Chapter 690: 9 Dragon Warehouse Acquisition Battle
Chapter 690: The Wharf Acquisition War (5)
A few days later, hundreds of people crowded in front of Jardine’s desk at the Hong Kong Stock Exchange;
"What's going on? I've been waiting in line for a whole day and it's not my turn yet. Are you guys buying stocks?" When the stock exchange was about to close in the afternoon, a stockholder shouted angrily;
Immediately, a mass reaction was triggered. Many people were very angry. They had been delayed for too long, but it was not their turn yet. How could they not be angry?
How can you be so efficient in acquiring stocks and dealing with takeover wars? It's clearly a waste of everyone's time.
The employee of Jardine Matheson Group was originally very arrogant, but when he saw so many angry shareholders in front of him, he immediately smiled and said, "Everyone, don't be angry. It's not worth it to get yourself hurt by anger. How about this, tomorrow, I promise to increase the exchange speed."
He was also in a difficult situation, but there was nothing he could do as this was the order from above.
Some stockholders did not dare to cause trouble at the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, or they might end up in jail, so they left cursing. When they arrived at the acquisition site of Changxing Group across the street, they saw that the price on it was still 26.5.
"If Changxing Group had raised the price a little, we wouldn't have to go through all this trouble," some shareholders complained.
Another shareholder laughed and said, “If Changxing Group raises the price, you will probably be even less likely to sell.”
Many stockholders immediately agreed with this view. It was because Changxing Group did not raise the acquisition price that they went to the trouble of queuing up at Jardine Matheson. They did not know what Changxing Group would do next and wanted to secure the profits first.
But if Changxing Group continues to raise the price, then everyone will know that the price will continue to rise, so who would be willing to buy?
The next day, the Jardine Matheson Group's desk at the Hong Kong Stock Exchange seemed to be a little faster in exchanging shares, but there were too many shareholders coming to exchange shares. Many people did not have many shares, but they insisted on queuing up to exchange shares, and no one could do anything about it.
Countless shareholders were so angry that they started to curse. Yang Wendong, who was above, saw this and said with a smile, "Let the people below raise the purchase price by one dollar. This way, it will only be 5 cents lower than that of Jardine Matheson. Exchange quickly and see if the group of people in front will exchange it or not."
"Okay, Mr. Yang." Fang Xianming agreed with a smile.
This price increase is also a skill. On the one hand, it is necessary to increase the price. If it is not increased, even if Jardine Matheson deliberately torments the shareholders, the shareholders will still be willing to wait in line when they see the higher price.
So we have to deliberately make it difficult for them, make the queues longer, wear out their patience, and then raise the price a little bit, but not more than Jardine Matheson;
Once the price exceeds Jardine's offer, it will send a signal to the market, and countless people will be reluctant to sell, which will have the opposite effect.
Yang Wendong continued, "If it's 5 cents less, I don't know how many shareholders will redeem it. The more we can, the better. Our core is still those shareholders. We can raise the price appropriately for them one-on-one."
In one-on-one negotiations, the agreed price needs to be kept confidential, so other people don’t know about it and it won’t have much impact on the market.
If a shareholder holds a large number of shares and can influence the final outcome, then even a higher price is acceptable. However, this cannot be done in the market, otherwise it will not only lead to difficulties in acquisitions in the free market itself, but will also affect the acquisitions of other shareholders.
In the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, when Changxing Group raised the price to 27.5, many investors immediately hesitated after seeing it.
“It’s only 5 cents short, but I can get the money right away.”
Many people were stuck in a dilemma and didn't know what to choose. However, some people couldn't stand the troubles of Jardine Matheson or they didn't have many stocks, so the difference of 5 cents didn't have much impact. Therefore, many people left.
Upon seeing this, the Jardine Matheson Group immediately raised the price by one dollar, which caused countless stockholders to ridicule them. They probably knew that the Jardine Matheson Group deliberately controlled the speed so slowly;
However, Changxing Group has not made any moves for the time being. As for the price, if it is raised too quickly, it will still cause shareholders to be reluctant to sell. Now it is necessary to first get the shares from shareholders who can accept the current price of HK$27.5 per share. If it is really impossible to get them, then raise the price;
For stockholders, it is a gamble on what will happen next. They may continue to raise the price, or they may stop when the acquisition is almost complete. No one knows what Changxing Group’s goal is, which is also a risk. Therefore, some people may consider cashing in when the acquisition is almost complete.
This is also a multi-party game, with all kinds of false news flying around, and no one can tell the truth from the false. Some people stop when they see the good, while others want to take a gamble and cut into the wallets of the tycoons.
At the same time, unknown to the shareholders, Jardine Matheson and Changxing Group were still negotiating with some shareholders who held some shares, either to acquire them or to persuade them. If the price was right, it would generally be easy to negotiate. The few who were really optimistic about Wharf shares were also attracted by the prospects described by Fang Xianming.
Because after more than ten years of development, even the British know that in the field of real estate development, except for a few British investors like Qi Dezun, Chinese investors are still stronger.
Time quickly came to the end of April.
Connaught Building:
Fang Xianming came to the boss' office with a big smile on his face. Yang Wendong asked with a smile, "You look so happy, is there any good news?" Fang Xianming replied, "Yes, Mr. Yang, I have convinced the last few shareholders in Australia. They agreed to sell a total of 32% of their shares at a price of HK$3.3 per share."
"So how many stocks do we have now?" Yang Wendong asked immediately.
Fang Xianming said: "The total is 38.2%, and an additional 20% of shareholders have also agreed to vote in support of us at the shareholders' meeting. The situation is set, and we have secured Wharf Holdings."
"Well, it is indeed difficult to increase this ratio." Yang Wendong nodded, and then said: "Notify the board of directors of Wharf Holdings that I will convene a shareholders' meeting as a major shareholder. The core purpose is to better serve the majority of shareholders. We have decided to remove some incompetent people in the management."
It is almost impossible for a company in a normal state to be acquired by someone for 40% of its shares. Yang Wendong was able to do it today because he had laid out his plans very early, and Wharf Holdings had expanded its shares and raised funds many times before. In addition, in recent times, he took advantage of Jardine Matheson's lack of funds to buy shares from shareholders.
Generally speaking, with so many shares, one can basically gain control, but the process cannot be changed. Now the Jardine Matheson Group still controls the board of directors and management, and only the shareholders' meeting can remove them; or one can acquire more than 50.1% of the shares by oneself, then one can take direct action, but the price will be the same as Pao Yu-kong, which will benefit countless stock market speculators, and Jardine Matheson will even take the opportunity to cash out.
Fang Xianming smiled and said, "Okay, I'll go make the announcement right away."
That afternoon, Henry Keswick looked at the announcement letter in his hand, his face livid, and asked, "Can we know now how many Wharf shares Yang Wendong holds? Or how many people will support him?"
The announcement letter mentioned “part of the management”. In fact, everyone knows that the target is Jardine Matheson Group. Once the other party’s shareholders’ meeting obtains half of the support, all the existing management and board of directors will be dismissed.
At most, they can obtain a board seat and 1/5 of the voting rights by virtue of their status as shareholders, but they will inevitably have basically no rights in Hutchison Whampoa, just like Yang Wendong now, and at most have some financial supervision rights, etc.
In other words, once the shareholders' meeting succeeds as Yang Wendong intended, Jardine Matheson Group will completely lose Wharf Holdings, and he will become the first Keswick member in the history of Jardine Matheson Group to lose the family's core business.
Niubijian shook his head and said, “I don’t know, I just know that during this period, many shareholders have contacted Changxing Group, and I know some of them are selling their shares or supporting them;
The exact amount is unclear, but I estimate that Yang Wendong currently holds about 30% of the shares, and may have received support from about 10% of shareholders. This is my guess."
"This ratio is already quite high," Henry Keswick said worriedly, "It's only 10% short, and this is what you and I think. Only they know the exact number."
In fact, Wharf Holdings’ shares have been listed for more than a decade, and they have diluted their shares many times. Now, even Wharf Holdings itself is not very clear about the flow of shares;
Even when Changxing Group was looking for shareholders, it often used middlemen or issued announcements to let Wharf shareholders contact them themselves;
Niubijian added: "Yes, and Yang Wendong's character is such that he would not fight a battle without confidence. I think he has a good chance of winning."
"The shareholders' meeting will be held in ten days. We have no reason to object. At most, I can delay it for another five days on the grounds that it is difficult for overseas shareholders to return to Hong Kong." Henry Keswick thought for a while and said, "Newby, you can contact other shareholders now, including those who were persuaded by Yang Wendong. As long as they are willing to support me at the shareholders' meeting, I can compensate them additionally, including the breach of contract agreement they signed with Changxing Group."
"Okay, I'll go right away." Niubijian also knew that it was the final moment of life and death;
However, Jardine Matheson Group did not receive support from HSBC, and its financial resources were already insufficient.
A few days later, Yang Wendong also received the news;
"Delay for five days, and then spend money to buy off the shareholders." Yang Wendong smiled and said, "The once largest Jardine Matheson Group can only resort to such dishonorable means."
Fang Xianming smiled and said, “After receiving the notice from Jardine Matheson, the shareholders of Wharf immediately told me that the Keswick family was too naive. This group of people immediately turned around and looked at our intentions.”
"Then just spend some money." Yang Wendong said with a faint smile: "As long as we can guarantee the ultimate success, this little bit now is nothing."
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(End of this chapter)