The birth of the Hong Kong Island family

Li Jiacheng hurriedly found Lin Zhichao and said straight to the point: "I know that I am weak and my ability to acquire Wheelock is far inferior. I hope to form a consortium with Cheung Kong to launch a counter-takeover of Wheelock. Zhang Yuliang has agreed to sell 34% of my shares Equity, as long as you are willing, Cheung Kong Group can give priority to segregating Wheelock’s assets in the future!”

He understands that this is an acquisition worth more than 2 billion Hong Kong dollars. No matter how willing Lin Zhichao is to help him, he cannot fully help him. After all, the two are not relatives.

Therefore, only by bringing Lin Zhichao into the consortium can we have any hope of victory.

His attitude was very low, saying that he could divide the assets of Wheelock Group in the future and let Cheung Kong Group have priority!

As expected, Lin Zhichao immediately looked highly at Li Jiacheng. If it were another tycoon, he would have agreed without hesitation. After all, Wheelock and its subsidiaries have a total of four buildings in Central. Although except Wheelock Building, the other three buildings can only be regarded as the value of Lin Zhichao's "Yingzhi Building" (medium-sized buildings), but they are also considered substantial assets. , not to mention Lane Crawford Department Store.

Even Wheelock Shipping was actually not in the process of liquidation, because Xiao Maden also started selling ships in 1983, which was more decisive than Zhao Congyan and the Dong family.

However, Lin Zhichao also had concerns. He said: "Zhang Yuliang and I have known each other for more than 30 years, and there have been some misunderstandings during this period!"

Li Jiacheng immediately said: "Don't worry, Lin Sheng. In fact, I have heard a little bit about it, but now Zhang Yuliang is eager to sell his shares. He will transfer 34% of the shares to me tonight. This is what I think. Tonight, Changhe Real Estate announced Anti-takeover, but it will inevitably usher in Qiu Deba's second bidding, and it will be justified for you to join in at that time. "

Having said that, Lin Zhichao also seriously considered, is there anything he likes in Wheelock Group?

In fact, there is nothing, just a few buildings, Defeng Building is good, it is comparable to Land in a few core buildings; when Land used Jardine House in exchange for Lane Crawford Building, it was actually a 'loss', but in order to build Land The square is acceptable.

As for Lane Crawford Department Store, this asset is quite good!

Thinking of this, Lin Zhichao said: "Okay, I will help you acquire Wheelock Group. In the future, you will sell Lane Crawford Department Store to me and ensure that the shares in my hand can appreciate!"

Li Jiacheng said without hesitation: "No problem!"

In his opinion, Lin Zhichao's demand for any assets is not too much. After all, without Lin Zhichao, he would not have the strength at all.

Later, Lin Zhichao arranged for Hang Lung Bank to provide Li Jiacheng with a loan check of HK$1 billion, and Li Jiacheng suddenly became confident.

As for the deposits of Hang Lung Bank, Lin Zhichao of course injected US$500 million into it. In addition, due to his credibility and influence, the deposits of Hang Lung Bank also skyrocketed.

That evening (2.14), Qiu Teck-bat announced that his equity stake in Wheelock had increased to 23.5%, showing an aura of determination to win.

However, immediately afterwards, Li Jiacheng of CK Hutchison Real Estate announced that he had directly or indirectly obtained 34% of the equity of the major shareholder Zhang Yuliang's family, and would join forces with the Zhang Yuliang family to conduct a reverse takeover. The price was 6.66 for A shares and 0.66 for B shares, which was higher than that of the Qiu Teck Pu Group. Give out 10%.

There's something good to watch now!

Therefore, many people who hold Wheelock stocks took a smart approach - to sit on the sidelines. According to their experience, Wheelock will never be a "Blue Lantern" this time.

The inquisitive Hong Kong citizens became interested in the background of this incident and the people involved:

Why did Qiu Teck-batt acquire Wheelock? How could the Madden family sell their stake? How did Zhang Yuliang team up with Li Jiacheng to carry out anti-takeover?

The media soon gave the answer:

The story begins in the late 1970s. At that time, the world's shipping industry was declining. Lin Zhichao had foreseen it and reduced the number of ships to land in time. However, Madden was blinded by the temporary phenomenon of the "bulk carrier boom" and had the illusion that there was another world. The climax of shipping has arrived, so a large number of new ships have been built and purchased, which has laid the foundation for too much debt and insufficient cash.

The difficulties of Wheelock Shipping Company triggered a conflict between Wheelock's two major shareholders, George Madden and Yuliang Chang. It is generally believed that George Madden is the founder of Wheelock and is naturally the largest shareholder. actually not. As early as the 1970s, the position of Wheelock's largest shareholder had been taken away by Zhang Yuliang.

Zhang Yuliang is the fourth son of Zhang Zhushan, a famous businessman in the 1930s. During the Japanese invasion, Zhang Zhushan passed away. His wife Guo Geng fled south to Hong Kong with her four sons. Later, she made a fortune selling Western medicine and invested in real estate to make her wealth in a short period of time. With the sudden increase in wealth, the Zhang family has joined the wealthy family in Hong Kong.

The Zhang family has always been known for being united and "living together for public wealth". Zhang Yuliang is in charge of the family business. In the early 1970s, Zhang Yuliang exchanged many of his properties for Wheelock shares and became Wheelock's largest shareholder. Because the Zhang family has always kept a low profile, few outsiders knew about it. It was not until the late 1970s that the main members of the Zhang family passed away one after another, and the internal strife in the family was exposed by the press. Only then did Hong Kong people get to know this wealthy family, and did they know that Zhang Yuliang was Wheelock's largest shareholder.

The conflict between Zhang Yuliang and Madden is said to have started when Wheelock Shipping Company made a request to a real estate trust company with 1 billion yuan in cash to lend it HK $93.6 million within three years. However, the real estate trust company did not Rejecting this request forced Wheelock Shipping Company to borrow millions of dollars from Wheelock \u0026 Company to meet its urgent needs. For this reason, Zhang Yuliang and Ma Deng suddenly had a bad relationship.

For a long time, real estate and shipping have been Wheelock's two major investment projects, like the two legs of Wheelock. By 1985, as the shipping industry had not yet improved, one of his legs was broken. At this time, the issue of the return of 1997 appeared again, and the discord between the Madden family and Zhang Yuliang became increasingly obvious. At this time, the old Madden was old, so he handed over all his business to his only son, John Madden. Unexpectedly, young Madden has no intention of inheriting his father's business, and he believes that the Madden family only owns 14% of Wheelock's shares. If it is at odds with other shareholders, it is easy for others to take advantage of it. Instead of sitting back and waiting for death, it is better to retreat. To advance, he secretly sold his shares to Singaporean wealthy businessman Qiu Teck Puat.

Khoo Teck Puat is a descendant of Chinese descent from Borneo. He is the founder and one of the major shareholders of Bank of Malaysia. He has close contacts with the father of the King of Brunei and is famous in Southeast Asia. He acquired Wheelock this time because he wanted to enter the Hong Kong business community through Wheelock and establish his dominance.

As for CK Hutchison Real Estate's Li Jiacheng, although he has achieved remarkable results in recent years (rights issue at the peak, bottom buying from 1983 to 1984), the media still did not reveal his confidence in acquiring Wheelock.

Three days after Li Jiacheng proposed a counter-takeover, which was the Lunar New Year's Eve and the last trading day of the Year of the Rat, Qiu Deba announced that he would raise the purchase price again, pricing A shares at 7 yuan and B shares at 7 cents.

At the close of the day, Qiu Deba announced that he held 24.57% of Wheelock's shares, and Li Jiacheng announced that he held 34.15%. The difference is only 10 percentage points.

Next is the Lunar New Year, and the market is closed for five days.

For many investors, this is...

There was an unbearable silence.

A difficult new year.

"Li Sheng, you didn't make it clear that it was Lin Zhichao who supported your acquisition of Wheelock!" Zhang Yuliang couldn't help but ask Li Jiacheng on New Year's Eve and asked angrily.

Almost everyone in Hong Kong knew about his conflict with Lin Zhichao, and Li Jiacheng would definitely know about it, but he didn't expect that Li Jiacheng deliberately didn't say it, which made him very angry.

Li Jiacheng smiled and said: "Zhang Sheng, as far as I know, Lin Sheng is a gentleman. Although there have been misunderstandings between him and you, we have always been talking about business and have never been particularly malicious. So I don't think there is any problem. , so I didn’t mention this matter deliberately!”

Zhang Yuliang suddenly had nothing to say. He couldn't express the grievances in his heart directly! Although Lin Zhichao did not attack their family in a "malignant" manner, he still took targeted measures, causing the Zhang family to suffer heavy losses three times.

"Then what to do next? The Qiu Teck Puat Consortium has already bid 7 Hong Kong dollars and 7 cents. How much do you plan to bid?"

Now that the matter has come to this, it’s time to suffer the consequences of being dumb. First, wash away the shame in front of you and drive away the Qiu Deba Consortium.

Unexpectedly, Li Jiacheng 'turned his back' at this time and said: "Things have developed to this extent. After the beginning of the new year, the final decision will be made in one fell swoop. But this is where my strength falls short. I have carefully analyzed it with the consulting company. 7.4 Hong Kong dollars and 7.4 Mao The price can allow Qiu Tak-ba to retreat. And as a precaution, it is necessary to acquire the joint enterprise for HK$11 per share in cash, because this company has 6.8% of Wheelock shares and cannot fall into the hands of Qiu Tak-ba. In order to do this, Zhang Sheng, do you have any other way?"

He asked knowingly, and Zhang Yuliang had already made it clear that he was going to cash out.

As expected, Zhang Yuliang said: "Didn't you say there is no problem with your funds?"

Li Jiacheng said immediately: "There is indeed no problem! It's just that I plan to let Changshi Group join the consortium to acquire it together, so that the remaining shares in your hands, Zhang Sheng, can be cashed out smoothly!"

Zhang Yuliang's face suddenly became livid and he said, "Don't you have the support of other financial groups?"

Li Jiacheng said: "Zhang Sheng, since you have decided to leave Hong Kong, why are you still entangled in the past? What's more, now Lin Sheng is the number one person in Hong Kong, and you still have assets to develop in Hong Kong, why not put aside your prejudices and put your interests first? !”

Zhang Yuliang had no choice. After all, the shares were now in Li Jiacheng's hands. He could only say: "Then you can figure it out yourself!"

Then turn around and leave!

Li Jiacheng shook his head helplessly. There was nothing he could do about it. Winning Wheelock would give him influence and credibility. After becoming Guo Desheng, Zheng Yutong, and Lee Shau Kee, he would also have the influence of Wheelock Group, which he needed. s things.

Without Wheelock, he would have been just a 'real estate developer', but with Wheelock, he is equivalent to owning a comprehensive group. Although he may lose Lane Crawford, Wheelock still has trading, manufacturing, insurance, Finance and other aspects of business. Even a few buildings in Central can increase his influence.

What's more, Wheelock still has some talents that he can use to develop and grow.

at the same time.

After being questioned by reporters, Li Jiacheng finally revealed his source of funds - Hang Lung Bank provided a loan for the acquisition.

Public opinion was in an uproar!

Although Hang Lung Bank was on the verge of bankruptcy in 1983, it is now a rising star in the banking industry simply because the bank’s new owner is Lin Zhichao.

Just from the recently announced deposit amount of Hang Lung Bank - 8.2 billion Hong Kong dollars, we can deduce that at its peak, Hang Lung Bank's deposits were only about 2 billion, and now it has more than quadrupled. It is obvious that Lin Zhichao's reputation is excellent. Of course, everyone It is also speculated that Lin Zhichao put part of his own funds into it.

Afterwards, many people became optimistic about Li Jiacheng!

Li Jiacheng has always been a 'new real estate tycoon' that has emerged in recent years, and now he has been supported by Lin Zhichao. Isn't it even more powerful?

On February 25, the sixth day of the Lunar New Year, the stock market resumed trading.

Sensitive investors have a premonition that the "competing" CK Hutchison Real Estate and the Khoo Teck Puat Consortium will take action.

Sure enough, CK Hutchison Real Estate announced that it would acquire the joint venture for 11 yuan per share in cash.

Consolidated Enterprises, an associate of Wheelock, has assets with a net book value of $17 per share, some of which are ships. It was a time when the shipping industry was in recession, and buying stocks in related ships would only lead to losses. How could Li Jiacheng not know this? What he likes is Conglomerate's 6.8% stake in Wheelock.

This was Li Jiacheng's brilliance: he could not only prevent the joint enterprise from selling this part of the stock to Qiu Deba, but also increase the number of Wheelock shares he held.

What surprised investors even more was the next day.

A consortium formed by CK Hutchison Properties and Cheung Kong Holdings announced a counter-takeover of Wheelock Group, raising the purchase price to HK$7.4 for A shares and HK$0.74 for B shares; at the same time, the joint company announced that it had held 38% of the shares. Equity in Wheelock (Zhang Yuliang sold 4% equity again to the new consortium).

Public opinion was in an uproar.

"With Lin Sheng joining us, let alone the river-crossing dragons, even a group of river-crossing dragons can only be dealt with by him, a local snake!"

"That's right! Lin Sheng defeated two major foreign companies, Jardine and Hutchison, in a row, but he didn't expect to get involved in the third major foreign company now. It seems that Taikoo should be trembling!"

"But have you noticed that Lin Sheng is more like the foreign aid brought in by Li Jiacheng and is not the protagonist of this acquisition!"

"That's true. I've heard that Lin Sheng likes to support people. For example, Li Shauji was his gold shop owner and Guo Desheng was his zipper agent. All of the people he supported have become very rich in listed companies. It's incredible. Incredible!"

With the addition of Lin Zhichao, those who hold shares in Wheelock Group are looking forward to it even more. After all, Lin Zhichao's acquisition of Wharf made many people make a fortune.

Therefore, everyone is looking forward to Qiu Degen's counterattack again, so that the stocks in everyone's hands will be more valuable.

However, there was another period of silence, and Qiu Deba did not respond. Mature investors have seen signs that Qiu Deba will not offer a higher price, and the stock market has finally calmed down. (End of chapter)