Return to 1958 and build a century-old giant

Chapter 930 Plotting to Acquire Land (2)

“Then I would like to acquire shares in your company’s Watsons or Glory Electronics.” Simon Keswick added, “I don’t need any management rights in either of these shares, just a board seat will suffice.”

Yang Wendong raised an eyebrow and said directly, "That's even more impossible. The value of the land isn't that high."

Christmas Creek Iron Ore is not as valuable as Honor or Watsons;
These two companies will inevitably become top global industry giants in the future. It's not that other shareholders won't be introduced, but at least they must be strategic-level. Only top European and American funds or companies will be qualified to participate at the appropriate time.

Jardine Matheson is a big deal in Hong Kong or Southeast Asia, but outside of that region, it's nothing. Not to mention the United States, even in the United Kingdom, its status isn't high, and it doesn't have the qualifications to be considered.

Simon Keswick's expression didn't change much. Instead, he said, "Mr. Yang, if you want to acquire the land, you should at least show some sincerity, right?"

“I can give you some property assets in the UK, Europe, or Southeast Asia, or some business projects that cooperate with Changxing Group. These will also generate long-term and stable returns,” Yang Wendong replied.

Simon Keswick thought for a moment and said, "Could you provide a list?"

Yang Wendong said, "Of course, but there's too much business to explain clearly. I'll have someone compile a list for you, and you can decide after you've read it."

Simon Keswick said, "Alright, but Niu Bijian and I will soon be vying for control of Jardine Matheson. I know that Mr. Yang should have some shares in Jardine Matheson and Hongkong Land. How about we join forces first, drive out Niu Bijian, and then discuss things slowly?"

“I don’t want to interfere in your internal affairs unless we reach a deal and include this matter as part of the deal.”

Yang Wendong shook his head and said that he naturally understood that Simon Keswick wanted to use him first.

Simon Keswick nodded and said, "Okay, I'll do it as soon as possible."

After exchanging pleasantries for a while, Simon Keswick left. Fang Xianming said, "Mr. Yang, it seems that Simon Keswick has a mentality of hoarding rare commodities."

“Jardine Land isn’t even his yet, and he’s already negotiating with us. He’s hoping I can help him take over Jardine first. That’s too naive.” Yang Wendong shook his head and said, “We can’t put our hopes on him. If we don’t reach an agreement beforehand, then helping him will be like throwing good money after bad.”

Fang Xianming asked, "Then what should we do?"

Yang Wendong thought for a moment and said, "Give Simon Keswick a few days. If he is really sincere, I hope we can complete the transaction normally."

If he intends to stall for time, then proceed with the original plan and attack Jardine Matheson's stock. This way, regardless of who is in charge of Jardine Matheson, they will face the crisis of Jardine Matheson's bankruptcy.

“Okay, I’ll get ready right away,” Fang Xianming replied.
A few more days passed, and Fang Xianming brought back news: "Mr. Yang, Simon Keswick is making outrageous demands, asking for property values ​​far exceeding Hongkong Land's market value. He also insists that Hong Kong's real estate market is currently at its lowest point, so it cannot be calculated solely based on the current market value."

"What's the use of this nonsense? What will he prove in the future?" Yang Wendong said disdainfully. "Then let's stick to the original plan and continue to attack Jardine Matheson. No matter who is in charge of Jardine Matheson, as long as Jardine Matheson goes bankrupt, we will most likely be able to get about half of Jardine Matheson's properties."

He certainly knew the future value was high, but that was based on his own ability and confidence, so he naturally couldn't agree to a premium on that basis.

The current acquisition price will naturally be based on the current price, with a possible increase of a few percentage points according to industry practice.

Fang Xianming said, "Mr. Yang, I think Simon Keswick is actually waiting for us to do this. Once we take action against Jardine Matheson now, Jardine Matheson's stock price will plummet and its debts will collapse."

"Then Niu Bijian's current management team will inevitably be held accountable by the shareholders' meeting, and Simon Keswick will be able to easily regain control of Jardine Matheson."

“You’re right. It seems Simon Keswick is playing both sides.” Yang Wendong thought for a moment and said, “But if we don’t take action, and Simon Keswick regains control of Jardine Matheson, it will restore the confidence of Jardine Matheson’s shareholders. After all, the Keswick family has controlled Jardine Matheson for a century, which will be equally detrimental to our subsequent plans.”

The Keswick family has quite a history, after all, it is a century-old British family and was once one of the giants under the East India Company;

Such a family must have some hidden backup plans. Although they are certainly not as good as today's Changxing Group, under the control of Yizhi Mutual Control, if they can alleviate their debt problems internally and drag it out until the end of the year, then I will have little chance at least this year.

If we wait until 86, the possibility of changes is not low, and at least in terms of price, we will be much more expensive. Although it is still worthwhile compared to the future value of Hongkong Land, now is the best time to acquire it.

Fang Xianming said, "Keswick seems very confident. But once he succeeds, he might not necessarily cooperate with us. Why don't we try cooperating with Niu Bijian? Yang Sheng, what do you think?"

"Cooperate with Niu Bijian?" Yang Wendong countered. "You mean help Niu Bijian defeat the Keswick family, who are vying for management control, and then buy the property?"

Fang Xianming said: "Yes, that's what I'm planning. The current debt crisis of Yizhi Mutual Holdings and Hongkong Land is Niu Bijian's responsibility. No matter what we do, he is very likely to be ousted from office."

Therefore, he currently has the least to lose. If we can give him some hope, such as the possibility of continuing to control Jardine Matheson, he might be more willing to compromise and relinquish the land than the Keswick family.

Yang Wendong nodded and said, "This is quite difficult. Although the Keswick family has relaxed its control over Jardine Matheson in recent years, the family has controlled Jardine Matheson for a century, and their network of relationships is still very deep." In the past, Simon Keswick had driven out Niu Bijian and regained control of the Jardine Matheson Group;

Fang Xianming said, "Regardless of the relationship, the final decision will be made by the shareholders' meeting as stipulated by law. We already have 20 points. Niu Bijian has controlled Jardine Land for several years and should also have his own connections. If we cooperate, we still have a great chance."
However, doing so would mean a complete break with the Keswick family, and if that failed, it would be very difficult to successfully acquire Jardine Matheson.

“Let them tear it apart then. What kind of waves can a family with only 10% control of Jardine Matheson make?” Yang Wendong thought for a moment and then said, “However, people like Niu Bijian are not entirely trustworthy. Otherwise, he might do the same as Keswick and turn our needs into bargaining chips.”
Thus, according to the original plan, the stock price of Hongkong Land was suppressed in the stock market, making Hongkong Land's collateral with Hang Seng Bank insufficient, and then the debt was forced to be collected, first putting Niu Bijian in a desperate situation;
This greatly increases the likelihood of Niu Bijian cooperating with us. At the same time, even if he doesn't cooperate, Keswick will likely take the opportunity to hold a shareholders' meeting, at which point we can participate and let all the shareholders choose who will be in charge.

“Okay, I’ve already contacted quite a few of Jardine Land’s shareholders.” Fang Xianming smiled and added, “However, if we sell the Jardine Land shares that we finally managed to acquire now, we’re afraid we’ll suffer some financial losses.”

"Compared to acquiring Jardine Matheson, this amount of money is nothing. Suppressing Jardine Matheson is the most important thing," Yang Wendong said nonchalantly.

It's normal to spend a little more money to achieve strategic goals. To him, this amount of money is just a bunch of numbers. What's most meaningful is to transform these numbers into industry or property.

Fang Xianming said, "Okay, I'll take care of it right away."

In the following days, rumors circulated in the Hong Kong stock market that the Keswick family had returned to Hong Kong and clashed violently with Niu Bijian and other current management, with both sides vying for control of Jardine Matheson.

At the same time, Hongkong Land's stock was suddenly hit by a very sharp sell-off. Coupled with another failure in the Sino-British negotiations, the stock market was in a state of panic, and Hongkong Land's share price fell by more than 10% over three consecutive days.

As a result, several of Hongkong Land's creditor banks simultaneously issued public summonses, demanding that Hongkong Land provide additional collateral to ensure their financial security.
A Japanese bank even went directly to the Hong Kong Supreme Court to sue, demanding that Jardine Matheson either increase the collateral or immediately repay the debt, which immediately attracted the attention of the entire Hong Kong financial media.

At the headquarters of Jardine Matheson Group, Niu Bijian and Bao Fuda, among others, frowned. A vice president cautiously said, "Mr. Niu Bijian, I have already communicated with Sumitomo Bank of Japan. They believe that our group is currently at too high a risk, which is why they have filed a lawsuit in court."

“This is the case throughout Hong Kong, not just us. Why are they so impatient?” Niu Bijian retorted. “Once it goes to court, the debt problem will become completely uncontrollable. Once the judgment is handed down, other banks are very likely to follow suit. When Hongkong Land’s debt collapses, their loans will only become bad debts.”

Large conglomerates are often tied to large banks; this is an inevitable trend in business development.
When things are going well, both parties will naturally make money and profit together, but once problems arise, they will need to work together.
This is why many conglomerates, even when facing numerous crises, are still able to negotiate with banking groups, because if a conglomerate were to collapse, it would be highly likely that it would also be unable to repay its bank loans.

This is something many banks don't want to see, so they usually try to help the consortium restructure its debt to help it weather the crisis and ultimately avoid a lose-lose situation.

“That being said, if we strictly follow the contract, our collateral is still insufficient, which constitutes a breach of contract. If they really pursue legal action, there's nothing we can do.” The vice president replied, “Another reason why Sumitomo Bank is doing this is that the real estate market in Japan is developing very well, while the situation in Hong Kong is the opposite.”

They believe that the funds in Hong Kong are too risky, so they want to bring them all back. This isn't just targeting us; I've heard they're already selling off these financial businesses.

"This is really troublesome." Niu Bijian frowned, thought for a long time, but still couldn't come up with a solution;
Sumitomo Bank is one of Japan's top banks, backed by a conglomerate several times larger than Jardine Matheson. Given that the other party is in the right, if the case goes to court, we will really be forced to comply with the judgment.
But if that happens, other banks will inevitably pounce like hungry wolves, and even those banks that were originally confident will become afraid, just like a bank run in the financial industry.
"Bang!" Just then, the conference room door was suddenly opened;
Niu Bijian's brow furrowed with anger. He turned his head and saw that it was Simon Keswick and his group. He could only suppress his anger: "Mr. Keswick, have you forgotten the most basic courtesy of a British gentleman—knocking on the door?"

"Now is not the time to be polite."

A man immediately gave up his seat. After Simon Keswick sat down, he said rudely, "Sumitomo Bank has sued Jockstreet. How do you plan to handle this? If this matter is not handled properly, given Jockstreet's current cash flow and debt, it is very likely to collapse."

Niu Bijian said coldly, "How to handle it is a matter for our management team."

“I am a director of the company and have the right to know,” Simon Keswick demanded.
Niu Bijian said, "It's true that you are a director, but this matter has not been finalized yet. Once it's finalized, we will convene a board meeting and notify you then."

"You—" Simon Keswick was furious, but there was nothing he could do. The two sides had already broken off relations, and everything was done in accordance with the bottom line of the law: "Fine, then I'll wait for your good news."
Furthermore, with the shareholders' meeting approaching, if you don't give the shareholders an explanation for this matter, I advise you to reconsider my previous plan. At least then, you can retire comfortably with a million dollars.

After saying that, he left without looking back;
The entire conference room fell silent; no one dared to speak at that moment.

Niu Bijian also fell silent. Simon Keswick had previously offered him a condition: if he was willing to step down smoothly and hand over management, Simon Keswick would give him a check for one million dollars.

This amount of money would be a huge sum for most people, but for him, it was nothing.
As the taipan of a top trading company in Hong Kong, his direct salary was several million Hong Kong dollars a year. And that was his direct income; his indirect income was much more.

However, precisely because of these indirect incomes, there are huge hidden dangers. If Simon Keswick were to pursue accountability afterward, he would have no choice but to hide outside the Commonwealth and find a region that does not have an extradition treaty with Hong Kong.

"We absolutely cannot give in easily," Niu Bijian thought to himself.

Just then, a blonde, blue-eyed secretary stepped forward and whispered in his ear, "Sir, Mr. Yang Wendong from Changxing Group called you. He wants to see you."

“Yang Wendong?” Niu Bijian’s heart skipped a beat, and then he said softly, “Okay, you can discuss the meeting time with them.”

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(End of this chapter)