Chapter 350 Land Changes Hands
"20 yuan a share?"

"impossible."

"Mr. Sandberg, if you are so insincere, there is no need for us to continue the conversation."

In the conference room, upon hearing Newby's offer, Jim rejected it without hesitation.

"The real estate market in Hong Kong Island is booming right now, and the value of Hong Kong's assets is rising every day."

"Otherwise, why would you be interested in Landmark?"

“20 yuan per share is our bottom line!”

"If you don't agree, then we will sell it to someone else. You know, there are many people who want to take over Hong Kong shares throughout Hong Kong Island and even Southeast Asia."

Newbijian said firmly at this moment.

But Jim didn't care.

"Whatever you want, Mr. Sandberg, you can sell it to anyone."

"At worst, we can just continue to compete in the stock market. Anyway, the number of Hong Kong shares we received today has exceeded that of Jardine Matheson."

"By tomorrow, we will be the major shareholder of Hong Kong Land, and Jardine Matheson will have to give up the positions of chairman and president."

"You can talk to anyone, but once they take over successfully, it's hard to say how many shares we will have."

Jim said to Newbijian proudly.

He didn't care about Newbijian's threat at all.

They now have the advantage of time. The shares of Swire Properties are very popular, but this amount of funds is not something that just any company can come up with.

Even if they can come up with a deal worth billions of Hong Kong dollars, the other party will have to hold meetings and make evaluations, which will take a certain amount of time.

Unless he is someone like Vic who has a lot of cash and can make all his own decisions.

But how many people like this are there in the world?

In just a few days, China Eastern International's shareholding in the stock market will exceed 30%, or even exceed 40%.

At that time, it would be almost impossible for the person who took over the shares of Hutchison Whampoa to compete with Oriental International for the control of Hutchison Whampoa.

Without control, the shares of Swire Properties are at best stocks that preserve value. What’s the point?
Newbijian naturally understood this, so when Jim told him the truth, his face looked a little ugly.

Even though Li Jiacheng had just approached him that morning and promised to join the acquisition.

Newbyjian also didn't think the other party could succeed. The most important buyers were still these damn Americans in front of him.

"Mr. Sandberg, please give us a realistic price so that we can continue the discussion normally."

Jim observed Newbijian's expression and gave him an appropriate way out.

He has participated in many acquisitions of this kind. In many cases, a person's facial expression represents his attitude.

It was obvious that Yihe had been hit in a sore spot by what he had said. At this point, giving him a way out at the right time could allow the topic to continue, rather than causing a complete break-up between the two sides.

"Mr. Jim, I'd like to know what you think is a realistic price?"

"How about you give us a price and let us consider it?"

At this moment, Niu Bijian took a deep breath, calmed down his emotions, and continued to ask.

"In that case, I'll say it."

"Your original stock price was 12.2 yuan per share. We have done an evaluation and found this to be a relatively suitable price."

"Because Hong Kong Land has issued too many shares in the market and its assets have been relatively stable, your stock price is also relatively stable, and the market feedback is reasonable."

"We are willing to pay a 14% premium to buy your shares at yuan per share."

"This is a large-scale stock acquisition. Don't feel that you are at a disadvantage. The price we offer has already given you enough profit."

Jim said to Newbijian confidently at this moment.

Although Newbijian had thought that the price Jim quoted would not be high, he was still so angry that he almost had a high blood pressure when he heard the price.

"Impossible, Jardine Matheson will not accept this price."

"19 yuan per share, this is our bottom line."

Newbijian said firmly at this moment.

Jim smiled and shook his head: "Forget it, Mr. Sandberg."

"I think we can end our negotiations here today, and there is no need for us to test each other anymore."

"Go back and choose a suitable offer that meets the expectations of both parties, and then we will discuss it seriously."

"We are sincere about acquiring Hong Kong Land, but sincerity does not mean we are stupid."

"In fact, without the competition from Jardine Matheson, the share price of Hong Kong Land will soon fall. The cost for us to acquire the company may be lower than the cost of taking over your company."

"And we have an advantage in the stock market. We don't need to acquire such a large number of shares from you."

"As long as we control more than 30% of the shares, it will be enough for us. We can slowly acquire the remaining shares."

“So, Jardine Matheson needs to understand the current situation.”

"We are sincere in negotiating, but please take our sincerity seriously."

After Jim finished speaking, he stood up and walked out without hesitation.

And Newbijian stood there with a complicated expression.

A moment later, Henry Keswick walked into the conference room.

"Mr. Henry."

"How was the talk?"

Henry Keswick asked calmly at this time. He was actually anxious, otherwise he would not have come to the Mandarin Hotel from the Connaught Building.

"Not ideal."

At this time, Newbijian shook his head and recounted the conversation between the two people to Henry Keswick.

After listening to this, Henry Keswick seemed to be thinking about something.

“The other party’s professionalism is still very strong.”

"The most important thing is that we have not introduced any competitors. It's like an auction. Only when there are people competing for it, the auctioned items will be valuable."

"Didn't you say that Li Jiacheng was interested? Ask him."

"it is good!"

Niu Bijian nodded, then picked up the phone in the conference room and called Li Jiacheng.

But soon, Niubijian hung up the phone with a complicated expression. "Mr. Henry, he said he was sorry and he withdrew from the acquisition of Hutchison Whampoa shares."

"He didn't tell me why?"

Henry Keswick asked in surprise at this moment.

"no!"

Newbijian shook his head.

"It seems that there are factors that we are not aware of that are affecting him."

"Many people in Hong Kong should know the reason. HSBC knows it, and Li Ka-shing knows it too. But we don't know it."

Henry Keswick said with a calm look at this moment.

"Rockefeller, you mean?"

Newbijian asked suspiciously at this time.

Henry Keswick shook his head: "It's hard to say, but it seems that this hidden force is so powerful that it makes many people retreat."

"What about our offer tomorrow?"

"Let's talk seriously, starting from 18. My bottom price is no less than 17."

"I'll contact the Lin Group in Singapore, Malaysia, and Indonesia to see if they are interested."

Henry Keswick shook his head helplessly.

There are quite a few Chinese families in Southeast Asia that are powerful and have capital, such as the Lin family in Indonesia, which is equivalent to the royal merchant family of Indonesia and holds a huge amount of wealth.

But as Jim Watson said, time waits for no one.

On the other side, after Jim returned to the villa, he saw Li Changhe and told Li Changhe about today's conversation.

After listening to this, Li Changhe smiled and shook his head.

"Jardine Matheson is still too greedy."

It is not uncommon for Jardine Matheson to sell its Hong Kong properties in history.

In fact, until before the return of Hong Kong Island, Jardine Matheson had never stopped thinking about selling Hutchison Whampoa. The Chinese consortium led by Li Ka-shing almost bought Hutchison Whampoa, but the deal failed in the end due to price issues.

Jardine Matheson's fear of the mainland is deep-rooted. Before the return, it sold out almost all of its properties under the Hong Kong Swire Properties Group and ran away.

It was not until two thousand years later that it boldly came back after seeing that British companies including the Swire Group were indeed safe here and had not been hit.

However, historically, Jardine Matheson has always taken the initiative and its shares have never been surpassed. Li Ka-shing and his team's secret acquisitions have never been successful, so they have not caused any direct pressure on Jardine Matheson.

Li Changhe remembered that there was only one time in 1987 when Jardine Matheson felt threatened. Both parties were seriously negotiating the price, but the global stock market crashed. Li Jiacheng and his people stopped and Jardine Matheson escaped again.

But there is no stock market crash in Hong Kong Island now. If Jardine Matheson wants to escape from it, it’s just dreaming!

"Jim, talk to him tomorrow and slowly raise the price. The highest price I can tolerate is 16 yuan per share."

"16 yuan a share?"

"Vic, this price is a bit high. The premium is 30%."

After listening to this, Jim shook his head.

"It doesn't matter. You can even add a condition to them. We can take over all the shares of Wharf Holdings they hold!"

"But there is a prerequisite. We have to pay this money in installments. 50% will be paid in US dollars, and the other 50% will be paid in Hong Kong dollars."

"As for the Hong Kong dollar portion, we will complete the payment of the final payment three years later, that is, before August 83."

"Let's say we take over Hong Kong Land and need funds to invest in development and clear Hong Kong Land's debts. Jardine Matheson must give us time for the transition of funds."

"Of course, you can negotiate a suitable interest rate with them for this money."

Li Changhe said to Jim seriously.

"This"

Jim was a little confused. These conditions seemed a bit strange, but from his point of view, they were not a bad thing for Jardine Matheson.

"Okay, I'll continue talking to them tomorrow."

The next day, the two sides met again.

"18 yuan per share, this is Jardine Matheson's psychological offer."

"15 yuan, this is our most sincere offer."

Both sides were much more cautious this time. They stopped mocking each other and started serious negotiations.

"17.5 yuan!"

"15.5 yuan!"

The two sides were in a tug-of-war at this time, haggling over the price bit by bit.

"17 dollars, Mr. Jim, this is Jardine's bottom line, we can't lower it any further."

Finally, Niu Bijian threw out his psychological bottom line. He felt that the other party would probably be able to accept this price.

"It's too high. 16 yuan, a percent premium. This is our final offer."

"Mr. Newbijian, in my opinion, our price ranges are already very close. I think we may need to change our cooperation model."

"At 16 yuan, we will buy all of Jardine Matheson's Landmark shares. At the same time, we can help you with the remaining Wharf Holdings shares. We know that after the Wharf Holdings battle, you still have a lot of shares left, and you also need to transfer them, right?"

"We will take all these stocks. Of course, Jardine Matheson will also give us time to develop. We can change our trading model."

Jim told Niu Bijian about Li Changhe's idea, and Niu Bijian fell into deep thought.

"Wait a minute, I need to go out for a while!"

Seeing Newbijian go out, a smile appeared on Jim Watson's face.

At this point, the two parties have basically reached an agreement. Unless the other party is determined, they will definitely agree to their conditions.

After all, this condition is already generous enough.

Sure enough, not long after, Newbijian hurried back again, but this time, he had a relieved smile on his face.

"Okay, Mr. Jim, you win. We at Jardine Matheson are willing to sell our shares in Hong Kong Land at $16 per share, provided that you also take over 1500 million shares of Wharf Holdings."

"Of course, happy cooperation!"

At this time, Jim also stood up and shook hands with Newbijian enthusiastically.

So, from today on, the fat piece of meat, Island Land, has officially changed hands.

　This is the end of my chapter for tonight as I have something to go out for. I’ll see if I can write another one after midnight!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)