Chapter 353 Killing two birds with one stone
"Huh?" Facing Gothe's "sudden attack", Harland was unable to react immediately and was stunned.
Although he kept saying that he encountered a group of profiteers, he didn't even look at the dogs.
But these words are actually like what a businessman says: "Business is not easy to do."
Most businessmen will say this. As for whether it is really difficult to do or fake, it depends on different people's opinions.
Hence, the prices offered by those intended buyers may not necessarily be what Harland said.
“Including the remaining ketch and all the facilities of the shipyard, what is your psychological price for selling it to me in a package? In addition, if I can successfully take over the shipyard, if the original workers of the shipyard are willing to stay, I am also willing to continue to employ them.” Gaode added.
"This" Harland hesitated for a moment and quickly entered a state of thinking.
He thought about it briefly and quickly gave a price: "The Harland Shipyard covers an area of nearly two acres and is located in the port of Lagos. As you know, the land here is of higher value. According to the land price, the price of this piece of land is about 2,000 gorse coins."
“So the total valuation of the land and grounds is approximately 4,000 gorse coins.”
"Then there is the fixed assets, first of all, the shipyards used for ship construction and repair. We have two in total, one large and one small. The larger shipyard is valued at 1,500 gorse coins, and the smaller one is worth almost 1,000 gorse coins."
"In addition, there are some woodworking machinery, ship frames, and a large number of carpentry tools in the shipyard. Although I have sold a lot of hand equipment before, the remaining parts are still worth about 2,000 gorse coins. "
"The total is 4,500 gorse coins."
"In addition, there are some unprocessed raw materials in stock such as oak, canvas, and hemp rope in the shipyard warehouse, which are worth about 1,000 gorse coins."
“We still have one ketch that has been built. The price I offered to the lady before was 1,250 gorse coins, which only counts you 1,200 gorse coins.”
“Finally, our Harland Shipyard is a century-old shipyard. Although it is not large in scale, it can be regarded as an old shipyard in Lagos City. One, it also has a certain popularity and reputation in the local fishing and shipping industry. Although it has gone bankrupt, the name still has a certain value, with an estimated value of about 500 gorse coins. "
"The total is 11,200 gorse coins. Sir, do you think this price is acceptable?" Harland asked tentatively.
11,200 Plantagenet Coins, even with Phoenix's resource support, is definitely an astronomical sum for Gaode.
It's not that the resources Phoenix can provide are not worth 11,200 gorse coins, the main reason is that he uses astral teleportation, which is more or less equivalent to smuggling, and the supplies he can carry are limited.
The other reason is that his strength is limited. It will definitely be a bit troublesome to sell such a valuable material. It requires multiple batches of small quantities to be shipped to different locations.
Gothe rolled his eyes and spoke slowly: "Since Harland Shipyard is a century-old shipyard and has a good reputation locally, how did it get into the current situation?"
This was both curiosity and a means of bargaining.
Hearing Gothe's question, Harland's face froze slightly, and a trace of hesitation flashed across his face.
But he also knew that the news about the decline of the shipyard was not a hard-to-find secret in the city of Lagos, so he finally chose to tell the truth: "In fact, half of this business was destroyed by my own hands." After mining, the workers left the shipyard to join the spiritual marrow mining organization."
Harland paused, as if he had seen the crazy scene again: "If you have never seen the scene at that time, you may not be able to imagine what a grand occasion it was. To be exaggerated, at that time, even the old ladies selling grilled fish sticks at the dock were holding copper and stone coins and wanted to participate."
"Naturally, there were also many shipyards selling off their assets to squeeze into the spiritual marrow industry."
“Although I didn’t reach that point, I was really greedy for profit at the time and didn’t care about anything else. I threw all the funds in my hand into spiritual marrow mining. This move directly caused the Harland Shipyard to lose all its liquidity and also left the biggest foreshadowing for today’s bankruptcy.”
"With the spirit marrow mining in full swing, during the most prosperous period, almost half of the people in Lagos were engaged in spirit marrow-related industries, the fishery declined, and the shipyards also shrank. However, there was a guarantee of spiritual marrow at that time, and I also I didn’t take it too seriously."
"In the first year of investment, the dividends I received were nearly twice the initial investment amount, and the profit from the shipyard's hard work in building a ship was only 20% of the cost at most."
Harland had a wry smile in his throat, "So, not only did I not realize that the situation was wrong at the time, I raised funds to protect the shipyard, and even invested more of my property in the soul industry."
This decision sounds stupid now, but given the circumstances at the time, how could it not be a wise decision?
Traditional industries have plummeted and emerging industries are in full swing. Decisive transformation is a wise choice.
「后来的事你也知道了，灵髓被开采完毕，拉各斯城的经济一落千丈。」
「但是在灵髓资源即将枯竭之前，把控灵髓资源的几大巨头将这个消息秘而不发，甚至为了继续营造热火朝天的假象，往箱子里装石块来充数，引得不断有其它商人与投资者加入其中。」
"And they themselves are quietly transferring assets and exiting the market."
I understand this. Isn't it just that the bankers are using you retail investors as leeks?
Gaode secretly complained in his heart.
"When the giants complete their exit, they will no longer hide the secret that the spiritual marrow resources have been exhausted, and the prosperity of Lagos City is like a bubble that has been directly burst."
"The originally prosperous soul marrow industry has collapsed one after another, and the huge amount of money we invested in it has all been wasted, without even a sound being heard."
Although this matter has been in the past for a long time, Harland has long accepted the fact, but when he mentioned it again, there was still a trace of pain in his voice.
"And the collapse of the spiritual marrow industry also triggered a series of chain reactions."
"First of all, during the Spirit Fever period, the traditional fishery in Lagos City plummeted. Fishermen were already important customers of our shipyard. Once the fishing industry declined, the shipbuilding industry would naturally not have a good life."
"The other is that during the Spirit Fever period, the market demand for fishing boats dropped sharply, and instead, the demand for merchant ships and passenger ships increased sharply."
“In order to comply with this trend, we have also changed the production structure to focus on merchant ships and passenger ships. However, once the bubble of the Spiritual Fever burst, these two ship types became uninterested.”
h “Whether it is a ship that has been built but not yet delivered, or a semi-finished product in the construction period, those who ordered it would rather default and pay liquidated damages than pay for it.”
"The material and labor costs required for a merchant ship or passenger ship are extremely high, not to mention that due to the shrinkage of the shipbuilding industry's supply chain caused by the Spirit Fever, the cost of shipbuilding raw materials has increased significantly, and this backlog of costs is even more terrifying."
"In addition, all the working capital of the shipyard was invested in the Spirit Industry, so," Haaland spread his hands, "my shipyard collapsed directly."
"Before the Spiritual Fever, when the number of shipyards in Lagos city was at its highest, there were nearly fifty shipyards in total, but now, there are only more than twenty left."
"The scale of our Harland Shipyard can be sustained to this point only because of this technical foundation and reputation." Speaking of this, Harland raised his head slightly, showing his pride in his own shipyard.
"So, the current reality cannot be changed. It is a fact that the shipbuilding industry has collapsed. It is considered a sunset industry. It is unreasonable for you to use the valuation as the selling price to transfer the shipyard." Gaode did not care about this and said slowly.
De said quickly: "The officials are also aware of the importance of fishery and are doing their best to help the fishery revive, including but not limited to providing certain subsidies to individuals and commercial firms that order fishing boats, reducing or exempting taxes on catches, and issuing industry protection regulations."
The main customers of fishing boats are fishermen, and the so-called subsidy is equivalent to 10,000 minus 10,000 for a full 200,000 yuan. It seems quite strong, but the problem is that what they lack is the 200,000 yuan!
"Reducing or reducing taxes on catches is a long-term strategy. Sticking to it will indeed help the fishery industry recover, but it is not a strong medicine. It is simply not enough for the current sluggish fishery and shipbuilding industries. "
"As for the industrial protection regulations, you are not talking about the rule stipulated in Lagos City that the fish purchased by local restaurants and merchants must be mainly caught by local fishermen." This is what Gothe saw on the handwritten parchment at the front desk of the Palm Tree Hotel.
Harland was slightly startled, with a trace of embarrassment flashing across his face, but he still managed to say, "Yes, that's the rule. This will be of great help to the revitalization of the local fishery."
"As long as the fishermen's catch has a market, they will have more funds to buy fishing boats, and our shipbuilding industry will recover accordingly?"
Gaode sneered: "Not to mention how many obstacles this regulation will encounter during the implementation process, whether it can really be implemented."
"And even if the local fishermen's catch really has a market, they will not agree. They will definitely invest all their money in buying new ships. After experiencing the impact of the Spirit Fever, they all have a shadow in their hearts. "
He continued: "Look at your shipyard. During the Spirit Fever, you took away all the funds to invest in the Spirit Industry, causing the shipyard technology to stagnate. Now even if the shipbuilding industry is really revived, why do you think Harland Shipyard can stand out in the fierce market competition?"
Harland's shoulders slumped slightly. What Gothe said was true, but he was still unwilling to accept it: "Harland's brig is still one of the best brigs in Lagos."
Gothe shook his head and disagreed: "This does not have much effect. After experiencing the spiritual fever, which shipyard can still survive, which one is not a bit capable?"
"This advantage of yours may be an advantage compared to those closed shipyards, but in the current shipbuilding industry in Lagos City, it may not be worth mentioning at all."
Harland's face turned ugly. He opened his mouth and wanted to say something, but was interrupted by Gothe.
"I know you are not willing to give in. After all, this is a shipyard that has been inherited by your family for hundreds of years, but the reality is so cruel, you have to accept it."
Harland was silent for a long time, and finally said with difficulty: "Then how much can you offer?"
"8,000 gorse coins, based on 70% of the total valuation of your assets." Gothe stretched out his hand and made an "eight" gesture.
He paused at the word and said with a smile: "It means that the price I offered is still higher than others."
Harland, who knew he had made a mistake, wished he could give himself a compliment, but when bargaining was important at the moment, he did not care about face, "10,000 gorse coins, this is already the lowest price."
"It's too expensive, not worth it." Gothe shrugged, looking unusually indifferent.
"There is also a brand new ketch for 9500." Harland's expression began to look slightly pleading.
Gothe did not reply immediately, but made a thoughtful gesture.
After a while, he slowly raised his head and looked at Harland, "9,200, this is the most sincere price I can give. If you still don't accept it, there's nothing I can do about it."
"But I believe that no one will give a better price than me at the moment, and your shipyard, the longer it takes, the value will only get lower and lower."
Harland was struggling internally. On the one hand, he was reluctant to let the shipyard left by his father's generation be acquired at such a low price, but on the other hand, he also knew that the facts were indeed as Gothe said.
"Mr. Harland, after the shipyard is sold, what are you going to do next?" Gothe suddenly asked at this time.
Harland was stunned for a moment, and said honestly: "I plan to move to the city of Dorne, buy one or two small shops, and start to retire."
Gothe smiled slightly, "I don't know much about shipbuilding, and I am a layman, so if I acquire the Harland Shipyard, I am willing to sell 10% of the shares of the shipyard to Mr. Harland at the current valuation, and invite Mr. Harland to serve as the shipyard's guidance and consultant."
"In this way, you can enjoy your retirement life in Dorne City while continuing to continue your family's century-old inheritance. It will not be considered as completely selling off the inheritance passed down by your father's generation."
Harland's eyes widened slightly, and there was a hint of emotion on his face.
Obviously, the condition proposed by Gothe hit his heart.
In business, the main thing is to do what one likes.
Gothe accurately saw Haaland's "goodness", so he put forward an offer that he could not refuse.
"Okay, 9,200 gorse coins, deal." After another long moment of hesitation and thinking, Harland nodded and finally agreed.
"This amount of money is not a small amount, and I need at least half a month to prepare it."
“Of course.” Haaland had no doubts.
How many people can directly take out 9,200 gorse coins?
50 gorse coins are used as a deposit, and you need to immediately withdraw the relevant information about the transfer of the shipyard and the sale of the ship. "
"No problem, I will reject all other customers' purchase intentions and wait for you to prepare the funds to complete the transaction."
"It's the best, but we have to be honest. If the lady you promised before comes to you again and wants to buy this ketch, you should ask her to go to the Palm Tree Hotel to find a lady named Anna." Gothe added.
(End of this chapter)