Return to 1958 and build a century-old giant

Chapter 933 Reactions from all parties
Niu Bijian said with a smile, "Mr. Keswick, I will still control the Jardine Matheson Group in the future. Mr. Yang will not remain the major shareholder for long. I will!"

"What? You're dreaming. Jardine Matheson Group belongs to the Keswick family," Simon Keswick said, his face turning ashen.

“Your family only owns 10% of the shares? What right do you have to control Jardine Matheson for a century?” Niu Bijian said disdainfully. “For the past century, your family has been sucking blood from Jardine Matheson for so long, it’s about time.”

In the past, Jardine Matheson was a dominant player in a small part of Hong Kong, with no other major shareholders. Naturally, the Keswick family, which held 10% of the shares, maintained control.

But now that Chinese capital is rising in Hong Kong, and there are even tycoons like Yang Wendong, Jardine Matheson has become like a fish on a chopping board.

Yang Wendong said, “Mr. Keswick, there’s no point in saying all this. We are now the largest shareholder of Jardine Matheson, and you don’t even have a single share on the board of directors.”
However, you may attend any future shareholders' meetings of Jardine Matheson Group regarding the shares held by your family.

“Fine, fine.” Simon Keswick was unwilling, but there was nothing he could do at the moment. He did not hold many shares, which was a problem sown by previous generations of the Keswick family. He was powerless to change it: “I will not give up.”

After uttering those harsh words, Simon Keswick left without looking back.

"They really are stubborn, aren't they? The Keswick family has had it too easy for the past century, and they've forgotten the most basic rules of the financial market," Niu Bijian said with a sneer.

Yang Wendong said, "It can only be said that their family was attracted by huge profits in their early years and kept diluting their shares, which eventually led to today's outcome."

Over time, especially among Western families, listed companies tend to gradually cash out their shares, always believing that since they have management control, it doesn't matter if they have fewer shares.

The more the shares are diluted, the more funds are obtained. In this way, one's own holding private enterprise can then cooperate with the listed company to legally obtain huge profits.

Driven by greed, they gradually forgot about the risks. The more shares are diluted, the more likely they are to be targeted by other capital.

However, this possibility is actually not very high. In other Western countries, vicious mergers and acquisitions rarely occur. It is only in Hong Kong that the rise of Chinese capital and its challenge to British capital in the past ten years or so has led to a large number of commercial mergers and acquisitions.
Niu Bijian said, "Their family has actually benefited. Over the past century, through their cooperation with Jardine Matheson, they have amassed unimaginable wealth."

"So, are you planning to pursue this matter?" Yang Wendong countered.

Niu Bijian shook his head and said, "We can't investigate it. On the one hand, this is a tacit understanding. Breaking this rule will cause a lot of political and business opinions."
Secondly, the Keswick family isn't stupid; they don't need to illegally obtain benefits from Jardine Matheson. Many of their collaborations are legal and transparent; they have no other choice.

“That’s true. Large companies usually handle legal risks,” Yang Wendong agreed.
True business tycoons, even if they want to profit from their companies, will do so through legal means.
For example, if Changxing Real Estate wants to profit from Hutchison Whampoa, it can simply establish a joint venture, buy Hutchison Whampoa's land, develop it together, split the profits 50/50, and have all the suppliers be Changxing Real Estate. In this way, if they go all out, 70-80% of the profits will go into Changxing Real Estate's pocket, and it will be completely legal.
Historically, Li Ka-shing used this method to reap huge profits from Hutchison Whampoa.

Yang Wendong didn't do much. As a time traveler, he didn't need to be so greedy. Even in a partnership, splitting the profits 50/50 would be fine. He also needed to expand Hutchison Whampoa and make it a major core industry under his control.
Niu Bijian then asked, "So, what's the next step?"

Yang Wendong said, "I will buy the shares of Hongkong Land held by Jardine Matheson at market price. However, Hongkong Land is still the major shareholder of Jardine Matheson. I will gradually sell these shares to you. For the time being, you will still be responsible for the management of Jardine Matheson."
In the future, I will retain a 16% stake in Jardine Matheson and become one of its directors. However, you will need to prove that you are capable of managing Jardine Matheson's numerous overseas businesses.

The reason he didn't want Jardine Matheson was because Jardine Matheson's main business was overseas, and its main business in Hong Kong had previously been handled by Hongkong Land.

Therefore, after acquiring Jardine Matheson, he essentially gained all of Jardine Matheson's interests in Hong Kong, including the Mandarin Oriental Hotel, more than a dozen buildings in Central, and properties in Kowloon Peninsula, etc.

Jardine Matheson's overseas business was too chaotic, and Yang Wendong really looked down on it. In its early days, Jardine Matheson feared the north, so it transferred the profits of Hongkong Land to other countries for a long time and blindly invested overseas. As a result, its business was a mess, with none of them reaching a certain scale, and none of them were good enough for Yang Wendong.

Even without cooperating with Niu Bijian, after acquiring Jardine Matheson, he would gradually sell off Jardine Matheson's overseas businesses, and he didn't even want some of the businesses under Jardine Matheson's umbrella.
Another point is that he also needs to save face for the British Hong Kong government. He can just swallow up Hongkong Land, but he should return Jardine Matheson to British capital, after all, it used to be a prestigious name for the British.

Niu Bijian said, "Alright, only when I succeed in managing my business will I be qualified to gradually buy Jardine Matheson Group's shares from you."

Yang Wendong said, "More or less. You have been the head of Jardine Matheson Group for several years, so you are capable. I also hope that Jardine Matheson can get out of its predicament under your leadership."

Niu Bijian was able to defeat the Keswick family in his early years and become the taipan of Jardine Matheson, so he was naturally not lacking in ability, and his management skills were also very good.

The only mistake was misjudging the Hong Kong property market;

This is actually the most fatal problem for many successful business people. They all have the ability, but they make mistakes during a crisis; in fact, the more successful a person is, the more confident they become, and therefore dare to take big gambles.
Just like Tung Chao-yun and Chen Tseng-hsi, a single failed gamble can bankrupt them.

Niu Bijian said, "Don't worry, I will do my best for the future of my family. Similarly, since Mr. Yang is also preparing to become a major shareholder of Jardine Matheson, I hope that Mr. Yang can give some appropriate suggestions for development."

In the past, he was just a wage earner; although he held high positions of power, the benefits he received were limited.

Now, however, he has the opportunity to completely annex the entire Jardine Matheson and allow the Niu Bijian family to replace the former Keswick family. How could this not tempt him?

"Let's talk about it later. First, let's prepare to break up the cross-control relationship between Jardine Matheson and Hongkong Land. We'll be holding a press conference later; this is going to be a big deal in Hong Kong," Yang Wendong said with a smile.
After parting ways with Niu Bijian, Fang Xianming and Yang Zhiwen came over. Yang Zhiwen said, "Congratulations, Daddy, you've acquired Zhidi."

"Congratulations, Mr. Yang," Fang Xianming said in return.

Yang Wendong said, "This is also a happy event. Later, you should go and discuss the equity split with Niu Bijian. Also, the debt that Hongkong Land owes to Hang Seng Bank should be transferred. Zhiwen, you should learn more from Fang Sheng."

“Yes, Daddy,” Yang Zhiwen replied. “Yes, Mr. Yang,” Fang Xianming said, “Mr. Yang, according to the policy set by the Hong Kong government, we can only hold 34.9% of Hongkong Land’s shares at present, otherwise it may trigger a takeover offer;
We already own a 20% stake. The 50 billion you promised cannot be injected all at once, so I suggest we do it in batches. We can continue injecting funds in the second year. The initial capital will be enough to alleviate the debt burden of Hongkong Land.

"Okay, just follow the law." Yang Wendong nodded.

The 50 billion mentioned at the previous shareholders' meeting was just talk; he certainly has that money, but it's restricted by law.
After successfully acquiring control of Hongkong Land, there's no need to pay attention to the numbers anymore.
Of course, if all else fails, you can treat it as a loan.

Fang Xianming added, "Mr. Yang, now that we have the land, we need to re-examine its internal situation, including its properties, liabilities, and various industries."

“Okay, let’s arrange a large audit team to conduct an audit,” Yang Wendong agreed. “I also want to know how much we have gained from this acquisition.”

Although Hongkong Land is a listed company and many of its businesses are public, the figures are extremely vague. For example, the financial report states that the company holds 1000 million square feet of property, which must be true, otherwise it would be illegal.

But where are these 1000 million square feet located? How much rent do these properties generate each year? What are their operating costs? Which ones need renovation or are suitable for demolition and reconstruction? These are things that were previously difficult for outsiders to know.

In fact, if a large company is bloated enough, it may not even be able to figure things out internally.

Therefore, after such a large company is acquired, it is still necessary to conduct a systematic review to facilitate the new management team in formulating new management plans, etc.

In addition, Yang Wendong, as a big boss, naturally wanted to know clearly which properties he had acquired. This is the persistence of a Hong Konger. Acquiring so many high-quality plots of land in Central is a huge achievement.

At the end of the shareholders' meeting, Yang Wendong, Fang Xianming, Niu Bijian, Bao Fuda, and others officially announced that Hongkong Land would accept Yang Wendong's investment, giving him a 34.9% stake.
Changxing Group will also provide financial assistance to Hongkong Land to help it overcome its debt crisis. At the same time, many projects that were suspended due to debt problems will resume construction.
On the other hand, Jardine Matheson and Jardine Land will also dissolve their control over each other, but this will take some time and is expected to be completed in the next 1-2 years. Jardine Matheson will not hold any shares in Jardine Land, but Jardine Land will remain a major shareholder of Jardine Matheson.

Niu Bijian will continue to serve as the taipan of Jardine Matheson Group, and will also reorganize the board of directors of Jardine Matheson Group. The Keswick family will lose their board seats in Jardine Matheson Group and be completely excluded from the senior management of Jardine Matheson Group.
The news, like a series of thunderclaps, excited the reporters on the scene; this was big news!
Although it wasn't explicitly stated at the press conference, it was clear that Niu Bijian and Yang Wendong collaborated to acquire Hongkong Land and Jardine Matheson respectively, effectively kicking the Keswick family aside.

With this, the Chinese consortium completed its acquisition of Jardine Matheson, Hong Kong's largest British-owned real estate group. The Keswick family, who once controlled Jardine Matheson and indirectly controlled half of Hong Kong, was ousted, and Jardine Matheson became Niu Bijian's company.

However, it's clear to anyone with a discerning eye that Yang Wendong will still wield significant influence over the Jardine Matheson Group, and it remains to be seen what the future holds for the two of them.

On that day, Oriental Daily had made preparations in advance and immediately sent out all the newspapers in the warehouse after the press conference ended;

"Hong Kong's richest man, Yang Wendong, has changed hands, defeating Jardine Matheson to become the new owner of Hongkong Land!"

Less than an hour later, the front page of Oriental Daily News was already in front of everyone passing by newsstands in Hong Kong.

Almost everyone stopped and bought it immediately after seeing the title;
For Hong Kong's economy today, even in the midst of an economic crisis, buying a newspaper is still a small expense, and besides, it's the most explosive news.
"Jungland has been acquired, oh my god!"

"I wonder if my stocks will still go up? I should go buy some more."

"Hong Kong has now truly come under the complete control of us Chinese capitalists."

"Chinese capitalists are still capitalists, and they may not be any better than British foreigners. Don't be too optimistic."

Countless people were reading and discussing the newspaper, which caused the Oriental Daily to be overwhelmed with phone calls, with calls everywhere saying they were short of newspapers.

On the other hand, Hongkong Land's stock immediately rose in response, with a large amount of funds entering the market. Not only Hongkong Land, but many real estate companies were also affected, and their stock prices also rose sharply. Even the Hang Seng Index as a whole rose by dozens of points.
Yang Wendong's return to the Hong Kong stock market with substantial capital is naturally a very positive sign.

Inside Government House, the new Governor Max looked at the newspaper in his hand, put it down, and said to someone beside him, "Smurf, it seems that British capital in Hong Kong is really going to be in trouble in the future."

“This is an inevitable trend that no one can change.” Sir Michael Sandberg shook his head and said, “Even without Yang Zhiwen, the mainland would inevitably support other Chinese-owned businesses and gradually take control of Hong Kong.”
The current situation in Britain is self-evident; they have lost control of Hong Kong. Coupled with the ongoing Sino-British negotiations, there's not much we can do.

“Yes, it’s probably another ten years or so. What do you think we should do?” Max asked.
Shen Bi said, "The best approach is to win over Yang Wendong. He has many businesses overseas and it's unlikely he'll completely side with the mainland."

“But isn’t he also making large investments in mainland China?” Max retorted.

Sir Michael Sandberg said, "That's normal. I'm also helping the mainland. It's inevitable for capitalists like him to hedge their bets, but at least judging from the current trend, he still values ​​his industries in Europe and America, where the scale is much larger."

Max nodded and said, "Unfortunately, Yang Wendong's investments are not many in Britain, especially in infrastructure. The British Parliament is envious of the projects he has invested in on the mainland."

"Does the British want Yang Wendong to make another large investment there?" Shen Bi asked rhetorically.

Max said, "That's the idea, so I plan to meet with him again in a while to see his attitude."

On the same day, other wealthy families in other parts of Hong Kong also saw the news;

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(End of this chapter)