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Chapter 410 Jardine Matheson wants to buy Apple shares, the highest bidder wins!

Thomas Morton was silent for a while on the other end of the phone, obviously weighing Lin Haoran's words and their family's willingness to buy.

Lin Haoran continued, "Mr. Thomas, the 10% of shares I own is more than the shares issued by Apple in this IPO, and its value is not only reflected in the stock price in the secondary market.

I believe your family has extensive experience in the investment industry and should understand that it is common for shares of high-quality companies to be traded at a premium.

Especially in this era of rapid change in the computer industry, Apple, as a leader in this field, has great potential for the future, and I believe you and your family can see this.”

After a moment, Thomas Morton slowly said, "Mr. Lin, your analysis makes sense. Apple has indeed shown great potential. However, $3 million is indeed beyond our initial budget. Let me discuss your price with the family!"

“Of course, Mr. Thomas, I completely understand and respect your decision, but I hope you can give me an answer as soon as possible, because as I said, Apple’s stock price and market value change every day, and I don’t want to miss the best trading opportunity due to delay.

In addition, the news that I intend to sell Apple shares has been spread through Citibank. In addition to you, I have also received calls from other potential buyers. In the end, I will sell to the one who is most sincere. Whether you can seize the opportunity depends on your own judgment!"

Lin Haoran spoke in a calm tone, expressing his sincerity while retaining the initiative in the negotiations.

"Mr. Lin, I understand what you mean. I will give you an answer as soon as possible, no later than tomorrow morning." Thomas Morton promised.

After hanging up the phone, Lin Haoran curled up the corners of his mouth into a smile.

He knew that he had gained a favorable negotiating position.

Apple's stock price and market value have steadily risen just as he predicted, which has not only increased the value of his shares but also given potential buyers a sense of urgency.

From Thomas Morton's tone, Lin Haoran could sense that the other party really wanted to acquire these 10% of Apple shares.

However, Lin Haoran didn't care at all. After all, he didn't know the other party and he didn't have to sell the shares to him.

He is now asking for 3 million, and maybe someone else will offer a higher price. It is all possible.

Not long after hanging up the phone with Thomas Morton, Lin Haoran received another call.

As expected, this was another potential buyer, but the other party only offered US$2.3 million, and his tone lacked sincerity, so Lin Haoran hung up the phone after talking for a while.

After that, several calls came in one after another, all from the United States. Some offered $2 million, some offered $2.2 million, and even some offered $2.5 million.

Lin Haoran found that the higher the bid, the more urgent their tone was to buy Apple shares.

Obviously, these are consortiums that are very optimistic about Apple's future.

Lin Haoran naturally told them directly that he would not consider it if the amount was less than 3 million US dollars!

At around three o'clock in the afternoon, Lin Haoran received a call from London.

Obviously, the other party received the message from Huifeng Bank.

The buyer from London was also very sincere and directly offered US$2.7 million, which is roughly the same as the current stock market closing price.

However, when Lin Haoran told him that he was already negotiating a $3 million deal with the Thomas Morton family, the other party fell silent and then told Lin Haoran that he would call back soon.

At six o'clock in the evening, Lin Haoran received a call, and this call was very unexpected. It was from Henry Keswick, the former boss of Jardine Matheson.

"Mr. Lin, we at Jardine Matheson hope to purchase the Apple shares you hold. If you are interested, we can exchange some of Jardine Matheson's assets in Hong Kong at a discount, such as Jardine Securities, Jardine Airport Services, Jardine Insurance Company, etc!" Henry Keswick said on the phone.

After hearing what Henry Keswick said, Lin Haoran was very surprised.

It's really surprising.

Because he knew that after he had fleeced a lot of people, Jardine Matheson's main industries were now actually overseas, and its assets in Hong Kong were very few.

Companies like Jardine Securities, Jardine Airport Services, and Jardine Insurance Company are considered to be the last industries of Jardine Matheson in Hong Kong.

Now, the other party actually took out these and wanted to exchange them with Lin Haoran for Apple shares. Doesn’t this mean that the top management of Jardine Matheson wants to completely de-Hong Kongize?
"Mr. Henry, do you want to move Jardine Matheson out of Hong Kong?" Lin Haoran asked curiously.

He believed that if the other party did not have this idea, there was absolutely no way they would want to clear out all of Hong Kong's assets.

"As expected, I can't hide it from Mr. Lin. The top management of our Jardine Matheson Company does have this idea. We want to move our headquarters to London." Henry Keswick did not deny it.

This is understandable. In Lin Haoran's previous life, Jardine Matheson moved its headquarters to London without losing the Hutchison Whampoa Group.

Not to mention, today's Jardine Matheson has not only lost its two most important joint-venture subsidiaries, Wharf Holdings and Hong Kong Land Development, but many other industries have also been snatched away by Lin Haoran during the negotiations, leaving it with very few industries in Hong Kong.

In this situation, it is normal for them to think about leaving Hong Kong.

These British financial groups are probably also worried that Jardine Matheson will be coveted by Chinese financial groups again in the future. "Mr. Henry, I'm sorry, but you should also know that my most urgent need right now is funds, not adding more industries. Otherwise, I would not consider selling Apple's shares.

I did this purely to obtain sufficient cash flow to cope with the current financial difficulties. At present, a US consortium has proposed to buy my shares for $3 million, although I have not yet agreed.

But if Jardine Matheson can also buy it at the same price of US$3 million, considering that we are both Hong Kong companies, I am happy to give the first right of sale to Jardine Matheson." Lin Haoran responded with a smile.

His explanation was so reasonable and complete that Henry Keswick had no way to refute it.

Indeed, ever since the rumor spread, and Lin Haoran did not come out to refute it, his financial crisis had become an open secret in Hong Kong's upper class.

In fact, he was not very interested in the remaining assets of Jardine Matheson, and lack of funds was just an excuse for his decline.

"Okay, if there is any need, I will contact Mr. Lin again. I won't bother you for now." Henry Keswick said and hung up the phone regretfully.

Obviously, the price of US$3 million mentioned by Lin Haoran was far beyond the psychological price of their Jardine Matheson Company.

Lin Haoran didn't care either, and he never thought that Jardine Matheson would be able to buy his shares in Apple.

If it were placed in the former Jardine Matheson Company, it would be fine.

However, it will be very difficult for Jardine Matheson, whose strength has greatly declined, to come up with more than one billion Hong Kong dollars in cash, unless the consortium behind them injects capital into it or sells their other overseas assets.

As for raising funds through external financing?

After Jardine Matheson went through a series of events, these British financial groups were already panicking and were eager to increase their controlling stake. How could they possibly dilute their stake again?

After hanging up the phone with Henry Keswick, Lin Haoran received two more calls in succession.

One of the two calls was from the UK and the other was from San Francisco, USA.

The purpose of both calls was for Apple shares.

In the past two years, the US stock market, like the Hong Kong stock market, has not been affected by the oil crisis, but has instead ushered in a bull market.

Before the bull market ended, many people knew that Apple’s stock price would not fall, and would most likely continue to rise.

After all, with the development of the times, the importance of computers has become more and more obvious.

Apple is a very distinctive representative company in the computer industry, even though it has only been established for a few years.

The bids for these two calls were not low, one was US$2.8 million and the other was US$2.9 million, which were closer to his current psychological price of US$3 million.

Seeing that Apple’s shares were so popular, Lin Haoran felt relieved.

At least, he won't have trouble selling his shares.

Looking at the dozen or so phone calls recorded above, Lin Haoran suddenly had an idea.

That’s right, there were more than a dozen consortiums that called him to quote prices today.

Since Apple is so popular, why not let them bid the highest price? Those big guys who can afford the price are obviously wealthy conglomerates, and they definitely have industries in New York. If we let them send representatives to bid, wouldn't they be able to get the most benefit?

After all, according to the exchange rate of the Hong Kong dollar, selling an extra 10 million US dollars is equivalent to an extra 50 million Hong Kong dollars!
With this idea in mind, Lin Haoran quickly called back the dozen or so calls from the consortiums that had a stronger intention to buy, a total of eight.

He explained his idea to the consortiums that if they were interested in buying, they could send someone to bid the next morning.

In the end, five of the eight consortiums said they would send representatives to bid.

5 is enough.

He believed that these big guys would not unite to lower the price, and the final sales right was in his hands. If they really united and the price was unreasonable, he could choose not to sell.

After finishing all this, Lin Haoran left the company and went straight back to the hotel, where he had a buffet and then went to rest.

In fact, if given more time, there is no doubt that more consortiums will show strong interest in Apple's shares.

However, Lin Haoran did not intend to wait any longer.

He is well aware that Apple's stock price has limited room to rise.

(End of this chapter)