Return to 1958 and build a century-old giant

Chapter 804 A New Acquisition War
Hiroya Yamauchi saw Yang Wendong's determination and frowned slightly. This was indeed something he had no choice but to accept.
Nintendo is a publicly traded company with most of its shares publicly available. If a large external investor is gradually acquiring the company without regard to cost, then neither the investor nor the Nintendo board of directors can stop it.

Moreover, Nintendo is just a company that makes games and toys, and it can't be considered a core national industry. The Japanese government is currently being smeared for not opening up to foreign countries because American companies can't open up the market. At this time, it is even less likely that the government will openly block an ordinary acquisition. Nintendo also has no right to make the government interfere in this trivial matter.

If we can't stop it, then we can only cooperate;

After a short while, Hiroshi Yamauchi asked, "If we accept your financing, what benefits will Nintendo receive besides the funds?"

Yang Wendong smiled and said, "The first thing is naturally the cooperation in technology, including hardware and software. I know that you are developing a home game console, as is Honor. Although we will be competitors in the future, if our software is interoperable, why can't we be allies?"

While he is indeed a time traveler, it is hard to say whether he can reliably defeat the original historical king in a certain field; furthermore, this market is huge and not inherently exclusive, so there will be no absolute monopoly.
Nintendo's ability to become a leader in some industries during the 1980s and 90s is naturally due to its own capabilities.
By investing in the market and then selling it before the rise of computer games in the 90s, one can reap huge profits; cooperation in technology and quality will also ensure that one side can gain some benefits.
It's a win-win situation;
Hiroshi Yamauchi nodded and said, "That's certainly true."

He didn't know the future of Nintendo, or what would happen to the products they were developing now. He thought it would be beneficial to learn from the veterans in the gaming industry.
Yang Wendong continued, "Secondly, in terms of channels, as you know, Best Buy in the United States has built stores in nearly 150 cities, covering a population of over 1 million, all of whom are wealthy Americans."
After the collaboration, Nintendo's games and consoles will be able to obtain good, high-quality store locations, and they will also be with Honor.
In the future, Best Buy will continue to expand and enter the European market. You know how huge the combined market in Europe and America is, right?

Best Buy, which persisted in investing despite heavy losses in its early years, is finally starting to reap the rewards. Groups, including those on Wall Street, are gradually understanding Yang Wendong's strategy and can't help but admire it.
Although other capital has also entered the market, they are a few steps behind. Unless Best Buy encounters major problems, the chances for others are very slim.
Best Buy has now gradually begun to turn a profit, and the next step is to leverage funds from banks around the world to begin large-scale expansion.

“I am well aware of the importance of manufacturing in Europe and America, and I would be very happy to cooperate with Best Buy.” Yamauchi paused for a moment and then asked, “Mr. Yang, have you considered building a Best Buy in Japan?”

"Japan has a well-developed domestic supermarket industry and many small retail stores, so we're not considering that for now," Yang Wendong said, shaking his head.

In its previous life, Best Buy did not achieve much success in Japan or even mainland China. There were many reasons for this, but the most important one was the difference in population density, which made the shopping habits of Asians completely different from those of Europeans and Americans.

For example, in the most basic supermarkets, supermarkets in the mainland of the previous life were mostly located in the city center and economically developed areas, while Walmart in the United States is mostly located in the suburbs. This is also due to factors such as the number of cars on the road.

In Japan today, people generally shop near their homes rather than at a large supermarket far away, so Best Buy and even Walmart are not suitable unless they open in the city center, but that would be extremely costly.

Hirodo Yamauchi: "That's a pity. It would be great if we could control a portion of the Japanese retail market."

“Japan’s retail market is basically monopolized by a few large conglomerates, and outsiders have little chance,” Yang Wendong added.

Retail channels in East Asia are actually controlled by local authorities. For example, Hong Kong is controlled by them, and historically it was also controlled by Hutchison Whampoa and Hongkong Land. In the future, even if RT-Mart is established in mainland China, it will still be acquired by Alibaba.

Of course, the situation is similar in Western countries. The retail market is very similar to the real estate market, and it is difficult for external capital to develop. This is one of the reasons why Carrefour's development in Southeast Asia has been slow.

After thinking for a moment, Hiroshi Yamauchi said, "Well then, Mr. Yang, I need to convene a board meeting to discuss whether to accept your investment. I can't make that decision on my own."

“Okay,” Yang Wendong nodded and said, “If my investment is successful, then the voting rights of the shares I hold will be given to Mr. Yamauchi, as long as there are no major mistakes in your operations.”

Nintendo was originally guided by Hiroshi Yamauchi to become the gaming giant it would become, so he naturally supports it now and has no interest in getting involved in the internal power struggle of a Japanese company.

In any case, the rights were granted to him by law, and he was only temporarily lending them to Hiroshi Yamauchi. If he really wanted to take them back, it would be easy.

"Thank you very much, Mr. Yang," Hiroshi Yamauchi said quickly.
Although his current position as president is still very stable, many things are unpredictable in the future. If a major shareholder or director firmly stands on his side, it would be a great benefit to him.

Yang Wendong smiled and said, "Alright, then I'll wait for Mr. Yamauchi's good news."

If Nintendo weren't a publicly listed company, it would be extremely difficult to acquire shares. But things are different now. Even if its internal board of directors disagrees, it can still acquire shares on the stock market, leaving the board with no choice.

Of course, this is also why I don't seek management rights. Otherwise, a normal board of directors can still limit the authority of newcomers, but my core purpose is economic investment, so there's nothing I can do unless the Japanese government intervenes, which is impossible.

After speaking with Hiroshi Yamauchi, Yang Wendong returned to the hotel and said to Huang Weide, a senior executive of the group stationed in Japan: "Keep a close eye on Nintendo from now on. If there are any new developments, call Assistant Aying immediately."

A normal business partnership is unlikely to be decided in just a few days. Yang Wendong is not in a hurry, nor does he intend to pressure anyone. Mutual consent is always the best outcome.

Therefore, he naturally couldn't stay in Japan for long. In any case, Japan and Hong Kong are close, their time zones are similar, and telephone communication is very convenient.
“Yes, Mr. Yang.” Huang Weide then asked, “Mr. Yang, headquarters has also asked me to look for investment opportunities in Japan. We have quite a bit of Japanese yen on hand. Besides the Four Seasons Hotel Tokyo, I would like to ask if this money can be used to invest in Japanese real estate.”

“Sure, you can give it a try first.” Yang Wendong nodded and said, “In a few years, I might transfer funds from the Hong Kong headquarters to invest in real estate in Japan. You can lay the foundation first.”

When Hong Kong's real estate market collapsed in 82, he would have cashed out many of his properties at high prices. Of course, some high-quality properties would never be sold.

In addition, the upcoming oil crisis, the surge in gold prices, and the boom in the electronics industry will all bring him sufficient funds. These funds will inevitably need to be invested in a certain direction, and the Japanese real estate market is the best choice.

After the Plaza Accord in 85, Japanese housing prices soared. However, by then, a large influx of capital had occurred, and while reinvestment could still be profitable, it was a bit too late. Investing around 82, when there was little competition, was the optimal time. "Okay, Mr. Yang," Huang Weide replied.

Yang Wendong added, "Priority will be given to Ginza in Tokyo, which is equivalent to Central in Hong Kong, and its future value will inevitably be extremely high."

Rumor has it that at the peak of the housing market, a small apartment in Tokyo's Ginza district was worth over $300 million. This even made mainstream Japanese news, because a Mitsubishi Heavy Industries aircraft engineer couldn't earn in his entire life what his daughter could make in just a few years buying a house.
Of course, the same will happen in the mainland in the future. This is an inevitable result of the development of the real estate economy.

After spending a few days in Japan, Yang Wendong returned to Hong Kong.

It's already May, and the Hong Kong stock market is still booming, but the stocks of HK Electric and CLP Power are far ahead of the competition.
The most important reason for this is that during this period, many Hong Kong media outlets published news on a large scale that were optimistic about Hong Kong's industry. Chang Hing Group also stated that it would invest in more and larger factories in the New Territories to cooperate with the Hong Kong government's personnel relocation plan, as Hong Kong Island is simply too crowded.

However, some senior executives of Cheung Hing Group have also made it clear that if they are to make large-scale investments in the New Territories, the most important factors are stable power supply and stable water supply.

Water is relatively easy to manage, as the freshwater imported from the mainland is also sourced from the New Territories, and the Hong Kong government has indicated that it will build several water storage areas in the New Territories; as for electricity, due to the exclusivity of power generation licenses, it can only rely on CLP Power.

At the same time, not only industry, but also Hong Kong's real estate industry began to develop towards the New Territories and Kowloon Peninsula. For most middle-class people, buying a house on Hong Kong Island is nothing short of a pipe dream, so Kowloon Peninsula and New Territories are the most suitable choices.

Stock market commentators also began to be bullish on and recommend CLP Power's stock, causing its stock value to skyrocket, with the increase far exceeding the average of other stocks.

Kang Le Building:

Fang Xianming handed a document to Yang Wendong and said, "Mr. Yang, this is a record of our cooperation with Mr. Bao Yugang during this period. Mr. Bao also paid us to promote China Power's stock in the media in order to cover up the flow of his funds."

"This method is good, but it will increase our costs considerably," Yang Wendong said after taking the documents.

Fang Xianming laughed and said, "Yes, but this is very discreet and not easy to be discovered. The Kadoorie family is very happy now. I even heard that they are planning to raise funds by increasing their share price to build a new power plant. This is like giving Bao Sheng a free share."

If you want to conspire to buy a company's stock, there are two ways to use the media: either release bad news to drive down the stock price and then buy it at a low price; or do the opposite, release good news to attract a lot of scattered capital and fish in troubled waters.
The former has lower costs, while the latter naturally has higher costs. However, the problem is that when there are too many negative factors, the stock price does not fall much, which easily arouses suspicion. On the contrary, the stock price rises more sharply during periods of good news, which is less likely to attract the attention of the company and the market, and is more conducive to long-term development.

Not every acquisition can be planned for years like Yang Wendong's acquisition of Wharf Holdings. If you have enough time, you don't actually need to do anything. But in a short period of time, you have to use some methods.

Yang Wendong nodded and said, "Yes, Bao Yugang is not one to care about such short-term gains and losses."

In his previous life, Pao Yuk-kong drove the price sky-high in order to acquire Wharf Holdings, spending a whopping HK$20 billion to acquire 20% of Wharf Holdings' shares, bringing its market value to HK$100 billion.
Although it was a Pyrrhic victory in the end, the successful abandonment of ships and landing was a strategic step for the Bao family. The extra money spent was just a tactical loss. As long as the strategy was successful, the tactical loss could be made up sooner or later.

“Bao Sheng has already acquired about 22% of the shares. I estimate he can acquire a few more percentage points, but it probably won’t reach 30% unless CLP Power initiates financing. So I estimate he will officially start next month,” Fang Xianming added.

No matter the method, covert acquisitions have their limits because the amount of stock available on the stock market is limited.
Most listed companies are still controlled by the controlling family and many directors and shareholders. They may sell a small portion due to high stock prices, but usually not a large amount.
Therefore, once it reaches a certain point, it will inevitably be exposed, and then the real takeover battle will begin, just like the case with Wharf Holdings.

"That's great. I'd love to see how exciting this battle will be." Yang Wendong smiled and then asked, "How many Peninsula Hotel shares have we acquired?"

Fang Xianming said, "It's about 18%. Because the Peninsula Hotel has fewer shares in circulation, and we need to stay behind the scenes, we didn't use media resources. At most, we just hyped up the future of the tourism and hotel industry, but that was general and not specifically for the Peninsula Hotel."

“No rush. We’ll make our move after Bao Yugang. Once he does, the core of the Kadoorie family will definitely pay attention to CLP Power,” Yang Wendong said with a smile.

Fang Xianming added, "Perhaps in an emergency, the Kadoorie family will cash out Peninsula Hotel shares to fund CLP Power, which would make things even more convenient for us."

"Haha, that's right, now we're just waiting for Bao Sheng to make his move," Yang Wendong said with a smile.

Time flew by and it was already mid-June. Bao Yugang and Yang Wendong had met several times before this to discuss specific matters.

The Kadoorie family also took the bait, thinking that the stock price was currently too high. So, they officially conducted a share issuance, but not a very high one, releasing only 5% of their shares.
However, the shares were snapped up almost within a day. Even the share issuance and financing did not cause the stock price to fall. After a slight fluctuation, a large amount of funds continued to enter the market for acquisitions, and the price rose day by day.

The surge in CLP Power's stock price has finally made the market realize something is amiss. Even with some accurate positive news, the stock price shouldn't have risen this much, unless...

Many people have considered one possibility.

On June 16, Pao Yu-kang officially announced that he had acquired 29.3% of CLP Power's shares, becoming its largest shareholder, and would soon be entering CLP Power's winter meeting in accordance with legal requirements.
Hong Kong was in an uproar; everyone understood that a new takeover battle had begun.

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(End of this chapter)