I am a nobleman in England

"... The UK is currently facing severe challenges to power supply security, which will pose a real threat to its future economic development and social stability. On the one hand, a large number of power stations will be offline one after another, and the power supply capacity is seriously insufficient.

The current installed capacity of coal-fired power plants is 28 million kilowatts, accounting for 30% of the total power generation.According to the European Union’s "Large-scale Combustion Power Plant Directive", 8 million kilowatts of coal-fired power plants will be shut down by the end of 2015.

Nine of the 10 nuclear power plants in service have reached their design life and will be decommissioned by the end of 2020, and the power generation capacity of 4 million kilowatts will be offline.It is estimated that 21% of power generation facilities will be shut down in the next 10 years, and the power generation capacity of the UK will be reduced by approximately 19.1 million kilowatts.

In addition, many gas-fired power stations in service will also be decommissioned before 2030, when 21 million kilowatts of power generation capacity will be offline.At the same time, the eight new nuclear power plants that are planned to be built before 2025 are progressing slowly, and the prospects are worrying. It may not be able to take on the task of generating electricity in the short term.

On the other hand, with the steady growth of the total population and the gradual recovery of various sectors of the national economy after the financial crisis, the demand for electricity continues to expand, which is expected to increase by 15% by 2020.In the event of peak power consumption or emergencies, the extremely limited power generation and power supply capacity will not be able to guarantee the safety of power consumption throughout the country.

How to ensure the safety of power supply has become an important issue that the British government urgently needs to solve."

Angela emphasized the difficulties faced by British Power to increase the future prospects and profitability of the acquisition target. In fact, it is plain.If banks cannot see enough benefits, they will never join Arthur's acquisition plan.

With this data presented, Arthur clearly saw the unexpected expression on Bob Diamond's face, and at the same time showed an interested reaction for the first time, and once again looked down at the acquisition plan in his hand.

Arthur, who was smiling from beginning to end, glanced at Angela who had drunk the lipstick tea and nodded slightly. Angela's mouth was raised, with a confident smile on her face, she put down the black tea cup and continued to talk freely.

"In power generation other than coal power, nuclear power has been operating at full capacity, but the power generation is limited by installed capacity. Hydropower supply is greatly affected by seasonal and dry seasons, and power generation is unbalanced in wet and dry seasons.

Renewable energy power such as wind power and solar power has random, intermittent and unstable characteristics, and it is difficult to undertake baseload power generation.The cost of fuel-fired power generation is relatively higher.In comparison and selection of multiple power generation methods, natural gas power generation has become an important alternative to coal-fired power generation.

Although from the perspective of the power grid, electricity is an undifferentiated commodity, and the on-grid price of gas is higher than that of coal-fired power generation. In order to pursue economic benefits, the grid prefers low-cost power such as coal power. However, the high pollution of coal power cannot be overcome. The biggest problem.

The biggest advantage of gas-fired power generation over coal-fired power is its cleanliness and environmental protection. The importance of establishing gas-fired power plants in most areas of my country is to reduce environmental pollution, improve the atmospheric environment, and restrict the development of coal power has become an important means for the government to protect environmental quality.

Natural gas power generation has been developed in the UK for 20 years, with mature technology and many advantages.For example, the power generation level is stable, the peak shaving capacity is strong, the transmission and transformation are simple, and the cost is low, and the construction period is short.

Under the urgent situation of current and future power supply security, the British government has regarded gas-fired power generation as a firefighting team and has vigorously developed it, hoping to effectively increase the reserve capacity of power generation in the UK, and guarantee it when power consumption peaks or renewable energy generation capacity is insufficient Emergency power supply.

Moreover, due to the deteriorating weather conditions in various parts of the UK, the spot price of electricity is soaring day by day, and the demand-led price surge is irresistible for British natural gas power plant operators."

"So have you ever thought about it, in case of excess gas production capacity, the price of natural gas continues to rise, which will put a huge downward pressure on the'clean ignition price difference', and the operating cost of the power station will be too high and the profit will be too low? You know, once this happens If the situation arises, there is only one way for the power station to stop!"

With a faint smile on Bob Diamond's face and a wise gleam in his eyes, he asked, looking at Angela, who had been talking eloquently and impressed him quite well.

Surprisingly, it was not Angela who answered this question, but Arthur, who kept quiet. "Of course, we have considered these possible risks. After all, investment is for profit, and no one wants to lose money. .

To get involved in the energy industry, the last thing that cannot be ignored and the least can be controlled is the BO movement of energy prices. In order to reduce risks, we have also prepared a series of follow-up plans to lay out upstream to form a complete and safe industrial chain."

"Well, that's it..." Bob Diamond did not continue to ask, because since the other party didn't say much, then he kept asking. If it is a trade secret, it will undoubtedly be difficult for others.

"The plan is very detailed and beautiful, so, your excellency means..."

"I want to raise funds from your bank, and then acquire half of the shares in this power plant to control this power plant. About 200 million pounds of funds are needed." Arthur smiled and said his thoughts straight to the point.

"Two million pounds... What financing channel do you plan to choose?" Bob Diamond groaned and continued to ask.

"I pledged my 50% equity in the power plant to finance your bank's debt and debt financing. I believe that once the power plant is successfully acquired, the operating profit obtained will be enough to repay the principal and interest on time." Arthur's eyes flashed. With a touch of splendor, he looked at each other with burning eyes.

LBO!

Snake swallows elephant!

Leveraged buyout can also be called a debt-based business acquisition. To put it simply, Arthur gave only a small portion of the money, and most of the funds came from bank mortgages. Arthur first used the coast of Bristol, which had nothing to do with him. (Natural gas) power station assets and future cash flow and income are used as secured loans and used to repay principal and interest.

Although this method is shameless, the bank is not a good person. The handling fee for financing loans is as high as 1% of the total amount. That is to say, Arthur's financing of 200 million from Barclays Bank will have to pay a handling fee of 2 million pounds. , And if the acquisition is successful and the expected benefits are achieved, Arthur cannot share the benefits of the company’s asset appreciation and must be used to repay the principal and interest.

"..." Bob Diamond frowned slightly, and after a moment of indulgence, he looked at Arthur and said: "I will take the plan back to my subordinates to study the feasibility, if the plan is right for Bristol If the asset appraisal of the coastal (natural gas) power station in China is correct, I think Barclays Bank is very willing to help you complete this project."

"Thank you, then I wish us a happy cooperation!" Arthur smiled and stretched out his hand, shaking hands with the other party.

"I wish we have a happy cooperation." Bob also smiled and shook hands with Arthur.

Back in the car in the financial city, Arthur smiled and said to Angela beside him: "You can start to form a negotiating team to contact and negotiate with the board of directors of Bristol's coastal (natural gas) power station, and formally initiate a takeover offer to them."

"Good boss, I will immediately start implementing the plan after I go back." Angela nodded and said with an extremely bright gleam in her beautiful eyes.

"Hehe, this is our first step. We must take it well. This is related to our overall plan. Whether we can realize the empire you planned for me. This will be the most critical step." Arthur looked at Angela smiled.

"Please don't worry, boss, you won't be disappointed." Angela said with an extremely solemn expression, and then seemed to think of some general smile: "Boss, seriously, I didn't expect things to go so smoothly, Bob Diamond It would be so easy to agree to our plan."

"Hehe, it's not difficult to understand. He is a Wall Street investment bank. This hand we want to play is undoubtedly a typical American-style debt acquisition financial game. This is not new to him at all, and it is commonplace. Impossible, even very reluctant projects are completed. For them, the benefits are even more impressive. Those who come out of Wall Street are unscrupulous in the pursuit of capital for profit!"

Arthur smiled disapprovingly and said, capital is profit-seeking, so no one owes anyone for his cooperation with Barclays Bank.

The nearly one-hundred-year history of Wall Street investment banks shows that investment banks will never disappear as synonymous with pioneering, innovative, and high-profit, whether they are split or mixed operations. They just need to find a more suitable organizational form and business model in the market environment amid constant setbacks , And Barclays Bank, which has just transformed into an investment bank, needs to expand its business even more.

So when faced with Arthur's search for support and cooperation, Baobo Diamond would not refuse. Even if the two met today for the first time, it would not affect the mutually beneficial cooperation between the two parties.