Chapter 162

At that time, all British companies in Hong Kong were forced to conduct internal inspections of their subsidiaries, fearing that they would be targeted by someone with ulterior motives one day.

However, as time went by, and Liu Zhicheng's capital remained low-key, it was inevitable that everyone would become a little lax over time.

After all, it is impossible not to develop one's own business because of a potential risk.

"Brother, didn't Exxon transfer its China Power shares to a company called Pacific Investment Company last time?" He Lanshi reminded.

"Didn't Exxon make a statement on this issue? Pacific Company is their affiliated company," said Lawrence.

"Brother, all your plans are based on the premise that Exxon Energy will not betray us. Suppose they are like Liang Zhonghao, how can we resist?" said Ho Li Shi.

"There is no way Exxon will betray us, and we don't have to sell too many CLP shares. Only 10% will be enough. We are still the major shareholder with 30% of the shares, so we are still very safe." Lawrence Kadoorie said with a frown.

"We have already mortgaged part of CLP's shares to HSBC. Can we still sell 1% of the shares?" Helan Shijiadao asked again.

In recent years, due to the increased investment in grid construction and the construction of Qingshan Power Company, China Light and Power has become heavily in debt, its stock price is seriously undervalued and is not favored by the market.

It would have been impossible to borrow 5 million Hong Kong dollars from HSBC without collateral, and it was impossible for Shen Bi, an old fox, to agree to take such a risk.

"These are not big problems. The main concern is a large-scale sell-off of stocks, which may cause the stock price to fall," said Lawrence Kadoorie.

"So you mean we take it to the bank to mortgage the loan? I'm afraid it will be too late." Helan Sjiadao asked.

"But if we do this, we will still be in the wrong. According to banking laws, we need to inform the bank in advance of the second mortgage of stocks or properties." Michael Kadoorie said on the side.

There are many banks in Hong Kong. If a mortgage is pledged in one bank and then a mortgage loan is applied for in another bank, a second mortgage may occur.

This is a serious financial risk, which the Hong Kong government has been trying to avoid and has introduced corresponding registration policies.

But it is often easy to circumvent this, so the Hong Kong government has directly enacted legislation to impose restrictions on borrowers.

“This is not okay, and that is not okay, but don’t forget, if you keep thinking about it, we will lose the hotel. Let’s save the family assets first and then talk about other things.”

Lawrence Kadoorie glanced at Helanshi and said, "At worst, we can just keep the Peninsula Hotel, take advantage of the high house prices now, sell other properties for dividends, and then repay the loan."

"What you said makes sense. We just need to keep the Peninsula Hotel. Nothing else matters." Helan Scardo said.

"Father, how about we sell some of our CLP shares first and contact the bank for a loan at the same time?" Michael Kadoorie said.

"Let's decide it this way." said Lawrence Kadoorie.

"But I'm worried that it's too late." Helan Sjiadao looked at the queue outside and still frowned. What if others completed the acquisition target ahead of schedule, then it would be useless for him to get the money.

"We still have some cash on hand and will immediately announce the repurchase of CLP shares at a price of HK$71 per share." Lawrence Cardinals said fiercely.

If you don't succeed, you will become a demon. If you want to succeed, you must go crazy first! There is no other choice now.

.........

Federal Building.

"Mr. Liu, the Kadoorie family has sold 1% of China Light and Power shares from the stock market and received 5 million Hong Kong dollars in cash. We got 7.9% of the shares." Han Chunxi handed a document in his hand to Liu Zhicheng and said.

"10%? The Kadoorie family only holds 40% of CLP shares, right?" Liu Zhicheng said with some joy.

"Yes, according to their public data, they should still hold 29.8% of CLP shares. However, these are only the shares held by their family. I don't know whether they personally still hold CLP shares." Han Chunxi replied with a faint smile.

"They personally don't hold any shares. China Power has made huge investments in recent years. It's already impressive that they can hold on without raising large-scale equity in the stock market."

Liu Zhicheng tapped the table with his fingers and continued, "I don't believe that the Kadoorie family is still able to increase its capital. For so many years, their family has basically no other major industries except China Power and the Grand Hotel."

There are many advantages to being a listed company. When a company lacks funds, it can pump money from the stock market to develop its industries.

The only bad thing is that there are basically not many secrets, because all matters, big or small, and financial matters need to be disclosed to shareholders.

An ordinary shareholder can check the large-scale investments made by CLP in recent years and the shareholding status of major shareholders. Even if there are some data optimizations in the public information, it is almost accurate.

The Kowloon Peninsula is large in area and the population is scattered, so the investment in power transmission infrastructure is also very large. As the company that monopolizes the Kowloon Peninsula, China Light and Power has a very large infrastructure investment.

Moreover, the Qingshan Power Generation Company, which they jointly established with Pacific Investment Corporation, would require tens of billions of Hong Kong dollars to invest in the power plant.

This is also one of the reasons why China Light and Power is not as good as Hong Kong Electric today. Only when the main transmission lines in the Kowloon Peninsula and the New Territories are fully laid, will it be possible to make money without doing anything.

"Mr. Liu, Shanfeng Investment has already acquired 21% of CLP shares. Should we send our directors to them?" Han Chunxi asked.

Liu Zhicheng thought for a moment and asked, "What is the current situation of China Power Holdings in the open market?"

"Mr. Liu, only about 3% of China Power shares are in the open market. It is already difficult to acquire shares unless we offer a high price and make the final decision." Han Chunxi said.

"Well, Tianfan, what do you think?" Liu Zhicheng asked Yuan Tianfan who was standing aside.

"Mr. Liu, our Shanfeng Investment already holds 21% of CEC's shares, making us the second largest shareholder, and we also have a veto power."

After several years of training, Yuan Tianfan has matured a lot. He thought for a moment and continued, "In order to prevent the Kadoorie family from going out of their way to dilute our shares through a targeted share expansion, I suggest that we join the CLP board of directors at an appropriate time."

The Kadoorie family holds nearly 30% of CLP's shares, and although CLP has suffered some losses in recent years, they are not too outrageous.

Besides, the reason is the well-known oil crisis, and the crisis will always end, so it is unlikely that all shareholders and investors will be disgusted with the management of the Kadoorie family.

Under such circumstances, it would be extremely difficult to force a takeover. Therefore, a long time ago, it acquired 18.2% of the shares through the American company Pacific Investment.

In fact, Liu Zhicheng currently holds 39.2% of CLP's shares, making him the largest shareholder, but he is still 10.9% away from having absolute control over CLP.

Now that only 3% of the shares are in circulation in the open market, it is already difficult to acquire shares. Now this 10.9% stake becomes the key. Liu Zhicheng knocked on the table and said, "Success or failure depends on this one move. While you two continue to acquire shares, go and convince the major shareholders, especially the Chinese shareholders. If you can acquire, then acquire. If you can't acquire, then ask them to support us at the shareholders' meeting."

August 8, sunny:
The air conditioning in Hong Kong's Sihui market has been turned to the lowest setting, but the hearts of all the shareholders holding big hotel stocks are boiling with excitement and their blood pressure is rising at all times.

Prior to this, when Robert Kuok announced the acquisition of shares in the Grand Hotel, he bought shares of the Grand Hotel at HK$70 per share through a desk set up by Citibank in the Sihui market.

The acquisition of hotel stocks in the form of cash attracted the interest of most shareholders, and many of them were eager to sell their stocks.

However, that afternoon, the Kadoorie family used the same trick, renting a position on the other side of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and repurchasing CLP shares at HK$71 per share.

The purpose of stock trading is to make money, which naturally led countless investors to immediately throw themselves into the arms of the Kadoorie family.

However, the repurchase office of the Kadoorie family seemed to be deliberately inefficient and the transaction was slow, almost three times slower than the one next door.
But in order to make more money, many investors are still willing to wait. Besides, there are more people waiting for Robert Kuok to come up with new ideas.

As a result, the recent trading volume of hotel shares has hit a record low.

It was not until the market opened this morning that the sign at Citibank’s location was changed again: “HK$75 per share, cash purchase of Grand Hotel shares”.

As soon as many shareholders saw the sign, they immediately rushed over to queue up to register and sell their China Power shares.

Lawrence Scardoorie, who was hiding in the VIP room, couldn't help but look gloomy when he saw this scene.

"What the hell is this Robert Kuok doing? Is a big hotel group worth him spending so much to acquire it?"

Michael Kadoorie said, "According to the research data of my friends in Southeast Asia, Robert Kuok's financial resources may be far superior to ours. This may not be a big financial pressure for him."

“This is not a question of financial pressure, but whether it is cost-effective. Although the assets of large hotels are not small,

But among the many listed companies in Hong Kong, only the Peninsula Hotel is relatively famous, although it is also very dazzling.
But compared with the current hot real estate industry, the profits of the hotel industry are nothing. I can understand that Robert Kuok owns the Shangri-La Hotel and wants to forcibly acquire a large hotel.

But this is a priceless purchase of shares at 75 Hong Kong dollars per share, which is far more than the value of the hotel itself." Lawrence Kadoorie frowned and said.

Robert Kuok is the richest man in Malaya. In fact, Lawrence has long known that his family's strength is far inferior to that of Robert Kuok.

The Kadoorie family is just one of the top ten richest families in Hong Kong, although the per capita wealth in Hong Kong exceeds that of Malaysia.

But Malaya's population base is much larger than that of Hong Kong, and the financial strength and resources behind the local richest man are definitely not something the Kadoorie family can contend with.

The only advantage is that Kadoorie can be said to have a certain home advantage, and as long as the share price of the big hotel is pushed up, the other party will be discouraged.

If your opponents feel that it is not cost-effective, they will naturally give up, because capital is profit-seeking.

"There are only two possibilities that can explain his almost crazy acquisition behavior. First, Robert Kuok wants to invest in Hong Kong.

So he wanted to take advantage of this acquisition to achieve his goal. If the acquisition fails, it will make him lose face.

This time, the acquisition of our listed company failed. Because the stock price soared, they voluntarily gave up. I am afraid it will be difficult for them to succeed in Hong Kong in the future.

Once we acquire other listed companies in the future, they will follow our approach, so for Robert Kuok, this time he must succeed.

The second possibility is that Robert Kuok may have set his sights on The Peninsula Hotel and wanted to demonstrate his leadership in Hong Kong’s hotel industry, so he was determined to acquire the Grand Hotel Group. ” Michael Kadoorie analyzed.

"All the guesses you mentioned are possible. No matter which one it is, it will be very disadvantageous to us." Lawrence Cardinals frowned and said.

"Father, now that we have come to this, we have no way out. If both of us continue to fight like this, the stock price will definitely rise sharply.

If Robert Kuok wants to win, the cost will be higher. As long as we show an attitude of not giving up, he will definitely retreat when the cost is too high. "Michael Kadoorie said.

"What you said does make sense, but even if we defeat Robert Kuok, the loss to our family will be unprecedented in decades," said Lawrence Cardinal, frowning.

"There is nothing we can do about it. Now that we have been targeted by the jackals, there is no way we can escape unscathed unless we admit defeat and sell the stocks to them," said Helan Shijiadao.

"This is impossible. The Peninsula Hotel is our family's inheritance and we must protect it no matter what the cost," said Michael Cahill.

The Kadoorie family made their fortune in the Far East by relying on the Peninsula Hotel, which is also the symbol of their family, so they would not give it up easily.

"Then we will raise the acquisition price to 78. I want to see if Robert Kuok will agree to it," said Lawrence Kadoorie.

"Okay, I'll do it right away." Michael Cahill said.

With the firm determination of both sides, Sihui City recreated the scene of the Niu Battle.

"Kadoorie raised the price to HK$80 per share!"

"82 Hong Kong dollars here at Shangri-La!"

"Kadoorie is 84 Hong Kong dollars here, hurry up brothers!"

Amid the sound of constant price increases, shareholders who held shares of the Grand Hotel were smiling happily, while shareholders who had already sold their shares were very upset and hated themselves for having acted too early.

Two days later, the acquisition price offered by Robert Kuok was as high as HK$87 per share, which was almost three times the stock price of Grand Hyatt Hotel before the takeover war broke out.

This acquisition battle can be said to be the most exciting stock market acquisition battle since the Jardine Matheson Milk Company in 1972.

How many shareholders made a fortune is much more interesting than Liu Zhicheng's several acquisition battles.

Naturally, it became a topic of conversation among Hong Kong citizens, and the general public knew about Robert Kuok and the name of Shangri-La Hotel.

Of course, in terms of stock price increase, it is still far less than the stocks of Jardine Matheson and Dairy Farm in those days.

(End of this chapter)