Started from Hong Kong Island

Chapter 244 [Stop Struggling]

Today's stock market is in a severe downturn. Even the share prices of blue-chip stocks are less than 73% of their peak in 5. Not to mention small and medium-sized enterprises such as Mingcheng Real Estate Company, whose share prices are only 3% of their peak, barely maintaining at 0.9 yuan. If there is some bad news, the share price will still fall, and it is possible that it will fall to half.

Therefore, there are a large number of scattered shares of Mingcheng Real Estate Company floating on the stock market, allowing Changxin Real Estate Company to easily buy them at a low price.

Wu Lixing holds about 36% of the shares of Mingcheng Real Estate Company. Although he does not have much personal funds, his interpersonal relationships are far more complicated than Wen Tianhe's. Perhaps he can find funds to resist Changxin Real Estate Company. If Wu Lixing is allowed to acquire another 10% or so of the shares, Changxin Real Estate Company will naturally have to exit the market in disgrace and lose a sum of money. After all, rushing to sell a large number of shares will depress the stock price, and it will take a long time.

The lawsuit with Run Run Shaw is still undecided. Despite the court's ruling, Shaw Brothers Film Company is still appealing and refuses to pay the penalty for breach of contract to Changxin Real Estate Company. It seems that it wants to drag the matter to the point where Changxin Real Estate Company becomes impatient.

Li Wendi came up with a plan to ask the court to enforce the current situation and suggested that the court auction the properties under Shaw Brothers Film Company to pay the penalty for breach of contract.

The judges also had some opinions about Run Run Shaw, thinking that he did not take the court seriously, so they agreed to Li Wendi's suggestion and asked the police station to send officers to assist in sealing up the theaters of equal value and preparing for auction.

Of course Li Wendi wanted to take over the theater, but he was worried that Shao Laoliu would hire people to cause trouble, so he only wanted money.

You have to know that the auction of properties seized by the court is always conducted at a price lower than the market price, and property prices are at a low point now, so Shao Laoliu is afraid of losing a lot of money.

Shaw Brothers Film Company Office

Run Run Shaw was so angry that he swept all the documents and stationery on his desk to the ground. His face turned red and his breathing seemed to be audible in the silent office.

For him, losing a cinema was not a big deal, but he lost a lot of face. His opponent was still a young boy. How could he continue to thrive in Hong Kong? Don't forget that he is the king of the Hong Kong film industry.

"You bastard! How dare you ask the court to close down my cinema? You have the guts!" Run Run Shaw roared, seemingly having lost his mind, no longer as gentle and polite as before.

Fang Yihua stood at the door of the office for a while, and then mustered up the courage to go in. She did not try to persuade Run Run Shaw, but silently squatted down to pick up the items on the ground. Some broken things were still lying there.

"Go and ask those judges to come out for me. I want them to take back their decisions." Run Run Shaw looked at Mona Fong and gave the order loudly.

In fact, he already knew that it was a fate. How could those judges who were too concerned about their reputation be willing to lose face to save Run Run Shaw's face? Even if the Governor of Hong Kong came forward, these judges might not buy his face.

Fang Yihua thought for a moment and said, "It's just a theater. We can save our reputation elsewhere. Li Wendi is just a newcomer in the film industry. You are the real king."

Only after hearing Fang Yihua's words of praise did Run Run Shaw calm down a little.

"Doesn't this loser Li Wendi want to build his own cinema chain? I won't let him do that. No matter what cinema he wants to buy, we will get involved. Even if we can't get it, we will make Li Wendi spend more money." Run Run Shaw is not a real estate tycoon, so he can only fight back by starting with the cinema properties.

"Yes! I will follow up personally." Fang Yihua nodded.

Changxin Real Estate Company
Li Wendi couldn't help but smile when she heard the news of Run Run Shaw's counterattack. People always become more stubborn when they get older, especially those who have achieved great success.

It’s not that Run Run Shaw’s tactics are ineffective, but that they are not very effective. This is because Li Wendi didn’t want to build a cinema chain at all, but to diversify his investment. Without the investment in theaters, he could turn it into industrial buildings or other investments. There was no need to fight Run Run Shaw to the end.

Besides, with the help of Raymond Chow and Ho Kuan Chang from Golden Harvest Entertainment, Li Wendi can have less worries.

"How's things going at Golden Harvest Entertainment?" Li Wendi was naturally asking about the cooperation between the two parties, not the overall situation of Golden Harvest Entertainment.

"We have acquired no less than eight theaters, which can be formed into a small theater chain. As long as the film contracts are suitable, we can make a profit within two years." Zhang Wentao reported.

Li Wendi nodded. The theater was a good investment. No wonder Lei Juekun in his previous life had gotten involved in it. Although the theater chain began to decline in the late 80s and early 90s, it still had good returns now.

With the old man Run Run Shaw blocking the way, Li Wendi still had a headache, so he thought about withdrawing some of the investment in the theater property. There was no need to really fight to the death. After all, now was a good time to buy at the bottom, and he would have plenty of time to play with Run Run Shaw in the future.

But a name suddenly popped up in Li Wendi's mind: TVB.

The current TVB is not run by Run Run Shaw, but by Li Ho-wo of the Li family in Causeway Bay. It was only after Li Ho-wo passed away in the early 80s that Run Run Shaw stepped onto the stage of TVB and completely faded out of the film industry.

The largest corporate shareholders of TVB are HSBC and Hutchison Group, each holding 236 million shares. Time Life International holds 226 million shares. Among private shareholders, Lee Ho-wo holds 27 shares, Lee Wing Shum and Lee Wing Tat hold 11 shares in total, and Run Run Shaw holds 32 shares. As the three major companies had no intention of sending anyone to take over TVB, Lee Ho-wo became the one who took charge of TVB.

Perhaps he could stop Run Run Shaw on TVB. Li Wendi came up with a plan.

As Cheung Kong Properties was cooperating with Hutchison Group to develop the land in Hong Kong, Li Wendi soon made an appointment with Welles. The two naturally discussed the sale of shares in Hong Kong Television Broadcasting Co., Ltd. Unfortunately, Welles rejected Li Wendi outright because the original contract clearly stated that Hutchison Group's sale of shares in Hong Kong Television Broadcasting Co., Ltd. required the consent of all shareholders, otherwise it would be invalid.

As the person in charge of the company, Li Ka-shing naturally does not want other people holding shares to affect his control over the company, so this condition is difficult to meet and it is difficult for Li Wendi to obtain these shares.

Moreover, Willis did not want to sell the high-quality assets of Hutchison Group. After all, the annual income of Hong Kong Television Broadcasting Company was relatively stable and was somewhat important to Hutchison Group.

As a result, Li Wendi returned home disappointed and the sanctions against Run Run Shaw failed.

If you fail here, you will be proud there. God always plays tricks on people like this.

Changxin Real Estate Company successfully absorbed more than 25% of Mingcheng Real Estate Company's shares from the stock market without alarming Wu Lixing and the senior management of Mingcheng Real Estate Company.

"Boss, we have bought 25% of Mingcheng Real Estate's shares, spending 675 million yuan. The broker reminded us that if we continue the acquisition, Mingcheng Real Estate Company is likely to find out, so they suggested buying quickly and in large quantities." Zhang Wentao said.

The stock market is not active, and a large number of stocks are bought, which will naturally attract the attention of interested people.

There are also risks in buying large stocks quickly, mainly due to the length of time it takes to discover them. If the time is short, it will be difficult to buy enough shares.

"Okay, prepare the funds and try to buy up Mingcheng Real Estate Company's stocks within one day. At the same time, arrange for people to monitor Wu Lixing's actions. I need to know in time who he has met." Li Wendi said solemnly.

If Wu Lixing knew about it in advance and Wu Lixing could quickly find supporting funds, the acquisition would most likely fail, after all, Wu Lixing held 11% more shares than Changxin Real Estate Company. "Yes! I'll arrange it right away." Zhang Wentao left the office when he saw that Li Wendi had no other instructions.

Li Wendi knew that Wu Lixing's chances of successfully counter-taking were slim, because it would take some time for Wu Lixing to raise funds. Even if it didn't take a day, it would take 4 or 5 hours, and the stock market would be about to close by then.

But Li Wendi still wanted to make the acquisition with greater certainty. Relying on luck could easily lead to project failure, so he needed to grasp Wu Lixing's actions.

Zhang Wentao acted swiftly and implemented Li Wendi's request meticulously. He notified his broker to continue the secret purchase as usual today and start buying stocks in large quantities tomorrow, which seemed to be a bit reckless.

When the market was about to close the next morning, something fishy finally happened at Mingcheng Real Estate Company.

When the staff reported to Wu Lixing, Wu Lixing was a little surprised, and immediately ordered the staff in a deep voice to find out who the other party was and how many shares they had acquired.
Seeing his boss so gloomy, the clerk quickly wrote down the instructions and left the office.

Wu Lixing stayed alone for a while, then hurriedly left the luxurious office with his suit jacket.

When Li Wendi learned the news, he was already eating at the table.

"How many shares did we get?" Li Wendi asked Zhang Wentao.

Zhang Wentao swallowed the food in his mouth and said to his boss, "We have already got 37%, which is 36% more than Wu Lixing's 1%. We have already won."

"We will increase our acquisition efforts in the afternoon and strive to acquire 45% before Wu Lixing gets the funds." Li Wendi put down his bowl and chopsticks and said very seriously.

In his opinion, as long as he has not taken over Mingcheng Real Estate Company, he may lose it.

This was the case when Liu Luanxiong acquired Chinese Estates Holdings in his previous life. At the beginning, he did not have a single share in his hands, and conflicts had already broken out between the Feng and Li families. Wills (who later resigned from Hutchison Group to start his own business) intervened and joined forces with the Feng family to drive the Li family out of the board of directors of Chinese Estates Holdings. Under such circumstances, Liu Luanxiong was still able to seize Chinese Estates Holdings.

The events were somewhat surprising, but they were true events, and Li Wendi did not want them to happen to him in advance.

In the afternoon, just as Li Wendi had imagined, Wu Lixing received several million dollars in funds at around 2: p.m. and immediately rushed to the securities company, asking the company to immediately sweep up Mingcheng Real Estate stocks on the stock market.

Two forces were fighting for the shares of Mingcheng Real Estate Company. Even if the shareholders were slow to react, they knew that someone was planning a takeover, so they put away their stocks and waited for both sides to raise the price.

Unfortunately, by 3 o'clock, Changxin Real Estate Company had acquired about 44% of the shares, leaving only 45% to 1%. So Li Wendi asked Zhang Wentao to issue an announcement, saying that Changxin Real Estate Company only needed to acquire 1% of the shares and would stop the acquisition.

As soon as the news came out, many investors rushed to Changxin Real Estate Company, wanting to sell their stocks.

Of course, the stock price given by Li Wendi is not low. The price of 1.3 yuan is much higher than the 1.2 yuan in the stock market.

Mingcheng Real Estate Company Office

Wu Lixing put down the phone helplessly and couldn't help but sigh. He had failed and the control of Mingcheng Real Estate Company no longer belonged to him.

This was the result of his hard work over the years! How could he just give it up so easily?
So Wu Lixing decided to meet with Li Wendi, perhaps to get a glimmer of hope.

A restaurant in Central

Li Wendi finally met the boss of Mingcheng Real Estate Company. He looked no different from other businessmen, with a beer belly and cheeks that were red from middle age, and the oily look was a bit reflective.

"Hello, Mr. Li!" Wu Lixing stretched out his hand and shook hands with Li Wendi, then asked Li Wendi to sit down.

"Mr. Wu, are you looking for me about Mingcheng Real Estate?" Li Wendi said with a faint smile.

Wu Lixing nodded. "Yes! What conditions does Mr. Li want in order to let go of Mingcheng Real Estate Company?"

"Mr. Wu, I'm afraid you can't afford the conditions I offer." Li Wendi said seriously.

"Go ahead, we can talk it over." Wu Lixing didn't want to back down simply, he wanted to at least try hard.

Li Wendi took a bite of the dish, put it in the bowl, and said with a smile, "At least the market value of Mingcheng Real Estate Company, and my shares in this acquisition cannot incur losses. Wu Sheng needs to compensate me with this part of the funds."

Wu Lixing suddenly became a little excited. "Mr. Li, you are asking for too much. If I agree to your request, I can rebuild another Mingcheng Real Estate Company."

"I've already said before that Mr. Wu may not be able to afford it." Li Wendi swallowed the food in his mouth and wiped the corners of his mouth with a napkin. "Changxin Real Estate Company already holds 45% of Mingcheng Real Estate Company's shares and is Mingcheng Real Estate Company's largest shareholder. Excluding scattered shares on the stock market, it is enough to control the board of directors. If nothing tempting appears, how can Changxin Real Estate Company spit out the fat meat it has eaten?"

"But I am willing to provide a solution to Wusheng's predicament. You can sell part of your shares on the stock market, and I will buy part of them. Don't worry about the price. It will be based on the current market price."

Wu Lixing thought about it, then frowned and refused. He didn't want to give up his years of hard work.

Li Wendi looked at Wu Lixing's receding back and said with a smile, "It's one price now, and it will be another price in the future. If you want to struggle, you have to see if the price is something you can afford."

The possibility of Wu Lixing's turnaround is very small. Although there are still 45% left except for the 55% held by Changxin Real Estate Company, it is actually difficult for Wu Lixing to get the last 10%. Not to mention whether Wu Lixing has enough funds. As long as the critical point is reached, Li Wendi will definitely ask the relevant departments to revoke Mingcheng Real Estate's status as a listed company. In that case, Mingcheng Real Estate is likely to recall its shares. Then, Mingcheng Real Estate, which does not have sufficient funds, can only choose the path of bankruptcy liquidation.

This is the first proper takeover war in Hong Kong since the stock market crash, and it has also had some impact on the current situation, because powerful companies all want to expand their scale through acquisitions and stock swaps, and now is the best time.

Originally, those companies were still waiting and watching, and no one wanted to be the first to step forward. But when someone stepped forward, they began to worry that the good companies would be divided up by others, and they would then have no choice but to target the not-so-good companies and lose good opportunities in vain.

(End of this chapter)