Reborn Tycoon Rise

On November 20, in the conference room lobby on the third floor of the Cultural Oriental Hotel, staff from Jardine Matheson Group were carefully checking the people who came to attend the shareholders' meeting and their stock holding certificates.

"Shareholders" is a broad concept. From controlling shareholders to holders of a certain amount of stocks, they are called company shareholders. This shareholders' meeting held by Jardine Matheson Group and Land Group did not include shares worth one million. You are not qualified to enter here.

In addition to various shareholders, some important company employees and media reporters can also enter. At this moment, almost all the media in Xiangjiang rushed over. Shareholders' meetings are not uncommon in Hong Kong. Even if it is held by Jardine Matheson Group, it is impossible to attract so many media. The reason for this is naturally the battle for management rights today.

The Hong Kong Government, the Jockey Club, Jardine Matheson, and HSBC are known as the four major forces that control Hong Kong. Although Jardine Matheson is currently in decline, it is still one of the most influential financial groups in Hong Kong. Anyone with a discerning eye will know about this shareholder meeting. What happened naturally attracted the attention of almost all media.

After more than an hour of stock verification, hundreds of shareholders entered the venue. This is not to say that these are the only qualified shareholders of the Jardine Matheson Group. Many others just did not come to participate.

This is also where the management of Western companies is strong. Even in a shareholders' meeting, it is difficult to recruit all shareholders. Unless a big business mistake is made, it is also difficult to gather enough shareholders to threaten them. management rights.

As the current top management of the Jardine Department, Newbijian and Bao Fuda naturally need to be responsible for holding this conference. The first task of the conference is to publish the financial statements for the first three quarters of 1983:

"The loss was HK$1.583 billion, the total debt currently owed is 18.03 billion, and short-term debt is 2.57 billion."

This is the report submitted by Land. Jardine's operations are mostly normal, but because of its huge stake in Land, the company also suffered huge losses on its books.

Even though Newbijian has been in the mall all his life, he feels extremely embarrassed when he talks about such achievements now.

However, Simon Keswick, who is sitting in the same row, obviously has no such concerns. The more failed the current Jardine management team is, the higher the probability that he will be able to take back Jardine. Although this dismal performance is indeed a headache, That is also an issue that needs to be considered after competing for victory.

Under the rostrum, countless shareholders, even though they were mentally prepared, couldn't help but start talking when they heard such data. Many of them bought Land shares at high prices, and now their performance is not good. The company The losses were serious and all the money was tied up. Naturally, I was very dissatisfied with the result.

Seeing the dissatisfaction gradually spreading below, Simon Keswick asked: "Newbijian, Jardine and Land have suffered such serious losses. As the chief executive of the Jardine department, you don't know what kind of responsibilities you should bear?"

"Of course I have the responsibility." Niubijian quickly recovered and said: "But the most important thing at the moment is not to hold anyone responsible, but to do our best to solve the debt problem of Land. Only by saving the company first can we There’s a sense of accountability.”

"What method do you have to solve Land's debt problem?" Simon Keswick asked with a frown. This is also a question he is more concerned about. After all, if Newbikin is driven away, he will have to face nearly 20 billion. huge debt.

Newbijian did not answer directly, but waited for a moment. After the venue became a little quieter, he said: "Dear shareholders, the debt problem facing Real Estate now has threatened the company's normal operations, so I hope that we can pass a share increase today. Financing will allow both Jardine and Land to obtain sufficient funds to get out of this predicament."

"I don't agree." Simon Keswick immediately objected. At the same time, he couldn't help cursing secretly in his heart. He thought this guy could come up with some good method, but he actually wanted to raise money in the stock market again.

A company is facing a huge debt crisis, and the actual solution is very limited. The first solution is to go through the bank: you can persuade the creditor bank to lower the interest rate or postpone the repayment, or you can find another bank to provide long-term low-interest loans. funds to meet short-term debt.

The second method is to sell assets to reduce debt. But this method of land acquisition does not work at all. If the properties under it are sold, then the land acquisition will not be called real estate.

Other methods are to raise financing through some channels, the most common one is the stock market, and the most common method is to issue bonds, but whether it is through banks or issuance of bonds, they are only temporary solutions, similar to tearing down the east wall to make up for the west wall, but Temporary emergencies can be alleviated, but the total debt does not change.

However, equity financing is different. This method will not increase the company's liabilities, and at the same time, it can obtain a huge amount of funds to reduce the entire company's debt ratio.

This method is also the favorite of management. It can not only obtain funds, but also further dilute the equity in the hands of major shareholders, killing two birds with one stone.

"Chairman, it seems that your guess is correct. The last time Niubijian promised us to release the shares of Yihe Mutual Holdings, it was just to prevent the Bank of East Asia from continuing to collect debts, so that Yihe Land could temporarily get out of the crisis. In this way, he We can also deal with the Keswick family calmly." Wang Liming said with a smile.

Xu Zhi nodded and said, "Yes, now he is also taking advantage of Land's debt crisis and wants to dilute the Keswick family's shares through a share increase plan. At the same time, our shares will also be diluted."

Wang Liming frowned and asked: "But he is not worried. Should we join forces with Keswick to abolish his big class first?"

"No." Xu Zhi shook his head and said: "Simon Keswick doesn't know about the shares in my hand. Once he knows, his enemy will immediately change from Niubijian to us.

At this time, Simon Keswick needs Newbijian to stand firmly in the position of Jardine Matheson, because if he steps down, we will most likely take advantage of the opportunity and immediately take over the Jardine Group. After all, here Most of the shareholders are Chinese, and Simon Keswick doesn't dare to bet at all. Once the bet loses, Jardine and the Keswick family will no longer have any relationship.

At the same time, the same is true for us. If Newbijian steps down, we have no absolute certainty that we can defeat the Keswick family, which has been in business for a hundred years. Once the Keswick family returns to the top management of Jardine, they will inevitably use their hands again. We have the authority to increase shares for our own family. This will make it very difficult and almost impossible for us to acquire Jardine Matheson and Land.

The two of us control nearly 35% of the stock. For a large group like Jardine Matheson with dispersed equity, this share is basically the decisive voting power. When neither of us is fully sure, we can only maintain the current situation. , for backup. "

Wang Liming said: "So Newbijian is using this balance to achieve his purpose of continuing to serve as the Taipan of Jardine. The Keswick family will join forces with him to fight against us. As long as Jardine faces the possibility of being annexed by Chinese capital, If you threaten him, he can calmly sit in this big class."

"As a management without equity, facing two powerful major shareholders, Niubijian's method is very good. At least in the short term, he can still use this balance to keep his position. As long as he finds a way to make the company By turning losses into profits, he will have a better chance of continuing to control the entire Jardine Department." Xu Zhi said with a smile.