Chapter 132: The Acquisition Is Exposed!

Yet, as fate would have it, Li Chaoren was destined not to be able to take his time with the acquisition!

Today, after receiving a phone call from Wu Lei, the General Manager of Evergreen Fund, he found himself forced to act quickly.

Wu Lei informed him that other institutions were also acquiring shares of Qingzhou Yingni Company, which had been hidden until today. Upon realizing this, Wu Lei hurriedly contacted Li Chaoren.

This made Li Chaoren uneasy, and he immediately went to Evergreen Fund Management Co., Ltd.

"Wu Lei, what's the situation now?" Li Chaoren asked with a slightly grave expression.

"Boss, I noticed something was off yesterday. When we arranged for people to secretly acquire stocks today, we found signs that the other party was raising prices and competing for shares, so I notified you immediately."

"I have now instructed to stop the acquisition to avoid causing a violent fluctuation in Qingzhou Yingni's stock price and attracting the attention of the Keynes family. You instructed me to keep it hidden until we acquired 25% of the shares, but we've only acquired 13% so far. We don't have enough shares, so I didn't dare to expose it." Wu Lei said with a look of regret, also giving a brief explanation.

He hadn't completed Li Chaoren's orders, and he knew the significance of this plan for Cheung Kong Holdings. He hadn't expected a problem to arise on his watch.

Li Chaoren nodded lightly, not saying much but instead frowning in deep thought.

After a long while, he commanded in a deep voice, "Don't hide it anymore. Start competing for the shares directly. If the Keynes family is not stupid, they should have noticed the issue by now. We don't know how long it will take them to react. Immediately start acquiring shares from other shareholders of Qingzhou Yingni, with a 20% premium. Don't delay!"

A 20% premium wasn't much in Li Chaoren's view. In the stock market, with competitors and the Keynes family's involvement, if there are at least three parties, including himself, a 20% increase in stock price was quite simple.

Since that was the case, it was better to offer a 20% premium from the beginning, acquire the shares, and perhaps end up with a profit compared to the later competition!

"Understood!" Wu Lei said with a stern expression, immediately acknowledging the order.

"Act immediately!" Li Chaoren finished speaking and sent Wu Lei to take action.

He then immediately returned home and started making phone calls.

"Hello, Lin Sheng, this is Li Chaoren. I heard you have shares in Qingzhou Yingni…"

"Hello, Xu Sheng, this is Li Chaoren…"

…

As Li Chaoren continuously called other shareholders of Qingzhou Yingni to discuss buying their shares, the atmosphere in the Keynes family villa on Hong Kong Island was also tense.

The head of the Keynes family, sixty-two-year-old Simpson Keynes, looked at his somewhat anxious son, Apton Keynes, with a frown and said in a deep voice, "Apton, sit down and calm down. Anxiety will affect your thinking."

Thirty-six-year-old Apton took a few deep breaths to calm himself down.

He then sat across from his father, looking serious, and said, "Father, when I noticed the stock price issue, I immediately had people investigate the stock price fluctuations over the past period. It has been confirmed that someone has been acquiring our company's shares for at least ten days, doing so covertly, which indicates a problem."

"I'm worried that someone wants to acquire our company. With years of cashing out and financing, our family's shares have been decreasing. We now hold only 32% of the shares, and we are still 19% away from the 51% absolute control, which is a significant risk!"

"Father, should we immediately acquire more shares to increase our stake?" Apton asked, looking at his father seriously.

Father Simpson is the Chairman of the Board at Qingzhou Yingni, and under his arrangement, Apton had entered the company as a department manager. According to his father's plan, he was to become the company's General Manager before he turned forty, and then gradually take over the Chairman's position from his father.

However, now it seemed that someone wanted to seize the company, which made Apton nervous. Compared to his father Simpson, he had greater ambitions and aspirations. If the company were seized, how would he achieve his goals?

Thus, he was highly alert to any threats to the company's acquisition!

"Don't panic. Holding 32% of the shares is still relatively secure. Swire Properties holds 8% of our company's shares. I have a good relationship with Norman Shiayahai of the Shiayahai family. If we want it, we can acquire that 8% with some cost."

"Ten days' time isn't much to acquire shares from the stock market and other shareholders. We still have time. The main issue now is to find out if someone is indeed trying to acquire our company. That's crucial; otherwise, we might make a wrong judgment!" Simpson Keynes said slowly.

"Okay, Father. I'll immediately instruct someone to gather more information!" Apton took a deep breath, suppressing his anxiety, and said with a slightly dejected tone.

"Hmm!" Seeing his son's reaction, the elder Simpson showed a kind smile.

"Ring, ring, ring…"

At that moment, the phone on the table suddenly rang with an urgent, piercing sound.

Simpson's brow furrowed, and he signaled to his son Apton, who quickly answered the phone.

"Hello, this is the Keynes family… What… It's me… Okay…"

Upon answering the phone, Apton was still somewhat unfazed. However, upon hearing the voice of his staff who was monitoring the stock price, he became tense. After listening to the report, his expression changed, and he looked at his father in alarm, then quickly hung up the phone after asking about the situation.

"What happened?" Without waiting for Apton to speak, seeing the situation was off, the elder Simpson, no longer concerned with testing his son's patience, immediately asked.

"Father, it was a call from a company employee who was monitoring the stock price. Since I had gone home, I instructed him to call me at home if any issues arose. He told me that the stock price has started to rise, from 0.9 HKD per share to 0.95 HKD. They are no longer hiding and have started competing for shares!"

"It's possible that the enemy has already acquired a significant number of shares; otherwise, they wouldn't have exposed themselves. Father, what should we do now? We must act immediately!" Apton looked at his father anxiously, shifting in his seat, clearly unable to stay still.

The elder Simpson's face was filled with seriousness, his brow tightly furrowed as he quickly thought through the situation.

He sensed a strong feeling of crisis. He had thought there was still time, but now that the opponents were openly competing for shares, they must have considerable confidence, or they wouldn't have revealed themselves.

The situation seemed somewhat familiar.

The elder Simpson recalled a scene from his youth while hunting tigers in India. He had seen a tiger approaching a deer with a great opportunity, then charging swiftly when the time was right.

That tiger hunting scene had left a deep impression on him.

He hadn't expected that Qingzhou Yingni Company was now the prey in someone else's eyes and that an attack had begun!

"But whether you're a tiger is still uncertain. I am definitely not a deer!" Simpson's eyes suddenly brightened, and he thought to himself.