Chapter 303: Acquiring Shares

Jun Du Hotel, a conference hall on the fifth floor.

At this time, eight or nine people were already seated in the hall.

These people were all small and medium shareholders of Prosperous Real Estate, all having been invited by Lu Bin Sun.

Although Lu Bin Sun wasn't a big shot in the business world, he did have some reputation.

Moreover, the recent change of ownership of Jun Du Hotel boosted Lu Bin Sun's reputation again.

Therefore, although these people initially didn't know why Lu Bin Sun had invited them, they still came.

Everyone present were shareholders of Prosperous Real Estate, except for the few representatives of securities firms; the remaining few all knew each other.

At this moment, several people were constantly whispering to each other.

They might have already guessed, to some extent, the purpose of today's invitation, but they dared not be certain.

Outside the door, Chen Mo had already arrived.

"Old Sun, have all the shareholders of Prosperous Real Estate come?"

"The main HSBC and several institutions have arranged people to come over, and a few small shareholders have also come, holding some shares."

"Only a few individual shareholders haven't come."

"However, according to our statistics, the shares held by those few people add up to less than 3%; later we can talk to them separately."

"Then let's go in; don't keep them waiting."

Chen Mo pushed the door open and entered the conference hall, with Lu Bin Sun following behind him.

The crowd's attention was drawn by the sound of the door opening, and they all looked toward the doorway.

Chen Mo rarely appears in public, and this kind of occasion was his first time showing up.

They were not familiar with Chen Mo, but they vaguely felt he looked familiar.

Chen Mo ignored the gazes of the crowd and walked straight to the main seat, sitting down.

Lu Bin Sun also quietly sat down in the seat to Chen Mo's left.

Everyone present were seasoned old hands in the business world; although they were puzzled by a stranger youngster taking the main seat, they wouldn't jump up and cause a scene.

Lu Bin Sun's invitation had them sitting honestly in the lower seats; what did they have to make a fuss about?

Chen Mo's gaze swept across the conference table, and he spoke:

"Good morning, everyone. Perhaps some of you don't know me yet; let me first introduce myself."

"I am Chen Mo, the owner of this hotel and also the owner of Galaxy Group."

No sooner had Chen Mo finished speaking than someone let out an exclamation.

"Are you Chen Mo? The Chen Mo who shorted US stocks a month ago?"

Now, many people looked at Chen Mo again, and their gaze changed.

Everyone present were businessmen, whose attention to the stock market far exceeded that of ordinary people.

When Chen Mo appeared in Meiliguo's newspapers and magazines in October, they had also paid attention to him for a while.

However, there was no introduction of Chen Mo's background there, and Chen Mo thereafter remained low-key, not appearing in the media again, so they didn't recognize him right away just now.

But a vague impression remained.

Thus, when they first saw Chen Mo, they felt he was somewhat familiar.

Now, upon hearing Chen Mo's self-introduction, they immediately recognized his identity.

Especially the representative sent by HSBC Bank, now looking at Chen Mo as if gazing upon a living god of wealth.

Chen Mo holds tens of billions of cash in his hands.

Although attracting deposits for banks is not his main job, if he could persuade Chen Mo to put all his money into HSBC Bank, that would also be a great achievement!

Chen Mo smiled and said: "I didn't short US stocks; I just rode the wave of the US stock market crash."

"Mr. Chen is truly rigorous; no wonder he's accomplished so much at such a young age." The HSBC representative first came over to flatter him.

Flattery never wears out.

Whether or not we can get Chen Mo to deposit his money in HSBC Bank aside, flattering him is never wrong.

"Yes, yes, being able to precisely predict the stock crash and then reap the longs is simply unimaginable!"

The remaining few also began to flatter Chen Mo.

Chen Mo smiled at the HSBC representative, then said to the rest of the crowd: "Seniors, you overpraise me."

"I'm just lucky; I can't compare to the vision you seniors have honed over many years in the business world."

"Today I had Old Sun invite you all here because I have something I'd like to discuss with you."

The HSBC Bank representative spoke up: "Mr. Chen, do you have ideas regarding Prosperous Real Estate?"

"That's right." Chen Mo nodded and said, "I want to purchase the shares of Prosperous Real Estate that you hold; I hope you can accommodate me."

"Of course, the price will not disappoint you."

The few small shareholders of Prosperous Real Estate exchanged glances, their minds beginning to calculate.

They basically had invested in Prosperous Real Estate since its early development; after multiple rounds of financing by Prosperous Real Estate, their shares have long been diluted.

Together, their holdings amount to less than 7%.

However, they are still relatively optimistic about Prosperous Real Estate's development prospects.

Having them simply sell their shares now would leave them somewhat unwilling.

The representatives of HSBC and those few institutions have roughly the same idea.

"If possible, they would all be willing to continue holding Prosperous Real Estate's shares."

Seeing that they didn't respond, Chen Mo directly continued speaking.

"Yesterday's closing price for Prosperous Real Estate was 3.15."

"My people have already absorbed enough chips from the stock market in the recent period; if nothing unexpected happens, today will trigger a mandatory full tender offer."

I am willing to make an offer at a price of 3.7 to everyone; this price is already the highest point of Prosperous Real Estate's stock price over the past month. I don't know what you all think?

After saying that, Chen Mo stopped speaking and quietly waited for their reply.

The people present began to look at each other.

Although Chen Mo didn't say much, the information conveyed in those few sentences was considerable.

He now has enough money and also enough leverage.

Launching a general offer basically has no chance of failure.

The only question is how many shares Chen Mo will trade in this offer.

Given the nature of the current Hong Kong stock market, Chen Mo's price can basically sweep away most of the circulating shares in the market.

By then, it is very likely to trigger Prosperous Real Estate's delisting.

Once it is really delisted, the Prosperous Real Estate shares they hold will merely let them retain their status as shareholders of Prosperous Real Estate.

Furthermore, they would have the right to dividends from Prosperous Real Estate's annual profits.

Before, Prosperous Real Estate had annual profits of roughly over a hundred million.

But now the real estate industry is mediocre, so future annual profits may be much lower, possibly even a loss.

These shareholders basically won't get any money.

Thus, selling their shares to Chen Mo and taking the money to leave might be a better choice.

Moreover, even if Prosperous Real Estate does not delist, not selling their shares to Chen Mo will not turn out well for them.

Chen Mo can still become the major shareholder of Prosperous Real Estate.

Also, after the offer period ends, Chen Mo could still depress the market with his shares, possibly making their shares worth even less.

Although Chen Mo didn't say he would do that.

But it doesn't need Chen Mo to say it so clearly; if it were them, they'd do the same.

"Okay! We are willing to sell our shares to Mr. Chen." After a brief discussion among the small shareholders, they nodded in agreement.

As for the price, they didn't continue to haggle.

Their shares are not many; even if Chen Mo lets the price rise by a cent or two, they wouldn't gain much more money.

It would be better to just sell it happily.