Chapter 294 Taking Control of Supplee, Declaring War on DHL!
Lin Haoran's words made President Liu fall silent, deep in thought, though he didn't pursue the topic any further.
Back at Tang Tower, the three of them continued drinking tea and chatting casually.
Time passed quickly. Lin Haoran had left Hong Kong on August 8th, and now it was already August 27th—meaning he had been in the UK for almost 20 days.
However, Lin Haoran wasn't in a hurry to return.
Meanwhile, Guo Xiaohan had already left London three days ago and returned to Hong Kong.
After all, she couldn't stay here indefinitely—she had her own job back in Hong Kong.
Once she finished handling the Guo family's business projects in the UK, it was natural for her to return.
She left with some regret, as she and Lin Haoran had not crossed the final boundary in their relationship.
Still, their connection had become deeply ambiguous—more than friends, not quite official lovers.
In the blink of an eye, another day passed.
Bill Stevens, who had already resigned himself to reality, had completely given up on trying to reclaim majority control of the company—he understood he didn't have the financial means to do so.
At 10 a.m., Lin Haoran and President Liu arrived simultaneously at Supplee Company's headquarters.
Tang Kun didn't come; based on Bill Stevens' attitude yesterday, there was no need for him to show up for support anymore.
Inside a conference room at Supplee, five people gathered:
Chairman Bill Stevens, President Liu, Lin Haoran, General Manager Martin, and a secretary recording the meeting.
Even though there were fewer board members now, as a listed company, all proper procedures had to be followed, and announcements needed to be made officially.
Unsurprisingly, the board meeting concluded swiftly.
In the end, Lin Haoran officially became Chairman of the company, while Bill Stevens assumed the roles of Vice Chairman and CEO.
The General Manager and President Liu retained their original positions.
From that moment, Lin Haoran officially took control of Supplee—a major logistics player in the UK.
This marked the first time he had acquired a company outside of Hong Kong, and it wasn't a small one either.
While Lin Haoran also held a 10% stake in Apple back in the U.S., he had no management control there—very different from Supplee.
After the meeting, several announcements were sent to major British media outlets, including The Financial Times, The Times, and The Daily Telegraph.
Bill Stevens had suggested holding a press conference to announce the changes, but Lin Haoran declined—it would draw too much attention.
He preferred to stay low-key; the announcement itself would suffice.
However, while Lin Haoran wanted discretion, the media had other plans.
The announcement quickly made headlines.
Over the past week, Supplee had been a hot topic in Britain—largely thanks to Bill Stevens' bold declaration to resist DHL, which had stirred patriotic sentiments.
This wave of nationalism had helped Supplee quickly recover its business.
Thus, when news of the company's leadership change broke, the media rushed to report it.
Major newspapers placed it prominently on their front pages with bold headlines.
Once again, Lin Haoran's name entered the public eye in Britain.
This young man from Hong Kong, who had only invested in Supplee a week earlier, had now become its Chairman.
Previously, some British media had reported on his activities in Hong Kong—acquiring Hongkong Electric and Towngas—but such news hadn't garnered much attention.
Now, he was at the helm of a well-known British company—people noticed.
Within just one day, Lin Haoran's fame in Britain skyrocketed.
Many news-followers now recognized his name as the new head of Supplee.
As expected, the stock market reacted strongly.
By mid-morning, Supplee's share price had already risen by 22%.
By the afternoon, the company's market cap had surged past £95 million.
In just one trading day, Supplee's stock price had soared by more than 30%, almost back to its peak valuation from half a year earlier.
The next morning, within just ten minutes of opening, Supplee's market cap surpassed £100 million—restoring its previous peak value.
Lin Haoran's takeover had injected much-needed confidence into the market.
Previously, investors had lost faith because, facing DHL's entry, Supplee had no effective countermeasures, and Bill Stevens lacked strong financial backing.
Now, with Lin Haoran leading, the company's future seemed much brighter.
Moreover, with Lin Haoran holding 49.9%, Bill Stevens 20.8%, and President Liu 8%, only 21.3% of shares remained in the public float.
With so many investors eyeing Supplee, the scarcity of available shares naturally pushed the price up rapidly.
That morning, Lin Haoran arrived early at the company and discussed plans to boost market share in West Germany with Bill Stevens.
However, General Manager Martin soon came looking for him.
"Chairman, reporters from The Times are here.
They're requesting an exclusive interview," Martin reported.
"The Times? Let them in," Lin Haoran agreed after thinking briefly.
He couldn't afford to offend a newspaper with such global influence—and it was just one interview.
Soon, two reporters from The Times entered Lin Haoran's office.
"Mr. Stevens, stay," Lin Haoran said when he saw the former Chairman preparing to leave.
"Mr. Lin, this is your interview.
It's not appropriate for me to stay," Stevens protested.
"It's just an interview, nothing formal.
You're still the soul of Supplee.
I'm just an investor.
Besides, they're here for Supplee, not just me," Lin Haoran replied with a smile.
Hearing this, Stevens nodded and returned to his seat.
Facing the two reporters, Lin Haoran asked directly,
"What would you like to know?"
"Mr. Lin, let's get straight to the point:
What is your purpose in investing in Supplee?
And why did you increase your stake so aggressively?" one reporter asked, holding out a microphone.
"It's simple," Lin Haoran replied with a smile.
"I believe Supplee is a company with great potential.
It has strong public support in the UK.
During my time here, I developed a strong impression of Britain, so I decided to shift my investment focus to Europe—especially the UK.
When Supplee's shareholders invited me to invest, I agreed.
After investing, I realized that Supplee had been too conservative in its management.
I believe Supplee has tremendous potential for international expansion.
If properly developed, it could become a global logistics giant.
That's why I decided to increase my investment and become the largest shareholder."
"And what are your future plans for Supplee?" the reporter asked.
"Of course.
This is something we'll soon announce officially.
Currently, we have a strong position in the UK market, but further gains here would be difficult.
Thus, we plan to pursue internationalization.
Our next targets are West Germany and France.
Supplee already has a foothold in West Germany.
We plan to invest over £50 million across West Germany and France within the next year, strengthening our presence there.
We're prepared to absorb initial losses.
It's all part of preparing for the future," Lin Haoran said confidently.
In truth, there were no immediate plans to invest £50 million abroad.
But boasting was harmless—and it would certainly put psychological pressure on DHL.
The two reporters exchanged excited glances.
Supplee was officially declaring war on DHL!
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