Lin Baicheng had originally been staying at Baisheng Securities when a call came in from Liu Yihui of Xinghe Game Factory. According to him, the secretary of Li Jiacheng from Cangjiang Industries had just contacted the factory — Li Jiacheng wished to meet Lin Baicheng in person.
"Li Jiacheng wants to meet me?"
Lin thought for a moment and immediately guessed why. It must have been because Li Jiacheng had discovered the covert acquisition of Cangjiang Industries' shares. Otherwise, there was no reason for Li to reach out — they had never met privately, nor had any business dealings before.
"So, he's already found out?"
Lin felt a pang of regret. Baisheng Securities had so far acquired less than 11% of Cangjiang's shares through institutional channels, and even after adding what they had bought from the market, it barely totaled a little over 12%. That was far short of his goal of at least 20%.
Still, regret was useless now. Since Li Jiacheng had already called, refusing to meet would only make matters worse.
Plans rarely keep up with change — that was simply reality.
Lin instructed his assistant to return the call and scheduled the meeting for 2:30 p.m. at The Peninsula Hotel for afternoon tea.
When Cheng Yufeng returned at noon, Lin informed him about Li Jiacheng's call. Cheng's judgment aligned with Lin's — Li must have found out about the secret stock purchases.
Even so, Lin did not tell Cheng to halt negotiations with the institutions. On the contrary, he told him to speed up the process and secure as many shares as possible, even if it meant spending more money.
That afternoon, Lin went to The Peninsula accompanied by his bodyguards, though he entered the meeting room alone.
When he arrived, Li Jiacheng had not yet shown up. Lin didn't mind; he was early by about ten minutes. He ordered tea and pastries, grabbed a few newspapers, and read to pass the time.
It wasn't long before Li Jiacheng appeared — also alone.
"Mr. Lin."
"Mr. Li."
The two shook hands.
This wasn't their first encounter; they had briefly met at a charity gala organized by the Hong Kong government, though they'd exchanged only polite nods at the time.
With no real personal connection between them, they dispensed with small talk and got straight to the point.
Li Jiacheng spoke directly: "Mr. Lin, I recently discovered that someone has been purchasing large quantities of Cangjiang Industries shares. After looking into it, I traced the transactions back to Baisheng Securities. That company belongs to you, doesn't it?"
"That's right," Lin replied calmly. "Baisheng is indeed mine, and I have been buying Cangjiang's shares."
Since Li already knew, denying it would only make him look petty or dishonest.
"As the controlling shareholder of Cangjiang Industries," Li continued, "I must ask — what is your purpose in doing this secretly? If your goal is to gain control of Cangjiang, I'm afraid you'll be disappointed. I hold over 40% of the company. No one can threaten my position."
Li's tone was sharp but measured, and his question left no room for evasion.
"I understand," Lin nodded. "But I had no intention of taking over Cangjiang Industries."
He had already discussed this with Cheng beforehand, so he smoothly delivered the prepared explanation.
"The truth is, Mr. Li," he said, "I know you own a substantial number of Wharf shares. I wish to purchase those shares from you. Since we weren't personally acquainted, I first sought to become a shareholder in Cangjiang to make it easier to approach you for that discussion."
Of course, this was only a convenient half-truth. If he wanted to buy Wharf shares from Li Jiacheng, the man would find out eventually — better to be upfront now.
"Wharf?"
Li raised an eyebrow in surprise. "So that means the one who was aggressively buying Wharf stock back in November… was you?"
"Yes," Lin admitted with a nod. "I'd begun quietly acquiring Wharf shares long before that. Everything was going smoothly until you entered the market with massive capital, disrupting my plan and forcing me to withdraw temporarily."
Li smiled faintly. "It seems you were quite formidable, Mr. Lin. That last round of trading in Wharf shares cost me quite a bit."
He wouldn't admit to sabotaging Lin's acquisition, and framing himself as the one who suffered losses made him seem magnanimous.
Lin caught the hint and responded politely, "Then it seems I owe you an apology. If you took a loss because of me, I'm willing to buy all your Wharf shares at your original purchase price — you won't lose a cent."
"No need," Li declined immediately. "I'm very optimistic about Wharf's future. I plan to hold for the long term — I believe the price will eventually rise above forty Hong Kong dollars."
That was an instant rejection. There was no way Li would sell cheaply — not when he wasn't short on cash.
Investors like him, who firmly believed in the long-term growth of their holdings, were always the hardest to deal with. Without offering a hefty premium, there was little chance of success.
"Forty dollars?" Lin shook his head in disbelief. "Wharf's current price is just around twelve. It would have to triple for that to happen — that seems unlikely to me."
Buying from Li at such a price was out of the question. He might as well buy directly from the open market.
Li chuckled. "Mr. Lin, you already hold a large number of Wharf shares and still want mine — it's clear you intend to take over the company. I wouldn't be surprised if the stock soars soon."
Though disappointed that his acquisition attempt had failed, Li clearly saw an opportunity to profit from the speculation.
Lin didn't bother denying it. "You're partly right," he said. "I do want to acquire Wharf. But my greater goal is to make money. If the cost becomes too great, I'll simply walk away."
"Wharf is one of Jardine Matheson's twin pillars," Li said with a small smile. "If you want to buy it without paying the price, that's impossible."
Still, inwardly he wondered: Just how much capital does Lin Baicheng actually have?
Wharf's market value already exceeded 1.1 billion HKD. A serious acquisition would demand at least 500 million — an astronomical figure.
And after buying Asia Television, Lin still had that kind of money?
Just how much profit had he made, exactly?