"Oh Maiga, how could this happen? Why did things develop to this point?"
Mr. Schmidt, the vice president of Swire Holdings with a ferocious expression, was so angry that he swept all the debris on his desk to the ground, including the desk lamp and ink. It was a mess, and even pieces of snow-white documents fell down.
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Bad news came one after another, making people dizzy. Mr. Schmidt felt keenly that the building was about to collapse. If he didn't respond quickly, it might be too late.
However, Mr. John Sy, chairman of the Swire Group, is still in London, and the fire far away cannot save the fire nearby.
Since HSBC announced its shocking share swap deal a few days ago, Mr. John Sy has been contacting BlackRock, the controlling shareholder of HSBC, through upper-class aristocrats in an attempt to restore the critical situation.
The hated young man Schnabe took his girlfriend on vacation in Spain. After learning about the Boss King's blocking actions in the capital market, he just responded lightly; "Oh..."
Then, there was no more. Schnabe was still on vacation in Spain and did not return to Hong Kong urgently.
He caused the catastrophic disaster, but left it to others to clean up.
As a top student at the University of Cambridge in the UK, Schnabe, who is familiar with the financial strength of the Swire Group, is not a fool. He knows that he cannot clean up the mess, let alone the vicious Wang Yaocheng, and he cannot afford to take the blame for losing his family's century-old legacy, so he simply pretends to be stupid.
Let it go.
At this time, Mr. Schmidt was completely stunned.
As Vice President of Swire Holdings, Mr. Schmidt is also a director and director of operations of the Swire Group and concurrently president of Swire Properties. Mr. Schmidt is the spokesperson for the entire Swire Group in Hong Kong and represents the interests of the British Swire family.
But in the final analysis, Mr. Schmidt is just a professional manager and a senior wage earner. He owns a negligible share of the Swire Group and is unable to make any substantive response to the crisis, let alone mobilize a large amount of funds to counterattack beyond his authority.
The Schweizer family has always been famous for its slow action. It takes 10 to 15 years to invest in a project. It often takes 30 to 40 years to develop a piece of real estate. A piece of land at Taikoo Dockyard has been developed for more than 40 years. It is euphemistically called "high-quality project".
”.
This ancient family is like an old British waterwheel, running slowly and creakingly. It is stubborn and conservative. In the face of a rapidly changing world, it still adheres to tradition, and its adaptability is far from keeping up with demand.
Bad news comes in a steady stream, with Hong Kong Pacific Holdings issuing announcements one after another;
1; Announced the transfer of 30% of Cathay Pacific shares, 17% of HAECO shares, and 13% of Swire Hong Kong shares held by HSBC Bank in the UK.
2. Through the large-amount trading platform of the Stock Exchange, it has received four transfers of 4.85% of Cathay Pacific shares, 3.27% of Cathay Pacific shares, 2.2% of Cathay Pacific shares, and 2.68% of Cathay Pacific shares. The total number of Cathay Pacific shares held reached 43%.
It is the largest shareholder of Cathay Pacific Airways, and the second largest shareholder Swire Group holds 34% of the shares.
3. Hong Kong Pacific Holdings Company and CITIC Group reached a strategic cooperation agreement. CITIC Group agreed to exchange its 12.5% Cathay Pacific shares at a suitable price and become a strategic ally to invest in the Carrefour supermarket chain. The voting rights of the 12.5% Cathay Pacific shares held by Hong Kong Pacific
Full representative of the holding company.
Third, Hong Kong Pacific Holdings acquired 21.6% of Dragonair shares held by Mr. Cao Guangbiao at a suitable price and became the largest shareholder of Dragonair.
4. Hong Kong Pacific Holdings Company has acquired 4.4% of the HAECO shares, 3.65% of the HAECO shares, 4.92% of the HAECO shares, and 3.03% of the HAECO shares through the large-amount trading platform of the Stock Exchange.
The total shares of Mechanical Engineering Engineering Co., Ltd. reached 33%, ranking it as the largest shareholder of Port Mechanical Engineering Engineering Co., Ltd.
five,……
January 2, 1994, the first day of the new year.
Hong Kong Pacific Holdings issued thirteen announcements in a row, shaking up the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and alarming the four major Chinese conglomerates who had always been reclusive.
It was no less shocking than when shipping king Pao Yugang won the Battle of Wharf in 1978.
This is the "13-way gold medal" battle that shocked the entire Asian financial community. Decades later, it is still talked about by people in the financial community. It is hailed as a very successful acquisition example and has been included in the business MBA curriculum.
This capital market sniper campaign was tightly organized, lurking far-reaching, and launched with decisiveness. It was as powerful as a thunderbolt. There are so many things to note about it.
Compared with the Battle of Wharf in 1978, this time, Wang Yaocheng swept in with great momentum, struck harder and did more absolutely.
In just one day, they swept through three listed companies in the Swire Group with absolutely abundant financial power, and encountered almost no stubborn resistance from the Swire Group.
This powerful surge of power, direct and tyrannical pressure, caused a huge shock to the entire Hong Kong Island and the business community from East Asia and South Asia, and re-examined this tyrannical water pipe from the other side of the Pacific.
Thinking of the huge US dollar reserves Wang Yaocheng has, no one knows which unlucky guy will be targeted next?
This makes the entire Hong Kong financial community tremble under the shadow of Wang Yaocheng. No one knows who his next target is?
Will he stop from now on?
No one among Hong Kong's wealthy families who have been ups and downs in the business world dares to bet on this extremely small probability. They know that Wang Yaocheng has swept billions of dollars from the Nasdaq market, not to mention that with the backing of Citibank and HSBC, the funds that can be mobilized are only
More.
Who can stop the greedy gaze of a hungry wolf?
It is very rare for the controlling shareholder of a listed company to hold an absolute controlling stake of 50.1%, especially for large real estate companies in Hong Kong’s pillar industries, with market capitalizations often reaching tens of billions of Hong Kong dollars. The controlling shareholder usually controls 20 to 30% of the equity, which is relatively important to its companies.
The company's control is weak.
In early 1994, Li Ka-shing, one of Hong Kong's richest men, and his subsidiary Cheung Kong Holdings and Hutchison Whampoa held 28% and 36% of the equity respectively. If they were really blocked by the capital market, they would not be able to bear it and would probably lose their flagship companies.
As for future generations
Li Jiacheng, who has made a lot of money, has increased his holdings hundreds of times, and his control over the equity of his subsidiaries Cheung Kong Holdings and Hutchison Whampoa has reached 41% and 52%, establishing a solid and unshakable position.
Interestingly, the Hong Kong consortium including the Kwok family of Sun Hung Kai Properties and the Michael Kadoorie family of Hong Kong Hotels have also successively taken actions to increase their holdings to ensure full control of the flagship listed company.
Who are they afraid of?
Haha, I am afraid that the large consortiums in the northern mainland will control huge amounts of money. Once they take over Hong Kong Island with their strong financial strength, they may not be able to stop it if the flagship company has too little controlling stake.
Everyone is afraid of being noticed, and it is never easy to confront someone head-on.
Through the "sniper attack on the Swire Group" on January 2, 1994, billionaire Wang Yaocheng finally added the ferocity of a capital predator to his image as a sunny youth, which made the top families in Hong Kong's financial circles restless.
In fact, faced with the suppression of absolute power, the sluggish decision-makers of the Swire Group were sitting in despair, watching helplessly as their opponents snatched away the fruits of victory.
This situation seems familiar. As a long-term strategic partner of HSBC, Swire Group did not learn the lessons of history and was betrayed by HSBC again. Finally, it fell again where its predecessors fell.
The only reason for HSBC to abandon its partners that it has cooperated with for hundreds of years is profit.
Wang Yaocheng took out the hot equity of Netscape, which is a high-quality asset that Wall Street capital is unanimously optimistic about, and took out the qualifications for Yahoo's first round of IPO financing. The two parties established a strong strategic cooperative relationship.
The huge amount of US dollars swept from the Nasdaq market is stored in the account of HSBC, and it is promised that once the Carrefour supermarket chain comes to Hong Kong for listing, HSBC will be qualified as the lead underwriter to guide the listing and obtain huge profits from it.
All these bargaining chips are enough for HSBC to abandon Swire Group.
In the final analysis, the relationship between the two parties is just a cooperative relationship, and there is nothing that cannot be sold in the face of interests.
In 1978, during the Wharf War, HSBC sold out the British-owned Jardine Matheson Consortium, supported shipping king Bao Yugang, repelled the counterattack of the British-owned consortium, and obtained controlling stake in Wharf.
Similarly, Li Ka-shing took over 90 million shares of Hutchison Whampoa from HSBC, completing full control of Hutchison Whampoa and causing the British-owned Hutchison Consortium to lose Macheng.
Of the four major British consortiums in Hong Kong, HSBC has already sold out two, and it doesn't care about selling out one more Swire Group. To be honest, if the chips are enough, HSBC can even sell itself.
The equity distribution of HSBC is quite dispersed. The largest shareholder, BlackRock Group, only owns 7.4% of the equity at best, and the second largest shareholder owns 3.1% of the equity. This ownership structure determines the principle of putting interests first.
Looking back on the previous two business wars, wealthy Chinese businessmen Li Jiacheng and Pao Yugang both defeated the strong with the support of HSBC Bank. The acquisition process was full of twists and turns, and took as long as two years.
Why does HSBC always stand behind wealthy Chinese businessmen and provide firm support?
The key is that Li Jiacheng and Pao Yugang can bring greater benefits to HSBC.
For Shen Bi, senior manager of HSBC, he is well aware of the concerns of the HSBC board of directors. Supporting wealthy Chinese businessman Li Jiacheng can bring 6 times more actual benefits. Holding the remaining shares of Huangpu Company can still bring huge benefits.
His judgment was accurate. After Li Ka-shing took over Hutchison Whampoa, the stock price soared. Hong Kong people were unanimously optimistic that Li Ka-shing's She Tunxiang merger would bring huge subsequent benefits to HSBC.
Two beautiful transactions, the operating performance of HSBC under the leadership of Shen Bi has been highly approved by the board of directors, and the position has become more stable. This is the most important factor, not some bullshit friendship.
If we simply talk about feelings, in comparison, HSBC has a deeper relationship with the British-owned Hutchison Group and the Jardine Matheson Group, which have the same culture and culture. Both parties have a century-long history of cooperation, but they are still abandoned without hesitation in the face of huge profits.
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The Swire Group's mistake was that it failed to learn from the lessons of its predecessors and was completely sold out by HSBC. By then it was already too late to regret.
As a businessman, talking about relationships with profit-seekers is really a waste of time.
This time, Wang Yaocheng struck hard, and combined with the large number of stocks bought at bargain prices in the previous three months, he completely established victory in just one day, and wiped out the Swire Group's century-old Swire Group's Swire family. His methods were truly ruthless and his style was extremely fierce.
12th floor, Miramar Building, Central
8pm sharp
This is an office space that was rented two years ago. The 600-square-meter space is brightly lit and crowded with people. The employees who are working nervously carry little treasures with them when moving. In front of hundreds of computers, there are still busy employees.
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The sound of typing on the keyboard and the noise of reports were everywhere, and everyone was busy in an tense and orderly manner.
This is the general commander of the entire capital sniper campaign. It is divided into three battlefields: Cathay Pacific Airways, HAECO and Swire Pacific. Each is led by experienced international investment banking practitioners, and is carefully divided into the Situation Room, Support Department, and General Affairs Department.
The Finance Department and the various departments in the General Command Office jointly support the entire sniper campaign.
Due to sufficient preparations, the Hong Kong Stock Exchange has made overwhelming progress and is invincible to those who stand in its way.
Due to the need to keep information confidential, these employees have been fighting for ten consecutive days. During this period, they are not allowed to go home. They must go to a dedicated telephone to make calls. They report safety to their families in accordance with the designated template under strict supervision, ensuring that the entire capital sniper campaign remains confidential.
was leaked, achieving the suddenness of the attack.
The innermost battle headquarters
President Mo Yuxuan walked out of the room with a serious face and turned around to tell Du Bo: "Deputy Commander Du, I will leave this to you. If there is any emergency, you can contact me at any time. I will report to the boss now. I believe he will
We are waiting for the latest battle report, which must be sent as soon as possible."
"Commander-in-Chief, leave this to me. We have emergency plans for various situations, and with the assistance of Deputy Commander-in-Chief Yu, we will definitely be able to win the final battle. Please tell the boss about this."
"Okay, you just have to work hard today and have a celebratory drink afterwards."
"Understood, I must be alert and keep an eye on this place."
Du Bo did not dare to neglect at all. There were too many lessons learned from the failure of success. He was not willing to stumble at the last moment. He could not afford such serious consequences.
Although the boss is usually gentle and gentle, he is actually a ruthless person on the inside.
If you disappoint your boss, haha, think about the consequences for yourself. Schnabe, the direct descendant of the Swire Group family, offended his boss. As a result, the century-old family business was uprooted and kicked out.
Such a trauma is heartbreaking and a bloody nightmare for the entire family. Who has the guts to try it?
The sniper operation at the Stock Exchange shocked not only the opponents, but also the employees, including senior managers, who were all in awe.