Chapter 647
The following day, Jude Vance returned to Solflare Tower, only to be met with a staggering response: “The financial firm is open to an acquisition, but the asking price is one hundred billion dollars p>
“If you don’t want to sell, just say so,” Jude snapped, his face twisting with fury. “Why bother with this ridiculous charade p>
Jude was absolutely livid, while Lawrence stood beside him in stunned silence.
But the moment Lawrence turned his head, a malicious smirk crept onto his face. This was exactly the outcome he had been hoping for.
Jude Vance, the high-and-mighty overseas heir, pretended to be his ally on the surface, but Lawrence knew he was just being used.
You act so polite, but do you think I don’t notice the absolute disdain in your eyes? Lawrence thought bitterly.
Once a guy like Jude established a firm foothold in the country, he would drop Lawrence without a second thought.
As for Solflare Entertainment, Lawrence had been itching to crush them for ages. He had suffered defeat after humiliating defeat at their hands, and the resentment was boiling over.
Now that Jude was directly in Solflare’s crosshairs, Lawrence was more than happy to sit back and watch the fireworks.
Jude, of course, was no idiot. He knew exactly what Quentin Vance was doing. The astronomical price tag was just a backhanded way of rejecting his offer.
He was seething, but his hands were tied.
One hundred billion? he fumed inwardly. Why don’t you just rob a bank while you’re at it?
The Vance family certainly had deep pockets, but dropping a hundred billion would cripple their cash flow. And there was no way the board of directors and the senior partners back home would ever authorize a move like that.
Quentin, meanwhile, remained completely unbothered. He looked at the two men calmly and said, “This is the final decision from our internal review p>
Some big-shot overseas heir, Quentin thought, amused. You can’t even scrape together a hundred billion?
You don’t even have half the leverage of our young female boss.
Though Quentin kept those thoughts to himself, the sheer contempt in his expression was impossible to miss.
Lawrence glanced at Jude, hiding a smirk, and leaned in close. “These startup companies never know their place,” he whispered. “Should we teach them a lesson? Show them who they’re dealing with p>
Jude clenched his fists tightly. Truth be told, this was the first time anyone had dared
to brush him off since he had arrived in Mavaria.
Still, he wasn’t some hot-headed, impulsive playboy.
In the business world, losing your temper and letting your emotions show on your face was a fatal mistake.
At the end of the day, he was the one asking for a favor.
Since an outright acquisition was off the table, Jude was forced to pivot, proposing a strategic partnership and offering to buy a minority stake instead.
To sweeten the deal, he heavily emphasized his family’s massive global influence and their extensive networks across international markets.
“I can take Solflare Capital global,” Jude pitched confidently. “I can help you tap into international wealth and turn this into a worldwide empire p>
But Quentin shut him down immediately. “We are only open to a full acquisition. We don’t sell minority shares p>
After watching Lawrence and Jude storm out of the building, Quentin picked up his phone and reported the entire exchange to Owen and Mira.
Back in his luxury sedan, Jude’s expression was dangerously dark. He hadn’t expected the owner of Solflare Capital to be so unbelievably stubborn.
He had originally planned to buy the firm for two billion dollars. Now, he couldn’t even buy a tenth of it for that price.
“That Quentin guy isn’t the real shot-caller,” Jude growled. “I want to know exactly who is pulling the strings behind this operation p>
He glared at Lawrence. “You both operate in the same market,
here in Aethelgard. Don’t tell et
you
have no idea who the true owner of Solflare Capital is.” fo
“To be completely honest, we’ve looked into it extensively,” Lawrence admitted.
“At first, we suspected my half-brother, Owen. He’s definitely the one running the day-to-day operations at Solflare Entertainment p>
“But after watching them closely, we realized it wasn’t him p>
“First of all, the corporate structure and portfolio at Solflare just don’t match Owen’s usual playbook p>
“He specializes in real estate and luxury hotels tangible assets. But Solflare is almost entirely focused on emerging tech and the internet sector p>
“Even their entertainment division is pushing aggressively into new formats, like bite-sized streaming shows and premium subscription music p>
“Second, Owen hates getting his hands dirty. With his own businesses, he always leaves the actual management to his proxy Julian Vance. He rarely oversees operations himself p>