dognovel Chapter 534: I Want to Acquire Your Company
Chapter 534: I Want to Acquire Your Company
The Hong Kong Jockey Club's members' clubhouse is not only an entertainment venue, but also an important occasion for high-end business networking in Hong Kong, especially on race days, when it becomes a social hotspot for business people.
Hong Kong's horse racing days are divided into day races and night races. Day races are generally held in Sha Tin, while night races are held in Happy Valley.
Charlie Cho and Young Master Li arranged to meet at the Happy Valley night racecourse on Wednesday.
Since both of them are members of the Hong Kong Jockey Club, they naturally had their own private box.
At 6:30 p.m., Young Master Li arrived at the private room where Charlie Cao was on time.
"Hello, Mr. Cao!"
"Come, come, please have a seat!"
Upon seeing Young Master Li, Charlie Cao put down his cigar and warmly invited him to sit down.
After the two were seated, ignoring those around him, Cao Charlie turned his cigar box to face Young Master Li.
"Young Master Li, these are some Cuban cigars from my personal collection. Please feel free to enjoy them!"
Young Master Li is naturally no stranger to cigars; most Hong Kong tycoons have this hobby, and Young Master Li is no exception.
His eyes lit up when he saw that the box contained fifty Trinidad cigars.
This cigar was said to have been made specifically for Cuban leader Vicente Caesar and presented as a diplomatic gift to the most distinguished guests. Moreover, this cigar could only be given by Caesar; other high-ranking officials could only present guests with Cohiba cigars.
Therefore, most people have only heard of this cigar but have never seen it in person, which adds to its mystique. However, after 1998, a small number of Trinidad cigars appeared on the international luxury market, but those were all in packs of 24, which were very rare. It is said that there is also a pack of 50, which is even rarer, but there are such rumors and Li Dashao has never seen it.
To his surprise, he found the legendary box of fifty Trinidad cigars here tonight. He couldn't help but have a new understanding of Charlie Cao's financial power, knowing that these kinds of cigars are not something that can be bought casually.
Young Master Li took out a cigar from the box, skillfully cut off the end, lit it with a special lighter, and slowly took a puff, savoring the taste.
The first thing you notice is a woody aroma, which is the main note of Trinidad cigars. As you savor the aftertaste, you'll also hear notes of beans, black coffee, and white pepper. The lingering aftertaste has a sweet aftertaste, which makes Young Master Li particularly fond of it.
Cao Charlie leaned back comfortably in his wide chair and said to Young Master Li, "My Chasing Wind is also participating tonight. It's the third match tonight. Young Master Li, would you like to place a few bets? My Chasing Wind is really good, you know. It won first place in the last competition."
Li Shao also followed Cao Charlie's example, leaning back in his chair and exhaling smoke from his mouth.
Then he said, "Then I must support Chairman Cao. How about this, I'll bet HK$500,000 on your 'Chasing the Wind' bet and claim the win."
Winning is a betting method in Hong Kong horse racing, which means betting on a particular horse to win.
There are also things like position, where a horse wins as long as it finishes in the top three.
Winning streaks means betting on the top two horses.
Triple jackpot is the accurate prediction of the top three horses in the correct order.
Finally, there's the simplest one: Mark Six, a lottery game associated with horse racing.
Minimum investment is HK$10.
Li Dashao's purchase of Charlie Cho's beloved horse "Chase the Wind" for 500,000 yuan is also a gesture of goodwill towards Charlie Cho.
After discussing horse racing, the two got down to business.
"Did Chairman Cao specifically call me here to lend me some money?"
Charlie Cao placed his cigar into a large crystal ashtray, then chuckled, "Heh! Young Master Li, not to be disrespectful, but if you want to get the telecommunications from Da Dong, you'll need at least $15 billion. But your Yingke has already been suspended from trading. What are you going to use as collateral?"
Young Master Li glanced at Charlie Cao with a mournful expression. What that guy said was too harsh, but there was nothing he could do; it was the truth for now.
However, he still managed to say with his silver tongue, "Chairman Cao, I can sign a performance-based agreement with you."
Charlie Cao gave Young Master Li a deep look, then said, "There's no need for that. I do have a suggestion, but I wonder if Young Master Li would like to hear it?"
Young Master Li gestured, "Chairman Cao, please speak freely."
Charlie Cao got straight to the point: "I'm not interested in telecommunications, but I am quite interested in your Cyberport. In that case, Mr. Li, why don't you transfer your Cyberport project to me and use the money to buy telecommunications? Of course, your Cyberport is definitely not worth 15 billion US dollars, but I can help you get a guarantee from the bank so that you can get a loan."
Young Master Li's face turned cold: "Chairman Cao, weren't you the one sabotaging me behind the scenes? Did those banks stop lending to me because of you?"
Charlie Cao laughed heartily: "Hahaha! Young Master Li, you overestimate me. If I had that kind of power, why would I be sitting here talking business with you? I'm just a businessman. We're talking business, and what you're saying has nothing to do with me. If you don't believe me, go ahead and investigate."
Seeing that Charlie Cao's expression didn't seem fake, Young Master Li couldn't help but wonder again, could there really be other people involved?
Charlie Cao continued, "To be honest, I only approached you to discuss this because I saw an opportunity. I know that you, Young Master Li, never really intended to do the Cyberport project. You just wanted to use that land to make money from real estate development, right?"
Young Master Li's pupils contracted: "Chairman Cao, who told you that?"
Charlie Cao pointed to the newspapers on the coffee table: "Look, I don't know how many newspapers I've read. It's all very clear. If I didn't genuinely want to help you take over the telecommunications company, I wouldn't bother contacting you."
Young Master Li rolled his eyes at Charlie Cao: "Chairman Cao, are you trying to take advantage of my misfortune?"
Cao Charlie thought to himself, "I'm going to take advantage of your weakness to finish you off," but he still had a smile on his face: "Hehe! Young Master Li, think about it yourself, who else would want your Cyberport besides me? Let go! Given the current situation, you can't swallow it, and I know you're even more reluctant to give it up, but that's how business is, there are gains and losses. Besides, you haven't invested much in the Cyberport project at all, and the price I'm giving you guarantees you'll still make a profit."
Young Master Li wasn't about to give up the meat he'd already swallowed. He rolled his eyes and said, "Chairman Cao, how about this? I'll give you a portion of the shares, and if this project makes money in the future, you'll get a share too. That way, we'll all be happy."
"Heh! Young Master Li, let's forget about it! Given Yingke's current market value, I might as well just acquire it directly. Why go through all this trouble of investing? Besides, who in Hong Kong doesn't know that I, Charlie Cho, like to hog all the profits!"
"Hehe, the competition is about to start, let's watch the horses first!" Young Master Li stopped responding.
Charlie Cao wasn't in a hurry. In any case, Young Master Li's financing channels had basically been cut off, unless he sought financing from foreign banks. If that happened, he would have even less chance of obtaining the telecommunications business.
According to the plan, we will quickly negotiate with Da Dong to take over the telecommunications company, and then directly launch an acquisition offer for Ying Ke. Since you don't know what's good for you, then we won't leave you with anything.
We'll see if Old Li will stand up for his own then, but even if he does, so what? Cao isn't easily intimidated; in this world, strength is what matters.