章節 973: Chapter 973: The acquisition of Cathay Pacific is officially launched
Xia Yu laughed helplessly, shaking his head and asking, 'Bao, are you so sure that I want to get rid of the Swire group?'
Bao Yugang was stunned. Through Xia Yu's reaction, he realised that he seemed to have thought wrong somewhere.
He said impatiently, 'Yu, think about it yourself. Of the four major British consortia, didn't you take the lead in eliminating the third, Hutchison Whampoa, and the strongest, Jardine Matheson? At that time, your strength was not as strong as it is now!'
'Your reputation has long been spread, and I don't know how many people are wondering when you will take action against the remaining two British consortia. Not to mention us Chinese investors, even Norman Shiawei has long been on guard.
'Go out and find a colleague and tell him that you are interested in a company owned by the Swire Group. See if they think that you are trying to signal your intention to take on the entire Swire Group.'
Xia Yu didn't expect Bao Yugang to say such things. He frowned and thought about it. It seemed that... what Bao Yugang said was actually true?
However, his face-saving skills were already consummate, and he was not embarrassed at all. He said with a faint smile, 'I don't know about that. I'll ask next time I have the chance.'
Facing Xia Yu's behaviour of pretending to be deaf and dumb, Bao Yugang could only smile helplessly and shake his head.
After a little joke, Xia Yu's smile slightly subsided, and he said to Bao Yugang, 'Bao, it's not that far gone yet. The influence of losing two British-funded consortia is already very great. Unless it's absolutely necessary, it would be better to keep Swire and Wheelock as a buffer for the time being, and we can talk about the future later.'
'Right now, I just want to acquire Cathay Pacific!'
Bao Yugang nodded slightly and said after thinking for a moment, 'I remember that Cathay Pacific's parent company Swire Pacific is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Swire Pacific, right?'
Xia Yu nodded and said, "Yes.'
Afterwards, Xia Yu took out a folded drawing from his bag and handed it to Bao Yugang, saying, "Bao, you'll understand after reading it. This is a chart of the shareholding structure of Swire Pacific and its subsidiaries.'
Bao Yugang immediately took it and opened it, reading it carefully.
Xia Yu drank his tea in silence, waiting for Bao Yugang to finish reading it.
After about five minutes, Bao Yugang came out of his thoughts and asked Xia Yu, 'Yu, although Swire Pacific only holds 42% of Cathay Pacific's shares, if you add the shares held by Hong Kong Airport Ground Services and Hong Kong Aircraft Engineering Company, which are controlled by Swire Pacific, the shareholding ratio has reached 51%.
'And given your current relationship with HSBC, and considering HSBC's relationship with the Swire consortium, Shum Pak may not be willing to sell you the 20% stake he owns.'
'And the Song family has a good relationship with the Sze Ah Wai family.'
'From this perspective, it's difficult for Cathay Pacific to refuse!'
'What are you going to do? Just let me know what you need, and I promise to do my best!'
Xia Yu smiled and said, 'Lao Bao, thanks, but don't make any promises yet. It's too soon. After you've heard what I have to say, then you can decide whether it's appropriate to help.'
Bao Yugang laughed and said, "Forget about appropriateness. Given our relationship and your character, you wouldn't have asked if it was something that would cause me difficulties. Since you're here, you trust me, so why are you being polite?'
Xia Yu laughed heartily and said, "I'll be frank then. Listen to what I have to say.'
'Given the actual situation of Cathay Pacific, we can only use indirect tactics to outwit them. So I plan to fish for a while, and let the Shih Ya-huai family take the bait!'
'I will find a way to get the shares held by Standard Chartered Bank, HSBC and the Soong family, and my goal is to get the 5% stake held by Hong Kong Airport Ground Services.'
'Look at the stake in Hong Kong Airport Ground Services.'
Xia Yu pointed to a position on the shareholding structure diagram in Bao Yugang's hands.
'Swire Pacific only holds 41% of the shares, followed by Cathay Pacific with 4%, making a total of 45%. The remaining 55% is divided between Cao Guangbiao, Lao Huo and myself.'
'I'm not worried about Lao Huo's shares, and I'm sure I can secretly acquire Cao Guangbiao's. So the key is to get Swire Pacific to willingly give up at least 12% of its shares.'
'Normally, Swire Pacific would not be willing to give up its equity, but the only thing Swire Pacific covets is your stake in Hong Kong Air Cargo Terminals.'
'I hope that you can maintain a controlling stake of more than 67% in Hactl, use some of the shares to swap with Swire Pacific for a stake in HAS, and then transfer the shares to me. I will buy the shares at a time when Swire Pacific is not looking, and complete the acquisition of a controlling stake in HAS, restructure the board of directors, and force the transfer of the 5% stake in Cathay Pacific that I hold.'
'I know that in order to successfully acquire a majority stake in Cathay Pacific, we need to act in perfect concert. Even if you successfully sell your shares to me, I may not be able to succeed. But this is currently the method with the highest success rate without going to war.'
After saying this, Xia Yu took a sip of tea and calmly looked at Bao Yugang.
Bao Yugang smiled and nodded, saying, 'Yu, I understand what you mean. I'll do it!'
'As long as I have the absolute controlling interest in Hong Kong Air Cargo Terminals Limited, I can dilute the shareholding of Swire Pacific at any time. If things go sour, there will be plenty of opportunities to force them out.'
'My only worry is that Norman Shih may not fall for this trick!'
'And there is a loophole in your plan. Among the shareholders of Hong Kong Airport Ground Services, there are also Tsao Kuang-piu, Lao Huo and your Jiuding Industrial Group. Norman Shiyahuai will definitely suspect that I know you, Lao Huo and Tsao Kuang-piu, so why must I spend a lot of money to replace their shares? Is there some kind of conspiracy?'
Xia Yu looked thoughtful, nodded and said, 'Bao, how about this, I will let an English company that has nothing to do with the two of us acquire Cao Guangbiao's shares in advance, and then for Lao Huo's shares, you can find an excuse that they have been used for a pledged loan. I can have fake certificates and contracts forged. As for my shares, I can tell Swire Pacific Airlines that you have already acquired them.'
Bao Yugang frowned for a moment, then nodded and said, 'This is barely plausible. I'll buy the 15% stake held by Jiuding Industrial Group, and the excuse is that there's not enough clout to speak up. I'll ask Swire Pacific to transfer 12% to 15% of their shares to me, and they'll remain the largest shareholder, while I'll become the second largest shareholder, surpassing Cao Guangbiao. This should work.'
'Okay, let's do it your way. You buy Cao Guangbiao's shares as soon as possible, so I can make my move.'
'No problem!' Xia Yu smiled.
Then he poured tea into Bao Yugang's and his own teacups, raised his cup and laughed, 'Bao, thanks!'
'What's there to thank you for? It was nothing!'
Bao Yugang laughed carelessly and raised his teacup in the same way as Xia Yu, indicating his agreement.
After the deal was done, Xia Yu and Bao Yugang chatted for nearly an hour. Seeing that it was getting late, he said his goodbyes.
The next morning, Xia Yu immediately summoned Giles Liddell and instructed him to ask Standard Chartered Bank to step in and acquire the shares in Hong Kong Airport Services held by Tsao Kuang-piu.
Tsao Kuang-piu had deep business ties with Standard Chartered Bank, as both his Tai Ping Carpet Company and Novel Enterprises Limited had taken out loans from the bank. Letting Standard Chartered Bank step in and acquire the shares from him would make it easier for Tsao Kuang-piu to agree.
Xia Yu also considered another point: after this acquisition of Cathay Pacific, even if his relationship with Standard Chartered Bank was not exposed, it would arouse the suspicions of many people.
Therefore, instead of finding a British company to acquire Cho Kwong-piu's shares, it would be better to let Standard Chartered Bank take the lead.
Compared to an unfamiliar British company, the complex business relationship between the Swire group and Standard Chartered Bank would be less likely to arouse Norman Shia's suspicions.
The Cathay Pacific hunting plan:
It's officially started!
每周推薦票狀態
-- 推薦票
榜單 
-- 推薦票