Chapter 184 An Unexpected Acquisition Partner

"Mr. Shang."

Aying pushed open the door and came in, seeing Shang Wu buried in her work, her face as unpleasant as ever.

She handed him her business card.

“I have already arranged to meet with several investors. They all said they have expected prices and are willing to talk to you to try to get you to consider them and sell the company.”

Upon hearing this, Shang Wu looked up, took the business card, and saw that the address was a high-end private teahouse with excellent privacy.

Clearly, they don't want the news of this acquisition to be known today.

Shang Wu understood that the bosses didn't want any rumors to leak out before things settled down, and nodded.

"Okay, please reply for me. I'll make time to meet them in half an hour."

Aying nodded and turned to leave.

After finishing her work, Shang Wu immediately went to her destination and arrived at a private room in the teahouse.

Instead of meeting the familiar investor she had imagined, she saw Gao Hai sitting at the table.

As soon as Gao Hai saw her, he immediately smiled and waved to her.

"Come, come, sit down and let's talk."

Shang Wu frowned and walked over, puzzled.

Seeing Gao Hai's enthusiastic and happy appearance, she hesitated: "What are you doing here, Mr. Gao? Among the companies that want to acquire me and sent me their letters of intent, Gao's Group is not one of them. Why did you suddenly come here to join in the fun today?"

Gao Hai smiled meaningfully: "This is exactly what I wanted to say. How come you had such good inside information and didn't tell me? Did you think that with my qualifications and abilities, I wasn't qualified to acquire a company?"

“Absolutely not,” Shang Wu clarified earnestly. “You’re really wronging me by saying that. I’ve never thought that President Gao was unqualified to acquire the company. I just didn’t expect that you would have the intention to acquire it.”

Her production chain is not specifically for Gao Hai Company.

Gao Hai nodded, indicating his understanding: "I know that it is a great temptation for those who want to have a whole production line, but if the company gives it to me, I can also use the channels to do a good job in the same way."

"When it comes to making money, who cares about the production chain? As long as we can make money, that's all that matters."

Gao Hai raised an eyebrow, smiled at Shang Wu, revealing his true nature as a businessman.

Shang Wu had nothing to say, and seeing Gao Hai's serious expression, she guessed what was going on.

Gao Hai was the most capable, ambitious, and cunning business partner among all the bosses she knew.

If he wants her company, he will definitely try every means to squeeze out other potential buyers, making them realize that it's not something they can just buy.

Clearly, the reason why the clients who were supposed to meet with her didn't show up was because of Gao Hai.

But the company wasn't as important to her anymore.

Selling to anyone is selling.

Since her new designs for the group haven't been released yet, she can just leave and release her work as an individual.

Any development of this company now is not the direction she wants, nor is it something she wants to stay with.

Upon considering this, Shang Wu said without hesitation, "President Gao, if you are interested in buying, I would certainly welcome you with open arms. However, before you decide to buy the company, you should already know the transaction price I set for it, right? I wonder if it is within your expectations?"

She tried to phrase her words tactfully.

Gao Hai smiled.

He simply took the check and placed it in front of her.

It is a check that has been specifically requested from the bank.

This means that without any formalities or troublesome stamps, Shang Wu can simply take the check and leave whenever he wants.

The price on the check was Shang Wu's intended price, which was even 10% higher.

They didn't even haggle, but instead offered to pay more?

Shang Wu looked at the check, then at Gao Hai, completely surprised that the other party had come prepared and so well-prepared.

Preparing such a large amount of cash flow in a short period of time is simply not within Gao Hai's capabilities.

Companies like theirs certainly have countless assets, but all available cash flow has definitely been invested in projects and company operations.

The fact that Gao Hai could suddenly raise such a large amount of cash flow suggests that his power and wealth are terrifyingly immense.

Shang Wu couldn't help but slowly frown, remaining silent for a long time.

Seeing that she didn't look happy, Gao Hai leaned back, his smile fading slightly.

"You're not going to refuse to sell this company to me, are you? Compared to other investors, I've already shown enough sincerity. I didn't bargain with you; in fact, I even raised the price by 10%."

"I've even prepared checks for you, so you don't need to use any other assets as collateral to cash them. Why are you still unwilling?"

Gao Hai's tone grew increasingly anxious, as if this was some kind of ongoing task that required Shang Wu's cooperation.

Shang Wu snapped out of her daze and looked at Gao Hai with a serious expression.

“Mr. Gao, I don’t take money that’s not legitimate. I think that given your company’s operations, a large portion of your cash flow should be invested in the finance department. How could you possibly have so much money to write me such a large check?”

She answered frankly, "I can't accept this check with a clear conscience; I'm afraid it might be ill-gotten."

Shang Wu placed the check on the table and pushed it over.

"Unless you give me reasonable proof of where this cash flow came from."

Gao Hai opened his mouth, but for a moment he was speechless.

Gao Hai knew that Shang Wu was always meticulous.

But he assumed that Shang Wu was in a hurry to get rid of the company and wouldn't investigate the matter behind it; she would simply take the check and leave without a care in the world.

It seems we made a mistake after all.

Gao Hai was getting anxious and stammered, "Can't you just ignore where I came from? I've been running this company for so many years, it's normal for me to have accumulated a considerable amount of cash flow. Have you thought it through? Do you want to sell the company to me or not? This opportunity is one you won't get back once it's gone!"

The more pressure he exerted, the more Shang Wu felt that something was wrong.

She gave Gao Hai a deep look and chuckled, "Mr. Gao, although I am eager to sell this company, it is not something that just anyone can buy. I need to go back and have a meeting to discuss it. I don't have full control of the shares in this company; we also have a board of directors and several other shareholders."

Gao Hai frowned upon hearing this, knowing she was stalling for time, and nodded without saying anything more.

"Okay, go ahead. I'll wait for your news, but I need to know your decision by tomorrow."

Shang Wu agreed and got up to leave.

"Wait, take this check." Gao Hai called out to her and pushed the check over to her.

Shang Wu pursed her lips, not wanting to accept the check.

Seeing Gao Hai's unhappy expression, she felt that if she refused again, Gao Hai would be very angry, so she reluctantly gave him face.

She took the check back and left first.

Once she got into the car, Aying immediately noticed the check in her hand, and was both surprised and delighted.

"Wow, which investor is so generous? It seems they're really going all out to acquire the company, even managing to come up with such a large amount of cash flow!"

Upon hearing this, Shang Wu looked at her.

Aying, puzzled, got into the driver's seat.

"What's wrong? Didn't you always want to get rid of it and leave? Are you having second thoughts before you go?"

Shang Wu glanced at the check in her hand and then held it up.

“This was given to me by Gao Hai. When I arrived, only Gao Hai was waiting there. He wanted to buy my company, so it’s obvious he came prepared. Don’t you think that’s a bit strange?”

Aying paused and glanced at her in the rearview mirror.

She hesitated and said, "We've worked with Mr. Gao many times. Although he's a big client of ours, his company doesn't seem to be as successful as ours. How could he possibly have such a large cash flow?"

“Even you suspect something’s wrong, then this whole thing is wrong.” Shang Wu held the check as if it were a hot potato, eager to get rid of it.

She always felt there was something fishy going on.

The unexpected windfall, which came too quickly and was hard-won, made her uneasy.

This is even worse than those bosses who clearly want her company and are genuinely interested in its development.

Although they cannot come up with cash flow, the money they use as collateral, along with some assets, is clean money.

Unlike this person, she felt uneasy.

"Let's go back." Shang Wu rubbed her temples, thinking about this the whole way.

After arriving at the company, she didn't even bother to notify the shareholders as she had done with Gao Hai.

After waiting for half an hour, Shang Wu replied to Gao Hai directly.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Gao, but the shareholders of our company all agree that although you are very sincere, your company's business is completely different from ours."

We still prefer to sell to owners in this field, allowing them to leverage the company's value and maximize its potential to create a brilliant business success.

After saying that, Shang Wu was about to hang up the phone.

Gao Hai clearly didn't expect her to suddenly call and refuse.

He immediately became agitated: "No way! You've already taken my check, how can you go back on your word and just say you don't want it anymore? This kind of dishonesty is neither normal nor ethical!"

Shang Wu, being good-natured, listened quietly to his rant before saying, "I already told you, I just went back to think about it. You asked me to give you an answer by tomorrow, and I did. Is the only thing you can hear from me that I agree to the acquisition?"

Gao Hai was taken aback, unsure of what to say.

"I'll have someone send you the check. That's all for now, I'll hang up now."

Shang Wu hung up the phone without hesitation. She would rather put in more effort to find an investor who was responsible for and interested in the company and could run it well, than give the check to Gao Hai for no reason, for fear of getting into trouble because of it.

Thinking about Gao Hai's unusual behavior, she felt even more insecure.

She couldn't accept that the company she had personally built would end up in a complete mess and be treated casually.

They say they'll sell it for any price, but that's not actually the case at all.

When Gao Hai called again, no matter how many times he called, Shang Wu refused to answer.

He immediately realized something was wrong and, without delay, went to find Lu Rang and told him about it.

“I have given her the check as you requested, but she refuses to accept it.”