Chapter 533: Waiting for a Better Price

Wei Li, who was to the side, asked curiously, "What is this Second Young Master here for? To settle a score?"

Chen Jiajun shook his head: "If he were still as stupid as he was before, he wouldn't have come looking for me at all!"

"Then, do you intend to see him?" Wei Li asked curiously.

Chen Jiajun shrugged: "Why not?"

As he spoke, Chen Jiajun straightened his clothes and brought Wei Li to the office.

At this moment, the Second Young Master and Mr. Yuan had been waiting there for a long time.

"What a rare guest!" Chen Jiajun said with a smile as he walked over and shook hands with the two of them.

The Second Young Master had indeed matured a lot; it was obvious he hated Chen Jiajun to death, but he didn't show it on his face at all: "Not at all, it is we who are disturbing Mr. Chen."

After both sides sat down, Chen Jiajun asked straight to the point: "I wonder what business the Second Young Master has coming to find me today?"

Seeing that Chen Jiajun had no intention of beating around the bush, Mr. Yuan said directly: "I hear Mr. Chen has some interest in Cable and Wireless?"

Chen Jiajun smiled and said: "So you found out? Don't blame me, it's just a business tactic!"

Chen Jiajun admitted it quite frankly; it was indeed him pulling strings behind the scenes.

After all, he had met with quite a few bank presidents and executives during this period; as long as they wanted to investigate, it couldn't be hidden.

The Second Young Master's expression immediately turned ugly.

Mr. Yuan, however, smiled and said: "I can understand that, but... Mr. Chen, you shouldn't just be interested in Cable and Wireless, right?"

"Hmm?" Chen Jiajun paused: "Is there a difference?"

Mr. Yuan smiled and said: "Of course there is a difference. Cable and Wireless's main business is in England and quite a few British colonies. I imagine that with the tense relationship between Mr. Chen and the English, you certainly wouldn't go and operate those other businesses, would you?"

"So, what are you planning next?" Chen Jiajun looked at the two of them with amusement.

Mr. Yuan smiled and said: "So what Mr. Chen wants is nothing more than Hong Kong Telecom. I think we have a basis for cooperation."

Chen Jiajun instantly understood the reason the two had come today.

These two guys wanted to follow behind him and drink the soup!

However, this didn't seem to be a problem. This Mr. Yuan was absolutely right; Chen Jiajun really had no interest in the other businesses of Cable and Wireless. From beginning to end, all he wanted was Hong Kong Telecom.

Moreover, Cable and Wireless's only competitor right now was the Second Young Master. If they joined forces, they could give that Gweilo Wallace a real headache.

So Chen Jiajun smiled and said: "I wonder how Mr. Yuan wants to cooperate?"

Hearing Chen Jiajun loosen his stance, the two immediately showed joy on their faces: "We each put up half the capital to get Cable and Wireless into our hands first. Hong Kong Telecom will definitely be Mr. Chen's, and as for the rest... shall we discuss it?"

Chen Jiajun immediately laughed: "Mr. Yuan is indeed very good at doing business, but Cable and Wireless is asking for 18 billion USD. Do you two think it's worth that price?"

"That's impossible!" Mr. Yuan shook his head decisively: "This company is simply not worth that price!"

"I think so too." Chen Jiajun nodded and said: "So, I would like the two of you to cooperate and do me a favor!"

After seeing the two off, Chen Jiajun called for Wei Li.

"Boss, did you need me for something?" Wei Li looked puzzled.

Chen Jiajun smiled and said to Wei Li: "That's right, go and break off the negotiations with Cable and Wireless!"

"Ah?" Wei Li was instantly stunned.

Chen Jiajun smiled and said: "It's fine, just do as I say!"

Wei Li frowned, suddenly thought of something, and said with a look of surprise: "Boss, have you reached an agreement with that Second Young Master?"

Chen Jiajun nodded with a smile: "Although I have money, I'm not some wealthy fool! 18 billion USD is simply treating me like a sucker! I must give him a taste of his own medicine!"

Hearing this, Wei Li immediately laughed: "I've long found that Wallace unpleasant too. I'll go do it right now! But Boss, won't this Second Young Master pull some tricks?"

"He wouldn't dare!" Chen Jiajun said with extreme dominance: "If he pisses me off, even if it's his father, I can make him suffer the consequences!"

Since both sides had reached an agreement.

The next day, Chen Jiajun directly had Wei Li notify the employees who were in contact with Cable and Wireless to suspend negotiations.

Chen Jiajun's sudden move made Wallace panic.

What he liked most was having multiple people competing for his company.

Only in this way could he hold out for a better price, let the other parties tear each other apart, and profit from it himself.

Originally, he had already chosen his targets: the Second Young Master and Chen Jiajun.

And Wallace was very clear that Chen Jiajun and the Second Young Master were quite at odds.

So Wallace felt he had them both in the palm of his hand.

The price he gave the Second Young Master was also sky-high, and he even felt he could raise it further.

Once Cable and Wireless was sold, the shares he would receive would be enough for him to get a title.

It was just that Wallace hadn't expected the Second Young Master, under the intervention of Mr. Yuan, to directly concede to Chen Jiajun.

Consequently, the next morning, Wallace received word of Chen Jiajun's intention to suspend negotiations. This made Wallace panic instantly.

One of the potential competitors had just quit the game; how was he supposed to raise the price now?

Cable and Wireless definitely had to be sold. Although he was the chairman, he was not the largest shareholder.

The largest shareholder of Cable and Wireless had already returned to England and had urged him more than once to sell it.

If he didn't sell, they wouldn't even be able to get past the shareholders.

Because these English Gweilo were afraid of being liquidated by the home country, and it would be a disaster if they ended up with nothing.

And Wallace himself was also very afraid, so after thinking for a long time, he made a phone call to Chen Jiajun.

He intended to pull Chen Jiajun back to the negotiating table.

The person who answered the phone was Chen Jiajun's private Secretary; Wallace only said he was looking for Chen Jiajun.

A moment later, Chen Jiajun's voice rang out on the phone.

Wallace hurriedly asked: "Mr. Chen, I received notification from your side today. I heard you decided to terminate the negotiations? May I ask if you have encountered any issues?"

Chen Jiajun heard Wallace's cautious inquiry and suddenly felt like laughing.

However, he still said seriously, "Mr. Wallace, your side's offer truly lacks any sincerity! Although I need Cable and Wireless, it is not absolutely essential!"

"But Mr. Chen, Hong Kong Telecom under Cable and Wireless holds forty-five percent of the telecommunications market share in Hong Kong. If Mr. Chen wants to enter the telecommunications industry, Cable and Wireless is the most suitable choice. Moreover, our business is not limited to just Hong Kong; we even have operations in England, Malaysia, Japan, and other places!"

Wallace had completely shed his previous arrogance and, like a salesman, began pitching the business of Cable and Wireless to Chen Jiajun.

Chen Jiajun had long been accustomed to the fickle behavior in the business world, so he remained unmoved and said, "I have many ways to enter the telecommunications industry, for instance... acquiring other telecommunications companies in Hong Kong! I estimate that even if you add these few together, it wouldn't cost eighteen billion US dollars."

"Regarding the price, I think it can be negotiated," Wallace said hurriedly.

But Chen Jiajun seemed determined not to continue the conversation, saying indifferently, "Sorry, I have matters to attend to here. I hope we can cooperate in the future!"

After saying this, Chen Jiajun hung up the phone directly.

Hearing the busy signal on the phone, Wallace felt terrible.

He had not expected Chen Jiajun to be so decisive; when he said he wouldn't talk, he really stopped talking.

Wallace did admit that his previous attitude had indeed been poor.

But this was the business world after all; how could you, Chen Jiajun, be so willful, stopping the conversation just like that?

If you stop talking, how is he supposed to drive up the price for the Li Family's second young master? Thinking of this, Wallace felt exceptionally depressed and slammed his fist against the table.

Now he would be in a very passive position! However, Wallace had been able to serve as the chairman of Cable and Wireless for so long, so he was no simple character.

After recognizing the current situation, he began to quickly adjust his strategy, changing his previous lukewarm attitude and swiftly initiating contact with the second young master's side.

It was just that what Wallace did not expect was that the person leading this time was not the second young master himself.

Instead, it was a guy even more difficult to deal with than Chen Jiajun: Mr. Yuan.

"16 billion US dollars, this is already the lowest price! You must know that the price I offered Chen Jiajun was 18 billion!" Wallace said to Mr. Yuan with some anger.

Mr. Yuan, however, said unhurriedly, "But Cable and Wireless is simply not worth 18 billion! Let alone 18 billion, it's not even worth 16 billion! We cannot pay a premium to acquire such a company! Furthermore, Cable and Wireless is still continuously incurring losses."

Wallace said indignantly to Mr. Yuan, "What is the highest price your side can offer?"

"10 billion, this is our limit!" Mr. Yuan said unhurriedly.

"That's impossible!" Wallace refused directly without even thinking: "If it's this price, I cannot answer to the board of directors; I cannot do a money-losing business!"

Hearing these words from Wallace, Mr. Yuan could not help but snort coldly in his heart.

Cable and Wireless was clearly planning to leave the Hong Kong market; at a time like this, this damned Gweilo Wallace was still thinking about profit—this was simply insatiable greed.

However, on the surface, Mr. Yuan still said quite helplessly, "Let both sides take a step back; we can raise the price to 11 billion US dollars."

"15 billion is my bottom line," Wallace said in a deep voice.

The gap between the two sides' offers was too large, and in the end, they parted on bad terms.

But fortunately, the two sides did not directly terminate the negotiations like Chen Jiajun had.

And because there was no spoiler like Chen Jiajun appearing, the differences between the two sides were slowly narrowing.

In the end, after Mr. Yuan offered 12 billion, he refused to continue negotiating further down.

Mr. Yuan said to Wallace with a helpless look, "We have run through thirty banks, large and small, in Hong Kong and raised a total of 12 billion in funds. If Mr. Wallace is still not satisfied, then we can only terminate the negotiations."

Hearing the final price offered by Mr. Yuan, Wallace frowned.

Although this price was quite a bit lower than his psychological expectation, it would still allow him to make a small profit.

After a moment of silence, Wallace said, "I cannot make the decision on this price; I need to contact the board of directors."

"Then let's contact them later!" Mr. Yuan stood up to take his leave.

After Mr. Yuan's team left, Wallace called for his assistant: "Martin, go and check to see how much money the Li Family's second young master has borrowed from the major banks. Remember to find a Commercial Spy; don't do it yourself!"

Assistant Martin nodded: "I understand, Boss!" (End of chapter)