Chapter 688: 9 Dragon Warehouse Acquisition Battle
Chapter 688: The Wharf Acquisition War (3)
Time soon came to April, and the Hong Kong stock market also had a rare few days of recovery, with the Hang Seng Index rising by a total of 4 points;
This data was nothing in the past, but now during the economic crisis, it has given many people unlimited hope. Too many people hope to take advantage of this opportunity to stop the stock market from falling and rise. In this way, everyone can still make high profits without doing anything, just like a few months ago.
However, contrary to market expectations, after Yang Wendong obtained the position of director of Hutchison Whampoa, he has not made any further moves. He did not carry out large-scale acquisitions of stocks in the stock market as many people had speculated.
Likewise, there was no movement from Jardine Matheson, and they did not repurchase shares;
All of a sudden, all kinds of rumors spread;
"Could it be that Yang Wendong really just wanted to invest in Wharf Holdings, and now that he's a director, that's it?"
"Impossible. If I were Yang Wendong, I would definitely go all out to acquire Wharf."
"You also said that it was you, not Yang Wendong. Do you think Yang Wendong is a fool? Now that so many people are hoarding Wharf shares, if he enters the market, won't he lose a lot of money?"
"That's right. At the beginning, Hong Kong Holdings did not use money but stocks. That was a really smart move."
"Don't mention it. I lost hundreds of thousands of dollars in the beginning. Now, no matter what kind of acquisition, I only recognize money, not any other stocks or bonds."
"Let's first think about it. If Yang Wendong stops here, what should we do if we bought Wharf shares at a high price?"
"We should sell it now while the price is still reasonable. Otherwise, if other people find it strange and run away first, we will be in trouble."
Just like when you encounter a tiger, you don't have to outrun the tiger, as long as you can outrun your friends around you; the same goes for the stock market, you don't need to compare yourself with tycoons, you just need to outrun other investors, that's all.
So, on April 4, Wharf Holdings' stock began to fall gradually, and a large number of sell orders began to appear. Coupled with the spread of rumors, everyone panicked and the stock price immediately fell. Too many people came in quickly and left even faster because they were afraid of losing money.
In a coffee shop in Hong Kong, Fang Xianming sat opposite a middle-aged British man in his 40s, who smiled and said, "Mr. Baker, the stock market price has fallen now, but my offer is still the same as before. Isn't that very sincere?"
Baker shook his head and said, "Mr. Fang, the share price of Wharf Holdings has fallen because many people in the market believe that you will no longer continue to seek to acquire Wharf Holdings shares. But now I know that you will definitely not give up, so the price cannot be based on the previous price."
As shareholders of Wharf Holdings, and with their own industry holdings in Hong Kong, they naturally know things that the stockholders in the market do not know.
For example, the Jardine Group is raising a large amount of funds. Although Changxing Group is not clear about where its funds are going, their people have come to find me. It is easy to imagine what their purpose is.
Fang Xianming didn't care about this and asked, "Mr. Baker, let's talk about the price later. I want to know if you are willing to buy it?"
"So what if there is? So what if there isn't?" Baker asked.
Fang Xianming said: "If you are interested in selling, I will send someone else to negotiate with you, and we can always come to an agreement on the price; if not, it means that you are optimistic about the future of Wharf Holdings. We welcome you to continue holding shares, but we hope that if Wharf Holdings holds a shareholders' meeting next time, you can vote for my Changxing Group to control Wharf Holdings."
"What good will this do for me?" Baker did not refuse directly, but asked: "After all, I am also British, so there is no reason for me to help you, right?"
"What's the difference between the British and the Chinese?" Fang Xianming asked in return: "Everyone is in Hong Kong just to make money. I don't think you British people left your hometown just to do charity, right?
You should all be aware of the current situation in Hong Kong. Among the British foreign companies, only Hutchison Whampoa is okay, while the others are not that good. Wharf Holdings controls so many high-quality land and properties, but its market value at its peak was only about HK$10 billion.
You should have seen the achievements of Huazi Real Estate Company. Only we, Huazi, can develop the land value to the greatest benefit and obtain the greatest benefits for all shareholders and stockholders. "
"So, Mr. Yang is also optimistic about the future real estate market." Baker paused and asked, "Then I wonder when you think Hong Kong's economy will recover?"
"How could we possibly know this? Even gods can't predict such things." Fang Xianming shook his head and said;
This is true. Changxing Group was indeed prepared for this crisis, but it was uncertain when the crisis would come. Now that the crisis has broken out, no one knows when it will end. This is a combination of the wishes of countless capitals.
In the next half month, Jardine Matheson and Changxing Group made appropriate acquisitions in the stock market according to the funds they used. Neither party dared to use too much force, otherwise it would be discovered by stockholders, which would inevitably cause a sharp rise in stocks.
On the other hand, both parties are trying to reach out to some idle small shareholders, or even shareholders who hold a little more shares, whether it is quotations or future votes. In the stock market, because both parties have fallen into a state of silence, there are many rumors in the market, and the two companies have not come out to answer questions, which has caused Wharf's stock to fluctuate greatly. Many shareholders are also very hesitant about whether to buy or sell, fearing that the price will fall if they buy or rise if they sell. Countless speculators are undecided.
Top floor of Kangle Building:
After Fang Xianming arrived at the boss' office, he reported his recent achievements: "Mr. Yang, in the past half month, I have met with about 22 small shareholders of Wharf Holdings. Among them, 12 expressed their willingness to sell their shares, but the price they asked for was higher, which was % higher than our previous price on average."
"30%?" Yang Wendong did not comment, but asked, "How many stocks do these people hold in total?"
Fang Xianming replied: "A total of 6.3% of the shares."
"Okay, just buy it. If a public takeover war really breaks out, the 30% increase won't be enough." Yang Wendong agreed decisively.
At the current price, it is indeed not cost-effective, but the cost of strategic acquisition comparison is the last minute, so as long as it is cheaper than the last minute price, it is cost-effective;
Just like Pao Yu-kang in the past, the price of the early acquisition from Li Jiacheng was only 30, and the various acquisition costs in the middle period were about 50. At the last moment, the cost was as high as 105 Hong Kong dollars per share. The price was so high that everyone in the Jardine Matheson Group sold their stocks to cash in.
So the more you acquire early on, the less money you have to spend at the last minute.
Fang Xianming agreed: "Okay, I'll arrange the funds right away."
Yang Wendong asked again: "What about other shareholders? If they don't want to sell, can they agree to vote for me at the shareholders' meeting?"
Fang Xianming replied: "At first, these foreigners still disagreed, but after my explanation, they also understood that if they wanted to make Wharf Holdings realize the core value of existing properties, they could only rely on us, Chinese capital, rather than old antiques like Jardine Matheson who don't understand real estate at all;
So in the end, shareholders with about 8% of the shares agreed to vote for us at the shareholders' meeting."
“In that case, with our shares, we only need 6 points of shareholder votes to gain control of Wharf Holdings.” Yang Wendong said with a smile after doing some mental calculations.
Fang Xianming said, "Mr. Yang, we can't completely stick to 50%. The convening of the shareholders' meeting cannot go wrong. If someone goes back on their word, we'll be in trouble. So this ratio still needs to be increased a little bit."
"Well, I understand this, but there are too many idle shareholders, and it is difficult to find them." Yang Wendong said: "However, if you want to overthrow the current board of directors and management, you must have the consent of 50% of the shareholders, which is really troublesome."
Unlike the board of directors, shareholders' meetings are often not attended by many shareholders, especially those who live overseas, who generally do not ask about such matters.
So this is the advantage of owning management rights. It is too difficult for other major shareholders to obtain half of the self-holding rate during the shareholders' meeting.
Fang Xianming said: "I have also sent people to the UK to inquire about the shareholders who are based in the UK, but the Keswick family should have taken action earlier than us, so it is hard to say whether it will succeed."
"Let's give it a try. If it doesn't work, we can just make an open acquisition on the stock market. As long as we acquire enough shares and the price is right, that'll be fine." Yang Wendong said with a firm look in his eyes.
It is naturally difficult to acquire a large British consortium, especially when there are other consortiums behind it. This is why Bao Yugang struggled for two years.
However, it is impossible for me to spend so much time on this matter. This kind of thing must be done quickly, accurately and ruthlessly. Otherwise, the longer it is delayed, the more opportunities it will give to other speculators, and even Jardine Matheson Group will take the opportunity to do something.
"Yes, Mr. Yang." Fang Xianming replied.
Another half month passed, and the actions of Jardine Matheson and Changxing against shareholders were still ongoing, and Fang Xianming's actions in the UK also yielded results;
"In other words, we now have 52% of the votes in favor?" Yang Wendong asked.
Fang Xianming replied: "Yes, the 27 small shareholders in the UK expressed their willingness to vote for us and signed an agreement with us. In addition, we will reimburse their round-trip air tickets, food and accommodation to Hong Kong."
"Okay, these are all small matters." Yang Wendong naturally didn't care about this little money, and said: "But the value of 52 is still a bit too conservative. What is the current stock price?"
Fang Xianming said: "The current share price fluctuates between HK$16 and HK$18."
"Then we will list it tomorrow. Our group will offer unlimited purchases at HK$21 per share. I need to acquire some more stocks to make things more stable." Yang Wendong said with a faint smile.
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(End of this chapter)