Chapter 147 - Another New Identity
Yesterday, the final closing price for Hongkong Electric Group was 2.46 Hong Kong dollars per share. Adding a 10% premium to that price, the final transaction amount was set at 119 million Hong Kong dollars.
After agreeing on the deal, both parties scheduled to officially sign the share transfer agreement the next morning at 10 o'clock, at the Hongkong Electric Group headquarters. From that point on, Percy would handle all the remaining formalities, and Lin Haoran would simply need to show up the next day.
Carrying the signed preliminary agreement, Lin Haoran left the hotel and returned to his office at Wan'an Group Tower.
There, he calculated his available funds. Although Qingzhou Cement had accumulated considerable operational capital over the past six months, Lin Haoran hadn't touched it — everything had been handed over to Burton to purchase land.
Similarly, Wan'an Group hadn't drawn from any of its own resources. Instead, the group had even borrowed heavily to invest in more land.
Thus, Lin Haoran's actual available capital consisted of the 90 million U.S. dollars left over after selling his oil (around 477 million Hong Kong dollars), plus the 40 million Hong Kong dollars from Aimeigao Company's recent dividend payout.
However, since returning from the United States, his expenses had been substantial. Acquiring the shares from six Wan'an Group shareholders, plus buying out his older brother Lin Haoning's stake, had cost him 45 million Hong Kong dollars. Absorbing enough shares to privatize Wan'an Group had cost another 23.8 million Hong Kong dollars.
Meanwhile, absorbing 47.9 million shares of Hongkong Electric had cost 115.53 million Hong Kong dollars.
After tallying income and expenditures, Lin Haoran found that he still had about 332.67 million Hong Kong dollars available — not bad.
But after paying Percy 119 million Hong Kong dollars the next day for the 44 million Hongkong Electric shares, he would be left with just over 210 million Hong Kong dollars.
Money really did burn quickly. All he could do now was hope that the profits from his gold investment would materialize soon, giving him more breathing room.
After spending a short while at the office, Lin Haoran went home to rest.
The next morning, shortly after nine o'clock, Lin Haoran didn't head for Wan'an Group Tower but instead made his way to Hongkong Electric Group's headquarters at Kennedy Road on Hong Kong Island.
Hongkong Electric's head office had been located at Kennedy Road since the company's founding — a tradition that had never changed. Although technically in Wan Chai, the location was up on the hillside, only a few hundred meters away from the bustling districts of Central and Wan Chai.
At the reception, Lin Haoran stated his business. The receptionist, a polite Western woman, had clearly been briefed in advance and respectfully guided Lin Haoran to an elevator.
Soon, he arrived at a conference room. It was now around 9:50 a.m. — perfect timing.
Looking inside, Lin Haoran immediately spotted the balding figure of Percy, as well as the renowned Chairman of Hongkong Electric — Mr. Chen Shoulin.
Despite Hongkong Electric being a British enterprise, its Chairman was a Chinese — and a highly respected one at that. Under Chen Shoulin's leadership, Hongkong Electric had diversified its operations and steadily increased its profits each year. He was undoubtedly an outstanding professional manager.
The conference room was filled with fifteen people, members of Hongkong Electric's board of directors. To Lin Haoran's surprise, besides Chen Shoulin, there were actually three other Chinese faces among them — rare for an enterprise traditionally dominated by Westerners.
Of the fifteen attendees, four were Chinese, and the rest were Westerners. This was a notable improvement compared to Qingzhou Cement, where, before Lin Haoran's takeover, not a single Chinese held a senior position.
Still, the board of Hongkong Electric remained largely British, which was understandable given its origins. But Chen Shoulin's ability to lead and earn the respect of so many Western board members was proof of his remarkable leadership skills.
"Youthful and capable!" Chen Shoulin said warmly, shaking Lin Haoran's hand.
"Nice to meet you, Mr. Chen," Lin Haoran replied with a modest smile.
Soon, Lin Haoran was introduced to everyone in the room. Of the fifteen present, only four were genuine shareholders — all British. The rest were senior executives without significant shareholdings, pure professional managers like Chen Shoulin himself.
Percy had invited them merely to witness the transaction — a formality.
"Mr. Lin, I've prepared all the documents needed for our transaction — contracts, stock certificates, everything," Percy said happily. "Also, once the shares are transferred, I'll resign my directorship in Hongkong Electric, and you'll assume my seat on the board."
Given how smoothly everything had gone, Percy's smile was even broader.
This transaction represented a major cash-out for Percy. When he had first come to Hong Kong five years ago, he had less than half of what he would now pocket. Thanks to dividends from Hongkong Electric, he had also opened a hotel in Causeway Bay. With this final payday secured, he could return to Scotland at his leisure, without worrying about Hong Kong's uncertain future.
What Percy didn't realize was that staying a few more years would have multiplied his fortune. Hongkong Electric's market capitalization would skyrocket several times over within just a few years. If he held on, his stake would have been worth 400 or even 500 million Hong Kong dollars.
But by then, it would be too late for regrets.
Back in the conference room, there was no further negotiation needed. They had already signed a preliminary agreement; now it was just a matter of formalizing everything.
Under the watchful eyes of the Hongkong Electric board members, Lin Haoran and Percy completed the share transfer agreement smoothly.
Afterward, they immediately went to the bank to complete the funds transfer. Once the transaction was finalized, Lin Haoran finally relaxed.
Although it had cost him 119 million Hong Kong dollars, he now owned 44 million shares of Hongkong Electric.
Combined with the 47.9 million shares quietly acquired by Huanyu Investment Company, Lin Haoran now controlled a total of 91.9 million shares — about 14.59% of the company.
On paper, he was just the second-largest shareholder, holding about 6.98% openly.
But secretly, he had become the real largest shareholder of Hongkong Electric.
It all felt almost too easy — and Lin Haoran couldn't help but smile.
This was good. Right now, no major forces were focusing on Hongkong Electric.
In another year or two, giants like Hongkong Land, Cheung Kong Holdings, and Kaning Group would start eyeing Hongkong Electric greedily. By then, it would be almost impossible to quietly accumulate so many shares.
After completing the transaction, Lin Haoran took the opportunity to tour Hongkong Electric's headquarters again.
Perhaps it was because he was now the first Chinese to hold such a significant stake, but Chairman Chen Shoulin was especially hospitable. He personally escorted Lin Haoran around, introducing each department along the way.
Chen Shoulin also enthusiastically shared his management philosophy and development plans for Hongkong Electric's future.
His vision was impressive: collaborate with real estate companies to develop valuable land assets, such as the old North Point Electric Road Power Plant site, the Jardine's Lookout Lot 8200, the old Chai Wan Substation site, and multiple parcels in Sheung Wan, Tsuen Wan, and Fortress Hill.
Just relying on electricity sales, while stable, imposed a natural ceiling on the company's growth. Diversifying into real estate would dramatically boost profitability — something every ambitious leader wanted to achieve, including Chen Shoulin.
If Lin Haoran hadn't intervened, by the end of the next year, Hongkong Electric would have partnered with Wheelock and Cheung Kong Holdings to form the "International City Group" — aiming to develop all of Hongkong Electric's land assets.
But now that Lin Haoran had become a director — and soon, the controlling shareholder — he would steer Hongkong Electric down a different path.
No need to share the spoils with outsiders. If real estate projects were to be developed, Wan'an Group would handle them — strengthening Lin Haoran's empire.
Even if Wan'an Group didn't have enough strength, he could acquire other real estate companies during the 1982 property crisis when many firms would collapse or be forced into mergers.
Thus, the solution was clear.
Today, Lin Haoran, in a fact known only to a few, had added another powerful identity to his growing list — the true majority shareholder of Hongkong Electric Group.
And for now, he had no intention of announcing it publicly — to avoid attracting unwanted attention from people like Li Jiacheng.
Since he didn't hold a controlling majority yet, there was no need for an official disclosure.
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