novellhall Chapter 7 Li Jiacheng was dumbfounded!
Chapter 7 Li Jiacheng was dumbfounded!
In that instant, Shen Bi felt a surge of energy rush to his head, leaving him dazed as if struck by a heavy sum of money. He managed to close the golden book with some difficulty, smiling as he said, "This gift is exactly what I wanted; I love it!"
He only took office as chairman of HSBC last year.
To be honest, he had dealt with quite a few Chinese capitalists during this period, and many Chinese businessmen had given him gifts. However, he didn't think much of most of them, and they weren't even qualified to give him gifts.
Even those Chinese businessmen who have reached the top of their industries have never given such a valuable gift.
Shen Bi and the shipping magnate were old friends who had known each other for many years.
Apart from that, even the most valuable gift Li Ka-shing sent was only worth around ten million.
He never expected that Gu Zhenguo would present such an amazing gift right away.
A full 100 million!
He was determined to make Gu Zhenguo his friend.
At that moment, Shen Bi slowly asked, "Zhenguo, do you need a loan?"
The conversation cut straight to the point. Seeing this, Gu Zhenguo immediately sat up straight, nodded, and said with a smile, "Yes, Mr. Shen, I currently need a lot of working capital and hope to borrow some funds from HSBC!"
"How much!" Shen Bi pressed.
"Fifteen billion!" Gu Zhen blurted out in rapid succession, "Fifteen billion!"
How much to borrow from a bank is not something you can just casually say. Take Gu Zhenguo for example, giving a gift of 100 million and borrowing 3 billion is just nonsense. How much wealth do you have?
What if you run away with the money?
If things go wrong, Shen Bi himself will lose his job, and the 100 million yuan benefit may not actually end up in his pocket.
If you want to apply for a loan, you must never make up an amount without proper knowledge.
The figure of 1.5 billion is roughly equivalent to Gu Zhenguo's current total net worth.
Li Ka-shing was able to acquire Hutchison Whampoa at a low price entirely because he made a fortune through the Kowloon Wharf deal. This not only demonstrated Li Ka-shing's exceptional profitability to Sir Michael Sandberg but also convinced him that he could manage Hutchison Whampoa well, thus driving up Hutchison's share price and allowing HSBC to also profit handsomely.
As for why the shipping magnate was able to lend 2 billion so readily back then, it was partly due to the long-standing friendship between the two parties, and partly because the shipping magnate now has a net worth of tens of billions, so he could easily repay even 5 billion, let alone 2 billion.
"Fifteen billion? That's unlikely. Ten billion? No problem!" Shen Bi said decisively.
"Okay, then a billion!" Gu Zhenguo nodded immediately, without saying a single unnecessary word.
Shen Bi smiled and said, "As for the interest, I will try to get you a low-interest loan. Also, the loan term will be five years!"
"good!"
Gu Zhenguo nodded emphatically, "Thank you, Mr. Shen!"
"Not at all, not at all, it's just mutual assistance!" Shen Bi smiled and shook hands with Gu Zhenguo, then said, "I really like this copy of the Analects."
Gu Yuhan, standing to the side, smiled and said, "There's more than just this one copy of the *Analects*. This is only the 'Xue Er' chapter. The entire *Analects* has 20 chapters and 492 sections. And this is just the *Analects*. Besides this, there are also the *Book of Poetry*, *Book of Documents*, *Book of Rites*, *Book of Music*, *Book of Changes*, and *Spring and Autumn Annals*. If Uncle Shen likes it, we will organize them and send them to him later!"
"I'm really looking forward to it!" Shen Bi naturally understood the deeper meaning behind Gu Yuhan's words.
From now on, the exchanges between the two sides will definitely continue.
……
……
In a short period of time, both parties finalized the details of the cooperation agreement with HSBC.
The main details are the loan amount, interest rate, loan term, and specific amount.
Shen Bi is quite reliable in this respect. If he accepts a bribe, he will definitely get things done properly. With Gu Yuhan helping him plan, Gu Zhenguo also began to rub his hands together, preparing to quietly and swiftly acquire Wharf Holdings' shares.
His original plan was to use 100 million yuan of his own capital to build a position and buy in, or to borrow 300 million yuan from HSBC to gradually accumulate shares, and perhaps he could eventually take over Wharf Holdings step by step.
However, he now holds a solid billion yuan in liquid funds.
Gu Zhen's confidence and chances of winning naturally increased significantly.
Of course, this was just Gu Zhen's wishful thinking. Gu Yuhan knew very well that it was absolutely impossible to take over Kowloon Wharf with just 1 billion yuan.
To acquire Kowloon Wharf, the shipping magnate raised over four billion dollars.
Especially in the final, fiercely competitive stage, Bao, the shipping magnate, directly borrowed 2 billion from HSBC to enter the game. With only 1 billion in his own hands, it was simply impossible to crack this tough nut.
In the early stages, quietly accumulating shares is not a big problem, but when it comes to the later stages where it comes down to capital, they simply can't afford to burn that much money.
What's more, there's Li Ka-shing squatting right next to them, stirring things up.
Wharf Holdings' share price will definitely surge in the future. It seems easy to acquire now, but when the share price rises to HK$100, you won't be able to continue accumulating it.
Acquiring 20% of the shares would be sufficient. Then, we can resell it to Bao, the shipping magnate, and make a profit of at least 300 to 500 million. After that, we can follow Li Ka-shing's old path and directly acquire Hutchison Whampoa.
As for Li Ka-shing, whether he can rise to prominence in the future is entirely up to him.
Now, what Gujia needs to do most is to prove its real profitability.
……
……
Sunshine Group, Gu Zhenguo's office
"Boss, as of now, we hold six million shares of Wharf Holdings!" Tang Ning said quickly. "Should we continue acquiring more?"
"What's the current stock price?" Gu Zhen asked.
"Wharf Holdings' share price has already risen to HK$13.2 per share!" Tang Ning immediately responded, "It's expected that the share price will continue to rise today!"
Gu Zhenguo frowned instantly and couldn't help but ask, "It was 11.8 yuan yesterday, how come it's risen so fast?"
"Dad!" Gu Yuhan said from the side, "We've already acquired five million shares. The market isn't stupid; it's normal for the stock price to rise. If the market doesn't react at all after we've bought so many shares, that would be truly strange!"
Gu Zhen frowned slightly: "I don't know if our funds can hold up. I think we should stop for now, let the market cool down a bit, and then we can continue buying!"
"dad!"
Gu Yuhan smiled and said slowly, "In my opinion, this matter absolutely cannot stop; it must continue. I'm currently worried about another issue!"
"Another question?" Gu Zhenguo was slightly taken aback. "What question?"
Gu Yuhan smiled and continued, "Wharf Holdings' stock price is seriously inconsistent with its actual market position. I can see this, and you can see it too, but neither of us can guarantee that no one else has seen it either!"
Gu Zhenguo instantly realized this crucial point, and he couldn't help but frown, saying, "You mean, it's possible that other capital is also eyeing this opportunity? They're also secretly acquiring Wharf Holdings, which is why Wharf Holdings' stock price has been rising all the way?"
"It's not impossible!" Gu Yuhan nodded. "We absolutely cannot stop. The more we need to do this, the more we must seize the opportunity!"
"Then..." Gu Zhenguo couldn't help but ask, "Wouldn't we be at a disadvantage doing this? The stock price has gone up, and we're still going to keep buying?"
"Dad, we don't need to worry at all. No matter what, we definitely won't lose money!" Gu Yuhan laughed. "Even if we drive up the stock price, even if we ultimately fail to acquire Wharf Holdings and sell our shares, we still won't lose money. Besides, I'm sure there will be even bigger capital wanting to take over Wharf Holdings!"
"No matter what, the more Wharf Holdings shares we hold, the better!" Gu Yuhan glanced at Tang Ning and said, "Assistant Tang, keep a close eye on the market. If Wharf Holdings' share price continues to rise tomorrow, we need to be prepared to buy on a large scale!"
Tang Ning was slightly taken aback, and subconsciously turned her gaze to Gu Zhenguo.
Gu Zhenguo nodded: "We'll listen to Yuhan and be prepared to buy in large quantities!" Five million shares!
This is actually no small amount at all.
The Gu family now holds 9% of Wharf Holdings' shares.
Having acquired nearly 10% of the shares, and still managed to prevent the stock price from experiencing a massive surge, Gujia has actually been quite cautious and discreet.
However, even after achieving this, Wharf Holdings' share price still inevitably experienced considerable fluctuations.
Gu Yuhan's biggest worry was that Li Jiacheng had also gotten involved.
Undoubtedly, once he enters the game, he will drive up Wharf Holdings' stock price like crazy. If this happens, then we must act decisively and start buying up shares on a large scale regardless of cost.
There must be no hesitation whatsoever.
Compared to his father, Gu Yuhan had the advantage of being reborn and knew very well that with only 1 billion yuan in his own hands, it was absolutely impossible to swallow up Wharf Holdings.
Unless you have 5 billion in funds.
If we wait until the second oil crisis breaks out, things will be much easier. By simply trading a few futures contracts and adding some leverage, it wouldn't be difficult to multiply one's assets dozens or even hundreds of times.
However, the biggest problem now is that the second oil crisis has not yet even begun.
With only so much capital at their disposal, a full acquisition is simply impossible.
Gu Zhenguo still harbored some unrealistic fantasies, but Gu Yuhan had absolutely no such fantasies. If he couldn't win, he simply couldn't win. Even if he wanted to win quietly and secretly, it would be absolutely impossible.
There's Li Ka-shing, the guy who's always ready to cause trouble, squatting outside.
Wharf Holdings' share price continues to rise.
The price has already risen to fifteen yuan.
However, this still did not raise any alarm at Jardine Matheson. To date, Wharf Holdings' share price is still far below its actual net asset value.
It's just a fluctuation of a few dollars in stock price.
However, in Gu Yuhan's eyes, the rate of increase was simply too fast.
He immediately made a judgment in his mind; without even thinking, he knew that Li Ka-shing had definitely entered the fray and stirred things up.
Next, Wharf Holdings' share price will inevitably experience a surge.
"Boss, should we continue eating here tomorrow?" Tang Ning looked at Gu Zhenguo, her gaze involuntarily falling on Gu Yuhan as well. She could now see that although Gu Zhenguo was the nominal boss, Gu Yuhan's words truly carried weight.
"Buy it!" Gu Yuhan immediately said, "Don't hesitate at all. The current share price is fifteen yuan, which is still far below Wharf Holdings' actual value. Dad, don't hesitate, we'll buy as many shares as are available on the market!"
"Eat it!" Gu Zhenguo nodded in agreement.
Either way, this deal is a win-win situation.
After Tang Ning left Gu Zhenguo's office, Gu Yuhan finally spoke up, "Dad, now we need to be prepared for both possibilities!"
Gu Zhenguo looked at Gu Yuhan: "You speak!"
"First, if we can successfully acquire Wharf Holdings, that would be the best outcome. However, I think the possibility is low, even extremely low. I predict that other capital will definitely come in and disrupt the process. I believe that once Wharf Holdings' share price exceeds HK$50, we should completely abandon the idea of acquiring Wharf Holdings!"
Gu Zhenguo nodded: "Okay!"
"Secondly, we need to find a buyer in advance. Even if our acquisition of Wharf Holdings fails, we will still hold a large number of shares. We can still sell these shares for a very high price. We need to find a powerful investor to take over our shares. I think Bao, the shipping magnate, is the most suitable candidate. Of course, we can also look at other candidates!"
Gu Zhen nodded again: "Okay!"
"Thirdly, let's settle for second best!" Gu Yuhan smiled and said unhurriedly, "Once we've made some money, we'll send a copy of the Analects to Sir Michael Sandberg, acquire the shares of Hutchison Whampoa held by HSBC, and take over Hutchison Whampoa directly!"
Gu Zhenguo was stunned, and looking at Gu Yuhan, he couldn't help but ask, "Take over Hutchison Whampoa?"
"Yes, we must negotiate in advance and get it at the lowest possible price. I guarantee that Simbel will be more than happy to agree!"
Gu Yuhan smiled: "We are businessmen, and our ultimate goal is profit. Even if we can't acquire Wharf Holdings, we still have other options. Although Hutchison Whampoa has collapsed, overall, this trading company still has enormous potential for appreciation and a huge future. We can definitely acquire it!"
Gu Zhenguo took a deep breath, feeling as if he could hardly recognize his own son anymore.
Such foresight and foresight allow one to see things so far into the future.
He looked at Gu Yuhan and said, "Okay!"