In the VIP lounge of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, all the employees of Starry Sky were cheering wildly.
Just moments ago, upon learning that their combined shareholding had surpassed 51%, CEO Li Yi immediately declared that the acquisition of the New Territories Warehouse Center had been successfully completed.
At the same time, the boss announced that all company employees would be heading to Yuen’s Restaurant tonight.
Furthermore, every employee who participated in the acquisition would receive a bonus of 10,000 Hong Kong dollars, while members of the leadership team would each receive 50,000 Hong Kong dollars.
With a chance to celebrate and massive bonuses to boot, everyone was naturally overjoyed!
But just as everyone was cheering loudly, Zhang Ziqiang pushed open the door and said, “Brother Yi, there are a few foreigners outside who want to see you. The one leading them says his name is Powell!”
Hearing this, Pang Feiyan, who was standing nearby, hurriedly said, “Boss, Powell is the head of Jardine Matheson!”
Li Yi paused to think for a moment, then said, “Show them in.”
“Yes, sir!”
Hearing that visitors had arrived, the staff in the room immediately fell silent, then resumed their previous appearance of busyness—though the excitement and anticipation in everyone’s eyes were impossible to hide.
Soon, the door to the VIP room swung open once more!
Led by Zhang Ziqiang, two middle-aged white men strode in.
Upon reaching Li Yi, Powell looked at the young man before him with a complex expression.
Although he had already seen Li Yi’s photo and basic profile, Powell was still taken aback by Li Yi’s youth when they finally met in person.
He simply couldn’t imagine that this young man standing before him was the one who had repeatedly thwarted their efforts and even shattered the unbeatable reputation of their British Capital Group.
“I heard you two wanted to see me. Just get to the point—you know my time is valuable!” Li Yi said casually.
“Li, I’m Powell, CEO of Jardine Matheson. First, congratulations on securing a controlling stake in New Territories Warehouse…”
Before he could finish, Li Yi cut him off, saying, “Mr. Powell, spare me the pleasantries. Just get to the point!”
At that moment, Smith, standing nearby, suddenly said, “Sir, interrupting someone is very rude. You should apologize to Powell!”
“Before you speak, please introduce yourself first. I have no interest in talking to strangers!” Li Yi said coldly.
“I am Smith, and I am…”
“You’re Smith?”
“Yes…”
Before he could finish, Li Yi cut him off with an icy tone: “Others might have the right to accuse me of being rude, but not you—because you’re not worthy!”
“Sir, this is an insult to a gentleman of the British Empire…”
“Stop going on about ‘gentlemen.’ A petty man like you, who only knows how to resort to underhanded tactics for revenge, is hardly worthy of being called a gentleman. If that’s the case, then your standards for what constitutes a gentleman are far too low!”
“You…”
Smith naturally understood what Li Yi was getting at—it was nothing more than the previous incidents of inciting Ma Biao and Sha Kun to ambush Huang Lixing.
But he couldn’t defend himself on this matter. Although he had indeed been involved, it was the Duke who had made the final call; he was, at most, merely an executor.
“All right, if the two of you are here to argue with me, there’s no need. I’m not one for bickering; let’s just settle this in the business world!” Li Yi said coldly.
Powell, standing nearby, hurriedly interjected, “Mr. Li, I didn’t mean to offend you. I simply wish to do business with you!”
Li Yi glanced at him and said, “Do you want to buy back the shares I hold, or do you want to sell the shares you hold?”
“Sell!”
Hearing this answer, Li Yi wasn’t particularly surprised.
They had already lost. Having lost control of the company, they were left with only two options.
The first was to fight to the bitter end, clinging to that 20% stake and using their positions as company directors to disrupt the newly appointed chairman of the board.
The second option was to cash out while the stock price was inflated and exit gracefully.
As a competent and seasoned businessman, Li Yi fully understood why Powell would make this choice; after all, they had done the same last year when they lost the battle for Wharf Holdings to the “Ship King.”
At that time, Mr. Pao held a 49% stake as the largest shareholder. Jardine Matheson knew the tide had turned and promptly sold its 10 million shares of Wharf Holdings to Pao’s enterprises, successfully cashing out over 1 billion Hong Kong dollars.
For Powell, they were simply repeating the same old tactics!
“By my estimate, Jardine Matheson still holds about 20% of the shares. If you hold out a little longer, there might still be a chance to turn the tables. Are you sure you want to admit defeat just like this?” Li Yi asked calmly.
Powell sighed and said, “You Chinese have an old saying: ‘Those who recognize the times are the true heroes.’ Since we’ve already lost, why insist on putting up a fight?”
“Then, Mr. Powell, at what price do you intend to sell your shares?”
“120 Hong Kong dollars per share!”
Li Yi replied coolly, “That’s too high! You know as well as I do that whether it’s HK$120 or HK$100, these prices were driven up by our bidding war. It won’t be long before this price plummets!”
“Mr. Li, you must be well aware of New Territories Warehouse’s true value. At 120 Hong Kong dollars per share, you won’t be losing out!”
“Value and market capitalization are two different things. For a publicly traded company, its market capitalization is its value—no one cares about its actual value!” Li Yi said.
“Then how much are you willing to offer?”
“HK$100 per share. I’m offering this price simply to save myself the trouble. Otherwise, I have countless ways to kick you out of the company!” Li Yi said with an air of authority.
Powell didn’t argue. He knew Li Yi had the capability—after all, the Jazz had suffered crushing defeats in every previous clash with him.
And now that the other party had secured a controlling stake in the company and was flush with cash, even if he simply used that money to dilute their shares, their holdings would continue to shrink until they were eventually forced out of the company.
“Let’s meet halfway—110 yuan!”
Li Yi paused briefly, then said, “Deal!”
“Alright, a representative from our company will visit yours tomorrow to discuss the specifics of the share transfer!” Powell said.
“Alright, I’ll be waiting for you personally at the office!” Li Yi replied.
“OK, see you tomorrow!”
“See you tomorrow!”
Just as Powell was about to leave with Smith, Li Yi called Smith back again: “Mr. Smith, please pass a message to your lord: tell him this is just the beginning. We’re not done with this yet—he’ll pay the price for what he’s done!”
Hearing this, Smith couldn’t help but shudder—whether from fear or anger, he wasn’t sure!
He had intended to hurl some threats, but for some reason, the words died on his lips. Instead, he turned and walked out of the VIP lounge with Powell!
The moment they stepped through the door, both Powell and Smith felt as if an old king had fallen and a new one had been crowned.
Although this time they had merely lost control of a single New Territories warehouse—which was insignificant compared to the vast holdings of the entire British Capital Group—the significance of this loss was extraordinary.
This was already their fourth defeat at the hands of Li Yi. This string of failures not only dealt a severe blow to the confidence of the British-funded group’s members,
It would also greatly boost the confidence of the Chinese-funded group, making them even more united and self-assured.
Moving forward, they might, just as they did this time, continue to consolidate their strength and launch attacks against their British-owned enterprises.
Once such a trend takes hold, the British-owned group would be in grave danger!
Filled with deep concern, the two defeated men hurriedly left the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.
As for the victor, Li Yi, he led all the company employees back to the office to celebrate their triumph in taking down the giant…
………