In Hong Kong, we build a global business empire

Chapter 194 How much can be taken?
Jardine Matheson really took advantage of the opportunity by launching an attack on the China Gas Company when everyone was still immersed in the Spring Festival.

At this time, Li Mingze was probably still confused and had not expected such a thing.

Although today is the third day of the Chinese New Year, for these British people, the Spring Festival is not their holiday.

Now, if Lin Haoran wants to take over China Gas Company and become the actual controller of this company, there is only one way!
That is, Li Mingze and other Chinese shareholders would sell part or even all of their shares to him. In this way, it would be impossible for him to control as many shares of Jardine Matheson as he could.

However, it is not easy to get Li Mingze and others to sell their shares to him.

After all, Li Mingze had told him before that he had no intention of selling his shares in China Gas Company.

Moreover, the annual earnings of China Gas Company are so stable that it is a very good company to hold shares.

As the chairman of China Gas Company, he and these Chinese shareholders can distribute dividends whenever they want. If they don't want to distribute dividends, they can use the profits to cooperate with companies related to them. It can be said that he has a firm control over the profits of China Gas Company.

But Lin Haoran knew that unless one thing happened, Li Mingze would be forced to give up his controlling stake.

That is when Jardine Matheson has completely reached the strength to control China Gas Company. In order to resist China Gas Company, they may choose to seek help from outside or even give up controlling rights.

When Jardine Matheson reached the level of controlling stake, China Gas Company was no longer controlled by the Chinese financial group. At that time, they basically did not have much say in the company.

At this moment, these Chinese financial groups can no longer decide the development direction of China Gas Company.

At this time, the returns on their shareholding are definitely not as high as when they were in control, and the value of their equity holdings is not that high.

In addition, the China Gas Company will once again be transformed from a Chinese-owned enterprise into a British-owned enterprise. As they claim to be patriotic entrepreneurs, they certainly cannot accept this situation.

At this time, they were powerless to resist the powerful attack of Jardine Matheson. What should they do?
We can only seek help from Chinese entrepreneurs outside.

In another time and space, precisely because they could not withstand the sudden attack from Jardine Matheson, these Chinese financial groups had no choice but to turn to real estate tycoon Li Zhaoji for help. In the end, Li Zhaoji successfully seized the controlling stake in China Gas Company.

"HK Electric Group will continue to secretly participate in absorbing shares this afternoon and absorb as many as it can!" Lin Haoran said directly.

"Boss, if Jardine Matheson is really aiming for a 40% or even higher stake, we will have no chance to compete for the controlling stake in China Gas Company. The purchase price premium this afternoon is too high. From a business perspective, it is not worth it." Chen Shoulin raised his doubts.

"Mr. Chen, do you remember that we went to meet Mr. Li Mingze at the China Gas Company before the New Year? We still have a chance to control the China Gas Company, and Mr. Li Mingze will most likely ask us for help.

At that time, it will be a good time for us to control this company. In addition, I have an investment company that is also absorbing the shares of Hong Kong Electric Group. As long as it goes smoothly, I am sure that Hong Kong Electric Group will take control of China Gas Company. Even if Jardine Matheson can really control more than 40% of the shares through the stock market, we can still own more shares than him!" Lin Haoran explained with a smile.

They had already informed Li Mingze in advance and also expressed their intention to acquire China Gas Company. Moreover, Hong Kong Electric Group was one of the important shareholders of China Gas Company.

In addition, when Lin Haoran was at the headquarters of China Gas Company, his conversation with Li Mingze was quite good and left a deep impression on him.

In this case, they would definitely turn to Lin Haoran, who is also a Chinese entrepreneur, first for help.

After all, compared to the real estate tycoon Li Zhaoji, Lin Haoran is obviously stronger now and is more confident that he can withstand the aggressive takeover by Jardine Matheson.

Moreover, Li Mingze obviously also wanted to establish a good relationship with Lin Haoran.

Therefore, if Jardine Matheson really forces this group of Chinese financial groups to seek help from Lin Haoran, then Lin Haoran will have a great chance of taking control of the company.

"Then how much should we absorb?" Chen Shoulin asked.

"We should absorb as much as we can. The more shares we hold, the more initiative we have. We should not worry about temporary gains and losses.

Although the current share price of China Gas Company has been pulled up from a total market value of less than HK$600 million to HK$800 million, it seems that we will lose money if we buy it, but from a long-term perspective, if our Hong Kong Electric Group can control China Gas Company, the benefits will definitely outweigh the disadvantages.

Towngas is a high-quality enterprise, otherwise you would not have thought of acquiring it five years ago. Now the share prices of most listed companies in Hong Kong are rising. Even if Jardine Matheson does not acquire Towngas, the price of Towngas can still rise to this level in the next few months thanks to the stock market boom.

However, don’t raise the price, just buy according to the share price announced by Jardine Matheson. If we raise the price even higher and a price war occurs, resulting in Jardine Matheson’s failure to acquire enough shares, then there will be no crisis for Li Mingze, and we will have no chance to take over China Gas Company at that time.” Lin Haoran continued.

"Yes, that's true. The share price of our Hong Kong Electric Company is constantly rising. The current share price of China Gas Company is indeed not very high. Okay, I will instruct the head of our securities department to ask them to prepare for action in the afternoon." Chen Shoulin nodded.

"Well, let's go now. The afternoon trading will open soon." Lin Haoran looked at the time. It was already around 12:40 noon.

"Okay, I'll go to the securities department now." After Chen Shoulin said this, he hurriedly left the office.

Lin Haoran was not idle either. He picked up the office phone and called Su Zhixue.

"Boss, I was just about to call you. There's an emergency. Jardine Matheson suddenly..." As soon as the call was connected, Su Zhixue realized that it was his boss who answered the call and immediately started reporting.

"I already know about this matter. I called you because of this. You must be prepared and try your best to grab the stocks in the afternoon. Get as many as you can!" Lin Haoran interrupted Su Zhixue and gave the order directly.

"I understand, boss. If the competition is fierce, do we need to raise the price?" Su Zhixue asked.

"No, we just need to keep the same price as Jardine Matheson's." Lin Haoran replied. "Okay, boss, I know what to do." Su Zhixue replied.

"Also, how was the stock absorption this morning?" Lin Haoran asked.

"The stock price rose rapidly in the morning. Jardine Matheson's buying was extremely fierce, but we also took the opportunity to buy a lot of stocks. At present, we already hold nearly 4% of the shares of China Gas Company.

Since Jardine Matheson had not yet announced the matter to the public, and today was the third day of the Chinese New Year, and the proportion of shares we held was not high, we did not bother you immediately." Su Zhixue reported the situation in detail.

"Okay, I understand. You should get ready quickly. The stock market is about to open." Lin Haoran ordered.

"Yes boss!"

After hanging up the phone, Lin Haoran was not nervous at all.

Universal Investment Company holds 4% of the shares, plus the 8% of Hong Kong Electric Company, which means that it actually holds 12% of China Gas Company shares.

These shares, plus the 33% held by the Chinese financial group, total 45%.

If he wanted, even if Jardine Matheson controlled 40%, its controlling stake would not be as much as that of the Chinese consortium.

However, for the sake of acquisition, Lin Haoran is definitely not willing to do such a thing, and he will not disclose that the Hong Kong Electric Group is secretly absorbing the shares of China Gas Company.

These Chinese financial groups were unwilling to pay to increase their shareholdings, but also unwilling to let Jardine Matheson take away the controlling rights. In the end, they had no choice but to seek help from the outside world.

In the afternoon, Lin Haoran decided to just keep an eye on the Hong Kong Electric Group and had no plan to go anywhere else. He wanted to see how many shares Jardine Matheson could eventually grab at a high price.

The premium of over 35% was absorbed. In fact, this price was also intended by Jardine Matheson to make the Chinese financial group of China Gas Company give up the idea of ​​increasing its holdings.

Jardine Matheson had already thoroughly investigated the situation of that group of people, and knowing this situation, it was basically impossible for these Chinese shareholders to increase their shareholdings.

This is why they are so confident.

For Niu Bijian and other senior executives of Jardine Matheson, this time, the China Gas Company basically could not escape their control.

In one day, the market value increased from HK$5.9 million to HK$8 million, with a premium of 35%+. If it were not for the purpose of seizing the controlling stake in China Gas Company, even Jardine Matheson would not be willing to acquire it.

At the same time, when Jardine Matheson announced through the stock market that it would acquire 15% of the shares at a premium, Mr. Li Mingze, Chairman of the Board of Directors of China Gas Company, learned about it at the first time.

The Li family is a large Chinese family that has been prosperous in Hong Kong for decades. They have extensive connections and naturally have to be well-versed in social etiquette. Therefore, during the Spring Festival, Li Ming is very busy. Not only does he have to receive various relatives and friends who come to pay New Year's greetings, but he also has to pay New Year's greetings to other bigwigs.

Therefore, on the third day of the Chinese New Year, Li Mingze had no time to manage the China Gas Company when there was nothing to do.

The most important thing is that he is not only the chairman of the board of directors of China Gas Company, but also serves as the head of many companies such as the chairman of Lisi Shen Real Estate Co., Ltd. and the chairman of Steel Pipe Co., Ltd. It is impossible for him to spend all his time on China Gas Company.

However, as soon as he learned about Jardine Matheson's actions, he put aside the things at hand and hurried back to the headquarters of China Gas Company.

At the same time, he urgently contacted important shareholders of China Gas Company such as Ho Ting-sai.

In just one hour, all the shareholders gathered in a conference room at the headquarters of China Gas Company.

At this moment, these shareholders have not even returned to the company from the Spring Festival atmosphere.

"Chairman Li, what is the current situation?" He Tingxi asked.

"The situation is not favorable for us. The afternoon market has been open for half an hour. After Jardine Matheson's premium acquisition, our company's stock trading volume has skyrocketed. Originally, after the large-scale acquisition by Jardine Matheson in the morning, the stock price trading volume was already terrifying. Now, only half an hour is enough to exceed the trading volume of two and a half hours in the morning. We must be mentally prepared for our equity to be surpassed by Jardine Matheson!" Li Ming sighed.

"What should we do? We seized control of the China Gas Company from the British consortium without hesitation. If we are taken back by the British consortium again, we will be embarrassed in the Hong Kong Chinese General Chamber of Commerce." He Tingxi said with a wry smile.

Each of them has their own business and are members of the Hong Kong Chinese General Chamber of Commerce. They are well-known in the chamber of commerce. They were very proud of having taken over the company controlled by the British consortium.

But now, it is about to be taken back, and they are definitely unwilling to do so.

"Everyone should know my situation. It is impossible for me to increase my shareholding. If anyone is willing to increase their shareholding to ensure that we do not lose control, I can give up the position of chairman of the board of directors." Li Ming glanced at the people in front of him and asked.

"All my recent funds are placed in our Jiali Company. We are currently developing the North American market and I cannot move the funds away." He Tingxi shook his head and said.

Ho Ting-xi's Jiali Company is a plastic and hardware parts manufacturing company, which is not outstanding in the Hong Kong business community.

Li Ming sighed and looked at the other three shareholders.

However, the other three shareholders also shook their heads one after another. They knew their own business.

(End of this chapter)