Chapter 159: Preparing to Reveal Everything
Because the contract had been signed, everything following went very smoothly and successfully.
As a senior VIP member of Huifeng Bank, even though it was almost closing time, they still prioritized Lin Haoran's transfer.
Thus, by 6 PM, Lin Haoran had successfully secured Caesar Bridges' 52.92 million shares of Hongkong Electric Holdings.
With this, Lin Haoran's total holdings in Hongkong Electric had reached 217.25 million shares, accounting for 34.5% of the company's total shares.
In other words, he now had the qualifications to officially take over Hongkong Electric Holdings.
To completely crush Land Holdings' ambitions of acquiring Hongkong Electric, Lin Haoran decided that the next day he would begin the formal takeover process.
With Land Holdings eyeing the company eagerly from the sidelines, the situation was still not completely safe.
After bidding farewell to Caesar Bridges, Lin Haoran didn't return to Hongkong Electric's offices nor to his villa on Shixun Road.
Instead, he had Li Weiguo drive him towards Deep Water Bay.
After spending a full month in the United States, it was time to go home and see his parents.
Half an hour later, the Mercedes-Benz pulled into the private parking lot at the Lin family villa.
Upon hearing the car engine, Mother Lin had already stepped out to greet him.
"Haoran, you're finally back!" Mother Lin said warmly, holding her son's hand with a radiant smile on her face.
"Mom, look, I brought you some gifts from America," Lin Haoran said, pulling several bags out of the trunk.
He had bought health supplements and skincare products for his mother, and two Louis Vuitton belts and a Rolex watch for his father.
These things could certainly be purchased in Hong Kong, but it was the thought that counted.
A token of filial piety, sincere and meaningful.
"Good, good! I love anything my Haoran buys for me!" Mother Lin said joyfully as she accepted the gifts.
"Dad, these are for you," Lin Haoran said with a smile as Father Lin also stepped out of the house.
It was obvious that Father Lin's health had improved considerably.
His complexion was much more vibrant and rosy than before.
"You're very thoughtful," Lin Wan'an said, nodding with gratification.
That evening, the three of them enjoyed a warm family dinner together.
Afterwards, they sat on the sofa watching television.
Lin Haoran shared some amusing stories from his trip to America with his parents —
though he carefully omitted any mention of his massive profits from gold futures trading.
Toward the end of the conversation, Lin Haoran suddenly said, smiling,
"Dad, there's something I want to tell you — I'm preparing to take control of Hongkong Electric Holdings."
Since his father would eventually find out anyway, it was better to tell him now, rather than risk appearing secretive later.
"Haoran, are you talking nonsense?" Father Lin said, instinctively reaching out to touch Lin Haoran's forehead as if checking for a fever.
Hongkong Electric Holdings — one of Hong Kong's major British enterprises — now had a market capitalization of over HK$2.2 billion.
It was a true corporate giant.
Although he knew his son was capable, taking over such a colossal company seemed unimaginable.
Mother Lin sat quietly by, listening.
She had always stayed out of business affairs, believing her role in life was to support her husband and raise their family.
"Dad, I'm serious.
I've been quietly laying the groundwork for this for a long time.
In my view, Hongkong Electric owns a lot of prime real estate — its real value far exceeds its stock market valuation.
So, as soon as I had money, I started buying its shares."
"I invested in that fan manufacturing company, which has already paid me nearly HK$200 million in dividends.
Also, my trip to the United States wasn't just for leisure — it was a business trip.
You probably know about the recent surge in international gold prices, right?
I made a lot of money trading gold futures."
"I've invested all of those profits into Hongkong Electric.
I acquired the shares of both the largest and second-largest shareholders,
plus the shares I absorbed from the secondary market.
Now I have enough to officially take over the company," Lin Haoran explained, mixing truth and omission skillfully.
Though it was hard for Father Lin to fully comprehend his son's astonishing speed in accumulating wealth,
he nevertheless recognized this was extremely good news.
Suddenly, he realized:
all the years he had spent working so hard might not compare to what his son had achieved in just a few short months.
While Lin Haoran had been away in America, Father Lin, though officially retired from Wan'an Group, had often checked in on the company —
after all, it was his life's work.
He hadn't been fully at ease leaving it behind.
Now, hearing his son's plans to take over Hongkong Electric,
he realized Wan'an Group was small fry in comparison.
First Qingzhou Cement Company, and now Hongkong Electric Holdings...
Lin Haoran had repeatedly achieved the seemingly impossible.
"How many shares do you own now?" Father Lin asked solemnly.
"Almost 35%," Lin Haoran replied with a smile.
Father Lin fell silent for a long moment, absorbing the information.
Then he smiled.
For a father, there could be no greater pride.
His son had accomplished what many only dreamed of.
In Lin Haoran's previous life, in January 1985, Li Jiacheng had acquired 34.6% of Hongkong Electric Holdings' shares for HK$2.9 billion and successfully taken over the company.
Now, Lin Haoran had achieved something similar — and at a fraction of the cost.
He had spent just over HK$600 million in total.
As they chatted into the evening, around 8 PM, Lin Haoran's pager suddenly buzzed.
It was a call from an unfamiliar number.
Without thinking much of it, he walked over to the landline and returned the call.
"Hello, this is Lin Haoran. May I ask who's calling?" he said politely.
"Good evening, Mr. Lin.
This is Bowers, General Manager of Land Holdings.
I have something I'd like to discuss with you.
Are you available?"
The voice on the other end spoke fluent English.
Bowers?
Lin Haoran immediately understood — after failing to purchase shares from Caesar Bridges, they were now coming to him, the "second-largest shareholder" of Hongkong Electric Holdings.
At that moment, Lin Haoran felt both amused and helpless.
Land Holdings, flush with the massive profits they had made from Wheelock & Co., was now acting lavishly and aggressively.
"You from Land Holdings want to buy my shares in Hongkong Electric Holdings, right?
I'm sorry, Mr. Bowers, but to be honest with you, I have no intention of selling my shares.
Moreover, the shares I now control are enough for me to take control of Hongkong Electric.
You should give up on this idea.
I suggest that Land Holdings shift their focus to other enterprises, such as Hong Kong Telephone Company or China Light and Power.
These two companies are no worse than Hongkong Electric.
There's no need to fixate on Hongkong Electric.
I have other matters to attend to, so I won't continue this conversation. Goodbye," Lin Haoran said, hanging up before Bowers could even respond.
Hong Kong Telephone Company would likely also be acquired by Land Holdings eventually, but Lin Haoran wasn't interested in it.
As for China Light and Power, it controlled the electricity supply for the Kowloon Peninsula — one of Hong Kong's two major power companies — and it was tightly controlled by the Kadoorie family.
If Land Holdings targeted China Light and Power instead, they would abandon any ambition over Hongkong Electric.
The Governor's Office certainly wouldn't allow Land Holdings to monopolize Hong Kong's entire electricity supply.
Meanwhile, after Lin Haoran hung up the phone, far away in an office tower in Central, Bowers was left standing stunned, holding the receiver without putting it down.
Had Hongkong Electric already been taken over by this young Chinese man?
At first, he couldn't believe it.
Then he remembered — that afternoon, he had called Caesar Bridges, only to be told that Bridges had already sold his shares.
Before Bowers could say anything else, Bridges had hung up.
Now, connecting all the dots from what Lin Haoran had just said, Bowers realized that Caesar Bridges must have sold his shares to Lin Haoran.
Originally unwilling to give up, Bowers had gone to great lengths to track down Lin Haoran's pager number that evening —
only to be met with such an outcome.
Was Lin Haoran telling the truth? Bowers wasn't sure yet.
But he decided to call Caesar Bridges again to verify his suspicions.
If Lin Haoran had really acquired both the largest and second-largest shareholders' stakes,
then Land Holdings' entire plan would be rendered meaningless.
A few minutes later, Bowers had confirmed with Bridges that the shares had indeed been sold — and to Lin Haoran.
Hearing this, Bowers realized Lin Haoran probably wasn't lying.
Without anyone noticing, Hongkong Electric had already fallen under his control.
At the beginning of the month, Land Holdings had ended their competition with the Pao family —
and had been forced to sell off their Wheelock shares, losing control over the company.
Still bitter about that loss, and sitting on piles of cash, Land Holdings had discussed and decided:
they needed to acquire a major enterprise to replace Wheelock.
After analyzing multiple large companies in Hong Kong,
they had set their sights on Hongkong Electric — a firm without a controlling shareholder.
They had only just begun laying the groundwork —
and yet, before they could even get started properly, the company had been snatched away.
Bowers could only call up Percy Niblett, their top boss in Hong Kong and head of Jardine Matheson,
to report the situation.
Although Bowers was the general manager and executive director of Land Holdings,
when it came to major decisions, it was still Niblett who had the final say.
Meanwhile, back at the Lin family villa, Lin Wan'an voiced his concern:
"Haoran, answering like that — won't you offend Land Holdings?"
"Don't worry, Dad," Lin Haoran said, laughing.
"It's not that serious.
Even if we did offend them, I'm not afraid.
You don't need to worry."
What, was he supposed to hand over Hongkong Electric just to avoid offending someone?
No way. Lin Haoran wasn't that weak.
The night passed quickly.
The next morning at 9 AM, Lin Haoran arrived at Wan'an Group's building.
Although he already held 34.5% of Hongkong Electric's shares,
he planned to continue acquiring more — just in case Land Holdings had other ideas.
The more shares he held, the safer he would be.
"Zhixue, help me check: how many Hongkong Electric shares are being offered at below HK$4?" Lin Haoran instructed after entering Huanyu Investment's office.
"Understood, Boss. I'll get on it right away," Su Zhixue replied.
Currently, Huanyu Investment's sole target was Hongkong Electric,
so every day after the market closed, Su Zhixue would obtain full trading data and closing bid information from the stock exchange.
Because Hongkong Electric's trading volume was now huge,
many retail investors were trying to engage in short-term trading.
Thus, there were quite a few sell orders even above the closing price.
A few minutes later, Su Zhixue had the numbers:
"Boss, there are 18.89 million shares being offered below HK$4," he reported.
Lin Haoran frowned.
So few?
18.89 million shares — about 3% of Hongkong Electric's total shares.
Originally, he had hoped that if there were enough sell orders,
he could swoop in at the opening bell and buy them all, pushing his stake past 40%.
Since there were only 3% available,
he decided to hold off for now.
He would let Huanyu Investment absorb shares at a steady pace in the morning,
then go for a major buy-up right before the market closed.
Because today —
he planned to officially confront Chairman Chen Shoulin and the entire Hongkong Electric board.
"Zhixue, after the market opens,
increase the buying pressure gradually.
Also, keep an eye on the volume.
Check if that sudden competitor from last time is still active.
I'll call you at noon to check in," Lin Haoran instructed.
"Got it, Boss," Su Zhixue replied seriously.
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