Chapter 206 - Chapter 206: Outside the Market
One day, a shockwave suddenly hit the stock market. It was revealed that investors who had bought shares in Cavendish Construction were all selling their holdings to Arthur outside the market.
When the broker reported this to the butler, there were even some investors who had bought more shares. Arthur's shareholding ratio had reached 48%. That massive holding report was submitted.
He suddenly emerged as the largest shareholder, with a shareholding ratio just short of a majority. At this stage, the new share issuance had not yet finished, so in reality, he had already secured a majority.
The butler received the contact from the broker and immediately reported it to the Marquess.
"Your Excellency, House Archibalt has cornered the majority of our company's shares!"
"What did you say! Why didn't you notice this!!"
The Marquess flew into a rage. However, predicting this beforehand was difficult. It was a tactic used in the stock market known as the wolf pack strategy.
This was a method where multiple shareholders gathered shares and suddenly attacked the company as a pack on a certain day. In the Japanese stock market, foreign investors had favored using this tactic, and there were cases where companies were taken over or nearly taken over.
Arthur knew nothing of this and had come up with the idea himself.
The method was very simple. Arthur provided funds from the Economic Revolution Club to investors who had some connection but were not relatives nor under his control, and had them purchase the newly issued shares on the market.
They had a connection, but they were not relatives, nor were they people under his control. The broker used various channels to ensure no one would suspect any relationship in the buying and selling.
The broker's worries when reporting to Marquess Cavendish became reality, yet even he had only recognized that a few large shareholders had appeared, each holding over 5%.
"Buy more shares immediately!"
"However, if we are to acquire a majority from here, our current funds alone are not enough..."
Even for a great noble, converting assets into cash took time. If that could be done immediately, there would have been no need to increase capital in the first place. The Marquess knew there was no money for buying more shares, yet the words slipped out of his mouth anyway.
"In that case, we must ask House Archibalt for the true intent of this...—"
The Marquess muttered while stroking his chin.
To confirm the true intent of this share cornering, the Marquess resolved to jump into the opponent's den, but at that moment, he was informed that a letter had arrived.
"My Lord, a notice for an extraordinary general meeting of shareholders has arrived."
"What!?"
An extraordinary general meeting of shareholders is held with the consent of more than one-third of the shareholders. Unlike regular meetings, it is convened when there is a sudden change in management or when refreshing the management team is urgent.
Now that Arthur held more than half the shares, he could convene such an extraordinary general meeting.
Moreover, there was no need to notify all shareholders. After all, this was a world where communication and travel took time. A decision requiring urgency could not wait for distant shareholders to arrive.
If shareholders holding a majority participated, and a majority of all shareholders voted in favor, the resolution could be passed.
The butler confirmed the content of the notice.
"It states the dismissal of Your Excellency. And the date of the meeting is the day after tomorrow, at the company."
"Don't joke with me! Dismiss me, the one and only! How can such a thing be allowed!!"
Salieri Trading Company was summoned immediately, and a contract was signed for the Marquess to purchase the remaining new shares.
This way, Arthur and the others could no longer secure the new shares.
And because the new shares were issued, Arthur's shareholding ratio dropped below 50%. Originally, an extraordinary general meeting is based on the shareholder register at the time the decision to hold it was made, but the laws in the Kingdom of Cascade did not explicitly state this, leaving it ambiguous whether it was the decision date or the meeting date.
Therefore, the Marquess had personally subscribed to the new shares after receiving the notice. The Marquess's shareholding ratio became 25%. While this was certainly not enough to guarantee a rejection, the reading was that if he could gain the consent of other shareholders, he could reject the dismissal proposal.
"How could work proceed without me? If they try to dismiss me, the shares those bastards bought up would become nothing but scrap paper."
Though the Marquess acted tough on the surface, his heart was anxious inside.
I should have explained the situation to House Archibalt beforehand...
He regretted this.
That explanation was about the fact that when Natalia was attacked, Arthur and Isabella were together, and they had gotten caught up in it.
But now, it was too late.
He quickly switched his thinking, determined to somehow survive the extraordinary general meeting.
And thus, the day of the extraordinary general meeting finally arrived.