After more than half a year of hard work, Xiangjiang Telecom officially formed an acquisition team and launched an acquisition invitation to the British Cable and Telegraph Company, the parent company of Optus Communications, Australia's second largest telecommunications company.
Australia is one of the most developed countries in the telecommunications industry in the Asia-Pacific region. However, before July 1997, there were only three telecommunications companies in Australia: Telstra, Optus Cable and Wireless Communications Company, and Vodafone.
Telecom companies. On July 1 of the same year, Australia promulgated the "Telecommunications Act 1997" and formulated a "comprehensive competition" development strategy. Its main purpose is to comprehensively introduce market mechanisms, enhance the long-term interests of users, and improve the international competitiveness of the Australian telecommunications industry.
Competitiveness.
The federal government opened up and privatized one-third of the shares of Australian telecommunications companies and issued licenses to 81 companies with network infrastructure to operate local, international, mobile, satellite and other telecommunications services. Since then, the telecommunications industry, especially mobile communications
It developed extremely rapidly.
Optus Limited is Australia's second largest telecommunications company and a full-service operator. Its business includes mobile phones, domestic long distance, international long distance, local calls, international calls, business network services, Internet, satellite services and subscriptions.
Television, which operates three satellites for domestic use in Australia.
The parent company of Optus Communications was the British Cable and Telegraph Company, the parent company of Hong Kong Telecom at that time.
However, at this time, the British Cable and Telegraph Company was having a hard time. It managed to earn hundreds of billions of Hong Kong dollars, but lost all its investment in the Internet. Its market value was only tens of billions of Hong Kong dollars.
Although Hong Kong Telecom was not spared from this round of plummeting, its market value only dropped from 500 billion Hong Kong dollars to just over 200 billion Hong Kong dollars. It has to be said that all companies that Lin Zuhui messed with were sought after.
But then again, since New Era Group took over Hong Kong Telecom, Hong Kong Telecom has exuded endless potential.
First of all, Hong Kong Telecom has always been at the forefront of Asia in new generation businesses such as PCC, broadband Internet access, and video information;
Secondly, Hong Kong Telecom has recently invested in mainland Internet companies such as Du Niang, allowing investors to see the second Jingwei Capital;
Finally, Xiangjiang Telecom is one of the most advanced and efficient telecommunications companies in the world, with huge development potential.
...
Xiangjiang Telecom.
In the conference room, Lin Zuhui was making final mobilization.
"With this acquisition, Xiangjiang Telecom is also breaking through the regional scope. Regardless of whether it is successful or not, we will also invest in telecom companies in the Asia-Pacific in the future to continue to extend our business."
Of course, subsequent investment in telecommunications assets will no longer be wholly-owned or holding, only a certain number of shares will be invested and a director seat will be obtained.
Everyone nodded. In the entire conference room, nearly half of the seats were occupied by foreigners, and the CEO was Australian Ivy Long. After all, Xiangjiang Telecom was originally established by the British. If it were not for the later localization needs, Chinese executives would not know how.
so much.
Lin Zuhui then said: "Avi Lang, what do you think is the biggest difficulty in this acquisition? What preparations are there?"
Iveyron immediately said: "There are two biggest difficulties in this acquisition. First, it will usher in other competitors and fall into premium prices; second, because Optus Communications is a full-field telecommunications business (fixed line, mobile, satellite communications,
Submarine cables, broadband Internet access, etc.), the Australian government is the key to the final acquisition, especially involving submarine cables and satellite communications, and even more so the Australian military."
Lin Zuhui nodded. He was not confident that this acquisition would be successful, but he would still go all out.
"The first one is not difficult. Currently, telecommunications assets are plummeting, and competitors are not stupid. For Hong Kong Telecom, if the acquisition of Optus Communications is successful, it means becoming one of the top ten telecommunications companies in the world. It is a rare opportunity. Even if the price is high,
I can make up for it by making some financial arrangements or investments later."
There were expressions of surprise on everyone's faces. Who didn't know that this person really liked financial investment and increased the financial strength of the company. The key is that he was almost always successful.
"The second difficulty is what you need to solve. This acquisition requires more cooperation with local Australian banks, financial institutions, and law firms. If you encounter these problems, you must communicate more with the Australian government and sign some memorandums to address their concerns.
.”
Iveyron nodded seriously and said: "No problem. I have worked in Telstra for many years and I believe that this acquisition has a high chance of success. We have established a local company in Australia, which can avoid some sensitive issues and public opinion."
In fact, the only competitor for this acquisition is Sing Tao Telecom.
Because of the ZZ factor involved, Lin Zuhui feels that Xiangjiang Telecom is an advantage, not a disadvantage!
Because 76% of Sing Tao Telecom’s shares are owned by Temasek, which is government-controlled, the Australian government is even more worried about the new government’s interference in Australia’s national defense;
On the contrary, the major shareholder of Xiangjiang Telecom is New Era Group (49%), and the major shareholder is a business group.
The reason why Lin Zuhui is worried is because the submarine cable of Optus Communications seems to be involved in the "Prism Project" to monitor the West.
But he also believes that by signing the memorandum, the Australian military will feel that it is taking the initiative and will not be an obstacle.
actually.
Hutchison Telecommunications has entered Australia in the 1980s, but it is only a mobile operator (mobile phone business) and does not have fixed-line and broadband services.
There are four major mobile operators in Australia: Telstra, Optus Limited, Vodafone Australia and Hutchison Australia Limited (Hutchison). Each has a roughly similar mobile market share.
They are: Telstra holds about 45% of the market share, with 6.3 million users, and Optus Communications ranks second, with a share of about 31%, and 4.3 million users....
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! Mobile services in most countries around the world are licensed through external bidding, which is very open. Because the government also wants to bid for licenses (2G, 3G, frequency types
) to obtain huge revenues and improve the country's telecommunications technology through competition.
In July and August of this year, Hutchison Telecommunications was very ambitious and teamed up with multiple consortiums to win 3G licenses in Germany and the UK. Each license cost more than 4 billion pounds. However, Li Chaoren was very smart. After winning the 3G license in Germany,
, he felt guilty and uneasy, so he called Europe again and asked Hutchison Telecom to withdraw from the consortium.
As a result, Li Chaoren was really powerful. In September, global Internet and telecommunications assets plummeted, and Hutchison Telecom avoided huge losses.
Of course, Hutchison Telecom is not giving up on 3G. After all, the British 3G license cost 4.4 billion pounds; it is just reducing the huge investment in Germany and continuing to invest in 3G licenses in other countries.
Different from Li Chaoren's idea, Lin Zuhui's idea is to acquire Optus Communications, so that Hong Kong Telecom will no longer be limited to cities with more than 6 million people; as for Hong Kong Telecom, it will also obtain 3G mobile licenses, but only in Australia and Hong Kong.
As for investing in telecommunications assets, we chose to invest in Southeast Asia, not for holding purposes, but for strategic investments. When the time is right, we will recruit more than a dozen countries and regions to form a telecommunications alliance.
This is called influence.
Of course, this is also based on the strength of Hong Kong Telecom, which is one of the most advanced telecommunications companies in the world, and Hong Kong's Internet is also among the top five in the world, both in terms of network speed and penetration rate.
.......
October.
The news that Xiangjiang Telecom is negotiating with Dadong Cable and Telegraph Company to acquire Australia's Optus Communications has attracted worldwide attention after media reports.
The citizens of Xiangjiang are also talking a lot.
"It is a bit unwise for Xiangjiang Telecom to acquire telecommunications assets at this time!"
"What do you know? Mr. Lin Zuhui is good at bargain hunting. Maybe he is waiting for the Internet and telecommunications assets to plummet, and then buys the bottom. When the market turns strong, wouldn't it be a big profit?"
"It makes sense!"
"I don't think it's that simple. The reason why Xiangjiang Telecom wants to acquire Australia's Optus Communications is because it wants to break through the problem of Xiangjiang's small territory. If the acquisition is completed, Xiangjiang Telecom will become a world-class telecommunications company in one fell swoop. Take a look at Xiangjiang Telecom's recent performance
Over the past few years, we have conducted many new businesses and are committed to overseas development. I would say that with Mr. Lin Zuhui's consistent style, he will definitely expand overseas."
"Can I buy Xiangjiang Telecom's shares?"
"Well, things don't seem to be right lately, and I'm not sure."
.......
The news reached Star Island.
Yang Li urgently summoned Singtao Telecom executives to discuss countermeasures.
Xiangjiang Telecom suffers from a small territory, and Sing Tao Telecom is not the same. What's more, Sing Tao Telecom has been developing overseas very early, and its overseas business is much larger than that of Xiangjiang Telecom.
"If we miss this time, Sing Tao Telecom's overseas development will be greatly hindered. On the contrary, it will hinder Hong Kong Telecom's overseas development. Therefore, I think we should go all out and launch an acquisition offer for Dadong Cable and Telegraph Bureau."
An executive reminded: "Telecom assets are plummeting, and our opponent is the large consortium New Era Group. We all know that Lin Zuhui is a person who is good at acquisitions and a powerful opponent with high bids. Once acquired,
The capital is too high, coupled with the dilution of Optus Communications, Sing Tao Telecom's overall performance efficiency will be greatly reduced."
Many executives nodded. They had to consider the cost issue because Sing Tao Telecom's profitability is very important.
On the contrary, for Lin Zuhui himself, he thinks that the expensive purchase is not a problem, and he will return after operating a few operations around him; what Lin Zuhui cares about is the size of the company and the influence it brings to him; not to mention that Lin Zuhui knows better than everyone else that telecommunications
How should the industry go in the future to make more money?
An executive said: "Yes, it's not that we don't participate in the acquisition, but we can't fall into a malicious bidding with Lin Zuhui to avoid buying too much. The important thing is that Optus Communications involves some ZZ factors. We should be able to operate it. After all, it is not Jiu.
Qiqian, Xiangjiang Telecom and New Era Group all have Chinese elements, maybe our Xingdao has an advantage!"
Yang Li said: "Are you talking about spreading public opinion that is unfavorable to Xiangjiang Telecom behind your back?"
He had no intention of refusing. He had tried the bitter pill of failure in the Hong Kong Telecom incident last time, so he wanted to stand up and fight a good fight.
At the same time, the acquisition of Optus Communications is also crucial for Sing Tao Telecommunications.
The executive said: "Yes! This acquisition is not only related to the Dadong Telegraph Bureau. The attitude of the Australian government is very important, and even involves the Australian military. In the later stage, assuming that we do not have a price advantage, we can
Create some publicity."
Yang Li nodded and said, "Okay! We will join the acquisition first and keep this plan."
.......
Ivey Long and his team came to the Great Eastern Telegraph Office headquarters in London, England for the second time.
Dadong Cable and Telegraph Bureau made a huge profit of more than 130 billion Hong Kong dollars last year from New Era Today, including 10 billion US dollars in cash. As a result, the new board of directors continued the idea of taking office and invested all the funds in Internet companies, resulting in a large number of losses.
The telegraph office was also having a hard time.
Because of this, when Dadong Telegraph received the invitation, it did not reject it, but directly negotiated the price.
In the conference room, Iveran said: "Chairman Ravik, telecommunications assets are still depreciating, and we still maintain our sincerity. The price of 8 billion US dollars to privatize Optus Communications is very high."
Optus Communications is a listed company, but as long as Dadong Cable and Telegraph Company agrees to privatize (60%), the remaining small shareholders cannot afford to make trouble.
Ravik asked directly: "The price is still a bit low, and we want all cash!"
Ivey Long knows that the current Xiangjiang Telecom stock does not maintain its value, and Dadong Cable and Telegraph Company will definitely not want any of it.
However, he still said with a smile: "As far as we know, in the last Hong Kong Telecom transaction, the New Era Group you acquired generated certain profits. If it weren't for that batch of stocks, Dadong Cable and Telegraph Company's life would definitely be more difficult.
Come on!"
At that time, New Era Group's stock was about HK$55 billion. Currently, New Era Group's market value is HK$860 billion. Dadong Cable and Telegraph Company has not yet begun to reduce its holdings, but it is still worth nearly HK$70 billion.
It is conceivable that the Dadong Telegraph Bureau made huge profits in this life. In the previous life, all Li Zekai gave was Yingke stock. As a result, the Dadong Telegraph Bureau lost money.
Ravik said with a smile: "We are very grateful to Mr. Lin for the shares. This is probably the best investment."
The executives of Dadong Cable and Telegraph Bureau nodded one after another, and even wanted to say, why not give them all the shares of New Era Group in the first place! In that case, Dadong Cable and Telegraph Bureau would not have lost tens of billions of dollars.
At the same time, Dadong Cable and Telegraph Bureau was also selling New Era Group's stocks because the losses were too large and it needed to use the money to repay debts.
Ivey Long said: "Since the friendship between the two companies is so good, we still hope to reach a deal of 8 billion US dollars. We can use all cash, but we need the consent of the Australian government before the transaction can be formalized."
Ravik quickly said: "NONONO, one yard for one yard, we will only agree to sell it for at least 8.5 billion US dollars."
Ivey Lang said: "You are cashing out the New Era Group's shares, and this is undoubtedly where we are needed..."
Well, the executives of Dadong Telegraph Bureau were dumbfounded, and they even thought that this was Lin Zuhui's instruction to threaten Ivey Lang.
"$8.2 billion, if no one offers more than you, we will officially agree!"
The two sides engaged in another war of words and almost reached a preliminary agreement.
Of course, this is just a preliminary agreement, and the Dadong Telegraph Bureau is not stupid. If someone offers a higher price, why not sell it at a higher price?
It can only be said that at the same price, they may take care of New Era Group, which is a happy cooperation company.
Of course, the money for this acquisition was provided by Hong Kong Telecom.
.......
On the other side, Sing Tao Telecom came to the door and put forward its own offer of US$7.6 billion.
Yang Li refused to hold on to a higher price because he felt that telecommunications assets were still plummeting and he was worried that the purchase would be too expensive.
At the same time, everyone understands that this acquisition will not be concluded easily.
The Australian official is not the Hong Kong official. The Australian official will consider ZZ factors.
At the beginning, the Xiangjiang government made it clear that it would not interfere in commercial activities.