Chapter 293: Pharmaceutical Empire

On the other side of the world, in the manager's office at Goldman Sachs headquarters, Bell stared in disbelief at the large screen.
"Fanghuan Investment... their single operation has snowballed to such a massive size..."
This mysterious behemoth from the East merely pushed a loophole in the financial market system, creating a massive short position that ultimately brought down the entire British financial system!
Normally, such ruthless players who pull off a single heist would disappear immediately, find a place to hide, and wait for the storm to pass.
But Fanghuan Investment did not!
Not only did they not hide, but they became extremely arrogant, directly pushing themselves from behind the scenes into the spotlight.
"Have you found out? Why did Fanghuan suddenly acquire those companies? Have you found any common ground?"
"Yes, Mr. Bell. There is a very peculiar common ground."
Fanghuan Investment raked in tens of billions of euros in this short-selling operation, achieving legendary status in one fell swoop.
However, they didn't leave. Instead, they injected this huge sum of capital back into the British market, like a silent net spreading out, systematically gathering up companies on the verge of collapse.
“First, they acquired mostly pharmaceutical companies on the verge of bankruptcy.”
“That’s the common thread?”
“No, Mr. Bell. That’s just the surface.
The real common thread is the technology: these companies all specialize in a specific area of ​​‘vaccines.’”
“Vaccines?”
“Yes. It’s supposedly a technology platform being researched in the field of bioengineering, called ‘messenger ribonucleic acid.’ Its principle is to utilize…”
“Stop,” Bell interrupted impatiently, “Get to the point, don’t give me a biology lecture.
So, Fanghuan Investment is just after this vaccine technology, acquiring all the companies researching it?”
“Yes. The five companies they’ve acquired so far at bargain prices are all focused on this technology.”
With Fanghuan Investment’s current size, their every move is under everyone’s watchful eye.
Unless they use countless shell companies to cover their tracks, they can't hide it at all.
But now, they don't bother with concealment at all; they're openly acquiring companies one by one, clearly aiming to create a new pharmaceutical conglomerate within Britain!
"They've ruined the British economy like this, and all it takes is to acquire a few struggling pharmaceutical workshops?"
Bell frowned deeply; he felt this wasn't so simple.
Judging from Fang Huan Investment's past miraculous operational methods, this was definitely not just a group of opportunistic financial hyenas. Behind them, there must be a grand, chilling ultimate goal.
This attack on the British market was absolutely part of that grand plan.
Just what kind of terrifying company is this!
To achieve their goals, they're willing to trample a vast country underfoot without hesitation, even pushing it into the abyss!
But now, who can tell him if the ultimate purpose of this astounding plan is really just to acquire those few small, failing factories that are about to go bankrupt?
“They didn’t just acquire small companies. Mr. Bell, regarding the mRNA technology I mentioned earlier, one company is a global leader in this field.”
“Who?”
“AstraZeneca.”
“Wait… so you mean…” Bell’s pupils suddenly contracted.
“Yes, Mr. Bell. Fanghuan Investment has officially sent us an inquiry.” A subordinate handed over a document.
“They want to make a deal with us to buy the 3.5% stake in AstraZeneca that Goldman Sachs holds.”
Instantly, all the scattered clues connected into a complete and frantic chain of logic.
Fanghuan Investment’s ultimate target was AstraZeneca!
What they wanted to do was integrate these scattered pharmaceutical forces in the UK, using AstraZeneca as the core, to build a brand new pharmaceutical empire!
“But…AstraZeneca, isn’t it the biggest victim of this ‘hard Brexit’?”
“Yes, Mr. Bell. It was already beset with problems. The European Medicines Agency moved from London to Paris, leading to major changes in patent regulations;
The company’s internal ‘upgrading’ issues hadn’t been resolved, and then the scandal of side effects from a new drug broke out.
Now, with the nuclear bomb of ‘hard Brexit’ exploding, it’s a devastating blow for a company like it that’s so heavily reliant on the European market.”
Bell was completely dumbfounded.
He couldn’t understand Fang Huan’s thought process at all.
AstraZeneca is a large company in the UK, that’s true.
But now, with the financial crisis, the new drug scandal, the patent cliff, and hard Brexit…
Several mountains are pressing down on it simultaneously, and this century-old company is experiencing the most severe crisis in its history.
"Acquiring it now, there's no way it could be profitable, right? What's the difference between this and carrying a ticking time bomb?"
"Yes, this is practically suicidal investment.
If it weren't for a 'hard Brexit,' AstraZeneca might have had a chance to recover.
But now, with this..."
The implication is that it's beyond saving.
Who could have imagined that Britain's second-largest pharmaceutical company would collapse in this way?
And the most ironic thing is that the one that pushed it off the cliff was none other than Fang Huan Investment, which now wants to acquire it!
If it weren't for Fang Huan's insane financial attack, AstraZeneca wouldn't have ended up like this.
"So, the conclusion of the whole thing is: Fang Huan Investment, in order to acquire AstraZeneca, first bombed Britain itself?
Is this even a human being capable of such a move?"
To devour a company, first blow up the economy of the country it depends on?
Bell felt his worldview had been shaken like never before.
"That technology you just mentioned, mRNA, what would be its use if it were developed to its full potential?"
"The main focus is on treating genetic diseases and cancer. But supposedly... its most amazing feature is that it can drastically shorten the vaccine development cycle."
"A vaccine? What, is there another viral outbreak somewhere?"
"We checked, and there are currently no reports of any large-scale infectious disease outbreaks globally."
So, Fang Huan's investment isn't for a vaccine against a specific virus, but rather to develop a cancer treatment?
If they can really develop it, it would indeed be something that could change the world order.
"But don't those kinds of things typically have a research and development cycle of at least ten years?"
"Yes, Mr. Bell. It takes at least five to ten years for a new drug to go from research and development to market."
A long-term investment measured in ten-year increments?
Is this something Fanghuan Investment, known for its ruthless tactics and decisive strikes, would do?
No matter how you look at it, something doesn't feel right.