"I'll try to disburse the funds within three days. Please submit the materials as soon as possible and I'll convince the board of directors."
"Okay, thank you so much, Mr. Shen. I will definitely reward you generously later." Paul said gratefully.
Because of funding issues, Paul didn't sleep all night last night, thinking about how to overcome this difficulty. Now with the funding from HSBC, he has some confidence to win this acquisition.
However, Chen Bi agreed to Paul for his own considerations. Most of the Miracle Group's business was not in HSBC, but scattered across Standard Chartered, Morgan, HSBC and other medium and large banks. As a result, Chen Bi had a lot of opinions about Bao Junyi.
Chen Bi wanted to use the Wharf Acquisition to blackmail Bao Junyi. When Bao Junyi ran out of funds, Chen Bi could go to his door and pull Miracle Group into the HSBC camp and tie it to the HSBC chariot. This was Chen Bi's purpose.
As for whether Paul became a victim, that's how business wars work. After all, the loan has collateral, so even if HSBC loses, it won't lose money.
HSBC has been in an invincible position since the beginning. As for the Miracle Group that offended Bao Junyi, Chen Bi was taking a gamble, using HSBC's current small amount of business to try to bring the entire Miracle Group into the HSBC camp.
Paul had just returned to the Wharf headquarters in Central when his secretary ran in and said, "Boss, bad news! Miracle Group's acquisition price has been adjusted to HK$120 per share."
"What? When was it announced?" Paul asked in surprise.
"It was announced just before the market opened. Should we follow up or..." the secretary whispered.
Paul pondered calmly for a moment, then gritted his teeth and said, "Follow up! We'll also use HK$120 per share as our target acquisition price."
"Okay, Boss." The secretary hurried out to make arrangements.
Paul frowned and thought. Wharf Holdings now has HK$300 million in funds, HK$400 million borrowed from Hutchison Whampoa and Jardine Matheson, and HK$1 billion loaned from HSBC, a total of HK$1.7 billion. He wondered if it was enough for this stock market gamble.
A week passed in the blink of an eye during the battle for Hutchison Whampoa.
The secretary reported to Paul, "Boss, Wharf Holdings' share price has risen to HK$165 per share. Our HK$1.7 billion in funds are almost exhausted. We only have HK$165 million left. We have only acquired 38.96% of the shares."
Paul sat dejectedly in the president's chair, his face unshaved and looking twenty years older.
His eyes were dull as he asked, "How many shares did Miracle Group acquire?"
"According to insider information, it is estimated that more than 45% of the shares have been received, and there are basically no shares left on the market."
Suddenly, an executive rushed in and said, "Boss, Miracle Group just announced a final acquisition at HK$200 per share. They currently hold 48.56% of the shares and are acquiring another 2.44%. The remaining shares in the market may already be ready for sale."
Paul slumped down in his chair, remaining silent for a long time before he said weakly, "Let's sell all our shares. Defeat is inevitable. It seems Miracle Group has been planning this for a long time and is so well prepared."
"Hong Kong has welcomed a great white shark. Wharf Holdings is the first, but not the last. Other British financial groups in Hong Kong are also in danger."
After saying that, he didn't say anything else. He stared out the window with lifeless eyes, looking at the bustling Hong Kong.
......
2:45 PM.
Miracle Group announced that it has acquired 51% of Hutchison Whampoa shares, completing its decision to take control of the company.
As soon as the news was released, Wharf Holdings' share price plummeted instantly, from HK$218.56 per share to HK$195... 178... 154... 126... and within 20 minutes it fell below HK$100 per share, halving.
By the close of trading, the stock price fell to HK$46 per share and began to fluctuate, with some risky funds entering the market to buy at the bottom.
The acquisition, which lasted a week and a half, has come to an end.
Bao Junyi convened a high-level meeting to arrange the acquisition of Hutchison Whampoa.
Bao Junyi said, "Except for Paul and a few core management members of Wharf Holdings, the rest of the company should remain as is. Furthermore, we should review Wharf Holdings' assets, consolidate and restructure them."
"Appoint Jia Yuezheng as the interim president of Wharf Holdings, responsible for its normal operations. At the same time, he will integrate various departments and cut unreasonable projects."
The meeting lasted two hours.
......
The next day, morning.
Bao Junyi brought Jia Yuezheng, finance, audit, legal and other teams into the Hutchison Whampoa headquarters building.
He went straight to Paul's office, sat across from him and said, "Paul, I won this acquisition battle."
Paul said with a dejected look, "Yeah, more than ten years of hard work, all ruined in an instant."
"NO... NO, it's about rebirth. Your management style has spread the group too thin. Diversification is fine, but you lack a few core competitive advantages. Furthermore, the group's external debt is too high, seriously impacting its development."
"You won, so whatever you say is right. Do you still want the remaining shares?"
"If you sell it, I'll definitely take it. Why not?"
"The average price I buy them for is HK$95. If you offer me HK$100, I'll sell it to you."
"Mr. Paul, the stock price is only over 40 Hong Kong dollars now, and you want to sell it to me for 100. Do you think I'm a fool?"
"Besides, the loan and borrowing you previously made were done as a group. I've already launched a general takeover offer, so your actions are against the rules."
Paul said gloomily, "So what do you want? What price are you willing to buy it back at?"
"Since Mr. Paul is willing to sell it, I'll give him a reasonable price, HK$50, and take it all."
"Impossible! It's too low. If Bao Sheng insists on such a low price, I can only sell it to someone else, such as HSBC. They would be very willing to become one of the major shareholders."
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