As I left the headquarters of Computer Associates, the snowstorm on Long Island New York, had subsided somewhat.
Lin Qi got into the back seat of the car, and the ample warmth inside instantly dispelled the chill. Harvey had been waiting in the passenger seat for some time, and Lin Qi briefly told him about the negotiations that had taken place upstairs.
"So, Wang Jialian has taken the bait?" Harvey's tone was filled with barely concealed excitement. "As long as our funding and lobbying resources keep up, he will definitely fight Ratner to the bitter end."
"If he didn't take the bait, why are you saying such awful things?" Lin Qi leaned back in his leather seat and pulled out an unregistered disposable phone (Burner Phone). "He saw an option that suited his interests. Now, I need to deliver on the promises I made to him."
Lin Qi dialed a number. It was answered after three rings, and the crisp sound of a golf club striking a ball, along with the distinctive State of Arizona breeze, came through the phone.
" Patrick, what are you doing?"
"Ah, it's you. The weather in Phoenix is absolutely fantastic today. I'm playing the back nine with Jerry ( Colangelo )." Patrick's cheerful voice came through the phone. Then, Lin Qi heard him shout to the person next to him, " Jerry, beautiful putt! You go to the next tee, I need to get a call from my partner, I'll be right there."
Then, the background noise on the phone changed to the rustling of golf cart tires rolling over the lawn. After about half a minute, making sure he was far enough away and the surroundings were absolutely safe, Patrick's voice came through again, much lower. "Okay, Lin Qi, I'm dozens of yards away from that old man. What's the emergency?"
"We need to help New York Islanders owner Wang Jialian win the bid to acquire the New Jersey Nets. His current competitor is Brooklyn real estate developer Ratner," Lin Qi explained simply. " Colangelo has a very long history in the league, and he has a very good personal relationship with David Stern. If he's willing to speak up for Wang Jialian at the NBA Board of Governors meeting, Stern and the other owners will have to think carefully."
Patrick hesitated for a moment on the other end of the phone, looking somewhat troubled. " Jerry is a very stubborn old man, and he's inherently xenophobic. I'm just a real estate developer who's partnered with him in building a building. How can I subtly persuade him to speak up for a New York outsider involved in hockey at the board meeting?"
"Use your professional connections to talk to them," Lin Qi instructed methodically. "Just treat it as casual conversation and tell Jerry that you know real estate professionals like Ratner all too well. In Ratner's eyes, the Nets aren't a basketball team at all, but a permit to force the city government to grant land at a low price. Once the new arena and shopping plaza are built, he won't care about the team's fate."
Patrick's eyes lit up; he immediately understood. "Yes, start by belittling Ratner. And then?"
"And then, while you're at it, mention Wang Jialian," Lin Qi continued. "Tell Jerry that Wang Jialian, the hockey player, is a kind of guy at heart, a true sports veteran. He never hesitates to spend money to strengthen the Islanders for the sake of their performance, and he treats the players like family. Old-school sports people like Jerry are most susceptible to this kind of thing, and he values the purity of competitive sports the most. He absolutely cannot tolerate handing over an NBA team to a capitalist contractor who's just there to acquire land."
"Got it! Stirring up empathy and a sense of crisis." Patrick laughed on the other end of the phone, his tone regaining its confidence. "That's brilliant. Leave it to me, I'll handle it! I'll know how to manage it."
"You've worked hard, go play some ball." Lin Qi said before hanging up the phone.
The lobbying efforts in the Western Conference have been arranged. The next step is to address Wang Jialian's biggest concerns: funding and venue development.
" Harvey." Lin Qi opened his eyes and looked at the financial advisor in the front row.
"Boss, what are your orders?"
"Contact Maurizio Gherardini," Lin Qi mentioned his manager of the Europe basketball empire, "And have him send a top-level business delegation to New York on behalf of the Europe Sports Real Estate Group to proactively reach out to Wang Jialian and discuss joint development of a new arena in New Jersey or Long Island."
Harvey paused for a moment, then immediately realized that the "mature Europe team" that Lin Qi had promised in Wang Jialian's office was actually from this source.
Over the past two years, in order to circumvent the European Union's stringent antitrust scrutiny, Lin Qi has completely severed ties with the Europe Basketball Union (EBA) and its arena assets. He specifically established an independent company called " Europe Sports Real Estate Group." This company is registered in the Netherlands and Luxembourg, utilizing European Union tax treaties to create multiple layers of financial firewalls. Legally, it is a completely independent, financially clean Europe real estate giant.
"Boss, do you mean to use this Europe company's name to partner with Wang Jialian in real estate?" Harvey's mind raced.
"Yes." Lin Qi nodded. " Wang Jialian holds a considerable amount of high-quality commercial real estate resources in Long Island and Queens. We'll inject funds into the real estate development projects he and we jointly established, under the name of our Europe company. This way, he'll have more cash flow on his books to acquire the team."
"Brilliant!" Harvey couldn't help but slap his thigh. "In the past two years, the league has indeed been very strict in its scrutiny of team acquisition funds, but no matter how strict they are or how thoroughly they trace back, they can only reach Wang Jialian at the lowest level. Wang Jialian used legal cash from his own company's accounts to buy the Nets. The league has no right to cross over and investigate his other real estate joint ventures, let alone find out that the actual controller behind the real estate group in Europe is us."
Lin Qi looked calmly at the New York nightscape rushing past the car window.
The development and operation of commercial venues, as well as the future appreciation of surrounding land, are themselves a huge source of profit. Through the name of a Europe real estate company, Lin Qi not only circumvented the NBA's compliance review and helped Wang Jialian acquire the Nets, but also naturally secured the huge prize of building the new New York arena.
Using the money from a joint venture to build a building, they secretly bought a football team for someone else, ultimately gaining the allies they wanted and making a fortune from future property appreciation.
"Tell the people in Europe to act quickly and professionally. Wang Jialian is the type who won't act until he sees a clear benefit; bring him the top-of-the-line Europe stadium design plans," Lin Qi instructed.
"Understood, I'll contact them in Europe right away." Harvey took out his phone and got to work.
The efforts made in Europe over the years have not been in vain; it is thanks to Europe real estate groups that we have the tools for reverse penetration.