While the alphabet agencies held the reins over Horizon and enforced more than a few industrial restrictions, the Rothschilds were basically American thoroughbreds who could completely bypass any potential hindrances.

Moreover, Carl and his shareholders had been keen to bail for a while now. As soon as they heard that the Rothechilds' heir apparent would personally be there to discuss a potential acquisition, they held a meeting, in which everyone unanimously agreed to work toward a sale of their shares and how much.

Julien was just flying to Houston by the time they had already ironed out the details—if it was a singular buyout, they would fight for an asking price of at least three billion. It was a done deal if Julien could offer that much.

On the other end, if Julien's offer came in an installment plan that lasted over a year but without other additional incentives, their asking price would be at least 3.3 billion, with a 10% increase per year.

If it were an installment with ad