Chapter 748 Internal and external cooperation
Chapter 748 Internal and external cooperation
"Shareholders' meeting?" Qi Dezun's face changed slightly, but he knew he couldn't stop it, so he said, "Okay, we'll talk about it then."
After saying this, he stood up and said goodbye;
After the people left, Fang Xianming, who had been sitting next to him and hadn't said much, asked curiously, "Qi Dezun should have known that he would lose if the shareholders' meeting was held, so why did he insist on it?"
Yang Wendong smiled and said, "I guess he is unwilling to work for others. People like him, who once stood at the top of the mountain, don't have absolute power. I guess he doesn't want this position anymore. If it were me, I would probably do the same."
For people who have started a business, if they fail, it doesn’t matter. It’s not surprising that they go back to work for others, and they may even like it very much. But for those who are successful, especially those who have made a lot of money, they will definitely not agree to it, and would rather find a way to start a business again.
Qi Dezun was once the boss of the top British trading company in Hong Kong. If he fell to working for Yang Wendong, even if he still controlled Hutchison Whampoa, his status and position would plummet. He would never be able to accept such a drop in status.
"That's right. Over the years, Qi Dezun has probably made a lot of money from Hutchison. It will be no problem for him to retire or start a new business." Fang Xianming agreed.
Yang Wendong also nodded and said, "Yes, I estimate that his net worth is over 100 million. If he works for me, his annual salary will be at most one million. He can't make money from Hutchison like before, so he might as well go out and start his own business."
These days, the top bosses in Hong Kong earn about a million Hong Kong dollars a year, but this is just chump change. The real big money comes from controlling the entire business of a listed company, then being able to legally cooperate with their own private company, develop projects together, and then split the profits equally;
It is not just Hutchison Whampoa. Many British company managers do this, making huge legal profits. Even the ICAC has nothing to say.
Even some Chinese-controlled listed companies do this. For example, in the past, Li Jiacheng controlled Hutchison Whampoa through Cheung Kong Holdings, and Hutchison Whampoa controlled Hong Kong Electric. Then, based on the proportion of shares in Hong Kong Electric's real estate development, Li Jiacheng could not get much profit, less than 10%;
But just because he had the management rights, Lao Li arranged his own family-owned company to cooperate with HK Electric, and ultimately the profits were split equally. This was still on the surface. As for secret means such as suppliers, it is estimated that 100% to % of the profits were intercepted by the family company. This is the real huge profit, and all of it legally went into his own pocket %.
Therefore, many people like to control other listed companies through listed companies and expand their scale. Anyway, as long as they have management rights, there are plenty of ways to slowly put money into their own pockets, not to mention that the stock market itself is an ATM.
Fang Xianming said: "It seems that he still wants to fight for it. Then I will publicly request to hold a shareholders' meeting?"
Fang Xianming naturally knew the routines of many listed companies' managements. The benefits were enough, and even though he knew the probability of winning was slim, Qi Dezun still wanted to take a gamble. After all, if he lost, he would leave without any loss, and he didn't look down on working for others.
Yang Wendong shook his head and said, "We don't need to hold a meeting. Let some shareholders apply together. The topic of the meeting is to solve Hutchison's debt problem."
"That's good. If we apply, the market will confirm that we want to acquire Hutchison." Fang Xianming replied;
Although there are rumors in the market, no one has publicly admitted it. In addition, due to restrictions on the media, it is just word of mouth and cannot become a large-scale one.
Yang Wendong then asked, "By the way, how is your communication with Richard Xin going?"
The acquisition of Hutchison Whampoa is different from that of Wharf Holdings. After Wharf Holdings acquired the business, it could directly drive out all the British foreigners except for the port business. In the real estate business, foreigners are also useless. Let the Chinese take over. At most, they can spend one or two months to get familiar with it and do better.
However, Hutchison’s business is complex and in the short term, only Hutchison’s current management can be responsible for it. Therefore, after the acquisition, it is necessary to have trustworthy subordinates within the company.
As of now, Richard Xin, the second-in-command of Hutchison Whampoa, is the most suitable person. Although this man has competed with Li Jiacheng for the management rights of Hutchison Whampoa in the past, that is a matter for the future. Right now, he needs to take over Hutchison Whampoa peacefully, and we can talk about the future later.
Fang Xianming said: "After more than a month of negotiations, Richard Xin said he could cooperate with us, but he needs to meet you in person. He needs to confirm many things with you."
"Okay, then please make an appointment for a time in these few days, before the shareholders' meeting." Yang Wendong agreed.
In fact, he also needs to discuss some things with the future managers of Hutchison in advance.
Time soon came to the end of February. On the 2th, several small shareholders of Hutchison Whampoa jointly applied to Hutchison Whampoa to convene a board meeting, on the grounds that they wanted the management to explain the current debt problem of Hutchison Whampoa and the situation that some companies could not pay wages.
Because the combined shareholdings of the group of shareholders who applied exceed 10%, and this group of people has not applied for a shareholders' meeting within six months, according to Hong Kong law, Hutchison must proceed as required, usually ten days later, and can be delayed to 15 days in special circumstances. This is to notify shareholders in other places and give them enough time to return.
In Hutchison Building, Qi Dezun looked at the notice in his hand, veins popping out on his face, but in front of his subordinates, he still restrained his temper and said slowly: "Li Chaxin, what do you think we should do now?"
Richard paused and said, "This is obviously done by Yang Wendong. He is a shareholder of Hutchison Whampoa and can naturally attend the shareholders' meeting, but he did not take action himself. I guess one reason is that he does not want to bear the reputation of swallowing up his friend's company.
The second is to use these shareholders who applied for the shareholders' meeting to take the initiative to ask Yang Wendong to take over Hutchison Whampoa. As long as enough people agree, plus the shares in Yang Wendong's hands, the probability of success is very high."
Although Yang Wendong and Qi Dezun were not really friends, from an outsider's point of view, the two companies had cooperated many times over the years and could be considered partners. Yang Wendong's direct and proactive takeover might make people feel that his behavior was a bit ugly.
But if other shareholders jointly recommend it at the shareholders' meeting, then it may be enough to do it reluctantly.
"I know all this, but what I'm asking is how to avoid this." Qi Dezun asked.
Richard Xin replied: "Chairman, from the perspective of capital, our chances of success are slim. Even the Keswick family cannot compare with Yang Wendong in terms of financial strength, let alone
The only chance is at the management level. As long as all our British employees cooperate, even if Yang Wendong takes over the controlling stake in Hutchison Whampoa or even privatizes it, he will still have to rely on us. "
As the second in command of Hutchison, he naturally knew that Qi Dezun had been profiting from Hutchison, and he even gained some benefits from it;
But no matter how beautiful the means are, after all, supervision still exists in modern society. Even if it is blood-sucking, it is impossible to suck too much. The wealth accumulated over the years is amazing, but it is far behind Yang Wendong, who started from scratch and became the first consortium in Hong Kong. Even Hutchison Whampoa at its peak was not its opponent.
Qi Dezun closed his eyes for a while and said, "Do you think it will work?" Richard said, "This requires internal consultation, and you need to convene it in person, otherwise it will be difficult."
"Okay, let's hold an internal meeting to discuss it. We need to unite together, otherwise, we will all have to go back to England." Qi Dezun nodded and said;
Three days later, Hong Kong Hilton Hotel, Presidential Suite:
After Yang Wendong arrived, he smiled and said, "The decoration of this Hilton is not much worse than that of the Four Seasons Hotel, right?"
Historically, the Hilton Hotel was where the Four Seasons Hotel is today, but the land was snatched away by Yang Wendong. However, his butterfly effect did not affect the franchisees of the Hilton Hotel. They still came to Hong Kong to invest and also chose a place in Central. The location may be slightly worse than that of the Four Seasons Hotel, but because it is famous enough, the business is also very good.
The meeting with Richard Xin needs to be kept absolutely confidential. It would not be good if someone saw Richard Xin coming to the Four Seasons Hotel. Similarly, other local hotels with consortiums are not suitable. The Hilton managed by Americans is the best choice.
Fang Xianming smiled and said, "Yes, but the scale and luxury of this kind of franchise hotel mainly depends on the financial strength of the hotel partner. This hotel was also built by a Hong Kong American who is said to be in the real estate business in the United States."
"It's quite impressive that a Chinese person can succeed in real estate in the United States." Yang Wendong smiled;
Real estate is generally owned by local tycoons. For example, in the mainland of the past, foreign capital was basically not allowed to participate. Only a small number of Hong Kong capitals were given special treatment and could occasionally participate.
Soon, Richard's letter arrived: "Hello, Mr. Yang."
"Hello, Mr. Richard Xin." Yang Wendong also shook hands politely and then asked him to sit down;
After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Yang Wendong got straight to the point and said, "Richard Xin, how is Qi Dezun going to respond to the shareholders' meeting?"
Richard replied, "Mr. Yang, Qi Dezun is not planning to do anything at the shareholders' meeting. Instead, he is planning to use the management team to put pressure on you after you succeed. He wants you to be a major shareholder and not interfere in Hutchison's internal affairs."
"Well, that's what I expected, but so many British people are cooperating with him?" Yang Wendong asked;
In fact, no matter what country people are from, it is impossible for them to be absolutely united internally, even the Chinese are the same.
Richard replied: "He should have done it, because he promised to share half of the profits from his previous business with Hutchison with everyone."
"Half? That's quite courageous." Yang Wendong smiled;
Richard Xin said: "Because if you take over the company, he will have no benefit. If he takes out half now, at least he still has half.
Besides, as long as I can keep the management rights of the company, I can definitely make more money from other places in the future."
"In the past, there was no major shareholder, and the shareholders' meeting did not monitor Hutchison's management sufficiently. Now it is our turn. Does Qi Dezun still dare to play like this?" Fang Xianming asked back.
Richard Xin said, "Everything is legal. There is absolutely no problem with the accounts. Even if the Independent Commission Against Corruption comes, they won't be able to find out what's going on. With Qi Dezun's ability and experience, there is absolutely no problem with this."
"I believe this." Yang Wendong nodded, and then asked, "Richard Xin, since you are here, I have made it clear that as long as you cooperate with me, you will be the head of Hutchison in the future. Except for some strategic choices, I will intervene, and you have the final say in other aspects. However, you can't do what Qi Dezun is doing now. As for salary, I can give you a raise."
Not to mention this kind of legal business, even in his previous life, Chen Songqing’s illegal business, all kinds of accounts were done perfectly. In the end, the Independent Commission Against Corruption and the Hong Kong government investigated for several years. Although they knew that the other party was a huge liar, they only sentenced him to a few years. After Chen Songqing was released from prison, he continued to live a life of luxury.
In fact, the reason why Chen Songqing was in prison for those few years was because he broke the rules of the business world and silenced people in the bank, which was something that neither the Hong Kong government, the Independent Commission Against Corruption nor a bunch of other financial groups could tolerate.
Richard Xin nodded and smiled, "Okay, no problem. I will gradually win over some people who are rejected or disliked by Qi Dezun. They can actually take over the entire company."
In fact, following Qi Dezun, he might also get some "dividends", and the amount might be quite large, but compared to being able to sit in the position of the boss of Hutchison Whampoa, it doesn't matter;
He is different from Qi Dezun. Qi Dezun used to be the head of a top Hong Kong consortium, so he naturally didn't want to work for others. But he is not like that. It doesn't matter who he works for. If he works for Yang Wendong, he can sit in the position of the boss of He Huang.
Although his status is definitely not as high as Qi Dezun's before, it is also a huge improvement for him. In Hong Kong, this is definitely the highest position without starting a business.
As for money, no matter whether he wants more or not, at least he has to sit in that position first.
Yang Wendong said: “Okay, as long as you can handle the management’s affairs, I will give you enough rights in the future, and I will only interfere if there are some special matters;
You should also be aware of my management of subsidiaries, which is basically decentralized. As for British employees, you can refer to Wharf Holdings, which has many stable British employees and even senior executives. As long as they can work for me, I don’t really care about Chinese or British nationality. You can also tell other British people in Hutchison Whampoa about this.”
This is also the reason why the British employees were not killed off after the acquisition of Wharf Holdings. Even without their Chinese team, Wharf Holdings could still be taken over.
Today, when such an example is brought up, not only Richard Xin, but other Hutchison management will feel at ease. This will make it more likely that they will be willing to join us, which will facilitate our acquisition and smooth takeover.
Richard Xin nodded and said, "Okay, that's no problem."
PS: Please give me a monthly ticket
(End of this chapter)