Hong Kong 1980: The Savage Era

Chapter 500 502 [Two Acquisition Plans]

According to the plan, a mere 3 million pounds is not enough. If you want to make a big profit from this investment, you must continue to borrow.

So Luo Qihong found other banks and borrowed another 7 million pounds by mortgage.

Naturally, this news could not be concealed, and as a result, there was a huge uproar in the Hong Kong financial community. The bank had no idea of ​​Luo Qihong's purpose, but fortunately, he had properties and securities as collateral, so there was no need to worry that Luo Qihong would not be able to repay the loan.

Luo Qihong didn't care about these things. After finishing his work, he hurriedly flew back to Singapore.

Inside the office of Hengan Investment Company.

Luo Qihong hadn't sat down yet, and asked anxiously, "What happened? What's the reaction of the Tang Zhonggeng family?"

If you don't pay attention to hiding your tracks in a takeover war, it will be easy for your opponent to find out.

"The Tang Zhonggeng family is looking for sources of funds. Several banks have agreed to lend, but Tang Zhonggeng and Tang Yifang (son) are willing to negotiate. They may want to put some pressure on us so that they can get more bargaining chips." Zhang Wenhe reported.

"How much has the stock price risen?" Luo Qihong was still concerned about the amount of money needed to be invested.

Although he has sufficient funds, there is still the upcoming acquisition battle. If he can spend less, he will have a better chance of winning in the future.

"It has increased from 2.1 Singapore dollars to 2.4 Singapore dollars, and the market value has increased by 6000 million Singapore dollars." Zhang Wenhe replied, "But we already hold 30% of the shares and are the largest shareholder of Tangs & Dongs Department Store."

"This title is empty. What's important is that Tang Zhonggeng and Tang Yifang admit defeat." Luo Qihong thought for a while and decided, "Go contact the Tang family and tell them that I want to talk to them."

"Will this be difficult to negotiate?" Zhang Wenhe said. The person who proposes a negotiation will lose the initiative, and the other party will definitely take the opportunity to ask for more.

"It's okay! The specific situation needs to be resolved on the spot. You can contact them first and see how the Tang family reacts." Luo Qihong waved his hand. He has experienced too many acquisitions and is very familiar with acquisitions and can deal with emergencies.

In fact, it is a good idea to hold talks first, which shows sincerity and gives face to the indigenous families. It can further undermine their resistance mentality and perhaps achieve different results.

The acquisition of 30% stake in Tangs & Dongs Department Store has already cost S$1.26 million. If a takeover war breaks out, at least another S$1.26 million will be needed. This price is a bit too high.

According to Luo Qihong's experience, Singaporean journalists will quickly exaggerate the acquisition and the stock price will skyrocket, which will only benefit small shareholders and will be detrimental to both parties.

InterContinental Singapore.

Tang Zhonggeng, leaning on a crutch and with a hunched back, walked slowly in with the support of his granddaughter Tang Rushi.

Luo Qihong quickly stood up, nodded and greeted, "Hello, Mr. Tang!"

"Hello, Mr. Luo Qihong!" Tang Zhonggeng spoke in a loud voice and seemed to be in good health.

Tang Zhonggeng and his two grandchildren sat down together. The eldest son Tang Yifang went straight to the point, "Luo Sheng took the initiative to negotiate with us. We are very happy. Let's talk about what Luo Sheng wants first."

"The business performance of Shijiadong Department Store is not as good as before. I have also heard some rumors within the Tang family. I also have high-end department stores in Hong Kong and the UK, and I know a lot about the department store industry." Luo Qihong said, "So I think our cooperation will be a win-win situation. What I want is very simple. The property and management rights of Shijiadong Department Store will be left to your family, and I will help you block other people's acquisitions."

"I have read some of Luo Sheng's background information. He is indeed a business genius, but hostile takeovers are not a good thing. It will bring a bad reputation," said Tang Zhonggeng.

Luo Qihong smiled and said, "Mr. Tang, times are changing. We can't always follow the old rules. Wall Street in the United States has been using these tricks all the time. Can't we Chinese learn from them?"

"Those who do evil will eventually perish! Those people won't last long." Tang Zhonggeng shook his head and said helplessly. "We have to change. For example, in today's department store industry, if we don't keep up with the times, we will be eliminated. Hostile takeovers have a bad reputation, but they are legal and not considered a big crime."

"What Luo Sheng said is right. But how can we dare to believe Luo Sheng?" Tang Zhonggeng stared at Luo Qihong with a sharp gaze.

Luo Qihong said, "Trust and reputation are accumulated over a long period of time, and cannot be achieved with just a few words. The Tang family has no other choice but to trust me."

He is not a good-tempered person. He has been tolerant many times and has given the other party enough face.

Tang Zhonggeng fell silent. Seeing this, Tang Yifang took over the conversation and said, "Luo Sheng is already the largest shareholder of Shijia Dong. I have something to say in advance. There is no problem in handing over the real estate to you, but Shijia Dong will carry out a series of reforms in the future and enter other industries. We hope that Luo Sheng can fully support us and not question or oppose our decisions."

In fact, the Tang family wanted to deprive Luo Qihong of his voting rights, but was rejected because no businessman would agree to such a request.

"Okay, no problem." Luo Qihong nodded. He had a high-end department store under his name and did not need Shi Jiadong for the time being. Besides, his understanding of department stores was not as good as that of the Tang family.

Unlike Wing On Department Store, the decline of Dongjiashang was not caused by decision-making but by the market.

Singapore’s department store industry has also been hit by foreign invasion, with the leading department store Tangs being the first to bear the brunt, so this is inevitable.

The next day, the teams from both sides met to discuss the details.

A reception was held on the fifth day, and an agreement was signed in public, which included a promise that Luo Qihong would fully support the Tang family.

The stock price stopped rising on the second day after the news came out, started falling on the third day, and by the fourth day when the signing time was announced, the stock price had returned to the level on the eve of the acquisition war at the close of the market.

This acquisition war came and went quickly, ending in just one week.

This "blitzkrieg" drama has caused a great sense of crisis among Singapore's old wealthy families. No one knows when Luo Qihong will take action against them, just like what happened to Liu Luanxiong in 86.

But they also had a lucky hope that Luo Qihong needed to digest the properties acquired from Shi Jiadong, and he would not keep making acquisitions and would stop after a period of time.

They plan an acquisition every half a year, and in three or four years, they can only acquire six or seven companies. It is unlikely that they will be able to do so.

Singapore is currently in its most rapid development period. They do not want to focus all their energy on defense, but also want to develop and expand the company.

Luo Qihong successfully made a name for himself with the two acquisitions of Yeo Hiap Seng and Tungs. Today, everyone in Singapore knows Luo Qihong, who is called the 'Black Dragon Crossing the River' by Singaporeans.

The color black has always represented evil. Luo Qihong’s bad reputation cannot be washed away, and of course he doesn’t want to wash it off.

Although Luo Qihong took away the property assets of Shi Jiadong, he still rented these properties to Shi Jiadong and other original tenants. After calculation, it would take 2.8 years to earn back the investment cost of 8 million Singapore dollars (property acquisition cost).

Tangs Department Store has a floor area of ​​78 square feet. It is located next to the Orchard Road MRT station and is a landmark building on Orchard Road. Its value is equivalent to that of The Landmark in Central, Hong Kong. Moreover, the land price is still soaring. It can be said that even if you have money, you may not be able to buy it.

"Mr. Luo, we have achieved our acquisition goal. Should we proceed to the next acquisition?" Zhang Wenhe asked, handing over the documents in his hand. "We have acquired 12% of Parkview Holdings' shares."

Luo Qihong took the document and simply flipped through it. "We spent more than 4 million Singapore dollars to acquire Tangs Department Store. Now the funds are not so abundant. We need to slow down and not be too anxious."

"And the business community in Singapore is a bit panicked, perhaps fearing us. The situations of Parkway Holdings and Tang & Tang are also different, and they need to add more capital."

(End of this chapter)