Chapter 158: A Close Call — Just After the Deal, Land Holdings Shows Up
When Lin Haoran asked his question, Caesar Bridges immediately showed a surprised expression.
"Mr. Lin, are you saying you want to buy my shares in Hongkong Electric Holdings?" he asked, his tone filled with disbelief.
After all, he held 52.92 million shares of Hongkong Electric Holdings.
Based on the current market price of HK$3.6 per share, his holdings were worth approximately HK$190 million.
HK$190 million — not a small sum at all.
Originally, when the oil crisis broke out, Caesar Bridges had thought about selling his shares and withdrawing from Hong Kong to return to Britain.
However, contrary to expectations, the stock market didn't crash due to the oil crisis. Instead, the market improved and rallied even more.
Thus, Caesar Bridges continued holding onto his shares in Hongkong Electric Holdings.
At first, when his friend Percy, then the second-largest shareholder, sold his shares successfully, Bridges even felt a pang of envy.
But as the market value of Hongkong Electric rose steadily, he no longer regretted it — instead, he was grateful he hadn't panicked and sold early during the oil crisis.
Now, compared to that time, each share had increased by almost HK$1.
Based on his holdings, that meant his personal wealth had grown by over HK$50 million without lifting a finger — something that made anyone feel pleased.
"That's right. Mr. Caesar, you probably know I'm the owner of Qingzhou Cement Company.
I recently took out a loan using Qingzhou Cement as collateral to continue acquiring more shares of Hongkong Electric Holdings.
If I can acquire your stake, I'll become the largest shareholder of Hongkong Electric Holdings.
Becoming the largest shareholder would greatly enhance my influence in Hong Kong's business community!" Lin Haoran said, wearing an eager smile like a young man full of ambition and vanity.
In business, it's often hard to tell truth from lies — being too naive would only result in missed opportunities.
Lin Haoran even mentioned another shareholder, Mr. Carlo, currently the third-largest shareholder, to subtly pressure Bridges.
The message was clear: if Bridges didn't want to sell, Lin Haoran would turn to someone else.
"Mr. Lin, your proposal is very sudden. I wasn't mentally prepared for this.
Please allow me to consider it carefully," said Caesar Bridges, not immediately refusing.
"Of course, Mr. Caesar. Take your time — no rush," Lin Haoran replied with a relaxed smile.
The fact that he hadn't refused outright meant there was a real opportunity.
Bridges sat down on the sofa and pondered deeply.
He hadn't expected Lin Haoran to approach him so directly.
Of course, Caesar Bridges had no idea when Hong Kong's stock market might crash.
Thus, he couldn't be sure how much further Hongkong Electric's stock price could rise.
Currently, trading volumes were very large.
If he wanted to sell, he could simply unload his shares on the open market.
However, selling such a large block of shares publicly would be difficult.
If Lin Haoran was offering to buy them privately, that was a rare opportunity — and surely, Bridges would demand a premium.
After all, finding a buyer for over 50 million shares was no easy task.
Selling to Lin Haoran directly would avoid the hassle of the secondary market.
Thinking it over, and considering that Lin Haoran had supposedly mortgaged his own company for this — just for the sake of vanity — Bridges began to understand the urgency and saw an opportunity.
After a long silence, Lin Haoran heard Bridges ask:
"Mr. Lin, if you want to buy my shares, how much are you willing to pay?"
Bridges had thought it through:
if Lin Haoran's offer was unacceptable, he could simply refuse.
If it was good enough, he could negotiate for more.
After all, Hongkong Electric's stock price had already increased by over 70% in a year — surely it couldn't rise much higher?
"I'm willing to offer HK$200 million for your 52.92 million shares," Lin Haoran said directly.
At the previous Friday's closing price, the shares were worth about HK$190 million.
Thus, Lin Haoran was offering a HK$10 million premium — a sincere offer.
However, he also knew this deal wouldn't be so easily concluded.
After all, Bridges' situation now was different from Percy's half a year ago.
Sure enough, Bridges immediately shook his head:
"Mr. Lin, if I wait a little longer, Hongkong Electric's stock price will reach that figure anyway.
I could easily sell my shares on the open market.
Your offer doesn't show enough sincerity."
"Mr. Caesar, what price are you hoping for? Please tell me directly — business is all about negotiation," Lin Haoran said, remaining patient and smiling.
Seeking higher profits was human nature, and Lin Haoran understood that.
Of course, if Bridges asked for an outrageously high price, Lin Haoran wouldn't agree.
After a moment of hesitation, Bridges finally stated his price:
"HK$250 million.
If Mr. Lin can offer HK$250 million, I will immediately sell you my shares!"
This was indeed a lion's demand.
At HK$250 million, the implied share price was HK$4.72 — much higher than the current market price of HK$3.5 to HK$3.6.
Lin Haoran immediately shook his head:
"Mr. Caesar, honestly, your asking price is shocking.
Hongkong Electric Holdings is not worth that much, and it may not rise that high in the future.
Moreover, I don't have that much loaned capital.
I like to be straightforward:
the last closing price was HK$3.5 per share.
I'm willing to offer HK$4 per share — a full 50-cent premium.
If you agree, we can sign the contract immediately, and I will transfer the funds to your account today itself."
"If you don't agree, then unfortunately this deal won't happen. I'll have no choice but to contact Mr. Carlo instead. I think he might be interested as well.
If I secure his shares, I can still become the largest shareholder of Hongkong Electric Holdings!"
Offering HK$4 per share, Lin Haoran's sincerity was evident.
It was now up to Caesar Bridges whether he was willing to sell.
If not, Lin Haoran would move on to other shareholders.
In his notebook, he had already recorded details on several potential targets.
At HK$4 per share, there would surely be some who would agree to a deal.
Lin Haoran had never expected Caesar Bridges to agree easily, but he hadn't anticipated such an exorbitant initial asking price either.
It was too high.
Currently, Land Holdings only controlled about 2% of Hongkong Electric's shares.
Even if they started buying from shareholders, it would take time.
"HK$4 per share..." Caesar Bridges fell silent.
At that price, he would pocket around HK$211.68 million — more than HK$10 million above Lin Haoran's original offer.
It was indeed a very sincere offer.
Given how the stock had risen, moving from HK$3.5 to HK$4 per share would likely take at least another month or two.
Should he sell now?
As for whether the stock price could continue to climb for another one or two months, Caesar Bridges wasn't sure.
Recently, he had been paying attention to the international gold market and had seen that after gold prices peaked, they began falling sharply — from a high of $850 per ounce to around $600 per ounce now.
Would Hong Kong's stock market experience a similar trend?
This was what worried Caesar Bridges.
If the stock market was impacted by gold's collapse and Hongkong Electric's share price dropped — even back down to the two-dollar range — he would deeply regret missing this opportunity.
After careful consideration, Caesar Bridges finally decided to agree to the deal.
He might not find another buyer so willing!
"Mr. Lin, I accept. HK$4 per share it is," Caesar Bridges said solemnly.
At that moment, he was already planning to sell off his plastics manufacturing company too.
The plastics business had lost more than HK$2 million over the past year.
Although the losses weren't unbearable yet, continuing in that direction was no longer sustainable.
Better to cash out and leave.
"Mr. Caesar, you are indeed a straightforward man. Let's prepare the contract," Lin Haoran said with a smile.
Finally, the deal was sealed.
The contract process was simple.
Lin Haoran called the on-duty legal advisor at Wan'an Group and had him quickly draft a standard contract according to Lin's instructions.
The drafted contract was faxed over to Caesar Bridges' villa.
After reviewing the contract, both parties found no issues.
They signed two copies each and affixed their thumbprints.
The contract explicitly stated that once signed, if either party breached the agreement, they would owe a penalty of 20% of the transaction value.
Each held one copy of the signed contract.
"Mr. Caesar, a pleasure doing business with you!" Lin Haoran said as they shook hands again.
"Likewise, Mr. Lin.
Once the funds are transferred to my account, I will immediately hand over the stock certificates," said Caesar Bridges, clearly in a good mood.
After all, he knew Percy had sold his shares to Lin Haoran for about HK$2.7 per share.
Now he had secured a price of HK$4 — much higher.
He had clearly made a better deal than Percy.
"Good. Let's go to the bank together.
I'll transfer the money to your account in person so you can verify it immediately," Lin Haoran said, smiling.
"I'll grab my bank card and the stock certificates. I'm very satisfied with this transaction," Caesar Bridges said, standing up and heading toward his study.
But just then, the phone rang.
So Caesar Bridges had to answer it first.
"Hello, this is Caesar Bridges speaking... Mr. Bowers from Land Holdings?
What can I do for you?
... I'm sorry, but I'm no longer a shareholder of Hongkong Electric.
My shares have already been sold.
Yes, that's correct. My apologies."
After hanging up, Caesar Bridges was visibly stunned.
Land Holdings had reached out to buy his Hongkong Electric shares?
What was going on?
Since when did his shares become so valuable?
At that moment, the sixty-something-year-old Caesar Bridges was completely confused.
Meanwhile, not far away, Lin Haoran had heard everything clearly — words like "Land Holdings," "Mr. Bowers," and "shares" entered his ears.
Caesar's voice hadn't been particularly quiet during the call, so Lin Haoran caught every word.
Land Holdings had started making their move!
At this moment, Lin Haoran felt extremely fortunate.
Thank goodness he had rushed to find Caesar Bridges immediately after returning to Hong Kong.
Otherwise, he might have missed out on acquiring Bridges' shares!
Now that he had secured those shares, his position was much stronger.
As for Land Holdings?
They wouldn't be able to beat him anymore.
Adding Caesar Bridges' 8.4% stake to his holdings, Lin Haoran now controlled about 34.5% of Hongkong Electric's shares.
With just a bit more buying on the secondary market, he could surpass 35% — even reach 40%.
At that point, Land Holdings would have no way to compete with him.
While Lin Haoran was feeling lucky and satisfied, Caesar Bridges was beginning to feel a twinge of regret.
If he had waited a little longer — before the contract was signed —
he might have been able to spark a bidding war between Lin Haoran and Land Holdings, pushing the final price even higher.
But now, it was too late.
No matter how he regretted it, nothing could be changed.
HK$4 per share was already a high price.
And since he had signed a contract that imposed a 20% penalty for breach, unless Land Holdings offered HK$4.8 per share or more, there was no point in renegotiating.
And it was clear to anyone that Land Holdings would never agree to such a price.
Thus, in the end, Caesar Bridges could only regretfully inform Bowers from Land Holdings that he was no longer a shareholder of Hongkong Electric Holdings.
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