Chapter 561: Can the Official and the Pirated Be the Same?

The next day, after Qi Sheng and his girlfriends finished getting ready.

He noticed that the white, middle-aged nanny from yesterday had a look of pure satisfaction on her face.

Then he looked at Zhang Kangyang, who was pale-faced and avoiding eye contact.

Qi Sheng didn’t have to guess what had happened last night.

“President Zhang, my lawyer will be here shortly. He’ll discuss the specifics of the loan agreement with you.”

Qi Sheng was an incredibly busy man; he had no time to spare for such trivialities.

Even at a 12% interest rate, the annual interest was only 36 million euros.

That wasn’t even enough to cover the maintenance costs for his yacht, the Nord.

“Of course. I’ll give him my full cooperation.”

Hearing the news he was most desperate for, Zhang Kangyang became ecstatic and thanked him profusely.

After leaving Zhang Kangyang’s house, Qi Sheng took Reba and the other women to Misha headquarters.

Shen Wan immediately came out to welcome them and arranged for someone to give Reba and the women a tour of the headquarters.

“Boss, Temasek’s 30 billion US Dollars has arrived. Including the group’s existing cash reserves, we now have 51 billion US Dollars in available capital.”

Shen Wan reported with a solemn expression, but he couldn’t conceal his excitement and fanaticism.

The plan to acquire Richemont—a classic case of a snake swallowing an elephant—was about to be completed by him and his boss. How could he not be thrilled?

To ensure there were no leaks, Shen Wan hadn’t told anyone the reason for raising the funds.

Even the people at LVMH Group could rack their brains and never guess what was coming.

They would never guess that Misha was targeting the Richemont Group instead of the handful of brands that were the subject of widespread speculation.

Go big or go home.

“I’ll handle the rest. You just focus on preparing your team to take over the Richemont Group. Promote those who should be promoted, and fire those who should be fired.”

As Qi Sheng spoke, he activated the system’s compulsory acquisition function.

The Richemont Group’s current market capitalization was 50.7 billion US dollars, one hundred million lower than before.

Qi Sheng didn’t hesitate, decisively issuing the acquisition order.

Even with his immense wealth, it was difficult to remain completely calm.

A fifty-billion-dollar acquisition would undoubtedly send shockwaves through the entire luxury industry.

Even the system’s processing speed was much slower than usual.

Qi Sheng wasn’t worried. He chatted with Shen Wan about his plans for after the acquisition.

Ten Master Level talents and forty Expert Level talents.

This purchase completely drained the last of Misha’s cash reserves.

But with the help of this new talent, Shen Wan would be better able to manage the rapidly expanding Misha.

The original Richemont would become a thing of the past.

From now on, the luxury industry would enter a new era of tripartite competition.

The LVMH Group, the Kering Group, and the Misha Group.

Once Qi Sheng activated the system’s revenue-boosting function, Misha’s performance would likely become even more explosive.

The luxury goods market was only so big.

If Misha’s performance improved, the other luxury groups’ would naturally decline.

Qi Sheng couldn’t care less if the other luxury groups lived or died.

In fact, he hoped their market caps would fall, giving him the opportunity to devour them as well.

…

The system may have been slow, but it granted every request.

Following an announcement from the Richemont Group, the Rupert family and all existing shareholders unanimously signed agreements to sell their equity.

The Misha Group had completed its acquisition of the Richemont Group for 50.7 billion US dollars.

All of Richemont’s brands, including Chloé, Van Cleef & Arpels, Cartier, Vacheron Constantin, Ji Family, and Count, became subsidiaries of Misha.

When the news broke, the entire luxury industry—and indeed, the whole world—was stunned.

Any one of these luxury brands was world-renowned on its own.

Furthermore, the Richemont Group had long held a stable position as the third-largest player in the luxury industry, with extremely impressive net profits.

The Rupert family, in particular, was known for being as greedy as vultures.

They had rejected even a tentative offer from Kering without the slightest hesitation.

To sell the Richemont Group to the Misha Group without any premium whatsoever took everyone by surprise.

But no one was more shocked than Richemont’s two main competitors: the LVMH Group and the Kering Group.

Old Arnault, in particular, had long coveted the Richemont Group’s jewelry brands.

But the capital required to acquire the Richemont Group was an astronomical sum, even for the LVMH Group.

He simply couldn’t have raised that much capital on such short notice.

But the fact that Misha had managed to complete the acquisition made Old Arnault extremely cautious.

He began to re-evaluate this ferociously ascendant competitor.

The acquisitions of Prada and Tiffany had already cost 31 billion US dollars.

Now, acquiring the Richemont Group cost another 50.7 billion US dollars.

Three acquisitions, a total expenditure of nearly one hundred billion US dollars.

Even Old Arnault was shaken by such a display of financial power.

What gave him an even bigger headache was that by absorbing the Richemont Group, Misha had perfected its brand portfolio.

In the jewelry sector, Misha could now utterly dominate both them and the Kering Group.

Cartier, Van Cleef & Arpels, Tiffany, Count, and Buccellati.

Wielding five top-tier jewelry brands, Misha wasn’t leaving them any room to survive.

In the watchmaking sector, the Richemont Group’s portfolio was absurdly powerful.

Vacheron Constantin, Ji Family, A. Lange & Söhne, Roger Dubuis, Panerai, and All Nations—it was practically an encyclopedia of watch brands.

The fashion division had been one of Richemont’s weaker areas.

Only Chloé was considered a noteworthy contender.

But now, with the addition of Prada, the fashion division’s star power was shining more brightly than ever.

The impact of this merger and acquisition would not fade from the luxury industry in a day or two.

But Qi Sheng, the man at the center of the media storm, had already returned to China.

As the CEO of Misha, Shen Wan was also the public face that Qi Sheng pushed to the forefront.

He instantly became the focus of intense media attention.

“As for this acquisition, I believe history will be the ultimate judge. Richemont is the past. From now on, there is only Misha.”