All the senior executives of Pacific Holdings arrived, and the study room of more than 30 square meters was full of people. Wang Yaocheng walked in from the outside, looked at everyone with a cold face, and said;
“Three things;
1. Vice President Yu Chengde is in charge of accelerating the integration of Cathay Pacific Airways, HAECO and Swire Pacific. Business elites transferred from the mainland are already in place. In addition, Hong Kong executives who have been prepared in advance must be properly arranged to fill various positions.
As a deputy, the main task is to learn, try to achieve a smooth transition and have full control. The quality of the management trainees trained by Swire Group is still good, so try to retain them.
Second, President Mo Yuxuan is responsible for negotiating with the British Swire Group. If necessary, I will drop the price of Swire shares. The results will be negotiated in three days. All industries in Hong Kong will be taken over. Let them take some points.
Get out of your pension money.
Third, President Du Bo, please prepare information about the Kadoorie family for me now, and order your men to start collecting bargaining chips for Shanghai Hotel and China Electric Power Company. It is still a latent acquisition.
Do you understand everything?"
Everyone shouted in unison: "I understand, boss."
“Just do the work!”
Everyone quietly and quickly exited the study and came downstairs. President Mo Yuxuan looked at President Du Bo. There was no need to say anything. The two looked at each other.
wry smile.
The boss didn't know what kind of cold reception he received at yesterday's party. He was cold-faced all the way back, and now he is sharpening his knife and starting to kill.
The answer is revealed, the target is the unlucky Kadoorie family.
Yes, let’s do it!
The action of collecting information was very fast. By the afternoon, a detailed and comprehensive information on the Kadoorie family was placed on Wang Yaocheng's desk.
Wang Yaocheng was not eager to read this information, but skillfully took out a Cuban cigar, cut off the cap, lit it and took a deep breath.
Immediately, a rich and mellow smell of cigar smoke filled the study room, making his figure seem a little blurry.
The strong smell of tobacco made Wang Yaocheng's mind more active and helped him think. He has not yet made a final decision on whether to attack the Kadoorie family.
It is necessary to carefully weigh this information and consider it comprehensively.
Wang Yaocheng doesn't care about being angry or making moves. Corporate mergers and acquisitions are not motivated by emotion. What he cares about is whether the target is attractive enough?
Today is January 24th, and I have just experienced the "Sniper Sword War". The capital used by my subordinates has not completely returned to the Royal Family Fund, and I still hold a large amount of equity in three listed companies.
A rough calculation showed that a total of US$3.6 billion in assets was used in this battle, and the Royal Family Fund also retained US$970 million in cash reserves on its books, as well as a large number of Nokia stocks.
Among them, the large-scale stock exchange agreement reached with HSBC totaled US$1.92 billion, and funds of US$100 million and US$150 million were allocated from Red Hat twice for potential acquisitions, which almost emptied the available funds of Red Hat, leaving the remaining
There is only enough to last until the end of June 1994.
After landing on Hong Kong Island,
From January 2 to the present, funds of up to 1.43 billion U.S. dollars, approximately 11.1 billion Hong Kong dollars, have been used for capital market sniper warfare, and the three Swire companies have been successfully captured.
Among them, there was a net profit of more than HK$5 billion after a fierce battle, most of which came from the huge profits made by Swire Group. Eighty percent of it came from the huge defeat of the British-owned Swire Group. The other party almost lost its pants.
If all is said and done, all profits are liquidated and unnecessary chips are cashed in, the floating profit on the book can reach 5.5 billion Hong Kong dollars, which is about 700 million U.S. dollars.
As for the loss of market value of listed companies, we can ignore it for the time being.
The battle of "13 Life-Chasing Gold Medals" has come to a successful conclusion, and Pacific Company has made a new appearance with a complete victory. It will surely become an important overlord of Hong Kong Island enterprises and complete the three-legged layout of Wang Yaocheng's business empire.
A final reckoning;
Then the available funds are the 970 million US dollars retained in the Royal Family Fund's books and the floating book surplus of 6 billion Hong Kong dollars, which is approximately 13.566 billion Hong Kong dollars. It is truly a huge sum of money. No wonder the wealthy families in Hong Kong Island are uneasy.
In Wang Yaocheng's plan, at least half of the money should be used to buy Nokia shares, and half should be used to repurchase the remaining shares of Swire Group. Now it can only be temporarily stopped.
Looking back at the information on the table, the assets of the Kadoorie family are clearly displayed;
As of December 31, 1993, the three large listed companies controlled by the Kadoorie family, including China Electric Power, Hong Kong and Shanghai Hotels and Hong Kong Carpet Co., Ltd., had a market value of HK$129.07 billion.
This is only the assets controlled by the family. The market value of the stocks owned by the Kadoorie family itself is about HK$13.3 billion, which is a little more than one-tenth.
This is the real reason why a few old foxes chose it. It's tempting enough, and it's delicate and weak, and it's easy to push it down. It just depends on whether it's tempting or not.
The Hongkong and Shanghai Hotels Co., Ltd. was founded by the Kadoorie family in 1866. It was formerly known as the Shanghai Hotels Group. It operated hotels in Shanghai in the early days. After 1949, the company was transferred to Hong Kong and renamed the Hongkong and Shanghai Hotels.
Its Peninsula hotel brand manages many luxury hotels around the world, including the Peninsula Hotel in Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong, which is the oldest existing hotel in Hong Kong and one of the most luxurious and famous hotels in the world.
As the saying goes: I want fish, I want bear's paws, I can't have both.
The Kadoorie family started out as a hotel operator and owns the best hotel in Hong Kong, which is the pride of the Kadoorie family.
For a long time, the largest shareholder of the hotel has been the Kadoorie family. Since investing in the electrical industry requires a large amount of capital, they can only "take the bear's paw at the expense of the fish" and gradually reduce the weight of the hotel's shares.
After 1977, the Kadoorie family only owned 10.23 million shares out of the total 100 million shares, accounting for 10.23% of the shares.
The hotel’s largest shareholder has become Leung Chung-ho, who is the second generation of Hong Kong’s Leung Cheong family who has always been keen on acquiring properties in downtown areas for investment. He holds 31% of the shares, totaling 31 million shares.
Michael Kadoorie, who made rude remarks to Wang Yaocheng, is the talker of the Kadoorie family. He is in his forties and is still unmarried.
Perhaps due to Feng Shui, the Kadoorie family and the Swire family have the same problem. They are experts at making money, but neither family has a strong population.
Michael Kadoorie is the third generation of the Kadoorie family, and he is the only descendant.
His father, Laurence, had just passed away, leaving him as a single son. His uncle, Horace Kadoorie, was 91 years old this year, and not even a single hair had grown on his lower body, so he was definitely hopeless.
Michael has also inherited this characteristic of his family. He is 46 years old and does not want to get married and have children. His personality is so perverse that no one can control him. As the heir to a huge wealth, he wants to have the best food, drink and expense. He is surrounded by beautiful women and lives a very happy life.
Comfortable.
Michael, who received an aristocratic education since childhood, is a full-fledged "modern rich man". His suits must be customized at high-end clothing stores in London. He loves sports cars, antique cars and helicopters, as well as nightclubs and beauties.
The most famous rumors about him are:
In order to keep the view of his mansion at No. 68 Deep Water Bay unobstructed, Michael spent 430 million to buy the adjacent Nos. 70 and 72 Deep Water Bay and razed them to the ground.
What made Michael Kadoorie famous in the Hong Kong business community was the fact that he repelled two hostile takeovers of the Hong Kong and Shanghai Hotel. His opponents were all powerful businessmen.
The first time was to defeat Liu Luanxiong, who dominated the Hong Kong stock market. The second time was to defeat the hostile takeover by Luo Xurui (Squint Eyes Luo) of the plutocratic family. The two battles of David and Goliath made Michael Kadoorie famous and known as the young generation.
Business leaders.
Anyone who knows the inside story will smile. In fact, it was his father Lawrence and uncle Harris Kadoorie who were behind the plan. It was just that he had to bear the glory.
There is an old saying in the West: The first generation starts a business, the second generation consolidates it, and the third generation is responsible for failing the business!
Michael Kadoorie, who was reincarnated as a young expert, the family's twelve-word success secret of "hard work, honesty and good reputation" cannot be seen at all in him, just like a bad-tempered and spoiled adult.
Children never grow up.
With such a great reputation, it is actually hard to live up to it.
The strong cigar smoke fills the air, and the figure disappears and appears.
The information placed on Wang Yaocheng's desk contains detailed descriptions of the two hostile takeovers of Shanghai hotels, as completely as a short movie, taking Liu Luanxiong's hostile takeovers as an example;
In 1977, the new major shareholder Liang Zhonghao entered the board of directors of the Hong Kong and Shanghai Hotel. At that time, the two companies entered into a "gentleman's agreement";
The hotel is run by Michael, the real estate is managed by the Liang family, and the chairmanship is rotated between the two.
At that time, the major shareholder Leung Chung-ho held 31 million shares, accounting for 31% of the hotel's equity. Michael held 10.23 million shares. In the eyes of Hong Kong people at that time, they only knew Kadoorie but did not know Leung Chung-ho. They always thought that the hotel belonged to the Kadoorie family.
assets.
The Kadoorie family's holdings were unstable, and a large amount of money was invested in the electrical industry. The hotel operation also encountered difficulties, and the market value was even lower than the net asset value. This was a good prey that everyone coveted, but many people were still hesitant to take action.
The accumulation of hundreds of years by an established British-owned family is no small matter. Their reputation is so resounding that it is like an unattainable mountain standing in front of them. It looks like a stupid move like a worm trying to shake a tree.
What's more, the Kadoorie family is also a senior stockbroker and owns a licensed stockbrokerage company. They started their business in this industry and are familiar with all acquisition techniques.
In 1987, the bold and careful Liu Luanxiong set his sights on the prey of the Grand Hotel and decided to pounce on this behemoth. Even if he couldn't swallow it, he had to pull out his teeth.
Liu's sniper tactics are very different from those of Pacific Company. He first secretly absorbs shares and then waits for a sudden sniper attack.
In early 1987, Liu bought 20 million shares from the major shareholder Liang Zhonghao at a price of Hong Kong dollars per share, costing 1.06 billion Hong Kong dollars.
In the past few months, Liu Luanxiong quietly collected chips from small investors in the stock market. This kind of thing is his strength, and he spent a total of 290 million Hong Kong dollars.
After the transaction with Liang Zhonghao was exposed, Liu's shareholding has reached 24.5%, surpassing the Kadoorie family.
Subsequently, Liang Zhonghao's remaining more than 10 million shares were finally sold to Lin Jianyue of Hong Kong Lai Sun Group, and he withdrew from the hotel's board of directors.
Da Liu and Lin Jianyue together accounted for more than 35% of the total equity, so they formally showed off and asked to send representatives to the board of directors.
Faced with an industry that had been in business for more than half a century in danger, the Kadoorie family took quick action and defended the family's traditional territory to the death.
On July 4, 1987, the annual meeting of shareholders of the Grand Hotel Group.
Liu Luanxiong made a swaggering bid to be the chairman of the board of directors and wanted to expel Mi Gao from the board of directors. Although Liu and Lin Jianyue together had 36% of the shares, Mi Gao only held 1/3 of their equity. It seemed that he was destined to lose.
However, many ants killed the elephant. Inspired by the century-old reputation of the Kadoorie family, the small shareholders stepped in and the voting results were:
The Kadoorie family, which had the support of small shareholders, narrowly won with a slim vote.
After losing the first battle at a slight disadvantage, Liu, unwilling to accept it, made a lot of "little tricks" in private, bluffed externally, and threatened to make a comeback.
The shrewd Luo Lanshi saw through the opponent's reality at a glance, and Liu did not have the strength to initiate a comprehensive acquisition.
Therefore, regardless of his old age and frailty, he personally lobbied other shareholders everywhere, urging them not to get together with Liu and put the fate of the family in the hands of others. This was a risk he had to take.
Don't mention it, the century-old reputation of the Kadoorie family is really not guaranteed, and most of the shareholders are really stabilized by old Kadoorie.
Another trick of Rowland's was to file a lawsuit with the Securities and Futures Commission of Hong Kong, saying that the Liu and Lin families were engaging in "concerted actions" in private. Although they later lost the ruling, they used delaying tactics to disrupt Liu's wishful thinking of a quick resolution.
A lot of the funds used by Liu were "leveraged financing" borrowed at high interest rates. The interest payments alone amounted to more than 10 million Hong Kong dollars per month. How could it be delayed for a long time? If the stalemate continued, I would be in trouble.
Liu Luanxiong did not dare to waste it for a long time, so both parties took advantage of the opportunity and ceased all activities. The Kadoorie family purchased shares from small shareholders at a high price of HK$80, with a total cost of nearly 100 million Hong Kong dollars. This is a famous event written in the history of Hong Kong securities - the battle of "cutting flesh to protect the country".
Although Liu Luanxiong did not realize the "little snake swallows the elephant" in this battle of the Grand Hotel, he still gained HK$136 million after excluding expenses.
Later, following Liu Luanxiong, in 1989, the Kadoorie family also successfully blocked the "second hostile takeover war" of the hotel launched by Luo Xurui, the son of Hong Kong businessman Luo Yingshi.
Although they were sniped twice, although they both won miserably, the Kadoorie family's vitality was severely damaged, and they could not recover for a long time.
However, the fatal flaw still exists, that is, the shareholdings of its companies are dispersed. Hong Kong Hotel, a listed company owned by the Kadoorie family, holds 23.2% of the shares, CLP Power Company holds 8.3%, and Hong Kong Real Estate Company holds 14.1%.
It is not without reason that they were targeted twice. Such a fragmented shareholding structure makes the Kadoorie family a coveted target.
Each time, we rely on the trust of small shareholders and the excellent reputation of the Kadoorie family that has been operating for a hundred years to tide over the difficulties. How long can this strategy be maintained?
Now that fragrant assets are on the table, it depends on whether Wang Yaocheng takes the plunge.
He walked to the window and fell into deep thought.
From here, you can see the winding mountain road that winds upwards, extending all the way to the lush mountain top. There are many villas and mansions scattered here and there. This is a gathering place for small and medium-sized wealthy people on Hong Kong Island.
At the foot of the mountain on the other side, the high-rise residential area backs up the mountain and faces the sea. It spreads far along the coastline, and you can see dots of sails on the blue sea of the bay.
This is a corner of Hong Kong Island and a microcosm of the entire Hong Kong Island. It is a representative of the vitality of this world-famous metropolis.
Elites gather and wealth gathers.
This place will definitely have its own business empire. Thinking of this, Wang Yaocheng glanced at the direction of Repulse Bay. There was no outline at all in the mist.