Hétóng Rén’s New Offer
Ranell’s next call was to the CEO of GML. “I know you didn’t authorize me to reach out to the Chinese…” He nodded patiently while being chastised for overreaching his authority. “That’s right, I called Hétóng Rén on my own initiative,” he admitted. “But he was expecting a call from us and wanted me to convey this message to you.”
Receiving permission, Ranell continued, “They know we’re in a cash crunch. And, of course, they know the deal in Strange Lake is going through and how much that could be worth to us. They have billions in cash sitting on the sidelines. He's proposing to help us ‘adjust’ the price, quantity, and quality of our imported and exported goods (on paper) to get us the liquidity we need right now to get the banks to restructure our debts. This way, we’d have the funds to cover our operating costs. It would give us the time we need.”
Still holding his cell phone to his ear, Ranell laid his head down on his arm. Closing his eyes as he rested on the desktop. I’m so tired. “No. No, he is not asking for a stake in the Strange Lake project.”
“What do they want?" Ranell sat upright again as he repeated the question. "Honestly, I’m not sure. I don’t know where they get all their funding from, but I do know that if the money is dirty, then moving it through our international trade system would legitimize it.”
When pressed, Ranell refused to offer a recommendation. “That's why I'm calling you. It comes down to this: we can either take Hétóng Rén up on his offer and have all our problems ‘magically’ disappear. Or we can begin liquidating our assets immediately to meet the new conditions of the debt restructure.”
You are the CEO of GML. You make the call:
Option 1: Ranell was way out of line contacting the Chinese like this. There's no way you would ever consider Hétóng Rén’s offer. Tell Ranell to have his team prioritize GML’s assets and BEGIN LIQUIDATING THEM IMMEDIATELY based on their value for future operations. You're confident that when the smoke clears, GML will emerge stronger and better positioned than ever.
Option 2: Ranell was right to call the Chinese. You would have done the same thing. That's why you trust him. By his initiative, Ranell might have discovered the only solution to get through this crisis. It will require great discretion, but tell Hétóng Rén you will ACCEPT HIS OFFER.