The Tyrant Billionaire

At the HD Security base that night, Hardy made a call to the Corleone family, who held 39% of the casino shares.

Hardy thought it necessary to inform them.

"Mr. Corleone, I'm planning to raise funds and cooperate with Bank of America to acquire a bank, so I'm preparing to sell them 30% of Hardy Casino shares. I have two proposals: I can sell 30% alone, or we can each sell a portion, with me selling 20% and the Corleone family selling 10%. This way, I hold 41%, the Corleone family 29%, and Bank of America 30%."

The old godfather knew Hardy favored the second method, otherwise, he wouldn't have suggested it.

"No problem, the Corleone family will sell 10%." The old godfather readily agreed.

The old godfather understood that the casino investment brought substantial income to the Corleone family, all thanks to Hardy's management.

Hardy smiled, "Thank you, Mr. Corleone, for your support. I'll figure out a way to transfer the $30 million from the sale of shares to you."

"Hardy, you must need a lot of money for the bank acquisition. You can temporarily keep the money and use it. If the Hardy Group has any investment opportunities in the future, use this money to invest on behalf of the Corleone family. What do you think?"

The old godfather was returning the favor, believing Hardy wouldn't let him suffer losses.

"No problem, there are plenty of profitable ventures. I'll keep the Corleone family in mind." Hardy said.

The next day, Hardy and Andy went to Bank of America and met with the bank's president. They signed a proxy purchase agreement, with Bank of America assisting Hardy in acquiring all shares of Wells Fargo Bank.

Hardy also secured PepsiCo shares.

The acquisition cost was $3.68 million.

As for the money. Well it was another loan.

Hardy was now a major borrower from Bank of America, and with the upcoming acquisition of Wells Fargo Bank requiring a large sum, this $3.68 million was a small amount.

Giannini contacted Reed Fargo, the current head of the Fargo family, inviting him to the estate for dinner. After they sat down, Giannini smiled and said, "Reed, someone wants to acquire Wells Fargo Bank."

Reed Fargo was startled, "Who?"

"You've probably heard of him, John Hardy."

"Him? At the last board meeting, our president mentioned that Hardy Group is now Wells Fargo's biggest client. The airline, casino, investment funds, TV factory, and company funds all settle at Wells Fargo."

"They were thrilled, telling me that Hardy Group's business now accounts for over 20% of Wells Fargo's operations. With this major client, Wells Fargo's performance will significantly improve this year, I didn't expect he'd want to swallow Wells Fargo whole." Reed Fargo said angrily.

"This is normal. As his business grows, he wants his own bank to better serve him, making operations more convenient." Giannini said.

"Mr. Giannini, I hope you can stop him. The Fargo family founded Wells Fargo. We don't want to lose our foundation." Reed Fargo said anxiously.

Giannini shook his head, "Reed, this isn't easy to stop. If Hardy withdraws all his business from Wells Fargo, the bank will suffer greatly. The stock price will plummet, and everyone's interests will be harmed."

"Do you think the minor shareholders can withstand that? He'll acquire enough shares and then launch a hostile takeover." Giannini said.

Reed Fargo became anxious, "I know you can stop him, Mr. Giannini."

"There are over 13,000 banks in the United States. Wells Fargo ranks in the middle. Even in California, it's just a small bank. You know this." Giannini said calmly.

"Wells Fargo's performance has been poor in recent years, and shareholders are dissatisfied. If Hardy withdraws his business and the stock price plummets, what will the shareholders do? It's better to sell at a fair price now."

"I'll sell my shares too."

"I've already contacted other minor shareholders, offering a reasonable price. I believe they don't want to sell after an 80% drop."

"Reed, this is business. My advice is to take the money and invest elsewhere. Bank of America has many cooperative enterprises for you to choose from."

Giannini's long speech contained both persuasion and threat.

Hearing Giannini's words, Reed Fargo knew the situation was dire. Today's meeting was just to notify him.

The Fargo family could hold on, but the losses would be significant. If Bank of America wanted to deal with Wells Fargo, it would be easy.

Many of Wells Fargo's businesses were within the consortium. If Bank of America withdrew this portion, Wells Fargo couldn't sustain it.

"Alright, I'll discuss it with my family and get back to you soon." Reed said dejectedly.

In recent days, rumors circulated that someone was preparing a hostile takeover of Wells Fargo Bank. There were also rumors that some large companies were cutting ties with Wells Fargo. Others said Bank of America was negotiating with many Wells Fargo shareholders. In short, there was a lot of news.

Due to the uncertainty, people didn't know what would happen, and Wells Fargo's stock price experienced a slight decline.

If it was just a phase, it wouldn't matter, but it continued to drop, indicating that some were pessimistic about Wells Fargo's future and were selling off their shares.

In a San Francisco hotel.

Hardy had invited a guest today.

A middle aged man in his forties entered the hotel, and Hardy stood up with a smile to shake his hand. "Good afternoon, John."

"Hello, Mr. Hardy."

John Stone, the current president of Wells Fargo Bank, had previously interacted with Hardy, as the two had many business dealings.

In Hardy's view, John Stone was a highly capable banker. In the two years he'd been president, he'd elevated Wells Fargo from obscurity, especially benefiting from the cooperation with Hardy Group, which brought significant profits to the bank.

"Have you heard the latest rumors?" Hardy asked John Stone with a smile as he invited him to sit down.

"I have heard, and I've been waiting for the shareholders to call a meeting. But no one has contacted me. I was planning to reach out to the shareholders myself to convene a meeting. I didn't expect you to contact me today," President John said.