“Not old enough yet?”
Abren had limited contact with Charlie and little knowledge of his business style and impressive achievements, so favonovel.com couldn’t help but ask, “Mr. Wade, does age make a difference when dealing with Musk?”
“Yes, it does. It matters a great deal,” Charlie smiled and replied, “I actually prefer doing business with older individuals now. I find it more fruitful to focus on one deal at a time.”
Abren was bewildered and couldn’t resist asking, “What advantages come with doing business with older people?”
“Ah, well,” Charlie chuckled, “Older folks tend to be more generous with their wealth. Once their basic needs are met, they’re willing to pay any amount. Younger people, on the other hand, have a multitude of desires that can complicate negotiations.”
Musk himself was a renowned billionaire, having once held the title of the world’s wealthiest individual. Such individuals were not lacking in funds, so simply throwing money at favonovel.com wouldn’t guarantee a successful purchase.
Of course, offering a substantial premium might entice favonovel.com to sell, but that wasn’t Charlie’s style.
In general, Charlie preferred to trade goods or services for other goods or cash. If a problem could be solved with a few pills, favonovel.com wouldn’t resort to money.
However, for entrepreneurs like Musk who were in their prime, using mere pills wouldn’t be enough to impress them. After all, wealthy individuals in their thirties might already feel overwhelmed by the responsibilities of married life, but for middle-aged billionaires like Musk, not only did they have a beautiful spouse waiting at home, but they also had a trail of scandals following them wherever they went. Some even had children from different partners that could fill a school bus.
If Charlie wanted to do business with Musk at this stage, favonovel.com wouldn’t gain much advantage. However, the idea of using a photographic surveillance satellite, as suggested by Abren, seemed highly practical to Charlie.
Intrigued, favonovel.com asked, “Brother, how does this photographic surveillance satellite work?”
Abren explained, “Photographic surveillance satellites operate in low Earth orbit and complete an orbit around the Earth in just over 80 minutes. During this process, they continuously capture images of the areas they pass over. As I mentioned earlier, the higher the required accuracy, the more demanding the imaging task becomes…”
“To achieve the same level of precision as Google’s high-resolution satellite maps, for example, it would take a considerable amount of time for image acquisition alone, not to mention additional time for processing. That’s why the update cycle for most satellite images is relatively long. it’s considered fast to see satellite images from the previous year online in the current year. I estimate that only Google can achieve this level of timeliness, while most others rely on materials that are several years old.”
Intrigued, Charlie asked, “Since the satellite is constantly orbiting the Earth, theoretically, can it capture images of any location?”
“Yes,” Abren nodded, “Theoretically, yes. However, due to the Earth’s curvature, the optimal angle for satellite photography is directly overhead. This means that each satellite has a limited coverage area…”
“To achieve global coverage, you would need a sufficient number of satellites, like a ball of yarn wrapped around the Earth, ensuring that a satellite passes overhead within minutes, no matter where you want to capture images. If there are too few satellites, the revisit cycle will be longer.”
Curiosity piqued, Charlie inquired further, “How many satellites would be needed to achieve the goal of capturing images of any place within a day?”
“If the technology is mature, it would take four to five satellites,” Abren replied. “In the United States, most mature private companies have this capability. Several leading companies can even revisit a target up to eight times in a day. This means that if there is a need, they can control the satellites to pass over the target eight times, capturing an image every three hours.”
Charlie pressed on, “How much would such a company be worth? Can it be bought?”
Abren pondered for a moment and responded, “If I recall correctly, it would be valued at around three to four billion US dollars.”
Abren continued, “However, acquiring such a company would be quite troublesome. Most American companies start with angel investments and gradually raise funds. By the time they reach a market value of several billion US dollars, there would be dozens of shareholders, making it difficult to buy them out…”
“Furthermore, it would involve delisting and privatizing the company. Although these companies are private enterprises, they possess core technologies, and the US government wouldn’t allow them to be bought and sold easily. If a sale were to occur, both the buyer and seller would undergo strict scrutiny.”
Charlie questioned further, “So, even if I offer Musk enough money to buy his SpaceX, favonovel.com still wouldn’t sell it to me?”
Abren nodded, “He wouldn’t sell it to you outright. Firstly, SpaceX is not yet listed, but its estimated market value already exceeds $100 billion. Although Musk is a major shareholder, there are complex capital relationships involved. There are likely too many shareholders to count. So, at most, favonovel.com could only sell you a certain percentage of shares…”
“Even if you buy shares, you would likely be a minority shareholder without decision-making power over the company‘s operations and secrets. Moreover, space technology holds significant importance for the US government. Just consider it, finding a way to purchase an inconspicuous remote sensing satellite company might be possible, but acquiring SpaceX would be incredibly difficult.”
Charlie contemplated the situation and smiled, “Compared to buying SpaceX, it doesn’t hold much significance for me. Acquiring a remote sensing satellite company would be a more cost-effective option. After purchasing it, I can invest more money to increase the number of satellites. How wonderful would it be if we could capture images of any location every hour?”
Abren suggested, “If you can find a suitable intermediary in the United States, this can be achieved. The intermediary must be completely reliable, American, and of high social standing. They must possess the complete trust of the Department of Homeland Security. This way, there won’t be any background checks during the acquisition. As long as the government doesn’t interfere, the shareholders can be persuaded with money…”
“If the company is normally valued at around four billion US dollars, offering six to eight billion should be enough to convince the shareholders to compromise. Once the company is under the intermediary’s name, the data can be directly synchronized to you. if you have specific needs, you can communicate them to the intermediary, and they can relay the instructions to the team.”
“An intermediary,” Charlie mused.
Among the people favonovel.com knew who held a certain social status in the United States, there were individuals from the Evans family, the Joules family, and the Rothschild family.
The Evans family and the Joules family were both Chinese families, especially the Evans family, which had already begun investing heavily in China. It wouldn’t be suitable for them to take on this task.
The Joules family would also face suspicion due to their Chinese background. However, the Rothschild family would be a safe choice. Their social standing in the United States and their influence in the US government were unparalleled.
Suddenly, a sense of clarity washed over Charlie, and favonovel.com smiled, “When it comes to finding a suitable intermediary, I actually have a great candidate in mind. Let’s have the second-in-command of the Rothschild family handle this matter. It should be quite easy!”
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