Hong Kong 1980: The Savage Era

Chapter 531 [Too Domineering]

The corner of Guo Lingming's mouth twitched, and he said, "Mr. Luo, aren't you afraid that I will turn around and cooperate with Robert Kuok? In that case, Luo Sheng's chances will be even slimmer."

"Mr. Guo is telling the truth, but I am a person who will not suffer any loss. If I cannot take down the Frasers Group, I will definitely start with the City Development Company. Even if I fail, I will not give up. Mr. Guo will probably have a hard time in the future." Luo Qihong smiled slightly. "Mr. Guo may not believe it, but I think your brother understands."

Guo Lingming looked at Guo Lingcan, only to see the latter nodded, so Guo Lingming fell silent. He had already read Luo Qihong's background information and knew how powerful this man was and his financial resources were unfathomable.

"How about I exchange the shares of Guoco Group with Mr. Guo? If there is a difference, I will make up for it with cash. How about that?" Luo Qihong suggested tentatively.

Luo Qihong didn't know the internal relationships of Guo Fangfeng's family, so he wanted to use this to test it out.

Suddenly, Guo Lingcan became anxious. "Mr. Luo, we have an agreement that we cannot sell the shares of Guohao Group without authorization. Have you forgotten?"

"Haha!! I forgot, sorry!" Luo Qihong has got the answer he wanted. Guo Fangfeng's family is not as harmonious as imagined. It seems that the separation was forced.

There was a flash of disappointment in Guo Lingming's eyes. Obviously, he wanted to take the opportunity to interfere in the affairs of the Hong Leong Group, but the Guo Lingcan brothers did not give him any chance.

Guo Lingcan was still worried that Luo Qihong would do something that would be disadvantageous to him, so he gritted his teeth and said, "Lingming, change the conditions. I believe Luo Sheng is very sincere, and a 50% premium is not a problem."

Guo Lingming shook his head. "F&N Group has a good prospect and is worth long-term investment. Selling it now is not in the interests of the city development company."

Luo Qihong tried to persuade Guo Lingming for more than ten minutes but still failed to convince him. He then realized that this man really had no intention of selling his shares in the F&N Group and it would be a bad idea to continue forcing him.

So he could only promise a few benefits and get him to sign an agreement that he would not support Robert Kuok and could only support himself.

Although this trip did not achieve the goal, it was not a failure, after all, it received the support of 8.6% of the shares.

Soon, Luo Qihong and Zhang Wenhe went to Malaysia's Sime Darby Berhad and successfully acquired 6% of F&N Group's shares at a high price, increasing their shareholding to 29.1%.

Together with the 8.6% of the Urban Development Company, Hengan Investment Company already has 37.7% of the equity voting rights.

By the end of March, Hengan Investment Company's secret purchase of F&N Group shares was exposed, and Robert Kuok got the news.

Luo Qihong was also decisive and immediately asked Wan Citi Financial's representative Heng'an Investment to launch an acquisition of F&N Group at S$9 per share, a 2% premium.

In order to better complete the acquisition, Luo Qihong bribed Singapore newspapers and created a large-scale advertising campaign, mainly attacking the F&N Group for its successive losses at the hands of Robert Kuok. Of course, this was not fabricated news but real information.

By the beginning of April, the acquisition had been going on for three days. Lo Chih-Hung and Robert Kuok were showing off their magic in the newsprint, but there were not many places where Robert Kuok could attack Lo Chih-Hung.

Since Luo Qihong made his debut, there have been very few cases of failed investments, only profitable ones, which put Robert Kuok at a disadvantage.

Hengan Investment Company took the opportunity to acquire 8.2% of the shares, increasing its shareholding to 37.3%, 9% more than Robert Kuok's shareholding.

Robert Kuok finally found another major shareholder - City Development Corporation, and hurried to negotiate with Kuok Leng Ming. Unfortunately, Kuok Leng Ming kept saying other things and refused to express his support clearly.

Seeing that Luo Qihong's shareholding was about to exceed 40%, Robert Kuok had no choice but to grit his teeth and make an appointment to meet with Luo Qihong, hoping to persuade Luo Qihong to stop the acquisition.

Of course, Robert Kuok knew that the chances of success were slim, but he still had to give it a try.

Singapore International Hotel. Robert Kuok brought his eldest son, Kuok Khoon Cheng, to the appointment. This was the second time that Luo Qihong and Robert Kuok met.

Robert Kuok is called the most mysterious billionaire by the Hong Kong media. He seldom appears in front of media reporters, and even most of the wealthy people in Hong Kong have never seen him.

His low-keyness is extremely low-key among Chinese businessmen, which may be caused by some special experiences of his.

"Mr. Luo, long time no see!" Robert Kuok shook hands with Luo Qihong with a smile, as if the acquisition had never happened.

"Hello, Mr. Guo! Is this your son?" Luo Qihong stared at Kuok Khoon Cheng who was standing sideways to Robert Kuok. He was not handsome, but the temperament he exuded proved that he was a rich second-generation.

"Hello, Mr. Luo!" Kuok Khoon Cheng rarely goes to Hong Kong and spends most of his time in Malaysia and Singapore. He controls Wilmar International, which is owned by the Kuok family.

Wilmar International is the world's largest palm oil planter, processor and trader, with production areas covering Indonesia, Malaysia and other countries. It also operates multiple edible oil brands, such as Golden Arowana, and is the agricultural enterprise with the highest market value in Singapore.

In the world, the most profitable things are not arms or anything like that, but monopoly industries, such as the palm oil industry controlled by Wilmar International.

However, before coming, Guo Kongcheng had read through Luo Qihong's background information and knew why his father was so troubled.

It is incredible that it took him fourteen years to build his business empire to its current size. You should know that his father Robert Kuok also spent nearly 30 years to create such a large business empire.

Luo Qihong not only has huge industries in Hong Kong, but also seems to have started investing all over the world. He even has a lot of assets in the United States. His total assets may have exceeded that of the current Guo family.

After praising each other for a few words, they started to get down to business.

"Mr. Luo, I won't beat around the bush. What conditions do you want in order to give up the acquisition of F&N Group?" Robert Kuok asked in a very imposing manner.

Luo Qihong restrained his smile and said seriously, "You know, I spent such a huge price, it is impossible for me to make a profit by sniping. Your family has been running the F&L Group for more than ten years. Now the F&L Group has encountered some big problems. It's time to change someone to manage it."

“The businesses of Frasers and Neave are very compatible with those of Yeo Hiap Seng Group. Once they are merged, there is a high possibility of unexpected results.”

Robert Kuok was very angry but he could do nothing about Lo Chih Hong. What a bullshit! It was Yeo Hiap Seng Group that needed F&N Group, not F&N Group that needed Yeo Hiap Seng Group. Could it be that they could just snatch it away?
"Luo Sheng, I am willing to jointly manage the F&L Group with you. This is the biggest concession I can make."

Luo Qihong shook his head. "Although this is a hostile takeover, I don't want a tiger hiding next to me, so I reject the request for a joint venture."

"I can buy the shares of F&L Group held by Mr. Guo's family at a high price, even a double premium is fine, or if Mr. Guo puts forward other conditions, I will try my best to meet them."

"Isn't Mr. Luo too overbearing? My family has been running the F&N Group for more than ten years. Without my family's cooperation, it would be difficult for Mr. Luo to completely control the group." Guo Kongcheng finally couldn't stand it anymore and ignored his father's instructions when he came: talk less and watch more.

"Really? To be honest, I'm already prepared to help F&N Group with a major reshuffle, as well as to fully acquire F&N Group, so Mr. Guo's threat won't work." Luo Qihong said with a smile.

In fact, he did not want to fall out with the Kuok family, but there is no such thing as having the best of both worlds, so he could only choose to take over the F&N Group.

"Mr. Luo, are you really not going to give in?" Robert Kuok narrowed his eyes and stared at Luo Qihong. Things had come to this point, and Robert Kuok could not care about anything else.

(End of this chapter)