EFB Chapter 10: A Huge Sensation in Hong Kong!
Chapter 10: A Huge Sensation in Hong Kong!
What comes into view is a dense, continuous string of zeros.
Seeing this, Shen Bi couldn't help but swallow hard, cursing inwardly that this was far too much.
Last time they gave a full 100 million, and this time they actually took out another 100 million.
Slowly exhaling, Shen Bi began, "You sold your Wharf Holdings shares to the shipping magnate?"
"In business, you have to know when to stop. We never had the strength to take over Kowloon Wharf entirely, so selling it to the shipping magnate was the best option!" Gu Zhenguo smiled. "We made quite a bit of money this round, but we still hope to get some shares in Hutchison Whampoa!"
Shen Bi was also carefully weighing the matter in his mind.
They gave them another 100 million.
Undoubtedly, Gu Zhenguo made a huge profit in this game.
To be fair, what terrified Shen Bi the most was that he had lent money to Gu Zhenguo, and if Gu Zhenguo suffered huge losses, his own funds would not be enough to repay HSBC, which would inevitably shake his position in the bank.
But who would have thought that in just two or three months, he would have made such a large sum of money, so that he no longer needed to worry about his money-making skills.
Sir Michael Sandberg always had a set of priorities in mind: first, the overall development of HSBC must be promoted; second, he wanted to get a share of the profits while HSBC was thriving.
There have always been many people eyeing HSBC's shares, including Gu Zhenguo and Li Ka-shing.
Currently, although Li Ka-shing has also brought him considerable benefits, in all fairness, it's clear that Gu Zhenguo's investment of 200 million yuan is more appealing to Shen Bi. In just a few months, he has netted a staggering 800 million yuan.
Moreover, with the Gu family's substantial wealth accumulated over many years, Shen Bi was certain that by joining forces with HSBC, they could not only expand HSBC's overall size but also amass a considerable fortune for himself.
What reason would he have to refuse?
There's a hundred million on the left and a hundred million on the right. Who can say for sure which hundred million is clean and which is unclean?
Sir Michael Sandberg laughed heartily, extending his right hand to Gu Zhenguo and saying with a smile, "HSBC firmly believes that Sunshine Group will surely enable Hutchison Whampoa to shine with dazzling glory once again!"
"Thank you so much for your trust, Mr. Shen!" Gu Zhenguo reached out and firmly grasped Shen Bi's hand.
It's done!
A smile instantly spread across Gu Yuhan's face.
Ultimately, it was this offensive of real money that had an immediate effect.
After all, two hundred million yuan was actually spent.
The specific details of the subsequent cooperation still need to be finalized by both parties. In short, the current price for Hutchison Whampoa cannot be too high. In the original historical trajectory, it was sold to Li Ka-shing for US$24 million, and our own offer naturally cannot exceed that figure.
Gu Zhenguo and Shen Bi have finalized the core intention of cooperation, and the rest is left to their respective teams to conduct detailed negotiations.
Gu Yuhan will be involved in and follow up on the entire subsequent negotiation process, as a way to familiarize himself with and adapt to the rules of business negotiation in this era.
……
……
"Dad, this is the contract we've finalized. Take a look at it. If there are no problems, we'll prepare to make the payment!" Gu Yuhan grinned and casually spread the contract out in front of his father.
"HKD 7.1 per share?" Gu Zhenguo couldn't help but gasp, asking in astonishment, "The price is so low?"
Gu Yuhan shrugged and said with a smile, "Based on the current situation, the total amount we need to pay in the first installment is US$24 million. Right now, we only need to pay 20% of this US$24 million. Subsequently, we will pay the corresponding interest and principal to HSBC Bank on schedule each year. In total, we only need to come up with US$4.8 million for the first installment, which is about HK$60 million!"
After saying that, Gu Yuhan pushed the contract in front of Gu Zhenguo and said with a smile, "Dad, sign this, get it, and Hutchison Whampoa will be completely ours!"
Gu Zhenguo couldn't help but exclaim, "I still can't quite believe it!"
Despite saying that, Gu Zhenguo quickly signed his name.
Gu Yuhan chuckled lightly and said unhurriedly, "Dad, we've got the perfect combination of timing, location, and people. The timing is that Shen Bi is currently investing heavily in acquiring shares of OceanMillion Bank in the US; the location is that we're in Hong Kong, so we have a natural advantage; and the people are the relationship we've built with Shen Bi. After all, he's poured two hundred million in real money into this, so our friendship is definitely extraordinary!"
Gu Zhen sighed, then smiled and said, "I still think what happened in the past two months is too surreal, and I never expected that Shen Bi would actually let go of Hutchison Whampoa!"
"Dad, there's something you need to change your mind about!" Gu Yuhan said, picking up the tea leaves on the table and brewing a cup. "Company interests are company interests, and personal interests are personal interests!"
Gu Zhenguo was taken aback: "What do you mean by that?"
Gu Yuhan put down his teacup and said with a smile, "Why don't you guess? Right now, Hutchison Whampoa's manager, Wei Lixiang, doesn't want to take control of Hutchison Whampoa. He's a renowned professional manager in Hong Kong, known as the 'Company Doctor.' He's personally revived countless companies on the verge of bankruptcy. Back when Hutchison Whampoa was heavily indebted, Wei Lixiang joined and carried out a radical restructuring, creating the Hutchison Whampoa we know today. As long as nothing goes wrong, all that's missing is the right opportunity, and Hutchison Whampoa can be completely resurrected!"
Gu Zhenguo pondered for a moment. During this period, he had indeed read through a lot of relevant information. At present, the debts of Hutchison Whampoa have been cleared up to a large extent, and the bloated structure left by Qi Dezun's crazy expansion has also been dismantled and cleared up little by little.
Some unprofitable, worthless assets should be sold off, or those that should be shut down should be shut down.
From the Hong Kong stock market crash of 73 to 78, a full five years of refinement, Hutchison Whampoa has actually fully laid the foundation for a comeback.
"But don't forget, Hutchison Whampoa is only showing signs of a comeback. To put it bluntly, in the current situation, it's just a worthless burden for HSBC. Moreover, as I've said before, the company's interests are the company's interests, and personal interests are personal interests. What does it matter to him, Sir Michael Sandberg, how much money Hutchison Whampoa makes? The money in the company's accounts is never necessarily money that Sir Michael Sandberg can pocket!"
Gu Zhen suddenly understood.
What belongs to the company belongs to the company, and what belongs to an individual belongs to the individual.
Gu Yuhan laughed loudly: "For Shen Bi, under normal circumstances, he would naturally want to promote the development of HSBC. The better the bank develops, the more secure his position will be, and the greater his personal benefits will be. Therefore, he would prioritize the prosperity of HSBC. However, once the company's interests conflict with his own personal interests, he will inevitably prioritize his own interests!"
"This is also the core idea we will follow. We can build connections and network with officials from the Hong Kong government to acquire a number of prime land parcels and contract some key projects!" Gu Yuhan said with a smile.
Gu Zhenguo nodded: "I understand. However, the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) isn't just sitting idly by. It was manageable a few years ago, but in recent years, they've caused quite a few problems!"
Gu Yuhan laughed heartily, tapped his forehead, and said with a smile, "Dad, as long as you're willing to use your brain, there are always more solutions than problems. Right now, the most important thing is for us to acquire as many Hutchison shares as possible, ideally gaining absolute control!"
"I understand, we have more than enough funds to support this!" Gu Zhenguo nodded.
Not long after, HSBC and Sunshine Group jointly announced this major news to the public.
Sunshine Group has officially acquired Hutchison Whampoa.
The news caused an immediate uproar in Hong Kong.
Li Ka-shing was instantly stunned. He had worked so hard for so long but hadn't made much money. In the end, he hadn't even gotten a glimpse of Hutchison Whampoa. Li Ka-shing's covetousness of Hutchison Whampoa had been going on for a long time.
He also spent a lot of money to curry favor with Shen Bi.
But at this critical juncture, Li Ka-shing was completely dumbfounded.
After working so hard for so long, I ended up getting nothing in return.
Hutchison Whampoa was completely handed over to the Gu family in a single transaction. Upon closer examination, Li Ka-shing suddenly realized that the Gu family, that bastard, was ahead of him in almost everything.
I didn't earn a single penny.
Even Hutchison Whampoa, which he had been longing for, was snatched away by someone else halfway.
Originally, Li Jiacheng thought that Shen Bi's attitude had softened, but he never expected that although the other party's attitude had indeed softened, it was not towards Li Jiacheng, but towards Gu Jiasong.
In an instant, Li Jiacheng felt an intense sense of frustration and resentment.
The entire Hong Kong was thrown into chaos by this news.
This was tantamount to a ten-thousand-ton bomb crashing into the calm lake, instantly creating a massive, overwhelming wave.
Countless Hong Kong media outlets are using sensational terms like "major upheaval" and "earth-shattering" to describe this acquisition.
This means that Chinese capital has officially begun to make large-scale acquisitions of British capital.
Aside from Li Ka-shing, the most frustrated and upset people were the senior executives of Hutchison Whampoa.
Especially Wei Li, known as the company doctor, in his eyes, I spent five whole years selling off a bunch of unprofitable lousy companies in Hutchison Whampoa, gradually acquiring Hutchison Whampoa's prime land, step by step integrating Hutchison Whampoa's core resources, splitting and reorganizing the company, and watching Hutchison Whampoa gradually emerge from the debt quagmire, about to start walking, running, and even soaring to the sky, and you actually sold it to Gu Zhenguo?
Are you just messing with me?
In front of a crowd of media cameras, Wei Li vented his overwhelming dissatisfaction without reservation: "I simply can't understand why this happened. In my opinion, Hutchison Whampoa is worth a full billion US dollars, and that stupid, shameless bastard HSBC sold it for only twenty-four million US dollars. What is this if not stupidity?"
"I have serious suspicions that there might be some shady, underhanded deal between the Sunshine Group and HSBC."
……
Repulse Bay, Gu Family Residence
Gu Yuhan gripped the newspaper in his hand, then slightly raised his eyelids and looked up at his father: "Dad, what do you think?"
"This is just him yelling and screaming in frustration!" Gu Zhenguo chuckled nonchalantly, saying slowly, "Let him yell. In time, he'll gradually accept this reality!"
"So, what should we do next?" Gu Yuhan asked again.
"That goes without saying. First, we need to reassure the top executives at Hutchison Whampoa and get them to gradually accept this fact. Then, we can slowly place our own people in there!"
Gu Zhenguo smiled and said unhurriedly, "There's plenty of time, don't rush!"
Gu Yuhan chuckled softly upon hearing this.
Although his father was a bit stingy, his vision and methods were quite impressive. He didn't need to worry too much about his father's abilities. If Li Ka-shing could manage Hutchison Whampoa so well, his father certainly could too.
"Dad, including the loan, how much money do we have left? How much more do you estimate we need to acquire about 51% of the shares?" Gu Yuhan asked.
"I still have 1.7 billion on hand. Sir Michael Sandberg will help me introduce some shareholders of Hutchison Whampoa. Currently, Hutchison Whampoa's profitability isn't good; I estimate we'll need around 1 billion!" Gu Zhenguo smiled and continued, "We'll have about 700 million left!"
"As we agreed before!" Gu Yuhan smiled and said slowly, "Three hundred million, you have to give me two hundred million. Now, not counting the loan, you've earned seven hundred million, so shouldn't you give me two hundred million?"
"What do you need so much money for?" Gu Zhenguo asked, his face full of curiosity.
"Of course it's for spending money!" Gu Yuhan rolled her eyes and said with a smile, "Dad, you shouldn't ask about our agreement!"
Gu Zhenguo hesitated for a moment, then nodded and said, "Okay!"
She was able to earn so much money entirely thanks to her son's advice and strategies behind the scenes. She still has 700 million yuan in profits, so giving her son 200 million yuan wouldn't be a problem at all.
"Dad, as for how to spend the rest of the money, would you like some advice?"
Gu Yuhan laughed loudly.
"Tell me!" Gu Zhenguo immediately became interested.
"Don't think about anything else for now, keep buying Wharf Holdings shares. I think Jardine Matheson and the shipping magnate are definitely going to fight tooth and nail over Wharf Holdings, constantly driving up their stakes!"
Gu Yuhan laughed and said slowly, "Keep buying Wharf Holdings shares. I think they'll have a final showdown next year at the latest. I think making another hundred or two hundred million from your five hundred million won't be a problem!"
Gu Zhenguo secretly took a breath: "You mean to launch a surprise attack?"
"Of course! It's a fool not to make money when it's available. Our goal isn't to acquire Wharf Holdings, it's to make money!" Gu Yuhan spread his hands and said with a smile, "Of course, I don't recommend investing all 500 million. Investing 300 million first should be enough, and we can take our time with the remaining 200 million!"
Gu Zhenguo hesitated for a moment, then said, "I understand!"