Chapter 219: Acquiring a Garment Factory
Stella moved quickly. Once Davey decided to enter the garment business, she immediately began negotiating acquisitions with several clothing factories.
Naturally, Davey had no intention of building a factory from scratch. An acquisition was the fastest solution.
A few days later, Stella brought back news.
“I’ve found two decent garment factories. Their business isn’t doing well—one could even be said to be drowning in debt.”
“They haven’t paid their workers’ wages for two months already. This is the best possible time for us to acquire them.”
“I’ve spoken with their owners. The larger factory is asking for eighty thousand dollars, and the smaller one wants fifty thousand. Which one do you think we should choose?”
Davey smiled.
“Why do we have to choose? Why not acquire both of them? And can we take out a bank loan for the purchase?”
“You know that although I have plenty of money, most of it isn’t legal. I need more dollars that come from legitimate, aboveboard sources.”
Stella shook her head.
“I’m afraid that won’t work, Davey.”
“Both factories already carry heavy loan obligations. Even if those debts were cleared, the banks would still factor in their poor operating history.”
“Of course, if you have connections, a loan might still be possible.”
“But there’s another issue—the workers. Both factories are demanding that we retain at least seventy percent of their existing labor force.”
In an economic depression, employment had almost become a political issue.
Of course, labor unions didn’t have the power to stop a factory from going bankrupt. They only existed to protect workers’ rights while they were employed.
Davey thought for a moment, then asked,
“Stella, do you have their latest balance sheets?”
Stella nodded.
“Of course.”
Davey leaned back on the sofa, lit a cigarette, and smiled.
“Then it’s simple. Tell them we won’t agree to any conditions regarding worker retention. After the acquisition, we’ll replace the equipment and recruit new workers.”
Stella frowned.
“I don’t think they’ll agree. They owe a lot in unpaid wages, and this is part of their agreement with the workers. Otherwise, the factories would already be shut down.”
Davey shrugged indifferently.
“What does that have to do with me? If they go bankrupt, how much do you think those workers will actually get?”
“I think I have a few acquaintances in the banking sector. Tell them that if they refuse our terms, their balance sheets will be placed directly on the desk of a senior manager at the Saint Denis Bank.”
“What happens after that, I’m sure they’ll understand.”
Davey was no saint, despite what many people believed.
Taking over old workers—especially long-term employees from the original factories—would inevitably bring endless complications, and that was exactly what Davey wanted to avoid.
More importantly, Davey intended to use the recruitment process for the garment factory as leverage in negotiations with women’s rights organizations, allowing him to build stronger connections in Saint Denis.
“Alright, Davey. You really are a qualified businessman. Most people wouldn’t think of a method like this.”
“Under that kind of pressure, they’ll have no choice but to sell. Otherwise, if the banks force liquidation, they wouldn’t get a single dollar.”
Stella had never encountered business tactics like this before. In her mind, Davey might have simply sent his men to threaten the owners into handing over the factories.
She hadn’t expected him to use such a clean, purely commercial approach—and one executed so elegantly.
Sure enough, after Stella returned to negotiate with the two factory owners, the acquisitions were finalized quickly.
After settling their debts, the owners were still left with a few thousand dollars—or at least a few hundred.
But if they had gone through bankruptcy liquidation, the factories would have been nearly worthless. They might not even have been able to repay their bank loans, ruining both their livelihoods and their reputations.
With the acquisition settled, the next steps were purchasing equipment and hiring management staff.
These matters were easy to handle. In the midst of a major economic depression, the United States was not short on talent. As long as Davey offered competitive wages, he wouldn’t struggle to recruit capable people.
On another front, Davey contacted Mrs. Berry through Mrs. Calhoon and arranged to meet at an upscale restaurant in Saint Denis.
Davey’s reason for approaching Mrs. Berry—just as he had done by ensuring ample female employment opportunities at the garment factory—was ultimately because of Mrs. Berry’s husband.
Each state in the United States had its own laws and customs, and Saint Denis operated under an old-style city council system.
The city council held more power than the mayor. It supervised government operations, passed legislation, approved budgets, drafted laws, and handled appointments and dismissals.
The mayor was elected by the council members, and with a majority vote, the council could even remove the mayor from office.
In the game’s original storyline, if the player did not kill the deputy mayor, Mark, he would expose Mayor Lemieux’s scandals to the city council and use that to seize the mayor’s position.
Mrs. Berry’s husband was one of those city council members.
Author's Note
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