Chapter 962: Tossing the Kadoorie Family

After sitting down, Xia Yu directly asked, 'Is there any action from the Kadoorie family?'

He remembered that before, the Kadoorie family still owned 34% of the shares of China Light and Power, while his side of the deal had accumulated a total of 62.4%.

Apart from the two sides, the Kadoorie family and him, the other floating shares had only reached about 3.6%.

The status of China Light and Power as a listed company was already dead in name only.

It was only because Xia Yu's side of the deal had scattered their shares that it was difficult to define, and these companies of Xia Yu's were not original shareholders, so they did not have the qualifications to ban China Light and Power as a listed company.

The reason Xia Yu chose not to delist was that he had a deeper consideration, which was that only by leveraging the status of a listed company could he make a big deal out of it, and make it easier to acquire the Kadoorie family's shares next.

Because the Kadoorie family held 34% of the shares of China Power Company and was unwilling to let go no matter what, they were in a position to prevent Xia Yu from getting his way.

Therefore, no matter how hard Xia Yu tried, he could not increase his shareholding to more than two-thirds, so Xia Yu's side could not dominate the board of directors, and many means of diluting the Kadoorie family's shareholding ratio could not be used.

Because the Kadoorie family, with a 34% stake, had a veto on the board.

So whenever anything critical or important came up that needed to be discussed by the board, the Kadoorie family could block it.

However, the Kadoorie family could barely maintain their face when it came to board resolutions, but they were a complete failure in other areas.

For example, the shareholders' meeting has been controlled by Xia Yu's side.

Having taken control of the shareholders' meeting, Lawrence Kadoorie was directly kicked out of the position of chairman, and all the Kadoorie family nominations for chairman and vice chairman were rejected.

Of course, since Xia Yu's side also does not occupy two-thirds of the seats on the board, Xia Yu's side is only dominant, not having the final say, and the position of chairman has remained vacant.

The supervisory board was also controlled by Xia Yu's side.

To sum up:

Since Xia Yu's acquisition of China Power Company, there has been no let-up in the internal struggles within the company. Zhao Bo, acting on Xia Yu's instructions, used the Seven Injuries Fist directly, trading injury for injury, and causing the Kadoorie family great suffering.

In response to Xia Yu's inquiry, Zhao Bo nodded and said, 'Yes, the Kadoorie family can't hold on anymore. I think there is a high probability that they will choose to withdraw from China Power Company.'

Xia Yu was suddenly interested: "Tell me the details.'

Zhao Bo said, "Our China Power Company is now famous throughout Hong Kong. Many people know that there are fierce internal struggles within the company, and the scope of these struggles covers the shareholders' meeting, the supervisory board, the board of directors, etc., and there have been significant personnel changes within the company, which have affected the company's operations.

'...In order to dilute the Kadoorie family's shareholding, I have been proposing to increase investment, such as purchasing new equipment and upgrading the power grid, and to raise HK$60 million through private placement; or to build a new natural gas power plant and raise HK$200 million through private placement; or to enter the Australian power market and raise HK$200 million through private placement, etc.'

'Each time the Kadoorie family rejected the proposal, and each time I found an opportunity to leak the news.'

'Major plans need to be discussed and decided by the board of directors, but in some smaller aspects I can make decisions directly. A lot of the company's interests and assets have been transferred to Hongkong Electric Company at a low price in a reasonable manner. The Kadoorie family already knew about it, but they couldn't find any evidence.'

'...So in the absence of management rights, the Kadoorie family can only watch as their interests are gradually eroded.'

'And because of the negative publicity, the company's stock price has continued to fall, and it has now dropped to about half of its normal level. It has been rated as a junk stock by many institutions, and the Kadoorie family's holdings have been locked in.'

'I don't think anyone dares to take over except us. I have asked around, and the Kadoorie family's attempts to take out a loan against the shares of CLP Power Hong Kong have been rejected by the banks and the price has been drastically reduced...'

As Zhao Bo talked incessantly about how he was 'running' the company, Xia Yu gave him a approving look.

Zhao Bo had indeed done all these things that Xia Yu had privately instructed him to do.

There was no other way. Who let him want to buy the Kadoorie family's shares, but several times he was shut out by the Kadoorie family, who gave him no room for negotiation.

With no other choice, Xia Yu had to resort to other methods, such as the ones Zhao Bo just mentioned.

This method is spiteful when dealing with a stubborn family like the Kadoorie family, but it is an unreservedly good method.

In his previous life, Xia Yu had seen this kind of scene many times: the majority shareholder victimised the minority shareholders and ordinary shareholders, directly turning a good company into a loss-making one, and then transferring assets at low cost to achieve their goal, after which the company immediately recovered.

In other words, the Kadoorie family held the right shareholding percentage and did not allow Xia Yu's side to control more than 66.7%.

If they had more than two-thirds of the shares, there would be no need for such trouble. They could simply take control of the board of directors and force the Kadoorie family to do their bidding.

But after all this time, it seems to have had a good effect, and the Kadoorie family's attitude has softened, so it is indeed time to take action.

'Zhao Bo, you continue to test the attitude of the Kadoorie family. If you think the heat is not enough, push them harder. Your task is to continue to play the bad guy, but be careful not to leave any loose ends that could get you into trouble,' Xia Yu instructed with a smile.

'I will arrange for someone else to take care of the acquisition of their shares, and someone will contact you at that time.'

Zhao Bo respectfully replied, 'Okay!'

Xia Yu then asked some more questions before sending Zhao Bo away.

...

Two days later, Xia Yu suddenly received an invitation from Bao Yugang to come to his home for dinner. Xia Yu went as promised.

When Xia Yu arrived at Bao Yugang's home, he found that apart from Bao Yugang and his family, there was no one else there. He asked curiously, 'Bao, it's just the two of us? Why didn't Lao Huo invite him?'

Bao Yugang explained with a smile, 'It's not that I didn't invite him, it's just that unfortunately he had to go to the United States for something and won't be back for a week. I'll invite him next time I can.'

Xia Yu understood and laughed, 'Then Lao Hu won't be lucky tonight, I'll tease him when he gets back next time...'

After chatting for a while, dinner was ready.

During the meal, Xia Yu and Bao Yugang mainly chatted about interesting things.

The real discussion was at the tea table after dinner.

After pouring the two men a cup of tea, Bao Yugang's son-in-law Wu Guangzheng sat quietly and listened.

'Yu, the Hong Kong government intends to establish a large-scale technology industrial park in the New Territories to support industries such as electronic high technology, heavy industry and petrochemicals. Have you heard this news?'

Bao Yugang sipped his hot tea and spoke slowly.

Xia Yu raised an eyebrow and asked in return, 'Bao, did you get this information from the Hong Kong government?'

Bao Yugang nodded frankly: 'Yes, someone told me specifically. MacLehose strictly demanded confidentiality, and seemed to attach great importance to it.'

'The Hong Kong government's strategic plan for the governance of Hong Kong will not have a small impact on us, so I came to talk to you about it.'

Xia Yu's expression was a little strange, and he suppressed a smile as he asked again, 'So, Lao Bao, do you know where this proposal came from? Why does the Hong Kong government suddenly want to plan an industrial park?'

Bao Yugang shook his head: 'I don't know. I've asked too, but I didn't get an answer.'

'What, do you know?'

After saying this, Bao Yugang noticed Xia Yu's strange expression, and couldn't help but raise his bushy eyebrows and ask, 'Ah Yu, do you know?'