In Money Machine: A Trailblazing American Venture in China, Weijian Shan delivers a compelling account of one of the most significant deals in private equity history: the first and only foreign acquisition of control of a Chinese national bank. Money Machine is the fascinating inside story of the transaction as told by the man who led it, from the intrigues of dealmaking to the complex and uncharted process of securing control by a foreign investor of a Chinese nationwide financial institution, a feat that had never before been attempted, nor has it been repeated.
Shan also describes the astonishingly successful turnaround of the institution under the control of the American firm: the clash of cultures, the growth to strength and profitability, and ultimately, the extraordinarily profitable exit from the investment. In the process, he reveals new insights into how finance operates in China's capital system and how private equity firms can add real value to companies. Listeners will also find: a peek behind the curtain of a process usually shrouded in secrecy: private equity dealmaking and moneymaking; the complex negotiations between American private equity executives and Chinese regulators to implement a series of unprecedented changes; and the riveting details of the challenges that had to be overcome to return the bank to growth and profitability.
Money Games is a riveting tale of one of the most successful buyout deals ever: the acquisition and turnaround of what used to be Korea's largest bank by the American firm Newbridge Capital. Full of intrigue and suspense, this insider's account is told by the chief architect of the deal itself, the celebrated author and private equity investor Weijian Shan. With billions of dollars at stake, and the nation's economic future on the line, Newbridge Capital sought to become the first foreign firm in history to take control of one of Korea's most beloved financial institutions.
Shan takes listeners inside the battle to win control of the bank-a delicate, often exasperating process that meant balancing the goals of Newbridge with those of the government, bank employees, and Korea's powerful industrial titans.
Finally, the author describes how Newbridge transformed and rebuilt the struggling bank into a shining example of modern banking-as well as a massively profitable investment. In the secret world of private equity, few buyouts have been written about with such clarity, detail, and insight-and none with such completeness, covering not only the dealmaking but also the transformation and eventual exit of the investment.
Weijian Shan's Out of the Gobi is a powerful memoir and commentary that will be one of the most important books on China of our time, one with the potential to re-shape how Americans view China, and how the Chinese view life in America.
Shan, a former hard laborer who is now one of Asia's best-known financiers, is thoughtful, observant, eloquent, and brutally honest, making him well-positioned to tell the story of a life that is a microcosm of modern China, and of how, improbably, that life became intertwined with America. Out of the Gobi draws a vivid picture of the raw human energy and the will to succeed against all odds.
Shan only finished elementary school when Mao Zedong's Cultural Revolution tore his country apart. He was a witness to the brutality and absurdity of Mao's policies during one of the most tumultuous eras in China's history. Exiled to the Gobi Desert at age fifteen and denied schooling for ten years, he endured untold hardships without ever giving up his dream for an education. Shan's improbable journey, from the Gobi to the 'People's Republic of Berkeley' and far beyond, is a uniquely American success story-told with a splash of humor, deep insight, and rich and engaging detail.
