Chapter 1367: Chapter 470: Inciting Rebellion
Donnie traveled back to Los Angeles by ship, but didn’t stay in Los Angeles; instead, he took a train directly to Houston!
In this future space city of the United States, at this moment stands Venus Tower, which can rival New York’s Block Building.
This is the headquarters of Venus Bank in Texas.
Compared to the Venus Consortium in New Jersey, Florida, and California, where there are designated people responsible for business there, the management structure in Texas for the Venus Consortium is slightly different.
Here, Venus Bank uses a partnership structure, comprising seven senior partners in Texas, three of whom come from the Strategic Department at Venus Bank headquarters, along with selections from other forces within the Venus Consortium.
Of course, among these seven is Zack Holloway.
These seven rotate as the president of Texas Venus Bank, essentially serving as the board of directors for Texas Venus Bank.
Each enjoys a 3% profit share of the annual profits of Texas Venus Bank.
The rotating chairman receives a 5% profit share.
Of course, apart from the reward system, there is also a penalty system, as Texas Venus Bank mainly deals with investment business; failing in judgment naturally invites punishment!
Donnie did not enter Venus Tower but checked into the Rock Hotel, which was invested and built by Texas Venus Bank.
Rock Hotel is one of the luxury brands in Donnie’s hotel business collaboration with the Astor Family.
In the living room of his occupied suite, Tang Fei met with the seven senior partners of Texas Venus Bank and listened to their reports on the company’s development over the last two years.
Their reports lasted for three hours.
After they finished reporting, Tang Fei was relatively satisfied with their achievements. In fact, Donnie already knew about these achievements, as it was not possible for Donnie, with his personality, to fully trust them.
“I know the situation now; you’ve done well…”
Donnie praised them, and just as they felt happy, Donnie suddenly said, “However, regarding the acquisition process of Dallas First National Bank, I have something I don’t quite understand.”
At this point, Donnie looked at Burke Logan, one of the seven senior partners at Texas Venus Bank, a Stanford University graduate from Venus Bank’s Headquarters Strategic Department.
“Initially, according to the group’s assessment, the valuation of Dallas First National Bank should have been from 500 million US Dollars to 700 million US Dollars. Why then did the consortium eventually spend 800 million US Dollars to acquire the total ownership of Dallas First National Bank?”
Faced with Donnie’s inquiry, Burke Logan paled slightly; the acquisition of Dallas First National Bank occurred during his tenure as rotating chairman of Texas Venus Bank.
“Boss, that’s because while we were acquiring Dallas First National Bank, it was discovered that their investment in the Houston Aircraft Company suddenly mastered advanced engine technology, leading them to raise their price!”
Donnie tapped lightly on the table, saying, “The entire valuation of Houston Aircraft Company is not even 200 million US Dollars. Now you’re telling me just because they possess more advanced yet unused engine technology, they directly raised their price by 100 million US Dollars?”
Burke Logan wanted to explain something more, but Donnie waved his hand, saying, “I don’t want to pursue the true reason behind this any further; your bonus for this year is canceled!”
Seeing Donnie’s gaze, Burke Logan dared not say anything further.
Donnie then turned his attention to the others and said, “Moreover, what’s curious to me is that you actually reported this to me after the fact, as if you were waiting for the matter to be irreversible, so I couldn’t oppose it?”
The remaining six who had harbored lucky thoughts all now bowed their heads.
Donnie waved his hand, saying, “Like Burke Logan, I don’t want to continue pursuing this matter; your bonuses for this year will be halved!”
In this matter, Burke Logan indeed had episodes of corruption, but it’s not unacceptable. These seven are responsible for the operation of the entire Texas Venus Bank, and the annual financial flow of the consortium reaches tens of billions of US Dollars. To claim that they are all honest and upright people is something Donnie does not believe.
For instance, regarding the matter Donnie just mentioned, according to the intelligence Donnie received, the Houston Aircraft Company did break through a technical barrier in aircraft engines. If the technology is applied to practical production, it can indeed significantly increase the market value of Houston Aircraft.
But to say it adds 100 million in valuation is impossible.
At most, it’s a valuation of tens of millions, and under such circumstances, if Burke Logan even slightly used his wits, these could have been incorporated into the acquisition costs of Dallas First National Bank.
Of course, during this process, Burke Logan personally received an extra income of 1 million US Dollars!
The principle that clear water breeds no fish, Donnie understands it all, but he can’t permit these individuals to brazenly carry on with such activities; thus, the current punishment is Donnie’s reminder that he is acutely aware of their actions. He can allow some grey income, but it can’t be excessive.
As for Zack Holloway and others, although they didn’t profit from this particular situation, it doesn’t mean they haven’t gained from other investments. The reason they didn’t inform Donnie the moment Burke Logan started this matter was merely because of their own power struggles; there is competition among them.