Chapter 117 - You Promised Privatization, and Now You Make Us the Bagholders?
Seeing the situation, Burton naturally directed everyone to leave the scene.
At that moment, the reporters were all stunned.
Wasn't Qingzhou Cement Company supposed to be undergoing privatization?
How did it end up like this?
With the shares reduced to below 50%, what was left to privatize?
And Lin Haoran had clearly stated he had no money and couldn't proceed with privatization even if he wanted to.
This was a major event — a huge blunder.
The stockholders in the market realized they had completely misunderstood the situation.
There was never any real plan for privatization.
So where was that dream of selling at 6 Hong Kong dollars per share?
As the reporters left and the news spread rapidly, within half an hour, nearly every investor in Hong Kong's stock market was aware of the situation.
In the high-rise building at Tsim Sha Tsui, the five British shareholders also learned the news.
The three Chinese shareholders likewise heard about it.
They were dumbfounded — completely dumbfounded.
What happened to the promised privatization?
Moreover, Lin Haoran's full speech was quickly circulated by interested parties, and everyone learned the details.
Immediately, many investors started cursing and venting their anger.
They had only wanted to make a simple 20% profit — and now they were trapped?
"We are very confident in Qingzhou Cement Company?"
"You are a highly successful chairman?"
"And you want to invest company profits elsewhere? Isn't Qingzhou Cement losing enough money already?"
"What a joke, this is pure exploitation — treating us as bagholders!"
"Who the hell bought Qingzhou Cement shares because you became chairman?
I just wanted to earn one lousy dollar per share! Was that too much to ask?"
...
However, no matter how much they complained, it was useless.
Their greed had blinded them.
The once lively stock market quickly started to crash.
4.9 Hong Kong dollars... 4.7... 4.5... 4...
The stock price rapidly broke below 4 Hong Kong dollars.
And it kept dropping.
3.9 Hong Kong dollars... 3.8... 3.7...
No one could have predicted that within half an hour of the news breaking, Qingzhou Cement's share price would again fall below 3.5 Hong Kong dollars.
At that moment, Lin Haoran was also monitoring the stock market.
Seeing the trend, he immediately called Su Zhixue, instructing the team to start acquiring shares — the target was 2.65 million shares, aiming to keep the average price under 4 Hong Kong dollars per share.
Behind this decision was Lin Haoran's thorough strategic thinking.
Previously, after selling off a portion of shares, his stake in Qingzhou Cement had dropped to 44.68%.
By acquiring 2.65 million additional shares, his stake would climb back to about 49.9%, just under the privatization trigger threshold, allowing him maximum flexibility for future strategic moves.
Before 4 PM, Lin Haoran returned to Huanyu Investment Company.
"President Lin, let me report: we have completed your task.
We successfully acquired 2.65 million shares, spending a total of 9.75 million Hong Kong dollars.
The average cost was approximately 3.68 Hong Kong dollars per share," Su Zhixue reported.
"Excellent. Your efficiency and precision exceeded my expectations," Lin Haoran said approvingly.
Every penny saved counted.
Now, with his stake back up to 49.9%, Lin Haoran had the perfect setup — ready to privatize at any time.
He knew he had offended many investors this time — some were likely already cursing him.
But he didn't care.
These people had come trying to take advantage of him.
Since that was their intention, why should he show them any mercy?
The shares sold today — he would soon buy them back at much lower prices.
Compared to the 5 Hong Kong dollars per share he sold at, buying back at under 4 meant huge profits.
If he could achieve even a 1-dollar-per-share price difference, he would have earned over 10 million Hong Kong dollars in this operation alone.
Such easy money — and it was they who had practically forced him to take it.
Originally, Lin Haoran hadn't even planned to make this move.
As for privatizing Qingzhou Cement — that was absolutely still on the agenda.
He understood that currently, few people had confidence in Qingzhou Cement under his control because they didn't yet know the true state of the company's finances.
Once they discovered that the company was not only doing better but thriving under his leadership, the stock price would surely skyrocket.
At that point, the remaining shareholders, including the eight board members, might refuse to sell their shares.
That was not something Lin Haoran wanted to see.
Thus, now — while distrust was rampant — was the perfect time to privatize.
But he needed the right moment.
His plan was to first acquire the shares held by the eight board members — then tackle the rest of the market.
The shares he had just sold today could help him buy out those eight shareholders.
Therefore, Lin Haoran pondered how to get the eight of them to reach out to him voluntarily.
Those people had caused this whole scene because they wanted to sell — they just hoped to get a good price.
But Lin Haoran had no intention of giving them what they wanted.
Meanwhile, in a commercial building at Tsim Sha Tsui, the five British shareholders gathered again, the atmosphere tense.
"Gentlemen, what should we do now?" one of them finally broke the silence.
"Sigh, I really regret not selling during the morning rally when the price hit 5 Hong Kong dollars," another said bitterly.
"Yeah, who would have thought Lin Haoran would pull such a move?
Now the market is flooded with millions of unsold shares — getting out is much harder," a third said, full of helplessness.
"Why don't we also summon the three Chinese shareholders?
They hold shares too — they must also be desperate to offload.
After all, it was the five of us who set this up — if they profit without doing anything, it's not fair," one suggested, his tone tinged with resentment.
"Agreed.
Among Chinese businessmen, there are plenty of smart ones.
Maybe they can offer new ideas or solutions," another nodded expectantly.
"Then it's settled.
I'll contact them — I still have their information.
They should agree to meet quickly," said the one proposing the plan.
...
An hour later, all eight shareholders had gathered.
When the three Chinese shareholders learned that it was the five British shareholders who had orchestrated the chaos, they were stunned.
They too had hesitated earlier that morning — wondering if they should sell at 5 Hong Kong dollars.
But they'd hoped for even greater profits from a privatization, so they had held their shares.
Now, the result was nothing like what they had imagined.
They hadn't expected Lin Haoran to so decisively dump so many shares and shatter their plans.
"Henry's right — we're all in the same boat now.
Any solutions must be shared openly," one British shareholder said sincerely, glancing around the room.
In truth, they had already exhausted their ideas without finding a satisfactory way out.
Thus, they pinned their hopes on these three Chinese shareholders, hoping they might offer fresh perspectives.
A Chinese shareholder spoke, his tone analytical yet resigned:
"Given today's massive sell-off, with Qingzhou Cement's trading volume exceeding 10 million shares, I am almost certain that most of the selling came from Lin Haoran himself.
This means he has liquidated at least 10 million shares, holding cash reserves of around 50 to 60 million Hong Kong dollars."
"Meanwhile, all of us combined only hold about 12 million shares.
From a financial standpoint, Lin Haoran absolutely has the capability to buy us out — but the key is persuading him to do so."
He paused, surveying the room before continuing:
"Now, we can't dream of selling at high prices anymore.
Our priority should be minimizing losses by finding a price he is willing to accept."
The atmosphere grew even heavier as everyone pondered this harsh reality.
"Indeed, he has ample cash now," one shareholder said.
"But how do we lure him into buying?
He still holds control of the company even without our shares.
Our influence on the board is negligible," another added gloomily.
"He must have once considered privatization — otherwise he wouldn't have been secretly buying so many shares.
Maybe he gave up after this fiasco.
Still, we should be proactive and engage him directly," an older shareholder proposed.
"I agree.
Let's convene a full board meeting, lay everything on the table, and persuade him to buy us out," another chimed in.
"Young people are often ambitious.
He probably thinks he can run the company better without sharing profits.
If we frame privatization as a win-win, he might reconsider," someone said half-jokingly to lighten the mood.
"Since becoming chairman, he barely visited the company.
He even said he'd use company profits for investments — I don't believe he'll bring any value to shareholders.
Better to sell now and be done with it."
"Since we're agreed, I'll contact Lin Haoran to arrange a board meeting.
At the meeting, we'll all push him to buy our shares," declared the shareholder with the most influence.
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