Who knows, Li Ka-shing snake swallows the elephant, how did the original 600 million become 6 billion and Huang? I want to know

Hutchison Whampoa is the second largest British-owned foreign firm in Hong Kong, with assets worth more than HK$6 billion. Cheung Kong is just a small and medium-sized company with assets of less than 700 million. Not only did Li Ka-shing control Hutchison Whampoa, but he also did it without losing any blood. He was hailed as a "Superman" for this. In the battle with Hutchison Whampoa, what is Li Chaoren's superhuman trick?

Li Ka-shing withdrew from the Wharf competition and set his sights on another British-owned foreign company, Hutchison Whampoa.

The Hutchison Whampoa Group is composed of two major parts, one is Hutchison Matheson; the other is Whampoa Dockyard. Hutchison Whampoa was the second largest foreign bank in Hong Kong at the time and the largest listed company controlled by Hong Kong's top ten chaebols.

Hutchison & Co., Ltd. was established in 1860 and is mainly engaged in the import and export trade of Indian cotton, British cotton and woolen fabrics, Chinese tea, etc., as well as the retail industry in Hong Kong. At the beginning, its scale and reputation were not great, far less than those of foreign banks such as Jardine Matheson, Land, Temple, and Swire. By the time of World War II, Hutchison had 20 subsidiaries and was beginning to take shape.

The history of Whampoa Dockyard Co., Ltd. can be traced back to 1843, when Captain Lin Meng built wooden ships at Jardine Wharf in Causeway Bay. The shipyard has been relocated several times, continuously replenished, merged and changed hands, becoming a public company. By the beginning of the 20th century, Whampoa Dockyard, Taikoo Dockyard and Naval Dockyard were known as the three major dockyards in Hong Kong, with the ability to repair and build 10,000-ton ships. In addition, Huangpu Shipyard also operates terminal warehousing industry.

After World War II, the reorganized Hutchison Company fell into the hands of the Qi Dezun family. The family, together with the Jardines Keswick family, the Swire Swire family, and the Wheelock Marden family, are among the four major British-owned families in Hong Kong. In the late 1960s, Qi Dezun was very ambitious and wanted to become the second largest company in Yihe. Taking advantage of the boom in the stock market from 1969 to 1973, he launched a series of dazzling acquisitions, bringing under his banner large companies such as Huangpu Shipyard, Junyicang, Watsons, and many unlisted small companies.

Qi Dezun identified the general trend of the real estate industry in Hong Kong, where there were more people and less land, so he closed the wharf and dock on the east side of the Kowloon Peninsula, merged the ship repair business with Taikoo Dockyard, and moved it to Tsing Yi Island. All other warehouse terminals will be transferred to Kwai Chung for development. The freed land will be used to develop Huangpu New Village, Datong New Village, Junyi Building, etc. Qi Dezun blossomed all over the sky, and real estate became the pillar industry of the group.

The media said that Qi Dezun was a "big turtle" in the business world with "excessive appetite and indigestion". He blindly annexed companies. At his peak, he controlled as many as 360 companies, 84 of which were overseas. Although Qi Dezun has "sharp teeth", his "gastrointestinal function" is too poor and he has "constant diarrhea" - many companies are in poor condition and have negative growth in profits, leaving him with a heavy debt burden. Fortunately, the stock market was booming, so Qi Dezun engaged in a lot of stock speculation business, which temporarily made up for the financial black hole.

The stock market crashed in mid-1973, followed by the world oil crisis, and then the Hong Kong real estate crash. Hutchison Group, which invested too fast, had too long a front, and was too burdened, fell into a financial quagmire, losing nearly 200 million yuan for two consecutive fiscal years. In August 1975, HSBC injected HK$150 million to rescue the company, on condition that Hutchison transferred 33.65% of its equity. HSBC became the largest shareholder of Hutchison Group, and Whampoa Company also separated from Hutchison Group.

HSBC's acquisition of Hutchison Matheson marked the end of the Qi Dezun era, and Hutchison became a non-family group company. HSBC is looking for Wei Li to take charge. In September 1977, Hutchison Whampoa merged again with Whampoa and was reorganized into "Hutchison Whampoa (Group) Co., Ltd." Wei Li is known as the "company doctor", but he has always been a think tank and a high-level political supporter, and has never been in charge of a giant company. And because the group suffered huge losses when Qi Dezun was in charge, and Wei Li, the company doctor, took office, he did not see a rejuvenation - Hutchison Whampoa's recovery was not as good as people expected.

Taking advantage of a weak spot is a common and effective tactic on the battlefield. While Li Ka-shing coveted Wharf, he also favored Hutchison Whampoa. If he gives up Wharf, he will definitely target Hutchison Whampoa. Public opinion said that the battle with Huang proved that Li Ka-shing was an extremely smart person.

First, by fulfilling Bao Yugang's wish to acquire Wharf, Li Ka-shing actually gave up a piece of meat bone for Bao to gnaw, leaving a piece of lean meat for himself. Because Wharf belongs to the Jardines line of family-owned companies, the Keswick family and its agents will definitely fight tooth for tooth and fight to the death. Bao's acquisition of Wharf was at a heavy price, and it was actually a tie with Jardine Taipan. Jardine Matheson has deep roots in Hong Kong. To acquire Wharf, there will be a bloody battle.

On the contrary, Hutchison Whampoa, which has become a public company, will at least not face stubborn counterattacks from family forces. As the second largest foreign company in Hong Kong, Hutchison Whampoa Group has a short history of "subordinate" companies. The holding structure has not been straightened out for a while, and the interests of various shareholders are inconsistent. They are praying for the emergence of a "clear master" to reverse the decline. To help Hutchison Whampoa completely escape the crisis.

As long as it can take care of and bring benefits to shareholders, shareholders will not resent the Chinese Taipan taking over Hutchison & Co., Ltd. This was Li Ka-shing’s original starting point.

Secondly, Li Ka-shing weighs his strength. Cheung Kong Holdings’ assets are only HK$693 million, while Hutchison Whampoa Group’s market value is as high as HK$6.2 billion. It’s hard for a snake to swallow an elephant. Hutchison Whampoa owns a large number of land properties and a chain retail industry with stable profits. It is a group company with great potential. There are many Chinese and foreign businessmen in Hong Kong who covet this big piece of meat. Just because Hutchison Whampoa is under the control of HSBC, Hong Kong's chief tycoon, they have stayed put for the time being.

Li Ka-shing knows very well that HSBC will not control Hutchison for long. According to the Company Law and Banking Law, banks cannot engage in non-financial business. Creditor banks can take over an industrial and commercial enterprise that has lost its ability to pay debts. Once the enterprise's operations return to normal, it will sell it to the original property owner or other enterprises, rather than holding long-term control of the enterprise.

When Li Ka-shing was absorbing Wharf stocks, he learned that HSBC’s chief executive Shen Bi had secretly said that after Hutchison Whampoa’s financial situation improved, HSBC would choose the right time and the right objects to transfer the assets it controlled. Most of Hutchison Whampoa's shares were transferred.

This is nothing short of good news for Li Ka-shing. Cheung Kong has insufficient financial resources. If it relies on the help of HSBC, the acquisition will be half successful.

Thirdly, Li Ka-shing dreams of becoming a suitable candidate for HSBC to transfer Hutchison Whampoa shares. In order to achieve his goal, Li Ka-shing stopped the acquisition of Wharf shares to gain the favor of HSBC.

Li Ka-shing sold HSBC a favor, so the reputable HSBC will definitely repay the favor. Li Ka-shing is not yet sure whether this favor is for Hutchison Whampoa shares.

In order to increase the hope of success, Li Ka-shing roped in Bao Yugang and offered to sell 10 million Wharf shares in return for Bao's help in facilitating the transfer of 90 million Hutchison shares by HSBC. Li Ka-shing killed three birds with one stone. He not only made a profit of more than 59 million Hong Kong dollars, but also gave the Wharf that he could not acquire to the Bao family to acquire, and received Bao's gratitude in return.

Li Ka-shing knows that his relationship with HSBC is not as deep as Pao Yugang. Bao's title of Shipping King is partly due to his own efforts and partly to the support of HSBC. Bao's relationship with HSBC lasted for more than 20 years. He served as a director of HSBC (and vice chairman of HSBC in 1980) and had close personal relationships with HSBC's two chief executives, Mr. Sandus and Shen Bi.

Li Ka-shing has frequent contact with Shen Bi. He understands HSBC’s intention: it is not to sell shares for arbitrage; it is to hope that Hutchison Whampoa will perform well after letting go. On the other hand, Mr. Bao stepped forward to beat the drum and succeeded immediately.

On the night of September 25, 1979, in the conference room of the Yangtze River Headquarters on the 21st floor of the People's Bank of China, Li Ka-shing, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Cheung Kong Holdings (Group) Co., Ltd., held the most exciting press conference since the listing of Cheung Kong. Li Ka-shing, who remained steady, announced in an excited tone:

"Without affecting the original business of Cheung Kong Holdings, the company has made a greater breakthrough - Cheung Kong Holdings purchased the shares at a price of 7.1 yuan per share. HSBC holds 22.4% of 90 million ordinary shares in Hutchison Whampoa Limited, an established British consortium.

"

Most of the reporters present couldn't help but applaud. One reporter asked: "Why does Cheung Kong only buy the common shares held by HSBC Bank and no longer buy its preferred shares?"

Li Ka-shing replied: "From an asset perspective, Hutchison Whampoa is indeed a company with great development potential, and its real estate part is completely consistent with our company's business. We think Hutchison Whampoa's prospects are very good. Since the preferred shares only enjoy interest and have nothing to do with the company's profits and losses, and they have no voting rights, we did not consider it. ”

Li Ka-shing was absorbed by the Hutchison Whampoa board of directors as executive director, and Wei Li is still the chairman and general manager.

The day after the press conference, Hutchison Whampoa stock became a major Hot. The small market drove the big market. The Hang Seng Index soared by 25.69 points that day, with a turnover of more than 400 million yuan. This shows that Li Ka-shing continued to attract investors in the market. By November 1980, Cheung Kong Holdings and Li Ka-shing personally owned 100,000 shares. The shareholding of Hutchison Whampoa increased to 39.6%, and the controlling stake was very strong. During this period, there was no counter-takeover organized by Hutchison Whampoa.

On January 1, 1981, Li Ka-shing was elected as Hutchison Whampoa. Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Co., Ltd., becoming the first Chinese Taipan in Hong Kong to take over a British-owned foreign company (note: the Jardine Wharf Wharf that Pao Yugang took over is not an independent foreign company), and the Hutchison Whampoa Group has also officially become a subsidiary of the Cheung Kong Group. company.

Li Ka-shing uses small to conquer the strong. Cheung Kong Holdings’ actual assets are only HK$693 million, but he has successfully controlled Hutchison Whampoa, a giant group with a market value of HK$6.2 billion. According to common sense, neither. Possible, and even more unbelievable, no wonder Wei Li, the former chief executive of Hutchison Whampoa, told reporters in a helpless and unconvinced tone:

"Li Ka-shing's move is equivalent to using US$24 million as a deposit. , and purchased assets worth more than one billion US dollars. ”