Hong Kong 1980: The Savage Era

Chapter 332: 333 [Bad Check]

End of march
AMG quietly acquired 8% of the Star Ferry shares held by China Motor Bus Company, increasing its holdings to 23.4%, just 23.7% away from Li Zhaoji's 0.3%.

But in order to be safe, Liu Luanxiong remained silent and continued to secretly acquire shares of the Star Ferry Company.

However, there is no wall that is impenetrable. A week later, the news of Liu Luanxiong's secret purchase of the Star Ferry Company was leaked, and the source naturally came from the senior management of China Bus Company.

Someone wanted to make a lot of money by taking advantage of the storm created by Liu Luanxiong and secretly obtained some shares. Such a strange move attracted the attention of the Star Ferry Company, and the news that Liu Luanxiong wanted to acquire it was exposed to Li Zhaoji.

There were also many rumors in the market. Some people were skeptical about it, but more people flocked to the stock market and bought shares of the Star Ferry Company. The share price rose by 9% on September 2nd.

Henderson Lighting Company Meeting Room

Li Zhaoji sat in the main seat with a gloomy face, crossed his fingers on the table, and said nothing.

The boss's state put a lot of invisible pressure on the senior employees. They dared not speak easily, so as to avoid angering the boss and end up being fired.

"Mr. Li, according to the information sent back by the marketing department, Aigo holds approximately 23% of the shares of Star Ferry, which is equivalent to ours. As long as we mobilize funds, Liu Luanxiong will definitely retreat without a fight." The vice president spoke first. He was also speaking against his will. It was impossible for everyone to remain silent.

"Liu Luanxiong has used the so-called sniper tactics on Nengda Technology Company and Wing On Group and made a lot of profit from it. Both the Chuang's Group and the Guo Zhiquan family suffered heavy losses. According to Liu Luanxiong's habits, this should also be a sniper, a trick to drive up stock prices and cash in on high positions to make profits." Another senior executive also followed up with his own remarks.

"The attack on Wing On Group involved Luo Qihong of Zhaoan Real Estate. According to rumors, Luo Qihong received 6% of the profits, while Aigo only received 4%. I am worried that Luo Qihong will be behind this attack as well."

"With Luo Qihong here, it's hard for us to tell whether it's a sniping attack or a real acquisition."

This group of senior executives were all well aware of the relationship between Li Zhaoji and Luo Qihong. The tension between them was quite tense, and it was Li Zhaoji who started it.

The acquisition of China Gas Company was done with great difficulty. Although the Electric Light Company served as a bridge to ease the relationship, who knows what Luo Qihong’s real thoughts were?
"I heard that Liu Luanxiong has already returned all the borrowed funds to Luo Qihong. There should be no situation where Luo Qihong helped with the acquisition. If Luo Qihong was not there, it would be easy for us to repel Liu Luanxiong."

Li Zhaoji finally spoke out, "We will borrow 5 million yuan from the bank to conduct a counter-takeover. We cannot be intimidated by a small newcomer. The Star Ferry Company must be in our hands."

"I will go and confirm with Luo Qihong in person, but before that, our shareholding must be higher than Liu Luanxiong's. We cannot fall behind."

"Yes, Mr. Li!" The senior executives responded in unison, but their thoughts were different.

Li Zhaoji also believed that Luo Qihong was involved. After all, the conflict between the two had only been slightly reconciled, and the promises made in the electric light company incident had not yet been fulfilled, and even the original agreement had been changed.

Luo Qihong didn't seem to have any objection, but Li Zhaoji knew that things might not be so calm.

According to news analysis, Liu Luanxiong may have asked Luo Qihong for his opinion before targeting the Star Ferry Company.

"How much equity do you want to acquire?" the vice president asked. "Within 35%, or a full acquisition?"

Li Zhaoji thought for a moment and realized that the current funds were very tight and a comprehensive acquisition would be very difficult.

"First acquire 34.9% and see how AMG responds."

In fact, doing so can easily put oneself at a disadvantage and boost the arrogance of Aigo.

Li Zhaoji made such a decision because he determined that Aigo could not fully acquire the Star Ferry Company and this was just a sniper attack.

Mandarin Oriental Hotel
Li Zhaoji was quick and made an appointment with Luo Qihong for lunch the next morning.

After a few minutes of usual pleasantries, Li Zhaoji finally got down to business.

"Has Mr. Luo heard about the news that AMG is going to acquire the Star Ferry Company? There are rumors that Liu Luanxiong of AMG is so bold because he has received support from Mr. Luo."

There was a hint of questioning in Li Zhaoji's tone, which made Luo Qihong a little unhappy.

"What do you think, Mr. Li?" Luo Qihong wiped his hands. "If I say it has nothing to do with me, will Mr. Li believe me?"

Throwing the problem back is Luo Qihong's usual tactic.

"I don't think Luo Sheng would do such a thing. I also have a general idea of ​​the affairs of the Yongan Group. It is not unreasonable for Luo Sheng to support Liu Luanxiong in the sniping. He should also be taught a lesson." Li Zhaoji's words were a little off the topic.

"The affairs of the Yongan Group are originally normal things. If they don't want to, then they don't want to. There are always disagreements in business. But what the Guo Zhiquan family said was really harsh. I'm not a robber, so why should I curse? Don't you think so, Mr. Li?" Luo Qihong smiled coldly.

Li Zhaoji did not comment too much on this matter, but just nodded.

"Mr. Li and I have a special relationship. I did not participate in Liu Luanxiong's attack on the Star Ferry Company. Such a thing involves such a large amount of money, and it is impossible to deceive people." Luo Qihong said, "Liu Luanxiong is the major shareholder of Aigo Company and the chairman of the board. There are some things that do not require my consent, and he can even do it without informing me."

"Mr. Luo is a shareholder and director of Aigo Company. I wonder if he can help me stop Liu Luanxiong?" Li Zhaoji said shamelessly.

Luo Qihong smiled bitterly and shook his head, "Mr. Li, Liu Luanxiong made a lot of money by using this trick, how could he let the Star Ferry Company go easily? My face is not worth 1 or 2 million in profits." How could he stop without paying some price and just relying on his face?

After knowing that Luo Qihong was not directly involved and would not be involved in the future, Li Zhaoji did not want to bow to a robber like Liu Luanxiong, which would damage his reputation and face as a tycoon.

Only by defeating Liu Luanxiong can Li Zhaoji survive in Hong Kong with dignity.

"Mr. Luo might as well go and negotiate for peace. In my opinion, Liu Luanxiong may be willing to give Mr. Luo this face." Li Zhaoji still wanted Luo Qihong to come forward to help, even though he knew it would not have much effect.

"Okay, since Mr. Li said so, I will go meet Liu Luanxiong, but I can't guarantee that I can convince him to stop." Luo Qihong still gave face to Li Zhaoji.

"Thank you, Luo Sheng!" Li Zhaoji raised his glass towards Luo Qihong, "If this is done, I will definitely reward you handsomely."

"Mr. Li, you're too serious. It was just a few words." Luo Qihong didn't want Li Zhaoji's empty promise.

This kind of blank check has always been written by Luo Qihong to others. Now that Li Zhaoji writes it to him, he naturally won't believe it.

Luo Qihong did not give Li Zhaoji a perfunctory response and immediately made an appointment to meet with Liu Luanxiong.

As soon as he entered the door, Luo Qihong said with a smile, "Mr. Liu, I'm here to lobby you. Li Zhaoji asked me to come and talk to you."

Liu Luanxiong was stunned for a moment and said, "Does Luo Sheng really want to be a lobbyist?"

Luo Qihong shook his head and smiled, "Li Zhaoji is very stingy and gave me a bad check. How could I possibly block Mr. Liu's path to wealth? I just came here to go through the motions."

Liu Luanxiong picked up the bottle and poured a glass for Luo Qihong. "Li Zhaoji is so stingy, it seems the rumors are true. I heard that he still lives in an apartment and hasn't bought a villa. He is a tycoon worth billions, but he can't even bear to give up this."

Luo Qihong said, "All Chinese seniors in Hong Kong are similar, including Li Zhaoji. But in my opinion, if you make money, you should enjoy it. You can't just work and not live."

Liu Luanxiong laughed and said, "Luo Sheng has the same view as me. I don't want to be a low-class person even if I have money."

The two chatted about some irrelevant things for about 20 minutes.

"Li Zhaoji may have asked me to delay for a while, so that Mr. Liu would give him some time to gather funds." Luo Qihong picked up a piece of fish and chewed it for a few times. "Mr. Liu, you have to be careful. Li Zhaoji is not the Guo family of Yongan Group. He is a real tycoon."

Liu Luanxiong nodded carefully, "I know. I dare not underestimate Li Zhaoji. None of the three musketeers of Sun Hung Kai Properties is easy to deal with. Moreover, they will support each other, which is far more powerful than a tycoon of the same amount."

"That's true. I encountered this problem when I attacked the Star Ferry Company. Li Zhaoji and Feng Jingxi teamed up to deal with me." Luo Qihong said seriously, "Liu Sheng's situation should be worse than mine. At that time, I had sufficient cash flow, while Liu Sheng's cash flow was a little worse."

Liu Luanxiong sighed, "There are ways to operate with less capital."

"Mr. Liu, have you found a bank to provide funding?" Luo Qihong asked, changing the subject.

"HSBC will provide me with a 5 million yuan acquisition loan, which I think is enough." Liu Luanxiong said, "What do you think, Mr. Luo?"

"It is enough for now, but Mr. Liu still needs to be prepared for the possibility of a full acquisition." Luo Qihong said thoughtfully.

Liu Luanxiong said, "If the full acquisition is successful, the Star Ferry Company's franchise will be lost."

Luo Qihong comforted him, "That may not be the case, but it is certain that you will lose some money."

"In my opinion, since Li Zhaoji cares so much about the Star Ferry Company, it is worth it for Mr. Liu to lose some money."

"Liu Sheng should acquire the company faster and try to complete the acquisition before Li Zhaoji's funds are in place to obtain more capital."

After finishing his meal, Liu Luanxiong immediately held a press conference for AMG and announced its plan to fully acquire the Star Ferry Company, with a premium of 2%, or 11.5 yuan per share or 5 new AMG shares in exchange for 1 share of Star Ferry Company.

This trick is naturally an old trick from the Hong Kong Land Development. The prerequisite is that shareholders have great confidence in the company, otherwise it will not be very effective.

Since Liu Luanxiong's previous sniping operation had made him quite famous, many investors believed that Liu Luanxiong would become a tycoon like Luo Qihong, so a large number of investors used their shares of the Star Ferry Company to exchange for the new shares issued by Aigo Company.

The next afternoon, Henderson Lighting Company also announced a comprehensive acquisition plan for the Star Ferry Company. However, Henderson Lighting Company was not a listed company and the value of the new shares could not be calculated, so it did not play a big role.

Fortunately, there was also a cash acquisition plan, which did not cause any obstacles.

However, Liu Luanxiong's Aigo took the initiative. In just one day, its shareholding increased from 24% to 32.1%, 5.2% more than Henderson Lighting Company, becoming the temporary largest shareholder.

Due to Liu Luanxiong’s previous sniping behavior, many small shareholders did not dare to bet on how long Liu Luanxiong could persist, so they handed over their stocks early.

(End of this chapter)