Started from Hong Kong Island

Chapter 446 445 [Prestige]

The privatization of Wharf Holdings by the Wendi Lee family did not cause much turmoil. The most important reason was that the stock market crash was still continuing and the situation was getting worse.

Relatively speaking, the current stock market crash is more urgent, which is one of the reasons why Li Wendi is willing to fully acquire Hutchison Whampoa at this time, which is not the lowest point.

However, some people are paying close attention to Li Wendi's actions, such as Li Jiacheng, who believes that Li Wendi's increased strength will seize more resources in Hong Kong, which will harm their development.

However, Li Wendi easily came up with such a huge amount of funds to complete the privatization of Hutchison Whampoa, which made these people feel fearful. If Li Wendi turned around to deal with them, it would be difficult for them to resist. Even if they could resist, they would inevitably suffer heavy losses.

Thursday, May 10

In the conference room of the hotel, the way the directors and senior executives looked at Li Wendi changed drastically, but Li Wendi sat there as if nothing had happened. For him, these looks had appeared countless times and he had long been accustomed to them.

In fact, the directors' change of opinion of Li Wendi this time was due to the fact that Li Wendi used 170 billion yuan to privatize Wharf Holdings. That was 170 billion yuan in cash, not a stock-for-stock swap like the Hong Kong Land Development did.

“The purpose of this board meeting is to determine whether the group’s funds will be used to redeem the shares of The Peninsula Manila Hotel in the Philippines.”

"We can redeem the 50% stake of The Peninsula Manila for less than HK$5000 million. But if we wait until the situation with the Philippine authorities stabilizes, we can recover the cost in just two years."

Michael Kadoorie sat in the chairman's seat and spoke out the board meeting agenda with a heavy face.

Li Wendi knew that the political situation in the Philippines began to gradually stabilize in 1989. Although the economy would not develop at a high speed, it was stable. By 1992, the Philippine economy began to recover.

Michael Kadoorie made such a suggestion at this time because he had seen the development of the situation in the Philippines and also wanted to take the opportunity to enhance his prestige in the board of directors.

Li Wendi's plan is to gradually absorb the Grand Hotel Group. Now he is satisfied with the control of the property part of the Grand Hotel Group. However, Michael's behavior makes him want to go against him. He cannot let Michael establish too high prestige in the board of directors, otherwise it will have a great impact on his plan.

"I agree with Chairman Michael's strategy. As the economic center and largest port of the Philippines, the Peninsula Manila will immediately bring us huge profits once the political environment stabilizes. In the current environment, the cost of redeeming 50% of the equity is the lowest, and this investment is very cost-effective." Li Wendi changed the subject and said, "The US economy is also plummeting now. I suggest that the equity of the Peninsula Los Angeles Billionaires Hotel and the Peninsula New York Hotel be reclaimed at the same time."

The latter two Peninsula Hotels are joint ventures with American companies.

In their previous life, the two hotels, along with the Peninsula Hotel in Bangkok, were redeemed in 1994 for nearly $10 billion.

Immediately, a director close to the Kadoorie family began to object. "Mr. Luo, let's not talk about the impact of the global stock market crash on the United States. The cash in the group's account may not be enough to redeem the equity of these three hotels. If we take out a loan, it will easily put a heavy burden on the group, and the interest will be a huge mountain."

"That makes sense. What if there is a bank willing to provide the group with an interest-free loan?" Li Wendi asked the director who questioned him. He wanted to use money to stun this group of people, and then build up greater prestige, thereby weakening Michael's prestige.

"Is the bank that Mr. Li mentioned the Union Bank under your company?" Michael was very familiar with the companies and banks under Li Wendi, and he immediately thought of the Union Bank.

"Well, it seems that Mr. Michael is very familiar with my company." Li Wendi teased Michael and continued, "You all know that I just fully acquired Wharf Holdings, but you may not know that at the beginning of the acquisition, I estimated a cash flow of 300 billion yuan to carry out the acquisition. Now all this money is stored in Union Bank."

"Even if it is an interest-free loan, the group will still have to bear huge debts. Isn't the development step too big? This will probably be a huge burden for the group, and we don't know when the stock market crash will end. What if we can't pay back the loan?" Michael questioned.

The current market value of the Grand Hotel Group has fallen by nearly 3%, but it is still one of the more popular blue-chip stocks in Hong Kong, second only to HSBC, Hong Kong Land, Hutchison Whampoa and Cheung Kong Holdings.

Soon, Michael's words were recognized by the directors. They still wanted to be more cautious. After all, now is the time of stock market crash, stability is more important than anything else. Li Wendi was a little helpless. It was too troublesome to deal with this group of people. He still liked to give orders directly and have the final say. He didn't like others to question his decisions.

"No problem! I have two strategies to solve these loan problems." Li Wendi looked around and continued, "The first strategy is to spin off the real estate business of the Grand Hotel Group and list it on the stock market, so that the group can cash out and recover some of the funds."

"The second strategy is for the group to issue new shares to Union Bank to pay off the debt. I can promise that the price of the new shares can be traded at the highest price of the group's shares this year. I believe that the debt problem can be solved."

These directors suddenly felt that Li Wendi was throwing money at people and even asked "Are you happy?"

They have been tempted. Although it will reduce their shareholding, it can increase their dividend profits. As for who holds the controlling rights of the group, it does not matter to them much.

Seeing this, Michael didn't know what to say, because he was also tempted, "Then let's vote."

Before he finished speaking, Michael raised his hand first to agree.

When the directors saw that Michael raised his hands in agreement, they raised their hands without any psychological barriers.

As a result, Li Wendi's proposal was passed unanimously by the board of directors.

After the meeting, Li Wendi was invited to Michael's office.

Li Wendi sat down on the single sofa and asked, "What does Mr. Michael want to talk to me about?"

"Mr. Li, let me ask you directly, do you want to acquire the entire hotel group?" Michael sat down and asked.

Li Wendi smiled and said, "I don't have such an idea at the moment, but I can't guarantee that I will have it in the future."

Michael is still a little scared because the company will be acquired in the future and the temporary security will be useless.

At this time, the net assets of the Grand Hotel Group were over HK$70 billion, but its market value was around RMB 60 billion. If a full acquisition was made, Li Wendi could achieve his goal in one fell swoop.

"So when does Mr. Li plan to launch a full-scale acquisition?" Michael asked, suppressing his fear.

Li Wendi thought for a moment and said, "It depends on my needs. I don't seek fame. It doesn't matter whether my family is in charge of the Grand Hotel Group or not. If the profits of the Grand Hotel Group cannot grow, I may initiate a takeover."

"Mr. Li, do you want to do this because of the issue of the old power plant land of China Power Corporation?" Michael tried to ask the reason.

"No, my goal is profit. It is understandable that Mr. Michael protects his own interests." Li Wendi waved his hand. "But my interests should also be guaranteed. I am an aggressive investor. If I can't make a proper profit, then I will lose money."

"Okay, in that case, let's cooperate. We can discuss the hotel's affairs and decisions." Michael gave in again, trying to dispel Li Wendi's idea of ​​a full acquisition.

"Okay, then let's have a pleasant cooperation, Mr. Michael." Li Wendi didn't want to continue forcing Michael.

(End of this chapter)