Return to 1958 and build a century-old giant

Chapter 931 Plotting to Acquire Land (3)

Niu Bijian also knew that Yang Wendong was determined to take over Jardine Matheson.
He had previously created the Jardine Matheson control scheme to guard against this person, but he did not expect that the misjudgment of Hong Kong's future would lead to a huge debt crisis for Hongkong Land. The Jardine Matheson control scheme also affected the Jardine Matheson Group itself, allowing the Keswick family to take the opportunity to seize control.

Right now, he's surrounded by wolves in front and tigers behind. Even knowing that the newcomers are hostile, he has no choice but to face them.
The next day, Niu Bijian went to the Kang Le Building and met Yang Wendong;

"Mr. Niu Bijian, hello. This must be your first time visiting my Kang Le Building," Yang Wendong greeted him with a smile.
“Yes, this is the first time. I still remember when we, Yihe and Mr. Yang, fought over this piece of land. In the blink of an eye, ten years have passed.” Niu Bijian said with great emotion.

Yang Wendong said, "Yes, it's been ten years. Please sit down."

He has been in this world for 25 years, and there are only a few 25-year periods in a lifetime.

"This must be your son," Niu Bijian asked, looking at the young man beside Yang Wendong.

Yang Wendong said, "Yes, this is my eldest son, Yang Zhiwen. He is about to graduate from Columbia University in the United States and will study with me for a period of time after returning to Hong Kong."

Having built such a large business empire, it's time for him to consider cultivating a successor.
This is something that any country or company needs to consider, and it is even more important than any particular business itself.
After all, no matter how powerful a time traveler is, they will grow old. They have done what they should have done when they were young. Now, the most important thing is to find a successor.

“That’s true,” Niu Bijian said with a smile. “I wonder what Mr. Yang wants to tell me when he summoned me here.”

Yang Wendong said, "I want to make a deal with you. I want to acquire land."

“This isn’t something I can decide alone; the Keswick family has sent people to Hong Kong,” Niu Bijian replied.

Yang Wendong said with a faint smile: "Of course I know that the Keswick family was indeed the controller of Jardine Matheson for a hundred years, but history is history no matter how well it is told."

"Currently, the Keswick family owns only 10% of Jardine Matheson's stock, less than I do. What right do they have to decide Jardine Matheson's future?"

Many British and American companies have been around for a century, and their shares have long been diluted, with major shareholders possibly only having a few percentage points of control.

The fundamental reason for this is to expand the company's scale through multiple rounds of equity financing, and then, after gaining control of the management, arrange for their family businesses to leech off the company, thereby obtaining higher profits.

Under normal circumstances, this approach is fine, but if it attracts the attention of other conglomerates, one's ability to protect oneself will be greatly reduced.
In contrast, in continental Europe, many companies are not even publicly listed, with families strictly controlling management and outsiders having no chance at all.
“I was right. Mr. Yang has also acquired some shares in Jardine Matheson and Hongkong Land.” Niu Bijian wasn’t very surprised.

Yang Wendong said, "Yes, there is a part of it, but your Yizhi Mutual Control makes it impossible for me to forcibly acquire the shares I hold. I have to say, this move is indeed very clever."

"Thank you for the compliment," Niu Bijian said with a smile.

This move is absolutely invincible. If it weren't for the current Sino-British negotiations leading to the Hong Kong economic crisis, he wouldn't be worried about Yang Wendong's covetousness at all, and even the Keswick family wouldn't be able to do anything about him.
Unfortunately, there are no "what ifs".

Yang Wendong continued, "Jardine Land is currently in a serious debt crisis. Only by getting rid of it can Jardine Matheson continue to survive. So, what does Mr. Niu Bijian think of what I have proposed?"

After a moment of silence, Niu Bijian said, "Then what benefit could I possibly get?"

“Jardine Matheson,” Yang Wendong said calmly, “You will give me Jardine Matheson, and I will help you take over Jardine Matheson. This is not so-called management rights, but actual absolute control.”

Like the Keswick family, become a true majority shareholder of Jardine Matheson, thereby granting your family permanent control over the company.

"What?" Niu Bijian's expression changed drastically;

He never had such ambitions in his life. At most, he hoped to control the Jardine Matheson Group for as long as possible during his lifetime and marginalize the power of the Keswick family.

Yang Wendong said, "No matter what the Keswick family's history is like, even if they only have 10% of Jardine Matheson's shares now, as long as you hold more than that percentage, you can completely replace them, right?"
Over the years, Chinese capital has repeatedly launched acquisitions against British capital. Why can't you, a British person, do the same?

“But I don’t have that much money,” Niu Bijian said, frowning.

The reason I didn't have this ambition before was that I genuinely lacked the ability;
While he could certainly profit through various means as the controller of Jardine Matheson, the oversight of the board of directors, shareholders, and the government remains, limiting his potential for financial gain.
This sum of money would be a huge amount for an ordinary person, but compared to the entire Jardine Matheson Group and the Keswick family, it is nothing.

Yang Wendong said, "That's not a problem. I'll help you acquire some of Jardine Matheson's shares, and then you can use those as collateral to borrow money from Hang Seng Bank. Once you have complete control of Jardine Matheson, your family can repay the money slowly."

In fact, this approach is similar to how HSBC helped Li Ka-shing in the past: lending money to Li Ka-shing to acquire Hutchison Whampoa, and then Li Ka-shing using Hutchison Whampoa's operations to make money and pay off the debt.
"In that case, Mr. Yang will have to pay a considerable price, won't he?" Niu Bijian asked. "Generally speaking, stock pledges are offered at half price."

“Yes, I will bear certain financial risks, so I need you to sell the land to me after you succeed.” Yang Wendong smiled and said, “This matter will certainly come at a price for both of us, but it can be considered a win-win situation, right?”

After thinking for a moment, Niu Bijian said, "What Yang said is right, but if Jardine Matheson does not have Hong Kong Land, its scale will be greatly reduced."

"If it stays the same as before, even if Jardine Matheson grows ten times larger, what does that have to do with you?" Yang Wendong retorted. "Simon Keswick is determined to seize power. Jardine Matheson is suffering heavy losses under your management. What are your chances of keeping your current position?"

Even if you manage to keep your position, you're still just an employee. You may have considerable power, but you're only making profits for the Keswick family.
The better you do, the happier they are, because even if you get through this year's hurdle, the Keswick family will still take back Jardine Matheson in a few years, right? We all know that.
"Now that you're cooperating with me, Jardine Matheson's scale will indeed be much smaller, but Jardine Matheson still has many assets in Hong Kong and overseas. Wouldn't it be better for it to become part of your Niu Bijian family's business?"

Niu Bijian was indeed tempted. Yang Wendong continued, "If you can help me achieve my goal, it won't just be this cooperation. In the future, my group's overseas business can also cooperate with Jardine Matheson. In this way, if you work hard for a few more years, you can earn a century-old enterprise for your descendants."

Niu Bijian countered, "So you're not interested in Jardine Matheson's properties? You only want Jardine Matheson's land?"

“Yes, I only want Jardine Matheson’s land holdings. I’m not very interested in Jardine Matheson’s other businesses,” Yang Wendong nodded.
Jardine Matheson is a large company with a simple business model, mainly collecting rent in Hong Kong. Despite its simple structure, Jardine Matheson is able to outperform Swire Group, which owns Cathay Pacific, thanks to this.

Jardine Matheson Group itself, over the past few decades, has gradually transferred assets overseas with the huge profits from land sales, acquiring a large number of various industries overseas, such as farms, mines, properties, etc. The total scale is not small, but the operation is very poor, and many are still in a state of loss.
Yang Wendong had no interest in these messy businesses; he only needed to acquire land. Having too many businesses in a conglomerate was not necessarily a good thing. Just like General Electric, which eliminated a lot of unrelated industries through a "number one or two" policy, thereby achieving greater success in a few high-tech fields.

However, the business he looked down on was extremely valuable to others.

Niu Bijian fell silent again, and Yang Wendong was not in a hurry, quietly drinking his tea;
After a long while, Niu Bijian said, "Okay, I agree. How shall we cooperate from now on?"

How could he not be tempted to make Jardine Matheson his family's asset?

You have to understand that no matter how well these working people do, they are just doing the work for others. Now that they have the opportunity to be in charge, even if the business they get is smaller than the one they controlled before, it is still a huge profit.

Besides, at his age, he had nothing left to pursue. Being able to leave a legacy for his family's descendants immediately motivated him.

Yang Wendong said, "Sumitomo Bank of Japan will still pressure Hongkong Land, and other banks will also get involved. So you need to get all shareholders to agree at the shareholders' meeting that Hongkong Land will raise funds through external share issuance. I will take the opportunity to acquire enough shares."

“As expected, Yang Sheng was behind the Sumitomo Bank affair.” Niu Bijian sighed. “But once the shareholders’ meeting is held, Simon Keswick will inevitably jump out and demand control of Jardine Matheson. We must be prepared for that.”

It seems that Yang Wendong had made many preparations long ago. Even if he did not agree, the other party would probably put Zhidi in a desperate situation before taking over.

However, doing so introduces too many unstable factors.

“Of course, I also own 12% of the shares in Jardine Matheson, which is no less than what the Keswick family holds,” Yang Wendong said. “Under the cross-control of Jardine Matheson, I estimate that Simon Keswick will apply to the court to remove the cross-voting rights held by your internal management.”

So, I've already contacted quite a few shareholders, but to be on the safe side, you also need to win over other shareholders to ensure a greater chance of success.

Once I gain control of Jardine Matheson, under the cross-control arrangement of Jardine Matheson and Jardine Estate, I will also gain control of Jardine Matheson. At that point, I will sever ties with your family.

“Yang Sheng, your plan is acceptable, but I need a guarantee,” Niu Bijian replied.

Once Yang Wendong acquires Jardine Matheson, it will be equivalent to acquiring Jardine Matheson.

Although someone like Yang Wendong usually doesn't go back on his word, he wouldn't gamble his future on someone else's "words."

Yang Wendong said, "Okay, I will give you a written commitment. I will discuss the content with the legal department and then confirm it with you."

However, since you've received my written commitment, you can't go back on your word. This will involve a huge penalty for breach of contract, and this matter must be kept absolutely confidential until it's successful, including from Bobby and your family.

“Okay, sure,” Niu Bijian nodded in agreement.
When it comes to the planning of a multi-billion dollar conglomerate, the legal constraints are naturally very strong.

Yang Wendong said, "Alright, go and contact the shareholders. You can tell them that you have found a new source of funding. I will give you a copy of a $5 million bank draft from Citibank. It doesn't have any direct effect, but if you can get it, it will be enough to convince some of the shareholders."

“$5 million? Mr. Yang is truly incredibly wealthy. I admire him,” Niu Bijian said with a smile.
Jardine Land's size is indeed far more than $5 million, but that's in terms of total assets. In terms of cash, even at its peak, it didn't have that much money.
Over the past 20 years, he has witnessed the rise of Yang Wendong, a new Hong Kong Chinese elite, from a nobody whom Jardine Matheson once ignored to a formidable rival, and then watched as others built their skyscrapers to heights that he could hardly look up to.

Yang Wendong said, "Alright, then I hope we can have a pleasant collaboration."

"Okay, I hope we can have a pleasant cooperation." Niu Bijian said after standing up and shaking hands.

After exchanging pleasantries for a while, Niu Bijian left;
Yang Zhiwen, who had been silent until now, asked, "Father, I know you really want Jardine Matheson, but isn't this too good for Niu Bijian? He's getting the Jardine Matheson Group for nothing."

“Jardine Matheson’s assets are too messy and we don’t even want them, so why should we care who gets them?” Yang Wendong countered. “Whether it’s in the hands of the Keswick family or Niu Bijian, it doesn’t affect us.”
"If it can help me acquire Jardine Matheson, I'm naturally happy to lend a hand. The Keswick family is hoping to regain control of Jardine Matheson and then use the cross-control arrangement to protect the company. In that case, I have no choice but to cooperate with Niu Bijian."

Yang Zhiwen said, "Niu Bijian is really lucky."

“Successful people in this world are a combination of ability and luck. Niu Bijian was able to defeat the Keswick family and gain control of the Jardine Matheson Group. That’s his ability. Otherwise, even if luck came his way, he wouldn’t have been able to seize it.”

Yang Wendong then looked at his son and said, "Zhiwen, remember, in the future, when doing business, don't care how much others earn. Even if others earn more than us in the same cooperation, don't be envious. As long as we achieve our goal, that's enough."

"Yes, Father," Yang Zhiwen replied.

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