Reborn since 1993

Chapter 1385 Roof Lifting Effect
The Rolls-Royce door closed. Lin Xianhui was still worried that the matter with Orange Telecom would displease Li Dashanren, and he didn't know how to quell Li Dongling's anger.

But then we saw that Li Dashanren seemed to have learned a secret technique of Sichuan opera. His anger from just now had vanished without a trace, and instead a faint smile appeared on his face, as if the person who had been facing the camera with a face full of anger had never existed.

Seeing Lin Xianhui's hesitant expression, Li Dongling chuckled, "Mr. Li of Changjiang Telecom truly has a unique vision. In less than three years, Orange Telecom's market value has grown from $24 billion to $115 billion. He certainly lives up to his superman title."

Back when Li Dongling had someone acquire Orange Telecom's shares, Orange Telecom had just gone public and had a market value of around $24 billion.

In order to acquire Orange Telecom's shares from British Airways, they used a blitzkrieg tactic, paying a 30% premium, and spent $6.2 million to obtain a 20% stake in Orange Telecom.

These past few years have been a boom period for the internet, and telecommunications stocks have also soared. Orange Telecom's market value has risen from US$24 billion to US$115 billion, equivalent to HK$897 billion. However, in the mouths of Hong Kong media, it has become that Orange Telecom is going to be acquired for HK$100 billion.

But in reality, Li Dongling knew that the real show at Orange Telecom had only just begun.

After Orange Telecom announced its intention to sell itself, its market value surged, but it is far from reaching its peak!

The battle for Orange Telecom is between two old European telecommunications giants, Mannesmann and Vodafone.

Next, both sides will try to raise the price, bidding fiercely to secure Orange Telecom.

When the snipe and the clam fight, the fisherman benefits. In the previous life, the acquisition price of Orange Telecom was driven up to US$313 billion by these two companies, which is equivalent to HK$2441 billion.

The Li family of Changjiang holds nearly half of the shares of Orange Telecom. Selling Orange Telecom has earned Changjiang Li the reputation of selling Orange for hundreds of billions!
So right now, the acquisition price of Orange Telecom has only been pushed up to HK$100 billion, and it is far from reaching its peak!

The words that Mr. Li, the philanthropist, just said in front of the media reporters in Hong Kong were nothing more than a way to put a bad eye on the Li family of the Yangtze River.

Li Dongling definitely supports selling Orange Telecom; otherwise, how would the philanthropist Li cash out?

Moreover, even holding a 20% stake in Orange Telecom wouldn't, frankly, stop Mr. Li from Changjiang Telecom's decision.

The Li family of Cheung Kong holds nearly 45% of Orange Telecom's shares. Especially after the philanthropist Li Dashan stole their shares, the Li family of Cheung Kong has repeatedly repurchased Orange Telecom's shares on the British stock market in recent years.

Li Dongling even suspected that, given the personality of Mr. Li of Changjiang Telecom, he probably already held more than 50% of Orange Telecom's shares!

We can't stop them, but we can't let the Li family of the Yangtze River get away with it so easily. We have to make things difficult for them.

They might even spread rumors that they're going to exercise their minority shareholder rights, initiate a vote at Orange Telecom's board of directors, or even file a lawsuit in the British courts.

Doing all this wasn't just to annoy the Li family of Changjiang; it was also to gain enough leverage from Orange Telecom and the acquiring company, Mannesmann Telecom.

For example, let Orange Telecom and Mannesmann Telecom partner with Hasee Mobile to launch contract phones, allowing Hasee Mobile to enter the old European contract phone sales channels through them!
Conditions aren't always created through arguments; the squeaky wheel gets the grease.

If you rush over directly and ask Mannesmann Telecom to cooperate with Shenzhou Mobile, they probably won't even give Shenzhou Mobile a second glance.

But when the Zhixing Foundation threatens to sabotage Mannesmann's acquisition of Orange Telecom, will the other party choose to concede in order to appease them?

If you want to open a window, some people might disagree, but when you're about to tear down the roof, the condition for opening a window will surely be met!
“Mr. Li,” Lin Xianhui looked at Li Dongling, “the Li family of Changjiang is selling Orange Telecom. As for China.com… should we make a statement?”

Lin Xianhui wanted to know Li Dongling's attitude towards the sale of Orange Telecom.

Cyberport now has China.com as its mouthpiece, which allows it to generate buzz. While the influence of internet media is not yet as great as that of television stations and newspapers, it is still enough to make its voice heard.

"of course yes!"

The car slowly drove towards Li Dongling's villa on the hillside in Hong Kong. Li Dongling said, "Have China.com report that the Zhixing Foundation, as a 'minor' shareholder of Orange Telecom, is very dissatisfied with the sale of Orange Telecom!"

"To what extent?"

Lin Xianhui was a seasoned veteran. Upon hearing Li Dongling's words, he immediately realized whether Li Dongling genuinely didn't want Orange Telecom to be sold or wanted to obtain some kind of condition.

"Neither the Zhixing Foundation nor Dongling High-Tech are unreasonable companies."

But shouldn't the Li family of Changjiang provide an "explanation" for such a major transaction as selling Orange Telecom?

“I understand!” Lin Xianhui understood the implication. “Besides China.com, Cyberport will also report this matter through the media so that Orange Telecom’s minority shareholders can also receive the treatment they deserve!”

Li Dashanren glanced at Lin Xianhui with satisfaction. Otherwise, it would be surprising to see that Li Dongling and his ilk had been using Lin Xianhui and were valuing him more and more.

The main reason is that it's so easy to use. To be honest, Lin Xianhui's abilities are only passable. He's a professional manager who maintains the status quo, not the kind of top-tier manager who's a high-earning employee.

However, Lin Xianhui was very meticulous in his work. As long as the task assigned by Li Dongling was not beyond his capabilities, he never made a mistake.

Furthermore, the purpose of establishing the Dongling High-Tech Port City headquarters is to control Southeast Asia, and the relationship between the Port City headquarters and the Pingyang headquarters is also very delicate, mainly because the two are too close to each other.

This requires the general manager of Dongling High-Tech Port City to be a tactful person who can maintain the relationship between the two headquarters, and absolutely not the strongman type.

Otherwise, it won't be long before the headquarters in Gangcheng and Pingyang have a falling out.

Lin Xianhui's performance as general manager of Dongke Port City over the years has been absolutely competent.

After saying that, Lin Xianhui picked up a few gift boxes from the side. "These are gifts that I specially arranged for Ms. Ning and Miss Keling, as instructed by you, Mr. Li!"

Li Dongling looked through several gifts, mainly jewelry and other precious items, as well as a custom-made toy for Li Dashanren's daughter.

Given the Ning family's wealth, and considering that this little guy is currently the only heir of the next generation, it's impossible for them to lack anything in terms of food, clothing, and daily necessities.

But Li Dongling came to Gangcheng this time to see his daughter, so he couldn't come empty-handed; he had to prepare some gifts.

The car arrived at the hillside villa, while Zhou Hongyi, Qiu Bojun, Lei Jun, and others in the car behind were taken to different villas in the area to stay.

During the Southeast Asian financial crisis, Dongling Hi-Tech acquired a large amount of land, office buildings, villa areas, logistics parks, parking lots, etc. in the port city at bargain prices.

Making room for Zhou Hongyi and her group in a few rooms is no big deal at all.

Every year, the headquarters of Dongling Hi-Tech will even allocate a batch of villas in the port city as rewards for Dongling Hi-Tech's senior executives and key technical experts.

The profits from 1997 are enough for Dongling Hi-Tech to live off for many more years to come. And when the American subprime mortgage crisis sweeps the globe, Dongling Hi-Tech can take advantage of the rock-bottom prices and go on another shopping spree!
In recent years, although the housing prices in the port city have not yet returned to their peak, they have increased by 30% or even more than 40% compared to when Dongling Gaoke bought his property.

Especially in villa areas, prices have been soaring. It's clear to everyone that Hong Kong has seen the most rapid economic recovery in Southeast Asia in recent years, while South Korea, Singapore, and other places are still licking their wounds.

Places like Siam were devastated and unable to recover. A generation of young men and women were sacrificed in exchange for Siam's transformation into a tourist destination. The machinery, electronics, and automobile industries that Siam had previously developed were abandoned. The damage was too deep.

After working hard for more than a decade, Siam was completely wiped out by the American Empire, losing all its drive and simply lying down to let the American Empire do as it pleased.

The Rolls-Royce, escorted by security personnel, entered the villa. The Ya'an security personnel at the gate immediately blocked the reporters who were waiting outside, and the thick iron gate was closed again, cutting off the outside view.

Even the security guards at the entrance would occasionally look up at the sky to prevent any troublesome media reporters from taking photos by helicopter.

Like the Li family in Changjiang, Li Dongling's hillside villa has also been renovated and equipped with various enhanced security measures, reaching a fortress-level security level.

Without having anyone else follow him, Li Dongling carried the gifts and pushed open the villa door.

Hearing the noise, a woman with a graceful figure, who was playing with a little girl with her back to Li Dongling in the living room, turned around and saw Li Dongling.

Upon seeing Li Dongling, Ning Wenke's eyes clearly lit up with joy. After giving birth to Ning Keling, she had lost some of the sharpness of a career woman and gained more gentleness. Well, the combination of a wife's charm and a career woman's style created a unique allure...

Li Dongling strode in, pulled Ning Wenke, who had stood up, into his arms, and just as their lips met, he heard her burst into tears.

Li Dongling hurriedly walked over to his little darling and hugged her in his arms. He remembered that when Li Dongling left Gangcheng, little Keling was still an infant, but now she had grown into a tiny little bundle.

However, little Keling, held in Li Dongling's arms, didn't care about her father's wealth and status, and continued to cry at the top of her lungs. Looking at little Keling in his arms, Li Dongling couldn't help but wonder, where was the sweet little girl he was supposed to be? How come she's crying even louder than that brat Xiao Zhiyuan...

Seeing Li Dongling frantically trying to soothe Xiao Keling, Ning Wen couldn't help but chuckle. She then picked up Xiao Keling, lifted a corner of her clothes, and Xiao Keling immediately transformed into a gluttonous little girl, wolfing down her food.

(End of this chapter)