"Mr. Su, I wonder if you are interested in Wheelock Group?" Twisted Bijian said.
Hearing this, Su Cheng frowned slightly, and a trace of doubt flashed in his eyes.
"Wheelock Group? Mr. Niubijian, what do you mean?" He asked politely, trying to clarify the meaning of the other party's words.
Seeing this, Nuibi Jian's expression became more serious and explained: "Mr. Su, it's like this. Our Jardine Group originally held 11.8% of Wheelock Group's shares, but due to strategic reasons Adjustment, these shares have been transferred to Land Corporation through share exchange.
As the person in charge of Jardine Matheson and Land Corporation, I am currently facing a challenge - Land Corporation's business in Central. The commercial building investment project has encountered a financial bottleneck. Therefore, I am considering transferring the shares of Wheelock Group held by Land to you, Mr. Su. Are you 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 the family's shares, intending to hand over this important business legacy to more confident managers.
Therefore, he took the initiative to contact the long-established Jardine Matheson Company and expressed his hope that the latter could take over the entire Wheelock Group.
For Jardine Matheson, this is undoubtedly a rare opportunity.
They have long had a strong interest in Wheelock Group and understand its status and value as one of the four major foreign banks.
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. It is even expected to surpass the Huifeng Group and return to the pinnacle of British-owned enterprises in Hong Kong and become The most prominent financial group in Xiangjiang.
However, this plan did not proceed as smoothly as Jardine Matheson hoped.
Huifeng Group, as a potential competitor of the Jardine family, is naturally unwilling to sit back and watch the expansion of Jardine's power.
So, they announced the same acquisition intention through Hutchison International, which they controlled, with the intention of disrupting the situation and maintaining their commercial position in Hong Kong.
This move quickly triggered a chain reaction in the market. Swire Pacific, Yingzhijie Group, Nanyang Gang Consortium and even many Chinese-owned companies expressed their strong interest in Wheelock Group. For a time, rumors of acquisitions spread. , the whole market is boiling.
Faced with this sudden change, John Madden fell into deep thinking.
He realized that the value of Wheelock Group had far exceeded his expectations, and the competition between various forces was the best proof of its market value.
In this context, it is obviously not a wise move to give up.
In the end, due to the interference of Huifeng Group and other forces, the acquisition plan that originally seemed to be a matter of course had to be aborted.
Although the previous acquisition plan failed to take place, Jardine Matheson's coveting of Wheelock Group has never been extinguished.
They secretly continued to absorb Wheelock's shares in the market, and after a period of careful planning, they finally quietly accumulated 11.8% of the equity.
However, during this process, Jardine Matheson also encountered the challenge of financial pressure. Especially when Wharf faced the strong acquisition of Bao Yugang, they had to invest a large amount of funds to deal with it, thus temporarily shelving further purchases of Wheelock shares. Absorption plan.
Despite this, Jardine Matheson has not given up control of these valuable shares. They have been silently guarded like an invisible shield. Even the senior executives of Wheelock Group have not noticed this layout.
Until recently, in order to consolidate its position in Hongkong Land and prevent it from getting involved in the sensitive areas of Wharf, Jardine Matheson carefully planned a shareholding transaction.
In this transaction, Jardine Matheson used their Wheelock shares and some properties as bargaining chips to exchange shares with Land, aiming to increase their shareholding ratio in Land. This move had to be made public because it involved major asset changes, which unexpectedly exposed Jardine Matheson's secret layout for Wheelock over the 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 is basically impossible for outsiders to forcibly acquire this foreign company.
Because John Madden holds enough controlling shares.
After Su Cheng learned the ins and outs of the whole incident through Xiao Ai's assistance, a meaningful smile appeared on his face, and he asked leisurely: "So, what is the price in your mind? ? 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 will just become one of the many shareholders and enjoy some dividends.”
Hearing this, Nui Bijian looked even more serious. He directly reported a number: "Mr. Su, we are willing to transfer all 11.8% of the shares of Wheelock Group we hold to you at a price of HK$276 million. , this price, we believe is fair and reasonable.”
Wheelock Group, along with established British companies such as Wharf and Hutchison Whampoa before it was acquired, is also facing the dilemma of being severely undervalued in the stock market.
In fact, the potential value of Wheelock is no less than that of Hutchison Whampoa and Wharf in the past.
However, Wheelock's total stock market value currently only hovers at more than HK$2 billion, which is far from reflecting its true commercial value.
Tuan Bijian's decision to bring these precious stocks to the market reveals that Jardine Matheson has quietly adjusted its strategic direction and seems to have completely given up on the idea of directly acquiring Wheelock Group.
In addition, Land Corporation is currently concentrating its investment in the Central project, resulting in tight capital flow, which further prompted the decision to liquidate Defeng shares.
In Twisted Bijian's estimation, Wheelock Group's shares are not easy to sell.
After all, the market consensus is clear: Unless John Madden voluntarily transfers the controlling stake, any purchase will only obtain shareholder status, but will not touch the essence of the acquisition.
Such a reality undoubtedly deters many potential buyers.
However, Sioux City is an exception.
He is well-known for his strong financial resources and unique vision. He may really be interested in this seemingly "tasteless" but actually priceless asset.
In Tui Bijian's eyes, Su Cheng may be the buyer who can break the rules and have the courage to take action.
276 million Hong Kong dollars?
Su City thinks about it.
This amount of money is indeed not high for him today.
Moreover, Jardine Matheson’s offer was also very fair.
In the future, he does have plans to acquire the Wheelock Group, so if he acquires these shares now, to be honest, it will really help him control this British-owned enterprise, one of the original four major foreign banks. (End of this chapter)