1977: The beginning of the blind date with the daughter of the king

Chapter 750 If you lose, you have to admit it!
"You mean you'll help me settle things with the Zhang family, and then we'll split up Wheelock?"

Li Changhe never expected that Li Jiacheng's idea was to bring China Resources on board and then share Wheelock with him.

“Yes, I can help you appease the Zhang family, and I can even help you take over Wheelock’s shares and then transfer them to you at par value.”

“Ah Yang, many of Wheelock’s businesses overlap with some of yours. You can either keep them or integrate them into your existing businesses, or divest and sell them off.”

"If that's the case, why not cooperate with us and sell us a portion of the company?"

Li Jiacheng said confidently.

Li Changhe sat there, deep in thought.

Li Jiacheng's ability to reach the top in later generations demonstrates his exceptional business acumen; he was able to come up with such a remarkable entry point.

Most importantly, Li Changhe suddenly realized that Li Jiacheng's involvement was actually quite beneficial to him, because he was thinking about how to sell some of the companies to state-owned assets.

As we all know, once Hong Kong Island returned to China, it implemented a different system from the mainland, which means that the country would need different methods to control it.

Before the British colonial rule, Hong Kong was controlled by four major trading companies. These companies were involved in all aspects of Hong Kong Island, both economically and socially.

After the mainland took over, it was impossible to create another "Big Four" trading companies, nor could the original government-run store model be used. Therefore, the mainland's response in later generations was to establish four major Chinese-funded enterprises in Hong Kong.

China Merchants Group, China Resources, Bank of China, and China Travel Service (Hong Kong) Limited.

Among them, China Merchants Group is responsible for port and freight transportation, China Resources is responsible for infrastructure and the supply of daily necessities, Bank of China (Hong Kong) manages the financial system on Hong Kong Island, and China Travel Service (Hong Kong) is responsible for cultural tourism and exchange.

Of course, under these four major companies, there are many other companies with a presence, such as China Everbright Group and CITIC Group, which have also expanded from specific points to a broader scope, penetrating into all aspects of Hong Kong Island.

However, overall, the state's control over Hong Kong Island is still based on the four major Chinese-funded enterprises as the backbone, and then the branches spread outward one by one.

However, if these companies want to control Hong Kong Island, they need to take over the original British-owned corporate management system, which means that many of the companies originally had British capital.

In their previous lives, most of these companies were acquired by real estate developers such as Li Ka-shing, Li Shau-kee, and Pao Yu-kong. British capital transferred many of their privately managed enterprises to Hong Kong Chinese capital to avoid direct takeover by the mainland.

Knowing that the tide had turned against them, the British preferred to hand over their businesses to local Hong Kong residents rather than mainland companies. This was also a key reason why Li Ka-shing was able to acquire HK$29 billion for Hong Kong Electric in 83, as HSBC provided unconditional support. Similarly, Lee Shau-kee successfully became the chairman of China Gas Holdings.

From then on, electricity, energy, supermarkets, and freight were almost entirely in the hands of Hong Kong people, and Li Ka-shing gradually became known as Li Half-Cheng.

However, in this life, due to Li Changhe's intervention, many companies that originally belonged to Jardine Matheson, such as Hongkong Land, Hong Kong Electric, Wheelock and now Hong Kong and China Gas, have all fallen into Li Changhe's hands. If Wheelock is included, Li Changhe will not only control half of Hong Kong Island, but at least a third of its industrial territory.

For a city, such a commercial footprint already makes it a veritable urban behemoth.

But Li Changhe had no intention of becoming Li Bancheng, nor did he want to become a tycoon who controlled Hong Kong Island. Monopolizing such things is something no country can tolerate.

Therefore, he actually wanted to hand over some industries to domestic entities.

Li Changhe was originally considering how to make the domestic acquisition happen discreetly, but now he didn't expect that Lao Li would build a bridge for him.

This surprised Li Changhe a bit.

No wonder people in China have always felt that Li Keqiang has great value in united front work. At least some of his actions have given people hope, whether it is subjective or objective.

Seeing Li Changhe deep in thought, Li Jiacheng was patient and waited quietly.

Li Jiacheng felt that his plan was actually perfect, and all parties should have a satisfactory result, except for the Zhang family, of course.

But Li Jiacheng was also helpless. He wanted to tell Zhang Yuliang that the moment Bao Zeyang set his sights on you, you were like meat on a chopping board, at his mercy.

This is the lesson he learned from being beaten up repeatedly over the past few years. If it weren't for his high health and extensive network of connections, it's hard to say what would have happened in the end.

Feeling that the time was about right, Li Changhe looked at Li Jiacheng.

“I agree with the idea of ​​dividing up Wheelock, but how to divide it is up to me. Also, you don’t need to help me get the Zhang family’s shares. In fact, I would prefer to get the shares held by John Madden, because John Madden has other uses for me.”

"If you want to join this feast, all you need to do is watch!"

"Once I complete the acquisition of Wheelock, Mr. Li, you can call the people from China Resources to come over. At that time, I will sell some of the companies to you as appropriate."

Li Changhe doesn't mind splitting up Wheelock, but how to split it up is up to him.

Old Li helped him bring in state-owned capital, which must have been achieved by persuading British capital, including HSBC. In that case, Li Changhe wouldn't mind giving Old Li a share of the profits.

However, the final allocation is ultimately up to Li Changhe to arrange; he can give this favor directly to China Resources.

After listening to Li Changhe's words, Li Jiacheng couldn't help but sigh.

He had originally thought that he could use the Zhang family to gain the upper hand in front of Bao Zeyang, but now it seemed that the other party clearly had a series of moves to deal with the Zhang family, and he was glad that he hadn't fallen into their trap.

Never mind, I'll remind Zhang Yuliang when I get back.

“Alright, then let’s do it your way, A-Yang. Now that you have a complete plan, I won’t get involved with the Zhang family anymore.”

"However, Zhang Yuliang is a long-time friend of mine, and I'd like to step in and try to persuade him on your behalf. What do you think, A-Yang?"

After thinking it over, Li Jiacheng decided to give Bao Zeyang a hint that he planned to tell Zhang Yuliang some information.

Li Changhe waved his hand: "This Mr. Li is easy to do, I don't care!"

He genuinely didn't care whether Zhang Yuliang knew these inside stories or not, because from beginning to end, all he cared about was the shares held by John Madden.

He didn't want to give the Zhang family a single penny.

Seeing Bao Zeyang's attitude, Li Jiacheng sighed inwardly again; the other party was absolutely certain of victory.

After leaving the Landmark Building, Li Jiacheng thought for a moment and then used the car phone to make a call to Zhang Yuliang.

An hour later, Li Jiacheng met Zhang Yuliang in a villa halfway up the mountain.

"Mr. Zhang, I'm sorry, but I'm afraid I can't take on any more of Wheelock's shares!"

After they met, Li Jiacheng whispered to Zhang Yuliang.

Zhang Yuliang was somewhat surprised after hearing this. Just two days ago, Li Jiacheng seemed quite confident of winning.
"Li Sheng, what's going on?"

Li Jiacheng sighed: "Zhang Sheng, to tell you the truth, I contacted HSBC, but they don't want to provide funding. It's not because they don't support me, but because they feel that I'm not competitive when facing Bao Zeyang."

“Bao Zeyang currently controls over 10 billion Hong Kong dollars in cash. I have no chance of succeeding in bidding against him for shares, so please forgive me for not being able to participate in this matter.”

Li Jiacheng spoke very sincerely to Zhang Yuliang. Zhang Yuliang was taken aback upon hearing this.

“Bao Zeyang has more than 10 billion Hong Kong dollars in cash flow. That’s terrifying. Even among Hong Kong banks, there aren’t many with that much cash flow.”

However, another idea immediately came to Zhang Yuliang's mind.

"Since Bao Zeyang has so much money, could I ask for a higher price and sell it?"

"However, I also need to prepare for another possibility, which is to guard against Bao Zeyang turning against me. Perhaps I can find some funds to launch a counter-takeover and put pressure on Bao Zeyang."

Zhang Yuliang quickly came up with an idea. His Zhang family already held 35% of Wheelock's shares, only 14% away from the 49% control line.

If they can raise funds and adopt a counter-takeover stance in the stock market, it will surely put enough pressure on Bao Zeyang.

After all, instead of trying to drive up the stock price of his own company in the stock market, it would be more worthwhile for him to directly buy the shares he owns at a higher price. Anyone with a discerning eye can see which option is more profitable.

Thinking about all this, Zhang Yuliang was too lazy to waste words with Li Jiacheng. He had originally wondered what Li Jiacheng could possibly be capable of, but now it seemed that he was exaggerating.

Time flew by and it was early October. On National Day, Zhang Yuliang approached Li Changhe again.

“Vic, I’m here today to talk to you about Wheelock’s shares. I think since you want to acquire them, it’s fine to sell them to you. 2.6 billion, one price. I’ll sell you all the Wheelock shares held by the Zhang family. How about it?”

Zhang Yuliang sat opposite Li Changhe and spoke confidently.

After hearing this, Li Changhe couldn't help but sneer inwardly. This old man only quoted Li Jiacheng 2 billion, but he quoted 2.6 billion. He was just taking advantage of him.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Zhang, I think our deal may have to be put on hold for a while. I have a newspaper from this afternoon that may contain something about your family."

At this moment, Li Changhe took out a newspaper that Ella had just delivered and pushed it in front of Zhang Yuliang.

Zhang Yuliang curiously took the newspaper and looked at it. Good heavens, it was the front page headline.

The Zhang family's property case has taken another turn, with the first and third wives jointly filing a lawsuit in court, requesting the freezing of all asset transactions under the Zhang family and applying for a redistribution of assets.

Zhang Yuliang immediately understood Li Changhe's intentions.

The most important point of this news is not the redistribution of assets, but the word "frozen".

Once the Zhang family's assets are frozen, these shares will be very difficult to trade, and even if someone is willing to trade them, there will be many legal risks.

In this way, Zhang's 35% stake becomes worthless, and before the lawsuit is decided, it is unlikely that anyone will be interested in it.

This is exactly what Li Changhe needs. He just needs time. Once Zhang's shares are frozen on the market, Li Changhe will have no rivals in acquiring Wheelock and can completely take over Wheelock through the stock market, provided that he acquires John Madden's shares.

"Bao Zeyang, you plotted against me?"

Zhang Yuliang said this fiercely.

Li Changhe smiled slightly: "Zhang Sheng, I told you that day. After that day, in the business world, we each rely on our own abilities. How can this be called scheming?"

Zhang Yuliang sneered upon hearing this: "Bao Zeyang, do you think you can succeed like this? Even if you get John Madden's shares, I will still be Wheelock's largest shareholder until your shareholding surpasses mine."

"I can exercise my rights as a major shareholder at any time and take control of the board of directors. At that time, Wheelock will not be as fat as you imagine."

After listening, Li Changhe couldn't help but shake his head.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Zhang, you're probably not the major shareholder anymore. I've already acquired 12% of Wheelock's shares on the stock market, and with Mr. John Madden's 24% stake, I'm now just one percentage point ahead of you. One percentage point may not seem like much, but it's enough to make me the major shareholder."

"Therefore, your position as chairman is probably not secure."

"Impossible. John Madden didn't hold a board meeting at all. Such a large share transaction would require public notification."

"Then I'll let you know now, Zhang!"

John Madden then came out of a nearby room and sat down opposite Zhang Yuliang.

“Zhang, I’ve already decided to sell my shares to Mr. Victor ahead of schedule. So, you’re a step behind me. I’m sorry, Zhang!”

John Madden then spread his hands, shrugged, and looked helpless.

Even though the two did not sign an agreement, their combined shareholding already exceeded that of the Zhang family, the so-called largest shareholder, so the chairmanship would still not fall into Zhang Yuliang's hands.

"You guys"

"No rush, Mr. Zhang, you still have time. Perhaps you can even compete with me in the market and launch a counter-takeover!"

"However, I think you should deal with your family matters first before that. After all, if the court changes its ruling again, those shares of Wheelock will not be entirely yours."

Li Changhe mentioned it to Zhang Yuliang in a friendly manner.

Zhang Yuliang was furious. He couldn't understand why Bao Zeyang would scheme against him when he had no grudge against him.

"Bao Zeyang, I have no grudge against you, why are you treating my Zhang family like this?"

At this moment, Zhang Yuliang roared angrily and questioned.

Li Changhe was speechless after hearing this.

“Zhang Sheng, people die for wealth and birds die for food. You yourself have driven your relatives and nephews out of the house for the sake of your assets, so why question me?”

"Everyone is in it for their own benefit, so why resort to moral blackmail?"

"Zhang Sheng, the business world is like a battlefield. I think if you lose, you have to accept it!"

Li Changhe finished speaking to Zhang Yuliang with a smile, then got up and left.

As for the real reason, he was probably too lazy to tell Zhang Yuliang, and Zhang Yuliang will probably never know.

Meanwhile, far away in Vancouver, Canada, Scarface held a thick stack of envelopes in his hands.

Back inside, Scarface opened the envelope, which contained information about the Zhang family's offspring from various walks of life.

"Go and find Nine Fingers and his gang. Tell them that a fat sheep has appeared!"

Vancouver has never lacked skilled con artists.

(End of this chapter)