Chapter 692: 9 Dragon Warehouse

Chapter 692: 9 Dragon Warehouse

Chapter 692: Kowloon Warehouse

Yang Wendong smiled faintly and said, "Anything is possible."

It is very difficult to acquire a listed company from a large conglomerate like Jardine Matheson. If you don't plan ahead, you can only spend money like Pao Yu-kang.
He had hidden about 10 points of his holdings in the past in order to paralyze the market and Jardine’s people so that he could complete the final raid at the right time;
However, he did not expect that in the end he would only be short of 1.3%, so he only needed to pay 2%, and the rest would remain confidential;
According to Hong Kong listing laws, any major shareholder can only hold a maximum of 49.9% of the shares. Any more will trigger a general acquisition offer. However, you only need to keep it confidential and give up the voting rights of this part of the shares, then it will naturally not be discovered. If you have 49.9% of the shares, it doesn't matter whether you have voting rights for the remaining shares.
This is also because Hutchison Whampoa now has too much land, especially the future Harbour City. The profits are so high that even the top companies in the future will be jealous.

Mr. Lin from the Hong Kong Stock Exchange quickly examined the shares and said, "The shares are real. If this is the case, then the total number of votes proposed for this shareholders' meeting is 50.7%, and the decision will take effect immediately."

As Lin Sheng finished speaking, Henry Keswick and Newby fell silent. They knew they had lost, but Yang Wendong smiled.

Finally he won and acquired Wharf Holdings, which would become the largest rental company in Hong Kong.

And another thing is that when he started his business in the early days, he cooperated with Hutchison Whampoa Terminals to earn his first pot of gold. The little profit before that could only keep himself and others from starving to death; this could be considered as fate.

"Pa pa pa pa pa pa~" Many shareholders began to cheer and applaud. They also believed that Changxing Group could obtain huge profits for Wharf in the future;
The other reporters desperately tried to squeeze forward to take a close-up photo. Everyone knew that this photo would definitely become the headline of tomorrow's news and would most likely be recorded in history. This was also the first time in Hong Kong history that Chinese capital had maliciously acquired a large British listed company, which was of absolute historical significance.
However, numerous security guards blocked them, and in the end, they could only take photos from a distance. Although they could see their outlines, they could not see their expressions;

On the stage of the shareholders' meeting, Yang Wendong turned sideways to Henry Keswick and said, "Mr. Keswick, I hope we can cooperate better in the future and run Wharf Holdings well together."

Although the other party has lost its management rights, it is still a major shareholder and holds at least 1/5 of the voting rights, so it still has some basic rights;

And as a winner, he also needs to have a bit of etiquette;
Henry Keswick snorted coldly, but still said: "Mr. Yang, since you won, I won't say much. I want to sell the stocks in my hand to you, how about it?"

"Sell it to me?" Yang Wendong thought for a moment and said, "Okay, but forget about today's price. I can give you 18 Hong Kong dollars per share."

"That's too little." Henry Keswick paused and said, "At least 24 will do."

Yang Wendong smiled and said, "Do you believe it or not, after today's meeting, Wharf's share price will immediately fall below 20?"

The share price of Wharf Holdings was able to rise to nearly 30 before because the market believed that a stock market takeover war would break out between the two sides, but now that Yang Wendong has won through the shareholders' meeting, the share price should naturally return to normal;
You know, before that, the share price of Wharf Holdings was less than 10 points. Even though Yang Wendong was very famous, this expectation was not enough to keep the share price of Wharf Holdings stable at a high level.

Henry Keswick thought for a moment and said, "Then let's compromise, 21."

"You should keep it for yourself." Yang Wendong was too lazy to say anything else, and said, "I will choose a time later to conduct targeted financing based on the stock price. If you don't want the stocks in your hands, you can sell them to someone else."

Originally, he still wanted to give face to the Jardine Matheson Group, but since they don't want it, forget it. He decided to take advantage of the lower stock price to issue additional shares in the future, so that his "apparent" shareholding would reach 49.9%, which would actually be more cost-effective.

Henry Keswick saw Yang Wendong like this, so he didn't say anything more: "Okay, goodbye."

If the shareholders' meeting is a complete failure, then there is no point in staying here. There is no point in holding shares if you cannot get the controlling rights.

After watching the people from Jardine Matheson leave, Yang Wendong couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. Fang Xianming next to him asked, "Mr. Yang, the people from the Hong Kong Stock Exchange asked about our subsequent plans and whether we should prepare for full privatization. This is one of the procedures for the acquisition."

"There is no plan for the time being. We will reorganize the board of directors later." Yang Wendong shook his head and said, "In addition to our side, we need to select several directors from the existing shareholders according to the minimum number required by law, and then we will take over the entire company's business." Now he has completed the control of Wharf Holdings, but according to the law, as long as it is a listed company, it must have a corresponding board of directors, even if the other people are mascots. After all, there are still few listed companies that are absolutely controlled by an individual. In most other companies, the board of directors also has the right to restrict the chairman alone;
As for privatization now, Yang Wendong is not in a hurry. Even if it is privatized, according to Hong Kong law, it must be based on the highest stock price in the previous six months. In other words, it is not cost-effective at this point. Anyway, the economic crisis will last for a long time, and it will be better to wait;

However, Wharf Holdings is a little special. The profits of Harbour City are too high, so it gives priority to privatization. Other companies may not necessarily need to be privatized in the future. Listed companies also have their advantages, otherwise so many companies in the world would not be listed. We will have to wait and see the details in the future.

Fang Xianming agreed, "Okay, Zheng Sheng and I will take people to take over the Wharf Group."

"Well, right now, there is still a game of management. We should try to keep the original team, even if they are all foreigners." Yang Wendong continued: "Although the business of Kowloon Wharf is simple, no matter how simple it is, it will take some time for our people to be unfamiliar with it;

Tell those foreigners clearly that as long as they are willing to stay, I will definitely hire them. I don’t think Jardine Matheson will be able to provide them with such jobs in Hong Kong Land or other companies. "

Unlike the previous history when Li Jiacheng acquired Hutchison Whampoa or Hong Kong Electric, Wharf's business is relatively much simpler. Its core is real estate business. In this respect, Changxing Real Estate is much stronger.

But good operation is one thing, and being familiar with it is another. Even if the business is simple, it cannot be taken over by strangers all at once, which may cause chaos. Although you will become familiar with it sooner or later, it is a waste of time.

In addition, in addition to real estate, large companies with a long history like Wharf Holdings also have many other businesses, such as container terminals, Star Ferry, etc. Although they are not very troublesome, it is better to avoid them if possible.

"I understand." Fang Xianming asked cautiously, "Mr. Yang, are these words just to comfort them in the short term, or are they true?"

“It’s true.” Yang Wendong nodded and said, “Now our group’s core business will soon be overseas, and we may also target other British companies in the future, so now we also need to set an example for foreign employees in Hong Kong and even abroad;
As long as they are willing to work for me, I will not differentiate between Chinese and foreigners. In the future, there will be a large number of foreigners in our group, even at the highest level. "

Even in the 80s, Chinese companies had to hire a large number of British people in order to do business overseas. This was necessary. Many overseas businesses mainly targeted Europe and the United States, so it was much more convenient to let British white people do the work than Chinese people.

Not to mention our own side, Changxing Industry, Changxing Shipping, and Honor Electronics have already had some foreign employees, which facilitates the development of overseas business; it’s just that the demand was not very large in the early days, but now that Changxing Group has been operating in Hong Kong for more than ten years, its target is the European and American markets, even if the mainland is reformed in the future, it will remain the same in the short term;
Naturally, a lot of British foreign employees are needed. The acquisition of Wharf Holdings is the beginning of the large-scale recruitment of foreign employees by Changxing Group. If this is done well, the additional benefit is that when it attacks other British-funded groups in the future, the internal management staff will be more cooperative. In the long run, there are only benefits and no harm.
As for salary, for capable senior executives, the gap between them and the Chinese or British is actually not that big. Unlike the lower levels, because of the strong mobility, capable Chinese can also go to Europe and the United States to work, and the salary in places like Hong Kong will not be that bad.

Fang Xianming nodded and said, "Okay."

Yang Wendong continued, "In addition, we must pay the most attention to the pier. Pier 3 has always belonged to Wharf Holdings, but now it is ours. Although we have relevant experience internally, we still need to be cautious and nothing can happen, otherwise it may become international news."

Of the five docks in Hong Kong, Piers 5/1/2 now belong to the Changxing Group and are connected together. This is also a huge improvement for the dock business. Even if the Changxing Group no longer participates in the dock auction in the future, it will still be in charge of 3/1 of the docks.

However, the port involves high security factors, not only the berthing safety of the ship, but also the safety control of export materials, the control of contraband, the time efficiency of cargo transportation, etc. Once the company changes hands, there may be a big chaos, and even affect the ports of other countries that cooperate with it, leading to international incidents;

So we must be cautious, as most companies cannot withstand such consequences.

Fang Xianming said: "I understand. I will work with Zheng Sheng to control the dock as soon as possible."

PS: Ask for monthly ticket

(End of this chapter)