Chapter 311: Securing Nokia

After a busy afternoon, the press releases to be published the next day were finalized.

Simon did not wish to become too entangled with the Japanese, so he ultimately agreed to publish four articles clarifying Cersei Capital's operations and expressing optimism about the Japanese economy in Japan's "Asahi Shimbun," "Yomiuri Shimbun," and North America's "Wall Street Journal," and "The New York Times."

Of course, the so-called insider information clarified was not entirely the true situation.

The timing of Cersei Capital's exit from the Japanese market was set in June, and the Japanese consortium's purchase of the investment portfolio of Cersei Capital's Funds No. 1 to 5 was described as normal securities investment without any undisclosed insider information. Since Cersei Capital is a private offshore hedge fund, it has no obligation to disclose its operational details to the public.

Meanwhile, Simon also appropriately expressed his optimism for the Japanese economy.

The general viewpoint was that while the Japanese real estate market indeed contained severe bubble elements in recent years, this bubble was undoubtedly supported by a very solid real economy.

The crazed real estate industry in Japan did not squeeze the living space of the real economy; both developed side by side, leading to the continuous surge in both the real estate and stock markets over the years.

Therefore, even if the real estate bubble deflated, Japan's deep accumulation in industries such as automotive, steel, chemicals, electronics, and entertainment was still enough to support its strong position as the world's second-largest economy, making the country still very worthy of investment.

Obviously, the viewpoints jointly discussed by both parties meant that after the economic shift, the Japanese would focus on protecting their real economy.

Acknowledging the real estate bubble and safeguarding the real economy was undoubtedly a very wise decision.

After inviting Haruo Maekawa and his party for dinner and seeing off the Japanese, it was already 9 pm.

Janet, after taking a bath and wrapped in a thick cotton bathrobe, came down to the living room where Simon was reviewing Nokia documents.

Sitting comfortably next to Simon, Janet rubbed against him like a kitten, saying, "I think getting too close to the Japanese isn't good, after all, you're American."

The general trend in the United States is to suppress the rise of Japan, and Simon's apparent 'contrarian' actions, upon careful consideration, indeed seemed somewhat inappropriate.

Resting his head against Janet's freshly washed fluffy hair and smelling the pleasant fragrance of her body, Simon said, "I know, so after finishing operations in North America by the end of the year, I will liquidate Cersei Capital and then re-raise funds, this time opening up to North American capital."

Janet nodded in agreement and asked, "How much do you plan to raise this time?"

"About $3 billion. $1 billion from Australia, $1 billion from North America, and we'll contribute $1 billion. However, this is just for hedging purposes. If we don't encounter good opportunities, the profits from the hedge fund won't be too high. I've been considering transforming Cersei Capital into a comprehensive fund company, which could involve mergers and acquisitions, equity investment, and venture capital in the future. Help me think about it when you have time."

"Okay."

As they were chatting, Jennifer, who had finished tidying up the kitchen, also came to the living room.

After greeting, Jennifer quietly sat down on a single sofa nearby.

Janet, seeing her assistant contently reading a document, suddenly smiled, leaned into Simon's ear, and whispered, "You can go to Jenny's room tonight."

Janet did not lower her voice at all.

Jennifer's cheeks turned noticeably red, and she reflexively flipped a page of the document she was holding, but her trembling hands made a slight rustling sound, prompting Janet to laugh again. She got up, tiptoed over to Jennifer's single sofa, and forcefully hugged her assistant while whispering in her ear.

This time, she did lower her voice.

Simon simply 'warned', "Don't get any bad ideas."

Janet looked up at Simon, squinting, "Of course not, it's definitely a good idea."

Simon put down the document, "I'm going to bed."

Janet cheerfully followed, "Then shall I sleep with Jenny tonight?"

"Don't bully Jenny."

Janet, holding the still embarrassed assistant, shook her a bit and said, "Isn't Jenny meant to be bullied?"

Planning to fly to Helsinki the next morning, Simon no longer paid attention to Janet's antics and went straight to the upstairs bedroom.

After taking a bath and lying in bed, waiting for a while without seeing the women return, he guessed they really went to bully Jennifer tonight.

Simon simply turned off the lights and lay down.

A few minutes later, before falling asleep, the bedroom door was gently pushed open. The silhouette and the light footsteps, significantly different from usual, let Simon know it wasn't Janet entering.

The figure came over and sat by the bed, not speaking, but extending a hand to pat Simon gently. Simon reached out to hold the woman's waist, and her body tensed for a moment before softening and leaning into him willingly.

"Actually, there's something I've been wanting to tell you for a while."

After a moment, Simon was the first to speak.

Jennifer just hummed softly.

Simon thought for a moment and said, "Probably, next year, I'll marry Janet."

Jennifer was silent for a while, then hummed again, her body pressing closer to him.

Simon suddenly understood something; perhaps, Janet and Jennifer both realized this point over time, which might explain why Janet unusually pushed her assistant over tonight.

Having been so close for so long, Simon and Jennifer's relationship was very intimate, but they had always maintained a certain boundary.

Simon knew the assistant liked him, and he always cherished and was cautious with those close to him, desiring their well-being and more choices. Thus, whether it was Sandra or Jennifer, he carefully maintained a certain distance.

Now, feeling the warmth and fragrance of the woman in his arms, Simon no longer hesitated, leaned over to kiss the assistant on the lips, and said, "Tonight is just like this, we'll find a better time."

Jennifer quickly hummed, boldly leaning in to kiss him back.

In fact, a big reason she decided to stay by his side was his cherishment of her. Knowing he would casually write a large check to women after some absurdities, yet he had never treated her carelessly over their time together.

The next morning, the articles on "Asahi Shimbun" and "Yomiuri Shimbun" had been published.

Simon and his team took off from Athens Airport at 9 am and arrived in Helsinki before noon local time. The signing ceremony for the acquisition of Nokia's mobile communications division by the Westeros Company was held at 2 pm.

The final agreed transaction price was $200 million, with Westeros Company also injecting $50 million into Nokia for the research and development of digital phones and GSM communication equipment.

Nokia's name was also a focus of the negotiations.

At the time, Nokia was a diversified business conglomerate involved in various fields, including paper, rubber, and television.

Normally, a name change would follow an acquisition. However, Simon still liked the name Nokia.

After bargaining, it was finally agreed that Nokia's mobile

 communications division would be reorganized into Nokia Electronics & Communications Technology Company, while Nokia's other businesses would continue as usual.

Nokia Electronics & Communications Technology Company could still be referred to simply as Nokia.

Both parties also agreed that Nokia Electronics & Communications Technology Company's business scope would be limited to the research and development and manufacturing of mobile communication-related equipment, and neither side would venture into the other's business area, as it would constitute a breach of contract.

Furthermore, Simon continued to employ Jorma Ollila, the head of Nokia's mobile communications division, as the president and CEO of Nokia Electronics & Communications Technology Company, responsible for the company's operations. Jorma Ollila was the man who, in the original timeline, developed Nokia from a company limited to Finland into a global electronics giant.

After spending two days at Nokia's headquarters in Espoo and finalizing everything, Simon and his team left Finland to return to North America.

It was now December 5th.

Simon had promised to attend Dakota Johnson's baptism ceremony on December 9th, arranged by Don Johnson and Melanie Griffith, and there were also numerous matters in North America requiring Simon's personal attention.

On another note,

On December 4th, Monday,

The Japanese stock market began to decline right at the opening due to a surge of sell orders, and by Monday afternoon, the Nikkei 225 index fell from Friday's close of 40,039 points to 39,811 points.

The market dropped 228 points in a single day, a decline of only 0.56%, a much better outcome than the Japanese government had anticipated.

Clearly, the Japanese government's timely intervention and Simon's statements in major media in North America and Japan played a role in calming market panic. Thus, although the shift in the Japanese stock market was inevitable, it did not experience the significant crash many had feared.

With the situation stabilized on the first day of trading, subsequent responses became much easier.

Then, on December 6th, Time Magazine, owned by Time Inc., published its latest issue with Simon as the "Person of the Year," sparking media attention and discussion once again.

Time Magazine's annotation for Simon as "Person of the Year" was "creating a breathtaking financial miracle at an unparalleled speed."

After the news about Cersei Capital's insider operations was released last Friday, Time Magazine, which had already completed an article interviewing Simon, added some quotes from those newspaper articles at the last minute. Due to the significant influence of Time Magazine's "Person of the Year," the publication of the new issue even caused a brief rebound in the Japanese stock market the day after it was released.

By December 8th, the Nikkei 225 index had only dropped 636 points over the week, a decline of only 1.6% from the previous Friday's high of over 40,000 points.

Although the downward trend of the Japanese stock market was irreversible, the looming crisis following the leak of Cersei Capital's operations last Friday was completely averted.

After making public statements in several newspapers on Monday, Simon no longer commented on the matter publicly.

Returning to North America, Simon's first stop was New York.

During the return journey with James Reubold and others, Simon and James discussed the Westeros Company's next phase of increasing holdings in technology stocks.

The acquisition of Nokia utilized entirely the capital Cersei Capital had stored overseas, and Daenerys Entertainment had continuously provided funds to the Westeros Company over the past six months. The "minor crash" in the North American stock market in October also caused many technology stocks to become undervalued.

Moreover, with Windows 3.0 set to launch in May next year, Microsoft would gain market recognition through this operating system, and its stock price would soar.

Thus, the next few months represented the last opportunity for the Westeros Company to increase its holdings in Microsoft at a lower price.

Simon planned to raise the Westeros Company's shareholding in both Microsoft and Intel to 15%.

Achieving this goal, based on the combined peak market value of these two companies of over $1 trillion in 2000, just these stocks would bring Simon a fortune of $150 billion in the future.

Returning to Los Angeles, Nancy Brill informed Simon that Nintendo had proactively contacted Daenerys Entertainment to grant Blizzard Studio a special discount. Moreover, Nancy also reached an understanding with Nintendo regarding the acquisition of EA.

However, negotiations with EA were not smooth.

Daenerys Entertainment intended to take over EA completely to obtain a complete PC game production and distribution platform. EA's shareholders responded very positively to Daenerys Entertainment's approach, but they preferred to sell only a portion of the shares from major shareholders to Daenerys Entertainment, rather than selling the company outright.

After several negotiations, Nancy determined that the highest shareholding Daenerys Entertainment could obtain was about 35%, similar to the company's holding in Activision.

Acquiring these shares would also make Daenerys Entertainment the largest shareholder of EA, almost having absolute control of the company. According to Nancy's judgment, most of EA's shareholders did not mind transferring control to Daenerys Entertainment; they only hoped to continue gaining more from their shares in EA.

With Blizzard Studio's "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" expected to bring in over $100 million in net profit, the shareholders' decision was not surprising.

After discussion, this was likely the least costly and most amicable way to acquire shares.

The negotiations between the two parties were still confidential. Once the news became public, if Daenerys Entertainment sought to acquire EA through a hostile takeover, EA's stock price would definitely double in the short term.

Simon did not wish to acquire EA at an irrational price, so he decided to accept this share acquisition plan.

EA was bound to expand continuously in the future. As long as Daenerys Entertainment secured control of the company, there would be many ways to increase its shareholding in the future.

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