The birth of the Hong Kong Island family

September.

Looking at the stock market in the first eight months of 1977, it can be said that it was very quiet. The trading volume in eight months was only 4.5 billion Hong Kong dollars. According to this trend, the annual transaction volume will only be about 7 billion, which is only half of last year.

The performance of the Hang Seng Index in the first eight months was very poor. It peaked at 470 points at the beginning of the year, and then continued to decline. There were slight rebounds during the period, but they were insignificant. By July and August in the second half of the year, it had been running between 430 and 460 points, with extremely narrow fluctuations. .

To sum up, the market has no confidence, and the damage after the stock market crash still lingers in the hearts of investors. It can also be said that it is consolidating the foundation of 400~500 points.

The market is so quiet, but one stock is performing strongly. From the lowest price at the beginning of the year of 17 Hong Kong dollars per share, it has recently climbed to 25 Hong Kong dollars per share, and this stock is - Wharf Group.

Because of various adverse events, the stock should have fallen; but Wharf stock did not fall, but rose.

The trading volume of Wharf stocks is rising day by day, attracting the attention of securities analysts. Professional speculators with keen sense of smell intervened, and Wharf stocks were speculated higher. For a time, big and small households took action one after another.

Universal Group.

Lin Zhichao, Li Yeguang, Feng Yongfa, and Lin Ruhai are discussing.

Li Yeguang joined midway. He is known as the "Lin Zhichao Think Tank", so it is very reasonable for him to join.

"The news has been leaked, and the Wharf Group's stock will definitely rise like a thermometer being set on fire. Ruihai, how much do we hold? How much does it cost?"

Lin Ruihai said seriously: "The shareholding is only 17%. I strictly followed your instructions and carried out secret purchases through diversified accounts. There was no excessive secret purchase every month. I maintained the rhythm. In addition, the market is not good this year, Kowloon The bad news about Cangcang Group has stimulated us, so our current shareholding cost is HK$20.5 per share."

Wharf Group's share capital is less than 100 million shares, and Universal Group currently holds less than 17 million shares, costing HK$340 million.

But then, the cost of secret shopping will be greatly increased.

Li Yeguang said: "Wharf, which has always been called the two wings of Jardine Matheson, does not have an equal relationship with its sister company Land in terms of holding structure. Jardine controls Land, Land controls Wharf, and Land owns less than 20% of the equity of Wharf. We only A 20% equity stake is required, and the largest shareholder of Wharf will not be the Keswick family of Jardine Matheson, but Universal Group. This paves the way for the subsequent acquisition of Wharf and a public competition with Jardine Matheson in the stock market. Therefore, the top priority is to quickly increase purchases from the market to 20%. I believe Jardine Land will soon know who its opponent is!"

This is not obvious. In Hong Kong today, the charter king and Li Chaoren are far inferior. Only Lin Zhichao dominates Hong Kong business.

And Lin Zhichao also knew that the Wharf shares controlled by Land did not even have 15%.

Lin Zhichao nodded and said: "We really need to increase our holdings to 20% immediately. Don't hide it. And I am afraid that Land Holdings will also increase its holdings in the future. I want to observe the situation whether it is a quick decision or a protracted war." "

With his cash flow, he certainly does not need to work as hard as Bao Yugang in his previous life, but Lin Zhichao has to consider political factors, as well as some off-site factors and cost factors.

To acquire the Wharf Group, you only need to acquire 49% of the shares to be considered a winner. There is no need for a comprehensive acquisition. Currently, Hong Kong does not have strict securities laws. A comprehensive acquisition is only a suggestion and does not have legality.

The problem now is that once Landmark enters the market to acquire shares, we don’t know how high Wharf Group’s shares will rise. The reason why Bao Yugang stopped for more than a year in his previous life was that he was worried that a quick fix would make the stock price frighteningly high.

Lin Ruihai said: "Well, then I will find a securities company to cooperate and acquire 20% of the equity as soon as possible."

Lin Zhichao said: "Please work with Lawyer Li to increase our shareholding to 20% before making a public announcement."

Li Yeguang said: "No problem, it is also an honor for me to participate in such a significant acquisition!"

He is right. In the early 1970s, the Jardine Matheson Group easily acquired the milk company of which Zhou Xinian was the chairman. Jardine, which had been prosperous for more than a hundred years, could still make a fortune in the Hong Kong business world and the stock market at that time. , the "Bull War" is hailed by experts as a classic takeover war in the Hong Kong stock market.

Wharf Group is a listed company under the Jardine Matheson Group. It and Land Company are known as the "two wings" of Jardine Matheson. Kowloon Warehouse Company Limited's properties include most of the piers and warehouses in Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon, the New Territories and Hong Kong Island, as well as hotels, buildings, trams and the Star Ferry. With a long history and strong assets, it can be said that whoever owns Wharf controls most of Hong Kong's cargo handling, storage and transportation, and cross-harbour ferries.

Jardine Matheson, the parent company of Wharf, is known as the four major foreign banks in Hong Kong along with Hutchison Whampoa, Swire Group and Wheelock. Jardine Matheson is one of the four major foreign banks, and Jardine Maison is also the chairman of Wharf and Land, which shows that Wharf plays an important role in Jardine Matheson.

Tsim Sha Tsui, across the sea from Central District of Hong Kong Island, is increasingly becoming Hong Kong's tourist and business district. After the main train station moved eastward, Wharf moved its freight operations to Kwai Chung and Peninsula West, and the land vacated was used for the development of commercial buildings (Harbour City, Ocean Terminal).

Paul Chater, the founder of Wharf, acquired this Feng Shui treasure land at a very cheap price. Even the lease term was 999 years. Now the tide has risen, and the value has doubled.

The Wharf Group has successively built famous buildings such as Ocean Terminal, Harbor City, and Ocean Center Building, but its business methods are not commendable. They insist on using their own assets to build buildings and only rent but not sell them. This has caused a sluggish return of funds and has made the group into financial crisis. In order to resolve the crisis, a large number of bonds were sold to obtain cash, which in turn caused the group to accumulate debt, reduce its credibility, and depreciate its stocks.

In fact, Lin Zhichao has long had the ability to challenge Jardine Matheson, but has been affected by the environment and has been slow to take action.

now.

The arrow is on the string, ready to go!

The abnormality in Wharf Group's stock has also attracted sensitive financial commentators to analyze. One person titled "The Wharf Group's business begins to change" and pointed out that if the Wharf Group can make full use of its land resources, there will be business growth in the next ten years. Good momentum of annual growth of 20%.

Stimulated by various aspects, the shares of Kowloon Group began to rise, and various versions of rumors appeared in the market.

“Who is buying Wharf Group shares?”

“Could it be that Land is increasing its holdings again?”

"What are you thinking! Will the increase in land holdings lead to such an increase?"

"Right"

“Do you think it’s a Chinese-funded boss who is secretly absorbing Wharf Group shares?”

"Mr. Lin Zhichao"

"That's right, who else in Hong Kong has this strength?"

"No, we can't find the second person!"

Faced with the aggressive market situation, senior executives of the Jardine Department quickly discovered anomalies.

How can Jardine Taipan New Bijian not panic?

Today's peace is not like the peace of the past - wind gets wind, rain gets rain. For decades, Jardine has been too wary of the government and pursued a policy of "making money in Hong Kong and developing overseas." Because the overseas investment front was too long and the return on investment was low, it placed a heavy financial burden on Jardine and pushed Jardine into a desperate situation.

In the Landmark's conference room.

Newbigan held a high-level meeting, and many senior officials from the Jardine Department attended.

Although Wharf and Land are the two wings of Jardine Matheson, in fact, the holding structure is: Jardine Matheson controls Land, and Land controls Wharf Group.

According to this holding method, the Keswick family holds shares in Jardine Matheson and Co., and they should also hold a small amount of Land shares, but they certainly do not hold shares in the Wharf Group.

Newbijian said: "I can say with certainty that it is Lin Zhichao's Universal Group who is secretly buying Wharf Group's shares, because as far as I know, Universal Group is selling ships and withdrawing a large amount of funds."

What he meant was that Universal Group was selling the ships with the intention of acquiring the Wharf Group. Obviously, these people underestimated Lin Zhichao's strength too much.

This is the advantage of not being listed!

Bao Fuda said: "We can only respond to the current plan by repurchasing stocks from the market and increasing our holdings to a safe level to protect our country. Land's cash flow needs to start the Central Redevelopment Plan and invest in real estate. We can only Use part of the funds to buy back. Only Jardine Matheson took action, and both parties increased their holdings at the same time."

Land's strength has weakened a bit. After all, they lost the Star Building and Victoria Harbor Center (Connaught Building). In addition, they are currently undergoing reconstruction in Central, with huge investments. Therefore, not much funds can be spent.

Niubijian showed a wry smile: "Jihe Matheson's cash reserves are not large. According to the current rising rate of Wharf Group's stock price, it cannot increase its holdings of many shares."

Everyone in the conference room was silent. Why didn't Yihe have any money?

This is because the Keswick family transferred a large amount of Jardine Matheson's funds to overseas development, with the intention of making Jardine Matheson a global multinational enterprise.

Afterwards, Newbijian said: "The only solution for now is to ask HSBC for help!"

A senior executive said: "HSBC and Universal Group are both prospering and losing. How can they help us?"

Newbijian said: "We are all British-owned, so there is no reason to unite with Chinese-owned companies to deal with us. I personally went to Shen Bi for help, hoping that he could stop Lin Zhichao's acquisition."

Seeing this, everyone can only do this.

As everyone knows, Shen Bi is visiting Lin Zhichao at this time.

The purpose of his visit was not about the Wharf Group, but about shipping.

In Universal's office, Lin Zhichao and Shen Bi were drinking tea.

Shen Bi was the first to ask impatiently: "I heard that Global Shipping has sold off many oil tankers in the market. I don't know if it is because of the aging of the ships or other reasons!"

Lin Zhichao put down his tea cup and said: "I am reducing the ship."

Seeing that Lin Zhichao's words were simple, Shen Bi became even more suspicious.

"Is it to acquire the Wharf Group? But as far as I know, with your strength, there is no need to sell ships to acquire the Wharf Group."

How much HSBC accounts for in dividends every year is still far behind Universal Group. HSBC has been paying dividends for several years, and Universal Group has also been paying dividends for several years. The cash flow in this person's hands is probably 3 to 4 billion Hong Kong dollars (HSBC does not know the specific situation of Global Shipping, including debts, profits, etc.).

Seeing Shen Bi's doubts, Lin Zhichao said directly: "Shipping may be risky, so I just reduced the number of 100,000 to 150,000-ton oil tankers and some bulk ships that are old and have high operating costs."

Shen Bi said: "Where are VLCC and ULCC?"

Lin Zhichao said: "I will consider it too! In short, we are partners, and I will definitely make Huanyu Shipping safe and not let it suffer too much loss."

Shen Bi was very concerned about this issue, but still said uneasy: "How do you judge that shipping is risky?"

Upon seeing this, Lin Zhichao felt that there was no need to hide it, and would make a request of his own later.

"It's very simple! The British North Sea oil fields produce a large amount of oil, which can later be supplied to other European countries; the United States has restarted many oil fields, which can also reduce its dependence on the Middle East; Japan has started nuclear energy, and they have accumulated a large amount of oil in recent years. Due to various reasons, some Japanese shipping companies have actually shown signs of poor management, so I guess there may be a turning point in shipping next year or the year after."

Shen Bi nodded frequently after hearing this. After Lin Zhichao's analysis, even he could now clearly see the shipping situation.

"So, Universal Group not only acquired the Manhattan office building in the United States the year before last, but now it is planning to acquire the Wharf Group?"

Lin Zhichao said: "Yes. Mr. Shen, I have a merciless request."

Shen Bi immediately asked: "Mr. Lin doesn't want us, HSBC, to get involved in this acquisition war?"

Lin Zhichao said: "What if I still want to borrow money from HSBC?"

The implication is that not only does it not help Jardine, it also has to help Universal Group.

"No problem! If it's a loan, we'll just follow the normal process."

In Shen Bi's view, Yihe Matheson was destined to lose, and there was no reason for him to offend Lin Zhichao over this matter. What's more, what he cares about now is whether the world's shipping can be safe.

World Shipping currently has more than 6 million tons of oil tankers, and its value is about 400 million US dollars. HSBC holds 40% of the equity, which is almost 1 billion Hong Kong dollars!

Through this meeting, Lin Zhichao also understood that there is a difference between having a gun and not having a gun.

In his previous life, Bao Yugang also had a gun. HSBC held a large share in his fleet, and HSBC wanted to see him safe. HSBC needs him to do his best to steer Global Group safely, so it will give him great support.

After Shen Bi returned to the company, Niubijian came to the door soon.

"Master Shen Bi, for the sake of being a British investor, please go and persuade Lin Zhichao not to maliciously acquire the Wharf Group."

Shen Bi said: "Niubijian Taipan, Lin Zhichao's status in Hong Kong, HSBC has no way to stop his ideas. You should understand this."

The implication is that today's Hong Kong is no longer a world dominated by British capital.

Niubijian soon realized that he had truly realized it today - Lin Zhichao's strength and influence are huge, and now even HSBC cannot suppress him.

He quickly said: "In this case, please also ask HSBC to support us, Jardine Matheson, and provide loans to repurchase shares."

Shen Bi said without hesitation: "There is no problem with the loan, but there must be enough collateral, and the interest is normal interest. This is just a normal loan business. We at HSBC don't want to get involved in this acquisition war!"

Newbikin immediately panicked. If it was a normal loan, then Jardine and Land would have greater risks, and the process would be very slow.

In the end, he returned without success and could only raise funds to counter the takeover.

A week later.

"Father, we hold more than 20% of Wharf stocks. It seems that Jardine Matheson and Land have not mobilized enough funds to end the situation. It may be too late. However, buyers large and small in the market are actively entering the market. Now Wharf Group's stocks have Rising to HK$35 per share." Lin Ruihaihui reported.

Lin Zhichao was very calm. The Yihe Department had no consequences, it was just that they hadn't reacted yet.

He decided to play a trick on Newbikin!

"In this way, you have to do three things: the first thing is to continue to acquire Wharf Group's shares and strive to increase the value of our shareholding to more than 30% within one month; the second thing is to arrange for Asia Shipping took over 20% of the Wharf equity in our hands at a price of 40 Hong Kong dollars per share. The funds can be paid within one year. In fact, it is not transferred in name. The third thing is to ask the Wharf Group to arrange for two of us immediately. Director seats, tell them that we already hold 20% of the equity, and according to securities laws, 16% can have two director seats."

Lin Ruihai asked curiously: "Transfer 20% of our stocks to Asia Shipping?"

Lin Zhichao nodded and said more: "This can not only avoid legal risks, but also allow Yihe to relax its vigilance."

As soon as he clicked, Lin Ruihai immediately understood what his father meant.

"Okay, I'll make arrangements right away!"

Watching Lin Ruihai walk out of the office, Lin Zhichao smiled.

He did not regard Yihe as a rival at all, but rather used this opportunity to train his son.

He divided the acquisition into three stages:

In the first stage, the stock holdings are increased by 20%, that is, at this stage, it is a showdown with the Jardines Group, joining the Wharf Group, and taking a stab at it;

In the second stage, the stock holdings were increased to 30%. In the next month, a strategy was used to make Jardine relax his vigilance. The father and son entered the Wharf board of directors to familiarize themselves with the company's situation.

The third stage is the public acquisition, which is the decisive battle. Hire a financial company to pay a price that Jardine cannot afford, and increase the shareholding to 49% in one fell swoop, which is considered a victory in the acquisition. In this era, the comprehensive acquisition line is 51%. The law in this area is not yet complete, so there is no need to consider privatizing the Wharf Group.

Niubijian from Jardine Matheson reluctantly announced that Wharf Group would add two directors - Lin Zhichao and Lin Ruihai. At the same time, he was disturbed by a piece of news.

That is when Global Shipping announced that it would transfer 20% of the Wharf Group's shares to Asia Shipping for nearly HK$800 million; and Asia Shipping's Chairman Lin Zhichao and General Manager Lin Ruihai entered the Wharf Group's board of directors.

Asia Shipping is just a listed company with less than 3 million tons of ship owners, with a market value of only HK$800 million and an asset value of only about HK$1.2 billion. Now it spent a high price of HK$800 million to acquire Wharf Group shares.

Where does the money come from?

It goes without saying that it was HSBC that lent it.

Thinking of this, Niubijian secretly cursed HSBC.

But then he changed his mind and said to Bao Fuda, deputy general manager of Land and other senior executives: "Lin Zhichao did this because he was afraid of insufficient financial strength, so he transferred 20% of Wharf Group shares to the listed company he controlled."

Another deputy general manager, Bailey Ford, said: "If this is the case, then Lin Zhichao may not be able to acquire the Wharf Group. After all, the stock price has risen to more than 35 Hong Kong dollars per share, and they are still more than 30% short, that is, It will be at least 1.2 billion Hong Kong dollars, and even a public acquisition will require at least 2 billion Hong Kong dollars. We all know that shipping companies must have a high debt ratio, and it is understandable that they cannot take it out for a while."

Recently, the Jardine Department has been trying to find ways to raise funds, and they cannot come up with much funds to participate in acquisitions in a short period of time. Moreover, they only hold 12% of the shares, which is further away from the safe position of anti-takeover.

Hearing Bellefort's words, the senior leaders of the Jardine Department breathed a sigh of relief. They just couldn't raise funds in a short time. Now that the enemy is doing the same, it is equivalent to giving them a chance.

Niubijian said: "Well, since they can't make a public acquisition for a while, we can also have time to arrange a counter-takeover. Next, Lin Zhichao and his son Lin Ruihai enter the Wharf Group's board of directors. I must keep an eye on them. Every time in the future I will be present at every board meeting in person.”

In this way, it is equivalent to a fierce 'conflict' between the two groups in the Wharf Group.

In fact, Lin Zhichao will not give Niubijian too long.