leonardwarren Chapter 361 Equity Transfer
Chapter 361 Equity Transfer
April 6, 2000, 2 PM.
The conference room at Xingchen Technology was filled with people sitting on both sides of the long table. Ling Yun sat at the head of the table, Anderson in his usual spot, Winston to his left, and Pratt, a representative from HP, to his right. Dell sat by the window, twirling a pen in his hand, his eyes gazing out the window.
Dr. Leila and the French representative, Jean-Pierre, sat together, exchanged a few words in hushed tones, and then both looked at Ling Yun.
Ling Yun glanced at the clock on the wall; it was 2:05.
"Let's begin," he said.
Anderson cleared his throat. "There's only one agenda item for today's meeting," he said, looking at Ling Yun, "the transfer of shares."
He pushed a document to the middle of the table.
"This is a joint proposal from Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Dell, and HP. Mr. Ling is transferring his 32% stake to us. The price is $48.2, based on yesterday's closing price."
A minority shareholder asked, "Is all 32% going to be transferred?"
Anderson nodded. "Yes, turn them all on."
Another person asked, "What about the employee stock ownership platform?"
Anderson paused for a moment, then said, "As for the employee stock ownership platform, they can decide for themselves."
Dr. Leila asked, "How will Mr. Ling's shares be divided?"
Anderson picked up another piece of paper from in front of him and read it aloud, "President Ling proposes: Goldman Sachs 5%, Morgan Stanley 5%, Dell 5%, HP 5%. Abu Dhabi 6%, France 6%. That adds up to 32%."
Dr. Leila looked up. "In Abu Dhabi, it's 6%?"
Anderson looked at her. "Yes, 6%."
Leila nodded.
Jean-Pierre nodded in agreement. "We in France also have 6%, that's acceptable."
Ling Yun didn't say anything, stood up, picked up a pen, and wrote the number 32 on the whiteboard.
Then he drew six squares below and started filling in the numbers.
Goldman Sachs 5%, Morgan Stanley 5%, Dell 5%, HP 5%, Abu Dhabi 6%, France 6%.
Added together, it's 32%.
He turned around and looked at everyone.
"This is the amount that will be transferred to each of you."
Anderson nodded. "Yes, this is it."
Ling Yun put down his pen, walked back to his seat, and sat down.
The meeting room fell silent for a few seconds.
Platt looked at the numbers and spoke.
"Mr. Ling, let me confirm. You transferred all 32% of your shares, right?"
"Yes."
Plett nodded.
"it is good."
Dr. Lyra raised her hand. "I have a question."
Anderson looked at her. "Dr. Lyra, what is it?"
"What will the new shareholding structure look like after the share transfer? Have we calculated it?"
Anderson paused for a moment.
Winston had already started pressing buttons on the calculator.
"Originally, Lingyun held 32%, HP 11.68%, employees 10.88%, Goldman Sachs 10.56%, Morgan Stanley 9.28%, Dell 8.8%, Abu Dhabi 1.6%, France 1.6%, and the other minority shareholders were..."
He calculated for a while, "The other minority shareholders are about 13.6%."
Pratt took it.
"Now, Lingyun's 32% is being transferred out and distributed to us. Goldman Sachs adds 5%, which is 15.56%. Morgan Stanley adds 5%, which is 14.28%. Dell adds 5%, which is 13.8%. HP adds 5%, which is 16.68%. Abu Dhabi adds 6%, which is 7.6%. France adds 6%, which is 7.6%."
He paused.
"Employee shareholding remains at 10.88%. Other minority shareholders still hold 13.6%."
Dr. Lyra looked at those numbers.
Anderson looked at him.
"Ling, you're doing this on purpose, making the board of directors a complete mess!"
"I only have 32%. How to divide it is up to you to discuss. Tell me when you've reached an agreement. I only care about whether you can transfer the money to me in time. If Goldman Sachs can take over the shares under my name, I have no objection, as long as the other shareholders agree."
Ling Yun stood up, preparing to leave the meeting room. "You all continue the discussion, and let me know when you've finalized the proportions."
He turned and walked out.
He paused at the door and looked back.
Those people were still sitting there, gathered around the numbers, looking at each other.
The corridor was empty. He took a few steps and stopped. Fiona had followed him out and walked to his side. "Mr. Ling, if Starry Sky falls into their hands, will it still have any future?"
Ling Yun simply said, "How Xingchen develops in the future is their business; it's not something I need to worry about."
Fiona wanted to ask Ling Yun if he felt bad that the stars had been ruined by these people, but after thinking about it, she ultimately didn't say it.
In the conference room.
Anderson remained seated, staring at the numbers on the whiteboard for a long time.
Pratt walked over and stood next to him.
"Abu Dhabi and France, 6.24 each. Whoever gets their support wins."
Winston came over too, "but they won't take sides."
Platt looked at him. "What should we do then?"
Anderson didn't say anything.
Dell stood up, walked to the door, and paused.
"There's going to be a lot of arguments at the board meeting from now on."
He pushed open the door and went out.
Dr. Leila and Jean-Pierre also stood up.
"We're leaving too."
Anderson nodded.
The two left.
Only Anderson, Winston, and Pratt remained in the conference room.
Pratt looked at the numbers and shook his head.
"13.6% are minority shareholders, and 10.88% are employee shareholders. Neither side can convince the other. Abu Dhabi and France are not taking sides."
Winston nodded.
"I won't be able to decide anything from now on."
Anderson didn't say anything.
He stood up and walked to the window.
The sun was shining brightly outside the window. In the parking lot, Lingyun's black sedan was driving out.
He watched the car drive away and disappear around the street corner.
"He left the stall to us."
The next morning at nine o'clock, the lobby of Xingchen Technology was packed with people. More than three hundred employees squeezed from the front desk to the stairwell. Some were standing, some were leaning against the wall, and some were sitting on the steps. No one spoke.
Ling Yun stepped out of the elevator.
The crowd parted to make way for him. He walked forward, and people on both sides watched him. No one uttered a sound.
He walked to the middle of the lobby and stopped.
He looked around. He saw the tech team, the marketing team, the girl at the front desk, and the cafeteria chef. Everyone was looking at him.
After a few seconds of silence, Ling Yun spoke, "The future of Xingchen is in your hands."
Just this one sentence.
A few people in the crowd started clapping, then more and more joined in, and the applause grew louder and louder. Finally, the entire hall was filled with applause, so loud it made everyone's ears ring.
Ling Yun stood still. He listened to the applause and looked at the faces.
The applause lasted for a long time.
Then he turned around and walked towards the conference room.
The applause behind me was still ringing out.
In the conference room, the agreement lay on the long table. It was a thick stack with a blue cover.
Ling Yun walked in and stopped in front of the table. Fiona stood beside her, holding a pen.
He looked at the agreement for a few seconds.
Then he picked up a pen, turned to the last page, and signed the first name.
Turn the page, sign your name.
Turn the page, sign your name.
After signing the last page, he put down his pen.
Fiona put the agreement away and placed it in a file folder.
Ling Yun turned and walked out.
He paused at the doorway and looked around the room.
Then he pushed the door open and went out.