We're building a super chaebol in Hong Kong

“Since you want me to give up Wharf, I naturally need a substitute. This way, we each have room to negotiate,” Su Cheng said, nodding.

He never revealed his ambition to target Hutchison Whampoa from the start. As long as Bao the Shipping King didn't expose him, Shen Bi wouldn't know.

“Buying Hutchison Whampoa isn't impossible. As long as the price is right, we can certainly sell. It's just that I don't know what price Mr. Su can offer?” Although Shen Bi was a little surprised, he wasn't overly astonished.

Controlling Hutchison Whampoa is just for making money. For HSBC Bank, it's just a transaction.

“Currently, Hutchison Whampoa's stock price is around HK$5 per share. At this price, I'll acquire it outright!” Su Cheng said directly.

Currently, HSBC Bank holds 90 million shares of Hutchison Whampoa, accounting for 22.4% of the entire company. In other words, if they could buy their shares at HK$5, it would only cost HK$450 million. Of course, Su Cheng knew this was impossible.

Because everyone knows that Hutchison Whampoa's stock price in the market is very low. Hutchison Whampoa internally assessed that their net asset value reached 5.8 billion, but if calculated based on the market value, Hutchison Whampoa's total market value is only around HK$2 billion. It can be said that this is a seriously undervalued company.

According to the stock price, Hutchison Whampoa's total market value is even far lower than Wharf's, because Wharf has already been hyped up a bit too much after the last exposure event.

In fact, in Su Cheng's view, Wharf's value is not as good as Hutchison Whampoa's.

It can be said that everyone gets what they need.

“That's impossible. Hutchison Whampoa's stock price and actual value are seriously inconsistent. Selling at that price would be a bargain sale,” Shen Bi directly refused.

“As far as I know, HSBC Bank only spent HK$150 million to invest in Hutchison International. In just less than three years, you've earned HK$300 million. You've made a big profit anyway,” Su Cheng said with a smile.

Of course, Su Cheng actually knew that these were just superficial things. Back then, Hutchison International had serious internal losses, so entering at a low price was normal. But now, under the management of HSBC Bank, Hutchison Whampoa has turned losses into profits and become a profitable group. It's only right for HSBC Bank to make money.

Little Ai had told him some of the stories behind this before.

“Mr. Shen Bi, I think it's time to sell Hutchison Whampoa. As a financial institution, HSBC Bank can't keep holding Hutchison Whampoa in its hands. As a shareholder of HSBC Bank, I suggest selling it if the conditions are right. As for the terms, we can discuss them in detail,” Bao the Shipping King interjected at the right time.

In fact, Shen Bi was well aware that as a financial institution, constantly controlling Hutchison Whampoa was unreasonable, unlawful, and inconvenient. It would eventually have to be sold, but a suitable buyer simply couldn't be found for the time being.

At this time, HSBC Bank was preparing for future uncertainties and was carrying out international deployment, planning to purchase Marine Midland Bank in the United States. If Hutchison Whampoa could be sold, HSBC Bank's funds would also be much more abundant, giving them more confidence in the purchase.

After Hutchison Whampoa returned to profitability and embarked on the right track of development, HSBC Bank had already begun looking for a suitable buyer, but they also had requirements for the buyer.

First of all, the buyer needs to have excellent vision; otherwise, if they buy it and cause Hutchison Whampoa to lose money again, wouldn't that be a waste of resources? Secondly, they must maintain a good cooperative relationship with HSBC Bank; otherwise, selling to a competitor would be like sending supplies to the enemy. Of course, it would be even better if they had sufficient strength.

“If Mr. Su wants to buy, I personally think that HK$10 per share is a very suitable price. If Mr. Su agrees, we can complete the transaction directly,” Shen Bi said again at this time.

If they could sell it at this price, not to mention him, the vast majority of HSBC Bank's senior management should agree to this condition.

Su Cheng shook his head directly and said, “Mr. Shen Bi, you can't have everything your way, can you? First of all, my original target was Wharf, and it was you and Mr. Bao who asked me to sell it to you. Secondly, Hutchison Whampoa's stock price has been around HK$5 for a long time, and I personally think it's very reasonable to sell at this price.

If you sell it at HK$10, that's double the price. I believe no buyer would be willing to buy at such a price. Otherwise, I'll still choose Wharf as the target of control. As for Hutchison International, you can find a suitable buyer to sell it to.”

Su Cheng's idea was very simple: to retreat in order to advance, which could be considered a form of aggressive tactic.

He was sure that HSBC Bank definitely wanted to find a suitable buyer, but simply couldn't find one for the time being. Secondly, the Global Shipping Group was also a breakthrough point.

“Mr. Shen Bi, as the chairman of HSBC Bank, I hope you consider it carefully. Hutchison Whampoa's buyer is not easy to find. There's no need to fix the seller so rigidly. Wharf is really important to our Global Shipping Group,” Bao the Shipping King said again at this time.

“How about this, let's compromise. If Mr. Su is sincere about acquiring Hutchison Whampoa, I'll talk about my conditions:

1. HSBC Bank will sell it to you at a price of HK$7.5 per share, and Mr. Su needs to pay us in full;

2. Mr. Su needs to transfer the 23% equity in his hands to Global Shipping Group. As for the price, you can discuss it yourselves;

3. Mr. Su needs to sign a cooperation agreement with our bank, and all the funds of Hutchison Whampoa Group will be handled by HSBC Bank.

These are the conditions for now, and I need to have a meeting with the board of directors regarding the above. Our transaction can only be completed after the board of directors agrees.”

At this time, Shen Bi quickly came up with preliminary conditions.

“Little Ai, what was the price that Li Ka-shing initially signed to buy Hutchison Whampoa in the other world?” At this time, Su Cheng didn't rush to answer Shen Bi, but asked Little Ai in his mind.

“Master, the condition they reached was HK$7.1 per share, but in addition, Li Ka-shing also promised many conditions that were beneficial to HSBC Bank, which led to the sale at this price.”

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The transaction price of HK$7.1 and HK$7.5 differs by HK$36 million.

This is not too much, and the price is still reasonable.

When Su Cheng was in his previous life, he saw a piece of news that Li Ka-shing was selling off domestic assets on a large scale and taking British investments, and Su Cheng felt a little strange.

At this time, he probably guessed that Li Ka-shing should have signed some agreements with HSBC Bank and was controlled by others.

And he, of course, couldn't sign these unequal conditions.

In that case, taking out these 36 million is nothing.

The most important thing is that he earned too much on the Wharf side, which was HK$50 per share, a full HK$1 billion.

Since he made a lot of money there, what does it matter if he loses a little here?

Thinking of this, Su Cheng stood up directly and said, “I can agree to the three conditions you mentioned. Then, I'll wait for good news from Mr. Shen Bi. I hope we have a pleasant cooperation!”

“Pleasant cooperation!”

The two shook hands with each other.

This negotiation can be considered a preliminary agreement.