2003: Starting with Foreign Trade

Chapter 584 Benefits to Changfeng
"Xiao Zhang, you've struck it rich!"

Employees in the Dexian Electronics workshop are not allowed to use their mobile phones during work hours. Old Li tried calling several times but couldn't get through. He finally got through during lunchtime.

"What do you mean, 'made a fortune'? I've already infiltrated an electronics factory and am screwing in screws, how could I possibly make a fortune?"

"Haha, you didn't know? Tan Jincheng launched an acquisition of Changfeng Group. You should go online and check the news, it's all over."

You could tell that Old Li was even more excited than Little Zhang.

Holy crap! Really?

"Really, why would I lie to you? By the way, did you go to work?"

"Yes, I'm at work now, working for Boss Tan; we'll talk later, I'll go online first."

Xiao Zhang didn't have time to say much to him. Damn it, launch an acquisition! If this succeeds, the stock price will skyrocket.

No wonder the China Securities Regulatory Commission suspended his trading without releasing any information.

It has indeed spread online. No matter how low-key Tan Jincheng is, his popularity remains high. Even during the Olympic promotion period, anyone associated with Tan Jincheng can easily rise to the top of the trending topics list.

Flash Group plans to acquire 30% of Changfeng Group's shares. If the acquisition is completed, Flash Group, holding 35% of the shares, will become the actual controller of Changfeng Group.

A private enterprise launching a takeover of a state-owned enterprise, especially a listed company, is quite explosive.

Xiao Zhang opened his mobile browser. The internet speed was a bit slow, but news was readily available online. Xiao Zhang browsed through them one by one, unable to hide his excitement.

"Damn, I have a chance to break even, hahaha."

The news report wasn't very detailed; it only mentioned that Flash Group intended to take over Changfeng Group, without any further official response, but that was enough.

Meanwhile, the institutions and major investors who had previously been unable to obtain information were collectively dumbfounded.

"Holy crap, they kept it a secret so well? I haven't even gotten on the bus yet."

"Damn it, this Tan Jincheng has no sportsmanship! Is this how you play?"

Xiangcheng.

During lunch, Zhou Kai was in charge of entertaining Tan Jincheng and his group, while Zeng Jixiang whispered a few words in Tan Jincheng's ear.

"In just two hours, the news has spread like wildfire; President Zhou, President Li, your information security mechanisms aren't very good. It's a good thing the stock was suspended from trading, otherwise it would have hit the daily limit up this afternoon."

Today, Tan Jincheng was extremely aggressive. From the moment the three-person closed-door meeting began, he displayed his sharp edge, making the Changfeng Group staff who had previously had contact with him feel very uncomfortable.

"what happened?"

Zhou Kai and Li Jianxin were both completely bewildered; clearly, they hadn't received the news yet.

Tan Jincheng had a faint smile on his face: "The content of our meeting this morning has already been spread. It's fortunate that we haven't discussed the specifics yet."

"Huh? Is that so?"

"Just look at your phones, you'll see. There are probably a lot of missed calls."

Zhou Kai was a little embarrassed and looked awkward. He knew that Tan Jincheng would never lie to him about something like this.

Flash Group prepared for so long, almost completely cleaned up its organization, and didn't leak anything. But it only took a few hours for the news to spread like wildfire on our side. You can't possibly say that the information was leaked from Flash Group, can you?

Li Jianxin was also a little embarrassed. He wasn't sure if it was leaked from their side, because they had done that before to boost the stock price.

She was already quite annoyed by Tan Jincheng this morning, and now he's given her another jab, but she doesn't know how to respond.

"Come on, let's have a drink. Let's pause the meeting this afternoon. After we finish this drink, Mr. Tan, you can rest for a while. We'll discuss it internally first before making a decision."

Zhou Kai chuckled and said.

Zhou Kai was actually a little angry. This matter was indeed annoying. The news of the negotiations had just started and it was already flying everywhere. He didn't believe that it was Changfeng who had spread the word.

The only one with a chance is them, but their internal structure isn't entirely unified; clearly, someone is doing this on purpose.

"Yes, yes, yes, drink and bite the wine." Li Jianxin also joined in the urging to drink.

Tan Jincheng got drunk after just one swig of wine, and the rumor that the CEO of Flash Motors couldn't hold his liquor spread to even more people.

When I woke up again it was already evening, and I had to drink again...

"It's a good thing I brought you along, otherwise drinking like this would have caused trouble." Tan Jincheng rubbed his head, looking somewhat pained.

The fiery city of Xiangcheng, with its occasional appearances of minor celebrities, is far more alluring than Ningbo, an industrial city.

Gu Qingqing said with amusement, "Are you that insecure when Brother Li isn't around?"

"There's some truth to it. It's a project worth billions, so we should be careful. If safety isn't an issue, then it can only be something else."
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"Shanchi Technology went public through a reverse merger with Changfeng Group, and also promised to build an electric vehicle industrial park in Xiangcheng?"

"Yes, these are the conditions given by President Tan. They will inject their subsidiary, Flash Technology, into Changfeng Group through a combination of cash and stock swap to achieve a listing."

To pass the acquisition plan, the approval of the Hunan Provincial State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission and the Hunan Provincial Government is required. Tan Jincheng can go to sleep after drinking too much, but Zhou Kai does not have such treatment.

The meeting was suspended in the afternoon. Besides wanting to re-select the members of the negotiation team, Zhou Kai rushed to his supervisor's office to report on his work.

At this moment, the leader, sitting behind his desk, tapped the surface lightly, pondering the proposals suggested by his subordinates. The biggest temptation was undoubtedly Flashpoint Technology's backdoor listing, in which the city investment company could reap huge profits—it was practically a windfall.

As for the establishment of an industrial park in Xiangcheng, once this news gets out, both the province and the city will welcome it very much.

"This young Mr. Tan has great ambition; it's hard for us to refuse such a great benefit."

After a moment of contemplation, the leader sighed and said that, in addition to these, Zhou Kai had also mentioned that someone had helped Tan Jincheng make connections, and that the person in question was of a high rank, which was somewhat unexpected.

"Yes, FlashTech's sales revenue was 27 billion last year. This year is the Olympic year, and their sales have been very good in the last two months. It's certain that their sales revenue will exceed 30 billion. According to the simplest valuation method for manufacturing companies, this company will be a company with a market value of tens of billions several years after it goes public."

A company with a future market value of tens of billions, even if it only exchanges 5% of its shares like Tan Jincheng did, would be more valuable than the Changfeng Group shares he currently holds.

"The main problem is that Changfeng Group still can't solve the National III emission standard issue, so there are no new cars to sell. If this continues, bankruptcy won't be far away," the leader sighed.

As a high-ranking official, he was also aware that the government intended to encourage mergers and acquisitions among automakers, allowing capable companies to acquire those facing operational difficulties, a point that was already under explicit discussion.

If Changfeng Group cannot resolve the issue of not having any new products to sell before the end of the third quarter, then being acquired or merged by other large automakers is inevitable.

Rather than letting other places benefit, it's better to take the initiative and fight for some advantages for yourself.

Zhou Kai was thinking the same thing, and sighed, "Yes, back then, Dongfeng acquired almost 80% of Nissan's shares for less than 8 million."

That was in 2004, during a restructuring in line with policy. 80% of the shares were worth less than 8 million yuan. No matter how Nissan was, it was still much stronger than Cheetah. Once it came to complying with policy, the initiative was no longer in their own hands.

When the time comes, we must obey Guo Jia's arrangements regarding how much to give and to whom.

"I'll report to my superiors. You stay in touch with Flash and call me any new developments. I've heard that Mr. Tan likes to be efficient, so don't be too slow."

"Oh, by the way, I heard that today, this young CEO Tan was being sarcastic and sarcastic, and he leaked the news to you guys in advance?"

Zhou Kai looked embarrassed: "Yes, today, President Li and I have been sarcastic to President Tan more than once or twice. It's really strange. President Tan's behavior is completely different from last time."

Zhou Kai also knew the details of the last acquisition of Yangzi Automobile. In the words of Changfeng, this young CEO Tan was really like a sycophant, giving them money whenever they asked, and the price had increased a lot from the initial offer.

The premium for that 5% stake was extremely high; based on the market value at the time, there was practically no discount, so they agreed immediately.

"Hehe, how can you underestimate someone who has achieved so much at such a young age? Go back and reorganize the negotiation team members. The news has already spread before the meeting was even over. This is not a good image."

Zhou Kai was sweating profusely; this was a reprimand.

Fortunately, Tan Jincheng arrived the night before last and demanded that they suspend trading of Changfeng Group's stock before starting negotiations; otherwise, this would have been a huge disaster.

After waking up, Tan Jincheng washed up quickly and, seeing that it was still early for dinner, thought of asking Li Jianxin if he could meet with him alone.

"Meet alone?" Li Jianxin was a little confused about Tan Jincheng's thinking.

"Yes, how about the same teahouse as last time? This time it's my treat, Mr. Li."

Li Jianxin was silent for a moment: "Alright, let's meet then, but I'll treat you to a meal. How can I, as the host, let the guest pay?"

"Thank you, Mr. Li. May I bring my fiancée with me?"

"Yes, you're very welcome."

Li Jianxin couldn't figure out what Tan Jincheng wanted to do, but he couldn't refuse this request.

Gu Qingqing, standing to the side, was somewhat surprised: "Why did you make a private appointment with President Li? Why did you bring me along?"

"Bribe him, haha. As for bringing you along, he said he wanted to attend our wedding last time. Since you're here, let's go meet him together."

As he spoke, Tan Jincheng took out an invitation from his briefcase, casually opened it, and wrote Li Jianxin's name on it.

"Why do you still carry the invitation with you?"

Gu Qingqing was speechless. She had just peeked into the briefcase and found quite a few invitations like these.

“People often ask if they can attend our wedding, and I thought that some people would be hard to refuse. Sending them by express delivery is too much trouble, so I simply brought some with me.”

To acquire Changfeng Group, the key is to win over the people of Xiangcheng. Li Jianxin doesn't have the final say, but the opinions of such a meritorious figure in the group will certainly be taken into consideration by the Hunan provincial authorities.

If he absolutely refuses, the acquisition plan will definitely face additional obstacles.

What's needed now is speed. We must take over Changfeng Group as quickly as possible before other major automakers can react. If it drags on, and a major state-owned automaker gets involved, Shanchi Group will have no chance of winning.

No matter how much you take a godson, he's never as good as your own son.

The two tidied up quickly and went downstairs to keep their appointment. Liu Suman was already waiting for them downstairs.

"How do you plan to bribe this Mr. Li?"

"Of course, it's about catering to their preferences."

The most urgent task for Tan Jincheng is to divide and conquer the two major camps and complete the acquisition as quickly as possible.

What Li Jianxin wants most is a controlling stake in Changfeng Group. Tan Jincheng certainly won't give him that. After the acquisition, he will send Zhang Yong to take full charge of Changfeng Group instead of letting Li Jianxin stay in his position.

But Tan Jincheng can give him what he wants.

(End of this chapter)