The Industrial Giant Reborn - Chapter 621

c613 Defeat ten with one force

As long as the shares are in the hands of the Chinese, no matter how many restrictions there are, it will be impossible to prevent Standard Chartered from being controlled by Chen Zhiwen, unless the Chinese is determined to be in line with the management of Standard Chartered.

Unless Standard Chartered signs a contract similar to a repurchase agreement, even if Pao Yugang or others sign an agreement not to sell shares to Chen Zhiwen, can they still be sold to others? You can just buy it yourself when the time comes, or if Bao Yugang sells it directly on the stock market, what can Standard Chartered’s management do?

The essence of the problem is actually money. You have to have money, and then use future repurchase agreements to tie up Bao Yugang and others. Then outsiders will have nothing to do. But most people will not sign such an agreement unless there is a very high profit. , but if Standard Chartered can do this, there will be no need to seek help from wealthy Chinese people now.

“Are you really planning to acquire Standard Chartered?” Bao Yugang asked.

“Yes, I have actually spoken to the management in Hong Kong secretly. They will be willing to cooperate with my plan. In the future, if there is an opportunity, I will also move the headquarters of Standard Chartered to Hong Kong. Anyway, Standard Chartered Bank is in The UK and even Europe have not achieved much.” Chen Zhiwen nodded and said.

When he first acquired Hutchison Whampoa, Chen Zhiwen was also very cautious and attracted many of Hutchison Whampoa’s management at the time. The essential reason was that given the situation at the time, even if Hutchison Whampoa was acquired at the capital level, management still had to rely on the original team. Otherwise, once such a large company goes into chaos, the losses will be huge, but Land Land will not be in this situation. One reason is that although Land Land is large in scale, its business is simple. The second reason is that when it acquired Land Land, it already had a lot of talents under its banner. .

However, for Standard Chartered, the management difficulty is still far greater than that of Hutchison Whampoa. Although Hisense is also a large regional bank, it is not a big problem to accept Standard Chartered’s business in Hong Kong, but outside Hong Kong, it is a matter of two eyes. Discredited, we can only rely on the existing team.

In the past two years, Chen Zhiwen publicly acquired Standard Chartered, and rumors began to circulate within Standard Chartered. During this period, Chen Zhiwen also secretly met with Standard Chartered’s senior executives in Hong Kong and settled on cooperation matters. They would then use their own relationship chain to gradually Develop contacts in other non-European regions and win them over.

For the various national bank teams that are doing well in many places, but the profits have to be handed over to the British headquarters every year, and subsequently cause losses to the entire group, they do not have a good impression of the British Standard Chartered. In addition, Chen Zhiwen’s promise will also Giving them more income and rights, etc., many people also sided with Chen Zhiwen.

In fact, the British Standard Chartered also received part of the news, but it had no choice but to try to avoid being forcibly acquired. However, unexpectedly, before Chen Zhiwen took action, the British local Lloyds Bank suddenly stabbed him in the back.

“You are indeed impeccable in your work and have been prepared for a long time.” Bao Yugang nodded and said: “Although Standard Chartered Bank is headquartered in the UK, its business has nothing to do with the UK. In addition, its business in Hong Kong is very good. If It would be good to really become a Hong Kong company, especially since it has the power to print money.”

“That thing doesn’t mean much to me, it’s just a name.” Chen Zhiwen said with a smile and shook his head.

There are two banks in Hong Kong that can print money. One is HSBC, the quasi-central bank, and the other is Standard Chartered. However, the former accounts for more than 90% of the share. HSBC prints all large-denomination currencies in Hong Kong. Standard Chartered is only responsible for some small currencies and coins. That’s all.

Furthermore, the right to print money is only issued by the Hong Kong government. The bank only has a name, whether to print or not, and how much to print are all ordered by the Hong Kong government. There can be no mistakes.

“Haha, having said that, it is still very bluffing to say it. One more thing, Hong Kong is about to return. Even Cao Guangbiao wants to take back the aviation market, let alone print money. HSBC is protected by the Hong Kong government. That’s great, we can’t take action, but Standard Chartered still has a chance.” Bao Yugang nodded and said.

“So, Mr. Bao is ready to help me?” Chen Zhiwen asked with a smile.

“Help, I’m definitely willing, but there are quite a lot of restrictions given to me by Standard Chartered. If I want to get around them, I still have to spend some time and energy,” Bao Yugang said.

“Actually, it doesn’t matter. I am also waiting for such an opportunity. If Lloyds Bank does not take action this year, I will be almost the same. I have maintained 15.99% of the stock before, and secretly I still have about 5%. Zi Lai After Sri Lanka Bank proposed the acquisition, I also began to publicly contact the shareholders of Standard Chartered, so now it is a three-party competition.” Chen Zhiwen said with a smile.

“Are you also prepared to end it? What about the many loan cooperations between your other groups and Standard Chartered?” Bao Yugang asked.

“In the past two years, I have begun to transfer these loans. In addition, even if I make a public acquisition, there is still a three-month buffer period. I have some contacts in the banking circles in the United States and Japan. They will take over these loans. In this way, Standard Chartered and I will be completely clean,” Chen Zhiwen said again.

Land, Hutchison Whampoa and even Red Bull have all cooperated with Standard Chartered in the past. They are all very large. Within Standard Chartered Bank, their combined loan business exceeds HK$10 billion, and they are also one of Standard Chartered’s largest customers.

However, in order to acquire Standard Chartered, these debts must be transferred to other banks. Otherwise, British law will not allow this to happen. In most countries around the world, banking laws basically prohibit banks from lending to their own bosses or major shareholders. Other companies, and some places even prohibit major shareholders of banks from engaging in other industries.

“I see, no wonder.” Bao Yugang smiled and said, “If you do this, everyone at Standard Chartered will understand what you mean.”

“We have no choice but to do this.” Chen Zhiwen shrugged and said. The purpose of such a large-scale transfer of debt is obvious.

“Well, I also communicated with Qiu Deba, and he also received an invitation from Standard Chartered Bank. The same is true for him. The acquired shares cannot be given to you, or to Royce Bank. It is estimated that every white warrior will be like this. “Bao Yugang said.

“Are there any restrictions on selling to other people?” Chen Zhiwen asked. If he could sell to other people, he could just go through the middleman, but Standard Chartered Bank would not be so stupid.

“He thought about it, but I don’t agree. The current agreement is that transactions with other people are not allowed within two years, unless Standard Chartered Bank has major management problems and causes huge losses.” Bao Yugang replied.

“Two years is not a long time.” Chen Zhiwen nodded and said. This kind of acquisition itself is very time-consuming. Acquisitions such as Hong Kong Hutchison Whampoa and Land are considered very fast. The reason is that these two companies are heavily in debt and have reached the limit of bankruptcy. If there is no acquirer to intervene, , the biggest possibility is bankruptcy, so shareholders can’t wait. It’s enough to have suitable conditions. Other general mergers and acquisitions are usually on a yearly basis, especially Standard Chartered or the banking industry, which involves so many The country, just the various legal issues involved, I don’t know how long it will take.

“I guess the senior management of Standard Chartered wants to resolve the acquisition of Lloyds Bank within two years, and then find a way to buy back the shares of those of us who helped him, so as to avoid being left behind by you again.” Bao Yugang said with a smile: “But this difficulty is probably very high. Being targeted by two giants at the same time, I don’t know if Standard Chartered is lucky or not.”

“For Standard Chartered’s shareholders, it is naturally a good thing, but now Standard Chartered’s management has the final say. This is not the case for this kind of old enterprise, and acquisitions are very troublesome.” Chen Zhiwen shook his head and said.

Many companies in the West have a history of more than a century, and their equity is so dispersed that even 1% of the largest shareholders cannot be found. In this case, it is entirely up to the management, and external acquisitions will seriously affect management. The interests of senior management, even those like Chen Zhiwen who do not interfere much in the operation of the acquired company are still not welcome. After all, no one wants to have a boss above them, and families such as Swire Group and BMW Group hold shares for a long time. There is still relatively little control.

“Maybe it’s because of inheritance, right? After many generations, there will be no more great-grandchildren. Even Rockefeller in the United States is not as good as before today.” Bao Yugang said.

“Yes, maybe we will be the same a hundred years from now.” Chen Zhiwen said helplessly. Many people have the same concept of having more children and being blessed. Even Westerners have the same idea. Regardless of the developed countries or the mainland in later generations, many people do not have children. The most fundamental reason is lack of money. Who wouldn’t want to have three or five children if they have money? But if you have money and live a long life, the family wealth will naturally be shared. Even the oil family or banking family that once monopolized the United States cannot avoid it.

“Forget it, we can’t do anything about these things.” Bao Yugang added: “In this case, I will be the white warrior of Standard Chartered first. If you can suppress Lloyds Bank and obtain a large shareholding, I may be able to counterattack. Come here to help you, if it doesn’t work, then we can only wait two years, but there is another possibility, that is, Standard Chartered launches a buyback, and according to the contract, I can only sell it to them at a high price.”

“No problem, Standard Chartered probably doesn’t have that much money. As for Lloyds Bank, I have actually arranged for people to communicate with them. I want to give them some benefits so that they can transfer their stocks to me, so that I can almost start fighting for the right to speak. .” Chen Zhiwen said: “It’s just that they are a little too confident and want to buy the stocks in my hands.”

“Then you can only see the truth on the battlefield.” Bao Yugang said. There is no blood and sweat in the shopping mall, but all kinds of battles are not inferior at all. Even this kind of loss of money may make countless people rich, and it may also make many people rich. Bankruptcy, when the two giants start a battle, is an opportunity for countless people.

“Sheng Bao, in this case, Standard Chartered Bank should first conduct a private equity increase for you. Although Standard Chartered’s stock price has gone up now, it will continue to get higher and higher in the future.” Chen Zhiwen said with a smile: “It just so happens that I still need a little time to do this. Be prepared and complete this private placement of shares as soon as possible, so that the profits you can get will be even greater.”

Today, it is difficult to buy a large amount of Standard Chartered stock. However, private placement means that the listed company issues additional shares by itself. It is extra shares out of thin air. This is the privilege of having management rights. Under this privilege, if you control If the major shareholder with management rights invests additional capital, or finds a white warrior to increase capital, the difficulty of the acquirer’s success will increase exponentially. In the history of human business, all successful hostile takeovers are basically the acquired companies, which has a big problem. , resulting in insufficient funds.

Once he gets into a tug-of-war with Lloyds Bank or even Standard Chartered itself, the stock price will inevitably skyrocket. If Bao Yugang doesn’t make this money, other shareholders will also.

“Okay, this time I will use Chen Sheng’s help.” Bao Yugang naturally understood what he meant. In fact, if Standard Chartered Bank couldn’t find other people, it probably wouldn’t have found Chinese people like them. After all, if you don’t find it, it will definitely be acquired by Lloyds Bank. If you find it, although Chen Zhiwen may be behind it, at least there is a glimmer of hope.

“Actually, the best way is for Lloyds Bank to let go. It would be much easier for me to obtain the shares in their hands.” Chen Zhiwen added, since Lloyds Bank has launched the acquisition, it already has a lot of shares in its hands. In addition, Chen Zhiwen’s is estimated to be 1/3. With so many shares, he can forcefully convene a shareholders’ meeting to drive out the management. However, this kind of thing may not be successful immediately. After all, 66.7% is needed to take effect. , but with one veto power, victory is guaranteed, and by slowly grinding it out with time, we can finally succeed.

“I hope so. If this is true, I will not sell the shares in my hands. Chen Sheng can consider giving me banking business in a country. I also want to experience the feeling of being a banker.” Bao Yugang laughed.

“Okay, no problem.” Chen Zhiwen nodded and said. Before Pao Yugang came to Hong Kong to become a shipping king, he was a bank manager in the Shanghai Stock Exchange. Unfortunately, at that time, British-owned banks in Hong Kong excluded Chinese, and eventually forced Bao Yugang to do so. Gang had to go to sea and run a boat.

“Okay, I’ll leave first. I’ll let you know if anything happens later,” Bao Yugang said.

“Please. Let me take you out.” Chen Zhiwen politely replied, and then the two of them walked out together.

There was no strategy in acquiring Standard Chartered Bank, unlike Hutchison Whampoa and Land, which had various layouts and digging holes.

Standard Chartered Bank does not have any major financial problems now, and there is still competition from many parties, so just drop it to ten banks and push it hard with strong capital.

The second week after the Standard Chartered Bank takeover war broke out, Hong Kong Hisense Bank also officially announced its acquisition of Standard Chartered Bank’s shares. This immediately caused Standard Chartered’s stock price in the UK market to skyrocket. A large amount of capital and hot money participated, making the first acquirer Les Financial pressure on banks has skyrocketed, and acquisitions have stalled.

A month later, an emissary from Lloyds Bank came to Hong Kong. (End of chapter)