Chapter 319 I Am Willing to Buy Your Shares!
Lin Haoran's words struck Li Jiacheng like a heavy hammer, instantly making his expression turn grim.
After all, he had pinned high hopes on acquiring Land Development Corporation and had meticulously planned for months.
The fact that Lin Haoran could so accurately estimate that he held about 5% of Land Development's shares confirmed one thing:
the mysterious rival who had acted first on Land Development could only have been Lin Haoran.
At this moment, Li Jiacheng's emotions were extremely complicated.
If Lin Haoran's claims were true, there was no point in continuing to target Land Development.
It would simply be a waste of effort.
To have more shares than the combined holdings of the British consortium and Jardines Matheson —
what did that mean?
It meant Lin Haoran controlled over 30% of Land Development's shares,
while Cheung Kong Holdings and Hutchison Whampoa together had only about 5%.
How could he possibly compete?
Looking at the young, confident rival before him, Li Jiacheng couldn't help but sigh:
truly, the waves behind push the waves ahead; each generation surpasses the previous one.
He had come seeking partnership,
but now it was clear there was no path forward.
Originally, he had hoped to capitalize on the fight between the British consortium and Lin Haoran,
profiting in the chaos and seizing Land Development.
Now, it was obvious —
this was nothing more than a pipe dream.
At that moment, Li Jiacheng seemed to lose the spirited demeanor he had arrived with.
He had been severely shaken by Lin Haoran's revelation.
Thinking back, two years ago, when he had coveted Qingzhou Cement,
it was Lin Haoran who had beaten him to it.
Later, he had set his sights on Hong Kong Electric —
only for Lin Haoran to take it first.
Now, after months of scheming over Land Development,
it was Lin Haoran again who had already secured the advantage.
Facing such a reality, Li Jiacheng couldn't help but feel a sense of despair.
How could he keep competing like this?
Perhaps he should be thankful that Lin Haoran had only returned to Hong Kong after graduating from University College London in 1978.
Otherwise, even Hutchison Whampoa and Wharf Holdings might have fallen into Lin Haoran's hands.
This young man was terrifying —
specializing in targeting Hong Kong's best-listed companies!
Whether Qingzhou Cement, Hong Kong Electric, Kowloon Bus, China Gas, or now Jardines and Land Development —
Li Jiacheng understood their value clearly.
"It was you who stabilized Land Development's stock at HKD 74 per share, wasn't it?" Li Jiacheng asked after a moment's thought.
"Yes," Lin Haoran answered candidly.
"I instructed my team to do so.
With my current shareholding, the British consortium poses no threat.
Land Development is already mine.
But noticing a competitor trying to accumulate shares, I decided to raise the price to stop them —
and it turns out that competitor was you, Mr. Li."
Hearing this, Li Jiacheng sighed helplessly.
He was at a loss for what to do.
After some reflection, he decided he needed to return to his company and discuss strategy with his team.
Clearly, the original plan needed to be scrapped.
Continuing to tangle with Land Development would be futile.
Although Lin Haoran hadn't revealed exact numbers,
Li Jiacheng was convinced he wasn't lying.
"Mr. Lin, in that case, I won't take up more of your time.
I need to return and reconsider my next moves,"
Li Jiacheng said as he stood.
There was no point in lingering.
"Mr. Li, may I ask, how much of Land Development do you currently hold?" Lin Haoran asked.
"About 5.13%," Li Jiacheng replied honestly.
"Mr. Li, if you're interested in selling, I'm willing to buy your shares for HKD 500 million.
You know the current stock price is artificially high.
Even though I have enough control already, I wouldn't mind buying more.
Of course, if you'd rather not, that's fine too," Lin Haoran said with a smile.
In truth, Lin Haoran's offer was slightly above the real market value.
If Li agreed,
he could at least ensure he didn't lose money on his Land Development venture.
Lin Haoran was eager to buy because he wasn't short of cash anymore.
And he had absolute confidence in Land Development's future and Hong Kong's real estate market.
Even though he knew a property bubble would come in a year or two,
it would last only two years —
and he was preparing early to ensure Land Development could weather the storm with minimal debt.
Thus, the more shares he owned now,
the greater his profits would be later.
Once he gained full control, he planned to remove Land Development's dangerous reputation as Hong Kong's largest debtor.
Blind expansion at the real estate peak was to be avoided!
"Mr. Lin, I'll need to discuss it with my board,"
Li Jiacheng said cautiously.
"Of course. I await your decision," Lin Haoran said warmly.
"Then, Mr. Lin, I'll take my leave!"
Li Jiacheng said, preparing to go.
He needed to instruct his teams at Cheung Kong and Hutchison to stop buying Land Development shares immediately.
If he continued, at these inflated prices,
he would only lose more money.
He also needed to reconsider his target.
Maybe Jardines Matheson was worth looking at after all.
Although not as good as Land Development, it was still a prestigious British firm in Hong Kong.
But success there would depend on winning Shen Bi's support —
something far from guaranteed.
In reality, Li Jiacheng's hopes were doomed.
Even though he now commanded Cheung Kong and Hutchison —
powerful forces comparable to Bao Yugang's Universal Shipping and Wharf Holdings —
if he tried to acquire Jardines,
he would inevitably threaten Huifeng Bank's dominance.
And no leading giant tolerates an upstart challenging their supremacy.
"Mr. Li, take care,"
Lin Haoran said, escorting him to the door.
Watching him enter the elevator, Lin returned to his chair,
reflecting on the meeting.
From Li Jiacheng's attitude, it was clear:
he had given up on Land Development.
Which meant Lin Haoran no longer had to worry about competition on that front.
Although even if Li had joined the British consortiums,
Lin Haoran would still have been confident,
it was always better not to leave room for surprises.
After all, if Li had continued accumulating shares and then sold them to Jardines,
it could have complicated things.
Li Jiacheng left Wanching Tower with mixed emotions,
while Lin Haoran, after mulling over the conversation,
left his office and headed next door to Su Zhixue's office.
It was almost noon —
only a few minutes left before the morning trading session ended.
Su wasn't at his desk yet,
but Lin Haoran wasn't worried.
He knew Su would return shortly after the market break.
Sure enough, a few minutes later, Su Zhixue walked in.
"Boss, give me a moment.
I'll summarize the data first,"
Su said, greeting him.
"No rush. Take your time,"
Lin Haoran smiled.
Su immediately got to work,
punching numbers into a calculator and jotting down notes.
It didn't take long.
Morning trading was only two and a half hours,
so there wasn't too much data to process.
Five minutes later, Su finished.
"Boss, a quick update:
around 11:30, we noticed unusual activity in Land Development's trading volume.
I suspect that mysterious competitor re-entered the market.
Initially, I considered informing you immediately,
but since you were meeting an important guest and only half an hour remained,
I decided to act first and acquired a small amount ourselves.
Overall, the total volume was still low,"
Su said, handing over a report.
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