The real protagonists of this "Antian War," the largest and second-largest shareholders of Anshi Group, were present at the meeting, catching the attention of all the attending small and medium investors.
However, it was the Tiansheng Capital section that garnered the most attention. All eyes were on Lu Ming, the founder of Tiansheng Capital, who, among all the shareholders present, appeared not only as the youngest but also the largest shareholder of Anshi Group.
Too young!
Before the incident, no one could have imagined that the individual who stirred up the turbulent capital market would be so young.
...
The shareholders' meeting was officially declared open.
Worth noting, the attendance rate at this extraordinary general meeting reached 75.86%, setting a record for Anshi Group's shareholder meeting attendance.
An Jinhong, director and general manager of Anshi Group, unexpectedly spoke: "Before we begin the deliberation, I would like to apologize to Tiansheng Capital and Mr. Lu himself for my previous public comments regarding 'robbers and jackals.'"
Huh?
Shareholders at the meeting were surprised by An Jinhong's unexpected statement, casting bewildered looks his way. This sudden sentence left everyone with a sense that something was amiss.
The two sides were known mortal enemies; everyone present was aware of this. Making a public apology to the mortal enemy at this point in time was intriguing.
Subsequently, Lu Ming from Tiansheng Capital placed the conference microphone on the table and proposed, "Before the general meeting votes on the announced deliberation matters, I suggest prioritizing a vote on an additional proposal."
These words surprised all shareholders present, excluding the An family. A new matter was suddenly added to the voting at the shareholders' meeting?
A new variable had emerged.
At this moment, a shareholder representative raised an objection. This shareholder, an agent representing Huijing Group, held 0.83% of the shares. Although the proportion wasn't significant, Anshi Group was nonetheless a considerable major shareholder within the decentralized equity group. The other small shareholders were surprised, thinking it would be the Anshi family jumping out to oppose it. However, upon seeing that the opponent was Huijing's agent, they realized it was still from the Anshi Group, making no difference.
The outside world was still unaware that the two sides had fallen out.
After the objection was raised, Yao Yun, the chief lawyer sitting next to Lu Ming on Tiansheng Capital's side, promptly responded, "The objection is invalid. Our country's 'Company Law' clearly stipulates that limited liability companies, such as Anshi Group, require a 15-day notice to all shareholders for a shareholders' meeting. There is no stipulation that the matters considered at the meeting must be notified, and there is no prohibition on voting on matters not listed in the notice. In other words, Anshi Co., Ltd. does not prohibit adding issues during the meeting and voting on added issues."
This was interesting. While the "Company Law" required joint-stock companies to provide clear notices on matters under consideration, it didn't make clear provisions for the contents of notices for limited company meetings.
And Anshi Group was neither a joint-stock company nor a limited company but a joint-stock limited liability company, which seemed to result in the outcome where no one agreed.
Yao Yun then added, "Regarding the notification procedure, unless the articles of association of the company provide otherwise or all shareholders agree otherwise, if the 'Articles of Association' of Anshi Group stipulate that the meeting notice must specify the meeting agenda, voting on matters that have not been notified in advance is invalid. Indeed, there are no relevant provisions in the Articles of Association of Anshi Group. Still, all shareholders of Anshi Group have a special agreement to hold a general meeting of shareholders, and the deliberation matters are clearly notified in disorder."
The Huijing Group agent objected, stating, "It's eloquent and confusing. What you said does not conform to the practical effect of the 'Company Law.'"
Yao Yun calmly responded, "You're correct. The provisions of the Articles of Association are in line with the Company Law, and it is indeed invalid under the Company Law. However, we are based on the shareholders' agreement, and the shareholders' agreement falls under the 'Contract Law' rather than the Company Law. This agreement is a mutual agreement between the two parties as equal subjects, consistent with the legal provisions of the Contract Law."
The Huijing Group agent, hearing the other party's rebuttal, finally had no choice but to fall silent. Of course, he knew this but chose to pretend otherwise.
Some small retail shareholders at the meeting observed the dispute between the two parties and only then realized that shareholder agreements were originally governed by the "Contract Law," though they had always thought it was governed by the "Company Law."
It's no wonder a small group of powerful individuals couldn't win against a large organization. Their team lineup consisted of top industry insiders.
Ordinary retail investors weren't very clear about these complicated matters. The topics were too complex, and they weren't legal practitioners, making it impossible for them to comprehend the various regulations clearly.
"Next, we will discuss and vote on matters temporarily added to the meeting." The staff at the meeting began to speak: "This matter proposes to amend the new regulations of the 'Company Law' of Anshi Co., Ltd. and vote by all shareholders. Special agreement..."
Small and medium investors present sighed at Tiansheng Capital's move to propose amending the "Articles of Association" – it was an unexpected twist.
The articles of association are equivalent to a small constitution for a company.
However, when the host revealed the content of the temporary proposal, shock swept through all the small and medium shareholders in attendance. It was the three conditions Lu Ming proposed to meet in private with An Qilong.
The dividend payout ratio not less than 48.5% and the EPS not less than 22 billion performance bets were something small and medium investors had never imagined. Moreover, these conditions were set for at least fifteen years. In other words, if this proposal passed, Anshi Group would annually pay dividends of at least 10.6 billion yuan to all shareholders.
The surprise caught everyone off guard.
For small shareholders who are retail investors, the actual dividend may not be much, given the small number of shares they hold. However, for major shareholders and significant capital, like Tiansheng Capital holding over 20% of Anshi Group's equity, this meant receiving 20 to 30 billion yuan in cash dividends every year.
Although small shareholders might not get much absolute dividends, with such an explosive super-benefit, wouldn't the share price of Anshi's shares skyrocket? The premium brought by the sharp rise in the stock price in hand would far exceed the dividend.
If this proposal passed, then the rhythm of the daily limit and counting boards would continue tomorrow, creating an appropriate and suspenseless outcome.
Absolutely a big surprise.
"Mr. Lu, did I hear correctly? Is this temporary proposal serious?" A small retail shareholder attending the meeting couldn't help but speak, immediately drawing laughter from all the shareholders present.
But everyone also looked at Lu Ming. Age aside, as long as Lu Ming, the founder of Tiansheng Capital, made the decision, it was enough for this company with more than 5,000 employees and an asset scale of 50 billion, making him a giant enterprise with a pivotal influence.
Lu Ming grabbed the microphone at the meeting and said with a smile, "Tiansheng Capital maintains that it is optimistic about Anshi Group and wants to be a long-term strategic financial investor of Anshi Group. Whether you believe it or not, the media is also making a fuss, and I can't help it."
Participant: Haha~, I believe in you!
Lu Ming, oblivious to everyone's eye-rolling, maintained a calm demeanor, saying, "Indeed, the two sides had some unpleasantness in the process, but this is a result of limited interaction and a lack of mutual trust in the exchange. In fact, the relationship between the two sides is not as exaggerated as described by the media, such as the 'Antian war' or something that cannot be avoided."
Participant: Haha~~, you go on talking nonsense; anyway, I won't believe a single punctuation mark.
Lu Ming continued, "In recent days, Tiansheng Capital and Anshi Group have been in constant communication. I believe that with continuous communication and mutual understanding, the two sides can overcome the estrangement and trust issues, establishing long-term and stable trust and cooperation. Today's temporary proposal is the result of joint efforts between Tiansheng Capital and Anshi Group. We have established a mutual trust and reciprocity mechanism, which will become more and more solid. Now, we have decided to extend this mutual trust and reciprocity to all shareholders of Anshi Group through this interim proposal."
Wow~! !
Wang fried!
Lu Ming's unexpected remarks caused an uproar in the audience. Small and medium investors exclaimed, calling him a "good guy."
This god-level reversal caught them off guard, with no signs whatsoever.
Tiansheng Capital and Anshi Group, who were seemingly in the same boat, shaking hands in private?
This... oh, this... this, this, this...
The most dumbfounded person at this time was Huijing Group. Yesterday, it was still cutting losses and bailing out before dawn. Are you angry?
When this news reached Wei Jianping's ears, the rhythm would undoubtedly explode!
However, this was not a party anyone expected.