The Industrial Giant Reborn

"What did you say?" Simon Keswick roared angrily. If it weren't for his long-term gentlemanly cultural upbringing and the presence of all Jardine Land shareholders and many media here, he would really want to hit someone.

"I'm talking about ways to solve the Jardine Matheson Land crisis. There are also friends from banks present. I don't think anyone will object to my plan!" Newbijian looked at the representatives of the creditor banks sitting in the front and saw them. Several people were also discussing something internally, and after Niubijian finished speaking, they did not object.

From the perspective of their bank, this is indeed the best method. No matter how heavy the debt of Land Land is, as long as Chen Zhiwen is willing to take over, they will no longer have to worry about repayment. Although the scale of Land Land has reached a point where it is too big to It's to the point of collapse, but no one knows whether they will encounter the very low probability of bankruptcy. Not every bank is super large. Hundreds of millions of loans cannot be recovered, and they will have to escape without bankruptcy. Pi, what happened to Jianing before has severely damaged their vitality. The scale of the real estate is even larger. They will be even more unlucky if it happens again. Not to mention that if Land Land fails, the chain reaction will destroy many other companies, and the bank's losses will be even greater.

But Simon Keswick, the major shareholder, is here, and they all know that the purpose of this shareholder meeting is to seize power. Before the results come out, banks like them should not interfere too much, otherwise, the Keswick family Returning to Jardine Matheson Land, banks like them that have expressed their stance will also not be able to bear it if their repayments are delayed.

"The Jardine Group does not need any advice from a traitor." Simon Keswick said into the microphone again, and his voice reached everyone present, directly labeling Newbikin the "traitor" label.

"It's a joke. Jardine Land belongs to all the shareholders here, not your Keswick family. If you have the ability, you can increase the shares to 51%, or at least 35%. Otherwise, a shareholder with only 10% would dare to say so brazenly. Is the company yours?" Newbijian immediately retorted loudly.

As long as the land belongs to the public and not the Keswick family, then the capital he brought in Chen Zhiwen will naturally not be considered a traitor. Besides, this is correct in itself. What kind of holding is 10%? Just because Land and Jardine Matheson are companies that have been listed for a long time, most of the shares are scattered among retail investors. A small amount of concentrated shares may also be in the hands of some foundations that specialize in investment and do not care about operation and management. The Keswick family owns 10% of the shares. , it is assumed that Jardine is held by default.

Of course, from the perspective of British capital, he is indeed a "traitor".

"Huh, you know what's going on." Simon Keswick didn't say anything more. The Keswick family did not have a high degree of control over Jardine. Otherwise, they wouldn't have lost any shares 10 years ago. Without it, Niubigan took away control.

"Our argument doesn't make any sense. Let's let all shareholder representatives vote to decide. The banking group just doesn't vote veto." Newbijian said to everyone again.

When a company involves changes in its major shareholders, creditor banks have the right to intervene. However, under normal circumstances, banks will not intervene as long as the changes are not too outrageous. It is impossible for them to review companies with so many loans one by one. But now that Land is in debt crisis, big changes require their consent.

However, when it comes to several giant companies in Hong Kong, of course they will not have any objections, and no one in the middle will be offended. Anyway, they are only creditor banks. In theory, as long as the lender has the ability to repay, how can we torment them? I can’t care less.

"I object. Hisense Bank itself is also one of Land's largest creditor banks. According to the banking law, its boss cannot invest in the bank's customers." Simon Keswick's mind turned quickly and he quickly thought of this. Hong Kong Bank The law expressly stipulates that banks are not allowed to lend money to companies whose major shareholders hold more than 16% of the shares, or where the shareholders are direct relatives.

For example, Hisense Bank has no equity ownership relationship with Chen Zhiwen's father, Chen Tianshou, but it does not allow loans to Hengyi. Of course, it may not be so strict in practice. As long as the amount is not too high or the risk is too great, the Hong Kong government will generally turn a blind eye. I close my eyes, but the legal provisions are already written there, and if something breaks the rules, I have to pay the corresponding responsibilities.

"There is no need for Mr. Keswick to worry about this. Since we have already discussed the shares, we have naturally thought of solutions to various problems. However, it is up to Huo Sheng from Hisense Bank to explain." Newbijian smiled. said with a smile.

Subsequently, at the invitation of relevant personnel, Huo Jianning and Bill Winter, the senior manager of Standard Chartered Bank, came in through a door on the side, and then walked to the position of the bank representative. The original representatives of Hisense Bank and Standard Chartered Bank immediately gave way when they saw the general manager coming.

Simon Keswick glanced at Huo Jianning and then at Niubijian, feeling a little hesitant in his heart. Originally, the problem of land acquisition was huge. Even if he drove Niubijian away, it would be very difficult for him to run it by himself, let alone It is said that there is a covetous Chen Zhiwen outside, but now Niubijian has not been driven away, but has turned to Chen Zhiwen because of his own coercion. This is one of the possibilities that he had expected.

But there was no way, he had to get rid of this waste, Newbikin, otherwise, Jardine Land would definitely go bankrupt.

"Everyone, I am very honored to come to attend the shareholders' meeting of Jardine Matheson and Land." Huo Jianning said formally: "We have already considered the Hong Kong banking regulations that Newbijian just raised. If this shareholders' meeting passes, we will Boss Chen Zhiwen and Chen Sheng will become the major shareholders of Land or Jardine Matheson Group. Therefore, all the funds owed by Land to Hisense will be transferred to Standard Chartered Bank, Citibank of the United States and Sumitomo Bank of Japan. These three banks have large global presence. If the Land Group can take this opportunity to cooperate with these international banks, it may have higher development opportunities in the future."

Hisense Bank will naturally not do anything illegal. Banks cannot lend to groups that have an interest in themselves, so they can just transfer it out and sell the loan to other banks.

The current land market is in a mess. Many creditor banks feel that the risks are relatively high and even come to collect debts. But if Chen Zhiwen becomes a shareholder, it will be completely different. For many banks, a bad debt will instantly become a The best quality loans for the entire bank and even the source of long-term profits.

Faced with the prerequisites for Chen Zhiwen to become a shareholder and even obtain management rights, there were actually many banks that agreed. Standard Chartered was chosen because they had long-term cooperation in Hong Kong and helped the boss Chen Zhiwen a lot. Citigroup was the boss. As for Japan’s Sumitomo Bank, a long-term partner in the United States, it is because of Hutchison Whampoa’s investment in Japan. Various leverage loans are also provided by Sumitomo Bank, which brings greater capital flow to Hutchison Whampoa. At the same time, Sumitomo Bank We also want to enter the Hong Kong market, and all parties hit it off.

"Thank you Huo Sheng for your explanation. Since there is no legal problem, I will formally issue a proposal to ask the shareholders' meeting to vote on Chen Zhiwen and Chen Sheng's proposal to raise HK$1.7 billion for Land." Newbijian said with a smile. : "Of course, this matter is too urgent. Let's vote now. As long as there is not a single vote to veto it, we can continue to make up for it later.

During this period, shareholders who have returned from overseas can stay at our Cultural Oriental Hotel for free. "

Under normal circumstances, if there is a need for share expansion financing or targeted share increase financing, all shareholders need to be informed in advance. Generally, it needs to be at least one month in advance, and even if it is urgent, it will take about half a month. This also allows shareholders to have enough time to do it. Investigations and more.

However, this time it is mainly about a raid, and of course it will not be announced in advance. With the current situation of Land, there is actually no good choice.

"Now? This is too hasty." Simon Keswick said quickly, and he didn't know that this financing was aimed at him.

"It's a bit hasty, but it doesn't matter. If no one thinks clearly, they can not vote or cast a blank vote. We will count and if the total shares of those who do not vote exceed 1/3, then it will be extended to 15 days to continue voting. "Newbijian said with a smile again.

In fact, this is not a big problem at all. Chen Zhiwen himself owns 21% of the stock. In addition, as the boss of Jardine Land for ten years, he also knows many shareholders. After special persuasion, they all agreed to this plan. Others Those who have just learned the news will be careful if they have some brains. Otherwise, if the capital chain is broken during the debt crisis, everything will be lost.

"But if it's only HK$1.7 billion, it doesn't seem to be enough for land purchase, right?" Simon Keswick asked again. Things like notification time can only delay and cannot solve the fundamental problem, but he is also curious. With Chen Zhiwen's How could he only invest 1.7 billion Hong Kong dollars when he is worth 1.7 billion Hong Kong dollars? This investment will make Chen Zhiwen a major shareholder of Land, but it will not reach the point of holding a controlling stake.

"Because Chen Sheng already owns more than 20% of Land's shares and has invested HK$1.7 billion. After calculation, after investment, he can own a total of 34.9% of the shares without triggering an acquisition invitation." Niubijian said with a smile.

"What? How is this possible? I have checked the stock transactions in the past two years. There is no way there is any secret acquisition that could allow Chen Zhiwen to obtain more than 20% of the stock." Simon Keswick said with a pale expression.

In order to preserve his own industry, Simon Keswick had long ago investigated Chen Zhiwen's behavior in acquiring company stocks. He usually made slow acquisitions two or three years in advance, and then concentrated on forced acquisitions, plus other aspects. resources and various reasons, even if the Hong Kong government has changed the acquisition offer to 35%, it can still allow Chen Zhiwen to actually control the company through various means.

Therefore, the biggest core is to prevent secret acquisitions. This is not difficult. As long as a large amount of acquisition funds are found to be secretly acquired, it only needs to be announced. The stock price will inevitably rise sharply, and the acquirer will definitely give up due to cost reasons.

But in the past two or three years, Simon Keswick has been keeping an eye on the transaction of Jardine Land's shares. There are also some funds from unknown sources making acquisitions, but the scale is not large and cannot meet the requirements to threaten Jardine Land. This also made Keswick feel more at ease. Even if Chen Zhiwen wanted to control Land through bank means, it would be useless without enough stocks.

Even if Niubijian is acting internally as it is now, as long as he finds some people to exercise his veto power with 33.4% of the shares at the shareholders' meeting, Chen Zhiwen will not be able to invest.

Of course, the debt issue is another matter, and Chen Zhiwen can still take action, but this is a business struggle in another field and does not belong to the shareholders' meeting.

But if he already has more than 20%, it will not only seriously affect the entire voting results, but also affect all shareholders present. Not all small shareholders will analyze who is right and who is wrong. Most of them will follow the major shareholders. After all, normal The major shareholders are the holders of the largest interests of the entire group, and generally only those who are capable can become the major shareholders.

Once they lose the shareholders' meeting, the Keswick family will have no chance again and will have to become a small shareholder who only deserves dividends in the future.

"It's very simple, because we started acquiring Land's shares five years ago." Huo Jianning, who was watching the excitement from the side, said with a smile.

"Five years ago?" Simon Keswick was stunned for a moment. At that time, Chen Zhiwen had not acquired Wharf. The real estate industry at that time could also be said to be at its peak, and Chen Zhiwen's net worth at that time was not far from what it is now. I really didn't expect it. , actually started the layout at that time.