Chapter 329 Expel Lin Haoran from Jardines Matheson!
After the meeting ended, Li Jiacheng immediately called Lin Haoran. "Mr. Li, give me half an hour, I'll be there right away," Lin Haoran said directly after learning the purpose of the call. He had been waiting for this call for more than half a month. Finally, it came. Hanging up, Lin Haoran got into his private car and headed straight to Chinese Bank Building. Twenty minutes later, he arrived at the underground parking lot of the building. Upon reaching the lobby, a staff member from Cheung Kong Holdings was already waiting for him. They took the elevator up to Li Jiacheng's office.
Over the past month, Lin Haoran had been fully aware of the Jardines and Land Development cross-holding moves. Yet, he had remained silent, not interfering. These British consortiums accelerating the mutual control plan suited him perfectly. Although there had been some dilution due to financing activities, he had counteracted it by instructing Universal Investment Company to keep acquiring shares. Since much of the cross-holding had been achieved through secondary market purchases, he didn't have to replenish too much. Today, his stake in Jardines remained around 19%, while in Land Development — counting Hong Kong Electric's shares — his control had reached 43%. Hong Kong Electric had maintained its 6% and even increased it slightly under his orders.
As of today, Lin Haoran knew it was time to close the net. Land Development now held 30.1% of Jardines. Once he took over Land Development, he would control that 30.1% too. Adding his own 19%, he would control a terrifying 49.1% of Jardines. Jardines could no longer escape.
As for Land Development itself, Lin Haoran had no worries. Jardines now held 30.2% of Land Development, and British consortiums another 12%, totaling about 42%. But Lin Haoran alone controlled 43%. In truth, very little Land Development stock remained in the public float; most shares were already locked up. Many thought the low turnover was because no one wanted to sell, but in reality, there was barely anything left to sell — only some in Li Jiacheng's hands.
Lin Haoran had been waiting for Li's call, knowing that even if Li didn't sell to him, he wouldn't sell to the British. Based on his understanding of Li Jiacheng's cautious nature, he would only sell elsewhere if he couldn't get satisfactory terms from Lin. Thus, Lin Haoran had remained patient. Now, finally, Li had called him.
"Mr. Lin, I must say, your ambition is enormous. Congratulations, your dream is about to come true," Li Jiacheng said upon meeting Lin Haoran, filled with complicated emotions. Through all that had happened, Li Jiacheng had deduced Lin Haoran's real intentions. Why had Lin remained silent despite controlling Land Development? When Jardines and Land Development announced their mutual holdings, Li Jiacheng finally realized: Lin intended to use Land Development to control Jardines. Such boldness even he had not imagined. Compared to Lin Haoran, his own ambitions seemed small.
"It's not done yet," Lin Haoran replied, smiling modestly. "Mr. Lin, I won't make things difficult. I'll sell you all our Land Development shares," Li Jiacheng said decisively. "Mr. Li, I've been waiting a long time to hear that. As for the price, let's go by the current market price," Lin Haoran laughed. "Agreed," Li Jiacheng replied readily.
Currently, Li's Land Development shares were worth about HKD 520 million, purchased for around HKD 470 million — netting him nearly HKD 50 million in profit. It was not a huge profit, but considering the alternative, he was content. "Once you control Land Development, Mr. Lin, I hope we can find ways to cooperate," Li Jiacheng added. "Of course," Lin replied.
With both sides agreeing smoothly, Lin immediately summoned Universal Investment's legal team, and they signed the stock transfer agreement that very day. Lin paid HKD 520 million to acquire Li Jiacheng's combined 4.32% Land Development stake from Hutchison Whampoa and Cheung Kong Holdings. Together with his own 43%, Lin's total control now stood at 47.3%. The British consortiums could struggle all they wanted — it was useless.
Back when Li had first acquired Hutchison, he had dreamt of surpassing even Bao Yugang to become Hong Kong's wealthiest tycoon. But selling this Land Development stake, he realized that dream was dead. With Lin Haoran soon to control both Jardines and Land Development — and already owning Hong Kong Electric and Wanching Group — there was no longer any comparison. Lin's power had crushed him completely.
Meanwhile, at 4:30 p.m. that same day, a plane landed at Kai Tak International Airport. Half the passengers were Westerners, half Chinese. Among them, Lin would have immediately recognized the patriarch of the Keswick family, Henry Keswick himself. Once again, Henry had flown from Britain to Hong Kong. His purpose was simple: expel Lin Haoran from Jardines' board.
His loyalists from Jardines were already waiting at the airport. The successful mutual holding between Jardines and Land Development gave him great confidence. Although the two companies only held about 30% of each other — short of the intended 40% — Henry believed it was enough to kick Lin out. Between Jardines' 30.2% stake in Land Development and the British consortiums' own holdings, they controlled over 50%. No matter how much Lin bought, he couldn't overtake them now.
Thus, after tolerating this Chinese upstart for nearly a month, Henry Keswick was ready to act. With Lin out of the boardroom, he could focus on removing Niu Bik Kin as Taipan too. Henry understood Niu's strategy — using Lin to counterbalance him — but Niu hadn't foreseen Henry's real plan.
Over the past month, Henry had not been idle. Returning to Britain, he had lobbied Huifeng Bank's shareholders behind the scenes, securing their support by offering lucrative benefits. This allowed him to sway Shen Bi, Huifeng Bank's chief, to support his plan. With Huifeng Bank's 6% stake backing him, Henry was fully confident.
"Are we ready?" Henry asked his driver, who happened to be a senior Jardines executive and loyalist. "Mr. Henry, everything is arranged. I've already applied for a board meeting tomorrow at 10 a.m. Mr. Niu Bik Kin should be notifying the board members as we speak," the driver replied. "Good work," Henry said with satisfaction.
Tomorrow, Lin Haoran would be expelled from Jardines. "I've long had enough of that damned Chinese," Henry muttered. "He even dared to dream of taking over Jardines? In his dreams. Jardines will always belong to the Keswick family — no one else can touch it."
Henry's ambition was immense. He aimed to build the Keswick family into a world-class dynasty, like the Rothschilds. Jardines was the cornerstone of that dream. As long as they fully controlled Jardines, the Keswick legacy would be secure. The car finally stopped at the basement parking lot of a skyscraper in Central — the Mandarin Oriental Hotel, one of Jardines' most prestigious assets.
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