After divorce, I can hear the voice of the future

Chapter 741 Tit for tat
"As for Standard Chartered, I'll try to find a way. They definitely realize the importance of their shareholding, and they will not easily take sides until they see our sincerity."

Lu Liang recounted his conversation with Li Zhe Kai last night, mentioning that Standard Chartered might be wooed, but the key was whether the terms offered would be tempting.

"President Lu, we can only rely on you now," Xu Jiayin said.

He couldn't offer Standard Chartered any compelling terms, but Lu Liang could. The task of persuading Standard Chartered could only be entrusted to Lu Liang.

"Don't worry, although it will be difficult, I'm still confident I can take them down," Lu Liang said with a smile.

Hong Kong stocks began pre-market trading at 9:00 AM.

Zheng Jiachun and Qi Yaonian, Lu Liang and Xu Jiayin.

Both groups gradually gathered at the New World Building.

"Kings meet kings, a clash of titans!"

"The ultimate ownership of the 2000 billion yuan group!"

TVB, ATV, and Phoenix TV, three major financial news outlets, have all launched sub-channels and started 24-hour live coverage.

"According to reliable sources, the Zheng family holds 49.12% of the shares, Hengtai holds 40.21%, and only Standard Chartered has not yet made a choice."

"If Standard Chartered chooses the Cheng family, then Lu Liang's project to assist Hengtai in acquiring New World will likely end in failure."

"If Standard Chartered chooses to support Hengtai, then this takeover and anti-takeover battle will enter its climax."

The entire city of Hong Kong was watching, and some even opened betting odds. The Cheng family successfully defended New World with odds of 0.85 to 1, while Hang Seng Group successfully took over New World with odds of 1.58 to 1.

Data doesn't lie. Even though Lu Liang had an aura of dominance from the moment he entered Hong Kong, the odds clearly favored the Zheng family.

After all, the Cheng family is a local power in Hong Kong, and they have Chow Tai Fook and HSBC backing them up. Also, New World Development has not made any major strategic mistakes.

Rumors circulated that Zheng Jiachun offended Lu Liang by opposing Lu Liang's investment in HSBC, which led to New World Development facing a forced takeover.

But rumors are just rumors, and there's no plausible reason why Lu Liang suddenly attacked the Zheng family.

Moreover, the person he was assisting was Xu Jiayin. Without the Zheng family's help, there would be no Hengtai today.

Morally, it is even less justifiable.

"This tactic is called striking first."

Qi Yaonian smiled and glanced at Lu Liang's group out of the corner of his eye.

Although Standard Chartered ignored their overtures, presumably intending to raise the price, they still had backup plans.

For Hong Kong, both Lu Liang and Xu Jiayin are newcomers who occupy the high ground of public opinion. Regardless of whether the subsequent plans can be implemented smoothly, they can always win some sympathy.

Zheng Jiachun smiled, but a hint of worry flashed in his eyes. With such a high chance of winning, the fact that they still needed to win sympathy points was actually a step backward.

On the other side, Xu Jiayin introduced the middle-aged woman beside her to Lu Liang: "Mr. Lu, this is Ms. Zhou Simin from Bank of China."

"Mr. Lu, I have long admired your name."

Zhou Simin smiled slightly, her short, neat hair and thin lips giving her the look of someone not to be trifled with.

She was a director dispatched by Bank of China to New World Development. Before she came, her superiors instructed her that Bank of China would not express any opinions or thoughts on any decisions made at today's meeting, and that Lu Liang and Xu Jiayin would take the lead.

To put it bluntly, Bank of China supports Hengtai, but Hengtai's decisions and subsequent actions have nothing to do with them.

Although doing so might seem like a pointless exercise, attitude is far more important than actual action.

Lu Liang smiled and nodded: "Understood, we will definitely not make things difficult for you."

“Everyone’s here, why don’t we go over and say hello?” Xu Jiayin looked in the direction where Zheng Jiachun was.

Although they all entered through the same gate, the atmosphere today was tense, with old acquaintances pretending to be complete strangers.

Now that both sides have arrived, as the newcomers, they should, both morally and logically, take the initiative to greet each other, even if it's just a smile.

Lu Liang nodded and walked side by side with Xu Jiayin.

Seeing this, Qi Yaonian stopped talking to Zheng Jiachun and looked at Lu Liang with a smile.

“Mr. Lu, it’s an honor to meet you. I am Qi Yaonian, CEO of HSBC.” He smiled broadly, as if he were greeting an old friend he hadn’t seen in a long time.

“Mr. Qi, I’ve heard Junwei mention you before. He’s always been very grateful for your past care.” Lu Liang looked Qi Yaonian up and down.

If the HSBC taipan had been in the colonial era, he would have been one of the three most powerful figures in Hong Kong, his status comparable to that of the Governor.

He was in his early fifties and had a typical Western face, but his skin color suggested that he likely had some Jewish ancestry.

Lu Liang has always believed that, apart from the undisputed definition of Black people, the so-called White people and Yellow people are actually a kind of political orientation.

Take himself as an example. When he was a real estate agent, he was exposed to the wind and sun every day and his skin was dark. In recent years, he has been living a life of luxury and his skin has become fair again.

Although he wasn't fair-skinned, his skin was fairer than that of most white people.

In contrast, Europeans and Americans who consider themselves white are not pure white, especially the Squid tribe, whose skin color tends to be pinkish.

Qi Yaonian looked at Li Junwei and asked with a smile, "Junwei, are you getting used to working under Mr. Lu?"

“I’m very used to it. President Lu treats me very well, and I’ve learned a lot of new things from him,” Li Junwei immediately stated.

“If you’re ever unhappy working for Mr. Lu, HSBC will always be your home,” Qi Yaonian said with a smile.

Without even a word, they poached their youngest vice president. He had a lot of grudges against Lu Liang. Li Junwei was taken aback and quickly replied, "Thank you for your kindness, Mr. Qi, but there won't be such an opportunity."

“Mr. Qi, you have lived in Hong Kong for so many years, you must have heard the saying that water flows downhill and people strive to rise higher.”

Lu Liang smiled and said, "Employees switch jobs simply because they want better career prospects and a bigger stage. If one day you feel that you can't realize your ambitions at HSBC, Tianxing will also open its doors to you."

Verbal disputes are pointless, and he can fully represent Tianxing, but Qi Yaonian cannot fully represent HSBC.

The two men were fundamentally different in status, so Lu Liang was not angry and instead repaid evil with kindness.

Qi Yaonian was silent for a moment, then chuckled and said, "I hope that day will never come."

"Everyone, this way please."

Seeing that the situation was not going well, Zheng Jiachun quickly stepped in to smooth things over, his eyes filled with even more worry.

Warm-up before the battle
Lu Liang vs. Qi Yaonian
Lu Liang wins the first round.

There is a fundamental difference between founders and professional managers. At least Lu Liang can make major decisions independently without consulting the board of directors.

On the other hand, Qi Yaonian couldn't do that.

When faced with a major decision, Lu Liang can make the decision himself, but he still has to inform headquarters and hold a meeting to discuss it, which makes him seem less imposing.

The Hong Kong stock market opened at 9:30 a.m.

Chinese Estates Holdings' share price plummeted by 11.5% as it is scheduled to suspend trading for restructuring starting tomorrow. If investors do not want to gamble on a high-premium buyback, today is their last chance to cash out.

New World's stock price continued to rise, surging 7.55% at the opening and adding another HK$150 billion to its market capitalization. The bidding war is still ongoing, but there are no more shares available in the market.

Meanwhile, everyone arrived at the conference room on the 18th floor of the New World Building to begin the meeting.

“The new world has reached a critical juncture, and my suggestion is to buy back the shares at a 100% premium.”

Zheng Jiachun got straight to the point, disregarding the presence of Lu Liang and Xu Jiayin, and introduced the missile launch plan from the poison pill strategy.

By repurchasing the issued stock options at a high premium, the acquirer dilutes its stake in the target company.

"On behalf of Ms. Zhou, I disagree!"

Xu Jiayin, with a straight face, denied it: "Now, New World's stock price is as high as HK$64.53 per share, and its market value has reached more than HK$2200 billion."

"At this point, Chairman Zheng is repurchasing the shares at a 100% premium. Hasn't he considered the cost issue?"

"Let's not even talk about whether we have that much money in the account. Even if we do, ask any of the directors here which one thinks our New World is worth a market value of HK$4400 billion?"

"Chairman Zheng, you should not sacrifice the interests of all shareholders for your own selfish desires."

Perhaps because he frequently deals with officials, Lao Xu speaks very eloquently, as if he has no self-interest and only cares about the interests of New World's shareholders.

"Ms. Zhou, is this Bank of China's idea?"

Zheng Jiachun ignored Xu Jiayin and looked intently at Zhou Simin.

Just because Lao Xu says he can represent someone doesn't mean he can represent Zhou Simin of the Bank of China.

Even though Zheng Jiachun knew that Xu Jiayin and Lu Liang had already obtained authorization from Bank of China to join the board of directors.

But I still want to ask one more question.

On the one hand, it was due to procedural requirements, and on the other hand, it was to give Lao Xu a warning, as he was only a shareholder and not a member of the board of directors.

Even though he became a member of the board of directors, he, Zheng Jiachun, is still the current chairman of the board.

"Chairman Zheng, this is the authorization document." Zhou Simin, sparing with words, handed a document to Zheng Jiachun.

Zheng Jiachun was surprised and pretended to look through the documents, leaving Lao Xu standing aside.

Old Xu's face was dark, but he didn't say a word.

After a long pause, Zheng Jiachun asked, "My suggestion is still to buy back the shares at a high premium. Does anyone else object?"

He focused his attention on He Jiafan, who represented Standard Chartered at the board meeting, as Standard Chartered's attitude was crucial.

If they remain silent, he will implement the poison pill plan, even if it means absolute power.

If Standard Chartered objects, Zheng Jiachun must stop it, otherwise it could easily push Standard Chartered to the opposite side.

Seeing that everyone's eyes were on him, He Jiafan glanced at Lu Liang and said in a deep voice, "Mr. Xu is right. I hope Chairman Zheng will think it over."

He looked at Lu Liang. In fact, what he cared about most, and what Standard Chartered cared about most, was Lu Liang's attitude.

However, Lu Liang's indifferent and detached attitude puzzled him greatly.

It's important to understand that they hold a decisive stake in the company.

Zheng Jiachun frowned. Standard Chartered's attitude made him feel that a crisis was approaching and the worst had happened.

Qi Yaonian sighed. He could understand Standard Chartered. To put it bluntly, they were waiting for the best offer, waiting for Lu Liang's terms, and then comparing the terms of both sides to choose the one that would maximize their interests.

With a smile on his face, Lao Xu swept away his gloom and decisively launched a new offensive: "Hengtai's shareholding ratio has reached 40.21%. I suggest that a shareholders' meeting be held immediately to introduce the board of directors."

"The most urgent task is to address the issue of the group facing a forced takeover." Zheng Jiachun's expression turned cold as he decisively exercised his veto power.

(End of this chapter)