Chapter 653: Equity Distribution!

Far East Association Headquarters!

After signing the share transfer agreement with Powell, Li Yi didn’t linger at the company; he immediately drove to Li Futiao’s territory.

Now that they had acquired New Territories Warehouse—a company with such massive assets—they needed to discuss with Li Fuzhao how to distribute the profits and manage the company.

After all, the funds for acquiring New Territories Warehouse weren’t entirely raised by Li Yi; the Li, He, and Luo families had contributed over 1 billion Hong Kong dollars.

Upon arriving at the Far East Stock Exchange, Li Yi saw that the vast trading floor was virtually empty, looking eerily quiet.

Few people was one thing, but even fewer were actually trading.

This alone was a clear indication of just how depressed the Hong Kong stock market was at the moment!

It wasn’t hard to understand, after all. It had been less than four months since the stock market crash in July, and the shares of the vast majority of companies were still falling. Even the Hang Seng Index showed no signs of a rebound.

And the stock market is a place where investors chase gains and cut losses; until the downtrend clearly stops, absolutely no one dares to aggressively buy the dip.

These days, it’s mostly small retail investors trading stocks—buying just a few dozen lots at a time, with gains or losses amounting to only a few dozen or a hundred Hong Kong dollars. While this isn’t entirely without impact on the broader market, the effect is so negligible as to be practically insignificant.

After waiting in the lobby for about ten minutes, Li Yi asked Li Yunbao to lead the way, heading straight for Li Futiao’s office.

Li Futao’s office was located in the heart of the Far East Association’s headquarters; not just anyone could enter, and security there was extremely tight.

Normally, anyone wishing to see Li Futiao had to make an appointment in advance.

But with Li Yunbao, the “crown prince,” present, no one dared to stop them.

And so, Li Yi and his group made their way unimpeded to the 12th floor and stood outside Li Futao’s office.

“Knock, knock, knock…”

“Come in!”

Li Futiao was in his office sorting through a backlog of paperwork. Over the past few days, he had been so preoccupied with the stock market battle at the Hong Kong Stock Exchange that he hadn’t given his work proper attention, resulting in a significant pileup of tasks.

With the matter settled yesterday, he had rushed to the office early this morning to tackle the backlog.

But when he saw Li Yi and his own son walking through the door, he immediately stood up from his chair.

“Why are you here? Didn’t you say you were going to negotiate with the Jardine Matheson group?” Li Futiao asked, somewhat surprised.

“We’re done with the talks, and the agreement has already been signed!” Li Yi said with a smile.

“What agreement? The Jardine side didn’t really sell us all their remaining shares, did they?”

“Heh, though it’s hard to believe, that’s exactly what happened. Powell really sold his shares to us and has completely withdrawn from New World Warehouse!” Li Yi said.

“Whoa! That was so smooth—there’s no catch, is there?” Li Futiao frowned.

Having dealt with those Westerners for so many years, he knew full well how cunning they were and how adept they were at using contractual loopholes to take advantage of people. Li Futiao was very worried that Li Yi had been duped.

However, before Li Yi could answer, Li Yunbao spoke up first: “Dad, I drafted the contract myself. There’s no way there’s a trap!”

Li Yunbao then went on to explain in detail to Li Fuzhao the relevant terms and the process of the share transfer agreement the two parties had previously signed.

When he learned that Powell had actually allowed Li Yi to acquire a 21% stake in New World Warehouse on credit, he was completely stunned.

In truth, Li Fuzhao wasn’t particularly surprised that Powell had taken the bold step of proactively selling his shares to Li Yi.

After all, Jardine Matheson had done something similar before. During the Kowloon Wharf battle, when Jardine Matheson’s head, Newby, saw the tide had turned against him, he simply transferred the over 10 million shares of Kowloon Wharf held by Landmark to the “Ship Chartering King,” cashing out over 1 billion Hong Kong dollars in one fell swoop.

As a protégé personally mentored by Powell and Newby, it was hardly surprising that he would make the same choice as his mentor.

However, it was somewhat unexpected that Powell would allow Li Yi to settle the funds four months later.

After all, Jardine Matheson is currently struggling. A series of massive losses has left this industrial giant reeling, and at one point, it could only barely stay afloat by selling off equity stakes.

Logically speaking, even if they truly intended to abandon the New Territories Warehouse entirely, they wouldn’t be so generous as to let the other party run a tab!

Could the other party be up to something?

Seeing Li Futiao’s expression, Li Yunbao immediately said, “Dad, don’t worry. This deal is definitely solid. I guarantee it!”

Li Futao thought for a moment and said, “I know Powell well. He’s not the type to admit defeat easily, nor would he let someone take advantage of him for no reason. Especially since we’re adversaries—there’s definitely something fishy going on here!”

Li Yi smiled and said, “Powell made me a promise!”

“What kind of promise?”

“He made me promise that, as long as the Jardine Group doesn’t provoke me, we won’t target them for retaliation, and we’re not allowed to attack any of their companies!” Li Yi said.

“Oh, I see. Did you agree?”

“Why wouldn’t I? Even if Jardine is just using this to buy time, it’s still beneficial for us. We can use this time to fully integrate New Territories Warehouse!”

Li Yi continued, “Once we’ve freed up our hands, we can move on to dealing with the other members of the British-owned conglomerate. Besides, I can tell that Powell really doesn’t want to associate with the rest of the British-owned group this time!”

Li Futao thought for a moment and said, “He’s chickened out. He’s worried he’ll end up like New Bickham!”

“What do you mean? Who is Niu Bijian?” Li Yi asked curiously.

“Niu Bijian was the former head of the Jardine Matheson Group and another key figure in the Wharf Holdings battle. During the battle for Wharf Holdings, Niu Bijian was fully prepared and confident of victory, but in the end, due to a betrayal from within the British-owned conglomerate, his plan fell apart at the last moment!”

Li Futao continued, “In the end, ‘Ship King’ Bao Yong emerged victorious in that battle and took over Wharf Holdings. Although Niu Bijian cut his losses in time and recovered a significant portion of the Jardine Group’s capital, he was still removed from his position as head of the Jardine Group. That’s how Powell came to take the helm of the Jardine Group!”

“Clearly, the current situation has already exceeded Powell’s capacity to handle it. He fears he might follow in Newby’s footsteps, which is why he’s so eager to reconcile with us!”

“That makes sense. In any case, this is a rare stroke of good fortune for us!”

“Exactly!”

“By the way, Old Li, now that we’ve secured the New Territories Warehouse, how should we allocate the shares? Do you have any suggestions?” Li Yi asked again.

Li Futiao thought for a moment and said, “Let’s distribute it according to our capital contributions first. Then, each of us will set aside 500,000 shares to give to you as a service fee for your role in orchestrating this deal. What do you think?”

As the founder of the securities firm, Li Futiao knew full well that their success in taking over Xinjiecang didn’t rely on the “dirty money” they’d provided, but rather on Li Yi’s masterful moves.

Therefore, it made perfect sense for each of them to set aside a portion of their shares to give back to Li Yi.

“I have no objections, but I’m not sure what Mr. He and Mr. Luo think. Will they agree to this proposal?” Li Yi said.

He didn’t refuse Li Futiao’s offer, mainly because Li Yi genuinely needed those shares.

Although they had secured 74% of New World Warehouse’s shares this time, after deducting the 21% for which payment hadn’t yet been made, their actual ownership stood at only 53%.

If calculated based on investment ratios, only about 29% belonged to Starry Sky Company—or, more accurately, to Li Yi himself—while the remainder belonged entirely to Li Fuzhao, He Dongying, Huang Lixing, and others.

Even if Li Yi eventually managed to acquire the remaining 21% from the Jardine Group, the total would still fall short of the 51% controlling stake threshold.

If each of those companies were to give him 500,000 shares, that would amount to at least a 2% stake.

In that case, even without the support of the He or Li families, Li Yi would still be able to gain a controlling stake in the New Territories Warehousing Center.

So he wouldn’t let embarrassment create a potential liability for himself.

After discussing the equity distribution, Li Yi and Li Futao turned to how to manage the New Territories Warehouse.

After some discussion, both agreed that the board of directors should be restructured and capable professional managers hired to run this massive company.

After reaching a preliminary consensus, Li Yi entrusted the matter to Li Futao, while he decided to return to Zaiying as soon as possible to continue monitoring the gold futures market.

But just as Li Yi was about to set off, a piece of news that caught him completely off guard disrupted his plans!