Chapter 979: 334, Playing with applause

Donnie still hadn’t waited for Paul Warburg, Shaw Gordon, Damour Bral, or Seymour Sacks, but instead, Charles Meilin from Merrill arrived!

“Mr. Block, we are the best partners, aren’t we!”

Charles Meili adopted a rather sulky tone as soon as he saw Donnie.

The Trident Shipyard IPO didn’t involve his company, and he let it go, seeing as Venus Bank needed partnerships with many firms.

But now that United Artists was going public, in a clearly more promising situation than the Trident Shipyard IPO, Donnie still chose not to collaborate with Merrill. Charles Meili couldn’t hold back his frustration!

Donnie’s face carried a smile: “I seem to recall Merrill had closer ties with Morgan, Mellon, and Rockefeller back then?”

Back during ABC’s IPO, Goldman Sachs took the brunt as cannon fodder, while Morgan, Mellon, Rockefeller, and Merrill formally ganged up against Donnie in the stock market.

Charles Meili looked slightly embarrassed and then joked: “Isn’t that all water under the bridge now? Besides, Merrill paid the price for that incident!”

Donnie waved dismissively: “I’m not trying to reopen old wounds. I’m just making it clear that the initiative is with me, not others. So, if we’re discussing collaboration, let’s stick to the point without putting up that act!”

Charles Meili again forced a somewhat awkward smile: “Understood, understood. So, Mr. Block, what about this time?”

Donnie shook his head and said: “Let’s forget about collaborating this time. United Artists has already finalized its partners, and it’s not appropriate to bring in another one at this stage!”

Charles Meili smiled helplessly, realizing there was no way to work with Donnie this time. After exchanging a few pleasantries, he left!

The next day, Paul Warburg found Donnie.

“I didn’t expect Block to choose to let United Artists go public again!”

Paul Warburg got straight to the point.

Donnie poured himself a glass of whiskey and smiled: “I had no choice. The other three shareholders of United Artists believe that going public will bring better development opportunities for the company. I had to agree!”

Paul Warburg waved dismissively: “Dear Block, there’s no need to cover up with me. As for Charlie Chaplin and the others, I admit they are unparalleled at making movies, but that’s about the extent of it. When it comes to capital games, even if you multiply the abilities of the three of them by two, they wouldn’t be your match!”

Donnie laughed heartily and retorted: “Warburg, you’re not here just to discuss this matter, are you?”

Paul Warburg realized Donnie didn’t want to dwell on the subject anymore, but he himself wasn’t particularly interested in that either–he had other business matters to discuss with Donnie.

“Donnie, what are your views on Gordon-Blalock Securities?”

Donnie looked puzzled and responded: “Of course I view them very highly, otherwise I wouldn’t have chosen to cooperate with them this time!”

Paul Warburg nodded and said: “That’s true. But Block, as a friend and business partner, there’s something I must remind you!”

Donnie nodded: “What is it?”

Paul Warburg answered: “Venus Bank has indeed grown substantially, but it still has a few shortcomings on the business side!”

Donnie suddenly looked enlightened, then smiled at Paul Warburg: “So Warburg, you’re suggesting Venus Bank could acquire Gordon-Blalock Securities?”

Paul Warburg shook his head: “Not acquire–just gain more influence within the company!”

Paul Warburg certainly didn’t want Donnie to outright acquire Gordon-Blalock Securities. Despite the provocations from Shaw Gordon and Damour Bral, after a couple of days of reflection, Paul Warburg had understood their intentions.

Since they wanted to play the balancing act, he might as well turn the tables and join forces with Donnie–to jointly reign as the puppet masters of Gordon-Blalock Securities.

Donnie said: “We don’t have enough shares in Gordon-Blalock Securities between our two companies!”

Neither Venus Bank nor Kuhn, Loeb & Co. consortium held significant shares in Gordon-Blalock Securities. Both were minor stakeholders. To outweigh Shaw Gordon and Damour Bral on the board, they’d need support from other shareholders.

But at present, the shareholders of Gordon-Blalock Securities seemed more inclined to trust those two!

“If we both make a move together, I believe those shareholders can still discern who can bring them greater benefits!”

Donnie shook his head: “I don’t like putting my fate in the hands of others. Today they might side with us for profit, but tomorrow they can easily shift their allegiance to someone else for the same reason. It’s meaningless!”

Paul Warburg didn’t become upset at Donnie’s refusal, knowing it wasn’t an outright rejection.

This implied there was still room to negotiate.

“So Donnie, you’re planning to purchase more shares in Gordon-Blalock Securities?”

Donnie responded indifferently: “I’m fine with either option–for me, buying some shares in Gordon-Blalock Securities is no big deal. But I suspect, Warburg, you wouldn’t want me to act alone, would you?”

Paul Warburg smiled without speaking, clearly understanding the situation well.

Gordon-Blalock Securities might not be a subsidiary of Kuhn, Loeb & Co. consortium, but it was an important extension of their operations. This meant that if Donnie had Venus Bank purchase shares from other shareholders of Gordon-Blalock Securities, Paul Warburg would inevitably have to ensure Kuhn, Loeb & Co. remained in step.