Ch. 1701..1710
Life at the Top Chapter 1701
Although both Finland National
Telecommunications Group and Finland National Workers’ Union were large organizations in Finland, they were not at the same conceptual level.
It would be impossible to employ the same tricks used against the Worker’s Union on the telecommunications group.
Therefore, Jasper also attached great importance to this meeting with Simon, the chairman of the telecommunications group.
In this meeting, Jasper brought Greg along while Brayson personally came forward as the intermediary introducer.
In the building of the National Telecommunications Group headquarters, Jasper met Simon.
He was a skinny old man in his early sixties.
Although he was thin, his handshake with Jasper was firm and powerful. His eyes
flashed with a hale and hearty glint and h e looked energetic, appearing completely unlike an old man in his sixties who was about to retire.
“Hello, Mr. Simon,” Jasper greeted politely.
Simon laughed and said, “Mr. Laine, hello.”
Brayson lightened the atmosphere and said, “Although you two are very different in age, both of you are outstanding representatives in your respective countries and fields. Hence, there must be many topics in common for you.”
“Brayson, I can’t compare with Mr. Laine. Mr. Laine is young, but he has already caused the world’s largest power like the United States to be overwhelmed. Everyone on Wall Street knows the name Jasper Laine. I have been working for decades, but I still don’t have such an achievement,” Simon said.
Brayson laughed and said, “Simon, you are too courteous.”
“No, I’m not.”
Simon shook his head, looked at Jasper with scorching eyes, and said, “Mr. Laine, you’ve caused many companies in the United States to be on the verge of bankruptcy while you were in Somerland. Now, you have come to Finland in person. So tell me, what do you want to do to my country?”
The atmosphere became tense because of Simon’s sudden words.
One should know that, as one of the few state-owned groups in Finland, the Finland National Telecommunications Group had an undisputed monopoly in the
domestic telecommunications industry. It could be said that Simon had been the uncrowned king of Finland’s
telecommunications industry for decades.
This old man had been in charge of the Finland National Telecommunications Group for decades, so his grandeur was not comparable to ordinary people.
Greg, who was following Jasper as a learner and attendant, was so nervous that he did not dare to breathe.
Jasper smiled and replied, “I am a businessman and I advocate the pursuit of profit and interest. The only criterion for me to judge whether a transaction is successful is to see whether both buyers and sellers can profit from it. Besides, I a m not a terrorist. So why are you so afraid of me, Mr. Simon?”
“I’m afraid of you?”
Simon cackled.
Although he was thin, his laughter was very loud.
“Young man from Somerland, you overestimate yourself. Why should I be afraid of you?”
“Exactly, why would Mr. Simon be afraid o f me? I came here to bring benefits to the Finland National Telecommunications Group. What reason do you have to be afraid of me?”
Facing Jasper’s words, Simon’s smile disappeared. He snorted coldly and said, ” Don’t think I don’t know what you’re thinking. Are you planning to acquire Nokia? Let me tell you, no matter what
NORTA! Let me
10 matter what
method you use to acquire Nokia, you won’t be able to buy a single share from the Telecommunications Group. I will never sell Nokia’s shares.
“I will not allow foreigners to take ownership of Nokia regardless of if it’s due to my optimism about Nokia’s future o r as a Finn who loves and protects his country’s core industries.”
When he said this, Simon was looking at Brayson.
It was obvious that he was implying that
Brayson had betrayed his country to seek
glory.
Brayson looked embarrassed and annoyed, but he held back. Instead, he just rolled his head and looked away.
Life at the Top Chapter 1702
However, at the bottom of his heart, Brayson had already cussed at Simon, who being stubborn and insulting.
“Mr. Brayson.”
Jasper turned to look at Brayson and pointed to Simon before asking, “Is this old man really the chairman of the National Telecommunications Group? Why does he feel like a pedantic, stupid, and short-sighted silly old man?”
These words caused Brayson and Greg to b e dumbfounded, and at the same time, it made Simon furious.
They had never before encountered someone who would scold people right off the bat.
“Damn you, Somerland punk, what are you talking about?” Simon stared at Jasper coldly and shouted.
“Was I wrong?”
Jasper chuckled and said, “As the chairman of the Finland National
adonar
Telecommunications Group, what you need to consider is how to take the National Telecommunications Group to a higher level before you retire instead of spewing major principles about the ownership of a private enterprise.
“Mr. Simon, you are really old and should retire.
“The future belongs to the global village and a globalized dependencies. Even in an era where countries and nations must work together to achieve a win-win situation, you are stubbornly blabbering about how Finnish companies can’t be bought by foreigners. Don’t you think you’re being very childish?”
Simon burst out laughing from anger and said to Jasper, “No matter what you say, you can’t hide the fact that you want to buy Nokia, the national pride of Finland.”
“Yes, I want to buy it but since I’m here, it means that some people want to sell too. D o you think you can stop it?”
Jasper said unceremoniously, “Finland National Telecommunications Group owns 11% of Nokia at best. What can this 11
What can this
% decide and what can it represent?
“Worst case scenario, I don’t want your 11 %. There are still 89% of the shares out there, so as long as I hold more than 51% o f the shares, I can reorganize the board of directors and complete the acquisition of Nokia. Mr. Simon, how are you going to stop me then?”
Jasper’s words caused Simon’s expression to turn very unpleasant.
The atmosphere fell into a stalemate and
silence.
“Or.”
Jasper spoke again, taking the initiative to break the awkward silence.
“You can get a license to enter the telecommunications industry in Harbor City and a promise to enter the Somerland mainland in the future to engage in telecommunications business.”
The words that came out were earth shattering.
Simon widened his eyes and looked at Jasper in disbelief and shock.
Greg and Brayson were also dumbfounded.
None of these people were fools.
They all understand that the telecommunications industry was a basic industry monopolized by the state that would affect people’s livelihood. Under normal circumstances, foreign companies would not be allowed to enter the market.
This was also the reason why the telecommunications industry in most countries was monopolized by their own state-owned enterprises.
Imagine if a foreign company got hold of the phone calls of a country’s people and government officials, would there still be security in this country in such a situation?
Only highly developed capitalist countries like the United States and the United Kingdom would allow some foreign companies to participate in this industry i in the form of licenses.
Even so, telecommunications companies with a monopoly would always be domestic companies, such that foreign
companies would never be able to compete with them.
In that case, why was Jasper so confident t o make this kind of promise?
Life at the Top Chapter 1703
Jasper’s confidence came from none other than the advantage of having the memory of his reincarnation.
Harbor City was a very special area. It had been under the colonization of the United Kingdom for a long time. Although it had been four years since the Handover, its socio-economic system had not changed much under the two systems policy.
Harbor City had always taken the capital development route. Its telecommunications industry allowed private capital to enter.
At present, there were three giants in Harbor City’s telecommunications industry. Two of them had backgrounds from the United Kingdom capitalists and the other belonged to Half-the-Harbor Langdon.
Now that it had returned to the sovereignty of the mainland, although the telecommunications industry had not cleared away all private capital, through
the imperceptible innuence, new private capital was barred from entering henceforth.
However, in a bill to amend the regulations that would appear in seven months time, it was emphasized that Harbor City’s telecommunications industry allowed and encouraged the entry of fresh private capital.
In later generations, this was regarded as an attempt by the mainland to reform the company system by listing monopolistic companies in state-owned telecommunications industries such as Somerland Telecom and Nobile.
Still, Jasper did not want to care meaning behind this move by the mainland and Harbor City officials.
The only thing he cared about was getting the support of the Finland National Telecommunications Group without giving up anything.
“Why should I believe you?” Simon asked, staring at Jasper with wide eyes.
Jasper smiled and said, “Mr. Simon, when
someone is in our positions do we need to
use lies to deceive each other? How long can such lies be hidden?”
Simon said coldly, “If there is no
guarantee, I can’t cooperate with you.”
“How can I give you a guarantee on this highest level of policy? Do you think I am the head of our country?”
Jasper shook his head and replied, “But I can sign a VAM with you. As long as Finland National Telecommunications Group is willing to sell me the 11% Nokia shares you hold, I promise to help you enter the Harbor City telecommunications industry within 1 year.
“If I can’t do this within one year, then Finland National Telecommunications Group will get all the property of JW Capital in Finland, including all its shares of Nokia.”
Upon hearing what Jasper said, even Brayson was looking at Jasper like he was looking at an alien, let alone Simon.
Either Jasper was a lunatic for daring to agree to this VAM, or Jasper was 100% sure that this could be done.
However, how could Jasper, who was no longer worth ordinary figures, be a lunatic if he was able to sit here?
Hence, it could only be the latter.
Simon did not say a word, but he was obviously moved by Jasper’s condition.
Jasper saw this and smiled. Then, he said t o Simon, “Mr. Simon, there is nothing in this world that is more exciting than success.
“According to the laws of Finland, you are about to retire in another year. Someone has been eying your position, right? I heard that your nephew also works in the National Telecommunications Group, correct?
“If you can promote the business of the Finland National Telecommunications Group to Harbor City before you retire, or even to the mainland, then your opinion regarding the next chairman or the next president will be extremely important when you retire.
“And your name will inevitably be
remembered by everyone forever as
Finland National rerecommunications
Group grows.”
First came profit, then his name.
After these statements, Simon gritted his teeth severely.
“10 months, I can only give you 10 months.”
“Deal.”
Jasper stood up, stretched out his hand to Simon, and smiled. “I think this will be a very pleasant cooperation.”
Simon took Jasper’s hand and sighed, You are exceptional. In truth, before the meeting, I had already made a decision. N o matter what conditions you offered, I would not agree with it, but you still gave me conditions that I could not refuse.”
“Some people need money, so I will give them money. Meanwhile, some people need their name to be known, so I will give that to them. One can be greedy so long as they’re human, while I am responsible for satisfying all their greed. O f course, the premise is that this person can give me what I want. In such a
situation, I call this a deal, a fair deal.”
Upon hearing what Jasper said, Simon was taken aback for a moment. Then, he laughed and said, “Okay, this is the essence of trading. Very well said.”
After leaving the Finland National Telecommunications Group, Greg and Brayson got in the car.
“With the 9.2% shares from the Workers’ Union, 11% shares of the National Telecommunications Group that have just been acquired, and the 2. 9% minority shareholder shares that were acquired sporadically, you now own 23.1% of Nokia’s shares. Now, you’re the largest individual shareholder in Nokia and can already join the board of directors.”
Brayson told Jasper excitedly.
“This is far from enough.”
Jasper continued, “My purpose is to acquire all of Nokia, not to sit at the board meeting to be a voting device by raising m y hand.”
Brayson frowned and said, “In this case, you can only start from the secondary
markets such as stocks and securities.”
“I’m already taking the relevant steps.” Jasper smiled.
After a while, Brayson noticed that the car was driving toward Nokia’s. He asked in surprise, “Aren’t we taking you back to the hotel?”
“I need to pick someone up from the
airport.” Jasper laughed.
Brayson nodded. Since Jasper did not say who it was, then obviously this matter had nothing to do with him. After the car arrived at the place, he bade farewell to Jasper and got out of the car.
Then, Jasper asked the driver to drive directly to the airport.
An hour later, at the entrance of the airport.
Jasper leaned against the car as he watched Celine, who came out of the car with a small suitcase. She attracted the attention of countless Nordic men and had a gentle smile on her face.
Celine, who was wearing a red trench
seat looked slonder and well.
coat, looked sien
proportioned. She walked straight to Jasper, raised her hand, and only pulled down the edge of her sunglasses to look at Jasper with her bright eyes.
With the other hand, she handed the lever of her suitcase to Jasper and said, “Yo, Mr. Laine, you look energetic.”
While inhaling the exquisite fragrance of the woman in front of him, Jasper grabbed the suitcase and replied, “Of course, I am all alone in a foreign country. If I don’t take good care of myself, won’t those people who are longing for me to go to the deepest level of hell be thrilled ?”
With a grin, Celine said, “I thought you would be very sluggish now, but I feel relieved to see that you are still so glib tongued. Let’s go, take me to the hotel. I’m exhausted after more than ten hours o f flying.”
Life at the Top Chapter 1704
After handing the suitcase to the driver to put it in the trunk, Jasper opened the door and asked Celine to get in the car.
Celine bent over and when she was about t o get into the car, she saw Jasper carefully putting his hand on the roof to prevent her head from bumping into it. Hence, she I could not help but say, “Very caring. Tell me, which vixen taught you this?”
“Is this the first time you felt my
affection?”
Facing Jasper’s rhetorical question, Celine crinkled her nose, snorted, and got into the car.
On the soft capsule seat of the MPV, Celine spoke to Jasper as the latter entered from the other side, “I heard that you almost couldn’t return from Sunrise Land. I was worried for several days.”
“Really? But when I read the news, I saw that you happened to be attending several business forums and summits in those
few days and you were the keynote speaker at the conferences. You look so high-spirited when you passed judgment on everything, completely defeating all of the big shots in the business world. It didn’t seem like you were worried about m e.”
Celine chuckled and said, “It seems that you are paying attention to me as well.. You didn’t forget to look out for news of m e while you were being chased and fleeing calamity”
“I’m not in the mood to crack jokes with you. Right now, I’m overwhelmed by all the things in front of me.”
When Jasper said this, Celine’s expression became a little more serious.
“I understand a little bit about your current situation. Although you have applied for a lock-in, it is only a temporary solution. Five trading days and two rest days will give you a total of seven days. Now one and a half days have passed. Do you have a plan to solve this in the remaining days?”
Jasper raised his eyebrows and asked, “If
you were me, would you have any better solutions for when you’re faced with the unreasonable crush of the entire Wall Street capital?”
Celine shook her head and said, “No, I don’t. If I were you, I would find a more comfortable rooftop to jump off from.”
“You’re so good at comforting others.”
Jasper rubbed his temples and continued, “But I am a typical person who will not give up until I’ve reached my goal. If you ask me to just lie down and let them trample over me, I will unflinchingly reject this. I’ll at least struggle a little before my death because no one knows if I’ll get another chance.”
Celine raised the corners of her mouth and said, “I like your stupid enthusiasm. You know you’re going to die anyway but you still want to charge forward.”
Jasper asked after he laughed, “I didn’t call you here to reminisce about the past. Any updates on the matter where I commissioned Colossal Investments to absorb Nokia’s shares?”
If you wanted to buy a listed company like
Nokia, it was not enough to buy stocks from shareholders. Its circulating shares accounted for 30% of the total share capital. Therefore, if you really wanted to hold the majority portion of shares, then you had to wantonly absorb Nokia’s shares in the financial markets as well.
Jasper would do this himself, but he could not.
It was unknown how many pairs of eyes were trained on Jasper and JW Foundation. His slightest movement in the financial market would cause unpredictable and huge consequences, so Jasper could only delegate this matter to Colossal Investments anonymously.
Although he had to pay a large amount of money to Colossal Investments, the advantage was that it was safe and secretive enough to be unobtrusive.
When Celine heard this, her expression was cold. She said, “I was planning to talk to you about this. Was the news of you wanting to buy Nokia leaked?”
Jasper froze for a moment and said, “The news was indeed released a few days ago,
but it’s in the name of another company and it has nothing to do with JW Company. Moreover, the news was released for my convenience to acquire the shares in the hands of the existing shareholders…
“Why? Did something go wrong?”
“Someone is targeting you.”
Celine said, took out a laptop and opened i t on her lap. She pointed to the screen and said to Jasper, “Look, this is Nokia’s trading trend chart during this period.”
Life at the Top Chapter 1705
“This is last week. After I officially accepted your entrustment, I started arranging funds and account entry.
“Since I was the one who personally arranged it, the entire set of operating procedures were implemented with the highest standard of security while the level of confidentiality was also maintained at the highest level.
“At this price, we have successfully absorbed about 7% of the available stocks.
“But just look at yesterday.”
Celine zoomed in on the candlestick chart and said, “There is a fund that hasn’t been known until now, and it has begun to absorb Nokia’s chips in sweeping amounts. In addition to that, it is doing so hard and st.
“After the follow-up and observation of the whole trading day, our analysis team have only deduced that these are funds from the mainland from Somerland for
the time being, and it’s preventing you from acquiring Nokia.”
Jasper frowned and said, “Mainland? But almost no one in the mainland knows my plan. This is not logical.”
“That’s why you’re the only one who can figure this out.”
Celine stretched and threw the laptop that was full of company secrets directly into Jasper’s arms. She said, “I’ll rest my eyes for a while. You can read through it slowly. Don’t disturb me until we arrive. I
need to have my beauty sleep.” Jasper ignored her. Instead, he carefully
started to check the market data.
The vehicle drove for an hour and a half before finally reaching the entrance of the hotel.
Jasper closed the laptop and rubbed his eyes and neck that were a little sore. After waking Celine, Jasper got out of the car first.
“Something’s indeed wrong.
Jasper said as soon as he arrived at the
suite that had been reserved for Coline
“Of course there is a problem. If not, why would I come all the way here?”
Celine curled up on the sofa and said lazily, “You’d better quickly find out who are those people who want to take action against you and what is their purpose. Otherwise, it’ll be very hard to win this fight if you’re in the light but your enemy i s hiding in the dark.”
“The number of people who want me to die in Somerland is no less than the ones abroad, but there are really not many people who can put this idea into action.”
Jasper narrowed his eyes slightly. He went through all the forces in his mind and then shook his head and said, “No clue, but we can come up with something.
“My acquisition of Nokia is very secretive. Not many people by my side even know about it.
“As for the acquisition of stocks from the financial market, I have always contacted you personally and I have not dealt with anyone else.
“But even so, the other party knew about i t and immediately blocked it. It can be seen that the other party’s power and background are comparable to mine. It is possible that they’re even stronger than m e.
“If this assumption is true, won’t it be meaningless even if I find out who it is?”
“Why would it be meaningless?”
Celine laughed after being enraged by Jasper.
“You don’t even know who the enemy is, s o how are you going to fight back? You can fight back only if you know this, while its also possible they want something else. You can only decide if you want to fight or talk to them when you know who the enemy is.”
Life at the Top Chapter 1706
You also said that knowing who the other party is nothing more than deciding what to do next.
“But since the other party’s power will only be higher and not lower than mine, there is no possibility of discussing this matter now that they have taken action.”
Jasper pondered, “The most important thing is that I don’t have the time and energy to wrestle with such a group of people now.
“I will acquire Nokia regardless of whether they want me to or not. I have already given so much in the early stages. Now, no one can stop me from continuing to accomplish this no matter what method they use on me.
“How many shares have you bought for m e?”
Celine replied, “About 9% in total.”
Jasper frowned and said, “Now I have 23.1 % of the shares on hand, it’s only 32.1%
after adding this 9%t’s not enough, far from enough.”
Celine said, “The only thing you can get right now is the 22% of the shares owned by the Finland National Social Security Fund. Once you take these shares, your shareholding ratio will reach 51% or more and you will complete the holding.”
“But the majority is more than two thirds of the equity, which is 67%. There are only two ways to achieve this.”
Celine immediately replied, “Either you increase equity after completing the holding or you continue to acquire shares i In the stock market, but by doing this, you will undoubtedly collide with the people who are fighting against you.
“Now JW Foundation’s funds are trapped i na temporarily locked account and you can’t touch it. Even if you can, the consequences will be too great. After all, it is likely to accelerate the death of JW Foundation in advance.”
Jasper said with a solemn expression, ” Then we can only choose to increase equity after completing the holding.”
“But you want be the majority shareholder, you have buy 22% the shares held the Finland National Social Security Fund. We have already evaluated this matter. Do you want know the conclusion we got to?”
Celine looked Jasper with faint smile and without waiting for him speak, she replied, “It’s o.”
The corners Jasper’s mouth twitched.
Although knew that the probability of this was very low, after Celine gave him official evaluation behalf Colossal Investments, still his heart turning cold.
the world’s number one investment bank, could said as long as you could provide money, Colossal Investments’ scope business was almost unlimited.
Meanwhile, their biggest business was procurement.
For example, helping companies all over world float in various trading centers around world for example,
Necpor putting fernised domand right
now for Colossal Investments to use their resources to help him find sellers or people who could otherwise resolve his problems.
For such an investment bank, its internal risk assessment team was undoubtedly the best in the world.
Jasper knew this very well. JW Capital would not be able to catch up to Colossal Investments for another 20 years.
This had nothing to do with money. It was entirely the accumulation of systems and talent reserves over the years.
Now that Celine had given him this judgment, normal people would just declare the matter hopeless.
Yet, for Jasper…
“I still have a way.”
Jasper took out the business card that he had not used much since he got it.
There was only one title, one name, and one phone number on the card.
Grey Van Hallen, the hereditary viscount o f Finland.
Jasper thought for a while and dialed the number on the business card.
Celine also got up from the sofa curiously and leaned in. She wanted to know what Jasper would do to solve this problem.
The call went through quickly.
“Hello, this is the residence of Viscount Grey.”
Fluent English came from the other end of the phone.
“I’m looking for Viscount Grey.”
Jasper said. After thinking about it, he guessed that such a rich nobleman might have forgotten himself, so he added, “If the viscount asks who I am, please tell him that his friend from the beach at Coreana half a month ago wants his help.”
“Okay, please wait a moment.”
While waiting, Celine widened her eyes and asked curiously, “Viscount? There aren’t many nobles left in Finland. Who d o you know?”
Jasper said after he covered the
microphone “Grey Van Hallen do you
know him?”
“It’s him!”
Celine did know him.
She said with a weird expression, “I don’t know this guy, but I have heard of him. How should I say this? Some people think he is very difficult to get along with, but others think he is a very loyal person.
“Let’s see if you’re his type, but since he gave you his business card, I don’t think h e has a bad impression of you.
“Finland is a very special country. There
were nobles in the past, but after so long,
not many remain.
“Although the remaining nobles are very low-key, they hold the invisible power of Finland. If he is willing to help you, then you might really have a chance in this.”
After listening to Celine, Jasper looked at her suspiciously and said, “How do you know him?”
“There are still a few hereditary nobles left. Except for the United Kingdom, there are only 180 left in the world and you can count the Finnish ones on one hand.
When it comes to the more high-profile
ones, you’ll eventually hear about them so long as their statuses are slightly higher.” As soon as Celine finished speaking, a
voice came from the phone in Jasper’s
hand.
“Haha! Are you my friend, Jasper?”
Listening to Grey’s enthusiastic voice on the phone, Jasper also breathed a sigh of relief. He said, “I am in Finland now and I wonder if there is a chance for me to visit your residence?”
Grey answered, “The door of my place is always open for friends. Where are you staying? I will send someone to pick you u p.”
After telling Grey the location and name o f the hotel where he was staying, Jasper and Grey exchanged courtesies before hanging up.
Jasper thought that Grey would pick him u p in an extravagant convoy at most.
However, if he knew in advance that Grey would send a helicopter formation for him, he figured he would turn it down.
“Didn’t you are very low-key? You call this low-key?”
On Jasper pointed to slowly descending helicopter and loudly asked Celine, was next to him facing the strong wind and loud noise.
Celine covered the noise at the scene was loud so did speak loudly like Jasper. After this was lady-like at all.
The helicopter landed, were more hovering nearby. raised his head to take look realized that… damn, those were armed helicopters with weapons dangling from them.
Jasper lowered strong while he grabbed Celine with his hand and toward helicopter without hesitation.
Life at the Top Chapter 1707
Jasper did not know exactly where Grey’s residence was, but he flew in the helicopter for at least an hour before he felt it descend.
When Jasper looked down from the window with Celine, he saw a large stretch of snow-capped mountains in the distance as well as a forest and a lake nearby. The sight in front of them was like a fantasy.
Right below the helicopter, a manor that covered an area so large that it even accommodated a part of the forest appeared in their vision.
“This area should be calculated in hectares
Even Celine, who was a Maynard in North
America, sighed.
Jasper was about to make a joke when he heard what she said.
“It’s almost half the size of my house.”
Jasper turned his head and cursed at this disgusting world for being so hateful.
After the helicopter landed, Jasper and Celine got off the helicopter together. What they saw was a row of male and female servants standing on both sides while Grey and the woman whom Jasper rescued stood in the middle while holding the child.
“My friend!”
Grey laughed and opened his hands to greet him. Then, he gave Jasper a warm hug.
“You are the savior of my wife and child s o I must treat you well… Oh, is this beautiful woman your girlfriend?”
The sentence at the end was clearly a question directed at Celine.
Celine stood there and replied to Grey with a smile on her face, “Viscount Grey, it’s nice to meet you. My last name is Maynard and I am a Maynard from North America.”
This sentence stunned Grey.
Obviously, he was no stranger to the Maynards from North America.
“I see. Although I have not been in contact with your family, I know that your family has a lot of prestige in North America… Well, Jasper, are you from the same family as well?”
Celine was not someone who liked to show off her identity. She actively mentioned her identity to make Jasper look more important in front of Grey.
Obviously, this worked.
Judging from the changes in Grey’s eyes and tone, one would know that even in Finland, the Maynards from North America were well respected.
The more high-end a circle was, the smaller the restrictions between regions.
This was because everyone knew that with their power, it was very easy to start cross-border cooperation or cross-border fall-out.
“I’m not,” Jasper replied directly.
Grey nodded seemingly and then smiled, ”
Doesn’t matter. Jasper, you are the benefactor of my wife and child, so I brought them here to thank you.”
After Grey said that, the woman from Sunrise Land walked over sweetly with the child in her arms.
She bowed to Jasper respectfully and said,
“Thank you, Mr. Laine.”
Jasper smiled and said, “It’s nothing. It was just a slight effort…”
As Jasper said that, he pinched the cheek o f the child that was lying in his mother’s arms. He said with a grin, “How adorable.”
The little guy grinned at Jasper and then a big bubble blew out of his nose.
After everyone greeted each other, Grey led Jasper into his manor. To be precise, they went to the building he most often used to receive guests among the manor’s countless buildings.
“I have prepared dinner for the two of you, but there is still some time before it i s ready. Jasper, you said before that you need my help, we can talk about it now.”
After sitting down in the reception room, Grey went straight to the topic and spoke directly.
Jasper liked how Grey was so straightforward. After all, he did not come here for a dinner party.
“I want to acquire Nokia.”
Jasper’s first sentence caused Grey to raise his eyebrows.
“My friend, this is very difficult,” Grey shook his head and said.
“I have acquired a total of 23.9% of the shares, including the ones from the Workers’ Union and Finland National Telecommunications Group. Even if it is extremely difficult, I have already accomplished a quarter of it.”
Jasper’s words surprised Grey.
He looked at Jasper and then smiled. “My friend, it seems that you really intend to d o this, but this is not enough.”
“That’s why I hope with your help, I can take 22% of the shares in the Finland National Social Security Fund and
complete the holding
Grey frowned and said, “You have to account Social Security Fund controlled by the Finnish government. No one can use this money, including assets, except for the bill made by top executive and the parliament.”
“That’s why only Viscount Grey can help me with this matter,” Jasper said sincerely.
Grey did not say word.
The reception room fell into silence for while.
“This matter still difficult to handle.”
After long time, Grey shook his head. He was rejecting Jasper tactfully.
“The problem that the current situation in Finland relatively delicate. Many forces are vying for each other’s interests. don’t want get involved in this critical moment, but if help you persuade this matter, then must fight and compromise for the interests of those forces…
“Never mind anything else. This involves two sensitive points in the form of the Social Security Fund and Nokia. Disturbance to either one may cause turbulence, do you know what I mean?”
Jasper replied, “Viscount Grey, I don’t think there is anything that can’t be done i In this world, it’s only a matter of whether the benefits are enough to incentivize it.”
Grey laughed and said, “I know a little bit about your current situation. How many benefits do you think you can produce to move me?
“Are you going to rely on the fact that you’re my savior?”
Grey’s words were unpleasant to the ears, but they were realistic.
If Jasper was an ordinary person and he was asking Grey for money, Grey would not even bat an eyelid even if it was one hundred million or two hundred million. The favor of a viscount was far beyond the value of this small amount.
However, no matter how high the value
was, there would be a cap.
Obviously, to Grey, what Jasper was asking him to do now exceeded the value o f his promise.
Which noblemen truly needed their reputation?
They would throw it away if they needed t 0.
“What about gratitude from the Maynards
from North America?”
Celine, who had been silent this whole time, spoke at this moment.
Grey looked over immediately.
“Miss Maynard, I wonder if you’re…”
“The second heir,” Celine said flatly.
Grey lifted his eyebrows.
“Viscount Grey, as far as I know, your iron ore property in Aurea is currently being investigated by the Aurea government and international environmental organizations. The root cause is that they suspect it of major tax issues, right?
“My uncle happens to be in charge of
some of the Maynards’ work in Aurea, maybe I can help you convince my uncle.”
Grey furrowed his brows and his eyes shifted between Celine and Jasper. Suddenly, he said, “Give me two days.”
Life at the Top Chapter 1708
The atmosphere was lively at the dinner party.
A group of people with unknown origins, all of whom were rich or expensive, were all invited by Grey to attend this dinner.
As the guest of honor, Jasper was warmly welcomed by these Finnish big shots.
Regardless of how much Jasper respected Grey, he did not care about this. He would exchange a few words with the guests and consider himself familiar with them.
Meanwhile, Celine had undoubtedly become the most beautiful woman at the scene.
Regardless of her appearance or her temperament, she was always the most exceptional wherever she went. This time was no exception.
Although everyone knew that Celine was the female companion of the guest of honor, Jasper, she was still surrounded by a group of young talents.
However, compared to Jasper’s sleekness i n conversing, Miss Celine would not treat them with such a good attitude.
If they were passable, Celine would exchange a few words with them, but if they were not, Celine would not even want to talk to them.
Regardless of her identity as the president of the Terra regional branch of Colossal Investments or the second-ranked heir to the Maynards in North America, she had enough confidence to do so.
“This is so boring, and the food is not nice.”
Celine complained to Jasper during the party.
“I will take you to a Somerland restaurant to eat good food hater,” Jasper said with a smile.
Celine finally grinned happily..
“How many times have you helped me?”
Jasper asked, “The thing you promised Grey before is actually pretty challenging, right?”
Even a fool could figure this out if they thought with their knees. The benefit that would make Grey change his mind would certainly not be anything smaller than asking him to help Jasper handle the Social Security Fund to take down Nokia.
“It’s okay. You should know there’s nothing like having a man on the spot to smooth the way. It just so happens that m y uncle has a good relationship with the supervisor in this area and it depends on how much I am willing to do for him.”
Celine did not seem to care, and she rolled her eyes at Jasper in a charming manner, You know that I have helped you so many times, so aren’t you going to repay me?”
“Tell me how you want to be repaid.”
Jasper sais seriously.
Every time Celine helped him, it would be something huge.
Jasper knew very well that if it had not been for Celine’s help in several critical moments, his journey would not have been so smooth.
“I haven’t thought about it yet.”
Celine said with an alluring smile, “I will tell you when I think about it. When the time comes, you can’t refuse.”
“Of course.” Jasper laughed.
The dinner party lasted three to four hours.
They were all people with reputations, and they understood the rules. After they exchanged greetings, they would leave after showing their faces.
As the host, Grey was nowhere to be seen after showing up at the beginning and end of the party to say a few words to Jasper alone.
However, before Jasper and Celine left, Grey came to speak to them.
“I’ve called them for you and this matter can be done, but you must be mentally prepared for the price.”
Grey’s words made Jasper frown, “I can negotiate any price.”
“Good.”
Grey nodded and said, “Then you should
back first and wait for my message.”
Jasper left with Celine and, naturally, it was by helicopter transfer.
Back at the hotel, Jasper did not go back o n his promise. He took Celine to eat at the Somerland restaurant that he and Greg had visited many times.
“Do you still have money?”
While they were eating, Celine suddenly asked this question.
“The entire acquisition plan will cost at least 20 billion US Dollars. Can you still get so much money now?”
The market value of Nokia was around 30 billion. If Jasper wanted to acquire 51% of the shares like he was currently doing now, in addition to the premiums and various expenses, the 20 billion US Dollars Celine mentioned would not be enough.
She was very aware of Jasper’s current situation. Whether it was Jasper’s own money or the money drawn from JW Capital, all of it was trapped in JW Foundation such that he could not touch it at all.
Hence she was very curious about Jasper’s confidence to succeed in this acquisition o f the century that would shake the world once it was exposed.
“I don’t have money.” Jasper’s brief and decisive words
dumbfounded Celine.
“So are you only issuing IOUS now?”
Celine thought that Jasper was completely insane.
Now that everything was almost done, they would just wait for the actual implementation, but if Jasper could not get the money, then his name and goodwill would be destroyed and the compensation fee for breach of contract would be sky-high.
“Just because I have no money now, it doesn’t mean that I will have no money in the future.”
Jasper smiled and took a piece of dessert for Celine. Then, he said, “Before the establishment of the JW Foundation, the SBS Bank had approached me. If I want to
borrow funds from them now, I think 1
can get 50 billion US Dollars at least.”
Celine obviously knew what SBS Bank meant. She frowned and said, “However, the SBS Bank must want you to use the funds they lent to you on JW Foundation.”
“The entire JW Foundation is mine, so what does it matter?” Jasper asked rhetorically.
Celine said angrily, “You know what I mean. The SBS Bank in the mainland you this money in the hopes that you gave would use it to fight Wall Street, but you used it to buy Nokia for yourself. Do you think the higher-ups will forgive you?”
“So what if they don’t?”
Jasper chuckled. Celine’s logic was correct in any country except Somerland. In Somerland, it was not quite wrong, but it was also not so correct.
This was because the thinking of the people in Somerland was very simple, I wanted you to do things and I gave you resources. I would not care whether you used the resources or how you used them. Everyone would be happy as long as things were done.
“The mainland hopes that I can withstand Wall Street capital, but everyone has seen the actual situation now. In JW
Foundation’s current situation, we might not be able to win against them even if I emptied the SBS Bank while facing the limitless capital pressure of Wall Street.
“But what if I use a small amount of money to achieve what they want me to in disguise?”
Celine bit her fork, frowned, and said, “I always feel that you are walking a tightrope. You will be finished if there is a slight mistake.”
“When have I ever not been on the tightrope throughout this whole journey?”
Jasper asked lightly, causing Celine to fall into silence.
Inexplicably, Celine felt a little distressed looking at the man eating peacefully in front of her.
Outsiders only knew that Jasper was as powerful as a king and as cunning as a fox, and his rapid rise even made people doubt whether he was the illegitimate
child of a big shot in the government.
However, at this moment, Celine saw the sadness and difficulty that this man was hiding under his glamor.
“If you need help, you can tell me at any time.”
Life at the Top Chapter 1709
“You helped me a
Jasper looked Celine sincerely and said, don’t even know how thank you.”
“Do think I after your gratitude?”
Celine chuckled, leaned over, stretched out her fair tender finger, frivolously stroked Jasper’s lips, and then slowly stuffed that finger into her lips.
Her finger was fair and tender while her lips were full bright red.
There was extremely strong visual impact between the two.
What was bigger than those two was still throbbing of mind.
It was likely that no man could remain indifferent when they were faced with such scene this moment.
“Isn’t this exciting?” Celine asked.
Jasper swallowed, moistened at his dry
throat little, and turned his head with
moal a mure, a mis head with difficulty before saying, “It is pretty exciting.”
“Hehe.”
Celine giggled, picked up the fork, and said, “Let’s eat, I’m going to starve to death.”
Jasper felt capricious during this meal.
However, far away, Fabian’s mood was not so good.
“What do you mean?
“Didn’t we have an agreement? We’ll let them mess up Jasper’s plan to acquire Nokia, but before they mess it up, they suddenly proposed to sell all the shares held by the Finland National Social Security Fund to Jasper?”
Morrison sat on the sofa with a gloomy expression as he faced the enraged Fabian. Although he was swirling a glass o f red wine in his hand, his mind was obviously somewhere else.
“This is something that can’t be helped. I don’t have strong connections in Finland, even my current connections are through The contacts of Layman Investment Bank.”
Fabian said darkly, “In other words, we can’t stop this?”
Morrison said, “There is a big shot in Finland who supports Jasper and his attitude is very resolute. He compromised a large part of the benefits for this. Under the current situation, we really can’t offer any connections or benefits to make those Finnish vampires from the higher-up side with us.
“What’s more, even if we could, it’s not worth it.”
Morrison’s words calmed Fabian a bit.
At the same time, he also thought of another important question.
“That punk Jasper can’t have a wider network than us outside of Somerland, so how did he find a big shot in Finland to support him and convince that guy to compromise a large part of his benefits for him?
“Besides, the acquisition of Nokia will cost at least tens of billions of US Dollars. Where did Jasper get that money?”
Morrison shook his head and said, “I’ve been thinking about uns issue for the past feew days, but I still don’t have a clue.
“But so what if we can’t stop him? Our goal was always to get rid of Jasper once and for all. As long as we get rid of him, then all the troubles and problems he created will disappear.”
Fabian had a murderous look on his face a s he said, “You are right. As long as you get rid of Jasper, then the problems he brings will not be problems anymore.”
“How’re Echo’s preparations going? We have given him enough time and I am getting impatient.” Morrison asked impatiently.
“Are you talking about me?”
A cold voice was suddenly heard.
Echo walked out of the dark room next door.
At this moment, he was like a different person from the high net worth office – fairing young master from a rich family.
Now, Echo was emitting a maniacal aura from all over his body. His eyes were like that of a viner They were cold and deep lacking any emotio than madness.
Even Morrison, who had never bothered about Echo, could not help but inhale sharply when he saw him now.
“Have you been eavesdropping on us this
whole time?”
Morrison shouted angrily. Then, he turned his head to look at Fabian and said, “Atticus, why didn’t you tell me in advance?”
Fabian shrugged and said, “We were originally a team. It’s fine if he heard it. What’s the big deal?”
“But if you don’t tell me in advance, you are disrespecting me!”
Morrison snapped angrily.
He did not know why he was harping on this little thing, but when he looked at Echo’s cold and crazy eyes at the moment, Morrison instinctively wanted to escape from this place.
By the time Morrison finished saying that, knife was already on his neck.
Leaning down, Echo pushed Morrison
back onto one
lowered his head close to Morrison’s face and suddenly stuck tongue to lick Morrison’s forehead. Then, grinned said, you saying that not worthy of you speak?”
forehead. A chill started from the of spine and surged his brain.
He sat stiffly the sofa and displayed ugly smile on his face. Then, said, “Mr. Echo, you remove the knife? This joke is not funny.”
“Do you
Echo smiled and said softly, have right now to find few more people to with me before die. will surely take Jasper with me, but also seems good have you accompany me the road to hell, right?”
Morrison was terrified.
He could tell from Echo’s eyes that this lunatic would actually do something so maniacal.
“Atticus, are you not going to do anything?” Morrison looked at Fabian pleadingly and yelled.
Fabian patted Echo’s shoulder and said, Morrison is our friend. You need his help t o take Jasper away.”
Echo looked at Morrison deeply before straightening his back and slowly removing the knife from his neck.
“Let me warn you, it’s best if you don’t look at me with such disdainful eyes. Before this, I didn’t dare to offend you guys but now that I have nothing, I am not afraid of anything. If you don’t want t o die with me, it’s best if you are courteous with me.”
Morrison lifted his hand to wipe away the cold sweat from his forehead. He was so scared that he did not dare to say anything.
“Alright, Echo, the plane you wanted me t o arrange for you is done. Soon, you’ll be
able to leave with your people and equipment. I wish you a safe journey.”
After Echo took the wine glass Fabian handed to him, downed the contents and let out a sigh. His face was filled with craziness and ferocity. “I don’t expect to come back alive, but Jasper must die!”
Life at the Top Chapter 1710
After more than an hour, Echo left the room.
Morrison watched the car that Echo was i n heading toward the airport as he stood b y the window with a gloomy expression.
He raised his hand and slowly touched his neck. The knife was held against his neck earlier and he still had a burning and bloody line on his neck.
“What a madman. Why should we cooperate with a man like that?” Morrison said with restrained anger.
Fabian walked up to him and said with a smile, “How would you hurt Jasper if you’re not a lunatic?
“If you want to get rid of Jasper once and for all, you have to be such a person.
Morrison glanced at Fabian and asked in confusion, “Echo was not like this before. Why did he change so much?”
The smile on Fabian’s face grew brighter.
He said, “Because he caused a huge loss to the Softwin and to some extent, he became a scapegoat for Jasper’s shorting o f the Sun Dollars exchange rate which brought huge economic losses. Hence, he was inevitably kicked out of the family.
“For children of this kind of family,
losing their family means losing their
lives.”
Morrison frowned and said, “But even so, is it enough to turn him into such a horrible state?”.
Fabian said with a mysterious smile, ” What if he was diagnosed with AIDS after he was kicked out of the family?”
Morrison widened his eyes and looked at Fabian In disbelief.
With a shrug, Fabian said, “I also got news from a top-secret insider. Echo was indeed diagnosed with AIDS, so, understandably, he went crazy, right?”
“Oh my god.”
Morrison was so shocked that he started speaking in English. “Damn, there’s a bloody line on my neck after he held the
knife to my neck. Hospital! I’m going to the hospital right away!”
Fabian laughed when he saw Morrison yelling in panic. He said, “Don’t worry, the weapons and equipment in his hand were all provided by me after he came here. As long as he didn’t stain that knife with his blood, you’re safe.”
“Who knows if that pervert will self mutilate when he’s bored?”
Morrison said irritably, “Send me to the hospital right away. I want to get a vaccine and a comprehensive examination. I don’t want to die with that lunatic.”
Fabian said as he shrugged, “Since you insist, then all right, I will arrange for someone to take you there right away.”
Jasper, who was far away in Finland, naturally did not know that Echo was coming with a group of people to kill him.
At this time, he was preparing to sign a share transfer agreement with the Finland National Social Security Fund.
Despite the difficulties, it was done with Viscount Grey’s great help.
This kind of transaction, which was not very glorious for the Finland National Social Security Fund, was not carried out extravagantly. Instead, only a simple and small signing was held.
The ones participating in the signing were the director general of Finland’s National Social Security Fund, Dalvira, the current chairman of Nokia, Jodaville, and Reynoldson, the president of Nokia.
When Jasper arrived, Reynoldson immediately got up to greet him and then sat down beside Jasper overtly.
Nokia’s chairman, Jodaville’s eyes were burning when he saw that.