People in Hong Kong create super chaebols

"Mr. Su, I wonder if you are interested in the Wheelock Group?" Niu Bijian said.

Hearing this, Su Cheng frowned slightly, and a hint of doubt flashed in his eyes.

"Wheelock Group? Mr. Niu Bijian, what do you mean?" he asked politely, trying to understand the other party's meaning.

Seeing this, Niu Bijian's expression became more serious and he explained, "Mr. Su, it's like this. Our Jardine Matheson Group originally held 11.8% of the shares of Wheelock Group, but due to strategic adjustments, these shares have been transferred to Hong Kong Land through stock swaps.

As the head of both Jardine Matheson and Hong Kong Land, I am currently facing a challenge - Hong Kong Land's commercial building investment project in Central has encountered a funding bottleneck. Therefore, I am considering transferring the Wheelock Group shares held by Hong Kong Land to you, Mr. Su. I wonder if you are interested in this?"

In 1976, faced with the uncertainty of Hong Kong's future prospects, John Madden, chairman of Wheelock Group, came up with the idea of ​​selling his family's shares, intending to hand over this important business legacy to more confident managers.

Therefore, he took the initiative to contact the historic Jardine Matheson & Co. and expressed his wish that the latter would take over the Wheelock Group in its entirety.

This is undoubtedly a rare opportunity for Jardine Matheson.

They have long had a keen interest in the Wheelock Group and understand its status and value as one of the four major trading companies.

If the acquisition is successful, Jardine Matheson will not only be able to directly control Wheelock, but also take this opportunity to greatly enhance its own strength, and even have the hope of surpassing the IF Group, returning to the pinnacle of British-owned enterprises in Hong Kong and becoming the most prominent financial consortium in Hong Kong.

However, this plan did not proceed as smoothly as Jardine Matheson had hoped.

As a potential competitor of the Jardine Matheson Group, Huifeng Group is naturally unwilling to sit idly by and watch Jardine Matheson's power expand.

So, they announced the same acquisition intention through Hutchison International, which they controlled, with the intention of disrupting the situation and maintaining their own business position in Hong Kong.

This move quickly triggered a chain reaction in the market. Jardine Matheson, the Anglo-American Group, the Nanyang Gang Consortium and even many Chinese companies expressed strong interest in the Wheelock Group. For a time, acquisition rumors were rife and the entire market was boiling.

Faced with this sudden change, John Madden fell into deep thought.

He realized that the value of Wheelock Group had far exceeded his expectations, and the competition from various forces was the best proof of its market value.

In this context, giving up voluntarily is obviously not a wise move.

Ultimately, due to interference from forces such as Huifeng Group, the acquisition plan that seemed to be a natural outcome had to be aborted.

Although the previous acquisition plan failed, Jardine Matheson never gave up its desire for Wheelock Group.

They secretly continued to buy up Wheelock's shares in the market, and after a period of careful planning, they finally quietly accumulated 11.8% of the shares.

However, during this process, Jardine Matheson also encountered the challenge of financial pressure, especially when Hutchison Whampoa faced a strong takeover by Pao Yue-kong, they had to invest a lot of money to deal with it, thus temporarily shelving the plan to further absorb Wheelock shares.

Despite this, Jardine Matheson did not give up its control over these valuable shares. They were like an invisible shield, being silently guarded, and even the top management of Wheelock Group was unaware of this layout.

Until recently, Jardine Matheson had orchestrated a cross-shareholding transaction to consolidate its position in Hong Kong Land and prevent it from entering into sensitive areas of Wharf Holdings.

In this transaction, Jardine Matheson used its shares in Wheelock and some of its properties as bargaining chips to exchange shares with Hong Kong Land, aiming to increase its shareholding in Hong Kong Land. This move had to be made public because it involved major asset changes, which accidentally exposed Jardine Matheson's secret layout of Wheelock for many years.

When the news reached Wheelock Group, John Madden suddenly realized that Jardine Matheson had never really given up its attempt to acquire Wheelock.

However, if John Madden has no intention of giving up Wheelock Group, it will be basically impossible for outsiders to forcibly acquire the foreign company.

Because John Madden holds enough controlling stake.

With the help of Xiao Ai, Su Cheng learned the whole story. A meaningful smile appeared on his face. He asked leisurely, "So, what is your ideal price? Let me think about it. After all, as far as I know, even if I acquire these shares, I may not be able to touch the core of Wheelock's controlling rights. At best, I can only become one of many shareholders and enjoy some dividends."

Upon hearing this, Niu Bijian looked more serious and directly quoted a number: "Mr. Su, we are willing to transfer all of our 2.76% Wheelock Group shares to you at a price of HK$11.8 million. We believe this price is fair and reasonable."

Wheelock Group, which was on par with other old British companies such as Wharf Holdings and Hutchison Whampoa before they were acquired, is also facing the dilemma of having its stock market value severely underestimated.

In fact, the potential value of Wheelock is in no way inferior to that of Hutchison Whampoa and Wharf Holdings in the past.

However, the current total market value of Wheelock Holdings is only hovering around HK$2 billion, far from reflecting its true business value.

Niu Bijian's decision to push these valuable stocks to the market reveals that Jardine Matheson has quietly adjusted its strategic direction and seems to have completely given up the idea of ​​directly acquiring Wheelock Group.

In addition, the Hong Kong property company is currently focusing its investment on the Central project, resulting in tight cash flow, which further prompted the decision to cash out on the shares of Wheelock Properties.

In Niubeijian's estimation, shares of Wheelock Group are not easy to sell.

After all, the market consensus is clear: unless John Madden voluntarily transfers his controlling stake, any purchase will only allow him to obtain shareholder status but will not touch the essence of the acquisition.

This reality undoubtedly discourages many potential buyers.

However, Sioux City is an exception.

He is well-known for his strong financial resources and unique vision, and perhaps he would really be interested in this asset that seems "useless" but is actually priceless.

In Niu Bijian's eyes, Su Cheng might be the buyer who can break the rules and dare to take action.

HK$2.76 million?

Su Cheng thought about it.

This amount of money is indeed not high for him now.

Moreover, Jardine Matheson's offer was very fair.

In the future, he does have plans to take over Wheelock Group, so if he takes over these shares now, to be honest, it will be beneficial for him to control this British-owned enterprise, which was once one of the four major foreign companies. (End of this chapter)