Reborn Tycoon: Hong Kong's Entertainment Godfather

Jockey Club

Although the two sides had a rather unpleasant falling out, Gu Zhenguo and Li Jiacheng still sat down together and chatted happily, no matter what.

Li Ka-shing is unlikely to give up Cheung Kong Holdings.

Many of these debts are incurred in one's own name, and if one abandons them, the consequences are extremely severe, with almost no chance of ever turning one's life around.

However, even so, Li Jiacheng could not let Gu Zhen know these inside details.

He really wanted to act like he didn't care about this stuff, that if all else failed, he could just buy it outright, and if all else failed, he could just sell all his Cheung Kong Holdings shares, make a quick buck, and leave.

Both Gu Zhenguo and Li Jiacheng are seasoned veterans. They both have their own agendas and are unlikely to reveal their true intentions.

However, overall, Gu Zhenguo is still more at ease. If things really don't go well, he can simply acquire Cheung Kong Holdings. After all, Cheung Kong Holdings also has a lot of high-quality assets. If he swallows these assets, he can just wait a few years until Hong Kong's economy develops again. The money that Li Ka-shing borrowed is actually not a big problem.

"Ah Cheng, since that's the case!" Gu Zhenguo smiled, "Why don't we be more straightforward? I'll use my 15% stake in Cheung Kong Holdings to exchange for your 41% stake in Hutchison Whampoa. That way, it's a win-win situation for everyone!"

"Currently, Cheung Kong Holdings' share price is fifty dollars, and Hutchison Whampoa's share price is close to sixty. This swap would be a huge loss for me!" Li Ka-shing said slowly. "Mr. Gu Zhenguo, I cannot accept this!"

"That means there's no room for negotiation!" Gu Zhenguo smiled and continued, "For me, taking over Cheung Kong Holdings won't cost much. Don't expect to make much money from me. I want all of your Hutchison Whampoa shares. There's no room for discussion on that!"

"I also hope Mr. Gu can make up the difference!" Li Jiacheng retorted, not to be outdone. "Impossible, that's not possible!"

"I admit that Sunshine Group is very powerful, but please don't forget that Cheung Kong Holdings is currently burdened with a huge amount of debt. If Sunshine Group were to completely acquire Cheung Kong Holdings, then all of these debts would fall on its shoulders!"

"Do you really think this debt is a big problem for Sunshine Group?" Both sides were at loggerheads. Although Gu Yuhan was also present, he felt a bit bored. Basically, it was still a confrontation between the two of them.

To put it bluntly, both sides are making exorbitant demands.

The saying goes, "Ask the sky, then bargain down; advance five inches, retreat five inches."

As Gu Yuhan slowly sipped his coffee, he was still planning a trip to the mainland in a while to invest in some technology. Some time ago, he had taken a look at two semiconductor companies under Lee Hysan Properties.

These two semiconductor companies weren't exactly lacking in technology, but they weren't exactly top-tier companies either; they were just there to do odd jobs. Gu Yuhan then acquired both companies and established the new Guangming Semiconductor Co., Ltd.

In a while, I'll need to go to the island nation to recruit a group of materials science talents and semiconductor talents. Since I'm going to do it, I'll have to spend a lot of money on it.

To be honest, Gu Yuhan really felt that Hong Kong was a rather boring place. Everyone here was competing for real estate, shops, and properties, but it seemed that no one was investing in technology.

Even if they invest, it's only small-scale. Why would they bother investing in technology when they can comfortably be compradors? This includes their own fathers. Of course, Hong Kong's geographical location also dictates that there's no future in tech. Without the scale and market size, playing in finance and real estate is about the best they can manage.

If it really came to the 1990s, Gu Yuhan's laboratory and manufacturing plants in Hong Kong would basically have to be moved to the mainland. Hong Kong was no longer a suitable place for burning technology.

It's not that no one is willing to invest in technology. Li Ka-shing's eldest son, Victor Li, is involved in technology and even planned to build a technology park in Hong Kong. However, what he ultimately created was a real estate project.

Moreover, this approach eventually reached the mainland, where it was further developed and refined. If it weren't for the mainland's substantial resources and the large number of ambitious individuals it had in its ranks, it could have truly become a larger version of Hong Kong. While Gu Yuhan was lost in thought, Gu Zhenguo had finally reached a near-complete agreement with Li Jiacheng.

The exchange of 35% of Cheung Kong Holdings' shares in Li Ka-shing's 41% stake in Hutchison Whampoa would be a complete swap.

Hello, everyone! Basically, Gu Zhenguo's negotiations with Li Ka-shing are over. What remains is the internal negotiation between Sunshine Group and Cheung Kong Holdings.

Sitting in his father's Rolls-Royce, Gu Yuhan suddenly asked, "Dad, how much did we make this time?"

Gu Zhenguo smiled and quickly said, "Quite good. We invested about 1.2 billion yuan in the acquisition of Cheung Kong Holdings, and Li Ka-shing also spent a lot of money to completely take over Hutchison Whampoa, probably around 2 billion yuan. With this in-and-out, we made at least 1 billion yuan!"

At this point, Gu Zhenguo paused slightly, then continued, "Even if we wanted to acquire Hutchison Whampoa ourselves, we'd probably have to come up with this much money!"

"That's quite impressive!" Gu Yuhan said with a smile. "Dad, I think we should thank Li Jiacheng. If it weren't for him, we probably wouldn't have been able to take over Hutchison Whampoa so easily!"

Gu Zhenguo nodded again: "You're right!"

The battle between Wong and Huang has finally come to a complete end.

Subsequently, Sunshine Holdings and Cheung Kong Holdings simultaneously announced the news of the share swap, which immediately shocked many Hong Kong citizens.

The two parties reached a settlement, with Li Ka-shing retaining Cheung Kong Holdings and Gu Zhenguo acquiring Hutchison Whampoa entirely. As a result, Sunshine Group now holds 75% of Hutchison Whampoa's shares, becoming its largest shareholder.

As for Li Ka-shing, he still lost at least a billion dollars, but the good thing is that Cheung Kong Holdings was preserved, and he still has a lot of cash flow, which is enough to support Li Ka-shing to continue developing new projects.

It was inevitable that he would suffer serious injuries, but he survived and was still alive.

However, the share prices of both Hutchison Whampoa and Cheung Kong Holdings began to fall rapidly. Since the two major capital entities were no longer competing, the share prices were bound to plummet.

Li Ka-shing was the one who truly felt uncomfortable.

Having so many shares in Cheung Kong Holdings doesn't mean much to him. He wants to convert the shares into cash flow to keep his company running and to solve the external debt he needs to face.

The current plunge in Cheung Kong Holdings' share price is not a good opportunity for Li Ka-shing to cash out. After selling a portion of his shares, Li Ka-shing immediately stopped this activity. He needed to maintain Cheung Kong Holdings' share price at a certain high level to avoid incurring significant losses. (Sunshine Group)

Gu Zhenguo was calm and composed, displaying an attitude of complete control.

The reporters gasped in surprise. Gu Zhen had previously acquired Lee Hysan Properties, and now he had swallowed Hutchison Whampoa in one fell swoop. He now possessed the financial power of one of the top Chinese investors.

However, many reporters were more concerned about another question: where did Gu Zhenguo get so much capital?

What makes him so capable of acquiring Lee Hysan Properties and Hutchison Whampoa in one fell swoop?

When facing reporters, Gu Zhenguo officially announced that he had taken full control of Hutchison Whampoa, and at the same time, he confidently stated that Sunshine Group would definitely lead Hutchison Whampoa to a whole new level.

Facing reporters' questions, Gu Zhenguo smiled and said, "First of all, I should thank Mr. Li Ka-shing the most. It was Mr. Li Ka-shing who helped me acquire Hutchison Whampoa. It was Mr. Li Ka-shing who transferred the shares to Sunshine Group at the most crucial moment, which made it easy for us to take over Hutchison Whampoa. At least, it helped us shorten the cycle by almost two years!"

At this point, Gu Zhenguo couldn't help but laugh in front of all the reporters.

The reporters were slightly taken aback, and then simultaneously pressed the shutter button hard on Gu Zhenguo. They had to admit that this scene was extremely rare.

We're all professionally trained and generally don't laugh unless we can't help it. But right now, Gu Zhenguo really couldn't hold back. The reporters all started snapping photos. "Overall!" Gu Zhenguo took a few deep breaths, trying to calm himself down: "In the future, we will continue to operate Hutchison Whampoa, and at the same time, we will take Hutchison Whampoa to a whole new level. We believe that Hong Kong's economy will only get better and better in the future. Thank you everyone!"

"Mr. Gu, Mr. Gu, could you tell us exactly how much capital the Sunshine Group has right now?" "Trade secret, no comment!"

Gu Zhen then concluded the interview.

Even though the Gu family has completely taken control of Hutchison Whampoa, Gu Zhenguo is not idle at all; some traitors need to be dealt with.

That traitor, Wei Li, needs to be kicked out now.

That scoundrel Wei Li is a traitor. Besides Wei Li, there's also his partner. Lately, they've been betraying Li Ka-shing quite a bit, and in addition to that, these two scoundrels are also slowly diverting Hutchison Whampoa's business.

Previously, when he didn't have absolute control, his penetration into Hutchison Whampoa was insufficient. However, now, the situation has changed dramatically. For the past six months, Gu Zhenguo has done little more than replace Hutchison Whampoa's middle management with a group of young people, while simultaneously observing who is capable and who is not.

Over the past six months, Gu Zhenguo has basically gained a clear understanding of the situation. As for the future general manager of Hutchison Whampoa, Gu Yuhan promoted Huo Jianning. Originally, Huo Jianning was promoted to general manager of Hutchison Whampoa by Li Ka-shing, so naturally, he would be given important responsibilities now that he was under Gu Yuhan's command.

Hutchison Whampoa holds a comprehensive high-level meeting!

"Mr. Wei Li, I think I need an explanation from you!" Gu Zhenguo took out a bill and placed it in front of Wei Li, slowly saying, "Why are Hutchison Whampoa's sales figures not what they used to be? Can you give me an explanation?"

Wei Li looked up at Gu Zhenguo and coldly said, "Mr. Gu Zhenguo, I don't understand what you mean by this? What do you mean by 'Hutchison Whampoa's performance doesn't match up with before'? You're slandering my character!"

"Mr. Wei Li!" Gu Zhenguo slowly began, "I expect you to answer my question directly, instead of dodging the question. Now I'm asking you why our company's retail business was transferred to a company called Austin Group?"

Wei Li was slightly taken aback, while Gu Zhenguo slowly said, "Mr. Wei Li, I need an explanation for why so many of the company's businesses have been transferred to this company called Austin Group?"

As he spoke, Gu Zhenguo said calmly, "Ausk Group is a brand new company that was just registered last year, around October of last year. Starting from October of last year, you secretly transferred a portion of Hutchison Whampoa's assets to Ausk Group, right?"

"This is slander!" Wei Li said angrily.

Gu Zhenguo sneered: "Slander? How is it slander? You just state what you did, and that's slander?" The scene began to quiet down.

Wei Li took a deep breath: "I don't understand what you're talking about, Mr. Gu Zhenguo. If you really have evidence, you can go to court and report me!"

"You want evidence, right?" Gu Zhenguo laughed, then glanced at Tang Ning beside him. Tang Ning then took out a series of files. Upon opening them, they turned out to be files on Wei Li's handling of internal company business, leaving Wei Li dumbfounded.

In an instant, Wei Li realized that someone close to him must have reported him. At that moment, Wei Li was truly in a state of panic, completely unaware of who had done it. However, he began to feel fear; these things were extremely dangerous and could easily land him in prison.

"This is the document you signed; it has your signature on it. Furthermore!" Gu Zhenguo slowly said, "I have officially initiated an investigation into the Austin Group to determine if there are any financial dealings between you and the Austin Group!"

Wei Li froze, and Li Charlie couldn't help but speak up, "Mr. Gu Zhenguo, I think if you want to kick us out of the company, you don't need to resort to such slanderous means!"

"The evidence is conclusive!"

Gu Zhenguo sneered and said, "Tell me, is this a frame-up?"

Charlie Lee said, "Isn't that right? Business dealings are perfectly normal. As the company's decision-makers, we decide how the company operates. Austin Company is capable of cooperating with us!"

"These words!"

Gu Zhenguo said calmly, "Go to court and talk to the judge slowly!" What?

Both Wei Li and Li Charlie wore expressions of shock; they both understood that Gu Zhenguo intended to eliminate them completely.

Just kidding, why wouldn't we wipe out these kinds of people? Are we supposed to keep them around for the New Year?

Gu Zhenguo coldly replied, "I've already called the police. You have time to explain your problems. And believe me, I never make baseless accusations. I won't prosecute you without concrete evidence!" As he spoke, Gu Zhenguo waved his hand, "The police can come up now!" "Gu Zhenguo, you bastard!" Wei Li immediately cursed, "Hutchison Whampoa's success today is entirely due to me. Without me, how could Hutchison Whampoa have been revived? Without me, how could Hutchison Whampoa have been restructured? Now that you've taken over Hutchison Whampoa, you're completely stealing my fruits of labor, you bastard!"

Gu Zhenguo merely looked at Wei Li with disdain, as if he were recounting a trivial matter: "Stealing your hard-earned profits? Is this your reason for embezzling company funds? Is this your reason for transferring company assets?"

Wei Li shouted, "All of this should have belonged to me!" Gu Zhenguo merely sneered, waved his hand, and said indifferently, "You can leave now!"

At this time, the police also arrived at Hutchison Whampoa's high-energy meeting, and then, in front of all the senior executives, they directly handcuffed Charlie Lee and Wayne Lai.

The entire conference room fell silent for a moment. Gu Zhenguo smiled and said, "Everyone, please sit down!"

A man swallowed hard and looked at Gu Zhenguo cautiously, saying, "Mr. Gu, I... I want to resign!"

"Resign?" Gu Zhenguo looked at the man. He smiled and said, "Your name is Du Yijun, right? Why are you leaving?" Du Yijun was stunned for a long time before cautiously saying, "I feel... I feel I can't adapt to working at the company, so I've decided to quit!"

Currently, almost all of Hutchison Whampoa's top executives were promoted by Wei Li. They have basically formed their own factions, sticking around Wei Li for support, and they are more or less involved in the transfer of benefits.

Now that Gu Zhenguo has discovered them, they are naturally afraid that this fire will spread directly to them. Gu Zhenguo, however, sneered and slowly said, "What, trying to run away now? Aren't you afraid that if I can deal with Li Charlie and Wei Li, I won't deal with you?"

Du Yijun broke out in a cold sweat: "President Gu, I don't quite understand what you mean!" "Leaving isn't impossible!" Gu Zhenguo said calmly, "Hand over your tasks properly first!" He paused slightly, then continued, "You can leave, and I can let you go, but you must give me a proper account of the Hutchison Whampoa business. Otherwise, I can send Wei Li and Li Charlie to jail, and I can send you in too!"

Everyone became apprehensive.

"Next!" Gu Zhenguo smiled and said, "I'll appoint a brand new president for Hutchison Whampoa!" He paused slightly, then continued, "Huo Jianning!"

Huo Jianning was genuinely nervous. Just a few months ago, he had been appointed as the general manager of Guangming Group by Gu Yuhan, and now he had been directly promoted by Gu Yuhan to the general manager of Hutchison Whampoa.

This identity was a meteoric leap. Huo Jianning felt like he was about to be knocked unconscious. Many people looked at Huo Jianning with curiosity, even the old man next to Gu Zhenguo looked at him with surprise. In their opinion, it should be their turn to become the president of Hutchison Whampoa.

How did you suddenly become an unknown nobody?

I'd never even heard of Huo Jianning before.

"Mr. Gu, isn't this a bit too hasty?" a man standing next to Gu Zhenguo said. "Shouldn't you reconsider?"

"No need, this is my decision!" Gu Zhenguo glanced at the guy beside him, his eyes flickering slightly, then smiled and said, "What, are you questioning my decision?"

"No, no, no!" the man quickly said, "I just think he's too young and not up to the job!"

"I'm using him because he's young!" Gu Zhenguo said with a smile. "The company needs to develop and improve, so this is the decision. Huo Jianning, don't let me down, and don't let the company down!"

Huo Jianning took a deep breath: "Understood!" The guy who had been teased earlier also obediently shut his mouth, but there was still a bit of displeasure in his eyes. He was considered a veteran who had followed Gu Zhenguo around for a long time, and he originally thought that this position should belong to him, but he never expected that it would fall to Huo Jianning.

At that moment, he felt a profound sense of loss. Although the Huang faction's top brass had been ousted this time, conflicts and contradictions inevitably arose between the veterans under Gu Zhenguo and the young talents promoted by Gu Yuhan that year.

However, regardless of the circumstances, Hutchison Whampoa's top management has been completely eliminated.

The remaining task is to have Hutchison Whampoa and Lee Hysan Properties merge their businesses.