Return to 1958 and build a century-old giant

Chapter 805 Two-Front War

"Bao Yugang has made a move against us, how despicable!" In a conference room at the headquarters of China Power, Roland Gardner slammed his hand on the table in anger: "What were you doing? Someone acquired nearly 30% of the shares, and you didn't even notice?"

A blond foreigner quickly said, "Mr. Kadoorie, the Hong Kong stock market has been soaring for the past six months, and with a large number of factories relocating from Hong Kong Island to Kowloon Peninsula and the New Territories, this is very beneficial to our stocks."

But unexpectedly, Bao Yugang took advantage of this time to buy up a large number of our shares. With these two factors combined, it was very difficult to detect.

"So, the responsibility lies with the Hong Kong government? It was the Hong Kong government that demanded the relocation of industries," Rowland scoffed.

No one dared to respond to that.

Roland took a deep breath, knowing that now was not the time to assign blame; the most important thing right now was to protect his family's business. So he asked, "What should we do in this situation?"

The man who had just spoken said, "Now Bao Yugang owns 29.3% of the shares, and your family owns 21.7%. He has more shares, but the management rights are still in our hands. As long as we can find a way to continue to buy back company shares, we can surpass him."

But the prerequisite is a substantial injection of funds, Mr. Kadoorie, you need to come up with enough capital.”

Legally speaking, these people are employees of the company, not the Kadoorie family. Pao Yu-kong is already one of their bosses.

However, the company is still under the control of the Kadoorie family, and since Pao Yu-kong is Chinese, they are also unwilling to see their company become a Chinese-owned company, so they naturally want to help the Kadoorie family.

“Sufficient funds.” Roland understood this perfectly well, but then he added, “Could the company lend me some money, which I can pay back later?”

“The board approval is fine, but Bao Yugang is already a director of the company, and his shares are approaching 33.3%. Once that number is reached, he will have veto power,” another person reminded him.

The reason Bao Yugang disclosed his stock holdings was because he could no longer hide it. After all, a large amount of capital had entered the market, which was not the behavior of ordinary stock investors.
Even after the news broke, he continued to buy shares of CLP Power at high prices, completely disregarding the stock's rise. This left many economic commentators dumbfounded. If he continued like this, even if Pao Yu-kang eventually succeeded in the acquisition, he would still lose a lot of money.

Kadoorie said, "Then let's pass it now."

“No, Bao Yugang has already sent someone to inform us that our board of directors needs to be restructured. The previous board agreement is legally invalid, and we must wait for Bao Yugang’s people to participate.” Another person said, “Moreover, if it involves large sums of money and huge interest loans, and it is related to major shareholders and the company, such behavior is itself subject to great legal restrictions. I’m afraid it will be too late.”

Roland frowned, then said, "Never mind then. I'll contact the major banks and raise funds as soon as possible. You guys should also make preparations as soon as possible."

"Yes, Mr. Kadoorie."

;
Inside the Four Seasons Hotel, Yang Wendong and Bao Yugang are having tea.
“Bao Sheng, your recent acquisitions have been really aggressive. China Power’s stock has risen by 50%, and you’re still buying? Aren’t you going to let the market cool down a bit?” Yang Wendong asked.

Bao Yugang shook his head and said, "Wait, I've already acquired 31.5%. Once it reaches 33.4%, I'll pause for a while, gain a veto right and two board seats, then I'll feel at ease. Otherwise, I'm worried that the Kadoorie family might cause some trouble."

"That's true, Bao Sheng's straightforwardness is admirable," Yang Wendong nodded.

He acquired Wharf Holdings through long-term acquisitions to obtain sufficient shares. However, after the news broke, he made every effort to contact various shareholders and acquire their shares at high prices in order to race against time.
If the other party brings in a white knight, with substantial capital and management control, then the acquiring party will find it very difficult to succeed.

Bao Yugang said, "It's a last resort. What I want is CLP Power. Spending a little more money in the process is nothing. There will be plenty of opportunities to earn it back in the future."

"Haha, well said." Yang Wendong smiled.

Bao Yugang added, "Mr. Yang, the Kadoorie family is a century-old wealthy family in Hong Kong with a very strong foundation. If there are any more fierce acquisition battles in the future, I hope you can help me with the funding. As for the interest, we can talk about it."

“No problem, I will have Hang Seng Bank provide you with sufficient financial support,” Yang Wendong agreed.
Putting aside other factors, CLP Power also owns a large amount of land in the Kowloon Peninsula. Given the land prices expected in the next few years, no matter how much they borrow now, they will be able to repay it.

Besides, Bao Yugang had made a lot of money in the previous years. Now that he is seeking bank support, he can't just look to himself. He must be making preparations from multiple sources and taking all necessary measures.

"Okay, thank you very much," Bao Yugang nodded and said.

On June 21, the Pao Yu-Kang family officially announced that they had acquired 33.4% of the shares of CLP Power and were demanding 40% of the voting rights on the board of directors of CLP Power, thus gaining a seat on the board.
Even if the Kadoorie family was extremely unwilling, they could not openly violate the law and could only outwardly welcome Pao Yu-kang and his son-in-law Wu Guang-zheng to join them.

But secretly, in addition to Pao Yu-kang, another group of funds immediately entered the market to acquire shares. Everyone with discerning eyes knew that it must be the Kadoorie family. As a result, the stock price soared and eventually rose to 2.2 times its previous value.
The price was so high that it seemed both sides in the battle were struggling to keep up. Even Bao Yugang wasn't stupid; having achieved his strategic objectives, he wouldn't blindly continue acquiring other assets and would proceed cautiously from there.

Yang Wendong wasn't too concerned about this. Since he couldn't acquire CLP Power anyway, he could just leave it to Bao Yugang.

"Knock knock knock~!" A knocking sound came from outside. Fang Xianming walked in and said, "Mr. Yang, good news. The Grand Hotel has started raising funds through IPOs."

"A grand hotel raising funds through IPO? The Kadoorie family wants to use the Peninsula Hotel's funds to acquire shares in CLP Power?" Yang Wendong immediately understood;

As the party in control, they have a certain chance as long as the acquiring party does not acquire 49.9% of the shares. So no matter what, even if outsiders enter the market to acquire, as long as they do not side with the acquiring party, it is fine.
The Kadoorie family controls the Grand Hotel Group. Using the Grand Hotel's assets to acquire some of CLP Power's shares, thus preventing Pao Yu-Kang from acquiring enough shares, is a good strategy.

Of course, even if the acquiring party doesn't reach 49.9%, they can still hold a shareholders' meeting to fight for management control, but that's another matter. Right now, the only thing the Kadoorie family needs to do is prevent Pao Yu-kong from acquiring enough shares; the shareholders' meeting can be discussed later. Fang Xianming said, "Yes, that's definitely the case. The Peninsula Hotel has always been a very high-quality property with almost no debt. Once they successfully raise funds, and with Kadoorie mortgaging Peninsula Hotel stock or property, they can obtain sufficient funds."

Yang Wendong nodded and asked, "Then what do you think we should do?"

Fang Xianming replied, "We will naturally support the Kadoorie family in raising funds through IPOs, and we will also be able to acquire more shares in the process."
But once they successfully raise funds, they will inevitably acquire shares of CLP Power. We also publicly announced our holdings of Grand Hotel shares before that to prevent their investment.
As a result, the Kadoorie family is fighting on two fronts, and they will inevitably run out of funds. If they hesitate even slightly, they may lose either of their businesses.
More importantly, once the banks find out that we and Pao Yu-kong are both targeting Kadoorie, they will definitely not dare to lend money anymore.

"Okay, good." Yang Wendong then asked, "How many large hotel stocks do we currently hold?"

Fang Xianming said, "23.7%. In this fundraising, the Kadoorie family will release 10% of the shares. If we can get more than half, then we will have 30% of the shares."
Then, just like with Pao Yu-kong before, they'll invest huge sums of money before and after the announcement, acquiring another 3.4%, which will give them veto power. All of the Kadoorie family's plans will then be legally blocked by us.”

Yang Wendong said, "Okay, then let's do it this way. Tell Bao Yugang to attack even more fiercely, and I will soon coordinate with him to launch a general offensive."

"Yes, Mr. Yang," Fang Xianming replied.
After receiving Yang Wendong's notification, Bao Yugang, while smiling and playing the role of a "good friend, good friend, good friend" board meeting with the Kadoorie family, continued to invest heavily in acquiring shares while the market thought they had reconciled and the stock price fell.
As a result, the stock price quickly rose, and the market immediately reacted, continuing to speak favorably of CLP Power's stock.
The Kadoorie family was furious. Good heavens, you're not even going to put on an act anymore.

Therefore, on the one hand, the Kadoorie family began to seek help from other capital, on the other hand, they negotiated loans with various banks, and on the other hand, they expanded the share capital of the hotel on the stock market to obtain funds.

Fang Xianming had already prepared enough funds. After the hotel issued shares, a large amount of funds immediately took over. The speed was so fast that it puzzled the Kadoorie family, who immediately felt that something was wrong.

However, the shares have already been issued, and it's impossible to take them back.

On June 26, the hotel's stock price began to surge, immediately attracting the attention of the entire Hong Kong.

It's worth noting that newly issued shares typically experience a period of stagnation due to high market liquidity. However, the Peninsula Hotel experienced the opposite, with a significant increase in its share price, as numerous accounts invested with substantial funds.

The next day, the 27th, some newspapers immediately stated that a large capital firm must be trying to acquire the hotel group, possibly Bao Yugang or someone else.

That morning, numerous media outlets approached Bao Yugang, who naturally denied everything.
That afternoon, Changxing Financial Group held a formal meeting and publicly announced that it had acquired a 31.2% stake in The Peninsula Hotel. The group stated that it was optimistic about the future of Hong Kong's tourism industry and therefore invested in The Peninsula Hotel Group, and expressed its willingness to participate in the daily management of The Peninsula Hotel.
That's the stated reason; as for the hidden reason, everyone knows it.
As a result, Peninsula Hotel's stock price surged another 20%.

"Damn it!" Roland Garland angrily slammed a cup onto the floor, and a junior assistant immediately began to clean it up.

The other senior executives of the group standing around him also dared not speak at this moment;

The office was quiet. Roland said, "Regardless of the Grand Hotel, the most important task now is to protect CLP Power and execute the previous plan."

The hotel group is indeed a valuable asset of the Kadoorie family, but CLP Power is the core of the family. If CLP Power is lost, the Kadoorie family's status in Hong Kong will immediately plummet.
A foreigner cautiously said, "Mr. Kadoorie, the previous plan is no longer feasible. Changxing Group has sent a notice requesting a board meeting. Before that, the company is not allowed to make any large-scale external investments or sign any project agreements."

"Convene a board meeting? He doesn't have veto power yet, does he?" Roland asked.

The foreigner replied, "He doesn't have it now, but he's only 2.2% short of the stock. If he's willing to spend the money, he can acquire 33.4% in a day or two, which would give him veto power."

"..." Roland's expression changed drastically. His family's two core businesses had actually had more than 33.4% of their shares acquired by outsiders.

Unfortunately, they had no way to stop Changxing Group at this moment, because their primary goal was the veto power, not 49.9%. The latter was much more difficult to achieve, while the former was much easier.

However, the large sum of money he had prepared to save China Power was in the Grand Hotel's account. If the other party's veto power prevented it, China Power would probably be swallowed up by Bao Yugang, and the Grand Hotel might not be able to be saved in the end either.

After a while, Roland said, "Make an appointment with Yang Wendong for me; I need to meet him."

"Yes," the assistant replied.

Upon receiving the news, Yang Wendong naturally agreed, and so, at the Four Seasons Hotel, Yang Wendong met with Laurence Rodriguez.

"Hello, Mr. Kadoorie," Yang Wendong said politely.

"Mr. Yang, hello." Looking at the young man in front of him, Roland didn't dare to be careless and went straight to the point: "Mr. Yang, I hope you can give up the matter of the Grand Hotel. In return, I will buy 15% of your shares at a high price, so that you will still hold 16% of the shares and can become the major shareholder and director of the Grand Hotel, with 20% of the voting rights."

It wasn't that he didn't want to acquire it all, but rather that he didn't have enough funds, and there was still a tough battle to be fought with CLP Power.
Furthermore, if I were to acquire too many shares in a large hotel group, it would be easier to trigger a takeover bid, which would put me in even more trouble.

"Mr. Kadoorie, now that things have come to this, do you think I would give up?" Yang Wendong shook his head and smiled, "How about we do the other way? I'll buy 15% of your shares and give you a satisfactory price, how about that?"

Money is meaningless to him; assets are. Whether it's property or industry, assets that can continuously generate wealth are far more meaningful than numbers in a bank account.

PS: Please give me a monthly ticket
(End of this chapter)