Chapter 374 Preconditions for Letting Go of Jardines Matheson
"Mr. Lin, this is Henry Keswick. Regarding the Jardines Matheson matter, I believe it's time we arrange a suitable time and place to sit down for a detailed discussion. Are you available tomorrow? If so, we can arrange to meet at the conference room in Jardine House," Henry Keswick said directly over the phone.
"Tomorrow?"
Lin Haoran showed no sign of surprise; he had long expected that these British consortiums wouldn't want to drag this out any longer.
As long as he continued to hold controlling shares in Jardines Matheson, even if they still held some shares, the British shareholders couldn't truly exercise control.
"Very well, you fix the time. I'll come over tomorrow," Lin Haoran replied casually.
After all, the initiative was entirely in his hands. Even if the time was a little rushed, he didn't mind at all.
As long as they couldn't meet his minimum conditions, there was no way he would give up Jardines Matheson's controlling stake.
"Then let's set it for 10 AM tomorrow morning. We'll see you then, shall we?" Henry Keswick suggested.
"No problem. See you tomorrow at 10," Lin Haoran agreed readily.
After hanging up, Lin Haoran thought about Niu Bijian's falling loyalty level.
Now he fully understood why: the British consortiums must have successfully persuaded Niu Bijian to switch back to their side.
Still, Lin Haoran wasn't concerned about Niu Bijian's choices. Whether or not he decided to betray him, Lin Haoran had long planned to find an opportunity to kick him out anyway.
Even if he did let go of Jardines Matheson, the future management of the company had nothing to do with him anymore.
After hanging up, Lin Haoran began carefully considering his bottom-line conditions for negotiating with the British consortiums.
Stretching lazily, he picked up the phone again and called Ho Kin Ning.
Since the British consortiums were so eager for negotiations, it was clear they had already unified internally and agreed on their conditions.
It was time for him to discuss his own negotiation bottom line with Ho Kin Ning.
He asked Ho Kin Ning to meet him at Joy Lai Restaurant after work instead of coming to the Land Group's offices.
Since Ho Kin Ning lived in Kowloon and Joy Lai was in Tsim Sha Tsui, it was on his way home anyway.
Lin Haoran also called Chen Shoulin to inform him that he would be temporarily assigning Ho Kin Ning elsewhere, anticipating that negotiations wouldn't conclude quickly.
Chen Shoulin naturally had no objections and readily agreed to arrange paid leave for Ho Kin Ning.
Soon, evening arrived. By 6 PM, many employees at the Land Group headquarters had already clocked off.
Lin Haoran took a document with him and, surrounded by bodyguards, left the Concord Building.
The convoy headed straight to Tsim Sha Tsui. Although the distance wasn't far, it still took over twenty minutes to get through the traffic at the Hung Hom Tunnel.
Upon entering the lobby of Joy Lai Restaurant, the place was already bustling, with not a single table free.
Even the private rooms were fully booked at this dinner hour.
However, as the actual owner of Joy Lai Restaurant, Lin Haoran had already called the general manager earlier to reserve a quiet private room.
Under the manager's guidance, Lin Haoran quickly arrived at a large private room.
This suite had a main hall and an inner room, perfect for his bodyguards to eat outside while he conducted private discussions inside.
After a thorough sweep of the inner room by Li Weidong and Li Weiguo to ensure there were no surveillance devices, Lin Haoran finally settled in.
Despite Joy Lai Restaurant now being under his ownership via the Land Group, it had once been managed by Jardines Matheson.
Thus, he couldn't rule out the possibility that the British consortiums had previously installed any monitoring measures.
Every precaution was necessary.
Ten minutes after Lin Haoran arrived, Ho Kin Ning was led into the private room.
"Boss!" Ho Kin Ning greeted respectfully.
"Good, come and sit. I've already ordered the food. We'll chat as we eat.
Tomorrow morning, the British are coming to negotiate. You must be fully prepared.
Although I control Jardines Matheson and can refuse them easily, since we all do business in Hong Kong, and Jardines Matheson isn't critical to me, there's no need to make enemies unnecessarily.
Thus, tomorrow's negotiation is crucial. I want our conditions met, but also for them to accept them willingly. It's not an easy task," Lin Haoran said with a smile.
"Understood, boss," Ho Kin Ning nodded.
"Here's the information I prepared this afternoon. Study it carefully. Preferably review it alone in your room to ensure confidentiality. This is all highly sensitive business intelligence," Lin Haoran said solemnly.
Some parts of the information could be found in public financial reports, but others were highly confidential and must not leak.
Normally, Lin Haoran wouldn't let anyone else take such documents, but he trusted Ho Kin Ning's loyalty absolutely—and time was pressing.
This also served as a signal to Ho Kin Ning: Lin Haoran deeply trusted him.
"I understand, boss. After reading it, I'll destroy it immediately.
Also, boss, I no longer live at my parents' place. A few months ago, I rented an apartment in Causeway Bay to be closer to work," Ho Kin Ning explained while carefully storing the documents.
"I thought you were still living in Yau Ma Tei. I picked this location thinking it'd be convenient for you. Guess that was a mistake," Lin Haoran said with a slightly embarrassed smile.
He hadn't paid much attention to Ho Kin Ning's personal life recently.
Since transferring him from Qingzhou Cement to Hongkong Electric, Lin Haoran had mainly focused on his professional development.
If he had known Ho Kin Ning lived on Hong Kong Island, he might have arranged to meet in Central instead.
"No worries, boss. I don't usually have much to do after work anyway.
By the way, what time is tomorrow's negotiation?" Ho Kin Ning asked.
"Be at Jardine House by around 9:50 AM. I'll wait for you at the Taipan's office," Lin Haoran replied.
Ho Kin Ning nodded.
They didn't rush into business immediately.
Only after five courses were served did they start the real discussion.
"Kin Ning, next I'll explain my core principles and bottom-line conditions for letting go of Jardines Matheson's controlling stake.
These points are crucial. Tomorrow's negotiation will rely heavily on you," Lin Haoran said after tasting a piece of roasted goose and wiping his mouth with a napkin.
Facing seasoned British negotiators, Lin Haoran knew that although he had clear conditions, he might not be able to win with words alone.
Thus, it was best to have Ho Kin Ning, who had shown exceptional negotiating talent, handle the talks—while he sat in to observe.
Joy Lai Restaurant, though established by the old British-run Land Group, served traditional Cantonese cuisine.
Its dishes were exquisitely prepared, and even someone like Lin Haoran, who had sampled the finest foods, was impressed.
No wonder it was so popular among Hong Kong's elite circles.
Lin Haoran had seen its financial reports after taking over the Land Group: last year alone, Joy Lai's revenue exceeded 130 million HKD, with profits over 30 million HKD.
Unfortunately, the restaurant only had one location.
In Lin Haoran's view, it had the potential to be developed into a chain brand.
He planned to discuss this expansion with Ma Shiming once the Jardines Matheson issue was resolved.
For now, however, he focused on the task at hand.
"Please continue, boss," Ho Kin Ning put down his chopsticks, ready to listen attentively.
"Before agreeing to let go of Jardines Matheson, there is a precondition: the mutual shareholding between Jardines Matheson and the Land Group must be resolved first.
I demand an equal value swap of their cross-holdings.
Only if they agree to this condition will I proceed with further negotiations," Lin Haoran said firmly.
Currently, Jardines Matheson held 30.2% of the Land Group, while the Land Group held 30.1% of Jardines Matheson—virtually a mirror shareholding.
However, the market values differed: the Land Group was worth about 10.2 billion HKD.
Jardines Matheson's market cap, after initial speculation and a brief surge during the takeover rumors, had settled at around 8.4 billion HKD.
Thus, swapping shares based purely on percentage, rather than market value, would disadvantage the British side.
After all, the Land Group shares Jardines Matheson held were worth much more than vice versa.
Thank you for the support, friends. If you want to read more chapters in advance, go to my Patreon.
Read 30 Chapters In Advance: patreon.com/Albino1