Chapter 214: Using Tens of Millions to Leverage 200 Billion

He realized his 0.4% stake might not be enough to change the outcome of the vote on its own. While his chances of success were already high, there was still a possibility of an upset.

Li Xiao decided to take more proactive measures. He began to consider buying more Haitian Flavors stock to increase his influence at the shareholder meeting.

Right now, the ratio of shareholders for and against was 49.52% to 49.57%. If he added his own 0.4%, it would become 49.52% to 49.97%.

This meant he only needed to acquire another 0.04% of the shares to push the dissenting shareholder percentage definitively over 50%, reaching 50.01%.

Li Xiao called Zhang Li again.

He stated his intentions directly. This time, Zhang Li was too embarrassed to charge him again and simply gave him the number of a financial advisor.

Li Xiao contacted this financial advisor, named Huang Rui, to discuss the feasibility and strategy of purchasing Haitian Flavors stock.

His goal was to purchase enough shares to give his vote decisive influence at the shareholder meeting.

The financial advisor analyzed the current market situation and the liquidity of Haitian Flavors’ stock, then recommended a direct purchase.

He took into account that Li Xiao had a full 130 million in cash on hand and that time was tight.

The shareholder meeting was at 2:00 p.m. the next day, which meant he only had the three hours after the stock market opened in the morning to operate.

Fortunately, however, the number of shares they needed to acquire wasn’t large, and Li Xiao wasn’t concerned about the stock price.

The financial advisor offered his solution: entrust his firm with opening a brokerage account to conduct a brute-force acquisition, buying any and all shares that appeared on the market.

Given Haitian Flavors’ market capitalization, their acquisition of this small number of shares might cause some price fluctuations, but it definitely wouldn’t have a major impact.

Li Xiao set off immediately, signed the necessary retainer agreement, and simultaneously transferred the funds needed for the acquisition.

Early the next morning, Huang Rui moved quickly, beginning to secretly buy up Haitian Flavors stock through multiple channels.

As soon as he began, he keenly sensed that someone else was also on the market, continuously absorbing the shares being sold off by retail investors.

But he wasn’t flustered at all. After all, Li Xiao had told him that he wanted 0.05% of the shares and that the price was no object.

Even though there were competitors snapping up shares, with more than enough “ammunition,” they successfully acquired the 0.05% across several accounts two and a half hours later.

Meanwhile, Li Xiao received Huang Rui’s report.

Looking at the account statement on his phone, a confident smile played on his lips.

‘Excellent. Now all the pieces are in place.’

…

「1:30 PM」

Li Xiao parked his 911 in the parking lot of Haitian Flavors’ headquarters and was quickly guided into the conference room by an attendant.

At 2:00 PM, the shareholder meeting officially began.

One agenda item after another passed smoothly, and soon they reached the topic of changing the raw material supplier.

This topic captured the full attention of all shareholders present. The atmosphere in the room, once relaxed, instantly grew tense. Everyone who had made it to the meeting knew full well that this was the main event of the day.

The group of shareholders who supported changing the supplier spoke first.

On the left side of the conference room, a middle-aged man in a sharp suit, clearly the spokesman for this faction, cleared his throat and began his speech:

“Distinguished shareholders, we are facing a momentous decision.”

“Changing suppliers will directly lead to a significant reduction in costs, which means an increase in company profits.”

“In this fiercely competitive market, this is a strategy we must adopt.”

“Last year, our direct competitors, Wei Chao and Duobao, both implemented significant price cuts.”

“However, our company’s products have remained stagnant, and as a result, a considerable amount of our market share has been lost to these two companies.”

“If this continues, I’m afraid we cannot guarantee our position in the industry, and the returns for all shareholders will inevitably be severely harmed.”

“Therefore, switching to a supplier with lower-priced raw materials has become imperative.”

His voice was firm and powerful, his tone filled with unquestionable confidence:

“We have already conducted a detailed assessment of the new supplier’s capabilities. They can provide more cost-effective raw materials, which is the key to improving our competitiveness.”

“As shareholders, we all want to see the company grow and achieve higher returns. I believe this is a wise choice.”

As his speech concluded, a few murmurs of support rippled through the room.

Li Xiao narrowed his eyes. ‘Honestly, the man’s words are quite inflammatory. If I hadn’t had someone investigate the real situation beforehand, I might have actually believed his bullshit.’

He had seen this man before he arrived; he had appeared in the information collected by the private investigator.

Although this fellow wasn’t from Fengxing Venture Capital, he had very close ties to the company. It wasn’t too surprising that he was now acting as their point man.

Immediately after, a representative for the shareholders opposing the supplier change stood up.

On the right side of the conference room, an older woman stood up. Li Xiao had also seen her information in the files: Tang Huiyu, the head of Haitian Flavors’ production department.

Of course, she had another identity: the eldest daughter of the chairman, Tang Wen.

A hint of concern showed in her eyes:

“Fellow shareholders, I completely understand the desire to maximize profits, but we cannot ignore the long-term perspective.”

“Quality is the soul of our brand. It is the foundation upon which we’ve earned the trust of the market and our consumers.”

She slowly scanned the room, her tone growing more resolute:

“Our current supplier has been a reliable partner for many years. The raw materials they provide are of guaranteed quality and serve as the bedrock of our products. If we rashly change suppliers for the sake of short-term cost considerations, then our product quality, and even the reputation of our entire brand, could be compromised.”

The shareholders in the room began to whisper amongst themselves, breaking into discussion.

Clearly, the woman’s words had struck a chord with many of those present.

Both sides continued to elaborate on their points, and soon, they moved on to the final voting session.

On the large screen in the middle of the conference room, the percentages for “For” and “Against” climbed rapidly.

Soon, the ratio of shareholders for and against stood at 49.82% to 49.61%.

Seeing this ratio, Li Xiao sneered inwardly. ‘Just as I expected.’

A few days ago, he hadn’t given the other party a definitive answer, so they had immediately started acquiring shares.

‘Fortunately, my reaction wasn’t slow either. I’m one step ahead of them.’

Looking at the numbers on the screen, the people on the left side of the conference room were already smiling, looking as though victory was in their grasp.

Meanwhile, many people on the right side of the room wore grim expressions.