Three o 'clock in the afternoon.
The Peninsula Hotel.
Li Dong met the person in charge of ABSA in Hong Kong.
ABSA did not have any business in Hua Xia, but it had some business in Hong Kong and Macau. That was why it had an office here.
Not many people in China knew about ABSA. It was not weak in South Africa, but it was not as strong as Hua Xia and other state-owned banks.
In 2005, the British financial giant Barclays Bank bought 56.4% of ABSA's shares for 2.6 billion pounds. Barclays Bank's total value at that time was about 5 billion pounds, or 50 billion RMB.
Of course, mergers and acquisitions in the industry should not be based solely on money.
Sometimes, the impact of mergers and acquisitions was even greater than the impact of money. As a world-renowned financial institution, ABSA did not only look at Barclays Bank's capital.
But it was an indisputable fact that ABSA was not the strongest among its peers.
Before this, Tencent's market value was nearly 20 billion USD, and ABSA owned 10.5% of the shares, which was worth more than 2 billion USD, which was equivalent to one-third of ABSA's value in 2005.
But in just a few days, Tencent's shares, which were worth 2 billion USD, had fallen by one-third.
ABSA had lost more than 600 million USD in just a few days!
Although it was only a loss on paper, even ICBC would feel the pain if they watched the money disappear, not to mention ABSA.
In April, when Li Dong met with them, ABSA's reply was that it was not convenient for them.
Although they were optimistic about Far away, most investment institutions would not invest in two companies with overlapping businesses. This was not in line with their expectations.
At that time, even if PP was financing, they would not participate in it.
There was no reason to burn money on both sides and let one side suffer losses in the end.
But at the end of April, before the Hong Kong stock market closed for three days, ABSA saw Tencent's share price plummeting, and they could not sit still.
Back then, they held Tencent's shares not subjectively, but passively.
Their shares came from the mortgage of MIH, or rather, MIH's parent company, Naspers.
But in recent years, Tencent's share price had risen rapidly, and Naspers had not redeemed it. ABSA was happy to continue holding it, and they could get a lot of dividends.
According to the original mortgage agreement, Naspers had to pay a hefty price to redeem the house.
Tencent's market value was not bad, but market value did not represent money. In fact, Naspers did not have the money to redeem the pledged shares.
If the Tencent had continued to rise, Naspers might have thought of redeeming their shares after a while, even if they had to pay a price.
However, with the emergence of the Tencent Crisis, the stock price plummeted.
Not to mention that Naspers did not have the money, even if they did, they would not redeem it at this time.
ABSA had already seen this trend. It was highly likely that Naspers would choose to give up their collateral. Once Tencent's share price hit rock bottom, ABSA would suffer heavy losses along with it. This was not the outcome they wanted.
…
In the hotel conference room.
Li Dong looked at the black man across from him. This was the first time he had ever done business with a black man.
Fortunately, the other party spoke good Mandarin. However, he might have stayed in Xiangjiang for too long, and there was a hint of Cantonese in his speech.
The other party spoke for a long time, and Li Dong waited for him to finish. Then, he smiled and said, "My idea is very simple. ABSA currently holds a lot of Tencent shares, but seeing that Tencent is about to go bankrupt, it's almost impossible for Naspers to redeem them.
In order not to let our international friends suffer losses, I like to do things that are just for the good of the people.
ABSA can now talk to Naspers about redeeming their shares. If the other party is unwilling and gives up their right to redeem the shares, ABSA can completely deal with these shares as it sees fit.
"While Tencent's share price has not fallen to rock bottom, you can actually still make a profit, and you can make a lot of it.
Of course, after all, the shareholding ratio is not low, and it's difficult for anyone to enter the market to trade at this time.
Everyone here is a sensible person. As for me, I won't just watch your shares fall to pieces, and no one will take over them. In the end, your shares will be destroyed along with Tencent.
I'll give you two suggestions. You can consider them.
First, we can reach an off-exchange agreement. We will take over the shares, but the price will not be too high.
You can also talk to other institutions. But I think at this time, only Tencent is willing to take over the shares.
But they don't have money. As Tencent's shareholders, you should know better than me. I can guess how much Tencent is willing to pay.
Based on the current market value, your shares are worth more than 9 billion HKD, and Tencent is willing to pay 5 billion HKD. Also, this money will not be given now. It has to be delayed.
To put it bluntly, are you sure they will still have the money to pay? "
When Li Dong said this, Big Blackie thought for a while and asked. "If Naspers gives up on redeeming the shares and takes over Far away, what price can you offer?"
"2 billion HKD."
When Li Dong said this, the other people's faces turned ugly.
2 billion HKD!
It's not even 300 million USD!
Before they continue, Li Dong laughed. "Of course. This is only my first suggestion. To be honest, I don't really want to take over.
The reason I am willing to offer this price is not Tencent's shares. It is our Far Away Mall.
You all own 10.5% of Tencent's shares, which means you all own 1.05% of Far Away Mall's shares. My 2 billion HKD is the value of Far Away Mall's shares.
Of course, your losses will be higher this way.
Don't worry. I have a second suggestion.
You all can handle Tencent's shares yourselves. There is only one way to handle it. Dump the shares!
Tencent does not have the money to buy back the shares, and you all can ignore them. You all can dump the shares.
But if you all dump the shares, Tencent's share prices will plummet. You all might not even get back 2 billion HKD in the end, and your losses will be higher.
To make up for your losses, after Far Away Mall's PP financing starts, you all can finance PP at a low price! "
In Li Dong's impression, Big Blackie is a silly and honest person. But this Big Blackie did not give him this impression.
The moment Li Dong finished, the other party immediately asked. "PP financing. Is it just PP alone, or does it include all your PP-related industries? Far Away Entertainment, WeChat, Video … … even East Star Entertainment … … "
Big Blackie does not know anything about Far Away, or he had done a lot of research in advance.
In the end, he even mentioned Wan Tong!
When Big Blackie mentioned Wan Tong, Li Dong's face turned black. "Wan Tong is not included! Also, East Star is not one of our companies. It is only a partner, and it will not be included!
For PP-related industries, you all just need to refer to Tencent. Also, we have given you all this information.
WeChat is included. As an international bank, you should also understand the meaning of this.
Once WeChat completely explodes in the mobile terminal, the effect is amazing.
This has also established our position as the king of instant messaging. We have obtained the ticket to the mobile Internet era in advance, and we will not be like Tencent, who will fail midway.
In fact, the combination of these industrial chains Far Away is far more than Tencent's value. "
Big Blackie said, "Wan Tong is not included. PP industries do not have such high value … …"
Li Dong frowned. "Hua Xia's policy will not allow this. Even if I want to, I can't do it. As for Tencent, it is different from us. Moreover, Hua Xia will also introduce some policies. It will not be long before Tencent will also have to change its system. Don't say that Tencent did not mention this! "
When the third-party payment license was issued, Tencent also obtained the license.
However, Brother Ma did not directly kick out the foreign capital like Ma Yun. Instead, he used some evasive means to obtain the payment license with Tencent's shareholding.
But it was only a matter of time before it was changed.
If it was not changed now, it would definitely be changed next time.
In the future, WeChat Payment was actually different from Tencent. The two were not the same system.
Of course, in the end, some things were not necessarily impossible because of the policy. They could be avoided through some legal means.
But why did Li Dong add Wan Tong!
Anyway, it was the same meaning. PP was PP, Wan Tong was Wan Tong. The two were separated.
Although Old Hei also knew this, he was still a little disappointed. The PP industry that did not include Wan Tong might also have a lot of value, but the value was still greatly reduced.
It was a large corporation after all, and it was not the first day they joined Tencent. Who did not know how valuable the Internet payment system was to these giant Internet companies?
But before this, the other party had already prepared for this. PP financing and not Wan Tong financing. Li Dong had made this point very clear. He had mentioned it just now because he had a glimmer of hope.
Now that Li Dong had clearly rejected it, Big Blackie had no choice but to continue. "About PP's specific financing plan, Far away …"
"The total share capital is 1 billion shares, of which 200 million shares will be used for financing. The plan is to raise 3 billion USD!"
Big Blackie frowned when he heard this.
Relatively speaking, Li Dong's offer was not high. The 20% shares after financing was only worth 3 billion USD. This 3 billion USD would go into PP and not to Li Dong personally.
Based on the calculations, PP's current valuation was only about 12 billion USD.
To a black-hearted fellow like Li Dong, this was considered a good price.
But now, they had only started their first round of financing, and they would definitely continue to do so.
If they gave such a high valuation before getting listed, how were they going to make money?
So what if it was more than Tencent!
At the current stage, the addition of WeChat was not enough to make up for the loss of the payment system.
Tencent's previous market value was 20 billion USD, but that was only after getting listed for many years.
If they did not get listed, no one knew what would happen in the end.
Now, was it really worth it to raise funds for PP with a valuation of more than 10 billion USD?
Seeing Big Blackie frowning, Li Dong said calmly, "If we defeat Tencent, we will be the one and only overlord!
In addition, our various industries are stronger than Tencent. Coupled with my reputation, Li Dong, after PP gets listed in a few years, your returns will be more than 500%!
There would only be one such opportunity!
If you miss it, so be it. There are so many international investment banks. If you give ABSA a chance this time, it might not happen again.
In terms of reputation, influence, and strength, you are all not enough!
Also, although ABSA has the priority to increase the share capital by 200 million, there is a limit. The total share capital cannot exceed 50 million shares.
I will make all these clear in advance.
50 million shares, 750 million USD, 5% of PP's shares after the financing.
In the future, even if we continue to raise funds, the share will not be too much. Even if you do not add any additional investment, your share will not be less than 4% before the listing.
After the final dilution of the IPO, your share will not be less than 3% after the listing.
According to my plan, once PP and its related industries get listed, it will definitely create unparalleled value and glory!
After removing the Universal Cartoon, within five years, the market value will be at least 100 billion USD. I am sure of this.
By that time, the value of your shares will be at least 3 billion USD. This is the lowest expected value. We can even sign a VAM agreement.
Regardless of whether we can reach this target or not, we will buy back the shares for 3 billion USD!
This is equivalent to me giving you more than 2 billion USD for free. My only request is to dump Tencent's shares. It is a very simple matter.
It could be said that ABSA only had this opportunity by chance. Otherwise, to put it bluntly, you don't have the right to talk to me about this.
Also, we have also made an appointment with MIH. We only need one.
MIH has more advantages than you. They have more shares. Even if I give them 2 billion USD for free, they will still be willing. Do you believe me? "
Li Dong's words were extremely domineering. It was as if he was giving the other party a huge advantage.
Now, they are offering 700 million USD. After a few years, after the listing, they can buy back the shares for 3 billion USD regardless of the share price. Isn't this a huge profit?
It is a huge profit!
But even if they invest 700 million USD, it will be worth more than 1 billion USD in a few years, including inflation.
The Tencent's shares that they held before were worth more than 2 billion USD.
If they dump the shares now, how much can they get back?
After careful calculation, everyone knows whether they are making a profit or not.
But now, they can still maintain a balance of payments and can earn back the Tencent's losses.
If they don't agree, then just like what Li Dong said, they can look for MIH. MIH will get a better result. It is not impossible for MIH to agree.
Just when Big Blackie and the rest were still thinking, Li Dong suddenly smiled. "Oh, I forgot to remind you. Once we start the negotiations with MIH, they might choose to buy back the shares in your hands. When that time comes, I'm sorry, but without the Tencent's shares, we will have no basis to negotiate. ABSA will not be included in PP's financing this time. "
Hearing this, the other party's faces turned even uglier.
When facing some small companies and enterprises, if the other party wants financing, they will have to humble themselves and suck up to them.
After all, they are a bank with hundreds of billions of assets under management. Their assets might not be much, but their scale is not small.
However, facing the world's richest man, a small bank might not be able to catch Li Dong's attention.
Far away from the industry, they might not even have the chance to get financing.
Looking at the choices on Weibo, almost all of them are internationally renowned institutions. They have nothing to do with them.
While they were still thinking, Li Dong looked at the time and said, "Sorry, I still have something to deal with. Also, I will meet with MIH at 8 pm. If they agree, then I can only apologize for this meeting. I don't need too many partners. After all, the financing is limited … "
"Mr. Li!"
Big Blackie was furious. This guy in front of him is too arrogant!
But after shouting, Big Blackie suddenly shut his mouth. The other party has the right to be arrogant.
ABSA's holding company, Barclays, personally came to talk to Li Dong. Li Dong might still give face, but if Li Dong does not give face to ABSA, then he will not give face. There is nothing they can do.
Seeing that he has given up, Li Dong did not continue to provoke him.
Actually, he was not provoking him. What he said before was the truth.
If ABSA does not have Tencent's shares, he will not lead them, at least not now. Unless it involves the African business in the future, when it is necessary.
Whether ABSA can continue to hold on to these shares depends on their own means.
If Li Dong does not make it clear now, these shares will be redeemed by Naspers. Then, there is no need for him to give money to ABSA. Only a fool would do that.
…
After sending off the people from ABSA, Li Dong only gave them one day.
One day later, they did not reply, so Li Dong changed his target to MIH.
Before the other party left, Li Dong even mentioned, "If Naspers does not have the funds to redeem the shares, I can actually provide some funds to my international friends. I think some people will be more than happy to redeem the shares with my money and earn a sum of money from me!"
With that, he was determined to go all out.
If they do not do it, then Li Dong will use Naspers to do it, and Naspers is more likely to agree.
After they left, Bai Su could not help but say, "General Manager Li, is it really okay to force them like this?"
Although Li Dong used to be aggressive, he would not deliberately belittle the other party during negotiations. After all, the other party was an organization with hundreds of billions of assets under management. Was he not afraid that they would fully support the Tencent by provoking them like this?
Hearing this, Li Dong shook his head and said, "I have to provoke them. You don't understand, the Tencent shares do not actually belong to them. If I don't provoke them, they will still think that they can bargain with me. ABSA is not very stable here, and the key is still Naspers. Whether it is MIH or ABSA holding the Tencent shares, Naspers can actually make the decisions. If we provoke ABSA now, they might be able to find a way to deal with Naspers. We might not be able to force Naspers, but ABSA, as the creditor, can still force them. "
Bai Su did not fully understand, but she understood the general situation.
All in all, ABSA will do their best.
This is because they do not own the Tencent shares now, and no matter how high the Tencent share price is, it might be redeemed someday.
But this time, when the Tencent share price fell, and Naspers is not in the mood to redeem the Tencent shares, they can use the Tencent shares to exchange for the PP shares Far away. This is actually a good deal.
Even if Naspers is not tempted, ABSA will be tempted.
If they really think that 2 billion USD is easy to earn, there will be no poor people in the world.
So what if Li Dong ridiculed him a few times and provoked him a few times? If he really got the money, who would really care about this?
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