Chapter 343 My Lawyer Father
"Amazing! Awesome! I didn't expect Microsoft to have such a trick!"
Apple headquarters, CEO office, Roland is sitting on a visitor chair, constantly turning in circles.
After learning that Microsoft had escaped the Department of Justice's antitrust investigation and made an acquisition offer to Yahoo directly, Roland flew to Steve Jobs without saying a word, because he wanted to know whether this kind of **** was true. how to achieve.
For a long time, Roland has always been a green tea. He wanted to sell Yahoo to Microsoft to cash out, but he was afraid that Microsoft would become an invincible dragon monopolizing the operating system and the Internet after swallowing Yahoo. I have been paying attention to this transaction all the time, longing for an external force to cut off Microsoft's evil intentions of acquisition, so that I have a larger living space.
In his vision, only the violent institutions in the world can do this.
For example, the Ministry of Commerce of the United States did not approve it, the EU antitrust regulator did not approve it, and other countries raised doubts.
Among these violent institutions, the Ministry of Commerce of America is obviously unreliable, because it has become a label that cannot be washed away because it has to be a Bitch and set up a memorial archway. Questions and accusations from other countries cannot hinder Microsoft, even if it is a bear It is useless to be willing to come out and shout twice. Only the European Union can forcibly stop this transaction.
But the problem is that the idea is beautiful and the reality is very full. Before Roland fantasizes about the situation where the European Union hammers Microsoft to death, Microsoft has already stood with the American Ministry of Commerce and hammered the European Union to pieces.
This situation was unexpected for Roland, and this speed was even more difficult for Roland to understand—
How can there be such a fast person in the world?
If the crash of Air France Flight 4590 is an excuse that comes to your door, how to turn this excuse into a knife to attack the enemy in the shortest time is the horror of capital.
And when Roland asked this question in confusion to Steve Jobs, who was most familiar with Bill Gates, the guy standing in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows and looking at the outside scene laughed.
"Surprised?" Apple godfather asked.
"Of course, aren't you surprised?" Roland replied.
"Oh, your state is really very rare."
Jobs turned around, folded his hands, and leaned against the window sill, "What do you not understand?"
"I don't understand why the National Transportation Safety Board suddenly helped Microsoft." Roland said bluntly, "You know, even if the Department of Justice and Microsoft reach a settlement, it doesn't mean the federal government has to help Microsoft."
"This transformation is too blunt, making the previous targeting a big show."
"A show that fooled the world."
Roland's words made Jobs nod his head, and pulled out his right hand, just like introducing a product to the world during a new product launch event. He snatched it from the void, and said confidently: "I agree with your point of view, and I also think their transformation is too blunt. , but what if I told you that at this point, the NTSB has to step in?"
"What?" Roland didn't understand.
Jobs continued to explain: "You heard it right, the National Transportation Safety Board must come forward at this time, and on the surface, it is helping Microsoft, but in fact, it is helping Boeing and Lockheed Martin."
"Airbus, I think you should understand it? It is the world's largest global airliner manufacturer, and it is the product of the integration of the entire European aerospace industry. It is composed of DF, MBB, and MTU in Germany, ROS in France, and Malaysia. Tera, Spain's CASA and other companies were merged to form the reason for the confrontation with Boeing."
"It is precisely because of their crazy merger that Boeing's market share has been eroded, so they proposed to acquire McDonnell Douglas, but you have to know that McDonnell Douglas is our largest military aircraft manufacturer. The F-4 retired in 1996, The F-15s that are still in service, the C-17s that came into service in the 1990s, are all their commodity."
"Thus, after the acquisition of McDonnell Douglas, Boeing's history has also changed, and it once again entered the military market that it had been involved in before the 1960s. Not only that, the three markets of civilian, commercial, and military use make it directly threaten Airbus's status."
"So, in order to ensure their own market position, Airbus established an independent company SAS in January last year, specializing in military aircraft. Not only that, they also directly participated in NATO's A400M military transport aircraft research and development plan."
"The main function of the A400M military transport aircraft is to increase the tactical airlift capability of the user country. Before they announced their independent research and development, this market has been occupied by the Ukrainian vulture and Lockheed Martin's Hercules. If Airbus succeeds in developing it, That's bound to have a serious impact on both models, so..."
"When Air France Flight 4590 crashed, it was our National Transportation Safety Board's job to insist on their safety standards. If Airbus's safety standards were broken by us, then the A400M they developed would be nothing but their own. Apart from using it, which other country is willing to pay for it?"
"A company whose civilian tires can explode frequently, which country dares to use their transport planes to transport troops?"
"At the same time, the A318, a small airliner that Airbus is developing, is aimed at the 737-600, which was introduced to the market by Boeing in 1998. In the words of Airbus, their goal is to seize the medium-range market below 4,000 nautical miles. In the face of this kind of plan, if our National Transportation Safety Board hammers their safety standards, Boeing's market position will be stronger."
Speaking of this, the Godfather of Apple stopped.
Shaking his eyebrows at Roland, that knowing smile made Roland suddenly realize.
It turned out that the original intention of the National Transportation Safety Board was not to help Microsoft acquire Yahoo, but to allow Lockheed Martin and Boeing to gain greater market share from Airbus!
But the problem is that if you understand it, you understand it, and if you are confused, you are confused.
After learning about the good intentions of the Federation, another question popped up in Roland's head.
If the current federation is not showing up to Microsoft, then isn’t Microsoft a part of Pengci?
Touch the porcelain of the Federation!
Touch EU porcelain!
And after these two companies react, Microsoft is bound to encounter their counterattack!
The European Union will definitely insist on the acquisition case!
After all, no one is a fool, one for one is a fair trade, one for two, that is a blood loss!
Federation will continue to make trouble!
Because of them, they were kidnapped by Microsoft Chiguoguo!
"That is to say, there is still a probability that Microsoft's acquisition of Yahoo will be rejected?"
As soon as Roland said this, Jobs immediately understood what the kid in front of him was thinking.
He chuckled twice, went to the drinking fountain and poured two glasses of water, and when he came back and handed them to Roland, he also muttered, "Tsk tsk tsk, maybe William doesn't know? The one who took the initiative to sell Yahoo! The guy, actually hates him too?"
Such teasing made Roland, who got perfect expression control, laughed, "No, I'm just caring about my friends."
"I'm also caring about myself."
"Concerned about friends? Concerned about whether Carl Icahn and Ronald Perelman will lose money on this trade?"
Jobs didn't believe Roland's nonsense, shrugged his shoulders and said: "Caring about yourself? Are you concerned about whether your Blizzard Entertainment can still get a free ride on Microsoft's XBox? I remember that your company has already got their test machine."
Roland did not give a clear answer to this tentative inquiry.
Of course, it's not that he doesn't want to answer, but that after Blizzard Entertainment got on the right track, he didn't ask about its development.
Not to mention whether Blizzard Entertainment got the XBox test machine, even in the game project that Blizzard Entertainment is developing, he only knows the "World of Warcraft" that David Olsen told him last time.
In the eyes of Jobs, the act of keeping silent is the default. He was too lazy to delve into this issue and said: "The Concorde is a supersonic aircraft. It was a project in the 1950s. From 1965 to 1979 In 2009, they produced a total of twenty aircraft, and the tires of the Concorde were indeed qualified according to the original performance standards."
“After 30 years of development, the Concorde is already on the verge of being eliminated. Although they only take three hours to fly from London to New York, they are the fastest in the world, but their high cost has kept their fares above 9,000.”
“In this case, even if our National Transportation Safety Board has sufficient reasons to include Airbus in the list of prohibited imports, the EU can find explanations to allow Airbus to continue to enter other markets.”
"Death hammering Airbus may really allow Lockheed Martin and Boeing to get more markets, but it is not cost-effective to kill them just for a single market, so..."
“Microsoft took advantage.”
Grab the grass!
Can you still do this?
Roland was shocked!
He didn't expect that the European Union would take advantage of Microsoft's acquisition of Yahoo on the grounds of Airbus safety standards?
If you can buy Yahoo painlessly just by taking advantage of the advantages, then the advantages are too big!
Moreover, to be honest, Roland simply can't understand this brain circuit of taking advantage!
Because for the federation, there is no need for Microsoft to acquire Yahoo!
Microsoft is a company in America, which already monopolizes the operating system market, and Yahoo is also a company in America, currently occupying most of the Internet portal market. In this case, their combination is the superposition of monopoly and monopoly. From the federal point of view, it is a thankless case!
Since both companies are American, there is no need for them to make any acquisitions!
Because even if it is not acquired, it will be our federation plundering the whole world!
"But this explanation doesn't make sense!" Roland shook his head, "If I belonged to the Federation, then I would definitely refuse!"
"Because passing this acquisition will neither increase my interests nor reduce my market. Not only that, but approving this acquisition will also greatly damage our image."
"So, taking advantage is just an excuse."
"Hahaha~" This analysis made Jobs smile on his face. He shook his water glass, looked at the sudden vortex, and denied, "No, no, you got me wrong."
"I'm talking about Microsoft taking advantage, not William taking advantage."
"Aha?" Roland didn't understand, and Jobs shook his head with his beeping eyes.
Such a situation prevented him from continuing to be a joke, "Microsoft has taken advantage of it, and it has taken advantage of William."
"I'm talking about William, not William Henry GatesIII, but his father, William Henry GatesII."
"William's father is a lawyer, a very famous lawyer."
"He used to be the president of the Seattle Bar Association, then became the president of the King County Bar Association, and then became the president of the Washington State Bar Association. To put it bluntly, if you commit a crime in Washington State, just please When it comes to William's dad, there's no case you can't win, whether you're being sued by an individual or the Commonwealth."
"And you also know that in the Federation, the guys in various positions are basically lawyers, not to mention the federal courts. Lawyers from Washington State are the biggest faction in it, so from the beginning, we didn't think that Microsoft It will be split up, because if something goes wrong, his father can find a way to change the judge in charge of the split case."
Speaking of this, he seemed to be envious, but more like helpless. Jobs drank his saliva and complained: "Damn guy! His mother can help him get orders when starting a business! His father can help him solve all legal problems when monopolizing the market. !"
Such words made Roland chuckle, "After all, there are people before society."
This response made Jobs give Roland a blank look, "Oh! Yes! You are also this kind of person! I still remember the incident with Google! When I was your age, I could only be kicked out by Sequoia Capital, and you... hehe ..."
Roland shook his head repeatedly after hearing the yin and yang eccentric words, and Jobs did not bother with such a boring topic, but continued with the previous words: "Since we all feel that his father can influence the personnel issues of the Federal Court for his son, then When the opportunity for Microsoft to acquire Yahoo appeared, wouldn’t his father come forward to help him, wouldn’t it be the most normal choice?”
"The point is, his dad is helping now, and it doesn't take too much effort at all, because like Microsoft, Boeing's headquarters is also in Seattle, and the team of lawyers hired by Boeing has always been his dad's people..."
"When Boeing wants the National Transportation Safety Board to disgust Airbus, why don't they make a deal with Microsoft when they know they can't get real profits? You have used Yahoo to show the world how many times the Internet leads public opinion, and when When this power is in the hands of our own people, the criticism of Airbus will only increase!"
"After all, public opinion wars... are also wars!"
Jobs winked at Roland.
Grass! (a plant)
Roland smiled on the surface, but MMP in his heart!
Since the old man has spoken so clearly, if Roland still can't understand, then he is an idiot!
Microsoft's shaking of the National Transportation Safety Board is actually very simple.
It’s nothing more than the most common routine in novels where the old one comes after the young one!
Seeing my son being targeted, I was so distressed that I was about to die, but when I was about to help my son solve the problem, I suddenly found that in the process of solving the problem, I could slap those bullies back in the face, so I made a move Well!
The Federation doesn't want to see Microsoft acquire Yahoo?
It doesn't matter!
The military-industrial complex is willing to let Microsoft buy Yahoo!
Because when the tools of public opinion are in the hands of their own people, this camp can be stronger!
As for whether the Federation is willing?
In this case, they have to be willing if they don't want to.
Firstly, it’s because Airbus can’t make actual profits; secondly, it’s capital kidnapping that can’t be refused; thirdly, it’s…
In fact, after the dot-com bubble burst, Yahoo is having a hard time now.
So far, they still haven't found a way to make large-scale profits. At this time, if there is a huge capital flow to support them, the chances of them finding a profit model will increase accordingly.
"Okay, I'm fine." Roland sighed and patted his body.
Things have come to this point, he has no illusions.
Microsoft's acquisition of Yahoo is a foregone conclusion, and he...
Created a unique dragon for himself.
"Oh, by the way, these things have nothing to do with us, right?" Roland remembered his deal with Microsoft.
After hearing his question, Jobs smiled and said: "Of course it is related."
"Money is not so easy to earn."
Note: ① The A400M military transport aircraft project that Airbus intervened in the late 1990s did make Lockheed Martin feel threatened, so they directly upgraded their own Hercules and drove out the Super Hercules (C-130J) , and was officially delivered to the U.S. military in 2004, which was also the reason for Deadhammer Airbus at that time. ②The A318, which Airbus wanted to compete with Boeing, was a failed product. The reason for the failure was not that the plane was faulty, but that the United States did not define it as a small passenger plane, and had to charge various fees according to the standards of large passenger planes. Buying it is equivalent to buying loneliness, the income plummets, and the cost remains the same. ③ In the Microsoft antitrust case, the Supreme Court replaced the judges as mentioned earlier, and Gates’ father did have a close cooperative relationship with Boeing. The biggest breakthrough in the government orders Microsoft received in 2003 That is, Boeing invited Microsoft to provide system protection for military aircraft.
(end of this chapter)