March 23rd: Day Three of the Huifeng Shareholding Battle!
At 9:00 a.m., just moments before the market opened, the entire trading team from Star Investment had gathered in VIP Room No. 1.
Li Yi, seated at the head of the table, had just finished listening to Pang Feiyan’s report and immediately said, “So, does that mean there are still at least 150 million shares of floating stock in the hands of retail investors?”
“Yes, and that’s a conservative estimate!”
Pang Feiyan continued, “Over the past two days, we’ve spent 500 million Hong Kong dollars and acquired only 6% of Huifeng’s shares. Dolsons entered the fray later than us, so their results are even worse—they’ve acquired at most around 2%. Other institutions have acquired about 8%. At least 14% of the floating shares remain on the market, but…”
“But what?”
“It’s just that Huifeng’s stock price has already doubled since we entered the market. If we continue buying, the financial pressure will be significant!”
Pang Feiyan continued, “Most importantly, Huifeng’s stock is currently trading at a significant premium. Even if we ultimately secure a controlling stake in Huifeng, we likely won’t see much profit—we might even end up losing money!”
No sooner had she finished speaking than Li Yi replied calmly, “There’s no risk of losing money. Just based on Huifeng’s Hong Kong dollar issuance rights alone, we wouldn’t lose money even if the premium were three to five times higher!”
Li Yi spoke bluntly about his true objective: he was after Huifeng’s Hong Kong dollar issuance rights.
He was confident that word of this would reach Dolsons ears before long. With this alone, Dolsons would be forced to fight him to the bitter end—no quarter given!
“Boss, so are you saying we should keep pushing forward today?” asked Pang Feiyan.
“Of course. As soon as the market opens, raise Huifeng’s share price directly to 30 Hong Kong dollars!” Li Yi said.
“Yes…”
No sooner had he finished speaking than the opening bell rang outside.
Immediately, Li Yi addressed Pang Feiyan and the others: “You all heard what I just said. Let’s get moving now. Don’t worry about the money—our company has 60 billion yuan at your disposal. We have only one goal: take down Huifeng!!”
“Yes!”
At Li Yi’s command, the young traders at Star Investment sprang into action…
Meanwhile, in the main hall of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, retail investors and institutional employees alike waited anxiously.
Everyone wanted to see what Star Investment would do—whether they would cash out immediately or continue buying more shares at high prices.
According to their estimates, Star Investment currently held at least 70 million shares of Huifeng, with an average purchase price of around 18 Hong Kong dollars per share.
Based on yesterday afternoon’s closing price, Star Investment was currently sitting on a paper profit of around HK$10 per share.
In other words, if they were to cash out now, they could make at least around HK$700 million.
Therefore, it cannot be ruled out that Star Investment might cash out and exit the market even though they know it is not the optimal move.
Once Star Investment cashes out, the standoff between the two major players will be broken, and Huifeng’s stock price will inevitably fall.
Consequently, every move Star Investment makes now serves as a barometer!
When Pang Feiyan and her group emerged from the VIP lounge, all eyes were fixed on them.
Pang Feiyan and the others paid no heed to the stares, clearly stating Star Investment’s stance with a buyout price of HK$30 per share.
Witnessing this, institutional investors and speculative capital were galvanized, immediately following suit and raising their bid prices one after another.
Meanwhile, retail investors holding Huifeng shares were torn. Some, unable to resist the temptation of prices that had doubled, sold off their holdings.
But there were also those who firmly believed that Huifeng’s stock price would continue to rise, so they held on tightly to their shares and refused to sell…
………..
VIP Room 9!
When Dolsen learned that Li Yi had raised the bid price to 30 Hong Kong dollars per share, the expression on his face instantly grew even more somber.
The price of HK$30 wasn’t particularly high; at the very least, it was still within their budget.
However, through this offer, Dolsen sensed Li Yi’s determination to take control of Huifeng.
This yellow-skinned monkey is willing to take a loss just to secure controlling interest in Huifeng.
Just think about it: that “banbanhaobang” guy has a massive 60 billion Hong Kong dollars at his disposal, while all the funds they’ve managed to raise so far amount to only about 20 billion—a 3:1 disparity. This gap left Dolsen feeling somewhat powerless.
But with things having come to this, he had no other choice but to order his traders to raise the bid to HK$30.50 and compete with Li Yi for Huifeng’s floating shares.
Although he had an ultimate weapon, such a market-crashing tactic came at too high a cost; one misstep could completely shatter investor confidence, so it must never be used unless absolutely necessary.
It was like those nations possessing nuclear weapons: although they had the capability to wipe out the enemy en masse, few dared to openly call for their use.
It’s not that they don’t want to use them, but the cost of deploying a nuclear weapon is simply too high.
Therefore, even when conflicts arise, both sides try to resolve them through conventional means rather than immediately dropping a “mushroom cloud” on the other.
Under these circumstances, throughout the entire day on the 23rd, the bulls continued to vie for Huifeng’s floating shares without resorting to any improper means.
By the time the market closed around 4:00 p.m., Huifeng’s stock price had surged past HK$38 per share.
Subsequently, Huifeng released a list of its major shareholders and their holdings. Star Investment Company’s name was prominently listed, holding a 7.8% stake and ranking as the third-largest shareholder.
It was only then that people realized that for a behemoth like Huifeng, the distribution of its shares was actually extremely fragmented.
The major shareholder, a British-owned conglomerate, held only 12.5%, while the second-largest shareholder held just 9%; combined, these two major shareholders accounted for less than 22%.
Apart from Star Investment’s 7.8%, all remaining shareholders held less than 5% each.
No wonder Star Investment had set its sights on Huifeng; such a shareholding structure was far too easy to manipulate.
With sufficient capital, it would be entirely possible to acquire control of Huifeng by targeting the floating shares and other small shareholders.
Just as everyone was stunned by the extreme fragmentation of Huifeng’s equity, another piece of news suddenly broke: Li Futiao, who attended the Far East Conference today, had secretly met with Richard, Huifeng’s ninth-largest shareholder. It is said that the two have a very close personal relationship.
Immediately afterward, another report surfaced: Richard intended to sell his 4% stake to the Li family for 1.2 billion Hong Kong dollars.
Before anyone could verify the truth of this news, yet another report surfaced: He Dongying, head of the He family, had traveled to Aocheng to visit gambling tycoon Chen Guangheng, who also held a 4% stake in Huifeng.
Subsequently, the Bao family, the Fok family, and other Chinese tycoons on Hong Kong Island all sprang into action, meeting with the small shareholders holding Huifeng stock.
Although some of these reports were true and others false, both the British-owned conglomerates and the institutional speculative capital felt immense pressure.
Dawson and his associates, in particular, once again found themselves under immense pressure.
While continuing to raise funds to prepare for a direct confrontation with Li Yi and Star Investment,
At the same time, he had Henry and others privately meet with Huifeng’s major and minor shareholders to explain the situation and request that they not sell their shares to Star Investment or those Chinese businessmen.
If they were determined to sell, they should give them first refusal.
The battle for Huifeng’s shares was gradually spreading beyond the stock market, and the conflict between the two sides was reaching a fever pitch.
But just then, Li Yi received a call from Li Futiao, who informed him that Li Yunbao and the others had arrived safely in London.
Furthermore, the 3.56 billion pounds had been transferred through secret channels into their account at the London Futures Exchange and was ready for investment at any time.
Upon receiving the news, Li Yi was overjoyed and immediately set off for the Li family estate, escorted by Zhang Ziqiang and others…
………..