy nodded in thanks.

Both were very happy. This exchange achieved their goals. Bank of America could go deeper into Las Vegas casinos to make money, and Hardy got a promise to acquire Wells Fargo and PepsiCo shares.

Janini stayed with Hardy for dinner, and the two chatted about many details until Hardy left at around nine o'clock in the evening.

At night at the HD security base, Hardy called the Godfather and learned that the Corrion family owned 39% of the casino's shares.

Hardy should have informed them.

"Mr. Corion, I am preparing to raise funds and cooperate with Bank of America to acquire a bank at the same time, so I am preparing to sell them 30% of Hardy Casino shares. I have two plans. One is that I alone will take out 30% and sell it to Bank of America. The other is that each of us will take out a part, I will take out 20% and the Corion family will take out 10%. In this way, I will hold 41%, the Corion family will hold 29%, and Bank of America will hold 30%." Hardy said.

The old godfather knew that since Hardy mentioned selling the shares in shares, he must have preferred this method, otherwise he would not have proposed it.

"No problem, the Corrion family will contribute 10%." The old godfather said readily.

The old Godfather knew very well that the investment in Hardy's Casino had brought the Corrion family a huge income, all of which depended on Hardy's management.

Hardy smiled and said, "Thank you for your support, Mr. Corrion. As for the 30 million from the sale of shares, I will find a way to transfer it to you."

"Hardy, you must need money to acquire a bank. This money will be with you for the time being. You can use it. If Hardy Group needs an investment partner in the future, you can use this money. What do you think?" said the old godfather with a smile.

The old godfather is returning the favor, and he believes that Hardy will not let him suffer a loss.

"No problem. There are many profitable businesses. I will think of the Corrion family." Hardy said.

......

The next day, Hardy brought Andy to Bank of America and met with the president of Bank of America. The two parties signed a purchase agreement, and Bank of America would help Hardy acquire all the shares of Wells Fargo.

At the same time, Hardy also received shares in PepsiCo.

The purchase price is 3.68 million.

As for money.

loan.

Hardy is now a major lender of Bank of America, and the acquisition of Wells Fargo will require a large sum of money. The three million dollars is just a small amount of money.

......

Giannini contacted Reed Fargo, the current head of the Fargo family, and invited him to the manor for dinner. After the two sat down, Giannini smiled and said, "Reed, someone wants to acquire Wells Fargo."

Red Fargo was shocked, "Who is it?"

"You should have heard of it, Jon Hardy."

"It's him. I heard the president of the company mention it at the last board meeting. The Hardy Group is now Wells Fargo's largest client. Airlines, casinos, investment funds, TV factories, and corporate funds are all settled at Wells Fargo."

"They also happily told me that the Hardy Group's business now accounts for more than 20% of Wells Fargo's business. With this big customer, Wells Fargo's performance will be greatly improved this year," said Giannini.

"I didn't expect that he wanted to swallow Wells Fargo whole." Reed Fargo said angrily.

"This is normal. His business is growing bigger and bigger. He wants to have his own bank to serve himself. It will be more convenient to operate this way," said Giannini.

"Mr. Giannini, I hope you can stop him. The Fargo family is the founder of Wells Fargo Bank, and we don't want to lose our foundation." Reed Fargo said anxiously.

Giannini shook his head. "Fargo, this is not easy to stop. If Hardy withdraws all business from Wells Fargo, Wells Fargo will suffer a great loss, the stock price will inevitably plummet, and everyone's interests will be damaged."

"Do you think those small shareholders will be able to hold on? By then, they will buy enough shares and launch a forced takeover of Wells Fargo," said Giannini.

Reed Fargo was a little anxious, "I know you can stop him, Mr. Giannini."

"There are more than 13,000 banks in the United States, and Wells Fargo is ranked only in the middle. Even in California, Wells Fargo is just a small bank. I believe you understand that in your heart." Giannini said lightly.

"Wells Fargo's performance in recent years has not been good, and shareholders are not satisfied. If Hardy withdraws the business and the stock price plummets, what do you think the shareholders will choose? It is better to sell it now at a suitable price."

"My shares will also be sold."

"I have contacted other small shareholders and offered them a reasonable price. I believe they don't want to see Wells Fargo's stock fall 80% before they sell."

"Red, this is a business. My advice to you is to get the money and invest it in other areas. Bank of America has many partner companies that you can choose from."

Giannini gave a long speech that contained both persuasion and threats.

After hearing what Giannini said, Reed Fargo knew the situation was hopeless, and calling him here today was just to inform him.

The Fargo family could hold on, but that would probably result in heavy losses. If Bank of America wanted to take over Wells Fargo, it would be too easy.

Many of Wells Fargo's businesses are within the conglomerate. As long as Bank of America withdraws this part of the business, Wells Fargo will inevitably not be able to sustain itself.

"Okay, I'll go back and discuss it with my family and give you an answer as soon as possible." Reid said somewhat frustrated.

......

These days.

There are some rumors in the market, saying that someone is preparing to force a takeover of Wells Fargo, some people say that some large companies will terminate their cooperation with Wells Fargo, and some people say that Bank of America has negotiated with many shareholders of Wells Fargo. In short, there are a lot of news.

Wells Fargo's stock price fell slightly because the situation is unstable and people don't know what will happen.

If it was just a temporary situation, it wouldn't matter, but the continuous decline shows that some people are not optimistic about the future of Wells Fargo and are continuing to sell.

A hotel in San Francisco.

Hardy has a guest today.

A middle-aged man in his forties walked into the hotel. Hardy smiled and stood up to shake his hand. "Good afternoon, John."

"Hello Mr. Hardy."

John Stone is the current president of Wells Fargo. Hardy has had contact with him before, after all, the two companies have a lot of business dealings.

In Hardy's view, John Stone is a banker with a high level of management. During the two years he has been president, he has brought the formerly mediocre Wells Fargo Bank to a new level, especially in the cooperation with the Hardy Group, which has benefited the bank a lot.