Chapter 326 Everyone has their own agenda
"So, HSBC is only willing to sell you 20 percent of the shares?"

In Deep Water Bay, in Bao Yugang's study, Li Changhe sat opposite Bao Yugang. After listening to Bao Yugang's talk, he couldn't help but sigh.

Bao Yugang nodded: "Yes, they kept 10% for themselves!"

"Overall, HSBC is still optimistic about Cathay Pacific. After all, Cathay Pacific is the only airline in Hong Kong Island."

"In addition, the Shi Huaiya family also made a request."

"They value Cathay Pacific very much and require me not to make a hostile takeover of Cathay Pacific. This will be signed in the share transfer agreement. Once I launch a hostile takeover, the Swire family and HSBC have the right to reclaim the shares."

"I think they had discussed this behind the scenes. I was surprised that HSBC agreed to this request."

Li Changhe couldn't help but smile when he heard that.

"They are not stupid. They have the experience of Wharf Holdings and the Swire family are also afraid. Although Cathay Pacific is not listed, it is not safe."

"HSBC was probably worried about this happening again, so it agreed to the Shi Huaiya family's conditions."

"After all, if the Swire family disagrees, even if we force the purchase of shares, conflicts with the Swire family will only hinder the development of Cathay Pacific, which is not a good thing for HSBC either."

Li Changhe said thoughtfully.

Although Bao Yugang has a good relationship with HSBC, it does not mean that the Shi Huaiya family is not important to HSBC.

As one of the four major trading house families that have been deeply rooted in Hong Kong for many years, and the Swire Group, which can be regarded as the second trading house, HSBC must also consider their opinions before making decisions.

"But we won't suffer any loss. Since you asked me to sign such harsh conditions, the Shi Huaiya family must also pay something."

"In addition to giving us a seat on the board of directors, I also asked for the right to recommend an independent director!"

"Although we didn't get an advantage in terms of shares, with the constraints of independent directors, we will have enough say in Cathay Pacific."

At this time, Bao Yugang spoke confidently to Li Changhe.

After listening to this, Li Changhe's eyes lit up and he gave Bao Yugang a thumbs up.

"Uncle, you are really good at this!"

During his time in Hong Kong, Li Changhe not only prepared for his lessons, but also continued to learn about European and American economic knowledge.

After all, it is only 1980, and many things are different from later times.

Just like what Bao Yu just said, the independent director is a relatively common position in later generations, but in this era, it is actually very rare.

Independent directors appeared very early, in the 1930s, but were only widely used in the United States in recent years. Legislation has required listed companies to establish independent directors and maintain an independent audit committee.

The biggest function of this identity is actually supervision, similar to the military supervisors in ancient military camps. At the same time, he is qualified to audit major transactions.

Why did Li Changhe praise Bao Yugang for this brilliant move? Because currently, this position is a setting for listed companies in the United States, and is generally not adopted in Hong Kong and the United Kingdom.

Bao Yugang is using the knife of the United States to cut at the pulse of Hong Kong Island Company!
Although both are Western countries in Europe and the United States, there are great differences between the United Kingdom and the United States in the establishment of corporate law. The power organ of an American company is generally the board of directors, which holds the dominant power. Although the board of directors originates from shareholders, there is still a layer of separation between them.

But it is different in the UK. Its company law supports shareholders to directly hold power, and the board of directors generally has limited authority.

This is also the case for many companies in Hong Kong Island. As long as they receive enough shares, they will automatically take control of the company.

In the corporate system of Hong Kong and the United Kingdom, the major shareholder is the highest authority in the company. Whoever obtains shares obtains the management and control rights of the company.

Therefore, the position of independent director is generally not set up in Hong Kong Island, and Cathay Pacific Airways is not a listed company, so there is no need to set up this position.

However, Bao Yugang is now taking advantage of the opportunity when Shi Huaiya's family is proposing conditions and also proposing a condition that the other party is uncomfortable with but cannot refuse.

You just don't want me to make a hostile takeover, okay!
Then I will also supervise your legitimate operations and not maliciously damage the interests of small shareholders. I will set up an independent director and recommend him. Is that ok?
Moreover, Li Changhe had no doubt that HSBC would support this system.

The essence of independent directors is to restrain management's malicious management of the company and protect the interests of small shareholders.

HSBC is now a small shareholder of Cathay Pacific. They do not seek to take over Cathay Pacific, but they certainly want the other party to operate properly and not mess around like before.

Therefore, as long as Bao Yugang brought up this matter, HSBC would have no reason to disagree.

Since HSBC agreed, it would be difficult for the Shi Huaiya family to refuse. After all, it was just normal supervision. Why wouldn't you agree to be supervised?
Li Changhe could now imagine that when Shi Huaiya's family agreed, their faces must have been green.

"At present, it is difficult for us to take over Cathay Pacific, and airlines are asset-intensive industries. I don't think we need to put too much energy on it."

"Your goal is actually to protect your voice in Cathay Pacific. I think the current level is good enough."

"On the other hand, if we really take control of Cathay Pacific, then it will be the Governor's Office's turn to deal with us."

"After all, the other side also doesn't want to see a pro-mainland airline controlling the flight paths of Hong Kong Island."

Bao Yugang spoke gently to Li Changhe at this time, actually hinting to Li Changhe that it was not appropriate to continue attacking Cathay Pacific.

"Don't worry, uncle, I understand!"

"Don't worry about Cathay Pacific, wait until it goes public!"

"The next person we should be wary of is Jardine Matheson!"

"I think once this news comes out, Jardine Matheson will be furious!"

Li Changhe said thoughtfully.

Bao Yugang nodded: "I think so too. In fact, I have talked to Shen Bi about this. HSBC's attitude will not change."

"They have tolerated Jardine Matheson for a long time. I have a shipping conference in Europe the day after tomorrow and I will go there to attend it."

"This is a good opportunity for Yihe to take action. Let's see if they can jump out!"

"How many shares of Wharf Holdings have you acquired?"

Hearing Bao Yugang's question, Li Changhe shook his head: "Not much, ordinary bids are not enough now!"

Ever since Bao Yugang intervened in the battle for Wharf Holdings, Wharf Holdings shares in the four major exchanges began to be bought away like crazy.

Jardine Matheson is buying, Pao Yu-kong is buying, and many investors and institutions in Hong Kong Island are also buying.

Jardine Matheson and Pao Yu-kong are competing for shares of Wharf Holdings, while shareholders and institutions are gambling!

Everyone knows that when two tigers fight, the stock price will soar to the sky regardless of whether one is injured or not. So as long as they grab the shares of Hutchison Whampoa and wait for the two tigers to start fighting, they will make a profit and just have to wait for the appreciation.

Therefore, it is now very difficult for Li Changhe to acquire shares of Hutchison Whampoa on the market.

The reason why Li Changhe bought shares in Hutchison Whampoa was very simple. He and Bao Yugang were certain that if Jardine Matheson launched a surprise attack, it would definitely adopt a stock exchange strategy.

Jardine Matheson has no money now, and it is difficult to use real money to acquire shares of Hutchison Whampoa, and he cannot afford it.

If Jardine Matheson wants to exchange its shares in Hutchison Whampoa, it will most likely use the same method it used to acquire Dairy Farm and exchange it for shares in Swire Properties.

The purpose is to attract shareholders by exchanging shares for shares. What Li Changhe intends to do is to use the same trick against the other party and directly exchange Wharf Holdings shares for Hutchison Whampoa shares.

This will not only increase the number of shares in his hands, but also reduce the number of shares held by Hutchison Whampoa. After all, when Jardine Matheson exchanged shares, it would definitely take out the Hutchison Whampoa shares it held, and it would also increase Hutchison Whampoa's debt.

Of course, this has a prerequisite, which is to ensure that Bao Yugang's number of shares must be ahead, otherwise, if he is not careful, he may easily become an enemy.

Fortunately, after Li Changhe's early planning, Bao Yugang has more funds than in history, and has collected more shares of Hutchison Whampoa than in history.

Although Bao Yugang has never disclosed it, Li Changhe estimated that Bao Yugang's shareholding in Hutchison Whampoa has definitely exceeded 35% or even more.

"I only have less than two million Wharf shares in my hands now. There are too few Wharf shares in circulation in the market."

"It's too little. It's not very attractive to Jardine Matheson."

"Well, tomorrow I will sell you 600 million shares, and you can collect million shares. Then we can decide on the exit depending on the situation."

Ten million shares is almost 10% of the shares for Hutchison Whampoa.

This amount will be of great attraction to Jardine Matheson.

"This, uncle, this is too much!"

"Forget it, this is too risky."

Li Changhe thought about it and shook his head.

Although Bao Yugang had successfully acquired Hutchison Whampoa in history, now that Li Changhe is involved, Li Changhe cannot be sure whether there will be any unexpected changes. After much thought, Li Changhe decided not to take this risk.

"Uncle, I think that with my arrangement, even if we take over the land by force, there is a high chance of success. At this time, there is no need for us to take risks."

"No matter what, we must first ensure that Kowloon Warehouse falls into our hands. A bird in the hand is worth a thousand in the bush!"

"I used Wharf Holdings' shares to exchange for Hong Kong Land just as a backup plan. We don't need to take such a big risk."

Seeing this, Bao Yugang looked at Li Changhe with satisfaction: "Ayang, if you have this mentality, you are actually halfway to success in the business world."

"But don't worry about this. I know what's going on."

"Since we have been planning to buy the land for so long, we must make sure it is foolproof."

"Otherwise, we will suffer a great loss later!"

"You know, this time when we planned to buy land, we offended more than just the land."

“I think we’ll have to appease HSBC afterwards!”

This wave of Wharf Holdings could not have been achieved without the help of HSBC, but at the same time, it was actually equivalent to Bao Yugang teaming up with Li Changhe to play a trick on HSBC.

So afterwards, Bao Yugang must make amends.

If they cannot acquire the property even after paying such a high price, it would be a huge loss for them.

Just when Bao Yugang and Li Changhe were secretly planning to buy the land, in Jardine Matheson's office, New Bijian put down the phone with a grim look on his face.

Those idiots in London are still thinking about peace talks with Bao Yugang.

If peace talks were possible, how could the other party still demand an increase in board seats in Hutchison Whampoa?

We should seize the time and find an opportunity to take action now. How can we still rely on negotiations?

But the other party is the major shareholder after all, and Niu Bijian is just a boss, not a major shareholder, so he could only sigh.

Tomorrow, I will talk to Bao Yugang for the last time!
In the blink of an eye, three days had passed since Li Changhe and Bao Yugang's meeting, and it was now the end of April.

During these three days, there was no news from Bao Yugang, but the cooperation with Pierre Cardin had been reached.

The two sides adopted the approach of forming different companies, separating acquisition and marketing, and finally reached agreement in all aspects.

Subsequently, the two parties held a press conference at the Peninsula Hotel to announce the cooperation.

However, Li Changhe did not show up at the press conference, and the entire signing ceremony was attended by Weiers.

"Vic, what a shame you didn't attend our press conference!"

At the cocktail party after the meeting, Pierre Cardin shook his head and sighed at Li Changhe.

"Pell, you know it's not convenient for me to show up."

"Wells coming forward is the same as me!"

"Of course, I understand. Children of big families like you often like to hide behind the scenes. There are many families in Europe who like this."

“Sometimes being on stage is not necessarily a good thing!”

Pierre Cardin shrugged and said to Li Changhe with a smile.

As a top designer, he has come into contact with many big businessmen and descendants of aristocrats in Europe, so he can be said to be well-informed.

"But I think, Vic, if you want to keep a low profile in the future, you are actually missing something very important right now."

"Ok?"

Li Changhe looked at Pierre Cardin with some confusion.

Pierre Cardin smiled and said to Li Changhe: "You are in need of a female companion now!"

"Although you don't want to step on the stage, you can't avoid a cocktail party like this."

"Vick, once you attend a cocktail party, young men like you will be chased by women crazily. The more high-end the cocktail party, the more so."

"If you really want to avoid this, it's best to consider this in advance and arrange for a female companion to cover you."

"Especially when we get to Europe and America, the crazy ladies and young ladies like you the most, elegant and wealthy young men, especially since you have a lot of oriental mysteries!"

"Don't underestimate these women. Many of them are crazy, crazier than you can imagine."

"If you get entangled with them, then you can throw away the idea of ​​keeping a low profile. Entertainment reporters love to chase after them."

“So, this is my advice to you as an old designer from Europe!”

“I think it should be the same here in Hong Kong Island!”

"No, look, your good luck seems to have come!"

Pierre Cardin smiled and nodded to the side. Li Changhe turned his head and saw a young girl holding up her skirt and walking towards him.

(End of this chapter)