Chapter 174: Agree to Their Terms!
Faced with Percy Niblett's question, both men began to carefully consider their options. "Suppose Lin Haoran really is Citibank's secret representative in Hong Kong. From the information we have, Citibank is unlikely to make large-scale investments here, at least not for the next few years. Future involvement would depend on whether Hong Kong's outlook improves. So under that assumption, Citibank wouldn't attempt to acquire Land Holdings. As for the second possibility, if the funds are actually Lin Haoran's own, and he's already spent over HK$2 billion within two years, it's unbelievable. I even think part of his funding must have come from loans through Citibank," Bowers said after a short silence.
He continued, "For example, when Lin Haoran privatized Qingzhou Cement Company, he obtained financing through Mortimer Company. Later, he also mortgaged stocks at Hang Seng Bank to secure a HK$45 million loan. Clearly, he had external support to complete those deals. Thus, it's unlikely that Lin Haoran's own capital alone could have accomplished the Hongkong Electric Holdings acquisition. It's much more plausible that Citibank provided loans for that. This would also explain why Lin Haoran maintains such a close relationship with Citibank. Without good ties, Citibank wouldn't have financed him."
Bowers pointed out that although Jardine Matheson was a shareholder and board member of HSBC, they had witnessed HSBC favor Chinese entrepreneurs like Pao Yue-Kong during the Wheelock battle, extending a HK$2.1 billion loan without hesitation while ignoring their fellow British firms. This betrayal had already cracked the facade of unity between British conglomerates and HSBC.
Land Holdings' eagerness to invest aggressively was a result of this shift. Jardine wanted to surpass HSBC and reclaim dominance among British financial groups.
Bowers' analysis made Percy Niblett nod in agreement. His thoughts mirrored Bowers' assessment.
"Moreover," Percy added, "we must ensure that if Hongkong Electric holds these shares, they must offer them back to Jardine first if they ever decide to sell. Otherwise, if a Chinese consortium tries to acquire Land Holdings and Hongkong Electric sells their shares to them, we'd still be vulnerable!"
Bowers highly praised this idea. Percy Niblett, the taipan of Jardine Matheson, had clearly thought things through more thoroughly.
"Since that's the case, let's convene a Land Holdings board meeting. Let the board formally decide," Percy Niblett said decisively.
At Land Holdings, board decisions were largely controlled by Percy and Bowers anyway, so the meeting was just a formality to spread responsibility.
Other board members included several British shareholders and company executives.
Holding an emergency meeting wouldn't take long.
This was a major issue involving a potential profit of billions of Hong Kong dollars and the issuance of new shares — a decision beyond personal authority.
Issuing new shares would slightly dilute existing shareholders' stakes. For example, if Land Holdings originally had 500 million shares, issuing an additional 6.4% would expand the total to about 534 million shares, reducing original shareholders' holdings from 100% to about 93.6%.
Still, issuing new shares was a normal method for listed companies seeking development funds.
Such a significant matter naturally required board approval.
Three hours later, Land Holdings held an emergency board meeting.
As expected, with Percy Niblett and Bowers both supporting it, the board unanimously approved the proposal without opposition.
Regarding how many shares to issue, Lin Haoran had already made it clear that the valuation should be based on Land Holdings' previous day's closing price. Percy and Bowers didn't oppose this, understanding that Hongkong Electric held the upper hand. They were the ones seeking cooperation; negotiating too hard could jeopardize everything.
To secure the right to develop the North Point site, Land Holdings had no choice but to compromise.
If a developer sold pre-construction flats too early during a boom, they would miss out on future price increases. Thus, large developers like Land Holdings preferred to complete developments before selling.
The profit potential of the North Point project was huge — it might even be unimaginable if property prices continued to surge.
After the board meeting, Percy Niblett, acting as Land Holdings' executive director, immediately rushed to Hongkong Electric. Meanwhile, Lin Haoran was already at home, lying on the sofa reading.
At Huanyu Investment Company, daily absorption of shares from several listed companies continued in an orderly fashion. Every evening, after the market closed, Su Zhixue reported that day's results to Lin Haoran.
In his hands, Lin Haoran was reading Management Practices. Even though he trusted professional managers to run his companies, he still wanted to deepen his own management knowledge.
Just as he became engrossed in the book, the telephone rang.
He set the book aside and picked up the receiver.
"Boss, this is Chen Shoulin. Mr. Bowers has just returned. After their internal discussions, they decided to accept our terms. However, they have one request: if Hongkong Electric ever decides to sell the Land Holdings shares in the future, Jardine must have the first right of refusal. Only if Jardine declines may Hongkong Electric sell to others. I need to ask for your approval. If you agree, I will respond immediately, and they will proceed with preparing the contract. They wish for the signing ceremony to take place at Gloucester Tower with reporters present to witness it," Chen Shoulin reported.
"Agree to their terms!" Lin Haoran said without hesitation.
After all, he had no intention of selling those shares anyway. The shares Hongkong Electric would hold were part of his long-term plan to seize control of Land Holdings.
"Good, Boss. Then tomorrow morning before 10 AM, we'll meet at Land Holdings' headquarters. Please prepare accordingly," Chen Shoulin said.
"Alright. See you tomorrow morning!" Lin Haoran said with a smile and hung up.
Land Holdings agreeing to the proposal was a massive victory for him.
Having Hongkong Electric hold 6.4% of Land Holdings' shares would greatly strengthen his future acquisition plans.
If Huanyu Investment could quietly absorb over 24% of shares from the secondary market, adding Hongkong Electric's 6.4% would mean he controlled over 30% — enough to challenge Jardine's dominance at Land Holdings.
Of course, for safety, the more shares he controlled, the better. British financial groups were famously united. Even if Jardine only held 20%, there were plenty of allied shareholders ready to back them. Thus, Lin Haoran's real battle was not just against Jardine but against all British shareholders of Land Holdings.
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