Chapter 816: Full-scale attack

The Kadoorie family has already jumped out and taken the initiative to make an acquisition offer to the Swire Group, and Xia Yu also realised that he could not wait any longer.

He first went to count the number of shares he already owned.

Standard Chartered Bank originally held 23.4% of the shares, and then used the bank's resources to acquire a cumulative 5.2% of the shares from several small shareholders, so it now holds 28.6% of the shares. Of course, because a confidentiality agreement was signed and there was also a 10-day buffer period, on the surface, Standard Chartered Bank's shareholding has not changed.

As for Jiuding Bank, it has also taken over the five small shareholders, and its hidden shareholding ratio has reached 8.8%.

Finally, there was Jiuding Securities Company, which had not only acquired shares from some minority shareholders, but also absorbed them from the secondary market. Of course, when it invested previously, it also bought some shares of CLP Power Hong Kong.

Therefore, when Xia Yu inquired about the situation, Jiuding Securities Company's shareholding ratio had reached 8.1%.

In total, Xia Yu's side had reached 45.5%, exceeding the 11.5% of the Kadoorie family, the apparent largest shareholder.

Such a high shareholding ratio, achieved in such a short period of time, is inseparable from the resources of the Jiuding Group.

The stronger the strength, the easier it is to do what seemed difficult before.

With such a high shareholding ratio, only 4.5% is needed to reach 50% or more. If this cannot be achieved, Xia Yu's reputation as a stock god can be thrown directly into the cesspit!

Therefore, Xia Yu gave the order and directly ordered Jiuding Securities to go from the shadows to the limelight and start working openly.

Jiuding Securities directly raised the offer price by 0.2 Hong Kong dollars and posted a buy order for 1,000 shares, while also making offers to several minority shareholders with stronger wills.

In addition, Jiuding Securities also issued an acquisition offer to the Swire Group and intervened in the takeover.

Seeing this situation, Norman Shih Yawei, who had already arrived in the UK, was heartbroken after hearing his son's report.

Fortunately, he remembered Charles Rothschild's promise, and the future of the Swire Group in the oil sector came to mind, which cheered him up a little.

As for the takeover offers from the Kadoorie family and Jiuding Securities, Norman Shihuawei instructed his son to simply reject them without negotiation.

What's there to negotiate when you don't even have any shares!

Of course, Norman Szeto Wah also told his son not to leak the whereabouts of the shares of China Light and Power Company, lest it ruin Charles Rothschild's calculations and offend the Rothschild family, which would not be good. After all, the Szeto Wah family was far less powerful than the Rothschild family, and at this time they were even more in need of favours.

...

'Bang!'

'Damn Norman Szeto Wah, he's a traitor!'

In Kowloon, at the Kadoorie family mansion, Roland Kadoorie, who had once again received a call showing that there was no answer, exploded with anger and smashed the receiver directly onto the marble table, shattering it. He angrily cursed.

Seeing his father shaking with anger, Michael Kadoorie was filled with indignation, but he was even more worried about his father's health. He quickly suppressed his anger and comforted his father, 'Father, you must take care of your health. Things have already turned out this way, and it's not worth getting angry and ruining your health over it.'

But how could Lawrence Kadoorie calm down? He thought about the other day at Norman Shea's home, where the latter had sworn to him that he would stick to the alliance.

But just a few days later, Norman Shea had betrayed him directly behind his back, which had caused him a lot of trouble!

Now that he can't get through on the phone and the takeover offer has been rejected outright, Norman Sziawai's attitude is obvious.

The only good thing is that it seems that Swire Pacific's 11% stake in CLP Holdings is not in the hands of the Jiuding consortium either, which is a blessing in disguise.

'Hoo hoo hoo...'

The more he thought about it, the angrier Lawrence Kadoorie became. Although he was panting heavily, he still felt short of breath and his vision was a little blurry.

He was in his early eighties and his health was poor, so he really couldn't take any more shocks.

Seeing that his father was swaying a little, Michael Kadoorie, who was in his prime, was scared out of his wits. He hurriedly asked with concern, 'Father, lean back on the sofa for a while. I'll go get the family doctor.'

'No need, I just need to calm down a bit!'

Lawrence Kadoorie stopped his son's actions and leaned back on the leather sofa, closing his eyes to rest.

Michael Kadoorie watched anxiously, waiting quietly.

After a long time, Lawrence Kadoorie finally regained his composure. He slowly opened his eyes, a hint of fatigue on his face, and said to Michael Kadoorie, 'Michael, this time our family can be said to have encountered the biggest trouble since World War II. If it goes badly, we will once again lose a core industry.'

As for the trouble during World War II, it was on the eve of the Japanese invasion of Hong Kong that the British government ordered Rowlands Kadoorie's father, Eli Kadoorie, to blow up the power plant on the Kowloon Peninsula. The Kadoorie family's mainland properties were also confiscated by the Japanese, and the Kadoorie family was all arrested and taken to a Japanese camp, where Eli Kadoorie died of illness.

After the end of World War II, Lawrence Kadoorie was determined to restore the family's business. Over the decades, he encountered many setbacks, but none were as dangerous as the current situation, which left him feeling unsure of himself.

'Father, our family still holds 34% of the shares in China Light and Power Company. As long as we are willing to spend money, we can definitely keep it!'

Michael Kadoorie said firmly to Lawrence Kadoorie.

Lawrence Kadoorie sighed bitterly and said, 'But the problem is that there is not enough time, and the funds we have raised are simply not enough!'

'Father, why don't we let Baoyuan Investment Company acquire the shares first, and we can borrow money from HSBC or Schroder Group to see if we can acquire the shares held by Standard Chartered Bank? As long as we can acquire the shares held by Standard Chartered Bank, then no matter how the Jiuding consortium competes, they are doomed to fail!'

'If Standard Chartered's shares are bought by the Jiuding consortium, then we will really be in trouble!'

'Of course, we must not ignore the small shareholders. Although it will be more troublesome to acquire them, if we can take over half of them, we will be able to increase our family's shareholding to more than 50%. That is also a way.'

Michael Kadoorie thought for a while and suggested.

Roland Kadoorie shook his head and said, 'I approached Giles Liddell, but he didn't say yes or no. He must be planning to hold out for a high price. He won't sell his shares to us so easily when we have such a good opportunity. The key is still having enough money!'

'It's simply not feasible to borrow from Standard Chartered Bank to buy back the shares it holds. As for HSBC, given our current disadvantageous position, I'm not sure how much help Shen Bi can be.'

'I have also called the minority shareholders one by one, but the situation is not good. They are all finding excuses, I don't know if they have sold their shares or are planning to raise the price.'

'In summary, the key is to have sufficient funds!'

'Then we can only turn to the Schroder Group!' Michael Kadoorie said immediately.

'Or...'

Seeing that Michael Kadoorie stopped after saying one word, Lawrence Kadoorie frowned and asked, 'Or what?'

Michael Kadoorie hesitated for a moment and said, 'Or we sell our shares in the Xiangjiang Shanghu Hotel Group to raise a sum of money to increase our stake in China Power Company.'

After saying this, Michael Kadoorie looked at his father with some trepidation.

This was the result of his thinking all day. After all, he was still young, and his feelings for the Shangjiang Shanghu Hotel were not as deep as his father's, so when considering the pros and cons, he would not be affected by emotional factors.

An anger clearly appeared on Rowland Kadoorie's face, but it soon returned to calm, and he fell into thought.

After a long time, he sighed and said, 'You're right. Anyway, the Shangjiang Shanghu Hotel Group is already doomed to lose. Instead of losing both, it would be better to be decisive and do our best to keep China Power Company.'

'I'll leave this to you. Release the news that the shares of the Heung Kong Shanghu Hotel Group are to be transferred. The Jiuding consortium will definitely come, the only difference being whether they will show up themselves or entrust someone else to do the buying. In any case, sell as soon as possible at the highest possible price!'

The battle for the Heung Kong Shanghu Hotel Group had already been decided. The shares held by the Kadoorie family, although valuable, had significant limitations, so it was impossible to sell them for too high a price. Roland Kadoorie was well aware of this.

'I will contact the Schroder Group and have Baoyuan Investment acquire the shares.'

'Yes, father, don't worry, I won't let you down!'

...

Soon, the Kadoorie family let the cat out of the bag, and the news reached Xia Yu's ears.

Without hesitation, Xia Yu immediately asked Jason Gregg, the general manager of Jiuding Insurance Company, to negotiate the acquisition of the shares.

On the other hand, Jiuding Securities continued to acquire shares and compete with the Kadoorie family.

The two sides negotiated a partnership while fighting fiercely with each other. This strange situation was truly eye-opening, and I admired the Kadoorie family's courage to make a decisive move.

Of course, this also revealed some information, which was that the Kadoorie family was in a disadvantaged position and was shrinking its strength in an attempt to protect itself.

This further strengthened the confidence of investors who still held shares in China Light Power.

According to logical analysis, when the Kadoorie family's strength shrinks, it will be the time to fight for their lives, and at that time, the share price of China Light Power will definitely skyrocket due to competition.

Xia Yu naturally saw this clearly as well.

He felt that if things continued like this, they would fall into extremely vicious competition, which would greatly increase the cost of the acquisition and would not be cost-effective.

Xia Yu immediately decided to launch the general offensive early.

Soon, Xia Yu issued orders one after the other. Jiuding Securities and Jiuding Bank each approached a small shareholder, asking for a high price of 30% premium, while also threatening to use coercive measures.

On the other hand, Xia Yu went to Rothschild & Sons Hong Kong Limited and found Charles Rothschild, entrusting him with the acquisition of the shares of China Power held by the Swire Group.

Finally, he asked the Standard Chartered Bank president, Giles Liddell, to secretly contact the British Schroder family to see if they could reach an agreement to kick the 20% shareholder, Lawrence Kadoorie, out of the position of chairman of the board of directors of Baoyuan Investment Company, and intercept the shares currently being acquired by Baoyuan Investment Company.

Two days passed in a flash, and the outcome of the shareholding transaction of the Shangri-La Hotel Group was about to be revealed. However, the atmosphere above Hong Kong Island became increasingly tense. Many people understood that the most intense moment was about to arrive.